The story sort of gives Mulder all the power and reduces Scully to a bit of a sidekick to him, the equality in their relationship seems to disappear in this world, which even if it's plausible given the circumstances, I don't like it.
But that's not what happened. At the beginning of the story, Mulder sacrifices himself to save Scully, and arguably the other people in the bunker, from the colonists. He's tortured and experimented on and used by them. He's been driven completely crazy. He kills Skinner because he sees a threat to Scully that isn't there. I would argue that apart from his decision to leave and give himself up to the colonists, he's the one who has no agency whatsoever. The line that keeps getting repeated in this story is Mulder's question to Scully. "Are you real? Are you really Dana Scully?" He's that disconnected from reality.
I also didn't really like that despite all the detail and building of this world, there really wasn't more to the plot than Scully wanting to be with Mulder, and Mulder wanting to be with Scully. I know it's not exactly that simple, but that is sort of what it boils down to. It misses out on the fact that the best thing about Scully and Mulder is that they have their commitment to each other, but also shared commitment to their work.
This point I can't argue with. I wish it had more plot too. I'm an unrepentant NoRomo and this fic is a dystopian romance, emphasis on romance. That's why she has all of the flashbacks interwoven into this fic. It's now primarily a relationship story, set in a post-col world. I don't care what she said in her introduction, there was nothing romantic about "Negative Utopia."
This ending has Mulder and Scully driving off into the sunset together, with William riding shotgun. Scully chooses to stay with Mulder over a chance to return to Alpha Colony and take William with her. I'd bet that this resolution made her core audience pretty damn happy, especially compared to the bleakness of "Negative Utopia." In a way, her leaving Alpha Colony behind at the end to stay with crazy Mulder was a sacrifice, too, one that is supposed to balance out his sacrifice at the beginning. As a non-romance reader, I'd like to know what happened next, and not just to them. I like to know the fate of the rest of humanity. But that's not the story she wanted to tell. As a writer myself, I feel I have to respect that.
But. Fanfic is supposed to be fun and if you didn't like the fic, you were right to skim it. That was above and beyond, as far as I'm concerned.
Your comments were not vague at all; in fact, your analysis helped me to clarify my own thoughts. Thank you so much for letting us know what worked for you and what didn't.
At some point, we should do a reread of "Life During Wartime." It's been more than four years and now that it's mostly up at AO3, I'm really tempted.
Part 2
But that's not what happened. At the beginning of the story, Mulder sacrifices himself to save Scully, and arguably the other people in the bunker, from the colonists. He's tortured and experimented on and used by them. He's been driven completely crazy. He kills Skinner because he sees a threat to Scully that isn't there. I would argue that apart from his decision to leave and give himself up to the colonists, he's the one who has no agency whatsoever. The line that keeps getting repeated in this story is Mulder's question to Scully. "Are you real? Are you really Dana Scully?" He's that disconnected from reality.
I also didn't really like that despite all the detail and building of this world, there really wasn't more to the plot than Scully wanting to be with Mulder, and Mulder wanting to be with Scully. I know it's not exactly that simple, but that is sort of what it boils down to. It misses out on the fact that the best thing about Scully and Mulder is that they have their commitment to each other, but also shared commitment to their work.
This point I can't argue with. I wish it had more plot too. I'm an unrepentant NoRomo and this fic is a dystopian romance, emphasis on romance. That's why she has all of the flashbacks interwoven into this fic. It's now primarily a relationship story, set in a post-col world. I don't care what she said in her introduction, there was nothing romantic about "Negative Utopia."
This ending has Mulder and Scully driving off into the sunset together, with William riding shotgun. Scully chooses to stay with Mulder over a chance to return to Alpha Colony and take William with her. I'd bet that this resolution made her core audience pretty damn happy, especially compared to the bleakness of "Negative Utopia." In a way, her leaving Alpha Colony behind at the end to stay with crazy Mulder was a sacrifice, too, one that is supposed to balance out his sacrifice at the beginning. As a non-romance reader, I'd like to know what happened next, and not just to them. I like to know the fate of the rest of humanity. But that's not the story she wanted to tell. As a writer myself, I feel I have to respect that.
But. Fanfic is supposed to be fun and if you didn't like the fic, you were right to skim it. That was above and beyond, as far as I'm concerned.
Your comments were not vague at all; in fact, your analysis helped me to clarify my own thoughts. Thank you so much for letting us know what worked for you and what didn't.
At some point, we should do a reread of "Life During Wartime." It's been more than four years and now that it's mostly up at AO3, I'm really tempted.