#iconicscullyoutfits

[scullysflannel]

maybe obscure but what are some of your favourite moments of script spareness in tv, whether it's no words at all or arrestingly simple straightforward dialogue

really love this, especially because it's what I'm drawn to in tv in general. it's a visual medium! vince gilligan caught flack for being completely right when he said dialogue "often carries too much weight in writing." some favorites:

for silent episodes, buffy's "hush" and evil's "s is for silence." I'm so interested in fact that robert king said "s is for silence" was so hard to write and edit because they couldn't use dialogue or adr to bridge the gap if they cut a scene or used a different shot. everything had to be deliberate.

buffy's "the body" also uses silence dizzyingly well, and there's no music at all in it. it really captures the disorientation of sudden loss.

likely thing for me to bring up, but there's an alias scene where sloane tells his wife that he's a bad guy. the dialogue was scripted (ron rifkin talks about it in the dvd commentary), but it's drowned out by music, like the show is taking his voice away when he tries to justify himself. I don't know if they always planned to cover the dialogue or if it was an editing decision, but it's exquisite to me. plus it keeps the focus on amy irving giving it everything she's got (!). perfect song choice too.

the end of "never again," mulder trailing off as he finds his words inadequate. I know the shooting script says scully knows what he was going to say, but it doesn't remotely play as a moment of unspoken understanding. it plays like a moment of realizing the impossibility of complete understanding, which I love. it's a paradoxical sign of respect and an admission of defeat. it sticks with you.

better call saul as a show is a testament to spare, deliberate dialogue, but especially "but so what." the powerlessness in that line, especially for two characters whose job depends on the power of a good speech — I still can't even think about it. no further comment.

kim and jimmy throwing bottles off the balcony in "the guy for this." that's unspoken understanding. but it's so sad and dangerous.

"we fucked up with nora" on the leftovers. yeah you sure did!! that whole big surreal action movie of an episode all boils down to this one basic truth. I especially love "we"; kevin's only company is himself.

"not penny's boat" on lost. a classic for a reason.

so many halt and catch fire scenes fit this mold, but for pure silent revelation, joe recognizing that haley is gay in season 4. gorgeous.

the americans tooth pulling scene!! we all see it!! just like in evil's silent episode, silence is erotic.

I also love the choice to stage the most decisive moment in the americans finale — paige getting off the train — in a way that makes it impossible for them all to talk about it (ever).

the last scene of the sopranos. obviously.

[wutheringheights78]

4, 14, 18! Happy new year!

4. movie of the year?

nope was my favorite that came out this year but new to me movie was black christmas!!! i just checked letterboxd i watched 155 this year...that's wild

14. favorite book you read this year?

i loved la nausée by sartre and i really really loved zami by audre lorde!!

18. a memorable meal this year?

okay i couldn't pick just one....both of these were meals from when i was in vienna!! pumpkin basil pasta and pumpkin soup with mushrooms :-)

[carefulfears]

oooooh please expand on this !!! i always wanna hear more about scully https://www.tumblr.com/waiting-for-the-day/720301741123551232/ykno-what-we-dont-talk-about-about-how-hard-txf

yesss

(the referenced post)

1/

the third hour of the series, squeeze is both the first monster-of-the-week and the first episode to establish the impact of the x-files on scully's life, offering her choice and the audience perspective.

opening on lunch with an old classmate, scully catches up with her peers and how they are progressing after the academy (marty is supervisory agent of foreign counter intelligence, tom is on the fast track in violent crimes...dana is "mrs. spooky" in the basement, having "close encounters of the third kind")

this first scene equates scully with mulder in more ways than a derogatory nickname; colton tells her about his tough case in violent crimes because he wants her to ask mulder.

this is a line that is walked throughout season one, as mulder is still thought of as "the best analyst in the violent crimes division," despite having left the VCU two years earlier. often, the FBI will need his input on a case, while still disregarding and disrespecting him, and we can see this extended to scully here.

"if you don't mind some overtime, you're welcome to come aboard with us, on this. that is if you don't mind working in an area that's a bit more down-to-earth."

having been invited onto colton's case, scully writes up a profile (that ends up being exactly correct, and ultimately catching the killer, even though mulder doesn't agree with her position) and presents her findings.

when a stake-out is planned based on her work, colton's superior in the VCU tells her that she is "welcome to come," reluctantly inviting her to her own plan.

throughout the episode, scully does her best to present herself as capable and professional, but mulder doesn't make things easy for her; he constantly leans into every joke made about him, negating his own authority and playing into the degrading public opinion, something that scully has never seen.

she knows that there is more to the x-files, and more to mulder, than little green men- but that's a kind of vulnerability that's been exposed to her, and her only.

and the more that she aligns herself with mulder, the more the wavering stand she has in the FBI's "boy's club" falters.

2/

contrasted with the begrudging inclusion of the men climbing the ladder, squeeze showcases mulder in the supportive role, instantly adjusting his theories and profile to incorporate scully's input. which he does without taking the lead.

and he takes the time to tell her that if she wants to work with colton, he understands and respects that; directly contrasting the VCU's constant disdain for scully's work on the x-files.

this is something that he stops her to say immediately after hearing colton's line, "you said mulder was out there, that guy's insane." (which was not only demeaning, but implied that scully had been belittling mulder behind his back, which isn't true)

later, he casually says that they need to catch tooms quickly, because in 30 years when he comes out again, scully will be "head of the bureau."

he not only assumes that she won't be working with him for long, but that she'll be successful in her own career, climbing the ladder to the very top; a foregone conclusion.

(this is something that he laments 25 years later, in season 11's nothing lasts forever, when he admits that he imagines a world where she had walked out of that office, and been "kersh's boss at the FBI")

squeeze also brings back the height difference reversal that is so meaningful in the pilot, and throughout the series.

mulder is 10 inches taller than scully, and often will intentionally lower himself beneath her. especially in vulnerable or emotional situations.

i love love love these tags from iconicscullyoutfits on this scene:

"feels like other men would stand up instinctively to be on the same level as her. especially in squeeze which was all about her being belittled by other men and struggling for equal footing in the boys club of the fbi. she comes down to mulder and she's big like him."

3/

when i talk about squeeze as being the most important episode to understanding scully's motivation, i mean this moment here.

at the scene of the fourth murder, colton won't let mulder enter, and when scully threatens to report him, he asks: whose side are you on?

her answer, that she is on the side of the victim, encapsulates everything that drives her dedication and devotion from the beginning.

this show, and this partnership, is based in shared values rather than shared belief; that's what makes it work.

scully wants to be on the side of the victim, to be helping those that need it, and she's quickly realizing that this isn't how you thrive in the federal government. that despite how much she "believed in her country" when she left medicine for the FBI, this isn't what the federal government does, or prioritizes.

however, it is what mulder does, and she's learning that too.

the side of the victim and the side of law enforcement are not the same, and mulder knows that already, has already given up the respect and acclaim of climbing the ladder. he's on the side of the victim to the "point of insanity," to the point of abandoning reputation.

this is what scully gives her life over to, this is where she finds the work that she left medicine to pursue.

and ultimately, she severs her ties with the outside world.

the next time that colton makes a mean comment about mulder, she tells him that he can keep climbing the ladder, but she hopes he falls.

the thing is, scully doesn't need to be associated with mulder to be looked down upon by her peers. she would be regardless, by nature of being a woman in a male-dominated profession.

but she could cleave to authority, continue trying to fit in and climb the ladder. she chooses not to, to go where aligned with her convictions, and where she's respected; even when it means sacrificing a seat at the table.

and in the end, they walk off side-by-side (he follows her).

[pennyserenade]

there is a plethora of good x-files fanfics out there and i've just started to develop the problem of reading a very good one and not being able to find it again. because of this - and because all of these are genuinely novel worthy and the writers are INSANELY talented - i've decided to compile a list of some of my absolute favorites. some of these are from ao3 & some of them i found on other websites, such as x-libris and the gossamer project. i hope you enjoy these as much as i did and do. they mean the world to my romantic heart.

incrementum by lepusarcticus (explicit) - this was the first x-files fanfic i ever remember reading. i was trying desperately not to spoil the show for myself and i found out that this fic followed along the narrative, which was a godsend. i got the best of both worlds: a delectable, angsty passionate mulder/scully fic (in which they fucked from day 1) and no spoilers. it was so so so so fun reading this alongside watching the show. this writer is brilliant

omens by lepusarcticus (explicit) - i was not lying when i said this writer is brilliant. this entire thing reads like a novel and i could not for the life of me put it down when i stumbled upon it. its angsty and interesting, and could very well be another episode of the x-files because the case mulder and scully are one is so compelling. it is not easy feat to write something this good. chris carter, eat your heart out

triptych by iconicscullyoutfits (not rated but i'd say mature) - THIS WAS SO FUCKING GOOD. i can't speak highly enough about this one. its an au where mulder is married to diana fowley when he meets scully. its so so so so amazing. like i'd very well call this literature because it expanded my mind (i learned a great deal from this, especially from the chapter ice). i think diana was a very interesting character and i feel as though this fic treats her with the interest she deserves. the writing in this one is simply insane too - i'm envious of it and so so so in love with it.

love in all the wrong places by sisterspooky1013 (explicit) - mulder and scully accidentally have cybersex with each other while trying out online dating group chats. what more can i say? (also i applaud this author for making mulder's online handle allshookup61. that's so fucking mulder)

universal invariants (set from 1 to early season 2) and its sequel, laws of motion (set season 5) (both explicit) by syntax6 - these both hold such a special place in my heart. it is an au that takes on the idea that scully's bf (who was cut from the pilot, never to see the light of day) stays in the picture and there when dana starts working with fox. universal invariants makes me want to weep to because dana and fox are both so young and earnest and stupid! and laws of motion is great because they're still stupid but they're wiser about it. this is very dana and fox. i love, love, love the parts of universal invariants that cover dana's abduction arc. god these are GOOD.

arizona highways by fialka (explicit) - if you're one of those girlies who really likes an x-files episode that has a lot of case-file and scully going on, this one is FOR you. it is angsty in the worst of ways, covering more of what we see in the episodes christmas carol and emily. this is another one that i would call a novel, both in length and content. it is great and it is a very good dive into the character of scully and how she handles problems in her life

heart's desire by malibusunset (explicit) - this another really great scully-focused fic, where mulder is being a bit of an ass - as he is prone to - but she makes him come to his senses accidentally. i love a good jealous mulder and i love it even more when scully isn't exactly aware she's making him that way. this is so good that i stayed up an entire night reading it. you should too!

the guts / the incision / cauterize by wtfmulder (not all of the chapters are explicit but i would call this explicit in general) - this one is so fucking angsty it made me ache incredibly. it is a sucker punch to the gut that only the lovers (or rather, dedicated haters) of the diana/fox/dana situationship can truly appreciate. also, if you like your mulder a bit of an ass (i do! i think he really can be! i think its good to talk about!) this author is for you!!!

doorway to gods by wtfmulder (explicit) - a fic where mulder & scully go investigate a supposed portal to other dimensions shortly after scully recovers from cancer, and they both find themselves in separate hellish alternative universes where other mulder & scullys aren't doing so well. this is angsty, TOP TIER angsty. some of the scenes from this i think about often still and i read this a month ago. also this is hot. i can't not mention that small fact

the tiger complex by longgunguy (i'd say r for graphic violence but no sex or anything) - i'll be real, there isn't a whole lot of mulder/scully romance in this thing, aside from the a hand hold and a lot of quiet affection but this IS the x-files. in another world, this fic is an episode and it is brutal. you'll be biting your nails as you make your way through this one. its got a great cast of original characters and an incredible case-file, up there with an episode like ice.

[deathsbestgirl]

hi do you know of any good analysis posts of syzygy? i just watched it and i feel insane

i've been looking for an hour and i didn't find much 😭

i did like. a reaction type post of the full episode a while ago, and i found this little comment i made once (check the notes, a few people left great tags).

i did find two little ones that are really just. funny & so real. one from @iconicscullyoutfits and another from @scullysflannel

i also found this one but there are spoilers for fight the future & season six if you haven't watched that far yet!

i'll look for more tomorrow, i feel like someone must have written something more in depth?! i think it's one of those episodes that's just so fun and funny, like they're a little out of their minds and in rare form. i don't even know what to say about it beyond the fact that they're just so THEM taken up a notch. no masks, no filter. and emotions right at the surface.

if anyone has posts, send them my way please!

[softiescully]

@trappergirl tagged me roughly 16 years ago to post 6 albums i’ve been listening to thank u angel <3

tagging: @fbidirectorscully @scullysflannel @bigwarmth @iconicscullyoutfits @amazalina @universalinvariant @chiefofmilfs @hourgloss @mrbinglee @nicholasbritellhive and whoever else wants to!!

[edierone]

Umm hi I'm a bit new to the txf fandom and while I love Mulder, I'm about 10x more obsessed with (and attracted to) Scully but unfortunately and bafflingly (for me) most of the blogs I've encountered so far (except yours) seem to be more..Mulder-focused?.. Basically I want to follow more people who thirst after Dana Scully, could you recommend anyone? (No offense to Mulder fans, I'm just very gay)

hello, and welcome to this hotel-california-ass fandom! you are for sure among your people 🤗 I think the easiest way to find more simpatico posters is to follow the little breadcrumb trails of posts to find blogs that you like – when I or someone else reblogs a Scully-thirsty post, see who made it (the op), and maybe check out a few of the people who recently rb’d it too; sometimes it was just a one-off from somebody more multi-fandom, but you might find a treasure trove of scully pics/gifs/takes.

meanwhile, i’m trying very hard to come up with some names to recommend – but it’s as if by reading the question, every one of the hundreds of people follow (and have for YEARS) has been completely erased from my brain!!! gaaaahhh. ummmm … @leiascully, @thatisadamnfinecupofcoffee, @nimlurks, @iconicscullyoutfits — c’mon Scully gals, raise your hands, help our new-ish gay sister out!!!

[nachosncheezies]

Would you mind reccing the stories you liked that deal with Scully being a little psychic? I love anything that deals with that

Hello anon! I didn't think anyone reads my tags, but here you are proving me wrong. :D I'm pretty new to XF fic so I don't have enough to do a comprehensive list but here's a few I recently found in quick succession:

Contact High by Penumbra

Look I won't beat around the bush - it's heavy on the porn, so if that's not your thing then maybe give it a miss. Set post-Field Trip, they've gone home but Scully's still under the influence (still telepathic), apparently moreso than him (which I'm interpreting as, she already was a little psychic so it's hitting her harder). It appears Mulder is unaware she's picking up what he's broadcasting, and he himself only hears some of her thoughts once he knows. Meanwhile our girl is receiving every explicit moment of her partner's sex dreams in vivid technicolor, from all the way across town, in enough detail that she's basically like "Look you tease, if I'm gonna have to see this shit I'm coming down there and you're gonna make good." Queue a lot of finally talking about and working through things, in various states of [un]dress. There's even some angst in there!

By Falling In And In by @aloysiavirgata

A post-Deadalive AU, set over a span of years. I suppose the psychic angle is more about William's powers, but… he couldn't connect unless there was something to connect to, ya know? Otherwise he'd just be out here broadcasting to everyone. And as you'll see in the second half, the way Scully reaches back is pretty intense, especially when there's trouble. This is such a good story. Highly recommended whether you're in to psychic Scully or not!!

Triptych by @iconicscullyoutfits

I'm human and like most of us, sometimes Diana Fowley makes me want to wrinkle my nose like I've hit a bad smell, or maybe throw something that'll make a nice thunk sound just to get it out. But this one is worth it. The psychic!Scully angle is more subtle here. She sees ghosts, senses death, etc. It's not the main focus of the story, but it's a nice thing in an already excellent fic. I wish I could say more but I literally couldn't put it down, so much so that I need to re-read it bc I'm pretty sure I was asleep for part of it. 🙈

Bonus - since I also remarked in my tags that I wondered what Bill Sr. thought of his girls' spooky powers. Across the Sea by CalifornianHousplant is a little piece in which Maggie muses a bit on precisely that. It's Mulder/Maggie, cancer arc.

If I come across or remember any others I'll reblog this and add them! Thank you for reaching out :D

[scullysflannel]

ok i was feeling crazy bc i kept seeing the "like a switch has been flicked" quote on here and then i get to that episode and scully says the speech and i'm like scully wtf are you talking about!!!! shes saying all this stuff about suddenly realizing youre in love with your best friend and i'm like scully my love that has not been your experience at all though. but i liked your post about it maybe being scully lying to herself a little as she processes her feelings for mulder. i liked "the rain king" and i thought all the ship baiting was fun but there was something kind of off about it too, like the in-your-face-ness of it all was jarring and i wasn't sure if that was intentional or if it just happened to land oddly for me. i think iconicscullyoutfits said smth about how in mistaking scully & mulder for a married couple, the townspeople flatten the relationship and fail to understand everything scully & mulder are to each other, and i liked that. i liked your point about how putting scully & mulder in typical domestic situations always showcases the ways they chafe against them, i think that's so crucial too.

all that aside though it was still a gorgeous episode i liked the heart shaped hail and i loved seeing scully & mulder in the rain because of course it evokes them in the pouring rain in the pilot!!! and the score is particularly lovely in this episode, there's like a repeated love theme mark snow does for sheila and her weatherman which surprised me because that's not really typical of xfiles episode scores and it made it feel almost like a film. i kept turning up my volume so i could hear the music better ^_^

right! and thanks! I said this in that post, but it's hard to tell in season 6 when the writers are leaning into rom-com conventions to make a point about how mulder and scully don't fit those roles and when they're just squeezing them into those roles for fun. but it is fun! and either way, the intentions behind "the rain king" don't really change its effect, which is that the truth of mulder and scully is too interesting and too private to be flattened into something traditional.

but at the same time one of my favorite x-files things is the "both and"-ness of the truth: it's both complicated and simple. mulder and scully don't fit the rom-com friends-to-lovers template, but there is something true about "the rain king" essentially saying "just kiss, it's not that hard." it's the benefit of being just one episode in a procedural that can go anywhere: painting them as small-town marrieds can't remotely sum them up, but the fact that scully fantasizes a little about making their relationship fit that mold means the emotion of it still means something to her.

she and mulder are both obsessed with telling themselves there are still lines they have to cross. if they can pretend that friendship is something that happens before the big commitment instead of the biggest commitment the two of them could make, the other milestones have more meaning. which is not entirely wrong, in a darin morgan "we create our own meaning" fiji mermaid sense. they still have to decide when to define the same things they've been doing this whole time as romantic. I love season 6 because everything they're anxious about is both so easy and so hard. it gives the storytelling more leeway to be unsubtle, because what is obvious can still be difficult to accept. which is kind of the essence of "I want to believe." it's hard to let yourself be loved.

anyway, it's a cute episode, and the stylized elements like the music really help. (so funny that mark snow sometimes sleeps through the big episodes and then something like "rain king" or "soft light" comes along and he's inspired.) love that "the rain king" also carries on the season 6 wizard of oz motif. it's such a grand adventure to get home, but all you have to do is click your heels.

[randomfoggytiger]

I started watching X-Files a couple of months ago and finally finished the whole show, plus the movies and revival. Jesus. I started looking at fanfic but am totally intimidated by HOW MUCH OF IT there is. Like. 30 years worth of it? Where do I even start? Do I read old stuff or new stuff? Are there any authors that have been writing since the 90’s? Who’s stuff should I be reading? What should I be reading? There are so many different kinds! (Okay, but not fluff, because The Ick.) (and only the shippy stuff because I am not a monster.) Where does one even start in this fandom?

Thanks for coming here, Anon-- I'll do my best~. ;)))

TLDR: If you want to read the classics-- the multi-chapter beasts hailed across The X-Files fandom-- I'd go to @lilydalexf's page and sort through her pinned Masterpost of recs; if you want my personal favorites, I've got my own complied Masterlist pinned, as well. If you want author suggestions, I listed a few below (but not all-- even of my personal favorites.) Older fics have a more "walled-off" approach to Scully and an edgier, distant approach to Mulder; newer fics have a more open approach to their exchange and dynamic. I prefer the latter, but that's likely because I was able to watch the show as a whole rather than episode by episode with a lot of guesswork in-between.

It's hard to pinpoint where to recommend you since I don't know your preferences; but here's a very loose attempt to do so:

I'm more of a short fic reader, but I'd recommend @melforbes, @slippinmickeys, @cecilysass, and @wexleresque for long chapters; @teethnbone, @leiascully, @aloysiavirgata, @enigmaticdrblockhead, @dreamingofscully, and @sarie-fairy for "atmospheric" writing; @baronessblixen, @welsharcher, @agent-troi, @television-overload, @invidiosa, @swinging-stars-from-satellites, @thescullyphile, @msrafterdark, and @edierone for well-balanced fluff/angst/humor/comfort fic/etc.; @o6666666, @ghostbustermelanieking, @mappingthexfiles/Apostrophic, and Lapsed_Scholar for their wonderful shorts (but especially Lapsed's Requiem AU compilations); @settle-down-frohike, @suitablyaggrieved, @amplifyme, @wtfmulder, @freckleslikestars, @lyndsaybones, @numinousmysteries, and Jenna Tooms/misslucyjane for their focus on Mulder and Scully as a "mature"-- for lack of a better word-- couple (no matter when their fics are set); @xxsksxxx and @writingwell write long-chaptered casefiles (my writingwell fic recs here might help?-- sorry for the codes, I was rushing out those notes); and if you want the authors everyone recommends, then @mashnotesofthemythopoeic/Penumbra (Masterlist) and prufrock’s love/plenilune (@lilydalexf links/descriptions here) are two of the many that fit the bill.

Other fic recs you might be interested in: @cecilysass's write more of these and Milagro recs, @enigmaticxbee mytharc and Scully family recs, @pennyserenade's reading recs, @two-microscopes shorter fic rec list, @nachosncheezies's slightly psychic Scully recs (describes three of the big x-files fics), etc. You want beautifully short poeticesque ficlets written and recced by @leiascully? Boom. You want Deadalive fic reccs? Kachow. You want opinions from the OGs? The aforementioned aloysiavirgata, amplifyme, baronessblixen, leiascully, suitablyaggrieved, cecilysass, settle-down-frohike, dreamingofscully, msrafterdark, as well as @iconicscullyoutfits and @myassbrokethefall (who write amazing meta, btw.)

Are you interested in AUs that write in Gillian Anderson's pregnancy? That have a storyline sans baby all together? That stick to canon all the way through the Revival? That stick to canon mostly, except for a bit of branching off here and there? Multiple Monday fics? Post Pine Bluff Variant processing? Mulder or Scully PTSD or panic attacks or hurt comfort? The many different flavors of Mulder's abduction or return? Casefiles (admittedly I stink at those)? My own fics (also in my pinned masterpost)? An author whose style you're interested in but would like a description of their work before making a long-term commitment? Lemme know~! :DDDD

Gotta run! Hope you like! (And sorry for any spelling errors~.)

[enigmaticxbee]

XF Rewatch Series - Fic Recs

When you want to remember how it all was (or series-spanning fics that didn’t fit into my season by season lists):

Episode by Episode Rewatch Series:

TXF: Scenes in Between by @scullywolf - missing scenes for every episode through season 9!

201 Days of X Files by @30xf - through season 4

The FBI’s Most Unwanted by @leiascully - through season 3

All Eyes Lead to the Truth by @admiralty-xfd @fridaysat9 @monikafilefan @gaycrouton - third person perspectives on each episode, WIP currently through season 2

219 by @freckleslikestars - smutty fic for every episode, currently though Jersey Devil, NSFW

First Time, Every Time by @phillippadgettwrites - first time fic for every episode, currently through Conduit, NSFW

Check-In Vignettes:

Birthdays by @syntax6 - birthday fics each season through season 7

if the fates allow by @all-these-ghosts - Christmas with Mulder and Scully, 1993-2016

Movie Night by @i-gaze-at-scully - movie nights throughout the series

Fraternize by @admiralty-xfd @gaycrouton - a series of motel room trysts, NSFW

Inspection by @ingridgradient - for seven years, Mulder and Scully give each other tick checks in motel rooms, NSFW

#45 Hegal Place by @admiralty-xfd DanaScullyMakesMeFeelAutopsyTurvy - There’s never a dull moment when your neighbor is Special Agent Fox Mulder

This Woman's Work by @admiralty-xfd - the series through the eyes of Margaret Scully

Seventeen by @scapegrace74-blog - Explores how Mulder's sexual relationships shaped (and mis-shaped) him as a man. Each chapter represents a different partner. Mulder/Other, ultimately MSR, NSFW

X Files Rewatch Series by skuls - unconnected stories throughout the series, some canon-compliant, some not

if I am hopeful by @all-these-ghosts - Scully ficlet for every season

ever since, ever since, ever since by breakfastsandwich - scully realizes nine times over that mulder may in fact love her

Times Fox Mulder Cried by @frangipanidownunder - every season through the revival

these tornadoes are for you (or times she loved him back) by audries - vignettes throughout the series

5 A.M. by @kateyes224 - Five times Scully found herself awake at 5 a.m., and the one time she wasn’t alone

Kisses by @peacenik0 - two times Scully told Mulder “don’t do that again”, and one time she didn’t

Choose Your Poison by Solia - Five times Scully had too much to drink (and one time she had just the right amount of liquid courage!)

To Satisfy Your Expectant Tongue by @givesmevoice - The power and love of being seen and someone knowing how you take your tea.

Wake-Up Calls by lapsed_scholar - Government-issued cell phones are remarkably identical. (Or, Four times Mulder answered Scully's phone at an incriminating hour, and one time she answered his)

Canon Parallel Stories:

Incrementum by @lepus-arcticus - the progression of their relationship if they started sleeping together in the pilot, NSFW. WIP, currently through season 8

Triptych by @iconicscullyoutfits - married to Diana AU

Nuptiae Sub Rosa by @sisterspooky1013 @xfmaweezy - secret marriage AU

I've got you under my skin by cuits - In a universe where soulmate identifying marks exist and affect a part of the population, would Mulder and Scully's relationship evolve any different? Unfinished but complete through Existence so it still ends in a satisfying place.

Enough by @atths--twice - the progression of their relationship if they started sleeping together when the X-Files are shutdown in season 2, NSFW

He is the Master of His Fate, She is the Captain of Her Soul by @scullylikesscience - the progression of their relationship season 7 through IWTB era

Culmination by @admiralty-xfd - Mulder and Scully's journey of the heart, step by (baby) step.

[wutheringheights78]

i think i'm unique and of course iconicscullyoutfits blogged about irma vep two years ago

[heartburn1986]

thanks for the tag @colllateral2004 ! ❣️ 9 favourite first watches in 2023 !

tagging @ladytron @iconicscullyoutfits @tennesseewillams @foxmulders @kristenbouchard if u are so inclined!

[carefulfears]

thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read this post of mine and reblog and share your thoughts and send me messages about it, i really appreciate it. a few more thoughts below the cut but i wanted to say that first!

i feel like what i wrote the other day could be interpreted as derogatory towards the show and a byproduct of patriarchal writing that should have been different, and while there are many aspects of the show that are, i don't personally view it that way.

mulder and scully each have different reactions to violence that are rooted in different experiences, and from different points of view. this isn't a bad thing, this is the thesis of the story, but it is gendered. it is a position of privilege to wonder about exploitation. to be able to study and investigate it and desire to understand it, without it being personal. without having to confront that it could have easily been you, without having to reconcile that it has been you in the past. without having to incorporate those feelings and triggers into the process.

this grounds the characters, and is a very honest aspect of exposure to gendered violence, and the brutalization of women in particular, which is something that is rampant in both our world and the world of the x files.

more than any other defining characteristic, mulder understands the world that he lives in. he understands the systems that are in power, and he understands that certain people are more vulnerable, and aren't seen by those systems.

women, children, people of color, people with different experiences or abilities, are all disregarded by the world at large, seen as disposable, and not listened to. this is something that mulder expresses frustration about regularly, often repeating the sentiment that "nobody cares," such as with possible murders of migrant workers (el mundo gira), the deaths of black men (teliko), the abuse of haitian refugees (fresh bones), etc.

he knows that the FBI, and the government in general, are not interested in the victims, and are not interested in believing and listening to and helping everyone. the majority of his character and the majority of the show is spent focusing on those people, and refusing to accept the systems that ignore them.

this extends to local law enforcement, as virtually all of the confrontations that mulder has in any given episode are pushing back against cops, who are rarely supportive in his investigations. a stand-out to me is here in conduit, the sheriff who spends the entire episode dismissing the disappearance of a teenage girl, because she was "no prom queen" who drank and slept around, and her mom had a reputation of being crazy.

this is contrasted throughout the episode with mulder's obsessive dedication to trying to find her, advocating for her, and taking her mother seriously.

this is something that he does often, and notably when law enforcement treats victims (mostly women, sometimes teenagers, such as in schizogeny) as suspects, and tries to incriminate them rather than defend them (oubliette, mind's eye, terms of endearment, etc.)

as @iconicscullyoutfits wrote in her analysis of blood, "he always knows when someone is a victim despite seeming like a villain by all accounts."

in blood, he tells a woman who beat her mechanic to death that he wants to help her, and he cries out in her defense when a cop responds with deadly force to her attacking mulder. after she nearly kills him, he instantly turns his attention to the systems that caused her to act violently, and figures out that the town was being poisoned through pesticide, in what was likely a government experiment.

mulder was regarded as a brilliant analyst for his uncanny ability to always know who (or what) is responsible for the violence that he bears witness to, whether that be as the genius golden boy of the violent crimes division or spooky mulder in the basement, but that extends to an implicit understanding of how that violence came to be. what the systems are that enable it, and who the true victims are as well.

and the true victims, from the violent crimes division to the basement x-files to the government conspiracy, are often vulnerable and preyed upon groups. in the government/syndicate project, it's almost always women who are abducted, it is only women who come back with implants, and it is only women who get terminally sick as a result. it's women who have their bodily autonomy violated and who are stolen from and who are used for biological material. it's low-income areas who are targeted with military experiments, and who are used for the testing of military technology.

in deep throat, in conversation about government secrets, mulder asks scully, "when does the human cost become too high in the building of a better machine?" and the human cost is high and specific.

the specific targeting of women is something that mulder has been exposed to from every angle for his entire career, and while he has a less personal reaction to scully's, it is often also an emotional one

in oubliette, he openly weeps over the body of lucy householder, a kidnapping survivor who was a drug addict with convictions of prostitution and narcotic possession

in conduit, he visibly shakes and tears up when they find a grave that might belong to a missing girl

the victimization of women, children, and people otherwise viewed as disposable by society is an emotional issue to mulder, whose entire life is predicated on the person closest to him having been viewed as expendable to the government, to his parents, and to society.

samantha was sacrificed to the project instead of mulder, and her file originally had his name on it, a realization that he never gets over or stops trying to make up for. the realization that she was given up in his place.

when samantha went missing, their parents responded by pretending that she had never existed. the "investigation" into her disappearance was closed, and everyone attempted to move on with their lives as though nothing had happened, as though she had never mattered.

the people that she was being held by, government men on a military base, treated her as less than human

their mother burned photos of her

their father references "burying memories," and both bill and tena spend the rest of their lives trying to bury the truth about what happened to her

whereas mulder, in the pilot, looks at scully and tells her that "nothing else matters" to him. he views himself as committed to his sister, as having a responsibility to her, and he always surrounds himself with photos and memories of her. proof of her existence and the meaning behind his life's work.

he never stops looking for her in everything, in every room, in every victim

even years and decades after knowing and confirming that she's dead

and he extends that commitment and that compassion to every victim that he comes across. while they might not be samantha, they're somebody, and he's just as affected by the injustices that others suffer.

he's never willing to accept that this is just how the world he (and we) live in works, that the person who was everything to him was nothing to those in power, and he extends that indignation to the women who came before her

and who come after her

while his response to violence might be one of a privileged viewpoint, it isn't one of detachment, because he makes sure that it isn't. a little girl was sacrificed so that this wouldn't have to be his burden, so that the fact that people are sacrificial wouldn't be his problem, and he takes it on anyway.

he chooses to see the reality of the world, to not turn a blind eye, and he's never ever okay with it

[deathsbestgirl]

my posts: mulder + scully relationship

the way they talk to each other

stops & starts

one breath quotes

courage & safety to believe

txf s6 believer/skeptic roles

mulder's gentleness with scully

tfwid/soul mates

different interpretations

scully's abduction/teena mulder

distance/silence after cancer arc

hope

mulder's affection

sex/priority

relationship foundations

revival/msr journey

mulder as scully's conduit (iconicscullyoutfits linked)

scully knows mulder (re:her abduction)

on their attraction

mulder didn't want to like scully

unfolding like a flower

poor (verbal) communication

scully + cannibalism

msr isn't toxic

gazing/intimacy

shared space (motels, their homes)

committed

their relationship journey

communication (colony/anasazi/wetwired/lb/na/mm)

scully loves mulder (and the x files)

big brother mulder & little sister scully (how it affects their relationship)

when they can't hear each other (literally)

[softiescully]

tagged by thee tumblrinas in medicine @nicholasbritellhive @iconicscullyoutfits as well as @trappergirl to shuffle my on repeat playlist and post 10 tracks <3

my love mine all mine - mitski

dancing in the dark - bruce springsteen

america - simon & garfunkel

god only knows - the beach boys

born to run - bruce springsteen

i have nothing - whitney houston

heaven - mitski

best of my love - the emotions

like a star - corinne bailey rae

linger - the cranberries

tagging: @fbidirectorscully @mrbinglee @universalinvariant @chiefofmilfs @anatomicvenus