#this could've been a villain's origin story 'verse

[petroltogo]

currently working on the next part of the flip a coin verse and i suspect i seriously underestimated how many strands and perspectives i want to fit into that beast. but slow progress is progress. if there are any povs you‘d like to see in that part, let me know! i can’t promise anything but my outline is still pretty flexible right now

[theconstantsidekick]

Captain America: Civil War ft. Static (7) | s.r

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Stark!Reader, Tony Stark x Stark!Reader (siblings), Bucky Barnes x Stark!Reader (future)

Genre: Angsty city babyy!

Summary: The Avengers have a reunion... in Germany... at the airport... with a few new members.

(These scenes incorporate y/n, codename—Static, into the pre-existing story as a character without making drastic changes to the plot or mythos. All the major plot points from the MCU remain in place with the addition of the reader as Static, who is not only a Stark but also enhanced. Whatever events from the canon aren’t mentioned, take place without much change.)

Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of Past Trauma, Canon Typical Violence

a/n: this was so hard to write wtf?

Captain America: Civil War ft. Static (6) | Captain America: Civil War ft. Static (8) | Series Masterlist | Age of Ultron (Static Origin Story) | The Avengers (ft. Static) | Captain America: The Winter Soldier (ft. Static) | Static Verse Masterlist

As soon as she and Steve have the grounded chopper in sight, An electro-disabler slams onto the chopper, frying the systems and rendering it useless. Steve and Y/n look up. 

She watches with burning annoyance as Tony and Rhodey descend.

“Wow!” Tony fakes surprise looking at Rhodey, “It's so weird how you run into people at the airport. Don't you think that's weird?”

“Definitely weird,” Rhodey answers.

“Hear me out, Tony,” Steve pleads. It almost seems genuine. “That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this.”

T'Challa leaps over a truck, “Captain.” 

“Your Highness,” Steve replies.

“Anyway” Tony begins, as he walks around, “Ross gave me 36 hours to bring you in. That was 24 hours ago. Can you help a brother out?”

“You're after the wrong guy.”

“Your judgment is askew.” She’s seldom seen her brother this fucking furious, but then again, maybe it’s cause it’s Steve.  “Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday.”

“And there are five more super soldiers just like him,” Steve argues. “I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't.”

And then, 

“Steve—you know what's about to happen,” Natasha chimes in joining the growing confrontation. “Do you really wanna punch your way out of this one?”

No one’s addressed her since this entire thing—

“Why are you being so uncharacteristically fucking quiet!?” Tony screams at her.

Taken aback a bit, she straightens up. “What’s left to say?”

“Are you seriously going along with this? You know how this ends, way better than him,” Natasha tries to reason with her.

She shrugs. “I don’t—Frankly, I don’t care about any of this. I just want to go home.” She says it simple and sweet. Because it’s true. She understands that there is a threat looming but she’s sure Steve can handle it. If you asked her two weeks ago, she would have been enthusiastic about the whole thing, a mission to take down the last vestiges of HYDRA, of her nightmare—what’s not to love? 

But that was then and this is now, and now she has to fight her way through her friends to fight with some villain and that just—call her selfish but that just seems unnecessarily tedious. She just wants this all to be over. Part of her wishes things could just go back to that party at the Tower before Ultron attacked. Everything was… It was all so easy then. She misses it.

“Then let’s go home!” Tony urges.

And all she can do is let out a laugh in disbelief. “I said I wanna go home… Not a fucking prison cell.” 

Tony clenches his jaw. “ All right, I've run out of patience.” He cups his hands around his mouth and yells out, “Underoos!”

And suddenly, there is liquid spilling out onto tying up her and Steve’s hands. A person in tight fitted red and blue suit flips over and snatches the shield. He lands on top of a truck, joining the ensemble.

FUCK TONY! She thinks. What did you do?

“Nice job, kid,” Tony compliments with a smile.

“Thanks. Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better. It's just the new suit—Wait! It's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's--it's perfect. Thank you.”

“Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation,” Tony comments.

“Okay. Cap… Captain,” Spider-Man nods. “Big fan, I'm Spider-Man.” If he weren’t wearing a mask, Y/n is sure he’d be smiling.

“Yeah, we'll talk about it later. Just—” He waves his hands dismissively. “—Good job.”

“Hey, everyone,” Spider-Man greets.

“You've been busy.” Steve notes, there is a blatant hint of disapproval in his words.

“And you’ve been a complete idiot!” Tony counters, pissed. “Dragging in Clint. ‘Rescuing’ Wanda from a place she doesn’t even want to leave—a safe space.”

“How are you any fucking different, Stark?!” Y/n bites back. She’s pissed too. If she hasn’t made it clear yet, she would like for it to be put on record that she is outraged, beyond outraged that she has to fight the tiny little family she has been able to piece together over something as heinous as her fear of being imprisoned again. She hates every second of it but this?

This is a new level of stupid on Tony’s part.

“What the fuck were you thinking? Why would you bring him here?” She asks, pointing at Spider-Man. She’s well aware of who he is. It is her job to know. Which means she knows, that he’s just a fucking kid!

Y/n is about to blow a fucking gasket.

Tony just runs a hand over his face, looking exhausted. “I did what I had to do. You’re not giving me a lot of options here.”

“Fuck off, Tony!” She throws back because that is nowhere near a valid excuse to bring the kid into this. 

“I'm trying to keep—” He sighs. “I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart,” Tony urges.

“You did that when you signed,” Steve answers. 

That might be the only thing that she and Steve agree on.

“Alright, We're done,” Tony announces. “You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us. NOW! Because it's us! Or a squad of J-SOC guys—with no compunction about being impolite.” He pauses for a second, and then a final plea, “Come on.”. 

Sam’s voice rings out over the comms, “We found it. Their Quinjet’s in hanger five, north runway.”

Instantly both she and Steve hold their hands up and Clint shoots the web off.

Tony’s helmet goes up as he turns to look at the source of the arrow.

“Alright, Lang,” Steve signals Lang to get to it.

And Lang does not disappoint. 

“Hey, guys, something—” Spider-Man is cut off by Lang sizing back up from Cap’s shield and retrieving it.

“Whoa. What--what the hell was that?” Rhodey asks aloud, confused as fuck.

Lang hands the shield back to Steve, “I believe this is yours, Captain America.”

“Oh, great. Alright, there's two on the parking deck. One of them's Maximoff, I'm gonna grab her.” Tony announces all their locations. “Rhodey, you want to take Cap?” He asks before flying off.

“Got two in the terminal, Wilson and Barnes,” Rhodey calls out, as he begins to take flight.

Steve launches his shield, aiming for the chest of Rhodey’s suit, temporarily incapacitating him. 

“Barnes is mine!” T’Challa runs off and Steve swiftly follows behind.

Spider-Man swings away upon receiving whatever order he receives from Tony.

“I’m gonna—” Lang points over to Rhodey, to which Y/n just nods in response.

“Guess that just leaves you and me,” Natasha notes.

Y/n smiles a little, “In any other circumstance I would’ve enjoyed that more.”

Natasha smiles too, before she lunges at her. 

Y/n easily dodges every attack that Natasha throws at her. Nat’s trained. She’s amazing, agile and utterly formidable… But Y/n is better. Looking at her, it’s easy to forget that while she’s damn near ancient at this point. But she is. She has done this a lot longer than any other member of her team.

“You’re not fighting me,” Natasha notes.

Dodging another punch, “I don’t want to,” Y/n answers.

“How do you plan on fixing this?” She asks.

Taking a step back, with furrowed brows, “Why am I supposed to solve it?”

“Well, it was supposed to be us—you and I, together. But then you decided to leave with Steve.” Natasha counters. Her attacks are getting more intrusive, it’s taking a lot more work to dodge them.

“I left cause of Sergant Barnes, Steve cannot handle him alone and you know it,” Y/n reasoned.

“And you can?” 

“I’m not alone, am I?” Y/n’s getting a little annoyed.

“That doesn’t feel like a betrayal at all,” Natasha bites back, kicking her hard in the side.

“Fuck!” Y/n curses. Clicking her tongue, she swallows a groan while holding her side. “Yeah, like you didn’t fucking betray me signing that goddamn document.”

“These boys are demarcating the playground, claiming a side of their own.” Natasha lands another blow on her chest, making her stumble back sputtering. “They can’t clean up after themselves. They are too headstrong, too naive to see sense. We have to fix this!”

Y/n has had enough. When Natasha carges at her again, she stops her. Blocking with one hand, she knees Nat in the side. “It’s not my fucking responsibility!” Pushing her back, she counters Nat’s attacks easily. “I never wanted to be a part of this shit show. I didn’t want it then, I don’t want it now. This is not my fucking mess!” Y/n throws a punch. ”I just want to go home.”

Natasha blocks her. And then… then she fucking smiles.

It’s not a cunning one. It’s not mocking either. It’s something like sympathy. 

“You’re fighting me,” Natasha notes. And belatedly, Y/n realises, that yeah… yeah she is. “You’re always going to be a better fighter than me, Y/n. But this,” she taps at Y/n’s chest, right above her heart, “you let this loose way too easily. You make it too damn easy for me to do this.” Natasha manouvers herself around Y/n and pins her to the floor, trapped between fucking her legs. Fuck me, Y/n thinks. With a crippling elbow punch to the gut, Natasha gets up on her feet, leaving Y/n coughing on the floor.

“Just say what you want to say,” Y/n asks from where she’s lying flat on her ass.

“You cannot keep claiming Switzerland. You don’t want to pick a side? Don’t. Be on your own side, but don’t keep pretending to be uninvolved. Look around you, Y/n… you already are involved.”

With that, Natasha is off too, leaving Y/n to gather up her leftover dignity.

The fight, or well should she call it the fights—cause there are multiple—the fights continue. Vision enters the arena and draws a literal line in the sand. 

“Captain Rogers,” he says, levitating above them, “I know you believe what you're doing is right. But for the collective good you must surrender now.”

As politely as it’s worded, it still remains a warning. Warning Steve to stop, but come on. Has that ever fucking worked with Steve ‘Bullheaded’ Rogers? 

Both teams charge at each other and Y/n just hates all of it. It feels absurd to fight against the people she has fought shoulder to shoulder, but in the moment, it feels like she just doesn’t have a choice… Does she?

She loses track of everyone she faces off, but rest assured it’s everyone but the Spider-Man. She tries her best to avoid using her powers, bringing up her armour only as defence. The powers—her attacks are meant to harm. These aren’t the people she would ever wish harm upon.

Eventually she stumbles upon Spider-Man, barely holding up what once must have been a gangway. Manifesting the armour onto her arms and then curling her hand around the hilt of her sword as it’s forming into existence from her dimension, she glitches in just above him and free falls to the ground, cutting the whole thing down.

She lands on her knee. 

“Miss Stark!” Spider-Man yells out in excitement, dropping the halved gangway with ease. “It is so great to meet you! I am a huge fan, especially of your—”

She cuts him off, her sword disassembling out of existence, “Who did that?” she asks, pointing at the completely unrecognizable gangway.

“Captain America,” he answers easily. “Aren’t you on his team?”

“I don’t know which fucking team I’m on!” Y/n answers, throwing her arms up in utter frustration. 

The kid for his part remains calm, giving her a moment to compose herself again. 

Sighing, she looks up at him, “Do you make it a habit of willing following men dressed like stop signs to Germany, or is this one off thing?”

“Mr. Stark said he needed help… How could I say no?” 

There so much fucking ernestness in his words it burns Y/n from within.

“Go home, kid,” she tells him. “Tony—he…” She shakes her head. “All this is way too bigger than you…”

“I can handle it,” he replies, sounding almost desperate. 

“I don’t doubt it,” She answers, because she doesn’t. “But you’re better at being the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.” With that she begins to walk away.

The kid, however, has other ideas. He shoots a web at her and instantly her sword manifests once again, cutting it down before it can stick to her. “Don’t be dumb, kid,” she scolds gently, glitching a few meters away. “Go home!” She yells out and glitches out of his sight.

As it goes on, at some point, a realization strikes them all.

“We gotta go,” Barnes’ voice rings out over the comms. She’s not sure she’ll ever get used to having that voice in her ear speaking anything but crude monosyllabic words in German. “That guy's probably in Siberia by now.”

“We gotta draw out the flyers. I'll take Tony. You get to the jet,” Steve replies. “Y/n, think you can take on Vision?”

“You bet you star-spangled ass—” She’s cut off before she can verbally assault Steve for questioning her at all.

“No, you get to the jet! All three of you!” Sam reasons, sounding a little strained. When she spots him in the air, Rhodey hot on his trail. “The rest of us aren't getting out of here.”

She wants to cut in, but before she gets the chance to, T’Challa throat punches her, pissing her off. Her focus shifts to handling the King of Wakanda.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it,” Clint chimes in.

“This isn't the real fight, Steve,” Sam urges softly.

“Alright, Sam,” Steve acquieces. “What's the play?”

“We need a diversion, something big,” Sam says.

“I got something kind of big, but I can't hold it very long,” Scott answers instantly over the comms. “On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half—don't come back for me.”

“He's gonna tear himself in half?” Barnes questions, sounding just as confused as she feels.

“You're sure about this, Scott?” Steve asks him.

“I do it all the time. I mean once…in a lab,” Scott answers.

“And then what happened?” Y/n asks, finally being able to find her voice, having pinned T’Challa on the ground with her thighs roped around his neck.

“Then I passed out,” Scott answers.

“Awesome,” Y/n remarks before, T’Challa lands a blow on her side, making her losen her grip. Both are quickly on their feet again. 

“You’ve gotten better, your majesty,” She tells him. T’Challa has always been a great fighter—trained by the Dora Malaje, of course she expects no less. “It feels like it was yesterday when I saw your father teaching you how to wield a staff.”

He charges at her with so much anger. “How dare you talk about my father when you choose to protect his murder!”

“T’Challa—” She tries but he’s not in a listening mood. He’s in an attacking mood; he keeps coming at her relentlessly. She dodges every strike.

“After all the kindness he showed you, you protect Barnes!? You are a traitor!”

“He didn’t kill your father, T’Challa! You have to know that,” Y/n tries to reason but clearly it has no affect. In the end she realizes she is not left with much of a choice. 

Before she can react on her realization, however, Scott fucking Lang decides to grow to the size of fucking building. 

“Mother of whore-loving motherfucker,” Y/n is damn near astounded.

“I guess that’s the signal,” Sam’s voice comes in from the comms.

As soon as the shock fades, T’Challa charges at her again and she does the same. Running at him, she uses the momentum kneeing him in the chest. He stumbles back a little, she takes that moment to kick him in the back of calve, disbalancing him to make him fall and as he falls, she strikes him in the chest. 

With that, she glitches away.

“Y/n, you coming?” Steve asks over the comms.

“I don’t know,” she answers honestly, spotting Vision who’s eyes are set on Steve and Bucky who are running towards the quinjet.

She’s glitching in and out. Popping out of her dimension to attack Vision and then popping back in to stop herself from falling. It’s a fucking taxing thing, fighting an super-enhanced android with weird magic powers in the air, especially when you can’t fly.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Sam asks her on the radio.

“It means I’m fucking thinking about it!” She bites back.

“What’s there to think about?” Clink asks.

“I don’t know!” She glitches into her dimension. “Fuck” She says to herself, then glitches out. “Something about my responsibility in all this—I don’t fucking know!”

And then Vision decides to shoot a beam at her with the mindstone. Her armour deflects but the force throws her to the ground. 

The fall hurts, it aches. It makes her ache in places she hasn’t ached since HYDRA had her. It’s all very fucking meloncholy if you ask her. So, you cannot blame her when she lies on her ass for a couple seconds, trying to recuperate. 

Meanwhile, Vision uses his beam to cut the control tower in half. It begins to collapse over the entrance to the hanger the quinjet is in. Wanda tries to hold off the debris from crumbling to the ground, keeping the way clear for Steve and Barnes who are fast approaching on foot. However, Rhodey intervenes, blasting her with a sonic boom, making her loose control. 

All of that is for naught, though, because Steve and Bucky do make it in. 

“Need a hand?” A gold-titanium allow hand, painted bright red is extended to her.

She takes the hand, letting it help her stand on her feet. “Thanks,” she tells him. “Shouldn’t you be spending this time stopping them?” She asks, pointing at the scene unfolding behind them.

“I’m trying to stop you,” Tony says evenly. And then, before she can even tell him she’s not sure if he needs to, if what she really wants to do is stick around and fix it—she doesn’t know how exactly but she wants to try, if any of this is necessary, she hears a sound. It’s a sound that has become almost ambient to her, a sound that used to bring her comfort, a sound that used to mean there was someone watching her back—the sound of Tony’s repulsors being activated. 

She feels the hit before he even aims for it.

“Don’t make me stop you, Stark,” Tony says sofly, his eyes are welling up but so are hers. She has categorically avoided him the entire time, knowing full well that faced with him, she’d just surrender and find a way to escape at a later point. But this… This fucking hurts.

It burns her. It burns her from within. 

The man doesn’t even have to take the shot to make her bleed. 

But his arms come up to aim the repulsors at her anyway.

“Really?” She asks him.

“I don’t want to do this,” he begs.

It doesn’t matter though, it doesn’t fucking matter because he is doing it. He’s aiming at her. Her baby brother is aiming his weapons at her, hesitantly but he’s aiming nonetheless. It fucking breaks her her. 

Her hands clench into fists. A tear escapes her eyes. And a single word slips out of her lips “Traitor.” 

She glitches away. 

When she glitches out, she’s facing Natasha. 

As their eyes meet, Natasha fires a widow bite from her wrist. Y/n waits for the hit but it never comes, turning back she met with T’Challa, who’s being incapacitated by the low voltage shocks from the widow bite.

“Oh,” Y/n notes, turning back at Natasha.

Her brows forrow at that reaction. “What?” When all Y/n does is point at T’Challa behind him, Nat continues, “What are you waiting for? Go!” 

“I—I’m not going…” she answers, dumbly. “I came here to stop you from stopping—” her eyes fly to Barnes and Steve who are already inside the jet. “—them…”

“Not going?” Natasha asks, with a smile.

Clenching her jaw, Y/n replies, “Not yet.”

Natasha just nods at her.

As the two super soldiers take off, T’Challa frees himself and tries to grab onto the jet but fails inevitably, landing easily on the ground.

He comes to face Natasha and even with the mask on Y/n can practically see how pissed off he is.

“I said I'd help you find him, not catch him. There's a difference,” Natasha tells him with a somewhat false sense of confidence, knowing very well herself that she’s lying. 

This is awkward, is all Y/n can think as she stands between the two of them.

As the three of them make their way out, she watches as Lang is going down in all his (Gi)Ant-Man might, Spider-Man’s webbing tied around his legs. Tony and Rhodey punch him out of the sky and Y/n can see the last vestiges of her ‘side’ crumbling.

In front of her, a few meters ahead, Vision has Wanda in her grasp, holding onto her and protecting her gently. 

While the jet flies off, Rhodey and Tony both take off after it, Sam is hot on their trails. Either of the two iron-men must call out an order because then Vision looks up at them in the sky. He uses the mind stone again, shooting off a beam. She’s sure it’s meant for Sam, but he folds away his wings, dropping altitude so the beam misses him entire, hitting Rhodey instead.

For the next minute or so, everything happens in slow-motion. 

Rhodey begins to fall. He begins falling from the sky.

Her confusion over his inaction only lasts a second but the moment its clear that the beam hit Rhodey’s core, shutting the suit down, Y/n runs into action. 

She begins glitching in and out, trying to get higher and closer to Rhodey, coming out only to calculate how much farther he is from her reach.

Glitch, need to be higher.

Glitch, need to be closer.

Glitch, need to be further.

Glitch, need to be faster.

She can reach him. She’s sure.

But…

But the ground is creeping in and Rhodey’s been falling for way too long.

She needs to slow his speed or he’ll—

No time to think. 

No time for anything but action.

The next time she glitches out, she grabs Rhodey.

“Y/n!” He yells out, afraid and lost.

“I got you,” she tells him. “I got you, Rhodey.”

She glitches him into her dimension, trying to decrease his speed. 

“FUCK!”

It’s not easy. 

Fuck it’s damn near impossible for her. 

She’s not good enough.

Especially not good enough at controlling her dimension when he’s been freefalling from the sky, in an impeccably heavy suit of weapons, and machine and metal. He’d been falling too long, with too much weight.

She holds onto him, making her dimension denser, not enough but still, denser. 

Manouvering herself under him, she extends her armour from her arms to span across her back. If she can’t slow him to a halt, she can cushion his fall.

When they glitch out of the dimension, the change in force hits them hard, slowing them down a little bit more. But the wind does not cooperate. The wind is a fucking bitch. Y/n cannot completely sustain the suits weight on her, but she tries her best.

As they brace themselves for what will undoubtedly be a rough fucking landing, the last thing she sees is Tony flying towards them.

They crash. 

The impact creates a fucking pit in the ground.

Before she can try helpless to move Rhodey off of her to check on him, Tony lands next to them and does it. 

He pulls off Rhodey’s face plate, and asks F.R.I.D.A.Y. to check his vitals.

“Heartbeat detected. Emergency medical is on its way,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. replies.

His eyes fly over to Y/n then. Hand on her chest in an instant, He says, “ F.R.I.D.A.Y. assess damage.”

“I’m fine,” Y/n tries, pushing him off of her but the blood she coughs out makes it seem like an act.

“Six broken ribs and heavy internal bleeding, sir. But her hearbeat holding steady. Miss Stark will be fine till the emergency medical arrives.” F.R.I.D.A.Y. tells him.

Y/n doesn’t care, she tries to get up but struggles somewhat hopelessly. Tony’s hands come to help her and she manages to get onto her knees to look at Rhodey. 

He’s bleeding, she notes, from his nose. 

Her jaw clenches, eyes watering up.

Somewhere behind them, Sam lands on his feet and apologizes. Tony blasts him with his repulsors but Y/n can’t bring herself to give a damn.

Both siblings wait there—lost and scared, each with a hand on the chest of their best friend, and prayers on their lips to a God they stopped believing in, waiting for help to arrive.

Find the next part here. Find the series masterlist here. Find other Static Verse works here.

tag list : @aryksworld @freeflyingphoenix @arikarapli @just-anotherstan @justab-eautifulmess @ceo-of-daichi @roxannejblack @liketearsintherainn @paintballkid711 @starkleila @heyitsmereading @fairlygothparents @euphoria-svt @sidepartskinnyjeans @mini-kunoichi @third-broparcelicito @siwiecola @haleybutnotthecomet @mvaldez7821 @rockybutmakeitlame @romanoffswoman @ashpeace888 @hopeofwinter @percabethfangirl987 @lilfuturescars @hailqueenconquer

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[sir-adamus]

My absolute favorite thing about ATSV is the narrative repetition of not only literal religion but wanting to do both things / two things and the callbacks to walker scenes. Miles trying to catch Gwen after he startles her and the Spot kicks her vs her trying to save him from falling during the chase and he snaps the line on purpose

Miles and his two cakes and Pavitr saying “I can do both!” as we see he cannot hold the bus and save captain singh and the girl (but with help they do indeed save everyone)

Miles literally has DNA from two different dimensions he’s literally always been both since he got bitten!! That’s the point it’s so good!!

Spider-Man doesn’t always win. They don’t always save the day. But with this unique technology they have a chance to learn and make friends and new connections. If the issue was just universe hopping then the whole spider base thing would be a bad idea. I can’t wait for the power of friendship and trying even tho it seems hopeless to kick ass in Beyond it’s gonna be so good.

Gwen also has an "i can do both" thing - trying to keep the canon event happening and save Miles (and thinking she failed when he gets buried under the rubble, which is why she was so panicked in that scene, because she was right back at the night of the dance and seeing Peter crushed under the rubble)

and yeah the thing is it's like

this movie is hanging a lampshade on the idea that Spider-Man needs to have these personal tragedies happen to be a better hero - that these events aren't just unfortunate happenstance but Fated Incidents that have to happen in order for them to be correct in the role (and uh, just a note... doesn't apply to Miguel - literally none of his story lines up with the Peter archetype)

like - the Uncle Ben death is a tragedy because it could have been prevented, it was something Peter could've stopped and didn't because of his pride, and the resulting guilt of that forms his 'with great power must also come great responsibility' thing (which also a note, not originally an Uncle Ben line, it was just a narration bit, only got applied to Ben later) - but the point is it's a code he forms in the wake of tragedy, not a predestined event meant to teach him a lesson

and more importantly Miles in these movies never needed to learn that - because he outright quotes the line to Peter B during the first movie, and of course he did! he's about 13/14 in Into the Spider-Verse, Blond Peter had been Spider-Man for a decade and he marketed the hell out of it; every kid in New York grew up knowing the line (which is actually a factor i don't see people discussing when it comes to the 'Earth 42 Miles and Earth 1610B Miles swapped fates' thing, we don't know what kind of Spider-Man that the Earth 42 Miles would've become, or how our Miles would've ended up if he hadn't been bitten)

Uncle Aaron's death is rather erroneously framed like Ben's by Miguel, but a) it wasn't something Miles could've prevented but didn't, he very nearly died himself, and b) it's reinforced later as 'sometimes you can't always save everyone'

so in terms of 'canon events', Aaron's death fits the George Stacy death more than it does the Uncle Ben death, where it happens in a moment it is impossible for Spider-Man to prevent it as a result of the main villain of the story (Aaron is even trying to save Miles in that moment, who was wearing the red store-bought Spider-Man costume, and pointedly the kids George and Inspector Singh try to save in those moments are also wearing red) - however ultimately it's trying to fit all these personal, different tragedies into a specific box that's the problem, because that's not how life works (nor is it how the multiverse works, but Miguel thinks it does and he's convinced others of the same and refuses to accept any alternatives). Aaron's death isn't a variation on Uncle Ben's death, George Stacy's death or anyone else's death. it's the death of Aaron Davis

also, introducing other Spiders completely changes the surrounding context and the stakes - if Inspector Singh had died there, would Pavitr have come to the conclusion that he couldn't always save everyone? or would he have been angry and resentful that the people he thought were his friends sat there and did nothing when they could have helped? because he wasn't alone in that situation, which completely changes the ballpark even if no one else interferes, it would affect how he responds to it

so it's all questioning why these events need to happen - if we're looking at it in-universe, these things are just unfortunate tragedies. looking at everything bad that happens to you as predetermined fate meant to teach you a lesson is both incredibly unhealthy and fucking dehumanising to your loved ones - a community of Spider-People can help each other and mentor the younger ones to convey the lessons and codes the elders pieced together so they don't have to go through the same shit, be forced through the same pain under the bullshit logic that the suffering will make them 'better'

and from a meta-narrative perspective, the 'canon' is the stakes of the story; Earth-65B continues to run even with George quitting, because dramatically speaking, learning Gwen is Spider-Woman and nearly losing her forever, while Gwen avoids going home because she's terrified that her father hates her and - compounding that - is scared that if she does go home, he'll already have died. that drama is 'good for the story' and can resolve without anyone dying

Peter B literally only has Mayday because of Miles, the 'original anomaly', and yet Earth-616B is perfectly fine with a child who - according to Miguel's logic - should not exist. why? because Peter B has started putting in the effort to make his life work, 'making adjustments at half-time', and earning his happy ending

whereas Miguel deciding to skip all the hard work of trying to make his life better by just inserting himself into a happy life that belongs to someone else, and that reality crumbles apart because he didn't earn it - so the stakes had to be raised, and the resulting guilt is what turns Miguel into the uncompromising anti-hero we have in this film

Spider-people are capable of incredible things, and are capable of even more incredible things when they have each others' backs - they've just gotten too caught up in their guilt complexes to realise that

[conspire24]

Arranging "At All Costs" in 4-part harmony

Tldr; Attached on my MuseScore link at the top of my profile is a special arrangement I made of "At All Costs" from Disney's Wish; I've made it so that it works as a 4-part harmony between the characters Asha, Magnifico, Amaya, and the scrapped StarBoy. It acts as two duets (one for each couple) sung simultaneously. Hoping to inspire someone with this.

So, I've been thinking about how so many fans have chosen to look at "At All Costs." I find it so funny how we as a fandom collectively looked at it, went "yeah, that's a love song," then saw a potential love interest for Asha and immediately thrusted the song onto them, assuming it was always meant for them. I've absolutely loved all the animatics and rewrites that involve Star Boy. Even though I haven't seen Wish, as a Disney fan, I feel so crushed to see Disney scrap concepts that could've made a story better, and I assumed "At All Costs" being a love song was one of them.

And yet, having read interviews with Julia Michaels, the actual context feels so bizarre to me. So, it was always intended as a duet between Asha and Magnifico, but Michaels really wanted to write a love song, so she wrote it for the hero and villain while also making it sound like a love song out of context. Like, I guess that's kinda funny, but then why does the song not have language that takes advantage of the fact that it's a hero and villain singing together? It just feels off.

So then one day, I thought, what if there was a way it could work in both contexts? As both a hero-villain song a love song within the actual context of the story? And then it hit me, why not turn the duet into a quartet made of two duets - i.e., why not have it be sung between Magnifico, Amaya, Star Boy, and Asha in a 4-part harmony?

Essentially, how I'd picture it is that the song would take place over a scene between Magnifico and Amaya singing with each other as well a scene with Asha and Star Boy singing with each other, with the film cutting intermittently between them. As I was arranging this, I wanted to make sure each duet had one person with the melody and the other with harmony, that would both duets would work well if it was just them singing on their own - because in the context of this song, they are. Neither duet knows the other duet is singing the same thing because they're in different locations.

Verse 1 starts with Magnifico singing, similar to the movie version, with Amaya either listening or joining in with her own harmony by the chorus, showing how both are in love with each other (or not, depending on your preferred characterization - I marked the harmony as optional in the score). Then after the chorus, we cut to Asha singing to Star Boy in Verse 2, again similar to the movie version, with Star Boy taking the harmony by the chorus. Then, as we enter the bridge and the final verse, all four are singing together, with Asha and Magnifico taking the melody in different octaves, while Amaya and Star Boy taking different harmonies, as we cut between each couple for the rest of the song.

What I love about this version is that it shows each person is expressing their own desires for love and the future and protecting each other, yet through the different harmonies, we know each couple's desires are separate from the other. I'm also glad I got to give Star Boy that one harmony in the bridge that's non-diegetic in the original song. I love cool little moving harmonies like that, so I'm glad it could be sung by someone with the diegetic context (even though it is a little higher in the range, have fun tenors!). I also gave Amaya her own harmony for the chorus, which depending on context, could serve to show how different her views are from the other characters.

So anyway, I have attached my arrangement of the vocals to an unlisted MuseScore document. (Hopefully it doesn't get taken down, still fairly new to MuseScore). I hope soon, I can get a fully-sung version going, but for now, I'm proud of how the score turned out.

Feel free to steal this idea for any potential rewrites or animatics if you are so inspired! Also, let me know if you have any feedback/suggestions for this idea.

https://musescore.com/user/64836931/scores/14060935/s/DIQrlx?share=copy_link

*Note: this is technically a repost; in the initial post I put the link at the top and I'm wondering if that might've affected whether or not the initial post got shown with tags*

[sarroora]

Lol what u sorry for this was so much fun to read I couldn't stop laughingXD

LISTEN - I would need to record a 3-hour video or something if I wanted to say everything I have to say about the movies, so I'll shut that part of my brain up and keep it short:

Beverly Hills Cats:

I 1000% agree on the pacing. Oh my God.

When I was a kid and saw the movie for the 1st time on CN, I was just grateful we finally got something new for TC. The series was always very niche so getting his own TV movie made me happy. But after watching it again as an adult all I could do was scream internally at the pacing and the writing. Like I know it's a low-budget movie, so I can look past the poor animation, off-model characters and weird artifacts and all that. But I can't ignore the goddamn writing asghjkl but I like the cute cat jokes

Brain, Benny and Choo Choo are written quite okay in the movie. They're probably the 3 who are most in-character. Fancy and Spook come in second. Kinda.

T.C. and Dibble are ALL. OVER. THE PLACE in terms of how they're written. The especially-egregious part about Dibble is you can remove him entirely from the movie, put in literally any random new guy and it wouldn't have made any difference.

For new viewers who'd never seen the series and have no previous idea of what these characters are like, I wouldn't blame them if they decided they don't care about checking out the series because of how badly T.C. and Dibble were written.

Amy was a wasted opportunity. They could've done something really good with her, but like a lot of things in the movie her situation makes no sense and makes the ending and whole premise of the story boring.

Top Cat The Movie:

IMO this movie technically has the least problems out of the 3, but I agree that the people working on it did it with passion even if they didn't have Hollywood-level resources.

I don't really like rebooting time-piece stories into the 'current era', and this especially applies to TC since I've always loved the 60s NYC vibe it has going, so the idea of robots and automation wasn't really for me but that’s a personal preference. I watched the movie for the cute gang moments. Dibble is borderline tolerable in this movie in terms of writing but could've been a hundred times better. Since it's a reboot of sorts, I can forgive a few strange things like the gang believing for one hot second that T.C. would steal from an orphanage.

Brain barely exists in the movie, and sadly the way he’s written is unlikeable. And Strickland could've been more interesting if they didn't overuse the weird handsomeness joke.

Top Cat Begins:

OK I said that TCtM is the one with the least problems from a technical standpoint, but Begins is the one I like best for some of its concepts. Like it has some very good ideas, but the problem is that the movie was trying to do too much in too little time, so it ends up feeling like there is no proper character development.

And yeah same, I don't consider this origin story canon. (I don't really consider any of the movies canon)

Even though I don't think of Dibble's grandma's character as 'canon', she's extremely funny and I love her lol. As for Dibble my mind could never grasp that this is supposed to be the same guy as the series, they're two different characters. But at least some of his and T.C.’s interactions are actually funny.

Mr. Big is a good villain, although him being a crocodile is a little weird for me? but YES Bad Dog is super fitting into the TC verse, like I can easily see this design in the 2D series. I don't like Panther's design at all. Very out of place in terms of char design and silhouette especially when compared to everyone else. Fancy's in-movie design? I actually love it for some reason, he looks very cute. Personality-wise? Hmm...

Brain imo is a little better in this movie than in TCtM, but his, Choo Choo’s and Fancy’s backstories couldve been awesome and varied. Lumping them together in the same origin story as escaped circus performers was made because there really is no time in the movie to flesh out anyone. As for Spook-

"Also he's got a bit of a plot hole where he's like 'why should I stick my neck out for you' and then legit like 2 minutes later he's like 'i've been following you around so we can join forces' like ok bro"

☝ROFL YES? THIS?? XD☝

I appreciate that they tried to include cute gang moments which is an absolute must in my book but again - TOO MUCH going on, too little time, where's the development. T.C. telling them they're his family at the end of the movie could've been 1000x better if there was a strong build up to it. Then it wouldn't sound like a phoned-in soap opera script.

I don't have a problem with the weird animations and unpolished designs - again - because it's completely unfair to compare Anima to like, Pixar or something. They did they best they could with what they have.

So yeah, IMO both these movies rank higher than BHC thanks for coming to my ted talk~

(P.S. it always tickled me that they gave most of the cats' eyes colors similar to CGaL because now I can joke-brag that I wrote it first in 2012 lol /slapped)

Here's another ask: 1 thing you like + 1 thing you dislike about each TC movie

Almost guaranteed these are gunna end up being more than one thing because I don't know how to shut up but let's see

Beverly Hills Cats:

I like that it's silly and also because it gives Brain more of a spotlight, also it confirmed a few of my lesser headcanons (Spook can play the drums and Brain likes rats) also The Rap for their costumes (specifically Spook's and Brain's they slay) also Spook's voice is very gruff in BHC and so now I have a REAL reason to make his voice a little gravelly/give him a little growl when he talks whenever I read a dialogue from him other than just because I want to

However the PACING OH MY GOD THE PACING 😭 some of the movie just drags and the dialogue feels clunky sometimes, also the visuals look dirty if that makes sense? Everything's a strange color y'know? Also The Rap because it's so poorly composed and it makes me die a little. Also Amy Vandergelt fuck Amy Vandergelt all my homies hate Amy Vandergelt. Also Dibble didn't really feel like Dibble y'know like he was oddly mean and (extra) dense like 😭

Top Cat: The Movie:

I am inherently biased because this is a movie from my childhood I was FUCKING OBSESSED with it and would watch it every day once I got home from school in 4th grade and I still remember a dream I had about it years ago and I'm pretty sure I put Spook into a story I had to write for class 😭 it's how I got into Top Cat in the first place so I hold The Movie very near and dear to my heart anyways I really love that it legitimately feels like Anima Estudios put a lot of love into it and like they made a genuine effort to make it feel like OG even if they fell short. Also THE ARTSTYLE I WOULD FUCKING KILL TO GET A REBOOT IN THE STYLE OF THE MOVIE ARARAR GEOMETRIC ARTSTYLES EATS A BRICK anyways also Trixie, they could never make me hate you Trixie (I need to draw her more) also the robots are funny as fuck for no reason

While I still think people greatly exaggerated how bad the movie was, I can kinda understand where they're coming from because the plot holes are ABYSMAL OMG 💀 also fucking Rob Schneider is Strickland in the British dub which is immediately awful, also not as awful but Dibble doesn't feel nearly as like strict or intimidating as he did before and I think that's mostly because of the voice they gave him, it's very squeaky. Also I feel like Strickland could work as a good antagonist but I feel like they leaned into the 'oh I'm so handsome I'm the prettiest in the world' thing too hard and it just made him feel really annoying and not like an actual threat at all, also naturally the flanderization of Brain (Anima Estudios must've had beef with him or something cos they did him even more dirty in Begins)

Top Cat Begins:

To be completely Frank, to be completely David even, there's really not that much I like about Begins other than Hellcat Spook (naturally). I mean I like Furletta Duchat because she's purdy and Dib's grandmother (Grambo) because she's fucking insane. Chooch's little waddle of a walk. OH I actually REALLY like Mr. Big as a villain. He's an actual threat to T.C. and the gang and his design, voice, and behavior is actually intimidating and probably the best crafted out of any of the new characters in Begins (also his model isn't fugly like most of the rest of them). If a new movie or series ever gets made I hope he makes a return even just as like a minor villain. Also Diedrich Bader voices Bad Dog and that's an inside joke between me and my sister lmao (also I do really like Bad Dog he's an excellent goon)

First things first for things I don't like about Begins, THE MODELS. WHY ARE THEY SO UGLY. WHO'S IDEA WAS THIS. I mean like they could be worse BUT THEY COULD CERTAINLY BE BETTER 😭 I mean I do appreciate them for giving us canon eye colors for the fellas but good fucking lord

Help him 😭

Tbh I'm trying to think of who the worst offender is and tbh it's almost all of them but I will say that Benny and Spook look the best, Fancy isn't ugly but he doesn't really look like Fancy, (same with Dibble) and ig T.C. isn't bad but he's not good. Brain and Chooch though what did they do to my lads. Chooch has gingivitis and lacks fangs (actually all of them lack fangs except for T.C. and Benny which I think is especially offensive) and Brain's model is built in such a way where any mouth movement he makes looks FUCKED UP. Also his eyes are really small and so are his ears and his proportions are generally fucked.

Fun fact I found some like beta promo art for Begins a while ago and Fancy's model is completely different and dare I say he looks better than his official model

Anyways models aside I think this is kind of a dogshit origin story for the gang. Making T.C. and Benny meet Fancy, Chooch, and Brain all at the same time only to not see them for the next 45 minutes was real fuckin lame-o and lazy and they also retconned that whole thing where T.C. and Benny were in Boy Scouts together which I really didn't appreciate. Also could've stood to have moar Spook in the movie instead of him being a deus ex machina and having LESS THAN TEN MINUTES OF SCREENTIME, like shit dawg. Also I always thought it was lame that he was just the pizza guy and not ACTUALLY involved with Mr. Big y'know? Also he's got a bit of a plot hole where he's like 'why should I stick my neck out for you' and then legit like 2 minutes later he's like 'i've been following you around so we can join forces' like ok bro if that was the case you would've just pulled them up and not've done that whole thing where you made it seem like you would've left them there but alright dawg. In my opinion I would've had it where Mr. Big sends out Spook to find them and follow them around after they lose their tracks of them and then when they escape Spook's grasp THEN Mr. Big fucks up Eleanore. Anyways what else. Uhh. Oh I can't tell if they just forgot what Dibble acted like or they tried making him younger in Begins but like. That's not Dibble. Who is that. Also again, Brain flanderization to the extreme and some mischaracterization of Fancy. Anyways I think that's it actually

This turned into a full rant I'm sorry 😭 but yeah I think a remake/revamp of Begins is in order because it's so bad and then BHC isn't bad, just mid at times, and then I've always found The Movie to be charmingly bad despite it's plot holes

[tonystarktogo]

Tony Stark is twenty three by the time he overstays his welcome at his parents’ manor. They don’t kick him out — Maria Stark wouldn’t stand for something so crass — but it’s gotten to a point where the rising tension over Tony’s unfortunate opinions on everything the world and society in general and Stark Industries and his father in particular do wrong just aren’t worth the benefits of free housing and easy access to SI technology anymore.

At this point, well. Tony’s completed his master’s degree at MIT over two years ago. Against all expectations and predictions, he’s spent his time since finishing university moving back into his family home, wasting his time and his parents money and basically not doing anything worth-while with his life. The biggest surprise the gossip columns never fail to remark on on a slow news day is that Howard’s lawyers have managed to cover up his heir’s wild parties and even more colorful lifestyle.

That’s the official version.

[continues under the cut]

The unofficial but not particularly interesting version goes a bit like this: With the rare exception — wouldn’t do to make anyone suspicious or worse let Howard grow too comfortable — Tony doesn’t spend much time partying or enjoying the life as the sole heir to a multi-million dollar company. Instead he chooses to spend most of his time locked away in his room, coding, researching whichever project catches his interest and occasionally half-assing an invention that isn’t fooling anyone even remotely familiar with the quality of his work.

In short, Tony Stark is resting on his laurels instead of investing in his future. A future a great deal of influential people plan to see realized in a way that benefits them most.

[Howard makes it a point to stop by his rooms at least once a week to remind Tony how disappointed he is by his life choices and that he’s not gonna tolerate Tony spending his parents’ money and not contributing anything to society forever and that it’s high time he stop this childish fit so that they can work on integrating Tony into SI — maybe even in the R&D department if Tony absolutely refuses to see reason and shadow Howard himself.

Howard’s business partner and friend Obadiah Stane has come to join them for dinner a few times in the last couple of months as well and made it clear that he’s got high hopes for Tony’s future in the company. High hopes and a lot of expectations.

And. When even Maria starts clucking her tongue and making pointed remarks that never edge into hurtful but convey her fraying patience with him all too clearly, Tony knows he’s running out of time.]

The truth is something like this: Tony is fourteen years old when he realizes he doesn’t want to follow in Howard’s footsteps. But it’s during his freshman year at MIT, when two of Tony’s roommates get into a hilariously intense argument about whether superheroes have health insurance while blackout drunk, that Tony gets his first inkling of what he really wants to do with his life.

[It’s just a vague idea at first, a notion, a dream. But the more time Tony spends thinking it over, reading up on laws and old newspaper articles and devouring critical essays in the student newspapers, the more it starts to look like a solid plan. A plan that gets more fleshed out with every statistic Tony looks up, every policy he researches and every supervillain attack he analyzes.] 

And see if Tony was someone else he’d probably ended up as a social justice warrior for superhuman rights and give his parents’ a heart-attack. Which, not gonna lie, would’ve been a definite plus. But. For better or worse, Tony is a Stark, was raised as a Stark, has been trained all his life to one day take over his father’s lifework and company and so when he realizes that there is a glaringly unaddressed niche market for supers [heroes, villains and everything in between] to get the everyday supplies they need, he sees a problem that needs fixing. He sees a business opportunity.

A business opportunity Howard Stark isn’t going to invest in. One none of his partners are likely to invest in. But that’s their loss and Tony has neither the time nor the patience to try convince any of his parents’ friends of his idea. 

[Not to bash anyone but Howard and Maria have a horrid taste in human beings. Tony doesn’t understand how they can bear any of the people they regularly seek out during their various social engagements.]

He’ll just have to do this on his own.

*

So, half a lifetime ago when I started [this could’ve been] a villain’s origin story, I did two versions of that AU, one for MCU and one for KHR. Now that the KHR ‘verse is mostly done, I thought I’d get back to the MCU one and I did, sort of. But instead of continuing where I left off, I kinda got stuck on how Tony got to NYC in the first place and how he went about setting his business up which somehow turned into a lot of words about something else entirely. So. Well. Here we are?

[senseitoadstool]

MoViews: The Batman (2022)

Well, who doesn't like a re-re-re-re-reboot of one of the most remade franchises?

Thing is - this one was well done. It had its really good things, and just a few not so good things, which already makes it much more superior to the latest attempts.

Although I wasn't too sure about the casting of Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, he did a great job, and the mask suits the outline of his face. I, for one, don't miss Keaton's cheeks. The rest of the casting was quite good as well. But let's break this up:

The REALLY good things I enjoyed:

* We thankfully got spared yet another origins story. We arrive at a later point and, although the instance that made Batman, well, Batman, is referenced a few times throughout, it is used as part of a much more enriched storyline than in previous times.

* The updated timeline includes the heavy use of social media in the plot, indicating is definitely an updated version of Gotham City.

* The villains are much less caricaturized, made much more real and humanized. It took a while for me to realize that 'Oz' was referring to Oswald Cobblepot, the Penguin, since even with the heavy make up he does not look like a Penguin. They all look more like gang members, gangsters and mental institution escapees, which I assume was the intention of the movie.

* The relationship between Bruce and Selina (cat woman) is treated very well, as a small part of the bigger plot that helps give these two characters some conflict and interaction that is relevant and not just because there needs to be a romantic interest.

* The tech is finally taking it's proper role as supporting the action instead of leading it. Although I was a bit disappointed in the Batmobile, the use of the gadgets and technology comes second to the story and action.

* Finally, the concentration on the actual story line. When there's effort placed in the writing and in character depth, it shows. And it's about time it did.

As far as the things that could've been better:

* Somehow, Batman's musical theme reminded me consistently of the Empire's theme in Star Wars. Couldn't shake that feeling.

* It was LOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGGGGG. I can point at least 3 scenes that could've been shorter and still get the point across, like Cat Woman changing into her burglar outfit. 3 hours was a bit too much for this one.

* The fact that the DC-verse is so discombobulated, that even with the promise of a sequel (clear by its ending), it is unclear if this is going to be part of Snyder's hot mess or if they're treating this as separate from that sh.....ow.

It seems to me that Warner Brothers is intent in gaining some ground in the Super Hero battle with the trailer announcing Black Adam, Aquaman and Flash movies coming up this year. I'm still somewhat skeptical, but color me cautiously optimistic after this one.

Mi Opinión: Go See It (2 out of 3).

He Dicho.

[sou-ver-2-0]

I was reading your post about what things Shin could've learnt at Midori's house and the song "I Know Things Now" reminded me a lot of another song that could describe Shin and Midori's pas toxic relationship. The song “Rat” by Penelope Scott make's me think of them so much of them and it make's me sad. Shin deserved a way better friend then what he went through with Midori.

Thanks for reading my work. <3 And thank you especially for sharing your own song choice with me! (I always want to hear new songs for Shin and the others!)

I hadn’t heard that song before, so I just listened to it. Several times in a row! What a good song!! And it works so well for them, just like you said! I love how brutal the lyrics are. I can tell it’s meant to be about killing our idols, but it works for a more personal abusive relationship too, aahh. I’ll have to add that to my playlist, thank you!

I’ll highlight the lyrics which made me catch my breath because they felt very much like them.

And you were beautiful and vulnerable, and power and success God, damn, I fell for you your flamethrowers, your tunnels and your tech I studied code because I wanted to do something great like you And the real tragedy is half of it was true

When she sang that she studied code, I just!! My heart!! That’s our Shin, right there!

Also, I love the idea of Sou showing off such fancy Asu-Naro technology at his house. (Including flamethrowers because that’s good old fashioned wacky fun.)

I loved you, I loved you I loved you, it's true I wanted to be you and do what you do I lived here, I loved here, I thought it was true I feel so stupid and so used I feel so used

That chorus is so perfect aaahhh

“I lived here” especially makes me think about Shin AI’s line about Sou’s house, since Shin must have gone over there frequently.

Shin wanted to be Sou, too. :’( 

I fell for circuit boards, rocket ships, pictures of the stars If you could only be what you pretend you are

I got excited whenever she mentioned falling in love with computers omg. What a geeky Shin mood. 

And whenever the singer called out the other person for being a fraud, a pretender. That’s very relevant to Shin and Sou’s story.

When I said, "Take me to the moon" I never meant take me alone I thought if mankind toured the sky, it meant all of us could go But I don't want to see the stars if they're just one more piece of land for us to colonize For us to turn to sand

I realize that this verse is more specifically targeting tech idols like Elon Musk, but it also made me think about the Death Game? And how there can only be “one victor”? Or maybe two? It made me think of an AU where Sou would be willing to use the Sacrifice Card to escape with Shin. And that’s ultimately not what Shin wants at all. When Shin is being himself, he wants the most vulnerable among them to survive, even at the cost of his own life. Shin doesn’t actually want to see the stars if we make life meaningless for everyone else.

I bit the apple 'cause I loved you, and why would you lie? And then I realized, you're just as naive as I am Oh, you're so traumatized, it makes me wanna cry

This could tie into Original Sou possibly being a victim of the cycle of abuse as well, and Shin could have been drawn to Sou out of sympathy for him, but then Sou abused Shin’s kindness and simply took advantage of him.

Shin might even still feel sorry for Sou, but that doesn’t change that Sou was cruel and hurtful.

You dumb bitch, I loved you, I loved you I loved you, it's true I wanted to be you and do what you do I lived here, I loved here I bought it, it's true I'm so embarrassed, I feel abused

Aaahhh I love the chorus so much!!

Let me level with you, man, as someone guilty of the game I took the help, I took the cash, I would've taken your last name So if any girl on earth should get to make a call about this... It should be me and as I see it, you're a dick

I love this verse too, especially since she namedrops “game” and Shin becomes guilty of playing our villain in the Death Game.

Her words about taking help and cash could also apply to our headcanon about Sou giving Shin expensive presents, and then Shin feels indebted to him.

I can't believe you tore humanity apart... With the very same machines that could've been our brand new start

This feels relevant to Asu-Naro!!

And that would hurt a poor job hopper, who wants a better, fairer system for everyone!

And the worst part is, I loved you I loved you, I loved you, it's true And sometimes I feel like I still fucking do I lived here, I loved here I brought it, it's true I'm so embarrassed, I feel abused

I feel so used, I feel so used Take me to the moon 'Cause I feel so used I feel so used

Aaahh, I love the chorus so much, and how it twists to feel increasingly painful each time it comes up. The lyric “sometimes I feel like I still fucking do” hurts the most, and reminds me of how Shin clings to his scarf so often. :’(

Thank you for sharing this wonderful song with me!

[inkmimicry]

have you seen the c&drr movie yet

(Yes I have! I did a little review on my personal, and I'll summarise here:

I'm a sucker for cameos and anything Toon-verse related, so I had a lot of fun watching it. I know some people won't like it and I probably had a different experience since I didn't grow up with the original show. However, a big flaw of the movie may be how they handled Sweet Pete's character, considering how many people pointed out the parallels between his story and Bobby Driscoll's stories - and child stars in general, which can come across bad taste. There was a lot of opperunity for a more toon-related villain to have the spotlight here.The subplot about a bitter old actor wanting revenge plot could exist in well, any movie, a toon actor could've have more specific to the world, you know? But the movie is what it is, and it wasn't meant to be all the deep from what I understand. The Bootlegging plot was quite interesting. The in-universe 'bootleg' toons are in fact canon toons that have been modified, rather than created to look like them, which is honestly something I never thought of! I use 'bootleg' on this blog to describe my in-universe 'mockbuster' toons as they were created seperately from the 'real deals' Like Francis and Oswald, Rod and Roger Rabbit, and so on.)

[petroltogo]

Hi! This is a bit out of nowhere but I wandered here from your AO3 account and wanted to let you know that I really love your KHR fic! The way you write the group dynamics is my favorite in general across all of them, but I'm especially in love the way you handle Lussuria and Belphegor in your Superhero verse. Whether I'm interested in the Varia depends entirely on who's writing them, and you hands down write my favorite Varia.

Hello and welcome to the madness!

Thank you so much for your lovely message. I love writing this series in particular (next to how way leads on to way and the this compass never pointed north series it’s probably my favorite atm) so it just makes my day when I hear someone else enjoys it too :)

And okay, I have a serious weakness for the Varia and adore writing them in this world, so I’m glad you like this take of them! It might take a while but I absolutely plan to add a few side-stories that will focus more on them. Lussuria definitely deserves his own fic, I just haven’t come up with the right plot for it yet. And Bel, Bel refuses to be left out of the main story, as can only be expected of the Prince.

As a fellow Varia-fan, do you know the fics by Umei_no_Mai? Because I love the deep-dive they take into Varia culture, the world-building is just *chef kiss*. I think my favorites are Obscured by Clouds for Timoteo’s well-deserved comeuppance and everything Varia, though The King is Dead (Long Live the King) is a close second. That one focuses less on the Varia though. Fair warning from someone who usually prefers Tsuna-centric fics: Tsuna is dead in the latter and plays almost no role in the former, but the in-depth exploration of those alternate scenarios more than makes up for it in my opinion.

If you have any fic recs, I‘d love to hear them!

[petroltogo]

It’s done.

About 42’000 words split in 7 chapters.

Somehow I’ve managed to finish writing the last part of [this could’ve been] a villain’s grand master plan in these last two and a half weeks.

I still have to edit everything, which will be a small nightmare, but doable so regular updates are a thing that will happen from now on.

Next chapter will be up this Friday and after that I’ll post a new one every week.

In the meantime would you be interested in snippets and cut parts?

[petroltogo]

Aaand the next chapter is ready:

[petroltogo]

In case anyone still checks on this dusty old blog: yes I’m alive and still plan to continue my various works. I did however take a (longer than anticipated) break from writing because there’s been a lot going on these last months and, frankly, I didn’t have the energy to be creative.

Lately though things are finally calming down and this last week I’ve been working on the next chapter for [this could’ve been] a villain’s grand master plan.

Still got a couple thousand words to go, but it’s looking good.

And by ‘good’ I mean characters that were supposed to be cameos at most are taking over entire scenes yes Chrome, I’m looking at you but what else is new.

[petroltogo]

When considering whether you should include some sort of Eldritch Abomination in your story always ask yourself:

1. Why didn't you add it sooner?

[petroltogo]

Currently making the best of my holidays by writting the last chapters of [this could've been] a villain's master plan. If things work out the way I'm hoping I might have a regular updating schedule for it too.

One thing I can tell you already is that the chapter count is going up. There's just too much going on to stuff it all in three more chapters. I'm currently planning to focus on a smaller character count in future installments but I already know that's not gonna work for the next one since that will finally get us to the conclusion of the first arc.

After that though? Lots of possibilities I’m interested in exploring.

(And yeah, I now have concrete plans for the 10th Gen, they’re absolutely gonna become a part of this verse)

[petroltogo]

Alright, it only took me around 10 months bit here we are: the next chapter of [this could’ve been] a villain’s grand master plan is up.

And since I’ve already written chapter 7, I can at least guarantee that you won’t have to wait quite as long for the next update.

Happy reading and I’d love to hear what you think!