The Reading Room -- NOVEMBER by Sebastian

[jgraeme2007]

http://www.thecircuitarchive.com/tca/archive/18/november.html

Or

http://www.oblique-publications.net/archives/2note/4_2Qnovemberredone.pdf

Original Publication: ...As Two £3 Notes, Oblique Publications, 1991

I have a special fondness for Discovered in a Graveyard stories. Partly because I think the episode is one of the best and most complex (even if

Comments

[jgraeme2007]

The ending is painful, because they'd come so far and then they're fucked over by CI5 bullshit and it almost destroys them.

Yes. Doyle's moment of epiphany comes just a few minutes too late.

But that, too, is true to the canon (and I respect Sebastian for not whitewashing the brutal and morally problematic nature of CI5's work). And then, amazingly, they manage to get past it--Bodie reaches out, and Doyle goes to him. Despite his premonitions, Bodie is the optimistic one throughout the story,

Yes, I love Bodie in this one. This is very similar to my own reading of Bodie: a pragmatist, a ruthless pragmatist but his achilles heel is Doyle. And the fact that Doyle seems slightly off-kilter here makes sense given that he's trying to come to terms with his recent ressurection.

Bodie and the way Bodie feels about him is partly what scares him and partly his talisman.

Doyle remembered something else, and smiled.

Is he remembering Bodie crying in the hospital, telling him he loved him? Or is he remembering the night of sex that he blocked out? I lean toward the former.

the one who wants to live and feel instead of just shutting down. Naturally he'd be the one to find the courage, at this moment of despair, to try again. And I think it's the events of the earlier parts of the story that have helped Doyle trust him enough to follow.

Although, surprisingly, it's Doyle who speaks first. He tentatively asks if Bodie would like Doyle to come along. Even in the face of Bodie's cold detachment.

And I like how Bodie is brave enough, honest enough, to take back that quick and brutal rejection. It's in keeping with this smart, savvy, emotionally tough Bodie that Sebastian has created.

Maybe it's a matter of personal taste, but in this fandom I enjoy stories like this more than schmoopy stories where Bodie and Doyle just have to realize their love for each other and everything's fine. It's those stories that feel out-of-character to me.

Oh yes. Absolutely. But it has to be a believable and realistic toughness not the bullets-bounce-off-me brand.

[kindkit]

I don't know that I'd even call it toughness, although I agree that Bodie in particular has a certain resilience. But I think they're both pretty damaged, and what looks like toughness is often . . . scar tissue? Possibly a metaphor carried too far, but hopefully you see what I mean.

[jgraeme2007]

I don't know that I'd even call it toughness, although I agree that Bodie in particular has a certain resilience. But I think they're both pretty damaged, and what looks like toughness is often . . . scar tissue? Possibly a metaphor carried too far, but hopefully you see what I mean.

I think they require a certain mental toughness to be as good at their jobs as they are, and mental toughness is a trait I appreciate in characters, so possibly that's why I see that.

But also I see them as complicated and conflicted, I see them as forces for good but with a dark side -- and I don't see any relationship between them being a quick or easy thing. Not that I can't appreciate a simple and sweet story on occasion, but the stories that stick with me are the ones that address that push-pull between them.

It's late and I'm tired so I'm probably not explaining well, but I think I see what you mean.