#they could start a support group

[between-two-fandoms]

Evan Buckley 🤝 TK Strand: having weird comatose dreams after they almost die from natural disasters.

[moonscape]

isat: explores the concept of found family outside of the expected nuclear family dynamic. goes even further by being explicitly against the idea of a found family always being nuclear, and shows this by having the characters cringe and express discomfort at the idea of being assigned specific roles. wants you to accept its found family being an amorphous blob

isat fans who don't understand themes outside of fandomized incorrect quote blogs: okay but what if odile was the mom friend and the rest of the group are her kids

[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.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Based on a real group chat convo (I was Jingyi)

[danothan]

i saw a video of an autistic guy speaking abt his experience with his trust and kindness being taken advantage of, not bc he can’t identify red flags necessarily, but bc he gives everyone an unconditional benefit of the doubt. he said that apparently most ppl don’t think this way, and for autistic ppl that struggle w gullibility, we have to assume the worst abt ppl and then let them prove us wrong

and tbh that stung in a way i still have a hard time wrapping my head around. what a hellish life either way

[this is abt personal experiences, pls don’t use this as a generalization or confirmation abt autism]

[kuromi-hoemie]

Sometimes i feel annoying for talking abt boys sm on here but I've been in sapphic spaces since i was a teen or have otherwise always just been chilling w the girlies.. Was also in a 5 and 6 year long relationship w bi women. Frankly, i did not get to see many dudes I'm attracted to ever lol, but I'm older and know they're out there yk..? Seeing a dude im attracted to used to be a once in a every other other blue moon kinda thing.

He/him lesbians showed me there's all sorts of guys out there.. Also in the greater trans community after i became a part of it and intersex folk, and cis dudes r still a once in a blue moon thing but at this point I've seen enough of them!!!! 😩 i have a whole lifetime of appreciation that's catching up to me rn!!! im in my boy crazy era and it feels great to be here 😳

Still crazy about everyone else like being bisexual truly is an intoxicating experience lol, but it's boy time rn for me ʕ⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴥ⁠ꈍ⁠ʔ i also happen 2 meet other transmasc folk often enough irl and they have been very sweet and supportive of me, and a continuous n lovely presence in my life since my early 20s ♡ forgive me if I'm corny sometimes and loud about it. Being boy crazy and a mix of accumulated sentimentality...

[mycupofstars]

Xie Wang Wen Kexing and Jin Guangyao in an "I'm sorry you did WHAT to your father" support group

[turnedpalefromlackofsun]

I cant show the whole thing cuz yeah

I think I drew this last year

It's not the most disproportionate thing I've drawn. I can and will draw worse

Its pretty bad I kinda agree with the "ew" part

[lord-squiggletits]

Man there's nothing wrong with genderbends as a concept but there's something lowkey infuriating about this fandom's tendency to take canonically gay (or at least, MLM) male characters and genderbend them into women like. Is that not at least a little bit uncomfortable for anyone else here or is it just me

[unproduciblesmackdown]

omgg lol [guy who won't stop going "more like scapeGOATED" voice] now hold! on!! lmao [same guy just saw encanto voice] Hold on!!!

[bo0bydrake]

i have got to emphasise on the fact that this is huge actually- gay rights in football is something that's just barely discussed. during the world cup in qatar, captains were banned from wearing a one love captain's band because it was too political (it was just a band with a rainbow heart on it), homophobia and racism is practically rooted in the songs sung during matches and there are no out players in the premier league, or more generally, there is only one (1) out player in the top leagues. having a character simply just,, be with another man and also a footballer in the premier league is a huge statement and will hopefully aid in trying to make football a better space.

[luvuomi]

🤍 ꒱ “and the trees were happy…”

─── yuzuha + sethomi but make it omori angst

(🖋️ ) additional note: omori manga had me hyper fixating so bad i decided to cook something small real quick LMAO. of course it’s nothing as soul crushing as the inspiration source itself but it’s still a tad bit angsty ( like a smidge really ). there are also some special mentions of certain individuals as well~ they’ll know when they see hehe

it's been several years since he last set foot on these grounds -- years since he felt a cool wind brush past his cheeks amidst this blazing summer heat while the lush grass below softens his every step. shadows are casted upon the ground from the countless trees standing about, looming over to shroud him in all their grandness that strangely felt like a homecoming. they seemed a lot happier back then… kazuha thinks.

in the distance, a weeping willow comes into view.

at the foot of the tree, he catches a glimpse of something from times bygone. he first sees himself, sat upon a picnic blanket with his friends kunikuzushi and lyney, accompanied by their respective lovers. they all appear to be gathered for a picnic. several delicious foods and pastries scattered about the blanket whilst they all happily conversed about one thing or another.

and then, he sees her. sitting beside him with a hand placed over his as she laughs at something kunikuzushi's lover had remarked about him. her laughter devoid of any sound, and leaving him with only the sight of her smiling face to witness. how he'd long to hear such a melodious laughter once again.

but, there is another as well--one who's figure appears to him as nothing but a blur on the opposite side of her. though, such a sight almost feels intentional. like he'd made sure to forget the appearance of that person a long time ago.

just as quickly as the memory came however, it faded away the closer he drew near.

the carefree individuals disappear into thin air and the red gingham blanket becomes replaced with the sight of a gravestone that has a potted flower placed before it: a lily of the valley. and sitting before that, the mysterious figure from his fragmented memories. except this time, he becomes more visible in kazuha's line of sight.

at the sound of approaching footsteps, the person turns his head around, glancing over his shoulders. upon meeting kazuha's gaze, he doesn't say anything for a moment. merely staring at him with verdant eyes that seemed to have lost their light. like he'd suddenly lost any remaining hope he had left for this world. "for a moment i thought i was seeing a ghost…but it really is you."

[bonefall]

What will you do if they give Birchkit defining Tigerkin features in cannon?

Already on it! Birchkit and Rowankit were Strikestone's biokits.

I'm still working on details; but my thought is that it was an honor siring situation. He was going to raise his kittens alone and claim Queen's Rights, but then he died in that fight with the impostor. He only told his close family about it.

So after the dust had settled, Heart and Dove contacted the honor dam/surrogate and asked what her plans with the kittens were, now that Strikestone was dead. That's how they ended up with Birch and Rowan.

Whoever they are, I think Strike was buddies with them, so I'm considering that maybe it was a litter of 3 and they kept one. But it's also possible that they established from the get-go that they did not want to raise kits, and so there were only 2 which Heart and Dove now have.

This means that they are considered Heartstar's kittens by all social means, but biologically, they are her grand-nespring.

[schrodingers-slut]

Any other queer disabled ppl feel like it takes multiple spreadsheets to just like. exist/participate in life?

[pionas]

having 12 members of a group winning their cases for contract termination is huge it just shows that wtv that company was doing was extremely awful i am just so so so so glad that they got rid of bbc and hopefully can do wtv they want with their career this is honestly so exciting

[moonchild-in-blue]

you & i can form a soft girlie (gn) support group. it’s just a giant cuddle pile with comfy blankets and tasty snacks while listening to tender-hearted tunes.

Omg can we actually? I'll have you know I cry embarrassingly easy. If someone puts the Spirit or Tarzan soundtrack is absolutely over for me 🥺

We're gonna need a good stash of kleenex, balm (for the nose) and ibuprofen (for headaches) hahaha