That's interesting. Even in canon I can absolutely see them having these unspoken checks and balances between them. In fact, I find the bit about Scully and Mulder both pretending he doesn't sleep in the bed a very excellent bit of characterization all around. I think our disagreement on this issue makes an interesting case for how people see intimacy very differently. As I see it, in a strange way the pretending and the self-denial and all of that is what makes it so intimate. It's also what keeps them exhausted and apart, for now, but the thing is, they're putting in this effort. Their consideration for each other and their care in tending to their relationship is evidenced by how much work they're both putting into not fucking it up.
And I think everything they are doing is is fucking up their relationship. People who are in an intimate relationship (as opposed to a codependent one) don't have to go to such elaborate lengths to be in the same space. And what is it about pretending he's not using his bed that makes it somehow easier for her to use it? Why is that such an issue for them? After all this time, why can't they just stop this already? It's worse than what we see on the show by far, and makes me wonder where Khyber was planning to take this. Maybe I should be glad he didn't finish it.
Some of my despair over this story is due to having already read the next three sections, which made me feel pretty terrible. Now I feel like I need to post a warning: do not read if you are prone to depressive thoughts.
It's perceptive and understanding of him to recognize the role Scully's apartment has come to play in her life. It's become a reminder of everything she's lost or failed to be. It "pushes her to measure up" but has no regard for who she actually is. I love that Mulder understands how she thinks, the ways she measures herself.
Part of the problem is that this focus of his on her apartment and what he perceives as being wrong with it feels off to me, and that's not helping me with this bit of characterization for either of them.
I do wish Khyber would have evened out their issues a bit though. Mulder seems peachy next to her. Mind you, I think it does seem compliant with canon that if Mulder and Scully were having sex all along, Scully would be left feeling far more vulnerable and drained than Mulder. Chalk it up to sexist double standards, their personal characters, or biology, but I just don't think sex is usually quite as complicated an issue for Mulder.
He does seem a little too peachy to me, too. Mulder is much more neurotic than this.
Are these issues of hers related to sex? I thought this had to do with Pfaster? Anyway, I thought they'd stopped having sex for some number of years, but that is one of the more confusing elements of this story cycle and universe.
I guess the bottom line is little of this works for me. It's not consistent with how I see her or him or their relationship, whether you throw sex into the mix or not. When she's had work-related problems in the past, she's gotten help. She hasn't resorted to an elaborate subterfuge to get her needs met. I think Scully would go to counseling, clean the damn apartment up and get on with her life.
So I remain unconvinced any of this happened or could happen between them. I'm re-watching the series as I read, and this story doesn't match up with what I see on screen at all, which is the opposite of how I felt when I read "Parabiosis."
no subject
And I think everything they are doing is is fucking up their relationship. People who are in an intimate relationship (as opposed to a codependent one) don't have to go to such elaborate lengths to be in the same space. And what is it about pretending he's not using his bed that makes it somehow easier for her to use it? Why is that such an issue for them? After all this time, why can't they just stop this already? It's worse than what we see on the show by far, and makes me wonder where Khyber was planning to take this. Maybe I should be glad he didn't finish it.
Some of my despair over this story is due to having already read the next three sections, which made me feel pretty terrible. Now I feel like I need to post a warning: do not read if you are prone to depressive thoughts.
It's perceptive and understanding of him to recognize the role Scully's apartment has come to play in her life. It's become a reminder of everything she's lost or failed to be. It "pushes her to measure up" but has no regard for who she actually is. I love that Mulder understands how she thinks, the ways she measures herself.
Part of the problem is that this focus of his on her apartment and what he perceives as being wrong with it feels off to me, and that's not helping me with this bit of characterization for either of them.
I do wish Khyber would have evened out their issues a bit though. Mulder seems peachy next to her. Mind you, I think it does seem compliant with canon that if Mulder and Scully were having sex all along, Scully would be left feeling far more vulnerable and drained than Mulder. Chalk it up to sexist double standards, their personal characters, or biology, but I just don't think sex is usually quite as complicated an issue for Mulder.
He does seem a little too peachy to me, too. Mulder is much more neurotic than this.
Are these issues of hers related to sex? I thought this had to do with Pfaster? Anyway, I thought they'd stopped having sex for some number of years, but that is one of the more confusing elements of this story cycle and universe.
I guess the bottom line is little of this works for me. It's not consistent with how I see her or him or their relationship, whether you throw sex into the mix or not. When she's had work-related problems in the past, she's gotten help. She hasn't resorted to an elaborate subterfuge to get her needs met. I think Scully would go to counseling, clean the damn apartment up and get on with her life.
So I remain unconvinced any of this happened or could happen between them. I'm re-watching the series as I read, and this story doesn't match up with what I see on screen at all, which is the opposite of how I felt when I read "Parabiosis."