Story 83: "The Common Fate of All Things Rare" by Scarlet Baldy and Aloysia Virgata
Ever wonder what happened between the silence of Never Again and the flowers from Memento Mori? Ever wonder if Scully's night with Ed Jerse affected her relationship with Mulder in any way? Ever wonder what pushed Scully to go to the hospital and find out about her cancer in the first place? Ever wonder how her illness might have affected her work
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What worked for me:
1. Scully. I could see her in this, and I could hear her voice.
2. The case itself. Casefiles are hard. Very few crime novels or TV shows really stand up to examination, and I don't expect them to. It's always a stretch to make the clues reveal themselves in a way that's logical and also serves the narrative. The Common Fate of All Things Rare handled it well enough that I didn't find myself muttering to myself and closing the page.
Where I had trouble:
1. The balance of casefile against the relationship issues. The pacing of the two resolutions.
2. Mulder's inner voice. It's simply a matter of taste, but I prefer Mulder less cute and less wordy.
3. Jack Wickham. Actually, I'm on the fence about this guy. I liked the character, although I felt like I missed a step when he went from being aggressively obnoxious to someone M&S could work with and even consider as a potential Scully-consort. I was a little disappointed when his intentions to Scully became more earnest, because that's so common in fanfic. Oddly, I think this would have worked fine on screen, with the right actor.
4. The serial killer. Not your fault, but they've worn out their welcome with me.
Hope I haven't been too rude, Ms. SB. Please know that I only comment about stories that are worth it. (Argh--the more I write the more egotistical I sound. All right, I admit it. It is all about me.
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1. The best compliment an author can hear, when we get the voice right. Thank you.
2. The case was hard to create, so I'm glad it worked for you.
1. Could you explain what you found wrong about the pacing? It would be very helpful.
2. Yes. Our Mulder is a smartass, we'll grant you that. *laughs*
3. Interesting. And you maybe right, we could have made the transition smoother. I think I can speak for Aloysia and say we became rather fond of Wickham, which is why he became one of the good guys. Plus Mulder so rarely get on well with other male characters in fanfic we wanted to show these two actually get along instead of yet another territorial alpha male pissing contest.
4. I know, the serial killer is cliche, but we're both great fans of The Silence Of The Lambs and make no apology for it. *grins*
I really, really appreciate your comments, if this is you being rude, please abuse us at will!
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The balance of casefile against the relationship issues. The pacing of the two resolutions..
Explaining is not my strongpoint, unfortunately. Basically, though, the case toddled along until the relationship stuff was sorted out, and then it unraveled so that Mulder could go home to Scully.
I didn't mind that the Amazon reference was missed, but surely they would have noticed that the bodies were posed. How could venison in the stomach contents fail to suggest a hunter?
The characters themselves were too invested in the M/S relationship, under the circumstances, especially Wickham.
I know, the serial killer is cliche, but we're both great fans of The Silence Of The Lambs and make no apology for it. *grins*
Who doesn't love Silence of the Lambs? Nevertheless, to me there's an advantage in keeping things simple. Too much ritual can strain credibility and throw the reader out of the story.
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I will also confirm that even when she reads the fic she usually doesn't comment here (sob) but I am always happy to see it when she does.:D
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