| Dysmas (Vecchio, Fraser, gen), Real Boys (Kowalski, Fraser) |
[Dec. 31st, 2006|06:46 pm] |
I've been sitting on a rec for ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) troyswann for a while now; with yesterday's posting of the utterly brilliant "Real Boys (A Chip Off the Old Blog" on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) ds_flashfiction, it seemed time to get off my ass and say all the cloying, minion-like things I've been meaning to say about her.
The thing is--sometimes a writer just comes out of the woodwork and blows my mind away. Completely. They approach the fiction they write in a distinctive way that challenges and captures my imagination. Tell stories that turn my favorite characters inside out and make canon stand on its head, and yet still manage to resonate absolutely with both. troyswann is such a writer.
Note: troyswann puts extensive headings on her stories--I've reproduced here what seems important but further information can be found by following the links.
The first troyswann story I read (and perhaps the first story she posted, I'm not sure) was "Dysmas":
Author: Salieri (troyswann)
Title: Dysmas
Episode/Spoilers: Victoria's Secret
Genre/Pairing: AU, RayV and Fraser, gen
Summary: The note in the pocket of his parka is written in black felt marker on a piece of paper with a ghosted illustration of The Big Nickel in the background. It's a date, a time, and "Crescent Moon Motel just outside of Britt" in familiar handwriting. The "R" on "Ray" looks like a weapon. "In the diner," it says.
(Please note, troyswann posted a warning at the end of the story. I'm not going to reproduce it here; if you're a warnings kind of person, you can find it there.)
The words "I love this story" are too small for how I feel about "Dysmas." The writing is awe-inspiring. troyswann is a master at description. She makes you feel the cold, the ice and snow; she blinds you and makes you see with the darkness and the winding roads. The details--ah, man, the smallest details get their due attention here. The story comes to life under troyswann's careful, precise writing.
And all of this description, this atmosphere, this attention to detail, provides meaning and context for the characters, for the story--it is not in any sense just embroidery. I hurt for her note-perfect Vecchio. Tough, vulnerable--a darker, meaner Vecchio, one that is deliberately hurtful on occasion. I loved her Dief; her Fraser broke my heart. The story takes on what are for me many of the unanswered, unresolved issues of "Victoria's Secret"--it confronts the betrayal, the anger, the despair, the ultimately irreconcilable choices made in that episode. It's unflinching; it hurts and heals in the very best way.
I cannot recommend the story highly enough. It's not easy, but by god it's marvelous. It's some of the best damn writing in the fandom.
Author: Salieri (aka troyswann)
Title: Real Boys (A Chip Off the Old Blog)
Characters: RayK and Fraser and Dief (sort of)
Episodes/Spoilers: none
One of the things that attracts me to a writer and makes me a fan of their work is the ability to do completely different things in different stories, and do them effectively. I admire this kind of talent tremendously, and someone who takes a chance and makes it work earns my admiration tenfold. "Real Boys (A Chip Off the Old Blog)" is as different from "Dysmas" as it is possible to be, but I'm still absolutely taken with what troyswann has wrought here.
The story is a homage to Philip Dick, and more specifically to his "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and oh my god, it's fun and brilliant. It finds perfect--yet upside down and sideway--avenues to connect Dick's universe to the dS universe, and spins them out in ways that make you want to squirm with the deliciousness of it all.
Once again, the writing itself is marvelous, translating dS into Dick with marvelous pitch and wit. The language, the universe, the weave--god. Just perfect. And yet, there--in the middle of it all--are Ray and Fraser and Dief, completely recognizable in all of the important ways. If you approach this story from either side of the equation (Dick or dS), the root stories are completely familiar, but in the mash-up they become something new and wonderful, as they should. This--there's no other way to say it--this story absolutely delighted me. I'm crossing my fingers for the bigger tale. |
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