The Lads of Llangollen

Fanfiction
Title:	The Lads of Llangollen
Author(s):	Carlos the Jackdaw
Date(s):	1994
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Tris/Alex
Relationship(s):
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

The Lads of Llangollen is a Tris/Alex story by Carlos the Jackdaw.

While written in 1994, it appears to have been posted sometime after 2001 on the Tris/Alex Yahoo group by either the fan who wrote it, or by another fan.

Who Was Carlos the Jackdaw?

You know, I'm curious about what happened to Carlos the Jackdaw as well! She (he?) never wrote any other Tris/Alex fics as far as I know, though it's possible s/he continued to write under another name. Perhaps s/he's long since moved onto other fandoms - Lads of Llangollen was written way back in 1994, I think. I'm assuming Carlos was from the 'zine generation...

I'm fairly certain the 2000 date is a Word doc update - I think Lads was originally published in a zine in 1994, though I might be wrong. I think I read it in one of the messages on the Tris/Alex Yahoo group, but there were literally hundreds of messages back in 2000/2001ish and it'll be near impossible to find again, I think. It's not on any other sites as far as I know - I first read it on the Tris/Alex group a few years ago.

Have you tried e-mailing the woman who uploaded it? She'll be able to tell you where she got it from and who wrote it - I'm assuming she must have received some kind of permission from the author to post it in the first place. She may even have written it herself! I have a theory that CtJ might have been an alias of BT, an early From Eroica With Love writer who did an Eroica/TrisAlex crossover once. The styles are similar, anyway.

Fan Comments

Long story short: I spent much of last night reading a handful of stories on the Tris/Alex Yahoo group, and promptly discovered a series called 'The Lads of Llangollen' which I simply can't recommend highly enough. In fact, if you're not already a member of Tris/Alex, this story alone is reason enough to join.

Because, 'The Lads of Llangollen?' Is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the greatest pieces of slash fiction I have EVER read in my life, anywhere, in ANY fandom - and I'm speaking as someone who has read extensively in both Harry Potter and LOTR fandoms for quite some time. It's Tris/Alex, which as the afficionados know, is a cipher for Jimmy/Robert, and it was posted by a writer named madani07, though the author's name is Carlos the Jackdaw. I don't know whether C the J is one of madani's aliases or whether she simply posted it to the group on her/his behalf, but ... anyway. Why is it so good?

Well, for a start, it's beautifully written, poignant and utterly heartbreaking at times - I actually cried while reading it, which I guess makes me wuss of the year, but WTH. It's set mostly in the early '90's, when Jimmy was working with David Coverdale (and with whom he, or rather 'Tris,' is entangled in a doomed 'rebound' relationship) but there are plenty of flashbacks to the late 60's-70's when Tris and Alex's relationship, both professional and personal, was in full flow. What I love about the story is that this writer obviously doesn't deal in absolutes - I'm aware how tempting it could be to cast the Coverdale guy as the Big Bad, or Tris/Jimmy's then wife/beard as a manipulative shrew, but the fact is that EVERYBODY in this story is messed-up, conflicted, trying to do the noble thing by everyone, but always ends up falling short thanks to their own very human weaknesses, the lure of the past, or the fear of the future. And as a result, the writer succeeds in making you really, really feel for each and every character. If you don't fully empathise with all their actions, you at least understand them. There isn't a Mary-Sue, Gary Stu or self-insertion in sight.

The depiction of the rise and collapse and eventual rebirth of Tris and Alex's relationship is skillfully handled and deeply touching. Real-life events are cleverly interpreted by the writer and incorporated into the framework of the story, the result being an extremely convincing narrative that you almost believe did happen. Their personalities are expertly drawn; in her (his?) portrayal of Tris, the writer succeeds in evoking his inner conflicts without compromising his 'Jimmy-ness' (namely, his inscrutability) and I have to say that she/he has captured Alex's/Robert's 'voice' to perfection. She/he also resists the urge to over- feminise either of them. They're men, they're in love, and they show it. Plus the sex is hothotHOT. biggrin.

I also love the little asides and inserts - fans discussing Alex and Tris's doings on a bulletin board, analysing the meaning of a video Alex has made which is laden with obscure paens to Tris, interviews where they sidestep questions about the nature of their relationship, etc. This writer has REALLY done his/her homework. I am in awe.

And the closing lines of the story make my little heart sing. You'll need to read it to see what I mean. So do it.