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

[wendelah1]

This is pretty much how I'd imagine Scully would approach motherhood.

If you don't mind my asking, why would you think that about her, in particular, as a character? She seemed to be having no problems interacting with Emily during the short time we saw her on screen with her. She had a mother who loved her and took good care of her, so she knows what good mothering looks like. She seemed like she was doing fine with being William's mother, apart from the shitstorm the writers threw at her.

She does it again and again and eventually it becomes… well, if not natural, at least second nature.

I can't help but approach this issue from a different angle. The truth is, no one knows how to be a mother, to be a parent, until they are one. And every time you think you've got it down, the kid gets older and the issues change, and you are right back where you started from, knowing nothing.

[littlegreen42.livejournal.com]

If you don't mind my asking, why would you think that about her, in particular, as a character?

I don't know; maybe I'm just projecting myself onto her, or something. :/

[wendelah1]

Maybe.

We all do that from time to time, me included. Especially me, when it comes to Scully.

It's not necessarily a bad thing to do, as a writer, but I just finished reading a story where the writer admitted right up front that the plot was something that had happened in her past. She decided to shove Scully into the role in her stead and see how it played out. Not well, as it turns out. The story is pretty good but the author's identity is not such a great fit for Scully. I think the story would have been more successful as an original work of fiction, rather than fanfiction.

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

I think the story would have been more successful as an original work of fiction, rather than fanfiction.

Dance Card, wendelah1?

[wendelah1]

You got it in one. A very well-written, not at all believable story, at least for Scully.

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

You know, Dance Card was one of the very first XF fics I ever read, before I'd even started watching the show, and I connected with Sab's Scully quite strongly. It may have even influenced one or two of my first XF fics, actually. But at the time I didn't really have much of a concept of who Scully really was, canonically. Thinking back on it, what I remember of her in Dance Card is really very unlike my Scully at this point in time, and certainly - I agree - quite unlike canon Scully.

At some point perhaps we could even read the Dance Card trilogy here (all three at once, I'd imagine). As OOC as they are, Sab's a good writer, and a charismatic writer, and they could be fun to discuss.

[wendelah1]

Of course we can, if we say we can. (Better that than the one of hers where everyone dies.) We are the mods! Yeah, I can imagine a good discussion of the WTF? variety could come out of it. I can put it up next if you like.

Or we could read more "Five Things" stories? I have a small collection of them.

I suppose I should check the queue first.

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

Trilogy? I just found two. 'Dance Card' and 'Moonshine'. What's the third?

Never read these but IIRC I was pretty impressed by 'Woods and Nails' by the same author.

[wendelah1]

The Third is called "What Happened After That" and it's the second of the three. "Moonshine" is the third story. They're all at Gossamer.

I tried to turn the title into a link. I'm not sure it will work.

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

I don't know; maybe I'm just projecting myself onto her, or something. :/

No, littlegreen42, I totally agree with you. I think threeguesses really captures the way Scully would adapt to this particular reality. I've never taken canon all that seriously on this matter, because IMO Gillian Anderson could not have been distant or cold or awkward with a child to save her life.

The way threeguesses writes it is much more in agreeance with how I see her character. She finds parenting difficult, and has a hard time connecting with a child on a child's level. There's a kind of distance in Scully that I don't think she could have overcome - even for a child - at that point in her life. But she tries.

I feel like with this AU, threeguesses has wrote what amounts to the opposite of fix-it fic. Something was wrong with canon and threeguesses pointed it out by tearing that plotline wide open. It's always been something that bothers me about the Emily storyline, that Scully automatically wants nothing more than to adopt this little girl. I can understand that she would have very conflicting feelings during that time, but the idea that she would give up her life as she knew it (including the work she's been willing to risk her life for on countless occasions) in order to become a parent, just like that, seems incredibly unfair to her character. The change it would have necessitated would have been like bulldozing down her life in order to live another. Which is what this fic shows. Scully makes a choice, and sticks with it, and adapts as best she can, until eleven years later she's telling her daughter that Mulder is someone she used to work with, and really, that's the truth of it.

[littlegreen42.livejournal.com]

Something was wrong with canon and threeguesses pointed it out by tearing that plotline wide open. It's always been something that bothers me about the Emily storyline, that Scully automatically wants nothing more than to adopt this little girl.

I always felt like something didn't seem right about Scully so strongly wanting children, especially in regard to the William storyline. It just felt kind of tacked on, so to speak. I'm not saying she didn't and would never want children; it's just that the degree to which she wanted to become a mother seemed somewhat off to me.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

I agree with all of the above. That is, I do think that Scully is good and empathetic with children--I don't see how we can ignore canon given the way numerous incidents were played--but I don't think she would choose to conceive a child. Not given her time and spirit-consuming job and the knowledge of multiple dangers she and Mulder had uncovered. Plus, you know, planetary warfare on the event horizon. (Or do I misunderstand event horizon? After lizard brain, anything is possible.)

I know that the desire to bear a child is often irrational, but Scully isn't irrational.

[wendelah1]

That is, I do think that Scully is good and empathetic with children--I don't see how we can ignore canon given the way numerous incidents were played-

I agree 100%.

-but I don't think she would choose to conceive a child. Not given her time and spirit-consuming job and the knowledge of multiple dangers she and Mulder had uncovered. Plus, you know, planetary warfare on the event horizon.

I have heard this argument before. We have had this argument before. People with time and spirit-consuming jobs, and worse, all over the world have desired and chosen to have children throughout history, under less than ideal circumstances, including people in law enforcement, people in the CIA, soldiers during wartime, and people during the Great Depression, to name just a few. Just because someone is rational by nature doesn't mean they make every important life decision by pulling out their calculators. And anyone who throws away a promising career in favor of following Spooky Mulder all over hither and yon isn't incapable of making irrational decisions. She even quits the FBI to stay with him rather than be transferred to Salt Lake City. I can list other irrational decisions she's made in her life; having an affair with Daniel Waterston would be the first on my list, but there are others. Procreation isn't something women can put off forever. We don't even know precisely when they tried it since there are no time stamps on that episode. There is no evidence that Scully believed that interplanetary warfare was on the horizon when she decided it was now or never for the invitro.

I know that the desire to bear a child is often irrational, but Scully isn't irrational.

She's a woman, not a computer. Sometimes even rational people decide to follow their hearts, rather than their heads.

[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.)

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

I don't see how we can ignore canon given the way numerous incidents were played

We all ignore large amounts of XF canon, as it suits us. Almost all of us can agree that CC often didn't know what he was doing, and often seemed not to have the best understanding of his own characters. What you're saying is that you don't see how we can ignore this bit of canon, because you have no inclination to do so. But in the grand scheme of things, this is a relatively small and easy bit of canon to ignore.

I know that the desire to bear a child is often irrational, but Scully isn't irrational.

I agree completely. She also isn't selfish or foolhardy, which she would have to be if she planned to have a child in the midst of an oncoming planetary war.

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...I'm trying to think that if I found out a child had been made from my ova, I probably wouldn't think twice before wanting to adopt it. And I'm not even big on kids.

So I guess, this situation in "Emily" never struck me as odd or unfair, it seemed pretty logical to me. *shrug*