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

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.

[tri-sbr.livejournal.com]

I still haven't finished; I'm going down the skimming route at this point. But I do totally, whole-heartedly agree with this:

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.

If this story typified msr stories, I, too, would have to be a gen person. Or perhaps a non-fanfic person.

[wendelah1]

Or perhaps a non-fanfic person.

I hear you.

I think she was trying to demonstrate that the TV universe is the "correct" universe, which is ironic for an MSR writer since on the series their sixth season relationship is platonic.