Story 259: "The Ghost of You" by Julie Fortune

[wendelah1]

Julie Fortune's "The Ghost of You" is a casefic that is also an X-File, and a very creepy one, too. At only a little over 10,000 words, it's less daunting than some of the other fics sitting in the nomination post. In structure, it reminds me very much of the much earlier fic by Jane Mortimer, "The Sin Eater." Mortimer's fic might even have

Comments

[infinitlight]

I enjoyed this. I usually like the idea behind stories that are structured in a similar way to an episode of the show - I say "the idea behind" that kind of story because I have read a lot of stories like that, that leave me kind of unsatisfied. I think this is because many of those stories rely solely on plot and don't explore the characters much. I think I'm a "character" person over a "plot" person, although I prefer to have both, one feeding from the other. I thought this story was a pretty good combination of the two without being too mired down in character detail.

I always appreciate shorter stories because it means I can usually comment in a reasonably timely fashion, but now I'm going to contradict that by saying I think The Ghost of You should have been longer! I liked the spooky feel of it but I think the impact of the scary reveal would have been bigger if the story had spent a little more time sitting with it.

[wendelah1]

I thought it was a good mix of plot and character, too.

I always appreciate shorter stories because it means I can usually comment in a reasonably timely fashion, but now I'm going to contradict that by saying I think The Ghost of You should have been longer! I liked the spooky feel of it but I think the impact of the scary reveal would have been bigger if the story had spent a little more time sitting with it.I finally went back to the story and reread it. I can't figure out where I'd add words. They find out that the body is her, which flips them back in time but they're aware of it this time--maybe because they're together? I think if Fortune added anything it would have to be plot. Mulder and Scully could spend more time investigating what's causing the time slips. But I think more plot would slow the momentum and diminish the emotional trajectory. I remember feeling a little cheated by the ending because in order to save them both, it resets everything again. It's a tricky structure to work with, repeating day stories. Usually

[infinitlight]

The story reset is really commonly used in this kind of story I think in part because it allows the stakes to be higher within the time loop. Terrible things can happen, characters can die, but they'll be safe in the end because the timeline will reset.

They could have investigated more (although I don't necessarily see the need for a hard sci-fi explanation - it's XF, sometimes weird things happen because this is a weird universe and it's not necessarily why or how it happens that is interesting), or there could have been more character reflection. Don't get me wrong, I liked that the story read fast, but I think I'm missing emotional resonance. Was anyone truly upset?

[wendelah1]

It was several years ago but the first time through, I felt emotional--shocked, stricken. I enjoyed reading it again because I enjoyed puzzling out the structure. Reading fanfiction, I bring so many emotional connections from canon that I get uncomfortable if authors spell out what the characters are feeling in much detail. But, my betas are always telling me the opposite so I guess I'm a freak. As an aside, it's hard for me write my characters' emotions in stories and I'm usually a wreck afterward.

[kate_11111]

I feel awful going into super-critical mode, but this story didn’t work for me at all. To me, the characters seemed dumbed down and their actions, thoughts and dialogue read like a cop-themed airport paperback (and at times didn’t even make sense.) The story itself was a bit all over the place - it had elements of intrigue, but didn’t have much structure or resolution. Why were there time-shifts and blue lights dropping people from the sky? Why was the course of space-time only corrected after the characters slept together? (That especially seemed contrived. As an aside, the sex-scene was cringe-worthy, in that it wasn’t honest to the characters’ relationship, and also inappropriate in the context of the story.) Anyway, we’re left to guess. The plot seemed an excuse for the characters to hook up, and wasn’t really fleshed out beyond that. It’s a shame, because a boneless body, time-shifts and ghosts are all promising premises. I know it’s meant to be a short, light read, and it was, but I just didn’t feel like there was much

[wendelah1]

No need to apologize. We like it when people disagree here. If everyone loved everything there would be no point to discussing the story.

I'm going to have to print the story out to really look at it critically. Okay, I'm back.

This is a Groundhog Day story. It's kind of like the episode, "Monday"? The structure is tricky, and circular. The day is repeating, with slightly different outcomes. She's playing with that, bringing us in at different parts of the day instead of taking us back to the beginning each time it resets. This creates suspense and mystery. The reader is supposed to be confused at first.

There isn't always an answer given to the question of why time is resetting itself. It's just a convention of this kind of story. We don't ever find out the why in "Monday" or in Groundhog Day, for that matter. It just does--until something happens and it doesn't

[infinitlight]

Super-critical mode is good! I often find it hard to clearly discuss what I didn't like about stories, but I think it's important if you want to know what makes a good story good (and I do).

I mentioned above I don't always need solid scientific explanations for weird goings on, but maybe some discussion of it would have helped the story become more solid. I enjoyed reading it but was kind of left hungry at the end, I think.

[estella_c]

I've read this, but must reread! Fortune is fabulous. Her "Fata Morgana" is one of the most subtle yet heart-stopping horror stories in our field.

[wendelah1]

I hope you find the time to read and comment. You are missed.

The Ghost of You

[ext_3277448]

Hiya, I'm new here. Not new to fan fiction in general, but to X-Files, specifically. All this time... I never knew what great chemistry Mulder and Scully have! I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and thought that for the most part the author stayed true to the characters (certainly compared to some other fics I've read). I'm always impressed when someone can write an original x-File because all of my creative energy goes into imagining moments between Mulder and Scully. Suggestions on what to read next are welcome and appreciated!

Re: The Ghost of You

[wendelah1]

Welcome to the fandom, and to the bookclub. If you liked "The Ghost of You," I'd recommend "Fata Morgana," at her waybacked site. For another x-file, I just reread Alloway's "Every Sparrow Falls," which is at Gossamer.

There is an x-file tag here if that helps. All of the fics here are supposed to be tagged by genre, rating and season. crack_van has hundreds of recs for The X-Files under the x-files tag in many different genres.

Happy reading.

I'm always impressed by people who can write a casefile that's also an x-file. They are far too rare.

RE: Re: The Ghost of You

[ext_3277448]

Thanks! I'm not going to lie though, I love #smut most of all.

Have you read #TheEleventhHour ? The beginning of that story was so emotional, it gave me chills. I've thought about rewriting the ending, though, because I'm not really a fan of AU stories. Obviously I'd need the author's permission, and I don't intend any disrespect.

Re: The Ghost of You

[wendelah1]

"The Eleventh Hour"? Is that the fic where Mulder goes back in time, Scully's a teenage virgin and there are strawberries...involved?

Thanks! I'm not going to lie though, I love #smut most of all.

I'm not the best source for that, but try the NC-17 tag? We don't read much PWP here. There was a fun TXF porn battle that ran for a couple of years. xf_pornbattle.

You might like this fic: http://melissaisdown.livejournal.com/50633.html

It was nominated but I decided it wasn't suitable for a discussion group.

[estella_c]

Hi there. Those who remember my attitudes--been absent a while--will know that I prefer brief and tight and understated prose to its opposite. I really like this fic, and part of that is that it doesn't waste time with over-explanation

[wendelah1]

It's giving away the plot if I tell her the name of the Syntax6 fic. If she's reading through the fics here, she'll find it.

As for the sex itself: pretty overheated and overspecific. But this dates from the days when CC the virginal prohibited what we were all thinking about, so I suppose it served a purpose.

There are very few sex scenes in fanfic (or litfic) that are worth reading imho. This one seemed servicable enough. It had better be "over-heated"; otherwise how is it going to reset the timeline? *g*

I would have felt fine about a fade to black but I'm not the average fanfic reader.

[estella_c]

You are right. Big Mouth strikes again. Forget all about the spoiler and you will be pleasantly surprised when you meet again.

[ext_3277448]

Noted, thanks!

I just read "The Other Man" by Jess Mabe but I did not like that one. It was an emotional roller-coaster, and I didn't know what side to align to until the very end.