xf_book_club | Story 198: "five things that never happened to dana scully" by threeguesses

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Story 198: "five things that never happened to dana scully" by threeguesses

The next fic was nominated by

lightlack and enthusiastically seconded by myself. It’s written by

threeguesses, who is one of my favorite writers to come out of the pre/post IWTB era. Her writing in this fandom was not prolific, but her stories have always stood out (at least for me) for their powerful concepts, enthralling emotional currents, and the deceptive simplicity of threeguesses’ writing. Undoubtedly you know how "five things" fics work, in which case you also know the title of this week’s fic tells you just about everything that can be revealed about it without spoiling the sense of discovery that comes with each new segment.

five things that never happened to dana scully

The author is still around and writing up a storm (though sadly not in this fandom), and I’m sure she would appreciate feedback. There’s lots to say about this fic, so please do let us know what you think. And, as always, the nomination post is open for new suggestions.

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Aw, damn I missed "Get Up Mulder"! I've been so engrossed in the "Hunger Games" trilogy that I haven't taken the time to read anything else or do anything else outside work for that matter. *hangs head*

So, as much as I loved

threeguesses Gardening InTropical Climates I'm quite underwhelmed by this one. And it as nothing to do with the writer's skills. I just don't care for the "Five Things" format at all. I find it...a bit...I don't know...pointless? Maybe because each section - short as they are - leave you with a frustrating taste of "wow, that could have been a great AU story." if they're good, or eye rolling "Phew, I'm glad this did not happen" if they're not.

The only one I really liked in this was #5, because it's a perfect way to end this kind of story. And who hasn't wondered what would have happened if Scully hadn't been well, Scully?" (and please nobody says "Cynthia Nixon" or I'll shoot. )

#1 made me cringe, but it's no secret I have a terribly low tolerance threshold for sweet and cuddly baby fic.

#2 Interesting idea but this Samantha sounds too much like a dude with her "Pretty girl like you and a place like this." and not a very subtle one at that. Plus, making this Samantha gay feels sloppy to me, because this means the writer doesn't have to make too many efforts to make this character sound like her brother - being all flirty with Scully. The real challenge here would have been to keep this Sam straight and still manage to convey the thing (you all know that thing) that sparks between M&S. Now there, I would have been impressed. As it is, meh. ( And just to be on the safe side in case anybody decides to get offended for the wrong reasons, I have NO issues with Sam being gay or Scully being gay. Their sexual orientation is not what I'm talking about here.)

#3 See, I don't buy Scully not knowing how to be a mother. We've seen many times that Scully is great with kids. As much as I loathe baby fic I do see why people would want to write about Scully with kids in tow. She's got this all emcompassing compassion and kindness coupled with this no bullshit attitude that is the trademark of great motherhood. And besides I don't buy her losing touch with Mulder, not like this. So to me, this "what if" just feels pretty pointless.

#4.Nothing much to say about that one. It's not bad, it's just not very original is all.

So yeah, it's definitely well written, and I love this author's lean writing style and effortless humour, still, I don't think this one is anything much to write home about. But since I don't really care for the genre this kind of story is always going to be a hard sell. *shrugs*

Edited 2012-02-27 10:25 (UTC)

I have some librarian hard-selling The Hunger Games to me. I should read it, but it sounds so dystopic. And I have a limited tolerance for that kind of mean-world agony. Too much like rl.

Honestly, in regard to the topic, I think that the "five things" trope(?) means that you aren't committed to buy any of them. You're just indulging in multiple universes. I prefer fics that take the au idea more seriously, like "Lullaby for a Stormy Night" or "Tikkun Olum."

If you don't like dystopian stories, I doubt you'll enjoy THG. 1984 and Brave New World being two of my favorite books ever, this trilogy is right up my alley, even if I find the main character a bit dense and annoying at times - but then I try to remind myself that this is essentially a "young adult" novel. The plot and depiction of this particular universe are wonderful though.

I know you're not supposed to buy those "Five Things" but they still have to have a minimum of credibility in their particular universe. I can buy Scully wanting more kids, but I can't buy her sucking at motherhood because it doesn't make sense within the character's canon.

Who wrote that Lullaby story you speak of?

Tikkun Olam, guhh I hated that fic! I found it nasty and soulless without any of the redeeming values that had made Iolokus so great. Probably my biggest disapointment as a reader.

Well, I like Tikkun Olam, nasty and soulless as it may be. Sharp enough to cut, and a real brain-bender.

As for LFASN, I could have sworn we spoke of it here--Wendy?Amyhit?--but I couldn't locate it under au and I can't imagine how else it could have been tagged. You have visited the old Fic Talk site; it was discussed there. It's by Loneraven (aka Raven) and was posted here at Livejournal. Someone can set us straight. Oh--it also has an FBI Samantha.

Yes, I replied to her with the links.

Well, I like Tikkun Olam, nasty and soulless as it may be. Sharp enough to cut, and a real brain-bender.

Yes, I found it deliciously twisted and dark. MS and RT pushed the envelope farther than I could've imagined possible, and they kept me hanging on every sharp twist. Plus, wasn't TO the fic that used quotes from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead as headers? Those quotes were the perfect mix of creepy-dark and flippant.

Plus, wasn't TO the fic that used quotes from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead as headers? Those quotes were the perfect mix of creepy-dark and flippant.

Yes. That's the one. Maybe we should do it as a rerun sometime? We read it last in 2008. Story number five or six, I think it was.

Hmmm...maybe I should try reading it again one day.

We discussed "Tikkun Olam" way back at the beginning. It was very cold, but I liked it a lot. I'm not sure what that says about me. It's here if you want to glance at the discussion.

The discussion and link to Raven's "Lullaby for a Stormy Night" is here. It's a great story.

Thanks for these Wendy.

I would love to hear your thoughts on "Get up Mulder." It is never too late to comment on a story.

The first time through, I enjoyed reading this one more than you. I was completely engaged in it, but this time around, I can totally see where you're coming from. I agree, #5 absolutely was the knock out blow, a perfect ending for this story. It made me gasp the first time around.

#2 Interesting idea but this Samantha sounds too much like a dude with her "Pretty girl like you and a place like this." and not a very subtle one at that. Plus, making this Samantha gay feels sloppy to me, because this means the writer doesn't have to make too many efforts to make this character sound like her brother - being all flirty with Scully. The real challenge here would have been to keep this Sam straight and still manage to convey the thing (you all know that thing) that sparks between M&S. Now there, I would have been impressed. As it is, meh. ( And just to be on the safe side in case anybody decides to get offended for the wrong reasons, I have NO issues with Sam being gay or Scully being gay. Their sexual orientation is not what I'm talking about here.)

You put this very well. Not only that, Samantha's character isn't developed enough. She just seems like a knock-off of Mulder, rather than a person in her own right. Not only that, and this was my problem with this section when I read it the first time, she in no way resembles the Samantha we saw on screen. Or the Samantha hybrid, whatever. Stupid myth-arc. Also her line sounds just as stupid coming from a woman's mouth as it does from a guy's. Ugh, Maybe worse. I am sure she had her fine qualities but we never got to see them.

Anyway, I don't think any of these scenarios was meant to be taken seriously for their plots; instead, I think collectively they all must be a statement about the series itself. It must be a metafic, because not only did none of these things happen to Dana Scully, none of them could have. They aren't true AUs, except maybe the Emily one, and even there, I can't see it happening. Scully would never let herself lose touch with Mulder, even if she did go back to work at Quantico in order to raise Emily. Mulder would never let himself lose touch with Scully. The only fic I've ever found myself going, okay, maybe I can buy into this scenario was Syntax6's last, still unfinished story. I even had problems with Rivkat's "Up the Ladder." In rejecting it, I learned something about how I see Mulder and Scully.

Number one couldn't have happened because David Duchovny left the series, which made the happy family alternative an impossibility. It's an AU, but only if you throw out season nine, which isn't a bad idea, now that I think about it. The closest story to this that I can think of is mine, the cross-over. But to get that to work, I had to move them to an Alternate Universe on a completely different show. This isn't any longer "The X-Files," it's something else, which tells me another thing about how I see the show. It would have been fun to read had she developed it further.

Edited 2012-02-27 18:23 (UTC)

I would love to hear your thoughts on "Get up Mulder." It is never too late to comment on a story.

Cool. Done.

Yep, I totally agree with your Sam comments somewhere above.

I see. Metafic is a good way of approaching this.

I haven't read "Up The Ladder" yet, nor the Syntax6 fic, so I don't really have any other points of reference for this scenario.

We discussed "Up the Ladder" here, and you're welcome to chime in any time. They're both excellent, it's just that the Syntax6 one was left unfinished, a first for her, so I can't recommend it. "Original Sin" is the reason I don't read WIP any longer. I wait for them to get posted and then check them out.

They all work for me as metafic, as commentary on the series itself, but they don't work as AUs, except maybe the Samantha/Scully one if she'd taken more time to develop her as a character. We've seen nine seasons of Mulder, we know Mulder, and this Samantha pales in comparison; she can't compete against that many years of canon.

re #2: See, I never see the M/S dynamic as being particularly sexual, so that might be why this section worked better for me than for others. To me M/S have always seemed more like extremely close platonic friends. They might flirt, they might have occasional tension-relieving sex (I do read fanfic, after all) but romance is a hard sell for me.

Samantha even makes the first move. I can't see Mulder doing the same in the circumstances.

They might flirt, they might have occasional tension-relieving sex (I do read fanfic, after all)

LOL. The Mulder/Scully Romance is a hard sell for me, too, but I think David and Gillian have a lot of chemistry, which helps make their characters' mutual attraction more plausible. I don't know why this particular Samantha/Scully is an easier pairing for you.

Samantha even makes the first move. I can't see Mulder doing the same in the circumstances.

I can't either, but why would Samantha? I don't think we see enough of their relationship to make this pass credible, but then I don't think it matters very much. By the writer's own definition, this doesn't happen to Dana Scully. But I'd totally read this story, if only she'd written it, instead of merely sketching an outline.

*sigh* I used to be a fierce noromo...and then I found out about something called fanfiction. *BG*

And now nobody is going to convince me that these two aren't soulmates.

#3 See, I don't buy Scully not knowing how to be a mother. We've seen many times that Scully is great with kids. As much as I loathe baby fic I do see why people would want to write about Scully with kids in tow. She's got this all emcompassing compassion and kindness coupled with this no bullshit attitude that is the trademark of great motherhood. And besides I don't buy her losing touch with Mulder, not like this. So to me, this "what if" just feels pretty pointless.

Looking it over again, I have to agree, 100%. There is nothing in character about anything that happens in this one. Scully is great with children. I don't think Mulder or Scully would allow themselves to lose touch with one another. I think to say otherwise implies that the only thing that they have between them is the work, and by this time in the series that's just not the case. This starts in fifth season with "Emily." They've been together six years. It's an au, sure, but it's one that must fundamentally change their characters for it to work, which in effect obliterates the series as we know it completely.

I can't disagree more. I find the idea of Scully adopting Emily to be OOC, but allowing for that bit of canon stickiness, I find the way this fic has it playing out extremely believable. I think this is just about exactly what would have happened. As much as I hate, hate, HATE the idea of Scully and Mulder losing touch with each other, if Scully had left the X-Files to live another life, I have no doubt that's what would've happened. The work was the medium and the impetus for their relationship at that point. They loved each other, but in leaving the work she would have severed the bonds of alliance, ideology, and propinquity that bound them together. Never ones to do things by halves, Scully would have adapted to her new life as best she could, and Mulder would have readapted to his old life as best he could, and there would have been no room for each other. No room for a rash, obsessive, and exceedingly empty man with a dangerous, all-consuming quest in Scully's life, and no room for Scully's normal life with it's normal vulnerabilities and normal needs in Mulder's life.

When she’s finished (she had a spiel, she’d planned) he just says, Okay Scully. He helps her carry the boxes to her car, shuts her trunk. They say goodbye in the parking garage, Scully’s heels sinking into a puddle. He waves as she pulls out.

This is written exceptionally well. The first time I read it I remember knowing, before reading any further, that this was the end for them. That after this whatever was between them would wither away. It's right there in the writing, in the way things are phrased. They don't "part company", they say goodbye. And there's this seperation already, the way they see themselves in relation to each other: Scully in the car, pulling away, and Mulder standing there in the parking garage, waving goodbye.

Mulder knows, of course, because Mulder would know, the way bonds are broken and people change. He would know that his life is not compatible with the one she's leaving for, and vice versa. As I see it, that's what his quiet, "Okay Scully," means. It means there's nothing for him to argue about or barter for. He knows how this will go, and he understands.

To me it all makes perfect sense.

It's very well written as far as it goes, and I'm not saying I don't like the story overall, it's not at all how I see either character behaving at this point in the drama.

So there we are.

The work was the medium and the impetus for their relationship at that point.

So, at what point do you think that did change? Because it must have changed somewhere along the way for them to have ended up together at the end in IWTB, without the work to keep them together. Or do you just leave canon behind entirely after Requiem (a perfectly understandable choice, by the way, given the canon we were given)?

So, at what point do you think that did change? Because it must have changed somewhere along the way for them to have ended up together at the end in IWTB, without the work to keep them together. Or do you just leave canon behind entirely after Requiem (a perfectly understandable choice, by the way, given the canon we were given)?

Well, I do completely disregard IWTB canon, and I usually attempt to disregard all but the most basic elements of S8 and S9 canon. However, I think your question is still entirely valid, and it was something I asked myself while I was typing up my previous comment.

The trouble is, I think the work is an absolutely fundamental aspect of both their relationship, and of who they are as people. In my headcanon quiting isn’t really a possibility. Technically they’re both at liberty to quit at any time, but it’s just not something either of them could find it in themselves to do. So for me, the question isn’t so much “When did the work stop being the medium and impetus for their relationship?” because I don’t think it ever really does stop being that. But as time goes on something kind of paradoxical happens, where more and more their relationship becomes the medium and impetus for the work, as well.

Short answer: I think by the end of FTF their relationship was capable of sustaining them when they needed it to.

(I should perhaps make clear that by "the work" I never just mean their FBI cases. I mean the whole epic experience of the work, the quest for answers, and the war they find themselves embroiled in.)

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Story 198: "five things that never happened to dana scully" by threeguesses

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