Untitled

[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 @sisterspooky1013 - 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?

[hoidn]

& the rest

Longmire 6x09, Running Eagle Challenge

Keep reading

[backstrom19-deactivated20250128]

Every time I open Netflix, it very nicely suggests all these new things I have never seen. My brain always decides it would be better to watch a show I’ve seen 7 times through already.

[gmw313]

[stardustinthesky]

Walt & Vic + touch

[enigmaticxbee]

XF Rewatch & Artwork Masterlist

Rewatch Analysis

Episode Guide

Favorite Moments

MSR

Dialog

Investigation

Misc Observations

Fashion

Travel

Bechdel Test

Alternative Episode Titles

Scully Describing Her Week to a Friend

Fic Recs

MSR Artwork

Data Visualization

MSR Philosophy

Season 1

S1 Rewatch Analysis & Artwork

Season 2

S2 Rewatch Analysis & Artwork

Season 3

S3 Rewatch Analysis & Artwork

Season 4

S4 Rewatch Analysis & Artwork

Season 5

S5 Rewatch Analysis & Artwork

Fight the Future

FTF Rewatch Analysis & Artwork

Season 6

S6 Rewatch Analysis & Artwork

Season 7

S7 Rewatch Analysis & Artwork

Season 8

S8 Rewatch Analysis & Artwork

Season 9

S9 Rewatch Analysis & Artwork

Credit: screencaps sourced from xfilesarchive.com and screencapped.net

[gmw313]

I’ve come to realize how spoiled I’ve been by TXF fandom for the last 20+ years. I’ll never be able to read all the fics, watch all the fan vids, or find all the fanart/pics. 🥰

Now, I just need to figure out how to get my favorite XF authors and artists to watch Longmire and put their talents to work. 🙏🏻

[hoidn]

But one kiss levitates above all the others.      Jeffrey McDaniel, The Archipelago of Kisses

[piecesofscully]

CASEFILES

Ravenous -  Fresh off a particularly brutal case, Mulder tries to finally make good on his promise to take Scully on a nice trip to the forest, only to stumble onto evidence that there may be more to a local urban legend than just rumor and superstition. NC-17

Achluophobia -  Set during the Season of Secret Sex, Mulder and Scully are called in on a personal favor by Maggie Scully to investigate what appears to be a haunting. NC-17

SERIES

The After - Two years following a worldwide apocalyptic event, Scully embarks on a journey to save mankind, hopefully finding Mulder along the way. (Each chapter is provided with a link to the next chapter) WIP. NC-17.

Cancer Arc Part 1: Mint Chocolate Chip - “Sometimes 96 tennis balls on the ocean floor is just 96 tennis balls on the ocean floor.”

Cancer Arc Part 2: Love Me Tender - Fears, wants, and desperate needs.

Cancer Arc Part 3: I See You - “ How am I supposed to die with dignity and self respect, when I don’t even know who I am anymore, Mulder?”

Cancer Arc Part 4:  Bubbles in the Wind -  “ I should have warned her of what was to come, of what she would likely have to sacrifice in hopes of righting those wrongs.”

Color Series - Blue, Yellow, Red, Green - G-Explicit, MSR

COWRITTEN WORK

The Voicemail Series, cowritten with @kateyes224 : A pre-revival angst series, Rated: R.

Part 1 - Mulder Part 2 - Scully Part 3 - Mulder

And Ashes Fell From the Sky with @2moms-0fucks : A virtual Season 11, Rated: G-Explicit.

1- Past and Present 2- Ring Around the Rosy 3- A Pocket Full of Posey 4- Ashes, Ashes 5- We All Fall Down 6- Present and Future

@twoagentsmissing-presumeddead with @bohoartist : A casefile told unconventionally. (please visit the official tumblr for story in its entirety) Rated: R

DRABBLES / SHORTER FIC

Lost Bets, Paid Debts - MSR smut. Explicit

A Good Day - Post MS4. PG.

Tsunami - Post Amor Fati AU. Explicit.

Manual Labor -  It’s Season 7 smut. That’s it. Explicit.

The Stability of Pain -  One night, Scully deals with the grief over losing Emily and what could have been. PG

Missing Scene from The Truth -  This is my attempt to fill in one of the blanks for The Truth. PG-13

The Porch Swing -  The happenings on and around a porch swing at the unremarkable house. Explicit.

The Art of Grieving -  Scully processes the death of her mother. Post Revival. PG

Not Today -  Tempers flare between Mulder and Scully when it comes to doing the paperwork. Explicit.

8 Days, 5 Hours, 42 Minutes, and 39 Seconds -  “He hated to admit it, but it took over a week for it to really sink in that she was gone. 8 days, 5 hours, 42 minutes, and 35 seconds to be exact. 36 seconds. 37.”  Pre Revival. PG

Pink Glazed Donut -  “He knew she was close by the way her thighs twitched beneath the grip of his hands and how her hips rocked against his face, thrusting in a greedy search for more.” NC-17

Intercoursus Iterruptus -  “Her voice was dangerously low and had adopted a tone of warning as his pelvis ‘accidentally’ grazed her ass again for the third time in fifteen minutes.” NC-17

The Game - Scully, a glass of wine, and a Ouija board. PG.

Beyond My Struggle 4 -  When you have been suspended, waiting out the investigation by Internal Affairs, there’s no office to go to, no time clock to punch.   PG

DRABBLE PROMPTS / LIST PROMPTS

Scully’s Nightmare, G, MSR

Teasing, PG, MSR 

How Long Have You Been Standing There?  NC-17, MSR

You Make Me Feel Like I’m Not Good Enough. PG-13, MSR

I Had To See You Again. NC-17, Scully/Stella

Wanna Bet? NC-17, MSR

Wanna Dance? PG, MSR

Like a Ghost Through the Fog, PG, MSR

William’s Space Onesie, PG, MSR

[shesgotcolorstospare]

A PSA for anyone getting the Covid vaccine, just so you know what to expect, some people experience no side effects, but it’s also not uncommon for people to feel like they have cold/flu-like symptoms for a day or two after getting the vaccine. For most people the symptoms are slightly worse after the second shot. The hospital I work at is recommending that employees get the vaccine the day before they have a day or two off. They have provided some extra PTO days in part because of this. I took a day off after each shot and was glad I did. This should not discourage anyone from getting the vaccine, but is just information to keep in mind when scheduling you or your loved ones vaccines. I highly recommend OTC pain relievers like Tylenol, Advil, or their generics. Tylenol relieved all of my symptoms. There’s no prize for toughing it out, just take them and they will make it so much easier.  For me, I got my first shot in the morning and about 14 hours later I started to feel muscle aches and pains, especially in my neck. I went to bed and then woke up feeling worse; headache, lightheadedness, a temp of 99.2 (higher than normal, but not technically a fever), and worse muscle aches and pains. I started taking Tylenol and I felt much better. The symptoms lasted for about 24 hrs. After my second shot, I felt symptoms much faster, about 6 hrs after the shot, I kept up with the Tylenol a little more aggressively this time and it kept the symptoms at bay, still wouldn’t have wanted to run a 5k or give a big work presentation or anything. Over all I would say the symptoms last about 36 hrs.  And I feel like I have to put this in here, just in case it crosses people’s minds, “What’s the point of getting the vaccine if it’s just going to make you sick?” You may feel sick, but you are not infected. You feel sick because the vaccine has “tricked” your immune system into thinking you are infected so that it starts to produce antibodies, but you are not actually infected. The symptoms from the vaccine last a day or two. In contrast Covid can last for weeks or months. The symptoms from the vaccine will not land you in the hospital or, more importantly, the morgue like Covid can. Also, you won’t be able to transmit the virus or the symptoms to anyone around you.  Hopefully being informed can lead to us all making smart choices that help us get out of this pandemic as soon as possible. 

[glassshark]

I think we all know at least a few people who need to hear this perspective

[nerdy-south]

This is basically exactly what happened to my wife after her second shot. It’s normal, it’s fine, get your shots anyway!

[darkwingatlarge]

FYI it is literally impossible for the vaccines to infect you with covid. The vaccine has no viral particles in it, only mRNA. The types of vaccines that have a risk (usually negligibly small risk for the ones that make it to market) are made of viral particles that have been rendered harmless. This vaccine is not one of those vaccines. There is no covid virus, dead or otherwise, in the vaccine. The reactions described above are just your immune system figuring out how to make antibodies that will kill covid.

[mldrgrl]

Wise Up

by: mldrgrl Rating: PG Summary: Scully needs someone to take her home after dental surgery.  Pre-Millennium.

He came back from getting coffee to find her mid-conversation with her mother.  She gave him a glance over her shoulder when he put the to-go cup quietly on her table and then lowered her chin so that her hair obscured her face.  She switched her cell phone from one hand to the other and he shuffled to his own desk pretending to give her privacy.

“It’s fine, Mom,” she said.  “I promise.  I’ll just try to get it rescheduled until after the new year.  No, I…no, I don’t need…Mom, it’s fine.”

He sipped his coffee and opened a file, but kept his gaze higher than necessary to keep her in his periphery.  She pinched the bridge of her nose in silence for the next ten seconds and then she finally lifted her head.

“Mom,” she stated.  “I have to go, I need to finish a report.  I’ll reschedule for January.  As for Thursday, don’t worry about it, you just feel better.  I know.  I know.  I love you too.  Bye.”

Scully disconnected her call with a deep sigh that Mulder pretended not to notice.  He was burning with curiosity, however, and it was only a matter of time before he would ask.  He just had to wait for the right opportunity.

Keep reading

[mashnotesofthemythopoeic]

Fic Masterpost

So, in the spirit of full disclosure - all the X-Files fiction I’ve ever written, as memory serves. And some thoughts on how this fine fandom has taught me to write. 

Starbuck (circa 1998)

I’m not kidding, this is really embarrassing, absolute beginner stuff, but we all start somewhere and it’s interesting in an evolutionary sense. I found these on  Zuffy’s X-Files Homepage.

Without The Bee  -  I couldn’t bring myself to look at this one. That title says it all. 

Agents of Change: Return from Antarctica  -  Obsessions—the Scott Expedition and the X-Files—collide. Rough early days, but probably with hints of potential. A legit turkey of a title! 

Penumbra 1998 - 2009

(I’m not going to bother with Gossamer links.) Learning the ropes as I went. Oblivious to so, oh so many things. Rickety, untrained writing, but mindlessly in love with creatively inspired by the churlish charms of our two razzle-dazzle creatures of the night. 

Contact High  -  The last line was plagiarized, pure and simple, from one of Gerald Durrell’s books about his childhood in Corfu. It’s bothered me ever since, so the big thing I took from this experience: by all means steal the rhythm of something, but at least change a word or two. 

Vespers  -  Very stoned ramblings. Inspired by John Leonard’s X-Files essay in The Nation that I’d managed to extract off a microfiche in a university library. I have a soft spot for this fic, probably because Khyber picked it very analytically apart, which was like having Jonathan Galassi or someone suddenly pay attention to you. He introduced me to ‘show, don’t tell’, a paralyzing concept if ever there was one, which I yet only fitfully grasp.

Black Hole Season  -  Still breakin’ all the rules. This one was hugely popular, and amidst all the ballyhoo, Punk Maneuverability emailed me and quietly said: ‘Please pick a POV and a tense and stick with it’—vastly important advice that I was probably too full of myself to heed. This one won a Spooky award, one of the greatest moments of my life that I had to keep completely to myself (therein lies the painful crux of fanfiction.)

Parabiosis  -  I was eating cereal and flipping through the dictionary, and there it was: parabiosis. Who knows what it means. I didn’t have a computer, and was working in the mountains, so I wrote the whole thing out on paper several times, unimaginable now. It flowed through my brain as I scrambled through the woods in the evenings. Nothing will ever be that easy again.

Honeymoon Video  -  Promising title, not much there.

Blue-Sky Conjecture  -  unfinished Scully/Kresge

The Cretan Paradox  -  Americana. JET sent me an ear of corn from a corn maze, because she’s thoughtful like that. 

Free Beer Night at the Astrodome  -  Cut years ago in despair out of Heuvelmans’; I think part of it went back in. 

Fathoms Five  -  In one of Gerald Durrell’s books about his childhood in Corfu, his brother steps in a swamp and says that his shoe is ‘full of fathoms five’, so that’s where I got that Shakespearean misquote. I resisted writing this for a long time, but it would creep into my mind as I was falling asleep. I think this is a pretty good story, but it could have used one more draft, so since then, I’ve resolved never to rush to post. Events of this year kind of date this story now. However, it’s rather pleasant to read about a careless, joint-passing, COVID-free 2020.

Fathoms Five Outtakes and gag reels - Sorry about the glitchy old site and bad font.

A random smut biscuit  -  Uncharacteristic, I know!

Octopods  - I loved this one, but it never fit in anywhere.

Maundy Thursday  

Untitled Snippet 

World’s Tiniest Zombie Fic

∩dsᴉpɐᴉsᴉnɯ -  Very flawed, because it was written and posted under a fund-raiser time crunch. I really should overhaul it. The X-Files was ending and I was so depressed when I wrote it, and that’s an unfortunate tincture to saddle a story with. 

The Inscrutable Pair  -  How The X-Files taught me to embrace ambiguity. Goreyesque nonsense à la Gashlycrumb Tinies that also troubles itself to rip off Eliot and Homer. 

(7-Year Cold-Turkey Hiatus From the X-Files)

Gave away DVDs, got some perspective, did a little growing up, tried and failed to write a screenplay, two novels, etc. Then they put The X-Files on Netflix. One lonely night, I thought: what could it hurt to watch Darkness Falls? 44 minutes later, with shaking hands, going for the hard stuff—Redux II. Lol, the hard stuff of ancient philes. 

The Mythopoeic*  2016  - 

Heuvelmans’ On the Track - The nearly suicidal heartbreak that surrounds this story—it was the first X-Files fic I got bogged down in and couldn’t finish, and it left me with a huge mental stigma—sweetens its completion. Under its shadow I tried to become a Real Writer, without success. Give things time, I learned. Just keep working hard. The initial failure of this story taught me stuff that I now wouldn’t trade for anything. 

*I came back just intending to hang out with Philes, and didn’t want to make a big deal, and had no intention of posting fic, so I gave little thought to the name. But, characteristically ostentatious name, check. Still keepin’ it real, pure and self-taught, a bit closer to what Chuck Palahniuk calls a ‘kitchen-table MFA’. Check.

But what I really want to say is this. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to try writing if I hadn’t been in this marvelous fandom, having the method and the means demonstrated all around me by wonderfully competent and encouraging writers for whom I felt such reverence that having them reach out or comment on stuff was earth-shaking. They showed the way, and I followed. Hands on my heart, friends, I owe you everything.

[mldrgrl]

AU Prompt: The events of Tithonus happened Post One-Son because Scully needed a break from Mulder and partnered up with Ritter on the Fellig case. (Maybe this could be a continuation of the resignation letter two-parter, that I LOVED because you NAILED it)

:) Thank you.  Here you are.

An Inconvenient Truth

by: mldrgrlRating: PGSummary:  A sequel to Almost and The Sword of Damocles

Mulder had never been out of the office faster than when he got the call that Scully had been shot.  Not trusting himself to deal with afternoon traffic, he raced to the train station and caught the first Amtrak up to New York City that happened to leave ten minutes after he arrived.  It was the quickest option available at three hours, but if he could’ve sprouted wings and flown there, he would have.

For most of the journey, he impatiently pounded his knuckles into his knee and focused on the trees and the towns passing by in a blur.  He tried to keep the anxious mantra of ‘my fault, all my fault,’ out of his head to no avail.  Because it was his fault.  If he hadn’t been such a horse’s ass, Scully would never have even considered resigning from the x-files.  And if she hadn’t considered resigning, she therefore probably wouldn’t have even considered taking this assignment without him.  So, the reality of it was, he was the one that put her in the line of fire even if Kersh was the one that sent her to New York.

In fact, they’d fought about it before she left.  Still sore from finding her resignation letter a few weeks prior, he’d accused her of trying to ditch him and the files.  She’d done that thing she does sometimes when she’s too mad at him in the moment to speak to him, so she’d narrowed her eyes and stared directly at him with such disgust while shrugging on her coat that he had to turn his back on her.  She didn’t even say goodbye.  He’d never bear it if that argument was the last time he’d speak to her.

Keep reading

[markwatneyandenesemble]

Murder in the Capital

AO3 Part One: Prologue, Chapter One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six-Seven, Eight-Nine Part Two: Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven-Twelve, Chapter Thirteen, Chapter Fourteen, Chapter Fifteen, Chapter Sixteen, Chapter Seventeen-Eighteen, Chapter Nineteen

Author’s notes:  I may have fudged the dates of prohibition in the US to make plot points connect, history buffs pls dont @ me. 

Chapter Twenty

October 5, 1920. 

Mulder trudged into work, holding the book tight beneath his jacket. As blistering cold as it was outside, he was practically walking on air, feeling as though the book itself was warming him. He’d managed to get her the Darwin book mere days ago, like an awkward bargain for their friendship, a book exchanged for forgetting the other night. Her face had lit up when he presented it to her. She raved on about it the entire walk to work that morning, telling him how she’d heard about it from a couple other nurses and doctors, but could never get her hands on a copy. 

She’d sped through it in a matter of days, apparently, even as much reading on the way home. He hadn’t complained one second about walking next to her in silence, smiling down at her knowing she wouldn’t notice his gaze, and every so often, pulling her aside before running into a light pole or mail box. 

“I have to confess something,” she’d said that morning, sheepishly staring down at her feet and holding the book tight to her chest as tightly as he was now. “I’ve considered studying to be a doctor.” 

“Really?” 

She smiled up at him, like an excited child on their birthday. “The head nurse was telling me how some women up north, near Boston and New York had started becoming doctors, and while it probably wouldn’t be easy-“ 

“You’d be amazing,” he interrupted, knowing where she was going, and matching her smile. 

“Really?” 

He nodded, and stared at her as she giddily rambled on about it. How it would be difficult with no easy access to a women’s medical school, but if she could get her hands on some of the textbooks, it would be a lot easier. 

“I know a few people who could help with that,” he had volunteered. 

“Ah, yeah, your mystery book thieves. I’ll take all the help I can get.” 

“I’ll have them look into it. Ask around. I know the one- his name’s Frohike- occasionally makes stops in Boston, and he could find something there for you.” 

“That would be amazing.” In the time he’d known her, both in their in-person interactions, and through letters, rare did he see this side of her. The unabashedly gleeful side of her. She’d been happy before, yes. But never with this kind of excitement. He couldn’t stop smiling at this little peak into more of her person. 

By the time they were approaching the hospital, and Dana had begun to wind down. “Listen, I really appreciate the support. I think I’m already disappointing my mother enough, it wouldn’t be a good idea to mention this around her, so its nice to tell you.” 

He smiled. “Always.” 

They stopped, just feet from the hospital door, and she turned to face him. 

“I know it’s not your favorite subject, but it is a fascinating book. I marked a couple sections that you might like,” she said, holding out the book to him. “If you want to read some of it.” 

He took it from her. “I’d love to look at it. When I get a chance.” 

“Of course…” she smiled. “I better-“ she nodded towards the door. 

“Yeah,” he said, always hating this part. The part where they had to stop and say goodbye. “Well, I’ll see you later, Doctor Scully.” 

She gave him one last excited grin, and turned away.   

He had awkwardly hung his head, and turned to walk away, holding the book tight to his chest as he headed to work, a wave of dread washing over him in stark contrast to how he’d felt around Dana. 

No new leads, and no new witnesses, despite how close it felt like they were just last week. Krycek had turned up nothing in his background checks. That mistress was long gone, and they had no idea how to find her. Even if she did have something to do with it all, she’d been smart and gotten off the grid. 

Mulder clung to Dana’s Darwin book like a life jacket as he made his way through the long, narrow halls of the precinct, only to find a passive-agressive note from Skinner’s secretary about a meeting whenever he bothered to show up for work. 

Amidst the clutter of his office, Mulder noticed a half-full coffee cup that still had steam rising from it, and figured Krycek had already gotten there. He shut the office door, taking off his coat and inhaling deeply, trying to preserve some of that Dana-energy to get him through the meeting. He slid her book into the lowest drawer of his cabinet, and briefly closed his eyes before marching back out to Skinner’s. 

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[scenes-in-between]

Existence (Part Three)

It occurs to Mulder, when the nurse comes to tell Agent Reyes she has a phone call, that there’s someone he should probably call, too. He sits up slowly, eases the sleeping baby from his chest to the crook of his arm, and carefully stands. There’s a pay phone at the end of the hall, and he makes his way over to it, hoping there’s still money left on the phone card he hasn’t used in over a year.

It rings all the way through to the answering machine, but the recorded message cuts off abruptly with a breathless, “Hello?”

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[defnotmeyo-deactivated20190222]

Hey I'm reading "This is how the world ends" on your recommendation and wowowowowow!! This is legit what the revival could have been in more talented hands and I am angry!

@solia-dreams-impossible-things has written the fucking defining fic of our time, and I’m not exaggerating. I hesitate even dubbing it fic.  It is, but good God. It’s professional quality shit that we could have had with basically one talented writer. 

It’s not finished. It’s a WIP. But you will love every fucking second you invest in it, including the original characters. So god damn good. I know it’s large. I know it’s unfinished. I know it’s daunting.

Please read. https://archiveofourown.org/works/5578210/chapters/12856972

[settle-down-frohike]

Waiting on the rest of tumblr to get on this train like. DO YOU PEOPLE NOT REALIZE THIS IS EPIC, HISTORICAL FIC HAPPENING RIGHT HERE IN OUR TIME? Hey? Anyone want to replace the onscreen version of 10-11 with a canon-plausible, quality mytharc, MSRheavy, angst heavy, story with complex and interesting new characters? Yes? Well. This fic will be on the required xf reading list for our grandchildren. Just. Saying.

Yes it’s a WIP but it brings me back to the old days of waiting between arcs. Damn. Sorry but social media just ruined that for me. The waiting is part of it. Don’t underestimate its importance. As far as I’m concerned, this is the canon 10-11 and that’s just that’s just that. ✌️

[gingerrawrrgers]

I thank you both so much for bringing this masterpiece to my attention. Jesus. I’m on Chapter 22 and I’m just in awe. I’ve pounced on every Phile I know yelling READ THIS RIGHT NOW so I can dive into it with someone else. It’s slow at work tonight so I’ve been reading and I have to set it down to let it breathe once in a while. But my god it’s good. This should be right up there with Blinded by White Light, anything by Pru and Syntax6 and Parabiosis and….I could go on and on. Read this. Seriously. It’s the mytharc XF3 that we deserved. 

[starbuck09256]

Ok I’m going to sneak away and read this while watching the superbowl because seriously who cares who wins and commercials are stupid.

[markwatneyandenesemble]

Murder in the Capital

AO3

Part One: Prologue, Chapter One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six-Seven, Eight-Nine

Part Two: Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven-Twelve, Chapter Thirteen, Chapter Fourteen

Author’s notes: Sorry I missed Thursday, there’s been a lot of stuff going on around here and its not been great, but I’ll either post an extra chapter tomorrow or two on Tuesday- thanks for the patience! 

Chapter Fifteen

September 22, 1920. 

When they finally squeezed into his office, he offered her his chair, only then realizing it was the only one that he had. The only one that would fit in there. After a second of awkwardly realizing this, he attempted to casually lean against one of his file cabinets, and shoved his hands deep into his pocket.

“So, what can I help you with?” he asked, not wanting to look her in the eyes, fearing that she was just here to tell him to leave her alone. 

“Well…” she hesitated, taking a deep breath. “It’s a long story, but I think it could really help with your investigation…” 

He felt a little relief that she was just here for the case, but also disappointment that she wasn’t here to see him for other reasons. “That would be great, Dana, thanks. I’ll- uh,” he looked around for paper or a notepad in the disaster that was his office. “Tell me anything you can.” 

She stared down at her hands, which were clasped in her lap. “I hadn’t prepared or anything- I don’t know where to start… but-“ she took a deep breath, and stared back up at him. “An orderly at the hospital got murdered last night.” 

“Oh, wow,” he said, leaning back on the desk. “Who was he?” 

“I don’t know, I think his name was Monroe- he just started a couple months ago, and he always worked the night shift so I never really came in contact with him. I think he lived down near the docks though. I think I heard Ellen say something about that…” 

He nodded, scribbling down the name and information. 

“He would sometimes stay a little longer to make a little extra money- a lot of orderlies or nurses would do that, come in early or stay later, and so occasionally our paths crossed. I never paid him much attention…” her voice drifted off and she looked down as her hand slipped into her pocket, feeling around. “A few days ago, something really weird happened though-“ 

His pulse immediately rose, feeling a surge of protectiveness. “What?” 

“I, uh, I went for lunch to a cafe around the corner from the hospital- alone, just to get away from the building for a minute,” she assured him. “But right before I left, the orderly, Monroe, he slid into the booth across from me and he was shaking really hard, and looked panicked.” She kept feeling around in both pockets, clearly getting more and more frustrated, as she jammed her hands in deeper. “He was spouting nonsense about him being in danger and something happening to him- I thought he was crazy so I just went along with it so he’d leave sooner, but then he handed me-“ Dana felt her pockets even further, and he heard a small rip emanate from her coat. 

“Dana? What was it?” 

She stilled after a second, and stared downwards in frustration. “He gave me this slip of paper that apparently had a name on it. Someone I needed to remember so in case something happened to him, I could bring it to you.” 

“Me?” 

“Yeah- well, he said the detective that was interviewing us about your case so I assume it was you.” 

“What was the name?” 

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I was kind of freaked out by the guy, so I just agreed and shoved the paper in my pocket, thinking he was just some crazy guy who was delusional or something, but my pocket has a hole in it, and I didn’t realize…” She covered her eyes with a hand, either in embarrassment or frustration. “I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to think of what the name was, but I don’t even think I looked at the paper.” 

He smiled at her, and reached out to squeeze her hand, a gesture she smiled at, with almost a reminiscent look in her eye. “It’s okay.” 

“But there’s more…” she began, but stopped, and bit her lip as though thinking how to put the next bit of information. “Last night, a man my brother went to school with came to dinner, apparently he moved back to town for a job or something. But he came to see us- well, me.” She wasn’t even looking him in the eye now. 

Mulder’s stomach dropped, and he suddenly felt like the biggest idiot in the world- asking a woman out when she’s already got a caller, but then she continued. 

“My mother set it up,” she quickly assured him. “She’s convinced I need a matchmaker and she’s the one for the job.” She looked up long enough to give him a small smile at that, but it didn’t change his sudden nausea. “Anyway, this man, he.. uh, he asked me out-“ his breath caught in his throat. “-but it was really strange, because he… uh, he practically quoted your letter to me. He said-” 

Mulder’s jaw clenched, and and his chest felt tight. “Dana-“ 

“I’m not bringing this up for any other reason than your case,” she said, softly. “He just gave me a strange feeling- he was vague about his work and-“ 

“Dana, it’s okay. I’ll look into the dead orderly. I can let you know if we need any more information about him.” He was just staring at the floor, mumbling, not wanting her to see how much pain was in his eyes. Of course she would have someone after her.  It’s why he should’ve gotten off his ass a long time ago and asked her out. 

“Mulder, I’m serious about Andrew. You said yourself you didn’t want to write anything about the case in your letter. What if someone’s intercepting them from you?” 

He glanced up at her, suddenly entertaining the thought. Before he could respond, a knock came to the door, and they both jumped up. 

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[peacenik0]

Looking for an old school fic… help

I was just thinking of this story I read many years ago. Mulder was sick, he accidentally takes too much cough medicine. I think Scully comes to check on him. Adjoining rooms I think. Somehow she gets in bed with him, and he keeps touching her, and she sorta protests, but she actually wants it. It’s dubcon for sure, but so so so hot.

Mulder says “doctor, are you going to take my temperature,” while he’s in a dream state. I think he wakes up when he’s touching her and apologizes, but I’m sure it ends with sex.

@storybycorey @txf-fic-chicks @observeroftheuniverse @illnevermeettheground @iloveurscratchybeard

Ps. It’s entirely possible that i’m getting details for a few fics confused, I did read this probably 20 years ago. But I know this exists somewhere out there!

[iloveurscratchybeard]

I’m sure I’ve read this, too! It sounds so absolutely familiar and I remember liking it, too… probably on gossamer… who is good at remembering story titles? @scapegrace74-blog @how-i-met-your-mulder @pickingoutchinapatterns @wtfmulder @settle-down-frohike @kateyes224

[wtfmulder]

No clue! Wanna read tho

[i-gaze-at-scully]

AU where Mulder and Scully get together in season 2

Hey remember when you sent this to me like three months ago? 🙃 Welp, better late than never I suppose.

Tagging @today-in-fic and @peacenik0. Sorry again for dominating everyone’s dashes this weekend - it’s been a productive one (as far as fic goes at least)! No going back on ao3.

No going back

“This is a bad idea,” she breathes, lips half an inch from his and fingers knotted in his hair.

“God I missed you,” he whispers back, unadulterated need pouring from him on baited breath. “Scully, I missed you so much.”

With the smallest of whimpers, she closes the gap, firmly planting her lips on his. She moves them in time to wandering hands, bracketing his face and scratching at his scalp, cupping his jaw and clutching him to her.

How could this be a bad idea? He thinks. She’s safe and warm in his arms, and if he could get any closer to her he would. He spent a month without her, a month with a part of him floating somewhere in the abyss and the other parts slowly crumbling. He’s never letting her go again.

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