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 just finished Syadiloh, and find myself dissatisfied with it once again. It feels so heavy handed, especially the beginning. I get that the end is playing on the "OMG SCULLY HAS TWINS IN A CAR!" trope, but meh.

Note: I actually like the babies' names a lot, which I understand many people don't. I mean, Bram, Cordelia, and Miranda are maybe a little matchy in that they're all from Shakespeare, but it's hardly Romeo, Juliet, and Ophelia or anything. I like sensibly named children.

[sangria-lila.livejournal.com]

Oh Syadiloh is supposed to be bad, and the saga as I see it properly ended in Res Judicata.

Where is Bram in Shakespeare?

[aloysiavirgata.livejournal.com]

Well! My bad. I could have sworn I remembered a Bram in The Merchant of Venice but I apprear to have been much mistaken. Okay then. Now I have no idea what the issue is with Bram and Cordelia. *laugh*

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

Bram Stoker, I'm thinking. Those two were shameless.

I meant the writers, not Mulder and Scully. But that works too. (I'm being flippant here. Shame was a big factor in the character development.)

[aloysiavirgata.livejournal.com]

*laugh* I agree. Anything's possible with the four of them.