Reading Room XVII - Winter Rain by Alys

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I nearly forgot that I was hosting! So sorry... better late than never?

Today's story is Winter Rain by Alys (Rachel Sabotini), suggested by bodie24. (Read it at: Circuit Archive or A03 or in the British Takeaway 6 zine).

This is a short wee story, and I must admit that when I saw the Bodie/F tag on the Circuit Archive, I did a little *headdesk*, because het stories are not my thing in Pros - I want our lads safely together in every possible way that they can be! How on earth could I host a story that was focused on something else entirely?

Luckily, it didn't really turn out to be a het story at all... *g*

This is a third-person point of view story, and the person we meet is Phillipa Hamilton (hmmn, she of the shot-up barge, I wonder?), Bodie's current girlfriend. She's sitting in a cafe while it buckets down with rain outside, wondering what on earth she's going to do about Bodie, who she's due to meet for dinner in a couple of hours.

You see, the trouble with Bodie - is his partner, Ray Doyle. And here, you see, comes the slash (if you ask me... *g*) because Ray Doyle is the person that Bodie will leave Phillipa for at pretty much any point in time - including when they're in the middle of having sex. When she and Bodie double-date with Ray and his girlfriend, Bodie is entirely focused on Doyle, either bouncing off him in hilarity, or trying to cheer him up if he's down. It's all about bloody Ray Doyle.

Why on earth does she put up with it? Well, the sex is good, and he's affectionate in private, even if he won't hold hands in public. But... is it enough to make up for everything else? She wanders into a bookshop, and finds herself relating everything she picks up to Bodie - The Peter Pan Syndrome, Co-Dependency (that one's for Bodie and Ray), The Path of Least Resistance (Bodie's philosophy in life), Children of Abuse, and finally Smart Women, Foolish Choices.

Luckily for Phillipa, the bookseller seems to have her sussed. Wouldn't it be easier to get a new boyfriend? he suggests. The bookseller's eyes aren't as blue as Bodie's, and he's not as tall or muscular - but he wouldn't always be running out on her either. And that's it - if Phillipa isn't actually going to go out with the bookseller, then I at least have the impression that she's moving on from Bodie - leaving him, presumably, to his co-dependent partner, Ray Doyle... *g*

It's just a little story, but like the best fanfic (if you ask me *g*) it packs alot in there. We know what's going on between the lads that will never go on between either of them and a girlfriend. We get a glimpse too, perhaps, of their pasts as Phillipa presumably wonders about Children of Abuse (Bodie presumably, but perhaps Doyle's, since she's got them pegged as co-dependent, which doesn't come without cause).

What do you think - does Phillipa sum Bodie up accurately? Do her book choices represent Bodie and Doyle - and herself? And why does Bodie always run to Ray's call...? *vbg*

What did you think?!

Comments

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

Many thanks for your post.

What did you think?!

Not a lot when I was reading it! I must admit as soon as I realised it seemed to be all about the thoughts of a 'Phillipa' who I really wasn't interested in, I slightly switched off... but reading your review has made me like it a bit more (I'm weak like that) and certain things I skimmed over too quickly have taken on a deeper/more significant meaning when reading your points.

Luckily, it didn't really turn out to be a het story at all..

Thank the Lord. In fact it was a good example of 'show not tell', possibly? Or the reader knowing more than the subject seems to know? (I bet there's a literary term for that.)

Children of Abuse

I don't quite get why writers resort to the subject of abuse so often. OK, Bodie might have run away to sea but, perhaps earlier in history than his time, lots of sons ran away from home for all kinds of reasons, often just for adventure, and I don't think 'abuse' is fanon, is it? i.e. was it ever mentioned in any of the episodes? Yet it seems to be one of the most popular reasons for Bodie leaving home (or Doyle getting into trouble as a teenager). Just a thought.

Anyway, in the end I think this was a good choice for a discussion because it's made me realise I haven't been 100% fair to it!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I must admit as soon as I realised it seemed to be all about the thoughts of a 'Phillipa' who I really wasn't interested in, I slightly switched off...
I must admit that I started off like that too! And there are many more things that I'd prefer to read, but since I had to read this and post about it, it made me think a bit more, which is probably good. *g*

In fact it was a good example of 'show not tell', possibly? Or the reader knowing more than the subject seems to know?
Yes, I wonder about that. I'm not sure whether the person who recced it is a slash or gen/het fan, so I'll be interested to hear where she's coming from. I see that the author's labelled it "Gen" and "William Bodie/Original Character(s)William Bodie & Ray Doyle" at A03, and hasn't even mentioned Doyle as one of the characters, on her A03 post for the story. Either she wasn't going for slash in the first place, or else she was using what I think of as weird labelling - that no matter whether an author thinks of two characters, if they're not physically having sex in the story then it's not slash. But for me it's totally slash, because there's a reason that Phillipa sees Bodie acting the way he does...

I don't quite get why writers resort to the subject of abuse so often...I don't think 'abuse' is fanon, is it? i.e. was it ever mentioned in any of the episodes
Well, Doyle has a canon background (i.e. in the eps) of being from a "tough" area, where there was "a bloke like Macklin on every corner", and where he "cut up a kid" when he was just a kid himself (Mixed Doubles). I can see Doyle's anger and violence coming from some sort of abusive background, in fact - or at least one where he was set an example of anger and violence. He's a bit vague about his home town too:
BODIE: It's not your hometown. I thought you came from Derby?
DOYLE: Yeah, I do. It's, uh--well, I went to school here for a bit, anyway.
He's sort of being evasive about it, as if he doesn't want to say why he was there, as if the reason is somehow a bit dodgy - which sort of lends itself to fanon that he wasn't having an "ordinary" homelife at the time.

I never quite get the idea of Bodie and abuse though - to me his violence is more calculated - he's decided that it's what he needs to do to accomplish something in particular (whether it was his mercenary jobs or soldiering in Northern Ireland, or working for George Cowley) and so he gets on and does it, and I don't see any particular abusive background playing a role there. And then he's also the one who quotes poetry and can "talk posh" when he needs to! I tend to think Bodie's got a reasonable background and that he left home for adventure and romance. Actually Path of Least Resistance works for me as a Bodie-book/philosophy - I can see that. He doesn't kick up a fuss (except when it involves loyalty to people), he just does the job. Doyle, on the other hand, is more conflicted about what he does vs what he feels is morally acceptable, and so on... He's reasoned it as "sorting the wheat from the chaff", and he's often violent to the chaff, but then he questions it all too, which I can see as contributing to anger/violence...

You're right though - it turns out to have been quite a good fic for making us think! *g*

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I don't think 'abuse' is fanon, is it?

I'm so sorry, I meant to say canon!

He's sort of being evasive about it, as if he doesn't want to say why he was there, as if the reason is somehow a bit dodgy - which sort of lends itself to fanon that he wasn't having an "ordinary" homelife at the time.

Yup, I did take that on board but there are hundreds of reasons why people have unhappy family lives or are evasive about things when they're growing up, but writers seem to favour the abuse angle over anything else more mundane. (But maybe the definition of abuse is wider than I realise?)

I never quite get the idea of Bodie and abuse though - to me his violence is more calculated

I agree. Doyle's temper can erupt quite violently whereas Bodie's seems more considered or calculated.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Lol, that's okay, I knew what you meant! *g*

but there are hundreds of reasons why people have unhappy family lives or are evasive about things when they're growing up, but writers seem to favour the abuse angle over anything else more mundane
Hmmn, perhaps that's it right there - perhaps writers figure that readers don't want to read about mundane things...!

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

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[paris7am.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the great intro, BSL. I am so time crunched, I wasn't even going to try this week, but when you said it was short, I gave it a go. A pleasant surprise. I do wonder about their girlfriends, and how on earth they manage, what they think, what they tell themselves... This was a very clever use of books as shorthand! It is a strange place to be, feeling a little bit of sympathy for this woman while mainly feeling the glow of happiness at Bodie's one-track focus on Doyle. Loved the detail about names - hadn't thought about that from that perspective!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

So nice to see you - thank you for taking time to nip in!

I think there are a few girlfriend-pov fics, aren't there, and actually they do turn out to be interesting. I was worried that this one was going to be straight Bodie-het, but it was all about the lads after all. *g*

The names-detail was fun - though I'm not sure I'd call "mate" a pet name, it's too generic for that! I'm trying to remember if we hear any of his girlfriends using a name for him - I think Jennifer Black calls him Bodie, doesn't she...!

feeling a little bit of sympathy for this woman while mainly feeling the glow of happiness at Bodie's one-track focus on Doyle
You always come out with the perfect description! *g*

[jat-sapphire.livejournal.com]

Isn't this the Phillipa from the boat? I thought so.

I think this seems just what Bodie is like with a woman: charming, funny, seductive, and unreliable, because all his dedication is to CI5 and all his loyalty to Doyle. Miserable boyfriends, really.

Thank you for hosting!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It might be Phillipa from the boat, though I never thought of her as "blonde", and I guess it was a common enough name then (despite Bodie's surprise!)

They would make miserable boyfriends, wouldn't they! Never really focused on you, even when it seemed like they were... they're much better suited to each other! *g*

[ali15son.livejournal.com]

I read it and thank goodness it turned out to be a short fic because girlfriends of each of the lads is usually something that i skim over without much interest but it shows the complexity of dating with these two , mainly because the job will always come first and the partners even more so, so sorry Phillipa......better luck in the future (with someone else preferably *g)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Lol - that's just what I thought at first, but since it really turned out to be about our lads I was able to get into it better... *g* Phillipa definitely needs to find someone else! *g*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I wasn't enthused at first, but got interested when I saw where the story was going. I did see it as slash, even if the writer didn't. I've dated guys who were good friends with whomever they worked with, but it was never anything like is described in the story. Never that sharp a focus on the other guy.

As far as the books go, I don't see either Bodie or Doyle as having suffered child abuse. Maybe they did grow up in tough neighborhoods, but that doesn't mean anything. I do think Smart Women, Foolish Choices may describe Phillipa to a tee.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's just like me - definitely slash! *g*

The lads growing up in tough neighbourhoods (or Doyle at least - I'm not sure we hear anything about Bodie's childhood in the eps) doesn't necessarily mean they were abused, but I can see it as a possibility - at least in Doyle's case (not Bodie so much). Doyle describes his neighbourhood as tough in Mixed Doubles and himself as something of a hooligan, and I can see his anger and violence coming from that sort of background too.

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

I really like the story! It's quite unusual. There is Phillipa in a coffee-shop, it's raining and she is thinking of Bodie. There is a nice idea with books.
Though not with Bodie and Doyle, it's about them. And the Bodie and Doyle moments are very strong!
There is even a bit h/c in those few words: "...Doyle had been calling from hospital, which Bodie hadn't bothered to explain at the time. He'd simply left."

"He'd simply left."
Yes of course! :-)

I really have no problem with a so called het story(though I don't need pages after pages with one of the boys really living with a woman!).
Phillipa seems to be a nice and strong woman, not the type 'bird of the evening'. And if she is the one from Blind Run, she fits quite good to Bodie! :-P :-P :-P

They are a nice couple!
(https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/firlefanzine/14681522/119302/119302_original.jpg)

(sorry, I don't know where I found this picture. Ali...?)


Anyway. I like the story, and I would have liked it too, if it really was het.

But I agree, that it is slash(no matter what the author says)!

Even better! :-)

[ali15son.livejournal.com]

I think that Doyle will disagree with you and thankyou, that has totally ruined my day.

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

See it this way: Isn't it better, that Doyle wins against a good and strong woman, instead of some stupid 'bird of the evening'? ;-)

[ali15son.livejournal.com]

I agree.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

(I think that's just one of the pics from the DVD galleries - someone's just posted it from there, I'd guess. I've got it in my collection too, and no attribution, which usually means it's just from the dvds).

"He'd simply left." Yes of course! :-)
Yes! *g* That was what saved it for me - it wasn't really Bodie/F at all!

I really have no problem with a so called het story
Yeah, I know there's a few of you out there, and obviously the lads go out with women in the eps (well, they have to keep up their smoke screen *g*), but I think what I like about Pros B/D is that I can focus on characters who don't have to bother with all the m/f politics that we have to deal with in ordinary life. So I think for me the slash aspect of the stories is not just that the lads go so well together (*g*) but that I can actually focus on their relationship without having to be niggled about its inequality. There's a few gen/het stories that I don't mind, but it's because they really focus on the lads' relationship - just like in the eps.

By the way - here's what Bodie's looking at in the pic you posted... *g*
(https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/byslantedlight/8284114/3883321/3883321_original.jpg)

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

I totally and utterly loved it - thank you! I've never read it before, and it ticked all my Bodie/Doyle boxes.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh good! It's only little, but there's our lads in there! *g*

[bodie24.livejournal.com]

I really liked this story; primarily because I've never read a pros fic from a girlfriend's perspective and so I thought it was an interesting premise and also I thought it was nicely done. I hadn't made the connection with Philipa from the boat, that's a nice little extra, so thank you for pointing that out!


I take on board the comments made regarding the abuse angle, but her book selection reminded me of a time some years ago that I was on a business trip to the US and ended up wandering around a giant bookshop that probably had the biggest self help section that I had ever seen. I was fascinated by all the various topics. I imagined Phillipa speculatively running her finger along the shelves, occasionally pausing on a book spine before moving on to the next and occasionally picking out a book which could (but not necessarily) apply that would help explain Bodie's somewhat distracted and erratic behaviour. She doesn't know the reasons, she is trying to discover them and the books may hold the answers.

byslantedlight has asked the motive for choosing this particular story. No deep and meaningful reason tbh. When I saw the shoutout for story suggestions, I did a search for stories with words such as 'snow' and 'winter' in the title, apropos for the time of year, and this one was returned in the results. The title drew me initially, purely because it has been so wet in the UK recently. And it also fitted the criteria - short in length! I read it and enjoyed it, so hence the suggestion!
That said, I am probably one of the (few) pros fans that lean towards preferring het stories. I was nine years old when Pros was first broadcast in the UK (although in hindsight I am surprised I was allowed to stay up as late as 10pm to watch it to the end!) So with youthful naivety, the two of them being in a relationship never crossed my mind and there is a large, nostalgic part of me that harks back to those memories. However I was also mindful that although the story is marked as het, it is also a story that can be whatever the reader wants it to be, which is cool.
Thanks for hosting :-)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I'm always curious about why people choose stories, so thank you for explaining about this choice! *g*

wandering around a giant bookshop that probably had the biggest self help section that I had ever seen
I know just what you mean - that's what I pictured too! *g*

I didn't get have any clue that the lads might have some kind of relationship when I first saw Pros either - I was way too young to be thinking of things like that when it was aired! *g* I loved it anyway, and even then it was mostly because I liked the characters - Doyle in particular. *g* I forgot about it for a long time, although it popped up now and then, but when I eventually came across the dvds, and started watching the eps, and then googled to see how many there were and found Pros slash stories, everything just seemed to slot into place. I remember really vividly thinking Ohhhh! Yes! That's it! That's what I'm seeing! And so I began a whole new part of my life! *g* So it really is the relationship between the lads that I'm interested in, which is why I don't really want to read het stories with them. There's a few writers who can convince me that both things are going on, but I'm very wary of stories that advertise themselves as just one of our lads and a girlfriend (or boyfriend, for that matter, as in the B/C and B/Murphy and so on stories you come across now and then...)

Anyway - thanks for the rec, it was a nice one! *g*

[jat-sapphire.livejournal.com]

I think it was Adrienne Rich who coined the term "compulsory heterosexuality," that I keep thinking of in connection with slashy fandoms' canons. TPTB seemed really invested in Straighter than Straight pairs of male main characters, sexy Lotharios working with a best mate. OK, if you say so, writers and directors and producers. I'll just be over here imagining non-compulsory non-heterosexuality.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Lol! I suppose to be fair, the majority of blokes who are mates or blokes who work together really are only blokes who are mates or blokes who work together, but... well, I reckon certain of the other blokes are just much more interesting to think about... *vbg*