#some of these that are in the DC area i am trying to not overthink and just assign the state or DC that they seem to most take place

[beesarthur]

Where in the world were Mulder and Scully?

I'm sure someone else has already made this list, but I've decided to keep track of how many U.S. states (and DC) (and Puerto Rico) Mulder and Scully investigate an incident in. Not counting other locations where part of the incident happens but Mulder and Scully never go to (like England in 1:12). (edited 3/27/24 after watching 2:19) This started as a list of US states and I continue to be interested in counting US states and territories, but the time has come to set up the list for other locations as well. This list includes places that Mulder and/or Scully go to during the episode to investigate a case. Action in DC that is not related to a case in DC does not count. If the action is in DC and spills over to Maryland and/or Virginia, I just count DC, but if the thing starts in VA and then things also happen in DC, I count both. I don't know, it's not an exact science, and the DC area is fluid to me. So far we have...

US States & Territories:

Oregon (1:1)

Idaho (1:2, 2:18)

Maryland (1:3, 1:15, 1:21, 1:24, 2:16, 2:17, 3:7, 3:16, 3:23, 4:8, 4:9, 4:16, 4:21, 5:3, FtF, 6:6, 6:12)

Iowa (1:4)

New Jersey (1:5, 2:2)

Pennsylvania (1:6, 2:3, 2:16, 3:9, 4:2, 4:3, 4:12, 4:13, 4:14, 5:13, 5:14, 5:18)

Virginia (1:7, 2:5, 2:6, 2:21, 2:22, 2:23, 3:7, 3:17, 3:24, 4:8, 4:10, 4:16, 4:21, 4:24, 5:1, 5:11, 5:13, 5:17, FtF, 6:7, 6:11, 6:18)

Alaska (1:8, 2:17)

Texas (1:9, 5:12, FtF)

Wisconsin (1:10, 2:10)

Connecticut (1:11, 2:4)

California (1:11, 2:7, 3:15, 3:19, 4:11, 5:6, 5:7, 6:2, 6:15, 6:16)

Massachusetts (1:12, 1:14, 2:11, 2:16, 3:12, 3:18, 4:10, 4:19)

North Carolina (1:13, 2:15, 6:21)

Washington, DC (1:16, 2:8, 2:21, 3:14, 3:16, 3:21, 4:16, 4:22, 4:24, 5:1, 5:2, 5:11, 5:18, 6:9, 6:14)

Tennessee (1:17, 1:18, 4:5)

Washington State (1:17, 1:20, 1:23, 2:9, 3:8, 3:20)

Montana (1:19)

New York (1:22, 2:4, 2:16, 3:16, 4:3, 4:8, 4:9, 4:15, 4:17, 4:18, 6:10)

Puerto Rico (2:1)

Missouri (2:12)

Nebraska (2:12)

Minnesota (2:13, 3:4)

New Hampshire (2:14, 3:13)

Florida (2:20, 3:5, 4:9, 5:4, 6:13)

Arkansas (2:24)

New Mexico (2:25, 3:1, 6:22)

West Virginia (3:2, 3:9, 3:10, 4:20)

Oklahoma (3:3)

Ohio (3:6, 3:11, 5:18)

North Dakota (3:16)

Georgia (3:22)

Rhode Island (3:24, 4:1, 4:23)

Michigan (4:4, 5:9)

Illinois (4:6, 4:19)

South Carolina (only Skinner 4:21)

Indiana (5:5)

Maine (5:10)

Delaware (5:16, 5:18)

Arizona (6:1)

Nevada (6:2, 6:4, 6:5, 6:20)

Kansas (6:8)

Mississippi (6:17)

Places Outside the US:

Norway (2:19)

Hong Kong (3:15)

Canada (Alberta - 4:1, 4:9; Yukon - 4:24)

Russia (4:8; 4:9)

Antarctica (FtF)

Sargasso Sea (6:3)

Côte d'Ivoire (6:22)

[staystrange]

all i wanna get is a little bit closer | Spierfeld Week Day 1

“You’re getting a boy’s number before you leave tonight, Si,” Leah said, crossing her arms.

“Let’s hope,” he muttered to himself, but to Leah and the others he just shrugged.

-or-

Simon meets a mysterious boy named Blue at a Tegan and Sara concert.

Title: “Closer” by Tegan and Sara

Spierfeld Week, Day 1: Alternative First Meeting

read on ao3

Simon still couldn’t believe that Leah, Nick, and Abby had actually managed to convince him to go to a Tegan and Sara concert.

He’d never been one to go to live shows, preferring to enjoy the music in the privacy of the space between his headphones. He loved to close his eyes and truly listen, take in the lyrics, the music, the emotion, the singer’s voice. It was a lot more difficult to do that at a live show; people’s screams and the constant pushing tended to be quite distracting, or so he’d heard.

But when Leah, Nick, and Abby had pitched in to buy tickets for all of them to see Tegan and Sara live together for his birthday, he couldn’t say no. They were his best friends, and they’d gone through all of this trouble to plan an incredible night for him; it would be rude to tell them to cancel all of their plans, and Simon would never forgive himself if he disappointed his friends like that. And hey, maybe he’d actually enjoy the live show after all.

“We have to get there at least two hours early, maybe three,” Leah said at lunch one day as they discussed their plans for the concert, the date of which was fast approaching.

Nick and Abby both nodded, but Simon’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Why do we need to show up at four? The show doesn’t start until seven,” he asked.

“Oh my God, Simon, could you be any more clueless?” Leah shook her head. “Si, the concert may start at seven, but the doors open at six, and this is a general admission concert, so if we want any chances of getting barricade, we need to get in line at least an hour or two before doors!”

“Okay, whoa, I only understood about half of what you just said,” Simon said, glancing at Nick and Abby, who both looked sheepish.

Leah followed his gaze and noticed their expressions, her eyes glancing down toward their intertwined fingers for a moment before flicking back to their faces. When her eyes locked in with each of theirs, they glanced away. “Do you guys have no idea what I’m talking about, either? Oh my God, how am I friends with you all?” Leah sighed, her head dropping into her hands.

Nick shrugged. “I don’t know about Abby, but I don’t go to that many concerts to be honest. And when I do, they have assigned seats so I just show up right before the doors open.” He looked over at Abby.

“I had a lot of friends in various bands back in DC, so I was on the guest lists for the majority of the general admission shows in the area.” Leah’s mouth dropped open, and Abby grinned. “Yeah, it was pretty sweet.”

“Wait, who have you had guest list for?” Leah asked, forgetting her exasperation for a moment in favor of her inner bandgirl.

“Um, my friends have opened for Marianas Trench, All Time Low a bunch of times before they were huge, Panic! at the Disco a couple times I think…?”

Leah gaped at Abby. “Okay, you’re officially the coolest person I’ve ever met.”

“Thank you!” Nick whispered something in Abby’s ear, and she laughed.

“Anyway, back to Tegan and Sara. So, since you all are inexperienced concert-goers, let me give you a quick crash course.” Leah launched into a full-blown explanation of everything Simon needed to know for the “Big Day”, as she’d decided to call it.

By the time she was finished, the bell was ringing, and Simon somehow felt extremely excited and extremely overwhelmed at the same time. He tried not to let himself overthink everything too much, though. After all, this was his night with his best friends to celebrate his birthday. And he always had Leah, the concert expert, to help him out if he ever needed it.

Simon took a deep breath as he walked into English class, letting it out as he slid into his seat. Only five days away, he thought to himself, a smile appearing on his lips.

———

The day of the concert finally arrived. Simon hadn’t been able to sleep the night before from excitement; he had to admit, Leah’s constant chatter about how incredible concerts are and how much she was looking forward to going with her three best friends had melted his fears away. Well, most of his fears.

Simon spent all day with his headphones in listening to every single Tegan and Sara album in existence and wondering which ones they’d play that night. He hummed along as he helped Nora make lunch, unable to keep the smile off his face. He was so distracted that eventually Nora just made him the taste tester instead, laughing as she worked.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the doorbell rang. Simon yanked his headphones out, the music still playing as he ran up to the front door and opened it. “Hey, Si!” Leah exclaimed, Abby and Nick grinning behind her. Simon couldn’t help but notice how good Leah looked; she wore a black flow-y shirt with ripped red jeans, and her makeup was done to perfection. Abby looked great too in ripped jean shorts and a band t-shirt, and Nick just looked like typical Nick.

“Wow, you guys all look great!” Simon said.

“Thanks!” Leah said, beaming. Then she gave Simon a once-over, sighing. “Are you kidding me, Simon, did you even try?”

“What?” Simon glanced down at his black pants, striped shirt, and jean jacket. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Did you even listen to my whole explanation on concert attire?” Leah asked, exasperated. Before he could even respond, she continued, “Never mind, let’s just go. We need to get a good spot in line.”

Simon followed his friends to Leah’s car where he took his usual seat: shotgun. As soon as all four seatbelts clicked into place, Leah backed out of Simon’s driveway and they were officially on their way to see Tegan and Sara. Simon glanced at his watch; it was only three.

“Wait, Leah, I thought we agreed we were getting in line at four.” Apparently Nick had noticed the same thing Simon had.

“Again, if you all would listen to me, everything would make sense. The venue is a half an hour away without traffic, so I wanted to leave some extra time just in case.”

“It’s three on a Sunday afternoon. I really don’t think there’s much traffic.”

Leah rolled her eyes. “You’d be surprised, Nick. Just leave the logistics to me, okay? You’ll thank me later.” She stopped at a red light, taking her eyes off the road for a moment to hand the AUX cord to Simon. “You’re the birthday boy. Pick something good, okay?” Leah returned her gaze to the road just in time to see the light turn green.

Simon raised an eyebrow, taking the cord in one hand, his phone in the other. “My birthday was months ago.”

“Well, we bought these tickets around the time of your birthday so it counts.”

Simon shrugged. “Alright, if you say so.” He plugged the cable into his phone and put on “Closer” on full volume. He immediately started singing along completely off-key, not even caring that everyone else was silent. They eventually all joined in at the chorus, and they didn’t stop singing along to whatever songs played on Simon’s phone until Leah put the car in park at the venue’s parking lot.

She turned the key, and the engine, along with the music blasting through the speakers, shut off. “Ready?” Leah asked, unbuckling her seatbelt. “Quick, I already see people lining up.”

They ended up being the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth people in line. “Leah, we really had nothing to worry about,” Abby said.

“Wait until you see how many people will be here. You’ll thank me later.” Leah grinned, bouncing up and down on her heels.

The four of them sat down and pulled out the snacks they brought, leaning against each other as they continued their conversation. As Simon lifted an Oreo to his lips, the warm sun shining on his face, he suddenly didn’t really mind having to sit in line for two hours.

“Hey, Simon, maybe we’ll find you a cute boy at this concert,” Abby said, just loud enough for the four of them to hear but not too loudly.

Simon had come out to them not long before his birthday, and he guessed that may have had some influence on their choice of artist for these tickets. Since then, they’d been trying to set him up with every boy he met, but not a single one of them worked out. Here, though, here was a whole new realm of possibility, one that Simon hadn’t even considered until Abby had brought it up.

“Maybe,” Simon said, his eyes bright and his lips quirking into a combination of a smile and a smirk. “Maybe not. I guess we’ll just have to see.”

“You’re getting a boy’s number before you leave tonight, Si,” Leah said, crossing her arms.

“Let’s hope,” he muttered to himself, but to Leah and the others he just shrugged.

———

The doors finally opened and Simon, Abby, and Nick followed Leah as she rushed toward the barricade at the front of the room, waving to them to hurry up as the space quickly filled. “Now do you understand why I wanted to get here early?” Leah asked, gesturing to the crowd filing in behind them.

“Alright, alright, we get it,” Simon said. He glanced around the room at the other people, some wearing various pride flags and brightly colored makeup, but none of the boys really caught his eye. Most of the crowd was still going through security at that point, though, so the idea of something happening was still possible.

Simon waited impatiently with his hands on the dirty barrier in front of him until finally, finally, the lights blinked out and the sound of guitars tuning blared out of the speakers before the first of the three opening bands began their set.

Leah had honestly been right; it was magical. It wasn’t a band Simon had ever heard of, but the energy that they had onstage made the song itself even better. Simon felt himself being drawn into the music and it wasn’t until Nick pointed it out to him that he realized that he was actually dancing to the beat. He never wanted this feeling to end. And Tegan and Sara hadn’t even played yet.

Three bands later, two sets of footsteps moved onto the stage, accompanied by enthusiastic cheers from the crowd, Simon’s voice among them. As the lights came up onstgae and the first song, which just happened to be “Closer”, began, Simon felt someone touch his arm. He spun around in surprise and saw the silhouette of a boy. “Hey,” the boy said, just loud enough for Simon to hear him. “I noticed you dancing earlier. You’re really cute.”

Thank goodness it was dark in the crowd or the boy would have been able to see Simon blushing.

“Thank you. I can’t really see you, but based on your voice, I think you’re cute, too.” Simon paused, hoping that his courage wouldn’t fail him just yet. “I’m… I’m Jaques,” he said, not wanting to give too much away to a strange boy he’d just met, even if he called Simon cute.

The boy was about to respond when Tegan and Sara burst into the final chorus, and the two boys forgot their conversation for a moment to sing and dance along. “All I wanna get is a little bit closer,” Simon screamed along as the song came to a close. For some weird reason that he couldn’t explain even if he tried, the boy next to him did pull him closer, so close that their arms touched and their fingers were inches away from intertwined.

“You never told me what your name was,” Simon breathed, ignoring the suggestive looks from his friends to his right.

“I’m Blue,” the mysterious boy replied.

“Blue,” Simon repeated, squinting in an unsuccessful attempt to see his face. “I like that.”

———

Simon left the venue with his friends at the end of the night, his voice gone but his grin still intact.

“So?” Leah asked. “Did you get a phone number?”

Simon pulled out a slip of paper, proudly showing it to his friends.

It contained ten digits and one word.

Blue.

1. I usually don't write AUs, so this was interesting for me to write!! Also, I'm totally open to continuing this, so let me know if you guys would like to read more : ) 2. This is a combination of book-verse and movie-verse, as you can tell because I used Book Simon's love for Tegan and Sara and Movie Nora's love for cooking. It works. This is an AU. Just go with it.

As always, come say hi feel free to send prompts!! I've received a couple already, so look out for those coming soon.