Story 232: "Drive, He Said" by Jennifer-Oksana

[wendelah1]

This short story is post-col, so you know what that means. It's short, because I sense some readers need a break from long fanfic. It's a fic that got recced everywhere from The Other Side to crack_van. It's quite good, but I guess that goes without saying.

"Drive, He Said" by Jennifer-Oksana
Pairing: Mulder/Scully (but Wendelah does not classify this as MSR)
Rating: R (her rating not mine—I'd rank it Teen for language)
Summary: Where do you go when there’s nowhere left?

The link is to her Wordpress Blog. This fic is also found on her Author's Page at Gossamer. If you can, send feed back to the writer, then come back and tell us what you think. The nomination post is always open for your suggestions.

Read Drive, He Said.

Comments

[wendelah1]

Sorry. Without giving away the ending, I did try to warn readers it would be a downer.

As you say, it's impossible to say exactly when Scully died. We know when Mulder died, because Scully was a witness. But Scully was alone when she died. Probably somewhere on the road. Delirious. Crashed the car. We'll never know.

Also, I thought her appearance was weird. She was dressed in a way that some might see as kinda attractive and a little strange for post apocalyptic. This makes me wonder if it was a mental image, and we were viewing her consciousness rather than actual events.

This is her point of view but I get a different impression when I read her self-description.

Black Doc Marten boots, laced up to mid-calf. Bare legs that haven’t been washed or shaved in weeks. Legs that were ivory pale but now seem to have the faintest tan sheen. Tiny denim shorts, the sort they’d call Daisy Dukes– it’s too hot for anything else. Pale stomach, the tiny ring silver and dusty with grit and sweat. T-shirt tied underneath my breasts. Sleeves rolled up so that my pale arms show. Big black sunglasses that hide my bloodshot and weary eyes. Hair afrizz and amuck.

She's unshaven, sweaty and dirty. Behind the sunglasses, her eyes are bloodshot. She's beyond tired. She probably started out in jeans that tucked into her boots and turned them into cutoffs when she got to the heat of southwest in the clunker car. She started out with a shirt that was neatly tucked in and ended up with it tied up for ventilation. Her hair is "afrizz and amuck." Never mind that someone might, I don't think the language supports that she's seeing herself as attractive.

[mogster495.livejournal.com]

I don't know. Even with unshaven legs and messy hair she is wearing calf high boots (completely impractical for hot weather), short shorts, a shirt tied to show her mid-drift, and sunglasses.

If I saw Scully wearing these things, even if she was unshaven and unshowered, I would probably say 'Damn, that is one hot mess.'

It stands out but it probably doesn't mean anything. I just think she could pull that look off.