#watch out skinner

[evil-little-guy]

2 years till skinner dies… watch out

[flowerbloom-arts]

Steamed Hams but I've watched too many other clips of them together and now I'm shipping them.

Sorry to interrupt your regularly scheduled Old Man Yaoi with a different Old Man Yaoi.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s5 episode 1 thoughts

bouncing. bouncing up and down. off of the walls. this episode was SO good. thank you. everyone say thank you, chris carter. thank you for fainting scully, tomato lover scully, doctor scully, crying mulder, plotting mulder, breaking and entering mulder, and for skinner in general.

but back to who i was before yesterday... allow us to return to past juni.

it’s been 800 years… (and by that i mean a week and 2 days have passed since i last watched an episode)

we left off in a pretty… precarious position. so i’m interested to see where things go from here. and hopefully they will be less stressful.

but i’m so happy to be back! i swear once i finish this show i’ll have to quit my job. there will be nothing to get me through LMAO.

it sounds like mulder is going to do some breaking and entering… again, fork spotted in kitchen

how the HELL did he fake his own death… this is giving sherlock!!

god, hearing her voice trembling again as she talks about identifying his body… i did not need to relive this pain!!

so we go back to him crying and watching alien stuff on his couch the night before her big meeting

“an act of faith began with an ineloquent certainty that my journey promised the chance not just of understanding, but of recovery” <- oh… so he admits to the whole thing being about healing…

and he says that he hoped finding the truth would reunite him with his sister, which i KNOW he was thinking all along, but hearing him SAY IT is still devastating; the way he never actually said it aloud before was very impactful, and so is his decision to break that vow of silence

“a belief which i now know to be false and uninformed in the extreme” <- NOOO please do not give up my king… i do not entirely believe this kritshcgau fool

he’s sobbing. he's so pretty when he sobs even if it is sad.

“my folly revealed by facts which illuminate both my arrogance and self-deception” <- oh no… i wanted him to Realize he was being Like That... but not in this way…

so he picks up the gun, saying it would be easier to end this journey if the pain had just been his own… and oh my god......

but then the phone rings… and it’s kritshcgau? he’s trying to explain that he might have been followed after leaving his apartment, but mulder does not give a FUCK LMAO

he wants to know who this man is and if they really gave scully cancer because of him. understandable.

he’s looking around for bugs in his room as he is warned of what’s going on…. and he finds one on the ceiling!! and not the insect kind, the camera kind!!!

mulder finds someone upstairs watching him on camera and burning stuff, but then this mystery guy picks up his shotgun and shoots mulder??? maybe?? it’s hard to tell??? strategic cutoff??

(i assume it’s shotgun guy from before, but frankly i don’t remember what his face looked like, so. listen! a lot can happen in a week and two days)

ah, it feels so nice to be watching the intro again. nature is healing… and by nature i mean me.

scully gets home at midnight, checking her voicemail… she starts to get undressed for bed

“keep going, FBI woman” <- WHAT THE FUCK. 

IT’S MULDER??? she’s soooo GAGGED LMAOOO THE LOOK ON HER FACE???? i’m howling 

MULDER BABY YOU CANNOT JUST SAY THAT WHEN YOU BREAK INTO SOMEONE'S HOUSE. BAD BOY (sprays with water) (sprays with water) (sprays with-

“mulder? what are you doing? why are you sitting in my bedroom in the dark?” <- a VERY reasonable question!!!!

he says there’s a dead guy in his apartment. she’s had ENOUGH of his shenanigans, and he clarifies that he is NOT joking

he had been under surveillance for at least 2 months!!!!! that is freaky omggg… god only knows what they saw him doing

he says that he can’t talk to anyone at the bureau because this whole hoax leads back to the FBI!!!

HOLD ON PAUSE. WHY THE FUCK DOES SCULLY HAVE A POSTER OF DIFFERENT TOMATOES ON HER APARTMENT WALL. HOLD ON I’M FUCKING CRYING. STOP. THIS IS SO FUCKING FUNNY. oh my gooood. 

she saw a poster of tomatoes and said you know what? this would look FANTASTIC in my apartment. 

god, scully, you truly are the best character of all time. i had no idea you felt so strongly about the humble tomato. 

i cannot complain about anything else that happens in this episode, i’m out of breath from laughing. oh my god. this is gonna get me through so much. tomorrow i’m gonna go to work and a customer is gonna yell at me and i’m just gonna smile thinking about scully’s tomato poster.

i don’t even really remember what was happening. 

okay, right, so the guy whose apartment was above mulder’s, he was destroying records of himself calling the FBI. so who in the FBI was he calling?? and must it be the one who is behind all of this??

“i will not allow this treason to prosper- not if they’ve done this to you” he says <- OKAYYYY!!! protective man is in his protective mode 🔥 you truly do LOVE to see it. it’s almost as good as scully in doctor more but let’s be honest, nothing can ever beat that.

ohhh, he says they can lie back to them!!!! sneaky sneaky man... your fox-like nature is showing

so it was HIS IDEA to have her come and make the ID on his "body" even though it was false!!??

so she was ACTING in that meeting??? WAS SCULLY A THEATRE KID?? because she sold that for real!!!!

he’s going on about how he’s asking her to lie so they can find out who this enemy from within is….

scully runs into skinner after identifying the body, who asks if it’s true that mulder is really dead, and she lies, saying yes. he wants to know if she’s okay, and she pulls the “i don’t know what to say” card, which is entirely understandable.

he asks how she made the ID if he died from a shot to the head, so she says she saw him earlier that morning and he was wearing the same clothes. and there’s a look skinner has into the distance as he tries to determine how and why they would have seen each other before 6:30 am. like you could see the gears turning in his head as if he was saying omg, so they WERE together this whole time. it’s comical, in a way. 

which also leads me to wonder, well i’m no expert in these things, but if you know someone long enough, wouldn’t you recognize them even sans face? by body alone? 

he says he’s very sorry. and when she tries to leave he very sternly calls out “agent scully >:| section chief blah blah blah thinks you’re hiding stuff” (paraphrased obviously)

skinner looks SOOO suspicious of whatever she's plotting lmaooo. and he is right to be!

meanwhile, a very alive mulder is going to the department of defense to scout some advanced research using the dead guy’s ID!! ooooo high stakes, high stakes!!!! he's narrating that if they’re busted, they’re done for good!!

now scully is in the office with the section chief. and he’s talking about someone from the DOD giving her classified information. 

they ask her for information and she’s clearly hiding stuff…. but she identifies kritshcgau!!! omg i didn't think she was going to!!

uh oh… kritshcgau sees mulder in the DOD!! “hey! how’d you get in here?” “through the front door” <- lmao he can never be serious!!

kritshcgau tells mulder to come with him… is this a trap??? 

he’s gagged because that card gives mulder LEVEL FOUR CLEARANCE which i take is a BIG DEAL

yes, it is, because it would give him access to EVERYTHING!! even the thing he wants most of all… the cure for scully’s cancer!! you can see the tears forming in his eyes at the thought… oh man. ohhh mulder…

cancer man has burst into mulder’s apartment… now what are you doing here, you freak???

OHHHH he finds a photo of mulder and samantha on his desk when they were kids... ohhhh... my heart 😭😭😭😭😭

(there’s also some art on the wall of mulder's apartment that i can’t make the details out on. one piece seems to be some sort of pastoral scene with a sheep in it? and the other seems to be abstract. does anyone know what they are? i mean, it’s no tomato poster. but still)

CSM is actually crying seeing this photo and the blood he presumes to be mulder's on the carpet, and i don’t know if he feels genuine sadness or is just heartbroken his decades long alien colonization plan has been thwarted. honestly i do think he’s sad about mulder. he seemed to be in love with both mr. and mrs. mulder tbh, and that can do things to a guy. 

he finds the secret ceiling camera...

scully is in mulder’s office now, calling someone. she pulls out the phone number shotgun guy had been calling!! holly answers it and says she is so sorry to hear about what happened to mulder…. but scully has no time to talk about these things

who is this holly? how does she know scully? are they friends? i need the backstory.

scully… you are so beautiful…. holding this paper and calling holly on the phone, telling her when the calls were placed so she can track down who shotgun man called a million times…..

OH GOD!!! IT’S SKINNER’S EXTENSION!!!

scully looks devastated by this… but just as she begins to process it all, the scientist calls her back about the ice!! she has so much on her mind, please do not make her come look at some damn ice 😭

now, i do not believe that skinner is really behind all this. if he is involved at all, it is because he made that deal with CSM to try and save her... and maybe he was tricked, but he did NOT do it willingly!

kritshcgau and mulder are talking about level four, which apparently a place and not just a classification, and is home to medical facilities!! and vast quantities of DNA storage!! from every person who has ever given blood or tissue since ww2!!! 

damn that’s crazy. how tf would you even store all that?? it’s gotta be a warehouse.

he’s saying this is the hoax into which mulder was drawn…. the US fanned the flames of UFO stories to draw attention away from the whole “mutually assured destruction” thing, which, well, not sure how well that worked out 

OPPENHEIMER MENTIONED‼️him and that damn hat…

(actually still haven’t seen that movie btw. sorry i guess. idk. i’m busy)

KHRUSHCHEV APPEARS ‼️i love to see a familiar face from my textbooks in my TV programs. it's like a crossover event.

kritshcgau says the business of america isn’t business at all, it’s war. well yeah. that is true. and the cold war was an excuse to keep spending military money with no war. which i guess that sort of maybe tracks??

writing off korea and vietnam as just countries squaring off “a few times” is kinda crazy, but his point is: no one used the big bomb.

mulder asks what we are all thinking: what does this have to do with UFOs?

well, let kritshcgau tell you, son. after roswell, the more the government denied about UFOs, the more the public believed them, which was great timing for a country developing supersonic flight

oooo, he claims they almost got caught in korea, as they were accused of using germ warfare. but it’s nothing like what they have now, like what was used for the gulf war, developed in this very building! (said with a very dramatic flourish)

this is a lot of world building at a breakneck pace, and i don’t even know if i’m supposed to believe any of it. maybe some secret top percentage of the government thinks this is true, and the tiny syndicate knows it actually isn’t. that’s my best guess.

the abductions actually did happen, he clarifies, but not by aliens. hmm. a top secret project. well without aliens what's the point?

kritshcgau says it’s about DNA control. but for what purpose???

mulder asks, why make a whole fake alien body for all this then? and kritshcgau says because scully wouldn’t have been alive to disprove the alien body if their timing had been correct!!! so he would have believed it, then they could discredit him!

kritshcgau also says his son coming back sick from the gulf war is his retribution for going along with all of this, and he's thinking there’s a cure for him somewhere in there. well i think the whole gulf war disease and advanced cancer are very different. but maybe they both have secret cures?

off mulder goes, into level 4, taking one last look at kritshcgau, who is immediately apprehended by the DOD for questioning!!!! i feel that this will be the last we see of him.

cutscene to someone racing a horse?? is it bestie well groomed man?? and his many horses??

no!! it’s the department chair guy meeting with CSM!!! CSM is pissed that he didn’t know someone was watching mulder, but the chairman denies it.

he is even MORE pissed about being cut out of this project; “i CREATED mulder” <- okay so that is not putting out the “CSM is actually his father” allegations

chair guy says that mulder is dead

OHHH BUT CSM SAYS “i’ve never underestimated mulder. i still don’t” <- DAMN!!! that’s absolutely wild… i guess it’s important to know your opponent, and how willing they would be to fake their death, and if they could pull it off or not

(CSM angrily leaves)

back to scully at the ice core guy’s lab. and again, oh my god, she’s beautiful. no no no i don’t want to hear about fetal bovine serum. what the hell does that even mean. go back to her beautiful face.

he put the junk from the ice core in the serum... the cells were dividing… into somatic development?? the beginning of a life form. she looks shocked by this, but again. idk what that means!

bleugh, the ice core sample creature... it looks ugly…….

mulder’s snooping about the level 4 area, but the DOD people are behind him, and none of the doors have opened!!! he says that if they find the cure, it will mean for sure that he has believed in a lie from the start. well, i don’t think that’s true necessarily. i mean, the abduction thing could be from an alien-government collaboration, or aliens could still be out there, just not involved with this one thing, you know?

he picks a lock (okay!! crazy skyrim reference) and finds himself in a very dark room. and i am attracted to him. don't worry about it. anyway, whatever he sees seems to shock him???

cut to a TON of CGI aliens on cots LMAO WHAT???? just laying out n about 😭 it had to smell so bad in there… i imagine aliens smell very bad

now this alien closest to him has been lovingly crafted with practical effects, which is much better. so we can see his slime. that is not the part that is better, the slime visibility; its just that practical effects look more visually convincing in such a case

scully is narrating that she had no way to reach him and talk about their discovery of an unidentified life form. which is what happens when you fake your death and go in the secret medical facility of doom.

why is he TOUCHING the nasty alien body???? EUGH!!!!!!

scully is pondering if this thing she found in the serum could be the proof of an alien or the proof of a hoax… a lot of big questions for her to handle here 

he sees some flashing lights deep in the secret corridor, and follows it…. a whole lot of strobe light action going on in here. that stuff doesn't even bother me and i was like damn, that was a lot. i imagine it was much worse for the people who already have issues with bright lights.

she says that maybe this thing in the ice core sample is biologically connected to her cancer?? 

how does this connect to all of those half-alien, half-human people they found back in arizona??!!

beautiful man is looking through the window… 

OH MY GOD HE SEES A BUNCH OF WOMEN BEING SCANNED????? WITH BRIGHT FLASHING LIGHTS?? oh man.... WHAT IS GOING ON???? what are they DOING??

what did they call it before?? inducing mega ovulation?? yikes.

BLEUGH. i paused here as scully was getting blood drawn. i am woozy. how do they fake that for filming??

she needs a southern blot, btw. if that means anything to you. to compare that culture to her own DNA.

belaughhh. she needs the match before 7. he says we can’t do that.

“it’s got to happen. everything in my life depends on it” <- YOU TELL HIM!!!

he has no idea wtf that means but is taken aback by her seriousness

NOW WHY IS SKINNER WATCHING THIS????

OHHH SHE GOES OUT AND CONFRONTS HIM!! “is this more dirty work you’re doing for the DOD??” <- OHHHHH she is NOT HOLDING BACK

he says he has the tests from the body they found in mulder’s apartment on his desk; he knows it isn't him!!! and as she compounds the lies, she compounds the consequences!!!!

OHHHHH THAT WHOLE SCENE WAS SOOOOO JUICY I’M GONNA TEAR OUT MY HAAAAAIR

“all lies lead to the truth, isn’t that right?”

“and what about your lie, agent scully? what does it lead to?”

“the truth- about the men behind what happened to me, about my abduction and the tests, about being exposed to something against my will, about being put on a table and having something implanted in me and then having my memory stolen, only to have it returned along with a disease that i was given.” (ohh she was getting more and more furious as she said this and it was SO good)

“is that your justification? if that what you’re going to tell the joint panel tonight?”

“are you afraid of that?” <- OHHH her mocking and accusatory tone… i need it bottled

“well, considering the dead man in mulder’s apartment was murdered in cold blood and you willfully misidentified him, yes, i am afraid. but i’m only afraid for you” (<- and i do believe him, that he is scared to watch her proceed in this way, almost recklessly, even though it's calculated)

“you’re going to use that against me, aren’t you? you’re going to use me as i’ve been used all along- to preserve the lies”

“where is agent mulder?”

(she walks away)

WOOO baby, that scene was ACTING!! the tight closeups on their face was crazy, and it def could have backfired had they not been so freaking talented. every microexpression spoke a thousand words. i feel energized just watching it!!

jumping up and down. jumping up and down. we are sooooo back.

ohhh she goes into the lab herself to do the testing… in her lab coat… and her goggles… spinning the blood around… i’m faint…

meanwhile, mulder's walking through some weird pipes?? 

AUGH, there’s something IN HER BLOOD WATER, and she says it could be a connection between the conspirators and the cancer in her blood…. well to me it looks like a worm

he finds a new secret door and enters with a hand in his pocket, looking around... tension!!!

she’s ready to blow open this whole conspiracy!! ooooo you'd better stand back and watch it happen!

(they’re narrating all of this because this is a tv show and that is how an audiovisual media works, but i find it funny to imagine them speaking into a voice recorder as they describe their highly illegal activities)

he reaches the end of the mystery space and finds a ton of filing cabinets??? so he’s going to the scully file. he finds hers!!! it is a paper with a bunch of letters on it. which clears up nothing

and he pulls one out for kritschgau’s son as well!!! but it looks like his is blank???

someone from the DOD calls CSM to say that “scott” (mulder with the dead guy's ID card) made his way into the pentagon!! so he’s off to go find him. stay away from him, freak...

scully is rolling some sort of paper after soaking the mixture of stuff from her blood. you’re confused, i’m confused, i’m fascinated as to how this was explained for filming purposes, but here we are

“if my work with agent mulder has tested the foundation of my beliefs, science has been and continues to be my guiding light” <3

“now i’m again relying on its familiar and systematic methods to arrive at a truth- a fact that might explain the fate that has befallen me”

i love that she sees science as familiar and systematic; she really seems to be someone that values those aspects of stability, of knowing what can and cannot be true, and as the world grows more and more complex as they unravel the conspiracies, she turns to what she knows she can rely on. it reminds me in a way about how she values the comfort of a home, of the known, of what can be experienced and understood. she seems to thrive on that sort of knowledge, and i relate to it. something steady to keep her afloat, you know? it also speaks to her rigidity in following the rules. there is order and structure that maintains things, and that can be a great comfort, or a terrible hindrance if it is used for evil. but she, deep down, believes that there still is fundamental good. the rules, the science, the facts, the comfort of them all. it’s a terribly scary world; her biggest fear is what others are capable of. of course there is comfort in the known and the material. i like that a lot.

she hopes to match the virus from the mystery organism to the stuff in her cells, which would mean that her cancer has a cause, even if a cure is unknown! and maybe then they could find a cure to the virus thingy...? is this wishful thinking??

“if science serves me to these ends, it is not lost on me that the tool which i’ve come to depend on absolutely cannot save or protect me, but only bring into focus the darkness that lies ahead” <- hey. hey ouch. pain.

i refuse to consider such a possibility. there are too many more seasons ahead.

back to mulder in the labyrinth, looking for stuff that matches the numbers on her card. ough… why does his hair look so good…

anyway, he finds some sort of liquid

OH scully has done it!!! she’s mixed her DNA with the viral DNA from the cell!! oh, the ice core doctor guy is SHOCKED to learn that she has stuff in her that was also in the CANADIAN ALIEN MOUNTAINS!!

she explains that she believes she was exposed to this material that gave her an illness… and when he asks what kind, all she says is that it cannot be cured. damn. that was very dark.

so mulder finds this little vial of stuff with the specific numbers on it?? in a tiny tiny little bottle?

is it shots shots shots shots time??

he’s leaving from the pentagon, and in a voice over monologue, points out that he is as dependent upon her as she is upon him for the cure!!! as now she must convince the committee of her story!!!

she goes into the meeting room, bracing herself…. and she begins where we began in the last episode!!!! and now we know WHY she is reporting on the illegitimacy of his work!! ah, it is sweet relief to know there was no backstabbing between them

mulder is trying to sneak out… but his card swipe isn’t working…. and the military guys enter!!! 

can he play it cool?? can he beat them in a fight??? well, it FINALLY works, and one thing he can do is run!! and he manages to!!!!

GASP! CSM sees mulder leave, and says to let him go!! he seems almost relieved to see mulder alive and with this mystery liquid

and scully’s doing her oscar-winning performance about identifying a body. an absolute serve.

but skinner comes in just as she says this…. 

her eyes are filled with tears as she pulls out the evidence… (which is just two lines on paper, but you KNOW she is going to explain it)

and she notes that the whole thing was “planned and executed by someone in this room”, seeming to blame it all on skinner… oh my god…

OH MY GOD SHE’S STARTING HER PRESENTATION AND HER NOSE STARTS TO BLEED???

SHE FAINTS?????? and SKINNER CATCHES HER????

she looks at him and says “you…..” before passing back out <- WHAT DID SHE WANT TO SAY TO HIM??!??!?!?!?!

mulder is with the lone gunmen analyzing the mystery liquid…. and it’s water??

hold on, i had to rewatch her fainting and skinner catching her… how he starts to hold her face but stops himself… the way she says “you” so quietly… and then she loses consciousness again… oh my god… to be caught by the person she thinks is killing her… 

and skinner… i don’t believe for a minute that he is behind this. how hurt he must be at her accusations, his terror in watching her march ahead recklessly and lie to these people who would kill her in a heartbeat, and actively ARE killing her, and he was the one that made the deal with the devil to try and get this to stop happening, but what if he’s only advanced the work of the devil and got nothing out of it for himself…? and she doesn't even trust him!!!!

i rewatched that scene 4 times. and it was amazing during each of them.

and mulder… with his water… mystery water in vials… what can it do?? is it really just water?? why tf would the government hide vials of water with incredibly specific numbering deep in the pentagon. i don't buy it.

oh man, we are SOOOOOO back!!!!! i am bouncing off the walls. i cannot WAIT to learn what happens next. the angst here was EXQUISITE.

i’m such a sucker for angst involving mulder/scully and skinner. it’s going to get me EVERY time. over and over and over again. it just punches me in the gut. and all the other stuff punches me in the gut too, but this one has a certain je ne sais quoi factor about it; is it the mentor/mentee relationship of it all?? the way they care about each other but don’t know how to express it?? how they go from being willing to die and to kill for each other and then suddenly that trust is entirely removed, back and forth, back and forth? oh, it’s like CATNIP to me.

scully fainting and him catching is already going to be on my list of favorite moments, i know it, i know myself too well.

AUGHHHHHAUAGGHHHHRAUGGHHHHHAUGHHHHHH i LOVE THIS SHOW see it can be SO GOOD WHEN IT WANTS TO BE!!!!!!!!!

the trickery!! the plotting!! the deception!! the mysteries within mysteries!!! i still think the aliens are real though!! what are they doing with those women?? giving then alien DNA so they can steal their eggs to make alien babies?? what is that oil stuff in mulder?? and where does krycek fit into this??? and again, those half alien things in arizona?? don’t tell me!! don’t tell me because i am excited to learn!!!

YEAHHHHH!!!

[girl-drink-drunk]

@ all you ted raimi girlies: i get it now

[recallback-art]

Did a second run of Shadows over Loathing because I wanted to do an evil run. I had far too much fun with this guy and I am perhaps even more attached to him than Cecil because sometimes you need a guy who loves being fucked up.

He's not even evil, really, because that would imply he cares about what he's doing.

Bonus picture that's a vital contribution to their dynamic:

[randomfoggytiger]

X-Files IWTB: First Time React (Part III)

Wherein my anger overcomes my will to finish.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go, Part III. 

*Disclaimers*: I separate art from artist, acting was great, DD and GA did their best, my reaction is exaggerated for comedic purposes, etc. etc. etc.

Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo................... 

Scratchy beard is over, and there is only pain, I presume, from here on out. 

I’m going to try to keep this short and sweet because:

I don’t care about the plot much. 

The characters are going to break apart whatever investment I have left in it. 

…There’s nothing really compelling about anyone else but Mulder and Scully. Maaaaaaaaaaaybe? I’ll like Pedo Joe’s stand-off with Scully? Doubt it. 

I am going to finish this movie with LIGHTNING SPEED because I caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan’t stand it, despite DD’s comedic timing and Mulderness (that is butchered by the script) and GA’s balanced grace and angst and Scullyness (that is butchered by the script); and honestly don’t think marinating in the details would be worth my time, despite the glorious opportunity to snark. 

I was trying to get back to where I left off and skipped to this image of Pedo Joe: 

I believe it represents my viewing experience quite accurately. 

Back to it:

This scene’s not so bad: Mulder gets up to shave, working on Scully’s “scratchy beard” hint as an opportunity to free his unconscious mind by doing repetitive movements, eg. moving a razor up and down instead of quoting along to a tv. AND THAT’S A NICE TOUCH: it’s that domestic softening, that hinting at Scully’s lectures (in a good way) about tv being bad for his sleep patterns and Mulder learning to do other odd things with his hands instead. 

And Scully trailing him in and beginning to change her tune when Mulder mentions the tears of blood, etc. It’s nice, it’s them. So far, so very good. 

Nooooooooooooooow she’s gonna get uber jealous of Dakota Whitney 

and reinterpret everything Mulder does through this stupid lens: shaving while thinking about the crime scene, letting (which he didn’t) Dakota take the fluff off his face, hanging around the FBI instead of following her back to a cozy, domestic life (which he CAN’T do because he’s tied to the case for good or ill no matter what-- they know where he lives, after all.) 

Hoooooooooooooooooooooooow does Scully conclude this is about him finding his sister, hooooooooooooooow. She wasn’t even there for the longing gazes he exchanged with Drummond’s? photo, the implication being his behavior is a long-standing pattern of behavior. But as established in the last two parts, it ISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSN’T.

“It hasn’t stopped you from looking for her. …You cannot save her, not now and not ever.” THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS CASE, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS SITUATION, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS PAST, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS FREEDOM THAT IS BOUGHT AND SOLD ON THE FBI’S WHIM, THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOUR PAIN AND TORMENT, THIS IS NOT. ABOUT. YOU. SCULLY. 

“We need those men back!” Mulder yells-- and he is the only person doing the right thing now. And the movie will punish him and his motives for it. 

The writers have unironically turned into early seasons' Syndicate men by depicting Mulder as an egomaniacal, unbalanced man on a mission… and Scully is giving him less grace and understanding than her own self how many years ago on their first case in Oregon. 

“What are you doing?” asks Scully. 

“Trying to ignore you--” THAT IS NOT MULDER. THAT IS STUPIDLY IMMATURE. WHAT. 

PEDO JOE JUST STOOD THERE FOR HOURS WHILE THE FBI DUG AROUND; AND ONLY STARTED FOLLOWING HIS HUNCHES WHEN MULDER ASKED HIM A FEW QUESTIONS??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

I don’t know why, but that insignificant detail broke me. 

I’m done. Skipping to parts now. 

I skipped to the breakup. 

“You asked for me to get involved, Scully, now I’m asking you to stay involved.”

YEAH, LIKE YOU PROMISED TO DO BECAUSE THAT WAS HIS ONE CONDITION. 

“You helped them already, you broke the case for them, why don’t you let the FBI deal with it?” …Scully, the case isn’t broken. I understand you need support because of Christian and Mulder is completely dropping the ball there; but Scully, your medicine has done what it can (or would if you didn't give up on him as well for some reason) for the boy but there are REAL people whose lives are in danger, right now, and need to be rescued. 

Scully gave up because Mulder wouldn’t let this go. This COULD, COULD have worked if Mulder was pushing her to join him back at the FBI; but that’s not the case here. What’s going on here is the fact that he’s on a high, he’s saving lives, he needs HER help that she promised to give (and hasn’t); and yes, this is hard, yes, this is inconvenient, yes, she feels like Christian is getting second-best; but this is her partner’s freedom, his LIFE (and hers) he is winning back. Just a bit longer and they can breathe freely. THEN they can fight about the FBI, to return or not to return, etc. THEN this fight can and could happen. 

Would Scully still leave then? Apparently she did in the Revival; but here and My Struggle I posits it would have been a permanent rift and not a temporary one that was later written in (or hinted at) to blur the lines of the bad writing choices. 

Here’s why this scene doesn’t work: Scully’s writing is already so thoroughly broken (written about extensively here and here) that her declaration makes no sense: 

she was off-put by pedo compound but on fire while she and Mulder bounced theories after scratchy beard but off-put firmly after Whitney touched his face but then was-- you get the point. On top of that, Mulder-- for as narrow-minded as his focus tends to be-- ALWAYS checks in with Scully’s emotional well-being; and it’s usually her that sets her feelings aside so they can plow forward. If Scully has an objection, Mulder will pause or come at it from another angle that will appeal to her. Scully here cannot be appealed to or reasoned with; and Mulder is only “inconsiderate” in his drive because he’s, again, WINNING HIS FREEDOM. The very thing that's kept them from meeting their son again, etc. 

Mulder is STILL giving her an out: he understands she’s a doctor now, that that isn’t her life anymore (BECAUSE IT’S NOT HIS), and just needs her help ON THIS CASE. 

Scully: “I cannot look into the darkness--” PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT, get that writing out of my ears, blegh, blegh, UCKCKCKCKKCC, it’s chocking me, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

“The darkness” is so wattpad, my word. 

“I’m fine with it, Scully, I’m okay, I’m good.” …WHAT sort of response is that? It makes it seem like Mulder’s addicted to this-- and in a way, he can be. But the PROBLEM is he’s now addicted at the expense of Scully???? Even though Scully has ALWAYS been addicted to it, TOO???? But she’s not now though she still is at times in the script(???) because… beeeeeeeeeeeecaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaause????????????????????????????

Mulder: “Where else would you want me to look to find these women alive?”

Scully: “I’m asking you to look at yourself.”

Exactly, Mulder. (Unironically the Windows crashing noise… meme. Whatever.) …Scully, you’re setting yourself up for the “unreasonable little woman at home” jokes and you’re SCULLY and why are you like this.

Mulder: “Why? I don’t think I’m the one that’s changed.”

Based. Like… you pulled a “based” out of me, wow. 

Scully doesn’t want the darkness (UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK) in her home anymore. Fair. But he’s not bringing it into the home. Also, insert "there are people DYING, Kim" meme. 

Another thing: “This is who I am. This is who I’ve always been” true-ish, Mulder, but not true enough. It implies you cut out her emotional needs-- which you haven’t since SEASON. TWO.-- for your quest… but also, she accepted that about you IN ALL THINGS, WHICH WAS IN SEASON SEVEN. YET. HERE WE ARE. 

GILLIAN REALLY DID HER BEST WITH “PUT IT IN A BOOK” JUST LIKE SHE DID HER BEST WITH SCULLY’S REJECTION OF JACKSON IN THE MY STRUGGLE IV FINALE BUT IT’S STILL JUST. SO. AWFUL. 

Wait, okay, so, this broke them up and Mulder learned how much he and Scully needed x/y/z for their relationship (despite how STUPID this is); and she explained how she’s at her limit and she doesn’t know what else to do, etc……………. And history repeated itself in a couple years because Mulder got depressed and gave up on them and just… didn’t… do… things. 

Sidenote: I HAVE THOUGHTS about the Revival breakup that I’ll talk about sometime (that CC blamed Mulder’s depression on Colonization’s failure when, in reality, he went on the run because of other men who feared Colonization and if it DIDN’T come to pass Mulder would have been TRULY free and he and Scully could embrace life and meet William and etc. etc. etc. but instead Mulder just flogged himself becaaaaaaaaaaaaaause reasons despite winning and, yes, William was given up HOWEVER they'd now have the freedom and opportunity to meet him, etc. And yet. And yet. ANYWAY.) 

SCULLY, YOU BROKE MULDER’S HEART-- THAT HURT ME. WOW. 

HE CAN’T CHANGE WHO HE IS AND THIS WASN’T EVEN ABOUT WHO HE WAS BUT YOU BLAMED HIS WANTING TO HELP THOSE WOMEN ON A NONEXISTENT SAMANTHA-COMPLEX, PAINTED HIM AS AN OBSESSIVE NUT WHO THREW YOUR RELATIONSHIP ASIDE FOR THE WORK, AND MOVED OUT WHEN HE NEEDED YOU MOST WHEN YOU PROMISED, FROM THE START, TO BE THERE FOR HIM THROUGHOUT THIS CASE. WOW. WOW. WOW. 

SKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP--

I will say: IWTB Mulder hair supremacy. My favorite of all his looks. Hands. DOWN. 

Too late for this joke-- this movie’s Scully didn’t earn it. 

“HEY” Scully yells; and waits for the villain to turn around before whacking him in the head with a VERY big and probably VERY heavy axe instead of, I don’t know, shooting him. “But she’s a doctor now” I say to myself-- erecting a straw man just so I can wear off my angry energy by aggressively beating it to death. I didn’t know that doctors, I counter to myself, who were former SPECIAL AGENTS ANNOUNCE WHEN THEY’RE GOING TO HIT THE BAD GUY WHILE BEING 5’2” AND HEAVING AN AXE OVER THEIR HEAD AT SAID BAD GUY. 

Honestly me at this point:

Scully walks in and sees a woman in the midst of being chopped into sell-able body parts; 

and it just… hit home to me that she wanted Mulder to give up on this case, this lady, and the other women, DESPITE being on fire for other cases relating to women in the past, ala Excelsis Dei, Unruhe, Small Potatoes, etc. etc. GOOD GOING, CHUMP. 

Also, Mulder’s still tranked outside in the freezing cold, despite there being a team with Scully and Skinner (I think?) and… why didn’t she yell for the team to come help Mulder? Or someone? Or, I dunno, do that NOW rather than just send Skinner out to cuddle him??

Though that’s a nice moment, to be honest.  

WAIT, IT’S LITERALLY JUST THE TWO OF THEM-- y’know what? Forget. It. Why isn’t there backup? No, NO, I am not rewinding to find out. 

Skinman Cuddles, ™. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I'll take it.

I was showing my sis a pic of the house and she had the audacity to say “Oh, how very unremarkable” before making her version of a smug face. 

I’m too amused to be annoyed; but it’s that thin sibling line, y’know? 

I fully support Mulder here: I’d be this annoyed, too. …I’m so tired. 

His sarcastic eyebrow twitch made me bust out laughing. 

Is he still going to take the majority of the blame that should not be his at all. If so, I’m. gonna. riooooooooooooooooooooooooooot. 

Mulder pauses and asks Scully if she’s seen the story: that the FBI blamed Pedo Joe for the case-- and even though the guy was a pedo, this wasn’t on him. And you know what that means?????

THE VERY GROUP THAT PROMISED TO FREE MULDER THEN BACKSTABBED PEDO JOE WHO WAS WORKING IN THEIR BEST INTEREST WHICH MEANS I WAS 100% RIGHT IN MY ASSESSMENT THAT THEY CAN’T BE TRUSTED WHICH MEANS SCULLY WAS 100% WRONG IN TRYING TO SHOVE MULDER OFF THE CASE BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE WHOOPED HIM, TOO, IF HE DIDN’T HELP. 

….dEEP breaTHS.

AND SCULLY IMMEDIATELY DENIES THE TRUTH AND HIDES BEHIND “WELL, HE’S DEAD NOW.” 

WELL, I GUESS SHE WOULD HAVE SAID THE SAME IF MULDER HAD LEFT THE CASE ON HER SAY-SO AND BEEN THROWN INTO PRISON. GUESS HE’S DEAD NOW. 

Mulder wanted to at least clear that part of Pedo Joe’s name because it is an injustice… buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut Scully doesn’t care about justice now, even though she actively saved the lives of eviler men to later put on trial. Y’know, because they were facing JUSTICE. 

Oh, the pain and the torment of Scully not caring because he was a pedo and then denying that she believed him ‘cuz he’s dead now and she doesn’t have to face the fact she was a SNIVELLING COWARD who had to be motivated to do what’s right BY A PEDO. 

Isn’t this just a beautiful movie. 

FINE. SHE ADMITTED SHE BELIEVED. WE’LL GIVE HER THAT. 

And Mulder is willing to let it all go if she tells him what she believed-- y’know, like they used to do back in the day-- but the movie wants you to think this is new character growth for him when it’s very obviously not for even the most casual of X-Files watchers. 

She has the gall to deny him his request… after she put him through SO MUCH in this movie by… I’m not reiterating, I’m tired, again. 

The movie is trying to say that Scully directly contributes to Mulder’s cave troll lifestyle by not communicating with him; which would be cool if the Revival didn’t loom over the horizon, or, more precisely, IF THIS MOVIE DIDN’T BUTCHER THIS INTERESTING IDEA. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANYWAY. 

Wait. So, Scully gave up on Mulder to do her job... but was ALSO giving up on her job ala Christian becaussssssssssssssssssssse until the pedo priest told her to keep going and it saved Mulder’s life and Christian’s……………………………………………………..

Please end. PLEASE, please end. 

1:38:00 of 1:48:00 left.

Mulder: “Father Joe’s prayers were answered, after all.”

I’M DONE, I’M OUT, HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME LISTEN TO THE AGNOSTIC SAY THAT HACKED STATEMENT. LET ME RUN OUT INTO THE NONEXISTENT SNOW AND LET ME HURL. 

wOW. Pedo Joe has been made into a saint I guess because he didn’t give up. And I guess that’s supposed to be comforting for Scully because she didn’t give up, either, even though she did. 

WAIT, MULDER DIDN’T KNOW SHE GAVE UP. HE DIDN’T. KNOW. SHE GAVE. UP. 

Okay, see, Mulder was wildly out of character this movie, too; but the above realization is… not even Pilot Mulder, because Scully didn’t have to say a word in the Pilot for him to read her moods. He’s always been in-tune with her (profiling, yadda yadda yadda); so, to suddenly put on blinders to cloak his "ability" just so the writers can extend that miscommunication over the ONE aspect they “get” about each other is laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy, and baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad, and INFURIATING. 

I just realized this movie is completely my vibe and that’s why I’m so passionate about this. 

Mulder: “If Father Joe were the Devil, why would he say the opposite of what the Devil might say?”

I. Died. on the spot. 

Look, you don’t have to have a religious background to know that this is the most brain-dead, stupid, inane take ever: cult leaders and other villainous exploiters have used this to their advantage, masking their motives behind religious speak.

(Sis--I’m fake crying from frustration and she’s nearby-- says: “Because he’s the Devil.”) 

Why does Scully get weepy after Mulder says “Don’t give up” and STILL. INSIST. ON LEAVING HIM??? EITHER PERMANENTLY OR TO DO THE SURGERY OR BOTH????? UNTIL HE GIVES HER A HUG, I GUESS??

i. loathe. this. movie. 

Now Mulder’s sayin’ “hey, ‘bout that kid? If you don’t feel like doin’ the surgery doodad, then we can bounce to vacay and let him deal, yo yo.” Again, Scully wasn’t the only character butchered in this movie. Was this nice of him to say? Yes. Is this a Mulderism? NO. A Mulderism would be to encourage her to do the right thing and promise a vacay AFTER. 

1:40:25. Eight minutes left. 

Okay, you had your pretty romcom moment, can this END NOW????

I can live with the chest pat. It’s fine. But, again, it’s sort of… a moment from a better movie. 

...Credits? CREDITS??? Where's the vacay??????????

(There was a perfectly comedic moment when the music was just kicking up and then POW Chris's face was just THERE while I was trying to figure out what in the world was going on.)

WHAT IS THIS BARBIE DIARIES MUSIC AND WHERE DID IT COME FROM AND WHY IS IT OVER MULDER AND SCULLY ON THEIR COOL ISLAND VACAY??????????????????????????????????????????

IT DOESN’T FIT THE VIBES, FAM. 

mOM, PICK ME up, I’M SCARED. 

I’m so, so glad I skipped around. 

I. despise. this movie. 

I knew it was bad; but I thought it would be inane, boring bad. 

No, no, my fellow philes: it’s cold-sores-and-orange-juice bad. 

(Now, to figure out how to write a cool meta from this mess. I have a few ideas, no worries there~.)

I’M OUT. 

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[thelostgirl21]

Me, reading a review of an episode of "Little Birds"...

YOU DON'T SAY?!!!

Director: Hugh, how much pathos can you bring to your performance?

Hugh Skinner: Yes.

[hondagirll]

-

So I watched I Want to Believe (2008) last night, and I hated it. Absolutely hated it. The storyline was all over the place and didn't make much sense. Don't get me started on the plotline of Scully (re)finding her faith through a pedophile Catholic ex-priest grrrr. And there was barely any cutey, domestic moments between Mulder and Scully when they freaking LIVE TOGETHER. Instead, they spent most of the movie separated and/or fighting and just generally making me sad.

And the moment the mother of the sick boy said to Scully "if you were a mother, you'd understand," I nearly wept. Scully my love!

[zannolin]

thinks about msr through skinner's eyes and clenches my fists so hard my entire body starts sweating blood

[vampirewalterskinner]

I’m sorry how did a whole ass audience back in the 90’s see tHAT scene in the episode “Avatar” and not collectively want to jump Walter Skinner’s bones???

Why aren’t there more people lined up NOW for the same reason???

[firstdegreefangirl]

Sam Waterston just really is that good, isn't he?

[steviesays]

Skinners like where the fuck is everybody 😭

[saltlickmp3]

GET HER OUT OF THERE. PLEASE

[flunk2]

If multiple apply, just pick what feels the closest to your initial thoughts. My personal answer is mostly option 6. I don't recall finding the AT reveal to be too out-there or thinking it ruined my perception of Skinner as a character or anything, but I felt really bad for og Skinner

[tummywrites]

you had the life. happy family, good grades, star of the softball and cheer team, eventually picked for your favorite sorority. every frat bro flirted with you, and every one of your sisters was jealous of you. you were a size 0, no one was skinner than you in your whole house and you knew girls envied you for it, you took joy in watching the fatties you were supposed to consider "sisters" run to the bathroom after dinners at the sorority house, the sounds of their puke hitting the toilet as they tried to purge, desperate for a body as perfect as yours. you meet a hot guy at a frat party one night, and he pours a few too many drinks down your throat and for the first time you're bloated: an unnatural roundness on your otherwise stick thin figure. you notice this and when you get back to your dorm room, drunk and stumbling and just barely able to make it into your bed and grab your vibrator, rutting your hips helplessly into your bed. your belly was so swollen, so full, and you could feel the liquid sloshing around in there, trying to making you sick, but all it did was make you horny.

why?

the next time you felt that feeling, it was at a tailgate and you were there with all your sisters & and their boyfriends, waiting for the game to finish so you could go to the frats and party. you got drunk again and this time you got hungry, so you walked over to the guy's side of the area and grabbed a slice of pizza, trying to avoid eye contact with your sisters nearby who you had overheard complaining about how "fat" they were getting (as they went from 100 to 110 pounds after spending every night partying, not eating all day and drinking all night) you laughed at those girls in your mind as you stood there in your size 0 slip dress, flaunting your body to the girls who fought to look like you. you devoured the first slice of pizza with that on your mind, and couldn't help yourself as you grabbed a second one, and with that, a few bread bites. you eyed the snack tray on the table, with baggies of chips and a cooler full of sugary sodas, but then you saw your Big sister glaring at you from across the room and you glanced down, recoiling in horror (and clenching your legs in arousal) your stomach was rounded out, pulling your dress tight across your belly in an almost obscene way. without a word, you grabbed your bag and stumbled off, embarrassed and drunk and so full, but so turned on for seemingly no reason. why would you be turned on by being so bloated from countless beers and greasy pizza, then being caught by one of the other girls there while you made a pig of yourself?

what sealed your fate was over christmas break, when your high school friends wanted to get together again and have a dinner party. you were still as thin as you had always been, but it lately you did feel a little resistance as you went to tug up your lulu pants which was unusual. your friends from high school, however, were not so lucky. your high school best friend had gained at least 40, maybe 50 pounds--a once skinny girl with a flat chest and stomach, now spilling out of a crop top and skirt, a muffin top cascading over the waistband of a skirt. your other friend, a once sporty guy who hadn't gained a day in his life, now walked in with a shirt that clung uncomfortably to his gut, which brought back that hot feeling in your pussy, your clit throbbing as you saw him, pot belly absolutely obscene to you. everyone brought a dish to welcome you home, and they all insisted you try each dish, then seconds, and thirds of this dish, this that one, and then try this one again--

good thing you had drinks.

by the end of the night, you were so nauseous you were convinced were you going to spew. you had ate so much, potato dishes soaked in heavy cream, the thickest mac n cheese you had seen in your life, cheesecakes, and at least 48 chicken wings, you had lost count after the first two dozen you had shoved down your throat in between cans of beer. you were seeing double, but you saw clearly the face your best friend was making as you chugged down another beer and before you could stop, there was a deafening pop! and the button on your jeans fell to the floor, bouncing off the cabinet and landing square in the center of the kitchen. you were so embarrassed, tears welling to your eyes. in a rush, you screamed for your friends to leave, refusing to listen to them as they tried to reason with you. after you kicked them out, you walked back into the kitchen, still crying and hot with shame, staggering as you try to bend over and grab the button that taunted you from the floor. you held it in your palm, then looked down at your belly, which was rounded out further than it ever had, and obscured your view of your feet as you glanced down, the movement sloshing all the countless cans of beer in you. your crop top couldn't hide the actual belly you were forming now, and you looked up to your reflection in the black tv. fuck. you looked pregnant. you looked at the cheesecake on the counter as you wiped your tears, one hand grabbing and the round gut spilling out of your jeans. you reached out for the tray, and without pausing ate the rest, not even bothering with silverware as you glutted yourself. before you could stop yourself, you had finished the whole cheesecake, then the rest of the mac n cheese, and then stumbled over yourself to grab the last two cans of beer, pouring them into a big cup together, throwing your head back in desperation as you drank both in seconds. you fall over chairs and tables to get over to the couch, belly so distended you let out a whimper whenever its jostled, and pass out there.

ten years later, you're 29 years old and stepping off the scale in front of your fridge. your mark your weight on the fridge, and open up while reaching for the closest bottle of wine. despite your attempts to lose weight, you've gained 15 pounds in the past month. you're 302 pounds, you wear a 4XL and a 24 in jeans, which are barely hanging on. your ass barely fits in the drivers seat of your car and your bed creaks when you lay on it. you've broken your computer chair so you moved a dining chair into your bedroom, but your thighs spilled over the side, so you had to give up the computer. you hadn't talked to most of your friends in years, probably not since new years after that christmas, where you first fell into your gluttony and addiction. you spent the rest of that break stuffing your face to cope with your feelings, and by the time you were supposed to back to school you were 30 pounds heavier and not a single item of clothing fit your growing body. you were 140 pounds, and the moment you stepped out of your car on shaky legs in front of your sorority sisters, you knew it was over. they all began to laugh, heaving and pointing in malice at the inches of overhang you had falling over your skirt, which was only zipped up halfway, covered by a shirt that looked like it was painted on. you dropped out within a few days and spent the days partying, drinking, and stuffing your face at the end of the night, rubbing your pussy until you came. you couldn't resist the feeling food gave you.

[actual-changeling]

Since Chris Carter apparently hates set lighting to hell and back and prefers to shoot his entire show in a completely black room with one (1) candle in a corner, I sat down and tried my best with the Truth/09x20 kiss.

Here is the masterpost for all the other scenes I have done/will do.

After a lot of fiddling and frustration, which was mostly about keeping as much of the quality as possible without ending up with a heap of bright pixels, I present to you attempt 7 aka the final version.

I really hope tumblr doesn't completely kill the resolution

I've watched this kiss well over fifty times by now and it still rips out my heart and feeds it back to me.

How they old each other's faces in exactly the same way, the gentle brush of their thumbs, them stopping the kiss to have to most life-affirming hug ever instead, Mulder slowly swaying/rocking on his feet—after their separation everyone can finally breathe again, including myself.

And, of course, Skinner wishing he was literally anywhere else while internally melting and being happy for them, and I mean, who isn't?