xf_book_club | Story 251: "Your Platonic Relationship: An Owner's Manual" by Nanda

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Story 251: "Your Platonic Relationship: An Owner's Manual" by Nanda

I'm still going back through the older comments at the nomination post. Way back when, someone nominated "Syncopation" by Lilla Vaughan, which I wasn't that crazy about to be frank. I don't remember why. But then I remembered she'd written this fic, which I do like a lot.

In her summary Nanda writes, "I think the title speaks for itself. Oh, and there are rocks falling from the sky, too."

The link is to AO3 but this fic can also be read at Gossamer.

Read Your Platonic Relationship: An Owner's Manual

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I've always found this fic really interesting, and several times thought about reading it here at the book_club, so I'm glad it's on the block now. I feel like this is the kind of fic that appears different every way you turn it, if that makes any sense.

META?

First of all, Your Platonic Relationship has always struck me as having a subtle but pervasive meta dynamic to it. It comes across like a light, humorous amalgamation of about a thousand different MSR-centric casefics. This fic is the mean, the loose depiction of how the average Mulder/Scully shipper writes about, and/or reads about, and/or thinks about the Mulder/Scully dynamic. That's not to say MSR as it's depicted in YPR is the headcanon of any one person (perhaps not even Vaughan herself) - but it does a great job of sketching together a core group of tropes that are recognizably "MSR through a fandom lense."

MARY SUE?

I also find Scully's characterization in YPR really interesting. Am I the only one who finds her Mary Sue-ish in this fic? Where that Mary Sue-ishness is coming from is hard to pinpoint, but I think it's mainly in how this Scully relates to this Mulder: He's Mulder and she's the smart, long-suffering best friend who's crushing hard.

I think that there's a relatability and a sort of normality to how their relationship is depicted that makes it Mary Sue-ish. It has that High School Romance Fantasy vibe to it, which is certainly another one of this fic's numerous facets.

But at the same time as Scully feels Mary Sue-ish from one angle, she's distinctly herself from another. It's Scully and not a Mary Sue that's in the airport at 9 AM, it's Scully that reads case notes during the flight, it's Scully that asks for orange juice with her pretzels, and who checks the weather reports for tornadoes, and who "always gets carried away at salad bars ," and who gets on with the autopsy while Mulder skips out in order to pursue his own theory.

Scully gets the Mary Sue treatment when it comes to her feelings towards Mulder, but not when it comes to work or life in general. And the shift between the two modes of characterization is consistent enough to make me wonder whether it was deliberate.

MULDER: KINDA THE BEST PART

Mulder, by contrast, feels quite in character throughout - I mean apart from the bit where he calls Scully after nightmares (and there's that High School Romance Fantasy aspect showing up again). My favorite parts of this fic are mostly Mulder parts, for that reason. His dialogue, in particular, is spot on.

- “I thought you were finally making a pass at me, Scully.”

- “This ain’t no styrofoam, Scully.”

- Faded jeans and a Taco Bell t-shirt.

- The whole 'showing up in Scully's motel room fully dressed in the middle of the night to talk about falling dirt' scene. Plus, "Come on, get dressed."

HOTNESS

Another thing I find interesting about this fic is that as funny and deliberately silly as it is, it also manages to be genuinely kinda hot. It was definitely a bit hit-and-miss on that front. For example, "I have a fire burning and damn, I wish you were here” is, IMO, utter cheese, and a complete miss. But then again:

- "He will laugh and touch the small of your back as he opens the passenger door of the rented beige Taurus for you. He is the only person who ever touches you there."

- "You will be able to tell how recently your best friend has been in your room by the scent of his cologne."

- "Fall asleep to the murmur of his television through the wall."

- "Light will tumble from his room into yours."

Because I enjoy subtlety, and because I'm all about finding eroticism in things that aren't inherently sexual, I like the last two examples best. But they're all hot, IMO, which is kind of cool because not one is more than PG, content-wise. And I think that goes back to the fic's meta aspect: In a sense, this fic is actually more provocative than the sum of its parts, because it's evocative of other, racier fics. I guess you could say it harnesses the power of fanon.

Edited 2014-08-27 22:39 (UTC)

Hi! I always enjoy reading your commentary.

I agree that much of the charm of "Your Platonic Relationship: An Owner's Manual" is the way it plays with both fanon and canon. The scent of his cologne, his hand at the small of her back, Mulder's photographic memory, the casefile with no actual solution. The thousand and one tropes of MSR fanfic, with bonus irony.

However, I don't see Scully as Mary Sue-ish in this fic. She's too self-observant and also too much like canon Scully for that.

My idea of a Scully Mary Sue is the completely OOC Scully in "Where There's a Will." The Scully who fake marries Mulder and happily turns herself into a stay-at-home Mom/Stepford wife in order to adopt two children. That's a Mary Sue Scully. Or the Scully in "Worth Breaking" who starts having "meaningless" sex with Mulder because he wants to and she can't say no. This Scully then spends the next 700K alternating between whining to her therapist about how terrible it is to be having sex with Mulder and screwing his brains out. WTF? That's a Mary Sue Scully for sure.

She's the POV character, so we're seeing Mulder through her eyes, which is not necessarily the identical to how Nanda would describe it. Do you think Scully's standing in for the author? I guess what makes this Scully not a Mary Sue is her sense of how absurd her life is. The falling rocks, the clumps of dirt, the futility of playing a scientist in a world where the laws of physics don't seem to apply. It's like she's observing her life, rather than merely living it, kind of like we observe her life and don't live it. Mary Sues have no sense of irony whatsoever.

I also love Mulder in this fic, which makes sense because we're seeing Mulder from the POV of a woman who is in love with him. She's trying to keep him and her feelings for him at bay and failing utterly. She does manage to avoid ravishing him, just barely. It's very cheesy romance novel language in places and deliberately so to heighten the effect.

I think this story is charming, sexy, witty, and very, very meta.

I think the thing about Mary Sues is that nobody can really agree on what one is or isn't. My own loose definition is "A character who, due to how they are depicted, feels like a stand in for either the author, or for the hypothetical reader." I don't have any set-in-stone qualifications beyond that.

You asked me if I thought YPR's Scully was a stand-in for the author, and I'm gonna have to say yes, or perhaps a stand-in for the hypothetical reader. That wasn't ALL she was, but there was just waaaay too much "Character who women can easily identify with and live vicariously through" about her for her to not feel like some kind of a stand-in. Like I said, this fic turns her into the smart, long-suffering best friend who's crushing hard. Like Taylor Swift in that one song, or Bridget Jones with an edge.

My idea of a Scully Mary Sue is the completely OOC Scully in "Where There's a Will." The Scully who fake marries Mulder and happily turns herself into a stay-at-home Mom/Stepford wife in order to adopt two children. That's a Mary Sue Scully. Or the Scully in "Worth Breaking" who starts having "meaningless" sex with Mulder because he wants to and she can't say no. This Scully then spends the next 700K alternating between whining to her therapist about how terrible it is to be having sex with Mulder and screwing his brains out. WTF? That's a Mary Sue Scully for sure.

I actually haven't read either of these fics, but Scully certainly does sound Mary Sue-ish in both of them. I guess the difference between us is that you seem to think in terms of "Mary Sue or Not Mary Sue?" whereas I only think in terms of "How Mary Sue-ish is this character?" The examples you gave of her being a Mary Sue were, as you said "completely OOC," whereas I do not have that requirement. In fact, I find her Mary Sue-ishness in YPR all the more obvious because it's contrasted by parts of the fic where she's actually quite in character and not Mary Sue-ish (which I did mention, in my previous comment. Just sayin').

Mary Sues have no sense of irony whatsoever.

I disagree that this is a fundamental principal of Mary Sues. In fact, I think that if a character seems canonically unaware or unconcerned with how absurd her life is, then it can be Mary Sue-ish for that character to be written as aware and/or concerned about it. Because in that case, instead of exploring why the character isn't more aware or concerned, the writer is simply making the character more like herself and the audience, who are aware of the absurdity.

However, it's a bit of a moot point in Scully's case, as canonical Scully seems fairly aware of how absurd her life is.

Edited 2014-08-31 03:26 (UTC)

However, it's a bit of a moot point in Scully's case, as canonical Scully seems fairly aware of how absurd her life is.

She does, indeed.

The point you raised about the slippery definition of a Mary Sue is a good one, too. The classic definition usually involves an OFC, but of course Scully isn't one in either of the stories I cited. I think Mary-Sueish works as an adjective.

BEST FRIENDS

One final thing I want to talk about, regarding YPR, is Vaughan's choice to refer to Mulder as Scully's "best friend." I keep turning that over in my head, trying to decide how I feel about it. I want to like it. I definitely like fics that emphasize how much Mulder and Scully mean to each other even beyond their romantic feelings. In hindsight, that may have been one of the best things about the much beloved Parabiosis, the way it so clearly depicts Mulder and Scully's relationship as multifaceted, with such a strong chord of both professional and intimate friendship--and then love as something that essentially suffuses their friendship without subsuming it. So yeah, I'm a big fan of Mulder and Scully as "best friends." But I don't think I like the way YPR uses that idea. For one thing, it feels a bit forced - a "tell not show" kind of attitude. For another, it reinforces that Mary Sue vibe I get from Scully. Because crushing on, lusting after, falling in love with your best friend -- well that's just so normal, so relatable, really. I myself have never fallen for my best friend, but I know six or eight people who have. Which is why it's one of the most Mary Sue/Marty Stu plotlines there is!

Whereas Mulder and Scully seize on the idea of "partners," and from quite early on they begin using it as their way of explaining - to themselves, to each other, and to the rest of the world - what their relationship is. It's a catch-all term, a way of never having to unpack the idea of what they are to each other. So hearing Scully in YPR repeatedly define them in another way - as "best friends" - kind of throws me off. Because maybe they are best friends, but that was never, in my mind, how they chose to define themselves.

I agree with what you've said, except I think the best friends distinction feels forced because it is meant to be forced (subtly but deliberately, in that "tell not show" way), by Scully, rather than by the author. They are best friends, so Scully isn't lying to herself, she's just trying to separate shades of gray into black and white, using a term she has convinced herself is intimate enough for their relationship but lacking the sexual aspect she's trying to avoid, however seriously. "Partners" wouldn't have had the same tone or emphasis, I don't think, so I'm defending the author's choice.

There's a kind of somber, distanced, tongue-in-cheek thing going on here and I like it. I agree, it's very meta and I think that's what makes the whole thing work. I love the case file.

They are best friends, so Scully isn't lying to herself, she's just trying to separate shades of gray into black and white, using a term she has convinced herself is intimate enough for their relationship but lacking the sexual aspect she's trying to avoid, however seriously. "Partners" wouldn't have had the same tone or emphasis, I don't think, so I'm defending the author's choice.

That's what I thought as well. She's creating a more intimate relationship for them in her headspace, one that doesn't cross the line she's drawn, but which is light years away from work partner.

Very sorry to barge in the parade. But so nice, amyhit, to hear your learned voice again.

Still.

I read this years ago. I remember finding it disappointing. When I reread it, I remembered why.

Not wishing to dump on the writer's style, which is fine: economical, with touches of humor and all the little lustful flourishes a shipper could wish for. I'm a shipper. All is well on that front.

The title is very provocative. I love the idea of an "owner's manual." It deserves a carefully thought-through, svelte, meta treatment. It doesn't get it here.

To my mind, the writer has made a basic mistake. She has tried to combine her notion with a not-particularly-interesting casefile. Someone is killed by a rock. Unexplained. Scully does the report and checks her wardrobe before dinner with her "best friend."

Up until the casefile started I liked this piece fine. After the casefile ended I liked it fine. I didn't like the combination at all. What was the point?

"Ask her how his burger is." "Tell him the cold sesame noodles are good." "Collect clumps of earth in plastic evidence bags." This is meta? It is simply a boring FBI outing with a glaze of sexual frustration. And told backwards. Developed further, and grammatically rearranged, it might have had a life of its own.

The "owner's manual" should have been less lovestruck and more clever. I suspect the writer is capable of a sophisticated do-over. But she's probably hung up on Benedict Cumberbatch now.

But so nice, amyhit, to hear your learned voice again.

Thank you! It's nice to hear yours, too!

This is meta? It is simply a boring FBI outing with a glaze of sexual frustration.

But that's what's meta about it. Because how many XF fics could be summed up almost exactly that way? Strip out a few details, and I've probably read a couple hundred XF fics that could be summed up "There is a case. Mulder and Scully investigate. Weird things happen, but not in a lot of detail because UST is more fun. The end."

Admittedly, YPR is less of an exploration of fanon than a parody-esque reflection of fanon. But then I've always thought parody was inherently kind of meta, because in order to create a working parody dynamic you have to understand the dynamics of the original. Well, in theory you do, anyway.

To my mind, the writer has made a basic mistake. She has tried to combine her notion with a not-particularly-interesting casefile.

I'm being terribly contrary today, but I must say that I actually favored the casefile aspect of YPR. I agree that the case wasn't, as a plot in and of itself, particularly interesting, but then I always did like those sort of half-formed casefiles a lot. I guess because I always did like the intimate little moments best - the moments where they were just Mulder and Scully Investigating Something.

I guess because I always did like the intimate little moments best - the moments where they were just Mulder and Scully Investigating Something.

Mulder and Scully Investigating Something. That's our show. That's what I love, too.

"The "owner's manual" should have been less lovestruck and more clever."

Sorry it didn't suit you. Now that you're a fic writer, maybe you should write your own "owner's manual."

"I suspect the writer is capable of a sophisticated do-over."

Again, sorry it wasn't to your taste. I hope I'll find something you'll like better for next time.

"But she's probably hung up on Benedict Cumberbatch now."

No, actually she's not, not as far as I know. She wrote the bulk of her fanfic for Stargate SG-1 (Sam/Jack shipper) after she moved on from TXF, and has dabbled in a few other fandoms.

Edited 2014-09-02 00:22 (UTC)

Hmm. Guess I should step up here. But it's hard, because I really don't want to tell people not to enjoy what they enjoy.

I see where amyhit and you, Wendy, are coming from with the subtle "sketching together of a core group of tropes." I wish I could consider that enjoyable. The fact is, though, that I wouldn't read any of the thousands of characteristic shipfics it presumably encapsulates (might have, once, years ago) because they are really dull. An outright parody--which this is not--might have been fun. But this is just sort of a...melancholy, colorless day-in-the-relationship that is as dull as whatever it is imitating.

Too subtle for me.

amyhit, your explication should focus on something worthy of you, because you have the makings of a scholar. Wendy, I can't "write my own" Owner's Manual because plagiarism. Plus, never say you're sorry I don't like something. I love not liking something, and I really am amazed at the worth-discussing stuff you keep presenting.

I don't think Scully is a Marysue, nor Mulder. In my opinion a Marysue has a distinct and interesting personality of her own--like that bisexual woman in Dith's Dance. Well, the GOOD Marysues.

I suppose not everyone is hung up on Cumberbatch. It just seems that way.

Insulted everyone, have I? Right. Moving on.

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