Avoidant Attachment
Apr. 28th, 2026 08:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerMain Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/X-Files (The Truth is Out There {Stranger than Fiction})
Summary: Giles does the ritual, and Scully has a suggestion for next steps.
Word Count: 1262
Rating: Teen
Mulder goofs around a little while they’re waiting specifically because he notices Scully’s uncomfortable. It’s possible it’s because it’s against her religion, but knowing her it has far more to do with not having come to terms with all the supernatural stuff going on around here yet. Giles scolds him, but it seems to have helped her, so he really doesn’t care. She’s still a little quieter than normal, but she’s a little less stiff, doing less hiding behind forced politeness. He also ends up volunteering his tie for the ritual; it’s not one of his favorites, and it makes Scully smile, so it’s hardly much of a sacrifice. He pauses a little when taking it off; he didn’t actually tie it, interestingly, which is another piece of evidence in favor of the whole ‘costume’ thing. Someone else helped him with it, meaning that whenever he’d gotten dressed he hadn’t had a lifetime’s experience of putting on a tie before work. For her part Scully hesitates before offering up a shoe, and once Mulder gets a chance to look at it more closely he sees why. Not that it’s ugly; it’s practical, and if they really had been teenagers that had dressed up for trick or treating, it’s the kind of choice even Scully might make, because they’re practical, made for a lot of walking. But they’re also cheaper and less stylish than Scully would usually choose on her own.
The magic only slightly resembles everything Mulder knows about it. Mr. Giles had chosen to appeal to Agni, which seems to be a strange choice. He only partly matches the purpose of the spell, and Mulder has to guess it has something to do with his capacity as a messenger, but if he’s remembering correctly that has more to do with being an intermediary than anything innate, say, for the likes of Hermes. But he’d have to look into books or talk to experts to be sure he’s remembering that right, and there’s nothing saying it’s the same here. If it’s a parallel dimension, then perhaps mythology is slightly different here. Very little thought is put into phases of the moon or crystals, and the herbs and candles seem more like they’re just there to go through the motions, rather than for someone putting thought and purpose into every action and gesture. Not generally a bad way to go through life, but from Mulder’s readings on the subject that’s not going to get them much of anywhere. Maybe the man had bought special order candles from someone who knew what they were doing, so just grabbing them out haphazardly won’t do much to hijack the spell, but he’s not even bothering to color-coordinate or use identical candles (one of them at least is a little more melted down than the others).
Mulder would question if the man even knows what he’s doing, but once he gets going the confidence suggests that he does. Mulder does spot a single rough wooden cross, but he’s going to guess it has more to do with practical purposes (oddly, like Scully) than any real religious inclination on Giles’ part. It’s the only sign; for all of Giles’ old, well-loved tomes (and Mulder’s hands itch to reach out and look through a few of them; they look like an amazing treasure-trove of information), not a single one of them is the Bible or any other sort of Christian religious text. He’s not purposefully profiling the man, but it helps to know who they’re dealing with, and he keeps turning over the thought of the vow that Giles had offhandedly mentioned. Probably not due to familial or romantic pressure to renounce his occult ways; no ring, no sign of one, and no framed pictures. Another common version is the idea that something went wrong and Giles had felt so much guilt about the whole thing he’d sworn off the occult. That seems more likely, but Mulder has no way of knowing what’s more cliché and what’s more realistic, and very little evidence to prove his theory. It might explain that while there are some signs of other people within the apartment, they’re few and far between. That indicates one thing if you travel a lot for work, say, if you’re an FBI Agent, and something completely different when it’s a permanent residence and you largely work nearby, but then, the guilt and distancing are only hunches, and there’s no solid proof yet. He’s keeping his eyes open, though.
Mulder pays attention to what he can. They’re good at following orders given to them by Giles, and even Scully doesn’t question in the moment, though she’ll probably bombard the man with many after the fact. From what he can tell, most of the emphasis is placed on words and gestures. At least it’s not Latin, or Mulder would feel a little cheated out of the experience. So far this has more in common with a late-night SciFi movie than what he’d imagine the real deal to be like. But then, if it was Latin he’d actually be able to follow along to some extent. Not that Mulder’s particularly good with speaking languages; he doesn’t quite have an ear for it, but he’s better at understanding them and most courses in the sciences still teach a decent amount of a ‘dead language’.
“These items aren’t the source of the spell, but I can feel the two different souls on the material. I can almost grasp it,” Giles eventually announces, frustrated, and Mulder manages to refrain from asking him if there’s any other experts they can consult with and insinuating it’s because he’s rusty. Mostly because Scully’s talking, and he shuts up and listens when Scully talks.
“It might be time to do some investigating of our own, then,” she suggests.
“And what would you suggest?” Giles looks a little dismissive, and while that makes Mulder bristle he lets Scully handle it because she’s perfectly capable of fighting her own battles (and it’s hot when she does).
“Everything I’ve seen suggests that this started today. If we approach this like a normal outbreak, they had to have been exposed to whatever caused this recently, which means that if we retrace their steps, we’ll be able to determine the cause.” Giles had nothing to say to that, so she adds, defiance in her eyes overcoming the still lingering traces of fear, “It’s not in the air, or far more including you would probably be affected. It’s not age, or the teenage girl we met among others would probably have been affected. With a population this size, it’s conceivable that we would have known everyone affected out there, but I doubt we could have considered it targeted even if we were popular and on good terms with every single transformed individual we passed, making a targeted attack less likely. It’s possible it’s something like the water, though I don’t know how I would test for it and there didn’t seem to be a geographical pattern to the effect.”
Good idea. “You want to go check out our houses of residence, see if there’s any clues.”
“I believe the plan for Halloween was more Willow’s, so I can bring you there.” No words of praise. That reminds Mulder uncomfortably of his own difficult relationship with his father. Not that this man is an actual father, but Mulder has the hunch that the children look up to him as one. “I will call the Summers residence first, and then we will be on our way.”
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/X-Files (The Truth is Out There {Stranger than Fiction})
Summary: Giles does the ritual, and Scully has a suggestion for next steps.
Word Count: 1262
Rating: Teen
Mulder goofs around a little while they’re waiting specifically because he notices Scully’s uncomfortable. It’s possible it’s because it’s against her religion, but knowing her it has far more to do with not having come to terms with all the supernatural stuff going on around here yet. Giles scolds him, but it seems to have helped her, so he really doesn’t care. She’s still a little quieter than normal, but she’s a little less stiff, doing less hiding behind forced politeness. He also ends up volunteering his tie for the ritual; it’s not one of his favorites, and it makes Scully smile, so it’s hardly much of a sacrifice. He pauses a little when taking it off; he didn’t actually tie it, interestingly, which is another piece of evidence in favor of the whole ‘costume’ thing. Someone else helped him with it, meaning that whenever he’d gotten dressed he hadn’t had a lifetime’s experience of putting on a tie before work. For her part Scully hesitates before offering up a shoe, and once Mulder gets a chance to look at it more closely he sees why. Not that it’s ugly; it’s practical, and if they really had been teenagers that had dressed up for trick or treating, it’s the kind of choice even Scully might make, because they’re practical, made for a lot of walking. But they’re also cheaper and less stylish than Scully would usually choose on her own.
The magic only slightly resembles everything Mulder knows about it. Mr. Giles had chosen to appeal to Agni, which seems to be a strange choice. He only partly matches the purpose of the spell, and Mulder has to guess it has something to do with his capacity as a messenger, but if he’s remembering correctly that has more to do with being an intermediary than anything innate, say, for the likes of Hermes. But he’d have to look into books or talk to experts to be sure he’s remembering that right, and there’s nothing saying it’s the same here. If it’s a parallel dimension, then perhaps mythology is slightly different here. Very little thought is put into phases of the moon or crystals, and the herbs and candles seem more like they’re just there to go through the motions, rather than for someone putting thought and purpose into every action and gesture. Not generally a bad way to go through life, but from Mulder’s readings on the subject that’s not going to get them much of anywhere. Maybe the man had bought special order candles from someone who knew what they were doing, so just grabbing them out haphazardly won’t do much to hijack the spell, but he’s not even bothering to color-coordinate or use identical candles (one of them at least is a little more melted down than the others).
Mulder would question if the man even knows what he’s doing, but once he gets going the confidence suggests that he does. Mulder does spot a single rough wooden cross, but he’s going to guess it has more to do with practical purposes (oddly, like Scully) than any real religious inclination on Giles’ part. It’s the only sign; for all of Giles’ old, well-loved tomes (and Mulder’s hands itch to reach out and look through a few of them; they look like an amazing treasure-trove of information), not a single one of them is the Bible or any other sort of Christian religious text. He’s not purposefully profiling the man, but it helps to know who they’re dealing with, and he keeps turning over the thought of the vow that Giles had offhandedly mentioned. Probably not due to familial or romantic pressure to renounce his occult ways; no ring, no sign of one, and no framed pictures. Another common version is the idea that something went wrong and Giles had felt so much guilt about the whole thing he’d sworn off the occult. That seems more likely, but Mulder has no way of knowing what’s more cliché and what’s more realistic, and very little evidence to prove his theory. It might explain that while there are some signs of other people within the apartment, they’re few and far between. That indicates one thing if you travel a lot for work, say, if you’re an FBI Agent, and something completely different when it’s a permanent residence and you largely work nearby, but then, the guilt and distancing are only hunches, and there’s no solid proof yet. He’s keeping his eyes open, though.
Mulder pays attention to what he can. They’re good at following orders given to them by Giles, and even Scully doesn’t question in the moment, though she’ll probably bombard the man with many after the fact. From what he can tell, most of the emphasis is placed on words and gestures. At least it’s not Latin, or Mulder would feel a little cheated out of the experience. So far this has more in common with a late-night SciFi movie than what he’d imagine the real deal to be like. But then, if it was Latin he’d actually be able to follow along to some extent. Not that Mulder’s particularly good with speaking languages; he doesn’t quite have an ear for it, but he’s better at understanding them and most courses in the sciences still teach a decent amount of a ‘dead language’.
“These items aren’t the source of the spell, but I can feel the two different souls on the material. I can almost grasp it,” Giles eventually announces, frustrated, and Mulder manages to refrain from asking him if there’s any other experts they can consult with and insinuating it’s because he’s rusty. Mostly because Scully’s talking, and he shuts up and listens when Scully talks.
“It might be time to do some investigating of our own, then,” she suggests.
“And what would you suggest?” Giles looks a little dismissive, and while that makes Mulder bristle he lets Scully handle it because she’s perfectly capable of fighting her own battles (and it’s hot when she does).
“Everything I’ve seen suggests that this started today. If we approach this like a normal outbreak, they had to have been exposed to whatever caused this recently, which means that if we retrace their steps, we’ll be able to determine the cause.” Giles had nothing to say to that, so she adds, defiance in her eyes overcoming the still lingering traces of fear, “It’s not in the air, or far more including you would probably be affected. It’s not age, or the teenage girl we met among others would probably have been affected. With a population this size, it’s conceivable that we would have known everyone affected out there, but I doubt we could have considered it targeted even if we were popular and on good terms with every single transformed individual we passed, making a targeted attack less likely. It’s possible it’s something like the water, though I don’t know how I would test for it and there didn’t seem to be a geographical pattern to the effect.”
Good idea. “You want to go check out our houses of residence, see if there’s any clues.”
“I believe the plan for Halloween was more Willow’s, so I can bring you there.” No words of praise. That reminds Mulder uncomfortably of his own difficult relationship with his father. Not that this man is an actual father, but Mulder has the hunch that the children look up to him as one. “I will call the Summers residence first, and then we will be on our way.”
