Million-Word Challenge: B is for The Bronze Metal Lover, U is for Unit I, Series LYA...

[tinturtle]

C is for Cold War (and prequels), R is for Rift, F is for The 'Fine and Private Place' Affair, M is for More Deaths Than One, D is for Dreamed That Man Was I, D is for Dream a Highway



I have a lot of fics to write up today. Most of them are things I have read before and gathered into my Beloved Collection. I guess I've been in a mood for stories I know I like.

Earlier in the week, I was telling my mother about the different types of fanfic AU. This led me to look back over some of the AU fics I have collected, among which was The Bronze Metal Lover, a Professionals fic by stew. I found that I had forgotten a lot of details about that story, so I decided to read it again.

Like a few of stew's other stories, this one is a fusion with an existing sci-fi work, in this case the novel The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee. I have not read that book, but I enjoyed the exploration of how a robotic mind might work that this fic appears to share with it. The robot character's thoughts and motivations and their change over time are the meat of this story, though there is a bit of action and an interesting setting as well. 15,264 words. B/D slash. Particularly recommended.

Having read a Pros fic featuring a robot, I was reminded of the MFU fic Unit I, Series LYA: Press to Activate by orockthro, in which Illya is a robot. This is a much shorter story, but also thought provoking, particularly about the relationships between robots and humans. 3,665 words. Gen. Particularly recommended.

Since I was now having a bit of a robot marathon, I decided to throw in the three Pros fics from jat_sapphire's Dirty Computer series: Many Moons, Oh Maker, and Cold War (of which only the last is long enough to fill a space on my challenge board). These stories are brief but manage to pack a lot of punch, both expositional and emotional. 530, 648, and 1,651 words. B/D slash. Particularly recommended.

I also read Sweetbounce by CassieIngaben, another very short Pros robot fic that I had read before. I didn't reread A Future to This Life by Verlaine, though I considered it. Strictly, that's a cyborg fic, but it would still have fit well enough with my theme. I also didn't read Helen Raven's The Same River, because the author's note always scares me off. ("'Major Character Death' is the only [archive warning] that really applies, but it also seems entirely insufficient for describing the ways in which this story is designed to fuck with you...If you are in the mood to be harrowed, this could be your lucky day." Um, maybe another time.)

Rift by monkeybard is a recently posted A-Team fic that I checked out in the midst of my various rereads. It is a short piece exploring Murdock's mental state (which I think might constitute a genre in A-Team fandom). I liked it fairly well. 1,781 words. Gen.

Later, I moved on from science fiction to supernatural fiction in the form of the Revenant Series by Taliesin, a trio of MFU fics in which Napoleon is dead and has returned as a ghost. I wanted to reread these for a good part of last year, but didn't because I had already filled some of the relevant spaces on my bingo card.

I'm pleased I finally got around to them. The first one, The 'Fine and Private Place' Affair was my favorite this time around, though from my notes, it looks as if Dreamed That Man Was I, the third fic, may have been my favorite last time. Both of those are solid mission fics with a supernatural twist. More Deaths Than One, the second installment, is a bit creepier and the focus of the plot is a little different, but it is also a good read. All three fics have good characterizations of both our heroes as they navigate their strange situation. 32,449, 14,784, and 24,325 words. All NS/IK slash. All particularly recommended.

I also read Dream a Highway by marginalia, another fic based on the song Pancho and Lefty. I didn't love it quite as much as Lefty Sings the Blues, but it was well done and offered another interpretation of events. 1,443 words. Pancho/Lefty slash.

Total Points: 214
#: 3 points
1991 by SkyborneVeggies (1 point; The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
4 Vignettes With No Kissing & 1 Ex-Yacht by captain_starcat (2 points; The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
A: 29 points
*All the Kasha They Could Eat by Jest (7 points; The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
*After the World Went Awry by teaspoonnebula (22 points; Sherlock Holmes)
B: 15 points
*The Bronze Metal Lover by stew (15 points; The Professionals)
C: 1 point
*Cold War, part of the Dirty Computer series by jat_sapphire (1 point; The Professionals)
D: 15 points
*Dreamed That Man Was I by Taliesin (14 points; The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
Dream a Highway by marginalia (1 point; Pancho and Lefty)
F: 32 points
*The 'Fine and Private Place' Affair by Taliesin (32 points; The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
I: 54 points
Island Innocents by Glen Fiddich (54 points; The Professionals)
L: 3 points
*Lefty Sings the Blues by MirrorMasque (3 points; Pancho and Lefty)
M: 24 points
*More Deaths Than One by Taliesin (24 points; The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
R: 1 point
Rift by MonkeyBard
S: 30 points
*Spiderweb by Cord Smithee (12 points; The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
*The Singing of Many Wires by teaspoonnebula (18 points; Sherlock Holmes)
U: 3 points
*Unit I, Series LYA: Press to Activate by Orockthro (3 points; The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
W: 4 points
*Wicked by Cord Smithee (4 points; The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)

* = Particularly recommended.