Story 220: "Fragile" by Ophelia

[wendelah1]

It's too quiet around here, folks.

I just finished reading this next story, nominated by infinitlight. It's a carefully researched casefile, a very good one, if a little on the graphic side for me. (Damn. Why am I such a light-weight?) As it unfolds, it gets better and better, and has memorable climax and denouement. I'm classifying this as gen fic, Teen-for violence.

Title: Fragile
Author: Ophelia
E-Mail: OpheliaMac@aol.com
Rating: R--mature themes
Category: T, A
Spoilers: General Fourth Season, my own fanfic story, "Poison," and a story called "Favorite Child" by Lindsay, which gives an interesting interpretation on the choice the Consortium forced Bill Mulder to make.
Keywords: Mulder/Scully UST
Summary: Mulder and Scully are called in on a case described as an alien abduction, but Mulder suspects something both more commonplace and more sinister. Mulder angst, Scully angst, imaginary small town in Wisconsin angst.

You can try sending feedback to the author, although in my experience, fandom AOL addresses are mostly dead ends. Please let us know what you think. The nomination post is always open for your suggestions.

Read "Fragile"

Comments

[wendelah1]

You may be right about the need for editing. Honestly, I probably skim more fic than I read these days. Most of us don't have the editing skills of a professional at our beck and call. I thought the ending was too long, for sure. I didn't need all of the Mulder/Scully relationship stuff at the back end, but at the time, that was probably a fic writer's bread and butter. Today, a beta might suggest she cut that back, wa--ay back. But she created real suspense. I mean, this was a really creepy story. I did wonder at how and why an FBI agent would call in someone from Washington to investigate the disappearance of his kid, "unofficially." But there was a lot of hand-waving of a similar nature in canon. A lot, a lot, a lot.

[mogster495.livejournal.com]

You can definitely tell when a fic was written just by reading it. That sentence is hilarious if you think about it but it is true. The style, tone, and characters from early XF fiction are way different than modern stuff.