Lifetime Fic Bingo: 1999

[tinturtle]

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It's 1999, and everyone is talking about the Y2K bug. Ricky Martin is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. New terms coined include: active shooter, adorkable, bling, blogosphere, carbon footprint, clickbait, e-waste, incel, pwn, and texting.

For 1999, I read three Professionals fics, one Professionals x Watership Down crossover, and one Man from U.N.C.L.E. fic.

The first Professionals fic was That Look by Amanda Warrington, in which Bodie and Doyle must travel to Jordan to pick up an extradited suspect. I liked the first three chapters of this fic a lot, and the fourth considerably less, mostly for predictable Turtle reasons. For more detail, see my comments below. 36,359 words. Bodie/Doyle slash.
Comments with spoilers:
[Spoiler (click to open)]The meat of the first three chapters of this fic is the hijacking, crash, and eventual recapture of the plane Bodie and Doyle are traveling on. I enjoyed both the set-up for that chain of events and the narration of the events themselves. I also enjoyed the leaven of romance between the Lads that ran through it, as well as one of the original characters: Jamie the camp yet competent airline steward.

The last chapter takes place after they reach Jordan. It contains some ruminating on Doyle's part, what felt to me like an overlong sex scene, and a lot of descriptions of their fancy quarters as guests of the king. Several reviewers quoted on Fanlore (one of whom was also quoted by the author in her notes on the AO3 posting) complained that there was a boring amount of detail in this story. I didn't find it a problem in chapters one through three, when it concerned airports and airplanes, of which Amanda Warrington has specialist knowledge. The decor porn of the last chapter did start to irritate me, though.

The Professionals fic Firestorm by Elspeth Leigh is the sequel to Firewalls from 1998. Like its predecessor, it is an older Lads story with flashbacks to a case from their time in the field. I really enjoyed Bodie and Doyle's interactions in this fic, and the characterizations and emotional content in general. The slow pace at which the Lads' relationship developed in the flashbacks was unusual and interesting. The case story elements, both in the older Lads narrative and in the flashbacks, didn't work as well for me, though. 21,278 words. Bodie/Doyle slash.
Comments with spoilers:
[Spoiler (click to open)]In particular, I found the resolutions of both cases kind of anticlimactic. This was especially true of the bombing of the Lads' house. That case is resolved by the "off screen" arrest of a just-introduced character after a more thorough background check. Not very satisfying stuff.

I also read Rules by PFL (msmoat), another Professionals fic. This fic begins with some missing scenes set during the episode Wild Justice then transitions to an original case involving an old mercenary comrade of Bodie's. I liked a lot of things about the story. It made a bit more sense of Wild Justice, an had interesting conflicts that resolved in a satisfying way. I couldn't quite become absorbed in it, though. It may be that the point of view changed too often. That's not a common complaint for me, but it distracted me a little in this fic. 14,444 words. Bodie/Doyle slash.
Comments with (very minor) spoilers:
[Spoiler (click to open)]Regular readers will be accustomed to my complaining about sex scenes. I really don't think this is down to the subtle homophobia consumers of M/M content are sometimes accused of, where they like to see the male leads kiss but don't want to think about them actually making love. For one thing, I'm just bored by most slash sex scenes, not squicked. For another, one reason I read slash in the first place is that same-sex relationships are the type that feel most natural to me. And, of course, there are slash sex scenes that I do like.

Anyway, I found the sex in this fic more than usually relevant to the characterizations and plot, and therefore less boring. I also quite liked this passage:
"He responded to Bodie's touch as though he'd known no other, as though there would never be another. He held nothing back, with no thought for the future."

(I'm not sure why I find so much sex in fic tedious, even when I can recognize it as well written. Some ideas I've come up with are: my complete inexperience; that I am somewhere on the asexual spectrum, as I sometimes suspect; or that I am not sexually interested in men, as most slash readers are.)

Hombathlay by Jane Mailander (gardnerhill) is a crossover between The Professionals and the book Watership Down. I was not sure what to make of this fic. In it, both Bodie and Doyle appear as rabbits. I felt like Bodie was recognizable, but Doyle much less so, especially in his backstory. The plot was largely driven by that backstory, so this didn't feel very much like a story about Bodie and Doyle. It was still interesting, however. 8,555 words. Bodie/Doyle slash.

Finally, I read the Man from U.N.C.L.E. fic Roots of the Present by N. L. Hayes. This was a fascinating fic detailing Illya's recruitment to UNCLE. It examines Illya's loyalties and feelings about the organization, as well as the process of bringing a Soviet agent into UNCLE. It's intricate and just really neat, and was my favorite fic for the year. 6,683 words. Gen. Particularly recommended.




Check out the Professionals vid Livin' La Vida Loca by Perruffus (María Magdalena Fernández del Río Ossandón), which uses 1999's song of the year.

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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)

1997
*To Live in Interesting Times by Taliesin (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 19,657 words; slash)
*My Dinner with Angelique by Linda Cornett (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 4,251 words; gen)
If Memory Serves by Alexandra (The Professionals; 7,101 words; slash)
Predators by Jennifer Lyon (The Professionals; 32,232 words; slash)
After the Battle by LRH Balzer (The Professionals; gen)
*-Learning the Bisto Code (10,195 words)
-Three Men and a Bodie (8,390 words)
-Scissors (21,249 words)

1998
*Firewalls by Elespeth Leigh (The Professionals; 14,518 words; slash)
*Sufficient Unto the Day by Taliesin (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 2,657 words; slash)
Confidences by Taliesin (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 4,106 words; slash)
*The Uncertainty Principle by C. W. Walker (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 20,145 words; slash)
*Partners by Patricia J. Foley (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 46,824 words; slash)

1999
That Look by Amanda Warrington (The Professionals; 36,359 words; slash)
Firestorm by Elspeth Leigh (The Professionals; 21,278 words; slash)
Rules by PFL (The Professionals; 14,444 words; slash)
Hombathlay by Jane Mailander (The Professionals x Watership Down; 8,555 words; slash)
*Roots of the Present by N. L. Hayes (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 6,683 words; gen)

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