CI5 hq

I've read this story a few times years ago but only about a third this week but I'll throw this in: I love this story, it's not perfect, but I love it, warts and all. And I've been trying to analyse why.... the first thing, I think, is that I love something about their loneliness which is odd because I always avoid things to do with loneliness because it's depressing, but there's something cosy in this (can't think of another word for it) and the gradual/incremental/realistic way they come to realise how much they're losing (apart from each other) when ci5 is disbanded: flat, car, friends etc. Up to this point they'd been taking everything it offered for granted and now they were being thrown back to the wolves i.e. the real world. I love Doyle's persistence in trying to get an interview with Willis, etc. And i love, love, love the part played by Miss. Walsh which involves one of my favourite scenes in any story, the time when she realises that they're in love (I think they're washing dishes).

{Just had a thought: maybe I like the time they're apart because I know they'll get together again?}

Downside: I thought the aftermath of Murphy's shooting was a bit underplayed and I thought the discovery of Cowley was a bit weak, can't remember why but I remember being disappointed.

Sorry this is so disjointed but I have to go offline for a while....

Edited Date: 2019-11-02 01:41 pm (UTC)

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I love something about their loneliness which is odd
I don't think that's odd at all - I rather like it too... I mean, I don't actually agree that they'd react the way they do in the story, not entirely, but I'm a bit of a sucker for separated-and-reunited-lads, and I think that's what this is to some extent. It's a bittersweet thing - I hate that they're apart, but it makes them getting back together so sweet... I suppose it's the whole falling-in-love glory whenever it happens, which is missing in a long-term relationship (which has other advantages to make up for it... *g*)

he gradual/incremental/realistic way they come to realise how much they're losing (apart from each other) when ci5 is disbanded
Yes! Which is really another separation for them both... and it's a fascinating idea, always. What would they do if they weren't in CI5. There's so many ideas out there (including my own *g*), but only some that I can believe.

they were being thrown back to the wolves i.e. the real world
Now isn't that a thought - CI5 not being the real world, and the real world being even hungrier than CI5, with its death-or-glory lifestyle... and yet so true. There are so many more mundane and depressing ways to live (and die) in the ordinary world...

And i love, love, love the part played by Miss. Walsh which involves one of my favourite scenes in any story, the time when she realises that they're in love (I think they're washing dishes).
I love that scene too! That one's got a definite cosiness to it - maybe all the more so because they don't know themselves, it's just.... innate...

{Just had a thought: maybe I like the time they're apart because I know they'll get together again?}
Yes! That's definitely what it is for me, anyway... *g*

the aftermath of Murphy's shooting was a bit underplayed
Oh, really? Now that surprises me - we get a fair bit of Bodie's angst over that, I think, to the point where I was almost enough, please! If it hadn't dialled down when it did I wouldn't have believed it... but maybe that's because we do mostly see it from Bodie's side, and Doyle barely mentions it... maybe an artefact of the pov that bit's written in, but...

I thought the discovery of Cowley was a bit weak
Thinking about it, I probably agree - but on the other hand, it did strike me as very ep-like! I could actually picture the moment they found him and he was so brusque and about-time - that seemed like Cowley all over! What I didn't quite get was Doyle falling apart quite so much over the grenade being a trick - it was quite funny, and there's the whole hysteria thing, but... I think he would have saved it for later, perhaps... He was portrayed as quite practical about alot of things, and then that...

I did get a bit tired of the constant pendulum swing of Bodie's reaction towards Doyle i... and his suspicions of Doyle's motives, I don't think the reader is given enough reason for Bodie to react in this way.
Yes, I think that went on a bit too long too. And it also struck me as rather swapped-characterisation to some extent. In the eps it's Doyle who doesn't let things go, who things niggle at, and Bodie seems to accept things more at face value, but be happy to follow Doyle's hunches... I can see Bodie being upset and maybe disbelieving about Cowley, but not the lack of Doyle being the same to that extent... And even though Doyle got suspicious of Willis etc., and that contributed just as much to their findings, that was played down and it felt very much we-never-would-have-solved-this-without-Bodie... whereas in actual fact they wouldn't have solved it without Cowley sending that envelope, and Elizabeth Walsh getting involved....

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I love something about their loneliness which is odd
I don't think that's odd at all

I think it’s odd because loneliness, as opposed to being alone, is a negative concept, associated with negative things. In what way do you think it’s not odd? Is it because of what we’ve both referred to earlier, that they do finally get together? I wonder if I (or you) would have quite liked the condition if they hadn’t got together?

the aftermath of Murphy's shooting was a bit underplayed
Oh, really? Now that surprises me

Well he doesn’t tell Doyle immediately and then after he does let Doyle know they don’t refer to the death *that* much.

they were being thrown back to the wolves i.e. the real world
Now isn't that a thought - CI5 not being the real world,

Not real in the sense that in many ways operatives are cushioned which is what Bodie and Doyle come to find out. But driving fast cars and shooting people isn’t like the real world either which is usually mundane, boring, repetitive etc. When I think of the ‘real’ world I think of films like Metropolis with people robotically trudging to work day in day out…

I thought the discovery of Cowley was a bit weak
Thinking about it, I probably agree - but on the other hand, it did strike me as very ep-like! I could actually picture the moment they found him and he was so brusque and about-time - that seemed like Cowley all over!

Yes, that’s true, it was very like the episodes only in reading a story as opposed to watching an episode, we’re invested with far more emotion, thoughts etc. and so, given that kind of build up, I would have liked a bit more in the finding Cowley scene, though it's true, it wouldn't be very canon-like!

But, overall, do you like the story?

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I agree about the discovery of Cowley being a bit weak. It seemed as if she was trying to wrap up the story, because the time to them contemplating that Cowley might be alive to them finding him wasn't very long.

And, yeah, poor Murphy. I could have done without that. :-(

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I think you may be right about the author wanting to wrap things up, I can imagine feeling that way if you've been writing a long story. And yes, I don't usually feel very emotional about stories but Murphy's death got to me a little bit! It just happened so quickly and it wasn't even about him. Yes, poor Murphy.

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And another thing... I think I did get a bit tired of the constant pendulum swing of Bodie's reaction towards Doyle in the early part after Cowley's death and his suspicions of Doyle's motives, I don't think the reader is given enough reason for Bodie to react in this way.

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To reply to the comment that's not here any more - yes, it's all here now anyway! *g* Not reading what you said yet, but soon...! See you when you're back online!

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I'm not sure I've got much more to say! Or to remember. I was hoping to get a kick start from the comments of other people.

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I've just finished reading - let's see if I can kick... *g*

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Rats - replied to this bit in my comment above, thinking it would end up below here... but it didn't...

But another thing, while I'm here - something that really bugged me - was the bit where the author described Doyle as getting the short straw from nature as far as looks went - in Bodie's opinion! And that his face couldn't take another scar, because it was already on the edge of being unacceptable... I mean - just what?! Ray Doyle is as beautifully handsome as Bodie is, just in a different way! Bodie's very classic smooth-lines symmetrical handsome, and Doyle's much more interestingly handsome, but they're both good looking! Sure, we all have a preference for one or the other type of appearance, but... the short straw from nature!! Pah!

*points to icon*

Pah!

*g*

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Forgot this bit.... yes, a stupid thing to say! I can think of both of them as handsome/beautiful depending on the light etc. but I must admit that I usually think of Doyle as beautiful and Bodie as handsome. But doyle drawing the short straw from nature? Absolutely ridiculous!

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Thank you - exactly! *g* And yeah, I think of Bodie as more "classically" goodlooking/handsome, and... d'you know, I would probably also describe Doyle more as "beautiful", but that's cos "handsome" tends to have those symmetrical/classical "handsome" connotations...

But - yes! *g*

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A big huge "YES" to both of your comments and thoughts about the story! Agree heartily!

I think the hesitation I felt most is about Doyle's characterization (similar to what you're saying, BSL, about it). He's portrayed so well, evenly, or something. The way he thinks things through just gets on my nerves (!) - he's so rational and calm that he almost seems gormless or something. I want to shake him, yell, say "Where's your spark, your fire?" But it's all so well written and formulated because they are grieving, in shock, so all bets are off!

And S2K, you are completely right about Bodie and his responses, which seem very much over the top and overly biting! It doesn't fit, isn't on. Then you think, ahh, but grief and shock? However, reading back over the beginning, Bodie *does* pick up on Doyle's seemingly not being too upset about it.

The bewilderment Doyle felt at this unjustified attack rapidly resolved into anger. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you, Bodie?!"

Bodie laughed harshly. You don't seem very cut up about it, do you?"

It's true, D does seem a bit cerebral in his response to C's death? Like it's not hurting him or something? He's very rational and observant, but it doesn't seem to affect him personally, or something. I was thinking that *I* was more upset than he was - it certainly reveals how fundamental Cowley is for our whole universe, that he is the foundation, the linchpin, that holds our B/D universe together. [Very very interesting bit about CI5 being "safe" as opposed to the wild world out there, but in our universe, it really is...Cowley and his ethics hold it up like Atlas against the self-serving, greedy powers that be...] But Doyle, for example, he doesn't even think about Bodie and how he'll take it - Betty is the one who brings up 3.7! It's these little steps, combined with Bodie's accusations (as crazily over exaggerated as they are) that are like a burr for me.

Bodie's outbursts and attacks are so obviously harsh and uncalled for. You know that he's going to be kicking himself about them soon, feeling very bad. Right off, B's attacks start, they look at each other and see "strangers", the wall is there between them, mistrust. D, reacting to B's outsized attacks, brushes B's suspicions with the same dismissiveness. The Doyle I know would perhaps do that briefly, but would recognize quite quickly that B is not messing about, and see through the screens, recognize B's instincts are usually right.

As usual, I kick myself, because if all my exacting preferences were met, there wouldnt be anything left to write about! Theyd just be perfect blobs...

Editing to add, about Elizabeth Walsh - she takes Cowley's "role" as it were, the one thing they can believe in and can agree about. Deus ex machina as it were... And the dishwashing scene is really beautifully written, yes! (I know ive missed a lot of points, sorry! Posting on dratted phone...)

Edited Date: 2019-11-02 06:02 pm (UTC)

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"Where's your spark, your fire?"
Yes! This exactly! Doyle can be quite even in the eps (like in Fugitive when that wreathe is brought in as a threat to Bodie, but I always feel that he's sort of holding himself in (hmmn, maybe it's when Bodie isn't there, come to think of it...), but I didn't really get that impression here. Maybe because the pov gave the author the chance to show us this, and she didn't...

But it's all so well written and formulated because they are grieving, in shock, so all bets are off!
I think the story gets a way with alot on the back of this actually. Doyle's trying to be very practical to avoid thinking too hard about it, and Bodie's gone the other way and will think about nothing else... I suppose there's precedent for Bodie's obsession in Wild Justice and MWaP, but less so for Doyle refusing to believe things/help Bodie...

But Doyle, for example, he doesn't even think about Bodie and how he'll take it - Betty is the one who brings up 3.7! It's these little steps, combined with Bodie's accusations
I guess I can see them both reacting to things separately and trying to deal with them on their own - but they both go to the other's help in the eps (I'm trying to think of exceptions where it's not due to Cowley's instructions or something... except for Doyle being so pissed off about Bodie in WJ, I'm not sure I can...

would recognize quite quickly that B is not messing about, and see through the screens, recognize B's instincts are usually right.
Ooh, but - are Bodie's instincts usually right in the eps? I can't help thinking of Runner, where he went about things completely the wrong (quite violent) way - and actually Close Quarters too, where the same thing happened... So I can see reasons that Doyle might not think Bodie's right, and perhaps even that they'd each react separately to Cowley's death, and in different ways, but... I feel like I'm doing alot of the work for the author, somehow. And in the eps, when they are together they end up understanding each other, even when they disagree, whereas I didn't get that feeling here for some reason.

I forgot that they found Cowley at the end, as I was reading (except that I was suspicious they would when I heard that his body was unrecognisable - that was kind of a give-away, I thought!) and for a while I was trying to remember whether Elizabeth Walsh was brought back out of retirement to head CI5... *g*

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but - are Bodie's instincts usually right in the eps? ..... And in the eps, when they are together they end up understanding each other, even when they disagree, whereas I didn't get that feeling here for some reason.
Yeah, I can see that, too. Maybe I feel this way because as a reader I get the clues that it's not an accident, and wonder why D is so set against it.

forgot that they found Cowley at the end, as I was reading (except that I was suspicious they would when I heard that his body was unrecognisable - that was kind of a give-away, I thought!)
Yes, i had forgotten that he was still alive, too, but the faceless body was rather glaring...

I went to find that passage that has B being disparaging about D's looks, but couldnt find it. I recall having a similar response to yours, though! That is just NOT ON. The one place, B thinks something about how D cant afford another scar - ?? I assume this refers to his cheek? He doesnt have a lot of scars on his face. But then, in other places, Bodie obviously finds D incredibly atteactive. That one time he says he's beautiful, just beautiful. I was reading Ms Walsh's commentary on them again, prepared to feel defensive, but I liked what she said in the end, that now D's exotic looks are more attractive than B's standard looks, or something. But its more - its the cat references that get me... Winding around your leg, but not getting caught. Also the panther in heat...

Before I forget, I really loved the crossword puzzle scene and banter... Heart melts.

Ooh, and this one:

It was too dark in the car to see much of each other's faces, but they didn't need to.

"Good luck," Doyle said lamely. "Watch yourself, okay?"

There was a flash of white as Bodie smiled. "It's the second best thing I do."

"What's the first best?" Doyle asked hoarsely.

"Watching you, sunshine."

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as a reader I get the clues that it's not an accident
Oh, you were definitely ahead of me then, because apart from Cowley's body not being recognisable, I thought it was a genuine accident right up until Doyle didn't!

hat passage that has B being disparaging about D's looks
Actually I messed that up - it wasn't Bodie at all, it was Elizabeth Walsh! This bit:
While by no means as handsome as his partner, Doyle did more with what he had; letting his inner sensuality make up for what nature shorted him.
I still want to pah and pah and Pah! again! "nature shorted him" indeed! (*g*) Yes, she decides she likes his looks more than Bodie's conventional good looks in the end, but it's starting from the pov that "nature shorted him" that I can't get over! If nature had shorted me like that I'd be very happy indeed! *g*

I did like the cat comparison though, definitely... *g* Makes me think of this vid...

And yes - all those gorgeous bits that you quote! *g*

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and actually Close Quarters too, where the same thing happened..

People often use CQ as an example of Bodie getting things very wrong but I'm not sure how else he was meant to react in a situation where he's minus a partner, i.e. alone, with one hand and up against several dedicated terrorists, responsible for several members of the public one of whom acted so wilfully that he got himself killed, miles from anywhere and without communication with the outside world. I suppose he shouldn't have tried to take on the first terrorist by himself but given that he did I think the situation was pretty much stacked against him.

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I had to go back and re-read one of my posts about CQ (https://byslantedlight.livejournal.com/100916.html) to remember, because it's an ep that I try to avoid, honestly. Partly because I want both lads on screen, and they hardly are at all in this ep, and partly because I do think that Bodie seems not himself in it... I do remember explaining it to myself as due to his being on pain meds for his hands!

The situation was stacked against him, but he did lots of things that actually endangered other people without actually gaining them any advantage, and... well, I'd have to watch it again to be more specific at this point though... Maybe I will try and watch it tomorrow!

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Editing to add, about Elizabeth Walsh - she takes Cowley's "role" as it were,

Good point, I hadn't thought of her role in that way before! Probably too busy thinking of her as match maker.

but it doesn't seem to affect him personally, or something.

I never think of Doyle and Cowley's relationship in quite the same way as I do thinking of Bodie and Cowley together e.g. I was going to give the example of Bodie eating a burger in the car with Cowley drinking coffee (I think that's from Hijack discussing an ex-con acting as the 'wheels' for someone), I couldn't imagine Doyle doing that but then again I can't imagine doyle eating a burger full stop! OK, another example, Cowley grabbing Bodie by the collar in the 'world is full of monday morning footballers' scene in Slush Fund. Cowley can get away with doing that to Bodie, it won't permanently sever their relationship, but I'm not sure he could afford to get violent with Doyle, I don't think their relationship would ever recover.

Edited Date: 2019-11-02 07:56 pm (UTC)

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never think of Doyle and Cowley's relationship in quite the same way as I do thinking of Bodie and Cowley together
No, I don't think of them as having the same relationships either - although I do think Doyle cares about Cowley as much as Bodie does. In Rogue it's Doyle who's at the hospital first, and seems just as worried as Bodie does that Cowley's been hurt - and in Purging too, when they rush in to try and find Cowley after the bomb...

But Cowley definitely seems more forgiving of Bodie on occasion - in fact on some occasions he really seems to have it in for Doyle, like the scenes in Ojuka! But then in Hijack he strokes Doyle's face just as gently as he does Bodie's (people always say Hijack is B/C, but I don't see the inequality in that one!). I wonder if we see Cowley giving Bodie more latitude because it's Bodie who's more likely to be joking with Cowley in the first place? Whereas Doyle is more serious with him - and sometimes sharper with him, in fact, more challenging, like when he tells Cowley that the snitch "coughed" and Cowley tells him to use proper English - so Doyle then corrects Cowley in the same way when he uses slang! (Can't remember which ep, though I want to saw ODNT - in S1, anyway).

Now I want to go through and find all the scenes where it's just one lad or the other with Cowley, and compare them... *g*

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Aww, that is an excellent vid... So much slinking and flying and diving. They are so gorgeous. I was expecting it to focus on Doyle, but I was reminded that both of them have their cat / panther/ big cat qualities. Rowrrrr.

Interesting thoughts about the differing relationships with Cowley. I keep thinking about the part close to the end in WtWA where Doyle is castigating C for the way he spoke to B when they found C, and: " "My relationship with Bodie is not up for discussion," Cowley said smoothly." It made my warning lights and eyebrows flash up! But within the story's universe, with Doyle's characterization and this seemingly excrutiatingly s l o w realization of how he feels about Bodie, (and how Bodie feels about him?) I think C's nippiness here is understandable. C is just noting with approval how D is being protective of B where previously it went the other way.

I queried the reciprocal relationship because D states clearly, more than once, that he regards Bodie as "his". Like that part where he thinks about Marika taking B away from him, but this is worse, a ghost is stealing Bodie. (Yeah, not what I would imagine Doyle thinking...) Sidenote - maybe it's that bit of arrogance that D is portrayed with, that he assumes so much without question? that makes him unlike what I think he is. I think D does have arrogance, earned arrogance that he is self aware about! Whereas this D seems unaware, just taking it as his due, or something. (I have to again apologize for probably slipping into fanon and characterization from my favorite stories, rather than canon.)

On CQ - Ive been listening to Crazy Maniac and A Little Faith and Orange Juice quite often ( once a day?!) and each gives their own twist on it, whereas I havent watched the episode itself for a long time! But in my probably biased memory, I also thought that Bodie perhaps made rash choices in the begining, but then he was stuck, doing the best with what he had (and possibly under pain or pain killers). In the fic, D always castigates B for not calling for backup - was that a possibility? Now there was an interesting ep with D and C together, B alone.

Because I'm on my phone I cant go back and read your comments again and remind myself what I meant to say... So Ill sign off now and hope to remember better tomorrow!

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Are the examples you give from canon? e.g. Doyle saying Bodie is 'his'? I can't remember any of these scenes and feel ashamed that I completely missed them!

Edited Date: 2019-11-03 05:03 pm (UTC)

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Oh no! not in canon - just in the story. I should have made that clear, sorry! The quotes that I was thinking of specifically when I wrote that were:

After five years of practically having to toss Bodie out on his ear to get rid of him, it felt rather odd having had to bribe him over. [...Marika similarities...]. Even now, he could remember the puzzled, lost feeling he'd experienced at the time. Bodie had hardly seemed to know he existed, and Bodie always paid attention to him, no matter who else was around or what they were doing. Except that time. Strange, how much it bothered him when he lost it.

And

Having a ghost take what was rightfully his, was something else again.

Perhaps I read them with a mistaken inflection? But the sense I get in the story is that D understands that B is there for him, is even hard to get rid of, and so now when B's not there, it's very noticeable. He's used to coming first, being first priority for Bodie.

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Thanks for those quotes. I'm relieved, I thought what have I been missing all these years?! And sorry I should have added that I was thinking WWtf was an episode but of course it's the story! Gah......

Edited Date: 2019-11-03 07:16 pm (UTC)

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I expected the vid to focus on Doyle too, but Bodie is also quite cat-like at times - albeit an entirely different kind of cat, as you say! *g*

I think I read my relationship with Bodie is not up for discussion as Cowley responding to Doyle telling him off, and trying to get him to speak in a certain way to Bodie. Which is a bit ironic, because he's just told Doyle Perhaps the difference is that I'm not surprised by it; you obviously are. You didn't know him very well, did you? I love the bit just before that though - Cowley regarded him curiously. This was something quite new - Doyle protective of Bodie.... at least from the outside it had seemed very much the opposite way for far too many years.

Although I might argue with the idea that Doyle's not protective of Bodie. One of the few things (imho) that is glorious about Close Quarters is the way Doyle rushes up the stairs to find Bodie at the end, and all but elbows the woman out of the way so that he can grab hold of Bodie and make sure he's okay. And then in the ambulance in - I can't remember which ep now - when it's been shot at, and Bodie's inside, and again Doyle positively charges in with a roar of Bodie's name, and literally grabs him and holds onto him. In both cases Bodie kind of shrugs him off - for proprietry, obviously... *g*

I agree that Bodie's rash choices are at the start in CQ too (though I didn't watch it today after all, of course!), and that after that he's got to do the best he can - but it's those choices in the first place... Although there's one thing I think I remember where he's moving them around the house for some strange reason... no, it's no good I need to rewatch! And for Doyle and Cowley alone together too, you're right! And they don't joke, I don't think - but then maybe it wouldn't have been the time if the shoe was on the other foot either, if it was Bodie and Cowley together trying desperately to find Doyle...

And now I have to get to bed, and just hope that I made some kind of sense!

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Yes, that comment from Cowley about his relationship with B is rather tongue in cheek given the conversation it's in...
I agree with you about Doyle being protective, in canon. I think Cowley is picking up the same odd off part of Doyle that we've been talking about, that things had been imbalanced between them in the past, but now Doyle is catching on!
Yeah, I havent rewatched CQ either :( Maybe today.

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(Because Doyle would hit back)

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Yes, I think he'd in one way or another.

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Yikes! Comment 13 *again*!

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Thanks for the vid! I thought you might like to see a couple of examples of my idea of the beauty of doyle. If I *had* to pinpoint one thing which makes him beautiful I think it would be the faraway look in those beautiful eyes, eyes which are a thousand thoughts and years away... But if the images are too big for this discussion, or not the kind of thing to have posted here I'll take them down.

Edited Date: 2019-11-03 08:56 am (UTC)

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Beautiful images of him, thank you! I agree wholeheartedly with you! 100%✓! I just spent an hour going through saved pictures of Doyle, hundreds of favorites, but I can't narrow them down. And i can't ever seem to find the words that might do justice to him! We've discussed this before, but one of the reasons I love fic so much is finding those descriptions that put words to these things i see and feel but can't describe, can't communicate. Doyle is just that way for me. Sometimes it's his changeable ness - he is a chameleon. You never know what he'll look like next. Its also the way he moves himself, and holds himself. He's got that quality, that charisma, where your eyes just stick to him and can't look away. You brought up his eyes, so I'll bring up his mouth. His lips! Beautiful, full, gorgeous lips. The ways they transform and broadcast his emotions. So tender. For me, it's also his confidence, his air of certainty. Soo attractive. This has all been said so many times, better than I can say it! but sometimes it just has to come out.

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I'm so glad someone likes the post! I agree there are just so many photos of Doyle and the way he changes etc. His nose, lips etc are perfect and I think his whole profile is very noble. I like medieval Doyle, too:

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So sorry I didn't get back here earlier today. I seem to rebel a bit on Sundays these days, and sort of slide away from sitting down in front of my laptop again... Which is crazy, because when I didn't have to do that for work, I was more than happy to sit here for hours and hours on end...

Anyway - your examples! Yes, I love them! The first two in particular... I'm less sure about the third one, and the one where he's looking worried - maybe it seems like the character on his face takes over in those, so that you can feel his intensity rather than just want to look at it all day... And I do agree about his eyes, and when he gets that far-gaze in them... But also with

paris7am about his lips, and his mouth - and of course the way just the way he moves, too...

Let's see if I can contribute to this... *g* (https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/byslantedlight/8284114/3857017/3857017_original.jpg) (https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/byslantedlight/8284114/3857347/3857347_original.jpg)

(https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/byslantedlight/8284114/3857427/3857427_original.jpg) (https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/byslantedlight/8284114/3857857/3857857_original.jpg)That smile too - lighting up his face and making him look so different - very much alive, or full of the electricity of life, or something...

(And btw, I think the images are entirely pertinent to the discussion! *g*) How the author could have Elizabeth Walsh thinking that this man has been "shorted by nature", I just don't know. We've merely been gathering evidence! *g*

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Lovely pictures of Doyle, thank you! I think the first two are my favourites, they capture the beauty of Doyle with a slight hint of androgyny in the second one unusual in such a virile young man but which adds to his uniqueness (and attraction). I like the third one because he's so obviously really relaxed here and that, too, adds to his attraction. Not sure about the top in the final one probably because I use to have one just like it!

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After spending far too much time lost in delight, looking at pictures of Doyle.... I cannot resist posting a few lovelies of Doyle, too. Its just that no one image of him can do him justice! He is so many things and so quicksilver... And really, moving images might be necessary, because it's about his motion, his emotion! Aah yes, maybe we should do this more often - have a love fest "post your fave pics" of each of them post...

I hope these aren't to big, etc... I don't have html option when posting replies on my phone. :(
I also see a sort of theme in these that wasn't deliberate... But certainly shows what I find irresistible. One facet of it, at least!

The lowered glow of the sun had burnished Ray's hair with red light and his face was open and vulnerable and obstinate all at one time. Philip reached out his hand and traced the cheek and jaw with one finger. "Why couldn't I have made you shy and modest and agreeable? Is that what you really are, under it all?"

Helplessly, he leaned forward and kissed the impossibly appealing mouth.(Professional Dreamer)

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I love all of these but I think the third one down is one of my very favourite pictures of Doyle! (I love him and Bodie in that scene.) And the bottom one of Doyle where he looks incredibly knackered and dead sexy and slightly pissed off. Cheers!

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*swoon*

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yeah.....

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I do really like this story, the interaction, good and bad, between Bodie and Doyle. I think she really captures how Bodie and Doyle would react to Cowley’s death. Bodie withdrawing, just as Doyle reaches out. And it being Bodie who can’t give it up. He smells something fishy, not sure what, but something, so goes all out for it. But I didn't care for how long it took for Bodie to finally quit accusing Doyle of some really strange things, like thinking that he would have inherited a lot of money from Cowley. (!) Really, you think he would have thought that? But did so like the return of Elizabeth Walsh. If Cowley had really been dead, she could have made a great head of CI5, or even just someone who sent Bodie and Doyle out on selective missions.

There were a couple of niggling items. One, it did seem sort of stupid for them to blacklist Bodie and Doyle, which, of course, made them both suspicious. It was like putting up a big neon sign that flashed, “Conspiracy!” If they had allowed them to have jobs maybe they wouldn’t have the time to investigate Cowley’s death.

The other was that embarrassing phone call to Elizabeth Walsh. Lionel Guppy and Mr Butkis, really? I can sort of see it at the hotel. They were sort of playing around, and who would know? But if anyone was listening in, I think those ridiculous names would have been a dead give away.

Still, all in all, I really enjoyed the story.

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I like this story too - and it's different, somehow. Well, I suppose not many stories where Cowley dies focus so much on the effect of it, it's more on what happens next in other stories.

I could sort of accept Bodie's wild accusations as part of his grief about Cowley, but I must admit it didn't sit comfortably, and I could feel Doyle's hurt at the injustice of most of those barbs.

Good point about the blacklisting too, it was exactly what did shout Conspiracy! Unless they were supposed to assume they were being punished by someone as Cowley's best lads... but then of course you'd ask who's punishing them, so... you're completely right, and it's quite hard to find an excuse for that!

I liked Lionel Guppy as an echo of Ojuka (and it's entirely ridiculous there, too!) Oh - although heeeee! Because I just went to see if anyone by any chance did have that surname- and yes! It's a real surname (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy_(surname))! That'll teach us to scoff... *g* "Butkis" was different for me though - because I think it's a joke-name in the US, but the joke doesn't cross over to England! It just wouldn't be a name they'd've thought up at all, never mind as a joke. I was aware enough of it as a joke from the author's home country that it made me cringe whenever I read it....

I'm glad you enjoyed it after everything, though! *g*

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The closest I can think that she might have meant is "bupkis," as in not knowing bupkis (know nothing.) Or the last name Butkus, as in Dick Butkus, the former football player, though I'm inclined to think she meant the former.

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I didn't even think about the wrong-headedness of blacklisting B&D, but you're so right. It convinced D to believe...
And the phone talk, too. I took it as D expressing his relief at finally "being on the same side" with Bodie again, almost giddiness? But cringey all the same!

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Exactly. If they'd had jobs, at least Doyle, they might not have thought so much about Cowley's death. And she could have had Doyle being the one employed by MI6, so that he would have found out something and gone to Bodie, leaving out Murphy's death.

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I love the title, and the shape of the story. I was glad to get some hints throughout of the resolution of Cowley's "accident" because I've read stories that indicate a character death and then take it back in a way that makes me feel manipulated, and this one didn't have that effect. I agree with the comments that Doyle seems too even-tempered--his temper is one of the things I love about him. I'm a little surprised by the way Bodie pulls back and makes up all this stuff about Doyle, because that's a characterization of Bodie that, actually, I don't see in episodes, only in fic. Like the negative view of Anson in some stories that made me wonder which episode has the Bad Anson (still haven't found it), Distant Bodie is invisible to me. Still, all that complex plot! I'm impressed. I'm not good at plotting myself.

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I don't know about a Bad Anson but there seems to be no love lost between him and Bodie and Doyle in an early stakeout scene in Backtrack. And Cowley's very offhand with him in a later scene when Anson attempts to make a 'phone call in Cowley's office. People don't seem to like him or his cigars!

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