Story 242: "Skin" by Annie Sewell-Jennings

[discordantwords.livejournal.com]

I'm not much of an AU person. A lot of what drew me into the X Files was the dynamic between Mulder and Scully in their particular set of circumstances. That said, I've been hankering to revisit an AU that I remember reading and enjoying back when it was originally published. It may actually have been the first AU I ever read. I thought of it again recently and wondered how it would hold up to a reread all these years later.

"Skin" has a pretty standard set up. What if Scully caved to familial pressure and never joined the FBI? What if Mulder never reopened the X Files?

This story occasionally makes its way onto "classics" lists, although I don't see it recced as often as some other AUs. Possibly because it's very long, possibly because it's somewhat harder to find (it is not archived at Gossamer), or possibly because I've viewed it too fondly through the lens of nostalgia. The author is probably best known for "Erosion," which I have never read, but which has a reputation as one of the saddest MSR fics ever written.

This is a long one. Novel length, MSR.

SUMMARY: In a world where Mulder and Scully have never met, fate intervenes and brings two worlds colliding in the city of Charleston, as a vicious murderer reigns and a storm approaches.

Read Skin.

Comments

[wendelah1]

Reading now. I'll be back...

Part 1 Chapters 1-9

[wendelah1]

Dividing this into parts.

The prologue is terrible. If "Skin" hadn't been posted here, I'd never get past the first paragraph.

Above the churning, steaming Atlantic, a single bolt of violent lightning flickered between two dark, malevolent clouds. Nothing more than a single bolt, one bright current of electricity and heat, simmering and sizzling against the dark cobalt sky.

I don't think she meant "steaming," unless it's the end time and God has set the ocean on fire. Is lightening ever anything but violent? An experiment: here's the same sentence minus the adjectives.

Above the Atlantic, a bolt of lightning flickered between two clouds. Nothing more than a single bolt, one current of electricity and heat, simmering and sizzling against the sky.

Isn't that more effective? She doesn't list a beta, which doesn't surprise me. I suspect there were plenty of readers who were just there for the romance. But that's not why we're here. Well. That's not why I'm here. Onward.

X-Files MSR Trope List: Because there is a list somewhere, right?

1. Mulder hates profiling. It's destroying him, just like it destroys everyone who does it.
2. Mulder has violent nightmares.
3. Mulder dreams about Scully, even though they've never met. Scully dreams about him, ditto. Weirdly, these dreams are scenes from actual episodes and also the movie, Fight the Future.
4. Scully didn't join the FBI. She's regretted it ever since. Her life is a wasteland, even though she has a beautiful house, a cat and a successful career.
5. Co-workers call her "Scully" rather than Dana. (This is always a WTF in an AU for me).
6. Scully is single. Mulder is single. Duh, Wendy. How can you have a romance if one of the parties is married or involved?
7. Scully is an Ice Queen. She also has no friends. (WTF)
8. She has red hair and blue eyes, which will be described over and over again in florid language. She has a temper. "Women like this always did."
9. Their attraction is instantaneous.
10. Mulder's eyes are intense. Also hazel. Will be described ad infinitum. See no. 8.
11. Even her "tight, professional smile" is enchanting.
12. Only Mulder can see through her persona to the real Scully.
13. Mulder wears bad ties.
14. Even with a gruesome body right in front of them, the sexual electricity is unrelenting. (This always grosses me out. It makes me certain the writer has never seen a dead body, too.)
15. Mulder is a maverick who never follows the rules.
16. Fanfic coffee is always disgusting. EDIT: Unless it's from Starbucks.
17. She calls herself "Scully." THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS PEOPLE.
18. Mulder is "a tortured FBI agent." He has panic attacks and headaches and pops pills for same.

There was nothing as comforting to Scully as the cold sterility of the medical scrubs. Their bland mint green and their uncomfortable polyester was only tolerable to the numbed and uncaring body, not to mention the fact that it put her in her place. As soon as she donned the uniform, she felt her identity and her emotions leave her body, replacing them with the cool intuition and control of a medical examiner. The uncertainty and intrigue that the FBI's earlier arrival had inspired were now banished from her body and thoughts, and all that was left was the calculating mind of the skilled pathologist.

I like this. It's over-written but I like the insight into Scully. Of course, she goes on in the same vein for two more paragraphs. Sigh.

But she interrupted the moment by turning away from him and picking up a bone saw. The whirring sound of the saw's motor effectively ruined the earlier sensuality between them, and Mulder chuckled to himself as Scully continued her autopsy.

Nothing ruined sexual tension better than the reminder of death.

AND THANK GOD FOR THAT. See above-trope 14.

"If you find anything, let me know," he said before turning his back on her and walking out of the autopsy bay.

Wait. I thought it was his job to stay during the autopsy.

"The truth is that I am required to stay for the autopsy," Mulder answered. "It's part of my job."

Oh, never mind. Of course! Mulder is a maverick who never follows the rules. Duly added to trope list.

Part 2 Chapters 10-12

[wendelah1]

I think the endless description of their eyes, clothes and hair is supposed to show us that they can hardly keep their hands off each other. Because that's what people who are really turned on think about, right?

A deliciously heavy breeze fluttered through the magnificent boughs of the oak tree, twining through the greenery and flora. Late-blooming wisteria wavered and trembled underneath the gentle breath of the wind, and one delicate violet flower loosened itself from the tethers of vines and moss. The silky purple bud traveled through the air, the bright explosion of color tantalizing and seductive as it drifted on the wind. The spray of lavender twisted and turned gracefully, like the tulle tutu of a floral ballerina, and it wafted and waved through the ancient city.

Underneath the lantern's light, the vibrant red color of the wine danced and glowed like fire. It was the color of mellifluous rubies and garnets, like sparkling jeweled liquefied into nothing more than honeyed gemstones. It was the exact color of Scully's shirt, and both shone in synchrony beneath the rich glow of the lantern. The only difference was that she was more tantalizing than the wine.

But at least he could taste the wine. He couldn't taste her.

OH BUT HE CAN. FORESHADOWING! ALSO PURPLE PROSE ALERT.

The description of the wine goes on for another full paragraph. I think this is what we used to call "food porn" before Instagram. There is a lot of food porn herein.

He would only be here a couple more weeks anyway, before he would return to Washington and she would return to her dull, typical Southern life. But that didn't mean that she couldn't have two weeks with him. Fourteen days, if that, spent in his arms and inhis world. An escape from the boundaries and concise territories of logic and reason - a little foray into the impossible.

Perhaps she should consider this one extreme possibility.

Perhaps she should. GO FOR IT DANA.

Lifting her chin proudly, Scully turned around to face Mulder, and she started chuckling at what stood behind him.

"That's my house," she said, and Mulder turned around to take it in.

The bright canary house stood shaded by billowing willow trees and one meandering oak, both shadowed with sprinklings of Spanish moss. An iron-wrought gate surrounded the residence, intertwined with pineapples and wisteria in a fashion that was elegant and enigmatic, just like the house's owner. A round balcony protruded from the front of the house, surrounded by white railing, and Mulder imagined her standing on it, looking out at the ocean, searching for something that only she could find.

"It's beautiful," Mulder murmured, and Scully smiled a little in gratitude.

"Thanks," she said. "Do you want to come in?"

His only reply was a satisfied smile.

FINALLY. THANK GOD. Also, I want this house.

I have to say I like her descriptions of place much, much better than the weather and Mulder's constantly changing eye color.

WHAT! FELLATIO BUT NO CUNNILINGUS! I AM SHOCKED! SHOCKED!

Edit:

On a more serious note, we're over a quarter of the way through this, we've already had one sex scene, but we still don't have any real sense of who the killer is. I think that's a mistake. By this time, we should have been in his head at least once, at least that's how it always works in the crime novels I've read. Syntax6 always gets us into the killer's head and always has at least one bogus suspect, too, which is how it's supposed to be done.

I am annoyed by the nightmares about the life they aren't living. I consider them a needless distraction at this point. We get it. Mulder and Scully are meant to be together.

[wendelah1]

I love this song. Central Reservation is one my favorite CDs from the nineties.

For the people who haven't heard of Beth Orton, let alone the song "Sweetest Decline." Play it.

[tri-sbr.livejournal.com]

I am halfway through, and I am having trouble too. As I said elsewhere, I have no problem with long, and I tend to like au msr.

But. There are just too many words for the amount of content. Lots and lots of descriptive language. I have never read so many adjectives in one place that mean red/brown/blue/hazel in the context of hair and eyes. I guess all this description is supposed to help create atmosphere...the storm, the romance, the weird cross-over with their "other" lives, but it's just overdone.

I may have more to say when I'm finished.

Still a Gen Person after all of these years; The Rest of the Story

[wendelah1]

I admit I skimmed through a lot of this fic, including all of the sex scenes. I actually lost count of them. Were there five? Six? That seemed pretty gratuitous to me, even for fanfic, and really not credible. The characters I know and love would have been focused on doing their jobs and solving the crimes, and getting the hell out of Dodge before the storm hit. That storm should have seemed as threatening as the killer. I thought the many sex scenes detracted from the forward momentum of the larger story. I think a little UST would have served the writer better, frankly.

I feel the same way about the structuring of the casefile. I think if you're going to write one you need to follow the rules--or be such a brilliant writer that you can get away with doing anything you want. I recognize this is more of a romance than a casefic but I still found that section pretty disappointing. We don't get inside the Killer's head until right before he takes Scully prisoner. We didn't learn much about who he is or how he became a homicidal maniac. If there were clues along the way, I missed them.

I was surprised that Mulder put up so little resistance--what with him being trained in law enforcement and self-defense. I correctly predicted that Mulder, Scully and the Killer would all end up in a room together (add to trope list) and that there would be some supernatural element to the crime (this is the X-Files). How exactly did Super Scully manage to get loose and save the day? Why didn't the Skinner start skinning her like he did his other victims? She's a better conversationalist? Why didn't he just kill Mulder and dump the body? Or leave him tied up at the morgue?

I don't think Mulder would either have the time or take the time to undergo regression hypnosis in the middle of investigating a case. What was the urgency? Even during TFWID, he at least had the excuse that he was trying to locate the Civil War bunkers. I doubt that Mulder would need to worry about getting an erection while Scully was tending to his wounds. (The men I have consulted with have assured me that it is not at all difficult to keep one's libido in check when necessary.) I'll mentally add that to the MSR fanfic tropes list.

I guess I'm most disappointed that there was so little suspense. I never doubted for a minute that they'd escape the Killer or the storm, or that they'd end up together in DC for that matter, Scully's weak protests to the contrary. The thing is, you can use exactly the same elements and create tension for the reader--but you have to know how to structure a story. I remember reading "Blood Oranges" for the first time and being on the edge of my seat over what was going to happen to Mulder.

Having said that, I thought the writing got crisper as it went along. When there was something happening, she managed to move the characters around without describing their eye color, and without referring to Scully as the redhead.

Having the two realities bleeding together was beyond annoying. There was no remotely believable explanation for it, and no reason for it. Instead, I wish she'd focused on creating fully realized, rich AU characters, done more world-building, and made this into a genuine romance--one that didn't need The X-Files TV universe as an excuse for the characters to fall in love and be together.

[zinnia03.livejournal.com]

For the record: this author wrote one of my favorite short stories, "Wearing Icicles". Her descriptions are just as detailed, but they seem much more suited to that story. It also features one of my favorite tropes, Mulder and Scully talking on the telephone.

I appreciate the comments already made about "Skin" but other than to agree with most of them I don't think I have anything new to add. I have read the story but I don't think I'll read it again. My recollection is pretty much what is described in the comments above.

I do recommend "Wearing Icicles" as a kind of amuse-bouche after reading "Skin."

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

According to my ereader I'm 26% finished and I'm pretty sure this is the longest sex scene I've ever read. I usually have trouble keeping up with longer fics because I read slowly but I will try skimming so I can go faster.

[(Anonymous)]

This story is purely over-the top nostalgia for me. I carried it with me for hours, on floppy disk, when I travelled back to my childhood home, so I could continue reading it after my grandmother's funeral. The XFs was still on the air, the story was medicine to console. Even now, while I see all the flaws in the writing, I just think how grateful I was that another fan took so much time out of her life to write it, and that I had Mulder and Scully, in whatever form, with me during a bad time (I grew up in a rural area, nobody had internet back then).

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

OKAY. I think I'm probably among the readers here who are more appreciative (tolerant? :) of very descriptive prose. Those in purple glass houses, etc. But I found this really long and with a lot of superfluous story.

I did like the casefile and maybe would have enjoyed it more without the background of the characters being in an alternate universe to the show. The serial killer was interesting although I'm not the hugest fan of profiler Mulder (honestly, he just seems like a smug asshole. He corrects a police officer who says that a child brought a blanket over for a victim because they didn't want her to get cold by saying that no, the child brought the blanket to cover the victim's body because she was naked and when the police officer wonders how he knows that he says "I know how children work" (seriously, Mulder, do you? Is it even relevant to the story other than to make you seem like an overbearing douche? I guess that's the cliche of profilers though)).

I thought it was funny that given wendelah1 and femmenerd's discussion of Scully's name that the only person who refers to her by her first name is the serial killer.

I thought the story moved way faster in the last third, although I skimmed all the sex scenes after the first one and most of the dream sequences, otherwise I'd still be reading this sucker next year. I think I was kind of burned out by the last few chapters though so I didn't really enjoy the story about the storm.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

I have no right contributing a comment because I haven't readSkin even once, although I did start it a long time ago. I remember Scully of the lovely red hair almost wrecking her bike staring at Mulder of the lovely dark eyes. So I'm pretty sure I know why I stopped. When you actually hope the heroine crashes her bicycle it's best to retreat to a different fic and chill. I hate overwriting. I think it's bad writing. I shouldn't feel hostility for the writer, but at my age I hate wasting time and am presently involved in a 900 page SF epic which is barely earning its way ( The Hyperion Cantos, if you care.) I'm betting Skin could easily have been cut in half by a beta. That's what editors are for, people!

Temper tantrum over. It is important, though, for even an amateur, just-learning kind of fictioneer to weigh words carefully. Test and examine each one as you go. It's a difficult way to write (some prefer to do it in rewrite) but you owe it even to a loyal beta not to waste precious hours of recreational time.

Someone mentioned Scully referring to herself as "Scully." It reminded me of a totally awful fic in which Scully's hair is referred to as "luscious," "titian," lots of forgotten but complimentary adjectives. By--wait for it--Scully herself!

I am owning my inner brat.

I'll read the next one, Wen!