Story 203: "Living with the Dreaming Body" by Punk M

[amyhit]

After the considerable word count of our last fic, now seems like a good time to take a bit of a breather with a nice short read. This week's fic was recommended by lightlack. It takes place sometime not too long after the events of "Christmas Carol" and "Emily" when Mulder and Scully end up back in San Diego on a case. The fic is focused on Scully and how

Comments

[amyhit]

I shall be chiming in on Wendelah's 'better late than never' claim - 1/2

I've always thought that Punk M's writing has a curious kind of neutrality about it. It's not pronouncedly emotional, nor is it pronouncedly intellectual, nor is it pronouncedly distinctive stylistically. It's not intensely angsty, humorous, shippy, or witty. It's a bit of everything, and that itself is what's distinctive about it, that evenness of tone and character. I like intensity in a fic, but I like this too; it's honest.

I also think that this fic captures Scully’s character (at this time in canon) very well. I’m always looking for examples of fics that get her POV particularly right, because I for me it’s a fairly uncommon occurrence. There are plenty of writers who write a Scully POV that’s passable, enjoyable, or even distinctly strong. But LWTDB characterizes her in a way that feels very accurate to me. It doesn’t seem to be trying to pull more out of her than what’s there, or emphasize specific traits which the author favors (which is something that almost everyone who writes fanfic does, I think, to one extent or another). My first impulse is to describe the tone of LWTDB (the tone of Scully’s experience) as being a bit blunted, but I don’t think that’s actually the case. The tone is perceptive and in that way it’s quite sharp, but it’s mainly focusing on stating the facts of what Scully is experiencing. She is going through a process of acknowledging things to herself, getting through them, seeking acceptance without seeking catharsis per se. I like that, especially because I think Scully’s a bit of an opposite to Mulder in that way. Mulder always seems to be seeking some kind of cathartic moment or revelation.

"It's okay," she said, because she wanted it to be okay. She was tired of
living under its weight, tired of pretending this hadn't happened to her.
She wanted it spoken, understood between them so they could put it to
rest.

[wendelah1]

I've always thought that Punk M's writing has a curious kind of neutrality about it. It's not pronouncedly emotional, nor is it pronouncedly intellectual, nor is it pronouncedly distinctive stylistically. It's not intensely angsty, humorous, shippy, or witty. It's a bit of everything, and that itself is what's distinctive about it, that evenness of tone and character. I like intensity in a fic, but I like this too; it's honest.

I think that is a really good description of her writing style. She's one of the most talented writers in fandom.