#moonprincess92

[randomfoggytiger]

Collector's Edition: Reworking Requiem and Mulder's Return (Part II)

Ahhhh, Requiem. The episode that drove me to read fanfics after Season 8 wrapped up.

Loose chronological order below~

@amplifyme/wonderland/Lydia Bower (Tooms Gossamer)

“New year’s resolutions?”

Mulder looks over at her with one of his sidelong, appraising glances. “Do I look like the type who makes resolutions?”

“Come on, Mulder. We’re stuck in this car on New Year’s Eve on what is most assuredly a dead-end stakeout all because you’re convinced that one Herman Jiménez is preparing to escort his family to a new home somewhere in the heavens, compliments of a spaceship steered by little green men. Humor me just this once and play along. And yes, I do think you’re the type to make resolutions.”

“Well, see, that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t make resolutions at the beginning of a new year. I make promises instead.”

Pre-Requiem: There is, in fact, no Requiem-- only a stakeout, a debate, and New Years promises.

@cecilysass's Pause (Ao3)

“Mulder?” she repeats.

Very slowly he turns, allowing her to see his face for the first time.

His expression is flat, without affect. He blinks.

“Hi,” she tries again. She scrambles to stand up. “I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just me. I’m…I’m having a rough time. I don’t have any idea what’s going on. I don’t remember what’s happened.”

He takes a step towards her, and she sees how terrible he looks. He needs a haircut and a shave. There are deep purple smudges lining the bottom of his eyes.

His eyes dart over the scene in front of him: her clothes, her hair, the half-eaten lasagna on the plate in front of her, the coffee table with no dirty dishes.

Something like fear flickers across his face.

Pre-Requiem: Scully is presumed dead for a year, only to be returned missing a chunk of her memories (and unaware she is pregnant.)

@leiascully's (Ao3) Imagine Other Worlds - Chapter 7

She can feel it. She knows there’s no medical reason she should be able to. But she knows, somehow. When she goes to see her doctor and she touches Scully’s shoulder with that expression, it isn’t difficult to gather herself. She’s been through this before.

Pre-Requiem: Not only is Scully pregnant, but her cancer is back. There is no Bellefleur, only a hope that she'll pull through.

Variations on a Requiem

Scully wondered, just for a moment, what had ever happened in Bellefleur. She hoped that Theresa Nemman no longer got nosebleeds. She hoped that Billy Miles had found some peace. Maybe nobody saw lights in the sky anymore and the tourists just enjoyed the salmon and the peace of the deep woods. She didn’t mention any of it to Mulder. He’d want to revisit their first case, sifting through the pine straw for any evidence of the ashy dust she’d found. Some things were better left alone. A town like that needed its motels, and she and Mulder were inadvertent firestarters. But she looked up across the rows of manila folders and smiled at him, and he smiled back, and the magic was still there, just like it had always been.

Pre-Requiem: Mulder and Scully live their lives gently growing older together... until a late-life pregnancy shocks their routine.

@msrafterdark's (Ao3)

Could you write something in which Scully tells Mulder she's pregnant in the afterglow?

He stares at you for a beat longer and you watch as his gaze darts back and forth across your face. To your immense shock his expression nearly crumples before you, his eyes glassy with immediate tears.

Pre-Requiem: Scully tells Mulder about her pregnancy.

I'm not sure when you're accepting prompts but can you do one where Scully has a pregnancy scare with Mulder?

“Well, I just…you told me once that you had little desire to start a family…”

“Yeah, Scully—awhile ago.”

Pre-Requiem: Scully is shocked Mulder is happy at her news.

MSR Ficmas

He looks down at the note again, the one he found on his desk after he came back from a morning financial meeting. He was already in a testy mood about their budget being further tightened, now he just feels ill.

@ Doctor appointment, 11 am. Will call. Do NOT worry.

Pre-Requiem: Mulder and Scully are married; and Mulder is panicking over Scully's latest doctor's appointment.

Ficlets (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 103 (Ao3)

Content with his reasoning (oh what a rarity), she relaxes, nods, her eyes immediately growing heavy as she leans against his shoulder. She’s excited to see that house tomorrow, with its beautiful deck and an office and that gorgeous master bedroom…She’s trying to keep an open mind, but her heart has already been sold.

Post Requiem/Mulder is returned early enough to make pampering little first trimester nests for Scully.

@sigritandtheelves/DarlaBlack's

Canticle (Ao3)

She wakes sobbing in his arms, saying “No, Mulder, no!” And when he tries to tell her everything is okay, she rushes to his tiny bathroom to vomit.

He pounds on the door. He calls her Dana until she unlocks it and looks at him with haunted eyes, holding a cold washcloth to her face.

“We’re taking you to the doctor,” he says.

“You can’t go near the ship,” she says. “It’s you it wants.” Then she collapses against him.

Requiem: Mulder listens to Scully's dream and flies home with her.

Ground

 It was science and mysticism and love-magic, combining like a perfect syzygy. It was the history of them, their lives, their suffering, their work, their love, emerging of some dark alchemy into a perfect future person, housed now beneath his palm. “The baby will be like Gibson,” she said: a weapon and a target and a key.

“But it’s ours,” he whispered—it was a question and a statement.

“Yes,” she said. “Only ours. Of that I’m sure.” And therefore so much more than merely weapon, target, key.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned in the desert two months later, to revelation upon revelation.

@mldrgrl's (Ao3)

MSR 38

Skinner was already on the phone calling for an ambulance.  The gunmen hovered, giving orders to each other to give her air, get her water, find a pillow.  Marita knelt down next to Mulder and put a hand on Scully’s ankle.

“Alex,” she said.  “Find a blanket.”

Requiem: Scully passes out in the Bureau.

Resignation

Mulder had a nagging feeling about returning to Bellefleur even before he boarded the plane. It had actually started when he'd told Scully he was leaving and she was going to stay.  He expected her to put up more of a protest than she had, but it was the look on her face that gave him the first sense of foreboding - like she didn't expect to see him again.  

Requiem: Mulder, acting on a gut instinct, resigns on the plane.

Not Again: Part 1 and Not Again: Part 1 - Gone

“Sir.”  Mulder stops Skinner from turning away and squeezes his upper arm.  “What did that man, Agent Doggett, mean when he asked if it was about the baby?”

Skinner takes off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose.  He hesitates before he hooks them back over his ears and looks Mulder directly in the eyes.  “Agent Scully used the bureau labs yesterday afternoon to run some bloodwork on herself,” he says.

Post Requiem: Scully is abducted, instead; and Mulder is forced to work alongside a task force that suspects him.

@o6666666's

au where Mulder didn't go....

He picks her up like a bride. “We’re going to the ER.”

“What, no, Mulder, you need to—your flight.”

“Ha ha,” he says. “Very funny.”

“Mulder, I’m—“

“Scully,” he tells her, jostling her around a little to get the car keys from his pocket, “shut up, will you? I’m taking you to the hospital.”

He can tell he’s moved her when she leans her head on his chest.

Requiem: Scully faints in the garage before they even leave the FBI.

Lapsed_Scholar’s Variations

“I must have fainted,” she tried, shakily. “I was feeling a little bit strange, just now. I should be fine in a moment.” Her mouth felt peculiarly clumsy around the words.

Exasperation flared across his eyes, but he kept his voice steady and gentle. “I don’t think so, honey. I had the airport staff call an ambulance. It should be here in a moment.” Honey? In public? It was apparently worse than she thought. When she found that she didn’t have the energy to call him on it, she knew it was worse than she thought.

Requiem: All the many, different ways Mulder could have been kept from Bellefleur-- from heartfelt to frustrated to comic to close shave.

@baronessblixen's (Ao3)

Fictober Day 11 Ao3 Fictober 2020 - Chapter 11

“You let him go alone?”

“No. I- um, I might have caused a slight ruckus at the airport and, um, we were asked to leave. He drove me here.”

“What kind of ruckus, Mulder?” Scully asks, amusement in her voice.

Requiem: Mulder crashes through the hospital, determined to get to Scully's side.

Fictober Day 12 Ao3 Fictober 2020 - Chapter 12

Hesitation drips from her voice. What happened to being ready? He turns his head and rests his chin on her stomach.

“Nothing is going to go wrong, Scully,” he says.

“It might.”

“It won’t.”

Post Requiem: Scully tells her mother the good news (without having Mulder halfway out to space.)

isamariposa's Bullfrogs and Jello

He smiles, and then he's so tired of this.

Requiem: Mulder is too worried to leave, so Skinner calls up Doggett to take his place.

@moonprincess92/Moonprincess92's Are you up for writing some season 7 fluff?

And as it became more and more likely that they would be shut down, Mulder knew that now all Scully had to do was ask him, and he’d walk away in an instant. He wouldn’t risk their lives for anything. 

He certainly wouldn’t risk hers.

Requiem: Mulder leaves Skinner at the airport, afraid Scully's cancer has returned.

@rationalcashew/RationalCashew's Dark is the Way; Light is the Place (Ao3)

He moved quickly to her, barely registering the note in her hand until she handed it to him. Mulder felt the blood drain from his face when he looked at it.

Take your chance. Wave and grin. So many guys just play with sin.

Underneath the typed note was something new: an incredibly detailed eye, drawn in black ink.

Devil eye.

Requiem: Mulder returns from Bellefleur, surprised and delighted at Scully's news. The two barely have time to process before they are thrown into a Deadly Sins case.

@frangipanidownunder/Frangipanidownunder's Already Special

Diana stands, pulls out a file from a drawer. Holds the Manila folder up. “This is a contact list of all the women who have been, and who will be, used as hosts for the experiment. They are all patients of the same pair of doctors. Lev and Parenti.”

There’s a sharp silence in the room. Lizzie Gill spreads her fingers flat on the desk. Scully presses a finger under her nose.

“I know about the IVF,” Diana says and Scully scrapes her chair back across the floor. The door slams behind her.

Post Requiem: Mulder was never abducted; and he and Scully tackle Per Manum and one Diana Fowley head-on.

@ghostbustermelanieking/skuls's

oregon forest

Skinner finds them. They’re somewhere in the desert, and they’re still together. They’re shivering. Scully’s teeth are chattering. Mulder is wrapped around her, his face in her neck, his fingernails digging into her back desperately. She’s gripping him just as hard, and she squints as someone shines a light into her eyes. She’s frightened all over again until she hears Skinner’s panicked voice: “Scully? Mulder?”

Relief fills her, suddenly, and she nods, a little whimper bubbling in her throat, as her head falls limply to Mulder’s shoulder.

Skinner drives them to the hospital. Mulder won’t let go of her hand. He won’t stop touching her face, her hair. He whispers it again, the things she remembers from the ship; he whispers, “I’m sorry, Scully, I’m so, so sorry.”

Requiem: Scully runs after Mulder, catching up just in time to get abducted along with him.

AU where scully finds mulder in the Arizona desert during within/without

He and Doggett seems equally stunned at the whole thing; Mulder had never really expected her to hear him. 

Within: Scully sticks to her instincts and finds Mulder in the ship.

s8's roadrunners AU where it's mulder instead of doggett

She tells him on the bus. After Doggett is finished cutting the slug out of her, because she’s shouting that it needs to be cut out and Mulder wants to do it but he can’t. His hands are shaking too badly. So he holds hers, lets her squeeze the life out of them as she screams, as the cultists pound on the bus, as Doggett pulls out the slug and shoots it. The cultists are dismayed. Mulder can see the flashing lights through the dusty window of the bus. As Doggett runs outside to deal with it all, Scully collapses woozily against his chest. He presses a quivering hand over the bloody wound at the back of her neck, and he realizes only then that she is sobbing. “It’s okay,” he whispers in frantic reassurance, pressing one hand against the wound and wrapping his free arm around her shoulders.

Roadrunners: Mulder is returned in time to rescue his partner.

@wexleresque/hellsteeth's

lost time (Ao3)

“What now?” he says, though it may be to just himself.

“I want to look at the files you set aside for me.” Scully says.

“Do you want to be alone? There might be some upsetting stuff in there. I didn’t see a lot but…you don’t end up in the x-files for just having a really great time.”

Scully shakes her head. “No, I want you to be there. You lived this through it all, too.”

Requiem: Mulder and Scully are abducted together, and returned with seven years of memories erased.

DeadAlive Switch (Ao3)

Mulder never gets the chance to beg Scully to stay in DC. She collapses on the forest floor, wakes clammy and nauseous, eyes glassy. He runs for help, yelling desperately. When he returns, she is gone, stumbling into the forest against her will. 

Requiem: Scully is abducted instead; then returned, "dead." Months after she's buried, Mulder claws her up from the ground.

stellar_dust’s (Ao3)

Threnody 01 - Divested (Ao3) and Threnody - Domani Non Viene (Ao3)

Some time later, empty of tears and drained in his soul, Mulder rose and quickly, deliberately, packed up all of his things.... As he grabbed clothes off the floor, he couldn't bear the thought of pulling his and Scully's apart, of taking hers next door and zipping them into her own suitcase, so into his they went, together.

Requiem: Scully is abducted instead. Not only is Mulder the primary suspect, but he must also grapple with his worsening brain disease and the sudden revelation of Scully's pregnancy.

Threnody - Indelible (Ao3)

With a deep breath, she got a grip on herself. All roads lead somewhere. Eventually, there will be a town, with a phone. She raised herself on shaky legs and began to walk.

Two steps later, Dana Scully disappeared.

Post Requiem: Mulder and his new partner Doggett drive up to Skyland Mountain after a ghost sighting. The ghost happens to be someone very different than he'd been expecting.

amorfati3215/Amorfati32’s (FFN)

Unnamed 1 and Unnamed 2

“We’ll find him,” replies Mulder, his smile faltering. “The Gunmen and their friends are monitoring everything. As soon as there’s any sign of him or the other abductees we’ll know.”

“That doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty.”

Requiem: Skinner, not Mulder, is dragged off to parts unknown.

@writingwell/RocketMan/Darkstryder's (xffics) Second Coming

He was weaker than he'd led them to believe. His head rolled along the seat when Bear spun the ATV around, but Scully was holding him up, trying to keep him from falling asleep.

Post Requiem: Scully and Krycek make a deal over Mulder's return.

@lotsoforangesoutside/@lotzzoforangezoutside/ lots_of_oranges_outside's

Impossibilities (Ao3)

She has half-expected Skinner to stick her with a new partner like he did to Mulder six years ago. That didn’t happen. She’s also thought her mother would freak out about her being an unwed mother and demand a wedding before her stomach starts to show; that also didn’t happen. So many things have been happening that really shouldn’t be happening; talking to her unborn babe is pretty low on the list of things she’s never imagined happening.

Post Requiem: Scully makes a wish upon a genie's ocarina.

@cauldronoflove/thegoodthebadandthenerdy's Gravity, Oh Gravity

the first thing he sees is not scully, but rather the stars. they're a comfort--they're still there and still bright and still patterned how they should be. they burn his eyes and slide down his throat like top shelf whiskey. but they don't even come close.

because the second thing he sees is scully. scully in a shirt he's had to have seen her in a thousand times, the one he thinks is green, but isn't sure because his eyes have always betrayed him. his eyes have to be betraying him. scully and-

and         and                  and

(and his heart stops beating.)

it thunders back to life as he stumbles forward, legs feeling like they've been chopped from his body and reattached in the wrong direction. 

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned as he was taken.

@onpaperfirst's Ao3, LJ) For the first sentence prompt

He’d been pushed out the back of a truck on the side of the 5, just north of Eugene, wearing a thin t-shirt and scrub pants. His tenure on the ship itself had been short. They’d all been taken to a warehouse just across the border on the outskirts of Juárez where he had proven surprisingly adept at levitation but had refused to cooperate when asked to mind read.

Post Requiem: Mulder has been abducted, and returned, by the government.

@enigmaticdrblockhead's AliveDead

Out of some sick inner desperation, his body continues on. Blood still pumping and heart still beating, by definition he is alive. Life. To him it is nothing but lying down.

His right hand almost seems stiff. Fingers are curved upward to show a gray palm. He begs for whatever they can give. He is never lucky.

Post Requiem: Skinner finds Mulder, sick and amnesic, on the street.

@pinebluffvariants/@flukemen/scienceandmysticism's

An idea: scully becomes pregnant but mulder never "dies"

They spend their time in silence, but it’s comfortable. His pupils focus easier and easier and she wheels him around the hospital grounds. He looks up at her from his wheelchair, sadly and adorably rumpled but alive, and she bends down for a kiss. Of course their first kiss in public will be far from home, one of them just this side of peril. It only strengthens her resolve to do it again.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned two months later, aphasic.

@virtie333's (Ao3)

Dream a Little Dream - Chapter 4

While Aldrich took them on another tour, chatting away, Doggett knew Langly and Frohike were tapping into the building's security systems. Tonight, after dark, he and Byers would sneak in, with the assistance of the computer geeks in the van outside, and do a little search and rescue. 

Post Requiem: Mulder is rescued by Doggett and TLG, and the three take down the Alien Bounty Hunter and speed off to help Scully.

The Hunter

For that past week, however, the Prey had been hunting as well, and the trail had finally stopped here, in Savannah. A beautiful town, if one cared about those things. But the Hunter was single minded. He only wanted one thing. And tonight, he was about to get it.

Post Requiem: Mulder escapes, and is returned in time to save Scully and Doggett.

@suitablyaggrieved/ScullyLovesQueequeg's Ignorance

The backseat occupant made a noise of delight upon making eye contact with Mulder, and Scully steals a glance at her partner, to see a small smile on his otherwise somber features. It was gone as soon as it had arrived, however, and his eyes shift out the window again. The backseat occupant was satisfied with this outcome, and he too turned his attention to the slow moving blurs that paint the window as the car moves along the side streets.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned a year later, and suspiciously reacclimates to his new life.

@contrivedcoincidences6/Spooky66/geektime66’s AU 5 HC

“Hello Ms. Scully, this is Amy from Holy Cross Hospital, we’ve been trying to reach you from your other numbers.”

Scully’s brows draw together. In years past she would have thought they were calling about Mulder.

“Yes?”

“A man was checked in a few days ago with no id. Today he started talking and asked for you before he fell back asleep, we were unable to get a name.”

Scully’s heart beats in her ears. She knows it’s not Mulder but she doesn’t know who else it could be. 

Post Requiem: Scully tries to move on... until Mulder is returned a year and a half later.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[otterandterrier]

It's a sleepover, so im going to rant to you about my crush: first he is shy, but so thoughtful and insightful. He has great opinions and loves video games, puzzles and computers. He shows his love in acts of service. He will leave the porch light on for me and give me food when I'm sad. He doesn't like people or going out in general but says he likes me. He's a serial procrastinator. He likes dogs. He needs 3-5 business days to recover from social interaction. Cant believe I'm crushing, how embarrassing. Did I mention we're getting married in 7 months? Anyway. Rant over. Carry on xoxo

he sounds like a nice dude and I'm happy for you! 💖 when should I expect my wedding invitation then? 😉

sleepover saturday

[hiriahb]

Spotify On Repeat Shuffled Tag

Tagged by @darknessontheedgeoftowndyke to shuffle my Spotify On Repeat playlist and put the first 10 songs that come up!

(Songs are linked via titles)

I'm Like a Bird (Nelly Furtado cover, Live at Spotify Studios NYC) - Alessia Cara

2. She's Not Afraid - One Direction

3. Papercuts - Landon Conrath

4. TiK ToK - Kesha

5. Bloom - The Paper Kites

6. Next to Me - Emeli Sandé

7. Dirty Paws - Of Monsters and Men

8. The Only Hope For Me Is You - My Chemical Romance

9. July - Laur Elle

10. Upside Down - Jack Johnson

Tagging (but don't have to do this if you don't want to and/or don't have Spotify): @rnaryjune @thisoneloves @m0nswoon @catty-words @snigora @misscarynnz @queenoftherodeoo @tinylilemrys @moonprincess92

[ruby-red-inky-blue]

1, 3, 24! ❤️❤️❤️

1 . How many books did you read this year?

33 so far (plus like. some fifteen-odd seasons of actual play which feel like books to me)

3. already gave my top five but here are my honourable mentions

Stephen King's On Writing

Frank Goldammer's Im Schatten der Wende (this guy writes historical crime novels that are always GREAT historical and really bad crime novels, but this one was, while still pretty confusing, a marked improvement, and the historical part was fantastic)

Erich Kästner's Der Gang vor die Hunde which was fucking depressing but great, which surprises nobody because I am an unapologetic Kästner lover

Pim Wangtechawat's The Moon Represents My Heart, which was such a cool concept and had some really fascinating sections about the Kowloon Walled City that I loved!

24. Did you DNF anything?

Loads.

Tana French's The Witch Elm: I really liked The Seeker but this one did not grab me at all

Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass: This was really lovely but I am a super hard sell on nonfiction and this was too slow-paced for me so it lost me

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: I know I know! I'll give this another go at some point maybe but I got like halfway in and was just so bored

Thomas Mann's Death in Venice: Listen this is a German classic and I figured hey, this is Mann's shortest book why not, but I hated the topic and everything about this story.

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations: Not suited to audiobook format, I gave up

Homer's Odyssey: Again, I know. I tried guys but I just. Can't. With traditional Greek theatre. Or theatre in general. I hate reading a play. Shakespeare can stay. Sometimes.

Blake Snyder's Save the Cat!: Didn't learn anything new in the first third and was quite bored, so I stopped.

Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park: This was okay. I'd already seen the movie though and felt like this wasn't giving me anything the movie hadn't already, so I stopped around halfway through.

end of year book asks!

[jyndor]

Happy birthday cait!!!! You are so funny and I rate all ur opinions. Hope ur day is the best!!! Xoxo

thank you Jordan, I miss our chats and I hope you are well! I rate your everything lmao

[andorerso]

We stan a queen 👸 love u sissi ❤️❤️❤️❤️

JORDAN MY BELOVED! hope things are good, we haven't talked in a while. thank youuuu, love you too <33

[jynnjecki]

currently pre-gaming for Rebelcaptain week by binging @andorerso paranormal fics and omg perfect for fall/autumn vibes.

not sponsored but I am delulu enough to think if I get more people to read ‘a wolf at heart’ sissi might finally update it 🐺❤️🙂‍↕️

[pingou7]

Only 10 is much too cruel, but at least it wasn't the male characters I had to select!

Honorable mentions because I have restrained myself with extreme difficulty : Jyn Erso (SW), Wednesday Addams (The Addams family), Shireen Baratheon (Game of thrones / ASOIAF) and Amy March (Louisa May Alcott).

I've been tagged by @calimera62 (merci beaucoup marraine adorée !) tagging whomever wish to give ten favorite female characters from their fandoms. Perhaps @atthelamppost @thenewleeland @jellyfitzjelly @moonprincess92 @nael-opale @ibonekoen @nerdygirl2888 @oh-nostalgiaa would?

[crazy-fruit]

Was tagged quite a while ago by @kathastrophen Thanks! Like always I still haven't managed to start a proper music library on my laptop. Frankly I have mainly been listening to my YouTube Mix anyways. Put your music library on shuffle, then list the first five songs that come up in a poll to let people vote for which one they like the most!

tagging @mondfahrt @michameinmicha @melyzard @cleargreyskies @moonprincess92

[buckybarnesss]

a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away these two ruined me and i’ll never recover. 

a family can be 2 traumatized soldiers and their 30 kids by moonprincess92

a proud, unpleasant sort of man by angel_deux

the other a-team by homelywenchsociety [series, the newsroom au]

let the cat out of the bag by wintersend

the measure of a hero by maixela [wip, avengers endgame au]

death trembles to take us by theputterer [the old guard au]

hard feelings by albabutter

you said something by alp

message traffic by skitzofreak [series]

little by little, one travels far by skitzofreak [series]

between your bones and your soul by skitzofreak

and never ever watch the ten o'clock news by homelywenchsociety [psych au]

down on the plains of lah'mu by shortcircuitify

the girl who has your heart, the boy who knows your soul by pyroallerdyce

before i wake, before the dawn by redfantasyfox

nicest men in the galaxy by amassivedisappointment (badoldwest) [series]

the violet hour by caramelle

somewhere slowly by noelia_g

on the red earth, your hand in mine by slugmutt [game of thrones au]

you're the fire (and the flood) by monroeslittle

resistance is built on hope by chronicolicity [wwii au]

souvenirs in the snow  by stonehill

we will not meet in this world by ephemera (incognitajones)

Euphony by jackofsometrades

[sunshinebunnie]

Fan Fic Rec List(s) - 2023 ed.

Some of you may be aware that I've been working on the FanFic Reading Challenge this year, which has given me a fantastic excuse to read a PLETHORA of fan fic this year. Now that we're at the end of the year (and almost at the end of the challenge), I wanted to take a moment to celebrate some of the favorite fics I've read (or reread!) this year. (Note: most of these are smutty & some could be triggering for some people, so please be mindful of tags!!)

Soulmates

Eleven by zetuslapetus (WC: 3,244) [Brio]

If it’s meant to be by Moonprincess92 (WC: 15,894) [RebelCaptain]

fated (that’s what we are) by moondustdaydream (WC: 11,808) [Jiara]

I would love you in any universe! (All the AUs)

I’ll Find You in the Morning Sun by Callioope (WW II AU) (WC: 19,539) [RebelCaptain]

The Girl by Farky_Fark_and_the_Munky_Bunch (Noir Detective AU) (WC: 17,468) [Jaqarya]

gibson girl by cunninghams (Stripper AU) (WC: 9,073) [Hellcheer]

We Don’t Need To Say It by mylifeiskara (Celebrity/Modern AU) (WC: 112,289) [Memori]

zeal and ardor by narcissablaxk (Assassin AU) (WC: 48,881) [Tedbecca]

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5a Part 5b

[randomfoggytiger]

X-Files Collector's Edition: Requiem AUs (Poll Results 4th)-- Mulder Didn't Leave

Part 2 of the Requiem AUs (from this poll): Mulder returns in Requiem whether before, during, or after he finds out about his and Scully's miracle.

Loose chronological order below~

Requiem AUs

@mihosayuri/neytirijade’s This was in response to a prompt

""“I, uh… I’m actually here—we’re here—because I’m about two months late, and um… I took two at home pregnancy tests, and I know those things aren’t always 100%–""

Pre-Requiem Mulder and Scully are back in the IVF office, waiting with bated breath to see if they have surprise, miraculous, positive news.

@drbedeliadumaurier/heartsfilthylesson‘s

isolated systems - Chapter 2 (Tumblr)

""In Bellefleur, shock and dread give way to anticipation, to delight almost. She holds Theresa Nemman’s baby and remembers the one growing inside her, wonders.... She needs to tell him.""

Pre-Requiem Scully finds out about her pregnancy before she and Mulder leave for Oregon. She mulls over the news during their investigation; finally tells when they end up back where it all started: his motel room.

@starbuck09256​‘s (Ao3) Back to the Beginning to find the Truth

""Everything in his search had just been leading him back to her. She whimpers in his arms and he feels a sudden gush on his chest[.] [L]ooking down as he gently strokes her bare back he see bright crimson.""

Scully's nose bleeds in Bellefleur; and Mulder zips her to the ER to get a checkup. Both are overjoyed.

@gilliansanderson/spensierata's Strange Trails (Tumblr)

""It was quiet in the car. It was a comfortable quiet. They were comfortable being quiet, it was how they processed the inevitable. The radio crackled and screeched in search of a signal, it reminded Mulder of when they’d lost nine minutes, they’d gotten soaked, he’d marked the ground with an X. We Were Here. He’d screamed it at the sky. Mulder turned it off in frustration so all that was left to fill the silence was the rhythmic pounding of the rain against the roof.... It was nine minutes to the hospital. He reached over to thread his fingers through hers. She only barely squeezed back.""

Mulder and Scully sit in the waiting room in Bellefleur, their absorptive silence morphing into peaceful joy at the good news.

@lokisgame​’s (Ao3) Late

""Mulder,” she whispered..., calling him back from the edge of sleep, “I’m late.” “For what?” He mumbled, half conscious, “we just got back.""

Mulder and Scully return from Oregon, dozing on the couch... until Scully drops the gentle "I'm late" bombshell. (I adore this fic.)

a_steady_wish's Alternative Ending to Requiem - Chapter 1

""It’s only three minutes later but seems like an hour when the lines appear, clear as day, and you exhale loudly. You close your eyes for long moments, open them again: it hasn’t changed. You begin to pad back out to the bed, suddenly think you were mistaken, and go back to the bathroom to check again. You were not mistaken: two pink lines. You check the box a fourth time. Making sure you have read the results properly: You have. You are. You are pregnant.""

Scully takes a pregnancy test after their return from Oregon, unable to sleep with her suspicions. Mulder notices her mood when she comes back, teary and happy. (I adore this fic, too.)  

TheAddict4Dramatics's Untitled Requiem Ficlet

""The banging continued until it was starting to echo inside her skull. She wiped her eyes and checked her face in the mirror before opening the door. Clearly she did not do a good enough cover-up job and he frowned as soon as he saw her.

“What’s the matter?” There was such sincere worry in his face as he stepped into the bathroom and relocked the door behind him.

“I’m…” But the fine died on her lips and to her utter horror she felt her face begin to crumble in on itself.""

Requiem Scully leaves the conference room where Mulder, TLG, Skinner, Krycek, Marita, and Diana all game plan about Oregon. Mulder insists on joining her, reiterating his loyalty; and is there to catch her when she faints.

@frogsmulder​​/Brynstein‘s 1. “I love you, please don’t go.”

""I love you,” she murmurs from a distance. 

He looks up at her with wide, mossy eyes, flecked golden in the orange light of the lamp. In earnest, his innocent gaze captures her heart in a fist of fiery iron, melting her final resolve. “I love you too,” he answers simply, letting the weight of his affection carry his words."" 

 Requiem Mulder only wants Scully; and Scully finally admits to wanting him to stay. both are happy to be together for the news.

@mldrgrl’s (Ao3) 

MSR 38

""Skinner was already on the phone calling for an ambulance.  The gunmen hovered, giving orders to each other to give her air, get her water, find a pillow.  Marita knelt down next to Mulder and put a hand on Scully’s ankle.

“Alex,” she said.  “Find a blanket.""

Requiem Scully passes out at the Bureau; and Mulder, TLG, Skinner, and Marita all jump into action to take care of her until the ambulance arrives. (I adore this fic, too.) Mulder's intent doesn't end there, dropping a bombshell of his own.

Resignation

""He’d never been so glad about trusting his instincts as he was in that moment.""

Requiem Mulder resigns on the plane (to Skinner's own resigned frustration), returning to Scully's side and happily soaking in her announcement.

Not Again: Part 1 - Gone (Tumblr)

"" The Scully imposter cocks her head to the side and then almost with a shrug, turns and steps off the edge of the cliff.

“No!”  Mulder screams, knowing full well it isn’t Scully who’s just fallen, but it looks like her, and he knows it’s an image he’ll never be able to shake.  He stands rooted to his spot while Agent Doggett runs to the drop site and peers over the edge.""

AU-- Requiem Scully is abducted instead of Mulder. He carries on through the events of S8, trying his best to find her and finally accepting the help of Doggett and Reyes as well as Skinner and TLG.

XScribe/Red's (Ao3, Gossamer) The End of Time

""He is silent. The echo of her words dies away into the walls. His eyes open wide and he draws his bottom lip between his teeth, biting on it. He releases her from his grasp to run a hand over his face as he closes his eyes. She waits patiently for him, feeling suddenly very peaceful and calm, all panic draining out of her. She listens to the ticking of his watch in the quiet hallway, second by second dragging past them both.""

Requiem Scully tells Mulder in the FBI hallway. He wants to stay, but she insists he go.

Lapsed_Scholar’s Variations

""Mulder had sounded giddy and distracted over the phone.... This, though, was in an entirely different category. Mulder, of all people, Mulder was having obvious difficulty paying attention to a case full of shady conspiracies, paranormal phenomena, abductions, and UFOs. If Skinner had been forced to classify the look on his face, it would have been lovedrunk.

Scully was better at hiding it, but she was also remarkably non-productive and was prone to gazing off into space...at her partner. She would periodically come back to herself, whereupon she at least had the decency to blush and look back down at the papers before her.""

The best-- the best-- collection of Requiem unfolding in many more satisfying ways. The humor is unparalleled, the characterization exquisite, and the different stories gripping and heartwarming. Perfection. (I adore this, too.)

@allyinthekeyofx’s (Ao3) Finding Miracles

""And as I led her to the bed to properly take a look at her, I had to face the fact that she looked sick.  Not sick like she looks when she has a cold or the flu or a stomach bug.  The way she looked radiated from somewhere deep inside her, reflecting from those limitless blue eyes, the way her expression had faded, chasing away the essence that was Dana Scully as she battled with unfamiliar territory that had laid her emotions bare.  Right there for me to see.

Because this woman, my perfect other and centre of my world was afraid...""

Requiem Mulder is called by Byers in the airport; and Skinner has to steady him as he sways from the potentially bad news.

Forte's (The Basement Office) Half an Hour

""He is breathing heavily himself, probably more from panic than from the four-block run, and slaps his palm against the wall as though that will make the elevator rise faster. He is too manic, even for him, and I remember all the caffeine he's ingested in the last several hours. I wonder if I should take his weapon away from him.""

 Requiem Mulder creates havoc and mayhem after panicking in the airport; and Skinner corrals him (and later TLG) into orderly behavior all the way to the hospital.

@moonprincess92's (Ao3)

Are you up for writing some season 7 fluff?

""He’d agreed to swing by her apartment and collect the things she’d scribbled down for him on a hospital note pad. The only comforting thought he’d had on his drive was that she’d asked him to go ‘home’, rather than to ‘her apartment ’.

At least any news would be broken by her, and not another faceless doctor.""

Requiem Mulder leaves the airport, afraid Scully's cancer is back. Her joy and muddled responses comedically further this thought.

xphilernj's (Ao3, Two Close for Comfort) Find the Future - Chapter 1

""And, Scully, I wanted the IVFs to work. I truly *did* have those hopes and dreams ... but with you. Only with you. You ... you never knew it, but I grieved with you, for you, for us..." Mulder squeezed her fingers lightly, and reached up to wipe a stray tear away...""

Requiem Mulder rushes back to Scully's side; and Skinner leaves them both happily bantering about monkey babies.

HumphreyWrites/sure-fine-skullz/spookysadsophie/s-humphrey/sophie-writes-things/sophiewrites/SophieRobbins’s (Alt. Tumblr , Ao3, WBM)

Requiem Redux

""Her breath hitches, and she smiles. “I’m fine, Mulder.”

He raises an eyebrow, “You know what’s wrong?”

She bites her lip. “In a manner of speaking,” she begins, as he looks at her curiously.""

Requiem Mulder left the airport, too worried about Scully to leave with Skinner.

@tatooedlaura-blog/tatooedlaura/Laura Sprys​’s Oregon

""...I will punch you if you do not take your hand off that door right now.”

“Then drive faster.”

“I drive any faster and we’re both going to die long before we reach the airport.""

Requiem Mulder chooses not to leave with the ship, stepping out of the woods to a flood of texts from TLG. Skinner gets him back ASAP; Scully assures him over the phone that everyone has prematurely panicked.

@cutelilcurtain/cutelilscully/cutelilwanda's (Ao3)

For the headcanons prompt: Mulder isn't abducted?

""He cannot process or read the expression on her face, and nothing could have prepared him for the softness of her voice, the hope that filled her watery gaze.

“Mulder, I’m pregnant.”

He freezes and she has to pull him into a sitting position on the bed for fear that he’ll collapse right there.""

Requiem Mulder finds nothing in Oregon but everything back home with Scully (who forgot to ask him about his trip until months later, wrapped up as they both were in their baby.)

Erin Blair/Erin M. Blair’s The Blessing

""Mulder sat stunned for a moment, certain he had misunderstood her words. This was *not* possible.

"You're what?!" he asked.""

Requiem Mulder is shell-shocked by Scully's good news in the hospital.

bellefleur's Arms Wide Open

""I open my eyes and for the first time take in the speckled gray linoleum at my feet. The lifeless tones are such a contrast to my spirits that I can't help but laugh to myself, and with the laughter comes a fresh round of tears. It seems I just can't stop them from streaming down my face, and right now, I don't care. With my head bowed, my hands buried in my hair, and my elbows propped on my knees, no one can really see my face anyway. I need what privacy I can muster, here in this public hallway, to come to terms with this all.

I still can't believe this is happening. I'm going to be a father.""

Requiem Mulder bolts after he and Scully are told she's pregnant. Maggie finds him in the hospital hallway, relieved he is just overwhelmed with happy, anticipatory nerves.

isamariposa's Bullfrogs and Jello

""He feels like throwing up when he steps into the hospital. Maybe he's allergic to the smell, whatever. He walks to the reception and swallows hard not to choke when he asks for Dana Scully. How many times has this happened, how many near-misses? She's on the third floor, they say. Mulder punches the button on the elevator, startles a child holding a balloon shaped like a bunny. He still thinks he's going to throw up. At least the ward is not the one for the terminally ill. He remembers that pain. It had toppled him in half.""

Requiem Mulder is replaced at the airport by Doggett, getting back to Scully as fast as he can. He, however, does not react positively to the pregnancy news, afraid it might be caused by CSM tampering.

@all-these-ghosts/all_these_ghosts’s Say Yes (Tumblr)

""I told you I love you,” he points out.

A smile flirts with the corners of her mouth. “Once,” she says.

“Now it’s twice. You haven’t even said it once.”

The smile fades, and her eyes are dark and trained right on him. Scully says, “I love you”, and his heart does this thing that makes him feel like he’s sixteen years old, even though of course he’s known all along.""

Post Requiem Mulder is not abducted in Oregon; but he does almost scare Scully to death, barging in gun drawn and frightening her into dropping her beloved watermelon.

@frangipanidownunder’s (Ao3) Already Special

""Scully’s news is a thunderbolt. That the impossible truth of their quest is revealed as a collection of growing cells in her uterus. It is both absurd and entirely right. The tears he cries with her are hard to quantify....

So, when Diana makes an appearance at the basement, it’s like the door to their secret world is blown off, leaving them exposed.""

Per Manum Mulder was never abducted; and he and Scully tackle the Lizzie Gill saga with a special addition... Diana Fowley.

@rationalcashew/RationalCashew's

Dark is the Way; Light is the Place - Chapter 26 (Ao3)

""As though it had a mind of its own, his hand reached out to cover her flat stomach. Her eyes, however, never left him; her smile didn’t wane.

“You okay over there?” She asked, after allowing him his moment. Her voice jolted him back into the room.

“Yeah,” he said, awkwardly removing his hand from her body. He let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. In disbelief, he said, “We’re having a baby.""

AU-- Mulder and Scully are sinking into domestic bliss when a serial killer case pulls them out of town. Mulder's paranoia for Scully and their baby's safety begins to put a wedge in their relationship, finally driving Scully back to D.C., trying to give them space while he gets into deeper and deeper trouble.

@cecilysass/cecily_sass/Cecily Sasserbaum's Pause

""Home pregnancy test. 99% Accurate. Results in minutes.

For thirty seconds the box sits there in Scully’s hands. She stares at it.

This box that her mother bought. This box that she put in her daughter’s bag. Her daughter whom she knows is infertile.

Somewhere in the apartment is the sharp sudden sound of Mulder turning off the shower.

Like a ghost, Scully stands up.

She takes the box and holds it under her arm, crosses the room, and steals Mulder’s keys from the entry table.

Without a sound she leaves the apartment.""

AU-- Scully wakes in her car, amnesic and unknowingly pregnant. Mulder at first doesn't believe it's her; and it's not until Maggie verifies and Diana Fowley leaves evidence for the duo to find that he can fully accept that his partner, who was "dead" for a year, is back.

DKSculder's Sweetest Devotion

""I, I had hoped you would be here, when the baby was born. So I put these in my hospital bag, to give to you here.” She took a deep breath, staring at the frayed pages in her hands. “These are my notes, on the x-files, on you. This is a documentation of every case we’ve worked, before I typed them up in reports. It’s mostly shorthand, just my own jotted down notations...."

“What’s the other one?”

“These, are my personal notes. More of a diary, if that’s how you want to look at it. The dates all coincide with the other.” She said softly, handing him the second binding of tattered pages.

He stared at them for longer than he probably should, she had just handed him the truth, her truth."" 

AU-- Scully has been a spy since the Pilot; and she finally confesses it to Mulder after she gets pregnant with their child. Mulder MIA, Mulder returning for a case then ghosting, Mulder arriving in time for the birth of their son, and Mulder crawling back to a form of trust in Scully unfolds painfully slowly.

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

[otterandterrier]

Book/reading question for you: can or do you read multiple books at a time? Or do you finish one book completely before moving onto the next one?

I'm the latter, I can only focus on one thing at a time 😂😂

I can and often do... but it depends. For example, if I'm reading non-fiction I generally need to have fiction on the side, like even if I'm enjoying the first one, I kind of need that mental break. Or if I'm reading fiction that isn't gripping me, or is too dark, too slow, whatever, I might also start something different so I can alternate. If the book has me in a chokehold, then I'm not likely to switch until I'm done.

I think so far this year I've always read in pairs!

[hiriahb]

Songs for Each Letter of My Username

@darknessontheedgeoftowndyke tagged me and challenged me to list out songs beginning with each letter of my username!

Hoxton Heroes - Girls Aloud

Ignorance - Paramore

Rendezvous - Foley

ivy - Taylor Swift

All Fired Up - The Saturdays

Happy Ever After You - New Rules

Boy - Little Mix

Tagging (yes same people from the last post because I’m lazy lol): @vvendybird @moonprincess92 @problemlikelauren @misscarynnz @celestialcoeurs @queenoftherodeoo

[ruby-red-inky-blue]

For the fic title game: lifeboats and love boats

Modern au - they all have summer jobs on a cruise ship. One of the really awful ones full of very rich old couples (or, possibly worse, a singles' cruise) with terribly cringey game afternoons and lounge singers in the evenings and bingo nights. It's a nice self-contained multichapter, relatively slow-burn with a lot of shenanigans like getting deeply competitve at bingo and/or chess out of nowhere when they play a round after the guests are gone, looking for lost children/pets/drunk guests together, getting hammered at the bar after hours... must include copious and ridiculous Titanic references!(I'm seeing this fic very clearly in my head and it's written by @moonprincess92. this needs your exact brand of humour Jordan)

I'm not feeling strongly about who has what job tbh, Cassian could maybe be a cook or a waiter or someone actually working the ship? I'm picturing Baze also in the kitchens - Jyn for maximum hilarity somewhere in the entertainment staff, where she would do TERRIBLY (just picture her arguing over Bingo rules with some old rich people). I keep making Bodhi a waiter in things and I don't really know why, but it always works. There's also an option for him to be a doctor on staff, which would also be a feasible place for Kay though? Chirrut is an absolute wild card, anywhere from lounge musician to a passenger who tagged along with his husband. Melshi and/or Bix and Brasso could definitely pop up as crew as well. (For added mayhem, Galen and/or Maarva could have tagged along with their respective kids, everyone involved just hating every minute of it).

This is too unserious for the lifeboats to come into play in earnest, but there's probably a running joke in the fic title about how there aren't enough life boats for everyone, or they keep joking they could just steal one of the boats and escape the cruise.

Optionally, one could turn this into a lighthearted Agatha-Christie-esque mystery on the side, as a treat.

send me a made-up fic title and i'll tell you what i would write to go with it!

[jyndor]

top 5 rebelcaptain fics 😌

oh no lol I have been putting this off for ages but someone else asked this too so luckily I can cheat and do five MORE after this lmfao actually guys keep asking five favorite rebelcaptain fics

no order but these to me are some of the gold standard rebelcaptain fic. the only ones? no ofc not there's an abundance of great fanfiction for them. but these are five of them:

floating, sinking by @shu-of-the-wind

the switch (modern au) OR lol as a treat LOL I already cheated smdh a family can be 2 traumatized soldiers and their thirty kids by @moonprincess92

you give me something by skitzofreak @melyzard(E but you can skip the sex lol)

against the odds by cheers

be alright tomorrow by sshysmm

but really there are SO many that I love I will answer some more lol just keep asking guys because holy shit this fandom has done some great fic