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ds_flashfiction2006-09-08 10:43 am
captainlaura.livejournal.com) wrote in ds_flashfiction2006-09-08 10:43 am
Entry tags:
Queer Challenge, by CaptainLaura
Hi guys. This is my first ever due South fic, so I hope you like it. Also, my first time posting to a community, so if I did something wrong please let me know. Finally, it's been beta'd by me, so of course any mistakes are my own :)
Title: Textbook Definition
Word Count: Exactly 1000 (plus definitions)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
captainlaura
Rating: Maybe PG for language
Notes: A little something for everyone, unbeta'd, and my first dS fic.
Queer (adjective; verb – used with an object)
1.Strange or odd from a conventional viewpoint; unusually different; singular.
Fraser knows he’s strange. He, Innusiq and Joon used to compete to see who was stranger: Fraser usually won. Fraser enjoys being strange – he knows so many things that most people don’t. At home, up north, everyone is strange in some way.
In Chicago though, his strangeness is mocked, not celebrated, by his friends. They try to change what makes him unique. Then he met his Ray, who enjoys teasing - not ridiculing - his strangeness, and whose smile lights up the room when Fraser says something truly odd. Fraser loves being strange, because it makes Ray smile at him.
2. Of a questionable nature or character; suspicious; shady.
Maggie never wondered about her husband’s past. Honest.
She knew when they got married that there were certain events, certain dates, that he was reluctant to discuss. She never thought there might be something untoward that he didn’t want to lie to her about. Really.
She never wondered about the other two men in the photograph on the mantle and their resemblance to known felons. And she never ran a background check on Casey because she trusted him. Truly.
And she loves him even now that he’s dead, but staring into the eyes of his killer she (maybe) hates him.
3. Not feeling physically right or well; giddy, faint, or qualmish.
Buck watches the sled until it disappears. He looks at his partner, still staring into the distance, before going to his tent.
Bob Fraser stands on that hill for a long time, feeling something strange in his chest. Puzzled, he tries to discover what is affecting him profoundly enough to draw him back to this world. After a moment, he calls up every memory he ever had of his son.
When he runs out after a regrettably short time, he finally knows what unfinished business has brought him back. He smiles, says, “I’m proud of you, Benton”, before fading forever.
4. Mentally unbalanced or deranged.
“Are you unhinged?” new-Ray yells and then falls silent, panting. Dief’s pack mate stands silent as well, grooming his eyebrow as is his habit. Dief can read everything in the silence that they don’t want revealed; the stench of their longing and wanting and fear almost overwhelms him.
Dief lets out a disbelieving snort, because they both want to mate and why don’t they get on with it already? His pack mate pales before blushing red, and new-Ray demands to know why. Dief turns his back and saunters into the bedroom, musing on the insanity of humans and their ways.
5. Slang (disparaging and offensive).
a. Homosexual
He’s been here for a month, and he still gets ignored. When he walks up the conversation still slows, or stops, or changes subject. He doesn’t let it get to him – they lost one of their own.
He only met this Gardino guy once, but he tries to be as different as he can from what he remembers. His partner thinks he’s an asshole and that he smells, but at least he thinks of him as a partner, not a replacement. Sometimes, though, he wishes Jack would look at him, really look at him, and maybe see him looking back.
b. Effeminate; unmanly
Renfield knows his name is not a masculine name, and that it’s often mocked among his peers. He knows that curling, when compared to football or baseball, is often considered to be “housework on ice”, and he knows that few men wear aprons whenever they clean.
He knows his superiors ridicule his constant cooking and cleaning, but when he dons his apron and brandishes his duster he remembers being the second of nine children - not the provider but the helper. He remembers the only times his mother ever praised him, ever saw him, and he smiles. And he helps.
6. Slang. Bad, worthless, or counterfeit.
Everyone thinks Ray’s bad at this undercover stuff. After the first few days, he didn’t even wear a suit or try to get any dates. Everyone thinks that he’s settled into the role, even made it his own. They can’t see that under his Vecchio mask is Brad Johnson, and under him is Tyler Morris, and Bernard Warnke, and Gerry Simister.
They can’t tell that this mask will be the last, that when the real Vecchio comes back from Vegas he’ll shatter into a million different pieces, and there’s no Stanley Raymond Kowalski underneath. Ray is very good at pretending.
7. To spoil; ruin.
She wants to hate him. If only he wasn’t here, if only he’d never come, maybe Fraser - Benton - would give her a second glance. Hell, even a third or fourth glance. Wait, wasn’t it…oh, never mind.
To be fair, he can’t help being what Fraser wants. Can’t help that he’s the only person here who can make Fraser’s face light up gorgeously like that without even trying.
She really wants to hate him and his stupid experimental hair, but she can’t hate anyone that makes Fraser happy. She wishes Fraser would smile at her like that, even once.
8. To put (a person) in a hopeless or disadvantageous situation as to success, favour, etc.
Guard duty, while an eminently noble task, is hardly designed to build up experience in the jobs normally carried out by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It is even less likely to help build the skills needed to police Northern Canada, where there are few people and fewer police officers to handle any problems.
Margaret Thatcher knows this. She knows that she should encourage him to liaison with the Chicago Police, because interdepartmental experience is always useful. She knows all of this, but she still assigns him guard duty every week. He just looks so good in the Red Serge!
9. To jeopardize.
He can see Tom watching him, catches him out of the corner of his eye sometimes. He knows what Tom wants but pretends he doesn’t. They’ve both been on the force for a long time: another year and they can both retire with a pension.
He could probably give Tom a hint, let him know how things might turn out, but Tom’s not a patient guy. Telling him would lead to other things, and Jack doesn’t think they’re ready. Jack’s a patient guy – he can wait until they retire, maybe open their comedy club. Then everything will be all right.
Title: Textbook Definition
Word Count: Exactly 1000 (plus definitions)
Author:
captainlauraRating: Maybe PG for language
Notes: A little something for everyone, unbeta'd, and my first dS fic.
Queer (adjective; verb – used with an object)
1.Strange or odd from a conventional viewpoint; unusually different; singular.
Fraser knows he’s strange. He, Innusiq and Joon used to compete to see who was stranger: Fraser usually won. Fraser enjoys being strange – he knows so many things that most people don’t. At home, up north, everyone is strange in some way.
In Chicago though, his strangeness is mocked, not celebrated, by his friends. They try to change what makes him unique. Then he met his Ray, who enjoys teasing - not ridiculing - his strangeness, and whose smile lights up the room when Fraser says something truly odd. Fraser loves being strange, because it makes Ray smile at him.
2. Of a questionable nature or character; suspicious; shady.
Maggie never wondered about her husband’s past. Honest.
She knew when they got married that there were certain events, certain dates, that he was reluctant to discuss. She never thought there might be something untoward that he didn’t want to lie to her about. Really.
She never wondered about the other two men in the photograph on the mantle and their resemblance to known felons. And she never ran a background check on Casey because she trusted him. Truly.
And she loves him even now that he’s dead, but staring into the eyes of his killer she (maybe) hates him.
3. Not feeling physically right or well; giddy, faint, or qualmish.
Buck watches the sled until it disappears. He looks at his partner, still staring into the distance, before going to his tent.
Bob Fraser stands on that hill for a long time, feeling something strange in his chest. Puzzled, he tries to discover what is affecting him profoundly enough to draw him back to this world. After a moment, he calls up every memory he ever had of his son.
When he runs out after a regrettably short time, he finally knows what unfinished business has brought him back. He smiles, says, “I’m proud of you, Benton”, before fading forever.
4. Mentally unbalanced or deranged.
“Are you unhinged?” new-Ray yells and then falls silent, panting. Dief’s pack mate stands silent as well, grooming his eyebrow as is his habit. Dief can read everything in the silence that they don’t want revealed; the stench of their longing and wanting and fear almost overwhelms him.
Dief lets out a disbelieving snort, because they both want to mate and why don’t they get on with it already? His pack mate pales before blushing red, and new-Ray demands to know why. Dief turns his back and saunters into the bedroom, musing on the insanity of humans and their ways.
5. Slang (disparaging and offensive).
a. Homosexual
He’s been here for a month, and he still gets ignored. When he walks up the conversation still slows, or stops, or changes subject. He doesn’t let it get to him – they lost one of their own.
He only met this Gardino guy once, but he tries to be as different as he can from what he remembers. His partner thinks he’s an asshole and that he smells, but at least he thinks of him as a partner, not a replacement. Sometimes, though, he wishes Jack would look at him, really look at him, and maybe see him looking back.
b. Effeminate; unmanly
Renfield knows his name is not a masculine name, and that it’s often mocked among his peers. He knows that curling, when compared to football or baseball, is often considered to be “housework on ice”, and he knows that few men wear aprons whenever they clean.
He knows his superiors ridicule his constant cooking and cleaning, but when he dons his apron and brandishes his duster he remembers being the second of nine children - not the provider but the helper. He remembers the only times his mother ever praised him, ever saw him, and he smiles. And he helps.
6. Slang. Bad, worthless, or counterfeit.
Everyone thinks Ray’s bad at this undercover stuff. After the first few days, he didn’t even wear a suit or try to get any dates. Everyone thinks that he’s settled into the role, even made it his own. They can’t see that under his Vecchio mask is Brad Johnson, and under him is Tyler Morris, and Bernard Warnke, and Gerry Simister.
They can’t tell that this mask will be the last, that when the real Vecchio comes back from Vegas he’ll shatter into a million different pieces, and there’s no Stanley Raymond Kowalski underneath. Ray is very good at pretending.
7. To spoil; ruin.
She wants to hate him. If only he wasn’t here, if only he’d never come, maybe Fraser - Benton - would give her a second glance. Hell, even a third or fourth glance. Wait, wasn’t it…oh, never mind.
To be fair, he can’t help being what Fraser wants. Can’t help that he’s the only person here who can make Fraser’s face light up gorgeously like that without even trying.
She really wants to hate him and his stupid experimental hair, but she can’t hate anyone that makes Fraser happy. She wishes Fraser would smile at her like that, even once.
8. To put (a person) in a hopeless or disadvantageous situation as to success, favour, etc.
Guard duty, while an eminently noble task, is hardly designed to build up experience in the jobs normally carried out by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It is even less likely to help build the skills needed to police Northern Canada, where there are few people and fewer police officers to handle any problems.
Margaret Thatcher knows this. She knows that she should encourage him to liaison with the Chicago Police, because interdepartmental experience is always useful. She knows all of this, but she still assigns him guard duty every week. He just looks so good in the Red Serge!
9. To jeopardize.
He can see Tom watching him, catches him out of the corner of his eye sometimes. He knows what Tom wants but pretends he doesn’t. They’ve both been on the force for a long time: another year and they can both retire with a pension.
He could probably give Tom a hint, let him know how things might turn out, but Tom’s not a patient guy. Telling him would lead to other things, and Jack doesn’t think they’re ready. Jack’s a patient guy – he can wait until they retire, maybe open their comedy club. Then everything will be all right.
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By the way, where did you find the definitions? Or are they yours as well?
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The definitions are word for word from www.dictionary.com (I probably should have put that in the fic).
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Thanks for telling. Well, I don't know if it has to be there. I was just surprised that there were so many definitions for queer.
It's been awhile since I watched the Maggie episode but I liked the way she kept convincing herself. I also liked that you used Dewey for the homosexual definition. It was definitely a surprise. *g* I like it when people show a different side of less-liked characters.
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I enjoyed reading this very much.
If you ever want a beta for future fics I would be happy to oblige. My e-mail address is Luciferofthecircle [at] hotmail [dot] com.
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Thanks for offering to beta for me! When I get another story going I'll probably take you up on that - my normal beta's got crazy work to do, and she's never seen due South, so I really appreciate the offer.
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Especially this: Fraser loves being strange, because it makes Ray smile at him.
Awwww ...
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Awwww ...
Yeah, I think that was my favorite line as well.
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2) Your cast of characters -- especially the usually under-served ones --makes for a challenging undertaking, but you more than meet the challenge.
3) Each section is a marvelous little nugget of inspiration.
4) Your characterizations make me smile and nod.
5) Maggie!
7) Margaret!
8) Completely cleverly conceived and written.
9) Welcome!
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2) Thanks! I actually had problems thinking of enough characters to write about for the number of definitions, but a few of them (Dewey, Huey, and Maggie) were there from the start.
3)Aw...you're making me blush...
4)Thanks, I was actually a bit worried about a few of them, but I'm glad you like them.
5)Maggie!
[6) I love your fic!]
7)Margaret!
8)It just got into my brain and it wouldn't let go.
9)Thanks! Everyone's been totally awesome (as you can see from the cool reviews I've already gotten) and I really love this community - so many great fics.
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[thank you!]
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and the whole Dewey thing- was soooo not expecting that! i saw homosexual and immediately thought, oh that'll be Ray or Benny - nope! Your way is so much better!
i wanna point out my two fav bits cos i cant decide which one i love more!
"Are you unhinged?” new-Ray yells and then falls silent, panting. Dief’s pack mate stands silent as well, grooming his eyebrow as is his habit."
THAT IS EXACTLY HOW I IMAGINE DIEF TO BE!!!
New-Ray... pack mate... grooming... FAB!
Seondly, i fell in love with number 6 whole-heartedly:
"They can’t see that under his Vecchio mask is Brad Johnson, and under him is Tyler Morris, and Bernard Warnke, and Gerry Simister.
They can’t tell that this mask will be the last, that when the real Vecchio comes back from Vegas he’ll shatter into a million different pieces, and there’s no Stanley Raymond Kowalski underneath."
So. Amazingly. Written. How did you think of that?!
LOVE IT ALL!!!! Thank for writing it!
p.s you know how to make writing italic when posting comments?!
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I wasn't sure where I was going with the Ray one, because the definition just fit him so perfectly I could have gone on and on and on about it, and then it wouldn't have been a drabble :) I just went with what felt right, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
To make italics when posting comments you just do what you normally do when posting, put < i> (without the space) and < /i> to end it (again without the space.)
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Welcome to the fandom. :-)
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Thanks! Everyone's made me feel very welcome here :)
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(Anonymous) 2006-09-10 06:44 am (UTC)(link)no subject
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The rest are all very insightful--and #6 is my favorite! It gives me the shivers, as RayK seen through the glass, darkly, always does. Splendid work!
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I'm glad you like #6, that's one of my favorites as well. There are some really good longer fics out there about that, but I wanted something that didn't really end happily, and there were so many ways I could have gone with that definition! And I'm glad you liked the rest of them as well.
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