The Darkness Within

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

I CAN POST ENTRIES ON THE BOOK CLUB! MWWWWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

*coughs*

Anywayyyy...

Wendy said I was welcome to post that here, so here we go.

~~~~~~~~~~

(First posted on Haven)

Moose and Squirrel - before being declawed and tamed by scores of fic writers intent on giving them the white picket fence happiness they were never designed for in the first place - were pretty dark and tortured characters to begin with. A given, considering how much crap they went through in the show.

Back in the days many fic writers explored that dark path and gave us many incredible stories, the quintessential one being, of course, the infamous Iolokus. Stories where the characters' traumas weren't swept under the carpet of True Love (TM) Hot Sex, Domestic Life and Fat Babies. Stories where bad things happened to good people.

They were stories such as:

Arizona Highway by Fialka
Secret World by Bonetree
Grace Realized by Michaela
Injuries to The Spirit by Mystphile
The Mill by Cofax

...to name just a few off the top of my head.

In these stories Mulder and Scully were flawed and damaged. Years of turmoil and horrors weren't cured with a kiss and a soft bed. They had issues with one another, they argued and fought. They could be unfair, cruel, monstrous even - their claustrophobic co-dependency toxic, yet unavoidable. They suffered, battled illnesses both mental and physical, and sometimes they even died. Some stories made a point of reminding us how dangerous their job really was - that the human monsters could be worse than the alien ones. But their spirit shone nevertheless through it all, pure and bright, that elusive spark of magnificence that made them - well, you know, THEM.

As a reader I always found those tales much more emotionally rewarding than those of the bunnies and rainbow - Mulder and Scully in love forever in their pretty house with their pretty children - aw, look he has his mother's eyes and his father's nose - variety.

No pain no gain, uh?

I guess my question is: have you read such stories? Do you enjoy them? Can you rec the ones that stayed with you?

~Fish~

Comments

[dryadinthegrove]

I never liked Iolokus - there, I admit it! It was too much angst for the sake of angst, y'know?

Okay, I'm trying to think of this one novel that I loved, a writer I came to really late and one I don't think was popularly recognized, either? In fact I might have found this author in the last year of the show - maybe after - all I need to do is find the freakin' folder, because I can't recall the name of either author or fic.

The story was a casefile which sees Scully in prison...and that's about all I remember.

And seriously, if you haven't read Branwell - you're in for a treat.

[wendelah1]

Is the fic you're thinking of "Prison of Innocents"? We discussed that here this year.

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

*clutches heart* YOU HERETIC! ;-)

Seriously I get it. Iolokus is extreme in its angst levels. But the second half of the saga - the more moving, funny, touching part makes all the initial misery and despair so worth it IMO.

I don't think I've ever read 'Scully in prison' stories.

Branwell, the name rings a bell. I think I did read "Condemned to repeat it", back when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth - but of course have no memory of the story itself.

[wendelah1]

I guess it goes without saying, since I'm the mod here but yes, I've read a lot of angsty fanfic. Looking over the stories we've discussed here, I'd estimate that a good 90% of them put our protagonists through the ringer. As you pointed out, the fandom's obsession with happy-ending babyfic is a fairly recent one. Even I've written a twisted version of it, although in my defense, I had to set mine in the Fringe canon AU. Unsurprisingly, it's probably my most popular fanfic, next to my RPF.

You didn't ask this question, but it might be worth discussing, too. Why is there so much happy-ending and/or William-obsessed fanfic being written now? Why is it so popular with the general readership, almost to the exclusion of anything else?

These are in addition to "Arizona Highways" and "The Mill" on my personal list of favorites. You didn't mention Penumbra's Fathoms Five, but I assume that would make your short list. It's on mine. When applicable, the links are to our posts rather than the stories because I'm lazy. This is just off the top of my head. There are many, many others.

Short and Tragic

How A Resurrection Really Feels by idella.

And if I make my bed in Sheol by threeguesses.

Telephones by cucumberspy.

Drive, He Said by Jennifer-Oksana.

Blue Patches by Maybe Amanda.

To Carthage Then I Came by Annakovsky.

One and Only, First and Last by onpaperfirst.

Darkfic Novellas

Hollow Day by Kel.

Oyster by Jordan.

Certitude by Justin Glasser.

Night Giving Off Flames by JET.

The Sin Eater by Jane Mortimer.

Long, Dark Novels

Fugue by Rivkat. A story so dark that I begged her to write me a more hopeful ending. It is a little more hopeful, but not happy. Devoutly to be wished.

The Other Man by Jess Mabe. Really dark. Really, really dark. No, I mean it.

Anything by prufrock's love. Negative Utopia is probably the darkest of her fics. My favorite is "The 13th Sign." The revised version can be read at her page at Gossamer; we discussed it here if you are interested.

Neither Here Nor There by Tesla is a well-written fic that features a very dysfunctional Moose and Squirrel.

More stories? What the heck. Here are all of my recs at crack_van. I couldn't figure out a way to screen for the ones for The X-Files. Looking these over, I'd say the stories by Sophia Jiraffe portray a particularly dysfunctional, but believable version of MSR. "Sokol" by Khyber is exciting, long and dark. Just browse until you find something you think you'd like. I recced a wide variety of fic but there is plenty of angst to be sure.

(frozen comment)

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

Wendy, what a magnificent job of remember the great ones. Though I would disagree that "Negative Utopia" is the darkest of Prufrock's Love's (awkward) fics. There was one in which M marries a S lookalike and then CD and it was dreadful! But I've never empathized with the "let's all suffer together" of PL's aesthetic.

I've a capacity to enjoy the dark and often do, but I'm a bit of a coward about the Ultimate Unhappy Ending. As in "Everybody Having a Good Time" by Sabine, which I couldn't get through. And Sabine's a good writer. Good writing--as in the above fics--makes a terrific difference, but I find it equally important that a fic not milk you for tears gratuitously, ie, is bathetic. Brief can be shattering and then you can put it behind you.

I adore "Iolokus." Reasons: humor plus a happy ending. I dislike "Oklahoma," which isn't recced here though at one time it had quite a following. People thought is was classy (my guess) because TS Eliot everywhere you look.
It is bathetic. They were practically wheeling spiritual crushed Mulder around on a gurney.

What would I add? Julie Fortune's "Fata Morgana." Amal's "The Machines of Freedom" is excellent, though perhaps not tragic enough to qualify. And what was that multi-author invasion saga we talked about. There was an excellent bit about poor, deluded Samantha discovering the falsity of her whole life just in time for the world to end.

This is scattered. Perhaps because I'm very conflicted. I think, for instance, that Khyber's "Sokol" is a challenging masterwork, but I don't think I designate it as tragic. Dark, yes, dark. But kind of happy at the end.

The happy, baby-producing fics are foreign territory to me. I don't think I've ever read any. But there is a wonderful short piece called "China Patterns" that busts that trope up pretty good.

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

AUGH! How could I forget Fathom Five! It's right at the top of my 'Fics I Worship' list.

That is a great list! Thank you! I have read a few of them, but my memory is fuzzy, I will need to revisit them. Idella's Resurrection is one of my all time favourite. My stomach does little flips every time I read it. The writing is so gorgeous.

Why is there so much happy-ending and/or William-obsessed fanfic being written now? Why is it so popular with the general readership, almost to the exclusion of anything else?

I am not sure I can answer this without sounding like an arrogant elitist bitch.

Oh well...

A)babyfic has always been a popular genre I don't think this is a recent phenomenon.

B)less writers means less quality writing. It means more pedestrian, predictable stories. The mediocre quality stuff that used to fade in the background back in the days because we had so many awesome writers to pay attention to is now back center stage because the fandom royalty has buggered off.

C)Again, I'll be an old fart and ask: is it possible that the current general readership is less well read than the old one and therefore less discerning? I've noticed the shift in various forums where I hang out, from Oh No They Didn't to TV Com, to Reddit - how less articulate people seem to be in general, than say, 15 years ago. In the old days, the computer savvy people tended to be the literate, highly educated kind. But today everybody is online. Therefore there might be a 'downward tug' in terms of readership desires and expectations, less TS Eliot, more Entertainment Weekly.

ETA: damn I really must go to bed, but I need to add this: I'm not saying happy fics or baby fics are inherently bad, but that bad stories often seem to fall in those categories. Am I making sense?

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

This morning I read "Telephones" by Cucumberspy and I'm glad the comments were there to help me make sense of the story. I didn't get what had happened to William, and I sure as hell didn't see the suicide thing either. It's a great fic, now that I get it, a great fic that made me feel pretty thick. *g*

I also read "Butterfly" by Oracle, which would have had much more of an impact if there hadn't been so much touchy-feely-kissy Mulder and Scully. I brought a dissonance to the story that did not sit well with me.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

The above is sloppy. Not my usual style, but I am roadtrip-lagged.

ooooh yes

[notacrnflkgirl.livejournal.com]

I far prefer angst to anything else.

earlier this month Meda posted an excellent essay about the h/c fanfiction subgenre (http://andromedalogic.tumblr.com/post/97024318847/bananapeppers-to-condense-it-down-horribly); in it she explores some of the reasons why h/c and angst appeal to fanfiction writers and readers (and she included references). I don’t agree with all of her points, but it was definitely a worthwhile read.

“The Soft Embalmer” (http://scarletbaldy.livejournal.com/30410.html) by Scarlet Baldy. → crack_van review: link (http://crack-van.livejournal.com/4514920.html).

“the blue series” by Susan. → warnings: major physical trauma which may constitute body horror; explicit violence in later installments.

“Night Touch” (http://sophia-helix.livejournal.com/496478.html) by Sophia Jirafe. → crack_van review: link (http://crack-van.livejournal.com/4339927.html). → warnings: navigating compulsory sexuality and aversion to sex due to PTSD.

“Unintended Consequences” (http://web.archive.org/web/20090819095040/http://www.borghalrantipole.com/stories/unintended.txt) by Sarah Segretti. → xf_book_club discussion: link (http://xf-book-club.livejournal.com/65613.html). → warnings: as for “Orison.”

“Anyone with a Gun” (http://archiveofourown.org/works/3530) by V. Salmone (Punk Maneuverability & Sabine). → warnings: as for “Orison.”

“for the weary” (http://threeguesses.livejournal.com/4141.html) by threeguesses.

“How a Resurrection Really Feels” (http://archiveofourown.org/works/72471) by idella. → xf_book_club discussion: link (http://xf-book-club.livejournal.com/59226.html). → warnings: violent suicidal act.

“White Noise” (http://x-files.bytewright.com/arcWh/WhiteNoise.html) by Adrienne.

I have to run! I’ll come back with more of my favorites later. (I promise they’re not all “Orison”-related.) (http://possibilities.bravehost.com/blue.html)

Re: ooooh yes

[wendelah1]

The Blue Series is a dead link. Is there another one? (I tried Way-back)

Re: ooooh yes

[wendelah1]

I don't personally care for the hurt/comfort genre. I think it has to do with being a nurse and taking care of people who've been injured, or are suffering from some other dire condition requiring surgery/chemo/radiation. It can work in the hands of a very skilled writer (I liked "Apex" by pinkflamingo aka syntax6, for example), but inflicting pain on the characters to advance the romance is usually the dead opposite of sexy and romantic to me. I think that's why I liked Sophia Jirafe's "Night Touch" and its follow up, "Contours," so much for subverting the trope.

Hurt/comfort isn't the same thing as darkfic to me, although they do fit under the general angst umbrella. I'll have to think about it some more and get back to you if I figure out why.

"The Soft Embalmer" is totally twisted and dark. (Go Fish, go!)

I'll have to go reread amyhit's essay and then read andromedalogic's response. I wonder if amyhit even knows about the essay since she's not on Tumblr.

RE: Orison fanfic. I had totally forgotten that "Night Touch" was also a post-Orison fic. That episode produced a lot of great fic, didn't it?

Re: ooooh yes

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

“The Soft Embalmer” by Scarlet Baldy. → crack_van review: link.

Hey, that's one of mine! Thanks for the Crack Van link, I didn't know Robin had recced my story there. Aw.

The link to the story itself is long dead though. It can be found on A03 (http://archiveofourown.org/works/1774645).

I just read Night Touch, and wow, that was a dark dark ride and an interesting subversion of the genre. However I find it hard to buy that Mulder would have been that oblivious to her state though.

Thanks for all the great recs. I'm making a list. :)

[write-out.livejournal.com]

I have read many of the stories mentioned here. I think "The Other Man" by Jess Mabe is the one that hits me hardest in the gut. Ouch, that fic. So, so good, but utterly devastating.

Despite being a shipper through and through, I was never a fan of the white picket fence stories. Domesticity has its place, but I was never drawn to the stories that focused almost solely on it. This isn't necessarily true of fic I read in other fandoms, such as BBC Sherlock, but I could never buy M/S settled down in suburbia raising a passel of kids.

That said, I also don't like to drown in angst. My favorite stories tend to be more balanced and have a little bit of everything thrown in. And happy endings.

[wendelah1]

I have read many of the stories mentioned here. I think "The Other Man" by Jess Mabe is the one that hits me hardest in the gut. Ouch, that fic. So, so good, but utterly devastating.

I think for me it was "Fugue" but "The Other Man" comes in a close second.

Despite being a shipper through and through, I was never a fan of the white picket fence stories. Domesticity has its place, but I was never drawn to the stories that focused almost solely on it. This isn't necessarily true of fic I read in other fandoms, such as BBC Sherlock, but I could never buy M/S settled down in suburbia raising a passel of kids.

So it's not the genre you object to, it's the characterization?

That said, I also don't like to drown in angst. My favorite stories tend to be more balanced and have a little bit of everything thrown in. And happy endings.

I like happy endings, too, as long as they're right for the story and don't seem forced or rushed. My favorite writer is still Kel. In her best work, she's able to weave elements of dark and light, humor and sadness, together with style and grace. She's a marvelous storyteller.

[tri-sbr.livejournal.com]

I would add Shalimar's "Five Years and One Night" to the angst list.

I also don't like to drown in angst, so usually after reading something that goes too far in that direction, I will go for a re-read of something on the other end of the spectrum to give myself mental balance :) But that would usually be something fun and/or hot like "Above Rubies" (Rachel Howard) or something sweet like "The Dreaming Sea" (Revely) - not generally picket fences / babyfic. Not to say I haven't read my share of the babyfic, but it almost always feels out of character and therefore does not succeed in my mental rebalancing efforts :)

PS I did not care for Iolokus either, fwiw.

[wendelah1]

I would add Shalimar's "Five Years and One Night" to the angst list.

That's fascinating. I loved "Five Years and One Night" and have recced it everywhere I can think of, but I'd never have picked it for my angst list. It's on my Mulder and Scully have hot sex and adventures list, just below "Above Rubies."

I just went back to the 2008 book club "FYaON" entry. Shalimar commented at the end that she'd googled her user name and the title and found our post. Does every XF author from back in the day do that, I wonder? (cackles)

XF Dryad said she doesn't like "Iolokus" because its just angst for the sake of angst (she's wrong-wrong-wrong, because it's a reaction to the bizarro aspects of the myth arc just like "Arizona Highways," which she loves.). I love "Iolokus" for the over-the-top humor, style and plot, and just because it's such a crazy-ass wild-ride of a fic.

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

Wow, "Five Years and One Night" that's an old one! Is that the one where M&S are stuck naked in a prison or am I mixing up with something else?
I know I've read "Above Rubies" but I can't remember a thing about it. Must check it out again.

I don't think I've read "The dreaming sea".

Is there *any* good baby fic out there? Cause, besides the Mooselet in Iolokus....I'm coming up empty.

(1/?)

[notacrnflkgirl.livejournal.com]

Yours and wendelah1’s recommendations and mine have a number in common: Arizona Highways (which absolutely merits its “fandom classic” designation), “The Mill,” “And If I Make My Bed in Sheol,” “Telephones,” Oyster, Justin Glasser’s stories in general, The Other Man.

“Much Madness Is Divinest Sense” (http://archiveofourown.org/works/78598) by Naraht. S3 sometime after “Wetwired.” → warnings: disabling mental illness, suicidality, and suicidal act. → from my notes: “One of my all-time favorite works in the fandom, with perfectly depicted moments and realistic characterizations.”

Resurgam (http://ioho.org.uk/resurgam_nc17.txt) by Ophelia. S7; “Emily” central to story. → xf_book_club discussion (http://xf-book-club.livejournal.com/21387.html).

“Loss of Yesterday” (http://hesychasm.dreamwidth.org/2970.html) by Jintian. S2 between “Firewalker” and “Irresistible.” → xf_book_club discussion (http://xf-book-club.livejournal.com/68842.html), where I also posted my impressions. I love this work. → warnings: possibility of past rape/sexual assault indicated but not in any detail.

“Butterfly” (http://oracle.invidiosa.com/butterfly.html) by Oracle. S2, “Excelsis Dei” post-ep. → xf_book_club discussion (http://xf-book-club.livejournal.com/37496.html) and amyhit’s meta: “Femininity and Fanfiction: A Meagre Foray into the Fandom Wilds of Gender Disparity, Gender Equity, and the Epic Hoax of the Emotionally Supine Woman.” (http://amyhit.livejournal.com/77905.html) → warnings: none yet. I began “Butterfly” after encountering amyhit’s meta, both to familiarize myself with the source material and because she referred to Scully’s experiences therein as “narcoleptic,” which they are so far. (How much narcolepsy-related fic is out there, you know? It’s niche.) I’m still reading it.

“Falling Stars” (http://web.archive.org/web/20050306102646/home.comcast.net/~juliefortune/X-files/fallingstars.htm) by Julie Fortune. freestanding. → crack_van review (http://crack-van.livejournal.com/4444623.html), xf_book_club discussion (http://xf-book-club.livejournal.com/37261.html).

“Of Ladies Most Deject and Wretched” (http://www.invidiosa.com/circe/fanfic/ofladies.html) by Circe Invidiosa & Helen Quilley. S7, “Orison” post-ep. → warnings: as for “Orison.”

“Living with the Dreaming Body” (http://ioho.org.uk/livingdream.htm) by Punk Maneuverability. S5 sometime after “Emily.” → xf_book_club discussion (http://xf-book-club.livejournal.com/55570.html).

“Reflections as the Light Begins to Fade” (http://archiveofourown.org/works/35410) by Amilyn (Amy L. Hull). S3, “Paper Clip” post-ep.

“Five Things That Never Happened to Dana Scully” (http://anythingbutgrey.livejournal.com/791475.html) by anythingbutgrey (not to be confused with the work of the same name by threeguesses). → wendelah1’s rec (http://wendelah1.dreamwidth.org/217857.html).

*

Guilty angsty pleasures

Comfortably Numb (http://www.keyofx.org/fiction_Paige%20Caldwell-Comfortably%20Numb.txt) by Paige Caldwell. S6 sometime after “Tithonus.” → warnings: substance abuse/addiction.

Re: (1/?)

[wendelah1]

I love "Much Madness is Divinest Sense." Every couple of years, I ask Naraht when/if she's going to finish it. The last time I asked, she said probably never and told me I could write an ending for it if I wanted.

I'm still hoping she'll come back to it someday but she seems to have moved on.

Gosh, yes. I love anythingbutgrey's Five Things fic. That's certainly an it hurts so good type of fic.

Wow. I see two stories here I haven't read! (runs off to read them now)

SECOND LINK WAS BROKEN, here's a new NEW link to Of Ladies Most Deject and Wretched.

(2/2)

[notacrnflkgirl.livejournal.com]

“Anger” (http://malindalo.com/scully/fanfic/anger.txt) by Jennifer Maurer & Leyla Harrison. S2 after “One Breath.” → via Malinda Lo’s Dana Scully Uncovered: X-Files Fan Fiction and the Posthuman Body: “Disease / Dis-Ease.” (http://malindalo.com/scully/disease.htm) → warnings: graphic portrayal of eating-disorder mentality, behaviors, and physical consequences. (I’m only aware of two other eating disorder fics in this fandom, and they’re awful. Like, hilaribad.)

“Crowning Glory” (http://malindalo.com/scully/fanfic/crowningglory.txt) by CiCi Lean. → via Malinda Lo’s Dana Scully Uncovered: X-Files Fan Fiction and the Posthuman Body: “Disease / Dis-Ease.” (http://malindalo.com/scully/disease.htm) → warnings: cancerarc and potentially triggering in eating disorders.

*

Subtler (i.e., less-than-extreme) angst

“triptych: but for the urge of this unrest” (http://baroquechemistry.tumblr.com/post/11355065410/triptych-but-for-the-urge-of-this-unrest-never) by baroquechemistry (Raye). S4, “Never Again” fill-in.

This is classified as angst but in the rumination sense: “In Ed’s Bed” (http://fluky.gossamer.org/author/11690-1.html) by Nancy V. S4, “Never Again” fill-in. → from my notes: “Thoughts that occur late at night in lieu of sleep. Nice.”

*

Two others I neglected to include in my previous comment:

“Keeping Melissa” (http://fluky.gossamer.org/author/15791-1.html) by Oracle.

“Careful” (http://fluky.gossamer.org/author/15791-1.html) by Oracle. S4, sometime after “Never Again.”

“Ante Bellum” (http://fluky.gossamer.org/author/16299-1.html) by Athene. S4, “Never Again” fill-in.

*

I don’t remember if Justin Glasser’s “Kevin” (http://www.reocities.com/Paris/Lights/7752/kevin1.html) (xf_book_club discussion (http://xf-book-club.livejournal.com/29663.html)) is angst?

I’m another person who doesn’t like Iolokus, although I haven’t read it in a long time. I remember thinking the violence was indulgently graphic. I read Megan Reilly’s Anamorphosis (http://www.annex-files.com/annex/annex/stories/anamorphosis.txt) more recently, and my feelings about it are similar but even stronger.

Re: (2/2)

[wendelah1]

I've toyed with the idea of posting Anamorphosis for discussion. It has an out-there Scully backstory + characterization but I don't remember the violence being extreme. Yikes. Am I that jaded? I guess I'd have to look at it again.

After all of these years, Iolokus is still the most polarizing fic in the fandom. I reread it a couple of years ago with a pretty critical eye and I still think it's excellent. I wouldn't describe the violence in it as indulgently graphic. But everyone has hot-buttons. I find the violence in Hannibal so disturbing that I can't watch it at all. Even the commercials are too creepy. Ditto for Silence of the Lambs. I thought the bestselling novel The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was pornographically violent. I can't imagine what the movie was like.

I wouldn't characterize "Kevin" as angst exactly, not from what I recall about it. Excellent, though, like all of Justin Glasser's work.

Re: (2/2)

[wendelah1]

The tumblr link is broken. Luckily she archived it elsewhere.


triptych: but for the urge of this unrest.

[rainatlas.livejournal.com]

I don't have much to contribute since I've only read a fraction of the stories mentioned here. But I do enjoy the angst genre for what it's worth. I think, like Fish said, they're probably the most emotionally rewarding in a way that happy endings aren't, or just can't be, in the XF universe.

I'm interested in these theories about why people are so obsessed with babyfic. I'd love to read a bunnies and rainbows, babies and picket fences story that somehow feels RIGHT, but I just don't see that ever happening, no matter how excellent the writer, just by the very nature of the characters and their situation. The closest thing I've read that comes close to that is Amal's "Machines of Freedom", which I love, but of course there's also a great deal of angst in the Caseyverse to balance out the (mostly) happy ending. Is it possible that people are obsessed with babyfic because it feels like the ultimate conquest? Why are we always so attracted to the unattainable? I keep reading them even though I know I never like them.

I finally tackled "Life During Wartime" and needed some major recovery time after that one. I was fairly warned. Angst and tragedy galore. Geez.

There are so many remarkable works in this genre. The ones that stick with me have already been mentioned here. I have to say that cucumberspy's "Telephones" left me in a grief stricken stupor for longer than I care to admit. That one just hit all of my buttons. "And if I make my bed in Sheol", "Night Giving off Flames", and "Fathoms Five" are also some of my favorites.

Iolokus is both excellent and terrible. Excellent in that I have to give the writers credit for the writing and their INSANELY BIZARRE imaginations. Terrible for just about every other reason, but I'm still glad it exists.

I know I'm not saying anything new here, so I'll leave it at that.

[wendelah1]

I'm interested in these theories about why people are so obsessed with babyfic. I'd love to read a bunnies and rainbows, babies and picket fences story that somehow feels RIGHT, but I just don't see that ever happening, no matter how excellent the writer, just by the very nature of the characters and their situation. The closest thing I've read that comes close to that is Amal's "Machines of Freedom", which I love, but of course there's also a great deal of angst in the Caseyverse to balance out the (mostly) happy ending.

I love it, too, but I had some trouble the first time through with the babyfic aspect. After what happened with William, how could they decide to have a baby so--casually? How could Mulder ask her to go through another pregnancy? I thought that was pretty cruel. I still don't like that part--but since Casey and her back story are integral to the plot, there's no way out of that one. You take the good with the bad, and MoF is mostly very good indeed.

Is it possible that people are obsessed with babyfic because it feels like the ultimate conquest? Why are we always so attracted to the unattainable? I keep reading them even though I know I never like them.

And I keep not reading them because I know I never like them. The only exception I can think of is prufrock's love's season nine AU, "The 13th Sign," which is really angsty, just like all of her fic.

I like one of Anjou's early baby fic stories, although I don't like the later one at all. "Ghosts" has some nice moments despite its gory beginning. It doesn't feel finished because she never resolves the mytharc but I've come to realize that's a lot to ask of a writer. I like Sarah Segretti's fic, "Belmont, Ohio, 3:36 P.M." but it's pretty sad, too. "The Beginner's Guide to Tight-rope Walking" has the best ending of all of them, but of course, it's AU, too. I can't think of a happy family fic that works. You have to throw out too much of what makes The X-Files, The X-Files.

I think the other reason people want to write and read happy endings is that they feel the characters have suffered enough. I do get that, believe me, but happiness has to be earned, especially post-The Truth and IWTB. Other than in Amal's novel, the happy family endings feel--arbitrary.

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

Interesting fandom history insight from Sophia Jirafe (now Sophia Helix) in a reply left on AO3 to my feedback for Night Touch. Apparently there was a backlash against the romantic case files back in the days, like a literary movement within the fandom. People thought that darker, more serious stories were more worthy than happier, fluffier ones.

This could be when all the angstier tales we are so fond of were born. It would be interesting to have a fic publication timeline. We might be able to see a pattern emerging here (Scully).

[bmerb.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, so many fantastic comments on this one, mostly about the darker fic theme (did I miss the comments about The Darkness Within itself maybe?)...

Wishing I'd been around for discussions of the Iolokus series, never had anyone to discuss it with. Fathoms Five I also found both disturbing and perfectly situated.

And although I now want to read through everyone's suggestions of what I'm going to call darkfic, I'll admit I'm afraid. I read RivkaT's Fugue back in the day shortly after it was written and felt traumatized. So thankful that W asked for a different ending for Scully, it helped, but I don't think I want to put myself through a reread of that fic again. With that in mind, I'm feeling cautious about the recs in the comments section. Making a stab at Bonetree's Secret World right now for no reason other than I had to start somewhere.

Any recs for deep and dark, but NOT as horrifyingly painful in the end as Fugue? Keeping in mind I really enjoyed Iolokus and Tikkun Olam, so dark is ok, just not quite as dark as Fugue...

Oh, and I guess I'd better actually read The Darkness Within, too!

[wendelah1]

"The Darkness Within" isn't a fanfic title, it was just the title for the entry, which specifically requested darkfic recs.

I think almost any fic listed here has a more optimistic ending than "Fugue," with the exception of "How a Resurrection Really Feels." It traumatized me, too, but I still love love love it, and have reread it many times (same thing is true of Fugue). Recced it everywhere I can think to rec it. However, I thought "Fathoms Five" was even darker in a way, have only read it twice (once when it was posted, and again for the book club) and never plan to read it again. Same thing for "The Other Man." Brilliant fic but I can't bring myself to reread it. It's hard to know what elements will hit one person hard and not another?

Have you ever read Louise Marin's fic, "Any Other Name"? It's definitely an angst fest but it has a somewhat hopeful ending, given where it starts out, anyway. I'm surprised I left it off my personal list. It's another fic that I've considered posting here for discussion.