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themadlostgirl · 3 years

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When It’s Cold (3)

*It’s the mutual pining for me*

~~~

A few weeks had passed of Felix and I living together and trying to find our way back to Neverland. So far all our ideas and plans lead to nothing and I was starting to get disheartened. It felt like we were never going to get back to Neverland at this rate.

Life in the mansion was pretty nice though. We were a little worried during the first week, paranoid that someone was going to return and throw us out into the cold but no one even came near the house. I was starting to wonder if anyone besides us even knew it was here.

Over the course of our stay I learned how to do laundry and bought a bike so I could get to and from town quicker. Felix and I had discussed stealing a car but seeing as how neither of us knew how to drive and stealing a car would put us under investigation we didn’t. Felix on the other hand turned out to be quite adept at cooking. He found a recipe book in one of the drawers of the kitchen and seemed to enjoy figuring out how to make certain dishes. Aside from a few burned casseroles and a very unfortunate miscommunication involving spaghetti he was doing really well. Almost every evening he had some new dish ready for dinner. I started baking again so we always had warm brownies or chocolate chip cookies in the house.

Life was good. When we weren’t looking into ways back to Neverland we were lounging around the house. We found a record player in one of the rooms and played it when it was too quiet. A few times I had caught Felix dancing around the kitchen while cooking dinner at which point he immediately stopped and pretended he wasn’t. It made him a whole lot less intimidating seeing that he was secretly a bit of a dork underneath the hard exterior.

I think that was the best part of being stuck here together. We were learning more about each other. Felix was really closed off from conversations at first but after a few days his tongue loosened up. I learned that he got the scar on his face as a result of an incident before he came to Neverland though he couldn’t remember what exactly. He preferred sweet over salty and loved chocolate covered pretzels. On Neverland he used to collect sand dollars until the other boys found his collection and smashed them all. It was nice learning these little things about him. It made me feel like we were closer.

When the idle days became too much to bear we turned to sparring to keep the boredom away. We turned the ballroom into a sparring arena so we wouldn’t lose our edge. So far we’ve only broken one vase!

One such day we were in the ballroom again fighting and I had finally got a leg up on Felix and pinned him to the ground. “Gotcha!” We were both breathing hard and I was sat right on top of him with my arms pinning his wrists against the floor. I froze as the position we were in rocketed into my mind. Felix took the moment of hesitation to break free from my hold and rolled us over so I was pinned under him. I could have argued that this position was even worse.

I swear I tried not to stare at his lips. I really did but one quick flicker down his face and I couldn’t stop looking no matter how many times I forced my eyes to look back up at his eyes.

He let me go when he saw I had completely checked out of the fight and left, leaving me reeling on the floor as to what just happened.

For as friendly as things between Felix and I got there was a problem running parallel to it. I had hoped that the last of my dirty thoughts and weird feelings for Felix would have gone away after that first day but it seemed to be having the opposite effect. The closer Felix and I got as friends the more I was pining after him and it was torture!

At some point I stopped trying to deny my body the release it craved when my mind created lewd fantasies of Felix. There was nothing wrong if it was all in my head. No one would have to know and our relationship as roommates, partners, and friends would be untarnished.

I had everything under control. That is until the night the electric went out.

There had been a huge snow storm and it knocked out power to the whole town. Huddled under a bunch of blankets and thick warm layers of clothes helped keep out any chill but it didn’t keep me warm enough. I had left the warmth of my room to start a fire in the fireplace and noticed that it was already lit. Felix was sitting in front of it with a blanket wrapped around him.

“Cold got to you too?” I asked as I sat down next to him.

“Didn’t realize how much I hated being cold until the heat turned off.” He sighed.

We sat in companionable silence for a while, listening to the fire crackle.

“Felix,” I finally said, “Do you think we’re ever gonna find a way out of here and back to Neverland? It’s been over a month and we haven’t made any headway.”

“I know.” Felix turned to look at me, “It gets a little harder everyday to keep up the flimsy hope that we’ll get back home.”

“I’m sorry I made come here.” I told him, “You would be back on Neverland without a worry in the world if I hadn’t asked you to come with me.”

“My decisions are my own. No use blaming yourself for them.” Felix ruffled my hair, the only form of affection he willingly showed.

“So why then?” I asked, “Why did you come to Storybrooke with me?”

“Why did you ask me to come?” He countered.

I took a deep breath. This same old impasse. He wouldn’t answer me unless I answered him first.

“I wanted to have someone I knew I could rely on.” I answered, “The boys that left on the ship with the adults couldn’t be relied on. They wanted families and lives away from Neverland. They wouldn’t help me get revenge for what those bastards did to Pan. But you were always loyal and I knew that you would help me if it meant avenging him.”

“You could have asked any of the other boys that chose to stay. They were also loyal. Why not ask one of them? Or was it that you had and I turned out to be the only one who said yes?” Felix said, drawing the blanket in closer around him.

“I didn’t ask anyone else. I asked you because I knew you were the only one I could trust. The only one I wanted to come with me.”

This caught Felix’s attention. He opened and closed his mouth as if searching for something to say but came up short.

“So now you have to answer my question.” I turned towards him fully, “Why did you come with me?”

His mouth snapped shut and he looked away from me. I feared he may leave without giving me an answer but he stayed seated. An internal war dueling inside his mind as he mulled over what to tell me.

Finally he exhaled and searched my eyes. There was something softer about the way he gazed at me that had me holding my breath. When he spoke it was barely a whisper and had me leaning closer to hear.

“I came with you because...because I…” He swallowed, “I came with you because I didn’t want to be on Neverland without you. We never hung out but I was never ignorant of you. You brought so much life to those around you and I...”

“Felix,” I exhaled. I reached to touch him but he pulled away just as I did. He started to stand up but I grabbed the blanket around him halting his actions.

Felix stared down at me, eyes wide and panicked. He looked like a rabbit caught in a trap.

“Please don’t go!” I blurted out. “You don’t have to run from me.”

“What makes you think I’m running?” He asked, his voice low.

“What else would you call this?” I stood up as well. “It’s just us here, Felix. No one else can hear or see what we do. You don’t need to act tough and stoic for the sake of your reputation. I’ve already seen you dance around the kitchen while cooking soup. I think the masks can come off now.”

“I’m not wearing a mask, little girl.” He spat.

“Keep telling yourself that.” I turned to leave. Why had I said anything? I completely ruined any and all progress we had been making up to this point. If I thought he might have been distant before he was sure to keep away from me now. Stupid feelings and hormones making me say things I shouldn’t be saying!

“Wait!” Felix caught me at the staircase. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with this anymore and it must have been evident in my eyes as he turned me around to look at him. “Just wait a moment.”

“Felix, I’m tired in more ways than one. Just let me go.” I tried to shrug his arms off me.

“Please,” The word bled from his lips. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Felix say please in my life. “Please just give me a moment.”

“A moment for what?”

“To think.”

“Think of what?” I demanded. “Whatever it is you want to say just say it.”

“I--I--” He stammered. “Damn it,” he hissed before slamming his lips to mine.

The sheer force of the kiss nearly knocked me backwards. The ferocity of which he kissed me was hungry and passionate. Like he was drowning and looking for air. The blanket around me dropped to the floor as I clung onto him to keep balanced. My lips moved against his with similar excitement. My heart was hammering so loud in my chest it was all I could hear.

When the need for air became too much we pulled back. Felix rested his head against mine. Eyes screwed shut. I was still trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened when he cursed under his breath and shot past me on the stairs. The sound of a door slamming shut broke me out of my haze.

Felix kissed me.

Not a quick kiss either.

Felix kissed me like I had been dreaming about for the past several weeks. I tentatively touched my lips, savoring the memory of the way his mouth felt against mine. I quickly doused the fire in the living room and rushed up the stairs. I hovered outside of Felix’s door trying to find the courage to knock.

“I know you’re out there,” Felix’s muffled voice came from within startling me. “I suggest you save whatever you have to say and take it with you back to your own room.”

“Felix,” I sighed, “I think we need to talk about what happened on the stairs.”

“Forget about it.” He snapped, “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“I think you do. I think you know exactly what you were doing and that scares you more than if you were just reacting out of hormones.” I snapped back. “So how about you stop running and hiding from me and give me a straight answer for once!”

“I said to go away!”

“Fine!” I shouted, banging my fist against the door, “But you should know that I didn’t mind it at all you insufferable ass! I actually quite enjoyed it but, of course, you don’t care about that. Goodnight Felix.”

I stormed off back to my room and slammed the door shut behind me. I rolled into bed but sleep did not come easily. My feelings before were only more confused now after Felix had kissed me. How could he just kiss me after saying something unexpectedly sweet and then abandon me without a single word of explanation?

How is it even possible to like someone you hate so much?

~~~

Felix is a fucking idiot.

That’s it. That’s all it was. He was an idiot and he had proven that more than well enough tonight when he kissed you. Oh god above he actually broke and kissed you. He told you why he had been so willing to follow you away from Neverland and then he kissed you.

In the moment he couldn’t get the words he knew he owed you out. They were there scrambled in his brain but unable to get past his tongue. So he put his mouth to a better use.

He nearly moaned when he got a taste of you. Your breath was minty. Your lips so soft against his. He hadn’t meant to get so lost in it. But he finally had you in his arms and he didn’t want to let the sensation go.

Then you were kissing him back. Your hands tangled in his hair pulling him closer. Urging him on as he pressed your bodies together. He could have gone on forever kissing you if reality and common sense hadn’t come back to him in the moment you both were catching your breath.

He was supposed to be finding a way back to Neverland, not making out with you! But it felt so good to kiss you. You had been so perfect and warm in his arms. Thoughts of picking you up carrying you back to his room had entered his mind but were just as quickly dashed away. He couldn’t afford to be distracted. Not even by you.

You came pounding on his door yelling at him about his rude treatment towards you. Screaming about how you enjoyed the kiss as well. That almost had him running to unlock the door but the sound of your door slamming down the hall left him sat on the floor in frustration. How could he fix this? Was there anyway that he could? Would you even want anything to do with him after tonight?

Your words came back to him in that moment of contemplation. “It’s just us here, Felix. No one else can hear or see what we do.”

You were right. Of course you were right. No one else’s opinions mattered. There was no reputation to protect or people to disappoint here. He was not here for anyone to gossip about around a bonfire. It was just the two of you in this big mansion alone. There was no need to be embarrassed.

If only he had come to that realization before he shut you out for good.

There was one thing he could do to make this right. It could also backfire on him horribly but he’d rather try and fail then lose you forever because of one careless night. He would need electricity to do it but hopefully it would be back on in the morning. Restless but determined Felix crawled into bed. Plans of how to fix this mess so he could have your soft lips on his again dancing in his head.

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#felix imagine #felix x reader #ouat felix #ouat #neverland #peter pan ouat #roommate au

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spandexinspace · 2 years

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2, 7, 8, 15, 24, 44

2. What character death for the sake of drama was the worst?

Mettle in Avengers Arena. AA itself was an absolute waste of time and space, but there was no reason for poor Mettle to die like that. He didn't need to die.

7. What “throwaway” character could they have done more with?

Not quite a throwaway since he did belong to the main cast of a comic ten years ago, but I always kinda hoped Striker would get more attention. His entire thing is perhaps a little outdated at this point, but he grew on me and had a nice bit of character growth.

Also, Lyrl. Not totally a throwaway either, but we haven't seen him in over a decade and he's been in like three comics. He's a fun character and honestly, the comedic potential of one of the smartest people in the universe being a kinda bratty and smug teenage alien who knows some really weird people is right there.

8. What hero doesn’t deserve their hype?

Batman. Both in and out of universe.

He's really nothing special out of universe, aside from having been around for a very long time, but he gets hyped to all hell and back for it. What especially annoys me is that there's a segment of the audience that treats Batman as the only "mature" and therefore acceptable option in the genre (occasionally alongside characters like The Punisher), and go on and on about how realistic he is. As if his entire character isn't just as unrealistic as any other superhero.

I think the hype out of universe is what ruins him in universe too. Because as it is now he dominates DC's entire output, he's focal part of most events and crossovers and it often feels like the entire universe warps itself to accommodate him, especially in crossover books (which is where I usually have to see him). Other characters will suck at things they should be good at or mess up for no reason, or he'll suddenly gain skills or knowledge he shouldn't have. And if he messes up it's justified by the narrative and he comes out on top at the end anyway.

It often feels like DC, who are fully aware that he's their cashcow, don't want to risk upsetting his fans or making him look "bad", so they do everything in their power to make him the most competent and important person in the room no matter who else is there. Which is very annoying. Especially when fans praise him for being such an underdog or a man among gods or whatever. Because he's so often portrayed as someone who can compete on their level without really breaking a sweat and at that point he's nowhere near an underdog.

Also all that but like ten times worse for all the Batmen in Metal. Awful concepts all around, I have no idea how they got so damn popular. Especially Dawnbreaker, he's a little bitch and Venditti was correct when he refused to make Hal job to him.

15. Tell me about a plotline that could have been interesting if anyone else wrote it.

Providing that editorial could also keep their fingers out of it, Heroes in Crisis.

Exploring the ways being a superhero/having powers affects mental health or what underlying issues some characters have? Could be an interesting story if handled well.

Assigning random conditions to random characters for no reason, including off beat jokes and memes in the middle of serious moments and then turning the entire thing into a shitty, unsolvable murder mystery and character assassination fest? Absolute garbage.

24. Ship(s) that makes you cringe.

Oh, if this ain't a minefield.

SuperBat is up there for me. The romantic chemistry is not there and I've never seen anything that made it work. Outside of Midnighter and Apollo I guess, but they've moved beyond being pastiches.

Kyle/Sora was, as some would call it, terrible. Not only didn't they have any chemistry, they also both became worse characters while together. Also Kyle/Carol, which wasn't as bad but still didn't feel right at all.

Then there's Supercorp, where it's the fandom that is oh so cringy. The ship itself is just off my radar entirely, but the way the fandom try to insert themselves in everything and play the victim at every turn is ridiculous.

44. Any characters you used to like but grew to dislike?

Beast Boy. My first real fandom was the TT cartoon fandom and I was obsessed with BB back then, but I didn't start reading comics until much later and had no idea what he was like in the comics. One of the first comics I got my hands on was a Teen Titans Child's Play, where he's a horrible creep, and it was the killing blow to my declining interest in the character.

More recently there's Jon. He was pretty decent for a child character and it was fun to see Clark and Lois as parents (again). He wasn't the most interesting character in his own right, but his existence opened doors to intersting concepts. Then the age up happened and now he barely has a personality and his stories are under-developed and can't seem to stick to one single direction or concept. Which makes it very hard to like him as a character.

#ask meme #there are more ships but I don't feel like ordering an airstrike of anon hate #on myself #but thank you have some more rants feat my burning bathatred

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huskeddevotee · 4 years

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I really wish we could have seen more CoV. For them being our main enemy, they’re hardly a factor in the story.

You’re never fighting the CoV, you’re fighting Ty and Troy. That worked in BL2, where the bad guy was a CEO and your frontline enemies were just his hapless employees doing as they were told. The Hyperion employees don’t care, they don’t matter - Jack matters, so you only interact with him.

But the Fanatics are so doped about the idea of maiming you. They want you dead, not just because Tyreen told them to kill you, but they hate your and the Raiders’ guts. The Fanatics are all of the bandit clans that the Vault Hunters cut through like butter, and they want vengeance and to appease their gods.

And we literally never see them.

We shoot at them. That’s it. That’s our interaction with the CoV.

We never get to see how they actually feel about the Twins. We don’t get to see in-fighting as the game progresses and people realize they’re full of sh*t, watching their brothers and sisters die by the hundreds and their ‘Gods’ not do anything to save them. We don’t get to see the different bandit clans clash from culture differences. We don’t see how the Twins are worshiped, if the cult is more social media-based or if it’s just a plain cult with social media flair. We don’t get to see why the Twins are worshiped in the first place. In an Echo recording, Ty promises food and shelter and everything people stranded in hell would want.

Does the CoV even provide that?

We don’t know. We don’t see people have food, water, medicine, clean shelter, or anything like that - nothing has changed about the bandits, so why would we think that? It looks like the Twins promised all of those things in the Great Vault. It looks like the CoV was built off of empty promises and people desperate enough to listen. This could have been a fascinating thing to watch and discover, but...no one cared enough to put it in.

And god, you barely get to interact with Tyreen and Troy themselves. Not like how you did with Jack.

When against Hyperion, you did all kinds of sh*t to tick off Jack that had nothing to do with the main story. You released animals in the Preservation. You blew up their trains and stole their Eridium. You liberated Overlook from Hyperion control. You killed his girlfriend and presumably liberated Lynchwood from Hyperion control. You killed his assassins in Three Horns. You destroyed his Arena, Statues, robots, and infrastructure in Opportunity.

And all of this felt really god-dang good. The satisfaction of breaking his crap knew no bounds, and still feels so victorious to this day. You developed an actual rivalry with Jack - he wanted you dead not just because you were opposing him, but actually screwing with him on the side that had no effect in the actual war. You were just ruining his art pieces for the fun of it and it made a relationship with Jack. That’s why his boss fight was so personal - you screwed with him, and he bit back at you hard by killing Roland, kidnapping Lilith, and actually achieving his goal of awakening the Warrior.

Most games would have you never interact with the main antagonist, but still act like you have the relationship of mutual hatred you do with Jack, with none of the effort to actually show and develop that relationship.

Y’know, like they did with Tyreen and Troy.

The Twins are your only interaction with the CoV beyond shooting CoV. You do nothing to anger them; you can’t, they’re always one step ahead of you. You have no relationship with them beyond “Game says I have to kill them” and the game acts like it’s this bitter rivalry. It acts like you’re constantly causing problems for the CoV, like you’re this huge pain, when the only time you actually do anything is AT THE END OF THE GAME?

You ‘storm’/walk into the Cathedral and shut off Troy’s Eridium. That’s it. The whole game, you’re fighting Katagawa and Aurelia. Never the CoV, never the Twins. Killing their allies and ‘war meat’ does nothing to actually hurt them.

And sure, you do things that should, theoretically, hurt them. You kill Mouthpiece. You kill Carnivora. You kill Troy. (And with Troy...usually, you feel smug when avenging a killed character. During that fight, I didn’t even think about Maya until my character mentioned her. Because that is the only thing Troy did, and it was nothing of his own merit. Maya’s death did nothing to build Troy up as dangerous - it was her own stupidity and a plot hole, because someone had to die this game.)

And yet you never seem to touch or interact with the CoV.

No matter what you do, it never effects them. You are constantly fighting an uphill battle. Even when you kill Troy, you don’t see Tyreen have that tantrum that Jack had. You don’t see the antagonist crack. When Jack started screaming his head off, there was this euphoric rush of satisfaction and bada**ery in my body that made shooting him all the funnier. You’d watched Jack go from a tyrant to a screaming loser in seconds and it felt good.

Tyreen doesn’t care about Troy dying. He’s mentioned once. Jack mentions Angel multiple times after he death, with a threat that he’s gonna destroy you for killing her.

Tyreen has no real come-uppance. You don’t actually defeat her. You kill her. You shoot her, then she dies.

You beat the hell out of Jack, then his Warrior while he bleeds out and watches his defeat play out in front of him, and then he screams and loses his mind as he realizes he lost, and while he tries to deny reality, still insisting on his hero fantasy while literally stomping his foot, he gets shot.

It’s so satisfying. There’s no grand defeat, no epic battle. He cries like a child and gets shot. It’s everything a corrupt, abusive father like Jack deserves.

And with Tyreen, she taunts you, then dies. You don’t get a moment of her realizing that she couldn’t stop you, that you were better than her, that she isn’t getting her way like you did with Jack. She just dies.

You might win, but it doesn’t feel like it.

#bl3 #tyreen calypso #troy calypso #handsome jack #borderlands #borderlands 3 #thoughts/rants

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yorkesteins · 4 years

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Gertchase fic recs

idk i’ve been revisiting a lot of my faves lately. this isn’t a super active fandom for fic, but there’s been some gems over the years and also i’m rly bored rn so here, have a list! it’s definitely not extensive, just some of my go-tos, please always feel free to suggest things @ me lmao. a lot of these are older, because a ton of great stuff came out circa the end of season 1 that i think gets lost in the shuffle sometimes!

MCU/Hulu compliant fic

I’m in the ruins, too (I know the wreckage so well) by monroeslittle this is a post s2 fic, so it’s no longer canon compliant, but it’s an absolutely gorgeous Chase POV of being in the algorithm. The actual gertchase interaction is brief in this, but it’s very emotionally gertchase centric

if you say it with your hands by eversall post s1 fic, so not canon compliant with 2 or 3, but this is a gorgeous exploration of the whole group after they first run, and a beautiful take on gertchase getting their shit together

and tell me what we’ve gotta do to make a right out of my wrongs by tryalittlejoytomorrow post s3 fic! deals with the aftermath of the battle with morgan, and is a really wonderful take on gertchase rebuilding their relationship and moving on. probably my favorite fic I’ve read for this fandom?

i remember that by stott183 pre-canon, pre-gertchase, sort of a missing flashback scene based on a line in 109. The writer absolutely nails Gert’s voice here, and the pre-pilot dynamic between Gert and Chase is so spot on.

castaways by fanfic_or_bust post s1, nico forces gertchase to get their shit together by spelling them to a desert island lmfao. really sweet, slow get together and some top-notch hurt/comfort!

Comic compliant fic

handwritten by hulklinging This takes place after Avengers Arena, and plays with the idea that the girl Chase saw at the end of volume 3 was Gert. Guys, this is fucking incredible. It takes the most frustrating cliffhanger of the comics and runs with it. It doesn’t shy away from Chase’s grief and trauma, Gert’s grappling with understanding her place in all of this, the relationship rebuilds so naturally.

Future Adventures of Yorkes and Stein series by magikfanfic All three fics here are wonderful, so I’m linking to the whole series. Kind of throws comic canon out of the window, but could reasonably exist in the future? Takes Avengers Leader Gert and runs with her. Really great for established gertchase.

To Build a Home by hulklinging pre-vol 5 Gert resurrection. domestic gertchase centering around the runaways gradually coming back together and rebuilding their family, super sweet.

Saving the Future by caveyoja I was only going to put finished fics on here, but I couldn’t help myself. This is vol 5 compliant picking up right before the gibborim arc. This fic is fucking brilliant and manages to weave a ton of messy comic threads into one arc. Time traveling future gert, Victorious, vol 3 cliffhanger, Hunter Stein, Alex? All here! Correcting the weird age gap issues? Absolutely! It’s a journey to get there, but gertchase in this really feels like a grown up version of vol 2 gertchase. This fic is basically everything I’ve wanted the comics to be for years.

AUs (mostly hulu characterization)

sirens in the beat of your heart by laylax soulmate au where you can hear the music your soulmate is playing. this is a slowburn, and they really do the work to build the relationship, and it’s honestly one of the coolest, most in character handlings of this trope I think I’ve seen.

A Life In Your Shape by knifelesbian no powers, college, best friends to lovers au. also an oblivious idiots to lovers au lbr. the friendship and history between them here really make this. They’re each other’s support system in this, and that’s the backbone of their dynamic. Also, bonus chase and nico stepsiblings!

i’m in the corner, watching you kiss...who? by stott183 no powers au, chase is bi gert is bi, it’s what i deserve! really great classic misunderstanding romcom tropes, quality idiocy and obliviousness.

bonus gen fic

home by lulannie this isn’t really gertchase tbh so much as it’s a love letter to the group as a whole. missing scenes after the kids run away. a really beautiful reminder that these are teenagers in a shitty situation trying their best!

shameless self-plug

lmao all of my fics are here and i don’t really hate any of them! sry about the wips!

#gertchase #gertchase fanfic #runaways #runaways fanfic #chase stein #gert yorkes #runaways fanfic rec #my recs #literally no one asked for this #twitter was just bumming me out lmao so i wanted to focus on shit i like

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witharsenicsauce · 4 years

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Chosen Stories From the War #29: A Day at the Beachside Ruins

“Get that oversized rat away from me!”

“Konnie, come on! He’s been here two weeks! He’s practically family!”

“No! It is a wild animal, with claws and teeth and it eats garbage!”

“So are we, Sister! You can’t hide from it forever!”

Bradford sighed, sipping his coffee loudly as the clunking of angry combat boots filled the ship. He wished for the love of any god out there, that Kon-Mai would just pet the damn possum so Gur-Rai would shut the hell up. Unfortunately Kon-Mai’s fear of koalas seemed to spread to other marsupials as well, and she all but demanded that the thing be put outside. To be honest, Bradford couldn’t really blame her. Having a live animal (and a wild animal at that) was probably a bad idea, but of course Senuna had seen the damn thing and immediately fallen in love with it, so now there was no chance of it going anywhere.

And thus, poor Bradford walked over to the sink, dumped his coffee and crossed his arms. “Children, I can barely hear myself think over that noise you’re making.”

“Tell him to leave me be, then!” Kon-Mai jabbed her thumb at her brother as he followed her into the common area. She was still favoring her previously broken leg, but Tygan had at least given the okay for the metal splint to come off for short periods.

“Tell her to just pet the damn possum!” Gur-Rai held up Pangu, who was hanging from his grip like a floppy rug.

“Leave your sister alone, Darkstrider.” Bradford said. “Don’t you have a robot to build and supplies to destroy?”

“Soft animals are relaxing, Bradford.” He held Pangu close to Bradford’s face. “Come on~”

Bradford shook his head. “Put him back in his pen.”

“Aw come on.”

“That’s an order, Darkstrider. That or I’ll have Tygan put him in the maze again.”

Gur-Rai gasped dramatically and hugged his possum close. “You monster.” He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Fine. Konnie, don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back.”

As soon as he left, Kon-Mai turned to Bradford. “He is gone, let’s pack up and abandon ship.”

Bradford chuckled. “Come on, he’s your brother.”

“Yes.” She raised a brow and chuckled. “It’s what you were thinking, Central.”

“Got me there.” He stood up. “Need anything? Besides to get away from your siblings?”

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“Itching for a mission already?” He set his dirty cup on the console. “The Commander is stopping by Carthage. Geist wants to renegotiate the terms of our alliance. Again.”

Kon-Mai raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean renegotiate?”

Bradford ran a hand over his wrinkled face. “Geist and the Commander don’t like each other all that much. Nonetheless, both of them realize they need each other to achieve their goal of killing the Elders. Unfortunately, that also means that they keep trying to stab each other under the table.”

Kon-Mai seemed to bristle at that. “The Commander goes behind the back of her own allies?”

“Not if she can help it. But Geist is crafty, and it’s a tough job keeping all the Templars in line.” He admitted. “As it stands, he’s upset because we’ve been diverting extra training to our own Psi Soldiers, like Princess, rather than his Templar warriors. We have limited space for both so the Commander needs to hash out a deal with him, one that ends in this alliance staying together.”

Kon-Mai avoided Bradford’s gaze and crossed her arms. “I don’t see why this needs doing. Should one side not just capitulate for the sake of the war?”

“Which side?” Bradford asked. “That’s the problem, Shrinemaiden. We can’t favor the Templars at the expense of our own soldiers, especially when the Reapers and Skirmishers already don’t like them. Doing that would put more out of balance than would be worth it.”

“Perhaps I am not suited for politics.” Kon-Mai admitted.

“You’re one of our best assets on the battlefield.” Bradford assured her. “Don’t worry about the Templars. You three keep doing your jobs, and we still have an amazing edge on the Elders.”

Kon-Mai nodded and smiled. “I am thankful, Central.”

“Oh I am too. Believe me.”

“You are tense this morning.” Dhar-Mon’s voice cut into the depths of Malinalli’s mind. It was futile to ignore when they were bonded like this.

She opened her eyes briefly, then closed them again as the bright fluorescent light of his bedroom stung her cornea. “Just thinking about the other soldiers.” She said softly.

“What about them?” And with that, she felt him tense up as well. It made her giggle.

“Getting jealous?” She cooed. “A lot of them have been suffering from psychological ailments, stuff I’m not qualified to treat.”

The anxiety faded from Dhar-Mon’s mind, replaced with a curious twinge of blue.

“We’ve been having a lot more deaths, too.” She added. “I think it’s starting to wear on people but I don’t know how to help.”

“You are a kind and genuine person.” He assured her. “You do not simply wish to better your own life but the lives of others. That is something I have rarely seen.”

“Thank you.” She sighed. “But how do I help them?”

Her connection to Dhar-Mon faded as he let go of her hands, and she opened her eyes. She was once again aware of her surroundings, like the softness of the bed they sat on, and how very warm it was.

He was silent for a moment. “To say I know how to help these poor souls would be to lie.” He admitted. “But there is a way. Perhaps it is for you to find. Perhaps not. In either case, I have full faith in you.”

She nodded. “Thank you, Master~”

He blushed, and she giggled, declaring that a victory.

The ship shuttered just a bit, and they felt the gentle thunk as they touched down on land. Malinalli stood up and stretched. “We’re here!”

“And where is here?” Dhar-Mon asked her.

“Dunno.” She held out her hand. “Wanna come see?”

The sun was high in the sky, covering everything in a blanket of warmth. The sky was such a bright blue, and the way it reflected in the ocean blurred the horizon line and made it seem as though everything was merged together. Truly, as Dhar-Mon looked out over the ocean, the smell of the salty air took him back to his stronghold, and he breathed in deeply, the tranquility consuming him.

For a moment.

Something slapped him in the back of the head, and as he bristled and turned around, he saw Gur-Rai laughing with Shen as the two of them raced down the platform of the Avenger and onto the sand.

Kon-Mai and Verge were not far behind, emerging slowly from the Avenger dock, both decidedly curious at the sight before them. Kon-Mai seemed to twist her leg a bit inside the splint, and it held.

Dhar-Mon opted to turn back to his brother. “What have you done to me?”

“I just flicked you. You weren’t paying attention.” Gur-Rai raced up the dock again and took Dhar-Mon’s hand. “Come on, come on, I wanna go swimming!”

“Swimming? We are here on a mission!”

“Bradford gave us the okay as long as we keep our radios on!” Shen called out. “Do you know how to swim, Hieromonk?”

Dhar-Mon scoffed. “Dr. Shen, I am surprised at you. My stronghold was in the center of Italy, and I patrolled the coastal towns on the regular! Of course I know how to swim!” He raised a brow. “Do you?”

“Yeah.” She came up behind Gur-Rai. “And how to surf~”

“Oh, we should do that!” Gur-Rai looked to the two behind his brother. “How bout it you two?”

Kon-Mai sighed. “We are working, Gur-Rai, this is not a vacation.”

“Sure it is.” He smiled. “I bet you just know I can outswim you, Little Sister.”

“Oh?” She raised a brow and smirked. “You are quite mistaken, Brother.”

“Prove it.”

“I do not have swimwear.” She protested. “And if you think I am going to strip to my undergarments, you are sorely mistaken.”

On cue, footsteps came up behind them, and as Kon-Mai turned, Senuna stood there, beaming. She was flanked by Malinalli, Bradford, and Jane, the latter of whom was carrying a stack of clothing in her hands.

“Commander.” Kon-Mai and Dhar-Mon both bowed respectfully, and Verge saluted her. But she seemed to ignore them all.

“The ocean is so beautiful today…” Senuna sighed, her green eyes as wistful as the air. “Reminds me...well.” The Commander looked forward, finally facing her soldiers. “I have gifts for all of you!” She gestured Jane forward, and it was then they saw the officer was holding a few articles of clothing.

“What is this?” Kon-Mai asked. Jane went to her first, pointedly holding up what almost looked like a dress, though it was short enough to be a shirt. With it was a pair of small trunks, both dyed a dark pink, nearly purple color.

“We had your measurements from making your armor.” Jane said. “I...hope you don’t mind, I took some liberties. Seemed like something you would like…” If she was blushing, Kon-Mai couldn’t tell in the sunlight.

“If it fits me, then it is a masterpiece.” Kon-Mai smiled at her. Jane avoided her gaze and kept distributing the articles of clothing.

“Are you guys gonna join us?” Shen asked.

Bradford shook his head. “Unfortunately we have to meet with Geist.” He sighed. “God I wish I could join you guys. Been too long since I’ve been to the beach.”

“You kids have fun for me!” Senuna winked. “There are some wood panels in the garage that would make excellent surfboards~”

Senuna had to admit, as much as she hated Geist, she loved Carthage and really admired what he had done with the place. The ancient metropolis had found new life with the Templars, who made their way lazily along stone streets, practicing fighting techniques in open arenas, trading goods and services among themselves in front of the stores they had set up. While some of the ancient walls still lay in ruin, they had repaired what they could and replaced even more, and Senuna could feel some of that mysterious, ancient energy returning to the site.

“Commander.” A familiar voice said. “Geist is this way.”

She and her officers turned to glance at the dark-skinned woman behind them, her blue uniform all too familiar.

“Iabet. Good to see you! How’s the wife?” Senuna cried.

Iabet seemed surprised before she smiled warmly. “Tornike is well. And little Siv too, they have recovered from their injuries. Siv is looking at a promotion soon...”

“Oh that’s wonderful!” She clapped.

“Commander, I understand you and Geist do not get along. But he is waiting.” Iabet chuckled.

“Yes, I know. But I’ve waited a thousand years before and it did me so much good!” Senuna laughed as though everyone else was in on the joke, when in reality Bradford was facepalming and Iabet stood there in confusion.

“...I do have one question.” Iabet admitted. “The Warlock…”

“What about him?” Senuna asked. “He goes by the Hieromonk now, by the way, and I think it fits him so well! I couldn’t be more proud of the little-”

“He’s alive?” Iabet gasped. “...I’m sorry, last I saw him he was bleeding out, when they took him away.”

“He’s alive.” Jane cut in. “He made a full recovery too. Can fight again and everything.”

Iabet’s face relaxed significantly. “I’m glad...none of us knew what happened. Geist never told us.”

“Of course he didn’t.” Senuna growled. “Come on then. It’s time I spoke to him.”

It had been so long since Kon-Mai had been in the water. Well, water that wasn’t from a shower or bath. She had been trained to swim by her priests in her first year, but even that was almost a decade ago. Since those lessons, she’d been confined to the shore for her work, focusing most her efforts around inland China, being ferried by helicarrier when she had to cross the open sea.

Kon-Mai took a breath, remembering the old words Bhandasura used to speak to her. You must be calm, like water. Water does not hurt, it waits, trickles patiently. And that is who you are, how you love. But this? This was different. The ocean was so raw and unhinged, so gentle and forthcoming. It did not hold back; it did not need to. The waves crashed against the shore with a fury so foreign yet so familiar to her, and yet the way the lazy foam hugged the sand was warm and comforting.

She took a step forward into the wet sand. Her long hair was out of it’s unusual braids and hung loose down her back, baby hairs flying wayward in the sea breeze. The water ashed up around her feet and she gasped at the cold. She had removed her splint to keep it from being damaged, and saw yet another badge of honor graced her leg: an angry white mark where her bone cut her skin.

“Heads up, Konnie!” Gur-Rai called from where he was as he smacked the water. Even from his position deep in the water, waves up to his chest, he still managed to splash her all the way on shore. “Come on! Quit stalling and get in!”

“Brother!” She growled. “Stop that!”

Gur-Rai smirked and smacked an oncoming wave again, this time showering his sister with droplets of foam.

She hissed. “You will suffer for that!”

“Make me~” He stuck his tongue out.

“Dude, she’s gonna do it!” Shen cried, backing up away from the ballistic missile she knew was coming.

“You are right.” Kon-Mai took several steps back, took a breath and dashed forward, launching herself into the waves. For a moment, the sand blinded her, but then the water cleared and she could see where Gur-Rai (or at least his feet) were.

With the grace of a dolphin, she swam along the shallow bottom, keeping low until she was directly behind him, at which point she curled up, tightening her body like a coil, and sprung.

Gur-Rai let out a yelp as his sister grabbed him around the shoulders and pulled him down into the water with her. Shen burst out laughing at the sight, while Gur-Rai struggled to get back to his feet.

“Kon-Mai! Stop! Lemme go! I can’t swim, you bitch!”

“That is a lie!” Kon-Mai popped up once again. “You are Chosen! We can all swim!”

“Can you?” Malinalli asked as she came up beside Shen. Her hair had fallen from it’s bun, and the water had plastered her curls nearly flat, making her hair resemble dark locks of seaweed..

“Of course.” Warlock was wading over through the waves, although he was so tall that they barely came up to his knees. “We have trained for years in many survival skills. Swimming is important in a world that is mostly covered in water.”

“At least the Elders made sure you all could do that.” Malinalli looked over to Verge, who was sitting cross legged on the sand. “Come on Verge! The water is warm!”

He hesitated. “I am fine, Molly! Don’t worry about me!”

“Unfortunately, Sectoids did not get the same treatment we Chosen did.” Dhar-Mon sighed. “Verge, if you wish, I will teach you to at least survive in the water.”

“I am fine here…” Verge seemed to hesitate as he said that, and it prompted Warlock to sigh.

“Are you sure?” Gur-Rai called out when he finally broke free from Kon-Mai’s grasp. “Come on Verge! You can stay in the shallows for now!”

Verge looked hesitant.

Kon-Mai emerged from the depths, wringing out her long, white hair. “Verge, come join us, please.” She flashed him a smile similar to her brother’s when he wanted to be charming. “I promise you, you shall not drown when I am here.”

While Verge did not seem to be swayed by her, he did look longingly out at the waves, and slowly stood. His swimsuit looked like it had come straight from the 60’s, and was more like a full body wetsuit if not for the fact that it stopped at his elbows and knees. He took a few steps into the water.

“Malinalli, you have lied to me.” He said. “This water is frigid.”

She laughed and, like a mermaid, dove back into the water.

“Commander.”

“Geist.”

The two examined each other in the low light. Seated on opposite sides of the table, a chessboard sat between them, Senuna in white and Geist in black. His robes matched his pieces perfectly, in stark contrast with the Commander.

“We should switch.” She said. “Black isn’t your color.”

“I know.” He said. “I am in mourning.”

“For who?” Senuna leaned forward and plucked her queen piece from the board.

“Three more of my Templars have fallen.” He spat. “One on a mission you sent him on.”

“I’m sorry.” Senuna sighed. “I remember Hassan. They were facing off against a Berserker. He died defending his friends.”

“He is still dead.” Geist stared her down. “Senuna. You have been reckless with the agents I give you.”

“Your agents are some of the best.” She said. “I would never give them a challenge they couldn’t handle.”

“But you did, and now Hassan Apoorva is dead.”

Senuna looked up, her eyes surprisingly blank and dead. “We are fighting a war, Geist. Remember?”

He glared at her, his eyes glowing purple in the dim light of the room. Any light that leaked inside had to cut through thick curtains and stone walls. Still, a bit of yellow sunshine tickled the edge of the room.

Senuna met Geist’s gaze and did not flinch. He was powerful, but she was even moreso. He was still a baby in terms of his power. He would be no danger to her, even if he tried.

But she took a breath even so, calming herself. “Geist, it makes me sad to see your soldiers die, as sad as it makes me to lose my own.” She tried to assure him. “I never sent Hassan in with the thought that he would die. But deaths do happen. I have lost at least 50 good people in the last six months.”

“To be honest, Senuna.” Geist crossed his arms. “I feel like you don’t take this seriously.” He leaned forward. “You need us. It’s why you’re here.”

“That is true. I do need you.” She stood slowly, her cape flourishing around her in a way so elegant, it would make any Templar jealous. “But let's not forget, Geist, how much work you all put into getting me out. Whatever was the point of that, hm?” She smiled, her teeth glowing white as she circled around the table.

Geist began to lean away, but Senuna’s hand shot out and grabbed him by the arm, her long nails digging into his sleeve. “No, no, no. Don’t go running off.”

“Let go.” He tried to rip his arm away, but her grip was like steel, and when he looked up, her eyes glowed like blue coals in the hottest fire. Her expression, though blank, held the faintest smile.

“You have no idea what I’ve seen, Geist.” She hissed. “What I can do.”

“You’re no more powerful than I.” His own eyes burned with purple light, and the room was growing hot.

“I wouldn’t place your bets on that.” She giggled. “I don’t want a fight, Geist.”

“Why not? Afraid to lose?”

“No. I’d just hate to accidentally kill you.” She let go of him. “I am not your enemy.”

“You are making a terrible case for yourself.” He muttered, rubbing his arm.

She sat across from him again. “...This world is my home too.” She said softly. “Just like it is yours.”

“Then act like it.” He said. “I want my soldiers to be given better equipment. Better training. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

“I don’t have anything better than what you already have.” Senuna sighed. “You want me to keep your soldiers from death and that’s not something I can do.”

Geist glared at the chessboard, and Senuna reached out.

“I can’t give your soldiers priority.” She said. “But if, hypothetically, they wanted to join in the Reapers and Skirmishers training, that is a possibility.”

Geist thought for a moment. “More training with guns? ...That is something we need.”

“I have some basic ammunition in the stores as well. I can set up the Carthage militia with some extra equipment.”

Geist nodded. “That’s not what I had hoped for. But it will do.” He picked up his own queen and tossed it aside. “I suppose you’ve beaten me at this game.”

“I don’t even know how to play chess.” Senuna grinned.

Verge let his head dip below the water, only long enough that the salty wave crashed over his head. The force would have been enough to send his scrawny body flying, had Dhar-Mon not been holding his arms.

“Calm yourself, I have you.” His strong voice reverberated through the water and made Verge feel safe once again. “Kick your legs, Verge.”

Verge tried to say something, but as he opened his mouth he just breathed in a bunch of water accidentally. Jumping up and hacking, he stood there in chest deep water as Dhar-Mon patted his back.

“I’m sorry...” Verge gagged out between hacking coughs.

“Do not worry.” The Chosen chuckled. “It was a mistake.” He looked out into the waves. “It appears the tide is coming in. The waves are growing.”

“Perfect surfin’ weather!” Gur-Rai called. He and Shen had managed to sand down some of the boards into functioning surfboards. While they weren’t completely aerodynamic, they could support their weight in the water. Shen was straddling one while Gur-Rai stood beside another, waving to Dhar-Mon and Verge.

“You wanna join us?” Shen called.

“I shall observe for now.” Dhar-Mon answered. “Come, Verge, let us find a calmer spot.”

“Where is Kon-Mai?” She and Malinalli had gone walking along the beach somewhere, and they hadn’t seen them for a while. As the waves picked up, he heard Gur-Rai let out a holler.

“I am wondering the same thing.” Dhar-Mon looked vaguely worried. ‘And Malinalli, I had thought they would have reappeared by now…”

“I can always practice swimming later.” Verge insisted. “Let’s go-”

“Dhar-Mon!” Malinalli’s voice echoed across the channel.

“Malinalli?” He called out, his booming voice overpowering the sound of the waves. Verge could not see them, but he could hear.

“Dhar-Mon! Get the others!”

“Molly?!” He cried. “She must be hurt.” He waved to his brother and Shen. “COME! WE ARE NEEDED!”

Verge saw Gur-Rai jump off his board into an oncoming wave and begin paddling over to them, followed closely by Shen. As he looked, he realized that Malinalli’s voice was coming from a sea cave that was a good way into the ocean, along the jutting cliff face. He’d have to swim to get there.

Dhar-Mon had no trouble with that prospect. He dove into the water with the speed and grace of a dolphin, as though he was born in the water. Verge saw him come up for air, and then stared at the Hieromonk as he began to swim, the toned muscles on his back rippling as he did. The water and sunlight made his blue skin glisten…

He looked up as Gur-Rai emerged from under the water too, and Shen followed, dragging her board. “Here.” Gur-Rai pulled it over to him. “Get on this, I’ll pull you over.”

“I’ll just stay here.” Verge insisted.

“I’m not leaving you alone out here.” Gur-Rai gave him a smile that was almost comforting. “It’s okay. Come with me.”

Verge sighed, and Lily held the board steady as he hopped up. It wobbled a bit in the waves, but Gur-Rai was holding it, and Verge knew he would not fall.

They waded out into deeper water, and soon Gur-Rai began a frog stroke, keeping hea head above the water and one hand on the board Verge sat on. Lily swam beside them, doing more of a floppy doggy paddle.

Verge opted to watch Gur-Rai. Every so often he would duck under the water, then come back up, the blue of his skin mixing with the blue of the ocean. He looked and moved like he belonged in the water, his lithe body cutting through the waves like a fish would. Verge could see Gur-Rai’s own muscles as he swam and, while they were nowhere near as impressive as Dhar-Mon’s, his skinny frame paired with the sharp tendons made him look incredibly powerful.

Gur-Rai came up and called out “Dhar-Mon! What’s the-” He broke off with a slew of curse words, practically jumping out of the water and almost knocking Verge off the board. “FUCKFUCKFUCK SOMETHING TOUCHED MY LEG!”

There was a bubbling sound, then a splash, and Verge heard laughing as Kon-Mai came up, struggling to tread water when she was laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe.

“You bitch!” Gur-Rai slapped the water, splashing her in the face. “I thought you and Molly were dying!”

“Nope!” Verge turned at the sound of Malinalli’s voice and found that she was now piggy-backing on Dhar-Mon, who was miraculously staying afloat under their combined weight. “We just found a cool cave and wanted to show you.”

“I apologize, Brother.” Dhar-Mon chuckled. “Scaring you was my suggestion.”

“The whole world is against me.” Gur-Rai put a hand to his head and pretended to faint into the water.

“I am not against you.” Verge assured him. “In fact while I cannot swim, I can climb. Somewhat.”

Gur-Rai grinned. “Race you guys up that cliff!” He took hold of Verge and began to paddle.

“Gur-Rai, you are going to get hurt!” Kon-Mai shook her head. “Is there any real point in stopping him?”

“None that I see.” Dhar-Mon held out his hand. “Come on, Sister, we cannot simply let him win~”

“I’d say that went well.” Senuna mused as she scratched Pangu behind the ears. The possum was nibbling on a piece of jerky Bradford had given him, and her Central Officer was now laid back on the couch. “Bradford, there is still daylight left if you’d like to swim~”

“Nah.” He chuckled. “Doubt I remember how. When you grow up in rural Kansas it’s an awful long walk to the beach.”

“Well, I could always teach you.” She mused, looking out the window as the sun cut across the glassy waves. She saw the Chosen, the children, returning to the shore, playfully splashing and shoving each other into the waves, laughing like there was nothing wrong with the world.

(Another short one today, but after this, we’ll be getting into some pretty intense stuff, so I wanted one more chapter where all seems to be well in the world!)

Archive: https://chosenstories.tumblr.com/

#xcom #xcom 2 #xcom fanfiction #xcom au #xcom the chosen

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 5 years

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Marvel Universe LIVE: Age of Heroes Thoughts

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I just got back from seeing the Marvel Universe LIVE: Age of Heroes stage show at London’s O2 Arena and thought I’d share my thoughts on it.

The first thing I have to acknowledge is that I am absolutely not the target audience for this thing even a little bit.

The target audience is at absolute minimum 5 and at a huge push maybe 12 years old, with 8-10 probably being the sweet spot.

It’s essentially for kids who’ve seen the MCU, the 2010s cartoons, played the most child friendly video games, picked up the sticker books and so forth. If there were any winks to the comics or deep cuts me and my friend (who’ve both been around the block many times when it comes to comics) either didn’t catch them or they might’ve been unintentional.

But what exactly is this?

Simply put it is a stage show that runs under 2 hours (including an intermission) in which a group of heroes engage in stunts and acrobatics in a bare bones story wherein they tangle with Nebula, the Ravagers (including Yondu) and most chiefly Loki across some famous Marvel locations for control of the mystical item, the Wand of Watoomb (which debuted in ASM Annual #2!).

The heroes in question are:

· Doctor Strange

· Star Lord

· Gamora

· Rocket Racoon

· Drax the Destroyer

· Groot

· Spider-Man

· Captain America

· Iron Man

· Thor

· Bruce Banner/the Hulk

· Black Widow

· Wasp (Hope? Janet? It is unclear)

· Black Panther

· And a surprise guest appearance from Iron Fist

There are also some other more minor characters of note too:

· The Chitauri who act as Loki’s soldiers

· Green Goblin

· Rhino

· Lizard

· Electro

· And Black Cat

Sans the Chitauri the latter villains only appear briefly in a battle just there to introduce Spidey and the Avengers (sans Iron Fist, Hulk and Doctor Strange) on stage.

The scenario is Green Goblin is committing a crime in NYC that Spider-Man shows up to stop but is then attacked by Black Cat and soon the other Spidey villains. Ultimately outnumbered and out gunned that’s when the Avengers show up to help.

From there Doctor Strange shows up to inform them that Nebula got her hands on the wand and it’s teleporting her somewhere on Earth (this was all shown earlier in the show during the introduction to the Guardians and Ravagers). With Banner’s help they narrow the locations down to K’un-Lun and Antarctica.

As the Guardians head to Knowhere to get one of the Collector’s items that will be able to take them to the wand, the Avengers split into two groups and head to both locations.

The K’un-Lun team consists of Thor, Iron Man, Wasp and Doctor Strange and the Antarctic team consists of Spidey, Cap, Black Widow and Black Panther.

They plan to bring in Bruce/Hulk if the situation gets really dire, but little do they know Loki has invade Avengers Tower in New York and captured Bruce, casting a spell on him that prevents him from getting angry and thus transforming.

Part 1 concludes with the K’un-Lun team fighting Loki who uses his magic to bring a statue of a dragon (who is clearly meant to be Shou-Lao the Undying) to live. The dragon in turn animates a group of stone soldiers to fight the Avengers who’s abilities are ineffective against them. That’s when Iron Fist appears to help out. Deducing that beating the dragon will enable them to beat the soldiers, Iron Fist ends it and the soldiers are defeated soon after. Unfortunately Loki still captures the Avengers.

In Part 2 the Guardians manage to beat the Ravagers (who are also after Rocket’s bounty) and find what they need to get to Earth.

Meanwhile the second Avengers team have found themselves in the Savage Land and the natives are not pleased to see them. Nebula is teleported there but Spider-Man webs the wand out of her (and everyone else’s) reach thus prompting a battle to reach it in time. The good guys win and use the wand’s power to take them to the other Avengers, unaware they are captured in Loki’s throne room on Asgard.

Loki soon captures everyone but thanks to Rocket’s especially dangerous big gun most of the heroes are freed. The big exception is Bruce. This is a problem because only he can penetrate the force field protecting the wand and avert disaster. Unfortunately his own prison cell won’t open.

The heroes then resolve to use a device Iron Man talked about way back in their introductory battle. In short through the power of combined positive thoughts Iron Man’s device can unleash a powerful burst of energy. The heroes (and the audience) send their positive thoughts and succeed in releasing Banner and unleashing the Hulk who saves the day.

Good guys win. Bad guys lose. The crowd claps and cheers as the actors pose and bow. Hulk and Groot squabble.

Based upon everything above you might be thinking this show is rather...well lame.

However it is in fact really, really fun!

As is so often the case with stage shows you have to actually see them (and really in person) to appreciate them, reading a summary or even a script doesn’t do them justice.

As basic and simple as the plot and characters are (we never see the heroes out of costume for instance) it is all service of the point of the show.

Cool stunts, acrobatics, fight choreography and set pieces with some of your favourite super heroes.

On that front the show is a rousing success and the story mostly works towards that end. You want deep thoughtful Marvel storytelling that’s the movies and the comics. You want just pure superhero fun, this is it.

I guess you could argue the writing could be better because it gives little in the way of stuff for the adults inevitably dragged to this by their kids like many Pixar films succeed in doing.

And yes that would have made this stage show better. Better...but not good. After all where is it written that a stage show made specifically to entertain children and just children is bad merely because it doesn’t seek to do more than that, let alone when it totally succeeds?

The stunt work, acrobatics and effects mind you are not Cirque du Soleil or anything. But they are great for what they are. Almost everything in the fight scenes works for instance, stand outs for me being the Spidey fighting his villains (especially Felicia), Black Cat vs. Black Widow (has that ever even happened in canon?), Black Panther vs. the Rhino, Cap fighting whilst on a motorcycle (I felt the kicks!), Spidey’s own motorcycle stunts (the only time Spidey on a bike has ever been cool), Gamora vs. Nebula and everything with Iron Fist.

The only nitpick I have regarding the fights is that occasionally one character might be off to the side tossing their hands around and stamping for no reason because it isn’t their turn to get involved in the action yet. This happened with Electro actually, I don’t know why. Maybe they felt if they had him actually attack when the heroes were otherwise occupied the villains would just win.

Again though it’s a nitpick. As is the fact that when they introduce us to the Savage Land they reused stock background footage from the ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’ show that played at the O2 Arena earlier this year. To let you appreciate just how much of a nitpick this is, I’m pretty sure I was the only audience member to notice this and that’s purely because by coincidence I saw that very show way back in January.

One final nitpick which is really just me is that the gesticulations the actors make and larger than necessary body movements kind of ruined my emersion a little bit, but that’s probably a necessity for this show.

None of the stage performers were really talking, their dialogue had all been pre-recorded by professional voice actors (Cree Summers and Fred Tatasciore being the more obvious ones I caught) and if their costumes revealed their mouths they just lip-synched. As such those over the top gestures are probably an important part of the performance of the show to bring the characters to life considering there isn’t a single person acting in the role. Plus you need some way of communicating emotions (however simplistic) to the audience through distance (the O2 Arena is huge) and costumes.

Since I know so little about stage productions in general and I’m clearly not the real target demographic for this show (nor do I have children of my own so I can’t even really envision their mindset) I’m just going to talk about the stuff I liked and disliked.

To be honest the only thing I honestly disliked were the Guardians. The Guardians films are wonderful but the unintended consequence of their success is that every iteration of the Guardians thereafter (be it video games or sticker books) based themselves upon the movies. It’s not just that that gets repetitive since there isn’t as much material to draw from but it also has the unfortunate effect of making the Guardians kind of caricatures of themselves. The Guardians movies to be blunt do place the 5 main Guardians within clear cut archetypes and then builds upon that. In other media though they really are just reduced to those archetypes.

Star Lord be the cocky leader who can at times be less smooth than he’d like.

Gamora is the serious warrior woman who rolls her eyes at the antics of her team mates and has a rivalry with her sister.

Drax is also a serious warrior but more direct and there is the gag that he takes things totally literally.

Rocket is the snarky and short tempered one.

Groot is the heavy who prefers to be a gentle giant and is Rocket’s BFF.

Because they have been like that in EVERYTHING sans the MCU it’s like watching an old cartoon from the 80s or something where you know exactly what every character is going to do and how they are going to do it because everything is so stock.

In this production that’s not really that big of a problem since everyone is so simplistic and the spectacle is really the entire point. But for me personally I did just get a little bored with their scenes whereas with the Avengers I was at least curious how they were going to do Thor, Cap, Black Panther, etc. Even if their take was what was most likely and little different to most other media to feature these characters in current pop culture, there was just more there for me.

Seeing Banner used as the tech guy but also secret weapon hasn’t been done to death or the only direction you could realistically have expected for the character to have gone in this. And that’s owed to the Hulk having a long and rich history in the comics and other media from which to draw from. The Guardians technically have that, but they were so minor before the film, the simplistic takes based on the film became the default and I knew that within five seconds. Hence their scenes felt like going through the motions whenever they were talking.

Everything else in the show though I really enjoyed. I’m not going to call out the show for doing Green Goblin, Lizard or Black Cat wrong because the nature of the show simply didn’t demand it. the project called for some recognizable and colourful Spider-Man villains that could be practically realized on stage and fight the Avengers. Venom comes with baggage and is kind of too similar to Spider-Man is spectacle is all you are going for and Doc Ock or Scorpion would’ve been way too expensive. So who else are you going to have lead the villains besides the Goblin, who’s abilities allow for aerial stunts and the like? Felicia I grant you could’ve been switched out for the Shocker or someone, maybe they felt they should have at least one other female villain somewhere in the show besides Nebula.

I didn’t care though. Seeing Felicia at all in other media is generally a treat for me and seeing her realized in live action for the first time ever (in a comic book accurate outfit no less) just put a grin on my face as did seeing her duel with Black Widow.

In fact the entire Spider-Villain brawl was the highlight of the show for me and I didn’t even know it was going to be in the thing. As each villain showed up me and my friend were squealing under our breaths. If only they’d had one more villain though we could’ve gotten ourselves a Sinister Six.

How about Spider-Man himself? He was mostly done well too. Now he was obviously influenced by the USM cartoon version of Spider-Man so he sounded like Drake Belle...but a way more tolerable not really annoying Drake Belle. There was also only one moment in the show he was made to look the buffoon. Technically there was another when he was figuring out how to ride the motorcycle but that was an excuse for some impressive stunt work so it’s forgivable.

Speaking of stunt work...they straight up had Spider-Man swinging around the stage at various points, coming close to the audience and thwipping at times! It was spectacular and sensational. He even had an aerial tussle with the Goblin on his glider. That officially makes this more successful than Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark in that regard. They seemed to save Spider-Man swinging around for big moments of the show too, like they knew that was going to be the most impressive thing about it.

They also mercifully didn’t make Spider-Man sellout to the Avengers or Iron Man in any way. Iron Man isn’t treated as his Dad and he and Spider-Man barely talk to one another. Equally whilst Spider-Man is an Avenger in this and is rescued by them, it’s exactly once and he is shown to hold his own as an equal with any of the team. In fact he’s arguably the MVP of the Savage Land battle when he gets the wand.

He also has the best line of the show and one of the best I’ve ever heard from Spider-Man in general. I’m paraphrasing but it goes like this when he’s addressing Nebula (IIRC) after removing the wand from her:

“With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility. And you don’t seem like the responsible type.”

I question how 55 years of Spider-Man comics elapsed with the character never saying that before this stage show!

Besides Spider-Man the character I enjoyed the most in this was Iron Fist.

I’m not a huge Iron Fist fan, I actually find him kind of pointless whenever he’s not teamed up with Luke Cage. But the mere fact that he showed up at all, that the producers cared enough to use him when he hasn’t been in a movie and kids would only know him from the USM cartoon showed there was a respect underlying the production of this show.

More poignantly these less than 30 minutes of stage time Iron Fist got in this did him better than the entire 13 agonizing hours of his Netflix show and to be honest even his much improved second season. The bare minimum anyone wanted out of this character was him to wear the suit, light up his fist and kick pull off some cool martial arts moves.

Netflix instead gave us boardroom politics for practically a whole season whilst this stage show nailed it in 5 seconds. The action choreography was especially great with him in fact and whilst his costume was unique to anything I’ve seen in the comics it captured the gist of his comic book outfits. In fact I’d go so far as to say that this might be the best Iron Fiat outfit ever!

Hulk and Groot were well realized through actors using stilts and I’m actually surprised they made Hulk the show stopper. The whole show was building towards his transformation. Maybe they just realized if he was always there they’d win too easily. I prefer to think the producers just liked Hulk that much.

Over here in the UK, obviously the MCU is big. But for most of the last 50 odd years Spider-Man and Hulk were far and away the most popular Marvel characters. Maybe that’s why they got the best moments in the show?

Iron Man was also used quite well. They respected that because he’s the most famous/popular MCU star not called Spider-Man they had to give him one big moment, but he didn’t steal the show or save the day or get more attention (outside of that moment) than anyone else the way it was too often in the MCU.

His big moment came from when the showmakers apparently either really liked the Happiness Gun from Maximum Carnage or really liked the Spirit Bomb from Dragon Ball Z because Tony’s super positive thoughts device was essentially the same concept.

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paulsebert · 7 years

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A letter to Marvel

To the Runaways Creative Team,

Let me first off say that Runaways and Sentinel are two books that mean a lot to me on a personal level. These book came out at a time when I had just graduated college, was stuck in a dead-end job and it felt like the real world was spinning out of control. I had just left the world of adolescence yet the world of adulthood suddenly struck me as insane and terrifying. These were two comics whose leads who felt relatabled real in way that the X-Men and the Teen Titans didn't. Unfortunately much to my dismay the Tsunami imprint of comics wasn't long for this world. Good books don't always sell, but my love of these two books did inspire me to start writing about comics for several different websites (I even worked with current Marvel editor Ben Morse for awhile.) Thankfully Runaways gathered enough of a fan following to be revived as an ongoing and Sentinel got a mini-series to bring it to a satisfying conclusion.

Over the years I would thrill as the Runaways met superheros, traveled in time, and new characters like Xavin and Klara would join the crew. Alas the fate of the book would be one all too familiar. After Brian K.Vaughn left the title bounced around various creative teams, some with very good ideas, some with... well not so good ideas. I ended up taping out around the mess that was the “Rock Zombies” arc and kicking myself because I still loved Nico, Chase, Karolina, etc so much. Of course I would see the kid again in tie-ins and guest appearances but it never was quite the same.

Then came a little book called Avengers Academy that really reignited my love of teen superheros. There were cool new characters, guest stars galore (Juston from Sentinel even go to be a supporting cast member) and even a team-up with the Runaways! It felt good to read and it seemed to be gathering a cult following of it's own... Then came Arena.

Avengers Arena was a book that upset me in a way that no superhero comic should upset an adult. It was a title that filled me with with an unhealthy amount of stress and disgust when it was coming out and a weird gallows humor today. I honestly place it in the rankings “Batman War Games” and “Avengers 200.” At least Nico and Chase got off somewhat easy despite bad writing and some awful character redesigns. Poor Mettle and Juston deserved so much better.

Nico would later appear in A-Force a book that deserved a longer ryn and well that seemed to be the end of the Runaways. Until now.

To be honest I was fairly anxious when a new Runaways series was announced with a writer I had never heard of at the helm. I had wanted a new Runaways series for ages yet I couldn't stomach the thought of a bad one. It was a gamble... that thankfully feels like it paid off. The art by Kris Anika is good and writer Rainbow Rowell seems to have Nico and Chase's characters down perfect. The first issue isn't a big story in the traditional superhero sense, but it's a thrilling rescue. It's a small-ish story but one that feels deeply personal. It feels like a homecoming and a triumph.

So I'm already looking forward to the next issue. I'm eager and willing to see what what happens with Karolina and Molly plus it's great to have Gert back. Maybe we'll see Klara and Xavin again down the line. It looks like it should be a heck of a ride.

Paul Sebert Barboursville, West Virginia

P.S.: Since we got Gert back and only Bucky, no... Gwen Stacy, no Jason Todd, uh... Uncle Ben stays dead it would mean a lot to me if you find a way if a certain kid with a giant robot guest-stars.

#Runaways #Marvel Comics #Nico Minoru #Chase Stein #Gertrude Yorkes #Avengers Arena Ruins Everything #Justice 4 Juston

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lokidokiliteratureclub · 5 years

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Don’t Touch Me

Loki X Reader

Warnings: Angsty, cursing, refers back to the more graphic scenes in Infinity War.

A/N I realize that the plot of Thor: Ragnarok would have been at least a bit different if Loki had been a friend of the Avengers, but the fact is that Odin still would have died so Hela would have still been unleashed, and the story might be more or less the same. Either way, he would have still ended up where he was in the end credit scene- if you know what I mean. So just.. for the sake of the story.. just go with it. Anyway, enjoy!

Prompt: While so many others were born with mutations that gave them wondrous, blessed gifts, you seem to have been stuck with a curse. Some have referred to it as a form of clairvoyance- as a seeing of the future. At its core, that’s true. But deeper down... it’s much worse than that.

There was no reason why Loki Laufeyson should not know about your feelings for him. No. Good. Reason.

It was irrefutable how obvious your crush on him was. When you spoke, your face reddened- your heart rate quickened- you lost the ability to speak with full sentences. He was just so... breathtaking. So... beautiful. And even if he was ugly as a headless cow-chicken-blobfish-donkey hybrid, he would still manage to captivate you with the way he spoke, or the intensity to which he did things, or the books he recommended you read, whether they were from earth or Asgard.

And, unlike many others, he didn’t ask about the gloves, or the long sleeves, or the way you flinched away from human touch. He didn’t pry at your past, even though everyone in the tower knew his. He didn’t even bother you about the cautious glances the Avengers and other SHIELD Agents gave you around the clock.

What was not to like about him? Other than- you know- the whole evil dictator thing, or the fact that he could be a whiny bitch about his brother. He was basically irresistible.

“Y/N, may I ask why you’re still pouring coffee even though it has spilled over your hand?”

Oh, that’s right. You were pouring searing hot liquid into the contents of your cup while day-dreaming about the man right in front of you.

“Shit!” You cursed, rather loudly, drawing back your hand and ripping the silk, coffee-stained, burning hot glove from your left hand. You shook your arm uselessly back and forth as if waving your hand through the air would cool it down, ignoring the arched eyebrow Loki was giving you from a few feet away.

“Perhaps,” he mused, grabbing a washcloth and wiping the counter down, “if you actually slept instead of relying on coffee for sustenance, you wouldn’t continuously ruin everything all the time.”

“Perhaps if you weren’t so goddamn beautiful, I’d be able to disagree with that statement,” you murmured sourly under your breath, through gritted teeth. When you realized you had said that out loud, you reddened thoroughly.

Loki seemed to hear, too, because his hand paused mid-wipe and his lips thinned out into a smirk. “What was that?”

“I said that perhaps if you didn’t force me to read all these fucking books I’d have more time to sleep,” you said quickly, turning away from him and grabbing your glove off the counter. “Nerd.”

“First of all, I do not force you to read anything, I simply recommend the literature which I find more intriguing. And second,” he grabbed hold of your wrist as you were leaving, effectively spinning you around, “that’s not what you said, Y/N.”

That was the first time in your life you saw Loki Laufeyson make a mistake.

All it took was the tip of his finger grazing your hand to throw you forward, launching your head into the future like a stone plummetting after skipping across flat water. You screwed your eyes shut and held your breath, knowing what was coming next and dreading it all the same, your entire body beginning to shake at just the idea of what you were about to see.

You opened your eyes, and you were on a spaceship.

The ship was decimated- bodies lie strewn across the floor and piled up near the walls. Children and adults alike clung to each other, motionless and unbreathing on the floor, each person dressed in what appeared to be traditional Asgardian clothing. At the center of it all was a small clearing, where a group of heavily-armored beings stood, all surrounding, in one way or another, a purple colored Titan who you did not know the name of who wore a hefty gauntlet with two bright stones in it. Across from him was Thor, Loki’s brother, bound with pieces of metal to a spot on the ground. He looked pained. For a short, horrifying moment, you thought you were going to have to watch him die too.

You lifted a trembling hand to your mouth to stifle a sob, and tried to even out your breaths.

The huge Titan-man turned to his allies or minions or whoever they were, and spoke, “There are two more stones on Earth. Find them, and bring them to me.”

“Father,” one of them said, bowing their head, “we will not fail you.”

“If I may intergect-” spoke the all too familiar voice from behind you, causing you to spin around and stagger backwards, your eyes clouding up but unable to close. “If you’re going to earth, you may need a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena.”

You saw the betrayal flaring in Thor’s eyes. You felt it, too. You didn’t want to believe that Loki would give up Earth to some douche like this, but it was happening right in front of your eyes, so what else was there to believe?

You shrunk backward.

“If you consider failure experience,” the Titan said, unimpressed.

“I consider experience experience,” said Loki, that insufferably persuasive smirk plastured on his face. “Almighty Thanos,” he spoke, slowly and clearly, taking a few steps forward as he spoke, “I, Loki, prince of Asgard-” then he paused, and his eyes fell to the ground to the right of him, before raising upwards to look at Thor, “Odinson,”

Thor looked like he might break in half.

“The rightful king of Jotunheim,” he continued, his head snapping back in the Titan- Thanos’ direction, “God of Mischief,”

That’s when a dagger appeared in his hand, and you realized exactly what was about to happen.

“No, no-” You said out loud, uselessly, pleading with all of my being for this to stop. “Loki!”

“Do herby pledge to you my undying fidelity.”

On that, he bowed his head, took a few shallow, deep breaths, and then swung sharply for Thanos’ neck. But Thanos had raised his gauntlet, and a strange, blue light trapped Loki’s arm in the middle of the movement, preventing the assassinatoin he was hoping for.

“Undying,” he echoed, almost amused. “You should choose your words more carefully.”

They he grabbed Loki by the neck, lifted him, and started to tighten his grip.

This time, you couldn’t mask the scream. It ripped through you like an earthquake, and you dropped down to your knees, wishing desperately for the ability to look away, but coming up dreadfully empty. Loki squirmed and fought against Thanos, but it was all in vain. Thanos even gave Thor a sideways glance to make sure that he was paying complete attention.

You barely heard Loki’s words, and you certainly couldn’t see him speak through the flod of tears that escaped your eyes. But very faintly, almost like a whisper, you heard Loki’s last words.

“You will never be a god,” he hissed through his teeth.

And then his neck snapped, Thanos threw him to the ground in front of Thor, and it was over. You didn’t hear a thing after that. You barely even saw the purple light explode across the ship, throwing you back into reality like a cold bucket of water.

You stumbled harshly backward from Loki, and fell to the floor, shaking madly.

You just saw him die.

“Y/N- are you-”

“Don’t touch me!” you yelled, your affections for him taken over by fear. He froze in his place, taken aback, before very slowly picking your glove up off the floor and offering it out to you. You didn’t respond at first, but then very slowly reached a trembling hand up to take it.

It fell silent.

“Are you alright?” he asked gently after the period of silence, not moving any closer to you. “Do I need to get Sta-”

“I’ve never told you about why I wear gloves all the time,” you said quietly. ““It’s because whenever I touch someone for the first time I see how they will die.”

He was silent once again, and then he took a set on the ground right in front of you, looking down. You tried to look at him normally- tried desperately to grasp onto the shard of light he normally offered you, but all you could see were the bloodshot eyes- the popping veins- the clawing hands that you saw in the vision. It was like a shab to the chest. You swallowed back another round of harsh tears.

“I’m sorry,” he said gently, not daring to look at you either. “I didn’t mean to cause you any harm, Y/N.”

“I- I know. I just, you, this, we, Loki, I care a lot about you,” you stammered, stressed out and not really in the mood to keep secrets, even your own. “I, like, a lot. Too much. And sometimes, sometimes I want to punch you in the face and other times I want to shove you up against a wall and kiss you, and it’s awful, because even if I had the confidence to do those things, I never could. And this is why. Because- even though I could just touch you once, get it over with and never have to worry about it again, this is what I’d see! I’d see-”

I’d see your neck get snapped by some guy with a gauntlet, surrounded by bodies, your brother forced to watch.

You broke off mid-sentence and brought your knees to your chest, shrinking down into yourself and sobbing into your knees. Seconds later, Loki scooted to your side, placing an arm around your shoulders. “Y/N, darling, it’s alright,” he cooed, gently caressing your arm. “Look at me.”

You peeked out from between your knees, leaning slightly into his touch, his blue-green eyes paralysing.

“You never have to hide your feelings from me, Y/N. Never. You can always talk about these things,” he very cautiously brought a hand up to the side of your face, brushing away one of your tears with his thumb. “We can always find a way to work things out, alright? And I don’t know what you saw in your vision or whatnot, but I can assure you that we‘ll have time before then.”

“We?” You cracked, trying to soak in the feeling of his skin on yours, knowing you probably wouldn’t he able to touch many other people in your lifetime ever again.

An then he did something you didn’t expect. He cupped the other side of your face, leaned forward, and kissed you. Soft and slow. Relaxing a little bit when you dropped your shoulders and leaned into him. You brought one hand to his jaw and fit your palm against it, wrapping the other arm around the back of his neck, until you were both fully entangled in the kiss. You could hear him panting slightly as you pulled away, eyes locked on eachother from the minute they opened.

“We,” he repeated, not lifting a finger from your skin. “at least, unless you have a better idea as to what to do with the time.”

#loki x reader fluff #tom hiddleston #loki laufeyson #loki #marvel #loki odinson #lokixreader #loki/reader #loki x reader #loki angst #loki x reader angst #loki fluff #i'm so sorry

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majingojira · 7 years

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Hi there! I've been following your blog for a while now and i see that you are clearly an expert on the Runaways. As someone who know's the absolute basics of one of those characters, where (what) would you suggest i start reading to get a solid foundation of the group? Any recommendations would be great! Thank you!

I really need to codify my Runaways Recommendation list.

Thankfully, Runaways is mostly Self-Contained and therefore easy to get into.

Start with Runaways Vol.1 #1-18. This is collected in the first “Complete Collection” and also available from Comixology. This is the cast’s first appearance and first major story. It’s basically the likely blueprint of Runaways Season 1.

Runaways Vol. 2 #1-24 is the second “Season” under its original creative team: Brian K. Vaughn (Saga, Y: The Last Man), Adrian Alphona and Takeshi Miyazawa (Ms. Marvel’s current artists). It wraps up many plots, but ends on a cliff hanger. This leads into:

Vol. 2 #25-30. This is the one story Joss Whedon wrote for the Runaways. He’s a big fan of them and he and Brian did a trade where Joss did a Runaways story and Brian did a Buffy story. The art is great, but delays caused a relaunch and some people don’t like it. Personally, I think it’s fine. Not as good as what came before, but not bad at all.

During this run, there are several tie-ins to other stories that were published. One is Free Comic Book Day 2006. This takes place between Vol.2 #9 and #14. It’s the Astonishing X-Men vs. the Runaways because Molly is a mutant and, because of mutant politics at the time, they want her in the school. violence happens, but the leave peaceably.

After that, there’s the Civil War crossover (titled: Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways) which occurs after Vol. 2 #19. The Young Avengers and the Runaways battle pro-registration forces that use an alien prison and a mind-controlled Noh-Varr to do so.

If you’ve ever wondered why some people were weirded out by how Kate and Noh just hooked up out of the blue, this will tell you why. Noh wasn’t always an Earth Hipster.

The art is pretty gritty, but the story is solid enough.

In a bit of a flashback, set when Nico was in foster care, there’s a one-shot from the Mystic Arcana miniseries simply focused on Nico. It’s not bad, and has her use the spell “Deflector Shields”. Which is just great to have.

Finally, after #30, there’s the second Young Avengers crossover, this one for Secret Invasion. Titled, Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers. it’s written by Chris Yost, and drawn by Takeshi Miyazawa. It’s short but sweet. The main interaction is between Billy, Teddy, Tommy and the Runaways. The others show up, but other titles had tighter mits on them at the time. Sadly.

This brings us to Runaways Vol. 3 which is . . . not very good. It was lead in with a catchup book called “Runaways: Saga” which was framed by the gang finding Molly’s diary and reading it. It’s cute, but superfluous. There is one bit of need to know info from it (the character of Xavin is forced to leave in . . .a not very good retelling of the third Young Avengers story arc. I’m not kidding), but it can otherwise be skipped almost completely.

Almost.

Vol. 3 #10 is absolutely worth reading. It’s two stories: one by Chris Yost, one by James Asmus. The former is the better of the two, as Molly battles the now San Francisco based X-Men again. Lots of cuteness and sadness and Molly finally bonds with Wolverine.

After decking him through multiple stories three times.

Following that was the cut off setup for more by Kathryne Immonen. It ended at #14 on a bizarre cliffhanger. The original plan basically boils down to “Alternate Universe Shenanigans” but it’s later handwaved away.

But this is the time that the Runaways entered Limbo. Comic book limbo, not the place. They have cameos/guest appearances in several books:

Breaking into Comics the Marvel Way 2010 - A cute story where Molly and Chase get magically sick. It’s called “It’s Not Lupus” and set during Volume 3.

Daken: Dark Wolverine #17-19 - Daken uses the Runaways as soldiers to fight his war. It’s not worth reading, to be honest other than have Chase answer Daken’s question “Weren’t you hit by a car?” with “I got better.”

Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age #1 - Molly vs. the X-Men round 2 in the wake of “No More Mutants”, and before she’s asked to join them in San Fransisco. This time, she punches Beast in the face. This was before he became a total tool, but it’s still nice to see.

Ultron AU #1 - In the Age of Ultron Alternate Reality, Victor Mancha tries to save people, and . . . everyone else is dead. It’s really, really sad and well done.

Avengers Academy #27-28 - The Runaways visit Avengers Academy in order to bring back one of their number. It’s fun, but a little overstuffed with characters. I liked it!

What If The Runaways Became the Young Avengers? A What-IF Story that’s pretty fun to read. It was a backup story in an otherwise lame What If series, but it’s included in the last volume of the Complete Collection (along with most of the other odd one-shots), and worth reading.

After that . . . we have to deal with the horror that is Avengers Arena and Avengers Undercover.

These books are flat out terrible. Racist, sexist, ableist, and misogynist. The first one is the worst sort of Hunger Games/Battle Royal cash in, mostly because the writer has no idea how the genre works, or the nature of the characters he’s chosen to work with--to the point where some aspects of Nico are diametrically opposed to her prior appearances. All you need to know about this is that several kids died, Nico died but got better and in the process gained a magical prosthetic.

I could go on, but that’s another thing.

In this time after Arena/Undercover, some writers like to imply that the Runaways broke up offscreen despite them being more a family than a standard superhero team. Especially stupid when you remember that they’re all HOMELESS.

Anyway, there are a few cameo's here and there. But nothing too substantial. The biggest is Avengers A.I. where a later addition to the team, Victor Mancha (a creation of Ultron) is recruited by Hank Pym into a team to battle A.I. Threats and help them out. It’s not a great book, and Victor’s not quite himself, but there are highlights. Like a Doombot working for the forces of good but still being a full Doombot. And Vision, Thor, Victor Mancha, and Captain America in an A.I. landscape forming Not-Voltron! That series lasted 10 issues.

After that, Victor was seen looking for an internship with Stark in the 2015 Ant-Man series in a few panel cameo.

After that, we have the Secret Wars event. Only two things are needed from here: Runaways Vol. 4, and A-Force

The Runaways series has a group of new kids (and Molly) on the run from Doom’s Elite School when they find out that it’s culling anyone who ‘fails’ its exams. It’s a little sketchy on the art side, but it’s a decent read IMO. The cast is drawn from all over the teen scene at Marvel.

A-Force is an Avengers Team set in the near perfect realm of Arcadia. It’s an all-female team where Nico is a proud member of it along with Medusa, She-Hulk, Dazzler, Captain Marvel and others. It’s a decent read, though some people were angry that a Loki in it was evil.

I wish I was kidding.

A-Force got an ongoing series that lasted another 10 issues before Civil War 2 basically wrecked the entire team. The last story focuses on Nico as she’s targeted by the pre-cog fascists.

The way it ends leaves me cold because I know that it’s not going to be followed up with despite Carol and Jennifer Walters having ongoings right now dealing with those consequences.

Finally, there’s Vision (2016). This is a divisive moment. For one, it really is a good read, but for another, Victor is killed after being revealed to have developed a ‘Vibranium addiction’ which basically acted like a painkiller addiction. Some feel that besmirched his character, but it is a very sympathetic death scene for him. I’m honestly on the fence about it myself. But it is a good series otherwise and probably worth a read. There are 12 issues overall.

And that’s is! That is literally the every Runaways speaking appearance.

The easiest way to read it would be to get the print “Complete Collections”. That covers everything from Vol. 1 to the crossovers, the what if, and one-shots, and ends before Vol. 4.

Then I’d add A-Force, Vol. 4, and the Avengers Academy crossover. Of the later suff, that’s the best. It’s in the shadow of the original, but I like ‘em.

#Runaways #Recomendations #Comics #Avengers Arena ruins Everything #thetotallyawesomelance

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voltron-s7-8-rewrite · 5 years

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Trial By Fire

This is part of my Voltron Season 7 & 8 re-write. If you are interested start HERE

In an abandoned industrial district of Plaht City, Lance, Hunk, Veronica, and Kincade keep watch on the streets below from a top floor window in one of the ruined buildings.

Lance looks around though his Bayard’s scope, remarking how eerie the empty streets are.

Veronica says that she hopes Krolia’s information about the bases Sendak built are up to date and Hunk says there’s no way she would lead them astray; if she thought they were anything other than a prevention for uprisings, she would’ve let them know.

Over the comm link Krolia chimes in, startling the two as they forgot their comms were all on, she admits that each Galra Warlord builds these bases to their own personal tastes and needs. So, while it would have the same purpose as ones she’s ran into, there will be differences. That’s why they need to check them out before they can form a plan of attack.

Keith speaks up and says that they are approaching the targeted location. Lance watches as the other team’s vehicle turns a corner down the street and disappears into a tunnel.

____

Inside the tunnel, the second team, consisting of Keith, Griffin, Pidge, Krolia, and Kosmo, get out of the vehicle and head into a smaller maintenance system on foot.

With his Bayard’s infrared scope, Lance helps guide the team around the patrolling Galran drones.

The five make it to the base’s perimeter, and Griffin sees the large amount of sentries guarding the entrance. He says they won’t be able to get in that way, but Keith says not to worry, they have it covered. With that, he and Pidge grab onto Kosmo, and the three teleport away.

Griffin is alarmed by their disappearance, but Krolia places a hand on his shoulder and tells him not to worry, Kosmo is a Cosmic Wolf. Griffin stares at her confused, as that doesn't answer any of his questions. ____

Keith, Pidge, and Kosmo teleport inside an empty part of the base. Pidge says they need to find a connection port she can hack into in order to gather the information they want. Keith nods and the three begin their search.

____

Outside, Garlan drones spot Krolia and Griffin and begin firing on them. Griffin starts to come up with a plan of attack, but Krolia just leaps out of their hiding spot and takes the sentries on. She easily cuts through most of them, while Lance and Kincade snipe the rest.

The fight is over in a matter of moments.

Griffin stands, and sees as Krolia pushes the final sentry over, it collapses into multiple pieces as it falls to the ground. Griffin, slightly terrified by her ferocity, says sees Keith’s and her family resemblance. Krolia just smirks.

____

Thanks to Kosmo, Keith and Pidge avoid all the sentries inside the base and make it to a central hub. Pidge immediately begins hacking the system and begins downloading intel, while Keith keeps watch and scopes the room out.

As he looks around, Keith realizes that this place isn’t just a hub. Commenting on that causes Pidge to dig around to find out just what exactly it is. Bringing the info up, the two are horrified to discover that this base it a launch facility for a operational Zaiforge Cannon.

____

Having gotten the information they need, Keith, Pidge, and Kosmo make it out in perfect time, as the other teams were starting to take heavy fire.

Veronica blows a nearby chaff, disrupting the sentries signals and causing all the ones in the area to temporarily lose vision, allowing the two teams to meet up and escape the city.

____

Upon returning to the Garrison, the Paladins and Krolia find Sam, Coran, and Romelle waiting for them.

Keith asks how Shiro is doing, and Sam says he’s prepped for surgery. Coran explains that Sanda decided to postpone the post-mission debriefing, until after Shiro's out. That way they can all be there for him.

Grateful for that, the group heads to the medical wing.

____

From the observatory window, the Paladins, Romelle, Coran, and Krolia smile watch as Allura and the Garrison doctors work on Shiro’s new arm.

Soon as the arm is attached and Allura opens a small panel on it. She produces the crystal she removed from her crown and places it in the arm to help act as a source of power. Shiro sees this and protests, but she assures him this is a gift she wants to give him. The two look at each other, and Allura closes the panel on the arm. Shiro places his hand over hers and thanks her.

Once the crystal is secure, Allura closes her eyes. Using her Altean alchemy, she bonds the arm to Shiro’s Quintessence.

The new arm powers on and Shiro gasps in shock, as it feels apart of him in a way the old Galra one never was.

The procedure now finished, Shiro is overwhelmed with what Allura has done for, and given him. He thanks her again, Allura smiles, and the two embrace each other. The others are then allowed in and they all quickly rush over to join in on the hug.

____

In the debriefing room, Pidge and Keith lead the meeting, going over everything that happened, and what they discovered on the mission. Explaining that her information points to all the bases having its own Zaiforge Cannon, and that all are completed. She warns that they could be launched at anytime.

Keith says he wants to attack ASAP, hitting all six bases at once so there can be no counterattack from Sendak. Sanda says it’s impossible, as they don’t have the resources. However, he argues that with their Lions, they should have more than enough firepower, as his team would do the heavy hitting, while the MFEs would act as support. Sanda points out that their Lions are on another planet, but Keith explains how they are bonded to the Lions, and that if they call them, the Lions will come.

Shiro takes in the information and discussion and wonders if the Garrison can come up with some kind of diversion for Sendak’s ship to focus on. That way the Lions can attack the bases without worry at all of Sendak's forces would go after them. Hunk suggests that maybe one of the Lions could do that, while the others attack.

Keith thinks about it, and looks to the Paladins, He says that their bonds with the Lions have grown more than they’ve ever thought possible, and that maybe with the Lions help they can take a page out of Sendak's book.

____

As the meeting wraps up, Shiro pulls Keith, Allura, and Lance aside and explains that there’s been confusion on the Garrison’s part as to who flies which lion due to their armor’s colors. He asks them if they think it’s time for their armor to match their Lions.

Keith is hesitant, as he wanted to honor Shrio’s role as Black Paladin by not wearing the color, and Lance points out that Allura chose pink to honor those who have fallen.

Allura considers it and finally says that she has fought long and hard for those who fell. Upon Zarkon’s death, her father, world, and all those killed by him received justice. Her battle is no longer avenging those who fell, but fighting for those who live. She agrees with Shiro, it’s time for them to fully embrace their positions.

____

In one of the Garrison rooms, Pidge and Hunk wait with the rest of the Paladin’s families in order to spend a little time together before the final battle for Earth begins.

The door opens and Keith apologizes for the delay. Those in the room turn to see him, Lance, and Allura enter with Shiro; the three Paladins wearing their newly colored armor. The others give their approval to the new appearances.

As the Paladins and their families say their goodbyes, Colleen is able to finally thank Shiro for saving Matt from the Galran arena. She tells him how much it means to her that he protected her children and husband and that he will always be considered a part of their family. Shiro thanks her and the two hug.

As the Paladins prepare to head off, Romelle says she was hoping to have a victory party for them when they get back. The others see she’s nervous about their mission, she already lost one family, she's frightened of losing another. The Paladins say they love that idea and can’t wait for it. Lance’s mother and Colleen even offer to help her plan it all out. This reassurance takes some of the weight off her shoulders, and she smiles as Coran places an arm around her shoulders.

The door opens once more and a Garrison officer apologizes for the interruption, but needs Hunk has been requested. Confused, he, the Paladins, and their families follow the officer to a hanger where a group of survivors were just brought in by the resistance.

The Garrison officer points and Hunk sees there, amongst the survivors are his young cousins.

Hunk cries out to them, and the three run to each other, tearfully embracing. Hunk checks them over and sees that they are in fairly good health. He asks them about their parents, and the two shake their heads. Hunk hugs them close, apologizing for their loss. He tells them that he’s here for them and always will be. The other Paladins step up with their families, and say so will they.

____

As the battle plans are put into motion, the MFE’s take off. Coran, Sam, and Shiro head to the bridge of the Atlas to assist, while Romelle and Hunk’s cousins stay with Colleen and Lance’s family.

The Lions fly to Earth; Blue, Red, Green, and Yellow meeting up and assisting one of the MFE’s as they begin their attack. The Black Lion flies to Sendak’s main fleet and attacks.

Not knowing that the Paladins have been on Earth for a while, Sendak believes his plan of tempting them here worked, and that they just arrived. He orders his fleet to engage the Black Lion.

____

As it turns out, the Paladins aren’t in their Lions or even with the MFE’s.

Taking inspiration from Sendak’s invasion of their castle, they mentally connected with their Lions and sent them to distract Sendak, while they split into two teams to invade the two Cannon bases that the MFE’s aren’t attacking.

Keith, Lance and Allura sneak into one base, while Krolia, Hunk, and Pidge get into the other and begin working on sabotaging them.

____

As Sendak watches the Black Lion, he begins to realize that there’s something off, as the other Lions are nowhere to be seen. He orders a report, and is told that the other lions are attacking the Zaiforge Cannon bases.

Suspicious that there is something more going on and not willing to underestimated them again, he orders the cannons to launch.

Wanting the Paladins to suffer, he orders Earth’s destruction.

Notes:

So, like I said in the last Notes, there’s going to be a lot of stuff cut out and shortened in these last couple of S7 stories. There will be elements of “Heart of the Lion”, “Trial By Fire”, and “Lion’s Pride, Parts 1 & 2” all mixed around.

Again, there was just too much repetitiveness and wasted time in the final four episodes of the season. So much could be cut out and condensed, explained once in quick exposition, allowing room for more story and character development.

Really, we don’t need more than one magic meeting room scene per episode.

Yes, I had Allura give up her crown. It’s an element I did not like in the show, especially with the way it was done, but I have plans for it in this version.

I removed the part where Shiro reminds the Paladins how their Lions will come for them if they call. They already know that, we already know that, why is he telling them this like it’s brand new information? It makes the Paladins look like they don’t understand their bonds. Which is a great thing to imply in the last couple of episodes of the second to last season.

In connection to that, I removed the ‘dramatic’ scene where the Red Lion is absolute garbage by not coming for Lance until it's almost too late. Oh man, this scene enrages me so much, so prepare for a rant:

First, FIVE freaking minutes of the episode’s 21 minute run time is wasted on this crappy story decision, and all it does is put Lance and Red in a terrible light. See, the Red Lion not coming for Lance isn't like it not listening to Keith in the very first episode. It wasn't done for humor, and wasn't fitting for the story or characters at all during this point.

Yeah, I can see people saying, ‘Oh, it was just being it’s normal stubborn self’, but no, this wasn’t a time to be stubborn. Lance and Veronica almost die because the writes chose to try to add ‘tension’ to the scene. But you know what? All they did was make Red look like it doesn’t care about Lance, that it only came because it had to. And that makes Lance look like a terrible Paladin, like he hasn't bonded with his Lion.

Great job, writers, great job! Make their Lion-Paladin bond look horrible, that’s such a great idea!

Come FREAKING on! We only have SIXTEEN episodes of the series left, Lance and Red should be shown to have a good bond, you morons!

(The writers are the morons, not you readers. You readers all are lovely.)

So, if Lance needs the Red Lion to come, then doggonit, it’s going to happily answer his call; because Lance is a good Paladin and Red cares about him. Especially after their bond leveled up in my version of “The Journey Within” .

That rant aside, I’m also trying to divy up the planning of missions between both Keith and Shiro. As leaders, they are both tryt o come up with strategies, but having Shiro make all the plans undermines Keith as Voltron’s leader, and having Keith make them all seems weird if Shiro doesn’t have thoughts or suggestions.

So, while Shiro does come up with the idea of causing a diversion, it’s Keith’s idea to use the Lions as a diversion, allowing them to sneak into the bases at the same time.

I think that sort of sneaky plan is more in line with Keith’s way of going about things: think Keith’s successful plan to make Axca destroy the Teladuv part in “Tailing a Comet”.

While part of it is certainly self indulgence. I truly feel Keith, Lance, and Allura switching colors is important to signify their growth as characters, and how they have come to completely embrace their positions.

Having the off colors was a fun nod to the original series. Time to move past that and grow.

Now, as you can see I offed Hunk’s Aunt(sister?) and Uncle(brother-in-law??), not that we ever saw them after episode 9’s flashbacks, but I’m making it official. Course Hunk’s Cousins (Niece and Nephew???) have survived. I wanted them to have a special reunion, cause Hunk needs to be given some happiness and relief at this point.

I really don't know how these characters are related to Hunk, and of course the creators don’t care enough to give us background info. I’ve seen people call them both his Sister/Brother-in-Law/Nephew/Niece and Aunt/Uncle/Cousins. I’m going with the latter sense Lance has a Brother/Sister-in-Law/Nephew/Niece.

Thank for reading, have a nice day!

#voltron #keith voltron #takashi shirogane #Allura #lance voltron #voltron pidge #hunk voltron #MyVoltronSeasonSummary #mywritings

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nottodaylogic · 6 years

Text

Insert Cool Demigod AU Title—Chapter 3

Summary: People get claimed. People are gay. There are sword fights that are more nerdy than possible to describe in a summary. The action finally gets started, kind of. It’s kind of montage-y. I just really wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible.

Word count: 1641 words I think?

Pairings: Platonic LAMP, romantic Logicality and Prinxiety (eventually)

Warnings: Sword fights, intense nerdiness, pining, the mortal disease of Gay, the Princess Bride

A/N: OKAY NOW WE CAN GET THINGS STARTED! ...in the next chapter. I’m tired and this chapter feels complete-ish. Also I totally haven’t memorized the entirety of the Princess Bride, noooooo! ANYWAYS, this is based off of @becca-becky ‘s Demigod AU, go give ‘em some love! I have nothing else to say, enjoy!

“The Hulk is THE strongest person! How could he not take care of some bees?!”

“Is his skin vulnerable to bee stings?”

“I DON’T KNOW?!”

“Now now, tiny little hedgehogs, no need to fight.”

“We are not fighting, we are debating. There is a difference.”

“...tiny little hedgehogs?”

“Make like a ball of spikes and roll with it, Virgil.”

Said boy rolled his eyes at Roman’s words. Two weeks had passed by fast, and Virgil found himself denying attachments to his three companions more than expected. They had grown on him. Like toe fungus or strangling creeper vines.

“Bees are faster than the Hulk,” continued Logan, “and numerous as well. They can swarm around him and make him tired."

"But even if bee stings can penetrate his skin, an annoyed Hulk is an angry Hulk is a strong Hulk is a smash Hulk!" Roman slammed his fists on the table in emphasis. "SMASH!"

"But the bees can scatter before the Hulk smashes them! Fast!" Logan seemed very passionate about the bees.

"What do you think, Virgil?" Patton asked. He started a little at having to give an opinion, but after a moment of thought, spoke:

"Well, the bees might be fast, but they aren't as strong as the Hulk. Also, don't they die after stinging? He can just clap his hands and boom, dead bees."

Roman pumped his fists in the air, shouting a victorious cheer as Logan delivered a convincing counterargument, scowling. Who-even-knows children, honestly.

That insult wasn’t really effective when they hadn't been claimed yet.

"CAN YOU QUIET IT DOWN OVER THERE?!" A random camper yelled. "WE'RE TRYING TO ROAST MARSHMALLOWS!"

"Jeez, that guy is not a--"

"NO--"

"Happy camper!" Patton grinned as Logan groaned into his hands.

"Why do I even try? That wasn’t even a pun!”

"SSSHHHHH!"

The other campers resumed their marshmallow roasting. There was singing of campfire songs about grandmothers putting on armor. All was peaceful. Everything was good. It was all well.

Roman leaned over and stage-whispered: “Hulk has bee-proof skin.”

That started the argument all over again.

They kept at it for quite a while, the darkness comforting, the magical fire roaring, debating Avengers vs. insects. Bees were insects, were they? Virgil didn’t know these things. He wasn’t Logan.

A glowing brown sheath of wheat materialized over Patton's head. He didn't notice. No one did.

Except Virgil.

“Hey, Patton, maybe look up?” He said, trying to silently send the message of ‘LOOK AT THE MAGICAL WHEAT ABOVE YOUR HEAD!’.

He failed.

"Did someone say puppy?!" Patton was frantically searching for a small dog. "WHERE WHERE WHERE?????"

"No, LOOK!" Patton finally got the hint and looked up. His eyes widened.

"WHAT." He swatted at it, trying to get it to disappear. People were finally beginning to notice (because a radiant brown sign above people’s heads isn’t the most subtle thing ever), and were whispering.

Virgil suddenly got a sinking feeling that Patton was not the only one to be claimed tonight, and his head slowly swiveled to look at Logan.

A blue owl was shining above Logan's head, and all he could do was stare.

"What..."

"AAAAA I'M GLOWING PINK?????"

Roman was now decked from head to toe in a pink glowing aura. There was a rose-colored dove above his head, but of course, Aphrodite was a freaking meanie and just had to change his clothes too.

Roman’s clothes had changed into an Ancient Greek dress (because he looked magnificent in any clothes, no matter the gender). His makeup was done, and though Virgil knew nothing about makeup (like he knew nothing about worrying, honestly, stop lying already!) he knew Roman looked...

"Stunning..." he muttered. He might have been blushing, but no one could prove it. He had white foundation and a pale complexion working for him. Roman was, indeed, utterly and completely beautiful.

Virgil was freaking gay.

Well.

Time to die now.

Everyone else got to their knees, including Chiron, and Virgil was quick to follow. Logan, Patton, and Roman were the only ones left standing.

"All hail, Patton Morobus, son of Demeter, goddess of harvest. Logan Teach, son of Athena, goddess of Wisdom. Roman Royaume, son of Aphrodite, goddess of love."

Of course, the claiming didn’t dissuade them from returning to the truly important topic at hand.

“Hulk!”

“Bees!”

“Oh my gods.”

———

Many weeks after Virgil’s he-stopped-counting-long-ago gay awakening (Team Hulk totally won the debate, by the way, but don’t tell Logan), the four were training. Logan had acquired a sword, Patton had been granted a magical trowel that turned into a spear, and Roman… well, Roman was an indecisive little—

“WATCH OUT!”

A flying spear shot last Virgil, narrowly missing his hoodie. Which he wore. In the middle of summer. Yes.

“SORRY!” Patton ran past him to retrieve his spear, which had missed the target by miles.

“It’s fine, I didn’t need my head anyways,” Virgil replied weakly.

“Why are you even throwing that so close to people?” Logan asked, adjusting his glasses. “You could hit someone.”

"I'm hunting, Lo!" Patton grinned in that special special way that meant a pun was coming.

"Don't you dare--"

"I'm on the trowel!"

Logan groaned. "You ruined it. You ruined the moment. You ruined me. Why."

"Love you too Lo!"

Logan choked on air, sputtering. Virgil grinned evilly, grabbing his dark angsty skull staff from the ground.

“You know you walked right into that.”

“No? I didn’t?” Logan sighed. “Hey, where the heck is Roman?”

“Who knows.”

Speak of the beauty child, Roman walked around the corner, tiara on his head, in his hand was a—

“Is that a samurai sword?!”

Roman hefted it up. “Why yes it is, Anthony Lockbrood.”

“...how did you manage to get worse with your nicknames?!”

“Who knows? Not I, not I.”

“...you’re the one creating them,” Virgil pointed out.

Logan let out an exasperated noise. “Oh my gosh can you just train?!”

“Sorry Lo.”

They headed to a different part of the arena, leaving Patton and Logan to flirt in peace.

“So,” said Roman, handing Virgil a sword. “Shall we begin?”

“We shall.”

—

Patton was swinging around the spear, clearly with no idea what he was doing. He looked adorable doing it, of course, anything he did was adorable, but he was obviously clueless. Logan walked over to help him in order to attempt to silence his feelings. He failed.

“Do you wish for assistance?” Patton started, dropping his spear. He retrieved it, blushing.

“If you could help, that’d be swell!”

Logan quirked a brow at his word choice. “Swell?”

“It just came to mind!”

“Okay then.” Logan walked over to Patton, and grabbed hold of his hands. Patton flushed harder, and it was all Logan could do to keep from doing the same.

“What are you doing, Lo?” Patton asked, Logan’s hands covering his on the spear.

“I—you need to adjust your grip slightly.” Logan moved Patton’s hands on the spear so they were in the right position. He kept his hands there far longer than was strictly necessary, but neither said a word. They were too busy yelling in their thoughts. Two awkward gays.

Their eyes met.

Logan suddenly realized what he was doing, and pulled away, putting precious, regrettably precious distance between them.

“I—um—you—your strikes should be better now,” he stammered, trying to play it cool. He failed. Miserably.

“Okay.” Patton was blushing still, his adorable turquoise eyes shining. “Thank you, Logan.”

“I—you’re welcome.”

Logan was gay.

Really gay.

After a few more minutes of torture, the pair walked back to where they’d left Roman and Virgil, to find them reenacting the fight beside the Cliffs of Insanity. Roman had his sword up against Virgil’s practice one, and the latter was pressed up against the fence.

“You cannot tell because of my mask, but I am smiling,” said Virgil.

“And why is that?”

“I am not left-handed either!”

Virgil all but tossed the sword into his other hand, and they began (or perhaps continued) their duel. Their swords clashed as they fought.

Logan could only stare. Patton clapped and cheered for both of them. Neither of the duelers paid attention, entirely focused on their fight.

They kept quoting the Princess Bride at each other. They were both intense and complete nerds. This was saying something, coming from Logan. Finally, after many minutes of fighting, Roman was on his knees, and Virgil circled him like a herbivore circling a particularly nice patch of grass.

That simile did not work particularly well.

Eh.

“I would sooner kill Da Vinci than destroy an artist such as yourself,” Virgil was saying. Dang, he really knew this movie. Or book. It was both a movie and a book. Not enough people knew that. “However, since I can’t have you following me, blah blah get knocked out scrub.” He smacked Roman across the head with the butt of his sword.

Instead of falling gracefully, Roman yelled and clutched his head, rolling on the grass.

“Dude! That actually hurt!” He rubbed his head. “Why?!”

“You were the one who chose Inigo Montoya,” Virgil said.

“I only said the first line as Inigo! You were the one who didn’t let me switch!”

“Uhh, you should have chosen Westley, then.”

“But Inigo speaks first!”

“What is happening?” Logan said. They finally seemed to notice that Logan and Patton existed. Roman jumped to his feet as Virgil adjusted his hoodie (which was tied around his head like a mask).

“We were simply practicing our sword-fighting skills, that is all!” Roman declared.

“YOU WERE AWESOME!” Patton exclaimed. “I liked it when you went shoom, shoom, and when YOU were like, CHING CHING, and it was really great!”

No one knew how to respond to that.

Luckily, they didn’t have to, because in a case of extremely convenient timing, the dinner shell sounded.

TAGLIST:

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@anony-phangirl

@llamaly

@katatles-the-fish

@221b-quote

@storytellerofuntoldlegends

@6tick6tock6

@jayzwonderland

@yay-im-fucking-trash

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@hi-disappointed-im-daughter

@exit-stage-left

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@oneacearmy

@neonb-fly

@a-time-traveling-whovian

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #prinxiety #logicality #sabine writes #Sabine Creates #Demigod TSSides AU #TSSides Demigod AU #I’m so tired #ill probably regret this but rn I do not care #byeeeeeee

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