Slashy Nominations 44: The End of the Affair
Sometimes what comes after is neither happy nor forever. Those wedding bells do not ring out. Keys are returned, photos burned, hearts broken.
Sometimes people fall out of love. Sometimes, so do the men we slash.
Best FF That Features Someone Who Is Even Worse at Telling Jokes Than I Am: A Lesson in Business, by alestar. X-Men comics, Nightcrawler/Wolverine. Nightcrawler is getting what he always wanted; he's becoming a priest. And Wolverine is losing what he's always wanted. Or is he? The end of the relationship is not quite cut-and-dried here, but I'm with Wolverine on this one; there are some things that just are mutually exclusive. (Note: I have been reliably informed that I tell jokes like Marlin in Finding Nemo. But in this FF, Kurt Wagner makes me look like a real raconteur, which makes me feel a whole lot better.)
Best FF That Reveals a Little More About Harry Potter Than Even J.K. Rowling Knows: Je n'en Connais Pas la Fin II: Things to Do When Your Lover Is Dead, by Zahra, hackthis. Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy. No one's lover is dead in this story. Doesn't matter, because - give me an O. Give me a U. Give me a C. Give me an H. Yes, this is some seriously ouchy FF, here; Harry's going through that part of the breakup where you wonder if there was ever any love at all. I know some folks won't agree with me, but I think this FF is very Harry. He really is very much like a steamroller at times; he tends to enfold people in his worldview and forget that there's another way to look at things. (Clearly he never read The Phantom Tollbooth, which is probably his whole problem right there.) This story is fantastic, in part, because it answers Harry's questions. Did he know Draco? Did he consider him? Did he ever even see him? He doesn't figure it out, but you will.
Best FF That Reveals the Healing Power of Music, Which Is Sort of Strange Given That the Main Character Goes Crazy When He Hears Electric Guitars: We Walk Like a Ghost, by Torch, flambeau. Velvet Goldmine, Curt Wild/Brian Slade. This is a canon relationship and a canon breakup. It's excruciating to watch in the movie, and Torch lets us relive the pain in her story. With added gorgeous imagery and a hint of recovery, and from Curt's point of view. ('Cause, hey, he was way more interesting than Slade, mmm? Something Todd Haynes never really figured out, I'm afraid.) This is a great story to read if you've never seen the movie; Torch gets the characters, and she makes damn sure you will, too. But I think after reading this you'll understand why you need to see the movie.
Best FF That Features Ray Kowalski Doing Everything Right and Fraser Not Remotely Worried That Ray's Taking His Usual Role: Old Lock, New Key, by thisisbone. Due South, Fraser/Vecchio, Fraser/Kowalski. Vecchio hurt Fraser. What luck Kowalski is there to pick up the pieces. In other words, folks, what we've got here is a story that will piss off both factions in the Ray Wars. Never let it be said that we FF types don't know how to make friends and make nice. This story does not, for the record (and for a Certain Person), violate my Due South "Happy Endings Mandatory" policy; the ending is happy. There's, you know, just the teeniest hint of angst on the way, but there's definitely hope at the end, and that's what counts.
So that's how we'll leave this depressing set: with the knowledge that, yes, people do break up. But, if I may quote the Weepiest Elf, there is still hope.
Sometimes people fall out of love. Sometimes, so do the men we slash.
Best FF That Features Someone Who Is Even Worse at Telling Jokes Than I Am: A Lesson in Business, by alestar. X-Men comics, Nightcrawler/Wolverine. Nightcrawler is getting what he always wanted; he's becoming a priest. And Wolverine is losing what he's always wanted. Or is he? The end of the relationship is not quite cut-and-dried here, but I'm with Wolverine on this one; there are some things that just are mutually exclusive. (Note: I have been reliably informed that I tell jokes like Marlin in Finding Nemo. But in this FF, Kurt Wagner makes me look like a real raconteur, which makes me feel a whole lot better.)
Best FF That Reveals a Little More About Harry Potter Than Even J.K. Rowling Knows: Je n'en Connais Pas la Fin II: Things to Do When Your Lover Is Dead, by Zahra, hackthis. Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy. No one's lover is dead in this story. Doesn't matter, because - give me an O. Give me a U. Give me a C. Give me an H. Yes, this is some seriously ouchy FF, here; Harry's going through that part of the breakup where you wonder if there was ever any love at all. I know some folks won't agree with me, but I think this FF is very Harry. He really is very much like a steamroller at times; he tends to enfold people in his worldview and forget that there's another way to look at things. (Clearly he never read The Phantom Tollbooth, which is probably his whole problem right there.) This story is fantastic, in part, because it answers Harry's questions. Did he know Draco? Did he consider him? Did he ever even see him? He doesn't figure it out, but you will.
Best FF That Reveals the Healing Power of Music, Which Is Sort of Strange Given That the Main Character Goes Crazy When He Hears Electric Guitars: We Walk Like a Ghost, by Torch, flambeau. Velvet Goldmine, Curt Wild/Brian Slade. This is a canon relationship and a canon breakup. It's excruciating to watch in the movie, and Torch lets us relive the pain in her story. With added gorgeous imagery and a hint of recovery, and from Curt's point of view. ('Cause, hey, he was way more interesting than Slade, mmm? Something Todd Haynes never really figured out, I'm afraid.) This is a great story to read if you've never seen the movie; Torch gets the characters, and she makes damn sure you will, too. But I think after reading this you'll understand why you need to see the movie.
Best FF That Features Ray Kowalski Doing Everything Right and Fraser Not Remotely Worried That Ray's Taking His Usual Role: Old Lock, New Key, by thisisbone. Due South, Fraser/Vecchio, Fraser/Kowalski. Vecchio hurt Fraser. What luck Kowalski is there to pick up the pieces. In other words, folks, what we've got here is a story that will piss off both factions in the Ray Wars. Never let it be said that we FF types don't know how to make friends and make nice. This story does not, for the record (and for a Certain Person), violate my Due South "Happy Endings Mandatory" policy; the ending is happy. There's, you know, just the teeniest hint of angst on the way, but there's definitely hope at the end, and that's what counts.
So that's how we'll leave this depressing set: with the knowledge that, yes, people do break up. But, if I may quote the Weepiest Elf, there is still hope.