The Baton Rouge series by frogdoggie (NC-17)

[bradamante13.livejournal.com]

Fandom: X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder / Skinner / Scully in various combinations
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: frogdoggie’s website
Why this must be read:
This is another long series starring the intrepid threesome, written in frogdoggie’s excellent style and spot-on first person Mulder voice (though the perspective shifts to other characters later in the series). The first story, “Baton Rouge”, sets the stage, and is an excellent case-file to boot – Skinner and Mulder stuck in hot, steamy Baton Rouge, trying to catch a serial killer before it’s too late. The story, and the budding relationship between the two men, is well-developed and atmospheric – the heat almost becomes an extra, malevolent force.

But wait, things aren’t as simple as they would seem – Mulder’s already in a relationship with Scully. What happens when he tells Skinner? And when he tells Scully? Well, things get complicated, and what you get is an amazing exploration of three very complex characters that takes place over the course of ten separate stories. Some explore the Mulder-Skinner relationship, some explore the budding threesome and their confusing interactions. There are some extremely hot scenes, and unexpected ones – picture the three dancing in a club, or Mulder’s reaction when he finds his two lovers in bed with each other. Skinner’s backstory and family are well developed here, and are quite believable – though the attempted realism (including a gay-bashing) and Skinner’s fairly rigid views of sexual orientation get a bit tedious at times.

All in all, though, the series is a long and satisfying experience in character development, with enough plot, angst, humor, and hot sex thrown in to keep just about anyone satisfied. The writing is just excellent, with some great original characters, and for trivia fans frogdoggie is just about one of the only authors whose characters actually get to use the bathroom occasionally. And the ending is everything a romantic could wish for.

The stories are all found on frogdoggie’s slash page, but are interspersed with others from other series, so I’ll link to them all below in order so you don’t miss any.

Baton Rouge
Discordia Concors
Embarrass de Choix
Tripartite
The Threefold Charm, part 1
The Threefold Charm, part 2
The Threefold Charm, part 3
Lifting Weights
Weights and Measures
Weighing In, part 1
Weighing In, part 2
Weighing In, part 3
Weighing In, part 4
Counterbalance
Triple Counterpoint