THE X-FILES ↳ 6.10 | Tithonus

Coroner's report came back on Fellig. Says he died of a single gunshot wound. That's all it said. Well, I, uh... talked to your doctor and... he says you're doing great. You're making the fastest recovery he's ever seen. Yeah, Mulder, I don't even know how I entertained the thought. People don't live forever. No, no, I-I... I think he would have. I-I just think that … that death only looks for you... once you seek its opposite.

sure tithonus is great. scully straight up gets shot when mulder isn't there. the drama is real. etc. etc.

but CONSIDER.

if mulder HAD been in the room with her when she'd slid down the wall and started bleeding out he would have had the world's biggest breakdown and cradled her in his arms whilst freaking out. i'm not sure any of us would have been able to cope with that. it would have been like. the significantly more distressing reversal of the bank heist scene in monday. the cheek stroking. the "i have to get my partner out of here" sobbing. you get me. it could have been great. it could have been DEVASTATING-

Takes on a whole new meaning if you factor in Scully's possible immortality (Tithonus) or her and Mulder's Revival breakup.

Scully did a lot of growing since Season 3; but her deep-rooted fear of loneliness manifested itself even then.

Lord Tithonus

God of insects

requested by @curious-chaosmagiic taking requests

I in general do kind of headcanon that Tithonos being taken by Eos is part of why Laomedon was so monumentally stupid in his treatment of Poseidon and Apollo.

BUT IMAGINE the additional anger if one goes with Euripides' implied parentage in the Trojan Women, where Ganymede is a son of Laomedon as well. First one son is taken, then the other, and then he has to deal with these gods?

Like sure, divinely built wall, awesome, and yes, he did get compensation when it comes to Ganymede but - still.

And then.

And THEN

some fucking Achaean barbarian has the STOMACH to demand that same compensation he was given for his son, as payment for his aid and not something more reasonable. I mean. I'd tell Herakles to get packing when he tries to cash in on the horses too, then.

(Like, again, I headcanon that Herakles asking for the horses even in the regular situation where Tros is the father is still highly rude and far too much to ask/demand for his help. But it gains extra verve if Laomedon is the bereaved father, no matter that Ganymede becoming Zeus' cupbearer is an honour. You've still lost a son.)

I'm a Tithonus devotee, of course i've read practically everything on him

I'm a Tithonus devotee, of course i love music and storytelling

I'm a Tithonus devotee, of course i'm a helpless romantic with bad relationship history

I'm a Tithonus devotee, of course i lay in bed all day

I'm a Tithonus devotee, of course i love bugs even if i'm scared of them

I'm a Tithonus devotee, of course i'm working on my bounderies

I'm a Tithonus devotee, of course i have an old soul

I'm a Tithonus devotee, of course my favorite colours are gold and green

I'm a Tithonus devotee, of course i love spoiling my friends without thinking about myself

I'm a Tithonus devotee, of course i'm loud and proud of how much i've changed!!!

Il casino dell'Aurora Ludovisi, Guercino, 1621

i just lol’d so hard

Just a nic

Post Tithonus

Tagging @today-in-fic

She sits on her toilet looking at the green tile, her bathrobe is open and she has a tank top and panties on. She bites her lip pulling up her shirt and allowing Mulder to slowly dab on the anti-itch cream from her stitches, he kneels on her bathroom floor in a grey t-shirt and jeans, she’s been out of the hospital a few days since Ritter shot her, Mulder barely leaving her side. He is so gentle with her, always has been. She gives him a sad smile as she watches his fingers slowly graze across her skin. He pulls the bandage over pressing to seal the tape for her. She smiles softly as he gets up putting things away in her medical bag. He grabs her razor off the sink and some shaving cream, she watches him closely. 

“Mulder, I’m perfectly capable.” but he stares her down, his eyes lock with hers and he waits as her voice slowly fades and she licks her lips. 

“It’s been bothering you for 3 days Scully, just let me do it. I’ll try not to knick ya.” 

He smiles and pours a much too generous amount of shaving cream in his hand before smoothing it down her leg which she extends out for him. He’s right it has been bothering her, but she can’t exactly bend over without severe pain shooting through her abdomen. He is careful as he glides the razor over her skin, and very thorough. She sighs as he continues carefully with each stroke checking and making sure he hasn’t blemished her porcelain skin. He grabs a towel and dampens it to rinse off the remaining cream on her first leg. Smiles as he moves her leg to each side checking his work. She shakes her head. He starts on her other leg and his smart look of satisfaction gives her an idea. It’s mean, but at the same time fair. She hisses and he looks at her in horror. His clear panic face with his eyes and mouth open as his fingers brush along her calf. She grins that wild grin that he loves with its mischievous hint of dark blue eyes. 

“I had you.” she whispers, her eyes twinkle towards him and he chuckles. He reaches up cupping her cheek lovingly, it still has some shaving cream on it. 

“You’ve had me for a long time.” he mutters, leaning in and giving her a soft kiss. 

She reaches up and strokes his cheek. 

“You’ve got me too.” 

he nods letting his head rest against hers. “Always.” he says, his voice thick with emotion. 

She leans forward kissing him again. “Always.”

tweeted this but i probably should have just posted it here

THE X-FILES | Tithonus (6x10)

— the hand holding!!!

yeah your boyfriend turned into a cicada. yeah you gave him eternal life but not eternal youth so he got older and older until he shriveled up into a bug. his immortality is a curse now. if you even care

Halfway through working a case with Agent Ritter in New York City, Scully gets caught in the crossfire and badly injured by a gunshot wound to her stomach. But what if Mulder is in the room when it happens? What if it doesn't have a happy ending after all?

A Tithonus AU.

---

I bring gifts !!! Hope you like this fic <3 Sorry in advance, the angst is real. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Dana Scully: a Fear of Death Rooted in Eternal Judgment

I think Scully's fear of death is rooted in a fear of judgment.

According to her faith, one either gets into Heaven or Hell (with a pit stop here or there to atone for their sins.) One would think that would be a comfort to the morally unbreakable Dana Scully.

But it isn't.

During her atheistic arc (Season 1 through early Season 2), Scully was determined to do her job and do it well. The paranoia of death didn't cling to her as it does in later seasons.... until Beyond the Sea. Her father's ghost visiting her right after his death and being channeled later through Luthor Lee Boggs, twice-- it takes its toll, unwinding the foundational principles of her life: that Death is final; and that there are no ghosts or psychics or even angels or demons, just sick men and women who abuse others through their superstitions. Scully chooses ignorance, reverting away from this new territory because "I'm afraid... I'm afraid to believe." The rest of Season 1, she didn't want to die, panicked in the face of it; but wasn't as paranoid as, again, later seasons.

Then One Breath happens: Scully experienced something she "couldn't find the words" to explain, even when facing death alongside Mulder in Dod Kalm. It's Scully who is fearless as their end approaches, reassuring Mulder he has nothing to fear based on that experience. Thus, One Breath began her agnostic arc-- where she believed, deep down, but was afraid to fully accept that belief (i.e., her shaken projections on Pfaster in Irresistible and her activated voodoo curse in Fresh Bones.) Death is a place of peace, hence why she denies it to Pfaster (we later learn in Orison.)

When we reach Season 3's Revelations, Scully's agnosticism turns to religious terror. "God is speaking, and no one is listening", she confesses to the priest-- what she means is, that God has been speaking to and judging me, and I've been failing. Thus, her paranoia of Death: not because of its finality (Season 1) or promise of peace (Season 2), but because it could find her at fault and deny her a blessed eternal life.

In Season 4, Scully doesn't want to "run back to God" in Gethsemane; but faces her fears once Death is inescapable in Redux II.

In Season 5, she battles with her religious fragility, struggling for peace after her daughter is stolen before her Christian burial (Emily) and after her spirit returns during a case with angels and demons. Scully may be more vulnerable to religious manipulation, but she is also more secure in her beliefs of a peaceful afterlife.

By Season 6, Scully continues to look upon Death as God's judgment: eternal reward or eternal torment. But then Tithonus happens: Fellig shakes Scully's convictions that eternity is a good thing, showing her the soul of an eternally tormented man... making her wonder if she is guaranteed a happy ending, after all.

This brings up to Season 7's Orison, where Scully stands in judgment of Pfaster and the "Reverend" Orison. When she murders Pfaster in cold blood, her doubts and criticisms rise up against her, brandishing her with the same immoral code-- thus, making her fear eternal condemnation from God: the end meted out to both convicts, or an immortal torment ala Alfred Fellig. This was an extremely crucial moment for her development as a character... and would have been given no resolution if not for Gillian's all things.

all things is the resolution to Scully's paranoia: "God talks back", she comes to terms with herself, and makes a final decision out of principle and not panic, out of assuredness and not anguish. Scully is secure; and she finds the stability to embrace her beliefs, religion, and faith as it should be: a source of rest, a refuge from fear.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

Tithonus Cut Dialogue: Mulder knows Scully's phone habits 😂📲

Mulder: "As long as I've known Scully, she doesn't turn off her phone."

What did Zeus put in the royal line of Dardanos, anyway?

(Zeus+Ganymede, Eos+Tithonos, Aphrodite+Anchises, Aphrodite+Paris, and Paris+Helen.)

Originally this had been intended as a sort of "first meetings" thing, but I didn't want to draw Aphrodite twice, so I mixed it up instead. The gods are are supernaturally tall (Zeus the tallest among these, Aphrodite the shortest), Helen as a demigod is tall, Paris happens to be short. The thing that seems to signal that it's Tithonos that Eos is kidnapping on vase art is a lyre (contra, say, spears for Kephalos), so I included an eastern asymmetrical lyre that was usual in Anatolia for the time!

Individual images under the cut!