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Sign ups for the 2025 dS/C6D Big Bang

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Happy Flower Crown Day! I hope you've enjoyed festooning your favorite characters with flowers - now it's time to show that hard work off!

The AO3 collection is now live; for folks who are posting somewhere other than AO3, drop a link to wherever you've posted your work in the comments on this dw post.

You can add works for the next week, so if you (like me) aren't quiiiittee past the finish line, no worries - just because we're live doesn't mean we're done celebrating!

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Flower Crown Day will be February 28!

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I had the idea earlier this year to write 30 fics for 30 years of due South, unfortunately, I didn't quite get there. Still, it was a very prolific year for me, having posted 20 fics in total to ao3, 17 of them being dS fics. I'm pretty proud of that number, especially given that 2024 was a very tough year. Writing for these characters was a bright spot for me, and I loved being able to contribute something to this wonderful show/fandom that has been going strong for 30 years.

So, here is my due South fic round up for 2024! I hope to keep writing even more of these characters in the new year!

(*) indicates the fic is a personal fave

What Were You Doing New Year's Eve? *

Ray wakes up on New Year's day to find a man in his bed; how he got there is a mystery. (F/K)(T) word count: 2743

Reaching Out 

Just a quiet morning during the quest. (F/K)(G) word count: 100

Morning Warm-Up 

“When I first opened the door and saw you standing there, I thought I must've fallen asleep; I was afraid I had dreamt you.”

“I’m definitely no dream, Benny” (F/V)(E) word count: 1102

Tea and Tiaras 

Ray, Fraser, and Dief have a tea party with Ray's niece. (Gen)(G) word count: 1054

30 years 

Ray could hardly believe that it had been thirty years since the Mountie wandered into that holding cell… (F/V)(G) word count: 488

Three of a Kind

“Hey, Benny, they're playing our song.”

Fraser tilted his head, eyes lighting with recognition, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Ah, the gymnasium at the St. Fortunata School.”

“Where we had our first dance.”  (F/V/K, pre-ot3)(G) word count: 491

Worthy of Worship *

To Fraser a cross was just a cross. Except for the one that dangled from a certain neck. (F/V) (M) word count: 300

A Mountie Under the Influence *

"Listen, you are not in your right mind right now. You don't know what you're doing. I'm pretty sure if you had any idea what you were doing you wouldn't even think about doing it. So, under the circumstances, I cannot in good conscience allow you to keep licking me." (F/V) (T) word count: 1965

High Adventure 

Ray wasn’t the adventurous type. Not in the Great Outdoors sense anyway. (F/K) (G) word count: 139

Never Leaving Las Vegas *

It’s starting to feel like this gilded strip of desert is all he’s ever known (Ray Vecchio, gen/character study) word count: 139

give me something good

Ray Vecchio gets a surprise Trick or Treater at his door. (F/V) (G) word count: 466

Watch Your Neck *

“This is exactly what I was talking about, Benny. There’s no way I’d be out hunting vampires before you came into my life.”  (F/V) (T) word count: 2613

Riveted *

As soon as he laid eyes on the car in person, Ray could see his future with Ange, all the plans they’d made, crumbling away. Handing over the cash, he imagined the disappointment in her eyes, heard the hurt and anger in her voice beneath the thrum of the engine as he pulled out of the lot. It should have been enough to make him turn back. (Ray Vecchio, gen/character study) word count: 2148

Thanks for Nothing 

Apparently, even mobsters took the holidays off to spend with their loved ones. Armando Langoustini, however, didn’t have any of those. No real friends or family to speak of—unless you counted The Family, but none of them seemed to have room for him at their tables. (F/V) word count: 1382

Thankful

Ray couldn’t remember the last time he’d sat down for Thanksgiving with an actual family. His parents hadn’t been back to Chicago in years. Stella’s family had been big on the holidays, sure, but those dinners were...complicated. Formal in the worst way. Stuffy. He didn’t think it would be like that at the Vecchio’s, but he still wanted to make a good impression. (Gen) (G) word count: 2082

Home for Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a Vecchio was stirring, not even the wolf. (F/V) (G) word count: 2159

Blame it on the Eggnog

As soon as Kowalski kicked the door shut behind them, a flurry of hands descended, fingers tangling in their haste to get Fraser’s tunic undone. Vecchio swatted Fraser’s hands away with a smirk. “Let us, Benny,” Vecchio murmured, his lips brushing the shell of Fraser’s ear. “Yeah,” Kowalski added, grinning as he pressed a hard, eager kiss to Fraser’s lips. “You’re the present—we get to do the unwrapping.” (F/V/K) (E) word count: 6091

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Happy Holidays!

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to say a quick thank you kindly for celebrating the 30th anniversary of due South with such enthusiasm and commitment. Your creations, discussion and squee were a joy to behold and a credit to the long history of this fandom, and seeing how active the community has become I won't be surprised if we keep going for 30 years more.

I hope 2025 will be better for you than just—

Much love and Happy New Year! —flownwrong

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The dSSS reveals are upon us! Go forth and enjoy!

NEW FIC AND ART AND THINGS EVERYONE!

(@ds30below here u go!)

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ride_4ever's c6d fic recs

Hard Core Logo fics by @verushkak70

Slings & Arrows fics by Petra

Purple Toast fic by ride_4ever

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"There's red cats and green cats but there's no cats like partner cats."

Knitted Constable Kitten Fraser, RCMP, with his partner Detective Stray Kowalski and their companion Diefenbaker (wolf).

(Kitten Fraser wears the regulation RCMP tail uniform. Stray Kowalski has chosen a daring short sleeve + jewellery for his tail.)

Greetings from Canada!

(This is the simplest toy cat pattern I've ever seen: just a tube of 24 stitches knitted in the round, stuffed and then shaped with a few stitches, details embroidered on. Endlessly variable for making little character creatures like these!)

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In Burning Down The House, Ray says that he's not an outdoors kind of guy. His exact words are "Me personally, I leave the city, I come down with this skin condition." This in itself is not a big deal - what makes it an interesting statement is the fact that in I Coulda Been A Defendant, we see him and Fraser in his apartment, packing for moving Bruce to a safe location for the night. We see them bring two sleeping bags and what appears to be a small cooler or thermos out of the bedroom, then go back in for more things we do not see. This of course leads me to ask:

Why does Ray have all this camping gear? Was the line about leaving the city an undercover thing? Is he actually more outdoorsy than we realize long before going off on an arctic adventure with Fraser?

Remember, kids: there are no wrong answers except "bad writing lol" and "You should call him Stanley actually". 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!

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It's common knowledge that Paul Gross's wife Martha Burns plays the Russian spy Nadia in "Spy vs. Spy", but there's another married couple in that episode that at least I hadn't heard of before: Mort and Ruth! Here are some photos of Jan Rubeš (1920-2009) and Susan Douglas Rubeš (1925-2013).

The above pics are from the 1980s - here are a couple of much older photos: Jan perhaps in the 1950s/60s and Susan probably in the late 1940s or early 1950s. They got married in 1950.

Also, Jan Rubes was an opera singer, so no wonder Mort was singing all the time in the morgue - even when we first meet him in "Mountie and Soul", we hear his singing before we even see the guy!

I leave you with this photo of Jan from 1971 when he was directing a children's play, because, you know: "Fishing is ridiculous!" I so wish there had been more episodes with Mort, he's one of the absolute best recurring minor characters in the entire show.

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If you're like me, you love the magical realism that sets Due South apart from so many other shows. Ghosts are real! The wolf reads maps! In the spirit of this, and with Halloween coming up, this week I have a slightly out there question for you to ponder. While it's implied that Diefenbaker's not-wolf half is dog, can we be sure it is? I don't recall Fraser ever saying Dief is half dog. In fact, upon seeing the "No Dogs" sign on the door in Chinatown, Fraser has to explain to Dief that that policy includes him as well! Which of course begs the question:

If Diefenbaker is half wolf, what is his other half?

Remember, kids: there are no wrong answers except "Dief doesn't actually read maps" and "Bob Fraser's ghost is only in Benton's head". 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!

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2024 Big Bang collection is live!

Go check it out!

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Another due South podfic from the hard-working @sef1029!

[Podfic] Reel (40 words) by SEF_podfic Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: due South Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski Characters: Benton Fraser, Ray Kowalski Additional Tags: Romance, Dancing, Podfic, Audio Format: Streaming, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3 Summary:

Real life is confusing, but a dancer always knows where he's supposed to be. [podfic version]

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One of the more obvious changes between seasons 1&2 and seasons 3&4 is Fraser's wardrobe. Not only do we hardly ever see any uniform except the red serge, he also spends less time in civilian clothes.

It looks like Fraser prefers the red serge from the beginning of season 3 on - why do you think that is?

Big thank you to @sammaggs for inspiring this question!

Remember, kids: there are no wrong answers except "the wardrobe people were lazy" and "American viewers got confused with more than one uniform". 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!

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New due South podfic by SEF for meeee!

[podfic] Getting There (27 words) by SEF_podfic Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: due South Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski Characters: Benton Fraser, Ray Kowalski Additional Tags: Romance, necking, First Time, Podfic, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes Summary:

Maybe one day Ray would just say, "Fraser, shut up," and when Fraser gave him that wounded look, Ray would kiss him. [podfic version]

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How does Victoria find out that Fraser is in Chicago? She's hankering for revenge, but how does she know where to go to exact it?

Or is she finishing up other old business and it's just a happy (for her anyway) coincidence that she bumps into Fraser and decides to take him on her horror ride?

Thank you so much for this question, Anon, it's an excellent one and I'm very curious what answers we'll receive!

Remember, kids: there are no wrong answers except "plot hole" and "Fraser deserved what Victoria did to him". 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!

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