Story 119: "On a Star-Spangled Night" by Gina Rain

[wendelah1]

I was thinking about posting something long and depressing, but happily, I thought better of it. I shouldn't take too much credit though since estella_c gave me the out by suggesting this charming story by Gina Rain. Technically, there's a casefile/xfile that has Mulder and Scully out looking for red, white and blue lights in the sky, but really the story's raison d'être is Mulder/Scully first-time fluff. (Please note your long-suffering moderator's Noromo Icon of Extreme Skepticism and Amazement concerning the likelihood of such an occurrence.)

Happy Fourth of July Weekend to those who enjoyed one! Happy Back-to-Work Monday (or, uh, Tuesday depending on your time zone, oh-people-from-the-future) to everyone else! Link is to the 2004 Spooky site, or you can read the story as a txt. file at Gossamer. Tell us what you thought of the story, and leave suggestions for next time in the usual place.

Bonus Question: what is your favorite Mulder/Scully first-time story?

Read "On a Star-Spangled Night".

Comments

first-timers

[hyperladder.livejournal.com]

There's no way Scully wouldn't have realized that the lights were from a hologram. Otherwise, I enjoyed my jar of marshmallow fluff very much, thank you.

Favorite first time story? I'm not a huge fan of many of them, but I love 'Aquinnah'.

Suggestions: Have I overlooked Revely's 'Wing and Prayer' somewhere in the previous readings? If not, I really do have to make that recommendation.

Re: first-timers

[wendelah1]

No, I don't believe we have read "Wing and Prayer." Can you add it to the nomination post, otherwise I'll forget about it.

Needless to say, I am not a huge fan of first time stories either. I love "Aguinnah" too, though not so much for the sex part.

There's no way Scully wouldn't have realized that the lights were from a hologram.

Good point.

[enj412.livejournal.com]

Great little gem of a story. I love first-time stories- they are my guilty pleasure. I enjoyed this one a lot because Mulder took a chance and went for it. I think that is the way it would go for them, rather than the other way around.

As for my favorite Mulder/Scully first-time story, I totally 100% agree with hyperladder: Anjou's "Aquinnah" is my all-time favorite story ever. I was actually very pleasantly surprised to see it mentioned. Other favorite first-time scenarios of mine can be found in Wendaie's "Blindight," Elanor G's "Yo Creo," and Shalimar's "Five Years and One Night."

[wendelah1]

I love Anjou's "Aguinnah" too, though probably not for the sames reasons you do. We discussed it here, rather perfunctorily I thought, last December. We discussed "Five Years and One Night," too, back in 2008(?). I think first-time stories are a pleasure for most shippers to read, and why shouldn't they be?

Would Mulder make the first move or would Scully? I have no firm opinion myself, although in my two first-time stories, she's made the first move. A great writer can convince me of either one, at least while I'm immersed in reading.

[maybe-amanda.livejournal.com]

I'd never read this before. That's, like, amazing (to me, at least).

I enjoyed it very much - light and fluffy, with Mulder at his charming best, Scully being very Scully, and the mystery not getting in the way of good story. ;)

Favourite first time fic? Hmmm. Probably "Beyond Conception" by Alelou. Talk about your guilty pleasures...

A

[wendelah1]

I'm amazed you'd never read it, too. Ha ha, Yes, "Beyond Conception" is a very guilty pleasure fic. The best part is Bill Scully telling his sister that Mulder being in her life isn't entirely a bad thing. Yeah, right, Bill.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

I've always had a warm feeling about this fic, but the trouble with reading critically is that you read critically. So this one struck me as a little soggy this time round, as signaled by its first paragraph. ("...the feel of his arms as they encircled her body.")

I also couldn't quite forgive Mulder for pouncing on Scully in his hotel room just after discussing sex in cars. It seemed a little too much like classic predation. On the other hand, Scully was obviously rather irritatingly ambivalent. In fact, I can believe that Scully doesn't "get" the holograph thing because her subconscious is crying out for exactly this result.

We have oddly few fics with even quasi-patriotic themes. What we have are thousands of "first times," and I admit they are very much a matter of taste. My tastes tend to hard-boiled as opposed to fluffy. Mustang Sally's "Diamonds and Rust" or Jori's "Going Once." And Alelou is always a good bet.

What pleasantly remains after reading OASSN is that image of eerily spinning lights. And who doesn't love shiny objects.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

I should probably also mention that I found the dialogue way above average.

[wendelah1]

I also couldn't quite forgive Mulder for pouncing on Scully in his hotel room just after discussing sex in cars. It seemed a little too much like classic predation. On the other hand, Scully was obviously rather irritatingly ambivalent. In fact, I can believe that Scully doesn't "get" the holograph thing because her subconscious is crying out for exactly this result.

Classic predation? Huh. I'm not saying you are wrong, but I read it that they were just having that pre-sex talk that people have--before they have sex--except Scully wasn't being very forthcoming. I can barely imagine Scully having sex with Mulder without having some reservations about it. Aren't people OFTEN ambivalent both before and after? And she's such a control freak, not that he isn't. I normally get serious goosebumps from the scenario that you describe and that story didn't give me even a slight tingle. I guess everyone has different buttons that can get pushed.

My classic pick in the genre is "A Bitter Taste on the Tongue." I'm just guessing you don't much care for it.

I think the dialogue was its strong point, too.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

"Classic predation" may have been too strong a term for this little M/S snuggle; we're not talking date rape here, with all the mutual respect and stuff. It's just that some of it is made to "sound" like a date rape scenario. Mulder discussing sexual experiences, Scully saying the conversation makes her "uncomfortable," Mulder saying it's "just conversation"--it's so teenage horndog trying to get a girl in the sack. Having complimented the dialogue, I'd have to say this is not a very well-imagined scene considering the characters in question. It makes me uncomfortable.

So far as "first times" are concerned, I don't enjoy the idea of careful, considering conversation before the act. These two have both made unconscious decisions that are waiting to explode into action. Pre-sex talk, huh? That had better be fucking good dialogue.

"A Bitter Taste on the Tongue" is a whole separate ball of evil. Has it ever been discussed here?

[wendelah1]

So far as "first times" are concerned, I don't enjoy the idea of careful, considering conversation before the act. These two have both made unconscious decisions that are waiting to explode into action.

It's a sexier, edgier choice. For the writer, I mean.

Pre-sex talk, huh? That had better be fucking good dialogue.

So to speak?

Maybe it makes for a boring story, but it's not unusual for adults to discuss past sexual experiences with people they are going to have sex with, is it? On the other hand, Mulder and Scully would die for each other, but they don't really talk much.

Although I didn't have any real objections to this, I will say I can't imagine ever reading it again, whereas I've reread Syntax6's "Birthday Stories" every year on my birthday since I started reading TXF fic. I reread a lot of the stories posted here.

"A Bitter Taste on the Tongue" is a whole separate ball of evil. Has it ever been discussed here?

No, no, it hasn't yet. Shall we? I know I have a way-backed link somewhere. Maybe we should do a first-time mini-series? Try to hit all of the clichés we can.

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

estella_c, can i propose to you for, oh, this entire comment? i keep beginning to quote a particular part that i agree with most, but then i feel like i'm leaving all the other parts i completely agree with out.

that bit where scully says she's uncomfortable and mulder kind of shrugs it off dismissively bothered me quite a bit. it bothered me more because it's so easy to overlook. true, even canonically scully tends to be the passive party when it comes to sexual advances made her way, and mulder (or other) tends to make the actual advances. but there's a difference between actions that say 'i want you like whoa' and eyes that say 'i am so over my head here', and a women (especially someone of scully's character and experiences) actually saying outright that she's uncomfortable. whether she wants him and is 'just scared' or not, that's when it's time for "mulder" to apologize, not brush it off.

So far as "first times" are concerned, I don't enjoy the idea of careful, considering conversation before the act. These two have both made unconscious decisions that are waiting to explode into action. Pre-sex talk, huh? That had better be fucking good dialogue.

i did already propose to you, didn't i estella? *g* for one thing, with fics where they have careful, considering conversation about sex, before the act, not only do i feel it's usually OOC, i also get the sense that if they aren't on the same page at this point, i don't think talking about it now is going to be enough. in fact, in two people whose brains are as fraught with carfeul consideration as mulder and scully's are, it may confuse the issue further.

[ktds.livejournal.com]

This is nice, I liked it, especially the sex discussion :D

As for favorite first-time, it could be sweet by wen because it's fluff fluff fluff. :)

[a-is4addiction.livejournal.com]

First, I have to say I'm really not a fan of first time stories (or fluff), mainly because in most of the ones I've read Mulder and Scully have a long, drawn-out conversation about their relationship. I don't find that to be particularly in character since Mulder and Scully very rarely talk about their feelings in such a concrete way in the show.

When I read a fanfic bad characterization is probably my biggest pet peeve. It really takes me so far out of the story that it can't redeem itself.

This fic started out well enough, but went downhill quickly in the way of characterization, IMHO. I agree with what estella said about Mulder seeming predatory. He brings up having sex outside and then jumps on Scully soon after, which I don't like. I think Mulder has a higher level of respect for Scully than that.

I just don't believe that the conversation they had about outdoor sex was realistic. Also, Mulder saying "Make love" and "I've wanted you forever"? No way!

I think it's partly that I'd rather read depressing sex stories (see anything post-col or something like This Is Not Love (http://community.livejournal.com/alittlebitmad/38491.html)) than fluffy ones.

[wendelah1]

I thought "This Is Not Love" was hot but no more "in character" than this was. I think for many people, myself included, the show itself was so depressing that reading (or writing) the occasional fluffy story is a welcome change. So many bad things have already happened to Mulder and Scully. Can't the fic writers just let them have a little fun?

I am neither a fan of long, drawn-out conversations nor long, drawn-out sex scenes.

Depressing sex stories. Okay then. Coming right up! Heh.

[bachlava.livejournal.com]

This was one of those fics (okay, pieces - it also goes for TV, films, books, and music) that I enjoyed without considering particularly good. Fluff is like candy - empty in terms of nourishment and bad in large doses, but a nice little treat once in a while. "Star-Spangled Night," for me, is like cotton candy (a.k.a. spun sugar; widely available in the world's top three patriotic colo[u]rs): I'll always have the nostalgia of loving the stuff that Mom forbade me to eat except once a year at the fair, but at this stage in life... erm, okay, the simile breaks down, because cotton candy actually makes me sick now, whereas this fic was still fun. I liked the light-heartedness of the approach on multiple levels - to wit, it's my view that the vast majority of even really good fic writers can't handle case files, and Gina Rain wisely foregoes any serious attempt at one in favor of having fun with the concept. I like that her version of Mulder and Scully can acknowledge their missteps and anxieties without getting caught up in angst as a result. I like that the context of canon is respected but is also treated in such a way as to accomodate a sense of fun.

What I didn't like so much... I do feel like the angle on Scully as emotionally obtuse and uncommunicative is overplayed here. It's not that she isn't private, and more rational than intuitive, but here she came off to me a bit too much like a fourteen-year-old-girl who's afraid that her crush doesn't really like her after all. Not that people much older than fourteen don't feel this way from time to time, but still... Her moment of vulnerability, when she's embarrassed because she thinks she's misread Mulder and overstepped boundaries, is believable, but the setting of it really isn't. Neither is the idea that Mulder would arrange to investigate a case he considered meritless solely as a way of courting Scully. Yes, Rachel Howard pulls it off in "Above Rubies," but that's a very exceptional scenario. And while I'm not in opposed to Scoobie-Doo scenarios in this type of fic, the one here was, despite its charms, ultimately rather clumsy.

But, hey. We all need a break from the angst sometimes, and multicolor shiny things are not a bad way to get it.

[wendelah1]

Yes, Rachel Howard pulls it off in "Above Rubies," but that's a very exceptional scenario. And while I'm not in opposed to Scoobie-Doo scenarios in this type of fic, the one here was, despite its charms, ultimately rather clumsy.

Above Rubies starts out fluffiesque but quickly turns into something much darker.

[elizabethannfic.livejournal.com]

Somehow this leaves me cold. It isn't bad, but I read through it feeling totally detached. It doesn't strike me as terribly sweet or engaging or hot. Perhaps I need something darker to make it seem more in keeping with the tone of the show. Perhaps I am lacking the fluff gene.

[wendelah1]

Maybe you'll like the next story better. At least it's not fluffy.

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

i felt about the same as you, elizabethannfic (though perhaps with a little bit of actual dislike thrown in there, in my case). i felt very much like i was reading fic-by-numbers. and i can understand what people are saying about candyish fanfic - i read that too - but this really wasn't my kind of candy. it lacked even that allure.

[elizabethannfic.livejournal.com]

You have said it better than I did--fic-by-numbers. That is exactly the feelings it left me with. I read candy too and can be quite charmed by it in the right mood, but this didn't suit.

links

[bmerb.livejournal.com]

I'm assuming there are no working Spooky Award sites anymore, correct? Because this link doesn't work at least... Boo, I'd love to see the Spookys archived somewhere!

Re: links

[wendelah1]

Actually, a couple of years ago someone completely redid the Spooky Awards, complete with archive. This fandom is the best. No fandom I know of has ever taken better care of their fanfic. I will fix the broken link, thanks for telling me about it.

Here you are: Spooky Awards. The story was from 2004?

Re: links

[bmerb.livejournal.com]

The link didn't work for the story but I'll look on the Spooky Awards page and see if I can find it there.

Re: links

[wendelah1]

The link is to a Google document. That's how she chose to archive the fics. It's cheap and the cloud most likely won't go down. Maybe you have to have gmail and be signed in to access it directly. It works for me but my wendelah1 gmail shows up in the corner.

Re: links

[bmerb.livejournal.com]

Odd. I went to the Spooky Awards page and opened it from there and it worked fine and took me to a Google doc just as you said, but the link from the book club post didn't work for me. Oh well! Fun little story, not enough oomph to it for me, but pleasant enough fluff anyways.