xf_book_club | Rerun Request: "Oyster" by Jordan

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Rerun Request: "Oyster" by Jordan

This is a rerun, posted at the request of

estella_c, who loves it and wasn't a member when we discussed it back in 2008. I love it too, and think it's well-worth revisiting.

Like all great western religious stories, "Oyster" takes place in the desert, in the modern day stand-in for Sodom and Gomorrah, Los Vegas, a land of waking dreams, endless heat and unquenchable thirsts. In her author's notes, Jordan states emphatically that "THIS FIC IS REQUIEM FREE." This is rather misleading; in actuality, "Oyster" is a re-envisioning of the end of season seven, and to a limited extent, season eight. The parallels are multiple and striking. In both stories, there are deaths and multiple abductions. There is an investigation in which Skinner, Scully and, of course, Mulder are all major players. To say any more would spoil the story for new readers. While "Requiem" inspired a lot of fanfic, "Oyster" is one the best stories ever written for The X-Files fandom. I recommend it without reservation.

Read "Oyster". You can also find this story on her author's page at Gossamer. Please come back and let us know what you think.

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Fantastic! Certainly one of my all-time favorites as well (as you could guess... it takes a lot to bring me out of retirement).

Thought it might be worth linking to the first discussion (http://xf-book-club.livejournal.com/3203.html), since we had a lot of good insights that time around.

The problem then becomes: can we possibly live up to them?

Onward and backward.;-)

Hi! I wondered if this might entice you back. I'm a little preoccupied right now but it's good to see you here. ♥

I don't know whether I'll be able to come up with any fresh insights but I'm certainly keeping an eye on the discussion. :)

Scully would love, too, to swim with dolphins in the pink sea foam,
to lie naked in the grass and count the stars. But when the world
is a nervously bobbling balloon floating high and aimless overhead,
someone must stand on the ground and hold the string. Someone who
brushes her teeth every morning and wears pajamas every night and
does her homework and knows which side the knife goes on when
setting the table. Someone named Dana, who has never had a
nickname, never skipped a period, someone who can be trusted to
hold that string however hard it tugs and burns her fingers.

This paragraph! Oh, Scully.

Okay, I'm only to here, but I will be back.

We're still here.

That's a great passage. I think all of the characterizations are excellent but Scully's is especially good. Even Mulder has character growth, which is more than he gets on the series.

Going to go read this.. I use my ipad for most things and reading text files always looks funny, so I usually convert them to ePub (ebook) format. I converted this fic, if anyone wants to read it in that format let me know and I can send you it.

Off to read!

I wonder if there is a list anywhere of people looking for ebook formating?

Anyway, I thought of you and your love for "kickass Scully" when I watched this at Youtube today. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I LOVE THIS!

I got into XF when I was 11 (which I guess is an awkward time in any kid's life) and I was kind of an awkward, scaredy-cat kid, really unsure of myself. Scully honestly changed my life, she was such a strong female character and there was a serious shortage of them on tv, IMO. She inspired me to assert myself and stop being so scared of everything. I will love her foreverrr

Ummm.. I have to second memento1's comment in the original post (and the similarities in our usernames made me laugh). I really felt like this fic was kind of over-my-head. I mean, I GET it, especially after reading the comments in the first posting, but... it's just not my cup of tea. I was really confused and had to read sections several times. It reminded me of Penumbra's work, very poetic but almost kind of... excessive? I don't know what the right word is. I'm not very skilled at analyzing writing. I felt like I needed a master's degree to read this. :-/

Oyster reminded me of JET more than Penumbra. Penumbra writing is very poetic, but I dont get lost in the imagery (of Penumbra's work) like to do with JET or Jordan.

Ooh, I've never read either of those authors. Penumbra's the only one I've read that was kind of poetic. I haven't read fic in yeaaaars though.

Okay, so I thought about this a bit more. I think another thing that bothered me in this story was Scully's character and all of Skinner's internal dialogue about her. Scully seemed to be just there, not doing too much, and I got tired of all the sections of Skinner pondering her looks or her unbuttoned shirt or whatever. The ending, with the whole "woman is a vessel" thing, bothered me as well. I just hate the whole trope of a woman getting pregnant with a miracle baby or savior or whatever. IDK, I just like Super Strong Ass-Kicking!Scully better than Standing There While Men Gaze at My Body!Scully.

There is a lot of super-strong etc, Scully on the show so what we tend to get in fanfic is a more introspective version of her than perhaps you are comfortable seeing. Scully is doing all of the things she normally does on a case: we just get to hear her internal monologue as she goes about doing them. I like seeing Scully as a whole person, with strengths and weaknesses. It makes her seem even more real.

IDK, I just like Super Strong Ass-Kicking!Scully better than Standing There While Men Gaze at My Body!Scully.

I have no problem with you disliking this fic, or any fanfic for that matter, or deciding this type of story isn't for you, but if you think "Oyster" is primarily about Skinner and/or Mulder turning Scully into a sex object, you're misreading it.

Edited 2013-03-04 14:33 (UTC)

I agree with many of the comments stating the similarity in the the poetic, imagery-esq writing to Pernumba's work. I was a bit confused, and about 3/4 of the way through I think it finally clicked in my head and the imagery was appreciated, instead of leaving me thoroughly confused, though it may be worth a reread in order to completely sit with me. All in all, I liked it (didn't love it, but that's ok). It leaves everything a bit open which is completely fine, but just not my cup of tea. But I appreciated the ScullyAngst over a missing Mulder, loved Skinner's role in this, and thought the sex scene was hot. Does anyone know if she wrote a sequel or follow up?

Also, my apologies for not being around for the lasts several discussions; RL projects forced me to take a break from fic.

I agree with many of the comments stating the similarity in the the poetic, imagery-esq writing to Pernumba's work. I was a bit confused, and about 3/4 of the way through I think it finally clicked in my head and the imagery was appreciated, instead of leaving me thoroughly confused, though it may be worth a reread in order to completely sit with me.

I didn't find the language itself confusing. The concept of a completely alien mind possessing a human consciousness while it is in a dream state and taking them into another dimension of time and space? That was hard to wrap my head around--and still is.

I can't see the connection with Penumbra or JET that people here keep making either. In comparison to "Oyster," those authors are both writing very straightforward MSR. There isn't anything straightforward about this story. Because so much of it is told from the POV of the alien mind, it feels like it's drowning in symbols and allegory, which is as close to the alien consciousness as our minds can comprehend. It's disorienting, I believe, because it's meant to be.

Despite all that, I'm glad you were able to "just let go" and enjoy the story on its own terms. I liked Scully's characterization and Skinner's too. And yes, indeed, the sex was very sexy, but I thought it was also full of religious symbolism, not an easy combination to pull off.

She did not write a sequel, alas.

The character’s observations were really strong. How Scully looked at Skinner’s arm in part 4 is very convincing. Sometimes, I have a hard time convincing myself of a Scully/Skinner relationship (mostly because my preference for msr is so strong), but that paragraph about his bone structure really struck me. I could see real attraction sprouting from that.

Men can't pretend that kind of gentleness; it's either there or it isn't. Great line and so true.

The start of Chapter 7 is a particularly moving paragraph. It is so real, because sometimes waking thoughts have such a surreal reality to them. The following is the first ‘dream’ passage that sets the tone for the rest of the story.

What if time had weight? That would mean it could be stretched and pulled out of shape, which would offer scary potential for distortions, but it would also mean that it could be proven to exist, that it isn't a human construct. Not like consciousness. How can consciousness ever be proven to exist, she wonders drowsily, if it has no weight?

This chain of though is almost nonsense, but it carries such a strong feeling. Keeping in mind that Scully is a scientist, it seems strange yet profound for her to have these thoughts, and we know right away they are coming from outside her character.

This may be reaching, but this whole story was reminiscing of all the Stephen King books I read in high school. I saw elements of It and the Dark Tower. The Dark Tower images seemed pretty heavy for me, especially the Man in Black.

Overall, this was a trip to read. The ending was so bittersweet, and very strange. The narrator implied things that are so powerful in the context of the story. The author did a great job maintaining tone. The abstract contradictory thoughts of the narrator were very powerful. The writing was highly poetic, and the imagery was very strong.
There is a lot more I can say about Oyster, but I just don’t have time. I’ll finish by sayings it’s elegantly written, original, and moving. Great read.

Edited 2013-02-19 19:50 (UTC)

Why can't I use italics!

I couldn't help responding. Every time I use italics, I can't stop! They go on for paragraphs, very inappropriately. I sound hysterical.:-)

Thank you for these very interesting comments. I just want to say I envy you because YOU FINISHED THE STORY. I am getting slower and slower and now I must make supper.

Later, promise.

I loved the passage about what if time had weight. idk why, but the whole thing just struck me.

This chain of though is almost nonsense, but it carries such a strong feeling. Keeping in mind that Scully is a scientist, it seems strange yet profound for her to have these thoughts, and we know right away they are coming from outside her character.

Actually, until you pointed it out, I didn't know. But I went back and read it over again, and you are absolutely correct.

This may be reaching, but this whole story was reminiscing of all the Stephen King books I read in high school. I saw elements of It and the Dark Tower. The Dark Tower images seemed pretty heavy for me, especially the Man in Black.

I haven't read The Dark Tower. This is what came to mind for me for the Man in Black:

The song hits all the right notes for this fic.

This is a challenging one. And so many ways to start.

Earthy: Jordan adores Skinner. How to get him into bed with Scully without betraying Mulder and grossing out the msr contingent? Alien intervention!

Practical: This tale could be viewed by the salacious as a three-way. How to raise the tone? Literary style! Fortunately, Jordan's style, while literary, never seems to me simply decorative or showoffy. There are so many things a talented earthling like this writer can do that leave the rest of us both stunned and satiated.

Responsible: Jordan does not write smut biscuits. Therefore, we have here a real x-file, one of course never to be written up, and a second case about casino fraud and murder that we don't care a lot about but is a minor delight in its brisk resolution.

Okay, I'm abandoning the Cyrano riff. (Wendy said I had to talk; oh the pressure!) I'll go on record that Oyster is a great fanfic, one probably of the top three, maybe four, wait, oh hell I don't believe in numbering art anyhow. This is art.

The secret of the style is that it is consistent; we are immediately placed in an enchanted pocket environment, observed from without by an unidentified narrator. We (and it) watch Mulder and Scully eating oysters and listen to them discuss Proust. This is not Carter country. We learn that Scully really digs Mulder. We learn that Skinner digs Scully. The atmosphere is heavy with humidity and human desire for both money and sex. The temperature fluctuates, constantly reminding us of our bodies as the silken language titillates our minds.

Mulder disappears. He has, as he manages to hint through a fellow abductee, been kidnapped from reality. Unlike the other victims--the poor, dead maid, the maddened Tracy and John--he can deal with that. One leg in, one out, he balances and retains his identity. In one of many dream-hallucinations, Skinner sees "Mulder in the projection booth." He wants to return to Scully and make love to her. Skinner wants him to return and make love to Scully. Skinner also wants to make love to Scully. It all works out.

Someone said that no one ever really dies in science fiction. And we can surmise that everyone gets laid in The X-Files, as if fanfic hadn't informed us already. Oyster, however, is special.

Oh: in the original version on Jordan's site (?) there were some fabulous illustrations. As for the Dark Man, yes, he appears in Dark City (great flic) and also in the Buffy ep "Hush," which is the best thing they ever did. And Stephen King. EVERYTHING is somewhere in Stephen King.

I suspect Los Vegas in inherently surreal. Tim Powers did wonderful things with it.

Earthy. Yes that is a great way of describing it. It was very earthy, and Las Vegas is a great setting for earthy tones. The contrast between the city and the desert surroundings does a good job of emphasizing the earthiness.

Huh. I would say this story is the opposite of earthy. The sex scene is transcendent.

Actually, I didn't mean that the story is itself earthy. I meant that the (frivolously) intended purpose of pulling off (oh, dear) a threeway is earthy and enters into the creative challenge. Although I can't be sure that was Jordan's overriding purpose. It probably wasn't, given how wonderfully moving the event was managed, as if the writer had entered some kind of trance.

Still, Jordan was a Skinner groupie.

You covered so much. What is there left for me to say?

This story is one of my favorites, too. Strangely, it's the only one of hers that I would consider rereading. I don't like her Skinner/Scully fics, the stories she's famous for, at all (the sex is tedious, for one thing). Anyway, thank you for suggesting it as a rerun.

Since I know the story already, and didn't have to puzzle my way through it, the religious symbolism seemed even more blatant this time around. It works. Jordan pretty much spells it all out at the end so I guess I don't have to.

Jordan sets Mulder apart from Scully, even from the rest of humanity, very early on in the story. I wish the ending hadn't been so ambiguous. Generally I don't like stories where Scully ends up with anyone but Mulder, even if Mulder is pulling the strings. And I hate stories with miracle babies, too, hence my distaste for everything past Requiem. But this story is more like religious allegory than fanfic, so it pulls me along. I dislike threesomes, too, yet I'm crying by the end of this. Miracle baby, Skinner/Scully, three in a bed, having the most boring PIV sex imaginable: it's a story that shouldn't work for me at all-- yet it does.

Thank you for the rec- loved the imagery and the ambiguity in the story and the poetic style... more thought provoking than the average fic and i couldn't put it down... Great characterization too, skinner in particular, that is so humanizing despite the less conventional pairing. Wish there were a sequel.

It's an amazing story. Thanks so much for letting us know you read it and loved it. Getting a comment like this on an old entry made my evening.

Maybe you want a sequel because you don't want Mulder to stay missing? You want Mulder and Scully to be reunited, to be together. If that's the case, I get it. Lucky for you, in canon, they are a couple now!

But if you want a sequel because you think Oyster is incomplete or even because you loved it and don't want it to end, I have to disagree. A sequel to Oyster could only take what she'd already written and negate it, just like Carter and Company took the first seven seasons of TXF and trashed them with season eight and nine.

A great writer knows when their story is complete. The ending of Oyster is perfect, as is, full stop.

Thanks for running the site - getting back into the series after a decade+ hiatus and just love that there are gems like these to discover, when I thought I had read most of the more noteworthy entries from back in the day. Fic has always been one of the best parts of this fandom, but it's also seriously hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I agree for the most part that the ending is great as it is... Without being overly explicit there is still an explanation about the central mystery, and there is enough to suggest that Mulder will return to the physical plane of existence in due time. Maybe an epilogue is what I'm after - just a glimpse as to the fallout from the knowledge that Mulder acquires, and how well Mulder and co handle the results of his "puppetry." But I suppose any good story will leave you wanting more... Here's hoping that the new season will conclude in much the same way.

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Rerun Request: "Oyster" by Jordan

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