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crack_van2009-02-18 03:55 pm
colebaltblue.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2009-02-18 03:55 pm
Entry tags:
Skin by Annie Sewell-Jennings (NC-17)
Fandom: X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: 160,000 words
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Annie Sewell-Jennings via the Way Back Machine
Why this must be read:
I'm a sucker for Alternate Universe stories. My favorite are the ones that take the well-known characters of the fandom and put them in a whole new time and setting. Really good Alternate Universe fics are hard to come by though. They aren't common in any fandom and when they are written, they usually aren't archived in one place (hmmm ... maybe I should start one?) which makes them difficult to find.
When I do stumble across a good one, I save it. Forever, and ever, and ever. This is one of those.
Mulder and Scully, in modern times. Scully is a pathologist in Charleston, South Carolina, and Mulder is a serial-killer tracking FBI agent. Not too far off from their X-Files lives. A case brings Mulder to Charleston and into contact with Scully against the background of a beautiful and destructive both literal and metaphorical hurricane. The case is fascinating and thrilling. Mulder and Scully seem like forces of nature themselves as they come together. And, the description is superb to the point that I felt like I had actually stepped inside of Charleston. Don't let the fact that it is an alternate universe fic scare you away from reading, it's close enough to the X-Files that you should enjoy it just fine.
This story does have a few of my pet peeves. Although the writing is fantastic, at times the description does bog it down a bit. Just when I begin to sigh in annoyance though, it redeems itself. It also puts Mulder and Scully together in a way that feels a little rushed, a love-at-first-sight kind of thing. That just bugs me. Mulder and Scully are just a little out of character here. Now, I know that it is an A/U story and that is just asking for that, but for some reason, I just noticed it more in this story. However, the characters are true to the story as written.
That said, this is seriously one of the best stories in this fandom I've ever read, alternate universe or not.
When Mulder stepped through Dr. Scully's office door, the last
thing that he expected to see was her. The red-haired woman from
outside on the bike was now sitting at a clean pine desk, wearing
the immaculate white coat of a doctor. She looked up from a
manila folder, startled out of her work, and her face was thus
tilted so that he could see her close-up. From a distance, she
had been glorious, but now she was magnificent. Her flawless oval
face was lit with rose both from her hair and from her Irish
complexion, and there was a smattering of freckles over her nose
that makeup couldn't conceal. Summertime freckles. The kind that
came from long afternoons spent at the beach and in sunlight.
He saw nothing in the room except for her, this lovely young
woman who looked at him with blatant intrigue that lasted only
for a moment. Then she arched one gingery eyebrow coldly,
disdainfully. "Are you the FBI agents from Washington?" she
asked, and Patterson took over, clearing his throat and extending
his hand.
"You must be Dr. Scully," he said. "I'm Agent Patterson, and this
is Agent Brentwood and Agent Mulder." Her sharp china gaze
glanced over the other two agents before pausing on him. He
stared back at her, trying to read her thoughts underneath the
bright blue ice of her eyes, and he felt a sudden tension simmer
between them. Electricity crackled in her eyes, sparkling and
sizzling with clear cerulean heat, before they settled into
closed-off, reserved pools of frost.
Dispassionately, she looked over the three men and nodded. "I
take it that you're here to discuss the murders," she said, and
Patterson nodded.
"We understand that you performed the previous autopsies and that
you will perform the autopsy on the latest victim this morning,"
Patterson said, and Scully nodded. "Can you tell us any of your
findings? Anything unusual that you noticed?"
Dr. Scully stood, and Mulder was suddenly surprised by her petite
stature. Earlier on the bicycle, her presence had been so
commanding that he had not noticed her physical size. But in the
company of three men, it was difficult to ignore the fact that
she was less than five and a half feet tall. A brief image
floated through his head, a fine fantasy for him to indulge in.
Of this woman, wrapped around his body, with his chin resting
snugly on the crown of her bright red hair...
Skin
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: 160,000 words
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Annie Sewell-Jennings via the Way Back Machine
Why this must be read:
I'm a sucker for Alternate Universe stories. My favorite are the ones that take the well-known characters of the fandom and put them in a whole new time and setting. Really good Alternate Universe fics are hard to come by though. They aren't common in any fandom and when they are written, they usually aren't archived in one place (hmmm ... maybe I should start one?) which makes them difficult to find.
When I do stumble across a good one, I save it. Forever, and ever, and ever. This is one of those.
Mulder and Scully, in modern times. Scully is a pathologist in Charleston, South Carolina, and Mulder is a serial-killer tracking FBI agent. Not too far off from their X-Files lives. A case brings Mulder to Charleston and into contact with Scully against the background of a beautiful and destructive both literal and metaphorical hurricane. The case is fascinating and thrilling. Mulder and Scully seem like forces of nature themselves as they come together. And, the description is superb to the point that I felt like I had actually stepped inside of Charleston. Don't let the fact that it is an alternate universe fic scare you away from reading, it's close enough to the X-Files that you should enjoy it just fine.
This story does have a few of my pet peeves. Although the writing is fantastic, at times the description does bog it down a bit. Just when I begin to sigh in annoyance though, it redeems itself. It also puts Mulder and Scully together in a way that feels a little rushed, a love-at-first-sight kind of thing. That just bugs me. Mulder and Scully are just a little out of character here. Now, I know that it is an A/U story and that is just asking for that, but for some reason, I just noticed it more in this story. However, the characters are true to the story as written.
That said, this is seriously one of the best stories in this fandom I've ever read, alternate universe or not.
When Mulder stepped through Dr. Scully's office door, the last
thing that he expected to see was her. The red-haired woman from
outside on the bike was now sitting at a clean pine desk, wearing
the immaculate white coat of a doctor. She looked up from a
manila folder, startled out of her work, and her face was thus
tilted so that he could see her close-up. From a distance, she
had been glorious, but now she was magnificent. Her flawless oval
face was lit with rose both from her hair and from her Irish
complexion, and there was a smattering of freckles over her nose
that makeup couldn't conceal. Summertime freckles. The kind that
came from long afternoons spent at the beach and in sunlight.
He saw nothing in the room except for her, this lovely young
woman who looked at him with blatant intrigue that lasted only
for a moment. Then she arched one gingery eyebrow coldly,
disdainfully. "Are you the FBI agents from Washington?" she
asked, and Patterson took over, clearing his throat and extending
his hand.
"You must be Dr. Scully," he said. "I'm Agent Patterson, and this
is Agent Brentwood and Agent Mulder." Her sharp china gaze
glanced over the other two agents before pausing on him. He
stared back at her, trying to read her thoughts underneath the
bright blue ice of her eyes, and he felt a sudden tension simmer
between them. Electricity crackled in her eyes, sparkling and
sizzling with clear cerulean heat, before they settled into
closed-off, reserved pools of frost.
Dispassionately, she looked over the three men and nodded. "I
take it that you're here to discuss the murders," she said, and
Patterson nodded.
"We understand that you performed the previous autopsies and that
you will perform the autopsy on the latest victim this morning,"
Patterson said, and Scully nodded. "Can you tell us any of your
findings? Anything unusual that you noticed?"
Dr. Scully stood, and Mulder was suddenly surprised by her petite
stature. Earlier on the bicycle, her presence had been so
commanding that he had not noticed her physical size. But in the
company of three men, it was difficult to ignore the fact that
she was less than five and a half feet tall. A brief image
floated through his head, a fine fantasy for him to indulge in.
Of this woman, wrapped around his body, with his chin resting
snugly on the crown of her bright red hair...
Skin
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http://anniesj.livejournal.com
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(Anonymous) 2009-02-19 05:15 am (UTC)(link)Enigmatic Dr's site is a terrific resource & has tons of stories. There's even a category page, including one for AU: http://x-files.bytewright.com/AltUniv.html
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