Hieroglyfics Recs

Kowalski and Vecchio get stuck in an elevator. I’ve found it hard to read Ray/Ray lately, because one Ray is always Ray and the other is Kowalski or Vecchio, which irritates and confuses me. But this story is in first person, and that neatly sidesteps the problem - plus, when POV-Ray thinks of himself, it is as ‘Vecchio’, and Kowalski calls him Vecchio, and, I dunno, it just works for me. Plus, slyly funny and hot like burning.

Ray/Ray with hints of F/K/V. Vecchio’s work in Vegas must come to an abrupt end when he sprouts wings; there’s a lovely metaphor of devils and angels, there, and in fact the whole story is rich with metaphor and imagery, sensitivity and grace and poetry. There’s a bit of plot which is not really resolved - I hope this story gets expanded or the clearly needed sequel written.

I particularly like stories that do the background work to show why the CotW resolution doesn’t work out - why Vecchio doesn’t make it with Stella in Florida and why Kowalski doesn’t make it with Fraser in Canada. Fraser is a constant presence, the bright red elephant in the room that they do not talk about. And all this against a plotty casefic background makes me deliriously happy, particularly since the romance plot and the case plot and the what-about-Fraser plot all intertwine in a thoughtful way.

A classic “hero’s journey” in which faint heart never won fair, well, never mind. This is awesome and funny and smooth, with a structure that makes my structure-loving-brain happy, and so many clever lines I don’t know where to start admiring.

Second person POV, but it’s short enough that it doesn’t get irritating, and it works well with the casual voice. Two guys named Ray thrown over by a Mountie and a lawyer. What are the odds, right?

Vecchio’s view on how Kowalski knocks him for a loop, and it’s just beautiful, filled with sideways observations and understated power, and Fraser’s even in there, too.

Fraser/RayK/RayV in all combinations. Vignettes that show the progression of the relationships into a threesome. Great use of repetition, and some fresh imagery and phrasing. And hot like burning.

This awesome vid makes me flail with delight. I can’t imagine the technical artistry required to make a shippy vid about two characters who share only a tiny amount of screentime, whose relationship is 95% fanon, but SD Wolfpup has pulled it off beautifully. As constructed reality, it makes perfect narrative sense. I love it!

Ray imagines, and Ray acts. This is gorgeous like a pendulum swinging, back and forth, around and about the true center, and the last line takes my breath away with its perfection.

I beta-read this story, so I know it started as slash, and in fact she labels it pre-slash - but if you don’t choose to see Ray/Ray as a possibility, I feel this reads perfectly well as that sort of intense gen that is about non-romantic relationships, with the same strong emotions as the relationships in canon. The Rays are trapped in a collapsed warehouse, and Vecchio’s severe injuries force Kowalski to come to grips with the depths of his concern for his partner. The non-chronological structure works really well, and the title is a perfect metaphor.

When Fraser comes to Chicago to visit the Rays (who are in a relationship), each man dreams of the others together. I have a hard time with threesome fic that isn’t PWP, because I have a hard time believing in a perfectly-functioning triad of these guys, but using the fantasy/dream device works beautifully here to make it all seem possible and plausible and utterly desirable. Each POV is distinct and well-written, and the ending makes me go mmm.

Five things Vecchio and Kowalski broke before they moved in together, from the provocative to the quotidian, painting a picture of their relationship in little bits.

Fraser/RayK, Fraser/RayV, implied Ray/Ray, implied…things I don’t even want to mention. :-) NC17, short story. The warning at the beginning tells you it’s going to be semikinky!sex threesome fic with tentacles, but it starts out as a deceptively normal story in which shortly after Fraser discovers that Ray and Ray are having a relationship, each of them separately approaches him for inexplicably motivated, incredibly hot sex. I really like the POV, which is a somewhat distantly-observed Fraser, not so much in his head but rather commenting with wry detachment. There’s all sorts of great detail, from the cases they’re on to the amazing sex they’re having. And then the story takes an abrupt turn for the total crack as the punchline to the shaggy-dog story sneaks up on Fraser - and on the reader. Hee!

A tiny sharp ouchy bit of zing.

RayK/Frannie, RayK/RayV. While having sex with Frannie, Ray realizes to his dismay that it’s her brother he wants. A little more than a PWP, and scorchingly hot. I like Vecchio’s matter-of-factness. I had read this way back when I got into the fandom, loved it, but totally forgot what it was called or who had written it; all I remembered was that it involved Vecchio fucking Kowalski over the back of a couch. (I remember that sort of thing.)

Nifty structure, compelling Ray voice, angry, angsty, very real, very clever.

Crackfic genderswitch (by which I mean it occurs for reasons that are not explored at this juncture). This one is a guilty pleasure rec: the writing isn’t the caliber I usually require to enjoy a story (although there are some brilliantly clever lines) and it’s pretty much just a PWP, but it hits kinks that I didn’t know I had, and hits them HARD. Ray K knows he went to bed last night with Vecchio - so how come he’s waking up next to a woman? Genderswitch from the POV of the guy in bed with the suddenly-woman, and, WOW. I am amazed at how hot I find this to be. Plus, there are a few thinky bits that really engage me.

Kowalski cheats on Fraser with Vecchio. A slow progression of both what’s seen and not seen.

Fraser, long thought dead, returns to Chicago and finds that Ray has taken a new lover. I love this sort of emotional honesty and rawness. I also like the way she chooses to present Fraser’s absence, with the details coming in bit by bit.

This short story and its sequel Crazyactually read like sections of a longer WIP - which I’d love to see completed, with the bits of plot (Kowalski dresses in drag for a case - I want to see the case a real plot and not just a McGuffin!) fleshed out and resolved. At the moment, though, the main plot is the not-romance between the Rays, which pulls in just enough backstory to make it poignant and heart-hurty. The sequel begins PWP-ish, but the ending is what I love here, the delicate negotiation of the minefield they’ve found themselves in and the discussion around the edges of how they got there.

Ray Vecchio, mid-divorce from Stella, goes back to Chicago and finds Ray Kowalski unshaven and unwashed, in a depressed funk after Fraser sent him away. This is really wonderful - heart-hurty and sweet, totally believable in the progression of their relationship, and the character voices are, as usual, perfect. I especially like the part of the story with Frannie - her situation helps ground the story as believably post-canon.

Okay, I admit it - I love Ray/Ray slash. But this is a wonderful gen story about their interaction as (working) partners, with snappy dialogue and great characterization. And Fraser’s not there - but he’s still there.

The Rays get drunk and decide to get laid. Um. No, really, there’s more to it than that, but it’s mostly the atmosphere, the gritty, grainy details of Chicago and lives gone in different directions than they each had hoped, that makes this a great story.

Angsty and sexy, great RayK voice.

A hot PWP.

This story has amazing structure. It’s told in scenes, each focusing on one aspect of Ray K (from Ray V’s POV), and the scenes are not in chronological order. A little confusing at first, but the picture emerges from the chaos, and what a picture: it’s Ray/Ray bodyswap fic! The nonlinear structure works because of the relationship aspects which are foregrounded in each scene - the intensity builds in a satisfying arc. Plus, hot like whoa.