Story 201: "Sandcastles for Pele" by JL

[amyhit]

Of all the XF fanfic authors I can call to mind, I tend to think of JL (the artist previously known as Jamie Lyn) as the one whose writing has undergone the greatest transformation over the years. Even accounting for the fact that her fics were posted over an almost ten year period, there’s still a remarkable transformation in her work, from the

Comments

[wendelah1]

My main issue with this story, besides the "resolution" of the William plotline, are the conflicts with canon. The passage where he recalls their meetings, I simply don't see when or how it could have happened. The only time they were separated was during season two. Scully was at Quantico, the Marine base in Virginia, teaching. Mulder was working at FBI headquarters in downtown Washington DC. I think it's fine to write little fill-in scenes; in fact, I like them. But this one doesn't work, because it doesn't fit with existing canon.

There is another canon error, a more serious one.

Mulder had a harsh, quick flash to a time when Scully had
gone missing; he had felt like a man left behind, the
remaining half of a love unrequited. He'd gone to purchase
a headstone for her, filled out all the forms, entered her
name in the tiny blank boxes. Name of deceased: D-a-n-a S-
c-u-l-l-y. No. Not again. Not ever again.

That never happened. This is what happened instead.

(We see Mrs. Scully and Mulder are sitting at a table.)
MULDER: It’s too soon, Mrs. Scully. We can’t give up.
MARGARET SCULLY: That day in the woods, I felt for my daughter. But at this moment, I know how my daughter felt.
(The door opens and Mrs. Scully stands up. A man walks in carrying something. She walks over and he lifts the cover off. Mulder walks over, looks at it, and turns away. It is a tombstone, and it reads:
" = DANA KATHERINE
======= SCULLY
= 1964--------1994
= LOVING DAUGHTER & FRIEND
"The Spirit is the Truth." JOHN 5:07")

Mulder didn't buy her headstone. Her mother did. He didn't fill in the forms. Her mother did, as her next-of-kin. Mulder told her mother it was too soon, saying, "We can't give up," which was the theme of the episode JL's scene references, that of all of the people who were close to Scully, only Mulder refused to give up. You could make that scene work for you, and have it fit into this story better than what JL made up instead. I just wish she'd done the research, looked at the transcript at least. She goes to a lot of trouble to write these little flashbacks and sprinkle them throughout the story. Instead of enhancing it, they end up being a distraction.

Probably if I'd liked this story, I'd be more forgiving of its lapses.

[infinitlight]

I originally thought the author had rewritten that piece of history for a specific purpose--i.e. that SfP was going to turn out to be an AU, for some reason that was important to the story. I guess she just forgot how the gravestone thing went, although I'd argue that that piece of canon is pretty important in understanding who Mulder is.

I just started reading "Laws of Motion" and in Mulder's POV, syntax6 reflects on the people that have tried to make Mulder say goodbye to Scully and how he feels incapable of doing so. This really resonated with me (syntax6 noted the fact that they never say goodbye to each other on the phone), I thought "yeah, that's Mulder" in a way that didn't come through in the scene in SfP.

[wendelah1]

I just started reading "Laws of Motion" and in Mulder's POV, syntax6 reflects on the people that have tried to make Mulder say goodbye to Scully and how he feels incapable of doing so. This really resonated with me (syntax6 noted the fact that they never say goodbye to each other on the phone), I thought "yeah, that's Mulder" in a way that didn't come through in the scene in SfP.

Clearly I think that piece of canon is important, too, since I included in a fic of my own. I think it's a crucial element of Mulder's character that he won't give up, and a crucial factor in their partnership for Scully! He is the only one who won't pull the plug during "One Breath," he makes "a deal with the devil" for a cure for her cancer, he goes to Antarctica to save her. Plus, why on earth would he be the one purchasing the headstone? They aren't married or even together as a couple. Her mother is her next of kin. That just doesn't make sense. To make an au, you can't just change one element. You have to change everything that relates to what you are altering about canon. Maybe if they had been involved? But would she even have been abducted if that were the case, or for the same reason, is the kind of thinking that goes along with an au. No, I think this was just a blooper. It's just a blooper I really dislike.

I agree with you, Mulder in Syntax6's fic is much more "my Mulder," and UI and LoM are two of the best examples of her work in that regard. Everything he does isn't right but it is always consistent with his character, as I see him anyway. One of the reasons I decided to read LoM next is because of the contrast between it and this fic. Syntax changes the date for Scully's abduction, putting it several months earlier ( but then 1013 gets it wrong, too, later in the series). And she was writing an au which allowed her to take more liberties with canon, and the date change in UI was important for the sequel, as you will see.