#in which mark and Mulder meet

[slippinmickeys]

Five paragraph prompt:

As they’re unwinding after a case, Mulder becomes preoccupied with watching how a man across a diner / restaurant / bar is eyeing Scully. Earlier seasons (or before FTF, anyway) so that there’s a more buttoned-up MSR vibe, maybe.

It’s odd, he thinks, how he’s never really noticed the sway of her hips.

Okay, he’s noticed, but he hasn’t looked. Not like the guy at their 10 o’clock is looking. Watching as Scully sashays back to their table, her clompy heels scuffing along the floor with a gritty, salacious rasp.

It’s summer in the District. Her foundation has long since been sweated off, revealing a beauty mark above her lip, maybe freckles, and in the heat of the field, she’d shucked off her suit coat and was now wearing only a sleeveless silk blouse, one so sheer that Mulder (and the guy at the bar, no doubt) could make out the shape of her bra, the soft globes of her breasts pillowing out slightly above the cups.

Scully against the backdrop of over-varnished, sticky tables. Scully moving through the chessboard cones of bad light. Mulder can’t look away either.

The guy turns his body in a complete 180 so that he can follow her progress, and something ignites inside Mulder’s chest. But he can’t move. He can’t so much as intimate any kind of possessive impression or Scully would pin him with a glare so intense his ball hair would try to climb back into his scrotum. It’s not like that with them.

“Evenin’ y’all,” says a voice as Scully slides back into their booth, and they both look up to see Bar Guy himself, hovering at the edge of their of their table. That was quick, Mulder thinks. “I have a bet with my buddy over there that y’all aren’t together.”

The man’s hair is very shiny and his teeth are very straight. Mulder bets he’s the kind of guy who puts his seat back the second the flight attendant sits down for takeoff. In any event, he sounds like Foghorn Leghorn, which Mulder assumes is performative. Do people from Virginia even have southern accents? Not in his experience, though Alexandria’s not exactly deep in the state.

“Kind of a circuitous way of asking if I’m her boyfriend,” Mulder says, though Scully is wearing a small, beatific smile. Mulder smiles at the guy, too. But it’s more of a that’s nice, off you fuck kind of smile.

“Are you?” Foghorn asks hopefully.

Mulder looks to his partner, seeing where she’d like to go with the question. He’d posed as her beau before; sometimes it was just easier to fend off suitors that way, especially if she was tired.

“No,” Scully says, kindly. “But I’m not in the market.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying.” Foghorn smiles before walking away, inclining his head politely at Scully. Even Mulder is a little charmed by the guy’s bravado.

“You have to admire the lack of subtlety,” Mulder says, his eyes following the man as he collects both his sport coat and his buddy, disembarking to search for a more target-rich port.

“Do you?” Scully asks dubiously. She’s looking at the table, occupying herself by running her finger along the rim of her wine glass. The tone her wet finger brings forth is as rich as a ripe plum.

“In and out in under ninety seconds,” Mulder points out. “Better than standing there stammering for five minutes like the last six guys.”

“You make it sound like this happens all the time.”

“It does.”

Scully makes a dismissive gesture.

Mulder thinks just then that every single man they meet either wants to kiss her or kill her, but he’s not dumb enough to say it. Instead he downs the last of his beer.

“You ready to get out of here?” he asks.

“Not yet,” she says, gesturing about six inches beyond his left shoulder. “There’s a queue of GS-12’s waiting to ask for my hand.”

Mulder can’t help but turn to genuinely look, which earns him Scully’s charming squawk of laughter, the one she rarely trots out. When he turns back to her, she’s already sliding out of the booth and grabbing her coat.

She looks up at him as he stands up beside her and pokes him in the chest.

“Not every man in this bar wants to jump me,” she says, a teeny, tiny bit drunk.

“Nah, you’re right,” Mulder answers, his own cheeks warm with drink. “Only one or two of them do.”

He realizes, only as the words cross his tongue, that the call is coming from inside the house.

#thank you friend!

[thedancingcostumeyoungadult]

Ringing in the new year- Fox Mulder x fem!Reader

Warnings: suggestive content

It's late when Fox gets home, the early hours of the new year. He makes his way as softly as he can to your bed, shedding his coat and shoes in the hall and starting on his tie with one hand while gently shouldering the bedroom door open. Just enough light leaks into the room from the streetlight outside to illuminate the bed and the gentle shape of you under the comforter, the sight of which sends a thrill through him. As much as he loves you and trusts that you love him the same, Fox has never quite been able to completely silence the dark little voice from the depths of his mind that said you were too good to be true, that you'd vanish one day just as so many things seem to do in his life.

The rustling of sheets snaps him from his thoughts, his eyes turning to you as you roll to face him.

"Fox?" Your voice is hardly more than a sleepy whisper, and he doesn't fight the easy smile that rises on his face at the sound.

"Yeah, baby, hold tight." Quickly rid of his dress shirt and slacks, leaving him in boxers and white undershirt, he slides under the covers you hold open for him. As you let the covers fall he wraps his arms around you, pulling you flush to his chest and hooking your leg over his hip with a large warm hand at the back of your knee.

"Happy New Year." Your heart flutters in your chest at the sudden intimacy, the way his solid body seems magnetized to yours, flushing you with his warmth.

"Happy New Year." Your smiling answer hardly left your mouth before he'd drawn you into a warm kiss, melting you back against the pillows.

"Sorry I'm late." Even in the dark you can see those sad eyes glittering down at you, apology written across every inch of his face. You reach up, fingertips grazing across his cheek as you press a sweet kiss to his lips.

"You were here all week for Christmas, I can live with missing New Year's." He huffs a small laugh, tucking his face against your neck. The air in the room grows heavy as his warm lips meet the soft skin behind your ear, your lips falling open as a shiver runs down your spine.

"I really am sorry, I don't like to leave you waiting." You hush him softly, both hands cradling his head, guiding his gaze to yours again.

"You're here now, so just.. be here. Let's ring in the new year." The furrow between his brows eases as he gives you a small smile and a nod. He ducks his head again, immediately pressing a kiss under your jaw. Your head falls back, a soft sigh leaving you as you arch slightly under him. The hand behind your knee slides up your thigh, under your nightgown to the curve of your ass. Finding nothing covering you, his fingers grip the soft flesh and he lets out a soft groan, his hips crowding against yours. Familiar warmth creeps through you as he slots himself between your thighs, trailing heated kisses down your neck, your hands clutching at his shoulders and tangling in his hair as he sucks a mark into your neck. His teeth grazing your skin draws a short yelp from you, your grip tightening on his hair.

"Don't tease me, Mulder."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

#fox mulder x reader #fox mulder fanfiction #fox mulder x fem!reader #fox mulder

[lol-jackles]

So apparently, per a CE email, they are full on rebranding the 2024 SPN Con Tour as Jensen's:

We have some thrilling news to share with all of our fellow fans of The Boys! Creation is excited to present The Road So Far… The Road Ahead 2024 Tour, featuring none other than Jensen Ackles, who plays Soldier Boy in the hit Amazon Prime series. This is a special opportunity for fans to come together and celebrate Jensen Ackles' iconic role as Dean Winchester in Supernatural, as well as his new role in The Boys franchise. PLUS, we have more amazing SPN guests on the tour, including Misha Collins ("Castiel"), Jared Padalecki ("Sam Winchester") -- and Jeffrey Dean Morgan ("John Winchester") and Rob Benedict ("Chuck/God"), who will be joining The Boys cast in the upcoming Season 4! Watch the trailer for Season 4 above! Whether you're a longtime fan of Jensen or a new admirer, join us for a weekend filled with panel discussions, meet and greets, photo opportunities, autograph sessions, exclusive merchandise, and more. It’s the perfect chance to connect with your fellow fans and immerse yourself in the world of Supernatural and more. Don't miss out on a wild adventure! Click here and mark your calendars for your favorite destination. Your "The Boys are back!" friends at Creation Entertainment

So now Jared is included in the "amazing SPN guests"??? F*ck off. I know he isn't doing them all but this is just… a low blow tbh. This feels like CE's 'f*ck you' to Jared for branching out and essentially screwing them over.

I'm sure AA's and Jared antis will be celebrating int he streets, but Jared isn't doing less cons, he's just doing less CE cons. Also he's actually working.

Oh this is so funny! Always be careful of what you wish for because Jensen finally got his Dean show and the AAs finally got their Jensen-centric show but we all know AAs are actually sweating bullets that Jared won't be around to save Jensen from himself, and hellers will wonder which one of them is going to ruin Misha's reputation......

.

But seriously, clearly Creation Entertainment saw the math on the wall and the sum of which is a Jared-shaped-hole where money used to be. Jared actually has a career outside of Supernatural , so he Fox-Muldered himself. For reference...

But for Jensen and most alumni, Supernatural will be their best-known gigs. I said here and here 5 years ago that "Misha and the rest of the one hit wonders may have 5 years of con circuit to rake in the money, after that it’s Meet & Greets at strip malls". And that was assuming Jared would still be co-heading with Jensen.

So by now attendances are peeling off and a few actors apparently told their fans that CE reduced their salary to the point that either working at CE is no longer viable or CE essentially fired them. CE is desperate to attract new con-goers by throwing out The Boys mentions and adding Smallville actors and rebranding as "J1 and friends convention"! I wonder if CE is still demanding the same outrageous price for the privilege of a J2 event without one of the Js.

#supernatural convention

[unremarkablehouse]

Thoughts from my FTF Day rewatch:

I would be passed out by the 20min mark if I followed the drinking game rules

Both Mulder and Scully have amazing hair in this movie

Scully evacuating the entire building in less than 5 minutes is awesome

Mulder thinks the building is about to explode and his instinct is to try and run back in, smh. Scully yelling at him ‘no’, like a bad puppy, only to have him listen is an underrated shipping moment

I know this is fiction, but I’m offended they’re trying to scapegoat Scully. If they hadn’t found the bomb everyone in the building would have died, I’m not following the logic of how they can be blamed.

Scully handing Mulder his suit jacket before his OPR hearing is such a wife move…

‘One is the loneliest number’, Mulder’s lack of game is adorable

Mulder shows up to Scully’s drunk at 3am and begs her to put clothes on. Worst. Booty call. Ever.

Also Mulder’s deflection “what are you implying?!” when Scully calls him on the fact that he’s shown up to her apartment drunk at 3am

“Take away that which he cannot live without…” so nice foreshadowing that you’re going to abduct Scully… but the bee was a total fluke, the consortium got lucky. This movie is confusing

Mulder and Scully talking to kids never fails to amuse me. Mom and Dad vibes all the way.

Tanker Trucks is said so many times in this movie it loses all meaning

Am I the only one distracted by how long Mulder and Scully go without changing clothes in this movie? Admittedly, I love that Scully went to her OPR meeting with corn husks in her hair and Skinner just looks at her like she’s doing the walk of shame…

It’s weird watching the hallway scene without them making out

Mulder’s so sweet when he’s rubbing Scully’s bee sting. His little apology when he thought Scully pulled away is such a cute vulnerable moment

Wait, if Mulder and Scully were both infected with the virus and then given the same vaccine, why was Mulder the only one affected by the artifact? The mythology arc is so confusing.

I feel ripped off that we never get to see how Mulder got to Antarctica.

It’s alarming how many times they inject each other with unknown substances on this show

‘I had you big time..’ ok, cute call back but does that mean Scully faked dying to get mouth to mouth?

Scully totally said ‘I see it..’ when the spaceship rose up

Aww, Mulder and Scully handholding got me in the feels

Happy FTF Day!!

#the x files #fox mulder #txf #dana scully #msr #gillian anderson #david duchovny #x files #txf meta #FTF #25 years!?!

[randomfoggytiger]

The Scully Family In-Depth (Part VI): Maggie Scully and Mulder Meet

Ascension begins Maggie Scully and Mulder's relationship-- an interesting one, since they are reflections of each other at different stages of emotional development and grief in relation to Scully.

Ascension

When Mulder meets Maggie, he hears her before he sees her: “This is my daughter’s apartment. Let me go, I have to get through! I have to get in!” 

Mulder intercepts gently (“Mrs. Scully?”) before she can erupt, snapping out of his woozy dissociated state briefly-- clearer eyes, firmer sense of direction-- to reach out and calm her. It doesn’t work how he intends: he hadn’t noticed Scully’s (or Duane Barry’s) blood on his hands, nearly planting it on Mrs. Scully’s shoulders. 

Maggie notices first, zeroing in on his hand, then his face. 

Mulder’s clear, compassionate answer-- “She’s not in there”-- marks him as Maggie’s only reliable source for answers. She settles back from her rage, trusting him to give an answer to her calm “Where is she?” 

When he doesn’t immediately respond, Maggie swiftly reiterates, “Where is she?” 

Maggie Scully (explored later in One Breath) has already suffered a devastating loss-- her husband-- and is now faced with having lost and maybe never recovering a child (the first of many Scully children to be taken away.) Her anger at being denied a straight answer almost escalates into rage, but a piece of herself immediately reacts to and understands that Mulder is there to help-- and further, Mulder is there to listen and understand (as he has already listened and understood the victims of crimes, evidential or paranormal.)  

Maggie confesses, wobbling over tears: “I knew it would happen this way. I had this dream about Dana being taken away.” 

Maggie is definitely more open than her daughter to displays of wild emotion and paranormal admittance: she expects Mulder to give credence to her dreams, despite being the Catholic mother of his partner and a practical stranger. Further, his compassion and natural empathy draws her closer to him, standing almost flush next to him and letting him guide her out of the room (so the forensic team can take photos for evidence.)

“It's so strange. I, uh, I was gonna call her. But I was afraid I was gonna scare her. 

An interesting note: When she’s upset and stressed out, Maggie sweeps her bangs and hair aside to little effect. Most likely it's because of the blessing and curse of having thick, curly hair sweeping onto a hot, sweaty face; but it’s a detail she seems to have passed on to Scully, who sweeps aside her own thick hair whenever stressed or anxious. 

“She would have laughed at me anyway. She doesn’t believe in that kind of thing, y’know?” 

Maggie pulls herself more together at this thought, the reminder of her daughter’s endearing skepticism bringing a smile to her face.

When the episode concludes in disaster, Maggie meets Mulder in the park, hoping he has news about Scully. Mulder is too engrossed by his thoughts to be aware of her approach, giving Maggie one of the rare glimpses of seeing an unguarded Mulder this early in the series.

“Agent Mulder? Thank you for calling me.” 

At Mulder’s “I’m sorry I don’t have better news”, she responds: “Do you know something? Is Dana okay?” 

Mulder spares her feelings as best he can: “I don’t know anything more about her.” 

Maggie collects herself with sheer, iron will:

“I know you’re doing all you can.” 

Mulder doesn’t dismiss their conversation, motioning for her to sit and allowing Maggie to open more about her fears. He knows the horror of having no one to talk to about tragic loss; and he doesn’t want Mrs. Scully to go through it alone. 

He swivels his attention back to Maggie when she begins to speak: 

“I had that dream again last night about Dana being taken away? I can’t tell you how it scares me.” 

Mulder’s hard-won wisdom shines through: “It’s probably scarier if you stop having that dream.” 

Which would be true: Mulder has never stopped having those dreams; and, although his demons still follow him into his sleep, they keep Samantha’s memory alive and his dedication unwavering. 

Maggie is struck with his insight.

Mulder is unassuming; and yet, in one simple statement, he reveals he has lived and understood an area of life that Maggie, despite her decades longer on earth, has yet to begin to fathom. He has learned-- is still learning-- these peculiar sorrows; and shifts her entire worldview with one thought. She knows this knowledge was gained through the harshest, most brutal of circumstances, intuits he has traveled this road longer than she has, and almost fears how long she will have to wait for her own to end. But through the fear shines the hope. 

It is this moment that wins Mulder forever to Maggie:

her trust becomes immovable, letting him rage in the hospital for her daughter, taking up for him across the barrel of a gun, always pardoning him for the countless tragedies that occur in her life.

She even gives him a patented, sad Scully smile: eyes squinting, face pulled tight and to the side. 

But the smile doesn’t last-- sad Scully smiles never do-- and grief overwhelms Maggie. She, unlike her daughter, is not ashamed to publicly crumble with grief (like she is not afraid to admit her paranormal dreams.) 

Interesting to note: Mulder has not learned to hug somehow who is crying... yet: Irresistible is the first time; and it’s Scully who embraces him first, opening up that side of himself forever. But, for now, he sits here commiserating with a similarly grieving soul. 

Mulder at first doesn’t want to-- remaining silent and contemplative for a stretch-- but finally struggles with words, then simply hands over Scully’s necklace (“Found this.”)

Maggie is stunned;

but even more so when Mulder spills his heart, voice softened, mournful, and reflective. She catches each of his meaningful words: “Something I never considered about her…” 

the truth of the depth of their relationship dawning on her. 

As it is never explicitly spelled out in canon what Maggie is thinking here, it is possible to conclude two things:

#1. Maggie realizes how deeply integrated Mulder is with her daughter, a far closer relationship than she had assumed.

#2. (I believe) Maggie realizes Mulder loves Scully. She listens, enraptured, as he metes out little treasured hordes of thought about her daughter; that he’d thought about, considered her beyond a coworker and is mourning her like a family member (and not just any family member) awakens a new (and heart-wrenching, judging by her expression) thought: this man loves her daughter. And, from her perspective, he either doesn't want to admit it for personal reasons or he doesn't know it yet.

Either way, Mulder is now learning the lesson she learned a few months ago: the loss of her own partner. And, for all of Mulder’s advanced wisdom in grief, this is one he hasn’t live through… yet. 

To Mulder’s “Why did she wear that?” (when he recovers his normal mien), Maggie responds: “I gave it to her on her fifteenth birthday.”

The necklace is no longer just a touchstone for Scully, a mark of her wavering faith: it is now a talisman for her loved ones, something that ties their hopes together.

Here, Maggie makes an important decision, subtly stating her own thoughts on the matter and as good as giving her blessing (in whatever form the viewer reads it): she hands Scully’s cross back to her partner-- an acknowledgement of his superior right to her daughter’s life. 

Mulder doesn’t get it (“Don’t you want to keep it?”), divining only a fraction of Maggie’s affirmative, “When you find her, you give it to her.” 

Maggie has at least restored Mulder's faith in himself, though he misses her other motherly and deeply personal undertone to this agreement. 

And so concludes Ascension.

Maggie is naturally weighed down already, quivering over her dreams and desperately wanting her daughter back now-- she is losing hope. Mulder, meanwhile, has lost faith in himself as he clings to hope; and he reaches out to restore Maggie's hope, which she reciprocates by restoring his faith.

However, as the months pass by, Maggie completely loses that hope, ordering her daughter's tombstone and Mulder completely loses that faith, giving up on himself and his X-Files. Interestingly enough, it's Melissa Scully that restores faith and hope by showing them that their choices have an effect on Scully-- and they'd better smarten up and choose wisely.

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

#txf #The Scully Family In-Depth #Part VI #Maggie Scully and Mulder Meet #x-files #xfiles #mine #the x files #xf meta #analysis #Ascension #S2 #Mulder #Maggie Scully #In-Depth

[carefulfears]

do you have a headcanon of when mulder caught feelings for scully? i’m on the same page w you that scully has had it bad since day one, but i can never make up my mind about mulder

yeah i’ve always said that i think he was aware of the connection between them since her abduction, but i think specifically 3.

ascension is very frantic, it’s rooted in so much trauma and desperation. very few moments are about scully, as a person, really. it’s about getting there in time. it’s about rewriting history. it’s about failure, and standing alone in the end.

in 3, he is surrounded in her absence. her badge. her file, marked with her name. her necklace, which he slips around his own neck, carries with him.

dana scully was farrrrr gone from day one, humming against him in the rain and telling her friends how cute he is, but mulder is more single-minded.

he’s so very fond of her, in the beginning. he knocks on her door to invite her on his run, when he knows she’s just supposed to be discrediting him. he lowers himself beneath her every time he has bad news or a vulnerable conversation. he says “dana,” softly, and checks in on how she’s doing. he believes she’ll be head of the bureau someday.

so much of that is just who he is (trusting, passionate, kind), and she’s the only person who has ever valued that, taken him seriously.

but he’s also internalizing who she is, the consistency and the curiosity and the quiet intensity.

that moment in the rain, before she laughs, before she asks where they’re going and follows: he says “you think i’m crazy,” and turns away. it’s the first time in the series (and remains rare) where you can see that there is a weight to it all. he plays into being “spooky mulder,” but part of him is really disappointed to think that this new partner won’t believe him either.

she thinks about what he said, and she meets him on his level. she questions it, she combats it, she adds to it.

when they both burst out laughing, it’s in pure joy and excitement. it’s the moment that spurs the rest of their lives.

that means a lot to him, to be listened to. to be held to a standard, not just dismissed.

but mulder only knows how to conceptualize love in absence, in the search, so when he’s left listening to her scream: he knows. it feels like the worst thing that could ever happen, because it feels like his closest person disappearing, and that’s the experience he’s most familiar with and enmeshed in.

i believe there’s a script note in ascension that mentions that he’s doubting if he had failed his “closest friend.” it’s the loss being so great, so unbearable, that makes it unavoidable.

(thinking of him smiling at diana, telling her, “i’ve done alright without you.”)

i see a lot of people describe msr as a “fell first/fell harder” trope, but i think most things just hit mulder harder. it’s their natures.

but by the time he hangs her cross around his neck, by the time he abandons the truth to sit and hold her hand, he knows.

#asks #a lot of it is repetition of their patterns and their previous close relationships #but different in that it’s the real thing #not what they’ve been trying to replicate #so for scully it’s this instant adoration and fascination #she looks up to him the way she looked up to daniel and jack #but it’s Not what she had with daniel or jack because she’s interested in him outside of gaining his approval #she actually Can’t gain his approval (or ‘please’ him) through following him or forgoing herself #so it’s closer to what she’s truly chasing. it’s closer to what her father had #and the way they ‘worshipped’ his journey #with mulder it’s this hesitant familiarity #it’s not the cold ‘need for affection’ in phoebe or diana #again it’s what he’s Actually seeking #it’s the unwavering love and connection that he hasn’t had since samantha. it’s someone looking up to you and always just wanting to see you #and only wanting to prioritize and care for them in return #but he HAS to lose her to really feel the weight of it because he’s only able to understand love in empty rooms #like he’s not going to be able to know how deep it is until it hurts

[the-hinky-panda]

Something Witchy: McLeary Farm

Title: Something Witchy

Rating: Explicit

Summary: You're a physical medium and chaos magician that is called in from time to time to help consult on some X-Files. You've lived your life seeing into another world and believing in things you can't see. What happens when you fall for the die hard skeptic Special Agent John Doggett?

They say that opposites attract. That there needs to be balance between two people in order for a relationship to work properly. Yin and yang. Light and dark. 

Special Agent John Doggett believes this is complete bullshit. 

He believes in similarities, common ground, shared beliefs. A foundation that a solid relationship can be built upon. Which is why whenever he reads an X-File with your name, he has an incessant desire to know what you look like. He had heard you were a friend of Mulder’s from years ago. The first case where your name appears was concerning  a poltergeist driving a father insane to the point of killing his entire family. Your name, a hard one to forget due to its uniqueness, had been recorded as performing a double exorcism to cleanse the house and land: a Catholic exorcism for the house and a Native American cleansing of the land. Even though your name pops up here and there throughout some of the files, there haven’t been any cases that have come across his desk that require his reaching out for your expertise. 

That is until one rainy Wednesday morning when  he walks into the basement office to find Monica digging through the filing cabinet. 

He shakes the rain off his umbrella and leaves it by the door. “We get a case?” 

“Yeah.” Monica answers distractedly. “It’s a small farm in Maryland. The family has horses, sheep, goats, and chickens. They’ve been finding some of their animals dead, drained of blood. Their son was recently attacked and is currently fighting for his life in the ICU. Same type of injuries as the animals.” 

“So what are you looking for?” 

“The name of that chaos magician that helped Agent Mulder a couple times.” 

He says it without any hesitation. The name falls effortlessly from his lips and it’s enough to get an eyebrow raise from Monica. He drops his keys on the desk and changes the direction of the conversation . “So what the hell is a chaos magician?” 

“It’s someone who’s well versed in a variety of religious practices and beliefs. When someone encounters a paranormal issue, a chaos magician can assess the issue and provide the appropriate solution based on the nature of the cause.” 

“How can they help with dead animals and a kid in ICU?” 

“If it’s something other than a human, they may be able to tell us what it is and how to appease it.” Monica is quiet for a moment. “Have you met her before?” 

John shakes his head. “No. Why?” 

“You just came up with her name fairly quickly.” 

“It’s a unique name.” 

Monica has abandoned the filing cabinet and instead is flipping through the Rolodex on her desk. “I’ll give her a call and see if she can meet us at the farm.” 

John sits down at his desk and flips the case file open. He tries to concentrate on the photos of the animals, the up close view of the wounds, but all he can manage is straining to hear your voice as you make arrangements with Monica. It sounds like he’s finally going to put a face to the name this afternoon and he’s hoping this will sate his odd curiosity about you. 

***

You park your vintage Volkswagen GTI Golf next to the government issued sedan at the McLeary farm. It’s not the first crime scene you’ve been asked to observe. DC, Virginia, Maryland police departments, as well as the FBI, have requested your services for the last six years since you’ve opened your small occult shop in the DC area. As a physical medium and chaos magician, you’re more than happy to be considered helpful in situations like this one. As you approach the barn that’s been marked off in yellow caution tape, you hear your name being called by a dark haired woman. 

“Agent Reyes?” 

“Yes,” she shakes your hand. “First, I just want to say how amazing it is to meet you in person. I read your book on banshees and their contributions to the grieving process in families and thought it was extremely insightful.” 

“Thank you.” You had written the book while you were in college. It had been a research paper turned into a short book with just a little bit more research. You were surprised at how many people had actually read it. The small paranormal publisher was trying to get you to write another book but nothing had captured your attention quite like the banshee had. You suppose it had something to do with your mother’s death at the time you were writing it. “So, what exactly are we looking at here?” 

She lifts the yellow tape for you duck underneath. “I’m not sure. My first thought was it could be a chupacabra.” 

You shake your head. “It’s late winter though. It’s too cold for a chupacabra to be this far north. It was summer time, maybe.” 

“My next thought was a Satanic cult, a sacrifice of sorts. But if they start sacrificing animals, they don’t typically escalate to humans.” 

“No, if they were going to do human sacrifices, they would have started with humans.” You stop at one of the stalls in the barn, wrap your hands around the cold, steel bars. Closing your eyes, you take in a deep breath and try to concentrate on the surroundings. The scent of hay fills your nose, the biting cold of winter sting your cheeks, but your mind opens and starts to access the information that only you can access. 

There’s the spirit of a caretaker in the barn. He calms the horses, stands guard at night. You try to strike up a conversation with him but he’s reluctant. He’s afraid of whatever it is that is harming the animals. He stays in the hayloft when it comes stalking down the aisle in the early morning hours. It’s footfalls are heavy, the drag of heavy limbs  through the packed dirt floor of the barn. It’s looking to be appeased, to get it’s due. 

“It’s an Elemental.” 

“What the hell is an Elemental?” 

Your eyes fly open at the sound of a new voice, a male baritone and you find yourself staring into the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen. Words completely escape you as the ground shifts underneath your feet. Thankfully, Agent Reyes jumps into the situation, buying you time to reorient yourself. 

“This is Special Agent John Doggett, my partner.” 

Somehow you find your voice and introduce yourself and move straight into explaining Elementals. “An Elemental is a spirit that was never human. It’s a guardian of nature and the earth. Many Native American tribes worshiped them and provided sacrifices to show them respect and ask for their blessings on the land and their crops. This particular Elemental hasn’t had an offering in many many years so it is taking what it believes it’s due by killing the animals.” 

“Uh huh,” Doggett responds. “So this spirit of nature is killing things because no one is giving it offerings?” 

You swallow down your unease and nod. “Yes, pretty much.” 

“So why would it attack the son?” Reyes asks. 

“Most likely because he challenged it, disrespected it.” You shrug. “Sometimes disbelief can come back to bite you in the ass. And when you’re dealing with something that is eons old, it’s not very forgiving.” 

Agent Reyes crosses her arms. “So what do you suggest?” 

“I would suggest the family start by making weekly offerings. Fruit, breads, and mead. Leave it in the middle of the barn aisle when they close everything up at night. Once it’s been properly appeased, they can leave an offering once a month.” 

“And their son?” Doggett interjects. “The one that’s lying in an ICU bed on a ventilator?” 

You shift uncomfortably on your feet at the intensity of his skepticism. “I would leave the offering tonight. Make apologies and ask the Elemental for mercy and healing.” 

He walks away from you with a slight, although disbelieving, nod of his head and you feel tears spring to your eyes. You’ve faced multitudes of skeptics in your lifetime but for some reason, this man’s disbelief is something you take personally. Agent Reyes must notice your reaction because she places a kind hand on your arm. 

“I’ll speak to the family about the offering and making the apology to the Elemental.” 

You nod your thanks and return to your car, your job done for the moment. Two days later, the door to your store opens and you go out to greet the customer. You’re surprised, to put it mildly, that it’s Agent Doggett who is standing by the register. Once again, you feel the ground list under your feet but you manage to right yourself more quickly this time. 

“Agent Doggett, to what do I owe this visit?” 

He glances around the small but densely packed space of candles, tarot cards, incense, and books. “I just wanted to stop by and give you an update on the McLeary’s son.” 

“Okay.” 

“The McLeary’s did the offering like you suggested. In fact, they’ve done it twice now. This morning, their son came out of his coma and was able to be taken off life support. It’s a damn miracle.” 

You smile, relieved that your read on the situation had been correct. “Miracles can’t be explained, Agent Doggett. This can be. I’m just happy that my suggestion was the correct path to take.” 

“Yeah, me too.” 

You wait for him to say something else but he doesn’t. He merely nods his head and turns toward the door. A variety of phrases pop up in your mind to prevent him from leaving but they all log jam in your throat and nothing comes out. So you watch him leave, the tiny jingle of the bell over the door the only sound that fills your ears. You want him to come back, you want to talk to him more, learn more about him. What made him so skeptical? What happened that drove all the faith out of him? Is there anything that you can do to bring it back? In that moment of asking all those questions, of wondering why you even care that much about a federal agent with glacier blue eyes, you realize why you care so much about his ability to believe in things he can not see. 

You’re in love with him.

#john doggett x reader #john doggett x you #john doggett fic #john doggett #agent john doggett #x-files fic

[callunavulgari]

Scrapbook 2024 | Pt I

For anyone that’s new to this, this is how I keep track of all of the things that I enjoy and/or create throughout the year. I have literally been doing this since I had a livejournal.

It’s a nice little snippet of my life and helps to organize my brain.

A reminder:

Normal font - Indifferent/Neutral Italicized font - Enjoyed bold font - Loved with an asterisk* - All time favorite (bracketed titles) - Re-watches/Re-reads strikethough - Disliked

Goals are: read 70 books and write at least 50k of original content.

Past Years

MOVIES

January

N/A (yet)

TV SHOWS

January

You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

Delicious in Dungeon, s1

Little Women: Limited Series

The Brothers Sun

(Stranger Things, s2)

YOUTUBE CHANNELS

January

Beryl!

Watcher: Making Watcher

BOOKS

January

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells [Fin]

(Sabriel by Garth Nix) [Fin]

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Morena-Garcia

PODCASTS

January

Watcher Podcast

The Adventure Zone: Live In Seattle

VIDEO GAMES

January

LoZ: Tears of the Kingdom, looots of hours [Fin]

(Ghosts of Tsushima), 22 hrs [Fin]

Baldur's Gate, 82 hrs

POSTED FIC

January

you let me complicate you | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 5,219 words | “But I thought—” Eddie starts, sucking in a deep, quelling breath when Steve sucks a mark into the side of his throat. His pulse ticks just a little higher. He tries again. “I mean, you’re straight?”

WIPS | UNPUBLISHED | ORIGINAL

January

600 words of Dead Girl Walking (sequel to you let me complicate you)

152 words of Steddie singing neighbors meet cute

Fanmixes/Spotify Playlists/Graphics

January

2024

put your back into it [a playlist for getting closer to god]

Stranger Things: the Musical

DELIGHTFUL FIC

January

they're going to send us to prison for jerks by greatunironic | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 16k | In which Eddie is TikTok famous, and his personal favorite creator just had an unexpected face reveal.

can't live long on starvation rations by ghostoftonantzin | WWDITS | Nandor/Guillermo | 6k | The temperature goes up, the air conditioner goes out, and Nandor is reminded what it's like to be driven near mad with lust.

in the backseat of your (boy)friend’s car by greatunironic | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 4k | A story about a first time.

Five Times Steve Surprises Eddie by nbfutureboy | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 5k | “We are some kind of after-school dads, my friend… Extra-curricular fathers. A real pair of paternal putzes.”

Let The River Run by astolat | GOT | Jaime/Robb/Brienne | 61k | The deep satisfaction of having made the right choice; of having found a clear-flowing wellspring of true honor to protect.

hold me now, i need relief by ToEdenandBackAgain | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 26k | “Sorry. Couldn’t die without knowing what that felt like.”

think kindly of a stranger by magneticwave | GOT | Jon/Sansa, Robb/Dany | 16k | The dead walk again.

crashing high by brawlite | X-Files | Krycek/Mulder | 3k | Handcuffed in the freezing cold, Krycek comes down on Walter Skinner’s balcony. It’s not ideal, but he’s had worse crashes in his time.

Show Me Your Teeth by entanglednow | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 8k | Eddie Munson apparently didn't get the memo that you can't just bite the people you're interested in. But Steve decides that he's surprisingly willing to hear him out.

I Want to Hold Your Hand by Peachesandpears | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 4k | Steve, on the heels of Starcourt, tries to drown his memories with cheap beer. At least until Eddie Munson checks in on him.

In the Kitchen or the Tulips by teddywesworl | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 34k | Did he touch me? Did he touch me? Did he touch me?

Alive and Kicking by gayhandshake | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 13k | Eddie is laboring under a misapprehension about the nature of his relationship with Steve Harrington.

Vino by teddywesworl | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 39k | Eddie comes back hungry. It doesn’t go the way you think.

Dissonance Theory by colossalflea, teddywesworl | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 30k | In the most exclusive luxury attraction on Earth, Steve Harrington follows a scripted loop of violence and cruelty.

Fight the Hurricane by spqr | Hannibal | Hannigram | 6k | “He’s the best Jaeger pilot we have,” Jack says, grimly.

look what you've done, now i'm a mess by Civil_Hearing | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | “That’s it, baby, look at you,” Eddie coos from beyond the wall.

We Better Make a Start by thefourthvine | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 11k | As soon as Eddie gets to the counter, Steve turns to him and says, “Back me up here. Kissing is no big deal, right?”

smoking guns (hot to the touch) by fivecenturiesverse | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 7k | “Your boner is digging into me,” says Robin, and Steve snorts a tired sort of laugh.

so let's sneak in from the cheap seats, honey by pricklywhicket | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 14k | The Hawkins Public Pool is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 8AM to 8PM, seven days a week. It employs three lifeguards, two of whom work each day: one from 8 to 2, and one from 2 to 8.

steve harrington's six-step guide to getting the guy. by oaseas | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 35k | Lucas needs love advice, Dustin & Robin despair, and Steve's a regular Casanova.

four puffs of farrah fawcett spray (and a mouthful of UD pollen) by oaseas | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 17k | Steve Harrington can take a hit. He can take many hits. In fact, thanks to the Upside Down, there isn't a hit Steve can't take.

STRIKE TEN. by oaseas | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 16k | One double scoop of pining, please!

time you taste it. (don’t need to wait for an invitation) by oaseas | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 5k | Eddie gets a tongue piercing. Steve despairs.

DELIGHTFUL FANVIDS

January

2023 Movie Trailer Mashup

2023 || Multifandom Mashup

Doctor Who - Here We Go Again

if I could go back in time ┃ steve & eddie

Steve Harrington & Eddie Munson | Make Him Pay

Steve Harrington || No parents, big house

steve & eddie | bad habits [+s4 v1]

Steve & Eddie | One Night

Eddie Munson - Lovely

Steve Harrington | You're On Your Own, Kid

(ST) Steve Harrington | The Babysitter

► Eddie Munson | Heroes

Didn't run away | Stranger Things

DELIGHTFUL MUSIC

January

i believe - christina perri

dear arkansas daughter - lady lamb

yes i'm a mess - ajr

goodbye - bo burnham

my sails are set - sonya belousova

and the world was gone - snow ghosts

waiting in the wings - annapatsu

dandelion - gabbie hanna

child of ashes - madds buckley

you will be okay - annapatsu

the jellyfish song - kleonlumi

murder on the dancefloor - sophie ellis bextor

won't stand down - muse

mount rageous - andrew rannells

nothing can take from me - rachel zegler

bad idea, right? - olivia rodrigo

alice - peggy

bring me to life- corvyx

revived - derivakat

you will be okay - sam haft

the sound of silence - disturbed

paint it, black - ramin djawadi

only the lonely survive - marianas trench

red flag - billy talent

sleep walking orchestra - bump of chicken

waiting for the end - linkin park

spice up your life- spice girls

blood - starbenders

waterloo - abba

white rabbit - haley reinhart

closer - nin

sweet dreams - marilyn manson

#scrapbook #heather says what #2024

[pjstafford]

Themes of Disability as seen in The X Files

A few years ago I completed a focused watch on The X Files and wrote a blog series on the Images of Disability as seen in each episode.  I presented my preliminary findings during a disability panel at The Southwest Popular Culture Association Conference.  This is the first part of the next phase of the project which is to look at themes throughout the series (as oppose to an episode- by- episode analysis).  

I write this today in celebration of  10/13 day.  Today is a Friday the thirteenth in October.  Ten Thirteen is the name of the production company which produced The X Files.  It is Chris Carter’s, the creator of the series, birthday as well as fictional character Fox Mulder’s birthday.   The X Files and Fox Mulder were known as spooky, so there is something a little special about a Friday the 13th celebration.  In addition, this year marks  the 30th year anniversary of the series.

In my initial blog series, I found much to criticize as well as appreciate.  It was often suggested to me that I was being unfair to the series since the series was never intended to promote disability awareness.  I believe that makes this study more significant.  Popular Culture both influences and reflects society’s norms and values.  The X Files is a show with  218 episodes which span 1993 to 2018 and two theater released movies.   It was a global sensation and has now aged to iconic status with catch phrases which has become part of our referential language.  There are more than five themes to consider and much to unpack about different episodes, but, as I reflect back on my disability focused watch and blog series, these are the five themes that stand out the most for me.  

The criminal justice system and the medical system   

Disability as “normal”

Disability and Horror

Crazy Vs. Different

Trauma impact

The Criminal Justice System and The Medical System

The success of The X Files is predicated on the two main characters, agents in the FBI, having a different perspective on paranormal cases.  Mulder is the believer and Scully is the skeptic.  There has been much written about how The X Files flipped gender roles.  Scully is a medical doctor and scientist- both traditional male roles.  Mulder, as a believer in the paranormal, is sensitive and empathetic with those who are perceived as being the “other”.  He relates. Scully relies on traditional methods of investigation.  Mulder is the risk taker and rule breaker. Scully has more appreciation for structure, authority, and rules.

The biggest surprise for me in my focused watch and blog was what a great framework this was to explore how persons with disabilities are often treated by the criminal justice system and the medical system.  I understand that some people might read this section as being a harsh treatment of Scully, but it is high praise for the series which si often took advantage of the framework they had created to explore this dynamic. 

Scully tended to jump to conclusions when she discovered that someone had been hospitalized from psychiatric disorders or was taking medication.  Even in Humbug, which I will reference in more detail in the next section, Scully jumps to the conclusion that a circus performer with physical differences  must be the murderer and assigned motivations related to social isolation.  She is simply very quick to jump to conclusions based solely on disability.  As a medical doctor, with very few exceptions, she is more likely to want to read charts than to interact personally with a person with disability and then, to assign capacity and capabilities based on what the chart says, as oppose to Mulder who meets the person and is willing to see the person instead of the condition. 

Disability as A Normal Part  of Life

While this appears in only a handful of episodes, those episodes are what inspired my focused watch and blog.  The episodes where this occurs are among the best that I have seen in terms of how disability is portrayed.  Most series that has characters with disabilities in the 1990s would have had the fact of the disability be the focus of the plot.  That is not always the case in The X files.   In one episode, a robotic scientist has significant impact of disability which impacts his ability and spoken communication.  The fact of his disability is obvious, but never mentioned.  In the end, when the character gets the girl instead of Mulder, the phrase used is “smart is sexy.”  In another example a child who is blind is shown as being very capable and competent and is a key in solving a murder when she recognizes the scent of her mother’s perfume in the room where she has been murdered.   Even with the death of her only parent, there is no pity or mention of tragedy due to the girl being blind. The fact that disability can exist for a character without it being the point of the character or a subplot is reflective of the reality that disability and persons with disabilities exist and have concerns where disability is not the focus.  While I hesitate to use a phrase like “normal” in a disability related blog, the fact that this portrayal normalizes disability is a progressive form of storytelling.

Humbug is a remarkable episode which is based on a real town which was  founded by Barnum and Baily circus performers. This episode has aa refrain said both near the beginning and the end of the episode – “Can you imagine going through life looking like that>”  At the beginning the phrase is about a man with a skin condition that resembles an alligator and at the end the phrase is about the freakishly good-looking Fox Mulder.  In between is a journey for the viewer that delivers the serious message that “other” depends on perspective.

Finally, Elegy takes place during the “cancer arc” where Scully has cancer. The episode focuses on visitations of murder victims right after they died.  A man with autism becomes the mani suspect in the murders.  He is seen as having maladaptive behaviors.  In fact, he is having visitations because he is about to die.  Scully, too, has visitations and responds with denial, not telling her partner, avoidance.  In fact, both Scully and the man with autism are having the same emotional reaction to the same set of circumstances but Scully’s behavior seems more socially acceptable despite being equally as maladaptive.  (This episode, also, relates to the category above).  The man’s behavior seems far more “normal” when it is compared to how one of the leading characters is handling the same situation.

Disability and Horror

In a show which focuses on science fiction and horror genres of story-telling, The X Files portrayal of disability is often along the lines of “that of which you should be afraid.”  For instance, the one episode of The X Files that was only shown once on network television before being banned from being shown in reruns or syndication, is the episode Home.  It is the story of the house where everyone is afraid of entering the yard.  It reminds the viewer of To Kill a Mocking Bird and the house where Boo Radley lives.  While everyone is afraid, Boo Radley protected rather than endangered the children in the book and movie.  In Home, the Peacock Boys are everything you are afraid of and more so.

Throughout the science fiction/ mythology arc of the series, are the fears of cloning and genetic manipulation.  Cloning and genetic manipulation have been standards in science fiction horror since the concepts were conceived.  They often have a cautionary message examining the concept of just because  mankind can does not mean that mankind should.  Cloning and genetic manipulation are scary concepts.  However, in real life, many individuals with disabilities have a disability because a single genetic chromosome difference and are not scary at all.   The episode Founder’s mutation includes children with the most disturbing conditions and yet we surely cannot compare any of these real conditions with the horror of having a child who can conjure up monsters or cause people’s heads to explode,  can we?  The X Files does.

It is impossible to talk about themes of disabilities in The X Files and not include this embedded and crucial plot line n the discussion and, yet, is so complex a discussion that it cannot be as quickly summarized as the other categories or themes.  

Crazy vs. Different

A common plot device in movies about aliens is that a person who sees an UFO or alien is considered crazy by their families and friends.  The X Files embraces this and elevates this to the point where parallels between Fox Mulder and the other “crazy” believers are drawn quite often.  What I found most interesting is the perspective of how significant the stigma of mental illness was in the show.  In the pilot, a medical examiner essentially puts his daughter’s life in danger because he wants to protect her from being seen as crazy even though he has examined her classmates’ bodies who were returned from abductions dead. In another episode, a mother who knows and believes her daughter was abducted by aliens prefers her daughter tell people she spent a week riding with a biker gang and is a bit of a slut rather than have her daughter discuss the truth of what happened.

Trauma Impact

One of the most interesting developments during The X Files series in relationship to the above topic occurs in Duane Barry when the audience knows that the man has a mental health condition,discovers he had a brain injury and, yet, also knows that he is an alien abductee.  The viewer is confused and, yet, it makes sense that a person who is the victim of an alien abduction would have a psychological impact of trauma.  It is interesting it is not more common in the genre. The X Files deals with many episodes of trauma from victims of government experiments or of war. 

What isn’t so apparent except with closer viewing  is the impact of trauma on the two lead characters.  Mulder experienced childhood trauma when he saw his sister’s abduction and throughout the series there is evidence of how this haunts him, impacts him, and causes a single- minded work obsessiveness which puts himself and everyone around him in danger- without the series ever addressing it head on as trauma. Yet, it is apparent. Scully’s journey, also involves trauma.  She is seen in therapy.  Yet, her trauma reactions are often more subtle.  Binge watching , as oppose to watching weekly with a summer break, works well with this series to see how the writers and directors address Scully’s trauma by almost obstinately not having Scully face the consequences,   

Other

There are so many other topics to explore. 

There are the tropes not discussed here – the better off dead trope, the special powers trope, the tough defensive trope. 

There is the fact that every episode with a focused character with developmental disability has meaningful community employment and, then, to contrast it with Aubrey who may have meaningful work (or is it a volunteer job), but a completely isolated life. 

Scully's journey in and of itself could be a book long discussion.  There is an interesting  parallel between first season episodes where she is looking at suspects medications and jumping to conclusions to the scene in the final season where she finds her biological son (who she gave up for adoption) medications, after suffering her own seizures, and suddenly having more sympathy and understanding.  This is so typical in real life, isn’t it? Our perspective of the “other” changes when we or a family member experiences the impact of that otherness. 

#x-files #the x files #disability

[msclaritea]

1: The UK isn't obsessed with aliens. Certainly not as bad as the US. Also you know fuck-all about the UK so stfu. 2: What about him? There's no evidence that he's doing ANY of what you're accusing him of. 3: Man who writes a TV series, writes another TV series. How groundbreaking 🙄 4: Man who acts in one film, acts in another. That's what actors do, dumbass. 5: Sure, have a silly tantrum now that your paranoia doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Thanks for the laughs, though.

“Pseudo-histories feed the self-importance and aggrievement of neo-Nazis and alt-right folk,” says Benjamin Radford, a fellow with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry who has written widely on pseudo-history and claims of paranormal activity. “They feel their rightful place in the world has been denied them — by ‘Big Archeology', by Jews, by an oppressive government.”

There is another source of the far right’s far-out ideas about ancient history, one that requires no psychologizing.

THE NAZI CONNECTION

The basic tenets of alt-archeology and alt-history were foundational to the ideology and program of National Socialism, but the Nazis did not invent them. The Nazi belief in a pure Aryan race with a glorious ancient past and distinct genetic history was central to a transatlantic nineteenth-century occult scene (that featured a heavy German influence.) After Hitler assumed power, this belief was institutionalized in the form of the Ancestral Heritage and Teaching Society, or the Ahnenerbe, an alt-archeology research outfit founded by Heinrich Himmler and the Atlantis theorist Herman Wirth.

Under the banner of the Ahnerbe, Nazi explorers fanned out across Europe and the globe in search of relics holding (possibly supernatural) hints of ancient Aryan glory. In 1938, a team was dispatched to Iceland in search of the lost Aryan civilization of Thule, which Nazi leaders discovered in an Icelandic epic poem. Among the Nazis’ interests in Thule was the legend of a race of ancient Aryan giants. (Versions of this myth remain common among biblically focused alt-historians like Steve Quayle and L.A. Marzulli.)

Belief in these legends was possible because of the Nazis’ sharp rejection of the Enlightenment. Dismissing the science of racial diversification and the archeological record, they reveled in symbology, myths and legends of “pure” ancient kingdoms that conquered the world under its symbol, the swastika. (This, the Nazis believed, explained the symbol’s presence in both Native American and Indian art.)

"...But Clarke and Roberts, whose research is to be published this week in a book called Out of the Shadows , did uncover evidence that the American Secret Service, with the possible connivance of the British, looked at ways of using the public panic over UFOs as a psychological weapon against the Russians.

In CIA memos marked 'secret' and seen by The Observer, top officials consider exploiting the UFO craze. 'I suggest that we discuss the possible offensive or defensive utilisation of these phenomena for psychological warfare purposes,' wrote CIA director Walter Smith in 1952.

'Shortly after that meeting the CIA sent a delegation to Britain to discuss UFOs. It is hard to imagine that they did not discuss the psychological warfare aspects of it with their British counterparts,' Clarke said.

Clarke, who started out as a believer in UFOs but is now a sceptic, said that the belief in alien visitation had once reached up to the highest positions in government. Prime Minister Winston Churchill once ordered an investigation into it and Lord Mountbatten was a firm believer in flying saucers. In the 1950s Britain set up a flying saucer working party of top Ministers and army staff. 'That is why this field is important for academic research. It did have an impact on government policy at a crucial stage in history,' he said..."

"The Office of Special Affairs (OSA), formerly the Guardian's Office, is a department of the Church of Scientology International. According to the Church, the OSA is responsible for directing legal affairs, public relations, pursuing investigations, publicizing the Church's "social betterment works," and "oversee[ing its] social reform programs". Some observers outside the Church have characterized the department as an intelligence agency, comparing it variously to the CIA or the KGB. The department has targeted critics of the Church with dead agent operations and character assassination. OSA is the successor to the now-defunct Guardian's Office, which was responsible for Operation Snow White and Operation Freakout; both are in Department 20 in the Scientology organizational chart. The most recent head of OSA International was Mike Rinder, who has since departed from the organization and criticizes it severely, appearing as a co-host on Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.

Structure and personnel

History

The Guardian's Office was established in 1966, and its initial mission was to protect the interests of the Church of Scientology, and gather information on agencies and individuals deemed enemies of the organization. The Guardian's Office was also charged with internal monitoring of current Scientologists, in particular heretics and notable defectors. L. Ron Hubbard put his wife Mary Sue Hubbard in charge of the Guardian's Office, and it was initially headquartered at Saint Hill Manor, in England. The Guardian's Office functioned effectively as an Intelligence Bureau of the Church of Scientology, and planted members in key positions within federal government agencies, in order to obtain confidential material. Most branches of the Church of Scientology soon had at least one member from the Guardian's Office on its staff, and the Guardian's Office itself had its own secret Intelligence Bureau at the top of its organizational structure. The Guardian's Office was disbanded in 1983, and the bulk of its previous functions were then assigned to the Office of Special Affairs..."

Like a man once said, don't think you can climb in the ring with the Incas and think you can box. Besides your country being historically, aggressively superstitious, besides the fact that many of your upper class were Nazi sympathizers, besides your history, also, of bastardizing the history of other cultures to elevate yourself, you people apparently have had a very cozy relationship for decades with the alien-loving Scientologists, who've infiltrated your government. Thanks for the ask. I didn't know that part. Now take your brain out the back of your pants and sit the fuck down, Jr. Your stupidity offends me, yo.

#OH LOOK! IT'S THE POODLE! #Simon Pegged #Iron Man

[slippinmickeys]

The Mesas of Deuteronilus Mensae (2/?)

The flash of the cameras left streaks across his vision so that she was in his blindspot, there in the row in front of him and to his right. Of course the media would want to talk to her first, as the news of Briner was only a few days old, even though this was the last big press conference before the Nerio Mission’s launch.

All ten crew members were in their blue mission jumpsuits, lined up in two rows of five seated upon a small dais in the compact press room Kennedy. There was a city skyline of microphones in front of them, and a posse of cameramen and women three deep beyond them. Mulder could barely make out the reporters further back, what with the lights.

Angela McDonnell, NASA’s PR Director was standing off to the left, calling on reporters, and she had pointed to a journalist deep in the middle. Mulder couldn’t see who said it, but heard a male voice call out:

“This question is for Scully – Dr. Scully, are you finding it hard to fill Max Briner’s shoes as a last minute replacement as the mission’s science officer?”

Mulder had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. The astronaut corps chose only the best, and each member of the crew – and the backup crew – were trained identically so that crew members could be swapped out interchangeably whenever necessary. That was the damn point. And it’s not like Briner was some goddamn genius or something, though press sympathy had turned the poor guy into a minor celebrity.

Mulder shifted his gaze so that he could see Scully’s profile as she answered the question. She maintained a beatific smile.

“Luckily, NASA has had me outfitted with a wonderful assortment of bespoke mission wear for quite a while now,” she started. “Which includes footwear.”

The assembled media all chuckled and whatever tension had been running through the room evaporated. Scully spoke up again, this time in a slightly more serious tone.

“I was heartbroken to hear of Dr. Briner’s illness and his subsequent removal from the crew of the Nerio Mission, though I’m certain that he will deal with the hardships he has been dealt with the grit and resilience we’ve all come to recognize in him. That said, I’m confident in my abilities and my training and I don’t foresee having any issues stepping into the role of science officer.”

Mulder stole a glance at McDonell, who was wearing a pleased smile. He wasn’t sure if Scully had been coached ahead of time, but it was an excellent answer.

“Bernie, you have a follow up?” McDonell was looking into the media scrum expectantly.

The reporter called out: “Dr. Scully how are you fitting in with the rest of the crew?”

Scully smiled again. “I haven’t gotten to know them well yet, but we’ll have the next six years to become the very best of friends.”

More chuckling from the media, and then McDonell called on another reporter and other questions came at them, most for either McDonell or Jessica Ehrlich, the Mission Commander. Mulder took the opportunity to study Scully more closely.

They’d had a crew meeting several days before where they’d all introduced themselves to her, but the meeting had mainly been about mission-specific issues, with not a lot of time for small talk or socialization.

His initial impression of her hadn’t changed – she was lovely. She had a sharply cut nose that dipped at the end when she talked, and it was perched above pink rosebud lips. And her eyes – the same color as the mission jumpsuits, were a blue straight from the ocean depths. He had just noticed a small beauty mark above her lip when he noticed the room around him went silent. Powers, sitting next to him, poked him subtly in the leg.

McDonell was looking at him expectantly. “Dr. Mulder?” she said.

Mulder could feel his ears go red but tried to maintain an aura of haughty dignity. It wouldn’t do to get caught by the press mooning at a coworker. “I’m sorry,” he said jovially. “Can you repeat the question?”

#fanfic #my fic #msr #the x-files #au #mars AU #WIP

[ripewickedplums]

If you could see the Scooby gang investigate an x file/Mulder and Scully encountering one of the monsters from Buffy, which one would you want to see? (Like, which monster?)

oh what a fun question!!!

i would love to have seen the scoobies encounter a cryptid creature, like the jersey devil. something not human but not demonic either. would’ve been an interesting moral dilemma for whether that’s buffy’s jurisdiction or not!

also a genie like in je souhaite would’ve been fun. i know we kind of got that with willow in something blue but an actual genie granting wishes (especially to a character like xander or dawn) would’ve been so chaotic and fun too. or even to buffy! buffy’s wishes coming true could’ve made for a really great story.

i just wanna see mulder and scully investigate brutal strings of murders that take place all over the country, rumoured to be committed by a bonnie-and-clyde type couple, but the bodies are always left drained of blood, torn apart, and with bite marks…

aka mulder and scully meet spike and drusilla

but mulder getting really into the lore of the slayer and the watchers council would be SO good too. scully would be like “mulder, that’s a teen girl. she’s listening to boy bands, not causing bloodbaths”

#thank you for sending!!! #buffy the vampire slayer #btvs #txf #the x files

[mrpaulmulder]

Thursday, 9 March  2023 marks 5 years and 8 months since Nikki was abducted to Sofia, Bulgaria. Today I am 100% alienated from Nikki, have no contact or receive any news of his wellbeing. Parental Alienation is child abuse.

Looking at some correspondence with Nikki's school March, 2019. My request was dismissed in a three line response telling me to go and get a court order, the devastating effects of parental alienation on a child....clearly a non-issue for them.

From: paul@xxxxxxxx [mailto:paul@xxxxxxxxxx]

Sent: Friday, 22 March 2019 9:03 AM

To: '[email protected]' <[email protected]>; '[email protected]' <[email protected]> Cc: '[email protected]' <[email protected]>; '[email protected]' <[email protected]>; '[email protected]' <[email protected]> Subject: Nxxxxx Mulder Importance: High

Dear Ms xxxxxx and Mr. xxxxxx,

I write to you today as the father (Paul Mulder xxxxxxxx) of Nxxxxx Mulder (xxxxxxxxx) and am appealing to you to help break the grip of parental alienation under which Nxxxxxx is labouring.

You will no doubt have heard Nxxxxxx’ mother’s (xxxxxxxxx) version of events and I want to state that any allegation of abuse towards either  her or Nxxxxxx and perpetrated by me are untrue and mala fida in the extreme. To this end I have attached a report by Dr xxxxxx xxxxxxx, a clinical and children’s psychologist in her capacity of a court expert to Sofia City Court under civil case No xxxxxxx where she states (among other things) with regards to Nxxxxxxx “..,I am categorically of the opinion that if the child was the target of violence on the part of the father, he would have manifested fear or resentment in any manner, which was not observed during the meeting.”

Currently Nxxxx’ mother enforces that I have no contact with Nxxxxxx whatsoever, receive no updates as to his wellbeing or development progress, does not respond when I request information related to Nxxx’ wellbeing, has referred formal contact requests to the court system, when I have attempted to visit Nxxxxx in Sofia on one occasion refused to facilitate a visit and referred me to the court, on two occasions for court ordered visits (when she knew I was coming) provided sick notes as to why Nicholas could not meet with me and on two occasions for court ordered visits when she saw I was at the social services centre took off down the road with Nxxxxxx in order to prevent the meetings taking place. Parental alienation is a form of child abuse and the effects on the child are devastating and well documented https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/co-parenting-after-divorce/201304/the-impact-parental-alienation-children

My parental rights and responsibilities were confirmed by a high court order and Nxxxxx’ has been found to have “wrongfully retained in Bulgaria” in a recent Hague appeal judgement.

For this reason I write to you urgently requesting your assistance in any way in which you can, to put an end to the alienation which Nxxxxx is facing, perhaps you are able to connect me with Nxxxxx, provide me updates on his development or even have a discussion with Nxxxxx’ mother to educate her as to the damage she is doing to Nxxxxxx by alienating him from me.

Many thanks in advance and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Kind Regards, Paul Mulder #bringnikkimulderhome

#bringnikkimulderhome, #childabduction, #parentalalienation, #bansko, #snowboarding, #bulgaria, #sofia, #britishschoolofsofia

[tittaen]

Xfile episodes

#Xfile episodes series#

#Xfile episodes tv#

He also insinuates that the family has been inbreeding since the war. Taylor informs him that the house dates to the American Civil War and is without electricity, running water, or heat. While talking to Home's sheriff Andy Taylor ( Tucker Smallwood), Mulder asks whether the Peacock brothers-the inhabitants of the house nearest to the crime scene-have been questioned about the baby. Fox Mulder ( David Duchovny) and Dana Scully ( Gillian Anderson) are sent to investigate after the corpse is found by children during a sandlot-ball game. Three similarly-deformed men bury it near their dilapidated house during a rainstorm. In the small town of Home, Pennsylvania, a woman gives birth to a deformed baby. It has been cited as a seminal episode of The X-Files by critics and crew members. Commentators have identified themes within the episode that satirize the American Dream, address globalization, and explore the nature of motherhood. The graphic content of the script attracted controversy from early in the production process. They attempted to make the episode as ambitious and shocking as possible and were inspired by real-life events, including the documentary Brother's Keeper and a story from Charlie Chaplin's autobiography about an encounter with a family in rural Wales. "Home" marks the return of writers Morgan and Wong, who left the show following its second season. Initially, Mulder suspects the brothers kidnapped and raped a woman to father the child, but the investigation uncovers a long history of incest involving the Peacocks' own mother. Traveling to the small isolated town of Home, Pennsylvania, the pair meet the Peacocks, a family of deformed farmers who have not left their house in a decade. In this episode, Mulder and Scully investigate the death of a baby born with severe physical defects. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal the skeptical Scully was initially assigned to debunk his work, but the two have developed a deep friendship.

#Xfile episodes series#

The series centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder ( David Duchovny) and Dana Scully ( Gillian Anderson), who work on cases linked to the paranormal, collectively called " X-Files". Some reviewers felt the violence was excessive. Critics were generally complimentary, and praised the disturbing nature of the plot several made comparisons to the work of director Tobe Hooper.

#Xfile episodes tv#

"Home" would be the only episode of The X-Files to carry a TV-MA rating upon broadcast and the first to receive a viewer discretion warning for graphic content if the system had been present at the time the TV Parental Guidelines rating system would be introduced two months later, on December 19, 1996. Watched by 18.85 million viewers, the initial broadcast had a Nielsen rating of 11.9. "Home" is a " Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the overarching mythology of The X-Files. Directed by Kim Manners, it was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong. " Home" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, which originally aired on the Fox network on October 11, 1996. Sebastian Spence as Deputy Barney Paster.Tucker Smallwood as Sheriff Andy Taylor.

#Xfile episodes

[randomfoggytiger]

Mulder’s Alien Baby Baby Trauma In-Depth (Part III): "Processing" in Mulder's Apartment

(To quote Mulder in Lazarus: “For those of you who don’t know already, this one’s important to me.” So, I hope I do this one right~.)

The apartment scene in Three Words is incredibly important and incredibly misunderstood. Mulder already knew the baby was his (which I tackled in this other important post); but, regardless, that isn't the cause of his distance. Knowing that you have a partner to come back to and that she is carrying your child doesn't stop the freight train of traumatic memories and blooming PTSD. And as much as he tries to hide from it-- burrowing away in his hospital room and his apartment before possessiveness drives him back to the office-- Mulder is suffering intensely: not because he feels displaced by Scully's actions or her new priorities, but because-- he thinks-- this dark fate was brought upon them by his own actions. Further, the trauma he and Scully endured because of his abduction has been worked through by his partner. Scully was already healing and moving forward (see post here, thank you @akiplo for your observation~); and Mulder fears that his presence-- a man lost in darkness-- can only drag her and their child back into chaos and ruin... and he won't do that to them.

Mulder's Apartment, the First Scene

Mulder and Scully arrive at his apartment fresh from the hospital; and their entrance-- she unlocking his apartment with her key-- marks the beginning of Mulder’s alienation from his own life. 

Walking in hesitantly-- creaky inch by creaky inch-- Mulder closes the door, angling himself away from Scully’s observation as much as possible. 

Once he collects himself, Mulder pulls an exaggerated face, trying to mask his discomfort with old coping skills.

Scully tries to break the ice: “Must feel good to be home"-- and is awarded by a stiff (though genuine) smirk from Mulder, taking her sentiment and turning it into a tongue-in-cheek joke. 

When he won’t respond more than a soft “...Yeah,” (or even meet her eyes), Scully leads the way further into the apartment. His faux appeased expression drops when she is no longer observing him: Mulder closes his eyes, pulls in a sharp breath--

and steps stressfully forward out of the shadows… swiftly then right back into them. 

Plodding along behind Scully-- who gives him a wide berth to reacclimate-- Mulder observes every inch of his apartment, insecurely putting his hands on his hips and pulling in his lips when he notices how changed his space is: cleaned, organized, and more comfortably "homey" (marked by the addition of two fluffy pillows, one still very rumpled-- which shows Scully's care to recapture a bit of Mulder's old, habitable "mess" for his return-- on the couch.) 

Not only has Mulder been significantly changed in his absence-- abducted and tortured for three months then returned dead another three before being resurrected for mere days with an added bonus of severe PTSD-- but even his apartment, the solitary space that was only his own, shows signs of the effects.

And Mulder knows it’s Scully who’s changed it-- “Something looks different,” he comments sadly, meaning more than the tidy apartment.

Mulder now knows Scully needs more from him-- a clean bill of health, a clean apartment, and a happy father-to-be for their child-- but he also knows her scars have had the time to be worked through and healed (or mostly so.) He feels locked out and left behind because Mulder has just started on the path Scully already traveled-- and now he thinks he must travel on alone, unable to ever catch up as his devouring trauma eats away at him with every progressive step he takes. To quote Fight the Future: "I don't know if I wanna do this alone... I don't even know if I can...."

“Yeah,” Scully acknowledges before lightening the emotional burden with an “It’s clean” quip. 

Mulder’s huff turns into his first chuckle, which turns into his first attempt at eye contact on their formerly personal ground. He realizes, however, how false his smile is and how much pain is bleeding from his eyes; and falters, looking away again. 

First important note: it’s easy to misconstrue his gun-shy eye contact as avoiding Scully’s pregnancy; but this moment illustrates how her baby (while a concern) wasn’t what drove him away from his partner. Mulder can’t look Scully in the eyes period, wounds too raw and exposed to not be easily diagnosed by his clever doctor partner. Mulder’s modus operandi has always been to hoard and wallow in his grief and pain alone (i.e. moodily staring at Modell in Pusher, angsting in the basement in Paper Hearts, etc.), only allowing himself to break down emotionally in Scully's presence in the most extreme of circumstances (ex. his mom’s health crises in Herrenvolk and Sein und Zeit, etc.) This is no different; and Mulder is more than willing to retreat and shut down internally than painfully deal with letting Scully (and their baby) down even more (ex. past self-sacrificial actions in Little Green Men, One Son, Amor Fati, etc.) 

“That’s it,” he plays along.  

Second important note: Scully keeps repeatedly trying to work herself up to talk to her partner; and her attempts are either intercepted, diverted, or stalled because Mulder is not prepared for any conversation deeper than surface-level. 

Before Scully can begin a new (potentially dangerous) topic, Mulder dips down to his fish; and, though using them as a brief ploy, he is truly overjoyed to see his little buddies again. They’re his and unattached to any extra weight that might add to the burdens on his back and cause him to drown… or at least, he thinks so. 

“Missing a molly,” he says, in what seems to be a casual remark and a question and a statement all at once. 

“Yeah,” Scully replies woefully, her own Starbuck guilt complex kicking in.

Mulder looks up, the loss hitting him in that uncomplicated, childish loss of a first pet; or, more accurately, of a first pet lost unexpectedly but markedly in his absence. His problems weren’t supposed to affect or hurt anyone, not even his fish; and that old guilt-- my partner was abducted, my partner’s sister was killed, my partner has cancer, my partner, my partner-- is yet another reminder that nothing is safe or sacred. He rises slowly, backing into his desk almost without realizing, needing something to lean on as yet another tragedy-- huge in the face of everything else-- hits him. 

“She wasn’t as lucky as you,” Scully explains, her voice creaking with conflicting emotions. 

Her remark hurts more than helps: Mulder sighs, spins, looks out the window, then sinks onto his desk: this room, this apartment, this homecoming, this life is too much. 

At Scully’s “Mulder…” he spins his head back, forcefully snapping himself out of whatever dark place he had sunk into. At her “I don’t know if you’ll ever understand what it was like…”, his mouth drops open, the classic tell of a Mulder on the brink of hyperventilation. He is able to recover from and channel away from those feelings by forcibly focusing solely on Scully’s, nodding along with her honest narration of her own experiences. 

But when Scully turns the conversation back on him (“And now to have you back…”), Mulder pops up with faux animation to deflect her focus from deeper inspection: “You act like you’re surprised”, followed by a grand gesture followed by a cheesy grin followed by a hand wave. The animation, however, wilts rather quickly. 

A beautiful little touch: When Scully confesses, “I prayed a lot,” she is neither awkward nor ashamed to talk about her faith with Mulder, a point of contention the two had always struggled with in their relationship. It’s a sign of the trust she places in him. Mulder sees this, and it calls out a part of him that was "them" before he was abducted-- his expression softens for the first time, his mouth relaxes, even his posture is less despondent. If only for a moment, her trust in his respect helps him feel a little more human. 

“And my prayers have been answered” refers once more to him; and Mulder must, again, deflect, deflect, deflect. 

“In more ways than one,” is a clever way to monkey branch back to Scully (and to something else-- someone else-- he knows occupies a great deal of her mind), but it’s delivered with false glibness and pain and regret. And there is so much regret: it’s practically pouring out of his eyes. 

Mulder follows up his remark with a tighter smile, a head nod, and an eyebrow twitch: a (botched) attempt at a “hey there” acknowledgment. Scully reads the spirit of his intent, however, and is touched (if a bit delightedly off-kilter by his sudden reference), looking down to confirm with a third “Yeah.” 

“I’m happy for you,” Mulder rushes out, genuine; but Mulder also chews the inside of his cheek in distress, biting back glistening tears.  

Two important things are happening in this scene: 

1. Mulder is being eaten alive with guilt and trauma and self-imposed distance; and is afraid Scully will see through it-- will see his weakness and fear-- and try to cross that divide. And he can’t open himself up because (Mulder thinks) she doesn't deserve that. But the toll this is taking on Mulder is worsening his suffering; so--  

2. Mulder's level of detachment is not as complete as it seems. In fact, Scully's reactions break through before this scene is over, causing him to meet her halfway as he hints at his struggle on reentry. Mulder then spends the rest of Three Words angling his movements to either attach Scully to his side or draw her back to it (with both pretending not to notice the conspicuous orbital paths drawing them back into the other's personal space.)

Mulder straightens again (clinging onto any sense of strength he can muster), and reiterates with another nod, “I think I know--” a long pause “--how much that means to you.” The underlying meaning: how much that would mean (means) to me. But he's still distant.

Scully is crushed; and Mulder purposefully avoids her face by looking at their baby. 

Third important note: Mulder’s expression here tells it all-- he knows that child is his, and it means the world to him, too. His faux side smirk has melted into real affection, even pride, that they’d (he’d) managed the impossible.

But it doesn’t take away his conviction that their miracle kid (and Scully) is better off without his issues; and he looks down and away from the baby, too. 

A heavy moment of silence is broken by Scully’s plaintive “Mulder…”, which he immediately cuts off with a sincere “I’m sorry.” Her pain breaks through the wall he’d erected: Mulder is never able to push Scully away completely, even for her own sake. “I don’t mean to be cold or ungrateful, I just….” Another heavy pause as he measures how truthful he plans to be. “I have no idea where I fit in….” 

Scully knows what he’s saying: a plea to drop it, a plea to have her back off, a plea to recover and not confront his problems now in order to patch himself back together. A plea for space. She doesn’t know why he wants space from her, too-- can only guess-- but she backs off, for his sake.    

Mulder backpedals from the strength of his previous statement, following up “no idea where I fit in” with a rushed “Right now.” In spite of Mulder’s distance, he can’t let Scully go completely, couldn’t handle it if she let him go at all.  

“I just, uh…” he says, pursing his lips as he carefully chooses his next words-- Scully’s heartbroken reaction making him doubly cautious--  

“I’m having a little trouble--” a quick, fortifying inhale (the first time Mulder’s shown Scully how out of sorts he truly is)-- “...processing.” A slight pause, then a weighted, “Everything,” before Mulder darts his head away, withdrawing from his confession as quickly as possible to take another steadying breath (his mouth now fully open-- the aforementioned hyperventilating tell-- for a longer period of time.)    

The scene ends on Scully’s worried, hurt, and floundering mood. Mulder is returned but strangely absent; and how is she going to figure out why and return them to the way they were… if that’s even possible? 

Mulder, meanwhile, takes a few things from this scene forward with him: his brief emotional disclosure deeply affected Scully, affirming to himself that his problems and pain need to be kept far, far away from her and their child. He will spend the rest of Three Words trying to do just that while sticking as close to her as nonchalantly possible, scheduling her to meet him or him to meet her or wheedling her along with him on various misadventures. A conversation is desperately needed; but it's not until sometime pre-Empedocles that Mulder allows himself the time to pause, regroup, and begin to heal.

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

#txf #Mulder #Mulder's Alien Baby Baby Trauma #In-Depth #Part III #S8 #Three Words #“Processing” in Mulder's Apartment #Scully #x-files #xfiles #the x files #meta #xf meta #mine #analysis

[silhouetteofacedar]

Fox Mulder, Closet Romantic Ch. 5: Dana's Work Friend

Previous Chapter - AO3 - MSR, rated E

Friday, April 3rd, 1998. Scully comes into the office in a flurry of coat and red hair. She doesn’t greet him, just drops her briefcase on the desk and sinks into her seat across from him.

“Mulder, I have a favor to ask of you, and you’re probably going to hate it, so just bear in mind that I have exhausted all my other options,” she says, somewhat breathless.

“You’re really selling it,” he deadpans. “What is it?” he asks, settling into his chair and leaning his elbows on the desk.

“You remember Mark,” she prompts, and he nods. Ugh. If only he could forget.

“Well, it turns out that Mark is extremely - almost agonizingly - social, despite having a demanding job and a young child to raise.”

“Sounds awful,” Mulder comments.

“Hence my current predicament. He’s invited me and my friends out for drinks tonight, so his friends can meet me and I can meet his and he can meet mine… “ she rambles before refocusing herself. “He’s not aware that I’ve lost contact with most of my friends. You’re kind of the only one left.”

Mulder had suspected as much, but confirmation of her increasing social isolation is like a punch in the throat. “Are you sure there’s no one else?” he asks softly, not wanting to rub salt into any wounds.

She shakes her head, lips pressed together. “Unless the Lone Gunmen count as my friends,” she replies. “Which in this case is somehow worse than having none at all,” she muses, some humor in her voice.

“Good point,” he chuckles. “Sure, count me in.”

“Thank you,” she says sincerely, and he melts all over again. He’d do anything for her. Even if it means meeting Mark. Ugh.

“It’s worth mentioning,” Mulder says after a moment, “If you don’t want to go, you can always just not go.”

“Shockingly, I have thought of that,” she says dryly, opening her briefcase and pulling out a folder. “But I think it would be good for me to meet people and hold conversations that aren’t related to criminal or paranormal activity. Might be good for you, too,” she adds, glancing up at him.

He pulls a stack of files out of his inbox on the desk. “I’ll stick to ‘ghosties and ghoulies and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night’,” he says.

“‘Good Lord, deliver us',” Scully replies, finishing the old prayer.

Mulder looks up at her and finds her smiling at him, and his whole body flushes with heat and adoration.

“Let’s elope,” he says, and she rolls her eyes fondly before burying her nose in her work.

I’m not kidding, he yells inside the prison of his own thick skull.

After work he and Scully drive straight to the bar together, a yuppie place in Foggy Bottom near George Washington University Hospital.

“Have you ever been through their ER?” Scully asks, scanning the street for parking. “I imagine you’ve been through enough hospitals to warrant a map on the wall with little pins stuck in it.”

“I can’t possibly remember them all at this point,” he says absently, tugging at his seatbelt uncomfortably. Why is he nervous? He’s just here to show Scully’s man friend that she’s not entirely a basement-dwelling hermit.

And Mulder’s the best she could do? God, maybe she really does need to get out more.

She parks, and he feeds the meter while she touches up her lipstick in the rearview mirror. She looks sweet and and rosy, flushed with nerves and traffic, and he could so easily scoop her up and kiss her-

“Alright,” she says, climbing out of the car and closing the driver’s side door a little harder than necessary. She smooths her hair down. “I’m ready for battle.”

“I’m prepared to fall on my sword,” he assures her, guiding her onto the sidewalk with a hand on her lower back before realizing he probably shouldn’t touch her so familiarly when her… friend might see.

“It’ll be fine,” she says over her shoulder as she grasps the bar door’s handle. “Just behave,” she hisses, and they enter.

The onslaught is immediate.

“Dana!” a voice calls out through the bustling bar, and Mulder sees a man waving them over. He’s got neatly styled dishwater blond hair, broad shoulders, and dimples at the corners of his mouth as he smiles at them. Not bad, Mulder thinks, unsure of how to feel about this new information.

He barely has time to process it before they’re enveloped in a tight swarm of strangers. The blond man, presumably Mark, loops an arm around Scully’s shoulders and gives her a side-hug.

“So glad you could make it, Dana,” he says, and proceeds to go around the circle of people and rattle off names Mulder has no reason to remember. Instead, he watches Scully, the way she greets each person as they’re introduced. She’s cool and calm, smiling politely, shaking hands and saying ‘nice to meet you’ to each of the five - no, six - people in the group.

“I’ll grab you two some drinks,” Mark says, glancing at Mulder. “What’s your poison?”

“Shiner,” Mulder says.

“Same for me,” Scully says. “I’m going to freshen up-”

“Sure,” Mark says, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “Two Shiner Bocks coming up.”

That’s how Mulder and this exuberant, Golden Retriever of a man end up sitting at the bar together, nursing sweaty beers and waiting for Scully to return from the bathroom.

“So you’re a work friend of Dana’s?” Mark asks over the noise of the bar.

Mulder was about to set his drink down, but he reconsiders and takes another swig. “In a manner of speaking,” he replies.

Dr. Mark Whatever-the-fuck seems confused. “I don’t follow,” he says.

“I’m her partner,” Mulder says flatly. Since 1993. I’ve seen her naked, cradled her injured body my arms, saved her goddamn life. Have you?

“Oh!” Mark says, clearly making mental connections. “Oh. Sorry, I just- it’s nice to meet you… Fox?”

“Just Mulder’s fine,” he corrects him.

Mark laughs. “Sorry for the confusion on my end; I think Dana only said your name once and I went and assumed Fox Mulder was a woman. And you know what they say about assuming,” he adds with a nudge.

Once. Only once? Maybe that shouldn’t surprise him, but it does. Whenever he meets someone new in Scully’s life they always throw out the usual ‘I’ve heard a lot about you’ line, so he knows she talks about him to others. But not to this guy. Why not to this guy?

Mercifully, Scully returns from the restroom. Mark hands her her beer. “Thanks,” she says softly, giving him a small smile with her lips closed tightly, which strikes Mulder as odd. He knows she’s somewhat self-conscious about smiling with her teeth, but something he sees in her face doesn’t feel quite right.

Of course it doesn’t feel right to you, he thinks. She’s smiling at some other guy.

They’re swept along in a current of conversation, scrambled introductions, and drink orders. He’s introduced to a handful of people he’ll selectively erase from his eidetic memory, standing across from Scully in their little circle instead of by her side. He doesn’t like it. Another man has his hand on her back, although respectfully keeping it between her shoulder blades. Any lower and Mulder would have to excuse himself to have a panic attack in the alley behind the bar. Or throw up.

He’s glad Mark’s friends aren’t particularly interested in making conversation with him; he’s tired and ready to go home. Luckily, the Doctor himself calls the night early, at half-past eight.

“I promised the little one I’d be home to tuck her in,” he explains, and Mulder’s stomach turns from the purity and sweetness of it. “She gets to stay up a little later on Fridays.” He gives Scully another half of a hug and says his goodbyes.

The group disperses pretty quickly after Mark leaves, and Mulder and Scully are left alone outside the bar.

“So, you met Mark,” Scully says simply.

“I did, yeah.” He can sense that she wants him to say something more. “He seems... nice,” Mulder adds.

Scully nods. “Yeah, he’s nice.”

Mulder’s beginning to think ‘nice’ is the only word anyone’s capable of using to describe this guy.

“I’ll bet Bill’s gonna love him,” he comments, hoping he doesn’t sound as bitter as he feels.

Scully shakes her head, smiling. “I knew there had to be a flaw in him somewhere,” she jokes.

Mulder surprises himself with a huffed laugh. This moment with her is strangely precious, despite the circumstances. He doesn’t know how many moments like this he has left, if he’s being honest.

“I’m happy for you,” he says tenderly, and maybe if he says it enough it’ll be true. She deserves this, he reminds himself. It’s become almost a mantra, a lead weight that keeps him from drifting away.

“Are you?” she asks, catching him off guard. “I caught you staring holes into him more than once.”

“I wasn’t,” Mulder says defensively. “This is just my face.”

She gives him a look that clearly says ‘I call bullshit’, and he folds. “He didn’t know who I was,” he says, and it sounds monumentally stupid out loud. “He though Fox Mulder was a woman.”

“I-I don’t know why he would have thought that,” Scully says, pensive. “I never implied-”

“Fox is an unusual name,” Mulder interrupts. “It’s an honest mistake if you just hear it without any context.”

Scully looks down at her feet. “I’m sorry about that,” she says softly. “About all of this. I owe you one.”

Mulder reaches out and squeezes her shoulder, and it seems to have a grounding effect on both of them. “I’ll put it on your tab,” he says.

“Do you want me to drive you back to work?” she asks. They’d left his car in the garage at the Hoover building.

Mulder shakes his head. “You’re almost home,” he says. “I’ll get a cab.”

He ends up walking instead.

The night air cleanses his senses as he makes the half-hour trek back to the Bureau. Their time in the bar had felt sluggish and hazy, despite the fact that he only had a beer and a half. He spend the entire evening focused on Scully, the only sharp image amidst the blur of patrons.

Mark hadn’t kissed Scully goodbye, and Mulder’s relief at not having to witness it was overshadowed by a morbid curiosity. She and Mark had been dating for three weeks; he’s not sure how often they’ve actually gone out, due to the doctor’s shift schedule, but he assumes they’ve seen each other a few times at mass in addition to whatever outings they’ve gone on in the evenings. That was ample time to get to know each other physically on some level, wasn’t it? A peck on the cheek at least.

Mulder’s biased; he’s touch-starved and in love with her. He spends most of his nights on his couch in the dark, touching himself and thinking about Scully. Kissing her, taking her clothes off, tasting her; his mental catalogue of scenarios is robust and well-used. If given half the chance to love her…

Maybe that’s it, he thinks somberly, stepping over sidewalk cracks. Maybe chances are taken, not given.

That’s not how he wants to love her. He wants her to choose him all on her own, and yet he never let her know he was a choice. And now there’s Mark.

But Mark doesn’t kiss her.

#my fic #msr #txf fic #xfiles #fox mulder closet romantic #FMCR #in which mark and Mulder meet #oof #the pain