The Snowman with the Dark Coat

Fanfiction
Title:	The Snowman with the Dark Coat
Author(s):	Castalia
Date(s):	2001
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	The Professionals
Relationship(s):
External Links:	online at the Circuit Archive
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"The Snowman with the Dark Coat" is a story set in the The Professionals universe and written by Castalia.

It was published in the fanzine Roses and Lavender #4.

The story was reviewed at the ci5hq in November 2009.

Parts/Summaries

Summary from the publisher's flyer:

"Doyle pleads, Bodie retreats. They both get angry. They start to fall apart, but they can't resist each other either. They keep going on, hurting each other. Slowly, like snowflakes, falling apart, yet falling for each other, not seeing, not understanding. Until a final decision is needed, an agreement of a sort, and that could be the greatest mistake of all...."

Reactions and Reviews

This starts out like a lot of the eps, in the middle of a story. Something's happened between the lads - what is it, why are they on the out with each other, and how is it going to come right? Castalia writes beautifully, dreamily, atmospherically - sometimes someone is so good that you feel everything the lads feel. I adore that - but what do you think?

A sense of foreboding runs through this story – for a long time we know there is something wrong, something terribly wrong between the lads, but we don't know precisely what, all we know is that they are both hurting, badly. The world, their world, continues around them, and the author beautifully catches that strange sense of normality when everything else appears to be falling apart.

The yearning for love, thwarted, denied…. The hot, needy, sex. The “I think it’s going to be all right but I’m not quite sure” ending. The cool (no pun intended) action sequences in the snow. The evocative writing. Just one little sentence captures something of the essence of this story: “And the snow, falling fast and thick one moment, turning into polluted water on the streets the moment after, unforeseeable, making everything more difficult, more dirty.”

Apparently I talk out of both sides of my mouth. I talk about how, with certain stories, I worry about Bodie and Doyle being so cruel to each other there's no way for them to ultimately move forward. Then I rec a story like this. I should also confess that I have a lot more tolerance for this kind of thing when it's Bodie being difficult and Doyle being hurt. I'm sure that says more about me than it does the authors. Anyway—this story features a betrayed Bodie who will not forgive, no matter how often Doyle tries to set things right. Then one day Bodie realizes he may not ever have the opportunity for Doyle to try again. A wonderful story with a terrific final scene, featuring lads who are not being all that nice to each other. The angst quotient is high.

Excellent story. There are so many areas where it works: Doyle's remorse and heartache, Bodie's anger and anguish, the longing that permeates every sentence, the hot and steamy erotic sex, full of angst and need, the evocative descriptions....The characterisation is spot on. This is one fic I can't help returning to. Fantastic.

Man, I loved this. Dark, tense, with a great sense of foreboding that just pulls you in from that first hesitant declaration of Doyle's during that inital stakeout. That and Bodie's reaction to it. Superb way to set it all up. Never read anything by this writer before, but I will definitely seek out more. She has a great eye for nuance and detail - in this you feel, to your bones, all that stillness and cold.

And you're right, she creates a sense of imbalance between them that drives it all - we're desperately curious to know just what Doyle has done wrong, and how it will resolve betweeen them.

Thanks for this rec, just what I was in the mood for.

Thanks for recommending a story I love - one of my favourite 'grown up' stories. It *is* tense, edgy and gritty and I like the pace of the story: not too drawn out and yet not too hurried, either. And I think you've got an interesting point about the inequality between the two being 'disturbing' because it's usually the equality between two men (who are intimate) which I find attractive and almost settling. Hmmmmmm...... food for thought, all this.

I've been mulling over the idea of tension from an imbalance of power - I think you've really gotten to the heart of it here. And you're right, when I consider which pieces of writing affect me most, which ones embed themselves in my soul and never leave, many of them *do* have this same flavor of tension. Hyperion to a Satyr is another one of Sebastian's in this vein that immediately popped up. I think that the use of language in this story is very beautiful and powerful, and when I read it I find myself trying to underline passages I'd like to make note of only to find that I'm underlining whole page after whole page.

I've thought about this a bit more and agree with what you're saying here, Hyperion to a Satyr is a good example, and this analysis goes a long way to explaining why I love Wonderful Tonight so much. For a lot of this story, Doyle just doesn't know where he is or *what* he is to Bodie - he's almost Bodie's puppet on a string. But do you think this imbalance of power exists in another favourite, Et in Italia Ego? I'm not sure that it does, though maybe in this story Doyle is calling the shots a bit more than Bodie? Maybe he's slightly less besotted with Bodie than vice-versa? Well, maybe in the first part of the story. Not sure. But the more I think about it the more I think you've both cottoned on to something very important (I'm now thinking of Down to the Waterline and Limbo, again, stories where I think there is a slight imbalance of power, but this time more in Doyle's favour. And definitely in Heat-Trace. Eureka! I think you and BSL have both hit upon a theory there! But it's strange, you know, that the 'imbalance of power' within a story helps to make that story attractive, whereas I think for a lot of us readers, it's the 'equality' which exists between them which helps to make the whole slash thing so attractive and seductive.....hmmmmmm. Bites her much bitten nails.

I had to re-read Hyperion to a Satyr just then to remind myself... it's a hard life... yes, there's the imbalance of power there, though I think the balance shifts when Bodie comes to his realisation, and that's a wonderful thing and one that retains the tension because they're still not equal... Not until the very end of course, where Bodie gives in, and Doyle takes control and then they both give in to it and again we have their equality. I think!

Actually I'd say there's a real imbalance in Et In Italio Ego, that's another good example. I nearly mentioned it originally, but I wanted to think about it more! Maybe this is because we see things from Bodie's point of view throughout, and he's unsure of Doyle to some extent? And Doyle seems alot more sure of himself and to have settled with himself the boundaries of their relationship, whereas Bodie is just open to it, with no clear idea really of what he will do with it once he has it..? I like to think that Doyle's just as besotted, but has perhaps thought more about it, got it clear in his head, whereas Bodie is still off-balance, still in that process...

Now Heat Trace I want to say is a bit different in some ways... and maybe that's why it's so powerful... They're both off-balance because of what they're individually going through? And because neither of them are able to interact closely enough with each other it's not even so much "balance" between them, but... a separation that can't be resolved until they've each settled themselves... Which of course they ultimately do, and then we end with ... well do we end with balance and equality? (Not sure whether I should say, cos of spoilers. Which of course reviews are but..?)

I really loved the writing style. Oddly, I thought it was the opposite of dreamy, what I liked best was the attention to small, everyday details. Instead of avoiding the boring bits like making a cup of tea, putting away groceries, dealing with a headcold, Castalia has used them so beautifully, sometimes to counterpoint the mood, sometimes to reinforce it.

Maybe the dreamy quality is the way she presents lapses of time, especially in the first scene. And the descriptions of snow are beautiful. And the scene where Bodie curls up on the sofa to the sound of Doyle's voice - swoon.

Plotty stories with other agents (and yay Jax playing a prominent role!) always appeal to me, where the relationship is being played out against a background of CI5 work.

I don't usually enjoy a lot of angst between Bodie and Doyle, indeed didn't enjoy that aspect so much here, but I was so enjoying the writing. Also impressed that we're never told about what went wrong with their relationship, just tantalising hints that they had been lovers but Doyle had carelessly hurt Bodie and Bodie had overreacted (I mean, by anyone else's standards, not by Bodie's own standards).

Also I think I enjoyed it because, unlike some angst stories, it's quite one sided. Doyle is repentant and persists in trying to win Bodie back - although not of course without being snarky and self-protective too.

If I have one mild criticism, the rows and Doyle's being 'lost' without Bodie didn't seem quite tough and bloke-ish enough:

Another argument, between them, just one of many. Words thrown and too carefully picked up and thrown back; well-aimed, those, too. Not a particularly nasty fight, even. Accusations, recriminations: there had been worse than that. Much worse.

Wonderful understated ending too - 'rescue' has indeed arrived for them.

I’ve always thought of Snowman as a mature story written by a grown-up for grown-ups and about grownups in a grown-up relationship and being a grownup I loved it..... While the writing’s not really like Helen Raven’s I’d say my response to it and the way I read it is similar to the way I read HR's: at times I almost forgot to breathe and at one stage definitely paused in the eating of my banana in order to concentrate 100% on [the] writing.

I'm a bit surprised, if you found this off-putting how can you bear to read anything by M. Fae Glasgow, or other more gritty, angsty stuff?

I'm right with you on escapism, though. The fics I like best are full of love and romance and humour and exciting action, and hot sex of course. "Snowman" had all of these.

It also had a bit more angst than I would normally choose, but I really felt for the characters, and just enjoyed the style of writing so much I wanted to keep reading, hoping that it would turn out right. Although Bodie was being very hard and determined in rejecting Ray, Castalia gave us enough clues about his true feelings to be encouraging. oh, and I did cheat by reading the end first *g*

Yes! I love this story, and Castalia is one of my rock-solid authors, who always comes through... *g*

You're right, this is a great read and she captures the silent world of snow perfectly. I always find the story very seductive and compulsive reading and yes, I think 'magnetic tone' is a perfect way to describe the author's writing.

Why this must be read:

The yearning for love, thwarted, denied…. The hot, needy, sex. The “I think it’s going to be all right but I’m not quite sure” ending. The cool (no pun intended) action sequences in the snow.

The evocative writing. Just one little sentence captures something of the essence of this story:

“And the snow, falling fast and thick one moment, turning into polluted water on the streets the moment after, unforeseeable, making everything more difficult, more dirty.”

The next bit I suggest you read after you’ve read the fic:

There’s a recurring line in “Wonderful Tonight” (previously reccd by Phantomas here) where Kate Ross says of Doyle that he’s “missing the point”. In “Snowman” Bodie is the one who is just not seeing/hearing what Doyle is trying to tell him. Here’s what he missed:

"Still love you, mate."

"I deserve a second chance"

"How many times have I told you? I'm not playing, Bodie.’

"You know I care, don't you?"

"It was not crap. Not for me, mate."

"I didn't...know it was that serious, for you."

"You're still playing with me, aren't you?" … "No," he said, slowly. "No, I'm not."

"My point is--"… "--that I did say I was sorry. That I did say I was wrong. D'you know what you're doing to us? D'you really know it?"

All the above, of course, is built up over time to help make a maddingly enjoyable read. Even if I did feel a lot like shaking the silly twerp & yelling "of course he loves you, you idiot, now forgive him and make up!!"

One last thing I loved about the fic – Sally! She’s one of my favourite CI5 women, & here she's given the proper respect & drawn tough & smart. A nice cameo.

Excellent story. There are so many areas where it works: Doyle's remorse and heartache, Bodie's anger and anguish, the longing that permeates every sentence, the hot and steamy erotic sex, full of angst and need, the evocative descriptions....The characterisation is spot on. This is one fic I can't help returning to. Fantastic.