Noun: "(X-files fandom slang) a formal ball which characters (usually Fox Mulder and Dana Scully) are required to attend as a set-up in romantic fan fiction"
1997 September 22, KSc...@xfilesfan.com (quoting GravesPA2), “Re: Read something good lately?”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative[1] (Usenet):
The "Obligala" stories (Alison Anderson's term, if I'm not mistaken---and a brilliant term it is) have become a fan fic cliche, but I've always said good writers also use cliches---they just use them in such fresh and different ways that they no longer FEEL like cliches.
1997 December 28, The SUe, “Looking for something....”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative[2] (Usenet):
The thing that came up was the entry "obligala," which is that formal FBI dinner-dance that turns up time and again in fanfic as a reason for our Dynamic Duo to wind up, well, dining and dancing together, among other things. <G>
1998 July 25, GravesPA2, “No rules, just ruminations”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative[3] (Usenet):
If Missy Pennington had let her qualms about writing an "obligala" story stop her, we would have missed reading her sexy, humorous "Hardball."
1998 December 14, soco...@mindspring.com, “Speculation and giftfic”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative[4] (Usenet):
Of course, I'm halfway through my giftfic which I think should be this year's version of the obligala, so everyone who's speculating, get writing instead!! C'mon, folks, it's Christmas -- get over all the complaints on the season so far and have a little fun with it! As for what they were ... well, I'm not giving away my story, but Mulder's had to be a video. It was the right size and shape, and when he shook it, that's what it sounded like.
2000 October 28, kel...@my-deja.com, “NEW: A Helping Hand (1/4)”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative[5] (Usenet):
