Story 113: "Fathoms Five" by Penumbra

[wendelah1]

Fathoms Five was first nominated in September of last year by scarletbaldy, and then again about a month ago by antfarmponies. It's been suggested to me informally a couple of times, too. I had hesitated to post it for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the subject matter is profoundly disturbing.

Yes, THAT IS A WARNING. Email or PM me if you need more specific information before reading this story.

But it's a major work, by a major writer. It's also her best work, in my humble opinion, and I hope we can do it justice. I don't want to say anything more specific for fear of giving away too much. As always, there will be spoilers in the comment threads.

Penumbra's planning to let her website go down soon (sob, I know, another one), so I'm also linking to her journal. Of course, the story is archived at Gossamer, too.

Again, this story contains disturbing material that might be triggering.

At her website, "Fathoms Five." EDIT: This version has a warning that is a spoiler.

And, at her journal: Part One, Part Two. EDIT: This version has no warning posted.

As always, leave feedback for the author, and then come back for discussion. Suggestions for next time may be left at the nomination post.

Comments

Re: just a little Overwhelming Helplessness

[sangria-lila.livejournal.com]

The thing I feel about Penumbra, whenever I read her fics, is that she falls in love with the characters a little too much, to the point where she's hopelessly in love with the idea of Mulder and Scully. That's understandable, but what happens is that whenever I read her two fics, I don't feel like I'm reading about two people, I'm reading about Penumbra's ideal of two people, and it stops me from connecting with her fics on a visceral level. I don't feel like I'm reading the characters I saw on the show. I think this feeling was exacerbated by the fact that Penumbra took M&S out of the show altogether.

But I still think the biggest problem for me is the language. Sometimes Penumbra hits the right spot with an image, but a lot of the times, I feel like it's overwrought. The opening line, for example, could have been shortened, and it would have been just as powerful, and the same goes for the rest of the fic.