#and looking bad I’m glad I did. fuck the pledge of allegiance!!

[liukangmybeloved]

everyone else is fighting for second {Mortal Kombat (2021)}

SPOILERS FOR MORTAL KOMBAT (2021)

Summary: Canon Divergent AU. Crack & Fluff. The team develops into something of a found family, which happens to include Cole's actual family. They take a day off from fighting to go to the fair, where the biggest question is 'who is Cole's daughter's favourite in the team?' Besides her dad, of course. Kano is very competitive about this question.

A/N: 1968 words. I will take a meat-tenderizer and FIX the canon and make it SOFT. i love cole young and mk 2021, if you don't like that, you've been warned. everybody lives/nobody dies AU & kano isn't a traitor. also imagine there's just like.... more time before the tournament. enough to become a found family. like i said, fluff & crack. warnings for swearing.

If Cole had it his way, Emily and Kano would have never met. He would be perfectly happy letting everyone else on the team meet her, but he's yet to hear a single sentence leave Kano's mouth that didn't include some colourful variation of 'fuck', 'shit', 'wanker', or 'cunt'. So unsurprisingly, he wasn't exactly eager to let his teenager daughter near the man who Sonya had literally called 'scum of the Earth', but alas.

"I'll be on my best behaviour, pinky-swear!" Kano's grin was all teeth as he'd held his pinky finger up to Cole's glowering face, wiggling it a little when Cole made no move to finish the pinky-swear.

"If you say - cunt -" and the word sounds so uncomfortable coming from Cole, he damn well looks uncomfortable just saying it, "within a hundred feet of her, I'll get Kung Lao to cut you in half." And he gesutres over to where Kung Lao and the rest of their ragtag bunch of misfits; the man in question had forgone his usual weapon for a more modern, soft-brimmed sunhat, but his jaunty wave to Kano at the sound of his name still managed to be menacing. The Australian shuddered in horror at the mere thought; at least he took the threat seriously.

"You don't have to be jealous, man," the threat seemed to only have dampened Kano's jovial attitude momentarily, as he's got a spring in his step as he follows Cole to the rest of the gathered champions, "Uncle Kano's gonna set a fuckin' - flippin' -" he corrects himself as Cole shoots him a warning look, "great example." Sonya barks a loud, derisive laugh as Cole sees fit to remind him that he's not Uncle Kano.

"Emily's a good kid," Liu Kang assures, kind and sincere.

"Yeah, she never even believes me when I tell her Kano's a dirty, little rat," Kung Lao smirks in the face of Kano's sudden outrage, and Cole is pretty sure that, despite it being Emily and Alison's idea, to give the team a day of levity and to bond, this might be the worst plan he's ever agreed to.

"This is a day of bonding, not of infighting," Raiden's voice joins them, followed by the God himself only moments later, which is enough to unite all the champions in confusion at his choice of wardrobe for the day. While still sporting a majority of his usual attire, somehow he'd managed to procure a t-shirt with a meme of all things on it, a personalised meme!

"I designed it myself, I think it turned out pretty okay; whaddya think?" Kano sounded far too proud of himself, looking at the cartoon drawing of what could only be Raiden himself pointing awkwardly at Thor as depicted in Marvel Comics, who was pointing back.

"We are both Gods of Thunder," Raiden explained, pointing to his own shirt; Sonya had gone wide-eyed, unsure of how to react, while Jaxx was doing his utmost not to burst out laughing.

"I... didn't know you knew what a meme was," Cole admits, though honestly, once the shock had worn off of, it was rather charming.

"I didn't know you knew what a meme was," Kano fired back, equally confused.

"I have a thirteen-year-old, of course I know what a meme is -" but then it seems to hit him just as it hits Sonya and Jax, and the three of them turn to the pair of confused, cave-dwelling, internet-free champions. None of them knew where to begin trying to explain the whole situation, but thankfully, Raiden chose that moment to open a lightning portal, and they all headed through quickly.

----

The night that Cole and his family had gone home after everything had gone down, the fighting, Sub-Zero, and the man he's pretty sure is the ghost of his ancestor, Emily had looked him dead in the eye and called him a super hero.

And then told him that his friends were really cool.

This was a sentiment that his new friends seemed to share about his family.

Cole quickly comes to realise that family isn't something a lot of the rest of the team have nowadays; they have each other, but for a lot of them, that's mostly it. He sits on an invite to dinner that he'd already ran past Alison several days ago, before inviting Liu Kang and Kung Lao over, if nothing else, to repay the hospitality they'd shown him so early on.

Alison's rule was that there was to be peace on their property; no training, no fighting, but the team was welcome as long as they didn't bring trouble to the door.

So then it was Sonya and Jaxx, who brought dessert when they came over.

Emily once asked what Thunder Gods ate. Did they eat? Cole wasn't sure. He extends an invite to Raiden anyways, but it's politely declined. The next time, however, he took up Cole's invite, mostly for the company, and to thank Alison and Emily for their patience; having Cole away so often wasn't easy, he'd be the first to acknowledge that. Alison appreciated the sentiment, as did Emily, though she was also just bursting with questions for the God, and he did his best to answer what he could.

Then finally - finally - after so long spent with the team, of most of them coming to find comfort and serenity in his home on the occasions that they need it, Kano is invited to Sunday lunch too.

----

"I know us champions and our super powers are pretty cool," Kano says to Emily, the moment they step through the lightning portal and emerge into the sunshine and the noise of the fair, "but I'm your favourite, right? Besides your old man, of course," and he rolls his eyes a little at that, as does Cole, for very different reasons, while Alison shoots Cole a questioning look. Thankfully she still does not trust Kano as far as she could throw him.

For her part, Emily answers incredibly diplomatically, sounding much older than her thirteen years, and quite a bit like her mother;

"Kano, you're a grown man, my approval shouldn't matter to you," she sounds sincere, which is completely undercut by Kung Lao sliding into step beside Kano.

"Which means you're not her favourite," he teases, and Kano practically growls back, embarrassed, while Emily calls out to Raiden that she likes his shirt. He practically beams.

"Not a lot of people will really get it, though," she points out, and Raiden muses on that for a moment.

"But I get it, and it's mine."

"Fair point," Emily nods at that, as their strange group steps up to buy tickets.

---

Emily spends more of the fair of people's shoulders than she does actually walking, which delights her endlessly. Mostly she's up on Jax's shoulders, and charges her cotton candy for the ride, ripping a small chunk from the one Cole had bought for her.

"It's weird seeing you all look so normal," she says to Sonya, the two of them in line for the Dodge 'Em Cars alongside Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Sonya grins, knows exactly what she means, gaze turning to the two members of the Shaolin Order of Light, not that anyone would know simply from looking at them now. Where Liu Kang had found a pair of trendy, ripped jeans was beyond Sonya's imagination.

"You look cool, though," Emily amended quickly, "I didn't realise you all would come to the fair, but I'm glad you did," she's smiling brightly as they get closer to the front of the line.

"Who did you expect to come along today?" Liu asks, eyes wide and curious. It wasn't that he was as competitive as Kung Lao or Kano, but he still found the child's interpretation of their group to be interesting. She knows, in some capacity, what they're capable off; she'd watched her father slice, dice, and kill Goro after all. The fact that she could think so highly of them speaks a lot to her capacity for kindness, or perhaps her childish naivety, but Liu preferred to think it was the former.

Emily, however, goes quiet, seems to be a little embarrassed. She mutters something, avoiding eye contact with any of them, and Liu goes to ask her to repeat herself, but she interrupts him while doing so;

"I wanted Dad to have a day off," she admitted, before adding, "and... and Lord Raiden; I don't think he's had a day off this millennium."

"It's good of you to look out for them," Sonya tells her fondly, "our team can be pretty single-minded, but we needed this day off, I think." And she gives Emily a pet on the shoulder, and lets her steer the tandem Car when they finally get a turn.

----

"It's me, right? I'm your favourite," Jax asks Emily over lunch, not because he genuinely believes it, but because it riles up Kano, and to a lesser extent, the competitive Liu Kang.

"Jax is one bad day away from pledging his allegiance to Skynet, he can't be your favourite -" Kano grumbles.

"Dad's my favourite," Emily reminds them sternly, and Cole has to hide his proud little smile, before she adds, "and mom's my favourite too, the rest of you, well of course you're all badass as hell -"

"Is it Liu? 'Cos he's pretty and you're, yanno, a teenage girl," Kano scowls at the warrior who'd been attempting to just quietly enjoy his basket of fries. Both Cole and Alison are wearing similarly murderous expressions, and Kano raised his hands in mock surrender, dropping his gaze.

"Actually," Emily said pointedly, despite the embarrassed flush on her cheeks, though she was mirroring her parents intensity, "my favourite is Raiden because he's literally a God that shoots lightning out of his hands, and you're now my least favourite because you're a rat bastard."

"I taught her that," Kung Lao was grinning from ear to ear, and when he and Emily look to each other, they share a definitive nod.

"How come he's allowed to teach her words like bastard?!" Kano demanded to know.

"Because you're a bastard," Sonya interjects.

Kano is thankfully quiet for the remainder of lunch, sulking at his end of the table as chatter returns to normal, returns to talk of how everyone else had been enjoying the day.

----

At the end of the day, Kano shoves a large, stuffed kangaroo at Emily that he'd won at the booth where you had to knock over bottles.

"Didn't even use me eye or anything; lost an hour of my life and fifty fuckin' dollars," he was grumbling, while Emily was examining the prize.

"You won this?" She seemed endeared by it, endeared by the thought that he'd put the time into winning it for her.

"'course I won it, can I stop being your least favourite now?" He asked, and Emily tucked the kangaroo beneath her arm, giving him an appraising look.

"You can't buy my loyalty -"

"Wouldn't want it if it could be bought, I know that shit from experience," Kano interjected, crossing his arms defensively, ignoring where Cole was glowering at him every time he swore.

"But you put time in, and effort, so you're back to third with everyone else."

"As long as none of those bastards is beating me, I'm okay with that."

As they headed to the exit, to where Raiden had created a lightning portal for them all to go home through, Emily reached out and punched Kano lightly in the shoulder.

"Thanks, Kano, it's pretty sweet that you care so much."

"Don't tell the others," he grumbled back.

"We've been with you all day," Jax calls out, "we already know."

[moldychocc]

saccharine | a seccolata playlist

pronouns and stuff are adjusted x)   [ the link is  h e r e  ]

saccharine — jazmin bean: everything you do/ i'm obsessed with you/i don't mean to scare/ but you're just so cute/ every move you make/ you're fucking sweeter than a cake/i wanna cut you up/ and put you in my oven just to bake/ this shit is scaring me/ the thought of caring/ for anyone makes me want to scream/ looking at you makes me wanna/ gouge out my eyes/ bloody surprise/ like cherry pie/ will you be mine?/ saccharine, feeling kind of sick vomit in my teeth/ i don't want this responsibility

baby eyes — green day: they say my middle name is danger/ the guy you keep away from strangers / i’m out of control/ oh baby when i see your pretty face/ god rest your fucking soul/ 'cause baby, baby I was born to kill

prescription — mindless self indulgence: i'm the doctor, i'm the patient/ don't forget that, it's important/ if ya love me, like i love me/ everybody will be sorry

nine inch nails — closer: i broke apart my insides/ help me/ i've got no soul to sell/ i wanna fuck you like an animal/ i wanna feel you from the inside/ my whole existence is flawed/ you get me closer to god

fuck time — green day: take a look into my eyes/ i wanna hold you 'til you're paralyzed/ oh baby, baby, it's fuck time/ you know i really want to make you mine

dna — little mix: no scientist or biology/ it’s only natural that i'm so affected/ and my heart won't beat again/ if i can't feel him in my veins/ no need to question, i already know/ it's in his dna

turn me on — nicki minaj: doctor, doctor, need you back home/ doctor doctor, where you at? give me something/i need your love, i need your loving/ you got that kind of medicine that keeps me coming

the dismemberment song — blue kid: hold still, my sweet/ i'm trying to measure the space between your molar and your jaw/ this caliper– no cause for fear/ no, it... it doesn't hurt/ it only helps me measure how much skin you have

can’t decide — scissor sisters: i can't decide/ whether you should live or die/ you'll probably go to heaven/ please don't hang your head and cry/ no wonder why/ my heart feels dead inside/ it's cold and hard and petrified/ lock the doors and close the blinds/ we're going for a ride

culling of the fold — the decemberists: cut him up boy/ he's a wicked disgrace/ and he said it to your face/ you better cut him up boy/ take him by the teeth/ get him down on his knees/ with your hands all shaking

what do they know? — mindless self indulgence: beat me up/ beat me down/ mess me up/ beyond all recognition/ for what it's worth/ i'd do it again/ with no consequence/ i will do it again

adrenalize — in this moment: i must confess i'm addicted to this/ shove your kiss straight through my chest/ i can't deny, i'd die without this/ make me feel like a god

love buzz —  shocking blue: would you believe me when i tell you/ you're the king of my heart/ please don't deceive me when I hurt you/ just ain't the way it seems

cascade — siouxsie and the banshees: the air was shining/ shining like a wedding ring/ barbed like sex/ i felt ten thousand volts/ my chest was full of eels/ pushing through my usual skin/ i opened up new wounds/ pouting, shouting

tear you apart — she wants revenge: he wanted her and this was bad/ he wanted to do things to him it was making him crazy/ now a little crush turned into a like/ and now he wants to grab him by the hair and tell her/ i want to hold you close/ skin pressed against me tight/ lie still, and close your eyes, boy/ i want to fucking tear you apart

drain you — nirvana: i don't care what you think unless it is about me/ it is now my duty to completely drain you/ chew my meat for you/ pass it back and forth in a passionate kiss/ from my mouth to yours/ i like you

touch — lights fade low: no one will stain you/ no one will pain you/ i'll keep you clean until my end/ no one will hurt you/ the way that i hurt you/ nothing will feel the same again

polly — nirvana: i think she wants some water/ to put out the blowtorch / let me clip your dirty wings/ let me take a ride, cut yourself/ want some help, please myself

qual — xmal deutschland: deine qual ist meine lust/ meine liebe ist dein tod/ nachts wenn du schläfst bin ich lebendig/ mein tag ist deine dämmerung/ meine wiege ist dein grab

clown — switchblade symphony: crying loud, you are crawling on the floor/ just a beautiful baby/ you're nothing more/ close your eyes/ you are crawling into sleep/ i swear i won't break you/ if you let me take you/ where the willows never weep

church of no return — Christian death: in the beginning there was sinning/ and in the end, well, let's pretend/ blessed is the fruit i dare you/ to take another bite of it/ and somehow i think you will/ in spite of it

bloody mary — lady gaga: love is just a history that they may prove/ and when you're gone/ i'll tell them my religion's you

spiritual cramp — christian death: crosses burn your temples on slaughter avenue/ it takes too much time to say 'i refuse'/ time is digging graves for the chosen few/ children dig graves for me and you/ describe the illness i'll prescribe the cure

cavity - first communion — christian death: nailing you to the wall/ nailing you to the spanish mystic/ i sit and hold hands with myself/ i sit and make love to myself/ i've got blood on my hands/ i've got blood on your hands

where did you sleep last night — nirvana: my boy, my boy, don't lie to me/ tell me where did you sleep last night

lithium — nirvana: i'm so happy/ 'cause today I found my friends/ they're in my head/ and i'm not scared, light my candles/ in a daze 'cause i've found god/ i like it, i'm not gonna crack/ i miss you, i'm not gonna crack/ i love you, i'm not gonna crack/ i killed you, i'm not gonna crack

carpe diem — green day: carpe diem, a battle cry/ are we all too young to die?/ making a living/ making a killing/ what's worth forgiving?

dirty rotten bastards — green day: calling all the demons, this is the season/ next stop is therapy/ we're the retarded and the brokenhearted/ the season of misery/ gonna take it further/ get away with murder/ and no one here is getting out alive

witness — mindless self indulgence (yes, unironically. no, i’m not writing down the lyrics.)

brain stew — green day: my mind is set on overdrive/ the clock is laughing in my face/ a crooked spine, my senses dulled/ passed the point of delirium/ on my own, here we go

minority — green day (my big cio song!!): i pledge allegiance to the underworld/ a face in the crowd unsung, against the mold/ without a doubt singled out the only way I know/ 'cause I want to be the minority/ i don't need your authority/ down with the moral majority

dr. feelgood — mötley crüe (dealer cio dealer cio dealer cio): i've got one thing you'll understand/ he’s not what you'd call a glamorous man/ got one thing that's easily understood/ he’s the one they call dr. feelgood

ich will — rammstein: ich will dass du mir vertraut/ ich will dass du mir glaubt/ ich will deine blicke spüren/ ich will jeden herzschlag kontrollieren/ ich will deine phantasie/ ich will deine energie/ ich will deine hände sehen/ ich will in beifall untergehen

gimme chocolate — babymetal: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

candy candy — kyary pamy pamyu (see above)

body — mother mother: take my eyes, take them aside/ take my face, and desecrate/ my arms and legs/ they get in the way

spellbound — siouxsie and the banshees: from the cradle bars/ comes a beckoning voice/ it sends you spinning/ you have no choice/ following the footsteps/ of a rag doll dance/ spellbound

someone’s in the wolf — queens of the stone age: he steps between the trees, a crooked man/ there's blood on the blade/ don't take his hand/ tempt the fates, beware the smile/ it hides all the teeth, my dear/ what's behind them/ so glad you could stay/ forever

gutter glitter — switchblade symphony: iridescent eyes, of the seahorse rise/ treasure he loves, others despise/ braceletes of silver adorn my wrists/ candy kissed from sugar lips

l’insetto — hiroshima mon amour: io voglio il cuore, io voglio il sangue/ voglio bruciare, voglio uscire/ io voglio andare dove mi porta la coscienza/ di essere un insetto/ voglio fuggire, voglio tornare/ é sempre il tempo per sognare/ ed ai miei occhi un fiore è differente/ un insetto è differente dagli occhi di un insetto

a day — clan of xymox: where are you/ when i am needing you… so far away/ i think you're the most important to me to me/ my sunken footsteps put themselves on/ through this gallery of deceased

restless heart syndrome — green day: i've got a really bad disease/ it's got me begging on my hands and knees/ so, take me to emergency/ 'cause something seems to be missing/ i'm elated, medicated/ lord knows i've tried to find a way/ to run away/ you’d be surprised what I endure

wallflower — switchblade symphony: something is happening underneath the ground/ for he’s been waiting to bloom/ thinking and wondering/ of his climb up to the sun/ “let me grow… the soil, it strangles me”

[sxnnimoon]

Curiosity or More?

****This one is lengthier but I find to be fairly decent for not writing for over a year. But I hope you guys enjoy it and comment some feedback and give me some requests.****

Summary: Y/n was the daughter of the infamous Cordelia Goode, though that gave her a title she never liked it as her mother never batted an eye at the poor girl lately. That all changes when she attends the meeting at Hawthorne and she meets the Boy Wonder who isn’t the only one with secrets.

Hawthorne!Michael x reader, Outpost!Michael x reader

__________________________________________

To say you weren’t the least bit curious as to who the so called “Boy Wonder” is would be an understatement. Regardless of what your aunt Myrtle and mother Cordelia say. You know your mother was on edge when Hawthorne called a meeting. 

“We’ve taken in a boy recently who we thought was another warlock in need of our help and training.” Ariel spoke. 

“And?” questioned Zoe.

I chuckled quietly, earning a glare from my mother of course.

“The things he’s done are extraordinary. We ran some tests and his powers are of supreme level.” Ariel exclaimed. 

“Do you really believe this? No man has ever come even close to coming to that level. Men simply aren’t equal to a woman in the means to be supreme.” she was infuriated. 

My mother immediately denied any idea of a male being the supreme. She couldn’t bare it. She’d had enough. She stormed us out of Hawthorne only to be met with Queenie and Madison alive and well alongside the boy. As great as it was to see them, my mother fainting was the icing on the cake.

“I need to see him.” my mother spoke once awake.

“I was trying to get your attention.” he spoke softly.

“Well you certainly did.” my mother stated. “He will perform the seven wonders.”

I don’t know what it is about him but i’m drawn toward him. The way he looks of an angel but yet his eyes tell of something dark and corrupted. The way he carries himself shows a confident man yet terrified little boy. I was determined to get to know the Boy Wonder, Michael. 

You spot him on the balcony eyeing everyone yet not at all amused by Stevie’s singing as he had performed all of the seven wonders not too long ago impressing my mother even more with bringing back Misty Day. I feel this would now be the time to introduce yourself on a more personal level.

“Not into all things Stevie, I take it?” you spoke startling him a bit.

“If it weren’t so obvious i’d say no, but yes.” he retorted. “I was genuinely impressed today, no male has ever had such supreme level power.” you said.

“Well I'm glad I impressed such a gorgeous creature like yourself.” He smiled.

“You aren’t so bad yourself Boy Wonder.” you winked.

“Michael.” he said. “My name is Michael. Michael Langdon.”

“Y/n, my name is Y/n. And I do apologize for my mother’s behaviour towards you. It came as a shock to us all.” you said.

“Your mother?” he said in shock.

“I’m afraid, I am Y/n Y/m/n Goode. Daughter of the Supreme, Granddaughter to our former.” you spoke honestly.

“Well miss supreme did do a fine job creating you.” he said flirtatiously eyeing you up and down. 

You blushed. 

“Do tell princess, I bet mommy dearest is a thrill to live with.” he joked.

“Trust me, she isn’t anything special. I’d say more of a snob, cares about everyone else before her own daughter.” you rolled your eyes.

“She can’t be that bad can she?” he questioned. 

“I don’t believe we have the time to discuss all things Cordelia.” you crossed your arms.

“I’m sure we can make time.” he smiled.

Fast forward to now, where I stand looking toward Michael as he and the infamous Miss Mead stood before my mother and the rest of us. He really was a gift from god, or should I say the devil. I cannot wait to run my fingers through those golden locks. I looked from my mother to the others than Michael, he gave me the look of approval and that was all I needed to run to his side planting the hottest kiss ever. To say the look on my mother’s face gave me joy was an understatement, I was beyond thrilled when she saw me walk to Michael’s side even better when I kissed him.

“Y/f/n what is the meaning of this?!” my mother shouted.

“Well mother, while you were off excluding me from everything you had planned I figured I’d do my own.” you blurted back.

“So siding with the enemy was the right thing to do?” she exclaimed.

Michael chuckled watching the showdown between mother and daughter.

“You never once included me in anything, I've done so much for you. So fucking much and I don’t even get a simple thank you? You are by far the worst mother there is.” you were furious at this point. Michael could tell so he took over.

“Dearest Cordelia. What a shame it is for you to find out this way, but I do intend to keep your daughter till the end of time. And she is willingly doing so as she was the one to come with all of this.” he gestured around. “Y/n is smart, the smartest person I have ever met and you clearly have not seen that, I shall ask you all to bow down to give yourself the pleasure of our allegiance and we shall spare your poor meaningless lives.” he demanded.

“This is your last chance mother, your last chance to finally see me for me, just pledge your allegiance and all the past hatred will go away.” you reasoned.

“NO. I am sorry my child but I will not bow down to some little boy who has no idea what being a leader means.” your mother spat. 

“Then you leave me no choice.” you backed away. 

You were angry. Angry at the fact that your own mother picked those pathetic witches over her own daughter. She never noticed how advanced you were at spells how you’d always be ahead of everyone by a long shot. She had her focus on Mallory when it really should have been you. Her flesh and blood. You set fire to each one of your mother’s precious witches. One by one each turned to a pile of ash.

“Why are you doing this?” she cried.

“Because mother, you never once were there for my accomplishments. Every time I perfected a spell or ritual. I was alone.” you cried angry tears. “I wish you cared like you say but it’s too late.”

You felt deep within you the love for your mother slip away as you set her on fire, hearing every scream and plea release from her body. Not caring one bit.

“I’m the next fucking supreme.” you screamed at her ashes.

[medschoolash]

My honest thoughts on the episode: confusion

I'll start with the entire premise of the wight hunt. It's such a stupid ass plan that I couldn't even pay attention to most of it. All I could say was "y'all are so damn dumb this is insane". Like honestly what was the point of this plan besides killing Viscerion? Was there really no other way to accomplish that goal? Not to mention the entire handling of the hunt was laughably contrived. Jon and his crewe gets stranded in the middle of an ice late and the entire WW army just stands there and watches then for A ENTIRE NIGHT because they are waiting for the lake to freeze over again.....even tho they are dead and can literally just pop back out of the water? Like??? It was all so obviously just an excuse to keep Jon and co alive along enough for Dany to come save them all. Then Jon, like a pure dumbass, decides to not accept Dany's aide and chooses to keep attacking walkers for no reason at all besides they needed an excuse to prolong how long the dragons stayed so one could die....I mean Jon was literally just out there fighting for the hell of it while everyone else just sat there on the drogon school bus waiting to go. Then Viscerion dies and Dany is oddly stoic as he flops out of the sky....but Jon gets so irate about it he just has to keep fighting instead of getting the hell outta dodge so Dany painfully has to leave him behind 😂. Then all of a sudden Uncle Benjen makes a grand appearance to save Jon only to die 30 seconds later. 💀 Let's not even talk about the awkward convos that took place on the way.... Jon and Jorah discuss Longclaw as if Jon doesn't know the reason why Joer didn't want Jorah to have the sword...honestly what was the point besides the "give it to your children" line which I guess serves as some forshadow of some sorts? Jon knows that sword can kill a damn wight and he knows he has a huge battle coming up and people to return to yet he wants the most powerful weapon besides the dragons in someone else's hands? *sigh* This brings me to Dany/Tyrion: It's season 7, SEVEN. How much longer does Dany have to have her hand held while proclaiming to be the best queen ever. She simultaneously degrades Tyrion plans then asks him for a plan because she literally can't some up with a single effective strategy besides ride a dragon and break the wheel. It's the end of the season and she still has to hear a talk about how not to be a psycho dictator, which she still seems not to want to hear. She once again slips into paranoia with Tyrion over his family like she only suddenly learned Tyrion was a Lannister once they reached dragonstone. Tyrion's line about Jon being in love with her was oddly random and also blatantly false based on all the on screen footage. Honestly I feel like my intelligence is being blatantly insulted when Tyrion says he sees the say he looks at her longingly because there is ZERO evidence to back that up. I must be watching a different show and missed all the long gazes of love Jon shot Dany's way to show Tyrion his great love for her. The ONLY way this makes sense is if this is all a part of Tyrion's plan to influence Dany to turn away from her darker impulses. Tyrion is clever enough to use Dany's clear affection for Jon as a way to temper her crazy just like Varys told him. He can tell his grip is slipping but maybe if she believed that honorable Jon snow loves her, regardless of how true that is, she might calm down and that "love" might make her second guess her choices. Honestly I'm skeptical about DD after this episode but I'm not ruling this out just yet since again, it's the only thing that makes sense and doesn't make that line a blatant insult to my intelligence. The succession talk also comes on randomly. Why was that the time to suddenly talk about it? What did Tyrion expect Dany to say? She has no successor. Did he want her to say that she'll try to find a man and awaken her dead womb? Did he want her to say that she's gonna name him her successor? Like honestly what answer could Tyrion have been looking for when Dany has no kids, no family, and only a close set of advisors? If she named someone her successor at that moment how would it even matter when the Lords of westeros still have zero reason to back Dany or her successor? Back at Winterfel Arya is acting out this gross ass storyline designed by DD to bring angst to the stark sisters. Honestly Sansa is better than me. It was sickening to see Arya inspire such fear in Sansa after all the torment and pain Sansa has been through. She's had to deal with the sadistic games of Joffrey and Ramsey, she's never ever felt truly safe until she made it back to winterfel with Jon and even then you can still see some of her PTSD. It's already bad enough that the Purity of her home was sullied by Ramsey, but now she had to feel unsafe around her own damn family in her own damn home? Honestly fuck Arya and fuck DD. It was gross and hard to watch but Sansa stood her ground. The ONLY saving grace was the fact that Sansa got to stand up for herself and rightfully called Arya out for being a clueless psycho. Sansa was also the only character this episode acting smart in any way. She rightfully declines Ceresi's offer to come to KL, she sends Brienne away knowing LF wants to involve her on his schemes. She doesn't trust that fickle Lords and sees right through their shaky allegiances. Once again her concern is only for her own safety and taking care of the north and Jon's army while he's out doing a whole bunch of odd things. Speaking of Jon, he hasn't talked to Sansa In WEEKS, I wonder why? Sansa is left to keep the north on tact and he can't even communicate with her? That's odd. What's also odd is Jon's sudden extreme guilt over her dragon dying and his mythical love in supposed to see. I wanted to wait to see the scenes to make my final judgement and I'm glad I did because I feel a lot more strongly about how nonsensical it is after seeing it. Jon being all emo with Dany, even out of the blue calling her Dany already didn't make sense. But then they made him offer her the North and SHE had to ask him what about his people? Dany had to be the one concerned about the northern Lords not Jon? Like whet? Jon told thormond that Dany would only help if he bent the knee. Then Dany tells Jon she will help no matter what and she gives him her word. That should be a win win for Jon, he has secured Dany's help and he didn't have to kneel to get it and he didn't have to loose his head over it.....so would think Jon would feel great and think Dany for her graciousness and pledge to defeat the night king together and save the realm.....but instead Jon chooses that very moment to bend the knee? Like the moment where there is ZERO political advantage to doing so is the moment he gives in? And he does this because he sees how amazing Dany is and not only does he pledge to make all the Lords see this. When Dany uncharacteristically suggests that she doesn't deserve the north, Jon tells her that she in fact does deserve it? So what brings these sudden feelings on? Am I supposed to believe that Jon feels that Dany deserves the North over him, his own sister Sansa who has been running the north this whole time and saved his ass in the battle of the bastards, even his other siblings who he now knows have returned? Now suddenly Dany is the great leader the North deserves because she saved him from the suicide mission And from what I gathered from the behind the scenes commentary is that Jon does this because he realizes the gravity of his feelings for her that she's apparently been in great denial about all this time? So Jon, the respected leader hands over the North against the will of his people for true love. Jon Snow, is gonna go back to winterfel and tell Sansa that Daenerys deserves the North even tho it's technically Sansa's birthright that she set aside for Jon. All of Sansa hard work to keep Jon's armies together, fed, clothes, have been for nothing because Jon fell in love with the dragon queen and wants her to rule the north regardless of how his Lords will feel about it. Like sighhhhhhhh. I want to be on board with the theories that it's all a game but honestly my faith has wavered because of just how blatantly bad this episode was. Honestly if I wanted to have my intelligence insulted this much I would watch another CW show.

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #200 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: No.

Format: Blu-ray

1) The prologue.

This first scene of the last film does a number of things well. For one, Sméagol suddenly becomes a much more sympathetic and tragic character. We see how happy this creature was before being corrupted by the evil of the ring; before becoming Gollum. And that’s the other thing this scene does well: we understand better than ever how evil the ring is. How quickly it can turn good people bad. This sets the stakes high for the final chapter of the trilogy. Originally meant for The Two Towers, its inclusion in this film works so much better I think. Also it’s worth noting that the transformation from practical Gollum makeup to CG is seamless and visceral.

2) I love how freaking angry Gimli gets upon running into Merry & Pippin alive (after searching so desperately for them in Two Towers) before being tempted by what they’re smoking.

3) It’s worth noting that I HAVE watched the extended editions of all three films and while I usually forget about the scenes added in those versions, Saruman’s death scene (which is cut in this film) is always one I miss. It is a nice note of finality for such a major character in the trilogy.

4) Much as this film really covers Frodo’s eventual corruption by the ring, Aragorn’s journey is also complete. Over the course of the trilogy we see him go from a loner who wants nothing to do with leadership into the king of men. This film is very much about Aragorn accepting that part of himself, becoming the leader he was always meant to be, and we see it in many little ways. He takes a moment for himself to respect those fallen before celebrating a victory, he imparts wisdom onto Gandalf, he earns the trust of Théoden, later honors his promise to the ghost soldiers even though he could’ve used them as a weapon, and leads his army into battle in an effort to give Frodo the time he needs. By the time the credits role Aragorn fully embraces his duty as king and that’s a wonderful transformation to watch.

5) Have I mentioned I low-key ship Sam and Frodo?

Frodo: “I need you on my side.”

Sam: “I’m always on your side, Mr. Frodo.”

6) The last film very much covered Merry’s maturity, becoming invested in the war (which guides his actions in this film as well). In Return of the King we get to see Pippin grow more as a person. We see him go from a someone who doesn’t think before he acts (like when he looks into the orb and risks alerting Sauron about Frodo) to someone with deep sorrow who takes responsibility for his actions (such as when he pledges his allegiance to the Stewart of Gondor because he feels responsible for Boromir’s death). It’s a nice subplot for the film.

7) Can I just say: Théoden can be a real idiot.

Théoden [about Gondor]: “Tell me: why should we ride to the aid of those who did not come to ours?”

Dude, you made SUCH a big deal about not asking for Gondor’s aid in the last movie when you were heavily advised to do just that. And now you’re getting pissy because they didn’t give you something you said you didn’t want?

8) While Sam and Frodo’s kinship is wicked strong, that’s not to undersell how deeply connected Merry and Pippin are. They’re great friends and the sadness of their goodbye as Gandalf takes Pippin to Gondor speaks to that.

9) Okay, can I just say something? There are only three named female characters in these films I can think of who have lines: Arwen, Galadriel, and Éowyn. They’re all awesome, they’re all great. They never EVER interact with each other and while we understand both Arwen and Galadriel are dangerous women it’s only Éowyn who gets to fight in the war. And I get the books were published in the 50s and everything but come on. Some changes to improve on female presence wouldn’t kill the movie.

10)

Arwen [about Aragorn]: “If I leave him now, I will regret it forever.”

And that’s literal, because elves are immortal. I just wanted to point that out.

11) John Noble as Denethor.

While there is initially a bit of sympathy for the stewart of Gondor because he’s mourning his son Boromir, wow is that lost quickly. I am rooting for this guy to die harder than I am any other character in this series because he is such a raging asshole. I think he’s supposed to be and John Noble plays him in a very interesting way. Much like Imelda Staunton was great at making us hate Doloris Umbridge in Harry Potter, John Noble is great at making Denethor a selfish, arrogant, cruel bastard who I just want to punch in his fucking permanent scowl of a face. HE FUCKING ADMITS THAT HE WISHES FARAMIR WERE DEAD INSTEAD OF BOROMIR! I just…yeah, I’m glad when this jackass dies.

12) The Dead City always reminded me a little of the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz. Or is that just me?

13) I apologize for this in advance.

Frodo [when he feels the Witch King near, who stabbed him in Fellowship]: “I can feel his blade.”

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

14) At first I questioned the need to include Faramir’s skirmish with the orcs, but for one thing it shows the continued darkness which spreads across Middle Earth as well as the scale of this war. Not to mention it feeds directly into a conflict between Faramir and his jackass dad.

15) I love Éowyn, which I said as much in the last recap. But in this film she is just so freaking ready to fight for those she loves, to stand up against evil even though the sexism of Middle Earth tries to keep her off the battlefield. But she doesn’t and we get the best moment in the whole trilogy. More on that later.

16) When I was younger I never really understood why Frodo believes Sam actually stole the bread, why he sends Sam away. But now I get just how great a manipulator Gollum is and how dark the ring can be on Frodo’s soul. Gollum knows EXACTLY what the ring is doing to him, the little things it whispers to him, the greed and mistrust which is taking him. He knows because he spent (I think) five hundred years under that very same influence. He knows what Frodo is going through better than anyone which he manipulates to his advantage.

17) Sean Astin just freaking shines with his breakdown after Frodo sends him away breaks up with him (you know, after refusing to give Sam a ring). He’s come so far, sacrificing his very life, to make sure Mr. Frodo stays safe and trying to make sure the ring doesn’t take him. And he’s ALWAYS on Frodo’s side, he always trusts Frodo. But Frodo can’t do the same thing for Sam. In fact, he does the complete opposite and distrusts him so deeply he tries to get rid of him. And it’s based on NOTHING, just the manipulations of a fiend and the darkness of the ring. Astin i just so great and conveying how heavy this is on Sam, I love it.

18) Ah, the song.

First of all, Billy Boyd’s vocals are just absolutely amazing here. They infuse the song with such grand heartache which helps it set the tone for Faramir’s attack on the orc troops. This isn’t a grand action scene, this isn’t a heroic triumph, this is a heartbreaking suicide mission made because of a son wanting to earn the love of his soulless father. And that’s why the song works as well as it does. It sets a beautiful tone.

19) Honestly, a few of these notes are just going to be me acknowledging awesome Éowyn is.

Éowyn [after some troops laugh at Merry for wanting to fight]: “Why can he not fight for those he loves?”

20) The scene where Aragorn takes the sword from Elrond is a great moment. The music, Aragorn’s demeanor, the subtleties of the cinematography, the visual of Aragorn taking the sword, it all just makes it feel like a real hero’s moment.

21) While the extended edition of this film may have some more Legolas & Gimli moments (there’s this wonderful drinking competition they get into), the bromance of the entire trio is still something I love.

Gimli [after Aragorn tries going into the dead mountain alone]: “You might as well accept it: we’re going with you, laddie.”

22) Merry is told he can’t go into battle by Théoden, that no one will carry him on their horse. Meanwhile Éowyn - who was basically told to stay at home and look after things while the men fight - says, “Screw that,” and takes Merry into battle herself. I LOVE ÉOWYN!

23) The scene with the ghosts and the dead mountain is truly eerie. Peter Jackson’s roots as a horror director really shine through in this wonderfully creepy scene and place. It’s just chilling.

24) In the long running list of why Denethor is a piece of shit: he is so freaking eager for Faramir to be dead and to have some man pain he doesn’t even check his pulse! Then he bitches about not getting help from Rohan which HE DIDN’T EVEN WANT and then gives up. Thank god for Gandalf.

25) The initial battle of Gondor has a nice sense of scale and stakes to it, especially when we see it through the eyes of Pippin. There’s this constant sense of dread and hardship which builds tension nicely.

26) I’m not talking about the spider scene because I always hide behind my hands when that scene is going on. I fucking hate spiders, guys. I hate them. It’s a miracle I didn’t just straight up fast forward past all the spider stuff. AND IT JUST KEEPS COMING BACK! You think the spider is gone but then no, it comes back for one last attack! ENOUGH WITH THE SPIDER ALREADY!

27) Gollum is totally done with the manipulation, the tricks, all of it. As soon as Frodo reveals his intention is to destroy the ring, he loses it and just is going to solve his problem with brute force. This doesn’t really work for him though.

28) Awww, Sam comes back to rescue his boyfriend only to think he’s dead.

Sam: “Don’t leave me here alone. Don’t go where I can’t follow.”

29) A coincidence to get the character in trouble helps move the plot along. Such as when the orcs show up RIGHT AFTER Frodo gets paralyzed so they can easily capture him.

30) Through a strong sense of visuals there is a nice feeling of hope when Rohan shows up to participate in the battle of Gondor. The build up to that and the fact we see it via Merry and Éowyn works REALLY well because they - like the audience - are both new to this.

31) I always liked that Gandalf is willing to leave the main battle to save Faramir, because isn’t that what this is all about? Saving as much life as we can.

32) There are few film deaths which are quite as satisfying to me as Denethor’s death. I won’t include it hear but those who have seen the movie know exactly what happens. Know if you seek it out it does involve fire (so if that triggers you maybe best to stay away).

33) Once the freaking elephants show up to battle you KNOW this shit is epic. One thing this film does best out of all three is its battle sequences are amazing. They may be long, but they are choreographed interestingly and use a strong sense of action = reaction to them. They’re epic and totally amazing.

34) I do have a bit of a fear of death, so Gandalf’s words to Merry always bring me calm.

Gandalf [after Merry says he can’t believe it’s going to end like this]: “End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path we must all take.”

35) THE BEST FREAKING MOMENT IN THE ENTIRE FREAKING TRILOGY! If you only watch one moment from The Lord of the Rings, make sure you watch this one. This is all you need to see. This is beautiful and I love it and it’s awesome. Watch it! Watch it now!

FUCKING ÉOWYN VERSUS THE FUCKING WITCH KING! YES! You can see she’s TOTALLY scared but that doesn’t matter at all. She works through the fear, she fights this mythical creature who is supposedly un-killable AND SHE FUCKING KILLS HIM! It’s either him or her uncle and damn it’s sure as hell not going to be her uncle! It is glorious. I cheer every time. I love it. Best moment in the trilogy. No contest. Done.

36) There is this tone shift in the battle of Gondor once Legolas and Gimli start their contest.

Gimli: “There’s plenty [of the enemy] for the both of us, may the best dwarf win.”

They bring out an intense amount of fun to the battle which just has you cheering them on. Cheering on the victory! I mean, LEGOLAS TAKES DOWN A FREAKING ELEPHANT!

Gimli: “THAT STILL COUNTS AS ONE!”

I love it.

37) Again, I apologize for this in advance.

Orc [about to kill Frodo]: “I’m going to stick you like a stuffed pig.”

Sam [killing the orc]: “Not if I stick you first.”

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

38) It is always important that characters not be passive. Them making a choice is interesting. So even when Frodo is at a point where he can easily STOP carrying the ring and let Sam carry it, but he CHOSES not to, that’s interesting. It speaks to his character.

Frodo: “You must understand: the ring is my burden.”

39) This is one of my favorite things to hit the internet in 2012. It’s so random and weird I love it.

40) The moment when Aragorn really becomes the king of men is when he rallies his troops to fight against Sauron. He takes his role as leader seriously and he’s damn good at it.

Aragorn: “I see in your eyes the same fear which would take the heart in me!”

He relates to them, he lets them know he’s afraid, but his bravery inspires bravery in others. That’s what a good leader does. They speak of hope and unity against hatred, they don’t encourage it. They don’t divide people, they bring them together.

41) Have I mentioned I love Legolas and Gimli’s bromance?

Gimli: “Who thought I’d die fighting side by side with an elf?”

Legolas: “How about side by side with a friend?”

Gimli: “Aye. I can do that.”

42) Frodo is literally pushed past his physical limits, unable to climb any further up Mount Doom to destroy the ring. But he HAS to. That’s high stakes. Forgoing physical needs for the goal is the highest stakes imaginable. And also: HELL YEAH, SAMWISE GAMGEE!

Sam: “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!”

43) Can I just say: I will never truly wrap my mind around the super convenient giant eagles which show up at the last minute. Like, maybe there’s an explanation for this in the books, but wouldn’t the eagles have helped out A LOT MORE before this final battle? I mean really. What’s with this Deus Ex Machina stuff?

44) The scene where Frodo decides to keep the ring visually matches the one where Isildur did the same thing in Fellowship, meaning the seeds for this were planted in the trilogy from film one. It’s smart planning and helps make the choice all the stronger. We’ve seen the consequences of this action once, but again? Oh man, that could be disastrous.

45) You can really see the influence the ring had on Frodo when this is the first thing he says after it’s destroyed.

Frodo: “I can see the shire.”

Frodo talked about how he couldn’t remember it before, while he was carrying the ring. But now it’s gone and he can. I love that.

46) One of my favorite moments in the series is when Frodo wakes up in Rivendale with Gandalf standing at his bead. Remember, Frodo thinks Gandalf is DEAD from the first film. So not only is there the joy at his own survival but that of his friend too. And you can see it on Elijah Wood’s face.

47) This film has A LOT of endings. Like, it takes 20 minutes to end. But I like each and every one. Firstly, this massive respect the hobbits are paid.

Aragorn [king of men, to the hobbits]: “My friends. You bow to no one.”

[Aragorn bows, then so does literally EVERYONE else]

48) The Shire still brings about the same sense of peace it did in Fellowship. You know you’re really out of danger when you are in that place. The tension defuses and it feels like…home. It’s worth noting that the hobbits at first have nothing to talk about while at the bar. They just sit there in silence because…what is there to say?

49) The final goodbye.

I may not be the best to pick up on subtext, but even I get that this boat into the West is meant to represent the afterlife. That Bilbo, Gandalf, and Frodo are all going into the afterlife (even though I always forget that Gandalf leaves). This is honestly not only the most fitting ending to the story, but for Frodo’s character as a whole. There’s no way Frodo could’ve just gone home after all that evil. He couldn’t have just returned to normalcy. He’s changed too much, so he has to move on. But just because Frodo’s gone, doesn’t mean life moves on. And I think that’s one of the greatest messages this film has: even in the face of great loss, life moves on. And there is always ALWAYS hope.

50) And I think instead of analyzing the song “Into the West” I’ll just leave you all with a link to listen to it because it’s a wonderful piece.

The Return of the King is everything fans loved about the first two Lord of the Rings films dialed up all the way. The stakes are at their highest, the battles are at their most epic, the performances are incredible, and the characters finally reach the end of the journey they started at the beginning of this film. Winning Best Picture at the Oscars the year it was nominated, this film definitely deserves it and is worth the watch (even if it is a long watch).

[queerofcups]

could u do all the numbers for with plans with you and because we are fools if it's not too much trouble? i'm curious :)

Party!

Because We Are Fools

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?When I first started hanging out in the fandom I had lots of theories about potential relationship structures DnP might be in that were way more complicated than “they’re together and closeted”. This was one of those theories.

2: What scene did you first put down?Dan creating the wedding invite.3: What's your favorite line of narration?Literally any moment where Dan’s like “this is fine. this is fine. i’ll just pretend i’m not in love with him!”. Because girl, what? 

4: What's your favorite line of dialogue?There’s like...not a lot of dialogue in this fic? Proportionately? But for someone that doesn’t do humour that well, I think this is pretty funny. C 

Dan drags a hand through his hair. “Ok. Um. Shit, do I care that they know?” 

He glances at Phil, who’s nonplussed enough to go back to whatever he was doing on his computer. “Phil! Do we care?”

“Care about what?” Phil asks, looking up and pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his knows. Dan just wants to crawl back into bed with him, honestly. “Oh no, stress quiff.”

“That they know,” Dan says, gesturing to the phone with his other hand. “Fuck the stress quiff.”

“That we have sex?” Phil shrugs. “I thought they all already knew. Also, you remember that time you accidentally got jizz everywhere and we fell asleep and my hair was all weird in the morning? I don’t think I should fuck the stress quiff, Dan.”

“Wow, so they probably also hear that,” Dan says, distressed. “They know we’re fucking and that you’re a fucking oddball.”

“We knew that already,” Louise’s tinny voice says from the phone. “Not the sex thing. The other thing.”

Dan takes a deep breath and focuses on the phone. “Louise. You’re allowed to talk about the sex thing but just with the people you’re with right now. I don’t want this all over youtube. And don’t talk about the other thing at all.”

“The jizz in the hair thing?” Louise asks.

Dan closes his eyes. “Well, it’s too late if I was talking about that. No. The,” he lowers his voice. “the love thing.”

5: What part was hardest to write?Keeping them from just talking about their feelings and getting together, or not, too soon. Because its not a miscommunication fic. Its a fic about people keeping things from each other out of fear, and out of obtuseness, when it would be so much easier (but a much shorter story) to just let them talk and decide if they’re going to date or not. I had to lean super hard on Dan being like, ok but what if he’s not in love with me, despite it being really, really obvious that Phil was. I still think that part is one of the weakest parts of the fic.

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?It’s the longest thing I’ve written and posted and will be until my PBB. 7: Where did the title come from?From Denitia and Sene’s song Because We Are Fools. That alternate title is also from that song “Why Do We Fall in Love”As for the chapter titles: ch 1 - Frank Ocean - Ivy, ch 2 - Trampled by Turtles - Midnight on the Interstate, ch 3 - The Front Bottoms - Peach, ch 4 - Iron&Wine/The Talking Heads - This Must be the Place, ch 5 - ...i actually have no idea.8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?Well I mean. DnP and the other youtubers and TATINOF.9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?Not really. There were versions where they got together sooner. 10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?I hadn’t yet pledged my allegiance to kickthefire.11: What do you like best about this fic?I have a lot of affection for Fools! It’s the second fic I posted ever and ended up being 20k, like bitch what kind of confidence? I think its an interesting story to read from my perspective because there’s a lot of things I did in this fic that I’d never do again, and some stuff that pops up pretty often.12: What do you like least about this fic?Ok, so I actually don’t think Fools is that good of a fic? I don’t think the characterization holds up all that well (admittedly I feel like DnP have been very open with us in 2017 and I was like, brand new to fandom when I wrote this) and ultimately I think the way I dealt with the “will they, won’t they” is actually a pretty weak narrative. Like there wasn’t enough conflict to warrant the word count. 

Also its unbeta’d which means that whenever I try to reread it, I always end up wanting to go in and fix all the errors.13:What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn't listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

Yeah! I almost always have little playlists for my fics that I sometimes share.Denitia and Sene - because we are fools.Iron & Wine - This Must Be the PlaceDua Lipa - Thinking 'Bout YouChildish Gambino - Terrified The Front Bottoms - PeachChairlift - Get RealShura - What's It Gonna Be

14:Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?15:What did you learn from writing this fic?

With Plans, With You

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?I was going through a big big queer punk phase at the time and I find fandom’s depiction of punks to be interesting but not really accurate to my interactions with folks who identify as punk/experience identifying as a punk(....?). A lot of it was also that I was into a queer punk band that was just about to break it big on the mainstream so I was thinking a lot about what it means to be a “sell out”. They ended up not doing so, but that was a big influence.

2: What scene did you first put down?The image of Dan and Alex talking about being sellouts while Alex gets a tattoo. I don’t tend to write stories very out of order.

3: What's your favorite line of narration?I think Dan being really aggressively protective of his identity. I know that I’m constantly on high alert for misgendering and people being even a little weird about trans and gender nonconforming people and, when it happens, immediately being like nope, you’re cancelled, we hate you now. So that felt super true to life (except the part where Phil immediately picks up on it and apologizes. That’s generally not how that part goes, unfortunately).4:What's your favorite line of dialogue?So, context, Dan’s a trans dude and he and some OCs are in a punk band that’s just about to break into the mainstream. 

When they finish, he tilts his head. “So, I take it there’ve been a lot of pregnancy scares among the band?”

Alex glances at Dan, who nods almost imperceptibly, and says. “Nope, just Dan.”

“Yeah?” Phil asks, turning to look at Dan.

Dan shrugs. “Before T, yeah. They knew me pretty well at the clinic. ‘s why I went off dick for a while.”

“Yeah, you did,” Alex says, winking at him.

“Huh,” Phil says, and Dan knows that voice. That is the voice of “I was interested in you, but then figured out what your deal was below the belt”. 

Dan fucking hates that voice. 

Alex seems to pick up on it, juts their chin out a little. “We’re not afraid to talk about queer shit, or trans shit. Dan writes our lyrics, and that’s his life. If I was writing them, I’d probably write about genderqueer shit. Lalala fuck you, I’m not a ma’am.”

5: What part was hardest to write?Probably the opening tattoo scene just because I knew it was going to be a shortish piece, so I had to get the exposition of the whole AU, where the band was, what the relationship between Dan and Alex was all in that first scene.6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?It’s probably the one that’s most of me? Like I have a lot of tattoos, I have exes I’m friends with, I go to a lot of shows and sometimes identify as punk, I’m genderqueer, I use they/them pronouns, I wanted to be a music journalist for years, I was listening to the bands that wrote the songs I lifted for this fictional band. I wouldn’t say its the most personal thing I’ve written (that’s everybody told me it was bad to do), but it was the most things lifted from my life.7: Where did the title come from?90% sure it’s a modification on Priests’ amazing song Modern Love / No Weapon, which is my favorite song of theirs, holy shit.8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?Yeah. Like I said above, I was super into this queer punk band that was about to break into the mainstream and of course had lots of people talking about whether they were sell outs or not. They didn’t break the scene because of some stuff, and I’m glad that stuff happened and the scene turned their backs on the band, but there’s a real sense of wow, we really could have had it all. But that’s all extra stuff that happened long after this fic.9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?Nah. I think about continuing it out into a proper fic, but its so closely tied with me really falling in love with that band that didn’t break the scene and the reason they didn’t break the scene had to do with one of their members doing something really violent and it just hurts to think about now. And I don’t think I could really extricate the fic from those magical few months of loving that band so. Yeah, furthering it existed in my head but I doubt it’ll ever happen. 10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?So I think its obvious why I chose DnP, but I’ll also say the reason I had Dan be in a band with his ex, an ex who’s also his best friend, is because lol that’s pretty true to what I’ve seen in the queer community. There are only so many of us, even fewer when you start factoring in gender stuff, so its hard to just let go of relationships when you break up.

11: What do you like best about this fic?I think the band is a riot and make a perfect greek chorus for DnP’s budding relationship.12: What do you like least about this fic?That I can’t finish it tbh.13:What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story?Or if you didn't listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

Unsurprisingly, a lot of punk! I listened to a lot of The Front Bottoms, Priests, Ought, Modern Baseball, PUP, Girlpool, Childbirth, Chastity Belt, The Spook School, Ramshackle Glory. And two other bands that I won’t rec, but will say that consent is everything folks, and if you don’t ask for it, you deserve to lose your music career!

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?Uhm. That punk is 1000% fewer spikes than you think and way more people in ripped jeans and bandshirts and sticknpokes singing about their feelings.15: What did you learn from writing this fic?Ugh, that I need more queer punks in my life.