ext_14267 (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
laughingacademy.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crack_van2005-05-26 05:03 pm
laughingacademy.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2005-05-26 05:03 pm
"Some Strange Prophecy" by Speranza (NC-17)
Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Fraser/OFCs, Fraser/Kowalski, Fraser/Kowalski/OFC, refs to Fraser/Victoria
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cesperanza
Author Website: http://www.trickster.org/speranza
Why this must be read:
One of the reasons I’m so very, very happy to have been picked as this month’s dS reccer is that I get to write up this amazing story by one of the best writers in the fandom.
The premise is brilliant: Ray Vecchio calls Ray Kowalski to tell him that Victoria Metcalf, Benton Fraser’s very own belle dame sans merci, has been arrested in Georgia for killing a policeman. Fraser, when informed of the situation by Lt. Welsh, agrees to identity and testify against her, then proceeds to drink and sleep his way from Atlanta to New Orleans while a heartsick Kowalski hangs on for dear life.
Speranza does a knockout job of getting inside Fraser’s head—she comes up with an explanation for the Mountie’s sudden interest in wine, women (and men), and song that also makes sense of his previous abstinence. Furthermore, she tells the story from Kowalski’s point of view, and her Ray’s voice is perfect. I particularly liked the sequence in which he and Fraser visit the incarcerated Victoria—from his first impressions of the jail (Damien Kowalski’s son would always know a meat-packing plant when he saw one) and of the woman (he had to admit, Victoria Metcalf had a kind of...light to her--even in prison, which was a place that could suck the light out of almost anybody) to his description of Fraser and Victoria’s reactions when they see each other. And then there’s Ray’s response to Fraser’s near hookup with a man in a hotel bar: “No. No. Forget it, Fraser!...I got dibs!”
As that last quote shows, we also get plenty of the comedy that is one of Speranza’s trademarks. Much of it comes in the increasingly frantic phone conversations between Ray K and long-distance fairy godfather Vecchio, who is tracking the duo’s travels through his Mob contacts. Here’s an example:
Will Ray and Fraser get through this with hearts, minds, and skins intact? What happens when they stop at a county fair? Will Vecchio’s attempt to intervene help or hurt? Can Fraser put Victoria on death row? How the hell can Kowalski testify under oath as Vecchio?
Some Strange Prophecy
Note: The link will take you to the story’s cover, which was made byheuradys. Click on the image to proceed to the story.
Pairing: Fraser/OFCs, Fraser/Kowalski, Fraser/Kowalski/OFC, refs to Fraser/Victoria
Author on LJ:
cesperanzaAuthor Website: http://www.trickster.org/speranza
Why this must be read:
One of the reasons I’m so very, very happy to have been picked as this month’s dS reccer is that I get to write up this amazing story by one of the best writers in the fandom.
The premise is brilliant: Ray Vecchio calls Ray Kowalski to tell him that Victoria Metcalf, Benton Fraser’s very own belle dame sans merci, has been arrested in Georgia for killing a policeman. Fraser, when informed of the situation by Lt. Welsh, agrees to identity and testify against her, then proceeds to drink and sleep his way from Atlanta to New Orleans while a heartsick Kowalski hangs on for dear life.
Speranza does a knockout job of getting inside Fraser’s head—she comes up with an explanation for the Mountie’s sudden interest in wine, women (and men), and song that also makes sense of his previous abstinence. Furthermore, she tells the story from Kowalski’s point of view, and her Ray’s voice is perfect. I particularly liked the sequence in which he and Fraser visit the incarcerated Victoria—from his first impressions of the jail (Damien Kowalski’s son would always know a meat-packing plant when he saw one) and of the woman (he had to admit, Victoria Metcalf had a kind of...light to her--even in prison, which was a place that could suck the light out of almost anybody) to his description of Fraser and Victoria’s reactions when they see each other. And then there’s Ray’s response to Fraser’s near hookup with a man in a hotel bar: “No. No. Forget it, Fraser!...I got dibs!”
As that last quote shows, we also get plenty of the comedy that is one of Speranza’s trademarks. Much of it comes in the increasingly frantic phone conversations between Ray K and long-distance fairy godfather Vecchio, who is tracking the duo’s travels through his Mob contacts. Here’s an example:
"It's her fault," Vecchio snapped, and Ray didn't have to ask who she was. "This is some plan of hers, or else she did something to him--like post-hypnotic suggestion!--"
"No, man, no," Ray sighed. "He's just--look, you were divorced, right?"
Vecchio sounded sad for a moment. "Yeah."
"So you know that stage right after you want to kill yourself when you make yourself believe that, really, this was the best thing that ever happened to you because the world is full of beautiful people and probably a lot better sex than you've been getting?"
"Yeah," Vecchio sighed.
"Well, you and me, we were deluding ourselves," Ray said. "But in Fraser's case it's true."
But Vecchio wasn't having any. "No. No. I'm telling you, Kowalski, Victoria's got something to do with it. He's discrediting himself," Vecchio said suddenly, and Ray could hear the faint sound of snapping fingers. "He's casting aspersions on his own character, divesting himself of all credibility!--"
"He's going through his own personal seventies!" Ray yelled, frustrated. "Next is gonna be roller disco, and designer jeans, and ABBA--"
"--so that he can get that bitch sprung from jail, Kowalski! Where the hell does ABBA come into it? "
"Would you shut up and listen to me?" Ray pounded a fist against his temple. "Fraser has women throwing themselves at him. I'm talking morning, noon, and night--"
"I know," Vecchio groaned. "Believe me, I know."
"Plus the women we're talking about, you can't imagine the women we're talking about," Ray nearly moaned.
"I can imagine them," Vecchio said, somewhat grimly.
"Tall and gorgeous and stacked--"
"I know, I know." Vecchio sounded miserable. "It was always like that."
"So okay! So why shouldn't he get laid, if he wants to?" and Ray wasn't sure who he was arguing with now: Vecchio or himself. "Why shouldn't he score the occasional touchdown?"
"Because he's Fraser," Vecchio shouted at him, "and he doesn't do casual sex! The man doesn't do casual anything--he irons his shorts, for Christ's sake!"
"So maybe he's seen the light!" Ray replied heatedly. "Turned over a new leaf! I mean, you wanted him to get over Victoria, he's getting over her, seeing other people, dating finally--"
"Dating? This isn't dating," Vecchio retorted. "This is Fraser acting like--"
"Like Shaft," Ray said glumly.
They let that sit between them for a moment.
"Can you dig it?" Ray asked.
"Shut your mouth," Vecchio said.
Will Ray and Fraser get through this with hearts, minds, and skins intact? What happens when they stop at a county fair? Will Vecchio’s attempt to intervene help or hurt? Can Fraser put Victoria on death row? How the hell can Kowalski testify under oath as Vecchio?
Some Strange Prophecy
Note: The link will take you to the story’s cover, which was made by
heuradys. Click on the image to proceed to the story.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
They let that sit between them for a moment.
"Can you dig it?" Ray asked.
"Shut your mouth," Vecchio said.
This is one of my favourite bits of dialogue, ever.
no subject