Chapters: 1/9 Fandom: The X-Files Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully Characters: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Holman Hardt, Sheila Fontaine Additional Tags: MSR, Post-Episode: s06e08 The Rain King Summary:

When an unusual streak of devastating weather events hits northeast Kansas, the potential for another chapter in the casefile they closed a year ago brings Mulder and Scully back to Kroner.

In the midst of a new investigation, old memories arise: of a shared motel room, and a night they never spoke of…

This is my second Spooky Award post. It's apparently a series! My post about Spookys 1998 is here. The Spooky Awards were the annual awards given to X-Files fan fiction from 1995-2004 (except for 1997). They were voted on by fans and were always a bit contentious. You can read more about this at Fanlore or my previous post on the topic. The award categories changed pretty drastically changed them every year: look how different 2000's are from 1998's! But ... this was apparently a loaded topic. Check out this lively discussion about what the Spookys' categories should be in 1999. Also, there were apparently no 1997 awards because of ballot stuffing during the 1996 Spookys, which seems like it was a whole exciting fandom drama! But I digress.

First choice would be number 7!

Fic: Fragile Balance (1/19)

@calimanc, do you remember sending me this prompt? It was two years ago to the day. I can’t believe how long this took, but it’s finally done! It grew from a short fic of a few thousand word into a novel-length thing with plot, which was unexpected but fun to write. A lot of people have helped me along the way through beta-reading and cheerleading: urlovingfriend, @unremarkablehouse, @bakedbakermom, @baronessblixen, and @bookishscully. Thank you all so much; this fic wouldn’t exist without you! The original prompt came from a list by @cecilysass, so I’m tagging you too! Set in late season 5. This is a finished fic and I will be posting a chapter a day.

Summary:

Following a lead on a case they just can’t seem to solve, an accident leaves Mulder with supernatural powers; the same powers their main suspect seems to posses. In a race against time to stop a series of murders, what could be a key to the case instead puts new obstacles in their way.

Chapter 1 on AO3

Prologue: February 1990

“Did you see who our guest lecturer is?”                                                                                        

“It can’t actually be him, can it?”

“Come on, how many ‘Spooky’ Mulders do you think there could be?”

“I don’t know; it might be a different Agent Mulder.”

“Yeah, ‘cause there are multiple BSU wunderkinds who happen to be named Fox Mulder.”

Dana Scully pushed past the knot of her classmates and into the lecture hall. She knew that having a guest lecturer who was out there in the trenches was exciting, but she couldn’t care less about this guy’s supposed reputation. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, she cared about his record. When his lecture had been announced she had done her research. She looked up which cases he had been on and read through his monograph that helped catch a famous serial killer. The guy was seriously impressive. But all her classmates seemed to care about was gossiping about how “Spooky” Mulder was obsessed with “little green men from outer space.” Dana couldn’t understand how his interests had any bearing on his ability to be an amazing profiler and she was going to learn as much from him as she possibly could.

She found a seat at the front of the room and pulled out her notebook, ready to take notes. She was vaguely aware that the man lounging in the corner of the room was watching her, but she paid him no mind. As the room began to fill around her, she would catch herself glancing up at him, only to notice that his gaze was still firmly on her. She felt a slight blush begin to creep up her cheeks. Luckily, the doors shut and her professor came to the center of the room.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” he said. “Today our guest lecturer is on loan from the BSU over at the Hoover Building. Cadets, please give a warm welcome to Special Agent Fox Mulder."

Dana suppressed a small gasp of surprise as the man in the corner pushed off from the wall and ambled up to the podium. He kept his eyes trained on her as he shuffled some papers before turning to address the rest of the room. She bit her lip and clenched her thighs together while she tried to focus on the lecture, but every time his eyes met hers, she could feel a flutter of arousal deep in her belly.

When the lecture was over, a small crowd of curious cadets swarmed around him. Dana slowly packed up her belongings, still feeling his eyes watching her over the heads of her classmates. As she was finally leaving, she felt a presence right behind her.

“Did you enjoy the lecture?” came a low voice in her ear. She could feel the hairs on her neck rise as his breath tickled her.

“I…” she began, a blush staining her cheeks, “um, yes. It was very informative. I, uh,  actually wanted to ask some clarifying questions though.”

“Really?” he asked. His lips quirked into a cocky smile. “Join me for dinner and you can ask me anything you want.”

“Is that allowed?” She felt her cheeks flush, and she internally cursed her voice for sounding so breathy.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” He chuckled before leaning in conspiratorially. “You have questions, I have answers, and we both need to eat.”

“I…” she gulped. “I have a pathology lab I need to get to.” This time her voice came out too high and she flushed again, heat radiating off her ears.

“Well,” he smiled again, “I did say dinner and it’s a little early for dinner now. I think you can probably manage to do both.”

“Oh, yeah,” she looked down at her feet. “I didn’t think about that.”

“What time is your lab finished?”

“Uh,” she began, biting her lip. “Five.” She wasn’t entirely sure why he was making her so nervous. She felt like she was back in high school and Marcus was asking her to the prom all over again.

“How about we meet up in the main parking lot at five-fifteen?” She wasn’t sure when, but he’d placed his hand on her wrist, and his thumb was drawing gentle circles on the soft skin below her watch.

“Yeah,” she agreed quietly. “I could do that.”

“It’s a date then,” he said with a wink. She felt herself blush again as she nodded and began backing away.

She walked down the hall away from him as calmly as she could. She somehow managed to make it to her lab and though she couldn’t remember any of it, she knew she had attended it. She kept glancing down at her watch, willing the minutes to go by. Finally, the class was over, and Dana began packing up her belongings. She fleetingly thought about blowing Agent Mulder off, but her feet seemed to carry her to parking lot where she’d agreed to meet him of their own volition.

“I wasn’t sure you’d actually make it,” he said with smirk as he saw her approach.

“To be honest,” she looked down at her feet, unable to meet his eyes, “I wasn’t sure if I’d actually make it. I’m still asking myself why I’m here.”

“Well, I’m glad you did,” he said. He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the passenger side of his car, before opening the door for her. She studied his face for a moment before nodding once and sliding into the car.

Read the rest on AO3

Thank you for the ask! I hope you (and everyone else) is doing well. There are lots of multi-chapter fics in my posts of novel-length fic recs: part 1, part 2, part 3. Many of those stories are AU, but here is a list of AU stories. Not all of them are multi-chapter, but they are all great.

This list of AU stories is HUGE, so it’s behind the Keep Reading cut. First, please enjoy this AU-style gif of Mulder and Scully playing house in Arcadia.

I had a third ask for fics about the X-Files episode "This Is Not Happening" but can't find it now (sorry, anon!). Some or all of these asks are pretty old, but hopefully people are still interested. Here are a lot of very good fics involving "This Is Not Happening." Some (most) of these fics are angsty or depressing, a genre of MSR fics I have liked very much over the years.

Here are some very good fics where Mulder and Scully go to a Lone Gunmen party. Enjoy!

die siedler von by kittenscully "Maybe you just like me," Mulder teases. "I dunno what you're talking about." Under his arm, she shifts closer, sweet little face flushed from the whiskey.

far away to the west and south by audries @audriesfic This is what she always thinks of when they are at the gunmen’s: Where the Wild Things Are, an off-brand frat house, a basement lab, Robinson Crusoe, electrical fires, a high school AV club. Outerspace. Jail time for marijuana possession.

Here’s A Hand In Thine by leiascully @leiascully After their Firewalker quarantine, Mulder invites Scully to the Lone Gunmen's New Year's Eve party.

I Put a Spell on You by Sarie_Fairy @sarie-fairy Mulder and Scully get roped into a little moonlighting for The Lone Gunmen at an invitation only Halloween Party. They’re undercover and soon discover that everyone at the party is behaving strangely. Uninhibited. What will they do not to blow their cover? And what happens when you add a little injection of truth serum? Set somewhere around the start of season 6.

Lord of the Flies by lots_of_oranges_outside @lotsoforangesoutside A birthday party.

New Year’s Promises by ScullyLovesQueequeg @suitablyaggrieved The Lone Gunmen are throwing a small party to commemorate the new year and of course, Mulder and Scully were invited. They indulge in a little too much alcohol and share some drunk confessions and hopes for the new year.

Parabiosis by Penumbra @mashnotesofthemythopoeic Science and Mysticism conjoin

radium by Spark_Writer The basement, pencils in the ceiling, guns and monsters and case notes. Scully’s neat little mouth, her pressed skirts and trousers, the clean lines of her collar, her graceful hands moving across her keyboard, her low alto mixing with Mulder’s baritone in practiced rebuttal. Mulder watched her. He thought of Scully, her cancer, her insolvent ova, his fear of losing the X-Files, his fear of losing Scully, his feelings for Scully that ticked ruinously beneath his FBI badge like a bomb. “You,” said Frohike, biting into a burger slathered in caramelized onions, “have to tell her.” “No,” said Mulder. “I can’t. I can’t ruin her life again. I won’t.” Mulder is in love with Scully.

Roll for Initiative by leiascully @leiascully Scully and Mulder attend her birthday party at the Lone Gunmen's headquarters, and then go back to her place for some more private celebrations.

Untitled by @foxmulders times they said hello

Untitled by @soft-thrills TLG catch MSR canoodling

Here are a bunch of very good pre-X-Files fics set sometime before the Pilot. Enjoy!

Came on Lion by amyhit closer than a girl can get / to trouble if she hasn’t yet / got in it

california winter by skuls @ghostbustermelanieking Fox and Samantha Mulder, brother and sister, disappeared from their homes on November 27, 1973. (A shift in the events of Samantha's abduction leads to a very different outcome.)

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

A Change of Cast by Susanne Barringer The unauthorized, uncensored true story of Dana Scully and Jack Willis.

Contingency Plans by bardsmaid 1967. CSM does Teena Mulder a favor. but motives are rarely unselfish.

Dance Card and What Happened After That by Sab The road not taken. / Kept kissing me kept kissing me kept kissing me kept kissing me...

Eleventh Hour by Rachel Anton Some feeling defy the confines of time.

Floreat by LibbyT @libbytxf This is a stand-alone story about Mulder’s first year in Oxford.

For God and Country by ML Family connections are always worth cultivating.

God by Oracle "Why would God allow this to happen? Why do bad things happen to good people? Religion has masqueraded as the paranormal since the dawn of time to justify some of the most horrible acts in history." -- Fox Mulder, 'All Souls'

Gravity Plays Favorites by anythingbutgrey The boyfriend goes quickly and the physics stays. That’s what she likes the most.

Here’s Where the Story Ends by Rebecca Rusnak A random peek at Mulder and Scully's childhoods reveals how it is often the little events that shape us.

Lammtarra by Joann Humby, LuvMulder, and Ruefrex Mulder spirals down into darkness when he begins to believe that an old ISU friend of his, who had apparently committed suicide, was really murdered by a dastardly elusive killer.

mahogany obsidian by eggschiptune For her birthday, Dana Scully meets with her sister for coffee, and they speak about the curious new assignment she's been given.

Moongate by Kel and Michelle Kiefer Bermuda, 1965. Two women, two men. Two sons, one father.

Oklahoma by Amperage and Livingoo (gooligan) It's 1987 and the Oklahoma cops have an unsolvable case. Fox Mulder, golden boy of the VCU, is called in to stop the murders of children across the state. What he finds takes him places he never wanted to go and forces him to make the pivotal choice of his life.

Out of the Shadows by Joann Humby It's 1991 and Mulder is working for Behavioral but is about to get caught up in a string of cases that make him think it's time to leave. Scully is working at Quantico.

Past Imperfect by Joann Humby The FBI wants Mulder to find out what went wrong with Bill Patterson, Bill is keen to talk, but why? Mulder and Scully consider the people who walk into the abyss and the people who they drag down with them.

renegade by skuls @ghostbustermelanieking Why Diana Fowley went over to the other side.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Plausible Deniability The beginning of an affair, before CSM became a black-lunged bastard and Mrs. Mulder repressed it all. [This fic begins a series that continues with Somebody’s Fool, You Don’t Know Me, It’s All in the Game, and When I Fall in Love.]

👽 On Tumblr

@lilydalexf has an encyclopedic knowledge of fics and continues to be an invaluable resource. You'll find a boatload of themed fic lists, individual rec posts and helpful answers to anon asks.

@txf-fic-chicks-blog seven years of almost daily recs, with well-written blurbs and a lot of fun, run by @kateyes224 and @piecesofscully. Look out for their themed days: "Casefile Monday", "Tumblr Tuesday", "Editor's Pick Wednesday", "Post-Ep/Missing Scene Thursday", "Novel Length Friday", "Smut Sunday", and the very cool "Because You Watched"

@msrlibrary a well-tagged library of MSR fics; each entry includes a short excerpt and a nicely chosen image from the show.

@201daysofxfiles a rewatch blog by fandom veteran @wendelah. Each episode in season 1-7 is paired with its own fic rec post.

@enigmaticxbee an aesthetically pleasing and neatly organized rewatch blog that is packed with great content, including excellent fic rec lists categorized by season, story type, trope, and more. Each episode guide sometimes features related fic recs.

@thatfragilecapricorn30 posts one fic rec every Friday, accompanied by a nice writeup.

@randomfoggytiger curates many fic rec lists sorted by often fun and creative categories.

@cecilysass has a google doc titled "fics I love", which is a fantastic fic list categorized by story type, complete with thoughtful blurbs. She's also shared two episode-related fic rec lists on Tumblr: here and here.

@pookie-mulder writes a monthly fic journal with good recs.

**self-promo plug** I post fic recs on my Tumblr blog @fine-nephrit under #nephrit's fic rec. Plus, I reblog others' fic recs that I come across!

👽 On Tumblr

@lilydalexf has an encyclopedic knowledge of fics and continues to be an invaluable resource. You'll find a boatload of themed fic lists, individual rec posts and helpful answers to anon asks.

@txf-fic-chicks-blog seven years of almost daily recs, with well-written blurbs and a lot of fun, run by @kateyes224 and @piecesofscully. Look out for their themed days: "Casefile Monday", "Tumblr Tuesday", "Editor's Pick Wednesday", "Post-Ep/Missing Scene Thursday", "Novel Length Friday", "Smut Sunday", and the very cool "Because You Watched"

@msrlibrary a well-tagged library of MSR fics; each entry includes a short excerpt and a nicely chosen image from the show.

@201daysofxfiles a rewatch blog by fandom veteran @wendelah. Each episode in season 1-7 is paired with its own fic rec post.

@enigmaticxbee an aesthetically pleasing and neatly organized rewatch blog that is packed with great content, including excellent fic rec lists categorized by season, story type, trope, and more. Each episode guide sometimes features related fic recs.

@thatfragilecapricorn30 posts one fic rec every Friday, accompanied by a nice writeup.

@randomfoggytiger curates many fic rec lists sorted by often fun and creative categories.

@cecilysass has a google doc titled "fics I love", which is a fantastic fic list categorized by story type, complete with thoughtful blurbs. She's also shared two episode-related fic rec lists on Tumblr: here and here.

@pookie-mulder writes a monthly fic journal with good recs.

**self-promo plug** I post fic recs on my Tumblr blog @fine-nephrit under #nephrit's fic rec. Plus, I reblog others' fic recs that I come across!

The Spooky Awards were the annual awards given to X-Files fan fiction from 1995-2004 (except for, strangely, the year 1997). They were voted on by readers in a process that's a little unclear to me now--I know it must have been occasionally controversial, because there were sometimes concerns about "ballot stuffing." Full disclosure, I'm getting most of my info about this from Fanlore, although as an aged person I do remember the Spookys being a big deal back in the day. I might have even voted for them at some point, but I really don't remember how it worked. I sure af know we didn't have Google Forms. From year to year the categories changed, sometimes drastically, and sometimes they awarded honorable mentions. In the earlier years, from my point of view, it looks like a lot of the same fics and authors won again and again in lots of categories, but by the later years, it seems like it was a much more varied group of winners. I find the Spooky winners really fascinating to look at now because (1) they show what people liked to write and read back when the show was on; (2) they're an interesting documentation of early online fandom / fanfic, including how people liked to categorize fic and pairings; (3) there are a lot of fics and authors on these lists that people still read and recommend; (4) there are some fics that people really don't read and recommend, and I'm always curious why (some might deserve to be remembered more!). I'm going to list the 1998 Spooky winners below and link each fic as best I can so other people can explore them. I chose 1998 because there were a lot of familiar fics to me on this list--honestly, some real bangers--but maybe I'll do another year later. I found every fic but one still online. (Unacceptable by Justin Glasser anyone? - update: found, thanks to @lilydalexf !) A few random observations about 1998: obviously lots of movie fic. Less of a focus on strictly MSR, and plenty of same sex pairings, including Scully slash. More male fic authors / author names than we typically see nowadays. Also, in googling for a hard-to-find fic, I think I discovered another XF fanfic author who went pro (Saundra Mitchell). Look these over and give me your thoughts!

Outstanding Portrayal of Mulder Angst

First Place - Iolokus series - Mustang Sally and RivkaT

Second Place - The Cry of the Truth - A. I. Irving

Third Place - Eleventh Hour - Rachel Anton

Outstanding Mulder Characterization

First Place - Reach - Khyber

Second Place - Antidote - Karen Rasch and Rachel Howard

Third Place - Tangible - Blueswirl

Outstanding Original Character

First Place - Miranda Scully -- Iolokus IV - MustangSally and RivkaT

Second Place - Audrey--A Show of Strength - Meredith

Outstanding Original Villain

First Place - George Naxos --- Iolokus - MustangSally and Rivka T

Second Place - Mark Dupree --- ELS - Dawson Rambo

Third Place - Mr. Chancy/Simon Moloch -- Kevin Justin Glasser

Outstanding Portrayal of Scully Angst

First Place - Wallpaper - Annie Sewell-Jennings

Second Place - Primal Sympathy - Lydia Bower

Outstanding Scully Characterization

First Place - Reach - Khyber

Second Place - Antidote - Karen Rasch and Rachel Howard

Outstanding Characterization of a Recurring TV Character

First Place - Worth her Weight - Marguerite

Second Place - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - Plausible Deniability

Outstanding Vignette

First Place - Fast Hard Screw on the Main Deck - Bidie McCucholl

Second Place - The Shadow of His Wings - Marguerite

Outstanding Humor Story

First Place - Your Platonic Relationship: An Owner's Manual - Lilla Vaughan

Second Place - The Carrot and the Stick - Plausible Deniability

Outstanding Author

First Place - Dawson Rambo

Second Place (tie)- Lydia Bower

Second Place (tie)- Nascent

Outstanding New Author

First Place - Bidie McCucholl

Second Place - Annie Sewell-Jennings

Outstanding Drama

First Place - The Iolokus Series - MustangSally & RivkaT

Second Place - A Show of Strength - Meredith

Outstanding Mulder/Scully Friendship

First Place - Worth Her Weight - Marguerite

Second Place (tie) - The Abyss Looks Back - Kronos

Second Place (tie) - And Chaos Shall Reign - Kronos

Outstanding NC-17 Romance

First Place - Metamorphosis - Annie Sewell-Jennings

Second Place - Momentary Lapses Series - Dasha K. & Plausible Deniability

Outstanding Non-NC-17 Romance

First Place - Reach - Khyber

Second Place - Merry Christmas, Scully - Stephanie Kaiser

Outstanding Other Romance

First Place - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - Plausible Deniability

Second Place - Loners - Anne Haynes

Outstanding Mulder/Other Romance

First Place - Banging Your Head Against a Red-Haired Brick Wall - Blair Provence

Second Place - Venture Forth - Punk Maneuverability

Outstanding Scully/Other Romance

First Place - Half a World Away - Jane St. Clair

Second Place - Wheels of Iscariot - Emilie Renee Karr

Third Place - Homicidal Tendencies - Swikstr

Outstanding Skinner/Mulder Romance

First Place - Baton Rouge - Frogdoggie

Second Place (tie) - Challenges - Te

Second Place (tie) - Lasting Consequences - Debra Fran Baker

Second Place (tie) - Rarest Man Series (Body of Evidence, Duty Before Pleasure, Feast and Famine, Resolution, Test of Endurance, Wet Dream) - Sergeeva

Second Place (tie) - Unacceptable - Justin Glasser

Second Place (tie) - Wakened by Silence - JiM Page

Outstanding Skinner/Scully Romance

First Place - A Cold Angel Eye - Jordan

Second Place - Red Valerian Series - Dasha K.

Outstanding Platonic Mulder/Scully Romance

First Place (tie) - The Shadow of His Wings - Marguerite

First Place (tie) - Theory and Practice - Nascent

Outstanding Mulder/Scully UST

First Place - Your Platonic Relationship: An Owner's Manual - Lilla Vaughan

Second Place - Ninth Circle - Tim Scott

Outstanding Slash Story

First Place - Nightclub Girls - Dasha K

Second Place - Nightclub Jitters - Dasha K

Most Chris Carter

First Place - Kevin - Justin Glasser

Second Place (tie) - Antidote - Karen Rasch and Rachel Howard

Second Place (tie) - ELS - Dawson Rambo

Outstanding Series

First Place (tie) - The Iolokus Series - MustangSally and RivkaT

First Place (tie) - Momentary Lapses Series - Dasha K and Plausible Deniability

Outstanding Short Story

First Place - Day 17 - Khyber

Second Place - Fast Hard Screw on the Main Deck - Bidie McCucholl

Third Place (tie) - Camp - Shalimar

Third Place (tie) - All the Children are Insane - MustangSally

Outstanding Long Story

First Place - Antidote - Karen Rasch and Rachel Howard

Second Place (tie) - Reach - Khyber

Second Place (tie) - ELS - Dawson Rambo

Outstanding Story in a Series

First Place - Said the Spider to the Fly - Dark Nascent

Second Place - The Ghost at Her Side - Joyce McKibben

Third Place - Iolokus IV - MustangSally and Rivka T

Outstanding Unfinished Work

First Place - Paper Saints - Jill Selby

Second Place - Above Rubies - Rachel Howard

Outstanding Post-Episode Story

First Place - Camp - Shalimar

Second Place - All the Children are Insane - MustangSally

Outstanding Movie Fic

First Place - Worth her Weight - Marguerite

Second Place - A Makeshift Kiss - Jill Selby

Outstanding Action/Adventure Story

First Place (tie) - Antidote - Karen Rasch and Rachel Howard

First Place (tie) - Iolokus - MustangSally and RivkaT

Outstanding X-File

First Place - ELS - Dawson Rambo

Second Place - Antidote - Karen Rasch and Rachel Howard

Outstanding Crossover

First Place - Homicidal Tendencies - Swikstr