Mulder/Skinner

Pairing
Pairing:	Fox Mulder/Walter Skinner
Alternative name(s):	Mulder/Skinner, M/Sk
Gender category:	slash
Fandom:	The X-Files
Canonical?:	no
Prevalence:	popular
Archives:
Other:	example of artwork depicting the Mulder/Skinner pairing, Suzan Lovett, 1996. The positioning of Mulder (kneeling) hints at one of the more popular themes in the pairing: d/s and BDSM. Additional artwork for the pairing is below. The title is "Who Protects the Protector". This picture appeared at MediaWest 1997 art show and was reviewed by one attendee: "Skinner's face in this one is obviously from a picture out of a magazine and while it's the closest picture I've seen that looks like him the expression isn't a passionate one and therefore the picture didn't look right to me...hopefully as [the artist] works more with them she'll get better."
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Fox Mulder/Walter Skinner is a popular slash pairing in the X-Files fandom.

TheAD'sOffice or "The Office" is a website dedicated to the IRC Chatroom for X-Files slash fans who have a particular fondness of the Mulder/Skinner pairing. D/s and BDSM are common tropes and themes in the pairing.

Fandom

Fan Comments

Some fans report that their initial reaction to the paring was hesitant, but they were quickly won over:

"I too found Xanthe through 24/7 and at first i found [the pairing] a little hard to accept. I was new to slash and certainly had never viewed Skinner as anybody but the AD. Hungry for slash, having just discovered it, i ploughed on and soon found myself looking at Skinner in an entirely new light. And a much more appealing Skinner it was!! Now i find that Skinner/Mulder is more natural than anything else, and they fit together so perfectly. When i watch the show now, mostly i am looking for all the subtext that i had never seen before, and i must admit to having a total crush on Mitch Pileggi, and follow him wherever he goes, which is Supernatural right now and a wee bit of SOA too."

This fan came to the pairing from another fandom:

I didn't start reading X-Files slash until I ran out of K/S, Spock/Chekov, and Picard/Q slash on the web. And then I decided that Mulder/Skinner was probably worth trying....and I was right. I started writing M/Sk slash shortly after I started reading it, and I think the first things I read on the XF side of things were the Denny's cycle and "Night Care"/"Day Care".

I still prefer Trekslash, frankly--there's a lot more culture there, and people don't get their knickers as twisted if you violate their pet slashfic conventions. Basically, all of the conventions have been violated so many times that you're almost disappointed if someone sticks with all of them. I've discovered that XF slashers are *much* less forgiving of violated memes.

But Skinner is *way* hotter than anyone on Trek, so you couldn't chase me away from my XF slashiness.

The appeal:

Fox Mulder/Walter Skinner from The X Files. The X Files is one of my all time favourite shows. Here we get three gorgeous men where we normally get two and I was originally going to cheat and feature al of them as my number one choice. However, a friend said I should split them up and decide which I preferred. There is already a growing division within the slash community over the programme. Fans are either loyal to the Mulder/Krycek camp or the Mulder/Skinner one so I decided I couldn't chicken out. Mulder/Skinner it has to be. Why? - because Mulder is a sensitive, vulnerable soul who needs stability in his life. I feel Walter Skinner with his strength both physically and emotionally is the man for the job and that's why l've chosen this couple over Mulder/Krycek. So there!

Early Fanfiction

A fan speculated on when the first Mulder/Skinner story was written:

Does anybody know what the first XF slash was?

I sure don't, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was M/Sk and right after "Tooms". For anyone who's encountered slash before, that scene in Skinner's office just screams "slash me, slash me! dear God, slash me!"

The first Mulder/Skinner story was Authority by Laura Cooksey and "it would set the tone for future Mulder/Skinner fan fiction." At the time one fan wrote:

"I loved "Authority" -- definitely not as harsh as most of the s&m XF stories out there. Some nice, hot sex scenes, too. What I enjoyed about it was the progression of the character's reactions. Skinner's assertion of authority was more palatable to me because *we* know he doesn't intend to harm Mulder, but Mulder doesn't know that. And then the way Mulder starts liking it... I thought it was handled well, and I'd love to read more like this. Dare I hope for a sequel or 2 (or 3)?"

Fanworks

Fanfiction

• A Routine Interrogation by Lyrica
• Chances (X-Files story), a very early Mulder/Skinner story by Alex Jones
• Consent (X-Files story) by Grey
• Yes, Mr. Skinner, there is a Virginia by rac

Fanart

• 

  this photomanip of Mulder/Skinner by Bluespirit won a Huggy Award

• 

  Framed artprint of Mulder and Skinner, artist unknown

• 

  from Wild Cards #5, the artist is Angi Towski, Skinner and Mulder snuggling up to Mulder's massive...er, cell phone

Archives

• A Beacon in the Night (archive)
• X-Files from the Imagination of your Twisted Sister - Mostly Mulder/Skinner slash from the Imagination of your Twisted Sister but also includes threesome stories that add Scully to the mix. Offers drabbles as well. (offline)
• Mulder/Skinner works at Down in the Basement.
• Mulder/Skinner Slash Society
• Walter Skinner's Journal - Mulder and Skinner - An alternate universe series written as a diary Skinner's Journal Mulder and Skinner
• Three Way Stop (link) - X-Files Fan Fic by frogdoggie, Blue Mohairbear and Mik.
• List of Mulder/Skinner Works on AO3

Mailing Lists

• mskslash - "Love Mulder/Skinner slash but hate having to wade through a multi-pairing mailing list? Then come here, to the all Mulder/Skinner list. This is a slash list, so only people that like slash need join." (founded April 1999)