#ds benton

[theoriginofcarrots]

30 Years of Red Ships and Green Ships

Celebrating 30 years of Due South.

30 years of Fraser and Ray K (not yet but soon…). Also Dief’s great-great-grandaughter.

I missed the @ds30below ‘s fanart week; posting these a bit/too late but I hope it’s ok.

Charcoal pencil drawings on paper + a few digitally added effects

ALSO ON AO3 - onnakarot

[verushkak70]

Fraser pulls himself back from the edge

So, with difficulty, here we see Fraser pull himself back from the edge. Look at his visible hard swallow. Look at his hand beginning to shake as it holds the gun in Gerard's face. Look at the shine of tears in his eyes, the shutting of his eyes as if to stop seeing what he is seeing (the man responsible for his father's death). The way he works his lips, tongue, teeth in the last GIF. Fraser is mad as hell. (Excellent physicality of the emotion by PG, too, btw!)

Sure, some people will argue, "Well, he was severely provoked, and he pulled himself back from doing something stupid and violent."

True. But. If he were 100% well-adjusted - like he acts for most of the rest of the series, like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth - would he ever have drawn his gun in the first place?

I love angry, hurting, messed up Fraser. I just love him to bits and I long ago lost any ability to remove that headcanon from my mind, unless I'm writing a pinch hit for a very specific prompt or Secret Santa author letter with parameters very unlike my own, in which case I compartmentalize, and put myself in the shoes and headspace of the recipient, and see Fraser their way.

But in my own imaginings and headcanon - Fraser is pretty emotionally messed up. He's doing the best that he can, of course. And, all things considered, his best is pretty good. (I'm not suggesting his grandparents were completely terrible surrogate parents, by any means. But. His late grandmother slaps her late adult son - which Fraser doesn't even see; only Fraser Sr. sees/experiences that; that is canon.)

And while it is completely understandable that Fraser would be pretty messed up emotionally/relationship-wise, of course it would definitely have repercussions in his adult life and relationships.

I'm just saying.

And I love messed up Fraser. Love him. He is my favorite version of Fraser because it makes him so human, and not a Mountie superhero at all.

[thisweekinfandomhistory]

Helloooo, Chicago! This very special bonus episode was recorded LIVE at FanExpo Chicago '23 on the Creator Stage, and we're so excited to get to share it with you all! To celebrate and thank FXC for inviting us to perform, we decided to honor the Windy City and give a brief overview of a few fannish events in a fandom that owes it all to the Chi: due South. The heartwarming tale of a Canadian Mountie, a deaf wolfdog, some ghosts, and two gentlemen named Ray, due South is one of the hardiest fandoms of the '90s and boy, howdy, was its drama nutty, eh? From the Religious War of '96 to the still-ongoing Ray Wars, due South fans have seen, said, and done it all. And we salute them here, at the first episode we've gotten to record in the same room. Enjoy! (The normal episode for this week is coming soon! COVID is delaying its release, boo.)

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!

[california-112]

Hop on, son! We have a villain to catch.

Due South Rewatch | S01E03 ‘Manhunt’ (4/67)

[thepunkpanther]

okay who at due south was a home improvement fan

Due South — Gift of the Wheelman 1.10, December 15, 1994 x Home Improvement — A Frozen Moment 3.10, November 24, 1993

[gayvecchio]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: due South Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Benton Fraser & Ray Vecchio Characters: Benton Fraser, Ray Vecchio, Vecchio Family (due South), Diefenbaker (due South) Additional Tags: Kids, Family, Friendship, Tea Parties, Fluff, Possibly Pre-Slash, if you want it to be, Not Beta Read Summary:

Ray, Fraser, and Dief have a tea party with Ray's niece.

[sammaggs]

3x01 Burning Down the House | Vulnerable

We all know Fraser is almost never without his Stetson, even when he’s in civilian clothes. The hat stays ON during [anything]. So long as he has the Hat of Invincibility, no harm can come to Fraser.

Which makes it fascinating to me that at the end of Burning Down the House, when Fraser arrives at the 2-7 to ask Ray out on a dinner date, he is without his Stetson. What does that mean?

It means Fraser is entirely vulnerable. He could be hurt. He could even be annihilated.

He isn’t, of course. Ray says yes with a smile that lights up his whole damn face. But for a minute?

Highest risk to the rest of Fraser’s life in the whole show, this moment right here.

He’s also just… 100% Benton. The guy who asks Ray out here is pure BENTON. And I love that.

It’s Burning Down the House week in our dS Stacked Rewatch!

[scriggle-scraggle]

Due South Fic Recs

Academic Punk by TheHoyden (RayK/Fraser): The quintessential college professor AU

Busted & its sequel Tapestry by JiM: A year after CoTW, and a life-changing experience, Ray goes back to Canada

Like a House on Fire by @bethbethbeth01 & kelliem (RayK/Fraser): “In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, ‘It’s deja vu all over again.’”

With Six You Get Eggroll by @cesperanza (RayK/Fraser): The story of how Ray & Fraser ended up with six kids.

Ray Is Not Actually Graphing The History Of His Relationship With Fraser–That Would Be Pathetic, And Ray Is Not Pathetic–But If He Was Graphing It, Even Just In His Own Stressed-Out, Messed-Up Brain, It Might Look Something Like This by sprat (RayK/Fraser): The sex has never not been good. That is not the confusing part of Ray-and-Fraser. They are naturals at the sex; the sex is their friend. If there was some kind of sexathalon, the two of them would be All-State, trophy-winning champs.

Like a House on Fire by Beth H (bethbethbeth): "In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, 'It's deja vu all over again.'"

Ping by Speranza: I am not the only person here who wants a do-over.

Tip, Slide, Tumble by j_s_cavalcante: Ray knew when he found the body in the alley it was going to change someone's life. He just didn't expect that life would be his.

All the Comforts of Home by rattlecatcher: post-CotW

Family Portrait by Journey [archived by dsa_archivist]: A slightly AU Ray Kowalski meets Constable Benton Fraser.

This Is Us Series by AuKestrel: how was the decision reached between Kowalski and Fraser to embark on the quest for the Hand of Franklin?

Near Wild Heaven Series by AuKestrel: This was, almost literally, the first thing I wrote, and certainly the first long thing I ever wrote. (Coming to Terms was the first "short" story I wrote and posted.) I worked on this off and on for over a year and did not write it in any kind of linear fashion. The first part was actually finished last, in part because I was stuck in getting them to a plausible misunderstanding that was necessary for the plot (such as it was). It's rough, and could have done with more work, although I did fix a lot of the (popular at the time, I swear!) dialect.

I'm posting it in part because I had SUCH a great time writing it (in fact, there are still parts of it that make me laugh), because I learned so much by/while writing it, and also because it's sort of "historical": a lot of the tropes in dS fandom did not exist when this was written (hard to believe, but there were only 27 F/K stories on Hexwood when I came into the fandom, and only about 5 of those had any kind of M/M sex!), and I thought it would be fun for other people to see how we earlier writers managed such things as tropes before they were tropes. But, in essence, you are about to read a "first novel," with all the alarm bells that ought to ring in your head.

Hawks and Hands by Dira Sudis (dsudis): Eighteen sex scenes strung together with angst and hockey.

Finding the Words by Berty: When luck finally runs out, who's there to pick up the pieces?

Wildly Courteous Ways by Starfish [archived by dsa_archivist]: A new assignment has Ray worried until Fraser steps in to help.

When the Ice Goes Out by Kellie Matthews [archived by dsa_archivist]: Long past CotW, Fraser and Ray K. discover that life both it and isn't as simple as it seems.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Wolves by Penelope Whistle [archived by dsa_archivist]: From stake-out to make-out.

Unguarded Protectorate by Bone [archived by dsa_archivist], Mairead Triste [archived by dsa_archivist]: Smut and angst. This story was previously published in the zine SERGE PROTECTOR.

Somewhere Else to Be by Kellie Matthews [archived by dsa_archivist]: This is an AU. Fraser's not a Mountie, Ray's not a cop, but as someone once said, things once linked remain that way. In any universe, they are meant to be partners.

The Reaching Out One by Alex51324: (AO3 account required) It's ten years after the events of CoTW (in other words, the present day). After the Quest, Fraser and Ray went back to their regular lives--

The Course by Bone [archived by dsa_archivist], Aristide [archived by dsa_archivist]: Randomness. Inevitability. Smut.

If It Walks Like A Duck . . . by Beth H (bethbethbeth): When an old friend of Ray Kowalksi's returns to Chicago, it takes almost no time at all for her to draw the obvious - and erroneous - conclusion about Ray and his "partner."

Genesis by kalena: In the beginning, Ray Kowalski meets Benton Fraser, geologist and volcano cowboy, in Hawaii. AU.

[flownwrong]

over/ for (due south fic)

Fraser/Kowalski (I mean, not technically but in spirit), rated G; tags: episode: s04e05 The Ladies' Man; 139 words

A/N: For @ds-c6d-snippets-blog challenge 32 "grief" and the RCW139 challenge. My title brain was offline today. Big thanks to @hwaetnot for various and sundry things.

read on ao3

Retribution is not a pretty word. It chews you up, puts blinders on your eyes, dulls the senses. Benton has seen men who broke themselves over it and men who broke others, has almost broken over it too, an eager wave of helpless fury.

Clearly, maddeningly, the retribution Ray seeks across the threshold of Beth's home, shoulders curled around his guilt like he wants to protect it from fading, is for his own crimes. Benton knows he can find it, hopes against hope he leaves it be.

Wither and wane. As he watches Ray, all defeat and no glory, splayed over the bed dull and heavy and still dressed, watches the uneasy rise and fall of his chest, the deep shadows under his eyes, he reminds himself—it's all that's left for Ray's grief now. To wither and wane.

[allofthebeanz]

Beanz's F/K Fic Rec

These are just some of the wonderful stories for the ship that I need to share with everyone!

Believe You Me by sperenza

This manages to be so bittersweet in less than 2000 words

and you shall receive by flownwrong

Pretty underwear and FEELINGS

Neither Out Far Nor in Deep by Arwyn

Yes, hello, nonbinary Fraser is so wonderful. A short but sweet piece

You're Not Supposed to Say Its Name! What are You, an Idiot?!? by preetkiran1016

This is a crossover with Supernatural, and don't worry, if you only watched the first seasons like me (and don't remember much), this one is super fun because it takes place in one of the first episodes, where CKR made an appearance! It's a lot of fun, I'd highly recommend it if you miss some old school spn with your fave ds characters

grace, streets by easystreets

A look into if Ray and Fraser were women. Please, read this for butch lesbian Ray.

Hats & Heads by queenklu

This is such a sweet quest story that I always sigh wistfully thinking about it. The dogs are super cute in here and there's a secret under Fraser's hat ;)

The Thrill of the Chase by Viridian5

Ray tries to cheer Fraser up... but not the way you're thinking ;)

Mangy Dog by sperenza

The parallels between Dief and Ray are so good, you will not be disappointed by Fraser raising baby Dief

A Dare's a Dare by sperenza

Ray takes Ms Fraser out on a date... there is also the promise of sexy times in the GTO

Hanged Man by sperenza

My first due South fic I ever read and it's so fucking good. Made me fall in love with the show again and finally kicked my ass into watching the third and fourth seasons. Basically, Ray and Fraser are fuckbuddies but they can't just be that, can they? Angsty in all the right ways, please give it a go if you have time for a good long read

Sing Me a Love Song by queenklu

Ray likes it when Fraser sings to him. Very sweet

Wildly Bizarre Boundaries by Ride_Forever, verushka70

This story addresses how Fraser's trauma from Victoria affects his intimate relationship with Ray.

Transcanada by 2corbies

Trans Benton Fraser!!!

Naked by arrow (estefee)

A pwp but so many emotions

Stay by knightandgale

A little self promotion ;) If you like quest fics where these two idiots gotta huddle for warmth, i recommend you check it out!

There are so many more, perhaps I'll make a part 2...

[kuwdora]

For the vidding asks: 10, 12, 21!

10 What was the best comment you've received on one of your vids?

Let me tell you about a comment that fundamentally rattled my soul to the core and made me extremely hyper-vigilant, but eventually I got less rattled by it and absorbed it into my creative process because it was so incredibly helpful for me and made me a better vidder.

I made this due South Fraser/RayK vid in 2007, it was my second ever vid I was trying to make. It's called Better Off. If you look at my original vid notes I wrote like 500 words talking about how much I hate I my vid. How much it sucks, how it’s awful. How I was apologizing for it and basically giving up on the vid. The whole self-flagellating nine yards. I got a lot of great feedback on it, like over 20 comments, so despite me hating my own vid of new hobby I was learning to do, people fucking loved it.

HERE is the comment thread that changed my life. Where j-s-cavalcante kindly said the greatest most wonderful things to me but also made me go 👀:

I wish you hadn't waxed eloquent on the subject of how bad this vid is, because now I feel like an idiot posting this comment: I LOVED it. It makes me think, it scares me, it makes me see DS in a slightly different way, and it's fascinating with ALL those action scenes and blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments. And, OMG, Dangerous!Fraser is freaking me out a little, here, and making me want to write, and that's one of the best things I think vids do for me. I find the good ones inspiring. I don't think anyone has quite dealt with this issue in a vid before, certainly not in this depth. But the idea that Fraser is deliberately risking Ray's life in these "wildly bizarre ways" for some unknown, maybe pathological, reason of his own is…scary and believable and intense! The use of so many of their action scenes all cut together so quickly is really, really effective in getting the point across. The song is cool and it inspired shivers up my back. Wow. (It also brings Speranza's "Wildly Dangerous Ways" (http://www.trickster.org/speranza/WDWays.html) to mind--one of my all-time favorite F/K fics.) And you did something so clever that I really loved…I'm not sure if I can express it properly, but there are a few clips that seem very obvious choices for the lyrics in question, such as the shot of Damian Kowalski on the " who's your daddy?" line and the scenes from Ray's messy apartment on the "I'll be hiding in your dirty room" line (there are more---"I'll not wake you," and the airport lines, etc.). And when those scenes show up matched to those lines, they seem like too-facile choices, but then in the very next line+clip combination, you reinterpret them: "I'm your daddy now" has Fraser holding the heavy bag for Ray, and so on. I found that very effective and just…intelligent. I think it's an intelligent vid. But you say it sucks, so I guess I don't know any better. I'll just live in blissful ignorance…and play it for writing inspiration…. :)

Dear asker, friend. @marahsarie. I want you to know that when I made this due South fanvid I was 100% sure in my belief that I was making a happy, intense adventure vid. Wholesome. Action. My beta sapote at the time was trying to say the same things j-s-cavalcante was saying but I was not grasping it. So when I read j-s’s comment I lost my goddamn mind. How could I have failed to understand what the fuck I was making? How other people might see it?? I was embarrassed and confused and and and...then I got it.

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiii...didn’t realize that the song I was using was the singer was about a cult leader. But because this song was about a cult leader and that was the reading that people who watched the vid were taking away from it... everyone lost their minds. It was a darker interpretation of Benton Fraser than anyone had ever seen in a vid before. Pathological? Fraser? In my vid? I guess it's more likely than I thought.

I stewed and chewed on this comment and reviewed my 300 emails I exchanged with sapote to understand what the fuck I was thinking when I heard the lyrics and how I made something so different than what I thought I was making. I wrote over 2k words about song choice and what I learned, which you can check out here if you want to see what thinking about song choice was like so early in my vidding experience.

That comment was so full of love, it was supportive, and specific and surprising. It meant the world to me. It made me think about how to intentionally approach a song, try to understand what the song is or might be about based on the song lyrics themselves, the singer’s confirmation of the song meaning, and what other people might interpret a song as. I also started thinking about how and when I will want to vid with or against specific song narratives and how I could make a vid successful in the process depending on what I did to make my case. Whether it was with symbolism or metaphor or technical efforts. Sometimes I still end up with happy accidents (as well as intentional horror, hahh) and there is always the possibility of more unintentional accidents and horrors because my brain is very squishy. I'm still human and I've fucked up before and will probably fuck up again but I will try to do my to know what's going on in what I make.

Truly that was the best comment ever. It really really helped me think critically about my work and how others might approach it even when I do or don't know what they might see. And it was just so kind and nice and reassuring and it really got me excited to make more vids after that, too.

— 12 Most underrated vid that you wished had gotten more views?

My Maya Herrara vid from Heroes! Racist fans were fucking awful about Maya as portrayed by Dania Ramirez. Fuckshit racists. The Heroes writers wrote the most racist shit, too, and did her character a great fucking disservice. It was awful. I’m still fucking pissed about it. You can read my extensive notes about Maya I wrote at the time on the original vidpost.

I loved Maya and wanted to vid her. Even though I wish the show Wasn’t Like That. I wish that she had something better, I wish that actress had something better, too. I loved her so much and I wanted more of her. I love her and I'll probably cry again the next time I rewatch the show. I don’t know if Heroes fandom people ever watched my vid back in the day since it wasn't the main Slash Pairing. I made this vid in 2008 and it has like 18 views on YouTube so here we are. I love Maya. She deserved better.

— 21 How would you describe your vidding style?

My vidding style is passionate, earnest, irreverent. It’s also unhinged, deeply fucked up. I love utilizing internal motion in clips to create a sense of movement and use that energy with the musicality of songs. I’m also inordinately gleeful about vidding fucked up themes and sources and can’t bring myself to be apologetic about it. But I’m equally unhinged with my love and joy for the wholesome characters and shows I make fanvids for, too. I don’t know if I come off as balanced or anything but. I always approach my vids with love (for the show, the characters, the vidding process, the creative catharsis, etc).

Thank you kindly for these lovely asks!!!

[ds30below]

Rare Pair Exchange

Another dS/C6D thing for you to consider:

@feroxargentea has kindly nominated some ships for Rare Pair Exchange this year.

The sign-ups are open for another week, until May 11th, for those so inclined!

Here are our dSC6D choices:

due South

Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski/Ray Vecchio (due South)

Elaine Besbriss/Francesca Vecchio (due South)

Maggie MacKenzie/Francesca Vecchio (due South)

Hard Core Logo

Joe Dick/Billy Tallent (Hard Core Logo)

Wilby Wonderful

Dan Jarvis/Duck MacDonald (Wilby Wonderful)

Buddy French/Carol French (Wilby Wonderful)

Buddy French/Duck MacDonald (Wilby Wonderful)

Crossover

Benton Fraser (due South)/Duck MacDonald (Wilby Wonderful)

Ray Kowalski (due South)/Geoffrey Tennant (Slings & Arrows)

You can see the full tagset here—maybe you'll find other fandoms and ships you're interested in, too.

[verushkak70]

Fraser's anger

Fraser is so angry here, he swears:

"He was your friend, you son of a bitch!"

Fraser is so angry that not only does he swear, he also draws his gun, and he aims it POINT BLANK in Gerard's FACE.

This is why the perfect, polite, well-mannered Thank-you-kindly canon Fraser of dS feels... a bit "off," to me. There is anger in Fraser. He has the clear potential to do bad things to bad people (who, let's face it, completely deserve it, plus more).

I love this Fraser. This is my head-canon Fraser. He has suffered loss after loss (shall we talk about his ACE score? it would be kind of high, don't you think?), starting very young. He appears fine on the surface, but let's not forget that (absurd) psychological test with the Rorschach images in S3 episode Strange Bedfellows. He is not okay. He's not fine. His psychological state is eventually deemed "acceptable" in that ep - but, c'mon: "acceptable" is not exactly well-adjusted or healthy. "Acceptable" is like getting a C on a paper when you should have gotten an A or at least a B.

And ftr, of course he is not okay! That's completely understandable given his history: an adult man lost his mother at age 6, was subsequently abandoned by his grief-stricken father (a child does not understand why a parent leaves/is gone - only that they left), whose entire life is uprooted to move to live with his grandparents (and let's just point out that his grandmother's ghost slaps Fraser, Sr - who is himself a ghost - in Letting Go! if you presume that, like most grandparents, she mellowed with age, and that is the mellower version of her - what was she like with child!Fraser??)... the constant moving/losing friends/having to make new friends/being the new kid because they were mobile librarians...

That is all canon. But there is never any canonical mention of therapy or counseling, which a kid with such a background (or his adult self) would surely need to process the many traumatic changes he experienced at such a young age, and develop some healthy coping mechanisms (because the ones you sort of fall into as a child - I certainly wouldn't call it "choosing" when as a kid, all you're trying to do is find a way to cope that WORKS) - aren't usually the healthiest in a set of circumstances this bad.

Then, in his early adulthood and RCMP career... the Victoria thing happens. Of course Fraser is not okay. (And that is okay.) How on earth could he be?

[spacetimeconundrum]

I totally understand! If you do have any suggestions for good current sources or more updated sources, let me know -- like I said, we're not in the fandom so we're limited to what's easily findable online, and if Fanlore doesn't link it, we're limited more or less to Tumblr's search algorithm, which we all know is not the most functional. The follow-up won't be until at least next August since that's when the Religious Wars happened, so no rush or pressure to reply right away, but I am genuinely intrigued by the event and I love watching people love the things they love, so I would totally be down to follow some dS blogs between now and then!

In light of your expected timeline for the follow-up, I think it would be appropriate that the “Corrections Corner” segment you offered to do on the podcast be included in the NEXT episode you publish, NOT a year from now.

Because, as I said in my previous message, the harm done was NOT simply that you made a factual error in stating that the Ray Wars were on-going to this day, but that when you say things like:

“So these negative attitudes just kept intensifying and intensifying and honest-to-god, they really never got to a point where they were like, ‘this is silly, let’s just let bygones be bygones’. For whatever reason, due South,” “-is still like this-” “...despite being a silly cop show about a guy talking to his ghost of a dad with his wolf dog. Like, people refuse to set their differences aside for due South and say, ‘you can like RayV, I’m gonna like RayK and we’re both okay with that.’” “To this day, you have to pick a Ray, or have Benton choose actively to swing both Rays.”

To a live audience at a fan convention, without doing more than cursory research (even fanlore.org lists the Ray Wars as a concluded historical event) to ensure that you’re being accurate, you’re doing a disservice to the current members of the due South fandom, who either lived through the Wars and fought to make the fandom a better space afterwards, or were not participants and yet also continuously put in work to keep our fandom welcoming.

As for your question regarding sources for information on the due South “Religious War of ‘96”, I’m afraid that pre-dates my involvement in the fandom by a good four years, and as much of those events took place over private mailing lists, your best bet is to speak with older members of the fandom with firsthand experience. I’m going to publish your ask so that any fans who might remember those events know to contact you. :)

[california-112]

- Uh...bought some nuns up on a retreat, does that help?

- Not unless they were carrying firearms.

Due South Rewatch | S01E00 ‘Pilot’ (1/67)

[destroy-some-evil]

DS FIC REC - Crossover Fic

Partners in Exile by

Summary:

A retelling of the due South pilot as a Temeraire fusion: When Benton Fraser's father dies, he teams up with his father's dragon partner Diefenbaker and together they chase his father's killers to Chicago.

Here be Dragons! No pairing in this fic, just a good fusion between the Temeraire universe (what if history but with dragons) and Due South.