House of Life by Xenith

21,000 Words

House of Life cover

Mulder and Scully investigate a mummy which got up, unwrapped itself then took a bus from its museum, despite a dream Skinner has which predicts disaster if they pursue it.

Includes epilogue by Ravenwald & Wylfcynne as an optional extra.

!CW: dubcon, character death

I really don't have enough of Xenith's stories here. She wrote many a fabulous torture-smut story. I've been meaning to post Abattoir here for a long time but I haven't managed to wrangle all the multiple follow-up fics to that one yet. I was doing that right before the Great Hard Drive Crash of 2021, so I need to go back and find out where I was at with it.

In the meantime this is another angsty fic. This one is nowhere near as torturous as Abattoir (not many fics are to be fair). The dubcon in this one is definitely a LOT milder.  Skinner accompanies them on the case as he's concerned after his dream, so he's there to witness some post-coital panic. I love me some Skinner!discovery.

Everything That Really Matters by Dyann Z

20,000 Words

Everything that Really Matters cover

The passage of time has a way of making everything all right.

Don't be too worried about the Character Death or Scully/Other tags 🙂

Seeing as I'm stuck in Tropical North Queensland for a while, I felt it only fitting that I bring you all along with me. This fic is set about 20km (13mi) south of where I am now. It's actually a tiny little village with about 4 streets, and no actual 'downtown' but obviously fictional liberties have been taken.  I have included a few photos to give you a feel for it. I actually took some more of the beach itself on my last visit here but they were among the ones I accidentally deleted it seems.

Last time I stopped for Fish & Chips there there was a "Recent Crocodile Sighting" warning sign on entry to the beach.  While Scully and William had a nice time on the beach, it's not quite that relaxing when you have to watch out for saltwater crocodiles and cassowaries, and it's also not wise to swim in the water without wearing a stinger-suit because of marine stingers. Typical Australia where everything is out to kill you.  It really is a beautiful part of the world though with tropical rainforest coming right down to glorious white beaches, so I'll allow Dyann her artistic license.  [SPOILER] I can see why Mulder would want to live there, although I think he might prefer the remoteness of north of the Daintree River, where I am now, where it's off the grid, and where clothing is just a nuisance half the year when it's pouring with rain and/or the humidity is so high that nothing dries, and there are vast tracts of rainforest between h0uses. 😉 You just have to put up with bad satellite internet 😀 [/SPOILER]

As far as the story goes, it's set after Mulder leaves at the beginning of Season 9 - it goes off into its own dimension shortly afterwards, so the further events of Season 9 and everything that follows have all just ceased to exist. I love fanfic.  Don't worry about the Character Death warning, this is the X-Files  🙂

Ghost of You (The) by Julie Fortune

10,500 Words

Ghost of You cover

A body fell from a great height.  But no one knows who it is or where it came from.

This is a truly magnificent work of fiction, featuring Pissy!Scully and SomewhatObliviousButTrying!Mulder. I guarantee that you'll want to read it more than once.

I've been meaning to post some Julie Fortune fics for so long that I was sure I'd already done so. Apparently not. This is a massive oversight that I'll have to make up for.

Complications Trilogy by Sarah Kiley

308,000 Words

Complications Cover

Complications: After Mulder is in a car accident, Scully continues her investigation in an effort to save him.

Second Chances: Four months after being arrested, Mulder breaks out of prison and seeks Scully's help in clearing his name. To do so, they must make a cross-country trip on the run from the law while Scully has second thoughts about marrying another man. Could this be Mulder and Scully's second chance?

Last Dance: Mulder's messing with something he shouldn't be.

This is an epic early story, beginning in Season 2, so it involves some characters  who never made it far into Season 3.  It's quite a complicated story, to match its name, as it involves time travel and parallel universes, which always make my head spin. It can get quite concerning MSR-wise at points, but you have to trust that they'll find a way.  But I admit to being very glad that an epilogue was added...

All covers are by Sarah.

Another cover for Complications, this one's from the Annex.

 

Blood of Angels by LoneGunGuy

68,000 Words

Blood of Angels cover

"History is not written in books, Agent Scully, but in an alphabet of human suffering. Every death leaves its mark upon the aether, burnt into the astral plane, scorched into the very fabric of the universe—a textbook accessible to any man who is willing to annihilate himself in its pursuit. History is a manuscript written on the clouds. Authored by the blood of angels.”

As Scully lies on the sidewalk, dead, Mulder holds the murder weapon in his hands and knows that he must have had a damned good reason for killing her....if only he could remember what it was....A bizarre, labyrinthine mystery with darkly comic overtones.

This is an early X-Files fanfic classic, written by the talented LoneGunGuy in 1996.  This one isn't for the faint of heart, it can get dark. With imaginations as twisted as those of some fanfic authors, I'm so glad they're putting them into good use rather than letting them roam the streets creating havoc. 😉

I can have mixed feelings regarding the mytharc on the show that makes me shy away from reading stories dealing with aliens and cloning and all that stuff, but there are many, like this one, that blow it out of the water.

Sadly, to my knowledge, a sequel to this story was never forthcoming.

Hearts on the Mend Series by Bellefleur

47,000 Words

Hearts on the Mend cover

After a personal tragedy has torn them apart, Mulder and Scully wonder if their relationship is broken beyond repair.

This is an AU in that it makes no reference to Season 8 or 9, but William exists. Lots of angst. I like it to hurt 😉 But there is a happy ending.

Also, Mulder is as bad a psychologist as he is in canon.

Barnyard Series by Dark Nascent

49,000 Words

Barnyard Cover

The complete Barnyard Series

  • Lambs to the Slaughter: Your strongest enemy is one who has nothing left to lose. You know how important Agent Mulder is to the equation. You don't want to turn one man's fight into a crusade. Excuses, excuses.
  • Said the Spider to the Fly: The truth about Samantha Mulder. Or: Nascent develops her split personality.
  • From Ass to Zebra: Okay. So what if, like, Vince Gilligan was me, and I was Vince? I am he, and he is me, and we are all together! Step aside, Vinzeno. Let D.N. show you how it's DONE.
  • Cockfighting: Guess
  • Swine of the Prodigal Son: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday's gonna be all right.
  • Cattle Chutes:  You remember that game "Chutes and Ladders?" If not, you're old. I bet Mulder and Scully play really well.
  • EIEIO: The truth is out there.

!Content Warning: Character deaths - everyone dies, often more than once, in multiple ways, but it is humour.  There's also slash in "Cockfighting", but nothing graphic.

Have you ever wanted to be immunised against the anguish of character death? Well this is the series for you.

Nascent's evil side takes over and she goes on a rampage of character death, in a multitude of imaginative ways.  Both beloved and detested characters suffer at the hands of Dark Nascent, and I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times.

Nascent breaks all the fanfic rules with this series, but she pulls it off magnificently.

Covenant by Rhondda Lake

27,500 Words

Covenant cover

Covenant:  Mulder & Scully have to come to term with some changes.  Takes place before Leonard Betts.

Covenant II: Monsters: Sequel to "Covenant". While exploring all the levels of their 'new' partnership Scully takes on a case involving deaths strange enough no one can deny they are X-Files. Their only link, abused children. Their only lead. A child who can see Mulder. Not all Monsters live in closets.

Covenant III: Death and the Maiden: This is a bonus extra for those who can't get enough glowing blue Mulder, but it WAS NEVER COMPLETED. The extra 7,000 words are not included in the overall word count.

This is a classic fic by Rhondda, but I never knew it continued after the original story until it was mentioned recently on facebook.  I then discovered a part 3, but sadly it was shelved so Rhondda could finish other ongoing stories and never picked back up. Consequently you won't find it online.

I'm pretty sure JJ (cover artist) is Julie Jekel, but I'm too tired to delve into confirming that right now.

Plague by Eponine119

42,000 Words

Plague cover

Summary in one short sentence: Mulder and Scully are spared from a
plague that sweeps the earth.

Author's note: This is a long story. It is set after Memento Mori, but
before Gethsemane. [Actually, Gethsemane wouldn't have happened if this
had.] Mostly it would fall into the category of angst, but it has a
little bit of just about everything: Mulder/Scully romance including
sex, mythology, a plot, and a [sort of] crossover.

!Plenty of character deaths, but not the two that matter most.

You may not wish to read plague-fic during a global pandemic, but eponine119 couldn't have possibly imagined what it's like for many people right now. This fic bears no resemblance to our current circumstances and might help you appreciate that whilst Covid-19 has been turned into a ridiculous political  soap-opera, at least we weren't all wiped out in days. 🙂

I assume that the cover image (the important part of it, below) was made by Eponine119

.

 

I'm getting closer to fixing everything, but there may still be temporary breakages as I'm still doing long-overduebackground stuff. Thanks for being patient.
+