Tainted Love (Professionals story)
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Tainted Love |
| Author(s): | JPC |
| Date(s): | January 1987 |
| Length: | |
| Genre(s): | slash |
| Fandom(s): | |
| Relationship(s): | |
| External Links: | |
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Tainted Love is a Professionals Bodie/Doyle series of three stories by JPC.
Series
- Tainted Love (January 1987)
- Cabaret (September 1987)
- Tainted Love 2
Fan Comments
1990
"Tainted Love," "Cabaret," and "Tainted Love 2" by JPC This is a more current A/U [than The Hunting]. In this series of stories, instead of two CI5 agents, we have Bodie, a mercenary recently returned from Africa, and Ray Doyle, a young street-hustler. For varied reasons, based on his looks and perceived character, many authors do A/U portrayals of Doyle as a hustler or prostitute (however there is one story where Bodie is a call-boy). In "Tainted Love," Ray has escaped from a psychopathic pimp and ends up with Bodie as his customer. As can be expected, Bodie falls in love with the young hustler, in spite of all his efforts to remain detached. However, the love is tragic and seems to be doomed; neither character can fully trust the other.
"Cabaret" and "Tainted Love 2" are both listed as sequels to "Tainted Love." My sources indicate that "Tainted Love 2" is the "official" sequel and "Cabaret" is the "alternate" sequel. I personally found "Cabaret" to be the better written of the two. There is a very rough rape scene, but the second half of comforting is compellingly bittersweet — worth gritting one's teeth and making it through the first half.
Another note of interest: this Ray Doyle is quite "alternate" from the irascible CIS agent of the series. He is pictured as having been a "throwaway," abused and disowned by his parents, then picked up by a pimp who seems nice at first, but turns out to be a sadist. This is a rather common fate with many teenagers these days. How much this character has to do with the Ray Doyle of the TV show is a function of the reader's perception of the character and his many alternate futures. [1]
I should hate this story for the rough descriptions and the extremely dark version of Bodie. But the second part of it is particularly powerful. [2]
Tainted Love. These are exactly the type of stories I don't like. Unbalanced. I cannot bear fragile weepy Doyles -- and even though its an au character. The Doyle as a male whose been raped on stage and rescued by Bodie was just about the worst fan story I've ever read. The only other one that I remember with loathing was a lengthy Doyle with with the mind of a child one -- that's NOT my Ray either. I question the entire concept of a child's mind in a man's body involved in a heavy sexual relationship, but above that I HATE the idea of this happening to Doyle. Yuck. These men are equals. Anything else isn't MY B/D. Good fanfic can be au (though I'm getting a bit tired of all the elves and magicians and fey talents, too), or it can be set in the series, or Ancient Rome, but they must be EQUALS. Not big strong Bodie saving and protecting poor little Doyle. Arg. Someone, somewhere said Ray Doyle has all the ethereal fragility of a swamp alligator, and she was right. [3]
The "Tainted Love" series fits [my description of stories I dislike]. An ethereal, helpless, whore Doyle I can almost suspend belief for -- but a "boy" Doyle, some years younger than a dark, hard, brutish, ex-merc Bodie just returned home from Africa? Uh uh. And I found the writing in the first story painfully self-conscious and badly over-written. A third of it was taken up with endless descriptions of Bodie and Doyle moving in on each other. And, I fear, the later installments didn't improve, especially not that travesty of a staged rape! Gawd! [4]
1996
Your question about slash horror stories. How do you define horror? There exist a couple of Pros circuit stories (and I truly don't remember titles or author) that were AU and had (as best I can recall) Ray Doyle really underage and being sexually abused. (I don't think it was by Bodie.) Now the circumstances of my reading were sitting in the hotel lobby at a long ago LOSCON surrounded by noisy, milling crowds. These were not ideal conditions and because I found the subject so horrific, I may have confused what the author intended. Still, I kept muttering to myself how terrible the thing was and I didn't mean in terms of writing skill. That's an example of a real slash "horror" story. And you have to understand I'm not easily offended by content. (Everyone know that my secret slash vice is brother/brother incest. Make 'em redheaded identical twins [5] and I'm yours for life.) [6]
Yes, I remember those circuit stories where an AU Bodie abuses an under-age Doyle. I believe it's the Tainted Love stories. Actually Doyle is described as being just 18, I believe, so that would make him
technically not under-age. I found the first story a well-written "horror" type of story. There was a second story in the series (forget the name) where Ray gets rescued by Bodie, and it has a bittersweet hurt/comfort feel to it. There was a third story which was supposedly the "official"sequel to the first one. Which I found to be completely unbelievable. [7]
References
- ^ comments in Short Circuit #3 (July 1990)
- ^ from a fan in Short Circuit #3 (October 1990)
- ^ from a fan in Short Circuit #3 (October 1990)
- ^ from a fan, Linda Terrell, in Short Circuit #3 (October 1990)
- ^ Weasleycest had yet to occur...
- ^ from Strange Bedfellows (APA) #13 (May 1996)
- ^ from Strange Bedfellows (APA) #14 (August 1996)