#xf season 2

[cecilysass]

Mulder’s Depressed Vampire Sex: Me on 3

You know, I like the episode 3. I mean, not the casefile part of 3, which is whatever whatever, but the important part: the blood fetishist lady has her way with Mulder and then he cries.

I definitely loathed the episode back when the show was airing. Back then it seemed like it was intentionally hostile to the ship—like going out of its way to be hostile, having Kristen tell Mulder shit like “I can tell you’re missing someone, but attention please: just a friend. Definitely not more!!!” I honestly kind of felt like she was looking out of the screen directly at me when she said it.

But looking back, knowing that MSR was endgame (and that fans kinda took over the narrative anyway), I definitely see the episode totally differently.

From a Mulder character arc point of view, this episode is all about him being a sad, sad boy. It is all about his depression, his hopelessness, his grief for Scully. It’s also about his drive to try to save women and girls in order to save himself. And he so often seems to fail at this when it is someone he cares about (or even when it is someone he has a fleeting connection with, like Kristen). And that’s so, so devastating for him. In that sense, this episode is a really desperate expression of his grief and frustration.

The HIV/AIDS angle to this ep is super important, too, so we have to make sure we’re getting into the full 1994 mindset on this. Mulder says in alarm to Kristen back in the club, when she’s playing fast and loose with blood: “AIDS. Aren’t you afraid?” (To which she responds that she wants to die.) Mulder knows that HIV transmission through sharing fluids is no joke in 1994 (it probably really shouldn’t be now either, but that’s not today’s lecture). Yet later, when Kristen is shaving him and he’s nicked, he allows this to be the catalyst for sex, even as he makes attempts to stop her from tasting his blood.

So his choice to have sex with Kristen is depicted as reckless, with someone who has been shown being careless about HIV. And he is doing it not just because he is turned on, but because he is being intentionally reckless with himself, clearly knowing the consequences. He shows concern for her, yes, but he’s also self destructive. He wants to fuck the hot vampire, but he also wants to fuck with death.

In other words, there’s a difference between what the episode tells us about Mulder’s relationship to Scully and what it shows us. And what the episode shows us about their relationship is that Scully is central enough in his life that everything is fundamentally affected by her abduction. He’s broken. He’s visibly depressed. He makes decisions that risk his job and his life. All the while he is actually choosing to wear her cross: a symbol that traditionally wards off vampires, as Kristen observes, but also keeps Scully’s presence in his mind constantly and in every frame of the episode he's in. And the episode ends with him looking like a hero in a romance novel mournfully casting his eyes to the hills clutching her cross in his hand.

None of this obviously communicates “I miss my work friend,” right? No objective observer would see this and say, “ah, he clearly is missing someone—most likely a friend, I would say.” But probably that’s exactly why they included Kristen’s “just a friend” line. They knew his grief in this episode was reading very powerfully, and they didn’t want it to seem overtly romantic.

I also feel like it’s kind of significant that the only time we actually see Mulder have confirmed sex with someone (besides Scully later) is when he’s depressed and Scully is gone. Linking his grief for Scully to his very-rarely-seen acting out on sexual desire like this also seems kind of psychologically sus to me, but I don’t know, I read a lot of fanfic.

Speaking of which, I did a little fanfic search for 3. And unless I am missing obvious fics (always a possibility), it was kind of difficult. Partly because this is a stupidly hard episode to look in search engines for. (No one should ever name episodes after numbers, although this one I will forgive because it’s from 1994 and they couldn’t have fully understood about Google and AO3.)

But also I just think there hasn’t been a ton of 3 fanfic, probably because this episode isn’t very well-liked. And listen, I get that Scully isn’t in it, which is often unappealing for writers, and there is Mulder/other, which people don’t like. But I feel like there are a lot of possibilities for story ideas here that don’t necessarily take place during the events of the episode. Like: how does it affect them later? Personally I like fics where Mulder and Scully discuss the events of the episode long after (actually I wrote one, which I included in my recs because I’m not that cool). I also think Mulder’s angst and depression has a lot of ways it could go—not to mention it’s the last canonically confirmed time he has sex before like 2000 or something. And it seems like AU takes on what happened to Kristen could be interesting. So what I'm saying is: maybe try writing 3 fics.

3 Fanfic Recs

Three is a Crowd - wendelah1 Mulder has sex with Kristen but can’t stop thinking of Scully.

Analgesic- settledownfrohike Mulder has sex with Kristen but can’t stop being a self-loathing, self-destructive mess. And thinking of Scully.

The Woman In His Heart - Spangle This shorter piece frames Mulder’s time with Kristen as a revelation about his feelings. Angsty and nicely observed. A 2005 Spooky winner, evidently.

False Dawn - emmbright A sharply etched portrait of how Mulder moves through his life between 3 and One Breath. For me this fills in the blanks perfectly.

Dreams - Characteristically_Exuberant This is actually a (great) post-ep for Field Trip, and the events of 3 aren’t the main focus of the fic. But I like how this author discusses what happened with Mulder in that episode and contextualizes it for both agents.

We’re Not Here To Get Involved In Personal Problems - cecily_sass This is mine, also not really a 3 post-ep; it’s an X-Cops post-ep. I feel a little silly including it. But I had them discuss the events of 3 in this fic in a way that sort of lays out my own thesis of the episode, and I thought, hey, it’s my list. Mulder and Scully walk to a gas station in Willow Park in Los Angeles the morning after X-Cops; they discuss plenty.

Any others? I feel like I probably missed some.

[scullys-scalpel]

Season 6 of The X Files slaps so hard. Going into season 6 knowing that the filming location moved from Vancouver to Los Angeles the show lost a part of its classic scenery and feel but made up for it in what I would say is comprised of some of the best episodes in the entire series. I mean come on....

Triangle: a banger

Dreamland I & II: both bangers

How the Ghost Stole Christmas: another freaking banger

The Rain King, Drive, Tithonus, Agua Mala, Monday, Arcadia, Milagro, The Unnatural, Three of a Kind, and Field Trip: ALL FREAKING BANGERS

[randomfoggytiger]

The X-Files 30th Anniversary

Day 2: Favorite Season (Pt. 1)

Here is a clip from each episode of the first half of Season 8-- because, while a lot of them were skippable, there were some really good moments.

[absolutely-not-my-main-blog]

They should release It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on VHS

[lilydalexf]

👽 Random X-Files Fic Rec

In this fic Scully is extremely cranky on a stakeout with Mulder. But then they talk, and it is so charming (for Scully and for the reader). Title: For All in Tents and Porpoises Author: Diana Battis Summary: A greasy burger, a Diet Coke, and thee. Length: 17k (~2,700 words) Classification: Humor, MSR Rating: PG Spoilers: Late season 2 Favorite line: Gritting her teeth, she tried to drum up some anger against fate or Mulder, but it was impossible to rebuke the former and useless to blame the latter. Read the story!

[enigmaticxbee]

And more:

Slip of the Tongue by skinfull - smutty fics for every episode, NSFW

One Breath by @amplifyme - Mulder’s thoughts during the episode

Eat by @leiascully - mid One Breath, a sandwich from Mrs Scully

One Breath by @slippinmickeys - Missy and Scully talk about Mulder

Irresistible by skinfull - post episode first time, NSFW

S2 Rewatch - Fic Recs

Need something angsty and cathartic to read while you will your comatose partner back to life? Here are some season 2 fics that actually address Scully’s abduction arc trauma:

Right Hand Return by humphreywrites - AU in which Scully is returned from her abduction with a baby and serious PTSD

Only the Light by @scullydubois - AU in which Melissa moves in with Scully post abduction arc as she recovers, WIP.

Time Can Heal by @scullysexual - AU in which Scully doesn’t return to the X-Files post abduction arc, WIP.

Will-o’-the-wisp by breakfastsandwich - post-One Breath, the first night home from the hospital.

Transient Luminous Events by @seek-its-opposite - post Irresistible stakeout conversation, so good.

Hunters never hide for long by @catarinquar - Scully works through the compounding traumas of season 2

Feeling Better by @agirlcallednarelle - post One Breath, Mulder drives Scully home from a meeting to determine her return to work.

Empty Spaces by @lokisgame - Scully’s nightmares wake them both during their Firewalker quarantine.

Episode-related fics:

At Sea, At Anchor by Apostrophic - pre Little Green Men, fish tank origin story

One Moment in Arecibo by @scullysexual - Little Green Men missing scene, NSFW

High Stakes by Apostrophic - early season 2 post The Host poker game with the Lone Gunmen, fun times with a little emotional heft snuck in there

Hemaphobia by @spookydarlablack - Blood missing scene, just fun flirty banter and smut in an unlikely episode, NSFW.

False Dawn by emmbright - Mulder’s state of mind between 3 and One Breath, really good.

The Cold Shoulder by agoodwoman - post One Breath first time, NSFW.

Stolen Time by @dreamingofscully - post Firewalker, Scully struggles with unpartnerly thoughts during quarantine with a bored Mulder, NSFW.

Day After Tomorrow by skuls - post Firewalker. She almost died a few weeks ago. But she is here, alive. And her partner has kissed her.

Seeds of Synchronicity by Mountainphile - great casefile follow up to Aubrey set 6 years later when Mulder and Scully are in a pre-established relationship and dealing with Scully’s infertility and grief over Emily.

Untitled by @o6666666 - post Irresistible AU, Scully needs something Ethan can’t give her

Lapse of Reason by @baronessblixen - post Die Hand Die Verletzt make out session, I love it.

Strange Relations by @mldrgrl - rewrite of the Colony scene where Mulder goes home and sees Samantha, Scully goes with him.

If I had to perish twice by @seek-its-opposite - Dod Kalm post ep, but jumps around in time. He thinks maybe they’re working backwards to something like new love.

no night but shadows by @dreamingofscully - post F.Emasculata, a worried mulder shows up at scully's apartment late at night, NSFW.

Darts by @soft-thrills - sweet little early seasons getting to know each other fic

[corazondebeskar-reads]

Febuwhump 2024 Masterlist

hey, y'all! I'm participating in @febuwhump this year.

most will center on either joel miller x f!reader or din djarin x f!reader and will be short, probably under 1k each.

warnings: as implied by "whump," these fic will ALL contain physical and/or mental hurt. some will not have comfort. please read the warnings on each individual story before proceeding.

I will not be tagging anyone from any of the taglists for this to avoid spamming y'all. This list can be found at the top of my masterlist if you're looking for all of the works in one place. I won't add them to individual character lists until March.

dividers by @saradika-graphics

Key: 🏴 = dark 💀 = dead dove do not eat

Febuwhump Schedule

UPDATE: due to a health issue, I fell way behind. as such, the ones crossed out on this list are not guaranteed (they may still happen but I make no promises).

1: helpless - I'll take care of you - dark!Din x gn!reader 🏴💀

2: solitary confinement - no one could save me but you - dark!psychologist!Joel x f!reader 🏴💀

3: "bite down on this" - only to hurt, never to hold - gladiator!Din x f!reader (a drabble for "live to rise")

4: obedience - everyone breaks - werewolf!Joel (a drabble for "of rage and ruin") 🏴

5: rope burns - keep it caged - werewolf!Joel x f!reader (a drabble for "of rage and ruin") 🏴

6: "you lied to me" - was it worth it? - jackson!Joel xf!reader

7: suffering in silence - stuck in a lonely loop - Din x f!reader

8: found footage - remember what you're staring at is me - jackson!Joel x f!reader 🏴

9: lightning strike - seasons don't - jackson!Joel 🏴💀

10: killing in self-defense - no quiet on this earth - Joel x f!reader

11: time loop - gen, Tommy & Joel 🏴💀

14: blood-stained tiles - nobody is coming to save you - bounty hunter!Din x f!bounty!reader

17: hostage situation - no loyalty in the apocalypse - dark!Joel x f!reader 🏴💀

18: too weak to move - save your tears - Joel Miller x f!reader

19: "please don't" - better run - dark!Joel Miller x f!reader 🏴💀

[fernsehn]

I think the biggest misunderstanding of Chris Carter's xf vision for the past 25 years has been this: He thinks that as far as the season- or myth arcs are concerned it's all about the big concepts and sci-fi ideas. Which is totally true for the singular episodes. But when it comes to the bigger picture you HAVE to tell Mulder and Scully's story (in a world of science fiction). If your're not basing your plot or myth arc decisions on the wants and needs of those 2 characters you're doing the show a disservice.

I think Glen and James might have a better grip on that.

[sagan-starstuff]

10 people I'd like to get to know better!

[ tagged by @laurencem and @illaisland]

last song: Volcano Girls by Veruca Salt - the time is now to rage

last book: Currently the book for my scifi/fantasy book club, The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by CM Waggoner. Also reading Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski

last movie: In theaters - Inside Out 2. At home - Howl's Moving Castle for the umpteenth time.

last tv show: The X-Files, obviously. Also The Kids in the Hall because I am an OLD.

sweet/spicy/savory: Sweet. Mama needs some sugar. Sweet/salty is also excellent

relationship status: Happily married for 10 years!

last thing googled: "cat jumps on chocolate dessert" Its...its best not to ask why.

current obsession: Same obsession I've had for 27 years. Obsessing over meaningful glances and brushes of the hand between two hot 90's nerds.

looking forward to: Commencing the holiday baking season. IT'S PIE TIME, BITCHES.

tagging: @brenayla @calimanc @muldersfingers @loubetcha @libbytxf @danasculls @thursdayinspace @enoughslices @numinousmysteries @fringephile @graciehart @precedex-files @figureofdismay @xf-cases-solved @baronessblixen and any other other Poang Pals who want to join in...

[cecilysass]

Hello! You once told me that I could always ask you for fic recs so here I am! I’ve only seen up to S2E17 so idk if you have anything that doesn’t deal too heavily after that. Minor spoilers/references are okay, just nothing major. I’m also not a smut person generally. If you can’t think of anything that fits those criteria, feel free to ignore this! I hope you have a lovely day:)

Okay, I am SO EXCITED about this question, but also nervous, because I don’t want to accidentally include something that will spoil you. I am going to throw a few recs out, and maybe others will think of more?

Universal Invariants by syntax6 This is so, so good. It’s a classic. A novel-length casefile, plus an AU riff on season 1 and 2 through the abduction arc, so I think you are entirely good with spoilers. The big change from canon is that Scully is still with her boyfriend, Ethan. (If you don't know Ethan, he is a character that was originally in the Pilot but cut from the actual show.) There are... other changes from canon, but you’ll see. There's some smut, but it’s not the focus. And there's a sequel to this, too, which you will definitely eventually want to read, but you're going to have to finish season 5 first.

the progression (and regression) of first names by skuls Scully works through some early identity issues in relation to Mulder. This author (skuls) is always delightful, always recommended.

Center Mass by kateyes224 This fic provides a painful, in character explanation for what might have happened between them after the Pilot that could have resulted in so much subsequent slow burn. Hot and angsty, but not really smutty.

Early On by sunflowerseedsandscience This is also an AU season 1 with Ethan, but this one is more focused on Scully slowly feeling her attention stray from Ethan as her relationship with Mulder develops. It's a series with ten (short) parts. It's very engaging. There are some smutty parts.

Eight Things That Could Have Happened In Oregon by Stephen Greenwood No spoilers here, only things that didn't happen but might sound like spoilers. This is wistful, a little sad, beautiful, odd. The First Year by mldrgrl Their first New Year's Eve, not long after the Pilot. I love the hesitant vibe here.

Still Feeling My Father Ascend - cecily_sass This is my own fic, so I am being kind of a self promoter recommending it to you. But it’s a Beyond the Sea post ep, and I know my own work pretty well lol, so I know there’s no later spoilers, or only really minor things that won’t be meaningful until later. It was written for a prompt for an early season fic exchange.

And I'm not going to recommend it exactly, but I do want to mention that one of the first works of XF fanfic was actually written in 1993 and published online in 1994, so during season one. It's called The Sound of Windchimes by Sarah Stegall. It's got some serious CW (noncon) and some pretty wild content (I've read it), but if you're brave or curious and interested in fan history, you can check it out. Here's the fanlore page, which includes links.

***

Obviously I can come up with SO MANY MORE fics as you get further along. So just let me know. I would say most XF fic is probably written about seasons 5 / 6 / 7 for whatever reason, so once you're in that range, everyone can give you tons. Anyone have any other favorite early season fic they can recommend? It's sometimes tricky because sometimes early MSR has later details embedded in it...

[riderwrites]

I can not describe how hard I laughed during xf season 2 episode 17 when Scully breaks into the hospital where Mulder is being held after sleeping in his apartment when he was gone and taking over the entire ER to shock him back to life and when they feel a heartbeat she takes a moment to caress his hair before continuing like girl get off the ground, it's embarrassing.

[randomfoggytiger]

The X-Files 30th Anniversary

Day 2: Favorite Season (Pt. 2)

Part 1 is here.

[starbuck09256]

I have a partner..

Tagging @today-in-fic and @xffictober2023

Sorry xf fam, been a bit busy.

Fictober Day 9!

Set during Chimera Season 7

What if Mulder answered Ellen's question about his significant other in a different more truthful way? 

Ellen’s POV

I look at Agent Mulder, and he seems surprised that I ironed his shirt, and made a big breakfast for Phil. I feel Agent Mulder doesn’t have someone who takes care of him like I do with Phil. Once when I was younger I thought about being a therapist I had always been fascinated by people's relationships. Agent Mulder is handsome and good at his job. It makes me curious as he doesn’t wear a wedding band. I sit down across from him. 

I look over at him in curiosity “I get the feeling you are not used to having anyone take care of you?” I say trying to open the door without appearing too eager to know why he doesn’t wear a wedding ring. 

He gives a rough chuckle and states “Well that has a vaguely pathetic ring to it.” 

Not my intention of course. I clarify “No, I just mean I didn’t notice a wedding band.” I state. 

He replies “Oh,”

I get the feeling I can roll straight ahead. “Do you have a significant other?” I ask. 

He stops and takes a second, which is quite unusual. He smiles and bites his lip. “Um,” he takes a second and I see him trying to formulate the words as I tilt my head in interest.

 “I uh..” he chuckles. “I have a partner,” he says. 

I’m a bit taken aback as he didn’t strike me as gay, which is fine of course but now he is looking at me and his eyebrows crink. 

“Not umm.” he pauses again and sighs. “Her name is Dana.” he smiles at the end of his statement. 

I see him take a moment as if he is thinking of her. I lean in a bit, I want to know more about why she is a partner and not more. Given his smile and the way he said her name, it seems like she matters a great deal to him. “Can you tell me about her?” I ask. 

When Phil and I were younger I heard through a friend that he thought I was pretty, and that was the moment I decided to pursue him. How someone talks about their spouse has always taught me more about the person and less about the person they are speaking about. 

Mulder chuckles his eyes shining at me. “She’s umm.. Brillant, truly the smart person I’ve ever met,” and he takes a second. “She’s umm loyal, courageous, kind, she has a sort of deadpan dry sense of humor, a little sarcastic too.” he smiles again. “She’s a medical doctor but uh is pretty upset with me since I left her working in not the greatest conditions.” he chuckles again.

 He didn’t mention pretty which is odd. 

“Do you have a picture of her?” I make Phil carry a picture of us in his wallet. To show people that he has a family that loves him at home. 

Mulder reaches into his back pocket fiddling with his wallet. He hands me a photo of the two of them looking at some crime scene it looks like, she must also be in the FBI given that they are both wearing FBI jackets.

 “She’s pretty” I state. Wondering why he overlooked it.

 He looks at the picture and smiles. 

“She’s breathtaking,” he mutters. 

The way he says almost takes my breath away, he is looking at the picture as if just seeing it again for the first time, and his smile is stretched across his face. 

“She also looks very short,” I say moving the picture back to him. 

He laughs still looking at the photo of this Dana.

 “It’s weird because she seems to take up so much space in my mind sometimes, that I forget how tiny she is. She’s incredibly headstrong and stubborn it’s hard to remember she is only like 5’2.”

 “5 '2” I say, because she looks taller than that. 

He laughs again. “She wears the most ridiculous heels, they are like 3 inches, and she can run in them, which is nuts I know. I’m always amazed that she doesn’t break her neck sometimes.” his light chuckle is full of a deep fondness.

 I wonder if Phil has anywhere near the same level of fondness when talking about me. “

I bet you would catch her if she ever happened to trip though,” I smile at him. 

He looks up at me. 

“I would do anything for her, she is .. umm my partner. Certainly the better half of our partnership, that is. To some, she might not seem like she is the “significant other” in normal terms, but she is the most significant relationship I’ve ever had in my life.” His voice tapers off a bit at the end. 

I have the feeling the relationship he just described is much deeper than anything I’ve ever seen or experienced. Agent Mulder might not wear a ring or have someone who makes him breakfast, but he might have something much much better. He might have someone who has captured his soul. 

“Well,” I say standing up, if I didn’t feel like I was in control before I certainly don’t feel in control now. Something about knowing that there are relationships that don’t rely on what you are doing for the other person, cooking, cleaning, and showing you care by taking care of them in various ways. 

I wonder what a relationship would look like if it was just based on how you felt about the person. If you just appreciated them for existing. I think that Agent Mulder is much luckier than I have been, and it makes me question again why I forced Phil to stay married to me. I wonder if maybe I should let him go and try to find my own Agent Mulder. Maybe there is more than just pretending that everything is fine. Maybe I could have a life that didn’t make me feel the need to try and fit this perfect model that I always seem to fail at…

[lilydalexf]

👽 X-Files Fic Rec Roundup 2023, Part 4

Here is a master list of all my newest X-Files fic recs from 2023. These and all my earlier recs can be found under my fic rec tag, where you can also read why I recced each story. This month I also newly posted the themed lists below. Enjoy!

Mulder's birthday ** Fic Rec Roundup 2023 part 1 - 2 - 3 **

Aquinnah by Anjou (Season 7 - 11,313 words - Teen and up) Axiom by allimarie (Amor Fati - ~3,400 words - PG) Birthday Series by @syntax6 (MSR - lots of words – Not rated) Came on Lion by amyhit (Pre-XF - ~5,400 words - G) Cashmere and Whiskey by @kateyes (Tunguska - ~2,600 words - NC-17) Commitment and a Hot Shower by Anonymous (I Want to Believe - ~3,600 words - Not rated) down from the stars, up from the sea by @melforbes (MSR - ~1,475 words - Not rated)

[mindibindi]

9 people you want to get to know better

Thanks to @bakedbakermom 😊

Currently reading: Oh God, like mostly a bunch of boring academic articles that will hopefully have some relevance to my PhD. Beside my bed waiting to be read/finished is "The Female Quixote" (Charlotte Lennox), "Sanditon/The Watsons" (Jane Austen), and "Mother Tongue: The Surprising History of Women's Words." (Jenni Nuttall)

Last song: Oo, oldie but a goodie: "Vox" (Sarah MacLachlan), the in-concert version of course!

Currently watching: Just finished "Yellowjackets" and "Good Omens 2". Not sure what to watch next ("The Gilded Age"?) so amusing myself with pimple-popping videos on youtube and rewatching "The X Files" for the 348th time.

Current fic: I'm retired from ff writing (but I've got 250+ stories that can be read here). I've enjoyed hunting down classic fics I used to love from the original run of TXF (which I have recced as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations). In fact, sometimes I forget that there are newer fics to experience. Luckily, @audiofanficpod keeps me up to date. I like anything by @phillippadgettwrites and @sarie-fairy

Next on my watchlist: OH! Been waiting for the next season of "Our Flag Means Death" (a show I watched cos tumblr was going mad for it and tumblr was SO right!)

Current obsession:

THEM. Okay? Just...THEM. ❤️❤️❤️

tagging @randomfoggytiger @teenie-xf @deathly-shipper @alexdrakes @feministfandomforever @lilean @agoldensea @unremarkablehouse @gillianandersons and anyone else who feels like sharing 😊

[enigmaticxbee]

XF AU - Fic Recs

When the world was unrecognizable and upside down, there was one thing that remained the same. You... were my friend, and you told me the truth. Even when the world was falling apart, you were my constant... my touchstone (or, alternate universe and canon-divergent fics):

Contemporary AUs:

A Companion Unobtrusive by @slippinmickeys - She needed a roommate. He needed a room.

The Annapolis Grant by @slippinmickeys - Fake relationship! Scully hires Mulder to pretend to be her boyfriend.

Aprons and Scrubs by @lokisgame - Scully’s a doctor and Mulder runs a bar.

Five Years and a Lifetime by @monikafilefan @slippinmickeys - One night stand AU. Five years later, Scully and Mulder work at the same pediatric hospital, and Scully's four year old daughter bears a striking resemblance to the picture of a dark haired girl that sits on Mulder's desk...

Skin by Annie Sewell-Jennings - In a world where Mulder and Scully have never met, fate intervenes and brings two worlds colliding in the city of Charleston, as a vicious murderer reigns and a storm approaches.

Sinners Come Down by aster_risk - Six years into her marriage to Daniel, Scully meets Fox Mulder at a bar one night, and they get talking and fucking over alcohol and self-pity.

In the Best Interest of the Child by @mldrgrl - When tragedy strikes, Mulder is forced to take guardianship of his young niece, but the matter is complicated by the arrival of a sister-in-law he's never met.

Historical AUs:

By the Dim and Flaring Lamps by @sunflowerseedsandscience - Civil War AU. Captain Mulder befriends Private Scully who’s hiding a secret…

The Countess and The Earl by @slippinmickeys - Regency Romance!

Old Growth Forest by Andrea - Mulder and Scully travel back to frontier times

Rocky Mountain Interlude Part 1 and Part 2 by Jacquie LaVa and Tess - Mulder and Scully travel back in time to solve the case of a Colorado mining ghost

The Science of Sex by @if-the-seascatchfire - Masters of Sex AU. Mulder and Scully are doctors in the late 1950s who undertake a years-long study about human sexuality, and as part of the research, they also have sex with each other - you know, for the science.

Out of this World:

The Magician by Suzanne Bickerstaffe and Jennifer Lyon - Fantasy series where Mulder and Scully travel to another world full of magic (one of the first fanfics I ever remember reading!)

Out of the Little Grove by @slippinmickeys - Crossover with His Dark Materials (a mashup truly made just for me, my 13 year old self would have been over the moon)

Blinded by White Light by @dashakay - Post-colonization. What are we, but the sum of our memories? A classic.

Julia and Gabriel by Mish - Post-colonization. A new identity, a new, dangerous society, an unchanged heart and soul. Gave me Hunger Games vibes for some reason (although written years before that was published)

Canon-Divergent: Pre or Early Series

Eleventh Hour by Rachel Anton - Mulder travels back in time to find college-aged Scully and change everything.

Belphagor’s Prime by Prufrock’s Love - When Scully disappears Mulder travels back in time to a pre-X-Files Scully for help.

In Another Life by @mldrgrl - What if there was no conspiracy? What if Mulder was just a regular FBI Agent? What if Scully was just a bureau pathologist?

How They Met by @peacenik0 - After an encounter at Scully’s FBI academy graduation party they must determine how to deal with their past and their undeniable attraction to one another when partnered up.

One Week at Quantico by CrossedBeams - What if Mulder had been teaching at the Academy when Scully was training…

Paging Dr. Scully by @mangokiwitropicalswirl - Mulder keeps ending up in Dr Scully’s ER.

Only One Choice by @sisterspooky1013 - Scully was never assigned to The X Files.

The Way Things Are by Sukie Tawdry - A season 1 one night stand changes everything. Baby-fic.

Departures & Arrivals by anarchybeauty - After the X Files are closed in 1994, Scully moves on. Two years later, she runs into Mulder in an airport.

Right Hand Return by humphreywrites - Scully is returned from her abduction with a baby, no memories of anything prior to her captivity and some PTSD.

12 Rites of Passage and 12 Degrees of Separation by Anne Hayes - mytharc story written very early in the series run.

parent_1 by @markwatneyandenesemble - It’s 1996, Mulder’s been off the X-Files for three years, and not speaking to Scully. They’ve almost moved on with their lives. Almost.

Canon-Divergent: Mid Series

A Different Place by @myownsuperintendent - When Mulder successfully brings one of the Samantha clones back from the farm with him in Herrenvolk, she must learn to adapt to a different life.

Once More With Feeling by skinfull - While on a stakeout Mulder is shot in the head and loses his memory.

Iolokus by rivkat and MustangSally - Mytharc AU. Painted across the barren and desolate reaches of Texas, the shadows of the Project put additional pressure on Scully and Mulder's already fragile relationship. After a hostage crisis raises more questions about the Project's breeding program, Scully begins her own investigation, leaving Mulder to choose between saving her and saving himself. Pretty disturbing but fascinating, a classic.

Arizona Highways by Fialka - Mytharc AU. Visions of Melissa lead Our Heroes on a case confirming the existence of a series of Emilys. But does Melissa really have a message, or is it all in Scully’s head? Another classic.

Heuvelmans' On the Track by @mashnotesofthemythopoeic - post-FTF mytharc AU, truly a ride you’ll never forget.

The Leap and Landfall by Ambress - Scully has a one time opportunity for motherhood, given to her by the Kurt Crawfords.

All That Is Dark and Bright by @malibusunset-xf-blog - Emily lives AU.

Five Years and One Night by Shalimar - Scully leaves the X-Files post-Emily but gets drawn back in when Mulder discovers Emily wasn’t the only child created.

Cubed by Louise Marin - Mid-season 6 Scully does a little body-swapping of her own. Can she and Mulder make it back to each other? Do they want to?

The Boy on the Beach and Tonight We're Gonna Party Like It's 1999 by @cecilysass - One moment she was sitting in the chair. Her chin up, her expression ice. And the next moment she was gone. Fantastic exploration of the Samantha storyline.

Canon-Divergent: Late or Post Series

40 Weeks by @malibusunset-xf-blog - What if the IVF attempt in Per Manum had been successful?

Mobius by L.A. Ward - Post-Requiem while investigating the disappearance of a physicist, Scully finds someone she didn't expect - Mulder. But is it her Mulder?

By the Wind Grieved by Karen Rasch - Mulder is returned several months post Requiem but he doesn't know who he is or what Scully and he are to each other. Together they must reclaim the past before their enemies take away their future.

Deadalive AU by @markwatneyandenesemble - Mulder is returned but is missing several years of memory.

The 13th Sign and 7 Days in May by Prufrock’s Love - Post-Deadalive. Mulder saw no reason for life, death, sex, Armageddon, or emotional dysfunction to stand in the way of true love.

Hurricane Season by rah and beduini - Post-Existence week at the beach with the Scully family and baby Wim.

Terra Firma series by @malibusunset-xf-blog - Post-Existence domestic family drama, a classic comfort read for me.

2008 by MystPhile - With the quest at an end, the X-Files closed in the year 2000. Our heroes went their separate ways. In 2008, they meet in Bloomingdale's and the past, present, and future are explored.

Dr. Scully's School for Exceptional Boys by Prufrock’s Love - More than a decade had passed. Mulder had no reason to hole up in his apartment alone, wearing a Three Dog Night T-shirt with dried mustard on the hem and blue jeans that had seen better days. He wasn't "saving himself" for anyone. Especially not Her. Though she remained epically, beautifully, brilliantly kick-A-S-S.

Machines of Freedom by Amal Nahurriyeh - post-IWTB. The end of the world is coming. And they're doing everything in their power to stop it.

North of Zero by @slippinmickeys - Post-IWTB, post-colonization. The bombs have fallen. The aliens have come. What’s next?

Canon Parallel AUs:

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.

Half-light by skuls - Mulder and Scully get a second chance.

The Family G-Man by Neoxphile and FelineFemme - A double tragedy strikes Mulder the week before Christmas of 2003. What if he could go back and change things, save the son one lost and give the other the family she wanted? Could it keep them safe?