Admin Post: Since You've Been Gone

[justbreathe80.livejournal.com]

Hi! Good morning!

Okay, so for the first post-hiatus challenge here at ds_recsredux, we need to catch up! There have been lots of wonderful fics posted between May 1 (when the last challenge closed) and today. So! Your mission is to rec what we've missed in DS. Any fic posted between May 1 and today is fair game. Tell us what we've missed! Tell us why we should love it!

The challenge will close on Sunday, June 22. Go forth and rec!

Edge of Snow, Migration, Let Be Be Finale of Seem

[nos4a2no9.livejournal.com]

People have been saying that a dS renaissance is underway and I think that's apparent in the quality, brilliancy, depth and, uh, porniness, of the stories that have gone up since May. It's a great idea to run this challenge for two weeks - otherwise we might not be able to fit everything in :-) I'm going to start us off with three beautifully-written stories that pack a big emotional punch. I hope these chilly favourites of mine will be new to a few folks, and that some of you will rediscover these terrific stories.

Title: Edge of Snow
Author: arrow00
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC-17
Length: 9,388

Why I'm reccing this fic:

arrow00 may be relatively new to the fandom (she's been posting since January) but she's already amassed an impressive body of work that ranges from the silly to the sexy to the sublime. I keep returning to her fantastic "Edge of Snow" because it deals with a traumatic sexual experience Fraser went through in a realistic and highly believable way. arrow00 doesn't pull her punches as she explores how Fraser's history impacts his relationship with Ray, nor does she simplify the issue of sexual violation. This story offers a very sharp, complex characterizations of Our Heroes, and I really liked the way arrow00 used Fraser's sexual history to add another wrinkle to his sense of isolation and disconnection from other people.

( A brief excerpt )

Edge of Snow

Title: Migration
Author: troyswann/Salieri
Pairing: F/K (post-CotW)
Rating: PG
Length: 980 words

Why I'm reccing this fic:

When Sal's not out revolutionizing the concept of the sci-fi AU with her fantastic Blade Runner dS story Real Boys (and its equally impressive sequel) she writes smaller, perfect gems that capture and reflect these well-known characters so well that I want to throw my hands up and give up on writing dS altogether, since she's already done everything so well. I love "Migration" for its beautiful, understated scene-setting, and for the subtle way in which the landscape echoes what's going on between Fraser and Ray. Everything is frozen, caught in a moment of hesitation, and this story seems to take place in the breath between moments on an icy lake as Fraser and Ray make their way north. Sal gets bonus points for invoking the Hinterland "Who's Who" theme: anyone who grew up watching the CBC can probably hear that haunting flute solo echo over the lines of this story, which is as perfect in its way as a wave frozen in place during a winter storm.

( A brief excerpt )

Migration

Title: Let Be Be Finale of Seem
Author: spuffyduds
Pairing: Fraser/Victoria, mentions of F/K
Rating: R
Length: 2,700 words

Why I'm reccing this fic:

This one isn't a happy story, although it does have a happy ending (or at least a hopeful one). It begins with Fraser trying and failing to find some kind of physical release in his lonely office. He usually thinks of Victoria (because "what she did was good, felt good, felt wonderful. But he never gets that far, in his remembering. It’s the jolt of terror that puts him over the edge, every time") but that doesn't work, and so he thinks of Ray instead. Which causes him to reevaluate his entire sexual and emotional identity. This isn't a typical Character A-figures-out-he's-gay story, since Spuffy is much more interested in exploring why Fraser shies away from intimacy, love and affection. She offers a fantastic portrait of Ray (who is completely loyal and impatient, just as he should be) and there's a scene of breathless social cruelty in this fic that made my heart break for poor Fraser. I, huh, hope that's a big selling point to you angstmonkeys out there. :-)

( A brief excerpt )

Let Be Be Finale of Seem

Fun and Games, Thursdays, and Untitled F/K Genderfuck

[sansets]

Title: Fun and Games
Author: madsciencechick
Pairing: Frannie/various
Rating: NC-17
Length: 1400 words
Why I'm reccing this fic:

In a word, FRANNIE!! This is my darling Frannie as the writers of Due South would never let her be. Luckily, we have fic to fix that! And this series of 7 double drabbles is just AWESOME. Frannie grows and matures and explores and just has fun and by the end, I defy you to not be just a little bit in love with her.

( A brief excerpt )

Fun and Games


Title: Thursdays
Author: spuffyduds
Pairing: Kowalski/Vecchio
Rating: NC-17
Length: 5,100 words
Why I'm reccing this fic:

*sighs happy sigh* These are my Rays, just how I like them - a little bit broken, a lot bit snarky, and just full of love for each other. spuffyduds warns for dub con, which is normally my one big turn off in a fic, but she just made it work in the context of the story. A little bit edgy, and a little bit tarnished, but just so meant for each other!

( A brief excerpt )

Thursdays


Title: Untitled F/K Genderfuck
Author: llassah
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Rating: NC-17
Length: 2174 words
Why I'm reccing this fic:

Because even over and above my kink for genderfuck, this is SO much more than a PWP. This is a fascinating assessment of the difficulties that an unexpected sex switch would entail. This is Ray Kowalski, freaked as fuck out about being a female, and yet resigned to it enough to think of himself as a female. This story is just ... I've never read anything quite like it before! (Actually, this entire 'verse is just astounding, and this is just the middle! If you want to read the rest, the first story, which is Kowalski/Starbuck, is here and the last story, which is Kowalski/Vecchio, is here.)

( A brief excerpt )

Untitled F/K Genderfuck

The Price of Distance, Nothing But Love, Good Lieutenant

[vsee.livejournal.com]

There have been some great stories that explore character posted in the past few weeks.

Here is a trio that looks at a more calm, mature Ray K post- COTW, Stella, and Welsh.

Title: The Price of Distance
Author: nos4a2no9
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC17
Length: 6476 words

Why I am reccing this story: This is a fresh, original, sometimes heartbreaking post -COTW story. After a period of Ray living with Fraser in Canada, he loses his immigration status and must return to the US. They do their best to remain together while living in two countries. This story follows Ray on a weekend roadtrip to meet Fraser. This story has some of the best descriptive/sensory details I've read in awhile. The threads of travelogue through lonely territory, of angsty romance, and of true love twist together into a very satisfying story.

( A brief excerpt )

The Price of Distance

Title: Nothing but Love
Author: kill_claudio
Pairing: Stella/Ray K
Rating: PG-13
Length: About 1000 words

Why I am reccing this story:
Here is a different, sympathetic take on Stella that I can believe. The author turns many accepted points of fanon sideways, and the new viewpoint is intriguing. She reminds me how much I accept what Ray has said and what Ray-centric authors have reinforced and filled through fic as *real*.


( A brief excerpt )

Nothing but Love


Title:Good Lieutenant
Author: spuffyduds
Pairing: None. Everyone at the station appears.
Rating: PG-13 for language
Length: 750 words

Why I am reccing this story: This is a lighthearted appreciation of Welsh, as shown through a typical day at the station. As always, spuffyduds manages to make me smile, while giving small, keen glimpses of insight into the characters. I became aware of her fic in early April, and she's become one of the authors I return to again and again. She's funny, she's got a great ear for dialogue, and she's always digging up something I've never thought of before about my favorite characters.

( A brief excerpt )

Good Lieutenant