Here's my rec to close out our angst/drama theme week here at Epic Recs!

Title: Like Water, Like Breath, Like Rain
Fandom: Donald Strachey Mysteries (movie verse)
Pairing: Donald Strachey/Timothy Callahan
Categories: Angst, Drama, H/C
Length: Super epic (~116,000 words)
Warnings: Graphic retellings of rape/non-con, homophobic attitudes and language, violence. Please heed Author’s warnings on the subject.

Author on LJ: candyjbshsc
Author Website: Candy’s Place

Summary:
When Donald pays a terrible price for investigating his latest case, both he and Timothy rely on the strength of their love to sustain them. Meanwhile, they must face the dangerous aftermath as it threatens their happiness and their lives.

Review:
I’ve recently come across candyjbshsc’s Donald Strachey stories and this was the first one I read. Normally I don’t read many rape/non-con stories but I was extremely intrigued by the length of the story and curious as to how the author would portray Don and Timmy’s relationship as they dealt with something so horrific.

I thought the story was extremely well done. It’s one of those that has stuck with me ever since I read it. The draw for me with the Donald Strachey Mysteries series has always been the romance and love evident between Don and Timmy, and the author pushes the characters to the edge but through everything it is their love and belief in one another that gets them through the challenges they face.

One of the best things of this story is that you never get the sense you are just reading about an isolated part of their lives. Even after the court case is finished, the author continues with the story because there is more to tell. Just like in life, we don’t stop and start at predetermined points, our lives are complex, constantly evolving, and full of multiple challenges faced continuously. We may tell ourselves that as soon as we “get through this” it will be over, but that doesn’t mean we won’t then have to face something else and the author portrays that with Don and Timmy. The ending is natural and hopeful but their lives continue on beyond this awful incident.

The violent content is dark and disturbing. You don’t read about it first hand as it happens, but the details come out in the aftermath through police interviews, conversations, and courtroom testimony. I’m not going to lie, I skimmed through several parts recounting what happened, but it was the other parts, where Don and Timmy were healing and putting their lives back together, that made the story memorable.

Like Water, Like Breath, Like Rain