Good morning!

The sun is shining, the birds are actually twittering, and oh, yes -

There's this today, too!

Mmmm. Canada. The Mother Ship.

Fandom Appreciation Week!

I am here to rec the Five Challenge Stories for china_shop's Fandom Appreciation Week! I'm coming to the party kind of late, but better late than never, right?

So, without further ado: due South recs - fic as answer to a DARE. Of sorts.

ds_flashfiction is a remarkable entity, really. You're issued a challenge, and you only have a certain amount of time to write this in. And so many people live up to the challenge, and then some.

So here are a few of my favorite, memorable fics, both new and old:

'Study In Red and Green' by joandarck, written for the Paint Challenge.

That I am her fangirl is no secret, but let me tell you all WHY I am such a fangirl. There is never a time that, while reading her fics, I can't hear either Ray of Fraser in my head. She gets them. They are right there, in all their glory: the funny, and the sad, and the confused, and the totally dorky, all of it, in one terrific package after another. This story blew me away: it was like an extra episode, that one that never quite made it past the "not TOO gay" censor brigade. It's funny, it's crazy, it's sweet and perfect and so very, very due South. Her Frannie is absolutely awesome, and SPOT ON, and I can never say enough good things about her Ray Kowalski. I adore Ray Kowalski in general - one of my favorite characters ever. I'm basically in love with the man. And Joan gets him. Nail - right on the head. That's Ray, right there, just the way I love him. And, more than that, her writing is just so...hmm. How can I put this. It's spontaneous, fun, and sucks you right in - and before you know it, you're being hit over the head with its sheer weight. In a good way. Like...you can't help but be completely enthralled. It's really quite perfect.

'Girls Girls Girls by brooklinegirl, written for the Genderfuck Challenge.

Okay. My history with this fic is as follows: back when I had time to read fic at work (*cough*), and when I first discovered ds_flashfiction, I did this thing where, every day, I'd go and read another challenge-full of stories. And after going through all the porny and kinky challenges, I finally got to Genderfuck. When I read this story, there was a moment when I had to very quietly put my head down on my desk and try not to burst out laughing. Because it had one of the funniest lines I had ever read, in my life. I actually posted about it on LJ. I called Anna. I died about a thousand ways you can die from laughing. It was beautiful. And even without that line, this story satisfies so many kinks and challenges that arise in Genderfuck stories. It's weird, confusing, funny, and still hot as hell. I don't read het anymore, just...because...but this? This really kind of tests that, doesn't it? I've been interested in gender-bending for a while, and this really gets my goat. In a good way. Also: FUNNY. (Ray as a girl, people. Come on. What's NOT funny about that?!)

'Square Peg' by Capella, written for the School Challenge.

Okay, this is a very recent edition. In fact, it's from last weekend. And it so totally made my day when I read it. It was rainy and miserable, and then I read this story and melted. The portrait she paints of Fraser as a young boy in school is poignant and so very real. That IS Fraser, being completely himself, and other people just not getting him, because he functions on a very different plane from them. It isn't that he's better or worse - he's just so...different. He views the world in his own way, and doesn't quite get that others view it slightly off-kilter from him.

This story also has that emotional payoff we look for in dS fic: seeing what happens directly after CotW, even if from an outsider's perspective. Because sometimes, that's all you need - just that one little peek at a giant story. There's a story in Ray and Fraser going off into the sunrise together, a great big story, a story that's been written a thousand times, from a thousand different perspectives. And this little peek offers a fresh insight and melts you into a little puddle of goo in the process. It's really one of those stories best left for a rainy, dreary day, because it will make it that much better.

'Untitled' (as far as I can tell), by mousewrites, written for the "Fuck or Die" challenge.

Okay, I like eggs. Ask anybody who knows me in RL - I like eggs. But I don't, you know, find them a turn-on in any way. They're just tasty food. But even completely covered in smashed eggs, Ray and Fraser end up being hot as hell. This is an insane story - a fitting homage to the series that spawned it, naturally - and I remember reading this at work as well, and trying not to roll on the floor too much. I ended up printing it out and reading it again on the train home. So, eggs are not sexy. But when you've got no choice?.. I won't give away the plot, or anything like that, but it was just so much fun to read. And did I mention it was insane? Yeah. The good kind.

'Untitled' by bohemian__storm, written for the Mute Fraser Challenge.

I love this little look into what life of adjustment would be like for Ray. We don't know for sure, but we assume that he's lived in Chicago all his life. So, what would living in a cabin up in the middle of total nowhere be like for him? What would he have to give up? What would Fraser react like? This is one of a myriad ideas, and it's so...well-contained. It's interesting, and sweet, and just a completely lovely glimpse at their life together. Small, and yet entirely wonderful.

Okay! If you read these, don't forget to give the authors feedback - after all, it's Fandom Appreciation! Appreciate your fandom. :)