#msr mini fic

[stephy-gold]

Mulder looking at scully from the bed while she is doing her skincare routine in the bathroom, he is looking at her with amusement and desire, after so many years he loves her more every day.

Hey scully !! Do you know how beautiful you are?? No need for that endless routine

Mulder thank you but despite of your beliefs I’m this good because of the said endless routine, by the way you should try some moisturizing cream

Ouch scully my skin is still young

Sure, fine, whatever.

Well you don’t look over 40 Scully

Oh mulder thank you 🤍 but I do feel my 60s

Honey you’re ageless, now come here and let’s prove my stamina let’s see if this old man can keep up with such a beautiful young woman.

I love you Mulder

I love you scully

——————

@today-in-fic

[inactiveayla]

a mini acute postpartum MSR fic

When Maggie takes up the baby-holding duties, Scully finally crashes. Mulder pulls up a chair and leans over the edge of the bed, mindlessly playing with her hair.

Softly, he asks, “Scully?”

“Hm?” She settles into the hospital bed that he knows from experience is not all that comfortable.

“I know I don’t say this a lot," Mulder says, "but I can’t believe that really happened.”

“Mm. Feels like it happened.” She closes her eyes.

Shit, from the way it looked, he’s sure it does.

“Hey Scully?”

“What?”

“Did you have an out of body experience when they handed him to you? Because I… when I held him, I definitely had some kind of cosmic experience. I wouldn’t say astral projection entirely, but something in that vein.”

“Mulder, please, not right now.”

“No, I’m being serious.”

Eyes still closed, toneless, she says, “I was definitely in my body.”

“Okay.” Mulder tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and rests his head on the crook of one arm, messing with her hair with the other. “I really owe you, Scully. I mean, I probably owed you before but this is…this is pretty crazy. And this might be a weird thing to say but I’m really proud of you and I’m not being flippant.”

No response.

“Scully?”

When he lifts his head, Scully is mouth opened asleep under the florescent overhead lights, her hair scorching the dryer sheet white pillow. She’s got eggplant dark circles under her eyes and she hasn’t put on mascara in over a week, hasn’t worn pants that fasten in much longer. A few hours ago, delirious with pain, she gave him a plump, vernix coated, gurgle screaming, magnificent son.

Mulder lays his head against the edge of her mattress, happy to be anywhere in her peripheral. His spine is going to ache when he wakes and a nurse wheeled a cot into the room earlier, but he kind of just wants to be close to Scully.

The baby is cradled in his grandmother’s long-waiting arms. To Maggie, Mulder murmurs, “Wake me if he wakes up,” knowing she won’t. She swears she will anyways. He closes his eyes.

[azure-firecracker]

How about a mini-meta for either Ice or Darkness Falls (your choice 😊)

Sorry this took me about 5,000 years to answer! Any ask that requires thought takes some time these days - curse college for completely wearing out my brain 24/7.

Anyway I picked Ice because it’s dear to me:)

I feel that this episode foreshadows a lot of theming with Mulder and Scully that will become important later.

I don’t trust them. I wanted to trust you will become Trust no one, which will become Before, I could only trust myself. Now, I can only trust you.

Trust is an important theme for early MSR, and this episode shows some of Mulder’s early wariness towards Scully. Of course, her pointing a gun at him doesn’t help matters, but I think there’s a part of Mulder that wonders will she give up on me so easily? I think once he gets locked in that closet, part of him wonders if she’ll just leave him there, side with the others who are more normal, who want to kill the worms just like she does.

I wanted to trust you. There’s disappointment in his voice. Because he thinks she’s given up on him.

But she hasn’t. He can’t see it, but she’s fighting for him even behind closed doors. If he’s infected, it’s not his fault. We have to help him. She’s already deeply loyal to him, even so early in their partnership. She’s going to fight for him, no matter what comes between them, even if he doesn’t believe her, even if nobody believes her. She’s the one who finds the worm cure, and she does it by searching down odd paths. She doesn’t miss a detail in her determination to protect them both, and we see this come back to save them again and again.

Ice.

Little Green Men.

End Game.

Anasazi.

Pusher.

Demons.

Mind control. Paranoia. It doesn’t matter what comes between them. She is loyal and she will lock herself in with the danger for his sake, time and time again.

Suffice to say that Ice nails their relationship, especially for such an early episode.

Also time to shamelessly self-promo my Ice fic: it’s here!

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s5 episode 9 thoughts

(rubs hands together in excitement) ohohohoho, let us see what this evening brings us!

i have been so desperate for some light MSR moments, that i have considered penning a mini fic where mulder comes over to scully's place to talk about some boring work stuff, but then it turns to just hanging out and drinking hot chocolate, and then it snows too much so he has to spend the night… but i don’t trust my writing skills to do it justice. i’ll end up googling how microwaves in the 90’s worked to make sure my hot chocolate prep methods are historically accurate.

(opens the wikipedia page for swiss miss and starts taking notes)

anyway. okay, so what are we dealing with today? a child who might be a murderer? damn. they get this sort of stuff more frequently than you’d expect. 

well, to clarify, he is a TEENAGER, but still. 

let us begin. 

we open in a room with very old video games and a sick as hell lava lamp. it is covered in posters. 

someone pulls up to the house in a truck and walks in, yelling for bobby, who must be this young gamer gentleman. ohhh this guy (phil) is mad at “that kid”. phil seems like a bully.

bobby left phil’s tools out in the rain. and phil is telling him to “finish the job”. bobby is brandishing this shovel and yelling at phil to “GET AWAY FROM ME, NOW!”. he then runs away, into an orchard!!!! he sees some guy in the night… phil chases after him.

phil has tripped. bobby is on top of him as he falls into a pit of mud! 

your honor, my client is CLEARLY innocent. bobby was nowhere near that sinking hole of mud when phil tripped and fell into it, and once phil HAD landed in there, he was attempting to save his stepfather from the sinkhole despite the way he was treated. at this very moment, i am team bobby.

now it’s scully autopsy time :) she looks so beautiful as she digs pounds of dirt out of phil’s lungs and stomach :)

she thinks that phil was murdered by bobby, who must have held his head into the mud. but mulder points out that phil was found in a hole, standing vertically!!! maybe bobby dug the hole?? and then he fell in and held his head under?

who knows?

mulder seems to take the kid’s side… typical mulder behavior. 

at bobby’s house, mulder shares these words of wisdom: “you know, when kennedy told the germans ‘ich bin ein Berliner”, he was actually saying, ‘i am a cocktail sausage’.” “who’s kennedy?” <- LMAOOOO 

okay, for a man whose first word was allegedly JFK, he needs to brush up on his lore!! the term “berliner”, the way JFK pronounced it, was thought to refer to a type of donut!! but even that was just a myth. smh mulder! i expected better from you.

i’ve always wanted to taste whatever a berliner is.

follow me for more JFK facts.

mulder thinks this incorrect fact is so funny, though. he’s smiling at bobby, and then clarifies he’s not here to accuse him of anything.

“they want me to confess, so they have someone to blame” “right, but you see, you’re not making it very easy for them to believe otherwise. you understand that?” <- lmao. mulder is the king of getting his point across to teenagers bluntly yet with respect!

meanwhile, scully is talking to patti (bobby’s mom), who is saying that bobby and phil used to be very close, and then bobby got into “that teenage stage” where “he don’t want to listen to nobody”. which feels like a gross oversimplification of whatever it was that actually went down, but okay 

phil was stressed because there was a blight on all his nut trees (okay. what is this child supposed to do about that, phil?)

scuuuulllllyyy, you’re so preeeeeettttttyyyy :) if she was questioning me, i wouldn’t even be able to answer. i’d just be looking in her eyes and sighing wistfully.

patti claims that she never saw phil hit bobby, as if this proves that the deceased was a saint, while bobby tells mulder that phil shoved him around a lot. but bobby never hit back because phil was way bigger. which makes the hole seem devised.

ohhhh, scully with the major announcement: the police are probably going to arrest bobby for murder. “but if they do, and if there’s evidence of abuse that you’re not coming forward with, it could hurt his chances” <- she is always telling people to confess and i love that about her. she's always telling people "just so you know: if you lie, we will find out, and you shall be Punished"

(mulder touches some stuff on a tree that looks like blood) <- why is he always doing weird stuff. yes yes, scully explains that it is the juice of dying trees

the agents are walking through this dying orchard, and it’s Romantic in a capital R kinda way. their breath makes fog as they talk, birds chirping in the grey skies while their coats billow behind them

“what do you think?”, scully asks; “i think he’s a hard kid to love” <- WOAH MULDER, damn... him saying that made my jaw drop!!

they’re at the big hole/scene of the crime. scully points out that the tree disease could have killed the root systems keeping the dirt in place, leading to the big hole's creation. mulder climbs in as scully explains how phil could have swallowed 12 pounds of dirt through the power of science

(mulder looks at her and smiles) bitch, me too

“well… you asked me for answers, those are the best ones i’ve got” <- don’t let him make you insecure, queen. if he giggles at your theory behind the physics of dirt swallowing, just remember all the other dumb shit you’ve seen him fully believe in. like the gargoyles. 

bobby has been in therapy for his anger since 1995, which prompts mulder to say “that could be me” <- and maybe it should be, buddy. scully goes to therapy!! you should give it a whirl! i see no downsides

ohhh, the creepy man from before is watching them… mulder’s running up out of that hole when scully says they're being watched. but no!!! his foot got caught!! that was almost bad. and in the time it took to prevent himself from tripping, the mystery guy vanished.

now we're at high school, a place i never want to be. bobby called lisa and he wants to know why she didn’t call him back!!! he claims he finally stood up to “him”. now buddy, i had been on your side, but this way of talking is not going to get you set free.

OHHH a bully shoves him in a locker and bobby says “maybe i’ll kill you too, huh?” and that gets him to back off. lisa is weirded tf out and dips.

knock knock knock on someone named karin’s door. “we’re agents mulder and scully from the FBI” <- hell yeah you are!!!

karin was/is bobby's counselor. the agents are sitting on the couch like they’re the ones here for the appointment. i'm sure couple's therapy wouldn't HURT them.

anyway. back to bobby. he has come into her office physically injured before. he once spilled a glass of milk and phil made him eat in the cellar for a week??? wtf was this phil guy doing?? 

mulder notices her shoes are muddy… he is always noticing. this is some sort of clue, but as to what, i am unsure

“you make it sound like a justification- like bobby did it- and i don’t think bobby did it” <- get her again for me, mulder!

karin girl, don’t be cryptic about what did and did not happen. they’ll subpoena you.

lisa is walking somewhere at night. bobby pulls up in his very loud truck, creepily. he seems inebriated as he tells her to stand up to her dad, and that there is a way to make it go away forever. leave lisa alone, bobby. just because i don’t think you killed that guy, that does not mean you can go around and bother girls!!!

her dad says he doesn’t want bobby coming around, she screams at him to stfu, and then she gets out and leaves with bobby!! this has escalated.

so as soon as we saw the chestnut juice on mulder's finger and heard that a blight was plaguing the town, i imagined that this was somehow making the townspeople crazy. and i feel that my theory is only being proven here with more sudden outbursts.

wait, what the hell? i’ve gotta rewind that. 

lisa walks out the door of her house, and then the window, like. blows in on her dad?? and glass shatters everywhere.

later, she comes home and finds him fallen out the window!!! it is NOT looking good for him.

the next morning, mulder is piecing together a smiley face out of the shattered glass. he is simply that sort of guy.

lisa's dad was named eugene, and he was a foreman for the local growers. scully thinks he was pushed out the window, but his body was removed before they saw it. hmm. maybe to cover up the CHESTNUT BLIGHT THAT MAKES YOU CRAZY!?!

karin is now with lisa, telling her she doesn’t have to answer any of the agents' questions, and then after this they’re going straight to her place. which seems very weird. was she dating lisa's dad??? no, she's just going to take her there for a bit, i guess.

scully asks for a moment with lisa, and mulder gestures karin out. ohhhh, what is going down…?

lisa was a client of karin’s for 4 years. she’s saying lisa's father disapproved of her, and she tries to empower “the victims”.

now... is this going to be a chestnut blight as the monster of the week, or is this lady telling kids to kill their parents? 

mulder’s window analysis: it looks like he was PULLED out the window, not pushed. how? girl idk either.

back at da high school, it’s chemistry class- but scully is here to get bobby. ohh, she says she needs to ask him some questions. “about what?” “i don’t want to have to embarrass you in front of your class” “well, i ain’t embarrassed” (she gestures for him to come with her)

she handled that the best way you could, i think. bobby, i was ROOTING for you!! i still am. i bet he thinks that if he owns it, people will leave him alone. makes sense in a way. 

mulder is looking at lisa’s dad’s body. they find something… weird in his skin. i cannot quite tell where it is they found it. or what it is.

scully is inspecting bobby’s arms. i am glad it is him having this experience and not me. 

in walks mulder, with a bag saying "evidence". “what is that?”, asks bobby (mulder points to the label) “evidence” <- lmao i giggled 

it looks like wood that is in the bag!! blighted wood that makes you go violent, perhaps...?

karin is going to help lisa pack her things before leaving to go to her aunt’s. i do not trust karin because why is she taking this child to her house?

karin is being yelled at?? a deep voice is telling her that she wishes she were never born. lisa is trying to figure out wtf is going down. is it gonna be mysterious orchard guy doing the yelling...?

back to lisa’s house to investigate the trees.

IS MULDER CLIMBING THE TREE?

“excuse me, it’s been a few years” he says, grabbing a rope

“hey scully, is this demonstration of boyish agility turning you on at all?” <- OMFG I HAVE SEEN THIS LINE IN GIFS BUT NOW HE ACTUALLY SAID IT... LMAOOOO

(she has absolutely no reaction <- LMAOOOO)

but gasp!!! someone is behind her!!! with an axe!! it must be the orchard guy!!

“maybe you should come down here, mulder” (he sadly descends from the tree as the dude with the axe gets closer to scully) ohhh yeah. if anyone with an axe is approaching scully he is going to be at the scene STAT. even if that means climbing out of a tree.

she asks orchard guy if he knows what kind of tree the evidence splinter came from. he says yes, it is this very type of tree.

scully goes, hey! these trees are dying. but this splinter is live wood. so he wordlessly cuts into the tree, which starts bleeding. when mulder asks what causes this, he says “a very bad man” <- is this pollution? that makes the trees make you kill people??

(the agents looks around in confusion and girl, me too) 

lisa finds muddy footprints in the hall. she opens the door to the basement, and you know something spooky is afoot. lots of mud down there…. and a dead body!!! 

someone is asking where is she… omfg is this the cellar where bobby was locked…????

the agents now need to ask karin some questions about her father’s death, which happened 20 years ago….. under CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. “his body was pulled from the mud of an orchard?” <- ohhhh. that’s juicy.

mulder says that her father dying ended the blight that was infecting the trees all those years ago. do the trees make you crazy to get the blood they need?? to be healthy again??

so she answered no questions at all. BUT NO!!! it IS lisa in her basement!!! she’s slamming on the window asking for help…. who tf put her down here??? alas, the agents do not hear her.

karin says she has to be quiet or he’ll hear her. who is HE?? and who tf is the dead body down here with her???

(cut scene to mulder digging up a grave while scully warns him any evidence they find won’t be admissible in court) LMAOOO is that not their whole dynamic right there?!

it’s karin’s father’s casket they're looking at, and it’s filled with vines, but no body!!! well that is... weird

some lady pulls into karin’s house. it's lisa's aunt linda!! she has come to get her. but karin lies and says that lisa went to the bus station??? girl, what is going on. she slams the door in her face. 

oh shit!!! lisa slams on the window, and her aunt hears her!!! and when she goes to call the police she is… stabbed?? or something??? NOOO, AUNT LINDA!!! poor lisa. she is going through TOO MUCH in this episode.

scully wants to know wtf happened to karin’s dad’s body. yeah. me too.

“i don’t think this was an act of grave robbing, scully” “no, that’s what we were doing” <- LMAOOOOOOOOOO this gave me a very good chuckle

mulder points out that all the deaths are tied from the trees. the root system eats them, perhaps. 

scully says yeah, that's great, but there was a more obvious connection here: all of these children were abused. 

listen, i’m a big believer in “both things can be true”. maybe the kids fed their parents to the trees, little shop of horrors style!

he says they should go question bobby again. she doesn’t wanna do that shit lmao. 

mulder vs bobby showdown…. 

mulder says he knows bobby ran that night because he was too scared to do anything with the shovel… and he ran into the orchard, but because he had set a trap there, but because he was scared… and he wanted to help phil once he was caught in that hole… and now bobby’s crying, saying "she" made him stand up to him… “she” being karin….

OHHH, was it him yelling at karin about wishing she was never born?? she made him pretend he was phil… “she made you believe you were a victim, but you weren’t” damn. that's messed up.

back at karin’s place, that mysterious deep voice is yelling to lisa. IT’S KARIN?? saying that lisa will wish she was dead??

SO WAS SHE THE ONE THAT LOCKED HER IN THE CELLAR???

agents return to karin’s place. they find the footprints downstairs… and aunt linda's poor body!!! and the body that must be karin's dad!!! all eaten up by the plants!!

“talk about putting down roots” <- lmao. mulder has a dad joke for any occasion. he must study them.

OHHH... it was never bobby that was locked in the cellar, it was karin!!! she's projecting her trauma onto these children

lisa is screaming!!! scully stays with her as mulder goes to find karin!! car chase time!!!!

a tree falls on mulder’s car!!! OHHH he narrowly missed being impaled!!! 

so is karin a tree whisperer???? a tree bender? she commands the roots?

he’s limping out and trying to get over the trees. poor man.

lisa breaks into bobby’s place, despite his mother saying he isn’t here….. how tf did she get away from scully? she yells that bobby is in danger, and he once again runs to the orchard...

karin is approaching bobby in the orchard…. and he’s being sucked down by the roots…. while mulder races after him. karin is talking in that deep voice, saying she deserves what she gets. mulder’s yelling at her to tell “him” to stop!!!! and she says “karin’s dead” <- well, killing other people doesn’t help the problem at hand!!

so now they’re both up to their necks in dirt until orchard guy comes and chops her head off!!!!!!

wow. shoutout to orchard guy. he leaves immediately while they are still hanging out in the muck. they’re still struggling when scully finally finds them LMAO.

aww, look at her pulling him up in the background….

so, mulder wraps up the episode: no one knows why karin got sucked into the mud or how her dad ended up in her basement via root transportation. and she imagined victims around her, so she tried to instill in them the strength she never found in herself.

damn. she was consumed by her past.

well. that was a lot. shocking that the tree that eats people due to child abuse is not one of the contenders for darkest episode of this show. this is just an average day for them.

so, what do i think? hmm. i feel there’s a moral here, about the cycles of abuse and grief, and how you need to confront it lest it haunts you many years down the road. you must deal with the trauma your father inflicted upon you before it leaves you screaming at children in his voice that they are worthless.

but other than that, i’m not sure what to think on the plot and themes. i cannot speak to the careful science that is psychology and decipher if they were trying to make an elaborate point, or if this was one of those "wouldn't it be fucked up if..." episodes.

this episode had some good lines that made me laugh. and that is important. and it was funny to re-read my notes, because i was so convinced this whole plot was due to the blight. i guess the blight emerges when children are being hurt?? and then goes away when the abuser is returned to the earth?

i’m a little shaky on the details.

each time they interact with kids, i get thrust into this idea of them having kids of their own, so this did give me many ideas of them trying to cope with an unruly teenager. you really just have to listen to them. mulder calling bobby hard to love was out of pocket. mulder, please do not say this about your own child. but he seemed adept at speaking teenager and getting him to confess, which was impressive.

anyway, the episode was fine!! mulder is wild for asking scully if she was turned on, but i did laugh at it. you know what though, that is how it is with the besties sometimes. and the grave robbing line killed me. idk how karin was controlling those trees, but i’m going to simply not question it. whatever you say, pretty agents :)

[randomfoggytiger]

The X-Files 30th Anniversary

Day 7: 30th Anniversary Extravaganza

Today, I'm thanking The X-Files community for bringing me across a wonderful show-- its amazing cast and writers and fans-- and inspiring me to get back on my own creative hobbyhorse.

My Thanks

Being a part of a collective who want to celebrate this show and others' creative endeavors with heartfelt good wishes has been exciting, fun... and humbling.

My special thanks to the many people who welcomed me with open arms and contribute to this space, even if it's "simply" (but it's never just anything, is it?) answering asks or reblogging or even liking a random post that passed from one blog to another.

There are too many to list, so I'll just chat about my most remembered moments:

@baronessblixen, for being so kind and encouraging that you drew me out of the anon shadows; for liking what I create; for giving me a logical mind to bounce my ideas off of in asks; and for inadvertently teaching me the joy of appreciating animal videos (and convincing me, along with Vavie, to watch Return to Me.)

@dd-is-my-guiltypleasure, for our cherished Duchovny talks; for your heart and your amazingly detailed dedication; for your artbook that I prize dearly; and for your warmth and good humor.

@suitablyaggrieved, for your spectacular and refreshing meta takes; for persevering in your creative works and this fandom; and for sharing the progress pics of your beautiful X-Files themed sweater.

@welsharcher, for being my mini Kermit-loving pool noodle~ (I love brightening your day as much as your messages brighten mine); for your gifs and posts that make my heart soar; and for our shared, priceless sense of humor.

@agent-troi, for being a solidly intelligent third party to the Pre-S1 Mulder Singleton Club; for your hilarious hashtags and great insights; and for your amazing fic output.

@mondfuchs/@annablume, for swapping XF fic recs in my early Tumblr days; and for making my year by drawing my little boopy-tongued tiger in Mulder's arms to celebrate our collective birthday (post here. Still makes me sappy thinking about it~.)

@amplifyme, for returning to Tumblr and giving me a chance to meet you; for sharing your excellent BATB series (in general and Nan Dibble in particular); and for sharing your thoughts as you slowly peel back the psyche of Vincent and the worlds Above and Below.

@demon-fetal-harvest, for being one of the first to die over my Scully Les Miserables amv (it's one of my favorites I love to rewatch; and I think of you every time I do); and for your hilarious reblogs and even more hilarious tags.

@xxsksxxx and @two-microscopes for being the first to reblog and like during a rough time. I'll cherish that moment forever~.

@medicaldoctordana, for being cool and creative and driven; and for hating the mainstream MBTI system as much as I do (and for your philosophy recs-- will get around to them someday.)

@ibringyouasong89, for being my fellow warrior in the trenches. We're new of acquaintance, but I think this will be a beauuuuuuuuuutiful friendship~. ;))))

@writingwell, @enigmaticdrblockhead, and @perpetually-weirdening, @spidey-is-tired, @cyb3rpeach, @scullys-scalpel, @frogsmulder, @teenie-xf, @dreamingofscully, @freckleslikestars, @cecilysass, @slippinmickeys, @gabby-msr, @thatfragilecapricorn30, @television-overload, @pianogirlxf @mollybecameanengineer, and @settle-down-frohike for being mutually supportive and welcoming. The world is both large and small; and I'm glad my path was able to intersect with yours.

And thank you to the silent-but-always-theres who take the time to drop in and give my posts the time of day~: @samucabd, @sonictacocat, @kiivitaja, @freckleslikestars, @nimlurks, @redteekal, @mindibindi, @marinas5099, @chavisory, @sizzlingempathspybat, @enigmaticxbee, @inflappible, @metamayou, @invidiosa, @txcb1013, @dytttt, @borogirl, @agentbluefox, @agentwhalesong, and ALL OF YOU. I can't tag anymore because Tumblr is tapping me out; but I include you-- yes, you-- in this as well.

My Projects

While The X-Files turned 30, my fandom experience turned (a little over) a year old! Wow, time does fly when you're... speed typing out multiple essays worth of fic rec lists, meta analyses, and personality typing posts (or even wrangling a video editor, compressor, and uncooperative Tumblr site to upload an amv.)

My full list of accomplishments can be found here; but these are a few highlights that were standouts to me personally:

My First Fic

randomfoggytiger’s Son of Egypt (Prince of Egypt twist on television-overload's what if: Samantha adopted and raised William.)

Fic Rec Lists

Meet the Mulders

Creepy and Cozy Cabins  

Time Travel, Time Loops, and Just Wrong Timing 

Car Wrekt 

S9 Mulder Stays or Returns While the Mytharc Barrels On

Fics That Deserve More Comments (Part I) 

Poll Results Fic: 1st Place- Scully Injured but In-Charge

Poll Results Fic: 2nd Place- Cleaning Out the Vineyard House

Poll Results Fic: 3rd Place-- Tithonus Mother Hen Mulder

The Field Where I Fix-It Fic-ed

Analysis Posts

Arcadia Analysis: Scully Was Enjoying Herself Immensely 

Never Again: An Intensive Essay (and its paired twin: Never Again and Fear)

One Son: An Intense, One-Shot Analysis of “You’re Making This Personal”  

The Mulder Family In-Depth (Part VI): Talitha Cumi and Tena's Lies

S5 Is a Pretty Dark Time for Mulder

The Scully Family In-Depth (Part VII): Mulder, Maggie, Melissa, and the Snake

Mulder Trauma Responses: Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn? 

Scully Trauma Responses: Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn?

Mulder and Dreams

Milagro In-Depth (Part II): Loneliness Is a Choice and Lamps Go Dark

How the Ghosts Stole Christmas In-Depth: Full Analysis

Scully Is the Conduit Conductor and Mulder Is the Dancer

How Scully Taught Mulder to Hug

Mulder and Dreams

CSM Inflicted Insanity On the Syndicate

Fire and False Romance, Ice and Love

All IVF Roads Lead Away from The Unnatural and to Millennium 

Jungian Personality Typing Posts

{{Extraction: Proving Mulder Is an INTP, Not an INFJ/INFP}} 

SCULLY, The Enigmatic ISTJ

XF Fanvids/AMVs

Les Miserables AMV: Scully's Solo

The Muppets AMV: Drivin’ Right Along

Fiddler on the Roof AMV: Mulder and Samantha

Bonus Content (Fandom Adjacent)--

React: "Return to Me" from the POV of Someone Averse to RomComs

Personality Typing: Return to Me

HAPPY 30TH ANNIVERSARY, XF!

And cheers to all~!

Enjoy!

[randomfoggytiger]

I don't have a list dedicated to Scully and Mulder parenting, but I do have Dad!Mulder fic collections:

Fics That Fit My Niche "Dad!Mulder" Likes

MORE Fics That Fit My Niche “Dad!Mulder” Likes

Dad!Mulder, His "Mini Me"s, and Sports 

S9, The Season of Secret Dad (Long Fics) 

BUT I'm no quitter!

Here's some long-form parenting fics:

@touchstoneaf's ongoing rewrite of S9's mytharc (Amor Fati: The Fated Love) depicts Scully deciding not to adopt William out, instead joining Mulder on the run. (To me, it's a must read.)

Lapsed_Scholar's Season 9 Rewrites and Musings is in a similar vein except Mulder never left. However, her Family Stories is a completely separate AU, with Emily as part of the Mulder-Scully family.

@ghostbustermelanieking's William AU branches off from S9 canon: no adoptions allowed. (Threw in two short fics the same vein because why not: unnamed "William has literal cold feet" fic./Can I request a fic set during Christmas?) Secondly, her infamous Half-Light Universe features a complete do-over for Revival Mulder and Scully, sucking them back to their missing time in the Pilot. ("miraculous", "luminosity", and "Five Moments Mulder and Scully Shared" specifically feature the duo as parents.)

@aloysiavirgata's By Falling In And In series is a juicy family anthology. Elysium/A Heart of Star/Something in the Dryad universe!/Prompt: Mulder arcs a perfect three all fit into a separate universe (I think.) Lastly, All Budding Things is a third, post S9, on-the-run universe~.

@slippinmickeys's AU show S9? Mulder and Scully struggling to parent their son's burgeoning abilities (Part I/Part II/Part III.) Also, her North of Zero/(12) More North of Zero Colonization AU still fits the bill, I believe, even if the family is reunited later. (I'm also slipping NOT INSPIRED BY ACTUAL EVENTS in because it makes me chuckle.)

@myownsuperintendent's See the USA follow Mulder and Scully as they do their best to raise William on the run, then struggle to transition back to a normal life. And All a Family follows the slow-burn of the MSR romance after Scully adopts Emily.

@sigritandtheelves's three different AUs satisfy whatever scratch needs to be itched: Au where Mulder and Scully raised William illustrates the hijinks William has to put up with, Six Octobers follows Mulder as he falls in love and becomes a father, and Advent touches on each Christmas as Mulder and Scully fall-in-love, start a family, and save the world.

@mldrgrl's They Grow Up So Fast journeys along with Mulder and Scully, from the first positive to Will's first crush.

@h0ldthiscat's Unnamed is a short but lovely Christmas fic.

@lyndsaybones's Resolve and Thou Art Free's explores the family dynamic during a mini tragedy. (Her short fic Small is a happier dose of post-Existence humor and heart.)

@firstofoctober's Every Story Has Its Scars AU weaves William into their lives during My Struggle II-III with a better, more wholesome outcome.

@blackcoffeeandteardrops's My Struggle I-II also features a reunion between Mulder and Scully and their son as the three work together to establish a new life together: Ties That Bind/Clarity/Enough For Now/Mashed Potatoes.

@snickerl's Of Miracle Births and Other Wonders sets the birth of Mulder and Scully's second miracle baby in a better lifetime (one with college-aged Emily and teenager William.)

whatliesabove's ghost ship and Humphreywrites's Itero kinda fit the bill and kinda don't.

And misslucyjane's An Acceptable Level of Happiness taps into the scars post S8 Mulder still carries from his abduction while Shooting Star takes place in a late-in-life post S7 reunion, faulty memories and a withdrawn teenager intact.

(For the crackish fun of it, Neoxphile's Birthday Week curses Mulder with multiple days alone with his multiple kids.)

Short fics I have to include because they're seared into my brain:

@mappingthexfiles's The Law of Large Numbers (S9 AU birthdays.)

@o6666666's post-S9-where-nothing-went-wrong fics include AU where nothing went wrong after existence/mulder if he hadnt left in season 9 as a stay at home dad/au where mulder and scully raise their fat baby son. Her post-S9-where-everything-is-fixed fics include It was what it was./if they took the baby on the run they’d have pulled off at rest stops/and my penultimate favorite: she almost can’t hold the baby anymore, but she makes do.

In a similar vein (the second), @freckleslikestars's Halloween Costumes and Milestones showcase Mulder and Scully as parents on the run, doing their best to keep their son healthy and his happiness intact.

All of @baronessblixen's S9 AUs but today's honorable mentions are Lights in the sky and 8. The floor is lava.

Humphreywrites's Sundries in the X-Files Universe - Chapter 11 AU shows Mulder and Scully helping William settle into college.

@dreamingofscully's Unnamed post S9 AU could easily slot into the IWTB era (if it existed in a better timeline.) It also features Mulder being manipulated into then almost lost to a case. e Mulder and Scully help William settle in to college.

Hope these fit the bill! :DDDD

btw sorry if you've already made a post like it but do you have any favourite parenting fic recs with any of those tropes? I've read a few but not that many...

i was gonna say i haven't read a ton of parenting fics, but i went through my library for you, and here are a few parenting or parenting-adjacent ones:

Shine On by @cecilysass - probably not exactly what you're looking for since they're not raising a kid together, but read it anyway if you haven't yet because it's *amazing*.

Terra Firma by Malibusunset - it's so sweet and will give you so many feelings of the good and happy kind.

All that is Dark and Bright by Malibusunset - be prepared to cry and laugh and cry angsty and happy tears. soooo good.

Three Part Harmony by @slippinmickeys - i mean hooooly shit this one will make you miss your bed time several days in a row. it's not fluff, if you're looking for that. but read it. do it. right now.

of our own making by @television-overload - pre-parenting, but if you haven't read it, definitely do so. i love this fic.

there are more but my AO3 is so slow this morning. @randomfoggytiger I trust that you can add on a couple more here?

[lokisgame]

Willam pulled on the levers and the trap slowly began to open its' jaws. An inch, inch and a half and the fox yelped, kicked his hind legs and crawled away, straight into Emily's arms. "It's okay, you're fine now, everything's going to be fine." She crooned while the fox licked his wounds curled up in her lap. "Poor thing," she sighed and looked up to her brother, plea in her cornflower blue eyes. Will shook his head knowing his sister all too well. "No," he growled. "We can't leave him," she said brushing her hair back. "What language will you understand? Non, nein, niet!" He growled and got up, brushing dead leaves from his pants. "We're not taking him home, mom will kill us." Emily hugged the wounded animal to her small chest. She might be a year older but Will at fifteen was already twice her size. "Dad will help him," she said, "he won't turn him out." "Sure play the dad card," He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, but I'm not carrying that thing all the way back to the house." He reached out and Emily took his offered hand, puling herself up careful not jostle the fox too much. "Thank you," she said. "Whatever," Will grumbled and looked up to he sky. "C'mon, it's getting dark." 

The walk back was far slower than usual, but both knew that they had to get back on the path before they lost the light. With Will ahead, Emily kept her eyes on her ward, mindful of his every twitch and whine. They didn't speak until the trees parted and lights winked at them in distance. Beyond the meadow that fell all the way to the house. Smoke rose from the chimney and it was almost supper time. Will slowed his step and they walked side by side through the tall grass. "Mom will take care of him," he said, scratching the fox behind his ear. "He'll be good as new in no time." Emily nodded but her fingers twined through the animal's soft coat, "I hope so but at the same time, he's so beautiful I want to keep him forever." "You know you can't keep him, he's a wild animal." Will said but his tone wasn't unkind. "I know," Emily sighed. "Wild things are beautiful because they are wild." The fox rested his head on Emily's arm and when the sun winked through the clouds one last time, his fur and her hair long, flowing hair seemed to ignite. 

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

I just want to see a regular grocery trip with Scully and Mulder while they're stuck finishing up a long, boring case in the middle of nowhere and decided they don't want to eat out again, maybe sometime in s3?? and they're just puttering around the store and Scully's like Hm how much longer will we be here and how much can we fit in the minifridge while Mulder, who's kinda bored, keeps trying to sneak candy into the basket until Scully finally looks at him with a spark in her eye and grins a little bit and grabs a carton of ice cream that they'll eat later on one of their hotel beds, straight from the container, while good-naturedly bickering over the sound of an old B&W film on the TV. anybody else in the little local supermarket probably thinks they're a married couple — the tall, gangly boisterous one and the firecracker he's teasing and poking and looking at Like That — and she's just quietly playing along but she's really having just as much fun because the case has been frustrating her and they'd fought about it earlier that day, but now they're more relaxed and having fun again and taking a break and the store is an unfamiliar, familiar, comfortable setting for the strange little ways they make the road home

[sleepyscully]

Could I order 24 from the minific prompt menu please? Thank you 🌯

A 24 – Things you said when we were alone coming right up!

“Hey, Scully?” His voice is low as if he’s trying not to wake her up in case she is sleeping already. Her head rests on his chest, rising and falling with his slow breath. She is exhausted from the party they had earlier – her birthday party. Although it was fun having the people she loves around her, she was glad when the last guests finally left, when the apartment turned quiet and it was just the two of them again.

“Mmh?” She replies sleepily.

“Do you remember the first time we met?”

She smiles and buries her face in his t-shirt. “How could I forget?”

“It seems like ages ago.” He lets his fingers run through her hair and twirl a strand around his index finger.

She chuckles and lifts her head, resting her chin on his chest. “It’s been a few years since then.”

He nods, and his gaze wanders off, just like his thoughts seem to wander to a place or a time far away.

“Why are you asking about our first meeting?” She asks after a while.

“I just- I just had to think about it today.”

“Why?”

He shrugs. “I never told you but...”

“What?” She asks, unable to hide her curiosity.

“It took me a while to realize it myself, but I fell in love with you during the first few minutes of our first meeting.”

“Are you telling me that it wasn’t love at first sight?” She asks playfully aghast, but he doesn’t engage in the teasing, not this time.

“You know, I read everything I could find about you when they assigned you to me. I knew who you were, I knew why you were coming to work with me. But I didn’t know that- that you would continue to amaze me.”

“Come on, Mulder, don’t get sentimental.”

“I mean it, Scully. From the first day, the first minute you didn’t hold back, you started out with logical, medical explanations, leaving no place for the fantastic, but still... I knew there was more about you. I knew you were different. I bet they had no idea how much trouble they would get into by sending you to work with me. They thought you would tear me down, but instead... instead you built me up. I never got to thank you for that.”

“Mulder...”

“I’m not the same person I was back then. I changed. We both changed. And I- I think only for the better. Because all those changes led to us being where we are right now. I’m here, with you. Scully, there is no place I’d rather be.”

“Mulder...” She’s lost for words, so she is glad when he pulls her into a soft kiss. She kisses him back, swamped with a wave of affection for the man she has loved for so long that she can’t remember what it felt not loving him. She wants to tell him how much it means to her that he said all these wonderful things despite his struggle to communicate his feelings most of the time. She wants to tell him how glad she is to be with him, how lucky she is, how she can’t remember being this happy with anyone or anywhere else.

Words still fail her, but when she pulls back from the kiss and sees the tears in his eyes, she knows that she was able to express her feelings, in not so many words, but in other ways.

The End

I hope everything was to your satisfaction :) thanks for visiting scullys-baggy-suits, we hope to serve you again soon!

[unremarkablehouse]

Omg this was hard!

‘This’ is one of my favorite URST fics- the entire episode is basically MSR foreplay. It’s also an excellent story and I was just thinking about Langley in the simulation.

‘Plus one’ is a great story with bonus points for incorporating one bed into a script, plus I love that is canon Scully gets pissy when she’s horny 🤣 ATTHS… TWICE!

‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ is too short, they really rush the storyline to add more MSR and I love that. The speech in the church is actually profound and makes up for a lot of BS the audience goes through.

‘Familiar’ is a great monster of the week episode that is legitimately creepy.

‘Mulder & Scully Meet the were-Monster’- is a brilliant piece of writing that somehow looks at Mulder’s tragic backstory and becomes comedic.

‘Lost art of forehead sweat’- this is a really cynical view on facts and so fascinating. It would have gotten higher points if there was some more on screen PDA but I’ll take it as implied RST and just continue rolling my eyes at the fact that CC has made TWO xfiles porno films but didn’t let the characters kiss on screen during the revival even though it literally defies all logic.

‘The Rmj-blah-robots’- really shows how great David and Gillian can act with very little dialogue, and the story really paces well. Scully’s smart home has no personal touches (except her mini vibrator), so it definitely fits with my head canon that they actually weren’t separated for that long they’re both just drama queens about any distance between them.

Basically I LOVE most of the episodes except for the myth arc, Agent Einstein & Miller, and Kitten. The thing is though, even the eps I’m not a fan of do have redeeming scenes and that is 💯 due to DD and GA.

also i would love to know what you like about the episode

(babylon isn’t here bcs there was no space and im pretty sure no one would have chosen it)

[azure-firecracker]

Okay, So!

I am six episodes out from the end of season 3 (wow!) and I expect to finish right around the time I leave for school. After I go to school I’ll still be around and writing and posting, but less frequently. So, in honor of finishing 3 seasons and as a mini send-off, I’d love to do some sort of special post in addition to my usual season review.

[randomfoggytiger]

Woke up this morning and immediately thought of your musical edit again. I loved it that much. You're not by any chance planning on doing more, are you? 😁Maybe for another episode. I can't stop thinking about that moment when Scully walks into that boxing place and Mulder looks at her. There are probably similar moments in other episodes.

Woke up to your message, too; so both of our mornings were made~!

Scully's song was "Lovely, Lonely Man" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang-- I'm not a "this song describes my ship" person, but that song is preeeeeeeeetty MSR.

Thanks for liking the vid so much! It was a bit nerve-wracking putting it out there; but it was so funny that I just had to. ;)))))) There's a cut where there's less "clutter" around Scully singing (w/out Kathy Griffith's last min. musical realization and Mulder's musical moment when he gets shoved aside by the dudes); and I'm still torn about which I like better. (Obviously the one I released had the resolved character threads in the context of their earlier songs; but it's charming that Scully had so much uninterrupted musical weight... I think?)

Will I do more? Sure, why not?? :DDDDDD I can make a mini-series out of turning terrible episodes into mini musicals, heeheehee. If you have episode/moment suggestions, it'll be fun to work on when I'm not throwing together a fic list or working on an essay (which is basically most of the week.)

[lokisgame]

Pool Closes At 10 [4]

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

"You really should stop leaving me birthday gifts," Scully said holding on to the edge of the pool. "I have one birthday, once a year." Mulder cocked his head to one side and tried to peer over the edge to see what's hidden beneath the surface. "Wait, you're naked?" He leaned in and just then, Scully flicked water right in his face. "You're terrible," he said and wiped a few drops that reached his eye.

When he finally looked up, she was nowhere in sight. He scanned the pool until he noticed a shape in the deep. She didn't come up when he called out, so he glanced at his watch. Twenty seconds passed, thirty, one minute. After a minute and a half he started muttering to himself. "Scully, come on." His heart began to pound and at two minutes and 5 seconds he jumped. He found her sitting cross-legged on tiles covering the bottom of the pool and when she noticed him and smiled, his anger came bubbling up through his lungs. Mulder grabbed her by the arm and kicked himself up, dragging her along to the surface. They both panted for a second before he yelled. "Are you out of your mind?" Scully laughed but seeing his anger cooled down fast. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd jump in, at least not all dressed up." Mulder caught the edge of the pool, and pulled himself out. "Old lifeguard habits die hard," he said and headed for the stairs to their rooms, accompanied by the sound of water squishing and sloshing in his shoes.

He was fighting his wet shirt in the bathroom having managed to get it mostly off his back, but his arms stayed stuck in the rolled up sleeves. That's when Scully's arms wrapped around him. "I'm sorry," she said softly, "I didn't mean to scare you." "Well, you did," he growled and again yanked at the cuff. Scully stepped around him and without looking up took his arm in her hands and patiently started to unroll the soaked fabric. "When we were kids, Charlie and I used to play this game, who could stay longer underwater. On the count of three we'd dive together and my dad would start the count." She unrolled one sleeve and moved to the other. Her fingers slipped to his left wrist to unbuckled the band on his watch. "I always loved his watch with all the tiny dials and buttons, and the stopwatch was my favorite, it worked like magic." She lifted his watch to her ear for a few beats, before twisting the crown on the side to wind it. "At first glance it looked like the second hand was just that, one hand, but then he'd push a button and a second one appeared, hidden under the first." "A rattrapante chronograph." "Is that what it's called?" She smiled setting the watch on a shelf over the sink. "A double chronograph, yeah." He said and watched her work on untangling the knots he made earlier. "So what was your best time?" He asked breaking the silence. "My best was little over four minutes." She said and with one last tug freed his hands. "And your brother?" "He never got past three," she said and stepped into his arms, "he always tried to make me laugh." Mulder chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. "Cheater." "Are you still mad?" She asked, planting a kiss on his chest. Mulder sighed and returned the kiss on top of her head. "No, just don't scare me like that again." "I won't," she promised and climbing on tiptoes, caught his lips for a long breath. "I really love the swimsuit, thank you." He smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You're welcome."

[baronessblixen]

a cuddle companion

So, @admiralty-xfd asked me to link to my very own favorite cuddling story. Instead, I compiled a list of the cuddle fics I’ve written (and could find - you know how tumblr search is). Here they are! Perfect for a fluffy Friday in November, if you ask me.

“You come to my room and wake me up at 4am, to cuddle?” set in “Familiar” 

Some cuddling because Scully is feeling under the weather and Mulder is a doofus

Scully can’t resist cuddling Mulder in “Our Town”

A clingy Scully after “Kill Switch”

A more angsty cuddle fic on New Year’s Eve, after the events of “Emily”

Cuddle fic set in season 2, a bit angsty 

First and last cuddle - WARNING: major character death

[sleepyscully]

Some weeks ago @samanthaannmulder asked me to do the prompt “things you whispered in my ear”. Here it finally is!

Things You Whispered In My Ear

Fandom: The X Files | Ship: MSR | Words: 469 | Scully’s POV | Internal Monologue | pinch of angst | somewhere in early season 9

I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember ever detail. I remember the feeling of the heavy, warm blanket draped over my naked body, I remember my hair tickling my cheeks when you brushed it back behind my ear, I remember your warm body pressed against mine, your arm around my waist, your hand on my stomach.

We didn’t know we were pregnant then. We didn’t know about the miracle growing inside me. We didn’t know about the joy and pain it would bring.

I remember the flowery scent of the fresh sheets, I had only put them on last night. You had come over the night before, let yourself in, crawled into bed with me, kissed me. I remember every touch of your lips on my body, every line your fingers traced over my skin, everything, as if my senses had been extra sensitive for this one evening. We fell asleep cuddling, we woke up in the same position. Your arm around my waist, your big hand splayed over my stomach.

I remember your lips on my cheek, my neck, my shoulders when you awoke from your slumber, finding me in your arms. I remember your lips on the shell of my ear, whispering sweet words. I remember the vibration of your chest as you spoke. I never wanted to let this moment end.

The things you whispered into my ear fill my heart with sunlight every day since you’ve been gone. You told me that you loved me, but you didn’t use these words. You never did. You never had to. You told me that last night had felt special, as if something had been different, that you were afraid we would never be able to recapture these moments. You told me that until that day you were always afraid that I would walk away from you, but that last night proved you wrong. That last night made you understand that I wouldn’t leave you. That I couldn’t leave you. That our lives were merged, were connected, were one.

I remember the tears falling silently from my eyes into the pillow as you whispered into my ear, your voice so low, your lips so close to my ear that I knew that I was the only person who would ever hear those words from you. They were happy tears. Coming from a place of true joy.

I can still hear things you whispered in my ear that morning. Despite everything, they give me hope. Hope that you will come back one day. Hope that you are out there waiting for the right moment to come back to me. Hope that you have not forgotten me… Us. I trust you. I trust us. I trust in the universe to find a way for you to come home.

[lokisgame]

Pool Closes At 10

[part 1]

They had one rule when traveling for a case: no sleeping together. Of course Mulder wouldn't be himself, if he didn't find a way around it. He purposefully set his alarm ten minutes before Scully's just to climb into her bed so they could at least wake up together. Today however wasn't one of those days. Scully woke up and stretched to find a cool, empty space where usually a kiss would be waiting for her. She got up, splashed her face with water and wrapped in a bathrobe, went outside to see if their car was still where they parked it last night. A body in the pool caught her eye. 

Mulder switched from his usual morning run to a morning swim. Strong arms cut the surface in long strokes while his feet made the smallest of splashes. She watched transfixed while he did his last three laps, gracefully diving each time to turn around. Folding his arms on the edge of the pool, which had to be at least 6 feet deep on that end, he looked up. She gave his a little wave and he smiled back and pulled himself out of the water. "You're up early," she said when he came in, trying not to stare at the towel around his hips. "I couldn't resist," he said and leaned in for a kiss, "you should try it." She kissed him then sighed dramatically. "If only I had packed my swimsuit." "I'm sure we could work something out."   "I don't think the owner would take kindly to me going skinny dipping." Mulder laughed and started for his room. "I was thinking more like buying one at the mall down town, but I like the way you're thinking." The moment he turned, Scully lunged forward and tried to tug on the towel but he was faster. He turned just as her fingertips brushed the skin on the small of his back and caught her wrist, pulling her back against his chest with her arm trapped between them. "Now what?" He murmured running his unshaven chin against her cheek. "Wanna wrestle?" "No," she giggled and squirmed. "I wanted to see the fabled red speedo." His laugh rolled through her when he pressed a kiss against the side of her neck before letting go and heading for his own room and shower. "Later, maybe, if you behave," he teased. Scully smiled after him and looked out to the sky outside her window. Blue was quickly turning white, heralding another scorching hot day.