The reveal is so subtle, and it sneaks up on you so slowly. I love the superficial normality of it... the minivan, the cupholders, all of the baby things. And then Scully's mood... at first you think that she's just having an off day, maybe she has postpartum depression, and then you wonder. The author says that she's familiar with the roads that Mulder and Scully are driving, and that shows.
One of my favourite things about the story is the way that it recapitulates all of the places that Mulder and Scully have visited over the years, traveling the journey in reverse. It shows up how far they have come, how much things have changed and how much they've remained the same. All that they've lost and all that they've gained. The power of this story comes from how difficult those two things are to disentangle.
And yes, I liked the music. It is used to good effect. Usually songfics are bad either because the music is intrusive or because the author has imposed their own tastes on the characters. (No, I don't think M&S would listen to Nickelback, thanks.) In this case, it definitely reinforces the themes rather than distracting from them. "Free Bird" certainly makes a lot of sense. Any mention of the Smiths gets me on board, although "How Soon Is Now" wouldn't have been my first choice. And "I Can See Clearly Now"... perfect. I could see the scene.
Thank you. I think this might now be my favorite of her stories and I loved "America's Games." This one just captured me from the summary right on through. I didn't hear a false note, although she is teasing us a little bit with the heredity is spooky line. Since the show did it all the time, I forgave her. I thought the song choices were perfect, too. I could completely see this scene unfolding as I read it. That is always the goal, but it is harder to do than one might think, isn't it?
The reveal is so subtle, and it sneaks up on you so slowly. I love the superficial normality of it... the minivan, the cupholders, all of the baby things. And then Scully's mood... at first you think that she's just having an off day, maybe she has postpartum depression, and then you wonder. The author says that she's familiar with the roads that Mulder and Scully are driving, and that shows.
One of my favourite things about the story is the way that it recapitulates all of the places that Mulder and Scully have visited over the years, traveling the journey in reverse. It shows up how far they have come, how much things have changed and how much they've remained the same. All that they've lost and all that they've gained. The power of this story comes from how difficult those two things are to disentangle.
And yes, I liked the music. It is used to good effect. Usually songfics are bad either because the music is intrusive or because the author has imposed their own tastes on the characters. (No, I don't think M&S would listen to Nickelback, thanks.) In this case, it definitely reinforces the themes rather than distracting from them. "Free Bird" certainly makes a lot of sense. Any mention of the Smiths gets me on board, although "How Soon Is Now" wouldn't have been my first choice. And "I Can See Clearly Now"... perfect. I could see the scene.
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