#all ways lead to you series

[raethye]

Any Way You Want Me by raethye

All Ways Lead to You 4

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Seokjin x Taehyung

Length:  8.4K, complete

Tags: Kim Seokjin | Jin/Kim Taehyung | V, Kim Seokjin | Jin, Kim Taehyung | V, Alternate Universe, Fluff and Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Sex, Bondage, Dom/sub Undertones, Dom Kim Taehyung | V, Sub Kim Seokjin | Jin, Top Kim Taehyung | V, Bottom Kim Seokjin | Jin, Reunion Sex, Some Humor, Strip Games, Lingerie, Semi-Public Sex, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn with Feelings, Boys In Love, so much love, Filthy, Established Relationship, No Angst, No Drama, Just Sex, and feelings, Epilogue, Light BDSM, Aftercare, they're happy duh, december boys

“We both know you’ve lost, pretty boy,” Taehyung murmured, “but a little denial is okay. It only makes the moment when you break so much sweeter. I promise you’ll know by the end of this round.”

“Kn-know what?”

“You’re mine. Any way I want you.” Taehyung gently stroked the span of Seokjin’s neck above the collar. “Right?”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/35742808

[luxshua]

The winners of the life series all had their own ways of winning:

1. Grian loyalty, playing into every one of Scar's schemes no matter how stupid they seemed. His win came from blood and tears, a descion made surronded by sand and cacti.

2. Scott defiance, he was never going to play the game the way it was designed. Why would he take life needlessly, no his win came from the refusal to do the watchers bidding.

3. Pearl alone, discarded by her soulmate, discarded by the one who pulled her into the nether in the first place. She won with her ties cut, she won not of her own descion but of the one who decided for her.

4. Martyn scavenger, taking time where most convient, stealing kills from right under peoples noses. His win came when even his trusted ally had his guard down, feral and desperate for just a drop more time, even if it left him frenzied and alone.

[nachosncheezies]

In defense of late-canon x files (including the revivals)

I was thinking about this poll after I commented on it, and I kinda want to be brave and say more.

Short answer to the poll's question before I go any further: If you're a new fan and a sensitive sort who thinks you'll struggle with your blorbos Really Going Through It and you really need a happy ending, I suggest you stop at the end of season 8. Do not pass go, do not look at spoilers. Disregard this post entirely, close the internet, and go look at something that makes you happy. (Also fuck every part of society that characterizes sensitivity as inherently weak and bad and some kind of personal failing, you are valid.)

That said, "quality" as a concept is entirely subjective, and the question of whether or not there's a decline in quality for any story is wholly subjective, too. In the case of x files? I'm not convinced there is a decline. I am going to be upfront that I haven't yet watched past season 8, though I am almost completely spoiled on events after that - and the reason I haven't watched yet is not because of how I know events are going to unfold, but simply because I don't want it to end!!! Ohh, the tension between "I CAN'T WAIT!!!" and "Nooo don't be over D:"

When I first came to txf fandom on tumblr and gradually became spoiled about what happens in late canon though, I was often left uncomfortable and tbh kinda queasy about it. As I said in my comment on the poll, the hate for especially the revival and IWTB, or to a lesser extent even seasons 8 & 9, is very well documented. But! There are other takes to be found here on tumblr if you figure out where to look, and my feelings have changed!

The thing is, I have yet to find myself in any fandom where there isn't a vocal subset of fans who dislike the story after a certain point. I am not joking when I say that no one hates the things they love as passionately as sci-fi and fantasy fans. In my experience, it often hinges on the extent to which a viewer has strong notions on where they would like the characters to end up. In particular with series where shipping is a dominant component for the bulk of a fandom, I have almost universally found that there comes some turning point in the story where "let them be happy you cowards" is the dominant view, and things that compromise the attainment of a degree of romantic stability and/or domesticity are, to many fans, annoying at best and despicable at worst. But! As one tagset on the linked poll said:

and I think for any fandom, that last tag especially is so so so important. (I think that's harder for people watching a weekly series live, bc you have so much time to analyze and speculate and dream before the next breadcrumb drops, but I digress.)

So why am I saying this and how do I apply it to x files? Well, I eventually found that there are also a subset of fans who find redeeming things right up to the very end and actually quite like the whole thing! The things that I had seen people rage and ventpost so much about honestly never quite sounded to me as "out of character" or "untrue to the story" etc as those same ventposts made them sound. And I've discovered I'm not the only one who felt that way. Do I love that the spooky squad had to go through all of those things? No, those poor guys D: Life is hard and they have been through so much trauma. But do those events and their choices make sense to me in light of everything that came before? Yes! And I honestly can't wait to see them fight to overcome those things, breaking, healing, always learning, always growing, always getting better.

So if you're wondering "where does it go wrong"... well, I'm a completionist, as many people who've answered that post are, but also my personal opinion is that I don't think it does go wrong. If you're new and interested in exploring why I've gone from "vaguely queasy" to "excited" about the whole thing, or want to maybe balance out the impressions you're getting about the later seasons before deciding whether or not you want to see the whole thing, I'll put a few blog names in the comments.

Final admission: even once I started feeling a little more confident in the possibility that "actually ok maybe I'm not crazy, maybe this all kind of is in character and does make sense", there was one big plot point that I was NOT looking forward to and I thought I would never be comfortable about. In hindsight, I think my discomfort came from the negative responses being SO seemingly universal that I hadn't stopped to let myself truly consider other possible interpretations on that point. (I mean my initial instinct when I first read about it was, why are we mad about this?? CSM is literally the most unreliable narrator in history???? it's obviously fake news?????? this must be either a fever dream someone's having or it's a misdirection ploy against whatever shadowy forces might still be lurking?????????????? but for whatever reason I guess I had halfway written that off.) Happily, just last month there's a new post-s11 novel out, and although reviews for the book as a whole are mixed, it seems to have laid the groundwork for resolving that plot issue in a way I think most fans would be broadly happy with. If you're interested in being spoiled about that and seeing how, I recommend searching #perihelion on @agent-troi who liveblogged reading it with receipts, scroll back chronological-style to the first post on the subject and see how it unfolded. (And never forget that Dana Katherine Scully is the queen of denial as a coping mechanism lol)

Everyone's mileage will vary. Each person can feel however they want! But for anyone new, I wanted you to know that the very many ventposts you might be seeing are not all there is to this show or its fandom. Some of us love it despite - or even because of - all the things that went "wrong". I think we just don't talk about it as much.

[deus-ex-mona]

something something guys who think of the backs of the girls they love

and girls who pinch the cheeks of the guys they love

[essektheylyss]

Rereading Game of Thrones for the first time since high school is wild, because most of what I remember from my friend group all reading them was which characters the boys made fun of, namely Sansa and Bran and Catelyn, and the girls defending them, and now I'm like, I knew we were correct even if we were partially being spitefully contrarian for the sake of it but it is really apparent in retrospect how correct we were.

[iguessitsjustme]

“Well gee. I don’t really know how to answer. Cause in our past life it was definitely him, but our current life? Well it was me. You see things got a little screwy a few years ago and now we are the walking embodiments of our past life trauma. So to answer your question. It was me.”

[carefulfears]

what do you consider the heart of californication? like really carries through the series & makes it compelling

thank you for this question, i really love it. to me, it's a number of things, starting with that the show cares deeply about hank and takes him seriously in a way that the culture doesn't. in a way, yes, he's their dog and pony show with the funny one-liners and the salacious pull. but the arc of the series is unequivocally aligned with him and his desires and his needs and his values.

hank wants to be with his family, wants to be better for them, wants to not let them down- and the show needs him to fail at all of those things. for the dog and pony of it all, for their viewership and for their thesis and for the food in their mouths, but it simultaneously feels bad that he is failing. simultaneously knows that this isn't what he wants, and that it's sad. and it can be as simple as a dream sequence or a look or a quiet final scene, but every single episode is ultimately going to remind you that everything you're laughing at is a loss.

which, like i said at the top, speaks to a level of respect that the show had for the character that is just gone in discussions of the series. they take the time to recognize that he is missing something. he is losing something and he is without everything that means anything to him, this is the cost. equally important, duchovny respects that character and understands the same.

i was listening to an interview last night (trish you heard this) where he was speaking with some podcast dudebros and one of the hosts said that he always wanted to be just like hank moody, and then he made some "bad decisions" and got there, and he doesn't like it. and duchovny said that every time people come up to him saying "i'm just like hank moody," he says "i'm sorry."

men watch and they want to be just like hank moody and women watch and they want to fuck hank moody so bad, and all of you miss what the source comprehends: that it's an irreparable deficit.

other than that, i feel like what roots that show is that it really isn't all that cynical. not in the way that it could be. and the show believes in hank.

there is a lot of kindness and hope (often false hope) that runs underneath most every relationship and interaction and dynamic in the series and i really really appreciate that about it. it's like in the pilot when hank is being mean and he wants marcy to yell at him and she just says "go home, honey. sleep it off. tomorrow's another day."

there's always a little bit of understanding and grace amongst the crazies and i think there's something really special about that

[elfcollector]

playing dao again reminded me with such grief that my canon worldstate is not my actual Preferred One. but i must live with my choices

[chirpsythismorning]

When Blue Meets Yellow In the West: A Series Long Theory - Part 3

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

[calikat29]

GMMTV can we please get a series that doesn’t have First crying. Please . My heart can’t take anymore

[raethye]

Find My Way To You by raethye

All Ways Lead to You 3

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Seokjin x Taehyung

Length:  17.0K, complete

Tags: Kim Seokjin | Jin/Kim Taehyung | V, Kim Seokjin | Jin, Kim Taehyung | V, Kim Namjoon | RM, Min Yoongi | Suga, Park Jimin (BTS), Jeon Jungkook, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Kim Sejin (BTS), Fluff and Smut, Light Angst, Minor Violence, Kidnapping, Dom/sub Undertones, Dom Kim Taehyung | V, Sub Kim Seokjin | Jin, Top Kim Taehyung | V, Bottom Kim Seokjin | Jin, Porn with Feelings, Porn With Plot, Original Character(s), Hyung Kink, Bondage, Aftercare, Explicit Sexual Content, Established Relationship, Established Kim Seokjin | Jin/Kim Taehyung | V, Revenge, Boys In Love, Legal Drama, Crossdressing, not feminized though, Sexual Roleplay, but no one stays in character very well, it's all chaos and smut and happy endings, Not Beta Read, I'm Sorry

“No spoilers, hyung.” Tae opened the door and held it for Jin. “You have to read it if you want to know how it ends.”

“Maybe I’ll wait for the movie.”

“And who plays you, hm?”

“Brad Pitt, of course.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28076016

[dapperrokyuu]

My feelings on VnC and PH being connected have fluctuated, but currently, Id be hype to have an allusion/reference to PH but Id dislike an establishment that every Mochijun series will then have to fit into the structure PH created.

[inquisitor-apologist]

Honestly I think the Kenobi show should’ve just. Been about Reva. She was the strongest part of the show, and I think that the narrative would’ve been a lot better if we got her full back story and perspective. Obi-Wan could’ve still been there, but Reva really should’ve been the main character

[cabeswaterdrowned]

remembering on my circa 2017 booklr I used to tell people to read Gemma Doyle by describing it as trc but with an all girls boarding school / all girl group in a historical setting… I was trying to do the lord’s work she deserved tumblr fame

[kirbyddd]

[chimaerakitten]

a lot of episodic media will have like...a tension between the nature of episodic media’s need to maintain the status quo and the need for events to effect characters to make them appear to be emotionally and psychologically coherent. The longer the status quo remains unchanged despite evidence that it should or would change, the more characters start to flatten into caricatures, especially when the story is structured around some single big secret or reveal. The superhero's family and friends’ memories of his secret identity can only be accidentally erased so many times before you start to wonder why the hell he can’t just tell them—after all, he remembers at least two incidences and they reacted well in both.

Everyone already knows this—it’s why a solid half of the body of fanfic for any show like this will be about the big reveal finally happening, and a third of those will go on after the reveal in an effort to prove that the status quo can change in this way without the entire premise of the show being moot. Sort of a, “We’ve proved we’ll all still watch a superhero show with reduced identity shenanigans, why the hell won’t the writers get on with it?” thing.

But then there’s a slightly less common tension that happens where instead of flattening into caricatures, characters under the sway of an episodic status quo will stay 3D, but in a way the writers obviously didn’t intend. The first time the hero intentionally erases his family’s memories of his secret identity in episode four, we sympathize, because at that point he doesn't know how they’ll react and he’s trying to protect them. When he does it again in episode 43 after he knows they’ll be ok with it and also that the villains will find out his secret identity and target his family regardless of if they know, he’s an irrational paranoid asshole. And sometimes of course that’s the intent, die a hero etc etc, but it fascinates me that sometimes it’s not and the writers were clearly expecting you to sympathize in episode 43 the same way you did in episode 4.