"no, no, no, never put a dwarf in a suit!"

[schmerica]

One side effect of my general apathy towards Ray/Ray as a pairing is that -- although I actually do quite enjoy some stories with them, if only because you guys write so awesomely and do justice to the characters -- my suspension of disbelief often fails me. I can accept the failure of RayK/Fraser; I can accept all the things you want me to accept for the boys from Call of the Wild, whose chemistry I don't see, getting all the way to this complicated relationship. But when you try to get me to that tiny extra little step, and tell me that Kowalski is more important to Vecchio than Fraser is, that the V/K relationship trumps the F-V friendship in Vecchio's head -- that, in point of fact, Ray is willing to give up Fraser in order to have Kowalski...

Yeah, I totally get lost there. Alas!

Probably the solution here is for me to stop trying to read Ray/Ray stories, since I obviously have mental stumbling blocks that have nothing to do with the quality of the story, but. You guys keep writing fic! And you're good! And it's my fandom! I don't know how to resist all those things!

(Actually, this is sort of similar to a problem I had in Smallville fandom, although in that case it wasy 50 times more extreme -- people wrote Chloe/Lex that not only wasn't really about Clark, but where Lex would choose Chloe over Clark. Giving up friendship when the friend disapproves of the relationship! Which, dude. Writing s1 or s2 Lex choosing anybody over Clark? Is characterization I am not likely to buy, no matter how much work you do.)

The last few days I have been watching lots of Farscape commentaries. Ben Browder + Claudia Black = adorable. Tonight was the two of them and two of the producers doing "Jeremiah Crichton". They subtitled the commentary When Bad Things Happen To Good Shows. Commentaries where they talk about how inexplicably crappy it ended up = for the win.

"It's not right, if you have 88 children, to say one is your most favorite and one is your least favorite--"
"--But this is the son of satan."
"This is the child in military school who has almost no future."
"But we do send a care package occasionally!"

Comments

[katallison.livejournal.com]

Not to argue against your stumbling blocks (I pet your stumbling blocks! with love!), but for me, when Vecchio took the huge step away from Fraser that he did in taking the undercover assignment, I never got the sense that he was expecting to be able to come back to that relationship/friendship in the same way. And I mean, right, there were external reasons for the show to depict it like that. But there's no way I can read back-from-Vegas Vecchio as not being a *very* different guy from the one we see walking out of the 27th in BDtH. There's a story I've always wanted to write (though your comments isn't really the place for it *g*) about his motivation for doing the undercover, his need to redefine himself, or find alternate definitions of himself, in a completely and wholly Fraser-free environment -- it's not just post-Vegas Vecchio, but also post-Fraser Vecchio. And in my own head, that guy would fit a lot better with Kowalski than he would back with Fraser again. (But like I say, not arguing with you here, and I'm hoping I'm making some dim sense, because I'm running on massive sleep-dep and OMG I so WISH you could be here at Vividcon and we could talk about all this and many other things....)

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

Aww, I wish I could be there, too! But, mmmm, Kat, why must you always have such tasty, tasty brains? Because you definitely have a really good point going on here. (I would so read your fic! Even though it would traumatize me!)

And actually, maybe that's part of another stumbling block for me, I wonder? Because I generally find post-Vegas Vecchio way less interesting than early season Vecchios, in a way. I think I've mentioned before how often I just don't like the Vecchio in Ray/Ray stories, as if they highlight all the things I like least and ignore all the stuff I madly adore about him.

[brooklinegirl.livejournal.com]

it's not just post-Vegas Vecchio, but also post-Fraser Vecchio.

Kat, you are entirely made of awesome. Yes, and YES.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

HEY. Do you know where your one entry about Paul and Callum fucking on the Wilby set is? It is the only Camp Wilby fic I remember reading at all, and I couldn't find it in your memories.

[brooklinegirl.livejournal.com]

This one (http://brooklinegirl.livejournal.com/174791.html)?

(also, darling, in WHAT WORLD is there Canadian actor fic out there that you don't already know about? o.O)

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

maybe there is stuff I read and forgot about, okay! Like I don't remember where the Molly Parker/CKR stuff is anymore. *sniff*

And yes, that's totally it.

[brooklinegirl.livejournal.com]

Like I don't remember where the Molly Parker/CKR stuff is anymore. *sniff*

*helps* (http://estrella30.livejournal.com/146189.html)

Specifically: this comment thread (http://estrella30.livejournal.com/146189.html?thread=2648077#t2648077).

and you gotta have this one, right (http://pearl-o.livejournal.com/556210.html?thread=4228274#t4228274)?

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

You are SO GOOD TO ME.

[china_shop]

it's not just post-Vegas Vecchio, but also post-Fraser Vecchio

Oh, yes! This is exactly it.

For me, it's also that Vecchio's left home. In seasons 1 & 2, he gets a lot of companionship/day-to-day relatingness from his family. He doesn't need a relationship (though he wants the romance). Post-Vegas, though, I think he could be a lot more solitary -- and more willing to consider a relationship that his family couldn't handle.

Great. Now I have belated Vividcon envy. ;-)