#“Kids Today Huh?”

[randomfoggytiger]

"Kids Today, Huh?"

(Fictober, Day 12)

Thanks to @stephy-gold and @wexleresque for their prompts! ("Die first by nessa barrett/Is an MSR song/they will die without the other" and "Stopping to look up at the night sky", respectively.) 

*****

Mulder had been quiet since this morning. 

They’d both made plans to stay in; and, while she was shuffled to the bedroom for regular clothes and he shuffled around Spotify for a "dish duty" song, Scully wondered curiously-- well, half curiously-- what he’d choose. Mulder’s taste in music was usually dictated by whatever current rash the local radios or various social media apps instigated, Elvis excepted. (He'd explained once that Presley fit his stringent criteria because "the King" was always topical; and Scully had conceded the point, if begrudgingly.)  

By the time her shower was done, the house was permeated with silence. Upon reentry, Scully noticed Mulder’s shoulders were tense, his hands tightly clenching the counter; and both his ears had little Bluetooth buds-- hers, sinking into the bottomless pit of his ear canal-- blasting muffled noises straight into his ear drums. He spent the rest of the day pretending to be normal while absently squeezing or strangling anything nonperishable she handed him.

Scully tried to invent distractions for him, which Mulder meekly-- no, not meekly: without comment-- completed. When that didn't work, she then tried to engage him in a conversation that required responses other than “yes”, “no”, or “sure”. Noticing that his arm muscles would twitch through every attempt-- practically itching to turn up the volume-- she gave that up, too. Finally, she let him soak in his Byronic mood, and spent the rest of the afternoon riveted by a surprisingly good library book.  

She was halfway through her light read when Mulder’s shadow forebodingly covered the next paragraph. “Scully, I have it on good authority that there’s something happening in that big ol’ sky of ours tonight.” Their own peculiar way of wanting to communicate without communicating.

“Mmm.” She waited a beat, watched his shadow and feet shift in sync. “Let’s check it out.” 

*****

Scully’s earbuds were back in her possession, but only to warble depressing lyrics, stanza after stanza, into her ear. “Mulder, you listened to this all day?” 

He only nodded, eyes fixed dully on the horizon. Well, no wonder: he probably saw the name Nessa Barrett, connected it to the soft spot he held for all Nessie lore, and was siren called to a day of misery and self-recrimination. 

“Yeah.” His cheek bubbled out, tongue habitually searching for a sunflower seed that wasn’t there. “It’s not that crazy, Scully. You had an epiphany of your own while ruminating on the essence of Moby.” 

“That was self-discovery not self-flagellation, Mulder.” 

“But it made you realize things about yourself you hadn't. Put them into perspective. Made you question your choices and the… sacrifices you had to make along the way.” 

Scully stared at him, wondering how best to delicately attack this sudden infection. Mulder gazed unflinchingly at the stars, likely searching for the same solace he’d given her years before-- a keychain and teamwork and hope to ease an ascension and Duane Barry and consequences. She wondered if they were failing him tonight; but chased the thought away. As long as he believed Samantha’s soul was stardust, there was hope. 

It dawned on her. There was hope. 

“Mulder, you told me once that--” she left out you believed for another time, “--that our souls were bound together through time, always finding each other.” Scully also left out Melissa Ephesian (an unnecessary complication.) “And it brought you great comfort then because it meant that the suffering we had and did endure was an opportunity for us to get it right.” 

He was riveted on her face. Thirty years of knowing him told her that. “It’s a nice thought, Mulder. That we were created-- or,” she added for his sake, “came about organically with a destiny that ties us forever to each other. But I couldn’t… I can’t believe it.” He chuffed; and she didn’t need thirty years to know he had a crack comment ready to go. “It would seem too….” 

“Too what?” 

Scully smiled ruefully. “Flippant.” 

“Flippant?” His voice was halfway between aghast and amused. 

“Like I was taking what we have for granted. When I walked into your office that first day--” 

“Our office, Scully.”

“I claimed it as my own during the Tooms case, Mulder-- although it took a bit longer than that to sort your piles into habitable places. The point is, we didn’t have that soul connection then: we had intrigue and respect. It was later that you gave me something I'd never dared to dream of, something I'd unconsciously been searching for."

“Teamwork?” he teased, parroting words from a former conversation beneath the stars.

Who’s flippant now? But flippant was good-- flippant was part of the stages of recovery for Mulder. She needed to take him a little further than that, help him fortify his walls against future “I hope I die first” dark romanticism. 

Scully turned, showing Mulder the starlight reflected in her eyes. “You gave me wonder." Watched his own twinkle slowly return.

“That word has a couple different uses, Scully," he said with a smile, with a little forward tilt. He was almost okay. 

“Well, I wondered at you at first.” Mulder nodded, taking the ribbing on the chin with a wry smile. “But I wondered with you not long after.” She let him bask in the soft glow of reassurance before claiming her victory. “And that proves me right. If it had just been fate, or destiny--”

“--It would be the other way round.” Smart man, her Mulder.

Leaning in theatrically, Scully deftly put everything else behind them. “Mulder, I was promised a good time. So, are you gonna point out some mystery of the universe to me or are we going to stand here fretting over the past?”  

He grinned, himself again; and wound her in and spun her theories while pointing at the stars.

******

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

Tagging @today-in-fic and @xffictober2023 and @fictober-event

#txf #fic #Fictober #Day 12 #2023 #“Kids Today Huh?” #Mulder #Scully #set sometime this year I guess #Revival without Revival allusions #a first for me heheheh #hopefully I got more mature Mulder and Scully correct

[chrisbangs]

Bang Chan .:. My Pace MCountdown [180823]

#chan #bang chan #stray kids #skz #cb97net #createskz #*gifs #*m #the thing is... he literally has NO screen time on this stage i hate mcd <3 #but i call this. making it work #this is because today is a special occasion ................ ; __ ; #big special day in li history... #my heart is beating so fast i dont know what to do ........ #im gonna cry ngl ... #he's really mine huh #thats insane.. thats crazt #throws up... #um! #this is ugly but <3 #i had to... i really needed to gif this stage huhu... #my babie... my beanie baby...:(((((((

[crazymecjc]

“what’s in your pockets, pumpkin?”

#daniil dankovsky #pathologic #oof my art i guess #pov ur running around town DESPERATELY looking for a shmowder #started the bachelor route this weekend bc I Love Him and the fact that he calls the kids pumpkin has been living rent free in my head #I’m just sooooooooooooo #for all his being painted as an asshole he rlly is fundamentally kind huh #simpler lil sketch today but this image would not leave my mind #pathologic my love

[attyattlaw]

"Flame Emperor” Sabo - 2/6 for six fanarts on twitter

#2 hours huh... #sabo #op sabo #revolutionary sabo #one piece #one piece fanart #aite time to sleep #ill draw my contrib for the kid event tomorrow #i had like 4 things i wanted to finish drawing today but i played dauntless all morning bc of peer pressure

[minty-bunni]

Danny developing any chronic condition that leads to periods of joint stiffness (and other things, but the major part is stiffness) has a ton of angst potential in regards to his status as one of the living.

Imagine being something in between life and death and then your joints get all stiff for the first time. I'd imagine someone in that situation who is unsure of their humanity *might* just jump to thinking it was rigor mortis starting to kick in.......

#danny phantom #welp guess I'm not a kid with cool powers because my body is doing corpse stuff now #except it isn't doing corpse stuff it is doing my body is a torture chamber stuff #and let me tell you doing anything wjen your hands are stiff af is so bloody hard because dropping stuff constantly is a thing #and then you move like a zombie because sorry my knee is basically FROZEN in place rn #point is Danny with joint issues neurological issues or chronic illness is somethine this fandom can use #I personally hc fibromyalgia danny #because if I get to suffer with my body randomly pulling this bs then he does too #post exists because my left hand did the thing today and I was just like huh so this is what being dead feels like #then I was like wait a sec we can torture Danny with this

[tranakin-skywalker]

Little baby boy baby

I’ve got this thought that togruta’s coloring will be all washed out and faded when malnourished, and becomes brighter and more vibrant the healthier they are. So, have fun with that

#babykin #togruta anakin Skywalker #togrutakin #myart #I’m on a togrutakin kick today #if tog coloration is tied to their health then you know Vader is a washed out bitch under that suit #speaking of I need to design a tog vader #what do the hyenas call togruta Vader again? #oh right. it’s tograder #me every time babykin in mentioned: hey hey. you ever think about how the child slave character was probably starved? #you ever think about all the fucking health issues that poor kid probably had? that his fucking owner would withhold food as punishment? #you ever think about how his other fucking owner would go on to literally make it impossible for him to eat? #huh? you ever lie awake at night and think about that? #cuz I do

[kicktwine]

im really glad alphinaud has friends! Like his age friends! good for him. that being said LMAO

#play game #shadowbringers spoilers #I’m in a screenshot mood today. he thinks estinien is SO cool (he’s kinda lame but he’s also way cool yeah) #also this kid. didn’t make friends with boys his own age when he was younger because what if they were in charge. kid. #glad am I that we grew out of that huh GSJH

[braceletofteeth]

Get out! Get out of here!

#tale of the nine tailed 1938 #lee yeon #lee miho #and a bunch of extras #1x04 #gifset #* #// #true. the cinema is not a place for a crying baby. even when you're running from the police. #but also f*** all of you who have learned to cry on the inside and would rather everyone did the same. you're cowards. #especially the ones that are mean to kids about it #YOU HAVE NEVER CRIED BEFORE‚ HUH? NEVER FELT SCARED OR SAD OR HUNGRY‚ HUH? #GOOD FOR YOU. #ok maybe I'm too passionate about this suhdgdhhshdhd I loved this part and didn't find it anywhere to reblog so I had to bring it myself 🥲 #can't believe the first set of 1938 gifs I make is from a dark scene inside a movie theater ushshchd I know it looks awful I'm sorry #but that's what we got for today (Crying Rights)

[l1vyatan]

Sebastian is so prertty i want to kiss him so bad...

I want to hold him gently and smooch him...

#hes so cute.... why isnt he real #who am I kidding even if he eas real hed never look at me #im making myself cry again... today's jusy not my day huh

[yangjeongin]

FELIX | ( 220812 ) • SEOUL FESTA 2022

#felix #stray kids #bystay #createskz #staysource #staycompany #malegroupsnet #flashing tw #*gif #*ccarly #*carly:felix #*felix #hiiiii #i ran out of things to do today so i was like guess i better. show signs of life on that tumblr site huh #this guy looked so good... #i'm late as hell on this but w/e....i do what i want #if all goes well i will belatedly gif the hj practice room soon too i am timestamping it rn #went sicko mode and wrote nearly 5k words yesterday so now i am just sitting here

[tchaikovskym]

I think book Sophie's inner monologue regarding Howell could be summarized as "fuck, I love that guy."

And it's just yeah.

I mean, Sophie just learned how to enjoy freedom (from being old). To just be her weird self, doing whatever she pleases and not hiding a bit.

And in her freedom, she realizes she's in love. The freedom being free of all the emotional webs, the burden of thinking about your every step, your role in a society. Old age gave her that. And what she ends up doing anyway? Having feelings! The thing she wanted to escape from! But oh! She's not losing her freedom a one bit by being with him! She just has a guy to share her weird self with, who loves her back.

#creation of insomnia #hmc #sophie x howl #sorry im reliving fictional romances tonight and thinking about them #yeah im normal. im totally fine #my boss told me today that i WILL have husband and kids #and i was like. huh. #really #she said it like its inevitable #but girl. girl. youre wrooonnggggf dndhdj hehehe #no one knows im queer and its suffocating but also hilarious

[payasita]

whatever

#lego monkie kid #monkie kid #doodles #starting tomorrow im a manager #we're all just kind of doing whatever huh #lmk s4 #lmk s4 spoilers #lego monkie kid season 4 #i was gonna post a crop of azure instead but it just made him look full ass naked #these count as my figure studies today

[butchniqabi]

we had an assembly today where a zoologist from a local zoo came and talked about animals and had some people come up and touch the animals he brought and when he pulled out the snakes i got really excited and was like!!!! omg the babies!!!! and when he started to put them away and move on i was clearly a lil disappointed and the kids around me IMMEDIATELY started screaming "WAIT SHE WANTS TO HOLD THE SNAKE" i was like i Told yall not to yell omg 😭😭😭

#i didnt get to hold the snake but i was like omg yall got my back 😭 they were so cutw #today was fun!!! even though we didnt do much #i tried helping some of my kids with math hw and they showed me what they do to simplify fractions and i was like HUH #it was so confusing! like it made no sense whatsoever i was like.....just divide the fraction til you cant anymore...

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

get yourself a cat who will smack you impatiently, then once you pick her up she sprawls on your back to groom herself, and five minutes later gets up to Sneeze 3x in your freshly washed hair

#this cat i swear to fucking god. shes so Funny #she literally. sometimes when shes impatient she'll do the stretchy reachy thing #but this time she just. reared up and smacked me with both paws. and claws #then she had the AUDACITY to sit there looking at me like i personally spayed her #until i picked her up. then she did the above #like GIRL #i had to put my pizza away while hunched tf over #she has too much personality. like put some Back #(kidding. shes perfect (a menace)) #absolutely unprompted #and then she immediately did something Else that was hysterical #i put the pizza away i refilled my water #then i was gonna go back to my room and she was sitting there looking at me with a Very displeased expression #very clearly being like 'am i invited into your room. youve kicked me out twice today. am i Allowed. huh.' #so i passive aggressively stuck my arm out a la ~After You Your Esteemed Highness~ #and she. she IMMEDIATELY leapt up and galloped to my room #WHO GAVE HER THE RIGHT- #swear to fuck a wizard turned her into a cat. she's too Human #which i would fully believe if i hadn't taken her from her mother myself as a teeny kitten #Wow That Sounds Fucking Mean lmfao #but god damn. tonight she has quite the Attitude #on another note i just had to kill a spider on my freshly washed rug. which i washed last night bc i had to kill a Different spider on it #i think i scrubbed the Residue out well enough #either way im not going through the ordeal of rug washing again #i need a different one. i still Really want a cowhide rug. ill settle for fake ikea wool for now

[docterzerocare]

So an interesting side affect of being a qsmp fan and a daycare teacher is the inexplicable want to make a minecraft daycare/school, and that manifesting as the dream i had last night where i was an island resident reading to the eggs after nap time

#yes i woke up sad cause theyre still gone #no i dont remember what book i was reading #it was one of those dreams wher youre sort of you sort of a character idk #when at work today i legit had the thought of huh this kid reminds me of tallulah 💀 #the fixation is hyper ig #anyway quackity give me my kids back #qsmp #qsmp eggs mention #doc talkz

[irrigos]

a while ago i wanted to start writing full reviews of exceptional stories but tbh i think the fact that, when i dont understand something, i assume the problem is that i am simply not good enough for that piece of media, and not that. yknow. it might just not be very clear? means im really not cut out for reviewing art LOL

#BOY. that “growing up as a constantly invalidated neurodivergent kid” thing really sticks with you huh! #who could have guessed #anyway. how's everypony doing today