Introduction
Open
Letter to Applicants from Special Agent in Charge Jadzia Reyes:
Welcome to The Y-Files, a
role-playing game/round-robin fan fiction project my fellow Special Agents in
Charge (SACs) and I run in the Interactive Roles/Fanfic Folder of The
Official X-Files Forum. Writers
for The Y-Files adopt virtual personas while investigating X-File-esque cases.
In the Y-Files universe you can become a Special Agent, a Syndicate
villain under the direction of Morley Ciggs (our own version of the Cigarette
Smoking Man) or you can assume another persona such as an FBI lab tech or a
research assistant. Unfortunately,
no one is allowed take on the persona of an existing X-Files character due to
potential copyright infringement issues. None
of us, for example, can pretend to be Mulder or Scully in this game.
Once you’ve chosen your
persona, you can contact SAC Elisheva
Toews in our Personnel Department and apply for admission to the ranks of
The Y-Files. After being accepted,
you can participate in any aspect of our virtual world.
Those who us on The Y-Files work on various cases and often participate
in discussions and chats in our Sub-Basement
Forum.
If you chose to be an FBI
agent, you automatically enter the game with the rank of Special Agent.
Promotions within our ranks for exceptional agents are definitely
possible. When you start as a Special Agent, you should check in with
SAC Samantha Jaythree to receive your Welcome Wagon package that includes
essentials like your badge and gun.
We try to have an average
of three cases running at any given time so that a variety of cases are
available for our writers. Please
note that it usually take 2-3 months to complete a Y-File case.
We ask that agents try to post at least twice a week on their case(s) in
order to keep the story moving forward.
Cases fall within one of
three categories:
#1:
Monster of the Week
(MOTW)
– These cases usually have a “distinctive
paranormal bouquet” about them and can deal with just about any topic.
MOTW cases tend to be stand-alones that don’t require much knowledge of
previous Y-File cases. I recommend
that new agents participate in an MOTW investigation for their first case to
help them get a feel for agents’ writing styles and personas.
#2:
Humor
– Almost anything goes in these cases.
Some are mildly humorous in the tradition of “Three of A Kind,”
“Small Potatoes” and other X-Files episodes.
Others are completely insane, but a lot of fun, like Y-File #8041 – The
Missing Link. As with MOTW cases,
new agents don’t tend to need an extensive knowledge of previous Y-File cases
to participate in these investigations. If
you sign on to a humorous case for your first Y-Files outing, however, be
prepared for anything and go with the flow.
#3:
Mytharc
– Our mytharc is based on the established mythology of The
X-Files, but has its own unique set of twists, turns and surprises.
Before embarking on one of these cases, I’d recommend that you read
Y-File mytharc cases such as Blitzkrieg, That Damned Fence, One of Our Own and
The Sky Is Falling.
Before you begin writing,
I also recommend that you read through the Instructions page, which includes
writing and formatting suggestions from the SACs.
THE Y-FILES,
BACKGROUND: The Y-Files are
cases that have been referred to us by Special Agents Fox Mulder & Dana
Scully via the office of Assistant Director Walter S. Skinner. They are X-File
cases that Agents Mulder & Scully have not been able to investigate due to
time constraints or other extenuating circumstances (such as them being in the
hospital or medical quarantine). Agents
who are interested in participating in one or more of these investigations
should post a message in the appropriate thread(s) stating that they are en
route and will rendezvous with their fellow agents to begin the investigation.
One agent will be deemed the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the
investigation. As of this date, the
case SACs have been one of The Y-Files’ five permanent SACs (Samantha
Jaythree, Elisheva Toews, Sara Zeuty, FoxPhile & myself – Jadzia Reyes) or
our Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) Kiwi Malone.
LOCATION:
The Y-Files office is located in first sub-basement of The J. Edgar
Hoover Building (JEHB) in Washington, D.C.
When the division first opened, the office was merely a repainted broom
closet down the hallway from AD Skinner's office.
After the successful investigation of the first Y-File case, the Bureau
gave us permission to move our offices to the sub-basement in order to
accommodate the growing number of agents requesting assignment to The Y-Files.
The sub-basement includes offices for each of the SACs and a large
bullpen area for Y-Files agents.
CHAIN OF COMMAND:
The Y-Files fall under the auspices of AD Skinner in the same way as The
X-Files. As Honorary Hostess for
the Interactive Roles/Fanfic Folder, I am the SAC for The Y-Files, but my fellow
permanent SACs can give you any approvals you might need.
Special Agents in the field generally report to the SAC in charge of
their specific case. At times, of
course, it may be necessary to report either directly to me, another SAC or AD
Skinner himself.
MISCELLANEOUS
INFORMATION: We also have non-case-related events such as chats
and virtual parties. If you have
Y-File related stories you would like to share that do not fit neatly into a
case storyline, please feel free to post them in the Sub-Basement Forum.
Also, you can participate in more than one case at a time -- one of the
definite advantages of operating in a virtual world.
The game is very flexible
and we make most of it up as we go along. While
you have now had a quick introduction to the game, the best way to understand
The Y-Files is to check out the different threads and get a feel for our
interactive world and characters.
I hope that you decide to
join us!
Best regards,
Jadzia
Reyes
SAC Jadzia Reyes