Story 95: "Iolokus" by Mustang Sally and RivkaT

[wendelah1]

A 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 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.

Comments

[aloysiavirgata.livejournal.com]

I tried to read this story when it first came out and I was 17 or so. And I totally didn't appreciate it. I was too young and I didn't understand the emotion behind it yet. Then about 10 years later, I came back to the fandom and sat down to read it. And I read and read and read. Lost track of time, and had to call a friend's nanny to pick my kids up from school.

There are a number of serious WTF moments for me, make no mistake. But it's long and that's just going to happen, you know? What captivates me about Iolokus is that the characters are so skewed and distorted in places, but I can still see them every time. This is Mulder and Scully given the gift of their (possible) emotions and reactions, rather than Mulder and Scully as week-to-week TV characters who need to keep things together.

I go back and forth sometimes, wondering whether the Emily arc or the William arc is more cruel to Scully. And there are times when I think it has to be Emily, because Scully had no choices anywhere along the line. And as a fellow control freak, I find that so, so horrifying.

Excellent choice all around, sangria_lila.

[wendelah1]

I go back and forth sometimes, wondering whether the Emily arc or the William arc is more cruel to Scully. And there are times when I think it has to be Emily, because Scully had no choices anywhere along the line. And as a fellow control freak, I find that so, so horrifying.

That is an excellent point. But I always assumed that Scully gave William up for adoption because she was forced to do so. She felt like she had no choice. I also assumed that losing a child you had known and loved passionately was worse than losing a child you had barely met, even though the circumstances of her death couldn't have been more horrifying. I believe that Scully could eventually become reconciled to the loss of Emily, the miracle that wasn't meant to be. I don't believe she could ever get over losing William.

After I have reread the story, I may ask for your take on the WTF moments.

[aloysiavirgata.livejournal.com]

Yes, your thoughts about William mesh completely with my own. I can never fully make up my mind though, because they're just both so awful. Emily's whole conception is stomach churning in its own right. And she was then tortured and died a scary, painful death. William was loved and then given away to be kept safe. But they're both sickening and cruel, quite frankly. The full impact of those two storylines never really hit me until I had kids of my own. Ugh.