The Nursery Files New Challenges, Geocities Site News The Nursery Files http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/nurseryfiles.html As you might or might not know, Geocities has finally released the date that they're shutting down - October 26th, 2009. This is the day that all the geocities free* sites will be removed from the internet. They've also revealed that they'll be offering people with geocities Plus accounts (paid accounts) the same rate on a yahoo webhosting package as we were paying for plus for five years. I intend to take them up on the offer which means that I will *not* be moving The Nursery Files to a new host after all because they'll transition everything to yahoo for me. However, come October you'll need to update your bookmark for the archive because we'll be getting a new non-geocities.com url. In September I'll post a reminder on the page, and also set up a mailing list you can join to let you know what the url will be. *If you're a free geocities site author who has kid and/or baby fics you'd like archived, let me know (nurseryfiles @ yahoo.com remove the spaces), and I'll try to accommodate you before your site goes off-line this fall. I started a site update in April, just before the geocities closing announcement threw everything into confusion. I'll try to finish it up over the next few weeks now that I know won't need to transfer newly added fics anywhere. If anyone writes a challenge fic, I'll add you with the next update too =) Or I'll add you later if you send it later, I'm flexible like that. ~~~~~~Newest Challenges~~~~~ As always, the challenges are for baby/kid/teenfic. The url below each title is for the challenge page (basically the same info as below, often with a pretty banner), and fics written for those challenges will be linked there too. ~*~*~ Project Midnight Challenge http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challenge39.html This is a special challenge...calling all writers, especially those who say to themselves "I could never write a happy family fic." As you've gone through the archive, I'm sure that you've noticed that not all of the fics housed at the Nursery Files are cheerful. Sometimes readers and writers want a taste of the darker side of Mulder and Scully's (or who have you) lives. Your challenge this time around is to provide us just that. Challenge instructions: 1. Browse through the other Nursery Files Challenges http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challengeshub.html and pick whichever one strikes your fancy. 2. Write a fic for that challenge with this additional stipulation in addition to the requirements of the given challenge: While the fic is allowed to have a happy ending, you are to give the challenge you chose *a dark twist*. What sort of unhappiness/tension/scariness is visited upon the story is entirely up to you, but we're looking for the fic to be angsty, a thriller, or horror movie-esque here for most of the fic rather than family fluff. ~*~*~ IWTB Scene Re-Write Challenge http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challenge36.html This challenge was suggested/requested by Haven posters. Challenge: Rewrite parts of IWTB (or the whole thing!) with the inclusion of William, as if he was never given away in "William," or was returned to Mulder and Scully prior to the beginning of the second movie. Here http://www.chelonium.plus.com/txf/movie2/XFIWTBtranscript.html is the movie transcript, but please consider how the inclusion of William would have changed things rather than merely writing in some dialogue for him. ~*~*~ Kicked Out Challenge http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challenge37.html Many of the fics that have William reunited with Mulder and Scully achieve this by killing off the couple that adopted him. Fics written for this challenge will leave Mr. and Mrs. Van de Kamp alive for a change. Challenge: William, between the ages of seven and seventeen, does something that makes his adopted parents return him to Mulder and Scully, by either abandoning him or legally overturning the adoption. What did William do? How do Mulder and Scully deal with their recently abandoned son? ~*~*~ Moving Day Challenge http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challenge38.html Write a fic with this opening scene: A pregnant X-Files character is unpacking boxes in her new home. How did she get there and what happens next? Additional information: * The character does not have to be Scully. Any character will do, but Reyes, Marita, Maggie Scully and Teena Mulder are probably good candidates if you're sick of writing Scully fics. Mpreg fics are fine as well. * Feel free to set your story before, during, or after the series, thus making it follow canon or be as AU as you like. ~~~~~~Orphaned Challenges~~~~~ * these are older challenges that no one has written fics for. yet. ~*~*~ Existence Missing Scene Challenge http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challenge33.html Fics like this are requested every couple of months, so maybe someone can write a new one and thrill the askers Your challenge: - Write a missing-scene fic that fills in the gap* between Mulder finding Scully and Reyes in Democrat Hot Springs, and him ending up at her apartment to see her holding the baby. * here's an episode transcript for reference: http://allthingx.gubblebum.net/transcripts/8x21existence.txt ~*~*~ Big Family Challenge http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challenge16.html I'd like to appologize to whoever made this request a few years ago, because I forgot to take down your name. I would also love to see fics for this challenge too! This challenge is in response to another hard to fill request - fics with five or more kids. Fics with 3-4 kids are plentiful but more than that are scarce. Requirements: - Set any two XF characters up in domestic bliss. - Give them at least five kids, biological and/or adopted (or more Emily-type kids), to raise. If adopted they can be kids from episodes, if you like, or original characters. - Make one of the kids very young, two years or younger. The other kids can be any age you like through mid-teens. - These kids are the offspring of X-Files characters, so instead of 100% fluff include some sort of "paranormal bouquet" in your fic's plot. ~*~*~ My Baby's Not Human Challenge http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challenge28.html If I've learned anything from science fiction it's that women (and men on occasion!) are targeted by other species for their procreation capabilities. Aliens, Demons, Bigfoot, Dragons and all manner of other creatures have aspired to father half-human offspring. Challenge: Have a woman (or man) come to someone on the X-Files for help with their not-quite human offspring, or offspring-to-be. That's it. We eagerly await your sagas. ~*~*~ Televised Challenge http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challenge27.html Giving William up for adoption was done for his safety. Imagine how that would be compromised if he was to suddenly appear on TV screens for everyone to see. (this is an AU post-truth challege) Your challenge is to write a fic with these given first lines: Scully stared at the TV screen in horror. Although it had been months since the adoption, she'd recoginize her son anywhere. Allowable alterations - you may write the fic in first person instead and replace the pronouns with "I" instead of Scully or "she"; you may specify how many months it's been since the adoption; the given lines do not literally have to be the first in your fic, but included somewhere in the beginning. ~*~*~ Children With Others Challenge http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challenge22.html Though there are not many fics which feature characters having kids with others, the ones hosted here at TNF get a lot of visitors, so the interest in them is definitely there. I'm sure those readers would like to read more fics of this nature...like the one you're about to write! Elements: - Give two characters not commonly paired a child. You may begin the fic during the pregnancy as long as the child is born halfway or less through. (this child can have been born before, during or after the series.) - At least one parent should be a main character from the show. The other can be too, or a minor/cameo character on one or more episode. - In fact you may pair any characters for procreational purposes *except* the following: Mulder with Scully; Doggett with Reyes; Jimmy with Yves. Which isn't to say you can't pair them for romantic purposes, but that the biological mother of Mulder's child really isn't Scully and so on, but they could marry and she adopt the kid if you're inclined. - This fic doesn't have to involve any other romance but the child you write about has to have been created the old fashioned way (insert ____'s tab A into ___'s slot B) or through deliberate medical intervention ( __ fills specimen cup for ___). No "kid shows up out of the blue" angle. Whichever method is fine for any characters. - The characters can feel any way you like about the other parent, and have any motivation you want for creating the kid, from love to a drunken one night stand. - MSR and DRR are okay to include in your fic! But other/romance for real is fine too. ~*~*~ DRR Baby Fic Challenge http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challenge02.html There aren't many Doggett-Reyes baby or kidfics. There should be more! Challenge Elements: - Give Doggett and Reyes a young son or daughter. - Have a scene or flashback to when Reyes was pregnant. - Include a (brief) explaination about how Doggett feels about being a dad again ~*~*~ William's Alternative Outcome Challenge http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challenge14.html Many people object to Scully having given William to strangers to keep him safe; the theory being he'd be safer with people who knew the truth. So let's rewrite the episode so it has a more palatable storyline. Requirements: - Begin your story part way through "William", before Scully gives William up. (explain away or completely ignore the opening scene to the episode) - Instead of giving the baby to strangers, have another character take William. Any character, minor or major. (even a dead one if you can explain why they were incorrectly presumed dead.) - Some event reunites mother and child. What event? Is it just a visit, or is William returned for good? ~*~*~ William's Twin Challenge Techically there *is* a fic for this challenge, but since it's my own wip, I'm going to throw this one on the list too In this challenge, you'll give William a twin. Either rewrite Existence or have this twin show up later on through your choice of mysterious means. This twin can be a brother or sister. This fic can be set from pregnancy on, so it's your choice if they're babies or children. Elements: - obviously William has a twin - explain why he or she exists - make the twin "different" than William in some meaningful way.