The Tailor-Made Sequence

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Fanfiction
Title: The Tailor-Made Sequence
Author(s): Helen Raven
Date(s): 1990
Length:
Genre(s):
Fandom(s): Professionals
Relationship(s):
External Links:

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The Tailor-Made Sequence is a Professionals slash circuit set of three stories written by Helen Raven and Fiona Clements (who are the same person).

One reviewers summary: "While on a stake-out in a graveyard, Murphy tells his partner Doyle a ghost story about a demon lover, a man who sounds disturbingly like Doyle's new boyfriend."[1]

The story was typed into the electronic circuit library in 1996 by Sandy Hereld with the author providing the then elusive and hard to find third part while members of the Virgule-L mailing list cheered her on.[2]

The Three Parts of the Story

  • Tailor-Made (4 pages, written by Fiona Clements) -- where Doyle and his partner Murphy talk about the Angel of Death (June 1990)
  • Quantum Mechanics (4 pages, written by Fiona Clements) -- a pure PWP (June 1990)
  • The Rewards of Patience (21 pages, written by Helen Raven) -- the bulk of the story (December 1992)

Author's Notes

2010

Author's notes:

The first story I finished was "Tailor-Made", which I wrote on one Sunday morning in Norway in 1990; I'd started a couple of others in the years before, but neither had got very far. I released it on the Circuit (via Sara S's Pros library), and a few years later I wrote a sequel. It's been a while since I've re-read that set of stories, and while some of the lines about Bodie's Harley make me cringe, I think on the whole it's a striking and effective piece of work... "Tailor-Made" grew from a throw-away remark from a friend about the "fatal attraction" that Bodie held for other men... I woke up one Sunday morning and was lying waiting for the alarm to go off for my early-morning writing exercise, and the plot of "Tailor-Made" came whole into my head, and I leapt out of bed and sat down at the dining-room table, and by lunchtime it was finished. "[3]

See Hatstand Interview with Helen Raven for more.

2014

1990 was also the year in which I wrote my first Pros story, which was distributed via the Circuit. I can’t show you the master copy because about ten years ago I lent it to someone who promptly left the country – but it actually looked a lot like this version on my website. I typed it up at work in WordPerfect for DOS, and printed it on the office laser printer. I realise that “WordPerfect for DOS” is just a collection of syllables to you guys, but the point here is that this was before Word. It was before Microsoft Windows, even.

It’s a very short story – just four pages – in which Doyle is a CI5 agent and Bodie is the Angel of Death. Or at least an Angel of Death. It’s a horror story, that was inspired by a friend’s remark about the fatal attraction that Bodie seemed to hold for other macho men. The dialog is pretty clunky but I’m still rather proud of the idea, and it got a good reaction in fandom.

By the time I finished my next story – two years later - the practicalities and economics of text-reproduction had shifted again. People were now producing Pros zines, and over the next few years the Circuit gradually wound down. Almost all of the rest of my Pros stories appeared in zines... [4]

Reactions and Reviews

1996

I hate death stories where they may be dead, but their ghosts hang around being just as obtrusive as the ever were in life....And even this category has well-done exceptions, such as the Tailor-Made sequence and M.Fae's "Floral Arrangement."[5]

1997

I disagree - no, I disa-feel - about 'The Tailor-Made Sequence'; I don't think it's horror, even though it does have something of that characteristic attitude of brooding doom. It's more like the darkly seductive magic of Keats' Geraldine, or any of those cthonic sexual figures of myth. Is an incubus a creature of horror? Hmm, dunno.

Perhaps only if a vampire is; to which the answer is, not always. [6]

2002

Vampires usually send me yibbling for the door, but I'll make an exception here. It's not exactly vampires as you know and love 'em, mind. Oh, and there is some seriously hot sex involving a motorbike. [7]

2004

Part of the lure of The Professionals is the excessive machismo and high-calibre weapon-wielding boys' games that are the plots. Every episode is marked by death. Tailor-Made takes fascination with death to a preternatural, horrifying and potentially redeeming extreme. It's disturbing, beautiful and overwrought, riffing off the episode, Discovered in a Graveyard, in which Doyle is shot. There's also hot sex. [8]

An AU horror fantasy, the Tailor-Made Sequence is two short stories and a novella: Tailor Made, Quantum Mechanics and The Rewards of Patience.

While on a stake-out in a graveyard, Murphy tells his partner Doyle a ghost story about a demon lover, a man who sounds disturbingly like Doyle's new boyfriend.

Part of the lure of The Professionals is the excessive machismo and high-calibre weapon-wielding boys' games that are the plots. Every episode is marked by death. Tailor-Made takes fascination with death to a preternatural, horrifying and potentially redeeming extreme. It's disturbing, beautiful and overwrought, riffing off the episode, Discovered in a Graveyard, in which Doyle is shot.

There's also hot sex. [9]

2013

I'm always left a bit troubled by this story, somehow - and I'm not sure it's the storyline that does it, because as I said I tend to read the ending that the lads are united eternally at the end. It might be that I never quite believe they're my lads, but I can't put my finger on exactly why not - though Doyle's calculated murder of the demon-Bodie, and apparent calm afterwards drags at me... or is he calm? Maybe he's not at all, and what we're reading is the madness into which he's been plunged? In any case, I think striking and effective is a fair way to describe this story - I'm just not entirely sure what the effects are! [10]

Basically: I tend to have mixed feelings for Helen Raven's writing, because for me it often doesn't hold up on repeat readings; seams start to appear and such. That's actually a side conversation that I think takes away from the discussion, because this story *does* seem to hold up.

Which is a good thing, because I like the off-center direction she takes with her fics.

Does Doyle look like Doyle? Would he really kill Bodie like that? I actually think yes. Doyle's remorse seems hinged upon whether or not he knows the person, and whether what he felt for the person is real (and maybe if the person is deserving of some sympathy, like Mickey Hamliton). Barry Martin seems to have turned after he became an agent - so the initial feelings Doyle felt for him were probably not displaced at the time. Story Bodie, however, is different: he's not human, he threatens members of CI5, Doyle has first-hand knowledge of his danger, and Bodie confirms that he's involved in those deaths. Doyle can't go to Cowley about this because he'll just end up with Ross (or at Repton). So he's got ample space to question the reality of this being and whatever he felt for him. I don't think in that case that Doyle wouldn't see this as self-defense, as clear a course of action as shooting someone who's pulled a gun on him. [11]

I'm not sure why it's split into three parts. I mean, the parts can stand alone, but I'm not sure what's gained by that. It sounds like she wrote all three in a morning, so it's not like she posted but kept coming back to it. [12]

The three parts weren't written all together - that's from the interview too... The first story in the series was written that morning, the next in the same month, the last one was written two and a half years later - which might help to explain why the third part seems so different to me... [13]

...it's a story that stays with you, it's well-written, and different enough to stand out... But!

When I saw it was on the schedule for this week, I thought I'd give it another go. I first read it some time back, and didn't particularly enjoy it, mainly I think because it's not the Bodie and Doyle I have in my head - they're written well, and story hangs together beautifully, but it's just not them, and I think that's where it falls over for me. I can't see Doyle killing like that... but then it's a supernatural story, so people are almost certainly going to behave differently; even so, it's too much of a leap for me. Plus there are other huge bounds - Murphy coming out to Doyle that way is too abrupt, and Doyle opens wide and swallows the whole thing almost without a murmur.

I'm glad I gave it another go, and if was written as an original fic I think I'd probably love it, but as a Pros story, nope, not for me. [14]

I just finished reading it, for the first time, and it'll probably take a while to digest it all.

Not an easy, or all that enjoyable, read for me. Maybe it's because Bodie and Doyle don't work together, and their relationship seems to be mainly about the sex and death, and enjoying killing, though there are a few glimpses of more. The descriptions of all three main characters are kind of "distant" for me. I don't quite know how to explain it. Maybe I'm missing the joy of the canon relationship. The way they are looking at each other, and play off of each other.

Murphy often thinks about Doyle as strange, and there is mention that he'd sometimes be almost happy to be rid of him, but then he talks himself out of this notion. I wonder about this. Is it, because Doyle is already primed to be something else, and that's why Murphy feels uncomfortable with Doyle? Or is it just Doyle's personality in general? Killing Bodie, and then calling Murphy over to help him just feels wrong, somehow. And is it a little too much coincidence, that both Doyle and Murphy gave off the right vibes to attract Bodie? Bodie claims to never stop loving any of *his* men, but sounds very uninterested in Murphy's feelings. It it just something Bodie tells his current interest?

We don't know Murphy well from canon, but we do know Bodie and Doyle, and I'm not quite getting the right *sense* of either one in this story, supernatural or not. Their essential characters are mostly missing for me. It's a very "narrow" view at their lives. We don't see much of what they normally do, apart from the very beginning.

>>So... gosh! I have all sorts of questions after reading this story, because I think it very cleverly works its way into your mind so that you never quite know... <<

Exactly! *g*

At the end, I was almost convinced that Bodie and Doyle would be together, but then Doyle doubts, and I do.

When Bodie drinks his blood, it's chilling and makes me think he is just a creepy vampire, who managed to con another victim, but why go through all that trouble, then. He's had plenty of opportunity, without this elaborate setup. [15]

First read for me, though I devoured her other stories, but going back to her homepage I realised why I skipped it before. It says Horror Story, and that's a no-go for me.

But the way your rec was done made me wanna read it, and since I didn't see the warning this time.

I liked it. Though I agree... it's not my Lads. Not that I can't see Doyle killing, but there's too much hankypanky about how goodlooking Bodie is, and they're just too sweet in their loving. Too much talking, too much said.

I really, really like the way the first part ends, with Doyle getting afraid because of the coincedence with the things Murphy told him about his Lover. That's so very intense and believable.

And I like the second part, though I got a bit confused about the things that happen when Murphy meets dead Bodie. I should've read it again, because I thoight Bodie was already coming back to life, but then he didn't and it was a bit funny, but I wanted to goon, though I just left it at that.

The third part was far too long, though it was great to be able to get the mysterie together, and having Doyle going in the wood was amazing, but the Changer is just so oit of this world....

It' an amazing story, and I won't read it again.

Probably. [16]

I wouldn't describe this as a horror story at all - would you, now? I think The Same River is much more horrific than this one... Tailor Made is shocking in some ways, perhaps, but...? [17]

No, this one doesn't really do it for me. There are some lovely bits - the descriptions of the wood, for example, but they're not Pros. The Changer was just too wonderful/awesome/marvellous/amazing - come on, really?? Bodie and Doyle are too lovey-dovey and therefore not Pros. Murphy (my Murphy *g*) wasn't convincing - as snailbones said, what made him suddenly confess all to a sceptical Doyle? Call me shallow, but I'm afraid I wasn't really interested enough to wonder if Bodie was conning Doyle or if they truly would be together forever.

Having said all that, there are very, very few AUs I like, and the ones I do like are the ones where I can recognise 'my' lads, and therefore I can forgive the AU setting. Thinking more about that, two of my favourite AUs include the lads being lovey-dovey, but they retain the humour and the toughness that I recognise in the eps. The toughness in Tailor-Made had few redeeming features to it and I didn't spot any humour.

It didn't really hang together for me and I wasn't bothered enough to think more deeply about it. Striking, yes, effective? For me, no. [18]

I'm never sorry I re-read it, but it's not my favourite Raven story by any means, and it's partly for me that they're not quite the lads I see and believe in... they could be, but not quite... I like siskiou's point that we're given such a narrow view of them - not working together, not being together, barely even talking together except about the storyline itself - that we can't find them as our canon-lads... I didn't find them any more lovey-dovey than in alot of Prosfic, but I do see what you mean - and again, perhaps that's part of the "narrow focus"... and yes, the lack of a spark of humour too, they were so very serious in this story... [19]

I usually like Horror stories, but I didn't really enjoy this one as much as I thought I would. Bodie and Doyle didn't really feel like our lads to me. That's just my opinion though. The story is very well written, quite original and I think if it were an original fic that I would have liked it more perhaps, but as a Pros-y fic it just didn't work for me. :) [20]

This story really didn't work for me, maybe because of the questionable ending. Maybe in original fic I don't mind the "did it happen or didn't it?" (and even then only in certain circumstances,) but not in fanfiction. I want them together at the end and I want it to be a sure thing. *g* And while close, the characters really aren't "my" Bodie and Doyle. [21]

I think my biggest problem was both their involvements with Murphy. I've never cared for stories where one or the other is with someone else to begin with (though some writers have made it work really well,) especially, as with Doyle, the scene seems superfluous. Plus, and this is something I can't actually pin down, but somehow it doesn't sound like them most of the time. There's something about the words they use, or their speech patterns—something. [22]

I've got to admit that I'm not keen on stories where other agents are gay, and/or fancy one of the lads, or are involved with them - though as you say, some writers can pull it off. And I know why people choose Murphy as a secondary character, but... I'm just a bit bored with him... Raven does have a particular style about their speech patterns - I always think they say "Oh-" at the beginning of sentences too often, for instance - but I can generally sink into that cos the stories work well otherwise, and I can see where she's coming from with the characters. I can see it less in this though, I think - there's enough there that it's not totally out of character, but I think we don't see enough of them outside the storyline for me to be completely convinced, and so perhaps the speech patterns have less to hold onto... [23]

[Mruphy's being gay] plays too much into the "everyone's gay" scenario

That's exactly my problem with some stories - maybe it's partly the slashfic perspective that affects it, because it's not so unlikely that there'll be more than two gay agents in CI5. But it's so often Murphy (who's apparently everyone's third-favourite anyway), or Cowley himself (ditto), which just seems a bit too much of a coincidence...

Or perhaps it's that when there's another gay agent involved with them, they're all so open about it - when back then I really don't think it would have been good for anyone in CI5 to be openly (or just known to be) gay... [24]

References

  1. ^ Vera's review; archive link at the crack_van dated May 10, 2004.
  2. ^ Morgan Dawn's personal recollections accessed Feb 18, 2013.
  3. ^ Interview With Helen Raven dated December 2010; archive link.
  4. ^ The Pre-History of Slash: a talk for Slash Night 2
  5. ^ Jan Levine's post to the Virgule-L mailing list on July 03, 1996 , quoted with permission.
  6. ^ from Strange Bedfellows (APA) #16 (February 1997)
  7. ^ Zeb's Novel Length Recs dated May 21, 2002; WayBack Machine.
  8. ^ Vera's review at the crack_van dated May 10, 2004; archive link.
  9. ^ recced at Crack Van, May 2004
  10. ^ 2013 comments atci5hq, Archived version.
  11. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq, Archived version
  12. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
  13. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
  14. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
  15. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
  16. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
  17. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
  18. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
  19. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
  20. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
  21. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
  22. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
  23. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
  24. ^ 2013 comments at CI5hq
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