Slashy Nominations 50: More Than Two Backs in a Bed

[thefourthvine]

An actual, real relationship is generally not PWP. It affects other people, for one thing - friends, family, former lovers. And this is a set of stories that acknowledges that fact - a set of threesomes that aren't what we usually mean by that word.

Best FF That Only Features Sex in Retrospect: Kowalski Is Bleeding, by cesperanza. Due South, Benton Fraser/Raymond Kowalski, Ray Vecchio/Stella Kowalski. This is one of my favorite due South stories ever, right here, but I've hesitated to recommend it. Yes, there's the aspect that probably everyone in the world has read it already. But there's also this: the characters are a little different here, and I'm not sure how a die-hard dS fan might take that. To me, this is the perfect version of them, though. Here we have a Fraser whose interior monologue is, shall we say, not quite as perfect as he forces his appearance to be, a RayK who is a little broken and a lot bitey, and a dislocated RayV. It's right that they should be like this, at least to me. And it's even more right that the story is told this way - there are two sexual relationships here, yes, but the focus is actually on a third relationship, the friendship of the real Vecchio and Fraser. Vecchio's not a bad guy, here; he's a real friend and a good cop and a decent human being. Don't see why this is a threesome story? Go read it.

Best FF That Shows Why Mothers Should Never Try to Interfere with Their Children's Romantic Pursuits: Sundress, by rhoddlet. Harry Potter, Ginny/Hermione. This is a short story and an excruciating one, at least for me. Rhoddlet seems to have a way with Ron, and that's what I come back to again and again in this story. It's a happy ending, at least in the short term, for two people, but I can't say "Yay!" because there's also Ron. Who is painfully in love - and look how she shows us that with just a few details - and who is not going to get what he wants. Ouch.

Best FF That Proves That the Marvel Universe Should Be Looking for a Few Good Psychiatrists: The Elevator Series - Going Down, Suspension, Second Story, and Underground Levels, by shalott, astolat. X-Men movies, Magneto/Mystique/Xavier. I've recommended "Going Down" before, but I was remiss in not giving you the whole story. This particular triad is, well, twisted; it's also the perfect example of triangulation. Xavier and Magneto can only express their feelings for each other through a third person, and what a perfect third person Magneto has found: Mystique. But it really is all about Erik and Charles; she's the medium and the message, nothing more. For me, the story doesn't end in "Underground Levels," partly because I don't want it to, but partly because I think Mystique is wrong. I think her estimation of Magneto is wrong - not entirely, but just enough that her scenario won't play out. So, for me, shalott's story Pilgrimage is actually the last in this series. That's just my opinion - she probably wouldn't agree - but this is how I see the twisted tale ending.

Best FF in Which Shirt Selection Is Both a Metaphor and a Transition: One Hundred Thousand Miles, by alestar. X-Men comics, Bobby Drake/Pete Wisdom. And, very present in this story though he doesn't make an actual appearance, Remy Le Beau. (For those of you not familiar with the comics: Bobby is Iceman, but a grown up one, unlike in the movie. Remy is Gambit, an X person and an energy manipulator. Pete Wisdom is, coincidentally enough, Pete Wisdom, a spy and also an energy manipulator. That's all you need to know to read this story.) Bobby's got some issues to work out, and a shirt to wear. I like this story 'cause it's real. We all do stupid things for reasons we don't quite understand. And sometimes those stupid things actually work. I also like this because the Bobby/Remy pairing never quite worked for me. When I read "One Hundred Thousand" I realized why. As usual, Alestar has got the X-folks in the palm of her hand and perfectly in character.

Comments

[norah.livejournal.com]

Married will not make me saner, but having the whole wedding thing behind me will. Mr. V. and I agreed the other day that if we'd known how hectic this was going to turn out to be, we'd have put it off another year. I'm a fan of long engagements anyway, though 2 years was pretty well over the average, I think.

Oh, BTW - did you see this?
http://www.livejournal.com/users/makesmewannadie/86740.html?thread=648660#t648660

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

You're right. Having the wedding over will definitely enhance your sanity. (But, hey, be glad you did this. I think the suffering is, like, a motivating social force. I've thought this ever since my sister's wedding, which was a total disaster, for many reasons, only one of which was my extended family's inability to be around each other for more than 30 minutes without threatening to sue. I realized, hey, we put all these ridiculous, impossible expectations on weddings, and practically design them for disaster, and it makes sense. It's so that when things get bad, the couple will look back at the wedding and think, "Shit. I can't go through that again. And I can't let that be for nothing." And they'll work harder to work things out. Well, OK, that's just my theory. Probably no one else would find it comforting. Sorry.)

And, hey. Remember I told you about that story that was driving me absolutely insane? Well, the true insanity set in last night. I couldn't sleep, again, although that was not the story's fault. But since I was awake, I started to obsess about it - I knew it was somewhere and I could almost see it on the screen and it was like when you're taking a test and you know the page number the answer's on, you can picture the page even, and you can't - quite - seeeeeee - it. I had to find the damn thing, even if it did mean sorting through my bookmarks one by one. And find it I did!

Wow. That sounded pretty pathetic. Um. This episode of "How I Made Insanity and Insomnia Work for Me" has been brought to you by the due South fandom, which clearly wants to induce insanity, with that whole lower case initial d thing.)

So, getting back to, you know, saner things. We MUST register. Because we're getting married! And we'll get something way better than pretty forks! (The makesmewannadie/thefourthvine wedding motto is: Not Just Pretty Forks. Well, that's one of them. Probably another one is: Way More Porn Than Your Typical Wedding. Because, hey, we're Smut Queens. Which is like size queens, only, you know, pornier.)

So. Does Neiman Marcus have a smut registry?

[norah.livejournal.com]

Eeek. That's it, I am officially not going to my own wedding now. *gulp*

Actually, I'm fairly sure our families are a little less...tightly wound...than yours seems to be. So there is yet hope. Writing the damn vows this weekend is driving me nuts, though, and I am getting NO HELPFUL INPUT from Mr. V., who says, "They look good, but I don't like the God part - take it out or put it in your bit or something." Typical. You and BB ever gonna head to the altar? (I love it that you call him that - LOVE IT - I was a huge Kipling fan as a kid.)

due South is certainly doing its level best to induce insanity in me...of COURSE I had to get hooked on a fandom during finals. A prolific fandom with lots of excellent writers. Augh. And I have such a broken!Fraser kink, it is not even funny. *facepalm* I am trying to get better about bookmarking fic - I woke up this morning thinking about a popslash fic I read during my 2 weeks inhaling that fandom, knowing I will never ever be able to find it again, and mourning its loss. So, I feel your pain.

WRT: registry - I think we can probably just "register" on our Livejournals. We should do it when we have an ETA on the site - right now all I know is late July early August? And heh, I am pimping for birthday fic in late June, so I don't want to push my greedy luck. *snerk* Mr. V and I didn't ask for anything for our real wedding, registered for charity donations and all that, but fannish greed is different, somehow. My cardboard sign will read: will beg for fic.

Heh, I like the idea of an OTP wedding/registry thing. Icons? Fic? Whatever! Not Just Pretty Forks! But, can I be a Smut Queen and a Size Queen? I'd hate to, like, have to give one up for the other. *g*

[norah.livejournal.com]

NEW ICON FOR YOU OMG

*hugs*

[norah.livejournal.com]

And three more!
http://www.livejournal.com/users/makesmewannadie/88035.html

(the ones with your name on them, DUH)