Alabaster Stones

[aloysiavirgata]

She hates the men for Emily, for long-lost Samantha Mulder, for her sister, and-most of all-for igniting this cold, consuming fire inside her. She feels a pang for the self-assured girl who went to Oregon, for her bad suits and worse hair. For all of the things she did not have to believe.

Scully smoothes her hand over the tangled blond bangs

Comments

[elliestories]

This was so poignant and heartbreaking, because it seems so possible.

[aloysiavirgata]

Thank you very much! The Emily arc upsets me in particular because she has every choice taken away from her at every turn. But I think a resolution like this would give them both some dignity.

[amyhit]

She wants to believe that somewhere a splintered-off universe exists where she and Emily are whole. But the details of it are indistinct and while a laughing Emily runs through a sprinkler in her mind's eye, she herself remains pale and tailored at the periphery, unchanging across all dimensions. She can't decide if this is revelatory or whether her imagination is merely stunted from over-pruningthis is such a fabulous bit of characterization. i love how as a reader i can read it and resonate with it on a meta level - because that's how we feel about scully - but at the same time there's nothing 'not scully' in the line; just because there's a meta element to it doesn't mean it feels like you're talking to us. it just feels like scully, through and through. and you sum up the tragedy, the travesty, of the Emily arc so well -- the irrevocable damage that's been done

[aloysiavirgata]

I always love feedback from you, because it is so generous and well thought out. And I have to say also that you are, in a way, responsible for this story. When you posted "Girl In The War" I got it into my head that I really wanted to write a Five Times type piece about the girls in the war of the XF universe. I had planned CSM/Cassandra, Bill Mulder/Samantha Mulder, Krycek/Marita, Mulder/Scully, and then this last one. But the first four wouldn't gel for me, so I decided to just make the last section a standalone.

And that last bit put such a smile on my face, thank you. I always like to have a successful coda to a story.

[colebaltblue]

This is absolutely beautiful and I'm so glad I finally read it. I think you captured Scully perfectly here. She's so vulnerable and brave and scared at the same time. Perfect, absolutely perfect. Welcome back, Aloysia :)

[aloysiavirgata]

I know it was rather mournful, but I wanted to give Scully some control over this situation, and I'm so pleased that you enjoyed it. Thank you.