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wendelah1) wrote in
xf_book_club2009-09-03 09:19 am
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Story 91: "The Fractured Landscape" by Zuffy and Littljoe
Welcome back! I hope you had a great August holiday.
In light of some recent discussions I've had about character POV, and whether or not writing a character unsympathetically accurately represents how an author feels about the character, especially in season 8 fic, I decided to read some season 8 fic. Just to get my biases out of the way, I haven't read much of it because I kind of hate season 8. Okay, I really hate season 8. But we aren't here to discuss that, we're here to talk about fan fiction!
Synopsis: How does the tense and chilly Mulder of 3Words turn into the relaxed and confident man joking about "the pizza man"?
The authors rate this story PG-13 for language.
If anyone has season 8 fic they would like to recommend we discuss, you may make those suggestions here. If you think reading season 8 fic is a terrible idea and want to read something else, you can make that suggestion at the same place. I know I've skipped over some of your suggestions, but I promise we'll get to them eventually.
Give feedback to the authors and then tell us what you think about the story. Heck, you can even tell us what you think about season 8 and/or author POV versus character POV in season 8 fic. Come prepared with supporting examples of your thesis. Joke. Just read the fic. Although, I would love to read meta about that topic if there is any, she said wistfully.
"The Fractured Landscape"
In light of some recent discussions I've had about character POV, and whether or not writing a character unsympathetically accurately represents how an author feels about the character, especially in season 8 fic, I decided to read some season 8 fic. Just to get my biases out of the way, I haven't read much of it because I kind of hate season 8. Okay, I really hate season 8. But we aren't here to discuss that, we're here to talk about fan fiction!
Synopsis: How does the tense and chilly Mulder of 3Words turn into the relaxed and confident man joking about "the pizza man"?
The authors rate this story PG-13 for language.
If anyone has season 8 fic they would like to recommend we discuss, you may make those suggestions here. If you think reading season 8 fic is a terrible idea and want to read something else, you can make that suggestion at the same place. I know I've skipped over some of your suggestions, but I promise we'll get to them eventually.
Give feedback to the authors and then tell us what you think about the story. Heck, you can even tell us what you think about season 8 and/or author POV versus character POV in season 8 fic. Come prepared with supporting examples of your thesis. Joke. Just read the fic. Although, I would love to read meta about that topic if there is any, she said wistfully.
"The Fractured Landscape"
Well, yes and no, Part 1
It feels really odd to be defending this fic to you instead of the other way around. The ending is one of the things I like best about the story. The first time I read "Parabiosis" and was able to finish it, I had the same exact reaction. I didn't believe that Mulder could have walked willingly into that circle, especially if he suspected Scully was pregnant.
So I did it. I re-watched Requiem, and then re-read the ending of "Parabiosis." I think that what is happening at the end isn't that Mulder is willing to go. He was trapped, just like I remember, from seeing the episode the first time. What he is feeling both in the episode and in the story, when he steps toward the gathering of abductees in the clearing, I believe, is resignation. That this is his Fate, his destiny, and he is going forward, with hope and courage, into his future, whatever it may hold for him.
I didn't cry the first time I watched Requiem. I was too shocked, I suppose. I didn't cry the first time I read the ending of "Parabiosis," either, I guess my anger kept me from feeling the sadness. I did cry when I watched the second time, because of knowing the eventual outcome, and because, for me, the show I loved really ended there, with Mulder's abduction. I can see now how the ending to "Parabiosis" fits into the ending of Requiem and complements it perfectly. Yeah, I thought it was great.
As far as why Mulder would just know that Scully was pregnant, he has hunches all of the time, about things far less believable than whether or not a supposedly infertile woman could conceive. Why couldn't he have a hunch about that? We know that Mulder and Scully tried to have a child using IVF but "Parabiosis" was written and posted well before Per Manum aired. The way I read it, Penumbra sees Mulder as wondering if Scully's contact with the alien ship might have affected her fertility. Penumbra even has Mulder asking whether or not they need to use birth control, since Scully is still having her menses (not possible without taking hormones, by the way, IMHO, if she truly had no ova). I think this works fine for the story as a whole, and for her characterizations of Mulder and Scully. That it might contradict canon now doesn't detract from the power of the story.
Re: Well, yes and no, Part 1
And now that you remind me of the ship theory from Amor Fati (the very theory I subscribe to, even!), I suppose it isn't such a great leap after all. At least, not in the context of "Parabiosis". In the context of this story and S8, once we learn of the fact that the events of Per Manum did indeed take place... I find it harder to reconcile. I suppose because, I can see Mulder second guessing his theory once they're led to believe that the IVF doesn't take (since they don't find out, until she's already pregnant, that they were likely lied to by Parenti and co.).
I think this works fine for the story as a whole, and for her characterizations of Mulder and Scully. That it might contradict canon now doesn't detract from the power of the story.
Yes, agreed, and thanks for bringing me around there. I think I was confusing my reading of this story and S8 on the whole (for which I can't reconcile the leap) with my original reading of "Parabiosis", where it does work.