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fyregrayfong · 4 years

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Under Pressure 2|15

FryeArcana

Chapter 2

Spirits

Summary:

You go to the South Pole to help Asami with a possible deal with Varrick and come across from dark spirits.

You hold on Lin’s waist as she drives on your cycle dropping you off the to the airstrip. You unmount from the cycle and smile, “you should change from your sato-mobile to a cycle, you look way sexier on it” you smirk as you flirt and see Lin’s cheeks redden “stop it, y/n.” she whispers at you. You look around and laugh “no one is around, they’re setting up the plane, I appreciate you dropping me off before work.” She groaned “don’t mention it”

“I’ll see you when I come back” you whisper softly as you cup her cheek then look around and steel a kiss, she leans in and kisses you back before you pull away, “be safe” she mutters as she looks at you and you nod, “always, don’t stress too much” you slowly pull back as Lin drives off but not before giving you another glance.

You walk over and see Asami walk up to you and gives you a knowing look, “so you and Chief seem to be getting along well” she smiles, you give her a knowing smirk and brush her off, “we’re just friends, Sami.” “sure, is that what you’re calling it?” she laughs as you pack your bag into the under compartment of the plane. You lean against the plan and groan “I don’t know what’s happening. The past six months we practically spend most of our time outside of work together. I even sleep over most nights even last night” You rambled then stopped “I- you didn’t hear that” look over at her and see Asami give you a surprised face “you and the chief, you’ve…?” she stammered, and you cross your arms “What?! No! I literally slept over…. I mean we were in the same bed, but all we did was sleep. Nothing else. I swear.” You huffed then rub your face “it’s just I never felt this way for anyone before. I’ve had romances before sure, but no one like Lin.” You sigh “well, have you spoken to Beifong about it?” she looks at you as she leans back on the plane beside you. You deadpan at her “Have you met Lin; she isn’t really the talking type.” You both exchange soft laughs “well enough about my love life or whatever kind of life that is…when are we taking off?” you change the subject

“soon, we’re just making sure we have enough fuel to make the round trip and that everything is working perfectly.”

You and Asami reach down to the Southern Water Tribe and get settled into a hut Korra arranged for the both of you. Later in the night you girls check out the Glacier Spirits Festival, “you think we’ll run into them?” you look over at Asami while you check out the games. “Probably, I mean I have no problem with it. I asked Bolin to accompany us to the meeting with Varrick.” You look at Asami confused “Bolin? Cute and clumsy Bolin. Mako’s brother Bolin?” you laugh softly “sure, if you think he can help secure this deal with Varrick” you grab some food and munch on it a bit.

After checking out the festival you end up bumping into the rest of Team Avatar. “oh hey…. guys” you wave at them, you see Korra and Mako being all into each other as a couple. You’re glad for Korra but still have some reservations with Mako, but after your talk with him you decide not to let it go. “Oh hey girls!” Bolin exclaims cheerfully after stuffing his mouth with an artic hen. “so I’m we hoped to run into you guys, well with Bolin. You ready to go to that meeting?” You look at Bolin and give an awkward smile. Bolin gulps trying to eat the hen in one go before patting his stomach, “yeah let’s go” the three of you wave at the couple and walk in the opposite direction towards one of the docks. Looking for Varrick’s private yacht.

“I’m glad you guys came with me to this meeting. Varrick is one of the richest men in the world, and he controls the entire global shipping business. So you guys can be my assistant and advisor. Just stand back and don’t say anything. I can handle this.” You nod understanding the plan and look at Bolin hoping he won’t say or do anything stupid. “no problem, Pabu and I are natural assistants” he rests assured and you sigh while you follow Bolin up towards the yacht. You three watch as Varrick is in the middle of the floor in a deep concentration while his assistant is writing down notes and a couple dozen people are just staring intently. You wonder what is going on until Varrick opens his eyes and exclaims, “did you see that! Levitation! I was a foot off the ground.” You look around confused as you watch the other business folk clapping encouraging him. I guess whatever you have to do to get in Varrick’s good graces, you think as you and Asami join in on the clapping. Bolin continues looking at Varrick confused then opens his mouth to say, “it looked like you were just sitting on a pillow.” You and Asami’s eyes widen while she gasps, and you lower your head in shame as you groan putting your hand in your face. Shit Bolin you just had to say something. You hear as everyone else in the room gasps as well looking at the back of the room where you three stands. Varrick eyes Bolin and stands up stomping towards him and you look between Varrick and Bolin, “are you saying I wasn’t levitating?” he leans over Bolin intimidating. Bolin looks scared as he lets a loud gulp go down his throat. “um, no?”. Varrick turns around and yells at the group in the room, “well why didn’t anyone tell me? Now I look like an idiot. Swami you’re fired!” you’re taken back and watch as the older man bows out the room and look back at Varrick as he grabs Bolin by the shoulder. “I like you kid. You’re a real straight shooter, just like me.” he points at Bolin’s chest then turns over to Asami “Ms. Sato? He’s with you?” Asami nods and sighs as Varrick smiles “brought your tiger-shark with you to do business, huh. Now that’s moxie?” you laugh awkwardly “there’s no other way to do business, sir” you and Asami walk after Varrick and Bolin. “oh please just call me Varrick, no sir, I’m not old. I pay good money to prevent that sort of thing.” He pushes Bolin down on a pillow “get over here and pop a squat. Zhu Li, get some tea for my guests.” You sit down as Zhu Li hurryingly brings over a tray with various teas for Bolin while Asami starts with her business talk, “thank you for meeting with me. As you know, Future Industries is looking for a partner to handle our shipping—” Varrick cuts her off “sure. But first, you gotta check out my new venture: Moving Pictures. Zhu Li, do the thing.” He orders Zhu Li who is still tending to Bolin on the tea. She shoves the tray at Bolin and runs over to the projector. You look at the wall as you watch a series of pictures show up giving the illusion as it’s running in place in front of you. “wow” you mutter under your breath. “mind blowing right?” Varrick looks at the three of you “yeah!” Bolin exclaims before Varrick jumps in “Forget that! That’s the past! Shut it off, Zhu Li!” he barks at his assistant. “Imagine watching this” he motions for a young woman with bright red hair to come forward. “Ginger, come over here and do your poses.” You have to agree with Bolin that she is quite the looker. Her hair really makes her exotic. Varrick further explains his ideas on these moving pictures before he explains they are going to be called movers for short. You look at Asami wondering if this is normal with business deals with Varrick. He seems to just be talking to Bolin instead of Asami, Asami speaks up confused “okay, but I’m just concentrating on getting Future Industries back on track. If we could hammer out a deal--” Varrick puts his hand up to stop Asami and tells her to look him in the eye. You’re there sitting right in front of their stare down, just confused on this whole meeting. You watch Asami stare him down not blinking and standing her ground. Varrick smiles and screams out “We got a deal!” you let go of a breath you didn’t know you were keeping, and sigh then get up and smile. Varrick proceeds to shake Asami’s hand “we’ll hammer out the details at the Royal Feast tonight.” You watch as Varrick exclaims if anyone wants to take a ride on his rocket boat and everyone hurries out the room. You watch them leave “that was interesting…” Bolin joins in “is that how business usually goes?” Asami turns and gives Bolin a big hug then ruffles his hair “you are a natural assistant.” You laugh and give him a pat in the back “yeah, you did great Bolin!” you smile.

You take a seat besides Asami at Varrick’s table where you are joined by Ginger, Mako, Bolin and Zhu Li at the Royal Feast. You finish eating when you take a sip of water looking back at Tenzin and his family. Your eyes catch the waterbender sitting next to him then look at Bolin “hey Bolin, do you happen to know who that waterbender that’s sitting next to Tenzin?” you whisper over to him. “oh that’s Kya, Tenzin’s older sister. She lives here in the southern water tribe with Master Katara.” You slowly nod as you hear the information and eye the waterbender “Kya…” you whisper under your breath. You have the feeling you might have met her before, she gives you a sense of familiarity, but you look back at your table. Maybe it’s nothing. Your attention is back at the northern water chief as he gives his speech. He voices his concerns on how the south are handling the respects towards the spirits and hope it can be turned around. His concerns cause the crowd to murmur and wonder what’s going on before Varrick tries to defuse the tension by bringing in an otter-penguin show. You wonder what that speech was about, maybe Korra will know.

You and Asami break away from the rest of Team Avatar and check out the different booths. “I don’t know what Unalaq is talking about. The festival seems like a nice thing, but I guess if it’s a problem with the spirits then there must be some way to calm their anger” you mutter as you try to knock down some cans. Asami agrees then you guys continue walking around until you meet up with the team again.

As everyone gets ready for bed, you guys get together and talk about how Korra is feeling being back home. She’s happy to see her parents but is annoyed at her father after learning the truth of some things. “My dad and Tenzin were the ones to keep me cooped up in that compound not Aang. Then Unalaq offered to train me. He says he can teach me about the spirits and my connection to them.” You look at Korra and smile “that’s great! Doesn’t help to work on your spiritual connection especially since he says they are angry for some reason, but what does Tenzin think about this?” you look at her as your eyebrows furrow. Mako mutters “don’t mention Tenzin” but it’s too late Korra sighs annoyed and rolls her eyes “Tenzin treats me like one of his kids. Air bending training is boring and taking too long. I’ll never finish training if I stay with him.” She groans. “I get what you’re saying but it takes time to master an element. You just unlocked air bending and you made great improvement. I’m sure Tenzin is just looking out what’s best for you. He's just trying to help you as the mentor he is.” You try to calmly speak to her. Korra groans and pulls her knees up “but you heard what Unalaq said! The south is spiritually unbalanced and it’s the Avatar’s job to fix it, and my dad won’t let me even think about Unalaq teaching me.” she sounds defeated already. You frown “well your father has his reasons as to why not, but like you said it’s the Avatar’s job to restore peace and fix the unbalance between humans and spirits. If you feel like Unalaq can better help you in your spiritual training then maybe it might be a good idea? Maybe try talking to Tenzin about it first, not as Korra and Tenzin but as mentor and mentee.” You put your hand on her shoulder as you try to give her some advice.

Soon everyone heads to their respective huts and turn in for the night. You’re in a deep sleep before you hear loud howling that sounds like Naga. You wake up and rub your eyes “what the flameo is Naga howling at now?” you mutter as you get up from your bed, grabbing your coat and walk outside. You rub the back of your neck running your hand through your hair as you look in the direction of the howling. You see movement ahead of Naga and Korra and your eyes widen as you see a dark spirit coming from the snow. “what…” you watch it quickly turn around having seen Korra and in a blink of an eye you watch it sprint to her and hit Korra sending her back. “Korra!” you yell out as you start running over to her. The spirit has Korra in its grasp pinned against a snowed wall of earth. It’s so close to hurt Korra that you metal bend your cable smacking the spirit on its head, “Hey! Back off our friend!” you yell at it as Mako and Bolin fire and earth bend at it. Bolin creates a wall between the spirit and Korra giving her a chance to escape. The three of you watch this spirit moving too quickly for either of you to land a shot. It swings its large tail at you three and knocks you guys to the ground, groaning as you hit and roll down the ground. Tenzin and Tonraq run out of their hits and help you guys get up, you wrap your arm around your stomach as your groan softly, “it’s a dark spirit, it’s attacking Korra up the mountain” you point in the direction. Tenzin and Tonraq run after to assist Korra, you gain up your strength and ready to head back to help Korra when you see Tenzin hurling back in your direction getting hit by the spirit. You help Tenzin back up “you okay?” he nods and looks at the spirit “we must find out why that spirit it angry with us. Fighting it will only make it worse.” You nod understandingly before Mako points in the direction Korra is in “well it’s going to Korra and she’s about to fight it.” The four of you run down the mountainside as you watch Korra and the spirit battle it out. Korra gets thrown into a booth right when you arrive you watch as Unalaq starts bending on the spirit. It seems to be calming the spirit no longer in a hostile manner. The water starts to illuminate in a bright yellow light that you cover your eyes while you walk up to the scene and stop as you watch that the spirit is become illuminated. “woah…” you watch the scene play out and watch the spirit walk away and soon it seems to dissipate. You look back towards Korra and run towards her, but you stop with the rest of the group when you see Korra in a heated discussion with her dad, Tenzin and Unalaq. Soon Tenzin returns with a hint of sadness which means Korra has made her decision.

You stand next to the guys and Asami while you watch Tenzin packing up the rest of his things while his family are settling down on Oogi. You can’t help but feel sort of sad of the situation you cross your arms as you warm yourself up. You watch Oogi fly away with the family and you sigh looking down before you climb up the plane. You and Asami fly your way back to Republic City.

You settle your bag down quietly as you make your way through the apartment and tiptoe into the bedroom. You weren’t sure why you had to come here right when you came back, you guess to surprise her or check up on how she’s doing. There she is. Lin is sleeping; you change into your sleepwear and slide into bed wrapping your arm around her and softly kiss her shoulder. Lin stirs a bit then settles back down before she mumbles “you’re back”. You smile hearing her voice again and kiss the back of her shoulder again “I couldn’t wait until morning to see you. I hope it’s okay” you whisper. “I wouldn’t expect you to do anything less” she mumbles as she takes your hand in hers like that night you spent together back in the southern compound. You feel like you’re back to where you belong, whether it’s this confusing are you or aren’t you dating or courting. You lay there and admire the woman next to you, as she sinks into you and settles back to sleep. Your mind wanders back to what happened between Korra and Tenzin, you understand where Korra is coming from. You’re just hoping that she made the right decision at the right time.

#linbeifong #lin x reader #lin beifong #TLOK2UnderPressure #fyrefics #linxreader #linbeifongxreader #linbeifong x reader

11 notes · View notes

basically-rainbow-aus · 4 years

Text

@youngjusticeharleyquinn replied to your post: expand on what RMEN and friends go through in accordance with the plot”

Okay *cracks knuckles* let’s do this!

VOLUME 1

Roman stops an armed robbery conducted by Ruby Rose

Ruby gets away with the assistance of a mysterious blonde man who uses amplified golden Aura as a weapon against Roman

Luckily Adrian drops in and saves him

Adrian takes Roman to an interrogation room and, after berating him for recklessness, introduces him to Professor Salem of Beacon (who gives Roman pumpkin tarts instead of cookies)

Salem comments about the oddly pigmented nature of Roman’s veins, particularly around his covered eye and neck

Roman reveals he attends Signal, is training to be a Huntsman like his older brother and parents, was taken under the wing of his Aunt Coco and aims to go to Beacon at age 17

Salem offers him a spot with the incoming Beacon freshmen, and he accepts

Mercury is overjoyed at this and says Roman is gonna be the “cat’s pajamas” (even though Roman just wants to be a normal boy with normal pajamas)

The airship carrying them to Beacon lands and Cinder runs off to immediately drop-and-roll, as her shoulders are on fire from her Semblance

Roman fanboys about how much Lien the weapons he sees are worth until Mercury reels his brother in and promptly abandons him

Dizzy and confused, Roman collapses into the luggage of one Neo Politan, who proceeds to berate him via a projected screen of text she is typing on her Scroll

Neither of them notice that Roman has dropped his shotgun cane until Neo steps back and accidentally fires off a shot, which affects the Dust being shaken in Roman’s face and triggers a chain reaction of ice, fire, lightning, etc.

Emerald approaches as Neo continues non-verbally criticising Roman and says Neo is the heiress of the Ironwood Dust Company

Neo storms off after accusation against the company are made, and with Emerald leaving too, Roman is left alone to slump on the floor

Cinder approaches from beside him and helps him up while introducing herself

As they walk, Cinder explains she has trouble controlling her Semblance due to its different nature from anything else in her “family”

They compare weapons (with Roman saying that Cinder’s bow is a classic and could cost a pretty penny to the right buyer) until they realise they have no idea where they’re going

They reach the auditorium and Roman runs off to be with Mercury, leaving Cinder alone to wander off (revealing Hazel behind him)

Roman tells Mercury about the incident with Neo until said girl pops up behind him, scaring him with an air horn effect from her Scroll

She shows him an article that moves too fast for him to read so she gives him a pamphlet to read about Dust

Salem steps up to a microphone and gives a short speech about the students’ new duties as training-Hunters

Adrian then steps up and guides the students toward the ballroom to sleep

At the group sleepover, Mercury teases Roman about writing back to the gang at Signal and Roman contemplates how he only has Cinder as a friend so far

Emerald lights a candle nearby, prompting Mercury to drag Roman over to formally introduce them to her

Mercury compliments her gloves and Roman bonds with Emerald over the book she’s reading until Neo storms over and smacks Roman with a foldable fan to communicate she wants the group to shut up for the night

The next morning, Watts is awoken by his childhood friend Tyrian

Tyrian proceeds to talk all throughout breakfast, teeth-brushing and sleeping bag-packing until they reach the locker room and Tyrian asks if Watts can imitate a sloth, to which Watts says “I don’t think sloths of all creatures make a whole lot of noise”

Mercury and Roman watch as Tyrian and Watts leave the lockers

Roman is extremely chipper because he doesn’t have to talk to anyone anymore — instead he can let his cane shoot and kill

Mercury says he needs people to grow up and when asked if he can be on his brother’s team, Mercury distracts himself away from the topic by playing with his hair

Cinder passes by trying to find her locker

Neo and Hazel are having a conversation about team formation (though it’s partially non-verbal on Neo’s part) but Neo’s scheme is interrupted by Cinder trying to flirt her way onto Neo’s team

When Hazel mentions the teams being of four, Cinder tries to flirt with him too until she is shot down by Neo bringing up Hazel’s fame (graduating from Sanctum, winning Mistral Regional Tournaments three years in a row)

Hazel quickly compliments that he would be honoured to have Cinder as a teammate

Neo proceeds to spear Cinder to a wall by her hair with Hush while Adrian instructs first years to proceed to the cliffs for initiation

At the cliffs Salem announces that not only will the students get their teammates today, they will also be partnered up with the first person they make eye contact with while on the hunt for relics in the Emerald Forest

The students are then thrown off the cliff one at a time (Cinder being launched without a landing strategy)

Each of the students land in a unique way

Roman fires off a few shots to slow himself down before catching a tree branch and using the leverage to descend at his own rate

Neo opens the canopy on her parasol and uses a Nevermore illusion as a platform to let her jump and float to the ground like Mary Poppins

Watts uses the Earth Dust inside his Dust-infused electric cables (named Voltage) to form stone blades so he can spiral around a large tree trunk to the ground

Mercury’s gunshots from his boots are propelling him further north, grinning and laughing all the while, until he crashes into the trees and bounces off two branches to tumble to the ground

Hazel (with a crystal Dust spear in one hand and two smaller fire Dust crystals stabbed into his other arm) rolls into a branch before looking at Cinder and rocketing his Dust spear towards her

This firm sticks Cinder to a tree

Roman runs through the Forest evaluating his choices for partners, seeing himself with Cinder and Emerald before he crashes right into Neo

Neo turns and walks away, but when she comes across Cinder hanging by her glove pinned to a tree with a Dust crystal spear, she turns back and hauls Roman over her shoulder to confirm him as her partner

Hazel soon approaches and asks if Cinder still has any spots open on her team

Roman and Neo have a brief conversation that eventually dissolves into Roman saying he’s not a people person, but he’s a monster person before disappearing

When he runs off into the forest, Neo tries to find him, but finds large Beowolves instead

Elsewhere, Mercury is walking around, not seeing a shadow zoom past him, and peaks into the bushes to see if his brother is there

Instead he finds two Ursai

He leaps over the second and the first gets knocked back with a fiery kick, so Mercury charges the second from the underneath and kicks it several times before punching it to send it back

The second Ursa swings are him, creating a small cut on his cheek through his Aura

The sight of his own blood infuriates Mercury and triggers his “adrenaline junkie mode” dilating his eyes to pinpricks and fuelling him with rage

He unleashes a barrage of devastating kicks onto the Ursa, effectively killing it

The other Ursa tries to attack too, but it is killer swiftly by Emerald’s sickle revolvers as she makes eye contact with Mercury

Back with Neo, she has become surrounded by a Beowolf pack as she raises her extended blade on the parasol and dashes forward

Roman suddenly appears and lands a fiery hit on the Beowolf Neo is aiming for, forcing her to reroute and accidentally cut down a tree which causes a chain reaction and takes out the whole clearing

He’s knocked back into his partner and the two stand back to back for a moment before a tree collapses near Roman, so Neo leads him out as the avalanche kills the Beowolves

Neo and Roman argue about their coordination in a fight (with Neo still using her Scroll to speak for her) until Neo storms off and Roman blasts down another tree, which serves as a landing platform for a giant black feather

Hazel and Cinder are making their way through the forest until Hazel accidentally causes a branch to smack into Cinder’s face, cutting her cheek

When it is revealed that Cinder doesn’t know what Aura is despite having her Semblance, Hazel explains

Meanwhile, Watts finds trouble in the form of a King Taijutu

It surrounds him before attacking with long fangs, Watts leaping away before being hit with the monster’s snout and being encircled again

Watts destroys the stone blades on his cables to instead release arcs of fire before kicking it and shocking it with electricity

The white head charges him but he jumps over the black head and sends arcs of fire and electricity towards the black head

He is then struck by the white head and loses his cables, leaving him to only raise his arms in defence

Cinder compares Aura to a forcefield

Watts struggles against the white head, holding it back by its fangs, until he rips them out and stabs a fang into the creature’s eye, driving the new weapon into its skull

He then attacks the black head

Hazel releases Cinder’s Aura with his own, tiring him somewhat and revealing Cinder has a lot of Aura

Watts has successfully killed the King Taijutu when he hears a strange noise from above

It’s Tyrian, who swings upside from the tree beside Watts and when told that that’s not the sound a sloth makes, taps Watts on the nose with a small “zap”

Back at the cliffs Adrian comments on the partnerships that have been formed

He also that he doesn’t think Cinder’s ready for team cooperation and asks what Salem used as relics this year

Salem is silently watching footage of Neo and Roman, the former repeating turning and walking only to retcon herself seconds later

Roman angrily asks why she won’t admit they’re lost, and when he doesn’t get a clear response he calls her a “tiny dumb jerk”

Neo uses Remnant Sign Language to try and get him to follow her again, but he loudly exclaims he doesn’t understand it

They argue again and Neo storms off

Mercury and Emerald arrives at the temple holding the relics, which turn out to be multicoloured pocketwatches

Cinder and Hazel arrive at a cave that they enter (Cinder lighting the way with her Semblance) until Cinder trips and the light goes out

Mercury picks up a silver watch with a horse carving for himself and Emerald and the two smile at each other

Cinder finds a large glowing point of gold in the dark that she mistakenly addresses as a relic when it is really the stinger of a giant Death Stalker

Hazel rushes out of the cave with the Death Stalker hot on his heels, Cinder still on the stinger

She eventually gets thrown off, screaming, and Hazel runs away from the attacking Grimm

Emerald has her eyes trained on the sky, from which Roman is falling

Cut to Roman and Neo clinging to a giant Nevermore

Neo repeatedly creates temporary Signs with her words on them to talk to Roman about how stupid this all is

Roman jumps, hurtling toward the ground towards his brother and Emerald, but is intercepted by Cinder crashing into him from the side, sending them both into a tree

An Ursa then comes roaring out of the bushes but collapses very soon, revealing Tyrian to have been riding on its back

He observes the carcass as Watts comes running up beside it and tells Tyrian never to run off again, only for Tyrian to run off

Tyrian claims a golden pocketwatch with a castle engraved into the back before Watts calls him back

Surprised keep coming when Hazel crashes in with the Death Stalker still on his tail

Roman reunites with Mercury briefly

Mercury very quickly becomes angered by everything that’s happening and only gets two second to chill out before Roman points out that Neo’s still hanging from the Nevermore

Emerald says she’ll fall, which she does, so Cinder jumps up and catches her before they both hurtle to the ground, Neo using Cinder as a landing pad

Hazel lands in a heap before everyone else

Roman dashes forward to fight the Death Stalker, but he’s knocked back by its claws and has to run back to the group, not making it far when the Nevermore sends down sharp feathers and pins Roman in place by his coat

Neo races forward and puts up a thin surface of ice to shield herself and Roman

She continually summons Signs to talk to him easier, in which she says that while he’s an idiot, she’s been more than difficult to deal with, so she’ll try harder to be better if he stops being a “dum-dum”

Roman mumbles to himself about normal pajamas

The Nevermore starts to circle back and the Death Stalker starts to break from the ice, so Roman decrees they all make a break for the cliffs with their relics

He grabs a horse-printed watch for himself and Neo, and Cinder grabs a castle-printed one for her and Hazel

The group heads into another series of ruined structures, spreading out when the Nevermore approaches above and perched on a tall column

The Death Stalker soon arrives, forcing the group to run while Tyrian distracts it by firing emblem-topped shells at the Nevermore, exploding into bursts of purple smoke and forcing it to retreat

Emerald and Watts perform a cross slash against the shell of the approaching Death Stalker and are chased while Neo grabs Tyrian and creates a weak trampoline illusion for them to jump off

Hazel stans more red crystals into his arm and sends out explosive blasts from his hands alongside Watts’ cables until the Grimm reaches them and swipes, provoking the students to sprint for the bridge

The Nevermore’s feathers shatter the path right in the middle, splitting the group into 5 and 3 (Roman, Neo, Mercury, Cinder and Tyrian near the centre) (Watts, Emerald and Hazel on the other side)

Emerald is knocked back by the scorpion, so Tyrian extends his wrist blades and slams them into the ground to slingshot Cinder over to the other side before replicating the result on himself, allowing him to slam the blades right into the centre of the Death Stalker’s skull

He fires too and blasts back to avoid the stinger, accidentally knocking over Emerald, who launches her chain so her blade sinks into the bridge and swings up onto the Nevermore so she can slash along its wings before jumping down to join Neo, Roman and Mercury

The new team of four in the centre fires a barrage at the approaching Nevermore until it crashes, forcing them up higher

Roman sets out a plan and starts firing as Neo covers him with her parasol

Back with the other half of the eight, Hazel punches the Death Stalker after deflecting its claw with his foot and Cinder blocks the other pincer with her bow, firing at it for a split-second so Hazel can attack its face

Watts manages to get onto the stinger and shocks it with his cables as Tyrian fires more shells

Watts is soon thrown from the tail when Hazel punches the Grimm in its eyes explosively, him not getting up

Cinder notices the new hanging nature of the stinger and calls for Hazel, who rips out his red crystals and hurls then like darts to cut down the stinger and stab it through the Grimm’s head

Tyrian jumps onto Hazel’s shoulders and aims his blast down as he jumps, twirling in the air and coming down heavy and hard on the stinger, killing the Death Stalker and crushing the bridge underneath

They manage to all land safely save for Watts, who collapses soon after

Mercury’s still burning all his ammo on the Nevermore, and when it charges him, he leaps into its mouth and forces it open as he serves up kicks and shots down its throat

The monster crashes into the cliffs as soon as he jumps out, and Neo appears to freeze the tip of its tail feathers with the ice canister of Dust in her parasol, leaving the Nevermore stuck no matter its flapping

Emerald throws half of Thief’s Respite to Mercury so the two can tighten the chains between two columns in order to make a slingshot before Roman jumps into the centre with his cane charged up and Neo pulling the chains back with her parasol

The ground cracks when he’s launched, gunpowder flying in his wake, and he catches the Nevermore around the neck with his cane’s handle while Neo creates rock-climbing grips up the cliff-face (which Roman reaches by firing off shots from his cane)

Roman reaches the top of the cliff, fires off one supercharged shot and kills the Nevermore via decapitation

In the assembly hall at Beacon, teams are being announced after initiation

Arslan, Bolin, Reese and Nadir form Team ARBN (Auburn)

Watts, Tyrian, Cinder and Hazel form Team WTCH (Witch)

Roman, Mercury, Emerald and Neo form RMEN (Ramen)

That night, Ruby meets with a white masked man after an angry Scroll conversation, gives him a stack of Lien and opens a case of Dust

The next morning, Neo is rudely awakened by Roman blowing a whistle in her ears

Mercury announces that they need to decorate and unpack with Emerald adding that cleaning would also help

When they’re done unpacking and organising, they find they have no room for the beds, so instead they make bunk beds (majority vote, sorry Neo)

Roman’s bunk is hung from ropes above Neo’s, and Mercury’s is balanced atop Emerald’s many stacks of books on her bedposts

Neo then realised they’re gonna be late and drags her team out to join WTCH in their frantic race to class

Professor Terra Cotta-Arc begins a lengthy speech about being Huntsmen and Huntresses

(Mercury and Emerald are paying attention, Neo takes notes, Roman distracts himself by tapping out a rhythm)

Terra starts talking about her years as a young Huntress as Roman shows Neo a crude drawing labelled “Professor Terror” that Mercury and Emerald laugh at

Neo, angered by Roman’s repeated antics, sticks her hand up when Terra asks who believes that they possess the true qualities of a Hunter, only to be surprised when Terra brings out a cage with a Boarbatusk

The rest of RMEN cheer on their teammate, but Roman is the only one who is told to shut up

Neo deflects the Boarbatusk with her canopy and rolls as the Grimm studies her, only for Roman and Terra to be unhelpfully loud

Her parasol then gets caught in the tusks of the beast, being thrown away along with Neo after she takes a split second to glare at Roman for his once more unhelpful comments

Neo rolls away to avoid being crushed and reclaims Hush before Roman calls for her to piece the stomach, to which she creates a Sign telling him to stop begging for attention

She ends up killing the Grimm and Terra congratulates her as she dismisses the class

As Neo storms off after class, Roman catches up and asks what’s wrong

Neo turns the question back on him bitterly and calls him an attention seeker, Roman looking disheartened after what she said back in the Forest, before she says Salem made a mistake and she deserves better than him

As if summoned, Salem appears beside Roman

Neo finds Terra on a balcony on top of the building, the latter noticing something troubling her student to which Neo confesses she doesn’t think Roman should be RMEN’s leader

Terra says that’s ridiculous

Salem confesses to Roman that among her hundreds and thousands of mistakes, she does not believe him to be one of them

Terra continues on with Neo, saying that she trusts Salem’s decisions without hesitation

She also says that in Neo she sees a girl who got nothing in return for everything for seven or eight years, and then suddenly she could get anything she could want with the snap of a finger (Neo crosses her arms and looks to her shoes at this)

Terra recommends Neo home her techniques, perfect her skills, and be the best person she can be in her position just like when she was younger

When Neo returns to the dorm room that night, she finds Roman with papers scattered across his bunk and a pencil in his hand and a RSL website open on his Scroll

Momentarily shocked by the consideration towards her, Neo shakes Roman awake and makes him another coffee

She moves to leave, throwing an offhanded comment that it took years for her caretaker to learn RSL just for her, before she says she’s always wanted bunk beds

Another day, Cinder is going toe to toe against Arslan Atlan, with Arslan winning by a large majority

Adrian stops the match when Cinder’s Aura drops low enough, stating that it means that in a tournament, she would be eliminated

Adrian also comments to the crowd of students to learn of gauging one’s Aura without referring to a Scroll

The Vytal Festival is then announced to be coming up this year, with the majority of RMEN excitedly eager to participate in a few months

Class is dismissed and everyone heads for the cafeteria, where Tyrian tells a story about him and Watts fighting and killing Ursai (Beowolves) to make some Lien (Watts reveals this is a dream)

Cinder is oddly despondent and Hazel asks if she’s alright before the eight of them notice Team ABRN picking on Summer Bloom, a wolf Faunus with red-tipped ears jutting from her hair

Hazel states that Arslan’s been picking on Cinder since the first week of school, and proceeds to list off the many times that Cinder denies she’s been bullied

Tyrian suggests they break Arslan’s legs

The laughing of ABRN gets louder as Arslan tugs on Summer’s eats and pokes around at her sharp teeth before she pulls up her hood and scampers away back to her team

Hazel expresses his disgust about the racist act against Summer, and Emerald echoes his views

Cinder leaves without noticing Arslan watching her

Later on Professor Saphron Cotta-Arc zooms around the room while giving a hyperactive lecture about the Faunus Civil Rights history

When she asks if anyone has been discriminated against for their Faunus heritage, Summer is among those who raised their hands

Saphron carries on, and when she asks the advantage the Faunus had during one of the War’s battles, Cinder incorrectly answers “binoculars” despite Hazel’s cues for night vision

Arslan also answers incorrectly by saying animals are easier to train before Hazel gives the right answer and Emerald adds on that the general leading the humans was inexperienced and captured soon after

Saphron keeps Cinder and Arslan back after class to give them further assignments and a lecture about repeating history

When Cinder emerges from class and is pushed by her tormentor, Hazel offers to actually break her legs and then drags Cinder up to the roof

It’s here that Hazel, with the best intentions in mind, offers to help train Cinder so she can be more capable with not only her Aura but also her weapons, which Cinder takes as Hazel seeing her as weak

Cinder also admits that she faked control of her Semblance by using experimental fire Dust just so she could get into Beacon, when really she has no control at all

After Cinder yells that she needs to do this on her own, Hazel leaves glumly, and Arslan climbs up onto the roof after hearing Cinder’s truths

Arslan proceeds to blackmail Cinder into doing her bidding, including those readings Saphron gave them

Another day, Tyrian and Watts ponder over the recent disappearing acts their teammate had committed to, only for Hazel to firmly say that he’s sure Cinder knows exactly what she’s doing with Arslan

Cinder is actually outside the dorm listening in on the conversation when Roman comes out of his dorm and sits beside her to talk, a talk that quickly escalates into Cinder calling herself a failure and Roman saying she can’t afford to be a failure because now she has a team and friends to look after

Once Roman leaves, she gets a call from Arslan asking if Cinder can round up some Rapier Wasps that are really important for their next field trip

Said field trip takes RMEN, WTCH and ABRN into Forever Fall, led by Adrian, to collect sap, wherein Cinder seems to be carrying all the equipment in the back

Cinder tries to sneak back to her teammates but Arslan snatches her up and forces her into collecting six full jars of red sap from the trees, and when Arslan brings up the sixth jar to an exhausted Cinder, she reveals they are going to throw it at Hazel and then release the Rapier Wasps

To further worsen the morality of the scheme, Arslan reveals that she’s letting Cinder throw the sap

Cinder, however, refuses and shatters the jar against Arslan instead, angering the rest of ABRN who grab her and start to dish out punches and kicks

She gets pushed to the feet of a looming Arslan and then punched

Cinder is willing to put up with beating if it protects her teammates and Arslan tries to punch her again, but Cinder’s Aura triggers a bright flash of light that burns Arslan and heals Cinder

Arslan is about to get back to beating her, but an Ursa suddenly approaches from within the forest (attracted to the sap now on Arslan’s robe) as her teammates run away heroically

The other students hear the Ursa’s roar and when BRN comes running out of the trees, Mercury grabs Reese and all she says is that “it’s got Arslan!”

Hazel is much more concerned about Cinder, so Roman tells Mercury and Emerald to go find Adrian while he, Hazel and Neo go find Cinder and Arslan

Arslan tries to get away from the Grimm as Hazel, Roman and Neo arrive on the scene, but the Ursa swipes and is only blocked by Cinder’s bow

As Cinder fights the Ursa, Hazel holds Neo back from interferring, so Cinder proceeds to fire arrows into its stomach before rolling out of the way of a strike

She is unprepared for the next attack though, wherein she is almost hit while performing a leap attack, so the arrow goes askew while her back shimmer orange to signal her Aura is super low

The lost arrow is headed straight for a shocked Roman, but it’s blocked when Hazel stretches out his hand and pale energy gathers around it as the arrow stabs into his palm

Cinder lifts her bow and blocks another swipe before aiming up and firing right through the Ursa’s neck, decapitating it

Roman and Neo are shocked at the fact that Hazel took the arrow in the arm without any pain and he explains that his Semblance is numbing any sense of pain (which Roman momentarily misinterprets until Neo explains in RSL)

Hazel also tells them not to tell anyone else about his Semblance or that Cinder “hurt” him

Cinder, bruised and beaten, starts to collect up her arrows and then pulls up Arslan, pulling her in and instructing her to never mess with her team or her friends ever again

That night, atop the Beacon dorm roof, where Cinder apologises to Hazel and asks if that offer for training is still on the table

Hazel playfully pushes her and tells her her stance is off

It’s another day again, and RMEN is heading to the docks as per request of Neo to “welcome the new competition” from the other kingdoms

Roman gets distracted by the robbery that appears to have taken place at the Dust shop he defended at the beginning of the series, and the detectives have their suspicions of the White Fang being involved again

Neo huffs and puffs over the mention of the White Fang, calling them degenerates until Emerald calls her out on it, saying that it doesn’t make sense for the White Fang to rob a midtown Dust shop

Roman adds on that it could’ve been Ruby Rose

The conversation derails when a dock-worker calls for people to stop a Faunus - Neon Katt

Neon leaps off the ship she stowed away on with a turkey leg, which she eats while balanced on a lamppost before tossing the bone at the dock-worker’s head

As Neon runs away, she goes into slo-mo mode and winks at Emerald before being pursued by RMEN

Neo crashes into a boy and loses the chase, much to her dismay, before getting up from atop the boy she knocked down - Oscar

Oscar introduces himself with immeasurable enthusiasm despite his awkwardness with words (though he manages to shock Neo with his understanding of her RSL introduction)

Roman calls Oscar “friend” as he walks away with the rest of RMEN, who almost begin to argue over Neon, until Oscar appears back in front of the group and makes his way to Roman, getting super close and asking if they’re really friends

Roman awkwardly agrees

It turns out that Oscar is here to compete in the Vytal Festival Tournament which Neo doubts highly due to his cutesy-farm boy aesthetic (Mercury calls her out on her choice of fashion, but Roman backs up their “combat coat” partnership)

She soon starts questioning if Oscar knows the “filthy Faunus from the boat”

At this, Emerald snaps and starts an argument with Neo that continues on late into the night when the team returns to their dorm

When Emerald angrily asks why Neo could possibly hate the Faunus so much, she replies that she’s had a target painted on her back since she was first adopted by James Ironwood, as well as having her parents killed in a violent (yet vague) act that there’s an article on from nine years prior

Emerald tries to apologise for bringing up bad memories, but Neo snaps at her by calling Faunus liars, thieves and murderers

Emerald yells back that “we were just tired of being pushed around”, finally revealing she is a Faunus, before she runs away from her team into the night where she removes her leather gloves to reveal gecko scales along her arms and hands

Neon approaches her from behind

The next morning Emerald is still gone from the dorm so Roman, Mercury and Neo go out looking for her, with Neo coming along reluctantly due to her still-standing views on Faunus now applying to her teammate

On the roof of a cafe RMN pass, Emerald sits with Neon in silence until she starts to talk about her childhood in the White Fang and how when their old leader stepped down, she was replaced by someone who believed more in violence to achieve peace, so Emerald ran away to become a Huntress

RMN are still out trying to find Emerald when Oscar suddenly appears behind them, offering to help find her once he knows the situation before Neo and Mercury disappear to avoid Oscar

Neon fills in Emerald about a huge shipment of Ironwood Dust Company that could help them find out if the White Fang are actually involved with the robberies

Roman and Oscar talk about how Emerald ran away and Oscar says that if Emerald were his friend, he’d want her to talk about what’s troubling her

That night, Emerald and Neon (who has stolen honeycomb bars) camp out near the docks, making small talk until a Bullhead approaches

White Fang soldiers come out of the ship and Emerald admits she always knew they were involved, but when Ruby emerges from the ship as well, she makes a move and approaches from behind

She puts her blade to Ruby’s throat and asks why the White Fang are collaborating with a human criminal, to which Ruby answers that it’s a business venture before Bullheads emerge alongside the first and Ruby shoots at Emerald’s feet to escape

Emerald gets out of Ruby’s line of sight and fire while flying bullets destroy cargo, with Neon soon joining the fray with her glowstick-nunchaku

She manages to fight away the White Fang members that charge her before creating an icy shockwave to drive the last of them back and being shot at by Ruby’s sniper, a bullet she easily blocks

Emerald closes the distance between herself and Ruby, becoming nothing more than illusionary after-images as she slashes at Ruby three times

Ruby only blocks the strikes with her scythe’s blade and landing blow after blow on Emerald until one final hit causes her to go down

Neon comes from behind and with her nunchaku tied around the wrists she creates spinning wheels of flame, the wielder repeatedly cracking into different Dust types at rapid fire speed that Ruby still manages to block until she pauses and Emerald gets a hit in

A swinging container is shot down to seperate the two students so that Ruby can aim at Neon, only for Roman to attract attention to himself and Oscar

Oscar momentarily distracts Roman and accidentally allows Ruby to get a shot in at him, angering Oscar enough to enter the fray

His backpack unfolds to reveal a series of metal batons

Three batons knock down White Fang troops before he performs many graceful maneuvers to knock several others down and blocks shots from the three Bullheads

Oscar creates several lasers that emerge from the tops of his batons, cracking the ground beneath him but still cutting through each Bullhead, sending White Fang member flying

Ruby grimaces and calls for another Bullhead that takes her away from the fight

Later on, Neo and Mercury find Oscar, Roman, Emerald and Neon at the docks with the police and when Emerald tries to explain her ex-affiliation with the White Fang, Neo stops her and says she’s done a lot of thinking

Neo has decided she doesn’t care about Emerald’s past, all she requests of her now is that when something comes up, Emerald tells her team instead of running away again (she still doesn’t know how she feels about Neon)

Oscar has disappeared into a black car with a driver who says not to wander off without his sister again

Salem, back at Beacon, receives a message from Coco Adel saying “KING HAS PAWNS”

In an abandoned warehouse in Vale, Ruby is confronted by Jaune, Blake and Yang, with Jaune saying that they need her to cooperate with the White Fang if the plan is to work

Volume 2 will come along soon! I hope this helps for Volume 1 though!

- Admin Neon

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ofieugogyshz · 4 years

Note

Notebook, television, shotgun!

this got long so rm’d

Notebook; How do you and your F/O(s) get your thoughts and feeling out, if not with words?

Lance is better at using his words than I am. Like, I mean, I can craft with words, but like, actually say them? oh man that’s a whole fuck. Well, actually, I guess it depends on the emotion behind the thoughts. Because I mean, I’m still mostly just ASKDJSKHDS when it’s a happy emotion but he can tell by the occasional babbling what feeling I’m trying to convey :P But when it comes to something like... frustration/sadness? Oh my god I am so emotionally constipated that I’ve BARELY been working on talking through my emotions and it’s hard so sometimes it winds up being something like typing/writing it out, even if he’s just right in front of me, and he’s okay with that, because he know how hard it’s been my entire god damn life to express myself and other issues there. He knows, and we’ve just. learned that it’s easier if I’m getting choked up to let me use the pen, so to speak

When I’m angry though.... I’m very vocal about that kldsjfkfjdk the amount of times he’s tried to calm me down before my medication..... please get this man a reward for being such a saint.

when it comes to him though, like... He secludes away for any sort of negative emotion. He’s already a pretty private person as it is, and he feels like he has responsibility to set a good example as someone who’ll wind up leading the clan, and... That’s a lot already. So when stress comes to head, he’ll go off somewhere by himself. He’ll often text me/let me know that he needs time by himself, because if he doesn’t, I’ll be blowing up the phone (mostly for my usual talky shenanigans, but if I’m aware that he’s somewhere not feeling well, then... I will still be trying to open up) Depending on what kind of bad it is, I’ll take a page out of his book and go spend time with him, let him know I’m there by actually being there. Because he’s always been there for me. It’s my turn to be there for him.

But for good/positive emotions.... He’ll smile, he’ll open up a bit more, he’ll become more relaxed/talkative? if that makes sense? like, less formal/professional speech. I mean he still very much has that tone regardless bc it’s just. part of who he is now, but like. He’ll express it, he’ll try to verbalize it, if it’s romantic he WILL verbalize it. Love involves a lot of affection and actions and words; making sure that I know that I’m loved as many ways as possible. I just. don’t know how to words it? Like he’ll tell me, he’ll give me affection, he knows because we’ve talked about it and figured it out, the ways that my brain feels lacking.... and I will admit that I kind of haven’t paid attention to how he communicates care for others. But... looking at his Pokemon, I definitely think spending time and being patient with hurt people, talking to them, trying to remind them that he’s there and that things are okay now... like. I’m veering off entirely from the original point of the question. but that’s okay cuz it’s my blog and i get to make the rules. Like... even with Silver in the Masters event! He talks with Silver, mentions that it’s been awhile since they’ve “talked like this”, presumably spending time together, being patient and helpful...

oh my god i can’t believe I forgot helpfulness.

anyways uhhh i need to leave room for the other questions fjksjhd so i’m gonna cut it off here now.

Television; How do you and your F/O(s) keep up with what’s happening in the world?

I.... don’t. I’m too burnt out. He, on the other hand, reads/watches the news, reports, etc. If it’s something that he’s going to get involved with [either as champion or with the pokemon g-men], he researches it. Sometimes he’ll let me know about something that he found interesting or think I would find interesting but.... I basically wind up with the same thing plastered over my twitter timeline 2000x and after that you just. kind of stop caring. I don’t know how my husband does it. bigger heart ig?

Shotgun; Which of you is the most aggressive when it comes to inconvenience and confrontation? Have you ever got physically violent with another party?

I... oh. this is loaded in maaaaaany different ways. So, like. On a personal, no outer world risk level, I’m... very. very aggressive. not as much as I used to be since getting on mood stabilizers [thank stars] but. i’m still. Aggressive. But I also don’t do confrontations because i’m a crybaby and my history of confrontations involved... less than good reasons and dismissive reactions, so I tend to just. avoid it as well. LOL;;; My husband, on the other hand, isn’t aggressive about small annoyances like that? and he’s pretty good about confrontations! so i have him tell people to stop being noisy and giving me headaches. When it’s not threatening the safety of others, he’s very calm and direct in his confrontations and handles situations pretty well, imo...

Now, uh, for the latter half...! I have not gotten violent with people, but i’ve also only every been that angry that I was afraid I was going to throw something like.... once or twice in my life, and I made sure I went on what wound up a LONG ASS WALK for like an hour with the subject of my anger so I could yell at them about what happened. I mean, I’ve thought violent thoughts about people, and there is one who I wish the utmost ill upon that would make other forms of torture look tame, but I’ve also never been in a state where I could do anything about it.........

My husband has had to uh, apprehend people with a Hyper Beam or two though. But it was for their own good! god how different my life could have been if he could have come in and saved me from all that... I know he wouldn’t’ve stood for all of that... esp if I thought it was unfair, and he’s got the stronger set of morals between the two of us. He honestly only does it if he ever really has to. And, unfortunately, with some thieves and evil organizations, force is necessary. He does try to reason with Archie when he gets possessed by the (blue?) orb, but unfortunately he’s so far gone that it doesn’t work, so force becomes necessary. And Team Rocket... well, they’re team rocket, they’ve done worse things to Pokemon than a Hyper Beam. They’ll live.

#ask to tag?#violence mention cw?#minty-fresh-kicks #asks

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itsjustashipperlife · 5 years

Text

ENDGAME THOUGHTS

So here it is. The longest post I’ll ever write, so bear with me. (I’m not kidding, this is HUGE).

I watched Endgame at 7 pm yesterday… Came back home at 11. And I posted that I would try to sleep and make this post today. You know how many hours I slept? Four. And I finally fell asleep at 3.30 am.

I will try to say all my thoughts on this post, so if I miss something, I’m sorry. (Note: although I like more characters, the IronFam, pepperony, irondad… Will be the main concerns here, so anti Tonys, get the fuck out)

SPOILERS AHEAD

I will try to say things that I liked first, then the ones that I didn’t like, and then we’ll get to the OG6 ends, okay? Okay.

THINGS I LIKED:

The whole movie has that atmosphere that this was it. The Endgame. And it really makes you anxious for the characters.

Clint’s first scene with his family is heartbreaking

Tony being so soft (a dad) with Nebula was fucking everything

Although it was expected, Carol rescuing Tony and Nebula was great. (I guess it’s because the message for Pepper was received… because then why was she waiting there?)

Tony saying “I lost the kid” killed me, and then he finally calms down when Pepper hugs him

Tony’s kiss on Pepper’s cheek

Tony cutting out Steve’s bullshit had me going “Yeah, honey! That’s it”

Seriously, he looks (and feels) like shit. And he gets the strength to get up, rip off his IV, and call him out before his body can’t stand anymore

What’s left of the team trying to fix it all, going to Thanos without second thoughts and killing him once and for all (okay, maybe not “forever”, but you know… Thor finally went for the head)

That “5 years later” gasp, seeing how the world is “moving on” after the decimation

Everyone’s fucking done, and tired, and hopeless (e.g. Nat, Steve, Rocket and Nebula, Rhodey, Clint…)

Nat’s break down, trying to stay positive about Clint, and about everything (also, Rhodey helping her, looking for Clint… Because in this blog, we love and respect Colonel James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes)

Scott getting back from the quantum realm after (for him) 5 hours, to finally reunite with his now grown up daughter

Tony “moving on” (kinda). He has the life he said he wanted since AoU, with Pepper as his wife and his daughter, and living on a beautiful farm, away from everyone

Tony being the BEST DAD the MCU will ever see (no hate on Clint or Scott tho, it’s just my opinion). He loves her so much, and she loves her daddy too (3000

Morgan with the Rescue helmet

Tony kissing it

He carrying her inside to have dinner

The team getting to his house for help, cause he’s the only one that can do it

That shot of Tony pouring drinks for everyone in which we see his wedding band (because, of course, and like RDJ, Tony is that kind of man)

He being selfish about trying what Scott said. He has every right to be. Although Peter’s not there, he has Morgan. And he wants to be there for her. He’s allowing himself to be selfish for the first time in 15 years (being 2023 in the MCU right now… I think… technically…)

But… he’s Tony Stark. The selfless man the world will ever know. He can fix it, and he will

Nat, Scott and Steve talking with Bruce… or Hulk… or Proffesor Hulk (let’s call him Bruce)

Tony being domestic: doing the dishes, tucking his daughter in, the “I love you 3000″, and him being so cute with Morgan like… “whoa, honey, that’s a lot… that’s more than ‘tons’"

Him resolving the problems of the “time-travels” in a couple of hours… I stan one man… Also, Morgan seeing her daddy work and getting ice-cream before going to sleep. Again, the best dad

Once again, Tony being domestic talking with Pep (aka his wife, aka the love of his life, aka the mother of his daughter, aka his goddess, boss and queen), asking her what should he do, and Pepper, like always, being his voice of reason

Scott and Bruce trying to work with the quantum realm

Tony driving to the compound like the badass he is (also, while being a badass, still being a dad and putting toys and a teddy bear out the way of Cap’s shield)

Bruce and Rocket looking for Thor, the appereance of Valkyrie, Korg and Miek, and Thor playing Fortnite. (I found all of Thor’s scenes very funny, but at the same time I didn’t feel like it was okay to laugh about it. He’s clearly depressed during the whole film, and every character-like every person- deal with depression and ways to cope in different ways… so I don’t think that laughing at Fat Thor was nearly okay)

Clint being a badass

His scene with Nat, holding hands

Rhodey with the best fucking idea of the movie (go back in time to baby Thanos, and… you know the rest). Again, I love this man

Bruce freaking out about it. And explaining the way the MOVIE works

Clint being succesful on the first try

The WHOLE scenes of the “domestic” team, getting up ideas of how they’re going to recollect the stones (Loved every single one of them, and I would gladly watch a film that was all about Nat, Tony and Bruce lying on a table and talking)

Jane Foster making a come-back (kinda)… Also, Thor is me when I’m doing a presentation

Rocket calling Scott “puppy”

The team prepared. The whole “you know your teams, you know your missions” speech

The “unseen” parts of Avengers 1, after they got Loki

Scott giving 2012-Tony a heart attack and 2012-Thor helping with Mjolnir. All while actual-Tony gets the tesseract (for a while)

All of Rocket-Thor scenes in Asgard

Rhodey and Nebula laughing at Quill

2012-Cap vs actual-Cap (+America’s Ass), and the elevator scene

The ancient one and Bruce conversation

The whole thing with past and present Nebula

Stan Lee’s cameo

Tony and Steve going to 1970. Tony (aka Howard Potts… I died when his wife’s name is the first one that comes to his mind) talking to Howard Stark, having a dad to dad conversation, and Edwin Jarvis cameo. Meanwhile, Steve seeing Peggy.

Nat sacrifice for Clint. Clint crying afterwards…

The team decided to not let her sacrifice be in vain (+Bruce’s reaction)

Bruce undoing the snap

Past-Gamora helping actual-Nebula (+killing old-Nebula)

Thor, Steve and Tony fight with Thanos (while the rest of the team is trying to get the gauntlet)… (+THAT scene of Steve and Mjolnir)

THAT FUCKING SCENE WHERE ALL OF THE FALLEN AVENGERS COME BACK (+RESCUE!!) AND STEVE FINALLY SAYS “AVENGERS ASSEMBLE”

SERIOUSLY, THAT WHOLE SCENE

Rescue and Iron Man fighting back to back like the power couple they are

Rescue-Mom giving Spiderman and the gauntlet a ride

Tony and Peter reunion *sobbing* (+Groot and Rocket, +Hope and Scott, +Quill and Gamora)

THAT SCENE WITH ALL THE WOMEN FIGHTING TOGETHER (Pepper being the badass she fucking is!!)… The only woman I missed was Nat… *sobbing again*

TONY’S “I AM IRON MAN”

PEPPER’S “ITS OKAY… YOU CAN REST NOW”

PETER SOBBING. PEPPER SOBBING. RHODEY HOLDING PETER

PETER GOING BACK TO NED AND MAY

THE VIDEO. “I LOVE YOU 3000″

THE FUNERAL WITH ALL THE TEAM (+HARLEY)

RHODEY AND HAPPY COMFORTING EACH OTHER BEHIND MORGAN AND PEP

“PROOF THAT TONY STARK HAS A HEART”

UNCLE HAPPY AND THE FUCKING CHEESEBURGUERS

Thor going with the Guardians (+Quill looking for Gamora)

Clint with his fam

Scott with his fam

Steve giving the shield to Sam

(this is kinda)-> Steve going to Peggy

In conclusion: MY HEART IS FUCKING BROKEN FOR THIS MOVIE, but nontheless I “loved” it

Okay… so now that we are done… Let’s talk about what I didn’t like:

I needed more Pepper/Tony moments, and more Pepper “mommy” moments

Uncle Happy was great… BUT WHAT ABOUT UNCLE RHODEY!

Steve, get out of the fucking way! Tony doesn’t need you now (at the begining of the movie). He needs Pepper, and Rhodey, and food, water and sleep

Rhodey not getting a hug with Tony at the begining of the movie

Not May/Tony conflict/crying over their ‘son’

I don’t know if I like Howard’s and Tony’s talk… I do like it, but idk. I guess that in the movies he wasn’t physically abusing to him… But at least he gets to talk with his dad and he realizes he’s a very good dad with Morgan (aka, his “little girl” *sobs*)

TONY DESERVES BETTER. THE WHOLE IRONFAM DESERVES BETTER. MORGAN, PEPPER, RHODEY, HAPPY, PETER… MY GOSH, EVEN THE BOTS AND FRIDAY (I can’t talk about him in past tense, I’m sorry. I’m just in denial)

THAT FUCKING CHEESEBURGUER LINE (I swear, I will never get over that fucking line)

Steve getting to live his “endgame” with Peggy, leaving everyone behind (aka Bucky and Sam, but mostly Bucky) and being FUCKING SELFISH (in my eyes… and for what I’ve read, in a lot of actual Cap’s fans too)

How come that “the man who lays in the wire” is the one that leaves, and “the man who would cut the wire” is the one that fucking LAYS ON IT (again)

Alright. Now I’m going to talk about the OG6 ends. Although I have leave my points of view up… But I still want to talk about it more thoroughly:

Clint: Finally, Clint got his protagonism in the team. He’s going to do “whatever it takes” (and he means WHATEVER) to bring his family back. I liked his end, there’s nothing more to discuss about it.

Bruce: Yeah, Bruce finally got the best of both worlds, the mind and the strength… But what’s he going to do now?

Thor: Thor’s end was okay (IMO)… He doesn’t have the strength to be the king anymore… But Valkyrie does. And he has great chemistry with the Guardians, so I didn’t mind him going with them.

Nat: Nat’s ending was great. Let me explain. I didnt like that she died. But I felt it very on character… She has no family, her family are the avengers. And she wants to bring them back. Clint is like her brother (I’m a little into Clintasha tbh, but I accept that they give them that brother/sister relationship long ago. It proofs that not all the male/female friendships have to end in a romantic relationship), and she did anything she could to undo the snap during 5 fucking years.

Steve: Hated it (him). Yeah, you “loved” Peggy… Whatever. (The Russos trying to put Steggy as the Royal ship when everyone KNOWS that that title belongs, AND WILL ALWAYS BELONG, to Pepper and Tony). He’s just looking at the past, he has never moved on, and he never will. He let Tony gave up his family (at the age of 53… god, he had a lot to live for) and then he left Bucky behind (and the whole Hydra mess too), when he always was so nuisance about him all these years…

Tony: Hate/Love it. I love it because it’s the way of fully close the circle of this whole journey, and he’s the SAVIOR of the fucking MCU, now and always. Haters can shut their mouths now after what he did…

I hate it because… He’s my baby. He finally had the life he craved for all these years. Married to Pep, with his baby girl; trophy husband, doting father… and now he’s… gone. He’ll never see Morgan grow up (her first day at college, her first bf/gf, her graduation, her wedding, his grand-kids… any of it), he’ll never see Peter go to college either. Pepper will see all of that alone (not completely, because Happy and Rhodey will always be there, but someone will be always missing). Morgan won’t ever doubt that her daddy loves her, but still he won’t be there to kiss her goodnight, nor to tell her shitty bed time stories. (God, I’m crying again… and I really want to say I am joking, but I’m not).

Tony fucking DESERVED BETTER.

The whole IRONFAM DESERVED BETTER.

Rhodey hold his head and pet his hair, with tears in his eyes that he refuses to let out. Peter calling him Tony for the first time ever… “We won”

Also, Pepper is the STRONGEST WOMAN IN THE MCU. No one will EVER change my mind. She went into battlefield to help her husband, to protect their kid, and she hates violence. She fought beside him, helped defeat Thanos… And, when Tony (her Tony) was dying… She kneeled next to him, to reassure him that they would be okay, that he “can rest now”. And she didn’t break until he was gone. So the last thing he would see was her being the calm, competent person he knows she is. SHE FUCKING WAITS TILL HE’S GONE. SHE HOLDS HER TEARS AND HER SOBS SO HE WOULD FEEL OKAY. SO THAT HE COULD REST. And then, when the light of his arc reactor is out, and his hand is no longer in hers, she let it all out. She kissed his cheek one last time and sobs with her face buried in his neck… And I can’t deal with it.

Tony’s last message… “I love you 3000″ is another heartbreak. And the “Proof that Tony Stark has a heart” is the best… But the fucking cheeseburguers… If I weren’t sobbing and trembling during all that, the cheeseburguer was the charm that made me explode. It was over. It was really over. And that line made it true.

And the point is… I can’t read fanfics now. Nor see fanarts, fanvids, edits, you name it. Hell, I don’t think I’ll be able to watch any movie with Tony in it with the same eyes anymore… Any of the Iron Man movies, Homecoming, Civil War… It’s just too much. I won’t be able to watch Iron Man 1 again the same as I did before… with the cheeseburguer, and Pepper tears because she “hates job hunting”, Yinsen and his question about family, or the first time Tony flies out of his garage, with that huge, happy smile on his face.

Every time that I see 3000, I get fucking sad. And I was crying when I got home yesterday. When I calmed down a bit, I entered Instagram and Robert posted that photo of him and Jimmy Rich “holding” the A of Avengers and the tag #iloveyou #3000 and I fucking cried again… Fuck, I’ve been crying while writing all of this post.

I’m not even able to read some fluff fanfic from a couple of years ago… Pre-Infiniry war era to cheer me up. It just makes me sadden.

And… I think that’s it… I hope someone will read aaaaall my rant, but I can’t sum anything up.

TONY STARK, I LOVE YOU 3000 (ALWAYS WILL)

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tumblingdoe · 5 years

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Day 2, 3, & 4 of Road Head

Thursday January 3, 2019

Nels is really good about getting up in the morning, hand-grinding and brewing coffee, then driving to our next destination. I’m more of a night owl so I’m good at sleeping through all of this -- except today. The wind rattled the RV so strongly that it reminded me of the shuttle launches I learned about at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. I thought about how this adventure is like a launch into the unknown, an uncomfortable, fast-paced exploration, calculated by a huge team, and executed by few. Was I still willing to stay onboard?

I thought about the keychain I had gotten at the Rocket Center for this very trip, an astronaut and how supporters of Sexplanations are called Sexpla(i)nauts. The whole morning felt really sentimental. Especially when we arrived at our first destination: Pasco, Washington’s Country Mercantile which is like an indoor farmers market run by a grocer. I LOVE THIS PLACE!

A sexpla(i)naut named Dylan coordinated via Twitter to join us. I was thrilled. We ate breakfast and talked about sexuality. One of the special things I took away from our conversation is that fans of the show have a sort of built in sex ed software created from Sexplanations. So, when they have a question, there’s already a sense of the answer because I’ve programmed them. It’s not evil, it’s awesome!

Nels asked Dylan if he had questions for me and Dylan did, but he also said he knew to a degree how I would answer them and showed throughout breakfast that he was able to critically problem solve things I hadn’t talked about on Sexplanations from things I had talked about. I was a proud Lindsey at this moment.

I bought some cherry apple cider, huge apples, some onions, artichoke salsa, and tamales for a sex geek potluck Friday night. We got back on the road and drove again through the wind. The internet was fickle and this slowed my ability to help put out the week’s regular Sexplanations’ video. It went up smoothly anyway and Nels encouraged me to join him on a roadside hike to the top of Multnomah Falls. I thought to myself, “if you want exercise, let’s have sex!” but I knew it wasn’t just physical activity I needed. I needed fresh air and nature. To the hike.

By the time I was ready to be done walking up the trail there was a sign declaring we had done 1 out of 11 switchbacks!? I looked at the sign in disgust and proceeded to go forward. Just like with the Sexplanations Road Tour my belief was that a past me knew what would be best for a future me and even though present me would struggle, it would be worth it. I thought of a lot of metaphors on the hike and topics for Sexplanations’ episodes. I pondered how jumping into the 620 foot falls would be the fastest way down but then I’d be dead.

I did want Swedish meatballs, lingonberry juice, and retail therapy at Ikea before dinner at 5:30 and a speaking engagement at 7, so I ran down the mountain and got in the driver’s seat.

We did Ikea in 45 minutes -- got a cutting board, some floor mats, and cookware. Then it was off to Portland for real this time. Ethiopian food and my dear friend Ben from middle school were waiting for us. One of my greatest pleasures is eating with my hands.

After dinner, and just down the street was a meetup at the Sex Positive Education Events Center (SPEEC). As one attendee put it, “this might ruin it for the rest of your trip” because everything was so perfect. Angie, a sex therapist at SPEEC who’d coordinated everything with a day’s notice, had a projector for me to show Sexplanations, chocolates, comfy chairs, and a vibrator giveaway. The 20ish people who showed up were all spectacular!! We talked about sex positivity in the workplace, bisexual erasure, local resources, Nerdfighteria, the tour, and my experiences as a foster parent. I left with a gift of hand-made underwear and the overwhelming joy that Portland is in very good hands.

Afterward was second dinner with another dear friend and her partner. We went to the Chapel Pub where an organist was playing Sex Ed Rhapsody, “sex ed really matters. Anyone can see. Sex ed really matters. It really really matters to me.”

Friday January 4, 2019

Thursday we stayed up late drinking tea with Ben and talking about the future before camping in his driveway like hardcore vanlifers. With all that tea imbibed, the RV plumbing was activated that night. (Since we were coming from frozen Montana we had winterized the plumbing so nothing would break but now that we’re in warmer temperatures and in need of a toilet regularly we have a semi-operational bathroom!)

Friday morning I ate RV breakfast -- Brown Cow cream top plain yogurt with Bernice’s Bakery granola from Missoula. It occured to me that I would run out of these items and there was a slight head tilt of mystery about five months of life without Missoula. We drove to visit Nels’ friend Jamie who had the day off from work and the two of them went on a hike in the forest while I took a much-needed shower and got some work done. I wasn’t able to fit 80 hours of assignments into three hours but I was grateful that I got to check some things off the list and have time alone.

When Nels and Jamie came back to the house we went out for Panang Curry. Ben met us and we talked about Blue Planet playing on the restaurant TV. I didn’t know that octopuses/octopodes could be magenta!

After food we all went separate directions. Jamie and Nels went to meet up with another friend and put a puzzle together. I took Ben to his house and then did a run to Fred Meyers for a mattress pad and some drawers to organize my art supplies. Lindsey driving around the city in an RV by herself is a badass!

The evening of Friday January 4, 2019

Nels and I drove to Gresham, Oregon about 40 minutes from where we were in Portland. The Sex Geek community was gathering for a short-notice potluck so I could spend time with kindred spirits. The house was beautiful and warm. Each person was so cool and the food was wonderful! It was like reconnecting with best friends even though these were people I knew loosely. We took a tour of the house, sat down picnic table style for dinner, then talked for hours. I learned that a handful of the sex geeks there had already been on tour, one of whom had taken on our very mission of providing sex ed around the country via RV. I learned about the Fisting Coven (of women who learn and practice fisting with supervision) and I discussed the infrequency of sexologists with children while smiling at a new baby nearby. I’m curious. Some of the guests did a nude photo shoot featuring an gorgeous apple flower dessert and others compared notes on how they were raised. Everyone had a pretty unique upbringing except two of us who had grown up the same age in the same 6,000 person town in northeast Ohio, competing backstroke on swim teams, and walking past the Hudson green clocktower for milkshakes. Two 37 year old women who became well-known sex educators.

I eventually brought up my fear of speaking at Oxford’s TEDx in February with one of the sex geeks who is a successful and talented public speaker. He listened lovingly to my nerves and and boosted my confidence then retrieved a stack of colored notecards for me to write down and practice my speech over the next month. I knew what I was experiencing was a birth. Between my friends, the SPEEC meetup, and nurturing dinner party of colleagues I was being born into trust that this would all be transformative and meaningful.

Saturday January 5, 2019

Same morning routine, Nels made coffee and started the ignition. We had a brunch date with friends of his from college at their house. “At their house” is a great preposition when you’re road-tripping I’ve already learned because there’s a grounding feeling of front door, living room, bathroom, family dog etc. that you can’t get eating out at restaurants. AND the food is outstanding, made with love. This food was incredible, the black lab was so affectionate, and their toddler provided the ever so welcome shared activity of observing a tiny human being instead of outputting a lot of energy in small talk. I like Nels friends a lot!

After we left their place I felt an urgent need to take a nap and have sex, in that order. Nels and I are usually sex-multiple-times-a-day people but we haven’t prioritized it on the road. We got Costco gas, parked in the nearby lot, slept, then had much needed orgasms. I woke up hours later to Nels driving toward Eugene, Oregon where more of his friends had chicken masala for us “at their house.” I stayed in a relaxed state and committed to working later while they all socialized. As I write now they’re playing one of my favorite card games -- Bonanza, and I’m thrilled to be on a nearby couch, wrapped in a blanket, recalling day four. What a wondrous adventure I’m on.

#sexplanations road tour #curious road tour #sex ed road tour #sexuality #sexplanations #january #speec #sex geek

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alluringcliche · 5 years

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let me try to remember my buffy/angel episode feelings as i rewatch because i have a bad memory -- one-two sentences per ep @ezrisdax @feelsandotps

I started at 1x12, skipped most of 1. Btw my faves are still Cordelia & Buffy, and my problematic fave is Spike, there it is. I felt like S3 was my fave, but I really appreciate the Spike in S4, so there’s that -- I think 4 has some great eps and 2 of course does as well.

SEASON 1

12. Prophecy Girl - Buffy dies, ouch, but Xander has a heroic moment (?), I think Buffy’s already depressed and it’s S1.

SEASON 2 1. When She Was Bad - See, Buffy’s already depressed and angry but everyone should cut her some slack SHE DIED, SHE’S TRYING. 2. Some Assembly Required - Oh I already forgot about this one, but it was fun because they tried to kill Cordelia and she was great and I adore Cordelia 3. School Hard - SPIKE is here and Spike/Dru are amazing. Also parent teacher night honestly Joyce&Buffy so far is ouch in general. 4. Inca Mummy Girl - This one’s the other kind of ouch like you did a pretty bad job with portraying people who aren’t white, come on. 5. Reptile Boy - Oh the one with the demons in the frat boy basement, nice team scenes, nice metaphor for the patriarchy (yeah I’ve been listening to Buffering the Vampire Slayer, did I mention that). 6. Halloween - Def a S2 favorite they all turn into their costumes Buffy’s helpless, Cordelia’s normal, Xander’s in the army, the whole Willow ghost thing, Spike’s there, it’s great. 7. Lie to Me - The one with the cult who wanted to be vamps. Not much memory of this one except like...the guy had cancer which was sad, not a fave. 8. The Dark Age - First Ripper stuff so that’s fun! 9 & 10. What’s My Line, Part 1/2 - Kendra! Angel tied to a cross! Spike! A fun plan where we save them as a Team. What’s not to like? 11. Ted - Ah, Joyce’s robot boyfriend. Odd, but memorable and like...really dark...when she gets arrested. 12. Bad Eggs Oh yeah, there’s like a monster under the school and everyone’s possessed. Joyce&Buffy is still ouch. 13. Surprise I like when Cordelia jumps out of the cake...but anyway...this is a good though PAINFUL arc, not a Bangel fan. 14. Innocence Ouch Angelus and sad Buffy, but they use a rocket launcher in a mall which is cool. 15. Phases Oz! I never realized he got bit by like his baby cousin? LOL. Touching arc in this ep though! 16. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered Everyone loves Xander, I liked that there was a Cordy focus. 17. Passion OUCH. JENNY. 18. Killed by Death The kind of out-of-normal-context one where Buffy’s in the hospital with ghostly kids! Well done though, has Cordelia’s “tact is just not saying true stuff line” 19. I Only Have Eyes for You I was creeped out by the fact that it was a teacher student relationship and no one cared? Good writing though. 20. Go Fish Haha, Xander and the swim team. I like Cordelia’s monologue about Xander. 21. Becoming, Part 1/2 KENDRA :( BUFFY :( Oh also some great Spike scenes (with Joyce). And of course the ENNNND ouchhh. I’m not fine.

S2 Faves: Halloween, School Hard, Becoming, Passion (ouch!)

SEASON 3 1. Anne - BUFFYS DEPRESSED SOME ONE HELP HER 2. Dead Man’s Party - BUFFY’S DEPRESSED STOP BEING MEAN TO HER 3. Faith, Hope and Trick - Hi, Faith. Didn’t like Faith as much last time, she’s grown on me. 4. Beauty and the Beasts - Another good expansion of Oz’s arc and some Bangel emotions. 5. Homecoming - GREAT I love Buffy and Cordelia and they are together and it’s amazing. Cordelia’s speech at the end is quality. 6. Band Candy - GREAT I mean Joyce and Giles and Snyder as teens it’s so funny and well-paced, nice. 7. Revelations -- This one has an evil British watcher and Xander/Willow (plus Xander being kind of a jerk), not a fave. 8. Lovers Walk -- GREAT. Painful ending. Love Spike & Willow. GREAT. SPIKE/BUFFY/ANGEL WORKING TOGETHER I LOVE THIS. 9. The Wish - GREAT. Ouch. Alt!Buffy. NICE. 10. Amends -- Like, Angel’s past is kind of awful? Give me Angel-the-show dorky Angel please! 11. Gingerbread -- Haha the one where the Sunnydale people try to kill witches I mean again @Joyce&Buffy, ???? not the greatest relationship ??? 12. Helpless GREAT OUCH GREAT...the Watcher’s Council tests Buffy, GILE’S DILEMA, BUFFYS BETRAYAL ouch 13. The Zeppo I mean I like Xander’s arc about believing in himself more, despite him not being great all the time, I still like him overall, glad he got a chance to shine. 14. Bad Girls Faith stop corrupting Buffy! This show has more like very heavily implied Faith/Buffy than I remembered. OUCH @ the ending. 15. Consequences OUCH @ the whole episode with Faith, especially the Xander bit, rougher than I remembered 16. Doppelgangland VAMP!Willow. Willow trying to be vamp!Willow was funny. Another one where I remember good team stuff. 17. Enemies OUCH I totally forgot and thought Angel was really Angelus. Heartbreaking and well done. 18. Earshot I love this one! Jonathan! “Are you planning on killing anyone tomorrow? It’s for the yearbook.” 19. Choices Everyone should let Buffy live basically! 20. The Prom Xander/Cordelia is nice, but isn’t Xander poor? Wesley/Cordelia is creepy? WILD HORSES. BUT YEAH THE UMBRELLA AND I CRY. 21. Graduation Day, Part 1/2 I LOVE THE WHOLE SCHOOL COMING TOGETHER NICE NICE

S3 Faves: Homecoming, Band Candy, Lover’s Walk, the Wish, Helpless, Earshot, Prom, Graduation Day...and a few more I also like a lot, that’s why I really like this season

SEASON 4

1. The Freshman - Buffy's having a hard time in college someone help her! 2. Living Conditions - Buffy’s roommate is a demon, a bit overdone but pretty fun! 3. The Harsh Light of Day - Like the Spike/Buffy banter is great but Parker is awful and honestly Spike is awful too, some of the end fight scene comments are BAD. Also Spike should treat Harmony better. 4. Fear, Itself - Haunted house fears, nice Halloween ep. 5. Beer Bad - I honestly like drunk!Buffy it’s fun! 6. Wild at Heart - Ouch, Oz & Willow OUCH. 7. The Initiative - Buffy/Riley really had a whole fight and didn’t recognize each other? Still I don’t hate Riley so far. 8. Pangs - Look there were some problematic things but I thought the dialogue and episode arc was SO well done and so funny. And they made an attempt to address something, they did a bad job but they tried. Team!Thanksgiving is <3 and perfectionist!Buffy and Spike tied to a chair, Xander/Anya etc. etc. lots of good stuff, I think it’s still a s4 favorite. 9. Something Blue - Ah, cursed!engaged Spuffy NICE.

SEASON 1 ANGEL

1. City Of Look I LOVE ANGEL tbh just the opening and the noir tone and CORDELIA it’s great it’s nice AND DORKY angel and cordelia knows the guys a vamp it’s great! DOYLE.

2. Lonely Heart I don’t love Kate and this demon was weirdly like an STD as well.

3. In the Dark Cordy/Doyle got to feature, and Spike. Not really sure why Angel destroyed the thing (makes him more tortured?)

4. I Fall to Pieces That was actually a pretty creepy stalking episode. Well done bringing attention to how violence against women can be overlooked.

5. Rm w/ a Vu Love this one! CORDELIA IS AMAZING. CORDELIA. IS AMAZING. Dennis is nice too!

6. Sense & Sensitivity I love dorky!Angel, I love when dorky!Angel has to speak his feelings! Poor Kate!

7. Bachelor Party Doyle/Cordy were so close! Definitely a fun one with everyone working together. I’m just having a lot of Angel&Cordy&Doyle feelings

8. I Will Remember You Look I skipped this one for now tbh, I’m just not in a Bangel mood, haha.

So yeah I looked up the next episode and...I thought that was the S1 finale?? That’s...ouch.

#rewatching buffy #btvs #gpoy #personal

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andrewmoocow · 6 years

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Steven Universe Secret Wars chapter 10: Forever Fight as One (originally posted on September 23, 2018)

AN: At last the final battle against Thanos has come! It certainly has been a pleasure writing this for all of you to enjoy, and it also warms my heart to see so much love for it. Still waiting for it to be on TV Tropes though. But regardless, I hope you enjoy this and any more stories, Earth-2013 or not, to come! Until then, toodle-oo!

"Did you see how I annihilated Jasper there my love?" Thanos asked Death finally returning to his shrine on Battleworld's moon. "She put up quite a fight, but in the end she had to be put down. It's a shame as well, her gemstone would've looked marvelous on you. In fact, why don't I grant you the shattered remains of the other Gems as a present?" Lady Death gave no answer other than just a roll of her eyes, but the titan took it as a sign. "It may not be spoken, but I still count it as attention." he stated before he heard the rattling of chains and turned to discover Nebula, now free from her restraints and looking absolutely furious. "YOU!" "Nebula, I see you have managed to escape. Exquisite work, but not as much as when I would pit you against your sister." Thanos commended his daughter but he was met with a hateful laugh from his daughter. "You fool! Do you truly think Death will ever love you?! Besides, she's not the only one you should be concerned with right now!" "Let me guess, are you referring to the Crystal Gems?" Thanos wondered preparing to pummel her with the Gauntlet. "Not just those Gems," Nebula answered before looking upward. "them." Thanos had no idea what she was talking about before he turned around to discover a gigantic humanoid man dressed in purple & blue armor with a distinctive horned helmet. This titan was none other than the dreaded devourer of worlds himself, Galactus. "Thanos of Titan, we have come to punish you for your crimes against the universe!" Galactus boomed as several more beings of equal power stood alongside him. There was Kronos the god of time, the embodiment of the very universe itself known as Eternity, the physical forms of life, death, love & hate, the mysterious Uatu the Watcher, a pair of Celestials and the Living Tribunal. "Your abuse of the Infinity Gauntlet's power has gone too far Thanos." Uatu scolded the titan. "If this keeps going on, then the whole universe will become beyond saving! And all for to satisfy both your twisted delusions of balance and your love for Death." "Do you realize who I am? I have made the Diamonds my slaves, made a fool out of Mephisto, reduced one of Gemkind's strongest warriors to gravel and I also have a secret weapon hidden inside my moon!" Thanos bragged preparing to send them all off with a snap of his fingers. "Yet it seems your efforts were all for nothing." the Stranger declared bringing attention to a certain alliance of champions. "Look." The Stranger then produced a holographic image of the Crystal Gems, the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Starfox, Silver Surfer, Loki and the Diamonds all marching toward Thanos's statue, ready for a final fight. "I never thought I would see the day the Crystal Gems would ally themselves with their former superiors, and I'm the god of time." Kronos commented. "It cannot be! This shall not stand!" Thanos boomed furiously, on the verge of snapping even. "I shall have to do it myself, and I refuse to let you interfere." With one finger click, the cosmic hierarchy found themselves fading into dust. "How is this even possible?!" Uatu exclaimed before he finally disappeared. "You can make us fade into dust all you want titan, but mark my words you shall receive justice!" Galactus shouted as he, along with the rest of the deities, finally disappeared. Nebula gaped in horror at the sight of such powerful beings falling to the power of her father before her shock turned to frothing rage and she charged at the titan with her arms as the only available weapon she had. Suddenly, the Luphomoid found herself grabbed by the neck and met with the furious glare of Thanos. He gave no word before carelessly tossing her as far as he can off the moon. "These fools dare take up arms against their savior, rushing head-on into their destiny." Thanos began monologuing to himself. "So I shall provide them with death only deserving of a true warrior. There will be nothing but dust and blood but in the end, balance shall stand triumphant." With a single gesture, Thanos's throne zoomed out of the temple and he sat down, with Death still by his side. Clenching his fist, the Space Stone created a portal that led Thanos down to Battleworld, where he hoped to settle things once and for all.

On the patchwork planet itself, the Ultimate Alliance charged across Battleworld toward the statue of their despised shared enemy. Led by Steven Universe, Captain America, Yellow Diamond, Star-Lord, Gamora and Starfox, this uneasy team-up sought to end the Mad Titan's reign of terror and keep the universe from falling apart under his gold-plated fist.

"Come out wherever you are big guy! You ready for a rematch?!" Amethyst challenged readying her whip. "Hold on there Amethyst, we still gotta hold the line til Tony and the others get there!" Cap explained before contacting his iron teammate through an earpiece. "Stark, how are you, Pearl, Bismuth, Lapis, Peridot, Thor, Rocket and Groot holding up?" "Doing okay Rogers. Still having a few difficulties though." Iron Man replied on the other end in the beach house before an explosion sounded. "I am Groot!" Groot exclaimed trying to put on the fire on his body. "Don't worry, I got you!" Lapis exclaimed putting out the flames. "So what are they building again?" Hawkeye wondered. "A god killer, Tony said." Steve replied ending the call. "Hopefully they get here soon. Thanos doesn't like it when a challenge is kept waiting." "Why are you so insistent that we shall win against Thanos? He's an all-powerful being with the Infinity Gauntlet for your information!" Yellow Diamond wondered showing concern for the outcome. "I've heard that you've defeated him time and again, but how?" With a small smile, Cap sat down at the foot of the statue. "That kind of reminds me of a story from my day. I was only a boy in a library where I learned what it truly meant to be a patriot." he stated. "I was reading a classic by Mark Twain when I discovered a sentence that struck a chord in me. It was so powerful that I memorized it for years to come." "What was that sentence?" Garnet wondered. "That sentence was, 'In a republic, who is the country?'." Cap answered. "'Is it the government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the government is merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its functions is to obey orders, not originate them.'" "What is he even saying? Who is this Mark Twain?" Blue Diamond wondered quietly. "'Who then, is the country? Is it the newspaper, is it the pulpit? Why, these are mere parts of the country, not the whole of it." "How is going on about some Midgardian scribe going to help us here?" Loki asked as the captain continued on. "'They have not command. They only have their little share of their command.'" Steve continued his story while standing up. "'In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country. In a republic, it is the common voice of the people. Each of you, for himself, by himself, and on his own responsibility must speak." Steven looked on eagerly as his hero proceeded. "'It is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government or the empty catchphrases of politicians.'" Rogers kept speaking. "'Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong & which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man." "Yeesh, Thanos sure is taking pretty long." Star-Lord remarked. "Yes, but what he's saying is true." Gamora responded. "'To decide it against your convictions is to an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, to both yourself and to your country." Steve stated almost at the end of his speech. "'Let men label you if they may." "He got all of this from Twain? Wow." Connie gasped in amazement sitting down next to her best friend. "'If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country. Hold up your head. You have nothing to be ashamed of.'" "So what are you trying to say Rogers?" Amethyst wondered. "What I'm trying to say is that it doesn't matter what anyone says, whether it be the politicians, the press, the mob or the whole world, when they say something wrong is something right." the captain declared. "Our fair country was founded on one principle, to have the right to stand up for what we believe in, no matter the cost. And when everyone tells you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree and tell them, 'No. You move.'" "And when that tree is planted, there will be someone to cut it down." the booming voice of Thanos suddenly sounded as he appeared from a portal on his throne with Death by his side. "By the way, you should be expecting company." he smugly added just as Nebula landed at the champions' feet, mangled and terrified. "Run everybody! Thanos is refusing to just sit around anymore!" she cried out. "He will purge you all no matter what!" "Enough is enough." the Mad Titan declared summoning his alien armies to his side. "Now we play this game my way." Thanos got up from his throne and descended to the ground preparing for the final battle. "Kill them all." The Chitauri, Sakaarans and Deviants readied their weapons and charged, beginning to clash with the Alliance. Although the champions had the strength of two super-soldiers, multiple powerful Gems, a gamma giant and many more to give them an advantage, the sheer number of the extraterrestrials proved to be just as strong. "Dammit, Stark and the midget should've been done ages ago!" Wolverine cried cutting down multiple Sakaarans with his claws while Vision disintegrated even more of them with a blast from the gem on his head. Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch combined their mutant powers to plow through an entire squadron of Chitauri and the rest tried to fight them off, but for the most part it seemed hopeless. "Someone, help me!" Falcon shouted before one of his wings was caught in a Chitauri glider. Just as quickly, he was freed when Drax tackled the Chitauri and stabbed it in the face, causing the glider to crash. "Dang, they're everywhere!" Ms. Marvel said standing back to back with She-Hulk, War Machine and Ant-Man. "Just hold the line until help arrives!" Hank exclaimed growing giant size and stomping on a few Deviants. Meanwhile, Steven, Garnet, Doctor Strange, Captain America and Yellow Diamond managed to find shelter from the attack. "I can't tell if you're insane or love risking it, but that speech from earlier was fairly powerful." the monarch commented. "But how are we going to succeed when there's so many of them?" "I've actually narrowed down multiple outcomes of this war and most of them end with us dying." Garnet explained adjusting her visor. "Only one has everyone alive and victorious." "Only one? How many other possibilities were there?" Steven wondered. "I calculate approximately fourteen million." the fusion stated. "This is only one of them." She kissed Steven on the forehead granting him a vision of one of those futures. He saw every last terrifying detail, from the deaths of Cap & Strange, to Thanos shattering Yellow & snapping his fingers, to his idols like Captain Marvel, Ant-Man, Hulk & Quicksilver and even friends like Amethyst, Lapis, Bismuth and Connie fading into dust. "We've got to make sure that good future is this one." the boy resolved after the end of the vision. "But that still leaves the question of what happens in the now?" "I know, because I can hear it." Steve stated gazing up at the sky as clouds began to form. "Hear what?" Yellow wondered and the captain only said one word. "Thunder." A bolt of lightning struck down on the battlefield, incinerating all of Thanos's minions who dared near it and Mjolnir came flying out of it, taking down the rest before it returned to the grasp of Thor himself, along with Iron Man, Pearl, Rocket, Bismuth, Groot, Lapis and Peridot, who was piloting their self-proclaimed godkiller using her ferrokinesis. The godkiller in question was built out of the Red King's warsuit for the main body and both a repulsor gauntlet & a copy of the Breaking Point as its weapons. Thanos stood in awe but was still sadistically eager to find a new foe as Peridot took the first step. "Hey Thanos, come and fight us you clod!" the little Gem screamed charging into battle with the others following suit, requesting that they have words with him. With a mighty yell, Peridot stabbed multiple of the titan's armies with the Breaking Point and blasting the rest with the repulsor gauntlet. Meanwhile Rocket rode on Bismuth's back shooting all that would try to cross their path. "Y'know, maybe Peridot ain't as bad as I thought!" the blacksmith commented doing most of the physical fighting for Rocket. "Yeah yeah, great big guy! Now throw me, I always wanted to try this!" Rocket shouted and she obliged, tossing the furry mercenary into the air as he fired at will before landing on the ground. "You gotta make me one of those Breaking Points sometime! There's some scores I need to settle." "Uh, how about no?" Bismuth nervously answered before smacking an Outrider in the face from behind. "Haha, oh you're gonna get me one someday!" Rocket declared as he went off on his own. "So I take it that's our cue to lead them all?" Yellow asked stepping out of hiding. "You bet it is! Ready Cap?" Steven boldly proclaimed turning to his hero. "Right Steven. On my mark!" Rogers stated and they both raised their shields to the air with a mighty battle cry of "Ultimate Alliance, assemble!" "So this is where our final bout begins?" Thanos wondered preparing to use one of the Infinity Stones. "Very well then!" With a clench of his fist, all time around him screeched to a halt and everybody frozen in place. Thanos took these precious moments to examine the uneasy collaboration that had assembled to eliminate him and began contemplating. "Who would've guessed the Crystal Gems would ally themselves with their former homeworld to stop me?" he muttered in deep thought. "It's like Kronos said, even he didn't see this coming despite being the god of time. Still, it seems most of them weren't as insignificant as I thought." Stepping toward the frozen Peridot and Lapis, the dark lord continued monologuing. "Despite her small stature, the Peridot is much more intelligent than I gave her credit for. And her terraforming comrade is unbelievably strong to compliment her." Then he stepped forward to find Connie fighting alongside Ms. Marvel, War Machine, Black Panther & Falcon. "This human on the other hand I'm quite surprised by. I didn't realize she'd be worthy to wield that sword." After some silence, Thanos clenched his fist and restored time to normal, to the confusion of the Alliance. "I'm sorry, what just happened?!" Connie exclaimed. "It must be the Time Stone! He's using all six of them against us, we have to stop him before he tries another one!" Doctor Strange exclaimed but he was too late, as Thanos made another clench and a wave of red washed over them, changing them into more unusual appearances. "Good Lord, what's with all this gold?!" Tony asked examining the current state of his armor. "At least you look somewhat normal, look at me!" Pearl exclaimed gesturing to her much more drastically different appearance. "I mean, my skin is all blue, my nose isn't as prominent, and look at my outfit!" "You're right Pearl, you look terrible!" Rocket cackled rolling on the ground, now wearing a green outfit while Groot looked more monstrous than normal. "Behold, I am Groot the invincible! Who dares to defy me!" the tree monster declared speaking more than just 'I am Groot' this time around. "I preferred you more when you only said three words." Gamora snarked. "Gamora, can you please cover up? There are children here." Garnet asked remarking on the warrior's now more revealing outfit while stroking her now longer, less square hair. "Would anyone be so kind as to stop Thanos from doing this to us? I seriously would prefer not lookin' like a male stripper!" Yondu exclaimed bringing attention to his equally revealing get-up. "HULK SMASH STUPID COSTUME MAKER!" a grayer Hulk roared charging toward Thanos and tackling him, ending the illusion and returning everyone to normal. "Oh finally, I thought I was going live with those awful boots forever!" Thor let out a sigh of relief as he was restored to his regular appearance. "Seriously, why the tiger pattern?" Lapis wondered to which her Asgardian friend replied with "I was going through a phase." "We can discuss questionable fashion choices later, look!" Yellow Diamond shouted pointing at Thanos, who had now freed himself from the Hulk's grasp and slowly marched toward the champions with a stoic expression and prepared to try the Gauntlet again. "With our combined strength, we can stop him!" Yellow then fired an energy blast at Thanos, followed by Blue Diamond, Doctor Strange, Vision, Starfox, Iron Man, Lapis, Silver Surfer, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel and War Machine joining her in trying to push the titan back. But he remained unaffected, using the Power Stone to project an energy barrier and continued stepping forth closer to the thirteen before smashing his golden fist to the ground and creating shockwaves that knocked every last one of them down. "You thought more would be merrier, but allow me to provide a counterargument." Thanos declared making the Soul & Mind Stones glow before he suddenly vanished into thin air. "W-where did he go?" Connie wondered confused at what Thanos had just done. Suddenly, she dodged an attack by what seemed to be the Mad Titan himself, but he looked much different. He was now more skinny and had the Mind Stone in his forehead, not unlike Pearl. Then more Thanos lookalikes spawned and attacked. One had a physique similar to Garnet and had the Space Stone in his left hand. Another was as tall as Amethyst and had the Power Stone adorning his chest. A third was as slender as Lapis complete with the Reality Stone on his back forming a pair of wings. Fourthly was a smaller Thanos clone around Peridot's height who had an Infinity Stone in his forehead as well, this one being the Time Stone. And finally was a Thanos double who had a shield just like Steven's and wore armor on his torso that exposed the Soul Stone on his stomach. "You say the people of your world believe in you Crystal Gems, but will they remember you?" he questioned as the other stone clones made their move. "Insolent coward, you aren't fighting for that blasted Earth or your fellow Gems, you're simply fighting to live!" the Thanos that embodied the Reality Stone scolded Lapis turning much of her water into insects that began crawling all over her. "I can run away sometimes, but this time I'm not running away from you!" the terraformer declared forming her water into ice and stabbing her opponent through his chest, poofing him as if he were an actual gem. Meanwhile, Peridot faced the personification of the Time Stone who had now formed limb enhancers of his own to gain an edge. "You can run from your past all you want, but at the end of the road your destiny shall come!" he declared blasting her out of the godkiller & sending her flying until she grabbed her mech at the last moment, making it tip over and crush the Thanos clone. "Well you can kiss my gravity connector big boy!" Peridot boasted before pulling down an eyelid with a taunting "Nyeh!" "Love can sometimes be your greatest weakness my dear fusion!" the Space Stone claimed catching a punch from Garnet. "Nobody had ever given me that, so no one else shall-" He was quickly silenced by Garnet who squeezed his head with her free hand and took the poofed Infinity Stone. "And you thought you were stronger than me." Amethyst & Pearl fought their respective counterparts, that being the Power & Mind Stones. Unlike their usually clashing personalities, the Infinity Stones fought and spoke in literal perfect harmony. "True harmony is the key to success." they declared in unison. "If you do nothing but argue, then your fate is as good as sealed." "Y'know speaking of harmony, I think it's time we brought a certain someone back into the fold." Amethyst remarked with a knowing wink toward Pearl. "What do you mean? Oh right, Opal!" Pearl suddenly realized. "It's just been so long since we last formed her, I've almost forgotten what it feels like." "What are they doing?!" Power & Mind exclaimed before they paid witness to the return of the archer fusion Opal, her steely gaze piercing straight through their forms and her bow at the ready. "Any last words guys?" she chuckled readying her arrows. They didn't even get a chance to speak before being put down by the tall fusion who then defused back into Pearl & Amethyst. "My comrades may have been eliminated, but the same shall happen to yours." the embodiment of the Soul Stone declared summoning the other stones to his side and fusing them all with himself, restoring Thanos to his whole self. "What else can you throw at me boy?" he challenged Steven. Then suddenly, he felt his arms being tied down by two sets of ropes. Turning his head from left to right, he found his bare right hand restrained by Amethyst's whips & Doctor Strange's Crimson Chains of Cyttorak and the other covered in his Gauntlet by water chains and web lines. "We're holding him down guys, now!" Spider-Man exclaimed before Garnet pounced Thanos, locking his head between her legs. Meanwhile Pearl & Bismuth gravely injured his bottom half with their respective weapons making him wince in anguish. "You got nowhere to run now Thanos. Either drop the stones & come quietly or face much bloodier consequences." Thor announced. "Like that one for example." Peridot, now back in her godkiller, leaped high into the air ready to stab him with the Breaking Point and finish him once and for all. With a mighty jab, the weapon's silver point wedged itself deep into Thanos's torso. "Who's the comic relief now Thanos?!" the little Gem snarled driving the weapon deeper, making the titan scream in pain. However in the midst of his crippling pain, Thanos clenched his fist and used the Power Stone to send everyone flying, freeing him from their grasp and his death. "Peridot." Thanos groaned using the Time Stone to heal all his wounds. "You are indeed correct, you're aren't as much of a buffoon as I believed you were." Stomping toward the damaged godkiller, he ripped Peridot out of its remains, leaving her legs scrambling around trying to flee. The technician thought this could be the end of her, but instead of being shattered, she was instead gently seated on the ground with a tousle of her tetrahedral hair. "When I am done, only half of your comrades shall remain." the titan assured her. "I hope they remember you." With that, Thanos turned his gaze toward the Diamonds. "But first, I have a score to settle with the both of you!" he declared. "I have tried to make peace all those thousands of years ago with Pink Diamond, yet your kind has refused to answer my pleas. For both that and your betrayal, I have no choice but to execute you." "What gave you the right to think you're strong enough to destroy us?!" Yellow cried preparing to strike Thanos down where he stood with her lightning. "This is for Pink you monster!" She stuck out her hand and zapped him, hoping to at least knock him unconscious but instead, Thanos condensed the energy into a sphere in his hand. "Is that the best you got?" With that, Thanos tossed the sphere at Yellow Diamond and electrocuted her, knocking the dictator to the ground barely clinging on to her physical form while she still could. "Oh my stars my Diamond!" her Pearl shouted rushing to her superior's side. "Please tell me you'll be all right!" "I'll be fine Pearl," Yellow groaned. "it's just that fighting Thanos took quite a lot out of me. I think I'm just going to lay down here for a while." she stated. "Two Diamonds down, two more to go." Thanos declared showing Yellow Pearl out of the way to step on Yellow's torso and preparing to smash her gem. "Even Diamonds should beware when bargaining with Thanos of Titan." Suddenly a wave of blue washed over Battleworld, bringing most of the Gems present to tears to the confusion of the superheroes. "Hulk don't get it? Why everybody crying?" Hulk wondered just as confused as his fellow Avengers. "I believe this is called pathokinesis Dr. Banner, aka the ability to control one's emotions." Silver Surfer explained to the goliath. "And it seems to be coming from a mourning, yet absolutely furious source." Thanos was quietly confused for a few moments, wondering why his crystalline opponents had dropped down in tears before immediately realizing what was happening. A positively livid Blue Diamond standing right behind him, and all Thanos felt was pure, unadulterated fear as the Diamond cast a gigantic shadow. "Your reign of terror has come to an end Thanos!" she yelled, her voice much more menacing than her usual soft tone. "Come, answer for your crimes against all Gems!" "I expected Yellow to be my first victim, but you shall provide a worthy substitute!" Thanos challenged her making the Stones glow. "Come and get me!" he shouted. Blue complied by spawning an orb of light that blasted him at full force with a hail of lasers, but the titan remained unharmed as he charged at full speed before propelling himself to meet the Diamond's gaze. The two of them clashed fists, sending shockwaves all across the patchwork planet and kept on brawling. "Is that how strong a Diamond is?! Have to say, I'm impressed." Captain America stated with a grin. "We gotta get outta here, this hunk 'a rock could go all Alderaan on us any moment now!" Star-Lord panicked just as they saw Thanos being tossed across the warzone right into his statue, making it fall over backwards. Miraculously, Thanos survived long enough to find Blue Diamond on the ground still righteously mad. "I am not done yet." Blue coughed barely getting up. "You will pay for everything you have done to us, our home and our people!" she cried. "Then what are you waiting for? Go on and finish me so that I can be with Death." Thanos beckoned her to land the final blow, eager to be united with his lover for all eternity. But instead, he punched her square in her gem, cracking it and knocking her back as well. "Oh no, Blue Diamond!" Steven exclaimed trying to rush to the Diamond's side before Lapis grabbed onto the back of his shirt. "Steven, I know you're a really nice guy, but can you leave Blue Diamond like this? I'm sure she's suffered worse." the water Gem tried to convince him, not even realizing he was gone before it was too late. "There you go, now find Yellow Diamond and a place to hide." Steven ordered Blue healing her gem with his spit. "W-why thank you little one." the Diamond said graciously. "You know, you kind of remind me of Pink Diamond in a way." Steven knew this was a good time to reveal the truth, but simply decided not to as Blue ran off to search for her sister. "If I cannot shatter any Diamond today, then I guess all that I have killed throughout our battles will have to suffice." Thanos mused before Steven stepped up in front of him. "But why?! What do you want to gain from killing so many people across the universe?" "Simple Steven, to save the universe and win the affections of Lady Death." the Mad Titan answered. "She told me that this universe was growing far too big. Too much of everyone, not enough to supply them." As evil as Thanos was, he did indeed have a point. "You mortals pride yourself on your resources to survive, yet time and again you waste them either for your own selfish gain or to destroy all who stand in your way." "So basically you're planning on 'saving the environment' in your own twisted way? Yeah, that sounds pretty accurate." Amethyst chimed in. "And then when the dust settles and all is well, I plan on perhaps taking up agriculture." Thanos continued. "But you can do that right now. Just take off the Gauntlet and we can take you back to Earth to start your own farm." Steven said. "I'm pretty sure that with time, Peridot & Lapis would love to have you as a roommate!" The boy's words fell on deaf ears as Thanos simply didn't pay attention to him, instead turning to Lady Death. "What do you say my bride? Will the carnage witnessed here in this war be enough to suffice our shared philosophy?" he asked the deity, grasping her hand and his knee on the ground. However, just when it seemed like Death was finally going to answer him after so long, it instead turned out to be one word that ensured that from here on out, everything was on a dangerous roller coaster ride to Hell. "No." This was something Thanos had never heard her say to him before, which made something inside him snap before roaring at the top of his lungs. "SO AFTER ALL THIS TIME, ALL YOU SAY IS NO?!" he screamed. "WELL IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU, THEN NO ONE ELSE IN THIS BLASTED UNIVERSE CAN!" The Infinity Stones then began to tear the universe apart in his fury as he used the Space and Power Stones to pulverize the surface of Battleworld's moon, revealing none other than the Cluster underneath. "Now you hideous geoweapon, kill them all!" He tossed the ball of Gem shards down to Battleworld in an effort to destroy the Alliance, but was stopped by Starfox who struggled to keep it from crashing. "Listen bro, she's never going to love you!" the Eternal groaned continuing to keep it above the ground. "Just stand down or there's gonna be big-" Before Eros could finish, Thanos instantly turned him into a stone statue before turning to the rest of the champions and charged toward them. "Steven, watch out!" Bismuth shouted trying to save the son of her former leader and put herself in Thanos's path, poofing her. In a blind fury, the Titan fired a gigantic energy blast at Nebula that nearly disintegrated her before she made one last effort to kill her abusive adoptive father by throwing a dagger at him. Thanos tore the dagger out of his torso & tossed it at Loki, stabbing him in the head and the god fell to the ground dead. "NOOOOO!" Thor and Gamora cried for their adopted siblings and tried to get revenge on Thanos. But his rage made him too powerful for just two beings to take on and within moments, they were on the ground horrendously injured. "What do we do now?!" Hawkeye exclaimed ducking for cover. "Simple, we try fusion!" Garnet commanded. "Steven, Amethyst, you try and stop Thanos! Pearl, you and me form Sardonyx to calm the Cluster!" "You got it!" the two short Gems saluted before they held hands and formed the portly fusion known as Smokey Quartz. "A human and a Gem?! How?" Natasha wondered. "We'll explain later, just let me take care of the grape for a while." Smokey answered before they charged at Thanos. "Hey wrinkle-chin, you feeling a little grounded?" Thanos turned to Smokey Quartz with a loud snarl. "Looks like you need some fresh air!" they joked tying him up with their yo-yos and tossing him around. "Hopefully you don't get dizzy!" However, their puns ended when Thanos shouted "Silence you brats!" and grabbed the yo-yos, the power of the Space Stone pulsing down the ropes before reaching Smokey Quartz, defusing them back into Steven & Amethyst. As Steven fell to the ground and raced to heal Thor & Gamora, he could hear the Cluster crying for help in his mind. "Please...help...us!" the shards all begged. "Thanos...making us...his slaves!" "I know what you are saying Cluster, but frankly you are too late." Thanos declared popping the bubble the Cluster was held in and unleashing the beast within. However, the forced fusion could barely recognize Steven and gave what he could make out as a thumbs up before it plucked Thanos off the ground. "What are you doing?!" the Mad Titan shouted being dragged & tossed around by the superweapon. "You are supposed to be my secret weapon!" "S-Steven...saved us! A-a-and we're returning the f-favor!" the Cluster exclaimed before it threw him in Sardonyx's path, in which she hit him with his hammer. "Thanks for the lift there big boy!" the eccentric showman fusion thanked it before she pounded Thanos to the ground. "You shall all pay for this!" the titan declared and he snapped his fingers, causing the Cluster to start glowing. "Someone...s-save us!" they cried out before exploding, making Gem shards rain all over Battleworld. "Did he really do that?!" Amethyst wondered as the shards fell from the sky. "And this is mine! This is mine too! Y'know what, all of these are mine! Gonna make me a fortune." she heard Rocket mutter while he caught whatever shards he could grab. "Y'know what, the Diamonds can take those Rose Quartzes back because I got's me a new venture!" "Rocket." Steven said glaring at the raccoon. "Okay okay, sheesh. Excuse me for wanting to make money." Rocket groaned dropping an entire armful of shards to the ground, but not before sneakily scooping a small amount of them up with his tail. "How's the view from down there big guy?!" Sardonyx called to Thanos with a hearty laugh, but the titan roared and fired another blast, ending her & turning her back into Garnet & Pearl. "Don't worry, Hulk got you two!" Hulk cried holding out his arms to save the two Gems before they landed in his giant green hands. "Thanks for the lift Banner." Pearl thanked. "No problem bird lady." Bruce replied. "But what can Gems do now?" With a snap of her fingers, Garnet knew what to do now. "Sugillite." she stated with a grin before leaping out of Hulk's grasp and standing next to Amethyst. "Sugillite?" the defective Quartz said before they danced and became Sugillite. "Hey Thanos, you want some of me creep?!" "We should help out too!" Connie suggested grabbing Steven's hand. "Right, come on out Stevonnie!" Steven exclaimed and they formed the fusion in question with Steven's shield & Connie's sword in hand. "Everybody behind me!" they commanded charging toward Thanos alongside the other champions, including a now out of hiding Yellow & Blue Diamond. Unfortunately, they proved to be too weak for Thanos who knocked most of them all down before moving onto Stevonnie. "You won't stop us when we're fused Thanos!" they declared, but they were wrong. Thanos grabbed both of them by the arms and slowly tore them apart, forcing them back into Steven & Connie. "As a matter of fact, I can." "Kids, let's try Stevoter!" Star-Lord cried and the two children agreed, racing into the space captain's arms & forming the part-Gem, part-human & part-Spartaxian fusion. "Ah sweet, laser sword is back baby!" Stevoter cheered charging toward Thanos in a bid to stop him while firing from their laser sword. "Need a lift?" Garnet suggested running alongside Stevoter. "You bet your ass we do!" they replied. "You try and get the Gauntlet offa Thanos and we'll handle the rest!" With that, Stevoter stabbed Thanos in the torso while Garnet tried to remove the Infinity Gauntlet off his hand. "How do you like me now?!" they shouted bashing the titan in the face with their Walkman shield, making it play various songs to further annoy him. "Boast all you want mortal, you're simply just pestering me!" Thanos boomed grabbing the sword by its blade and slowly removing it from his chest. "I know what game you're playing Steven. This is just a distraction while one of your lackeys takes away my gauntlet." "Wait, how did you know?!" Stevoter exclaimed in fear. "This has happened to me before, and I shall not let it happen again." Thanos declared, and with one last blast from the almost-removed Gauntlet, defused Stevoter & Garnet down to their base beings. Tumbling down on the ground, a now scruffled-up Steven found a barely conscious Captain America struggling to get up. "Cap! Don't worry, I got you!" he cried licking his hand to heal his idol. "Thank you very much Steven, but I feel like your mom's powers won't be enough for us here." Rogers stated getting up on one knee. "I've heard from the Gems about how you often feel inferior to Rose because of how much she's done for the Earth. I feel you on that one. Sometimes I feel that I'm just lost in a world that I'm no longer apart of, yearning for a good fight to keep myself away from living a normal life." "Why is that? You seem pretty fine now." Steven said before the captain stopped him. "You only don't understand because you're still a kid. Me, I've lost almost everyone while I was in the Arctic." he continued. "And as for parents, I'm pretty sure most of us can relate. Like for example, there's all the stories that Thor can tell us about his old man. But you, you're different. Rose may have done some questionable things in the past but you can change that by being your own Gem, whether it be a quartz or a diamond." Steve then held out his hand with a smile. "So then, are you ready honorary Avenger?" With tears filling the stars in his eyes, Steven took his hero's hand. "I'm ready Captain." the boy accepted before he hugged the captain, and he returned it causing them both to glow. Everyone else still present watched in awe as the shining mass grew larger and formed into a heroic, stalwart figure with a gaze of solid steel directed straight at Thanos. "Steven..." Pearl gasped in sheer wonder. "Steve..." Bucky added just as stunned. Thanos simply frowned at the sight of this new fighter, wearing a pink version of Captain America's costume with a yellow star on the chest, blue trousers, red sandal boots and carrying Steven's shield. "W-what? Did we just fuse?" the new fusion gasped in astonishment. "Well, no time to contemplate now!" "W-who are you?!" Thanos shouted as the fusion stepped forward while picking up a discarded Mjolnir from the ground. He then took a battle stance with the shield and hammer at the ready with a confident smirk on his face. "Call me the Captain." With a cry of "CHARGING STAR!", the Captain bolted toward Thanos at hypersonic speeds, bashing him in the face with his shield. "STARS AND STRIPES!" he added uppercutting the titan, sending him flying long enough to give orders to the others. "Fallback company, I can handle things from here!" "Wait, we can help!" Peridot exclaimed. "I SAID FALLBACK COMPANY!" the Captain reiterated yelling. The rest of the Alliance nodded and retreated, leaving the Captain alone with Thanos, who was busy recovering from the earlier uppercut. "Is that truly the best you can do? I'd like to see you try harder!" he shouted gesturing the fusion to bring it on. The Captain simply responded by putting up his fists and declaring "I could do this all day." With a single bound, the Captain rocketed high into the air and zoomed downwards with Mjolnir ready to pummel Thanos. When the Asgardian hammer connected to the Mad Titan's face, the result was a quick but massive thunderstorm that erupted all across Battleworld. Storm clouds began to form over the two before it began raining. Meanwhile far off in the distance, the rest of the Ultimate Alliance watched in awe of the final struggle between life & death. "Wait, Cap's just a human! How is he able to hold Mjolnir?" Amethyst asked Thor. "It's very simple Amethyst, he possesses a pure heart, noble mind and the spirit of a warrior. Forever courageous and with a sense of humility." Thor explained. "And it's possible Steven himself might be worthy as well." The two continued going at it like a furious pair of rival wrestlers or predators fighting over their prey, the Captain continuing to whale on Thanos with Mjolnir & both of his fusees' shields. Suddenly Thanos grabbed the Captain by the arm and flung him into the ground, losing his grasp on the hammer. "You're getting closer to the edge, yet you still refuse to yield." the titan muttered towering over his fallen opponent before walking away. "Wait here, allow me to retrieve the Gauntlet so that I can properly execute you." "NEVER!" the Captain screamed immediately getting up like he wasn't even hurt at all. "I won't let you hurt anyone else, whether they be my friends or anyone in our universe!" he shouted clenching his fist. "I'm giving everything I've got into this one last punch, so you better watch yourself!" Thanos said no words, instead pulling out his stasis gun in response to the fusion's last stand. The Captain charged at him with full force, teeth gritted and his fist preparing to attack. The spirit of all his comrades flowed through him, giving him even greater strength than before as their attacks collided. "FINAL...UNYIELDING...JUSTICE!" As a result of the Captain's punch going inside the stasis gun's barrel as Thanos fired, a gigantic explosion erupted dispersing the storm and attracting the attention of the Alliance. "I think that was Thanos's stasis gun!" Gamora exclaimed before Pearl shoved her out of the way. "Steven!" she cried as the champions all rushed to the duo's side. When the dust finally settled, all that was left were Steven, Captain America and Thanos all lying down on the ground. "H-h-he's dead! Thanos is finally dead!" Thor exclaimed taking back Mjolnir. "Let's just check to be sure." Natasha suggested just as their leaders awakened. "What happened? Am I dead?" Steven asked before Connie hugged him. "I guess I'm not, because you're here!" "So it's finally over, huh? A bit anti-climatic if I say so myself." Bucky remarked helping his best friend up. "Let's not speak so soon. Look!" Steve stated, bringing attention to Thanos slowly rising from the ground, his stasis gun now reduced to hunks of metal and face enraged beyond recognition. "I've had enough of all this! Once I regain my gauntlet, you will all pay for disgracing me!" However, where Thanos expected to find the Infinity Gauntlet, he instead touched nothing. "Where is it?! Where's the Gauntlet?!" he screamed desperately searching for it. That was when he heard someone slip it on and turned to realize who that was. It was none other than Steven. Steven felt himself surging with power over the entire universe, literally obtaining the ability to do as he pleased with the Infinity Gauntlet. Everybody gazed in shock and awe at the very sight of this one mortal boy carrying the single most powerful weapon in all of the universe, most notably Thanos who's astonishment turned to glee. "Yes, yes! This is just what I wanted!" he cheered in malicious joy. "A young apprentice to turn into my successor! What are you waiting for Steven, erase them all and we can ravage the universe as father & son!" Steven was put in a moral dilemma for a moment. On one hand, he couldn't bring himself to kill Thanos for that would betray his principles. On the other, he can't allow the titan to run free and wreak havoc across the cosmos. There had to be another way to keep Thanos in check without having to hurt him. Then with a bold, stern look on his face, he made his decision. "No." With a click of his fingers, things felt like they were being set right. Back on Earth, Lapis & Peridot's barn and Pink Diamond's palanquin were restored to their former states. All the planets Thanos had destroyed were pieced back together, including Homeworld, and the villains he had made join him resurrected. The cosmic deities were also brought back as well. A few bits of orange dust scattered about were brought together and formed into Jasper's gemstone, which was then immediately bubbled and sent back to Earth. Loki woke up to find he was now alive once more and the knife in his head gone. "What just happened?" he wondered before spying Nebula and even the Black Order revived as well. "D-did he really do it?" All of the Gem shards that made up the Cluster were reassembled and returned to their place within the Earth. Starfox let out a loud gasp as he felt himself rebuilt and un-petrified. "That's some kid." he remarked with a grin. Finally, Thanos felt himself turning to stone from the feet up and grinned at Steven. "So this is how it must end child. I must say, you made the right choice." he stated. "I hope we shall meet again someday Steven Universe. I hope they remember you." With one last satisfied grin, Thanos accepted his fate and let out a bright flash of light. The explosive flash blinded everyone momentarily. But even when their vision cleared, none are quite sure they should believe what their eyes see. Before them had stood Thanos, proud, powerful, ruthless and near heartbeats from victory. Now in that exact same thought moments later, stood the massive titan transformed into solid granite. With one last thought, Steven also spawned a black hole to get rid of Battleworld, sucking in the petrified Thanos as well potentially sending him drifting through parts unknown. Then the boy felt himself getting dizzy. "Oh, I don't feel so good. I think I'm gonna need to sit down." "We can rest later, we gotta vamoose!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Indeed, but what of the Infinity Stones?" Loki asked. "I suggest we divide them amongst ourselves so that they never fall into evil hands again." Thor suggested. "The Crystal Gems shall keep the Mind Stone while Lapis & Peridot shall take the Reality Stone." The Gems carefully removed their chosen stones from the Gauntlet, giving them to Steven & Peridot to bubble. "Meanwhile, the Avengers shall keep watch over the Space Stone, the Guardians get the Power Stone, Homeworld takes the Soul Stone and finally, Starfox shall keep the Time Stone." "Pearl, please remove the Soul Stone from the Gauntlet for me." Blue Diamond ordered her Pearl. "Yes my Diamond." Blue Pearl complied walking up to the intergalactic weapon to collect the Soul Stone and the others soon followed, also making sure to bubble Bismuth’s gem and the Gauntlet itself back to Earth. "So that's it then, we're some kind of Infinity Watch." Starfox commented. "I can roll with that." "Well what are we waiting for, let's move!" Spider-Man exclaimed racing to the Milano. "Apologies everyone, but I feel your ship may be way too small for us." Yellow Diamond stated. "We shall be returning with our own ships." With a single stretch of her arm, a much larger yellow arm appeared alongside a blue one. "I believe this is where we must say farewell." "Bye guys!" Steven exclaimed waving goodbye before Peridot shushed him and dragged him back to the Milano. "Farewell Crystal Gems." Blue Diamond said her goodbyes. "But next time we shall meet, it will be as enemies." Garnet and Lapis shivered at their former Diamond's threat before the Black Order appeared behind them. "Pardon us for the intrusion, but could we perhaps hitch a ride with you?" Ebony Maw asked politely, much to their chagrin. But they still had to be alive for them to eventually be put away. "One side maggot, I gotta fly this thing!" Rocket shouted shoving Peridot out of the way as everybody still present clambered into the Milano. "Okay, you don't have to be so rude about it!" Peridot exclaimed letting Rocket sit down. "All right, everyone hold on!" With that, the spaceship finally took off leaving Battleworld behind as it was fully devoured by the black hole, and started coming close to sucking them in as well. "You got anything that can make us go faster?!" Star-Lord exclaimed. "Makes me really wish this piece of junk came with ludicrous speed!" "Well, I guess this is the end." Pearl stated accepting their fate. "Any final words before we're all sucked in?" she asked the others. "I got just one." Amethyst answered. "Look!" She pointed at a certain red figure that had appeared in front of the Milano's large window. "Well, I see you're all fine and dandy after defeating Thanos like that." Mephisto commented. "Here, let me repay you for doing so." The demon started waving his hands in a pattern that caused a hellish portal to appear around the Milano, spooking the Crystal Gems. "What's going on, what's he gonna do to us?!" Steven cried. "Fear not, I recognize those hand motions from anywhere." Doctor Strange stated. "He is perhaps creating a portal for us to return to Earth safely." "But why? He's freaking Mephisto!" Parker shouted. "It's like he said, this must be his way of thanking us for taking care of Thanos for him." Kamala chimed in when they all felt the craft rumble. "Oh no, brace yourselves!" Steven and Connie closed their eyes tight and held each other close, fearing the worst as the starry background of space was replaced by pure red.

Before any of them knew it, they could hear the calm ocean waves and seagulls squawking over them. This had to be it. They were finally home. There was no doubt, only Earth could have a combination of those calming sounds. There was dead silence between the heroes as they departed the Milano with the Black Order still onboard. It only took a few days to struggle against Thanos, but it felt like years. Suddenly, all the people of Beach City came stampeding toward them, happy that their beloved Gems were in one piece. There were reunions all around. Connie's parents were ecstatic that their daughter was alive, Pumpkin raced into Peridot's arms and Greg brought Steven in for the first hug he had received from his dad in days. The townsfolk were also excited to meet the Guardians again and even more joyous to see the Avengers with selfies & autographs aplenty. "So little guy, how do you feel about your first Avengers mission?" Iron Man asked Steven. "It was awesome! I really hope we can do something like this again soon!" the boy answered excitedly. "I have to agree. It was nice seeing Rogers & Barnes again." Pearl added. "And it was also nice to meet all of you too." "Oh speaking of which, still have to ask." the captain remarked. "Do you still want to become Avengers?" he asked. "No, I think we're fine here in Beach City." Connie answered. "That reminds me," Amethyst declared pulling out her Avengers ID and breaking it in two. "I quit." "I suppose it's because the Crystal Gems are still your home?" Black Widow wondered. "Yeah, that's exactly what I was gonna say!" the small quartz replied. "It was fun being one of Earth's mightiest heroes, but the real heroes to me are my family." "So be it then." Thor said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to bring Loki back to Asgard." he announced pointing to his brother, now rolling his eyes with a scoff. "As much as I hate to say this boy, thank you for bringing me back to life." "And if you'll excuse us, we also gotta go fork the Black Order over to Xandar." Star-Lord added. "I hope one day we can all meet again!" Mantis replied excitedly. "What about you Eros?" "Well, I've got nowhere else to go right about now. Mind if I tag along with you a-holes?" Starfox asked. "Sure, the more the merrier!" Yondu accepted the offer. "Though I think at this rate we might need a bigger ship." "Hey, mind dropping me off at Westchester on the way back? I think Chuck might want me for something." Wolverine asked his fellow Avengers. "We'll make a note of it Logan." Clint answered before they all turned to the Gems. "And we'll make a note to-" "See us again! We get it!" Peridot interrupted with a goofy grin. "All right then, Avengers back to base." Steve commanded, then he turned to his crystal comrades. "And here's an Avengers ID. Just in case, if you need us, we promise we'll be there." "Thank you Cap." Steven said gratefully. As everybody parted ways, Thor & Loki to Asgard, the Guardians to Xandar, Silver Surfer to parts unknown & the Avengers back to their home city, Steven looked at the ID he was given and smiled, knowing that this was an opportunity for more marvelous adventures to come.

And that, after many months of waiting, is the conclusion of Secret Wars! Thank you all so much so sticking by me and stick around til the end of the author's notes for a few special Marvel-style surprises. I've already got a whole 'nother trilogy in the works and hopefully you love it as much as Clod on the Run & this one, which I officially dub the Guardians Trilogy. Until we meet again true believers, adios!

"CRYSTAL GEMS RETURN!" the headlines of the Daily Bugle read, much to the chagrin of the Absorbing Man and his partner Titania as they were imprisoned on Ryker's Island. Carl tore the newspaper into paper scraps in a blind fury while Mary nonchalantly filed her nails. "Oh I'd love to get some payback against those crystal chumps, especially their brat!" "Oh chill out Creel. It's not like someone is going to just waltz in and offer us a chance at that." Titania responded before they heard a guard step in. "Creel, MacPherran, you got a visitor!" he shouted motioning for a silver-haired man to enter. When he met the gaze of the two criminals, he smiled and handed them a case file with a lightning bolt symbol on the tab. "I am Truman Marsh. I have a proposition for you."

Far across the country back in Beach City, Steven slept peacefully in his bed for the first time in ages with the Avengers ID given to him kept on his nightstand. He thought he was going to sleep easy tonight when he opened his eyes to find himself in the same black void that he had met Thanos in in his dreams. Fortunately, the Mad Titan wasn't there to greet him. "Greetings son of Pink Diamond." the voice of Lady Death said, much to the boy's surprise. "How did you know?" he asked. "Didn't Thanos tell you child? I know the name of every soul who has lived, died and ever will be. Yet when Pink Diamond was 'shattered', I didn't see her move into the afterlife." Suddenly a toilet started flushing and out of a door came a man in a red-and-black suit clutching his stomach in pain. "Oh God, definitely not eating 372,844 chimichangas in under an hour ever again!" he moaned collapsing on the ground. "Still better than those forty cakes. That is as many as four tens, and that's terrible." "Uh, who are you?" Steven asked squinting his right eye in confusion. "Aw goddammit! If I'm gonna cross over with Steven Universe, does that mean I have to resist the fanbase as well?!" the man shouted in disgust before looking at you, the audience. "And what are you still doing here? It's over, click away! Go find some Amedot or Stony fic to read!"

The Crystal Gems will return.

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terryblount · 5 years

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Team Sonic Racing – Review

One of my favourite things in gaming is the subliminal rivalries between protagonists. Sam Fisher has Solid Snake, Duke Nukem has Serious Sam, Nathan Drake has Lara Croft, and of course, Sonic has Mario. While they start off as a product of fandom, I like how these little feuds inevitably trickle down to a developmental level. Because whenever studios start competing, you just know someone will end up with a great game.

I therefore think Sonic has every right to star in a racing game even if ‘The Blue Blur’ could probably outrun all the karts and then some. To me, a Sonic kart racer is a salute towards the long-standing duel between Sega and Nintendo trying to one up each other. While other kart games tend to feel like a knock-off of Mario Kart, the attempts by Sega somehow always felt more like a proper challenge.

That moment when your game is just as good as Mario’s

The PC has criminally slim pickings when it comes to the selection of decent kart games at our disposal, and Team Sonic Racing represents a good choice. All the strengths that Nintendo fans have been enjoying for years can be found right here. However, I was confused by several decisions made by Sumo Digital in the aftermath of their previous game, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. When compared with its prequel, certain aspects of Team Sonic Racing just feel like a step backwards.

Sub Sonic

This is still a great Sonic racing entry, so let’s get the nasty stuff out of the way starting with this game’s biggest let-down: The plot. Indeed, here we have a kart racer where someone actually deemed it necessary to shoehorn a story into the career campaign. I have probably driven virtual karts almost as much as my actual car, and I have never felt like the experience would be enhanced by, or even needed, a story.

Perhaps this is his biggest rival.

The narrative plays out within cut scenes between races, where characters speak to each other in a speech bubble, JRPG-style. Basically, a tanuki named Dodon Pa holds a huge racing tournament for the friends and foes of Sonic. He need to examine how well groups can race together so that he can develop an engine that runs on the power of… teamwork.

That’s right, teamwork. As a surprise to no one, Doctor Robotnik/Eggman joins in on the action with the ultimate goal of stealing this extraordinary new engine. It’s up to Sonic to protect his friends, and thwart the plans of the rotund, mad scientist. Again. Though, I have no idea why Doctor Eggman wants this engine so bad because he hasn’t got friends anyway.

Not the worst example, but it is all downhill from here.

I can usually turn a deaf ear towards the cheesy dialogue in Sonic games, but the exchanges in Team Sonic Racing’s story are on the level of an explosion in a cheddar store. Which nine-year-old was tasked with writing their lines? It becomes utterly cringe-worthy at times, and this represents the final nail in a coffin for a story that should not have been told in the first place. Nothing beats a good old career mode, and I have never been this grateful for a skip button.

A prickle of hedgehogs

Despite the story made a flub out of introducing the notion of teamwork, Sonic Team Racing’s main selling point is that you can race both against and with other people on the track. Whether it be couch co-op or online, the emphasis here is racing as your only little squad in a style that reminded me a lot of Need for Speed: Carbon.

What you can therefore expect is a lot of slip-streaming, helpful shunts as well as sharing items with your team all so that your overall positions can contribute to the win. It really does not matter who crosses the finish line first since the game assigns a consistent score to each place. This was a nice feature since I found other team-based, racing games still emotionally blackmail you, player 1, to cross the line before anyone else.

Drive in the yellow trail for an extra speed boost!

This makes for an interesting dynamic not just in terms of how the game plays, but also how Sumo Digital could make one vehicle type actually feel completely different from the next. As I mentioned, karts leave behind a yellow trail for the team to slipstream in, and if anyone missed the item collection points you can toss them a rocket or a boost power-up. Players can also shunt, or be shunted by, their mates back into the race at full speed if they spin out.

Also encouraging the notion of working together is that your squad of three always consists of three different kart types. The technique cart types, driven by characters such as Tails or Silver, drift just a tad more easily around the corner, while the speed type cars of Sonic and Amy have a higher top speed. The power type vehicles of Knuckles and Big are a bit more sluggish, but they are far less affected by knocks and rough terrain.

His car is actually pretty solid on the track

You can really tell the difference between them, and each type of kart encourages a slightly different play style. Players that really want to dominate the competition in a tactful way should combine the strengths of their carts, and thankfully the AI make excellent racing partners.

Further encouraging the notion of team work is of course the Team Ultimate power-up. Like the All-Star ability in the previous game, this power-up grants you a substantial boost in speed and invulnerability. The only way to obtain this beauty is by doing all the team based activities I mentioned above. Nevertheless, let me reassure those more inclined towards playing solo that Team Sonic Racing offers every race mode in both team and single-player options.

One step forward and two steps back

It was surprisingly good relationship therapy for me and my girlfriend to play in cooperation with each other in a kart game for once, but I do miss the transformation aspect of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. The tracks felt far more vertical and dynamic with this mechanic, and considering that Mario Kart 8 has also jumped on the anti-gravity bandwagon, I have to wonder why it was omitted in the latest Sonic kart racing game. It gives Team Sonic Racing a slightly dated feeling akin to older kart games.

I also have misgivings about using wisps (remember Sonic Colours?) to symbolise power ups since it took some memorisation to learn their purpose. For example, you pick up a white wisp, but what does it mean? Is it a projectile? No it’s a boost. Okay now a blue one. Is it a shield? Nah it’s a block. Not a major issue since you instinctively remember their functions eventually, but I should note they failed to contribute to the gameplay as much as I hoped. In general, the power-ups feel a little ineffectual, and I gave mine to my team mates most of the time.

Drive through the red arch for a score multiplier, drive through the yellow for score. Do you have any idea how hard this is????

At least I can tell that Team Sonic Racing really wants me to feel rewarded in my driving skill. Rewards become substantially more generous at higher levels, but there are also single player events designed to train the player. These races are time trials in things like drifting while collecting rings, or a particular favourite of mine where you must dodge through little robots to learn evasive driving.

They are superb little distractions to sharpen your edge on the competition, but I must say that the requirements for gold medal, heck even for silver medal, are a little steep. I am the laziest achievement hunter in the world, but at one point in the career I needed a silver medal to unlock the next set of races. Not cool.

Kart racing delight

Team Sonic Racing fell short in a few areas for me mainly because I feel like Sumo Digital was really giving Mario Kart a serious run for their money at one point. Don’t get me wrong, I really love Nintendo. I just feel like this game made unnecessary sacrifices for the sake of the whole team racing dynamic, and I think Sumo Digital would be wise to reintroduce them in coming titles.

As it stands, I can still see myself returning over and over again to Team Sonic Racing for the rest of this year at least because there is still tons of sweet kart mods to unlock, and so many gold and platinum medals keeping me awake at night. This is an essential game for Sonic fans, and a lovely quantum of solace for the kart lovers that feel like their first choices are growing a bit long in the tooth.

Number of tracks

Vehicles feel unique

Selection of characters

Kart customisation

Soundtrack

Inconsistent difficulty spikes

Awful story

Ignores strengths from previous game

Play time: About 14 hours total. Single player campaign around 12 hours.

Computer Specs: Windows 10 64-bit computer using Nvidia GTX 1070, i5 4690K CPU, 16GB RAM – Played using an Xbox One controller

Team Sonic Racing – Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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cocuzzo · 7 years

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Aaron Hale had just returned from two weeks of leave when the lead truck in his convoy reported a bomb on the road ahead. It was 9:30 on the night of December 8, 2011, and Hale was hitching a ride back to his small command outpost in the outskirts of Kandahar, Afghanistan where he led a team of bomb technicians known in the military as EOD. “Can you handle it?” the lead truck radioed to him. Hale hadn’t even unpacked his luggage yet, but he was already back in the grips of danger.

He and his team navigated a robot out to the roadside bomb and carefully disarmed it. The next task was to retrieve the dismantled IED for evidence and disposal, but the robot couldn’t manage to pull the jug of explosives out of the sand. It would have to be retrieved manually. With his team watching on from the convoy, Hale walked carefully to the bomb. He was forty meters away when BOOM!

Another roadside bomb that he hadn’t seen detonated right beside him. Hale was rocketed into the air and then landed on his knees and elbows. His head was ringing, and he couldn’t see. Hale thought his helmet had been pushed forward by the blast, blinding him, but when he put his hands up to check, he realized his helmet was gone.

Hale tried to run blindly back to the convoy, but before he got too far a team member grabbed him and dragged him back to safety. Medics immediately cut open his uniform and assessed his injuries. The explosion had fractured his skull and broken every bone in his face. His right eye had been ripped completely from its socket and his left exploded in his skull, which was cracked and leaking spinal fluid. He was badly burned and shrapnel threatened to sever his carotid artery. A chopper was on the scene within minutes to evacuate him. Two days later, Hale was in Walter Reed Hospital, permanently blind and clinging to life.

The story of Aaron Hale doesn’t end there. Quite the opposite. The IED blast that rendered him completely blind only punctuates a miraculous life of overcoming staggering odds. Now, five years since the blast, Hale possesses a positivity and optimism that seems inconceivable when considering the grave traumas that he’s endured. “I’ve always felt that we all have the ability to be resilient,” he says. “I don’t have anything special that we don’t all have. I’ve just had the opportunity to dig in for mine.” Indeed, in the years since the blast, Hale has become living proof of the power of the human spirit as he continues to rise above the daunting obstacles thrown in his way.

After spending months in the hospital where he underwent extensive surgeries, Hale refused to allow the new darkness in his life to consume him. “I wasn’t going to be stuck on the couch feeling sorry for myself,” he says. Instead, Hale ran marathons, climbed mountains, and white water rafted. He traveled around the country as a motivational speaker, bringing hope and inspiration to other veterans who were battling their own wounds, both seen and unseen. “I just get out of bed every day and face the day,” he says. “I try to attack each day as though it is my last, because I’ve been blessed with five years of bonus time, and I’m going to take advantage of it.”

While Hale was reclaiming his life in Florida, four thousand miles away, a family friend was watching it unfold on Facebook from California. “I found his life to be fascinating and adventurous,” says McKayla Tracy. “He was constantly traveling, helping other people, being of service, and wanting to share his story to help other wounded veterans and veterans in general.” Tracy was “just a kid” when Hale first entered the service. They eventually connected over Facebook and began rekindling their friendship. “We started talking on the phone a few hours a day just getting to know each other and catching up on the last twenty years of our lives,” Tracy says. Eventually Hale convinced her to come to Florida for a visit, and they spent a week together at his home. “I enjoyed every minute of it,” she says. “But when I left, I just knew that I liked him and didn’t really know how it would ever work out.”

After Tracy left, Hale headed to Nantucket for the annual Holidays for Heroes event. Founded by island resident Tom McCann in 2012, Holidays for Heroes brings wounded warriors and their families to the island for a much-deserved vacation. The foundation had since expanded to supporting veterans throughout the year, and Hale had become both a beneficiary and benefactor. “I just wanted to give back and pay it forward,” he says. “So I told Tom any time I have an opportunity to come to Nantucket for one of these events, make it so I can help raise money.” Before an audience of hundreds, Hale gave a riveting speech at the Holidays for Heroes Gala. Little did he know then that his life was about to be thrown upside down once again.

Upon returning to Florida from Nantucket, Hale became sick. In the middle of the night, Tracy’s phone rang. It was Hale’s mother. He had been admitted to the hospital with bacterial meningitis. The deadly illness spread rapidly, and it was unclear whether it was connected to his former injuries. “Spinal fluid was pouring out, his fever spiked and he had excruciating pain,” Hale’s mother remembers. Tracy instinctively jumped on a plane to be by his side. When she arrived, he had been intubated and was in a medically induced coma. She slept by his bedside for days. “When he would wake up, he would be fighting, trying to get out of the restraints, breaking the restraints,” she says. “It was really scary and very sad for me and his whole family.”

When Hale’s condition worsened, the doctors in Florida determined that he needed to be transported to a better-equipped facility four hours away in Alabama. The medical team in Birmingham took him immediately into surgery and administered heavy doses of antibiotics to arrest the meningitis. Their efforts saved Hale’s life but not before the meningitis had claimed his ability to hear. When Hale finally regained consciousness, he was not only blind, but also now completely deaf.

“When I got home from the hospital the second time around, I lost my balance as a result of the loss of hearing in the inner ear,” Hale says. “All of the tools and techniques that I learned to use since going blind were audio based.” He now had to learn to live again. Hale spent days sitting in complete darkness and silence. “For a long time, I was trapped inside my body not able to see, hear or maneuver very well,” he says. A prisoner inside his own mind, he had nightmares of machine gun fire and explosions playing on a loop in his head. There was no reprieve. “Without distraction, I thought it would be there forever.”

But Hale was not alone. Tracy never left his side. Despite having only spent a single week together before he became sick, she devoted herself fully to him. They communicated by writing words into the palms of each other’s hands, and Tracy became Hale’s connection to the world. “There were months that were really hard and dark, but I knew that I loved him,” Tracy says. “I wanted him to be healthy and happy and would do whatever I needed to help him get back.” To lift him up, Tracy needed to find a project for Hale where he could direct his energy. Stripped of his ability to see, hear, and balance, Hale found purpose in one of the last senses he had left: taste.

When he first entered the service in 1999, Hale never intended to be disarming bombs in the battlefield. At the age of twenty-one, he enlisted in the Navy as a culinary specialist and cooked for a three-star admiral and his staff of the sixth fleet in Gaeta, Italy. “I’ve been cooking since I could reach over the counter top,” Hale says. “In the Navy, I got to cook for the top brass and hang up my uniform each evening and go experience Italy.” His fierce patriotism in the wake of September 11th inspired Hale to switch from Navy chef to Army bomb specialist, but he never lost his love of cooking. Now blind and deaf, cooking became his saving grace.

“I started cooking again and it gave me a distraction to take the focus off the pain that was going on, physical or otherwise,” Hale says. “I had something to look forward to.” With Tracy at his side, Hale put his chef coat back on. Communicating through touch, they prepared an elaborate menu for Thanksgiving. Family and friends raved about the dinner, but were especially impressed by his homemade fudge for dessert. As the compliments came rolling in, a new pursuit was born.

Hale became obsessed with making fudge, crafting new recipes and whipping up pounds and pounds of it every day. “Unbeknownst to me, McKayla was actually sneaking some of the fudge out the front door,” he says. “You don’t have to be very stealthy around a blind, deaf guy, but she was taking it and giving it away to neighbors, friends and coworkers.” Eventually people started requesting orders of Hale’s fudge and a business was born.

“Aaron told me that his dream was to launch this fudge business,” says Tom McCann. “And we wanted to help him make that happen.” Through a Holidays for Heroes grant, Hale and Tracy were sent to the premiere chocolatier school in the country and became master chocolatiers. The school then connected them with the top chocolate-maker in the world to provide the ingredients for Hale’s recipes. After landing a seven-hundred-pound order from Boeing, Hale and McCann realized they needed to expand the operation beyond his kitchen. Today, his recipes are being mass produced by a multi-million-dollar candy company, and Hale’s business, as McCann put it, “is blowing up.” As a nod to his former life, Hale named his company E.O.D. Fudge, the acronym standing for Extra Ordinary Delights.

But the sweetest thing in Aaron Hale’s life today isn’t his fudge. Out of incredibly challenging times, a storybook relationship took root and blossomed between him and Tracy. Since rushing to his bedside, she hasn’t returned to California. Instead, friends packed up her apartment and shipped her belongings down to Florida where she’s remained committed to every step of Hale’s recovery. “There’s no way I could have my outlook on life without her,” Hale says. “McKayla was there for me while I was fighting my way back and wasn’t going to let it defeat me.” This past fall, Hale proposed to Tracy on Nantucket with the help of Holidays for Heroes. They will be married on the island later this summer.

Today, Aaron Hale continues to thrive and beat the odds. A cochlear implant has restored his ability to hear, and Holidays for Heroes has provided him with a guide dog to help him navigate the world. This past spring, he overcame his impaired balance and ran the Boston Marathon. All the while, he continues to smile. “It all goes back to the right state of mind of attacking each day,” Hale says. “Once you realize that you can do something you previously thought impossible, it makes every other day a little bit easier.”

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