Neglected Fandom Fics: Friday Night Lights
It’s all mastermia’s fault. If she hadn’t raved about Friday Night Lights for weeks, I wouldn’t have watched episode 14 and got completely. sucked. in. Of course, when a show becomes appointment TV, I get sucked into the fandom. The fandom has grown steadily throughout season one and with it comes seriously good fanfiction.
Below are some of the best fanfic that haven’t already been recced here. My favorite characters on the show are Jason, Tyra, Matt, & Julie, so the recs are biased towards them.
Title: Exactly the people they need by hesychasm
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Tyra/Jason
Summary: It's hard to let go.
That's the Jason Street effect, the power of a guy who never in his life recognized the concept of halfway, the power to change the people around him.
But it's also, she thinks, because he's just Jason, the guy she grew up with, the guy who understands where she's coming from and consequently, where she can't let herself go. It scares her, but because of that she believes all of his promises, every single one.
Comment: I’ve read just about every FNL story in existence and this one is my favorite, by far.
Title: Smashnstreet by hackthis.
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Smash, Jason
Summary: Smash goes to visit a former friend.
There's a moment where Smash is standing there with Jason grinning at him, and it's like old times. Like when their middle school coach, Coach Butler, used to call 'em Smashnstreet because where there was one, you could probably find the other.
Comment: I know that every other story by hackthis has already been recced on this site, but I had to include this one. So few stories in the FNL are about Smash and this one just has his voice down cold. Plus, it’s a great backstory on Smash and Jason that I can totally see as canon.
Title: Got You by ottiefic
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Tim POV
Summary: Tim takes matters into his own hands, with an assist from Smash & Mama Williams.
It's hard for her to talk about -
The first punch slid off the slick tile. The second punch cracked it.
She can't even drive her truck -
[…]
I shut my eyes and saw the sonofabitch on top of her, jerking her by her hair, screaming at her to shut up -
The sob rushed out of my lungs, choking me, and I braced myself to keep from hitting the ground.
Comment: ottiefic is one of what I consider the “big gun” writers in the fandom. After Tyra was attacked during the season, most of the “big guns” wrote Tim reaction/vengeance fics. This one, from Tim’s POV, is my favorite one.
Title: Supposed Former Infatuation Junkies by rhysmeyersfan (this is over at fanfiction.net)
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: Tyra, Tim
Summary: One depressed Tim. One drunk Tyra. One Dillon party. Misery loves company. Even if the present company is pissed.
But his eyes did the talking. They always did. They never had to talk. She could always look at him and know what he was thinking or what he wanted from her. At least partly. But that didn't matter anymore. Nothing involving Tim Riggins mattered to her anymore. She was through. Through trying to be there for him. Through trying to be let in. Through dealing with his rapid mood swings. Through giving a damn about him. Through with it all.
Comment: I know, I know, it’s on fanfiction.net, but trust me. This story illuminates the relationship (for better or worse) between Tyra & Tim, one of the least explored in the fandom.
Title: You were You by shelbecat
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: Billy Riggins
Summary: Why does Billy stick around when everyone else has left Tim?
Maybe you weren’t the kind of parent that went to parent/teacher conferences, and maybe you didn’t make cookies for bake sales, but you went to his games, and you tried to show him that he was wanted, that he was loved. One day maybe you’d do the parenting thing for real and Tim would be one hell of a practice run, but you’d never give it up, never take it back.
Comment: Billy Riggins in one of my favorite secondary characters. There’s so much about him that hasn’t been explored on the show. shelbecat (another one of the “big guns”) wrote an excellent character sketch to answer the question in the summary.
Title: Feel That by fearlessfan
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: Tyra, Jason
Summary: Four times Tyra Collette kissed Jason Street.
"This wheelchair rugby thing. Do you boys get all sweaty and masculine and rough and tumble out there? I might have to come by and watch. All that testosterone flying around."
"Let me tell you, you'd be very popular."
"Why's that?"
"Tyra," Jason says. "You know why."
She does, but she wants to hear him say it. She grins. "Because of my winning personality?"
"Well, that. And because you're beautiful."
Comment: The first Tyra/Jason (Tyson?) fic. These two have major chemistry (see their scene in 1.09 “Full Hearts”) and I’m disappointed that the show didn’t choose to explore that. Thankfully, fandom hasn’t let me down.
Title: Trilogy: Part I: Injured, Part II: Occupational Hazard, Part III: Confessional by vacheqirit
Rating: PG
Characters: Matt
Summary: No matter how hard you try to keep secrets, they have a way of finally getting out.
“Y’all run around so much, I hardly know what you’re up to anymore. Well, ‘cepting football, naturally. My Matthew! I’m so proud, I could spit!”
Julie tried to keep the mental image of Grandma propelling a huge loogey across the room from entering her mind, but she didn’t quite manage it. She stifled a giggle.
Comment: What can I say about vacheqirit’s writing besides that I’m convinced she’s a writer on the show and uses fanfic to flesh out story ideas that Peter Berg & Jason Katim nixed.
Title: The Curve of the Earth , part 1, part 2, part 3, by embellished-me
Rating: R
Characters: Logan/Tyra (Veronica Mars/Friday Night Lights crossover)
Summary: Tyra Collette usually feels like there's nobody in Dillon who understands her. Logan Echolls is pretty sure he's lost the only girl who ever did. When Logan finds himself stranded in Dillon, he and Tyra figure out that how things really are depends a lot on your perspective.
“What did you and your sister do when your mom left you that time?”
Tyra thinks, and then chuckles softly, shaking her head in disbelief. “Exactly what we were supposed to. We made dinner, and cleaned up, and went to school and did our homework.”
His expression turns warm and sympathetic, and she realizes suddenly that he gets it. He lets the chair drop back onto all four legs, and leans across the table. There’s no pity in his face, only recognition and … kinship, she thinks.
He quirks up one corner of his mouth, but his eyes are still kind. “Bet you never made that mistake again.”
Comment: I’m not a fan of crossover fics, usually because the way that the characters end up in the same space rings false to me. embellished-me gets this so, so right and I could totally see this happening in canon.
Title: Electricity by mastermia & random00b
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Tyra/Jason
Summary: Tyra isn’t surprised by the phone call. She is, though, surprised by what happened when she’s there.
“Tyra?”
“Yeah.”
“You know how you said you moaned my name once with Timmy?”
“Uh…yeah?”
“Call me, and I’ll make you scream it.”
Comment: Yes, once again, I’m reccing a fic I co-wrote. I’m just so proud of what mastermia and I came up with. We do admit to nicking the “scream” line from a Harry Potter fic (long story).
Title: 20 West by rachel-wilder
Rating: PG
Characters: Tyra
Summary: Tyra Collette is not going to waste the rest of her life in Dillon, Texas.
But, Tim, for better or worse, was hers. He wasn't the first guy Tyra Collette slept with, but he was the first one she wanted to wake up next to in the morning. He got her.
Tim never made her feel like trash. He didn't make her feel special, either, but she could be herself with him. There were no parents at Tim's house to make small talk with, no one to judge her.
Comment: Yet another “big guns” writer doing an early season character sketch on my favorite primary character on the show.
Title: Verboten by svilleficrecs.
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: Matt/Julie
Summary: Julie Taylor likes teasing Matt Saracen.
She grabs his shirt at his stomach and lifts, then puts her hand up underneath. His stomach is bumpy with muscle, solid. Then she puts her hand on his chest, pushes her palm flat on it. His heart is pounding. She laughs. "Boom-boom-boom-boom," she says. His skin is so warm on his chest. She can feel a couple of hairs, but mostly it's smooth. She taunts in a singsong, "Ha-ha, I got to second on Matt Saracen."
Comment: Matt & Julie (aka MaJules) are the reason why I got sucked into Friday Night Lights. Their relationship is so realistic for high school; Kate (writing as svilleficrecs) really captures Matt’s & Julie’s personalities and how they interact.
Title: Restraint by svilleficrecs
Rating: Hard R
Characters/Pairing: Matt/Julie
Summary: Sequel to Verboten. Julie Taylor is trying to get him killed.
The thing he just realized, the thing that seems so obvious now that he sees it is that the more he restrains himself, the more Julie seems to want to test that restraint. He's not positive, but it's a safe enough theory to follow for a while. As good as any other and it seems to be producing results. Easy enough to hang back and let her set the pace. Slightly less chance of him screwing something up.
Comment: The sequel to Verboten. Can’t really include one without including the other.
Below are some of the best fanfic that haven’t already been recced here. My favorite characters on the show are Jason, Tyra, Matt, & Julie, so the recs are biased towards them.
Title: Exactly the people they need by hesychasm
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Tyra/Jason
Summary: It's hard to let go.
That's the Jason Street effect, the power of a guy who never in his life recognized the concept of halfway, the power to change the people around him.
But it's also, she thinks, because he's just Jason, the guy she grew up with, the guy who understands where she's coming from and consequently, where she can't let herself go. It scares her, but because of that she believes all of his promises, every single one.
Comment: I’ve read just about every FNL story in existence and this one is my favorite, by far.
Title: Smashnstreet by hackthis.
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Smash, Jason
Summary: Smash goes to visit a former friend.
There's a moment where Smash is standing there with Jason grinning at him, and it's like old times. Like when their middle school coach, Coach Butler, used to call 'em Smashnstreet because where there was one, you could probably find the other.
Comment: I know that every other story by hackthis has already been recced on this site, but I had to include this one. So few stories in the FNL are about Smash and this one just has his voice down cold. Plus, it’s a great backstory on Smash and Jason that I can totally see as canon.
Title: Got You by ottiefic
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Tim POV
Summary: Tim takes matters into his own hands, with an assist from Smash & Mama Williams.
It's hard for her to talk about -
The first punch slid off the slick tile. The second punch cracked it.
She can't even drive her truck -
[…]
I shut my eyes and saw the sonofabitch on top of her, jerking her by her hair, screaming at her to shut up -
The sob rushed out of my lungs, choking me, and I braced myself to keep from hitting the ground.
Comment: ottiefic is one of what I consider the “big gun” writers in the fandom. After Tyra was attacked during the season, most of the “big guns” wrote Tim reaction/vengeance fics. This one, from Tim’s POV, is my favorite one.
Title: Supposed Former Infatuation Junkies by rhysmeyersfan (this is over at fanfiction.net)
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: Tyra, Tim
Summary: One depressed Tim. One drunk Tyra. One Dillon party. Misery loves company. Even if the present company is pissed.
But his eyes did the talking. They always did. They never had to talk. She could always look at him and know what he was thinking or what he wanted from her. At least partly. But that didn't matter anymore. Nothing involving Tim Riggins mattered to her anymore. She was through. Through trying to be there for him. Through trying to be let in. Through dealing with his rapid mood swings. Through giving a damn about him. Through with it all.
Comment: I know, I know, it’s on fanfiction.net, but trust me. This story illuminates the relationship (for better or worse) between Tyra & Tim, one of the least explored in the fandom.
Title: You were You by shelbecat
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: Billy Riggins
Summary: Why does Billy stick around when everyone else has left Tim?
Maybe you weren’t the kind of parent that went to parent/teacher conferences, and maybe you didn’t make cookies for bake sales, but you went to his games, and you tried to show him that he was wanted, that he was loved. One day maybe you’d do the parenting thing for real and Tim would be one hell of a practice run, but you’d never give it up, never take it back.
Comment: Billy Riggins in one of my favorite secondary characters. There’s so much about him that hasn’t been explored on the show. shelbecat (another one of the “big guns”) wrote an excellent character sketch to answer the question in the summary.
Title: Feel That by fearlessfan
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: Tyra, Jason
Summary: Four times Tyra Collette kissed Jason Street.
"This wheelchair rugby thing. Do you boys get all sweaty and masculine and rough and tumble out there? I might have to come by and watch. All that testosterone flying around."
"Let me tell you, you'd be very popular."
"Why's that?"
"Tyra," Jason says. "You know why."
She does, but she wants to hear him say it. She grins. "Because of my winning personality?"
"Well, that. And because you're beautiful."
Comment: The first Tyra/Jason (Tyson?) fic. These two have major chemistry (see their scene in 1.09 “Full Hearts”) and I’m disappointed that the show didn’t choose to explore that. Thankfully, fandom hasn’t let me down.
Title: Trilogy: Part I: Injured, Part II: Occupational Hazard, Part III: Confessional by vacheqirit
Rating: PG
Characters: Matt
Summary: No matter how hard you try to keep secrets, they have a way of finally getting out.
“Y’all run around so much, I hardly know what you’re up to anymore. Well, ‘cepting football, naturally. My Matthew! I’m so proud, I could spit!”
Julie tried to keep the mental image of Grandma propelling a huge loogey across the room from entering her mind, but she didn’t quite manage it. She stifled a giggle.
Comment: What can I say about vacheqirit’s writing besides that I’m convinced she’s a writer on the show and uses fanfic to flesh out story ideas that Peter Berg & Jason Katim nixed.
Title: The Curve of the Earth , part 1, part 2, part 3, by embellished-me
Rating: R
Characters: Logan/Tyra (Veronica Mars/Friday Night Lights crossover)
Summary: Tyra Collette usually feels like there's nobody in Dillon who understands her. Logan Echolls is pretty sure he's lost the only girl who ever did. When Logan finds himself stranded in Dillon, he and Tyra figure out that how things really are depends a lot on your perspective.
“What did you and your sister do when your mom left you that time?”
Tyra thinks, and then chuckles softly, shaking her head in disbelief. “Exactly what we were supposed to. We made dinner, and cleaned up, and went to school and did our homework.”
His expression turns warm and sympathetic, and she realizes suddenly that he gets it. He lets the chair drop back onto all four legs, and leans across the table. There’s no pity in his face, only recognition and … kinship, she thinks.
He quirks up one corner of his mouth, but his eyes are still kind. “Bet you never made that mistake again.”
Comment: I’m not a fan of crossover fics, usually because the way that the characters end up in the same space rings false to me. embellished-me gets this so, so right and I could totally see this happening in canon.
Title: Electricity by mastermia & random00b
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Tyra/Jason
Summary: Tyra isn’t surprised by the phone call. She is, though, surprised by what happened when she’s there.
“Tyra?”
“Yeah.”
“You know how you said you moaned my name once with Timmy?”
“Uh…yeah?”
“Call me, and I’ll make you scream it.”
Comment: Yes, once again, I’m reccing a fic I co-wrote. I’m just so proud of what mastermia and I came up with. We do admit to nicking the “scream” line from a Harry Potter fic (long story).
Title: 20 West by rachel-wilder
Rating: PG
Characters: Tyra
Summary: Tyra Collette is not going to waste the rest of her life in Dillon, Texas.
But, Tim, for better or worse, was hers. He wasn't the first guy Tyra Collette slept with, but he was the first one she wanted to wake up next to in the morning. He got her.
Tim never made her feel like trash. He didn't make her feel special, either, but she could be herself with him. There were no parents at Tim's house to make small talk with, no one to judge her.
Comment: Yet another “big guns” writer doing an early season character sketch on my favorite primary character on the show.
Title: Verboten by svilleficrecs.
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: Matt/Julie
Summary: Julie Taylor likes teasing Matt Saracen.
She grabs his shirt at his stomach and lifts, then puts her hand up underneath. His stomach is bumpy with muscle, solid. Then she puts her hand on his chest, pushes her palm flat on it. His heart is pounding. She laughs. "Boom-boom-boom-boom," she says. His skin is so warm on his chest. She can feel a couple of hairs, but mostly it's smooth. She taunts in a singsong, "Ha-ha, I got to second on Matt Saracen."
Comment: Matt & Julie (aka MaJules) are the reason why I got sucked into Friday Night Lights. Their relationship is so realistic for high school; Kate (writing as svilleficrecs) really captures Matt’s & Julie’s personalities and how they interact.
Title: Restraint by svilleficrecs
Rating: Hard R
Characters/Pairing: Matt/Julie
Summary: Sequel to Verboten. Julie Taylor is trying to get him killed.
The thing he just realized, the thing that seems so obvious now that he sees it is that the more he restrains himself, the more Julie seems to want to test that restraint. He's not positive, but it's a safe enough theory to follow for a while. As good as any other and it seems to be producing results. Easy enough to hang back and let her set the pace. Slightly less chance of him screwing something up.
Comment: The sequel to Verboten. Can’t really include one without including the other.