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

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

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.

Comments

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

I guess we have had this argument before, and it's obviously won't be resolved. The passion to bear a child is not one I've experienced, which is not to say that it does not most powerfully exist. The world we know is full of dreadfully dangerous places full of children getting hurt. (Many, of course, are conceived under some form of social duress or accidentally.)

Scully is a privileged individual: she has access to birth control and more information about the way the world works than the average career woman. Yet she insists on a child of her own, despite her physical incapacity. She spends a lot of money, risks enemy attacks, and humiliates herself and her audience hideously in that scene where she essentially says to Mulder, "Hold the elevator. I want some of your sperm."

Then, after CC and Co. realized that a precious little baby would fuck up their plot trajectory, Scully puts this emotionally and financially expensive child up for adoption. To (perhaps) preserve the life she had insisted on creating.

I realize I'm blaming Scully for all the stupidity of the show's writers and producers. But I do not think she made a good decision. If she were my friend I'd hug and support her and offer to babysit, but I would think she was not firing on all cylinders.

As for amyhit's comment about ignoring canon: sure. There are parts of canon I don't only ignore but wish I could forget. Still, I don't see any need to deny Scully's tenderness with children. Motherhood is not an inborn skill, as W says; awkwardness and mistakes are part of the role. (Though I do believe that it helps, as Scully does, to have a good mother of your own.)