(no subject)

[kiwisue]

I've just rewatched Slush Fund, which is one of my favourite episodes. Doyle looks absolutely gorgeous throughout (although your mileage may vary on the pullover, I like it). Bodie's Scouse, van Niekerk's skin *g*.

On the question of van Neikerk, I decided to take a good look at the ending. Conventional fannish wisdom has it that Bodie kills him with a shot to the head, something which is often lamented because he's an excellent villain. I decided to find out for myself. Screencaps below the cut, but first a poll. Answer before peeking *g*.

[Poll #1522012]

	Not a lot to see here but smoke and rapid movement.
	van Neikerk falls.Can't see the damage yet, even on closeup.
	van Neikerk lying still, eyes closed. Is that a trickle of blood forming beside his ear? I've highlighted a spot on his forehead for reasons that will become obvious in a minute.
	He opens his eyes briefly before closing them again.
	In this scene you can see the blood around his ear quite clearly. It appears to be trickling down from his temple rather than from inside the ear itself. Also, this cap is the only one that has a dark spot at the front of the skull above the right eye. Is it the bullet entry point, or just a shadow on the film? Remember this part of the scene is one very fast shot.
	Out in the foyer. Doyle walks beside the ambulancemen who are just about to lift the stretcher carefully over the carpet at the entrance (note to all - please do not be using their lifting techniques!). Presumably van Neikerk is still breathing as his face is uncovered. Also the pillow obscures our view of his temple, but his forehead is bare and there are a lot of onlookers.
	'Ello, there's someone else standing by the ambulance. Doyle's noticed him.
	The stretcher goes back down on the ground. Does that other bloke look like CI5 to you? Unlikely to be a reporter, he's just standing there, hand in front of jacket. And Doyle's looking at him again.
	Case over, they stop (and Bodie pulls on the headband) while the ambulancemen carry on.

Forget reality, brain trauma, the lack of blood etc, we're talking television medicine here. Consider this: if Piet were already dead, would they be wheeling him out with his face uncovered? Would the ambulancemen be taking such care to lift him over the entrance carpet? And would they send a CI5 agent in the ambulance with a corpse "just in case"?

If you guessed that the possibility of Piet coming back to annoy our Lads doesn't entirely displease me, you'd be right!. But have I done enough to convince you all that he may be alive?

Care to try that poll again? Of course you would!
ETA - IF YOU HAVEN"T DONE THE ENTRY POLL, WHICH ASKS THE SAME QUESTIONS PLEASE GO BACK AND DO THAT ONE FIRST _ THIS IS THE EXIT POLL (sorry if my original instructions were obscure)

[Poll #1522013]

Comments

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

D'you know, I don't ever remember noticing van Neikerk one way or the other at the end of the ep - I noticed that Bodie shot him, and I noticed that someone was carried out on the stretcher, but apart from that... I think I was more focussed on the lads, standing there, together, watching - and on Doyle being upset, and Bodie not quite knowing why and trying to be just Bodie at him, and... (though I'm not sure about "conventional fannish wisdom" either - aren't there quite a few fics with van Neikerk in them? Mind you, I always mix him up with chappie who mistreats Doyle in... the one with wee mad Arthur... Man Without A Past - which name I always have to really think to remember, too!)

But yeah - I'd say Van Niekirk's alive, having seen your evidence! And that must be a CI5 man beside the ambulance - it looks very much all done like that purposefully too...

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Well, first I noticed the stretcher (because that appears in between the shoot-out and the standing-together) and the fact that it wasn't like "Female Factor" where they made a point of covering Anne's face.
(First, except for the part where I'd already noticed that van Neikerk was an attractive villain *g*.) I think it was ages ago that I had a brief exchange with justacat about it, must be a couple of years ago now.

And then I noticed that they were being awfully careful with him, so I decided to slow-mo through the shooting itself and the bit at the end... and that's where I found the CI5 guy!

I can only think of one van Neikerk story but I can't for the life of me remember who wrote it - hopefully someone will pipe up! All stories I've found that mention the name (and I've searched proslib 2007 using both the van Neikerk and van Niekerk spellings) are post-episode, so it's probably a story that's on lj rather than archived.

ETA: Found it! Verlaine's Room 101. Ha!

List time, if anyone's interested/knowledgeable...

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, I was assuming we were talking about post-episode stories... Hmmn... Rimy has him recovered and escaped in Tape Delay, but... and you mean the other ProsLib stories just refer back to the ep, don't you... *struggles to wake up*...

I've always thought van Neikirk was an attractive villain - him and chappy in Fugitive (Werner?) and Frank in Mixed Doubles... Sorry, being distracted now... *g* But he's not a nice bloke - not someone I'd really like to meet in the street... *g*

I don't really want either of the lads having a thing about him though, so I can't quite go with Verlaine's fic I'm afraid... and of course Bodie doesn't have a thing about van Neikirk in the end, but because I'm told he does, right up there in the header, that's what I'm going into the fic with, so... *headdesk* And this is why I loathe being told what happens in a fic before I read it!

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

I think Tape Delay mentions the escape as it took place in episode, because they're talking about the way Bodie yelled at Cowley. What I meant was fic that takes a more than episode approach to the character. So Verlaine's fic qualifies, although it's more a missing scene one than a post-episode one, of which I cannot think and I'm guessing it's because people assume van Neikerk's dead.

By header, do you mean the pairing warning? I know it's on the AH, but I've been having trouble with that site all evening and I don't know if it's me or the database. I got on once and did a search for "other canon" character, figured out the author, went over to her journal and followed the tags.

Anyway, I thought you liked pairing warnings?

Agree with you about Werner and Frank, btw *g*.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Crap, just half-finished my answer then accidentally clicked on a link in the wrong window and lost it. Bugger. Well, maybe I can put it more succinctly... *g*

I like to know that a story's about B/D (so I can read it) or eg B/C (so I can avoid it *g*), so as far as that goes, I like to know the pairing of a story up front. I'm not into Pros as a general fun fandom thing because I'm into fandom, I'm into Pros cos I'm into B/D. So...

The thing is, here I was told that the pairing was "Bodie/Doyle, Bodie/Van Neikerk", so I went in expecting both those things. Only... it isn't a story with a Bodie/Van Neikerk pairing. It's a story where Bodie's given that temptation, and doesn't take it, cos of his B/D pairing. So... wtf? Are people warning now for every thought that crosses a character's mind, if it's to do with sex with another person/creature/thing? If I hadn't seen up front that there was Bodie/Van Neikirk in the fic, I wouldn't have been reading half on edge for when I came across it - and then I didn't come across it, and... You see, the fic is at this point more about what I've been told up front, and less about being a story, which is surely the whole point of fic... We can't help taking expectations into things when we're given them, and they do colour things for us. I read stories cos they're stories, and to be honest, if they're over-warned, then I'm not reading the stories, I'm reading the warnings, and... that's not what I want fic to be. So...

In Tape Delay - yeah, could be. I think we're talking circles about what we're talking about... *g* What I meant was fic that takes a more than episode approach to the character. - that's been what I was looking for too, I just didn't read TD that way.

I can't get into AH either - there's a mysqueal error. Other Hatstand and Circuit seem to be okay, so it must be specific...

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Crap, just half-finished my answer then accidentally clicked on a link in the wrong window and lost it.

Wordpad - don't leave home without it *g*

The thing is, here I was told that the pairing was "Bodie/Doyle, Bodie/Van Neikerk", so I went in expecting both those things. Only... it isn't a story with a Bodie/Van Neikerk pairing.

I understand - I think. It's a blurry line sometimes, and with this particular fic there was a moment where it could have gone either way. As it didn't progress down that path, you don't see the B/vN notification as valid. As it was potential, presumably the author thought it was valid to include, at least as far as that sexually charged moment in the middle went... except that it almost put off some potential readers, who said they were happy when B/D was confirmed (would they have complained about not seeing a B/vN warning?).

I think I need to work this through more. So when I write my old-school hatstand fic which is in essence B/D but features (highlight to read, because that's what I'd do): revenge fic, Bodie/van Neikerk (rape, torture), Doyle rescue, happy ending, , you wouldn't have a problem if I just made it Bodie/Doyle? Because there is no B/vN, it's all hate and revenge? What if it wasn't just that - taking Verlaine's "might have been" and expanding? I don't have a clear enough sense of the line, but I'm happy to talk about it some more.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

which is in essence B/D but features (highlight to read, because that's what I'd do): revenge fic, Bodie/van Neikerk (rape, torture), Doyle rescue, happy ending, , you wouldn't have a problem if I just made it Bodie/Doyle? Because there is no B/vN, it's all hate and revenge?
Yup, absolutely. Because telling me anything else about it isn't really to do with the pairing, it's to do with telling me what the story's about.

What if it wasn't just that - taking Verlaine's "might have been" and expanding?
If it turned out that vN was Bodie's soul-mate all along, or that B/D hadn't even been a blink in his eye, wasn't the essence of the fic then telling me it's a B/vN fic would tell me that I probably don't want to read it at all (unless I'm in a very odd mood, which does occasionally happen... *g*)

For me the line is the essence of the fic - at the heart of it, is it the B/D relationship which is most important, or is it Bodie that's most important and the author is playing with other things, such as other pairings, or his background or anything.

I'm in fandom for the essence of B/D, and that's what Pros has seemed to be, until the last couple of years, when more... fandom fans, perhaps, seem to be involved, and interested in playing with other pairings because their focus is more on their own writing and using Pros as part of that, rather than loving B/D and expressing that through writing (and that's hugely simplified, of course, you don't need to call me on it! *g*)

I Cntl+C when I'm writing comments, and it serves me well unless I do something really stoopid! *g* I'm too lazy to use 5 billion programmes to do one thing, I'm afraid, which is another reason I'm never likely to get into the twitter/facebook/dreamwidth/crossposting thingie, let alone using - "clients"? are they?... *g*

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

If it turned out that vN was Bodie's soul-mate all along, or that B/D hadn't even been a blink in his eye, wasn't the essence of the fic then telling me it's a B/vN fic would tell me that I probably don't want to read it at all (unless I'm in a very odd mood, which does occasionally happen... *g*)

I'm going to ignore your next paragraph for a moment while I test your limits *g* (and mine too, actually - I'm not sure how far I would go with any of this).

Back in the realm of the entirely improbable, vN subdues and drugs Bodie and takes him off to somewhere impossibly remote, where he knows no-one and vN threatens to have his minions (never mind that vN seems to be a sole operative in canon) have Doyle killed if Bodie doesn't co-operate. Bodie agrees. Little by little he's dragged back into the old life. He gets into a relationship with vN, which is initially stronger on vN's side than Bodie's (vN does change a bit, but Bodie also changes to meet him), but eventually Bodie gives up thoughts of going back to England and Doyle. Some years later he hears that Doyle has been killed. He goes back to England to visit Doyle's grave, then Piet (using the first name with purpose here) calls him and he promises to return.

Now to me that's a B/D tragedy, but it would have to be a B/vN story as well - wouldn't it?

For me the line is the essence of the fic - at the heart of it, is it the B/D relationship which is most important, or is it Bodie that's most important and the author is playing with other things, such as other pairings, or his background or anything.

I suppose I'm playing with Bodie's background, hypothetically, but it's like promising never to write a death fic - I can't say I would never do it.

Or like "Forever True": it's a B/D story, but you can't cut Cheryl out of the equation there, and NOT having Doyle/OFC would do that.

(and that's hugely simplified, of course, you don't need to call me on it! *g*)

Wouldn't dream of it *g*.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Back in the realm of the entirely improbable...then Piet (using the first name with purpose here) calls him and he promises to return.
Hmmn - I'd say that was never a B/D story really, I'd say it was a B/vN story from Bodie's perspective. So it'd mostly be B story in fact, and again without B/D (with both of them in it!) it'd be much lower down my fic-to-read pile... *g*

Hmmn, Forever True's an interesting one - but actually I think more clear cut. It is both a B/D and a D/OF story, especially because he can't give either one of them up. Without either one, it wouldn't be a story at all... Ooh, there's a thought... in the scenario above, Doyle doesn't feature except as background so it's B/vN. In FT, B/D and D/OF both feature heavily, and there is no leaving one for the other, so...

Down to Shoshanna's NLMD - d'you know I can never remember that one, so I'd have to re-read it again before I can say! And I have read it three or four times, too... stoopid brain... *g*

Like your stretchy elastics idea - yeah, Verlaine's story snaps back to B/D; FT snaps back to both B/D and D/OF; your scenario snaps back to B/vN... And that's almost how they become essences... (So what about a story where the tragedy is that one of them dies and the other eventually settles for another love - that might be both too, if you're left with the impression that the original love will always have a strong hold on them. If you're left with the impression that New Guy will help them get over it all, then I'd say it was more about that transformation, and would be /New Guy... Hmmn, interesting though!)

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Hmmn - I'd say that was never a B/D story really, I'd say it was a B/vN story from Bodie's perspective. So it'd mostly be B story in fact, and again without B/D (with both of them in it!) it'd be much lower down my fic-to-read pile... *g*

Well, my synopsis was very quickly made up on the spot for comparison. So I dare say it could be done differently *g*.

Like your stretchy elastics idea

I wonder what time of the morning I wrote that? Heh. Sometimes the most interesting ideas enter my head in the wee hours.

(So what about a story where the tragedy is that one of them dies and the other eventually settles for another love - that might be both too, if you're left with the impression that the original love will always have a strong hold on them. If you're left with the impression that New Guy will help them get over it all, then I'd say it was more about that transformation, and would be /New Guy... Hmmn, interesting though!)

I haven't read it for ages, but maybe Jane Mailander's Land-Bridge series fits there?

Oookay, what about: -
a) a "true love" before B/D that ends with death. I'd say "like Chances", but there was B/D beforehand so it's not at all true enough as an example (unfortunately I've snapped back to morning brain - or in my case midday brain) and can't think of another. Definitely not those ones where there was someone Bodie loved in Africa, yadda, yadda, who's about as substantial as a ghost as far as the story goes.
b) I've forgotten. Oh, well, I'll post this anyway & might remember before you wake up!

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Going back to the original story (which I feel I need to do because I've been almost taunting you with other thoughts). It's like working with elastics or something stretchy like that. If the story snaps back at the end to B/D only (as Verlaine's did) then it's a B/D story. If it doesn't quite, as in my example, the another pairing is needed?

But then what about Shoshanna's "Never Let Me Down"? Because the thing about that story is that the first bit of elastic isn't stretchy enough, maybe.

[nakeisha.livejournal.com]

He certainly wasn't dead, or else, as you point out and the screen caps show, his face would be covered and the ambulance men would not be taking as much care as they are.

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Exactly! However I've come across several people who insist that he is dead. At least I now have the evidence that shows otherwise :)

[nakeisha.livejournal.com]

You do indeed.

There's no way he was dead when carted off, not at all.

I have to say I too rather like the idea that he survives and goes after Ray . . .

And I thought Ray looked really scrummy in the ep too.

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

PS - did you realise there were 2 polls? There was one to be answered before you looked at the pictures and on for after. Both the same, and I didn't highlight the difference sufficiently so some people thought it was an lj glitch, I fear.

[nakeisha.livejournal.com]

I didn't, no - sorry.

I have now voted in the other one.

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

It's obvious he's not dead at the end of the episode but given that he was shot in the head and the level of medical expertise at that time, I doubt he would survive for long unless it was a graze, which it doesn't really look like.

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

I think even today if you have a penetrating bullet wound direct to the frontal part of the skull at (what looks like) less than 10 metres, even from a handgun, your chances of survival are very low.

If it was a graze, it depends on how much concussive force was delivered to the brain (it can be quite a lot, certainly enough to knock someone out & bash their skull and brain around a lot). However in London medical care was then and is now very good, so any hospital he was taken to would have been able to treat intracranial haemorrhage properly.

I think it does look more like a graze, personally :)

[jaycat92.livejournal.com]

heh, snap! I just watched "Slush Fund" a couple of days ago. Actually I wanted "Kickback", but got the titles mixed up and when I realised "Slush Fund" was the van Niekirk ep, not the Keller ep, I couldn't resist watching it, with a bit of judicious fast forward.

So I voted in your poll based on my impression fresh from watching, and I thought/assumed Bodie shot him dead, instantly. It was a kill or be killed moment, like Franky in "Mixed Doubles", but at closer range, and I wouldn't have expected Bodie to be willing or able to take a non-fatal shot in those circumstances. After that, I didn't notice van Niekerk on the stretcher, since in my mind he was dead.

After having read your case, you've convinced me van Niekerk is alive, simply because his face is left uncovered. I agree that does look like a CI5 man by the ambulance.

From the screencaps it looks as though he was shot in the forehead. The wound is very discreet, but without screencapping, you'd hardly see anything as the scene is so fast.

Now, a fic in which van Niekirk returns for vengeance would be brilliant. Just swot up on your Afrikaans!

(ooh, I've got a "Slush Fund" icon too!)

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Ooh, a very pretty Doyle, too! And glad I've convinced you of something... I think!

Pleas make sure you fill out the "pre" poll first and the "post-poll" with your reactions :) Not that this is scientific or anything, but I think you answered the second one only.

I think the Afrikaans problem is a barrier to a follow-up fic too!

[jaycat92.livejournal.com]

oh sorry, I didn't realise it was pre and post. That was clever of you, and if I had I wouldn't have needed to explain myself...
I would have answered:

"Pre" poll 1. Deadified
"Post" poll 4. Survived and will return. Actually I would have no idea of his chances of survival, but I want to encourage you with that fic.

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I probably didn't draw enough attention to the fact that there were two identical polls. Will count your answer according to your true wishes, ma'am.

I want to encourage you with that fic.

Heh. I'll put it in the queue *coughs*.

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

It was a kill or be killed moment, like Franky in "Mixed Doubles", but at closer range, and I wouldn't have expected Bodie to be willing or able to take a non-fatal shot in those circumstances.

Oh, I certainly agree that he aims to kill, he gets ready for the shot and everything. But even Bodie can't be 100% pin-point accurate every time under combat situations against a moving target. He'd only need to be a fraction off with a headshot.

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

Nice research! I think that Piet wasn't dead when they took him out of the hotel for the reasons you cite. But I don't see how he could survive a bullet wound to the head (as opposed to a graze) from B's gun and be able to function well enough after recovering to take revenge. However, I can't see a lot of difference in your screencaps so I can't really judge how severe the wound is other than to see the top of his head isn't blown off!

Not long ago I read a fairly recent fic by fabiennelady aka doylebaby called Even The Walls Have Ears in which Piet shows up and tries to take revenge on Doyle. I think it went on the Proslib cd in the last 6 months.

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the hint! I found her fic entry here. Will have to go back to read it though, it's waaaaay late for me here *g*.

I think that all I wanted to establish was that he wasn't dead at the end of the episode. After that, it's up to the individual to make their own minds up about the shootout and the extent of his injuries, since there are different possibilities. I'd like to think that people could feel free to use the character without thinking they were going completely against canon , though.

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

In my mind you definitely succeeded in your goal even without the photographic evidence!

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Hahaha! Thanks.

[smirra.livejournal.com]

Well observed! Good news for pros fandom to have reason to make more use of such an attractive villian! I think there are medical possibilities that could have him come back for revenge.

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thank you for you support.

[krisserci5.livejournal.com]

Excellent point! I did think that Neikirk was dead. . . I guess I only have noticed Bodie and Doyle in that scene. I still think he died, but not then. . .obviously. :)

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Oh, fair enough - on both counts! *g* The other bits are easy to miss when you're 'focused' like that, I agree. Took me a few watchings. Thanks for commenting!

[magenta-blue.livejournal.com]

I went for 'he didn't die immediately, he survived and will come looking for revenge at some time in the future' for the entry poll before looking at the post, and my reasons were always fic orientated, as I wouldn't mind him coming back to try and get revenge (he was a rather pretty baddie). But in my heart I prob watched it and presumed he was dead.

Then reading the evidence (nicely done!) and my fic-happy heart jumps with glee. Of course he is not dead and he will come back at some point for revenge! As they did not cover his face, and there is CI5 bloke to ride with him in ambulance, and that means alive, potentially questioning, potentially recovery, and potentially revenge! I retire happy. *g*

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

*g* I always assumed he died before the episode end too, but now I've decided he didn't my mind is whirring... unfortunately that means spinning in place and that's not useful for producing anything coherent - but you never know. And if you get any plot bunnies, go for it - I'll cheer you on!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I'm going to start a whole new comment if that's okay, cos we were getting a bit skinny, there. And sorry I didn't get back yesterday, I got lost in the squee of having finished marking...

I haven't read it for ages, but maybe Jane Mailander's Land-Bridge series fits there?
Yes, I thought about that one, too! I've not read it for ages either though, and actually the reason I haven't is that I don't think of it as a B/D story - it's more a... is it D/M, iirc? I guess it's about Doyle's transition from D/B to D/M, and I guess... because the focus is on Doyle, and he ends up with someone else, I think of it as D/M? So yeah, if I was told it was B/D then I think I'd be disappointed...

Oookay, what about: -
a) a "true love" before B/D that ends with death. I'd say "like Chances", but there was B/D beforehand so it's not at all true enough as an example (unfortunately I've snapped back to morning brain - or in my case midday brain) and can't think of another. Definitely not those ones where there was someone Bodie loved in Africa, yadda, yadda, who's about as substantial as a ghost as far as the story goes.
Hmmn - so if it was a story set in B/D present, but the focus is on the B/true-love-who-died? Like B was thinking about it continually, and his relationship with D was clearly secondary and not as true-love? Again I think it'd come down to focus - if the story is Bodie thinking back to his true love, and Doyle only comes in as a knock on the door at the end, then it's probably B/other really. If the story is Bodie thinking back to his true love, but at the end it's clear that Doyle has come to be his present true love, and that's had a greater effect on Bodie - well, probably B/D and B/O then... Getting closer to the wire there, though! *g*

b) I've forgotten. Oh, well, I'll post this anyway & might remember before you wake up!
Hee - did you remember?

Chances I definitely think of as B/D, because D only left with whatsit cos Bodie rejected him, and it's about them both realising that... Erm... my mind is blank (snafu *g*). Give me another one! Example, not mind. Although... *g*

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

I'm inserting myself into your conversation her to suggest that Gwyneth Rhys' Aftermath might serve as an example of Kiwisue's example a. What do you think?

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Insert away! Except that I must confess, Aftermath is another one that I need to read again, because I can't quite remember... Can you hang on a day or two, while I catch up with it again? And with the Shoshanna fic too...!

ETA - I've just had a look at Aftermath again, and remembered the general gist of it. It's not one that I read very often, not so much because of the D/OF but because of the Americanisms, I'm afraid... things like the idea that it's American journalists who absolutely refuse to divulge a source - there's no reason why Doyle would emphasise American journalists over any other journalists - and look at The Rack. But that's bye the bye... *g*

Good example! I think I'd go with B/D, D/OF for this one, because while the main focus is B/D, the secondary focus of D/OF is pretty strong. And it's absolutely non-comparable ("warnings"-wise) with the story we started off talking about, Room 101 - in Aftermath there's a very strong love described between D/OF, and D effectively rejected Bodie for it (originally). In Room 101 Bodie vaguely considers, in anger, punishing van Neikerk by fucking him, but rejects the taunts because he's sure in his relationship with Doyle. There is no sexual relationship between Bodie and van Neikerk, but there was between Doyle and Gillian. So... yeah... Good example, definitely! *g*

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

I haven't read Aftermath for years mainly because it's such an emotionally wrenching read for me. GW is one of those writers who has a knack for writing that way. I don't recall the Americanisms but perhaps I read it so long ago I wouldn't have noticed as many as I would now. I agree with the pairings you give it.

I haven't read Room 101 so can't really comment on that one.

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

*headdesk* I've been trying to get back here for the last couple of days and failing miserably, so if you've both moved on that's fine.

I like metabolick's example. One of the things that I've been thinking about (and in the process moving away from my original thoughts so I hope the disconnect isn't too bad) is what pairing descriptions provide, and I think that there are divergent opinions about this. Either:
1. Pairing info (I'm steering away from using "warning" in this context) tells us what the story is about - the primary affectual relationships. There's some judgement involved regarding whether relationships, sexual or otherwise, in the story are important enough to include here or not, and that's what we've been discussing for the most part.
Or:
2. Pairing info tells us about the relationships in a story and warns readers about implied or actual connections between characters that might attract or detract from the story depending on the reader's preferences. So although "The White Cloth" is at heart a Bodie/Doyle story, the information about Doyle's relationship with Cowley is given up front as a warning to potential readers.

So I'm good with (1) and see how (2) does act as a spoiler & should be shifted to warnings, if given.

But: I wrote "Roots to Branches" for DIALJ in 2008 & I've always intended to make it a story on 2 levels. I have tinkered with it on and off, but it's still not where I want to be, one part B/D, the other OFC/OFC (Sally/Liz). So would it be spoilerish to list the OFC/OFC?

PS: about to go to bed, because we're on a train trip to Newcastle tomorrow. Probably won't read anything until Sunday.