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

Unifying Theory Part 2

[wendelah1]

She got herself moving with the old trick of suppressing her knowledge of cause and effect-- her mind was completely wrapped up in the goal of the door, unlocking the door, opening the door, but she refused to think about what would come through the newly-opened door. If she thought about facing Mulder with her face flushed red and her hair standing up, smelling of sweat and dream-induced arousal--

She ignored it. She walked.

The shakes hit her halfway across the floor, limbs trembling uncontrollably, feet placed unsteadily in a random forward path; lo, behold the revenge of a sleep-deprived body for a bare twenty or thirty minutes of sleep after pacing the floor for hours and hours. She fumbled the lock open with ravaged hands and tugged at the doorknob.

The door wouldn't open.

Relief hit like a tsunami, and she sagged against the door in its wake. Oh thank God, she didn't have to look at him. She didn't have to let him see her like this. Her mindless litany of thanksgiving was the closest to real prayer that she'd come in weeks: thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God. She lay her forearm against the blood-warm wood and pressed her forehead to it.

The knob turned by itself beneath her palm in a stealthy caress, whispering with soft metallic friction as the latch slid all the way open. There was a long pause, and then the knob turned back; somehow she knew, even after the movement ceased, that Mulder's hand was still on the knob on the opposite side. "Scully, are you all right?" he asked in a low voice.

"The door's stuck," she admitted, torn between absurd pride and equally absurd guilt. The condition of the door was most likely due to the fact that some mental giant had carefully painted both the door and the frame with semi-gloss paint that had, under these conditions of high humidity, miraculously transformed into carpenter's glue. Any efforts of her own, Herculean as they seemed inside her own head, were in fact unimportant and unworthy of the self-congratulatory cartwheels she wanted to turn.

"Did you unlock it?" Mulder asked, sounding skeptical.

"Of course." Her voice came out high-pitched and bitchy instead of the ringing authoritative tone she'd meant to access. Damn. She flushed with anger or humiliation -- at this point, it was impossible to distinguish between them.

"Hang on." A meaty thunk jarred the door under Scully's hand, unmistakably Mulder ramming against it with his shoulder. He tried again. The door was unimpressed with the macho man routine and remained epoxied in place.

She stepped in before he battered himself senseless against the stubborn wood. "Mulder, don't. If it's jammed this badly, you'll just damage the door frame." Silence from the other side, tacit agreement. "Just... just talk to me through the door."

The jammed door is a clear symbol for their relationship being stuck. Doors are also a Freudian symbol for the female genitals (yawn). She's not ready for him to know how much she wants him. Is the language getting a little over the top? Maybe, but you can't dial it back too much without losing some of the urgency.

After her Tochok-enhanced erotic dream is interrupted, Scully awakens to the light (woot! more symbolism!), has a Mulderlike flash of insight, and saves Mulder's ass by shooting the Tochok. Not surprisingly, Mulder now finds the connecting door opens easily enough. And then we get the great ending scene. I adore the ending.

As mentioned by amyhit, Mulder and Scully seem surprisingly like themselves, given what they both (with Scully bearing the brunt of it) have to go through by the end. I attribute this to the excellent dialogue, which sounded so much like them that it could have been lifted from the show. I could give examples but really, pick a page.

Despite the extended Scully torture( which reminds me of a line from A Bitter Taste on the Tongue by Jane Mortimer: "Your honor, he abused me with extended foreplay."), "Gutless" was written with obvious care and love for the series and all of the characters, even Guido. Especially Guido. Poor Guido. From the lurid scenes of violence at the beginning to the tender moments between Mulder and Scully at the end, "Gutless" is truly one of the most memorable stories I've read in this fandom.

Re: Unifying Theory Part 2

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

Wendy, I admire and respect this unifying theory. I very much liked your pointing out of the door symbolism. I've never had a problem with the structure of this fic or anything inauthentic about the casefile. I even liked some of the imagery and appreciated the flashes of wit.

My problem is that I never really got far enough to be comparably analytical. I simply disliked the prose cumulatively and finally intensely. This is not a matter of selling the ust; I understand that the psychosexual interference was a major point and needed emphasis. It's a matter of the writing itself. Too many images, metaphors, similes, adjectives, adverbs. This did not for me enhance the intensity of the experience. It rather made it ludicrous. It turned silly, and once one starts laughing there's no return.

I think for some readers "more is better," in that the inner math for selling a feeling through repetition works. I guess I'm of the "less is more" persuasion. An exaggerated line like "Scully could practically feel the man reaching out for her, grasping for the control panel in her psyche that would send her spinning down to crash-land in his bed" makes me feel that verbal kudzu is closing around my throat.

Wasn't this fic originally a wip? It has all the indicators of arriving in impatiently awaited sections. That probably worked in its favor, since readers would require or at least tolerate repetition and blunt emphasis.

Taking it in in one big push was not, for me, a pleasant experience.

Re: Unifying Theory Part 2

[wendelah1]

I have no idea if this was a wip. It shows all the indicators of being posted by someone in love with the show and the UST. Did you notice that every single woman who shows up in the story, except for Amber and the young nurse at the mental hospital, is lusting for Mulder and casting knowing glances at Scully. Uh, huh. Sure, you're not sleeping with him. Wink, wink. Nod, nod. It's hilarious. I don't think I even noticed that line. You are right: it's a clunker.

Honestly, the first time I was too busy reading fast to make sure Scully didn't die by the end. I swear, in 2005 or whenever it was I first encountered "Gutless," I thought Magdeleine might kill her off. The second time through, I was preoccupied with and annoyed by the Uber-UST. I mean, I am a noromo, and there is a lot to overcome. The third time through, I just read for structure and meaning, and not especially for style. You are right, taken sentence by sentence, I can totally see where you are coming from. I just think the overheated language kind of works in this story by creating an overheated atmosphere.

The truth is, I'm envious of the writer for getting to be part of that super-charged group love-fest, of having Mulder and Scully as an OTP and thinking, hoping, and obsessing about them getting together. I've never had that, and clearly, I'm missing out. Plus, it's lonely here, in noromoland, especially now. This story gave me a taste of what it must have been like for people back in the day and I enjoyed going along for the ride.

Re: Unifying Theory Part 2

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

I think it is one of the best constructed casefiles I've read, and certainly one of the best x-files, complete with scientific and supernatural explanations. The dialogue between Mulder and Scully as they solve the case really helps sell it, too.

You know what, wendelah1? your most recent comments have given me more respect for this fic. which surprises me, considering i was the one being the most enthusiastic about it. but while i was being enthusiastic, i was also belittling the fic in certain ways, overlooking some of the lengths it went to to construct a complete casefile. what you said about the dialogue being spot-on was so true, and i think you're right about the casefile being better than i previously gave it credit for. i still maintain the raison d'etre for the casefile was UST, but that doesn't mean i should dismiss the writing as having no other merit. it is very well developed, intriguing, and unique.

You are right, taken sentence by sentence, I can totally see where you are coming from. I just think the overheated language kind of works in this story by creating an overheated atmosphere.

YES! this exactly. in a pervious comment when i said, for every argument against the cliches i can think of an argument for why they make sense within this one specific context, this was primarily what i meant. the language using in this story is relentless. it's overpowering, it's a barrage. and while i usually go in for intensely poetic language, i find the style of Gutless to be intense yet prosaic, which i almost never enjoy. but in the case of Gutless the constant impact of bold descriptions of both the outer and inner landscapes actually drew me in.

Magdeleine used specific adverbs and adjectives to make animals seem sentient and objects seem alive. the way the weather was used and described made it seem like a presence in and of itself, the thunder seemed like a malevolent trickster character, there was constant energy in this fic.

and while i completely agree with you about the theme of this story being doors (very well spotted and explained!), the more blatant theme seems to be the animal vs. the civil -- which one is more innately 'human'?

i think it's brilliant that Magdeleine finds a way to bring that animalistic energy into the story by using the parrot as the host. basically, she found a way to have her cake and eat it to. she got to drive home the point - that UST brings people's "animal natures" closer to the surface (the implied question: "is that to their benefit of their detriment?") - and she could be as dramatic about making that point as she wanted, because on the other hand, it wasn't really scully feeling these things. it was scully, a demon, and a parrot. the parrot, even more than the demon, was the stories 'plausible deniability'.

Wasn't this fic originally a wip?

i don't think so. i do agree that it has that sense of urgency and tension about it. but Magdeleine's notes at the end of Bonemeal are: For those of you who are wondering, yes, I'm almost done with the parrotfic, hereafter to be known as Gutless. I'm shooting for posting it starting July 4.

in case any future lurkers come along, read this thread, and have a sudden desire to broadcast their parrotfic love, parrotfic icons are here >> they will spoil you for the fic (http://amyhit.livejournal.com/49573.html#cutid1).