Blue May
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Blue May |
| Author(s): | Sylvia Bone |
| Date(s): | 1995 |
| Length: | |
| Genre(s): | slash |
| Fandom(s): | The Hunt for Red October |
| Relationship(s): | |
| External Links: | AO3 |
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Blue May is a slash Hunt for Red October story by Sylvia Bond.
It was published in Playfellows #8 and later online.
Summary
Six months after the events in Red October, Jack takes vacation (on his boss's orders) and goes fishing. He runs into Capt. Ramius, who is working, natch, at the shop where Jack gets his supplies. The two decide to go fishing together, as they had once discussed, and find the opportunity to talk about what they did with that sub, and what it meant. In addition, they find the opportunity to discover a closeness that they had not heretofore anticipated.
Author's Notes
From AO3:
This story was first published in the Playfellows zine series, which was a monthly collection of one-off stories for fandoms with isolated fanfic put out by Merry Men Press. I'm sorry I can't state which edition, because I don't know. When I do, I'll include the info.
In an earlier edition of Playfellows, I had read a fanfic about Ramius and Jack where the former rapes the latter. While I don't have a problem with non-con stories, per se, I did have a problem with the characterization of Ramius here. Ramius is a commander of men, he was in charge of determining who went on what sub, trained all the skippers, and had a whole nuclear submarine for his very own. He even facilitated the bringing of the USSR to its knees. With all that power, why on earth would he feel the need to express dominance through sex? He wouldn't, I feel, and hence this story.
I went and watched Red October again after reading the non-con story, this time with an eye towards the on-screen relationship between Jack and Ramius. I smiled when they were together, even though they don't share very much screen time, because there is a chemistry there. I went and read the book that the movie is based on. I'll admit, I didn't finish it, because it contained a whole lot of navy stuff and not enough of what I was looking for. I did come away with a healthy respect for the screenwriter, for turning a chock-a-block, clunky, technical novel into a fast-paced and interesting screenplay. So I focused on the movie as the basis for my fanfic. (Later, after both the book and the movie, the USSR was dissolved, and I like to think that Jack and Ramius had a hand in things.)
Jack and Ramius both talk about fishing in the movie, more than once, so I wanted the story to be based on that. It was loads of fun to go to fishing shops for research, and for a while I was quite obsessed with fly-fishing. I made up the name of the river they fish on, which was my way, ha ha, of putting some innuendo into my story. One thing that I think really works in this story is the fact that I wasn't emotionally invested in the characters. Since it was a one-off for me, I didn't sit there and dwell over each and every detail and emotion, so I think the characters come across more crisply than they do in my other fanfic. But I'll let you be the judge.
Reactions and Reviews
2016
[Vanfu]: Thank you for sharing such a wonderful story! The lack of this pairing accessable online is saddening. Jack and Marko feel very much alive and your style is outstanding.[1]
2017
[Xenrae]:Such a lovely story, and so true to character.
I was channel surfing and bumped into the film, just starting. I have always loved it so I watched. The whole scene of the two of them going down the river was just strikingly romantic. I couldn't believe the way they looked at each other! So I ran to AO3 hoping for anything, and found this. Thank you so much. :)
I wish there were more, but I struggle navigating FF.net, and Live Journal is worse. They're really so good together! [2]
2018
[meninaiscrazy]: Beautiful fic. I have read it several times and it really is such a pleasant story. ^_^ [3]
2019
[chromanebula]: I loved this story! The ubiquity of relationships between men was something I had to get used to when I entered the world of fanfic, likely due to my upbringing and the culture that makes affection between men "creepy." But you mastered a story focused on the emotions and on the relationship, drawing from their canon characterization but expanding on it. The moments of affection were so sweet. I also have to thank you for introducing a divorce between Jack and his wife before things go "all the way" between him and Ramius, both to make those scenes more poignant (Jack has a hole in his life that needs to be filled) and to maintain the two as "good guys" (having an affair while married to someone else is not ethical behavior). All in all, great job! [4]