Story 115: "In Dreams" Trilogy by JiM

[wendelah1]

There is still plenty of time to go read and comment on MaybeAmanda's "Blue Patches," since it is both short and awesome.

I've been hoping for a couple of years now that the members would rec some great slash stories to discuss here, so when bachlava suggested the "In Dreams" trilogy, I was intrigued.

If you want a summary of my own reasons for loving

Comments

[heartequals]

This is not real commentary, but I am somehow charmed to pieces that Doggett is ticklish in his elbows.

[heartequals]

That said, I am not sure I desire more of this story because I love it so hard, or if the story really does need something more conclusive than pizza and beer. My adoration maybe clouding my judgment

[wendelah1]

Skinner and Doggett are pretty adorable in this, which are not usually the adjectives I would think to apply to them. You know, I like that the story didn't have them declare undying love for one another. Friendship accompanied by hot sex is pretty darn good for these two guys to have achieved, in under thirty pages yet. Pushing it any farther than that would seem sentimental and even out of character for two ex-Marines. YMMV.

[heartequals]

Oh! I am desperately, desperately glad there were no declarations of undying love. That would have been dreadful and terribly OOC which is something the author navigates well despite making me think words like "cosy" and "adorable" and "oh my god new otp forever."

But having just read the third part over, I wonder if maybe my issue is not in the ending but in Doggett's. . .ugh, I hate to use this term but "manning up" so to speak? Something was missing there for me.

[wendelah1]

The "In Dreams" trilogy is a very well-crafted "first time" story. It's vividly written with plenty of insightful details about the exterior and interior lives of the characters. This is a true season eight story, ending as it does before the disillusionment of season nine and the finale can hold sway. The emotional trajectory is subtle, beginning after Via Negativa, and gives a clear picture of John Doggett's disorienting journey since his assignment to the X-Files, and touches a little on Skinner's, too. The characterizations of both characters feel right, and in JiM's deft hands, so does their developing relationship

[bachlava]

It really is h/c, isn't it? I will admit to being a huge, HUGE sucker for really well-done h/c. I will also admit to thinking that at least 95% of h/c fic is... well, I won't say anything at all. Let's leave it at that. But I think The X-Files can lend itself to good scenarios, in part because there's just so much pain to go around. (I mean, Krycek was awake to get his arm sawed off!)* The line between h/c and post-ep gets very, very, very thin.

I definitely see hints of a Mulder/Skinner history in here. That's a pairing I've never been able to buy, but in this universe, I can juuuust persuade myself that they may have had some involvement while Scully was sick or missing. Hurt, but no comfort.

Funnily enough, I can't really see Doggett as ever having been willowy, but I can very much imagine him as having seen himself as willowy, in a way he didn't like, in his teens.

*Disclaimer: While Krycek probably deserved this, he is very, very pretty.

[wendelah1]

I will also admit to thinking that at least 95% of h/c fic is... well, I won't say anything at all. Let's leave it at that.

This is xf_book_club, where we are allowed, even encouraged, to say what we think as long as we don't make it personal. Hurt/comfort is my least favorite genre, in case you hadn't picked that up already. Heh. Truth be told I resent it when characters are tortured for what seems to me to be the sole purpose of getting them in bed together. That, plus the utter predictability of the plots, make it unappealing to me, although for the readers who love h/c, I'm sure just the opposite is the case. But there are always exceptions. This story was a pleasant surprise.

I definitely see hints of a Mulder/Skinner history in here. That's a pairing I've never been able to buy, but in this universe, I can juuuust persuade myself that they may have had some involvement while Scully was sick or missing. Hurt, but no comfort.

I'm a gen person so no need to dissuade me. But yes, for the purposes of this story, no problem.

While Krycek

[bachlava]

Have you ever read Amalnahurriyeh's "The Love of Evil"?I have now, and it is brilliant

[gryphonrhi]

::grinning:: Just as an FYI, JiM is also jimpage363 and all of her X-Files fic can be found here. Enjoy!

[bachlava]

Thanks for the heads-up! Very useful indeed.

[bmerb]

This series was utterly delightful. In pretty much every way. Sweet sweet sweet.

Also I followed the link to Amalnahurriyeh's story Wendelah1 recc'ed and then the links to the sequels. Is her fic cached anywhere or do I just need to be patient and wander through her journal to find the fic?

[wendelah1]

Her XF stories are not archived anywhere other than her journal. She writes for Sherlock BBC now and those are at AO3. If you go to her profile page, she has posted links to her fic tag, to Machines of Freedom, and to the Caseyverse stories, which are about a character from MoF.

We have discussed a number of her stories here, but she wrote a fair amount of fic for us before she jumped the coop. (I wish I liked Sherlock BBC but I quit watching after season two.)