I think the rarity of female serial killers is certainly part of what makes them appealing to writers. I haven't read much of dtg's other work so I hadn't realized she's written another female serial killer story. This is The X-Files, so spirit/demonic possession can't really be dismissed as laughably implausible the way it could be if this was NCIS fic.
Mulder tilts his head at the sheriff. "They agree with Sheriff Kessler that the change in her was dramatic and very abrupt. It's only in retrospect that they were able to pinpoint the time." Mulder gives the sheriff a nod, passing the verbal baton.
Kessler nods, "We didn't really put it together until this morning. She went to New Mexico to do research just before Carl had the stroke. She was living in New York at the time, and we only heard about it after she'd been living here for a while taking care of her dad. We think that's where she got involved with the dreamcatchers."
Mulder is giving her a significant look. New Mexico. She lifts one brow. "And...?"
"Michael was researching serial killers who claimed insanity as a defense." Mulder tips his head at Kessler. "Will helped her set up some interviews at the state prison we drove by when we first got here. Those interviews formed the basis of her paper. It's how she obtained the grant to pursue it."
"I told Agent Mulder about the dreamcatchers I found, and he told me what they might have meant to her. About how they could have affected her."
Scully decides that following this conversation is a lot like watching a tennis match. "And that is...?" She turns to Mulder. This ought to be good.
"More than just a totem," Mulder begins. "The common belief that dreamcatchers trap the user's nightmares has a basis in Native American religion. There is a belief that the dreamcatcher summons an entity who not only traps dreams, but can make them come true-- and not always in a way the dreamer would like."
The two men have moved from their original positions to face, her standing shoulder to shoulder. Scully crosses her arms and studies their eager expressions for a moment before responding. "An entity. So... you're suggesting, what? That she was possessed?"
Two pairs of eyes fix on hers. Two heads nod. "Yes." They even say the word together.
There's something reassuringly familiar in this debate. Scully drops her head to hide a smile. When she looks up at them again, her expression is carefully neutral. "Okay. Say that were true. How would you prove it, and what possible difference would it make if you could?"
Kessler looks both disappointed and surprised. "Would it make a difference to you whether Agent Mulder here was a monster or a victim?"
"The jury's still out on that one," Mulder chuckles, but without a hint of humor.
Scully starts to respond, but the sheriff holds up both hands, warding her off. "I know I'm asking a lot, after what she did to you. You have no reason to want to find an excuse for her, but that's what I'm hoping you can do." He shrugs, looking once more in Mulder's direction. "Either you will, or you won't." He looks at his watch. "I won't keep you any longer. You've got a plane to catch."
The ending isn't the only place the etiology of Micheal's psychosis is discussed. She brings in that other demon possession case, the one from Grotesque, earlier in the story, where Scully investigating the death of the first victim.
As a shipper I find casefiles dull unless there is some form of relationship volatility. Of course, as a noromo, I feel exactly the opposite. One has to be a very talented writer to get me interested in pure romance, and if that goes on at any length, the writer will still lose me. I need some plot to get me involved in the MSR, which might be why Tesla's "This House is Burning" works for me.
I think one interesting element here is the New Mexico connection. Michael was in New Mexico, Scully and Mulder were in New Mexico. I can't remember that much about "The Footsteps of Angels" at this point but my hope was that dtg would bring the first two stories together by the ending.
Response part one
Mulder tilts his head at the sheriff. "They agree with Sheriff Kessler that the change in her was dramatic and very abrupt. It's only in retrospect that they were able to pinpoint the time." Mulder gives the sheriff a nod, passing the verbal baton.
Kessler nods, "We didn't really put it together until this morning. She went to New Mexico to do research just before Carl had the stroke. She was living in New York at the time, and we only heard about it after she'd been living here for a while taking care of her dad. We think that's where she got involved with the dreamcatchers."
Mulder is giving her a significant look. New Mexico. She lifts one brow. "And...?"
"Michael was researching serial killers who claimed insanity as a defense." Mulder tips his head at Kessler. "Will helped her set up some interviews at the state prison we drove by when we first got here. Those interviews formed the basis of her paper. It's how she obtained the grant to pursue it."
"I told Agent Mulder about the dreamcatchers I found, and he told me what they might have meant to her. About how they could have affected her."
Scully decides that following this conversation is a lot like watching a tennis match. "And that is...?" She turns to Mulder. This ought to be good.
"More than just a totem," Mulder begins. "The common belief that dreamcatchers trap the user's nightmares has a basis in Native American religion. There is a belief that the dreamcatcher summons an entity who not only traps dreams, but can make them come true-- and not always in a way the dreamer would like."
The two men have moved from their original positions to face, her standing shoulder to shoulder. Scully crosses her arms and studies their eager expressions for a moment before responding. "An entity. So... you're suggesting, what? That she was possessed?"
Two pairs of eyes fix on hers. Two heads nod. "Yes." They even say the word together.
There's something reassuringly familiar in this debate. Scully drops her head to hide a smile. When she looks up at them again, her expression is carefully neutral. "Okay. Say that were true. How would you prove it, and what possible difference would it make if you could?"
Kessler looks both disappointed and surprised. "Would it make a difference to you whether Agent Mulder here was a monster or a victim?"
"The jury's still out on that one," Mulder chuckles, but without a hint of humor.
Scully starts to respond, but the sheriff holds up both hands, warding her off. "I know I'm asking a lot, after what she did to you. You have no reason to want to find an excuse for her, but that's what I'm hoping you can do." He shrugs, looking once more in Mulder's direction. "Either you will, or you won't." He looks at his watch. "I won't keep you any longer. You've got a plane to catch."
The ending isn't the only place the etiology of Micheal's psychosis is discussed. She brings in that other demon possession case, the one from Grotesque, earlier in the story, where Scully investigating the death of the first victim.
As a shipper I find casefiles dull unless there is some form of relationship volatility. Of course, as a noromo, I feel exactly the opposite. One has to be a very talented writer to get me interested in pure romance, and if that goes on at any length, the writer will still lose me. I need some plot to get me involved in the MSR, which might be why Tesla's "This House is Burning" works for me.
I think one interesting element here is the New Mexico connection. Michael was in New Mexico, Scully and Mulder were in New Mexico. I can't remember that much about "The Footsteps of Angels" at this point but my hope was that dtg would bring the first two stories together by the ending.