#why has nobody told me that line exists in canon

[frownyalfred]

“do you love batman the way you love mom?”

[astaroth1357]

We Gotta Talk About Barbatos (And Kinda Solomon But This Ain't About Him)

SPOILERS for up to Chapter 16 of NB

These recent chapters have been giving us breadcrumbs about the pasts of both Barbatos and Solomon, the two of which seem to be deeply entwined. I have yet to make a post about Solomon's past (which gets twistier and twistier by the minute btw), but right now I just want to touch on my questions about Barbatos and... well. The hell is he up to?? I have one question that has been eating away at me the longer NB goes on and I think its answer could solve everything:

Is there only one Barbatos?

What I mean by this question is something along the lines of my Timeless!Barbatos idea from a while ago. Is there only Barbatos, i.e. is Barbatos a being that exists outside of the constraints of time? Is he like the controller/arbiter of time, but not subject to things like continuity himself? When he exists in a certain timeline, is that mirrored through every other timeline (i.e. multiple Barbatos that are spread throughout multiple branches) or is there ever only ONE. Just him. And he selects which timeline to inhabit?

I have this question because there are things about the Barbatos we interact with and hints dropped by others that Barbatos is, potentially, far, far older and far more powerful than I think we can actually grasp.

Thirteen's last point is the one that really makes me wonder, because if Barbatos really has such a broad ability to transcend time and space, then it would be a bit of a nightmare if there were a billion of him running around. Any random change makes a new timeline that makes a new Barbatos with those same godlike abilities until you're completely swamped in the man. Plus, Barbatos never gives us any indication that he speaks to or witnesses his past or future selves, even when he's manipulating things from sidelines...

If there is only one Barbatos, then 1. Little Dia managed to convince, like, the singularly most powerful being in the universe to play House with him, which is such a power move. And 2. That also means any interactions we have with Barbatos in this (or any) timeline cannot be replicated elsewhere. No matter how funky our time adventures get, that Barbatos remains a constant. Thus, NB Barbatos IS OM Barbatos. Probably just hijacked by Solomon to go to past. A past he was no longer present in, because he exists in a continuous state of "present" (his presence is instantly erased from past and he doesn't appear in the future).

And for a being THAT powerful, you really have to wonder...

How much has he changed...?

In Chapter 16, we learn why Beel went berserk and destroyed the Castle. He was triggered by Lucifer explaining a banshee's scream. In OM canon, two kinds of people can hear these screams: those who will die or have a loved one who will die soon and those who have heard it before.

Beel heard a banshee scream in the human world before the War and internalized it as the warning that Lilith was going to die. Naturally, he thinks that if he had told Lucifer then he may have changed his mind but Satan drops this bombshell on us.

A baneshee's warning is supposed to predetermine time. According to Satan, Lilith was alway going to die. But we have a problem here...

Lilith just. Is not dead. Like. Canonically in both the OG title and in NB, Lilith survives the War. So... what gives??

Beel can hear a banshee scream and nobody else can. There's no question that someone was supposed to die. Which only leaves three options:

1. Lilith is dead. Even as a human, she perished.

2. Lilith was never made human... Someone lied to Lucifer and she's actually dead.

3. Barbatos fucked with time to save Lilith.

Option 1 would be pretty lackluster, all things considered. Though it would be a little darkly humorous if Lilith fought and survived in a Celestial War, then got hit by a car one year later or something.

Option 2 would be... so fucked up. But could also shed some light onto Diavolo's guilt about taking in the brothers. Like, imagine if he knew that nothing could be done for Lilith and still tricked Lucifer into eternal service anyway knowing that he could never check his bluff. That would be downright diabolical... and out of character, so I don't think that's the case. (Though, I could see Barbatos lying about it if it gave Diavolo Lucifer's loyalty in the end.)

But Option 3... I think that's actually spine-chilling. Imagine if Diavolo ordered Barbatos to find some way to twist time to save Lilith. And not just spare her life, but to somehow turn her human. That means that we're already playing the events of an altered timeline.

Now combine this idea with our Singular Barbatos theory. If there is one Barbatos, then this is the only timeline where he currently resides. If Barbatos wasn't in THIS timeline, Lilith would be dead. In every other timeline, Lilith is dead. And if OM keeps the detail about MC's lineage, then MC NEVER GETS TO EXIST. They can only be alive in THIS BRANCH OF TIME. There are no other MCs. Just the one (and the corpse that got phased out of being, but we don't talk about them). And this could explain why MC's very existence would be so important to a time-travel being like Nightbringer. There's only one MC to use.

Now, since MC is so powerful (possibly as being that is an aberration in time) it makes me wonder a whole lot more about where someone as powerful Solomon actually came from... How much meddling as Barbatos really done here? If... it was even Barbatos at all. 👀 (Speculation for another day)

[lucozadehulahoop]

Star-crossed. Lo'ak x fem!human!reader

This was originally posted on my side blog @thankeywa. It's a brand new blog and tumblr thinks it's a bot so it's not giving it visibility. Please go give it some love, I want all my avatar!related stuff to be on there.

PART 2 HERE PART 3 HERE PART 4 HERE

I know that literally nobody asked for this, but I've noticed a disturbing lack of Lo'ak fics out there, so I've decided to give my input. I've had a story in mind for a while now, and I needed to get it out there. It will be a reader insert to make it more accessible, but it's somewhat based around an original f!character, so I apologize for that in advance if it gets too specific.

WARNINGS: Lo'ak is 20 years old in this and so is the reader, I do not write about minor characters. There will be eventual mature themes in this so MINORS DO NOT INTERACT WITH THIS WORK.

For everyone else, if you like my writing, please let me know if you want to be on the tag list for future installments and SEND ME REQUESTS (head canons, imagines, sfw/nsfw, ecc.) ! I love that shit.

words: around 1.200

summary: reader is a human left behind on pandora, she grew up with the remaining humans who'd been aloud to stay on the planet after the war and has been friends with the Sully clan her entire life. She and Lo'ak were best friends until he began to pull away from her in their teen years for seemingly no reason. This story is about them reconnecting on the day of her twentieth birthday, and dealing with the feelings they have for each other and the obstacles that come with them being from two different worlds.

TW for this chapter: angst, smoking (don't do it, ever), brief mentions of alcohol, brief mention of war and death, brief mention of child birth, reader can breathe on pandora.

Y/n looked at the 'birthday cake' made out of cookie rations that Norm and Max had made for her. No matter how many years would pass, her dads always knew how to get creative.

"I'm twenty years old, you guys don't have to keep throwing me a birthday party." She reprimanded them softly, though her heart was filled with joy. Y/n was so thankful to have people in her life who cared enough to make her day special every single year.

"Considering you spent most of your early existence tied to test tubes to stay alive, we're merely celebrating the scientific marvel your continued survival has been." Norm joked, raising a beer, and y/n shoved him, before blowing out the single candle that had been meticulously re-used each year. It was a wonder how there was any wax still left on it.

"What did the birthday girl wish for?" Max asked, reaching for a dried-up cookie and cringing slightly at the taste as he chewed on it slowly. "The whole point of a birthday wish is to keep it to myself... or it won't come true. Honestly, I question your two's knowledge of Earth's traditions." y/n shook her head, before taking a celebratory sip of alcohol.

Norm and Max left eventually, back to the main base. They were more than capable of piloting a helicopter those days, and y/n was all grown up. More than capable of living by herself. What once had been an avatar lab, smack dab in the middle of the forests of Pandora, had been converted into her home. Pandora's rapidly repopulating fauna had surprisingly left her residence alone, well... mostly. There were still some creatures who couldn't help but keep themselves away. And by creatures, she meant Spider. Y/n was also friends with actual people like Neteyam, Kiri, Tuk, and... Lo'ak. Truth be told, she didn't know whether or not she and Lo'ak were even friends anymore. They'd been thick as thieves for as long as she could remember, always getting him out of trouble and fixing him up after a scuffle with his siblings. But then, around her sixteenth birthday, he'd started pulling away, and y/n had never understood why. They'd had a big fight about it, bottom line, he hadn't wanted to be around her anymore and y/n had to accept it.

"Open up! It's fucking freezing out here!" Came Spider's loud voice followed by an incessant banging on the door that immediately pulled y/n out of her reverie. "Alright, alright..." she laughed a little as she went to let them all inside. The Sullys were always insisting on spending birthdays together, even though some of them were now getting too big to even fit inside her 'home'. Neteyam had to walk around with his back bent forward, and Kiri knocked over quite a few things before they made it to y/n's main living space, which was more or less Na've-proof. "Happy birthday!" Tuk hugged her and y/n struggled not to feel crushed by the embrace. Even the littlest Sully was now nearly as tall as her.

Y/n let them all inside, already giving them dirty looks at the sight of gifts. "I told you guys not to..."

She stayed on the doorstep a little longer, gazing out into the night, desperately hoping one last uninvited guest would turn up. She felt Neteyam's hand on her shoulder. "He's not coming. I tried to talk to him but he was being a skxawng as usual..." Y/n blushed, not really wanting Neteyam to know she was pining for his younger brother. "Oh, right! I was—just checking you were all here..." she closed the door and they both went back to join the others.

___

"Alright come on, your mom is going to kill me if you get back late and I don't have enough space in here for all of you. Spider would have to sleep outside." Y/n teased, trying to let Tuk understand it was time to go. "Hey!" Spider protested at her lighthearted jab, but knew it was time for them to get going. Nobody wanted to get on Neytiri's bad side. Y/n hugged them all goodbye and thanked them for the presents: Tuk had made her a lovely drawing, and the others had collectively made her a rather beautiful necklace, which she immediately wore. Y/n waited on her doorstep till she could no longer hear the sounds of her friends chatting, and then proceeded to do two incredibly dangerous things: she sat outside of the protection of her bunker, all alone in the cold Pandora night air, and lit up a cigarette.

She'd discovered a terrifyingly endless supply of cigarette cartoons back at the base almost a year prior, and as soon as she'd tried her first one, she'd gotten addicted. Y/n hadn't told Norm or Max, of course, as it would have broken their hearts, especially because of how fragile she was. Y/n's mother had gone into labor in the aftermath of the battle for Pandora between the Na'vi and the Sky people. The soldier had lost her life giving birth, but her baby had survived, taking her first breath in the inhospitable Pandora air. Norm was convinced Eywa herself had kept her alive, had given her the ability to take in the air that hadn't previously failed to kill any other human. Sure, it had come at the price of being particularly fragile her entire life. And how was y/n repaying that gift? By cutting her miraculous existence short more and more each day. Thankfully, it was a while since she'd been used as a test rat, or had check ups of any sort. As far as the Sullys were concerned... they were way better off not even knowing what she was doing to herself.

A sudden rustling in the trees instantly made y/n alert and she didn't waste any time getting back inside. She showered, and shamefully hid her smokes somewhere her dads or the Sullys wouldn't look. When she had nothing else left to do, y/n forced herself to crawl into bed, placing a hand over her necklace. Her wish to see Lo'ak hadn't come true in the end, and while not surprising, it still hurt like hell.

"A pack of viperwolves? Seriously, Lo'ak?" Y/n groaned in frustration as she cleared her table for her best friend to lie on.

"I thought I could take them." He hissed as she doused him with disinfectant. "Yeah, well, you know human medical treatment hurts like a bitch, so it's either my way, or you're going to have to fess up to your parents about what you did." Y/n tried to sound cold, but she'd always been too soft on him.

When they were younger, and Lo'ak still hadn't grown to be double her size, they would often fall asleep together in her bed. "You don't have to keep doing this shit to prove something, you know?" She whispered to him one night, turning over to look at him and gently touch his face. "Your parents love you. And so do Neteyam, Kiri, Tuk and Spider. Lo'ak, I— we— don't want to lose you."

Y/n was almost asleep when a loud 'thud' coming from outside woke her. Something was moving on her roof, or rather, someone... Y/n didn't show whether she was dreaming or not as she looked out the window and locked eyes with Lo'ak, because the second she did, he seemed to slide off the top of her bucker, falling down into the grass below with a loud groan.

He'd probably just woken up half of the animals on Pandora.

[thankeywa]

Star-crossed. Lo'ak x f!human!reader pt.1

I know that literally nobody asked for this, but I've noticed a disturbing lack of Lo'ak fics out there, so I've decided to give my input. I've had a story in mind for a while now, and I needed to get it out there. It will be a reader insert to make it more accessible, but it's somewhat based around an original f!character, so I apologize for that in advance if it gets too specific.

WARNINGS: Lo'ak is 20 years old in this and so is the reader, I do not write about minor characters. There will be eventual mature themes in this so MINORS DO NOT INTERACT WITH THIS WORK.

For everyone else, if you like my writing, please let me know if you want to be on the tag list for future installments and SEND ME REQUESTS (head canons, imagines, sfw/nsfw, ecc.) ! I love that shit.

words: around 1.200

summary: reader is a human left behind on pandora, she grew up with the remaining humans who'd been aloud to stay on the planet after the war and has been friends with the Sully clan her entire life. She and Lo'ak were best friends until he began to pull away from her in their teen years for seemingly no reason. This story is about them reconnecting on the day of her twentieth birthday, and dealing with the feelings they have for each other and the obstacles that come with them being from two different worlds.

TW for this chapter: angst, smoking (don't do it, ever), brief mentions of alcohol, brief mention of war and death, brief mention of child birth, reader can breathe on pandora.

Y/n looked at the 'birthday cake' made out of cookie rations that Norm and Max had made for her. No matter how many years would pass, her dads always knew how to get creative.

"I'm twenty years old, you guys don't have to keep throwing me a birthday party." She reprimanded them softly, though her heart was filled with joy. Y/n was so thankful to have people in her life who cared enough to make her day special every single year.

"Considering you spent most of your early existence tied to test tubes to stay alive, we're merely celebrating the scientific marvel your continued survival has been." Norm joked, raising a beer, and y/n shoved him, before blowing out the single candle that had been meticulously re-used each year. It was a wonder how there was any wax still left on it.

"What did the birthday girl wish for?" Max asked, reaching for a dried-up cookie and cringing slightly at the taste as he chewed on it slowly. "The whole point of a birthday wish is to keep it to myself... or it won't come true. Honestly, I question your two's knowledge of Earth's traditions." y/n shook her head, before taking a celebratory sip of alcohol.

Norm and Max left eventually, back to the main base. They were more than capable of piloting a helicopter those days, and y/n was all grown up. More than capable of living by herself. What once had been an avatar lab, smack dab in the middle of the forests of Pandora, had been converted into her home. Pandora's rapidly repopulating fauna had surprisingly left her residence alone, well... mostly. There were still some creatures who couldn't help but keep themselves away. And by creatures, she meant Spider. Y/n was also friends with actual people like Neteyam, Kiri, Tuk, and... Lo'ak. Truth be told, she didn't know whether or not she and Lo'ak were even friends anymore. They'd been thick as thieves for as long as she could remember, always getting him out of trouble and fixing him up after a scuffle with his siblings. But then, around her sixteenth birthday, he'd started pulling away, and y/n had never understood why. They'd had a big fight about it, bottom line, he hadn't wanted to be around her anymore and y/n had to accept it.

"Open up! It's fucking freezing out here!" Came Spider's loud voice followed by an incessant banging on the door that immediately pulled y/n out of her reverie. "Alright, alright..." she laughed a little as she went to let them all inside. The Sullys were always insisting on spending birthdays together, even though some of them were now getting too big to even fit inside her 'home'. Neteyam had to walk around with his back bent forward, and Kiri knocked over quite a few things before they made it to y/n's main living space, which was more or less Na've-proof. "Happy birthday!" Tuk hugged her and y/n struggled not to feel crushed by the embrace. Even the littlest Sully was now nearly as tall as her.

Y/n let them all inside, already giving them dirty looks at the sight of gifts. "I told you guys not to..."

She stayed on the doorstep a little longer, gazing out into the night, desperately hoping one last uninvited guest would turn up. She felt Neteyam's hand on her shoulder. "He's not coming. I tried to talk to him but he was being a skxawng as usual..." Y/n blushed, not really wanting Neteyam to know she was pining for his younger brother. "Oh, right! I was—just checking you were all here..." she closed the door and they both went back to join the others.

___

"Alright come on, your mom is going to kill me if you get back late and I don't have enough space in here for all of you. Spider would have to sleep outside." Y/n teased, trying to let Tuk understand it was time to go. "Hey!" Spider protested at her lighthearted jab, but knew it was time for them to get going. Nobody wanted to get on Neytiri's bad side. Y/n hugged them all goodbye and thanked them for the presents: Tuk had made her a lovely drawing, and the others had collectively made her a rather beautiful necklace, which she immediately wore. Y/n waited on her doorstep till she could no longer hear the sounds of her friends chatting, and then proceeded to do two incredibly dangerous things: she sat outside of the protection of her bunker, all alone in the cold Pandora night air, and lit up a cigarette.

She'd discovered a terrifyingly endless supply of cigarette cartoons back at the base almost a year prior, and as soon as she'd tried her first one, she'd gotten addicted. Y/n hadn't told Norm or Max, of course, as it would have broken their hearts, especially because of how fragile she was. Y/n's mother had gone into labor in the aftermath of the battle for Pandora between the Na'vi and the Sky people. The soldier had lost her life giving birth, but her baby had survived, taking her first breath in the inhospitable Pandora air. Norm was convinced Eywa herself had kept her alive, had given her the ability to take in the air that hadn't previously failed to kill any other human. Sure, it had come at the price of being particularly fragile her entire life. And how was y/n repaying that gift? By cutting her miraculous existence short more and more each day. Thankfully, it was a while since she'd been used as a test rat, or had check ups of any sort. As far as the Sullys were concerned... they were way better off not even knowing what she was doing to herself.

A sudden rustling in the trees instantly made y/n alert and she didn't waste any time getting back inside. She showered, and shamefully hid her smokes somewhere her dads or the Sullys wouldn't look. When she had nothing else left to do, y/n forced herself to crawl into bed, placing a hand over her necklace. Her wish to see Lo'ak hadn't come true in the end, and while not surprising, it still hurt like hell.

"A pack of viperwolves? Seriously, Lo'ak?" Y/n groaned in frustration as she cleared her table for her best friend to lie on.

"I thought I could take them." He hissed as she doused him with disinfectant. "Yeah, well, you know human medical treatment hurts like a bitch, so it's either my way, or you're going to have to fess up to your parents about what you did." Y/n tried to sound cold, but she'd always been too soft on him.

When they were younger, and Lo'ak still hadn't grown to be double her size, they would often fall asleep together in her bed. "You don't have to keep doing this shit to prove something, you know?" She whispered to him one night, turning over to look at him and gently touch his face. "Your parents love you. And so do Neteyam, Kiri, Tuk and Spider. Lo'ak, I— we— don't want to lose you."

Y/n was almost asleep when a loud 'thud' coming from outside woke her. Something was moving on her roof, or rather, someone... Y/n didn't show whether she was dreaming or not as she looked out the window and locked eyes with Lo'ak, because the second she did, he seemed to slide off the top of her bucker, falling down into the grass below with a loud groan.

He'd probably just woken up half of the animals on Pandora.

[staying-elive]

So, who wants a review of Rogers the Muscial? 😂

This seems terrible from an MCU canon perspective.

The songs give strong 'Zero to Hero' and 'I Can Go the Distance' from Hercules vibes.

Get this: Bucky appears on stage once! Has about three lines when he gets conscripted and is never seen again. You don't see his rescue or 'death'. And Steve's 'I'm with you till the end of the line' line is used for Peggy. Because of course it is. 🙄

Sam is never mentioned nor a character. You see a projection of Sam as Cap briefly before Steve goes back in time. But there's zero context.

But the thing that gets me is how this is the 'show' that exists in Hawkeye. So there's a BUNCH of classified information about the Avengers that I guess is just public knowledge?

I guess the world knows that Steve went back in time? So why the theory that he's on the Moon? The Avengers actually told the world that TIME TRAVEL exists? Nobody sees a problem with that?

(Also, for my girl Sharon. I'm sorry, babe, but if the world created a musical about how my ex went back in time to hook up with my aunt, I'd absolutely turn villain 100%. You deserve better 😘)

Okay so the musical is only 30 minutes long. But it still seems pretty terrible, story-wise. And is clearly a cash grab. BUT THE WORLD KNOWS STEVE WENT BACK IN TIME???

I can't get over that.

Oh, and justice for Bucky. (I guess since the 'musical' is 'produced' by Stark Industries, Pepper is holding a grudge against him, so cut him out of history? Harsh.)

A Captain America musical without (really) either of Cap's best friends. Wild.

[itookyoudown]

so sorry to bother you with this but im watching justified for the first time and you seem like The Premier Tim Gutterson blog/the person to ask. so when Art calls Tim a powder keg, he also refers to him as an Iraq veteran, but Tim only ever mentions serving in Afghanistan (as far as I can remember). Do you think Art just conflates the two conflicts given the time period and made a mistake? Or could Tim have served in both and just never mentioned Iraq? Given the differences in perception between the conflicts, especially concerning civilians, I don’t think it’s completely out of line for Tim to not want to discuss it with his coworkers but idk. Art’s line just seems like such a fundamental Tim Line, but it also doesn’t line up. (so sorry to dump that in your lap, it’s just been bugging me for like three weeks now lol)

yo you could never bother me with a question about Justified or my best boy Tim Gutterson. that is why this blog even exists. this ask is a delight, for real. feel free to hop into my inbox any time.

honestly, you're absolutely justified (hehe) in being bugged about this and you're not alone!! i've had this exact topic of discussion lots of times with many different justies and i do believe some of the greatest Tim Gutterson stan minds around have played ball with this confusing information. i think there are three main ways to approach this issue:

(1) you can believe that Art made a mistake and is conflating Afghanistan with Iraq. this mistake is deliberate and meant to convey that Art doesn't know Tim on a personal level, only a professional one. on a deeper level, this could represent civilians meshing these two invasions and two countries together.

(2) you can think the writers themselves conflated Afghanistan with Iraq and/or made a mistake in the writer's room forgetting Tim's history and nobody noticed/corrected it because let's be real poor even Jacob Pitts spent all of season 1 lost on who his character was supposed to be because uh nobody told him.

(3) the writers didn't make a mistake with Art's line about Iraq, but they did make a mistake in not fully confirming all of Tim's service history. maybe Tim has talked about it and he revealed something specific about his stint(s) in Iraq and that's why Art defaults to talking about it in the heat of the moment.

considering we only have Tim himself confirm Afghanistan (he mentions the Taliban, Mark references Bagram, etc) it's totally fair to disregard Art's comment on Iraq and say Tim only served in Afghanistan.

however! considering the writer's room consistently dropped the ball on Boyd's military service…i do also think it's fair to believe that Tim served in both Afghanistan and Iraq and the writers just once again did a bad job integrating a veteran's service history and revealing it in the plot. also, Colt is a "double winner" and served in both. since Colt + Tim serve as narrative foils there is a poetic slant in making Tim a double winner too.

at the end of this ramble i will say this is one of those intriguing sticking points that i don't feel strongly about because i believe there's room for differing head canons to co-exist depending on writer needs when people are writing fanfiction or roleplaying. i regard this continuity error in the same vein as what the hell is up with frances' date of death.

did Tim serve only in Afghanistan?

or did Tim serve in Afghanistan and Iraq?

justie's choice!

[looklikeapencil]

EFFIE'S FAR CRY 5 PLAYLISTS. see below the cut for my descriptions/commentary!!

DIVINE PROVIDENCE. [ post / spotify ] DIVINE RETRIBUTION. [ post / spotify ] DEPUTY'S DARK DOO-WOP. [ post / spotify ]

To preface: I haven't finished the game yet, I could be missing a lot of songs that perfectly describe FC5 plot points. Anyway, here's some info on each playlist, the themes, why I chose the songs I did, etc.

DIVINE PROVIDENCE. "You're not here by accident or by chance."

The first one, the best of the best, all the country gothic you could hope for. I wanted it to capture the creepy vibes through the music and the lyrics, even in the shippy "interpret as you will" category. Another one of my goals was to have a lot of songs that dealt with destiny, fate, and never truly being able to escape what happened in Hope County. No matter what the Deputy does, even in canon-based fanfics, can they ever mentally escape the Seed Family? And why is the Deputy in Hope County in the first place? Divine Providence.

My Top 3 Songs (from this playlist):

Waters by Eliza Shaddad: I'm more of a Joseph x Deputy shipper but this has converted me to a John x Deputy shipper. You know exactly what cut scene I'm thinking about with this song and the lyrics "as the water begins / to slide up my skin / and I'm fighting giving in to you".

I Will Never Die by Delta Rae: you could make this about Deputy x Seed sibling or (however you may ship it, platonic or not) Seed x Seed. It also hammers home my fave theme of never being able to escape the situation, even if the other person dies. You're always going to be haunted by them and by their actions and by what took place in Hope County. It's the love and the PTSD, baby!

For What It's Worth by Trills: this one is a cover and I included the 60s original in my other playlist. My favorite lyrics are "there's battle lines being drawn / and nobody's right if everybody's wrong" along with the stanza that starts "paranoia strikes deep". The citizens fear being overrun and kidnapped by the Peggies, just like the Peggies probably (sorta) fear being overrun by the citizens of the county.

DIVINE RETRIBUTION. "If violence is the only language you choose to speak, then I'll speak your language."

This playlist is a classic rock playlist and has a few repeats from the above playlist and from the game itself. Another caveat is that not all of the songs are "rock", some are rock-adjacent. Either way, the songs wouldn't exist without the rock genre and all the precursors that led to the creation of a beautiful, beautiful genre.

A lot of the songs comment on real events and/or deal with religious themes. For What It's Worth was a protest song of the 60s and Gimme Shelter comments on the brutalities of war. Sunday, Bloody Sunday reflects the events of the Troubles and the violence committed in the name of God. All Along the Watchtower has more subtle Christian tones (like with a lot of Bob Dylan songs, it can be analyzed in a million different ways). Personal Jesus is sexy and I think the same could be said about Missionary Man, even though that one is more about manipulation.

My Top 3 Songs:

A Horse With No Name by America: you're probably wondering why I included it -- well just listen to it, it's weird! It's one of those songs that could've been included in the last, Bliss-inspired category of nonsensical songs. I like how it focuses on names and lack of names.

Burning Down the House by the Talking Heads: another nonsensical song with lyrics that make sense in this context. The Deputy is an "ordinary guy / burning down the house". And at some point, someone has definitely told them "watch out, you might get what you're after".

Murder by Numbers by the Police: I have a very mixed relationship with this band because I don't like Sting's voice but I love the songs. That being said, this song and Every Breath You Take are absolute gold. "Because murder is like anything you take to / It's a habit-forming need for more and more".

THE DEPUTY'S DARK DOO-WOP. "I spent my entire life looking for more things to say 'yes' to."

The overarching theme of this playlist is that the Deputy and the Seed Family are one and the same. They use violence as a means to an end, as a means to "save" people, though their goals are totally different. Whether or not they come to agree on how to "save" people will define their relationship. They could be enemies to lovers, enemies and always enemies, or the classic "you're my enemy and HELL NO, your love is not reciprocated".

Again, I wanted to include a lot of Christian themes and that's reflected in Personal Jesus, Big God, Devil's Backbone, and Apocalyptic. Included in that list is Devil's Resting Place which includes the lyrics "If you must drink of me, take of me what you please ... / ... I've been with the devil in the devil's resting place". It plays into my love of kidnapping tropes and all that comes with it.

My Top 3 Songs:

Ritual by Ellie Goulding: this one also plays into the religious themes and, to me, suggests enemies to lovers. The Deputy has to go through the rituals before becoming a member of the Family. "It's far too late to be rescued" and "the ritual, we lose it all" makes it seem as though they don't want it to happen. Then they say "But I'm ready now, but I’m ready now" and repeat "It’s a ritual, and I know you feel it", as if convincing themself the other person feels it too.

No One Knows but Me by Torii Wolf: I feel like this one would be from one of the Seed fam's POV, maybe in a delusional way thinking the Deputy loves them and is willing to be a part of the family. The lyrics "They don't know you like I do / no one knows but me" feel (un)intentionally creepy, especially applied to the Seeds who have no idea what the Deputy was like before they got involved in this shit. They don't know their likes, dislikes, hobbies, family history.

Dark Doo Wop by MS MR: Here's where the title comes from! A song about a couple facing the end of the world! "As long as we're going down / Baby, you should stick around ... / ... Baby if you could, I know you would hatch a plan / That's my, that's my man" The lyrics speak for themselves.

[networksupported]

eyes emoji can you tell us something about 144?

FELIX (I GRIP YOU BY THE SHOULDERS AND SHAKE YOU SHAKING YOU SHAKING YOU SHAKING YOU SH)

DO NOT GET ME STARTED I WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABT THEM

EVERYTHING

OKAY YOU KNOW WHAT IM DUMPING HOLD ON

TW FOR UH. DEATH. AND BABIES. AND POSSIBLE CULT ACTIVITIES ITS NOT REALLY A CULT BUT THERES A LINE BEING TREAD HERE.

so.

actually everything is split into three categories. imagine it's all a string board bc that's how my thoughts are composed. yayye :)

so section one!! 144 themself :) consistently through every timeline, employee 144 is a 19-20 y/o. they use she/they pronouns and are in charge of constructing the powerpoints displayed in the meeting room. though actually given that windows movie maker is canon to the tsp universe i think she should get to use that too yk what i mean??

at least one side of her head is shaved, but she keeps her hair long, long enough to cover up that bit if her boss ever makes her

which he does frequently because apparently its not "professional" but like boo to that

also despite her name/title, she's very rarely actually...employed?? in the company??? you'll get me in a sec

in the og tsp universe as in The Game (which you just lost hah) i don't think she'd ever really appear?? like i think everything you'd learn about her would be through the powerpoints she left behind

one bc that's very underrated as a tsp character trope two because i want there to be a bit where the narrator just says something and the powerpoint flips to a slide that's like 'hey shut up' and the narrators like don't be silly stanley that can't be about me but the slides just keep getting more and more specific to stanley's situation I THINK IT WOULD BE FUNNY ALRIGHT

but also the last slide is just def like cut off midword at some point and you never find out what happened to her after that :)

she probably has a name in that universe but i don't think you'd ever find it out i think all you'd get is like a tagline about 'slides made by employee 144' on the title card and that's it

you also wouldn't get to know this but like i like to think she's like an intern at this point in time like she's not really getting paid for this but also it might look bad to get rid of her so they're just stuck with her ass

her boss: (head in his hands) why don't you just go uh. make some powerpoints. yeah that'll be very helpful thank you.

but in like her main verse

oh BOY her main verse where do i start

in that universe, essentially the stanley parable never happened?? the office is a Much bigger scarier corporation there that was much more involved in people's lives than just employing them

like that office contains hospitals and dorms and nurseries and laboratories and Everything

so because they have so much diction over peoples lives they have diction over their names which is why 144 is literally just named employee 144 in that universe

first name employee last name onefourfour

no that's a lie their names just 144 employee is like a title that doesn't actually quite dignify whether or not one is- well- employed

it's all very complicated

essentially employee just means you're a member of the corporation as a whole which of course a lot of the current generation (144 included) have been from birth

not that they're wandering around calling lil babies "employee" though. i think it's like 'ma'am' or 'sir' as a title like its just a mark of respect or adulthood

okay i'm getting off track here what was my point???

oh yeah the point is this means employee 427 exists BUTTT because he's not named stanley then well

there is no story about a man named stanley to be told so the stanley parable never really happens

so the office just keeps expanding and expanding and expanding and nothing disrupts it and nobody vanishes

actually nobody even so much as dies espilecially of old age :)

that just doesn't happen. its a very normal and sane thing and there's nothing behind that at all :)

so at this point in tjme 144 is beginning to bridge the gap between being taken care of as a child and put into actual Employment

she's old enough that she's being given certain jobs and work and stuff (hence the fact in this universe she's ALSO in charge of microsoft powerpoint presentations that important staple for every creepy organisation) but she's prone to acting out enough that they're hesitant to actually Give Her Important Work To Do

honestly she should be in a lot more trouble than she is but the big boss of the place (a man named zero) is willing to be lenient about a lot when it comes to her behaviour

it's not like any kind of hardcore acting out i mean

i don't even know if the whole mind control element works in the same way in this world but i feeeeel like even without it things would continue as they are doing right now

because i mean atp a lot of people there are at least third generation they've lived there they've grown up there it's their home

even if whatever residual or active mind control there was got removed i don't think they'd really notice or change their ways

so 144 isn't doing what she does in terms of fucking shit up because she's immune or knows the truth or anything she's just. yk how it be sometimes. sometimes you have to put penises in important work presentations. because why not.

i haven't quite formulated everything about this system but i think employee numbers might be like. rankings? so 0 is the highest and if you're at 999 boo everyone hates you 👎

my deepest apologies to anyone who has an oc who's #999 that was not directed at you i prommy

so anyway as it goes 144 is actually?? pretty high up the list? she's often treated with more/less (depending on the person) respect than the title deserves but i think nobody can really advocate for her to be moved any higher or any lower given she's terrible at working but zero likes her which cancels each other out somewhere in the middle

i think a similar things probably happening with the employee 432

bitches hate him but he's not TECHNICALLY doing anything wrong so

they can't move him down xP

"wait toby what happens to the number scale when babies are born" i don't know actually good question!!

i feel like you give birth to a baby and zeros like wonderful :) they shall be called 235 and the current 235 just goes 😬 because he knows this means he's probably gonna be taken out back and shot somewhere to make room for it /hj

not that zero would ever actually say he'd done that though

'isn't it wonderful we had the space of 235 free?' 'dude what happened to the last 235' 'i'm sure i have no idea what you mean :)'

man rip to 235 ive already created him and killed him off in like two minutes

he'll live forever in our hearts ❤️

so 432 is barely avoiding getting shot because he knows they need him for Experimentation And Shit (though it's probably not linked to mind control this time) and 999 is like. they're managing i think. barely.

i feel like they're definitely not the original 999 but if zero kept shooting them and replacing them then people might start to get suspicious so

they're alive for now!!

back when i said nobody died i mean i don't THINK that's actually true i think zero probably just pretends they're fine and alive and living in a special bit of the office just for people who are fine and alive

so really it would be more 'isn't it wonderful 235 decided to give up his position to our adorable little member of the next generation?' 'dude what was that gunshot i just heard' 'no more questions thank you :)'

we're getting off track again (i shake my fist at at zero) okay so back to the topic at hand!! 👍

the other point is i think that this probably means 144 has special benefits due to the person they're essentially replacing? like the original 144 was very close to zero so zeros kind of putting all this pressure on her replacement to like.

be worth having taken her out back and shot her yk???

like he only did it because he thought 144 was a very special baby (more on that at six) and he still harbours those feelings but he's getting HELLA desperate now

probably because it was a shit move dude

okay you know what it's six (it is 3:40 at the time i'm writing this) lemme tell you about 144s birth

i like to title this section 'fuck you all (not you guys though) i am allowed to spend my teenage years making mary sue ocs because if not now then when??? actually that previous statement was a lie i will now make them all the time i will be making them way into my sixties but my god shall i start now'

so.

brief synopsis of the birth of 144: uhhh it didn't happen???

i mean presumably it did because there was a baby produced but like. there was no record or knowledge of it there was no person pregnant enough to have made a baby at the time a baby was found lying on the cold floor of a meeting room but by god was there a baby there nonetheless and by GOD was it wailing its lil heart out in that way babies do

so the poor employees who found this thing were like huh?? and they asked each other if they knew of anyone who's baby this could be and they didn't and they tried to work out how someone could very quietly give birth to a baby then keep it quiet all the time they were just leaving it and none of it made any sense

so they were like hey zero. know you're real busy rn. but quick question. there's uh there's a baby.

and zeros like what?? and they're like there's a baby. look. and they hold up the baby and sure enough it's still a baby

so now they're all as confused as each other but in the meantime there's a baby and it's still crying

me too lil buddy i feel ya

so employee 144 mark 1 is like okay well this is going nowhere lemme take this lil guy and she takes the baby and it quiets down in the way babies sometimes do

and immediately the office registers its first ever reset!!

which is. not that dramatic actually. everyone's shaken up they can feel everything Change but there's nothing cemented that anyone can pin down apart from the fact for .4 seconds Every Computer And Other Technological Device In The Building Crashes

like i'm talking flat out blackout everything just Goes albeit for a very short period of time

and then it all boots back up!!

and zeros like hm. very suspicious.

and 144 mark 1 subsection a is like hey what do you mean by that it was just a powercut or do you think i birthed the baby or whatever?

and zeros like no no!! don't be silly :)

and 144 mark 1 subsection a category i is like ah phew well i was worried there and zeros like actually i think you're the same person :)) and she's like. huh. okay well- wait huh????

and zeros like yeah i actually have this theory that every employee replacement is like the reincarnation of the employee whose number they're taking (i'm so sane btw) and then 144 mark 1 subsection a category i genus humanus has to sit down for a little bit because a) that's stupid as hell and b) she's damned if she's dying for a baby who's probably shat its nappy in this time simply because some computers crashed the moment she picked it up

and then she dies for a baby who had absolutely shat its nappy in this time simply because some computers crashed the moment she picked it up and that's the end of that which is good because i was running out of categorisation i could apply to her name.

i think that's the end of that, at least. right?

uhhh.

2k words you know what i shan't curse you with any more xP

there IS more i assure you!! but dear lord let me get this block out the way first

[silver-wield]

Story time! I legitimately liked Clerith at one point. A LOT. I played the original game back in the day and I wanted to join the Clerith community. I did so on Discord and nearly instantly was put off by several things within the community, but I pushed it down and told myself I was overreacting. First, it was small things - like how they loathed Team Four Stars' parody videos because of how they treated Aerith. (1)

when in reality all of the characters were given shitty attitudes and backstories because ya'know it was a parody! It felt hyper-sensitive to me for no reason, so I kept it to myself that I loved the video series and went on. Next was how they hated Tifa and willfully misinterpreted canon and characters. Believe it or not I genuinely like Tifa - she's complex and has beauty and brains and brawn so I don't see anything to dislike. But I couldn't exactly say that to them, and any suggestion (2)

that Tifa was a good character got major pushback. I shut up. What really pushed me over the edge was one user I can't recall the name of so I won't guess, but she was a bigwig. I wanted to join a specific part of the Discord. It was advertised as "debate friendly" so I thought - okay finally here is my shot at speaking my mind while not being dog piled. I asked to join and she said basically she had to verify I was a real person so she needed my real Facebook. (3)

A little creepy, and a little odd I thought since I had been in the group for over a month and had caused no trouble (I learned quickly what was and was not okay to say) but I gave it to her anyway. Keep in mind I was a minor at the time. She came back to me and said "You look like my relative." This tells me she was snooping on my page since at the time my profile picture was actually my cat and any pictures of myself were buried some ways back. (4)

About an hour later she told me she denied my request to join because she saw where I had posted Tifa fanart months ago, and since my Facebook was only two years old (again, I was a minor and had only been allowed to get FB roughly two years prior to this) that she was convinced I was a troll. Insert youvegottobekiddingme. png here. I told her she was paranoid to which she went off on a paragraphs-long spiel about how the Clerith community has been prosecuted by Clotis for ages. (nearly done)

I eventually got tired and blocked her and removed myself from the group. Because of that, and another encounter I had much later (in which my sexual identity was mocked) and an encounter a friend of mine had in which she was goaded into crying over her dead husband when she dared suggest that even if Cloud did love Aerith it's cruel to want him to stay single and mourning for the rest of his life, I have thoroughly decided I cannot stand Cleriths. They made me dislike Aerith. (fin)

Sorry for the late reply, anon. I wasn't ignoring it 😅

Tbf I don't like Machinabridged either, but my response is to just ignore it exists. I don't think I've even watched the whole thing. I've never gone off at the team behind it, but then I rarely give a shit because whenever I do I get slammed by tons of people. So, always remember to never express an opinion that differs from the masses, but if you do express it don't expect anyone to be on your side even if they claimed to be your friends.

Yeah, asking for personal info is a huge red flag for me. Nobody needs to know that unless they have plans to use it against you later. That's why I never give out personal info to people. Cleriths generally use it to make sure people don't stray from their hard-line hating. "If you like Tifa, we'll tell the fandom who you really are" kinda shit mentality.

Honestly, it sounds like you were in the cult's discord. Those are things I've heard them do to people. They're legit terrifying en masse. I mean, most large groups are, especially when one person weaponises them against a single person. Fandom and social media shouldn't be a numbers game that people then utilise to push down those with lower numbers than them, but that's what it is.

What's funny is their behaviour makes people dislike Aerith, so you'd think they'd care about how they come across. But then again, they don't even like her, she's just a straw doll they shove in front of them so they can throw shit at people from behind her and then say she's the reason for their actions.

[laundrybiscuits]

aaaah i love the ficlets you've been posting! i saw in your tags that you worked on character voices for that les mis fic (which is awesome omg and also very understandable to do for that particular cast of characters lol), and i want to say that you're really really skilled at that. i started following you for your stranger things writing and i think you're excellent at writing those characters. you write eddie especially very nuanced and it's awesome, he's a hard character to write since he got like an hr of screen time tops and also is very much a dude who is always performing lol. anyways hope you're having a good day!

Thank you so much, that's so kind! Eddie's incredibly fun for me to write—I'm just continuing the age-old fandom tradition of projecting all over my blorbo in the massive gaps that canon leaves. With Eddie (because you're absolutely right that he's always performing), that means I get to indulge my core impulse to spout a bunch of flowery idiomatic bullshit at the drop of a hat, and also my core impulse to go "I will tell you a true and vulnerable thing but ONLY!! if I can wrap it up in a hundred oblique references and maybe a funny dance"

Actually, looking back at that les mis fic for the first time in ages, I'm also suddenly realizing that my Eddie voice is a significantly toned-down (and much more palatable tbh) version of the Grantaire voice I developed for that one. Don't get me wrong, still hella fun to write at the time, but a bit of a nightmare to read, I think. Like, good lord, nobody needed this:

Grantaire smiles. It’s probably a smile, anyway. It’s hard to tell in the shifting lights.

“Ah, I should have known better than to think any detail might pass by Apollo the keen-eyed—or perhaps Artemis would be more suited to that particular epithet? Very well; I hadn’t intended to fasten a millstone to the evening’s mood, but if I assure you it’s nothing, I can’t imagine you’ll be put off the scent.”

Enjolras wishes he could reach back in time and edit the last twenty seconds out of existence, and he doesn’t even know why yet. Casual conversation has never come entirely naturally to him, and with Grantaire, it’s physically impossible for him to say two words without stumbling over some conversational tripwire he doesn’t entirely understand.

The frustrated, confused knot in his stomach is depressingly familiar as Grantaire continues, “Truth be told, Dionysus has been no friend of mine in recent years; circumstances have conspired to terminate our relationship most decisively. It is a long and sordid story that is not worth the breath it would take to tell, but I assure you the only bearing it has on the present moment is that my drinks will always look a shade different than those designed to contain alcohol.”

“Ah,” says Enjolras. “Is, um. Are we...”

Grantaire’s face is in shadow, only the curve of his jaw and smudge of cheekbone picked out in neon. “Don’t fret, Apollo. The frown lines will mar your improbably fresh visage, and strangers might stop mistaking you for an elfin adolescent. You know me: these little eddies in the stream of life never quite manage to drag me under.”

Eponine materialises at Grantaire’s elbow. Enjolras isn’t always great at picking up on nonverbal cues, but the dislike radiating from her is almost a tangible thing.

“Come on, R,” she says lightly, eyes still on Enjolras. “Let's dance already.”

———

Hours later, they tumble back out onto the street, sweaty and laughing, with both moons still high in the sky. Courfeyrac grabs Eponine’s hand and twirls her, then collapses theatrically onto Combeferre’s shoulder. “We are so old. We are so, so old. Oh my god, we are so old. Ferre, carry me home, my ancient bones can’t move another step. Ferre? Ferre, I love you, you’re my soulmate, carry me or I’m leaving you forever.”

“I’m keeping Enjolras in the divorce,” Combeferre says soothingly, petting Courfeyrac’s hair.

Enjolras is a bit tipsier than he’d intended to be. He’d been so determined to act normal around Grantaire that he’d accidentally regressed to the kind of overindulgence that had too often characterised their university days. It had worked, though, so he couldn’t be all that upset about it. He’d even managed to have a proper conversation with Grantaire, although as the night air clears his thoughts a little, he’s beginning to have the terrible suspicion that he’d asked Grantaire the same overly polite set of questions about his work several times, to Grantaire’s mounting amusement.

It’s fine. He might feel differently in the morning, but right now he’s glad to look ridiculously slow-witted if it will ease the tension between the two of them.

“Let’s get you tourists back to your hotel before someone picks your pocket,” yawns Eponine. “And by someone, I mean me.”

[lsdunesarchive]

Interview: Frank Iero & Tucker Rule Are “Reborn” In Emo Punk Group L.S. Dunes

Frank Iero and Tucker Rule discuss their new band L.S. Dunes, the state of live music in 2023, and the freedom that’s come from starting over. With members from My Chemical Romance, Coheed and Cambria, Circa Survive, and Thursday, L.S. Dunes is a cross section of the modern rock canon – and five friends having the time of their lives.

Words by Mitch Mosk Photos by Mark Beemer, Luke Dickey and Zachary Spangler January 26, 2023

We’re from punk rock and hardcore. It’s DIY; it’s making something out of nothing. You’re being told that your industry is dead and you should go work for Amazon, so what do we do against all odds? Start another band. Punk is punk.

The end of 2022 year brought us an incredible development in rock and hardcore music, by the name of L.S. Dunes: A supergroup so unlikely, yet so obvious, that as we struggle to comprehend their very existence, we also can’t help but wonder why it took them this long to get together.

After forming virtually during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and recording largely in their own makeshift home studios over the past two years, L.S. Dunes arrived this past August in a maelstrom of surging guitars, searing drums, and feverish, fiery vocals.

Past Lives - L.S. Dunes

Debut single “Permanent Rebellion” represented the start of something very special, itself an unapologetic uproar of passion, polish, and pure energy channeled through a volatile volcanic eruption of sonic fury. It’s a stunning, hard-hitting post-hardcore song that all-too-perfectly blends alt-rock and punk with a touch of metal, and just as well: Released in mid-November via Fantasy Records, L.S. Dunes’ debut album Past Lives is sonically supercharged and all-consuming: A cinematic outpouring of raw, radiant music and intense emotional vulnerability.

The Jersey mentality is, you don’t boast about yourself. You don’t complain. You put your head down and you do the goddamn work, because nobody cares. There’s 1000 bands here; we all want it, so you better be really good. Get up there, shut up, and be great.

L.S. Dunes © Mark Beemer

What makes L.S Dunes so exciting is the way they push themselves and their music forward.

“Taking out the ego of everything has been a very important part of this process,” Tucker Rule tells Atwood Magazine.

Rather than resting their laurels on what they know, the five-piece spend their debut album taking risks that pay off big time in the form of explosive, instantly memorable choruses, gut-wrenching lyrics, bold guitar lines, and even bolder drum beats.

“The Jersey mentality is, you don’t boast about yourself, you don’t complain, you put your head down and you do the work,” Frank Iero explains. He and his L.S. Dunes band members certainly put in the work, and the result is a fresh-sounding band whose familiar faces are more than ready (and willing!) to carry a generation’s worth of angst and edge forward and through the 2020s.

Atwood Magazine sat down with Frank Iero and Tucker Rule to dive deep into L.S. Dunes’ music.

Read our interview below for a candid conversation about the band’s origins, the songs on Past Lives, the state of live music in 2023, and the freedom that’s come with starting over.

“It truly is a phenomenal time because we’re just all buds,” Iero says. “We’re all friends, and so that, I think, is the cornerstone of the band. When the band is having a good time, you can tell!”

“You can’t not see how much fun we’re having,” Rule adds. “A good time is infectious, and we’re having the time of our lives. We’re reborn in our 40s musically. This band and this record has made me fall in love with playing music all over again.”

L.S. Dunes are here for a good time, and they’re loving every minute of it. Here’s to hardcore’s newest titans.

The band are currently on tour in Europe. Grab tickets and find more information at lsdunes.com!

People sacrifice quite a lot, and you need to have your head on straight and realize that you do it for you and you do it because you have to. It’s like breathing; you don’t even know why you’re doing it, but you have to in order to survive.

A CONVERSATION WITH L.S. DUNES

ATWOOD MAGAZINE: FRANK AND TUCKER, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SPEAK TODAY! I ACTUALLY HAD THE PLEASURE OF SEEING BOTH OF YOU THREE TIMES IN CONCERT THIS YEAR, ALBEIT FOR DIFFERENT BANDS BACK IN SEPTEMBER. I CAUGHT MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE’S SEPTEMBER 10TH AND 11TH SHOWS, AND THE HOMECOMING SHOW IN NEWARK.

Frank Iero: Oh wow. Those were some good shows, man. I liked those shows.

EVERYBODY WAS FANTASTIC! THERE'S BEEN AN ENERGY IN ALL THE CONCERTS I'VE SEEN RECENTLY, ACTUALLY. I FEEL LIKE FOLKS ARE EXCITED TO BE BACK TOGETHER. THE CONCERT INDUSTRY ITSELF IS F--ED, BUT THERE'S THIS ELECTRICITY IN THE AIR OF COMING TOGETHER.

Frank Iero: Well, I think that’s the thing, right? I mean, when you love something so much, right? It’s human nature to end up taking it for granted ’cause you just feel like it’s always gonna be there. But then when that thing gets taken from you and you don’t know if you’ll ever see it again you have this newfound respect for it, newfound appreciation. And it really does change every second that you’re on that stage. I think collectively, when we were starting Dunes, we had no idea if we would ever play another show.

I mean, honestly, people were dying. They were losing their livelihoods. We were watching our industry crumble. We were the first to be removed from our work and the last to go back. So when you got a bunch of guys that collected, [chuckle] we don’t know how to do anything else. This is all we know how to do. And that’s what… Tucker will always say to me. He’s like, “I don’t understand people that get nervous before shows. Like this is all we know how to do. This is the only thing you’re good at.”

Tucker Rule: Only thing we’re good at, but yeah…

Frank Iero: And then when they tell you, like, “Hey, that thing that you’re good at, get good at something else.”

Tucker Rule: Yeah. Figure it out. It’s crazy. Like two constants in the whole pandemic thing were like Netflix and music. You know what I mean? People had to sit and watch movies and watch shows and people had to listen to music ’cause there was nothing else to do. So we’re supposed to be thriving. However, we can’t go to work. You know what I mean? So it was crazy.

THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE SAID THAT PEOPLE KEEP LISTENING TO MUSIC; IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE THEY ARE. AT THE VERY LEAST, WE HAD THAT THROUGHOUT.

Frank Iero: But in the same breath, you got to understand like, yeah, people are listening to music and they’re listening to recorded music through streaming – and the labels are the first to get paid and the artists are not. The artists are the last ones. The way that we make money is by touring, selling cloth, selling yourselves on stage. So alive and well, it’s alive. Well, we haven’t figured out the faucets yet. You guys get turned on first and we’re still trickled.

YOU'RE RIGHT TO POINT THAT OUT.

Tucker Rule: We’re the invisible people that put your hand under the faucet and the water just never comes out. You know what I mean? Like it doesn’t recognize your hand. So you’re just like, ghost hands and you’re dry and then you just have pee on your hand.

SO NICE, THANKS FOR THAT VISUAL. IN THE EXACT SAME BREATH, YOU BOTH HAVE GONE FROM NOT TOURING AT ALL FOR TWO YEARS TO GOING HARD INTO IT, BEYOND THE MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE AND THURSDAY SHOWS. YOU RECENTLY WRAPPED UP YOUR FIRST L.S. DUNES TOUR. HOW HAS THE LIVE RECEPTION BEEN TO THE BAND?

Frank Iero: I mean, it’s been phenomenal in my aspect of it. I didn’t know what to expect. I think, we all thought there might be some residual trickle in fan base from our collective projects. But that stuff is fleeting. Sometimes it’s real loud online, but it doesn’t translate to shows. This was above and beyond anything that I could have imagined or expected.

DO YOU FEEL THAT FOLKS COMING OUT TO THESE SHOWS WERE COMING TO SEE YOU FOR YOU OR YOU FOR TUCKER RULE OF THURSDAY FOR FRANK IERO OF MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, ETC?

Tucker Rule: I think that was the gateway drug. You know what I mean? Like the names in the interim were the gateway drug. But I think that like I think the record speaks for itself. You know what I mean? I think that it delivered a little bit of the hype. I would hope it did, you know what I mean? Because I know that we love it so much. So I definitely think like, yes, the names got the people in the door. But we did what we do.

Frank Iero: I think that’s the thing. I’ve seen shows where it’s obvious that people are just waiting for the music to end to get a photo up. You know what I mean? This was not that. This was like everyone knew the words from front to back. Records are selling, but kids already have the record. They know the songs. They’re fans of the band. It was pretty remarkable how the crowds went off. And yeah, I gotta say, like Tucker said, I feel very fortunate. I love the record so much. And I think putting that record out and seeing the reaction just it was even overwhelming. It was even to love it so much, but like, you know your kid’s cute or you think your kid’s cute. Like when you show it up to other people like, oh, yeah, you can tell on their faces like… You know what I mean? If you actually have a cute kid or not or just an ugly baby. This felt like we had a beautiful baby.

Tucker Rule: Beautiful baby. And also you can’t not see how much fun we’re having. You know what I mean? So I think that that kind of shines through a little bit. You know a good time is infectious. And we’re definitely having… I mean, I feel like I could speak for you here, Frank, but I think we’re having the time of our lives. You know what I mean? We’re reborn in our 40s musically. I feel like this band and this record has made me fall in love with playing music all over again. I’ve always been in love with it. But I always say it’s like this. It’s like when you’re driving through somewhere and you see the mountains like in Colorado, say and then people who you’re with are like, Oh, whatever, it’s just the mountains. But you’re just like, “Holy shit.” When you live near the mountains you don’t appreciate them all the time.

Frank Iero: Hard to see the forest for the trees, right?

Tucker Rule: For sure.

FOR THOSE OF US WHO WEREN'T ABLE TO MAKE IT OUT FOR THIS FIRST ONE, WHAT ARE THE HALLMARKS OF AN L.S. DUNES' CONCERT?

Frank Iero: The hallmark of an L.S. Dunes show. Well, you got 11 songs. And I think honestly, it goes back to what Tucker just said, it’s enjoyment. I’ve never gotten to play with everybody else in this band. Me and Tucker have played together before. We did… Was it one My Chem tour or two that you came on? Let’s say two.

Tucker Rule: I played one My Chem tour with you and then we did another one Thursday, and you guys.

Frank Iero: Right. Right. But like us playing together on the same band on stage.

Tucker Rule: Oh, yeah. Just one My Chem tour.

Frank Iero: Alright. So we did a My Chem tour together and then we did a Future Violents record together. And then we did a couple of Thursday performances during the pandemic and stuff. And then this live stream stuff. And then this is like another. So I’ve had the opportunity and the pleasure to get to play with Tucker and to know his playing style and getting to write with him is just it’s so easy. He’s the type of musician where he zigs when he’s supposed to zig, he zags when he’s supposed to zag and sometimes he’ll zig when I think he’s gonna zag and it totally makes my brain shit inside my head. And I’m like, “Oh, my God, that’s perfect. We got to exploit that and do that.” He writes hooks all over the drum set. It’s crazy. So I’ve had that experience before and I love it. But I’ve never gotten to play.

Tucker Rule: Thank you.

Frank Iero: You’re welcome. [laughs] I’ve never gotten to play…

Tucker Rule: I mean, the red is this right now.

Frank Iero: Oh, I’ve never got to play with Tim, Travis or Anthony, but we’ve toured together and stuff like that. We’ve known each other in different circles. And it was always one of those things we’re like, “Oh, yeah, yeah, that’d be fun to write together. That’d be fun. We should do this.” But you always say that and it’s something that never comes to fruition, but this was the first time doing that. And I love that this band started like your first high school band. It’s just a bunch of friends. Oh, you happen to play an instrument. You like the same music that I like. Hey, we should start a band. And that’s basically how this started. We enjoyed each other’s company. We already had like a text chain that we would send dumb stuff back and forth, make each other laugh. And it was just like, oh, well, why don’t we do that and also play music while we do it? And that’s what you’re getting. I think you like, we laugh on stage as much as I was many… As many notes as we play, I think is how many laughs are heard.

It’s like, it truly is a phenomenal time because we’re just all buds. We’re all friends, and so that, I think, is the cornerstone of the band. And I think it’s like Tucker said, it’s infectious. I think when the band is having a good time you can tell. It’s just like when you can tell, like a band is fighting or they’re having a really rough time of it. Sometimes that push and pull and that, not the animosity, but the tension can add to the performance. Right. I’ve never enjoyed that too much. I mean, I’ve enjoyed it like watching a fight is enjoyable, you know what I mean?

But ultimately, I don’t feel like I’m invested in it. Right. So I enjoy a band that likes playing with one another. I enjoy a band that has each other’s backs and I enjoy a band that’s having fun doing what they’re doing. ‘Cause if you’re not having fun up there, what the f*** like, I can’t have fun watching you. You know what I mean?

L.S. Dunes © Mark Beemer

ABSOLUTELY. SO, WE'RE EXACTLY ONE MONTH OUT FROM PAST LIVES' RELEASE.

Frank Iero: Thank you. You mean like right now, like this moment?

EXACTLY THIS MOMENT, YES. WHAT'S IT BEEN LIKE TO HAVE THIS ALBUM OUT IN THE WORLD?

Tucker Rule: Dude, it’s been amazing because for so long we did it under the darkness of the cloud. You know what I mean? We couldn’t tell anybody anything. We didn’t tell anybody anything. So when we were first able to talk about it, it was like a huge relief. And then you get that weird pressure like, “Oh, man.” We love it so much. I hope people receive it in a way that it’s meant to be received. And then it’s out and you’re like, Oh, my God. And it’s been really great. And I can’t stress enough how proud we are of this record and what we accomplished in the box that we accomplished it in. You know what I mean? It was… I’m sure, you’ve heard us talk about this before, but none of us were in the same room when this record was created. This was literally just deep in the cloud file sharing over the interweb.

There’s a series of firsts in this band, and writing this particular way was definitely a first for me, because I’m used to going to Frank’s house and hashing out songs and hashing out parts and getting things out perfect, together. And then just to do that in a way where you’re like, you’re just so excited and you’re moving, you’re sending parts back and forth as fast as possible to keep the interest peaked. You got to keep every member involved, like psyched and wanting to write more. And I think that in that we trimmed the fat. We really captured that youthful spirit that we did when we wrote all of our first records. We kind of tried to capture that lightning in a bottle in the speed that we did things. So I just, having the record out has been life changing. It’s amazing.

THIS BAND HAS A VERY DIFFERENT ORIGIN STORY THAN MOST OTHER BANDS. HAD ANY OF YOU PREVIOUSLY WORKED ON MUSIC VIRTUALLY THE WAY YOU DID FOR THIS RECORD, SENDING THINGS BACK AND FORTH RATHER THAN BEING ALL TOGETHER IN THE SAME ROOM.

Frank Iero: I’ve done a few minor projects here and there where you just send your parts along, get some feedback, maybe change some things that. But never like starting a band doing the first record like that. Yeah, this was unique.

Tucker Rule: I at the same time when we were kinda doing the Dunes stuff, I did a Jim Ward solo record with with Ben Kenny from Incubus. We kind of did that over the interweb and then I did a Sparta record. So I kind of learned by doing Dunes how to do that. You know what I mean? So this project has been multifaceted for me ’cause it taught me how to record. It taught me how to do this with other bands. So it’s really just a huge stepping stone and a foothold.

AND I HEARD TIM TOOK ON THE LEAD ROLE AS ENGINEER FOR THE BAND? HE WAS COLLECTING ALL THE STEMS AT THE END OF THE DAY?

Frank Iero: He was. He’s fantastic, man. He’ll tell you he’s not but he’s lying. He’s a really great engineer. He’s a fantastic arranger. And I mean, and all that is dwarfed by the way that he plays. He is a phenomenal bass player. A wonderful musician.

Tucker Rule: Absolute monster.

GOING BACK TO THE MAGIC THAT TUCKER WAS TALKING ABOUT JUST EARLIER... EVERYONE FROM THE BAND IS A SEASONED RECORDING ARTIST WITH WELL OVER TWO DECADES EXPERIENCE IN THE BUSINESS. BUT WITH THAT BEING SAID, DID YOU STILL FEEL ANY OF THE MAGIC ASSOCIATED WITH RELEASING YOUR DEBUT ALBUM?

Frank Iero: Oh yeah. Dude, when that stuff becomes un-fun or like unexciting, then you need to stop. I mean, like it’s always fun. It’s funny, as we’re talking like the group chat is still going. We were talking earlier that this kind of thing, man, when you have the opportunity to hear a song and fall in love with it and then realize it’s your song. It’s a song that you and your friends made from nothing, that feeling is second only to having kids or to making a human being. Like it’s, you made this wonderful thing that wasn’t here before you. You know what I mean? And you made it from, with your hands from nothing. That feeling of, I guess of bringing beauty into the world is, it’s unmatched. And that’s what keeps us, at least for me, I mean, that’s what keeps me going and doing this kind of thing. Because this is an industry that very rarely loves you back. You know what I mean?

You sacrifice your time, your money, your body, all of it to just put out a record and do this thing and play these shows and people are like, “Alright, what’s next?” You know what I mean? So yeah, you’re only as good as your last release. And so if you’re looking for fame or riches or a pat on the back, you’re in the wrong place. You know what I mean? You have to provide your own level of success and your own barometer for that. You know what I mean? Because very often people will tell you…

ANYBODY WHO'S TRYING TO MAKE IT IN MUSIC.

Frank Iero: Yeah, man. I mean, music, art, all that stuff. It’s a subjective industry. And very rarely the people that deserve it get the accolades. It’ll go to the prettiest or it goes to the flavor of the month and that’s fine. You know what I mean? Whatever, dude, that’s cool. But people sacrifice quite a lot, and you need to have your head on straight and realize that you do it for you and you do it because you have to. It’s like breathing, you don’t even know why you’re doing it. You don’t even know that you’re doing it, but you have to in order to survive. And that’s what creating is like.

Tucker Rule: “Making it” in this industry is basically just making something you love. That’s the only way to make it, you know what I mean? Is to believe in something that you did. Like Frank said, you’re only as good as your last release. And if you love that, then you’ve made it. You know what I mean? In my opinion.

“Making it” in this industry is basically just making something you love.

ESPECIALLY WITH L.S. DUNES, IT DIDN'T HAVE TO EXIST. THERE WAS NO REASON FOR IT TO EXIST. EVERYBODY WAS HOME WATCHING NETFLIX. YOU COULD HAVE JUST WATCHED MORE TV, BUT INSTEAD YOU GOT TO WORK.

Tucker Rule: It’s where we’re from, man. We’re from punk rock and hardcore. It’s DIY, and it’s making something out of nothing. And it’s against all odds. Like you’re being told that your industry is dead and you should go work for Amazon, to get a regular job. Because it’s never coming back. So what do we do against all odds? Start another band. Like you’re not supposed to do that. Punk is punk.

L.S. Dunes © Luke Dickey

You’re being told that your industry is dead and you should go work for Amazon, because it’s never coming back. So what do we do against all odds? Start another band. Punk is punk.

I'VE HEARD YOU AND OTHER BAND MEMBERS TALK ABOUT THIS SENSE THAT YOU CAN DO THINGS WITH THIS PROJECT THAT YOU CAN'T DO IN YOUR OTHER BANDS. DO YOU GUYS MIND EXPANDING ON THAT SENSE OF FREEDOM THAT YOU GET WITHIN L.S. DUNES?

Tucker Rule: We were able to create something brand new that doesn’t have really anything to do with other bands. So there’s a freedom of no one knowing what it’s gonna sound like, not having to sound like a certain thing, not having to appeal to a certain demographic, just literally writing stuff that we love. Every riff that came in, every drum beat that came in, every bass line that came in was fully explored. Whether it made it or not, it didn’t matter. It was fully explored. There was no no. You have a song like “Permanent Rebellion,” which is heavy. And then you have a song like “Sleep Cult,” which is which is a doo-wop song. And they’re both on the same record, because we can. Because no one has an expectation. No one had an expectation. Like Frank said, it literally came out of nowhere, came out of nothing. And I just feel like that’s the difference. When you have a band that’s been a band for 20 years, you kind of you want to do stuff…

Frank Iero: It’s a blessing and a curse, right?

Tucker Rule: It’s a blessing and a curse because you have to still sound like your band. But you wanna do something new ’cause you’ve grown as a musician. But you also you don’t wanna take such a sharp left that people are like, who are they anymore? There’s no resemblance of what they used to be. So with this particular project we didn’t have to look like anybody, which is very freeing.

Frank Iero: I love that. Yeah, there is a pressure that comes along with the legacy of a band that’s been around for 20 years. A band that has such a dedicated following. You wanna put out the best thing, you always do. And sometimes with a band like that you’ll have a stutter step or a trepidation of wanting to do anything at all in fear of f*ing anything up or tarnishing that, you know what I mean?

So that pressure can be so overwhelming that it just paralyzes you? And sometimes it takes all the interest out of doing anything new. But with the new band, who gives a f**k? You know what I mean? Nobody knows. You have nobody to impress or nobody to disappoint. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

THERE'S A SAYING SOME ARTISTS SAY THAT THEY DO IT FOR THE FANS.

Frank Iero: F**k that. No.

YOU THINK ABOUT IT LIKE, DID YOU START MAKING MUSIC “FOR THE FANS”? WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?

Frank Iero: I know. I get it. I get it. But the other side of that coin is say, and this is all like, this isn’t like taken from… Ripped from real life and any one specific band, but just a hypothetical all around thing. The other side of that coin is the fans are now holding this legacy band up, right? So say like a band that hasn’t put out a record in 10 plus years, right? Say like, System of a Down or something like that. I don’t know if this is the case for them, but a band like that. They haven’t put out a record in a very long time or Rage Against the Machine. But then they started touring, I think it would be very hard for either of those bands to want to put out a new record because in fear that you would have a misstep and lose a fan base that is holding that legacy secure. You know what I mean?

IT'S WEIRD HOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT NEVER CAME TO MIND PROBABLY IN THE FIRST COUPLE OF RECORDS. BUT THEN ONCE YOU START TO GO DEEPER...

Frank Iero: Of course, of course. I back that shit, dude. I back that. I would rather see you fall and try something new. I love that. I love, I’ll buy every goddamn Weezer record that comes out, ’cause I want to hear what he’s doing. I love that that motherf*er writes like 10 songs a day that shit. I back the process because I love the craft of it, and I know what goes into it. So that shit to me is inspiring. And to the end, even if you put out a record full of like 808s and fart noises, like, all right, let’s hear it. I want to hear what you did with it.

L.S. Dunes © Mark Beemer

RIGHT. BECAUSE L.S. DUNES STARTED WITH THIS GIVING NO F’S MENTALITY. I ASSUME THAT IT COULD POTENTIALLY ALSO CONTINUE WITH THAT SAME SET OF MENTALITY. THERE'S NOWHERE FOR YOU TO GO, BUT OUT IN EVERY DIRECTION. SO WHO GIVES?

Frank Iero: That’s what we’re hoping for, yeah.

Tucker Rule: We joke about the LS meaning low stress because that’s literally how it feels. It’s like we love to create. You know what I mean? We really enjoy the process of making music. And we’ve been so deep in this process because we literally did it ourselves from minute one. There was no help. There was nobody in the room. So it was like everybody was literally on their own. So having a low stress situation where it’s like literally see us on stage. We’re having fun. We’re writing music. We’re like giddy kids. We’re like 20 again, sharing these files, getting excited to work on things. In my mind, like this morning there was a song sent around and I cannot wait to get home, so I could go record my part to it. You know what I mean? So it’s really like just fun. And is it a full time job? Yes, we hope so. But it’s also like the fun one. You know what I mean? We’re the fun uncle here. Like let’s go rip and have the best time. And like when I wake up in the bus and I walk out and I go to make coffee and Frank comes stumbling out of the bunk area as well, I get so psyched because I’m like, whoa, what the f– are you doing here? And then Travis will trickle out. I’m like, Oh, my God. And then Anthony is somewhere and I’m like, what the f–? You know, it’s like the best.

HELL OF A TIME. SO, YOU SPOKE ABOUT THE “L.S. DUNES” NAME. I'M CURIOUS ABOUT PAST LIVES. ANTHONY SINGS IN THE CHORUS OF THE TITLE TRACK, “I'M NOT ALL MY MISTAKES, NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT IT. THERE'S NO USE GIVING UP. I KNOW WE CAN GET WELL.” WHICH REALLY, REALLY STUCK WITH ME.

Frank Iero: I still get chills every time I hear that shit, I swear. Just you even just saying it, I got chills. I love that chorus. It’s one of my favorites.

FOR A GENRE THAT HAS A TENDENCY TO BE SO DARK, I FEEL LIKE YOUR BAND'S MUSIC IS SO LIFE AFFIRMING, ESPECIALLY AT A TIME WHEN EVERYONE WAS DYING AND GETTING SICK. WHAT DOES THE ALBUM'S NAME PAST LIVES MEAN TO YOU AND WHAT DROVE THAT TO BE THE TITLE?

Frank Iero: Well, I think that was, actually it was one of the names there or the collection of names that went around that could have been the band name, first off. But I think it fit better off as a song title and as a record title. Thus, I think it means that we’ve all had these pasts, the places that you’ve been bring you to where you are now. And all of our collective experiences have felt like lifetimes. And I think no matter what you’ve done to get to where you are, it’s important, but it’s not the only thing that’s important. And I think that what’s about, say, for this band, the important thing is what we’re doing now, not where we’ve been.

Drained, fountains Counting footsteps out of sync Truth, running bow line Out a sheep shank Tied two tin cans together

I hear the whistle blowing Mississippi one and two I got the comment section grammar correction blues I hear the numbers calling Mississippi three and four Reject the influence Reject the influenza

I’m not all my mistakes No matter what they say about it (I can’t shake it now) there’s no use giving up (I can’t shake it now) I know we can get well Know we can get well

IF YOU HAD A SUCCESSFUL BAND TO CLAIM OR STAKE TO, BUT THIS IS A FRESH START.

Frank Iero: Right. Exactly.

Tucker Rule: Yeah. Again, this is falling in love with music all over again. You know what I mean? We’ve been in love with it the whole time, but I feel like falling in love with it all over again, as a middle aged man is a beautiful thing. And it’s like, this is what we do for a living, and to wake up psyched to go to “work” is pretty awesome.

I'D LOVE TO TALK ABOUT BOTH OF YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ALBUM. FRANK, HOW DID YOU AND TRAVIS GO ABOUT SPLITTING UP GUITAR DUTIES?

Frank Iero: We didn’t. It was just whoever got there first, kind of set the tone, to be honest. And I thought it was going to be real hard to be honest. I really did think it was going to be more difficult. I thought we were going to have to go in and start editing and kind of taking stuff out and going back and forth. And I didn’t know… I’d never worked with Travis before. And sometimes, when working with another musician that’s been in a writing process and stuff like that, like they get very precious about their parts. But he was unbelievably easy to work with.

I think we come from the same aspect of like, if it’s not right for the song, if it’s not good for the song it doesn’t matter. And that is, I think that’s a really hard lesson to learn. It comes with experience and maturity over time, that not everything you write needs to be in there. We have to service the song. And it wasn’t even a discussion that needed to come up. It was just like, this isn’t working or this is working. I want to exploit what you’re doing here. I want to work with you here. I think what you did in the verses, what the verse should be. I’ll just focus on what the chorus is. And it was like two halves of one brain going. It was crazy.

YOU'VE RELEASED SO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF MUSIC OVER THE YEARS. HOW DO YOU SWITCH YOUR BRAIN ON AND OFF BETWEEN MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, L.S. DUNES, AND MORE? DO YOU HAVE A MEANS OF DIVIDING UP THE TYPE OF GUITAR WORK THAT YOU PUT IN DEPENDING ON WHO IT'S FOR?

Frank Iero: There’s not like a defined way to do it. It’s a feeling you get when you write a song, or when you come up with the parts. It’s like this feels not like this project. This feels like something else. Or this feels like Dunes or this feels like Death Spells or this feels like Leathermouth or whatever the heck you’re working on at the time. There’s definitely things I’ve written over the past couple of years where I’m like, this is something I want to sing and I just, I’ll file it away. But when I’m working on something… I think that’s also to why I have so many projects is that I despise writer’s block so much that I find if I hit a barrier somewhere, I can break through it by just jumping ship to the next thing.

MAKE A NEW BAND.

Frank Iero: Yeah, you make a new band or you just start like, hey, I’m gonna work on this song for this this project. And even if that doesn’t come to fruition it somehow gets you out of that rut that you were in on the other thing and opens another door.

MY VOICE NOTES APP IS FILLED WITH LITTLE RIFFS...

Frank Iero: Exactly man. You may never listen to it, exactly. It’s like all getting the muscle working.

Tucker Rule: There’s no doubt that we’re all hired for what we sound like and how we play, you know what I mean? For other projects. There’s no doubt about that. But I think that the… Like Frank said, it feels different. Every riff feels different. Every band feels different. Every situation feels different. And I think that you learn how to be a little bit of a chameleon, and do what’s right for the song. You know what I mean? And I feel like that, yes, that does come with age to learn how to be a part of the song rather than to be you in the song. So I also feel that speaking of L.S. Dunes, like ego, taking out the ego of everything has been a very important part of this process. You know what I mean? Actually serving the song in the way that the writer intended is a huge part of this process. It’s been quite a learning experience to be like, “oh, alright.”

Like, Frank and I did a record with Steve Albini. It was like, he would joke about like, oh, do that, Lars Ulrich thing that you do. You know what I mean? Like that’s such a stupid thing to do. Like do that Frank Iero thing. It’s like, no, let’s write the song the way that it’s supposed to be. Don’t do that Frank Iero thing. Don’t do that Tucker Rule thing. You know what I mean? Do what the song is supposed to do, and the song will navigate you.

I'M STARTING TO SEE THAT WORKING AS A MUSICIAN FULL TIME, YOU MIGHT GET JADED FROM CERTAIN THINGS THAT KIND OF PICK AT YOU OVER THE YEARS, WHEREAS THIS WAS REALLY JUST A FRESH, NO F*S GIVEN, NO HOLDS BARRED PROJECT. AND THAT'S ACTUALLY REALLY HARD TO FIND.

Frank Iero: It is. It is, man. You know, every project is different. Every situation is different. You can’t allow yourself to get defeated by one and have it ruin the next one. I’ve seen that. I’ve seen that happen. And it’s like in those cartoon where all the life has been sucked out of the entity. You know, you see musicians like that, man. They’re not having any fun. I remember touring early, early on with My Chem. And we got asked to go on tour. I’m not going to say the name of the band, but I’ll tell you later, Tucker.

Tucker Rule: Thanks Frank.

Frank Iero: We got to go on tour with this band that I really, really liked. And I was very excited about it. And we show up and I found out really quickly that this band was over it. Like they were done. And to the point where like, I remember one time, we had come off stage and the guitar player from the headlining band came in and said, “Ah, you guys are so lucky. You guys are done. I got to go up there and play now.” I was like, “Motherf*er, I’ll go up there again.” Like, are you serious? I didn’t get it then. I still don’t get it. I’m old now, too. Probably older than that person was when he said that to me. But I don’t know, man, like I love this stuff so much. And there’s definitely times where you don’t feel like… The last thing you feel like is getting up in front of like a hundred people or a thousand people or whatever and playing a show because you feel sick and you’re tired. You got this going on or something happening back home. But once you get up there and that music starts, a switch flips, man. And it’s like you’re either a lifer or you’re a dickhead.

Tucker Rule: Dude, jumping on that, too, Frank, I mean, I definitely go through that from time to time where I just don’t feel like doing it. You know what I mean? But then I get up there. Note one, that’s what makes you remember. It’s the 23 other hours in the day that I don’t want to do because that’s the only hour that I want to actually do. You know what I mean? It’s funny how you’re just you know, you’re about to put your body through the paces. So you’re kind of like, oh, man, I don’t really feel like doing this. I don’t have the energy. And then all of a sudden you’re on fire. You know what I mean? There’s just nothing like it. There’s nothing like it. And I think that’s what the addiction to what we do is, is that that like your hair stands up even if you’re playing a song that’s 22 years old. You know what I mean? You’re just on fire because it’s like you belong there.

Frank Iero: That’s what you’re meant to do. Yeah.

L.S. Dunes © Zachary Spangler

Don’t do that Frank Iero thing. Don’t do that Tucker Rule thing. Do what the song is supposed to do, and the song will navigate you.

IT’S BEAUTIFUL TO HEAR. IT'S FUNNY, I WAS THINKING SOMETIMES I ASK ARTISTS, DOES THE ALBUM REFLECT THE LIVE SHOW OR DOES THE LIVE SHOW REFLECT THE ALBUM? AND WELL, YOU GUYS DIDN'T MAKE THE ALBUM IN A WAY THAT YOU COULD MAKE IT LIVE. AND YET, I FEEL LIKE THE ALBUM REFLECTS THE LIVE SHOW SOMEHOW.

Frank Iero: Isn’t that weird?

YEAH, I THINK THAT EVERYBODY HERE LIVES TO PLAY MUSIC, NOT TO RECORD MUSIC NECESSARILY, WHICH IS ALSO FUN. BUT I THINK YOU GUYS LIVE TO PLAY IT.

Tucker Rule: Right before we go on stage, we always have this little meeting where we’re all walking around and we’re talking about how we’re getting possessed and like going up there to get completely satanic and spit fire. Because that’s literally how it goes. We’re the people that lose ourselves in what we’re doing. You know what I mean? There’s nothing else that matters up there than a good time and like literally just feeling it.

Frank Iero: Agreed.

TUCKER, THIS ALBUM IS ADMITTEDLY PRETTY HEAVY ON THE DRUMS. WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE MOMENTS AS A DRUMMER ON THIS RECORD AND HOW IS PLAYING IN L.S. DUNES COMPARED TO PLAYING WITH OTHER BANDS OF YOURS?

Tucker Rule: Oh man, a personal favorite of mine is “Grey Veins.” There’s a pre-chorus that Frank actually wrote and he wrote the drums for it as well. And it turned out to be my favorite thing. And again, taking the ego away from myself, having a guitar player write the drum part was like I was super excited about because it worked. I heard it and it worked. And I was like, okay, I’m going to go in the studio. I’m going to do what you gave me and I’m just going to put my drums on it, my idea on it. And it just worked. And it’s like, I don’t know, I just love that. I always think about that. It’s like when your favorite part of your record is a part that you didn’t write. That means that you love the record and you love the process and you love how it… It’s just very rewarding to have that feeling.

FRANK, YOU’VE GOT AN ADMIRER.

Frank Iero: I got to tell you, my favorite part of the record is is the drums on “Past Lives.” If you notice, Tucker never goes to a crash cymbal until the second, like that very last chorus, the second half of it where it opens up. Everything on that song is close hi-hat to open hi-hat. And it’s all like that very straight, like you’re getting this, the meter of it. But then when he opens up and gets syncopated it just explodes. And it’s crazy. The amount of reserve, I guess, or like… Yeah, the ability to hold back until that last chorus of that song. Holy shit, man. It’s like, how do you do that? I don’t have that in me to not eat that last cookie or like, you know what I mean, to not…

Tucker Rule: Totally. It’s trust, man. It’s trust in your dude, just trust to know that you all don’t need me to get heavy. It’s happening. It’s happening around the whole thing. And it’s like, all right, you wanna… Let’s make this thing explode at the end. And I think that the reserve there is trusting the rest of the people in the band. Trusting that everyone’s got it and you can move around the drums. It doesn’t need to be like, “Okay, the crash cymbal means it’s heavy now.” The bass can make it heavy, the vocals can make it heavy. The lyrical content can make it heavy.

Frank Iero: I got to tell you, it took me maybe 10 listens on that song to realize that you weren’t opening up like a normal drummer would. Like you get the chorus. All right I’m gonna crash and then I’m… It’s gonna expand the sound, right? And then where do you go from 11? How do you turn up from 11 to get that last chorus over the hump? This motherf*er like it’s crazy, dude, it’s nuts. It’s nuts. Higher and like those little junkie junks. I don’t know what they’re called, like whatever.

Tucker Rule: Yeah, we had a lot of drum crap.

L.S. Dunes © Mark Beemer

LIKEWISE, WHAT ABOUT FRANK FOR GUITAR PARTS? HOW DOES PLAYING IN L.S. DUNES' COMPARE, AND WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE PARTS TO PLAY ON THE RECORD?

Frank Iero: Oh, man. I think my favorite song to play live would be maybe “It Takes Time.” Just because there’s just so much going on. I mean, this record is pretty riffy. And it really is. You can get lost in that ramen a bit. And I feel like a lesser group of guys would make a pretty shitty record with the amount of noodling happening. But I mean, kudos to Anthony, really, for being able to find a collection of melodies when there’s already so much melody happening. I mean, you have a bass player that is running around that beat. I mean it’s incredible what Tim and Tucker can do. Honestly, I feel like you could probably take all the guitars off the record and you would still be a very interesting, amazing listen if you just listen to bass and drums with Anthony on top. So I’ve always felt like for a good record or my favorite records it’s drums and vocals. The rest is kind of like it’s the cream inside the Oreo like the cookie makes it. It’s like, that is just the icing on top. So I’m going off on a tangent. I apologize. But there’s a lot of different moments on this where I feel like I took maybe some liberties or got myself out of a comfort zone. There’s a tapping part on “Grey Veins” that I never would have attempted if it wasn’t like, Oh, yeah, I’m just gonna hang out and impress my friends kind of thing.

Tucker Rule: That’s my favorite part.

Frank Iero: Thank you. So there’s there’s stuff like that. I think “It Takes Time” is one of the songs that I enjoy playing the most too, because I feel like that was like, when I finally did go in the studios, Tucker came and my friend James Bowman, who’s been teching for me. And we sat down and was like, us and Will, who produced the record. And there was a couple of parts on that song where I was like, “I don’t know if this is gonna work. I listened to the song at the hotel. And and I came up with this part last night, so I want to try it”

And that was one of those songs that was like, I had changed a lot from the demoing. It was also a moment where I had recently broken my wrist in like 10 places, right? So I felt off this ladder, it was f–ed up. And I had to have surgeries. And so I had to postpone my recording from September to December. I had my last surgery in November. So I think I may have still had like stitches and stuff like that. It was one of those things where it was like, “All right, this is a make or break moment. I don’t know if I’m able to play, but this is the only time we can do it. So I got to try.” And so that song in particular was one of those where it was like, “Hey, listen, I don’t know if this is gonna go well, but if I can do this, if I can pull this off, then I know I’ll be able to play and a lot of the anxiety that I’m feeling will be lifted.” So that was a make or break moment for me.

Tucker Rule: I don’t think anybody understands the gravity for real of the fact that like, literally, maybe two weeks before Frank went into record, he didn’t think that he was going to be able to go record, he literally had fresh stitches in and was like, celebrating small victories.

YOU’VE ENDURED A LOT OF PHYSICAL HARDSHIP IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS, FRANK. CREDIT YOUR PARENTS FOR MAKING YOU DRINK MILK AS A CHILD OR SOMETHING.

Frank Iero: I’m lactose intolerant. [laughs] It goes back to like Tucker said, like, we come from the East Coast… It’s weird, man. The Jersey mentality is, you don’t boast about yourself. You don’t complain. You put your head down and you do the goddamn work, because nobody cares. Nobody wants to hear it and when that translates into musicianship to it’s like, there’s 1000 bands here. We all want it, so you better be really good. And nobody cares if you’re not feeling good that day. Nobody cares about whatever happened to you, because everybody’s got hard times. So get up there, shut up, and be great.

ALONG THOSE LINES, YOUR DEBUT SINGLE HAS STUCK WITH ME EVER SINCE I FIRST HEARD IT. YOU GUYS SAY ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU HAD FUN, BUT YOU ALSO MADE SOME DAMN GOOD SONGS. WHY INTRODUCE YOURSELVES WITH “PERMANENT REBELLION”?

Tucker Rule: As soon as I heard it with vocals on it I was like, “Shit, man, that’s crazy.” And even my wife was like, “Oh, my God, that’s so cool. That should be your first song.” And like, I always joke that my wife is such a huge barometer because she’s very hard on me musically. It’s like, “Ah, what is that?” Like very honest and brutal, straight dagger to the heart. So any bad review that could ever come out, like I don’t even care my wife’s already given it to me. So when she heard it, I was like, “Oh, you like that?” And then like the rest of the band was like, “That’s so sick.” That’s when… It was just, we didn’t really need to talk about it. It makes your hair stand up. It’s crazy.

Frank Iero: Jamia [my wife] hates everything I do. She’s not a fan of any of the music that I make. She’d be like, “Oh, that’s all right.” But like she’s not listening to that stuff. She doesn’t like it. And it keeps you humble, it does.

Tucker Rule: Yeah, they are New Jersey.

TO ME, SO MUCH OF THIS ALBUM IS ABOUT SURVIVAL AND PERSEVERANCE. “I'M NOT AFRAID TO TRY,” ANTHONY SINGS AT THE VERY TOP OF THE ALBUM. “DON'T WANNA FILL THE SPACE WITH SOMETHING THAT I'M NOT, CHEW ON THE IRON. IF I CAN'T MAKE IT 'TIL 2022 AT LEAST WE'LL SEE HOW LONG I CAN SWIM.” AT FIRST I FOUND THIS LINE REALLY DARK, BUT THE MORE I THOUGHT OF IT, IT ACTUALLY FEELS VERY FULL OF LIGHT AND DETERMINATION.

Frank Iero: I think it’s one of those things that when you’re at your darkest is when you can find the light. If you’re looking to get out of it. Sometimes it’s very comforting to stay in that darkness. And like when you’re sad, you want to listen to sad songs and stuff like that. Sometimes our depression is comforting. But when you finally had enough or you feel like I can’t do this if I continue on this path, it’s not going to be good and you start to look for the silver lining and things or start to look for a way out. I think that this band was a way out of that darkness and I think a lot of lyrics ended up reflecting that.

Tucker Rule: I had just had my first daughter in the pandemic. She was born in March of 2020. And that was such a bright spot. And all her firsts were such a bright spot in the pandemic, but this band was like really, really also a huge bright spot. So I think that the hopeful sound of the record, I think really is how we lived the record, how we lived making it, how we were excited to wake up and work on these parts, how we were excited to give accolades to one another for just being so excited. And I don’t think there was a day that didn’t go by that we were like, “I can’t believe we’re in this band. I can’t believe I get to do this with you guys.” Like it was truly a really, really bright spot in a dark time. And even in the brightest of times it would have been the brightest spot. I just think that it’s meant to be, it was supposed to be, and it was supposed to happen now. This couldn’t have been made five years ago. This couldn’t have been made three years ago. It had to be now.

I KNOW THAT WAS A LIFELINE FOR YOU GUYS, BUT NOW IT'S TAKEN ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN. PANDEMIC IS NOT OVER BY ANY MEANS, BUT WE'RE BACK AT IT. TUCKER, YOU'RE ON TOUR RIGHT NOW. WE'RE ABLE TO BE OUT OF IT. DOES L.S. DUNES' CONTINUE TO BE A LIFELINE OR DOES IT GET TO TRANSITION INTO SOMETHING ELSE NOW THAT THE PURPOSE IT FIRST SERVED IS KIND OF IN THE PAST, KNOCK ON WOOD.

Tucker Rule: I think the purpose hasn’t even been scratched yet. The surface hasn’t been scratched and the purpose is not even fully realized.

Frank Iero: I agree.

THE LAST THING I'LL SAY ABOUT THE SONGS THEMSELVES, I LOVE A MASSIVE WALL OF SOUND JUST LIKE THE NEXT GUY, BUT I HAVE TO SAY I FELL HEADFIRST FOR THE CLOSER, “SLEEP CULT,” WHICH YOU MENTIONED EARLIER. TO ME THAT WAS THE SONG THAT SORT OF SAID, THIS BAND CAN DO ANYTHING THEY PUT THEIR MINDS TO, ANYTHING THEY WANT, MAKE ANY KIND OF MUSIC THEY WANT. ARE THERE ANY SONGS THAT WE HAVEN'T MENTIONED YET THAT YOU WOULD HOPE THAT LISTENERS REALLY LISTEN TO OR TAKE A DEEPER DIVE INTO IF THEY'RE JUST GETTING TO KNOW L.S. DUNES FOR THE FIRST TIME?

Frank Iero: What’s funny that you say “Sleep Cult” too, because that’s one of those songs too that I feel like ‘Live’ has even taken on just a different life, ended up creating more of an outro for it. And if one of your questions was like, “Hey, what’s your one regret or thing that you want to go back and change on the record?” It’d be like, I want to record “Sleep Cult” again so that we could get that ending in there. So I think that that though is testament to the band still being a living, breathing entity and evolving and changing and writing together. And so I love that stuff so much. As far as other songs on the record, man, it’s hard to to pick a favorite. I do feel though that “2022” is essential listening. I mean, I think it’s the perfect opener, but even if it didn’t feel like an opener I feel like it should be the first song people hear.

And I don’t mean heavy like breakdown heavy. I mean like it’s a heavy song and what he’s singing about and the way that, I mean, Tucker really started the ball rolling on getting that song to be different from Anthony’s original demo, which was just very delicate, still hauntingly beautiful. I mean, like gorgeous on its own, but it wasn’t a full band song until Tucker came in and started to play that beat behind the opening. And as soon as I heard that I knew… It forced me to do something that I’d never done before the way those chords are changing. And it’s a really special moment. It feels like… Sometimes as a musician you write something and other times it just flows through you. Just like one of those, like, I don’t know, like divine inspiration kind of things is kind of silly, but like, I truly believe that in order to be an artist you have to be in tune with the universe and allow things to kind of flow through you. And that was one of those moments where I heard the drum beat and I just started to play.

And the funny thing about that song as well is that’s the first time I played the song all the way through. That is what’s on the record. That song was recorded in my basement here in this chair, actually. So, yeah. Did I answer the question? What was the question?

GUYS, THIS HAS BEEN SO MUCH FUN TODAY. THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR HOPPING ON.

Frank Iero: It’s a pleasure, Mitch. Seriously.

AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THE BEST IS YET TO COME! WHAT DO YOU HOPE LISTENERS TAKE AWAY FROM PAST LIVES, AND WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM CREATING IT AND NOW PUTTING IT OUT?

Tucker Rule: I think that we’re all just really grateful. Like this is 20 years later in our careers and to have a first again is just really special. And the fact that people go out of their way to make artwork and get tattoos and all this stuff and really back a band that they had never heard a note of before. It’s just really, really special. And then I don’t know man, for me, I’m just so grateful. I literally can’t believe that I get to do this and I can’t believe I get to do it with some of my best friends. There aren’t many more words that I have.

I BELIEVE YOU BOTH HAVE YOUR FINGERS ON THE PULSE OF TODAY'S MUSIC. IN CLOSING THIS CONVERSATION, IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE WITH BOTH OF YOU. WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS AND BANDS TODAY AND WHO ARE YOU REALLY EXCITED ABOUT OUTSIDE OF L.S. DUNES?

Frank Iero: Let’s see. Well, I had the pleasure of touring with a bunch of bands this year with My Chem. I feel like, Turnstile is killing it. The phenomenal, phenomenal band and, ‘Glow On’ is a wonderful record. So I definitely expect a lot of wonderful things from them. So psyched that they got some Grammy knobs too. Like that’s amazing. So definitely, it turns out Dilly Dally, I think is fantastic as far as like younger bands. Love playing with them. Chat Pile, oh, I love. Gosh, this is like one of those things where you go into a record store and you’ve been looking for records like for 10 years and you’re like, “Oh, shit, what am I looking for?”

Tucker Rule: Cheesecake Factory Menu.

Frank Iero: There’s a young band called Hong Kong Fuck You that I really like too. It’s a wonderful name. It really is.

Tucker Rule: I’m on tour with Cursive, right now and that band is just… They’re doing Domestica front to back and it’s ridiculous, but like Cursive is just, it’s next level.

Frank Iero: Yeah. Agreed. I remember someone for my birthday, like, this is years and years when Burst and Bloom the EP first came out, like handed me the CD and was like, “Yo, listen to this.” It changed the way I thought about music. Definitely. Hands down. They’re wonderful.

Tucker Rule: And I think Tim said it best when he said art is hard. And it really is, but it’s also so much fun.

Frank Iero: Yeah, man. But it’s that James Dean thing, right? Like you have to make it look… When it’s good it looks so easy. That’s the point. Everybody wants to be cool without trying to be cool. That’s the James Dean effect, but that shit is hard. It really is.

[twin-books]

What would you think if an evilized villain(maybe a wishmaker-like villain or maybe even a villain that's unrelated to the butterfly miraculous) caused Chloe and Zoe to switch bodies somehow, and nobody fully understands what's going on, so Zoe(in Chloe's body) is taken by Audrey back to London, despite Zoe desperately trying to explain things. But Chloe enters a fugue state(heavily due to trauma caused by the neglect of her parents) and genuinely thinks she's Zoe, and is even able to recall some of the things Zoe did due to being in Zoe's body. The class thinks "Zoe's" change in behavior is due to the psychological effects of method acting, since "Zoe" is playing Chloe in Astruc's new movie, but they gradually convince "Zoe" to let them help her relearn how to be "herself" again. Meanwhile, in London, Zoe is trying to get back to Paris.

Very fun idea. It does sound like I might get a little lost though, but I'm sure in writing format that would be a bit easier to convey. Body swaps are a fun thing to do. It makes me feel horribly bad for Zoe though, and I don't really care for Zoe much if... at all. Mostly because she's stuck with Audrey. I do love the idea of a villain unrelated to akuma and the miraculous in general. Hence why I wrote a story with an antagonist unrelated to that and more of it's own thing. I think in the world of miraculous where we have seen that apparently monsters used to exist... it would be more fun if we had different magical antagonist than just miraculous holders or beings created by the miraculous. The annoying thing about this is how the show has kind of made a lot of this idea next to impossible purely because... with akuma they've done almost everything. In fact, they've had to repeat several powers over and over again just because they used pretty much every idea. It's hard to make a secondary antagonist that wouldn't just feel cheap or stale especially because you know the peacock and butterfly could just make that same thing in seconds. But I do adore the idea of a different kind of villain. One that just likes to mess stuff up on purpose, maybe only because it's fun. Literally anything else than akuma, miraculous holders, and senti-monsters. XD It also sounds like the class would be a bit better than in canon, in my personal opinion. In canon it seems like if the class finds you to be a morally horrible person that they turn on you like a dime. And you can't really challenge their idea of people because they'll just think your crazy or jealous or obsessive or something. I'm not trying to be mean to the class here but I find them to be rather unintentionally manipulative and easy to fall victim to mob mentality. That's just my personal opinion of them. And it's not exactly something I stand by. I much prefer the idea of them at least trying to help "Zoe" and the idea of them telling her she's out of line, because friends need to be told that sometimes. The thing that falls a bit flat for me but I think is accurate to canon, is them trying to convince her she's acting terrible and convincing her to let them help her change back to who she was. It seems rather insensitive to try and change somebody purely because you don't like the way they act. For all they know this wasn't actually method acting and this is just how she feels most comfortable being herself. I don't mean to ruin your idea that's just not something that sits well with me. I would rather people slowly leave her behind because they just can't stand her attitude anymore, maybe a few even explaining to her that her new attitude is not something they want to put up with anymore and why. Then "Zoe" has to come to the conclusion on her own that perhaps Zoe isn't just liked because she's Zoe but rather because she has a different attitude and outlook on life. And then she comes to Zoe's friends to apologize and ask for help on how she can do better. The best part about your idea is how it's unique to Miraculous to have a body swap episode and it sounds very fun. It's an idea I'm honestly surprised Miraculous hasn't done yet, at least in some form.

I think you have a very fun idea here, though. An idea I could be possibly misinterpreting or misreading perhaps. This was a very brief descriptor with a lot packed into it. Keep coming at me with the fun ideas, I like hearing them. I hope you are having a wonderful day, afternoon, evening, night, or whatever time it is where you are! <3

[krafterwrites]

For the writing ask game:

7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, and 19

7: Luna, Kit, and Teddy are just essentially just me split up into three parts, so I guess they're all pretty similar to me, the one that's most like me out of the three of them is mostly just dependent on my current mood. If I had to pick one that was most similar to me based on how often I feel like I relate to them the most out of the three, I'd probably go with Kit

8: I have a lot of OCs, but the one who I relate to least is one who I can't really talk about that much because his existence is a spoiler. But simply put, he's a villain and has no redeeming qualities

12: Not that I can think of right now, but if I went back through all of my writing, I'm sure I'd find at least one. Oh wait, I actually just thought of one: Machine. I had to use it a lot in the 10th chapter to describe the slot machines, and while I tried to find other ways to describe them as well, the word machine ended up being used a lot

13: I actually don't think I've ever gotten any feedback on my writing (My memory isn't the best though, so sorry to anyone who actually did leave feedback if I forgot about you)

14: Nothing that I can really think of right now (That isn't obvious)

16: Most story ideas that I get for my OCs that aren't The E(gg)-Team or stories that give more backstory to them stem from me picking a Sonic game I like and inserting them into it (Like SatBK, Sonic at the Olympic Games, and Unleashed)

17: I actually don't have any projects that I'm actively writing right now other than The E(gg)-Team, just a bunch of stuff I plan out in my free time when I'm bored. I guess I can still just talk about one of these ideas though, so I'll do that. One of my planned stories is basically just a Yakuza game but in text form and with some of my OCs instead of human characters, which is kind of interesting since I did plan to make a Yakuza 0 AU at one point where all of the characters were replaced with both my OCs and canon Sonic characters

18: A piece of dialogue I really love is this excerpt of the conversation between Luna and Teddy near the end of Chapter 10:

“Okay, good for you that you figured out that mystery, but I’m not going to wait for you any longer. I’m not burning to death because of you,” Luna told him

“Nobody’s going to be burning to death because of me!” He quickly stated

It's way better in context, but I don't blame you if you haven't read through 18k words to get that context. I can't really put into words why I think it's so good, but I just really like it

19: One line that I think you should all keep in mind is "If I were you, I would appreciate all the kindness that was given to me. It's a horrible life to lead with nobody there for you," which Kit says in Chapter 8. This will be important later on

[midnightstargazer]

Fic Author Self Rec

When you get this, reply with your 5 favourite fics that you've written. Then pass it on to five other writers. Spread some self love.

Tagged by @celestemagnoliathewriter

1. A Little Bird Told Me

A canon divergence AU where Regulus never found out about the locket and, as a result, never betrayed Voldemort. Fast forward to 1995, the Dark Mark starts burning again - but by this point, he's perfectly happy living the "I swear I was Imperiused" life and really would rather not have Voldemort back, thank you very much.

This is probably the most intense experience I've ever had writing a fic. I had never done a fest before, but the prompt this fic was based on immediately grabbed me and refused to let go. It demanded to exist. It demanded that I write it. I stayed up late at night finishing just one more scene, typed lines of dialogue into email drafts from my phone, and had epiphanies about it at the most inconvenient of times. It wasn't meant to end up anywhere near as long as it did, but I'm super proud of the result.

Excerpt:

Okay, he had to admit it: a part of him had missed this. Not the murders or the screams of innocents, but the thrill of danger, the back-and-forth of spells, matching wits and magical power against an opponent worthy of the effort. Maybe, in another life, he could've made a career in competitive dueling. In this life - well, this life was about to be over if he wasn't careful. The dance of spells and shield charms had taken them dangerously close to the veil, and Rookwood's warning echoed in his memory as he glanced at its looming shadow. It hung over him hungrily, as though waiting for him to venture too close - or for one of his spells to knock somebody else too close.

2. They Said the End Is Coming

I adore Tedromeda, but I haven't actually had the chance to write much with them as the main focus yet. This fic imagines them a few years into their marriage, raising their daughter together, working hard to make ends meet, and navigating what role they are willing to play in the war against Voldemort. Plus a few customer service related headaches along the way. The title and the fic's inspiration come from the Taylor Swift song "Sweet Nothing."

Excerpt:

The world as they knew it was on the brink of ending, but when Andromeda arrived home, the house was warm and bright, the scent of something delicious filling the air and a faint musical sound coming from the kitchen. There, just inside, Nymphadora sat at the table with a coloring book while Ted stood by the stove, stirring a pot full of chicken soup and humming Celestina Warbeck’s song “A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love” under his breath. It wasn’t so much that Andromeda intentionally let her guard down; it was more that every wall she put up during the day, every scheme and backup plan, every suspicious thought, vanished into thin air at the sight of him.

3. Midnight Rain

My basic starting point for this fic was "What's the angstiest, most heartbreaking idea I can come up with?" So, in a storyline inspired by the Taylor Swift song "Midnight Rain," Emmeline Vance and Alice not-yet-Longbottom fall in love towards the end of their time at Hogwarts. While they both have big dreams, Emmeline is very goal-focused, while Alice has a much more balanced approach to life. As you might be able to guess, it doesn't work out - and takes a very tragic, canon-compliant turn. This fic was absolutely agonizing to write. In a good way.

Excerpt:

Alice was like nobody else Emmeline had ever met. With golden hair and bright, warm smiles, dressed in robes of Hufflepuff yellow, it was hardly an exaggeration to compare her to the sun. Maybe that was why Emmeline found it so hard to look in her direction, so hard to meet her gaze without blushing and turning away. Alice was made of pure sunshine, but Emmeline was something cold and dark, like raindrops on the surface of the lake at midnight, echoes of thunder and flashes of lightning rattling the depths of the castle long after she ought to be asleep.

4. Wit Beyond Measure

This one is about Helena Ravenclaw, both during her lifetime and her afterlife as a ghost. I really enjoyed getting to dig into my founders era headcanons and imagine the woman who the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower might have been. And the ghost she might have been in the centuries that came in between her death and her interaction with Harry. I'm especially fond of what I ended up doing with Helga Hufflepuff and how Helena's perspective on her and her House changes over time.

Excerpt:

If there was one thing Helena could change about Ravenclaw, it would be the entrance to the common room. Centuries later, children who had left their Quidditch gear inside would groan, demanding to know whose clever idea it had been, and she would smile and shake her head. “My mother’s, of course.” That made it far worse, as far as she was concerned. If it had been some silly Head of House’s idea long after the founders’ time, she would not have had to put up with it herself in the days when a locked door could still keep her out. Sixteen-year-old Helena would not have been banging on the door in the middle of the night, hoping for someone inside to let her in, because she had fifteen minutes to grab her telescope before she was due at the Astronomy Tower for class. “Feed me and I grow. Give me water and I die. What am I?” “I don’t bloody know!” Helena groaned. “Just let me in. My mother’s going to kill me if I’m late.”

5. Toujours Vivant

Regulus survives the cave, then goes to Dumbledore to change sides and ask for protection. His motives are initially rather selfish and his attitude still very prejudiced, but as time goes on, he interacts with people who challenge his views and slowly develops into a better person.

I feel weird including this on a self rec list, because it is by far my most popular fic. It doesn't need any help attracting attention. But it was the idea I just couldn't get out of my head that got me back into fic writing after years of being like, "oh, I'm an adult now, I don't do that anymore." So it has a very special place in my heart for that.

Excerpt:

He fell silent under Dumbledore’s scrutinizing gaze. For a moment, he wondered if he had said the wrong thing. Perhaps the older man thought he was finally showing his true colors in some sort of sneaky plot to infiltrate the Order, gain their leader’s trust, and bring them down from the inside with poorly-brewed potions or something. “You truly wish to become more involved?” asked Dumbledore. “I do.” “May I ask why?” Well, Regulus certainly wasn’t going to tell the truth, was he? Thank goodness the veritaserum incident had happened only once, because “I’d like to avoid outliving my usefulness” was definitely not the right answer. “I’d like to see this war end soon,” he told Dumbledore instead. “And I’ve already thrown my lot in with your side. Is it so surprising that I’d want to do my part to make sure you’re the ones who win?" Dumbledore’s smile returned. “You can say ‘our side,’ you know,” he said gently. “Our side, then,” Regulus repeated, the words feeling awkward and foreign on his tongue.

I've seen this going around a lot on my dash, and I'm not sure who's already done it, so let's make this easy. If you're seeing this and you want to do it - tag, you're it! 😉

[llycaons]

I woke up this morming and immediately went to finish that fic and how it ended I am NOT happy. I ended up liveblogging it as I am wont to do but that ending...ohhh that’s a bad ending

this line is quite good:

"I know. But I always have to go with the most conservative interpretation, out of respect for the privacy of your mind. Which, contrary to popular belief, I cannot read."

lwj making wwx sleep on the couch is so wild. dude buy a blow-up mattress. you’re an engineer and his back is hurting

why would nobody realize that jin ling seeing wwx would mean that jc would learn about it? how is having JL come over and just springing wwx on him a good idea? lwj or lsz would have realized. this is so unfair to both JL and wwx. so stupid

like this is so absurd and completely breaks suspension of disbelief. the lan household was so organized and responsible and considerate, and this is so cruel to do to JL with no warning

the wens continue to be done dirty. they learn wwx is alive and don’t immediately drop everything and come to see him? no

it’s really stressing me out that lsz has this huge project due and wwx won’t stop talking. if I had an important school thing and I needed to concentrate i think my parents would be be open to requests for silence and I think it’s a reasonable thing to ask for - oh thank god he asks for it

the projects itself it actually fairly interesting since the author clearly know what they’re talking about

but it’s so embarrassing to hear wwx talk about his hs days with lwj 😭 so awkwardly written

chronic depression lwj real

I don’t mind people third-wheeling wx in canon because literally everyone around them is third-wheeling them whenever they’re together but in fanworks it’s just awkward. however this line IS very funny:

Wei Ying offered Lan Zhan a taste, too, and the two held eye contact for way too long while Lan Zhan dipped his spoon into Wei Ying's bowl. At first the situation was kind of heartwarming, and then it just got more and more disconcerting the longer they looked at one another and the longer Lan Zhan took to eat off of his spoon, until finally Lan Yuan had to interrupt

JL not being mad about not being told that wwx was back, but mad about not getting his own parents back makes sense but uhhh it’s kind of ooc for him to be mature about this AND this conflict only exists because of this stupid fucking mechanic by which the christian god in heaven randomly decided to resurrects people after decades of being dead so I really do not care about this at all

damn, lsz is so emotionally healthy and good at communicating

this is SO funny. drunk lwj sees lsz and immediately activates responsible dad mode

Lan Yuan hurried over to help, sliding in under his dad's other arm. It was funny, because the moment Lan Yuan touched him, Lan Zhan took a much firmer—still swaying—posture, planting both feet on the floor and patting Lan Yuan on both shoulders. "There there," he said gravely.

"And then it was like autopilot. He dragged me around Pacific Mall, and then he tried to like, do parkour in the atrium? And then he made me stand there and watch while he tried to win a bunny out of a claw machine. Totally haywire."

ugh drunk lwj will always be funny

this is so awkward. I guess that’s the point

TEACUP CEO

yeah it’s stupid that a teenager has to tell them to be honest with their feelings it’s a trope I hate a lot

well *thinks about canon* yeah maybe they needed the kick. but it’s still something I dislike, it feels immature and infantalizing

their little music games are fun though. that’s a way that they can exchange ideas and flirt and show off and have a dialogue without needing to verbalize anything

HEY. NO. YOU DON’T GET TO BRING ANYONE ELSE BACK FROM THE DEAD WITH YOUR STUPID DEUX EX MACHINA

NOOOO it’s literally EVERYONE!? including JIN ZUXUN?!

this is so stupid and such a shitty ending and I am not in the habit of writing mean reviews but ohhhh this makes me so mad

haha happy ending everyone! grief and loss and trauma gets get erased and there’s no need to live with the consequences! if you’ve in this situation irl get fucked I guess!

seriously this is so maddening. a BIG part of the story is living with incredible loss and learning to build a life and find joy anyway, recovering from innumerable traumas and learning to prioritize your own well-being and moving forward even after experiencing horrible things. this ending spits on the very concept

genuinely this is as shallow and nonsensical and meaningless an ending as killing every single character for angst points would be

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

"Tom Riddle effectively destroys the country from the inside out, which I believe was his true goal the entire time" (c) wait a second, so you think that he wasn't going to really take over or anything, just destroy the fuck out of w britain?

I have avoided this ask long enough.

I’ll start by saying that asking me about Tom Riddle is like staring down into a bottomless rabbit hole. We could travel down that path, but it is a dark and perilous journey, and by the end of it I will come out looking like the Mad Hatter.

It also requires a few prerequisites that you’re just going to accept as true (or else got off the crazy train here).

We know very little about Tom Riddle or Voldemort

What we do know of Tom Riddle comes to us from suspect sources

I’m just going to go out there and start with the basis that Tom is not crazy

Elaborating a little on number 1. We never actually see much of Tom Riddle or Voldemort directly. He’s a bit like Thanos in the MCU, or Palpatine in the first two movies of the Original Trilogy, he’s this looming threat that we pass by and glimpse every once in a while but never really get quality time with.

Generally, Voldemort makes an appearance in a moment of crisis.

He and Harry fight over the philosopher’s stone for Tom’s very survival. He and Harry fight over the diary for Tom’s very survival. He resurrects himself with Harry as a witness. We get those very strange dreams from Voldemort’s perspective (half of which we later learn are fabricated).

None of these really lend to our, or Harry’s for that matter, understanding of Tom Riddle. There’s too much going on, it usually happens far too fast, and there’s usually something Tom Riddle desperately wants or needs that eclipses all other concerns or else he has an audience.

This is part of the reason we get those Halfblood Prince pensieve lessons: Harry knows nothing of Tom Riddle and doesn’t understand him at all.

Which leads us, of course, to number 2, most of what we know about Tom Riddle comes from Dumbledore. I’ve talked about this before, so I won’t spend much time on it, but Dumbledore has a very clear agenda in relaying these memories to Harry. Dumbledore already has strong suspicions of what objects are horcruxes and where they’re located, he already has Snape as a very reliable agent to continue work when he’s gone, his job here is to convince Harry there is no path but suicide. And that involves portraying Tom Riddle as the most evil man who ever eviled, was born eviler than the antichrist, and will die eviler than the antichrist. 

Now, does this make Tom necessarily good or bad? No.

However, it does mean when Dumbledore tells us things like, “See, Harry, an impoverished child was upset when I lit all his belongings on fire! What a monster!” (especially given that, in a similar situation, Harry thought it was hilarious when Hagrid gave Dudley a permanent physical deformity and Harry was told he was an angel child) we should take it with a very large grain of salt.

Right, so, with all that backdrop what I’m getting at is that a) we can’t take Dumbledore at his word b) even if we could he could be wrong c) Harry doesn’t have the introspection to be able to figure himself when a or b is happening. I won’t elaborate on this last much, suffice to say that Harry’s world is very black and white, divided into the camps of those who personally like him and those who don’t.

So, why do I think Tom’s goal was not to rule the wizarding world but instead to destroy it?

A few things.

First, there are so many easier ways he could have ended up ruling the wizarding world. More, even when he effectively does rule the wizarding world in book seven, he takes very strange actions so that he’s never directly in power.

Second, I never really bought Tom’s racism. It’s too convenient and too contradictory with his backstory.

The second first, because we’re going out of order today. I’ve gone over this before, but I don’t believe Tom had minions early and I think he was effectively treated as a muggleborn (see here and here) until he took on the Voldemort persona many decades later. I’m hard pressed to believe someone as intelligent, angry, and proud as Tom Riddle would willingly believe and accept he was inferior to the likes of Abraxas Malfoy. More, even if he wished he was a halfblood, I think the evidence of him being muggleborn would be stacked too high against him to deny even to himself (and when he finds out it’s not true, he has maybe a month or so before he realized that he’s the bastard son of a squib). 

And it’s just so convenient. All the people with the power, with the money, who are itching for a cause against a threat that doesn’t really exist believe in blood purity. Ergo, Voldemort shows up suddenly espousing over the top blood purity rhetoric (rhetoric that directly clashes with his “there is only power” philosophy at that). 

In other words, I think Tom Riddle gave himself a line that he knew would get him places very quickly.

And now for the first. For a guy who has had the entire country in the palm of his hands twice, one time taking it over in a bloodless coup, he’s really big on causing collateral damage and really small on actually doing the ruling thing.

The first wizarding war, Tom Riddle as Voldemort has the backing of the heirs of the most prestigious and wealthy noble houses save a select few. These are people with seats in the Wizengamot, which has a frightening control over the government itself (including the minister of magic). I imagine, in 1980 had Tom Riddle wanted to be elected as Minister of Magic, he would have been elected as Minister of Magic. If he wanted a friendly face in office then he probably could have made that happen to.

More than even this though, by this point, Tom had already won. By having control over the majority of the Wizengamot he owns the government. He’s done, it’s over, it’s finished, and many of the characters admit as much which is why Harry Potter was such a miracle. So why all the seemingly random, exceptionally pointless, terrorism? 

One answer is that Voldemort is crazy bananas. And sure, I guess we can go with that, except for someone insane he’s oddly effective and very consistent. 

I believe Tom was systematically destroying the very foundations of the country through its core aristocratic families. Within a few short years Tom decimates the Black family, it goes from having five heirs to none, and while some of this isn’t Tom’s fault he does take care of quite a few of them. He brands Lucius for life, while Lucius rises high in politics he never escapes the stigma of being a known Death Eater and in the end cannot escape the consequences for his actions. The Malfoy family is very nearly destroyed by the end of the series, had Draco died in the Fiendfyre. The LeStrange family, presumably decimated as well.

More, this is mostly me headcanoning, but I imagine Tom fuels an extremism that the Wizarding World had never contemplated. I imagine, previously, anti-muggleborn sentiment was probably fairly rampant among purebloods. Oh, some were very pro-muggleborn I’m sure, but I think most were fairly “eh” on the people and felt they were a drain on society (such as requiring constant funding for the obliviation department).

However, when Diagon Alley starts getting blown up every other week, when muggleborns start being tortured and murdered, when purebloods who aren’t anti-muggleborn enough are being tortured and murdered, this starts wigging people out in a way they’ve never wigged out before.

By the time we get to Harry Potter’s canon, it is now only a minority that are anti-muggleborn, and they’re perceived as raving lunatics. Nobody wants to be grouped with these people. Which, just goes to show, how much Voldemort rattles the wizarding world in a very small amount of time.

Then there’s Deathly Hallows, rather than become minister himself Voldemort installs a puppet minister. He shows no signs of wishing to change this and instead does things like destroy the sorting hat (which again shakes the very foundations of the wizarding world as whta will we do if we don’t know who’s a Gryffindor anymore?!)

So, where is this ramble going?

Given the results we see, that more than any others it seems to be the purebloods and often Tom’s own followers that suffer colossal losses, I think Tom’s actions are, in part, a means of vengeance against the entire damn wizarding world (but especially the purebloods).

He makes fools of these people, brands them as his slaves, and has them participate in the most over the top ridiculous rituals (the cloaks, the masks, the entire theatrics of it feels like Tom got drunk one night and planned this whole thing out). He destroys them entirely, and better, enables them to completely destroy themselves and the country they believe they’re trying to save.

Basically, I think by the time the series begins Tom is fueled by a nihilist rage that knows no bounds. But dammit all, the wizarding world is going to burn.