Lifetime Fic Bingo: 1997

[tinturtle]

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It's 1997. Celine Dion is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Titanic. New terms coined include: auto-tune, cube farm, deep state, emoji, epigenetics, freegan, friends with benefits, fursona, nurdle, and weblog.

I read seven fics for 1997: two Man from U.N.C.L.E. and five Professionals.

The first MFU fic was To Live in Interesting Times by Taliesin. This story is more AU than any other MFU fic I have read. It takes place sometime around our present and shows UNCLE as it might be in the author's imagined 2020s. Both Illya and Napoleon appear as alternate versions of themselves born in the early 90s. I liked this fic a lot. It had an intriguing take on the organization and the characters, and the story was absorbing. 19,657 words. Napoleon/Illya slash. Particularly recommended.

I also read the MFU fic My Dinner with Angelique by Linda Cornett. This is a wonderful piece detailing an encounter between Angelique and Illya in a restaurant. It provides her a little backstory and couches it in excellent characterizations and dialog. This was my favorite fic for the year. 4,251 words. Gen. Particularly recommended.

In the Pros fic If Memory Serves by Alexandra, Bodie and Doyle have a falling out only for Doyle to go missing. I liked this fic, as well. It set up an interesting conflict and, even though it was obvious how it must resolve, I still felt a sense of suspense. I did wish there had been a few more convolutions near the end, though. 7,101 words. Bodie/Doyle slash.
Comments with spoilers:
[Spoiler (click to open)]Bodie's choice to help Doyle regain his memory even believing Doyle would reject him again turned me to mush. I am a known goop.

Predators by Jennifer Lyon is another Pros fic. In this one, Bodie and Doyle are framed for a crime and must prove their innocence. This story had a dramatic premise and plenty of plot, both things I enjoy. It didn't quite click for me, though. I didn't get a strong feeling for the Lads' relationship, which is important to me in both slash and gen. I also didn't really enjoy the writing style. 32,232 words. Bodie/Doyle slash.

Finally, I read the three fics from the Pros zine After the Battle by LRH Balzer. Those keeping track may remember that one of the rules I set up for this game was that multiple fics in a series would count as one fic if they were published in the same zine issue. I'm stretching that rule a bit here because these fics proved not really to be a series. I read them all, though, so I might as well write them up.

First was Learning the Bisto Code. This was a really nice early days fic detailing the beginning of Bodie and Doyle's partnership, first from Bodie's perspective and then from Doyle's. I'm a sucker for fics that tell the same story from two different points of view, and I liked this one very much. 10,195 words. Gen. Particularly recommended.

Next was Three Men and a Bodie, in which Bodie is recovering from being drugged by baddies and Doyle takes him on an outing. I'm afraid this one didn't work for me at all. It is meant to be comic, but I just didn't find it funny. 8,390 words. Gen.

Last was Scissors, an emotional hurt comfort story in which Doyle must recover from being captured. It was quite good, with effective non-linear storytelling, some well written action, and strong interactions between the Lads. It tilted toward melodrama at times, but I don't really mind melodrama. 21,249 words. Gen.

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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)

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