Another day, another x file

Carissa, she/her, educator. Baby Phile. Fic reader & writer & lover. Fierce defender of Dana Katherine Scully. My fic | Main | The funny files

[i-gaze-at-scully]

Phile friends, we’re the lucky ones

Long story short my husband got me into Bones. Zero offense meant but it’s a little bit of a poor man’s txf. The writing isn’t great (or consistent) and the characters are…weird. That said, the UST is pretty intense, and I’m a sucker for it. I honestly got into it because we basically just started watching it in the background all the time. And, well, I clearly latch onto characters lol. If you’ve ever read any of my fic, that much is clear. As an x-phile I am well-trained on managing UST but damn this build up was crazy. So the issue of course is that (no spoilers) the S6 finale and S7E1 situation is atrocious. Just awful all around. I desperately need to fix it with fic. But I can’t. Because unlike this wonderful prolific fandom, there are only 3,000 works on ao3 (versus our 26,000). And I did try to peruse (this was actually the first and only time I’ve even considered reading another fandom’s fic) but (and again, no offense meant) the quality just is not there.

Do I attempt to write my own? I genuinely don’t even know what it would be like to write characters besides Mulder and Scully. I don’t know that I want to? Especially after such a dry spell for me writing wise.

Idk, mostly here to complain. In the off chance any of you lovely people happen to also belong to the bones fandom and have written/read fix it fic you could send my way for the events between the penultimate episode of S6 and S7E1 I’d very much appreciate a rec lol 🙃

Also I miss my 2018-2019 crew and fandom fun, hope you’re all well ♥️

[agent-troi]

The Entire X-Files Mythology Timeline Explained

Has Mulder and Scully's fight against the evil alien conspiracy left you utterly baffled? Allow us to present the entire X-Files mythology t

Found this and it has prevented me from losing my mind trying to untangle the whole thing myself so you're all welcome in advance

[i-gaze-at-scully]

Keeping this to help my husband’s brain from exploding as I (agonizingly slowly) work through the series with him

[ukulelekatie]

You’ve heard of one shots, now get ready for none shots! It’s when you think of an idea for a fic and then don’t write it

[katherinelam]

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE: An X-Files Fanzine is coming out November 8th at 12PM EST at BLACK DRAGON PRESS

Featuring 10 incredible artists: Patrick Leger, Natalie Shaw, Zi Xu, Zoë Van Dijk, Brandon Land, Molly Magnell, Sara Wong, Kim Salt, Nero Hamaoui, and Katherine Lam

[xfilesfanficexchange]

Hi uh I’ve been a xfiles fan since it OG aired , I was 10 , now 39 I never got into fan fic other than shipping them real hard . My Q is where do you suggest I start btw I did recently read The Airport Aka Chillies fanfic that’s what got me wanting more !!!

I try to like whatever one I see on here but I get a little frustrated with some of them being sequential & out of order !!!

Like ok, I should have read this one before that !

Is there a place to go to read them in order or find out if one you red has a sequel or prequel?

Would really love the help !!!

Oh my god, how exciting! You have so many exciting worlds to explore! Welcome, welcome! There are various places to because of how well fans have maintained different archives over the years, but I'll recommend some places to start!

Below I'm going in semi-chronological order. I've included a lot of archive sites that you can explore, and then I've included some of my personal favorite specialized sites (with the exception of the Nursery Files, that's not really my genre but I know others like it. This is definitely not all-encompassing, the more general sites can help you find what your favorite genres are!)

The Gossamer Project

A classic, here you can search different keywords, search different episode tags, etc. The original Gossamer Archive was opened on May 4, 1995 by Vincent Juodvalkis after mirroring files from all the older FTP sites which collected stories from alt.tv.x-files.creative (ATXC) Usenet newsgroup. The last update of the site was in September of 2012.

X-Files Fan-Fiction Alphabetized Archives

Here is, as it states, an alphabetized list of various X-Files Fan Fiction archives. Pretty much-specialized archives of anything you can think of. This also extends beyond just fan fiction, as there are archives for author's webpages, fan art, etc.

Under the Covers Specialized Archive

This archive is a collection of MSR stories in which our favorite FBI agents go undercover... and find each other in the process.

The "I" in FBI Specialized Archive

The purpose of this archive is to showcase stories that feature a casefile or Mulder working as a profiler. This includes both pre-XF stories from Mulder's BSU days and XF time-line stories wherein Mulder and/or Scully are loaned out or assigned to a case.

Two Close For Comfort Specialized Archive

What is Stuck!Fic, you ask? Any story in which two (or more!) people are forced to stay in a certain place by circumstances beyond their control. Whether they're sharing motel rooms, surviving camping trips gone awry, dealing with bad weather, trapped in closets, locked up by bad guys, or even <gasp> going under cover as a married couple--they're stuck.

The Nursery Files Specialized Archive

Each fic archived here has one thing in common: a character within it is a baby, child or teenager. Many of these fics feature Mulder and Scully with children, but Doggett, Reyes, Skinner and other characters have children here too. A few fics include slash pairings as well(any fic listed in blue is a slash one). 

Whispers of X Specialized Archive

But the number one thing on our minds...the main reason we are here is for (drum roll please) "THE SMUT". Yep, ladies and gentlemen, that is why I am here. If you're here for anything else, I would have to say you may be in the wrong place. 

Agents in Peril Specialized Archive

Here you will find stories that deal with Mulder, or Scully (or both), or even some other series or original character getting stalked, kidnapped, or held hostage. 

X-Plicit Disclosures Specialized Archive

This archive contains a wide variety of fan fiction writing styles, content, and character exploration. Primarily it is a MULDER/SCULLY experience (tho' NOT exclusively)...open to the many different interpretations of their relationship that fan fiction has envisioned. These story choices tell, in my humble opinion, honest tales...(Of course let us not forget the redeeming social value of a very well written smut biscuit.)

xphilefic

Another place where you can look at various specialized archives. If you delete the "/archives.htm" in the URL, it will take you to the main page of the site. I don't think you can click the individual listings, but you can click the main three boxes that say "Authors, Archives, Stories"

Live Journal

Live Journal is a Russian-owned social networking service where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary. American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal on April 15, 1999, as a way of keeping his high school friends updated on his activities.

I, personally, fundamentally do not understand how it works. I find it confusing. I don't even know what I linked here because I can't decipher a consisted method of archiving or categorization on the site. Some people like it I guess, but I don't think people use it anymore. (I would say it was most popular from the mid aughts to mif twentyteens).

I feel the same about Wattpad, a similar site.

FanFiction.net (FFN)

In 1998, Xing Li, a software designer, created FanFiction.Net. The site was created as a repository for fan-created stories that revolved around characters from popular literature, television, comics, or real-world celebrities. Apparently, the site prohibits NC-17 stories (and controversially mass deleted explicit stories when this was implemented), however, this rule is not really enforced.

This was very popular in the aughts, but is seemingly being phased out in favor of AO3. Nowadays there are ads in the middle of stories and the site seems to be deteriorating (in my opinion). This site was quite popular for X-Files fic after the series ended. The search engine is a bit finicky, and there aren't many methods of filtering the fic you want.

Archive of Our Own (Ao3)

Ah, Ao3. Our constant, our touchstone.

In 2007, a site called FanLib was created with the goal of monetizing fanfiction. Fanfiction was authored primarily by women, and FanLib, which was run entirely by men, drew criticism. This ultimately led to the creation of the nonprofit Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) which sought to record and archive fan cultures and works. OTW created Archive of Our Own (abbreviated AO3) in October 2008. The site's name was derived from a blog post by the writer Naomi Novik who, responding to FanLib's lack of interest in fostering a fannish community, called for the creation of "An Archive of One's Own." The name is inspired by the essay A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, in which Woolf said that a writer needed space, time, and resources in order to create. AO3 defines itself primarily as an archive and not an online community.

An archivist's wet dream. You can search for fic with the ability to include and exclude certain tags. Hopefully authors are tagging their fics appropriately. This means including what they should and avoiding over-tagging for the purposes of getting more hits. (Just because Mulder thinks of his time on the boat in Triangle once in the length of a 42 chapter fic does not mean Triangle needs to be tagged for example).

Fanlore also here

Also run by the Organization of Transformative Works, this site has great fandom history and links to various works (especially 'classics' in the fandom).

X-Libris

This archive is currently being updated and in very reminiscent of the older archives! Great tagging system and organization. The creator also makes dust jackets!

X-Files Fan Fiction Exchange

Obviously you know about this one haha, but I would be remiss if I didn't hype this up. This is a bi-monthly event where authors write for each other (ala secret Santa) under a different theme. I made a website, but it is grossly out of date, so here are all the Ao3 Collections of the past exchanges!

@anniexami 's Spreadsheet

Annie has been carefully cataloguing the fanfic she's read with detailed tags and warnings, and it's a great resource for trying to find a story to read!

Tumblr

As you know, tumblr is a great place to find fanfic! Though, as you mention, it can be hard to navigate just because the format of the site is more social media-focused than archivally driven. It's all in the author's hands if they link things and tag things appropriately (which can be tricky on their end too). One recommendation I would have, is if you find an author that tickles you, search "authors name" and "masterpost". A lot of people keep an ongoing list of their stories, and I think the posts are a bit more easy to navigate.

Facebook

I hear your disbelief already, but there is a really good fanfiction group on Facebook called "The X-Files Fanfic Writer's Guild" where people promoted their stories, ask for recommendations, and can talk about fic. If the link doesn't work, just facebook search "x files fanfic" on Facebook, go to groups, and it should be there. The Fanfic Exchange also has a group page and a few other of the X-Files themed groups will chat about fanfic from time to time.

Podcasts about X-Files Fanfiction

You can listen to other fans discuss fan fiction, sometimes specific works, other times thematized talks or author interviews. The audiofanficpodcast in particular is available if you'd like to listen, rather than read, fanfiction!

@audiofanficpod @darkesttimeline

Other X-Files Fanfiction Related Blogs that I think are good for finding recs/stories

@lilydalexf @today-in-fic @xfilespornbattle

I hope this gave you a place to start! There are so many amazing stories out there, and I hope you have a ton of fun exploring the worlds that fans have created! I apologize that I can't give you specific recommendations, since I run a fan event, I never want to appear to have a bias or exclude anyone. But if anyone reading this has any recommendations or things I excluded anything important, please comment your thoughts so OP has more to read!

-- xoxo, Nicole

[i-gaze-at-scully]

I have to let you know-- I treaure your fics, all of them, and hoard them here and there so it's a little easier to locate/read them when I'm in the mood. Love your work! Even if you never write a single word ever again, the ones you have written bring me immense joy! :D

😭😭😭😭 oh my goodness you don’t know what this means! I know the exact feeling and am just so honored that someone feels that way about my writing! 🥰🥺 thank you THANK you for this message. It really made my day so much brighter ☀️

[i-gaze-at-scully]

Happy New Year’s, my lovely tumblr family. I have a very good feeling about 2019 (: This is a fic that took hold of me for over five hours today and just didn’t let go. @how-i-met-your-mulder​ had an amazing fic idea and gave me permission to run with it. It reminds me a lot of my movie night series, and it was a lot of fun to write. Tagging @today-in-fic​ and @peacenik0​.

Summary, based on Grace’s idea: Mulder and Scully actually kiss every New Year’s, which explains the underwhelming Millennium kiss. Lots of fluff, a healthy dose of angst, and “a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.” <3 word count: 4.4k (!!!)

To a better year

i. He didn’t intend to whisk her away on a case over New Year’s, especially not so soon after her father passed, but time stops for no man, and there is no rest for the weary. He spends the crux of old and new in a ratty old motel with his new partner.

Mulder has the TV on, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on mute. Revelers in party hats huddle for warmth in the neon and chrome of Times Square. Scully’s knock startles him.

“Have you ever done New Year’s in Times Square?” She asks when he opens the door, standing in the frame in her suit at 11:50 on New Year’s Eve. He hesitates, and she nods towards the TV. “I have it on, too.”

“No, I haven’t,” he answers belatedly, letting her in. “Never had in interest in pissing in a Coke bottle and freezing my ass off.” She smiles absentmindedly at his crude remark. She seems lost in something, staring at the screen with unfocused eyes. Tonight is a time for remembering, reflecting, and Mulder realizes with a pang just how much she’s gone through since she met him not a year ago. She sits carefully on the chair opposite the TV, and he perches himself at the edge of his bed.

“I almost went in college once,” she recalls, eyes still glued to the screen. “Some friends bought tickets and offered to bring me along. I didn’t feel like footing the bill though.” She smiles to herself, chuffs out a small laugh. “They ended up losing their spot to use the bathroom, actually, and none of their pictures developed. It would’ve been nice to be with them, but I’m glad I didn’t go.”

As the pressure of time and gravity pull the ball closer to the ground, Scully’s eyes mist over a bit.

“Have you ever been kissed on New Year’s?” She asks at 11:58. After blinking tears back, she looks at him with as much cheer as she can muster. He regards her skeptically, a smile playing at his lips and the potential proposition.

“Not in a while,” he admits. “Not a bad way to ring in the new year though.” She nods her agreement, and Dick Clark and friends start the countdown from 30.

“‘94 will be better,” she mumbles, a promise or a plea, he can’t tell. He gets up off the bed and crouches beside her. At 7, he kisses her on the cheek. She smiles up at him, and at 0, she kisses him, chaste and quick, on the lips.

“Happy New Year,” they both say at the same time. He chuckles, and, suddenly hyper aware of her proximity, steps back.

“See you tomorrow,” she says, sliding around him gracefully and closing his door gently behind her. He lays back down on his bed and nods appreciatively to himself. He’ll see what ‘94 has in store, but for now he’s choosing to believe his new partner’s hopes for the new year.

Keep reading

[i-gaze-at-scully]

Happy 2022! “To a better year” indeed 🤞🏼

[ashleysjohnson]

favourite characters as voted by my followers:

         5. dana scully 🌑 the x files (1993 - 2018)

[msrafterdark]

Thank you does not begin to cover what I'd like to express. This blog, since its creation in 2013, has always been my baby, and I'm proud of the content I share. It's a special little world.

So in order to "celebrate" as it were, I'm doing something I haven't really strictly embraced fully before. I've begun selling my X-Files fan art.

I'm starting small because I don't know how successful this will necessarily be. As of right now I have three sticker designs up, but if there is a good response, who knows, I might start doing tee shirts and prints. I have one brand new design that I've just created (Sunglasses Mulder) with more to come. This is just for starters.

This has been a long time coming. I've wanted to do something like this forever, and I've gotten countless lovely folks who have patiently asked again and again when I'm going to start selling my work.

Well it's high time I give back for that support.

This isn't about profit. It's about getting my stuff out there and spreading a little more of that X-Files goodness. And I also wanted to do something special for a milestone that (frankly) I'm still astonished that we reached.

I love you all so much. Thank you for helping me get this far. 3K isn't a lot in the grand Tumblrsphere, but it sure feels good.

REDBUBBLE HERE.

[lilabard]

reblog and put in the tags what your total number of notes across all original posts are from this site. it also gives you your top 9 posts.

[i-gaze-at-scully]

Hey guys it’s me! Tagging @today-in-fic and @peacenik0 - help me find the right peeps! Whoever’s around still, whoever’s new. I found this in my freaking drafts, must’ve written it upwards of two years ago. I’ve been thinking of writing again. We shall see!

———

Scully wonders if she could pinpoint the day when she looked in the mirror and dropped her first name. Started thinking of herself as Scully, not Dana. 

Dana takes another lap around the block, huffing out the last of the arid Texas air stored in her tired lungs and letting the bite of winter in DC refill them. She jogs while her mind races, slows to a stop to check her pulse. 

Dana is glad to be home, wants a bubble bath and a bottle (wine or whiskey would do). Wants to take stock of her life and how she’s gotten to the point where she responds more naturally, more tenderly to her last name than her first.

It’s really bugging her tonight for some reason.

When she gets back to her apartment, she ignores the blinking red light on her machine and heads right for the bathroom. She fights to get her sports bra off and sighs heavily when she’s free. While the water runs, she cups her breasts appreciatively for a little. She looks down and sways her head back and forth so that her hair criss crosses in front of her face. Dana’s in no rush. 

She’s flushed from head to toe from her run, the blood racing to her thighs especially. When she sinks into the tub, she hisses at the heat before settling in, switching to a low hum. Finally.

Sometimes she just wants to take a nap in here, languid and loose and unfettered. She spends a good portion of the bath running her hands along her curves, counting freckles and birthmarks, exploring in ways she usually can’t. There’s something beautiful in knowing her body, in being able to see it without ever having seen it. When she’s satisfied, she tests the water tension with the very tips of her fingers, leaves little droplets in a line along her raised thighs until one dominos the rest and it becomes a stream. 

Eucalyptus and sage bubbles tonight. Cab sauv. Vanilla bean candle. Dana really needed this.

She’s humming again, no melody, just the sound of contentedness, when she hears the fumbling of a key outside her apartment and the lock begin to turn. She sits up so quickly she sends a wave over the edge of the tub. She grabs her terry cloth robe and wraps it around herself in time to hear Mulder’s voice float into the room.

“Scully? You home?” His footsteps are heavy, few. He’s poking his head into different rooms. Just like that the mental switch is flipped, the candle’s blown out. With one last forlorn sigh, Scully turns to open the bathroom door and face him, but in the process of doing so, knocks over her wine glass, shattering it. There’s a sharp slice of pain at her ankle and she cries out, reaches her hand down automatically.

He kicks the door in and had she been two inches to her left, he would’ve knocked her down too onto the bed of broken glass.

“Hands u–” Mulder lowers his gun as soon as he realizes there’s no intruder, that she’s safe. But then he registers her cut, and the blood. She follows his eyes down to her ankle. There’s a lot of blood “Oh Jesus, Scully, I didn’t mean… shit, what do you need? What do I do?”

“I’m fine, Mulder.” She hasn’t confirmed that yet, but watching him stand there with his jaw on the floor like that isn’t ideal no matter what her ankle is doing. She removes her hand and winces as the air hits her wound, but she’s right. It’s superficial, no puncture. “Think of it as a bad paper cut,” she explains, reaching up to her medicine cabinet. He intercepts her, handing the box of bandaids to her. She smiles, but puts them down and continues her quest for the Neosporin. 

“It’s bleeding a lot,” she continues, “but it’s not bad. I promise. Hand me that face towel on the rack?” She asks, nodding her chin towards the rack. He grabs her body towel and she bites her lip in frustration. “The other one,” she says as patiently as she can manage. 

“We should clean this up,” he states, staring intently as she cleans and dresses her ankle. “You’re barefoot.” She keeps her gaze down, her lips in a tight line now.

“I can handle it.” There’s a way out, a safe path for her to traverse, but he’s standing directly in the way. She looks up at him and lifts her eyebrows, but he doesn’t take the hint. 

“Let me–”

“No!”

He steps forward, a balancing arm outstretched with good intentions, and there’s a splattering crunch under his foot. Scully manages to stay still, to not panic and step in another patch of glass. She does not, however, manage to bite her tongue.

“Get out of the bathroom!” She shouts, and he stands shocked and mute for a moment before retreating with his palms up and his gaze at his feet, treading lightly. The hurt look on his face does not go unnoticed.

Once she’s safely out of the bathroom, she finds a pair of shoes and sets after the dust pan. Mulder, to his credit, keeps his distance, but holds open a trash bag. As Scully sweeps the broken glass into the pan and begins filling the bag, she tries to flip the switch back, to recapture what she was feeling in the moments before Mulder arrived unannounced. That reminds her -

“What are you doing here anyway?” It comes out harsher than she’d meant, and she avoids his face. 

“Nothing, I was thinking, I just wanted,” he fumbles. “I left you a voicemail.” 

Of course. All of this could have been avoided if she’d just listened to her voicemail. She feels a newly mounting frustration but says nothing.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your evening, I shouldn’t have come over unannounced.” She chances a look and his face reflects the sincerity in his voice. He genuinely feels badly, and Scully softens despite herself.

“I didn’t check my voicemail after my run,” she explains, the dust pan dangling by her side. Mulder’s still holding the bag open. 

[i-gaze-at-scully]

Hey guys it’s me! Tagging @today-in-fic and @peacenik0 - help me find the right peeps! Whoever’s around still, whoever’s new. I found this in my freaking drafts, must’ve written it upwards of two years ago. I’ve been thinking of writing again. We shall see!

———

Scully wonders if she could pinpoint the day when she looked in the mirror and dropped her first name. Started thinking of herself as Scully, not Dana. 

Dana takes another lap around the block, huffing out the last of the arid Texas air stored in her tired lungs and letting the bite of winter in DC refill them. She jogs while her mind races, slows to a stop to check her pulse. 

Dana is glad to be home, wants a bubble bath and a bottle (wine or whiskey would do). Wants to take stock of her life and how she’s gotten to the point where she responds more naturally, more tenderly to her last name than her first.

It’s really bugging her tonight for some reason.

When she gets back to her apartment, she ignores the blinking red light on her machine and heads right for the bathroom. She fights to get her sports bra off and sighs heavily when she’s free. While the water runs, she cups her breasts appreciatively for a little. She looks down and sways her head back and forth so that her hair criss crosses in front of her face. Dana’s in no rush. 

She’s flushed from head to toe from her run, the blood racing to her thighs especially. When she sinks into the tub, she hisses at the heat before settling in, switching to a low hum. Finally.

Sometimes she just wants to take a nap in here, languid and loose and unfettered. She spends a good portion of the bath running her hands along her curves, counting freckles and birthmarks, exploring in ways she usually can’t. There’s something beautiful in knowing her body, in being able to see it without ever having seen it. When she’s satisfied, she tests the water tension with the very tips of her fingers, leaves little droplets in a line along her raised thighs until one dominos the rest and it becomes a stream. 

Eucalyptus and sage bubbles tonight. Cab sauv. Vanilla bean candle. Dana really needed this.

She’s humming again, no melody, just the sound of contentedness, when she hears the fumbling of a key outside her apartment and the lock begin to turn. She sits up so quickly she sends a wave over the edge of the tub. She grabs her terry cloth robe and wraps it around herself in time to hear Mulder’s voice float into the room.

“Scully? You home?” His footsteps are heavy, few. He’s poking his head into different rooms. Just like that the mental switch is flipped, the candle’s blown out. With one last forlorn sigh, Scully turns to open the bathroom door and face him, but in the process of doing so, knocks over her wine glass, shattering it. There’s a sharp slice of pain at her ankle and she cries out, reaches her hand down automatically.

He kicks the door in and had she been two inches to her left, he would’ve knocked her down too onto the bed of broken glass.

“Hands u–” Mulder lowers his gun as soon as he realizes there’s no intruder, that she’s safe. But then he registers her cut, and the blood. She follows his eyes down to her ankle. There’s a lot of blood “Oh Jesus, Scully, I didn’t mean… shit, what do you need? What do I do?”

“I’m fine, Mulder.” She hasn’t confirmed that yet, but watching him stand there with his jaw on the floor like that isn’t ideal no matter what her ankle is doing. She removes her hand and winces as the air hits her wound, but she’s right. It’s superficial, no puncture. “Think of it as a bad paper cut,” she explains, reaching up to her medicine cabinet. He intercepts her, handing the box of bandaids to her. She smiles, but puts them down and continues her quest for the Neosporin. 

“It’s bleeding a lot,” she continues, “but it’s not bad. I promise. Hand me that face towel on the rack?” She asks, nodding her chin towards the rack. He grabs her body towel and she bites her lip in frustration. “The other one,” she says as patiently as she can manage. 

“We should clean this up,” he states, staring intently as she cleans and dresses her ankle. “You’re barefoot.” She keeps her gaze down, her lips in a tight line now.

“I can handle it.” There’s a way out, a safe path for her to traverse, but he’s standing directly in the way. She looks up at him and lifts her eyebrows, but he doesn’t take the hint. 

“Let me–”

“No!”

He steps forward, a balancing arm outstretched with good intentions, and there’s a splattering crunch under his foot. Scully manages to stay still, to not panic and step in another patch of glass. She does not, however, manage to bite her tongue.

“Get out of the bathroom!” She shouts, and he stands shocked and mute for a moment before retreating with his palms up and his gaze at his feet, treading lightly. The hurt look on his face does not go unnoticed.

Once she’s safely out of the bathroom, she finds a pair of shoes and sets after the dust pan. Mulder, to his credit, keeps his distance, but holds open a trash bag. As Scully sweeps the broken glass into the pan and begins filling the bag, she tries to flip the switch back, to recapture what she was feeling in the moments before Mulder arrived unannounced. That reminds her -

“What are you doing here anyway?” It comes out harsher than she’d meant, and she avoids his face. 

“Nothing, I was thinking, I just wanted,” he fumbles. “I left you a voicemail.” 

Of course. All of this could have been avoided if she’d just listened to her voicemail. She feels a newly mounting frustration but says nothing.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your evening, I shouldn’t have come over unannounced.” She chances a look and his face reflects the sincerity in his voice. He genuinely feels badly, and Scully softens despite herself.

“I didn’t check my voicemail after my run,” she explains, the dust pan dangling by her side. Mulder’s still holding the bag open. 

[tiredmoonlight-deactivated20221]

hey x-files friends :) in a few months i’m going to be running a bingo event for another fandom, and i was wondering if that’s something any x files writers and artists would be interested in as well?

if you’re wondering, this is how the event would work: you would sign up as either an author or artist (or both), then receive a bingo card with 15 prompts via dm when sign ups close. over the course of the event, you would write/draw fills for your card and post them whenever, and then put together a masterlist of all your works when the event is over. all ships are allowed, as long as at least one of the two main characters in the ship appears on the show. gen fics are more than welcome as well.

i’m one person, so it wouldn’t be that intense as some other bingo events are (there would only be one round and you’d have a ton of time) and the world minimums for fic would be really short too, like 250 words per fill.

i’ve got it kind of figured out at this point and it would be easy for me to run both events concurrently, so if this is something people would be interested in i’d be happy to do it!

[tiredmoonlight-deactivated20221]

i’ll tag @today-in-fic so maybe more people might see this?

[i-gaze-at-scully]

Count me in!

[i-gaze-at-scully]

Hey guys it’s me! Tagging @today-in-fic and @peacenik0 - help me find the right peeps! Whoever’s around still, whoever’s new. I found this in my freaking drafts, must’ve written it upwards of two years ago. I’ve been thinking of writing again. We shall see!

———

Scully wonders if she could pinpoint the day when she looked in the mirror and dropped her first name. Started thinking of herself as Scully, not Dana. 

Dana takes another lap around the block, huffing out the last of the arid Texas air stored in her tired lungs and letting the bite of winter in DC refill them. She jogs while her mind races, slows to a stop to check her pulse. 

Dana is glad to be home, wants a bubble bath and a bottle (wine or whiskey would do). Wants to take stock of her life and how she’s gotten to the point where she responds more naturally, more tenderly to her last name than her first.

It’s really bugging her tonight for some reason.

When she gets back to her apartment, she ignores the blinking red light on her machine and heads right for the bathroom. She fights to get her sports bra off and sighs heavily when she’s free. While the water runs, she cups her breasts appreciatively for a little. She looks down and sways her head back and forth so that her hair criss crosses in front of her face. Dana’s in no rush. 

She’s flushed from head to toe from her run, the blood racing to her thighs especially. When she sinks into the tub, she hisses at the heat before settling in, switching to a low hum. Finally.

Sometimes she just wants to take a nap in here, languid and loose and unfettered. She spends a good portion of the bath running her hands along her curves, counting freckles and birthmarks, exploring in ways she usually can’t. There’s something beautiful in knowing her body, in being able to see it without ever having seen it. When she’s satisfied, she tests the water tension with the very tips of her fingers, leaves little droplets in a line along her raised thighs until one dominos the rest and it becomes a stream. 

Eucalyptus and sage bubbles tonight. Cab sauv. Vanilla bean candle. Dana really needed this.

She’s humming again, no melody, just the sound of contentedness, when she hears the fumbling of a key outside her apartment and the lock begin to turn. She sits up so quickly she sends a wave over the edge of the tub. She grabs her terry cloth robe and wraps it around herself in time to hear Mulder’s voice float into the room.

“Scully? You home?” His footsteps are heavy, few. He’s poking his head into different rooms. Just like that the mental switch is flipped, the candle’s blown out. With one last forlorn sigh, Scully turns to open the bathroom door and face him, but in the process of doing so, knocks over her wine glass, shattering it. There’s a sharp slice of pain at her ankle and she cries out, reaches her hand down automatically.

He kicks the door in and had she been two inches to her left, he would’ve knocked her down too onto the bed of broken glass.

“Hands u–” Mulder lowers his gun as soon as he realizes there’s no intruder, that she’s safe. But then he registers her cut, and the blood. She follows his eyes down to her ankle. There’s a lot of blood “Oh Jesus, Scully, I didn’t mean... shit, what do you need? What do I do?”

“I’m fine, Mulder.” She hasn’t confirmed that yet, but watching him stand there with his jaw on the floor like that isn’t ideal no matter what her ankle is doing. She removes her hand and winces as the air hits her wound, but she’s right. It’s superficial, no puncture. “Think of it as a bad paper cut,” she explains, reaching up to her medicine cabinet. He intercepts her, handing the box of bandaids to her. She smiles, but puts them down and continues her quest for the Neosporin. 

“It’s bleeding a lot,” she continues, “but it’s not bad. I promise. Hand me that face towel on the rack?” She asks, nodding her chin towards the rack. He grabs her body towel and she bites her lip in frustration. “The other one,” she says as patiently as she can manage. 

“We should clean this up,” he states, staring intently as she cleans and dresses her ankle. “You’re barefoot.” She keeps her gaze down, her lips in a tight line now.

“I can handle it.” There’s a way out, a safe path for her to traverse, but he’s standing directly in the way. She looks up at him and lifts her eyebrows, but he doesn’t take the hint. 

“Let me–”

“No!”

He steps forward, a balancing arm outstretched with good intentions, and there’s a splattering crunch under his foot. Scully manages to stay still, to not panic and step in another patch of glass. She does not, however, manage to bite her tongue.

“Get out of the bathroom!” She shouts, and he stands shocked and mute for a moment before retreating with his palms up and his gaze at his feet, treading lightly. The hurt look on his face does not go unnoticed.

Once she’s safely out of the bathroom, she finds a pair of shoes and sets after the dust pan. Mulder, to his credit, keeps his distance, but holds open a trash bag. As Scully sweeps the broken glass into the pan and begins filling the bag, she tries to flip the switch back, to recapture what she was feeling in the moments before Mulder arrived unannounced. That reminds her -

“What are you doing here anyway?” It comes out harsher than she’d meant, and she avoids his face. 

“Nothing, I was thinking, I just wanted,” he fumbles. “I left you a voicemail.” 

Of course. All of this could have been avoided if she’d just listened to her voicemail. She feels a newly mounting frustration but says nothing.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your evening, I shouldn’t have come over unannounced.” She chances a look and his face reflects the sincerity in his voice. He genuinely feels badly, and Scully softens despite herself.

“I didn’t check my voicemail after my run,” she explains, the dust pan dangling by her side. Mulder’s still holding the bag open. 

[i-gaze-at-scully]

Hey fam I just lost my job. I’m okay, but I’m a little lost too. Thinking of giving up teaching, maybe if only just for a year, because it’s hard to keep the faith plus when else will I get this opportunity you know? 🤷🏻‍♀️ open to thoughts

[mylittleredgirl]

i was thinking this morning about how i categorize fanfic authors that i enjoy like AKC breeds and decided to share my rubric with you:

the specialist: this author has a favorite kink or trope and has written 80% of the content in that tag. you know exactly what you’re getting. they have A Brand™️. no matter what other traits they display, dedicated rare pair authors belong here.

the chocolate box: essentially the exact opposite. this author will try anything once. they have 80+ works in the fandom with no discernible pattern. the shortest one is 268 words and the longest is well over 100k. this breed of author may or may not be related to:

the renaissance fan: they’ve written three things in your fandom: your favorite fic, your notp, and a bizarre crossover with a show you’ve never heard of. you hit “expand fandoms list” on their author page and have to scroll down twice to reach the bottom. whenever you curse the fact that you can’t legally commission fic writers, this is the author you’re thinking about.

the horn dog: they’re here for one thing and one thing only. if someone’s dick is not in another character’s mouth within 500 words, they apologize for it in the author’s notes. they have one (1) g-rated fic.

the rookie: this writer is usually young, new to fandom, or just got a beta-reader for the first time. their fics are a little all over the place, quality-wise, but you’re excited whenever their name pops up because their unique voice gets stronger every time. you feel a personal investment in their development, like you’re an old man reading the local high school sports page and saying “this kid’s the one to watch.”

the live streamer: the most prolific author in the fandom. their works are all over the front page when you sort by kudos. you have no idea how they generate this much work, and have seriously wondered if they have access to an extra-dimensional time portal. their stories are usually un-beta’d and the characterization varies wildly, but their best works are inspired and you’ve read them 30 times.

the cryptid: this one comes out of nowhere every two years, drops the best fanfic you’ve ever read, and disappears. fifteen months after you left a three paragraph comment about how they changed your life, you get a message in your inbox that just says “thanks.”

the novelist: we talk about “filing off the serial numbers” when someone reworks their most popular story to pitch it as an original novel; this author somehow does the reverse. their fics are excellent, usually long-reaching multi-chapter AUs that have almost nothing to do with the on-screen characters except their names. i’d like to extend my personal thanks to this breed of author because it’s the closest i get to reading an actual book.

the reunion tour: this author wrote some of the most popular works in the fandom, but either moved on to k-pop or burned out when canon took a turn for the worse. they put out one new thing a year, often an old draft that’s been haunting them from under the floorboards. their last six author’s notes all say they never thought they’d write this pairing again and “this will probably be the last time.”

who did i miss?

[echo-delta]

the sadist: words are weapons and this author is studying the blade. teases a happy ending to get you hooked. will they deliver? who knows. loves getting comments like “how could you,” “i’m not crying you’re crying,” and “i hate you.” responds with something like “sorry not sorry” or *evil laugh.* your feels will not survive the encounter, but somehow you keep coming back.

[katiehavok]

Affirmations for fanfic authors

It’s okay to take a break. - We all need time to recharge, and your fans will still be there when you get back!

It’s okay to go from fandom to fandom. - Nobody is going to criticize you for following your muse, and if they do, then you know who not to associate with in the future!

It’s okay to have a niche. - If smut is where it’s at, then write smut. If you’re all about the fluff, then schmoop away. If angst is what does it for you, then invest in tissues. Nobody has the right to tell you that you should be doing something else if that isn’t what interests you!

It’s okay to be critical of your own work. - Just don’t allow yourself to become so self-deprecating that you freeze!

It’s okay to ask for help. - If you’re unsure of a trope, concept, fact or universe, reach out to your circle of friends. Chances are, they’ll be more than happy to help you because they want to see you succeed!

It’s okay to ignore criticism. - Constructive criticism is only constructive if it helps you. If someone says something that doesn’t assist or improve you in any way, then please feel free to ignore whatever nugget they are imparting, because chances are good they don’t have the best of intentions for you!

It’s okay to stop writing all together. - Your fans will miss you (and chances are good you have way more than you realize,) but sometimes, you just gotta do you!

It’s okay to write with whatever method works for you. - Long writing marathons where you bang out 12,000 words in one day? Great! Linear, dry style that means you occassionally get stuck because you can’t figure out this scene, but it’s all worth it in the end? Rad! Piecemeal work that you thread together at the end? Fabulous! As long as it works for you, there is no wrong way to write!

It’s okay to have fun. - I think this goes without saying, no? But it seems that sometimes, authors need permission. So consider this permission to wile the hell out, and enjoy the ride!