Story 163: "China" by Punk Maneuverability

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

Punk Maneuverability is one of the X-Files fandom's long-time authors. A quick scroll of her Gossamer page tells me she did most of her writing for this fandom in 1997, but she continued to write XF fic for close to a decade. China, posted in 2006, is one of the last XF fics she's posted to date.

It's a short AU in which Scully has made a drastic change in her life, one that has left both she and Mulder's lives torn asunder. I don't want to say too much more about the plot, because part of what makes this fic intriguing is the way the reader doesn't immediately know exactly what's going on. I picked this fic because, though they are very different fics, the central tension of China is very similar to that of last week's rec: Scully's discontent and her desire for a "normal life".

China by Punk M

You can also find the author at runpunkrun, and you can find our recommendation page over here.

Comments

I like Punk, too, but...

[wendelah1]

You found this story more satisfying than "Inventing the Mulders"? Wow. I admit I am surprised. As explained above, I found this a pretty unsatisfying ending, even for one that was tacked on for posting amnesty. No, it was not the fruit that bothered me. But then I liked Richard's restaurant and his lovely pears and his bossy sister. I thought he had plenty of charisma. Au contraire, I felt the ending was ragged because it didn't explain or resolve anything. It just drove the plot off a cliff.

We *know* that Mulder and Scully disagree and will continue to, but we shippers are easy to figure out. We contend that they are in love and will end up together. And so far as I can see, Punk gives us that option.

Oh really? I don't see any evidence of a happily-ever-after ending in the making here.

So Scully leaves her boyfriend because Mulder has charisma? Everything is jolly except Scully feels guilty and why shouldn't she? She is cruel. That sounds like your ending. Not Punk's. The problem with her ending is we don't really know what happened. All we can do is guess. It's like an XF fanfiction Rorshach test.

Sure. Fine. Whatever.

I think have the same problem with her Mulder/Skinner story, by the way.

Re: I like Punk, too, but...

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

I have admitted to many reservations about this story, including the unresolved ending. I don't see how "drove the plot off a cliff" differs substantially with "so many things are described to no particular point."

You say the reader is left with work to do. I suppose you're right, in a way, but I don't feel compelled to do it; mysteries are mysteries. Scully's inner life is as hard to penetrate here as her spiky, enigmatic demeanor and I have no problem with the eerie feeling it leaves us with. There is, after all, always more fanfic.

I didn't say "happy ever after," just "end up together." As for charisma--there, I think we bump up against the unique nature of fanfic. Mulder looks like David Duchovny; what does Richard look like? I realize appearance isn't *everything*, but in tv/film fanfic it is powerful. Plus, to the polite cypher that is Mulder in "China" we can add the rich history of canon, with all the genius jumps, jokes and neuroses that make up this iconic character. (I too am sick of the word "iconic," but, darn it, I'm thinking The X-Files owns it.)

While patient Richard has a twin sister, a breakdown, a restaurant and a deteriorating grasp on a difficult lover. He seems like a good guy, though there's actually not too much evidence. He's probably a better bet for long-term than Mulder. But this is *Mulder,* this is *the X-Files,* and this is *fanfic*! If we are to take a major interest in Richard, he must at least be cast! (What do you think of Tom Selleck?)

Have I made myself sufficiently unclear?

Re: I like Punk, too, but...

[wendelah1]

I love Tom Selleck but he's too old for this part. How about Jon Stewart? He and GA had great chemistry, too.



So Punk's fic gets a pass here because of the unique nature of fanfic? Because David Duchovny is a hunk? Because we all love the show? So how come no one else gets one?

The difference between driving the plot off a cliff (a pop-cultural reference to Thelma and Louise, see--I watch movies, too) and describing things to no particular point is that you are complaining about the little details not adding up, and I'm bitching specifically about the ending. Although I admit these two issues are not unrelated, I don't think the problem with the ending is the fruit or that Richard is insufficiently characterized, I think it's the ending itself.

The whole point of a mystery is to solve it, elegantly and completely, and in such a way that the reader thinks, of course! I should have seen that coming! The mystery can remain unsolved for poor Richard--but the reader should get more consideration.

Re: I like Punk, too, but...

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

I don't see any evidence of a happily-ever-after ending in the making here.

I don't see a happily-ever-after, but it would seem that Scully is probably going back to the X-Files, and to Mulder. That's all I need in order to feels things are shifting in a less hopeless direction, while still feeling very apprehensive about what's to come.

I felt the ending was ragged because it didn't explain or resolve anything. It just drove the plot off a cliff.

It did lack resolution, but despite loose ends the ending felt natural (and quite effective) to me, because it signalled the end of Scully's attempt at a "normal" life, and presumably her return to the work. And since the entire story was based on the premise of her having left the X-Files, having her return to them feels like a logical place to leave things. It gives the story a bold, simple arc. The only loose thread I object to is that Scully left nothing at all to indicate she left of her own volition.

I do think you've asked all the right questions about this fic, wendelah1. It just doesn't bother me that they're questions we don't get answers for.

"China," OTOH, has a kind of light weirdness about it, a vaguely threatening but still diverting approach that makes good use of an "other" POV.

estella_c, now that I'm reading the comments, I realize I could have cut a lot of my first comment down and just pointed at yours. I agree with you about pretty much everything you've said about this fic. As to the fruit not bearing fruit (hee!), I know what you mean. I attribute it to the fact that China was supposed to be a longer fic in which character development would have been necessary.

On the other hand, there are things I do like about the seemingly pointless Richard exposition - even though I agree that it is a flaw over all. I like that it gives his character legitimacy in his own right, and makes his POV feel intriguing, rather than like a flimsy device. His relative solidity keeps me seeing Scully from the outside, as he sees her, without slipping into her character. And the more I learned about his life the more I got the eerie feeling that Scully was terribly out of place, which struck me as the main tension of the fic. I kept seeing her in a sever black suit throughout the fic, a dark presence, even though I know she was probably dressed in something casual. I think inside she was still black-suited as ever.