Story 226: "we are the half-destroyed instruments that once held to a course" by Aphrodite_mine

[lyryk]

Thanks to infinitlight for nominating this one!

Written for rarewomen 2013, we are the half-destroyed instruments that once held to a course, 2450 words, is an AU in which Fox was abducted as a child and Samantha joined the FBI. It's gen-fic with some implied femslash.

Author's summary: A call from Agent Reyes brings partners Mulder and Scully down South where they

Comments

[lyryk]

Thank ~you for the fic! :-)

[infinitlight]

Ha, I had to google the poem from the title--"Diving Into The Wreck" by Adrienne Rich. (I can't remember if you can post links here without being screened--anyway, it's easy enough to google.) I enjoyed reading the poem which has a similar feel to the story--dreamlike, a little unsettling.

I liked how the relationships worked in this story--there's that implication that Reyes and Samantha are more than friends, and there's a burgeoning friendliness between Scully and Reyes. I like stories that are observant of the characters--the characters, after all, are why I'm still interested in thinking about and reading about this show, all these years after I first found it.

And I always appreciate it when writers try to do something a little bit different. "we are the half-destroyed..." has an odd, pleasant rhythm of snapshots of the characters, rather than a plain linear story. I'll be interested to hear what other readers think of it.

[lyryk]

I really liked the 'snapshot' feel of the fic too, and the quiet, understated characterisation. Some really beautiful writing here. :-) Also, I love how spectacularly this one passes the Bechdel test!

(I'll happily unscreen any comments with links if they happen to get screened!)

[mogster495]

Is there more to this? I really enjoyed it. I like AU stories more and more, especially when they involve Samantha. She is such a weak character in the series, but in AU's she has real potential.
I want to read it again before I comment more. But what I read was excellent and I wish there was more to the story. The vignette is nice but this AU requires further investigation...

[lyryk]

I loved the AU premise that the fic is based on. And I agree, AU!Samantha can be wonderful! Let's hope aphrodite_mine is inspired to write more of her. :-)

[wendelah1]

I agree. This story should be expanded. It feels like a beginning to a longer fic rather than a vignette. I think the vignette form works fine within canon, where the reader can fill in the missing details. But when you get into AU territory, I think a longer form works better.

She ends the story too abruptly. I'm sorry, but that's not an ending. Nothing is resolved. The monster isn't found. The meaning of Scully's dream isn't explored, even though there is a hint that Monica would like to hear it, Scully never gets a chance to explain it, and Scully wading into a swamp doesn't do it for me. There are some good metaphors floating about but they need the weight of a finished plot arc to make them fully resonant.

I love the potential of the fic: the interaction of the three women is fascinating. Who are Sam and Monica to one another? What is Sam to Scully? Clearly not just a partner. But it's all too vague and unresolved for my taste.

[bmerb]

I liked this, but in addition to it feeling abruptly unfinished I feel JD it hard to believe that after 6-7 years of partnership (or did I get the timeline wrong?) Scully would not have deduced the sexual orientation of her partner. Or maybe I misread Scully's shock at various points in this story. I DID like it though!