Story 231: "In Oculus Mentis" by adrenalin211
If memory serves, I first read "In Oculus Mentis" back when it was posted in 2011 for that year's het big bang. It was a good read, so good that I feel stupid for not posting it here sooner. It's an alternate universe version of "Requiem." Fix-it fic, you could call it. Some days we need that.
In Oculus Mentis (40078 words) by adrenalin211
Chapters ( Read more... )
In Oculus Mentis (40078 words) by adrenalin211
Chapters ( Read more... )
I enjoyed reading this story. It could have served as an end to the series (with some ends actually tied up) as opposed to the s8/s9 we were given. Although, the ending is probably "too happy" to fit with the tone set in the rest of the show (not that I am complaining, I like a happy ending if it's at least somewhat believable, and this one can fit somewhere along that spectrum).
A few things that stood out to me:
- Mulder addressed his letters to Dana (but Scully in the body); was that supposed to help tip her off that there was a hidden message in the case of the first letter? If not, it (the Dana part) seems odd. Also, strange that Scully didn't immediately notice that the first letter did not sound like things Mulder would say at all, but maybe we can chalk it up to exhaustion/grief/hormones.
- While Mulder's memories of Scully are keeping him sane, we also get Scully's memories (which are doing the same for her). Scully's memory of the faux-slumber party was nice; the banter ("Truth or dare, painting our toe-nails...") rang true to me.
- I loved Mulder's memory of re-enacting his bird incident for Scully years before. It was (I'm inferring/assuming) before any romantic involvement, and showed the true friendship at the foundation of their relationship and how much it means to Mulder. He invited her over to tell her this silly story, to make her smile, to have her there. And then, it's one of the memories he decides to pull out and revisit during the experimentation/torture. Nice. And funny. ("Was it The Raven?" ... "How could you be certain you weren't whistling its mating call?" ... "You're the bird, Scully. You tell me.") Of course, it also foreshadows his escape with the help of an unexpected ally. If that makes it slightly contrived, I can overlook that and just enjoy the story/memory for what it is.
In the first scene where Mulder was being experimented on, and he is choosing to remember Scully, I was worried that his memories of her were going to be wiped out. I so did not want that to happen (shades of The 13th Sign/7 Days In May, a story that broke my heart into small bloody pieces); that's probably partly why I liked where the story DID end up going. I wasn't in the mood for heartbreak :)
I don't have a strong opinion on the revelation of the actual conspiracy - alien technology that the US is saving for its ultimate power grab while manipulating the public into being scared of an alien species which is in fact slowly dying. Did I even get it right? Anyways, this wasn't the important part of the story to me, and it made enough sense that I just went along with it. Someone could probably convince me that I misunderstood completely, and/or that it actually made no sense.
I will quit now, while I am ahead (if I am still ahead...). Thanks for posting this story!
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I'm glad you enjoyed the story. I thought it might be completely new to most people in the fandom since adrenalin211 doesn't have many XF peeps on her flist, and unless she posted it at ephemeral, most of the Haven crowd wouldn't know it existed. It's an old-fashioned fandom.
I agree, this would have made a satisfying ending for the series, much better than the non-resolution we've been left with.
A few things that stood out to me:
- Mulder addressed his letters to Dana (but Scully in the body); was that supposed to help tip her off that there was a hidden message in the case of the first letter? If not, it (the Dana part) seems odd. Also, strange that Scully didn't immediately notice that the first letter did not sound like things Mulder would say at all, but maybe we can chalk it up to exhaustion/grief/hormones.
I think Mulder was trying to send a message to Scully that there was more in the letter than what you could discern from the surface, while genuinely warning her off from pursuing it. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by Scully not understanding the message right away. She took the letter right to the Lonegunmen to get their help.
- While Mulder's memories of Scully are keeping him sane, we also get Scully's memories (which are doing the same for her). Scully's memory of the faux-slumber party was nice; the banter ("Truth or dare, painting our toe-nails...") rang true to me.
- I loved Mulder's memory of re-enacting his bird incident for Scully years before. Of course, it also foreshadows his escape with the help of an unexpected ally. If that makes it slightly contrived, I can overlook that and just enjoy the story/memory for what it is.
I'd forgotten that the bird story foreshadows Mulder's escape. Ha ha. I liked his story, too.
In the first scene where Mulder was being experimented on, and he is choosing to remember Scully, I was worried that his memories of her were going to be wiped out. I so did not want that to happen (shades of The 13th Sign/7 Days In May, a story that broke my heart into small bloody pieces); that's probably partly why I liked where the story DID end up going. I wasn't in the mood for heartbreak :)
I worried about it, too. Ditto, why, and ditto broken heart for 13th Sign. Mulder and Scully deserve a break but I think you touched on this ending being a little too happy considering the overall darkness of the series. Well, too bad. That's why we have fanfic.
I don't have a strong opinion on the revelation of the actual conspiracy - alien technology that the US is saving for its ultimate power grab while manipulating the public into being scared of an alien species which is in fact slowly dying. Did I even get it right? Anyways, this wasn't the important part of the story to me, and it made enough sense that I just went along with it. Someone could probably convince me that I misunderstood completely, and/or that it actually made no sense.
I think one of the weaknesses of the series itself is how easy it is to pick apart the plots. They make no sense. Compared to the nonsense that 1013 came up with for seasons 8 and 9, this is looking pretty good. The loose end that doesn't get accounted for that I'm bothered by is Samantha's abduction. I can believe that the government would be abducting people and experimenting on them for nefarious purposes but why were all of the family members sacrificed? What about the faceless aliens? Why were they burning the abductees alive?
It's hard to create a plot to encompass it all, as 1013's failures repeatedly demonstrated. Anyway, I think you are right, the point was to reunite Mulder with Scully a year or so ahead of schedule (she was pregnant for sixteen months, right?).
I will quit now, while I am ahead (if I am still ahead...). Thanks for posting this story!
You are welcome!
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I think Mulder was trying to send a message to Scully that there was more in the letter than what you could discern from the surface, while genuinely warning her off from pursuing it. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by Scully not understanding the message right away. She took the letter right to the Lonegunmen to get their help.
Good point, she did go straight to the Gunmen. When I said Scully didn't understand the message right away, the passage I was thinking of was this:
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“No,” Frohike said casually. “No, he definitely wrote it.” He squinted at the lines on the paper, as though by doing so he could read between them. He looked at her, apologetic. “I’m just wondering why.”
As Scully calmed down she heard the question behind his confusion before Frohike needed to spell it out. He’d realized something she would have herself, had it not been the fact she’d been overcome by emotion and unable to stand up straight, let alone decipher anything about the letter beyond the wonder of reading the physicality of his words, the sight of his handwriting, familiar, on paper.
What Frohike didn’t understand was Mulder’s reason for providing this intel when, by Mulder’s own admission, the knowledge was dangerous and something about which, according to the letter, she was to do nothing.
Now that this had been brought to her attention, in fact, she couldn’t understand it either.
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but you are right - she clearly caught on that something was amiss right away.
(I'll figure out how to do better formatting soon...maybe.)
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