#The directors cut of this fic would involve a lot more lines for the cameos so to speak

[besthimbomachine]

chapter 8 of MLWIC is so cute and probably my favourite so far 😭 i love the new friendship and (not-so) secret pinning between kenny and the reader (+ mercedes and okada teasing them about each other made me lol)

Oh God I hate how my naming style for fics is so bad that even using an acronym sucks I just realized that now akshaksh

Anyways, real surprised chapter 8 got this much love, I think I may have hit the angst button too hard in the previous ones so it helped make this one look better because it was fluffier. But nonnie I'm glad it was your favorite!

I'm happy you like their friendship, I think that it is an important piece for me to imply that this time the relationship has a chance. I mean, by my experience, it's easier for the relationship to work when you are already friends before.

And yeah Kenny's hidden (but only from a certain distance) pinning has been fun to write actually. He is good at hiding it so long as you don't ask him about it, which, mood. And reader being living that good old 'ya know what I'd tap that' vibe also mood.

Okada and Mercedes my faves. Mercedes getting all 'come on Kenny is a himbo, don't you just wanna get some?'. She is in favor of doing some ex fucking just for fun. If he is a better person now and still hot, why not have a fling, always better to have multiple contacts at hand than only one. I mean, sometimes you want a cowboy, sometimes you want a weabo.

And oh boy I hate that I had to cut a chunk of Okada's dialogue cause the chapter was huge already, he was gonna be allowed to be funnier and to put more pressure on Kenny. He was actually gonna mention a funny (and embarrassing) story about a time when Kenny had to rescue drunk reader back when they were together. And he would have pretty much tried to pressure Kenny into admitting his feelings going like 'ok you don't care. Sure. If you aren't gonna make a move IL will then) which would have tied with Mercedes going "so, about Okada???" earlier.

[portsidewonderland]

Okay, I’ve been wanting to write this for the last three weeks, but I’m finally - finally - sitting down to do just that.

First, I’m a Rogan shipper. I’ve been a Rogan shipper for the last 20 years, but in that time, I’ve grown, I’ve experienced my own sense of love, and I’m a writer so I’d like to think I’m familiar with structure, characterization, and the like.

Second, I’m focused on the film franchise, strictly speaking. Just wanted to make sure that is clear.

Having said that, when I discuss how utterly wrong the X-Men franchise is, I’m talking about from a story standpoint. When I speak of Logan and Rogue, if that ship isn’t your jam, fine, but the points I make still stand.

Finally, spoiler alert for all of the movies.

Okay, I think we’re ready to jump in.

1. After the first movie, everyone forgot the heart of what made the first movie so special: Wolverine & Rogue

I don’t necessarily mean together. I mean, the movie focused primarily on Logan’s story and Rogue’s story. It was told through THEIR POV. This is important because, essentially, we’re asked to connect with these two characters AND WE DO.

The dialogue, the acting, and their stories (which reflect each other’s as well as stand on their own) draw us in and we are hooked.

Even the critics thought some of the best scenes are the ones Logan and Marie share together. Multiple critics discuss chemistry, how they add to the scene, etc.

Regardless of whether you ship them or not, there’s a compelling story between the two. This vulnerable, slip of a girl is the most powerful X-men out there (or one of) and this growly, fierce angry, broken man who’s been alone for so long that out of everyone he’s met and seen, THIS girl brings him to his knees.

And it’s because she isn’t scared of him.

Even after watching him beat the shit out of his opponent, even after seeing the claws threaten humans and slice through a barrel of a gun, she still thinks, I can trust him.

And when he catches her in his trailer, she STILL isn’t afraid of him. She gives him lip. She calls him out on his shit.

That’s how she manages to slide through the cracks.

And that is BEAUTIFUL.

I’m not here to talk about the performances, but Jesus Christ, I love this scene so damn much. The chemistry RADIATES. The glances, the confusion, the curiosity, and the attraction. (Sorry not sorry, it’s there on both parts, I’ll die on this hill.)

Anyway, the first movie is about how this girl brings the savage, feral Wolverine to his knees. How she gets him to STAY. How she gets him to open up.

Yes, Logan wants info on his past, but he’s staying for Marie. We all know it.

When he threatens Jean after first waking up, Jean is scared. And for good reason, obviously.

But Logan STABS Marie with his claws, and guess what? She’s still not scared of him. She’s worried about him.

This is THEIR story.

Do you really think Wolverine is going to go running around in leather for anyone but Marie? Yeah, I don’t think so. I mean, he literally STABS HIMSELF IN THE CHEST to free himself and get to her.

He PROMISES her that he’d take care of her. Do you think Wolverine bullshits? Hell no, he doesn’t.

And that’s why....

2. The whole Jean thing was just not great.

Okay, can I tell you something?

I don’t see Jean as a sympathetic character. She’s engaged to Scott and suddenly, Wolverine comes strolling in and she can’t get her shit together?

I mean, okay, I get it, let’s be real.

But Scott isn’t a bad guy. He nay be a dick, but he treats Jean well. Because we’re not in Cyclops’ or Jean’s head, we as the audience don’t see any marital/romantic issues between them. Hence, when Jean gets flustered by Wolverine to the point where she lets him goad her into reading his mind, she knows what she’s doing. She likes it. She likes Logan’s attention.

Not because she likes Logan.

(I read this fic where basically Jean tells Logan he could have been anybody, and I thought that was so perfect)

But because he’s giving her attention. He makes her feel desired.

And she leads him on.

Right there, I don’t like her, and I think that’s why a lot of Rogan shippers don’t like her is that she has no problem toying not only with Logan’s feelings, but with Scott’s.

But that’s not even the worst part of this.

At the end, when Logan asks for Marie and Jean makes her comment, she adds, “I think she’s taken with you.”

Like - why would Jean say that? Why mention it?

That’s petty ass shit right there.

To me, what she’s trying to do is align herself with Logan as adults and belittle Marie for having a little crush on him. Like it’s so juvenile.

And the worst line of this whole movie is when he says, “Tell her my heart belongs to another.”

Want to know why?

Because the writers/director haven’t SHOWN this. This line is forced here to TELL the audience that we should be shipping Jean and Wolverine. It’s sloppy writing. It tells me they think the audience are idiots.

Really, Logan?

Jean has your heart even though you completely go against Tall Dark and Feral to pick up a girl, then stay at the school with her, leave a fucking mansion to bring her back, make a promise to her, go after her after she’s kidnapped, stab yourself in the chest, fling yourself on the Statue of Liberty AND RISK YOUR FUCKING LIFE TO SAVE ROGUE’S JUST BY TOUCHING HER and you want me to believe your heart belongs to Jean????

Please, tell me, why the FUCK should I buy that?

Oh, because they’re the same age?

LOL no.

Anyway, I didn’t like Jean’s characterization because of that. Because she’s leading people on, because she needs to put down Marie’s feelings after her ordeal because of her insecurity, because of it all.

Which is why I’ll never ship them together.

Logan is at his worst when he’s around Jean.

Anyway.

And Jean is just the worst.

3. They took something meaningful and they fucked it

Logan promises to take care of Rogue. Do you know important that is for both of them as individuals and their relationship?

Rogue only goes back because of Logan. Not for anyone else. Not even Bobby. She comes back, she stays, for Logan.

Where do we see that after the second movie?

He’s so goddamned focused on Jean, on everything about her, that he barely notices that Rogue is ready to get the cure.

I’m GLAD they got a scene together. Because of their looks.

I am.

But shit.

It’s like Logan has completely forgotten all about Rogue, and I’m sorry, but after that first movie, I just can’t buy that.

I can buy that he leaves to check out his past. The dog tag scene is one of my absolute favorites. That’s perfect. Makes sense.

(Also, side note: Fic is so beautiful about this but he isn’t afraid to touch her. Like, he doesn’t HAVE to play with her hair but he does. It’s playful and flirty. It IS. He could have just said he liked her hair BUT HE HAD TO TOUCH IT. And this is HUGE for Rogue because honestly SHE’S afraid to touch and of herself but if Logan isn’t afraid, she stops being afraid - if that makes sense.)

But seriously? He’s not calling the mansion, not writing to Rogue?

I don’t believe that for one second.

This is why I will never watch The Wolverine after that first time (I refuse especially after the director said he was contemplating adding Rogue at the end and didn’t and FUCK EVERYTHING.) because he just leaves because he’s upset about fucking JEAN

I’m sorry but the Wolverine isn’t ABOUT Jean.

If that was the case, we should have had point of views between Logan and Jean in the first movie, not Rogue.

We should have SEEN their development, but we didn’t.

We’re TOLD it.

I’m sorry, but how do you want me to believe that the big bad Wolverine runs off to Japan because he’s sad about Jean? Like, so he’s just going to leave Rogue alone with all of those threats? Are you fucking kidding me?

Show them keeping in touch or SOMETHING. You can’t expect me to see such a huge transformation arc in Logan in the first movie that just gets shit on in every other movie (besides the second). Because that makes Wolverine look like a big, gigantic ASSHOLE and I get that he’s supposed to be that way, but NOT with Rogue.

Which is why Days of Future Past pisses me off as much of the rest them (I’m only discussing the Rogue Cut because I refuse to acknowledge that Bryan Singer - who gave us the first movies - regulated Rogue to such a fucking small cameo.) because Rogue was treated as garbage.

Now, I’m going to assume Logan doesn’t know about what really happened to Rogue because no one told him. But honestly? If he cares about Rogue the way I know he does, he should be asking about her every single time he and Xavier talk.

I love that Logan can sense Rogue when she steps in to help. I love that Rogue refuses to let go of Logan’s mind even in the heart of danger (@bigfrogbestfrogs has an awesome breakdown of these scenes). But I’m appalled at how Kitty is chosen before Rogue? Like, even when coming up with the idea for this movie, why not involve Rogue more?

I refuse to discuss Bobby and her together at the end.

Fuck that.

4. The timelines

Look, I’m not even going to go into the shit that is the timelines.

But honestly?

Fuck everything about that.

I get Singer wanted to retcon X3, but I don’t care.

Based on Apocalypse, the future still sucks so everything failed and then the movie LOGAN takes that shit and amplifies it.

5. LOGAN (the movie)

I’m sorry, but this movie is amazing in some ways and sucks in others.

Want to know why?

Because it takes everything about what made the first movie great and emphasized it.

Laura is too young to be a love interest, so clearly, it’s paternal, and I’m here for it.

But there are so many parallels between logan and Laura and Logan and Rogue that for Logan not to say anything or feel anything in a way tgat tells the audience he’s feeling something just boggles my mind.

Even if he carried HER picture or played with the dog tags and thought of her, something that shows the audience he remembers her, dammit, and she MEANT something to him.

But FUCK how could he NOT?

And that’s why the scene where he’s reading that comic book and he sees himself saving Rogue is so poignant.

Because his gaze lingers.

I mean, obviously I’m assuming she’s dead (which is bullshit but whatever). But still.

And then when he’s dying and Laura is holding his hands and you get that prophecy of him dying with his heart in his hand and I loved how they paired it with the Logan and Rogue song. I loved that callback.

And if the films in between them weren’t such shit, it would be enough.

But it’s not enough for me.

There was so much potential and everything got shit on and it angers me soooo much.

Anyway.

That’s me venting.

Luckily we have so many talented Rogan fic writers and that our ship has survived 20 years.

But still.

What could have been...

Shit.

[cannibal-wings]

This was for that fanfic author director’s cut post I reblogged a few days ago.

I’m going to choose to talk about Survivors, because when do I ever pass up on an opportunity to talk about Survivors? The answer is never.

Specifically I’ll be talking about the character of David Annapurna.

David Annapurna is a minor character only mentioned in two notes, those being Request for Reassignment and Persecutorial Delusions.

He’s an orderly who started to get wind that something wasn’t quite right at Mount Massive. He threatened to quite and go to the authorities and was then captured and submitted as a patient against his will. (Sound familiar? Maybe like a certain other protagonist?) Good, because before Whistleblower came out, most of the fandom, me included, thought David was the one who originally emailed Miles. It turns out it was Waylon, but hey, it was a fun theory while it lasted.

I added David in originally because I needed another human contact for Miles to interact with, and I needed a man who had a good heart and would see the surviving patients in a similar light that Miles did. Sympathetic. I should mention now that the very first draft of The Aftermath at Mount Massive was outlined to be only four chapters and about 80 pages. Roughly they were: 1. Introduction of Miles and R (the chapter that became Home in Hell) 2. Introduction of the surviving patients. (what became Those Left Behind) 3. Waylon Park introduction chapter (what later became Eyeballs Don’t Go In Spaghetti) 4. Aftermath of dealing with the surviving patients. (The ideas here became the chapters Rain and Breaking Point. An aside, Breaking Point also has an interesting history behind it, but I’ll only dive into it if I get another ask asking for it)

David was set to be introduced in chapter two, and to my credit, I stuck to that. He had a cameo in chapter one and a formal introduction in chapter two. Now, it was about halfway through writing chapter two that I realized my idea of a four chapter story wasn’t going to work. Those Left Behind became a three part section of plot and roughly 60 pages on its own. It was by this point I had started to plot more deeply for what would come after The Aftermath at Mount Massive, the fic later to be named The Long Road. I realized that I needed to seed events for The Long Road in The Aftermath, so I began to do that in chapters two through four. After chapter four I swiftly abandoned the old outline in favor of a more detailed story that delved into life at the Asylum more than originally planned. In the original script, David was supposed to die in chapter two. Now, with Miles spending more time in the asylum, I still needed a friend type character. So I postponed David’s death and rewrote how it was all going to go down, this also gave me a chance to flesh out The Gospel of the Sand.

The problem was that the more I wrote David interacting with Miles, the more I didn’t want to kill him. You can tell when you read that I was getting attached to the character. So I pushed his death back to like, three chapters before the end and set it as the emotional climax of one of Miles’ arcs. However, even with the new death point in place, I began to wonder if I really wanted to kill David.

So here’s where the super directors cut information comes in. I actually have a whole outline and test scenes written for a version of The Long Road where David Annapurna goes with Miles, R and Waylon to take down Murkoff.

Much of the scenes that take place in the Park’s house were rewritten because David is visibly disfigured from the Murkoff experiments, this leads Lisa to have a very different reaction to the plan and to Murkoff as a whole. It also shifted the emotions that surrounded the Miles is the Walrider’s host reveal. The military base scene remained mostly unchanged as I had them leave David in the motel room for most of it. One of the biggest differences was that I started to draft a side plot where Waylon became increasingly anxious over the idea that the Engine Therapy he was subjected to would somehow cause him to start dying of the metal tumors that David was currently dying from. There was also a minor plot of David being jealous that Waylon essentially got away unscathed at the very thing David himself wanted to do and was caught and experimented on before he could do it.To David, Waylon embodied the future he wish he had for himself, but now would never have.

In the end, I decided to go with the original plan to kill David in The Aftermath and have it be at Miles’ hands. I found that the dynamic changed too much in The Long Road by adding David into the mix. I really wanted the contrast of Miles who is absurdly upbeat, headstrong and confident due to being the Host, and slightly unhinged to Waylon’s more reserved, nervous, and terrified early emotions. It also took a lot of the unsettling nature of R out of the picture, as David is quite used to the Walrider and sees R almost like a friend. I wanted R to remain more of a cold calculated creature that Waylon was frightened of. Honestly? I also didn’t want to plot out and write a new death scene for David and I felt that by removing him from the Gospel of the Sand plot that that arc would end more limply than I intended.

I struggled with this choice quite a bit, and while I don’t regret sticking with the original trio dynamic, you can see that I have Miles comment on David a few times throughout The Long Road. I specifically wrote in scenes where he wished David was still with him, and imagined what it would be like to have a friend who really understood what he had become with them on their trip.

David might be gone, but he’s not forgotten. There are still seeds left to sprout involving his character down the line, and Miles will continue to think about him. It’s really funny how a minor character mentioned in two notes could snowball into one of the more important characters in a 260 page story. He’s genuinely one of my favorite extrapolations I’ve done of the Outlast characters. So much so that I’m keeping his character intact and expanding his role in the novel version of Survivors I’m writing that is separate from the fic version. David just became too important to me to let go.