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crack_van2004-08-12 10:40 am
fbf.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2004-08-12 10:40 am
The Stepford Trilogy by Kernezelda (R to NC-17 for sex and violence)
Fandom: FARSCAPE
Pairing: John/a multitude of folks, including males
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kernezelda
Author Website: None that I know of
Why this must be read:
First let me give you a little background on this trilogy. It started out with a drabble (Stepford Life)that left the masses gasping in horror and wanting to know why, then we found out why (Stepford Lies) and how and then the people clamored for more (I think I threatened Kernezelda if she didn't finish this piece there would be violence), and she finally ended (Stepford Leman) it in a place we all could live with. This is a case where sometimes in fandom the pointy sticks and death threats really do work and we are given masterpieces such as this.
This is an AU the branches off during the Into the Lion's Den duo at the end of S3.
Stepford Life shows us a Crichton who never blew up a command carrier and is under Scorpius' thumb in more ways then one. It suggests things that will make you go EWWWWWW! and having you feel even more sorry for John than you normally would. It's short, it's sweet in a twisted way, and it will raise a multitude of questions.
Stepford Lies explains how John got into the position that he did in Stepford Life. It is harsh, cruel and unflinching in its treatment of John at the hands of his greatest enemy. There is nothing nice in this fic. It is a descent into hell for John with no relief in sight. Everything that makes up John is systematically taken away from him. His very essence is stripped down to only survival because hope left with a pair of grey eyes and his support system is gone. This is a deconstruction of John to the basic human needs. Food, shelter, sex, survival. What I find fascinating about this is that even though John seems beaten and defeated, he isn't. Scorpy forgot/didn't know about one basic human factor, revenge. When all that is left is revenge, a human can withstand some extraordinary things, and at the end of this piece you are cheering John for his decision and waiting for the blood.
Stepford Leman is the last and longest installment in this story. It is also the hardest to read. Things are done to John in this part that disturbed me on many levels, but are not gratuitous in nature. They fit. They work, and although I would rather not see them, they are important to the plot. There is a rape, a beating, a near-death experience, some more beatings, sex, some gallows humor, a touching personal moment that leaves John adrift (even if he does understand the why of it and can't condemn her for leaving), the return of a character we thought gone, and blood, lots of blood.
This is a stripped down John with nothing to lose and no real conscious. He still cares, but not enough to choose another path, if he could, which he can't. It is the fatalistic inevitability of his actions, which tug your heart and churn your gut that makes this the ending the trilogy needed. The last line alone will give you chills and make you wonder for days if it really could happen.
Many writers would either have not written this piece or would have taken the easy route. Kernezelda did neither. She created a world based on a set of "What ifs?" and then followed through on them, even though it is a place most of us would never go or want to go. It is a well written story with three-dimensional characters, both the ones we know and the ones she's created, that make us care, make us feel and make us react. This story is not nice in that fluffy happy way, but it is real and true and there is not much more that one can ask for in fanfic.
Pairing: John/a multitude of folks, including males
Author on LJ:
kernezeldaAuthor Website: None that I know of
Why this must be read:
First let me give you a little background on this trilogy. It started out with a drabble (Stepford Life)that left the masses gasping in horror and wanting to know why, then we found out why (Stepford Lies) and how and then the people clamored for more (I think I threatened Kernezelda if she didn't finish this piece there would be violence), and she finally ended (Stepford Leman) it in a place we all could live with. This is a case where sometimes in fandom the pointy sticks and death threats really do work and we are given masterpieces such as this.
This is an AU the branches off during the Into the Lion's Den duo at the end of S3.
Stepford Life shows us a Crichton who never blew up a command carrier and is under Scorpius' thumb in more ways then one. It suggests things that will make you go EWWWWWW! and having you feel even more sorry for John than you normally would. It's short, it's sweet in a twisted way, and it will raise a multitude of questions.
Stepford Lies explains how John got into the position that he did in Stepford Life. It is harsh, cruel and unflinching in its treatment of John at the hands of his greatest enemy. There is nothing nice in this fic. It is a descent into hell for John with no relief in sight. Everything that makes up John is systematically taken away from him. His very essence is stripped down to only survival because hope left with a pair of grey eyes and his support system is gone. This is a deconstruction of John to the basic human needs. Food, shelter, sex, survival. What I find fascinating about this is that even though John seems beaten and defeated, he isn't. Scorpy forgot/didn't know about one basic human factor, revenge. When all that is left is revenge, a human can withstand some extraordinary things, and at the end of this piece you are cheering John for his decision and waiting for the blood.
Stepford Leman is the last and longest installment in this story. It is also the hardest to read. Things are done to John in this part that disturbed me on many levels, but are not gratuitous in nature. They fit. They work, and although I would rather not see them, they are important to the plot. There is a rape, a beating, a near-death experience, some more beatings, sex, some gallows humor, a touching personal moment that leaves John adrift (even if he does understand the why of it and can't condemn her for leaving), the return of a character we thought gone, and blood, lots of blood.
This is a stripped down John with nothing to lose and no real conscious. He still cares, but not enough to choose another path, if he could, which he can't. It is the fatalistic inevitability of his actions, which tug your heart and churn your gut that makes this the ending the trilogy needed. The last line alone will give you chills and make you wonder for days if it really could happen.
Many writers would either have not written this piece or would have taken the easy route. Kernezelda did neither. She created a world based on a set of "What ifs?" and then followed through on them, even though it is a place most of us would never go or want to go. It is a well written story with three-dimensional characters, both the ones we know and the ones she's created, that make us care, make us feel and make us react. This story is not nice in that fluffy happy way, but it is real and true and there is not much more that one can ask for in fanfic.