Rec: Every Rank Begins With N by Brunhilde
Story: Every Rank Begins With N
Author: Brunhilde
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 689
Author's Summary: Another universe's Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart. Comes with severe warning for craziness!
Characters/Pairings: Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart/Dr Elizabeth Shaw ...or are they??
Warnings: None
Recced because: Well, the title and the severe warning in the author's notes really say it all more clearly than I probably can. Taking inspiration from Inferno and its eyepatch-wearing fascist Brig (and nasty fascist doppelgangers of the other S7 UNIT stalwarts), this fic explores the terrifying upside-down world that is the universe where...every rank begins with "N"!
It's one of those crack!fic premises that might seem a bit too silly (if that's even possible) at first glance, but it's not the only excellent joke and clever idea this fic has going for it (and after a couple of paragraphs you'll in any case find yourself going with the flow and chortling along anyway - or that was my experience, anyway). It's also poking affectionate fun at those much-loved (in my corner of fandom, at any rate) alternative-universe segments of Inferno and the horrible world they briefly sketched out (I don't know about you, but the allegations made about Brigade Leader Lethbridge-Stewart and Section Leader Shaw have the ring of truth about them as far as I'm concerned).
And on top of that, even, it's also subtly sending up the whole concept of mirror-universe episodes so beloved of television science fiction and the idea that in order to really mark that this isn't the world we know, you need some easily-identifiable visible gimmick. Like fascist!Brig's eyepatch. Or Spock's beard, to bring That Other Fandom into the proceedings. As well as fully revelling in that sort of thing, with characters who in our universe are heroes displaying the most black-hearted villainy (and dodgy fashion sense) you can imagine.
All that, and it's even a Brig/Liz fic of sorts, and I don't know about you but Brig/Liz is pretty much The Business from my point of view. And it also manages to bring out one of the very best aspects of the Infernoverse, eye-coverings and Evil!Sgt Benton aside - the fact that the alternative versions of our beloved UNIT characters aren't so much inversions of their normal personalities, but rather the same personalities with some of their pre-existing traits greatly amplified at the expense of the others.
Oh, and as I may have mentioned, it's dead funny too. I implore you; go and read it and leave some kind words for the author.
In this universe, though, Nrigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart was the personification of evil.
“I demand an explanation,” he yelled angrily at a scared Nergeant Benton. “UNIT does not just ‘run out of tea’. If this is another of your crazy fringe terrorist groups, so help me, I will have both you and them executed at once!”
“I’m sorry,” stammered Benton, trying not to look at the Nrigadier. It was very hard to take your commanding officer’s evil image seriously when he wore a pink-striped grey shirt and had tiny purple flowers stitched on his evil military cap.
Author: Brunhilde
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 689
Author's Summary: Another universe's Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart. Comes with severe warning for craziness!
Characters/Pairings: Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart/Dr Elizabeth Shaw ...or are they??
Warnings: None
Recced because: Well, the title and the severe warning in the author's notes really say it all more clearly than I probably can. Taking inspiration from Inferno and its eyepatch-wearing fascist Brig (and nasty fascist doppelgangers of the other S7 UNIT stalwarts), this fic explores the terrifying upside-down world that is the universe where...every rank begins with "N"!
It's one of those crack!fic premises that might seem a bit too silly (if that's even possible) at first glance, but it's not the only excellent joke and clever idea this fic has going for it (and after a couple of paragraphs you'll in any case find yourself going with the flow and chortling along anyway - or that was my experience, anyway). It's also poking affectionate fun at those much-loved (in my corner of fandom, at any rate) alternative-universe segments of Inferno and the horrible world they briefly sketched out (I don't know about you, but the allegations made about Brigade Leader Lethbridge-Stewart and Section Leader Shaw have the ring of truth about them as far as I'm concerned).
And on top of that, even, it's also subtly sending up the whole concept of mirror-universe episodes so beloved of television science fiction and the idea that in order to really mark that this isn't the world we know, you need some easily-identifiable visible gimmick. Like fascist!Brig's eyepatch. Or Spock's beard, to bring That Other Fandom into the proceedings. As well as fully revelling in that sort of thing, with characters who in our universe are heroes displaying the most black-hearted villainy (and dodgy fashion sense) you can imagine.
All that, and it's even a Brig/Liz fic of sorts, and I don't know about you but Brig/Liz is pretty much The Business from my point of view. And it also manages to bring out one of the very best aspects of the Infernoverse, eye-coverings and Evil!Sgt Benton aside - the fact that the alternative versions of our beloved UNIT characters aren't so much inversions of their normal personalities, but rather the same personalities with some of their pre-existing traits greatly amplified at the expense of the others.
Oh, and as I may have mentioned, it's dead funny too. I implore you; go and read it and leave some kind words for the author.
In this universe, though, Nrigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart was the personification of evil.
“I demand an explanation,” he yelled angrily at a scared Nergeant Benton. “UNIT does not just ‘run out of tea’. If this is another of your crazy fringe terrorist groups, so help me, I will have both you and them executed at once!”
“I’m sorry,” stammered Benton, trying not to look at the Nrigadier. It was very hard to take your commanding officer’s evil image seriously when he wore a pink-striped grey shirt and had tiny purple flowers stitched on his evil military cap.