Story 7: "Tikkun Olam" by RivkaT and MustangSally

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

Since we had a rather long interlude with no story at all (my fault!), wendelah1 and I have chosen a special bonus story. So here it is, "Tikkun Olam" by RivkaT and MustangSally, one of the controversial classics of the fandom. Hopefully it will provoke some discussion.

This story is rated NC-17 and is not for sensitive or impressionable souls. I'm not kidding. But it's really good.

"Deaths and disclosures, universal and particular, denouements both unexpected and inexorable, transvestite melodrama on all levels including the suggestive. We transport you into a world of intrigue and illusion ... clowns, if you like, murderers -- we can do you ghosts and battles, on the skirmish level, heroes, villains, tormented lovers -- set pieces in the poetic vein; we can do you rapiers or rape or both, by all means, faithless wives and ravished virgins -- flagrante delicto at a price, but that comes under realism for which there are special terms."

Interesting discussions:

Usenet thread on prologue

Spoilerific Usenet review thread

Comments

Re: To Repair and Transform the World

[tree]

i'm really glad i read your comment before reading the story. now i know that i don't want to read it. *s*

Re: To Repair and Transform the World

[wendelah1]

I didn't expect that you would. I have a high tolerance for the dark side. I have a naturally sunny disposition, and for the most part, I throw off the negative emotions from reading pretty easily. It is harder with visual stuff so I am pretty careful about what I watch on TV and in film. I suspected that emily_shore and I might be the only two people who would even read it all the way through. If anyone else does it's a bonus! We will read something more fun next week.

Re: To Repair and Transform the World

[tree]

now i have this terrible feeling i've got a reputation for being some sort of delicate flower who must be protected from dark!fic. :) there are certain types of darkness that i like, but mostly i stay away from stories that aren't MSR because they just don't mesh with my view of the world, even an AU world. and from prior experience i know that MustangSally and RivkaT's view of the world is not my own.

Re: To Repair and Transform the World

[wendelah1]

Oh, no. That wasn't it. I assumed you wouldn't read it for exactly the reason you stated, plus that you had seemed a little down. Who wants to read dark-fic then? Not me. I do have very wide-ranging taste in fic; I read gen and slash, too. I don't have to believe in a pairing to read it. If the writing is good enough, I can just go along for the ride. I loved "In A Dark Time" by A. Lee-Anne Childe and I don't see M/K as a viable pairing. I just was captivated by her portrayal of their very hot romance, set during "Sleepless."

Re: To Repair and Transform the World

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

Oh, this *is* MSR, among other things to be true.