Comments | xf_book_club: Story 222: "The Laws of Coming and Going" by Buckingham

wendelah1 in xf_book_club

Story 222: "The Laws of Coming and Going" by Buckingham

Feb 05, 2013 23:43

I love this story. I love everything Buckingham has written, so I don't know why we have only done one of her stories. This fic is set during season eight, sometime after "Dead Alive." Summary: Life after death.

"Tell me again," he says. His voice sounds coarse and needy even to his own ears, but somehow he's unashamed. "Please ( Read more... )

season 8, post episode, pg, msr

Comments 20

xphileangel February 6 2013, 15:49:00 UTC

Perfect for a day home with the flu. I adore her work as well great rec, and yes, feedback is always a good idea.

wendelah1 February 14 2013, 00:59:49 UTC

I hope you are feeling better now and that you enjoyed the story.

jouissant February 6 2013, 20:19:56 UTC

Oh, this made my heart hurt. In a good way. Kind of.

wendelah1 February 14 2013, 01:01:53 UTC

It's a hard time in canon, for Mulder and Scully. Those last two seasons. Yikes.

I just reread the story (this week has crazy for me) and wanted to add that the reason for me that this hurts so much is that we already know what's coming for them.

He wants to tell that he's stayed away
because he couldn't stand leaving again, couldn't stand losing her one more
time. He wants to tell her that he finally realizes where it is he does fit -
with her, anywhere with her. He wants to hold her, tell her that it's all going
to be all right, that she doesn't have to be afraid anymore, that he'll protect
her from anyone or thing that tries to lay a hand on her or the baby.

Mulder is filled with hope, which makes reading those lines so heart-breaking. The next thing we know, he's gone again. And then they lose William. And then they lose everything--except each other.

mogster495 February 7 2013, 02:14:09 UTC

What a great season 8 story. I personally don't like anything after season 7 (fanfic or actual show) but this was really great. Mostly because I like it when writers write Mulder like he is... kind of an asshole. In most msr he is sweet and always thinking of Scully and pining for her, but we know that ain't really Mulder. Mulder acts like an jerk on regular occasion, and he is not easy to love. That's not to say he doesn't love Scully, but he's defiantly not some over the top romantic that we sometimes wish he was.
"The Laws of Coming and Going" addresses Mulder's coming back to the world and trying to find his place. It's easy to mistake his actions for bitterness and indifference, but when we really look at what he does we find that he is trying to adjust to his new life.
I still don't like anything after Requiem. I don't know if others feel this way, but I wish they would have ended the series there.

wendelah1 February 15 2013, 16:39:20 UTC

It is a great season 8 story, one of my favorites along with Revely's "The Unfinished Universe." I might even like this story better because it follows canon more closely ( ... )

xphileangel February 17 2013, 23:26:27 UTC

what you said.....yes! I could just gag on some of the stuff that is out right now....and Buckingham does avoid that. And ITA Mulder is Mulderish always.

mementox February 8 2013, 09:43:41 UTC

I liked this, it was so true-to-character for Mulder.

This part made me sad:

"Head thrown back, he imagines that Scully will return from the bathroom her old self - no pregnant stomach, no weepy eyes, no mournful smile - and they'll get into his car to drive, drive, drive, in pursuit of some dark mystery or another. "

... because that's exactly what I wanted in seasons 8/9 :(

wendelah1 February 15 2013, 16:47:00 UTC

It does feel very in character for Mulder, doesn't it? I think Buckingham really gets Mulder. I'm less convinced by her Scully, but then we only see her through Mulder's eyes in this, and he is clearly an unreliable narrator.

... because that's exactly what I wanted in seasons 8/9 :(

I wasn't happy with the direction the show went in during the last two seasons. They had a chance to make it right with the second movie and completely blew it. The writers never give us Mulder and Scully as true partners again. The shippers get their wish; the series goes down the drain.

My only consolation is that bad canon makes for good fanfiction.

mementox February 15 2013, 20:46:56 UTC

"The writers never gave us Mulder and Scully as true partners again ( ... )

wendelah1 February 15 2013, 21:50:42 UTC

YES, exactly. I considered myself a shipper and always wanted them together, but I was also a preteen and teenager at the time (and personally in love with DD, lol). Now that I'm an adult, if I could go back and change the show, I don't even know if I would have been a "shipper" in the widely understood definition of the word.. I really like M&S as partners, riding in the car chasing monsters, with the UST and banter that came with it. They're so much MORE than just a romantic couple... the kisses in Existence and The Truth almost felt cheap and out of character. I almost think CC didn't realize what a perfect partnership he had created, and then you add the crazy chemistry DD and GA have and he just didn't know what to do with it.This comes very close to how I feel, although I think I was fine with the kissing by the eighth season. A canon ship is a canon ship. And the characters had been through so much together. I didn't want them to end up alone, you know ( ... )

Thread 6

ext_885971 February 12 2013, 12:27:44 UTC

I really enjoyed that one too, I like the darker fics. So many XF fanfics are light, fluffy pieces (and I do love those too) but the show was so much darker and more twisted than that, and so were were Mulder & Scully, especially by the end. Those were two deeply damaged people and it's good to see a fic that reflects that part of them without turning them into deranged sociopaths.

wendelah1 February 15 2013, 16:58:08 UTC

I try to present a balance here. I wouldn't say I prefer one type of fanfic over the other. My favorite stories have elements of comedy and tragedy in them, in the same way that the series does. Kel's writing is the best example of that, imho.

I understand the impulse to write them as deranged psychopaths. Scully does crazy stuff but only when she's under the influence of the Consortium. But Mulder does stuff that should get him kicked out of the FBI, if not committed to a mental institution, and on a fairly regular basis.

estella_c February 18 2013, 15:23:04 UTC

You're talking about Paper Hearts!

wendelah1 February 18 2013, 15:41:07 UTC

Man, I hate that episode. I couldn't even finish it the last time I tried, I got so angry at Mulder. That's Mulder at his absolute monomaniacal worst, but there are plenty of other episodes where his behavior is dangerous, illegal and/or crazy. "Deep Throat," "Demons," and "Fallen Angel" are three more that come readily to mind. The actual list is far longer.