#gaycrouton

[gaycrouton]

[actual-changeling]

Hi! I'm doing a rewatch of the x files and this is the first time I got so invested in MSR and I was wondering if you had some fic recs? there are so so many online I have no idea how to find the best ones lol I'm okay with explicit content btw thanks in advance!

Give me a few days and I'll make a more comprehensive masterpost but I can give you some good starting points!

Self-promo first, you can find me on ao3 and any tumblr-only ficlets under the tag #alex writes x files. My bookmarks are public and I save every single fic I read on there, so you can have a look through those if you want.

@today-in-fic this is the account to follow to get fresh fics on your dash. they simply reblog any TXF fanfics they get tagged in, so they're somewhat of an archive in by itself.

Writers plus general amazing TXF accounts

@msrafterdark if you don't mind smut then this one is a must!

@bakedbakermom // @sisterspooky1013 // @thursdayinspace

@randomfoggytiger (an absolute goldmine concerning everything MSR and TXF, especially when it comes to meta posts)

@television-overload // @baronessblixen // @thescullyphile

@deathsbestgirl // @scullysexual // @numinousmysteries

@fine-nephrit // @scullysflannel // @fossilizedhearts

@not-aliens // @julmunne

More Additions by @unremarkablehouse

@phillippadgettwrites (smut warning!)

@tatooedlaura-blog // @agent-troi // @katy-kt-katie

@thatfragilecapricorn30 // @slippinmickeys // @skelavender

@freckleslikestars // @gaycrouton // @cassiopeia462

@lotsoforangesoutside // @spookydarlablack

(Live) Episode Reaction & Rewatches

@enigmaticxbee @mulders-too-large-shirt

Other Specializations

Dana Scully Lookbook Project The X-Files Script Archive

AO3 author & fic recs

Sareki (author)

Thirty Five Hundred Miles And A Lifetime To Go

Long hours on the road and in the skies, how will Dana Scully and Fox Mulder fill the silence? What silence?  A collection of road trip oneshots through their years together and the games they play..

The Modern Gateway Motel

After a traumatic experience, Mulder fabricated an X-file as a way to help Scully escape reality. Over the years, they returned to “investigate” that special place and take advantage of all it had to offer, exploring aspects of their relationship that they attempted to ignore in the real world. As time passed, it grew harder to confine the relationship they shared to that specific time and place.

Gradients

He didn’t want Scully in his bed so much as he wanted that last barrier gone. Sex seemed to be the demarcation for her, as she’d apparently decided that once that hurdle had been cleared, it would signal her complete surrender to him. As if she hadn’t already done that. As if he hadn’t with her a long time ago.

PLEASE feel free to leave your own additions (self promo explicitly welcomed) and I'll add them.

[lilydalexf]

Here are some very good fics that involve the X-Files episode "En Ami." Enjoy!

Animus Possidendi by Aloysia_Virgata (@aloysiavirgata) “It looks good on you,” he said flatly. “It looks incredible, actually. But I still hate it. Get rid of it.”

As Friends by @heartbash Post-episode En Ami (715). Mulder and Scully have a hard conversation about the Smoking Man's manipulation of Scully and the nature of their evolving relationship.

As We Forgive Those by haphazardmethod Mulder was so angry in En Ami. What happened to reconcile him to Scully's actions? Barbara tells me most people said "sex." This is not that story. "The fact that forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us isn't honored more--I blame that on writers. Because the easy story to tell is the vengeance story, and it's known to satisfy. This guy shot my brother. How's the story gonna wind up? And what does a reader think? OK, that's settled. So it's just the easiest of all stories to tell. So it in fact encourages, makes reputable vengeance." -- Kurt Vonnegut. This is not that story, either.

By All Accounts, Today Was A Disaster and The Art of Breaking by @rationalcashew Post-En Ami. We know Mulder’s pissed, but so is Scully. Angst. MSR.

The Choices We Make by a_steady_wish “You need to see a doctor,” he insisted, hand on the small of her back, more forceful than usual; the tips of his fingers pressed into her flesh enough that although she knew she wouldn’t be bruised, there would likely be red marks for a little while afterwards; he was marking that curve as his own.

Coming Clean by @starwalker42 "Loving Mulder is as natural as breathing. It’s not lost on her that she’s currently underwater." Mulder and Scully deal with the fallout from the events of En Ami.

The Course of True Love by ML (No summary provided)

The Darker Side of Love by fragilevixen (@fragilevixenfic) Mulder does not want to talk but he does not want Scully to leave, either. “Betrayal stings in a bitter way but regret leaves an even bigger hole in a heart.” – Unknown

Devoured, cleansed by @frangipanidownunder Set post En Ami.

Divide and Conquer by @mldrgrl A post-En Ami drabble.

False Front by cecily_sass (@cecilysass) Scully comes home from her road trip with the Smoking Man. Mulder’s been waiting and worrying. No one likes to feel fooled. Missing scenes from the end of En Ami.

Haptics by Pam Gamble Another interpretation of the En Ami aftermath. Haptics: Information conveyed through the sense of touch.

Iconoclasm by Diana Battis Variations on a theme of truth.

In Milford by DarlaBlack (@sigritandtheelves) This time she leaves

Let Bygones Be Bygones by @mldrgrl Post En Ami/Chimera smut. Mulder's still just a wee bit mad about Scully running off and Scully's just angry that he can't let it go.

Momentum by @dreamingofscully The choices Scully makes in En Ami cause some unintended consequences for herself and her relationship with Mulder.

Nature's Dark Gift by bluesamutra Daylight is coming and the shadows are gone

No Quarter Given 3: Surrender by Mish It can only end in mutual surrender. (No Quarter Given part 1, part 2, and part 4 - part 4 is unfinished)

A Poison Tree by @rationalcashew Post-En Ami. Mulder and Scully are pissed at each other over the events of En Ami. There do be smut here.

Shadow of the Sword by Dreamshaper 'She had been used before. She would be used again. Spender Sr. might not have realized that she had finally allowed herself to love Mulder, but he had known all along that his deceptive promises would drive a wedge between them, and he probably considered that a perfect reward for his efforts...'

Shadows of Ashes by VivWiley Is the price of betrayal calculable?

Those Who Wait by OnlyTheInevitable (@gaycrouton) Punctuality seemed to be written into Scully's bones, yet when it came to Mulder, she never quite seemed to get the timing right.

Three Times - Overture, Overture Mirrored, and Restart by Joann Humby Scully's missing, having left home with CSM. When she returns, emotions are running high. / After a sexual misadventure in the aftermath of En Ami - Mulder and Scully still haven't talked about what happened. Mulder returns from his trip to England to find Scully considering fate.

Untitled by @mldrgrl Consider this a post-epish piece for En Ami

What Partnership is About by Anna Greenway A post episode story for En Ami. Mulder and Scully play Monopoly.

Wing and Prayer by Revely (No summary provided)

Yo Creo and The Payment by Elanor G Tensions run high between Mulder and Scully after the events of En Ami. A new lead on Cobra threatens to lead them further into darkness. / After En Ami, a conversation. And payment for services rendered.

[randomfoggytiger]

🌟 fic titles ask game 🌟

Send me an ask with the title of one of my fics below and I'll tell you why I chose it, the song it's from, the line in the fic that inspired it, or mayyyybe share a snip. 👀

Thanks for the tag, @sixhours! What a cool idea-- and I hope this ask game catches on~

Son of Egypt

"You Don't Know the First Thing About Me"

“You Had Nothing” 

“Mr. Mulder, I Know Something About You”

The Hospital Where You Slept

“You Feeling Any Better?” 

The Little Things

"It's Not a Choice, but a Calling"

"You Know My Memory Isn't What It Used to Be"

"You Follow Your Heart, and It'll Take You Where You're Supposed to Go"

Tagging if you want (here we go XDD): @baronessblixen, @welsharcher, @agent-troi, @amplifyme,

@cecilysass, @slippinmickeys, @aloysiavirgata, @nachosncheezies,

@leiascully, @illaisland, @muldersfingers, @fringephile, @loubetcha,

@suitablyaggrieved, @wonder-xphile, @freckleslikestars, @brenayla,

@rachg82, @danascullysjournal, @settle-down-frohike, @ellivia,

@audriesfic, @touchstoneaf, @thursdayinspace,

@backintimeforstuff, @numinousmysteries, @television-overload,

@trans-spidey, @thescullyphile, @bakedbakermom, @is-on-its-way,

@nimlurks, @sagan-starstuff, @smalldisbeliever, @catharsisxf,

@two-microscopes, @swinging-stars-from-satellites, @skelavender,

@nachosncheezies, @ragnarockz, @pilotinthestars, @cutelilcurtain,

@neednottoneed, @vincentsleftear, @pennyserenade, @writingwell,

@virtie333, @tofuttim, @incidental-ao3, @stephy-gold,

@jessahmewren, @peachlavalamp, @lotsoforangesoutside,

@syntax6, @oohnotvery, @msrafterdark, @enigmaticdrblockhead,

@spookywayfarer, @o6666666, @ghostbustermelanieking,

@melliabee, @sharpestasp, @wexleresque, @storybycorey,

@mollybecameanengineer, @frogsmulder, @dreamingofscully,

@xxsksxxx, @hamster-on-fire, @gaycrouton, @unremarkablehouse,

@mldrgrl, @darwin-xf, @sigritandtheelves, and anyone else who sees this and wants to participate��

[all-eyes-lead-to-the-truth]

All Eyes Lead to the Truth | Fight the Future

OPEN LOT

BLACKWOOD COUNTY, NORTH TEXAS

(@gaycrouton)

Stevie had been looking forward to the summer for the entire school year. No more homework, no more tests. Summer was the reward for all those hours wasted at school. 

But now he was bored.

So bored, that when Cody Newton suggested they go digging in the open lot next to the cul-de-sac. It sounded like a good idea. And it was fun for a little while, but now he was bored. Again.

“It’s hotter than balls out here,” he sighed, pulling the neck of his shirt up so he could wipe the sweat off his face.

“Have yours even dropped yet?” Blake teased.

Stevie scooped up a pile of dirt into the blade of his shovel and tossed it at the older boy. “Shut up.”

“I feel like those kids in that book we read this year. Ya know, the ones where they have to keep digging all those holes to become better people or whatever?” Cody whined as he tried to catch his breath. 

“You mean Holes ?” Chris deadpanned.

Cody nodded as he took a hit from his inhaler. “Yeah, only our treasure’s gonna be so much better.”

Stevie squinted his eyes against the sun as he looked at Blake, who was rolling his eyes. Cody dragged them all out here because his brother claimed to have heard something weird here a few nights ago. He even said the ground vibrated under his feet. While they all knew Cody’s brother was probably stoned when he said that, Cody took him for his word and believed there was something beneath the dirt.

Stevie didn’t have much to do, so even though he thought this was bull, it wasn’t like there were any good movies playing on TV anyway.

He dragged the toe of his shoe against the ground and made a circle against the gritty dirt. “My hole’s the biggest,” he gloated, taking note of the other boys’ shallow attempts.

“I didn’t know you swung that way,” Blake ribbed, throwing a pile of dirt back into Stevie’s area.

“Dumbass,” Stevie grunted. Irritated, he raised the shovel and dug it into the ground with as much force as possible. Only this time, the ground didn’t seem to have as much resistance. “What the—,” he murmured.

When he withdrew the blade, he saw a dark slit in the ground. Using the side of his shoe, he pushed some loose dirt near the indentation and watched as the dirt fell into darkness. “Guys, come look at this!” he yelled, repeating the action so they could see.

Chris made a sound at the back of his throat before taking his own shovel and prodding the edge of the slit, backing up quickly as it widened slightly. 

“What if it’s haunted? Like Goatman’s Bridge in Denton?” Cody asked, suddenly nervous.

Stevie raised his hand to his mouth and started chewing the dead skin around his nails. This didn’t feel fun anymore. He wanted to run and grab his dad to get an adult’s opinion, but he wouldn’t be back until six. None of their parents would. 

As the others bickered, something in the darkness caught Stevie’s eye. A glimpse of something? He leaned forward to try and—

His stomach dropped straight into his ass as he felt the dirt give out underneath his feet. His hands swung wildly, trying to grab onto something, but all he found was loose debris that fell alongside him.

Stevie felt like the ground sucker punched him when he made impact. A gasp ripped through his chest and he choked against the air filling his empty lungs. Suddenly, he’d gone from looking at the darkness to the blinding light as he took in the other side of the, now gaping, hole in the ground, framed by the faces of his concerned friends.

“Hey, Stevie. You okay?” Blake called out.

Trying to appear unshaken, he stood up and tried not to inhale any of the disrupted dirt. “I got— I got the wind knocked outta me.”

“Looks like a cave or somethin’!” Cody yelled down.

He was illuminated enough to see around him, but he couldn’t see much of anything. When he walked around to try and see if there was a wall anywhere, he felt a crunch under his shoe, and when he looked, he saw a crushed bone. But it wasn’t the only one. In the dim lighting, the stark white bones seemed to shine.

He picked up the biggest one and realized it was a skull. His daddy had a bunch of critter skulls around the house, but nothing like this. 

With a smile, he stepped back into the light and held his findings up for them to see. “It’s a human skull!”

“Toss it up here, dude!” Cody exclaimed.

“No way butt-wipe, this is mine. Anyway, there's bones all over the place, man,” he replied with a smirk. There were so many bones down here, that they could all probably take home an entire human’s worth each.

Looking down to examine the skull’s strange translucence, he realized he was stepping in a puddle of oil. His smile faltered as he tried to think of where the nearest oil derrick even was around these parts. But before he could give it any more thought, the puddle expanded around his shoe. It was like the earth was bleeding. 

“What the…”

The skull fell from his hands as pain shot through his spine, causing him to bend over and grab his stomach. His blood felt heavy, almost like he could feel the strain of it moving through his body. The puddle kept expanding and Stevie watched in confusion as it began to fill up the base of the skull through the broken part.

He could hear his friends calling out to him, and using as much energy as he could muster, he looked up towards them. He could see they were there, but only because he could see how their bodies contrasted the blindingly bright light. 

And then—

FEDERAL BUILDING

DALLAS, TEXAS

(@admiralty-xfd)

Four minutes.

The moment he sees the digital readout on the bomb, Darius Michaud knows he has only four minutes to live. It’s a humbling thought. 

“Can you defuse it?” Agent Mulder asks.

Yes, I can , Michaud thinks. “Yes, I can.”

But I won’t.

Agent Mulder appears undeterred, as if he’s actually going to stick around like a fucking hero, when Michaud knows that isn’t going to happen. He’s wasting everyone’s time, including his own, so he gives the younger agent an unearned glare. Unearned because the man hasn’t done anything wrong; in fact, he’s done his job exactly right. He’s done what should have been impossible, what had to be impossible. And now Michaud is going to die because of it.

Agent Scully urges her partner out of the vending room with a look Michaud assumes is the only thing that could have managed it. Then, all too quickly, he is completely alone.

He sits on his useless kit and faces off with the bomb: this inanimate, unknowable antagonist that will end his life in three minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Hello, friend. He can see exactly what to do from here, which wires to cut. This could be over a lot sooner if he wants it to be. But Michaud isn’t here to save lives, unfortunately. He’s here for a greater purpose.

The mission , they call it. It’s always been about the mission. Whenever he hears that phrase from a superior, he knows what it means: to follow orders no matter what. And Michaud is good at that. 

Three minutes.

He pictures the chaos happening just outside this room, how everyone around him had sprung into action, and for a brief moment he’s reminded of what it was like back in the war, when everyone had each other’s backs and were all working towards a common goal. 

He’s surrounded by people who all want to stop this bomb from exploding. To save lives. And here he is, under strict orders to keep that from happening.

Two minutes.

He clasps his hands in front of him, partly because he doesn’t know what else to do with them but mostly because, if he doesn’t, he worries he might just start defusing this thing. The survival instinct is strong, and he knows that as much as anyone.  

One minute.

He hasn’t thought about ‘Nam in a while, but he is now. Viscerally. He smells the rain, hears the explosions, and feels the squelch of mud that crept all the way up his calves. He thinks of his battle buddies, Mike and John, and how neither of them had accepted the deal he’d taken in order to get out. How neither of them had jumped at the opportunity to taste freedom once again, only to pay for that opportunity in sacrifice and loyalty; by subjection to experimentation and tests and uncertainties.

He’s never felt like a coward before. The responsibilities he’s been given and the knowledge that he’s been helping the mission succeed have been enough to avoid feeling regret. 

But he feels it now.

Forty seconds.

He’d known when he accepted this assignment that a lot of innocent people would die. He’d been prepared for the inevitable eventuality. Never in a million years had he expected he’d die not knowing the reason why.

Now, at least, a lot of them will be saved , he thinks.

I’m taking their place , he thinks.

Fourteen seconds.

He wonders what happened to Mike. Did John ever get out of the jungle? He’ll never know.

What will his son think of him after he’s gone?

He leans forward, his head in his hands. He thinks of the kids he’d passed in the hallway minutes prior, how he’d been party to their death sentence, and now he’s going to save them.

Michaud closes his eyes. He doesn’t want to watch this happen. 

He is the fucking hero. Even if he’s the only one who knows it.

BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL

BETHESDA, MARYLAND

(@fridaysat9)

Kyle was from a military family. His father was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines. His mother was Military Police. He’d spent his childhood on bases all across the country, playing with his siblings and the other military brats whose lives were just as transient as his. 

Medical school was expensive. Money had always been tight, and Kyle had two older sisters who went to college and put the family in debt without a second thought. He couldn’t do that to his parents, so he enlisted. Uncle Sam would make him a doctor; all he had to do was report and serve… even if that meant spending his nights on an empty hospital floor guarding halls in the middle of the night. 

He’d traveled across the country from California to stand here. It had been six months, and he’d done nothing more than go to classes and basic training, and check identification. Admitting clerk was a very long way from doctor in the field , helping soldiers on the front line. 

Kyle was trying to keep himself alert by running through the log book in front of him when he saw a man and a small woman walking down the hall. He didn’t recognize them, but lots of different people came through this section of the hospital. At least it was something to do. 

“ID and floor you're visiting, please.”

The man flashed his FBI badge and told him they were going to the morgue while his partner revealed her own badge. There weren’t typically a lot of special orders for the night shift, but there was one tonight– and it was about exactly the location that these two agents planned to visit. 

“That area is currently off limits to anyone other than authorized medical personnel,” Kyle said, repeating the official message they’d all been given. 

“On whose orders?” the agent asked as he reached for the logbook. 

“General McAddie.” Kyle had been told of the General's order not once, not twice, but three times at the start of his shift. 

“General McAddie is who requested our coming down here,” the agent said as he scribbled something illegible on the pad. “We were awakened at 3am and told to get down here immediately.”

Shit. Kyle felt his composure slip as he tried to remember if there had been any mention of the FBI. 

He didn’t. “I don't know anything about that.”

“Well, call General McAddie,” the agent said, already starting to walk past, his partner falling into step at his side. 

Shit, shit, shit. 

“I don't have the number,” Kyle admitted. 

“Well, then call the switchboard,” the agent said, turning to face him. “They'll patch you through.”

Kyle studied the man in front of him, trying to assess the situation, but all that did was make him feel more like an idiot. Did he have a switchboard number? He’d never called it before. He rummaged through the papers in front of him, wondering if it was here somewhere and no one had told him. 

“Jesus, you don't know the switchboard number?” the agent asked, and Kyle decided he needed to get help before he got into more trouble. 

“I'm calling my C.O.” He picked the phone up off its base, but the agent stopped him from making the call.

“Listen, son, we don't have time to dick around while you demonstrate your ignorance of the chain of command.” Kyle was frozen, holding the phone a few inches from his ear. He glanced at the female agent who offered him nothing as her partner continued his tirade. “The order came directly from General McAddie, you call him. We'll conduct our business while you confirm authorization.”

The agents started down the hall. Kyle didn’t know who these people were, but the last thing he wanted was to prevent them from doing whatever General McAddie had asked them to do in the morgue. 

“Why don't you head on down,” Kyle called out as he hung up the phone, “and I'll confirm authorization.”

“Thank you.”

Kyle watched until they reached the end of the hall before picking up the receiver. He looked at the phone list in front of him. He felt inadequate, like he couldn’t do even the simplest task without waking someone up in the middle of the night to ask a question. He decided to start by calling the clerk on the floor above him, but no one there had heard of any FBI involvement on the premises. He called the morgue next, but the phone went unanswered. He was starting to get a sinking feeling in his gut. Something didn’t feel right, and as he made more calls, saving his C.O., he knew he had fucked up. 

It was nearly 4:30am when Kyle ran out of options and finally dialed his C.O.’s home number. 

“This had better be good,” the senior medical officer said as he answered. 

“Sir, it’s Lieutenant Murray,” he said, keeping his tone firm even though his body was filling with dread. “I am calling to get authorization for two FBI agents visiting the morgue.” 

“That area is off limits, Lieutenant.” His C.O. said it like a reprimand and all at once, Kyle knew he had been played. 

“They said,” he started, feeling like a child. He cleared his throat and tried again. “They said they were here under General McAddie’s orders.” 

Kyle heard rustling and an angry grumble across the phone line. “Jesus Christ. Call the MPs and get them down there immediately, and Lieutenant? Do not leave your post until I get there. Is that clear?”

Yep, Kyle had fucked up royally. At this point, all he could hope was that it wouldn’t cost him his M.D. 

“Yes, sir.” 

NORTH TEXAS 

(BLACKWOOD)

(@monikafilefan)

He stares wide-eyed at the gaping hole in the fireman’s abdomen.

No… no, no, no!

“It's left the body!” Bronschweig yells as he sprints back to the ladder leading up to the open hatch in the ceiling. This is bad. This is really fucking bad. “I think it's gestated!”

He freezes as a figure darts through the shadows. 

“What's the matter?” his assistant Micah asks. 

“Wait... I can see it.” And it is huge. Its long limbs and bulbous head glistens as it inhales the warm Texan air. The freezing temperature it’s been carefully confined in is now meaningless. It has evolved. “Oh Jesus… Lord…”

The black void of its oil-slicked eyes is endless. Evil lives there.

”Ya see it?”

“Yeah, so much for little green men,” Bronschweig mutters, awed. His hands shake as he pulls out a vial and syringe from his bio-hazard suit. If he weren’t shitting his pants right now he’d laugh at the naïvety that a thin plastic suit could protect him from this monster. “I need you down here!”

While he waits for Micah to get off his ass and help, he fills the syringe with the vaccine’s dark liquid. Sheer dread washes over him when he realizes the bone and tissue that the creature has been ingesting during development is exactly what it intends to consume again. This newborn is hungry.

A noise echoing around the chamber douses Bronschweig’s veins with an icy dose of adrenaline. He twists his head from side to side, trying to spot the creature who’s simply vanished.

Goosebumps prickle his skin. As a scientist, he knows what this is: a predator stalking its prey.

Behind him, a loud, animalistic screech pierces the air. Bronschweig startles, shouting in fear when a massive body slams into his chest, brutally knocking him to his back as needle-like nails swipe across his face.

Bronschweig gasps under the searing pain of scalpel-sharp claws slicing ribbons of his flesh from sternum to stomach. This thing will rip him to shreds. Fighting for his life, he clutches the syringe in his fist and stabs it through the slick, olive-colored torso of the entity pinning him down. A battle cry rips through Bronschweig’s lips as he empties the vaccine into the creature’s veins. It shrieks, lurching away.

Pain. Blood. Shock.

“Oh, God…”

Rolling to his knees, Bronschweig looks down at a gnarled wound on his abdomen weeping dark blood into a crimson pool within his palms. Evisceration. Flayed wide open; like being autopsied alive.

Fuck!

His body throbs to the bone as he lunges for the ladder.

“Help!” His chest is so tight he can barely breathe. “I need help!”

He blinks away tears and catches a glimpse of his colleagues closing the airtight lid attached to his only way out. Piles of dirt cover the bulletproof glass, ominously turning day to night. 

Panicking, Bronschweig starts climbing the metal rungs. 

“What are you doing?” he cries. The deep cut across his face pulls his mouth into a sneer.

Bastards! All of them, selfish fucking bastards. 

He gags as metallic-tasting foam bubbles up his throat and slowly seeps into his mouth and nose. A punctured lung. Christ, suffocating on your own bodily fluids is almost as horrific as being torn apart. 

He stares up in darkness at the dirt-covered ceiling, resigned. The project’s motto runs through his head: progress requires sacrifice. He’d just never imagined it was his life he’d be sacrificing. 

A clawed hand juts out from behind, covering Bronschweig’s entire face in a visceral death grip, yanking him backwards with incredible force and smashing his skull onto the metal floor. 

Bronschweig screams. The creature strikes.

And this is the beginning of the end…

LONDON, ENGLAND

(@gaycrouton)

“Then you must take away what he holds most valuable. That with which he can’t live without,” he stated. This group had been dancing around the inevitable for long enough.

“I presume you mean to say whom ,” the British Bastard countered with a weary sigh.

“Dana Scully,” Spender supplemented, punctuating the name with an exhalation of smoke.

“I know you have a fondness for the girl, but we never intended her involvement to last this long,” Strughold replied. “She should have died in that train car. That cancer should’ve killed her, as intended. Yet, somehow , none of our plans have come to fruition.”

A few of the men in the room averted their gaze. Too feeble to look him in the eye and acknowledge they had become weak. 

However, Spender, the worst offender of them all, stood tall.

“It wasn’t the time,” the Fat Man replied.

Gesturing towards the monitor, now displaying black and white footage of Dana Scully conspiring with Fox Mulder. “When do you think the right time is? When she finally succeeds in helping Mulder destroy a plan that’s been decades in the making?”

“Killing her would be worse than eliminating Mulder,” the British Bastard seethed. “Never mind a crusade, he would become relentless. Who knows how many of their allies would crawl out of the woodwork to avenge her alongside him.”

“She was a disposable little girl and your cowardice has allowed her to become Mulder’s very own Mary Magdalene,” Strughold seethed to the room.

When Conrad Strughold started this organization, he chose these men because they were ruthless. These were the men who kissed their children on the foreheads before sending them to their deaths and would shake each other’s hands to celebrate a job well done afterward. 

Back then, they would sacrifice anything when they had everything to lose, and now, in their old age, they couldn’t handle the responsibilities that came with playing God.

It was pathetic.

Quickly trying to compensate for their inadequacies, the men in the room all began offering lame contributions while Strughold sat back and listened with contempt.

“The man nearly put a bullet in his brain when he found out we gave her cancer because of him, maybe he’d be too far gone for revenge.”

“But I thought we only mentioned the idea of killing Agent Scully to avoid killing Mulder? What’s the point if the result remains the same?”

“Two birds with one stone.”

“Killing them both will raise the concern of that pesky assistant director.”

“He’s far more susceptible to threats than those two. Let me take care of him when the time comes,” Spender shrugged.

“What if, instead of killing her, we merely… put her out of reach, so to speak,” Strughold suggested.

The British one had the audacity to look disgusted. “You can’t mean—”

“He’d want to believe she was alive so badly that his focus would shift to trying to find her.”

“It would be Samantha all over again.”

“Worse.”

Strughold nodded thoughtfully. “That’s good.”

“I’m sure Marita Covarrubias would appreciate having someone else take the brunt of the vaccination experimentations.” The reminder of the blonde’s plight elicited a few chuckles throughout the room.

“No, it’s too close for comfort,” Strughold dissented. “Besides, don’t many scientists dream of going to Antarctica? Let’s allow her to partake in our exciting research experiments there.”

“Are you so naïve as to think Fox Mulder wouldn’t go to the ends of the earth for that woman? He’s besotted with her, for God’s sake,” the Brit proclaimed.

“On the contrary, his fervent loyalty and affection for Miss Scully is what I’m counting on. Pretty euphemisms aside, it would surely take him a long time to find her. Besides, looking at his track record with his sister, we can assume he will dedicate the second half of his life to yet another fruitless endeavor.”

“What does Einstein say about insanity?”

Through a plume of smoke trailing from his lips, Spender spoke up. “Plus, with Scully out of the way, maybe you could ask your colleague to come back and give Mulder some comfort in his time of need.”

Strughold nodded appreciatively, “I believe Diana would be amenable to that. She’s proven valuable to me with our work in Tunisia. It would be useful to have her keep an eye on him.”

“This is ludicrous!” the Brit declared. “I will dispose of Kurtzweil, but I can not stand by and condone this half-cocked plan.” 

The room was silent as he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. It wasn’t until they heard the sound of an engine starting that Strughold spoke up. “I presume everyone in this room understands that he only offered to exterminate Kurtzweil to make warning Mulder less conspicuous.”

“Yes, we know,” Spender agreed.

“He’s been working against the interests of the group for a while now.”

“He had to have known we had eyes on Bill Mulder’s funeral, yet he flippantly disparaged the group to earn Dana Scully’s favor.”

“Well, if he wants to be a friend of the family so badly, then I suppose he can follow in Bill Mulder’s footsteps,” Strughold shrugged.

A finality settled over the room as the absent man’s fate was decided. It served as a reminder that length of tenure meant nothing without loyalty.

“We can allow him to be useful one final time,” Strughold mused, staring out the window at the departing vehicle. “Then let his good intentions blow up in his face.”

2630 HEGAL PLACE 

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA

(@monikafilefan)

“Oh, Trish. It’s my fault,” Theo cries. “I should’ve worked harder to get you the best treatment sooner.”

“Theo,” Trish tsks weakly against his cheek. Tears burn twisted lines down his face that soak the bleachy hospice-grade sheets of her pillow. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for one damn thing. Promise me, my love.” 

“I promise.”

Something soft as feathers tickles Theo’s face, waking him from his dream. 

“Cuddles…” As much as his late wife Trish loved this damn cat when she was still by his side, that’s how much Cuddles is attached to Theo now. Shoving down lingering sadness, Theo scratches the cat’s back. “Whaddya want, furball?”

Cuddles bats the TV remote with his orange paw and the theme song to Theo’s favorite show pops on. 

“Bad boys, bad boys

Whatcha gonna do?

Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?” 

“ COPS ! Good boy.” The cat nuzzles his head against Theo’s hand. “Well Cuddles, who do ya think they’re gonna bust tonight?”

“…But you saved me! As difficult and as frustrating as it's been sometimes, your goddamned strict rationalism and science have saved me a thousand times over!” a man yells, his strained voice echoing off the hollow walls of the hallway. Cuddles jumps. Theo rolls his eyes. Nothing new ‘round here. “You've kept me honest! You've made me a whole person…”

Theo ignores the noise until he hears someone running down the hall a few minutes later. 

“Damn neighbors causin’ a ruckus.” Theo slowly rises from his recliner as the cops on screen sprint down an alleyway after a perp. “Makin’ me miss the best part.”

Theo looks through the peephole — it’s Fox Mulder from number 42. Of course it is. He’s the only neighbor with a revolving door of domestic disturbances. When Theo flings open his door to remind Mulder that Hegal Place isn’t a gymnasium, he sees the FBI agent’s petite partner, Dana, laying still on the floor, her eyes closed. 

Shocked, Theo stumbles over to her, instinctively pressing two fingers to her neck to check her pulse. The act reminds him too much of Trish in her final days. But the contrast of Theo’s dark-skinned hand against Dana’s bone-white throat tells him this is not about Trish right now. 

“Then hurry, Goddammit!” Mulder screams before sprinting back into the hall. “Theo?”

“You call 911?” Theo asks.

“Yeah,” Mulder nods. “My partner… she’s hurt.”

“What happened? I heard shouting…”

Mulder gapes. “I’d never hurt her. A bee stung her. I—” He runs his hands through his hair. “ Fuck! ”

“Okay, all right, she’s breathing. Pulse is good.” Theo stares as the stunned agent paces back and forth like a caged lion. Pure panic, Theo recognizes. Suddenly he feels a sympathetic wave of fear so painfully familiar it nearly knocks him out of his house shoes. “Look—”

Dana’s breath hitches and Mulder instantly falls to his knees, carefully lifting her upper body over his thighs, wrapping a protective arm around her.

Mulder’s usual tan face is white as snow while his unblinking eyes refuse to leave the woman laying limply across his lap. He’s silent as his trembling fingers gently sweep red strands of hair behind Dana’s ear. 

“Scully…” Mulder’s voice cracks, and Theo fears his heart might just do the same.

He approaches slowly, reaching out to place a calming hand to Mulder’s rigid back. “Help’s comin’. I can hear the sirens already.” 

Which is weird , Theo thinks. Never in his 68 years has he counted on an ambulance showing up so fast. Not that he’s complaining. Theo only first met Dana face-to-face two years ago and he’d instantly liked her. Pretty little thing. They’d ridden the elevator together, introduced themselves, and she was sweet enough to offer to hold Cuddles’ heavy bag of litter. Theo pretended to fiddle with his keys to watch Mulder welcome Dana into his place with a dopey-lookin’ grin and a hand to her lower back. 

Trish would’ve loved to see Mulder cherish Dana the way Theo cherished her. 

“My fault, Scully... shouldn’t have dragged you out there… so sorry…” 

Mulder’s pleas pull Theo back to the present. 

“No, no. Now don’t do that. Placin’ blame isn’t helpin’ anybody. It’ll be okay.” Saying that to someone cradling their sick loved one is a big risk, but Theo knows from experience that simple words of ease can keep the world spinning a little longer. “Ya think Dana would want you blamin’ yourself for one damn thing?”

Mulder tosses him a sad look. “No, Theo. She’d probably shoot me first.”

Then the elevator dings open and a team of paramedics rush through its doors. The medics transfer Dana from Mulder’s lap and onto the gurney in one swoop. 

“Help her!” Mulder orders. “Please…”

Theo feels his back hit the wall as he moves to the corner, his gut churning.

“Can you hear me? Can you say your name?” one medic asks Dana.

Another straps an oxygen mask over her face. “She's got constriction in the throat and larynx.”

“Passages are open! Let's get her in the van right away,” the tall medic shouts when Mulder reaches for Dana’s hand. “Coming through! Watch your back!” 

“You’ve never held me back,” Mulder whispers to an unconscious Dana. “Never been in my way, Scully. You’ve helped me find it.”

Mulder stands frozen as the elevator doors close. Theo slaps a hand to the young man’s back and swallows down his own heartbreak to offer Mulder support he wished he’d received years ago. “Now go show her that.”

Mulder returns an appreciative slap to Theo’s arm before racing down the stairs to meet the ambulance. 

“ Meooow! ”

“Nosy cat, get back in the house.” Theo grabs Cuddles, holds the furball over his heart as he sends up a silent prayer that Dana will be back in Mulder’s arms soon enough. “C’mon Cuddles, let’s go finish COPS .” 

WILKES ISLAND

ANTARCTICA

(@admiralty-xfd)

The weeks drag by at the bottom of the earth. 

They’ve been on the ice for nine weeks now, nine weeks away from home. Delilah knew it would be tough but the perpetual sunlight has been messing with her circadian rhythms for so long she doesn’t know which way is up.

The penguins, predictable as ever, do their thing. Emperors remain inland in tight family groups, struggling to keep warm against the unforgiving chill in the air. Her crew is only here to observe and document their activities, although around week three she began to realize it was just as tedious for them as it is for the birds. They’ve been stationed at this particular rookery since the beginning of mating season, and she’s ready to get the fuck out of here. Why couldn’t I have gotten the gig in Galapagos? she wonders. It’s warmer there and those penguins mate for life.

Delilah decides to call it a day. She turns to her camera operator. “Shut it down, Will.”

Will, confused, raises a brow. “We still have thirty minutes out here.”

“I’m putting on my producer hat,” Delilah replies. “We’re done. Let’s go get some coffee, preferably with some booze in it.”

With a You don’t have to ask me twice shrug, Will slaps the lens cap onto the camera and stands, wiping the snow from his pants.

And that’s when everything happens at once.

First, the penguins begin to scatter. They haven’t done anything like this before, and like any good camera operator would, Will heaves the machine back onto his shoulder and points it at the birds. But Delilah senses something else is up… is it an earthquake? Some kind of tectonic activity? 

There’s an enormous thrumming sound coming from behind her, and when she whips around, she sees something she will never forget for the rest of her life. 

It's a spaceship. An honest-to-god fucking spaceship, straight out of Star Trek or something, gliding over the tundra as smoothly as a hawk.

Delilah’s throat goes dry. She can’t even speak, much less turn her eyes away to see if Will has seen it, too. 

“W… Will ,” she croaks. What the fuck are words?

“Are you seeing this?” Will says, still riveted by the frenzy of birds.

“Do you see that ?” Delilah spits. It’s the only time in her documentary career that she’s known without a doubt she is looking at the more interesting subject. But before Will even has the chance to spin around, the craft —or whatever it was— is gone.

“See what?”

Delilah doesn’t know what else to do. She tears off towards where the retreating shape went, running as hard and fast as her legs can carry her. “Come on! ” she shouts at Will, and her partner follows. “Bring the camera!” She appreciates his obedience in a time when explanations are less than convenient.

They run, as far as they’re able. Will lags behind, struggling with the heavy camera, and it feels like miles but can certainly only have been a few hundred meters when Delilah spots something ahead, what appears to be a dark figure, a clear contrast to the stark white of the snow. Is it some of the Emperors, separated from the huddle?

Will sees them too, and they both slow. Delilah’s insides are burning and she doubles over.

“We ran all this way for a couple rogue penguins?” Will gripes. 

“No,” Delilah pants. He’s never going to believe me. “It was… did you see…”

“Wait,” Will suddenly says. “Those aren’t penguins.”

And as Delilah squints to see, her partner is right. It’s a person, a human person… no, it’s two people huddled together. “Who are they? How the hell did they get here?” And no sooner do the words escape her mouth does Delilah think… what if …?

No. That would be ridiculous.

They creep closer to the pair, their shoes crunching across the snow. It’s a woman clinging to a man, keeping him warm. 

“H-hello?” Delilah calls. “Do you need help?”

The woman turns her head, catches Delilah’s eye. Her face appears frostbitten, her auburn hair wet and windswept. “He needs to get warm,” she says, her teeth chattering. “Please.”

“Scully,” comes a second voice. The man, whom Delilah had presumed was passed out, is actually awake. “Don’t be a hero. You’re the one who needs to get warm.”

Will sets the camera down and pulls out one of the trusty emergency blankets he keeps on him at all times, rushing over to the duo and covering the woman, its metallic crinkly surface reflecting the sun. He goes for a second blanket, but the woman declines.

“No,” she says. “I’ve got him.” She wraps herself together with him, not letting him go. “I’ve got you, Mulder,” she whispers.

“How the hell did the two of you get all the way out here?” Delilah asks the woman incredulously, her inquisitive nature failing to waver.

But the redhead doesn’t answer. She doesn’t seem to care that there are others here, that rescue is imminent. She doesn’t seem to care about anything other than the immediate warmth of her companion.

Delilah can tell it’s taking everything inside Will not to pick the camera and point it at these two, at this demonstration of human resilience and connection far more interesting than a flock of birds. It’s not like they would even notice, much less care. But he doesn’t. So they watch instead, what they’ve come here to do. 

It’s even better than Galapagos. 

OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL REVIEW

WASHINGTON, DC

(@fridaysat9)

“... the other events you’ve laid down here are too incredible on their own, and quite frankly implausible in their connections.”

Agent Scully sat in front of the table of senior staff, looking worse for the wear after her recent escapades. Jana took in her appearance– the dry skin, chapped lips, little to no makeup– and noticed that the agent’s poise hadn’t faltered in the slightest since their last meeting. Even though, since that time, she had gone back to Texas (and apparently taken a trip to Antarctica). She and her partner, the ever-discussed Agent Mulder, had spent thousands of dollars at the FBI’s expense. Jana had no doubt all of this could have been prevented had it not been for the incredibly rash and irresponsible choices she and her partner had made. 

“What is it you find incredible?” Agent Scully asked, as if it weren’t obvious. 

There was a disregard for the authority of OPR in the agent’s voice, which would have given Jana pause, had Agent Scully’s reputation not preceded her. Jana was aware that she was tough, calculated, and professional nearly to a fault, and while she had been assigned to the X-Files to disprove the validity of the department, she had become a staunch defender of her partner’s work. Loyalty and dedication were things that were usually respected at the bureau. So long as that loyalty wasn’t their downfall. 

They all had their roles at the FBI. Agent Scully’s, though she seemed incapable of accomplishing it, was to provide a scientific eye in her department and stop the hemorrhaging of funds that was coming from the pursuit of cases of an “unexplained” nature. Jana’s job, which was one she took very seriously, was to evaluate the agents in her division, corralling any lost sheep. Her job was to reign in those who had taken advantage of their badge, traveling around the world in the pursuit of answers to questions that went beyond the bureau’s scope or interest. 

“Well, where would you like me to start?” Jana asked, matching Agent Scully’s nonplussed tone that barely covered the disdain she felt for this meeting. “So many of the events described in your report defy belief. Antarctica is a long way from Dallas, Agent Scully. I can't very well submit a report to the Attorney General that alleges the links you've made here. Bees and corn crops do not quite fall under the rubric of domestic terrorism.”

“No, they don't.”

“Most of what I find in here is lacking a coherent picture of any organization with an attributable motive,” Jana continued. She’d waded through Agent Scully’s report– the first person account, the “findings,” and frankly, lack of reputable proof. It read more like a science fiction novel than a government-sanctioned operation. “I realize the ordeal you've endured has clearly affected you. But the holes in your account leave this panel with little choice but to delete these references to our final report to the Justice Department, until which time hard evidence becomes available that would give us cause to pursue such an investigation.”

There was a moment of silence before Agent Scully stood from her seat and walked around the table. She was slight, but walked with purpose, approaching the bench as if she were the one who had called this meeting to order. 

At first, Jana was unsure of her purpose, until she removed a small vial from her pocket and presented it to her. 

A bee. 

Agent Scully stood before her, unyielding and unaffected by what had been said about her report. Jana tilted the vial, wondering if the insect between her fingers could really be proof of the things she’d read or if it was in fact, nothing more than a garden variety honey bee, plucked from the flower beds out front of the Hoover building. 

Agent Scully spoke, then, with conviction that matched her demeanor. “I don't believe the FBI currently has an investigative unit qualified to pursue the evidence in hand.”

All at once, Jana realized that she had lost. As Agent Scully left the room, leaving the men at the table talking amongst themselves while Jana held the bee in her hand, she could see the outcome as clear as day. This bee would have to be investigated. Agent Scully’s claims would have to be investigated. 

And Agent Scully was correct: there was only one department capable of doing so.

She adjourned, and tucking the bee into her pocket. She had other meetings today, more important meetings, and she had spent enough time on this already. Jana gathered her things, slipping out of the room without further discussion. 

A bee. Thousands of dollars and a plethora of outlandish claims came down to a single bee. As she waited for the elevator, Jana removed the vial from her pocket and held it up for a closer look. She hadn’t heard any footsteps, but the strong smell of cigarette smoke caught her attention as a man came to stand at her side. 

���Miss Cassidy,” he said with a sense of authority she wasn’t sure he deserved. Jana didn’t know what his role was in the bureau, but she did know he had tight connections with her bosses. “What do you have there?”

A prickly feeling crawled across her skin as she realized he would get the answer whether it came from her or from someone higher up. What she didn’t know is what he would do with the information. 

“It’s from Agent Scully,” she said calmly. “A bee. From Texas.” 

The man whose name she had never gotten pursed his lips and held out his palm in front of her. “Allow me to take that off your hands.”

He didn’t say why, or what he would do with the small insect, but Jana was aware there was no room for discussion. She placed it in his hand as the elevator arrived. She stepped inside, but he remained still, watching her as the doors slid shut. 

Read the rest of All Eyes Lead to the Truth on Archive of Our Own!

[cecilysass]

Fic Recommendations: DeadAlive

So I really like post-DeadAlive fics. Not because I’m a big resurrection story fan (Jesus / Osiris stans, no offense) but because I can’t get enough of angst, repressed feelings and baby daddy reveal drama. I am going to post a version of my very own later this week. Meanwhile, I read a lot of these, so I thought I would share some recs. Here are a few of my favorites.

Slow Returns - o666666  You just don’t know how often I reread this. I love it so, so much. This one puts the emphasis on Scully’s trauma, and it’s so angsty, and it’s so sweeeeeet. I tear up every time.

DeadAlive AU - @markwatneyandenesemble I always say I actually think this should probably be called Three Words Canon Divergence or something, but whatever it is, I love it. The premise is two specific changes to canon. When Mulder comes back from the dead: (1) he has memories only to 1996 and (2) Scully isn’t visibly pregnant yet.

Author Skuls seems to feel about about this subgenre like I do, because she seems to have written a lot of post-DeadAlive, and I’m not complaining. Here’s a little DeadAlive Skuls tasting trio:

the smaller odysseys - skuls (@ghostbustermelanieking)  An AU DeadAlive fic in which Doggett convinces Skinner to keep Mulder’s resurrection a secret from Scully for longer. This ends like awwwwwwwww.

ashes and dust - skuls (@ghostbustermelanieking)  A largely canon-compliant DeadAlive / Three Words deep dive.

inches between them - skuls (@ghostbustermelanieking)  Another Skuls fic on this subject, also exceptionally sweet.

Doctor, Copper, Sailer, Corpse - Scarlet Baldy This is a series of first person vignettes from Scully POV. Extremely angsty and a little painful, with a very self-destructive version of Mulder here, but ultimately a hopeful ending. 

Ray of Light - OnlyTheInevitable (@gaycrouton) Honest conversation, then hot pregnancy sex—a Three Words fic we can all get behind. Which I think is actually one of the suggested positions for pregnancy sex.

Words, Words, Words - Circe Invidiosa (@invidiosa ) I’m not much of a Doggett fan, but I love this fic about Doggett breaking things down for Mulder. This is subtly written and moving— a heartbreaking Mulder characterization, in my opinion. home run - kittenscully Another great “Doggett gets involved” fic. Also very moving. Apparently this is how I like my Doggett. The Laws of Coming and Going - Buckingham A gentle Mulder-centric fic focused on his good intentions and slow moves back towards connecting with Scully. Very in-character and sweet. Hour of Lead - DarlaBlack (@sigritandtheelves) This is an excellent read — but watch out for the bleak, tear-out-your-heart ending. It's only painful because it’s canon compliant, so warning: you have to remember what happens with Scully’s longed-for miracle baby in canon. Waaaaah. So much angst. Untitled - @wtfmulder I see you, you wildly touching little drabble. This is set between Three Words and Empedocles, and it’s meant to explain the seeming change in Mulder’s attitude, and why does this make me cry?

What have I missed? Y’all have other post-DeadAlive fics you like? Have you written any? SEND THEM MY WAY.

[lola-andheruniverse]

Caryl Fanfiction Recs - Celebrating single-fic authors (part 2)

Dear fellow carylers, WE ARE ONE WEEK AWAY FROM TBOC! I am very, very excited but I know a lot of you are stressed about Carol and Daryl's future. I hope the second part of my single-fic authors brings you some joy this week. You can find the first part here. Don't forget to review. All caryl authors deserve love and appreciation, even those who only wrote only one story. 💜

9. Nurse Daryl by OnlyTheInevitable / @gaycrouton [ 9Lives | AO3 | FF.net ]

Summary: Daryl promises to help Carol while her back is recovering from her fight with Morgan. He didn't realize the embarrassing positions this would put him in. "Daryl, Could you wash my back?" Not that he's complaining.

Rated: T Word count: 3.149 Published: December 13, 2015 (one-shot)

10. I'm Not Jealous by PennyLane [ 9Lives ]

Summary: Daryl is finally pushed to his breaking point as he sees Carol and Tobin making dinner plans one night in ASZ.

Rated: E Word count: 3.221 (02 chapters) Published: July 17, 2017 (complete)

11. Birds by @pollydelonge [ 9Lives ]

Summary: Carol finally confronts Daryl about his possible feelings for her. Inspired by the song Birds by Kate Nash.

Rated: G Word count: 1.122 Published: November 13, 2014 (one-shot)

12. A Cherokee Rose by Any Other Name by RosieAcorn [ 9Lives | AO3 ]

Summary: Carol asks Daryl for something important which may disrupt their peaceful new routine at the Commonwealth.

Rated: M Word count: 9.261 (02 chapters) Published: February 12, 2023 (complete)

13. My Girl by thewalkingdread [ 9Lives | AO3 ]

Summary: After a night spent alone together, and drunk, Carol and Daryl must fix what’s broken on the inside before they can allow themselves to be loved.

Rated: E Word count: 15.246 (15 chapters) Published: September 16, 2021 (complete)

14. Her Love is Fierce by tiana [ 9Lives ]

Summary: The immediate aftermath of 5x01: No Sanctuary. "They walked in tandem, close together. Arms brushing on occasion, feet falling into the same rhythm over the railroad ties. Walking the tracks was familiar by now, walking them side by side entirely new."

Rated: T Word count: 1.493 Published: October 14, 2014 (one-shot)

15. Gentle by Travelingthrough [ 9Lives | FF.net ]

Summary: Carol and Daryl have a late night discussion. Set late S5 - but where they say that which they do not in the programme. Angsty fluff.

Rated: T Word count: 4.173 Published: December 01, 2015 (one-shot) PS. Dear fellow carylers, would you like a third part of this list? Or something else entirely? Please let me know on the comments or DM. I'm looking for new ideas for our rec project. Love you all!

[fine-nephrit]

🥏 TXF Fic Rec #35: "Joy to You and Me" by OnlyTheInevitable

Today’s fic is a lovely post-ep of ‘Detour’. An injured Mulder and exhausted Scully try to drive back to DC, but end up spending the night at a motel, where they continue to dance around their feelings.

Yes, it’s the classic one-bed trope, with some hurt/comfort, good old UST, and a nice touch of the residual angst from the cancer arc, staying true to the timeline. Despite the familiar setup, it doesn’t feel tropey or overdone. It’s fluff with a heart without being mushy. Reading it feels like the comfort of being at home, wrapped in a blanket on a snowy Sunday morning.

---

🥏 on AO3

author: @gaycrouton length: short, 4,000+ words season: season 5, 5x04 Detour pairing(s): M/S UST to RST tags: episode-related, fluff, angst, one bed rating: mature/R

[xfilesfanficexchange]

Up Close and Personal

Author: @gaycrouton​ For: @matchingfabric​ When Mulder and Scully's relationship is at its most vulnerable, someone breaks into Scully's motel room and attacks her while Mulder is away. With nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to, a shaken Scully has to spend the night with Mulder as he desperately tries to figure out how to make things better. Ao3 Link

#XFOneBed2022 55/55

[the-haiku-bot]

The Worst Episodes

of The X-Files (according

to IMDB)

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

The Worst Episodes of The X-Files (according to IMDB)

[monikafilefan]

20 Questions for Fanfic Writers

Tagged by @slippinmickeys <3

1. How many works do you have on A03?

75 (maybe one day I’ll reach 100?)

2. What’s your total A03 word count?

589,435

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Basically just txf fandom but I have dabbled in GoT, The Fall, and Sex Ed.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Five Years and a Lifetime

Only One Choice

All Eyes Lead to the Truth co-written

Together

Language of Love: Prompts of Angst and Romance

5. Do you respond to comments?

I absolutely do, just not every one of them. Unfortunately A03 counts author responses as comments and that bugs me, but I wholly appreciate any and all feedback!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh damn. Probably a chapter in my prompts collection called That Night in 2014 when Scully left, and one called Bone Deep set post Tithonus are angsty enough. I love writing angst, but prefer to leave my fic on less of a dreary note.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Ha it turns out I write a lot of fic with happier endings, but I guess Brother Bill ended very happily considering it was during the cancer arc. There’s plenty more I could’ve chosen though.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not that I know of.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what?

Yes, I mix it up. Lots of soft, sensual sex, but also some downright dirty smut too. Depends on the tone of the story.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I wrote one where Mulder and Scully go see Jean Milburn from Sex Education and have a therapy session. Coming Undone. It’s ridiculous and funny and was way too fun to write haha!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of but I hope not.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes but I can’t remember which one 🫣

13. Have you ever co-written before?

YES many times and I love it. I’ve written with several amazing writers @cultureisdarkbeer @admiralty-xfd @fridaysat9 @gaycrouton @slippinmickeys one several different fics.

14. What’s your all time fave ship?

MSR ofc! I do also love Jamie/Claire and Stella/Reed.

15. What WIP you want to finish?

I have this Unruhe fic that isn’t even that long but I cannot seem to fucking finish it for the life of me. I will eventually though.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Details? Creating a scene and capturing the characters as close to THEM as I possibly can comes easier to me than other things.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Probably dialogue and writing longer novel length fics.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I want to dive into the Outlander fandom very badly but I’m too scared to try Gaelic/accents and be happy with the outcome. Maybe one day.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

X-Files! I was just a wee 15yr old on my dialup desktop trying to write a post FTF fic on the original XF storyboards. I never did finish it past the second chapter.

20. Fave fics you’ve written?

I have a few I really love, but I am kind of hard on myself as a writer. I enjoy writing but can’t seem to reread my own stuff and come away beaming about it. The ones off the top of my head I’m proud and have not mentioned above of are A Life to Remember - an AU were Mulder and Scully are doctors and meet under interesting circumstances. Lots of UST, angst and family fluff as they flashback to their past on how they met.The Things They Say in the Dark is another one I love. It has angst, lots of hurt/comfort (not to mention Scully washing Mulder’s hair post Amor Fati) and serious yearning! Honestly love these two so feel free to check them out if you haven’t, I’d be blessed if you loved them too!

Tagging @today-in-fic and anyone else who wants to join in. This was fun!

[lilydalexf]

👽 X-Files Season 7 Fic, Part 11

There are so many great stories set in season 7 of The X-Files! Here are even more, following seven prior sets of season 7 fic recs. There are a lot of good season 7 stories. Enjoy! Parts 1 ** 2 ** 3 ** 4 ** 5 ** 6 ** 7 ** 8 ** 9 ** 10 Aquinnah by Anjou Axiom by allimarie Birthday Series by @syntax6 Hallowed by OnlyTheInevitable (@gaycrouton) Harmonice Mundi by @aloysiavirgata Into the Light by @msrafterdark keeping count by scullyism Learning Curve by JLB Mezzo Luna by msk Secret Spots by @baronessblixen Strangers and the Strange Dead by Kipler throat, eye and knucklebone by audries (@audriesfic) Untitled by @aloysiavirgata Untitled by @aloysiavirgata Untitled "Millennium" fic by @aloysiavirgata Untitled "Orison" crossover fic by @aloysiavirgata Wishes by @baronessblixen

[randomfoggytiger]

Collector's Edition: Colleagues, and Agents, and A.D.s-- Oh My! (Part I)

For the anon who requested: do you have any fic recs with Mulder and Scully case filing with other law enforcement tasks forces? or general pov outsider?

Loose chronological order below¬

ML/ML_is_me/ml_griffonnage's (Alt. Ao3, Invidiosa)

XF Friday Nights 02 - Space Invader (Ao3)

She was a cool customer, this one. He was impressed by her composure in the midst of this cacophony, curiously at ease in the maelstrom.

Deep Throat observes Mulder and Scully's dynamic.

XF Friday Nights 03 - J. Edgar, Junior (Ao3)

If you want to be a blue-flamer, act like a blue- flamer, was his motto.

Squeeze's Colton is using Scully for his own benefit.

XF Friday Nights 04 - Impertinent Questions (Ao3)

He'd already known it had to be Mulder, and Holtzman probably had already known too. Nothing seemed to set alarms off faster than if word got around Mulder was investigating something. He might as well have a hotline to the NSA.

The Conduit NSA officers' takes on Mulder and Scully.

XF Friday Nights 05 - Warm Bodies (Ao3)

There were rumors a-plenty about Dana Scully, same as Mulder, but Saunders felt there was no point in mentioning those, either. It all amounted to water-cooler gossip; none of them had anything to do with her ability to do her job. Saunders understood the reasons behind those rumors better than Webster or any man ever would, and she would not be a party to them.

Shadows agents end up liking the dynamic duo (and subtly refer back to the Conduit agents.)

XF Friday Nights 07 - COS of Death

His former partner turned toward him. Next to him stood a petite redhead; a real knockout. She must be the whiz kid from Quantico, Dana Scully.

Ghost in the Machine Jerry Lamana observes Mulder and Scully's strange coexistence.

The New Truth, A Project 09x04 - Home Fires 01 (Ao3) and The New Truth, A Project 09x04 - Home Fires 02 (Ao3)

JD had just about given up on Phoebe when she called him. 

AU-- S9 Mulder and Scully are secretly helping the Resistance when an old "friend", Phoebe Green, drops back in with "information."

Evil_Little_Dog's Credibility

The great 'Spooky' Mulder was talking. Pontificating, even.

A random agent observes, then comes to respect, Mulder's abilities.

tiredmoonlight's Stuck in Storage - Chapter 1

Warren took a breath before speaking again. “But half the officers out there are spooked, and no one wants to work the night shift anymore because it’s they’d be all alone.”

S1 Mulder and Scully end up being saved from case shenanigans by the police chief.

Juliettt's Verdict

Guess there *were* advantages to doing the kind of work "Spooky" and "Skulls" did on a daily basis.

FBI agents slipped down to the basement to watch the OJ Simpson trial verdict.

@gaycrouton/OnlyTheInevitable's Nurse Mulder

The young agent stood up immediately and ran over to her. "Agent Scully, I am so sorry," he repeated for the thousandth time.

She walked past him and motioned for him to follow, which he did like a puppy. "Officer Thompson, some sneezes are impossible to suppress. I assure you I bear no grudge. The perp was caught. No one was killed," she rambled half heartedly, trying her best not to walk differently because of her injury.

The local cops (and seasonal allergies) set off a chain reaction of shenanigans for one Mulder and Scully.

Erin M. Blair's (Alt. Ao3) Softball Accident

A pale-faced young FBI Agent Jim Rodgers stood by, looking on helplessly with concern lining on his face.... "I'm sorry, Mulder. I hope you'll feel better. I... feel bad about this."

Scully and a fellow agent drive Mulder to the hospital after a minor baseball injury.

@mulderwearingglasses's (Ao3)

Stupid Cupid (Ao3)

Was everyone going undercover? Was her outfit en route? Was this some kind of bizarre-o dream? Why did everyone look like they were about to do some sort of red carpet event when she was clad in black leggings, a sweatshirt and -- oof -- she didn’t think she’d even run a brush through her hair, gone puffy and scraggly from her post-work couch nap.

Season 4 Scully is called in by Skinner on Valentine's Day... and is surprised that Mulder didn't have a date, like she'd assumed.

If Walls Could Talk (Ao3)

As she walked up to the crime scene -- a dilapidated house in rural Virginia -- local police and her colleagues shot each other bemused looks, ushering coy smirks off their lips. Some turned to their partners to whisper and cover a snicker behind their hands.

S6 Scully's diary is plastered all over the walls of a crime scene.

Anne Haynes's (xf-redux)

Fragile is the Glass

He tried not to react to her statement. So Hollis knew that Scully was having nosebleeds? Was that common knowledge around the Bureau now? He and Scully had tried hard to keep anyone but Skinner from finding out what was going on with her health.

Post Tempus Fugit Mulder and Scully don't disabuse a fellow agent of her Pendrell convictions.

Someone Else's Child (Gossamer) and Shatter

"I wasn't sure about adopting him at first." Pollack folds up the photo sleeves and tucks them back into the wallet. "You hear things about adoptions--I wanted kids of my own, and I was afraid that once they came along, I might treat Mike differently or something because he was someone else's kid."

I feel the memory cresting, hard and painful. I feel the tiny hands curled around my neck, the sweet smell of little girl, the fevered heat of her tiny body in my arms.

Over six months have passed and it still cuts like a razor.

Post Emily Mulder watches the new, hard edges of Scully's character form as she struggles with the loss of her daughter; and opens up about his VCU days, demonstrating that she's not alone.

Rachel Howards's Gypsy

The boulder field, a few hundred yards off of the trail, was steep and wide and required careful footwork. Dana scrambled over her section, above Levison, who had nimbly made her way to the rocky bottom of the slope and was picking her way along the ravine, bounding, surefooted, from rock to rock, peering into the crevices between the largest boulders. Above her, Mulder walked, silhouetted against the sky, the light above him blacking out his features so that all she saw was an outline of his body as he moved, parallel to her, sometimes stooping to examine the rocks.

Post Elegy Scully and Mulder silently stew in their complicated feelings while on a similarly complicated case.

@syntax6's (Gossamer, FFN, omniscribe) The Queen of Hearts

The chief frowned from Scully to Mulder. "You're the alien hunters. Gunther told me he was writing you a pile of nonsense, but I didn't expect you to show up all the way out here."

Post Redux II Mulder is avoiding x-files cases; and it's Scully who insists they get back into the field, and Scully who acts as Mulder 2.0

robot iconography's Still Life With Moth Men

Somewhere in the Apalachicola National Forest Wednesday

Either 4:36 or 4:40 p.m.

AU-- Pre-Detour Skinner forces both agents to attend a team-building seminar. Hijinks ensue.

@aloysiavirgata/Aloysia_Virgata's

I love reading other people talking about/observing Mulder and Scully. Please please!

Stonecypher rolls her eyes. “Weird,” she says. “But nice.”

“Gorgeous,” Kinsley repeats, dreamily. “Fox Mulder smells like an anthropomorphic regatta.”

Post Detour Kinsley and Stonecypher swap their thoughts on Mulder and Scully with other interested agents.

Petrichor and Singing of Mount Abora

“This is K9 Officer Jangles,” Scully says, introducing Mulder to the dog. “She’s new.”

Both follow-ups of The Waters of Babylon, Mulder and Scully work alongside other parties to solve two differently horrific cases (while crafting new boundaries for their evolving relationship.)

David Hearne's Hartwell

I admit that I was impressed by Agent Mulder, too. Right after Scully got done with her scientific theories, he started spewing a lot of stuff about vampires, some of which was actually true.

Sheriff Lucius Hartwell's POV on his town, Ronnie Strickland, Mulder, and Scully.

catsndogs's All Creatures

Officer Rogers immediately lost his confidence when she repeated his story almost verbatim: "So you're saying, you're worried because you heard Agent Scully drop her phone and you haven't been able to reach her?" Rogers proposed that that Agent Scully could have dropped her phone into a toilet.

In this unfinished fic, Mulder and Scully try to solve an impossible case-- one in which all signs point to murderous dogs.

Khyber's IMTP Virtual Season 08x03 - Imperial Violet

"Agent Mulder? It's Mulder, right? This is Owen Purcell," he drew out his l's, "the person who's trapped in here with your lovely partner for the night. Dana's out of her head with hunger. Her stomach is making terrifying sounds. I fear for my life. Bring us barbecued ribs, preferably from Nate's. With everything, and whatever the cheesecake special is. I'm guessing she has a weakness for cheesecake."

Mulder works alongside a few helping hands (including TLG) to save Scully and a doctor from Roush's latest infectious disease.

agoodwoman's (WBM) You Are Here

Agent Sherman approached Mulder with an envelope in hand and his camera bag over one shoulder. "Hey Mulder."

Post Detour Skinner gets his revenge by assigning Mulder and Scully to the bullpen for a month.

@atths--twice/ATTHS_TWICE/Atths2/ATTHS's

Every Picture Tells A Story

Yeah, they praised him after, but laughed at him when he suggested an outlandish idea. 

Pre-The End duo are ridiculed as Team Spooky... but they get a picture out of it.

Just Beyond the Edge (Ao3)

“Listen up,” he called to his officers and all chatter stopped. “Not all of you have had the pleasure of meeting the FBI agents yet. This is Agent Mulder and Agent Scully. They are here to help find the missing men.” 

S7 Mulder finds a nice Halloweeny case for Scully: the Tali Keno.

In the Wind

Leaving the morgue and coming back to the motel late at night, she would pick up greasy cheeseburgers and fries, eating them mechanically as she looked over case notes and photos. Mulder had not been around much, as he was busy in the field, helping Detective Hannon, the lead on this case. 

Post Millennium Scully is annoyed by a stupid case (and a flirty female detective on that case.)

Lovesfox's Erroneous Equation

Larger than life, and twice as loud, Tom Colton had hardly changed in the five plus years since Mulder had been blessed with an introduction. The Agent's face was still pudgy and youthful, his eyes still sly and mean. And his artificial jocularity was as stale as the old 'Spooky' joke.

Post One Son Colton drives a wedge between Mulder and Scully.

Pattie's They Call Him AGENT Mulder

Now, I know we all referred to him as "Spooky Mulder" at the F.B.I. Academy, and this reputation persisted years after he had graduated. The legend lived on about him even after I attended and graduated. We all knew he was a target for whispers, looks, even loudly malicious castigation not only throughout the halls of the Academy, but at Hoover's Haunt.

Mulder doesn't have the best track record dealing with annoying or out-of-line agents.

Namarie's (LJ, mulderscreek) Patchwork

"What brought your partner out here?" Deputy Greer asked. He was looking at Scully with frank curiosity.

Scully hesitated. Finally, she decided that the truth was the best option here. "He was investigating the reports of a patchwork creature that had supposedly been seen in the area."

AU-- S6 Mulder gets kidnapped while on an x-file weekend.

Girlie_girl7's Glow

"Agents," Kinsley began, as he looked from Mulder to Scully, "I saw a man."

"It could have been a woman," Stonecypher interrupted.

Kinsley rolled his eyes. "Okay, I saw a being, but it wasn't a person."

S6 Mulder and Scully are bailed out by the Detour agents.

@scully-eats-sushi/ijustknew's You're Not Alone, You're Not Alone II, and You're Not Alone III

Beside him, Springfield chuckled. “No. She gave a couple of my guys a dressing down yesterday over how they were handling bagged evidence. They’re still stinging.”

Post Millennium Scully and Mulder slowly work toward a relationship while solving emotionally strenuous cases.

KatyBlue's Absence of a Heartbeat (Gossamer)

An officer knelt down on Mulder's other side. She didn't know him. He looked young and scared. He had a towel that he placed over the wound. Scully shoved his hands into a good position and pushed down on them to show him the correct amount of pressure. "Press down and don't let up," she ordered.

Scully and a young field agent try to bring Mulder back to life with CPR.

dlynn's If a Frog had Wings . . .

"I'm not sure," he whispered. "Corelli and Mulder were on the trail ahead of me. I heard Mulder say that something didn't feel right and the next thing I knew Corelli was shoving me hard. I landed behind this boulder. I think it protected me from the blast."

Mulder and another agent get trapped under a tree.

Madeleine Partous’s (The Annex) Floaters

Hansen's case was being treated as an internal affair. No local authorities.

"They're keeping it quiet, Scully," he muttered after the second polygraph. "We wouldn't want one of our boys to go down in flames in the media."

Scully is almost murdered by a fellow FBI agent; and she and Mulder must fight against the FBI overhead when she kills her attacker.

TessMooreXF's Armadillo Season

Staring at the pictures of the lake in new-found horror, Scully startled at the sound of a sharp knock on the door. Confused about who could possibly be knocking, she was dismayed to find that private bed and breakfast operations rarely featured peep-holes. Opening the door revealed a clean-cut looking officer waiting in the hallway. He was relatively tall, maybe 5'11, and perhaps 30 years old. His knit brows signified his attempt at sobriety and professionalism, but his face was boyish and friendly. His name tag identified him as Officer Foster.

Kersh sends Scully on a case, solo, that devolves into messy chaos. Mulder arrives to track her down and back her up.

Thalia D'Muse's On the Wings of Destiny

An ear-piercing screech, in the fashion of every door in every old horror movie, filled the hallway as Thomason pushed open the door and took a few steps inside.

When Scully crossed the threshold of the room, an acrid bouquet of smells accosted her nostrils: mildew, animal feces, sweat, dust -- and the unmistakable metallic scent of blood.

S7 Mulder is kidnapped; and Scully scours every crack and crevice in her attempts to find and save him.

Rebecca Rusnak/Anonymous's (mulderscreek, The Annex) Silence, Sea and Sky

Roscoe smiled at them and ambled back towards his office. Scully watched Mulder. He stared straight ahead for a long moment, then looked down at her.

"Want to meet one of the most heinous agents in the history of the Bureau?" he asked.

This case has a little of everything: a jerky guy from the FBI Academy, a little girl that must be saved from a fire, and a broken psychic serial killer courtesy of one Dana Scully.

@mldrgrl's (Ao3) Tumblr drabble prompts of various shades of MSR - Chapter 9

She heard laughter as she approached the door to the office. 

Post Requiem Scully skewers fellow agents mocking Mulder.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[thatfragilecapricorn30]

Fic Friday (44)

So when you schedule a post, you should probably finish it beforehand! Oops! Reposting so it's a complete post :)

Title: Succumbing to the Truth

Author: OnlyTheInevitable (@gaycrouton)

Word Count: 33,453

AO3 Description: Mulder and Scully are called onto a case where men are being seduced and attacked in their sleep by an unknown force. This force usually disguises itself as the person the victims most desire, so what happens when the case starts to get a little too close for comfort for our agents?

My thoughts: This fic is so creepy. We all know that sleep is important and not being able to get it really raises the stakes. I especially love Mulder and Scully in this, and the scene where they resolve the case (trying to avoid spoilers) is one of my favorites. I could totally see this story being an actual episode of the show, it's that good.

Enjoy! Tagging @today-in-fic

[all-eyes-lead-to-the-truth]

All Eyes Lead to the Truth | Field Trip (6x21)

Beneath the surface, it waits.  

The forest above is merely its shadow, a mask of life stretched thin over the vast network of roots and tendrils below. It has existed here for centuries, perhaps longer, stretching and spreading, unseen but omnipresent. The humans who walk above are insignificant—soft, blind things, drawn to their own destruction by curiosity or mere foolishness. And yet, they are enough. Their flesh, their thoughts, their essence—all fuel for the endless hunger that pulses beneath the soil.

When they come, the air shifts, the vibrations tremble down through the layers of earth, and it knows. It waits, patient as the stones, as they trample its surface, stirring spores into the air. The spores drift, invisible, weightless, carried on the wind. They enter the humans, clinging to their clothes, slipping through their orifices into their lungs with each careless breath. Once inside, they bloom—spreading chemical whispers, weaving illusions from the fragile threads of memory and fear.

The man came first. Bold, reckless. His steps were heavy, his breath quickened, driven by a purpose he barely understood. Even as the spores clouded his mind, fragments of another presence lingered—an image, a voice, faint but persistent. She was there in the corners of his thoughts, tethering him to something real, something worth finding. Each step he took seemed to echo with her absence, pulling him further into the cave, deeper into the organism’s reach. 

The woman followed, slower, more cautious. Her thoughts cut sharper than his, her steps more deliberate. But she, too, was tethered. She breathed his name like a lifeline, the syllables reverberating through the organism's cells. Her fear wasn’t for herself—it was for him. Even as her perception unraveled, she searched for him, reached for him. And the organism drank it in, that tender anguish, that hopeless devotion. It flavored the meat.

It had tasted this before—the mingling of fear and hope, the threads of connection fraying against the inevitable. The man and the woman who came before them, their bodies dissolved into the organism’s vast memory, had clung to each other in the same way, their thoughts tangling even as the end consumed them. These humans would be no different. They would break apart the same, dissolve against the organism’s palate. Their final moments, laced with unspoken pleas and fragmented worry for the other, would be just as sweet.

Inside its hollow chambers, the organism stirs, feeling the vibrations of their movement above. The hallucinations are taking hold—the flicker of shadows that aren’t there, the faint glow that beckons them deeper. They will believe anything it wants them to believe. They are close now. It feels the heat of their bodies, the electric pulse of their hearts, the sharp pang of their fear.

But their fear is tangled with something more. In the moments before the end, as they reach out for each other, their thoughts will converge. They will think not of their own pain, but of the other. It will be brief—a final flicker of warmth before the cold. And the organism will devour it, weaving their memories into its roots.

The prey is close. Soon they will lie still, trapped within their illusions. Their flesh will dissolve, their essence will be consumed, and the organism will grow stronger.

It always does.

Read the rest of All Eyes Lead to the Truth on Archive of Our Own!

@gaycrouton

[enigmaticxbee]

Casefiles - Fic Recs

Need just the right case to push you from UST to RST with your not so platonic work partner? Casefiles with slow burn MSR are my jam:

Early On:

Universal Invariants by @syntax6 - set over the course of a canon-parallel version of season 1 and early season 2 where Scully’s boyfriend Ethan who was cut from the pilot sticks around. One of my all time favorites.

Classic Era (or I don’t know when it’s set so I picture season 3):

This House Is Burning by Tesla - serial killer undercover case set at a ski resort.

Under Covers by skinfull- Scully goes undercover.

We’re Married Now by skinfull - married undercover with a cult.

Scary Stories by skinfull - investigating urban legends.

Homicidal Tendencies by Swikstr - crossover with Homicide: Life on the Street, but you don’t need to know that show. Scully/Other ending in MSR.

Cancer Arc Era:

The Common Fate of All Things Rare by @aloysiavirgata and Scarlet - post Never Again, filling in the blanks leading up to Momento Mori.

Omens by @lepus-arcticus - a cancer era classic.

On Untying the Endless Knot, and Other Improbable Things by secondsflat - post Demons, dealing with Mulder’s lingering flashbacks and tying back to the post lives from The Field Where I Died.

Gates of Hell by @alienqueequeg - post remission they work a cold case from Scully’s past.

Embers by @syntax6 - post remission as they explore a new relationship.

Laws of Motion by @syntax6 - sequel to Universal Invariants, set over the course of season 5.

More Than a Feeling by @sisterspooky1013 - undercover at a carnival with fake dating goodness.

You He Did Not Fail by extraordinary_ordinary - AU where Scully leaves the X-Files post-remission. Two years later their paths cross again on a case.

Post FTF:

Queen’s Gambit by Suzanne Schramm - early season 6 serial killer case.

Kinesthesia by Amy - early season 6 undercover at a fairground.

Quietus by Allison Johnson - early season 6 follow up to Paper Hearts.

Suspicious Minds by skinfull - undercover as a couple at a drug compound.

Lesser Evils by Hannah Mason - fun dramatic, tropey Scully is kidnapped, will Mulder save her in time?

Cold Cuts by Joann Humby - serial killer case.

No Earthly Means by Circe Invidiosa aka @invidiosa - season 6 follow up to Gender Bender.

March by bluesamutra - post Tithonus

Speechless by Anjou - post Tithonus

Heart’s Desire by @malibusunset-xf-blog - post Two Fathers/One Son. My favorite Scully/Other fic - ends in MSR, but it’s probably the only fic where I’ve thought that Mulder might be the wrong choice.

Overnight Sensation by @syntax6 - post Two Fathers/One Son case in Boston. A favorite.

Arizona Highways by Fialka - post Two Father/One Son, dealing with the discovery of more Emilys. A classic.

Ensky by ViXen - late season 6 serial killer case.

Lacuna by @aloysiavirgata - post Milagro, Scully/Other ending in MSR.

Amish Country by Lolabeegood - serial rapist case within an Amish case. Undercover married, a favorite.

Mind Games by Spider - featuring profiler!Mulder. Warning for very disturbing case details.

Margaritas by agoodwoman - post The Unnatural morning after.

Watching Wall by amerella - post The Sixth Extinction: Amor Fati

Petrichor by @aloysiavirgata - post The Sixth Extinction: Amor Fati

Damsels by @sisterspooky1013 - Scully goes undercover at a strip club.

Hallowed by @gaycrouton - married undercover in a cult.

Parabiosis by penumbra - set across season 7, an all time favorite.

Wing and Prayer by Revely - post En Ami, investigating a miracle.

Seeds of Synchronicity by mountainphile - follow up to Aubrey 6 years later.

Late Era:

Mobius by L.A. Ward - while Mulder is missing a missing scientist’s case leads Scully to Mulder in an unexpected way.

Gerber Daisies by DiscordantWords - set during the back half of season 8, case involving Charlie Scully.

If anyone has any IWTB or revival era casefile recs please let me know!