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

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

oh, me too. but after many hours of reading, a couple of subtle paragraphs weren't enough for me.

I suppose it depends where you're looking for the emotional payoff. I'm a shipper, but not a huge one, so for me the appeal of this story lay elsewhere than in the Mulder/Scully closeness. I suppose I can see how if that was mainly what you were reading for, you might be disappointed.

why were they that way in the first place? the canonical mulder and scully would never treat each other with such disdain for such an extended period of time, at least in my opinion.

Oh, I don't know, "Never Again"? They have their moments. I wouldn't describe it as disdain so much as a gulf of communication that they have a lot of trouble bridging.

[dictatorcari]

i see what you're saying about "never again," but i got the impression from this story that mulder and scully had always been this way towards each other. i don't know, it didn't feel truthful to me. and that's totally fine, but it's not what i like in a fic.

as for the payoff, it was partially that i wanted mulder and scully to profess their undying love for one another (when do i ever want anything else?), but mostly that after what felt like an oppressive few hours reading about all this torture and cruelty, i wanted to feel something a little fuzzier. i'm sure the intent was to leave the reader feeling unsettled, and i get the merit in that, but it doesn't mean i like how it feels.

still, i'm glad i read it. it was nothing if not interesting.