#we should totally rewrite world of light

[supbreak20]

I wanna see you and eway and whoever runs Jawsum and Taku's blogs to make Smash fics now

If we did that you already know I would do everything in my power to include all the small niche references I can for the lore goblins

[pascaloverx]

Rewrite The Stars

Chapter Five

Summary: One photo changes your whole life, when you accidentally bump into a celebrity and the world starts to believe that you are a couple.

chapter four chapter six

"I'll have the chocolate truffle pie with whipped cream." You respond to the waiter who is taking your dessert order.

"I'll have the same as her, but without the cream." Pedro responds by closing the menu and handing it to the waiter.

"I think we have to take pictures of each other. Most of of couples do this and I can set it as my cell phone wallpaper. " You comment while taking a sip of the wine Pedro ordered.

"Any pose for a photo you want to suggest?" Pedro asks, seeming to agree with your idea.

"Just look at me, like you think I'm one of the most beautiful women you've ever seen." You suggest taking your cell phone and watching from the corner of your eye, Pedro takes his cell phone out of his pocket.

"I truly think you are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen." He speaks subtly as if this sentence won't make an impact on you.

"That's what I call getting into character, Mr. Pascal." You say getting ready to take photos of your fake boyfriend. Unfortunately, you can't help but feel embarrassed because you think this is the level of flirting you're going to hear.

"Thanks for the compliment but it wasn't a character line. That was my honest opinion." And then you look at him, like someone who doesn't believe what he's saying but doesn't know how to react even if he be sincere. He then takes your photo while you look at him.

"The photo was supposed to be cute, now I'm going to look like a mess on your screen." You say, taking a careless photo of Pedro in return for him taking one of you.

"I see you're the vindictive type, should I be worried?" He asks softly, seeming to make fun of the situation. You look at him smiling, trying to show that you are satisfied with your action.

"If you don't get up to anything, you don't have to fear anything. In fact the photo turned out better than I thought." You say showing the result of the photo you took of Pedro. It was very natural beautiful. It almost looks like a real boyfriend with the handsome appearance.

"I would like you to explain in detail how you imagined this photo would turn out. Remember that's your boyfriend's face you're talking about." After hearing Pedro saying this, you immediately laugh. Before you react, the waiter brings the desserts. You and Pedro then begin to delicately eat your respective desserts.

"I used to ask the head chef here to make this dessert for me on my birthdays. In total I spent about four birthdays working here. It always seemed magical when I ate it this dessert. I guess I'll have to find another birthday tradition now." You say as you enjoy every piece of your chocolate pie.

"You seem to really like that pie. There's some cream in your mouth. Let me take it out." He says, passing his fingers under my lips and in reflex, I end up licking his fingers. I mean almost licking his fingers.

"I'm so sorry, that was reflexes being quicker than reasoning. I swear I didn't mean to..." You say, apologizing for the light lick. How embarrassing.

"Don't apologize. But it's interesting the types of reflexes you have. Hopefully this will give a sexier tone to our date." He says laughing at your face. He's barely started dating you and he no longer takes you seriously.

"I'm glad you're having fun. But after this I'm ready to go home. If you don't object." You don't know how to continue this dinner after what you did.

"Dear, if you want to go. We will. But there's no need to be embarrassed." Pedro kisses his cheek as he gets up to pull out your chair. He then surprises you by placing a light kiss on your neck just in time for a paparazzi to take a photo of the moment.

"How did you know the paparazzi was going to take this photo?" You ask quietly, avoiding that anyone except for Pedro could hear you.

"I didn't know. Now come on, I have to take you home." He speaks naturally, giving you a peck on your lips. Without any reaction, you spend a few seconds standing still, contemplating the man you are pretending to date. Your heart races as you realize that your fake boyfriend has unimaginable effects on you.

tag: @wanniiieeee , @hungrhay and @leilanixx

[boreal-sea]

If I were going to rewrite Midsommar...

I would want the audience to be horrified that this cult intentionally invited in a bunch of outsiders to murder them, and that they specifically manipulated and involved Dani in the murder of her friends.

Basically I would want everyone watching the movie to have a very bad time and not walk away thinking it was about #girlpower.

I would have Dani's family member (whoever, doesn't matter) commit suicide by falling off a bridge or something.

Christian wouldn't be thinking about breaking up with her; she might still be thinking he wants to, but it would entirely be trauma on her part.

Christian's friends shouldn't hate Dani either. We need to like these people.

Pelle should directly invite Dani on the trip, making her presence there intentional.

It should be more obvious this is a rare version of the festival that only happens every 90 years, I only know because I read the wiki afterwards.

Mark is pointless and simply shouldn't exist. We don't need the asshole friend trope, it's boring and annoying.

The fact that Christian is struggling with his thesis should be established more strongly than just a single throwaway line. He should mention it to Dani.

Christian and Josh should be, above all else, likeable.

The movie shouldn't overuse generic creepy music. It also shouldn't overuse dialogue. Let the scenes breathe. Silence is ok.

We need to get to know Simon and Connie better (the two guests brought by Ingemar).

Using the midnight sun as a way to immerse the characters in a "disordered world" is great, but the movie should really lean into the ways light changes throughout the day, even during the solstice; strong yellows and deep blues, a lot could be done.

On that note, make the movie weirder.

Cut the use of a disabled person as body horror. I don't know what you replace their seer with, but not a physically disabled person being put on screen just for shock value.

Because Dani's relative died by falling off a bridge or building, the attestupa is now much more traumatizing. Maybe Josh even tries to convince her not to go ahead of time because he knows someone will die.

The movie is already man vs man with the guests vs the cult, we do not need the guests to also be fighting each other over a thesis. Drop that plot line, or change it so that Christian deciding to study the Hårga doesn't compete with Josh's plan. This gives Christian an excuse to stay even though he just saw two people die. Again, this plays into keeping these guys likeable.

The disappearance of Simon was good; Connie being left alone could be extremely scary, if it's given time to develop and we get to see her fear grow before she also disappears.

On that note, Josh should not try to secretly photograph the book. He still totally dies, it's just in secret. The cult was already gonna kill him. They don't need a secondary reason to do it.

And on that note: the fact that the guests are disappearing should be the creepy part. First Simon - the villagers say he was driven back, but Connie swears he wouldn't have left her alone. Then Connie also disappears. Then Josh. I think we need more hints around the village that these people are still around, and haven't actually left. Subtle hints.

The wedge driven between Dani and Christian should be entirely caused by manipulation, not because the script suddenly turns Christian into a jerk.

Christian should in fact see that Pelle and cult are doing weird shit to Dani and try to convince her they're manipulating her, but fails. THAT can be the wedge, as the cultists comfort her. In fact, I'd like to see the cult do more to win Dani over. Maybe even more of Pelle talking about how Dani's relative killed themself, trying to link it back to the cult's traditions. Just trying to win her over even more than they did in the original film, and to turn her away from Christian. Maja wanting to sleep with Christian is also another way the movie could drive that wedge, even while making sure Christian is completely against it the whole time. Dani wouldn't see it that way because the cult won't let her.

The rest of the movie plays out roughly the same, we just care more about these people and it is now suspenseful to see them disappearing one by one.

Christian is still drugged and raped, just make it way more obvious he's really not doing it of his own free will. Put him on the bottom, or have them tie him up or something.

Dani still spies and thinks Christian is cheating on her.

Christian escapes from the women as usual, but in his fear he does not wander into a hen house with random, unexplained gore. Just cut that scene.

Dani is still the May Queen, and she still makes the same choice at the end of the film. Everything else can happen just the same.

We are now horrified that this cult intentionally invited in a bunch of outsiders to murder them, and that they specifically involved Dani in the murder of her friends.

[marlikesunicorns]

here's my list of show tunes from several musicals that vaguely relate to shuake/persona 5 no one asked for

from Percy Jackson:

Good kid (Akiren)

I never try to do anything

I never mean to hurt anyone

I try, I try to be a good kid

A good kid

A good son

But no one ever will take my side

All I ever do is take the fall

I swear, I swear that I'm a good kid

Guess I'm good for nothing at all

(...)

And all I need is one last chance

To prove I'm good enough for someone

I'm good enough for someone

Good Kid reprise (Akechi to Akiren)

I did everything they ever asked, yeah I did

And for what?

You know this world will never be ours

As long as our parents rule over the stars

So I'll do anything

I don't care if I hurt anyone

It doesn't pay to be a good kid

A good kid, a good son

Son of Poseidon (Akira while facing yaldy)

Seems my good intentions

Always crash and burn

Everything I try to do will fail

Never once will I prevail

Going wrong at every turn

My Grand Plan (Makoto)

Always been a smart girl

Always made the grade

Always got the gold star

I've always been a smart girl

But "smart girl" only gets a girl so far

You win at every single game

You want a quest they tell you tough

If you don't go you'll never know

If you'll ever be good enough

from Dear Evan Hansen:

Requiem (Haru about Akechi)

Why should I play this game of pretend?

Remembering through a secondhand sorrow

(...)

Cause when the villains fall, the kingdoms never weep

No one lights a candle to remember

No, no one mourns at all

When they lay them down to sleep

So, don't tell me that I didn't have it right

Don't tell me that it wasn't black and white

After all you put me through

Don't say it wasn't true

That you were not the monster

That I knew

Waving Through a Window (Mishima)

I've learned to slam on the brake

Before I even turn the key

Before I make the mistake

Before I lead with the worst of me

Give them no reason to stare

No slipping up if you slip away

So I got nothing to share

No, I got nothing to say

from Wicked:

What is This Feeling? (Akechi about Akiren)

What is this feeling, so sudden and new?

I felt the moment I laid eyes on you

My pulse is rushing, my head is reeling

My face is flushing

What is this feeling?

Fervid as a flame, does it have a name?

Yes

Loathing!

Unadulterated loathing

For your face, your voice, your clothing

(...)

There's a strange exhilaration

In such total detestation

It's so pure, so strong

from Hamilton:

Wait for it (Akechi about Akiren)

Death doesn't discriminate

Between the sinners and the saints

It takes, and it takes, and it takes

And we keep living anyway

We rise, and we fall, and we break, and we make our mistakes

And if there's a reason I'm still alive

When everyone who loves me has died

I'm willing to wait for it

(...)

Hamilton Kurusu doesn't hesitate

He exhibits no restraint

He takes, and he takes, and he takes

And he keeps winning anyway

He changes the game

He plays and he raises the stakes

And if there's a reason he seems to thrive when so few survive

Then, goddammit, I'm willing to wait for it

from Heathers:

Dead Girl Walking (reprise) (Akiren about Akechi)

I wish your mom had been a little stronger

I wish she had stayed a little longer

I wish your dad were good

I wish grown ups understood

I wish we had met before

They convinced you life is war!

I wish you'd come with me

I am Damaged (Akechi to Akiren)

I am damaged, far too damaged

But you're not beyond repair

Stick around here

Make things better

Cause you beat me fair and square

(...)

I'll trade my life for yours

And when I disappear

Clean up the mess down here

bonus

from The Greatest Showman:

Rewrite the Stars (au of misguided Akiren trying to convince Akechi to take Maruki's deal)

Akiren:

You claim it's not in the cards

And fate is pulling you miles away

And out of reach from me

But you're here in my heart

So who can stop me if I decide

That you’re my destiny?

What if we rewrite the stars?

Say you were made to be mine

Nothing could keep us apart

You'd be the one I was meant to find

It's up to you, and it's up to me

No one can say what we get to be

So why don't we rewrite the stars?

Maybe the world could be ours tonight

Akechi:

None can rewrite the stars

How can you say you’ll be mine?

Everything keeps us apart

And I'm not the one you were meant to find

(I'm not the one you were meant to find)

It's not up to you, it’s not up to me

[andrea-lyn]

ATLA recs post take 2 (electric boogaloo). Am I totally unsurprised I have enough for a third post at some point? Nope. ANYWAY, enjoy another round -- once again predominantly Zukka, though there’s some f/f in this round!

ATLA Recs #2

i wanna be still with you by tristanyvaine

Handwritten letters sent back and forth do not a love story make. Or. Maybe they do, in the case of a certain Fire Lord and Water Tribe warrior who happen to fall in love over sending letters to each other at least.

keeps me up late at night by midnights

Fifteen years since the war had ended, and still Zuko remembered every step of the way as if it were yesterday. More than anything, he remembered Sokka. He'd been in love with him then, and he still was.

ft. ambassador sokka, fancy parties, pining zuko, and two oblivious fools

the brightest you've ever been by panthalassas

Azula folds herself into the lotus position and empties her mind. Then Yue places her hands on either side of Azula's face, and her mind fills back up again. Or: Yue notices Azula is lonely. Turns out, Azula's ready to feel some emotions.

real love baby by verdanthoney

Five times Zuko and Sokka pretend they aren't in love, and one time they don't.

OR,

Sokka initiates a friends with benefits relationship between them, and Zuko keeps coming back for more.

Seasons in the Sun by burkesl17

Ambassador Sokka's first year in the Fire Nation, a story for each of its seasons. With thunder, assassins, blossoms, poison, politics, volcanoes and a baby dragon. Also falling in love.

Or: four parties, four assassination attempts.

Please Return if Found by CSHfic, VSfic

When Sokka sees a “lost pet” poster near his apartment for an actual, literal dragon, he thinks it’s a joke.

Right up until he finds the dragon sitting on his couch.

Nobility by hikuni

Book 3. Sokka/Zuko. Set after The Boiling Rock Pt. 2, Sokka and Zuko explore the Western Air Temple, where Sokka tries to get Zuko to talk about girls, marriage, and maybe even a future for the two of them.

Worship the Ashes by meregalaxiesandgods, patentpending

All Azula wants is for things to go back to the way they were – her father on the precipice of conquering the world, her own position secure at his right hand. Now, the only secure thing is her, trapped in a gilded cage in her brother's new Fire Nation. Lonely and adrift, Azula would do anything to make it end, until an unexpected connection rekindles a light she long-thought had burned to ashes. But falling for Suki isn't something Azula can let herself do, especially with the world as they know it threatening to crumble around them.

Or: Azula goes to therapy, has an identity crisis, stops actively trying to kill her brother, makes a few friends, and falls in love along the way.

No Quiet Life by JustGettingBy

Zuko's not sure when it started. It would be easy to say it started with Boiling Rock, or with the Western Air Temple. But whenever it started, his crush isn’t about to go away anytime soon.

*

“It’s not too late, ‘Lee’. We could steal a boat. Sail across the high seas until we hit the horizon. Spend the rest of our days living off the land.” He brandishes his arm as if to show Zuko the untapped potential of their future as wild hunters.

“No, Sokka.”

Sokka shrugs. “Well, it was worth a shot. When you’re up to your eyeballs in expense reports, don’t say I didn’t ask.”

Zuko’s mouth feels very dry. “I won’t.”

virtues uncounted by bloobeary

fire lord zuko visits the southern water tribe eight years after the war ends

based on that text post

Will We Last the Night by CSHfic, VSfic (My absolute fave of the canon rewrites for its wildly IC enemies-to-lovers feel)!

Chief Arnook never assigns Sokka to protect Princess Yue, so he goes to fight the Fire Nation with the other men. When the moon dies, and the ocean spirit takes its revenge, Sokka is caught standing on the deck of a Fire Nation ship. Sokka should have drowned… and he would have drowned, if not for a certain Fire Nation raft fleeing the North Pole.

[An enemies-to-lovers season 2 rewrite, where Sokka is separated from the gaang during the Siege of the North, and travels the Earth Kingdom with Zuko instead].

Ashes Inside When You Finish Your Song by Muncaster

Sokka writes lyrics for his sister’s band. Zuko plays piano and is unnecessarily nice. Fellas, is it gay to write love songs about your friend and his golden eyes?

(AKA, a modern band AU featuring The Gaang, crappy software equipment, homoerotic lyrics, and the realization that maybe, if you think about a guy every night before you sleep, you just might be in love with him.)

Relief Next to Me by wilteddaisy (taotu)

Sokka thinks Ozai’s beach house is pretty awesome. Slightly less awesome is the couch he has to sleep on, as is accidentally getting into Zuko’s bed. At first, that is.

[vinnymauro]

make me write: 5k edition

hey hi hello it's been a while! tbh i've been in a gif rot hell hole and while i still have a couple of sets i need to do (about 4 in total) i kind of have an itch to write. and since i can feel some of my life returning to normal i figured i'd start up one of these again!! yes. they're the same wips as they have been because ya boi (gn) here has not posted anything in a while. or finished anything. and i'm already thinking of rewriting the third part to tied me to you for the 2nd rewrite. sigh. help a friend out pls<3

acey’s poll breakdown

this poll is to determine which of my wips will be worked on for 1 week for a goal of 5k

in case of a tie, i’ll split 2.5k between both

the writing won’t start until sunday 12 am and will end the following sunday 12 am (est)

you may (and it’s highly encouraged!!) periodically message me for snippets of which won

you may reblog and random people may vote idc

if you’d like to do this, may i point you to the original poll post that i’m basing this off. but also feel free to do what you want bc, after all, this is for fun!!

the wips

another life

pairing: eddie munson x nancy wheeler prompt: things you said when we were on top of the world plot: musician!nancy wheeler & actor!eddie munson are getting a divorce! read all about it on page six. in an era of social media and high expectations, two people fell in love with versions of themselves they no longer know or recognize.

city lights

pairing: eddie munson x nancy wheeler prompt: things you said when you thought i was asleep plot: affectionately called bartender au where nancy is a bartender, currently lost and trying to find herself in the new city she’s been living in for the past year. eddie is a musician in this but not terribly successful, playing small clubs here and there. there’s a past. this one is the closest to being finished, not quite 5k left so if this wins, the rest of the count will go to 2nd place.

tied pt 3

pairing: steve harrington x chrissy cunningham prompt: things you said when you thought i was asleep (pt 4 will also be this one) plot: the third part is supposed to go to new years 1990/1991. i just need to figure some shit out so make me figure shit out faster.

before sunrise au

if this wins, i'm proof reading it and giving 5k automatically to the second place winner. it is a stargyle fic based on before sunrise that i wrote, finished, and abandoned because i did not feel like i wrote it well.

[abalonetea]

Can I ask a kind of thinky GHD-adjacent question that's sort of more form than substance? I remember the original, and how it was sort of this fusion of cute and nice with dark and horror because of the 2 versions and glitches and all. Since, since then, you seem to have put a lot of work into more darker-toned and more horror-themed pieces, does that have an impact on the direction you think the eventual GHD rewrite might end up taking? (This is the part where I am hinting you should TOTALLY ramble about changes and tone and themes if desired). Also, would one expect more "these things start small and become more noticeable as we go until OOPS maybe things aren't so nice," or a jarring back and forth between the light and dark parts? (I think either would be fun there tbh).

Yes, you can! I love questions like this! Also nonny, you've been here that long, that makes me super happy to hear <3 I'm glad to still have you in the area!

Okay, so! I have definately been writing a lot more horror and crime stories recently, and even a lot of fantasy and modern-day pieces with a darker tone to them. It's been a lot of fun! And I actually put GHD on the back burner for a long time, because I wasn't sure whether I wanted to twist the new draft to match those darker, more horror-esque vibes.

Like, it's been on a solid year long haitus because I couldn't figure out whether I wanted to keep the lighter tone or not! And I've actually recently come up with an answer: yes, and no.

When I first started writing for GHD, the story didn't have a cemented plot on Locke's side of the world! As such, the first draft was a hot mess, it was so hard to sort through, for real. But as I started to grow in my writing, and then read over GHD, and explore other themes, and return to GHD, I realized that I already had the skeleton of the story that it was meant to be.

GHD is not meant to be the same as, say, Sun Touched. Sun Touched is the break down of a singular character; an up close look at someone who was never meant to be in a war suddenly being in a war. It has a lot of heavier themes to it (side eyeing Isaac's cigarette problem here, and I don't mean smoking them) and a very specific tone. I thought about it and... That's not GHD!

GHD is a dichotomy, and it's a story of hope. And it's meant to stay that way.

BUT I'm finally at a point with my writing where I can handle the nuances of the story more.

In the first few drafts, I tip toed around Fara Falls (the glitched dystopian world) a lot, because I wasn't sure how hard into the dystopia I wanted to lean. In the current draft, that's going to be a huge focus. We're going to look at the world and see exactly how Bolte ended up the closed off person that he is by the time the story starts. But more importantly, we're going to use it as a warning.

Fara Falls has always had EXP hunters, famines, food hoarding, fight clubs, and gangs. But in the current draft, it's going to be highlighted even more. The glaring danger of the world, the heavy burden on Bolte's shoulders, as well as both Celeste and Captain's stories. Neither of them are happy.

But then we're going to bounce to Locke's story, and it's going to remain the cute, soft, hopeful world that we've always seen. Locke is the embodiment of Hope. His world is, for the moment, still mostly good. The candy is still sweet, the bees are still buzzing, and... Locke's story is still one of Hope, but here's the thing, nonny, here's the thing.

Bolte's world has already fallen. But it's in such a state because of something that's about to happen in Locke's world. That's the key feature the first draft missed! So while Locke's story starts out as a venture of health and hope and healing, we soon realize that the world isn't as happy as it used to be, that the Queen is acting different, that there's something wrong.

There's going to be a tonal shift at the middle of the story. A sudden departure from the slice-of-life style at the start, shifting closer to the action before a brewing war. And it's never going to be as dark as Fara Falls and Bolte's journey, but we're going to be able to see the places where things could go wrong, where if left unchecked... Well, maybe Bolte's world makes a lot more sense now.

So, it's a jarring back and forth, and then a slight creep towards... Maybe the back and forth isn't so jarring after all.

[goldlightwriting]

Ruination Reimagined

It’s been two years since Rise of the Sentinels, one of the most infamous story events in League of Legends history. Every aspect of the story has been broken down, dissected, analyzed and criticized, from its mishandling of iconic characters to the fundamental misunderstanding of its own premise.

Two years have passed, and the world has more-or-less moved on. We all know, understand, and accept that the event sucked, but it’s sadly too late to turn back. For better or for worse, Rise of the Sentinels has impacted the stories of both characters with significant ties to the Shadow Isles plotline as well as those who who were shoehorned into it for the sake of selling skins.

I’ve offered my own take on the story not just once, but twice before; the first was a rewrite of the visual novel’s script with more-or-less the same general restrictions that Riot had (ie one Sentinel/Ruined character per chapter, ten chapters split into 5 parts plus a prologue and epilogue, etc), while the second was an essay about how the story’s scope should have been greatly expanded to include far more characters and affected each region far more significantly... Because, you know, an undead apocalypse isn’t something that should should realistically begin and end in like a week with almost no impact.

Anyways, since that second rewrite, I’d more-or-less moved on. Every now and then I’ve taken the opportunity to dunk on RotS in a video, but never as much more than a gag or to make a point. However... For whatever reason, I’ve recently found myself thinking about the Shadow Isles lately. Maybe it’s because of some new cards added to LoR, maybe because of that Illaoi and Yorick story released a while back. I’m not really sure, but the more I think about it, the more I can’t help but feel like the Shadow Isles, as a whole, deserve a complete and total reboot. Not just a rewrite of Sentinels, but that the whole region and all characters connected to it could be executed so, much better.

I know it’s never going to happen, obviously. I know that many people will probably disagree with that take. That’s fine. Still, I wanna get my ideas out there, if for now other reason than to get them out of my head.

Below is a list of all the changes I would make to the story of the Shadow Isles and its core cast. Some characters I’ve kept more-or-less the same, while others I’ve almost completely re-imagined. Maybe you’ll like some of these changes better than the actual canon, maybe not. I’m not even sure how many will have the time or patience to read through all this, but whatever. Without any further ado, this is how I would reimagine the Ruination:

Fundamental Changes

-In this version, the Black Mist (otherwise known as Harrowed Mist) represents the evils of the human soul, while the Hallowed Mist represents its virtues.

-Those turned by the Black Mist are not technically undead, but rather warped into avatars of their own inner darkness.

-The monks of the Blessed Isles used a secret ritual to siphon the Black Mist (ie the literal evil in their souls) from the Isles’ criminals and sealed it inside a magical lantern, so that even their greatest sinners could find redemption and overcome their darkest urges.

-The Blessed Isles were hidden in the spirit realm, rather than being concealed by a mystical fog. However, they manifest in the physical realm during specific times; while such occurrences seem random, those who are able to learn and predict the pattern may land on the Blessed Isles before they vanish.

-The monks of the Blessed Isles were split into two main groups: the Sentinels of Light and the Order of Dusk. Both groups were devoted to spiritual study and enlightenment, but had different roles.

-The Vesani, a tribe of fox vastaya skilled in the art of manipulating emotions and memories, were crucial members of both groups.

-The Sentinels of Light defended the residents of the isles from those who threatened their way of life, primarily demonic entities. They wielded weapons capable of conjuring spirit light to combat their enemies.

-The Order of Dusk was responsible for purifying the souls of the wicked and laying the dead to rest. They were the keepers of many dangerous artifacts capable of tampering with the spirits of living things.

-Relicstone, originally called Lightstone/Soulstone, has the ability to channel the full power of one’s spirit, not just its virtues or vices. Those who wield it with righteous intent will manifest a golden light, while those who use its power for selfish means will cast a sickly green light.

-Thresh’s sickle and lantern are made from Lightstone.

-The Blade of the Ruined King, originally called The Blade of Kings, was a gift given to the Camavoran royal family long ago by visiting monks of the Blessed Isles. It is imbued with Lightstone, which was meant to serve as a means of testing a future monarch’s heart.

-The Waters of Life are no longer a thing. We literally already have a magical healing oasis in Shurima.

-The Ruination occurs when Viego is tricked into opening the lantern by Thresh. This, in turn, tears open the boundary between realms and causes the Shadow Isles to exist between the physical and spiritual worlds.

-When it becomes evident that their homeland is doomed, some Sentinels choose to flee the Isles with as many of their relics and teachings as they can hold.

-Thresh is the Warden of the Lantern, whose job is specifically to guard the lantern wherein centuries’ worth of evil is sealed. Unbeknownst to anyone, being in its presence for too long has corrupted him, allowing dark thoughts and sadistic tendencies to take hold of his mind.

-The lantern is enchanted so that it cannot be opened with malicious intent.

-Thresh initially just wants to set the evil of the lantern free, but when he sees that Viego has become a vessel for it, Thresh plots to take full control of the power for himself.

-Viego unleashed the Black Mist believing it could revive Isolde, but its corrupting magic could only resurrect Isolde’s inner darkness, creating the Maiden of the Mist.

-Isolde’s actual body remains in the Lantern Chamber.

-Viego is not trapped sleeping in his own sword, but rather was confined to the heart of the Isles by a handful of monks who resisted corruption just long enough to trap him there. He can command the Black Mist and those corrupted by it from afar, but cannot venture far from his confinement. However, the spell holding him periodically weakens, at which point he can expand the Black Mist’s domain, causing Harrowings.

-The Maiden rejects Viego and flees the Isles, returning to Camavor. There, she haunts the war-torn land, contributing to its eventual abandonment. Eventually, though, she comes across her old doll, Gwen, and the fondness for her creation stirs memories of love and joy in the Maiden’s heart. These feelings pass on to the doll, imbuing it with Hallowed Mist that would swell and eventually bring Gwen to life. However, the Maiden is unable to resist the pull of the Black Mist, and finds herself summoned back to the Shadow Isles.

-Gwen comes to life and makes it her mission to save her creator from Viego, no matter how long it may take.

-Realizing that the Maiden is but a perverse corruption of his love, and failing to see the irony, Viego casts her aside. She is eventually found and taken in by Yorick.

-In this version, Yorick’s body is altered by the Black Mist, but he is able to maintain his mind thanks to his discipline and training as a monk, even as others of his order have succumbed.

-Yorick continues to try and help lost souls find rest, though the process is slow and arduous as few willingly accept his aid.

-The remaining Sentinels of Light who fled the Isles devote themselves to opposing the Black Mist and one day purifying their ancient home. Their order slowly expands to every region as Harrowings become an increasingly large threat to the people of Runeterra, but to date, all attempts to storm the Isles and purify them have failed...

-The Reclaimer is a special Relicstone weapon deemed taboo by the Sentinels of Light. It was created by by the Brotherhood of Dusk in secret as a way to revive the dead by stealing a person’s life force and instilling it into the deceased. However, the Reclaimer can only be used so many times. This will be replacing the Absolver.

-The Reclaimer has been a closely-guarded secret of the Sentinels of Light since the Ruination. It has been moved from one hiding place to another across Runeterra. Its last known location was Shurima...

-Vladimir ventured to the Immortal Bastion during Mordekaiser’s reign to seek a means of reviving Isolde, only to be enslaved. Nevertheless, his twisted personality caught Mordekaiser’s attention, and so Vladimir was eventually allowed to start studying blood magic as one of the Iron Revenant’s acolytes. He would later ally with LeBlanc to send Mordekaiser back to the death realm and become a founding member of the Black Rose.

-Rather than seeking the Blessed Isles for him, Kalista is instead devoted to finding the one responsible for Viego’s attempted assassination. As head of the royal guard, she despises any traitors to the crown, and works with Hecarim to put down any and all rebellion. Even so, she harbors reservations about Viego’s ability to rule...

-Kalista accompanies Viego to the Blessed Isles to keep him from harm. However, when Viego escalates to violence against the monks, Kalista tries to dissuade him, insisting that his brother would never go to such extremes. In a sudden outburst, Viego counters that his brother was too soft for the throne, which was why he had the previous king assassinated. This revelation marks Viego as a traitor as well, prompting Kalista and several other soldiers to stand against him in defense of the Blessed Isles.

-Though the Sentinels of Light and the soldiers allying with Kalista fight hard, Viego’s remaining troops and artillery prove to be a match for them. Sensing an opportunity, Thresh tampers with the Sentinels’ defenses as Viego pushes further inland.

-Eventually, Thresh approaches Viego and offers to bring the mad king to the lantern chamber, in exchange for Viego sparing his life. This is, of course, a ploy to get someone else to open the lantern; Thresh believes that, because the mad king is ultimately driven by love and only wants to save his queen, such pure desire will be enough to bypass the lantern’s protection. This assumption proves correct.

-Kalista fights valiantly, but when the Ruination occurs, she is felled by a transformed Hecarim. As her life fades, she feels a burning resentment for Viego and all true betrayers; this hatred is amplified by the Black Mist, allowing Kalista to rise as the Spear of Vengeance.

-Kalista’s obsession with hunting betrayers overwhelms her mind and spirit. In time, she learns to harness the grudges of others as well, though doing so causes Kalista to slowly lose more and more of her own identity. Eventually, she starts roaming the Isles and even the lands beyond in pursuit of traitors, no longer even recalling the true cause for her hatred.

-Vex is no longer gloomy and depressed from the start, but is affected by the Black Mist due to staying on the Shadow Isles for too long; her shadow represents the cheerier personality she keeps locked deep inside of her.

-Karthus’s story remains more-or-less the same, but his obsession with death is changed to an obsession with viewing the darkest desires of humanity.

-Lucian and Senna maintain more-or-less the same backstory, but Senna won’t be revived until much, much later.

-Senna doesn’t have a fragment of Isolde in her this time. She joined the Sentinels because her home was attacked during a Harrowing.

-Akshan was once a young thief devoted to stealing from those who abuse their wealth and power and distributing his ill-gotten goods among the needy. He perished in an ambush set by one greedy aristocrat, but was found and saved by the Reclaimer’s previous keeper: Shadya.

-Shadya recruited Akshan into the Sentinels for his righteous heart. Their story plays out more-or-less the same, up until Akshan learns of the Reclaimer. Believing that such power shouldn’t be kept hidden away, he steals the Reclaimer and starts roaming Shurima, using its power to revive those he believes were wrong murdered.

-Devising a plan to take control of the Black Mist, Thresh manages to completely break the seal holding Viego captive. He informs the Ruined King of the Reclaimer, persuading Viego to trust him once more in the hopes that it will truly be able to revive Isolde’s corpse.

-Rise of the Sentinels becomes a race to find the Reclaimer, rather than a hunt for fetters.

-Lucian encounters Gwen on the Shadow Isles while hunting for Thresh. There, they encounter the Ruined King, who proves too strong for them.

-Lucian and Gwen are forced to retreat and seek out allies, but the Sentinels of Light have waned in numbers since Lucian went rogue. Thus, the two of them must travel around Runeterra seeking allies to stand with them against the Black Mist.

-Viego begins to spread his Black Mist across Runeterra with the help of Vex and her knowledge of Bandle Gates. He seeks the Reclaimer while occasionally corrupting the minds of Champions with excessive negative feelings he can exploit.

-Those recruited into the Sentinels of Light have Relicstone weapons made for them by the order’s Stonecarver, rather than just conveniently having their perfect weapons already made for them.

-The new Sentinels of Light include: Fiora, Quinn, Vayne, Poppy, Garen, Draven, Riven, Samira, Katarina(?), Braum, Olaf, Jayce, Vi, Seraphine, Ziggs, Irelia, Wukong, Shen, Yasuo, Ahri, Miss Fortune, Graves, Illaoi, Diana, Rengar, Sivir, and Akshan.

-Those Ruined by Viego include: Shyvana, Jarvan IV, Darius, Swain (demon goes feral), Ashe, Tryndamere, Viktor, Caitlyn, Akali, Yone (demon goes feral), Gangplank, Twisted Fate(?), Pantheon, Nidalee, and Shadya.

-After Viego is defeated in a duel by Gwen, Thresh steals the weakened king’s soul and seals it in his lantern. This allows him to take control of the Black Mist, and even revert to a more humanoid form if we MUST have Unbound Thresh be a thing.

-Vex goes into hiding after Viego’s defeat, with none knowing her whereabouts...

-Senna is ultimately revived using the last charge of the Reclaimer. If we must insist that she still has Mist powers, perhaps we can say that because her soul was being held captive in Thresh’s lantern, the Reclaimer is only able to bring a part of her back. Senna and Lucian can then dedicate their arc toward recovering the piece of her still bound by Thresh, and Senna struggles to keep her darkness from overwhelming her. This might make for more compelling relationship drama than what the original story gave us.

-Thresh becomes the new Lord of the Isles, with the intent to cover all of Runeterra in Black Mist. To do this, however, he needs to slowly but surely expand the Mist’s territory by adding yet more negative emotions to it. Thresh starts roaming Runeterra to extract as many souls as he can gather, adding their darkness to the Shadow Isles.

[vasilinaorlova]

From the Novel Inconsolable Narrative

Another excerpt from my endless novel that would probably not going to be completed--and an edit by an AI. The passage is written way before the full-blown Russian invasion of Ukraine; everything written should be reevaluated now in the light of this tectonic event. Obviously, today it is not possible to delve into minutiae of living a life as a Russian in America without feeling all sorts of feelings, such as shame, annoyance, exasperation, frustration, anger, and so on. I have a chapter on the time of the invasion, on the way the main character lived through its first months and years--thousands of miles away from the events. I am actually rewriting my whole novel in the light of these chains of events, and this is one of the reasons I believe I won't be able to finish my writing project. My entire line of writing ran into the ground with the Russian invasion, and that is the least of the losses that we can think about. I am afraid I won't ever recover my body of writings, and that is fine. Greater oeuvres collapsed into nonexistence with historic events.

The novel is about the main character who I wrote from myself, in a fictionalized manner, naturally--you could not write anything about yourself without it immediately becoming fiction. You could call it autofiction. I am offering you to read the excerpt first and then the edit of the AI that I asked to mimic Proustian style--for fun. I am not actually trying to rewrite my novel in a Proustian fashion, even if it were possible. But I thought the edit was hilarious.

Original: "We continued playing tennis. Tennis is a game that has a lot of sky in it. You throw a bright-yellow ball in the sky and then hit it—it is called 'the serve.' You high-five the ball above the net—it is called 'valley.' The tennis school had a moving schedule, and the lessons of beginners every time had a new coach. There were three or four coaches in total. All sturdily built and not tall, they were like perfect representation of a certain part of the American culture. One was a boy of 19 who attended college and majored in physics. The second was a tanned man in bright blue sunglasses. The third was a smiling girl who just arrived to Austin from Minneapolis three months ago. That we were Russians seemingly brought her untold joy because one of her friends was Russian. We politely expressed our pleasure upon hearing this. Russian friend was better than a Russian ex-husband. I will take the Russian friend any day of the week over other Russian-American mundane connections."

Proustian edit: "We continued, as we always did, to play tennis. A game so suffused with the vastness of sky, where each movement seemed an attempt to reach beyond the limits of the earth, where the very air seemed to throb with the weight of potential. The bright yellow ball—its hue so sharp against the heavens—rose, caught momentarily in the infinite blue, before being struck with a clean precision. It was called the "serve," but perhaps it could have been called a prayer, flung into the universe with an unspoken wish that it might return with equal grace.

And when it did return, our hands meeting it with the full force of our intention, high above the net, that glorious moment when we clapped the ball with an almost playful exuberance—ah, the "valley"—where the world for a fraction of a second shrank to the size of that perfect arc between sky and earth.

The tennis school had a fluidity to its schedule, a rhythm that fluctuated with the ebb and flow of beginners, always with a new coach appearing like some fresh page in a book that I was hesitant to turn. There were three or four of them, all sturdy, compact figures whose physicality—neither tall nor imposing—seemed a direct reflection of a certain American ideal. An ideal, perhaps, that balanced strength with restraint. One was a boy of nineteen, earnest, his youthful face already edged with the seriousness of physics, his mind wrapped in theories and equations as if they might somehow explain the infinite mysteries of the game. The second was a man, darkly tanned and wearing blue sunglasses that spoke of the sun’s lingering touch, as if his eyes, behind the darkened glass, were perpetually searching for something beyond the visible.

Then there was the girl, her smile wide, as though it had just emerged from a distant memory, unbidden but sincere. She had arrived three months ago from Minneapolis, and in the brief exchanges we shared, I could see how the presence of our Russianness—a fact so seemingly mundane to us—stirred something unspoken within her. She beamed at us as though we were the bearers of some secret joy, and with her words, delicate and measured, there was an aura of connection, of a bond that was not ours but could be. Perhaps, too, it was because of her own Russian friend—a relic of a past life she seemed eager to preserve.

We nodded in acknowledgment of her enthusiasm, though something in the way she spoke of this "Russian friend" felt like an offering, a delicate balance between the discomfort of past relationships and the promise of future ones. "A Russian friend," she had said with an almost wistful tone, the way people speak of things they’ve lost and yet still cherish, like an old, frayed letter tucked away in a drawer. I, too, was acquainted with such contradictions. A Russian friend, I thought, was indeed preferable to a Russian ex-husband. But these were the small negotiations that one makes in the foreign land of the present, where what we bring with us—our old world—is sometimes lighter, sometimes heavier, than we care to admit."

[inbarfink]

Okay, I guess maybe it's time for me to publish my Official Ralsei Analysis. Not a speculation about WHAT Ralsei is, more my read about who he is as a person, from what we have seen so far (I mean, what he is might still play a part of the analysis but it's not the focus).

The short version is, I don't think that Ralsei is like... some mustache-twirling villain putting on a totally-false facade. I think everything we have seen of personality so far is 100% genuine. He really is this sweet and fluffy and gentle and kind - and he really does care for Kris and Susie... But he is also being shady and hiding information from them. He just thinks he's doing it for their own good.

Like the way I see Ralsei now, he's a person who’s pretty aware of the dark secrets larking beneath the surface of “Deltarune”. He probably knows about the existence of the Player (probably suspected it from early on, and confirmed it when he got a chance to talk with Kris alone), and about how existentially terrifying the lives of Darkners really are, and about how the world is lacking in Agency and how the Prophecy is Inevitable and maybe even some other messed-up shit that we don’t know about yet. And he doesn't like any of these facts, they break his little soft heart but... he also doesn't think there's anything to be done about them. There's no way to defeat the Player, you can't rewrite the rules of the universe to change the relationship between Light and Dark, you can't resist the Prophecy.

So the best Ralsei can do about the fact that he lives in a really depressing universe to just try and... find the positive spin on it. Or often, just ignore it. YEAH, his new friend is actually mind-controlled by a terrifying time-god from another dimension but it's probably better if he doesn't worry about it too much. Pretend like it is just Kris in control. Always hope that their affection towards him are a result of their own free will. Make sure to always keep that Player satisfied and in-control and not anger them too much. Not worry too much about 'what if Kris is only hugging me because the Demon is making them do it?'. Because it's not like there's anything that could be done about it.

Same with the whole "Darkners exist for the sake of Lightners" thing. On some level Ralsei knows that this is kind of a screwed up existence - to live just to be the secondary player in someone else’s story, but resisting it is like trying to resist the laws of relativity. Best to just try and find the positive spin on it. Darkners are meant to be FRIENDS with Lightners! And what's so bad about being friends? Friends are the most wonderful thing in the world! So if your purpose is to be a friend that means that you're gonna have friends and than be happy and isn't that just wonderful? 

Ralsei's adventure is supposed to follow the Prophecy exactly, so does that mean that he - and everyone else involved in it - basically have no free will? Well... that's a depressing way to look at it. Choices must matter too! Even within the Prophecy, Choices MUST be important because... well... because they are! Because Ralsei believes that they are. Because Ralsei doesn't want to discard the Prophecy (his one chance of having friends, in his eyes) or think too hard about the Determinism of it all.

That’s why some of Ralsei’s actions and words seem weirdly philosophically contradictory. Why he always tries to get a chance to actually talk with the real Kris in private but also tries his best to stop Susie from finding out about it and advises Kris to Just Not Think About It Too Hard. Why he tries to advocate for “we have to do this thing because the Prophecy said so” and “choices are important so that’s why we should try and be nice”. Why he keeps insisting that Darkners exist to make Lightners happy, but also implicitly rejects the hierarchical view of his relationship with his Lightner friends.

There a huge discrapancy between Ralsei’s ideals and the truth he knows (or think he knows) about the world.

So when Ralsei tries to divert Susie from questioning too much about the Weirder aspects of the plot, or trying to make Kris just not-think-too-hard about stuff like Spamton - Ralsei thinks he's just being a good friend. Susie will be happier if she just didn't know about all that stuff Ralsei knows, Kris will be happier if they just stopped worrying so much about being possessed. Ignorance is Bliss, and Ralsei just wants his friends to be happy.

I think that's my big bet for why Kris doesn't like Ralsei all that much. Like, every time the Player leaves Kris to focus on Susie, Kris begs Ralsei to help them and Ralsei's just trying explain as sweetly and rationally as possible that there is nothing that can be done about the Player and maybe it's best to just treat them as another friend and look on the bright side of it all. Okay Kris? And Kris is just "GODDAMIT RALSEI DON'T YOU GET THAT THIS.... THING KEEPS MAKING ME GO ON AWKWARD HOSPITAL VISITS???".

That's probably why the Weird Route totally skips Kris and Ralsei's 'alone time'. If Ralsei heard about what the Player made Kris do then, he wouldn't be able to keep rationalizing his weird defeatist logic anymore.

Really, this is what I'm waiting for with Ralsei, that he wouldn't be able to hold up his little self-contradictory jenga tower of ideals. That eventually, he’ll have to stop trying to ignore the fact that dark, fucked-up things are happening behind the scenes, he’ll have to stop trying to pretend that he's just having a happy, light-hearted adventure with friends - eventually he'll have to realize that the only thing that will allow him to have this light-hearted fun adventure is that if he'll confront these things instead of trying to avoid them.

Because at some point Ralsei will have to face the fact he can't please the Player AND be Kris' friend. He's gonna get to a point where following the Prophecy is gonna clash with his sense of morality in some way. He's gonna have to face the fact that he exist for more than just for being a Friend and Guide for Susie and Kris (and the Player). That Darkners as a whole should exist for more than just to be Friends and Guides for Lightners.

I dunno if I'm just fixiated on Ralsei's relationship with the whole "Darkners exist for the purpose of making Lightners happy" idea just because it's a very screwed-up worldbuilding concept and I want to see how Deltarune defies it. Or if it's just because... the way Ralsei interacts with it is very intersting and kinda shows what I mean about his philosophy being kinda self-contradictory. Because on the one hand, Ralsei is the biggest advocate of the whole "Darkners' purpose is to help Lightners" idea. I mean, he's pretty much the only one who says it explicitly (Even if a few other Darkners implictly agree with him).

But my read of the whole “Purpose” situation (and I made a seperate post just about that a few days ago) is that this is basically what makes Darkners the “RPG Enemies\NPCs” on an in-universe level. While Monsters in Undertale had Lore that explained their “RPG Enemies” qualities like their power-level compared to a single Human\Player Character, why they disappear upon death and why they're so obsessed with puzzles. Darkners in Deltarune have in-universe Lore that explain why they have less ‘Narrative Importance’ than Lightners”. Due to their Purpose of helping Lightners and making them happy, they basically exist to be secondary players in the Lightners’ story. 

But Ralsei doesn’t like framing his relationship with his Lightner Friends in a hierarchical manner. Compare to Seam, who explicitly compared the Lightners to the Darkners’ gods. And King did the same comparison implicitly - Ralsei always tries to frame it as a “friendship” sort of deal. Plus, Ralsei always does what he can to try and push Kris\the Player to care about Darkners and to see them as people, to consider their lives and their happiness a precious thing. Compare to Queen, who is very devoted to the task of making all Lightners happy (in her twisted way) but does not seem to extend that same sort of care to her own Darkner subjects. (And I think the reason why she kept forgetting Ralsei was around was because he was a Darkner and therfore ‘irrelevant’ to her goals),

And from this “Darkners are basically in-universe NPCs” idea, Ralsei basically defies that whole idea by his very existence. I mean, if Darkners are indeed defined as “RPG Enemies\NPCs” in the Lore... Ralsei is a Darkner Player Character. He’s literally one of the Chosen Heroes of the Prophecy, he’s one of the Main Characters of the story AND he’s a Darkner. A lot of fans have noticed how, despite being one of the main trio, Ralsei often kinda... goes out of focus in the narrative. Sometimes it feels like he only exist to give Susie someone to comedically bounce off from, as a Healer to the playable party, and to deliver exposition. And I think this is because this is how Ralsei himself sees his own role, he’s there to help and guide Kris and Susie. That’s his Purpose. 

But despite all of it, he is STILL a Player Character in the gameplay and he's STILL a MAIN Character in the story. And for all of his talk about how the Darkners' purpose is to 'help' the Lightners... Susie (a Lightner) probably helped Ralsei just as much as he helped her - if not more. It's thanks to Susie that Ralsei had to confront the fact that his Pacifism is not the solution to everything and it's thanks to Susie that he gained a more nunaced understanding of friendship than just “be nice to everyone” and it's thanks to her he knows was sarcasm is. 

Despite sometimes kinda-being-in-the-background and rarely actively playing the role of the story’s hero... Ralsei has learned something new in both Chapters 1 and 2. Even if Dark Worlds are supposed to teach A Very Important Lesson for the Lightners who fall into them, those journeys end up giving Ralsei a chance to learn A Very Important Lesson of his own. He doesn’t exist just to support Susie and Kris’ story, he... exist for his own story as well. His real ‘Purpose’ to live and grow, just like it is for every person. He IS the hero of his own coming-of-age story just like Kris and Susie and Noelle and Berdly. Even if he doesn’t realize it yet. 

And if Ralsei can be a Darkner and have his own narrative agency - if he can exist for himself and not just for the Lightners... is there any reason why other Darkners couldn’t? I mean... Ralsei does seem to be a ‘unique breed’ of Darkner, but we’ve seen other Darkners like Lancer and Queen learn Important Lessons from their interactions with the Lightners and I think that as long as they are Sapient People everyone should be able to the hero of their own story - and I hope Ralsei will understand that idea as well. 

Because I think that the moment he realizes THAT, is the moment where his entire worldview will collapse on itself. Because maybe if the nature of Darkners isn't quite so set-in-stone... If they can grow beyond their ‘Purpose’, if they can find as much fulfilment in self-improvement as they do in serving others.... maybe all of these other horrible things that Ralsei knows about the world don’t have to be as inevitable as he always believed they are? Maybe he can ACTUALLY have the happy adventure that he wants rather than shutting his eyes and pretending?

But first, he’ll have to actually realize that.

[waitimcomingtoo]

Would You Rather?

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Synopsis: Tom mentions his crush on you during an interview and you respond

Authors note: this was requested by anon who gave a generous donation to the BLM fund. Thank you!

Masterlist

“Would you rather fight a horse sized duck or a duck sized horse?” Tom read off a card as he adjusted the collar on his blue jumpsuit.

“I don’t know what situation I’d be in where I’d have to fight either of these animals.” He started as he looked at the camera. “I feel like I’d rather fight duck sized horse because that’s pretty small. I could probably defeat that. But a horse sized duck could bite me, you know?”

The crew nodded in agreement and Tom moved on to the next question.

“Would you rather lose the ability to read or the ability to speak?” Tom scratched behind his head as he thought about it.

“I barely have the ability to read as it is.” He laughed. “I’m an actor, so I feel like I need the ability to speak.”

He dropped that card on the couch and picked up the next one.

“Would you rather have Captain Marvel or Black Cat as your girlfriend?” He smiled as he read.

“I don’t know if they mean as my girlfriend or as Spider-Man’s girlfriend but I without a doubt would pick Black Cat.” Tom said confidently. “I was so upset when they cast Y/n L/n as the Black Cat and didn’t connect her movie to the Spider-Man universe.”

“Why were you upset?” A crew member asked.

“Because I’m in love with Y/n.” Tom laughed like it was obvious. “I must’ve seen every movie of hers 100 times. Especially the Black Cat suit because she looked so freaking hot in that.”

“She really did.” A female lighting director nodded in agreement.

“Right? If Black Cat was Spider-Man’s girlfriend and Y/n was my girlfriend I’d be a very happy man.” Tom sighed dreamily and toyed with the card as he day dreamed about you.

That video went up a few days later and made the usual headlines. You were well aware of Tom as an actor but completely unaware of his crush on you. Your heart stopped that first time you saw the headline:

“Watch Tom Holland gush over his celebrity crush, Y/n L/n.”

And yes, you did watch.

You watched many times in fact. The part where he said he was in love with you was your personal favorite. After getting sent the video by all your friends and fans, you decided to do something about it.

“@tomholland1996 you look pretty hot in your suit as well. And out of the suit. And in regular clothes. Damn dude, you’re pretty hot.”

You posted the tweet with a devious smile and shut your phone off. Whatever the world had to say about it, they could wait until the next morning.

~

You were woken up early the next morning by your phone ringing. You wiped the sleep from your eyes but kept them shut as you held your phone to your ear.

“Hello?” You said groggily.

“Y/n? It’s your manager. I have some exciting news.” Your manager sounded giddy on the other side of the line.

“So exciting that you had to wake me up?” You laughed sleepily.

“I don’t know.” She humored you. “Do you think the Russo Brothers emailing me and asking you to come to set is exciting?”

You sat up quickly as your eyes flew open.

“What?” You shrieked in excitement.

“They said they’ve been rewriting the script for Infinity War for the past few weeks and it’s finally finished. They added a scene with the Black Cat.” She said in a sing song voice. Your breath hitched in your throat as the news flooded into your ears.

“You’re kidding.” You gasped.

“Nope. Can you drive down to set at 1? I sent you the address.” She told you.

“I’ll be there.” You nodded as a wide smile spread across your face. Your manager hung up and you threw down your phone.

“AHHHH.” You screamed in excitement and immediately got dressed. It was finally happening.

You were finally going to be in the MCU.

~

You arrived at the address promptly before 1 and were led to set by an assistant. The Russo Brothers met you by the trailers and introduced themselves.

“Great to meet you.” Joe shook your hand, then Anthony. “How much did your manager tell you?”

“Just that you added a scene with the Black Cat.” You nodded as you relayed all the information you had.

“Right. We decided to add the Black Cat to the MCU now that her character has been established in your solo movie.” Anthony explained. “We had to keep it a secret until now to keep it from getting leaked. We have big plans for your character, starting with this movie.”

You smiled gratefully at the two of them and nodded enthusiastically.

“Thank you so much for the opportunity. I’m so honored to be here. What are the plans?” You asked as you twisted your fingers nervously.

“For starters, meet your new boyfriend.” Joe chuckled and turned around and pointed.

“Boyfriend?” You asked and followed his finger.

“Tom, get over here.” He called. Your eyes widened when you realized what name he called and you looked up to see Tom jogging over to you.

“What’s up guys?” He looked at the Russo bothers before his eyes landed on you. His smile faded and he blinked a few times to register the sight in front of him.

“Hi.” His face flushed and he smiled shyly at you.

“Hi.” You smiled back, still not believing what was happening.

“I’m- I’m Tom.” He fumbled over his words as he held out his hand.

“I know.” You laughed softly as you shook his hand.

“Right, sorry.” He shook his head in embarrassment. “Whats uh, what’s she doing here?”

“Change of plans.” Anthony smirked as he handed you and Tom a few pages of the script.

“You’re giving me a script?” Tom asked in disbelief as he ran his fingers over the crisp white pages.

“Yes. Don’t make us regret it.” Joe said sternly.

“Yes sir.” Tom nodded eagerly and began to flip through it.

“Peter is going to get thrown by one of Thanos’s men and Black Cat is going to catch him.” Anthony began to explain. “She saw the spaceship, came to help, and winds up in space with Tony, Steven, and Peter.”

“That’s awesome.” Tom breathed. “This looks really cool.”

You were so wrapped up in the excitement of holding a real Marvel script that you had forgotten the brothers original statement.

“Hold on. You said he was my boyfriend.” You looked at Joe and Anthony skeptically.

“Boyfriend?” Tom perked up from his script and looked between the three of you. “Me boyfriend? To her? Please say yes. I’m fine either way it’s just, I would really like you to say yes right now.

“Yes Tom.” Joe laughed. “Right as they’re falling in love, poof.”

“Dust.” Anthony finished. You and Tom shared a look, evidently impressed.

“That’s brutal.” You remarked.

“It is.” Joe agreed. “Until they’re reunited in Endgame in a similar fashion to the way they met.”

“And the crowd goes wild.” Anthony said slowly. You got chills just thinking about it and smiled as you rubbed your arms.

“I like it.” You nodded and Tom bit back a smile.

“Me too.” He said softly. “I like it a lot.”

“Great.” Anthony rubbed his hands together. “Rehearsal starts tomorrow.”

The brothers walked away, leaving you and Tom alone with each other.

“They don’t play around over here. I just got cast and already I’m on set.” You chuckled and shyly looked at Tom. He was so much cuter in person, the camera didn’t do justice to his freckles. Tom nodded and gave you a half smile.

“Yeah, they’re pretty unorthodox over here. I’d tell you you’d get used to it, but I’d be lying.” Tom shook his head and gave you a once over. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“I can’t believe you told the world I looked hot in my catsuit but never dmed me to ask for my number.” You shrugged easily and Toms jaw dropped at your boldness.

“In my defense, you are way too cool to be interested in me. At least I knew my place.” He shot back and you laughed.

“Didn’t you see my tweet last night?” You asked coyly as you raised an eyebrow.

“What tweet? The one about you calling me hot? The one that I sent to every single contact in my phone, including my dentist?” He asked with furrowed eyebrows. “No, I don’t think I saw it.”

“Funny.” You folded your arms and gave him a sultry smile. “I never checked if you responded.”

“I’d rather if you didn’t. It wasn’t very smooth.” He admitted.

“Hey, Tom?”

“Yes?” He looked at you.

“Would you rather continue talking in the middle of a crowded set or go somewhere secluded to run our lines?” You made a callback to his interview that started it all and he noticed.

“Run lines please. I need to quit while I’m ahead.” He eyed you with uncertainty as he thought about his words. “I was ahead, right?”

“Yeah.” You smirked and linked your arm through his. “You were ahead.”

~

“Kid, what are you doing here?” Tony asked as he craned his neck to see Peter.

“On a field trip to MOMAAAAAA.” Peter yelled as he was flung into the sky. He flew through the air like a rag doll until he landed in your arms. You breathed heavily, you in your masks and suits.

“Hey there.” You smirked at Peter as you held him bridal style.

“Hi, I’m Peter. You’re really pretty.” He said through heavy pants. “Can you pretend I didn’t just say that?”

“Hi Peter.” Your wine colored lips tugged into a smile. “Should you really be telling me your name? I could be dangerous.” You pouted as you set him down.

“Oh, right.” Peter got back on his feet and brushed off his suit. “In that case, I’m not Peter. I’m…Pedro.”

“Mm, Pedro. I like it.” You winked and saw one of Thanos’s minions coming at him from behind. “Watch out.”

You spun around and kicked the minion in the face before hooking your legs around his neck and knocking him to the ground. One swift punch to the throat knocked him unconscious. You stood up and waltzed back over to Peter as you dusted off your hands.

“Woah, where’d you learn to do that?” The eyes of Peters mask widened as you impressed him with your skills.

“A woman’s got to protect herself, right?” You shrugged and popped gum in your mouth before eyeing him up and down. “And apparently, I have to protect you too.”

“I’m totally fine with that.” Peter answered honestly. “Do you have a name?”

You wrapped your arms around Peters neck and blew a bubble with your gum.

“Black Cat.” You said once it popped. The sent of bubble gum filled Peters nostrils and his knees weakened.

“That explains the catsuit.” He gulped. “What, no tail?”

“Tails are so cliche.” You whined and stroked his covered cheek with your hand. “I’m a cat burglar, not a halloween costume.”

“If this is how you go out on a normal day, I’d love to see what you wear in Halloween.” Peter attempted time flirt back with the mysterious woman distracting him from his mission. You leaned forward, close enough that your lips were almost touching.

“I bet you would.” You whispered. You patted his cheek and turned away swiftly, whipping his face with your long gray ponytail. Peter let out a throaty groan as the scent of your perfume enveloped him. You walked around him in a circle, dragging your fingernail along his shoulders as you went.

“Since you know my name is Peter, it’s only fair you tell me yours.” He said as he turned his head to look at you. You paused, standing directly behind him.

“You really wanna know my name?” You challenged.

“That’s what I just said.” Peter sassed you. You smirked and took a step towards Peter so you were pressed against his back, gripping his waist tightly.

“Hardy.” You said right in his ear and he shivered. “Felicia Hardy. I’ve seen you around, Spiderman. You’re pretty good.”

You finished your circle and stood in front of him now. He was grateful for his mask, otherwise you could see just how red he had gone. His heart was racing out of his chest just from the look of you. The white fur cuffs and skintight black suit were making it impossible for him to focus.

“Just pretty good?” He questioned. “I’ve taken down a lot of bad guys.”

“Mm, but never me.” You taunted as you twirled your gray hair around your finger, wanting to get a rise out of you.

“You’re a bad guy?”

“Depends on your definition of bad guy.” You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth and let your teeth drag. “Do you think I’m bad?”

“Depends on your definition of bad.” Peter straightened up.

“This has been fun.” You smirked and tossed your ponytail over your shoulder. Nice talking to you, Peter.”

“You too.” Peter smiled under his mask until a Boulder was flung your way. “Look out!”

Peter shot a web at you and pulled you flushed against his chest. He pulled you to the ground and rolled on top of you as the boulder went over your heads. It was your turn to be blushing as you stared at Peter in amazement.

“How did you-“

“Spidey senses.” He answered before you could finish your question. He could feel his body beginning to lift into the air with you following. “Oh no.”

“What’s happening?” You asked as you and Peter lifted into the air. You clutched him tightly to keep from falling and Peter held on to you for support.

“Mr Stark!” He yelled. “I’m being beamed up!”

“And cut!” Anthony yelled. The wires holding you and Tom up slowly lowered you back down until you were back on the ground. Tom rolled off of you and fell on his back, breathing heavily from the scene. He pulled his mask off and rested it on his tummy.

“Whew.” He panted and looked at you with a tired smile. “Great work.”

You smiled back at Tom, still flushing from the flirty scene. You had done that scene many times from rehearsal all the way to production, but never that well. Your heart usually stopped racing by now, but something about the way he was looking at you kept it in rhythm.

“You too.” You complimented him as you sat up. You helped each other up and pulled each other into a sweaty hug.

“That’s a wrap guys. Great work today.” Joe announced. “Before you leave, I have the official version of the script. This is what we’re going to be filming tomorrow. We couldn’t give it to you until now in case someone spoiled it.”

Joe glared at Tom as he handed out the final scripts.

“I hate it here.” Tom mumbled as his ability to keep secrets was once again under fire.

“Great, thank you.” You smiled at Joe before he walked away. Tom came over to you, hitting his rolled up script against his hand.

“Do you want to go over our lines for tomorrow?” Tom asked.

“Sure. I’ll meet you there after I drop off my costume.” You told him.

Twenty minutes later, your wig and costume were returned to the costume department. You wiped off your makeup and changed into comfortable clothes before heading to Tom’s. You let out a shaky breath as you walked towards his trailer. You’d been in there a hundred times since production began a few months ago, but today felt different. There was something in the air between you and Tom that neither of you could ignore. You knocked on his door and heard your heartbeat in your ears as you waited for him to open. Tom gave you a shy smile as he opened the door of his trailer door for you and stepped aside.

“Sorry, it’s a little messy.” He apologized as he shut the door behind him. You looked around at Toms trailer, noting the clothes hanging off the ceiling fan and the pictures of the two of you taped to his mirror. You walked over to the mirror and touched the picture with a light smile. It was a strip of picture taken in a photo booth a few weeks into production. The photos went from you and Tom smiling, to laughing, to you kissing his cheek, to him kissing your cheek as you laughed. You had spent your only day off together, hanging out a a fair until the sun was coming up. After getting stuck at the top of the Ferris wheel for 15 minutes and clinging to Tom every time it shook, you ran to the photo booth to immortalize the night. You had the exact same strip of photos on your dresser at home, but you never noticed that he displayed them so proudly.

“It’s very you in here.” You looked at him over your shoulder and shot him a smile.

“Thanks?” He bit his lip in confusion.

“Don’t worry. It was a compliment.” You said pointedly and walked back towards him. “Should we look at the script?” You suggested and he nodded.

“Yeah. Here, take a seat.” He sat on his bed and patted the spot next to you. You sat next to him and folded your legs, beginning to flip through the script.

“This looks the same as the last script.” You realized when you recognized the words. Tom flipped through his script and came to a halt when he read something unexpected.

“It’s not.” He said with a dry mouth.

“What’s different?” You looked up at him in confusion.

“There’s a kiss.” He looked you to and saw your face go pale.

“A kiss?” You stammered and went back to your script to find what he was talking about.

“Right here.” Peter held out his script and pointed to the part. “Felicia kisses Peter before she turns to dust.” He read.

“So this is what they didn’t want you spoiling.” You laughed nervously as you read the stage direction over and over.

“They might’ve made a good call on that one.” Tom chuckled softly. “I’m really tempted right now to post a picture of the script on twitter just to rub it in everyone’s face.”

You looked up from the script and gave him a fond smile.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” You said softly.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized. “It’s not everyday you get cast opposite your celebrity crush.”

“How do you think I felt when I got cast as your girlfriend?” You pulled your knees to your chest and rested your chin on top.

“You...liked me?” Tom asked quietly. He didn’t let himself believe it, not wanting to get his hopes up.

“For a long time now.” You admitted. Production was about to end anyway. If he didn’t feel the same, there was nothing you could do about it, but at least he knew.

Tom blinked a few times as he registered what you said and smiled widely.

“I’m really glad I got to know you these past few months. You’re a lot cooler in person.” Tom said sincerely. “Honestly, I have no idea how I’m supposed to act beside you tomorrow knowing I have to kiss you.”

“Tom.” You said breathlessly at his words.

“I’m already a nervous wreck. My mind is in sicko mode right now. I can’t even read.” He put his script down and sighed.

“I think I might be able to calm you down.”

“How?” He wondered. He looked up at you for answers, but was met with a kiss. You tilted your head to the side and pressed your lips against his feeling his eyelashes brush your cheek as his eyes fluttered shut. Tom brought his hand to the side of your face for support and gently rubbed his thumb against your cheek. You smiled against his lips and sat up a little to get a better angle and kissed him deeply. You pulled away to catch your breath and rested your forehead against his. The only sound in the trailer was from your heavy breathing.

“You’re really smart.” He said quietly. “I feel significantly calmer.”

“I’m happy to hear that.” You chuckled softly. Tom pulled away and took on of your hands in his, rubbing gentle circles on the back of it.

“I have a question for you.” He said.

“Go for it.” You bit your bottom lip as you both spoke in hushed tones.

“Would you rather,” he began with a coy smile, “kiss me again or go on a date with me?”

“I can’t have both?” You pouted and a wicked flame ignited in Toms eyes. He hooked his pinky under your chin and moved your face towards his, leaning close enough that his lips brushed yours when he spoke.

“I think I can make an exception.” He whispered before kissing you again.

Tag List 🏷

@maybemona @foreverxholland @damnyoudameron @lavender-writer @captainmandeestudent17 @whatareyouhidingpeter @takenbyheartstrings @ultrunning @imyourliquor-youremypoison @theolwebshooter @andreasworlsboring101 @guksmyfav​ @waiting-to-be-myself @letsloveimagines @peterparkoure​ @a-villain-vying-for-attention @justcallmehitgirl @averyfosterthoughts​ @jackiehollanderr​ @tiny-friggin-human @celestial-skylines @mara-twins​ @iamaunicorn4704​ @spideygirl2003 @the-crazy-fanfictionist @maryjanee23​ @spacebitch2​ @geeksareunique @emmamarshmellow @jillanaholland​ @rebekkah4766 @flixndchill @sovereignparker​ @wendaiii​ @thisisthebiplace​ @spideydobrik @every-marveler-ever @undiadeestos​ @caelestii-e​ @eridanuswave @itscaminow @fiantomartell @solarxmoonchild​ @where-art-thau-romeo @canyouevencauseicant @illwritetomorrow @thehappygrungelife @saysomethingspiderman​ @parkerboop @smilexcaptainx @hes-amarillo​ @quaksonhehe​ @kelieah @silteplaittais-toi @kickingn-ames @purefluff @seasidecrowbar @lovelessdagger​ @love-sick-blues @electraheart-3174 @lou-la-lou @unbelievableholland​ @yourtypicalhotmess @ohnothezombies @spideyanakin

[justalost4girl]

THE MULTIVERSE SAGA

"We are not reduced to a single single universe, but our findings imply a significant reduction of the multiverse, to a much smaller range of possible universes."

— Stephen Hawking

"When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams can come true"

— Popular Belief

~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°

"I could do this better" is perhaps the most spoken phrase by the girl with bright dreams. She says it once more after turning off the TV, frustrated by the choices made by the directors of the last show she watched. The internet and the press are abuzz with news: the largest meteor in recent years will be visible almost everywhere tonight, on the night of a total eclipse. Notifications about this light up her phone screen incessantly. She gazes at the wallpaper of her favorite character and gives a sad smile. If she could rewrite it all, she would. Her brain reminds her it's all fiction, and cruel phrases like "you should focus on real problems" and "you're pathetic for caring about them" echo, bringing tears to her eyes. But to her, they are real. Everything can feel so overwhelming at times, and just reading something related to them can make her day better. Seeing them in pictures fills her heart with hope. How can it not be real if she feels it so deeply? She closes her eyes on the bed and makes a wish. A wish to change the endings, to bring justice to the worlds she loves, to rewrite the stories that deserve a better conclusion. Tonight, under the light of a meteor and the shadow of an eclipse, something magical might just happen.

The Multiverse is real, but YOU doesn't know it yet.

.

AVENGERS

COVEN (AHS)

ARCANE

GAME OF THRONES

ROGUE ONE

(Also access MASTERLIST for other works)

[sokkastyles]

“Tell Me What Happened:” Zutara and the Female Gaze

I’ve seen some discourse about the male and female gaze, and I think some people misunderstand what these terms actually mean. So let’s go back a bit to the origins.

The term “the male gaze” was popularized by feminist film critic Laura Mulvey. In her essay, “Visual Pleasure in Narrative Cinema,” Mulvey uses the Hitchcock film Rear Window, which is a story that is entirely framed around the voyeurism of the main male character. There’s a point in the movie where the protagonist’s girlfriend, who had previously doubted the events the protagonist claimed to view out of his apartment window, which make up most of the action of the story, finally comes around to his way of seeing things, and delivers the very effective and famous line “Tell me exactly what you saw, and what you think it means.”

Most of the time when people talk about the male gaze, they refer to female characters being displayed as objects for an assumed male viewer. Mulvey argues that the way the character Lisa is portrayed in this movie does subject her to this voyeuristic interpretation, but it goes deeper than that. When Lisa is not the object being viewed, she is asked to see things through the perspective of the main male character. She originally doubts him, but eventually she is forced to view things from his perspective. Later in the movie, she becomes subject to the protagonist’s gaze as we see her on the other side of the binoculars. Her boyfriend, the character through which the movie establishes its viewpoint, watches her be threatened by another man and eventually she is saved.

The movie both invites the assumed male viewer to view Lisa as an object AND asks her, as the movie’s female protagonist, to view things through the lens of the male protagonist.

And that’s what most of the critiques I see of Katara and Aang’s relationship are about. Take “The Fortune Teller,” for example.

Many people have already talked about how "The Fortuneteller" treats Aang's crush on Katara vs Meng's crush on Aang, but I would like to point out what I think is a particularly egregious example of the male gaze in this episode.

This is Aang looking at Katara. We get the pan over her body with emphasis on how attractive Aang finds her to be. The lighting makes her look practically angelic.

Then, later in the episode, when we see Meng crush on Aang, we get a similar pan.

The joke is meant to contrast Katara's desirability with Aang's, yet we are supposed to root for Aang as he worries that Katara does not return his feelings.

The show is also making fun of Aang's crush on Katara by showing Aang's exaggerated perspective, but she still remains desirable in his view and to the camera. There is no undercutting of Aang's view of Katara the way the camera subverts Meng’s view of Aang. We are not asked to see Aang as desirable from a female perspective, which begs the question of what Katara should see in him if female desire is so, well...undesirable.

This is one of several places where the show is self aware enough to poke fun at the way Aang sees Katara, but still in the end totally validates him and the male gaze by only subverting it when the genders are flipped. Which isn't actually a subversion at all.

This is an example of the camera framing a female character as object of the male gaze, but it goes deeper than that. The male gaze isn’t just framing women as objects to be looked at, but inviting women to view themselves through the filter of the male gaze as well.

And therein, I would argue, is the appeal of zutara.

You could make a case that one of the reasons zutara is so popular is because the show does occasionally present Zuko as an object for the gaze of a female audience. The creators were aware at a certain point that there was a not insignificant portion of the fandom that was into Zuko.

But Zuko is never framed as an object of desirability for Katara.

What the show does do, though, is switch up the lens through which we are supposed to view the narrative. And the way this happens is directly tied to Katara’s relationship with Zuko.

Katara is, in a lot of ways, our narrator from the beginning. Her words are the first ones heard from episode one, telling us about the world and the war and the Avatar. Her narration is focused on Aang and his story. “I believe that Aang can save the world.”

Katara also has her own story, though, one she talks about throughout the series but mostly in relation to others. And it’s this story that she confronts Zuko with in the crystal caves, when she tells him that he has “no idea” what she has suffered, and she tells him about the death of her mother.

Zuko does something she doesn’t expect by apologizing and relating it to the loss of his own mother, but he still can’t fully commit to her side and ends up betraying their tentative truce. It’s when she confronts him with it again in “The Southern Raiders” that things start to shift.

Before that, Katara had used the death of her mother to empathize with other’s loss, and many times this is a male character. We’ve heard the story told many times. Sokka tells it to Toph to explain Katara to her.

When Zuko seeks out Sokka in “The Southern Raiders,” though, it is the first time that another character has asked to hear the story.

Zuko: I want you to tell me what happened to your mother.

Sokka tells Zuko the story and tells Zuko that it’s not something he likes to think about. This relates to how Katara and Sokka differently view what happened to their mother, and partially contributes to why Katara told Sokka that maybe he didn’t love her enough. For Sokka, the day of his mother’s murder is not something he wants to relive, but Katara is constantly forced to relive it.

“The Southern Raiders” contains three full flashbacks to Kya’s murder. First from Sokka’s viewpoint, then Katara herself as she is telling the story to Zuko. The last time we see the story play out, it is as Katara is standing in front of Yon Rha and confronting him with it, while Zuko looks on passively.

Here, the dynamic has shifted so that Katara is not only the one telling the story, but in the end she is also the one who gets to rewrite it, to define how it ends, and Zuko is the observer, much like Lisa in “Rear Window.” Tell me what you saw and what you think it means.

Zuko knows the importance of letting Katara give shape and meaning to this story because he himself tried to do the same with Ozai, who is the only one left to speak about what happened to Ursa.

Ozai: Don’t you want to know what happened to your mother?

That both of these narratives involve women being silenced emphasizes the reclamation of them as the shifting from a male gaze to a female one. That Zuko’s redemption is tied to such a shift is very interesting, especially given the elemental symbolism of fire = male and water = female. That “The Southern Raiders,” one of the most shippy episodes, involves Katara ignoring Aang’s attempts to define the situation and, in the episode’s climax, forcing two male characters to observe as she describes what happened to her mother, a woman she is so connected with, is significant. Katara directs both the gazes of Zuko and Yon Rha, and by extension the audience, just as she effortlessly directs the rain itself. The last time we see the memory retold it is Katara revealing the truth to Yon Rha, who thought he had killed the last waterbender. The fact that this episode was penned by a woman also emphasizes the power of reclaiming narratives with a female gaze.

[dadsbongos]

You'll Dig a Grave with Me

Movie/Game/Show: My Hero Academia Dynamic: Dabi/Reader Warnings: cemetery/grave desecration (like digging-up-a-coffin-and-opening-it bad), violence/murder/gore, corpses/corpse-handling, smoking(?) idk it’s kinda small potatoes compared to what i just mentioned Summary: Maybe you need a new boyfriend. One who doesn't make you help him bury dead bodies. Word Count: 1.2K ~~~

“Get in the fucking car.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Look at this face,” Dabi only stops to turn and briefly gesture to his scarred features, “Do these look like smilin’ muscles?”

you relent, as you usually do, and grumble all the way to your shoes and throughout the process of pulling on said shoes, “Get me up at two in the morning and doesn’t even tell me where we’re going - sounds like Touya.”

“Dabi.”

“Dickhead. They’re all the same.”

“You’re funny,” Dabi rolls his eyes as he holds the door open for you, “you ever think about becoming a comedian?”

“Yeah, actually,” shaking your head, you climb into the driver’s seat, “When I’m not being a chauffeur, I’ll totally go out and tell a shitload of jokes about how my boyfriend’s a nationally wanted villain. It’ll be great.”

“I get it, you’re sarcastic. Go to the cemetery down the road from here.”

“Jesus, man, who’d you kill?”

Silence settled in the car, neither party caring enough to clarify whether that was a joke or not. Because with Dabi - it didn’t matter. If he wasn’t joking, it wasn’t anyone's business. Unless anyone was you. Then you were part of the clean up crew.

“That lot?”

Dabi nods and goes to the back of the car to pull out a duffel bag and the shovels buried at the bottom. He follows after you as you approach the body he’d haphazardly left at the end of a row of graves. He should know better than to get sloppy, but knowing Dabi was knowing that he enjoyed the thought of police already swarming the lot when they arrived. He liked the thrill. He liked the opportunity to serve his flames a kindling.

Handing over a shovel, Dabi nods at the lot, “When we hit the coffin, we pry it open and toss this fucker in.”

“It’s new, will anyone visit?”

“Past visiting hours.”

“You, of all people, should know that some people don’t listen to laws.”

“If anyone comes, I’ll kill them, there? Happy?” Dabi shakes his head, lodging the edge of his shovel into the dirt and pulling up the fresh earth.

Another quiet settles over the couple as they pull up the soil covering the rotting dead. You wipe at sweat forming over your brow and jam your shovel into a spot near your foot, walking towards the other corpse as Dabi maneuvers his own shovel to pop open the baby blue coffin of a person who didn’t deserve this perversion of their memory.

Upon closer inspection, you notice how the man’s head and hands are charred beyond recognition of flesh, and his mouth has fallen open into a horrified, toothless scream. Usually, just torching the people he murdered would do all that his manual labor had. This man was different. This man must’ve wronged Dabi closely.

Grabbing underneath the dead man’s armpits, you begin dragging him towards the grave as the telltale creak of a coffin opening rings through the cemetery. Dabi puts a hand up and the man is dropped carelessly outside the rectangular pit - bending down, Dabi pats down the man’s blazer and tugs out a wallet and keys before pocketing both.

“What’d he do to avoid being completely scorched?”

“Just wanted this one to be more personal; some low-level at the old man’s agency,” Dabi picks himself back up to a full stand and kicks the man into the open coffin and nudges his body just enough to ensure no limbs are poking out before going to shut the coffin.

“Maybe you should’ve picked an older spot, huh?” you mumble, crossing towards your boyfriend and plucking a pack of cigarettes from his pants’ pocket and picking one out, “Two bodies don’t fit in one coffin comfortably. And I don’t think either of us is going down there to fish him out.”

“Fuck,” the villain hisses, picking up his shovel only to stab it back down in anger, piercing mother nature in retaliation for an event which she had no control over, “Whatever. Just put the dirt back over them. If they find him, who cares?”

“Probably us when they find him and start asking questions,” placing the cigarette between your lips, you lean over towards Dabi, “Light?”

He ignites a single finger and watches the cigarettes' illumination of cherry and ash before turning back to the grave and murmuring, “Slacker.”

“When I start killing people and making you bury the bodies, then you can call me a slacker,” you sit down on a patch of grass where the dead man once laid, cold and clammy and soulless, “Until then, I’m taking a smoke break.”

You never saw yourself helping the little red-turned-white haired boy you grew up with bury a body he’d murdered in cold blood. You saw yourself having a future with him, in the way children typically grow attached to friends quickly - but actively helping him get away with and hiding evidence of his crimes?

It was wrong. You weren’t an idiot. What you - both of you - were doing was horrid and it would catch up to them eventually.

But Dabi would burn down the world for you and you’d be lying if you said watching it go down in flames after all the pain and misery and hatred it’s churned out wouldn’t be satisfying. All the monsters like Enji could burn and you’d both dance in the flickering light of the flames. All the elitism and fakeness of heroes would crumble and you’d toss the ashes around like rice at a wedding. You’d kiss on the grave of society and giggle over the wreckage you caused together. Because loving Dabi was accepting the chaos he chased. It was changing the ending of the monster and helping him kill Frankenstein.

It was helping him get away with his crimes and cleaning up his corroding body in the wee hours of nightfall.

Dabi huffs in exertion while burying the sins he’d committed only hours prior, he knows he isn’t built for heavy physical labor and he knows that’s exactly why he brought you. He also knows how easy it would be to scare you into crushing that cigarette out right now and coming to his side - but he can’t bring himself to.

The only home he’s ever known and the only person he’s never had to prove himself to, he can’t lose. So he continues to pile dirt atop the bodies while you finish your smoke without whining.

“Got schmutz on your forehead there, darling,” you mumble upon your return, bringing up a thumb to wipe at the dirt staining your lover’s skin.

“You’re not much better,” Dabi nods at your forehead, “Gotta take a bath when we get home.”

“Then will you chill the fuck out and come sleep?”

He merely nods again as you pick up your shovel and catch dirt onto the blade before tossing it down into the filling pit.

No, you never imagined yourself up at three in the morning helping Touya Todoroki hide a body he’d murdered - but there you were. Rewriting the end of a monster and helping him kill Frankenstein, slowly - but surely. Frankenstein and the society that enabled him would die by Dabi’s hand, and you were going to be holding the other hand the entire time.

Because loving Touya was loving Dabi.

[quibblesandscribbles]

Centaurworld Rewrite: A Serious Adventure AU - S1E1 Outline

I’m doing rewrite outlines, prepare for some AU. That being said, I still like several parts of Centaurworld a lot, namely Rider, Horse, Wammawink, and whatever the hell is going on with the Nowhere King, and hope there’s a second season to watch (which I will if Netflix doesn’t ruin our hopes and dreams).

Anyways, here’s like, a rewrite or whatever. I will probably post the outlines as I go, episode by episode. Will I get to them all? ADHD-willing, we’ll see. Also feel free to use these ideas/outlines? I don’t mind. 

Also assume there are songs in this even if I don’t specifically mention all of them. Also I guess this rewrite kinda chains the 1st and 2nd episodes together as a two parter? Maybe, idk.

Also I’ll preface this with this too: I ship Wammahorse, yes I SHIPSHIP it. Moving on.

Some headcanons before we start:

Warworld (*the world Rider and Horse are from) is a Low Fantasy Setting, there IS magic, but it comes in two variations, either very subtle low-powered but relatively uncommon, or Terrifyingly Powerful and so extremely rare to the point that it’s not very well known and “just myths” (usually for Big Baddies)

Ideas for Horse’s Degree of Sapience Prior to Worldhopping:

A: Horse was just a regular, non-magical horse, and their exposure to the Artifact and Centaurworld has essentially made them a Fully Uplifted Animal. - This is interesting, but ultimately a difficult idea to convey because it would require a lot more setup and wouldn’t exactly fit Horse’s characterization without some rework. This is an amazing idea, but I won’t be using it because it would slow things down too much.

B: Horse is a low-fantasy magic steed raised as warhorse/war asset, who is much smarter than your average animal steed/companion similar to a DND Ranger’s pets, or Mabari from Dragon Age, or a Ranger Horse from John Flanagan’s ‘Ranger’s Apprentice.’ The combined exposure to the Artifact and Centaurworld could account for her gaining speech and her body expressing limited physical adaptation to Centaurworld’s different physics (her body’s new extended range of motion for example) but of course I’ll be limiting this because having stakes make it more fun imho. This is my favorite, I’m using this.

Horse would’ve been considered a very valuable war asset (trained warhorses are like, historical ferraris, expensive as hell, i can only imagine what low-magical smart warhorses would be valued at), though still ultimately expendable for the war effort like anything else

Let Horse have horse behaviors (*can you tell I haven’t really left my horse phase behind lol)! Nipping and grooming behaviors as affection or warnings, ear positions to indicate mood, grazing to eat, laying down only when truly relaxed, sleeping standing up. COME ON.

Centaurworld is a High Fantasy world with an Absurdist bent but with darker undertones, similar to how Adventure Time is, with an extremely high saturation of magic, maybe you could even theorize that due to the Splitting of the Two Worlds that all the magic is being Dammed up in Centaurworld like a river or reservoir, this could be a future plot thread that could be picked up in a later season.

Basic Changes: 

Durpleton, Glendale, Ched and Zulius are supporting cast, not main

Durpleton is less stupid and more of a Kronk-expy: a little dim but ultimately kind/means well, has at least 1 life skill he’s good at buried in there though for the life of me I can’t think of one right now.

Glendale’s Narrative Framing: Glendale is amazing, but the kleptomania will be allotted ONE (or two) joke mentions but narratively isn’t treated like one after, somehow establish that her kleptomania is directly intertwined with her anxiety levels. Are there other denizens of the Valley that know the Herd? Are they mad at Glendale for stealing things? Does Wammawink have to constantly run interference to cover for Glendale? Probably.

Make Ched look like less of a pointless asshole: Have him show concern for his friends’ safety and his suspicion of outsiders, AKA Horse. If he’s going to be a jerk, at least let it serve a purpose.

Zulius can stay roughly the same - Zulius is great okay, just don’t tell me there’s backstory and then NOT TELL OR SHOW US ANY CLUES about what said backstory/history IS! (other than forcing us infer/project the headcanon[?] that him and Splendib might’ve been exes, from how they act around each other without any other context/visual/or confirming exposition we literally know nothing other than Splendib and him split/had a nasty falling out and Splendib took the glittercats and the career in the divorce.)

S1E1: Hello Rainbow Road

Opening scene in Warworld

If these episodes were allowed to be longer (shuddup it’s my AU), have the scene open with Horse sees Rider comes running out of some underground castle ruin catacombs and ominous roaring and clanging behind her as she deliberately sets off a dungeon booby trap (arrows or fire) she must’ve avoided while dungeon crawling earlier, and Horse runs towards her and circles at a canter and then Rider does a Running Mount (mounting a horse while the horse is in motion) and shoots an arrow at that flies offscreen

Smash cut to the DRAWBRIDGE door falling and Rider and Horse come galloping out while dodging some javelins and arrows and 1.5 seconds later 1-4 armored minotaurs (the lizardmen?) riding some coursers (swift horses or horselike creatures idk have fun) gallop behind in hot pursuit.

WARWORLD CHASE/FIGHT SCENE

Rider and Horse take out 2 of the pursuers on the run have Rider stay on horseback, dodge and make 1 pursuer shoot/javelin another 1 into a nasty-looking fall, and then Rider nails another 1 right through the helmet visor with an arrow. Have Rider throw a smoke bomb or something at the 2 remaining ones trying to catch up.

2 Enemies left but Horse is forced to skid to a stop as the suspension bridge approaches, then a tense moment forced to walk in order to escape safely across the suspension bridge which Rider cuts once they’re across. Maybe have 1 of the minotaur pursuers having been on the bridge somewhat behind them before Rider had to cut the line, sending the enemy hurtling down below. The remaining minotaur scout stares at them ominously from the other side before leaving.

Have Rider breath a sigh of relief

Smash cut to Horse and Rider traveling across a wartorn landscape, start Horse’s internal monologue narrative until they finally get to the hill and see the ruins of their village

Everything from this point to Horse getting transported to Centaurworld is the same as canon

Not Actually a DREAMVISION SEQUENCE: 

Shot/Animated from Horse’s 1st Person POV: Darkness, the sound of whooshing Horse falls, shimmering flash colors [if this were an actual show pls put a Epilepsy warning at the beginning of the ep], then a loud Splash as Horse falls into Dark Water. POV looks down and we see Horse’s front legs and a bottomless abyss below and a then flash of green and off-white from deep below, then look up to see blue light, see the swimming motions of Horse’s front legs and getting closer to the Blue Light

Horse wakes up, blinking, alone (no Durpleton)

Horse gets up looks around, doesn’t see Rider anywhere and starts makes Whinnying sounds (specifically, Whinnying is a social horse call, like specifically going, “Rider where are you!?” in IRL horse)

“And what are you supposed to be?” the “camera” wheels around to see Ched who has landed on Horse just within reach of her tail so Horse lets out a startled squeal (the Horse noise, not the human one) and does that thing where horses use their tails to swat away insects which sends Ched FLYING as Horse’s squealing morphs into her Talking/Yelling “what the heck is going on?!”

Horse does what panicked horses do, she runs

Horse stumbles into meeting Durpleton, who freaks her out more

Meeting kinda the same as canon but with less constant emphasis on reminding the audience that the writer’s can’t write comedy

Wammawink and Horse meet, Ched flies in and goes “hey that asshole kicked my a-I mean attacked me, but I totally beat ‘em.”

Horse tries to leave, discovers the Barrier, tries to get through, fails multiple times, but only 3-4 attempts shown with time passage show by the time of day changing, have Horse’ talking to herself a bit about how utterly weird the talking words thing is, that this is a “human” thing why is this HAPPENING she needs to get back

Waste less time on the visual gags of the Barrier repelling Horse, also get rid of the Tree Catapult scene because it doesn’t jive with Horse being a horse, why do they know how to make a catapult? Also because I hate how it basically shows us that Horse has no physical danger or chance of injury from being FLUNG around like Pokemon’s Team Rocket.

Have the rest of the centaur Herd come up to and talk to Horse while Horse is trying to get through the Barrier, and Horse talks about the outside and her world and doing things, squeeze in some convo about how there’s no (current) war in Centaurworld and how Horse thinks that that “freedom must be nice.” Anyways these conversations are what has Glendale, Zulius and Durpleton at least considering the ups of leaving.

Durpleton: Durpleton approaches Horse alone and asks about where she’s from, what’s home like, expositiony bits for Warworld and how much Horse needs to get herself and the Artifact back to Rider; Horse should say something offhand, like how she dreamed about exploring the world with Rider after the War seeing new things together, to which we’d cut to a shot of Durpleton looking thoughtful, before asking a completely unrelated question before Horse asks to be left alone. He doesn’t go originally, but gets distracted by something (butterfly?) and trots off.

Wammawink, Ched & Glendale: Atop a hill, Wammawink looks up to see stormclouds gathering off in the distance and comments that they’re going to be in for some rough weather, then goes over to offer Horse food, but gets distracted by some other Valley Denizens who are mad suspicious that Glendale is responsible for something of theirs that’s missing. Leaving Wammawink to go off and have to run interference leaving Glendale to approach Horse alone. Horse will learn that there’s no (current) war in Centaurworld but there was one historically, and Glendale will offhandedly mention that they’ve stolen everything from everyone in the Valley at least 4 times and with the unspoken implication of boredom. Ched will butt in and heckle Horse like, “could you leave any quieter?” and Horse sniping back, ears pinned back and animated horse stress behaviors. And Horse’s last failed attempt at passing the Barrier has them drop the Artifact, and we get a shot of Glendale spotting and eyes widening at seeing the Artifact unattended on the ground, then we get a smash cut of Glendale getting herded away by Ched.

Zulius: Goes over to ask about Horse’s avante garde accessories (her bridle, saddle & armor[barding]), makes comments on her style/aesthetic and asks where he could find some. Horse loses her patience, and says that she Needs to concentrate on getting back to someone they care a lot about and could you please just go away? 

Horse: (voiced as a rhetorical question) “Haven’t you ever wanted to go back to someone you loved before?”

Zulius gets a Look on his face, then he’d puff up, cover up the Armor Piercing Question’s effect on him with more bluster and then turn away as it gets later

Around sunset, Horse finally gives in to go ask Wammawink what’s up, and how can they leave.

Wammawink tries to feed them and convince them to stay, but Horse waves her off and moves away while muttering something about coming up with a plan

Speaking of plans, the Herd excluding Wammawink (& Ched) start talking about being bored, and mention Horse saying stuff about exploring the world (taken out of context, deliberately)

Wammawink, smelling the ugly head of discontent, sighs in defeat at not being able to recruit this new outcast in the Herd and approaches a grazing Horse and says she’ll help her through it with her magic(not admitting that the Barrier is her magic working in the first place because it’s not relevant right now okay) but then we get the “What’s magic?” bit from Horse and the rest of the Herd butts in with the Song. They wander off to go to bed afterwards, and Horse wants to go Now but Wammawink says that she’ll help Horse leave the Barrier but only in the morning because “you look tired”

Horse: “That doesn’t matter.” *awkward silence*

Wammawink, sadly: “Of course it does.” *Horse has already walked away*

The sun finishes setting as the wind blows the plants and through Wammawink’s fur (ominously) and she shivers, going back to the campfire

DREAM SEQUENCE: It’s dark, then we get a flashback dream of a younger Rider and Horse, idk a memory of something to showcase them either while in training or really show their Bond okay? End with them sitting around a campfire with other young soldiers and horses, someone is humming something (the first few bars of the Nowhere King’s Lullaby, no actual words yet). Then Dream!Rider turns to face Horse and asks, “how could you?”

Horse: “How could I what?”

Dream!Rider: “How could you leave me behind?” (The humming grows louder, there’s a lute being played, growing discordant)

Then Horse starts calling into the darkness/void, “I’m coming back for you, Rider! Just hang on, alright?!”

Rider: “Oh Horse, it’s already too late for me.”

“Rider!” Horse yells as they jolt awake, standing, because horses typically sleep standing up.

It’s dawn but the wind and stormy weather signs are picking up but not here yet, Wammawink walks Horse to the edge of the Valley barrier and tries to convince Horse to stay here where it’s safe, but Horse refuses to be deterred

Brief shot of Glendale hiding a bunch of things from her Tummy Hammerspace in order to simulate the feeling of stealing things again later, including the Artifact which falls on the ground

A shot of Durpleton seeing and picking up the Artifact and spotting Wammawink and Horse some distance away going toward the barrier’s edge

Wammawink hangs back on a hill, glowy hands and the magic wall flickers and disappears, and Horse immediately breaks into a gallop and disappears into the forest, Wammawink sighs and turns away

Indeterminate amount of time later, Wammawink recasts the Barrier, and Durpleton misses breakfast so Wammawink enlists Ched to help her look for him because Ched can fly

Cut to a shot of Horse dropping from a canter to a trot on the Rainbow Road, it’s grown darker and the stormclouds are in the sky. Distant thunder booms overhead, and a few scattered raindrops start to fall

“Heyyyy! You forgot your necklaceeee!” a shout from behind

Horse looks back and sees a running Durpleton holding the Artifact, and stops, he catches up to Horse and is gasping, “Wow, you run fast, hoooo, *deep breaths* you’re really *another gasp* athletic! Anyways you forgot your Necklace.”

Durpleton ties the broken string into a necklace around Horse’s neck and Horse thanks them and wishes them a safe journey back to the Valley, but as this happens the rain gradually falls harder. Then the sounds of the Rest of the Herd finally catching up happen, and Wammawink mother hens Durpleton and wants take everyone back home but then a loud BOOM of thunder and lightning overhead, and then it starts to Pour down rain, forcing Horse and co to find shelter until it lets up. Maybe have someone mention something about landslides being a possibility? Durpleton asks how they found them so fast, dim remember, then brief flashback.

FLASHBACK: Wammawink and co searching and calling out for Durpleton everywhere in the Valley, and realize that he must’ve followed Horse for some reason when Zulius FINALLY shows up and mentions that he remembers Durpleton saying he was gonna give Horse back her necklace. The recast Barrier is brought down and they leave the Valley to bring back their friend.

Back to the present where the group has taken shelter as the storm picks up more, and thunder booms overhead, Horse has some nervous horse body language going on, then we get to hear her mutter-singing or humming the “I never fear the drums of war” to calm herself down, but with more stanzas please, when asked she says it’s a battle hymn that Rider sang.

If Horse was humming, Wammawink could ask why she doesn’t sing, she’s sure that Horse has a lovely voice

Horse goes “I’m a horse, I don’t sing.”

Wammawink tries to be encouraging, Horse is resistant

Wammawink invites her to eat (AGAIN) but Horse still turns her (love and affection) down (AGAIN!) and says she’s fine with grazing and Glendale pipes in excitedly that they have decided that they want to travel with Horse (Ched pipes up that he didn’t agree to this) but pls help us convince Wammawink and Horse protests but someone points out to ask “do you even know where you’re going” and they have a point

Horse acknowledges this and relents, states some stuff about how she’s not going to slow down much however. Then Glendale, Zulius and Durpleton rejoice, Ched acts tsundere, but Wammawink looks nervous and wrings her hands together and relents that “they’ll go with Horse as far as the nearest Shaman” and Ched will go, “hey don’t you know he-” and Wammawink shushes him quickly with a gigglecake

Wammawink doubles down on the mother henning behavior

Horse doesn’t eat Wammawink’s gigglecakes but grazes by herself nearby, occasionally answering a question or two when engaged by the others (not Wammawink) and Wammawink mentions how the weather probably won’t let up for very long and they should take it slow and that Horse should bundle up

Horse disagrees but its bedtime and a bedtime song occurs in the backdrop as a restless Horse struggles to stay alert and awake but eventually falls asleep

VISION SEQUENCE: A shimmer of soft blue light, then shots of Rider ducking and weaving, her sword flashing as she tries to weave her way through a horde of enemy soldiers, blood spatters, then an enemy archer takes aim at a fleeing Rider, and Horse calls out a warning. 

Rider turns her head with a surprised look on her face suddenly just enough that the arrow buries itself into her shoulder instead the middle of her back and then she stumbles, one of her arms going limp, but everything goes dark before we can see if she fell

Everything goes dark and the din of war fades away, we get a shot of Horse’s hooves splashing and making ripples into dark water but the camera doesn’t follow her, we hear Horse’s cries for Rider fade, growing further and further away

Still dark, but in the silence we hear distant sound, drip, drip, drip, drip.

Then the episode ends and the credits roll.

[passionesolja]

My Rewrite of Reva from the Obi Wan Kenobi Show

If there’s one thing I despise, it’s a weak villain. I can’t stand an ambitionless villain (unless it’s for a narrative purpose). I love villains. I think they’re the cornerstone of a series —any series.

I don’t mind an angry villain. Sometimes it’s fun to watch a villain who just wants to watch the world burn for kicks. I don’t need a redeemable villain.

Reva is not a strong villain. She’s an cardboard cutdown who’s angry. She’s basically an henchmen who they’re trying to make the main villain before Vader. Which is pathetic.

We have six episodes of Kenobi in total. We should know what Reva is about and that she’s a real threat from the jump. Time is not to be wasted in such a short series

She should NOT be some gateway to Vader. She should be the MAIN antagonist or they shouldn’t even have made her and just put it Vader vs Kenobi.

Now, this isn’t me hating on Reva. I want a strong female WoC evil as fuck villain. If you’re going to lake an antagonist make an ANTAGONIST. No weak shit.

These are my potential rewrites of this character. Because Reva deserved better

Change her personality

Thus far, she has no personality. I’m sorry but it’s true. She’s just angry and defiant but that defiance has no purpose. Hell, it’s not even like they’re spinning it as she’s a Rebel Without a Cause. Which is fine. However, I do find it iffy that they’re side lining her like this. They’re giving her the Finn treatment. Here are some potential changes I would make.

Sith Scholar/Kreia-esque figure

Make her someone who’s extremely intelligent and maybe a maverick as far as the whole “Lightside and darkside divide” shit goes. She was a Jedi in her youth, now she’s a dark side user.

They could easily make her someone who thinks labels like “light and dark” are stupid and that power is power. Maybe she wants power to prevent herself from being in a vulnerable and helpless position.

Maybe she’s like “the Jedi were defenseless so they got wiped out and I lost everyone” but also like “I don’t see a reason for the light and dark to be so polarized. Lightning is lightning and force push is force push I don’t limit my potential”

Hell, you make her willingly join the inquisitors just to learn Darkside methods as well lightside methods.

If Darth Vader is dark, and Kenobi is light, Reva could be the one who wants it all. This would make her a foil to both Vader and Kenobi’s worldviews and set her in her own special lane.

Politician Inquisitor

Maybe she wants to be a Grand Inquisitor and Moff.

Maybe she wants to be in the position Sidious is in as galactic emperor.

She could easily be a character with a knowledge of the Force, but also someone with political ambitions.

She understands what all the sides want and she can game them in her favor to move to her own will. Like she’s willing to work with opponents to fulfill her own ends

Now, maybe it doesn’t have to be like Sidious’ shtick of “power for powers sake”.

Hell, maybe she’s like “I want to do what Sidious did and infiltrate the empire to be the first Jedi Galactic Emperor” however, her moral compass is grayed or dark because she’s willing to put ethics to the side for the greater good.

We’ve never had a character in Star Wars who was like “no I want to overthrow Sidious and rule then be a Jedi while doing it” this would also clash with a lot of worldviews and conceptions. It would make her stand out as her own entity and character.

Old Republic Mentality styled Sith

She could be someone with the ambition to say “I think Vader is garbage and I’m better so I want to he the emperor’s enforcer instead”

She doesn’t have to even know Sidious is a Sith Lord, she just wants to be his right hand because she knows she’s better than him. Now is she in reality? Who cares she knows she is and she’ll prove it.

So she could have this idea of “I get Vader and Kenobi in the same place and kill them both then I return to the Emperor with my worth proven”

This would put her as competition to Vader and fuck with his own psyche because he knows “oh shit I know that sith are ruthless”

She wouldn’t have to reveal this to Kenobi, hell, she could work with Kenobi and manipulate him into her getting into the position she wants him in.

She could play on his emotions of her being a Jedi youngling who survived Order 66, and so he’s less likely to doubt her even though the audience understands this is a plot.

Then, she gets Vader and Kenobi where she wants them. Hell, she could orchestrate them to even meet up and fight so that one kills the other and her job is made easier.

This would show that she’s a tactician 

Vader’s Secret Apprentice

She could be a starkiller type character. No, not as emotionally scarred or emotionally muted but someone who Vader sees potential in.

Maybe the the whole Inquisitor thing is a front so that Sidious doesn’t grow suspicious.

The two are both in on it. Reva willingly joins Vader in his schemes because she wants the power that Vader possesses.

You could even make there be an underlying tension between Reva and Vader because both of them understand the possibilities of the other switching up and trying to fuck the other one over.

Maybe Vader is paranoid after a few years of training Reva because he understands the vulnerable place he’s in because she could either rat him out to sidious (and take his place potentially) or maybe she’s paranoid that Vader will rat on her to save his own skin if it ever gets to that point.

He sees that Reva is wanting more than what Vader can offer, Vader sees himself as younger man in her and is terrified because he knows what he did to the Jedi to get that.

He knows if he turned on his master after ten years, that Reva could—and would—do the same to him.

So he’s having to come to terms with his own actions and he potentially at the receiving end of it this time via Reva.

They could still go after Kenobi, it could still be there thing, but it would add an dynamic of intrigue to the story and characters.

Near the end it could be Reva vs Vader vs Kenobi but Reva and Vader have to have a subtle war with each other because Sidious would get on both they heads at once.

Importance of Motivations

Motivations are PARAMOUNT to stories. So far, we don’t know what the fuck Reva wants. There’s no reason to be scared of—or even respect—Reva and that fucking sad.

I want Reva to be a menacing force of evil, past jedi heritage or not. I want her to someone that everyone in the audience understand the motives for and respects—agrees with her or not.

That’s important.

To me, they’re just using Reva to lead Kenobi to Vader so she’s no different than a henchmen goon. Which on its own is fine (you can have side villains who are incredible and threatening to the protag) but they also want her to be an narratively important character.

You can’t have both.

I want Reva to be a memorable and stand out villain.

I want her to be someone who we say two to three years from now “wow she was so cool and unique compared to other villain’s in the series”

I want her to be her own person and be fleshed out as much as possible for these six episodes.

Sadly, her just being angry and whatever for the fuck of it is flopping and everyone sees it.

Reva deserves to be up there with all the other great Star Wars villains. Imo