Permanent Change

Fanfiction
Title:	Permanent Change
Author(s):	Jane Mailander
Date(s):	1999
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	The Professionals
Relationship(s):	Bodie/Doyle
External Links:	online here
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Permanent Change is a slash Professionals story by Jane Mailander. The story first appeared in the fanzine Priority A-3.

Summary: "While on holiday Doyle is held hostage in a pub, where the bad guys cut off his hair. Doyle is devastated but Bodie helps him get over it. He tells Doyle that he is in love with him. First time story."

Authors' Comments: 2017

Mailander commented about this story in Media Fandom Oral History Project Interview with Jane Mailander.

[This story took on] one of the major genres, rape and recovery stories, where poor little Doyle, because he was like a quarter of an inch shorter than Bodie, was the poor little woobie who kept getting beaten up and raped, poor little defenseless critter. And then when I saw an actual episode of The Professionals, and I see this pit bull with an Afro beating people up — wait a minute. There’s this whole genre of Doyle getting beaten up, maybe not raped, but certainly beaten up or abused or something, and Bodie taking care of him afterwards.

I thought there’s the Alexander Pope poem, “The Rape of the Lock” which is about a man snipping off a curl from a woman’s hair, and considering the fans who just loved Doyle’s hair, I said, “What if the terrible thing the bad guys do to him is just cut his hair?”

And it wound up being a lot more serious than I thought because, yeah, it started off as a joke, but then you actually have to deal with how terrified he actually was at the time. I was coming up with the fact that Bodie actually was pretty good at cutting hair because he did it in Africa when he was being a cold-blooded mercenary. That was how he made decent money back there, or clean money, by cutting everybody else’s hair. And, the fact that people reacted to him a little bit differently because of his shorter locks, what he went through.

I had such fun doing that, and kind of feeling all of this kind of post-trauma stuff, which actually is pretty traumatic because losing hair is a very big deal. It’s often a way for humiliating prisoners, to try to shave people’s heads or clip them up, and it’s also a kind of mourning in many cultures. It turned out to be a lot less of “ha ha he lost his hair” and more like “yeah that’s traumatic in its own way.” That’s how that got written.

Reactions and Reviews

Unknown Date

Doyle's crying over his bad haircut does seem a bit farfetched. All the snarky little jokes that the other CI5 agents constantly make at Doyle's expense when they see his shorn head are really funny, as well as his standard comeback - "Sod off, ____!" (even to Cowley!) Bodie is magnificent in this story - knowing just how to handle his very prickly and emotionally fragile partner.

2005

It's a lighter, less serious twist on the standard hurt-in-the-line-of-duty premise for bringing the two of them together, but no less ultimately moving and meaningful for that. In fact, the tone of the story in a sense parallels the tone of Bodie and Doyle's relationship - all snark and banter on the surface, but with deep affection and devotion and need beneath. The author uses a light hand, yet still gives us glimpses into the "real" Bodie and Doyle, lets us see the depth of their affection, the vulnerability to which neither is willing to admit outright: Bodie's seemingly hopeless, tightly suppressed longing and his fear of losing Ray; Ray's reciprocal longing, his awareness of Bodie's feelings and patience in the face of Bodie's seeming unwillingness to acknowledge them, and his fear that those feelings might have changed. It's a funny, snarky, satisfying, and surprisingly - but very understatedly - sweet read.

When Permanent Change begins, Ray is being held hostage in Ireland by a group of Sinn Fein wannabees, who send Bodie a dreaded box in the mail. The box, as Bodie and Cowley fear, contains a piece of Doyle - but not any of the sorts of pieces they might have expected from real Irish terrorists. No, it's (possibly) even worse: the criminals, it turns out, have cut off Doyle's hair, and after the rescue Bodie must deal with a snarly, furious, humiliated, frightened (not that he'd ever admit it), and to top it off, badly-shorn partner. Ultimately, the loss of Ray's hair, and the near loss of Ray, turn out to be the impetus for a long-desired change in their relationship.

It's a lighter, less serious twist on the standard hurt-in-the-line-of-duty premise for bringing the two of them together, but no less ultimately moving and meaningful for that. In fact, the tone of the story in a sense parallels the tone of Bodie and Doyle's relationship - all snark and banter on the surface, but with deep affection and devotion and need beneath. The author uses a light hand, yet still gives us glimpses into the "real" Bodie and Doyle, lets us see the depth of their affection, the vulnerability to which neither is willing to admit outright: Bodie's seemingly hopeless, tightly suppressed longing and his fear of losing Ray; Ray's reciprocal longing, his awareness of Bodie's feelings and patience in the face of Bodie's seeming unwillingness to acknowledge them, and his fear that those feelings might have changed.

It's a funny, snarky, satisfying, and surprisingly - but very understatedly - sweet read.

2006

There are some things that make us us and it can be devastating when we lose them... Luckily, in this case, Bodie is there to pick up the pieces - which just prompts another kind of pain. Great characterization, dialogue, plot and writing. Another great Pros writer.

2007

The bickering at the end is what does it for me. After all has been revealed (that they've loved in secret for years), they return to their usual ratty manners. That's so ...real.

I've always loved this story. I just wish she'd written more Doyle/Bodie.

Have you read Scissors, by LRH Balzar? Totally different sort of fic in alot of ways, but I always think of the two together...

2008

Doyle cries because the terrorists cut his hair off. Again, Bodie knows best... and styles his hair for him.

I've got to say that I like that fic. Yes, Doyle is tear-y about his hair, and I'm not quite with a Doyle who's so precious about it - but on the other hand, he's just come out of a very traumatic situation, and his behaviour otherwise is basically canon-Doyle, for me. He glowers, he grumps, he's aggressive and he was the one who overcame the terrorists in the first place. So I can buy the tears as a one-off reaction to everything, especially as they're rapidly replaced by anger and then dull resignation.

Whereas what I've found with alot of Jane fic is that he cries as a reaction to anything that might be construed as alarming, and there's no way he would have been able to survive the death-threats and aggression meted out in Permanent Change and still keep an eye on the terrorists and then start the attack himself. It's then that he would have been weepy and frightened, if Jane of Australia had written it (according to my current theory!).

And Bodie's the one who calms Doyle and sorts him out hair-wise, in Permanent Change, but he does it by acting normally in the face of the trauma - "It'll grow back, you big baby," Bodie scolded as he whipped the sheet around his friend and pulled it close, determined not to let Ray sink into one of his sulks. "And thank God they didn't make any bald patches or even I couldn't help you." is his attitude, whereas with Jane it would've been more along the lines of cuddling-his-poor-brave-poppet-and-putting-him-to-bed-so-that-he-could-sleep-the-horrid-experience-away...

And then there's the gorgeousness of the "Sod off...!" exchanges between Doyle and the rest of CI5... *vbg* No, Permanent Change I rather like!

2009

As much as I love the "Author's Note: I almost wish that it wasn't there at the top of the page, just so we get the full impact of the opening scene. With it, it's still a punch in the stomach, but you have an idea of what's coming.

Poor Doyle, off on holiday, goes out for a drink and a bit of lunch and finds himself in the middle of a hostage situation and the worst haircut in the history of Pros. Without going too far into it, it parallels the original poem beautifully with, yes, it's just hair, but it also means much more than that. There's quite a bit of humor....In fact it permeates the piece. But there are enough flashes of what could have been to keep you on track and every so often you get a reminder of what could have been and just how blood-freezing scary it had to have been....

Gave me chills the first time I read it. It still does. The terror of the event is delightfully understated and Doyle's recitation earlier in the fic is...oh! Not a good "oh". :-(

Bodie and Doyle are. How can I describe them except as being very them? They are very them. Grumpy and affectionate, supportive and teasing, downplayed and understanding. And beneath it all a deep well of trust and shared experiences and a desire to be together, whether for a drink or in bed.

The structure is clever too; events have pairs, sometimes mirrors. There's the obvious: Sinead and the hostage boy's mother, the mangled haircut and Bodie's neater clipping. Then there's Bodie's insisting they go out after arriving back with the off-screen (off-page?) suits-on dinner job. And a couple more that have just slipped out of my leaky brain; I'll edit this when I remember them again.

I love the ending. Bodie working himself up to telling Doyle, knowing Doyle knows something is up, having an epiphany at another hostage situation, finally telling Doyle, and...Doyle drops that bomb on him. And then they argue! No pulling over and sapping declarations of love, smooches, and hearts floating out the window. No, they're still driving to headquarters yelling their heads off and you can still feel every ounce of love and affection between them. Good for Bodie, finally giving in to wondering what that newly-shorn head feels like.

Er.........I think I need some help here, ladies because no matter how hard I’ve tried I’m just not seeing *that much* in the way of depth – no atmosphere, layers or sub-text - and this is despite employing a metaphorical spy glass to seek them out, but nothing’s happening, not even all the meaningful things which *aren’t* said in stories with layers, and I *want* there to be, I really do. I mean, who would spend large chunks of their writing time describing Doyle’s shorn locks if there wasn’t a bit more to it? But I’m just not gaining any impression from Doyle or the writer that anything significant has happened to him. We get lots of snarling and growling but I’d argue that the only person who really shows what an ordeal the whole thing has been is Bodie, with his shaking hands, dread building up in his stomach, the fact that it’s Doyle who falls asleep first, leaving Bodie to ponder it all. Doyle doesn’t even seem to understand what Bodie’s been through when he received the lock of hair in the post... And the rest is all ratty, snarling, growling, bad-tempered Doyle - characteristics which don’t seem very Doyle-like to me but which seem popular with a lot of pros writers. And the humour? Well, OK, it’s a completely subjective thing, but for the record I’d have to agree with firlefanzine (and I'm Brit who, just to complicate things a bit further, also happens to think that one of the funniest pieces of comedy writing in decades is the American series, Frasier) and say that I didn't think there was anything that memorable about the humour - nothing like some of the scenes from Fly on the Wall or even some of the very fine comedy found in a few Sebastian stories. And I know we probably shouldn't have expected it to be a 'Comedy' but if a story is described as 'humourous' then I think it's quite natural to look out for the humour! But I’m glad I’ve read it, I did think it was well written and the first Jane Mailander story I'd read, but I'm afraid that I really didn't feel that there was anything particularly memorable about it, or that it had much in the way of depth, and it wasn't a story which tugged at my heartstrings, in any way.

I utterly adore this fic for all the reasons you point out here - the humour, the chills, and the argy-bargy of the ending are all quite brilliant. As you say, you can feel every ounce of love and affection throughout, even when they're yelling their heads off. The scene that makes it a classic for me is the one where Bodie basically comes out to Doyle by giving him a haircut. I love how we get Bodie ordering his ravaged hair interspersed with Doyle relating the horrors of his ordeal. It's just beautifully done.

You're so right, the '[redacted] warning' is a major spoiler.

As soon as I read the author’s note, I wanted to see what ‘Permanent Change’ owes to ‘The Rape of the Lock’ beyond non-consensual hairstyling. There is the hyperbole that is the whole point of ‘The Rape of the Lock’, and also central to this fic; from Bodie’s curt, ‘They’re dead’, to Doyle grieving for his lost curls. The brief description of the fight where Doyle takes his revenge, ‘spitting teeth and clutching knees or goolies’, is a bit reminiscent of the fight in the poem.

The fate of the locks is different though. Jane Mailander doesn’t say what Bodie did with the lock, or even the rest of Doyle’s hair he himself cut later. Pope is much more inspiring – while everyone is scrapping over it, Belinda’s hair ascends to the heavens and becomes a radiant star.

I feel a bit like the devil's apprentice...

While reading the story I couldn’t help thinking of a home work for school. Everything that should be in a Pros story is implemented - a little worrying at the beginning, some h/c, there are hints of banter between them, two or three quite funny sentences, a furious Doyle, a crying Doyle, a Bodie who knows how to handle him, some short glances at CI5 work, and of course a first time with a more or less implausible ‘reason’ for it.

Nothing could really convince me. Everything seems to be strung together quite uncharitably.

And that nice idea of Bodie being able to cut hair and that often repeated "Sod off, .... " from Doyle, isn’t enough for a good story! (O.K. it could be enough it it would be well written...)

No, I can’t get any approach to the story.

Your school work idea is interesting.

Maybe the idea is to write a pure, archetypal Pros fic, with all the essential elements that you list, but to do the whole thing with humour, i.e. that's the thing that sets it apart. In other words, how do you take each of the standards, the h/c, the CI5 work etc. and make them humorous?

Not used to reading Pros fic that sets out to be amusing from start to finish (as opposed to the odd bit of humour) so I haven't seen any other examples like this.

I think I read "Permanent Changes" as silly, too. The premise of Bodie going all seriously "they're dead", just because Doyle's luscious locks were cut, set the whole mood, for me, as "implausible" (and the girl wanting to sing a song for Doyle, and the other one wanting to see his "bleeper" (heee!) ) just sold the fic, for me, as "not to be taken seriously"…

Absolutely lovely. No criticisms other than a few formatting/line spacing problems which probably aren’t attributable to the author. Just the right amount of humour, so gently conveyed, more in what isn’t said than what is, and just the right amount of angst and romance. Completely in character (minor characters, too), and a believable plot, in the setting of that particular period of a) British experience and b) the series. One happy reader.

In fact one of the things that impressed me most about this story was how she juggles the balance between pitching the whole thing for laughs (Ray crying over the state of his hair? Nonsense. But in a comedy it works; comedy is the right register for this kind of thing) and making it just serious enough for the h/c to work too. The whole opening, with the mysterious package that just might contain a finger, the periodic reminders that this hostage situation played out for laughs but that it might not have - I feel that the balance is a very tricky one, and that it’s done beautifully. And the final scene manages to be hot as well as funny – what’s not to love! *bg*

I can't really separate out "comedy fics" from "drama fics", and to me comedy works best when it becomes an offshoot of the real tension and stresses of their lives, becomes, as you say, 'properly real life' funny. Maybe it is a peculiarly British thing, I can't say with certainty, but certainly it's part of the Pros world on screen and in the fic.

...I never took Doyle's near-tears over his hair as anything but a focus for the release of all the horrendous stress he was under. And I think this writer pitches that balance of humour and pathos and stress just right. It's difficult to do. You can't write nothing but punchlines, even if you are aiming at comedy. I wrote Tricks and Treats with the aim of making the reader laugh with the last few lines.. but I had to build it up, try and add some context, realism, etc. It had to arise naturally from the 'real life' situation I was putting Doyle and Bodie in.

Bodie's black humour for the darkest of situations is canon, and intrinsic to Pros, to me.

I'm another person who loves this story, but I don't think of it as either a comedy or any other genre in particular (so perhaps I'm not expecting to react a certain way? See, this is why I hate spoilers!). To me it's very much a Pros story - something violent happens, the lads deal with it, and then the fic deals with how the lads deal with the aftermath and in the process take their relationship to that deeper level. And have sex. *g* For me the comedy only comes into it because that's how people often deal with tension and emotional distress etc, especially (I think) in the UK, and especially in professions like the lads', and Mailander has caught that beautifully. Was she trying to write A Comedy, or was she just writing - we'll probably never know, but her results work for me, so I don't really care... *g*

I was thinking that the comments to the story showed two different approaches to fic reading in general - a preference for a more explanatory, expository style, and a preference for a more shorthand, explain through action style. Neither preference is right or wrong, but it would certainly affect your attitude to the story. For what it's worth, I love everything that Jane Mailander's ever written so I'm potentially biased here. *g*

2013

In places this is a very sweet story, but what I like about it is the concept, and the sly references to other ... things *g*. I enjoy Bodie's unexpected skill, for example, which has its roots (hee!) in fact, and the reference to a particular singer of the time had me giggling. The dialogue has great moments too...