Great Character Voices, Part 1: Fraser
Sep. 30th, 2008 09:55 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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ds_recsreduxHello, I am ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
brynnmck and I have somehow conned the mods into allowing me to guest-rec this week! The theme I've chosen: Great Character Voices. Because while there are all different flavors of great characterization, canon gives us such amazing and distinct voices—for all the characters, but especially the main three—that it gives me extra glee to see those nailed in a fic, whether it's through dialogue or POV or both.
Today I bring you a few recs from the Fraser side of things. I know a lot of people are intimidated about writing Fraser, especially Fraser POV. And in a way it makes sense, because I think the show is set up for the Rays to be the audience viewpoint characters—we're rolling our eyes in exasperation/adoration right along with them, and they're a natural place to go when we sit down to write. Still, I really adore a good Fraser POV; as a writer, it gives you much more poetic license than (either) Ray POV, and while I wouldn't necessarily want to be Fraser 24 hours a day, spending a bit of time in his head and seeing the world in Fraservision is something that makes me incredibly happy, as a writer and a reader.
So: MOAR FRASER POV PLZ. I know it's a bit unorthodox, but I'd like to start by reccingprimroseburrows' ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ds_workshop post on writing Fraser —I found it fascinating, and Prim's ability to provide practical, concrete advice on something as slippery as character voice is something I deeply admire. Check it out!
And now some fic:
Soluble, by Basingstoke (F/V, no rating given, maybe PG-13ish) – Fraser's silence actually speaks quite loudly in this short fic (which is highly appropriate), but the narrative voice is excellent, too; it strikes me that Fraser's voice, in particular, has to do with his unusual thought processes, which are on great display here. Bonus points for a terrific Vecchio voice, and for packing a lot of sweet and sexy punch into a very short fic.
An excerpt:
Fraser opened his eyes as her heard a familiar engine. Oh dear. Ray had come to pick him up ten minutes early.
He could see the shadowy figure inside the car crack the window. "Fraser! Ditch it!"
Fraser couldn't answer. He wasn't allowed to speak or make any acknowledgment. Ray knew that; why did he still try?
"Fraser! Dammit!"
Well, Ray could wait in the car until Fraser's shift was over. It would be an unfortunate inconvenience but one that Fraser could hardly help. He shut his eyes again as wet leaves blew past his face.
A car door slammed and Fraser heard the distinctive sound of Ray grumbling. He opened his eyes. Ray was marching around the car with an enormous black umbrella.
"--think for one damn minute that I'm going to let you stand there like a lump while the sky is falling all over the place and--" Ray startled as thunder cracked the sky again. "If I get hit by lightning I'm suing Canada!" he shouted at the upper floor of the building.
Counting the Ways, byjoandarck (F/V, rated PG) – I adore this fic beyond words. Not only is the Fraser POV fantastic (he writes Ray a sestina! in GREEK! ♥), but the entire fic is just relentlessly adorable and hot, so incredibly hot for a PG-rated fic. A brilliant twist on the usually angsty "we must hide our love!" trope, and the way Joan weaves the first-rush-of-love goofiness in with Fraser's highly rational voice is fabulous.
An excerpt:
It was a fine day on the sidewalk outside the 27th precinct, but that was nothing to the sheer beauty that was the bullpen. The vibrant colours and complex planes of the walls posed a perfect counterpoint to the symphony of interconnecting human beings, weaving around each other and shouting like a flock of waterfowl at sunset. Even gravity seemed to be taking a partial holiday as Benton Fraser made his way across the room to a certain desk by a certain wall that, despite the many similar installations all around it, was clearly superior.
As was its occupant.
"Ray," Fraser said, remembering his hat a moment too late and then removing it to hold at his chest.
Sign Language, bysdwolfpup (second part here) (F/V, rated R) – This is one of my very favorite dS fics, and I've recced it a million times, and I will very happily rec it again. SDW has a gift for the cadence and poetry of Fraser's POV, and her Vecchio voice is tremendous, too (I think of "What are you going to do to Jesus?" ALL THE TIME when I think of Vecchio), and when combined with the just-wacky-enough plot, the fic reads exactly like an episode… only there's bonus sexing. \o/ BEST EVER.
An excerpt:
Fraser sniffed his own hand thoughtfully, then tasted the liquid that had beaded up. "It certainly tastes like water." He took the few steps to get to Ray and grabbed his hand. Their eyes met for a moment before Ray looked away. Fraser sniffed and tasted again. A little salty, but that was likely from sweat. Cool and similar to the way his lips had tasted earlier. "Yours tastes like water as well"
Ray yanked his hand away and gripped his knees again. "Great. Now you can add me to your list of Gross Things You've Licked."
"On the contrary, Ray, you taste quite nice.” Fraser’s face suddenly felt hot. My God, was he blushing? He wasn’t sixteen. Fraser went to tug at his collar but remembered he had none. “Most humans have a fairly palatable natural taste."
"You've done that a lot?"
Fraser remembered the taste of fingers on his tongue, cold inside the heat of his mouth. "Just once." He shook his head and returned to his examination of the grate. "It's too small for us to get through."
"I could have told you that." Behind him, Fraser heard Ray shift, and then sigh. "So we've got no clothes, we're soaking wet, there's no door in this tiny little room as far as we can tell, and the vent is too small for anyone except very large rats."
"That would be a correct assessment of our situation, Ray."
"Well thank you, Benny. I'm glad that I appropriately understand just how screwed we are." Ray shifted again. "You think they did this?"
Fraser scanned the ceiling, certain that the entry must be there. He'd checked all the walls and the floor several times already, and the room was too small to have missed anything. "They must have.” He glanced at Ray, saw the first signs of that panicked energy making his limbs twitch. To distract him, Fraser said, “Let’s run through what we remember before waking up."
And I'll Believe Thee, byjoandarck (F/V, rated G) – I think this fic actually made me swoon (off-sides use of Shakespeare, Joan!). And it could go equally well under the "great Vecchio voice" category, but I'm putting it under the Fraser section because of the glorious lines: "He'd broken a rule. Maybe love always was associated with some form of transgression. Maybe that was its nature." which is one of my favorite moments in a dS fic ever, and so beautifully Fraser it makes me want to cry. Lovely, lovely, lovely fic.
An excerpt:
Ray tipped his head back and squinted up at Fraser. "Swear not by the moon. He's a lying jerkface. You gonna invite me in?"
"Oh, of course. Please come in. Here, let me –" He reached down to steady Ray as he pulled himself up off the metal bars and clambered over the windowsill, offered Ray his hand. Ray took it, palm hot and dry, and they closed on each other as Fraser prepared to pull.
"Huh. Palm to palm..." Ray said.
Fraser gave him an odd look. "Is holy palmer's..." he pulled Ray up into the room, and they sagged together for a moment. "Kiss."
It was a long moment.
Upon the Feast of Stephen bykormantic (F/V, rated NC-17) – This dual-POV fic boasts a delightful Vecchio voice, but because great Fraser POV is so hard to find, I'm categorizing it there (and there is genius Bob Fraser voice, too, OMG). Kormantic extends Fraser's gift for understatement even to his inner monologue, and it's tremendously fun… and of course it's even more fun when he gets caught up in the moment. *g* Plus, though it's a Christmas-themed fic, it's a perfect sexy, cozy fall (in this hemisphere) read.
An excerpt:
Ray *was* wearing a knitted watchcap in charcoal wool, that complemented the fawn of his jacket quite nicely. Fraser had always liked it; not only was a hat a wise concession to the chill Chicago winter, he also found the cap lent Ray a certain unexpected... appeal.
"At least the Yank has sense enough to cover his head. Which is more than I can say for you."
Fraser beetled his brows and consulted the ‘Coca Cola' thermometer someone had thoughtfully glued to the column by the stairs to the Vecchio home.
"Dad," he said reprovingly. "It's 45 degrees."
"What's that in Centigrade?" Before Fraser could answer, his father had moved on. "Americans, " he complained. "Always dragging their feet. What's so difficult about the Metric System, I ask?"
Fraser Senior stepped aside as Ray brushed past.
"Lemme back this baby out of the drive way, huh, Benny?"
"Sure thing, Ray."
"He's got the narrow skull of a blackfooted weasel, son," Fraser Senior intoned conversationally.
His son gave him a look of plain reproach. "Would you mind keeping your comments to yourself? Besides, I find Ray's features to be... well," he paused, considering. "Aerodynamic."
"The man's bald as an egg," his father pointed out. "You'd have to."
At last, Ray's green 1971 Buick Riviera was purring at the curb. With a long-suffering sigh, Fraser gave his father a final quelling glance and climbed into his friend's car.
The Art of Far and Near, bychina_shop (F/V, rated PG) – This fic honestly had me at "Fraser and Vecchio and a kitten." But for all the adorableness inherent in that premise, china injects just enough of that good dS wackiness and emotional grounding to keep things from getting saccharine. I love china's Vecchio in this, but I'm most impressed with what a lovely job she does with Fraser's sense of humor, and how she combines his analytical nature with his depth of feeling in a way that feels exactly right.
An excerpt:
"What's going on?" Fraser asked.
Ray led Fraser around the side of the house. "I lost Frida Kahlo."
"You lost Frida Kahlo?" repeated Fraser, baffled. Ray turned back to look at him, to explain, and Fraser found himself distracted by the fact that Ray had forgotten his hat. He itched to at least pull up Ray’s scarf over his ears to compensate, but he found himself unable to make the move. It was possible that this Frida Kahlo emergency was a diversion, that Ray was having second thoughts regarding their evening plans. Plans that, while not explicitly a date, certainly bore many of the hallmarks of one. Innuendo had been exchanged, and while Fraser was no expert in the subject, he thought he'd seen acknowledgement, acceptance even in Ray's--
"Fraser, did you hear me?" Ray asked impatiently. "Or are you communing with the Ghost of Winters Past again? Come on. We find Frida, and then we can go inside and get warm." He clapped his gloved hands together and then rubbed his ears.
So those are a few of my favorite Fraser-tastic fics. Please link to some of yours in the comments! (As a side note: if anyone's got Fraser-POV F/V/K recs, PLEASE speak up. One of my greatest joys, and quite a rare beast, considering the logistical difficulties. *g*)
brynnmck and I have somehow conned the mods into allowing me to guest-rec this week! The theme I've chosen: Great Character Voices. Because while there are all different flavors of great characterization, canon gives us such amazing and distinct voices—for all the characters, but especially the main three—that it gives me extra glee to see those nailed in a fic, whether it's through dialogue or POV or both.Today I bring you a few recs from the Fraser side of things. I know a lot of people are intimidated about writing Fraser, especially Fraser POV. And in a way it makes sense, because I think the show is set up for the Rays to be the audience viewpoint characters—we're rolling our eyes in exasperation/adoration right along with them, and they're a natural place to go when we sit down to write. Still, I really adore a good Fraser POV; as a writer, it gives you much more poetic license than (either) Ray POV, and while I wouldn't necessarily want to be Fraser 24 hours a day, spending a bit of time in his head and seeing the world in Fraservision is something that makes me incredibly happy, as a writer and a reader.
So: MOAR FRASER POV PLZ. I know it's a bit unorthodox, but I'd like to start by reccing
primroseburrows' ds_workshop post on writing Fraser —I found it fascinating, and Prim's ability to provide practical, concrete advice on something as slippery as character voice is something I deeply admire. Check it out!And now some fic:
Soluble, by Basingstoke (F/V, no rating given, maybe PG-13ish) – Fraser's silence actually speaks quite loudly in this short fic (which is highly appropriate), but the narrative voice is excellent, too; it strikes me that Fraser's voice, in particular, has to do with his unusual thought processes, which are on great display here. Bonus points for a terrific Vecchio voice, and for packing a lot of sweet and sexy punch into a very short fic.
An excerpt:
Fraser opened his eyes as her heard a familiar engine. Oh dear. Ray had come to pick him up ten minutes early.
He could see the shadowy figure inside the car crack the window. "Fraser! Ditch it!"
Fraser couldn't answer. He wasn't allowed to speak or make any acknowledgment. Ray knew that; why did he still try?
"Fraser! Dammit!"
Well, Ray could wait in the car until Fraser's shift was over. It would be an unfortunate inconvenience but one that Fraser could hardly help. He shut his eyes again as wet leaves blew past his face.
A car door slammed and Fraser heard the distinctive sound of Ray grumbling. He opened his eyes. Ray was marching around the car with an enormous black umbrella.
"--think for one damn minute that I'm going to let you stand there like a lump while the sky is falling all over the place and--" Ray startled as thunder cracked the sky again. "If I get hit by lightning I'm suing Canada!" he shouted at the upper floor of the building.
Counting the Ways, by
joandarck (F/V, rated PG) – I adore this fic beyond words. Not only is the Fraser POV fantastic (he writes Ray a sestina! in GREEK! ♥), but the entire fic is just relentlessly adorable and hot, so incredibly hot for a PG-rated fic. A brilliant twist on the usually angsty "we must hide our love!" trope, and the way Joan weaves the first-rush-of-love goofiness in with Fraser's highly rational voice is fabulous.An excerpt:
It was a fine day on the sidewalk outside the 27th precinct, but that was nothing to the sheer beauty that was the bullpen. The vibrant colours and complex planes of the walls posed a perfect counterpoint to the symphony of interconnecting human beings, weaving around each other and shouting like a flock of waterfowl at sunset. Even gravity seemed to be taking a partial holiday as Benton Fraser made his way across the room to a certain desk by a certain wall that, despite the many similar installations all around it, was clearly superior.
As was its occupant.
"Ray," Fraser said, remembering his hat a moment too late and then removing it to hold at his chest.
Sign Language, by
sdwolfpup (second part here) (F/V, rated R) – This is one of my very favorite dS fics, and I've recced it a million times, and I will very happily rec it again. SDW has a gift for the cadence and poetry of Fraser's POV, and her Vecchio voice is tremendous, too (I think of "What are you going to do to Jesus?" ALL THE TIME when I think of Vecchio), and when combined with the just-wacky-enough plot, the fic reads exactly like an episode… only there's bonus sexing. \o/ BEST EVER.An excerpt:
Fraser sniffed his own hand thoughtfully, then tasted the liquid that had beaded up. "It certainly tastes like water." He took the few steps to get to Ray and grabbed his hand. Their eyes met for a moment before Ray looked away. Fraser sniffed and tasted again. A little salty, but that was likely from sweat. Cool and similar to the way his lips had tasted earlier. "Yours tastes like water as well"
Ray yanked his hand away and gripped his knees again. "Great. Now you can add me to your list of Gross Things You've Licked."
"On the contrary, Ray, you taste quite nice.” Fraser’s face suddenly felt hot. My God, was he blushing? He wasn’t sixteen. Fraser went to tug at his collar but remembered he had none. “Most humans have a fairly palatable natural taste."
"You've done that a lot?"
Fraser remembered the taste of fingers on his tongue, cold inside the heat of his mouth. "Just once." He shook his head and returned to his examination of the grate. "It's too small for us to get through."
"I could have told you that." Behind him, Fraser heard Ray shift, and then sigh. "So we've got no clothes, we're soaking wet, there's no door in this tiny little room as far as we can tell, and the vent is too small for anyone except very large rats."
"That would be a correct assessment of our situation, Ray."
"Well thank you, Benny. I'm glad that I appropriately understand just how screwed we are." Ray shifted again. "You think they did this?"
Fraser scanned the ceiling, certain that the entry must be there. He'd checked all the walls and the floor several times already, and the room was too small to have missed anything. "They must have.” He glanced at Ray, saw the first signs of that panicked energy making his limbs twitch. To distract him, Fraser said, “Let’s run through what we remember before waking up."
And I'll Believe Thee, by
joandarck (F/V, rated G) – I think this fic actually made me swoon (off-sides use of Shakespeare, Joan!). And it could go equally well under the "great Vecchio voice" category, but I'm putting it under the Fraser section because of the glorious lines: "He'd broken a rule. Maybe love always was associated with some form of transgression. Maybe that was its nature." which is one of my favorite moments in a dS fic ever, and so beautifully Fraser it makes me want to cry. Lovely, lovely, lovely fic.An excerpt:
Ray tipped his head back and squinted up at Fraser. "Swear not by the moon. He's a lying jerkface. You gonna invite me in?"
"Oh, of course. Please come in. Here, let me –" He reached down to steady Ray as he pulled himself up off the metal bars and clambered over the windowsill, offered Ray his hand. Ray took it, palm hot and dry, and they closed on each other as Fraser prepared to pull.
"Huh. Palm to palm..." Ray said.
Fraser gave him an odd look. "Is holy palmer's..." he pulled Ray up into the room, and they sagged together for a moment. "Kiss."
It was a long moment.
Upon the Feast of Stephen by
kormantic (F/V, rated NC-17) – This dual-POV fic boasts a delightful Vecchio voice, but because great Fraser POV is so hard to find, I'm categorizing it there (and there is genius Bob Fraser voice, too, OMG). Kormantic extends Fraser's gift for understatement even to his inner monologue, and it's tremendously fun… and of course it's even more fun when he gets caught up in the moment. *g* Plus, though it's a Christmas-themed fic, it's a perfect sexy, cozy fall (in this hemisphere) read.An excerpt:
Ray *was* wearing a knitted watchcap in charcoal wool, that complemented the fawn of his jacket quite nicely. Fraser had always liked it; not only was a hat a wise concession to the chill Chicago winter, he also found the cap lent Ray a certain unexpected... appeal.
"At least the Yank has sense enough to cover his head. Which is more than I can say for you."
Fraser beetled his brows and consulted the ‘Coca Cola' thermometer someone had thoughtfully glued to the column by the stairs to the Vecchio home.
"Dad," he said reprovingly. "It's 45 degrees."
"What's that in Centigrade?" Before Fraser could answer, his father had moved on. "Americans, " he complained. "Always dragging their feet. What's so difficult about the Metric System, I ask?"
Fraser Senior stepped aside as Ray brushed past.
"Lemme back this baby out of the drive way, huh, Benny?"
"Sure thing, Ray."
"He's got the narrow skull of a blackfooted weasel, son," Fraser Senior intoned conversationally.
His son gave him a look of plain reproach. "Would you mind keeping your comments to yourself? Besides, I find Ray's features to be... well," he paused, considering. "Aerodynamic."
"The man's bald as an egg," his father pointed out. "You'd have to."
At last, Ray's green 1971 Buick Riviera was purring at the curb. With a long-suffering sigh, Fraser gave his father a final quelling glance and climbed into his friend's car.
The Art of Far and Near, by
china_shop (F/V, rated PG) – This fic honestly had me at "Fraser and Vecchio and a kitten." But for all the adorableness inherent in that premise, china injects just enough of that good dS wackiness and emotional grounding to keep things from getting saccharine. I love china's Vecchio in this, but I'm most impressed with what a lovely job she does with Fraser's sense of humor, and how she combines his analytical nature with his depth of feeling in a way that feels exactly right.An excerpt:
"What's going on?" Fraser asked.
Ray led Fraser around the side of the house. "I lost Frida Kahlo."
"You lost Frida Kahlo?" repeated Fraser, baffled. Ray turned back to look at him, to explain, and Fraser found himself distracted by the fact that Ray had forgotten his hat. He itched to at least pull up Ray’s scarf over his ears to compensate, but he found himself unable to make the move. It was possible that this Frida Kahlo emergency was a diversion, that Ray was having second thoughts regarding their evening plans. Plans that, while not explicitly a date, certainly bore many of the hallmarks of one. Innuendo had been exchanged, and while Fraser was no expert in the subject, he thought he'd seen acknowledgement, acceptance even in Ray's--
"Fraser, did you hear me?" Ray asked impatiently. "Or are you communing with the Ghost of Winters Past again? Come on. We find Frida, and then we can go inside and get warm." He clapped his gloved hands together and then rubbed his ears.
So those are a few of my favorite Fraser-tastic fics. Please link to some of yours in the comments! (As a side note: if anyone's got Fraser-POV F/V/K recs, PLEASE speak up. One of my greatest joys, and quite a rare beast, considering the logistical difficulties. *g*)
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no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 11:17 pm (UTC)Fraser POV is awesome when it's done right. I'll definitely be looking for some of my favourites to rec (probably at work tonight if and when it's quiet).
Also, thank you so much for reccing my post--IIRC I wrote it very very late at night and I wasn't even sure if I made sense or not. I'm glad people are getting something out of it.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 12:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 05:06 pm (UTC)It's Vecchio that skeers me, actually. I need to find good meta on writing Vecchio (this might exist--I miss things all the time).
It makes me feel really good that people get something out of the post because I love writing stuff like that but I usually angst plenty about it after it's posted (actually, this is true of most stuff I write).
no subject
Date: 2008-10-02 02:14 am (UTC)And I really loved that post; thank you for posting it!
no subject
Date: 2008-10-02 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 12:39 pm (UTC)Of course I have to go to work right now, but I do want to add some recs here. Well-done Fraser POV really is a thing of beauty.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-02 02:15 am (UTC)