Genre Fic Recs for Bistocon
This year's Bistocon included two panels dedicated to attendees' favorite Professionals fics in selected fanfic genres. As I did last year, I prepared my recs ahead of time, and as was the case last year, I didn't have a chance to share all of them or properly to introduce some of those I did share (mostly due to my own shyness). Therefore, I'm posting them here.
Hurt/Comfort
The Lost and Found series by hutchynstarsk (18,585 words, gen)
This series does not find favor with some fans, at least partly because it is gen. Yet I think it captures the Lads' relationship well. It also captures things that I have not found in any other fic about the experience of being confronted suddenly with new limitations.
Angst
I was not quite sure what kinds of fics fall into the angst genre, but I looked for ones that see the characters in emotional turmoil that is not resolved by the end of the story. For most of the genres, I chose only one story, but here I couldn't decide between two.
A Hill of Beans by fiorenza_a (4,239 words, het)
This fic is one of the recs I prepared for last year's Bistocon, as well, which I suppose goes to show how highly I regard it. The writing is beautiful, the dialog is pitch perfect, and the emotion is vivid without being overdone.
Love Lies Bleeding by Shoshanna / the_shoshanna (4,423 words, slash)
The subject of another Bistocon panel was the similarities and differences between Bodie and Doyle, and one of the questions the moderator asked was whether people preferred stories that focused on what they have in common or on what separates them. I like both, I think, but this story definitely hinges on their differences. The result is insightful and very memorable.
Humor
The Least Favorite Themes Drabble by The Hag / hagsrus (100 words, slash)
Short, not-so-sweet, and hilarious.
Kink
Monopoly by Kitty Fisher (3,810 words, slash)
I might have had trouble with this genre, since, as I've written before, I find sex scenes in fic tedious more often than not. There are some that do connect, though, for reasons that are usually obscure to me. The sex scene that takes up the majority of this fic is one of them, so I had something to rec in this genre after all. (Although someone beat me to it during the panel, not unexpectedly.)
(Another sex scene that works for me, which I brought up during the panel dedicated to favorite sex scenes, is in Grand to Manhandle by jat_sapphire. In that case, I think its appeal might be how multisensory it is-instead of just describing choreography, it includes details of textures, smells, and sounds.)
Sorry You Read
This isn't exactly a genre, but it was one of the categories included in the plan for the panels. I wasn't sure how one should pick a favorite sorry-you-read fic. Should it be the least or most offensive? Fortunately, while I've read plenty of fics I didn't like, there is only one I am sorry I read, which makes it my favorite by default.
Sunshine by Castalia (2,790 words, slash?)
This fic just feels gratuitously horrible. It's hard for me to imagine what its purpose was, other than to upset its readers. It's difficult to forget, though. I would say not to read it, if you haven't, but of course, your mileage may vary. During the panel, someone else mentioned Endgame by Tarot / Chris Quinton as a fic she was sorry she had read, and that fic was one of the recs I prepared last year, too.
Case Story
Masquerade by Tarot / Chris Quinton / chrisquinton (46,299 words, slash)
Pros fandom is full of good case stories, but this is my favorite among the ones I've read so far. It is impeccably plotted, introducing new developments at all the right times, and has a lot of good interaction between the Lads.
(During the actual panel, Masquerade came up early on, and I ended up reccing Exile by PR Zed / przed, which I had seriously considered choosing as my favorite in this genre while preparing my recs, but ultimately placed a very close second.)
AU
This was almost another genre in which I couldn't settle on one favorite, but in the end, I decided that my other choice, the wonderful Heat by Lainie Stone, is not actually an AU. (The story it tells is in continuity with canon, and it doesn't introduce any elements into its setting that were not present in the Lads' time and place.)
Not Time's Fool by jat_sapphire (21,928 words, slash)
This is an AU, but a subtle one. It doesn't change the characters occupations or abandon the show's setting. In fact, much of this fic cleaves closely to canon. As you read on, though, things begin to skew in interesting ways under the influence of the story's sci-fi premise.
Guilty Pleasure
This isn't really a genre, either, but again, it was included in the panels.
Decrescendo by erushi (2,539 words, slash, crossover with Apparitions)
It's impossible to explain why I consider this fic a guilty pleasure without spoilers, so I'm not going to try. I strongly encourage those who haven't read the story to do so before reading my explanation. [ETA: Also, please be aware that there are spoilers in the comments.]
[Spoiler (click to open)]As those who have read it know, the central event of this fic is that Doyle kills Bodie, who is confined to a wheelchair and forced by circumstances to live isolated from Doyle. This is presented as a loving action, with the clear implication that, at least for Bodie, death is better than life with a disability. The idea that disabled people would be better off dead has a lot of potential for harm, from the subtle to the genocidal. As a person with disabilities, I feel as if I should push back against it, even while, as a person with disabilities, it's something I have felt in regard to myself, and as a Pros fan, I can easily imagine the characters feeling the same. Thus, I find Decrescendo problematic as well as compelling; something that I feel I shouldn't like, but still do, which is to say, a guilty pleasure.
Romance
Just When You Least Expect It (Just What You Least Expect) by Stew (10,520 words, slash)
I've mentioned this fic several times before, including in last year's Bistocon recs. I wrote about some of its flaws there, but also said what is still true. I just love this fic. I find it very romantic, which is why I picked it to represent this genre, and it always leaves me feeling all happy and gooey.
Bonus Genre: Crossover
Crossover was not one of the genres discussed during the panels, but it's a large and important category of fanfic, so I picked a rec for it anyway.
The Discovered in a Congo Prison Affair by jj_minerva (18,565 words, slash, crossover with The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
This is a crossover between Pros and my other major fandom, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. It has many good qualities, but in particular, I really like its approach to the meshing of two different fictional universes that is one of the central challenges of writing a crossover.
(ETA, 30 Dec: After a few months reflection, I think Once a King or Queen in Narnia, which I almost chose when I was first drawing up this list, is actually my favorite Pros crossover fic.)
Hurt/Comfort
The Lost and Found series by hutchynstarsk (18,585 words, gen)
This series does not find favor with some fans, at least partly because it is gen. Yet I think it captures the Lads' relationship well. It also captures things that I have not found in any other fic about the experience of being confronted suddenly with new limitations.
Angst
I was not quite sure what kinds of fics fall into the angst genre, but I looked for ones that see the characters in emotional turmoil that is not resolved by the end of the story. For most of the genres, I chose only one story, but here I couldn't decide between two.
A Hill of Beans by fiorenza_a (4,239 words, het)
This fic is one of the recs I prepared for last year's Bistocon, as well, which I suppose goes to show how highly I regard it. The writing is beautiful, the dialog is pitch perfect, and the emotion is vivid without being overdone.
Love Lies Bleeding by Shoshanna / the_shoshanna (4,423 words, slash)
The subject of another Bistocon panel was the similarities and differences between Bodie and Doyle, and one of the questions the moderator asked was whether people preferred stories that focused on what they have in common or on what separates them. I like both, I think, but this story definitely hinges on their differences. The result is insightful and very memorable.
Humor
The Least Favorite Themes Drabble by The Hag / hagsrus (100 words, slash)
Short, not-so-sweet, and hilarious.
Kink
Monopoly by Kitty Fisher (3,810 words, slash)
I might have had trouble with this genre, since, as I've written before, I find sex scenes in fic tedious more often than not. There are some that do connect, though, for reasons that are usually obscure to me. The sex scene that takes up the majority of this fic is one of them, so I had something to rec in this genre after all. (Although someone beat me to it during the panel, not unexpectedly.)
(Another sex scene that works for me, which I brought up during the panel dedicated to favorite sex scenes, is in Grand to Manhandle by jat_sapphire. In that case, I think its appeal might be how multisensory it is-instead of just describing choreography, it includes details of textures, smells, and sounds.)
Sorry You Read
This isn't exactly a genre, but it was one of the categories included in the plan for the panels. I wasn't sure how one should pick a favorite sorry-you-read fic. Should it be the least or most offensive? Fortunately, while I've read plenty of fics I didn't like, there is only one I am sorry I read, which makes it my favorite by default.
Sunshine by Castalia (2,790 words, slash?)
This fic just feels gratuitously horrible. It's hard for me to imagine what its purpose was, other than to upset its readers. It's difficult to forget, though. I would say not to read it, if you haven't, but of course, your mileage may vary. During the panel, someone else mentioned Endgame by Tarot / Chris Quinton as a fic she was sorry she had read, and that fic was one of the recs I prepared last year, too.
Case Story
Masquerade by Tarot / Chris Quinton / chrisquinton (46,299 words, slash)
Pros fandom is full of good case stories, but this is my favorite among the ones I've read so far. It is impeccably plotted, introducing new developments at all the right times, and has a lot of good interaction between the Lads.
(During the actual panel, Masquerade came up early on, and I ended up reccing Exile by PR Zed / przed, which I had seriously considered choosing as my favorite in this genre while preparing my recs, but ultimately placed a very close second.)
AU
This was almost another genre in which I couldn't settle on one favorite, but in the end, I decided that my other choice, the wonderful Heat by Lainie Stone, is not actually an AU. (The story it tells is in continuity with canon, and it doesn't introduce any elements into its setting that were not present in the Lads' time and place.)
Not Time's Fool by jat_sapphire (21,928 words, slash)
This is an AU, but a subtle one. It doesn't change the characters occupations or abandon the show's setting. In fact, much of this fic cleaves closely to canon. As you read on, though, things begin to skew in interesting ways under the influence of the story's sci-fi premise.
Guilty Pleasure
This isn't really a genre, either, but again, it was included in the panels.
Decrescendo by erushi (2,539 words, slash, crossover with Apparitions)
It's impossible to explain why I consider this fic a guilty pleasure without spoilers, so I'm not going to try. I strongly encourage those who haven't read the story to do so before reading my explanation. [ETA: Also, please be aware that there are spoilers in the comments.]
[Spoiler (click to open)]As those who have read it know, the central event of this fic is that Doyle kills Bodie, who is confined to a wheelchair and forced by circumstances to live isolated from Doyle. This is presented as a loving action, with the clear implication that, at least for Bodie, death is better than life with a disability. The idea that disabled people would be better off dead has a lot of potential for harm, from the subtle to the genocidal. As a person with disabilities, I feel as if I should push back against it, even while, as a person with disabilities, it's something I have felt in regard to myself, and as a Pros fan, I can easily imagine the characters feeling the same. Thus, I find Decrescendo problematic as well as compelling; something that I feel I shouldn't like, but still do, which is to say, a guilty pleasure.
Romance
Just When You Least Expect It (Just What You Least Expect) by Stew (10,520 words, slash)
I've mentioned this fic several times before, including in last year's Bistocon recs. I wrote about some of its flaws there, but also said what is still true. I just love this fic. I find it very romantic, which is why I picked it to represent this genre, and it always leaves me feeling all happy and gooey.
Bonus Genre: Crossover
Crossover was not one of the genres discussed during the panels, but it's a large and important category of fanfic, so I picked a rec for it anyway.
The Discovered in a Congo Prison Affair by jj_minerva (18,565 words, slash, crossover with The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
This is a crossover between Pros and my other major fandom, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. It has many good qualities, but in particular, I really like its approach to the meshing of two different fictional universes that is one of the central challenges of writing a crossover.
(ETA, 30 Dec: After a few months reflection, I think Once a King or Queen in Narnia, which I almost chose when I was first drawing up this list, is actually my favorite Pros crossover fic.)