The Jared Padalecki Untitled Project
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Jared Padalecki Untitled Project |
| Author(s): | sometimesophie |
| Date(s): | August 2006 to April 2007 |
| Length: | 46,115 words |
| Genre(s): | slash futurefic |
| Fandom(s): | J2 |
| Relationship(s): | |
| External Links: | The Jared Padalecki Untitled Project online version; podfic version cover of podfic by sometimesophie |
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The Jared Padalecki Untitled Project is a RPS J2 story written by sometimesophie.
It is set in the future after the TV show Supernatural has stopped filming and charts the different careers of ex-lovers Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. After having a falling out during Supernatural and separating for years, Jared's career has taken off, while Jensen struggles to find work. Jared approaches Jensen with a film offer and the story describes their slow and painful reunion. The reader is left in the dark at the beginning of the story as to why there was a falling out between the two men. Their story is revealed in reverse through flashbacks until the reader gains a final and complete understanding only at the end. As each piece of their shared history is revealed, the reader's opinion of the characters shift back and forth. A similar story-telling technique was used extensively during Lost where periodic flashbacks uncovered hidden character motives.
The story is often cited as the story that pulled fans into RPS fiction. It was recorded as a podfic and it is in the process of being translated into Russian [1], Spanish [2], and Chinese.[3]
Reactions/Reviews
It's hard for me to choose amongst my favorite RPS stories because it's the genre that made me fall in love with SPN fanfic. But this is *the* fic that brought me to the RPS darkside, and I've never looked back. I remember staying up all night sometime in 2006 and reading this story from cover to cover, not being able to put it down because it was just that enthralling. The fic unfolds with stellar pacing, navigated by a Jensen POV that is everything you love about a well-crafted unreliable narrator voice. Gorgeous, heartbreaking, and memorable, this fandom classic stands the test of time."[4]
What I loved about it (and cringed about, too) was the difference in status between the two. Jared has money and success, Jensen... doesn't. And the scene in the ultra-expensive restaurant really drove it home. I've been in that situation myself, and boy... awkward."[5]
This is a must read in the genre of J2. It’s set in an AU where Supernatural ends during the second season because Jared decides not to renew his contract. Jared goes on to become rich and famous while Jensen fades into obscurity, until a part in Jared’s new move brings them back together. It shows a very different dynamic between the boys, one we’re not used to seeing. One of my favorite parts of this fic is Jensen’s tattered pride in the face of Jared’s wealth and success."[6]
I was reading this until 6 a.m. one morning and it was the greatest RPS of my life....I thought it'd be a good story...but I didn't expect to be like, causing myself bodily harm with the mild flailing and having to squeak into my fist. ... I like stories with longing and desire and *yearning*, and this story just had it in crazy spades. The build-up was everything I could have asked for, and I just can't remember being quite so satisfied with an entire story in some time. The only thing *wrong* with this story is that there's no Jared POV, which I think I would sell unimportant bits of my soul for, but that is neither here nor there. (And don't get me wrong, having it purely Jensen narrative was the right choice for the story and the reveals along the way, but now that it's done with, I'm just saying."[7]