#the sixth extinction

[mully-sculder]

7x01: The Sixth Extinction

Scully encounters some bizarre events while working in Ivory Coast, meanwhile Skinner visits Mulder in the psych ward and tries to communicate with him.

Scully's opening monologue to Mulder, "your beautiful mind" omg

Scully sees a vision of man, her tent gets infested with bugs, then the ocean water boils a guy; a lot of bad omens happening

Mulder attacks Skinner in a psychotic state, but then he slips him a piece of fabric that says "help me"

Skinner brings Kritschgau to Mulder, they inject Mulder and he's able to speak again and test his new mind-reading powers

Diana goes to see Mulder, she knows now that he knows the truth about her

I love Amina and Scully, the girlies researching together, they escape a deranged Barnes

"What's causing it may be extraterrestrial in origin" yeaaaah Scully!!

Score: 10/10 ❤️

Watch it? Yes! I love Scully's adventure in Ivory Coast. Oh my god she looks so hot with her hair up and a machete in her hand!! Everything else that goes down there is also really wild (I wish we got to see Amina again someday). But also, this is a huge moment going forward because she searches for the truth and she actually accepts the extreme answer.

[sesiondemadrugada]

The X Files 7x01: The Sixth Extinction (Kim Manners, 1999).

[ghostsoforpheus]

Dana Scully in 7.01 of The X Files

[limnaea]

can you believe there are still pencils in the ceiling

[cecilysass]

When I Think About You, I Touchstone Myself: Fic Recs for the Biogenesis/ Sixth Extinction/ Amor Fati trilogy

I thought it was time to do some fic fixes for these important episodes for a few reasons.

First, Amor Fati is an episode I can’t ever stay away from; I both love it and have big issues with it. I love the tribute to Last Temptation of Christ, a film I admire, but I also find the identification of Mulder as a Christ figure to be problematic, or at least to raise questions the show doesn’t really address. I love the touchstone speech and the boy on the beach sequence; I find a lot of the real-life dialogue (e.g. between CSM and Diana) to be clunky.

And honestly, I find it kind of irritating that Diana's death happened off screen, too. Deep Throat, Spender, X, CSM, Well-Manicured Man, Blevins — their deaths were all dramatized onscreen, so it seems weird that Diana’s was not, doesn’t it? Anticlimactic and odd. To me, it's the straw that broke the camel's back for the Diana arc, really raising the question of whether she was ever really written intending to be an important character to the mytharc plot at all ... or whether she just really was a cardboard cutout character there to generate jealousy.

But I digress. What I mean to to say is: I always want to talk more about Amor Fati.

Second, I particularly enjoy me some psychic Mulder fic, and there are some great examples below. How well does he read minds? Does he read Scully’s? Her every thought? How long does it last? Readers want to know.

Finally, if you believe season 7 was the season of secret sex, or even if you just hold to season 7 as the “sometime consummated” season, these 3 eps have to be a crucial turning point. Some people maintain that Mulder got the affirmation to move ahead with MSR when he heard Scully's thoughts. Possibly. Either way, though, by the end, through the events of Amor Fati, they both validate the other’s point of view in a way we don't really see before. Plus, you know, maybe you heard? They’re one another’s touchstones. So this is a crucial MSR trilogy, too.

So I have a (NO DOUBT INCOMPETE) selection of fic recs below. I’m mixing up the fic recs for all three episodes, but I try to note if a fic is really more about one ep than another.

Fic Recs:

Before the White Noise - Nimz12peekaboo Scully goes to see Mulder inside his padded cell in Biogenesis. This is sweet and canon-attentive, if not quite compliant.

A Less Certain World - Sarah Segretti This is really only post-Biogenesis and goes AU after that; it’s the author’s AU Sixth Extinction, I suppose. Mulder is much more affected by the trauma to his brain and body than in the show, and Scully is scared for him. Amazing fic.

Temporary Shelter - Gwendolyn Also a Biogenesis post-ep, this fic imagines that Scully springs psychic Mulder from the hospital and then takes him back with her to the Ivory Coast. They stay in a cabin (with only one bed!) that was once occupied by another couple affected by the artifact. This is rich in plot (and in MSR.)

Stunned - Vickie Moseley This is, by description, what happens in the commercial breaks in Biogenesis. And let's just say that it’s kind of a lot. This fic focuses on Scully coming to calm Mulder down at the hospital, on their trust between one another. There is a little Diana wrap up, too.

All the Places - Ambress A lovely, lovely take on Mulder’s ability to read minds. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Out of Our Minds - Sarah Segretti and haphazard method This is specifically post-Biogenesis, written before season 7 began. It focuses on the rather realistic idea that Scully would be freaked the fuck out by Mulder being able to read her mind—like, existentially freaked out. Both characters’ POV here; both characters have your sympathy; angsty and extremely true to character.

Disonance - suilven This piece is kind of a classic in my own little personal world. It just such a satisfying concept. It delightfully doesn’t take the canon implications of Mulder’s telepathy seriously, like, at all, which is why we love fanfic. Mulder, Scully, and Diana get stuck on an elevator just as Mulder’s starting to realize he can read minds. Delicious set-up.

the things they say in the dark - MonikaFileFan Missing scenes for Amor Fati, this piece helps us see the two moving closer and closer together while still having the invisible line between them. There is hurt/comfort here with Scully caring for Mulder, and a little light mind reading. So sweet and well done.

how to tell your lover you’ve seen all their secret gardens - 0666666 While Scully is taking care of Mulder after the events of Amor Fati, he tries to think of how to tell her he heard her thoughts. Very good.

Woven Deep by Maureen B. Ocks This is a really smart little Amor Fati post-ep with sharp dialogue / banter throughout. Mulder is in recovery, and they have a chance to talk about his experiences. It’s Mulder POV, but Scully is written very well here.

up and down the east coast by skuls When he’s still supposed to be recovering from Amor Fati events, Mulder asks Scully to go on a road trip to look for Sasquatch. She agrees. This one isn’t about psychic Mulder so much as the little guarded steps the two take towards acknowledging their feelings. Extremely sweet.

Synesthesia by haphazard method On a case shortly after the events of Amor Fati, Scully is still coming to terms with the role she plays in their partnership. An excellent conversation.

Petrichor by Aloysia Virgata. A lovely gem, a fandom classic. A one-chapter case file set directly after Amor Fati. Mulder and Scully’s relationship is offkilter and unsettled; Mulder is troubled by dreams with messages from a familiar ghost; the plot riffs on Anglo-Irish folklore. The spot-on banter and exquisite writing one expects from this author.

Eli Eli by Marguerite Mulder is recovering physically post-Amor Fati while Scully tries to cope with the crisis of faith her experiences in the Ivory Coast provoked in her. Skinner sends them to a beach house in Galveston to rest and heal.

Silence Waiting by JET Scully is struggling to cope with the implications of what she saw in Africa as Mulder heals and worries about her. This is intercut with the story of another telepath, Gretta, who grows up only reading the thoughts of one boy in her town, Frederick. This fic is lovely in every way and makes me weep.

The Boy on the Beach - me me (cecilysass) Yeah, I include my own fic. I just know it best, you know, lol? I include this one specifically for this theme because it was really written in part to engage with Amor Fati, specifically with the implications of Mulder’s Last Temptation of Christ-inspired dream sequence. But I'm the author, so you know, grain of salt.

Let me know what I missed!

[sunsetroseart]

Ayreontasia Inktober Days 3-4: Personal Favorite Lyric

Lotta really good lyrics in Ayreon but this lyric from The Sixth Extinction always resonated with me, it seems so simple but it’s so deep and frankly true!

Also I went back to traditional media with this one! I’m still relearning so it’s simpler but I still like how it turned out!

[gingerteaonthetardis]

Dana Scully in The X-Files | S07E01 The Sixth Extinction

I came in search of something I did not believe existed. I've stayed on now, in spite of myself. In spite of everything I've ever held to be true. I will continue here as long as I can—as long as you are beset by the haunting illness which I saw consume your beautiful mind.

[all-eyes-lead-to-the-truth]

All Eyes Lead to the Truth | Season Seven Master Post

Season seven was full of experimenting with different styles, playing with iconic characters, and exploring the last stretch of MSR’s unresolved sexual tension before Mulder’s abduction.

Read through this thread to check out all the different characters we met this season!

The Sixth Extinction (7x01) | Michael Kritschgau

He has no reason to believe any of this has to do with extraterrestrial life. He doesn’t want to believe, in the same way that he doesn’t waste his time trying to prove the existence of Santa Claus.

The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati (7x02) | Medical Examiner

The damage to the lungs lingered in her mind. A dull gray mottling she’d noted earlier, the telltale scarring of long-term secondhand smoke inhalation.

Hungry (7x03) | Rob Roberts

Shit. They’re taking the last piece of “beef” with them. Weirdly, to Rob, the idea of getting caught feels secondary to the loss of whatever juicy biteful he’d left behind.

Millennium (7x04) | Nurse

Would the lights turn off? Would people yell and panic? Would it be a flurry of excitement and confusion?

Would the world end?

Or would it just be a minute later, a new day, another moment in time?

Rush (7x05) | Chastity Raines

Chastity stares sadly down at Tony’s frozen body. She doesn’t want him to die, too. Because the rush is killing her… and she knows she can’t live without it.

The Goldberg Variation (7x06) | Henry Weems

Sometimes he wishes he’d died in that plane crash. After all, there’s only so much good luck a man can take. 

Orison (7x07) | Donnie Pfaster

When she was his entirely—body, soul, and the last trembling breath—he would know what it meant to be alive.

The Amazing Maleeni (7x08) | Billy LaBonge

They’re talking, but all LaBonge can focus on is the thrill of watching Cissy Alvarez’s prison-free life collapse like a house of cards. 

Signs and Wonders (7x09) | Gracie O’Connor

She was tired. Tired of these men telling her what was best, what life she should have. What life God had in store for her. She was going to be a mother now. She needed to leave their beliefs with them.

Sein und Zeit (7x10) | Kathy Lee Tencate

It didn’t matter that she’d be out in twelve years. It didn’t matter that she still had plenty of days ahead of her. He was torn from her life like pages from a book, and the story didn’t mean anything anymore. 

Closure (7x11) | Samantha Mulder

I always believed he’d find me one day. 

X-Cops (7x12) | Tara Scully

Bill groaned, “COPS?! Is nothing sacred?”

First Person Shooter (7x13) | Phoebe

She was powerful. Confident. Everything Phoebe wasn’t. She would give her life and share her with the world.

Theef (7x14) | Dr. Robert Wieder

Nan’s burned body flashes in Robert’s eyes. His wife and his father-in-law… both their lives stolen by a man who calls him a thief. Over his dead body will his little girl be next.

En Ami (7x15) | Housekeeper

A scar. Fresh, neat. The mark of his work. Proof of the miracle.

Chimera (7x16) | Ellen Adderly

Maybe it had been her fear of losing everything she had, but something had come over her that night; some powerful force that compelled her to keep her family together. To keep everything perfect.

all things (7x17) | Daniel Waterston

Ah, the elephant in the room. The thing they’d dodged since he laid eyes on her after so many years. It hangs around them like a shroud– dark, erotic. Unspoken.

Brand X (7x18) | Darryl Weaver

They were all the same– Darryl, Scobie, Voss– all reaping the benefits of this very particular brand of cigarettes.

Hollywood A.D. (7x19) | Wayne Federman

INT. COFFIN - CONTINUOUS

Mulder comes closer to Scully, approaching the inevitable. In the enclosed, tight space, he can finally be honest about his feelings, and there’s nothing stopping him.

Fight Club (7x20) | Betty Templeton/Lulu Pfeiffer

I still can’t believe how long it took for the swelling to go down. Every time I looked in the mirror, there she was—glaring back at me. But that’s over. I’m done with her. Done with all of it.

Je Souhaite (7x21) | Jenn

No wonder she’s bitchy.

Requiem (7x22) | Assistant Director Walter Skinner

Skinner had always thought it was just obsession. A brilliant agent with a disposition towards the things that went bump in the night. This was the price of disbelief.

We had so much fun with this season and we hope you enjoyed it too! This project means so much to us and we appreciate all the love and support we’ve received!

There are so many new dynamics and changes in season eight, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we are <3 - @admiralty-xfd, @fridaysat9, @monikafilefan, @gaycrouton

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