Story 110: "Gutless" by Magdeleine

[wendelah1]

Yep, this is the one with the talking parrot, a pretty good casefile, and Scully having "Mulder Awareness Days." The author refers to the latter as Uber-UST in her summary. I think the term "parrotfic," not to be confused with parrotfic, might have originated here. "I mean why read babyfic when you can read parrotfic, right?" Truer words were never spoken, er, written, Autumn. There is a talking parrot in a Syntax6 story that I bet is a little shout-out to "Gutless." At least, I think it is a parrot.

If you don't find this to your taste, try "Bonemeal," which is a very different kind of story. You can find it on her author's page at Gossamer, along with "Gutless" broken into smaller bites. "Bonemeal" deserves its own discussion, but it's so short, I doubt we'll ever do it formally. If anyone knows if this writer changed fandoms, has a different email address, and is perchance still around somewhere, please let us know. Thanks to an anonymouse, you can go leave Magdeleine comments on her story at Archive of Our Own. You can read her fic for The Office there, too.

This story was suggested by amyhit as being one that would generate discussion. I guess it's time to read it and find out.

"Gutless"

Upcoming attractions: "Fathoms Five" by Penumbra, "Melancholia" by Jeylan, and "This House is Burning" by Tesla. If you don't like those, you can always go post your own suggestions at the nominations post.

Comments

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

Yep, I'm of the "over the top" school of thought. Which might have been predicted. I so often say the same things about fics that disagree with me: too long, too much describing of emotional states, too purple. All of which apply here.

By "purple," I refer too "Relief hit like a tsunami, and she sagged against the door in its wake." This because a door stuck and Scully wouldn't have to face Mulder in a sweaty nighty. Multiply that by thousands of inappropriate metaphors.

I remember enjoying Gutless back in the day, and I kind of envy the group enthusiasm that swept the fans. But the reread was tiring. Whatever the plot rationale, this felt a lot closer to Scullytorture than UST, and I'm not into that.

In my experience, in real life, mutual physical attraction is pretty quickly recognized. Poor Fox Mulder: psychologist, investigator, profiler, clueless. That moment when he observes Scully trying not to tear his clothes off and diagnoses the flu is a pretty good joke. But Wendy, I think that a filmed version would get more and different laughs than intended.

Magdeleine is capable of excellent writing. Bonemeal is a knockout. And I still like the parrot (how not?) and the concept of "Mulder Awareness Day." I'd welcome their use in a lighter context, the happier context they seemed to promise.

[wendelah1]

The plot would require serious revision to be turned into an episode. You'd have to throw out nearly the entire Uber-UST plot thread to begin with, and without it, you'd need a new "B" plot, which would necessitate a different ending. Maybe the Uber-UST is really the "A" plot. Maybe the two plots are so closely entwined that by the ending, they nearly climax simultaneously. Sorry.

Scully torture? It skirts the line for awhile, and then crosses over, never to return. If I could take this fic seriously for long enough, I might get mad about it. You know I don't like stories that torture their characters either. But here, hasn't Scully been effectively replaced by the Fangirls/readers/writers? It sounds like from up thread, and from remarks made in my journal, that poor Magdeleine had to run the gauntlet to even get this posted. No wonder it took her a whole year, with the chorus of listmates hounding her, all in good fun, to write MSR smut. I think we have to give her credit for refusing to write that ending and instead giving us one that at least resets the UST back to levels more nearly approaching what I saw on screen.

This story did make me laugh out loud in several places. It also made me want to get out the red pencil.

Maybe the script could keep the parrot? I have this theory formulating about the parrot, about how it's the elephant in the room, representing the attraction that M&S feel that they can't acknowledge or act on. This works okay up until the moment Scully shoots the parrot, leaving me with nothing but dead parrot jokes to write about.

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

Maybe the Uber-UST is really the "A" plot. Maybe the two plots are so closely entwined that by the ending, they nearly climax simultaneously. Sorry.

Ha! i think it was a deserved joke.

But here, hasn't Scully been effectively replaced by the Fangirls/readers/writers?

you really don't think this characterizations is anywhere near the mark? one of the things i find most fascinating about this fic is that for the most part the scully characterization doesn't suck. her characterization is definitely stretched by the circumstances, but i find the way scully reacts to the circumstances quite in character, on the whole. remembering, naturally, that MOST of the UST isn't part of scully herself, but something forced on her by the supernatural element. it's only the way she deals with the UST that can legitimately be deemed part of her character.

[wendelah1]

I agree with you, after rereading it again. Scully and Mulder both stay remarkably in character, all things considered.

I had to post this thought before I forgot I thunk it

[wendelah1]

Not that it's all that interesting on further reflection.

You know, I think the bits of purple prose rather fit the spirit of the thing, which I think was better suited to the readership back in the heady, hormonally-charged atmosphere surrounding the show in its heyday, with The David Duchovny Estrogen Brigade, those Mulder Clones that people could send for, and so on.

I'm still working on my great unifying Theory of Parrotfic.

Re: I had to post this thought before I forgot I thunk it

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

It's funny you should say, because I know I liked this better at one time. It's possible that the whole overheated phenomenon was floating on rowdy fan response, almost as if it had been posted in some kind of feminist strip club while beer was being chugged. It was a gestalt. (Gotta look that up again.)

Sober, we're left with a whole bunch of rather embarrassing morning-after metaphors that simply can't recreate the experience: beads and sequins and feathers all over the floor.

Sigh. Back to the dead parrot.

As for Scully behaving ooc, what was that about her searching for sleep medication? As a doctor she presumably has access to some strong stuff which she wisely doesn't take often, and yet she's ready to take a pill *when she has an autopsy scheduled in like three hours*. This may seem a petty point to some, but not to an insomniac. (Her sleep-deprivation was part of the Scullytorture. Don't hurt her like that!)