sports night & the west wing

sports night

choice by 57 channels, pg. vignette. casey's confused, dan is angsty and angry.

never been to spain by 57 channels, pg, a sequel to sabine's "euskadi six hour." and a very nice one, too, though the mood is lighter.

reward for great deeds by 57 channels, nc-17, is one of those stories about people who have sex, yet are afraid to break the spell by talking about it. it's a nice story, and dan as the pov character is appropriately cute and pitiful. it's romantic, as these tend to be, and kind of desperate. however, the resolution's kind of rushed and facile.

amirin's cleveland series:  cleveland, treasure, creaming, things, consideration, elevated, frustration,  non-problems, plans, buzzing, sleep,  talking, interruptus, necessities.  g through nc-17.  mostly reads like a couple of episodes, but is also pretty much entirely dialogue without tags, which can make it hard to follow.  however, cute and at times incredibly funny.  a few slower skim-worthy bits, though.

two words for the same thing, by bastet, r. mostly dialogue, which makes it hard to follow, but funny and all around great. post-series.

naissance, by bj, nc-17. an odd introspective semi-unhappy heartwarming christmas story. sort of artsy and mysterious feeling. not a sign of light, straightforward comedy.

the lost boys, by bone. angst-smutty first-time, nc-17, right after dan's breakup with rebecca.

two-player game by bone. nc-17. sports night, casey/dan and dan/f and casey/f. a threesome and really hot porn.

djibouti by caroline baker and fox. sports night, casey/dan. dan turns thirty at last. pornorific and sweet. good, but heavy on the telling and light on the showing; some awkwardness.

not kinky, per se, by caroline baker, pg, dan/casey. a hilarious and kind of cute story about, in part, dan's interest in women's shoes. i mean, really hilarious. fabulous.

fair trade by charlemagne. sports night, d/c, nc-17. slash references are a little tired, but they occur early on and the story has plenty of witty dialogue and sweet, melty romance and sex later to make up for it.

gynecology by charlemagne. d/c, nc-17. the men aren't allowed in the kitchen, except for dan, who learns therein that he has a crush on casey.

party of two by charlemagne. d/c, g. very sweet. they fall asleep on the couch at a party.

repercussions by charlemagne. d/c, r. very hot porn. it has a plot too. sort of hotly romantic also.

rest assured by charlemagne. d/c, r. very good, well-characterized and a little solemn, with dan sort of depressed over a couple of things, and casey freaking him out repeatedly.

right here, by charlemagne.  dan/casey, rated g.  dan gets drunk and sad.

screw by charlemagne, pg, d/c. confusing and dark. overwhelming and melty and painful.

visual aid by charlemagne. nc-17. includes some parts that don't entirely belong to the story. but it's uncommonly cute, and has a unique premise.

fifth wheel by em brunson, d/c, pg, is classic instant-awakening fic, dan pov. dramatic and full of nothing but emotion, it pulls all the strings. characterization is internally consistent but questionable.

call of the wild, by helen. r. first-time. funny, with a lot of dialogue and some meandering. and once again, casey as the previously gay one.

flora and fauna and bob, by julian lee. pg. d/c. good characterization, plot possibly a bit wobbly.

where we have been by kest is pg. claims to be pre-slash but isn't. one of those just-sex-or-is-it stories, casey pov around the last episode. very nice look at dan.

effort, by kristophine, casey/dan, pg. sweet, overstylized but pretty. romantic. short.

painting shadows, catching light, by kristophine, d/c, pg, features centers on a gay dan. if one accepts this premise and doesn't mind a bit of sentimentality, well... "Three cheers for chemistry, everybody."

slut by kristophine; d/c, pg. funny and sweet, not ooc. "He was hiding under a desk at the time, which could explain why Kim and the new intern failed to notice his presence."

two am, by kristophine, pg, dan pov. a short, funny, somewhat fluffy story. with banter! and totally believable.

location, location, location, by lanning cook. nc-17, rather pwpish and quite romantic. amazingly, despite that and established relationship and being maybe a little overly sweet, it doesn't seem to put a foot wrong.

untitled, by littera abactor, g.  dan's absent for most of the day and dana wants to kill him.  everything is the fault of the girl casey's been seeing.  natalie blames casey for everything. spot on, and absolutely hysterical.

synergy, by merry lynne. pg. d/c. the medium-longish story of one day when natalie doesn't show up for work. a hint of drama with a lot of excellent banter and some romantic bits. overall, a nice and satisfying read.

resolved, by mona r. pg. d/c. features a new year's resolution to be more honest. casey is the gay one, and dan is scathingly hungover.

strike three and double fault by mona ramsey, pg. established. but nonetheless, really funny.

hankering by nestra, pg. this is just a cute, fluffy little first time with banter.

Last Minute Trade by Nestra and Shrift nc-17. nice first time porn.

fanmail from a flounder, by punk. pg. a perfect, episode-like story that was absolutely hilarious.

junk novel, by punk and sabine. pg. a lot of dialogue centering partially on a novel with the cover ripped off. excellently entertaining and rather cute.

unbreakable players, by punk. pg. a bad month turns around. mostly amusing but also sweet. like all good stories in this fandom, it is equipped with fun dialogue.

weekend, by raietta. g except for curse words. when casey's not speaking to dan, charlie shows up to spend the weekend with him. not just a well-executed unique idea, but good and all there underneath too, as a story. unfolds beautifully. not entirely happy, but it's heart-warming with the poignancy.

euskadi six hour by sabine. nc-17. some early history for dan and casey. also very nice porn, some sharply sweet bits. not entirely happy.

where have you gone, tom glavine? by sabine. pg, novel-length, post-show. a very well done illustration of romantic pain. extremely angsty. good in a self-flagellating mood.

gossip, by sarah. nc-17. a good idea with a lot of excellent episode-like dialogue, but a bit of clumsiness in the execution.

diversionary tactics, by shrift, pg. dan makes a trip to LA and calls casey six times. outstanding and cute, if a little under-developed.

flirtational theory, by shrift. pg. light and fun. good supply of banter. pleasing plot. immediately post-series.

for we are manly men in ties, by shrift, pg. short and silly and involving kim, casey and a bet.

things to get arrested for in singapore, by shrift, pg. again, very funny and adorable and episode-like, sweet and shortish. light.

the first move, by sinead. nc-17. mid-length, satisfying, not radical story. nice. "Going someplace?" Casey finally asked, congratulating himself on striking exactly the right note of abstraction. Such as would be felt by a sports anchor who was actually writing his script.

in which dan has a bad day, by sinead. nc-17. dan's grumpy, not-too-serious angst is perfect. the piece is funny and it still has some serious good bits.

the memory of hurts, by sinead. nc-17. high on the emotions, rather angsty and intense-- 'one desperate night of sex'-type story, but a very good one.

every great success story, by sn kastle. r. engrossing and involving, sometimes sweet. maybe... moody, kinda hopeful and kinda lost. good, but not light or reassuring. not heavy on the witty banter, either.

repair work, by sparcck. nc-17. somewhat emotional porn set post-fight, but not really very angsty. there seem to be a number of accomplished writers of sex in this fandom.

the fog's lifting by violet. pg. d/c. a rather indecisive story, morose and a little angsty but thoughful. all dan, and an interesting character study.

the west wing

american girl, by s.n. kastle. donna/other. pg. femme. donna isn't in love with josh.

a dressing down, by suki. cj/ainsley. r. femme. ainsley doesn't need anyone to take care of her.

bills, postcards, marriage, this thing, forever, and seven years,by teanna. cj/toby, toby/t's exwife, cj/male. r? on the inside of a marriage looking out. on the inside of a relationship looking out. trapped in a promise, looking... you get the idea. heh. and not to sound petulant, but who the fuck is rachel?

spring break, by anne higgins. josh/sam. old, old history. unfailingly cute and funny, and then there are those bits that would make you say "awwww" except your throat is closed.

an innocent kiss, by jo march. josh/donna (not slash). mistletoe is supposed to be put in public places, so that you can have a perfectly innocent kiss... . donna's voice to a t. hysterically funny and utterly charming.

you and me in a rowboat to rio, by punk and sabine. josh/sam. cute, funny, but with some lump-in-the-throat emotional moments, too. ...just like the show.

the thinner the skin, by a different jane. josh/sam. short, and taken immediately and skilfully to the point.

hurricane, by lynna bright. josh/sam. pg. short, a little lyrical, and very very sweet. well-written, flawlessly-characterized without tackling any of the really tough issues, but she gets away with it.

virginia avenue, by abigale. josh/sam. pre-ww and pre-slash. pg. a really funny little frolic, not too long, all warm and fuzzy like a snowy winter story should be. again, no tough issues... who needs tough issues?

greener on the other side, by kel. josh/sam. pg. set during, ref.s to a lot of episodes including some spoilers for the ms stuff, well-written and kind of angsty and gritty and sad. but beautiful.

the stars gleam..., by sarah c. josh/sam. pg. some spoilers (18th and potomac) and some fictional flashbacks. very surreal, dazed and lyrical. pretty. sweet. well-written, and well-worth reading, especially at this length.

three times, by august. josh/sam. r. bittersweet and poignant and painfully convincing. read, yes, read. it's a brilliant story, with all the tied up little ends and symmetry that make "brilliant" out of "good."

trust in the difficult, by calligrafiti. josh/sam. nc-17. a fun and adorable little roller-coaster ride with great characterization. it fits very well with the mood of the show, too, imo. well, depending on episodes--this is a bit lighter than some--but yeah, you should read it.

waiting for the big boom by sabine. josh/sam. pg. pre-ww, pre-law school. "'don't even try and pull that bullshit on me, i know you walk around thinking you're smarter than 95% of the population and wishing they'd just shut the hell up.' 'takes one to know one,' sam said."

best served cold, by pixelvixen. donna/m, pre-josh/donna. pg. cute, fun, and very josh/donna.

burning bridges, burning buildings, by cazq. josh/donna. pg. a sweet and eminently believable little j/d in a nutshell sort of piece, although perhaps a bit short on the humor for that. at any rate, it's quite good.

balancing act, by the stylus. cj/toby. pg. dialogue, post-ep for man i with some spoilers. innuendo only, pretty much.

you and me of 10.000 wars, by violet and ellen milholland. josh/sam; also josh/amy, sam/ainsley. pgish. long and beautifully done, all sam pov. it's a particularly angsty sam, which is quite likeable and easy to buy into as you go, but perhaps on reflection slightly ooc. it's witty and often hilarious, engaging, and at times very subtle.

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