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crack_van2006-04-26 11:33 am
tatkreiswok.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2006-04-26 11:33 am
Entry tags:
The Unexpected Talents Affair by T. Gabrielle (R-NC17)
Fandom: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tgabrielle
Author Website: Lyrebird Mound, and also at Chrome and Gunmetal Madhouse
Why this must be read:
Beautifully framed by the device that Illya gets stuck writing all of their mission reports, T. Gabrielle goes it one step further by proposing that Napoleon can’t be bothered to read them. This, of course, has consequences when both are captured by a low-to-mid level THRUSH baddie who is not interested in torturing them for information, but in destroying their partnership. The THRUSH agent who holds them has already successfully caused the dissolution of another U.N.C.L.E. team...which Napoleon would know about if he'd read Illya's report.
What, you ask, could so effectively estrange partners? Well, that’s what Napoleon wants to know, too.
"Do you know what's going to happen?" Illya snapped. "Do you? I know you didn't have much respect for Mansfield and Prescott. You didn't even know who they were. Maybe our partnership is stronger but still there are limits to everything. You never read the report."
"May I remind you, we haven't been at headquarters for more than a few hours these past two weeks. So, I never read it. So what?" He waggled a scolding finger at his friend. "He can kill us, Illya. Beyond that, there are no limits. What could he do to us to threaten our friendship?"
"Four things," Illya replied pedantically. "He'll rape me while you watch. He'll rape you while I watch. He'll force me to rape you. He'll force you to rape me. One or all of those scenarios is what's going to happen if we stay."
"Is that what happened to Mansfield and Prescott?"
"Yes," Illya said, addressing the wall.
"Good grief," Napoleon said in such a nonchalant tone Illya turned to stare at him.
"In the future, let me know when your reports contain a prurient content. Usually they're so dull, but I will find the time if you'll direct me to your smutty ones. And while you're at it, let me know which ones are in French, too, just as a courtesy."
Read this, but definitely read other stories by T. Gabrielle, as well. She has a deft hand with the complexities and layers that make up Napoleon and Illya’s relationship, and an incomparable ability to set a time period; you read one of her stories and absolutely nothing jars you out of feeling that it's the 1960s.
The Unexpected Talents Affair
Pairing: Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin
Author on LJ:
tgabrielleAuthor Website: Lyrebird Mound, and also at Chrome and Gunmetal Madhouse
Why this must be read:
Beautifully framed by the device that Illya gets stuck writing all of their mission reports, T. Gabrielle goes it one step further by proposing that Napoleon can’t be bothered to read them. This, of course, has consequences when both are captured by a low-to-mid level THRUSH baddie who is not interested in torturing them for information, but in destroying their partnership. The THRUSH agent who holds them has already successfully caused the dissolution of another U.N.C.L.E. team...which Napoleon would know about if he'd read Illya's report.
What, you ask, could so effectively estrange partners? Well, that’s what Napoleon wants to know, too.
"Do you know what's going to happen?" Illya snapped. "Do you? I know you didn't have much respect for Mansfield and Prescott. You didn't even know who they were. Maybe our partnership is stronger but still there are limits to everything. You never read the report."
"May I remind you, we haven't been at headquarters for more than a few hours these past two weeks. So, I never read it. So what?" He waggled a scolding finger at his friend. "He can kill us, Illya. Beyond that, there are no limits. What could he do to us to threaten our friendship?"
"Four things," Illya replied pedantically. "He'll rape me while you watch. He'll rape you while I watch. He'll force me to rape you. He'll force you to rape me. One or all of those scenarios is what's going to happen if we stay."
"Is that what happened to Mansfield and Prescott?"
"Yes," Illya said, addressing the wall.
"Good grief," Napoleon said in such a nonchalant tone Illya turned to stare at him.
"In the future, let me know when your reports contain a prurient content. Usually they're so dull, but I will find the time if you'll direct me to your smutty ones. And while you're at it, let me know which ones are in French, too, just as a courtesy."
Read this, but definitely read other stories by T. Gabrielle, as well. She has a deft hand with the complexities and layers that make up Napoleon and Illya’s relationship, and an incomparable ability to set a time period; you read one of her stories and absolutely nothing jars you out of feeling that it's the 1960s.
The Unexpected Talents Affair
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Zine version
Non-con
Re: Zine version
When I first reast read it, "...Unexpected Talents..." was good but lacked the "umph" that the report-writing start generates nicely. I think Illya's frustration (with the writing of the report, with Napoleon's laissez faire attitude where the reports he's written, and his struggles with composing said reports in a language other than his native tongue, etc.) add a complex and unexpected dimension to Illya's character and really makes this story pop off the page.
It also adds a great deal to understanding Napoleon. The line: "He can kill us, Illya. beyond that, there are no limits..." really typifies what must be both the most charming and yet most irritating aspects of his character to Illya.
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