cecilysass

[cecilysass]

Hi, I’m Mel Stanfill. I am a scholar at the University of Central Florida whose research focuses on fan studies, and I want to understand the opinions of media fans about the use of generative AI tools (like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and others), both in general and as part of the creation of works like fan fiction and fan art in particular.

If you would like to share your thoughts, please take this online survey that will take approximately 15-20 minutes and tell me what you think:

Please also reblog to help me get more responses!

[cecilysass]

Okay two observations about this scene:

1. I’m obsessed with the extra in the background behind Scully in the 8th gif here, the woman pushing a baby carriage in some kind of southern belle straw hat, like she got lost from the set of another show or something

2. I see bee pollen sold at my local grocery store and it never fails to make me spend the rest of my grocery shopping thinking about this scene and how I don’t really like the canon detail that Scully adds it to her yogurt. It seems like something that might’ve been common enough among entertainment industry professionals in LA, but would be considered more fringe among government employees in DC—and it doesn’t seem a likely quirk for Scully to me. But there could be a great fanfic explanation for why she does it, and there probably has been.

how to say "I love you" in x-files [105/?] ⤷ 6.04 — “Dreamland”

[cecilysass]

the lowest it can possibly go is "severe" and that's only when he's busy doing something incredibly stupid

[cecilysass]

also sometimes i wish discussions of "fandom misogyny" were less focused on the treatment of fictional women by fans and more focused on how women IN fandom are often treated, especially over things like sexual content, age, gatekeeping who is "allowed" to make certain types of queer content, etc. but again, saying that will make a lot of the worst people on the internet big mad

[cecilysass]

I kind of hate even asking this question but I’m going to ask it anyway.

Why do you think CC decided to totally retcon the mythology in the revival? Do you think he was bored of it? Did he think it didn’t fit in with “modern times”?

I know the mythology was kind of a mess at the end but I don’t think it was so bad that it was beyond saving.

It’s just, when you watch the struggles and accept the retcon it makes the Orginal Series feel like a waste of time. I’ve also heard theories that the Struggle episodes are told by an “unreliable narrator” for example CSM is an unreliable narrator in MSIII, Jackson is unreliable in MSIV. That just sounds like a cop out. It all just gives me a headache honestly. 🙁

tl;dr: CC is interested in new ideas; and will always be willing to cast off old ones in pursuit of fresher perspectives. His passion for the latter mythology was born from Dr. Simon's and Dr. Fearon's last-minute theory; but when it got fan backlash, he pivoted the focus from his revitalized mythology to the abandoned William arc. However: because he was chasing tantalizing ideas rather than a focused conclusion, Carter completely fumbled in his attempts to close up old threads in order to start afresh.

A couple reasons:

CC and Spotnitz wrapped up the original mythology in Season 6 (One Son), deciding that it had both blossomed out of control and somehow come together. Mythology wrapped up, they then finished off the Samantha arc in Season 7 and began a new mytharc in Season 8. Season 8's Existence, according to Spotnitz, functioned as the end of the original X-Files as a whole--

Spotnitz: "And the series will be different, whoever comes back for it [Season 9]-if there is another year. We’re still working out what that final story is, but there are a couple of elements that we know are going to be in there. And those two elements close the chapter.”

and,

Spotnitz: Whatever I said, what I mean to say is that 8 years of the series will come to a close this May, regardless of whether there is an X-Files next season. I actually believe most of the important questions about the mythology have already been answered, believe it or not, and you will see some new ones asked in upcoming shows.

--leaving room for Season 9 to begin a new chapter for the show (one no longer centered on Mulder and Scully's evolving story, since it had been concluded.)

That... didn't work. So, IWTB's focus, years later, was on a MOTW instead, with the hope that it would succeed and become a stepping stone to a movie-mythology franchise series.

That didn't work, either. But CC never gave up hope for a 3rd movie.

Then 2015 rolled around and FOX approached him for a revival.

Carter: I had one question thrown out to me at a meeting. [Fox Television CEO] Dana Walden asked, “If there were another series, when do you think you could begin work on it?” It wasn’t an overture, more of a practical issue. That was before the show ever aired and they knew what the ratings would be. There’s been no conversation about doing more of these. With the ratings news, it’s hard to imagine that they wouldn’t come back to us.

I would love to do another movie. Especially coming off that second movie, which had such a heavy weight upon it: A summer-release, low-budget movie, with no promotion, in a crowded field of tentpole fare. I was asked to do so much with so little. And I tried! If we were to do another movie, it would need to be akin to the first movie, which I thought was a story worthy of the big screen. That said, I can’t imagine they won’t want to somehow figure out how to do this on TV.

CC didn't know where to take the show, and only signed on after being told the season would be short (and might give him a movie, which is what he really wanted.) It was Dr. Anne Simon that actually got him excited about the mytharc again: as she tells it,

"What was the Conspiracy? This [Struggle I and II] is the conspiracy. Now, did Chris know that this was the conspiracy [since the original show]? Obviously not-- because I told him what the conspiracy was. But he knew that there was a Conspiracy-- he just didn’t know what it was. But when I told him, when I gave him this idea [plot for MSI/II], he was just, ‘This is amazing’-- I mean, he was so happy. ‘I want more, I want more, I want more!’ And every time I sent him these pages, typed pages, he was just, he was extremely happy. I could tell how happy he was.”

(Dr. Anne Simon's an interesting rabbit hole to go down, btw. Gonna do a post on her contributions in the future.)

He redid the focus of the show in Season 10; and his writers and collaborators and even his actors-- David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, both-- thought it was a well-written season (I know....) But the fans did not.

So, CC made a statement after FOX confirmed S11: shippers had been heard-- there would be more MSR and William. So much so, he brought William back purposefully to give his arc a resolution.

And when that didn't work out-- when CC's 'perfect' ending was hated by fans (and famously, Gillian) for feeling more like a cop out than an address-and-move-forward conclusion, he felt slighted and misunderstood.

In short, Carter wasn't invested in his series anymore-- and, to be fair, neither were David and Gillian: all three (and Spotnitz) wanted to do movies instead. FOX said no; so, they took on Season 8 and 9. When the middling traction from S8 flopped in S9, CC deviated from the mytharc and did IWTB. That flubbed; and he let the matter rest for a few years (still hoping for more movies.) When FOX only agreed to do another series, he didn't know what to do with the mytharc. Then Dr. Anne Simon and Margaret Fearon gave him a direction-- and, yes, both worked on (and cosigned) the mytharc episodes-- and got him excited to do something new; and more of it. And we all saw what happened thereafter.

(Dr. Anne Simon also worked on the OG mytharc episodes, and has nothing but good things to say about them and the Revival. Again, a future rabbit hole.)

In conclusion: once CC's interest is engaged, he loses track of all else and devotes his aspirations to that one thing-- to the detriment of not only the whole picture (i.e. mythology) but also other equally important moving parts (i.e. Gillian's desire to move on.)

I could go on, but I think that's it for now.

[cecilysass]

Fic: I Can See You (Up Against A Wall With Me) (M, MSR)

1500 words; M for sexual situations; Skinner goes out to a bar and catches his supervisory agents consorting, because that's what my beloved @brenayla wanted for her birthday (tw: alcohol) also available on AO3

+ + + +

I was out at a bar. I do that sometimes, go to bars. Not as often as you’d think. Too many people in this town can recognize a fed. Maybe it’s the shoes. I get noticed. Somebody wants to buy me a drink. Eventually, they ask for a favor. Might take a few dates, but it’s inevitable. To tell you the truth, I’m tired of it.

But every now and then, I still go to a bar. Otherwise it’s lonely office to lonely apartment, maybe a stop at the gym. I try to tell myself doesn’t bother me. Tonight I made some pasta and a salad, pretended I was enjoying a glass of cheap wine. But then there wasn’t anything on tv to distract me from the silence. Eventually I put on some jeans and a t-shirt and my least-fed-like sneakers. I was looking for company who wouldn’t understand what a GS-14 was. Not so easy to find around here.

This bar was on the edge of DC, far from Capitol Hill and all the federal buildings around it. It was a little dive-y, but fuck it, I was looking for a good time, not a constant companion. I ordered a rum and Coke. Not the most dignified drink, but I wasn’t there because I was dignified. Besides, they remind me of drinking with my buddies in the Army. I can only have a couple before the less-enjoyable memories start creeping in, but they’re a nice start to my night. I’d just settled in, leaning on the bar, when I heard a woman laugh.

I’d heard that laugh before. Not often, granted. She hadn’t had much to laugh about the last few years. But it was unmistakable. I tried not to turn and look, but then I heard it again, and the pull of it was irresistible. It bubbled up in her, the laugh, like she was the first person to discover joy. Clean and pure and contagious, like a baby’s laugh. And there was his laugh, a rumbly chuckle that harmonized with her high-pitched giggle. Her honest-to-God giggle. There was no other word for it.

I scanned the place casually, pretending not to. They weren’t at the tables. They weren’t in the booths. I didn’t see them anywhere, until—a glint in the short dark hallway that led to the bathrooms. Red hair. She was pressed up against the wall, looking up at him while he leaned over her. Damn if I hadn’t seen the same look on their faces before somehow in every meeting, even when they were sitting five feet away from each other in separate chairs. My field agents. Mulder and Scully.

Huh. I’d wondered for years if they were together. Maybe they had been, maybe not. They’d had that kind of way about them since day one. This was less ambiguous: in the shadows, in a bar, his arm against the wall beside her head as he tilted toward her. She tipped her head up toward him, a crystal-clear invitation. Hell, I almost ran over there and kissed her. But she wasn’t looking at me. Mulder took his sweet time closing the gap between them, but then they were kissing, in a leisurely way that suggested this was far from their first time.

Lust hit me like a punch to the gut. The way they kissed: you could feel the hunger in it from across the room. She nipped at his lower lip and he grinned. She reached out and hooked her finger through the belt loop of his jeans, pulling him closer. Her back arched as he pressed against her. He said something, his mouth skidding across her cheek to her ear. She laughed again, throatier, huskier. Aroused. Asking. He kissed her again, deeper, and it looked like a promise. His arm slipped around her waist and locked her body against his.

Fuck. I hadn’t gotten laid in way too long. I had to stop watching them. It was creating an uncomfortable situation for me in more ways than one. But after every swallow of rum and Coke, I glanced back and then away again. I couldn’t help myself. They were attractive people, that was just a fact. I’d spent too many years with them not to know that. It occurred to me that I knew what their sweat smelled like. For some reason, that didn’t help my situation. I could almost feel the friction of denim on denim, could almost smell the worn leather of his jacket and the citrusy shampoo she used to rinse away the funk of the morgue.

They might not even make it back to whichever one of their apartment was tonight’s destination. They might shift sideways until they tumbled into the bathroom. He might pick her up and fuck her against the creaky metal partition between the stalls. She might slip her fingers under his waistband right there, coolly competent, and jerk him off in the hall while he whispered promises about what he was going to do for her later, how he was going to worship her with his body. Mulder was the type, all that brooding romantic shit. He probably ate pussy like it was his religion. And I had no doubt Scully could give as good as she got. I’d known a few Catholic girls in my day.

Scully moaned. I swear I heard it from across the bar. Mulder had his hand in her hair, his other arm still around her waist. She was clutching his jacket like her knees were too wobbly to hold her up. Their kisses were faster now, a little sloppy. Six years of restraint, abandoned. I mean, goddamn, I’d seen them make a handshake look like a hard fuck. I could only imagine what they were actually getting up to in the bedroom. Or the bar bathroom. Or, and I don’t know why this hadn’t occurred to me before, their isolated basement office.

I was in trouble. I was never going to be able to look at either of them again, or go down to the basement office. It was going to smell like sex in there, regardless of what had actually happened. I could imagine what had happened, over and over, probably for the past few month. Actually, I couldn’t stop imagining it. It was a fucking shame they were my subordinates. A real fucking shame. As in, a shame I couldn’t fuck them, or at least watch.

My glass was empty. I glanced down. No way I was getting up. I tapped on the bar for another. I needed to at least shift myself somewhere less obvious. I was sitting right under a light, which was no doubt illuminating my big bald head like a full moon. The only thing I had going for me was that they were so wrapped up in each other, they didn’t seem likely to notice anyone else.

I glanced back over. Mulder had both hands under Scully’s ass. I could see his fingers flexing, kneading her ass through her jeans, maybe lifting her and spreading her cheeks so she could anticipate the way she’d open for him later. She had both arms twined around his neck, her hands in his hair. She was tonguefucking his mouth. It was all I could do not to groan into my glass. I was hard as a rock, throbbing with jealous need. I slurped the ice out of my drink and crunched it to distract myself. My hand and I were going to have a brief encounter after this, maybe in the same damn bar bathroom. Maybe another solo rendezvous when I got home, unless I found someone willing to go with me. But fuck, there was no way I’d last long enough unless I found some quick relief.

When I looked over again, they were gone. The back alley exit was still swinging closed, Scully’s laugh drifting through it one last time. At least I wouldn’t be jerking myself off in the stall next to them while they were fucking, although on second thought, that had a certain tawdry appeal. Either way, the night was over. I drained my glass and slapped a 20 on the bar to cover my tab. There were other bars in this neighborhood. Maybe I’d find a date there. This bar belonged to Mulder and Scully now. I’d never be able to come here without seeing them kissing in the shadows. Kissing and touching and moaning and that was either an unproductive line of thought or a way too productive one, depending in your point of view.

Monday was going to be damn interesting. At least I might get some money out of the office pool to cover the next lonely night out.

[cecilysass]

life sucks but at least you didn't get divorced, attend the golden globes physically attached to your co-worker at hand and hip, win a golden globe, kiss your coworker on the mouth, forget to thank him in your speech, then have to stand by on stage while he wins a golden globe and emphatically remembers to thank you, which is exactly when you and the live tv camera realize you forgot. that's what it was like to be gillian anderson in 1997

[cecilysass]

Fic Recommendations: DeadAlive

So I really like post-DeadAlive fics. Not because I’m a big resurrection story fan (Jesus / Osiris stans, no offense) but because I can’t get enough of angst, repressed feelings and baby daddy reveal drama. I am going to post a version of my very own later this week. Meanwhile, I read a lot of these, so I thought I would share some recs. Here are a few of my favorites.

Slow Returns - o666666  You just don’t know how often I reread this. I love it so, so much. This one puts the emphasis on Scully’s trauma, and it’s so angsty, and it’s so sweeeeeet. I tear up every time.

DeadAlive AU - @markwatneyandenesemble I always say I actually think this should probably be called Three Words Canon Divergence or something, but whatever it is, I love it. The premise is two specific changes to canon. When Mulder comes back from the dead: (1) he has memories only to 1996 and (2) Scully isn’t visibly pregnant yet.

Author Skuls seems to feel about about this subgenre like I do, because she seems to have written a lot of post-DeadAlive, and I’m not complaining. Here’s a little DeadAlive Skuls tasting trio:

the smaller odysseys - skuls (@ghostbustermelanieking)  An AU DeadAlive fic in which Doggett convinces Skinner to keep Mulder’s resurrection a secret from Scully for longer. This ends like awwwwwwwww.

ashes and dust - skuls (@ghostbustermelanieking)  A largely canon-compliant DeadAlive / Three Words deep dive.

inches between them - skuls (@ghostbustermelanieking)  Another Skuls fic on this subject, also exceptionally sweet.

Doctor, Copper, Sailer, Corpse - Scarlet Baldy This is a series of first person vignettes from Scully POV. Extremely angsty and a little painful, with a very self-destructive version of Mulder here, but ultimately a hopeful ending. 

Ray of Light - OnlyTheInevitable (@gaycrouton) Honest conversation, then hot pregnancy sex—a Three Words fic we can all get behind. Which I think is actually one of the suggested positions for pregnancy sex.

Words, Words, Words - Circe Invidiosa (@invidiosa ) I’m not much of a Doggett fan, but I love this fic about Doggett breaking things down for Mulder. This is subtly written and moving— a heartbreaking Mulder characterization, in my opinion. home run - kittenscully Another great “Doggett gets involved” fic. Also very moving. Apparently this is how I like my Doggett. The Laws of Coming and Going - Buckingham A gentle Mulder-centric fic focused on his good intentions and slow moves back towards connecting with Scully. Very in-character and sweet. Hour of Lead - DarlaBlack (@sigritandtheelves) This is an excellent read — but watch out for the bleak, tear-out-your-heart ending. It's only painful because it’s canon compliant, so warning: you have to remember what happens with Scully’s longed-for miracle baby in canon. Waaaaah. So much angst. Untitled - @wtfmulder I see you, you wildly touching little drabble. This is set between Three Words and Empedocles, and it’s meant to explain the seeming change in Mulder’s attitude, and why does this make me cry?

What have I missed? Y’all have other post-DeadAlive fics you like? Have you written any? SEND THEM MY WAY.

[cecilysass]

THE X-FILES: (03x03), d.p.o.

[cecilysass]

The reason why Scully and Mulder clicked so quickly and mesh so well as a pair is because they both posses a very natural, intense curiosity. It manifests in different ways, and in slightly different areas of interest, but the spirit is one in the same, and I think they recognize and love this in one another.

Scully is different, and so immediately endearing to Mulder, because she’s the first person to want to know what he thinks, and why he thinks the way he does, instead of writing him off outright. He's an interesting puzzle to her. Even if she’s steadfast in her constant disagreement, her curiosity itself is—in a way—an act of validation, respect, care.

Mulder is so immediately endearing to Scully because the way he thinks is unusual for their profession, and probably refreshing. He's anti-bureaucratic, emotionally sensitive, unapologetically strange. A "lone wolf" yet so open and easily taken by her. It turns out, his curiosity in the supernatural was born from something equally fascinating, and all too rare: his care for other people.

And love is a kind of curiosity… a deliberate interest, a constant desire to know…

[cecilysass]

Hello gang

How are we feeling about this supposed x files reboot? Thoughts?

[cecilysass]

Ohhhhh this gifset and some of the reblogs reminded me of this delightful fic about Mulder and Scully on stakeouts over the years:

Parked Cars - Sarie_Fairy @sarie-fairy

If you haven’t read it and you’re good with high smut content, highly recommended.

how to say "I love you" in x-files [127/?] ⤷ 1.21 — “Tooms”

[cecilysass]

I haven’t posted this here yet but I think y’all should see this picture of David Duchovny dressed like me as a toddler

[cecilysass]

Mulder, Scully, and the 5 Love Languages

(Credit to: @reduxfiles)

I find MSR-- romantic and noromo-- intriguing when viewed through the 5 Love Languages lens.

Mulder's love language: physical touch. Undoubtedly. His exes could betray him, his father could ice him out, his mother could slap him, his partner could snipe at him, but he will always, always reach out.

Scully's love language: acts of service. Starbuck to her Ahab, habitually acting on her abilities to bring justice to a world filled with villainy. She accepts physical affection, gifts, and one-on-one time with her close loved ones (even if sometimes accompanied by an upturned eyebrow); but the natural language of her devotion, platonic and romantic, is in her work ethic and steadfast loyalty.

The genius of this dynamic: Mulder and Scully don't communicate "normally" because they don't need to in order to share and receive love (largely.) Mulder feels loved without verbal confirmation as long as he's physically included. Scully, too, feels loved in silence as long as Mulder acknowledges her strengths as a doctor and scientist. Both don't exchange gifts frequently (Tempus Fugit), don't intentionally carve out quality time together (Small Potatoes, The Unnatural), don't regularly exchange words of affirmation (Fight the Future)-- and yet, they remain uncannily in sync.

The weakness of this dynamic: Mulder and Scully avoid intimate, personal, or revealing conversations in order to shrink from rejection. No "I appreciate you", no "I love you", no "I need you"-- instead, they code their allegiance in terms committed to the work: "Mulder, I wouldn't put myself on the line for anybody but you"/"You have to believe me... you're my one-in-five billion."

Why it succeeds: Mulder and Scully take their sweet time healing and working on themselves before canonically tackling a relationship. By weaving around words of affirmation, in-depth quality time, and personalized gifts, they are able to sustain plausible deniability as long as possible without feeling excluded, discarded, or used-- until it's time for a direct approach. As their partnership progresses, so, too, do the fundamentals. So, too, do their communication and expectations. So, too, do they.

[cecilysass]

how to say "I love you" in x-files [110/?] ⤷ 1.08 — “Ice”

[cecilysass]

did you know i'm normal about the x files. anyway 2 minute long msr fancam

[cecilysass]

I’m watching Splash (1984) which is a romcom about a guy who falls in love with a mermaid, and when she chooses a human name she chooses Madison and guy says “that’s not a real name, but alright” which seems to imply that Madison was not a name until at least the 80’s and all girls named Madison are actually named after the mermaid. thought you should know