#or maybe it fraser/kowalski/vecchio

[pigtailedgirl]

SECONDS OR GUILT PRIZES

Kowalski gave me his car to drive. Told me it was his and his father's pride and joy. That he knew I'd look after her because he saw how I looked after the riv. How much he knew I looked after things, seeing how my family relied on me. Missed me.

He'd only been driving his car the last couple months he explained. He'd left her with his Mom and Dad and figured his Dad wouldn't give her back. Wouldn't trust him with her. But he was wrong.

So, I know she's in good hands, he said.

His way of saying without word, sorry mine got yours in the bottom of Lake Michigan. Or other places far away.

I never liked sharing my car. My Dad told me a man without a car is nothing.

She is a beauty though. Classic muscle car. Enough gas in the tank to keep going.

---

He handed me the keys to his place in the same envelope. You need a place to crash, here you go Buddy, he'd wrote.

Had a big open space, you've gotta admit, for a bachelor place. And he filled it with a ton of shit. Nick-knacks everywhere, good god.

He knew I guess what it was like. Living in a place that you didn't want because you didn't want to have that alone space but you had no choice. The old was gone. Rent or time came due. Being displaced cause home is gone, the you at that home long gone and changed, or the force divorced from it. Asked to leave. You can't go back to the house if it's burnt out this time. You can't stay with the EX-wife when she wants to move on either.

All that's left is trying to fill the hole of what you were and wanted versus the what now, right?

So what if you up-end the place looking for traces -- Thinking; Why then did Fraser stay in his office?

---

You steal the Stella.

Charm and bamboozle and throw everything you have at it til she's smiling across the couch from you and letting you hold her hand a little too long as she encourages you to sip water and not pass out from the throbbing ache in your chest. "It's my heart beating overtime for you baby, not the bullet." Yeah that sounds smooth and not at all ridiculous.

She's actually your type. She's hard on the case, smart as a whip, and still shows she's got a side that cares about the effects.

You can see why they'd have been together.

How she mellowed the edge of her Ray's wildness but encouraged his spirit anyways. Helped him dream and strive to be the man he wanted to be.

You can fantasize about how good you'll be together.

She'll be just like Louise. Just as much a firing squad to you to shape up in correct notes and deposition.

She'll be just like Ange was at first. Wanting to share the bust. Craving her own with conviction. Won't be the past mistakes. If you'd have given her the credit and shared the load. Were home more off-shift. If only you'd stayed present. Stayed.

So what if you'll be retired by the end of the week, in witness protection the next, and never be fit to work another case in your life?

You made your choices.

Irene died to the senselessness of it and you thought heroism and undercover might finally solve it. Chapin would have told you the stupidity was striking you again in using that as a defence.

But you told him. You always pick the wrong ones, the wrong ways, and don't realize it until it's too late.

That's you with me Benny, or you now?

---

"Who the hell do you think you are, trying to propose to and take away my wife Vecchio?!"

What a great thing to wake to in a hospital bed half dead and with half a lung.

Feeling truly home because only at home was yelling a morning wake up call. Wasn't with Pops, who demanded the quiet, no, but it was the kids running down the stairs and Tony running the faucet and Frannie loudly bemoaning ruined beauty sleep and the smell of Ma's bacon cooking. Even Fraser's walls were thin and his neighbours loud in their demands of him. Of us. No wonder Kowalski fits right in.

Well guess I did a number on myself and really did pass out in Stella's arms. Long enough to bring back and lead in to one pissed polack.

Among others.

*pause*"...I do believe it's EX-wife Ray."

"Shut up, Frase. --The hell difference does that make? I loved and love her. You can't just take what's mine first!"

"Yeah." I say, and he doesn't even realize I'm not looking at him. Or that Fraser isn't either.

When he does, maybe then he's gonna be another level of upset.

I'll have to give him something to make it up to him. He's not that bad a guy after all and I'd hate to feel the guilt.

Strange to feel the slight weight of Fraser's stetson, resting there on the edge of my bed. The weight of his stare an odd happy anchor.

"It's pretty simple Kowalski", I manage to croak out through parched lips and a wicked forming grin, "I'm Italian. Don't mind taking seconds."

[syrupmap]

Reaction post to this one because it's been driving me crazy the entire day 😅

I see a totally different thing.

Ray and Fraser are so perfectly in sync that Fraser doesn't even have to chew it all out for Ray because Ray understands Fraser on a much deeper level. Their partnership goes beyond words.

Ray knows Fraser is shaken up (he tells Welsh and Welsh trusts that Ray knows what's going on with Fraser) and that he's working on things on a deeper layer than this case.

Ray hasn't even met Victoria but he knows Scarpa is not to be trusted. She's manipulative and she's playing games with Fraser. He just doesn't know that Fraser sees through it. Even though Fraser keeps telling him.

But Fraser also knows he has this one chance to finally show himself that he is not going to fall for something like this again. Maybe even that he can open up and love.

That he is capable of doing this and not losing himself in the process again. He's learning to bluff.

And he has to do this part alone. Because the other time, it was taken from him by a bullet in the back.

So let me present you the way I see it. Fraser completely trusting Ray to have his back.

Ray being an absolute hero. There was never any doubt in Fraser's mind that Ray would get it, get him.

Song: Lost in Moments by Ulver

[variousqueerthings]

ohohohooooooo we just had s4ep3 👀👀👀👀👀

feel like ive gotta copy-paste some of the thoughts had onto here, rather than rewrite them, but suffice to say for the moment, big big character growth for one ray kowalski

the trajectory from early s3 to now as something that at first was very inward-facing (he's aware that his life isn't what he wants it to be, but he isn't at a point where he can pinpoint why and so he's at that stage of jerkily sharing and then withholding emotions, looking at himself and not taking in how others may feel (stella, fraser), and thinking more about how he feels bad, without knowing yet how to challenge that) to end s3pt1 (commitment to change) to these three episodes:

baseball: growing confidence in himself, less insecurity easy money: putting fraser's story first (on a meta level as well, s3pt1 very much pulled fraser back for a bit, and now he's slowly coming back into focus again at the point when ray is starting to take more action) ladies man: looking at his past and taking responsibility for those actions and how they affected someone else and the idea that it's never too late until it's too late (and he made it just in time!) (also like. none of that was his fault. but you get how he feels like it was his fault. and i think it's more that he probably felt like something was wrong about it all for years and it took him all this time to dare face her and ascertain for the first time that she Didn't kill her husband, so it's less that first mistake, and more the subsequent avoidance of trying to rectify it maybe.... things to think about. i am gonna go ahead and hc that beth and ray remain friends btw)

and throughout, he's been less and less ray vecchio. i believe mentioned off-hand in the first of these, but otherwise, he's stepping more and more into his own shoes/his own skin -- and a lot of it also (maybe?) related to those anger issues he has. because ep3 really started us off with that "hey, remember how ray has some really bad anger issues. let's see if he can make a conscious choice to work through those" which is what he did and ended with "guilt, sadness, shame, regret"... much much harder to feel, but he allowed himself to feel them, at last (and cry)

which is also interesting, because fraser is trying to facilitate that/support him and he's LETTING him now, it's more honest, more Real, unlike the false start back in early s3pt1 (especially episode 4 when ray was tryna work through his stella feelings in.... less than optimal ways... stellar ways.....)... which means im holding out for fraser to fall to pieces a little bit at some point as well, because he is Brittle!!!

if i think of this season as a mirror-ish to one another, albeit sort of shifted, because baseball was a bit of an outlier (bdth/easy money being about fraser losing something pivotal and needing to carry on, eclipse/ladies man dealing with events in ray's past that he feels shame about/hasn't been honest with himself about/needs recontextualisation in the present), potentially around episode seeeeven to mirror bounty hunter? throwing it out there as a maybe maybe, i could be overreading this mirror thing (we'll see)

but point is we're really seeing ray having floundered and struggled to identify his emotions and how to act, rather than react to the world and he's pushing against that! and he's feeling his feelings

(something... SOMEone........ who shall not be named.................... could do with? maybe?) (oh but see fraser's very well-adjusted, because he doesn't ever get angry or sad or lonely ever ever, he's Happy-go-lucky just doin' his job 😔😔😔) (fraser acknowledgement that he imagined killing his "father's killers"/gerrard and me like "i know bby, i saw you point a gun at him and throw a knife next to his head, but it's still 👀👀👀👀 to hear you say it out loud.... but also you're STILL doing it for ray's benefit and not your own, i think!")

[flownwrong]

something like this (due south fic)

F/K + F/K/V, rated T; ~1000 words

Summary: Ten ways Ray Kowalski's day can go.

A/N: For @thegoodthebadandtheart's birthday. Hap birth, friend! You're the real one <3

read on ao3

1. Back before The Great Frasering, my days went something like this: groan my way out of bed, try not to slip in the shower with my eyes not quite opening the whole way, inhale the coffee smell from the coffee mug, inhale the coffee from the coffee mug, Turtle feeding time, pants, shirt, holster, car, work—repeat in reverse, swapping coffee for beer and shower for a jerk-off-and-feel-sorry-for-myself session. Sprinkle in some evenings out with the guys—good collars, or someone's birthday, or impending fatherhood, or retirement—with bar games and shooting the shit, out of which I'm mostly good at that last one.

Work went something like this: come in, argue with anyone who's looking for an argument, try to make sure that doesn't include the witnesses or the Lieu, talk to people, shout at people, slap cuffs on people. On a good day, help people. Or at least try. Sprinkle in staying late in the attempts to keep all the papers in check, which wasn't as hard as you'd think considering back home it was mostly the TV and the Turtle waiting.

2. Then there was one day when work went something like this: Lieu calls me in, says, here's a doozy, wham, bam, I'm outta there, outta my own skin, outta my depth.

3. During The Great Frasering, my days went something like this: get to the station, hang out with Fraser, take a fat pill's worth of trippy shit, argue with Fraser, work with Fraser, hang out with Fraser, get slobbered on by wolf, go to bed, sleep the sleep of the dead—not necessarily in that order. Same on weekends, only without work. Well, not every time. Sprinkle in some letting Stella go, some letting Fraser in, some times my heart would feel so huge with needing him I was sure that was all she wrote.

4. Then there was one day that went something like this: Fraser catches a weirdass fish, gets on the trail of the killer of his mother, wham, bam, I'm outta Vecchio's skin, outta a plane, outta a partner. I'm lucky Fraser didn't get the memo.

5. The adventure went something like this: learn so much new stuff my brain felt three sizes too big for my skull, get why Fraser can't shut up about this place, spend so much time looking up at the sky one night I got a crick in my neck and felt dizzy, kiss Fraser, some more dizzy, try to figure out whether I said I loved him out loud only for him to say it first. Not find any hands, reaching out or otherwise, except for Fraser's hand down my pants, which, I'll be honest, I'll take over Franklin's any day of the week.

6. Then there was one day that went something like this: pack up my shit and go back to Chicago, listen to Fraser snuffle in his sleep on the plane, thank whoever's in charge about two hundred and eighteen times. Come home, curl up together in bed in the puzzle pieces way we worked out, only this time it's my bed, and technically it's the next day, but it's not like I stay up to check the clock.

7. After, it was The Great Frasering 2, bigger and better and like nothing I ever hoped for, until—

8. —the day that went something like this: Fraser sneaks off after lunch, which is nothing that pings my radar because he's his own guy, but then he comes home late and miserable and tells me Vecchio's back in town, which, yeah, maybe isn't something I was gonna do a victory lap about, but he looks way worse than I feel, which is ten different kinds of wrong, and then he says he owes me a bare minimum of honesty about his desires, with this face that gives me the idea he maybe isn't talking about me decked out in latex swinging a whip at him kind of desires, which scares the brains out of me because when it comes to the big feely things Fraser hardly ever talks, and I don't know if I will sock him one or curl up on the floor and sob until he tells me and it's so queer I end up laughing.

9. The days after that went something like—like something I don't even—but the important part is Fraser stays right where I want him, where I will always want him, and it turns out that's not the only thing I can want.

10. So, today went something like this: wake up late to an empty bed, inhale the coffee—the good stuff I never ask for but get nonetheless, have a bad hair day, go to work pissed off, piss Fraser off, piss the perp off, watch Fraser piss the perp off, take one in the jaw, give as good as I got, slap cuffs on the perp, sit through his song and dance, finally get rid of him. Endure the party, blow the party early, drive Fraser home. Open the door to Vecchio cooking, see him see me and swear, get the third bag of peas today slapped onto my face, get a beer and watch him chew Fraser out, better than TV. Eat half the whatever Vecchio's cooking right from the pan, listen to Fraser chew me out for bad behavior when all he really cares about is that there's less left for him. Make out with Fraser, pause for dinner, make out with Vecchio, try to stop the wolf from making out with me because I still smell like the good sauce, watch Vecchio make out with Fraser. Say wait, wait, what about the cake, hear Vecchio say what cake, say the one you made, hear the eyeroll as he says if you wanted one, should've made it yourself, say fuck you and get only today, Kowalski. Get herded off into the bedroom by Fraser, get horizontal, get���well, use your imagination.

So maybe this isn't exactly how I envisioned forty, but hey, my definition of a good day? Probably something like this.

[allofthebeanz]

Three choices for the Fake Title Ask Game:

Take A Chance On Me

The Best Things (Happen While You're Dancing)

No Value In The Walls That I Have Grown

Thank you so much, and I choose ALL THREE

Take a Chance on Me: Fraser/RayK

I have a vague aesthetic of Fraser going 'undercover' in a casino. Maybe there's a guy here who is threatening to rat out Ray Vecchio in Vegas, ultimately getting both his Rays killed. While this is happening, Ray breaks protocol and also goes undercover, which is extra trouble for Fraser seeing as he's avoiding Ray for - er - things that happened before this juncture. I'd like to play with Fraser's good luck here, have him perhaps work as a black jack dealer or something...

The Best Things (Happen While Dancing): Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes

Snippets of Steve and Bucky dancing throughout the century, with the 'best things' either being whacky or heartbreaking.

No Value in The Walls That I Have Grown: Fraser/RayK

There's three things different about this scenario. One, they're locked in a baker's freezer not a meat freezer. Two, this is Ray Kowalski not Ray Vecchio. And three, Fraser's already looking for plastic/paper to stuff into their clothes to stay warm, but Ray asks about the second option they have for staying alive. What's different is, he's all for the idea of clinging tightly to one another. Which isn't good for Fraser, because with them being so close physically, Ray demands to know why Fraser still is struggling to trust him after motb.

Feel free to send me a title and I'll tell you what fic I'd write for it!

[ds30below]

Rare Pair Exchange

Another dS/C6D thing for you to consider:

@feroxargentea has kindly nominated some ships for Rare Pair Exchange this year.

The sign-ups are open for another week, until May 11th, for those so inclined!

Here are our dSC6D choices:

due South

Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski/Ray Vecchio (due South)

Elaine Besbriss/Francesca Vecchio (due South)

Maggie MacKenzie/Francesca Vecchio (due South)

Hard Core Logo

Joe Dick/Billy Tallent (Hard Core Logo)

Wilby Wonderful

Dan Jarvis/Duck MacDonald (Wilby Wonderful)

Buddy French/Carol French (Wilby Wonderful)

Buddy French/Duck MacDonald (Wilby Wonderful)

Crossover

Benton Fraser (due South)/Duck MacDonald (Wilby Wonderful)

Ray Kowalski (due South)/Geoffrey Tennant (Slings & Arrows)

You can see the full tagset here—maybe you'll find other fandoms and ships you're interested in, too.

[preetkiran1016]

Dear Santa

Hi!!!! i'm preet! It's good to meet ya, and i hope we have a great time this seekrit santa season!! We've matched together, so i can assume we both love these characters a hell of a whole bunch- I want you to know that i already know ill love whatever you're going to come up with, and i can't wait to see what your creativity brings!!!

my DNW is pretty short, but i always add them just in case! so, no ddlg/scat/sounding/character deaths please. just know that i'm super grateful to be a part of this, and that i'll love any fan-work you bring to the table, especially in a fandom thats well into its third decade, yet welcomes new members like me with open arms.

If you'd like, i have some further details on the requests, so take a look! if you'd prefer to take your own spin on them, feel free!!!

request 1:

Benton fraser/ray kowalski

im a sucker for them being cute together! i'd love something fluffy! it's up to you for whatever scenario you like, but i do confess a fondness for winter/snow shenanigans and cuddling for warmth, and drinking hot cider or hot chocolate together. Regardless, im sure ill love whatever you come up with!!

request 2:

Benton Fraser & Robert "Bob" Fraser & Maggie Mackenzie

i mean, they really should've had one holiday or family dinner together don't you think? any familiy event with lots of ghost shenanigans would be great!

request 3:

Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski/Mark Smithbauer

not gonna lie i love a little jealousy thrown in with my threesomes/throuples XD who's jealous of who in this relationship depends on you! Have fun with it and go nuts! (angst is good as long as its a happy ending!)

request 4:

Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski/Ray Vecchio

the sky's the limit! perhaps post cotw, growing pains and fluff? moving to canada together? or staying in chicago? to be honest id be delighted by anything (angst is a okay! as long as we get a happy ending)

request 5:

Victoria Metcalf & None

i just really love victoria. maybe a fic about her life after victoria's secret? does she ever go back to see Fraser? does she watch through press coverage? does she see his new relationships? or does she just move on and think of him fondly/angrily from time to time, building her own life? (if she does go back- perhaps some background rayk/fraser or rayk/fraser/rayv she can get jealous about). to be fair i'd love anything you come up with!!

Thank you so much for making something for me this christmas Santa! I can't wait, and i hope you'll have as much fun as i will writing this event!

Yours-

preetkiran1016

[syrupmap]

I simply can't imagine Ray Kowalski in any of the season 1 or 2 episodes. But I'll be thinking of this all night. I'm sure I'll come up with something. Maybe Bird in the Hand or Pizzas and Promises.

I would like to see Ray Vecchio boxing. So Mountie and Soul and I think Asylum would be fun with Ray Vecchio.

I'm only now realizing that the first two and three (and four) are so influenced by Ray V and Ray K's partnership with Fraser and their personalities. It's really hard to swap them.

I'd love to see them both in all the episodes. That'd be the best. Especially because all three of them are so different. And I'm sure Fraser would love it.

Imagine you could take any episode of Due South and either a) add the absent Ray or b) swap Rays, where would you find it the most interesting or funniest to do that?

[theoriginofcarrots]

RAY HAS TWO DREAMCATCHERS

Ray's favourite number is two

When he thinks about it he realises that yes, number two has been and still is a constant in his life:

He has two names: Stanley and Ray(mond). He used to answer to Stanley but now (almost) everybody calls him Ray

And “he is” two people at the same time: Ray Kowalski and Ray Vecchio, two Chicago PD Detectives

He has two birthdays: his own birthday and Ray Vecchio’s birthday. Fraser always reminds him of the dates and gives him a present -or two presents :) 

And of course he has 2 birthday parties (thanks again Fraser!) Usually the Vecchio celebrations are quite popular but the Kowalski’s birthday party is a party for two -Fraser and himself

He has two guns: his hand gun and his boot gun. When he can’t use any of them he has two strong fists and two stronger boots

Two countries. North and South. Can’t choose between them but maybe one day he will have to (Due North...)

Two very important animals: his old buddy Turtle, 11 years with him (1+1= 2 right?) and his new half-wolf friend, Diefenbaker. Turtles and wolves are natural enemies

Two parents (surprise!) and a second chance to have two parents again, to get back in touch with his mother and his father after years of not seeing them

Two loves of his life: Stella and Fraser, Stel and Ben. He lost Stella but found Fraser, his partner (there are red ships and green ships but there’s no ships like partnerships), his other -sometimes better- half, his second love, Fraser, Ben. He doesn’t need more. He really likes his number two and knows that there will never be a number three

Ray has two Dreamcatchers: the one made by Fraser and Fraser himself

Charcoal pencil drawing on paper

posted on AO3  - onnakarot

*sorry can’t write*

[pigtailedgirl]

In The Mood For Fraser/Vecchio Kink Love Apparently; Fic Recs

I know @gayvecchio once asked for fic recs. I love all of these I found recently very very much. The last one just guts me with it's Fraser POV take and like entirely on an emotional level. So, welcome to me getting into the sexy time Fraser/Vecchio.

No matter how much leather they wear (3375 words) by gracicah Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: due South Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Vecchio Characters: Benton Fraser, Ray Vecchio Additional Tags: Handcuffs, Light BDSM, Oral Sex, Podfic Welcome Summary: Fill for Seascribe's C6D prompt: "Fic exploring that scene in Chicago Holiday where Ray arrests Fraser at the BDSM club. Because Ray looks shocked and disappointed, and Fraser looks a bit awkward but not at all embarrassed. Maybe Fraser decides to broaden Ray's mind a little. Handcuffs might possibly be involved."

which i cannot touch because they are too near (2185 words) by belmanoir Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: due South Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Vecchio Characters: Benton Fraser, Ray Vecchio Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Bondage, Post-Call of the Wild, background Frannie/Kowalski Summary: Fraser tops from the bottom.

Maple Sugar (1573 words) by belmanoir Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: due South Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Vecchio Characters: Benton Fraser, Ray Vecchio Summary: Ray thinks Fraser forgot their anniversary, but actually he's been planning his gift for a while now.

Open My Eyes, That I May See (1650 words) by SLWalker Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: due South Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Vecchio Characters: Benton Fraser, Ray Vecchio Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Unabashedly Blasphemous Title, Bondage, Domination, Porn with Feelings Summary: The first half-dozen times Benny tied him up, Ray had mouthed off.

[justlikeeddie]

I always mean to do an end-of-year fic roundup post and then never get round to it, but...... literally what else am I doing rn

merely players RPF, David Tennant/Michael Sheen, 2.9k, E

“You like this?” Michael asks, honestly intrigued. “You've done this before?”

David looks slightly surprised, but he says, “Yes.” And then, after a moment of consideration, “Not with a man.”

(Sorry, but realising I wrote this THIS YEAR - or at least it was this year yesterday - is absolutely insane. The faint memory of writing this feels like decades ago. Lives ago. If you’d explained the concept of “Staged” to me I would have killed you on the spot)

Your Mirror Good Omens, Crowley/Aziraphale, 28k, E

“What I’m saying is,” said Crowley, carefully, “You. Me. Running around up here by ourselves. Nobody really paying us that much attention, as long as we put in the paperwork.” He glanced briefly at the ceiling, and then at the ground, and then back at Aziraphale. He flickered his tongue over his lips, raised his eyebrows, and said, softly, “I think that we may have some mutual interests.”

Crossing The Line, written with @laurashapiro-noreally​ Good Omens, Crowley/Aziraphale, 10.5k, E

“So how do we actually -- make it happen?” Crowley asked. “Funnily enough, you’re the only one of us who’s possessed someone before.”

“Have you never?”

Crowley pulled a face, shook his head. “Nah. So unsubtle.” Aziraphale, despite everything, smiled again, less nervously. “Well, bit of a last resort, isn’t it? It’s practically admitting you’re not up to the job, temptation-wise. Oh, I couldn’t actually convince that human to do anything immoral, but don’t worry, I just puppeted them like a bodysuit instead. Amateur hour, seriously.”

because it’s you that sets the test X-Men, Charles/Erik, 7k, E

Erik says, “I’m not afraid of you, you know.”

Charles frowns at this. “No, of course not. You shouldn’t be. Why would you be?”

Charles, who can sift through a mind as easily as sand, could presumably shatter a person’s reality from the inside, if he tried. Or without trying. Erik doesn’t know. It makes his pulse quicken, when he thinks about it.

“I think I probably should be, actually,” Erik says. “But I’m not.”

form and land X-Men, Charles/Erik, 0.9k, G

Charles picks up his brandy and knocks it back, and looks down at the chessboard. “It's been a while since I've played.”

This is not the man that Erik remembers. Charles would never have evaded a matter so important; hell, Charles was never the one to break eye contact. Charles drank exclusively for pleasure, and not with the brisk, mechanical movement of someone taking their alcohol medicinally.

“I'll go easy on you,” Erik says, and a strange kind of sorrow twists at him. “It might finally be a fair fight.”

The Parting Glass, written with @the-omnishambles Good Omens, Crowley/Aziraphale, 16.8k, G

“But anyway, what are you doing for lunch?”

Aziraphale blinked. “This is an abbey, Crowley, you don’t do anything for lunch, you just – eat lunch. In silence.”

“Sounds dull, but all right.”

“What? You obviously can’t join.”

Voluntary Stupidity Due South, Fraser/Vecchio, 1.3k, G

But when he does speak, all Fraser says is, “—Ray.” It’s weird, the way he says it. Not the way Fraser usually says his name, not any of the ways Fraser usually says his name. It sounds surprised and a little strangled, but sort of soft, too. Almost kind.

Ray kind of hates it, actually. Hates that Fraser can look him in the eye, right after Ray went berserk and kissed him in the middle of a bank heist death trap, and then sound like that.

North West, written with @the-omnishambles​ Due South, Fraser & Vecchio, 11k, G

Of course, Ray reflects - merging seamlessly onto an underpopulated freeway - he mainly suggested this plan out of guilt. He’d been casting around for things that might help, back when Fraser was convalescing and miserable and Ray would have done anything to make amends. Then there seemed no way to back down. You can’t break a deathbed promise, and hilariously (is it hilarious? Ray isn’t sure whether he’s far enough away from all this to have a sense of humour yet), Fraser’s never suggested taking a bullet might be enough, and Ray no longer has amends to make.

Maybe Fraser just plain wants them to go. Maybe he thinks it’ll be good for them, or maybe he actually does need the help. Who the fuck knows what the Mountie is thinking, ever? The point is, there’s no turning back now.

Deduction Due South, Fraser/Kowalski, 3.9k, E

Ray has rather long fingers, his nails cut short. His thumb is bent into an obtuse angle against the glass. His silver bracelet hangs as usual on his wrist, producing the faintest click-swishing sound whenever he moves his arm. And the nearness of him brings a raft of familiar smells: coffee, a sugary sweetness, stale smoke, motor oil.

“Fraser?” says Ray, from above him.

Fraser starts, and takes the glass from his hand. “Thank you.”

“Uh— ” says Ray, and then clears his throat. “Did you just smell me?”

Trash Hard Core Logo, Joe Dick/Billy Tallent, 3.7k, M

“I thought you were gonna walk right off stage. But then you looked at me and you didn’t look angry, you looked— like— I’d never seen you look like that, man, I don’t know. It was like you’d ascended.”

Billy thinks it’s funny, dumb, when Joe says things like that— or else he thinks he’s showing off. He curls his mouth into that little smile that manages to be indulgent and mocking all at once. Usually catches the eye of whoever Joe’s trying to tell the story to, maybe a quirk of the eyebrow. He’s always trying to get other people to gang up on Joe with him, in tiny, pointless ways. Like he’s trying to prove to Joe that he can make friends with other people, and that he can do it better than Joe can.

Also, big shout-out to what felt like hundreds of other fandoms on this hell journey of a year that I apparently became re-invested in enough to read fic, even if not to write it, which I think were uhhhh DOCTOR WHO. HANNIBAL. JONATHAN STRANGE. 2010-ERA CHARLIE BROOKER RPF (DON’T @ ME). SLINGS & ARROWS. TORCHWOOD (DON’T FUCKING @ ME). RAFFLES. Extra special shout-out to whatever the fuck my relationship is with the Supernatural fandom now. okay peace done I’m out

[systematic-and-somehow-tragic]

This is so interesting! Fantastic finds and info! Yesss RayK in gay bars

I went down a similar path! I was also looking at bars (given some of the other decor in Ray's apartment) in Chicago (and Toronto). I didn't come across Harrigan's in my search, but there were a couple of places that caught my eye that I thought might have some fanon inspirational potential. Apologies for a long ramble below, I fell down multiple rabbit holes on this one

Now closed, there was a bar called the Hidden Shamrock (2723 N Halsted Ave in Chicago) that was opened in 1987. One of its owners was Michael Harvey (who is also a journalist and author). In 2011, they started hosting monthly literary interviews with local authors, obviously this part isn't relevant to the time frame of the show, but I liked the idea of a bar that Ray frequents having literary connections (he is a poet after all).

While I was digging around I found a reference to the bar in the internet archive that described it as being casual and shabby, with pool, darts, and live eclectic music (this link goes to a Chicago bar guide from 1994 on the internet archive). Also, per this guide, it's most outstanding feature was "Come in your sweats" 😆

I'd never heard of this band before, but the Hidden Shamrock was also the location of The Verve Pipe's first live show where they presumably performed songs from their first album I've Suffered a Head Injury (I went down such a wikipedia rabbit hole on this one)

I looked at Toronto too, for set/filming reasons, and I saw that there's a bowling and restaurant place called Shamrock Bowl and Restobar that's been open since the 1940s. Which made me imagine Ray and Fraser on a bowling date.

And I checked! Both Fraser and RayK make reference to bowling at least once in canon: "Well, perhaps we should just skip coffee altogether and go bowling" Fraser in The Deal and "...you can burn down my bowling alley, you can burn down my dance hall..." Ray in BDtH. (huh, a bowling rabbit hole, I wasn't expecting this one either) Maybe the first time they go, Ray tries to go easy on Fraser, only for Fraser to wipe the floor with him, thus birthing an intense ongoing bowling competition between them.

Also (if CoTW is to be believed) RayV also likes bowling! So it works as a date idea for Fraser/RayV, Fraser/RayK, Ray/Ray, and Fraser/Vecchio/Kowalski. (I feel like I'm trying to be a salesman for my weirdly specific bowling idea and I don't even like bowling very much 😆 I've only tried it a couple times and it hurt my elbow)

Lastly, I found that there were fan clubs for the Celtic Football Club from Glasgow all over the place (including Toronto and Chicago). Their official kits use a four leaf clover, but I did see shamrocks in some of their merchandise and related ephemera. I don't know if RayK is/would be a fan of soccer/football, but an interesting connection, the Hidden Shamrock claims that it was the first bar on the North Side of Chicago to show live European soccer matches.

anyways, thank you for coming to my shamrock fridge magnet inspired ted talk

A question about the episode Eclipse has reached this blog from the ether! This week's question is:

Why does Ray Kowalski have a giant shamrock on his fridge?

Remember, kids: there are no wrong answers except "Ray's apartment is a dump" and "Kowalski is an Irish name". At least one person (me) will find your idea interesting, though I'm willing to gamble (not with money, mind you) that I won't be the only one. If you're shy, try sending your response as an anonymous ask for me to publish!

[variousqueerthings]

as someone doing my (deliberately very slow) second watch of s2 of due south with the expectation that s3-4 will be something to save for the new year somewhen, there's something very interesting about knowing a very little bit about those seasons: ray goes undercover in las vegas i believe, and leaves the show as a main, but returns at times. how many times? i don't know, don't tell me -- meg gets a cute butchy haircut that makes her and fraser's gender vibes even more intense -- there's a new guy and he is also ray, but the other one, and i get the feeling that there's a bit of role-reversal in who is getting whomst to take better care of themself... maybe

i think the way i've ended up watching the show (in no small part because im semi-communally watching with @gjdraws and eventually @hunkydorkling (no rush)) as being nice and drawn out, means ive really gotten to bask in the vibes of s1-2. they're beautiful establishing seasons that also stand on their own -- if the show's myriad of cancellations had stuck, one or two seasons would have worked (altho it would have been sad, because you do get the feeling that there is more story to tell)

it also means im definitely in a very different show to the majority of fandom, hence why ive avoided the tags and read very little fic (altho, some fic!) and only follow a couple of people, because the show, to me, is about fraser and ray vecchio because it's the only show i know (so far) and ive been marinating in that show for a few months now, to the point that im interested about how it'll feel when ray kowalski comes along

i expect i'll enjoy watching his dynamic with fraser, i expect it'll be different, and i very much expect it to feel like something that only exists because of everything that happened with fraser and ray in s1-2, because everything that fraser has gained that i feel may be relevant to that new dynamic -- self-confidence in interpersonal relationships, the ability to open up to people, the ability to stand up to people, a more grounded self, a greater self-awareness about himself as a person in the world and not just an instrument, a little battered but having begun undergoing some longer healing processes in relation to his father and victoria (and those prior relationships dealing with feelings of abandonment and manipulation/violence) -- started with ray. sometimes it literally started with ray Very Pointedly Banging A Drum about some of those things

there's a lot that's not ray ofc: his sense of right and wrong, his sense of purpose, his politeness, his gentleness, his confidence in his abilities, his single-mindedness/stubborness, his general lack of propriety (especially while solving a case) because social behaviours don't seem to be that intuitive (or important) to him (although he has that old fashioned properness to him when he's not licking things he picked up off the ground) -- but some core shifts have happened that im curious about how they'll interact with the sort of person ive gotten a sense new-ray will be (more standoffish and closed-off, initially at least, is what i think)

it's very fun to imagine how ray's influence will indelibly be on fraser, even when he's not literally there. i get the feeling that, to me, he's always gonna be the third in the room to an extent, because that's what he probably will be to me as i watch -- he's the first person outside of fraser's immediate family that truly affected him for the better and he did it by just. deciding that fraser was his responsibility, from day two (on day one i think he was still gauging him a little + he needed to make up for accidentally insulting his dead father, but hey, second impressions is what matters the most!) and then he stuck to that remit

and my first presumption/prediction is that fraser will sort of... pay that forward in a way

[therealmadblonde]

A few weeks ago (or has it been months now?) a certain actor hinted that some kind of due South renewal was in the works. If you could bring the show back WITHOUT time travel (so your favorite actors WILL BE the age they actually are now) how would you like it to go? How would you incorporate older actors with the story line OR would you want to redo the entire story and recast all the characters?

My thoughts: I'd like a new set of lead characters with a similar story line, and our favourites taking recurring supporting roles (in Gross' case we'd probably have to settle for cameos). I could see Vecchio returning as the Lieutenant, having divorced Stella & returned to Chicago. Fraser (Gross) has finally become a Sergeant like his dad, having returned to the RCMP after his real adventure with Kowalski. He comes back to Chicago on the trail of another Mountie-gone-rogue, maybe a distant relative, but someone cut out of the same cloth of righteousness and always-right. Except the new guy is ACTUALLY Inuit, so we can do without the whole White Saviour thing this round. Everyone can still find him totally attractive, but hopefully in much less stupid and sexist ways. Anyway, like Fraser before him, he is exiled to Chicago for making Canada too hot to hold him. He pairs up with another detective from the 19th (ideally a lesbian so we can have a woman in the partnership without everyone immediately shipping them; maybe Frannie's younger wife?) and they solve crimes and address societal problems together. And Dief  has had more puppies, so Fraser leaves the new Mountie-in-Chicago with a loyal companion/id to talk to. And while I'm at it, I'd like a pony. 

Anybody else care to play?

[missionlameturtle]

post 2008 dS rec list (F/K focused)

All fics are F/K unless otherwise indicated! I tried to consolidate the non-F/K fics at the bottom of the list.

Arch To The Sky, sl-walker & kalijean. A long, Turnbull-focused series. Primarily gen but with flashes of F/K in some of the fics. Technically unfinished but can be read as-is.

The Train Goes Slow, atrata. Ray is patience fucking personified, and he hasn’t wanted to punch Fraser in days.

Why I Lied To You, Garonne. It’s 1930, and Ray Kowalski is undercover. Contains bootleggers, Al Capone, adventures on the frozen river Detroit… and a rather unusual Canadian Customs Officer.

The Way the World is, Garonne. Vecchio's POV, Fraser/Kowalski established relationship. Two years post-COTW, Ray Vecchio is back at the 2-7. Then the consequences of a murder inquiry make RayV start to wonder whether Fraser's keeping secrets from him. This one delves into institutional homophobia, fair warning.

Contentment, Garonne & Andeincascade. A fic about boys, and cars, and communication.

The Reaching Out One, Alex51324.  Every year they take their vacation time together and look for the hand of Franklin, the reaching out one, and when they run out of time they put a pin in the map and the next year they pick up where they left off. It all falls apart when Diefenbaker dies.

horseshoes and handgrenades, omphale23. A midcentury AU, in which there are photographs, parachute troops, invasions, exploding trees, foxholes, misunderstandings, bullets, letters from home, smokejumpers, roommates, and more exploding trees.

Can’t Even Focus On A Cup Of Coffee, helens78. life goes on in Chicago. Ray’s new partner keeps an eye on him as he tries to find a new sun to orbit.

Sweet Confessions Under His Tongue, thehoyden. It was like a car wreck, really. You just couldn’t look away. And Fraser looked up at Ray, with his expression like the cold fury of God.

Chasing Smoke, hazelwho. Benton Fraser is a Canadian smokejumper who finds himself in Arizona cross-training with a wildland fire crew led by Ray Kowalski, a veteran structural firefighter from Chicago who headed west after his divorce.

Ajax Fassbender’s Amateur Guide To Zombie Wrangling, brigantine. After Ray Vecchio disappears undercover into the wilds of Las Vegas, Fraser decides it’s high time to quit moping, and get on with life. Diefenbaker puts in his two cents, which is pretty much where the trouble starts.

Ch-ch-changes, mizface. Ray Kowalski thought he had an okay existence: he had a place to call home, didn't have to worry about a job, and nobody bothered him. If it wasn't for the fact that he was a zombie, things would have been pretty good. Then he met very much alive Benton Fraser, and his whole world was turned upside down.

Katabasis, aria. “I talked to your dad, I went through this place called the Borderland, I had a boat ride, I fed a wolf a doughnut, and I told stories for your soul,” Ray interrupted. “This does not mean you are not insane.”

Calm & The Black-Stained Sky, sageness. Two years post-COTW, Fraser is promoted to corporal & RayK becomes a volunteer firefighter in a small town in Yukon Territory—a small town with a spot of arson on its hands. Warning for child neglect.

The Love Song Of S. Raymond Kowalski, aria. Ray dared to smush his experimental hair down in hats in Canada, dared to eat everything Fraser gave him including the freaky bark tea, dared… dared to let Fraser turn his world inside out and meet his eyes afterward.

Academic Punk, thehoyden. The academia AU you never knew you needed.

Planes, Submarines and Snowmobiles: a case study in international policing, deputychairman. A post-COTW conference fic.

Many miles and city blocks, deputychairman. Stella happens to encounter Ray & Fraser at the grocery store.

Life In Freefall, feroxargentea. Coming out & the great maple syrup heist. This fic also deals with homophobia.

Long Way Down, feroxargentea. Eight years after a car crash left him with amnesia, Fraser has rebuilt his life, looking after his sister’s kids. Then unsettling memories start to surface and he starts to wonder whether the people around him have been lying to him all this time.

The Northwest Passage, crystalshard. A young man, lost in the snow in the far north, encounters two men who help him out. Warning for implied character death.

Not Quite Such A Bad Day, wagnetic. Ray is stuck with Turnbull during the events of Asylum but maybe it's not totally unbearable.

1500 Kilometers (& A Caboose), aria. For reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, Benton Fraser is in a caboose, playing table hockey and being soundly beaten by a twelve-year-old boy. My Life As A Dog crossover but perfectly understandable without having seen it. 

A House Is Not A Home, justbreathe80. They were up to their knees in snow and holy shit it was cold, but Fraser had a smile on his face that Ray had never, ever seen, and he knew, in his gut, that Fraser wasn't coming back to Chicago. Ever.

moments in the snow, tigrrmilk. Daemon AU. Ray combs his fingers through the patch of fur worst hit, and although he’s not looking at Fraser, he can feel him stand to attention.

Locked Room Puzzle, speranza. Although I don’t usually include speranza’s fics on rec lists on the assumption that most people already know about her, this one is from 2013 and I don’t know if you would have read it!

Birds Of A Feather, julia_here. Gen, SGA crossover.

The Mis-Adventures of Renfield Turnbull, Canadian Private Eye, daughtershade. Gen. AU Film Noir tale of the worst private detective in Chicago.

Not in Front of the Kid, catwalksalone. K/V. The one thing Ray and Ray weren't expecting? The Spanish Inquisition. That, and to become fathers overnight.

How The Ray Was Won, catwalksalone. K/V. One name, two men, three tasks and a motif. Or several.

Scenes From A Marriage, elementalv. K/V, Sentinel AU. This is the fic that persuaded me to give K/V fic a chance, so if you read one K/V fic from this list make it this one!

please feel free to reblog & add on your own recs!

[ajoblotofjunk]

I was tagged by @pretty--thief​ for this one!

Rules: tag 9 people you’d like to know better (I’m not gonna tag anyone since I think everybody has done it already? idk, I’ve been super busy at work I’m failing to keep up here; please treat it as though I have tagged you if you want to do this! You can @ me and everything)

Top 3 Ships

1. Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth (A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones)

I’ve been shipping these idiots for twenty fucking years, since A Clash of Kings and it has been an often painful ride. I waited so long for them to get together and finally be happy so YOU CAN IMAGINE my dismay when season 8 went down the way it did. The day 8x04 aired I may have experienced the biggest emotional pendulum swing of my life, from when the stills of the kiss were leaked to when I watched the actual end of the episode. Anyway, they’re both still alive for now and will be until Martin gets off his butt so basically I think they’re now ours to do with what we will and what we will is give them the happy ending THEY SO CLEARLY DESERVE I MEAN COME ON. READ THE SOURCE MATERIAL DAN AND DAVID. WHAT THE FUCK.

Ahem.

2. Benton Fraser/Ray Vecchio (due South)

Me, discovering that tumblr does not have a single Fraser/Vecchio gif in its GIF catalog:

ANYWAY the internet at least provided this so here you go:

This is my single biggest happy place pairing. Though I have also happily read and written Fraser/Vecchio/Kowalski and Kowalski/Vecchio (and usually Fraser paired with Janet in those cases), Fraser/Vecchio is (along with JB) the OTP of my heart. They just love each other so much???Plus you get “together we’re better than we are separately” canonically stated and it’s VERY TRUE. SOMETIMES THE WORLD COMES TO YOU. AKA YOUR BOYFRIEND WITH YOUR FAVORITE HAT.

Anyway. My experience in the FV fandom in the mid-2000s is a treasured memory even if it kind of ended in an explosion. Heh.

3. Roberta Warren/Alvin Murphy (Z Nation) 

this spot ALMOST went to Michael/Mahone from Prison Break and in fact as I type this I’m second-guessing myself about not choosing them, BUT I decided to give it to the ‘ship that I was slightly more productive with in terms of creative output and that’s Warren and Murphy from Z Nation. Murphy is the asshole failboat and only living survivor of a zombie bite and Warren is the badass team leader who agrees to ferry him across country to a lab where they’ll use his blood to make a cure. That’s how their relationship starts at least and it gets WILD from there. This ship isn’t canonical although there are ‘I love yous’ sort of exchanged at the end of the last season. But they never even hug. IT’S COMPLICATED.

There’s banter and height difference and Murphy becoming a better man just through association with Warren and they’re friends and antagonists and they are definitely Weird About Each Other and everyone knows it. (Sounds a lot like Jaime/Brienne? Yeah. I HAVE A TYPE.) It hits ALL my favorite shipping buttons. CURIOUS? You can watch this vid I made about them to see more. Limited zombies.

Last Song You Listened To

Matt Nathanson, “Still” which has this excellent lyric:

I remember nonstop earthquake dreams of you You're coming on fast like good dreams do All night long

Last Movie You Watched

All the way through probably Frozen 2, which I loved. We got about halfway through another re-watch of Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse and just haven’t gotten back to it yet.

Reading

Fanfic almost exclusively. I’m about to start sameboots’ painter Jaime AU next, I think, which I am VERY excited about. And then probably delve into another long one. Maybe Living Fiction finally. My To Read list for fic is excruciatingly long; I wish I read faster and/or didn’t have so much writing inspiration. Heh.

Last Thing You Ate

Half an avocado! It was delicious. I ate half in the morning and then the other half in the afternoon as a snack. I AM the avocado problem.