Story 3: "Hard as Hell" by Torch

[emily_shore]

This week's story was nominated by andrea_deer.

"Hard as Hell" by Torch

Rating: NC-17 [this is my own estimate and not the author's]
Pairing: Mulder/Krycek

Let us know what you think; let the author know what you think; and please, let us know your suggestions for next time.

Comments

[emily_shore]

Well, the obligatory disclaimer is that I don't usually like slash. I did like this story, though; most of it, anyway. As andrea_deer said when she nominated it, it is certainly a refreshing change from the idea of Krycek as the big bad seducer. This was a Krycek with whom I could actually (God forbid!) empathize with a little bit... a Krycek who wasn't always cool, wasn't always assured, and wasn't always in control. This version of him interests me a lot more than the others that I've seen, either in fics or onscreen.

The story's portrayal of Mulder also rang true for me, or at least I was willing to accept Krycek's take on him. It does a nice job of building up characterization points.

I wonder if he had to take a pay cut when he stopped being division head, and if he did, how did he dress back then, for God's sake? No wonder people think he's arrogant, what with that manner and those suits. I thought so, too, before I got a glimpse of what goes on inside his mind.

There is even some good humor in there, like this little snippet...

If Mulder started to take me into his confidence, my boss might forgive me for overlooking his orders. On the other hand, maybe it meant that he was getting suspicious and was planning to pry some information out of me, using the pizza as an interrogation tool. Tell me all you know, or I will stuff an anchovy up your nostril!

"Sure," I said, hoping I hadn't been silent too long. "No anchovies, though."

Nerves! Awkwardness! This part of the story manages to be both funny and somehow touching. It seems to me that people on first dates often feel like this, even if they belong to the same sexual orientation as their partner, and even if they actually fancy them. Maybe women do this more than men, trying to gauge their partners and react in the right way. In any case, I was definitely with Krycek here...

I have no idea who won. Hell, I have no idea who played. There was so much else to keep track of. Pizza, Coke, inventory of the apartment, Mulder. Mostly I was wondering how I would have been reacting if I'd been who I said I was. Would I be more shy, or more chatty? Would I actually like Budweiser? Would I think that this was a natural development, or would I ask Mulder what was up and if he was over his hostility? Would I be a baseball fan?

In a sense, this is a good slash story for non slash readers, because we are strangers in a strange land just as Krycek is. I liked this...

I wondered for a moment if pizza, beer, baseball and the Marx brothers were a normal prelude to a seduction between men, or if this was just Mulder being his endearingly wacky self.

And by the time that we got to this point in the story, I was willing to believe this too...

"Mulder, you're a pervert," I blurted out.

After that, we get to the sex, and frankly this is the bit where I will never be a slasher. It's not that I thought it was badly written or anything--I probably didn't read it closely enough to be able to offer an opinion one way or the other. Just not that interested. Just not my thing.

I did want to discuss the bit at the end, though. This bit:

My boss would approve of this, of all of it. I don't want to think about that. I can't explain to him that this was not a job well executed. I can never tell him just how it all went wrong.

I want to cry. Instead, I fall asleep.

How did it go wrong for Krycek? Is the implication that he really didn't want to do it? That he was disgusted by the fact that he actually enjoyed it? That he enjoyed it physically but still wishes he hadn't done it? Or what? Very interesting.

[andrea_deer]

I'm glad the story I recommended worked out. And I think I got the glimpse of "not-slashers" view on the slashy situation ^^

I agree that in this story Krycek creation and his whole nervousness is the most important point. that's why I thought it would be good to read even if there is a sex scene some may not enjoy.

I have to say this was one of the first stories Mulder/Krycek I've read... Earlier I've read Krycek/Mulder and switch roles was hard to imagine for me. But it worked. Now I read almost only Mulder/Krycek, altough that innocent Krycek we see here is still something I can't totally believe. And, I must confess, I don't want to believe...

[emily_shore]

I have to say this was one of the first stories Mulder/Krycek I've read... Earlier I've read Krycek/Mulder and switch roles was hard to imagine for me.

Huh. Interesting. Now there's a concept that we don't have in het. I suppose psychologically you could point to stories that were Mulder/Scully or Scully/Mulder, in terms of who was more forward in the relationship or whatever, but it just isn't discussed that way. Different languages.