Story 224: “We Could Have Made Music” by DiscordantWords

[lyryk]

Thanks to wendelah1 for suggesting this wonderful fic!

We Could Have Made Music (the link goes to AO3), 3025 words, rated R/Mature for violence and horror, is a great look at Teena Simmons and Cindy Reardon seven years after the events of ‘Eve’, and there’s also a wonderful section featuring a major character. The story is unsettling in the best way, as

Comments

[infinitlight]

A good story! I like stories that fill in information about minor characters, and this was interesting and creepy. I liked how well DiscordantWords described both the connections and the differences between the Eves. It gave me more insight into them, and made me think about them more.

[lyryk]

I'm really glad you enjoyed it! It didn't occur to me how well the ~differences between the Eves were shown too, until you pointed it out. :-)

[write_out]

Oh, this is excellent. So perfectly eerie and chilling with a nice little twist at the end. I agree with everything you say about the writing and continuity. It works so well (and "The Shining" on the tv is a nice touch).

It's been a very long time since I've last seen this episode; now I want to watch it with this story in the back of my mind.

This was a great rec, thank you!

[lyryk]

I really liked all the small details too. It was things such as one of them stepping over the body on the floor that gave so much more emphasis to the horror than if the focus had only been on the gore.

I haven't watched 'Eve' for years either, but I think I watched S1 so many times and so obsessively that I'm never going to forget any of those classic episodes.

I'm really glad you enjoyed the fic! :-)

[lyryk]

I'm glad this one worked for you! I think it's the understated creepiness of it that really made it appeal to me.

[badforthefish]

I loved this! Eve has a special place in my heart as it was the first episode that really made me pay attention to the show, it might not have been the first X-Files episode I watched but it is the first one I remember

[lyryk]

Most of S1 makes me pretty nostalgic. :-) ('Ice' was the episode that got me completely hooked.)

I also like that not everything is spelled out - the unsaid things that are not too obscure enough for the seasoned fan to get but cryptic enough to require a certain knowledge of the show are one of the best thing about fanfic.

That is an absolutely lovely point you make about fanfic. I really liked the subtle elements of horror in this fic too, and I couldn't agree more with what you say about the complicity between writer and reader in fanfiction.

I've been going through the same sense of disappointment with fanworks lately, and I'm not sure if it's the works themselves, or just me. But it's still great to find writers that I haven't read before, and I'm still quite fond of works like this one which tie in so well with canon that they almost make me feel like I'm watching a new episode of the show. :-)

[estella_c]

Wonderfully conceived, tightly written, a damn good chunk of chill. The point(s) of view are handled very well, and the idea of following the Eves into their destructive teens makes for original X-fic. Why, I wonder, didn't Chris Carter do it instead of wasting time on some of his terrible stuff. It's a tiny bit, I suppose, like the blind girl who is stalking her horrible father (title?), but not so upbeat

[lyryk]

the depth of the horror is in the characters

That's one of the reasons I really liked this one. :-) I like all the thoughts you have about it. This is the kind of fanfic I like a lot, which leaves room for speculation and makes you want more.

I'm usually more of a sci-fi/fantasy reader because explicit horror doesn't do a lot for me, but that story you mention sounds intriguing! I'll check it out. :-)