FIC: Double-bluff (1/1)

[kangeiko]

Title:: Double-bluff
Fandom: Sunshine (Danny Boyle film)
Summary: Capa/Mace, and all the meanings of Icarus. 100fandoms #22: fire.

*

Double-bluff

Comments

[ima-pseudonym.livejournal.com]

Oh, the ending! The whole thing is so analytical, yet subtle and... Lovely. I adore your Capa's obsessing over something like 'the Icarus'.

And I like how you gradually explain what you meant by 'Icarus' and who it might be and why. Furthermore, I'm inclined to agree that naming a project headed for the sun Icarus is a stupid idea (if not, I'll admit, appropriate.) And then naming the second one after the first one! Which failed!

Nothing builds morale like having months and months to contemplate just what exactly happened to Icarus and his father.

So, yeah... I love the story. It's delightfully dark in it's blinding brightness.

[kangeiko]

Wow, that's the sweetest piece of feedback I've ever received, thank you!

[barocker.livejournal.com]

I liked this a lot, for being more philosophical and less smutty. The ending was really a nice one and I like your writing style. Hopefully you'll do more Sunshine stuff in the futures too. :3

[kangeiko]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[the-summoning-d.livejournal.com]

Very unusual. I like your style, very interesting. The ending was absolutely perfect.

In fact the whole idea was, really. I remember watching this for the first time and wondering who the hell named a ship flying straight for the sun 'Icarus'. Pretty retarded idea if you ask me.

If you define Icarus as the obsessive, the fanatic, then most of them were in a way. Kaneda burning up so they could fix the shield, Mace diving into the coolant to try and get the mainframe online, Capa following the payload into the sun...

I don't know. I babble.

Peace out
~TheSummoningDark

[kangeiko]

Thank you so much for the lovely feedback, I'm really glad you enjoyed it!

[thegreenpuppy.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was incredible. I had to read it several times, replaying some scenes from the movie in my head and thinking on what you wrote. I think no matter how many times I watch that movie, I feel I will find something new, kind of like what you offered with this fic.

I never thought much about the name of Icarus beyond the fact that it was an idiotic name for the mission within the movie. In fact, I thought it was dumb that the filmmakers even used it for the movie. Your fic made me realize that one possibility was for the subtle allusion (hidden beyond the ostensible and the obvious) to the crew itself(in your fic's case, a character), not the spaceship.

A side note--I really liked how you related Corazon to being symbolic of the earth.

More importantly, I was chilled to the bone with the last paragraph+line because never in that short amount of time watching the movie did the allusion dawn on me. Really makes sense in the context of your fic; it was superb how you set it up.

Does that make Capa Daedalus, as he is the creator of the current situation? Not only has he made the bomb, but his decision to change course cost the lives of several of the crew cause him grief (as seen in the animosity between Mace and Capa concerning the deaths); I image Daedalus to be a character similar in vein--one's down brillance is negated by the overwhelming power of human emotions (his grief over the loss of Icarus) and the handicaps that the mind and body create (he could save no one, not even himself-emotionally). So maybe one could say that the movie is a changed motif of the theme of the myth--since in this case, Capa(Daedalus) succeeds with the mission and carries out the will of Mace (Icarus).

My question to you and I am sorry if it is an obvious answer, did Capa truly give up thinking about who was Icarus? In your mind, does he ever think about it after the messaging fight? Maybe it's the POV of the story that is preventing me on definitively reading that last line; the whole fic is Capa's view and I thought that the last paragraph was not, but if it is, then I guess that answers my question.

My god, it just came to me--how Mace died would reflect the notion that he is Icarus--his death due to the cooling agent. The cooling agent--standing for water/the ocean--would mirror Icarus's drowning in a more metaphorical sense, as Mace does not actually "drown", but freezes. It makes me wonder if your fic got the head on the nail and was what the filmmakers saw.

I am definitely bookmarking this and will rec it to any Sunshine fans I come across. Thank you for this.

[kangeiko]

Wow, that's astonishing feedback, thank you SO much! Let me try and address some of the stuff you're raised -

it was an idiotic name for the mission within the movie.

Well, that's what first got me thinking on it. The Icarus myth is relatively well-known, so it wasn't like the scriptwriters wouldn't be aware of it. I rather thought that they might be engaging in a little bit of meta, you know? Signposting that hubris and obsession, I suppose, would dictate the ultimate fate of the ship, and the ending of the movie. The 'slasher' subplot was rather odd for that reason, as Icarus wasn't brought down my external forces; he didn't have a random hitchhiker turn up and separate him from his wings. He was just too fascinated and too full of his own convinctions of immortality.

Does that make Capa Daedalus, as he is the creator of the current situation?

*g* I never really got as far as that, but you're right - in a sense, he would be. He's the creative mind behind it all, the one who comes up with the vision and sees that vision consume someone close to him. I felt that Capa must have been involved with the project relatively early on, but wasn't necessarily slated to fly. It was only when the Icarus I failed that they felt the need to send up the specialist. Well, given that this was their last shot, they didn't have anything left to lose.

So maybe one could say that the movie is a changed motif of the theme of the myth

Oh, definitely.

My question to you and I am sorry if it is an obvious answer, did Capa truly give up thinking about who was Icarus? In your mind, does he ever think about it after the messaging fight?

I think that Capa obsesses about it up until the point that he sees Mace, frozen face-down, staring at him, dead in the process of the mission. Up until that point, there have been a great many indicators pointing that way - Mace's obsession was one of the driving forces of the film for me, and I was surprised at just how explicitly that obsession was painted - but it's not until he sees that not only was Mace willing to die, but that he did die, that he feels the lack of that force. Capa's last stand felt more to me like a surrender to the mission's will, rather than a fulfilment of Capa's internal drive.

the whole fic is Capa's view and I thought that the last paragraph was not, but if it is, then I guess that answers my question.

Well, I wanted to play around with that. I wanted the focus to be on Capa for the majority of the fic, as I wanted to see how he'd be tackling the problem. I wanted him to reach some conclusions, but remain unsure - to suppose a few things, but give him the option of turning a blind eye, if you will - as, in the movie, he most definitely turns a blind eye until the very end. The last couple of paragraphs were the omniscient narrator playing out a few things that Capa already knows, but isn't perhaps willing to accept. I don't want to call it the subconscious but, well, I can't think of another word for it. *g*

So - to answer your question, yes and no. *laughs*

The cooling agent--standing for water/the ocean--would mirror Icarus's drowning in a more metaphorical sense, as Mace does not actually "drown", but freezes.

Huh, I never actually thought of that... you make a damn good point. I only got as far as thinking it was ironic that Mace froze to death hurtling towards the sun... but that's part of the whole irony of the mission, for me. The whole film felt upside down - they'd go to the observation lounge not to watch the stars and the darkness, but to watch the light. Their main threat was the extreme heat, but a great many froze to death instead. They were chosen for their selflessness (they *must* have undergone rigorous mental assessments) but managed to produce a coward and a psychopath. I mean, the whole thing is the opposite of what you'd expect, the mirror image of what should be.

I am definitely bookmarking this and will rec it to any Sunshine fans I come across.

Thank you so much, you're a star. I'm so glad that you enjoyed the fic! *dances*

[silentsighs.livejournal.com]

Almost a year after you wrote this I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading it. After re-watching Sunshine recently I immediately went on a fic-hunt for Capa/Mace and this is the first one I have found that didn't make me want to beat myself over the head with a spanner. I love the fractal way you have captured Capa's thoughts about the Icarus and what it means and I love how no-nonsene Mace is about sex, as he is about everything.

tl;dr: This is wonderful. Thank you for writing it.

[kangeiko]

Thank you so much for the lovely feedback, I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! I had great fun writing it. :)

After re-watching Sunshine recently

Oooh, that's a thought... *wanders off to acquire very own copy*