Hi, I'm Helen or Stagie and I'll be your driver this month for Lord of the Rings. More accurately, Lord of the Rings Elves slash.
Why elfslash you ask, well they are very pretty... :) Had some pretty traumatic experiences with Aragorn/Legolas and hobbit slash, so I decided to play it safe. Now I like my stories long, with plot and a lot of sex (just in case you thought that my elves were pure, ha). Hope you enjoy.

Fandom: Lord of the Rings
Pairing: Glorfindel/Elladan and Elrohir/Legolas
Author on LJ: gloromeien
Author Website: None (can be found at http://www.libraryofmoria.com, http://www.adultfanfiction.net or her LJ)
Why this must be read: Because it probably has one of the best Legolas description ever. Especially the young Legolas, it always makes me think like I'm transfered to that world as by magic. Also I enjoy the language (which some people might see as archaic, but pretty spot on for LOTR). The pairings are the standard for this author, but that does not make them any less lovely :)

Summary: Just as tragedy strikes the Last Homely House, and old foe proposes an unusual alliance.
Author’s Note: Wanted to write something elven and epic, this is my shot. I don’t know if this can be considered AU… as it *does* follow the timeline established by Tolkien, it just ‘fills in’ some scenes he may have ‘left out’… *right*. My story, sticking, etc. Hope you enjoy!!

Note: This turned out to be a huge arc with only god knows how many follow ups, which unfortunately are not posted on LoM and AdultFF is being stupid right now. Check the author's LJ for some of it. I'll rec the rest as it comes available.

ETA: Subject line and Rating.

Hi BSG fanfic followers. I'm Karen, and I'll be your BSG driver for the month. RL has put on a serious crimp on my fanfic reading time, so I'm woefully behind when it comes to recent fic. Consequently, most of my recs will be "oldies" that were written during S1. Hopefully I can point out a gem or two you might have missed back when they were originally posted. Enjoy.

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 2003
Pairing: Kara/various others, but it's really pairing-less in my eyes.
Author on LJ: prillalar
Author Website: prillalar.com
Why this must be read: One of the things I love most about BSG is how Kara's always pushing the envelope, seeing how far she can push herself and others as she struggles with life post-the Cylon attack. prillalar's "Arithmetic" does a wonderful job portraying just that as it depicts a raw, uncensored Kara in only 500 words (and with a nifty arithmetic theme).

( snippet )

Arithmetic

Hi everybody. I'm happy to be driving The Sentinel Crack Van for March. This is my first time driving the van, but I still won't  let Jim take the wheel, no matter how much he tries to intimidate me, because we all know how hard he is on his vehicles :-)

I discovered Crack Van while looking for some recs for a new fan. I was surprised at how few gen recs were here, so that is what I'm going to concentrate on. I am bi-fictional but must admit to a special weakness for the purity of brothers-in-arms friendships. I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes, but I especially love long, complex plots, alternate universes, crossovers, action, and drama wrapped up in wit and elegant writing with on-the-mark characterizations.

I always wonder when I hear fans say they will only read slash. What's not to love about fine writing, inventive plots, and great characterizations? So, I urge everyone, even if you prefer slash, to give some of these stories a try. They will be mostly gen, but I know there are a few slash stories I won't be able to resist including.

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: none (gen)
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Dreamtime, Sheffield's Fan Fiction Page
Why this must be read:  If you think Iris, the Girl Next Door, took Blair on a wild ride, wait until you see what happens when a desperate Lee Brackett kidnaps Blair as incentive for Jim to take out the killer on Brackett's tail! Sheffield spins a yarn of escalating peril with wry, exasperated wit. Will Sandburg resourcefulness and Sentinel senses be able to save the day? Or will it take blind luck?

Excerpt:

Phone, phone, be a phone. Or a diner. A gas station. Another car. A moose, for heaven's sake! There has to be something, somewhere, in this godforsaken wilderness. He was going to have to stop muttering to himself, or else by the time Jim found him he was going to be in a psych ward somewhere, gibbering about dead Russians. Maybe they were Latvians. Or Estonians. Dammit, they could be Westonians for all he knew! Freedonians. Kidnapponians. Anthropologistonians. He shrugged deeper into the coat. Say one thing for insane Westonian kidnappers, at least they know how to do warm clothing. A hat would have been nice. Some pants would have been nicer. He wondered, academically, if it was true that bits of a person would simply fall off from frostbite. Given the usual Luck of the Sandburgs, he was taking no bets as to which bits.

Cold War

Hello again! I'm Liza, and you may or may not remember me from my stint back in June 2005, driving the van for that other set of escaped prisoners who act like they're on Jerry Springer: Farscape. But I'm going back to my roots this month, and giving you the tour of one of my first fandoms - Blakes7.

I'm a big lover of Vila, Cally, AI's, angst, Gen, and unhappy PGPs, so expect a lot of those, but I'm not above slash, crackfic, or happy endings, so there should be something for everybody. I've also limited myself to one fic per author (no really I mean it this time), so while you're going to see a lot of familiar names, you should be introduced to a couple new ones, too.

Enough about me. Time to teleport!

Fandom: BLAKES7
Pairing: open to interpretation, but vague suggestions of Avon/Blake
Author on LJ: astrogirl2
Author Website: Maximum Verbosity
Why this must be read:

Besides the fact that it's Astrogirl, besides the fact that it's Astrogirl doing Avon, and besides the fact that it was a product of the Multi-Fandom Lyric Wheel (a little known and much underrated ficathon collecting some amazing stuff), this is I think one of the best examples I've ever seen in my life of the "faux history" fic sub-genre. Astro here perfectly assumes the position of some nameless, faceless Federation Historian, progressing through the last year of Blake's Rebellion, offering theories and questions about the motivations of that most enigmatic of historical figures, Kerr Avon.

( He can almost fancy the idea of himself, defiant at the end, standing, perhaps, over a pile of Federation bodies and smiling at approaching annihilation and the satisfactory completion of his plans. )

How can you resist irony like that? This is a tightly woven, satisfying read, spoilery as all hell. Enjoy, and don't forget to feed the author.

Excerpts from Chapter 23 of "Blake's Rebels: A Historical Perspective", with Interludes

Back again to drive the Oz van and do a better job this time. We may be a small fanfom, but there are new gems coming along the time, and let's start with a recent post that needs to be on any Oz fan's must read list...

Fandom: Oz
Pairing: Beecher/Keller
Author on LJ: mandysbitch
Author website:

Why this must be read: Because it's sad, and it hurts, and some sections kick you right in the belly, and it's an amazing look inside what makes Chris Keller tick. It's hard to pick just one small part to illustrate, but this bit here, at the beginning, gives an idea of what's in store:

( excerpt )

What's true, what isn't? Small wonder we can never know when Chris himself doesn't, and that's what this fic does best, try to capture a little bit of the blank slate that is Chris Keller. Most of it isn't pretty, all of its angsty, the last bit hurts like hell, but it's all good.

Go, read, tell her you want more like it. *g*

Ten Stories

Hello, my name is ixchup and I’m going to recommend March Farscape stories. This month is John Crichton Hurt/Comfort month. So, here we go.

Fandom: FARSCAPE
Pairing:  John/Aeryn
Author on LJ: cathy1967
Author Website:Cathy’s Basement
Why this must be read:
 
Cathy is the supreme ruler of hurt/comfort fiction with the ability to rip your heart out and then fix it. What I love about this story is that it is a take off of the movie Altered States but from Aeryn’s point of view. In addition, Cathy created the geometric pregnancy before Peacekeeper Wars. The story moves fast and hard and there is pain and emotional doubts but the characters stay true to cannon. There is one character death and another very sad incident. But in the end, it is Cathy’s ability to show Aeryn’s “humanity” as well as John’s core of compassion that makes this story ring so true.
 

( A small exerpt )

And here is the complete story.

Altered States 

Fandom: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Solo/Kuryakin
Author on LJ: morrphyc
Author website: Morrphyc

Well, once again I’m driving the van. I thought I’d start with a short piece that has Napoleon agonizing over the outcome of a mission. I’m fond of this story because it gives a nice peek into Napoleon’s and Illya’s minds and also demonstrates the bond and affection between the two. At the same time it never loses sight of the fact that these men are agents, trained to do whatever is necessary. In reading about their shared agony over the outcome of their mission, tempered by their knowledge that some things they must do no matter what happens, you learn how they are the best of friends, partners and especially two people who deeply care about each other and each other’s pain.

( Read an excerpt )

Nolens Volens

Fandom: THE WEST WING
Pairing: Josh/Donna - sort of
Author on LJ: KHo
Author Website:http://kho.cruel-kindness.net/words/tww.html
Why this must be read:

KHo is an incredibly good writer who has a terrific handle on the characters. She was very prolific in Season 6, but I think she's moved on to another fandom now... which is a great shame! If you're reading this KHo, we miss you!
Anyway, there was a lot of chatter around during S6 that the writers of the show hadn't really addressed the issues Donna must have had after being blown up in Gaza, and that they'd well and truly dropped that particular ball. There were hints that Donna was working through something on the show, but that was about it - just hints.
Anyway, whilst I'm not necessarily a huge fan of the idea that Josh and Donna should have his and hers matching PTSD, this is nonetheless a fabulous piece of writing and the character voices are spot on.

Even a Goldfish Deserves a Funeral

She also wrote a companion piece, which takes place 'during' this fic - Josh talks to Leo - The Need to Talk About It (you need to scroll down the page to the last fic because there are two others here as well.)

Hi, I'm unperfectwolf and I'm your HP rec'er this month.

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Gen: Hermione Granger, Blaise Zabini
Author on LJ: ran_huo
Author Website: mausolea_fics
Why this must be read: It's a really good fic, guys, about hate and life and living and finding yourself and peer pressure and blind followers. This is by far one of my favorite fics.

I wish what Hermione does, that magic, those words, worked every time. I wish that it worked every time someone who's generally so level headed spewed some racist trash about how much better they were than someone else or about how someone else, a minority or not, should shut up and be happy with what they had, because can't they see we give them so much more than they deserve, even if it's not equality or anything near it?

But even if it doesn't work when I try it or when other people try if it works only once there's some progress somewhere, and someone out there has realized that hate for the sake of hate isn't truth, and that in the end there is so much more than some stupid class barrier, some stupid race barrier. Something so insubstantial it's not even funny. Somewhere out there someone has realized that interracial marriage is okay and that interreligious marriage is okay and that gay marriage is okay.

Someone has realized were all humans, in the end.

Whether We Wear Masks