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ci5hqTitle: The Snowman with the Dark Coat
Author: Castalia
Link to story or zine/ProsLib info: At
the Circuit Archive and at The
Hatstand and available
at ProsLib and in Roses
and Lavender 4.
Pairing: B/D
Further story information found at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
prosficspoilers
Thanks to the supportive comments for my first Reading Room Review (JGL's Calibre), I've decided to try a second one! Since we're heading into the colder weather, I chose a story set in winter. The winter setting plays a very major role in the story. The Snowman With The Dark Coat is a sad and dark hurt/comfort story. Both Bodie and Doyle are hurting and their relationship is falling apart. The reader is not initially sure who or what is at fault. The story slowly reveals Bodie's withdrawal from Ray and the event that caused it. What struck me the most about this story is the way Castalia uses the story's settings to reflect the characters emotions and state of mind. The imagery is evocative and very moving. I grew up in a cold climate. Snow, cold, and their darkness have a special appeal to me and the isolation and loneliness that can be brought by this climate touch something deep inside. It also brings an appreciation for their opposites: warmth and companionship. Castalia uses winter's characteristics to illustrate the state of Bodie and Doyle's relationship and it is beautifully done.
The story starts with our boys on a stake out. Right from the start the reader is made aware that all is not well. The room they occupy contains "a chair that had certainly seen better days", tea that "had long gone cold and bitter...a brown and uninviting liquid". Bodie and Doyle are barely speaking. The silence and emptiness of the flat become a third character in the room. This sets the tone for the rest of the story.
One theme presented throughout is that of being lost. This is represented many times by using the imagery of snowfall. "...the greater silence that surrounded them as the snow was beginning to fall outside: isolated snowflakes lost in the darkness." There are many scenes in the story that begin with snowfall and end with one or the other character being "lost" without the other.
The reader is given the first clue of what went wrong when Ray tells Bodie during the stake out "I still love you, Mate.....said very, very quietly. Everything was very still and silent. Doyle shivered...his words floated in the cold air....'Bit too late, isn't it,Ray?', Bodie said just as quietly".
As the story progresses we see that both men are hurt and angry, but they still care very deeply about each other. They don't want to lose the partnership. They are both afraid of ending up alone.
One of the most moving images in the story comes after a mission. Bodie and Doyle are at Headquarters. Bodie is typing up his report and Ray is keeping him in hot tea. Even inside "the room was uncomfortably chilly...and it was snowing again, harder." Bodie seems to be coming down with a bad cold and Ray's concern is brushed aside. Ray tells Bodie he still cares, but Bodie doesn't want to acknowledge that. Ray gets angry and harsh words and nasty barbs are exchanged. Ray leaves. The description of his retreat almost brought tears. "the snow was thick under doyle's boots...His footsteps were rhythmical...soft cracks, crystal dust crying despair...He walked faster and faster, until abruptly he broke into a blind run and then, as abruptly, stopped dead amidst the trees and bushes covered in snow." The reader can see Bodie watching this from his window in HQ. "Doyle stood still, panting, a lonely dark figure, a small point in the vast white, in the cold night. A small solitary thing...seen from above,lost."
There are scenes that show, despite the hurt and anger, that they still hope for comfort from each other. There is a small hint of hopefulness in the story, usually illustrated by one character or another talking about the snow melting and wondering when the snows start if "it was cold enough to last." One comfort scene involves Ray spending the night talking to Bodie on the phone. Bodie has not been sleeping. He has a bird in his bed, but takes Ray's phone call. "The line went quiet. Bodie waited, staring at the ceiling. 'You still there?'he asked. 'Ray?' Softer. Gentler. 'Talk to me?'...Bodie rolled on his side, facing the back of the sofa, seeking some kind of respite, some warmth." He finds it when "Doyle started to talk...Doyle's voice was a quiet, slow flowing of sound...that was lulling bodie in to oblivion..and Bodie fell asleep. Doyle talked, and kept on talking, listening to the regular heavy breathing of his partner". They each find a sort of comfort here.
Another scene has Bodie criticizing Ray for talking a large risk on an op. Yet another shows Ray's concern when Bodie has a close call. For all the cold and distance between them, they both desperately want to return to the warmth, but neither is willing to back down.
The ending is a bit predictable and has been used in many fics to bring Bode and Doyle back together: one is hurt or missing and the other realizes just how much his partner means to him, how insignificant their current disagreement actually is in the bigger picture. But it is still a satisfying ending and it continues the imagery and themes of being cold and alone and lost.
It is a bare, stark and sad story. The author is very adept at blending winter settings and the characters state of mind. The repetitive use of the same images reinforces the sadness and isolation felt by both men. But Castalia also keeps repeating the characters desire to fix and hold onto their relationship, so the reader is made to care about the outcome, to hope for the happy ending. There are just enough scenes included to let the reader believe that it can happen. Ray is written a little harsher than what is normally seen in the fan fiction I've read, but Bodie is wonderfully done; self contained, hard, unforgiving,keeping his true emotions buried deep. On the whole, the story is well done.
Author: Castalia
Link to story or zine/ProsLib info: At
the Circuit Archive and at The
Hatstand and available
at ProsLib and in Roses
and Lavender 4.
Pairing: B/D
Further story information found at
prosficspoilersThanks to the supportive comments for my first Reading Room Review (JGL's Calibre), I've decided to try a second one! Since we're heading into the colder weather, I chose a story set in winter. The winter setting plays a very major role in the story. The Snowman With The Dark Coat is a sad and dark hurt/comfort story. Both Bodie and Doyle are hurting and their relationship is falling apart. The reader is not initially sure who or what is at fault. The story slowly reveals Bodie's withdrawal from Ray and the event that caused it. What struck me the most about this story is the way Castalia uses the story's settings to reflect the characters emotions and state of mind. The imagery is evocative and very moving. I grew up in a cold climate. Snow, cold, and their darkness have a special appeal to me and the isolation and loneliness that can be brought by this climate touch something deep inside. It also brings an appreciation for their opposites: warmth and companionship. Castalia uses winter's characteristics to illustrate the state of Bodie and Doyle's relationship and it is beautifully done.
The story starts with our boys on a stake out. Right from the start the reader is made aware that all is not well. The room they occupy contains "a chair that had certainly seen better days", tea that "had long gone cold and bitter...a brown and uninviting liquid". Bodie and Doyle are barely speaking. The silence and emptiness of the flat become a third character in the room. This sets the tone for the rest of the story.
One theme presented throughout is that of being lost. This is represented many times by using the imagery of snowfall. "...the greater silence that surrounded them as the snow was beginning to fall outside: isolated snowflakes lost in the darkness." There are many scenes in the story that begin with snowfall and end with one or the other character being "lost" without the other.
The reader is given the first clue of what went wrong when Ray tells Bodie during the stake out "I still love you, Mate.....said very, very quietly. Everything was very still and silent. Doyle shivered...his words floated in the cold air....'Bit too late, isn't it,Ray?', Bodie said just as quietly".
As the story progresses we see that both men are hurt and angry, but they still care very deeply about each other. They don't want to lose the partnership. They are both afraid of ending up alone.
One of the most moving images in the story comes after a mission. Bodie and Doyle are at Headquarters. Bodie is typing up his report and Ray is keeping him in hot tea. Even inside "the room was uncomfortably chilly...and it was snowing again, harder." Bodie seems to be coming down with a bad cold and Ray's concern is brushed aside. Ray tells Bodie he still cares, but Bodie doesn't want to acknowledge that. Ray gets angry and harsh words and nasty barbs are exchanged. Ray leaves. The description of his retreat almost brought tears. "the snow was thick under doyle's boots...His footsteps were rhythmical...soft cracks, crystal dust crying despair...He walked faster and faster, until abruptly he broke into a blind run and then, as abruptly, stopped dead amidst the trees and bushes covered in snow." The reader can see Bodie watching this from his window in HQ. "Doyle stood still, panting, a lonely dark figure, a small point in the vast white, in the cold night. A small solitary thing...seen from above,lost."
There are scenes that show, despite the hurt and anger, that they still hope for comfort from each other. There is a small hint of hopefulness in the story, usually illustrated by one character or another talking about the snow melting and wondering when the snows start if "it was cold enough to last." One comfort scene involves Ray spending the night talking to Bodie on the phone. Bodie has not been sleeping. He has a bird in his bed, but takes Ray's phone call. "The line went quiet. Bodie waited, staring at the ceiling. 'You still there?'he asked. 'Ray?' Softer. Gentler. 'Talk to me?'...Bodie rolled on his side, facing the back of the sofa, seeking some kind of respite, some warmth." He finds it when "Doyle started to talk...Doyle's voice was a quiet, slow flowing of sound...that was lulling bodie in to oblivion..and Bodie fell asleep. Doyle talked, and kept on talking, listening to the regular heavy breathing of his partner". They each find a sort of comfort here.
Another scene has Bodie criticizing Ray for talking a large risk on an op. Yet another shows Ray's concern when Bodie has a close call. For all the cold and distance between them, they both desperately want to return to the warmth, but neither is willing to back down.
The ending is a bit predictable and has been used in many fics to bring Bode and Doyle back together: one is hurt or missing and the other realizes just how much his partner means to him, how insignificant their current disagreement actually is in the bigger picture. But it is still a satisfying ending and it continues the imagery and themes of being cold and alone and lost.
It is a bare, stark and sad story. The author is very adept at blending winter settings and the characters state of mind. The repetitive use of the same images reinforces the sadness and isolation felt by both men. But Castalia also keeps repeating the characters desire to fix and hold onto their relationship, so the reader is made to care about the outcome, to hope for the happy ending. There are just enough scenes included to let the reader believe that it can happen. Ray is written a little harsher than what is normally seen in the fan fiction I've read, but Bodie is wonderfully done; self contained, hard, unforgiving,keeping his true emotions buried deep. On the whole, the story is well done.
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no subject
Date: 2010-11-07 10:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-07 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-08 08:19 am (UTC)I'm not sure that the ending is predictable as such - in the way that we know most fanfic is going to have a happy ending, then yes, but I think she chose a realistic way for them to get back together. It's part of their job that they take risks like this one, and that something can go wrong, it felt pretty natural to me, rather than something contrived for the purpose. She didn't "wrap it up" as such either, and give them a perfectly happy ending, which I always appreciate - the eps rarely do that themselves, but fanfic has a tendency to! I'm not sure that it was purely because Doyle was injured and lost that Bodie came around, either - I think Castalia built it up to that, they were on the verge of it, so many times, and it felt to me rather that Bodie had the perfect excuse to give in, rather than "realising how much his partner meant to him"... I had a feeling he knew that through the whole story, just was determined to fight against it... But now I'm just rambling, cos it's fun to ramble about fic!
Great review, thank you!
no subject
Date: 2010-11-08 12:00 pm (UTC)