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crack_van2006-09-16 01:37 pm
st-crispins.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2006-09-16 01:37 pm
Entry tags:
Room Temperature by Nyssa (NC-17)
Fandom: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon/Illya
Author: Nyssa
Author website: none, but this was posted at the Chrome and Gunmetal Madhouse
Why this must be read:
Okay, I admit it: I’m not a hearts and flowers type fan. I find thoughts and emotions more interesting when they’re unarticulated; motivations, when they’re complex and ill-defined. I prefer Romance that’s more of a dying declaration of "’Tis a far far better thing I do..." than a declaration of undying love.
By anyone’s standards this story is not romantic, which is just fine with me. I know others have found it too cold, too gritty, too understated and matter-of-fact, and too melancholic, which are exactly the reasons I like it. It feels real.
So the time is 1959 and the place is a seedy motel room on Staten Island, the morning after a one-night stand between two near-strangers. Solo is indulging in his usual risky behavior. Illya is distant, foreign and enigmatic. What’s not said out loud is even more interesting than what is. And of course, for a fan reader, the story packs most of its punch, not in what actually happens in the space of a couple of hours, but what will happen in the years ahead. There’s a huge space between the once and future, and the fun is letting your imagination fill in the blank.
But for now, the temperature of that room is decidedly chilly, as spies are wont to be. No wonder they call it coming in from the cold.
Room Temperature
Pairing: Napoleon/Illya
Author: Nyssa
Author website: none, but this was posted at the Chrome and Gunmetal Madhouse
Why this must be read:
Okay, I admit it: I’m not a hearts and flowers type fan. I find thoughts and emotions more interesting when they’re unarticulated; motivations, when they’re complex and ill-defined. I prefer Romance that’s more of a dying declaration of "’Tis a far far better thing I do..." than a declaration of undying love.
By anyone’s standards this story is not romantic, which is just fine with me. I know others have found it too cold, too gritty, too understated and matter-of-fact, and too melancholic, which are exactly the reasons I like it. It feels real.
So the time is 1959 and the place is a seedy motel room on Staten Island, the morning after a one-night stand between two near-strangers. Solo is indulging in his usual risky behavior. Illya is distant, foreign and enigmatic. What’s not said out loud is even more interesting than what is. And of course, for a fan reader, the story packs most of its punch, not in what actually happens in the space of a couple of hours, but what will happen in the years ahead. There’s a huge space between the once and future, and the fun is letting your imagination fill in the blank.
But for now, the temperature of that room is decidedly chilly, as spies are wont to be. No wonder they call it coming in from the cold.
Room Temperature