seek niche and pursue it

So, I pushed all my little anthills into one dust pile because I got sick and tired of having to manually search through my colonies to find that ONE drone. 

The above post became too saturated with links. Therefore, it has become expedient to open a necessary (though inconvenient) Part II.

Separated these from the above sections because, because, because.

1.01 | Pilot

1993

- ain't no one else is doing it like mulder and scully. i am obsessed

- love the storyline. love the cases. well balanced diet of serious and silly, sincere and funny. well paced too, on the episodic and seasonal level. love the blend of sci fi and fantasy

- I am loving the authentic 90s setting and effects. I can't describe all of why I like it, but it scratches some sort of itch very well

- for a show that's over thirty years old, there's bits in there that are. hmmm. applicable. even today

SAN ANTONIO, TX - JUNE 13: David Duchovny and Giancarlo Esposito talk before the game between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs during Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Scully's reaction to Pheobe Green. Scully's first dick joke "Oh is THAT what you were extending?"

Worm checking in Ice like they were trying to tear each other's clothes off.

Mulder wearing Scully's cross when she was missing. He didn't keep it safe, he wore it. On his body. Close to his anatomical heart.

The hug in Irresistible. The chin tip, the kiss on her head. That's a lot to comfort a "coworker."

The shower scene in Die Hand Die Verletzt. Mulder rolls his whole ass body over hers to protect her. While wet. And tied up.

"You never draw my bath" in Revelations. Not an appropriate thing to say to a coworker. Ever. But it's Mulder so it's ok.

Scully's reaction to Dr Bambi.

Scully's reaction to Detective White.

Mulder's observation about Scully's body in Quagmire.

When Mulder voices that he's turned on by Scully's ability to identify a P52 Mustang.

The penlight joke in the cut scene from Home. Is this canon? I count it.

Lying to Congress

Mulder's jealousy of Ed Jerse.

Mulder being the first person Scully calls when she gets her diagnosis. Her journal entries.

Scully not pulling away from Eddie Van Blundht when he tries to kiss her

The sleeping bag joke in Detour.

Mulder's proposal in Chinga.

Mulder asking if his "boyish agility" was turning her on.

The "you're my one in five billion" line is a lot to say to a "friend."

Scully's jealousy of Fowley.

The Hallway Scene.

Mulder kissing 1939 version of Scully then confessing love to 1998 version of Scully.

The ghosts saying Mulder and Scully have "intimacy through co-dependency." The ghosts are correct.

Scully's "switch has been flicked" monologue.

Everything Mulder says and does in Arcadia.

Scully's reaction to Karin Berquist.

Mulder's reaction to Phillip Padgett.

Philip Padgett observes that "Agent Scully is already in love." Not "Agent Scully *loves him*". Agent Scully is IN love.

"It's not a bad piece of ash huh?"

Scully's journal entries in Africa.

Egregiously long forehead kissing and lip brushing.

An extra toothbrush in Mulder's bathroom in Orison.

Messy hair and "he's had a rough night" in Sein und Zeit.

"Not in the widely understood definition of that term."

Dressing in Mulder's bathroom, leaving Mulder sleeping in the bed with no evidence of pyjamas on his body.

Hand Holding on a film set, going on a date using the bureau credit card.

Bed cuddling in Bellefleur. Wearing the same clothes the next morning as you were wearing when you went to your partner's motel room.

Asking your partner to have a child with you.

Having a child with your partner.

Mulder: You haven’t run a toxicological yet? Pathologist: They should be finished shortly. Mulder: I’d be interested to see what you find. When will it be on file? Pathologist: Later this morning. Mulder: I’d like a copy as soon as possible, please. Pathologist: Oh, I’m sorry, you’ll have to go through regular military channels. Mulder: What do you mean, “military”? You’re not F.B.I.? Pathologist: Quantico is under military jurisdiction. There wasn’t an F.B.I. pathologist available this morning.

Yeah, well, he’s trying to find one, okay?? Help him out a little bit. I mean, look at his face.

His person is missing.

tl;dr: Mulder isn't hoarding, he's trying to fit.

It's interesting because Mulder lives a very simple life: by necessity, on the couch, in the basement. Even Scully agrees he chooses a Spartan existence in pursuit of his aims.

However, I'd make the case that he's also a very nostalgic man-- celebrating a launch at NASA (a childhood dream), pouring memories of happier times into Scully's ear (ala Aubrey, Home, etc.), watching old movies (preferably in black and white), struggling with modern technology and preferring to live off the grid (even in the original series), the list goes on.

Mulder's clutter in canon is often research for his work. For example, the items stuffed into his bedroom weren't nostalgic because he neither complained nor commented on their disappearance. A clear, intentional parallel was drawn between his advantaged surprise in Dreamland II - Monday and his devastation in The End.

We know Mulder's a nostalgic man (Samantha fuels his quest and is passed on to Scully in stories.) He watches and tapes old media. We also know he's a messy man, spending more time away from home than in it (i.e. compare his crammed office to his tidy kitchen and dusty living room.) Mulder keeps his video tapes in the basement, for heaven's sake-- along with some trophies, a picture or two, a basketball-- while at home he has a photo album (as seen in Fight the Future), his fish (probably by necessity), and a place to lay his head. And that's it.

In canon, Mulder rarely acquires new items (other than, again, research); but if he does, it's usually light and easy to carry (Max Fenig's hat, Scully's keychain.) Even then, he generally doesn't engage in acquisition (of anything other than evidence.)

The pattern repeats for IWTB and S10: the house mostly uninhabited, the study crammed with research for work. You could make the case that S11 changes this slightly, since his mess begins pouring into the main areas-- but again, they're mainly items he hasn't put away properly, with a glimpse of nostalgic iconography here and there.

If I were to take a guess, I'd say Mulder fits everything in his head, but what can't be contained spills over into manageable piles. (He's nostalgic, certainly; but, again, his nostalgic items are few-- the rest is research). The piles created then compound because he's messy and doesn't organize.

May 13, 1995: "Its a New Age show, definitely," Duchovny agrees while poking at his muesli. "It's a secular religious show. It's saying that miracles do happen. Critics have said that the show is dark, but its actually light not in tone or execution but in philosophy. Most TV shows depict the world as being extremely dangerous. the x-files ushers you into a world of latter-day saints where we can still have magic. The time of miracles has not passed, it says. We're living in it."

In one episode, Mulder contemplates his faith in his sister's abduction: "This belief sustained me, fueling a quest for truths that were as elusive as the memory itself - to believe as passionately as I do was not without sacrifice. But I always accepted the risks to my career, my reputation, my relationships, to life itself." If you're thinking "to boldly go where no man has gone before," you're not alone. Even the grammatical construction known as the otherworldly infinitive prompts deja vu.

In Hollywood, they're talking X movie. X novels are published by harperprism, and topps brings out a monthly X comic book. An X cd is under way, said by producer David was to be a search for the "midpoint between moody ambient music and death metal."

Last June X-Philers, as they are called, gathered at a convention in San Diego to exchange enthusiasms, listen to speeches by supernumerary characters and to wear FBI-style name tags. Since then, similar conventions have been held or are planned for more than a dozen cities.

America Online, Delphi, and other computer services sponsor discussion of the episodes and allow viewers to download FAQs (frequently asked questions). There are online simulations in which fans can assume roles from the show. Here, one can speak the secret language of true fans who gush over Duchovny's WPDF (wounded puppy dog face) or his tendency to be V&C (Vulnerable & Cute). Only aficionados can talk about the CITDBTB (Conversation in the Dark by the Bed), the time when Mulder tells Scully about his sister's abduction.

Online, one can learn the arcana of the show: Mulder is the maiden name of creator Chris Carter's mother. The agent's computer password is trustno1.

The clock next to Mulder's bed always shows 11:31 because November 21 is Carter's wife's birthday. Both Carter and director R.W. Goodwin had cameos in last season's finale as, respectively, an FBI agent and a gardener. Scully's name is a homage to Lost Angels Dodgers announce Vin Scully. Online gossip even suggests that the evil Krycek may somehow be related to Carl Kolchak from Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Daren McGavin's atavistic serioes from the Seventies.

The differences between the X-Files and its ancestors are illuminating. The Twilight Zone and the Night Stalker always maintained a dimension of ambiguity in their spookiness. The twilight zone's famous syncopated theme song reinforced the show's either -or premise: Is it true or just a dream? You decide. Doo-doo-doo-doo.

The X-Files asks no such question. Strange sh-t most certainly does happen in this world: That really was an alien clone dissolving into an aquamarine puddle of ectoplasm. The ambiguity is left to be found in how we explain the mysteries of the universe. Scully wears a cross, but her sister consults crystals.

"The belief in other worlds is a time-honored human endeavor," Duchovny says. "Not to show any disrespect for organized religion, but it is a similar enterprise. People want to believe in another place, a better place, where good people are rewarded. This world is definitely not that place.

(Credit to: @i-still-want--to-believe)

February 20, 1997: RS: Is “Surfing” [magazine] where you developed your taste for booking Mulder and Scully into motel rooms?

So funny!!!!!!!!! One more day til possible moisture in Chicago!!!!!