Spectator (Whoever It Is You Talk To) by Candle Beck (PG)
Title: Spectator (Whoever It Is You Talk To) by Candle Beck
Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: Josh Lyman/Danny Concannon
Categories: Slash, kind of AU
Length: Medium (Approx 5,400 words)
Warning: None
Rating: PG
Author on LJ: Unknown
Website: Hosted at The Big Block of Cheese
Summary: On a non-linear timeline, Josh and Danny have several conversations, in addition to other stuff.
Review:
Josh Lyman is the Little Black Dress of West Wing fandom - goes with everything - but this is a most unusual and possibly even unique pairing, with sympathetic journalist Danny. It starts out somewhere on the campaign trail, with Josh and Danny falling into bed together, having sex, and then somehow becoming friends afterwards - although friendship between a senior political operative and an investigative reporter must always be built on somewhat uncertain foundations.
It's never a romance, it may not even really be a friendship, and it's certainly going nowhere - but for a while, in the lonely places in their lives, Josh and Danny have one another. Candle Beck has a lovely subtle touch with the shifting and uncertain nature of their relationship, with the unexpected tenderness and the bleak outlook, with the dangerous path they tread. This story gives context to the trust demonstrated between the characters in the series, and also sheds unexpected light on Josh's emotional isolation in early episodes.
If you are a West Wing fan this story is worth reading for novelty value alone, but it has a lot more going for it than just that; it sets up an unconventional scenario, develops it believably and carries it through to a logical conclusion - precisely what any piece of fiction sets out to do.
Link: Spectator (Whoever It Is You Talk To)
Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: Josh Lyman/Danny Concannon
Categories: Slash, kind of AU
Length: Medium (Approx 5,400 words)
Warning: None
Rating: PG
Author on LJ: Unknown
Website: Hosted at The Big Block of Cheese
Summary: On a non-linear timeline, Josh and Danny have several conversations, in addition to other stuff.
Review:
Josh Lyman is the Little Black Dress of West Wing fandom - goes with everything - but this is a most unusual and possibly even unique pairing, with sympathetic journalist Danny. It starts out somewhere on the campaign trail, with Josh and Danny falling into bed together, having sex, and then somehow becoming friends afterwards - although friendship between a senior political operative and an investigative reporter must always be built on somewhat uncertain foundations.
It's never a romance, it may not even really be a friendship, and it's certainly going nowhere - but for a while, in the lonely places in their lives, Josh and Danny have one another. Candle Beck has a lovely subtle touch with the shifting and uncertain nature of their relationship, with the unexpected tenderness and the bleak outlook, with the dangerous path they tread. This story gives context to the trust demonstrated between the characters in the series, and also sheds unexpected light on Josh's emotional isolation in early episodes.
If you are a West Wing fan this story is worth reading for novelty value alone, but it has a lot more going for it than just that; it sets up an unconventional scenario, develops it believably and carries it through to a logical conclusion - precisely what any piece of fiction sets out to do.
Link: Spectator (Whoever It Is You Talk To)