A Lovely Daughter by T. Gabrielle (G)

[theladyrose.livejournal.com]

Fandom: THE MAN FROM UNCLE
Pairing: gen
Author on LJ: tgabrielle
Why this must be read:

Be honest: which (teenage) Illya fan didn't want to trade places with Miki Matsu from Her Master's Voice? Miki is the closest to a canonical Mary Sue as we get from any of the innocents in the series (and by Mary Sue, I mean female audience wish fulfillment). tgabrielle wrote a brilliant post-ep for HMV, letting us tag along as the two venture off to the Sayonara-A-Go-Go. I love the charmingly awkward interactions between Miki and Illya; I found myself relating very much to her naïve eagerness to connect with the ever professional Illya at a deeper level, to be more than an innocent. tgabrielle interweaves all of these achingly appropriate songs snippets that evoke the very 60's feel of the series as well as the lyrical idealism of the "Flower Power" generation coming of age. It's a wonderfully nostalgic story about all the dreamy expectations we have about growing up, the bittersweetness of memory, how good intentions all too often end up being no more than that - intentions. There are two endings to this story, which I both highly recommend.

A Lovely Daughter

Comments

[azdak.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I don't think I've read this one! But you've forgotten the link to the story - could you add so I can satisfy my reading urge? Thank you!

[theladyrose.livejournal.com]

Serves me right to post at 3 in the morning! Thanks for pointing that out; I hope you enjoy reading :)

[azdak.livejournal.com]

It was terrific! And the "happy" ending was even sadder than the "sad" ending, which pleased me greatly ;-)

Happy Ending!

[tgabrielle.livejournal.com]

First off, thank you ladyrose for the rec, I appreciate it. As to the second ending, many who read the story wanted Illya to call, were SURE Illya would have called, so that's where the alt ending comes from. I now like the 2nd ending better than the first but, no, it's not happier. "A Lovely Daughter" expresses my sadness at the demise of the Man from UNCLE and Miki is very much a Mary Sue.

Re: Happy Ending!

[azdak.livejournal.com]

I like the 2nd ending better as well, because you manage to pack so much more in, and I really like the way "Return" canon is hovering threateningly in the background. I'm not personally convinced that Illya would have called, even if he genuinely intended to when he made the promise - there were so many affairs and so many Innocents.