X-Files Book Club

A couple of months back on the "Silver Cornet" post, I asked members if anyone was still reading here. Would you believe I'm still getting comments on that post? Well, I am, most recently just a couple of days ago. A kind anon replied: "Yes! I'm new, and I'm HERE! Love this place! Don't ever quit. 😄" It was sweet, it cheered me up, and it reminded me that I hadn't posted a new story for awhile. It also made me realize how lucky I am to have a community like this, especially now, with the fandom being so dispersed and so comparatively small. Thank you, everyone. You guys are the best. ♥

Perusing the nomination post, I spotted the request from BonesLenka for fill-in fic for the period between IWTB and season 10. "Dr. Scully's School for Exceptional Boys" is the fic I recommended to her back in February. It's an AU, but then thanks to the genius of Chris Carter, all nine previous seasons of the series are now AU. Like leiascully's "Visitor," this fic explores the relationship fallout resulting from Scully giving William up for adoption. As always, prufrock's love writes an exceptionally appealing Fox Mulder, complete with all of his charms and all of his character flaws. I enjoyed reading it very much. I hope you do, too.

Title: Dr. Scully's School for Exceptional Boys
Author: prufrock's love
Email: prufrockslove@yahoo.com
Rating: R
Classification: Novel, MSR, Other
Summary: More than a decade had passed. Mulder had no reason to hole up in his apartment alone, wearing a Three Dog Night T-shirt with dried mustard on the hem and blue jeans that had seen better days. He wasn't "saving himself" for anyone. Especially not Her. Though she remained epically, beautifully, brilliantly kick-A-S-S.
Spoilers: We veer AU after season 7, with a few bits from 8 & 9.

Send feedback to the author, then come back and tell us what you think of "Dr. Scully's School for Exceptional Boys." Don't forget, the nomination post is always open to your suggestions.

We're continuing with the theme of gapfillers, although "Samsara" may be addressing more of an emotional void left by the writers in season eight than a plot-hole. See what you think. For some reason, I thought I'd already posted this fic. Maybe I meant to and got distracted? I love the way it alternates the point-of-view between Mulder and Scully, and how it deals with the emotional train-wreck of season eight.

Samsara (2507 words) by secondsflat
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The X-Files
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Characters: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully
Additional Tags: MSR, Three Words, Angst
Summary:

This is how she prefers to remember Mulder's abduction: he was a bird, once, and he flew back home to her.

Read "Samsara" at fanfiction.net | at AO3

I'd love to know what you think. Remember, the nomination post is always open for suggestions.

This is a rerun, posted at the request of estella_c, who loves it and wasn't a member when we discussed it back in 2008. I love it too, and think it's well-worth revisiting.

Like all great western religious stories, "Oyster" takes place in the desert, in the modern day stand-in for Sodom and Gomorrah, Los Vegas, a land of waking dreams, endless heat and unquenchable thirsts. In her author's notes, Jordan states emphatically that "THIS FIC IS REQUIEM FREE." This is rather misleading; in actuality, "Oyster" is a re-envisioning of the end of season seven, and to a limited extent, season eight. The parallels are multiple and striking. In both stories, there are deaths and multiple abductions. There is an investigation in which Skinner, Scully and, of course, Mulder are all major players. To say any more would spoil the story for new readers. While "Requiem" inspired a lot of fanfic, "Oyster" is one the best stories ever written for The X-Files fandom. I recommend it without reservation.

Read "Oyster". You can also find this story on her author's page at Gossamer. Please come back and let us know what you think.

One of the things that impresses me about this story, is the intensity of the (albeit short) sex scene. It's amazing what an author can do with a few choice pieces of dialogue in the right setting. If you're a Krycek/Mulder fan, and hell even if you're not, you'll find this story very appealing.
~Bright Shiny Objects

I'm not so sure about that, but we shall see.

One of the fascinating things to me about fandom is how we're not all watching the same show.

Let's try again, shall we?

While we may all be playing the same DVDs (known hereafter as The X-Files), we can have completely different reactions to the same episode. For example, I think "Paper Hearts" is one of the worst episodes of the series but a good friend believes it's the best, and we can both make convincing arguments for our respective positions. Fans can make completely opposite interpretations of what it meant when Mulder told Scully that he even made his parents call him "Mulder." What hooks us into the show (and then the fandom) isn't always the same thing either. For some fans, The X-Files is about Mulder and Scully, two heroic FBI agents who investigate the inexplicable and fight the forces of evil. For others, it's a show about Mulder and Scully, two gorgeous and sexy FBI agents who fall in love, and okay yeah, so they solve crimes sometimes, too. And for some fans of the series, the most important or at least the most fascinating thing about The X-Files is the character of Alex Krycek.

Someone posted to the Confessions from the Basement tumblr that they "wished this fandom wasn't so militantly anti-slash." I can't speak for everyone else, but I'm not anti-slash. I read slash, although less in this fandom than most. Although you've probably already read it, here you go, anonymouse from tumblr, have some great Mulder/Krycek slash.

Read "Let's Play House."

Love it or hate it, please let us know what you think. And please, especially if you want to read more slash, leave us some suggestions in the nomination post for next time.

I thought it would be good to start the New Year off on a cheery note. This is a post-ep for "This Is Not Happening," told from Frohike's point of view. Yeah, it's pretty sad, but at least now we know Mulder wasn't dead. I think I said in an earlier post that it takes talent to pull off first person pov. She has talent. This story works, and works well.

At Your Feet, His Emblems Fall
Author: M. Sebasky
Rating: R
Spoilers: TINH
Category: Post EP, Frohike POV, Angst. Scully,
Doggett and Skinner are here, too.
Feedback: is always appreciated.
msebasky@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Chris Carter and 1013 do. If I did, they'd be treated better.
Thanks and notes at end.

For Cofax. Here's the idea you lent me. Thanks.

As always, feedback is appreciated by the author: look, she said so herself. We'd like to hear what you thought, too. Please leave your suggestions for next time at the nomination post.

Read "At Your Feet, His Emblems Fall."

It's been a long time since my last entry here, for which I apologize. I've been very preoccupied with the impending closure of Geocities fan sites. In any case, this week's story was nominated by amyhit. For those readers who are utterly uninterested in season 8 fic and wish we would just get on with it already, that's okay. Just nominate something else and we'll move on, I promise.

"Pteropod's might be the best if you're looking for fics that get into the nitty gritty dynamic of S8 in terms of Doggett's presence and how that stirs things up," was amyhit's terse yet intriguing description of the fic. That sounds good to me, so let's go read it, shall we?

( Read a short excerpt )


"Moment of Inertia"

Here is her site, way-backed: Pteropod's X-Files Website. Since this story is not at Gossamer, I'll archive it myself at Fugues Fiction Archive, where Fox Estacado has made me a co-maintainer, as soon as I can figure out how to work the interface.

Give feedback to the author, if you can find her, that is, then let us know what you think.

Welcome back! I hope you had a great August holiday.

In light of some recent discussions I've had about character POV, and whether or not writing a character unsympathetically accurately represents how an author feels about the character, especially in season 8 fic, I decided to read some season 8 fic. Just to get my biases out of the way, I haven't read much of it because I kind of hate season 8. Okay, I really hate season 8. But we aren't here to discuss that, we're here to talk about fan fiction!

Synopsis: How does the tense and chilly Mulder of 3Words turn into the relaxed and confident man joking about "the pizza man"?

The authors rate this story PG-13 for language.

If anyone has season 8 fic they would like to recommend we discuss, you may make those suggestions here. If you think reading season 8 fic is a terrible idea and want to read something else, you can make that suggestion at the same place. I know I've skipped over some of your suggestions, but I promise we'll get to them eventually.

Give feedback to the authors and then tell us what you think about the story. Heck, you can even tell us what you think about season 8 and/or author POV versus character POV in season 8 fic. Come prepared with supporting examples of your thesis. Joke. Just read the fic. Although, I would love to read meta about that topic if there is any, she said wistfully.

"The Fractured Landscape"

Nominated by yendrie, "Doctor, Copper, Sailor, Corpse" is an "R" rated series of three vignettes that takes place after Mulder's funeral. The season eight funeral.

SUMMARY: This little piggy rots in his coffin, this little piggy is showing, this little piggy is a good partner, this little piggy is hovering, and all the little Hoover piggies are snickering all the way home.

Doctor, Copper, Sailor, Corpse

As always, let us know what you think, let the author know what you think and give us your suggestions for next time. Otherwise, you are going to be reading mine. . .