Welcome!

[thepouncer.livejournal.com]

This community was established to create a centralized spot for participants in the Back to Basics: Atlantis story exchange to congregate. Your moderators and challenge organizers are thepouncer and akire_yta. For the moment, only we can make new posts to the community because we want to keep activity concentrated in the sign-up post (to be posted momentarily).

If you have any questions not covered in the sign-up post, feel free to ask them here.

Other things will be going up as we progress in the challenge process. Thanks.

Back to Basics: Atlantis, Challenge Sign-up

[thepouncer.livejournal.com]

So, as fun as AUs and crackfic can be, I've been jonesing for stories set within the Atlantis we see on the show - characters that align with what we've seen in episodes, situations that we can extrapolate without leaping ten kilometers sideways, and a tone that also slides into canon. Thus, the Back to Basics: Atlantis story exchange.

Stories can be gen, het, or slash, depending on what’s requested, and can range from G to NC-17. (Het and slash relationships are allowed in the challenge as the author/requestor are building on something that they do see in canon - namely the chemistry between two characters.)

The minimum story length is 1000 words. No maximum story length - if you want to write a novel, go for it, so long as you can post it on May 8, 2006.

The goal of this challenge is to receive feedback saying: "this reads just like an episode (or a scene from an episode)” (perhaps with optional sex). And if you think about it, that’s not such a limiting factor!

Things seen in canon:

*Soul-eating space vampires
*Primitive cultures
*Cultures that have adapted to the Wraith threat via suicide pact
*Cultures that are willing to kill half their population to block the Wraith from feeding on the rest
*Pseudo-Amish farmers who turn out to be the next thing in Pegasus Galaxy fascism
*Mist planets that create entire realities inside our heroes’ heads
*Sheppard as a cold-blooded killer
*Sheppard as a mock-worthy doofus
*Sheppard as a helicopter pilot
*Rodney as a caring and effective member of an offworld team
*Rodney as a petty, arrogant, and bad-with-people scientist with delusions of grandeur
*Ford as explosives-happy kid-at-heart
*Nanoviruses that can be destroyed by nuclear explosions
*Nuclear explosions
*Zelenka speaking Czech and squabbling with Rodney
*Zelenka and Rodney coming up with plans to save Atlantis and congratulating each other on their good thinking
*Glowy sex with Ancient priestesses
*Teyla as the best fighter ever
*Teyla as sly and knowing and all-seeing
*Weir as the best negotiator ever
*Weir as den mother to grown men acting like adolescents
*Rail guns!
*Stories set in: the SGC, Antarctica, Atlantis, the wider Pegasus galaxy, the Daedelus
*Ronon lacking any table manners whatsoever
*Ronon habitually carrying half a dozen knives on his person
*Two consciousnesses sharing one body
*Prison islands and bondage
*Ford as hot-headed and ineffective planner
*Wraith Enzyme addiction
*Destruction of 5/6th of a solar system
*Sheppard as bugman
*Retroviruses
*Carson as mad medical genius with no ethical constraints
*Carson as caring and good doctor
*Gene therapy
*Ancient-built, spaceship-bound virtual environments
*Our heroes as Wraith prisoners
*Torture
*Sea creatures

AUs aren't the purpose of the challenge, so please don’t ask for: any transformations of team members not seen in canon (such as: penguins or centaurs or reversion to childhood or genderswap (beyond the Duet scenario)); changes in the team structures or canonical backgrounds of the characters as revealed so far; changes in profession of characters seen so far; changes in the science as seen so far, stories set away from the greater Stargate program. Remember that the idea is to stick as closely to canon as possible – there’s still lots of ground to explore within those confines!



To sign up for the challenge, comment on this post and leave the following information:

1. Name (including LJ name)
2. Contact email
3. Three scenarios you’d like to receive in your story (only one of these will be written – this is to give your author options)
4. One thing you don’t want to write
5. Are you willing to be a pinch hitter?


For example:

1. Name: Pouncer
2. Email: pouncer77 at hotmail

3. I'd like a story about:
a) Ronon settling into Atlantis, emphasis on team. Gen.
b) McKay and Sheppard squabbling. Could be slashy.
c) Zelenka and Weir commiserate over the rest of the expedition members. Could be het.

4. I can't do: Beckett as a sexual being
5: Pinch Hitter?: Yes

Although you’re providing three requests, the author only has to include one of them in the final story.


Schedule: (revised)

The sign-up period will be open from February 6 to February 28 March 7.

Assignments will be sent out on March 4 March 11 (just after the season two finale airs on SciFi), and should remain secret until the stories are posted.

Stories are due May 1st May 8th, and should be posted to the atlantisbasics community by the author on that day (you can also post them to your personal LJ or any archive you want on that day, but not before).

The organizers (myself and akire_yta) will create a master list of all stories and link to it from the community profile page.

If, at any time, you find yourself unable to complete a story, notify the challenge organizers immediately so that we can find someone to fulfill the request.

Beta readers are encouraged, as is fact-checking and even transcript checking, where necessary. We'll be posting a more encompassing list of resources as we get closer to handing out assignments.