Story 234: "in the lonely cool before dawn" by soundingsea

[wendelah1]

Before idella recorded her podfic for xf_is_love, I'm embarrassed to say I'd never read soundingsea's work. Originally written for Apocalyptothon 2011, "in the lonely cool before dawn" is a haunting, lyrically written short story, set in a deftly-drawn post-apocalyptic world.

in the lonely cool before dawn (1573 words) by soundingsea
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The X-Files
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Characters: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully
Summary:

Ominous clouds huddle low against the horizon, grey stacked on grey. The road is a ribbon of emptiness stretching out until the next hill, cracked pavement unpatched after a winter's thaw.

Leave feedback for author (at least hit the kudo button), then please come back and let us know what you think. The nomination post is always open for your suggestions.

Comments

[tri-sbr.livejournal.com]

I agree with pretty much everything you said, especially this:

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what I like, about this one is that it’s neither dramatic (i.e. fighting the aliens with bamfy tactics!) nor truly depressing (i.e. everyone on the planet is dead or dying). I like that whatever else has changed, Mulder and Scully remain troopers – exhausted but unbroken by the things they’ve seen, as ever, working away diligently together.
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Dramatic and/or depressing can make for a good story, but I, too, like that here Mulder, Scully, and M&S together are still basically the same, navigating through this different world, still doing what they can to fight. It might be harder to sustain this dynamic without veering into dramatic or depressing (or both) for a longer story, although I'm sure it's possible (and I would definitely read a longer version of this if it existed).

I liked the scene showing that Mulder is still butting heads with the locals (trying to get them into the motel) and Scully is still smoothing things over ("Time to defuse this situation. "We've got apples to trade," Scully says, and the local brightens considerably.")

Mulder's reference to San Diego was interesting in that basically nothing was made of it, and yet, of course, that is where Bill and his family would have been. Brief mentions of things that are full of subtext for the reader (like the San Diego example) is part of how this fic creates such a vivid and real-feeling world in such a short space of words.

I love the last line: "The world's gone to hell, but neither of them is facing it alone." I like that M&S feel and act like they still have each other. I do agree, though, that this felt like a universe in which they had been lovers for quite some time.

[wendelah1]

Dramatic and/or depressing can make for a good story, but I, too, like that here Mulder, Scully, and M&S together are still basically the same, navigating through this different world, still doing what they can to fight. It might be harder to sustain this dynamic without veering into dramatic or depressing (or both) for a longer story, although I'm sure it's possible (and I would definitely read a longer version of this if it existed).

I like seeing them working together too. That's one of the things I liked so much about "Machines of Freedom," too. Their task is difficult, perhaps even impossible, but they remain undaunted. Our heroes, fighting the forces of evil together. This is what was missing for me in the 2008 film.

[tri-sbr.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks - I have had "Machines of Freedom" on my to-read list, but I am moving it up the queue now!