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echo-three-one · 3 years

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Chapter 36

THE ROAD SO FAR

The TEN Kilometer River

Gary "Roach" Sanderson

Site Hotel Bravo, Afghanistan

The moment Gary was tasked to pull the lever, he had no choice but to follow. Whatever was running in his Captain's mind must be of good reason. The alarm blared and the whole facility was placed on high alert as troops from everywhere started to act more vigilant.

They heard earlier that Gold Eagle would be on the move and the base was to be left to the scientists. Gary believes that Shepherd had no idea they're here, but why ring the alarm?

"Roach, follow me! I could see Shepherd's getaway from outside, we need to stop him!" He muttered, plowing through hordes of enemies that were also surprised to see them. Gary assisted in taking them down, as they moved slowly to the exit.

The trails of the huge plane were still visible when they exited, Price attempted to shoot the vehicle but it looked like it only made a few dents.

"Roach! Man that speedboat! We're chasing after them!" Price ordered. Gary nodded and they hurriedly descended the stairs on their way to the river.

But the enemies didn't know how to give up. Some of them rode jet skis while some of them had speed boats with them, all free riders targeting their weapons on Gary and Roach's vehicle.

Price lied down for cover, only peeking when he's free to shoot or when nobody else is shooting. It was a great tactic and Roach wanted to observe more of it, but he had to focus on the river.

His main target is the plane that's flying dangerously low on the ground, readying itself so Shepherd can jump and fly off to safety, but Price didn't want that to happen.

Whenever he saw Shepherd move from afar, he sprayed bullets to their direction making the general hide back to safety. It was a great stalling move but it didn't quite last long as the river expanded.

Shadow company guard posts were positioned on places where the elevation is quite high and Roach is forced to evade areas with patrols. This made Shepherd's plane angle differently, making it hard for Price to aim at them.

"Roach, we're losing him! Move faster!" Price yelled and Roach navigated them to Shepherd. They couldn't go any faster so the best option to build up speed is to go forward without bumping on to something. This was a river and they were going with the current, so it was a lucky thing.

The plane ascended and the duo was almost in shock that Shepherd made it through it was impossible.

"Sir! They're not yet escaping!" Roach yelled and pointed to the Plane that soared high to evade the ravine.

"A second chance!" Price muttered as Gary braced himself for a narrow river, they carefully maneuvered the narrow river all while evading Shadow Company as they filled both sides with men holding weapons.

Price used his grenade launcher to topple assembling troops by the ravine. Luckily, guard outposts contained explosive barrels adding an explosion upon impact, causing guards to fly across their outposts into the raging river.

Gary was all focused on the speedboat ahead of them, Shepherd must not escape.

"I'm on my last three rounds!" Price roared as he hid for cover while water splashed on them as bullets hit the river. Gary used one hand to toss his rifle, giving the Captain a fresh 10 rounds of grenades to be launched.

"Nice. Let's light these bastards up!" He cheered and shot the two speedboats pursuing after them, sending them to the air as their engines exploded.

"Hell yeah!" Gary cheered as they exited the cave, the plane once again descended as the area became open for exfil once again. By this time, Price only had 8 rounds to distract their escape.

In hopes for the engine to rev more, Gary squeezed his grip tighter as he heard the engine struggle giving them the maximum speed possible.

"Let's end this." Price mouthed, Gary barely heard his Captain but he knew what it meant.

Their boat speeded up quite faster than he had imagined as they were quickly catching up to the extraction. And as soon as they were close, Price fired the launcher at the huge plane, the explosion toppled the three vehicles sending them to the raging river.

Gary quickly ascended to the surface as soon as he dipped on the water, helplessly swimming against the current, down toward a high waterfall. The last thing he could remember was the impact on the ground, a loud crash towards the water before he lost consciousness.

The next thing Roach knew was that he was coughing up river water by the shore, his vision slowly recovered as he looked beyond him. Not far from him was black smoke he assumed that came from the crashed plane.

He struggled to crawl his way to the site, slowly getting up and limping, exhaling a heavy sigh.

He needed to hurry as the sandstorm started to brew up and might obstruct his already blurry vision.

A few more steps. Gary thought to himself as he felt the adrenaline rush, causing him to stand up and endure all the pain of the landing. A temporary boost to finish the fight. From the distance, he already spotted his target, leaning on a broken car, also catching up with his breath.

He carefully approached the General and tried to constrain him by grabbing on his arms, but he never expected the man to be aware of his presence. With one swift swing of his arm on Gary's throat, he found himself choking and gasping for air as he kicked him off, sliding against the sandy ground.

"What is your deal with me!" He growled, grabbing a knife by his pocket and approached Roach, who was still catching up with his breath.

"I did my very best to keep you out of my business, but you really have to find me? For what? Justice?!" Shepherd knelt on Roach's side, raising his hand and stabbed Roach by the chest. Even with the shortness of breath, Roach exhaled longer that he'd expected.

"Shit." he muttered, gasping as Shepherd dug the knife deeper while Roach tried to prevent him from doing so, this couldn't be the end of the line for him. He still wanted to live. There are many more things he could do.

"This is what you get for foiling my plans. I wasn't teaming up with Nero. I was trying to gain the upper hand. And your death could serve as a lesson for everyone in your squad to double check all intel before jumping into battle." He almost chuckled just before a figure sent him flying away from Roach.

This took Roach the moment to endure all pain as he pulled off the knife, blood sputtered from the deep gash on his chest as he quickly stopped the pressure with his hand. He wanted to live. He must survive this injury.

His head lazily leaned to the battle beside him. Price and Shepherd were engaged in hand to hand combat, overpowering one another. They looked very even and if that was the case, Roach wouldn't be alive to see the end of their battle. He blinked and as soon as he opened his eyes once again, Price was already pinned down as Shepherd gave him a heavy beating, taking advantage of his position. Roach felt the ground shook as the two also were distracted. This gave Price the chance to strike back and knock him off on top of him as he struggled to get up.

Neither one was willing to give up their cause and it was such a shame that it was all some sort of messed up misunderstanding, but nevertheless, Shepherd was still wrong. He knew full well that exchanging the IP Address for an advantage placed the world at more risk than it already had.

Roach's ears grumbled as the ground heated up. The rocket already launched and was on it's way to wherever the fuck Shepherd wanted it ro go. Did Alex and Jack not make it? Gary wondered as he leaned back to Shepherd, who was now pinned and tied on the ground. Soap already tied him up while Price approached Roach.

"Can you get up?" Price asked as he lifted Roach up and helped apply pressure to his wounds.

"Hang in there Roach. You can do this!" His words of encouragement were the last words he heard, as after those exact words, the sky turned white and a loud ringing noise filled the desert sky. Alex and Jack did it. They successfully detonated their charges.

The next thing Roach knew was he was already in a chillier place, his back was on a softer platform and the sky was nothing but a swinging lamp.

Everything else was painful as he tried to get up and failed. It seemed like he could only move his bed. He leaned to his left and saw only a white wall while his right side was two more beds where Alexandra and Ghost slept.

Alexandra. She was alive. Roach couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of her surviving. Turns out his optimism was useful this time.

He looked at his chest as the slow rising and falling of his breathing urged him to check on it. He was wrapped in bandages that were still red from the blood and it also looked like he was given a few bags. He was thankful that he made it out of that situation and he was given yet another chance to live again.

"Glad to see you're awake." Soap said as he entered the room, with a bag of frozen peas on his forehead.

Roach wanted to thank him, but he couldn't say any word yet. Any effort of doing something only resulted in pain.

"In case you're wondering. What you did out there was fruitful. Shepherd gave us the bomb maker's name. He called him Volt. Honestly the puns aren't suitable for villains, but he chose well." Soap commented, trying to cheer up the fellow sargeant.

Guess Shepherd already gave up. And he was glad he did. Because somewhere deep inside his mind, Gary believed that Shepherd slightly hesitated on his stab. If he was serious enough, he might've been dead now.

This meant that the key to ending this war is now solely upon the death of Nero.

Next Chapter : The NINE Engines

Notification Squad my Beloved

@smokeywhalee @enderio @samatedeansbroccoli @ricinbach @whimsywispsblog @bumblingbee1

(feel free to pm me to sub or unsub on notif squad)

#alex echo 3 1 #horrayfic #john soap mactavish #codmw #john price #gary roach sanderson #simon ghost riley #whateverittakes

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naomicampel78 · 3 years

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tracybirds · 4 years

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Gooooooood morning, it is definitely not 1am and I definitely didn’t get a random spark of inspiration to finish this fic which I began writing for the TAGrewatch for Space Race, not definitely not. Funny the things that happen when I manage to finish work on time (more or less XD) instead of at far-too-late-to-even-consider-work o’clock. Truly incredible. Anyway, Alan + the fam following his near death experience. Hope you enjoy :)

Many thanks to @gumnut-logic and @plantmuffin for reading bits and letting me babble and mutter my way through this one :P

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His hands were steady as he guided Thunderbird Three back to her base in the hangar. The manoeuvre was as familiar to him as the virtual motion of Cavern Quest™, and one he’d been trusted to complete solo for over a year now.

Today, he was buzzing like it were brand new.

It might have become ordinary to land a rocket in his family’s version of a backyard shed, but today he’d done something really special.

Today he’d saved lives.

Sure technically he had been the only person around for a couple thousand kilometres but if he hadn’t been there, if he hadn’t been the one to find the mine, he didn’t know who would have. He did know the exact time to launch Thunderbird Three was twenty-two minutes, from lowered chair to atmosphere exit.

They would have had eight minutes. He had gotten thirty.

And now they had the opportunity to disarm all of them – forever.

There was a dancing flame underneath his skin at the thought.

Was this how his brothers felt every day?

He could see why they’d never stopped, why his Dad’s vision had outlived him.

The thrill, the feeling of importance, of purpose, the adrenaline, it was intoxicating.

He looked down at his gloved fingers in awe before a flashing light caught his attention. Post flight checks. Of course. Today wasn’t special just because he’d saved the day. He was, after all, hoping the experience would become ordinary.

An insistent beep drew him from his thoughts as he retracted the chair. He pulled up the hologram as he moved smoothly backwards, the bright lights of the hangar lighting up his face as much as his smile.

“Scott! How was it?”

“We’re all wrapped up here, kiddo,” Scott said, eyes crinkling at the edges. “John told me you got the job done, how does it feel?”

Alan’s smile grew even wider.

“It was amazing! I’ve never flown like that before except in a simulator. It was pulling me backwards, and I had to avoid all this debris, and then John needed to know the serial number and I flipped Three over like she was sub-atmosphere.”

Scott laughed.

“It’s a good feeling, isn’t it? Knowing that you made a difference?”

Alan sucked in a breath as the reality of the moment – his moment – hit him again.

“Yeah, it was the best. When can I go out again Scott, I don’t want to wait anymore.”

Scott shook his head in amusement.

“It’ll be soon, Allie, don’t worry. We’re all so proud of how you’ve grown – and you really kept your head today. You’ll have a few more runs at the obstacle course on the ranch, and you need to finish your deep water training.”

“And then?” The bright note of hope echoed across through the comm.

“Then we can start sending you on missions. Real missions.”

“Yes!”

The cheer bounced around the hangar, loud enough to startle Brains, working on one of the PODs far below him.

“Sorry,” called Alan, waving down at him as he jumped off the chair.

Brains waved back with a smile.

“Is that Alan?” There was a sudden glitch as Gordon shoved his way between Scott and his comm. “Alan, hi!!”

“Gordon, I got to shut down a mine today!”

“I heard! What was it like?”

“It was great!”

He chattered away to Gordon as he trudged back up to the main section of the house. Gordon gasped in all the right places, his eyes widening as Alan spun a tale of daring manoeuvres and fearless flying. The craving to tell more stories like this one only intensified the more he spoke and, already, Alan was itching to go on another adventure.

“And then,” he said, his voice tinged with all the layers of appropriate drama. “It was down to the last second. I flew over on my surfboard, ready to shut down the mine or be blown to bits with it. John read me the code and I began to punch in the numbers. He stopped, and I stopped because there was only one number to go.”

“What was it?” asked Gordon, as eager for a good story as his younger brother.

“We didn’t know.”

A hush fell over the conversation. All attention was on him and Alan relished every second, allowing it to stretch on into the silence.

“I’m sorry, what do you mean you didn’t know?”

Scott barrelled into the story, as brutal and quick as a freight train.

“We had all the numbers but the last one,” repeated Alan, enjoying the drama of his story. “‘Seven’s lucky right?’ I asked and John said he hoped so. We only had one shot. I was just about to press it, when John called it in. It was a three. I punched it and soared away as quick as I could.”

“And then what,” growled Scott.

Alan shrugged.

“And then it sort of…. retracted in on itself. It bounced off the ship and I went and collected it in.” He wrinkled his nose. “Sort of a let-down after all that. Maybe next time will have a better ending.”

Neither brother said anything in response.

Alan frowned and looked down at the comm.

“Uh, guys? You’ve muted it.”

Gordon had turned around, clearly doing something else. Alan could feel a pout starting to form as the disappointment that his brothers weren’t even paying attention registered.

Gordon snapped a soundless sentence and turned on the sound again with an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, Allie. I’m back with you now. Great story.”

“Yeah, well, most of it was.” Alan cringed, hating the way his voice turned into a sulk.

Gordon looked irritated, clearly hearing the same tone. Alan tried to pull himself together. Gordon and Scott were coming back from a real mission after all, he couldn’t expect them to pay attention to every detail of his trip into space.

“Look, we’re on our way home now,” said Gordon, plastering an encouraging smile on his face. “Why don’t you have a shower and go wake Virgil. See if he’ll make you some pancakes. I know I was starving after my first real mission.”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks Gordon.”

His stomach felt hollow, but the thought of food had never been more unappealing to Alan before. The electric buzz had faded and everything felt greyer than usual.

He found Virgil already awake when he opened the door to the kitchen. He leaned against the counter, talking intently with John.

Alan did a double take.

“John?”

They looked up, startled by the intrusion.

“Why did you come down? I thought you still had another week on rotation?”

John and Virgil exchanged glances, a conversation lingering in a single look.

“Would you like a hot chocolate?” asked Virgil. He turned away to begin making a cup before Alan could reply.

“I-uh…” Alan looked helplessly at John, asking with an inclined head what was going on.

“Take a seat, Alan.” John nudged one of the barstools with his foot and Alan clambered up. His legs swung as he picked up the sense of discomfort in the room.

“Why are you here, John?” he asked again.

“Checking in on you.” His brother’s voice was strangely gentle. “How are you feeling?”

Alan shrugged. A hot mug was pressed into his hands.

“I dunno.” His voice was small. “I was feeling good, but now I just feel…”

“Exhausted?” suggested John.

“A bit chewed up maybe?” said Virgil, pulling an arm around his shoulders. He was warm and Alan closed his eyes for a moment, allowing the feeling to seep into his bones.

“Just kinda crappy.” He looked down at his hands, wrapped around the mug of hot chocolate. Just a few short hours ago, they’d done something amazing. Now, he clutched at the ceramic mug tightly, afraid that if he loosened his grip, unwanted thoughts would spill from his mouth.

“I told Gordon and Scott about it.”

He didn’t need to look up to see the glance that passed once more over his head.

“They’re coming home.” He slumped in his seat, staring glumly at the drink. “Scott’s mad at me.”

John’s breath caught in his throat. Alan could feel Virgil’s arms tighten around him.

“He’s not,” said Virgil. “I promise you, Alan, he’s not mad at you.”

“But he has to be! I guessed seven! I would have been wrong, I would have been…”

His voice trailed off as he drew the natural conclusion for the first time.

“I could have died.”

Terror ballooned in his chest, too late to save him from a threat that no longer existed. He gasped, his hand reaching out to grasp at something solid.

“You could have,” said John gently, covering Alan’s small hand on his shoulder with his own. “Scott’s not mad, he’s terrified.”

“I didn’t, I can’t,” said Alan, looking up at John between wet eyelashes. “I nearly died, John.”

The realisation hit him again and suddenly he was being crushed by warmth and love and for a moment the world was solid enough to allay his fears.

“We’re proud of you, Alan,” said Virgil, his voice muffled against his hair. “It wasn’t meant to be like that.”

“But it can be.”

Alan looked up in time to see John dodge backwards to avoid the smack Virgil aimed at him.

“He needs to know,” he said, glaring at Virgil. “You all risk your lives every day, but you have backup. If something goes wrong up there when he’s alone, he’s by himself. There’s no way for us to reach him. That’s why he has to be the best.”

“He’s just a kid.”

“And we’re asking him to risk his life. He needs to understand the full ramifications of that. We can’t afford to protect him from that if we’re sending him out there.”

“Gordon–”

“Gordon nearly got killed before he ever got into Four. He knew exactly what we were asking.” John’s eyes flicked down and met Alan’s. “And now, so does Alan.”

Alan pushed his brothers away, getting to his feet. His knees wobbled beneath him as he walked up the stairs without saying anything.

“Alan?” Virgil called after him.

“I need to think.”

He knew John was right. He could have died. He could have left behind his family, trapped again in that suffocating grief. He still saw flashes of it, though none of them acknowledged it. It was a private thing the way Scott still started at the sight of Virgil in the early morning before he’d run the product through his hair, or the way John never took avalanche calls, or how sometimes their Grandma would sit in the garden out back, alone and silent.

He never wanted to cause that same pain.

He might someday.

That’s what John was telling him. That’s what he needed to understand.

His Dad had thought it was worth the risk.

He stumbled on the steps and fell to the ground.

“Alan!”

“I’m fine,” he mumbled as his brothers raced up the steps. “I’m fine, I just.”

He sat in silence, allowing the calm, soothing voices to wash over him. Kind fingers swept back his hair as he stared unseeing into nothingness.

He clutched at the shirt collar that hung in front of his eyes.

“I could have died,” he whispered, before the tears sprang from his eyes. He couldn’t hold them back any longer, pressing into the warm embrace. “I could have died.”

“But you didn’t,” he heard John say calmly above him. “You didn’t, Allie. You’re okay, we’re with you.”

He didn’t know how long they stayed there, crumpled on the stairs, awkward limbs supporting his weight and the constant reassurance from above. Long enough that when hitching sobs became slow, deep breaths and shaking hands were stilled, the sun had sunk low in the sky.

“How can you do it? Knowing what happened to him?”

“Happened to who?”

“Dad.”

He could feel Virgil stiffen besides him, how John’s fingers suddenly grew tight on his knee.

“He left us, he knew what could happen, he knew what it would do to us and he still left.”

“That was different, Allie.” A hoarse whisper crawled from Virgil’s lips. “He didn’t know it would happen.”

“But he knew it could. And so do you.”

Silence fell amongst the three brothers as they sat, lost in memory and possibility.

“Hey kiddo.”

Grandma. Her steady hand fell on his shoulder. He couldn’t look at her, frozen on the steps with Virgil crammed in on one side and John on the other.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, hurriedly wiping at his eyes which had welled with tears again.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, young man. Now up you get, don’t make me come down there with these knees.”

He stood and she wrapped him in a hug.

“Why did Dad do it? He knew how much he could hurt us if it went wrong. How could he risk that?”

“Your Dad knew what he’d put you through if he got killed. It wasn’t an easy decision for him after your Mom died. But knowing exactly how that felt, there was no way he could sit still and listen to people crying out for help, families who were set to lose as much and more than he did.”

Alan didn’t say anything, hunching over where he stood so that he was the same height as Grandma Tracy. She pulled him towards her and he leaned into her embrace.

“We go out when no-one else will, Alan,” said Virgil, steering him up the steps. “The people we save, they’d die without us. But you have to be the one to decide. It’s okay if you’re not ready.”

“It’s not that I’m not ready,” insisted Alan as he was pushed onto the couch. “I know I am. John, you know I am too.”

“This isn’t about your flying or your commitment Allie.” John leaned over the back of the couch, staring at his hands. “This is about you doing the cost-benefit analysis. We can’t do it for you. You could save hundreds of people. You could also die.” He looked up at Alan. His eyes were serious and there was an unmistakable challenge behind them. “The question is, do you think that it’s worth it?”

“I–”

“Where is he?”

Scott burst into the room, grim stare in place and hair askew. He hurried over to Alan and crouched down in front of him, checking him over with a practiced eye.

“How are you?”

“I’m fine, Scott, I–”

“You,” he said, jabbing a finger up at John. “We’ll talk later.”

He pulled Alan into a crushing hug.

“Ugh, you stink.”

“Can it, sprout. You could have been killed. I’m getting my hug.”

“Give him a chance to breathe though, Scooter,” said Gordon. His lips quirked at the distaste on Alan’s face. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” said Alan.

“We’re just talking about what happened.” Virgil nudged Scott. “Let him go, he’s okay.”

Alan smiled weakly as Scott pulled away.

“How was it?”

“What the rescue?”

“Yeah.”

Scott glanced at Gordon.

“It was fine. We got them out.”

“Was it close?”

“It was fine.”

“Was it close?”

“It was closer than we’d like,” offered Gordon. “But we’re not injured and neither were the people who were trapped. But no risk, no reward, you know that.”

“Was it worth it?”

Gordon tilted his head to one side, brows furrowing as he looked between Alan and the rest of the family.

“Alan is just having a conversation with us about why you all do what you do.” Grandma patted the couch on her other side. Scott grabbed at Virgil’s knee, levering himself upright with a groan and flopping down beside him.

“It’s always worth it,” said Gordon, tucking himself in next to Grandma Tracy. “If we didn’t do it, just think of how many people there’d be just gone. And how many more would be grieving. There’s no way I could sit back and know I could do something about it. It’s our responsibility to do everything in our power to help, that’s what I think.”

“Your Dad was just the same. Always thinking about the next best way he could help people. When he lost your Mom, suddenly he wasn’t only thinking about technology. All he could see were the people that came to help. The rescuers, the doctors, the nurses, true. But more than that, he saw an entire community pull together to get his family off that mountain. And he knew that all around the world there were people crying out for help, people who had no-one to reach them. He wouldn’t let it happen anymore.”

“Dad built a legacy on hope,” said Scott with a sad smile. “The Thunderbirds are great machines, but everyone who sees them isn’t pinning their hopes on a machine. They’re looking for a person, someone who’s willing to reach out their hand and throw them a lifeline.”

“Literally,” said Gordon with a grin.

“Listen Allie,” said Virgil. “There’s a million ways to help people, we’ve all seen them. We’ll be proud of you no matter what if you want a bit of time.”

“No, no I want to do this. Please. Let me help.”

“How did it feel today?” asked John abruptly.

“It was…” Alan paused. He thought back to the exhilaration as he put Thunderbird Three through her paces, outmanoeuvring the wily mine. He remembered the immense satisfaction and accomplishment as he shut it down for good. The buzz of doing something to be proud of, something useful with his years of training.

He straightened up, shoulders back and head high, full of the same determination that he had approached the mine with n-1 numbers available. There was no fear, only a calm acceptance to do what he must.

“I want to do it. But I don’t want to be alone up there. I’m not ready for that yet.”

Grandma Tracy’s eyes shone, pulling Alan towards her for a hug. John reached out and began rubbing his back gently, only to squawk as Gordon tugged him down and added the two of them to the hug. Virgil and Scott quickly followed suit.

“We’re proud of you kiddo,” murmured Grandma Tracy into Alan’s hair. “So proud. You did amazing today, sweetheart.”

“Thanks Grandma,” whispered Alan.

The family breathed and sighed as one, relaxing into the embrace.

Only to be broken by a commotion, as Virgil shoved Scott out of the group hug.

“Go shower,” he said with a pained look on his face. “Just… go.”

#TAGrewatch #alan tracy #virgil tracy #john tracy #scott tracy #gordon tracy #grandma tracy #we're all here today folks!#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #sometimes i fic #and with that goodnight XD #literally for a good chunk there (aka start of term) we were writing two sentences and calling it a day #that was decidedly unfun #anyway have i read this through absolutely not #not closely anyway #i'm sure i'll be facepalming in the morning when I find silly typos

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the-mcu-theory · 4 years

Text

Here it is! Our first ever “what if...” scenario!

I bet you’re excited! (And if you’re not, then why are you reading this?)

Okay, here it is... Drumroll please.

What if...

Steve fell off the train instead of Bucky? (written by Rebecca)

Well, the whole timeline of Steve becoming Captain America would be very different, indeed.

One of two things could happen.

Bucky becomes the new Captain America and joins the Avengers as an OG Avenger, instead of Steve.

Bucky doesn’t join the Avengers at all, leaving a place of leadership to be missing.

Well, let’s go through each movies that Steve was in and evaluate each one, shall we?

<-------------------------------->

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

The following is a Wikipedia entry of what happened in this movie AFTER Bucky falls from the train:

“Using information extracted from Zola, the final Hydra stronghold is located, and Rogers leads an attack to stop Schmidt from using weapons of mass destruction on major American cities. Rogers climbs aboard Schmidt's aircraft as it takes off. During the subsequent fight, the Tesseract's container is damaged. Schmidt physically handles the Tesseract, which opens a wormhole into space, sucking him into it. The Tesseract burns through the plane and is lost in the ocean. Seeing no way to land the plane without the risk of detonating its weapons, Rogers crashes it in the Arctic. Stark later recovers the Tesseract from the ocean floor but is unable to locate Rogers or the aircraft, presuming him dead.”

Now if we analyse each of the things that could’ve happened if Steve fell instead of Bucky...

This would turn out the exact same, except replace the face of Chris Evans with Sebastian Stan and visa versa. But of course the Peggy relationship would be different (maybe that what if scenario about Peggy becoming Captain Britain might come true?)

None of this would’ve happened if Bucky didn’t become Captain America. Barnes would’ve been still stuck in the 1940s and died there as he wasn’t injected with the super soldier serum that Steve did. Of course, Steve would’ve taken Bucky’s place at HYDRA (cue HYDRA Cap, but that will come later in the sequel)

<-------------------------------->

The Avengers (2012)

I’m not going to copy and paste the whole Wikipedia plot of the Avengers onto here, otherwise that would be too long to read, so here is a shorten version that someone wrote on IMDB (trust me, it is shorter than the Wikipedia entry).

“S.H.I.E.L.D. has located the mysterious Tesseract device and the Army's super soldier Captain America. The Tesseract is actually a gateway to an entirely new world called Asgard. A mysterious being known as Loki arrives on earth and immediately assumes that he can rule all human beings. But that irks S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury the wrong way. As Loki escapes with the Tesseract, Nick Fury believes this is an act of war against Earth. His only hope is to assemble an actual team of super heroes. Dr. Bruce Banner, who turns into an enormous green rage monster known as the Hulk. Tony Stark and his venerable Iron Man armor. Captain America, the Stark Enterprises created super soldier. Thor, the god of thunder, protector of Earth and his home planet of Asgard, and Loki's brother. Master assassins Hawkeye and Natasha Romanoff. Together they will become a team to take on an attack that will call them to become the greatest of all time.”

Let’s analyse again...

The whole movie would be the same, except for a few bits. Whilst the whole boxing scene would be scrapped, the introduction of Bucky as Cap would be similar (with the memories of the events of the First Avenger and Steve falling off the train). The leadership part would be missing. Bucky considers himself as a very introverted person, so the leadership skills would turned towards Stark, which would be different for the other movies (as well as Iron Man 3).

For this scenario, the introductions would be the same, except the Cap intro. That would be replaced by either Carol Danvers, Scott Lang or Hope Van Dyne (probably not Scott but it could’ve been a possibility).

<-------------------------------->

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

This is the most important part of the franchise. Again, this is another IMDB plot summary of the Winter Soldier cause it’s shorter than the Wikipedia entry.

“Two years after the alien attack on New York, Steve Rogers starts to adjust to the modern world and works as an agent of SHIELD. However, Steve disagrees with the rules of today as he faces a world of threats and complexities. When Director Nick Fury is killed by a mysterious assassin called the Winter Soldier, Steve is warned not to trust anyone, only to find himself being framed for not sharing information. On the run, Rogers launches an investigation into a deadly conspiracy which reveals that SHIELD has been infiltrated by his old arch nemesis HYDRA, who have been hiding in plain sight. With only Black Widow and Falcon as backup, Rogers must once again suit up and defeat HYDRA from launching their ultimate weapon before it's too late.”

Analysing...

To be honest, this whole movie would’ve been the same, but instead of Bucky being the Winter Soldier, Steve would’ve revealed himself as Hydra Cap (or Militant, as it’s known in the comics). Probably not with the whole green and black suit colours, but with red and black (just like Bucky had in the CA:TWS with the red star on his metal arm). Bucky would’ve still met Sam Wilson and their TV series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier would still go on (but more on that later).

The events of the movie could’ve still happened (due to Pierce’s plans and Sitwell being an undercover SHIELD agent working for HYDRA). But Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton would probably be the main protagonists of the movie, fighting Hydra Cap together.

<-------------------------------->

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Here is yet another plot summary from IMDB about this movie.

“After a successful raid on a HYDRA base, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner create an Artificial Intelligence called Ultron, a peacekeeping protocol designed to help the Avengers protect the world from their enemies. But things go wrong when Ultron sees the human race as a threat and sets out to destroy it along with the Avengers. Now the Avengers, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, must reassemble to stop Ultron from causing mass destruction. Aside from this, the Avengers also must take on the powerful twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch as well as the new entity called Vision. Also, the Avengers find that things may never be the same again after discovering a power beyond their comprehension.”

Analysing...

This movie would be the same, as well as Pietro dying (RIP Pietro). But it is a possibility that Clint would not have a family, due to the fact that he was on the run with Tasha. Also, it is a possibility that Brutasha (Ship name for Bruce and Natasha) would still happen, but it is a low one as maybe during the events of CA:TWS, we find out that Clint and Tasha have a secret relationship that we don’t know of until the Black Widow movie, (which won’t be mentioned in this post but probably in a later post about the Clintasha ship).

With Bucky out of the way, this bit of the movie (courtesy of Wikipedia), “As Stark leaves and Barton retires, Rogers and Romanoff prepare to train new Avengers: Rhodes, Vision, Sam Wilson, and Wanda...” will happen without him. Barton would not retire and help Tasha with helping to train them. But the theory that Stark went to his safehouse (mentioned and visited in Endgame) could happen in this version. But of course, if the, before mentioned, characters in the first Avengers movie were to replace Bucky, then they would train the newbies with Tasha.

<-------------------------------->

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Here is another important movie in the franchise! And here it is, another plot summary!

“With many people fearing the actions of super heroes, the government decides to push for the Hero Registration Act, a law that limits a hero's actions. This results in a division in The Avengers. Iron Man stands with this Act, claiming that their actions must be kept in check otherwise cities will continue to be destroyed, but Captain America feels that saving the world is daring enough and that they cannot rely on the government to protect the world. This escalates into an all-out war between Team Iron Man (Iron Man, Black Panther, Vision, Black Widow, War Machine, and Spider-Man) and Team Captain America (Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, and Ant Man) while a new villain emerges.”

Analysing...

Again, to be honest, this whole movie would’ve been the same. Yeah. That’s it. But number two, on the other hand...

...Would not happen at all. Well, actually, the Sokovia Accords were about the Battle of Sokovia in AoU, but the whole argument between Steve/Bucky and Tony wouldn’t happen. Unless either Carol, Scott (probably not Scott) or Hope would disagree with Stark, then it would go along with the original movie. But for the sub-plot (which is Hydra Cap killed Tony’s parents) would only be mentioned. So that’s mean Baron Zemo’s introduction would have to wait until the Falcon and Winter Soldier series. As of Spider-Man and Ant-Man’s introduction (of course, after Scott’s solo movie), that would be the same (unless of course Scott was the OG Avenger to replace Steve or Bucky).

<-------------------------------->

Avengers: Infinity War & Avengers: Endgame (2018 and 2019)

Two plot summaries from IMDB... (Points number 1 and 2 will be for Infinity War from both scenarios and points 2 and 4 will be for Endgame)

“As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artefacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment, the fate of Earth and existence has never been more uncertain.”

“After half of all life is snapped away by Thanos, the Avengers are left scattered and divided. Now with a way to reverse the damage, the Avengers and their allies must assemble once more and learn to put differences aside in order to work together and set things right. Along the way, the Avengers realise that sacrifices must be made as they prepare for the ultimate final showdown with Thanos, which will result in the heroes fighting the biggest battle they have ever faced.”

Analysing...

So, for IW, Bucky would be back as Captain America to fight Thanos with the rest of the Avengers (except Hawkeye as he is playing tag. I’m just joking xD). But instead of him being the one to help Vision and Wanda, and take the others to Wakanda, it would’ve been Sam (maybe to foreshadow the fact he will become the next Captain America in Endgame). Steve, of course, will be awoken from his cryogenic sleep from Civil War and reunited with his buddy. But when Thanos snaps his finger, Steve would be the first person to be disintegrated (or maybe it would turn out the exact same as the original with Bucky going with Wanda etc... and Steve staying?).

As for Endgame, Barnes would probably lead grief counselling sessions for survivors (like Steve did). Then, the same thing will happen like the original. But the ending will change. Bucky will give the mantel of Captain America to Sam Wilson and maybe, go back to return the stones, find Red Skull, of course, and maybe go back to the first Cap movie to reverse the roles (so he fell off the train instead of Steve, like in the original MCU timeline).

For the second scenario, I think the movie will go along as normal. But if Carol replaced Steve as the “Captain”, then Fury would never need to send a distress signal to Carol, as she is already there (and the mid credit scene is no longer needed, but I think that wouldn’t happen, due to the fact that Carol is too strong when she is put up with a Norse god, a Gamma radiation monster, two SHIELD assassins with no superpowers and a tech genius with a sarcasm as a superpower. Of course, for Steve and the cryogenic sleep would never happen because no one rescued him in Civil War and he would still be with Hydra.

Endgame, however, would be totally different to the first scenario. There would be no “grief counselling sessions”, only Banner, Stark and Lang would go to New York (which means no Cap v Cap fight). It is possible that the “going back to the 1970s” plan could work with just Stark, but Scott would go with him as well. Unless Carol went with them, then the Cap v Cap fight (with Carol instead of Steve) would still happen. Both the funerals for Stark and Tasha would still happen. But who would return the stones? Probably either Scott or Barton.

<-------------------------------->

Now time for the last part (finally!), the future movies and TV shows!

First up is the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. There isn’t an official synopsis for the show yet, but here is a Wiki entry...

“After being handed the mantle of Captain America at the end of Avengers: Endgame, Sam Wilson teams up with Bucky Barnes in a worldwide adventure that puts their abilities to the test.”

This part will be a combination of the two scenarios to save time.

The casting of the show has only got 4 characters, in line for the show. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Baron Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) and Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp).

And, of course US Agent (the “fake” Captain America) played by Wyatt Russell.

For scenario 1, the series will play out the exact same way (depends on if Bucky goes back in time to fix everything).

Scenario 2, however, would be very different. Sebastian would be missing from that cast list, but would be replaced by Evans (who would play Hydra Cap once again). As for Zemo, this would be an introduction to the MCU (unless he would get introduced in the Black Widow movie).

Secondly, it’s the Black Widow solo movie and other TV series (such as the Hawkeye series and WandaVision). Here is a unofficial synopsis of them (that means it’s not official by Marvel Studios).

“Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, Natasha Romanoff finds herself alone and forced to confront a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Romanoff must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.”

“In April 2019, a limited series focused on Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton / Hawkeye was reported to be in development, with the plot involving Barton passing the mantle of Hawkeye to the character Kate Bishop.”

“Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Wanda Maximoff and Vision begin to suspect things are not as they seem as the two live their ideal suburban life.”

Even though, we don’t know exactly what will happen in the future of the MCU (especially Phase 4), I cannot say what would happen if Steve fell from the train instead of Bucky. But maybe check in with us in about 4 to 5 years when these TV series/movies have come out fully.

So, that’s it for this scenario! Hopefully you have had fun reading this, as much as I have had writing this. If you have any suggestions on other scenarios, just send an ask in to us!

This is Rebecca signing off.

Until next time!

#the-mcu-theory #scenarios #what if...#steve rogers #bucky barnes #chris evans #sebastian stan

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c-atm · 5 years

Text

Through the Burns and the Pain

Drabble3: Through the burns and pain

Summary:

steven lost a fight and can't recover from it even with the fountain. What's the cause of it and how do you extinguish it? Can they

Notes:This chapter was inspired by a great artist on Instagram called @just_somedoodles. please check out their work.

'Oh..OH STARS! That's bad.'

That was the thought that ran though his mind...that, weakness and pain, so much pain. It felt as if his abdominals were being stabbed and pierced continuously.

'Where's that pain coming from? and why does it feels like I am submerged?'

He opened his eyes as hard as it was to and looked down. His eyes started watering as fear gripped his heart.

'No..No..NO! FUCKING NO!'

His mind started running a mile a attosecond, looking at his damaged gem. Thoughts running through the last few hours..Days, maybe? How long was he here? He silently winced as he felt that pain again..why wasn't the fountain working? He looked at his gem again..as memories flowed back.

'Splintered, cracked, paled and caved in at the top... quite a number on me.'

He remembered now, It was during a simple artifact mission with Connie, Amethyst, Bismuth and Lion. The pentagon shaped temple they explored were littered with mazes filled with traps like spiked ceiling, pitfalls and fire spewing walls. Exciting, but still childsplay for the experienced hybrid and his entourage. When they reached the throne room, Steven’s team were surprised to see that someone had already beaten them it. A draconic looking gem mutant, the size of a three ruby fusion with a shade of purple similar to Spinel. It held the object, a colorless crystal lantern with a transparent flame, in between its claws, admiring it; before turning towards the Crystal Gems. With a small 'smile' on it face it gave off a mighty roar; the force and volume throwing the team to their knees.

It launched itself towards Stevonnie, as they were recuperating from its initial attack. The last thing Steven remembered was forcibly unfusing Stevonnie before receiving a thunderous blow straight to the gem, the lantern turning a dull rose pink, and Connie blood curdling scream of his name.

"Steven, please open your eyes."

With as much strength he could muster he turned towards the sound of the voice...and the scene caused more pain him even more than the fight.

Garnet had unfused to Sapphire and Ruby. Sapphire blaming herself for not being able to see this happening and Ruby desperately trying to dissuade her from such thoughts, while failing to stay calm as lava hot tears fell from her eyes. The second furthest from the fountain

Bismuth held Peridot and Lapis in a huddle of tears furthest away from the fountain, fighting to stay strong herself while trying to reassure the two that he would make it through this.

Pearl and Amethyst held each other for dear life as they try to find a bit of solace; the duo tears and sobs louder than anyone else's. They were the second closest to the fountain

Though none of theirs was the voice he heard. That pleading, heartbreaking voice that simultaneously killed and strengthening him.

"Steven."

He could hear them, even in the state he was in . That one belonged to the one at the very edge of the fountain. Tears streamed down her closed eyes, pure anguaish on her face as she gripped the fountain edge, on her knees as small whispers of grief filled swears and beseeching statements for his safety came from her.

“Connie..”

His voice was so low but they all heard it as if it was shouted out though a blow horn. Connie wasted no time getting into the fountain and to her best friend's side. Gently, she wrapped him up in a comforting embrace as she led him to the shallow part of the fountain, laying him down upon her lap so everything below his chest was submerged. He watched as their face contorted between anguish and relief as they all embraced him. He allowed himself to bask in it, despite the numbing pain from his gem.

“Hey guys.” He gave a weak smirk as he looked around. “How long was I out?”

“Far too long,baby. You have us worried sick.”

Steven chuckled slightly with a groan towards Pearl reprimand. He winced and threw his head back at the pain from his gem. Connie grabbed his hand tightly yet reassuringly, trying to calm him down.

“Seems like I’m still not healed all the way, Anyone knows why the fountain isn’t working?”

“The lantern.”

Steven turned his head to Sapphire,the sorrow in her eye and stance scared him.

“Steven, Amethyst told us what happened. The translucent flame took on your gem color correct.”

“Yeah I saw it before I passed out…”

Sapphire sighed sadly and clenched her fist but controlled herself enough to avoid dropping to sub-zero temperatures. “The lantern’s flame is burning your gem essence as fast as the fountain is attempting to heal it..maybe even faster…”

Steven's eyes widen at the statement, “What do you mean burn? What does that mean for me?”

Sapphire couldn’t answer him...and that was confirmation enough. His head dropped low unable to face them. He started to tremble and grabbed on to Connie arm who held him closer and tighter, allowing his tears to fall upon her.

“Sapphire, is there nothing we can do?”

“Can we bust up the lantern at the least?”

Sapphire turned towards Amethyst and Pearl anger and frustration on her face. ”HOW?! I can’t even find where the monster who did this is! it’s dodging MY future vision, NOT Garnets, MINES! I’m trying to find them, predict them, and nothing...Steven’s...Our Son is...And there’s nothing I can do to..”

Sapphire nearly collapsed in sorrow as the sobs resurfaced again. Ruby instantly held on to her wife as she turned to the others. She spoke calmly but hotly.

“She’s been looking ever since Lion and Connie brought Steven ..Garnet probably have a better chance of finding them...but as we are now…”

Ruby yet the sentence hung but it was clear what she was saying. Garnet was an impossibility at the moment for the power couple. The thought, the almost certain reality of losing Steven was that powerful.

“So..we can’t find it without find them with future vision. Then we search without it.”

The gems turned to the girl who kept him in place, soothingly caressing the now wheezing hybrid chest with the healing water. She looked up at them red and puffy eye but full of steel and determination. The gems could only looked at her sadly and pity.

Pearl sighed gently before answering her firmly “Connie...I know it’s hard to-”

“NO! I’m not accepting that!” Connie interrupted in an almost roar. “He would never even think of giving up on anyone of us..We owe him that much.”

“We’re not giving up on him!” Pearl bit her lip, clenched her fist and glared deeply at her student. “We’d never do that…but” Pearl couldn’t keep her anger. She knew that Connie was hurting just as much as anyone of them...by how protective and determined she‘s being, maybe more than that.

“It’s hard for us as well, Nini. We want to search and find them..but..What if he goes while were gone.”

Connie turned her glare towards Lapis, who refused to look at her, Eyes on Steven and Steven alone, eyes glazed in a serene sorrow. “My Beach summer fun buddy is in so much pain...and the only thing anyone of us can do is stay with him through this. ”

Connie shook her head lightly. The tears started to flow back to the surface as she held the quietly weezing steven close to her. “I can’t accept that. I refuse to…” the determination was starting to break “I’m supposed to be the one he can rely on, The sword to his shield. His jam bud. His knight. I’m his protector and he only like this cause he protected me.”

“Connie-” Bismuth began but was interrupted by the girl again.

“We’re gonna get through this...He’s gonna get better...” Connie gave them a weak smile through her heartbreak. ”I have to believe that...We all do.” She turned her sight to the boy in her arms and gave him a quick kiss upon his crown, before looking at him “All of us.”

None of the gems could refute her statement or ignore the hurt she was feeling. Her heart was shattering continuously as was theirs, but while they were on the edge of accepting the inevitable, Connie had a stubbornness born out of her love, her loyalty, and valor; and they knew as long as he was still warm, she wasn’t going to give up on saving him.

“Then we should look for alternatives.”

Steven's eyes widen at the voice and looked up to see Garnet standing in the place of Ruby and Sapphire. He gave her a small smile as he reached for her hand, which she grasped gently but securely. He looked so tormented by the pain but he still smiled. Though haggard breaths, tired wheezing and involuntary groans of unimaginable,murderous pain, he smiled.

“Garnet...Welcome back."

Garnet gave a small teary smile before nodding. “ it’s good to be back. Steven, I know it’s selfish to ask but...I might need you to strain yourself during this time.”

“No problem, I can’t stay on my back while guys do all the work. What kind of leader would that make -MEUMHMHMH!”

Steven bit back an agonizing scream as his gem literally started to burn even under the fountains essence, causing him to grip both Garnet and Connie as an attempt to brace himself. Eyes close as hot tears ran down his eyes.

“Fuck! It hurts!”

Steven’s bitter howl cause distraught among his family, sending them into a silent cold.The gems watch in horror, seeing him in so much pain and being helpless to stop it. Never had the crystal gems felt so lost or useless as they did now, being forced to spectate to his torment. Connie and Garnet trying to relax him, by rubbing his stomach and feeding him some of the fountains essence, anything to ease the pain.

“What do we do?” Peridot asked silently unable to look anymore.hiding her face into Bismuth chest. The blacksmith had no answer as she could look on herself, the anger at his distress and their inability evident.

“Steven, fuse with me!”

The gems looked up at the girl command. Before anyone of the gems could protest, Steven agreed and hated himself for it. Connie smiled reassuringly before he wrapped his arms around her. Connie looked towards garnet with a silent request to trust hand release him; reluctantly she did.

“I’m here for you, Biscuit. We all are.“

Placing a featherly kiss upon his lips gave him a second of peace allowed the gem to glow and them to meld into each other. In Steven place was Stevonnie still in pain, but much less so. They looked down saw the gem, while still damage, cracks receded a bit; visible repair.

“Think we...found an alternative.”

Stevonnie voice were pained but it held strength. Their breathing was more subtle as well but they weren't out of the woods yet. Though they were able to sit up on their own.

“That was risky.” Garnet while grateful was still stress at the reckless move.

Before Stevonnie could respond Pearl beat her to it. “I agree, what if it went wrong and you caused more stress to his gem?”

“I’m sorry, but Connie refused to let him stay in pain. Not if she could help it , and would’ve you know it. She diiiiii-”

Stevonnie groan as the pain sparked a bit, causing the gems to surround them in worry.

“It’s ok, I can handle it.”

“Vonnie.”

Stevonnie heard the worry in Amethyst voice and smile gently. “Trust me, I can handle it, as long as they can.”

No room for argument was left. “Now what do we do about the flame, cause just because i can handle it doesn't mean I want to.”

“The flame is inside of your gem, fulfilling its purpose. It’s supposed to burn though all the gems essence...Memories, powers and so forth.” Garnet explained, shakily.

“It’s like an old school rejuvenator then.” Amethyst figured, causing Garnet to shake her head.

“It’s deeper than that. It doesn't leave you with anything..once it’s done a Gem is nothing more than a rock. No sentience, magic or anything.” Pearl explained downtrodden. “The process usually takes approximately 24 hours, but my guess with Stevn being half human and now being in the fountain, the process is considerably slowed. Even more so thanks to Stevonnie.”

Stevonnie crossed their arms in thought “So wait the flame is like complete and utter hard disk wipe? So why did the lantern turn rose pink?”

Garnet looked at Stevonnie square in the eye as she spoke. “The lantern is an indicator of a gems state as well as a holding cell for a gem essence. It stars out dull and once it reaches its height of luminance, well that indication of the gems disposal.”

Stevonnie looked down at the gem. It wasn’t healed any more or less than last time nor was it burning, but the pain was still there and it was a slight bit darker. “What’s the plan?”

Garnet crossed her arms with a sigh, before raising two fingers up. “ there's two. We need to destroy that lantern and while it’s not perfect...i have narrowed its presence to Beta, or the north. Bismuth you take Lapis and Peridot to up North. Pearl and Amethyst we’ll head to Beta.”

“Wait Garnet. Shouldn't someone stay with Stevonnie, just incase.”

Garnet shook her head at Pearl question. “We can’t be around for what they need them to do.”

Stevonnie arched an eyebrow ignoring the pain in their abdominals. “ Exactly what do you need from me?”

Garnet grimaced at the thought but..it was the best bet. “ Visible as it is, the flame Is an astral projection, into it gets a gem.”Garnet sighed as she continued. “You need to exile or extinguished the flame in your gem.”

“Garnet! Their cracked! In pain! Being burned on the inside! You can’t possibly expect them to use that power in their-.”

“I don’t like it anymore than you Pearl, but it’s the only way. Either they push it out..or they stay in that state until the flame ends them. Breaking the lantern would not do much but ensure that the flame stay extinguished.”

Pearl looked defeated before turning to Stevonnie who was already in the meditative stance Garnet has taught them. Eyes closed, breathing relaxed and their cracked gem glowing and heating.

“Let’s go Pearl. Trust them.”

Pearl nodded solemnly as she followed the others out to the warp pad. She took a deep breath and donned a determined look on her face before warping away from and leaving stevonnie to their own battle.

Stevonnie opened her eyes with a gasp looking around as they got up. The astral plane was always something strange. A bluish-black plane like always, but there was always something that showed the current conflict in hand.. This was no different, actually it was quite similar to the time of Garnets wedding. A statue of Stevonni With Steven and Connie sitting on top of theirs in a meditative stance back to back.The difference it was cracked being burned away slowly by a now pinkish flame creature.

Stevonnie wasted no time summoning their shield,a making a makeshift sword out of a bubble shield, and charging forward. The creature moved to meet them with a blast of flame, keeping them in place as they defended. Stevonnie grunted as she could feel the burning of their gem from the outside and the painIt caused.

“SKEEEAAHH!”

The creature increased its flame intensity and force to cause a small explosion throwing Stevonnie back towards her components. With a pain filled grunt and grimaced from burns Stevnnie stood up on their feet and charged forward again. The creature opted for a melee attack swinging a claw forward and clashing with Stevonnie shield. The fusion pushed the creature back near the edge of the statue. The creature snarled before inflating it’s stomach and launching a volley of fire balls at Stevonnie. The fusion summoned a wall of shields, successfully blocking the assault.

Stevonie felt themselves getting worn down, and the statue getting a bit hotter. “ I can't keep this up.Shit this is exhausting!” They quickly shook the thought out of their head and returned their focus to the monster, who was already launching their next attack. How white flame flew swiftly at Stevonnie.

‘I ‘m gonna be roasted! Stevonnie braced for impact. She felt the heat but no impact she looked up to see Steven standing in front of them giant shield engaged. He gave his first fusion a small smile while looking at her from his peripheral. Before he felt himself getting pushed back

“Astral plane crazy right? At least we get to speak though. A little help thought, guys kind of tough. “

Stevonnie could only nod in agreement as placed her hand on the shield and pushed along with sSteven ending in a stalemate. The creature increased its heat turning the flame stream to hot plasma superheating the shield, it was soon eating through it..it was about to make thought the thick shield when...

“HYAH!

“GGGUUUAAAAHHH!!!!

The two looked over to see the monster screaming, it’s arms on the floor dying down and dissipating and near it, Connie maheswaran with a makeshift sword exactly like stevonine’s own. A look of valorous rage on her face as she went in to strike at the creature neck only for it to slip away and find it self in between the three of them. The monster light pink eyes had a look of desperation as realized it’s chances has dropped considerably.

Stevonnie wasn’t about to give it a chance as they threw a giant shield the beast with all intention a decapitation, The beast leapt up and took a deep breath ready to counter attack when the shield crashed into the entirety of its left side , knocking it harshly to the ground behind steven, flipping as it did.

Stevonnie and Steven both lifted arms up in amazement. “Nice Shot! Connie,” didn’t expect you to reflect so precisely” Steveonnie cheered as they kept their eyes on the creature, who was struggling to keep its form and color.

“Keke! KEKE!

The creature howl loudly as Connie walked up to the Stevonnie's left side as the three of them readied for it’s next attack.

With a ‘FWOOOSH’ the creature started to expand it’s armless body height, mass and heat the three looked on as the creature towered over them by several tens of feet and the heat it was producing was enough to become almost suffocating. Stevonnie and Stevn screamed out in pain as they can feel the gem heating up in the real world, even connie was grimacing and holding her abdominals. That when it took on a horrifying white glow and it’s body became plasma. It mis section stretching and stretching to it looked ready to burst.

They trio looked at each other before nodding in agreement. Stevonnie stretched out her hands while steven placed one hand on their right shoulder and connie one on their left. The other hand was interlaced with each other. The three concentrated on the task when the gems of Stevonnie and Steven, as well as the mid section of Connie started to shine even brighter than their opponent. In a quick flash that illuminated to astral plane the creature was encased in a large cube made of hexagonal bubbles sheilds, The same as pink Steven’s.

With a clench of their fist they squeezed tightly the monster within. The monster imploded in a flash of blinded light but couldn’t make the cube move yet alone destroy it.

The trio watched and as in awe as the flames, cracks and damages on the statue almost instantly were repaired as did the one one their actual gems and bodies. Almost instantly Connie pounced on Steven holding him tight and showering his face with kisses, overwhelmed that he was finally safe again. Stevonnie looked on as the two carried on feeling a bit like a child watching their parents fall in love again, before closing their eyes and reawaiking back into the waking world. There they saw the gems looking at them a little worry about weather they succeed. Stevonnie stood up from the fountain to revealed the gem intact and more brilliant than ever before...but inverted to look more like a hexagon diamond.

“Well..that’s new.”

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deansinkdbitch · 5 years

Text

Daughters of darkness

Note: (Y/L) means your location.

My second ever Constantine fic. Hope it's okay!

-----------------------

Daughter of Darkness

Walking out of a bar, a group of friends were laughing and joking about what they just witnessed inside. As per usual, the girls night out included at least one of them getting hit on by a guy who thought showing off his steroid induced 'guns of steel' would impress and get him laid.

“Yeah, okay Gaston...when you’re done with your five dozen eggs and steroids maybe we’ll talk” the girl with (h/c) quipped with the most dead pan facial expression, only her girls knew inside she was laughing hysterically and with pride for her reaction.

“Oh my god could you have come out with anything more perfect?! He didn’t know what to do with himself!” one of her friends giggled. (Y/n) chuckled, “honestly I’m shocked and impressed at myself! It just came to me so naturally.” Crossing the road all together, they slowly went from a group of five, to four, to three, and so on. It wasn’t long before (y/n) was on her own and making the last short walk to her apartment. Only this short walk came at a price....

---John---

It was a long night. Hell, it was a long damn week. Being a master of the dark arts and hunting the supernatural and demons was a killer on the mind and soul. Yet that’s what cigarettes and alcohol were made for, John Constantine thought to himself.

Letting himself slump back onto his sofa at his safe house he sighed and grabbed the nearby whiskey bottle. “Cheers to me and another dickhead demon getting their just desserts”. He wasn’t even sure why he even said it out loud. He was home alone tonight. Zed was with Chas doing another case. Taking a swig from the bottle he glanced at his surroundings and wondered how long it’d be before those two would get back and if he’d be asleep before they arrived. He hoped he would be. He was done with being awake at this stage. He hadn’t slept in the entire week. He needed it.

---reader---

“let me out!!” she screamed inside her own mind. She didn’t know why of how but she was trapped in her own body and mind and nothing could set her free. Someone else- no, someTHING else was controlling her every being. “Let me go!!” the demon controlling her body just smirked whilst looking in the mirror on its meatsuit's apartment wall.

“Let you go? No chance. You’re my ticket to revenge and I’m not letting that ticket to go to waste”. This demon could feel all of her fear and anxiety of what it’s words meant. That, filled it’s dark soulless heart with glee. With each fearful breath she breathed, the demon got stronger. “Now... Let’s go for a little stroll”. The demon chuckled before exiting the apartment and heading out into an alley way. Sure, an alley way was cliché. Even the demon knew it was, but clichés were it’s thing. “Now you get witness your first kill (y/n) enjoy!”

Using her body, it stalked in the darkness awaiting it’s prey like it was the lioness and humans were the zebra or gazelles. No amount of screaming inside her head would stop what was about to happen. She had never even hurt a mere fly or ant. Let alone killing another person! She could see everything like she was still in her own body but try as she might, she couldn’t remove the blade in her hand. This demon was powerful and quite frankly, she was even trying to still comprehend the fact that demons were even real!

“NO!!!” She screamed as she watched the poor victim, a mere child get their throat slashed open and their blood collected into a jar. “Aww shucks! You think I’m a monster! That’s so nice of you to think!” the demon gushed before laughing. “Welcome to the daughters of darkness sweet pea! We’re on the search for a John Constantine.” The demon explained with a sickening smile spread across its face. What did any of this mean? Daughters of darkness? Was this demon actually once a female? Who's John Constantine? So many questions ran around (y/n’s) mind, yet getting no answers it was rapidly becoming clear that she had somehow been muted out.

---three weeks later---

“John! A case has cropped up on the map!” Zed called out looking at the red spot appear rapidly on the enchanted map. Rolling his eyes wishing it could be a day off, John jogged down the backstairs and stood next to Zed. “Great... Where to?” he grunted, lighting a cigarette. “ um.. let’s see... It says (Y/L)” Zed responded, touching the map and getting a vision instantly. “Zed, talk me through it love” John requested, the more knowledge he had before setting off in Chas' taxi, the better. “Its a girl... She’s screaming to be let out but it’s so dark. I can’t work out where she is...wait! There’s another voice but it sounds like it’s outside of where she is” Explained Zed, squinting her eyes as if she too is in the dark trying to find the light.

“Bollocks. It’s a demon possession. Sounds like the demon is keeping the lass awake inside her mind. Zed you stay here. I'm doing this alone.” John practically commanded and just this time, Zed knew to stay put and not argue. Something felt off about this possession case. Darker than normal. Almost like.... A female fury that if a fire, burns so harshly it’ll take down anything in it’s path. She helped gather supplies John would possibly need for exorcising an demon whilst stressing to him something didn’t feel good about her vision. However, he kept repeating how no demon possession is right. He didn’t understand what she was trying to convey and it got to the point she gave up trying to explain.

It wasn’t long before John and Chas were in the yellow taxi driving the victim’s location with preparations constantly on the go. John was blessing fresh holy water in an hip flask along with other things.

Arriving at the general location, John used the help of Chas to locate the demon in question, however it wasn’t long before the demon found them. “What took you so long Constantine? I’m surprised it’s taken you what... Three weeks to put me on your radar? You’re getting slow!” the demon smirked, crossing her arms across her chest and cocking an eyebrow.

Matching the facial expression, John removed his cigarette from his lips and flicked it onto the floor into a random puddle to his left. “What can I say? I’m a popular guy! Takes me time to go through you dirtbags one demon at a time! And well, I don’t battle demons on an empty stomach.” He quipped back. “So, how about you let this lovely looking lass go and we go head to head in the ol' fashioned way?”

The demon laughed “oh John, always the chatter. You know I won’t let her go. I’ve grown quite into this sweet little body of her. Sure I’ve had to mute the surround sound a few times but I think this body suits me and it’ll do the trick just perfectly for killing you and bringing you to Hell with me!” with that said, the demon launched for John before getting blasted back by a quick spell. “Whose the slow one now?”

The fight went on but with careful and swift movements, John managed to incapacitate the demon, ready for exorcism. “Now before I send you back to hell tell me who you are!” John demanded, tired and impatient to finish the job.

“A daughter of darkness. There’ll be more of us and we’ve come to battle and win the war we’ll rage.” The demon spoke in a way that screamed 'dictator'. This made John roll his eyes and begin the exorcism.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te... cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque æternæ perditionìs venenum propinare...”

The demon started to scream in pain at the holy words and could feel every part of her being ripped from her human host, yet that didn’t stop her letting a haunting laugh escape her lips and plunge her demon blade into (y/n)'s lower abdomen. John gritted his teeth as he swore mentally to himself not to stop until the exorcism was completed. “Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciæ, hostis humanæ salutis... Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei; contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine... quem inferi tremunt... Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine. Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos you son of bitch!!”

The demon ripped out of (y/n) and disintegrated into the ground leaving a fading burning scorch mark on the damp gravel. (y/n)'s body dropped to the ground with a hefty this but John managed to stop her head from hitting the ground. Scrambling to get his trenchcoat off, he bundled it up and used it to apply pressure on the wound he couldn’t stop from occurring. “I’m so sorry love. But I’ll get you help. I promise.” He apologised looking around trying to spot where the hell Chas went to.

(Y/n) began to stir to consciousness and looked up at John. “T-thank you for saving...” she began to stutter. “Hush now love. It’s okay. It’s what I do. Let’s just focus on getting you fixed up yeah?” John interrupted. Looking up he found Chas running over to them. “About bloody time! Help me get her to a hospital! The bloody demon stabbed her before she went back to Hell” John explained, using Chas’ help to get (y/n) off the floor and into John's arms. “I’ll sit in the back with her. Just put your bloody foot down!”

---the next day---

(Y/n) awoke in a hospital bed and as she fidgeted to sit up, she squinted and cursed through her teeth at the shooting pain. “Watch it now. You took one hell of a stabbing.” Came a voice she half recognised from the previous night. She thought it was just a bad dream but low and behold there was her saviour. The one and only John Constantine that that demon so wanted to kill.

“So it wasn’t a nightmare...” (y/n) mumbled looking right at the rugged blonde Brit. “’fraid not. But hey! You survived and the doctors say you’ll make a full recovery. Demon didn’t hit anything vital and well, you had me right there!” He said giving her a cocky grin. Normally, that kind of behaviour would bring out her sassy 'I'm not impressed' attitude, but right now she was in too much pain and too tired to care. He literally saved her life and she found that more important right now.

“Thanks. Again. I owe you so much.”

A week had gone by and (y/n) was finally cleared to leave the hospital. To her surprise John Constantine had visited her every day and stayed until the nurses had to literally drag him out of the hospital, and the day of leaving was no different. He came to help her head home and even stayed to make sure she felt safe in the neighbourhood.

His rogue-ish charm and British wit had made her get quite flustered on numerous occasions which he had indeed noticed but only teased her for it sometimes. If he was actually honest with himself he found her incredible. She went through a supernatural kidnapping so to speak and still could sass him back and want to see his face after it all. She certainly wasn’t your average girl or damsel in distress that he had encountered before.

He didn’t fully understand at first what kept making him want to go back and see her in the hospital but he learned to go with it. Truth was, the way she had come back from the possession made him actually crush on her. And vice versa. She was crushing on him just as much. He wasn’t normally her type but he worked his way into her mind and heart and she didn’t want to let that go. That feeling of hope and positivity. Both of them did. Both of them craved so much that that evening it was too powerful to ignore. John pulled her face to face him and tilting his head and closing his eyes, he practically slammed his face into hers, kissing her desperately.

He was convinced she’d tell him to go do one but she returned the kiss just as hungrily. They’re hands snaking their way all over each other feeling like if they broke away, they'd wake up in separate homes to find it was all a dream. Yet it wasn’t a dream. It was real and it felt so so right. Their passion grew intense and they didn’t even make it to the bedroom.

“Will you stay? Just for a while longer?” (y/n) asked him. “Maybe for one more night love but people around me always seem to get killed. I can’t risk anything else happening to you. If I leave you’ll be safe and that’s more important to me than anything else. You’ve somehow opened a part of me back up I closed off a long long time ago.” John explained to her.

Kissing her forehead he grabbed the corner of the blanket off the back of the sofa and draped it over the both of them. “Get some sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up in the morning.” He told her once more before she closed her eyes and fell asleep with her head on his chest and one leg rested over the top of his legs. For the first night in a long while he too found that he could fall asleep in a calm mindset without the use of whiskey to whisk him off the land of slumber...and it was thanks to this amazing woman ontop of him.

#Constantine #matt ryan constantine #constantine x reader #one shot #fanfic #Constantine fanfic

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stevenuniversallyreviews · 5 years

Text

Episode 104: Kindergarten Kid

“I'm smarter than your average Peridot.”

Oof. I need a break. Do you need a break? Let’s take a break.

When I was a kindergarten kid, my family had a firm policy against “commercial TV,” as in any children’s television programming that included commercials. Our house didn’t get Cartoon Network until 2003-ish regardless, but this meant pretty much everything that wasn’t PBS (and later Disney Channel, which had commercials but not for toys) was restricted to friends’ houses until I was about eight. I was born in 1990, so the ban lift came right on time for Digimon and Pokémon to debut (in that order, fight me), but until then my access to cartoons was largely limited.

So yeah, unlike others of my age group, I didn’t grow up with Rugrats or Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, and due to the continued lack of Cartoon Network I also missed out on Dexter’s Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls until reruns in the aughts. But I did have The Tapes, and The Tapes had Looney Tunes, so I was more than satisfied.

I still remember sitting up straighter when I first realized what Kindergarten Kid was doing back in 2016. The southwestern setting is a pretty big hint from the start, but we were cleverly introduced to the area in Beta and Earthlings and aren’t primed to see the Road Runner and Coyote connection until the plot revs up. And yes, these rivals are the clearest inspiration for Peridot’s futile attempts to outsmart a faster, “dumber” foe with intricate traps. But with an exception here or there for comic relief, Messrs. Coyote and Runner are silent, while Peridot is anything but. And as much fun as it would’ve been to go full throttle and make the entire sequence silent, I’m so glad to see Raven Molisee and Paul Villeco instead have Peridot emulate another icon from the Looney Tunes roster. And no, it’s not Porky Pig.

It’s ironic, because his best work sees him fail to come out on top, but I legitimately can’t think of a better cartoon character than Daffy Duck. Like, out of all cartoons, from every country, from any time period, period. Bugs Bunny is no slouch—he follows the legacy of Loki, Anansi, Reynard, and Maui as modern America’s most notable trickster deity—but Daffy perfected an archetype that’s largely unrepresented in myths of yore, and stands head and shoulders above all other examples, including Wile E. Coyote himself (and Daffy’s fun but better-in-the-comics counterpart, Donald Duck). Aptly referred to in Babylon 5 as “an ancient Egyptian god of frustration,” Daffy evolved from a perfectly good screwball character (Daffy Doodles is the best of this era) to the embodiment of self-inflicted pain.

I’ve already compared Peridot and Ruby to the little black duck before (seriously, stop what you’re doing and watch Daffy Doodles if that weird nickname doesn’t ring a bell), but Kindergarten Kid seems to go out of its way to evoke the essence of Daffy. Wile E. Coyote’s ploys may have the same convoluted detail as the Peri-Plans we see, but going on at length about how a scheme is going to work only for it to immediately fail? That’s Daffy Duck. Puffing up in confidence at the infallibility of said plan, and having it collapse in the middle of a smug victory lap? That’s Daffy Duck. This episode pulls its pacing straight out of the Hunting Trilogy (from which we get the famous “Rabbit Season!” “Duck Season!” debate), with Steven subbing in for both Elmer Fudd and Bugs depending on who Daffy is allied with at any given time, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch.

We even get variations of classic gags to keep things fresh. It would’ve been acceptable for Peridot to slowly dismantle an injector to crush Gem Runner, only for it to not fall until she’s right beneath it. But no, she realizes the risk, takes a step back, then gets crushed by falling rocks. I still would’ve laughed if her cannon refused to fire until she stepped in front of it, launching her over the horizon. But the recoil launches her backwards, crushing her with more rocks. Rehashing the exact same classic gags would’ve been an easy way out, but the gags are classic for a reason and I would’ve appreciated the tribute; that we see actual creative changes instead brings Kindergarten Kid to even higher heights. Yes, the final plummet is directly based on Wile E. Coyote’s own falls (sadly without the sound effect), but there’s a level of innovation here that’s compelling for an episode referencing the past so vividly.

Still, the biggest difference between Kindergarten Kid and vintage Looney Tunes is that unlike Daffy or Coyote, Peridot can make a change. The episode is similar to Barn Mates, in that both are a series of sketches that show Peridot and Steven trying and failing to accomplish a goal (which is perhaps the most clinical way to describe the standard Looney Tunes short). Both episodes end with a victory for Peridot when she realizes she must rethink the core problem, but Kindergarten Kid works better by halving the number of characters that need to grow. Barn Mates is by no means bad, but it’s hard to balance the story of its two leads, so Lapis is left without much focus behind her actions. This time the opponent is something of a force of nature, so we can spend more time digging into why Peridot’s plans aren’t working.

Peridot has already changed quite a bit, but her superiority complex remains a central tenet of her personality. It’s been tempered when Steven is involved, but she still treats most other Gems as intellectual inferiors even when she gets along with them. So of course she sees outbraining a Corrupted Gem as a cakewalk, and of course Steven teaches her the error of her ways with a lesson in empathy. These are obvious story beats, but old habits die hard, and I like that Peridot still has issues with her ego despite how far she’s come as a Crystal Gem.

It’s hard to compare any voice actor to Mel Blanc, in the same way it’s hard to compare any English-speaking playwright to Shakespeare, so I’m not gonna give praise that lofty, but Shelby Rabara still nails the fury of a gremlin who's smart but thinks she’s way smarter. It’s not easy on the throat to shout this much, and in such specific nonverbal ways, but I still think her best moment is when her confident front falters, and she yells that she’s doing the best she can. She’s as angry as ever, but that glimpse of vulnerability shows that she’s not a lost cause like Coyote.

Steven also returns to old habits, focusing all his energy on helping Peridot and not mentioning his mother once. I can see how this might make Kindergarten Kid seem too flippant, but as we’ll confirm in Mindful Education, our hero is pushing down the bad feelings instead of dealing with them. I think it’s crucial to have a few episodes where he seems okay to lull us into the sense of security that his breakdown destroys, and just like Bubbled, it’s clear that his coping mechanism is putting others before himself. He never complains about the physical injuries caused by Peridot’s poor planning, instead making sure his friend is okay.

Like Log Date 7 15 2, the show leans into Peridot’s brand of comic relief to cool us down from a major event. This is an even sillier episode, to the point that the other Crystal Gems are watching it for entertainment value, but it comes after an even more harrowing Diamond reveal. And because this one has more to do with Steven, he gets more to do in the episode: he’s not reliving a Peridot montage, he’s participating in her adventure, and the episode is stronger for it.

I understand that comedy is subjective. For instance, I’m not huge on meta humor in the style of our next episode; I acknowledge that it’s done well, but it’s not for me. So I don’t expect everyone to be huge on this episode, especially if you tragically lack a childhood full of ducks getting their beaks blown off and rabbits dancing up to bulls to slap them in the face. But hopefully folks who were let down in their first viewing, expecting more drama and lore in our post-shattering reality, can give Kindergarten Kid another look, perhaps after downing some classic cartoons, and enjoy it for the outstanding love letter that it is.

(I still don’t know why she references Yogi Bear, that’s a whole other era of cartoon, but nobody’s perfect.)

If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have inconsistencies…

I know it’s absurd to nitpick unrealistic elements of such a cartoony episode, but Steven’s endless bag of marshmallows bugs me. At least it gives us another Peridot-as-raccoon reaction.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

It barely misses the cut, but boy do I love this episode. Like any great Looney Tunes short, I can watch it and laugh no matter how many times I’ve seen it; the gags are so pure that rather than getting bored of them, I now chuckle in anticipation before the hits even come.

Top Twenty

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

When It Rains

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

No Thanks!

5. Horror Club 4. Fusion Cuisine 3. House Guest 2. Sadie’s Song 1. Island Adventure

(I’m almost happy there’s no promo art for this one, because hot damn do I love this pic from Dark Tarou.)

#kindergarten kid #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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junker-town · 4 years

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Sabrina Ionescu reminded us why she’s the best college basketball player in the world

Sabrina Ionescu is a walking bucket for Oregon.

Ionescu senior season hasn’t been as good as her last. But this 37-point game showed she’s still getting better.

Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, the best college basketball player in the world, and one of the WNBA’s best draft prospects since Breanna Stewart, reminded us of her sky-high ceiling in a 37-point outing against the third-ranked team in the country. Her No. 6 Ducks beat Stanford by 32 points. The do-it-all point guard with tools to launch from anywhere, vision to throw passes over the top of the defense, and brains to control the best offense in the country was incredible on national TV.

We know a lot about Ionescu already because this isn’t her first year sitting atop college basketball’s throne. Her eight junior season triple-doubles headlined most of last year as her Ducks marched on to the Final Four (where they fell to eventual champion Baylor). She’s added four more triple-doubles this year to bring her total to 22, which is 10 more than anyone in men’s or women’s college basketball history has produced. But she hasn’t been as dominant as of late. Until now.

Ionescu surprised everyone when she decided to come back for her senior season at Oregon despite being a lock to go in the top-2 of the WNBA Draft. She returned to win a championship with her best two teammates, (Satou Sabally and Ruthy Hebard, also projected first-round picks), also back in Eugene. Everything hasn’t gone as planned for Oregon this season though, as it’s already lost its preseason No. 1 ranking after losses to Louisville and Arizona State. Ionescu in particular hasn’t shot the ball nearly as well as she has in the past, and that’s hurt Oregon.

But on Thursday night, she erupted again, for a career-most 37 points, reminding us how absurd she really is. The Ducks crushed the Cardinals, 87-55, because their point guard is a machine.

Ionescu’s WNBA-ready shooting was back

Let’s start by addressing Ionescu’s counting totals. She finished with 37 points in 38 minutes on 14-of-26 shooting (5-of-12 from three), 11 rebounds and seven assists to three turnovers. That’s... nuts. It’s even wilder considering how poorly she started the game, with just five points on 2-of-8 shooting and two turnovers in the opening 10 minutes.

Ionescu found her rhythm as the game continued. She worked the pick-and-roll with Hebard to carve out driving lanes, stepped-back to launch from behind the arc with space, and used a number of sharp crossovers to free herself in the mid-range. Her shot is so fluent and her footwork is so sharp, she should have little issue getting it off at the next level. It looks so easy for her now.

Seeing the ball go through the net from range like it had the last two seasons was fun to watch because it hasn’t been as much a guarantee in 2019-20. Before making five threes against Stanford, she’d made five threes in her last six games combined. After shooting 44 percent from three as a sophomore and junior, she’s only made 32 percent of her looks this year. Her free throw percentage is a career-high 93 percent, though. Her three-point numbers will even out. This is just an unfortunate shooting slump.

Ionescu’s pick-and-roll play should have pro teams excited

Operating the pick-and-roll is what could turn Ionescu into a legend at the pro level, too. And she’s really good at it already. Working off screens and re-screens, Ionescu shipped defenders in every direction to find space for herself. This bucket broke Oregon’s all-time scoring record.

QUEEN SABRINA Sabrina Ionescu is your new Oregon all-time leading scorer!! https://t.co/oGZP5PnANv#GoDucks | @sabrina_i20 pic.twitter.com/5Z0RAfGTk6

— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) January 17, 2020

The pick-and-roll was on replay all night:

Sabrina Ionescu dropped 37 tonight! @sabrina_i20 pic.twitter.com/GJDVcJ1e9f

— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) January 17, 2020

Ionescu’s cutthroat personality came through, too

Ionescu felt her own dominance as the game wore on, and competed well into a blowout that had no chance of breaking. When she finally subbed out with two minutes to go — her first breather of the night — she gave a salute, which she later clarified was directed at Stanford. Lol.

Question from @OregonWBB presser: ‘You gave a little salute when you left the game for the last time, what were you saluting?’ @sabrina_i20: pic.twitter.com/FgYYOTUQcY

— Julian Mininsohn (@JMininsohn) January 17, 2020

The best player in the world was at the top of her game and she knew it.

What’s left for Ionescu?

Ionescu’s got a few records in range. The biggest one is the 2,000/1,000/1,000 club. She’s 96 rebounds and 28 assists away from becoming the first college basketball player (men’s or women’s) to log 2,000 career points, 1,000 career rebounds and 1,000 career assists. Her biggest achievement can’t be reached until April though, as Ionescu works towards a national championship.

And then, just weeks after her final college season ends, she’ll be drafted to the WNBA. Presumably, she’ll be the first name called by the New York Liberty. A month after that would be her professional debut.

It’s 2020, and college basketball’s queen is starting to find her groove. The biggest months of her sports life are ahead, and everybody should be watching.

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bentchcreates · 6 years

Photo

Beyond Light and Darkness (Part 1)

This is going to be a two-part blog feature because I want to write about the book as a reviewer, as well as the experiences I had as one of the authors of this wonderful work. Also, fair warning that this is gonna be a long-ass post because I am on a roll. Haha.

Before BLaD

Let’s start from the very beginning, just a brief intro, for context. LOL.

Kath Bute (https://www.wattpad.com/user/kathbute) is actually a group of writers on Wattpad that bonded over the community forums a few years ago, and decided to collaborate and release an anthology of stories we wanted to read.

I was actually the last Kabute to join the first anthology, Beyond Fate and the Stars. I don’t know much about the group before I joined; except that they were working on an anthology based on the 12 Chinese Zodiac (with an assigned emotion) and they were short of one writer to do the Ox. I was very new to Wattpad then and basically just happened to be active in a forum for Filipino Writers, so they asked if I wanted to contribute. And I did. It was one of the first few times people actually asked me to write a new story.

After a few weeks I came up with Seek the Ox, Find Happiness (https://www.wattpad.com/183607408-beyond-fate-and-the-stars-self-published-seek-the) and in the summer of 2016 we had a book! My very first printed book! It wasn’t until MIBF that year that I got to meet my Kabute friends in person for the first time but it didn’t feel weird at all, kindred spirits and all that. (@AlaraChan & @lunatrix)(http://bentchcreates.tumblr.com/post/151133454706/bentch-at-the-37th-manila-international-book-fair )

As originally planned, printing BFatS was solely for us to have a physical book with our names and stories on it, a dry run. And while we might’ve discussed eventually making it available for selling, logistics and other business matters were tougher to figure out once the book is done. (We’re still trying to figure out if this is possible. Hehe.) But we wanted to do it again, and we wanted to do more this time, so we decided to take another shot at a second anthology, with selling the book as part of the plan from the very beginning.

The Stories

We tried our hand at a little bit of indie publishing. We had reviews that helped us with things to improve. We learned a lot from the first take and we had a clearer vision on what we wanted to become of this. The instructions this time was almost similar to the previous one: write whatever genre you want but there will be assigned prompts to follow and a sub theme of light or darkness. Even the interpretation of these themes was free for the author to make his/her own.

I got “A broken wristwatch, peppermints and a hug that goes too far” and in the ‘light’ subtheme. I had finished an NA romance manuscript by then and I got off easy. Others who got perky prompts and then a ‘dark’ subtheme were a little more challenged! Hah!

*Artwork by Trix Luna. My story prompts are here. ;)*

It was quite fun to write. And in the weeks that we were planning this second anthology, my inbox were constantly filled with book ideas; as well as funny messages (and abs!) from friends that were miles away from me. We talked about the book, and then about our personal writing projects, and cheered on each other when the writing gets tough. The friendships I’ve made with this book has got to be the best payoff in this journey.

Anyway, we also decided to open the proverbial doors for two more stories – two new bloods so to speak – so in June 2016, we called for short story submissions for the anthology. Four official entries were screened in anonymity (there were 5 stories, but we later found out @RK Sanchez should’ve already been part of Book 1 so she got in) and it was what I would say was the most challenging part of this. As an old Kabute (heh) and judge, I had a hard time choosing only two over four wonderfully written stories. In the end, I had to choose those who have showed the prompts more creatively and whose stories have captured our hearts. We welcomed @Nigel Libranages and @Raine RIllera into the fold. :P

With the stories and authors completed, we set out to editing, and because we didn’t have a professional editor, nor the funds to actually hire one, we did it ourselves. Around 14 pairs of eyes went through all the stories and different people who wrote different genres offered advice and suggestions for the improvement of our stories. It was team-effort every step of the way.

*My review copy with all the original members’ stories after I was done with my first run through. heehee.*

Development Hell

Development hell or development limbo is media industry jargon for a project that remains in development (often moving between different crews, scripts, or studios) without progressing to completion.

– Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_hell)

We were 14 authors whose writing were more passion projects than actual dayjobs so when each of us got a little busy in the real world, the book got lightly shoved in the backburners. Some authors weren’t able to finish their works and to this day, we’re still waiting for them to release them (*wink wink, fellow kabutes!*) Most of us had a lot on our plates, I for one had to uproot and move back in to my parent’s house, and completing a book seemed like a huge task to strike off our To Do list.

I also had fears. Being a writer who could sell his books had been a big dream of mine and when felt like I was so close to grasping it, I feared it wouldn’t be as amazing as I hyped it up to be. I had to process it for a while, to learn more things about the industry, and ultimately, about myself, before I could fully commit to taking the plunge. And when I felt I was almost ready, I did it. I can only speak for myself but knowing I wasn’t doing this on my own, that I had friends with me, achieving our shared goals together, helped quell those fears. I’m still afraid, I have to say, but it’s more manageable now that I’ve got all these lovely people behind me, as I to them.

It took a few more weeks before we got our fire back (some slots had to be refilled with new stories, we had to hold a small face to face meeting to iron out everything) and when we got to see the artworks for the cover and the genre divisions, the excitement was renewed. I almost missed the cover reveal but when we all saw it, we knew that beauty had to be shared to the world.

*BLaD F2F meeting with Bebe Kabute Irina Jean and the secret agents again! heehee!*

*BLaD Cover reveal (art by @RK Sanchez) and this pre-order promo graphic is by @Johanna Lee

At this point, Summer Feels had been launched and I got to be part of the promo team on social media so what I learned from that I pitched in. In no time, we had a solid contract, a promo schedule, a pre-order form, a slot at #FilipinoBookFriday; and a launch date. @Lunatrix and @AlaraChan were sending us updates on what the book would look like, printing schedules and all. I was so excited I have picked clothes to wear on the launch weeks before. Haha!

*#FilipinoBookFriday promo graphic. Hosted by me and @Johanna Lee

BLaD Book Launch

What we called the book launch was just going to be a small author get together, a meet-up to see each other, collect our books and have a small meal together. I thought about working on an invitation, a graphic I could print out and stick to my journal later, when I found out Trix already made a Programme (so HYPED, I’m telling you!) and we had activities to really set off our baby to a great start.

On November 30th 2017, we met at the CBTL in Trinoma where we rearranged tables on one side of the café as if we got a reservation (We didn’t. They don’t so reservations. Or maybe not for an event as small as ours. hah). We chose that venue because it was sort of a midpoint for where the authors were coming from; Baguio was the farthest point from the North and Laguna in the South (Okay, if we count Australia as the farthest point in the South, then we’re screwed because the midpoint is probably in the middle of an ocean. XD).

We started with a short Kath Bute intro and welcome remarks from Ate Kabute; and then all authors got to introduce ourselves (we introverts get all weird introducing ourselves to people we’ve been talking to for months online!). We got gifts and goodie bags from our artist Kabutes; I even got to do an unrehearsed live-reading of The Time Banker! And then we got to the Q and A part where we got to know more about everyone else.

We also got to sign a ton of the first batch of the print books. Seeing the book for the first time is just totally amazing (the cover is more beautiful in person) and seeing stacks of it together before they are eventually distributed is even better. I took a lot of pictures of the beautiful books and forgot to take pics of the people, haha!

It was such a fun experience, and knowing it had been possible because of this dream we all had, that we were now making into a reality, is priceless. I got to write, I got new friends and now I got a new book! There was hardwork, and I know the others worked harder than I did, but we can all say it is worth it.

What’s Next?

I don’t know how to end this blog. Haha. I rambled on and on about recent history and yada, yada, blah, blah, blah, but now I don’t know what my parting message will be. Classic Bentch! Haha!

I guess I’ll leave you with a link to order our book because now I know you’re itching to get your hands on it: http://bit.ly/BLADBatch2 (Batch 2 is set for printing in January, so delivery dates might be late January-early February)

We’re processing an e-book version for international release so watch out! (Naks, ako yung in-charge dito, so good luck to me. Wahaha) And we’ve discussed the initial phases for Book 3! No further announcements, thank you! Haha!

I think it’s also better to end with a thank you to everyone who has made this possible.

My fellow BLaD authors, thank you for sharing your talents – writing and editing AND artistic skills – especially to Mama and Ate Kabute who started all of this and pushed us to bring our collective best to the world. To my other author friends, who showed support by cheering on us and buying our books!

And to God, because this is your design. Thank you.

*next part will be my review of BLaD as a reader. It will be biased because, you know, I wrote the preface (not-so-humble-brag!) and is currently in charge of promotions, but it’s a GREAT anthology, 500%!

#bookish #bentchcreates #book launch recap #beyond light and darkness #blad #kabute sa wattpad

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nitewrighter · 7 years

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This should probably be down the line for the pregnancy promts but when Mercy goes into labor it should be when Hanzo and Mcree are looking after her while Genji is away on an errand. Panicking uncles :)

This prompt has been sitting in my inbox for over a month. It is time.

Also whoops this ended up super long. *cough* like 6k words *cough*

Fighting an omnic ninja assassin sent to kill your brother counts as an errand right?

—-

Symmetra snickered a little as she watched Genji at Athena’s keyboard, continually switching between different security feeds of the watchpoint. Genji glanced up. “What?” he said.

“You’re antsy,” she said with a smirk.

“I am not ‘antsy,’” muttered Genji, continuing to flick between different feed channels.

“Is this your way of nesting?” said Symmetra, tilting her head.

“Angela and I will be in Switzerland for three months,” said Genji, standing up and glancing away from the screen, “I don’t want anything to happen to this place while we’re gone.” He paused and then quickly turned his attention back to the screen and flicked through all the security feeds again.

“We will manage just fine,” said Symmetra, “You should relax. Go… meditate or spend time with Angela or whatever it is you do. It won’t be long until you don’t have any time to yourself.”

“Hm,” Genji seemed unconvinced.

Symmetra sighed, constructed a seat of hard-light, and sat down. “To be honest, while I believe you and Angela should do as you see fit and I understand your reasoning, Switzerland is awfully far away.”

“Well, Doctor Haberlin is one of the world’s leading obstetricians and a good friend of Angela’s, and Angela’s uncle’s old house is lovely and out of the way but not too far from Thun and—”

“I know, I know,” said Symmetra, “And I know you two will probably be terribly busy with the little one, but do try and stay in contact. Fareeha will want pictures immediately and—” Symmetra’s prosthetic made a low-pitched buzzing sound and Symmetra raised an eyebrow and brought up a projection of one of her sentry turrets. The projection suddenly turned red and blipped out of sight and Symmetra’s brow furrowed.

“Turret destroyed,” she said it mostly as a knee-jerk reaction at this point.

“Where was that?’ said Genji.

“Move,” said Symmetra, stepping past him and typing out several things on Athena’s keyboard, bringing up a security feed of what looked like a sea cave with several cement and steel structures built into it.

“You had sentry turrets in the watchpoint’s old amphibious entrance?” said Genji.

“I put them up during Tracer’s wedding and never bothered to take them down,” said Symmetra, frowning as they both watched the completely empty sea cave on the feed, “But unless they were destroyed, they should have been active indefinitely,” she made Athena change through several different security cameras around the cave and the maintenance tunnels and garage attached to it.

“Maybe a macaque got… zapped by it and threw a rock at it?” said Genji.

Symmetra shook her head, “My sentry turrets are programmed for human and omnic hostiles only.” She continued rotating the camera feed to look around the sea cave but found nothing. “Perhaps a malfunction?” she murmured.

“I could go investigate,” said Genji.

“You should be getting back to Angela,” said Symmetra, sternly.

“I will,” said Genji, “But this won’t take too long.”

—-

“Here, Doc, lemme carry that for you,” said McCree as Mercy moved to pick up her suitcase.

“Honestly, Jesse,” said Mercy with a roll of her eyes as McCree took the suitcase, “It isn’t that heavy.”

“We’re in the final stretch,” said McCree, carrying the suitcase to the front of her apartment, “You gotta take it easy. Having Roadhog’s gut doesn’t make you Roadhog, y’know.”

“Oh I’m Roadhog now?” said Mercy,

McCree paused then snickered, “I mean, it would make a funny picture. Get some of those tattoo pens or somethin’…”

“I’m not drawing a flaming pig over my stomach,” said Mercy.

“But you and Roadie both got the ‘eject now’ button and everything!” said McCree.

“Jesse!” Mercy put her hands on her hips.

“Fine, fine,” said McCree setting the suitcase down by her front door, “You’re no fun.” McCree paused and glanced down at the suitcase, “We are gonna miss you two though.”

“You have the Orca,” said Mercy, smiling, “We’d love for you to come visit.”

“I might just take you up on that offer, Doc,” said McCree, “Love to see what a baby looks like with those Shimada eyebrows.”

Mercy snickered. A knock came at the door and she opened it to find Hanzo, standing a bit awkwardly on the front step with a bag in one hand. “Oh–” he cleared his throat, “Hello.”

“Hey darlin’,” said McCree, leaning against the doorframe.

Hanzo gave a nod and a slight smile to McCree, then looked to Mercy. “You and Genji are… all packed?”

Mercy nodded.

Hanzo held out the bag he was holding to Mercy. “I realize it’s a bit early for dinner, but I thought you and Genji might not want to bother with cooking, seeing as you’re leaving tomorrow.” He glanced over Mercy’s shoulder, “Is Genji with you?”

“Oh just going over some security things for the Watchpoint,” said Mercy, gesturing for him to come in, “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

—

The sea cave entrance to the watchpoint was mainly meant for launching boats out to retrieve satellites and ships that had fallen into the ocean, and for launching vehicles in the event of a local attack on Gibraltar itself, and since the Orca served as the primary means of swift transport on and off the watchpoint, and the satellite launch tower didn’t operate as much as it used to, the sea cave hardly saw any use. The amphibious entrance featured several cement docks, and large garage that lead into a network of maintenance tunnels for the Watchpoint. The ocean’s roar bounced off of the cave walls as Genji came down a set of stairs to the empty docks.

“See anything?” Symmetra spoke over the comm.

“Nothing so far,” said Genji, walking around the docks and noting the numerous sentry turrets placed around.

“Hm, another one of my turrets activated, but stopped. They didn’t fire at you, did they?”

“No, none of them fired at me,” said Genji, “Where was it?”

“Deeper into the maintenance tunnels,” said Symmetra.

“I suppose that’s where I’m going then,” said Genji, turning and heading past the docks.

A hiss of static filled the comm channel when Symmetra spoke next. “Well–It–probabl–if—”

“Symmetra?” Genji tapped the side of his helmet with his fingers to get the comm to work better, “You’re cutting out. I can’t—” Genji recognized there wasn’t much use talking into static. He’d just check out the entrance to the sub-levels and and check back in once he got back into comm range. He walked past the remains of one of Overwatch’s old amphibious vehicles that Torbjorn had cannibalized months ago, into an area full of emptied shipping crates.

Genji thought he saw something move in the shadows. With a flick of his wrist he had three shuriken at the ready. There was still static in his ear and Symmetra’s voice was completely gone, so he shut off the comm channel to hear better. He waited. He listened through the roar of the ocean echoing off of the cave walls. Mindlessly, his other hand went to his wakizashi. He was listening for breathing, for footsteps, but heard nothing. Then he heard something, a whistling of blades through the air. In a second his wakizashi was drawn and deflecting each of the blades before they could strike him as he leapt to dodge, sending them flying off and embedding themselves in the cement of the cave walls. Genji’s visor and heat sinks glowed in the darkness as he looked around.

“All right,” he said, letting his shuriken slide back into the plates on his wrist but not sheathing his wakizashi, “I know you’re there now. I would like to avoid a fight if possible.”

Three small circular lights illuminated themselves in the upper right periphery of his vision. Genji turned on his heel to see a figure drop down from an upper corner of the cave ceiling where they were wedging themselves. The figure slowly rose to their feet and drew a tantō as Genji looked upon their face.

“An omnic?” said Genji, not lowering his blade. An assassin, Genji could recognize it instantly. The choice in weapons was telling as well. The Shimada clan had to have sent him. Instantly anxiety had his stomach in knots. What did the Shimada clan know? Could they have sent the assassin here for him? For Angela? “We both know all too well what they are willing to resort to for the sake of power,” he remembered Hanzo’s voice, “If they catch word of another heir to the main branch of the Shimada line–” No. He couldn’t think about that. His grip tightened on his wakizashi.

“And what are you supposed to be?” said the omnic. The question lifted a great deal of weight off of Genji’s shoulders. The omnic didn’t recognize him. Of course he didn’t. Who would? For all the Shimada clan knew, Genji Shimada was dead.

Genji glanced down at himself and shrugged. “Does it really matter to you?” he asked the Omnic. The omnic scoffed. “Why are you here?” said Genji.

“I have come here for Hanzo Shimada. I have no quarrel with you,” said the Omnic.

“Hanzo Shimada?” Genji repeated. Genji almost felt relief until the immediate realization that this was yet another assassin sent after Hanzo hit him. He didn’t want to deal with this. In 12 hours, he and Angela were going to be on the Orca to Switzerland. In two weeks they would be holding their child in a sunlit hospital room in Thun and everything would be fine. He turned his comm channel back on so that Symmetra or anyone listening might hear. Still only static. Fine. No backup. He could do this. He could do this without a fight. Ninja were trained in more than one art of deception after all.

“Ah, I am sorry to disappoint then,” said Genji, lowering his wakizashi with a slight bow, “I believe you’ve arrived too late. I have already taken care of Hanzo Shimada.”

“You?” The omnic tilted his head.

“The Shimada clan does not like to take chances,” said Genji with a dismissive wave of his hand, “I thought they were sending me prematurely but…Ah I suppose these things cannot be helped. You will be reimbursed for your efforts, I’m sure.”

The Omnic paused. “Hanzo Shimada has been evading and killing his assassins for years. How did you manage to do it?”

“Neurotoxin-dipped shuriken,” Genji said, putting his hands on his hips, “I would show you, but I would like to avoid the other inhabitants of this base before they become aware of my presence and believe me, my poison does not leave a pretty corpse.”

“Hm,” this gave the Omnic pause, “Doubtful.”

“Doubtful?” said Genji.

“You are an ally of Hanzo Shimada, or a protector of this base, or both, and have come to stop me,” said the omnic.

“And what makes you so sure of that?” said Genji, folding his arms.

The omnic pointed with his tantō. “That sentry turret hasn’t fired on you at all.”

Genji glanced off in the direction of where the blade was pointing to see a small sentry turret about two feet from his ankle. “…kuso,” he said softly as the omnic leapt to attack him.

—-

“Still not getting him?” said McCree as Mercy attempted to ring up Genji’s comm channel again.

“I don’t understand,” muttered Mercy, taking a bite right out of the takeout box, “He usually answers,” she said, with her mouth half-full, “I don’t want to have to eat without him.”

“Uh, Doc,” McCree pointed down and Mercy realized she had already taken down more than half of her food.

“Verdammt,” muttered Mercy.

“Hey, it’s cool, eatin’ for two and all that,” said McCree with a shrug, leaning against the kitchen counter. “You and Genji still hush-hush on the name?”

“Yes,” said Mercy.

“Inori,” guessed Hanzo.

“No,” said Mercy with smile.

“Damn, I was pretty sure that time,” muttered Hanzo.

“Jessie,” said McCree, “With an ‘I E.’”

“No,” Mercy and Hanzo said at the same time.

“What about Wren?” said McCree.

“Wren?” repeated Hanzo.

“I like ‘Wren,’” said McCree, “Plus, like… y’know, ‘Sparrow’ and ‘Wren,’ that sort of thing.”

Hanzo chuckled a little, “That’s more thought than you usually put into names.”

“And it’s actually closer than most of your other guesses,” said Mercy.

“Wh–Seriously? How close?” said McCree.

Mercy just smirked.

“Aw come on, Doc, don’t be like that,” said McCree as Mercy turned her attention back to her comm and attempted to ring up Genji again.

“Still no word back,” muttered Mercy. She paused and blinked a few times, her hand going over her stomach.

“Kicking again?” said McCree.

Mercy shook her head and waved her hand. “Just another Braxton Hicks,” she said.

“Braxton who now?” said McCree.

“Braxton Hicks contractions,” said Hanzo, “They occur throughout a normal pregnancy, getting more intense toward the end.”

McCree elbowed Hanzo, “Someone’s been doing some reading,” he said with a snicker.

Hanzo cleared his throat, “It’s common knowledge,” he said. McCree folded his arms and smirked, prompting Hanzo to add, a bit more hesitantly, “And… seeing as it is my niece I figured some research couldn’t hurt.”

“Yes well…I’m sure frequent bathroom trips occurred in your research as well,” said Mercy, “I’ll be right back.”

“Sure thing,” said McCree as Mercy headed off toward the bathroom, leaving McCree and Hanzo in the kitchen. McCree chuckled a little and glanced over at Hanzo. “You can say it, you know.”

“Say what?” said Hanzo.

“Say you don’t want them to go to Switzerland,” said McCree, folding his arms, “You can keep up that ‘aloof and detached’ air all you want, but I know you, darlin’.”

“Switzerland is objectively the best decision they can make. The watchpoint is still a potential target. Angela’s still-living relatives are trustworthy. Doctor Haberlin is—”

“Let me guess… you did research on Haberlin too?” said McCree.

“Why wouldn’t I?” said Hanzo, “It isn’t that I don’t trust Genji or Angela’s decision making—”

“But you’re gonna do hours of research to make sure it’s the right decision anyway,” said McCree with a smirk.

Hanzo flushed a bit. “Yes, well…it doesn’t hurt,” he said. He furrowed his brow and rubbed his forehead. “Genji’s life has been—I’ve made Genji’s life—”

“Don’t start with that,” said McCree, putting a hand on Hanzo’s shoulder.

Hanzo sighed and put his hand over McCree’s, holding it there. “It is the best decision they can make. What I want is irrelevant. Something should go right for him–for both of them, for once.”

It was then that a shriek came from the bathroom.

“Doc?” McCree was rushing down the hall in a heartbeat, “Doc what’s—?”

“Scheisse–scheisse scheisse scheisse—!” Mercy was cursing on the other side of the door.

“Doc!” McCree knocked on the bathroom door urgently.

“My water broke!” Mercy shrieked on the other side of the door.

“What–? Are–Are you sure?” McCree said.

“No, I’m just standing in a puddle of amniotic fluid for fun–Yes, I’m fucking sure!” Mercy’s voice was cracking. She seemed to be attempting to catch her breath. “Get my comm,” she managed, “Now.”

“Okay, you got it–Hanzo!” McCree called, but only heard the click of the front door, “Hanzo?” McCree ran back to the living room to find Hanzo gone, “Shit–Not a good time, to pull the mysterious ninja escape, darlin’” muttered McCree, rushing to the kitchen to grab Mercy’s comm and quickly heading to the bathroom. He knocked on the door and it opened a crack and Mercy snatched the comm from his hand and was silent on the other side of the door for several seconds.

“I still can’t reach him,” she seemed calm but at the same time there was something terrified in her voice, “Why can’t I reach him?”

“Look, spotty comms happen all the time. I’m sure he’s fine,” said McCree.

—

Genji was slammed hard into the cement wall, both hands gripping his wakizashi to keep it blocking the omnic’s tantō. He shoved forward hard with his leg, knocking the omnic back and allowing himself time to breathe. He really had to stop forgetting how physically strong omnics could be. The omnic’s next attacks were rapid, unpredictable, the omnic easily switching between a normal and reversed grip on his tantō as needed. One strike came far too close for comfort, sparking along the edge of his blade with Genji only narrowly able to block it long enough to duck down and rush past with another sparking block against the omnic’s tantō. Genji had to get back into comm range. He had to alert the Watchpoint. The omnic seemed to immediately pick up on this as well, and rushed after him, then swore as Symmetra’s sentry turrets shot at him in his pursuit, and was forced to destroy the turrets shooting at him, allowing Genji more time to put distance between them. He raced back to the entrance of the cave and brought his hand to the side of his helmet as the hiss of static gave way to half-cut out voices.

“Genji?” Mercy’s voice filled his comm.

“Angela?” Genji said, ducking down as several shuriken flew overhead.

“Genji! I’ve been trying to get in contact with you for a while now—”

“Angela–” Genji dipped out of the way of several more shuriken, “I would love to talk but—”

“Genji, it’s starting.”

“What’s star–” Genji’s visor suddenly brightened, “Really? This early? Are you all right?” He leapt over several crates and dipped down as more shuriken flew past him.

“I’m fine but… I need you here,” said Mercy, “Where are you?”

“I’ll be there as soon as I–” Genji saw several more shuriken flying towards his head and brought up his wakizashi to deflect them. The ringing sounds of metal on metal filled the air as he sprang back up and kept running out of the maintenance tunnels.

“What was that?” said Mercy.

Genji couldn’t respond, he was running, ducking more shuriken, then skidding to a halt as he reached the entrance to the sea cave and nearly ran right off the cement dock and into the water. He turned and was forced to block a hard flying kick from the omnic with a grunt.

“Genji, are you fighting?” said Mercy.

Suddenly the omnic was rushing him again and Genji was blocking strikes from the tantō left and right. “I really,” Genji blocked a strike, “Really wish I could say ‘no.’” He moved to attack now, forcing the omnic back with a flurry of his own strikes. “Send backup to the amphibious entrance—”

“I’ll send Hanzo to—” Mercy started.

“Do not send Hanzo,” said Genji, leaping atop the omnic’s swinging tantō then forcing the omnic back with a hard kick to the face, which the omnic easily recovered from.

“So you are an ally of Hanzo,” said the omnic, as he was knocked back, his metal feet sparking across the cement, from the force of Genji’s strike, he immediately threw several shuriken, forcing Genji to dodge off to the side, “He is unworthy of your skill.”

“Was that a compliment?” said Genji.

“Loyalty means nothing to Hanzo Shimada,” said the Omnic, now moving forward and forcing Genji back with several strikes from his tantō, “He murdered his own brother for the sake of the clan, only to abandon them.”

“How terrible,” said Genji, blocking and dodging the strikes.

“This is why the Shimada clan sent me,” said the Omnic, “Because Hanzo has no honor, and family means nothing to him.”

—-

Hanzo burst back through the door of the apartment carrying a large duffel bag. “Nobody panic! I’m here!” he announced, rushing down the hallway.

“Where’ve you been?” said McCree.

“Getting this,” said Hanzo, opening up the duffel and pulling out a loose dress and some other clothing, “Angela–I have a change of clothes for you. The car is running outside. Have you been able to get in contact with—”

“Genji’s in trouble,” said Mercy, sticking an arm out of the bathroom door and grabbing the clothes Hanzo was holding out for her.

“What?” said Hanzo.

“We’ve already put word in with Symm. She’s sending some backup to him right now,” said McCree.

“I still don’t know if sending in Zenyatta alone is enough,” said Mercy on the other side of the door.

“Have a little faith, Doc,” said McCree.

“I need to get to Athena,” said Mercy, walking out of the bathroom wearing the clothes Hanzo had handed her, “I need to make sure Genji’s—” She grunted and buckled over, gripping her stomach, her breath catching in her throat.

“Okay, yeah doc, we’re getting you to the infirmary,” said McCree, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“This shouldn’t be happening!” snapped Mercy, managing to get herself back up to an upright position, “This wasn’t supposed to happen for another two weeks!”

“Well…it’s…uh, happening,” said McCree, “Come on. Let’s get you to that car.”

Mercy had one hand on the wall as she made her way to the front of the apartment.

McCree glanced over his shoulder at Hanzo, who pulled a cheap towel from the duffel and threw it on the floor of Genji and Mercy’s bathroom before turning and looking at McCree. “What?”

“Just what have you got in that bag?” said McCree.

Hanzo shrugged and walked past him after Mercy. “Necessities.”

“Necessities?” said McCree.

“Changes of clothes, blankets, camera, baby clothes…” Hanzo said, his voice dropped a bit, “Spare shuriken, biotic canisters, blaster ammunition, counterfeit travel visas and identification…”

McCree whistled as they caught up with Mercy. “Only you would prep for a baby and the end of the world. How’d you get all that together in under 10 minutes?”

Hanzo cleared his throat, “I’ve… had it ready for the past three weeks,” said Hanzo.

Mercy stopped walking. “You’ve what?” she said, turning on her heel.

“I thought it best to be prepared. Shimada are… notoriously precocious,” said Hanzo, opening the car door for her.

Mercy looked at him, eyes wide.

“What?” said Hanzo.

“Nothing just…” Mercy managed a short chuckle, before getting into the car, “Genji said the same thing.” She paused, “I hope he’s all right…a quick visit to the Athena’s surveillance room couldn’t hur—”

“Doc,” said McCree, getting into the front seat and slamming the front door, “He’s got backup. You got enough to worry about as is with your kid jumping the gun. Just… I dunno, breathe or whatever.”

—

Genji knocked the Omnic’s tantō from his hand and sent it clattering across the floor. Genji pointed his wakizashi at his opponent. “Leave this place.”

“I have a contract,” said the Omnic. A plate in the omnic’s forearm slid back and a blade extending about a hand’s length past the tips of the omnic’s own fingers clicked out.

“Ah,” Genji now found himself dipping back and blocking strikes from the new blade. The new blade he realized was designed for close quarters, even more so than the tantō. “You realize Hanzo is an archer, right?” said Genji, blocking another strike from the omnic and advanced forward. The omnic grunted and slashed at Genji, and Genji dipped back maddeningly out of his reach. “How would you expect get close enough to use your weapons effectively?”

“Shut up,” said the Omnic, his voice was half drowned out by the roar of the ocean echoing against the cave walls.

“You know,” said Genji leaping back several times, “It would not be the first time the Shimada clan got rid of one potential threat by pitting it against another.”

“Shut up,” the omnic slashed forward and overextended himself, allowing Genji to dip to the side and deliver a hard strike with the butt of his wakizashi at the Omnic’s forearm. In one fluid movement Genji drew his sword and slashed down through the Omnic’s forearm blade, slicing it cleanly off. Genji took advantage of the Omnic’s shock at this to dip down and swipe the Omnic’s legs out from underneath him before springing up and delivering a hard kick to the chest. This sent the omnic flying back, he attempted to recover in mid air, only to find himself splashing into the water. Suddenly all the omnic’s calm seemed completely gone as he flailed in the water but quickly sank. Genji took a calming breath. Knowing Omnics, the assassin would probably scramble out by clinging to the cement walls of the dock or climbing along the underwater walls of the cave, but he had time to catch his breath. He sheathed his sword and brought a hand to the side of his helmet.

“Symmetra,” he spoke on the comm channel, “What’s the status on my backu–” There was a small splashing sound and Genji felt something painful wrap around his ankle and and glanced down to see a weighted wire had wrapped itself around it. He brought up his wakizashi to cut it but suddenly his foot was yanked out from underneath him and he was pulled into the water.

—

Hanzo watched Mercy bite the inside of her lip and furrow her brow as McCree drove them across the Watchpoint towards the infirmary. She brought up her comm again and attempted to ring up Genji, but was only met with silence on the other end. She closed her eyes, sighed and slumped against her seat, interlacing her fingers in front of her and pressing her knuckles to her lips. Hanzo wondered if she was praying or if that was simply a mindless mannerism from the stress.

“He’s fine, Doc, I’m sure of it,” said McCree.

“I hope you’re right,” said Mercy. She sighed and leaned her head against the window. “Why did this have to happen today?” she said quietly, “Why did this have to happen today?” she gestured down at her stomach.

Hanzo was quiet for a few moments before saying, “Did… Genji ever tell you he was born early?”

Mercy blinked a few times, “No,” she said.

Hanzo scoffed. “Of course he didn’t,” he muttered. He then glanced over at Mercy to see her furrowed brow at him and then cleared his throat a bit awkwardly, “I mean…Of course it’s not like he would remember it.” Mercy grunted and her hand went over her stomach again. “He was even earlier than yours is,” Hanzo went on, clearly trying to distract her from the pain, “They had to keep him under observation. Father was terrified. The first time i saw him he was in an incubator. I thought he was hideous–a wrinkled pink little monster. But then… I suppose I was jealous of how much attention he was getting,” he chuckled a bit, “I don’t think that ever stopped.”

Mercy managed to smile. “I was the opposite,” she said, tucking her hair back, “I think… I remember my mother told me I was pretty late. Very late, actually. Made her miserable, in fact. She said she planted daffodil bulbs to, as she put it, ‘Get me moving,’” Mercy paused, “At least… that’s what it said in one of her old diaries. I don’t know if she ever said it to me, or if I just… imagined the memory. I hear her voice sometimes but…” she shook her head, “I don’t know what kind of mother I’m going to be if I can barely remember my own.”

“You’re gonna do fine, you know,” said McCree.

“It’s already gone completely off the rails, though,” said Mercy with a pained chuckle and a slight shake in her voice.

“Well yeah, but considering our line of work, that’s not that unusual,” said McCree, “And it ain’t nothing we can’t handle.”

Mercy smiled, “Thank you for being so calm about this,” she said, looking down.

“Aw come on, Doc, you know me,” said McCree, “Beneath my charming, roguish, and ruggedly handsome exterior—”

Hanzo scoffed.

“I’m gotdamn terrified,” said McCree, “I don’t just wear the hat because it’s lucky or because I look damn good in it. It hides the sweat.” They pulled up to the infirmary. “Look sharp doc,” said McCree, getting out of the car. He noted the concern on Mercy’s face. “Merce–He’s going to be fine. He’s getting backup right now. You worry about yourself, you hear?”

–

Genji was a strong enough swimmer, but the omnic’s pull was even stronger in yanking him down beneath the surface. He felt the heat sinks in his shoulders click air-tight, but the faceplate of his helmet filled with water and his eyes stung with salt. The wire unwrapped itself from his foot and Genji desperately looked around in the dark water as he swam to the surface, only to see those three lights in the Omnic’s head shoot toward him. The omnic rammed into him, pinning him against the cement of the dock while the surface of the water was only an arm’s length away, his fingers barely able to break the surface. He felt the weight of the wire on his neck. It could cut through normal human flesh, he realized, but for him it would have to serve as a garrote. Genji coughed on the water filling his faceplate as his hands struggled at the wire and he wondered for a brief mad second if he would die here, in a cave, in dark water. His mind went to Angela, to Hanzo, Zenyatta, McCree, to his family and without a second thought he thrust his wakizashi into the omnic’s stomach. The lights on the omnic’s head flickered and Genji immediately realized stabbing a robot while underwater was a bad idea.

His armor had some shock resistance, and his organic parts were also heavily insulated with cybernetic grafts capable of directing shock away from his organic body, however, that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt like hell. The omnic fell away from him and was sinking and Genji shoved off of him with his foot. His arm broke the surface and he grabbed the edge of the cement dock and yanked himself up and out of the water. Scrambling on hands and knees, he turned around to look into the water, to see the three lights on the omnic’s head fading into the dark and distance as he sank. Genji nearly breathed a sigh of relief, then realized his faceplate was still full of water, and he quickly and desperately pressed at the pressure catches in the back of his helmet to pull his faceplate off. He coughed up seawater then collapsed on his side, aching and exhausted. He had to get up. He had to see Angela, but his limbs didn’t seem to be listening to him. There was a soft chiming sound and suddenly the pain seemed to ebb away. Genji glanced up to see an orb of harmony hovering above him.

“My apologies for my lateness, my student,” Zenyatta’s voice came to him and Genji struggled to sit up.

“Master…” Genji said, “Thank you.”

“It appears you handled yourself very well without me,” said Zenyatta.

Genji managed a pained chuckle, “You have a generous idea of ‘Very well,’ Master,” Genji’s eyes widened, “Angela–Is Angela—?”

“You still have time,” said Zenyatta, holding a hand out to Genji to help him to his feet, “Your brother and McCree have seen her safely to the infirmary. I suggest we—” There was the sound of splashing behind them and Genji and Zenyatta turned around to see the omnic assassin pulling himself out of the water with a grunt.

“You did not…” the omnic’s voice was distorted by water damage, “Strike to kill.” He brought up several shuriken. “I will not make the same mista—”

Zenyatta sent an orb of discord shooting over and it hovered over the omnic. The omnic glanced up at it confusedly. “What is tha—”

Zenyatta sent three orbs of destruction in quick succession, each smacking the omnic assassin squarely in the head. He swayed, then fell backward into the water with a dense splash.

“A lesson in humility,” said Zenyatta, before turning to Genji, “Does the Shimada clan know?”

Genji shook his head. “He was here for Hanzo.”

“I see,” said Zenyatta, “I will stay here and make sure our unwelcome guest does not return until more backup arri—” Zenyatta suddenly found himself in a tight hug from Genji, “Oh.”

“Thank you, Master,” said Genji.

Zenyatta patted his shoulder. “Of course, my student. Now, I believe you have somewhere to be.”

Genji broke out of the hug and gave Zenyatta a short bow. “Be sure to get to the infirmary as soon as you can,” he said, turning on his heel.

“You have my word,” said Zenyatta as Genji rushed off.

—

In the waiting area outside the main operating floor of the Watchpoint infirmary, Hanzo was pacing. He kept trying to sit down, but found himself getting to his feet and walking around without even thinking about it.

“This is your fault, you know,” said McCree.

“My fault?” said Hanzo, stopping his pacing.

“You jinxed it,” said McCree, folding his arms.

“Excuse me?” said Hanzo.

“All that ‘Something should go right for once,’ stuff. Come on, you definitely jinxed it.”

“That is completely ridiculo—Do you honestly think I could—?” Hanzo scanned McCree’s smirk and his eyes narrowed, “You’re just trying to get under my skin,” he said, frowning.

“You’re pretty tightly wound. You could stand to loosen up,” said McCree.

“I am perfectly calm,” said Hanzo, visibly bristling. Suddenly a door opened behind him, and Hanzo turned on his heel to see Genji, dripping wet, scuffed and scratched, faceplate off, visor up, eyes wide, supporting himself against the doorframe.

“Genji—” Hanzo stepped over to him and looked him over.

“Gotdamn…” said McCree, tilting his hat back.

Genji slumped over, catching his breath, “Angela,” he said, looking up, “How is she–?” Genji started.

“She’s fine. Her and her plus one,” said McCree, “You haven’t missed anything.”

Genji exhaled.

“Can I ask why you’re all wet?” said McCree.

“Assassin,” Genji waved a hand vaguely and moved to walk past them, “Ocean. Taken care of. Unimportant.”

“Well the nurse is probably not gonna be pleased if you roll into the delivery room like that. Better get cleaned up. You got time.”

“Right,” said Genji, “Right.”

“And Genji?” said Hanzo.

“Hm?” Genji glanced over his shoulder.

“Try to remember to breathe,” said Hanzo

“Yes,” said Genji, “Breathing. I’m breathing,” he said as he walked off.

“Good luck!” McCree shouted after him.

—

“Intranatal ultrasound reveals that your baby is in excellent health,” said the nurse, “Weight will be slightly below average, but either Haberlin’s due date was off, or there may be some unforeseen side-effects to the constant stream of biotics from your spinal implants.”

“Gott sei Dank,” said Mercy, holding out her arm as the nurse checked her IV’s.

“The time between your contractions is still—” the nurse started but Genji burst through the door.

“Genji—” Mercy instinctively moved to get up but grunted and sank against the pillows of her bed as Genji rushed over and hugged her tight. She kissed him multiple times, on his scars, where his cybernetic jawline met his skin, and on his lips before holding him tightly again. She suddenly grunted and Genji pulled away as the nurse clicked a timer.

“And that marks the contractions as three minutes apart,” said the nurse, “Looks like you got here just in time.”

“What took you so long?” said Mercy, a bit breathlessly as Genji took her hand.

“Just some family business,” said Genji.

Mercy chuckled a bit painfully before grunting in pain again.

—

Zenyatta arrived nearly an hour later to see McCree and Hanzo in the waiting area outside the infirmary.

“Hey,” McCree gave him a short wave, “Party crasher taken care of?”

“Yes,” said Zenyatta, “Is everything all right?”

“Well it’s uh… still going,” said McCree with a shrug.

Hanzo’s arms were folded and he was drumming his fingers on his arm tensely. Zenyatta placed a hand on his shoulder. “Do not worry, my friend. I am sure they are doing very well.”

It was then that a borderline animalistic cry was heard through the door, followed by guttural cursing in German. Genji’s voice could be heard saying something reassuring like “Breathe, breathe, you’re doing fine—” which was cut off with “Genji! I’m a doctor! I know what I’m doing!” Which quickly fell into another long yell. Hanzo looked horrified.

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Zenyatta said again.

—

Rei came into the world a screaming pink raisin monster with a head of dark hair. Genji said something in quiet awe, but it was drowned out by the screaming.

“What?” Mercy half-yelled.

“I said she’s beautiful!” Genji half-yelled back.

Rei kept screaming as they cut the chord and toweled her off, then calmed down when she was swaddled and handed to Mercy to nurse as the afterbirth passed out of her. Mercy and Genji sat in silence for nearly an hour, watching her.

“Genji, you should hold her,” said Mercy, when Rei finally broke away from her.

“Oh I—” Genji itched at his scars, “Are–are you sure that’s wise?”

“I should think it would be obvious,” said Mercy with a weak chuckle.

“I just—” Genji glanced off, “Skin-to-skin contact is supposed to be important in the first few hours and I don’t–” he glanced down at his body, “I don’t…” he trailed off.

“You’re warm enough for her,” said Mercy, holding Rei out to him.

“My face–what if I scare her?” said Genji.

“Your face is fine,” said Mercy, insistently holding Rei out to him.

Genji hesitantly took the burrito-wrapped infant from Mercy and supported her head. The baby was, indeed, asleep, but the heat sinks in Genji’s shoulders clicked out and steamed and she stirred and moaned a little and opened small dark gray-blue eyes at him. Genji’s breath caught in his throat.

“Hello,” he said quietly. Rei seemed to consider him. He rubbed at the scars on his face nervously. “Sorry if my face scares you. We can’t all be as pretty as your mother,” he said with a slight chuckle.

“Genji,” Mercy said softly.

“Sorry–” he said then glanced down at Rei, sitting down on the edge of Mercy’s hospital bed. Rei continued staring up at him, then grunted again and closed her eyes. “She’s sleeping?” Genji said quietly.

“Well, newborns are known to do that,” said Mercy, smiling.

A smile tugged at the corner of Genji’s mouth. “I’m sorry this couldn’t go like we planned,” he said quietly.

“When has anything ever gone like we planned?” said Mercy.

Genji shrugged. “Fair point,” he said, before glancing back down at Rei. “I think we did well.”

Mercy leaned forward and kissed him on the temple. She glanced down and readjusted the blanket around Rei slightly. “I think we did well, too,” she said.

#gency #pregnancy cw #childbirth cw #mchanzo

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fearofaherobrine · 7 years

Text

Roleplay server Log #172

“Death of a Stevie”

[TLOT] Yeah he's a fun guy. Can't believe they're related. You should have seen him soaking up the childrens laughter in the village. Happy as a clam.

[Flux] - I can somewhat understand, I feel better in area's where natural magic is greater just as he feels better where happiness is greater

[TLOT] Oh, I know, I have similar feelings. Bringing in everyone on the sub-seed magnified all of my abilities, and the more they love me, the stronger I'll become.

[Flux] Smiles a little and then suddenly stiffens as a death message flashes across her vision-

[CP] Has taken Stevie down into a nearby cave, his aura more then enough to keep the mobs away. So far Stevie had grown excited over iron and coal and as they went CP placed torches. CP grabs Stevie's shoulder before he can run out to the edge of a ravine- Easy now Stevie, hold up. Let me make sure it's safe, you stay here

[Stevie] - But brother!

[CP] - No buts- He slips past his younger brother and looks down the side of the ravine, below is lava which shimmers down below. He begins picking a wide path up along the edge of the ravine so Stevie would be safe. He had just uncovered some iron when he heard something which made his blood run cold

[Stevie] His voice very panicked- BROTHER!

[CP] Turns in time to see Stevie's fingers disappear over the side of the ravine- STEVIE!- In his panic he forgets his ability to teleport as he jumps after his brother, reaching for him as he fell. He could do nothing however as he saw Stevie fall into the lava, his body flash red and catch on fire as he struggled. By the time CP hit the lava, Stevie, was gone

-Stevie fell into lava-

[TLOT and Steve] freeze with fear as the message flashes.

-Upstairs there's the hard sound of iron hitting stone as Doc runs to the front door and launches hirself off the doorstep, transforming over the bay and speeding towards Lie's house.

[Lie] Rushes towards her's and CP's bed since Stevie had wanted to sleep there the previous night-

[Stevie] Spawns in glitching briefly as he's returned to his adult form and he groans as he lays there-

[Notch] Bangs the front door as he runs into the house and slams into Lie as he trips in the doorway to her room.

[Doc] Hits the roof a bit too hard and swings down through the opening shifting back to human as xe falls - Lie! Notch!

[Lie] Motions towards her bed-

[Doc] Goes to the bed and immediately starts checking Stevie over for errors.

[Stevie] Is holding his head, having an absolutely splitting head ache-

[Lie] - He glitched a little when he first spawned in

[Doc] It looks like it was just temporary, he seems solid....

[Stevie] - My head... Owwww...

[Notch] Creeps closer- Stevie...?

[Stevie] Softly- Father?

[Notch] hesitantly - yes.

[Stevie] - What happened?

[Doc] According to the death notice, you fell in lava.

[Stevie] - I... I think I remember brother? Everything is really fuzzy... I remember being down in TLOT's room...

[Notch] You.. got a mixed potion on you...

[Stevie] - Well it's certainly given me a hangover... Fucking Nether...

[Doc] Is that.. all you remember?

[Stevie] - Maybe? Everything is really fuzzy right now... Where's Alexis?

[Notch] At your house, presumably. She got a kitten from Alexsezia.

[Stevie] Frowns a little- When did that happen?- He tries sitting up and then winces because his body is sore

[Doc] A few weeks ago. Just take it easy.

[Stevie] - Everything hurts...

[Lie] Frowns- Where's CP?

[Doc] Well we know he's not hurt, he didn't show up in the feed. I'd check his tree actually.

[Lie] - I'll... Be right back- She leaves the room

[Notch] I'll get a potion. I know where the kit is. - hunts in a nearby trunk and comes up with a bottle.

[Stevie] - Wait, is Alexis' kitten orange?

[Doc] Gray with stripes.

[Stevie] - Why did I just think of an orange cat then?

[Doc] I gave you an orange cat costume. It lets you climb walls and scratch the shit out of anything that bugs you.

[Stevie] - Really?

[Doc] Yeah, I can size it up if you want. It's quite useful in Mario games. It's probably still in your inventory, unless Lie took it to wash.

[Notch] You nearly gave me a hearts attack with that thing...

[Stevie] Looks in his inventory- Is it this thing?- Pulls it out

[Doc] Yes, - xe takes it gently and uses hir abilities to add more fabric to the garment so it will fit an adult.

[Notch] Offers him the potion- Here Stevie, drink this.

[Stevie] Looks at the costume unsure before accepting the potion and drinking it-

[Doc] folds it neatly and sets it in his lap.

[Lie] Returns with a concerned look- He's not in his tree, nor any of his other usual places

[Notch] Sits gingerly on the edge of the bed.

[Doc] I think... he just wants to be alone for a little bit. He didn't leave the server. Let's just give him some space.

[Lie] - Alright...

[Stevie] Groans again-

[Notch] Does your head still hurt?

[Stevie] Yeah... Like some sort of pressure... Like I've forgotten things...

[Notch] What... do you remember?

[Stevie] - The cat suit... Lava... Cookies?

[Notch] Chuckles despite himself. - we have eaten quite a few cookies together.

[Stevie] - And Brother...

[Doc] He's been quite the doting sibling....

[Stevie] - I wanna say that's hard to believe... But my gut says otherwise...

[Notch] Your gut is right. We've been quite the little family.

[Stevie] - I'm surprised he's been tolerating you...

[Notch] He doesn't have much of a choice. It's Lie's house and now, I can't leave. I'll die out there.

[Stevie] - What? Why?

[Notch] I.. over-exerted myself in the real world, and had a heart attack. Doc pulled me in and the transition saved my life. Now I have to wait until I'm fully digital like Cp was doing with Lie before she became a brine instead.

[Stevie] - I see... Have I missed anything major?

[Doc] Exchanges a look with Notch. - Oh geeze... you don't remember anything...?

[Notch] Suddenly looks very, very sad.

[Stevie] - It still all seems really blurry, why?

[Notch] Opens his inventory and many many screenshots fixed to single paper page items spill out.

[Stevie] Is surprised as he looks them all over- This... This is a lot of stuff... Why am I a child in all of these?

[Notch] Because... the mixed up potion turned you into a child again. I've been caring for you. So has Cp and Lie. Even TLOT and Steve and Endrea.

[Stevie] - A... Child? And brother took care of me?

[Doc] He did more then that. He defended you from any and all comers, fed you, played with you, put you in his bed with Lie when you had nightmares, carried you on his shoulders...

[Notch] He's balked at saying aloud that he loves you, but he's done everything else a little brother could wish for.

[Stevie] Sits there stunned- But... But...

[Lie] - Stevie. how else would you explain spawning in my bed?

[Stevie] - I... I don't know...

[Doc] Some of these pictures show you two togeather. He's only making sour faces because someone took a picture.

[Notch] unfurls a larger sheet of paper, it's one of Stevies crayon drawings of Cp and Notch and Lie and himself.

[Stevie] Hasn't noticed that he's started crying a little-

[Lie] Picks up a picture of CP and Stevie sleeping together- This has to be one of my favorites

[Notch] It's even more of a treasure now, I can't see that ever happening again. - is also tearing up a bit

[Stevie] - I just... I can't fathom this even though the proof is in front of me...

[Doc] You reverted to how you were in the beginning, all your fear of him drained away. I think the first words out of your mouth were asking where your brother had gone.

[Stevie] Blushes a little-

[Notch] Check your inventory, see what else is there.

[Stevie] Looks in his inventory some more and discovers his wooden sword- This...

[Doc] It's been glitched by a dear friend of your fathers. It's unbreakable now.

[Stevie] - A friend of fathers? What do you mean?

[Notch] Her name is Flux, you did meet her when you were- chokes a little.

[Stevie] - Oh... I see... She's, purple, right?

[Doc] Yes, she is. Full of magick. Your original server was her home too.

[Stevie] - But why did we never meet her then?

[Notch] He was keeping her a secret for some reason, she's very powerful. But she did watch over you and Cp as much as she could.

[Stevie] Looks down at everything in his lap- I think I need some time o think about all this

[Notch] Stevie... you know who I am, don't you?

[Stevie] - I wanna say yes?

[Notch] Tell me.

[Stevie] - I wanna say you are father, but at the same time I know you're not... But you feel like it

[Notch] Stevie... your real father is... he's... he's dead. I was there. His coding failed and I and Cp could only watch his last moments before he faded away. I'm... sorry I lied to you.

[Stevie] - What? He... But...- Stevie is simply lost in what to think

[Notch] I'm still here for you if you want me. I'd be proud to call you my son.

[Stevie] is now crying rather hard-

[Notch] Is also crying and scoots over to hug Stevie.

[Stevie] Curls into Notch's embrace-

[Doc] His last words were for his children Stevie. He loved you and Cp very much. He touched the lives of many other peaceful NOTCHes, gathered and inspired them. We took them in as refugees. When you wish, you can speak to them about him.

[Stevie] - I may... I may do that...

[Doc] I just hope that you remember eventually all the other things that happened. They were nice memories.

[Stevie] - Heh, I bet brother wont want me to...

[Doc] You two did plenty of silly things, so I suspect you're right. But they were fun things.

[Stevie] - I just... Don't know what to think right now...

[Lie] - We understand... Do you want me to go get Alexis?

[Stevie] - No, I'd rather go to her...

[Doc] I'm going with you. You seem weak and I don't want you to collapse on the road or something.

[Stevie] - Okay...

[Notch] Please... don't be a stranger. Okay?

[Stevie] - I wont...

[Doc] Slips outside and shifts forms before putting hir chin on the window frame so Stevie can climb on.

[Stevie] Shakily climbs on-

[Doc] Gets back down on all fours and trots along gently so he doesn't fall. - Lay down if you need to

[Stevie] - That seems like a good idea

[Doc] reaches Stevie and Alexis's house fairly quickly and uses hir tail to rap on the door.

[Alexis] Is quick to throw it open- Stevie!

[Doc] Hunkers down so Alexis can help him off. - He doesn't remember much.

[Alexis] Helps support her boyfriend- I don't care, I'm just glad he's back...

[Doc] Huffs a little. - Be gentle with him. You call me over the chat right away if anything unusual happens.

[Alexis] - I will, don't worry about that- She helps Stevie inside and towards their bed

[Doc] Stands there for a long moment, there's a little bit of mewing as Alexsezia's cats notice hir and mill around hir paws.

[Alexsezia] Does he remember Cp tending to him?

[Doc] A lot less then I wish he did. Let's hope his fear of his brother is not the stronger memory. I have to go find him now.

[Alexsezia] Check the bar?

[Doc] It's as good a place as any.

[Doc] Checks the bar out of reflex and only finds Sam smoking a cigarette in the shade. Xe sighs and uses hir pinpoint to locate Cp before sliding down into the ground.

[CP] Is kneeling in the lava that Stevie had died in, he's in shock that he had let this happen-

[Doc] Scuttles quietly down the wall and hangs there above him. - Cp..?

[CP] Gives no response-

[Doc] Falls down with a soft wet splat and sits in the lava next to him. - He's alive Cp. He's.... regained his adult form.

[CP] - He fell... I wasn't fast enough...

[Doc] wilts a bit - I... wasn't fast enough to save your father. None of us can prevent every disaster.

[CP] Slumps some more- I... I thought he was safe... If he'd just stayed put like I told him...

[Doc] But you got your wish, terrible as the circumstances were. You don't have to coddle him anymore. And it's no ones fault.

[CP] - But he's...

[Doc] he's still your brother. I just watched him cry over all the screen shots Markus took. And the two of them cry on each-other as Markus told Stevie the truth. He knows your father is gone.

[CP] Stiffens- WHY THE FUCK DID YOU TELL HIM THAT!?

[Doc] I think Markus felt bad for lying to him, he wants to be accepted by Stevie because Stevie wants him there for who he really is.

[CP] - Still, he only just returned to normal, couldn't he have at least fucking waited a bit longer!?

[Doc] He was in almost as much distress as Stevie, I think he was afraid Stevie would hate him for lying to him.

[CP] Groans and finally looks up, although barely noticeable, there are signs of him having been crying-

[Doc] Slinks around behind him and lays down so Cp can lean on hir. - I think he knew. To continue lying would have been even more hurtful.

[CP] - But Stevie...

[Doc] You have an opportunity Cp. He knows now how you feel about him. Let the fear unravel and blow away.

[CP] Can't decide what he wants to do-

[Doc] Lie is worried about you.

[CP] - Of course she is...

[Doc] Can I take you home?

[CP] - You will anyways...

[Doc] No. I'll sit here with you if that's what you want.

[CP] - I don't know...

[Doc] Then we'll just sit for now. - Xe rolls a little so hir paws are jutting out on either side of Cp [but not holding him] and puts hir head down on the lip of the lava pool.

[CP] Is trying to process everything and as he does so his usual response of anger rises up as he punches the lava- Fucking Nether!

[Doc] It's okay to be angry. Just let it out if it makes you feel better.

[CP] - I just... Argh!

[Doc] It's not like he's gone or anything. And Alexis was missing him terribly. I'm sure shes grateful.

[CP] - But... It was so much more... Managable...

[Doc] What? Your feelings? Since he forgot his fear?

[CP] - I DON'T KNOW!

[Doc] I think so. - Pats his hair with a paw. - He's still your brother and you can still do things together.

[CP] Groans and leans against Doc in his frustration-

[Doc] And you and Lie can have time alone together again, that's good.

[CP] - TLOT's seed was the first time we fucked in weeks...

[Doc] I thought so. He said you left some very lovely flowers behind. Both by accident and intention.

[CP] - Shut it

[Doc] Come on, you'll have your wife and your bed to yourself. You can't lie to me, I know you wanted that badly. - Xe puts hir tail up next to the hovering Honedge - You can grab on if you want, you won't hurt me.

[CP] Grumbles a little-

[Honedge] Wraps on-

[Doc] You should go talk to him. It's not like he's not feeling just as vulnerable as you are at the moment. Greet him with a smile, and hug him. It will absolutely blow his mind.

[CP] - OH FUCK NO!

[Doc] Well, would you talk to him at least? I'm sure you'll just make things weirder by avoiding him.

[CP] Groans- Don't wanna

[Doc] I could sorta push you along if you're afraid of looking too eager. But don't be mean. You'll undo months of healing. Plus you'll make him feel like because he's an adult again you don't like him anymore.

[CP] - Good!

[Doc] Gives him a light smack on the head- No!

[CP] - Yes!

[Doc] Why would you want him to be afraid of you?!

[CP] - Because it's easier that way?

[Doc] It's not easier for him! You're gonna give him nightmares again just because you're emotionally constipated?!

[CP] - Maybe...

[Doc] Smacks him again- No! You're being stupid. Stop it.

[CP] - You can't stop me!

[Doc] Does this really have to be a pissing contest? Be reasonable for once in your life.

[CP] - I am being reasonable!

[Doc] No, you're not, and I'm sure if you act like this around Lie she'll tell you you're being stupid. Fuck, Splender will tell you you're being stupid!

[CP] Huffs and grumbles-

[Doc] Do I have to tp her down here so she can yell at you too?

[CP] - No...

[Doc] Then cut it out. You have an unprecedented opportunity to repair things with your brother. Even your father wanted you to protect him, wanted you to be as much of a family as was possible.

[CP] Goes still at the mention of his father-

[Doc] Surely you respected his wishes at least?

[CP] - I don't need you lecturing me about him...

[Doc] If you're planning on terrifying your brother again; I think thats exactly what you need. A reality check.

[CP] Growls a little-

[Doc] None of that. Come on. If you're just going to stew we should go talk to him.

[CP] - No- His expression turns almost a bit panicky... Almost...

[Doc] Come on, I'll stay with you. It's alright. You'll be fine.

[CP] - NO

[Doc] Sighs- Okay. We'll sit then. Talk to me instead. This is one of those times I wish I was psychic like TLOT and Lie,

[CP] - There's nothing to talk about!

[Doc] Creeper dung! There's plenty. I want to know why talking to him about your feelings scares you so badly.

[CP] - IT DOES NOT!

[Doc] I don't believe you.

[CP] -Well too bad!

[Doc] Come on... can we go topside at least? I'm hungry and getting overheated.

[CP] - Go without me...

[Doc] I don't want to. Are you just gonna hide down here forever?

[CP] - No...

[Doc] Then what?

[CP] - I don't fucking know!

[Doc] This is getting us nowhere. Come on, lets go up. - Xe gets a hold of Cp's clothes and lifts him gently onto hir neck.

[CP] - FUCKER!

[Doc] Shh, you're just getting a free ride. - Doc moves hir tail so the pokemon can grab hold of Cp again and starts scuttling up the largest tunnel leading up. Xe's clipping a bit but keeping Cp clear of the stone around them.

[CP] Grumbles as Honedge happily reattaches itself to him-

[Doc] Finally breaks out into the sunlight in a small wooded area and lays down on the ground. - That's better. - Xe rummages around in hir inventory and tosses a few carrots into hir jaws before munching contentedly.

[CP] Slides off and starts wandering off-

[Doc] Just picks up and walks after him quietly

[CP] - Stop following me!

[Doc] Who says I'm following you? I'm just going this direction.

[CP] Growls and heads out away from spawn, farther from where everyone is-

[Doc] Keeps following. There's a moo ahead and Doc uses a bit of lightning to simultanously kill and cook it.

[CP] Ignores Doc and takes to the sky-

[Doc] Snatches up the steaks and woofs them down before trotting up into the sky. Xe's not in Cp's space, just keeping an eye on him.

[CP] - GO AWAY!

[Doc] sadly - no.

[CP} - WHY NOT!?

[Doc] Simply- Because I'm your friend.

[CP] Growls-

[Doc] Please come back with me.

[CP] - Why?

[Doc] Because I asked nicely?

[CP] Glares at Doc-

[Doc] Pretty please?

[CP] - Again I ask, why?

[Doc] Because I'm trying to convince you to do something good with a minimum of coercion? At least go home and talk to Lie. I'm sure she's worried about you.

[CP] Huffs a bit, his red stone heart glowing a little at the thought of his wife-

[Doc] Gets behind him and gives him a gentle nudge in the direction of home with just the tip of hir snout.

[CP] - Stop that

[Doc] I'm trying really hard to treat you like an adult. Throw me a bone okay?

[CP] - I don't need your help

[Doc] Perhaps, perhaps not. But you're getting it anyway, because I care.

[CP] Growls a little-

[Doc] Nudges him a little more, since he's flying anyway it does scoot him forward a bit.

[CP] - Stoooop

[Gk] There's an aggressive sound of flapping wings and Gk comes into view- There you are!

[CP] - Oh now what?

[Gk] What the fuck do you think? Go home dipweed. Everyone is looking for or worried about your ass.

[CP] - I should care why?

[Gk] Has he been doing this stupid shit this whole time?

[Doc] Yeeeesss.

[Gk] I ain't got the patience for this happy crap. - the red dragon gets between Cp and Doc and gives a tremendous flap of his ghastly wings. He's flying forward with gravity pressing Cp to his chest.

[Doc] Runs to keep up-

[CP] - WHAT THE FUCK YOU FUCKER!?

[GK] Is headed for Lie's house at top speed and stops midair so Cp goes flying into the doorway of Lie's greenhouse.

[Doc] Ouch....

[Gk] Shouts- LIE I BROUGHT YOUR DUMBASS HUSBAND BACK

[CP] Growls as he pushes himself up off the ground, a little cautious as he's not sure where the lust blossoms are in comparison to him-

[Lie] Throws open the front door, a tad frantic-

[Gk] Sorry Lie, I had more momentum going then I thought.

[Doc] He was hiding, Lie.

[Lie] Goes down the stairs and towards her green house-

[CP] Stands up and glares at GK through the glass-

[Gk] Shrugs-

[Doc] You didn't get into anything in there, did you?

[CP] - No

[Lie] Jumps at CP, wrapping her arms around him in relief-

[CP] Embraces her back- Well at least now we'll have the bed to ourselves...

[Lie] Can't stops the short laugh which escapes her- Really? That's the first thing you say?

[Doc] I've been trying to get him to focus on the positive instead of hiding from everyone.

[Gk] Yeah man, you can bang again. I thought that was in your top five favorite things at least?

[Lie] - Judging by the death message I know it must have surprised you, especially if you forgot you could teleport...

[Doc] Gives a little hiss of suprise...

[CP] His demeanor falters a little-

[Gk] How the fuck man...?

[Lie] - You were worried... Panicked even... It's understandable...

[Doc] Cp... Lie please tell him he should go talk to Stevie. He won't listen to me.

[Lie] - I agree with that, but it should wait until Stevie's memories have returned

[Doc] Which ones?

[Lie] - Of his brother caring for him

[Doc] You don't think that him showing up to check on him after an accident shows caring too?

[Lie] - It all depends on Stevie, either way he and Alexis are probably a bit busy and resting right now

[Doc] gives Lie just a single upraised eyebrow ridge.

[Gk] I'm gonna go peek in their window. - Clops off before anyone can stop him.

[Alexis] Is making Stevie some food as he rests at their table-

[GK] Presses his face up against the glass and makes a silly noise.

[Stevie] Yelps and falls out of his chair-

[Alexis] - GK! THAT IS NOT FUNNY!

[Gk] Rolls over on his back in the sand laughing heartly.

[CP] Perks a little as he hears the laughter-

[Gk] mock scary voice - I've come for the human! Give him to me! - Milder - I promise I won't get him drunk this time. Pigmen's honor!

[Alexis] - No, he's still sore! And should rest!

[Gk] Pleeeeeeeeaaase? - dances around on his little hooves like he has to pee.

[Stevie] - I don't think I should, besides, we're about to eat...

[Gk] I can help! - He opens the door with a small kick and shoves in a bunch of tacos from his inventory. - Woof em. Lets go!

[Alexis] - GK go away!

[Gk] Meeeeeeeeeeeeh.

[Stevie] - I'd really rather not leave right now...

[Gk] Dammit..... okay.... - goes off dragging his tail.

[CP] Nuzzles into Lie a little-

[Gk] Comes back. - Stevie's girlfriend says he can't come out and play. - pouty face.

[Doc] Trying not to laugh-

[CP] - He can stay away for all I care...

[Gk] So I'll just take you to him! - He grabs Cp by his clothes and takes off at a dead run-

[CP] - GK PUT ME DOWN YOU FUCKER!

[Gk] Kicks Alexis's door open again and neatly punts Cp inside.

[Doc] Is racing after them in a panic.

[CP] Freezes up once inside-

[Stevie] Shifts uneasily, not sure what to do-

[Doc] Gives Gk a rather hard headbut that knocks him in the water and hunkers down outside near the door.

[Gk] You asshole!

[CP] Has no idea what to do-

[Alexis] Has grabbed her bow to shoot GK-

[Gk] Flails around and then loafs. Sulking in the shallows.

[CP] Teleports away-

[Stevie] - What the fuck was that about!?

[Alexis] - Excuse me a moment...

[Doc] Is using hir pinpoint to chase down Cp now

[CP] Has returned to his home, appearing in his private rooms-

[Doc] Puts hir face near the opening - well that could have gone better...

[CP] - SHUT UP!

[Alexis] Shoots at GK- YOU ASS!

[Gk] Aaagh! - He scrambles around trying to get out of the way and ends up in the deeper water accidently. Thrashing around and getting Alexis wet in the process.

[Alexis] Grumbles but storms back inside-

[Gk] Blows a raspberry at her retreating form.

[Alexis] Shoots one last arrow-

[Gk] Gets hit in the foot and swears a blue streak before calling her a rotten bitch.

[Alexis] - Don't care ass!

[Gk] Is growling and takes a bite out of her roof, before angrily flinging the bit into the bay and storming off.

[Stevie] - I'll fix that when I can...

[Alexis] - Don't worry about it for now

[Doc] Rolls over on hir back and sticks all four feet in the air.

[Lie] - Doc, just what are you doing?

[Doc] Nothing, I'm dead. Blarrrrrgh. - Sticks hir tongue out

[Lie] Sighs- Is he down in his rooms?

[Doc] Yeees.

[Lie] - He'll come out eventually

[Doc] As far as I can tell he took one look at Stevie and tped away.

[Lie] - I guess that's a step in the right direction?

[Doc] No idea... I'm just gonna obstruct your back door for a bit. Is that okay with you?

[Lie] - Sure, go ahead

-Le time skip-

[Alexis] Over chat- Doc! Somethings happening!

[Doc] Looks up from the small garden xe's planting and makes eye contact with Steve-

[Steve] Go ahead, we've got this in hand.

[TLOT] Is building a low wall. - Just call if you need me.

[Doc] Runs along the causeway and through Alexsezia's yard before knocking on Alexis's door- I'm here!

[Alexis] Open's the door-

[Stevie] Is kneeling on the floor, holding his head and crying-

[Doc] Races in and does a quick scan on Stevie- Tell me where it hurts! Are you glitching at all?!

[Stevie] - My head... I'm remembering... I feel sick...

[Doc] Is already pulling out a bowl and smears a handful of the cold healing paste across his forehead. - Don't fight it. You're gonna be okay.

[Stevie] - There's so much...

[Doc] It was a couple of months at least.

[Stevie] - Yup... I'm gonna be sick- Leans over and vomits

[Doc] Pulls a spongefrom the creative and drops it in the puddle to suck it up.

[Stevie] - Brother... He... He told me to stay behind and I didn't listen...

[Doc] What? When you fell?

[Stevie] - Y... Yeah... Brother jumped after me... It hurt so much

[Doc] He was scared for you. It was an accident and I know it caught you both off-guard.

[Stevie] - I... I haven't seen him act like that since...

[Doc] He'd been crying when I found him. Kicking and blaming himself because you got hurt.

[Stevie] - That just sounds so wrong for him...

[Doc] I know, he's terrified of his own softer emotions. He thinks if he lets on that someone is important then it will just make an opening for others to hurt him by killing his loved ones.

[Stevie] - This is still confusing... But... Reassurig? I think?

[Doc] He's just a pain the ass to deal with. That imposter NOTCH screwed him up and Insanity finished the job. Healing is hard, as is unlearning bad habits.

[Stevie] - I... I can see that...

[Doc] Added to the fact that if the creepypastas had known about you they might have killed you in a permenant way just to piss him off. He made sure you wouldn't seek him out intentionally.

[Stevie] - He was still trying to protect me in his own weird way... Wasn't he...

[Doc] Yes. Even when he was killing you, he only sent you to respawn. I think he could have easily left you to rot and die in a nightmare or ripped apart your base code if he wanted to.

[Stevie] Shudders a little as more memories press in-

[Doc] So when you do see him, the crucial thing is to not be afraid. And if he tries to scare you, ignore it. Pretend he's a child having a temper tantrum. I'll keep him from hurting you if he panics or does something stupid.

[Stevie] - I don't know what I'll feel right now...

[Alexis] - That's okay Stevie...

[Doc] Shall we make an attempt? I know last time he just froze up and tped away. I guess that's better then losing his temper at least.

[Stevie] - I'm not sure...

[Doc] What do you have to lose? You can't die. I said I'd protect you. I mean, he can hurt your feelings, but so can anyone else.

[Stevie] - I just... I don't know...

[Alexis] - Doc, he only just got his memories back...

[Doc] Is clearly frustrated. - Then... what? This is an emotional issue, not a medical one. This is something that needs to happen but both parties keep insisting they leave the bandage on just a bit longer. If you don't need me I'm going to go back to helping TLOT and Steve. They have a lot of work that needs to be done right now.

[Stevie] Quietly- I just don't know what to do...

[Doc] I do. But no one wants to do it. - huffs a bit

[Stevie] Shifts nervously- I know but it's always been a bit of a hurdle...

[Doc] You think I don't know that? He's killed me before too.

[Stevie] Sighs- Can I claim mental hurdles?

[Doc] Only if it's a precursor to jumping them.

[Stevie] Whines a little-

[Doc] .... Do I need to get you both drunk again?

[Stevie] - I'd rather you didn't?

[Doc] annoyed- Then quit whining.

[Stevie] Almost whines again-

[Doc] Alexis. I'm borrowing your boyfriend. Sorry. - Picks Stevie up bodily and heads out the door with him over hir shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

[Stevie] - HEY!

[Alexis] Sighs-

3 notes · View notes

entergamingxp · 4 years

Text

What it’s like to develop a game for Xbox Series X

Microsoft has just announced a raft of third-party Xbox Series X games, and among them is Chorus, a new fast-paced space shooter aerial combat game from German studio FishLabs. FishLabs has been working on Chorus since 2017, and it’s now getting the game ready to launch across the current and next-generation of consoles as well as PC and Stadia at some point early 2021. According to Microsoft, Chorus is “fully engineered to take advantage of Xbox Series X’s powerful hardware”. But what does that mean, exactly?

Ahead of Microsoft’s special episode of Inside Xbox, in which Chorus was announced, we had the chance to speak with Johannes Kuhlmann, head of core technology at FishLabs to find out what it’s like to develop a game for Xbox Series X – and what he makes of the various claims Microsoft has made about its beefy next-gen console.

Chorus is said to be taking advantage of some specific features of the Xbox Series X. Can you talk a bit about what those are exactly?

Johannes Kuhlmann: It’s a multi-platform title. So it’s not exclusive to Xbox Series X, but it’s definitely one of the platforms we are now focusing on. And of course, with being next generation, there’s lots of stuff to take advantage of. One example is, of course, that we have way more power available now. Looking at the CPU side of things, we are looking into having the world more alive, simulating more physics, having everything a bit more dynamic.

So just one example, in previous games, we had debris fields that felt kind of static, because these pieces of debris, you might maybe run into them and bump off of them, or maybe they wouldn’t have any collision at all. But what we are doing now is when you run into something, it actually starts moving and kind of floating away, which is I suppose what you would expect in space. So it feels like you’re actually affecting the environment. And it feels a lot more dynamic that way.

And another example is with all this fighting going on, there’s also lots of destruction and explosions. And we are going to be able to ramp up effects on that. We do have large ships you can destroy already that fall apart. And of course, the smaller ships you fight against also can be destroyed. And one thing we are now working on with the help of Xbox Series X is procedural destruction, so actual objects are broken apart at runtime, exactly where you shoot them. And of course, that feels like you’re actually having an impact on the environment. And I feel that is super awesome, if the stuff actually breaks were I shot at it.

I’m just trying to get a sense of whether there are any Xbox Series X exclusive features that make use of the hardware in any unique way, that you’re not going to do on other platforms?

Johannes Kuhlmann: It’s definitely a high-end feature. Definitely a generation nine feature. We don’t have any Xbox Series X unique features.

Since Chorus is a cross-gen title, how do you make it meaningfully different on next-gen when you have to cater to the lowest common denominator console, like a base Xbox One?

Johannes Kuhlmann: Of course, that’s kind of a tricky situation. We want everybody to have more or less the same experience, to play the same story in the end, so that you, if you play the Xbox One game, it’s also going to be awesome. But we are optimising for Xbox Series X. The base story and gameplay is going to be the same. But as I described with the CPU, how we are taking advantage of the CPU is setting the Xbox Series X version apart.

And there are other things like for example, if we look at the power we also get from the GPU, we can ramp up resolution and framerate on Xbox Series X. So the core is still the same game, but we are trying to make the experience on next-gen, on generation nine, a whole lot more dynamic and of course, also improve the sense of immersion because you have a bigger effect on the world.

What is it like to develop for the Xbox Series X compared with the Xbox One? Are things easier for you now? Is it throwing up interesting challenges?

Johannes Kuhlmann: I’ve got to say, the transition from coming from Xbox One to Xbox Series X was straightforward. We felt right at home on the new devkit. There weren’t any particular challenges.

You have way more freedom. You don’t have to worry about the framerate as much. You can instead crank it up to a higher framerate. In the end it’s easier to develop for Xbox Series X than any other console.

How would you describe the differences in making the game for Xbox Series X versus PlayStation 5?

Johannes Kuhlmann: I can’t really go into details compared to PS5. We are of course looking into that as well. But for now, we’ve been focusing on the Xbox Series X.

Do you feel like the Xbox Series X essentially ends the sub-60 frames per second video game? Or do you still see a case for maybe having a game run at 30 frames per second on this?

Johannes Kuhlmann: With all platforms, it’s always a balance between quality and performance in the end. I’m hoping we only see 60FPS games now. But I don’t know what other developers are going to do, if they’re gonna, like, I don’t know, render everything twice, or crank up the detail to insane amounts and then have 30FPS or can’t hold a stable framerate again.

We are targeting a 4K resolution as well as 60FPS on Xbox Series X. Those are our targets, and that’s what we’re aiming for. And of course, with the increased resolution it’s just gonna look better and you’re gonna see more detail. And with the increased framerate, especially because we have such a fast-paced game, it’s just gonna feel better, you’re gonna be more able to chase the enemies around and you’re going to get better feedback from when you press the button and the results show up on screen. So I feel like it’s going to be a lot better by actually making use of all the power that’s available.

So where do you stand on the teraflop debate? Do you consider teraflops to be the single most important thing when it comes to the power of a console as a third-party developer? Or is there more to the debate than that?

Johannes Kuhlmann: There’s definitely more to the debate than that. I can’t really speak on any number differences, but what I know is we do have the game running and it looks very promising already. But what we always see with any console generation is we first have to learn how to handle the hardware, how to handle the software, and how to make the best use of it.

If you have a difference in teraflops, but then have an operating system or firmware that doesn’t allow you to take advantage of this, then it’s not going to be of much use. So there’s definitely more to the debate. It definitely depends on how you can make use of hardware and software.

As a third-party developer, what were you hoping for from the next-generation of consoles? And specifically from the Xbox Series X?

Johannes Kuhlmann: I do feel happy because I pretty much got all I wanted. One thing as a developer I really like to see is we have a continuation of how I develop for a platform. If it’s a whole new architecture, it’s going to be more difficult for me to bring this game to the new platform. But with the Xbox Series X, we felt right at home. It’s like a continuation of what we have seen before, in terms of how we develop for it. So that’s one thing I was wishing for.

The other thing is lots of performance with it. I can actually go and say, we are targeting 4K, we are targeting 60FPS, and I think I also got that as well. And maybe the last little thing I was also hoping for was ray tracing support in hardware. And as far as I know, I got that as well.

Microsoft has talked about Xbox Series X having instant loading. Can you do anything with that, that actually changes gameplay or game mechanics?

Johannes Kuhlmann: Chorus has a quite a few open world elements. You can freely roam around and explore different locations. We do load in stuff in the background. We do still have a few loading screens in place. I’m hoping with the SSD read speeds, we can either get rid of them or some of them completely, or we can at least minimise the time spent on loading screens.

So while for us it’s not like changing the game completely, I feel it’s gonna improve how the game can be enjoyed and how much time the player at the end spends waiting until a new location can be explored. It’s gonna feel like you can roam more freely with faster loading times in this case.

Is this tech eradicating texture pop-in? For example, trees appearing in the distance as you move closer to them?

Johannes Kuhlmann: Yeah, exactly. One part of that is performance of the GPU – if you can actually render all the trees that are far in the back. But yeah, popping in should definitely be reduced, because we can stream in whatever is in the distance faster, and it’s just going to be ready earlier, so that it’s not popping in while you can already see it. And on the other hand, we do have more RAM available now so we can just keep more stuff in memory as well in case we might need it. So we can start streaming in the trees in the distance – not in our case, not trees – but start streaming in parts of the space station earlier when you’re getting closer, than compared to if we were limited in RAM, because you would have to manage what we are using more.

Microsoft has said the power of Xbox Series X means there are no technological barriers to developers realising their vision. Is that overstating things? Or is this a genuinely significant moment for console tech?

Johannes Kuhlmann: We as developers, we always find ways to find the limitations. So be it like increasing texture sizes, for example, or be it like, we want a new rendering approach – we want everything ray traced of course. This is what I mean when I say we also have to find a balance between quality and details as well as framerate.

What we see, just having the game running on the new Xbox, is we have a lot of room. We do have massive potential, and we can say we are targeting 4K 60FPS. We can do that. But I think in the end, someone is going to come up with some ideas that will not work at 60FPS.

I know it can be incredibly challenging making a game for consoles that aren’t out yet. How’s it been for you?

Johannes Kuhlmann: I feel that we’ve always been in kind of good position because we already target multiple platforms. Especially if you also target PC, you’re kind of already thinking about how can I scale this because I want to support low end PCs, I want to support high end PCs. Working on Xbox Series X was convenient because not so much is being changed, at least hardware wise anymore. So while everything is still evolving, and we have to figure out what are the requirements, it’s actually been a very smooth ride.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/what-its-like-to-develop-a-game-for-xbox-series-x/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-its-like-to-develop-a-game-for-xbox-series-x

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