ext_1393 ([identity profile] kelliem.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] crack_van2004-05-22 10:46 am

Sex, Lies and UNCLE, by Anne Higgins (NC-17)

Fandom: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin
Author on LJ: not that I am aware of
Author Website: http://www.angelfire.com/nb/annehiggins/index.html
Why this must be read:

This is an interesting series-- it has to be considered an AU because it has been brought forward to more or less the present day from its original mid-1960's setting, and she has changed some aspects of the UNCLE organization, but the characters are definitely recognizable and the plots are interesting.

In the first, Our Intrepid Heroes are ordered to pose as lovers and perform on camera in order to entrap a mole within UNCLE HQ. Somewhere along the line they come to realize that they're not entirely acting. The second story is set in the same universe, and shows how they've integrated that new aspect into their partnership, while once more saving the world.

Probably because I have a soft spot for 'established relationship' stories, I actually prefer the second part of the series to the first, it's the one that stuck with me to the point where when I couldn't find it again to rec (because I didn't remember it being part of a series) I went asking around until someone recognized the story I was talking about and pointed me in the right direction.

Sex, Lies and UNCLE part I: The Affair Affair
http://file40.net/file40s/SLU.html
Warning: Some noncon, not graphic, and not between the slash pairing. (Note that there is a large visual gap in the story about midway through-- a coding error I assume, just keep scrolling down and you'll find the rest of it)

Sex, Lies and UNCLE part II: The 8x10 Glossy Affair
http://file40.net/file40s/SLU2.html

NOTE: There is a third part of this series linked at the end of the part 2, but unless you've seen the A-Team episode "The Say Uncle Affair" which featured Robert Vaughn and David McCallum it may not make much sense to you, because it's a crossover. I know I had no clue what was going on until after someone sent me a copy of that ep. If you decide to read it anyway, be aware that there should be a noncon warning on it as well, and it's slightly more graphic than the first story.

[identity profile] sensine.livejournal.com 2004-05-22 03:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks for reccing these! I really like these stories, read them a long time ago. (Yes, everything is relative ;) It didn't occur to me just how AU they are, not till now, when I have rewatched lots of episodes. And I've never seen the A-Team. But she captures the boys so well that it doesn't matter that she messes with time. The way she developes their relationship, and describes it after it is well and truly established, is oh, I can't find the correct word...I even like April and Mark! I only wish she would write more in MfU.

[identity profile] ardent-muses.livejournal.com 2004-05-22 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
These were some of the first stories I read. I have a weakness for the "you two must have sex for the cameras" stories. *G*

K, it might be worth mentioning that, although she doesn't warn for it, there is some rape in these stories. (Not between our heros, of course.) Although it's not graphic, I found it kind of disturbing.

[identity profile] lyrebird.livejournal.com 2004-05-24 04:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Although it's not graphic, I found it kind of disturbing.

As a fan of some non-con scenarios, I found these stories *extremely* disturbing. It's important to note that Illya is tortured and raped several times in this series of stories...and I had the uneasy feeling that it was for kink value. This becomes especially clear in the A-Team crossover, in which IK is raped by a doppelganger version of himself.

This story has been widely recced...but I have never really understood the appeal. Maybe I wouldn't feel as squicked if it had been Napoleon on the receiving end.

[identity profile] ardent-muses.livejournal.com 2004-05-24 09:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Maybe I wouldn't feel as squicked if it had been Napoleon on the receiving end.

Eeks! Not my poor sweet Napoleon! Say it isn't so! *G*

Personally, I don't get a charge out of seeing anybody raped. I realize that it's a kind of h/c that some people find very emotionally satisfying, but I think you either love it or you hate it. :(

[identity profile] sensine.livejournal.com 2004-05-25 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not especially fond of rape stories either, I tend to skip those parts, so much so that I had probably repressed some scenes from these stories. But "don't like" doesn't mean "not realistic", imo. They are at war after all, and things happen. I think it "fits" here, and these stories have so much other, good stuff. How she has portrayed the characters and how they interact has stuck with me. The care between NS and IK.(And hope I got my commas right, so what I meant to say isn't, um, bent.)

In my ideal world? No one gets hurt, anytime, anywhere. Birds and flowers.

[identity profile] ardent-muses.livejournal.com 2004-05-25 09:24 am (UTC)(link)
Oops! Sensine, I realized after I wrote my comment that it would sound more critical than it was meant. I was referring to "rape stories" in general (and to readers who seek out that particular kind of h/c). Not to this story in particular.

I enjoyed this story -- just not those scenes.

In my ideal world? No one gets hurt, anytime, anywhere. Birds and flowers.

LOL! Yeah. Right there with you. :)

[identity profile] sensine.livejournal.com 2004-05-25 10:26 am (UTC)(link)
I was referring to "rape stories" in general - Yeah, I guessed so, and I see what you mean - some writers wallow in sordid details and lets one of the guys be so victimized that it hurts my eyes to read. I tend to avoid those writers after one story, and that says a lot, since there's not much I don't read. Except death stories. Enough of that in real life.

Peace, man! *snicker*
sensine