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

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

I see the love in the early parts of the story as being implicit rather than explicit. They never say it - well, Mulder does - but I think by knowing Scully's character we can infer the same. She's scared of giving herself completely to another person on an emotional level, but she still stays with him. I think she's doing the best she knows how right now, and trusting Mulder to let her lash out.

I agree. I think this is a Scully who's had all her options taken away from her and has found herself powerless against the machine that's driving them. She's always been the one, of the two of them, who takes things personally, who takes everything to heart. Mulder, by comparison, is a big dog continually following the scent, more open and softer and able to express himself without breaking apart.

I think Scully has nowhere else to direct her anger and sadness, and so Mulder cops the brunt of it, because, as you said, he'll take it. There is literally no-one else she can rail against.