I don't see any evidence of a happily-ever-after ending in the making here.
I don't see a happily-ever-after, but it would seem that Scully is probably going back to the X-Files, and to Mulder. That's all I need in order to feels things are shifting in a less hopeless direction, while still feeling very apprehensive about what's to come.
I felt the ending was ragged because it didn't explain or resolve anything. It just drove the plot off a cliff.
It did lack resolution, but despite loose ends the ending felt natural (and quite effective) to me, because it signalled the end of Scully's attempt at a "normal" life, and presumably her return to the work. And since the entire story was based on the premise of her having left the X-Files, having her return to them feels like a logical place to leave things. It gives the story a bold, simple arc. The only loose thread I object to is that Scully left nothing at all to indicate she left of her own volition.
I do think you've asked all the right questions about this fic, wendelah1. It just doesn't bother me that they're questions we don't get answers for.
"China," OTOH, has a kind of light weirdness about it, a vaguely threatening but still diverting approach that makes good use of an "other" POV.
estella_c, now that I'm reading the comments, I realize I could have cut a lot of my first comment down and just pointed at yours. I agree with you about pretty much everything you've said about this fic. As to the fruit not bearing fruit (hee!), I know what you mean. I attribute it to the fact that China was supposed to be a longer fic in which character development would have been necessary.
On the other hand, there are things I do like about the seemingly pointless Richard exposition - even though I agree that it is a flaw over all. I like that it gives his character legitimacy in his own right, and makes his POV feel intriguing, rather than like a flimsy device. His relative solidity keeps me seeing Scully from the outside, as he sees her, without slipping into her character. And the more I learned about his life the more I got the eerie feeling that Scully was terribly out of place, which struck me as the main tension of the fic. I kept seeing her in a sever black suit throughout the fic, a dark presence, even though I know she was probably dressed in something casual. I think inside she was still black-suited as ever.
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winterfish
Re: I like Punk, too, but...
Date: 2011-06-03 11:32 pm (UTC)I don't see a happily-ever-after, but it would seem that Scully is probably going back to the X-Files, and to Mulder. That's all I need in order to feels things are shifting in a less hopeless direction, while still feeling very apprehensive about what's to come.
I felt the ending was ragged because it didn't explain or resolve anything. It just drove the plot off a cliff.
It did lack resolution, but despite loose ends the ending felt natural (and quite effective) to me, because it signalled the end of Scully's attempt at a "normal" life, and presumably her return to the work. And since the entire story was based on the premise of her having left the X-Files, having her return to them feels like a logical place to leave things. It gives the story a bold, simple arc. The only loose thread I object to is that Scully left nothing at all to indicate she left of her own volition.
I do think you've asked all the right questions about this fic,
"China," OTOH, has a kind of light weirdness about it, a vaguely threatening but still diverting approach that makes good use of an "other" POV.
On the other hand, there are things I do like about the seemingly pointless Richard exposition - even though I agree that it is a flaw over all. I like that it gives his character legitimacy in his own right, and makes his POV feel intriguing, rather than like a flimsy device. His relative solidity keeps me seeing Scully from the outside, as he sees her, without slipping into her character. And the more I learned about his life the more I got the eerie feeling that Scully was terribly out of place, which struck me as the main tension of the fic. I kept seeing her in a sever black suit throughout the fic, a dark presence, even though I know she was probably dressed in something casual. I think inside she was still black-suited as ever.