Cross stitch projects to stay calm in the evenings

#xfiles25days

Day 25: fav MSR hug

What a soft spot for the Unnatural, with gratitude to whomever made this mix of photos. It is sweet and playful, as was this exercise in Xfiles for the holidays. Thanks for brightening my feed, all ❤️

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Day 21: fav Mulder scene

“…you saved me. As difficult and as frustrating as it's been sometimes, your goddamned strict rationalism and science have saved me a thousand times over. You kept me honest. You made me a whole person. I owe you everything, Scully, and you owe me nothing.”

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Day 18: fav photo shoot

Product for days.

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Day 17: fav season 8 ep

Parts of it are a bit grim, but I love the things we learn about them in Per Manum. The Scully vulnerability and the hope, no matter how dashed. Plus the fan fic that’s come from this as a point of departure. It’s a very M&S romance-reveal.

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Day 15: fav season 7 ep

I’ve always loved the sad playfulness of The Goldberg Variation. Henry Weems is a beautiful case study in devotion, and he brings out much M&S flirtation.

I love the way this season oscillates between lightness and dark, while showing our heros in love.

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Day 14: fav MOTW

absolutely iconic: the Jersey Devil.

I’m sorry but the sketch is *chef’s kiss* AND we get to see M&S literally somersault over and across a rooftop in pursuit. It’s oblique. It’s shadowy. It’s outrageous. It’s perfect.

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Day 13: fav s6 ep

I ❤️ so many in s6, but I choose Milagro. John Hawkes delivers a fab MOTW that’s psychologically probative on the theme of loneliness. The show needs a way into the questions his book explores what with characters who won’t talk directly. “Scully is already in love.”

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Day 12: fav non M/S character

Someone has to show some love for poor, poor Agent Pendrell and his profoundly unrequited obsession. He never deserved his abrupt and dire end.

I maybe ultimately find him sort of annoying and sad, but I ❤️ supporting cast who buys into their missions.

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Day 11: fav Skinner scene

Man, when Skimner has to go tell Scully that he thinks it’s his fault Mulder got abducted in Requiem? 😭😭

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Day 10: fav s5 ep

Tho PMP is fun and kitsch and holds my heart with Cher, I am going to name Folie à Deux. The MOTW is conceptually chilling, and its metaphor works on multiple levels. Obvs also we see it bring Mulder to disclosure.

I ❤️ the momentum of S5 & the thrum of their bond.

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Day 8: fav season 4 ep

I’m going with Gethsemane, not because I think it’s necessarily the best but because I associate it with memories of how much the show had me in its thrall back in ‘97. Enduring the cliffhanger was wild and precipitated a summer of hunting down S1 and S2 eps. 👽

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Day 5: fav S3 ep

I have to go with Paper Clip for its iconic setting and imagery. I love the scale of the set and the way it escalates the storytelling. Our heros are reunited and recommitted. The chiaroscuro lighting, the pacing. The train tracks and the files on files on files.

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Day 4: fav Mulder fit

Always loved the navy crew with white undershirt, particularly as featured in Milagro. Tho upon reflection, it’s the dark, low-collar long sleeves in general that I stan. These also show up for key MSR and def informed my gender identity.

And it’s also the episode where we learn Scully drove for two days straight, alone, across the country to New Mexico while Mulder slept off the effects of being drugged just so they could meet Albert Hosteen. All while she was also a no-show at a critical work meeting.

Talk about devotion, y’all.

Yes! This observation is 100% on point

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But the iconic coats of Fight the Future are indelible

Day 2: fav Scully fit

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I could go on for a while with the many moods of that camel hair

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Day 2: fav Scully fit

Gimme Scully, in a movie, in a coat—all the coats. Movie Jacket Scully is my favorite fit this season.