Reading Room V - The Lads on Holiday - Week 3 - Nice Boys by Lizzie

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Title: Nice Boys
Author: Lizzie
Link to story or zine/ProsLib info: at Discoveredinalj or in Unprofessional Conduct 12.
Pairing: B/D

I do like a good Lizzie story, and Nice Boys is rather a good Lizzie story... *g*

The slightly older lads go away for two weeks in the Cotswolds, and they're high enough now in CI5 to know that they really will get their full holiday without being called back in the middle of it all. There's a lovely sense of relaxation about it all - for us as well as them - from being wound up on the drive there (drivers in hats!) to Bodie's collapse on the hotel bed and lazy "Wake me up in a fortnight, Doyle" when they arrive.

Of course being the lads it's not all plain sailing - they're both battling alone with realisations of how important the other is to them, and Bodie's obviously got something he wants to tell Doyle - well, it's obvious to everyone except Doyle, who's quietly plotting to drag Bodie to Ireland, where they can stay in a cottage miles from nowhere, with a good pub on the doorstep...

And then Marge turns up.

*g* Margery Harper is one of my favourite Pros characters, and Lizzie's got her spot-on in this fic:

"You know... I always knew you'd do well, there's something about you. My first husband had it, very bright he was, dropped down dead from overwork..."
"Not that bright then," Bodie interjected, pouring his own coffee.

She's moved to the Cotswolds too, and 'gone straight' with her antigues business, though after a spate of robberies in the area the local police aren't so sure.

The lads get involved much more indirectly than you might have expected - because this story is about them, not about Marge or about a case - and there's rather alot of h/c, one way or another, until finally... well, if you've not already you should read the fic, but it comes to a natural and perfect conclusion. Also, you'll smile your way through it - I want to quote lots of bits here, but it'd spoil them really, so I shouldn't... Well... maybe just one... *g*

Leaning against the dressing table, Doyle gave Marge a wink. She visibly melted.
“You know, I don’t know how anybody ever manages to resist you, lover,” she observed.
He grinned back at her. “Licensed to thrill, Marge.”
“Mmm,” she replied, leaving them to it “and some of us don’t know how lucky we are.”
Bodie watched her go, thoughtfully. “What does she mean?” he asked. His gaze left the door and came to rest on Doyle. “I’ve got two bloody arms in plaster and just breathing is painful with these cracked ribs. She must think I’m some sort of masochist if she’s thinks I ought to feel lucky.”
Taking him under the arms and lowering him gently onto the pillows, Doyle smiled. “Granny used to say…”
“Spare me,” Bodie groaned.
“Count your blessings, but not at night,” Doyle continued, ignoring him.
“Why not?”
“I dunno. People used to say things like that back then,” Doyle frowned. “They didn’t have any telly so I suppose it helped to pass the time.”
Bodie snorted and then regretted it. “Ow. Bugger off, Doyle and stop making me laugh.”

... *vbg* It's a lovely daft sense of humour, just what I imagine from the lads, and it cheers me up every time I read it.

So, what do you think - are they your lads? Is it your Marge? How much do you adore it too? *g*

Comments

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

I love Lizzie’s style - the story flows well and the information the reader needs is given so subtly. A newcomer to the fandom, or a reader who hadn’t seen an episode with Marge, would know exactly what was going on. It all seems effortless to the reader which means the writer has done a lot of hard work! The characterisation is beautifully done. Ray and Bodie come across as three dimensional and real, and Marge and Alf are great, too (better than in the show). The banter is delightful, throughout.

Somehow, I remembered this story as being longer and having more detail about the antiques problem and its resolution - I must have dreamt it!! Or is there another version/a sequel?

A couple of niggles - just nit-picking really. Firstly, location details: Chipping Campden thinks it’s a town, not a village. It is certainly town-sized (I’ve stayed there) with a market, a mayor, etc. Broadway and Stow on the Wold are both quite separate places. The Swan is in a nearby village, not just up the High Street... Secondly, if they were watching old films then the Lawrence Olivier Wuthering Heights had Merle Oberon co-starring and the idea of Kate Bush singing her way through was much later than the lads at forty and much much later than anything with Olivier. Maybe she meant to show their lack of knowledge of the films etc? If so, I don’t think she gave us quite enough information. Whatever, I still had this with maximum stars in my list of Pros-fic-I’ve-read-and-rated so I’ll assume I didn’t notice on first reading!

A good rec, combining holiday, older lads and hurt/comfort themes!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

What a dream to have! *g* I'm not aware of another version (and I got this straight from the author *g*), or a sequel, but if it turns out not to have been a dream, do let me know!

I've been through Chipping Camden and the other places you mention too, and yeah, CC is quite big to be called a "village" - but I suppose it depends very much on what you call village vs town. The lads, coming from London, might think of anything smaller and in the countryside as a village... *g* and I can see Marge preferring to say that she lives in a "village in the Cotswolds" too... *g*

Hmmn - a quick google brings up this "Beside the War Memorial is the new sign to commemorate Campden winning the Bledisloe Cup for Best Kept Village" (Walking Around Chipping Campden (http://www.cotswoldcharm.com/index.php/walking-around-chipping-campden.html)) and also this: "To many tourists, Chipping Campden is the quintessential English town. In the past, Chipping Campden has not entered the ‘Britain in Bloom’ competition but won the Bledisloe Cup competition in 2007 for Best
Kept Large Village – however this competition has now ceased." (Chipping Camden Area Partnership (http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:zHVDbd8yeJsJ:www.chippingcampdenonline.org/Download-document/2-The-Way-Forward-Report.html+Chipping+Camden+%2B%22Britain+in+Bloom%22&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg2U-f2K7uo7cvcJ3UDIkJdKuPTibxbXt93wqTylMSViVcBf1uB7qv9A3848hX2jRieNbjFpBmW6LZUwFcPUjHj_x6LxupSdWv8P9pDtWt-cBFaGofanlLq1YfecDTI49mxmNQV&sig=AHIEtbSkOWk_1aCnOEtkLEhavK92nXwhSw&pli=1)) so it looks as if "village" is perfectly accurate in some Chipping Camden eyes!

As for The Swan, I think that's the sort of thing where a writer's damned if they do and damned if they don't! If you don't know a place intimately, then you risk getting a detail wrong which will lead to niggles like yours, but if you throw in somewhere fictional then you risk someone pointing out that it doesn't exist... *g* ETA - (sorry for all the edits, I should read my comments before thinking "ooh, I meant to say..." *headdesk*) I tend to go for the latter myself, unless its somewhere I'm sitting in and describing, or have known really well in the past, and The Swan is a nice generic name for a village pub - there are lots of 'em about!

Secondly, if they were watching old films then the Lawrence Olivier Wuthering Heights had Merle Oberon co-starring and the idea of Kate Bush singing her way through was much later than the lads at forty and much much later than anything with Olivier.
ROTFLMAO (as they say... *g*)- I'm afraid I think the Kate Bush thing was a joke in the fic, and certainly not any kind of mistake on the author's part! It was Bodie being silly, so that he could make Doyle laugh... *g*

I'm glad it's still on your maximum stars list, for all the above! *g*

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Yes, you're probably right about the location niggle and in any case, it didn't spoil the story for me at all. As for Kate Bush, I'm glad it was 'deliberate'. *g*
.

[potztausend.livejournal.com]

An author who wrote "Join The Queue" is surely a great author ;-).

Moth2fic wrote it already - It's an effortless flowing. Still it doesn't mean everything stays on the surface. On the contrary - it's really hard to write a story which seems so light and fluffy, but simultaneously showing intense emotions without being sappy. It was a joy for me to read it.

Thank you very much for your rec!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

An author who wrote "Join The Queue" is surely a great author ;-).
Yes - I quite agree! *g*

I think that's one of Lizzie's strengths too - she doesn't make everything into a huge drama, but she still manages to show depths of emotion. I tend to think that's quite a "Brit" thing too, the whole stiff-upper-lip cliche, where people will underplay something rather than dramatise it... well, it was in the past anyway, in the lads' generation - don't think you could say the same now at all!

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

So, what do you think - are they your lads? Is it your Marge?

Oh, very definitely, the writing is (almost) more like the lads and Marge than the actual script itself, if you see what I mean..... In fact whatever scenario they occupy in Lizzie’s writing – whether it be contemporary or Victorian times, as gardeners, artists, ghost hunters or ci5 agents, you name it, they’re always totally the ‘lads’. And, as already mentioned, the author’s writing style totally flows - it’s just so easy to read, seemingly without effort and I’m sure that’s a million miles from the reality of Lizzie’work, but she speaks to me on a level I’m very comfortable with. In fact it’s almost like spending an evening with an old friend, someone I'm completely at ease with - I have complete faith in her writing and know it won't let me down. And so by the time I get to the end of a Lizzie story, like this one, I'm left feeling happy and satisfied, at one with the world.

A good choice, thanks!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

In fact it’s almost like spending an evening with an old friend, someone I'm completely at ease with - I have complete faith in her writing
Yes! And that's a good writer... *g*

[milomaus.livejournal.com]

I adore it to pieces, really!
There are our lads, and they´re older and more settled, kinda, but still so much fun. Or maybe because.
And I love her Marge, though I´m usually not very fond of her. But here - Great!

I was afraid she´d drift into a case with the story, though it started out like not. And stayed that way!! I was very pleased!

Then the story makes a fast turn, that was hard. I think it´s a bit exaggerated with Bodie´s injuries. But then that´s something that happens in so many stories: It´s needed to conclude the whole thing.
And I just love her conclusion!

All in all I enjoyed this read A LOT!!

Thanks for reccing, that was fun!!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

What is it about Bodie's injuries that you think is exaggerated? That he couldn't get beaten up so that his arms are both broken, or...? I have to be honest, that was something I liked about it - not just was it realistic (I thought *g*) and h/c-ish, but she didn't gloss over the really really hard parts of dealing with someone who was really incapacitated, and how much a part of life that is. That's something else I like about Lizzie, no matter what she's written about, there's a sense that it could really happen, that it's real, because she does "keep it real". They don't just have sex and everything's fine, there's all the other stuff to deal with still... *G8

I am glad you liked it though!

[milomaus.livejournal.com]

Nah, not really what his injuries are - ahhhhh, lost in translation.... Let´s talk around it.
She goes from zero to twohundred in less then a heartbeat.
Everythings so nice and quiet and they are almost retired and already share so much, and suddenly all that´s gone, Bodie´s running, and I think that´s what bothers me most. That he´s leaving totally. With everything he´s got. That´s just so unlike him in this story, and really, even Doyle going to help Marge at this evening, Bodie´s so transfixed with him, I just can´t picture him running off like that. And then he get´s beaten up just exactly soooo badly, that Doyle has to help him in all the humiliating ways there are.
But then they already helped each other around their different and many injuries which most probably made things like the bum wiping and stuff already necessary. If even because of exhaustion or even broken ribs, which they most certainly suffered from time to time, and where hey needed such help before?!?
And I really like these parts, her talking about the real thing very much.

(And I love to take the stories apart like this and talking about them!!) Thanks so much for taking the time and all the effort!!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the delay replying!

I just can´t picture him running off like that
Ah, okay - yeah, that's a device that's been used soooo many times that it drives me a bit batty too. I can forgive it if the rest of the story's completely right for me though, which this is, so I do... *g* I can see it in this case too, mind - we do see Bodie sort of hedging around what he wants, and we see the build up to his big hope of finally getting it all out in the open, and we see Marge encroaching more and more on his time with Doyle, so I can see him thinking "that's the final straw, fuck it" and going off in frustration. But going off in frustration, not running away...

I do know what you mean though - so many stories seem to use one of them running away as an excuse for them separating and then being all angsty and desperate to find each other/get into trouble etc, that you can't believe them all. (I was saying somewhere else that when people copy things like that, it seems very harsh on the first person to have written it - they get lumped in with the bored-with-that-scenario-now stories!) And it gets tangled with bad characterisation often too - which I don't think Lizzie's story has at all - so that the whole thing just falls apart... Like you, I can't see many real occasions for either of them to run away, and we don't see that in the eps at all. They go off doing their own thing now and then, but they don't run away...

[milomaus.livejournal.com]

Don´t worry. Good though, that you were able to reply at all, cause I´m off on vacation for three weeks tomorrow....*g*

which this is, so I do... *g*
Me too!!
But going off in frustration, not running away...
Exactly what I tried to say...*g*

I don´t mind the repeating of that particular excuse, there are still so many ways to write it, so many fantastic writers out there....let me read it, pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase....

Thank you for telling what I tried to say! Heeee!

[murphybabe]

I really enjoyed this story, and it's one of my 'return to for comfort' favourites. I like the effortless balancing of the banter with the deeper lack of understanding between the lads, and the eventual resolution. I loved the drunken Doyle - I particularly like how she describes it from a third-person standpoint, which - by the time you get to that stage - rings true for me, it's as though these odd things are happening to someone else.

I was a bit worried about Marge's inclusion. I could take her for the one episode, but she has turned up a few times in fic recently and I could probably do without her, if the truth be told. However, she has matured a bit here and shows a surprising empathy and understanding.

The ending was a bit too easy for me, but I can forgive that. I absolutely loved the hurt/comfort bits, and I appreciated the um... more basic problem that was encountered, and how it was dealt with. As Marge says, true love!

Thanks for choosing this one.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I've got to admit that I can never quite see the lads opening their own security business, though in theory it makes sense, so I know what you mean about the ending... but that was the only part of it I was I less keen on, I liked the rest of the ending! And I very much liked the way Marge gradually came around to Bodie, too... *g*

I'm surprised to hear you say that she's turned up a few times in fic recently - I was always surprised at how little fic she was in! I wonder if you coincidentally came across all the older stories she was in all at once, or have people started including her more recently? I suspect this is one of the first fics featuring Marge (someone'll post to prove me wrong, now!), and I was saying to someone over at the "music" post at the_safehouse that it seemed very unfair the original writers end up accused of being cliched/following fanon when other people followed after them! *g*

And yes! Drunken Doyle! One of my favourite characters in any fic... *vbg*

[murphybabe]

I've just read a few things on Prosfanfic involving Marge - she turned up twice (or three times?) in the Cluedo challenge, so perhaps it was just coincidence and they were all clumped together.

Anyway, what really surprised me was that I have enjoyed this story since I joined the Pros fandom, and knew it was by Lizzie, and haven't been reading A Birdwatcher's Guide etc even though it has been strongly recommended, and have only just put together Lizzie who I really enjoyed with Lizzie who's written stuff that's highly recommended. Sad, really, that I pay so little attention!

(I can list the stories, if wanted)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Ah, I don't read over at Prosfanfic, so I've not seen those stories...

I'm blinking a bit at the bit that surprised you though... so... you're surprised cos lots of people recommended Lizzie but you didn't read any, but now you have and you loved it? Erm...good? *vbg*

And yes, do list the stories - I always like a good list of stories! *vbg*

[murphybabe]

No, sorry - surprised at my own stupidity for not connecting the names! Let's put it down to stress and too much going on, shall we?

Here are the ones I remember, all over on Prosfanfic:

At The Greengrocers - Allie
The Book - Maggenpie
No Quarrels - Marnie

but darn it I can't work out how to do the hyperlinks. Sorry.

[this-other-life.livejournal.com]

Um, pardon me butting in but just to say - you can't do links to files at Yahoo Groups, you have to be a member of said group in order to access them.

[murphybabe]

Aha - thank you, I'm not as dim as I think I am, then! Okay, if anyone wants the stories, they are on Prosfanfic.

Thank you for the comment, this_other_life.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Sorry (again, I think!) for the delay in getting back to you - and thank you! And you're definitely not dim - Yahoo Groups and what they contain are all locked up unless you join them, sadly. There used to be a Pros gen archive online, but it vanished a few years ago, which is a real shame, cos there was some good stuff in there...

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

Just a very nice story!

Just? Yeah, because for me there is absolutely nothing to complain. ;-)
I could spend my day with quoting favourite moments…

I've talked with BSL about Bodie in her last weeks RR story. That he loves to make a secret of everything. And I had to laugh about this snippet here:
He pondered briefly about the reverse and was shocked to discover that
Bodie knew most of what there was to know about him. Not only that, had no difficulty
whatsoever in extracting whatever secrets he felt he ought to be party to. He decided it must be because of his open, sunny nature and turned his thoughts to more pressing concerns.
(Well, Doyle's 'sunny nature' is certainly something for another long discussion… :-))

I love such moments int the story. And I love the humour in it.
I really don't need so called funny Pros stories, when I can have such a subtle and clever writing. :-)

Another one…

" The meal had been superb. As they sank into armchairs deep enough even for Doyle, both were content with their lot. Nursing brandies and feeling fit to burst, neither felt much in need of conversation. The fire was entertainment enough as it hissed and spat in protest at damp logs.
In the end it was Bodie who broke the comfortable silence. "This is nice.""

LOL! Men… :-)

"- because this story is about them, not about Marge or about a case - "
Yes, that's true. But of course, Marge is superb.
I wonder why there are not more good minor characters in Pros strories!?
They could add so much to the storyline - without taking away the focus on our boys! :-)

Thanks for the rec! Somehow I've missed it until now.

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I love such moments in the story. And I love the humour in it.
I really don't need so called funny Pros stories, when I can have such a subtle and clever writing. :-)

Exactly! I completely agree. It's such a gentle kind of humour where, before you know it, you find yourself smiling, as I did reading your next quote:

In the end it was Bodie who broke the comfortable silence. "This is nice."

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I really don't need so called funny Pros stories, when I can have such a subtle and clever writing. :-)
Exactly! To be honest I think that alot of stories that call themselves funny are often so self-conciously that they actually stop being funny... I don't need to be hit over the head by people telling me to laugh now, I much prefer the kind of humour that just crops up naturally in the little things that people say and do - all the things that Lizzie writes about! *g*

I wonder why there are not more good minor characters in Pros strories!?
I think there are some writers who use other minor characters (from the eps or original) brilliantly in B/D stories, but I think alot of writers have gone for stereotypes or fanon-ed characters, almost to fill in a gap somehow... That's mostly why I'm not fond of reading Murphy in stories to be honest, I rarely feel that he's well-written - he seems either to be some Mary Sue-type best-friend-of-the-lads, or... well no, that's what he usually seems to be!

Glad you finally found it and liked it, though! *g*

[unoriginal-liz.livejournal.com]

I love Marge, so I was disposed to like this from the start...and then it lived up to expectations. I loved how she chose to deal with the very unglamorous reality of Bodie's injuries - it really showed up the depth of B & D's relationship.

I really enjoyed this :)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Marge is great - and Lizzie is as well, so that works out perfectly! I am glad you liked it, everyone should read all the Lizzie they can, I reckon! *g*

[starlite876.livejournal.com]

This is one of my favourite Marge story and one that I re-read often.

I loved the way that Lizzie has written Marge so that she is an intricate part of the story, and that even though the main plot is about the development of the relationship between Bodie and Doyle, she doesn't become a forgotten character but instead remains a true friend to Doyle.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yes! She's not just thrown into the story for the lads to react to, she's actually a real person whose life is going on at the same time as the lads' lives! I think lots of writers sort of use their minor characters, rather than making them real people, and one of Lizzie's skills is that her characters are all real people... *g*

So glad you love this story as I do! *g*