Fandom: THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS
Pairing: Brian/Dom
Author on LJ: ixchel55, and maybe one day she'll actually use it.
Author's Website: none, the story is being temporarily hosted by me
Why this must be read:

One issue that I encountered with the recs this month is the fact that many of the longer, plottier stories in the fandom have only ever been published to one of the lists. But the lovely dawn has allowed me to host this one so that everyone can take a look. Here she takes a fandom cliche (Dom, Brian, post-movie, Mexico) and makes it epic and sweeping and fabulous. There's action, there's romance, there's sex (lots of sex), there's pretty lovesick boys. Just make sure you've got the time. I'm not kidding about it being epic.


Dom's breathing had accelerated again. "Maybe we should take this discussion into the bedroom," he said intently.

"The garage," Brian countered gently.

"What?" Brian smiled at the nonplussed look on Dom's face.

"In the garage," he repeated. "It's one of my best fantasies. My first fantasy. I want you to fuck me for the first time while I'm spread out on the hood of your car."


Gravity

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: n/a
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: Penumbra's X-Files Fanfiction

All right, one more rec and then I'm outta here, babies. This one's short and sweet. Penumbra's incredible Contact High was already recced here, and I tried to spend May giving you authors that had yet to be mentioned, so consider this one a bonus.

Why this must be read: It's a quick look at Arcadia, the X-Files episode famous for putting Mulder and Scully undercover as Rob and Laura Petrie. This fic never fails to make me smile. Read it!

Mulder was making a documentary.

Honeymoon Video

Fandom: THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS
Pairing: Brian/Dom
Author on LJ: khaleesian
Author's Website: Reflections in the Inward Eye
Why this must be read:

Well, this is it for me for the month. I hope that there was a little something for everyone. And since we started with khal, I figured it made sense to end with her as well. This is another long, plotty one (maybe go get a snack before you start). There's a fire, a jail break, an attempt at revenge, and an attempt at redemption. And dead-on characterisations of just about everybody, as usual.


And even though Brian had never said anything about the botched operation, Tanner somehow knew that Brian's loyalty was no longer his to command. Brian could feel Tanner's distance growing in the wake of the incident, until they barely spoke.

Am I meant to bring grief to anyone who trusts me?

Brian rolled to his side and closed his eyes. I'm not lying. I do want redemption. Forgiveness. I just didn't say whose.


Deus Ex Machina part I
Deus Ex Machina part II

I thought I'd get one last rec in this month- I know I haven't been a prolific reccer, but unfortunately the bulk of the fic in this fandom exists in zine, but not online form, so it's a little tough to rec some of the stories I would really like to rec. (Like Elizabeth Urich's Perestroika, and Jane Terry's Z-48.) I'm hoping that with the creation of the new automated MFU archive, The Chrome & Gunmetal Madhouse, that that situation may change. There are also a few favorites I share with ardent_muses (the next person up) so I decided to leave them for her to do.

Fandom: Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin
Author on LJ: not that I am aware of
Author Website: none that I am aware of
Why this must be read:

MFU is a fandom that not only has a lot of canon bondage (not of the BDSM variety, but of the actual bonds variety) but it is rife with opportunities for hurt/comfort. These guys regularly end up in situations that should put them in the hospital, at least for a while. Personally I'm not a big H/C fan but I know I'm in the minority, so here's a H/C story for y'all that passes my 'not too extreme' test.

This story twines a classic hurt/comfort scenario with something a little more than comfort, weaves in a thread of guilt for angst, and then ties it all together in a payoff that feels very in-character for two men who mostly rely on brains, not brawn, to get the job done. The story is:

Amateurs, by Emrys

Fandom: OZ
Pairing: n/a
Author on LJ: maverick4oz
Author Website: Maverick's Cavern (although you'll find more of her stories at the Unit-B Archive)
Why this must be read:

Mav's own warnings/summary for this story should give you a good idea of why it must be read right off the bat:

"Lord help me, I've written a story about *the cellphone*. Otherwise known as Ryan and Nikolai play a game of cat and mouse. For the record, I know as much about cell phone cloning as [Tom Fontana] knows about aging drugs, so don't go looking for an airtight explanation here."

Hee. Think what you want about Fontana's various...er, *odd* plot devices, but the cell phone storyline provided us with some highly amusing O'Reily-Stanislovsky moments, and Mav has done a great job of capturing everything that was so entertaining about it in this little vignette, written for the Oz Lyric Wheel. As is always the case in Mav's stories, the dialogue is sharp and witty and the characterization is spot-on perfect (the story is written in a dual-POV format—first "Russia," then "America"). When you read this, it's like you can *hear* Ryan and Nikolai working each other, just like in the good old days. Plus, you get to learn a Russian phrase that translates literally as "The one who is chiming with his balls." *g*

Détente

Fandom: OZ
Pairing: n/a (well...a tiny bit of Beecher/Keller)
Author on LJ: dargie
Author Website: Dargie's Outpost
Why this must be read:

From the first moment I volunteered to do Oz recs for this month, I knew this would be the one I did last. I.....well, I just absolutely adore it. In my opinion, it's one of the funniest Oz stories *ever*.

I'd really rather not give away too much of what happens, because I think that first moment when you realize where the story's going is one of the funniest parts of reading it. Suffice it to say that it primarily consists of a conversation between Tobias Beecher and Bob Rebadow, one of the more elderly inmates in Oz. If you've actually *seen* Rebadow in the show and can imagine him saying the things he does in this story, it will be a lot funnier; even if you haven't, though, I still really must insist that you read it. It's short, and it's *hilarious*.

Gift Horse

Fandom: KNIGHT RIDER
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: n/a

Why this must be read:

For my last rec, I'm leaving you with a bit of a challenge: Catt of the Garage's "The Devil and the Three Naval Architects". Fantastic story, could have been an episode (if TPTB had that much money to burn!). Everything is canonesque down to the last iota; perfect characterizations, perfect technology, perfect plot. It's got intrigue, it's got sabotage, it's got torpedoes... it's even got a little something extra for KITT. There is absolutely no reason why you should not read this story -- except one. And that's where the challenge comes in...

The challenge? To find the story! Catt has, near as I can tell, vanished from the web. I've looked for her, checked every website and email address I could find. I even looked for her by her real name. Nothing. She's gone, and she took her stories with her. (A pity, because aside from this one, she also wrote a thrilling novelization of the episode "Killer KITT".)

What to do? I don't know. As of the writing of this rec, Google still has a copy of her story saved in cache format. I don't know how long it'll last, or even how legal it is to rec it like that. I've never found a copy of her story anywhere else, not even FF.Net. The only other option I can think of to get this story, is by asking some kindly fellow KR fan with a saved copy on their harddrive if they might be willing to share.

I encourage you to give it a shot, one way or another! This story is certainly worth the effort. Good luck, and have fun! :)

Title: Alpha Is Just Another Letter
Fandom: STARGATE SG-1
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Author on LJ: thegrrrl2002
Author Website: coffeslash | the grrl
Why this must be read:

Jack! Daniel! Hot!

*brain explodes*

Well, that and it's got some damn fine characterizations. Realistic descriptions and the characters are at their best *and* deliciously cranky to boot. Jack O'Neill cranky is hot, Daniel Jackson angry is damned yummy. The two of them snarking and sparking off each other is a blast and thegrrrl2002 writes it with a flare that leaves you grinning as you read it...right before you melt off of your chair and head for the floor. It is a definite must read.

Alpha Is Just Another Letter

Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: Donna/Amy
Author on LJ: nothingbutfic
Author Website: all that you can't leave behind
Why this must be read:

I've said all I can say about the best of the Donna/Amy fics. The screwed-up politics, the innate hotness, the complexity. This fic has that and also features my other favorite element: the well-characterized Donna.

the state of play.

Fandom: Lotrips
Pairing: Dom/Orli
Author on LJ: cupiscent
Author Website: Manflesh

Why this must be read: I love this fic. Isn't that enough? I think it was the first good lotrips fic I ever read. It's cute, clever, well written, Orli doesn't suck, there's pool. Hit that shit.

I try not to rec the same person more than once when I rec on this com, but, quite honestly, I couldn't help that with this author in this fandom. We're all fangirls of someone, right? (Unless you're a fanBOY or BOI or fanGRRL or whateverthefuck.)

Ring Pull

Fandom: Lotrips
Pairing: Orlando
Author on LJ: hackthis
Author Website: dysfunctional

Why this must be read: Orlando being young and stupid and just right on. If he's your guy, then you'll love this. She says it’s a shameful songfic, but it's totally not. Even so, the song fits the piece.

Mister Cellophane: A Song For You