Chances, by Angelfish Archivist (NC-17)

[justacat.livejournal.com]

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Author on LJ: No
Author Website: No

Why this must be read:

Today's story is a new (or just about) story by a new - and unusually talented - author.

In Chances, Bodie and Doyle have been estranged the past two years, ever since Bodie discovered that Ray was gay and Ray left CI5.  During this time, Ray has been living with his lover and Bodie has been working with Murphy; when the story begins, Ray's lover has just been killed, and he and Bodie are about to have their first meeting since the fiasco two years before.  Neither of them has been able during that time to forget or truly move beyond the other, and despite the inauspicious beginning to the evening, by the end of it they have begun to rediscover each other.

I absolutely love this set-up: I love the potential for emotional intensity, and the hurt-comfort aspect, with a grief-stricken Ray and a repentent Bodie; and the author executes it extremely well.  Bringing Ray and Bodie together immediately after Ray's lover's death could have felt unrealistic and jarring, but the scenario the author sets up, and the insight she gives us into Ray's feelings, makes it feel entirely natural and plausible.  She also has an amazing way with words - there is an intensity and gorgeous "lushness" to her writing, her imagery, her evocation of emotion, that I find irresistable and incredibly compelling.  The rhythm and richness of the language draws me in, mesmerizes me; I find myself savoring particular phrases, rolling them around in my mind and marvelling over how perfectly they convey images and feelings.  She writes from an almost unconsciously omniscient point of view - reminiscent of M Fae Glasgow to me - which gives the story a bit of a dreamy, soft-focus feel that I love.

This is the author's first published Pros story, and I hope very much to see more from her.

Chances

Comments

I am blown away!

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

I just read this story thanks to your rec, and I am sitting in stunned and overwhelmed gratitude and admiration for this author. I'm so glad you recced this. What an incredible storyteller the author is! I'have already emailed her my praise and comments.

You are right about her way with words. I kept rereading certain lines and reveling in their perfection. Every single scene is so well described that I felt a part of it. Ray's grief is so real and poignant, as is Bodie's remorse. And the love between our Lads suffuses it all in a rosy glow.

Love how she flashed back to the scene when the Lads were first put together by Cowley and how what happened then had repercussions later.

I have to admit I could do without the epilogue.

I too sincerely hope that we hear more from her.

Re: I am blown away!

[justacat.livejournal.com]

I'm so *very* glad you liked it, and so glad you wrote to tell the author! I think this is a hidden gem; the writing is so utterly lovely that I can read certain parts of the story over and over again and be blown away each time. I loved the flashbacks too, and loved the way the flashback segued into the nightmare.

As for the epilogue ... well, I am a happily-ever-after slut, as you no doubt know, and the epilogue guts me a little, yet there's something kind of ... well, transcendent about it - they are together forever, wherever they are, and life has no further ability to hurt them ...

Chances

[golligirl4-5.livejournal.com]

A great story up until the epilogue and then it cops out. And as for Cowley--the man should have left well enough alone. It's dangerous playing God.