Reading Fish: Jesse Mabe, Kel, David Hearne
Bombardier Boy by Jesse Mabe.
I never gave this writer the attention she may have been deserving because of the infamous "The Airport" an outrageously OOC smut piece. Then I read The Other Man, which was a clever and very chilling fic (my inner beta did grumble about a few things though, don't ask me what they were, it was last year) but I guess I wasn't really paying attention because I didn't realize these two utterly different stories had been written by the same person. Then this week I read Bombardier Boy because estella_c had said it was wacky and I needed a break from all the angst. And, yes, this was a fun ride. Oscar Wilder (coolest character name EVER) was an amusing would-be super hero and the story reminded me of silly X-F eps such as Small Potatoes or Humbug. The characterization of Mulder and Scully was mostly hits - Mulder's banter was just a tad OTT at times and Scully had a bit of a compassion bypass when Mulder brought his witness - a hooker - along with him - but apart from that they were pretty decent Moose and Squirrel. Now, bodily function humor makes me roll my eyes, and this was no exception, but I was willing to be lenient on that point because overall the story was an enjoyable ride and it sure was much better than Badlaa. I liked how the rather grim description of the hooker "achingly thin, with a straggly poodle perm and a missing canine tooth" was then counterbalanced with "She smelled disarmingly nice, actually, like flowers and water." I like how Jess blows up a reader's expectation of the archetypical 'skanky ho' here. I was going to rate this fic as a very good Fish & Chips as it doesn't really scores in the subtlelty department, but it entertained me and made me smile and it was well written, so I think it deserves a seat at the Sushi Bar.
The Beginner's Guide To Tightrope Walking by Kel
When I read the disclaimers and saw the words Mulder/Scully married with child, I nearly stopped reading there and then. I had tried to start Revely's The Unfinished Universe a few days before but I just wasn't in the mood for Mulder & Scully with baby in tow (am I ever?) and my mind had wandered off after a few pages. Which doesn't mean I won't get back to it one day since everybody swears it's awesome. I guess I need to be in a different frame of mind. Right now, I just feel like having M&S kick ass old skool like.
Anyway, I'm glad I didn't stop reading Kel's fic because it goes right in my New England Lobster basket. What a fab story! Great plot, outstanding dialogue, and a resolution for some of the mytharc stuff that CC could never be arsed to follow up on. Mulder P.I.! Kurtzweil! The PLAM! Cancer seeds! Crippled Skinner (so sad)! And the sprog behaves like a normal sprog, he ain't oh-so-speciul or oh-so-clever, he's actually a bit of a twat - well...he's a kid.
Jerry and is wife are fabulous original character and I just couldn't put my Kindle down. I need to read some more of Kel's work but if this story is any indication she is One Of The Great. Her writing is outstanding, God, I'd chew my own arm off to have such fluidity of style. Ah, to possess this American knowledge - that allows her to add all those little details that make her world come to life with such vivid precision. I'm so jealous of that. And Mulder and Scully...awww, we didn't see much of Scully, but I loved how Kel conveyed the distance that the chip had created between them and the terrible ordeal it must have been for the both of them. And Mulder, aw...this is my Mulder, the one who never gave up. I felt like shouting at the end: it's you! It's really you!
*sigh* I'd missed that guy. I might edit this entry later to rave some more. Kel also gets some major bonus points for having her story completely ignore S8 & 9.
Guys, you need to rec me more stuff from this writer.
The Needle by David Hearne.
I'm a big fan of David Hearne. After I'd gushed a fair bit on Goin' Down South (which has one of my favourite M&S exchange: "Feel like the blues tonight, Scully?" "Around you, Mulder, that's a gratuitous question.") we ended up exchanging quite a few mails back in the days. He's a really nice chap (and he had me at "pay up you suntanned bastard" which was his idea of a disclaimer.) I found this fic yesterday while having a go at the gargantuan task of sorting out my "fandom" folder. There are fics in there with no extension probably dating back to Windows 95. Who knows, there maybe some hidden gems as well as a lot of atrocious stuff since I used to save EVERYTHING.
Anwyay, I found this fic in a folder where there should not have been fics and it was a real treat to read it again as I had completely forgotten about it. It's a Never Again vignette, a short inner monologue from Scully while she's getting her tattoo and it's both fascinating and disturbing. Top Sushi Bar material IMO, but I admit I have a huge bias being a total NA whore. I simply adore the final line.