Pleasure Bent

The Professionals Fanfiction
Title:	Pleasure Bent
Author(s):	Sebastian
Date(s):	1984, 2002
Length:	3500 words, 21kb.
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	The Professionals
External Links:	online at the Circuit Archive & online at The Hatstand
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Pleasure Bent is a Professionals slash story by Sebastian.

The story was originally published in 1984 in The Hatstand Express #4, then released as a circuit story and then republished again in zine format in 2002 in Sebastian Collected.

It is a story on The 1985 Hatstand Express Top Ten Lists.

Summary

Several readers cite this as their favorite section of the story:

"Why not"

"... Because it might mean too much," [Bodie] said. "And you know it."

"Doyle understood that. Emotions known through centuries flickered through him; Bodie too knew them. Doyle was steady. 'Let it, then. Let it. I'll stand the cost,' he said softly, "if you will."

Reactions and Reviews

I love the feelings in this story always makes me feel good. Very playful and loving.

"Pleasure Bent" was fun to read. The clean style and careful word choice was a real treat.

Loved "Pleasure Bent" -- there's a lovely sweet feeling to it, and a playfulness to the relationship that is very appealing.

So much of Sebastian's work has been recommended on the crack_van that I was surprised to find that this hadn't been. But much that has been recommended is at the darker end of Sebastian's output. This is the opposite: a brief fantasy of a more... undamaged, less burdened Bodie and Doyle than in stories like Wonderful Tonight. It's tender, and erotic, and sweet, and the writing is fluid and vivid.

Doyle is nosing around Bodie's flat while Bodie is cooking. He finds both a copy of Zipper and a set of wooden beads, the nature of which he needs explaining.

Doyle was still looking at him most unintelligently. "You in the flesh, and the ladies still need these? I dunno. I'm disappointed in you," he jibed and opened his mouth wide to sink his teeth into his stolen sausage.

"Not for ladies, dumbo," Bodie told him with gentle, pleasurable condescension. "Men."

The sausage got swallowed.

Bodie dealt with that by the simple expedient of pounding Doyle on the back until it flew out again. "Messy little bugger," he observed, bending resignedly to dispose of the shredded evidence. "Bloody good job you weren't born royal."

Doyle had abandoned all interest in sausages. "You mean - " His eyes were huge, his mouth a round O of shock. He was still coughing, spasmodically, but seemed unaware of this.

Bodie met his gaze. "Yeah."

"But - where do you - " he said, delicately.

Bodie gave him a straight look. "Doyle, nobody's this thick."

Doyle exhaled long and loud, through pursed lips. "Bit kinky, innit?"

He eyed the objects in a totally new light; wary fascination. Then, slyly eyeing Bodie: "What does it feel like?"

What does it feel like? - that's Doyle all over in this story, which is a story for anyone who enjoys Doyle-as-sensualist imagery: lush, dishevelled, dopey on Sundays, "shivering with tension, every nerve sweet"... and look out for the flower!

Years ago when I first got into Pros I read an amazing story about Bodie finding some 'love beads' of Doyle's, asking what they were and getting told, forgetting and then finding them again at two later times until finally Doyle just demonstrates.

Try Pleasure Bent by Sebastian if you want some humour and a very sexy and relaxed Ray Doyle as seen from Bodie's POV.

I'm terribly fond of the bit in Sebastian's "Pleasure Bent" where Bodie is trying to remind Doyle about their first time, and what Doyle remembers is running off to the bog -- at which point Bodie interrupts him and the narrator says something about a rough start but practice making perfect.

Sebastian's virtues need no extolling in the Pros world, and it feels almost redundant to rec her stories. Still, there is so much to love about her fic, and anyway it's never a hardship to revisit the classics....

In Pleasure Bent, Ray discovers a mysterious (to him) sex toy - a set of pleasure beads - in Bodie's flat. Bodie delicately enlightens Ray regarding their purpose, and Ray's imagination fills in the details; aroused and curious, he persuades Bodie - without much difficulty - to act on the attraction they've been feeling for each other for some time now, and they end up in bed, the beads forgotten. Then, years later, their relationship firmly established, Ray finds the beads again; much to Bodie's exasperation he's forgotten their purpose entirely, so this time Bodie demonstrates, ensuring he'll never again forget.

Pleasure Bent is one of what I think of as Sebastian's "small" stories - not heavy or weighty or angsty, but sexy and sweet, dripping with her characteristic languid sensuality. It's a love story from start to finish, and Sebastian excels at these: there is a dreamy, "liquid," almost visceral feel to her writing that makes her exceptionally effective at evoking feelings and conveying emotion. This is the type of story that gladdens you, warms you deep inside and leaves you with a profound and poignant feeling of "rightness."

This is why I love crack_van: because fandoms are things people dip in and out of, and the internet is enormous. Adore The Pros but The Circuit is immense - so I come to the van for guidance, and the van always answers. I could niggle about the dropped aitches (distracting not evocative), and I could certainly live without any reference to 'Doyle's silken welcome'. But this really is rather lovely. The image of Bodie hovering over some sausages alone made my day - but the final scene is the kicker. 'Doyle always was dopey on a Sunday; trailed around in a trance, sweet-tempered and easily led.' That's our Raymond.

It has been years since I've seen this story, and it was great to re-visit. Made me laugh and remember why I liked the guys so much.

God, I *love* everything by Sebastian I've read so far, but I didn't know this one. It's a gem.

I have just noticed a heap of stuff arrive on AO3 which I want to recommend right now, but I had a plan for my weeks at the wheel and this second week is going to be a couple of stories written as Pros was being broadcast. There are lots of these. Some remain on the paper circuit only; some have made it onto the CD; and this one sneaked onto the web a month or two ago.

Security Risk was written (or first circulated?) in 1982.

(In it, Bodie is a risk; Doyle takes a risk...)

If you don't have the Proslib CD (for details, see the Hatstand website, and you will need it for the next story I have in mind, sorry), and haven't been keeping a very close eye on uploads to AO3, you may have missed it. I hope to remedy that: