Character Recs - Benton Fraser
So. Benton Fraser. What can I say about the world's most famous fictional Mountie?* He's sometimes inscrutible, definitely weird, and lonely and brave and endlessly fascinating. I've spent many thousands of hours of my life contemplating the Mysteries of the Fraser, and I put together this picspam to nail down some of the reasons why I luuuuuurve heeeem so much.
*I'm discounting Dudly Doo-Right on principle.
So, who is Fraser? And why do I love him so? Well...
He's a Mountie (duh).
He's a rather attractive man. If you like that kind of thing.
He's thoughtful.
He's dorky.
He's intense.
He's closeted...
...but happy to have company.
He's adorable.
He's nude (we hope).
He's nude again (because...well. Because).
He's sleepy.
He's handsy.
He's concerned
He's...friendly.
...friendlier.
...friendliest.
He's inventive.
He's exasperated.
Did I mention that he's dorky?
He's romantic.
He's tragic.
He's happy.
There. Those are some of the reasons why I love him. (Also, I'm shallow and he's REALLY pretty). Some damn fine people have written some damn fine stories about Fraser, and so it's tough to limit myself to just three. (Who came up with this stupid three-recs-only rule? I'd like to give her a piece of my mind...) But here are three of my all-time favourite Fraser stories:
Title: Roots Rain
Author: katallison
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski (implied)
Rating: PG-13
Length: medium length
Why I'm reccing this fic: Because it's one of the finest character studies of Fraser out there. I adore Kat's writing even when she breaks me, and this story celebrates Fraser's intellect and his compassion and his lonely sense of isolation, and delves a bit into what his closely-held dreams and secrets might be. A very fine story from a wonderful author, this fic is what made me really fall for the guy in red serge.
In my grandmother's makeshift library, back in Tuktoyaktuk, there was a picture hanging over the encyclopedias that used to frighten me, as a child. I know now it was a cheap print of a painting by Henri Rousseau, a jungle scene, showing two dark-skinned men on horseback being attacked by a tiger. I wasn't afraid of the tiger--its eyes, though hotter, were no fiercer than those of wolves, and I was already more than half in love with the beautiful danger of wild animals. No, what terrified me was the surreal vegetation: the giant smothering leaves, the phalanx of sword-like grasses, the ominous palm trees reaching out like huge many-fingered hands. Every time my eyes came to rest on the picture, I had to turn and look out the window, to reassure myself with the comforting sight of barren ice and snowfields.
Roots Rain by katallison
Title: One Small Thing
Author: arrow00
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Rating: NC-17
Length: ~ 1900 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: Because it's a sexy and hilarious look at how much Fraser can accomplish once he puts his mind to something. In this case, it's demonstrating his, uh, oral dexterity for Ray. Which means fun with cherry stems! arrow00 writes one of the best Fraser POVs out there, and I'm always impressed with the way she's able to blend humour into even her angstiest stories. (Of which this one is not, because I promised someone I wouldn't rec all my favourite heartbreakers).
He can tell Ray how to hitch a dog sled, how to make a burn salve, how to shave using nothing but water and a Bowie knife (Ray tells him that's stupid, Fraser, Gillettes are freakin' .99 cents at the corner. In the Territories? Fraser responds. He is unbearably pompous. He knows this.)
He cannot tell Ray that his eyes are the exact shade of blue that twilight yearns for. Or that the line of his jaw calls to Fraser maddeningly, hourly, that he needs to put his mouth there and feel the short, golden stubble sanding his lips raw. That he wants to kiss Ray with repeated, obsessive abandon.
That he needs Ray to fuck him. (Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.)
One Small Thing by arrow00
Title: The Outline of a Circle
Author: pearl_o
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski, Vecchio (friendship)
Rating: R
Length: Medium
Why I'm reccing this fic: Because it offers a refreshing take on post-CotW sexual confusion. We normally get those stories from Kowalski's viewpoint, but here we have a story in which Fraser heads south to hang out with Ray Vecchio and process some of his feelings about Kowalski. Told with Pearl's usual grace and wisdom, we're treated to a nice long wallow in Fraser's headspace, and we feel his conflict almost as our own. Every time I return to read this story, I'm impressed by how real it all feels, and how warm and authentic the friendship is between the Mountie and Ray Vecchio, and the genuine quality of the love he feels for Kowalski.
Inside the car, seated in the passenger's seat with Ray driving beside him, the odd backdrop of surprise that Chicago had been giving Fraser was suddenly muted. It had been two years, yet this feeling -- he, Ray and the Riviera carrying them through the street -- surely this would always be familiar. Even if this week would likely be the last time it would happen.
The Outline of a Circle by pearl_o
*I'm discounting Dudly Doo-Right on principle.
So, who is Fraser? And why do I love him so? Well...
He's a Mountie (duh).
He's a rather attractive man. If you like that kind of thing.
He's thoughtful.
He's dorky.
He's intense.
He's closeted...
...but happy to have company.
He's adorable.
He's nude (we hope).
He's nude again (because...well. Because).
He's sleepy.
He's handsy.
He's concerned
He's...friendly.
...friendlier.
...friendliest.
He's inventive.
He's exasperated.
Did I mention that he's dorky?
He's romantic.
He's tragic.
He's happy.
There. Those are some of the reasons why I love him. (Also, I'm shallow and he's REALLY pretty). Some damn fine people have written some damn fine stories about Fraser, and so it's tough to limit myself to just three. (Who came up with this stupid three-recs-only rule? I'd like to give her a piece of my mind...) But here are three of my all-time favourite Fraser stories:
Title: Roots Rain
Author: katallison
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski (implied)
Rating: PG-13
Length: medium length
Why I'm reccing this fic: Because it's one of the finest character studies of Fraser out there. I adore Kat's writing even when she breaks me, and this story celebrates Fraser's intellect and his compassion and his lonely sense of isolation, and delves a bit into what his closely-held dreams and secrets might be. A very fine story from a wonderful author, this fic is what made me really fall for the guy in red serge.
In my grandmother's makeshift library, back in Tuktoyaktuk, there was a picture hanging over the encyclopedias that used to frighten me, as a child. I know now it was a cheap print of a painting by Henri Rousseau, a jungle scene, showing two dark-skinned men on horseback being attacked by a tiger. I wasn't afraid of the tiger--its eyes, though hotter, were no fiercer than those of wolves, and I was already more than half in love with the beautiful danger of wild animals. No, what terrified me was the surreal vegetation: the giant smothering leaves, the phalanx of sword-like grasses, the ominous palm trees reaching out like huge many-fingered hands. Every time my eyes came to rest on the picture, I had to turn and look out the window, to reassure myself with the comforting sight of barren ice and snowfields.
Roots Rain by katallison
Title: One Small Thing
Author: arrow00
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Rating: NC-17
Length: ~ 1900 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: Because it's a sexy and hilarious look at how much Fraser can accomplish once he puts his mind to something. In this case, it's demonstrating his, uh, oral dexterity for Ray. Which means fun with cherry stems! arrow00 writes one of the best Fraser POVs out there, and I'm always impressed with the way she's able to blend humour into even her angstiest stories. (Of which this one is not, because I promised someone I wouldn't rec all my favourite heartbreakers).
He can tell Ray how to hitch a dog sled, how to make a burn salve, how to shave using nothing but water and a Bowie knife (Ray tells him that's stupid, Fraser, Gillettes are freakin' .99 cents at the corner. In the Territories? Fraser responds. He is unbearably pompous. He knows this.)
He cannot tell Ray that his eyes are the exact shade of blue that twilight yearns for. Or that the line of his jaw calls to Fraser maddeningly, hourly, that he needs to put his mouth there and feel the short, golden stubble sanding his lips raw. That he wants to kiss Ray with repeated, obsessive abandon.
That he needs Ray to fuck him. (Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.)
One Small Thing by arrow00
Title: The Outline of a Circle
Author: pearl_o
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski, Vecchio (friendship)
Rating: R
Length: Medium
Why I'm reccing this fic: Because it offers a refreshing take on post-CotW sexual confusion. We normally get those stories from Kowalski's viewpoint, but here we have a story in which Fraser heads south to hang out with Ray Vecchio and process some of his feelings about Kowalski. Told with Pearl's usual grace and wisdom, we're treated to a nice long wallow in Fraser's headspace, and we feel his conflict almost as our own. Every time I return to read this story, I'm impressed by how real it all feels, and how warm and authentic the friendship is between the Mountie and Ray Vecchio, and the genuine quality of the love he feels for Kowalski.
Inside the car, seated in the passenger's seat with Ray driving beside him, the odd backdrop of surprise that Chicago had been giving Fraser was suddenly muted. It had been two years, yet this feeling -- he, Ray and the Riviera carrying them through the street -- surely this would always be familiar. Even if this week would likely be the last time it would happen.
The Outline of a Circle by pearl_o