The Turtle Jourtle

Old and New Project: 7 by Mab, 2 by RandomFlyer, 5 by JantoJones

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 07:27:50 GMT

Fandoms in this post: The Professionals, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Sentinel, Horatio Hornblower

It's been a long time since my last project post, but you see that I have not been idle. Also, I kept notes, thank goodness.

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Old and New Project: 4.5 by Elizabeth O'Shea, 1.5 by PFL, 2 by JantoJones, 4 by Waid

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 21:48:11 GMT

Fandoms in this post: The Professionals, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Sherlock Holmes

Howdy, fellow fans. I have a lot of write-ups to share today. I've also added quite a few of the new fics to my Beloved Collection. I've decided to introduce some notation for that, which you will see below. Sometimes I collect a fic after some reflection, though, rather than immediately, and my posts may not capture that.

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Lookback Fic Bingo: Highlights 1978-1985

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 07:00:27 GMT

During my Lookback Fic Bingo game, covering years 1978 to 1985, I read 20 fics. Of those, the three I would most recommend today are:

Dead Bluff by Linda S. Maclaren (Mackie) and Gina Martin (The Professionals; 22,900 words; gen)
Tiger by the Tail by Lillian Shepherd (The Professionals; 21,111 words; gen)
A Time of Certain Solace by Eileen Roy (The Man from U.N.C.L.E. x M*A*S*H; 4,992 words; gen)

All gen! 0_0

(Above: Nena performs music for the partial decade 1978-1985.)

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Lookback Fic Bingo: 1979 and 1978

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 05:00:34 GMT

I found three longish Starsky & Hutch fics, one from 1979, one from 1978, and one for a 1977 bonus round. They look like good fics, but I'm just not in the mood to read that much in a fandom I have only some knowledge of. So I’m going to pass on them for now. As a result, I've now finished both of the former years and, with them, my game. Woo! (I may come back to those S&H fics in the future, though, if the whim strikes.)

It's 1979. Pink Floyd is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Superman. New terms coined include: biophilia, buffalo plaid, chill out, email, entheogen, first world problem, hip-hop, ollie, outsource, and space elevator.

For 1979, I read two pieces: one Starsky & Hutch fic and one Man from U.N.C.L.E. x The Prisoner crossover.

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It's 1978. The Village People are on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Grease. New terms coined include: attention deficit disorder, bodice ripper, curly endive, de-stress, emotional intelligence, pad thai, permaculture, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, Stockholm syndrome, and whataboutism.

This far back, most works available are based on either Star Trek or Starsky & Hutch. Since neither of those, on its own, appeals at the moment, I ended up reading only one fic for 1978: a Sherlock Holmes x Star Trek crossover.

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Lookback Fic Bingo: 1980

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 07:17:53 GMT

Okay. The past few days have been pretty bad mentally, and I've really been struggling to do these write-ups. Giving it another try.

It's 1980. Queen is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is The Empire Strikes Back. New terms coined include: differently abled, dis, ecotourism, electronica, high five, killing field, NIMBY, Usenet, voicemail, and yuppie.

For 1980, I read three fics: one Professionals fic, one Sherlock Holmes x Star Trek crossover, and one Man from U.N.C.L.E. x M*A*S*H crossover.

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Lookback Fic Bingo: 1981

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 05:06:15 GMT

It's 1981. Journey is on the radio. (In a sign of the times, their "Don't Stop Believin'" is the first song I've featured that didn't have a music video.) Here in the USA, the year's top film is Raiders of the Lost Ark. New terms coined include: boom box, canola oil, gateway drug, graphical user interface, infomercial, phone card, snowboard, spellchecker, spreadsheet, and technobabble.

For 1981, I read four fics: one Professionals, one Star Trek, one Star Wars, and one Starsky & Hutch.

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Old and New Project: 3 by Alex51324, 2 by mistyzeo

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 00:47:44 GMT

Fandoms in this post: The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Man from U.N.C.L.E. movie, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century, His Dark Materials

Bleh. Things have been very thingish lately. I feel a bit lost trying to write up the fics I've read over the past six plus weeks. Yet I want to get it done. I've decided that I am just going to offer some brief notes so that I can move on.

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Old and New Project: 3 by Kaneko

Tue, 13 May 2025 04:24:10 GMT

Fandoms in this post: The Breakfast Club

After rereading what_alchemy's Breakfast Club fic during the previous step of my project, I had a hankering to read The Supper Club by Kaneko, the other Breakfast Club story in my Beloved Collection. Later, I found that The Breakfast Club is the only fandom Kaneko has written for that I have much knowledge of, so I ended up reading two more of their Breakfast Club works, as well.

In order not to bore my readers, I had intended to make sure that each of my future Old and New Project posts had at least a couple Professionals or Man from U.N.C.L.E. fics. I have not been feeling well, though, and I lack the concentration for much reading. So that I don't forget the details of these fics before I can read any to accompany them, I'm writing these up now on their own. Sorry if it's not interesting, Pros and MFU fans who are subscribed to my journal.

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Lookback Fic Bingo: 1984

Thu, 01 May 2025 04:33:56 GMT

It's 1984. Michael Jackson is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Beverly Hills Cop. New terms coined include: bi-curious, death metal, desktop publishing, genetically modified organism, glass ceiling, moonwalk, plug and play, power walk, spin doctor, and wack.

For 1984, I read two Professionals fics and one Professionals x Starsky and Hutch crossover.

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Old and New Project: 6 by what_alchemy

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 04:14:13 GMT

Fandoms in this post: Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, Captain America (movies), Velvet Goldmine, The Breakfast Club

For this step of my project, I read the two fics by what_alchemy that I had previously collected into my Beloved Collection, followed by four of the author's other works.

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Old and New Project: 6 by Rebelcat

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 05:22:41 GMT

Fandoms in this post: The Professionals, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Starsky and Hutch

Hello, and welcome to the first post of my Old and New Project. As I explained previously, for this project I will be reading each fic in my Beloved Collection of favorites, followed by at least one new (to me) fic by the same author.

To start this step of the project, I read the two fics by Rebelcat (myrebelcat) that I had collected in the past. (I'm not sure if I'm always going to read all the fics I have by a particular author at the same time, but I did in this case.)

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: Highlights 2016-2024

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 21:49:26 GMT

During the final 9 rounds of my Lifetime Fic Bingo game, 2016 to 2024, I read 46 fics. Of those, the five that I would most recommend today are:

The Craven Hive by OldShrewsburyian (Sherlock Holmes; 35,627 words; gen)
The Moon and Planets by LaurytheLatrator (Sherlock Holmes; 33,924 words; femslash)
True by JoJo (The Professionals; 13,366 words; slash)
Out of Reach by cornishcat (The Professionals; 23,187 words; slash)
High Water by unbelievable2 (The Sentinel; 9,633 words; slash)

(Above: Lil Baby performs music for the partial decade 2016-2024.)

All recommended fics:

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: 2024 Bonus Round

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 21:19:31 GMT

Ring the bells and toot the horns, it's finally time for the last round of Lifetime Fic Bingo! Between some very bad mental health, some medical distractions, and becoming caught up in the fic I am writing, this round was a bit discombobulated. Unfortunately, that means that we are going out with more of a whimper than a bang, because my memories of some of the fics I read are now rather vague. Still, finishing this nearly two-year project is very exciting.

It's 2024. Shaboozey is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Inside Out 2. The American Dialect Society's Word of the Year is rawdog.

For this bonus round, I read five fics: one Professionals, two Man from U.N.C.L.E., one Sentinel, and one Harry Potter.

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: 2023

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 02:32:44 GMT

It's 2023. Taylor Swift is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Barbie. The American Dialect Society's Word of the Year (coined in 2022) is enshittification.

For 2023, I read five fics: two Professionals, one Sentinel, and two Man from U.N.C.L.E..

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: 2022

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 22:47:24 GMT

It's 2022. Harry Styles is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Top Gun: Maverick. New terms coined include: mpox and quiet quit.

For 2022, I read five fics: two Man from U.N.C.L.E., one Professionals, and two Sherlock Holmes. In a first for this game, I particularly recommend all five of them.

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: 2021

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 01:26:24 GMT

It's 2021. Olivia Rodrigo is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Spiderman: No Way Home. New terms coined include: rizz.

For 2021, I read five works: one Man from U.N.C.L.E. fic, one Professionals fic, two published Sherlock Holmes pastiches, and one A-Team x Inception crossover.

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: 2020

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 05:12:37 GMT

It's the plague year 2020. The Weekend is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Bad Boys for Life. (Does anyone else have no memory of such a movie?) New terms coined include: COVID-19, doomscroll, long COVID, physically distance, unidentified anomalous phenomenon, and wandering dude.

For 2020, I read five fics: two Sherlock Holmes, one Raffles, one Professionals, and one Man from U.N.C.L.E.. For some reason, all of the fics I picked out for this year were fairly short, even though I generally try to read at least a couple of long ones each round. That's okay, though. I have mostly long fics queued for 2021.

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: 2019

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 08:10:20 GMT

I've been done with this year for a while, but I wasn't able to do the write-up because my laptop was out of commission. Happily, it's back now.

It's 2019. Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus are on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Avengers: Endgame. New terms coined include: large language model and review bombing.

For 2019 I read five fics: one Man from U.N.C.L.E., two Sherlock Holmes, and two Professionals.

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: 2018

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 20:37:26 GMT

It's 2018. Drake is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Black Panther. New terms coined include: deepfake.

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: 2017

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 03:11:04 GMT

It's (already) 2017. Luis Fonsi is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Star Wars: The Last Jedi. New terms coined include: Latine and Zoomer.

For 2017, I read five fics: one Sentinel, one Starsky and Hutch, one Man from U.N.C.L.E., and two Sherlock Holmes. Apologies to the Professionals fans among my readers. Uniquely, I think, there are no Pros fics in this batch.
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Lifetime Fic Bingo: 2016

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 04:23:56 GMT

It's 2016. The Chainsmokers are on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Rogue One. New terms coined include: cancel culture, girlboss, MAGA, and touch grass.

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: Highlights 2006-2015

Sat, 30 Nov 2024 08:25:44 GMT

During the third 10 rounds of my Lifetime Fic Bingo game, 2006 to 2015, I read 52 fics. Of those, the five that I would most recommend today are:

Babylon Is Fallen by PR Zed (przed) (The Professionals x 28 Days Later; slash; 29,990 words)
A Mercenary's Tale by Fictionwriter (The Professionals; slash; 46,849 words)
Ice-Cold in Alexandra Palace by unbelievable2 (The Professionals; 27,135 words; gen)
Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye (Sherlock Holmes; 336 pages; gen)
Cards on the Table by Mab (mab_browne) (The Sentinel; slash; 26,762 words)

Only one partial decade left!

(Above: Muse performs music for the decade 2006-2015.)

All recommended fics:

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: 2015

Sat, 30 Nov 2024 07:57:22 GMT

It's 2015, and same-sex marriage has become legal throughout the United States. Adele is on the radio again. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Star Wars: The Force Awakens. New terms coined include: aquafaba, edgelord, ghost kitchen, red flag law, and sponcon.

For this year, I read seven works: three crossovers between The Professionals and the film Lust, Caution; one plain Professionals fic; one Man from U.N.C.L.E. movie fic; and two Sherlock Holmes fics.

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: 2013

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 23:45:45 GMT

It's been a long time since I posted. My bingo reading slowed down a lot in October. Part of that was a planned break to allow me to read the entries in the Professionals Big Bang, which were released over the course of the month. Part of it was turbulence in my mental and physical health. (What else is new?)

It's 2013. Miley Cyrus is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. New terms coined include: adulting, bingeable, and virtue signalling.

For this year, I read five works, almost all crossovers. I read one Professionals x Racing Game crossover, one Professionals x Inspector George Gently crossover, one Psmith x Chronicles of Narnia crossover, one Battlestar Galactica x A-Team crossover, and one plain (though AU) Sentinel fic. (There are no Man from U.N.C.L.E. fics in this batch. Expect several next time, however.)

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Lifetime Fic Bingo: 2012

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 03:58:28 GMT

It's 2012, and people are talking a variety of nonsense about the Mayan calendar. Psy is on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is The Avengers. New terms coined include: escape room, generative AI, hot take, JOMO, and reaction GIF.

For 2012, I read five works: three Professionals fics, one Battlestar Galactica x A-Team crossover, and one Man from U.N.C.L.E. x Doctor Who crossover.
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