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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Jessica Day/Nick Miller Length: ~4k Author on LJ: allthingsholyAuthor Website: AO3, LJWhy this must be read:For my last rec of the month, this is a gorgeous, sad, and beautifully lyrical story about Nick in the days after his dad dies, when everybody flies to Chicago for the funeral. The voice for Nick is understated and just the right amount of unhinged funny, with a fuzzy overlay of real, so-big-you-can't-even-wrap-your-head-around-it grief. been too lonely too long ( AO3) Nick’s sitting next to Jess, who keeps not looking over at him really conspicuously, in that way that lets him know that she’s worried about him. (Her eyes take up 3/4ths of her face, he can’t help but notice when she keeps darting them real quick in his direction.) He wishes she’d stop looking at him even while he’s grateful to have her there, like he’s indignant that she’s worried but he also kind of wants to hold her hand. It’s confusing. He balls his hands into fists and crosses his arms in front of his chest instead. | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Jessica Day/Nick Miller Length: ~3k Author on LJ: ghostcat3000Author Website: AO3, FF.NetWhy this must be read:Because we obviously need to round out the month with a bit more excellent Nick/Jess smut! This is a perfectly written, lovely bit of sexiness, which is hot and sweet and so very THEM. Sarsaparilla and the Starfish ( AO3, FF.Net) While helping Jess hang botanical prints in her room, Nick finds something from her romantic past. Sexy times ensue. | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Jessica Day/Nick Miller Length: ~34k Author on LJ: kyraficAuthor Website: AO3, FF.NetWhy this must be read:This is a long, crazy good season one AU written for this year's Het Big Bang, where Nick's cancer scare turns out to be a real thing, so he and Jess decide to get married for the insurance. It features everybody's favorite fanfiction tropes (faking a relationship! marriage of convenience! sharing a bed!), crackling sexual tension, and a spectacular voice for the entire show. Heart Like a Socket ( AO3) Nick and Jess get married, get cozy, and get each other. In that order. | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Jessica Day/Nick Miller Length: ~7k Author on LJ: haribooAuthor Website: AO3, LJWhy this must be read:This is another fic that was written very early on in the show's run, giving us a more physical look at an early Nick/Jess relationship. It's smoking hot, and full of these perfect little moments between the two of them. Also: this is first fic I know of where Nick goes down on Jess, which is absolutely a fav fanon happening of mine. let's talk in baseball metaphors (wait, what are they again?) ( AO3, LJ) the evolution of jess and nick's hook ups via alcohol and some soberness, but not enough of the latter. | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Cece Parekh/Schmidt Length: ~1k Author on LJ: dollsomeAuthor Website: AO3, LJWhy this must be read:This is a short, adorable little bit of fluff, where of course Schmidt loves Gilmore Girls and settles in to watch it with Jess and Cece. It's pop culture-y and so much fun. all you have to do is call my name (and I'll be there) ( AO3, LJ) In which Schmidt and Cece bond over Stars Hollow, and the itty bitty kimono strikes back. | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Jessica Day/Nick Miller Length: ~5k Author on LJ: lila82Author Website: FF.Net, LJWhy this must be read:This is a kind, understated look at Nick (post-season one) slowly and carefully starting to get his life together. It's the sort of sweet, lovely world-building that fanfiction can do so well, and makes you feel like the world is a place that's going to be a-okay in the end. Going to California ( FF.Net, LJ) Nick buys a bar, channels Russell, and woos Jess along the way | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Jessica Day/Nick Miller Length: ~10k Author on LJ: care_saysAuthor Website: AO3Why this must be read:Because it's bodyswap porn! And it is hilarious and cracky and very in-character and super hot. Nick trades his shirt for some magic beans, as you might expect a drunk Nick Miller to do, and the Nick/Jess situation devolves (and evolves) from there. Colliding Upwards, Moving Down ( AO3) In retrospect, Nick probably shouldn't have traded his shirt for magic beans. Yes, this is a bodyswap fic. | |
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Title: Pepperwood's a Snappy Dresser by innie Pairing: gen Length: ~1k Author on LJ: innie_darlingAuthor Website: AO3, LJWhy this must be read:This is a short, fun, funny little story, where Emerson Cod meets up with Nick Miller and the two have much more in common than you might think. "Yeah, exactly, but there's a twist." Nick dropped the towel with which he'd been buffing the bar to a higher gloss to spread his hands dramatically. "All of his clients are dead."Pepperwood's a Snappy Dresser ( AO3, LJ) Emerson Cod (of Pushing Daisies) walks into a bar and meets Nick Miller (of New Girl). They have much to discuss.. | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: gen Length: ~6k Author on LJ: touchedglitterAuthor Website: AO3Why this must be read:This is a wonderfully sweet fic, set after Jess gets laid off from her teaching job at the beginning of season two. The entire loft gets into Harry Potter after Jess gets a letter from Hogwarts, and it's chock full of great character voices, fun HP references, and some lovely OT4 moments. Mischief Managed ( AO3) It’s been two weeks since Jess showed up for what she thought was going to be her first day of work for the new school year and instead learned that it was her last day of work, maybe ever. But then she gets a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry... | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Jessica Day/Nick Miller Length: ~5.5k Author on LJ: torigatesAuthor Website: AO3Why this must be read:ROAD TRIP FIC! The summer after the second season finale was primed for tons of excellent Nick/Jess road trip stories, and this is one of my favorites. It's beautiful and lovely and delicate but also realistic about weaving in all the issues and problems that Nick and Jess bring along with them. when you breathe in you’ll lift like a balloon ( AO3) Nick is tired of saying no.
aka the one where Nick and Jess drive and fuck their way across America. | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Jessica Day/Nick Miller Length: ~8k Author on LJ: freneticfloetryAuthor Website: AO3Why this must be read:Because it's a sweet, bromance-y, and very hilarious story about Jess and her three guys. Jess is very early-season-one here - a little wackier than she would eventually tone down to in the actual show - and it serves the comedy well, as this fic pulls off sitcom-esque jokes with a flourish. Big Girl Pants ( AO3) Jess has finally figured out the secret of their shared universe. It's all about the pants. Maybe, just maybe, about one pair in particular. | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Elizabeth/Schmidt, Nick Miller/Schmidt Length: ~2.5k Author on LJ: kyraficAuthor Website: AO3, FF.NetWhy this must be read:This is cracky and utterly delightful Schmidt-wakes-up-with-wings fic, which does that thing that the show itself does so well - balancing out ridiculous humor with these little pockets of emotional depth and odd beauty. And it's Elizabeth and Schmidt (with the lightest touch of Nick/Schmidt in the background)! I love the two of them, and treasure the little fic we do have for them. It's unreal and scary and pretty amazing all at once. He gets so high he can see LA glittering in the distance, all shiny metal and glass, like the unreal place he and Nick always talked about moving to in their dorm room at Syracuse.circling all round the sun ( AO3, FF.Net) The day Schmidt wakes up with wings is a Saturday. | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Jessica Day/Nick Miller Length: ~5k Author Website: AO3Why this must be read:Because this story is sweet and funny and super charming. And because it captures that awkward dance between Nick and Jess that made up much of the second half of season two - that giddy period of time when the two of them were attracted to each other, alternately avoiding that fact and occasionally acting on it (oh man, would they act on it), and trying to figure out what might happen next. Five times Jess tries to seduce Nick (and one time it sort of works) ( AO3) She dances around him (mostly metaphorically, sometimes literally) and neither of them mentions that time when they were definitely about to have sex on the table. | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Jessica Day/Nick Miller, Cece Parekh/Schmidt Length: ~4k Author on LJ: _carly_Author Website: AO3, FF.NetWhy this must be read:This is a fantastically funny, dialog-driven story about the four loft roommates, with just the right amount of canon ships sprinkled on top. Jess asks the guys to help her test some writing prompts for her adult writing class in season two, and all the voices ring clear - Schmidt writes bad erotica, Winston's really into wolves (like, really into wolves, man), and Nick's stories are classic Pepperwood-style Z is For Zombies-esque vignettes. This is one of those stories you can just imagine as an actual episode, and it would be perfect. Truth is Stranger Than Fiction ( AO3, FF.Net) When Jess gets the boys to help her with a creative writing task, fiction suddenly becomes non-fiction. | |
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Fandom: NEW GIRL Pairing: Jessica Day/Nick Miller Length: ~13k Author on LJ: falseeeyelashesAuthor Website: AO3, LJWhy this must be read:This is my first rec of the month because it a) is AMAZING, and b) was written very early in the show's run and takes place after the third episode, which means you can go watch the first three episodes of New Girl (at a little over an hour), finish up with the wedding episode (one of my favorite early-season digs), and then come back here and read this incredible fic. It has a sharply funny and rambling Jess voice, some very hot making out/smut, and pitch-perfect interplay between the guys in the loft, Cece, Jess, and Nick. It's a sexy look at an early (secret! friends with benefits!) Nick/Jess relationship, and a classic in the fandom for a reason. lay my head on the hood of your car ( AO3, LJ) Jess moves on. And gets it on with her roommate. Normal stuff. Nothing to see here. | |
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Hi, my name is blithers, and I'll be your New Girl crack_van driver for this month! New Girl is a show that was marketed upfront as a Zooey Deschanel vehicle, in which ZD does her Quirky Girl!(™) act to the amusement and bewilderment of her three male roommates, half hour sitcom-style. But a funny thing ended up happening: partway through the first season, the ensemble cast of New Girl started to break through. The writers grounded and gently matured Zooey Deschanel's character, so she could act as the straight woman as well a source of comedy. And the three guys of the show began to shine, and each one of them was hilarious in their own distinct and messed-up way. New Girl is a hilarious ensemble comedy, with strong, balanced, and thoughtful character and relationship work underlying the humor. We're just starting the third season, coming off a year almost universally loved by critics and fans, where the show took that leap forward that great sitcoms do and just nailed their second season. It's a great time to jump into the show and catch up on some fantastic episodes (and fantastic fic!). Who's That Girl?: A New Girl Fandom Overview
 ( Tell me more! ) | |
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