Hi, I'm Helen or Stagie (of both LOL) and I'll be driving the Star Wars van this month :)
I'm mostly a TPM kinda person (yes, another one of those), but I do occasionally foray into Original Trilogy and the Expanded Universe. I have a specific OTP and very rarely deviate from it, but some times even I get tempted :)

I looked through the memories for TPM slash and saw that the first story recced way back then was Mrs. Hammil's "The Wheel If", so I decided to start with a story somewhat related to that.

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Fandom: Star Wars: TPM
Pairing: Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn/Benjamin Lars and assorted others
Author on LJ: ?
Author website: Susan Anthony's website (in geocities, horribly slow, has most the stories, except for the last one, plus some interesting titbits) also at the Master Apprentice Archive under the name Susan Anthony.
Why this story must be read:
Cause it's hot. And so damn well written.

And have I mentioned hot? :) It's probably one of my most favourite AR stories, it has all the title says, plus romance and plot and likeable secondary characters (who go on to have horribly hot sex *g*). This series follows Episode 15 of the Wheel of If by Mrs Hamill, Wheel of If is as you might imagine "a what if" kinda universe, where poor Obi-Wan goes through numerous realities trying to find one that will ultimately be right for him. Susan Anthony builds the story after Ep 15 is done and goes on to create an amazing Alternate Reality where Obi-Wan moves on to the next Reality, but Qui-Gon stays behind and needs to find an Obi of his own :)
She spins a tale of love, action and most probably devotion, also a different Jedi Temple that most of us are used to (which is not a bad thing). Of course there are bad guys and some really interesting spins that never stop coming.

What Happened Next
Continuation of Riding the Wheel of If: Episode Fifteen by Mrs Hamill in response to her hurled gauntlet of "Yah, poor pitiful Chancellor Jinn...he'll find his Obi, I'm sure of it. However, if any of you Wheelees can't stand it THAT much (and you know who you are), Write It! Go on, I dare ya! I'd like to see it as much as anybody, but can't take me hand off the wheel long enough to do it. Go for it, do, and I'll be on the sidelines cheering you on!"

Further Developments
The adventures of Chancellor Jinn and Benjamin Lars continue.

The Road to Coruscant
The adventures of Benjamin Lars continue. With danger lurking around the corner, will Benjamin make it to Coruscant where his lover impatiently awaits? Will Vellen find something to wear to the betrothal ball? Will Commander Sarin finally nail Knight Lars to the wall?

The Road to Coruscant:Above and Beyond
Four more days down the Road

Road to Coruscant: The Final Conflict
The pieces are all in place and the final game begins

note: all links go to the master_apprentice archive cause it loads faster. Please enjoy!

Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Leroy Jethro Gibbs/Donald 'Ducky' Mallard
Author on LJ: toomuchfandom
Author Website: Willow's Fanfiction Archive

Why this must be read:

Anita is quite a prolific Gibbs/Ducky writer and has written some superb stories, but for me, Cosas Malas Suceden En El Camino A Mexico is one of her very best stories. It is set immediately after Hiatus, and tells of Gibbs's time in Mexico. It has a really good plot line that action, great characterisation (including a side to Ducky you rarely see, but know he is capable of), good team interaction, tension, hurt/comfort, angst, pain, suffering, caring, love, affection, you name it, it's there. And it has a beautiful final line.

Anita is not a native English speaker, but you would hardly know it from her stories. I'm always in awe of people who write in their non-native language and do so so very well.

( Extract )

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Cosa Malas Suceden En El Camino A Mexico

Fandom: MAN FROM UNCLE

Pairing: Napoleon/Illya

Author on LJ: frau_flora

Author Website: Flora's Page at Raven's Lair Vault. Select "The Vault" and then select "Flora" to get to her page. Her works can also be found on muncle.

Why this must be read:

This gem of a story is infused with the sly humor and self-mocking awareness that is a hallmark of the televised series. You would be wise to keep all liquids away from your computer while reading this story. Or at least keep a squeegee on hand so you can wipe down the screen afterwards.

There's a plot - yes, there is! - and it's straight out of third season cuckoo-land. Mind controlling devices! Musketeers with white horses! More exclamatory descriptions than you can shake a tulip at!

The story is told from the point-of-view of one rather grumpy Russian spy, griping to himself because his senior partner has once again nabbed the plum part of the assignment. Napoleon, however, playfully cajoles Illya out of his mood.

When he looked up, he had to laugh in spite of his foul mood. Napoleon was wearing a wide-brimmed blue hat with huge red and white plumes and looked like all three musketeers in one person.

"Well, hello handsome stranger," Napoleon crooned. "My white horse is parked right outside the door. Would you mind if I abducted you?"

One thing leads to another in that dusty basement full of strange and wonderful hats, until something even stranger and more wonderful happens. Mr. Waverly stops by to - of all things - buy a hat. Guess what? That mind controlling device really does work....

Have fun reading The Borsalino Affair.

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.

Fandom: MAN FROM UNCLE

Pairing: Gen

Author on LJ: unknown

Author Website: AJ's Fan Fiction Library. Select "The Print Room" to access her MFU stories.

Why this must be read:

I've read this very short piece over and over, and each time it seems to deliver an even more powerful punch. Napoleon and Illya are once again in dire straits - beaten, restrained, and abandoned in a dank cellar. The situation appears hopeless. And Napoleon can't seem to let go of his competitive impulse, goading and humiliating his partner. Or is that really what's happening here?

A wonderful character piece proving the strong trust, resilience and interdependence of true partnership.

The Briefs Affair

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.

Hi everyone, I'm Julia (jcathm) and I'll be driving the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 2003 van for this month.

I am an unabashed Kara/Lee (Starbuck/Apollo) shipper, so the majority of my rec's will be in that pairing, but I promise to throw spice things up with some other pairings within the fandom as well. I tend to favor angst-cakes, smutty goodness and the occasional crack-fic, so you'll get plenty of each.

Having said that...my first rec for y'all:

Fandom:BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (2003)
Pairing:Kara/Lee, mention of many other BSG characters
Author on LJ:bantha_fodder
Author website:All of her BSG2003 fic is archived here

Why this mustbe read: This is the pinnacle of crack!fic. It borrows liberally from The Princess Bride and brilliantly plays off of the inherent ridiculousness in many of the characters and relationships in BSG. It is also pretty much spoiler-free, so it very newbie-friendly for those outside of BSG-fandom. Did I mention that it's hilarious?

Read it here: The Pilot Bride

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim and Blair
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author website: Ysone's Fanfic

Why this must be read: I could rec any one of Ysone’s wonderful stories, she’s probably my favourite gen writer, but this is the one I come back to again and again. It’s a tale of high angst (you’ll be seeing a lot of angst rec’d this month, I am a dreadful angst monkey); an AU in the bonding fic/ GDP type universe, but less physically brutal; there’s no forced bonding or enslavement of Guides in Ysone’s story.

Blair is a Guide who has been officially shunned and marked; his life in ruins and living on the street. He’s taken up by a desperate Jim who needs a temporary Guide, intending to get rid of Blair as soon as he can.

You can probably guess what happens next – there are few surprises in that respect, but this story is so very well written and Jim and Blair’s slowly developing relationship so beautifully portrayed  – it’s just full to the brim with delicious angst and smarm and I just can’t rec this story too highly.

Twice Again

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Gen
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: XRae's Gossamer page
Why this must be read: Scully and Doggett bond, post-Roadrunners. I haven't seen too many of those; at least, not where there's friendship rather than blossoming romance. And this is both well-written and well-characterized, showing us another side of Doggett, but one that fits well with what we know of him, as he and Scully get to know each other at least a little bit better while watching a baseball game with Doggett's team, the Cleveland Indians.

( Excerpt )

His Secret, With Indians

Fandom: LOTRIPS
Pairing: Billy/Dom
Ratings and Warnings: R/NC-17 for violence, language and sex. Character death!
Author on LJ: kiltsandlollies
Author Website: Poking Badgers with Spoons
Why this must be read: Billy is an inspector and Dom is a thief. It starts as some dark but mostly very sexy drabbles, but then develops into so much more - 21 gut-wrenching parts and several extras set in the same universe.

To me, this is the mother of all angst-ridden but absolutely irresistible AUs. kiltsandlollies wrote a whole world and flawed but wonderful characters just waiting to break your heart. Exquisitely painful.

( Part 1: Drabble 1 )

Officer and Gentleman