Story 117: "Dreamcatcher" by dtg
Jun. 14th, 2010 12:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wendelah1 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xf_book_clubThere 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.
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.
Response part one
Date: 2010-06-23 04:07 pm (UTC)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.