OG fanfic writer. Co-founder of The Mulder Defense League. Proud citizen of The Great and Mystical Subterranean Otherworld. SanSan fan. Fasten your seat belt and keep your arms inside the car at all times. This could be a bumpy ride.
the hardest pill to swallow about being in a fandom is that some people are only ankle-deep in it and aren't taking things too seriously and other people are up to their necks and taking it as seriously as a heart attack and yet everybody thinks that every other person is in it just as deep as they are and will get very upset to realize otherwise because they don't know how to engage with the different perspective
This is my second Spooky Award post. It's apparently a series! My post about Spookys 1998 is here.
The Spooky Awards were the annual awards given to X-Files fan fiction from 1995-2004 (except for 1997). They were voted on by fans and were always a bit contentious. You can read more about this at Fanlore or my previous post on the topic. The award categories changed pretty drastically changed them every year: look how different 2000's are from 1998's!
But ... this was apparently a loaded topic. Check out this lively discussion about what the Spookys' categories should be in 1999. Also, there were apparently no 1997 awards because of ballot stuffing during the 1996 Spookys, which seems like it was a whole exciting fandom drama! But I digress.
Originally I was going to focus this post on the 1999 Spooky Awards because, you know, they came consecutively after 1998 (and because @amplifyme won a lifetime achievement award that year! did y'all know that? it seems deserved for sure, although she must have been awfully youthful to be getting a lifetime achievement award).
But once I looked over the full list for 2000, I couldn't resist choosing 2000. Nearly every fic on the list is familiar to me. These are some masterpieces. This had to be one of the high point years for fic, at least in my book. So many of these are still on my rec lists! (And not just mine!) I mean, right?
Some trends I notice for the winners of this year: lots of angst. XF fic always includes angst, but oof, 2000's winners had so much. More angst than smut, I would say, although there's smut, too. This is interesting because in 2000 canon, of course, we're in season 7 and things are generally lighter and flirtier. Well, I guess Sein und Zeit / Closure, Orison and the season finale are plenty angsty, and there are fics here about those episodes.
I also notice a 2000 trend for post-apocalyptic fic and fic with clever and grim twists. Of course, in canon, the mytharc is pointing to likely colonization at this point, there were lots of 90s alien invasion stories in general. And who knows, maybe we have some general turn-of-the-millenium apocalyptic vibes in the air, too? Pop culture of the late 90s / early 2000s also really liked clever plot concepts and twists (See: Se7en, Sixth Sense, Usual Suspects, The Others). So these make sense as fanfic elements.
At any rate, I present to you ... the XF fandom's Spooky Award Winners of 2000. (I will get back to 1999, I promise! And the others!) I do have to split this up in two posts because of link limits, but I will link the second part below. Let me know what you notice / think.
SPOOKY WINNERS 2000
Outstanding Short Story, Vignette or Poem
First Place - Black Hole Season - Penumbra
Second Place - Nobody's Son - Marguerite
Third Place - Cellphone - Marasmus
Outstanding Midlength Story
First Place (tie) Aquinnah - Anjou
First Place (tie) Strangers and the Strange Dead - Kipler
Second Place - Night Giving Off Flames - Jesemie's Evil Twin
Third Place - A Candle for Katherine - marasmus
Outstanding Long Story
First Place - The Dreaming Sea - Revely
Second Place - The Second to Last 7-Eleven - V. Salmone
Third Place - Malus Genius - Maybe Amanda and Plausible Deniability
Outstanding Novel
First Place - Arizona Highways - Fialka
Second Place - Blinded by White Light - Dasha K. (@dashakay)
Third Place - Blood Oranges - Syntax6 @syntax6
Outstanding Series
First Place - Life During Wartime - cofax, Maria Nicole and Marasmus - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
Second Place - Intuitive Reasoning Series Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 - Mish
Serendipity Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 - Sue Schramm
Outstanding WIP
First Place - All the Way Home - syntax6 @syntax6
Second Place - Ersatz Promises - Suzanne Barringer and Suzanne Schramm
Third Place - Almost Home - Shoshana
Outstanding Angst Story
First Place - Arizona Highways - Fialka
Second Place - Night Giving Off Flames - Jesemie's Evil Twin
Third Place (tie) - Cellphone - Marasmus
Third Place (tie) - Strangers and the Strange Dead - Kipler
Outstanding Apocalypse / Post-Colonization Story
First Place - Blinded by White Light - Dasha K.
Second Place - Night Giving Off Flames - Jesemie's Evil Twin
Third Place - Life During Wartime - cofax, Maria Nicole and Marasmus - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
Outstanding Crossover Story
First Place - Thanks of a Grateful Nation (The West Wing crossover) - Sabine
Second Place - Straight on 'Til Morning (Peter Pan crossover) - Brandon Ray
Third Place (tie) - Glass Hearts (The Sandman crossover)- David Hearne
Third Place (tie) - Mezzo Luna (Like Water for Chocolate crossover)- Michelle Kiefer
Outstanding Humor Story
First Place - Malus Genius - Maybe Amanda and Plausible Deniability
Second Place - Good Vibrations - Lysander
Third Place - Midnight Mark-up - Louise Marin
Outstanding Post-Episode Story
First Place - Black Hole Season - Penumbra
Second Place - Aquinnah - Anjou
Third Place - Nobody's Son - Marguerite
Outstanding X-File
First Place (tie) - Arizona Highways - Fialka
First Place (tie) - Blood Oranges - Syntax6
Second Place - Malus Genius - Maybe Amanda and Plausible Deniability
Third Place - Gutless - Magdeleine
Outstanding Scully Characterization
First Place - Arizona Highways - Fialka
Second Place - Blood Oranges - Syntax6
Third Place - Blinded by White Light - Dasha K.
Outstanding Mulder Characterization
First Place - Aquinnah - Anjou
Second Place - Arizona Highways - Fialka
Third Place - Night Giving Off Flames - Jesemie's Evil Twin
Outstanding Skinner Characterization
First Place (tie) - Abject - PD
First Place (tie) - Whom My Soul Loveth - Marguerite
Second Place - The Measure of My Days - Marguerite
Third Place - Six Months - Keleka
Outstanding Krycek Characterization
First Place - Crashing in the Same Car - Rachel Anton
Second Place - Useful Idiots - Brandon D. Ray
Third Place (tie) - My Little Demons - a frightened little girl
Third Place (tie) - Mapping the Veins - she who hides
Outstanding Other Series Character Characterization
First Place - Arizona Highways (Kresge) - Fialka
Second Place - Intuitive Reasoning Series (Karen Kosseff) Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 - Mish
Third Place - Getting Used to Gunfire (Maggie Scully) - cofax and Maria Nicole
Outstanding Original Character
First Place - Strangers and the Strange Dead - Kipler
Second Place - A Candle for Katherine - Marasmus
Third Place - My Favorite Word - Mish
Outstanding MSR UST
First Place - Strange Fruit - Punk Maneuverability
I honestly can't remember. It's been a long time. I prefer streaming and the ability to pause or rewind in my comfy clothes in my comfy home where I don't have to deal with other people.
Film that always makes you cry?
Steel Magnolias. Also Philadelphia. Ghost.
Film you know every single word to?
None of them. But I know the most memorable lines from my favorites. Does that count?
Favourite 2000s teen movie?
I'm too busy watching other kinds of films. Teen movies aren't really my thing.
Most embarrassing "guilty pleasure" film?
I'm not embarrassed liking any movie others might consider a guilty pleasure. "Pleasure" is the key word here. For me, anyway.
Film that changed your life?
That's a tough one. And a lot of pressure to put on a film. I've had a few that've changed the way I look at things, but not really changed my life, just my thinking. Most recent one I can recall is Arrival. It really struck deep. I spent a lot of time thinking through the layers of that film at first, and I love rewatching it and picking up new things to think about.
Favourite movie snack?
Popcorn and M&Ms. Just dump the M&Ms into the bucket and give it a good shake. Perfection.
Your go-to movie quote?
Don't have one.
The most overrated film ever?
I have no idea. I don't really keep up with stuff like that and don't care what other people think. I just know I like what I like. It's all subjective.
Favourite director?
Um... Stephen Spielberg. Christopher Nolan. James Cameron. Ron Howard. Rob Reiner (RIP). Their films are always worth a look.
First movie you remember seeing in theaters?
Bambi, I think? It traumatized me. Thanks, Mom!
Horror, comedy, or romance?
I'll go with drama first, even though it's not a choice here. I like watching humans being messy. Then romance. Comedy comes in at third, and horror last.
The ultimate "Top 10" favorite movies of all time?
Oh, man... This list is subject to change. Ask me again next week.
ET
Titanic
Arrival
Serenity
When Harry Met Sally
The Silence of the Lambs
Fight the Future
Spotlight
Apollo 13
The Abyss
I'm tagging anyone who'd like to play cuz I'm old and tired. And it's been a long day.
This is a perfect Saturday evening movie. I adore both these leads and they brought their best to this two-hander. A tight 90 minute story of grief, love, healing, acceptance, and the reality of what it is to be messily human. Both comedic and heartbreaking. Give this one a chance if you have access to HBO. These kinds of films don't get as much attention as they should.
P.S. I don't think I've ever seen Allison Janney in anything and not loved her.
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