elapses | pleaseeeee somebody distract me from this black hole of a book i'm reading.

In honor of a laaaazy Sunday afternoon, I present you with four stories that make me happier than The Republic ever could (damn you, anyway, Polisci 2004):

Something Borrowed, Something Blue by

chibi_care (The Office)
Post-Casino Night glee tinged with you know, reality, which separates it from pure escapism. Pretty prose, too!

Drunk by Punk Manueverability and Sabine (The West Wing)
Josh, Donna, CJ, Sam, and Ainsley at a bar, which, yes, is as fun as it sounds.

Roadtrip by Alcott (The X-Files)
This story should be the classic of classics, part of the primer all X-Files fans are supposed to read while diving into the fandom, because it's happy but not unrealistically so, mushy but in a classy sort of way, and quietly hysterical too. The fact that it's incredibly well-written is just the cherry on top.

Hotassery is Not Special Dispensation To Be an Ass by

hackthis (Friday Night Lights
Perfectly characterized Tim and Landry conversations make me realize I need to read a lot more FNL fanfiction.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You're not the only one, though, nobody seems to have read it except the people who have spent hours upon hours with their noses ducked in Gossamer (i.e. me). It's a travesty, I tell you!

"Parabiosis" is beauuuuuutiful, and so much the epitome of everything I feel like fanfiction should be. I don't think anything could ever quite top it, and it's one of those stories that absolutely earned it's place in fandom history instead of sort of stumbling into infamy. I never liked Penumbra's other stories nearly as much, but I think it's because I read them right after I read "Parabiosis" and they just didn't quite have the same cohesive lovliness.

I hope you enjoy it! I feel like last time I recc'd something happy I loved, everyone's response was lacking italics. Happy fic is an emotional experience too, god damn it.

"Parabiosis" is beauuuuuutiful, and so much the epitome of everything I feel like fanfiction should be. I don't think anything could ever quite top it, and it's one of those stories that absolutely earned it's place in fandom history instead of sort of stumbling into infamy.

Totally. It's legendary. Epic. Gorgeous. Cannot be topped. (Stop me now, or I never will.)

I never liked Penumbra's other stories nearly as much, but I think it's because I read them right after I read "Parabiosis" and they just didn't quite have the same cohesive loveliness.

Heh, I gave myself time to digest "Parabiosis" before attacking anything else she wrote. That said, I love them all, but I think they're all very different (again, an admirable and rare writing quality). I think my second favourite is probably "Contact High". It's the kind of fic that makes me want to crawl inside her brain, just to know what it's like to think and write the way she does. (But yeah, looking at her site? (GAH, even the site design is brilliant!) I've read and love them all. And one day -- ONE DAY -- I hope "Upsidasium" surfaces somewhere. I've never read it, and I don't think I know anyone who has. SOMEDAY.)

Happy fic is an emotional experience too, god damn it.

Totally agreed! I have a lot of respect for happy!fic that's good, because in many ways, with such an emotional and often angsty show like XF, happy!fic is probably the hardest to write in a manner that doesn't come across as trite or false. Credit where credit's due, by all means.

I need to learn more about that fic digesting thing. I guess I'm just a little insatiable: I always want a little more. But it's funny how reading certain authors all at once can change the experience of reading one invidually. I read Marguerite (I think?) all at once, and while her stories are different plot-wise, they were very thematically similar, so it was very easy to get sick of them after awhile.

(But yeah, looking at her site? (GAH, even the site design is brilliant!)
I FIND IT TOTALLY UNFAIR when you get people who are brilliant writers and talented designers. Talk about unfair talent distribution!

And one day -- ONE DAY -- I hope "Upsidasium" surfaces somewhere. I've never read it, and I don't think I know anyone who has. SOMEDAY.
There's little more frustrating to me than lost fic! I just! Ugh.

Totally agreed! I have a lot of respect for happy!fic that's good, because in many ways, with such an emotional and often angsty show like XF, happy!fic is probably the hardest to write in a manner that doesn't come across as trite or false.
Yes exactly! I think it's a lot easier to take a sad song (er... show) and make it sadder than to turn it around and make it happy again. I think a lot of the angst fic in this fandom, however well written, gets tired pretty fast because it's so easy to work with that. Don't get me wrong though, some of my favorite favorites are built around the angst of everything, it's just... nice to find something that can make you smile without making you gag.

I guess I'm just a little insatiable: I always want a little more. But it's funny how reading certain authors all at once can change the experience of reading one invidually. I read Marguerite (I think?) all at once, and while her stories are different plot-wise, they were very thematically similar, so it was very easy to get sick of them after awhile.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I think that's why I try to mix it up and pace myself. I'd like to have a well fleshed-out recs list if I can, and I don't want to miss out on anything.

There's little more frustrating to me than lost fic! I just! Ugh.

I KNOW. And lost!fic by Penumbra? I need to go cry in the corner now.

I think a lot of the angst fic in this fandom, however well written, gets tired pretty fast because it's so easy to work with that. Don't get me wrong though, some of my favorite favorites are built around the angst of everything, it's just... nice to find something that can make you smile without making you gag.

Exactly. That said, I think that's also why I try and pace myself. That way, I can have plenty of great angsty fic, without it being overkill, you know?

I'd like to have a well fleshed-out recs list if I can, and I don't want to miss out on anything.
It's the missing out on things that worries me, I guess? I tend to use rec lists as a jumping point, and after I've fallen in love with whichever stories have been recc'd I tend to go back and try and read everything by that particular author. Which usually works out, it just occasionally gets tired.

This pacing yourself thing suddenly sounds so logical, though. I don't know why I didn't think of it before!

I KNOW. And lost!fic by Penumbra? I need to go cry in the corner now.
I keep meaning to go on a full on hunt for it. Futile but somehow satisfying?

It's the missing out on things that worries me, I guess? I tend to use rec lists as a jumping point, and after I've fallen in love with whichever stories have been recc'd I tend to go back and try and read everything by that particular author. Which usually works out, it just occasionally gets tired.

Oh, I definitely understand that. I think I may just pace myself naturally, thanks to all the other stuff I have to distract me, I can never read fic for very long. The downside to this is that I haven't really had a chance to read much novel-length fic; I never have time!

I keep meaning to go on a full on hunt for it. Futile but somehow satisfying?

I really hope so! Someone MUST track it down sometime.

I don't know, my very favorite stories are never really novel-length. Novel-length stories are good, sometimes, but oftentimes you're reading them for plot and suspense reasons more than purely excellent writing. There are exceptions, though of course!

This (http://www.b2g2.com/boards/board.cgi?action=read&id=1188976616&user=anwylyd) implies to me that Upsidaisium was never, in fact, even written.

I don't know, my very favorite stories are never really novel-length. Novel-length stories are good, sometimes, but oftentimes you're reading them for plot and suspense reasons more than purely excellent writing. There are exceptions, though of course!

Oh, totally agreed. I think that's why I rarely read them -- I don't have the patience for them, because good plot isn't everything. Sure, it's a lot, but it can't carry a whole story, at least not for me.

This implies to me that Upsidaisium was never, in fact, even written.

*resumes weeping in the corner*

I'm having a hard time deciding which is worse: lost fic or nonexistant (but teased at!) fic.

pleaseeeee somebody distract me from this black hole of a book i'm reading.

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