[Jeeves & Wooster] Fic: Sorting Out the Dance Card (Index Post)

[mercyrobot]

Well, this is it, kids. The Thing. I hesitate to call it a novella/novel; it's more like the world's longest one-shot in terms of structure.

I don't know most people's preferences about how much they want to be surprised vs. how much they want to know in advance, so you can highlight where indicated if you like.

Title: Sorting Out the Dance Card
Pairings: Bertie/Jeeves, (highlight for more if you don't like surprises) *with small sides of Bertie/Stinker, Bertie/OMC, some past Jeeves/OMC(s), and Marion Wardour/OFC.*
Rating: strongish R overall
Words: 61,000 and some change
Summary: An overheard conversation changes everything. Histories, mysteries, romance, and a dive or two into the soup.
Warnings: Nothing huge, but (highlight) *there's one bit that mentions what could be construed as dubcon, but nothing explicit.*
Disclaimer: I own nothing. You can probably play literary-reference bingo with this, but in the grand Wodehouse tradition, absolutely nothing is cited. 
Notes: Serious, serious massive beta-thanks, gold stars, kittens, and cookies to storyfan, without whom you probably wouldn't have seen this for another year. I must also thank random_nexus and chaoschick13 for staunch support and just general good-eggishness. I ♥ you guys.

Part 1: Of Harpoons and Anonymous Crumpets
Part 2: Stiff Upper Lip, Bertie
Part 3: A Little Flutter
Part 4: Playing To the Audience
Part 5: Fantasie Impromptu
Part 6: Ticking Off Stinker
Part 7: More Fuel to the Fire
Part 8: Book Marks

Or download/view the whole fic: .pdf (fancier-looking) or html (plain vanilla with formatting & images).

Comments

[mary-flanner.livejournal.com]

Impressively, I manage to be a latecomer to a fandom that's been around for nearly 100 years. Good show, MF.

Chances are, you've moved on and won't see this. But my cold, cold, non-commenting heart wouldn't let me go on without telling you how unbelievably impressed I am with this.

Now, I've read a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Like, I'm an English teacher a lot. This is:
a) The is possibly best fanfic I've ever read. Period.
b) One of the best paced fictions I've read, fan or otherwise.
c) With zero qualifiers whatsoever, the hottest thing I've read or seen in my life. My god.

You pacing is beyond reproach. The slow, slow build and nearly just as slow resolution, amazingly, follow the sort of leitmotif you bring up of the Chopin piece. You're a genius. Further, happily ever after =/= falling into bed. That's just kind of the start. I love how you capture the feeling of otherness and being part of a different world that both falling in love and being on vacation bring.

You characterization of Bertie has so much depth, insight, and development that it's absolutely, positively no stretch to reconcile happy, ditzy public Bertie with your thoughtful, romantic private Bertie. You strike that amazingly fine balance needed to where he is sexually aware enough to keep from being virginal to the point of being unbelievable and dismissing his innocence all together.

Instead of treating Jeeves as an emotional tabula rasa, you make the aloofness not just part of him, but integral to who he is. Your flair for subtlety make the quiet slowness of them coming together utterly believable and so much better for the wait. Even the contrivances (such as the dance bet) are believable as completely probably contrivances and so, so very what happens in a J&W novel, except with this twist of having higher stakes and more emotional weight.

In short (ha ha) I hope I've not completely freaked you out with my gushing. This was a rare and wonderful surprise, and I only wish I knew other J&W fans so that I could make them read it. In fact, I may recommend it to some non-fans, because I feel it is strong enough to stand as its own novella.

All the best,
MF

[thirstyrobot.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty much out of J&W fandom these days but email notifications are forever and this comment meant so much to me that even way way late in terms of when it's proper to reply (I got married and moved cross country, by way of an excuse lest you think me ungrateful!), I had to. I've actually toyed with the idea of trying to publish this properly-- changing the names, etc-- but I feel it would lose a lot without the Wodehousian language, so it'll probably just hang about as-is until all the copyrights expire! In any case, I'm so happy you enjoyed this, and I thank you so very much for taking the time to comment. If you've found this, you've probably already found everything else I'd be inclined to recommend, but if you'd like any recs as a newcomer I'd be happy to list some of my favorites. :)