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

[wendelah1]

Thanks for the Word file. The format is cute but also distracting and difficult to read. I'm printing it out. It's just a little over 21,000 words, too, so not a huge commitment of time.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

Hey, the first to opinionate. I'm so proud of myself, after having played caboose for long time passing.

This is a feisty and quite interesting X-File adventure, and it displays some good writing with the promise of fine writing in the future. Wen and I both believe it is nowhere near the stellar orbit of Oyster.

Oddly, looking back at the poor mutated monster (which plays nice with canon), I keep snagging on the problems. There is an earnest, determinedly horrific, would-be-tragic push that is meant to help us pity Tom Hagen and *quiver* at the inexplicable hatred that Mulder displays toward his loyal partner. It doesn't seem to bond with the here-to-amuse Halloween chapter headings, as well as--I suspect--the provided visuals. That's the cute, tame side of Halloween. Tom and Mean Mulder are the dark side.

This was, of course, written on one of those dares that fandom used to specialize in as an aid to group cohesion. And with time constraints! I can't imagine. My respect for Jordan is pretty high.

But those sex scenes. I get the intent; a love so strong it overcomes all of Mulder's fears for Scully's safety (not to mention his prison time on the sexual bench). I get it but I didn't dig it. There's far too much describing of breathlessness and involuntary excitement and pushing up against walls and falling backwards onto mattresses. There's TOO MUCH DESCRIPTION. It's trying so hard to be exciting that it overreaches. I'm thinking, here, of Mulder's penis as a cucumber.

Anyhow, why is Mulder so damned *mad.* If there's a reason, I missed it. Wouldn't be the first time.

In Wendy's honor, I declare that Diana Fowley was somewhat mishandled. She was childishly jealous of the files and Scully's possible intrusion (quite ooc) and she faints. Faints! Neutral as my feelings for the woman remain, she certainly believed in the paranormal and had an honor and toughness beyond what she displays.

I liked Jordan's treatment of Skinner. She always liked him best. Which may be why her reputation is cultish.

Please read Oyster. You can look up the Club discussion near the beginning. Wendy was brilliant. (That's it for suckup, W.)

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

I just remembered that many of our members/lurkers have been stricken by electrical outages. What kind of excuse is that? Double down on your mental signals! Sigh. Where is the paranormal when you need it?

[write-out.livejournal.com]

I did lose power, but my main excuse for not posting so far has been homework. School has been kicking my ass something fierce this week, hence my silence. I have read this story and I liked it enough, but that's about the limit of my critique. I read fairly quickly to get the gist, so I'm sure I missed a lot. My feelings run neutral-positive. I don't remember any strong reactions other than that I am glad M/S seemed to have figured it out by the end (eternal shipper that I am).

estella_c, I think Mulder's anger stems from being wrongly locked up for years and not knowing where he stands once he is released. He's missed so much, especially Scully since she never saw him in prison (right? am I remembering that correctly?). Then again, I did skim, so maybe I'm missing something myself. Because I definitely don't remember anything about cucumbers. Yikes.

1/3

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

My perception of this fic is all scrambled. I've really liked it all this time, and was prepared to defend it strongly. But then it turned out I blundered and hadn't read one entire chapter, and I like the fic less now that I've read that chapter. I don't even know how I feel about it at this point, but my comments were written before I read Part 6.


Part 1: I really like part one. There's so much going on, and I love that I have to work to get my bearings. I really like the way it's broken up into three segments, the first one from Hagen's POV, then a scene change to Scully's POV as she steps out into the hall, then a momentary time jump to Hagen checking the hall and hearing her departing foot steps. This is the perfect opening in my book. It's tense, with lots of sensory details, and it introduces basically every important plot thread that's to come without having to use obvious exposition once.

Part 2: I think Jordan uses the dream sequence very well. It's obviously a dream, but it's also obviously not just a dream. It's very rich in details, impressions, and textures. Already there's a feeling of enchantment, of dark magic, in the fic because Scully is clearly having ~*spooky visions*~.

Part 3: Backstory! I love non-linearity in fanfic. The way the last three and a half years are sketched in is nice. We get the gist, and a few clear details, but the rest is left to the imagination. If I were still writing fic, I would love to write a fic in this universe, set during Mulder's imprisonment.

Scully seems to passive and timid here: "No," she said, overcome by horror at the thought of rejection, after all this time. Better to hold onto the dream... But I can overlook it because of wonderful moments like this: "I won't quit," she had told him, even after Mulder had refused to so much as look at her as they took him from the courtroom. "Don't even think of asking me to quit."

I also love the idea of "Scully the Invisible." I can absolutely picture her that way: the smart, quiet, relentless, effectual data gatherer. In Mulder's absence she became the Scully version of what he becomes in her absence.

And then there's this:

So here she was, dodging the chasing moon, alternately hot in the airless car with the windows rolled up, and cold when she rolled them down to the late October chill. Rushing on a fool's errand to a man who had made it clear enough by his actions he didn't want to see her, risking everything for what in the end might come to nothing.

I could pick ten different paragraphs to say this about, but Jordan does atmosphere SO well.* Every scene is vivid, both emotionally and sensually. Considering its ambitious plot, TTF is not the most weighty fic. It could have been a longer, darker, heavier read. Instead it's a textural experience - all together frightening, dramatic, and sweet. It gets at least as much of its impact through being evocative as it does through conveying things in more straight-forward ways.

*As a side note, I found this fic when I was reading JET's Spotlight On interview. She'd listed it as one of her favorites, which I love, because they have significant writing-style similarities - particularly when it come to evocative, atmospheric writing.

Part 4: Scully's thoughts about Mulder are a bit OTT, in that "Mulder-the-tragic-poetic-demigod" kind of way, but it's not enough for me to complain about it yet. Scully's moment of prescience about the mouthwash is very sensual. She had a sudden sharp vision of him standing over the bathroom sink, washing out his mouth with green rinse, his eyes looking at his own face in the mirror, and at that moment he had been thinking of her. It goes along with his barely perceptible shiver when she tells him she hasn't found a place to stay the night yet.

NOTE: now that I've read chapter 6, I like this section less. I liked the subtlety of Mulder's behavior in this scene - the small indications that he was fighting himself, meaning to shut her out entirely, but also wanting her desperately - followed by the sudden break of resolve at the beginning of part 8 where they make out in the hall.

2/3

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

Part 5: I find Hagen's transition into the alien creature to be exceptionally horrifying. It's handled so well that it's almost beautiful, even though it's really the opposite of that. This was the section that made me think of Oyster. I don't remember Oyster very well, but I remember that Jordan is very good at writing unusual states of mind, mixing human thinking with something other - writing an unfathomable experience and making it feel real. I also have to give her props for having the guts to write this: He thought of Scully standing naked before him, the red patch between her legs. Had this happened already, or was it about to happen? He couldn't tell. He saw himself pushing her down on her back, seizing her ankles, spreading her legs. Wide, wide, wide as his shoulders, wide as his arms would spread out, wider, until the tearing sound began. I've always felt that if you're going to write something dark, you should be real about it - don't shy away from it. Don't sensationalize it, but pay it the respect of telling the truth. This feels true. True enough that I was struck by the sudden realization of how rarely I read anything so genuinely and viscerally violent - especially when it's about Scully or Mulder.

Part 7: The sections involving Diana and Jeffrey aren't of great interest to me, but I like that TTF has them in it, as partners. I tend to feel that plot-centric fanfic is a "more the merrier" kind of deal. Involving more characters, and actually giving them things to do, makes the story feel more full-bodied and complex.

He remembered the idiot drooling down on him, saying Come, Come, and trying to lure him into the woods. He remembered killing the idiot, the gorgeous bright red arc of blood sything across the golden tips of the rye.

I love this line, the mix of ugliness and beauty.

Part 8: I like the hallway scene(!) a lot. It's sensual and erotic and intense, and while I think Jordan could have cut back a little on the swoony emotional description, I only got tired of it on my second read through.

I love this: she says a single agonized word: "Mulder." His name forces her mouth into the shape of a kiss.

But I don't like: "I wanted to see you again," she says, and wonders why it comes out as a whisper.

One of the things I like so much about this AU is that Scully is so strong and competent and independent. She carried on their work on her own, and she's done a good job. But with Mulder she's 'timid damsel Scully' more than 'dauntless agent Scully'. It's a shame, because it would only take changing maybe five short lines in the whole fic and I don't think there'd be a problem.

NOTE: I like this section less, now, as well. *sad sigh* I loved the way the scene started seemingly in the middle of something. It was probably my favorite part of the fic. I thought Jordan was ingenious for not showing us how they got to this point they're at in the hall, for jerking the reader into the scene with a sudden passionate lurch.

Part 9: Mulder asking Scully whether CSM had talked her into visiting him was pretty hard to take, but the way he says it, I'm not sure he believes his own accusations. He seems more like he's railing impotently against much bigger forces - just as he always was, only worse now. Usually I wouldn't let him off that easy for being a prick, but after what he's been through I think it's forgivable.

Part 10: I like that Scully meets an informant. That's another thing that fills out a story nicely: when the character's do research. Cappy is obnoxious, but in an enjoyable way.

I like this historical, earthy, human approach to explaining the case. It's not necessarily that it's better than the more cosmic, futuristic, alien approach. It's just pleasantly different, and tangible.

She remembered the ice... Closed her eyes and swallowed, and tasted the bile of a long ago near miss, some encounter so close that they'd had to make sure Mulder was stopped dead in his tracks afterwards.

The FTF tie-in is cool, but I think TTF reads more like an AU branched off from 'The End' than an AU branched off from FTF.

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.

[tri-sbr.livejournal.com]

I just read this story and enjoyed it on balance. Was kind of confused because of the non-linearity(as has been pointed out), but I'm glad I read the discussion here instead of reading the story again. I don't think I liked it enough to reread it right away, so reading the comments here was perfect.

I have to say, I was slightly confused by the ending; I was not expecting it to be so benign. I actually thought, when Mulder found Scully's injury after the s-e-x, that it was going to turn out that the bones had gotten Scully and the evil was now in her... I was really spooked for a few paragraphs anticipating the moment we would see Scully turn monster-ish, and then just sort of vaguely confused when that didn't turn out to be the direction things went. Oh well. I'm impressed by how well it came out overall given the time constraints.