This is a great excuse to do something I've been wanting to do and make a little tww hidden gems reclist! If you go on AO3 and sort your favorite pairings by kudos, you'll find some absolute masterpieces, and I do recommend doing that. But! Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper...
Last Full Measure by @terribleoldwhitemen. Bruno/Vinick. 18k words. You must, you must, you MUST read this if you are a later-seasons fan. The vibrant strangeness of this pairing is justified a million times over by the ingenious plotting, writing, and execution. I could go on and on - read this!
far from things of man by elliesattlers. CJ/Toby/Sam. 2k words. This is an apocalypse AU and it is a marvel. Pensive, deeply insightful, unsettling, and amazing.
coming around again by sarapod. Sam/Josh. 9k words. I read a ton of samjosh when I was getting into tww fic and this is one of my favorite approaches to them: great characterization, fits neatly around canon, a pitch-perfect read.
there's a fog by Kalya_Lee. Sam & Senior Staff. 7k words. A poignant reflection on Sam's choice not to return to the White House after losing the 47th and his individual relationships with the main cast.
20 years in the dakota by sandyk. Jed/Abbey. 3k words. This is the ultimate Abbey fic: every JLA thing I've ever written was subconsciously influenced by reading this fic.
sturgeon by hell_to_breakfast. Ellie & Bartlet Family. 11k words. A truly fascinating Ellie Bartlet character study (through a queer lens, naturally).
Every love story is a ghost story. by miabicicletta. 3k words. Major character death! Alternate, tragic endings to canon events. If you're up for some emotional intensity, this is a sad but not graphicly upsetting story, and it is one filled with deep compassion.
like an apple tree among trees of the forest by @larsulrichburneracc. Jed/Leo. 5k words. Now we're at the part of the list where I rec things my friends have written. Yay! Once you read this, you will have a wealth of amazing works by Atlas to choose from. I'm picking this because it's a Priest!Jed AU with the requisite Yearning and a beautiful atmosphere.
pride and politics by @bartletslesbians. CJ/Andy. 4k words. Hardly possible to pick just one work by Tessa, but here's an incredible exploration of two incredible characters. You don't just get great writing with this fic, you get history and thought-provoking political questions.
the four horsemen by @muldxr. Toby & Family. 1k words. You said Toby-centric so here I send you to one of the foremost Toby scholars. Again, read this and then every other thing Laur has written.
god loves you (but not enough to save you) by @divorcedlizbartlet. Amy/Liz. 3k words. We Amy/Liz warriors are small but we are mighty. This is filled with delicious religious guilt, infidelity, and, like all Julie's stuff, a sharp lens on the Bartlet family dysfunction.
hard to be soft by @palukoo. Amy/Donna. 97k words. Here's a beast for you if you feel like tackling it: you will be rewarded with a deeply thoughtful take on Amy Gardner and what makes her tick.
Lastly, I will do a little self-promo. This is day after tomorrow, a 7k word apocalypse AU I wrote a while ago and still love deeply (CJ&Toby, Jed/Abbey, Sam/Josh/Donna).
I'm always, always down to give fic recs. If you read all these and still want more, trust, I'll have more :)
