Aftermath, Payment in Kind

[missmalapert.livejournal.com]

Title: Payment in Kind
Author:  mainpudl
Pairing: Ray K./Fraser
Rating: PG-13
Length:  2100 words
Why I'm reccing this fic:  For me the question is always how do Fraser and Ray go from being buddies with UST to lovers? I love a story which convinces me that it's possible for that to happen. This is one of those stories. It's so fresh in its approach and the writing and dialogue sparkle. It's a story about the fine line between lust and anger.

( A brief excerpt )

Payment in Kind

Title:  Aftermath
Author: tx_tart
Pairing: Ray K./Fraser
Rating: NC-17
Length: 3360 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: I love this story because it's clever in it's construction. It has an artful and pleasing plot. The telling is great too. But the story itself has stuck with me. It was the first story I thoughtof when I was thinking back to stories that were new to me in 2006. And I think it's the first story I read that made me believe that Ray and Fraser could have met before the officially met in Season 3.

( A brief except )

Aftermath

Tilt, close enough to the ends of the earth, Some Advantages of Plans A, B and C

[shoemaster.livejournal.com]

There were some EXCELLENT challenges in 2006 so I figured I'd draw my three from three different challenges.

Title: Tilt
Author: elementalv
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Rating: R
Length: Shortish?
Why I'm reccing this fic: The prompt from the getfraserlaid challenge was "Ray K. and Fraser meet in a low-key gay bar" what's not to love? And Ray is the "little sister" of the gay men. <3

( A brief excerpt )

Tilt

Title: close enough to the ends of the earth
Author: lordessrenegade
Pairing: Fraser/Joe Dick/Billy Tallent
Rating: NC-17
Length: 3300 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: For inuvikdotcom. Look at the PAIRING. And it is smoking hot. And it was my challenge

( A brief excerpt )

close enough to the ends of the earth

Title: Some Advantages of Plans A, B, and C
Author: j_s_cavalcante
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Rating: NC-17
Length: 4000 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: This was for the out_of_con_txt challenge. Little 1000 word or less ficlets written in a week... It's four times the fun and so hot. And Ray is all hypothermic blithering and Fraser's all woried...

( A brief excerpt )

Some Advantages of Plans A, B, and C

save your energy, When Night Falls on the City, 736 kilometers (457 miles)

[justbreathe80.livejournal.com]

Title: save your energy (you'll need it in your childbearing years)
Author: etben
Pairing: F/K/V
Rating: NC-17
Length: medium
Why I'm reccing this fic: When I betaed this, I pretty much just flailed all over etben. Because, see, I'm not a HUGE fan of genderfuck, and this is THREESOME genderfuck, but it is hot and perfect and absolutely right. She GETS these guys - gets each one of their voices and everything and it's just perfect and wonderful and fucked up and YAY. Don't let the "threesome genderfuck" thing scare you away. This is well worth it.

( A brief excerpt )

save your energy (you'll need it in your childbearing years


Title: When Night Falls on the City
Author: lordessrenegade
Pairing: F/K/V
Rating: PG-13
Length: short
Why I'm reccing this fic: Okay, I betaed this too, and GOD. I just. I am pretty much constantly in awe of lordessrenegade's ability to take something that SHOULD be cracked out and ridiculous, and turn it into something emotional and heartwrenching and perfect. Every word of this fic is what it should be and where it should be, and it's lovely.

( A brief excerpt )

When Night Falls on the City


Title: 736 kilometers (457 miles)
Author: izzybeth
Pairing: Ray/Ray
Rating: R
Length: medium
Why I'm reccing this fic: I insta-recced this before. Izzy wrote this for the inuvikdotcom challenge, and it's just FABULOUS. Ray and Ray are on a road trip to see Fraser, and they figure out some things along the way. I love the structure of this and the absolutely FLAWLESS dialogue that makes me jealous, and it's just gorgeous. Izzy GETS these guys, and it comes out in every bit of her writing.

( A brief excerpt )

736 kilometers (457 miles)

Southern Exposure, Eight Weeks

[bluebrocade.livejournal.com]

Title: Southern Exposure
Author: the_antichris
Pairing: F/K
Rating: n/a (I rate it PG-13)
Length: ~4,700 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: I love post-CotW F/K with a bit of angst. Add in a Ray who's 1) happy and doing well in Canada, 2) jealous, and 3) curling, and I'm ecstatic. But then you've also got F/K in New Zealand, Ray's choice of t-shirts for Fraser, and just spot-on, perfect Fraser and especially Ray voices--it's an embarrassment of riches!

( A brief excerpt )

I love this fic madly. There's one line in particular towards the end that just KILLS me. Read it. Now!

Southern Exposure


Title: Eight Weeks
Author: zellieh
Pairing: F/K
Rating: 15+
Length: ~2,300 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: Anyone who knows me, knows I have a major discovery!fic kink. This fic is from Barbara's (Ray's mother) point of view. She comes in to do Ray's laundry and makes some interesting observations over eight weeks.

( A brief excerpt )

Eight Weeks

Gloria (The Alias That You've Been Living Under), Chick Habit, Florida

[sansets]

Title: Gloria (The Alias That You've Been Living Under)
Author: china_shop
Pairing: Fraser/Vecchio
Rating: NC-17
Length: medium
Why I'm reccing this fic:

Because never before has a characterization of ANYONE stayed with me as long or been as intriguing to me as this portrayal of Ray Vecchio as a drag queen named Gloria. Because this story knocks me dead EVERY time I read it. Because by reccing this, I get to point you toward the WONDERFUL sequals (at the bottom of the page) written by sageness and china_shop, because this is a whole different 'verse and it is ALL beautiful. Because it is funny and sweet and HOT and just full of wonderful bits and it so much more textured and layered than a story about an improbable drag queen has any right to be. And because, after all is said and done, this is the story that has stuck with me the most out of any story that I've read in the DS fandom this year.

( Quick Sneak Peak )

Gloria (the alias that you've been living under)

Title: Chick Habit
Author: ignazwisdom
Pairing: Frannie/OFC, Frannie/Stella, Frannie/Elaine, Frannie/Thatcher, Frannie/Maggie
Rating: NC-17
Length: 3,400 words
Why I'm reccing this fic:

Let me just state right off the bat that I am in LOVE with ignazwisdom's Frannie. There are very few people whose characterizations of Frannie that I buy, and I am just in absolute AWE of how well she gets Frannie. Even if you don't like femmeslash, read this! (And then let it convert you and learn to love it damn it! *g*) There are just so many things that I love about this story that I don't even know where to begin to tell you about them, excpet that I love all of it so very much that you must read it RIGHT NOW!

( Quick Sneak Peak )

Chick Habit

Title: Florida
Author: brooklinegirl
Pairing: Kowalski/Vecchio
Rating: NC-17
Length: medium
Why I'm reccing this fic:

So let me just start with pointing out that brooklinegirl has the Rays DRUNK DIALING each other. Allow that wonderful senario to sink in for a bit. Then realize that this wonderful senario is only THE TIP OF ICEBERG for why I love this story so much. This is just them, pure and simple. She breaks them and puts them back together again, a little bit broken, but better together than apart.

( Quick Sneak Peak )

Florida

don't fool yourself in thinking, Under the Skin, Te Absolvo

[omphale]

Title: don't fool yourself in thinking
Author: [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]
Pairing: F/K
Rating: PG
Length: 1000 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: There's a grace to this, and a lyricism that I didn't expect from something with so much imposed structure. It reads like a sonnet, almost.

Over and beyond that, it's one of the fics that pulled me into LJ and the fandom here.

( A brief excerpt )

don't fool yourself in thinking


Title: Under the Skin
Author: [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC-17
Length: 8500+ words
Why I'm reccing this fic: Maybe I'm twitchy because it's January, but this has such fantastic atmosphere and then a hot, hot sex scene, that it feels like a break from winter. It's the sex on the horizon like thunderclouds, and the sweetness at the end, and the great characterization. This is evidence, as if any was needed, that [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] is brilliant, and so is [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]

( A brief excerpt )

Under the Skin


Title: Te Absolvo
Author: [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC-17
Length: Shortish
Why I'm reccing this fic: I don't actually have a priest kink. But this made me think that maybe I should.

( A brief excerpt )

Te Absolvo

Right, This Time, Great White Nothing, Dysmas

[nos4a2no9.livejournal.com]

Title: Right, This Time
Author: mrsronweasley
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC-17

Why I'm reccing this fic:

Written for the rayk97s lyric challenge, this story takes a long, hard look at Ray's life as he sees it. He's divorced, approaching middle-age, and he's struggling with his sexuality and a fairly weighty case of the blues. There is a happy ending, but along the way the story deals with the impact of time, the stresses of the job, and the effect too many lonely years can have on even the stoutest heart. I loved the opening metaphor, where the author has Ray compare himself to an old pair of worn and cracked beige slippers. Indeed, this whole story feels fresh, original, and damn compelling. I told mrsronweasly in the comments that I was feeling a bit burned out on F/K first-time fics (which always seem to follow a set pattern of attraction/denial/reconciliation/teh sex) but this story felt like the first one of its kind I'd ever read. It's a standout example of mature, intelligent writing that isn't afraid to acknowledge that growing up is damn hard to do. And, um, it's hot. *nods*

( A brief excerpt )

Right, This Time

Title: Great White Nothing
Author: ignazwisdom
Pairing: F/K
Rating: R

Why I'm reccing this fic: Post-CotW stories seem to fall into two categories: those that look at the happily-ever-after of Ray and Fraser living together in the Northwest Areas, and those that show happily-ever-after isn't possible. Kat Allison's heavily-rec'd End of the Road saga solidified the tropes of this particular sub-genre of it-doesn't-end-well stories, but I think ignazwisdom infuses the situation with a gentle sense of compassion that overrides a lot of the bitterness common to these type of stories. Ray finds out that Fraser is fundamentally alone in a way that echoes the snowy wastelands of his birth; there’s no place for RayK in all that white space, and this story is an exploration of that final irony. It's a very sad read, but after nearly seven years of post-CotW fics, this one manages to make it all feel like the first time even as it breaks our hearts.

( A brief excerpt )

Great White Nothing

Title: Dysmas
Author: troyswann
Pairing: None
Rating: PG

Why I'm reccing this fic: troyswann's body of work in this fandom is small, since I think she's brand-new to dS, but what she lacks in quantity she makes up for in quality. This story is filled to the brim with smart, sharp and beautifully-conceived observations, and her description of the landscape of northern Ontario and a lonely little motel on Highway 67 feel less like scene-setting and more like an excerpt from a standout Canadian novel. This is yet another sad story, an AU told from Ray Vecchio's POV that details a meeting with Fraser years after the events of "Victoria's Secret" changed the lives of both men. It's sad and more than a little disturbing to see what Fraser might have become if he'd boarded that train with Victoria, and troyswann pulls no punches. Have some tissues ready, kids.

( A brief excerpt )

Dysmas