#scapegrace74

[randomfoggytiger]

X-Files' Collector's Edition: Fight the Future Fics (Part I)

No introduction necessary, I think.

Loose chronological order below~!

astronaught's Equilibrium - Entr'acte

""He doesn’t like having an aversion to smallness because it means he might reject a truth for being insufficiently grand. Tall tales curdle in Kurtzweil’s mouth, and for the eighty-seventh time that year he feels dirtied by their hold on him....

If their work was going to be destroyed by anything, he didn’t think it would be because she lost her nerve. He and she share a tendency to hold their noses when it comes to dealing with the spiritually mundane, but they don’t do so childishly....

But all the same. Their intellectual honesty has always been its own kind of snobbery. It isn’t really smallness (nor practicality, nor effort) that he’s averse to, but rather inefficiency of a very specific kind. His duty is to the necessary. To the fundamentally true....

And he thought she was the same.""

Mulder and Scully spin their wheels, confused and hurt by each other's lines they draw about the work.

red2007's Icarus

""One breath. Two breaths. Chest compressions.

Molten lava was licking through his veins. Every movement he made, every memory he conjured was a four alarm fire coursing through his body. He’d been pulled closer to her everyday since they’d first met, no one else heard him or bothered to listen. No one could see him the way she did, she made him feel relevant. Her trust in him made him feel invincible. He didn’t remember what life was like before her, he didn’t care to.

He was terrified of a life without her and it was burning him up from the inside out. This partnership turned friendship turned codependency turned love…he didn’t know how to survive without it.""

Mulder's body is on fire with adrenaline as he pushes its limits to save his partner.

@leiascully's (Ao3)

OctoberFicFest Day 6: Frost (Ao3)

""He’s too desperate to revive her to think of how empty, how shattered his heart will be if she doesn’t wake up."" 

Mulder ruminates on twisted fairytales while saving his frosted partner.

To The Ends Of The Earth (Ao3)

""He’s still shivering, even in his suit in the sun in the summer. He’s seen her shivering too. They’ve both been drinking more coffee since Antarctica. He’s been watching her lace her fingers around her mugs, just letting the warmth seep into her. He hopes his hand is as soothing to her as the terrible coffee in the bullpen.

“If I quit now, they win,” she said. He turns it over and over in his mind as they walk. He doesn’t know where they’re going. He doesn’t care. They’re together. They survived. They have their work. That’s all that matters to him anymore, Scully and the work.""

Post FTF Mulder and Scully leisure around DC, he enjoying and she surprising.

@scapegrace74-blog/scapegrace74's Walking After You

""It was foreordained that Mulder be beside her.  Where fear and the improbable intersected in her life, there was her partner, vigilant defender against all her katabases.  She no longer questioned his presence there.  He simply was.

...Her beautiful Don Quixote, caring only for the quest, and not its consequences.""

Scully pulls Mulder to her on the ice, contemplating her childhood dreams and her partner's revitalized wonder.

@all-these-ghosts's (Ao3

if i am hopeful - Chapter 6

""After everything, all of the strife and regret, she will die here. In this great whiteness. They say that freezing to death is an easy way to go, but she is a doctor and a realist and nothing, nothing has ever been easy for them.

He has already stopped shivering."" 

Scully is convinced she and Mulder will freeze to death, noting his deterioration but grateful to perish with him.

unfinished business

""This is Scully, he reminds himself. Scully who follows him on every insane adventure, who pulls him back from the edge, who not even a year ago was dying in a hospital bed while he raged, unable to contend with his absolute powerlessness.

And now, here in his living room: he is not powerless.""

AU-- Scully is overthinking her rescue, questioning why Mulder went to the ends of the earth for her. He finally demonstrates why.

@scully/humancredentials’s

a series of tumblr prompts - Chapter 8 (Ao3)

""Her eyes sting, her tears freezing on her face as soon as they fall. She feels the ache in her bones and her lungs burn with every inhale of cold air. She presses her cracked lips to his forehead and tastes blood. His, she thinks, but she’s not sure....

“Mulder,” she murmurs, her voice hoarse and underused. He doesn’t react, doesn’t even move, this foolish hero of hers that followed her to the ends of the earth. He has given her his warmest clothes.""

Scully begs her partner to stay awake, thrilled and relieved when he cracks a joke.

@frangipanidownunder’s (Ao3) 

I Love You Prompts: Tiny Fics - Chapter 2

""Thank you,” she says and her voice is cracked like the ice.

He doesn’t know what to say. She would have done the same for him. Had done the same. Their rescues of each other are becoming more epic by the year. He chuffs out a laugh at the thought but it gets stuck in the frozen air.""

Mulder drags Scully to the Snocat, letting Scully off the hook for not remembering the hallway completely. They always save each other, after all.

Cold, happy, tired.

""She can recall his expression though. Standing before her in that chamber, willing her to breathe. His lips parted, his eyes wide with a mix of terror and happiness. Wet hair flopping over his face. He had saved her and himself - the relieved note in his voice told her that. In that moment, a tiny speck of time between them, she knew she loved him. Irrefutably. The thought flashed through her mind, a bolt of reality. It warmed her chest, spurred her on.""

AU-- Scully sees the spaceship; and, mind blown, helps drag her weary partner to safety, welcoming his tiny little move.

@sixhours/6hoursgirl's (FFN) Waking Hours - Chapter 1 (FFN)

""Mulder,” she tries again, jaw aching with the effort. “Wake up.”

He does, then, ice crystal lashes blinking open to reveal muddy hazel eyes. His lips form her name, a soundless whisper cast into the storm, received by mutual telepathy.""

Scully wakes Mulder up in the icefield, pulling him away from looking for the spaceship he claimed to have seen for more practical pursuits.

@scullydubois/scully_dubois's txf prompts - Chapter 2

""He is numb to everything except a weight and warmth near--one that could not possibly have originated from him, for he has known nothing except ragging breath and stillness for...well, he doesn’t know how long. There are no sunrises or sunsets here to mark the time.

He remembers, then, why he is here. That he’s not alone. That he came here to rescue the one person that’s ever believed him when he needed it, and that he did, and so she must be here, she must be that weight against his side.""

Mulder wakes to Scully, filling her while on the ice and leaving it open-ended on how to go forward.

@contrivedcoincidences6/Spooky66/geektime66’s

Never Let You Go

""For as long as I live I’ll never be able to get the image of her in that capsule out of my head. It will haunt me till the day I die.""

Mulder drags Scully back to the Snocat, both vowing to never let the other go.

Helpless

""I’m too late.

As I helplessly pump at her chest I begin to feel the sobs. My chest and my throat feel like they are being ripped open with the force of them.

She’s gone. Scully is dead and there is no point in living.""

Mulder has a nightmare; and he makes a move on Scully while she attempts to comfort him.

@i-gaze-at-scully’s (Ao3)

Tundra

""I saw it,” you whispered, holding me, as the loose wet hair around your face froze in strands.

Belief as soft and fresh as the snow we laid in insulated us from the cold.""

Mulder and Scully lay on the tundra, warmed by their belief.

Pad Thai and poison apples

""They get out together though, naturally, at the basement level. Scully wants to be smug, wants to rub it in Diana’s face that this is her office, her work, her.... she wants to, but she can’t. Not without a nameplate on the door. Or even a desk.""

Post FTF Diana goads Scully about not getting a lunch invite from Mulder. And even though he'd forgotten about Fowley, it doesn't soothe the sting.

ML/ML_is_me’s (Ao3, Gossamer, DW, Invidiosa)  and LaVa, Jacquie and Tess

Fight the Good Fight

""His cot was less than ten feet from hers but it might as well have been ten miles. She was exhausted by the time she reached his side. Collapsing onto the floor beside him, she called to him.

"Mulder. It's me."

Fear sent her heart bumping against her breastbone when he didn't stir.""

Scully is worried for her partner, both physically and mentally: it's obvious that he's losing his drive for a quest that always hurts her.

@allyinthekeyofx’s (Ao3)

Small Considerations Between Partners - 6 (Ao3)

""Because mostly what I remember is the fear; the absolute all encompassing terror I felt when I tried to swallow and discovered my throat was blocked by a tube, gagging as I tried to scream, to shout, to have someone please come to get it out of me. This invader of my prone body that stole my breath and rendered me almost hysterical as I fought with everything I had to lift my hands in an attempt to rid myself of it; the restraints that prevented me from doing so biting cruelly in to the soft flesh of my wrists even as I arched myself from the bed, the high pitched sound of alarms piercing my already aching head as I silently screamed for him to help me, needing him to find me, to save me just this one last time as scalding tears streamed down my face only to become instantly chilled against my skin.""

Scully is traumatized while recovering from her experience; but Mulder is there (as always) to comfort and reassure.

@danascullysrationalism/ARoadInCapeCod's Whatever's Left

""For too long, she had been his ripcord.... She would always bring him up and out. Alive.... It had saved him too many times when he wandered too far in the ticks of light that led him astray. She was the storm that let him live. He always knew there was something righteous inside her.

This was all he could do to thank her.""

Scully is lost in her recovery, knowing she can't follow Mulder forever; and Mulder is lost watching her recover, knowing he can't give her more.

chezamanda's The Five Times Fox Mulder Didn’t Tell Dana Scully He Loved Her (and the One Time He Did)

""Now here they are, still together even though it feels like the world is constantly trying to keep them apart. If I quit now, they win.

FTF (amongst other seasons) Mulder ruminates thrice on his awe of and love for Scully.

Singing_Violin's This I Can Do

""We are so cold. But she is alive. I am thankful for that."" 

The one thing that Fox Mulder can do is hold Dana Scully.

@broadcastnews1987/audries/@kennedyandheidi/inkspl0tchess's (WBM 1/2/3)

string theory (or seven times dana scully wore fox mulder's clothes)

""be careful,” she thinks she says as the medics move them into the helicopter. the voice in her head is cool, detached, precise. hypothermia demands gentle treatment, it says. he needs me, she tries to tell them, he told me so. she doesn’t know why they won’t let her hold his hand.

two days later and he is slouching in her doorway wearing sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt. he tilts his head to wait for permission and she uncurls her fingers to open her palm like a flower.""

Scully's hypothermia hinders her responses but not her resolve-- to care for and stay with her partner.

DanaScully77's Delirium

""Dearie, you really shouldn’t be speaking.” The nurse is kind with a calming hand on his chest. “Do you remember what happened?”

Mulder shakes his head no. His eyes are pleading with the nurse, confusion too thick in his brain to make sense of anything around him. All that keeps ringing in his mind is that Scully is hurt and that he needs to get to her.

“You both were found in Antarctica by a team of scientists exploring disturbances in the ice. Do you remember how you got there?”

Flashes of alien testing tubes fill his mind and his jaw opens. “Scully."" 

The Unnatural Mulder remembers comforting Scully during the events of FTF. Now, they enjoy hot cocoa at his apartment, happy.

@frogsmulder/Brynstein's Chapter 1: Post Fight the Future

""Mulder, it's me."

He couldn't help but let a laugh go down the line. "Never have I heard sweeter words, Scully."

"Mulder?" The was a pause of quiet, no doubt filled by the rise of a singular eyebrow. "Have you just taken your meds?""

Post FTF Mulder wanders around, bored, before calling Scully to re-patch his wound.

@mashnotesofthemythopoeic/Penumbra/The_Mythopoeic - Works/Penumbra's X-Files Fiction (Alt., Zuffy's Tripod)

The Cretan Paradox

""No minotaur," she says, as they gain the center.

"Looking for trouble, Scully?" he asks, with some intent. His soft mouth quirks.

Labyrinths, Mulder explains, are convoluted journeys fraught with dead ends and blind passages, and are solved by intuition and creativity. "But a maze is a left-brained puzzle." He looks down at her, eyes narrow and warm in the afternoon light. Not unlike you, his eyes say.""

Post FTF Mulder takes Scully to a maze, showing her how to always escape it and leading up to his tentative movie night invite.

AUs

@oceanofthesky/noifsandsorbees’s White Noise (Ao3)

""She smiles and she laughs. A lot.” Mulder says suddenly, and his eyes are faraway, lit up and peaceful. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

“What are you talking about, Mulder?”

“Scully. The rare moments when she lets herself be happy. It’s really something.""

Mulder and Scully may resolve things between them in the hallway, but she's still reassigned. Many phone calls, doubts, and insecurities plague their long-term relationship, deeply rooted by the time they're reunited.

@starwalker42 (Ao3

can't stay awake

""Underneath our cocoon of blankets, trembling fingers wrap around mine. I barely feel the contact, but I’m glad for it all the same. It’s not lost on me that not an hour ago, she was frozen in ice on the brink of death, and now she’s the one comforting me. She’s too good at this – looking after me when she’s the one in pain. I know I don’t deserve Dana Scully. I certainly don’t deserve to die next to her. But I’m glad that if I have to go, I get to go like this.""  

Mulder keeps a slurring Scully awake by bantering about penguins; but the two of them soon slow on the ice, dropping a love you before they succumb to sleep.

@o6666666's (Ao3) Prompts 1, 2, and 83

""He came with a big bottle of aloe, planning to paint her cheeks with it. How funny that his conscientious Scully should get sunburned in the dog days of August from lying out on the ice. (It wasn’t funny.)

They’d brought her all the way to Antarctica in her skirt suit. He pictured the henchmen in their parkas and gloves and boots, none of them caring how she shivered.""

Mulder's guilt over his ice-burned, clingy Scully almost destroys the potential between them. She sees past his reticence and reassures.

2plumsandagherkin's Like You Wanted to

""Do you remember anything that happened… in the hallway?” he asked, tentatively.

“No, what happened in the hallway?”

He explained about her getting stung by the bee and the ambulance crew taking her and trying to shoot him, but she had the feeling he was leaving something out."" 

Scully doesn't recall the hallway incident until later, rushing over to Mulder's and affirming her love.

@frostbitepandaaaaa/FrostbitePanda’s Four Days AU

""If she had just followed her parents’ wishes... she would be laying in a king bed right now. Safe in some boring suburb with a dog and perhaps even some handsome husband watching reruns of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and idly wondering what it would feel like to be a pioneer, a woman planted on the edge of the unknown, spread before her vast and endless and hers for the taking. 

That’s what Mulder gave her— a borderless realm, a fertile landscape lain with both the dreadful and the sublime.

“I’ve always felt… that it should interest me. That… in order to be a real person in the world, I needed to want those things.” She shakes her head, tilted back on the seat, staring at the riveted ceiling, beaded with condensation. 

A great breath shifts out of him, but he says nothing. 

“But the only thing that has ever made me feel like a real person, Mulder, is you."" 

While trapped in the Snocat for four days, Mulder and Scully reopen their hallway discussion and plan for a first date that is not over file cabbage packaged meals. Diana tries to throw a wrench in that; but Skinner is not going to sit idly by at the FBi shindig.

Ann Ripley's Any Resemblance

""The chip was reinserted and her health steadily improved. I know this because I was able to watch the process through a two-way mirror.... They cured her but also filtered out all her memory of our work, our partnership, our love.

Anna's recovery and future safety was the price I paid for my silence. Any subsequent investigation into the consortium or revelation of colonization plans would result in the cancer's return. It was not too high a price to pay. I would do it again in a second.

The show debuted a year after Mrs. Spriggs wheeled Anna out of the consortium-run hospital and started a new life.""

FTF was based on the life of two real people; but the fact was separated from fiction after the unhappy reality. The man who Mulder was based on watches the show, ruminating on all that never and really was.

Enjoy!

[asifyoudidntknow]

All Time Favs

I began reading fanfic in my teens during the original run of the show. There were lonnng breaks from it, but coming back to the fandom in 2017 reignited my interest. I now keep a spreadsheet as well as a "to read" list. I already have almost 600 logged (not including 5 years), so I wanted to share my top favorites. Divided into my 4 favorite genres (AU, casefic, angst + romance, and smut + romance) and in no particular order...

*Alternate Universe*

I used to wonder why someone would choose to read AU. Then I read one of these and was completely blown away.

Katherine of Ireland by Jenna Tooms (gossamer)

Katherine, princess of Ireland is married to Walter, king of Angora. When Walter is killed during battle, Katherine is taken by the enemy, FitzJames. William is FitzJames right hand. When FitzJames orders her to be beaten (even after discovering her pregnancy) William devises a plan to save her, heal her and get her back to Ireland. Will William always be seen as the enemy or will Katherine come to see him for who he truly is?

By the dim and flaring lamps by @sunflowerseedsandscience (ao3)

Civil war AU’s are my jam and this was one of the first ones I read.  When Mulder discovers (disguised boy) Scully bathing in a waterfall by darkness and realizes what he is dealing with will remain etched in my brain forever.

In darkness by DKSculder (ao3)

What if Scully was married to Daniel?  What if Daniel was a serial killer?  What if Mulder was a VCU agent still?   This is an unfinished work, but the idea is unlike any other I’ve come across.

Blinded by the white light by DashaK (ao3)

Need I say more?  When Mulder and Scully find each other after colonization, will they remember each other and will they act on it?

The second side of light by @scapegrace74-blog (ao3)

Oregon Trail.  Mulder is leading scully and Melissa across the trail when Melissa dies.  They end up getting very close to one another on the journey.

Paracelsus by profuckslove (ao3)

Another amazing civil war AU.  When Mulder goes looking for his lost son and comes across a pregnant scully what will happen to them?

Hiareth by profuckslove (gossamer)

Wales 1215.  Scully escapes the king by marrying Mulder, the prince of wales.  Marriage leads to love and fighting off dangerous men.

Paracosm by @softnow (ao3)

This is an unfinished work.  College AU.  Mulder has a crush on the library girl, will she return his advances?

A companion unobtrusive by @slippinmickeys (ao3)

A college AU where scully is looking for a roommate and Mulder is looking for a room.  Melissa introduces them and the rest is history.

Qui Si by Trixie (gossamer)

After accepting an offer from a gypsy to go back to a life with Samantha in it, Mulder, a child psychologist, helps Scully, a PhD, get over her past.

You he did not fail by extraordinarily_ordinary (ao3)

Scully abruptly leaves TXF after surviving cancer and moves to LA to start anew.  She is dating when Mulder is assigned as a profiler to a case she is working and they have to deal with things left undealt with.

Five years and a lifetime by @monikafilefan (ao3)

Mulder is a Peds psychiatrist. Scully is a Peds neurologist. They meet at a conference and have a one night stand.  What happens when they come to work together 5 years later and Scully is a single mom?

Amish country by lolabeegood (gossamer)

Mulder and Scully go undercover in Amish country trying to catch a serial rapist while navigating very traditional values and roles.

You and me by lolabeegood (gossamer)

Mulder leaves his wealthy parents to serve under Scully’s father in the military.  In order for her to stay safe, fed, and clothed she needs to marry.

The mountain man by aka Jake (gossamer)

Scully is sent from nyc (where she was becoming a doctor) to Montana at her father’s wishes.  He wants her to marry a lieutenant under his command and not practice medicine, but she becomes intrigued with a local mountain man.

The countess/the earl by @slippinmickeys (ao3)

When scully is to be married to an old duke in order to save her family from financial ruin, a strange, alluring earl steps in to save her.

*Case*

There is nothing quite like a casefic. It's classic x-files and I am here for it. Writers in this fandom are so talented with their abilities to create a fic that rivals/trumps actual episodes.

Perchitor by @aloysiavirgata (ao3)

A little girl goes missing in the mountains with the superstition of Jenny Greenteeth to blame.  Mulder and Scully investigate while navigating a new physical relationship.

Omens by @lepus-arcticus (ao3)

I read this one as a WIP and was anxiously checking for an update every night.  There were several lines in this fic that made me gasp.  Cancer arc angst. Give me it alllll.

XII by fragilevixen (ao3)

A killer that romanticizes every victim.  His next target?  Guess who.  *coughSCULLYcough*

Hearts desire by malibusunset (ao3)

While in a small town scully runs into an old BF and starts wondering why she doesn’t prioritize her dating.  She decides to go for it.  The author makes me like Scully’s old flame.  That says something.  When the MSR convo finally does come, I thought I’d die from the slow burn.

Resurgam by opheila_interrupted (ao3)

One of the most xfiles like cases I have ever read.  Remains unsolved at the end and has our agents investigating ghosts near Mulder’s hometown while dealing with their own (Emily & Teena).

Universal invariants/laws of motion by @syntax6

Scully is engaged to Ethan throughout the first season while her and Mulder’s relationship is deepening and then consummated right before she is abducted.  How do two guys in love handle Scully’s abduction and what happens when she is returned?  

All the way home/head over heels by @syntax6

Mulder is pulled into a past unsolved VCU case of a killer with a shoe fetish while navigating a new physical relationship with scully.  When scully is targeted, Mulder has to gamble with his personal feelings while working to find the killer.

Queens gambit by Suzanne Schramm (gossamer)

Under Kersh, Mulder and Scully are assigned to a VCU case Mulder worked in Utah in 89’.  The killer was put to death and then revenge began.  Local mines and children involved.

*angst + romance*

This is my crux. Angst in any way, shape, or form. Add in some slow burn/ust and finally the rst *chefs kiss* particularly fond of Ethan fics and cancer arc.

Contact high by penumbra (gossamer)

Still feeling the residual effects of the spores post field trip, our agents try out Mulder’s new waterbed.

Early on by @sunflowerseedsandscience (ao3)

10 vignettes set during season 1.  Our baby agents are becoming close, but Ethan is still around.  How does scully navigate her relationship with Ethan while working with Mulder?

Center Mass by @kateyes224 (ao3)

Another Ethan fic set in season 1.  Mulder and Scully make an effort to get to know one another… in more ways than one.  And when Mulder gets aroused at Scully’s marksmanship it’s all over for me. 

One blue line by sarie_fairy (ao3)

IVF arc.  Scully is defeated by a negative pregnancy test.  When Mulder tries to comfort her, she suggests having sex.  I just remember wondering if I was reading or actually doing the act myself considering how detailed it was.

Salt by anjou (gossamer)

I remember reading this and being like WTF is happening to only have it all make sense at the end leaving me speechless.

Triptych by @iconicscullyoutfits (ao3)

My favorite FTF, post bee, how the f*ck did they get out of anarctica fic.

Snowbound by malibusunset (gossamer)

After missing their flight and being snowed in their rental on the side of the road, discussions lead to their relationship.  Once they’re recused they are put up in an inn with 1 room.  Dun, dun, dunnnn.

The ache by @storybycorey (ao3)

1999 Mulder has a visit with 2015 Mulder to urge him to get help with his depression and not lose scully.

Love bites by living_underground (ao3)

A review of vampirism cases throughout the years.  Hickeys from Ed.  Love bites from Mulder.

Goshen by bonetree (ao3)

Mulder and Scully are in a car accident where their car can’t be seen.  Major injuries lead to near death experiences and visions of Emily.

All that our senses can perceive by wonderland (ao3)

Mulder’s POV looking over Scully’s transformation from girl to woman and how all of his senses perceive her.

Caught in the Act I by parrotfish (gossamer)

Although the whole series is amazing, the first part is my favorite.  I love when scully lays into the review panel about being sexist.

The things she carries by @edierone (ao3)

One of my favorite cancer arc fics.  When Mulder confronts Scully 3 years later on the porch I literally stopped breathing.

Red valerian series by dashakay (ao3)

Scully looks to skinner for comfort during a grueling case, starting a 6 month affair.  Will scully ever love him or will the buried truth prevail?

Sex and Loathing by malibusunset (ao3)

Scully takes a drunk Mulder home after Roche.  He makes a move and they have terrible sex.  After 2 years of poking at each other they face things head on after Mulder almost dies in PBV.

Snakebitten by @onpaperfirst (ao3)

Set throughout season 5.  My favorite season. Say no more.

Five years and one night by Shalimar (gossamer)

When Scully transfers to LA and Mulder finds more babies like Emily, can they work together again to get to the bottom of this conspiracy?

The letter by Shalimar (gossamer)

Post TFWID, scully goes searching for more clues to her and Mulder’s past lives when she comes across a letter in a local Apison museum she sent to Mulder.

*smut + romance*

It's hard to have just smut when it comes to MSR, am I right? these two idiots are so in love that my smut category must also be romantic.

Undercover swing by 2momsmakearight (ao3)

What if Mulder and Scully go undercover as a married couple interested in swinging?  Can they both keep their jealously in check?  

Be kind, rewind by OnlyTheInevitable (ao3)

To help catch a suspect, skinner requests our agents watch porn together.  While watching, conversation leads to critiques about the performance and comments about personal preferences.

Girl 77 by mojo

A stripper is found dead with Mulder’s card on her.  She looks exactly like Scully.  Scully notices and confronts Mulder about it.

Dropped call series by @phillippadgettwrites (ao3)

Phone sex, but make it “not them”

December 31, 1984 by @phillippadgettwrites (ao3)

When Mulder saves an unimpressed scully from some jerk on NYE, they end up at her apartment having a one night stand.

Damsels by @sisterspooky1013 (ao3)

Scully is sent undercover as a stripper to find a missing woman.  Mulder is kept in the dark regarding her case, but pieces together where she is and what she’s doing and sets out to find her.

The Shirt by Audrey Roget (gossamer)

Skinner reconciles with Sharon leading to a vow renewal celebration. Skinner asks mulder and Scully to stand with him as his best agents. After slow dancing together, mulder bolts out of the celebration before scully catches the bridal bouquet and he crosses a line. When they end up in an accident while driving in a storm, things come to a head in an Elvis inspired motel suite out in the middle of nowhere PA.

[cecilysass]

Happy birthday, Fox Mulder! (celebrating with Spooky fic recs)

In honor of Mulder’s birthday, here's a somewhat eclectic selection of Mulder-centric fic. (Some of this isn’t a very nice way to celebrate his birthday as it is a bit angsty and traumatic, but luckily he doesn’t know.) These are all just fics that feature Mulder in the foreground I happen to admire and think of offhand; there are sooo many more.

Genius by Kipler This is a vintage fic (written 1995!) and it feels SO MUCH like an early episode of the show in vibes. A casefile that becomes a serious Mulder character exploration. Canon divergent, but it feels like it could have been canon in some parallel XF universe.

Just the Thing - pinebluffvariant This is about opening presents after How The Ghosts Stole Christmas, not his birthday, but right mood. The end of this … y'all, my breath catches, it’s so perfect.

The Fox Mulder Phonetic Alphabet - storybycorey Mulder’s ABCs of Scully. This seems at first like alphabet themed vignettes, but omg keep reading until the last, because it becomes a narrative that make me weep.

Mrs. and Mr. Spooky - leiascully This fic has both (1) a Tom Colton reunion and (2) Scully seriously upping her birthday present game.

Normal Conversations - Soronia Mulder goes to therapy. The therapist suggests he has normal conversations.

october midnight- skuls Mulder celebrates his birthday in 2018.

Radium - spark_writer Dysfunctional, miserable Mulder in love will do anything but tell her.

Seventeen - scapegrace74 A history of Mulder’s sexual experiences. This ends up being a really moving character study that takes his personal trauma seriously. It also is MSR and leads to that in a simply beautiful way.

Vox Mulder: Wired and Fired - darwin_xf This is a long, rich exploration of how Mulder evolves season 6/7, a kind of replacement for The Sixth Extinction / Amor Fati. Masterful dialogue, partner vacations, smut -- if you haven't read this, it's a treat. You should.

You Send Me - spookynerd Mulder as romantically smitten and completely in character. He’s anxious and miserable and developing theories. This fic is sweet and darling and deliiiiiightful.

[lilydalexf]

Hi!!! As a x-files fanfic expert, maybe you can help me: i am looking for a fic with several chapters, 12 maybe, and each chapter talks about one Mulder’s relationships… does it ring a bell?

Maybe you're thinking of Seventeen by scapegrace74 (@scapegrace74-blog). Its Summary and part of the pre-story Author Notes: Have you ever made a list? A way to compile all the missed opportunities, the transgressions, the warning signs telling you that you’re on the wrong path? Of course you have. This story is Mulder's list. // The story is the Mulder/other to end all Mulder/others. In it, I try to explore how Mulder's sexual relationships shaped (and mis-shaped) him as a man. Each chapter represents a different partner, and the chapters are in chronological order. For those who love their MSR, I'll give the ending away and state that's where this story is going.

[theawkwardterrier]

WIP Tag Game

Rules: Share a snippet from whatever you’re currently working on, and then tag 5 people.

Tagged by my beloved @flyinghome-againstthewind - thank you, Anna!! Finished chapter 4 and my first 1k words of the day, so here's a bit more of the OL fic in frustrating progress while I'm on a lil break:

It would be, she realizes as soon as the words are out of her mouth, extremely easy for him to simply say that she is trying to preemptively cover for her own failure, that she doesn’t know a thing about him and his situation because the truth is that she doesn’t. As close as she might be planning on getting to him as a medical professional, one brief meeting yesterday and a few hours this morning certainly doesn’t mean that she truly knows the marrow of him. Yet it feels, strangely, as if she does, as if there was something on their meeting that already arrowed through flesh and into bone and sinew and heart. Stranger still, Jamie seems to agree, at least somewhat. He does not lash out at her or turn away in frustration, but steps toward her, the fire lighting him in a copper glow from behind. "It's kind of ye to say, Mistress, and perhaps I can even believe it a bit when I'm told by such a fierce wee thing as yourself." Perhaps, she thinks with some caught-breath distraction, she should be nervous, here alone in a room with a large man growing so near. Regardless of his injury, Jamie's calloused hands are as broad and capable as his body; he could subdue her with ease, if he truly wanted to. But there is nothing about him that makes her frightened, nothing that makes her move away, until he is within inches of her body, his palm level with her abdomen, and she remembers herself, remembers her priorities. She is not here to grow close to anyone, not here to make connections. She is here to gather information so she can go h...so she can return to the time that she came from and raise her child there in peace and safety. The tremble in her chest and the wavering in the air between them must be ignored, double-locked in a box at the back of her mind where they cannot distract her from that goal.

Tagging completely without pressure: @roboticonography, @kairosimperative, @captainjimothycarter, @scapegrace74-blog, and of course my best meme bud @lavellenchanted 💜💜

[enigmaticxbee]

XF Rewatch Series - Fic Recs

When you want to remember how it all was (or series-spanning fics that didn’t fit into my season by season lists):

Episode by Episode Rewatch Series:

TXF: Scenes in Between by @scullywolf - missing scenes for every episode through season 9!

201 Days of X Files by @30xf - through season 4

The FBI’s Most Unwanted by @leiascully - through season 3

All Eyes Lead to the Truth by @admiralty-xfd @fridaysat9 @monikafilefan @gaycrouton - third person perspectives on each episode, WIP currently through season 2

219 by @freckleslikestars - smutty fic for every episode, currently though Jersey Devil, NSFW

First Time, Every Time by @phillippadgettwrites - first time fic for every episode, currently through Conduit, NSFW

Check-In Vignettes:

Birthdays by @syntax6 - birthday fics each season through season 7

if the fates allow by @all-these-ghosts - Christmas with Mulder and Scully, 1993-2016

Movie Night by @i-gaze-at-scully - movie nights throughout the series

Fraternize by @admiralty-xfd @gaycrouton - a series of motel room trysts, NSFW

Inspection by @ingridgradient - for seven years, Mulder and Scully give each other tick checks in motel rooms, NSFW

#45 Hegal Place by @admiralty-xfd DanaScullyMakesMeFeelAutopsyTurvy - There’s never a dull moment when your neighbor is Special Agent Fox Mulder

This Woman's Work by @admiralty-xfd - the series through the eyes of Margaret Scully

Seventeen by @scapegrace74-blog - Explores how Mulder's sexual relationships shaped (and mis-shaped) him as a man. Each chapter represents a different partner. Mulder/Other, ultimately MSR, NSFW

X Files Rewatch Series by skuls - unconnected stories throughout the series, some canon-compliant, some not

if I am hopeful by @all-these-ghosts - Scully ficlet for every season

ever since, ever since, ever since by breakfastsandwich - scully realizes nine times over that mulder may in fact love her

Times Fox Mulder Cried by @frangipanidownunder - every season through the revival

these tornadoes are for you (or times she loved him back) by audries - vignettes throughout the series

5 A.M. by @kateyes224 - Five times Scully found herself awake at 5 a.m., and the one time she wasn’t alone

Kisses by @peacenik0 - two times Scully told Mulder “don’t do that again”, and one time she didn’t

Choose Your Poison by Solia - Five times Scully had too much to drink (and one time she had just the right amount of liquid courage!)

To Satisfy Your Expectant Tongue by @givesmevoice - The power and love of being seen and someone knowing how you take your tea.

Wake-Up Calls by lapsed_scholar - Government-issued cell phones are remarkably identical. (Or, Four times Mulder answered Scully's phone at an incriminating hour, and one time she answered his)

Canon Parallel Stories:

Incrementum by @lepus-arcticus - the progression of their relationship if they started sleeping together in the pilot, NSFW. WIP, currently through season 8

Triptych by @iconicscullyoutfits - married to Diana AU

Nuptiae Sub Rosa by @sisterspooky1013 @xfmaweezy - secret marriage AU

I've got you under my skin by cuits - In a universe where soulmate identifying marks exist and affect a part of the population, would Mulder and Scully's relationship evolve any different? Unfinished but complete through Existence so it still ends in a satisfying place.

Enough by @atths--twice - the progression of their relationship if they started sleeping together when the X-Files are shutdown in season 2, NSFW

He is the Master of His Fate, She is the Captain of Her Soul by @scullylikesscience - the progression of their relationship season 7 through IWTB era

Culmination by @admiralty-xfd - Mulder and Scully's journey of the heart, step by (baby) step.

[scapegrace74-blog]

Metric Universe, Meet Normal People, to @scapegrace74-blog

In the continuing series, Metaborderlines Revisits Favorite Fan Fics, here’s a confluence with the genre the bookchat crowd calls literary fiction. Ahem. Pause to recall that when The Guardian asked its default interview question, which books gave you an emotional push lately? Helen Macdonald, author of the crackling memoir H Is for Hawk, answered: fan fic. That’s where I go for an emotional surge. Same. So. Meta here can’t stop thinking about Normal People by Sally Rooney. The plot is the same as any novel by Jane Austen. One woman, one man, the reader knows they belong together, how will they get there? Rooney deepens the question in thrilling and disturbing ways. She pieced the novel together from short stories. Like Metric Universe, thrilling and disturbing in its own way. 

I haven't read Normal People, but I caught an episode of the miniseries and really liked it. Add another book to the virtual "to read" pile!

To continue with the theme, I get a large portion of my inspiration for fanfic from music lyrics. The songs generally have nothing to do with the plot of a particular story, but a turn of phrase or piece of poetic imagery gets my creative juices flowing, and then I'm off to the races. In the Metric Universe, the title of each chapter is the name of the song that inspired it. At first I limited myself to songs by Metric, but eventually branched out to other music that was contemporary to Metric Jamie and Claire.

Thanks for your note, @metaborderlines. I wish you happy reading!

[metaborderlines]

Fanfic

I’ve just re-read “Lovers in a Dangerous Time,” multiply that “re” by three or four, have fallen in love again, with this version of Jamie and Claire and with the writing. Is the scene at the close of chapter 9 the most irresistible? The scene: Claire, married to control-freak Frank, is charmed by the two little girls who move in next door, and by their father, the widower with the finest parenting skills ever. And the most seductive voice, as he proves (here comes the scene) when he and Claire are drinking after finishing cleaning up after his open house, the guest gone, his daughters put to bed, the two of them sitting close on a sofa, well into a bottle of whisky. Imagine the Scots’ burr when Jamie says, “Dance wi’ me?”  

            Another salute, to fellow-commenter reader83, for her excellent choice of “best of” in fan fics. I couldn’t agree more about LIADT and “Conversations in the Dark,” want to say thank you for the nudge toward “Practice,” my current comfort-read (only 7 chapters in, I hope it will be comforting). I’d like to add another trio to “best of” in fanfics: “Saorsa,” @scapegrace74; “Jimjeran,” @betweensceneswriter; “The Stars Will Sing for Us” @fallofrain. 

I wish I could send the author of LIADT a bouquet as meaningful as the one Jamie chooses for Claire, made of whatever flowers signify, “Good writing!” 

[annagoober]

TBT: A newer story from 2022, “Love Stained” by @scapegrace74-blog. Enjoy this great modern tale!

[audiofanficpod]

AFP S3E17: Top 3 Break-Up Fics

Leaving you with some super uplifting fics for the last #AFPTopThree of the season.

Join @darkesttimelinestuff, @msrtheatre0223, and @red2007 as they count down Mulder & Scully break-up fic. We promise, it’s not all pain.

Jude by @scapegrace74-blog LISTEN🔊

For better or worse by @frangipanidownunder LISTEN🔊

Saudade by @suilven19 LISTEN🔊

The Oak and The Cypress by @aloysiavirgata LISTEN🔊

The Unbearable Weight of Things Unsaid by @mldrgrl LISTEN🔊

The Black Dog by @aloysiavirgata LISTEN🔊

Call Me by @somekindofseizure LISTEN🔊

Soulmates by @atths--twice LISTEN🔊

Invariant Truths by @masterthespianduchovny

Untitled Tumblr Prompt by @aloysiavirgata LISTEN🔊

First Time For Everything by @admiralty-xfd LISTEN🔊

Wonders Never Cease by @storybycorey LISTEN🔊

Heartache by @frangipanidownunder LISTEN🔊

Blessed Be Our Ever After by @rationalcashew

Dichotomous by @aloysiavirgata LISTEN🔊

Fever by DarlaBlack LISTEN🔊

Shipwreck by Darlablack LISTEN🔊

No Holocaust for the Weary by lost_loves

Gas Station Coffee by @puzzlingpeace LISTEN🔊

Poison by Katrinka

[settle-down-frohike]

Rules: in a new post, show the last line you wrote and tag as many people as there are words.

Tagged by @randomfoggytiger and @amplifyme

Guys I have not written in SO. LONG. Years. I won’t say how many. But maybe this will inspire me to give it another go? I honestly had to search my notes.

“The wistful mourning dove, the evening cicadas with their velvet, rhythmic scritch—they made her selfish, and hadn’t they earned the right to be?”

Tagging @teethnbone @mashnotesofthemythopoeic @onpaperfirst @sunflowerseedsandscience @piecesofscully @thegrotesckque @mangokiwitropicalswirl @storybycorey @onpaperfirst @sunflowerseedsandscience @scully-loves-ruthie @solia-dreams @darwin-xf @kateyes224 @syntax6 @suitablyaggrieved @lilydalexf @jamofappreciation @lyndsaybones @scapegrace74-blog @baronessblixen @all-these-ghosts @lepus-arcticus @msrafterdark @syntax6

I think I went over. Let’s say I counted for punctuation and we all know I love my commas. 🥴 But I am genuinely curious about so many of you. Especially from the olden days. What are y’all up to? Do tell.

(If you tagged me and I didn’t tag back consider it included, I just didn’t want to be redundant, I’m weird about rules)

[randomfoggytiger]

X-Files Collector's Edition: Beefy Revival Mulder (and Other Muscular Mentions)

Anon from three days ago, rejoice!-- for I have scrounged my fic collection (took me all three of those days) to find every single fic that focuses on, alludes to, or slightly mentions Mulder in his levelled-up Revival physique. (Most of these stories are not exclusively about Mulder's muscles, but there will always be a mention or an implication hidden somewhere within.)

Loose chronological order below~.

ThatWALKERKid's

Of all the things this unremarkable house has seen

Breakup Mulder jogs his property, mulling on his misery.

Coffee. It’s always better with you

Mulder always meets Scully's coffee needs.

@baronessblixen‘s (Ao3) 

Prompt season 10-11

Breakup Fox "I'm doing okay without you" Mulder somehow twists that sentence around to his benefit, luring Scully inside the UH.

@adrianne68/2momsmakearight's (WBM)

48. “Why does it hurt so much?”/For Better or For Worse

Mulder and Scully are afraid to return to the FBI; and both relive their past fears and vow not to repeat those mistakes.

@msrafterdark (Ao3)

Unnamed (Ao3)

Scully really, really likes Mulder's new "improvements."

@hemisphaeric's (Ao3) Mulder you need new clothes

Scully is amused over Mulder's "trying on old suits in preparation for getting his job back" antics.

@oohnotvery/@timshel901/the_eternal_optimist's Yours and Mine

Mulder and Scully are investigating a case where close work colleagues end up forgetting each other. Of course, they're intercepted, drugged, and kidnapped the minute their plane touches down.

@scapegrace74-blog's (Ao3) Fictober Day 10, Theme: Suits

Scully is exasperated to become Mulder's suit consultant... particularly because he's upset to have gone up a pant size.

OnlyFoxMulder/FoxyFoxMulder's

Jealousy

When Mulder realizes Scully is jealous of a younger woman, he is quick to reassure her that she hasn't aged or faded.

The Truth They Both Know - Chapter 4

Post Robot Episode Mulder drags out his shattered family's photo albums; and is touched by Scully's ensuing confessions.

FridaysAt9's Happy Birthday, Scully!

Mulder gets he and Scully off work to celebrate her birthday.

contradiction_to_nature's (Ao3) Fic: Liminal

Post the Werelizard, Mulder wants to know if Scully considers him still "hers." He then baits-and-switches with fraternization rules.

Defnotmeyo’s (WBM, Alt. WBM) Riptide

Post Home Again Mulder is given advice from all members of Scully's family, their love and concern for her outweighing their dislike of him.

Big_Blue's New Beginning

Post Home Again Mulder cares for Scully after she's injured on a case, comforting and soothing her after nightmares.

JenAndrews's

The Fires of Babylon

Post Babylon Mulder is sappily grateful that Scully is here with him; and both apologize while his memories run rampant, connecting their past to their present.

Rainbow Umbrella

Finale Scully has a vision of their daughter and Mulder buying an umbrella in the future; and that premonition secured her faith and steadied herself and Mulder through his anxieties over her possible pregnancy and its confirmation.

@debbierhea/thexfilesbabe/i-am-alittle-on-edge (WBM) missing

Post My Struggle III Mulder is worried when Scully wishes she had died and breaks down crying. Both linger in a sad, comforting moment.

@perfectmagnet's After William, All Things

Post Ghouli Mulder asks Scully if she'll move back; and feels whole for the first time while they swing on the porch.

@fbismostunwanted1158/ElizabethJaneway1158's

Missed Steps - Chapter 1

Post Robot episode Scully tweaks her ankle while running around. Mulder tries to find easy topics to discuss while the two "geezers" navigate their path around her injury.

Bridges

While on a case, Scully gets a nosebleed, breaking through Mulder's panic by reminding him of similar incidences at other locations with high altitudes.

WordsSpillFromMyOpenVeins_89's

Maybe There's Hope - Chapter 2

Post Finale Mulder cradles little baby hope in his arms.

@thespookyintrovert/PiecesOfScully's

A Good Day (Tumblr)

Post Finale William was (is) proven to be Mulder and Scully's child; and both are happy despite the bittersweet circumstances.

paranormalbouquet's a beat in time

AU-- Finale Scully remembers her and Mulder's words in Bellefleur; and decides to tell him about her pregnancy before he goes on his latest madcap search.

@o6666666's (Ao3) Untitled MSIV fix-it fic

AU-- Finale Mulder watches, helpless, as Scully jumps into the pier after her son. Jackson ends up doubling back to save her.

@paperheartsarts/Paper_hearts_and_homemade_arts's A Name

Post Finale Mulder is assured that he is loved (despite his first name); but it was all a sympathy ploy for his pickup line.

@monikafilefan/MonikaFileFan's

Language of Love: Prompts of Angst and Romance - Chapter 4

Post Finale Mulder is sympathetic and amused by Scully's various pregnancy complaints.

A Merry Little Christmas Now

Post Finale Mulder spends Christmas re-memorizing, enjoying, and missing his family with Scully.

One Spooky All Hallows' Eve (Tumblr)

Post Finale Mulder is going above and beyond for his daughter's first Halloween; and Scully ends up patching up his and Jackson's and their daughter's messes.

@storybycorey's (Ao3, FFN) It's A Brand New Day

Post Finale Scully has constant run-ins with various "Dawn"s throughout her life; and ends up honoring that legacy with her daughter's name.

@mappingthexfiles/Apostrophic's Meg

Post Finale Mulder has fun keeping his partner's pouty, wandering eye in-check; which prepares him for the lusty, cantankerous attitude his little girl exhibits.

RoseThornhill's Alice is a Punk Rocker

Post Finale Mulder soothes his LOUD little girl with wild songs (to Scully's unending amusement.)

@gaycrouton/OnlyTheInevitable's In Her Eyes

Post Finale Mulder's heart grows every day with both of his loving little redheads, one who thinks he'll die without red hair and the other who can always cure him.

WildwingSuz/Suzanne Feld's Deja Vu (Ao3)

AU-- Mulder recalls the time Scully had tracked down, observed the Van de Kamps, transitioning the conversation away from heavier topics into a back-and-forth about non-proposals.

allthistime's i think i know you from somewhere

AU-- Revival Scully and 93 Scully briefly swap places, fascinating their Mulders; and both Mulders return the favor by validating and reassuring their partners.

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

[onhiatus-xxsksxx]

Thanks for the tag @baronessblixen 💕

Eggs: scrambled

Steak: I don't eat meat

Milk: oat milk

Alcohol: Depends. I like to drink a glass of wine from time to time or a cold beer in the summer

Warm drink: Latte macchiato

Tagging: @scullysflannel @scapegrace74-blog @scully-loves-ruthie @samucabd @scullys-girl and everyone who wants to.

[storybycorey]

I was tagged by @amplifyme. And I know you tagged me for another one the other day, too, but I can't remember what it was lol!

last song: I'm not ashamed to say I looked up the full version of Planet of the Bass a bit ago because I hadn't heard the full thing.

last movie: Oh gosh, I have no idea. I did watch the 2 hr documentary on Prime about the Duggar Family a couple weeks ago, so if you want to call that a movie...

currently watching: Just finished The Patient which I thought was awesome, and then I'm also watching the 12th season of Married at First Sight because I must have missed it the first time around.

currently reading: Whatever smutfic crosses my dash and calls my name...

last thing i researched: Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid because my current minivan is over 10 yrs old and is on its last legs. Going to get a hybrid this time around and I'm excited.

If you haven't been tagged, @ellivia @frangipanidownunder @scapegrace74-blog @bakedbakermom @baronessblixen @randomfoggytiger

[ellivia]

post 7 comfort movies + tag 7 people. thank you @jewish-mulder ❤️

1. Airplane

2. The Naked Gun (all of them)

3. Dumb and Dumber

4. Anchorman

5. The X-Files: Fight the Future

6. Austin Powers

7. Zoolander

I’m tagging @storybycorey @starrynightsforever @smalldisbeliever @gravelyhuman @wexleresque @scapegrace74-blog @carrie11 and @imasquint

[frangipanidownunder]

15 Questions 15 Mutuals

thank you for tagging me @baronessblixen

Are you named after anyone? Queen Victoria? No, my dad used to tease me that I was named after the London train station or the type of plum.

When was the last time you cried? Um, probably watching a movie, although I can't remember which one.

Do you have kids? Four. Although my youngest is now 17 so not sure that any of them think they're kids anymore.

Do you use sarcasm a lot? Who me? No, never.

What sports do you play/have played? I did gymnastics from five until 18. Played netball. Does darts count as a sport?

What's the first thing you notice about other people? Their manner, probably. I don't judge but I do get vibes.

What's your eye color? Brown.

Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings are hopeful and cute, but scary (not gory) is great if the tension is psychological.

Any special talents? Undoing knots.

Where were you born? Carshalton, England.

What are your hobbies? Reading, writing, baking, singing badly.

Do you have any pets? Two border collies called Murphy and Manny, an ancient cat called Dusky Pink, eight alpacas, and some goldfish.

How tall are you? Not very. 161 cm or 5 ft 2 in old money.

Favorite subject in school? English, History

Dream job? Novelist.

Tagging @sigritandtheelves @catarinquar @smilingoceanlover @aloysiavirgata @storybycorey @red2007 @perplexistan @scapegrace74-blog @leiascully @piecesofscully @lepus-arcticus @ellivia and anyone else who wants to do this. Sorry if you've already done it. Feel free to skip.