Story 223: "Local Boy" by Dryad

[wendelah1]

Yes, the mod is bypassing the queue again. "Manitou" by the same author was recced by mogster495. While it may be excellent, my mood is such that I can't read a gruesome case file fic. My favorite fic by Dryad is "Quiet, He'll Hear You," but I can't handle it right now either.

I read "Local Boy" a number of years ago, but I'd forgotten how much I liked it. The setting is Martha's Vineyard, where Scully and Mulder have traveled so that he might take care of some family business. "Local Boy" is part one of a series, "Country of the Crepescule," but I think it works as a standalone. If you do go ahead and read the entire series, please let us know what you thought of it, too. Dryad said she pictured this as taking place during season three, which makes sense in context, but I thought it had more of a season six vibe myself.

The link is to AO3 but all of Dryad's fic can be read at Gossamer as well.

Read "Country of the Crepescule: Local Boy"

Please send the author feedback, even if you only hit the kudo button. Then come back and let us know what you think. Don't forget to leave your suggestions in the nomination post.

Comments

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

This is a very good, thought-provoking story, and I loved the lean, graceful style which is really its own kind of poetry. But while I liked it, I found it confusing in ways which might be resolved were I to read the entire series. Which I haven't.

The M & S relationship is tentative, all right, but I also found it--what?--passive aggressive, maybe? There must be a psychological term for it; there is for everything else. One of my personal irritants in fic is when the agents, without much explanation, get into bed together and don't have sex! It's not that I'm a smut hound, not really, but it just seems terribly awkward and adolescent. The only writer I can think of who got away with it was Tesla in This House Is burning, but the comfort snuggle doesn't work for me here. I think the only time such a situation might seem appropriate is after the two agents have had sex repeatedly and maybe the world is coming to an end the next day.

Come to think of it, they DID have sex in This House Is Burning. And the resultant confusion was very--sexy.

Also, Mulder asking Scully whether she could live in his father's house. What the hell? As she appropriately responds, "Is this a proposal?" I mean, what else could it be? He wants her opinion on domestic architecture? These may seem superficial questions, but the weirdness is disquieting.

Lest I seem to carp, I do think the little glimpses of Mulder's past growing pains are insightful, and the social interactions realistic. Yes, a dark, brooding, emotionally damaged Fox who resembles a young David Duchovny would indeed be a chick magnet. And the best thing is that he just needs the company and doesn't seem aware of the hormone charge. DD knew it though, so his performance put the sly in FBI.

When I get the time I'll read the whole thing. Crepuscule, huh? Oo, French talk.

[wendelah1]

This is a very good, thought-provoking story, and I loved the lean, graceful style which is really its own kind of poetry.

I think this story is delightful: the setting, the style, the characterizations, the original characters. I like it all.

I don't see any passive-aggression here. Or maybe I just have no idea what you mean by that?

One of my personal irritants in fic is when the agents, without much explanation, get into bed together and don't have sex! It's not that I'm a smut hound, not really, but it just seems terribly awkward and adolescent. The only writer I can think of who got away with it was Tesla in This House Is burning, but the comfort snuggle doesn't work for me here. I think the only time such a situation might seem appropriate is after the two agents have had sex repeatedly and maybe the world is coming to an end the next day.

I would ask if you were joking but I know you are not.

Sometimes people want the comfort of another warm body. And they don't always want or need sex to accompany that. That's not adolescent, that's human. As we both know, sex does eventually ruin complicate Mulder and Scully's partnership.

It seems so simple to me. They don't have sex in this story because that's not where their partnership/friendship/relationship has progressed, not at this juncture. The most interesting stuff about Mulder and Scully on the series had nothing to do with actual sex and everything to do with trust and intimacy, based on years of shared experiences as FBI partners, working in a two person office, fighting crime, and battling the forces of evil. That partnership is what is so fascinating about the series. Their partnership is what has kept me watching and writing and reading the fanfic all these years. Not the consummated sexual relationship and its unfortunate aftermath.

Any two people can hop into bed and have sex whenever they feel like it, and they do, at least on television, and presumably in real life, too (though in my 32 years of marriage I have not cheated once, I won't say I haven't been tempted).

OT: I just finished watching the fourth episode of Justified and to my utter dismay, US Marshal Raylon Givens has already had sex with Ava Crowder, after assuring his boss that he wouldn't do it, and telling her that he couldn't do it because she was a witness in the investigation into that shooting from the pilot. I have to tell you, I lost a lot of respect for him over that, but I'm guessing he's kind of the Anti-Mulder for you?

Anyway. The sex? That's not what The X-Files is about, not for me. That's probably why I like this story quite a bit more than the other M/S shippers do, most of whom have not put in an appearance in this discussion. There are not many pairings who can believably share a bed chastely, either on television, or in fanfic. However, I think Mulder and Scully can, because their mutual sexual attraction is the least important thing, and for me, the least interesting thing about their relationship. YMMV.

But hey, I'm delighted you read it all, liked it mostly and commented anyway. Thank you. ♥ ♥ ♥

Whatever it stems from (you didn't say), I'm don't think your confusion is likely to be sorted by reading the rest of the series. These are not case files or post-eps or chapters in a book; instead, they are stand-alone stories, loosely connected by their exploration of the personal dimension of the M/S relationship.

***

Scully liked dancing. More to the point, she liked dancing with Mulder. He was graceful and courteous and never gave the impression of leading her around the dance floor, although there was no question he was leading. A giant metaphor for their whole relationship. Yet that wasn't fair to either of them.

After all, she chose to follow.

Indeed.

In case anyone else wants to hear the song that was playing while Mulder and Scully danced, here is Glenn Miller's band performing String of Pearls. Or if you prefer, here's a high fidelity copy so good that it makes me wish I'd been around to hear the band in its heyday.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

Oh, you wanna thunderdome? Okay then. Wait, I need a nap first.

Nope, sorry, I don't believe that season six Mulder and Scully are simply devoted, united colleagues who can offer a little body warmth when needed. This was the feverish height of shipperdom, and I admit to having been part of it. Yes, there was the cooperation and trust and mutual respect, all of which made the relationship meaningful. But you can't eliminate the sexual charge. It was there. Millions saw it. Carter knew he had to deal with it--badly, as we knew he would--but at this particular point there was no such thing as cuddling just for comfort. Maybe Mulder needed comfort. Fine: comfort sex, leading to embarrassment and confusion. Whatever. Just don't lie there like a couple of matched throw rugs and expect us to believe it.

You see that I am immovable on the subject. I think you invest a lot of (what?) idealism in the M/S relationship. Well, it was a groundbreaking concept and we all love GA for the dignity she gave her character. But the woman had hormones, as do the rest of us, and thank the Lord we have great fanficcers to resolve what the show left unresolved. This is a good story, but I believe it denies the obvious and resists the inevitable.

Yeah, and what about that question about M's father's house?

And what about that cutting board? (private communication) Just a few days left.

I adore Glenn Miller.