A list of the fic I come back to...

[caz963]

OK, so I lied before about going off to make a list of e-mail addresses. I got sidetracked having a clear out of my "memories", which then got me to thinking about something skywaterblue said yesterday, which was basically that there's not much good WW fic out there at the moment.

She's not wrong. There is some very good stuff, but it's pretty thin on the ground, amongst the massive pile of other stuff which ranges from "average" to "utter crap". Anyone who knows me knows that one of my pet peeves is bad spelling, grammar etc. (shut up, ozzyols!*g*) which is enough to turn me off a fic immediately. Luckily, however, the good authors can all spell and punctuate! so that's never a problem!
Anyway, so I got to thinking about the stuff I return to - the stuff I read when there's nothing new fic-wise and I need a Josh & Donna fix; and bearing in mind that I'm in "list mode" at the moment, here's a list of the stuff I like to read. It's not in any particular order, and I'm not sayin' it's a list of the best fic ever (or even that it's comprehensive, 'cos it's not!) - just the stuff I come back to because it's fab.

So, without further ado -


A Van, a Car, a Plane and a Bus by Speranza - and whilst you're there, check out The Age of Aquarius, too.
All her Josh and Donna stuff is utterly fabulous - characterisation, dialogue (yes, and grammar!) is all spot on.
Blame it on the Casanova by dianora2
Again, all her stuff is excellent - check out the New York stories if you've never read them (and then pester her to write some more!)
In Silence and All We Are by salr323. Her other stuff is great too - romantic, angsty, but she brings the funny and the snark, too. There's some more recent stuff at her LJ, (usually posted to josh_and_donna as well.)
Galatea by Pix. An oldie, but still fabulous, and the writing is amazing. There's not a lot of her stuff still around now - she stopped writing around the end of S2, I think, which is a shame. There's stuff around but you have to hunt for it. If you're a member of the Yahoo State of the Union list, there's some still there.
Bearing in mind what I said in my last post about the whole Beatrice & Benedick/Josh and Donna thing, if you like a good laugh (and don't mind mangled Shakespeare) then this is for you - Much Ado About Politix. I came across it by accident ages ago - its an oldie, so maybe some of you haven't seen it before. There's a sequel too, sending up A Midsummer Night's Dream but I can't find the link right now!
Burning Bridges, Burning Buildings by CazQ again, an oldie, but goodie!
Coffeeplease, known on LJ as akalettucehead made a list of her greatest hits the other day, and I'm not gonna argue with her (!) but if you only have time to read one or two, go for Josh's Holiday Carol; part 2 and part 3. OK, so it's a Christmas fic, but it's a fabulous pastiche of Dickens, and a nice tribute to John Spencer, who died shortly before she finished it.

And if you want some smut - here's Yana's Finesse which I love, and also, her bubblefic entry, The Bomb Drop was fab!
And thestickywicket's An Occasion Worthy of Baked Goods, or The After Party - older stories, but no less hot for that!

So... there's a few things for you to be getting on with over half-term! Have fun!

Comments

[mindness.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks for this. I was in need of a WW fic fix last night but got discouraged after having to wade through so much, well, crap. The grammar/spelling thing turns me off immediately, so it's nice to have a rec list from someone who shares that particular aversion.

Some of these are ones I haven't read. Looks like I'll have some reading to do tonight after work. :)

[caz963.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to have been useful! And there's more where they all came from, so let me know if you want any more! As to the grammar and spelling thing - I really, REALLY hate reading stuff with lots of mistakes - in fact if something starts out that way, then I don't usually finish it (and it's often not very good anyway). I think being Tobyesque about punctuation and grammar is a good thing, don't you? *g*

[gatsbyfan.livejournal.com]

Caz, more please. There's a lot of bad stuff out there so I would definitely appreciate more recommendations. I love Sally's stuff and coffeeplease too.

[caz963.livejournal.com]

I'll definitely get another list together soon - there were, of course, a few that I thought of after I'd posted, so I'll try to remember to include them, this time. I'm glad you've found the recs useful!

[mindness.livejournal.com]

I just read Galatea-- and oh my! If that isn't amazing and beautifully written, I don't know what is. And if those are the kinds of recs you have, bring 'em on!

I think being Tobyesque is a very good thing. At least I hope it is. ;) I used to be really into a fandom with only a few writers, so I felt forced to read some of the bad stuff. (It was either that or nothing, sometimes.) I'm ashamed to admit that I would read the stories and edit them as I went along; that way, I could read them a second time and not have to wince at every misuse of the word "their". ::grin::

Thankfully, there exists a much larger world of WW fic, and I don't have to do that anymore. ;-D

[caz963.livejournal.com]

Galatea is right up there in my top three every time I make a list! It's a shame Pix left the fandom and took down her site, because her stuff is wonderful. I have tracked some more down though so watch this space!
And the people I beta for know I'm obsessive about the nitty gritty - but then that's the whole point, isn't it?
I'm ashamed to admit that I would read the stories and edit them as I went along; that way, I could read them a second time and not have to wince at every misuse of the word "their". ::grin::
Thank God it's not just me...!

[(Anonymous)]

First post ever. Because when you find someone who is JUST AS INSANE AS YOU ARE and in the EXACT SAME WAY...well, you can't let that go unrecognized.

I have a whole Word doc of excellent fic that I've edited for they're/their, you're/your, etc., just so I could read it again. And hello, but I never even knew there were people who didn't know the diff between than and then until I started reading fan fiction. Something new every day...

Plus, if I were to make a list of all-time faves? It would be the one you just made. So thank you! I'd add some Bramble though - maybe the Edibles series. And "Trying to Fight Gravity", by emily'slist. And the first two chapters of The Joshua Monologues (spitzthecat) are fantastic.

Thanks again.

[caz963.livejournal.com]

Wow! I'm honoured! *g* And I haven't finished yet - more here (http://caz963.livejournal.com/29612.html) and here (http://caz963.livejournal.com/30451.html#cutid1), and there will be more coming (and I agree with you about Bramble and the other stuff - it's just that the posts would be interminably long if I included everything at one go!)
And yes, the spelling and stuff is a big thing for me - I beta read and the writers I work with know what I'm like for stuff like that - their and they're, and the really BIG NO-NO - your and you're drive me to distraction! (and I'm a teacher, so I see it ALL. THE. DAMN. TIME!!! *ahem* Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.

[crossmymind.livejournal.com]

Nice! I'm going to go through these later tonight.

[caz963.livejournal.com]

Have fun! There's lots of stuff I didn't mention, (cos it took me ages to get all the addresses and write it all out!) so if you run out of stuff to read, let me know! Oh, and I'd be interested to hear if there was anything there that you especially liked - it's always nice to hear that someone's enjoyed something you recommended!

[crossmymind.livejournal.com]

Oh man. I just finished reading the two fics by Speranza that you linked and gah. Utterly fabulous, like you said. I'm going to have to read the rest of her stuff, too, even though I think I've read some of it before, but I will so happily read it again. Good fic makes a crappy day a little bit better.

[caz963.livejournal.com]

Isn't she just AWESOME? Do read all of them ("Overtime" is J/D/S though, so if you're not into that then skip that one!)
I'll dig out some more recs and post soon!

[crossmymind.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, "Overtime" was SOHOT. Seriously, insanely hot. I'm all twitchy now and will have to read more later. Yes.

[caz963.livejournal.com]

Yup! And not only is it hot, it's well written! (In my book, the only bad smut is badly written smut!)

[last-archangel.livejournal.com]

*adds to memories* :)

[caz963.livejournal.com]

I'm honoured! And there's more coming!

[katiegsr.livejournal.com]

This list looks lovely and when I have more time I shall defiantely be checking out these :)

[salr323.livejournal.com]

Oooh, just read Galatea - it was great. I agree, beautifully written. :)

Will be brousing more later (once the in-laws have gone home!)

[caz963.livejournal.com]

Isn't it just fabulous? I have some more of her stuff archived actually, because it's hard to find, so what I'll do is upload it somewhere next time I make a list!
Hope you had a good time with the in-laws... Nanny and Grandad can give you a break from the kids sometimes!

[foreverdreaming.livejournal.com]

hey, followed your link from the soh/donna group.

thanks for posting this list - i'm pretty new to the fandom (i managed to cram all s4even seasons into the last 5 months!!) so there's a lot i haven't read yet (though i'm certainly well on my way to making a pretty large dent into what's out there!).

Can i recommend an addition to your list? The only j/d fic i have thus far felt the need to go back and read for a second time is Aim's The Joshua Monologues. I don't knwo wether you'd agree or not, but i tend to be of the opinion that it's one fo the best fics i've read in any fandom. So yeah. that's my recommendation!

Anyways, thanks again for the recs - much appreciated. :D

[caz963.livejournal.com]

Thanks - yes, I have read TJM and Aim's other stuff. This wasn't meant to be an exhaustive list in any case, and I plan to do some more recs - if you check my journal, I did another lot earlier today. I'm a bit lukewarm about TJM actually - I mean they're fun, and the sex is pretty hot and I enjoyed reading them, but sometimes the characterisation is a bit... um... off, and that's a bit of a big thing for me.
But, anyway, thanks for reading and taking the time to comment - keep an eye out, because there's more to come!

[foreverdreaming.livejournal.com]

just realised how messed up my typing was in that comment earlier! i of course meant the 'josh/donna' group, not soh/donna. obviously. because that's not a real thing.

Am off to check out your other recs now. i've already read Finesse (loved it) and A Van, A Plane, A Car, A Bus (loved it more!) and plan on squeezing in one more before i turn in for the night.

[caz963.livejournal.com]

's OK, I knew what you meant! *g*

[bingblot.livejournal.com]

Oooh, thanks for this!! Always in search of more good J/D fic!!

[caz963.livejournal.com]

You're welcome - and there's some more here (http://caz963.livejournal.com/29612.html) and I'll be doing some more very soon!

[akalettucehead.livejournal.com]

Thank you for pimping me, man! And those are some great recs...

[caz963.livejournal.com]

Hey, no problem! I'm gonna pimp some more later, too!

[dianora2.livejournal.com]

"An Occasion Worthy of Baked Goods" is one of the hottest J/D fics ever written IMO. Yum.

(Oh, and thanks for the rec. *g*)