Due Frisky
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Due Frisky |
| Publisher: | Almost Foolproof Press |
| Editor(s): | Ann Teitelbaum and Dar F |
| Date(s): | 1996-1997 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | digest-sized |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Due South |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Due Frisky is a Due South slash anthology. It is digest-sized.
Series
For other Frisky zines, see Frisky Business.
Fan Comments
Regarding the "Poker Night Series" by Ruth Devero:
This BF/RV was originally published in the Due Frisky zines, but thankfully it is now available on the net. When Fraser is dealt a losing hand at poker, Ray dares OFM to put his best *ahem* asset on the table. All of the stories have a magnificent sense of charm to them, something that you don’t read as much of in a lot of the newer DS stories. [1]
Issue 1
Due Frisky 1 was published in May 1996 and is 76 pages long (32,800 words).
The editorial:
Welcome to Due Frisky, the first of what we hope will be many issues of our all-Due South slash zine! We were planning on running these submissions in our multimedia Frisky Business, but were pleasantly surprised to find we had enough to put out this all- Benny/Ray edition!
Many thanks to our contributors, without whom we wouldn't have been able to publish this. In addition to our familiar friends, we were happy to have received submissions from new (to us) authors and hope these stories will inspire more people to try their hand at writing for AFP!
Put out a bowl of dog food, spread the bedroll out on the floor, turn down the kerosene lamp and prepare to get frisky!
- Little Mr. Marker by Ruth Devero ("Amazing how much like a wolf Ray could look when he lowered his head and smiled over that long nose--a scheming wolf. Let a wolf save your life, and you pay and pay and--." (3)
- In The Closet by Jeannie Marie ("Benny just smiled at me as he dragged me to the janitor's closet...") (11)
- Reasons Why, poem by Khylara (14)
- A Cabin In The Woods by Khylara ("Back to back cases had left Ray with barely enough time to breathe, much less spend any of it with his lover.") (15)
- Just One Kiss by Rachael ("Two days in a car with Fraser? He'd go insane, and not just because he'd have to obey the speed limit and use his turn signal.") (28)
- Yankee Rump Roast And Canadian Cream by Vixen Foxx ("They resumed the long, snow-logged walk, moving awkwardly while Diefenbaker trotted easily ahead of them. Ray concentrated on just trying not to break his neck.") (54)
- Holding You by James Walkswithwind ("He adored dancing with Benny, he was such a good lead that all Ray ever had to do was put himself in Benny's arms and hold on.") (63)
- Thief of Hearts by Ruth Devore ("He straightened in his chair, took a breath, looked into those clear eyes, shining in that perfect face. He looked at his own hand and heard his voice say, as if from a distance, 'Well, you got me.'") (66)
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1
Overall, I found it a surprisingly fun read and at $4 it was hard to beat the price. Specific story comments:
"Little Mr. Marker" by Ruth Deveroe--Even though it is *extremely* difficult for me to believe that Fraser would play strip poker--forget the idea that some female pilot taught him how--within the story context, they each sound like they should. It's a fluff piece and works on that level.
"In the Closet" by Jeannie Marie--Another pwp and this works for me a lot less. I still have a *huge* problem with the idea of Fraser having sex while either one of them is on duty, forget dragging Ray into the broom closet for more than just a conference. It works as a bawdy joke and I can't say the thought hasn't crossed my mind, but it just doesn't work as a story.
"A Cabin in the Woods" by Khylara--It started out as a rather nice, sweet romantic little story and on the whole I like it. However (there's always one of those with me, huh?), the idea that Fraser would not be a little more anxious to get Ray to a hospital after being caught in a wolf trap seems a little, shall we say odd to me. And the suggestion that he would take him to an emergency room when they got back to Chicago just makes it sound even more odd. They do have hospitals in Canada I assume.
"Just One Kiss" by Racheal--The longest and by far the best story in the zine. Totally in character for both of them and I love the idea of them having to attend a cop conference together and speak on interagency cooperation. Good dialogue and a lovely story.
"Yankee Rump Roast and Canadian Cream" by Vixen Foxx--Okay, it's a pwp, but it's a pwp with a sort of outside attempt at a plot framing it. I'd have rather it had just been the pwp and forget the semi-intrigue since it's never really explained anyway. Ignore the set-up and enjoy the sex.
"Holding You" by James Walkswithwind--My initial reaction to this one was "Huh?" Actually, it pretty much still is. It starts with Fraser and Ray dancing in what appears to be a public ballroom. Then they go upstairs to have sex. Next morning Ray talks to his dad who ends up asking him for his car keys, which Ray gives him. Next scene shows Ray and Fraser discussing the fact that 'he' let them borrow 'his' car. Where? What? Who? Huh? This also is the only story in the zine which seems to contain the dreaded 'Ben', my current personal pet peeve in DS fanfic. With the exception of Victoria and Julie, I can't recall anyone else calling him Ben. It's either Benton (which his dad seems to prefer), Fraser or Benny (which only Ray seems to use).
"Thief of Hearts" by Ruth Devore--A sequel to the first story in the zine, aside from the reservations I had regards that one, this is again a pleasant, silly, sexy pwp. It succeeds in everything it seems to set out to be, no more, no less, though it did definitely deal more with emotions.
OVERALL REACTION--I liked it on the whole. Nothing strenuous and the Rachael story makes the $4 price worth it all by itself, even without a couple pleasant, uncomplicated pwps. [2]
Fun and cheap digest sized zine, story quality varies. One story no-one understands, balanced with a few treasures. Recommended. [3]
I recommend DUE SOUTH: (1) DUE FRISKY (Almost Foolproof Press, 1996), if only for Rachael's "Just One Kiss," a lovely long, angsty first-time story, tho. I'm also fond of a couple of the shorter pieces. (2) TWO (IIBNF Press, 1996) especially for Michelle Christian's "All's Well That..." & Rachael's "If Your Heart is Tired", which have marvelous charactizations of both Fraser & Ray; for Julien's "Sans Souci" & "At the Urging of a Mountie" (aka, "Benny Courts Ray"--in long, luscious, breathtaking detail; *sigh*); for Gloria Lancaster's "Silence Keeps the Door," which beautifully weaves several of the episodes into the relationship; & for the frost-melting color photo of OFM across from the table of contents. [4]
Issue 2
Due Frisky 2 was published in January 1997 and contains 87 pages (27,700 words).
From the editorial:
Okay, I know this is a single volume, not the three I'd been predicting, or the two I had promised. But we began to realize that holding back the zine that was ready wasn't helping anyone, so... here you are.
Welcome to Due Frisky #2, another in our line of all-Due South slash zines.
We had plenty of stories for this issue -- so many, in fact, that Due Frisky 3 and 4 are almost full, and we're already on the lookout for stories and poetry to run in issue 5, due out in May for MediaWest*Con!
[...]
So, leave a jelly doughnut out, grab a box of milk duds, and prepare to get frisky!
- Perfection by Khylara ("Reaching up, he fingered the gold crucifix around his neck. God, he felt dirty. The man was his best friend, the one person he had no right thinking about like that. No right at all. So why was he?") (3)
- Poetry Cycle by Elaine Walker (27)
- The Gift by Lee Owers ("In any case, he wanted his gift to be special, something which Ray would never have thought of acquiring for himself. Better still, something it was only in Fraser's power to give him.") (29)
- Rainy Days and Sundays by Jeannie Marie ("He was smiling by the time he reached the bottom [of the stairs], walking with a jaunty step toward the kitchen. With his whole family scattered hither and yon for the weekend, he and Benny were enjoying some rare time alone in his home. Since they hadn't told his family yet about their relationship, they had to be terribly discreet.") (62)
- It's Later Than You Think by Mireille ("Francesca's relentless pursuit of Fraser was really beginning to get to him. Not that he had any right to be jealous‚ Fraser had shown no sign of interest in either Vecchio sibling, more's the pity‚ but he couldn't help it. He just wondered how long he could stand hearing her pine after Fraser before he burst out with 'Back off, Frannie, I saw him first!'") (A sequel to this story is in the next issue.) (70)
Issue 3
Due Frisky 3 was published in March 1997 and contains 76 pages.
From the editorial:
...pull a quilt over the bedroll, make sure everyone's been fed and prepare to get frisky...!
- Heat Rash by Trish Darbyfeld. ("'Heat rash? It's only 80! Wait until we get into the high nineties, then you'll have heat rash'.") (3)
- Predictable by Cybel Harper. ("Maybe it was the clean mountain air, or -- he thought of the nearly finished cabin with pride -- the satisfaction that comes with a job well done. Or maybe it was just being here with Fraser....") (12)
- One Sweet Kiss, poem by Khylara (15)
- Keeping the Faith by Annick Walker. ("What if he was too late, what if she had gotten there before him? Would she really kill Fraser, or would she try to persuade him to leave with her? Which would be worse?") (16)
- Over The Line by Gloria Lancaster. ("It was a thought Fraser couldn't resist. Not now, with Ray looking at him like that, his eyes a warm spark in the car's dark interior, the scent of the Riv, of Ray, pulling at him, into that warmth, in from the cold of the icy street.")
- Coming Back by Mireille ("One more step in the grand plan to convince Fraser that everything was just fine. Yeah, it's all fine, Benny. Couldn't be better. I always feel like I've been kicked in the stomach every time I look at my best friend, when things are going really well.") (sequel to It's Later Than You Think, from Due Frisky 2) (50)
Issue 4
Due Frisky 4 was published in May 1997 and contains 88 pages. It contains two illos by Anja Gruber.
From the editorial:
... make sure you've got supplies in, stack some sandbags against the snowmelt, and prepare to get frisky...!
- Just Call Me 'Chamois' by Trish Darbyfeld ("'Ah, come on Benny. Groping in a movie theater's practically an American tradition'.") ("Dedicated to Gloria Lancaster, who wanted to see some 'action' in the Riv, and to Sandy Hereld, who maintains that Fraser would never permit any, um, activities in the Riv. So, ladies, will against the Riv do?") (3)
- The Missing Bits by Quill ("Fraser sat on one side of the detective, and a towel-wrapped Louise St. Laurent sat on the other. Ray looked from one to the other, his eyes wide in disbelief.") ("There is a scene at the end of tlie second season episode called Mask that wasn't quite completed in the show. Disclaimer: I realize now that Inuit belief precludes using a sweat lodge for sex, but the story was written before I found that out! No offense intended.") (7)
- Interrogation Aftermath, poem by Khylara (13)
- You Wanna Hand Getting Out of That? by Sarah Bellum. ("'Ray,' Fraser interrupted, 'your contact said it was on your person, he didn't necessarily say it was in your clothing.' Ray turned angrily, about to snap, 'What the hell difference does it make what he said' when Fraser's embarrassed body language, his slight flush, and the sense of his words sank in.") ("The author would like to point out this is an angstless PWP story with no merit whatsoever, it was written as a dare to Trish D. and Gloria L,, and thanks to Gillian, and Kezia Barns for comments on my first-ever PWP. Title from the Pilot -- Benny to Ray." (15)
- The Fire This Time by Ruth Devero ("Oh, gosh, right there. The bed was right there. And suddenly Fraser was right here, just a heartbeat away, standing at what looked like attention, head tilted slightly, hat under one arm, and burning blue eyes fixed on Ray. 'Permission to kiss,' said Fraser. Wha- "Permission to-?" Aw, jeez: it was Mountie talk. Little smile, head tilted fraction-ally the other way. 'Permission to - kiss. Uh- Uh - sure'.") (sequel to Little Mr. Marker and Thief of Hearts, in Due Frisky #1, there is a sequel in Redux.) (27)
art from issue #4, Aja Gruber
art from issue #4, Aja Gruber
References
- ^ JR.'s Parlor, 2006?
- ^ April 29, 1996, Michelle Christian, Virgule-L, quoted with permission
- ^ a fan on Virgule-L, quoted anonymously (July 19, 1996)
- ^ comments on Virgule-L, quoted anonymously (September 17, 1996)