Reading Room: Voice-Over by Elizabeth O'Shea

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Title: Voice-Over
Author: Elizabeth O'Shea
Links to Story: In Roses and Lavender 3, at the Circuit Archive and at the Hatstand

Voice Over - what can I say about the glorious Voice Over that I haven't said a thousand times before? Well, lots of you probably know it's my favourite Pros story of all time, but for those who are a bit newer to Pros in particular - and anyone who'd like a bit more detail about why - it's because...

...it's an absolutely beautiful read. *g* Okay, more detail than that...

I started taking notes as I re-read on the bus this morning, and within the first page or so I'd already half a page of reasons why I adored it so far. To sum up, it's a smooth, flowing read from start to finish, it's very much the lads as I see them, and it's filled with tiny details that make them so, so that I can see the author's own adoration of and passion for Bodie and Doyle in almost every word. This story is about passion, theirs', the author's and the reader's, because it's absolutely what I feel for the lads every step of the way. And on top of all that it's gorgeously atmospheric - I can feel the damp air, smell the ozone or iodine or whatever it is, mixed in with the dirty-stone smell of old buildings and wet pavement, and absolutely hear the hush that surrounded them as they stood by the harbour wall. I'm right there with them, and when I'm reading that's exactly where I want to be.

The story is written in Doyle's voice, as he sits by Bodie's hospital bed, following instructions to keep talking happy talk to him, and he's beautifully grumpy about this in just the way that I imagine him being. The idea of talking to a comatose loved one to bring them round is so cliched now, and it would be so easy for this to fail as a result, but O'Shea treats it so realistically that we're drawn in straight away. There's no heavy emotion, no explanation of why it's so important that Bodie wake up, instead Doyle is just as I'd expect him to be - he's uncomfortable talking out loud to Bodie with no feedback, but he's determined to do it because the medical staff have told him it might work, and he wants hope. He's also desperate for Bodie to come around, and we absolutely feel this in the way he tries to joke with him, the way he hears Bodie's responses, and jokes back again:
...and that no-hoper Pakenham's sprained his wrist.

Yeah, well that's what you'd naturally assume with Pakenham, isn't it? But he swears he did it sailing.

It's a poignant, forlorn hope that we're hearing - the sadness of playing ping-pong on your own - that Bodie will come back to him, but not uncomfortably so because Doyle is using it to buck himself up at the same time - he's not giving in to it, there are no angsty pledges of love, or talk of how Bodie mustn't leave him alone - instead he talks about the worry Bodie'd caused them all: Don't know why; should've remembered only the good die young. It's a perfect balance - enough that we know he's hurting, that we hurt with him, but not in the least falling into over-angsty.

Doyle isn't the perfect bedside visitor though, he's no square-chinned hero (god, I love that about our lads - not a square chin between them!), and he does nag at Bodie to wake up - lightly at first, but with increasing frustration through the night:
Oh for God's sake, Bodie! Why do I get the feeling I might as well be talking to myself? I'd get a livelier reaction in Madame Tussauds... Look, will you for fuck's sake just open your eyes and talk to me. I'm tired and I'm lonely and I'm... I'm scared, all right? I could do with some back-up out here.
But even this is tempered, so that we feel the pain he's feeling even more:
So you're taking your time waking up? Well that's not unusual, is it? Not to anyone who's ever tried digging you out of bed the morning after the night before at any rate.

Of course after several days of sitting by Bodie's bedside - poor, pale Bodie lying there, and we can see him too, we worry deep down, at the same time as Doyle worries, that he's not waking up - he's running out of things to talk about, particularly "happy" things:
But that was four days ago, you lazy sod... I'm all out of humorous anecdotes and witty repartee. Tried reading you the sports pages yesterday, but the way England's been performing lately that's getting dangerously close to wrist-slitting territory.

So he starts to tell him a story, the story of you and me that first night, and we're transported just as magically as Bodie must be, to France, land of shadows and romance - but with our down-to-earth lads:

...you moved outside our narrow circle of light, and that dark leather jacket and polo-neck of yours blended into the dusk like camoflage gear, making even you seem suddenly like a stranger; all pale face and dark shadows, sinister and mysterious like something from an old spy movie.

Just as I placed the memory and went to open my mouth, you turned to me with a half smile and a raised eyebrow: "Remember The Third Man?"

"Yeah. Was she stacked? "Alida... I started.

"...Valli" you finished triumphantly.

We grinned at each other.

You can hear them, you can see them, and tiny moments like this keep us right with our canon-lads, no matter the exotic backdrop to it all. And we see Bodie as Doyle sees him - we store up snippets of Bodie's past, just as Doyle does - off down the docks with me little spotted hanky, and my favourite: Under the street lamps, tiny droplets of water had settled on your hair like a spiderweb hairnet. Oberon the fairy prince in a leather jacket and shoulder holster.

And we're right there as the lads come to the realisation that for the first time they're on their own, with time to kill, where no one knows them. They can do anything they want. And what they've known for a long time they wanted...

But you'd taken your hands out of your pockets to walk, and when our arms swung in synch I could feel the back of your hand brushing mine. I stole a quick sideways glance to see if you were doing it on purpose, but all I saw was your profile; eyes front, expression bland, very nonchalant. Well, deliberate or not, I liked it. So I did a sort of hop and shuffle and missed a stride to bring us into step, our arms swinging in unison, hands touching every time. Your mouth quivered and the skin around your eyes crinkled up the way it does when you're trying not to laugh, but you didn't look round or anything, just edged a bit closer till our shoulders were almost bumping.

Oh, and it goes on from there, and I could go on and on, but I mustn't. Doyle's reminiscences are broken up by other thoughts and comments - as you do when you're talking to someone, telling a story - and their desire, and the way they both like to play at life, as much as work hard for it, is right there for us. Doyle is laughing at it all, as much as he's remembering it fondly, as much as he's using it to comfort himself, and the punch line is just perfect.

The more I think about it, the more I know again that this is my favourite Pros story. So... is it yours? Why/not? What is your favourite Pros story and why? Similar reasons? Something different? What makes your perfect Pros story...?

Comments

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

I’ve always liked this. I like the idea of Doyle telling Bodie their own story as the way to talk about something positive, and retelling it in detail to give himself something to talk about. There’s the whole thing about how hard he’s finding it having Bodie unconscious and then how hard he’s finding it to talk. The sports pages have failed him, along with other gossip, so he resorts to themselves. The French experience starts off so erotic and the vision of Doyle as a stained glass angel is wonderful. The damp dark town is almost tangible. The bar, the landlady and the evening are so well described. Bodie’s illness (in the story within the story) is almost funny in its intensity and inappropriate timing. Doyle is so caring whilst semi-horrified and we feel so much sympathy for him as well as for his sick partner. And the suppository is a marvellous (and realistic) touch!! Then the end of one story (where we assume Bodie is better and that if they didn’t manage to have sex then they were going to soon) brings about Bodie’s return to consciousness in the 'main' story and Doyle’s flustered delight. Beautifully done, with Doyle’s voice almost eerily recreated. I love it.

The writing is assured. The whole thing flows beautifully. A monologue of this kind of length isn’t easy to sustain, especially when you have to ‘get’ a voice that all your readers will already recognise. And both the main story and the story within fall just short of too much angst, just short of over-sentimentality.

Two images force their way into my memories/subconscious from this fic - the lads in the foreign town at night, and Doyle watching Bodie in the hospital. They’re very powerfully created and will never leave me even if I forget the title of the story.

A much-loved story, one of my favourites among shorter pieces.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yes! Everything you said! *g*

So if you had to pick just one Pros short story for the rest of your life - what would it be?

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Probably Pwnco... (;p) because the images in that are even stronger!!! Or maybe Let Nothing Ye Dismay. Or Perfect Alignment. I expect you can see the way my mind is working... But this author comes a close second. For short stories.

Trouble is, I mostly prefer the longer stories, really. I love some of the shorts and they can be gems of brilliant writing but if I only got one fic it would have to be a long one - not sure which though maybe Harlequin Airs because it's set where I come from and pushes so many buttons for me.

Heavens, what a dreadful choice to have to make. Only one story? *shivers*

[tango65.livejournal.com]

Its one of my favourite stories too. I love how Ray just talks and talks, trying to convince Bodie and himself that he will come back - not just to consciousness, but most importantly to him.

And I love Ray's response at the end when he does. Its like he can't believe it although he's been trying to convince himself all along that it will happen.

Its the ultimate happy ending.

Great story, great writing and much appreciated.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It really is the perfect happy ending, isn't it - even more so because we've been bleeding just a little bit along the way with Doyle, never quite sure, I suppose... *g*

[heliophile-oxon.livejournal.com]

(just dropping by quickly when I ought to be working (so pls xcus th lak f cohrnce), to say) I think this is an incredible tour de force, keeping up the monologue for that long without dropping the pace, varying the pace convincingly, showing us beautifully how Doyle almost loses it from time to time but never quite does, when he breaks out of his thread and tells Bodie to bloody well wake up - you really feel the passing of time, follow Doyle's feelings throughout; the story-within-the-story is vivid and fun - I sometimes feel that EOS has attempted the impossible by going for a monologue that forces Doyle to tell Bodie what he himself did or said, but .... she does it so well that it works, she sets up the only situation that makes it plausible, she takes the risk and makes it work for her. (it's funny, on the face of it and before ever actually trying, you might fondly imagine that monologue would be relatively easy but of course it's probably one of the hardest things of all to bring off successfully - especially when the speaker is addressing someone who was there!). Cracking rec!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I should be working too, but I don't have much to work at! Voice-Over is absolutely just really good writing as much as anything else, isn't it, and I think you're right about that sort of monologue not being easy to write, especially when you know your readers are going to be absolutely familar with the person you're trying to be. I can't think, offhand, of anyone who's brought it off better than EOS does here... *g*

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

One of my favorites as well. Frankly, you've covered the reasons why so beautifully that I can't think of anything intelligent to add. *g* So...a very nice job on the rec and a great choice of fic as it's been a while since I read this one.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Ha - not so much a discussion week then, as a we-all-love-this-fic week. And deservedly so...

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

Ha - not so much a discussion week then, as a we-all-love-this-fic week. And deservedly so...

Yes. But those are equally good, and it's great to have an excuse to go back and read the things you already know you love.

[gritsinmisery.livejournal.com]

Like a sheep, I must admit this is one of my favorite Pros stories, for all the reasons mentioned above by both BSL and the other commenters -- timing, voice, word-pictures -- and especially for the scene in the church where Bodie points out the stained glass angel to Doyle. One second Doyle's bitching about nicked tea bags, the next they're in the thrall of a gorgeous piece of artwork and jaw-droppingly in love:

I turned to you to make some flip remark, and the look in your eyes stopped me cold. You looked... dazzled; staring at me as if...I dunno...as if I was the second coming, a bottle of twelve-year-old malt and the centrefold from Mayfair all rolled into one. No-one has ever looked at me like that before in my whole life. It made me feel ten feet tall and hot and cold all over--and scared me half to death. It was one thing to know you cared about me, fancied me even, but this?

...then bam! Doyle's right back to threatening death if anybody else finds out, and 30 seconds later they're trying to crawl in each other's skins and it's all written so perfectly as the Lads that it's completely believable. The quoted portion takes my breath away just as much as Doyle says his was and that's Damned Good Writing in my book.

We get a bedside coma monologue, a brilliant falling-in-love scene, and food poisoning, and it all fits together perfectly. A perfect ride: highs and lows, screaming fast parts and slow meanderings, angst and love and a happy ending. And I climb back in the car over and over because it's so damn fun.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yes! I adore that moment too - or even those moments, the ones that emphasise again and again how much they adore each other, even if they'd never quite say it out loud in any other way than grumbling and threatening and... Oh, it's just fab. Oh, and the tea bags are one of my favourite parts! Cos it's not that Doyle is mean or tight, or any of the other fanon cliches (we see him pay out far more often for things - I think all Bodie ever buys is ice cream, but he never gets ragged on for it! I must remember to do summat about that... *g*) - but he probably is morally conscious enough that the principle of teabags would matter more to him... *vbg* Ha - as you said, fun!

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

(we see him pay out far more often for things - I think all Bodie ever buys is ice cream

"And an orange for the boy."

Love the way he drawls out "OR-ange."

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

I haven't read this excellent fic for a long time but one scene in particular still stays with me: Doyle standing in the light from the stained glass window in the church at night. Definitely one of the most memorable scenes in all Pros fic for me.

I think Rainy Days is still my all time favorite but I've recently come across another gem that is right up there in my top 3. I'm going to rec it here when I have time so I'll not mention the title now. ::tease::

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hmmn - thinking about what Jaycat said below, do you think Rainy Days is your favourite (not counting the mysterious tease-fic!) because you somehow relate to it, or identify with it more than other fic?

And yes - the stained glass window scene is just gorgeous, isn't it - you can see the richness of the light shining on him, somehow! *g*

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

Yes, a part of me definitely identifies with Doyle. And the way the lads' relationship is depicted in this fic is how I would want it to be if I was Doyle. That's one of the main reasons I love this fic.

[constant-muse.livejournal.com]

Ooh, metabolick, you tease. *vbg*

Adding to the chorus of approval, I loved this.

The scene where they start to touch and get a bit hot under the collar in the church is one of the most erotic things I've read, being in a church adding to the tension and temptation of it. Bodie is kind of masterful there (wibble), he seems to have taken control of the situation since he persuaded Doyle to enter the church.

Not that the whole story is like that - I like the way it goes back and forth. Later Doyle has to look after Bodie and get help for him, in a neat parallel with him sitting by the hospital bedside - no wonder that episode came to mind when he was trying to think of things to talk about. Until that point, I'd just thought he was happily nostalging about their first time.

The description of the stained glass window is indeed memorable. Doyle certainly has a Pre-Raphaelite look about him at times and it's great to see this explored.

Um, does anyone know, is the church or at least the window real? I could imagine the author seeing the figure in the glass resembling Doyle and being inspired with the idea for this scene.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I seem to remember the author telling me that it wasn't really a real church or window... though I like to pretend it is... *g*

And yes, I like the way the story shows them both masters of the moment at different times - and I very much like that church scene - "it's the middle of winter, Ray..." (or the like - it's too late for me to find the exact quote!) *sighs happily* Oh, and like being mauled by King Kong! *vbg*

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

I just can agree.
Absolutely satisfying! Thanks for reminder!

***
But maybe... now I have an opportunity for another question...
I always wanted to know ‘where we stay’ with such stories.
How to categorise it.

Is it just another form of a Mills and Boon story? Is it just hopelessly romantic and predictable?

Voice Over - a romance novel?
What makes it better or worse than a Mills and Boon story? And anyway – are Mills and Boon novels bad? I haven’t read one up until now (also no German equivalent), but of course I have my prejudices...
Can I only enjoy Voice Over because there are Bodie and Doyle in it???

Is Voice Over (and all the other stories) - kitsch?

(And I think I know the first sentence of the first comment: “Well, it isn’t ‘War and Peace’, you know...)

Pardon me for being provocative! :-)

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

At the risk of jumping in head first - where angels fear to tread etc. - this fic in particular (and many of this type of fic) are way, way ahead of Mills&Boon stories. To begin with they show better writing techniques e.g. the sustained monologue, the metaphors, the story within a story, the inclusion of various genres (humour, angst, romance, etc.)This story is by no means formulaic - Mills&Boon writers are given a formula and strict rules to write to - yes, the occasional writer manages to rise above the formula but basically the publisher's admonitions are usually showing. All sorts of books are in fact romances and there was a delightful TV series here not so long ago looking at them and at the desire for them.

Jane Austen is Romance, George Eliot is Romance, Anthony Trollope is Romance. None of them can be compared with Mills&Boon because they have more subtlety, more social awareness and description, better characterisation, especially of minor characters (in Voiceover, think of the landlady, of the nurse, of the other agents mentioned). Nothing is a mere stereotype.

Georgette Heyer is Romance and could so easily be Mills&Boon but isn't because there is the underlying laughter. The same applies to some Terry Pratchett.

Romeo and Juliet is archetypal Romance. Mills&Boon it ain't.

I think the best fanfic compares well with some of our best original writing in that it is near-perfect within its genre. This particular story compares with a lot of published original short stories in technique and in the effect on the reader. It is intelligent, and lovingly, individually crafted. I would never say that Mills&Boon never achieve that, but it isn't what they strive for. Many run-of-the-mill fanfic writers merely achieve Mills&Boon-style competence. Voiceover is far, far better.

Incidentally, I hated War and Peace...

Now over to the rest of you - and thank you for introducing a note of debate into what was turning into a mere 'I love it too' parade!!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh I don't think this story is either hopelessly romantic or predictable, and as someone else has said I think it's of much better quality than the majority of formulaic Mills and Boon stories. We don't actually know whether Bodie is going to live or die, although perhaps we presume that the author wouldn't show us the joy of their first meeting only to dash us too cruelly at the end. But (again as someone else has said) there's an immense skill at work here in actually creating the Bodie and Doyle that we recognise and love (you can't just put their names to two characters, that doesn't work at all), and then creating out of that a well-written, beautifully paced, and unpredictable story.

Some fanfic is kitsch-y, certainly - and I think we each have our own opinions on what is and isn't! - and some is entirely passionless, and some is absolutely wonderful (like Voice-Over, and probably the majority falls somewhere in the middle. The people writing fanfic are the same people who write published novels (sometimes they really are those people!) - they're just not at the point in their lives where their aim is to be "professionally" published. Some will no doubt make it, some won't - the same balance as amongst the general population who write. But there were many authors now considered "classic" who had their stories turned down by publishers, originally, and others who were published only after their death. I hate pretntious books, written to be purposefully controversial and/or to win awards - I'll take alot of fanfic over that sort of published "critically-acclaimed" or "prize-winning" novel any day... *g* Another thing I don't like, though, is categorising any kind of story - once you do that you're setting up reasons for not trying to read something... You can read one story, but if you say "I don't read xxxx category" then you might well be missing out...

I especially don't want to categorise something like Voice-over, because I enjoy it ultimately for what it is, without any need for definition!

And provocative is good - it's interesting! *g*

Favourite fics

[constant-muse.livejournal.com]

The Reading Room is a good place to recc favourite fics and I'm so pleased to have 'Voice-over' to drool over this week.

It's interesting, too, to have a fic that the reccer didn't like.

With byslantedlight being so enthusiastic and candid about this being her favourite fic, I can't help thinking that such a declaration invites one to identify the reccer with the fic. What does it say about their approach to Pros? What they are looking for in Pros fic? How they see the lads and the CI5 universe? Because presumably a favourite story is the one that epitomises those things.

In other words, it's a way of getting to know them better, at least in a Pros context, which can only be a good thing.

I'm hardly qualified to have a favourite since I've read so little. The weekly Reading Room fic is often the only 'archive' fic I read.
Theoretically I like case fic, an episode with slash would be my ideal. Still haven't found the right one, I guess. Bizarrely then my favourite is the AU 'The Secrets Beneath' by Sally Fell. As moth2fic mentioned, it's partly because I feel comfortable with the setting, which is so beautifully described, but also I love the Bodie and Doyle characters and their relationship.

Would an AU be a sufficient 'desert island' fic though? Wouldn't I need some canon, Cowley, CI5 agents...?

Re: Favourite fics

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

For me it might depend on if I had episodes to view on my desert island. There are a couple of AUs that I'm inordinately fond of (The Cook and the Warehouseman and Suitable Gravity), and I'd pick them over the vast majority of CI5-based stories, but I would need a reminder of the source material first, be it eps or stories.

Re: Favourite fics

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

"In other words, it's a way of getting to know them better, at least in a Pros context, which can only be a good thing.
Don't know if it's a way to get to know someone. I think you need some more informations in addition, some more recs, and comments, and other things... ;-)

Re: Favourite fics

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

such a declaration invites one to identify the reccer with the fic.
Ah... so you'd identify me with what, in particular, about this story? How would you say I see Pros, from my opinion of this story?

I've got to admit that I probably identify people to a large extent with the stories they say they like - or vice versa with the ones they say they don't, instinctively. After all, if someone like something, it probably does reflect some view of the world that they like/prefer/identify with - though the tricky thing might be figuring out exactly what that is...

Personally I wouldn't necessarily need canon for my one and only desert island fic - what I'd want is something that spoke to me of the spirit of Pros, of the lads slashed - which I think for me Voice-Over does. It's not the show itself that grabs me, it's Bodie and Doyle and their relationship, and it's the spirit of that which I'd want to take with me...

And you can certainly have a favourite amongst the stories you've read - it'd be a foolish person who claimed to have read every Prosfic anyway! I would recommend you delve into Circuit or The Hatstand archives though, and read some of the older fics - Sebastian, M.Fae Glasgow, Helen Raven, DVS, Ellis Ward, for example, writers who are still considered excellent, classic Pros writers for their skill and passion and portrayal of the lads...