Coming Home (Stargate Atlantis story)

Coming Home is an epic-length John/Rodney BDSM romance by Xanthe.
It is set entirely in an alternate universe where bisexuality is the norm and sexuality is classified according to BDSM power dynamics rather than gender preference. The story is a prequel to her earlier novel, General and Doctor Sheppard.General & Doctor Sheppard, 14 February 2006, (Accessed 17 October 2008) Unlike the earlier story, which contrasts a comparatively canonical universe with the one Xanthe created, Coming Home stands on its own.
In November 2006, another fan, Helen, posted Take Clothes Off As Directed, a responsefic to Xanthe's story premise from Coming Home. 
==Author's Summary==
==Author's Notes==
 
== The Story ==
Going against a trend sometimes described as ironic distance in fanfiction, Coming Home consciously and deliberately steers right into the id vortex by spinning a tale of true love, lifebonds, kinky sex, first times, and epic emotions.
Coming Home was posted in nineteen parts over the course of ten days, resembling the old-fashioned mailing list restrictions on post length. The daily postings built up a level of expectation and excitement among readers and inspired discussion between postings.
Coming Home was well received by the fans of the original General & Doctor Sheppard novel and also drew in a new audience, some of whom found the compare and contrast of the original difficult to find a connection with but could lose themselves in the straightforward love story of the prequel.Seperis, Rec – Coming Home by Xanthe, 17 September 2006, (Accessed 17 October 2008)
==Reviews and Recommendations==
== Awards ==
In 2006, Coming Home was nominated for the 2006 McShep Awards, where it received second place in the AU category.McKay/Sheppard Fan Awards – Winners 2006 (Accessed 17 October 2008)
In 2007, Coming Home won the Stargate Fan Award for Best Romance in the Sheppard/McKay categoryStargate Fan Awards 2007 (Accessed 17 October 2008) as well as the multifandom Titanium Whip BDSM Award 2006/7 for Best First Time Slash and Best Spanking Scene.The Titanium Whip Awards – Results, (Accessed 17 October 2008)
== BDSM Universe ==
In November 2006, Helen posted Take Clothes Off As Directed, a responsefic to Xanthe's story premise from Coming Home, that took the original novel's universe and restructured it into a way to explore gender roles and sexism in modern society. The story achieved popularity with some readers for its metaphorical approach to gender roles. However, the story generated a lot of controversy. See Take Clothes Off As Directed for more information.
The unique universe and strong emphasis on romantic relationships in Coming Home inspired two stories that retold the origins of the main characters and their developing connection. Both stories adhered closely to the romantic tone set forth in the original story, and the authors sought and received permission from Xanthe before posting their works.
SGA writer Lavvyan's earthside AU The Spaces Inside The Space Inside 03 February 2007, (Accessed 17 October 2008) draws from the prostitution trope and the hurt/comfort trope.
Prolific SGA writer Eleyna released High School Confidential: JohnFirst part: High School Confidential: John, 29 July 2008, (Accessed 17 October 2008) which re-imagines the story set in a high school.
Xanthe herself has expanded her Coming Home universe in 2008 with a sequel to General & Doctor Sheppard that features a crossover between Stargate: Atlantis and NCIS with a focus on Gibbs/DiNozzo. The title is Hiding In Plain Sight.
hab318princess wrote Bound Together, a 170,000 word Torchwood story set in Xanthe's BDSM universe.
More broadly, the current popularity of BDSM AUs as a panfandom trope can be traced to Coming Home.
== Further reading ==
In the writing community Shared Wisdom, Xanthe was invited as guest speaker and posted an essay on writing BDSM, Coming Home, and some of the problems she had in fandom after its release.Xanthe, Writing BDSM, 31 March 2008 Accessed 17 October, 2008
Seperis posted an essay on fanfiction as romance, where she listed Coming Home as one of her top two choices for escapist romance reading, along with thoughts on why fandom sometimes seems to dismiss or mock the romance genre in fanfiction.Seperis, Romantic Shenanigans Are Like Music, You Just Need to Know What You're Hearing Comments in the entry also explore the underrated genre and various opinions of the stories Seperis cited to illustrate a fanfiction romance.
The story was discussed alongside Take Clothes Off As Directed on The Cuttingboard.Take Clothes Off As Directed by Helenish, 15 November 2006. (Accessed 21 May 2010)
==Meta==
* So, is there a term...; archive link by Sandy Herrold (October 2008)
==References==
Category:Stargate Atlantis John/Rodney Fanfiction
Category:Stargate Atlantis Zines
Category:2007 Zines