xf_book_club | Story 130: "Dance" by Dith

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Story 130: "Dance" by Dith

Although participation has been down the past few weeks, we keep adding members. And watchers, and lurkers, too.

Welcome!

"Dance" is a unique story. It is not exactly a casefile, although there is a case, of a sort. It's not exactly a romance, either, but it is about Mulder and Scully, and about their partnership, their friendship. Their unspoken mutual attraction. The setting, bohemian South Street in Philadelphia, plays a big role. The denizens of South Street, the alternative street scene, the gay bars, the clubs, all play their parts to perfection. This story is a vivid snapshot of a particular time and place.

It's near the beginning of season two. The X-Files are shut down. Scully is back doing autopsies and teaching, Mulder is stuck in his cubicle, listening to reel after reel of audio surveillance tape. Out of the blue, Mulder gets a call from an old friend, who wants him to come to South Street to investigate a murder, off the books.

Rattling the car keys again he looked away, then looked back. “Hey, do you want to come? Sleep on the floor? See a few bars? Live the bohemian life?”

“You’re going to Philly to check out the bars?”

“No, a demon. Wooooooo. Spooky, huh? Want to come?”

Of course, at 5:00 on Friday, he takes off to chase his demon. When Scully's weekend plans fall through, she decides a trip to Philadelphia doesn't sound half bad, even if she does have to sleep on the floor. Scully still thinks of herself as Dana. She still thinks she can have a life.

The writing is terrific: concise, even spare yet evocative. I liked this story enough that I spent the better part of a day reformatting it so I could post it to Fugues Fiction Archive. If you love to read text files, of course, you can read it at Dith's Page at Gossamer.

Why have we not heard of "Dance"? I'm just guessing, but perhaps genfic, with subtle ust, was much more common, and dare I say it, more appreciated back in 1995. Yes, you read that right. This story was posted to Gossamer in March, 1995.

Just for a little extra treat, here's an itty-bitty post-IWTB vignette by Voleuse, "The Ignorance of Loving". It's short but sweet, so leave some feedback.

Dith, if by some chance you're reading, thanks for the memories. Early second season Mulder and Scully. Yum.

Read "Dance", then let us know what you think. The nomination post is always open.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hey there, this website is the first thing I check in my google reader, every day, religiously. It's been almost two years, I believe, two years of passionate lurking.
I never comment, possibly because even though I do appreciate the stories, I don't really feel like I've got anything interesting to say/share.
Still, if this community were to die out, I would certainly be -dare I say it?- vair vair upset.
I wonder how many people are in my situation?
Anyway, thank you for keeping up the great work, thank you thank you thank you, and I promise that from now on, I'll try to participate a little.
(now i'm off to read that story :)
Elisa

Wow, thank you. Every now and then, someone delurks, out of nowhere, and just makes my day. Two years of religious reading is fantastic.

For what it's worth, I do know what it's like to feel as though you have nothing interesting to contribute to the conversation. I lurked in Fandom for years (years!) before I finally got up the nerve to even comment anonymously. But once I did, it changed everything for me.

Facebook! Our first Facebook commenter! I know there are a lot of people, and perhaps with some justification, who are upset about people being able to comment from Facebook and Twitter accounts but I am not one of them. I have lost a lot of people from my flist here to both places, so anything that can help keep people connected feels like a good thing to me.

I've thought about creating a template for people who don't want to, I don't know, start from scratch when they comment. Maybe I'll have to do a poll. LOL.

Anyway, yes. Please do comment. Even if it's just to say, this was boring, I didn't finish it. Comments make Wendy do the happy dance!

I've been lurking too, but I want to change that. I took an extended break from Fandom for years, but recently I've dived back in (um, totally addicted once again, to be honest) and it makes me so happy to know there is still so much love for the X-Files. I second Elisa- I vow to particpate more too. :)

Welcome back. Wow. I'm happy to hear you've returned to Philedom. And even happier you've decided to participate here.

Welcome new members/lurkers/watchers! :)

You had me at ~~the glass of water~~, early season 2, honestly. I really loved the M&S "voices" from this early on, I thought they were very authentic. From back when the thought of them having friends outside of the X-Files wasn't quite such a stretch, and when they were having semblances of lives.

I loved the setting, although I wonder if I would have found the detail quite as charming at the time it was written? As it is, it's like a time capsule (I really miss flannel, but not Melissa Etheridge).

I can see why this one slips through the classics radar, too--it's not angsty or particularly case-file-y (the case is ok here but clearly takes a backseat to the setting and character interactions), there's not really any romance (although I really liked Mulder's protectiveness re Scully's interaction with his friend Carey, and I am firmly noromo). It's well-written and very charming, but it's not the sort of story that tends to grab fandom's attention. Which is a shame.

I really loved the M&S "voices" from this early on, I thought they were very authentic. From back when the thought of them having friends outside of the X-Files wasn't quite such a stretch, and when they were having semblances of lives.

Yes, this is Mulder and Scully, freed of the baggage from nine seasons and two movies. There is this feeling of space and freedom and infinite possibility. The X-Files are shut down. Anything could happen. I love it. I want it back...

It's well-written and very charming, but it's not the sort of story that tends to grab fandom's attention. Which is a shame.

I know. I look at the "classics" from that era and I just have to wonder. It's much better crafted than most fanfiction, from this fandom, anyway, and not just from 1995, she said darkly.

there's not really any romance (although I really liked Mulder's protectiveness re Scully's interaction with his friend Carey, and I am firmly noromo).

Yeah, Mulder is pretty damn adorable in this, and for that matter, so is Scully, I mean "Dana." Now I want pictures of them in their "clubbing" outfits. Mulder sporting three gold clip-ons and Scully encased in her spandex dress. I loved the nineties.

I don't know what to say about this story. The writing is pretty solid, but it's - odd? AU? Oddly AU? (That's probably because of its age. Maybe. Sorta.) There was so much we didn't know about M&S then that we do now, and I am one of those people who has trouble un-knowing things. It seemed to take a long time to get no where in particular. And I kept thinking "Scully, you have a cell phone - use it."

I don't know what to say about this story. The writing is pretty solid, but it's - odd? AU? Oddly AU? (That's probably because of its age. Maybe. Sorta.)

The writing is "pretty solid?" Come on. I think it's a heck of a lot better than that. It's delightful.

AU? Okay, now. In what way is it AU? It fits into the canon up through the beginning of season two pretty neatly, I think. I can't find anything that contradicts canon, period. I'm curious to know what you believe the reader would have to forget about Mulder and Scully to allow themselves to be transported back to, say the second week of July in 1994, after Little Green Men, but before The Host. I know you've read and enjoyed stories set in the early seasons, so what's up?

It seemed to take a long time to get no where in particular.

That's true, it's not plot-driven, per se, in the way we expect a casefile, or even a romance to be. The South Street setting is so important, and so different from their usual social environment that "Dance" can be comfortably placed into what Christopher Booker refers to as a story of "Voyage and Return." It's not a perfect fit by any means, but it's useful. The hero and heroine travel to a foreign environment, which at first seems enchanting in its novelty. Eventually a force of darkness emerges, Mulder's demon in this case, which is vanquished by Scully's steadfast attachment to the reality, allowing them to return to their current assignments at the F.B.I.

And I kept thinking "Scully, you have a cell phone - use it." This didn't bother me, either. I didn't have a cell phone then, people weren't joined at the hip the their gadgets then the way we are now. I can't speak to Philadelphia, but cellular service in Los Angeles was spotty even in 2000 when I got my first phone, let alone in 1994. Even if she had brought and used it, the call most likely would have been lost.

Well, so this didn't work for you. Maybe the next one will.

I don't know what to say about this story. The writing is pretty solid, but it's - odd? AU? Oddly AU? (That's probably because of its age. Maybe. Sorta.)

The writing is "pretty solid?" Come on. I think it's a heck of a lot better than that. It's delightful.

"Pretty solid" is praise. Really.

AU? Okay, now. In what way is it AU? It fits into the canon up through the beginning of season two pretty neatly, I think. I can't find anything that contradicts canon, period. I'm curious to know what you believe the reader would have to forget about Mulder and Scully to allow themselves to be transported back to, say the second week of July in 1994, after Little Green Men, but before The Host. I know you've read and enjoyed stories set in the early seasons, so what's up?

Oh, I didn't not enjoy this story (oh double negatives, how English needs you!) And I meant AU in the sense that it spins off into what feels like places unknown. They don't feel like the Mulder and Scully I know, but as I said, it's probably because I know too much about them at this point. They really weren't the M&S I know now when this was written.

That's true, it's not plot-driven, per se, in the way we expect a casefile, or even a romance to be. The South Street setting is so important, and so different from their usual social environment that "Dance" can be comfortably placed into what Christopher Booker refers to as a story of "Voyage and Return." It's not a perfect fit by any means, but it's useful. The hero and heroine travel to a foreign environment, which at first seems enchanting in its novelty. Eventually a force of darkness emerges, Mulder's demon in this case, which is vanquished by Scully's steadfast attachment to the reality, allowing them to return to their current assignments at the F.B.I.

It seemed to take a long time to get there, is all. Miss No-Nonsense is strolling from store to store, asking random people if maybe they saw a tall dark haired good looking guy around here someplace? Really? Then M&S wander around, together and apart, for many many kilobytes, and then Mulder finds the bad thing and Scully takes his hand and then they go home the end. I sort of expected them to DO something about the evil thing, but no, they left it to the coven. Why? Mulder wouldn't want to be at an exorcism?

And aren't the heroes supposed to learn something en route? Did they? What do you think?

And Mulder's friends all seemed to be stereotypes. Or archetypes, maybe. But whatever they were, they weren't really people. I kept waiting for one of them to do something unexpected, but no.

And I kept thinking "Scully, you have a cell phone - use it.

This didn't bother me, either. I didn't have a cell phone then, people weren't joined at the hip the their gadgets then the way we are now.

But Mulder and Scully were. Mulder was, as we saw in 'Unusual Suspects,' even attached to his 10 lb. brick/phone. There were still payphones in the world back then, too - even if Scully didn't have a cellphone, she could probably have found a quarter.

And no, I am not saying it didn't work for me. Just that I found it well written but ultimately unfulfilling.

And whoever said the ending was great, I agree, it was :D

It seemed to take a long time to get there, is all. Miss No-Nonsense is strolling from store to store, asking random people if maybe they saw a tall dark haired good looking guy around here someplace? Really? Then M&S wander around, together and apart, for many many kilobytes, and then Mulder finds the bad thing and Scully takes his hand and then they go home the end.

Dana's in vacation mode. She says as much to Carey.

Carey looked at her. The sun shone like a liquid gold wave on the curve of her hair. Her pale eyes sparkled with interest and she looked very young to be an FBI agent. “You’re having a good time,” Carey remarked with satisfaction.

“I am,” Dana confirmed, half-surprised herself. “Well, I had no reason to come up here, so I’m enjoying being sort of goal-less for a day. It’s quite a luxury. I hope Mulder is doing the same thing.”

Bless her heart, she's still trying to have a life.

And Mulder's friends all seemed to be stereotypes. Or archetypes, maybe. But whatever they were, they weren't really people.

I didn't experience them as either stereotypes or archetypes. They seemed like people to me. Some of them reminded me of my old flatmates.

I kept waiting for one of them to do something unexpected, but no.

Not in this type of of story.

I sort of expected them to DO something about the evil thing, but no, they left it to the coven.

Scully's purpose in this story is to save Mulder. She descends into the basement underworld. She saves him by not believing in the demon. She plays the role she is destined to play.

Mulder is a basket case at that point. He's lucky she came for him when she did. Go Scully! Go Scully!

Mulder wouldn't want to be at an exorcism?

What makes you think he'd be given a choice? From what I've read, covens don't issue invitations to their ritual circles.

And aren't the heroes supposed to learn something en route? Did they? What do you think?

In one kind of Voyage and Return stories, yes, absolutely, they are supposed to learn something about themselves, be transformed by the experience. Stories about transformation are my favorites, but I don't think this is meant to be that kind of story.

I think in "Dance," it's about the journey, and as Melissa would say, about the people you meet along the way. While this is just the beginning of their journey together, it's a time I love to return to in fanfiction.

This is a great story. It's well-conceived, well-written, with exactly the right amount of UST as focused and intensified by the hip bisexual character of Casey. (A Mary Sue? If so, one of the best.) It's a pleasant return to yesteryear, when bohemians roamed South Street and the only alien invaders were from Jersey. (I was there! I lived in a walk-up on Spruce! Never belonged to a coven though.)

Rereading convinced me that it's easy to underestimate this one. The despair that Mulder falls into is without reason--well, just a demon--but it prefigures the despair that future events will inflict. And Scully's rescue, in which the daylight of her sensible nature conquers his darkness, is the proof and seal of their pre-romantic partnership.

The ending, in which our pair drive separate cars back to their shared world, has a powerful effect on me. "...they lost one another, somebody driving too fast or somebody taking a different route. It didn't matter, they'd talk to each other tomorrow."

An accidental but brilliant summary of the future.

As for MaybeAmanda's quibble about the cell phone, she's certainly not the only one to notice that. It didn't bother me, but it's a good quibble.

One last left-field notion. I think Dance does with skill and delicacy what Just Say Yes failed to do.

One last left-field notion. I think Dance does with skill and delicacy what Just Say Yes failed to do.

Interesting idea. How do you mean?

Well, this is not an idea that I'd push too far, but both stories place Mulder and Scully in alternate sexual territory. In JSY gays loudly and somewhat manipulatively proclaim their gayness, and Scully seems shocked and stymied to meet this particular circle of Mulderpals. I thought it handled the dignity of Scully's character roughly. (Jeylan, enough said.) D has a mellow sense of sexual adventure, with big, flashy, sophisticated, playful Carey--I saw her as suggestive, but hardly predatory--teasing Scully without demeaning her and setting Mulder amusingly on edge. The scene has subtlety, which JSY definitely lacks.

That's all. I hated one and liked the other.

I agree wholeheartedly with this review. This story is just about perfect.

It's well-conceived, well-written, with exactly the right amount of UST as focused and intensified by the hip bisexual character of Casey. (A Mary Sue? If so, one of the best.)

Carey. But yes, she's a great character, one of the best, most memorable OCs I've encountered in this fandom. In addition, I think it works to see her standing in for fandom, watching first Mulder and then Scully, with a libidinous eye. She's positioned between them in another way, too, as an academic drop-out turned tarot card reader, who doesn't believe in the fortunes she tells. But then look at how she pulls a card for Scully as she walks in the door.

“Carey. Just call me Carey.” Carey took the hand. It was warm and smooth, the fingers tapered and light, the palm dry, nails short and tidy, no rings. Carey grasped it with one of hers, smoothing a thumb across the back of it as she released it, feeling it tremble slightly. God, this woman was tasty. Characteristically, Mulder had left that out of his description.

“I think Mulder needs to see a doctor, make sure he’s not dead,” Carey mumbled, shuffling half the card deck as she sat back down.

“Pardon?” Scully said brightly, leaning over the table.

“Nothing.” Carey stared at the two of swords. From what she knew of Scully, it made a lot more sense now.

“Well, you’re looking for Mulder. I don’t know where he’ll be till this evening. I could give you instructions to the place he’s staying, but..?”

“Oh, that isn’t necessary,” Scully gave the answer the other woman was clearly looking for, wishing she could just go straight there and wait. Something about this woman made her nervous, and it wasn’t the blue hair, orange nails or pink skirt. It was something about the warmth of her hand and the way she licked her lips.

“I tell you what, we can go to Reading Terminal Market for lunch, then I can take you home. I mean, take you to where Mulder will be.” Grinning, Carey flipped the two of swords over flat on the table. Below it was the knight of cups. Well, of course, she told herself.

For Scully, she draws the two of swords, for Mulder, the Knight of Cups. I dug out my Introduction to Tarot, and looked up the cards. This was as much fun for me as I assume it was for dith.

I don't know what interpretation Carey was thinking of, but I liked this one for Scully: The Two of Swords often represents situations where an answer could be found and the truth could be seen, but where the person or persons involved choose not to see it. The Two of Swords shows those times when you deliberately avoid seeing the truth. Maybe one of your ideas has been proven incorrect and, though you see that you were wrong, you do not want to admit it. It can be painful to remove a blindfold and see the truth, because even the softest light will blind those who have lived in darkness. But being blinded by the light is far preferable to being blinded by darkness.

Fox Mulder is the Knight of Cups, the archetypal "knight in shining armour." He is in touch with his intuition and emotions, and he uses them for his own good during his quests of romance and seduction. the person represented by the Knight of Cups will be a dreamer, one who is prone to wild ideas and flights of fancy... Beneath his calm exterior he is a man of intense passion, though he generally diverts this passion towards reaching his goals and making his dreams come true. His is an idealistic view of life that is scorned by the active and despised by the realist. Inversely, he has no tolerance for people who cannot believe in their dreams.

“That’s fine, I’ve been having a great time just wandering around.”

“Really? Have you been to Showcase Comics? Stasia Ford is the manager. She’s the one with the apartment where Mulder’s staying.”

“Oh. I thought he was with you.”

Well, she had brought that out without a bobble; Carey gave her an A for effort. “Stasia and her boyfriend Phillip have more rooms and more food. I’m afraid I eat out or I don’t eat. It’s inconvenient for guests.”

“Ah.” Scully wondered if that was the beautiful woman she’d seen that morning. She was beginning to wish she’d brought some better clothes with her. Smiling at her own silliness, she stuffed her hands in her hip pockets and leaned over the table again. “Well, I can wait. Can I get my cards read?”

“You don’t believe.” Carey slanted a sidewise look up at Dana.

Dana watched her shuffle the cards. “Neither do you.”

Carey waved Dana into the chair opposite. “What makes you think that?”

“That… was a bona fide FBI hunch.” Dana sat comfortably back in the big chair across from the other woman.

“From a folkloric perspective, the images are fascinating.” Carey shuffled once more, cut the cards, then had Dana pick one and lay it face up on the table.

A woman walking with a lion. Strength.

Carey shook her head and continued to deal. Some days it was harder to not believe than others.

Of course, it helps when the author is stacking the deck. *g*

So, for her reading, Scully draws a major Arcana card: Strength. The only qualities that abound in Strength are courage and patience. Neither of these are really emotions, but ways of acting and doing that are not tempered by feeling. Courage is the antithesis of fear; patience, the control of worldly desires. There is no emotion here, just determination and action.

Isn't this fun?

The despair that Mulder falls into is without reason--well, just a demon--but it prefigures the despair that future events will inflict. And Scully's rescue, in which the daylight of her sensible nature conquers his darkness, is the proof and seal of their pre-romantic partnership.

Yeah, I also thought it foreshadowed Scully's abduction.

The ending, in which our pair drive separate cars back to their shared world, has a powerful effect on me. "...they lost one another, somebody driving too fast or somebody taking a different route. It didn't matter, they'd talk to each other tomorrow."

The ending was wonderful.

Anyway, Carey's a terrific character. It's a great story. I'll get back to you on "Just Say Yes."

I realize it is over a year since I last contributed to this fantastic forum....life has kept me away and I am so sorry to see all the wonderful (some of my favourite!) stories that I have missed, but never mind...I can enjoy it now!
What I like about this story was, partly, that I had never ever heard of either it or the author which made it really unknown territory. And Season Two too! It occurred to me that now there is substantial discussion about who can and who can't write believable early season fiction whereas this story is written without consciousness of the angst of later series, and hence our hang-ups of what early season fiction should feel like. Which gives it a tone that is familiar from earlier fiction (yes, when Scully WAS Dana) and which can jar sometimes. I thought the beginning was a little awkward and it is likely that if it hadn't been recommended here I would not have continued: the jovial Mulder, the over-bright 'Dana' gave me a shuddering twinge of not-so-good fics of the "Oh Fox!" and "Dana!" variety, especially with her wandering around Philadelphia (that tiny village) hoping to bump into Mulder and saying "I'm stuffed" a lot.
But this story doesn't....it gets better and better. It is a vignette, a snapshot of their relationship at a particular point in time all the sweeter for its innocence of later events. Do they learn anything in the course of it? Something about each other maybe and a harbinger of the dependency on each other that will grow over time. The interaction of Mulder and Carey is well drawn - it's believable and reminds me of the sensual Mulder of those first 2 seasons, the one who was not just Scully orientated. I also liked the interaction between Scully and Carey, although it made me a little nervous so I'm not surprised that Mulder was! Carey comes across as a bit of a spider to Scully's fly (she would not have got away with it by Season 4) and is not just two-dimensional.
I agree about the phone thing though. They would have used it then, they are FBI agents! In any case, Scully accuses Mulder of not having phoned her but as she was in hot pursuit of him and not sitting at home doing her laundry, how did she know that he didn't?
Some moments made me tingle and I take my cap off to any story that does that. And any more good early season fiction? I LOVE it!

Welcome back! What a great day to return, 10/13; at least it's still 10/13 in Wendelahland.

I agree about the phone thing though. They would have used it then, they are FBI agents! In any case, Scully accuses Mulder of not having phoned her but as she was in hot pursuit of him and not sitting at home doing her laundry, how did she know that he didn't?

Ha ha! Good point, I totally missed that line.

especially with her wandering around Philadelphia (that tiny village) hoping to bump into Mulder and saying "I'm stuffed" a lot.

She's wandering around the 500 block of South Street looking for Mulder. She's playing tourist, not putting the I in F.B.I. She doesn't seem to be in any hurry to find him, I'll grant you that.

More early season fic. I'll see what I can do.

Yes, what a day! Funny though, I had spent all day listening to the rescue of the Chilean miners and was entertained by a numerology analysis that was repeated: 33 miners, 33 was the age Christ was when he died (well, it is a Catholic country), 33 something else and rescued on 13/10/10 which adds up to: 33! I said to the radio: It is also Mulder's birthday but you haven't mentioned THAT, have you?" But I got no reply...

Thanks for your other suggestions btw, shall delve!

Which gives it a tone that is familiar from earlier fiction (yes, when Scully WAS Dana) and which can jar sometimes.

I know what you mean; it took me a moment to get my head into this story, because it feels so, so different from most of the fanfiction written since. I think because the character "voices" were so well-written, the story still feels so authentic and believable.

Anything by Kipler. Genius won a 1995 award (and actually deserved it). The link is to the community post but there are links to the story and her site there, too.
http://community.livejournal.com/xf_book_club/28991.html

"Etched" by Sean Smith is a great story, but is in such dire need of editing that I hesitate to rec it. It does capture the early season dynamic well, and if you can get past that issue the story will carry you along. It's at Gossamer. Someday, I'm going to edit and reformat it and repost it, somewhere.

"Alchemy" by tree. Not written early in the series but it's early first season fic. I'm thinking about making this a theme for a bit.

And any more good early season fiction? I LOVE it!

Presuming you'd like your early seasons fics with plot (or some semblance of plot, at least):

Camping (http://x-files.bytewright.com/arcC/Camping.html) by Amerage and Livengoo - Written in early '95. Mulder and Scully go on some kind of commercially organized camping adventure, but things quickly go awry and they end up stranded in the forest. Crazy shit happens. IMO Camping starts off as badfic, but it gets good after a few chapters.

Falling Stars (http://x-files.bytewright.com/arcFa/FallingStars.html) by Julie Fortune - Set in S2, and ties in to Eve from S1. Kind of dark, actually.

Flesh and Blood (http://www.reocities.com/prufrocks_love/Fleshandblood.txt) by Prufrock's Love - Late S1 casefile. I remember it being really good. Pru's writing was always fairly professional-calibre.

Butterfly (http://oracle.invidiosa.com/butterfly.html) by Oracle - Squee! An AU post ep for Excelsis Dei. A little bit of Scully in Peril, a little bit of Mytharc, a little bit of M/S sexiness, an x-file (sort of) - this fic has it all, and all in 35K.

Under the Rose (http://web.archive.org/web/20010420012517/http://underthewing.com/bugs/rose/rosetext.html) by Bugs - Post 'Firewalker' vampire casefile, plus Scully angst and M/S sexiness. Kind of cracked. I'm not generally a huge fan of Bug's characterizations, but I don't remember this fic being bad, just really weird.

October Skies (http://oracle.invidiosa.com/octoberskies.html) by oracle - Post S2 abduction arc. Mulder and Scully go to a Halloween party. It's total mind candy, but it's well written and yeah, totally adorable.

and welcome back!

Thanks for those Amyhit - I think I have read them all, except maybe Falling Stars. I remember "Camping" being the first really humourous story I came across. I read it at work (what an admission! I'd had an awful day...) and had to keep pretending that the guffaws were entirely due to witty repartee with my clients which, I should imagine, fooled nobody. I do have a list where I try to remember to put stories that grab me and October Skies is on it, so is Camping and Flesh and Blood .... but a lot of dark material too.

Thanks for the welcome!

October Skies = awesome.

Know of any other location for fic by Oracle? The links don't work...

I too love early season fics, because I like happiness and fear angst. At least in season one and two you don't have to tighten your stomach muscles to receive the sucker punch. I'd definitely mention Jess M's Beginning. I know I've talked about it before. Was that here?

No computer. At the library. God bless all libraries.

I was amused when you called Philadelphia "that tiny city," because it really IS. Center City is just about 22 blocks square, much of it residential, symetrically arranged around City Hall (Ben Franklin's idea). People know each other. Adjoining neighborhoods (like Society Hill or West Philly, where the U of P lives) are w/i walking/busing distance. There are subways.

I miss it. I hate driving.

I agree that D doesn't have much plot, as such. I seem to focus more on tone.

The above should be responding to Tiger Bay. Sorry.

It did respond to Tiger Bay. No, I don't think it was here.

You caught me out! I have actually never been anywhere near Philadelphia, it just sounds like it should be rather bigger than somewhere that you might just happen to bump into someone you know from somewhere else!

Thank you for helping keeping the fandom alive. I've been lurking here for about six months and although I've not always commented, I have always read the recommendations - even some of the ones that aren't my cup of tea.

I'm beginning to appreciate early fanfic as I go through the first season of the show on DVD.

Personally I prefer early season UST, rather than RST. Personally I can't see M&S together until season 6 - then bring on the NC17+!

Dance was a lovely story, the supporting characters were charming, but with a bit of an edge that provided a good foil for Mulder and Scully characterisation to work off. It had just the right amount of tentative friendship with a healthy and appropriately measured dose of Mulder protectiveness and intuition and Scully naivity and strength.

As for recommendations can I suggest Nora C's Body of Evidence at Gossamer? She's a one hit wonder but it's one of the stories I'll re-read every year.

Another person who is watching/rewatching the series on DVD! As a fandom, we are so fortunate. TXF was popular enough that it made it to the DVD format intact, with even the music as originally conceived.

Maybe fic set during first-second seasons for the next theme would work for you, too.

Personally I prefer early season UST, rather than RST. Personally I can't see M&S together until season 6 - then bring on the NC17+!

Pretty firmly noromo, as far as the show itself. I think the RST ruined the show. For fic, a good writer can convince me of nearly anything for the duration of the story.

In terms of the series itself, yes absolutely RST just ruins it - leave the coupling for fanfic.

Actually, I can't think of any series that goes from UST to RST without losing something.

I know. They just went from UST to RST on a show I'm really obsessed with tonight. Sigh. I'll keep you posted.

Wow,

maybe_amanda, I agreed with every word you said in that first post. I only wish I could be so concise. Dance definitely felt AU-ish to me, and like you said, it wasn't about whether it adhered to canon, per se, but about how Mulder and Scully were characterized.

Scully in particular seemed so solidly and consistently OOC to me that it was almost - but not quite - like she was being written deliberately OOC. It's not even that I disliked this Scully, but I rarely recognized her as Scully - not even as the Sof S2. She was so...malleable. She was easy going. She seemed to have a very "go with the flow" attitude: sure, why not hop in the car and head to Philly to look for Mulder (even though she'd forgotten the specific address he said he could be found at, even though it would mean trailing after him, even though it would mean appearing as though she wanted very much to be in his company)? Sure, why not get her cards drawn? Why not browse the market with a woman she's just met? Why not let that woman touch her unnecessarily on several occasions, since it's all in good fun? Why not eat until she's "stuffed" and then talk about how "stuffed" she is (seriously, has Scully ever eaten until she's stuffed? She seems the very picture of moderation)?

This wasn't Dana Scully, but it could've been Melissa Scully.

Also, I found Carey to be a really off putting character. She seemed like a sloppy predator who didn't even have the sense to know she was being predatory. I found her behavior downright inappropriate. It got to the point where I began to wonder if the 'demon' had some kind of affiliation with her because her behavior was that coercive.

And Dance really could've used a beta.

All of this has been very negative, but I didn't entirely dislike this fic. Like

tiger_bay I probably wouldn't have finished it if it hadn't been a book_club read, but it did have some fun aspects. Any fic written during that early period of S2 is bound to have an element of intrigue and novelty to it, and watching Mulder and Scully play dress-up is always fun, even if it does basically threaten to push Dance into crackfic territory. Frankly, I kind of wish this fic had just aimed to be crackfic - that added strangeness might've made it more fun. I do like that scully saves Mulder essentially by being herself. I think at such a time of upheaval in the series, writing a fic in which Mulder experiences personally how valuable his and Scully's partnership is could've been really good. At least Dance was in the ball park in that regard.

What great suggestions. I'm thinking about doing an early seasons theme? What do you think?

oh this should have been in answer to the other comment. whoops.

Edited 2010-10-15 06:10 (UTC)

i think that sounds great!

"Just Say Yes" is crack!fic. "El Quinto Sol" I put in a different category, but it does have some of the same elements as "Dance," though with a vastly different outcome. *cough* Plus Mulder plays Scully's part. He's the real outsider. We should discuss "El Quinto Sol."

Well. Why not browse the market with someone she's just met? She's on vacation. Although dith doesn't suggest it, I can believe she has older sister Melissa's voice in her head, saying "Go ahead, Danes! Have some fun!"

I think that brief period when the X-Files are shut down but before Scully is kidnapped by Duane Barry is a unique time during the run of the show. I think you can make a case that it creates space for them, well, for Scully at least, to breath, to get out from underneath the weight of the Files, of Mulder's obsessions. She misses him, though, even if she doesn't exactly miss the weight. She misses the intellectual challenge, of course, but she doesn't seem unhappy. It's different for Mulder, but then he has his demon to follow wherever it takes him. Jersey sewers, Puerto Rico. Basements.

She will follow Mulder. She'll follow him anywhere. We know that, They know that, so it's a little bit late to be worrying about appearances. They used her to find him in "Little Green Men." By the end of that episode, Mulder knows, too, although I think it takes a long time for him to believe it. The man who can believe anything. Funny.

You make a point of Scully using the word "stuffed." I don't know what kind of connotation it has for you, but here in Southern California, for people in my approximate age group, when you say you are stuffed, it just means you've had enough. Whatever "enough" means to you. There is no actual stuffing necessarily involved.

Regardless, I think when people go on vacation, they suspend the rules a bit. They drink a little more, they eat a little more, they fool around more. Even Scully. What happens in Philly, stays in Philly. I don't see Scully here as malleable, she can still set limits when she wants to, and she does. Clear ones.

“Well, don’t worry about it, then.” Carey licked the sauce from her own fingers, and said, “You don’t ever have dirty thoughts, do you, Agent Scully?”

Coolly Scully handed the other woman a napkin. “Not on the job.”

Carey doesn't come off as a predator to me. Very counter-cultural in her approach to, well, everything, but not predatory. Inappropriate touching? Since you specifically mentioned it, I read over the story again. I spotted three times she touched Scully when they got back from the club. She gave her a foot rub, she gave her a neck rub. Scully was fine with both. Then she kissed her on the back of her neck. Yeah, I think she is being seductive, but she's not being a predator, at least not in my playbook. That kind of behavior is allowed between consenting adults. Personally, I think Mulder over-reacted a bit, but we already know how possessive he is of her, so that hardly seems out of character. Do I think it would have gone any farther if Mulder hadn't made his appearance? No. I think Scully would have said, "I'm not interested," Carey would have backed off and that would have been that.

Carey does push back at Mulder more but then she knows Mulder much better. Is it a game for her? Mulder thinks so. He's the profiler.

Have the rules changed that much since 1994? I admit it, I have been out of the game for a long, long time. Maybe they have.

She will follow Mulder. She'll follow him anywhere. We know that, They know that, so it's a little bit late to be worrying about appearances.

but they do worry. they worry and worry, there's really no end to the worrying - not so much about appearances, but about the over-stepping of certain personal lines. it's not so much about the appearance of her following Mulder, but about the reality of it. if she thought he was in trouble i believe she'd go after him in a second, but to go after him simply because she wanted to be with him is very different. in fact, i'm trying to think of a time when we see scully tag along with mulder for no other reason than that she wants to. there's always a professional spin that can be applied.

You make a point of Scully using the word "stuffed." I don't know what kind of connotation it has for you, but here in Southern California, for people in my approximate age group, when you say you are stuffed, it just means you've had enough.

*g* no, i wasn't siezing upon the word "stuffed" because it sometimes has a crudely sexual meaning. even being used just to mean overly fed it still has a tone of...it's just not the word i would imagine Scully using. she seems the "i've had too much already, thank you," sort of woman, or the, "i'm plenty full," sort, and even then, probably only if she was asked.

Inappropriate touching?

i didn't say inappropriate touching, i said inappropriate behavior. that definitely includes touching, but it was more than that. i actually found her behavior towards Mulder to be more inappropriate in this case than it was towards Scully. just because she's a woman and Mulder's a man and he really had no reason to feel threatened by her doesn't make her refusal to TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER appropriate. now Scully - she's a grown woman, perfectly capable of saying no, and while i can't imagine Scully being so allowing as she was in Dance, in the context of the fic i can't be too hard on Carey for making advances there.

"Just Say Yes" is crack!fic. "El Quinto Sol" I put in a different category, but it does have some of the same elements as "Dance," though with a vastly different outcome. *cough*

HA! ah yes, the tantric scene. it was that which pushed EQS into the realm of crackfic for me. i am incapable of describing a fic with the words "tantric orgy" without it becoming crackfic in my mind. yes, i'd be for discussing EQS. it seems like another fic that would yield quite a wide array of reader opinions.

Why not let that woman touch her unnecessarily on several occasions, since it's all in good fun? Why not eat until she's "stuffed" and then talk about how "stuffed" she is (seriously, has Scully ever eaten until she's stuffed? She seems the very picture of moderation)?

Okay. You said her touching was "unnecessary" not inappropriate. Still not sure then where you were going with that. Doesn't matter.

So you don't think she would use the phrase "I'm stuffed." It's a common turn of phrase where I live, whereas I don't think I've ever heard anyone say "I'm plenty full." On the other hand,"I've had too much already, thank you," sounds too formal for everyday speech. It sounds like what you'd say to the hostess at a dinner party. This must be a regional difference in English usage.

Damn. I had no idea "stuffed" had any sexual connotation whatsoever. Live and learn.

You thought the sex scene in "El Quinto Sol" was crack!fic? Wow. I thought the rest of the story was pretty hokey but I thought the sex was transcendent and elevated the entire story to another level. This discussion should be entertaining... Hee. After the early season fics, then we'll do "El Quinto Sol."

I knew an accomplished old lady, a sometime actress, who would say "I have had an elegant sufficiency." Handy phrase. Not Scullyesque, however.

I love "El Quinto Sol". Guess now I don't have to comment.

(seriously, has Scully ever eaten until she's stuffed? She seems the very picture of moderation)

The ribs in Red Museum, or lobster in Chinga? She doesn't say she's stuffed, but it's definitely implied that she's eating heartily.

Oh man this was such a tiny treat! So much fun to see Scully portrayed as NOT all uptight and emotionally repressed, and I oh-so-enjoyed the fun and games with Carey for BOTH our heroes. Not often we get an equal opportunity seducer (that isn't also nasty like Krychek). So much delightful characterization in this one, although damn I'd sure love to know just whose dream it was Mulder was dreaming (and how?) and just who he/the other person was dreaming about! Scully? Carey?

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Story 130: "Dance" by Dith

delurking now

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"I'll show you my theory if you show me yours."

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A story can have only one true ending. Part I

A story can have only one true ending. Part II

a long, long, long time away but it's exciting to be back!

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Good early season fiction: here's a start

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A bit like Just Say Yes and El Quinto Sol, minus the crack.

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Wow season 2 I love you