flywoman | Entries tagged with the x-files

In honor of Poetry Month, the best of my few fanfic poems (as opposed to filksongs). First published in 1998. Yes, I am old.

Title: Mything
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 231
Character(s): Samantha Mulder
Summary: A recounting of her abduction and the intervening years from Samantha's POV.

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Ganked this from

footballslash. It's supposed to reflect football slash fics written this year, but I'm a gonna list fics I wrote in any fandom, any year, and you should feel free to do the same.

( The meme... )

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: ~1700 words
Warning: Character death

Author on LJ:

jennyo
Author Website: Jennifer-Oksana's

Why this must be read:
The canonical character of Fox Mulder skirts the edge of sanity for much of the series, and one favorite fanfiction trope is the last push that finally sends him over. Jennifer-Oksana in particular is an accomplished explorer of madness, and it was a tough choice between her Hitchcock crossover Dress-Up Doll and this piece, but Before I Forget Blue has received recognition as a "dark" fic to be reckoned with. What I like the most about it is the way that it deftly leads the reader through mounting horror as we, but not Mulder, come to understand what has gone down.

Before I Forget Blue

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: Part 1: 36,000 words; series: 272,000 words
Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence for series; rape/non-con in Part 2

Author on LJ:

mustangsally78 and

rivkat
Author Website: rivkat's page on An Archive of Our Own

Why this must be read: This epic series is epic, and a classic in the fandom. It's also highly controversial for its explicit violence, its uncompromising characterization of Scully, and its dark depiction of the Mulder/Scully relationship. So it's perfect for

crack_van - so much so that I could not believe it hadn't been recommended here already. What's it about? Briefly, it was conceived in feminist rage over the violations of Scully's reproductive rights in the series, it's about Scully and Mulder's investigations into genetic experiments performed over decades by the Consortium, and the first part is named for an island mentioned in the Greek tragedy Medea... which should probably serve as a warning in itself.

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The Iolokus Series

Fandom: THE X-FILES/The West Wing
Pairing: None
Length: 2700 words

Author on LJ:

flambeau
Author Website: the flambeau factory

Why this must be read: torch is well known for her steamy Krycek-centric fics. This hilarious crossover features our favorite one-armed double agent, but in a new context: making an appointment with Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman to make sure that the current administration isn't about to rock the boat. Krycek's actual appearance is brief, but the banter between Josh, his assistant Donna, and his friend Sam is just terrific.

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Lies, Damn Lies, and Agriculture

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: ~3500 words

Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Author's Page on Gossamer

Why this must be read:

Frohike accidentally plays Cyrano de Bergerac. MSR ensues.

Back in the day, this story was highlighted by many authors as their favorite humor fic of all time. It won the 1996 Spooky for Best Humor Story (and Second Place for Best Presentation of a Recurring Character).

And after you've read this, check out all of MP's other award-winning stories. (That didn't really count as multiple recs, did it?)

A Hacker's Tale (please scroll down)

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully friendship/UST
Length: ~5000 words
Warning: Character death. Lots of it. And how.

Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Flywoman and Nascent Fanfiction (please scroll down)

Why this must be read:

Nascent was one of my first friends in the fandom, and quickly became my mutual beta, collaborator, and even roommate on Geocities. She is justly famed for her novel-length casefics, including Theory and Practice, which has already been recced here on

crack_van. But this piece, "Lambs to the Slaughter," is the first in her Barnyard series, a hilarious mixture of philosophy, black humor, and Mulder/Scully UST, appropriately penned under the "Dark Nascent" moniker. Read it and weep. Or laugh. Whatever.

Lambs to the Slaughter

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Warning: Genderswap, crack!fic
Length: ~8300 words

Author on LJ:

jennyo
Author Website: Jennifer-Oksana's

Why this must be read:

This is another favorite from Jenny-O, but an utterly different beast from "Drive, He Said." It's the first genderswap I ever read, written way back when the concept was still at least something of a novelty, and although the cause of their dilemma is an X-File that technically is never solved, you'll be laughing too hard to care.

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This Side of Paradise

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: 1713 words

Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: X-Files Fanfiction

Why this must be read:

If you like dark!fic and haven't read J. C. Sun before, you're in for a treat. This author was well known for her vignettes, sharp and dazzling as shattered stained glass windows. Unlike many of her others, this one wasn't nominated for a Spooky or recommended on Sparky's Doghouse. But it's the one that continues to stick in my mind, especially a certain central, heartbreaking image that for me symbolizes everything that's wrong with the canonical Mulder/Scully relationship. (It's also the story that inspired me to contact this author out of the blue to volunteer my services as her beta.)

Glamour

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Scully/Skinner, Scully/Mulder UST
Length: approx. 60k words

Author on LJ:

notreallyjordan
Author Website: jordan's fic on Gossamer

Why this must be read:

jordan's later story Oyster has already appeared here on

crack_van, but A Cold Angel Eye is a classic, the fic that everyone would point to when a newbie showed up on the boards looking for Sk/Sc. Appropriately, this fic was the 1998 Spooky Awards Winner for Outstanding Skinner/Scully Romance, but it is so much more than that. jordan has created a mesmerizing casefic with creepy supernatural overtones that resonates with the long-ago loss of Mulder's sister and used it to illuminate Scully's heroism as well as her complicated feelings for the two men in her life.

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A Cold Angel Eye (in three parts; please scroll down)

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Gen
Length: 1767 words

Author on LJ:

jennyo
Author Website: Jennifer-Oksana's

Why this must be read:

There's a surprising paucity of fic by Jennifer-Oksana here on

crack_van, considering that she's been one of the most prolific and popular authors in several fandoms. In an attempt to rectify that, and to reveal her remarkable versatility, I'll be recommending several fics by Jenny-O this month, starting with this grim little glimpse of Dana Scully driving alone across the vast American wasteland post-Colonization.

Drive, He Said

Note to friends: I'm driving the

crack_van for The X-Files this month!

*hops into the van* *tosses the Garmin out the window* *rummages through the glove compartment for a battered, dog-eared copy of the Thomas Guide*

It's my first time driving the crack van, and appropriately I'm starting with my first online fandom, The X-Files. Mostly I'll be recommending old favorites from back in the day that haven't quite made it to this archive yet. Also, because I was always a fence-sitter, you can expect less straight MSR and more gen, UST, and alternative character pairings. And away we go!

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: (Author's Summary) Mulder realizes that he is in love with Scully. And Scully realizes that she is in love with ... a Marine.
Length: 7k (with notes)
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: http://krycek.gossamer.org/author/11346-1.html
Why this must be read: This is one of the first fics I read in the fandom, and it's still one of my favorites. Rachel Lee Arlington is better known for her Krycek-centric stories like Rat Trap and The Rat's Tale, but in my opinion, this fic showcases her humor and hotness like nothing else. If you're a big fan of Mulder/Scully UST but not necessarily wedded to their romance, I hope that you'll give it a try. Also, the extensive beginning and ending notes are well worth your time! ;)

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My Baby Just Cares... For Me

I ask because I am recommending XF fic on

crack_van in September. Looking for oldies but goodies from back in the day that have not appeared on their rec lists yet (don't worry about that part - I'll check for whatever you suggest to me). Thanks!

Current Mood: curious

It's difficult to do a crossover well, but when they work, they make me extremely happy :). Please rec any of your own favorites in the comments!
( Favorite Crossovers )

Okay, two disclaimers here.
1) I am mostly (at the moment exclusively) reccing the work of my friends back in the day. That said, they were a pretty awesome bunch and still get recced with great enthusiasm by people who are not me.
2) I have not actually reread most of these stories in their entirety in this century (because they are long, and I have moved on to other obsessions). If you have any more recent favorites... or any other favorites at all... please rec them in the comments :).
( Here goes... )

No, I don't mean "rec my stuff" (although of course I'd be thrilled if you did). I'm requesting your recs for fic, art, and vids for my various fandoms. I think that I've got a pretty good handle on House M.D. at this point, so while I would welcome little-known favorites from that fandom, I am eagerly seeking recs - even the most apparently obvious ones - from Battlestar Galactica (new), Bones, Buffy/Angel, Castle, Firefly, Sherlock BBC, Star Trek (classic or reboot), The Big Bang Theory, The West Wing, and The X-Files.

This is an ongoing request - I am putting a personal favorites recs list together to be regularly updated. You can probably guess what I'd like based on what I write and/or have recced in the past. Funny, angsty, hot, and most importantly, evocative of the show in question. Gen or any pairings as long as it's really well-crafted and in-character. Thanks so much for any pointers!

Current Mood: hopeful

My RL beta and I were chatting about House recently and came up with a theory about why our favorite shows eventually went downhill. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The West Wing, and now House all started out strong by exploring the balance and conflicting demands of life and work, whether that was battling the forces of darkness, working 24/7 to push a political agenda, or attempting to diagnose the patients that no one else could save. Towards the end, though, that balance was lost. Life became wholly consumed by work, or vice versa. As a result, something essential was sacrificed - the friendships, the complex political issues, the medicine.

In my opinion, Buffy only suffered one bad season (its last). I'm really starting to hope that the same is true for House. What I don't want to see is years of staggering on stubbornly despite dismal ratings as one key actor after another deserts a sinking ship (*cough* The X-Files *cough*).

Current Mood: bitchy

I can't believe that it took me so long to discover Crack Van, a searchable multifandom rec site for both fic and fanvid. Here are links to just a few of my favorite vid finds:

A Home (The X-Files, the long road to Mulder/Scully)
UST, angst, and resolution. Clips from the series and second movie mostly, which is as it should be. Reminds me why Gillian Anderson deserved all the prizes.

Defying Gravity (Firefly, ensemble cast)
Fantastic celebration of Serenity and her crew, really captures the spirit of this short-lived, much-mourned show.

White and Nerdy (Bones, supporting characters a la Weird Al Yankovic)
OMG, just so damned cute. I love these guys.

The only problem with videos like these is that they make me want to rewatch all of my favorite series from the beginning, and there's no time for any such thing these days...