#fictober24

[baronessblixen]

Fictober 2024

Prefer AO3? Read the fics HERE.

Fictober Day 1: Pixelated Moments - Mulder appreciates Scully saving him after the video game debacle in "First Person Shooter" - and tells her so.

Fictober Day 2: Let The Past Rest In Peace - When Scully runs into Diana Fowley - who she thought was dead - a few truths are uncovered.

Fictober Day 3:Getting It Right - Mulder runs into the man Scully has gone out with a few times, but of course, he's not jealous or anything.

Fictober Day 4: Reasonable Requests - Post-ep for "Rain King": After Holman and Sheila finally get together, Mulder and Scully have their own romantic moment. Unfortunately, Scully also has doubts.

Fictober Day 5: A New Beginning - After their New Year's kiss, Mulder is ready to start the new day and their new life. Scully on the other hand? Would like some sleep.

Fictober Day 6: New Possibilities - (Sequel to Day 3, Getting It Right) Mulder - still not jealous - discovers Scully's date has sent her flowers. What does that mean?

Fictober Day 7: The Moment That Mattered Most - Remember that scene in "Essence" when Mulder pushes Scully toward Krycek so he can protect her? Yeah, that does not happen here.

Fictober Day 8: Just Thinking About Us - Post "Je Souhaite": All Mulder wants is to make Scully's dreams come true.

Fictober Day 9: Heard Any Good Rumors Lately? - Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Jealousy in season 6 when Diana can't wait to share a rumor with Scully...

Fictober Day 10: The Candy Corn Flu - This is for the person who asked me to write about Mulder having a stomachache after eating too much candy corn!

Fictober Day 11: Oh, What A Night - Mulder and Scully are forced to attend the annual FBI charity ball. Chaos ensues.

Fictober Day 12: The Sweetest Tune - It's late at the Hoover building and Mulder hears a noise…

Fictober Day 13: Birthday Surprises - A surprise birthday party for Mulder - thrown by someone you might not expect.

Fictober Day 14: Always Stick To The Plan - The moment between Mulder, Linda Bowman, and Scully in "Kitsunegari" plays out slightly differently…

Fictober Day 15: As Sweet As Apple Pie - Mulder, Scully, and William bake an apple pie together.

Fictober Day 16: The Space Between Words - A moment in "Per Manum" after Scully breaks the bad news to Mulder.

Fictober Day 17: Timeless Revelations - 20 years ago, Scully tried to seduce Mulder and he had no idea - until now.

Fictober Day 18: At The Crossroads - Their car breaks down and what starts as a mechanical problem might just turn into an emotional standoff.

Fictober Day 19: Spare Moments - For the anon who asked for a story where Mulder and Scully are bowling. Bonus points for them eating hot dogs.

Fictober Day 20: And In This Moment I Knew - Scully remembers something Ethan said to her years ago when they broke up.

Fictober Day 21: With Good Intentions - Mulder and Scully have the brilliant idea to set Mrs. Scully up on a blind date with no other than Walter Skinner.

Fictober Day 22: In The Line of Duty - For the anon who asked about Mulder buttoning his shirt wrong and Scully fixing it: Skinner needs Mulder and Scully's help with a case—but first, Mulder needs help getting dressed properly.

Fictober Day 23: Blizzard of Emotions - Mulder and Scully are forced to check into a motel during a snowstorm. Memories, tension, and misunderstandings await.

Fictober Day 24: Steps Toward Tomorrow - What if Mulder had given Scully something other than that rag doll?

Fictober Day 25: A House Is Not A Home (And A Dinner Is Not A Date) - Can you write a fic where an IT billionaire falls in love with Scully and pursues her, while Mulder gets very jealous

Fictober Day 26: Let's Give Them Something To Talk About - Mulder or Scully overhears office gossip about two other agents being placed on separate teams after their workplace relationship was discovered.

Fictober Day 27: Keeping A Professional Distance - Instead of there is only one bed, there are too many beds.

Fictober Day 28: It's Like That - When Diana shows up at his door, Mulder has to choose: her or Scully? But in reality, it’s no choice at all.

Fictober Day 29: Cow-incidences - If you still have enough days left can you do a fic where somehow you can place in this quote “naming your cow Hamburger is crazy. It’s like if you named your fish Sushi.”

Fictober Day 30: When You Know What You Want - Mulder and Scully have to babysit baby Matthew Scully.

Fictober Day 31: No Matter What They Say About Us - Can I request an expansion on the universe? Can you write something with HR when the two come back to the XF in the revival?

[non-cannon]

fictober24 day 30 original

“I won’t let you down.” She said, eager to help.

“I won’t let you down.” She said as the dirt covered her hands and her nails began to chip.

“I won’t let you down.” She said as her entire body dripped with sweat.

“I won’t let you down.” She groaned as her muscles ached and begged for respite.

“I won’t let you down.” She insisted as they ran low on water and food.

“I won’t let you down.” She swore as they found fewer and few survivors.

“I won’t let you down.” She wept as the pile of dead bodies grew higher and higher.

“I won’t let you down.” She coughed as the smoke from the pyres filled her lungs.

“I won’t let you down.” She yawned as she worked through another night.

“I won’t let you down.” She muttered as another thing went wrong.

“I won’t let you down.” She said as they laid the new foundation.

“I won’t let you down.” She said as they raised the new walls.

“I won’t let you down.” She smiled as people began to recover.

“I won’t let you down.” She swore as everything shook again.

“I won’t let you down.” She cried when she saw the new devastation.

“I won’t let you down.” She swore when they had to start again.

“I won’t let you down.” She murmured as a mantra as the bodies piled high again.

“I won’t let you down.” She said through gritted teeth as she pushed through a minor injury.

“I won’t let you down.” She lied when the minor injury became a major one.

“I won’t let you down.” She gurgled as blood filed her lungs.

“I won’t let you down.” She thought as she died.

[non-cannon]

fictober24 day 29 original

How did this happen? How did we get here? How did everything go this wrong?

One day you’re at the top of the world, and the next you’re in hell. We were doing great, flying high, could never fail, or so we thought. And now we’re here, at rock bottom, scraping the bottom of the barrel, shit out of luck. Fuck everything. Fuck them. Fuck us.

Or maybe it wasn’t one day good, the next day bad. Maybe it was more gradual than that. Maybe all the signs of failure and collapse were there, and we just ignored them. Maybe the cracks were always there and we just painted over them, or even just chose not to see them, and in our neglect and willful ignorance they grew. Maybe we could have fixed them if we’d noticed them when they first appeared, but by the time anyone said anything, it was too late. It was far too late, and everything broke.

Everything was already broken, but we waited too long to fix it, certain that it wouldn’t get worse, certain that cracks were only on the surface and not proof of deeper issues, certain that the paint that hid it was the same as glue that could fix it.

Was it ever that good? Or were the cracks foundational? Buried in who knows how many layers of paint. Did we let rot in? Or was the rot always there, and we let it fester. Because things sure are rotten now, and as we take it apart and try to figure out how this happened, we keep finding more rot as we make our way to the core.

We have a flawed system. One that was built intentionally poorly because the architects knew they couldn’t afford to build it correctly. But they gave us tools to fix and improve it. And we did a little, but clearly not enough. And at some point, we willfully forgot that the architects knew it was flawed and wanted it to be improved. At some point we deified the architects and claimed their original work was flawless, and started using that as an excuse not just to stop making improvements, but to let things get worse. If they could see what we’ve done, and not done, with their work, they would despair.

But maybe we can take the good parts that are left, and build again. But this time better, and while remember that change is good and healthy. Just because we were given a broken system doesn’t mean we can’t improve it. Hopefully.

[non-cannon]

fictober24 day 28: fanfic

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[non-cannon]

fictober24 day 27 original

“Let me remind you what is at stake if we don’t do this.” She said, “It’s only the end of the world. I know what we have to do is hard and scary, but it’s necessary.”

“I don’t want do die.” One of the other girls protested.

“Neither do I, but if we don’t do this, we’ll all die anyway. Along with everyone we care about.”

“Are you sure?”

“Maybe not today, but sooner than later. And all of our lives will be filled with suffering until then. I know it seems scary, and the chance of death now is high, but it’s 100 percent if we don’t. And I know the whole world being at risk can be hard to fathom, but think of it like this, not only will we die, but so will our friends, or families, your crushes, SOs, your pets, and that celebrity you really. The end of the world means no more chocolate, no more sleeping in on a weekend, no more silly little treats, no more of your favorite tv show, and no more fanfiction. We will lose everything if we don’t do this. And so will everyone else. I think that’s worth risking our lives for.”

“Why us?” One of the guys asked.

“I don’t know.” She replied. “It could be fate, luck, God, or pure happenstance. But we happen to be the ones to know what’s going on, and what can be done to stop it. Which means we have to be the ones to stop it. No one else will. No one else can.”

“This sucks.” A different guy said.

“I agree,” she said. “But that’s the way it is. Does anyone have any more questions or comments? Because we’re running out of time.”

“Let’s do this!” another girl said. “Let’s save the world!”

A resounding cheer broke out amongst most of the group.

[non-cannon]

fictober24 day 26 fanfic

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[non-cannon]

fictober24 day 25 original

“It consumes me.” I growl, my voice huskier than normal. If I had a mirror, I’m sure I would be able to see that my eyes have turned red. I didn’t think that magic was real when I put the amulet on. I joked about it being cursed when I found it at the garage sale my aunt dragged me to, and bought it as a joke. It was cheep and looked cool. And then I put it on, and never took it off again, not even to shower or sleep.

The first night I wore it to bed, I didn’t think anything of it until I woke up, still wearing it. I don’t wear necklaces that often, and I never wear jewelry to bed. But I wore this one overnight. I considered taking it off, but I didn’t. It’s been a week now, and thoughts of taking it off have long since ceased. Every night I’ve worn it; my dreams have gotten progressively more detailed and arcane. They’re filled with scenes that maybe I would dream up once, but never seven nights in a row. Chanting, old gods, magic, darkness, light, me, power.

It has filled my waking thoughts. Stories, changes, strength, wishes, time, space, us. A week in, and my family has finally noticed despite the fact that my 24/7 necklace wearing should have been noticeably odd from day one. Or maybe they’ve only bothered to ask me today. Well, I answered them “It consumes me. It consumes my thoughts, my feelings, my dreams, my mind.”

“So, just a new hyper-fixation, then?” They conclude, relieved.

I have no answer to this. It is perhaps, to someone outside my brain, indistinguishable from a normal hyper-fixation, but it feels different. It’s no media, or learning rabbit hole, it’s an amulet. One that I will never take off again. I’m sure of it. There’s no lore, except what it whispers into my brain.

Three months later, I take it off, and only occasionally remember that it exists at all.

[non-cannon]

fictober24 day 23

We can fix this, I know we can. Actually, I don’t know if can. Everything is so broken and bad, and we can’t stop trying to fix it, but… Burning it all to the ground and starting fresh seems easier and more attainable. But what will be lost if we do that? Who will die and suffer whilst we’re rebuilding? I know many, many people rely on the system to survive. That without it they would lose their access to food, lifesaving medicine, childcare, housing, and more. But the system is slowly stripping that away from them, from all of us, anyway. In the long run, would less die and suffer if we tore it all down and then built it back up than if we let the current system systematically take it all away, anyway?

I know we’re trying to fight back, to stop them from hurting and murdering any more than they already have. But those with the actual power to do anything have done fuck all, and those of us who are trying are letting the fascists tear us apart with pointless purity tests. I’m glad the died, and fuck everyone who tells me not to be. If it’d been anyone else, he’d have celebrated their death. He died doing what he loved, supporting gun violence. He never believed in empathy. “Political violence isn’t the answer” bullshit. Violence is the only recourse of those who have had every other means of fighting back stripped away. And they’ve made it basically illegal to fight in any other way.

I don’t want to partake in violence, I don’t think I’d be any good at it. But I want all the nazi’s and traitors dead. We hung the nazi’s at Nuremberg, (except the ones we brought back to be scientists, but shh), and killed them in the war. Killing nazi’s used to be commendable, and besides, it seems like the killer was a nazi themself, who killed him because he wasn’t nazi enough. Figures. All the shooters are right wing nut jobs. Even the one who attack the right.

We’re all fucked. And I don’t know that we can fix this. But what other choice do we have but to try? They’ll kill us all if we don’t. Even the ones who voted for them aren’t safe. But even if they come back now, and repent, I’ll never forgive them for trying to kill me. I know hostility won’t help them see the error of their ways, but fuck being the bigger person. They’re the reason I no longer have the energy to care. There are too many other people to worry about.