due south

the giving tree, by amanda. thatcher and welsh, gen. a christmas story with a bit of sadness and a broken elevator.

busted, by anonymous co. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. ray's injured. loses steam a bit before the end but still fully worth reading.

crossing the line, by anonymous co. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. "it makes them smell almost like home, or like home once was, before stella and i split. i had to smell all the brands before i figured out which one, and people in the store were giving me weird looks like sniffing fabric softener was some kinda perversion."

silence, by anonymous co. fraser/kowalski. r. a rather short and simple h/c first time story. sweet. well put-together and balanced.

waiting for the thaw, by anonymous co. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. a huge, long, unapologetically wallowy angst-fest. an emotional roller-coaster, somewhat manipulative, but well-done.

'us': in four movements, for two voices, by aral griffin. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. cute, sweet first time without a lot of plot, and totally unashamed of it.

foreign territory part 1, part 2 & part 3, by aristide. fraser/kowalski, nc-17. this is on the light side of nc-17, a long and pretty witty ray-pov piece more than a pornfest. there is a lot of sex, though, and it's somewhat fluffy, a really polished and good romantic comedy.

bump in the night, by barb g. f/k. nc-17 for violence and grossness, not for explicit sex. fraser and ray deal with a not-so-nice ghost. not without flaws, but very sweet at times, and really dramatic. overall quite good.

form 1879 c, by barb g. pg, not exactly slash f/k, a pointed little short-short story and quite entertaining.

return home, by barb g. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. a realistically tired and uneven ray-pov post-cotw fic. has a plot in addition to the romance, which also isn't bad.

bugs and thorns, by basingstoke. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. short and light. fun. car breaks down, fraser tells an inuit story about a blue bumblebee.

zen, by basingstoke. fraser/kowalski. g. fraser and ray from outside.

touch and go, by beth h. fraser/kowalski. pg. runs out of steam just before the end, again, but it's a not-too-common concept and well-done.

unplanned, by beth h. f/k, pg, perfect spot-on ray and some very amusing fluff. the story is pretty short.

q & a, by beth h. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. partners means sharing.

a heart alone, by b.j. cochran. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. angst, fluff, and indulgence, with pretty good characterization. not at all light-hearted, but satisfyingly sweet.

when spring will bring the daffodils, by b.j. cochran. fraser/kowalski. pg. no overt romance. but sweet.

closet chronicles, by blue champagne. f/k, pg, pre-slash kind of. fraser has a nice talk with his dad. i'd like to see more stories like this--with dad-character and the dad-relationship.

talking to the dog, talking to the dog ii: life's a beach, taking to the dog iii: patience is a virtue which must be cultivated, and talking to the dog iv: lending aid and comfort, by blue champagne. f/k. pg. the title says pretty much all of it. heavy on the dialogue and light on the tags, but very funny, with some great characterization of dief and fraser. and it keeps getting better. light and whimsical, just like the show.

the course, by bone and aristide. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. one last undercover assignment. fraser makes delicious jailbait.

unguarded protectorate, by bone and aristide. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. ray doesn't know anything about what he wants except that he doesn't have it.

still life, with caribou, by butterfly. f/k nc-17--not quite pwp with some very nice images.

a day in the life by celticknot. f/k. a funny short story entirely from dief's point of view.

like some strange shadow, by cherry ice. fraser/kowalski, r. an excellent, kind of moody and angsty story, not funny at all. but good.

asylum's end, by china shop. f/k, f pov, pg. a short, subtly characterised post-ep for "asylum"--fraser's matter-of-fact narration, everything seems perfect. tense. good.

cryptonomicon, by china shop. f/k, pg. a fabulous and hilarious episode-like story in which fraser loses his voice, ray learns to hear dief, and the consulate computer talks like the queen.

falling for you (contains "favor," "would you make a jump like that if you didn't have to?", and "falling is like this") by china shop. they're making omnibuses faster and faster these days! --the first two are pg and the latter an nc-17, gratuitous sex coda.  the favor is ray's in allowing fraser to give him a massage.  it sort of goes from there. and is very good!

making peace by china shop, f/k, g, stella pov.  is just what it sounds like, but also different from many similarly themed stories.

scenes in and around a dead whale, by china shop. f/k, pg. i can't praise this highly enough. it's cracked-out and perfect and hilarious, and captures the feel of the show exquisitely. i don't think i can praise it highly enough.

speculation, by china shop, f/k, r. some UST comes to a head on a stakeout. this is ray pov, and it includes the homosexual revelation, some heavy dense angst, emotionally heavy dialogue, and an Angle on Why They Haven't Yet. and a first kiss.

the sweet hereafter by china shop. f/k, pg. a long, brilliant, funny (but not lightweight) story that's very very much like an episode. fraser gets a little taste of what it's like to be a ghost when he and his father accidentally switch bodies, and robert fraser and ray have to work together to solve a case. this story is just breathtakingly good, and besides being so fun and satisfying was kind of thought-provoking. it made me wish for more good meaty stories dealing with fraser's dad.

two better hemispheres, by china shop, f/k, pg. one of the nicer morning-after pieces i've read, short, muted, atmospheric--love the atmosphere. fraser pov.

believing, not seeing, by chrysothemis. f/k. pg. a short, episode-based pastiche with some very deft characterization.

blind justice, by chrysothemis. f/k. nc-17. the temporary loss-of-sight story, a bit like greywolf's "and in darkness bind you" (above in trek), only better-characterized, snappier dialogue, angst better integrated with everything. in this situation, i don't think i'd call it overdone.

damaged goods, by chrysothemis. f/k. nc-17. another deep rich angst-fest, with a slight hint of the 'one key to the whole problem and the answer to the universe as a free bonus' syndrome. possibly. but it tied me up in lovely knots. come on, wallow. you know you want to.

double vision, single truth, by chrysothemis. f/k. nc-17. a rather angsty story based around a misunderstanding with an episode-like plot in the middle. that's something you find a lot of in this fandom. she does it particularly well.

true north, by chrysothemis. f/k. nc-17. some extreme angst, very thoroughly done, which may possibly take some liberties with fraser's character, but which i all in all found believable. ray is a deep and layered character in this one, beautiful to read, if a bit painful.

unlikely odds, by chrysothemis. f/k. nc-17. a long and elaborate two-episode spackle first time, richly angsty, well-characterized but highly dependent on canon. it made me cry.

indelible, by c. l. finn. fraser/kowalski. r. "the only warm points on my body were the spot on my cheek ray's lips had touched and the spot on my hip where his hand had rested."

let it be, by colleen. f/k, nc-17. a nice ray pov first-time, post-cotw, sweet. a good command of ray's voice. utterly charming.

ray saved from drowning and all the comforts of home, by denise raymond. f/k. pg and nc-17. one of the few interesting established relationship fics i've ever read that doesn't quite lose all the tension of first-time sex. fascinating minor characters and world-building and a likeable ray v. yay for her!

a few blocks part 1 , part 2 by dingo action, nc-17 pwp, still somehow sweet.

finders keepers, by dira sudis, f/k, pg. a quest for the hand story which carries a warning for puppy death (not, as wax jism suggested, dief--the puppies in question are original characters). subtle and slightly sweet.

saturday at the garage by dira sudis.  f/k, nc-17.  ray teaches fraser how to change oil. 

sunday's child, by dira sudis.  because there was no other reason he'd be watching her like that, her eyes said to him, and ray nodded and looked back down at the orange juice. "drink up," frannie added. "you don't want to get swarthy."

seamless by eliade, fraser/ray k. brilliant--spot-on, sly, adorable ray pov--a ray slightly more knowing than he's often painted, but it works wonderfully. lots of cute banter, and a fascinating look at ray's train of thought, too.

moves, by elishavah, f/k, pg. a sweet little scene in a movie theater, vivid and believable.

figure of speech by estrella, nc-17 first-time fraser/ray k.  very nice smut.

for now, by estrella. pg, fraser/ray k, established. wistful sweet sad fraser pov. really good.

in chicago the weather is warm, by estrella. f/k, inexplicit. quiet, 2nd person fraser pov, introspective, post-cotw. short and sweet.

just like steve mcqueen, by estrella. f/k, r. ray pov, humour, first-time. this is from the point of view of a pissed-off ray, and his pissed-offness is wonderful.

mr cool, by estrella. f/k, nc-17. first-time. a sweet, well-characterised solid story. cute, with kind of the feel of an episode, although much shorter.

pizza and beer, by estrella. f/k, nc-17. a nice first time story, shortish ray pov, perfectly paced, in which a girl named monica flirts with ray and makes fraser jealous. and fraser is dense, and the dialogue is great. cute and a bit sweet.

springfield by estrella, f/k, nc-17. hot first-time with phonesex.

a canadian llama in king daley's court, by giulietta, f/k, pg, is great and really funny crackfic, with an appearance by fraser's dad. short. "Come now, Ray. I'm sure its intentions were entirely benevolent. It probably just mistook your hair for hay. The color is uncannily similar, I'm afraid." "Why would I be wearing hay on my head?" "I'm afraid such anthropological speculation is beyond the mental capability of the average llama."

ocean, by grushenka. f/k, r. extremely short, more than a little sweet, not a great deal of plot to speak of. another one of those creepy dream, snuggly-arctic-tent fics.

in the water, by gurrier, f/k, pg. post-mounty on the bounty, ray teaches himself to swim. this one's nicked from makesmewannadie and i'm gonna nick her description too because i agree heartily: There's a hint of toppy!Fraser here that makes me squee.

academic punk by the hoyden, f/k nc-17.  academia au--ray's a genius award-winning college professor (english lit) and fraser's slightly less award-winning and brilliant, a new temporary lecturer.  well-done, an intriguing shift in the power balance and plus... well... english lit, man.

blueprint, by journey. f/k. nc-17. a long, long, long, long romance in the purest sense of the word. perfectly executed, nearly flawless, a warm and satisfying read.

family portrait, by journey. f/k au. nc-17. sweet, and a lot better written than your average romance novel, with the same plot. take that, harlequin! there's a little subtlety lacking, i think--metaphors and imagery somewhat overstated. they don't detract badly.

tundra, by journey. f/k, pg. short, vastly entertaining, with points for insightfulness. also rather sweet.

where's my hat?, by journey. f/k. nc-17. a small but potent smut-bomb.

yank, by journey. f/k. r. a short, sweet little concept piece.

cold snap, by kalena. f/k, pg. almost made me cry. ray pov, angsty, sort of contemplative, with a fair twist of his particular character voice.

dining out, by kalena. f/k, nc-17. tense and overwhelmingly sweet, long. ray decides to teach fraser how to seduce a woman--by example.

lucky, by kalena. f/k, pg, humor. an actiony adventury piece with all the magical realism of the original. in a barn.

hands on by kass rachel. f/k nc-17. a short story about wanking that's smutty and kinda cute.

heavy bag, by kat allison. f/k. r (maybe nc-17?). tough and gritty, a little unusual but a strikingly real ray. it's a little hard to read, but it's fully worth it. gave me shivers.

candy, by kellie matthews. fraser/kowalski, nc-17. due south. mostly-pwp sweet nice first time. i've read it before and can't think why it's not on the recs page already.

playing wolf, by kellie matthews. f/k, nc-17. a long and involved not first time story that is brilliant in perhaps too many ways to count, including welsh adopting a six-toed cat. it's intriguing and original and very real-seeming.

popsicle, by kellie matthews. f/k, nc-17. essentially the same summary can apply. this one's a bit sweeter, perhaps. and also a bit less ceremonious.

unforeseen, by kellie matthews. f/k, nc-17, post-cotw first-time fic. in some ways formulaic, it's a story of self-discovery following accidental cuddling, and then seduction over dinner in a snowstorm, and then sex and nervous confession. it reminisces over the search for franklin's hand, touches on the future and the concept of het!panic, and deals with the morning after--but all gracefully. another author who seems to, fascinatingly, improve with each story.

without a net, by kellie matthews. f/k, nc-17. ray and fraser are undercover and in a dangerous situation. sweet, light-hearted. suffers from all-the-plot-ends-soon-and-the-rest-is-sexsexsex syndrome, though.

snippet by kijikun. g. fraser. fraser's father reveals a few rather baffling bits of trivia. funny, extremely short, rings just right.

ch-ch-ch-changes by lalejandra. f/k, pg, post-cotw ray pov. interesting--the conversations mainly. some weaker points towards the beginning. short.

in which ray tries to find a job and also there is sex, by lalejandra. f/k, nc-17. what it sounds like, ray pov, post-cotw in canada.

the king of love, by lalejandra. f/kish, pg, drunk ray, both povs. lovely. "Ray, I doubt even a superhero could drive the GTO this inebriated."

lay. lie. by lalejandra. f/k, pg, ray pov: a relaxed vignette in the park, nicely in character.

look way up to the sky by lalejandra, f/k, pg. this is all the pov of an angry confused ray in chicago, post-cotw--and some of the most strikingly good characterisation of ray i've read. good dialogue too. a really, really good story.

save your wild, wild lives by lalejandra. f/k, nc-17, set in the velvet goldmine universe, established-relationship--this is different from most of the fandom. the relationship is established but maybe still a little new, but it's truly established, totally solid. the plot's about--well. it's fraser feeling like he's snooping and ray not caring about that; fraser being turned on by eyeliner; and ray and fraser moving in together. and dief using the television remote.

inked, by lalejandra and pearl o. f/k, nc-17, post-cotw. fraser pov, kind of angsty quest fic, with some angry ray--which is quite unusual for questfic, and it really worked for me.

head trip by lamardeuse, f/k, r. another fraser sr story. a kind of predictable plot, with him interfering to matchmake, but i'm kind of surprised you don't see it more often. anyway, predictable or no, this is an extremely good story. and the end scene surprised me, even though the overall arc was foreseeable from approximately the first scene.

home for the holidays by lamardeuse, pg. post-series established, but not without tension.

impressions by lamardeuse, f/k, pg, post-cotw. "And if you throw that away," the other man said quietly, "you might as well be dead." Ray stared at him. "Or in Chicago, which is worse," the old man added with a shudder.

inertia, by lamardeuse. f/k, pg, post-cotw. quite short, mostly dialogue. not perfect, but sharply sweet. nice dramatic timing.

ordinary saints, by lamardeuse, f/k, pg, is ray-pov and mainly striking because it feels like with a little more development it could be astounding, really really impressive. but as it is it's a beautiful story and very good.

say cheese, by lamardeuse. f/k, pg, post-cotw. fraser pov, set back in chicago, in which the first time is prompted by a letter from maggie.

take me out, by lamardeuse. f/k, pg. ray takes fraser to a baseball game and explains how it works. quite short vignette, but good dialogue and characterisation.

third time's a charm, by lamardeuse. f/k, pg. a first-kiss ficlet with great ray k voice.

without a paddle, by lamardeuse. f/k, pg, post-cotw, ray pov. i like this ray pov, and again with the good dramatic timing. and it's sweet. and... it has a canoe.

baresark, by laura jacquez valentine. fraser/kowalski. pg. ray's bad at buddies, good at partnership.

an officer and a gentleman, by laura kaye. frannie/welsh, pg futurefic. frannie's a cop and she can handle it. a sweet, sort of poignant, semi-classic romance.

no less radiant, unfinished business, and coming to dinner, by laura kaye. f/k. pg. fascinating and original. also hysterically funny. ray learns a few things from fraser sr.

in the city of blinding lights by leah. f/k, pg. a small, sweet first time with the aurora borealis.

life without fraser, or how ray learned to stop worrying and love the moose, by littera abactor. f/k, pg, post-cotw. short, tight, funny, sweet, excellent voice.

musings by lynnmonster. f/k, nc-17. a wankfic with a sort of creepily obsessive fraser.

dumpster, by lyra sena. f/k, pg. first-time, just one scene, cute and funny. "I could smudge some dirt on my face if that would make you feel better, Ray." Ray snorted. "Nah, that's okay, Fraser. Wouldn't want you to go to the trouble."

four ways benton fraser and ray kowalski never met, and one way they did, by lyra sena. f/k, nc-17, f/k, k/stella, k/other. well-written. at times painful and gorgeous.

sleepless, by mary ellen. f/k. nc-17. actually, a highly believable first time. i personally adore snarky fraser. i might pick a nit or two about ray's characterization being not quite vivid enough, but it's overall adorable and quite funny. brought a smile to my face.

perils, by mazeppa. f/k, nc-17. a fast-paced romp, amusing, rather surreal--a lot like the show. very light-hearted and cute, first-time sex, an absolutely ludicrous villain, a crime-fighting plot to go along with the other. there's also a sequel, perils of canasta.

before dawn, by mia. f/k. nc-17. a long slow languid fuck of a story. in the good way. sap, sap, sap, with sharp little edges. it's not quite meshing with my internal characterizations, but i can see it.

fall, by mia. f/k, nc-17. insidiously sweet; very dreamy, a little extraordinarily stylized. it's very very good, but at the same time, the mood is very different from the prevailing mood of the show, which makes it maybe slightly hard to swallow at first.

the price of expedience, by mia and speranza. f/k, pg, short, funny. fraser comes out to frannie. "Gay!" Fraser said again, clutching at the word like a drowning man. "Gay as--gay as a young girl dancing around a maypole."

shades of ray, by miriam heddy. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. ray figures things out.

unassuming, by miriam heddy. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. ray and fraser are moving in together. not like that! and then they're going to retire to canada. --no, not like that. geez, get your mind out of the gutter.

an alternate existence: story one, jerusalem 5 BC, by the moo. f/k, nc-17. this piece consists of three separate alternate universes. the first is by far the longest and most fully realised and the 5 bc jerusalem setting is rich and intriguing, although i don't know enough to judge the historical accuracy at all. the characterisations are recognisable and i found them believable and, as the drama played out, increasingly interesting. the other two stories aren't bad, but they are considerably shorter and don't offer as much depth.

in the round by moonloon, f/k, pg.  after cotw ray has stayed in canada doing... woodcarvings.  ('i got so tired of all the stories where ray is a mechanic when he moves to canada. not to diss mechanics, but ray is a smart guy, he can do better,' says moonloon.)  a short little thing that obviously has some thought behind it.

everyone's irish on saint patrick's day, by mr. f/k, pg. an absolutely hysterical drunken!fraser and a believable, but maybe unusually collected, ray. particularly nice in that it has significant appearances and descriptions of other characters.

god bless the child, by mr. f/k. nc-17 for ohmigod squick of child molestation. but only mentioned in passing. maybe r. it is pretty squicky though--so anyway, i'm not sure that i entirely buy these characterizations, but they do hang together surprisingly well. it's an interesting snip and nice to look at, an established-relationship piece that deals with a real issue and isn't boring.

watershed, by nifra idril. f/k, nc-17, first time, ray pov. this is an old premise, but the story feels very original for all that. ray's a colourful character and just having a colourful voice for him isn't in itself unique, but this story still differentiates itself in a way that's hard to define. that slightly off-beat, kind of crazy ray logic is all here, all striking and insistent, the way of talking and the way of thinking--very ray. the story focuses on the romance, is deeply immersed in ray's pov, and ends up being sweet without being too sappy. also, the end is hot.

head case, by pares. f/k, r. a short piece of excellent characterization of ray, from his pov. also, some awfully cute moments.

a ray k/fraser due south ficlet by pearl o is smutty, and really hot, and involves an alley. and it's sort of sweet too.

ready set go by pearl o, f/k nc-17 first time and also k/stella. pretty, sweet, well-written. very angsty--goes sort of overboard to make it so, i think. the problem's too clear-cut and the answer too fast and pat. it just doesn't work like that. but it's a very nice story.

what we talk about when we talk about wolves, by penelope whistle. fraser/kowalski. pg. "do you read everything?" "everything? no. that would be impossible."

the first six times, by punk. f/k, r. a very very short and very funny ficlet about the first six times ray and fraser have sex. "Turnbull saw me naked," said Fraser. "Fuck."

gun, with occasional kangaroo: a love story, by punk. f/k, pg. this is a brilliant miracle of fanfiction told from an omniscient point of view that goes into everyone's heads, which is kind of dizzy, but turns out to work to the advantage of the highly bizarre and funny story. in other words, it matches up beautifully with the feel of canon. and it's really cute, too.

broken face, by purna. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. is heaven attained, when one's grasp equals one's reach, or is even the presupposition of its existence wishful thinking?

amends, by resonant. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. a second-time story.

american way, by resonant. f/k. nc-17. just as good as all of hers and funnier than a lot of them. plus, you really have to love the *concept.* the sexual tension resolves a bit early, which might be the only drawback. but it's very well-done.

broadway hotel, by resonant. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. ray--who?

a fine and private place, by resonant. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. if i had known you could kiss like this, i thought, i might not even have waited ten days.

getting there, by resonant. f/k, pg. just a short little first-time ficlet, cute and funny, a sort of ditzy ray pov, and an assertive and irritated fraser.

hallow, by resonant, f/k, nc-17. established relationship and oddly adorable. only res.

housekeeping, by resonant. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. "yes," fraser said thoughtfully, "but one advantage of canines with grudges is that they don't have access to motor vehicles."

a modest proposal, by resonant. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. nature is not the boss of ray.

the teeth of the hydra, by resonant. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. always go with your hunches.

too sweet, by resonant. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. "get a little cottage, picket fence, wake up early some weekend and go out to breakfast, do some grocery shopping ... come home ..."

artless by rhi marzano, nc-17. post-cotw ray pov, depressed but not too angsty, shortish medium length.

beguiled, by rhi marzano. f/k futurefic first time where the kid comes before the romance. it's so much better this way than the paperback romance way. with just as many warm fuzzies.

moving, by rowan f. f/k. nc-17. a nice sweet first time focusing on the relationship, which is to say, not much detour into episode refs or episode-like action.

shell game i: the switcheroo, shell game ii: misdirection and shell game 2.75: distraction, by rowan f. f/k. nc-17. a little exhausting in that it seems to cover their entire history, skipping between episode-spacklese without warning, but good.

it's tradition, by serial karma. f/kish, pg. just a little scenelet in which ray's bitching about having to work on the fourth of july--short but vivid and really nice.

the best planned lays, by shadow. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. maybe wilderness isn't so bad after all.

signature move by shrift, pg, short. f/k.  cute.

bar none, by speranza. f/k, pg. short for her, an interesting piece in which fraser is hardly cliched at all--he lounges, wears a blue sweater and talks about his feelings, well, kind of--and picturing it really really worked for me. this story made me happy. very nice, deftly subtle ray pov too.

believe you me, by speranza. f/k, r. ray takes fraser out drinking with the guys and the girls. he's not so sure that that was a good idea.

the bodyguard, by speranza. f/k, nc-17--in which a russian ballerina's sexual harrassment of fraser gets the ball rolling. one of speranza's more serious pieces, but the part with fraser sr is too brilliant to be left out of my recs.

chicago's most wanted, by speranza. fraser/kowalski. "i wouldn't stay here if i were you," the moose said with some bitterness. "the service is dreadful." benton considered him thoughtfully. "you know--your antlers are quite the wrong size."

eight sessions, by speranza. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. in what universe could therapy be a good thing?

enduring distance, by speranza. fraser/kowalski. nc-17. what if you don't know who you are without another person to define yourself with?

juggling act, by speranza. fraser/kowalski. "this is my partner ray," fraser replied. "he's an angry clown." being introduced like that is on my List of Things To Do Before I Die.

token of affection by spikedluv. f/k, nc-17. a short, light humour first time involving fraser's boxers.

the graph story, or: ray is not actually graphing the history of his relationship with fraser--that would be pathetic, and ray is not pathetic--but if he was graphing it, even just in his own stressed-out, messed-up brain, it might look something like this. by sprat. f/k, nc-17, humour, kowalski pov. the format is, ingeniously, structured around just what it says, and it includes several images by way of illustration. hilarious and brilliant, and cute. the narrative voice is great, although the plot gets slightly less clear and a bit rushed at the end.

roundabout by sprat. f/k, pg, post-cotw; a quest for the hand story, slightly sugary perhaps, but beautiful and well-paced.

the way that we used to be and on my feet again, by starfish. f/k au. nc-17. some characterization flaws, but it made me cry, which may have been partially because i was in a schmoopy mood, but not entirely. it pushes some of those emotional buttons.

magic words, by starfish. f/k. nc-17. an obscurely-titled story that doesn't really qualify as pwp, as there's a great deal of emotional content and build-up. it's not particularly big on the plot, still. a short first-time piece that focuses intensely on the first time itself (well, and a bit of lead-in).

a short piece by starfish. f/k, nc-17. short pwp, but funny.

where my soul dwells, by starfish. f/k. r. some mention of suicide, heavily angsty. i didn't cry, but i bet a lot of people would. remember the deeper depths of angst have great emotional payoff. there are some rough edges about the end, but on the whole it's a fantastic story.

wildly courteous ways, by starfish. fraser/kowalski. pg. "you have the right to remain silent, which i would personally recommend you do. you have the right to an attorney, which i'm sure you know several of. if you cannot afford an attorney, which i find highly unlikely, one will be appointed to your sorry ass. do you understand these rights you scumbag."

fraser's wish list, by sylvie. f/k, r. a medium-length story based on a cute little concept.

boulder, by therentgirls. f/k, post-cotw. r. a nice ray-pov and fraser who's dragging his feet. it has a rather gimmicky angle which i think goes somewhat overboard, but i see in the comments that other people liked it a lot.

the bough that breaks by tira nog, f/k. switches pov and is longish, and it's a very insightful, very delicate character study for both of them and for the dynamics of their relationship. this writer is extremely talented. the drawback is an extra-long section of smut at the end (sexion, hahah) that gets a little wearing.

deja vu all over again, by vienna waits. welsh, g. suggestions of welsh/frannie and fraser/kowalski. this is an incredibly awesome story--excellent characterisation, really an interesting plot, a fascinating and very well-done element of magical realism. some of the imagery is incredibly striking, the voice is great, and the plot is engaging.

not right, by viridian. f/k. pg sexually, r for talk of violence and death. a short but relatively in-depth exploration of an important issue, i think. made me go 'hm,' anyway. and well-done, too.

overcast, by viridian5. f/k. r. a powerful fraser, a somewhat believable comfortably bisexual ray, and a very emotionally charged environment with an impressive breath-catching moment or two. nice, really. in general, just nice.

road to somewhere, by viridian5. f/k. nc-17. sweet, schmoopy, short, some humor. a nice little pastiche, rather.

reading between the lines, by witchbaby. f/k, r. first-time, very emotional and angry. ray reads fraser's diary.

the bed tonight, by witchbaby. f/k, pg. fraser's having a rough week; ray tries to take care of him. sweet, with a nice ray voice; a good story.

ex libris, by witchbaby. f/k, pg. this is a sweet thoughtful fraser piece, with a nice books/literature-vs-reality angle that i really liked.

half a chance, by witchbaby. f/k, nc-17. post-cotw, long, porny, ray pov. Ray found that, over time, he had developed deep and meaningful feelings for Canada. Not just because of the blowjobs, but that was definitely part of it.

intimations, by witchbaby. f/k nc-17 first time. fraser pov. ray and innocent!nervous!fraser watch a movie. i'm not sure i'm entirely on board with the characterisation, but i think it's nonetheless a good and a memorable story.

open all night, by witchbaby. f/k, r, first-time. ray gets drunk; they make out. simple, fairly plotless, carries the note it was written for a cliche challenge. does a nice job with the cliche, though. it's hot and just... really nice.

wager by witchbaby. f/k, nc-17, post-"odds" first time. sweet, hot, an excellent coda to the episdoe.

things to do in the copy room of the 27th precinct by zahra.  f/k, pg, sweet, shortish, confused and sort of pathetic ray pov.

water everywhere by zahra. f/k, nc-17. short themey piece, very good.

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