Story 117: "Dreamcatcher" by dtg

[wendelah1]

There is still plenty left to say about "To Carthage Then I Came", and "Ceremony", too, for that matter.

First, I have a confession to make. I love stories with amnesia as a plot element. You could even call it a kink, I love them that much. No, I have no idea why this issue carries such a charge for me. Looking over the list of stories we've discussed here, there have been a disproportionate number with amnesia at the center of the storyline.

That's one of the reasons I dithered for so long about whether or not to post this here. For another thing, it is the second part of an unfinished WIP, which I suspect will never be completed, although never say never with XF fanfiction writers. But I think the second section, "Dreamcatcher," can be read as a standalone, especially if you start with the epilogue to "Tabula Rasa." After that, if you liked "Dreamcatcher," you might end up reading the entirety of "Tabula Rasa." I did. I read the sequel "Footsteps of Angels," too, until she stopped updating it in 2007. Yeah, it's totally a kink.

"Dreamcatcher" is also a variation of the Profiler!Mulder genre, except this Mulder isn't exactly our Mulder. Scully is definitely our Scully; of course, you'll have to make your own mind about that. The timeframe is "the present, but without the baggage of any episodes past Je Souhaite. They're still with the Bureau, Mulder does not have a fatal brain disease and Scully has no interest in artificial insemination. I live in denial. *g*" Me, too. So, 2003. AU.


Anyway, I will be the first to admit that these are not perfect stories, plus there is that unsolved mystery lurking in the background. I love unsolved mysteries, though. Maybe you do, too. Good, bad, or indifferent, I'd love to know what you think of "Dreamcatcher." The links are to the 2004 Spooky site, and to her website, since for some reason, this story never made it to Gossamer. Suggestions for next time can be made at the nomination post.

Epilogue to "Tabula Rasa," which she suggests be read before tackling "Dreamcatcher."

"Dreamcatcher" at Spookys 2004.

"Dreamcatcher" in textfile format at dtg's site. There is a prettier html version but the links go wonky after chapter 11, and though you can get to the rest, it's a hassle.

Have fun.

Comments

Re: ARGH! CLIFFHANGER!

[bmerb.livejournal.com]

That was one helluva cliffhanger, and I see how you could think about it for months afterwards. I have theories, and then theories of theories. And I'm not at all sure I like the psychiatrist. Maybe. ARGH! I want to see what she would have come up with, but I too am a little afraid. Maybe if many of us wrote to her it would be an encouraging nudge??

Not sure that the symbolism of the dreamcatcher worked for me. Its a bit too appropriated, people love to just say that something is "Native American" without specifying culture of origin (hello? over 550 current existing Native nations here in this country?), and I still found it too much of a stretch. BUT... It was definitely atmospheric and scary, I loved the cracking ice/last minute rescue part, and (sucker that I am) I totally got into the flashback connection Mulder was having to Antarctica while they lay there on the ice at the end too.

I'd love an opinion on this, was there some kind of psychic connection thing going on in there at any point? It seemed like there was quite a bit of responding verbally to what the other was thinking, although I think maybe it was mostly Mulder responding to Scully's thoughts, buy maybe a little the other way round as well. Was that just my confusion?

Re: ARGH! CLIFFHANGER!

[wendelah1]

I have suspicious feelings about the psychiatrist and the young FBI agent. It's unethical for the psychiatrist to disclose anything that Mulder confided, unless he believes that Mulder is a danger to others or has committed a dangerous crime. What is he up to? There's a problem with continuity, too. At the of "Dreamcatcher," they're sleeping together and seeming very connected but in "Footsteps" they seemed back to square one. No mention of returning to New Mexico although they talked about it in "Dreamcatcher." Instead Mulder has left BSU because he feels like he failed as a profiler and now he is leaving Scully?

I think there is a psychic connection between M and S at the end of "Dreamcatcher." He's unconscious and she's reading his mind.

Re: ARGH! CLIFFHANGER!

[wendelah1]

I don't think the problem with the dreamcatcher symbolism is cultural appropriation, exactly.

"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.

One problem is that as far as I can find out there is no such belief in the Native American community. I find no mention of an entity at all, let alone one that is summoned and can influence dreams and make them come true. Attributing that nonbelief to a specific tribe wouldn't make a difference.

I think dtg wants to tie these serial murders into Michael's trip to New Mexico because of what happened to Mulder and Scully in New Mexico, and to the case from "Grotesque," which also involved serial murders where the murderer claimed to be possessed. Scully's memories have been altered. Mulder is having nightmares--comprised in part of flashbacks, fragments of memories of a life he no longer remembers. The psychiatrist who is allegedly treating him is using some form of hypnotic suggestion, to what end is unclear. Mulder is falling asleep, waking up somewhere else, not knowing how he got there--having blackouts. Maybe the psychiatrist is supposed to be like the evil entity in dtg's imaginary dreamcatcher mythology, manipulating Mulder's mind. The theme that our actions and choices are not necessarily our own runs through the entire saga. It works least well in "Dreamcatcher" because it's not as completely developed as it could have been. Apart from the dreamcatchers, there is no evidence of an outside influence on Michael. It's more believable that Michael is a stone-cold sociopath than that she is possessed, whatever Mulder might think.

Re: ARGH! CLIFFHANGER!

[bmerb.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... I don't think I realized they were sleeping together at the end of Dreamcatcher. How did I miss that?

Re: ARGH! CLIFFHANGER!

[wendelah1]

When I said "sleeping together," I meant that literally. They were sleeping in the same bed. She was telling Mulder about their lives together, about what it felt like to work with him and be with him, in every sense, which implies a level of emotional intimacy, if not sexual intimacy, that seemed to be missing in "Footsteps."