From: fairfax (fairfax_verde@yahoo.com)
Date: 09/10/2008 |
Oh my gosh -- WOW! I haven't read *any* DS in 8 or 9 years and didn't think anyone was even writing Fraser/Vecchio anymore, and then I somehow found this when I wasn't even looking for it. And I am just completely overwhelmed by how gorgeous and true this is, and how well you know Ray and his voice and just make him so real. The emotions here were so profound they just leapt off the screen at me . . . You reminded me why I loved these two so much (especially RayV) and what it was I loved about them together. If I picked my favorite part I'd quote the whole thing. I'm inspired to watch the show again and re-read all those old fics laying around somewhere. So thank you so much for this!
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From: NotJustMe
Date: 03/14/2008 |
I realize I'm late to the party but I just found this, and really just HAD to tell you how beautifully written it was. The plotting was great, characters sounded just right, and the hot-sweet-hurt-love was... yummmmy. Thanks for writing!
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From: brooklinegirl (brooklinegirl@rcn.com)
Date: 01/25/2008 |
oh, I liked this a LOT. the simmering tension between Fraser and Ray was spectacular, and the scene between Ray and Danny was just WONDERFULLY well-done - I like how Danny wasn't just a two-dimensional mobster, and how Ray really DID care about him. I think that was spectacularly well-played.
and Fraser - tied up, w/the raised eyebrow, HEE. and earlier, Ray and Fraser just touching hands was SO hot, just that right there.
This was awesome. *hearts*
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From: Sprat (sprat75@gmail.com)
Date: 01/14/2008 |
Oh wow, did I love that. I'm feeling spectacularly un-verbal today, but I finally got a chance to read this and I thought it was fantastic, so I wanted to stop and tell you so. <3
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From: catwalksalone (catwalksalone@livejournal.com)
Date: 01/12/2008 |
BRYNN! Oh. My. God. BRYNN! I just fell in love with you a little bit more. I'm very very close to being a shameless fangirl.
This has to be one of the best fics I've ever read EVER. Seriously, there are not words to textually render how much love I have for this. Luckily nos was incredibly eloquent and said pretty much exactly what I felt.
She didn't say how much your portrayal of Vecchio here makes me want to wrap him up and squish him and feed him grapes and Fraser, so I'll say that. Nor did she tell you how Fraser's simple admission of loneliness hit me like a punch in the stomach. Oh, Fraser.
Also, I'm a total sucker for the inadvertent self-realisation so Vecchio's sudden understanding that maybe he *did* deserve that second chance (omg that line made me want to cry) when he's talking Danny down made me explode with glee.
You are made of solid gold. Solid. Gold.
*draws hearts all round you*
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From: Nos4a2no9
Date: 01/09/2008 |
Oh god, Brynn! I'm seriously, tragically behind in my reading, and I was saving the F/V stuff for last, and this? This is one of my favourite dSSS stories. It's a brilliant piece of work from every angle: you've done a terrific job of showing how damaged Vecchio is from his time in Vegas, and the part that hurt the most was how hard he tried to be a good guy, to protect people when he could, to offer some guidance to poor Danny (such a well-drawn and sympathetic character, BTW). And you did a great job of showing how Vecchio hated himself for it every second. The guilt he experienced afterwards was extremely well illustrated (your writing is always the consummate example of "show don't tell") and you played on all the nuances and soft notes in his relationship with Fraser like a master musician.
Maybe it's because I haven't read a lot of post-CotW F/V stories, but man, I don't think I've seen such a complex and intriguing portrait of Vecchio before. You did quite a number on the poor guy, and by the midway point I was on the edge of my seat, and it was tough not to jump right to the end to see if there was a reconciliation to look forward to. It's this bit that really, really got to me:
"You know, Ray," Fraser said finally. His mouth was wet and swollen. "In my experience, the world doesn't make a habit of offering us many second chances. It seems disrespectful to waste one."
"Ray closed his eyes, trying to form words through the spreading ache in his chest. "I think in order for it to count as a second chance," he said, "you gotta be the same guy who got the first one."
That notion about second chances is used as shorthand in a lot of fics: in F/K stories it's usually about a character's final shot at happiness, but here it's synonymous with redemption, and that's something Vecchio can't allow himself. You did an amazing job examining how far and deep Vecchio's self-hatred has penetrated, and the moment of realization he experiences in the warehouse was perfectly timed. It had a huge emotional impact, almost like a little bomb going off, and I got that good fluttery feeling in my chest that told me, "Oh yes. This WORKS. It's all going to be okay now." You took us into the depths of the valley in this story, and then showed us the mountaintop.
The bit after the warehouse confrontation, with Vecchio rubbing the modified salve onto Fraser's wounds, was amazing. Just...the changes Ma Vecchio made to Fraser's home remedy, the way the smell of the stuff is familiar but new and comforting all at once, the way the healing trope was worked so seamlessly into the narrative...well, it's all pretty damn amazing work, and it came across beautifully and with such apparently effortless narrative work. I know from experience that it takes a lot of time, effort and sweat to achieve that sense of ease in a story, where everything locks into place as if by magic, and you, m'dear, did it, and made it look *good*.
And your Fraser killed me just a little bit. My favourite presentation of Fraser usually has him as a big, rock-solid presence in a story: he's a character other characters bump up against, measure themselves by, lean on in troubled times. You really nailed that aspect of Fraser: he's exactly what Ray needs, and the beauty of it is, he needs Ray just as much. (His admission of loneliness, and his explanation about his relationship with Ray Kowalski, illustrated that perfectly while still keeping him stable and whole. Again, you are a master). Anyway, yes, I loved this story to the very marrow, and it was truly a pleasure to read. I think I'm slip-slidin' down into F/V 'ship, thanks to you!
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From: Ignaz
Date: 01/04/2008 |
Wow. This was perfect -- every word of it.
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From: mergatrude (mergatrude@gmail.com)
Date: 12/31/2007 |
Oh, Awesome!!!! Lovely, rich, plotty, clever. I love this look at post-Vegas Ray. I love second chances. *smooshes them*
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From: slidellra
Date: 12/31/2007 |
I love this! It's wonderfully absorbing and beautifully written and I adore this take on the characters. <3
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From: sage
Date: 12/31/2007 |
Wonderful story, and SUCH a satisfying read. I loved every bit of it! :D
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From: Queue (keeyoo@gmail.com)
Date: 12/29/2007 |
I cannot even count the ways in which I loved this fic. It hit so many emotional kinks for me - family, and friendship, and a Fraser who knows who and what he wants, and a post-Vegas RayV who isn't Teflon and isn't married and still has hope in his heart.
Plus it was fucking HOT.
Wow. Thank you so much.
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From: rosiespark (rosiespark@hotmail.com)
Date: 12/29/2007 |
THIS is why I read fanfic, for beautiful amazing PERFECT stories like this one.
::sighs happily and goes to reread::
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From: smilingslightly
Date: 12/25/2007 |
Awesome! It's been too, too long since I've read a F/V that hit the spot like this one. Juicy plot, great characterization, and Benny & Ray together again. You even managed to include bit of S 3/4 without making me cringe. ;)
Great job and thank you ever so much!
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From: ifreet
Date: 12/25/2007 |
Wow, great story! I love your characterization of Ray post-Vegas--how he's still very much himself, despite all he's seen and done, and yet all he can see are the changes.
>>Ray closed his eyes, trying to breathe through the spreading ache in his chest. "I think in order for it to count as a second chance," he said, "you gotta be the same guy who got the first one."
Oh, RAY.
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From: Susan (aerye.lj@gmail.com)
Date: 12/25/2007 |
Oh, my god, I love you *so* *much*!!
This is just filled with so much good! Vecchio, oh, man, how much I love your Vecchio. Just--snarky and cynical and still so full of love. And Fraser! So determined.
And oh, the lovely angsty bits! Too much love for for the angsty bits! I sort of want to spread this story out on the floor and roll around in it, I love it so much!
You are magnificent!
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From: anon
Date: 12/25/2007 |
I LOVED this! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous F/V, and the supporting cast were awesome and I just loved it to pieces! <3 <3 <3
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From: viciouscats (viciouscats@gmail.com)
Date: 12/25/2007 |
Eeeeeee! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this! :) Awesome story. Belmanoir is one extremely lucky lady, methinks. Thank you so much, dear anonymous!
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From: joandarck
Date: 12/24/2007 |
This deserves a real, careful, line by line comment, with all the funny lines and favorite bits quoted (which would be like the entire section after they finally get together again, for one thing) and a thoughtful analysis of why it's such a well-thought-out and emotionally satisfying post-COTW, but I'm way too sniffly and handwavey at this point to do a proper job AT ALL, so I'll spare you all the vowel-heavy declarations of love and vague and non-binding marriage proposals and just say
hi, I really enjoyed this.
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From: Isis (isiscolo@gmail.com)
Date: 12/24/2007 |
I enjoyed this quite a bit! The plot made me happy, especially the resolution with Vecchio getting through to Danny - aww. I really liked the characterization of Fraser. And I'm glad you brought Kowalski in at the end, because it would have felt really weird to me to have just dropped him entirely.
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From: belmanoir (belmanoir@gmail.com)
Date: 12/24/2007 |
Okay, first the play by play:
Fraser lifted a shoulder. "Francesca told me you were in trouble. Even more than she realized, I think, judging by the smoke smell on your clothes."
OMG Fraser pays SO MUCH ATTENTION.
"Here as your friend," he said, looking up at Ray with that look, that patented Fraser look that was terrifyingly open and infuriatingly closed and that Ray had never, not once, been able to resist.
SERIOUSLY. How does he DO that? Jesus, that is such a perfect description of Fraser's look.
"And Kowalski? What, is he in quarantine?"
AHAHAHAHA.
"I think maybe it's the hat."
Oh, FRASER.
Fraser saw him coming, and Ray watched him cycle through embarrassment and defiance all the way into smooth unruffled Fraser-ness.
AWWWWWWWWWWWWW. So freaking cute.
"Left you?" Fraser repeated incredulously. "I was--you told me to go get my man!"
"Yeah, well, I didn't mean Kowalski!"
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
"I failed him, I think. He wanted adventure and self-discovery and all I could seem to provide was frostbite and the constant threat of hypothermia."
Oh, poor baby Kowalski. And Fraser trying so hard to give him what he needed even if what he needed was ridiculous and implausible.
He dropped his eyes to the carpet at his feet. "I was so fucking happy with you, Benny," he said quietly, helplessly. "Never been happier in my life."
Oh, RAY.
Then, "Of course, I would hate to take advantage of your aunt's good will, so if it's going to be any inconvenience at all--"
Ray glared, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Don't push your luck, Benny."
"Understood," Fraser said instantly, and sat back in his chair, still grinning.
SO FRASER. He just can't resist pushing Ray that extra little bit, even once he's won.
"Thank you," Fraser said, a brief flash of horror crossing his face--and Ray was completely on board with that sentiment, incidentally--at the thought of what kind of pictures Frannie might have taken of him back in the day.
BWAHAHAHA! Now I'm imagining Frannie's secret stalker portfolio of Fraser pictures. It probably looks a lot like my due South screencap folder, now that I think about it. "And this is the brown uniform, and this is the red uniform, and this is the blue uniform but he only wore that once, and look, he's smiling in this one...."
But then you blink and you're standing there listening to somebody scream while they're breaking his fingers and you're thinking at least he's gonna live, because the real Bookman would've cut him to ribbons and that was my life, Benny, lesser of fifty evils[...]
Oh, RAY.
Fraser's eyes opened, and Ray felt a quick, giddy jolt of electricity down his spine.
"Are you finished?" Fraser asked.
Ray nodded.
"Good," Fraser said, and he fisted both his hands in the front of Ray's shirt and dragged him to his feet.
EEEEE! Intense!Fraser is love!
Aw, three days in bed! I love how when Fraser starts, he just goes all out (cf. Victoria's Secret...).
Oh, wow. This is so amazing and fantastic and I adore it. I love how Ray is able to find the one good thing from his time in Vegas and I love how strongly you can feel Ray and Fraser's past through the whole story and I love your Vecchio with his angst and self-hatred and...
Something I always loved about Ray was how he wasn't about abstract ideas of duty and right the way Fraser was, but give him a personal stake in something, make it about his family or his friends or his neighborhood, and he would go all out, an all out that matches Fraser's for intensity and inspired insanity. And I think the way you made his Vegas trauma center around this kid that he really has a believable connection with (omg how much do I love it when they're in the warehouse and Ray feels the thread of affection, eee) captures that perfectly.
And I love your Fraser---so determined! And secretly snarky! And charismatic and hot and mmmm....Their first (in the story) kiss, it's SO OBVIOUS how much Fraser loves Ray and how much he missed him and how badly he wants him back.
And all the characters that we don't even get to see, Stella and Frannie and Welsh and especially Kowalski, still feel really present and vivid. Aw, Kowalski.
Thank you so much!!! *goes to re-read*
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