Fandom: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin
Author on LJ: none that I can find
Author's Website: www.bantrim.net
Author's story summary: (From A Little Mystery E-Zine) "Illya, Napoleon, and a THRUSH experimental drug lead to schemes and revelations in the lab."

Why this must be read: Because it's absolutely hilarious. It reaches the playfulness of a really fun season three episode^† without descending to the completely ridiculous.

Brenda brings in a one-shot Thrush black widow (Angelique) from an early season one episode, provides her with a mysterious powder, douses Napoleon and Illya with it, and just lets the fun unfold.

The Plausible Deniability Affair

^† Season three is much maligned for being complete cheese, and there are some absolutely cringe-worthy episodes, but there are some really fun ones, too.

Fandom: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin
Author on LJ: veronicaluv
Author's Website: aithine.org

Why this must be read: Because no one writes Napoleon/Illya romance quite like Veronica does. (Yes, I'm biased, but I'd be extremely fond of this story anyway even if it weren't hers. *g*) It's a lovely, long, curling-up-with-a-good-book-on-a-dreary-day sort of story.

Theo is a delightful original character from Illya's past who throws the oh-so-suave Napoleon for a loop, and Veronica manages to make Paris a shiny new place for two very jaded agents who have seen it all.

The Paris Nocturne Affair

Fandom: STARSKY AND HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Author on LJ: creedcascade
Author Website: Open Air Insane Asylum
Why this must be read: I had never read a S&H fic that was set in the POV of one of their females and Creed did it so nicely. Short piece, but so tasty!

Hutch isn’t even just Hutch anymore. Now he’s Starsky and Hutch, part of a matched set.


Shades of Black

Fandom: STARSKY AND HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Author on LJ: ?
Author Website: Candy’s Place
Why this must be read: Well who isn’t thinking about Christmas?! Okay, okay, so this rec isn’t very seasonal. But Candy manages to cram angst and humor into this little piece so well that you should all read it.

I've still got a few hours to run into a tall, sexy blond looking for a good time," Starsky quipped, grinning.

"A b-blond, huh?" Hutch asked.


It Must Have Been the Mistletoe

Fandom: Lotrips
Author: Lobelia (lobelia40@yahoo.com)
Author website:
Author on lj: lobelia321
Pairing: Billy/Dominic, Orlando/Viggo, Dominic/Orlando
Rating: NC-17

Why this must be read:

I love Lobelia's style of writing. It's visceral and alive in a way that most fictional writing doesn't quite manage. Not only does she had a kickass style but she's a dab hand at the old plot thing as well. This is a bit of an angst fest with lots of sex. It's about being friends and casual-and-not-so-casual sex, about obession and lust, that falling in love can be the scariest thing in the world, about the difference between not choosing and letting someone else choose for you and realising that the person you think you love isn't necessarily the same as the person you can't live without.

Her characterisation of Orlando and Dom is to die for (or, at least, cause serious envy) and she neatly manages to express the difference in age and experience between the four main characters. One of my own pet hates about the fandom is that Billy is so often turned into 'Pippin in blue jeans' to quote Lemur, and while there's a lot of sex in this series (did I mention that? Because if you enjoyed Up Shit Creek, you'll like this too), she doesn't take the easy way out. (and, incidentally, in case you were worried, no, there are no car crashes, drug overdoses or fatal helicopter flights. Dom's sunglasses get broken and a sofa gets serious water damage but that's about it.)

( Dominic sat up in bed. His torso was bare. He kept the blankets around his waist. Orlando handed him a coffee cup and planted a kiss on his cheek. 'So!' he repeated. 'Hobbits cuddling up at night, is it?' )

Attn. Drivers: Tomorrow's the last day of the month, so be sure to get any final recs in before the end of the day. Also, as the last Friday of the month, it's also Friday Night Drive-In, a.k.a. Fan Vid Recs.

Reccers may post 1 vid rec for their fandom, formatted as follows:

Subject Line: VID REC: Fandom - Song Title

Vidder:
Musical artist:
Pairing:
Vidder on LJ:
Vidder's website:
Why this vid kicks ass:


Because the vidder community has some unique ownership issues, it’s important that reccers be extra careful when making vid recs. Depending on the vidder’s preferences regarding public access to their work, please link your rec in the appropriate manner:

1. If the video is publicly accessible, direct link to the web page the vid is linked on, or if it’s the vidder’s request, to the HTML splash page of their site.

or…

2. Link to the site with instructions on acquiring the password, if the site is protected – do not reveal the password yourselves.

or…

3. Provide contact info for the vidder if their vids are only available privately (tapes, dvd-R’s, collections, etc.).


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Thank you!

Fandom: X-MEN COMICVERSE
Pairing: Cable/Domino, I suppose, although the story's not about that
Author on LJ: aliciam
Author Website: The link I have isn't working. Any help would be appreciated!

Why this must be read: You can never have enough humor in fandom. Really. And this story is one I've read a hundred times, each time laughing my ass off. I'm not even sure how precisely to describe why it's so funny, it's a combination of spot-on, yet slightly absurd characterizations, a situation that's inherently hilarious, and the intimations that it got so so so much worse while you were looking away.

The story plays with a classic fandom cliche: the big tough guy who needs his caffeine. Pity poor Cable, the toughest of the tough, when Beast has "borrowed" the coffee machine for an experiment.

( An excerpt for your enjoyment )