Shipper's Manifesto: Sawyer/Juliet (Lost)
Fandom: Lost
Pairing: Sawyer/Juliet
Blurb: There was no reason for this couple to work. Sawyer was a tiger-don’t-change-his-stripes con man and Juliet was an always-on-my-own fertility specialist working for the other side. Then he jumped from a helicopter and she didn’t get on the boat and they met on the shore and we never looked back. He became a better man when he was with her and she was happy for the first time in three years. They made a life together in Dharmaville. She called him James, he called her Blondie. Then those darn writers ripped our hearts out, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that one of these days they’ll have that cup of coffee.
Until then please enjoy these amazing fics and if you like what you see be sure to check out the rest of the authors’ works. I limited myself to one rec per author, but they all have plenty of beautiful fics to choose from. Happy reading!
Fic Rec #1: Heart Knows Calm
Author: dollsome
Link: http://dollsome.livejournal.com/1147003.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG
Why This Must Be Read: In the daytime, things get complicated. Juliet never promises to stay, but she keeps on not leavin’, again and again. They’ve gotta say something, so they say she’s his wife. It does the trick for the ol’ Dharmaites, makes the lie even more real.
This story treats Sawyer’s relationship with both Juliet and Kate so respectfully and deftly, you’ll think you’ve been granted a peak inside his head. It’s a story about love and moving on and starting over again. If you’ve ever wondered how Sawyer and Juliet began read this because I’m pretty sure this is exactly how it happened.
Fic Rec #2 Golden Days
Author: eponine119
Link: http://eponine119.livejournal.com/611187.html
Rating/Warning(s):PG
Why This Must Be Read: “You are not so bad to look at, mister James Sawyer Ford LaFleur Sheriff Head of Security Man."
If I could bottle the sheer giddiness this fic brings me, I’d never have another bad day again. It’s drunken, pre-first time banter fic, and now we know why he calls her Blondie.
Fic Rec #3: Bad Men
Author: navras_rheya
Link: http://navras-rheya.livejournal.com/49344.html
Rating/Warning(s):PG
Why This Must Be Read: “James, you call me James like it means somethin’” he said bitterly.
A missing scene from season three back when she was just a woman who locked him in a cage. She patches him up and they talk about names. It makes you ache, knowing everything that’s still to come.
Fic Rec #4: I know that ghosts have wandered here on earth
Author: lowriseflare
Link: http://lowriseflare.livejournal.com/9003.html
Rating/Warning(s): R (sex)
Why This Must Be Read: "You like Stephen King, you'll like Emily Brontë."
"That so?" he asks, propping himself up on one elbow and running his thumb over the slope of her breast, half-hoping for a repeat performance. "Coupla' tortured ghosts stuck with each other, strollin' the moors 'til the end of the world?"
Another beginning fic. This one isn’t afraid to look at the messy bits, the false starts---in the end it’s all about deciding. And the writing? Stunning.
Fic Rec #5: When Suddenly, a Girl
Author: cantbesilent
Link: http://cantbesilent.livejournal.com/259356.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG
Why This Must Be Read: There is a time when he meets her over the top of a paperback, her fairy tale eyes scanning down row to row, her unpainted nails absently flicking at the bent edge of the cover, a secret story unfolding right there in her mind; her presence is a riptide, a sneakily strong undertoe, though in that dusky afternoon light he doesn’t know why.
I had to rec at least one coffee date fic, and this one happens to be my favorite. I love the breathless rhythm to the writing, the way the past flows into the present and the way you can see the future lingering just out of sight at the end.
Fic Rec #6: Away We Go
Author: bayloriffic
Link: http://bayloriffic.livejournal.com/16037.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: They get on the sub and whole ride to Tahiti, Juliet keeps biting her lip and holding a hand against her still-flat stomach and Sawyer knows she’s worried it’s already too late.
Baby fics are supposed to be unbearably fluffy, right? Not when bayloriffic writes them. Instead it’s a beautiful, layered what if story where Juliet finds out she’s pregnant and Sawyer leaves the island with her. The new life they make isn’t idyliic or perfect, Sawyer’s fears in particular are front and center. It’s about how there’s nothing worth having if you don’t work for it and how once you’ve got something good you try as hard as you can to never let it go.
Fic Rec #7: To Tell You the End of the Tale Would Be Cheating
Author: Phelipa
Link: http://phelipa.livejournal.com/44628.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13, Character death.
Why This Must Be Read: They move into a quaint little home with a ridiculously low rent (comparative to the hundreds of thousands spent in 2004) on the west side of Ann Arbour and spend the days renovating the tiny building between her shifts at St. Andrew’s Hospital and his at the local construction site.
This is not a fic to be read without an industrial size box of tissues nearby. Sometimes happily ever afters fall apart. This fic is beautifully written and absolutely wrenching.
Fic Rec #8: Nor Forsake You
Author: hendercats
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/lostsquee/646338.html
Rating/Warning(s):PG
Why This Must Be Read: They were here again, he was here on the island again and what they'd gone through was all for nothing.
A reset fic where the plane crashes (again) and they have to decide whether to start over. It’s lovely and hopeful with the sort of ending that stays with you long after you’ve stopped reading.
Fic Rec #9: We must have died alone, a long time ago
Author: halfdutch
Link: http://halfdutch.livejournal.com/493392.html
Rating/Warning(s): R (sex)
Why This Must Be Read: He looks younger, somehow, his face slack and untroubled, his mouth slightly open like a little boy's, one fist clutching the pillow tightly. But as she looks closer, the sunlight reveals fine lines around his eyes she'd never noticed before. Funny that a man who seems so eager to die has laugh lines etched so clearly on his face.
An AU post-s4 story about Sawyer and Juliet finding solace in each other after the others leave. It’s achy and quiet with a gorgeous Juliet voice.
Fic Rec #10: The Lightening Strike
Author: angela_weber
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/unsteady_ground/4702.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: "What, no nickname?" Her voice is too soft in the already-too-soft room, blurring at the edges, a world of hushed promises and tentative twin smiles and blood that tastes like forgetting and familiarity and a love so calm, a trust so measured it is almost atheistic.
Scar fics are like my bread and butter. There’s so much mileage to be had out of Sawyer finding that mark on her back. This fic takes the idea and turns it into something else entirely, it’s a moment between them, lying in bed during a storm. It’s a snapshot of their relationship that manages to evoke everything that is wonderful about them together and a promise that they won’t ever be undone.
Fic Rec #11: Midnight at the Oasis
Author:pengyn
Link:http://pengyn.livejournal.com/65672.html#cutid1
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: “I was in the Science Club, James. Rachel was the sociable one in the family. I was the geek."
This fic is so incredibly sweet. Sawyer and Juliet at a Dharma dance. There's no bad there.
Fic Rec #12: In the Forest of the Night
Author: jenthegypsy
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/lostsquee/652746.html
Rating/Warning(s):PG
Why This Must Be Read: With no stars a'twinkle for Jules to see by,
So the tiger walked slowly, right by her side,
And grumbled a teasing offer to ride
Upon its broad back as they went down the path.
And now for something completely different. This is an AU. A fairy tale. A poem. And an absolutely brilliant reimagining of the Sawyer/Juliet relationship.
Fic Rec #13: The Love it Takes to Become a Man
Author: isis2015
Link: http://isis2015.livejournal.com/823293.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: "I don't wanna ruin this," he tells her, honestly. "But my track record doesn't exactly make it easy for me to think I won't."
This is such a lovely look at Sawyer growing into James and learning how to be in a real relationship.
Fic Rec #14: Playing on the One String
Author: lenina20
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/roseof_sharon/34844.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: she died and sawyer watched and then he stopped thinking. sawyer stopped listening. sawyer stopped feeling.
I hate to leave things on a somber note, but it’s a beautiful, albeit dark, somber note. Once again the reset works and the plane crashes, but this time Sawyer remembers but Juliet doesn’t. This is a short, haunting post-Incident fic from an author who doesn’t normally write the pairing, but makes me wish desperately that she did.
Pairing: Sawyer/Juliet
Blurb: There was no reason for this couple to work. Sawyer was a tiger-don’t-change-his-stripes con man and Juliet was an always-on-my-own fertility specialist working for the other side. Then he jumped from a helicopter and she didn’t get on the boat and they met on the shore and we never looked back. He became a better man when he was with her and she was happy for the first time in three years. They made a life together in Dharmaville. She called him James, he called her Blondie. Then those darn writers ripped our hearts out, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that one of these days they’ll have that cup of coffee.
Until then please enjoy these amazing fics and if you like what you see be sure to check out the rest of the authors’ works. I limited myself to one rec per author, but they all have plenty of beautiful fics to choose from. Happy reading!
Fic Rec #1: Heart Knows Calm
Author: dollsome
Link: http://dollsome.livejournal.com/1147003.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG
Why This Must Be Read: In the daytime, things get complicated. Juliet never promises to stay, but she keeps on not leavin’, again and again. They’ve gotta say something, so they say she’s his wife. It does the trick for the ol’ Dharmaites, makes the lie even more real.
This story treats Sawyer’s relationship with both Juliet and Kate so respectfully and deftly, you’ll think you’ve been granted a peak inside his head. It’s a story about love and moving on and starting over again. If you’ve ever wondered how Sawyer and Juliet began read this because I’m pretty sure this is exactly how it happened.
Fic Rec #2 Golden Days
Author: eponine119
Link: http://eponine119.livejournal.com/611187.html
Rating/Warning(s):PG
Why This Must Be Read: “You are not so bad to look at, mister James Sawyer Ford LaFleur Sheriff Head of Security Man."
If I could bottle the sheer giddiness this fic brings me, I’d never have another bad day again. It’s drunken, pre-first time banter fic, and now we know why he calls her Blondie.
Fic Rec #3: Bad Men
Author: navras_rheya
Link: http://navras-rheya.livejournal.com/49344.html
Rating/Warning(s):PG
Why This Must Be Read: “James, you call me James like it means somethin’” he said bitterly.
A missing scene from season three back when she was just a woman who locked him in a cage. She patches him up and they talk about names. It makes you ache, knowing everything that’s still to come.
Fic Rec #4: I know that ghosts have wandered here on earth
Author: lowriseflare
Link: http://lowriseflare.livejournal.com/9003.html
Rating/Warning(s): R (sex)
Why This Must Be Read: "You like Stephen King, you'll like Emily Brontë."
"That so?" he asks, propping himself up on one elbow and running his thumb over the slope of her breast, half-hoping for a repeat performance. "Coupla' tortured ghosts stuck with each other, strollin' the moors 'til the end of the world?"
Another beginning fic. This one isn’t afraid to look at the messy bits, the false starts---in the end it’s all about deciding. And the writing? Stunning.
Fic Rec #5: When Suddenly, a Girl
Author: cantbesilent
Link: http://cantbesilent.livejournal.com/259356.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG
Why This Must Be Read: There is a time when he meets her over the top of a paperback, her fairy tale eyes scanning down row to row, her unpainted nails absently flicking at the bent edge of the cover, a secret story unfolding right there in her mind; her presence is a riptide, a sneakily strong undertoe, though in that dusky afternoon light he doesn’t know why.
I had to rec at least one coffee date fic, and this one happens to be my favorite. I love the breathless rhythm to the writing, the way the past flows into the present and the way you can see the future lingering just out of sight at the end.
Fic Rec #6: Away We Go
Author: bayloriffic
Link: http://bayloriffic.livejournal.com/16037.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: They get on the sub and whole ride to Tahiti, Juliet keeps biting her lip and holding a hand against her still-flat stomach and Sawyer knows she’s worried it’s already too late.
Baby fics are supposed to be unbearably fluffy, right? Not when bayloriffic writes them. Instead it’s a beautiful, layered what if story where Juliet finds out she’s pregnant and Sawyer leaves the island with her. The new life they make isn’t idyliic or perfect, Sawyer’s fears in particular are front and center. It’s about how there’s nothing worth having if you don’t work for it and how once you’ve got something good you try as hard as you can to never let it go.
Fic Rec #7: To Tell You the End of the Tale Would Be Cheating
Author: Phelipa
Link: http://phelipa.livejournal.com/44628.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13, Character death.
Why This Must Be Read: They move into a quaint little home with a ridiculously low rent (comparative to the hundreds of thousands spent in 2004) on the west side of Ann Arbour and spend the days renovating the tiny building between her shifts at St. Andrew’s Hospital and his at the local construction site.
This is not a fic to be read without an industrial size box of tissues nearby. Sometimes happily ever afters fall apart. This fic is beautifully written and absolutely wrenching.
Fic Rec #8: Nor Forsake You
Author: hendercats
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/lostsquee/646338.html
Rating/Warning(s):PG
Why This Must Be Read: They were here again, he was here on the island again and what they'd gone through was all for nothing.
A reset fic where the plane crashes (again) and they have to decide whether to start over. It’s lovely and hopeful with the sort of ending that stays with you long after you’ve stopped reading.
Fic Rec #9: We must have died alone, a long time ago
Author: halfdutch
Link: http://halfdutch.livejournal.com/493392.html
Rating/Warning(s): R (sex)
Why This Must Be Read: He looks younger, somehow, his face slack and untroubled, his mouth slightly open like a little boy's, one fist clutching the pillow tightly. But as she looks closer, the sunlight reveals fine lines around his eyes she'd never noticed before. Funny that a man who seems so eager to die has laugh lines etched so clearly on his face.
An AU post-s4 story about Sawyer and Juliet finding solace in each other after the others leave. It’s achy and quiet with a gorgeous Juliet voice.
Fic Rec #10: The Lightening Strike
Author: angela_weber
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/unsteady_ground/4702.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: "What, no nickname?" Her voice is too soft in the already-too-soft room, blurring at the edges, a world of hushed promises and tentative twin smiles and blood that tastes like forgetting and familiarity and a love so calm, a trust so measured it is almost atheistic.
Scar fics are like my bread and butter. There’s so much mileage to be had out of Sawyer finding that mark on her back. This fic takes the idea and turns it into something else entirely, it’s a moment between them, lying in bed during a storm. It’s a snapshot of their relationship that manages to evoke everything that is wonderful about them together and a promise that they won’t ever be undone.
Fic Rec #11: Midnight at the Oasis
Author:pengyn
Link:http://pengyn.livejournal.com/65672.html#cutid1
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: “I was in the Science Club, James. Rachel was the sociable one in the family. I was the geek."
This fic is so incredibly sweet. Sawyer and Juliet at a Dharma dance. There's no bad there.
Fic Rec #12: In the Forest of the Night
Author: jenthegypsy
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/lostsquee/652746.html
Rating/Warning(s):PG
Why This Must Be Read: With no stars a'twinkle for Jules to see by,
So the tiger walked slowly, right by her side,
And grumbled a teasing offer to ride
Upon its broad back as they went down the path.
And now for something completely different. This is an AU. A fairy tale. A poem. And an absolutely brilliant reimagining of the Sawyer/Juliet relationship.
Fic Rec #13: The Love it Takes to Become a Man
Author: isis2015
Link: http://isis2015.livejournal.com/823293.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: "I don't wanna ruin this," he tells her, honestly. "But my track record doesn't exactly make it easy for me to think I won't."
This is such a lovely look at Sawyer growing into James and learning how to be in a real relationship.
Fic Rec #14: Playing on the One String
Author: lenina20
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/roseof_sharon/34844.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: she died and sawyer watched and then he stopped thinking. sawyer stopped listening. sawyer stopped feeling.
I hate to leave things on a somber note, but it’s a beautiful, albeit dark, somber note. Once again the reset works and the plane crashes, but this time Sawyer remembers but Juliet doesn’t. This is a short, haunting post-Incident fic from an author who doesn’t normally write the pairing, but makes me wish desperately that she did.