Lifetime Fic Bingo: 1996

[tinturtle]

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It's 1996. The Spice Girls are on the radio, and I'm hearing their song "Wannabe" ad nauseum while practicing for my school's talent show. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Independence Day. New terms coined include: cromulent, embiggen, face-palm, fist bump, flip phone, live streaming, trans man, trans woman, phishing, and turntablism.

I read five fics for 1996: two Man from U.N.C.L.E., two Professionals, and one A-Team.

The first Man from U.N.C.L.E. fic was The Beddgelert Affair by PR Zed (przed), which begins with Illya investigating the apparent defection of Mark Slate to Thrush. This was a solid mission fic with some nice emotional beats mixed in. 9,413 words. Gen.

The second Man from U.N.C.L.E. fic was Brief Candle by Suzan Lovett. This is an unusual story that I can't do much to explain without giving away plot points that people might prefer to discover themselves. It is very well done, though. It takes place sometime around 1980, when Illya and Napoleon have been working together for 20 years, and I really enjoyed their dynamic as long established partners and friends. Another thing I liked was that, although the fic is rated explicit on AO3 (possibly for some graphic medical descriptions) there are no detailed sex scenes. This surprised me somewhat, given that the author's fan art can be very sexual. 22,698 words. Illya/Napoleon slash. Particularly recommended.
Comments with spoilers:
[Spoiler (click to open)]Those who have read this story know that it has an ambiguous ending. I tried not to be annoyed by that. I think it likely was the best narrative choice, and I was even expecting it, because I read bits of this story, including the ending, some years ago. I still felt frustrated, though. Endings like that are just one of my personal bugbears.

Festival of Lights by Dorinda is a Professionals fic written for Hanukkah. It's a short story told from Cowley's point of view as he observes Bodie and Doyle trying to diffuse a bomb. It has excellent dialogue and characterizations, and I enjoyed it. 3,454 words. Bodie/Doyle slash. Particularly recommended.
Comments with spoilers:
[Spoiler (click to open)]I do like a fic in which Cowley looks benevolently on Bodie and Doyle's romantic involvement. I lean toward the no side on the question of whether that is realistic, and I'm not sure I'd include it in a story of mine. It's nice to read about, though.

I also read the Professionals fic Dance While You Can by Alexandra in which Bodie and Doyle go undercover in a gay bar. This story was well written and had some cute moments, but I found it a bit too insubstantial. Not enough happened in it, either concretely or emotionally, to make the characters' getting together satisfying. 5,091 words. Bodie/Doyle slash.

Finally, I read Hacking Away at the System by sockii, an A-Team fic. This was a fun case story in which the Team goes to MIT to investigate the disappearances of several students. It is delightfully in keeping with the series, and also paints a vivid picture of its setting that I really enjoyed. This story was my favorite for the year. 23,986 words. Gen. Particularly recommended.



Check out the Professionals vid Until It Sleeps by PR Zed, which uses a hit song from 1996. You can convert it into a playable format using this site.

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Fics so far:

1986
Double Vision by Pamela Rose (The Professionals x Who Dares Wins; 47,962 words; slash)
Begin Again by Lois Welling (Ann Barrister) (The Professionals; 1,318 words; gen)
*Night Before the World Ends by Lezlie Conch (Lezlie Shell) (The Professionals; 4,355 words; slash)
The Crab Apple Cove Affair by Charlie Kirby (The Man from U.N.C.L.E. x M*A*S*H; 2,301 words; gen)
*In the Belly of Leviathan by Pythia (original series Battlestar Galactica; 13,062 words; gen)

1987
The Never Too Late Affair by Debra Hicks (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 1,441 words; slash)
*The Traitor Within the Gates Affair by D. H. Bryn (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; ~34,000 words; het)
Whisper of a Kill by Lois Welling (Ann Barrister) (The Professionals; 53,978 words; slash)
The Adventure of the Traitorous Lieutenant by Eileen Roy (Sherlock Holmes; 1,827 words; gen)
*Brothers in Arms by Anais (original series Battlestar Galactica; 4,099 words; gen)

1988
Night Moves by Courtney Gray (The Professionals; 35,344 words; slash)
Rainbow Chasers by HG (The Professionals; 134,373 words; slash)
Patterns in Walls by Debra Hicks (The Professionals x Sable; 6,003 words; gen)
Family Traits by Jatona Walker (The Professionals; 1,443 words; slash)
Slippery Situation by Debra Hicks (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 1,634 words; slash)

1989
In From the Cold by cybel (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 9,454 words; slash)
Nothing in Common by cybel (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 3,033 words; slash)
The Zippity Do-Dah Affair by Alys (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 934 words; slash)
*[From 1982: Looking Glass World by Felicity M. Parkinson (The Professionals; 22,758 words; slash)]
...And Memories Die, Part I by Ellis Ward (The Professionals; 26,340 words; slash)
*[Hell Hath No Fury by Jane Carnall and Ann Johnson (The Professionals; 2,958 words; gen)]
The Price of a Soul a Professionals fic by Jane Carnall and Ann Johnson (The Professionals; 2,194 words; slash)
[From 1986: Two Up by Jane of Australia (The Professionals; 8,013 words; slash)]
[Two Up Truly Queered by Jane Carnall (The Professionals; 2,360 words; slash)]

1990
*The Long St. Crispin's Day by C. W. Walker (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 19,765 words; gen)
*One Small Step by Lori Beatty (The A-Team; 5,713 words; gen)
Nor the Leopard His Spots by M. Fae Glasgow (The Professionals x EastEnders; ~15,000 words; slash)
*...And Memories Die, Part II by Ellis Ward (The Professionals; 46,161 words; slash)
*Absent Friends by Jane Carnall and Ann Johnson (The Professionals; 692 words; slash)

1991
*The Seventeen Days in October Affair by Terry L Neill and J. M. D’Agostino-Toney (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 14,854 words; gen)
*The Devil's Attic Affair by C. W. Walker (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 28,968 words; gen)
The Lion of Ngambo Affair by C. W. Walker (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 23,087 words; het)
Free Trader by Debra Hicks (The Professionals x Star Trek TNG; 26,454 words; slash)
Legacy of Temptation by Ellis Ward (The Professionals; 100,794 words; slash)

1992
What Price Honor? by Debra Hicks (The A-Team; 4,105 words; gen)
*The Surfin' and Spyin' Affair by Jennifer Adams Kelley (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 11,650 words; gen)
Bonding by Stew (The Professionals; 22,241 words; slash)
Some Say the World Will End in Fire by Jane Mailander (from Proslib) (The Professionals; 5,410 words; slash)
*Floral Arrangement by M. Fae Glasgow (The Professionals; ~13,000 words; slash)

1993
*Nothing Left to Lose by Jane (of Australia) and Madelaine Ingram (The Professionals; 33,529 words; slash)
*The Blue Figurine by Courtney Grey (The Professionals; 29,960 words; slash)
Step We Gaily by M. Fae Glasgow (The Professionals; ~13,500 words; slash)
Guardian Angels by Baravan (The Professionals; 13,408 words; slash)
The Adventure of the Strange Visitor by Quordle (Sherlock Holmes x Blake's 7; 7,903 words; slash)

1994
Bounty by Jane (of Australia) (from Proslib) (The Professionals; ~31,000 words; slash)
*Baiting the Trap by DVS (The Professionals; 2,758 words; slash)
Love is Wealth by Gloria Lancaster (The Professionals; 13,387 words; slash)
Survival by Melanie Athene (The Professionals; 10,916 words; slash)
*Brighton Memoirs by gardenerhill (Sherlock Holmes; 5,530 words; slash)

1995
Sex, Lies and UNCLE by Anne Higgins (Part I, Part II) (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 51,540 words; slash)
Knife-Edge by HG (The Professionals; 6,141 words; slash)
You Dancing? You Asking? by Gloria Lancaster (The Professionals; 6,323 words; slash)
*Summer's End by Alexandra (The Professionals; 71,090 words; slash)
Memoirs of a Merc by Alexandra (The Professionals; 13,457 words; slash)

1996
The Beddgelert Affair by PR Zed (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 9,413 words; gen)
*Brief Candle by Suzan Lovett (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 22,698 words; slash)
*Festival of Lights by Dorinda (The Professionals; 3,454 words; slash)
Dance While You Can by Alexandra (The Professionals; 5,091 words; slash)
*Hacking Away at the System by sockii (The A-Team; 23,986 words; gen)

* = Particularly recommended
[ ] = read but not counted toward the year's story total