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crack_van2005-03-15 12:24 pm
merelyn.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2005-03-15 12:24 pm
Due South/Homicide: LotS (G)
Title: Zen by Basingstroke
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski, one-sided Tim Bayliss/Frank Pembleton implied
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
basingstoke
Author Website: Basingstoke
Why this must be read:
Normally I don’t really go in for crossovers. And for some reason, that’s especially true for dS. So I guess it’s rather funny that out of all of my favorite dS crossovers (and by ‘all’ I mean all three of them), two are due South/Homicide. I should note that I know next to nothing about Homicide. I debated for a while over which one to rec, and finally I settled on Zen.
(Mere’s ‘Totally Cheating on This’ Mini-plug: the other one is Wax Jism’s Lunar Eclipse in G Minor. It’s Fraser/Kowalski with some Kowalski/Bayliss in there too. It’s funny, the Ray voice is really original, and it has one of those great holy-crap-heart-in-your-throat moments. Read it too.)
Anyway, I ended up choosing this one for several reasons. First, it’s an outside POV of the F/K relationship, and I love outside POVs on relationships. Secondly, it’s brilliant at contrasting the ‘magical realism’ world of due South with the gritty, angsty Homicide universe.
Zen is a post-CoTW story. The basic premise is that Tim Bayliss has moved to Chicago and is now RayK’s new partner. The story is from his point of view, so not only do we get an outside perspective on RayK and Fraser, we get an outside perspective of the due South universe in general, which makes the lovable wackiness of the entire ensemble (”Huey and Dewey are doing--something--it involves a boom-tish rim shot and apart from that you really can't tell.”) all the more…lovable. There’s also a wonderful parallel between the whole destined, OTP happy endingness of F/K as compared to the unrequited failure of Bayliss/Pembleton.
Vecchio and Kowalski shake their fists three times; Kowalski shoots out two fingers in a V, while Vecchio's fist remains clenched. "Rock pulverizes scissors," Vecchio says.
Kowalski steps back and fakes a quick succession of punches at Vecchio. "Two out of three," he says, bouncing on his toes.
"Sure, whatever you say. You're still going to lose." They lean back in toward each other and start shaking their fists. Francesca pushes past them to answer her phone and they turn away so that you can't see their hands. Fraser is talking to Welsh again.
Dewey looks meditative. "Well, what is the purpose of police work anyway? I mean, how can you know if something is right or wrong if you don't actually know what it is?"
"The idea behind police work is that people are basically animals and can't be trusted. That's all you need to know." Huey folds his arms.
Another quote comes to you. "'People think it is hard to see the essential human nature, but in reality it is neither difficult nor easy. Nothing at all can adhere to this essential nature. It is a matter of responding to right and wrong while remaining detached from right and wrong, living in the midst of passions yet being detached from passions, seeing without seeing, hearing without hearing, acting without acting, seeking without seeking.'"
They're all looking at you. "Zen," you say.
Kowalski flings out his arms. Both fists are clenched into rocks. "Ha! Ha! I win!"
"Chance, Kowalski, pure chance." Vecchio leans back on the desk. Francesca swats at him.
Welsh cracks a smile. "You're going to fit right in, Detective," he says to you, and heads back to his office.
And if that weren’t enough, Zen also has one of my all time favorite descriptions of Fraser/Kowalski ever.
Zen is actually the first of six parts of the Sestina series, which you can find on Basingstroke’s website in the Crossover section. It’s a great series, but Zen stands perfectly well (if not better) on its own. Goreadnow.
Zen
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski, one-sided Tim Bayliss/Frank Pembleton implied
Author on LJ:
basingstokeAuthor Website: Basingstoke
Why this must be read:
Normally I don’t really go in for crossovers. And for some reason, that’s especially true for dS. So I guess it’s rather funny that out of all of my favorite dS crossovers (and by ‘all’ I mean all three of them), two are due South/Homicide. I should note that I know next to nothing about Homicide. I debated for a while over which one to rec, and finally I settled on Zen.
(Mere’s ‘Totally Cheating on This’ Mini-plug: the other one is Wax Jism’s Lunar Eclipse in G Minor. It’s Fraser/Kowalski with some Kowalski/Bayliss in there too. It’s funny, the Ray voice is really original, and it has one of those great holy-crap-heart-in-your-throat moments. Read it too.)
Anyway, I ended up choosing this one for several reasons. First, it’s an outside POV of the F/K relationship, and I love outside POVs on relationships. Secondly, it’s brilliant at contrasting the ‘magical realism’ world of due South with the gritty, angsty Homicide universe.
Zen is a post-CoTW story. The basic premise is that Tim Bayliss has moved to Chicago and is now RayK’s new partner. The story is from his point of view, so not only do we get an outside perspective on RayK and Fraser, we get an outside perspective of the due South universe in general, which makes the lovable wackiness of the entire ensemble (”Huey and Dewey are doing--something--it involves a boom-tish rim shot and apart from that you really can't tell.”) all the more…lovable. There’s also a wonderful parallel between the whole destined, OTP happy endingness of F/K as compared to the unrequited failure of Bayliss/Pembleton.
Vecchio and Kowalski shake their fists three times; Kowalski shoots out two fingers in a V, while Vecchio's fist remains clenched. "Rock pulverizes scissors," Vecchio says.
Kowalski steps back and fakes a quick succession of punches at Vecchio. "Two out of three," he says, bouncing on his toes.
"Sure, whatever you say. You're still going to lose." They lean back in toward each other and start shaking their fists. Francesca pushes past them to answer her phone and they turn away so that you can't see their hands. Fraser is talking to Welsh again.
Dewey looks meditative. "Well, what is the purpose of police work anyway? I mean, how can you know if something is right or wrong if you don't actually know what it is?"
"The idea behind police work is that people are basically animals and can't be trusted. That's all you need to know." Huey folds his arms.
Another quote comes to you. "'People think it is hard to see the essential human nature, but in reality it is neither difficult nor easy. Nothing at all can adhere to this essential nature. It is a matter of responding to right and wrong while remaining detached from right and wrong, living in the midst of passions yet being detached from passions, seeing without seeing, hearing without hearing, acting without acting, seeking without seeking.'"
They're all looking at you. "Zen," you say.
Kowalski flings out his arms. Both fists are clenched into rocks. "Ha! Ha! I win!"
"Chance, Kowalski, pure chance." Vecchio leans back on the desk. Francesca swats at him.
Welsh cracks a smile. "You're going to fit right in, Detective," he says to you, and heads back to his office.
And if that weren’t enough, Zen also has one of my all time favorite descriptions of Fraser/Kowalski ever.
Zen is actually the first of six parts of the Sestina series, which you can find on Basingstroke’s website in the Crossover section. It’s a great series, but Zen stands perfectly well (if not better) on its own. Goreadnow.
Zen
no subject
Fantastic pick.
I'm going to go read Wax Jism's now.
no subject
no subject
no subject
I'm friending you.