I'm only half way through so far, and it's be so long that I'm finding I hardly remember what's going to happen, but it's been a very interesting read so far. Not that I'm surprised, since it's RivkaT.
I keep reminding myself that this really is old school fic. It doesn't feel nearly as old school to me as a lot of fics do, probably because the writing is so sharp, and the entire fic (plot and characterizations) are quite radical. Though not as radical as some of Rivkat's other fics.
I'm liking the bee plot. It's creepy and has a disturbing kind of plausibility that many mytharc stories don't have. Plus the way it's written makes it very clear and intelligible without it feeling dumbed down. I suspect (and hope) this story was begun immediately after Zero Sum aired. It's a very cool example of fanfic that takes the dropped threads of an important plot point and runs with them.
The Scully/other thing was tough for me, but when I think about this fic probably having been written before the end of S4, it suddenly seems a lot less of an extreme possibility that Scully would go off, get cured of cancer, and develop feeling for her doctor. The bit about Scully immediately taking in Samantha as a substitute child is troubling to me too, infinitlight, and I don't think canon Scully would share this Scully's motivations, at least not in the spirit they are expressed to us. But it is pretty interesting that Rivkat wrote a Scully-is-infertile storyline before it became canon on the show.
infinitlight, you say the M/S dynamic in this story is too sweet for you. Does it get warm and fuzzy in the second half, because so far I would say just the opposite. Despite the abundance of domestic trappings they seem to go through in this fic (which bothers me), their relationships seems, as with all of Rivkat's fics, to be quite dark, and definitely unhealthy.
But as always, the thing I like about Rivkat's writing is the way she seems to experimentally push Mulder and Scully's characterizations to extremes in order to reveal certain hidden truths about them, and in order to discover what things about them remain true in the stress she puts them under.
There's a kind of glibness and insensitivity with which her characters reflect on things, that makes for some interesting observations, of themselves, others, and the patterns of the XF narrative:
Mulder knew that Skinner saw Scully as some sort of embodiment of truth, justice, and the American way -- "nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered," or something like that.
-
Matt doesn't need to know that everything I say to him is the absolute truth."
Suddenly there was no more pain in his throat; the words came smoothly. "I think that's the most awful thing you've ever said to me. I can't believe that you wouldn't respect yourself enough to wait for someone who'll demand the truth from you every time."
-
Not for the first time, he wondered about the connection between Deep Throat, Mr. X, and Marita. How did they decide -- the one who gets the short straw has to tantalize, mislead and succor Mulder until he or she is killed? What wheels within wheels were turning at the UN, the Pentagon, the NSA?
-
Yes. It had been easy to imagine that, when Sam came back, everything would be perfect and he'd be whole. The rotten foundations of that lie had been exposed by her return, and he hadn't quite managed to construct another myth to explain his existence.
Or my personal favorite for creepy shippiness at it's finest:
"Why do you look at each other like that?" Samantha asked him when Scully was putting away the leftovers.
"Like what?"
She shrugged and looked away, squirming on the chair. "I don't know. Like you want to hit each other, but not really."
Mulder laughed, immediately shocked at how bitter the noise sounded. "Tell you what, Sam. As soon as I figure it out, I'll let you know."
None of the characters look so nice under the light this fic shines on them, but for the most part I think they are still in character, which is what I find so interesting.
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2011-10-09 04:01 am (UTC)I keep reminding myself that this really is old school fic. It doesn't feel nearly as old school to me as a lot of fics do, probably because the writing is so sharp, and the entire fic (plot and characterizations) are quite radical. Though not as radical as some of Rivkat's other fics.
I'm liking the bee plot. It's creepy and has a disturbing kind of plausibility that many mytharc stories don't have. Plus the way it's written makes it very clear and intelligible without it feeling dumbed down. I suspect (and hope) this story was begun immediately after Zero Sum aired. It's a very cool example of fanfic that takes the dropped threads of an important plot point and runs with them.
The Scully/other thing was tough for me, but when I think about this fic probably having been written before the end of S4, it suddenly seems a lot less of an extreme possibility that Scully would go off, get cured of cancer, and develop feeling for her doctor. The bit about Scully immediately taking in Samantha as a substitute child is troubling to me too,
But as always, the thing I like about Rivkat's writing is the way she seems to experimentally push Mulder and Scully's characterizations to extremes in order to reveal certain hidden truths about them, and in order to discover what things about them remain true in the stress she puts them under.
There's a kind of glibness and insensitivity with which her characters reflect on things, that makes for some interesting observations, of themselves, others, and the patterns of the XF narrative:
Mulder knew that Skinner saw Scully as some sort of embodiment of truth, justice, and the American way -- "nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered," or something like that.
-
Matt doesn't need to know that everything I say to him is the absolute truth."
Suddenly there was no more pain in his throat; the words came smoothly. "I think that's the most awful thing you've ever said to me. I can't believe that you wouldn't respect yourself enough to wait for someone who'll demand the truth from you every time."
-
Not for the first time, he wondered about the connection between Deep Throat, Mr. X, and Marita. How did they decide -- the one who gets the short straw has to tantalize, mislead and succor Mulder until he or she is killed? What wheels within wheels were turning at the UN, the Pentagon, the NSA?
-
Yes. It had been easy to imagine that, when Sam came back, everything would be perfect and he'd be whole. The rotten foundations of that lie had been exposed by her return, and he hadn't quite managed to construct another myth to explain his existence.
Or my personal favorite for creepy shippiness at it's finest:
"Why do you look at each other like that?" Samantha asked him when Scully was putting away the leftovers.
"Like what?"
She shrugged and looked away, squirming on the chair. "I don't know. Like you want to hit each other, but not really."
Mulder laughed, immediately shocked at how bitter the noise sounded. "Tell you what, Sam. As soon as I figure it out, I'll let you know."
None of the characters look so nice under the light this fic shines on them, but for the most part I think they are still in character, which is what I find so interesting.