Compiled by the Espresso Addict

Espresso Recommendations

Innovative and stylish fanfiction, showcasing the very best across multiple sf, fantasy & literature fandoms. Good writing in all its forms can be found here, including gen, het, slash, OCs, AUs, crossovers, future fics, humour & pastiche

Contents: 1010 recs in 235 fandoms; 65 links

ST: Next Generation

Deanna Troi

Select other characters via the dropdown menu, or return to the ST: Next Generation characters index

A Daughter of the Fifth House by Beatrice Otter

'She wouldn't even be able to get a job in a shop, because who would want to buy from someone who couldn't look into your mind, see exactly what you wanted, and take you to it?' Deanna viewed as disabled, with some intriguing titbits about how Betazoid culture might differ from that of non-telepaths

[Added 28/10/2017; Character Piece; 2500-6000; ST: Next Generation; Characters: Deanna Troi, Will Riker, Lwaxana Troi, OCs]

Everybody Else's Girl by Mosca

'Will's mind was so quiet. He was so simple. An inside-out person, all of his emotions prickling from his skin. When I touched him, they stuck in my hand like sea urchin spines.' An unusual character study that remembers there's more to Deanna than a romantic partner

[Added 18/10/2011; Romance/Erotica; 1000-2500; ST: Next Generation; Characters: Deanna Troi, Will Riker]

Hope of Thee (the Zombie Remix) by Beatrice Otter

'''Oh, don’t look at me like that, Lwaxana, I know you don’t like to talk about her, but she’s been dead over twenty years!"' Wonderfully creepy take on the S7 episode 'Dark Page'. One of the few stories to explore Betazoids as an alien race

[Added 18/10/2011; Drama; 1000-2500; ST: Next Generation; Characters: Lwaxana Troi, Deanna Troi, Kestra Troi, Beverly Crusher, Jean-Luc Picard, OCs]

Laid Bare by sixbeforelunch

'A Vulcan patient with an emotional disorder was always a challenge. The problem, aside from the risk that their condition would be exacerbated by shame, was that all of the first line treatments for mood disorders--cognitive behavioral therapies, awareness and mindfulness, biofeedback-guided meditation--were things that Vulcans practiced from childhood.' A novella-length medical casefic that feels just like a lost Deanna-centric episode. As ever, Sixbeforelunch's Vulcan worldbuilding is fascinating, and her OCs soon come to feel like previously unencountered crew members. The ensemble cast delineates Deanna's relationships with most of the crew but there's a particular joy to seeing her work with Beverley, a relationship ignored by most fanfiction

[Added 10/12/2018; Drama; 20,000-50,000; ST: Next Generation; Characters: Deanna Troi, Will Riker, Beverley Crusher, Selar, Taurik, Jean-Luc Picard, Data, Alyssa Ogawa, Worf, OCs]

Metadata by Winged Mammal

'Data was pleased -- it had been 439 days since the installation of the emotion chip, but he was still not completely confident in his ability to determine the appropriateness of humor at the expense of someone else.' Post-chip Data is a common subject for TNG fiction, but this piece stands out for its precise ensemble characterisation

[Added 18/10/2011; Character Piece; 2500-6000; ST: Next Generation; Characters: Data, Deanna Troi, Geordi La Forge, Will Riker, Worf]

The Queen of Air and Darkness by Raspberryhunter

'The woman said, gesturing at the tiny specks below, "Are they not beautiful? Is the complexity of this life not wonderful?"' Pieces that depict Deanna as alien are all too rare, and here Raspberryhunter weaves in strands of her character most writers forget. The fascinating speculation about Guinan is a bonus

[Added 18/01/2014; Character Piece; 1000-2500; ST: Next Generation; Characters: Deanna Troi, Borg Queen, Guinan]