Prosfic Reading Challenge - Adagio, Suitable Gravity, and A Put-Up Job

[tinturtle]

Over the past few days I've read three longish fics: Adagio by Sebastian, Suitable Gravity by DVS, and A Put-Up Job by unbelievable2.

I enjoyed Adagio. It is a solid getting together story that is warm without being sentimental, as byslantedlight said in her recent post. Its telling-Cowley scene struck me as particularly well done.

Suitable Gravity I had mixed feelings about. On one hand, the sci-fi world building was just wonderful. On the other hand, I found the amount of sex tiresome. YMMV.

I liked A Put-Up Job a lot. It is gen casefic with a car chase and everything. The plot kept me engrossed through the whole fic and wrapped up well, though there is one key element that I'm not sure made sense. (This fic has really nice illustrations by gvenanne, also.)

Comments

[unbelievable2.livejournal.com]

HI! Glad you liked the fic. Would you mind telling me which bit didn't make sense? I am always looking to improve! OTOH I can argue it's canon as not all Pros plots make sense! :))

[tinturtle]

Hi! Here is my question in rot13 cypher (which can be decoded using this tool):

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[unbelievable2.livejournal.com]

Excellent point! I'll PM you! :)

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

Time to reread Adagio! I liked it!
It's some years ago, but I remember that Bodie is maybe a bit to 'insecure', dependent on Doyle?
Can you agree with your fresh impressions?

And I liked Suitable Gravity a lot!
I don't remember too many sex scenes, but I often skip them in stories. I agree, I find them sometimes 'tiresome' as well! (Birdwatcher)

I've missed A Put-Up Job. - it's on my list now. :-)

[tinturtle]

Hm. I didn't get the impression of Bodie being insecure in Adagio, though he does feel rejected by Doyle for part of the story. The fic has three sequels, so it may be that the dynamic you remember appears in one of them.

I sometimes skip sex scenes, too. I will definitely do so if I read Suitable Gravity again.

[jat-sapphire.livejournal.com]

I like "Suitable Gravity" a lot--bookmarked it and I reread it from time to time. The trope in it that I don't much like is that Bodie's penis is intimidatingly, jaw-stretchingly large. While he looks sizable in the episodes, he's not John Holmes. That is a bit tiresome. And Bodie is ... insistent about having sex as often as possible. Like every minute they can slip away to the WC. These things do set up the ending and Doyle's sense of honour, I did find them less engaging than other parts mlm of the story.

[tinturtle]

It's true that the amount of sex in the earlier part of the story intensifies the conflict near the end. I hadn't really thought about that.

[harlech1000.livejournal.com]

Never heard of the last one. The first two I love and I found Suitable Gravity quite but would have liked more interaction with Bodie and Doyle at the end especially with Doyle’s implant.

Where does the third story come from?

[tinturtle]

I found A Put-Up Job by looking up the gen stories that had the most kudos on AO3. (After being frustrated by the amount of sex in Suitable Gravity, I was in the mood for something without any.) The story was part of the Pros Big Bang in 2014.

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

'Too much sex scenes' has not inevitably to do with 'slash'!
Many slash stories leave the sex behind close doors. Or show it maybe once. ;-)
Maybe you should ask for it at Prosfinder?

[tinturtle]

Just so. I have had occasion to tell people that, too. "Not all slash is pornographic." "Plenty of slash has no sex at all." You must admit, though, that reading gen is a simple way of avoiding sex if that's what you're after at the time. (Besides, gen is part of a balanced fic diet, which promotes long life and a good complexion.)

[fiorenza-a.livejournal.com]

I've been umming and ahhing as to whether to comment - in the end I have decided I will - so I hope I've judged correctly.

Couple of things have been niggling away at me...

- firstly, thank you so much for pointing me in the direction of A Put-Up Job (https://archiveofourown.org/works/2526881) by unbelievable2. I enjoy a good 'Gen' fic and I am so behind with my BB reading - I've been arbitrarily dipping in and out across the years and missed out on all sorts - so looking forward to reading this;

- secondly, I absolutely second firlefanzine's comment that 'slash' doesn't necessarily imply an overabundance of (or indeed any) sex scenes. moth2fic posted a really helpful A03 ratings demystifier (in the comments to this discussion (https://the-safehouse.livejournal.com/1538875.html)) in which she explains that the 'Gen' rating for AO3 purposes is: 'No content unsuitable for any audience: no sex, rape/non-con, underage sex, violence, major character death; probably no swearing....No pairings at all. We don't differentiate between het and slash' - which in turn means scribblers like myself wouldn't necessarily use 'Gen' as a rating for their 'Gennish' stories;

- thirdly, some outrageous, but hopefully helpful-in-the-context-of-your-post, self-promotion. I often stray into 'Gennish' story telling as Pros folk often define it, so if you were looking for additional longish fic (and obviously I'm not claiming any of them as fandom-defining classics) - you might like to put on the back burner for a rainy day Nice-Orno Ltd (https://archiveofourown.org/works/12457350), The Long Trick (https://archiveofourown.org/works/16471919) and Bodie 'Flu (https://discoveredinalj.livejournal.com/310336.html). None of which would come up on a 'Gen' search of AO3, but are 'Gennish' in nature.

Off to download A Put-Up Job 😊

[tinturtle]

Look. I understand what button I inadvertently pushed. And I understand what misconceptions you are trying to disabuse me of, because I have run into them, too. Please let the record reflect, however, that I do know what slash is and is not. Being new to this fandom does not mean that I am new to all fandom.

Also, I think you are conflating AO3's gen category with its general audiences rating (which is what the text you quoted from moth2fic was describing). Fics in the gen category may have violence, character death, etc. They just don't have a pairing. (In theory, anyway. Fics with incidental heterosexual pairings are frequently labelled gen, I've found.)

I will check out your fics. Maybe next time I need a counterpoint to something with a lot of sex in it. :)

[fiorenza-a.livejournal.com]

Apols, didn't mean to come across like I was teaching you to suck eggs - nothing more irritating! Thanks for your PM - it was lovely to chat 😊

[tinturtle]

One year later...
Let the record also reflect that I was in a really bad mood when I wrote this response, for reasons completely unrelated to the topic at hand. Writing anything on the Internet at such times is a Bad Idea. Sigh.