This was one of the first XF fics I ever read, in that brief window of time when I was already reading XF fanfic but hadn’t actually watched more than one or two random episodes of the show yet. At the time I really liked the vivid writing - stylistically haphazard, oddly aesthetic. I also liked the mood of the story, the constant tension between excessive caution and emotional recklessness.
But wow, Dance Card is REALLY hard to read now that I actually know anything about Scully’s character. The writing is still really good, but I can’t help gritting my teeth the whole way through. Also, I’m a lot more annoyed at Paul for being a dick, and at “Dana” for being foolish enough to go for a guy like that.
Dance Card’s characters have this internal lack of definite structure that is intriguing, but is also nothing whatsoever like X-Files characters. The writing itself has a similar sort of “character”. It makes me think of when little kids pick up several felt markers at once and swirl them all over a blank page. As opposed to the X-Files narrative, which is more like a chaotic network of etch-a-sketch scribbling – all straight lines and corners.
I haven’t even finished reading this yet, but I really have to take a break. It’s not every day that a good writer knowingly and openly writes self-insert fic, and the effect is…a lot to adjust to. The funny thing is that I would probably still like this story quite a bit as original fiction; if only the names in use were something other than Scully and Mulder.
no subject
But wow, Dance Card is REALLY hard to read now that I actually know anything about Scully’s character. The writing is still really good, but I can’t help gritting my teeth the whole way through. Also, I’m a lot more annoyed at Paul for being a dick, and at “Dana” for being foolish enough to go for a guy like that.
Dance Card’s characters have this internal lack of definite structure that is intriguing, but is also nothing whatsoever like X-Files characters. The writing itself has a similar sort of “character”. It makes me think of when little kids pick up several felt markers at once and swirl them all over a blank page. As opposed to the X-Files narrative, which is more like a chaotic network of etch-a-sketch scribbling – all straight lines and corners.
I haven’t even finished reading this yet, but I really have to take a break. It’s not every day that a good writer knowingly and openly writes self-insert fic, and the effect is…a lot to adjust to. The funny thing is that I would probably still like this story quite a bit as original fiction; if only the names in use were something other than Scully and Mulder.