Beguiled (due South story)
| Fraser/Kowalski Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Beguiled |
| Author(s): | Rhi Marzano |
| Date(s): | |
| Length: | |
| Genre: | slash |
| Fandom: | due South |
| External Links: | online here online at AO3 |
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Beguiled is a Fraser/RayK story by Rhi Marzano.
Reactions and Reviews
This is a very nice little fic that I discovered recently, and feeds into my recent dS obsession with all things kidfic or AU, which really makes no sense at all if you consider how hard I resisted these themes to begin with. Fraser and Ray are platonic (well, at least on the surface) roommates some time post-COTW, and Fraser finds himself a father when Victoria dies and leaves their son, who Fraser had no idea about, to Fraser. Why this fic works so well for me is watching Ray build a life for this little family that he suddenly has, and in the process, realizing and acting on his feelings for Fraser. Watching Fraser, Ray, and Giles become a family just gets me right there, man. [1]
...I want to look to the future of dS, and to that end, my last rec is something a little different: an almost-brand-new fic by a young author, relatively new to dS, who appears to have started in anime and Harry Potter. Beguiled was posted in December, but I just read it for the first time about a week ago. It was immediately apparent to me that this was something special - I was gripped from start to finish and left emotionally ... well, maybe full is the best word, in a way that I am only by the best fics (in my view, of course!).Beguiled is a post-Call of the Wild fic in which Ray and Fraser are sharing an apartment in Chicago, having both decided to return to the city after their adventure. They're just good buddies at this point, but it's clear that they're committed to each other in a pretty deep way. Their lives are proceeding apace - working together, living together - and might have gone on like this indefinitely, who knows, if not for a few life-altering events that come along one on top of the other: Fraser's three-year-old son by Victoria (about which he knew nothing) is thrust into their lives (yes, it's a kidfic, and believe me, I abhor kidfic - so the fact that I'm reccing it is high praise), and Stella tells Ray that she's marrying Vecchio. These events are the catalysts for a change in their relationship that really isn't that much of a change at all - they're already getting just about everything they need from each other, they've set up house with a child, and their lives are entirely intertwined; the step into bed, into a "romantic" relationship, seems somehow the inevitable and natural next step, and it happens without a lot of fanfare or angst.
So what makes this fic work so well for me? I think if I had to put it in a nutshell, it'd be how effectively the author conveys so much feeling without ever being explicit - showing-not-telling again. Like the way she illustrates the depth of Ray's commitment to Fraser, even when they're still "just friends" - he buys a house so Fraser's kid can have his own room, for god's sake, and without telling Fraser. Or the way Ray can read Fraser, understand what he's really saying. It's all so understated, so guy-like, but so obvious - it fills you with warm fuzzies, is moving enough to make you all misty-eyed at times, but it's never, ever schmoopy or sappy.
The other thing that makes this story shine is the incredible Ray voice. He's just so unmistakably Ray throughout the story ... [snipped]
And what makes Ray so endearing, so appealing, is that even with the prickliness, we always have a sense of his vulnerability, his fear of loss, his depth of feeling. The scene when he and Fraser finally talk, and he finally puts a name to what they've been doing - the last scene of the story before the epilogue - is especially memorable. There are so few words exchanged, so little actually said - he fumbles, guy-like, around the true heart of the matter - and yet it's all there. The scene is so beutifully done, so achingly, exquisitely tender - it just floored me. The epilogue itself is a perfect touch, with some nice parallels to the opening scene of the story. And the more everyday tone of the epilogue helps ease you out of the intense emotion of the previous scene, but it's sweet enough to leave you smiling, and feeling good, and just so wonderfully satisfied.
Beguiled left me just that - beguiled, and enchanted, and thrilled. It'd be a wonderful thing if the author continues writing for the fandom; she's a fantastic writer with a really accurate feel for the characterization and dynamic of the show. So I'm leaving you with this, hopeful that it's a sign of dS's future - and grateful that so many talented authors have chosen to make dS their home, at least for a while. [2]