August 3, 2004
Guest Ghost Title
Guest Ghost

I had to spend many days campaigning for this gig since so many of my fellow X-Files ghosts want a chance to recommend stories and I've already done it once, but I know the most about airplanes. Everyone else tried to argue that knowing a lot about UFOs, flying saucers, and various modes of alien transport makes them just as knowledgable as me about airports and airplanes, but there's something special about this earthly mode of transport, and I don't mean only because aliens abduct people like me from them. All of these classic stories show that as their settings are all in crucial part in an airport or on an airplane. Maybe reading these classics as well as these terrific new stories will help you pass time in airports this summer or help you forget that you're not on summer vacation. Even if you are on the move, there's always time for feedback!

New Stories
The Breakfast Club
By bcfan (bcfan@shaw.ca)
Nurturing a relationship - one breakfast at a time.
(M/S UST ** Not rated ** 9K)
Max's Rec: In the tense aftermath of "Amor Fati," Mulder and Scully communicate the way they do best: without words but with subtle actions. I love how bcfan writes the sweet simplicity of each morning's breakfast and the way that they slowly change in importance from one day to the next.
Einstein's Twin Paradox: A New Interpretation (Or, Reading TXF Through Scully's Couture)
By suspect affiliations (no_romo@yahoo.com)
No summary
(No classifications ** Not rated ** 51K)
Max's Rec: The idea of Scully's X-Files tenure being tracked through or defined by her clothes may sound a little strange, but suspect affiliations makes it thoroughly engaging, wholly plausible, and delightfully romantic. Spanning from before "The Pilot" to after "The Truth," you'll be able to picture Scully and really feel her pain and her happiness in this terrific story.
Indulging in Normal
By shawntaw (shawntaw@hotmail.com)
No summary
(No classifications ** Not rated ** 12K)
Max's Rec: I can absolutely imagine the events in this story happening, and I'd like to think that they did sometime after Scully goes into remission. So many bad, crazy things happen to Mulder and Scully that it's very nice to read such a thoroughly charming, quietly moody story about them taking a little respite from the craziness of the X-Files for themselves and for each other.
Insight 4 - Shutdown
By Joann Humby (jhumby@lineone.net)
A research lab is housing terrible secrets. Mulder has the key to the door.
(X A ** R ** 60K)
Max's Rec: The thrilling action and psychological play builds in this continuation of Joann's fantastic Insight Series. Many familiar characters show up to very surprising effect in this story, but it's still Mulder who steals the show with his intense drive, conflicting emotions, dry wit, and wonder boy smarts.
On a Star Spangled Night
By Gina Rain (ginarain@aol.com)
Think the X-files meets Love American Style. Well, not really, but it's a catchy summary for once, dontcha think?
(MSR, casefile-ish ** NC-17 ** 34K)
Max's Rec: This story is so charming and one that I think is impossible not to love. Gina wonderfully builds on the carefree, romantic promise of the final scene in "The Unnatural," but it's her fantastic dialogue that really hits the spot.
Then The Morning Comes
By Lilly Rose (e_jones78@yahoo.com)
No summary
(No classifications ** PG-13 ** 1K)
Max's Rec: In only 197 words, a lot can be said about Scully's mindset on the run post-"The Truth." I love how this story draws on a little piece of canon and turns it into something so heartrending and stubborn, just like Scully.


Classic Stories
Above Minnesota
By Cecily Sasserbaum
After the events of Theef, Mulder and Scully take a San Francisco-Washington DC flight home. It's all about conversation, kids.
(S, R, Post-Ep (Theef), MSR, Scully POV ** PG ** 17K)
Max's Rec: This is one of my favorite stories because it is clever, it follows up an episode in a surprising but entirely possible way, and it delivers some of the most genuine innuendo and UST I've ever seen in fic. If Mulder and Scully ever had a conversation about their relationship, I hope it was just like this one above the clouds.
The Airport
By JessM (snarkypup@mindspring.com)
Up, up and away!
(SMUT, SMUT, SMUT, MSR, SMUT ** NC-17 ** 53K)
Max's Rec: Mulder and Scully are flustered and flirty in this story, which the word "hot" doesn't even begin to describe, but they're also always Mulder and Scully. What they say always rings true for those two characters. Also, did I mention that this story is hot?
Dance Without Sleeping
By Lydia Bower (w.bower@mchsi.com)
Scully learns to deal with her cancer and take control of her life.
(S, A, MSR ** NC-17 ** 165K)
Max's Rec: You've probably already read this classic story, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't read it again. And again. It includes one of the greatest plane boarding scenes in all of fanfic, which is just one of its many, many very dramatic and romantic virtues. Stories in this universe continue with the also marvelous Into Each Other Sinking series.
Flight Delay
By Megan Reilly (eponine119@worldnet.att.net)
No summary
(MSR ** Not rated ** 19K)
Max's Rec: If the annoyance of a delayed flight makes Mulder and Scully talk as roundabout and act as impulsive as this, I wish that they would have had a lot more delayed flights.
Flights
By Suzanne Bickerstaffe (ecksphile@earthlink.com)
While tracking down an aberrant serial killer, Mulder helps Scully come to grips with a shattering experience. Introduces Special Agent Mike Thomas of the Atlanta Bureau Office.
(MSR, UST ** R ** 82K)
Max's Rec: Ooo...a violent casefile and sweet partnership angst all in one story that starts - and ends - with a plane. Suzanne writes particularly good character voices that give the story an extra degree of realism and depth. If you like Mike and want to see more of him, he's back in Suzanne's awesome story Faith.
Flying Lessons
By ArtemisX5
I'm tired of telling my heart to be still; tired of living without you.
(SRA ** R ** 34K)
Max's Rec: From the very beginning when Mulder and Scully start thinking and talking on a plane ride home, this story is one big warm fuzzy. That's not to say it lacks substance but that the events and especially the dialogue are so perfectly constructed with affection, wit, and intelligence that it's a complete joy to read and savor.
In Absentia II - Airports and Airplanes
By QofMush (QofMush@aol.com)
Does absence make the heart grow fonder or smarter?
(MSR ** PG ** 13K)
Max's Rec: Point of view shifts between Mulder and Scully make their longing for each other all the more powerful in this wonderful, wonderful tale of holding back and then letting go. I think that this story could technically stand alone, but it is well worth your time to first read the one that precedes it, Missing Time, and then the one that follows it, Zigged/Zagged.
Precious Things
By Dawn (sunrise83@comcast.net)
Skinner's thoughts on the airplane to Bellefleur.
(V, A, MSR, Skinner POV ** PG ** 10K)
Max's Rec: Skinner played a large role in "Requiem," but this is one of the few post-episode stories that focuses entirely on him. Dawn focuses on his sense of duty as he travels with Mulder, a theme that seems particularly appropriate for him.
Pretending To Sleep, part of the Red Valerian Series
By Dasha K. (dashak@visi.com)
Pretending To Sleep: Three people on a plane, pretending to sleep. Series: Three lives intersect after a terrible case in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Scully must question the desires of her own heart.
(SRA, Skinner/Scully romance, Mulder/Scully romance ** NC-17 ** 16K (series 277K))
Max's Rec: Because this story falls deep in the series, I really think that you should read the stories that precede it for its three point of views to make the most sense and ring most emotionally true. If it seems impossible for any story featuring Skinner/Scully, much less a love triangle of sorts with Mulder/Scully also in the mix, to be interesting or even be plausible, then this series can change your mind. It's a giant journey about relationships, and Dasha well writes about their complexities, emotions, and heavy NC-17 moments.
Pyrrhic
By MD1016 (MDsFanfic@yahoo.com)
Sequel to Dead Channels
(VA ** G ** 5K)
Max's Rec: In this, the third story in the fabulous Miles To Go Series, the angst flies off the page. There's so much sting in Mulder and Scully's conversation on an airplane that it almost hurts to read their words. It's that good.
The Secret Life of Airports
By Perelandra
Lives -- routinely made, routinely broken.
(V ** G ** 10K)
Max's Rec: Scully's voice is excellent in this first person point of view story that tracks Scully's thoughts about the normalcy (or lack thereof) and anonymity of people's lives, including her own.
Stranded
By Unicorn83 (Unicorn83@aol.com)
The crash of a small private plane leaves Mulder and Scully stranded in the Adirondack Mountains with only their thoughts to pass the time waiting to be rescued.
(TR, Mulder/Scully romance ** PG ** 33K)
Max's Rec: It's a UST-filled story sort of like "Detour" but written years before that episode aired and including Mulder in boxer shorts. I love the simplicity, ease, and comfort of Mulder and Scully's night after a traumatic day.
Tempest
By Missy Pennington (joseechung@aol.com)
Mulder and Scully survive a plane crash to find themselves injured and stranded in the Appalachian wilderness.
(X/S/MSR ** R ** 253K)
Max's Rec: As far as I'm concerned, this story is the be-all-end-all of adventure stories, sets a very high standard for incredible romance that fits perfectly into the larger story, includes one of the best Scully lines of all time (whether she's intoxicated or not), and is one of the most exciting stories you can ever hope to find. It's a classic! You can find its three wonderful sequels (Distance, Wild Places, and Escape Me Never) at Whispers of X.
Trivial Pursuits I & II
By Jess Archibald
I: The agents get lost in the desert. II: Scully and Bateman discover that a suspect's airplane does not make the best transportation.
(Mulder/Scully ** PG ** 43K)
Max's Rec: Perhaps the most enjoyable things about these two stories are the conversations. All of the dialogue rings so true because it achieves a balance of wit, underlying tension, and professionalism. Plus, there's adventure by land and by air!
Waiting for Agent Right
By Kel (ckelll@hotmail.com)
Killing time in an anonymous airport. Mulder wants a toaster.
(Story, humor ** PG ** 36K)
Max's Rec: Waiting for a delayed flight, Mulder's drunk and chatty on champagne, Scully's annoyed and chatty with Mulder, and the results are incredibly humorous and surprisingly heartfelt.


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