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xf_book_clubA few days ago, someone was talking about fic and the phrase "most famous fic in our fandom" came up. I'm not sure what story she had in mind but surely "Iolokus" has to be a contender for that title. I have seen it nominated by many people for the best fan fiction novel, not just in our own, but in any fandom. I have also seen people say they couldn't finish it because Mulder and Scully were too "out of character."
The misspelled monster that started it all. Although I'm told it promotes heteronormativity in the end, we were more going for polymorphic perversity; you'll have to judge for yourself.
Summary: Painted across the barren and desolate reaches of Texas, the shadows of the Project put additional pressure on Scully and Mulder's already fragile relationship. After a hostage crisis raises more questions about the Project's breeding program, Scully begins her own investigation, leaving Mulder to choose between saving her and saving himself. Finally, the investigation leads to tragedy and Mulder and Scully find that more questions have been asked than answered.
The title reference was to an island mentioned in Medea, to which we turned for fairly obvious reasons.
Warnings: extreme violence, including the death of children.
There are four long sections to this behemoth. My first time through this fic I hadn't much knowledge of canon, so I am curious to see what I think of it now. Thank you to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sangria_lila for this excellent nomination. If there is enthusiasm to continue, I suppose we can forge through to the end or just quit with book one. It's your call.
Please leave feedback for the authors and then come back and let us know what you think. Nominations for next time are made here. Sincerivkat's site is down at the moment, the link is to the wonderful Fugues Fiction Archive. Of course, the story is also available at Gossamer.
Iolokus
Edit: Since Rivkat's site is back up, here is another link to the story: Iolokus.
The misspelled monster that started it all. Although I'm told it promotes heteronormativity in the end, we were more going for polymorphic perversity; you'll have to judge for yourself.
Summary: Painted across the barren and desolate reaches of Texas, the shadows of the Project put additional pressure on Scully and Mulder's already fragile relationship. After a hostage crisis raises more questions about the Project's breeding program, Scully begins her own investigation, leaving Mulder to choose between saving her and saving himself. Finally, the investigation leads to tragedy and Mulder and Scully find that more questions have been asked than answered.
The title reference was to an island mentioned in Medea, to which we turned for fairly obvious reasons.
Warnings: extreme violence, including the death of children.
There are four long sections to this behemoth. My first time through this fic I hadn't much knowledge of canon, so I am curious to see what I think of it now. Thank you to
sangria_lila for this excellent nomination. If there is enthusiasm to continue, I suppose we can forge through to the end or just quit with book one. It's your call.Please leave feedback for the authors and then come back and let us know what you think. Nominations for next time are made here. Since
rivkat's site is down at the moment, the link is to the wonderful Fugues Fiction Archive. Of course, the story is also available at Gossamer.Iolokus
Edit: Since Rivkat's site is back up, here is another link to the story: Iolokus.
No thread is ever dead
Date: 2016-05-15 03:31 am (UTC)It's been at least two years since I read "Iolokus" from beginning to end so I can't respond to every point you've made. I get why the characterizations didn't work for you--heck, they didn't work for a lot of people, even some people who love the fic. (Read through the comments for reader-responses from some of the fandom best-known writers.) The darn writers for the series couldn't keep them in character half the time. Describing "Iolokus" as "all heavy-handed bitterness and fire" without nuance is oversimplified, although I will grant the fic is purposefully short on subtlety. *g*
The fic was written out of anger, in reaction to events of the series through season five, in particular what was done to Scully. She's abducted by Duane Barry and Donnie Pfaster; she's given cancer; she's turned into a guinea pig by the Consortium doctors, who commit medical rape by stealing her ova and using them to make human/alien clones. But that wasn't enough for the writers: in Christmas Carol/Emily, Scully gets to discover that they've used her ova to make a very sick little girl, just so that Scully can suffer, suffer and suffer some more. I'm getting angry myself, just thinking about it. I can't imagine watching it unfold in real time. (I first watched the series in order in 2006-07 when the slimsets were released on DVD.)
This story is wildly ambitious, and to my mind, the writers mostly succeed at what they're attempting to do: they want to show us how angry and insane Mulder and Scully should be, given all that they've been put through by the damned writers. It's not comforting and it's not easy reading. That's a good thing, imho, given the issues they're dealing with. But--if you make it all the way to the end, to Syadiloh 1 and 2, we (and Mulder and Scully) get rewarded for our suffering, and that alone makes it worthwhile.
The complete Iolokus Series is now at AO3, as well as at Gossamer. I should edit the post to reflect that.
If you want me to add you to the community roster so that you can post unscreened, I'd be happy to do so. I have commenting set to screen non-members for spam prevention.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. It means a lot to know that people are still reading the fic and finding the community.