Northern Comfort

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Fanfiction
Title: Northern Comfort
Author(s): Kellie Matthews & AuKestrel
Date(s): 1999-2000
Length:
Genre(s): slash
Fandom(s): Due South/Hard Core Logo/Tales of the City
Relationship(s):
External Links:
" image of RayK smoking with Fraser in the distance behind him, text reads 'Northern Comfort, Kellie Matthews'"
Cover art by Strwriter approx. early 2000s

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Northern Comfort is a series of slash stories by Kellie Matthews. The third story in the series is co-written with AuKestrel.

They are crossovers as well as same-actor crossovers.

The Trilogy

  • Northern Comfort (AO3) by Kellie Matthews (Benton Fraser/Billy Tallent, 213 KB)
  • No Secrets (AO3) by Kellie Matthews (Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, 230 KB)
  • Shadows Fade (AO3) by Kellie Matthews & AuKestrel (Billy Tallent/Brian Hawkins, 792 KB)

Summary of "Northern Comfort"

"Shortly before the events of episode 4x01 - "Dr. Longball", Billy Tallent and Benton Fraser collide when they're both at a low ebb in their lives (or think they are), and find comfort in each other for a night."

Summary of "No Secrets"

" Post-episode 4x05 - "The Ladies Man", Fraser finds that after his experiences with Billy Tallent, he can no longer sublimate his feelings for Ray, but he doesn't believe those feelings will be reciprocated."

Summary of "Shadows Fade"

"Billy Tallent teams up with a lawyer in San Francisco to work on his custody case, and gets a lot more than he bargained for."

Reactions and Reviews

Since the first two parts of this trilogy were written by Kellie and the third is a collaboration with AuKestrel, the length of these stories is not surprising, nor is the fascination with other tv characters portrayed by Paul Gross and Callum Keith Rennie. While in the beginning the amount of angst and emotional soul-bearing gets a bit heavy, the exploration of Billy Tallent's state of mind post-Hard Core Logo works extremely well for pulling the reader in and getting him interested. "Shadows Fade" manages easily with no more than a few references to Fraser's existence, focusing instead on Billy's encounter and growing closeness to Brian Hawkins who is the right person to help Billy complete the healing process begun by Fraser back in Chicago. Long, with a deep-seated love for the protagonists, lots of imagination and a tangible enjoyment of exploring and expanding limited canon characterizations. [1]

A very unusual crossover. This one is Due South & Hard Core Logo. What happens when Billy Tallent and Benton Fraser collide when they're both at a low ebb. [2]

[Northern Comfort]: This story can be read in conjunction with its direct sequel, "No Secrets", or "Shadow's Fade", which is sort of a sequel to both, but it does stand alone. I love this story and this is a Fraser I can believe in implicitly. I think the sex is pretty hot, too. This is one of my very favourite stories in any fandom and I can't recommend it highly enough. [3]

[No Secrets]: This story is the sequel to Northern Comfort, which you can find a rec for here and on the X-Overs. Northern Comfort is a X-Over of Due South with Hard Core Logo, the pairing for that story is Fraser/Billy Tallent from HCL. Billie is played by Callum Keith Rennie, Ray K. from due South. This story will probably make a little more sense if you read it first. No Secrets has a sequel as well, Shadows Fade (co-written with Aukestrel) that is an X-Over of HCL with Tales from the City. The pairing for that one being Billie/ Brian Hawkins. There are only small references to due South in that one, mentions of the incidents in Northern Comfort. Brian Hawkins was played by Paul Gross, by the way. [4]

[Shadows Fade]: Okay, this one is a bizarre crossover and long delicious ride. Really long, something on the order of 700 kb. Guitarist Billy Tallent (soon after the end of the Hard Core Logo the movie) meets lawyer Brian Hawkins (long after the end of Tales of the City the TV miniseries). They smolder at each other, and I came to care for both of the characters very quickly. A remarkable tale. [5]

References