Story 111: "Melancholia" by Jeylan

[wendelah1]

"Melancholia" is one of the most unabashedly Romantic stories ever written in this fandom. It seems like it shouldn't work: an old, abandoned house, a graveyard in the rain, Mulder reading Marvell and Shelly and weaving a wreath of flowers for Scully's hair. Her Mulder is mercurial and Byronic, her Scully more earthbound. It's a love story for the ages.

Or is it?

Suggested by estella_c, seconded by me.

By all means, send the author feedback, and then let us know what you think. Suggestions for next time can be made at our nomination post. There is still plenty of time to read and comment on last week's Gutless", too.

"Melancholia"

Comments

Re: Hi, I'm Kind of Offended - 2/2

[wendelah1]

Mulder: i strongly suspect i am a sex god.

Scully: mulder, you are a sex god! also, i-- i--

Mulder: i know intimacy is hard for you, scully, so let me just force you to your point, which is that you love me, right? good, that's what i thought.

I laughed at this. Well. Jeylan writes a very toppy Mulder. She clearly feels that Scully is too bossy, doesn't deserve him, and needs to be put in her place.

The weird thing is the sex itself is really pretty hot, (although the attitudes behind it are not), despite that the characters admittedly don't seem like themselves. Maybe I should not be confessing this but I like the sex scene in "A Bitter Taste on the Tongue", too. It definitely crosses the line into somewhat coercive sex, especially once the handcuffs come out.

Re: Hi, I'm Kind of Offended - 2/2

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

The weird thing is the sex itself is really pretty hot, (although the attitudes behind it are not), despite that the characters admittedly don't seem like themselves.

yes, it is weird. and i do agree, it is pretty hot. presuming i can block out how much i don't like these characterizations and their attitudes, of course. i'll have to reread A Bitter Taste on the Tongue. i remember thinking it was deliciously disturbing when i read it, but for some reason it didn't leave a lasting impression.

It definitely crosses the line into somewhat coercive sex, especially once the handcuffs come out.

coercive sex in (fan)fiction is such a fascinating area, as i see it. i'm the sort of person who has a definite kink for a very specific kind of coercive sex. i suspect that i will find Jane's fic rather suits my tastes. basically both the characters and the writer have to be very clear on the fact that it's coercive - power lines are being stuggled with here and everybody knows it. if a power struggle is happening and both characters are "into" the struggle, absolutely, wow, it can really sizzle. unfortunately, a lot of coercive sex doesn't see itself as coercive sex (my my, how art does immitate life). and as soon as a scene (particularly a first-time scene) becomes "i want this and you don't and i'm trying to convince you that you do want it the way i want it," that's basically repulsive (to me). i definitely got hints of that repulsive kind of coercive in Melancholia, though nothing really substantial in this case.

This fic makes me think that you will always be alone because people cannot understand each-other at all, and only connect but fleetingly.

me too, hlbr, me too. and i really dislike that. if i want to get that kind of depressing realism in which people's relationships are shoddy and the characters would probably be better off alone, then i'll read classic literature. Anna Karenina does the trick nicely. when i read about mulder and scully, however, i want to see them as people who are stronger and whose lives are genuinely better (on the whole, at least) when they're together.