SGA squee

OMG, I love this icon!

I love the idea of a comfort fic list too. I'll have to think about what mine is and get back to you. I have a stack of stories that I print out and re-read from time to time. I suspect my definition of comfort varies from everyone elses!

For example, I've read virtually *none* of the stories on this list! You've recc'd several to me before (that I *still* haven't read--sorry!) but some are 'new' to me as well.

So, what makes them your go-to Comfort stories? (I'm still giggling over the inclusion of B&S. Really?? :-) What are you looking for in a feel-good comfort story?

I'm not at home, so I probably can't make this all pretty with the right links and things, but I find I often reread Amireal's Everything Except Temptation> (http://www.wraithbait.com/viewstory.php?sid=7810) or Quasar's The Taming of the Fly> (http://www.wraithbait.com/viewstory.php?sid=11855&warning=12) when I'm looking for the familiar story I know I'll like theme. Oh, I can think of a couple of more, but darn it, my BM list is sadly incomplete...

Edited Date: 2010-08-20 03:27 pm (UTC)

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Hmm, thinking thinky thoughts...

Things these stories have in common: the characters all grow and change. They face obstacles, tough times, and work to overcome them. There's humor in all of them. The emotions are real even if the premise is sci-fi. I think that's it right there. They all have a solid, emotional payoff to them that isn't contrived or trite or hand-wavy. The characters have to work for their happiness and you know that work will continue even after the story is done.

Hope. Hope is my comfort zone.

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Ah, hope is nice. Good, strong stuff here. I like

dances_with_gary's thoughts on being cared for as well.

You guys are making me wish that I'd known about BMing things from the beginning and that I was better about BM things now (or simply keeping things organized on the PC--I'm still learning how to create folders and move stuff around so that I can find it later. :-)

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You need a delicious account. Or you could just skim mine.

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I have a delicious account. I just never remember to use it and many of the stories I loved were ones I read early on in fandom and have forgotten names and authors now.

But I like collecting other people's lists! Thanks!

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That's why we have

sgastoryfinders!

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I read hundreds of stories when I first started in fandom. I would come home from work and spend hours at the PC, reading McShep on wraithbait. I can only imagine what my posts to storyfinders would look like: "Okay, so there's this one with John and Rodney and John is terrible about communicating and one of them (I don't remember which) almost gets killed and so then they realize how stupid they've been..."

I'd be better off just asking everyone for their favorite recs! :-)

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Ho.ly. Shit. Batwoman!

2211 McShep stories!

*rubs hands in glee*

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And they're all tagged. Most with synopses. How's that for organized?

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I'm in heaven. I'm just on the first 15 and I've already found and read a couple stories I never knew existed and tagged them for my very own! *g*

It's like Christmas and birthday all rolled up in one! \o/

I soooo should be working instead...

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You are organized in a way that I will never, ever be!

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danceswithgary

Great minds think alike!

I wrote up my list a few days ago. There are still more I thought of after I posted.

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Oh, great list! There are some on there I haven't read. *gasp!* I'll have to check them out. Thanks for the link. :)

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I thought this list was more of a romance list? Or are the two similar for you? I'm just curious as to whether people make a distinction or whether their feel-good list and romance list are the same (or merely overlap in places).

It's a cool list and I'm seeing some of the same titles popping up in both places, so I will have to check out those first. :-)

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danceswithgary

In my preface to the list I did note that comfort and romance are very closely tied together for me when I'm looking for fics that make me feel good. I guess you could say I find it the height of romance to be cared for? :-D

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Yeah, I like that concept. That romance is not necessarily the standard two people meet, are attracted to one another, overcome obstacles to their happiness and live HEA. Some of the stories on your list (that I am familar with) deal with one character taking care of another, which I like myself when looking for this kind of fic.

I'm looking forward to the time to read some of these. Damn, an e-reader would be nice. :-0

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Great Question!!

This could take a while...

This is the one I went to right after listening to Madison read The Last word: The Foster's Bakery AU - never fails to make everything all right again. :o)
http://almostnever.livejournal.com/631350.html by Cesare

When I'm 64 http://nymphaea1.livejournal.com/30596.html by nymphaea1

How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It http://causeways.livejournal.com/118484.html by causeways

Catch-19 http://causeways.livejournal.com/118484.html by Chelle

Two Left Feet (short and sweet) http://community.livejournal.com/casa_mcshep/20699.html

Transference http://semivowel.livejournal.com/1888.html by semivowel (her other two are also wonderful, and I reread them often, too. Or Something like it http://semivowel.livejournal.com/4505.html#cutid1 and Where You Want to Be http://semivowel.livejournal.com/2757.html#cutid1)

Scenes from an Accidental Courtship http://torakowalski.livejournal.com/34527.html by torakowalski

Cake and Ale http://mirabile-dictu.livejournal.com/42875.html by mirabile-ductu

Hot potato (gen! hilarious!) http://www.eternalvox.net/auburn/hotpotato.html by auburn

I'm with Genius http://spinkbottle.livejournal.com/587.html by spinkbottle

A Ring and a Prayer http://community.livejournal.com/brendan_vincent/20160.html?view=293312#t293312 by Neevebrody (plus many others, especially A Life Less Ordinary, but I haven't tagged that to Delicious yet - I need to do that!)

Waiting for my real life to begin http://toomuchplor.wordpress.com/fic/waiting-for-my-real-life-to-begin/ by toomuchplor (plus many others)

Chaos Theory http://the-cephalopod.livejournal.com/25151.html by sgamadison and cephelopod (plus many others, and especially Kiss Me Not, which I need to tag, too))

There are so many, many more - but these usually work for me. I also re-read fics by Crysothermis, Chelle, and thegrrrl because I know they're 'safe' and happy-making.

Hmmm - looking at the list - I seem to enjoy 'coming-out' fics a lot, don't I, for my particular brand of comfort? Wonder what that means.

Also - I have quite a few vids that I watch when I want or need a quick pick-me-up and don't have time to read. But that'll be for another post. :o)

Edited Date: 2010-08-20 06:53 pm (UTC)

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Oh, there are quite a few on here that I know and love! Some I even have saved to my hard drive. :)

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How, exactly, do you do that? I've always wondered.

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There are a couple ways of doing it. You can save the page as an HTML doc but that only gets you that one page (if it's a multi-part story on several pages, you'll have to save each one).

I copy/paste into Word and save as a .doc in a folder marked SGA Fic. For stories that have multiple installments, I just add the next one on the end of the first one. For example, I have Checkmate all in one document. Same for Foster's Bakery and Fair Trade. A Farm in Iowa has its own folder. When a new story comes out in those series, I just add them to the bottom of the existing document while bookmarking them in Delicious. Easy.

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almostnever.livejournal.com

But Wait, There’s More by lavvyan (http://community.livejournal.com/anotheratlantis/7331.html?thread=201891) --and many more of

lavvyan's stories, too many to list, really!

Caught (http://runpunkrun.livejournal.com/261472.html) and The King of Atlantis (http://runpunkrun.livejournal.com/253569.html) by

runpunkrun

moosebutthoney - shared verse

wagoneer - Nantucket shared verse

Out of Bounds by icarus (http://archiveofourown.org/works/5960?view_adult=true)

One-Way Ticket (http://sga-flashfic.dreamwidth.org/5186.html) by

cesperanza

Junk Cheap by devildoll (http://devildoll.livejournal.com/751627.html)

Fashion Victim (http://lamardeuse.dreamhost.com/sg/fashionvictim.html) and The Road To Nevada (http://lamardeuse.dreamhost.com/sg/theroadtonevada.html) and Romance at the Roadkill Grill (http://lamardeuse.dreamhost.com/sg/romanceattheroadkillgrill.html) by

lamardeuse

Everything by

crysothemis

Hindsight (http://glitterati.talkoncorners.net/fiction/hindsight.php) and Bell Curve, or Ladies Night at the Boom Boom Room (http://glitterati.talkoncorners.net/fiction/bellcurve/bellcurve.php) by

rageprufrock

Blush (http://helenish.talkoncorners.net/blush.html) and Dr. McKay Makes Girls Go Wild (http://helenish.talkoncorners.net/girlsgowild.html) and everything else by

helenish

Marines To The Rescue! (http://crimsonclad.livejournal.com/tag/sga%20fic) series by

crimsonclad

The Tragic, Doomed, and Epic Life and Loves of Elizabeth Jean McKay (http://captanddeastar.livejournal.com/2187.html) by

captanddeastar

spinkbottle: I'm With Genius (http://spinkbottle.livejournal.com/587.html)

The Goddamned Genderswap stories (http://sabinetzin.dreamwidth.org/tag/the_goddamned_genderswap) by

sabinelagrande

But Where Would They Live? (http://thingswithwings.livejournal.com/18384.html) and Items May Have Shifted During Transport (http://thingswithwings.livejournal.com/7823.html) by

thingswithwings

I could go on and on...

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Oh, all of those! Anything by

lavvyan is automatically on the list.

miss_porcupine is another go-to author of mine. So's

lamardeuse and

yin_again. Nantucket is a very special favorite of mine.

There's one story by

sabinelagrande that makes me just roll with laughter every time I read it:
Four Blatant Lies About Atlantis (And One Thing That's Totally True). It never fails.

And, of course, there's always Foster's Bakery. ;)

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Yes, yes, yes, and also ditto! And I see one or two I've somehow managed to miss reading. This will soon be rectified! \o/

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almostnever.livejournal.com

Aw, thank you. :-)

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Oh, great list! It's funny how re-reading certain stories can not only comfort a broken spirit, it will often take you back to the time and place when you first read it.

Fair Trade - as much as I love good coffee, and as suggestible as I am, and as long as it is - I think I probably had the caffeine jitters for an entire day after I stayed up until 4 am reading it. Good times!! :o)

Edited Date: 2010-08-21 06:04 am (UTC)

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I don't even drink coffee and I think I had caffeine jitters after reading Fair Trade. I love the smell of coffee, though, so I think that's part of what made the story so comfortable for me. :)

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tygtig.livejournal.com

Great page, this. I simply put it into memories instead of trying to sort out what goes where. :-D

I love the Checkmate stories too. I usually read it to cheer me up.

The only fic rec I don't see on anyones list is Keira Marcos Ties That Bind, it's on her site www.keiramarcos.com but please do read the warnings first. It's a BDSM story and probably not for everyone, but it's easily one of the most romantic, angsty and funny stories I've ever read. I love her John.

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