Story 17: "Night Song" by Zuffy

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

Our next story was also nominated by lsugaralmond. It's another all things missing scene, because she suggested that it might be interesting to compare and contrast. So, go to it!

Night Song
Author: Zuffy
Email: zuffynuffy@yahoo.com
Website: http://Zuffy.tripod.com/index.html
Rating: PG-13
Classification: V, MSR
Spoilers: *all things.
Summary: A woman awakens on a couch.

Comments

[wendelah1]

I really liked "Nightsong" and in many ways this story works better for me than "Confirmation." I like the whimsical references to different episodes starting from Mulder's glasses in the pilot, moving to Phoebe, that "English tart," (are there Americans who use the word "tart?" it isn't in my spoken vocabulary), then to the mysterious appearance of a bedroom, not merely a bed, but an entire room in "DreamLand." The dialog between M&S about the bedroom is just so classic.

"So, what's your best shot, Scully? Hypnosis?
Hallucination?" His voice was low and seductive.

"Unlikely," she said, "although some hallucinations seem
uncannily material to those experiencing them. But, no."
She turned and saw that he wore his smug look, the one
reserved for his wildest fantasies. "What? You want me to
say that aliens installed a bedroom in your apartment when
they got tired of flattening corn?"

"I like the way you think."

"But it's insane."

"Your theory." His eyebrows shot up once, quickly.

Mulder thinks his bedroom is an X-File!

"So..." he was saying. "The living room here is the world
as we know it. While that room either occupies another
dimension or possibly an alternative universe that bumped
against ours and wrinkled along its edge. And yet..." he
stepped forward into the bedroom, "the docking is
seamless. Try it."

She is not buying this story. On the other hand. . .

There had to be a hundred reasons why men
shaved but she could think of only two. One -- because
they had to -- didn't apply at midnight.

She may be interested in pursuing further inquiry into another sort of extreme possibility. (And there's another little episode reference, this time to "3.")

They get to dance to Mulder humming "Starlight Ballroom 1939" (another episode reference) and they get to kiss, while the moonlight shines through the window that doesn't exist in their universe.

This is so good, because there is sexual tension, and yet the romance is light and playful. Every little move they make is foreplay, and it's verbal foreplay, which is so very them. To me, this story is much more in character than "Confirmation," but then I thought "All Things" was pretty OOC, too.

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

(are there Americans who use the word "tart?" it isn't in my spoken vocabulary)

Not that I know of. Then again, it's not used all that often in England anymore either.

To me, this story is much more in character than "Confirmation," but then I thought "All Things" was pretty OOC, too.

Hmm, yeah. I think that "Confirmation" was closer to the mood of "All Things," but that this story is closer to the mood of the show as a whole. Or at least to the mood of seasons six and seven, which is where this is clearly situating itself.

[wendelah1]

I think that "Confirmation" was closer to the mood of "All Things," but that this story is closer to the mood of the show as a whole. Or at least to the mood of seasons six and seven, which is where this is clearly situating itself.

So, do you think if I had liked "All Things" more I would have liked "Confirmation" better? I agree, it is in some ways a better fit with the episode. This story feeling more like it belongs in season seven makes sense to me, too.

Both of these stories are so good that I want to re-watch the episode now. Maybe "Dreamland," too, to check out that closet/bedroom of Mulder's.

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

So, do you think if I had liked "All Things" more I would have liked "Confirmation" better?

I don't know, I didn't adore "All Things" myself. It was one of those episodes that was fascinating but terribly flawed. I like this story because it takes the basic feel of the episode and does something productive with it, rather than deciding to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[memento1.livejournal.com]

I think that "Confirmation" was closer to the mood of "All Things," but that this story is closer to the mood of the show as a whole.

You basically summed up my feelings right there.

all things

was very somber and thoughtful, and Confirmation played into that, but I like the return to dialogue, banter, and...intimacy? I don't know, it just felt like a much more organic coming together. Loved it!

And you know I love the sap, so I adored Mulder's little confession there ;)

[idella]

(are there Americans who use the word "tart?" it isn't in my spoken vocabulary)

Canadian, if it can count, and I do use it, though possibly it is because my life is overrun with English people. I wouldn't say I use it often, but thinking about it, I'm more likely do so when referring to an English person (no matter whom I'm talking to). So I don't know that I take it all that seriously as a word, more of a joke, really, or a word association, which is how I see Scully using it here, I suppose.

All of which is to say I bought it, it didn't pull me out of the story.

[bardsmaid.livejournal.com]

I have to admit I'm so ultra-picky that I only have a handful of saved fics, but this is one of them. I love that it strides boldly into uncharted territory and takes a completely original angle on the post-*all things scenario. Give me an unexpected approach to the canon material any day--not in the interest of novelty for its own sake, but in the pursuit of insights that ring true about the characters. 'Night Song' does this.

"The interesting thing is, this room may not really exist." The room that doesn't exist is a stroke of genius, really, and fits so well Mulder's sense of adventure and exuberance when it comes to the unexplained. The banter between them, as wendelah1 points out, is spot on. The whole exchange captures that sense of whimsy that occasionally surfaces in the XF.

We do, in the end, arrive on the doorstep of the physical closeness that so many other post-*all things offerings take for granted, but we get there by a much more adventurous route, as if instead of taking the straight path from the sidewalk to the front door, we've wandered through a magical garden full of unexpected blooms and colors.

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

We do, in the end, arrive on the doorstep of the physical closeness that so many other post-*all things offerings take for granted, but we get there by a much more adventurous route, as if instead of taking the straight path from the sidewalk to the front door, we've wandered through a magical garden full of unexpected blooms and colors.

What a wonderful summary. That's it exactly.

[wendelah1]

I agree with emily_shore, that is a wonderful summary.

[idella]

Give me an unexpected approach to the canon material any day--not in the interest of novelty for its own sake, but in the pursuit of insights that ring true about the characters. 'Night Song' does this.

Yes, it really does, and I knew I was going to like this fic right from the beginning, when Scully is talking about saying necessary things and I learned a new yet true thing about her. This is one thing that will always make me consider a fic worthwhile, even if it's flawed in other ways. (This fic, though, has a premise that is absolutely brilliant and an execution that is nearly flawless, and so this small piece of character insight turned out to be just icing on the cake, but still, it impressed me from the start.)

We do, in the end, arrive on the doorstep of the physical closeness that so many other post-*all things offerings take for granted, but we get there by a much more adventurous route, as if instead of taking the straight path from the sidewalk to the front door, we've wandered through a magical garden full of unexpected blooms and colors.

This summary is as lovely as the fic itself.

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

This is one thing that will always make me consider a fic worthwhile, even if it's flawed in other ways.

Absolutely.

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

A very sweet, charming story. It works better for me as a stand-alone than as a post-ep for "All Things," but that's just splitting hairs.

For so long it has seemed so improbable that Mulder and Scully would ever admit their feelings for one another, that it is only fitting for a room outside of time and space to be the place where they finally come together. Only in The X-Files would this seem a plausible scenario, but using "Dreamland" like this is a stroke of genius on the part of the writer.

I liked this passage, it's very Scully...

She wanted to say only necessary things to him. It had always been like that. Necessary and complete, things that would make him think, things that would hold his attention. Neither he nor she was much for small talk.

This is just a bit too sappy for Mulder, methinks...

"I wanted lie in the moonlight with you. Count the shooting stars. Climb the fence at Stonehenge and wait for dawn." His hand stroked her back gently. "Beside you."

But this sentence is just perfect...

Outside the illusory window, silver clouds raced across the sky, a thousand stars in their wake.

[wendelah1]

This is just a bit too sappy for Mulder, methinks...

You have forgotten about all of those voice-overs the writers gave to Mulder. Oh, but wait, those were pretentious, weren't they, not sappy? Sorry, my bad.

Is it that sappy to think Mulder might have just wanted to take Scully to England for a roll in the hay? Oh well. Maybe I like sappy if it is accompanied by enough whimsy and snappy dialog.

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

Oh, but wait, those were pretentious, weren't they, not sappy? Sorry, my bad.

LOL. That's exactly the distinction. :)

Is it that sappy to think Mulder might have just wanted to take Scully to England for a roll in the hay? Oh well.

Not at all. Just that the way he chose to express it seems a bit... standard. Mulder is far quirkier than that. I would expect him to say something like, "I wanted to sit with you inside West Kennet Long Barrow while the rain poured down outside." Which also reminds me, there's also a small factual error in the story as Mulder was going to Avebury and not to Stonehenge!

[wendelah1]

Scully: (whining, but in a charming way) "I don't know where or what West Kennet Long Barrow even is. . .(personal aside, I hope it is a nice bed and breakfast) What are you trying to say here, Mulder?"

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

Now, see, this is what a real Mulder/Scully conversation sounds like! :)

West Kennet Long Barrow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Kennet_Long_Barrow)

[wendelah1]

I can hear Mulder expounding on the site now, complete with a little slide show. Oh, but they're at his apartment. I guess the slideshow will have to wait. That does seem like a very Mulder-like place to want to visit, complete with a local legend of a ghostly visitation on Midsummer Night.

[idella]

I think Mulder's lines are a tiny bit sappy for him, myself. It's the only thing that doesn't completely work for me in this fic.

However, it works for me (I hesitate to say it's more in character, because I'm just not sure anymore) that what he does say here is more circumspect that talking about love or his feelings or something along those lines.

[idella]

I adore this fic. It made me grin the entire time I was reading it. I'm grinning right now thinking about it.

I appreciate that "Night Song" is a *happy* all things post-ep. So many of the fics I've read around this episode are gloomy. Now, I like angst more than is probably healthy, and the episode itself *is* fairly sombre, but for some reason, I am annoyed by "all things" fic that tries to make things unnecessarily complicated. (This doesn't include "Confirmation", which I liked a lot. In fact, there is really only one plot device that really irks me, but it's probably not fair to complain about it here.)

Anyway, "all things" post-ep fic is a (nearly) angst-free zone in my world, and so I am perfectly happy to attach "Night Song" to "all things", no problem.

I am thankful Zuffy's mind worked this way and gave us, as so many people have said, genius fic.

[bmerb.livejournal.com]

So delightful! I LOVE the clever idea of the room from another dimension or parallel universe that Mulder casually sleeps in nightly. So much imagination here, with perfect concrete details too. It's post ep, fits canon, explains something that CC and crew sort of dumped, and the banter is nearly flawless. Probably my fav all things post ep!