So this due South fanvid has been in my hard drive and cloud space for years and I regularly rewatch it because I find it so fascinating and insightful.
I originally got the link to download it from a fandom friend who was tech challenged and wanted to download it but didn't know how, so I helped. Having it in my possession, though, meant that I never had to look for it on AO3. Which I had not, until tonight.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/56340805/chapters/143147488
I can't believe I've been so remiss, because I should've commented on it years ago. I love this vid. It is action-packed, it's the dark side of Fraser, it's everything Fraser puts Kowalski through in the course of their partnership/relationship... and every bit of it is canonical.
I think we don't often appreciate just how fucked up and traumatized Fraser actually is. I think he doesn't even know it (denial), which is why he barrels through his partner Ray's job (not even his own job!) in the bossy, stubborn, not-showing-my-cards-yet/keep-em-in-the-dark-until-my-hunch-proves-true, the-ends-justify-the-means way that he does.
imo, this vid is a microcosm of Fraser's psyche: if someone forced him to see a therapist, and he couldn't get away, and the therapist was skilled at asking those "why do you think that you do xyz" questions - This is the slice of Fraser's subconscious or unconscious that would be revealed, because Fraser doesn't even realize he's doing this to Ray.
He would probably be horrified if he saw the video. He would be defensive, and he'd say that necessary context is missing and There Were Reasons he did what he did at the time he did it.
But he's as reckless - no, more reckless! - with his own life as with Ray's, and it's possible that a teensy part of Fraser has either a death wish, or a completely reckless disregard for his own wellbeing.
Fraser is so fucked up. I love him, but let's face it, he is a mess. He has a high ACE score. And he needs (choose your own) Ray to tone down that reckless disregard so he can stick around for a lot longer instead of getting himself (or Ray) killed, and so he can not be crippled from healed injuries that ache with weather changes in his late 50s/early 60s.
I left a gushy comment on this vid because it deserves a gushy comment. And also because I had no fucking idea that the vidder's intent was the exact opposite of the way the vid turned out! Yet I think it's perfect exactly the way that it is. It's 100% canonical - which is also what makes it so shocking and compelling. In isolation, you don't realize how often Fraser risks their necks. When you see all those times together, one after another, you understand why Ray asks him if he has a death wish. Why Ray punches him at the lakefront.
I'm just saying.
