Ingénue

Fanfiction
Title:	Ingénue
Author(s):	Punk Maneuverability
Date(s):	23 September 1999
Length:	23,300 words
Genre:	Gen, Angst
Fandom:	The X-Files
External Links:	Ingénue (AO3) Ingénue (The Underground)
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Ingénue is an X-Files story by Punk Maneuverability. It has a fanfic cover by wen.

Summary: In late November of 1995, Mulder and Scully investigate the circumstances surrounding a fifteen-year-old girl's multiple disappearances.

Reactions and Reviews

Everytime I worry that when the show ends, things may dry up, fabulous stories like Ingenue appears. An early season 3 case file that is amazingly well written and really gives the whole tone for the Mulder/Scully dynamic at that point. Just amazing.

Way back in the beginning of season two, to deal with Gillian Anderson's pregnancy, her character was written out of the series for an episode. We know about Scully's resulting physical issues, but I've only read a handful of stories that deal effectively with her memory loss and PTSD. This myth-arc, Scully POV story is refreshing, really, especially when I compare it to the "they're soulmates forever and want to get married and have lots of babies" stuff so many fans write (and want to read) now.

In a recent post on Dreamwidth, Punk wrote this about "Ingénue."

In 1999, I decided to try some heavy angst, and thanks to TXF canon, I didn't have to look very hard to find an appropriate source. I wanted this story to be as cold and unrelentingly grim as possible, so I set it during season three's infamous "rift" between Mulder and Scully, threw in some unmarked train cars, a vulnerable teenage girl, and a creepy dude named Millicent. I really struggled with writing this, but I pushed through because I loved the title I picked and wanted to post before someone else used it. This, of course, was back in the days where part of choosing a title was searching Gossamer to see if it'd already been used.

This terrific story is well-written, emotionally affecting and truly memorable.