Author Profile: Belmanoir

[inathunderstorm.livejournal.com]

Author: belmanoir
Website/link to fic: Belmanoir's fanfiction
Fanlore page: tbc
First DS fic posted: 2007
Full disclosure: Belmanoir and I are mutual flisties, and I consider her a dear friend. Fannishly, we often beta for each other.
Pairings: F/V, K/V, F/K/V, Frannie/Kowalski, Vecchio/Stella, Stella/MacKenize King, Stella/RayK, Fraser/OMCs/OFCs! Outside of DS: Billy/Joe, Geoffrey/Darren, Ed/Ray Kowalski, Ed/Sophie, Flashpoint!Team
Style and strengths: I really like the way Belamoir writes, because she's so *thoughtful* about her stories. She thinks through the smallest details and can tell you exactly why Ray Vecchio is a White Sox fan instead of a Cubs fan, for instance, and her reasons are always so perfectly in character! It makes her characters seem so real and genuine, and it gives us fresh insights into the characters we know and love! I may, perhaps, love her Vecchio beyond all rational sense. Also I love how she writes relationships, from romantic to friendship to siblings, with warmth and humor and love. There are complexities and dark moments, of course, but the loyalty and friendship between the characters is always there beneath the surface. People are complex creatures and so are their relationships, and no matter what canon she's writing in, Bel illustrates this incredibly well. Also, if I haven't mentioned this, she writes smoking hot porn and very, very awesome kink fic--those awesome character dynamics I mentioned just makes the sexay stuff even HOTTER. Finally, it should be noted that Bel is hilarious and clever, and her stuff cracks me up often!
Other DS/C6D activity: She's written in Flashpoint, Hard Core Logo, and Slings and Arrows!
Some favourites: Yay, here are some of my favorites of Bel's stories! I think these all show how great Bel is at writing the dynamics between characters, as well as the aforementioned smoking hot porn, excellent kink fic, and humor. :)

In your skin, Kowalski/Vecchio. HI. THIS IS HOT LIKE A HOT THING THAT IS HOT, OKAY. ::fans self:: This is one of those times when you can really feel the dynamic between all three characters, not just the two who are currently in the relationship. I like that a lot, and did I mention that this was screamingly hot? And there were parts I went "Awww!" and also laughed out loud, cleverly imbeded within said smoking hot porn? Consider it mentioned. Also this excerpt, below? Makes me flail around and say 'BOYS!' really loudly, just FYI.



"What about me?" Kowalski asks, and Ray is kind of annoyed that Kowalski doesn't know this yet but he also doesn't care about turns anymore. He puts his hand on the back of Kowalski's neck and pulls him in, kisses him until Kowalski melts, snug and hot and perfect against him.


"You make vanilla feel kinky," he tells Kowalski's ear. "Like nothing should be this good, like we must be doing something crazy, but it is that good, every damn time."


Kowalski makes a sort of mewling noise and grinds his hips into Ray's. "You talk a good game, Vecchio," he says, "but I'm still gonna cuff you."


And this is exactly what Ray's talking about, how sometimes just Kowalski breathing makes Ray need to take five, how when Kowalski trips over something Ray wants to kiss him senseless, how Kowalski needy and pressed up against him makes his heart feels like it's unfurling, like it's gonna get big enough it can just gather Kowalski in and keep him there.



Bad Cop, Ray/Ray, NC17. (Author includes warning for dubious consent) This fic is a great examination of some of those complex moments between characters--Vecchio wants to know why Kowalski has been moping--and how they are eventually resolved. I like stories that are a little darker in tone without going overboard, and this story is a perfect example of that. I also really like how both characters deal with the aftermath of a very intense sexual encounter that goes to some heavy places, and the catharsis that happens as a result.



"Take these cuffs off, Vecchio," he said as calmly and authoritatively as he could. "This isn't you."

Vecchio didn't come any closer. He didn't move. Ray didn't know what he did, but it was like he got bigger and scarier anyway. "You think you're the only person who can hurt someone they care about and enjoy it? My pop, he pushed Ma down the stairs once. He was real sorry, practically crying. But I saw the look on his face when he did it. And he may not have wanted her dead, but he sure as hell wanted to kill her."


Jesus. Ray knew by now that every time Vecchio said "my father" something horrifying was going to come out of his mouth, but that was special even for him. He nudged Vecchio gently with his foot. Vecchio blinked. "That was your dad, Vecchio," Ray said. "That wasn't you."


For a second Vecchio just looked incredulous. Then he laughed. "Are you trying to talk me down, Kowalski?" He sounded entertained as hell. "Don't waste your time. Just answer my damn question, or I am going to really enjoy some of your pain. Hey, you might even enjoy it too." He leaned in closer, ran his fingers over Ray's stomach. It hurt, reminded him of the punch, the ache that was still there, and at the same time it sent shivery little flickers of heat all through Ray. "C'mon, what's going on with you? Inquiring minds, et cetera."


Which was about when Ray figured out that Vecchio wasn't fucking around. This wasn't a sex game or a nervous breakdown. Vecchio wanted to know what was up, he didn't have anything better to do with his evening, and he wasn't going to let up till Ray told him. Ray's heart started to pound.





Dishwasher Safe, RayK/Stella. Oh man, I love this SO MUCH. I love this glance back at Stella and Ray's relationship (I kind of love them a lot), and all the affection and love and trust in this story between the two of them---it makes me all :D! and happy, with a nice bittersweet twist because you know how things end. Still, it doesn't mean they didn't have some great moments in their history, and I really liked seeing one of them--I *love* how much they laugh together, and how much Ray's goofy jokes crack Stella up and vice-versa. There's a reason they're good together for so long, and I really like this fic for showing us that. Also it's great to see a fic that proves it isn't always the first!time or new!lust sort of sex that is the hottest. Because, hi, this is really, really hot omg.





"You rented porn again?"


"Come on, Stella, don't be like that."


They both knew she was going to do it, but she held out on principle. "It's just embarrassing," she grumbled. "I feel like an idiot. Who writes the dialogue on those things anyway?"


"Retarded monkeys," Ray said promptly, and she giggled in spite of herself. "Anyway, I feel like an idiot handcuffing you to a kitchen chair and pretending you're a perp, but I do it, right?"


"You're the one who said we had to stop fucking in the supply closet at the precinct after I watched you do an interrogation."


"Right, because I was starting to have an autonumeric response to the interrogation room."


"Autonomic."


"Yeah, whatever, I got a hard-on every time I went in there. That would have been great for my career if anyone noticed."


No one could have told from the bad cop he did for her that he thought it was stupid. He was good about stuff like that. She sighed. "Can I blow you so I don't have to watch it?"


"Sure," he said generously, beaming again now that she had given in. "You're the best, Stella."



Rehearse more obscenely and courageously, Slings and Arrows, Geoffrey/Darren. In which Geoffrey and Darren roleplay Marlowe/Shakespeare. Okay, I laughed my ace off during this fic, seriously. I love Geoffrey and Darren, and I especially love them together, when they spark off each other and banter exactly like they do in this fic. There's this prickly affection between them, along with a healthy dose of competitiveness and adorableness, and I love the cleverness in this fic. It's smart and hot, and I will never, ever not laugh at the phrase his air quotes were both annoying and inexplicably erotic, because how perfectly Darren is that?




"Ho there, my fine young lad," Darren said, in an even stranger accent than his ordinary one. Darren's accent was one of the college's great mysteries.


"Come on, Darren," Geoffrey expostulated. "'Ho there, my fine young lad'? Put a little effort in, can't you?"


Darren deflated. "Fuck, Geoffrey, I am not doing this if there is going to be criticism. I cannot take looking stupid and your criticism. There is too much vulnerability associated with sexual relations as it is." He looked down in distaste at the worn green doublet and off-white breeches Geoffrey had borrowed for him from the costume shop.


"You don't look stupid. And it's not criticism, it's honesty!"


"With you it's hard to tell the difference," Darren snapped. "Now do you want me to do this or not? Because I seem to remember you begging."


"Yes, I do."


"Then no criticism."


Geoffrey sighed. Trust Darren to take half the fun out of things. Of course, in this case that still left a hell of a lot of fun. "Perhaps we're going about this wrong. Kit and Will shouldn't already be in Kit's bedroom. They'd--"


"They'd meet at a bar," Darren finished resignedly. "You men and your obsession with alcohol. Far more intoxicating effects on the senses can be achieved merely by exposing the mind to new paradigms of--"


"You're a man too," Geoffrey pointed out.


Darren rolled his eyes like Geoffrey was missing the point. "The theater bar, please. I have no desire to finish my evening in the emergency room, the victim of some sort of 'hate crime.'" His air quotes were both annoying and inexplicably erotic.