wendelah1 (
wendelah1) wrote in
xf_book_club2015-02-07 01:50 pm
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Story 253: "Lucky" by Peggy Sue
Hi, everyone. Does anyone still want to read and discuss fanfic?
I found this story from a new recs community on Tumblr: MSR Archive. It's not an archive in the traditional sense but each entry does have a picture, the author's summary and a short excerpt, as well as the link. It's the only story they've posted so far that I haven't read, but it was good enough to get me posting here again.
But first, a warning. If you hate the William arc, this is may not be the fic for you. It is not a fix-it fic, and it's certainly not a happy family AU, which understandably is what the fandom seems to prefer.
Instead, "Lucky" is future-fic, set post-IWTB. It reminds me a bit of Mulder's extended dream-fantasy from "Amor Fati" about the ordinary life he didn't choose. In this fic, it's Scully who is dreaming of a different life, a life where she didn't leave the FBI to go on the run, a life where together with Mulder, she gets to raise their son, rather than giving him up for adoption.
"She hears a woman in the supermarket bragging into the phone about how her baby is talking at nine months one evening, and she imagines what it'd be like if Will could have talked, could have made noise when he puckered his lips together, trying for 'Ma.' She couldn't have handled that, she doesn't think. She probably would have run away with him."/ Post-IWTB.
Rated: Fiction T - English - Angst/Family - F. Mulder, D. Scully, William - Words: 1,966
Read Lucky.
I found this story from a new recs community on Tumblr: MSR Archive. It's not an archive in the traditional sense but each entry does have a picture, the author's summary and a short excerpt, as well as the link. It's the only story they've posted so far that I haven't read, but it was good enough to get me posting here again.
But first, a warning. If you hate the William arc, this is may not be the fic for you. It is not a fix-it fic, and it's certainly not a happy family AU, which understandably is what the fandom seems to prefer.
Instead, "Lucky" is future-fic, set post-IWTB. It reminds me a bit of Mulder's extended dream-fantasy from "Amor Fati" about the ordinary life he didn't choose. In this fic, it's Scully who is dreaming of a different life, a life where she didn't leave the FBI to go on the run, a life where together with Mulder, she gets to raise their son, rather than giving him up for adoption.
"She hears a woman in the supermarket bragging into the phone about how her baby is talking at nine months one evening, and she imagines what it'd be like if Will could have talked, could have made noise when he puckered his lips together, trying for 'Ma.' She couldn't have handled that, she doesn't think. She probably would have run away with him."/ Post-IWTB.
Rated: Fiction T - English - Angst/Family - F. Mulder, D. Scully, William - Words: 1,966
Read Lucky.
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Anyway, I loved this story so much. (Of COURSE they named the turtle "Whale"!)
The older I get and the more of other people's children I see and spend time with, the sadder the whole William-arc is to me. I couldn't stand the writers even introducing this ridiculous storyline in the first place. But once they did, the way they ended it was beyond inexcusable. There are so many eps of these later seasons that I have not even had the strength to watch again because they were so awful in that regard.
But since they did introduce it, I wish they had at least dealt with it all. Even if it was as gut wrenching as this, that would have been believable.
Even though we know from the start these are all dreams, we linger on the sweet moments because... we know that's how it should have been.
And even when reality intrudes and it's all ripped away, at least the pain is acknowledged and we're left with an opening to imagine an "after", where things might change...
or maybe that's my own wishful thinking. Either way, it's open-ended in that sense. And that's good enough for me.
Wonderful story. Thanks for the rec. I'm way burned out on fic in general these days. (Especially because my eyes are having trouble and it's hard to read on a screen. I can't believe I used to do that for HOURS on end!) But I am glad I took a chance on this one!
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I'm glad you liked the story. It's a fine line between acknowledging the sorrow and loss inherent in the aftermath of "William," and wallowing in it. The happy dreams balanced the sober awakening.
I don't see an opening for changing the status quo in this fic. It's nearly impossible for me to imagine a scenario that would make it better for all parties. The only fanfic that I've read that didn't use the brutal murder of William's parents as a plot device to reunite him with M&S is "Machines of Freedom." I know I've said this before but frankly, I would rather not read fic that inflicts that kind of trauma on a child. I'd rather read Happy Family AU than that. Or better yet, a fanfic like Kel's "The Beginner's Guide to Tightrope Walking" that goes AU after the ending of season eight and fixed one of the bigger plot-holes of the series--the chip in Scully's neck.
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It's nearly impossible for me to imagine a scenario that would make it better for all parties.
Oh, absolutely. Of all the "writing yourself into a corner" plots I've ever seen in life, this one has to be one of the worse. WHAT were you thinking, people?!
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(of course the implied sexual assault of Mulder by Fowley in Biogenesis was already pushing things)
I like to think that everything after Field Trip is a hallucination, personally.
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How do you feel about cancer arc fic?
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Just because a series creator has a clear ending in mind right from the start doesn't mean it will be what the fans wanted. It certainly doesn't guarantee that it will be any good. The Battlestar Galactica reboot people knew where they were headed and most of the fans hated the ending of that series. The ending of Lost was pretty controversial. I thought the last season of Fringe was pretty terrible and season four wasn't much better. Farscape had a pretty terrible conclusion, which the after-the-fact miniseries didn't really fix.
Anyway, signs are good that CC and 1013 are going to get another shot at ending the series. Maybe this time, they'll get it right.
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This story is beautiful. The William arc was heartbreaking and tragically mishandled, but I do love fic that can tackle the emotional repercussions since that part was so sorely lacking in the series.
"Bureau of Binvegetagation". Yes.
I also appreciated the open-endedness, not in the sense that things could change, but in the sense that she still has hope for him or being reunited with him in some way. The fact that she panics over the idea of never seeing him before 2012, "What if I never see him again - What if-" is truly tragic, because we can identify with that sentiment, and because we know it's unlikely, but she's still thinking about it nonetheless. What if the end of her dreams mean he's gone? What if the weight of it all really strangles her before she gets her chance? What if 2012 comes? What if? Etc. But what if it doesn't? What if she does get to put her arms around him just one more time? Maybe there's hope.
Do I wish things were different after Field Trip? For sure. I struggle with the William arc but rather than wishing it never happened, I just wish it had been done very differently. What I really hate is the Mulder Abduction/Dies/Returns from the Dead/Goes into Hiding/Goes to Prison Arc. Ugh. And don't get me started with alien babies or super soldiers. But Scully giving William up and continuing on with her life at the FBI? That will never make an ounce of sense to me.
I do love William arc stories like these, and I will look forward to a cancer arc story.
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Scully will never give up William. She considers that a blessing. I love how she keeps her wedding ring on the same chain as her cross.
I approve of changing canon when a writer so wishes. So I love stories about William. Penumbra's "Fathoms Five" is an excellent example, though William is almost used as a compensation to Scully for a dreadful personal fate. It is a monumental achievement in our fandom world.
I am not fond of the cancer arc, but I'm reject no good fiction just for of its subject.
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Although I'm glad to think Scully hasn't given in to feelings of hopeless despair, I think it's unlikely they would see William again--just as it's unlikely that they could do anything to stop colonization.
These are very incompetent alien overlords. What are they waiting for again? I never understood the myth-arc.
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The daydreams were lovely little slices of family life that were sweet without being saccharine (which is the primary reason I usually avoid kidfic.) I found myself nodding along as I read, thinking yeah, it could have been like this. Why wasn't it like this? Out of all the things that made little sense in seasons 8-9, Mulder abruptly leaving to go on the run is at the top of my list. Followed very closely by Scully choosing to give William up for adoption. Yes, certainly the best way to keep your targeted-by-cultists, possibly alien-powered child safe is to foist him off onto two people who have absolutely no idea what they are getting themselves into. I wish they'd handled Duchovny's absence better, I wish they'd exited Mulder and Scully together at the end of season 8, hell, I wish they'd ended the show with Requiem.
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I agree with both of your statements. I have many reasons for avoiding kidfic but syrupy sweet versions of Mulder, Scully and their progeny head the list. On the one hand, I get why people want to write them and read them--they're an antidote to the horror that was inflicted on the characters we love so much. But an entire novella about Mulder and Scully going to Lamaze class or adopting orphaned children? What does that have to do with The X-Files? Maybe if the fanfics had been funny or witty or had a version of Mulder and Scully I could recognize...
But this story manages to navigate the rocky shoals of babyfic quite successfully. It neither avoids the painful reality of canon nor wallows in it. This is rare.
Yes, certainly the best way to keep your targeted-by-cultists, possibly alien-powered child safe is to foist him off onto two people who have absolutely no idea what they are getting themselves into.
Someone wrote a fic in which Charlie and his wife temporarily adopted William, taking on the identity of the canon couple who adopted him, knowing full-well what they were getting into. I thought that worked. I wish I would remember who wrote it.
I wish they'd handled Duchovny's absence better, I wish they'd exited Mulder and Scully together at the end of season 8, hell, I wish they'd ended the show with Requiem.
Me, too. I think everyone but the diehard fans of season 8 and 9 would agree with us. I can see now that the ending of "Requiem" was poignant and gave both characters what they wanted: Mulder got his aliens and Scully got a second chance at a normal life.
Thank you. I'm glad you gave the fic a chance. It depresses me when folks don't bother with the fanfic, and the discussion turns into yet another referendum on "William." Again, I get it. Everyone hates the episode, no one more than I. But I wanted to talk about the writing as well.
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It's the same reason why I avoid almost all of RivkaT's output, no matter how well-written or interesting, because the subject matter is just so devastating to me.
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Still writing!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/779354792141178/
As far as William stories, I've written a few though I'm not usually into baby or childfic. I hate the way that his storyline played out on the show and have written a/u stories about it. I'm definitely going to check out Lucky.
Re: Still writing!
Thanks for letting us know about the Facebook group. I must decline. By joining it, I'd either have to create another Facebook--not exactly easy in these days of internet sites insisting on people identifying themselves online, or out my Facebook as belonging to a fanfic writer. I'm still trying to keep my fandom and IRL identities separated.
Re: Still writing!
I understand about identity. I made the decision to use my real name when I started publishing fanfic, but Chris Carter never called me to write XF3. Well, there's still time.
Re: Still writing!