Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)

Characters: Kara & various (Dee, Helo et al.)

Length: one-shot

Author on LJ: frolicndetour

Author's Website: n/a

Why this must be read:

For such a compelling and widely popular character as Kara Thrace, there are surprisingly few gen fics featuring Starbuck. However, this vignette certainly does its bit to make up for this sad lack. Starting with an explanation for the street-urchin pixie-cut hair-do Katee Sackhoff was sporting in the mini-series, the story takes a fun prompt and turns it into a poignant contrast between the hopeful, forward-looking crew of Galactica at the very beginning of the show and the hunted remnants of humanity for whom the ship is both a refuge and a prison. And yet, the bonds of friendship are hinted at in every situation -- not only in Helo's well-established easy-going BFF relationship with Kara, but also in the glimpse of relaxed cameraderie between Kara and Dee, two women which were mostly shown as romantic rivals in canon. Lovely in every way!

No Regrets

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (new)
Pairing: Kara Thrace / Lee Adama
Length: 2500+ words
Author on LJ: rayruz
Author Website: tulipfic

Why this must be read:

Since I have just recced a veritable angst-fest for this particular fandom & pairing, there's nothing like some good ol' PWP to add a bit of much needed cheer. (And kink. Heh.) This light-hearted story captures the more playful relationship of Lee and Kara in season 1 (even though it shows them as an established couple early in canon), and in the great tradition of old-school pilot fic, there's post-The Hand of God sex with allusions to flying. Oh, yeah, and some very hot pegging. Starbuck should definitely beg her boyfriend to bend over more often. :)

He could feel the heat rising in his face, sweat beading on his brow. Kara bent her head forward, running her tongue along his jaw, and nipping at his ear lobe. “Come on, Apollo,” she whispered. “Take it like a man.”


Fancy Maneuvers

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (new)
Pairing: Kara Thrace / Lee Adama
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: misscam
Author Website: Miss Sandman's World of Dreams

Why this must be read:

Okay, okay, I might be just a tad biased since this was my commission for the help_haiti auction, but I think that this story really deserves a larger audience. It's a very honest (sometimes, brutally honest), but also a very touching tribute to Kara and Lee's relationship as it unfolds in canon.

The author doesn't sugarcoat it by shying away from the messy, less-than-perfect, totally frakked-up aspects of those two crazy kids: their betrayal of Zak; their shared grief; their mutual misunderstandings and ongoing arguments; their cheating on their spouses; and that weird "can't live with/can't live without" thing they've got going on.

However, the sparse and beautiful writing style also lets their tenuous connection and their moments of tenderness shine through. BYOT (bring your own tissue) and enjoy!

The second time he dreams of her, she's been dead so many days he has stopped counting and started grieving. In his dream, she's on Kobol, smiling at him through the rain. He wants to lick the drops of water from her lips, kiss her until the sun comes back and there is nothing left for the sky to cry over.

Five Times Kara and Lee Kissed (But Didn't Make Up)

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (new)
Characters: Kara Thrace & ensemble (with various background pairings)
Length: 4400 + words
Author on LJ: ariastar
Author Website: Ariafic @ Dreamwidth

Why this must be read:

A BSG reincarnation college AU might seem like hilarious crack at first glance, but this fic manages to be both a light-hearted coming-of-age story about a girl going off to college and something slightly more serious: the next cycle of fate where all the characters miraculously get it right and don't quite repeat the mistakes of a past they only vaguely remember. It's the perfect happy ending for Kara because, this time, she gathers a more functional family around her, and it's beautiful.

Over dinner Kara learned that Dee wanted to be a communications major, that Zack's dorm was not as nice as hers and the bunk beds didn't work too well, and most importantly that Karl was trying out for the track team. "Basketball team for me," Kara said happily, and then it was basketball talk all the way to fortune cookies.

"Plan for many pleasures ahead," Karl read. "Oh God, that one's too easy."

"Wait, wait, mine," Kara said, cracking her cookie open. "Trust your intuition. The universe is guiding your life. Huh."

This Is Not Our Fate

'Cause it's crossover day at crack_van today!

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)/ STAR TREK (AOS)
Pairing: Jim Kirk / Kara Thrace
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: whatimages
Author Website: LJ Fic Tag

Why this must be read: If you ever were interested in seeing these eerily similar characters with their shared propensity for adrenaline, insubordination, barfights, and casual sex collide in a one-night stand, you should really give this short fic a try. The result is spot on in its character voice, and far more bittersweet in its naked honesty and sense of longing than one might expect.

Jim notices her because while she doesn't quite look out of place, he sure as hell hasn't seen her around before. He would have remembered: she has an electricity to her presence; she sparks over there in that dark corner.

Also, her tits are fantastic.

Looking for the Dreamers

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (new)
Pairing: Kara Thrace / Lee Adama
Length: 2000+ words
Author on LJ: lyssie
Author Website: Lyss' Insanity Lair

Why this must be read: After the finale, there were quite a few stories ruminating on or trying to "fix" some aspects of Daybreak. This one, however, really convinced me that the events unfolding in the last episodes could be considered a happy ending and that all those beloved characters did indeed get their bright shiny future.

lyssie paints a realistic picture of the more primitive and harder life that might await the colonists and their children on Earth while still preserving the optimism of this end-turned-beginning. And she also presents Lee and the rest of his life in a way that feels more in-character than the prospect of solitary mountain-climbing forever and ever, as someone who lives for a new family and a new community. Despite the generally optimistic tone, this is a very bittersweet story, though, even as it grants Lee and Kara some closure in the end: Tissue warning ahoy. :)

Water Under Bridge

Hi, I'm munditia, and I will be delivering the recs for new BSG this month. I have got a soft spot for Kara/Lee as a pairing, and I'm also very fond of gen fic highlighting the many awesome female characters on the show, so my recommendations will probably reflect these preferences. Anyway, we start off with a terrific portrait of everyone's favourite space dictator president, Laura Roslin.

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Characters: Roslin
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: aloysiavirgata
Author Website: Under the Rug
Why this must be read:

In the form of the popular "five things" format (in this case, "five times Laura Roslin said no when she really meant yes"), the author provides us with an all-encompassing, unflinching, and compassionate window into Laura's mind and soul. Roslin's grief, resiliency, weakness, pragmatism, manipulativeness and, above all, courage really shine in this poetic, poignant and haunting insight into a complex and magnificent character.

The scene shifts, and Laura's in dark water with her sisters. They're only girls, white and innocent as a trio of nymphs as they splash and giggle. She remembers this night, sneaking out to the lake behind the summer house to go skinny-dipping, having hinted to the Murphy boys down the road that they might be doing so. Elizabeth's got hips now - and the beginning of breasts - but Caroline is still flat-chested and skinny. The moon beams down at them with a friendly face, and Laura laughs and ducks under the surface.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Kara/Lee, minor Kara/Sam
Length: 49,249
Author on LJ: mintenergy 
Author Website: fanfiction tag
Why this must be read: Signal Fire begins just after the series finale, but all is not as it appears. When Kara vanishes in the field, she awakens in her Viper, on the verge of flying into the storm in Maelstrom. Thus begins a truly epic redemption story.

( Excerpt )

Signal Fire

Vidder: dualbunny
Musical artist: Pink
Pairing: Kara/Lee, Kara/Sam, Kara&Adama
Vidder on LJ: dualbunny 
Vidder's website: here
Why this vid kicks ass: This song may as well have been written for Kara Thrace. Seriously. Is Pink secretly a BSG fan? But anyway, dualbunny's vid is beautiful, exciting, and makes me want to cry every time. What more could you ask for?

I'm Not Dead

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Lee/Kara
Length: ~2500
Author on LJ: fadingphantom 
Author Website: tagged
Why this must be read: This story, written as a series of moments in Lee's life, is a haunting look at how he deals with loss. While Kara is the focus and her death the linchpin, there's a bit of Zak too.  But all in all, this story just makes me ache for Lee (and fadingphantom's astonishing prose).

Excerpt:
She turns, and when she looks at him her eyes are gentle but hold an infinite sadness, as well as a glimpse of something else... something that scares him as her every self-destructive and hurtful tendency had not, because he would almost think it was goodbye, if he didn’t know better.

He frowns slightly, bewildered, because this is Kara and they’ve never said goodbye, not really, because they are both supposed to know deep down that their someday will come. Not today, but one day, when they are finally strong enough to trust each other with their hearts, as they do now with their lives.

All I need is the air that I breathe (and to love you)

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Characters/Pairing: Kara, Caroline; Kara/Zak, Kara/Lee
Length: ~4500
Author on LJ: spamdilemma 
Author Website: bsg fic
Why this must be read: On pre-apocalyptic Caprica, Caroline Adama meets Kara Thrace. Zak is there too, and even Lee, but this story focuses on the relationship between these two women; they're not exactly friends, and not exactly mother/daughter, but maybe somewhere in between. It's a lovely portrait of both characters, and Caroline (the pre-Day in the Life Caroline) is drawn with an exquisite hand.

Excerpt:
"Caroline," Kara says, testing the word out. She bites her lip. "About the other day, I just wanted you to know - I didn't want you to think that I'm like that normally. Well, maybe I am, but the thing is, what I feel for Zak is, um..."

"You don't have to explain," Caroline says gently. "I can tell you love each other."

"You can?" Kara asks, hesitant, unsure, and Caroline can't help herself. She takes Kara's hands in hers over the table between them.

"I can," she says.

Thy Delicious Notes

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Kara (gen), mentions of Kara/Lee and Kara/Sam
Word Count: 1710
Author on LJ: frolicndetour 
Author Website: here
Why this must be read: As a Kara fan, I was, well, disappointed in the resolution (or lack thereof) of the "special destiny" arc.   Just Another Word does not deviate from canon, merely fleshes it out and gives certain events a far more satisfying weight.  Perhaps most importantly, it gives Kara a choice.

Excerpt:
Nothing beat the rush of flying, or the sense of rightness. Like everything she loved, it frightened her a little.

Sometimes, she told Sam, on a night when they couldn't see the stars, she thought she left a piece of herself up there one time, and had to keep going back to find it again.

"Just don't leave too much," he told her enigmatically, arm wrapped around as if to hold her steady on the earth. And he did, for a little while.

Just Another Word

Title: Scars That Words Have Carved by rayruz
Pairing: Kara/Lee, Kara/Faith, Faith/Kat
Author on LJ: rayruz 
Author Website: tulipfic 
Why this must be read: Faith "Slayer" Lehane is a pilot from the Pegasus, not serving aboard the Galactica.  I'm not Faith's biggest fan, but she is integrated so seamlessly into the world of the Galactica and its pilots that I start to forget she wasn't always there.  This story is smart, sexy, funny, and other adjectives that add up to "excellent."

Excerpt:
Lee felt like he on the verge of being ready to just throw up his hands and be done with the whole thing. Instead, his voice adopted a teasing tone. “What’d she do exactly to get your briefs in a bunch?”

“She’s a booze thief, for one.” Kara said, her eyes narrowing as Lee raised an eyebrow. “She has no respect, at all. Professional or personal; it’s like she just does whatever the frak she wants to do; how the hell she even got into the fleet is beyond me.”

“I don’t know,” he said. A hint of a smile starting to appear on his lips. “She kind of sounds like someone else I know.”

Scars That Words Have Carved

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Karl/Sharon, Hera, Kara, Tyrol
Length: 2900
Author on LJ: rose_griffes 
Author Website: fic index
Why this must be read: This is another not-so-happily-ever-after take on Earth. Helo is raising Hera by himself (Sharon has died) while taking English classes and job training. The whole thing is so painfully real. It also has a companion piece about Kara and Leoben called Prophecy, which I also love. But the stark realism of Helo’s world is what always gets me.

Excerpt:
The good days: When he comes home to the small apartment the government is helping him rent he smiles at the beautiful mess. Hera's dirty socks always clutter the floor and her drawings are taped haphazardly to the formerly blank walls. Schoolbooks litter the kitchen table; they have to shove them aside to eat breakfast and dinner. He thinks about all that Sharon has missed--Hera talking in complete sentences, finding Earth, looking for clean socks for Hera to wear to school and all the everyday stuff that now fills his life. He misses her.

Second Winter (on Earth)

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Kara/Lee
Length: two stand-alone fics. The first is about 6000
Author on LJ: helen_c 
Author Website: Fanfic Archive
Why this must be read: “One Coin, Two Sides” features two different stories about the Fleet finding Earth. I’m going to focus on the first part. In this version of events, they have found our 21st century Earth and are trying to figure out what comes next. It is a sad yet funny look at the ridiculously bureaucratic machinations of this planet as Lee and Kara try to learn the ropes. Except for the second—and independent—part, which is just sad and not really funny at all.

Excerpt:
The Etat Civil office was actually second door to the left and third door to the right, and it took an embarrassingly long time for them to find it.

"We once traveled in deep space," Lee said through his teeth. "We found Kobol. We found Earth, for frak's sake."

One Coin, Two Sides

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Kara/Lee, Kara/Zak
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: munditia /having_written 
Author Website: having_written 
Why this must be read: This gen fic highlights ten moments in the life of Kara Thrace from childhood to just before the miniseries. And it is beautiful. But don’t take my word for it.

The numbers of push-ups she can do on her fingertips, of sit-ups at 5:00 in the morning, of laps in the pool are supposed to make up for her traitorous weakness. ‘Shit happens,’ the doctor said when she injured her knee in her first term, brushing her off with a joke. She hasn’t found anything yet to replace pyramid, to fill her with this stark simplicity that almost resembles peace of mind.

Thea Soteira, Thea Apollousa

Hello, my name is shah_of_blah  and I’ll be your driver for Battlestar Galactica (new) this month. Kara Thrace is my favorite character, so I’m going to tell you up front that she’ll be heavily represented in these selections.  I’m also fond of Kara/Lee, but will try to provide some variation. Gen fic and the like.  But we're going to start off with some old school pilots.

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Kara/Lee
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: daphnaea
Author Website: the journal
Why this must be read:

Daphnaea is a master of the written word, and of Kara Thrace. The premise of this story is fairly simple: Lee finds out about Kara’s little slip of the tongue in KLG1, and daphnaea takes them through the entire Caprica/Kobol arc. But it’s daphnaea’s prose that makes this story shine; I love the way she writes Kara here. I think it’s one of the strongest portrayals of her in this fandom.  Plus, every time I read this story I look up "parapraxis" and then "dividends," so it's educational.

( Excerpt )

The Strange Dividends of Parapraxis

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Cally (Boomer, Chief, Starbuck)
Length: ~1550 words
Author on LJ: vegetariansushi
Author Website: fic listed here
Why this must be read:

The best word I can use to describe this is intense. It's a story about Cally right after Boomer's shooting, trying to come to grips with what she's done and how the world around her has changed. While in the brig, she has a series of visitors, some real and some not.

"You shouldn't be here, you know. The Chief will have to cover for you."

Cally doesn't know what to say, because no, she shouldn't be here, and it's not like she'd never covered for Chief, and Valerii was a Cylon -- a dead Cylon -- and why is she in the cell with Cally anyhow?

"Why are you here?" Cally asks, and she doesn't think that it's what she was trying to say.

Boomer looks at her oddly, "Is it better when I'm not?"

Better With You Here

Vidder: krickets
Musical artist: 50 Cent
Pairing: I think any and every canon pairing makes it in here, as well as some fanon ones
Vidder on LJ: krickets
Vidder's website: Her vid tag
Why this vid kicks ass: I agonized about which vid to choose out of all the excellent ones I've seen this year, but ultimately I think this one probably has most universal appeal. It's a shot of pure, concentrated awesome - a celebration of nearly every character on the show, and a reminder that when they're not angsting their little hearts out or crying in paint, the Battlestar crew are certified BAMFs. Excellent recruitment vid. :D

Battlestar Inferno

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Kara&Dee
Length: 1271 words
Author on LJ: rose_griffes
Author Website: listed here
Why this must be read:

This is one of my favorite stories, both for its sympathetic and spot-on portrayal of Dee (and Kara), but also for the lovely and unexpected connection between the two. It was written prior to the start of season four, so much of its optimism for both characters is sadly AU, but a pleasure to read nonetheless. Kara is recently back from the dead, and the Admiral orders Dee to help her draw a map back to Earth. Dee, pragmatic and loyal as always, reluctantly complies.

Dee wished that better end for Kara, even if she wouldn't believe it from her. The moment Kara had returned with her dramatic statement about taking them to Earth Dee had known. Kara was touched by the sun. It explained so much: how no one could see anything or anyone beyond her, how she spiraled into her own destructive patterns. Kara's return was when Dee finally gave up being jealous of what Kara had, what Dee had wanted... because life had taught her that those who were touched by the sun so often burned away.

Touched by the Sun

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Seelix, Barolay, Anders, Gaeta, Racetrack, a very insensitive Six.
Length: 3023 words
Author on LJ: nicole_anell
Author Website: archived here
Why this must be read:

I love stories that delve into the perspectives of underused characters, especially those who've been cast in the role of antagonists. Seelix had been part of the ensemble since early Season Two, and while it was easy enough to imagine her reasons for mutiny, the show never had time to really explore them. This fic is structured as a series of scenes set just after the Demetrius mission, the destruction of the Hub, and just before the mutiny. It's a reminder of how much characters like Seelix lived through and how much they lost; to them, peace seems like just one more defeat.

After Demetrius, she went to the head and sat down on the floor of her shower stall and let the water run over her forever. They end up in a box, she kept thinking. That's where we used to end up. There's no ground to put the dead in anymore. They had to adjust their religions, tell themselves it was just as well to send them out into space in sheets. That the gods could still find them there, and find their fathers and nieces and college roommates incinerated in some trash heap back home. Find Jean on the baseship, whatever they did with her.

It was bullshit, though. She'd known this since Kobol, standing over Socinus while his lungs collapsed. He came up with her and Cally in basic, and his mother was a housecleaner, and he did an amazing impression of the XO. Chief put a needle in his arm, and then everyone stood around looking useless and limp. Seelix smudged the tears and dirt deeper into her face. She was thinking about his soul. She said, "We have to bury him."

All the Poise of a Cannonball

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Kara/Sam
Length: About 1500 words
Author on LJ: leiascully
Author Website: Archived here
Why this must be read:


I'm not sure whether this is best described as smut or poetry. *g* Either way, it's a spare but gorgeous look at Kara and Sam in one of their all-too-rare moments of peace. I especially adore the lovely characterization of Sam and of Kara through his eyes.

She smelled like beer and sunshine and sweat and river water and he loved her, every beat-up inch of her. He touched the scar she had from the Cylons, when they'd taken her on Caprica. He made the outline of the fresh ink on her arm; when the tattoos healed, when he held her, they'd fly together.

In the Sight of the Gods

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Felix Gaeta, Tom Zarek
Length: About 3500 words
Author on LJ: lls_mutant
Author Website: archived here
Why this must be read:

This is a story about ideas, and it's as smart and complicated as the characters it's about. The action takes place as series of conversations between Gaeta and Tom Zarek that give us insight into who they are and are becoming. Zarek is a character who was never given a lot of depth in canon, but here he's portrayed as a "rascal" who still never lost his spark of idealism. Gaeta, of course, is the tragic fallen idealist of the series, and this story gives an added understanding and sympathy to some of the more misguided decisions he made, from lying on the stand to the mutiny. Mournful and thought-provoking.

"I look at you, and I see myself."

Gaeta shakes his head. "I don't."

The Rascal King

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)/STAR TREK (REBOOT)
Pairing: Kara/Kirk, Kara/McCoy
Length: Multi-Chapter, 20-30K? (wild guess)
Author on LJ: ninety6tears
Author Website: her fic tag
Why this must be read:

After Kara disappears in Maelstrom, she finds herself aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, some time after the events of the movie. This is a fabulously entertaining crossover, with great (and believable) relationships between Kara, McCoy, Kirk and Spock. I also enjoyed the way it dealt with the starkly different world-views of the Galactia and Star Trek universes. Fans of McCoy in particular will probably enjoy this.

"What do you think, Mr. Spock? Can we keep her?”

Rising Sign

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Sharon/Helo, Gaeta
Length: ~3000 words
Author on LJ: trovia
Author Website: archived here
Why this must be read:

Sharon Agathon probably went through more in the Missing Year than any other character, and yet we got few hints as to what changed her from a bitter, despairing woman who didn't think the human race deserved to survive, to perhaps Adama's most loyal soldier. I love this fic because it centers around Sharon during that pivotal time, dealing with her anger over Hera's supposed death, but also her massive identity crises as one who assumed the fake identity of someone else's fake identity. It also features a pre-embittered Feelix Gaeta at his most poignant best.

( Excerpt under the cut )

Fade Away

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Kara/Sam
Length: ~64K
Author on LJ: merrykk
Author Website: archived here
Why this must be read:

"Babyfic" doesn't always have the best reputation, but every rule has exceptions and this is one of them. The same reasons that Kara Thrace isn't the easiest character to imagine in a maternal role - her career, her confrontational personality, and especially her own dysfunctional past - can make it a fascinating conflict to explore with her. What I like about this fic is that it doesn't gloss over any of these issues in the service of a too-quick happy ending, nor does it force Kara to stop being Starbuck because she's a mother. It goes AU at the end of Exodus II, when Julia Prynne isn't there to claim her daughter. Kara is left believing that Kacey is her half-cylon child, whose identity she must hide from the fleet.

( Excerpt under the cut )

Meet Your Storm

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Gen, mentions of Kara/Lee and Kara/Sam
Length: About 1500 words
Author on LJ: taragel
Author Website: Her fic tag
Why this must be read:

A beautiful and almost painfully evocative look at Kara as her destiny catches up with her in Maelstrom; her fear and determination, and the faith that sustains her through it all. It's a hard look at a character who's had almost everything stripped away from her, but there's also a strong sense of hope, as befits her indomitable spirit.

You’re in your bird and you’re flying again. The sky is clean and white. You start to believe once more. Maybe your luck will hold out. You’re not quite comfortable, but you’re…copacetic.

And then it appears, ducking and weaving, flying circles around you.

Unable to do anything else, you give chase. Apollo calls for Starbuck on the radio, over and over, but it’s easy to ignore. Starbuck is not in this cockpit. Her wings were clipped. All you have are hands with tender skin.

Faith Like Wings

Hi, I'm frolicndetour and I'll be your BSG driver for January.

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Pairing: Gen/Ensemble
Length: 3833 words
Author on LJ: amathela
Author Website: Her BSG fic tag
Why this must be read:

This story is pure fun, and while the summary, "there's a dragon aboard Galactia," certainly puts the "crack" in crack-van, it's remarkably in-character and as plausible as it can possibly be. But that's not really the point; the point is Baltar, Gaeta, and head!Six playing D&D, Kara and Lee taking on a dragon with explosives, Billy taking on a dragon with a rock, Saul and Ellen being Saul and Ellen. Nearly all the season one characters make an appearance, and are depicted with great humor and affection. Plus, there's a dragon. Aboard Galactica.

( Extract under the cut )

Dragon Wars: D-War

Fandom BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Past Gaeta/Hoshi and Gaeta/Baltar
Length: 8000-10000 words?
Author on LJ: millarific
Author Website: right here
Why this must be read: Good Hoshi fic is hard to find, and for good reason. Let's face it- as much as I love the man, he's more of a function than a character, and he really only got any personality in the webisodes, and even then not much. Of course, such a blank slate makes great ficcing material, if you like to develop your own characters, and millari obviously has a lot of fun doing just that with Hoshi.

The Gaeta/Hoshi relationship was definitely tacked on, and with some of the other scenes, I sometimes wonder how much the writers thought about the implications. But millari really fleshes those implications out in this fic about Louis coping with the mutiny and losing Felix, and one possible interpretation of what their relationship prior might have been like. Because really, how Louis Hoshi must have felt and coped after the mutiny is worthy of its own story, and it's a shame the show never gave it to us.

In a way, it's funny that I'm reccing this. I'm a total Gaeta/Hoshi shipper, not because I think they belong together (see earlier note about Hoshi being a function more than a character), but because I really, really like the idea that Gaeta had some happiness sometime after New Caprica. And this fic is not happy. It's messy and sad and bleak, although there is definitely a light of hope at the end. This one wrings the heart dry, and I think it's probably millarific's best fic that she's written.

Aftermath

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (new)
Pairing: Gaeta/HotDog
Length: ~13,000 words
Author on LJ: trovia
Author Website: her fic website
Why this fic must be read: Gaeta/HotDog doesn't really seem like a pairing with any basis in the show, and it's probably not, although there's no reason not to make it work, either. However, it definitely works here in trovia's story. Starting right after the Demetrius mission, the story (written pre-4.5) goes AU and explores the slowly developing relationship between Brendan and Felix. And it does it right, as the two men first form a friendship and Felix very slowly lets Brendan into his little isolated world.

Technically, I suppose this is a Gaeta fic. It's all his point of view and it focuses very much on his physical and mental and emotional recovery from the amputation. And trovia's characterization of Gaeta is right on. But what makes me completely, utterly, and totally adore this fic is HotDog. I don't think it's possible not to love this Brendan. He's very in character- you never know quite what's going to come out of his mouth, and he's extremely human and good-hearted. But at the same time, HotDog can often become a one-note character in fics, and here those two sides of him- the dork and the more serious, loving friend- are beautifully integrated.

If you aren't normally a slash reader, this is a great one to start with. The story is as much about Gaeta's recovery as it is the friendship, and the romantic relationship develops so well that the actual ending feels inevitable. It's a really beautiful story, not overly sentimental and very plotty. Check it out :)

How to Live and Love as an Amputee, by Brendan Costanza