Black Hole Season
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Black Hole Season |
| Author(s): | Penumbra |
| Date(s): | 23 January 2000 |
| Length: | 12K |
| Genre(s): | MSR |
| Fandom(s): | The X-Files |
| Relationship(s): | |
| External Links: | Black Hole Season at Gossamer |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Black Hole Season is an X-Files story by Penumbra.
Black Hole Season won three 2000 Spooky Awards: "Outstanding Short Story, Vignette or Poem" (1st Place), "Outstanding Post-Episode Story" (1st Place), and "Outstanding Non NC-17 MSR" (2nd Place).
Summary
Author's summary: "Mulder muddles through the aftermath of 'Orison'."
Author's Comments
In 2020, the author wrote about this story and its context:
The first fic I wrote was HORRIBLE. I put a link to it on my site, so that people can get a little hit of schadenfreude. Those early stories were on shaky footing. I had no confidence in myself. I felt intimidated writing about sophisticated, highly-educated career people when I was none of those things. Heck, I was cleaning motel rooms. I’m still none of those things, but, through Mulder and Scully, I’ve lived that life a little bit, and it was fun.The third story, ‘Contact High’, was all sex and drugs. I’d done acid and shrooms, so finally, a subject I could assert some authority over! I decided to just go for it. That abandon was a breakthrough, and Penumbra came into being. But there was so much going on inside me, it was hardly harnessable; as stories like ‘Vespers’ and ‘Black Hole Season’ show, it was like getting on a horse that you can’t control and just clinging to its neck as it gallops.
This time around, in my latest incarnation, I feel that I have a better perspective on Mulder and Scully, more of an even footing. I’ve been through a lot, and in ’Hotel-Zero’ [1], I wanted to demonstrate not just how to survive, but how to survive as yourself. I wanted to maybe create a sort of handbook for how to keep your head above water. Life is hard for all of us, people are hard on us. You need to keep a singular perspective on yourself, and allow no one modify it.
[...]
I’ve had two separate experiences, with a seven-year hiatus, and I wouldn’t have missed either of them for the world. Belonging to an obscure hive mind has been one of the most interesting and rewarding (not to mention super-secret) facets of my life, and that will always be my overall takeaway as an X-Phile.
However, as the fandom imploded there was understandable backlash against the whole Penumbra thing. The panegyric was just too much, the style definitely overblown. I posted ’Fathoms Five’ as things were melting down, and there was real outrage. People were boycotting it as a political statement. Oh, we were all so raw — the X-Files was ending and IWTB was a heartbreaker. At that point I’d been working on 'Heuvelmans’ for a couple of years and was forced to admit I couldn’t finish it, nor would it be well-accepted if I did. So you can sort of see the baggage I was carrying when I left the fandom, not to mention the creative angst. [2]
Reactions and Reviews
Penumbra has been recced here before, but "Black Hole Season" is my favorite of all her stories so I thought that it deserved a mention. It's Mulder's POV after the events of 'Orison,' and it's angsty and beautiful and perfect. Mulder and Scully feel like real people, struggling to cope in the aftermath of horrible events and also with their changing relationships. A must read.[3]
Black Hole Season by Penumbra would be fabulous for the title alone, but the rest of the story is just as amazing. Penumbra has a masterful vocabulary that she wields with vigor and skill in all her work; this one is just my favorite of the bunch. This short piece plays havoc with time and voice in a way that well echoes the post-Orison confusion in Mulder and Scully's world. Penumbra nails the characters' big brains and guarded, cerebral wooing of one another, but she doesn't neglect their playful side.[4]
I've always liked this fic. Loads of people are wild about Penumbra, and I'm not one of them, but Black Hole Season is one of my favorites.It's Mulder's inner monologue, so of course it's full of images and associations. A lot of people try this and it usually fails. Too often Mulder comes off flowery and self-pitying. Penumbra's Mulder knows about loss and danger, but he's not a whipped puppy.
I was afraid that it would disappoint me on re-reading, but it held up fine.[5]
I love this story. Love it, love it, love it.Wordy as it is, thick with allusions and darting, eccentric, dreamlike pictures ("I am the edge"), it works as poetry. Romantic poetry. It goes to show how a born writer can break rules and create a classic.
It also demonstrates how erotic something can be without sex. And how the one-bed thing is fine as long as there's a *reason*.
I believe that "Sleep, Earth Girl" is ones of the killer phrases of fanfic, right up there with "Wield the pen." [6]
I enjoyed this story, as well. It probably helped that it was short.[7]
Oh, Penumbra. I know not everyone feels this way, but for me, she cannot do wrong. I love the way she paints with words. It's the kind of way I wish I could write (and even that wish isn't original, heh).The image of them not-dancing on the curbside is a favorite of mine, one that's always stuck with me. And of course, the section immediately following, when Scully accosts him in the elevator and then flees.
...and I tilt her chin and kiss her briefly and she smiles because the world hasn't ended but it moves, oh, it moves.
Oh, what a way to end a story. A non-ending, so to speak. Sigh.[8]
The ending is definitely one of *the* classic X-Files fic endings of all time. So is the story as a whole, of course, but I especially love the ending.[9]
I couldn't agree more... I re-read all of her short works the other day simply because I was feeling a bit rubbish and wanted something familiar... you've put it beautifully; she paints with words. I'd adore to write like that. For me, Penumbra's fics have become an integral part of my fandom; I love her Mulder and Scully.. I love her eclectic writing style; it meshes perfectly with my perception of their partnership. She writes the most exquisite Mulder/Scully moments... perfect snapshots in time...[10]
You said it! Whole portions of this fic are ingrained in my head, especially the "not-dancing on the curbside" scene and the "I am the edge" bit. Penumbra certainly raised the bar in this fandom for her unique style and memorable scenes.[11]
I also love this story, and especially the ending. Penumbra's language sometimes goes too far for my taste, but not here. There's plenty of concrete detail. Coffee, newspaper, bed--it doesn't get much better than that.[12]
Penumbra's language sometimes goes too far for my taste, but not here. Mine, too. This must be the Penumbra story for EveryFan, because I also loved this story. I thought the first few paragraphs seemed rather crowded, but after that the story started to move along nicely. I love how she writes about Mulder thinking about Scully.[13]
What I love so much about Penumbra's writing are the details she includes, the little, unpredictable, utterly real details that give her pieces so much texture. In my own writing I try to free myself up to include these asides that come out of left field, but it's not easy. I'm constantly worrying that what I'm writing is too far out, that no one will get it. Obviously Penumbra doesn't worry about that, and the result is heartening, because it's clear that people respond to the weird digressions.[14]
References
- ^ "Hotel-Zero" is chapter thirteen of Heuvelmans' On the Track
- ^ from Old School X Interview: Penumbra (2020)
- ^ severuslovesme at Crack Van, April 2007
- ^ "omniscribe". Archived from the original on 2016-05-24.
- ^ comment by Conundrum at Fic Talk Message Board, September 2007
- ^ comment by EleanorS at Fic Talk Message Board, September 2007
- ^ comment by Wendy at Fic Talk Message Board, September 2007
- ^ leucocrystal at xf book club, April 2008
- ^ emily shore at xf book club, April 2008
- ^ outintherain at xf book club, April 2008
- ^ memento1 at xf book club, April 2008
- ^ counterphobe at xf book club, April 2008
- ^ wendelah1 at xf book club, April 2008
- ^ emily shore at xf book club, April 2008