#is x files worth a rewatch

[babblingfishes]

i find it extremely funny that X-Files is still relevant enough to modern conspiracy theories that I can spend an entire episode joking about how I'm in the bushes outside hitting Fox Mulder with my havana ray and i genuinely have to ask myself if that was canonically what was going on here

[bluesidez]

Can I request a Miguel O'Hara x Curvy reader where they both get intoxicated from sex pollen ??

[Sticky-Icky]

lab taster: @waterinthefire 🩻

pairing: Miguel O'Hara x Curvy!Reader

summary: He's a lot less irritating when he puts his mouth to better use.

content warning: a PWP but you guys know me (there's a little plot), this is so 18+ that it's crazy so MDNI, sex pollen (or more like Miguel is playing around and doesn't know wtf he's doing), unprotected p in v sex (WRAP IT UP 🫵🏾) manhandling, temperature play if you squint, standing 69, facefucking, creampies, wrong use of webs, biting, breeding, spitting, squirting, cunnilingus, fellatio, fluff if you squint...I think that's it. my god.

word count: 4.3k, halfway proofread

a/n: Listening to Sticky by Ravyn Lenae inspired part of this. Also watching several episodes of Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen, and Law & Order: SVU in the bg kept me sane. And one more rewatch of ATSV.

My duty as a fanfic writer is fulfilled as I give you this mandatory trope. 🫡

When you first started working at Spider HQ, you were amazed by the fact that one man was able to create all of this.

It was astounding, beyond what the gray tones of Nueva York could ever present to you.

Now, you think back to your glittering eyes during the first year working here and laugh.

Working for Miguel O’Hara was like squeezing a watermelon through a straw. He was impossible.

Nothing you did was ever satisfactory for him. Something could always be fixed. Sometimes, you wonder why he still kept you employed here.

Currently, he was turning his nose up at a salve you were working on for spiders whose healing time wasn’t nearly as quick as others.

“Run a new test. This batch is no good.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“The formula could be better, it’s too thick, and why does it smell like that?”

The scent was similar to one you wore often and a lot of the spider-people that swung by the pharmacy seemed to like it.

“Uh, jade tea.”

The pinch in Miguel’s eyebrows deepened as he sniffed the air.

“Switch it to something else.”

You huffed, already tired of this conversation, “Well, what smell do you suggest?”

“Anything but this.”

“How about lavender, then? Perhaps peppermint.”

“And now, you’re being childish,” Miguel put the tin down before placing his hands on his hips. “You know there’s spider-people who can’t smell too much of that.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

He plopped a giant file on your desk, “Deal with that later. I need you to work on something else. For some reason, villains across dimensions are obtaining access to a substance similar to rapture. Every time there’s a mission, the spider-person of that dimension has been left affected. I need something to subside the effects until we can get them back here.”

“Ok, well do you have the substance with you?”

“No. But I’ll get you something soon. For now, I have a year’s worth of research on rapture. It should be of some use.”

You took the rubber band off of the manilla folder, something so old school for this era of tech.

You saw a line of formulas that started to make your head spin.

“Are there a lot of people affected right now?”

“Only a few. They’ve used the leftover solution I made a long time ago. It’s only going to work for so long,”

“Good. I need to sleep on this.”

Miguel’s head knocked back an inch, “Are you refusing work? The state of the heroes of different universes relies on this research. It’s not some science project-“

“I understand completely, Miguel, but I’m off the clock.”

He stopped and checked his watch, the red six o’clock burning back on him.

“I only work the hours you pay me, Spidey,” you reach to pat his arm and regret it when his stern face doesn’t move.

“Not interested in paid overtime?”

You bit your cheek to stop the laugh from coming out.

“That’s nice and all, but I’ve got plans.”

“Like what?”

“Like resting, sleeping, not touching lab work with a you-sized pole. All of these are things you aren’t familiar with. Plus, I have a date.”

A pause went through the room as you started to gather your things.

“Since when do you date?”

You push your chair under your desk harder than you mean to, “Since when do you care?”

“I,” he follows to the elevator, “care about my employees.”

“Sure, Miguel.”

If it weren’t for your tired state, you would think he looks a little sad at your statement.

“See you tomorrow, then?”

The doors start to close as you nod your head, Miguel’s gaze stuck just above your head.

Weird. Just like his frequent stops to your lab.

The feeling doesn’t leave your gut even as you’re smiling in your date’s face.

One minute, you’re laughing at a story about some amateur skateboarders Downtown, and the next, an electric billboard is being covered in tiny nano-spiders across the street.

“So the guy just takes one step on the board and then he’s flying. A straight line across the park.”

“That’s,” the spiders start to crawl into different lines. Then a logo forms, displaying the spider on Miguel’s suit next to an exclamation point. “So hilarious.”

Your date chuckles then follows your gaze, the silence too long, “Is there something wrong?”

The nano-spiders flipped around, the regular billboard showing like normal. You squint.

“No, I thought I saw something. Must have been my imagination.”

“You did say you were a little tired from work. Should we raincheck? We can always catch a movie another time.”

You wanted to say no, you’d been looking forward to tonight.

The billboard flickered to a little picture of Lyla with “SOS” above her head.

“Yeah, I should probably get going. Sorry about this.”

The way he doesn’t sweat you practically ditching him makes your heart pang. You’re already dreading another night exhausted and alone. Your date seemed promising.

You wave at him from your taxi, the route leading back to Spider HQ feeling like torture. You unclasp your purse and check your gizmo.

40 missed messages.

It’s not until you’re walking into the regular lobby that you turn it on.

“What is so important that you waste Margo’s time to interrupt my time?”

Lyla pops in your peripheral, hands up and wary, “I’m only doing what boss asks! Don’t get mad at me.”

“Lyla, why am I back here right now?”

“Well, Miguel has gotten himself in some particular trouble.”

You punch the elevator button, “Get to the point, please.”

“He went into your lab to try and start the solution he talked about earlier. After his first accident, he’s never had any luck with lab work, so uh. He’s kind of made a mess.”

The elevator moves and you look at Lyla, “What kind of mess?”

The doors open and you can smell it before you see it.

It’s poignant, like perfume soaked roses and patchouli. The scent hits you hard enough to make you grip the metal opening as you come out.

“What exactly did he do?” you breathe out.

Your limbs start to shake, nerves drumming from the inside out. A weight feels like it landed on your core, your stomach twitching as you continued to take in whatever had transpired.

“Something about DNA splicing and plants. I can trace his movements back if you’d like, but I’m also currently trying to figure out how to reverse it.”

“Great.”

You swing open the door to a disheveled Miguel. He’s sweating profusely as he tries to clean up your lab desk.

Before you can even begin to yell he’s fussing, “Lyla, I told you not to call her!”

“But you obviously don’t know what you’re doing.”

He bites his lip as he tries not to look at you, fingers trembling as he starts to store materials back into their drawers.

“Thought you had a date.”

“And I thought I told you stay away from my station,” you feel like a baby deer walking over to him.

When you get closer he sucks in his breath like you cut him, stopping in his tracks.

“I don’t think you should be near me,” he grunts. His eyes are dark, lips swollen with the way he’s biting them.

“What are you talking about? I’m trying to help you.”

You round the corner of the desk, the image of you two almost comical. Miguel moves to the edge of the desk, chest moving faster, while you chase after him trying to get a hand on his forehead.

He felt extremely cold compared to the numbness of your palm, despite how flushed he looked. His eyes close as your hand slides from his head to his neck, muscles there tensing.

“Please. Don’t,” he whispers.

“Who else is coming here to save you?” you ask, frustrated. “What did you do anyway?”

He doesn’t answer as he peers at you. Your heart is beating faster and you can’t tell if it’s because of the air or because of the way he looks like he’s about to climb you.

Every move you made felt like sharp pricks in your skin, the tight material of your dress digging into your hips. It felt like the ends of burning flames and you wanted it off. Your breaths were picking up and you couldn’t quite comprehend what was going on other than Miguel being your cooling solution.

“Miguel,” you sounded like you ran a marathon when all you did was step into his space.

“It’s the shocking formula that I screwed up. That’s why everything feels-“

“Like I need you,” you interrupt. “Like I want you on top of me.”

The insides of your thighs were fighting against themselves to stay together, the urge to let your legs fall around him strong.

“That’s just the chemicals talking. W-we can get somewhere safe and separated.”

You grab the back of his neck and pull yourself even closer, his hands gripping the table like a lifeline as he groans.

“So you don’t want me?” you press against him, caging a knee around him right next to his hand. “You don’t think about me?”

You can almost feel his heartbeat matching yours as you pull yourself up.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You don’t wonder how I feel when you come into my lab snooping around? How I feel when you come in here barking orders?”

Your face is in his neck and you feel yourself clench around nothing as you take a deep breath. He smells like coffee and fabric softener, but there’s an underlying wave of musk. Of something so unbelievably him and you want to keep that scent close forever.

“I imagine you’re annoyed. But a job is a job.”

“But you still come in here asking for things you know someone else can do,” your panties are soaked, and from the way his nose flares, you know he knows. “Why?”

His teeth grit as you start to grind on him, the feeling giving you an inch of relief that only makes you want more.

“I, I don’t- It’s because I,” the counter began to crack under his hands. His muscles were pulled taut. “Dios, ayúdame.”

Maybe you were wrong, and your hazy mind only brought thoughts from the subconscious one.

“Fine. I get that you don’t like me but could you at least give me some type of relief?” you were whining in his ears at this point, a complete 180 of how you left him earlier today. With every grind of your hips, you left noises in his skin, desperate.

The desk made a terrible sound as Miguel finally lets go and grabs around your waist. Your breath is slammed out of you as your back hits the wall, Miguel’s hand holding your head to stop it from crashing into the wall too.

Your throat makes a gargled sound as Miguel licks down your jaw, his talons ripping into your dress. His tongue swipes into your mouth, breaths rapid as he finally gets a taste.

“I do like you. More than I should,” his words were passed right into you. “You and your smart mouth.”

“Then stop talking and do something about it.”

A yank in your hair stops your complaints, Miguel kissing down your side. Every press of his lips left a chilly flutter. Your hips are moving frantically, patience wearing thin. Right as you’re about to say something again, he flips you, the layers of your dress falling as he rips into your panties.

The blood rushes to your head as he takes a bite into your thigh, sucking as your legs fall to his shoulders.

You moan his name, hands gripping at his thighs. His kisses led to your lips, swollen and dripping. From your clit to your entrance, he groaned as he covered you, drinking like you were water in the middle of the night.

You felt like you were going to slip, but Miguel’s arms were looped around your legs, not letting go. His suit was in your way, your mouth salivating as his crotch stared back at you. Your fingers could only dig as far as his suit allows and you have half a mind to call Lyla to disengage it.

“Please,” you sigh as you rub his bulge with your cheek. “I need it so bad.”

“Cállate,” he hums, face delving deeper into you. The sound of him licking up every drop echos off the cool walls and the light of his suit dims away letting you see what you’ve been waiting for.

His length hits your chin, precum spilling down and you’ve never been more excited for a man to go commando. You open your mouth and let your breath hit him as you take a swipe down to his balls.

Miguel’s grunts and shifts his hips back. His tip swerves around your face as he tries to find your mouth without unlatching his jaw from your sex. You help out with the last bit of sanity you have, and once you wrap your lips around him, his hips snap hard onto you.

All you can feel is Miguel entering you from top to bottom, his hands keeping you stationed in your position. There’s no room to do anything as he’s devouring you and taking your breath away at the same time. Two of his fingers sink into you, and you jerk from the difference between his skin and his tongue.

Miguel nibbles at the hood of your clit, urging you to be still. Whenever his fingers leave you, his pelvis fills your senses. Your throat gags around him, spit building to keep up with his thrusts.

“So good,” he hums. His pace picks up and the tears in your eyes fall to the floor. “Made for me. Only me.”

Your fingers wrap around his thighs and squeeze tight, your vision fading as you try to take in pockets of air. The shake in your legs and the broken moans that escaped your lips only ignited him.

“Bebé,” his hips stutter. He’s sloppy as he drools over the entrance, voice loud. “Bebé, you’re so, ngh.”

He cums down your throat, balls twitching against your face. You close your eyes and try to swallow everything, jaw aching. Miguel groans your name as he slides his dick out to the tip, a few spurts still landing on your lips. You cough, position making everything go north.

The taste of him was delicious, but you needed more of him elsewhere. Your mouth was as drenched as your cunt and yet you still felt empty.

When Miguel flips you back upright, you’re ready to pounce on him again. The state of you both is alarming. Your breasts have completely fallen out of your dress, that black thing barely holding on by its zipper. Miguel’s suit is phasing in and out in the most obscene places. There’s slick up to his eyebrows and his cum is all over your cheeks.

He grabs your jaw and runs his tongue over your face, cleaning up his mess. You let him live in his own bubble before that burning in your core came back.

Your nails dig into his shoulders and your whispers of “more” come to light. You’re clawing at him like a cat begging him to do something, anything, to make this feeling go away.

“Miguel,” you gasp as he sinks his teeth into your skin. “Miguel, it hurts. Fix it, Miggy, please.”

You guide his hands down your body and place them on your ass. His touch sates you for only a moment, but your body reacts as if he needs to be deep in your bones. He spreads your ass and groans as the sound of how eager you are for him follows.

“You’re not ready,” are the words that make you even more frustrated. Your hands pushing and pulling at him, ready to try and put him where you want him to go.

He clicks his teeth and flexes his wrists. His webs tie your wrists together, neon red strings leaving a buzz on your skin. He yanks your dress off and you stumble with the motions.

The clinical room doesn’t aid the building heat you feel, but Miguel turning you around and pressing you into the wall as he cuts the rest of your panties off does.

He squats and grabs two hands full of you.

He spits onto your hole, mesmerized as he watches it slide to your entrance. “Qué hermosa,” he whispers.

You bend, whimpering as your folds cover his nose, clenching and grinding.

“God,” you sigh. Something this small was going to bring you to the edge so quickly. “D-don’t stop.”

“Greedy,” Miguel says as if he’s not moving the fat of your ass to nudge his face into you. The arch in your back deepens as he continues and your whines get higher.

He smacks your right cheek, sound echoing off the metal tables, and you shout his name as you coat his tongue.

Tranquility clears your mind for a second, one where the flowery scent in the air is less strong.

The peace leaves just as fast as it came when Miguel gets rid of his suit and stands behind you in all of his glory.

His eyes followed from your dewey face to the curve of your hips to bitten thighs to feet with one heel still on.

“He didn’t deserve to see this,” he says.

“W-what?”

Miguel ignores you and pulls your wrists up straight, a confused noise leaving you. He wraps another web around your ankles and huffs. He sets your arms under your chest, your hands in front of you like a prayer.

When he picks you up by your waist, his dick lines up with your ass.

He groans as he grinds, watching himself disappear and reappear.

You try to move with him, “No, not there. Inside.”

“You’re always so distracting,” he growls. He slides his length between your thick thighs and you nearly scream as his hips hit your ass, his tip just barely passing over your clit. “Can never think straight when I see you.”

He rubbed over the bite he left on your shoulder, “So pretty. My pretty baby.”

His low voice right in your ears only made you wetter. He was holding you like you were his toy, fucking the inside of your thighs with ease.

Miguel could cry watching your ass bounce on his stomach. Your legs were soft and warm and he just couldn’t stop.

“Want you so bad. Need to fuck you again and again and again,” he said as your thighs quivered around him.

“Please, Miguel. Make me yours,” your voice crowded the sound of his grunts as he held you up and pounded away.

Those were the magic words to get him to lean back with a firm grip on you and release all over the wall. It was everywhere, from your legs to the wall to the ceiling.

He set you to the floor with shaky arms, and you started to sob.

All of this and you still wanted more. If this was making you feel this insane, you can only imagine the small relief Miguel was feeling after being exposed for longer.

“C’mere,” he pulls you to the bare floor and cuts the webs. You immediately try to climb him, legs wrapping around his waist.

He was painfully hard for someone who came twice now.

Your cries of “inside” slur together, tears running down your face. Miguel was no better, fangs dripping with venom and the hairs on skin raised.

The two of you tussle as Miguel tries to keep your hips to stay stationary. You kept jerking in order to get some sort of friction but he was baring his teeth to get you to quit.

You dip your nails into his shoulders and arms while he drags a talon down your sternum to snap your bra off.

A clatter of your stiletto sounds off across the room as he pinches your thigh, “Easy, beautiful. Let me take care of you, yeah?”

“Fucking hurry,” you whine.

He shushes as he plunges inside of you, the noise you both make as loud as a choir.

Your eyes roll back as Miguel presses, bending your body in half.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” Miguel leans to whisper onto your lips.

Tight is the first thing that comes to mind and heat is the next.

He moves his hips up and slams back down, your ass shifting from the pressure.

“Miguel!”

“That’s it. Talk to me.” All of that chatter earlier and now you can barely get out a word.

“H-harder,” your hands don’t know where to go. They’re grabbing Miguel, they’re falling next to your head, they’re grabbing at your breasts as Miguel jerks your body.

Miguel goes to open your jaw, lips pulling on your tongue to suck. It’s tender and sensual compared to the way his balls are slapping against you. There’s a ring of white on his shaft getting thicker and thicker as he continues.

“Pretty thing,” he says as he lets your tongue go, a string of saliva falling to your neck. “Watched you on the cameras. Always.”

That stirs something in you, a spark in your chest as you see stars.

“Did you want to do this to me when you watched me?” you manage out.

“Yes.”

“I can put on a show for you next time.”

“Yes.”

“You can come in here. ‘N fuck me over the counter.”

“Sí, sí, baby,” his hands push your knees next to your head and he ruts against you. His thighs were straining as he took and took.

A yell pulls itself from your core, that burning feeling getting a crash of cold water. The dam bursts and you’re running all over Miguel, essence leaving every time he inches out and back in.

“Gonna fill you up,” he rasps, eyes glazed over.

You nod your head, clenching and pulsing around him.

His eyes don’t leave yours as he shudders against you. You suck him in, gaining a deep moan from him, “Así, bebé. Take it.”

It’s like you can finally think as his cum overflows, your heart rate finally slowing.

He stares at you as you both come back to reality. Your body is limp, the weight of Miguel making itself known.

“Holy shit,” you wiggle and he catches the hint. He lifts a bit and pulls out. The swirl of you two falls out of you in waves. “What. The fuck.”

“God,” Miguel mumbles. “No shocking way we just did that.”

“You can’t say that when the evidence is leaking out of me.”

Miguel groans as he watches you, your face pouty and your hole glistening. It was intoxicating.

His dick twitches, coming to life again the longer he watches.

“‘M sorry in advance,” he says as he pulls you into his lap.

“Just take care of it, O’Hara.”

The two of you sat in the middle of the floor, breathing hard. Pieces of consciousness were starting to come back.

“You looked stunning tonight,” Miguel said. He looked at your shredded dress on the floor. “I’m glad he won’t see you in that dress anymore.”

The snort that leaves your nose turns into a full-blown laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“You just took my soul ten times over and you’re worried about a guy I just met less than a week ago. I fear I’m ruined for anyone else.”

“Oh,” he smiles. “Good.”

“You still should take me on a date. You’ve got a lot to explain.”

Flashes of him confessing to his habit of watching you from afar come back, “O-of course.”

“And you owe me a new dress.”

“On it.”

Lyla pops up next to you both, a blindfold over her shades, “Is it safe to talk to you guys now?”

Miguel checks his gizmo, “I think we’re good for about forty minutes. The effects are starting to wear off.”

“Excellent!” She throws the fabric to the side, “Oh my god, this room is a mess.”

You look at the array of substances over the room and grimace. The entire hall will have to be on lockdown.

“Well, I managed to vent out the solution. You two should be ok soon.”

You lean on Miguel’s chest and close your eyes, happy to hear good news.

“Kind of sad that this is what it took for you to confess, Miguel,” she comments.

“Lyla!”

You laugh again, “Some confession.”

“That’s enough,” Miguel scowls.

Your giggles die down as you pull yourself onto Miguel’s thigh, bubbles in your chest molding into moans as you start to grind over his thigh.

“I’m starting to think you guys are just bluffing,” Lyla gags before she disappears. “Let me know when you’re done.”

“I think,” you nuzzle into his neck, “this’ll be the last time. I’m tired.”

“If not, we can take it to my house.”

The world blurs again as you and Miguel connect under the white lights.

Take a shot every time I say breath or breathe 😭. Anywho, as always, if you enjoyed, please like, reblog, and COMMENT!

[happy74827]

Fate’s Design

[Carlisle Cullen x Female!Reader]

Synopsis: Not even fate can stop forbidden love. {GIF Credits: Pinterest}

WC: 2051

Category: Angst (with a side of fluff)

Can you tell I rewatched Twilight? 👀 Edward? Jacob? Nah, I’m team Carlisle all the way.

In all seriousness, this took me so long to write out since I’m in that stage of life where there’s no free time 😭

But, regardless, here’s a fic that no one asked for (and hopefully won’t mind 👀). So, uh… enjoy :)

『••✎••』

Funny, how the world works, how fate works.

The day you had first laid eyes on him, you could tell immediately there was something different about him, something... strange. Stranger than strange.

A simple hospital visit, a clumsy fall down the stairs, and here you were, stuck in a place of healing with the smell of antiseptics and disinfectant all around you. For a simple wrist sprang, being around deathly ill people who had no sense of common courtesy was the last thing you wanted to experience.

Still, it couldn't be helped, and so you endured. Endured until that one fateful encounter.

When the nurses brought him into the room, you couldn't help but stare. A young, handsome man who looked barely a few years older than you, pale, cold skin that reminded you of the snowy tundras, and bright eyes you swore turned gold in the light.

Strange, yes. Very strange. But a very good kind of strange, the kind of strange that was captivating.

Carlisle Cullen.

You couldn't help but smile as you thought of the name, as the memories came back to you. The first meeting, the second, and then the third. You remembered all of them, every single one, and the way your heart fluttered like a caged bird each time, wanting to break free.

How long had it been since that first meeting? Five months? Six?

You couldn't be sure, but it was enough.

Enough for you to know that you loved him.

How funny, how ironic, how cruel fate was, giving you someone to love and then making it impossible to be with him.

You were just an average girl with average interests and average talents who had a boring, average job that didn't pay much and was living an average life.

But you were human; he was not.

You were a creature that could live, grow, age, and eventually die while he was frozen in time, a beautiful, timeless statue with an old soul that lived a hundred years in the span of one.

You knew this, he knew this, and that was what held you both back.

Even though you loved him, even though when he looked at you, his eyes burned with the same emotions you felt, the two of you were still unable to come together.

You would’ve given up had it not been for your own stubbornness, your own will to hold on, to see this through to the end.

He was worth it, and you knew it.

And so, you decided it didn’t matter if your time with him would be short because you would spend it happily, without regret.

After all, a few months spent with him was better than none at all.

You found yourself storming into the hospital, pure determination set on your face as you went up to the reception desk and demanded to know where Carlisle Cullen was.

The nurse gave you an odd look but didn’t question you further, and after giving her the information she needed, she directed you to his office.

You were assured he was filing papers, so you didn’t bother with knocking. Instead, you barged in with the burning desire to make your mark, to make your presence known, to show him, without any doubt, how you felt.

You didn't care if he was startled by your sudden entrance, and as you approached him, he stood up, surprise written on his face.

"I’m done, Carlisle," you said, your tone final, a declaration. "I’m so done."

He tilted his head in confusion.

Your hands came to a fist as you rested them against his desk, eyes narrowed and burning.

"I'm done holding back," you said, voice steady. "If you don’t kiss me right now, I'll never forgive you."

Your name came out as a soft sigh from his lips, and you couldn’t stop the shudder that ran through you at the sound of it. The mellow, gentle tone that held your entire being was always catching you off guard, even after all this time.

It wasn’t fair; it really wasn't.

"Kiss me, goddamnit!" You yelled at him, the demand clear in your tone.

And, like always, he denied you. In fact, he practically told you to shut up in his own way by bringing attention that you were still… quite literally, in the hospital.

You didn’t care. It was obvious by the way you kept going at him, demanding he take action.

And then, a gush of wind.

Your eyes widened, and before you could utter a word, the door from behind slammed shut. Not enough to create a loud bang, but enough to get your attention, and when you looked over, his arm was extended out, hand resting on the door.

Just inches away from your head.

Your heart skipped a beat as you looked up at him.

He was towering over you completely, and the proximity made your breathing hitch. His gaze was intense and golden, and it burned right through you like it always did. But you weren’t scared, not even the slightest bit.

This was what you wanted, after all.

So you kept silent and waited for him to make the first move. Any move, really.

A few seconds passed, and then, ever so slowly, he lowered his head. But he didn't lean down far enough, no. Instead, his face inched closer and closer to yours until, finally, all you could see were his eyes.

And all you could think about was his lips.

"As much as I want to," he began, voice soft and smooth. "You and I both know it's not that easy."

"Yes, it is," you retorted, stubborn. "You're just making it hard."

"I'm being realistic."

"Realistic? Really?" Your face twisted into a scowl. "Says the man who's not even human."

"That's precisely why," he said. "You’re…"

His voice quivered, just slight enough to be noticeable. It made your heart ache, and you were ready to interrupt him, to say that it didn’t matter; nothing else did.

But you stopped yourself.

It was only right to hear what he had to say.

"You truly wish to want… this? To give up the happiness of your future, the family you deserve, to be drowned in sorrow, all for me?"

His words were sincere, his voice quiet, and the expression on his face was one you could barely comprehend.

"Drowned…? Drowned?!" You echoed his words; brows knitted in a deep frown. "Carlisle, I'm already drowning! Right now!"

You paused, trying to calm yourself, but you could feel tears prickling your eyes. This wasn’t how you had imagined it going.

"It hurts," you confessed, voice low. "It hurts me that you don’t understand, that you think so little of yourself."

Carlisle's breath caught, and his lips parted in surprise, but you weren’t finished yet.

"It hurts me that you think I could ever be happy without you," you continued, your voice rising a bit. “Carlisle, I have found happiness in you. I am happy with you. The day we met, I was a wreck; my wrist was a wreck… everything was a wreck. But then you came, and now, now I'm happy. You make me happy."

The look on his face was unreadable, but it didn’t deter you from speaking your mind.

"Why can’t you see that? Why can’t you see that you’ll always be twice the man than any other human being out there?"

Silence.

He didn’t answer, and the longer the silence stretched, the more your heart hurt. Carlisle was a good man; he was. He was a good doctor, a good father, and, of course, a good-looking guy.

He deserved the world.

And if the world couldn't give it to him, you would.

"If you can't see it, then fine," you finally spoke, and it was almost a whisper. "Then I'll do it for you. I'll tell you every day. I'll keep telling you until it sticks."

The corners of your mouth tugged upwards into a shaky smile.

"Even if I have to keep yelling at you."

He exhaled, and suddenly, he looked much more relaxed, and you realized that you had gotten through to him.

It made the tears that were gathering in your eyes spill over.

"At least I know you wouldn’t toss me aside when my personality eventually overpowers my looks," you mumbled, laughing.

"Toss you aside?"

There was a sudden, sharp edge to his tone, and when his hand came to rest under your chin, gently, carefully, your eyes shot up, staring into his own.

You didn't realize it, but the way you looked at him, the expression on your face, it made him see something different, something he never expected.

A woman who loved him. Truly, sincerely, deeply, and completely.

He couldn’t believe it, and yet, you were right there, in front of him, your eyes shining and reflecting nothing but adoration and admiration.

Your eyes were shining, but not with sadness, no, not anymore.

It was a beautiful sight, one he would remember for all of eternity.

"I'd be a fool to do that," he whispered, his tone sincere, and when his other hand came up, his fingers brushing over your cheek, a featherlight touch, he could hear your breath catch.

"A complete and utter fool."

You watched the smile grow on his lips, and it was so beautiful, it was unreal.

But this, the feeling of his hand on your skin, the coldness contrasted by the warmth of your own body, the gentleness of his touch, it was surreal.

"Carlisle," you murmured, and he was still staring at you, but there was a new intensity in his gaze. "Let me give you the happiness you deserve. Let me."

You took a small step forward, and his hand was still resting under your chin. You didn't dare move or speak again, not until you could read his face, the expression on his features.

It was difficult, however, and just when you thought he wouldn't say anything, he spoke.

"I can't guarantee the future or the happiness," he admitted. "Not for myself, and not for you, but-"

"But?" You couldn’t help but smirk.

"I can try," he answered. "For your sake, I'll try."

You should’ve expected the response after that, the speed at which his hand moved from your cheek to the back of your neck, pulling you forward, and his other hand, moving downwards to rest on the small of your back.

You should've, but you didn't.

All you could do was stare at him, your eyes widening, and just when you opened your mouth to speak, to say something, anything, his lips were on yours, and all the coherent thoughts left you.

You could hear the thumping of your heart, loud, thundering, and it drowned out all the other sounds around you.

He was gentle and careful, and the kiss was nothing more than a brief, feather-light press of his lips, but it was enough. It was enough to set your whole body on fire, to have you lean in, to have your hands come up, grasping onto his lab coat for dear life.

You could feel the coldness of his skin, but the taste of his lips was indescribable.

He tasted sweet, like vanilla, and the longer his lips were on yours, the more the flavor lingered until you couldn’t remember how your own lips had ever tasted.

When he finally pulled away, it was as if the world was spinning and all the strength left your body.

"We're not in the clear just yet," he murmured, his gaze still intense, and it sent a shiver down your spine. "There are many things we have to talk about and many things to work out, but-"

"Carlisle," you breathed out, your grip on his coat tightening. "Don’t talk. Just relish."

You leaned forward, and he did the same, his eyes fluttering shut, and as your lips connected with his, your mind was filled with a single thought.

This.

This was right.

It was perfect, and the world was a better place.

The funny thing about fate is that if two people are meant to be, no matter the time, the place, or the circumstances, they'll find each other.

The two of you were living proof.

[thanx-files]

*banging pots and pans together* I FINISHED ANOTHER SEASON OF THE X-FILES!!! GATHER ‘ROUND FOR MY HOT TAKES!!!

Spoilers, as usual. It’s all below the cut.

The End

I’m not even sure what to think. This finale felt like a regular ass X-File until the last minute on screen. No one was dying of an incurable disease or being drugged within an inch of their life. No one even faked their death! Though we did have another delightful moment of Mulder physically attacking his colleagues in the halls of the Hoover Building, plus another reassignment! Classic finale stuff.

I’m honestly still processing the image of Mulder’s office gone up in smoke. That’s one of the few spoilers I’ve managed to avoid. I can never keep track of whose side Mr. Morley is on, but damn. Damn.

Backtracking tho: MSR goes crazy this ep, but on the down low. He is thinking about ONE of the ladies. ONE of the ladies is thinking about him. Scully doesn’t care what anyone thinks except Diana — not even what Mulder thinks. What a fucking interesting distinction, right? Alexa! Alexa, play ‘Girl Crush’ by Little Big Town!

Not to mention the way she goes back to his place after everything that happens — the fanfic of it all, going home with him to make sure he takes a nap on his couch and doesn’t jump the tracks. She’s confused and tired and probably angry, and she loves him so much despite it all. Agh. AGH.

Anyway if anything bad happens to the kid I quit the show. Earlier in the series, I was tired of bad things happening to women (still am) but now I am tired of bad things happening to kids. Scully is, too, damn it.

The verdict: This is good. This is solid. It’s not the same levels of drama we are used to from a finale, but it’s enough of a paradigm shift to make you wonder what’s next. And maybe it would feel old-hat (the X-Files are shut down again, what else is new?) if we didn’t see Mulder’s life’s work go up in literal flames.

Season 5

This season, y’all. This season! It has EVERYTHING. It’s got needle drops and fun dances and unreliable narrators and fun and humor, but it also has FUCKING EMILY!!! Redux and Emily are within TEN EPISODES of each other. Are you kidding me? It has Catholicism! It has Scully to the rescue!

Pros: Lots of Scully!

Cons: Lots of Scully being sad.

Yeah, season 5 may be a new favorite. It has its clunkers for sure, but it also has some all-time best episodes. It’s literally watering the seeds of doubt, showing us that absolutely nothing and no one is trustworthy — I’m so mad that we never talk about “trust no one” anymore — that the truth may well be out there, but that we wouldn’t fucking know it if we found it, right now. Mulder is more skeptical than Scully ALL FUCKING SEASON! She may not be ready to write it in a field report, but you cannot seriously tell me she doesn’t believe something. She believes enough to know that something is wrong with Chinga. She believes enough to shoot the shadow in Mulder’s hospital room. She believes enough to set the nephilim free. To protect Gibson. Meanwhile, Mulder is kind of done taking people at their word. He needs evidence. He needs to see to believe. These two have changed each other so much in 5 years!

I just love it. I just do.

Episodes

I’m making a Tier List this time. And heaven help me, it is not particularly balanced.

It’s also worth noting that this ranking might change over time. I tried to account for both quality of the ep and my own personal feelings about it — which aren’t always the same thing. For example, I’ll rewatch Unusual Suspects long before either of the Reduxes.

[lyriumcoloredskies]

Written in the Pages pt.1

Pairing: Bakugo x Villain!Reader WC: 2.8k Summary: In which Bakugo finds himself a little too attached to a certain public nuisance, much to the detriment of his own life. CW: angst, veiled mention of depression, burnout, maladaptive daydreaming, parasocial relationship, lots of cursing, pining, bakugo is a little delulu (but aren't we all?) AN: Also posted on my AO3 under the same name.

You were entirely too likeable.

Maybe it was your attitude – larger than life, with a witty comeback for everything, and that blasé way about you. Maybe was it the killer figure? Your fat fucking hips, a perky juicy little ass, and tig ol' biddies that Bakugo just wanted to smash his face into. 

Every time Bakugo thought about it, he could feel his left temple throb so deeply it threatened to end his entire life right then and there with an aneurysm.

Seven long and hard years grinding his way to the number 2 spot on the Pro-Hero list only for him to be pulled into this stupid cat and mouse game for the last five. You were a messy stain on his perfect record of putting even the most elusive criminals away in jail. Just like that, you managed to land yourself right in the thoughts of Bakugo Katsuki.

24/7, rent fucking free.

At first Katsuki assumed it was his quick temper, fragile ego, and perfectionist attitude rearing its ugly head. He was so sure the obsession would fade as soon as he slapped those cuffs on you and turned you over to the proper authorities. That thought was beaten out of him by the second year of chasing you only to be given the slip every time. Katsuki quickly found himself raging and roaring to go as if he was the same 15 year old boy at UA with a competitive streak a mile wide.

He poured over your files, rewatching clip after clip to see where he went wrong. How many late nights did he spend with Kirishima planning new strategies only to be outwitted yet again? Way too many for his ego to admit. When the third year rolled around, Katsuki tried his best to just move on.

This was fine. Totally fine.

If life had taught him anything it was that some things were not worth pouring energy over. It wasn’t like you were out there committing mass murder, just the occasional bank robbery and public nuisance charge. Determined to turn over a new leaf, and at Kirishima’s insistence, he neatly placed all the case files into a box and pawned it off to his sidekicks.

So, color Bakugo surprised when he found out that you didn’t leave his mind after his little desk clean out.

No, you fucking lingered because YOU were everywhere.

The internet was a disgusting and depraved place. Just like how there were fans dedicated to heroes, villain fans existed too. He was reminded of that fact every time he logged into his TigTog, Tweeter, or PicstaGram to "promote" his socials. Damn his PR manager.

He saw thousands of "thirst posts" from so called "villain simps", whatever the fuck that meant. Bakugo didn’t care and he sure as hell did not want to know. He had to begrudgingly admit that he somewhat understood how you became so infamous.

Though he would adamantly deny it, he wasn’t blind. Every altercation between the two of you meant he sometimes saw you more than his own friends and family. In fact, you were the only woman, aside from his mom and UA friends, that he saw regularly. Even though he was a hero, Bakugo is a hot-blooded man. His eyes wandered and lingered for a little too long to be considered “battle analysis”. He intimately knew the soft curves of your hips and the way you sounded as you panted for air. Images that were burned so deep in his brain that he had to will himself not to go there when he heard your name. 

If Bakugo let himself linger a little too long, his mind would escape from him. While his thoughts ran wild he couldn’t help but think of you. You were something Bakugou knew he would only see once in a lifetime. From your beautiful eyes, shining bright with wit and something of a naughtier nature, to your plump beautiful lips, full and shiny – FUCK.

He hated to admit it, but he loved the way your soft full breasts jiggled in your catsuit as you jumped, avoiding his explosions. How many times had he, like that fucking perverted grape boy, stared at your chest during fights? Only to get distracted just enough for you to slip beyond his grasp. It grated on his ego more than hearing that Deku kept his spot as number one at each Hero Awards Ceremony.

But holy fuck he would readily admit he would crawl on his knees to the gates of heaven if he could even hold you. To love you like you were everything because you were.

If only Bakugo thinks. If only he could hold you. If only he could bury himself deep in your thighs, happily leaving behind air for something sweeter. What Bakugo wouldn’t give to be with you. Sometimes after a hard day, when the dust of every fight was washed off and the night was quiet, the blond’s mind would race. Each thought raking and obsessing over what ifs. What if you had been a hero? What if you two had met in high school. Would you have been attracted to him? What would it be like to come home to you? His child on your hip and stomach round with his second.

Bakugo's thoughts ran through the night, often robbing him of what little sleep he could scrounge up in his busy schedule. He earnestly tried to close his eyes shut, meditating to clear his thoughts. He was desperate for a wink of sleep and yet he couldn’t stop himself from obsessing. 

Every.

Single.

Night.

***

The sleepless nights and long days had been taking a toll on Katsuki and he could tell. Everyone around him could tell. His sidekicks gave him a wide berth, hoping not to get caught in his hair trigger temper. Even understanding and sweet Kirishima had been keeping a distance. The tall red-head could tell something was wrong with his best friend but wasn’t quite sure how to broach the subject. 

Every call on patrol was another battering to Katsuki’s already aching body. Coupled with the lack of sleep he knew he wasn’t at his best. The blonde’s forearms spasmed and burned when he used his quirk and his temples throbbed after every fight. The pro-hero was in no condition to continue to go out to the field and yet he continued, all in hopes of seeing you.

One day his prayer was answered. A bank robbery in Mustafu had been called in and for the first time in weeks Bakugo perked up. He knew he was utterly fucked when the bank robbery call was what got his blood racing. As he shot off his explosions to get to the 5th St. where the Central Mustafu Bank was located. His mind buzzing with the idea of seeing you again. The adrenaline of using his quirk coupled with the lack of sleep ultimately led to his mistake. The minute he landed at the bank entrance his vermillion eyes darted around the scene, mentally noting the best routes. The blond made a split-second decision and took a hard left to get to the vault. He knew you too well. Bakugo would bet his entire life on that decision.

His bet paid off when the sight of your catsuit clad body rapidly came into view. He was distracted by the way you stood in the bank vault surrounded by the chaos of vault boxes strewn about the marble floor. Your soft perky ass hugged by the unforgiving thick leather material of your catsuit. Your shiny hair framed your face and bounced when you turned to look at him. And fuck – if he could just relive that moment when you flashed him a flirty smile and blew him a kiss. Bakugou's pulse quickened, and it was like time just stopped. His brain turned numb and he momentarily forgot everything. He was fucking stunned. He could hear his pulse roar in his ears, heart threatening to escape his rib cage.

His crimson eyes drank in the sight of you with the ferocity of a man who hadn’t seen water in days. His brain was mush and though he willed his body to move, he found all his limbs were defiant to his will. The number 2 pro-hero was glued to his spot as he watched you stretch out your hands and snap.

He would only watch helplessly as you used your quirk to create a mirror which you slipped into. Outside of the vault the last of your crew executed a swift escape after overwhelming the other heroes that flocked to assist the situation. The blond knew it was all his fault. He was supposed to quickly eliminate the threat at the vault before turning back to offer support to the other heroes. It had all been because he faltered. 

Back at the MightRiot agency Bakugo poked his head into Kirishima’s office letting him know he would be taking the rest of the day off. His fellow pro-hero shot him a worried look which Bakugo pointedly ignored. He didn’t want to get into this. He just needed to get home, wash all the crap from today off him, and take a nice long fucking nap. Of course, was Bakugo given that reprieve? Nope. His failure mocked him when he got home.

He instinctively turned on the TV which had already been on the news station. 

“And it appears that we have some news about yesterday’s burglary. Takeshima, Daichi the board member of Hondo Motor Corporation was the victim of yesterday’s heist. The burglars have stolen just a little over 7 million yen’s worth of precious metals from a vault in Mustafu Central Bank. Pro-hero Dynamight responded to the burglary but was unsuccessful in apprehending the suspects. Let’s go to our official Hero Correspon-“

Bakugou turned off the T.V., and threw the defenseless remote on the coffee table. Hearing those words used to burn a deep ember within Bakugou’s stomach to become a better hero for his community. Now that smoldering ambition turned into hot flames of embarrassment that licked his cheeks and the top of his ears. He didn’t deserve to be called a hero.

His mind was plagued with the insecurities and doubt that had been deep embedded into his psyche since he was a child. He wanted nothing more than to go to sleep but Bakugo fucking knew what he would do. Because like clockwork, every day for the last year he had been doing it. He knew that instead of taking a shower and finally giving his body and mind the rest he needed, he would pick up the laptop on his mahogany coffee table. He would pick up from where he left off the other night. He could feel the ice cold feeling of shame settle like lead in his stomach. Despite the shame he didn’t stop. He couldn’t.

Bakugo wishes he could look back and say he was a better man but he wasn’t. Life after UA had been hard. He had kept his head down, nose to the wheel, grinding through the rankings to achieve his dream. The reality was, Bakugo felt empty. He had thrown away the potential for affection in lieu of achieving his lifelong dream. Now at the top he realized it was lonely. With his dream achieved, what did he have left? He watched as his friends, slowly but surely, find their life partners. Deku and Cheeks were one of the first, quickly confessing to each other right after graduating UA. Kyoka and Momo, Hagakure and Oijiro, the list went on and on. Even Icy-Hot managed to find someone. Then there was him, Dynamight, #2 pro-hero, and all alone. 

“What a fucking joke.” Bakugo thought to himself. His own ambition was his ultimate downfall. It was the reason he woke up every morning to an empty bed and came home to a quiet apartment.

It was too easy to pour himself into his work. It was all he had after all. That’s why he thought nothing of it when he took on the job of taking you down.

He remembers that day clearly. Bakugou received a dossier on the thief who had bested him just a few hours prior. It outlined the basics – your name, height, quirk, etc. and for a while that information was enough. It wasn’t until the 3rd encounter did, he decide to Moogle your villain moniker. The search turned up some promising leads. He skimmed through a couple of news articles before quickly X-ing out of all of them. He couldn’t bear to read another gimmicky copy paste low effort article by some two-bit writer for a pro hero gossip column. 

He soon began looking for alternative sources of information. He turned to social media, hoping to find citizen footage of incidents. Maybe there was an angle he had missed. He quickly fell down a rabbit hole. Bakugo tore through the threads on Readdit detailing your quirk, attacks, and motives. His brain voraciously consuming the content he could find. Like that the obsession switch had been turned on. Every fight and every failure were more fuel to the fire. Bakugo found himself heading home and searching up more and more he could about you. Soon combing over footage of fights to strategize on combat became watching your flexible body contort itself into positions that Bakugo would fucking die to have you in.

Before even the blond himself knew it he began daydreaming of you. Thinking of scenarios to beat you morphed into scenarios of you and him, blissful and in love. The what ifs had taken over Bakugos mind. 

Perhaps if Bakugo had been alone in his pining, he could have been okay. The fire would eventually have burned out. It’s very unfortunate that every time he opened his laptop he found more kindling. 

Since Bakugo was young, he had been a closet romantic. Though he would adamantly deny it, his years at UA had been spent staying up late to finish the latest chapter of Kiss Kiss Fall in Love, his favorite romance novel. His heart twisted and gripped in moments of beautifully written angst, and the teasing lead up to the first kiss had the blond biting his pillow to suppress his shouts of excitement. Bakugo loved love. Despite his prickly exterior he had always dreamed up fantasies about being loved in a way that didn’t need words. His soulmate would just know the right things to say to make him feel better after patrols. She would know what to do and what to say to soothe his raw emotions after everything went wrong. 

When Bakugo met his ideal woman that fateful day 5 years ago, it was the catalyst to his new daily habit. Wake up, work, come home, read fanfics about you. The one woman he couldn’t have was the woman he had built his entire life around. Each fanfic burned his pulse hotter. He found himself in too deep of a pit to climb out of. He found himself ensnared by the words on the page. Each paragraph detailing their love and the tribulations they faced to get there. He found with every word he read, the deeper he fell in love with you. He had already spent lifetimes with you. Some were tragic tales of two people who could never be.

Bakugo’s favorites were the mushy tooth rotting ones with meet cutes. He was utterly in love with the idea of meeting you organically. Colliding outside of a coffee shop only to lock eyes or maybe going into a floral shop only to fall in love with the girl selling the flowers. On hard days Bakugo would indulge himself in a Soulmate AU. Bakugo had experienced it all with you. The saddest thing was, Bakugo knew it wasn’t true. If the mere thought crossed his mind, he knew it would send him spiraling. He pushed it away in favor for his perfectly crafted fantasy. The blond knew this wasn’t healthy but quite frankly he didn’t care at this point.

He was in too deep.

Instead he spent his days teetering on the edge of his reality and the fantasy he built to escape, and on the days he was lucky enough, he would catch a glimpse of you. Boy, did it set his heart ablaze.

He tried to shake you out of his mind by burying himself in work and going on dates with attractive girls. It got old quickly. Because how was some random girl supposed to compare to you? You who was there to comfort Bakugo after the hardest days. You who smiled so brightly as you cheered him on, you who held him so lovingly even after Deku beat him out for the number one spot again. 

Deep down he knew.

[isleofair]

10 show gifs, 10 people

@seaofolives was handing out free tags for this cool game, so of course I jumped at the chance! (Thank you!!! 💚💚💚)

Add 10 gifs from your favorite shows and tag 10 people

1 - Tiger & Bunny

(Yes, that's my own gif, no, I don't know how to make them look pretty. I'm sorry)

Could I start with anything but this one? I think not. Beloved show, most beloved OTP, endless inspiration... I love you so much 😭😭😭💖💖💖

2 - Yuri!!! on Ice

I think, in spite of all that Tiger & Bunny has given me, Yuri on Ice is still my favorite show ever. It made me feel a joy that cannot be described. If you haven't seen it yet, WATCH IT. I MEAN IT. You'll be so happy that you did. 💙

3 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

My childhood obsession (not the only one, but probably the main one). I think it's a significant part of the reason I am the person I am today. Here's Data (my beloved 🥺) being even more relatable than usual thanks to his cat Spot. 💛

4 - Stargate Atlantis

This show was the nerdier, sillier younger sibling of SG-1, which was the much nerdier, much sillier child of the Stargate movie. I love all three, but Atlantis is my favorite, due to the aforementioned nerdy silliness, and to the socially maladapted dork pretending to be a cool guy pictured above.

5 - Brave Bang Bravern!

The latest thing that broke my brain. Watch it (unspoiled!!!) and then curse me forever for the bucketload of sanity you will never get back. I think you might still find that it was worth it.

6 - Starsky & Hutch

They just don't make 'em like they used to any more.

7 - Sailor Moon

Seeing this show when you're a 12-year-old girl is extremely good for your soul. (And seeing Haruka when you're a 13-year-old girl is extremely good for your future queerness.)

8 - The Good Place

I honestly think this is a show everyone should watch at least once in their life.

9 - The X-Files

Hi, teenage obsession. You and your oversized '90s suits will always be famous.

10 - Slayers

This show is so. Frigging. Cool. And a huge ton of fun. I haven't rewatched it in over twenty years... I should do that sometime.

I am tagging (with zero pressure!) @zimithrus1, @imaginatorofthings, @youngerfrankenstein, @tempkiriri, @hearjessroar, @saltedpin, @thekuraning, @horikoshi-secret-ao3-account, @pearlnareff, and anyone else who would like to play!!! 💗

[randomfoggytiger]

Inbox being weird again, had to repost (sorry, anon!)

What are your thoughts on IWTB? It’s now on hulu and I am like 15 minutes in to a rewatch (I’ve watched FtF a truly offensive number of times but have only seen this once, when it first came out) and am absolutely incensed already. I’m having trouble making sense of their characters, they seem so OOC to me — even with the understanding that they are (possibly both) depressed and life on the run has really jaded and hardened them. Also its so weird to me that Amanda Peet reaches out to touch Mulders cheek bc he cut himself shaving? Just bizarre behavior all around!

It is a truly bizarre movie. I've not seen it; but I have done extensive research on it, if that makes sense. I think it can be summed up by this one Tumblr post I saw (and lost, someone help me find it!) that noted Mulder requested a helicopter for himself and Scully to, essentially, walk a few street blocks to the next location. Because CC wanted a helicopter in his movie and he was going to get it, somehow, someway.

Below is a tragically long post filled with article links for more enjoyment~.

(**Note**: Will edit this post later, brb.)

TLDR: A movie/tv series worth its salt is well-written, end of story. It doesn't matter how excellent or in-character the themes or motifs or etc. are if the characters are badly written or act out-of-turn. You cannot have a god-tier theme about fighting back the Darkness and seeking for the Truth if at every opportunity the characters themselves reject the message continually in ways that make no sense, especially when they have a history of stellar characterization and well-thought-out opinions and actions. This movie is a prime example of that.

There are numerous blogs here that have already (rightfully) griped about IWTB, so I won't go into plot nonsense or whatnot. But I DO have interviews that show how roughshod the movie making process was before it even hit theatres, so....

I first heard about IWTB's flaws peripherally through this article (that trashes the Revival, highly recommend. Written by a CC fan, too, so it's not a bash-sesh against the Creator.) It spoke endearingly-ish about IWTB, believing it to be more in-character than the Revival (yup.... unfortunately.) Then I started perusing fan opinions... and everyone pretty much agreed it was awful in most parts and shippy in others.

TBH, shippy doesn't mean squat to me. Maybe it's how I'm wired, but I was drawn to The X-Files because the romance is so unspoken with very light kisses. I 100% get Chris Carter's restraint perspective; but I also get the fans' perspective, that it's gone too far to ignore or take back. An example: the movie sets up a "gasp, really??" mystery that Scully is a doctor with a life separate from Mulder, driving over to him to try to get him involved in the FBI manhunt. It's taken back almost immediately when Mulder later springs up beside her in bed, but it's those little touches that start to confuse the message. And then throw in Scully insisting Mulder join the chase while Gillian Anderson acted her completely opposite to what she was saying and you start to see the mess unravel. Then Mulder tosses aside his loyalty to Scully-- something that is KEY to his character, having formerly left his life's work for her and even left his newborn son when she told him to-- to chase the very monsters she begged him to chase but is now begging him not to. There is no reason given other than "It's who I am", which is NOT who Mulder is: he is a man willing to sacrifice who he is and what makes him tick over and over for Scully's sake. This not only breaks his character in-movie, it nullifies all his actions and choices in the original series, stripping them of their consequences and weight.

The movie, I believe, was supposed to be about Mulder and Scully scrabbling against the Darkness while also lost in confusion: they're together but Scully feels threatened by Agent Whitney, Mulder no's the case before getting wrapped up into it, Scully supports then withdraws her support (and LEAVES??), both rely on the word of a pedophile priest (a similar alliance to Luthor Lee Boggs but creepier and less redeemable... and even Boggs wasn't redeemed), and finally Scully casts aside her doubts to get back in the saddle and save Mulder. It seems a compelling story, no? ...No.

An example of the "confusion" theme of the plot: When Mulder meets up with the other agents to discuss terms (I suppose), the camera briefly pans to random people walking past him in the hallway-- one of them is the actress who played his little sister in the OG series; and the camera makes it a point for Mulder to notice that fact... but so briefly and quickly it never made an impression on him permanently, a.k.a. a seeming callback. BUT when Scully yells at him (before? after? I dunno) about always looking for his sister, this is the scene that was supposed to back her up? In which case: dude, we all saw the Samantha Agent. She did, indeed, look like Samantha; and she had NOTHING to do with this case. The only explanation Scully had for her tasteless remark was that she thought Mulder was full-on delusional or so stubborn he was projecting his own demons onto this case. Y'know... the case he didn't want and only got more involved in to SAVE LIVES. In which case, it doesn't fit with the themes of the movie at all: Mulder was right here, Scully was wrong; but the movie stated that SCULLY was right, or at least half-right, and Mulder was at least half-wrong. It's all nonsense.

The dialogue is atrocious. Absolutely appalling. Which makes sense to an extent: CC and Spotnitz had this movie written out right after the series ended as an attempt to gain back the studio's attention. No such luck; and when FOX was finally interested to make more money, the script notes were accidentally lost; so CC and Frank blitzkrieged up a final draft in just a few weeks (very not good.) This and this article breaks down how Spotnitz (in his own words) watched CC battle FOX from the sidelines for the movie, then scramble with him to complete a draft in time for filming; and it explains (but doesn't justify) the stilted dialogue, horrendous pacing issues, and disjointed theme. To summarize:

""Frank Spotnitz: ...The pressure in television is incredible because you’ve got to keep coming up with another script, another script, another script. The movie was completely different. We started work on the story in 2003, and then got derailed for four years by deal-making and the threat of a lawsuit. Then when we returned to it in 2007, we’d lost our notes.

Lost your notes?

Frank Spotnitz: We’d put them on note cards to pitch the studio, and we couldn’t locate them. At first, we were very unhappy, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise. We remembered what the case was about, but the emotional beats, the personal beats between Mulder and Scully, we had to start from scratch, and we had changed."" 

Frank Spotnitz claims it was effortless to get back in their characters' heads; and, while that may be true, it was certainly not effortless to put them down on paper.

The messaging of the movie was so confusing that Mark Snow, the composer, didn't read all of it correctly (which is important for the person composing the score for each scene):

""Now the plot of I Want To Believe has characteristically remained a secret – I don’t suppose you can tell us anything about what we can expect from this film?

Well the interesting part was, when I read the script the first thing I got out of it was deep, dark complexity and I spoke to Chris Carter afterwards and he said ‘what do you think?’, I said ‘man, it’s so complex and dark and mysterious’, and he said ‘and it’s a love story with religious overtones…’ Okay! He said ‘just keep that in mind’ and you know I re-read it and I got what he meant, and then seeing the movie I certainly got what he meant. Besides the Mulder and Scully relationship there are some other very very emotional, intimate if you would, moments there that do add spiritual and religious weight to it...."" 

This article does well at picking apart the claims (some ludicrous) for and against the movie But, for time's sake, let's skip to the summary of the very sloppy (and downright goofy) climax of the movie:

""The biggest shortcoming may be that the case is solved by both Mulder and Scully independently and simultaneously, and thanks to coincidences on both their behalf. Mulder’s investigative skills lead him to the villain thanks to a simple visit to a local store; stem cell research for organ transplants and for curing Christian allow the two storylines to cross, but Scully having a revelation by finding the villain’s research on the internet through a non-related search draws the odds extremely. There is little actual investigation and the case is wrapped up too quickly. All those are little things — but they pile up to too much.""

Both the actors had "notes" and "questions" (read here) about their characters when they first got the script, with Gillian Anderson admitting how hard it was to find her character (post here)--

""Gillian Anderson: I had a similar experience. This feels so weird. Summertime. I didn’t have all the running around that David had to do, but I did have my own unfortunate beginning which was starting with one of the most difficult scenes for Scully in the film where it’s later on in the script and she goes through a range of emotions in confronting Billy Connolly’s  character. I just had a really time for those first couple of days that that scene was. I had a really hard time just finding her, finding her voice. I think I must’ve gone through ten other characters in the process of trying to get to her when I had assumed that I would be able to show up on the first day and it would just be there. It wasn’t until I think day three when we got to work together, not just necessarily in a familiar environment which it really wasn’t, but in the environment of each other and the relationship and that it kind of felt natural and familiar and I felt like I’d landed this time."" --

but it was David Duchovny who was surprisingly the most honest to the press about his (measured) thoughts, as he's usually the most reticent. He always wanted to do a movie series, liking the scope and freedom it would give him with acting and scheduling; but he mentioned, once or twice, that he wished IWTB had been a bigger action film in the vein of FTF. Further, he admits to an interviewer about his thoughts and his (slight) dissatisfaction with Mulder's out-of-character element here:

""Since The X-Files: I Want to Believe may not have been the huge blockbuster that everyone was hoping for, we’d like to know: What is your own measure of success for the movie?

Duchovny: I guess it’s always the first time I see the movie. What’s my feeling when I come out? I always felt like the subject matter of this particular movie was limiting. It was dark, and it wasn’t going....

I’ve only seen it one time, and I was sitting in Chris’ editing room. I watched it on a little screen. I guess I missed the chance to see it on the big screen, and that’s too bad, but when I left that initial screening at Chris’ house, the film was pretty much almost done except for some special effects. I just felt like it was really strong and kind of a strangely moving piece of work. Still dark, and still, I thought, limited, but the way that the movie performed did not surprise me so much, and I think that if we do get a chance to do another one … what I always really liked about the show was that it had a dark vision, but at the heart of it being driven by Mulder was this real optimism or wonder or sense of belief, and then it would kind of open out. Most of the best shows that we did would open out into real wonder at the end, if only because you didn’t have an answer, which was the mystery of it, but the wonder.

Mulder’s quest, to me, is a very positive one. If we get a chance to do another one, I think because in this movie Mulder kept getting reinvigorated, Mulder was in a down place for much of this film; he wasn’t driving the way he drives, the way he drove everything before that. In a way, the nature of how we had to get back into the show, which was to take the guy out of his job, also deprived the movie of some optimism and wonder and enlightenment that occurs when you’ve got this unhinged guy trying to prove wonderful crazy things.""

And while DD defended IWTB's box office failings as having to compete against Batman, one of the previous articles I linked had the savvy to tackle that reason and debunk it:

""The defenders of IWTB will endlessly complain about the budget (but look at what a feast Darren Aronofsky did with $35 million: “The Fountain” (2006)), the fact that it’s low-key ‘intellectual’ and not blockbuster-like (so is “There Will Be Blood” (2007), $25 million, and countless other generally agreed upon masterpieces), the lousy promotion (but look at what good word of mouth can do with a movie few believed in in the beginning: “The Matrix” (1999), $65 million), the unforseen success of “The Dark Knight” as competition (hardly an argument) or trends in selfish cinema critics (as if a bad reception is the sole result of a conspiracy).

However what will remain in history is not the whys and hows but the what: the final product itself. And the truth is that if IWTB featured characters other than Mulder and Scully, this would be a not very memorable movie.""

Needless to say: the entire movie's a mess, and it's down to the roots. While beautiful visually and musically-- all the reviews and cast and crew had nothing to say against that-- the characters and the script and the plot were a horrible mishmash that highlighted its weaknesses and smashed down its strengths.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to ramble; and sorry if this didn't do what you needed! But you did inspire me to find all the old angry IWTB discussions/posts on Tumblr (archive hopping, heheheh) and put them all in one place. So, look forward to that sometime in the future, I suppose~!

Disclaimers: I do not like canon after S8; and that's only because they get a happy ending and, even though it has garbage canon decisions, the characters were able to save most of it and forget the rest. But I will treat IWTB as its own thing devoid of my personal opinion.

[pjstafford]

Scully’s Journey to All Things

In my current rewatch of The X Files, I have paid closer attention to how episodes which are not considered part of a specific arc and are considered “Stand alone” episodes fit together as if they could be a mini arc of character development.  The season seven episode All things, written by Gillian Anderson, certainly seems like it is the culmination of something important even if, in typical X Files fashion, it is shaded and couched in maybes.  At the end of this season, Scully is pregnant, and the viewer certainly believes it is Mulder’s child.  Many people believe it’s because they consummated their love in this episode. Also, Scully, the skeptic and Catholic, attempts to use holistic medicine to cure a man whom she once loves after praying in a Buddhist temple and having a vision.  How did we get here?  The episode is sometimes criticized that Scully does things out of character.   It is my impression that if we look at the three episodes which precede All Things, we can make an argument that Scully’s journey has intensified to a point to make her decisions in All Things perfectly in character.

It is worth noting that during the filming of season seven, there was widespread speculation that it would be the last season.  Both David Duchovny and Chris Carter had contracts which were ending and David Duchovny was in a lawsuit with Fox over syndication rights. It must have been a difficult task between trying to bring an epic, beloved series to a successful closure while, also, leaving the opportunity open for additional seasons.  The series did continue, but season seven does have the specter of the end hanging over it.  

Mulder had always been on a quest for the truth of what happened to his sister.  He gets that in the episode 11 “Closure.”  What has Scully been on a quest for? She was assigned to provide scientific analysis of Mulder’s work and began to believe in his work while always trying to use a scientific method.  She has seen things which tested her faith but has always returned to her Catholic upbringing.  She has been tempted to leave the X Files, but stays and there is no doubt about her devotion and commitment to Mulder. There is, also, no doubt that she has been annoyed by his inability to maintain a work/life balance.  The will they/ won’t they dynamic has been drawn out too long but in Millenium there was a New Year’s kiss and they certainly have seemed a bit more flirtatious in this season which some fans have called “The Season of Secret Sex.” 

Theef is a an episode where Mulder and Scully continue their flirtatiousness and, also, where she is more open to extreme opportunities.  Initially she questions Mulder as she has so many times about why the case is an X-File.  The fact that Mulder and Scully joke about the expectation that she is going to ask him indicates that in this episode there might be a shift.  Quickly she pivots to “hex-craft.  I’ll buy that as the intent here.”  Does she mean it or is she teasing Mulder when she follows up with “I’ll always leave you guessing”? Regardless of her openness at the point of that conversation, Scully goes temporarily blind in this episode due to voodoo magic.  The last scene shows Scully questioning whether or not Peattie could have saved his daughter’s life even though medical science could do no more than ease her pain. That is quite the shift for Scully and leads to Mulder saying under his breath, after she leaves the room, “You do keep me guessing.”  This is an aside because I have to - the way in which Mulder says this line rises to a new level of yearning and appreciation.  

Theef leads so well into En Ami.  This is another episode where if there is a delay between watching the episodes, a viewer might scratch their head and wonder why, why, why would Scully run away with the villain of the show. “Thee f” has made Scully question her faith in traditional medicine.  The cancer man offers her information which is the cure for all cancer and she is aware that her cancer was cured by a mysterious chip in the back of her neck.  She would never happen have left with CSM if she was not at an odd crossroads in her life, but people do odd, out of character, risky things when at odd crossroads in their life.  Also in En Ami, the cancer men talks about how he has “studied her for years...you’ve drawn to powerful men, but you fear their power.”  In All Things we will become aware of another powerful man in Scully’s life she walked away from.  It is not unreasonable to think the CSM knew about this part of her life as well.  

Chimera is an episode which forces Mulder to experience domestic life and its unpleasant aspect.  It is a Mulder focused episode.  It is important to note though that Scully is in a stakeout and is unhappy about the assignment.  She solves the case without Mulder’s assistance, but it probably leads to her feeling so out of sorts at the beginning of All Things.  

So these are the three preceding episodes with which we arrive at All Things.  

We begin with Scully getting dressed in Mulder’s bathroom while Mulder lies naked in his bed.  (We will come back to this).  The voice over is important.  Scully is pondering her life decisions big and small.  The next scene is 63 hours earlier.  

The scene is in the basement office with yet another slide show and Mulder trying to get Scully interested in crop circles.  It reminds me of Never Again where the agents aren’t in a heated argument, they are just not in rhythm.  (One of my favorite parts of this episode is the emphasis on rhythms of life like ticks of the clock).  Scully is done.  She is, perhaps, still fatigued from Chimera.  She has just done an autopsy.  She has no interest in going with Mulder to England to see crop circles.  The fact that Mulder simply shrugs, says he will cancel her ticket, and still plans on going emphasizes their differences and what her life will be like if she continues with him in her life.  

Then we have the coincidences of life stepping in.  On her way to the hospital to pick up autopsy results there is a mixed up in the envelopes and she finds out an once powerful man she loved is in the hospital seriously ill.  Along the way in this episode she will administer life-saving medicine to him only to see him in a coma.  We find out that he was married, she was his student in medical school and that she left.  She is forced to consider the life she might have had if she had stayed.   Is that the life she wants now?  The life she would never have with Mulder.  On the other hand a part of her wants to walk away from Mulder.  What will she regret then? What is the right path?   Then, there are a bunch of other coincidences and occurrences.  Eventually she ends up with a holistic healer trying to bring Dnaiel back out of his coma.  He comes out.  Perhaps it was her holistic help, but Daniel, the doctor says no.  I think this decision to try a different approach goes right back to Theef and the recognition that modern medicine is not all and that in En Ami she was willing to take dangerous steps to find other paths.  It’s in character for her at this point in her life. It might be out of character in another week.

Back to the Mulder and Scully relationship and did they have sex in All Things.  I say it doesn’t matter.  Maybe.  Maybe not.   She was asleep on the couch at the end of the episode.  Why was she in the bathroom?  He only has one and she needed to go first thing in the morning before she leaves?  Why was he naked?  its his place, its how he sleeps, Scully has seen him nude before.   To me what is more significant is that they have begun a serious conversation about their life together and all they mean together, She has made a decision.  One which he was just waiting for her to make. 

[elwenyere]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you. Learn to know your mutuals and followers.

Thank you for this lovely ask, Mizz!!!

5 Things Making Me Happy in These Trying Times

Coffee: all-time MVP, undefeated, indispensable - those three sips that are at the perfect temperature are carrying so much weight

Pals: also always true, and I've gotten to spend some good time talking and hanging with many of my closest people this summer (ex: got a video call from my best friend and godson yesterday; godson told me he'd been to a parade and seen "vehicles": huge if true)

Cherries: I got a bag of them this week, and they are really good - totally worth it

The X-Files: my partner and I are doing our semi-annual rewatch, and I am wrapped in the comfort of weapons-grade chemistry, inscrutable dramatic monologues, and 90s hairlines

Writing: that isn't always true, but it is right now, and I'm so grateful

[whumpfish]

Do you have a favorite/much loved whump movie/tv show/book/etc?

Aaaaaaaaa

Okay, I am rewatching Invisible now (basically the Japanese version of The Blacklist) and it has some of my favorite kinds of whump in it:

The Feral Wolf With A Heart Of Gold: that one character who will go to absolutely any lengths for their friends and their values, who will (and does) endure any type or level of whump. The character who, if they think the situation warrants it, will (and does), inflict... not any type of whump, but a significant level of whump nonetheless... on anyone who poses a threat to those friends and values, or stands in the way of their efforts to save those things if they are in jeopardy.

A very specific team whump trope that I die for every time, any time: when a whumper has a weapon trained on team member A and one on a hostage/innocent, and demands that B (or the rest of the team as a unit) choose which one to save, because the other will be killed once the choice is made. And B/the team is horrified and anguished and wavering and can't decide or think of a way to save them both--and then A makes the decision for them. That unspoken communication, that look of an entire life's worth of caring like they're paying up their balance before they leave and that small, serene smile of permission, just... 💯💯💯

So much electric shock whump that even the characters comment on its frequency. And accurate portrayals of getting up after taking a significant charge, where they stumble and trip and fall several times because the nerves are still scrambled and their limbs don't work quite right at first. A lot of times, it's just bzz-plop-boingg!! and they're off. It's so rare to see the floundering, and it's such good whump.

Poison whump, complete with being strapped into a chair while it's administered, fraught moments when ally/ies demand antidotes with panic in their voices

Nail guns! I can't believe I had to add this in an edit. This show was my introduction to nail gun whump, and I can say with confidence that I am hooked for life

Multiple kidnap/forced to watch/forced to choose moments, including one whumper who puts people in a poor man's Saw traps

Escapes both successful and failed, abandonment, grief/emotional whump, human shield whump, PTSD, raging vendettas.... Even on this, my 3rd watch, I'm in awe of how much top shelf whump they crammed into just 10 episodes!

My favorite movie for whump is Dario Argento's Opera. By far and away the best forced to watch I've ever seen (needles taped to the face to hold her eyes open and make sure she can't squeeze them shut to block out the horror the whumper wants her to witness,) just... augh I love it so much!

I feel like The X-Files has a lot of good whump, too. Lots of good restraints of various types and degrees, The X-Files was awesome at restraints. (Whumpee bound to a makeshift table with chicken wire? Yes, please!)

Books, I like Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak series and the prequel Saga of Larten Crepsley. Vampires, freak shows, hedge witches, eldritch beings with apocalypse fetishes, and all the physical and emotional whump that implies (do not get attached to innocent bystanders.) Also the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. Sailing ship whump, abduction, fever and adjacent illnesses, it's 20.5 novels long, just about anything you want within the late 1700/early 1800s, it's there.

I do have another favorite whump series but the Scorpion quartet is 18+ so I'll make a post on @femalewhumper701 later for those old enough who are interested. (It's actually where the blog name comes from >.>)

Thank you for the ask!!

@stalecabbage

[harmonicabisexuals]

X Files Rewatch: Season 7

overall thoughts: I hate to say it but this might be my least favorite season so far? I still really enjoyed it for the most part and there were a few genuinely amazing episodes in here but i gotta admit the blatant flirting was one of the only things that kept some of these more mediocre episodes watchable

msr: the huge debate over when they actually became A Thing is kind of impossible to find a definitive answer for, but I tend to subscribe to the idea that "millennium" was their first kiss (bc it was awkward! but still sweet) and that things progressed quickly from there, bc there is no other explanation for their behavior in "rush" that makes sense in my mind lol. at the same time though, i can see the argument for "all things" being their first time, and i can even make a case for something happening post-"amor fati" or even post-"milagro" if I'm feeling especially silly. in truth though, the main reason why i don't want "all things" to be their first time (even though it makes narrative sense) is that i just want them to have as much time together as possible before mulder's abduction :(

writing: i am still in a committed loving relationship with vince gilligan and i loved all of his episodes with the exception of "hungry", but that was mostly for the lack of M/S interaction and the weird treatment of EDs. but "x-cops" was hilarious and so creative, and "je souhaite" is one of my favorite episodes of the series and honestly a microcosm of the thesis of the show. I also really enjoyed both david duchovny and gillian anderson's solo penned/directed episodes. "hollywood ad" is hilarious and sweet, and "all things" is so quietly introspective with some really beautiful things to say about fate and free will.

directing: one of my favorite sequences in the entire series is the end of "orison" when scully shoots pfaster, it's SO chilling, it makes me literally clutch my chest. rob bowman literally going out with a bang, if i chose to forget about "en ami" (which i'm still mad was his last episode of the series). sigh. "sein und zeit", "closure" and "all things" are also beautifully directed episodes, and i loved vince gilligan's funky directing in "je souhaite" i think his shots and camera angles really add to the comedic bits

hair: their worst hairstyles in the whole series 😭 by the end of the season they've grown out to a better length, but gillian's mid-season hair is especially tragic

favorite episodes: sein und zeit, closure, x-cops, all things, hollywood ad, je souhaite

68% of episodes worth rewatching, and that's being generous...yikes

individual episodes reactions under the cut:

The Sixth Extinction- wtf is happening…scully’s melodramatic letters to mulder tho <3

The Sixth Extinction: Amor Fati- YOU WERE MY CONSTANT, MY TOUCHSTONE

Hungry- the monster guy looks like a young christian bale

Millennium- I forgot the plot of the entire episode once they kissed

Rush- guys stop eye fucking you’re literally at a crime scene

The Goldberg Variation- scully smiling :))))

Orison- choosing to ignore that they made pfaster a demon, otherwise really good

The Amazing Maleeni- silly and smiley :)

Signs and Wonders- terrible terrible awful I hate snakes

Sein Und Zeit- :((( the spiritual successor to paper hearts

Closure- cried like a baby at the end bc I am a sensitive cancer <3

X-Cops- no one does meta humor like the x files

First Person Shooter- a more sexist, more boring kill switch. pass.

Theef- creepy but meh minus the blatant flirting

En Ami- disgusting, was literally dry heaving through the second half 

Chimera- one funny scully monologue but otherwise meh

All Things- beautifully quiet and introspective, also congrats on the sex

Brand X- boring

Hollywood A.D.- so goofy but really funny

Fight Club- terrible, unwatchable

Je Souhaite- amazing, adorable, hilarious, cried real tears at the end

Requiem- this whole episode was just one long Jesse from breaking bad screaming noooo gif

[twogravesinsomecemetery]

Of Film Nights and Reminiscences (x)

One night in the unremarkable house, Mulder and Scully's sentimentality leads them down a rabbit hole of rereading 25 years' worth of X-Files cases, laughing until their sides hurt, and watching The Lazarus Bowl for the first time in 18 years.

Post-The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat.

---

The s11 Lazarus Bowl Rewatch fic is here!!

For @scullys-scalpel <3

[postguiltypleasures]

Thoughts on The X-Files as it turns 30 Years Old

I have not written much about The X-Files here because I have not revisited it in many years. The last time I rewatched any episodes was way back in 2015, after the revival was announced. I had no intention of watching  the revival, but I wanted to see how the series had aged. My reactions were kind of mixed. I didn’t continue to rewatch it was that I didn’t feel the spark that I got from it watching during the original airing. The show’s influence is such that there has always been something regularly on air that has been doing what a contemporary version of TXF should do, and doing it without the show’s baggage. And these later shows have all been unique programs that stand on their own. Only now there really is one show that does that I watch that fits this description, Evil. Do to world changing circumstances, including the COVID pandemic and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, it does not air that regularly. So I find myself looking to who is posting about TXF now. What do they think? Do the things that made me not want to watch the revival bother them? How do they relate to the context in which it was made? How is that different for people who did watch it during the original run and bring hindsight vs. those who were too young or not born? What does any of this have to do with a potential reboot?

Much More Under the Cut

I remember TXF becoming uncool. It’s bizarre to me that it has any cultural presence because being disenchanted with it as it lost it’s cool was so painful. That said, I was a teenager at this time, so my emotions around it were stronger than they would be if I watched at another time of life. I am certain of this because of how much I hated the original series finale, and how I have been fine with a lot of controversial series finales since then.

Speaking of endings, these days discussions of television are too focused on ending. The idea that for most of the existence of television, shows were just supposed to go on until they became too expensive to produce and/or lost their audience seems to have vanished from people’s comprehension. This is a result of more television becoming more serialized and with short seasons. When an episode doesn’t work as something self contained, it has to lead to something. While it aired, TXF was celebrated for helping television become more serialized, making bigger, more epic stories. Now when it’s celebrated it’s for some wonderful self contained episodes, the kind they don’t make anymore. Even in 2015, when I had Person of Interest and Grimm satisfying the sci-fi/fantasy procedural itch for me I could see that. 

I know that there is too much tv for anyone to watch in one life time, but many the shows that TXF was compared to in it’s original airing seem notably absent in comparative discussions now. For instance, it was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998. The other series nominated those years were NYPD Blue, Chicago Hope, E.R., Law & Order, and The Practice. While there is good reason to see TXF as more closely related to Twin Peaks or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, those fellow nominees provide some necessary context about how TV was made, in particular the alternating goals of making something for the syndication market and making something edgy that could elevate the medium. Also notable, most these shows went through a lot of cast changes over the years. It makes more sense that TXF would try to do that kind of transition in seasons 8 and 9 when you think of the series they considered their peers. 

Also worth considering earlier shows it was compared to, but the producers would likely discourage the comparison. I am thinking of Moonlighting and Remington Steele. At the time TXF aired people still talked about the “Moonlighting curse” as if it was just a given that once the couple on a show where the male and female leads solved mysteries while maintaining a will they/won’t they flirtation, would fail as soon as they got together. TXF writers were divided on whether or not it was a will they/won’t they, and definitely didn’t want to invite comparison to shows that had huge nosedives in popularity during their run. But in a lot of ways that was unfair to the earlier series. It denies how clever, inventive and experimental they could be. It also ignores how much behind the scenes strife contributed to on screen failings, especially on Moonlighting, where that has been better publicized. (And occasionally become newsworthy again such as when creator Glen Gordon Caron was fired from his job as the show runner of Bull.) I think there are episodes of Remington Steele and Moonlighting that are worth watching on there own just to get what the big deal was. But as always, how to bring knowledge of some behind the scenes study to it, is a difficult question to answer.

Another show people associated with TXF probably didn’t want to be associated with is Touched by an Angel. But for a while they both aired on Sunday nights and I know I watched it and TXF back to back a few times. A parental figure would have turned on 60 Minutes, and the ads for TBAA could be very intriguing. Then I’d watch the episode and be underwhelmed, especially because of the deus ex machina resolutions. So I didn’t make it a regular thing. But still as cases of the week that played on the news of the times with supernatural notes, they made an interesting case study.

I also sampled a few episodes of JAG: Judge Advocate General, a different CBS show that was frequently compared to TXF. The comparison had a sort of precursor to today’s periodic “why don’t publications write about shows people actually watch?” flair ups. It often had better ratings than TXF and a lot in common structurally, but had an older audience who was less likely to seek out writing about their show. It had a huge affect on the development of CBS procedurals from the late 1990s on, which is one of the areas where you can (arguably) see a lot of TXF’s influence.

I recently came across a post saying that David Duchovny wanted TXF to move to Los Angeles to facilitate his movie career. This is not true, he wanted to move to LA because he was with Téa Leoni at the time and she was staring in The Naked Truth, a sitcom that was shot in LA. The show was about a news photographer forced to work at a tabloid after an ugly divorce. It lasted three seasons, the first on ABC, the other two on NBC where it was essentially noted to death over two seasons. I am not surprised that it doesn’t have much hold on the cultural memory, but Duchovny was always open about this being his motivation so I am kind of surprised that it has been erased from TXF historic memory. 

Speaking of Duchovny and LA, the current season of the podcast, You Must Remember This, focus mostly on erotic films of the 1990s, but also included an episode about erotic TV from the era that focused on The Red Shoe Diaries, an anthology series in which Duchovny’s played a character named Jake, who was essentially the framing device. I didn’t quite appreciate that for the first four seasons of TXF he was flying to LA on weekends to shoot his parts in TRSD back-to-back. Between that and Gillian Anderson having a very young child at the time, it’s no wonder they developed reputations as cold and standoff-ish. It sounds exhausting.

Other places I have come across TXF referenced lately: 

finally reading Bruce Campbell’s memoire Hail to the Chin in which he declare that it is best to be a guest star in one of the first seasons of a show, mentions that his late in the series stint on TXF the whole cast and crew was tired of it; 

learning that there is a show on the History Channel called The Proof is Out There;

the Only Murders in the Building episode where Mable flashed back to watching the show with her father near the end of his life; 

Maureen Ryan in her Burn It Down reminisced about visiting TXF set in Vancouver as her first trip to a TV set, saying two important people were awful to her, one of whom gave her nightmares;

Some how the show coming up in a lunch conversation at work.

Jennette McCurdy mentioning in I'm Glad My Mom Died that her first job as an extra was on TXF 

Ryan’s book is as good a place as any to segue into discussing the show’s legacy via former writers and producers. It’s worth noting that Chris Carter has been unable to get another series off the ground. While TXF ran he tried to launch three other shows, Millennium, Harsh Realm and The Lone Gunmen, and only one of them got to a full season. There was an Amazon pilot that didn’t go anywhere. Frank Spotnitz was the writer with the second most credited episodes of the series and most high profile gig since was the not well received Amazon adaptation of The Man in The High Castle. Kim Manners’ time with Supernatural is something of an anomaly, in that it feels directly related to TXF and ran a much longer period of time. (I’ve only seen one season of Supernatural. It was fine, but I was late to the show, felt I’d never catch up and gave up.) Glen Morgan and James Wong wrote some of my favorite episodes, but between them they have the Final Destination film franchise, some one season series and American Horror Story, which is more attributed to Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk than Wong. (I’ve never watched AHS.) Darin Morgan was something of a special star on the show, his episodes being singled out for awards and fan favorites. But he never got this kind of response to any of his subsequent work, including on Fringe where he was a consulting producer early on. The most high profile shows that feature alumni from TXF are the ones that feel most like they were made for a era of television that wanted to distance itself from the procedural aspects of TXF. Among the most famous are Breaking Bad created by Vince Giligan and its spinoff, Better Call Saul, which he co-created with a non-TXF alumn, Peter Gould. Also notable is Homeland, whose creators Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon worked on early seasons of TXF. Most of the shows that I think of as sharing a lot with TXF in the outline for, don’t have much of a direct connection to the series alumni in writers/producers/directors. 

Earlier this year I briefly wrote about how I liked seeing both William B. Davis and Nicholas Lea in Continuum. While thinking of that series as a successor to TXF is interesting, I don’t generally think of the cast’s later roles as directly related to the show. Maybe this is because I watch so little of what they’ve done since. The greatest impression any of them is Anderson in Sex Education and Bleak House, both of which were pretty far away from TXF. 

When news came out that Chris Carter was working with Ryan Coogler on a potential reboot I decided I did not know enough of Coogler’s work to say if he’d be a good fit, or have any idea what his take on the subject matter would be. But I am familiar with Disney, TXF current owner, and in particular there current “milk all recognizable IP for ever and ever” ethos, so the probability of a reboot seemed inevitable. I mostly hoped the new crew would take the title and try to create something very different under it. Then the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes started and nothing seemed inevitable about a reboot. Hollywood as it’s been known, feels like its ending. All I can say is that I hate the idea of TXF being made with AI, or for that matter, scabs.

When I did my rewatch back in 2015, the episodes included “War of the Coprophagens” and “Syzegy”, episodes that are both are partially about mass hysteria. They’re comedic, but I didn’t find them funny. I thought this is probably something that didn’t age well. In the nineties, just pointing and laughing and people getting upset over stupid stuff sort of felt like enough to defang the danger. By now that seems hopelessly naive.

I know how people are now more willing to say that the plots of “Small Potatoes” and “Post Modern Prometheus” treat serial rapists as sympathetic outsiders, and rape as something to be brushed aside. Neither were part of my 2015 rewatch.

Some of my disenchantment during the original run was that while I was watching I was also becoming more aware of the movies that influenced the show. I hated how Fight the Future made the black oil alien possession turn into something that would claw its way out of the host body, reminiscent of the Alien franchises’s xenomorph. I also hated all of the Mulder and Scully as a couple teases from episodes like “The Rain King”, “The Ghost Who Stole Christmas”, “Arcadia”, et al because it was too much like things I was seeing in romcoms that I didn’t like. (I can’t remember any specific examples of these romcoms while writing this.) Any specificity as to what it meant to Mulder and Scully’s and their relationships at that moment was lost on me.  

I might as well admit, during the shows original run I was a NoRomo. I did not tune in to TXF hoping for Mulder and Scully’s relationship to become romantic, and I kind of hated when episodes explicitly flirted with the possibility. I tuned in because I wanted to have first hand knowledge of what it was like to watch my generations version of The Twilight Zone. (In retrospect, I don’t think its a good comparison.) As the relationship now feels like what people think of when they think of TXF, I have wondered if the show now only appeals to those on the shipper side of the debate. I was really surprised while listening to Not Another X-Files Podcast Podcast when one of the hosts of the TXF Preservation Society admitted to not being a shipper on an episode.

Similar to what I said about being fine with many controversial series finales, I am also fine with many controversial television series couplings. As long as the writing is direct, I don’t really care if the actors have chemistry or if the show “needs” to pair these characters. To the extent that what relationships on screen one likes reflects on what one wants to have in real life, I really want people to be direct with me, and make me comfortable being direct with them.

A few years ago started wondering if it would have been more emotionally healthy if I spent the years I watched TXF watching Beverly Hills, 90210 instead. I started wondering this while coincidentally coming across of couple of personal essays that reflected warmly on watching BH90210 and how it affected the writers at impressionable ages. As someone who doesn’t exactly reflect warmly on TXF, and has a hard time putting how I feel about things into words, I was kind of jealous. I know there was some overlap in the audiences. There isn’t a “If you were a teen in the 1990s you either watched BH90210 or TXF and it affected you in this way…” But coming across those essays does have something to do with why I am writing this now.

Around that time I also started worrying about how TXF’s popularity lead to today’s age of dangerous conspiracy theories. Before I gave up on the site formally known as Twitter, I’d occasionally look at who was still discussing it online with the fear that it’s been used by right wingers looking for ways to justify their persecution complexes. I didn’t find much. There was something of peak in these posts around the time Trump announced that the FBI had been searching for documents at Mar a Lago. This past decade has been wild as far as guessing how things will be read along partisan lines. If anything the posts were mostly about nostalgia and it’s appeal as a brand.

Given that I’m so uncomfortable with that potential aspect of the show’s legacy, a how did I end up watching so many shows that in some way are direct successors to the show? And the answer is, mostly not consciously. I was reluctant to start Fringe and Evil because from the outset their premises looked too much like TXF, though ultimately they’ve gone in directions TXF would never.  I still want something that can excite me, and has hints of the epic. And I am going to seek it in vaguely familiar formats. 

[aviculor]

Jessabelle came out in 2014, which is a few years ahead of the curve for the wave of "exploration of grief" horror inspired by Hereditary.

A woman is in a horrible car crash on her way to moving in with her fiancee, losing him, their unborn child, and the use of her legs as a result. With no other recourse, she moves in with her estranged father after being discharged from the hospital.

Aww, her mom made tapes for her. That's sweet. And the mom's doing a tarot reading. And that's...way too specific for tarot cards to be able to communicate.

Her dad threw her wheelchair in the bayou, that's lovely. This is going great places.

"Didn't expect to see your mother last night. ...That tape. I didn't know she made that tape." Hmm.

I think a picture is starting to come together here. But I do need to pump the breaks in that "a tragic death" doesn't necessarily need to mean her or her dad when the film started with a tragic death in Jessie's life. You know, her fiancee?

The physical therapist probably could have called ahead, but sure.

Oh, I uh...did not see that one coming.

Convenient she had an old flame back in her hometown she could make goo goo eyes with a few months after her life partner suddenly and traumatically died and was never mentioned again. I guess with her dad dead this X-Files did need a new Scully.

That is a baby-sized coffin they found.

"That little girl you dug up....was black." "What? She was black?"

Oh, that's....

I liked this one. I was not expecting it to get as dark as it did. I did get a distinct "dad is abusive and homicidal" vibe in the first act. I did also notice that Jessie being ginger didn't match either of her parents, but I didn't put any stock into it. I probably should have.

Saying the mom had brain cancer that changed her personality was a very easy coverup for her being driven insane by her tarot readings about what would happen as soon as her baby was born. And, you know, experiencing the thing what happened.

When the dad gives his sob story, you start to feel bad for the guy. But no, that was all an act and he is actually even worse than you thought. A lot worse.

You know, Jessie was an innocent victim in all this. I feel like they could have maybe talked things out.

The word "jezebel" meaning a deceptive and lascivious woman was hanging over my head the whole time and I guess that kind of came into play in the ending?

I can't say how respectfully the depiction of voodoo was done, but it was less fantastical than the Chucky franchise for whatever that's worth. To me, it felt more like the characters (ie Preston) were being racist rather than the writers.

This one definitely has a lot of rewatch value when you know the big twist and what really happened.

[wack-ashimself]

My feelings on the X-files now that I have seen basically the whole show & 2 movies.

First off it's almost like 3 different shows.

S1-7: The CLASSIC X-files.

S8-9: Is this the store brand X-files?

S10-11: Reboot (and retcon almost THE ENTIRE SERIES! Seriously, they acted like there were no aliens, alien virus, or rich shady people killed by sewn up aliens. It was all part of a BIGGER conspiracy. That humans were doing it all along. But...that also proves aliens are real, they were exploiting their tech & biology, so...it's still also true?)

Fairly, I still got to rewatch season 11 but...I don't remember there being any retconning of the retcon...(Is that how you spell it?)

Secondly, when the spin off 'The Lone gunmen' BOMBED, they used that as an excuse to kill the whole team in the X-files for a ratings boost. It genuinely felt tasteless. And being (if I remember right) the episode was called 'Jump the Shark' that it was intentionally...bad. Or knowingly bad.

3rdly-1st movie was great. Filled in a lot of gaps, good SFX, nice addition. 2nd movie was FUCKING AWFUL. Unneeded. Just like a longer rejected episode. I mean, its' ending felt like....none of that mattered to the lore. Or characters. Or anyone for that matter.

4th-the store brand mulder & scully just fucking disappeared ABSOLUTELY no explanation besides the X-files was closed. Tho they were not my fav, closure is required after 2 seasons of them. Did they have the best acting? FUCK NO. BUT...they did have some of the better stories actually.

And finally: this was worth watching till end of season 7. Nothing after season 7 was....that good. Hit and miss enough to where...it's worth missing. I liked this show, and I will finish the last season but....really could've made it better ending it sooner than later. They milked this fucker dry.

[jessiesjaded]

Need x files fans who remember the show better than me to say at what point should I drop my rewatch or are the final 2 seasons still worth it bc I genuinely don't remember it.........