Universal Invariants

Fanfiction
Title:	Universal Invariants
Author(s):	syntax6
Date(s):
Length:
Genre:	AU, NC-17 for sexuality, violence and adult themes, X-File/case file, MSR, UST
Fandom:	The X-Files
External Links:	online here
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Universal Invariants is an X-Files MSR story by syntax6.

Reactions and Reviews

I've been feeling all nostalgic about season 1 Mulder and Scully lately (so young! so bad at basic fashion sense! so into each other from such an early stage!) and oh, I love this fic. It's a long multi-chapter AU of the first season (and some of the second, actually) where Scully is dating Ethan, her boyfriend who was cut from the original script of the pilot. I love the stress that having Ethan around puts on Scully's very rapidly developing relationship with Mulder, there are a few neat twists on canon, and there's a great original casefile woven throughout.

Syntax6's writing has it all, and nowhere is that more true than in Universal Invariants. If someone told me there was a long, complex X-Files fic set in S1 & 2, which nails Mulder and Scully's early-days dynamic, sizzles with UST, aches with pent up emotion, thrills and chills you with multiple threads of creepy and sinister plot, weaves gracefully through the framework of S1 & 2 episodes, and has the most perfectly placed, perfectly written sex scene imaginable, I'd be like, "I'll believe it when I read it, because this sounds like the kind of fic that only exists in one's fantasy of what a fic could be." And then I would read Universal Invariants and have to admit that Syntax6 has written a fic that is better than even the perfect, unformed fantasy fic of my imagination. I think it's fair to say that while Penumbra's M&S shaped my headcanon of the characters mostly from the inside out, Syntax6's M&S shaped my headcanon of the characters from the outside in. They have the incisive strength and capability I look for in all my favorite characters. They're professionals, they're bamfs, and their smart about it.

UNIVERSAL INVARIANTS... seems to be most people's favorite of the many excellent things Syntax6 has given us. There's a unique narrative intensity to it, romantically speaking, and it is skillfully consistent to canon. Also, Ethan has a major part and he's an okay guy.

What if M&S consummated their passion early on - but Scully loses the memory due to her abduction? Syntax6 explores that option, and I won't spoiler it for you. I never got around to reading her seriously till last week, when she was mentioned here, and this story was so enjoyable to read that it made it straight into my list. Look for the sequel too. They're long but never tedious. I liked how she added Scully's boyfriend, Ethan, to season 1-2 without breaking my suspension of disbelief for a moment, or betraying the characters' true nature. Her descriptions of sex are much more realistic than any fanfic I've ever read.

Fun fact: In the original cut of The X-Files pilot, Scully has a serious boyfriend, a broadcast journalist named Ethan. Apparently, they live together and spend months planning dream vacations, exactly like the ordinary American couples to which Scully has always aspired. You can watch deleted scenes and imagine what might have been if he’d stuck around, or you can read “Universal Invariants” by Syntax6 for the closest thing to an alternative canon. What would Ethan’s existence have changed about the way Mulder and Scully’s relationship developed, if anything? How soon would he have known he needed to worry about Fox Mulder’s place in Dana Scully’s heart?

Even in a field of talent as crowded as the TXF fandom, Syntax6 stands out as an author. Not only does she nail the characterization of the agents, but she’s a master of suspense who also has a knack for satisfying romance arcs. It’s why I will read anything she writes...