due South Recs Redux

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