Night on Fic Mountain Reveal: "The Steel-Wire Tightrope" (The Sting)

[dorinda]

Authors and artists have been revealed for this year's Night On Fic Mountain exchange (welll, they were revealed a little while back, but then the weekend got away from me and hmm mutter mumble). Here was my contribution:

The Steel-Wire Tightrope (6609 words) by Dorinda
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Sting (1973)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Henry Gondorff/Johnny Hooker
Characters: Henry Gondorff, Johnny Hooker
Additional Tags: Con Artists, 1930s, Rescue, Angst, Misunderstandings, Nonverbal Communication, Drugged Sex, Broccoli Test
Summary:

Henry's in trouble. But when Johnny finds him, that's when their trouble really starts.

Awww yisssss, I got to write The Sting again! \o/ \o/ \o/ I rewatched the movie once during the writing process, and then I rewatched it last week with some friends, just because. I've seen it so many times, and show no signs of burning out or getting tired of it. I love the characters, and the milieu, and how amenable it all is to fannish extrapolation. Robert Redford glows like a sun god and runs like a deer, Paul Newman's eyes gleam a piercing clear sapphire, they both have arms and shoulders to make me weep in the best way, and Johnny and Henry come to care about each other SO MUCH you guys. So much. Not to mention that Henry is an Olympic-class secret worrier. ♥_____♥

Course, in this story, Johnny gets to do most of the worrying for a change. Just for a nice switcheroo. But this is my second story in which I was reminded that AO3 does not have a plain old "Drugged" tag! I mean, wat? "Drugged Sex", sure. But not just "Drugged". Which seems SO WEIRD, given the venerable age of the trope, you know--'oh no my partner got knocked out and doped and now I must rescue him', which was canon all the time at least back in the day, and which lends itself so well to tender h/c, and then perhaps sex that is not itself Drugged Sex, because everyone is now sobered up. So I used the Drugged Sex tag, even though that is not precisely how it goes (it sort of is at first, and then it isn't, and I think the story explains itself best).

Is there a way to propose they set up a canonical Drugged tag? I am ashamed to admit that my knowledge of the inner (or, in fact, outer) workings of the AO3 tag system is not the best.

Anyway, I'm excited to have had a chance to write these guys again! I fell into a weird throughline blockage during the writing process, but mary crawford and klia got me out of there and fixed it up, and I am really happy about it.

Comments

[gwyn]

I am bewildered by the tag people and why they make the choices they do. Last year, I can't even remember what it was, but I had similar complaint and a friend said she'd mention it to a couple friends who were tag people at AO3, but I don't think it ever happened. It was the most obvious thing in the world, though, not even something unusual. And one that I could see had been used quite a bit. I think also found out Fondue wasn't a canonical tag and I was baffled. Their choices just…don't make a lot of sense to me. (I just had to put in a tag support request because I wanted to use the canonical tag of Team Cap's Volkswagen Beetle except they'd spelled it Volkswagon and just…no. I refuse to use misspelled tags even if more people might find my fic. I have a professional reputation. :-D

I think you're right, Drugged should be a regular tag--I have to just give up on canonical ones most of the time, and write my own. I hate it when it lowercases them if they're not canonical, but I'd rather have that than use one I don't feel quite fits, much as I hate being forced to make that choice.

And also, now I am excited that there is a new Sting story from you YAY!

[dorinda]

Misspelled tags! Argh, what is the deal with them. I remember writing to courteously point out some misspelled tag or other some time back--can't remember what it was now, but I believe it was a character's name. And I didn't understand their reply, except that it seemed they weren't going to do anything about it. What's the rationale, do you know? I mean, this wasn't it, but "Bodey" is NOT THE CHARACTER'S NAME, it has one correct spelling the end, so why would a misspelled version be canonical?

Maybe I should remove "Drugged Sex" and put "drugged" in instead. But I'm not sure. It's like...having both might capture the nuance I want, but make it seem like more is made of it narratively than it is. But having just the canonical one isn't accurate; and having just the noncanonical one opts the story out of people searching the canonical tag, which they might be used to because it's the only canonical one that approaches "drugged".

Overthinking? Me? :D

[larissabernstein]

*loud and excited squeal* The Sting!!! Going to read it now!!! <3