Aquinnah

Fanfiction
Title:	Aquinnah
Author(s):	Anjou
Date(s):	2000
Length:
Genre(s):	MSR
Fandom(s):	The X-Files
Relationship(s):
External Links:
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Aquinnah is a MSR X-Files story by Anjou.

Some Comments from the Author

I really love "Aquinnah" because I got to share my love for Martha's Vineyard and weave the myths and stories about its creation through Mulder and Scully's stories -- that was very enjoyable for me. In fact, I don't think I've ever had a writing experience that was more pleasurable than Aquinnah. The story just poured out of me, once I had assembled all of the bits of story logic in my mind. However, I think my favorite story works on some of the same levels, but has a quieter, less intense flow to it. From the first idea that I had for Aquinnah, it had this very set structure to it, a cadence that limited the way the story could be told. It was an experiment of sorts for me, but one that I think paid off well in terms of the end result. Well, mostly. There are a couple of things that I would change. In my favorite story however, the structure is more straight narrative. Well, as straight as it gets for me, anyway, since I do enjoy taking the long way to tell a story. I also really enjoy mythology in all of its forms -- legends, lore, the arcane of dead faiths, but I have a special fondness for fairy tales. For that reason, I love Salt, because it incorporates a beloved book from my own childhood with a story about Mulder and Scully. I also feel that the meter and measure of the story builds really well, that I let the story unfold in such a way that it isn't until the very end that all of the bits of it become braided together, that you can see the trail of salt that has led Scully to Mulder for what it is. I read that story and it strikes me as well-done.

Reactions and Reviews

Unknown Date

Impeccable characterizations and glorious writing are what you expect from Anjou and this tale does not disappoint. It's deep background that has become a piece of my personal canon when it comes to Fox Mulder. It takes talent to capture characterization. It takes genius to flesh out those bare bones and to provide believable history that is both resonant *and* original. Add to that a solid plot with some mighty fine UST dissolving into spellbinding RST and you've got the makings of a helluva great story. Enjoy!

2000

jen: Scully sees Mulder through the eyes of those who love him most when they return to the Vineyard to spread his mother's ashes. I found this story to be so wonderfully written and achingly beautiful that it's still haunting me hours after I read it.

Mara: The descriptions of Martha's Vineyard are so beautiful, as are the glimpses of Mulder family history on the island. Fabulous original characters and spot on characterization of Mulder and Scully. Just beautiful.

2006

This piece is something of an icon for me - a shining example of all that I think is good in fanfic. The prose is lyrical and richly textured. The cadence, the rhythm and flow of the language is hypnotic and lush. The story centres around Mulder's return to the place where he grew up, after the death of his mother. It is a beautifully worked tale of loss and love, and homecoming of more than one sort.

2009

How can it be that this story came out NINE YEARS AGO?! I wish I still had the feedback & response I sent/got at the time.

I have to skip all the lovey dovey stuff at the end, but I still do love this story. It feels like yesterday that I was "visiting" this place and so desperately wanting to go there. You can practically smell the water.

I love the sense of history. On the show it seemed we knew more of Mulder's background and family than we actually did. We knew some facts, but very little as far as emotions and memories, the things that really make you who you are. Having these original characters reliving memories was wonderful in adding that depth.

Aww, this one has a big place in my fic-reading heart. I still remember it as one of the very first ones I read in the fandom, and I still adore it. Anjou is one of my very favorite writers in our fandom.

I've read everything she's ever written, I think, and this is by far my favorite. It creates this elegiac mood, but laced with expectation, and sustains it through out the story, from beginning to end. Very impressive. I can see this really happening, minus the sex scene, of course. It gives much more closure than the writers for the series managed.

"[Aquinnah]" is one of my favorite stories and it is also one of the first that I read when I was first exploring The X-Files fan fiction.

It is meticulously researched, as the author's notes illustrate. More than most fan fiction, it has a real sense of place. Anjou vividly conveys the physical beauty and the spiritual essence of Aguinnah. I also like this story as a post-ep for Closure probably better than any other I've read.

The only line that feels wrong for me is the one from Scully's POV about Teena Mulder. "In death, she is no different than she had been in life in her lack of consideration for her son." That seems excessively judgmental to me; whether it represents the view of the author or not, I couldn't say. As a cancer survivor herself, it is hard for me to imagine Scully thinking that poorly of another person who was suffering. But that's a minor point and doesn't spoil the story.

The first-time sex scene seems a little overlong too, as well as a tad sentimental and idealized, but I'm sure that's a minority opinion. It is beautifully written and maintains the tonal purity of the piece. I just read it on fast-forward.

As long as people are reading fan fiction, I would expect this story to be read and loved. It is a true classic of the genre, yet it feels as fresh and life-affirming as it did when I first read it years ago.

2010

This is a sweet and quite realistic story of how Fox Mulder and Dana Scully might have gotten together. Beautifully written, set in Mulder's childhood home on Martha's Vineyard sometime after Season 7 of the original series.

2016

“Aquinnah” is beautifully written and meticulously researched, as the author’s notes illustrate. Anjou captures the physical beauty and the spiritual essence of the region. It is a true classic of the genre, yet it feels as fresh and life-affirming as it did when I read it years ago.