Story 185: "Through the Fire" by Jordan

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

Our second Halloween fic this year is "Through the Fire," a very distinctive AU that basically incorporates a little bit of everything into the mix.

In this universe Mulder has been imprisoned for several years on false charges, and Scully has continued their work in his absence. Now she must cope with a dangerous case - an MoTW with its roots at the heart of the mytharc - while also coping with a sudden change in Mulder's circumstances. It's a tense, unusual, and downright creepy fic with an M/S dynamic that's intense and quite lovely. Diana, Jeffrey Spender, and Skinner also have parts to play.

Through the Fire

Oh my god, you guys, I'm SO SORRY! Anyone who downloaded the text file of the fic missed chapter 6! My face is literally in my palms. I read the whole fic and didn't even realize I'd missed an entire chapter, and from the looks of things an important one. I only just realized it now.

That is, from what I can tell, the only place the fic is posted. If the format (which is seasonally cute, but also rather visually loud) bothers you, I've uploaded the fic as one complete Word file, which you can download here.

Happy Halloween, everyone! And season's greetings to anyone who doesn't celebrate.

Comments

3/3

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

Part 11: Okay, so Jordan (or at least her writing) seems to suffer from a case of Mulder worship. "His angst! His passion! His strength of will!" It wouldn't bother me if only Jordan had let Scully be as strong and passionate as Mulder.

Resistance is futile.

Not a good line to use in a scene where Mulder forcefully embraces Scully. It doesn't come across as passionate, just rapey.

Part 12: I actually quite like the sex scene. The descriptions of orgasm are annoyingly OTT, but the first three quarters of the scene is lovely. It's not very hot, I agree, but then I really don't think it's supposed to be particularly hot - not in a blatant "turn the reader on" kind of way. It's sensual and emotional.

but the cucumber thing did make me roll my eyes. It's a little hot, but mostly just silly.

I love the little scene after, though, where Mulder notices Scully is wounded, and she begins to tell him about the case, and finally the two storylines are connected.

Part 13: I think this was the weakest section. I'd say Jordan's strong point is not action sequences. I don't think that TTF was particularly unfair to Diana's character but I don't think she was characterized very well either. I would have loved it if Jeffrey had fainted instead, while Diana had at least trained her gun on the creature or something.

And why couldn't Scully's lighter have worked? She came on the scene like a total HBIC, and then she was robbed of her moment of ultimate capability because the lighter didn't work? Boo.

Part 6: I really wish this chapter didn't exist. I like Scully's "Oh, I get it. You decided my future for me while I was unconscious. Did I forget to thank you?" and Mulder's "I owe you everything. But I wasn't in much of a position to do any repaying, was I?" But I prefer the way it reads without part 6. I'm having kind of a hard time incorporating it into my concept of the story. Oy, reader fail.

Re: 3/3

[wendelah1]

Resistance is futile.

Except isn't that what the Borg say when they plan to assimilate a ship or a planet? I think it was a line from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, too, before the aliens destroyed the planet?

It made me laugh. I'm pretty triggery when it comes to rape stuff. I'm certain it wasn't meant to be a serious line. Again, I think she is poking fun just a little at the requirement that "Mulder and Scully have to have sex" as part of the challenge.
Edited to add:
And why couldn't Scully's lighter have worked? She came on the scene like a total HBIC, and then she was robbed of her moment of ultimate capability because the lighter didn't work? Boo.

That was beyond annoying. See, she undermined Scully again. She's nothing without Mulder. Mulder's lighter would have worked. Skinner wouldn't have needed a lighter, he'd use his xray vision to light the gasoline. LOL.

I know I skimmed part six quickly the first time through before I downloaded the rest to look at it more carefully but it didn't register as anything special. I think you are right, it's a stronger story without it.