Musings of a Fanfic Reading Fan

While "Born Again" isn't the season's best episode, it's hardly the worst. There were some things to like: the creepy performance of the child actor playing Michelle Bishop; all of the quirky visual elements to the case--the mutilated dolls, the Noah's Ark painting with the origami animals, the fish tank with the little diver. I thought Mulder seeing the image of the diver superimposed on the video-recording and his explanation for it--a documented case of someone who could create the image on film with their mind--was cool. Mulder's brain is like an encyclopedia of the weird and unexplained.



( More about Born Again )

It made me uncomfortable to see how much Mulder's obsessions can blind him. What I wanted from an episode tag was a story that dealt honestly with the tension between Mulder and Scully, a fic that didn't smooth things over too easily. I wanted to see the anger spill over, perhaps affect their working relationship in some way. If that story exists, I haven't read it. But I do have a couple of fics which are set during season one to rec.

A Three Fish Man (762 words) by leiascully
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The X-Files
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully
Additional Tags: Pets, Fluff
Summary:

It wasn't a big change in his life when Scully moved in to the office.

What it says on the label. I've always had a weakness for Mulder's fish. And hey, the aquarium in "Born Again" played an important role as the murder weapon.

Waiting for Agent Right by Kel
Feedback: ckelll@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully aren't mine, unless you count the action figures. [from FTF] In which case I own Mulder, Scully, the alien, and that poor firefighter.
Rating: PG
Keywords: MS Friendship, drunkfic
Category: Story, humor
Thanks: To Erin and Trelawney for the beta-reading. Their comments are so good that I'm frequently forced to steal them verbatim.
Summary: Killing time in an anonymous airport. Mulder wants a toaster.
Spoilers: Set in the first season. Definite spoiler for Travelers. Little one for Tooms, and some minor foreshadowing for Tempus Fugit.

Okay, so this fic has no connection whatsoever to "Born Again," but it is set during the first season. I doubt Mulder and Scully drove all the way to Buffalo, New York from Washington D.C. and back again, so you could imagine this as a post-ep. And it's Kel, and she brings the funny like no one else, before or since.

KEL I MISS YOU COME BACK.

"Come on, Scully, it’ll be a nice trip to the forest."

Fox Mulder, of all people, should know there is no such thing, at least not on this show. Even if the teaser hadn't shown us what's waiting for them up in Washington State, Mulder's invitation to Scully would feel ominous. In folklore and fairytales, the forest is occasionally a magical refuge, but more often it's a place of mystery and danger. Hansel and Gretel get sent into the woods to die, and they nearly do. So do Mulder and Scully.

( More about Darkness Falls )

FANFICTION RECS:

In 2015, I read or skimmed everything that's listed in the spoilers section at Gossamer as well as what came up via AO3 and Google search. I don't like hurt/comfort fic on general principles, plus I can't imagine a less promising scenario for romance than nearly being eaten alive by mites. (shudders).

This year, I found something to rec! Since 2015, Scullywolf has been writing a series of missing scene fics., beginning shortly after season ten was announced. She's up to Je Souhaite. If she keeps going, maybe I'll start 201daysofxfiles up again with season eight.

Darkness Falls (1935 words) by scullywolf
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: The X-Files
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Characters: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully
Additional Tags: Missing Scene, MSR, UST
Series: Part 20 of TXF: Scenes in Between


And one truly amazing piece of art. Truly: Stand Aside, I'm a Medical Doctor by Suzanne Flash.

Though it's not the worst episode of season one, "Miracle Man" doesn't work for me. It's a leaden mash-up of religious clichés and cultural stereotypes for everyone from the Evil Southern Sheriff to the Bitter Disabled Guy. The pacing is slow, the direction is pedestrian. The ending with its relentless Christian symbolism is heavy-handed and ambiguous. Okay, this is The X-Files; ambiguity does come with the territory. Sigh.

( More about Miracle Man )

Fanfic Recs:

"Doubting Thomas" was originally posted to alt.tv.x-files.creative some time before November 1994, according to Fanlore. It was written by Pat Gonzales, "Keeper of the X-Files Creative FAQ" at the time. It's her only story archived on Gossamer; I have no idea whether it's the only fic she wrote. Just out of curiosity, I'm going to try to track down all of the fics on the list: 11/04/94.

Doubting Thomas by Pat Gonzales
Rated G | 15K | Category VA | Archived 95-03-24
Spoilers: Miracle Man
Keywords: (none specified by the author)
Summary: Mulder and Samuel Hartley meet again.

I could have saved this for "Closure," but unless you're watching for the first time and are avoiding spoilers for the rest of the series, there's no reason not to read this now. "Anima Sola" is one of my favorite Samantha Mulder stories. I particularly love the section that references "Miracle Man." This fic should have all the kudos but like most gen fic written in the past few years, it's been ignored in favor of MSR. I try not to be bitter, Wendelah mutters. TRY HARDER, the fandom advises.

Anima Sola (2426 words) by secondsflat
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The X-Files
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Samantha Mulder
Additional Tags: Angst, Closure, Paper Hearts, Conduit, Miracle Man, Colony, End Game, Episode: s04e05 The Field Where I Died, Character Study
Summary:

Samantha, to Scully, is a collection of feelings.

Another from leiascully's The FBI's Most Unwanted.

Miracle Man (966 words) by leiascully
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The X-Files
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully
Additional Tags: Christianity, Miracles, Episode Related
Series: Part 20 of The FBI's Most Unwanted
Summary:

He wondered if Scully felt she'd muddied the river of her faith, working with him.

The game plan for "Young at Heart" must have been to see how many clichés they could jam into one episode, in between the plotholes. A former colleague of Mulder's bites the dust—check! Scully is put in jeopardy—twice—check! Rookie Mulder follows protocol and someone dies—check! And putting Mulder in exactly the same situation with Barnett so that this time around he can go against the rules and take the shot—could you be more predictable, Chris Carter?

Instead of wasting time with a rehash of the courtroom scene, they could have told us more about the secret laboratories in Mexico and South America. I'm puzzled. I can believe the lack of government oversight. Taxpayer dollars get flushed down the toilet every day. But what about those Other Investors Who Shall Remain Nameless? They've been paying for this research but they've never seen any of it? This pattern demonstrates a clear lack of accountability to their shareholders! Since Barnett was the only success story, and Dr. Ridley couldn't even figure out how to save himself from the side effects of his treatment, of what real value is his much-vaunted research, especially since he won't be around to carry it on?

FYI, there are four Level One trauma centers in Washington D.C. so there would be no need for the government to fly in trauma specialists to try to save Barnett's life. I could ask this same question every single week: Was there no one with any background in medicine willing to look at these scripts? Hell, I would have done it for free. Okay, I would have done it for cheap. And they never do explain how Barnett got out of prison, or where's he's been hiding out, waiting to exact his revenge on Mulder.

FANFICTION RECS:

There are no post-eps that I'd recommend, so let's go in a different direction. Since the pre-X-Files story in "Young at Heart" was such a waste of time, let me suggest a couple of fics in that genre.

I enjoy Joann Humby's writing, particularly her casefiles. If you like this fic, you can check out the others in this section: Pre X-Files. You can also read most of her fic at Gossamer.

"A Case of Compromise" by Joann Humby
Rating - PG
Classification - X
Summary: It’s 1991, Mulder has the X-Files and no partner. Scully is working at Quantico. A Senator’s daughter goes missing and life gets difficult.

Author's note: While there are no actual spoilers in here, the story is consistent with Mulder’s and Scully’s histories as revealed up to the end of season 5. It explains some of what led to Scully’s assignment to the X-Files.

This next fic has some—peculiar—XF fic tropes, including the one about the enormity of Mulder's cock, but otherwise it's a sweet, sad ring-fic, which nicely fills in that odd gap in Mulder's backstory between high school graduation and attending Oxford.

"Angie" by OneMillionandNine
Rating: hard-R
Category: Mostly pre-XF, MSR, M/O in retrospect
Summary: The truth about Mulder's marriage.
Notes: Thanks to MaybeAmanda for asking good questions and keeping me from posting fic that looks like it was done by e.e. cummings on mescaline.

Critical reaction to this episode is mixed. To be frank, my reaction to it is mixed. I don't know if the people who're watching TV on their iPhones and tablets can tell what I'm talking about but once they get out of the basement, nearly every shot is framed perfectly. This was Rob Bowen's first outing as a director for The X-Files. He's generally credited with pushing the look of the series toward the cinematic. The scenes in the woods are breathtaking, the Kindred look like they walked out of "American Gothic"--the painting, not the series. Mark Snow's score is just the right balance of atmospheric and creepy.

That's the good news. The bad news is there's some really dodgy content in "Gender Bender." After reading through a good half dozen reviews, the only TV critic who was willing (or able?) to focus on the story in view of its cultural context is Darren Mooney over at the m0vie blog.

To be fair to writers Larry and Paul Barber, their mess of a script contains a rake of fascinating ideas – even if it’s never entirely sure what to do with those ideas. Gender Bender doesn’t really work as a story, but it’s infinitely fascinating as a collection of nineties anxieties. From the opening scene in the rave club, Gender Bender feels very much of its time – an artifact of the early nineties, a capsule containing a whole host of uncertainties and insecurities.

His review is more insightful than anything I could manage. You should read it. In fact, you should go read them all. He's in the middle of season six. The X-Files: Gender Bender (Review)

Fanfic Recs:

Because the episode is focused on sex, unsurprisingly most of the post-eps are about sex. My problem with every fic, including these two, is that no one wanted to deal with the issue of consent. Here's a typical summary: "Scully is still feeling the effects of the brethren. Mulder helps her through it. Smut ensues." I don't want to sound like I'm judging anyone, but, personally, I find the idea of Mulder having sex with Scully while she's clearly unable to consent to be a major turn-off. I don't even find it convincing as a premise. Sex pollen stories aren't sexy to me either, but at least the way that trope is generally written, it's obvious that no one is consenting. On the other hand, the spoiler section at Gossamer for "Gender Bender" could have just what you're looking for in fic. If so, knock yourself out.

Clay by Brighid
Spoilers: Spoilers for "Gender Bender"
Rating: R
Category: V
Keywords: Post-episode
Summary: Scully and the Last Temptation

What works in this story is Brighid's clever backstory for the Kindred, and her vivid use of language. The Last Temptation of Scully sections fall flat for me. However, her story about the Kindred made a lot more sense than the episode itself.

Second Thoughts by bardsmaid
Spoilers: Genderbender
Rating: worksafe
Classification: Vignette, 155 words
Summary: Home safely from their encounter with The Kindred, Scully puzzles over what happened.

What the summary says. It doesn't address consent, but at least it doesn't turn Scully nearly being raped into an excuse for porn. It makes it clear how disturbing this case must have been for Scully, and it's only 155 words. Bravo, Bardsmaid.

I like back story but this one seemed...off. Phoebe Green, “game-player extraordinaire,” is an unlikely ex-girlfriend for “the truth is out there” Spooky Mulder. Poor Mulder is too preoccupied with his ex-girlfriend to work on her three-pipe problem. Good grief, he practically swoons when Phoebe hints he can spend the night with her. Fortunately, he has Scully to pick up the slack. Agent Scully uses old-fashioned detective work to solve the case, which, of course, made me very happy.

Amanda Pays is enjoyable as Phoebe. The truly ancient among us may remember her as Theodora Jones in Max Headroom. Mark Sheppard does extra creepy (and extra crispy) as Cecil L'Ively. Sheppard has been in everything, most recently as Crowley in SPN. David Duchovny provides the eye-candy again. Did Shirtless Mulder become a regular thing? I should start keeping a tally.

I was surprised by how many post-eps there were for "Fire," and by how many of them I actually liked.

I'd love to read a fic where Phoebe Green was just in an ordinary, failed college relationship with Mulder. This is not that story but it's a fun, creepy, and sexy pre-x-files fic.

Dead Romantic by ML
Email: msnsc21@yahoo.com
Feedback: appreciated and always responded to
Timeline: pre-XF
Rating: adults only, please
Synopsis: Phoebe takes Mulder on a mystery tour.
Disclaimer: They are not mine.
Note: This is a continuation of the vignette, At the Cross Keys. However, this can stand alone if you haven't read that one yet.

Many thanks to beta Carol, who gave me the correct quote and set me on a path that ended up being much more interesting than the original!

Dead of Winter by Jane Lumley
Rated NC-17 | 202K (both parts) | Category SA | Archived 99-08-24
Spoilers: Fire
Keywords: Mulder/other romance. Pre-XF.

Summary: In Oxford, in 1983, two men are obsessed with a brilliant psychology tutor. One is a killer who likes the feel of warm blood. The other is a vulnerable undergraduate called Fox Mulder. Which of them will finally possess her?

The author was at Oxford at the same time as Mulder, although she admits to taking liberties with the setting for the sake of her plot. When Fox Mulder put on "a jumper," I knew she wasn't an American. (We call them sweaters or pullovers.) Also, Mulder is not from the Maritimes. That's still in Canada as far as I know. Nit-picking aside, "Dead of Winter" is Profiler!Mulder: The Oxford Years.

Embers by Foxsong
Rated PG | 16K | Category | Archived 02-02-13
Spoilers: Fire
Keywords: Pre-XF. Post-episode.
Summary: When I was a kid, and my best friend's house burned down, I had to spend the night in the rubble to keep away looters.

"When I was a kid, my best friend's house burned down. Had to spend the night in the rubble to keep away looters. For years, I had nightmares about being trapped in a burning building."

Mulder's story about being afraid of fire didn't quite ring true. The truth had to have be more complicated. Foxsong uses second person POV for this story, an unusual choice, but one which works very well. Her website was preserved on reocities: The Foxsong Files. Her fic is also archived at Gossamer, if you prefer plain text to Geocities Retro.

one plus one equals zero by Khyber
Rated NC-17 | 13K | Category VA | Archived 05-11-13
Spoilers: Er, "Fire," and the orgy scene in "Detour II." What, you haven't seen that one?
Keywords: Mulder/Scully/other sex. Scully/other sex. Slash.

Summary: Scully finds it harder than it used to be.

This is not MSR, and it's not exactly femslash either. What it is, is a scorching hot, twisted, sexual fantasy threesome. I consider Khyber to be one of the best writers (no longer) in our fandom. He wrote complicated plots, complex characters, both canon and original, witty dialogue, and really hot sex. Though he ships Mulder and Scully, and some of his stories are humorous, his version of them is kind of messed up, psychologically speaking.

Madeleine by Amalnahurriyeh
Pairing: Mulder/OMC; Mulder/Scully
Rating: R (nonexplicit sex)
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: (if any) Written for a prompt for queer_fest 2011, "Mulder's Oxford girlfriend showing up was a disaster. His Oxford boyfriend, less so." Posted for the queer_fest 2012 Free For All, and for xf_is_love. (I'm efficient and/or lazy.)

Title after Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past; a good explanation here, complete with baking discussion, and the full quote here. [wendelah note: it links from her post] Gayest possible literary reference, y/mfy?

This is by another of my favorite writers (no longer) in the fandom. Amal ships Mulder and Scully so this fic, like all of her X-Files slash, ends with her OTP. I loved her Sebastian so much I was hoping she'd write more fic for him. Alas, she began writing for Sherlock BBC instead. Grumpy Wendy is grumpy.

"Fallen Angel" introduces one of The X-Files' most memorable characters: Max Fenig. Max is a transient who lives in a small trailer and follows the police and military frequencies using an elaborate array of radio equipment. He's a member of NICAP, which he proudly tells Mulder stands for the National Investigative Committee of Aerial Phenomenon. After Mulder finds him in his trailer having convulsions, Max tells Mulder that he's had epilepsy since the age of ten. By the end of "Fallen Angel," Mulder has concluded that Max is a multiple abductee.

Because the UFO community has been following Mulder's career since he began working with the X-Files, we learn from Max that Mulder published an article in Omni under the pseudonym "M. Luder." Mulder is surprised Max knows who he is, and to learn that anyone was paying attention. But as Max reminds him, "Someone is always paying attention, Mr. Mulder."

Max refers to Mulder's partner as "the enigmatic Agent Scully," which was quickly transformed in fanon into "the Enigmatic Doctor Scully," for reasons lost in the annals of fandom. As you might imagine, Agent Doctor Scully is less than amused.

These alien beings must have personal stealth technology; otherwise, why can they only be seen via heat-sensing technology? Do the aliens have the ability to emit radiation at will or is that some sort of a weapon? Based on no evidence whatsoever, Mulder is quick to assume the alien has benign intentions and that it's only trying to protect itself from the military. But, it didn't kill Mulder, and it certainly had the opportunity to do so in the warehouse before Max was beamed up to the mothership.

As a consequence of his shenanigans, the FBI should have fired Mulder. There must be two factions within the organization: one pro-Mulder, and one that's anti-Mulder. "Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer," Deep Throat tells Section Chief McGrath. Yeah, right. I also had to laugh when McGrath informs Deep Throat that he's "ruined the last best chance we had to get rid of him." McGrath must have meant the last best chance the FBI will have to get rid of Mulder--until he does something else really stupid--like next week, for example.

FANFIC RECS

Sadly, specific to "Fallen Angel," there is nothing I'd recommend. I looked through all of the usual places and some I hadn't ventured to in years. My conclusion: there isn't nearly enough fanfic written for the first season, really for the first three seasons. Let's get on that, shall we? But I did run into this little crossover with Doctor Who.

Title: Space Enough and Time
Author: MaybeAmanda (Amanda Wilde)
Email: maybe_underscore_a at rocketmail dot com
Categories: Crossover (X-Files/Dr Who (2005)
Word Count: ~7500
Rating: PG. Yeah, really.
Timeline: Very very very very very early Season One (XF), Ten and Rose, whenever. (Dr. Who)
Spoilers: Not really. (Wendelah's note: It does take place after "Fallen Angel."

Summary: Scully, Mulder, The Doctor, Rose, and the TARDIS.

AGAIN: VERY early Season One X-Files. That is key!

Next up is "Eve."

“Ice” has it all: sex, violence, black humor, bad science, plenty of opportunities for scenery chewing, and some of the tensest scenes between Mulder and Scully of the entire series. It also contains my favorite retro-nineties fashion moment from season one: Dana Scully standing there wearing her gigantic puffy coat. She looks all of thirteen.

Does anyone else think that Mulder and Scully have switched roles a little bit in this episode? He’s the one who’s really interested in studying the organism, not that he has any credentials to do so. Her scientific curiosity is dormant, over-ridden by fear, perhaps.

The scene where Mulder and Scully neck-check each other for parasites is everyone's favorite of the episode. Where they see sexual charge, I see menace. What I like about leiascully's episode tag is that it gives the reader a bit of both.

Ice (795 words) by leiascully
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The X-Files
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Dana Scully, Fox Mulder
Additional Tags: Episode Related, Touching, Cold Weather
Series: Part 9 of The FBI's Most Unwanted
Summary:

She had drawn her weapon to face down Mulder, knowing he would yield to no one but her, hoping it was the right choice.

The details about small village life in Alaska give this story a unique sense of place. Bugs' best known fic from the fandom's heyday was Butterflies All Tied Up, which the XF Book Club discussed back in 2010. She's moved on to writing in other fandoms, most recently Hannibal.

Ice Water in Her Veins (1277 words) by bugsfic
Fandom: The X-Files
Rating: Gen
Warnings: None
Characters: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully
Summary: After the events of "Ice," Mulder and Scully can't seem to get out of Alaska, forcing them to have one of those chats no one likes to have without indoor plumbing or any sleep.

"Everywhere in the Dark" is a believable, emotionally resonant, and canon-compliant missing scene for "Ice." She should probably have her own tag here since everything tree's written will end up getting recced by the time this project is completed.

Everywhere in the Dark (2949 words) by tree
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The X-Files
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Characters: Dana Scully, Fox Mulder
Additional Tags: UST, Missing Scene, Ice
Summary:

A missing scene from Ice. What happened between saying goodnight and Mulder finding Murphy? This is one possibility.

Though a season six story, "How to Fake an Orgasm" is tagged as "Jersey Devil Redux." I like the way V. Salmone portrays Mulder and Scully as normal people, who go out on dates and try to have a social life. Setting this story during a time when the X-Files has been taken away from shut them makes perfect sense. While X-Files Mulder would not be playing hooky, Shit Detail Mulder, who hates doing those background checks almost as much as he hates working for Kersh, seems like a good candidate for a two-hour-lunch and some serial dating.

How to Fake an Orgasm (23755 words) by Punk, Sab
Chapters: 11/11
Fandom: The X-Files
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully, Fox Mulder/Original Female Character
Characters: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Original Female Character
Additional Tags: First Time, V. Salmone, Co-Written, punkensab, POV Alternating, Thanksgiving, Case Fic, Jersey Devil Redux
Summary:

Mulder, Scully, and the other woman.

Written as V. Salmone.

The story is full of delightful Mulder/Scully banter, with many classic moments, like this one when Scully catches Mulder playing computer games.

Scully reached a hand around and pulled Mulder's monitor to face her. The wrong Tetris shape slid down the screen to balance inappropriately on a growing center tower. "Well, thank god you're taking care of the Tetris portion of our assignment," Scully said, spinning the monitor back toward Mulder. "I was really hoping you'd take it off my hands."

Another thing I like about this story is that Mulder doesn't get all of the funny lines.

This was very carefully written and yet it doesn't feel over-written or forced. Okay, I love this fic so I can go on and on about it, but the bottom line is that unless you're allergic to Mulder/Other leading to MSR, you'll enjoy this romantic comedy.

I don’t have much to say about this episode that hasn’t been said before. I like it despite the fact that the plot literally hangs on the necklace around Scully’s neck, a necklace which, need I add, will never be seen again.

Problem number one: Would any man, let alone Fox Mulder, reach toward a woman’s breast and pick up her necklace in that creepy fashion? But the writer is forced to call the viewer’s attention to it because Mulder spotting the necklace amid Tooms' trophy pile is the key to his realization that Scully is in danger, allowing him to rush to her rescue. Problem number two: Unlike Tooms' other victims, Scully is an FBI agent. She has a gun in her hand. She could just shoot Tooms, eliminating the need for Mulder to rescue her in the first place. Problem number three: How the heck did Tooms get the damned necklace off Scully's neck without her noticing?

Enough with the nit-picking.

Alchemy (1757 words) by tree
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The X-Files
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully
Additional Tags: UST, post-episode, Squeeze
Summary:

Alchemy (noun) figurative: a process by which paradoxical results are achieved or incompatible elements combined with no obvious rational explanation.

This is my favorite post-ep for "Squeeze." She’s never made a secret of the fact that Scully is her favorite, but tree writes Fox Mulder as well as anyone in the fandom. She always looks deeper into the characters, too. Whereas in "Beginning," Jess M writes funny masturbation fic, drawing on Scully's obvious physical attraction to Mulder, tree shows us the isolation and vulnerability behind Mulder's smart ass persona. Right from the start, he is drawn to Scully, but what makes the fic so memorable is seeing his ambivalence toward her. PERFECT FIC IS PERFECT. Go read it.