Old and New Project: 2 by Lacey McBain, 4 by Elijahwildchild

[tinturtle]

Fandoms in this post: The Professionals, The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The A-Team.

Well. I haven't started my Astreiant reread yet, but it was still a long time between my last post and this one. It's been one thing after another lately, and I've been reading less fanfic than usual. I've read more than I'm writing up here, as I've been grazing as well as working on this project. Nevertheless, I feel the lack.

I neglected to take notes on what I read this time. (Did I mention it's been one thing after another?) Consequently, I don't remember all the fics very clearly, and my write-ups may be a little vague. I hope you will enjoy them anyway.

The fics I had collected were:

The Assassin's Daughter by Lacey McBain (The Professionals; 16,769 words; slash)

This fic was the subject of a reading room discussion back in May. You can read my detailed and spoilerific thoughts there. Here are some thoughts for general consumption, though:

This is a casefic in which Bodie and Doyle must transport and protect a teenage girl while navigating their own developing relationship. This story is beautifully crafted. I think that when I first read it, back in 2020, the word I used to describe it in my write-up was "workmanlike," one of my highest terms of praise at the time. It turns out, however, that some people have a lower opinion of workmen than I do, because in addition to "characterized by the skill and efficiency typical of a good workman," that word can mean "competent and skillful but not outstanding or original." Very annoying. Anyway, this story is the former. The action writing is particularly good and is probably what I like best about it, but I appreciate its emotional content, too.

The Mephisto Affair by elijahwildchild (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 19,444 words; slash)

There are a few stories in my collection that I've never read all the way through. When I was first reading fan fiction, I didn't have the text-to-speech programs available to me that I do now. Without them, it was difficult for me to read any fic over about 5,000 words. I did it on occasion, but often I would skim long works instead, reading only the scenes that looked especially interesting. And sometimes I collected a fic based on those scenes.

The Mephisto Affair is one such fic. Happily, reading the entire thing for the first time proved to be a rewarding experience. It's very MFU. Elijahwildchild puts it aptly in her summary: "Dastardly THRUSH plot, evil scientist, some angst, some banter, guns, fast cars. The usual." I particularly liked the scene that began the fic and then returned at the end with more context.

Comments with spoilers:

I was a little puzzled as to why Thrush would want to start a nuclear war without warning, though.

The Mephisto (Redux) Affair by Elijahwildchild (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 18,733 words; slash)

This is another fic that I had read only parts of originally. It is satisfying as a conclusion to the story of The Mephisto Affair, which does leave some loose ends. Overall, though, I didn't like it as much. That was mostly because I had trouble understanding Illya's emotions during the story's conclusion. They seemed illogical.

The new fics I read were:

Up in Smoke by Lacey McBain (The A-Team; 7,306 words; gen)

As The Mephisto Affair is very MFU, this one is very A-Team. It finds the Team in South America, pursued by bad guys and flying a stolen plane. Things complicate from there. The dialog was good, and I thought everyone was very much in character. I was also impressed by the aviation details sprinkled into the story. I don't know anything about that topic, but it all sounded good.

The Prague in August Affair by Elijahwildchild (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 5,377 words; slash)

This is a short mission fic that takes Napoleon and Illya to Prague. It's not as canon-typical as The Mephisto Affair, being more of a serious spy story than the show's episodes usually were. I like that MFU fandom produces fic with a different tone than canon, though. There are many interesting stories to be told that way. This one has got some good action, as well as some well done hurt/comfort. There's also a bit of history, which I always enjoy in MFU fic.

The Woomera Affair by Elijahwildchild (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 6,944 words; slash)

In this fic, our heroes go to Woomera, the missile test range in Australia. I enjoyed this one, though I found it less memorable than The Prague in August Affair. The dynamics between Napoleon and Illya were good, however, and the appearance of Australian agent Kitt Kittridge was effective.

(I wondered if the story would touch on the fact that Aboriginal Australians had been evicted from their land to clear the area targeted by some missiles launched from Woomera. (I learned of this recently by watching a video about the 1987 song "Beds Are Burning" by Midnight Oil, so it was near the top of my mind.) It never came up, however, which is fair enough. The story takes place at Woomera, not its satellite range, and probably not many people were concerned about the removal at the time, besides those affected. Indeed, to mention it could easily have felt forced.)

Also-reads: 0