DS Recs Redux

DS Match Fic: Watchman

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:31:05 GMT

Title: Watchman
Author: to be revealed
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski/Vecchio
Rating: G
Length: 3,100 words
Why I'm reccing this fic:

I love outsider!pov, I love Welsh and I love slice-of-life stories. This has it all. Great character voices, for all of them, but especially for Welsh, and wonderful character moments. There's humor, and warmth and Frannie, a grown-up Frannie.

“I just - I thought it would work. That it’d all be okay, you know, like some sort of fairy tale.” She stands there, hands clasped in front of her, chin jutted out, a mixture of defiance and sadness.
The realization that he has no idea what to say to her, how to tell her why her brother will never have anything like a fairy tale makes him feel old and more jaded than he’s ever wanted to be. “Miss Vecchio, eventually a man gets bored of bowling.”

“I wanted him to - to get old, bowling. To be, uh, bowling somewhere safe, for the rest of his life.”

He can’t comfort her, but maybe she doesn’t need it. “There’s always baseball,” he tells her instead, keeping his face deadpan. The laugh is startled out of her, a little. Her eyes light up. He’s too damn old for this, too. She leaves his office with her back straight. He smiles when he’s sure no one is looking.

Watchman

DS Match Fic: I Am a Man Upon the Land

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:56:23 GMT

Title: I Am a Man Upon the Land
Author: to be revealed
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Rating: PG-13
Length: 13,000 words
Why I'm reccing this fic:

There are many ways a story can impress me. This one does it at first glance through its language. It has enough poetry to be lyrical and enough prose to not be flowery. It flows and ebbs, and I was so captivated I didn't know I was reading. I slipped into Fraser's head.
Fraser is so very much himself. His longing and need is clearly visible without becoming overbearing, I could practically taste it. I love how he views Ray, how we see him through Fraser's eyes.

But then there is the story itself, the plot. Interesting take on an old theme, with the touch of due South to make it specific, and not just generic. I loved its pacing and the slow and steady build-up. And I loved how Fraser and Ray's story was interwoven with the story of the selky.

The sled passed over the snow with a near-silent whoosh, though an enthusiastic yip broke the stillness from time to time. The pace was slow and easy, since Ray was still learning. Fraser followed on his skis, keeping one eye on nine cheerfully wagging tails and the other on Ray. Critically, he gauged his partner's balance, his handling of the bulky sled, the shouted orders that directed the dogs along a safe and accurate path. Ray stood loose-limbed and relaxed, radiating a confidence it had taken only days to develop.
A confidence Fraser was sorely lacking, though of an entirely different type and for completely different reasons.

I Am a Man Upon the Land

DS Match Fic: Suicide is Painless

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:36:59 GMT

Title: Suicide is Painless
Author: Member of Team Reality
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski, Kowalski/Stella
Rating: R
Length: 16,600
Why I'm reccing this fic: Fabulous characterization AND a solid, interesting case. It's like the best combo meal ever. Fraser, Kowalski, Stella, and the more minor characters all ring very true, not just in dialogue but in thought and action. It's just the right length and rolls along smoothly, with a punch of drama and action at the end.

I'm numb, have been since I got the call, so I don't freak out. I'm a cop, can't afford to—I've been here before. Still, something in the back of my head's registering that rusty old swingset, which probably the kids think they're too old to go on, except for maybe the lazy summer afternoons when you're lonely and half-crazy over some girl and you don't care where she flirts with you, so long as you get that little smile over her shoulder. Something in the back of my head's thinking, fuck, this wasn't supposed to happen.

DS Match Fic: Notes on the Impossibility of Nirvana

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:27:47 GMT

Title: Notes on the Impossibility of Nirvana
Author: to be revealed
Pairing: Fraser/Vecchio
Rating: PG-13
Length: 3,700 words
Why I'm reccing this fic:

This fic has one disadvantage, imho: Being posted as contribution of Team Whimsey it lets the reader automatically assume that Fraser's powers are real. It is however entirely possible that it might be only in his head. It has a fascinating ambiguity, and Fraser here seems not the most reliable narrator.

Whatever the case, this story is frightfully haunting and it chilled me to the bone. Poor, poor Fraser, denying himself the humanity and joy of desire to not put others in danger, strangling himself and repressing everything into duty.
And what might happen if Fraser weren't Fraser, if his morals were less than they are?

Thankfully RayV's snark and humor safe this story from stumbling into an angst fest. I love how RayV's voice sets a counterpoint in feeling and theme to Fraser's.

I love the idea, and I love the execution, and while it stands on its own I'd love the see more of this.

In spite of the considerable time and effort I have devoted to the study of Theravada Buddhism, I am forced to acknowledge that I have failed to achieve enlightenment and it seems that I am fated never so to do. I fear that Buddhism and my curse are inimical. With hindsight, I see that it was a ridiculous ambition for someone whose very nature is desire to seek a life free from passion and need. I have wondered from time to time if there is not a philosophical conundrum for all students of the Buddhist tradition in the desire for an absence of desire, but I suspect this is a regrettable instance of ‘sour grapes’ on my part.

“Benny, not the window! I’ll call it in and…”

Too late. Ray could see Fraser was nearly at street level already, his descent slowed to a safe speed as he tore through four projecting canopies on the way down. Ray figured he’d be driving back here later when Fraser insisted on apologizing in person for the property damage. He paused long enough to watch Fraser leap to his feet and start running after the nuns, then headed for the stairs. Back at the Riv he called Dispatch and then set off in pursuit of Fraser. He really didn’t get why the Mountie had to risk his neck like that: even the local uniforms should be able to spot a bunch of transvestite nuns in a yellow convertible with daisies painted on the hood.

“Oh, Fraser! No!” He caught a flash of red on yellow and swerved right. Yeah, there was Fraser, like some kind of Mountie octopus, spread-eagled on the back of the car while one of the nuns hammered at his fingers with a stuffed marmoset. At that speed it was really going to hurt if Fraser came off. On the other hand, it would take more than a piece of smuggled taxidermy to make the Mountie lose his grip.

Notes on the Impossibility of Nirvana

DS Match Fic: I am A Man Upon the Land

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:44:00 GMT

Title: I am A Man Upon the Land
Author: TBA
Pairing:Fraser/Kowalski
Rating: PG-13
Length: 13,000 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: I've always enjoyed tent-fic. This started off as a fine example of the genre, with Fraser watching and yearning as Ray adapted to the Arctic conditions. Then Fraser started to tell a story, one that was mysteriously important to him, and I was captivated. As Fraser shares this story with Ray, his voice is transformed from the everday to the poetic, the sacred.

Go. Read. Experience.

The sky darkened as the ship hove into view, blown off course by a wind that was not natural but an element enslaved, goaded into hostility at the bidding of its mistress. Clouds that should have been rent asunder instead congealed into a dank, suffocating grey band spread thick toward the horizon. On the surface of the sea, harmless whitecaps whipped into churning waves that reared up high before crashing down in an explosion of spray and foam.

I Am a Man Upon the Land

DS Match Fic: Lift

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:14:20 GMT

Title: Lift
Author: to be revealed
Pairing: Kowalski/Vecchio, Fraser/Kowalski/Vecchio
Rating: R
Length: 6,200 words
Why I'm reccing this fic:

Team Reality opened the game with an intriguing, gritty and plotty story. I enjoyed reading
The Harder They Fall, a lot. It has great character voices and I felt for both of them. I loved how it felt real with real life problems. It's well worth your time. I know I'm going to re-visit it.

So, I can see you scratching your head, why do I rec Lift? Because I fell head over heels in love with it. I love their voices. I love RayV, for me the mile stone of characterization. I can buy a lot of RayKs and Frasers, but RayV is special. This is so an intriguing view on him, I want to know more.

And I love the rest of the story too. The plot, the theme, the humor and the angst. It's all seamlessly weaved together into one beautiful story. I've already read it twice and I know I'm going to re-read it, and re-read it...

Even though Ray isn’t looking forward to the very weird conversation that’s coming up, it’s a relief when Vecchio finally hammers on his door and yells, “Kowalski? You in there? You okay?” Because by that point he’s been sitting around the apartment for hours unable to do much of anything, and mostly keeping his eyes closed—it’s a little less upsetting that way.

The phone rang over and over, and the answering machine picked up and picked up, and he listened to a snippy where-are-you message from Frannie and a pissed-off where-are-you message from Welsh, and then a worried where-are-you? message from Frannie. Then a really pissed-off one from Welsh, but Ray knew by now that that was how Welsh did worried. He briefly considered knocking the phone receiver off the unit with his face and trying to talk, but—no.

And then apparently somebody phoned Vecchio, who wasn’t scheduled to be in this morning; and, being Vecchio, he didn’t call Ray—he just showed up.

Lift

DS Match Fic: The Harder They Fall

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:26:12 GMT

Nervously delurking to rec the first fic by Team Reality because it's just that good.

Title: The Harder They Fall
Author: Member of Team Reality
Pairing:Fraser/Kowalski
Rating:NC-17
Length:22,500
Why I'm reccing this fic: For many reasons
1. It is beautifully written in a way that makes you feel every moment of it. The language is just gorgeous.
2. One of my favorite types of fic is hurt/comfort where Fraser is hurt, and this is a wonderful example of that.
3. It was written for Team Reality, and it absolutely celebrates reality. Reality is scary and messy and imperfect. Ray and Fraser are all of these things, and that is what makes them so beautiful. They get hurt, they make mistakes, there is distance and anger and regret. But most importantly there is love. And there is nothing better than love that can survive reality. I want this to be there future pain and imperfection and all.
4. It's also really funny in places.

Fraser had been different in the six months since the accident. He spent a lot of time staring off into space, thinking about whatever deep things people with brains bigger than Ray's thought about. Ray didn't want to ask. His intuition was telling him that maybe Fraser was thinking about that talk they'd had, about being too old for the job. If Fraser was thinking about leaving him, Ray didn't want to hear it.

Sometimes Fraser got so lost wherever he went that he didn't even notice when Ray said his name. Ray found himself doing stuff he knew would irritate the hell out of Fraser, like snapping his fingers in front of his face. It was almost comforting when Fraser finally grabbed his hand one day and pushed him away with a little more force than was, strictly speaking, necessary.

Yet, for all of that, Ray was comfortable. As long as Fraser was there, nothing had changed. Then, when Ray least expected it, everything did.

The Harder They Fall

dS Match Recvitational

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:55:15 GMT

Hello all you starry-eyed reccers out there!

As most of you probably know, the due South Match competition begins today over at ds_flashfiction. Over the next two weeks, 28 stories will be posted and presented for your judgement. You can vote for your favourite Team Reality or Team Whimsy story, and provide the anonymous author with feedback. Since we here at ds_recsredux are, um, invested in the Match, we wanted to take things a step further. The last week of August and most of September is dS Match Month here at dS Recs, and we'll be running a little contest of our own.

From today until the end of September you can rec your favourite Match stories from the current challenge. Post a rec per day. Post recs sets at the end of each week. Give us a running commentary on the stories as they go up. Debate the merits of each Reality and Whimsy story. Speculate on author identity. Tell us why a particular fic worked for you, and let everyone in the fandom know why they might want to read it, too.

After the winner of the Match is announced *cough Team Reality cough* and the author names are revealed, you'll have an extra week to post your story recs. We'll close the Match Recvitational Challenge on Sunday, September 8th. And the top three reccers (aka those who posted the most story recs) will win a fabulous prize!

Potential prizes include a podfic recording of your choice, snippets, ficlets or a short story, fannish artwork, song mixes, vids, icons or banners, or beta services/concrit feedback for your own stories. We're still sorting out the prize donation system, so watch this space for more details.

So, if posting some recs, talking about the Match fics and winning a SPECTACULAR PRIZE appeals to you, we hope you'll consider participating!

dS Match Recvitational Rules

1. Current Match participants (those who have written stories for the contest, or served as a backup writer) are not eligible to participate in the recs contest. After the Match is over and the author names are revealed, however, participants are more than welcome to post recs.

2. You can post as few or as many recs as you like. Top reccers will be awarded a prize, and we also hope to offer participation prizes for everyone who posts a rec. This is a great way to get involved, and so even if you've never recommended a story before, I hope you'll give it a shot. Fandom needs you!

3. To avoid a single story being recced over and over by various people, we ask that no story be recced more than 3 times. If you read a Match story you absolutely love, please race on over here and tell us all about it! Don't hesitate, or someone else will rec it first!

4. Your rec should follow the formatting guidelines of ds_recsredux (including headers and LJ-cuts, a description of which you can find on the community profile page). We also ask that you try to make your recs as substantial as possible. A one-sentence explanation for why you liked each fic is fine, but we hope you'll say a bit more about the story and why you feel it's worth reccing/voting for. Because the Match is anonymous and there is an instant voting system tied into it, writers don't receive a lot of feedback for their Match stories. Both teams have worked incredibly hard on their fics, and your rec is a chance to get people talking about the story. It's a great boost for authors, so don't be afraid to go into detail about why you think the story is the bee's knees :-)

5. Have fun! We're all here because we love to read, so enjoy yourself!

Good luck in the first Recvitational! Please pimp this contest in your journal, and spread the word about the Match!

Admin post--Closing August Challenges, Upcoming Challenge

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:23:48 GMT

Hi reccers and rec-readers! Thank you to everyone who participated in this month's Triple Hankie Challenge and Faux Phallus Challenge. Amensty Week is now officially closed.

You'll have a few days to gear up and polish your reading glasses. Then we're on to our first DS Match Recvitational! Thanks to the lovely folk at ds_flashfiction, Match stories for Teams Reality and Whimsy will begin posting soon. And when they do, YOU get to let us know what you think!

So enjoy your rec holiday, and hope to see you here soon. Watch this space for more details...

Triple Hankie Challenge: The Art of Losing, Safe House, Hanging

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:01:38 GMT

Reccing is hard. I always feel like everyone else will have read what I want to rec, but here goes anyway.

Title: The Art of Losing
Author: china_shop
Pairing: Vecchio/various
Rating: NC-17
Length: 20k
Why I'm reccing this fic: nos4a2no9 recorded this as a podfic (right click and download), and I foolishly downloaded it and listened without reading any summary. I ended up with tears running down my face on the bus.

Sometimes angsty stories can feel emotionally manipulative, like they're deliberately designed to wring the tears out of me, but this one felt just like life is sometimes. I mean, shit happens. Relationships fail and are broken. And, oh, the poem at the end. That's where I cried the hardest.

The Art of Losing

Title: Safe House
Author: keerawa
Pairing: K/V
Rating: NC-17
Length: 4000 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: This is a remarkable story. Very dark, but I thought it was entirely plausible. It's written from a completely external POV--it lays out what happens, and leaves the emotional reactions to you. I felt so much for Vecchio and Kowalski here. They both do what they have to do so that Vecchio will survive being undercover, and it kind of breaks them both.

Safe House

Title: Hanging
Author: akamine_chan
Pairing: F/K
Rating: R
Length: 250 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: This story isn't angsty in the sense that it made me cry, but more in the sense that it made my heart beat faster with fear and adrenaline pump through my veins. It's the kind of fic that uses the short format very effectively, and the details are chosen in a way that makes it vivid and immediate.

Hanging

Amensty Week

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:48:27 GMT

Okay, it's that time of the month! The floor is now open for all your delicious recs for both the Triple Hankie Challenge AND the Faux Phallus Challenge. Bring on your angst *and* your porn! We love that. You have until next Monday.

Faux Phallus Challenge: Rationale, Foreign Territory

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:47:14 GMT

Title: Rationale
Author: Geekwriter
Pairing: Fraser/Fraser's right hand, with a side of fantasized F/K
Rating: NC-17
Length: 2000 words

Why I'm reccing this fic: Fraser is wound tight as they come, which makes for an interesting challenge when writing sex from his POV. Geekwriter nails it, as Fraser manages to convince himself that he's engaging in certain activities because he's thrifty. Watching the walls come down as he loses control is hot like burning.

Link to the story: Rationale

Fraser stretched back out on his cot, allowed his hand to rest lightly on his stomach. If his fingers moved over the soft cotton of his t-shirt, surely it was only because he had a slight itch just over his third rib. And another on his collarbone. And another on his nipple and, no.

No, he was certainly not thinking of doing anything...indecent. Not in his office. Of course, it was only his office during the day. At night, it was his bedroom, and surely no one could fault a man for taking a little pleasure in his own bedroom of all places.

Title: Foreign Territory
Author: Aristide
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC-17
Length: 19,000 words

Why I'm reccing this fic: This story is outstanding from beginning to end, but I'm reccing it here for the vibrator scene. If the quote "Hail Satan" doesn't make you crack up, you haven't yet read this gem.

Link to the story: Foreign Territory

Ray bounced the silver thing on his palm, remembering the last time he'd seen it, when all those Stella memories coming back to him had been like having his guts pulled out slowly through a very small incision in his chest. That had been bad, that had been so, so bad.

But now it wasn't like that, not the same thing at all. It was a good memory, and it was only when he'd finally realized that he had to let the good *and* bad Stella memories be what they were--memories--that he'd been able to start getting through each day like something other than the walking dead. It wasn't a symbol any more, this stupid-looking chrome thing, it wasn't a trap. It was just a leftover, just a dumb toy, just something people used for--

Ray stopped cold. He closed his eyes and dropped the vibrator like it had burned him, and heard it roll across the floor until it came to rest against his foot. He had to force himself not to yank his foot back, had to force himself to open his eyes and look at it, all shiny and toylike and bright, snuggled up to his foot like an innocent bullet-shaped metal kitten.

Faux Phallus Challenge: Don't Say the Word; Snoop; Yes

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:26:09 GMT

Title: Don't Say the Word
Author: pearl_o
Pairing: RayK/Stella, F/K
Rating: NC17
Length: ~ 2300 words

Why I'm reccing this fic: This fic packs a large wallop in a small package. This is a sharp look at a specific moment in the marriage of Ray and Stella, exposing a lot about how they see one another in a moment of painful clarity. There is pegging, and it is hot .

Link to the story: Don't Say the Word

Stella shrugged elegantly, one smooth motion from her shoulder all the way down. "Just..." She moved her hand down his bicep, down his ribs, watching herself stop and rest on his hip. She looked up at him through her eyelashes. "What would you think of letting me do you like that some time?"

He could feel the corner of his mouth curl into a smile as he looked at her, with that perfectly composed expression still on her face. *That* was his Stella. The one who gave him a handjob under their coats at the senior year planetarium field trip. The one who still thought it was fun sometimes to call him at his desk and rev him up in the middle of the day -- not that had happened in a long while now, but the possibility was always there. Ray liked that Stella. Ray *missed* that Stella.

"Oh, you're *dirty*," he said, rolling back over to kiss her.

"So, yeah?" Stella said beneath him, looking pleased.

"Anything you want," Ray said, and she let him kiss her again.

Title: Snoop
Author: kelliem
Pairing: R
Length: ~1600 words

Why I am reccing this fic: This story does involve a toy, but even more than that, this story reaches out and grabs me for hitting another hot button of mine: Fraser doing something a little desperate because he's driven and just a little out of control. In this case, our normally upright Fraser finds himself snooping through all of Ray's closets and drawers, during the events of Eclipse. I have a soft spot for a Fraser who is also so infatuated so early in his friendship with Ray. Yum.

Link to the story: Snoop

He shouldn't do this. It's bad enough that he's invaded Ray's privacy to this extent. What he's considering is completely unethical. All the rest of his investigations he can excuse, however distantly, under a genuine need to know. This he can't. But this need is stronger than the other. Deeper. Personal. He moves slowly toward the bedroom again, glancing around as if to be sure he's not observed. Dief watches him, neutral, neither encouraging nor discouraging. He has to make this decision on his own. He stands beside the bed, looking at the nightstand. A single drawer, uninvestigated.

Title: Yes
Author: kelliem
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC 17
Length: ~1800 words

Why I am reccing this fic: Yes is the follow up to Snoop, and I never read one without the other. This is a lovely little old-school fantasy story, starring curious!Ray and a toy.
Link to the story: Yes

Back to his fantasy . . . rolling the condom down over Fraser's cock, and then smoothing a lube-covered hand over it, like. . . this. Yeah. Damn, he likes this thing, well okay, maybe hot pink hadn't been a great choice but a toy should look like a toy, right? But no matter what it looks like, it feels. . . real. Amazingly real. He closes his eyes so he's not distracted by the color, and so he can visualize Fraser more clearly. Yeah. Dark curls, pale skin, darkly flushed, maybe pink wasn't such a bad choice after all. He squeezes, very gently. Firm, resilient, mmmyeah. Imagines the arch, the catch in the breath. Maybe that tongue thing he does, moistening that mouth that haunts his dreams.

Faux Phallus Challenge

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:57:58 GMT

Okay, kids, dry your eyes and put away the hankies. The Triple Hankie Challenge is now officially closed. But don't cry if you missed the deadline! Save up those recs for Amnesty Week, and we'll be delighted to read them. Thanks to vsee and akamine_chan for sharing their fantastic recs of angst and woe.

Meanwhile, what better to cheer us up post-weeping than a little Pegging Fic? 'Cause who doesn't love that? In fact, I'm feeling a yen for faux phallus fic in general, so bring on your favorite stories where the characters whip out the strap-ons, the vibrators, the dildo collections. You have my every faith. You also have until next Monday. Happy reccing!

Triple Hankie Challenge - Gods Says Nothing Back, Exposures, Ordinary Days

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:59:23 GMT

Title: God Says Nothing Back (Five Times Fraser's Heart Was Broken)
Author: simplystars
Pairing: Fraser-centric, Fraser/RayK
Rating: PG13
Length: shortish
Why I'm reccing this fic:Because it should be rated A for Angst. This is the story that made me fall in love with simplystars. It's spare, elegant, beautiful, and it hurts so very, very much. Five moments in Fraser's life. Five things that can't be undone.

His ears, too, are filled with static. Fraser frowns a bit, concentrating, and slowly untangles the jumbled sounds into distinct threads. Lieutenant Welsh, bellowing into his radio; Ray, chanting over and over Oh my God, Benny, stay with me, Oh my God, Benny! In the background, the clacking rhythm of steel wheels on steel tracks; in the foreground, his own broken whisper – he feels the echo of speech, the vibrations, more than he is able to distinguish words.

God Says Nothing Back (Five Times Fraser's Heart Was Broken

Title: Exposures
Author: dsudis
Pairing: Fraser/RayK
Rating: NC17
Length: longish
Why I'm reccing this fic: This was the first deathfic I'd ever read and it hit me so hard that I sat around for days thinking about it. It wasn't until the second reading that I fell in love with it. This is life in the Arctic - dangerous, often deadly. This is the story of Fraser and Ray on their adventure and 24 brief moments in time told by 24 pictures. It's Fraser and Ray living. And dying.

Taken at arm's length. Fraser on the left, Kowalski on the right, smiling mouths joined in a kiss that is on the verge of disintegrating into laughter. Fraser's grin shows a flash of teeth, Kowalski's reveals a hint of tongue. Dark hair and light are both wildly disarrayed and damp, Kowalski's standing on end while Fraser's falls in half-hearted curls. Both men's eyes show smile lines, but while Kowalski's gaze has strayed to the camera, Fraser's eyes stay fixed on Kowalski.

Exposures

Title: Ordinary Days
Author: busaikko
Pairing: Fraser, RayK
Rating: R
Length: medium
Why I'm reccing this fic: Because I love the heartbreaking ordinary-ness of this story. As the days slide by Ray lives each day for itself, and for Fraser and there's no amount of glue that will ever fix this. And that's how it is sometimes.

Ray scrubs at his face with the bathtowel Vecchio sent from Disneyworld-land-whatever, eyes himself in the mirror. No way is he stupid enough to practice smiling, but he looks good, he thinks. He feels old in his bones, but it doesn't show so bad. Yet.

Ordinary Days

Triple Hankie Challenge: Politics of X; This is the story I tell myself

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:04:33 GMT

I know some readers have a great fondness for those stories that wreck them and make them cry. I have never been one of those people. I'm usually in it for the escapism, in one form or another...a world where generally pleasant things eventually happen, even when the road does not run smoothly, and universe bending sex is had by all. I couldn't resist responding to this challenge, because my recs will be stories that are so worthy of being read, that they are the Triple Hankie stories for people who don't like hankie warnings on their fic.

Title: The Politics of X
Author: Zen&nancy (lj not known, website is here .)
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC17
Length: "139K" or about 22,000 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: This fic is my ultimate, glowing, break glass in case of emergency story. I've only read it three times, ever, because it is that good and that potent for me, but I only rarely have any need or desire to inflict that kind of pain on myself. Maybe a better analogy would be...this is perhaps the durian fruit of F/K fanfic. It's huge, it's rare and of great value, it's very exotic, but you should know what you're getting in return for your large investment before you sink your teeth into it, because it has a very, very strong flavor.

The author warns a little extra for smutiness, which is apt, and in the plus column, in my mind. But the author also warns rather casually for drugs, non-con, and "gobs of angst." Also all true, but understated. This story is great but it has drugs as a central theme, non-con is kind of the entire point, and "gobs of angst" is hardly beginning to state the matter. This is the most painful Due South story I've ever read.

Also note that this is an older fic, and has a bit of an "old school slash" flavor, including some slight Ray K dialect. It's not enough to bug me, but you might notice it.

Briefly, this story is about what happens when Fraser and Ray go undercover in a bar, and Fraser is slipped a dose of Ecstasy by a stranger. Ray must deal with the aftermath, and sees a whole new side to Fraser and their relationship. It is both incredibly poignant and complete train wreck.

Link to the story: The Politics of X

"Ray, Ray, it's fine. Everything's fine. Everything is wonderful, why are you so upset? I feel so good, Ray, so relaxed. Why don't you want me here? I want to be with you, I don't want to be alone, Ray." While he's talking to me, his hand slips off his arm, sliding slowly over the waistband of his jeans. His fingers begin to stroke very lightly over his hard on, with no indication in his expression that he's even aware that he's doing it. Oh Jesus that's a sight... I swallow hard, forcing my eyes back up to his face again.

"Okay, um, let's try this from a different angle. I'm gonna spell it out, and embarrass the fuck out of both of us, okay? 'Cept you're all messed up, so I'm the only one who's gonna be embarrassed, probably."

"Ray, relax. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that you're all sexed up and messed up and half naked on my couch and I gotta do the right thing here and not jump you, okay, Fraser?" I sound pissed off, which makes me feel rotten when I see the hurt and the confusion in his eyes.

"You want to jump me? I might like that, Ray. I don't know, of course, because I've never actually been jumped. Especially by another man, but I've thought about it a great deal."

"Thought about what a great deal?" My voice sounds choked, and I'm trying to remember that nothing he says counts, that he's not in control, not really Fraser, just the tripped out, sexy version of Fraser, that I have absolutely no right to see. But what if he's telling me the truth? What if this really is what he wants, and he's just so goddamn uptight he can't tell me without some help from mind altering chemicals? Yeah, right, Kowalski, and the Cubs are going to go all the way next year and homeless people really like being homeless and Daley took the job to honor the spirit of his Daddy.

Title: This Is The Story I Tell Myself
Author: spuffyduds
Pairing: F/K
Rating: R
Length: ~3000 words.
Why I'm reccing this fic: I read this story exactly once, without seeing the headers or warnings first, because of the way the lj cut took me to the top of the story. Spuff usually writes tight, funny, emotionally-dead-accurate stuff, but watch out. When she decides to use her powers not-for-the-good, she's scary. My original feedback in the story included me calling her a "mean bitch" which she fortunately read as the adoring compliment it was intended as.

The reason I both love and loathe this story is that Spuffy can make me believe in the fragility of all the things I love the best about Fraser and Ray K together. I was FRIGHTENED by the story in the sense that I was afraid that she would make me stop believing in their love. If you liked katallison's The End of the Road , you will like this.

I can hardly withstand either, but I think they are both brilliant.

This fic is also available as a podfic , recorded by luzula

Link to the story: This Is The Story That I Tell Myself

After Muldoon there was—-hubbub and bureaucracy, giving of statements and signing of statements. I was strangely numb, reciting details that ought to have moved me, wrecked me, as dully as though I were placing an order for lunch. ("Yes, that's right, he killed my mother. Yes, he did confess to that. Caroline. C, A, R…" ) Finally, on about the fifteenth reiteration of yes, indeed, he had killed my mother, I turned to Ray, who had been (quietly, for Ray) at my elbow since the mineshaft, and said something that…I'm not entirely sure what I said. It was along the lines of "Yes, he certainly did kill my mother, gather ye rosebuds while ye may, extra mushrooms please, E-X-T-R-A—" And then I think I giggled.

Triple-Hankie Challenge

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:01:45 GMT

Hey all! Thanks to all the July reccers and to belmanoir for her recs set of utterly adorkable fabulousness.

And now it's a new month, time for a new challenge! Maybe it's back to school blues, I dunno, but this month we are asking you to post recs for your angstiest, weepiest, most sob-inducing, *awesomest* fics in our Triple-Hankie Challenge! You have until next Monday, so bring on the best of the best and make us cry our eyes out.

I had a rep. I was a complete dork.

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:37:00 GMT

Today on ds_recsredux: Vecchio is a dork! His hair says "deadly and dangerous but not afraid to cry!" He's afraid of the dark! He complains to Welsh about smoking in the men's bathroom! He wears stripy pajamas and knows in his soul that his car's cigarette lighter works! Agent Suzanne Chapin!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I'm trying to be coherent here guys, but it's hard in the face of Vecchio's incredible adorkability. Even when he's a bad-assed mob boss he wears a false mustache and gets excited about buttermilk.

I missed the season one clothes when they went away. I mean, yes, he was even hotter in season two. But still! I like to imagine that he starts wearing bright shirts again in Florida.

This VEST omg!

His little SMILE!

Pajamas AND a paisley bathrobe:

Okay and I realize this is kinda cheating since I don't think they're actually in character for this picture but snoopypez said I should post it anyway. Look at Vecchio's little FACE!:

SUCH DORKS! And Kowalski's GLASSES! ::melts::

Okay. Enough objectification. Time for some fic:

The Real Thing by china_shop. Fraser/Vecchio, NC-17, 2100 words. Ray becomes very indignant about fake corn syrup, and somehow this leads to him being concerned he has "imitation gay flavoring."

"Whoever heard of imitation corn syrup?" Ray interrupted. "Jesus! Corn is as American as apple pie. More American!" He left the pancake mix on the lid of one of the bulk bins and drew Fraser down the aisle to the refrigerators, still ranting. "What was the FDA thinking when they approved this stuff, that's what I want to know."

Fraser took milk and a small block of hard cheese from the fridge and added them to Ray's basket. "Perhaps they don't feel it's a matter of national identity."

"Well, they're wrong." Ray poked him in the ribs. "I mean, how do you feel about maple-flavored syrup?"

Fraser scratched his eyebrow before he could stop himself. "I admit, I don't really see the appeal."

"See? See?" Ray took the list from Fraser's hand and perused it, tossed an over-priced packet of cashew nuts into his basket and led the way to the cashier. "We're not that different, you and me. Two sides of the same border." He grinned.

Looking for a Place to Happen by brooklinegirl. Kowalski/Frannie, Ray/Ray, NC-17, ~5500 words. Kowalski realizes he's into Vecchio at the WORST possible time...leading to much UST and then some quality sexing. This story is my absolute favorite of brooklinegirl's and may be the hottest thing I've ever read. It also delivers some quality dork!Vecchio:

He looked over at Vecchio, who rolled to his feet and started pulling his pants and shorts back up. Ray peered closer. "Are you wearing silk boxer shorts?"

"Yeah, so?" Vecchio smoothed the front of his shorts proudly before zipping up his pants.

"Nothing." Ray grinned to himself, amused. Silk boxers. Vecchio was such a pussy.

Vecchio cocked an eyebrow at him and reached out a hand, tugged him to his feet. Ray staggered a little, and Vecchio, in one smooth movement, pulled him close, and kissed him. Ray, pressed up naked and damp against Vecchio's real nice clothes, smiled, and wrapped his hands in the wrinkled fabric of Vecchio's shirt, and kissed him back.

"So," Vecchio said, pulling back and giving Ray what Ray was sure Vecchio thought was an incredibly suave smile, "What do you think? Was that better than your last date?"

Dressing for Success by elementalv. Ray/Ray, NC-17, ~1600 words. Kowalski keeps coming to work in suits, and Vecchio keeps getting unfortunate workplace boners.

He took a deep breath. “Whose idea was it — dressing you in Armani?”

Kowalski gave him a long, steady look, and Ray swore he could feel each bead of sweat as it popped out on his face.

“It was my mom’s,” he finally answered. “She didn’t like the way my suit looked on TV. Said I didn’t need to look so poor.”

“So she bought you that?” Ray wasn’t sure he could survive Kowalski in Armani. He could barely handle Kowalski in that Sears suit he owned.

“I paid half.” Kowalski looked embarrassed again. “She was gonna buy it no matter what, so — Anyway. I’m supposed to go to that commission thing again tonight. Figured it was as good a time as any to take it out for a test drive.”

Ray blinked a couple of times, and when the words settled into his brain, he blurted out, “You’re not wearing that tonight!”

“And you think you have any say in this because why?”

“You cannot — not — wear that shirt and tie with an Armani.”

It's sorta cheating reccing this one since it was written for me, but it's SO FANTASTIC. I see by your outfit (that you are a cowboy) by snoopypez. Ray/Ray, R, 1366 words. Kowalski wears his cowboy boots. Vecchio mocks him but secretly thinks they're really hot. The ending is particularly dorky but I don't want to spoil it, so:

So Ray starts wearing the boots more often. No one really notices, until Vecchio notices. And yeah, Ray kinda hoped he would, but he also kinda didn't, so like many times before, Ray is unsure of what he wants.

The way Vecchio notices is because Ray leans back in his chair, puts his feet up on the desktop by habit before any other way can occur to him. Vecchio does a double take - an actual, for real double take like they're in some kind of comedy skit - and coughs on his coffee. He remains strangely silent, which proves to Ray that miracles can really come true.

I love Vecchio's double-takes.

Cataloging by spuffyduds. Fraser/Vecchio, R, 1650 words. Fraser realizes he's into Ray. There is NOT ENOUGH Fraser-POV Fraser/Vecchio, and this fic really delivers with how totally adorkable Fraser finds Vecchio. Also, hot.

“Five senses” is a gross oversimplification, of course. There’s also proprioception, the sense of where body parts are in relation to one another; thermoception, the sensing of heat and cold; other more esoteric ones, some confined to nonhumans.

Still, Fraser finds it useful to catalog the day’s highlights of the basic five, just before bed; it helps him to let go of the day somehow. When he first came to Chicago his dreams would replay the daily onslaught of sensation; he got no relief, no respite. He would awaken in the morning still battered by the noise of traffic, by the smell of exhaust fumes, because it had been replaying in his mind all night. He’s learned to take a few minutes to run through the list--all the strongest sights, smells, sounds of the day; to relive the tastes and touches, and then to release them, let them float off. This lets his dream world be his home again, at that time of year when he loves it best; cold and fresh and white and empty.

Tonight he’s very tired, though, keeps almost drifting off as he works through his list; all the sights of a long foot chase with Ray--the cause of the tiredness. The sound of Lt. Welsh’s voice, ringing across the sweltering squad room, suggesting that Detective Gardino might find a better fit for his myriad talents as a pin boy in a bowling alley. The tastes of breakfast porridge, lunch cheeseburger, dinner spaghetti and salad. (He smiles into the darkness as he realizes that all his tastes of today were actually food. He’ll have to mention that to Ray tomorrow. Ray will be loudly, charmingly disbelieving.)

Five Times That Fraser Made Ray Laugh by sdwolfpup. Fraser/Vecchio, PG, 1800 words. This fic has one of the hottest F/V moments I have EVER read and all it is is Fraser unsnapping the button of his jeans. Also, Ray gets really, really indignant about Peeps.

Ray's eyes lit on Peeps shaped like ghosts and he snorted in disgust. "Is nothing sacred?"

There was a long silence from Fraser, and when Ray looked over, he saw confusion clear on Fraser's face. "These," Ray explained, holding up the Peeps. "These are supposed to only be available at Easter. Now you can get them for Halloween, too! It ruins the whole point."

"The point...of Peeps?" He could see Fraser struggling to keep up.

Night Spots by hyel. Fraser/Vecchio, R, ~5000 words. Murder, mechanics, and undercover in a gay bar. There are so many surprising and touching and funny and hot little moments in this fic, and there's also lots of Vecchio yelling at his mechanic, running into people, and stressing in his very special Vecchio way.

All through the day, which remained blissfully uneventful on the whole, Fraser never once touched him. That night at dinner Ray was touched exactly seventeen times by various family members, none of which touches tingled (thank God). After dinner they watched TV, and Ray was still counting the touches between the lovers on the screen and on the sofa next to his, and the touching between his mother and sister, and trying to make out exactly what it was that made him and Fraser stand out so much.

He went to bed early, but found himself staring at the ceiling and thinking back to a particular day, say the previous day to this one, and count how many times he felt Fraser's hand on his arm, or his arm against Ray's back when he leaned over his shoulder to look at the computer screen, or his cheek against Ray's chest no wait that never happened. That most emphatically did not happen.

It could have though.

So there you have it! What are y'all's favorite dorky!Vecchio fics? You'll notice this is mostly F/V---it seems like post-Vegas Vecchio gets written as smoother and more serious than s1/2 Vecchio, which makes sense, but you know, I'd love to read (or be reminded of, because I'm SURE I've read) some nice, dorky, wisecracking-and-funny-face-making post-CotW Vecchio. So comment with your favorite dorky F/K/V and Ray/Ray stories!

And that was my week. Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did! Oh, BOYS. I leave you with Fraser's dorky grin:

Fandom Appreciation Challenge - Day (catching up) 4: three podfic recs

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:00:57 GMT

Title: Ping!
Link to podfic
Author: Speranza
Reader: zabira
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC-17
Length: 43:02 minutes
Why I'm reccing this podfic: I have to rec something by zabira because it was her expressive, beautifully timed and completely unselfconscious readings that first got me listening to and enjoying podfic last summer. Her jealous Ray in this story is a great example of her talents.

Title: Slow and Easy
Link to podfic
Author: keerawa
Reader: keerawa
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC-17
Length: 9:45 minutes
Why I'm reccing this podfic: The reading of this gorgeous fic about a contented Fraser luxuriating in warmth and Ray matches the comfortable, relaxed mood of the story absolutely perfectly – and there’s a beautiful little half laugh about three and a half minutes in which always makes me smile.

Title: Space And Time
Link to podfic
Author: nos4a2no9
Reader: nos4a2no9
Pairing: F/K
Rating: PG
Length: 7:21 minutes
Why I'm reccing this podfic: Because I think it’s just so clever. It’s not a standard plot and dialogue type story, yet there’s a world of detail about Ray and Fraser’s lives apart and together. The time and space motifs are well and beautifully used as each character explores their life and relationship with each other.

Fandom Appreciation Challenge - Day (ahem) 2: Three older story recs

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:21:40 GMT

I’m reccing three older-than-six-months stories from the same challenge community. getfraserlaidstarted not long after I began lurking in the dS fandom and I remember repeatedly sneaking off to an internet cafe whilst on holiday to check out the new stories posted. There’s loads of great fic there so if you’re new and haven’t found getfraserlaidyet then do check it out.

Title: Learn to Speak Canine in Seven Easy Steps
Author: etcetera_cat
Pairing:F/K
Rating: PG-13
Length:~7000
Why I'm reccing this fic: Dief guides us through this story of Boss-Ben and Spiky-Ray (with a brief appearance from Not-Here-Bob) with wit and style. A knowledgeable Dief who can’t resist offering advice is always fun to read and the interactions between him, Fraser and Ray are brilliantly written. There’s also a sequel – Six Degrees Of Separation .

Learn to Speak Canine in Seven Easy Steps

Title: Not Exactly Kubrick
Author: china_shop
Pairing:F/K
Rating:NC-17
Size:18k

Why I'm reccing this fic:The prompt for this fic was They watch the porn tape they made (double points for having them get it on while watching the tape) and china lets us know in her summary that she gets double points! I think those points should be doubled again for Fraser’s and Ray’s realistically portrayed self conscious reaction to the sight and sound of themselves on tape – and then doubled again for their fantastically hot reactions to the sight and sound of each other....

Not Exactly Kubrik


Title: Louder Than Words
Author: ignazwisdom
Pairing:F/K
Rating:NC-17
Length:9,300
Why I'm reccing this fic: The growing tension between Fraser and Ray draws you in to this post-CotW first time fic. The pacing and characterisation are great and the little bit of angst makes the heat and sweetness that much hotter and sweeter.

  Louder Than Words

Fandom Appreciation Day (Vids) - "Zebra", "Push", "I Don't Care As Long As You Sing"

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:24:29 GMT

Title: Zebra
Vidder: Lady Shalott astolat
Character: Detective Ray Koawalski
Why I'm reccing this vid: This is one of my all time favorite vids. It perfectly captures Ray and his dorky, twitchy energy. Watch this vid. It will make you happy.

Title: Push
Vidder: fenlings
Pairing: F/K
Why I'm reccing this vid: You know all those sweet, funny F/K vids out there? This is not one of them. "Push" shows an angry, frustrated Ray. He wants a real, equal partnership with Fraser. But Fraser's always gotta be in charge. Fenlings uses effects and cutting to make this vid one of constant, almost abortive motion. She's telling us a story here, and one that I prefer to think of as an AU. Check it out!

Title: I Don't Care As Long As You Sing
Vidder: sdwolfpup
Pairing: F/V
Why I'm reccing this vid: It's sdwolfpup, so you know that the vid will be technically excellent, with a captivating use of movement and inter-cutting. When I had to pick just one of hers to rec, this vid immediately came to mind. I'm not normally a big F/V fangirl, at least not in a happy ending sense. But this vid makes me a believer.

The licking scenes near the beginning make me laugh out loud. There's a clever juxtaposition of Fraser in a white tux, in a straitjacket, in the tux again. Benny doesn't care - to him it's all the same thing. And Ray gets pulled out of his comfort zone to someplace where he doesn't care either. This vid shows their friendship, their love, withstanding every test. It's a thing of beauty.

Fandom Appreciation Challenge - Podfic Recs!

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:40:54 GMT

Continuing on with day four of the Fandom Appreciation Challenge, here are some of my top podfic recs.

Title: Five Times Ray Kowalski Tried to Make Someone Feel At Home (even if it didn't always work)
Link to Podfic Here [right-click, "save as"]
Author: leafy22
Reader: vsee
Pairing: F/K
Rating: PG
Length: 14:50min
Why I'm reccing this ~~fic~~podfic:

vsee is a relatively new podficcer, but she's already amassed a pretty impressive body of work. Her readings are faithful translations of the original story, and she has a lovely and soothing voice that fits perfectly with the sweet and engaging and sometimes slightly sad stories she's chosen to read. Leafy's charming tale, which recounts Ray's attempts to make people feel comfortable, makes for a great audiofic. I adore this story a whole lot, and it was wonderful to see vsee tackle it with so much skill and professionalism. On a technical level it's clean, clear and very well-paced, and I truly hope Vsee will continue to record podfic for the dS fandom. You can find more of V's recordings here at general_jinjur's indispensable and highly comprehensive podfic archive.

Title: Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace
Link to Podfic Here [right-click, "save as"]
Author: slidellra
Reader: malnpudl
Fandom: For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down (gasp!)
Rating: PG
Length: 11:30min
Why I'm reccing this ~~fic~~podfic:

I'm breaking a a cardinal rule here at ds_recsredux and reccing C6D fandom media, but luckly I have some pull with the mods, so you'll just have to bear with me. During the recent amplificathon, malnpudl kicked ass and recorded a (vast) number of short and medium-length podfics, one of which was this beautiful, sensitive, and achingly perfect recording of slidellra's equally-perfect Jerry Bines story. (Which was written for me. *preens* And yes - this whole thing is pretty damn incestuous). Nevertheless, it's an amazing reading: Mal's voice is so lovely and gentle, and she evokes the perfect mix of bemusement and confusion and peace that Jerry experiences as he lingers at his lonely hunting camp. It's a wonderfully performative reading, as well as a pleasure to listen to on a technical level, and I kind of just want to hang out at Mal's and beg her to read me stories. Even if you're not familiar with For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down, please check this one out. It's pretty damn amazing.

Title: How Ray Got His Groove Back
Link to Podfic Here [right-click, "save as"]
Author: Bone and Aristide
Reader: zabira
Fandom: due South
Rating: NC-17
Length: 3hrs 35min
Why I'm reccing this ~~fic~~podfic:

God, trying to pick my favourite zabira recording is like trying to decide between chocolate and...some other form of chocolate. It's all so delicious! And there is so much good stuff to choose from: Z has created a huge number of podfics, and they are all uniformly excellent. She always brings so much enthusiasm and care to her recordings, and it's always obvious that she loves the stories as much (or perhaps more) than the original authors. And Z has a deft touch for conveying the emotions behind very different stories: she's done humour (Juggling Act) and angst (Heavy Bag and Passion) and even, um, whimsical wingfic (Wings of Desire). In the end, though, this is the one I keep coming back to. "Groove" is a terrific story to begin with: it's one of the sexiest fics in dS, and while this fandom isn't exactly a slouch in the NC-17 department, the story always manages to offer new insight into the characters as the relationship between Ray and Fraser evolves, changes, and deepens. But I think the podfic adds an extra dimension to the story. Z has impeccable comic timing in the funny bits, and she does an extraordinarily good job of differentiating between the Fraser-POV sections and the Ray-POV sections. They sound like different characters here and that, as you might know if you've tried it, can be one of the biggest challenges in a podfic recording. I put this on when I'm looking for some writerly inspiration, when I'm doing housework, when I'm commuting between my jobs, and it always manages to improve my mood. And occasionally blush at some inopportune moments. *g*

These recs barely scratch the surface of the vast amount of funny, sweet, warm and heartbreaking stories available for your listening pleasure. If you're interested in downloading and listening to a podfic, I'd recommend you start with general_jinjur's aforementioned podfic archive. Isis (who did a lot of influential work early on and succeeded in getting a lot of people interested in recording stories), Keerawa, Slidellra and Lamentables have all turned in fabulous recordings of dS fics. I hope you'll check them out, and please drop them a line to let the podficcers know you liked their readings.

Fandom Appreciation Day - Vid Recs!

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:28:01 GMT

The fandom appreciation challenge assignment for today is to point out your favourite "other media" recs, so here are just a few of the amazing fanvids out there.

Title: Be Gentle With Me [vid - link takes you to comprehensive list in Voiceless's journal. Her due South stuff is right at the top of the entry]
Author: voiceless009
Pairing: F/K
Rating: PG
Length: Uh, 3min? *g*
Why I'm reccing this ~~fic~~vid:

I'd just pointed out another one of Voiceless' fabulous dS vids, "Can't Stop This" in my journal a couple of days ago. Viewed together, you can get a pretty good idea of what an amazing visual artist Voiceless is. "Can't Stop This" is a sexy, frisky little romp, a cheeky homage to the men's-room fumblings and kinky hijinks that make PwP F/K fics so much fun to read. But V happens to be an amazing visual storyteller, as well as someone who wants to wink at us via Final Cut: there's a hilarious narrative at play in "Can't Stop This" that works in concert with the 'look! she makes the Boys seem dirty!' snickering, and that's part of what makes the vid so thoroughly rewatchable. But "Be Gentle With Me" is, for my money, equally as enjoyable. I'd compare it to heresluck's amazing "In the Mirror" vid; what heresluck does for RayK in that 4min tour-de-force, Voiceless does for the F/K relationship here. It's a wonderful portrait of their friendship and romantic potential, and I love the way she utilizes editing tricks and the lyrics of the song (and dudes, if anyone can hook me up with an MP3 of The Boy Least Likely To's single, I will forever be in your debt) to illustrate that damaged-but-optmistic sense of second chance hope the Fraser/Kowalski romance offers us. As much as I like it when they're wounded and wary (and, okay, occasionally dismembered) F/K always feels more authentic when it's presented as an act of trust: one person, having been beaten down by life in the past, takes a risk and and says, "Hey, I'm trusting you to take care of my heart." (Ray/Ray hits me the same way, but on a different register, if that makes any sense). Anyway, seek out this vid, young squires, and be amazed.

Title: That's All [vid - link takes you to SD's dS vid site. It's listed as the second entry on the page]
Author: sdwolfpup
Pairing: Ray/Ray
Rating: R (it's suuuuuper suggestive, okay?)
Length: ~3 min (my sense of time - everything is 3 min long)
Why I'm reccing this ~~fic~~vid:

What can one say about SD? Yes, she's an excellent writer, a bringer of squee, a funny and warm and endlessly supportive friend...and one hell of a vidder. She created an instant fandom classic with "You Can Call Me...," wherein due South collides with Paul Simon's classic from Graceland, and the result is like a warm hug on a cold day. (YYCM always makes me cry, 'SHOW!' and make a *smooshcake* noise when I watch it. You know the noise). SD's vids are always characterized by great use of humour, an absolutely flawless gift for matching musical cue/lyrics with editing to create the perfect emotional response, and an ability to cut to the core of these characters and tell us a story about them in just under 3min. I think that, while I love YCCM, "That's All" is SD's best dS vid. It's a technical marvel, crafting a whole narrative about the rise and fall (and rise) of Ray and Ray's troubled romance featuring characters who have just a scant few minutes of screen time together in the series. SD utilizes some technical wizardry, including the clever use of film clips from another source (*cough* Dante's Cove *cough*) and a jaw-dropping splitscreen technique to amp up the sexual tension, and she perfectly encapsulates the testy, sexy and tumultuous connection that keeps drawing us fans back to the Ray/Ray well. I think catwalksalone said it best: this is the Rays in all their confused, angry, fucked-up glory, and this is the vid I've used to demonstrate why the pairing works to skeptical fangirls. (*waves to omphale23*) I'll close by borrowing some advice from SD's own essential article on providing feedback for vids (that'd be Vidding Feedback 101) and share my honest response to her work: it knocked my socks off. And it made me download a Genesis song. You have much to answer for, SD! :-)

Title: Pavlov's Bell [Link to Butterfly's vidding index]
Author: Butterfly
Pairing: F/K (F/V too, if you squint)
Rating: PG
Length: ~3 min! I think!
Why I'm reccing this ~~fic~~vid:

This one's been around for a while and I was torn between reccing it and Sisabet's "Icebound Stream," which everyone and their deaf half-wolf has probably seen by now, but in the end this angsty and sometimes painful look at Fraser's past mistakes (and its message about the importance of moving forward) won out. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of dS vids set to Aimee Mann songs in this fandom, and I think Butterfly made a perfect choice: she does wonderful things with the interplay between lyrics of this sad, dryly amused song ("History shows/that's how I nearly fell...") and scenes from episodes like "Victoria's Secret" and "Burning Down the House." What I admire most, verbose creature that I am, is that there's no fat on this one at all: it's lean and mean and carries a pretty big emotional impact. If you like your Fraser-centric vids to be a little on the angsty side, I'd also recommend "Lord I Have Made You A Place In My Heart" by the fabulous laurashapiro, which you can find with the rest of her vids over here (and many thanks to sdwolfpup for the link).

Alright! I hope you found something new in that mix. Up next: podfics you have to listen to.