Movie Challenge

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

I don't know where this came from, but I've always meant to write something for this character, so... here's a very little something.


Not Like The Movies

The old ones were her favorites, on late at night after she was supposed to have gone to bed. But Frannie knew if Pop had been drinking at dinner, Ma would be too occupied with him to notice. And Maria didn't watch too much television anymore, preferring to spend her time on the phone with all her new best friends from school. Every night, it seemed, Maria would talk and laugh for hours, delivering dirty looks or light smacks on the arm to Ray if he came into the kitchen for a glass of milk.

Ray, when he was home, was the biggest competition for the set in the den. Especially during basketball season. Frannie would curl up at the far end of the sofa in her flannel gown and wait him out, watching him mutter unaware at the screen as the last few minutes of the game ticked down with interminable slowness. Sometimes, he'd make a disgusted noise, stand and turn the TV off abruptly before realizing she was still there.

"Frannie! You should be... oh."

And then he'd smile and and shake his head and turn the set back on, tuning to her station. Ray thought it was funny that she liked the old movies. "People don't just start to sing," he'd say, like she was a little bit dumb, or just too young to understand. Ray liked Dirty Harry and things like that. Loud, scary, fast color movies Frannie wasn't allowed to see, although she knew there was a lot of shooting and car chases and women who took their tops off.

But Frannie thought Ray was the one who didn't understand. From the moment the music swelled and the credits flickered black and gray, she was in another world. It was kind of like the fairy tales Maria used to read to her when she was little. A place of dreams. Women so beautiful, they seemed to glow. Men who were neat, and tall, dashing and romantic.

When she watched the Late Show, Pop stopped drinking. There was no horrible tension that built, and built, and built until it exploded into screaming matches and slamming doors. Nobody yelled at Ray that he would never amount to nothing, or Maria that she'd better watch herself before she got knocked up by that stupid goombah Tony, and she'd better not expect him to take care of the little brat when she did. And Ma didn't look so tired all the time, crying silently as she folded laundry when she thought nobody could see.

Frannie tucked the hem of her nightgown under her legs and bathed in the glow of silver. She knew it wasn't really this way, not like the movies. But she preferred to dream.

Comments

[stinkybubbles.livejournal.com]

Very nice. This explains why she is so hung up on Fraser- he's neat, and tall, dashing and romantic. Just like an old movie star.

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Yeah, Fraser definitely has the old-school leading man thing working. *g*

[chesamus.livejournal.com]

Such a great snapshot of Frannie. My first romantic image as a child was Batman, followed closely be Prince Philip from Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Makes me wonder how any of us turned out with reasonable expectations.

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Yeah, I'd been meaning to do a Frannie piece for ages, and somehow, this challenge seemed right for her.

[the-star-fish.livejournal.com]

Oooh, very nice indeed. I love stories that show Ray 'n' Frannie back when.

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Heh, thanks. I'd never really done anything with them before, which seems odd, considering how long I've been floating around in this fandom. *g*

[jenboo.livejournal.com]

Oh, poor Frannie! Escaping the hurt in her life watching old movies. It really sets up the adult Frannie very well, all her hopes and dreams, the way she dreams about Fraser. Excellent back story.

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Aw, I know, Frannie breaks my heart. :-( Thanks, Jen, glad you liked it.

[lamardeuse.livejournal.com]

Um...wow.

What an amazing Young!Frannie voice. Perfect. And it explains her obsession with Fraser so beautifully.

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Glad you liked it. LOL, I'm a youngest sister, myself, so... *g*

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I was also thinking about the scene at the end of "Heaven and Earth" when she kind of lets Ray have it, and tells him that maybe he's given up his dreams, but she's still got hers. That's always stuck with me.

Thanks!

[akite.livejournal.com]

Ummm...I don't quite know what to say, but your story was really good and wow! It rang so true to character.

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks! Glad it read true to you.

[xsmoonshine.livejournal.com]

Frannie gets such nice stories in flashfiction. Thanks for sharing. =)

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. :-)

[imkalena.livejournal.com]

Ow! Jeez, Rowan. I'm putting in a request for cheery next time.*g*

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Yipe! Sorry! I'll try to keep that in mind. *g*

[shrift.livejournal.com]

Oh, what a delight this is -- sometimes I get so wrapped up in Fraser and Ray that I forget how great the rest of the characters are.

This was a perfect bit of Frannie, and it totally explains her Fraser fixation. Loved it.

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Shrift, glad to hear it 'read' for you. :-)

[ozsaur.livejournal.com]

Glad to see you writing DS flashfiction. This is lovely. It explains a lot about Frannie. I always hoped she would find her Prince Charming (Turnbull).

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Danke, Stace! I have no objection to Frannie winding up with Turnbull -- I thought their "date" in MStB was very sweet. Wanna write it? *g*

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

Hey! We both popped back into flashfiction in the same week! Must be twins *g*)

This is lovely, R'ski. And yes, I had a flashback to that same scene between Ray and Frannie in the interrogation room at the station; keep your dreams, Frannie.

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Hey! We both popped back into flashfiction in the same week! Must be twins *g*)

Now *there* is a frightening thought! *g*

This is lovely, R'ski. And yes, I had a flashback to that same scene between Ray and Frannie in the interrogation room at the station; keep your dreams, Frannie.

Thanks, Bethski. Glad you liked it. -R'ski

[shayheyred.livejournal.com]

My heart really broke for her, reading this. You've captured something very poignant and very real. And while I sometimes found Frannie's character irritating on the series, she is, down deep, one of the characters who always tugs at my heart, so I'm glad you wrote this about her. Wonderful!

[rowanfairchild.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Shay. There is something kind of tragic about Frannie, isn't there? Like a lot of comic things, I guess. I'm glad you liked this!