Musings of a Fanfic Reading Fan

Here at xfilesficrecs, at long last, we've reached the end of season two. To celebrate, I'm posting more recs for season two-ish stories. These are all fics that I love, and have read again and again. I hope you'll enjoy them, too.

"Genius" won the 1995 Second Place Spooky award for "Most Carteresque." Kipler's clear-sighted empathy for her characters informs and shapes every scene. There is no villain; in the end, there is just something new to understand, something quite miraculous. What elevates the story out of the MOTW category into something rarer is the ending, as we observe Scully begin to comprehend what drew Mulder to this case.

Genius (16058 words) by Kipler
Chapters: 4/4
Fandom: X-Files - Fandom
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Mulder/Scully MSR
Characters: Dana Scully, Fox Mulder, Mulder, Scully
Summary: The story of a young girl who disappears and returns smarter than she was before.

Written and originally posted in the summer of 1995. Posted to AO3 on the 20th anniversary! That's kind of cool.

I don't know if anyone else remembers but "A Midnight Clear" was the second story in what was intended to be a series of Christmas stories. Syntax6 wrote the first fic, "Roman a Clef," from Mulder's POV, then "A Midnight Clear," for season two, which is from Scully's POV. Then they just stopped. I'd always hoped she'd complete the series, but you don't always get what you want. They work fine as standalones.

A Midnight Clear by syntax6
I've filled in the blanks to the best of my ability, including the summary.
Rating: Gen
Warnings: none
Characters: Fox Mulder and Dana Scully
Spoilers: Scully's abduction arc, so through "One Breath"
Keywords: Angst. Christmas.
Summary: Scully has recovered from her ordeal and is ready to return to work, as Mulder's partner on the X-Files. Mulder isn't ready but it's not for the reason Scully suspects.

Also at Gossamer.

"This House is Burning" is flat-out the best Profiler!Mulder series I've ever read. Tesla's writing style flows effortlessly, and is, by turns, unobtrusive and lyrical. Her Mulder is both much more competent at his job and much less crazy than he's often written, which is a welcome relief. But THIB is more than a series of meticulously constructed casefics, it's also a believable, emotionally involving Mulder/Scully romance. So let's see: great writing? Check. Exciting plot? Check. Scorching hot sex scenes? Check, check, check.

This House is Burning by Tesla
Part 1: Blood on the Snow
Part 2: A Thief's Diet
Part 3: The Quiet Glades of Eden

You can also read these at Gossamer.

My last rec is also by Tesla. (I should probably just give Tesla, Kipler and syntax6 their own tags, I rec them so often.)

Tesla claims "Sense Memory" doesn't have a plot but I beg to differ. Why, heck. It even has an X-File. No spoilers, set during an unspecified early season, which to me means season two. Why? Because I said so. It's funny. It's short. It's sexy. It's even, dare I say it, rather romantic.

Sense Memory by Tesla
Rating: R. Smut.
Spoilers: None, but set really early in the series.
Keyword: MSR, PWP...
Summary: none provided. (Wendelah's note: none needed)

Also at Gossamer.