due South Author Profiles

(with cringing apologies for lateness due to interweb explosion)


Author: mizface
Website/link to fic: mizface on lj, where her tags will lead you to her writing. Her snippets are to be found under the tag author:mizface at ds_snippets
Fanlore page: right here
First DS fic posted:mid-2008
Full disclosure: miz and I are mutual flisters and she has beta'd for me
Pairings: Fraser and both Rays, in all permutations
Other DS/C6D activity: miz is active in C6D (including Harper's Island, Wilby Wonderful, Tin Man, HCL). She has also written in Dresden Files, The Sentinel, Buffy and Scarecrow and Mrs King.
Style and strengths: mizface does pretty much everything: snippets, mid-length fic, commentfic, kink memes, crossovers and longfic. miz works the advantages of each category to the full. This versatility is definitely a strength, as is her world-building in the longer fics, and her ability to squeeze bucketloads of emotion into the short fics.
Some favourites:

I wanted to look at either Kate & Leopold, Retold: a due South remix or A Winning Hand, both of which are AUs, and both of which showcase Miz's ability to create atmosphere, and to slot dS characters into believable AU situations. I've chosen A Winning Hand, in the end, because Ray Vecchio in this gives me the severe shivers. Miz isn't afraid to take the characters to dark places, and she does so subtly and convincingly. Other key features of the story: the world-building, which reflects both study and insight; the gradual development of a warm, convincing relationship between Fraser and Ray Kowalski; fun cameos by the supporting cast. This world is very appealing.


With Apologies to Poe, a remix of Poe's The Raven, written for ds_flashfiction's "spooked" challenge - this is just so much glee I can't stand it. Not only is it spooky as per spec, but miz's pleasure in the writing is evident in every line.

Yet he still refused to speak. He only stared at me so bleak
And tired I feared whatever awful fate had brought him to my door.
Taking time to really look I couldn’t help but see he shook
With fear or cold I had no clue and hated feeling so unsure
Worst of all for me this awful night was being so unsure
Of who I was, whose name I wore.

This was podficced by luzula - download details here.
 

mizface is a prolific writer of snippets, ranging from fluff to angst and everything in between. Choosing one is difficult, but The Function of Life is Survival is one that will stick with me for some time. Miz works the snippet like a pro, condensing a thousand words of disquiet into a mere 300. Warning: those words are counted as 300 unsettling words.

Author: exbex
Website/link to fic: her lj this way
Fanlore page: right here
First DS fic posted: mid-2009
Full disclosure: exbex and I are mutual flisters. We beta and write for each other, and she profiled me in the last round.
Pairings: Kowalski/Vecchio, Fraser/Kowalski/Vecchio, Fraser/Kowalski, Fraser/Vecchio, Stella/Kowalski.
Other DS/C6D activity: exbex is active in the C6D fandom, including Harper's Island, BSG, Wilby Wonderful and Last Night.
Style and strengths: exbex 's affection for the characters is a particular feature of her writing. This doesn't mean it's all fluff all the time, because she's more than capable of turning the screws, but this just gives her an opportunity to let them flourish under adversity. She'll pack a punch, or cause a tear or a laugh in a handful of words, and she plays angst for despair and for wistfulness. She'll also write comfort!fic to beat the band.

Some favourites:

Epiphanies
I beta'd this fic, and it grabbed me from the start. A series of short character studies, it focusses on one epiphantic and revelatory moment for each major character. Not only does exbex provide canny insights, but she does it from unexpected angles. Frannie's determined pursuit of Fraser is, here, not a ditzy failing but a demonstration of the strength of her personality and belief in following her dreams. Thatcher's antagonism towards Fraser isn't cliched sublimated desire, but has roots in a much deeper issue of chauvanism and respect. I could talk about each of these sections in depth, and at length. Their brevity shows just how well exbex works the snippet format to reveal much in a few, shrewdly-chosen scenes and words.


exbex has a way of writing about Stella that I really enjoy - there's a smart, sassy, passionate woman there, with a sense of humour and depth to her character that can often be neglected in fanfic. Two favourite glimpses of Stella:
The Morning After
An affectionate, gentle (and teasing) look at Stella in her ex-husbands' house one hungover morning.
Because Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History
A realistic and sensual look at Stella and RayK's relationship when it was still good.


It's a good thing we have that full disclosure thing, because I'd hate to look biased, but to round off the set I'm picking another one I beta'd: Ordinary Heroes. Without melodrama, exbex shows us a post-Vegas Vecchio who has given up on himself entirely. Determined that something good should come out of the mess of the past few years, he sets about fixing the rift between Fraser and Kowalski. His own quiet surrendering of his life is subtle and unsettling, and although there's a definite dramatic irony in the sense that Vecchio will find redemption through mending the relationships of his friends, again it's subtle. There are some particularly pleasing nuggets in this, ideas of the practicalities of Vecchio returning to his life in Chicago, what he would do and where he would live. I relish the end: there's no third wheel, and nobody left out in the cold - instead there's a clear foundation for everyone to start rebuilding their lives.