Lifetime Fic Bingo: 1992

[tinturtle]

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It's 1992. Whitney Houston is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Disney's Aladdin. New terms coined include: civil union, exoplanet, Frankenfood, hacktivism, kumbaya, MacGyver, personal digital assistant (PDA), photoshop, polyamory, transphobia, and woo-woo.

For the year 1992, I read one A-Team fic, one Man from U.N.C.L.E. fic, and three Professionals fics.

The A-Team fic was What Price Honor? by Debra Hicks, in which Hannibal, BA, and Face are held prisoner by a drug lord and his henchmen. This fic was okay. I thought it set up an interesting conflict between the attitudes of Face and Hannibal on one hand and BA on the other. It missed including an equally interesting resolution, however, and pretty much went with "[platonic buddy] love conquers all." 4,105 words. Gen.

In the Man from U.N.C.L.E. story The Surfin' and Spyin' Affair by Jennifer Adams Kelley, Illya and Napoleon have to go undercover among a group of young surfers. This was a really fun fic, and my favorite for the year. I can see the plot being worked up into a good, lighthearted MFU episode. 11,650 words. Gen. Particularly recommended.

I also read Bonding by Stew, a Professionals fic chronicling the beginning of Bodie and Doyle's relationship as both friends and lovers. This story was the subject of a recent reading room discussion. As I said there, although I usually enjoy Stew's work, I didn't end up liking Bonding very much. The characterizations, which were unusual, simply didn't convince me. I also had trouble getting immersed in the episodic plot, despite the fact that similar story structures are not usually a problem for me. For more (lightly spoilerific) detail, see my comments on the reading room post. 22,241 words. Bodie/Doyle slash.

Some Say the World Will End in Fire by Jane Mailander (from Proslib) is a Professionals fic focused on Bodie's emotional life as he becomes head of CI5 following Doyle's death. It did a good job conveying Bodie's grief, but the plot didn't leave that much impression on me. 5,410 words. Bodie/Doyle slash.

I really enjoyed the emotionally complex Professionals fic Floral Arrangement by M. Fae Glasgow, but I'm not sure how to describe it without giving away important plot points. See below for more discussion with mild spoilers. ~13,000 words (26 pages). Bodie/Doyle slash with other relationships. Particularly recommended.
Comments with spoilers:

The set-up of this story is that Bodie has died and, after five years, returns as a ghost. Its great strength is the way it explores the complicated emotions their reunion entails for both Bodie and Doyle. I did wish the fic had ended with more of the details of their renewed relationship worked out, rather than slipping into porn mode, but I admired it a lot overall.

Check out the classic Professionals vid Detachable Penis by Media Cannibals, which uses a song from 1992.

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)

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