some of my best friends ship the rays!

[schmerica]

The first of my very very very slow coming rants.

Hmm, Ray/Ray. I find myself actually pretty much indifferent to the pairing either way, actually -- it's not something that interests me, but it's certainly not something that rankles, either.

I do think, though, I would like the pairing a little more if there seemed to be more of an acknowledgement that it's kind of a really out-there, unconventional, what-the-hell pairing. It kind of weirds me out a little that a pairing with no canon basis and barely a few minutes of screentime is so wildly popular, and just automatically accepted. It's like you can just skip over all these steps, the same as you could with a completely subtext-laden on-screen pairing.

Like ... okay, compare it with Frannie/RayK -- which, as we all know as readers of this journal, is a pairing of my heart. When I was writing my FV/RK story last summer, every person I mentioned the story to was surprised and responded with something along the lines of "Weird! I wouldn't think that pairing could work!"

Which, dude, yes, it's a weird pairing. But the thing is -- how is it all that different from a lot of the stuff I've heard people say they dig about Ray/Ray? Lots of snark. Mutual love/caring/primary connection through Fraser. Police stuff. The main difference is that Ray and Frannie actually a) share screen time, b) are shown to care about each other and c) have evidence of any kind of attraction to each other. All things that I, at least, would think would make it less likely to get a "what the hell?" reaction.

I think the same thing that annoys me about this is what appeals to some people about the pairing -- Kat Allison had that fascinating post about Ray/Ray as fannish alchemy several months ago. For me, though, it's frustrating. Crazy crossovers and wildly unconventional pairings are fun in some ways, and interesting to explore, but I'm never going to find them really satisfying: I'm never going to get the point of a relationship that I can't see as important or vital.

Edit to add: Also, I am very much confused by people who are very much anti-F/V and explain it by saying "Vecchio is so straight!" and then write and/or devour Ray/Ray stuff. I mean, I think Ray Kowalski is a sex god, too, but come on.

Comments

[spainja.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty much of the same mind as you on Ray/Ray. I mean, I read it, and I've enjoyed it, but it doesn't really push my OTP buttons. I see it more as an experiment--a "what if" type of pairing, and I enjoy it when I don't take it too seriously. However, I can see the appeal of the paring:

1. Ray/Ray allows types of sex that you can't get with other DS pairings. That desperate, nasty, snarky, slutty, slam-me-up-against-the-wall-and-insult-my-mama sex that you just can't do with Fraser or Frannie or Turnbull. The Rays can take it, however; they're tough. Good writers can even weave some love into the dirty fucking. Also, the Rays, unlike certain Mounties I can think of, don't require 200k of finesse before getting naked and sticky.

2. The concept of Ray/Ray is rather interesting. You've got here two guys who are nothing alike, but fate has interwoven their live with so many parallels. Both have partnered with Fraser (and lived to tell about it). Both have loved Stella (and lived to tell about it). Depending on the story, both may have loved Fraser as well. Both have spent significant time undercover, living another man's life and suppressing their own identity. They probably understand parts of each other that Fraser nor Stella could ever touch. There's a bizarre appeal in putting the two together--kind of like fucking your alternate universe self.

My favorite Ray/Ray story? "Faster Diefenbaker! Mush! Mush!" by yahtzee63. It's hysterically funny, doesn't take itself too seriously, and has the Rays doing what they do best--bickering and snarking on Fraser and Stella.

[shayheyred.livejournal.com]

Nothing surprised me more than my discovery that I loved Ray/Ray stories. I mean, it snuck up on me and wouldn't let go. For me the allure of this pairing is the possibility of really angsty fucked-up emotion - usually because one of them (Ray K 90% of the time) has been throught the wringer with Fraser before the story starts. That's why my very favorite Ray/Ray story is You Get What You Need by _aerye_. That story, in all its wrenchingly painful glory, is the kind of Ray/Ray fic that really turns my crank.

[estrella30.livejournal.com]

That was, quite possibly, the most *polite* rant I've ever seen.

*snugs you*

[brooklinegirl.livejournal.com]

slam-me-up-against-the-wall-and-insult-my-mama sex

*cracking the hell up*

That's the best description of Ray/Ray sex I've ever seen.

[brooklinegirl.livejournal.com]

that was fabulous! I do see where you're coming from (and, btw, I love how you explained the motivation for Frannie/RayK. It's really true, that a lot of what draws me to FV/RK is just the same as what draws me to Ray/Ray).

The thing is, while I do see what you're saying about Ray/Ray and their lack of screentime together, and how it should, maybe, have more of a surprising quality about the pairing - I don't know. It just makes SENSE to me. I know I don't have to sell it to you - you explain, right in your rant, what the attraction is - the two of them connecting through their connection to Fraser.

I've been re-reading Some Strange Prophecy, and I keep thinking about Vecchio and Kowalski's conversations in that, and how desperate Vecchio is to keep in touch - not just b/c he's worried about Fraser, but because like he says - the one time Fraser lets go, and Vecchio's not there to be part of it. The two Rays have this connection and understanding without even having MET each other, because they've both been through something that no one else has: the friendship with Fraser. Regardless of anything else, they have that, and I think it's a huge part of why the pairing is logical, even with the lack of shared screentime. It's not *random* (like, uh. *koff* Kowalski/Gardino, which, in my defense, I have to say is hugely based on Dira's wonderful AU), it's there because they have that shared experience to start with.

Also, they want to fuck each other through the wall. That helps, too.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

*grins at you* Dude, I suck at this! The only things I can rant decently about are things I really get GRRRRRRR over, and those rants, uh. Are less postable to lj and more me bitching and whining to anybody who'll listen on im.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

The thing is, while I do see what you're saying about Ray/Ray and their lack of screentime together, and how it should, maybe, have more of a surprising quality about the pairing - I don't know. It just makes SENSE to me.

*nods* Which is fair, totally, but -- it doesn't, for me, so once in a while it makes me cranky. I really do need direct text stuff to get invested in a pairing; otherwise it's just a curiosity. It feels as weird to me as having, like, a crossover pairing being your OTP.

(Also, uh, I didn't mention this in the rant, because it's more critical of myself? But dude, you *know* my Fraser issues. *sniffle*)

[norah.livejournal.com]

It's like having a kink for selfcest (you know, crackfic where the character hooks up with themselves through time travel or whatever other device) only BETTER because even though they share a life they are so totally not the same person. I love my Ray/Ray.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

See, number 1? Actually isn't all that interesting to me. I get bored with people whom I don't think *like* each other, you know? Ray/Ray isn't adversary slash by any means, but it's certainly not the bestbuddy/most-important-person kink I love, either.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

*thinks about Dira's Fraser/Fraser bunny and goes to happy place*