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crack_van2004-11-27 11:22 am
justacat.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2004-11-27 11:22 am
Entry tags:
Voice-over, by Elizabeth O'Shea (PG)
Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Author on LJ: No
Author's Website: No
Why this must be read:
Most of the stories I'm reccing here are stories I've read countless times - the zines or printouts sit on the table by my bed (which is about to collapse under their weight), and I turn to them again and again. Tonight, though, I'm reccing a story that I read for the first time just today; it just appeared in Proslib (and now on the Circuit Archive).
Voice-over is a story within a story: Bodie lies in a coma, and Doyle is exhorted by the doctors to talk to him, "let him hear your voice." Doyle, though he feels a bit self-conscious about the whole thing, obeys, but after three days of telling witty anecdotes and reading the sports pages, he's run out of standard "happy" material. So he decides to talk about one of the best nights of his life: his and Bodie's first night "together." It's a story Bodie knows, obviously, but that doesn't stop Doyle, lucky for us, because oh, it's a killer of a story, sweet and moving and hilarious in its own way, filled with Ray's meandering asides about what was going on in his head at the time and what he's thinking and feeling now.
The entire story, then, consists of Doyle "talking" to Bodie. This is a difficult device to pull off well, but the author not only makes it work, she makes it work brilliantly. The flow and pacing are amazing; the asides and interjections and interruptions feel so natural and so real, as Ray bounces between fond nostalgia and a kind of desperate effort to stay positive and avoid despair in the face of Bodie's continuing unresponsiveness. The characterizations and voices - for both characters - are as close to perfect as I think I've ever read, the author captures their mannerisms and inflections and their trademark bantering taking-the-piss from each other so well it's almost uncanny. These are the lads I know and love so well, the Bodie and Doyle who live in my mind.
And the feeling ... this is a story that makes you feel. The story Ray relates is such a lovely depiction of the tentativeness and hopefulness of new love, of two men trying their best to maintain cool and macho fronts (they're guys, after all!) but pretty much failing, because they are just so irredeemably, undeniably in love. And though it's (sort of) a "first time" story that Ray recounts, the way they deal with how things go so almost humorously wrong that first night serves to illustrate that this is a bond that has its roots in something much deeper than surface attraction and romance. You can see that bond, and the depth of their feeling, in Ray's monologue; while the story of their first night is a happy tale, the telling of it paradoxically makes him all the more aware of what Bodie means to him and what he stands to lose. Again he attempts to keep up the CI5-agent front, but it's a bit of a half-hearted attempt, and you can so clearly see the depth of his emotions as he struggles not to give in to fear and hopelessness - the love in his voice, no matter what the actual words, shines through so clearly it makes you ache.
This is a gorgeous, heart-warming, masterfully-told story, by an author with great talent and skill. If your tastes are anything like mine, it'll make you weepy, it'll make you laugh, it'll make you smile, and it'll make you long for more.
Voice-over
(Originally published in the zine Roses and Lavender 3, Allamagoosa Press, 1999)
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Author on LJ: No
Author's Website: No
Why this must be read:
Most of the stories I'm reccing here are stories I've read countless times - the zines or printouts sit on the table by my bed (which is about to collapse under their weight), and I turn to them again and again. Tonight, though, I'm reccing a story that I read for the first time just today; it just appeared in Proslib (and now on the Circuit Archive).
Voice-over is a story within a story: Bodie lies in a coma, and Doyle is exhorted by the doctors to talk to him, "let him hear your voice." Doyle, though he feels a bit self-conscious about the whole thing, obeys, but after three days of telling witty anecdotes and reading the sports pages, he's run out of standard "happy" material. So he decides to talk about one of the best nights of his life: his and Bodie's first night "together." It's a story Bodie knows, obviously, but that doesn't stop Doyle, lucky for us, because oh, it's a killer of a story, sweet and moving and hilarious in its own way, filled with Ray's meandering asides about what was going on in his head at the time and what he's thinking and feeling now.
The entire story, then, consists of Doyle "talking" to Bodie. This is a difficult device to pull off well, but the author not only makes it work, she makes it work brilliantly. The flow and pacing are amazing; the asides and interjections and interruptions feel so natural and so real, as Ray bounces between fond nostalgia and a kind of desperate effort to stay positive and avoid despair in the face of Bodie's continuing unresponsiveness. The characterizations and voices - for both characters - are as close to perfect as I think I've ever read, the author captures their mannerisms and inflections and their trademark bantering taking-the-piss from each other so well it's almost uncanny. These are the lads I know and love so well, the Bodie and Doyle who live in my mind.
And the feeling ... this is a story that makes you feel. The story Ray relates is such a lovely depiction of the tentativeness and hopefulness of new love, of two men trying their best to maintain cool and macho fronts (they're guys, after all!) but pretty much failing, because they are just so irredeemably, undeniably in love. And though it's (sort of) a "first time" story that Ray recounts, the way they deal with how things go so almost humorously wrong that first night serves to illustrate that this is a bond that has its roots in something much deeper than surface attraction and romance. You can see that bond, and the depth of their feeling, in Ray's monologue; while the story of their first night is a happy tale, the telling of it paradoxically makes him all the more aware of what Bodie means to him and what he stands to lose. Again he attempts to keep up the CI5-agent front, but it's a bit of a half-hearted attempt, and you can so clearly see the depth of his emotions as he struggles not to give in to fear and hopelessness - the love in his voice, no matter what the actual words, shines through so clearly it makes you ache.
This is a gorgeous, heart-warming, masterfully-told story, by an author with great talent and skill. If your tastes are anything like mine, it'll make you weepy, it'll make you laugh, it'll make you smile, and it'll make you long for more.
Voice-over
(Originally published in the zine Roses and Lavender 3, Allamagoosa Press, 1999)
YES!!
This story is a keeper for me and I highly recommend it. I know that the author is too busy now to write Pros, but I hope some day she will be able to enrich the fandom with more of her wonderful stuff.
no subject
To take us into this amazingly intimate space, to recreate Doyle's voice so perfectly, to ride the edge between humor, despair, past and present so effortlessly...this is a great great story.
I agree with JustaCat - the love they feel for each other is described with amazing beauty. The emotional connections as well as the physical descriptions just astonish me. From spiderwebs in Bodie's hair to Doyle's "sweet" smile, from guessing Bodie's dreams by his heartbeat to their "perfect teamwork" showing in the first kiss...lovely. I will never forget the "angel" - the scene runs through my mind in full color and power. Makes you fall deeply in love with them all over again.
Re: YES!!
no subject
To take us into this amazingly intimate space, to recreate Doyle's voice so perfectly, to ride the edge between humor, despair, past and present so effortlessly...
That says it *exactly*. It touches you on so many levels - that sweet smile is a killer, and Bodie's first words ... reading this story gives you that feeling of laughing and crying all at once. If I weren't already obsessed and madly in love with them, this would do it for me - as it is, as you say, makes me fall in love all over again ... This is a rare piece of writing, something to really treasure; it brings to life the relationship my little slashy heart longs for in a way that few stories do.
no subject
You know what it's like when you're watching gymnastics or figure skating and the athlete is skillfully performing these graceful moves that you know only look easy and are really impossible for 99.99% of us? And you're holding your breath hoping that they don't fall and are so relieved and happy when it's over and they nailed it? That's how I felt while reading Voice-over. I was giddy with delight, but through the whole thing I worried that somewhere she was going to (continuing with the sports theme) drop the ball because what she was doing was so difficult. But she was brilliant and made Doyle's monologue work beautifully all the way through! Gorgeous job and deserving of heaps of praise.
it'll make you weepy, it'll make you laugh, it'll make you smile, and it'll make you long for more.
Yes!! I'm off to write her now and have my fingers crossed that she's written more in this fandom. The love she has for these guys, or at least had in 1999, shines through and inspires me to find out more about them. And I definitely want to read more of her version of them.
Thank you for the rec!!
no subject
I just can't get over the voices - it's like she was channeling them or something.
And I totally agree about the DVDs - I love the show and could watch eps endlessly; the canon and the slash complement each other so perfectly. It took me a while of watching before I started to "get it," to catch the little things, the glances and the smiles and the comments - now I've seen most eps at least twice and some of them many more times, and there are many I never get tired of re-watching.
Anyway, I'm thrilled that you're enjoying the fandom (and that you enjoyed the recs), and as I think I said before somewhere or other, let me know if there's anything I can do to help - if you need copies of DVDs or whatever.
no subject
You did say it before and I had one of those lovely fandom moments that make my heart swell with gratitude and joy at the generosity of total strangers. ;-)
Unfortunately I am having a hard time finding the show. I've put the word out to friends, called all 22 area libraries and all the video/dvd stores that are likely to import a tv show, but so far no luck. Plus I'm not sure my old dvd player will play region 2, dang it. Are you able to copy dvds? If you're willing to make copies of the series I'd *love* to see it. I'm at dara_gives_in@yahoo.com if you'd like to talk about it. Thank you!!
no subject
Oh, I know what you mean! Fandom is wonderful!
email on its way; sorry for the delay ....