#something so saddening in the way people really want mk to hurt the people he loves

[acoraxia]

Ngl i tire of the “Xiaotian goes apeshit and hurts SWK/Xiaojiao” moments

Look at him

Look at how precise his movements are in that he did not even land a single PUNCH against Peng, Yellowtusk or Azure Lion and still won against them

Look at the way his movements are not at all chaotic nor do they cause the damage people say it does

Sun Wukong taught this young boy to channel his power and strength in a way that was meant to do good and not harm

Wdym he’d turn against his best friend and mentor/brother/father figure? Wdym??????

[jadethest0ne]

In need of Refueling, Chapter 16 - Peace Offering

Summary:  “You?! Why would I trust you? You have brought me nothing but failure. Time and time again; nothing but disappointment!”

His father’s words might have been a result of his possession by the  White Bone Spirit, but whether or not they were his true thoughts, Red  Son vows to prove them wrong. To do so he seeks to attain a power strong enough to destroy his father’s immortal enemy. After all, he’d much rather throw fire at his problems.

Word Count: 2072

Ratings/Warnings:  Teen and up; injury, burns, angst and hurt/comfort, toxic thoughts caused by toxic parents, panic attacks, abuse

Notes: Start of ACT 3! This time with some MK POV!

Credits: Big thanks to @painted-arachnid and @simplyfornardo  for helping me bounce ideas off of them. And also thanks to @lemonsqueazie for providing me with “Journey to the West” lore. I don’t know much about the original novel or other iterations, but I still tried to keep  some things compliant with the lore. You should check all of them out, since they’re really great content creators with neat ideas!  

Read on AO3

———-

When MK defeated DBK, and his mentor was revived, he felt relief; that everything would be okay. The Monkey King still had a long way to go to recover, but it was fine, they were safe, and the peril was over. But then Mei told him who was staying at Sandy’s boathouse, and the danger was suddenly all too close. Monkey King was doing better, and at worst complained about boredom at having to sit still so he healed better, but he was still covered in bandages from his encounter with the very fire summoned by the demon that had somehow found his way into Sandy’s home. What if he made his way to the shop? Into his home? Back to Monkey King? He understood Sandy’s propensity to help people in need, and Red Son had injuries of his own. Heck, MK understood the urge to help people, even enemies, if they were in enough trouble. But this was different. So he kept his guard up should a fully healed and likely angry fire demon barge through the door to the shop. When Sandy came to them, explaining the situation, before ushering in that very same demon into the noodle shop, the one who had used him and attacked his mentor, nearly killing him, MK’s brain short-circuited and danger alarms rang through his head, not allowing him to hear any further explanation.

Red Son stood there, talking, saying something about “peace offerings” and apologies, but MK wasn’t hearing it. He wasn’t having it. He didn’t trust him being so close to his friends nor his mentor, now all crowded in the same room. A small, but not so small part of it, was that MK didn’t trust himself with Red Son around. The demon had manipulated him before. In fact, MK had allowed other demons to manipulate him. He thinks back to Macaque and how trusting him had resulted in MK losing his powers and a rift being torn between him and the Monkey King. What if he fell to another one of Red Son’s tricks? What if one of his friends did and he couldn’t stop it? And an even quieter part that had been eating at him since his last confrontation involved him nearly destroying the Bull family makes him think, what if he could stop him far too easily? With his unsealed powers, he still lacked control. What if all of his anxieties caused him to do something he would regret? All of these emotions tore at him as the demon stood at the front of the store, his home, blabbing about cookies and forgiveness, and it all boiled over to the one overwhelming reaction of RED SON NEEDS TO GO.

Before he even thinks, he’s swiping at the tray that Red Son holds out to him and his friends. With a clatter, the tray flips and dozens of cookies fly through the air before scattering across the floor.

“We don’t want to hear anything you have to say, Red Son!” MK snaps. He feels Mei and Pigsy step up beside him, supportively. Out of the corner of his eye he sees a saddened look on Sandy.

MK maintains a stare at Red Son in hopes that it looks commanding enough to show that he could still protect his friends from whatever tricks the demon had up his sleeve.

He was expecting anger. Fire. Some sort of loud reaction that he’s used to from the demon. What he gets is a tense silence, with Red Son not even looking at him. MK blinks confusedly, and realizes that he’s staring at the cookies that he knocked on the ground. His mouth is slightly ajar, and his eyebrows are knit, but not in his usual rage-filled way. They’re upturned slightly. He is completely still. Is he even breathing?

A few more moments of quiet, before Red Son’s shoulders twitch with a sharp intake of breath. The demon’s eyes become glassy and he blinks a few times, looking around the room, as if realizing the situation he is in. Whatever realization he has, it causes him to quickly turn around and bolt out the door without another word.

“Well that was weird,” Mei says, causing MK to finally take more stock in the others in the room. He had tunnel-visioned so much during that confrontation, he felt a bit dizzy. Luckily, Pigsy placed a bracing hand on his shoulder. Whether or not it’s because he realized MK’s momentary plight, he’s not sure.

“You showed him good, MK,” Pigsy says. Then turns to Sandy and says to him, “Sorry big guy, I guess we’re not in the forgiving mood right now.”

Sandy heaves a sigh and says, “No I should have given a better warning to you all. That… could’ve gone better.. I should, er, go see to him. Sorry again.” He leaves hastily.

MK rubs his head. He honestly feels like he could have reacted better as well, but he didn’t know what to do with all of those feelings. He still doesn’t. Mei takes notice of his discomfort and suggests they play some video games to burn off steam, which he happily agrees to.

But before they leave, he notices Monkey King bend down to pick something off the floor. One of Red Son’s cookies? Tang awkwardly tries to help the injured, and still somewhat lacking in mobility, monkey, but he doesn’t seem to be paying the scholar any attention. MK can’t see his face, but the stillness of his usual twitchy and agile demeanor tells him that the Monkey King is deep in thought. Before he exits the room with Mei, he glances back to see the Monkey King bend down to pick up more.

---

Red Son sees the cookies fly in the air along with any chance he has of his apology being accepted; watches them in slow motion, as if they’re floating. But then they come crashing down, scattering across the floor, some breaking apart into crumbs. He’s not sure how long he was staring at them, but upon realizing the eyes in the room are still on him, everything catches up to him at once. He bolts.

He’s running wide-eyed through the streets and ducks into the alleyways, trying to get away from everything, anything. He blinks and his eyes blur. He swipes at them frantically, opening them back up and not realizing where he is. Still he runs, and his eyes are blurring again. Rubbing at his eyes more, he doesn’t realize where he’s going. A clutter of metal cans and he’s tripping over some trash bins, and rolls to a stop on the hard concrete surface. He scrambles to get up, but doesn’t have enough energy, emotional or otherwise, to go on and so pushes himself up against the brick alley walls. A choked sob escapes his throat and he holds his hands over his mouth and face, feeling the wetness of tears on his cheeks.

He stiffens momentarily when he hears Sandy calling his name but relaxes by the time the large man’s shadow falls over him, standing over his smaller form.

“Red Son, are you okay?” he says, cautiously.

On any other day, Red Son would’ve brushed this off, said some snide remark, ignored how he was feeling. Unfortunately, hiding how he was feeling was not something he was practicing lately, and he just didn’t have any energy left to mask it. So he looks up at Sandy with what he is sure is the most pitiful face imaginable, and he’s made more sure of that by the way that Sandy’s own face falls at the sight of it.

“Oh, Red Son..” he says softly. After a beat, he asks, “May I sit next to you?”  Red Son turns away to wipe at his nose, but he nods as the tears do not stop coming and he’s lost and doesn’t know what to do otherwise.

Sandy sits next to him, using slow movements, and hunches up his form, bringing his knees up to his chest. Red Son always did wonder how such a large person was able to make themselves look so small, conveying no intimidating presence whatsoever. He sits there calmly, allowing Red Son’s sniffs and sobs to echo around the alley.

After a moment, Red Son is sick of the silence and decides to break it. He tries to yell, but can’t help his voice from cracking. “Why..?! Why wouldn’t they accept my apology? They hate me even more now! What was the point?!”

Sandy takes a slow breath in and out before responding. “Red Son, an apology isn’t something that will magically fix everything… It’s not up to you whether or not they forgive you. But, I’m proud of you for trying, even if they didn’t accept it.”

“Well… STILL!" Red Son huffs. The logic makes sense, but he’s still upset. He's not even sure it's fully about the apology. In fact, most of all he was upset about…

"They– they destroyed my cookies!”

The tone causes Sandy to pause. “Are you… upset about the cookies?”

“Yes! Yes I am! It’s the one thing I could do for them, given my current state. It was something I made! Something I worked hard at!!” He takes a moment to sniff and catch his breath. “I thought I could help or do something or… I don’t know! THEY DESTROYED MY COOKIES!”

Even between blubbering sobs, Red Son manages to choke out a rant. "All this time you've been-- been brainwashing me to control my anger!" He sniffs dramatically. "And look at me now! You've got me crying like some- some child! About cookies! It’s so stupid! This is what I’m reduced to!" He raises his hands in the air dramatically before allowing them to flop down to his lap.

Sandy sighs and puts a large and grounding hand on Red Son’s shoulder, squeezing slightly. Red Son looks away and refuses to meet Sandy's eyes, but leans into the touch despite himself.

"Red Son, that is not stupid,” Sandy says, emphatically. “Sometimes, so many things pile up, and even something that may seem trivial is what is the last straw.” He thinks for a moment longer. "And isn't this way a little more honest to what you're really feeling?"

Sandy offers him a tissue, and Red Son grabs it and blows into it with a comically loud snort. He wipes his eyes, and blinks a bit. The blurriness is mostly gone, except for some drops still resting on his eyelashes. When he speaks it’s in a low and hoarse voice. “Showing how I truly feel is a sign of weakness, I shouldn’t be letting enemies know how I feel.” There’s a part of him that wants to close off entirely, but Sandy’s soft voice still manages to float through.

“Showing how you feel is showing vulnerability, which is not the same,” Sandy says.

Red Son’s eyes squint, truly confused, “What do you mean?”

“Vulnerability is laying bare your true self and sentiments. It can be a sign of honesty. And when you are doing certain things, like apologizing, or trying to change, or attempting to make friends, showing vulnerability is a sign of strength.”

Red Son’s analytical mind starts breaking through the barriers, as the cogs start turning. “So… what you’re saying is that.. It’s kind of like a tool to use in certain scenarios.”

Sandy brightens. “Exactly!”

“Hmm,” is all Red Son can muster. Trying to piece together those bits of Sandy’s logic were what he used the last bit of his energy on. “I’m tired,” he says finally.

“We could return back to the houseboat. Or perhaps we could find a place to eat or drink first, if you’re hungry?”

Red Son mulls it over. “Food,” is his response.

Sandy nods and offers a hand to help him up, which Red Son takes. He won’t admit that he leans a bit heavily on Sandy as they make their way to a small, quiet restaurant somewhere between the noodle shop and the houseboat. Or perhaps, under certain circumstances, he would admit to that. Vulnerability could be a strength, he supposes, and he does feel a little lighter after letting out how he was feeling. Everything is uncertain, but at least he said what he went to the noodle shop to say, and there was someone who was proud of him for that.

start || <– previous // next –>

[megamanx1994]

Mega Man Forever Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Fight for the Gem (Disclaimer! We’re not going through this again.) We held a funeral for Gouken. I was saddened the most. But not as sad as Ryu would be when I delivered the news. Later I was working  with Asami and Varrick on another MK for the Power Man suits. “What are you doing?” asked Daisy. “I’m getting ready to take down Shadaloo and S.I.N,” I said. “By yourself?” asked Daisy. “If that’s what it takes,” I said, “Its my fault that Ryu’s been captured, now I’m gonna set things right.” “Suit is functional sir,” said R.O.B. “Good,” I said, “Then let’s roll.”  I started to leave but Daisy got in my way. “As much as Daisy hates to do this, she cannot allow you to go,” said Daisy. “Daisy, you want Bison and Seth to take over the world with his army of super soldiers?” I asked. “You know that’s not what Daisy wants,” said Daisy, “But she wants you to die even less!” “I’m the only one that can stop him,” I said, “I’m taking him on by myself!” “Like hell you are,” said Sakura joining Daisy. “Sakura?” I asked. “I’m your girlfriend now, and wherever you go, I go,” said Sakura, “That’s all there is to it.” “Exactly,” said Ken, “You think you’re alone on this, but you’re not.” “Remember that lesson that Ryu taught?” asked Blanka, “Don’t carry so much weight on your shoulders. Let others help you when you need it. “You guys….” I said. “I’m going with you too,” said Daisy. “And you can count me in too,” added someone. We turned around to see Guile. “Guile?” I asked. “I think this belongs to you,” said Guile. He gave back the Mark II power man suit he had. “If you’re gonna take on Bison and Seth, then I’m game,” he said, “My wife and daughter convinced me that even I need help from others.” I looked around at all of my friends. “Alright then,” I said. “Are we done with the life lesson?” asked Varrick, “I thought we were working on a battle armor. What weapon are you gonna choose?” I thought for a second. “You’ll need more than that,” said a person. It was C. Viper. “You’re that Maya woman,” said Chun-Li. “I came with a present,” she said. She had some weapons from her own suit. “I may be working for S.I.N, but we have different goals,” she said, “I’m an undercover agent and I wanna join in shutting them down.” I thought for a moment. “I’ll take it,” I said. “But which….” Said Asami. “All of them,” I said, “Let’s get to work.” I started outfitting each of the weapons on the mark II suit and gave it a paintjob. Everyone else was getting ready and training. Sakura took one of her Gi’s and ripped the sleeves off. We all looked at her. “What?” she asked. Ken was punching a log to get to full strength. Eliza was watching him and knew she had to tell him. “Ken,” she started, “I kept telling myself I wouldn’t do this to you… but please don’t go.” “Eliza, I know you’re scared, but Ryu’s my friend,” said Ken. “Ken…. I have something to tell you,” said Eliza. After a while I was geared up and ready to go. “Guile, thank you,” I said. He grinned. I noticed Ken not joining us. “Ken, aren’t you comin’?” I asked. “I can’t,” said Ken, “Give Ryu my regards when you see him.” “What’s going on?” I asked. “Eliza’s pregnant,” said Ken. “Oh,” I said, “Well congrats man, you’re about to be a dad.” “I know right?” asked Ken, “Hopefully it’s a boy so my legacy can go on.” I got into the Juggernaut Armor. “Let’s roll,” I said. I flew with Sakura on my back while explaining the details. “Chun-Li, you and Sakura will go in and distract the guards while Guile locates the map,” I said, “Daisy, you and I will find Ryu, and then shut down this weapon that Shadaloo created.” “Got it,” said Daisy. “Let’s do it!” said Sakura as she jumped down. “She sure has courage,” I said. Chun-Li and Sakura were in dresses about to head inside. “Who are you two?” asked a guard. “S.I.N sent for us to help with the party,” said Chun-Li. “We’re the entertainment,” said Sakura. They started to go in. “I think thre’s some kind of mistake,” said the other guard, “We didn’t ask for any entertainment. “The only mistake,” said Chun-Li. “Is you two,” said Sakura. “Not knowing when to shut up!” they said in unison taking out the guards. They got out of their dresses. “Ready for some extra credit?” asked Chun-Li. “Yeah!” said Sakura. Guile dealt with the security guard in the map room. “Your mission will soon be complete Charlie,” he said. He was looking at the map. “Nicholas, I think I found Vega,” he said, “He’s in that room.” “Oh you’ve found a lot more than Vega,” said Barlog as he shut the door, “You’ve found trouble!” I kicked down two double doors. I then got out of my Juggernaut armor. “Sentry Mode,” I said. I saw Vega standing at the stairs and Ryu at the bottom. “Ryu?” I asked. He looked at me and his eyes were dark red. There was something implanted in his chest. “See anything familiar?” asked Vega. I looked at him and said, “I see a sad attempt at copying my design.” “Really, cause I see our new vessel,” said Vega, “We just do a test run, work out the kinks, and it’ll finally be ready to reproduce!” I was walking closer to Vega. “Let him go,” I said, “Before this mess gets worse.” Vega grinned at me and snapped his fingers. Ryu came at me and we were fighting. Meanwhile Sakura, C. Viper, and Chun-Li were taking out all the guards allowing Daisy to get inside. “Time for Daisy to stretch her legs,” she said. She did some kicks while stretching her legs. Sakura heard me fighting Ryu and knew she had to do something. “Sakura where are you going?” asked Chun-Li. “Nicholas is fighting Vega,” said Sakura, “Somebody’s gotta help him!” I fell to the ground and was waiting for my wounds to heal. But something was wrong. The wounds were still there. “You’re asking yourself how,” said Vega, “Haven’t your parents ever taught you to look before you leap?” The room was glowing red. “I took some of your blood and enfused it into this room,” said Vega, “It makes your abilities and the powers of other people rendered useless.” I got back up but Ryu knocked me down. “Ryu, I’m not the enemy!” I said, “Try to think!” “Anything you tell him is gonna go in one ear and out the other,” said Vega. He took off his mask. “You ruined my beautiful face,” he said, “I’m just returning the favor!” He was about to kick me but I grabbed his leg. Sakura jumped on top of him to help. I was facing Ryu. “Vega’s controlling you,” I said trying to get to him, “Fight it!” He attacked me and I tried evading it. “I guess I have no choice,” I said, “Shroyuken!” I did the shroyuken on him but he evaded it and punched me in the gut. He then picked me up and threw me around like a rag doll. Vega then came near me with his claws in his hand. He pulled be up and then stabbed me and screamed in pain. “Try healing from that!” said Vega. He pulled them out and I fell. Guile was still battling Barlog. “Time for that rematch I owe you,” said Barlog, “Only this time I’m gonna kick your ass!” “Not if I can help it,” said Guile. He did quick steps and then punched Barlog in the face and followed up with a Sonic Boom. “That was for Charlie!” he said. “Why you little….” Said Barlog. “Arwoooooooo!” shouted Blanka. He did a rolling attack on Barlog to keep him pinned down. “Nice moves,” said Guile with a smile. Barlog pushed him off and he landed on Guile. “Alright, I’m done messin’ around!” said Barlog. Guile secretly had a detonator on the ground and pressed the trigger. “Its time to end it!” said Barlog, “What the….” The detonator blew pushing Barlog out of the room. “You couldn’t have done that earlier?” asked Blanka. “Don’t push it,” said Guile. I took a serious beating from Ryu and Vega. “Don’t do dying on me yet,” said Vega, “There’s one more thing I want you to watch me do before I put you out of your misery.” Some minions had Sakura pinned. “Sweet sweet Sakura,” said Vega, “That’s the Japanese translation for Cherry Blossom right?” He felt her hair. “Stop it…..” I said. “Its ok Nicholas,” said Sakura, “He can’t hurt me!” “How long can you hold that bravery of yours girly?” asked Vega, “Minutes? Hours?” He pulled her gi off of her. “Let’s just TEST THAT!” he said. Her blood got on his claws and he tasted it. “So sweet, so yummy,” said Vega. He came to me. “You know what I’m gonna do now?” asked Vega, “I’m gonna stab you to death with my claws, and then go after Sakura.” I tried to attack but I was too weak.  “You thrown your last attack,” said Vega, “Had you not been so stubborn your little girlfriend’s death would’ve been quick and painless, but now that you’ve really pissed me off, I’m gonna finish her nice and slow.” He just made a big mistake. “Cherry Blossom and I,” he said as he got his claws ready, “We’re gonna have a hell of a time.” I grabbed his hand before he could attack and pushed him away. I then did some of the moves I learned to attack him. “That was for Sakura,” I said, “This is for Ryu!” I did the spin kick and kicked him in the face. “And this is for me!” I shouted. I did quick steps and then did a powerful Shoryuken. “Shin-SHORYUKEN!!!!!!” I said. I launched him out of the room and he landed outside. Sakura was trying to get Ryu to calm down. “Ryu stop, this isn’t you!” said Sakura. She held him back from attacking me. He slowly started to remember everything we went through together. The chest piece was starting to come off. Sakura and I worked together to pull it out of him to gain his sanity back. He fell to his knees. We got out of the room and my healing factor was working again.  “What happened?” asked Ryu. “It’s a long story,” I said, “I’ll explain later.” “Nicholas, we’ve found the power source!” said Chun-Li, “We need you to get over there right now!” “We’re on our way,” I said, “Ryu can you do us a favor?” “What do you need?” asked Ryu. “I need you to go into the computer room with Guile and shut down the security protocols,” I said. He thought for a moment. “Alright,” said Ryu. I took my shirt off and gave it to Sakura then got into the Juggernaut Armor. “Its time to kick it into action!” I said. To be continued………… Immediately Sakura and I were taking out the soldiers and thugs for Shadaloo and S.I.N. M Bison, Seth and Akuma were watching us. “Come to me my prey,” said Akuma. The thugs had us surrounded. “Shit,” I said, “Time to lay down the big guns.” “No need!” said someone, “Hadouken!” It was Ken. “Ken-san?” asked Sakura, “I thought you had to stay with your wife.” “She told me to go,” said Ken, “She couldn’t bear the thought of me losing my best friend. But afterwards I’m coming straight back to her.” “Glad you could join the party,” I said. “Save some room for me too,” said Dan. “He wouldn’t stop begging me to tag along,” said Ken. “Nicholas I’m in the computer room,” said Ryu, “What now?” “Ok on one of the computers there should be a file that had all of the rooms and procedures,” I said, “Just drag the mouse and then click on that file!” Ryu was really confused. “Mouse…. File?” asked Ryu. “Ok, you see the thing that looks like an arrow?” I asked. “Yeah,” said Ryu. “You use the mouse to drag it,” I said. “Drag it?” asked Ryu. “Drag it!” I said. “Drag it,” he said determined. “Drag it!” I said. He literally used the mouse to drag the arrow on the computer screen. “Its not dragging!” said Ryu. “Drag it across the desktop!!!” I said. He did that and knocked some equipment over. “That didn’t do anything,” said Ryu. “Of course it didn’t!” I said, “You know what? AAAAUGHGHGH!” “Wait, I got it!” said Ryu. The doors to the main room opened. “Well, I’m surprised you made it this far,” said Seth. I got out of the Juggernaut Armor. “Its over Seth,” I said, “We’re shutting down your weapon and bringing you down.” “Is that right?” asked Seth, “And you plan to do that with your tin can?” “No,” I said, “I plan to do it with my bare hands.” I got into a fighting stance. “Stand back,” said Seth, “I will handle this brat myself.” He had the cosmic gem in his hand and placed it inside that yin yang thing on his body. “Yes,” said Seth, “This unlimited power is finally within my grasp!” He did a shoryuken and I avoided it. “What the….” I said. “You think you’re the only one with toys?” asked Seth, “I was born a cyborg who can copy any move I come in contact with. For example; Sonic Boom!” He did a sonic boom and I dodged it. I did a spinning kick at him and he did the same and deflected mine. “Shit!” I said, “Hadouken!” I shot multiple hadoukens at him and he evaded them all by stretching. “Funny,” said Daisy, “Daisy doesn’t recall her power being copied.” “There’s another guy with your power,” said Chun-Li. He landed a kick on me and it felt like multiple attacks hiting me. I tried landing punches on him and he kept evading them by teleporting. “He’s busy with Seth,” said Ken, “I say we take down that engine!” “Got it!” said Chun-Li. The rest of the gang went to the Tanden Engine and saw a giant sphere containing a light. “A few focus attacks should do the trick,” said Chun-Li. She charged up for her signature move and shot it. “We need more power,” said Sakura, “Hadouken!” Seth was too strong but I didn’t give up. “You power could be of use to me,” he said. He tried his copy ability and I avoided it. “Thrust kick!” I said. He dodged and did a powerful sonic boom. “Everybody DUCK!” I said. Everyone did what I said and his attack hit the machine. “Allow me, Seth,” said Akuma, “I will finish him off, gem or no gem!” “Come at me asshole!” I said. “One at a time you fools!” said M Bison who was close to the machine, “Before….” They bumped into each other and were caught in the blast. I managed to narrowly escape and joined the others. Dan and Blanka were running from a fire. “Oh fuck!” said Dan. Sakura and I did a hadouken to douse the flames. “Let’s beat it,” I said. We all managed to get out of the factory. From the debris, a giant hand emerged. “You guys made it!” said Chun-Li. “Of course we did,” I said, “It takes more than a collapsing building to bring us down.” “I do have the feeling that something was following us though,” said Ryu. Daisy saw something. “Um guys….” Said Daisy, “Would that be it?” We turned around to see a strange figure that had looks from Seth, Akuma, and Bison. “That device must’ve fused their bodies together!” said Chun-Li, “This…. Enormity, in fact that’s what I’m gonna call it!” “I’ll kill you all!” shouted Enormity. I got into a fighting stance. Enormity knocked me out of the way. “Nicholas!” said Sakura. Enormity got in her way. “You will be the first to die,” he exclaimed. “Get away from her!” said Guile. He tackled him and tried to pin him down. He was too strong for Guile to handle. The juggernaut armor was malfunctioning. “We’ll just do this the old fashioned way then,” I said, “With two fists, and maximum effort.” I charged up for a Hadouken. “Multi-Hadouken!” I said. I shot multiple hadoukens at Enormity. He teleported around and attacked me but I dodged and blocked every move. I remembered each of the techniques Ryu taught me and used them to my advantage. “Nicholas needs our help!” said Chun-Li, “Spinning Bird Kick!” She did her signature move distracting Enormity while Daisy stretched around pinning him. “Shouken!” said Sakura doing the shoryuken. “Spiral Arrow!” said Cammy doing her signature move. They all attacked Enormity and the red gem dropped from his necklace. “NO!” he yelled. I saw the gem and used my cat-like reflexes to catch the gem before him. “Nicholas no!” said Ryu. “Yes,” said Enormity, “Now you will all watch your friend lose his sanity!” But somehow I didn’t give into its power. I was still me. “What?” asked Enormity. “I’m too strong to lose myself,” I said. Enormity grinned. “Gem or no gem, I’m still powerful enough to destroy you,” he said smiling, “I managed to destroy one of my rivals before.” I was charging up using the gem’s power for a shoryuken. “As I will…..” said Enormity. “Shiiiiiinnnnnnn…..” I said. “AGAIN!” he finished. He shot a yoga flame at me. “SHORYUUUUUUUKEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!!!!!” I shouted. I was flying up with my fist on fire and went straight through the flames. I punched Enormity and there was an explosion As the dust finally settled I landed on my feet. Half of Akuma’s body was badly burned, and Seth was shut down. Bison was nowhere to be seen. “Whoa,” said Dan. “Amazing,” said Sakura. Ryu smiled knowing his lesson went well. Guile saw that Bison was behind me and was about to attack. “Nicholas duck!” said Guile. “Wha….” I said. Bison almost had me but I evaded him and Guile hit him with a sonic boom. He then started brutally beating him hard. “You murderd my friend and comrade,” said Guile, “All these years I’ve been wanting to avenge him.” He got out a gun. “Finally after all these years, justice is served!” he shouted. “GUILE STOP!” I yelled, “It only takes 4 or 5 moments!” “To what?” asked Guile. “To be a hero,” I said, “I spent my entire life thinking that being a hero was a full time job. Wake up a hero, brush your teeth a hero, or go to work a hero, but I figured out that its not true.” “Where are you getting at?” asked Guile. “I’m saying that there are moments where we are given a choice; to right a wrong, fix a mistake, help an ally, spare an enemy,” I said, “In those moments everything else falls away.” Guile was starting to realize I was right. “The way the world sees us,” I said, “The way that we….” Chun-Li shot him. “Damn it Chun-Li!” I said, “I was in the middle of a speech!” “It’s a robot,” said Chun-Li ripping off the skin. “Then that means….” I said. I saw that Seth had escaped us. “Those bastards,” I said. “It does suck that they aren’t behind bars, but at least their organization won’t be able to rise for quite a while,” said Chun-Li. I looked at the gem. “We should take this to GSI,” I said, “Somthin’ tells me that there’s more than meets the eye with this gem.” “Nicholas,” said Sakura. I turned to her. “Are you ok?” I asked. “I am now,” said Sakura, “Like I said, I feel more safe with you.” She punched me in the gut. “Ow!” I said. “That’s for being careless!” she said. “I can’t say I didn’t deserve that,” I said. “….And this is for saving my life,” said Sakura. The two of us shared a kiss. “Well its about time,” said Ken. “I know you gotta go back to America soon,” said Sakura, “But I’ll visit you every chance I get.” I thought of something. “You wanna come with me?” I asked. “To America?” asked Sakura. “Yeah,” I said, “I don’t mind.” She jumped on me and gave me a smooch. Daisy took a photo. “This is so goin’ on Instagram,” said Daisy. There was a celebration where we were all praised as heroes. “Jimmy!” said someone. It was his long lost mother. “Mom?!” asked Jimmy. They shared a hug. “I’m so happy I found you Jimmy,” she said. I smiled knowing that Jimmy got his wish. All he had to do was believe in himself, just like I did. The next day we said our goodbyes and headed back to Brooklyn where I now resided at. 5 weeks later…….. Sakura was in the process of making some food for a celebration. “I love that dress,” I said. “That’s what you said last time Mr. wonderful,” said Sakura. Daisy was watching Mighty Transforming Battle Warriors. “Daisy, you gonna stop starin’ at the TV screen?” I asked, “Come and eat some before we gotta go, its amazing.” Daisy saw someone that was similar to my power man alter ego. “Nicholas look!” said Daisy, “They’re showin’ us on MTBW!” We went to look. “Well I’ll be dammed,” I said. “I told you that show was great,” said Sakura. I smiled. Someone knocked on the door. “Its open,” I said. It was Chun-Li. “Sakura, Daisy, Nicholas!” said Chun-Li. “Chun-Li-san!” said Sakura. “You gotta come with me, I need your help!” said Chun-Li.  “What’s goin’ on?” asked Daisy. Chun-Li had a rifle in her hand. “You’re never gonna believe this,” she said. “I believe it,” I said as I got my suit. “You do?” asked Sakura. “I believe,” I said. Chun-Li smiled. This whole Power Man thing was never a hobby, or just something to pass the time. It was a responsibility. There will be times where I doubt myself, where I feel like people are against me. But the day will never come, where I forsaken the people I care about. So you can take away my tricks and toys, you can sabotage my armor. But there’s one thing you can never take from me; Its this statement. I am Power Man. THE END Still Breathing by Green Day I'm like a child looking off in the horizon I'm like an ambulance that's turning on the sirens Oh, I'm still alive I'm like a soldier coming home for the first time I dodged a bullet and I walked across a landmine Oh, I'm still alive Am I bleeding? Am I bleeding from the storm? Just shine a light into the wreckage So far away, away 'Cause I'm still breathing 'Cause I'm still breathing on my own My head's above the rain and roses Making my way away 'Cause I'm still breathing 'Cause I'm still breathing on my own My head's above the rain and roses Making my way away My way to you I'm like a junkie tying off for the last time I'm like a loser that's betting on his last dime Oh, I'm still alive I'm like a son that was raised without a father I'm like a mother barely keeping it together Oh, I'm still alive Am I bleeding? Am I bleeding from the storm? Just shine a light into the wreckage So far away, away 'Cause I'm still breathing 'Cause I'm still breathing on my own My head's above the rain and roses Making my way away 'Cause I'm still breathing 'Cause I'm still breathing on my own My head's above the rain and roses Making my way, away, away... As I walked out on the ledge Are you scared to death to live? I've been running all my life Just to find a home that's for the restless And the truth that's in the message Making my way, away, away 'Cause I'm still breathing 'Cause I'm still breathing on my own My head's above the rain and roses Making my way away 'Cause I'm still breathing 'Cause I'm still breathing on my own My head's above the rain and roses Making my way, away 'Cause I'm still breathing (My way to you) 'Cause I'm still breathing on my own (My way to you) My head's above the rain and roses Making my way, away My way to you Thanks by the way, for listening to this story. It was just somethin’ I had to get off my chest for a while. And Star told me you were the best source to go to, although you do seem a little young to be a doctor, no offense Marco….. Marco was asleep. “Marco?” I asked, “Marco Diaz!” He woke up. “Where were we?” asked Marco. “Were you power napping?” I asked. “Sorry man,” said Marco, “I just drifted.” “So where’d I lose you?” I asked. “I guess the battle at the bank,” said Marco. “So you’ve heard none of it,” I said. “I’m honestly not that kinda doctor,” said Marco, “I don’t have that kind of training.” “Now that you mention it, it reminds me of another thing I wanted to talk about,” I said. As I went on and on about another story, Marco started to fall asleep again. Meanwhile at Gouken’s grave, the dirt started to rumble. Amnesia by Red Sun Rising Everyday is the same and I complain about it But I'm alright Blue to grey it's mundane but there's something strange about it But I've got the right I'm not sick like you I'm not burdened by the truth This is it Your only one moment in time Don't be afraid to ever love Lest the roses hit the stone This is it Your only one moment in time Release your grip Don't roll your eyes Take a breath Life should be touched not choked to death Slide the X through the square so I won't forget about it, tomorrow's come Am I the only one that thinks the trouble with nothing is that it's fun I'll never be as sick as you And never see the shit you do I'm not burdened by the truth This is it Your only one moment in time Don't be afraid to ever love Lest the roses hit the stone This is it Your only one moment in time Release your grip Don't roll your eyes Take a breath Life should be touched not choked to death Don't you say that, I won't forget it Don't you say that it's all invented Don't you say that, I won't forget it, won't forget it, won't forget it, won't forget it This is it Your only one moment in time Don't be afraid to ever love Lest the roses hit the stone This is it Your only one moment in time Release your grip Don't roll your eyes Take a breath Life should be touched not choked to death Later one evening I was dropping off Crash to Echo Creek University. “Thanks again for the lift mate,” said Crash. “Don’t sweat it,” I said. “Its so awesome that you’re a peacekeeper,” said Crash, “Maybe I can be your sidekick or apprentice or…” “Let’s not get carried away,” I said. “Right,” said Crash, “So are there like trials or something to becoming a peacekeeper or….” “Do me a favor,” I said, “Just be yourself. There’s no need to try and mimick someone’s persona just to get them to respect you.” “Any other advice?” asked Crash. “Don’t do anything I would do, more importantly don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” I said, “There’s an orange little spot and that’s where you operate, but it doesn’t mean you’re a peacekeeper. Yet anyway.” I was getting the door but he thought it was a hug. “Its not a hug, I’m just gettin’ the door,” I said, “Good luck out there. Oh, you might need this.” I gave him the fruit cannon. “I can keep this?” asked Crash. “Yeah, it doesn’t fit me,” I said. I drove away. “Oh this is so awesome!” said Crash.

[fullysowerewolf]

What I would add to Sonic Forces

Overall, Sonic Forces is a good game that’s been getting way too much flak post release (and even pre release, but that’s neither here nor there). There are some flaws with it, so here’s what I would add and subtract to make it an even better experience.

Gameplay:

Longer Level Length. Longer Level Length. LONGER LEVEL LENGTH. Easily the biggest problem with Forces is that the levels are too short. Many people who have played the game have complained about how the level ends just as it was starting to get interesting or challenging. Lengthening the levels to say around 4 to 5 minutes minimum would greatly help the game, both in gameplay and story (Null Space for example).

Higher difficulty. The Hard difficulty is the default, but for the most part it didn’t feel “hard”. Raising the difficulty of the levels would also help a lot in the enjoyment of the game, especially when in tandem with the longer levels.I know the game’s for kids, but kids deserve to get their asses kicked in a game and deserve a fair challenge that is actually a challenge for them. 

Get rid of the Classic Sonic stages.Classic Sonic was the weakest part of the game, from story to gameplay, as the Tag Team, Avatar, and Modern Sonic stages were just more important and interesting. I like Classic Sonic, but he seriously did not need to be here. Getting rid of the fat of the game would give the developers the time and resources to add or improve more of the aforementioned other stages and potentially free up spaces for more boss fights (illusion Shadow and illusion Chaos). They should still connect Forces to Mania by just having the Phantom Ruby teleport away without Classic Sonic. 

Adding more unique body sizes and proportions to the Avatar. Making your character smaller than Sonic or bigger than Sonic isn’t going to cramp Sonic’s style, Sonic Team. Making a Big or Vectoresque template or giving your female character pronounced breasts would not hurt anyone. Adding small details like conjoined eyes and back spike options for hedgehogs wouldn’t be bad either. (mostly because a hedgehog in Sonic with two separate eyes is a cursed image and if it were up to me conjoined eyes would just be a preset attribute to picking a hedgehog. And male hedgehogs would automatically have back spines with females having the option to pick between having spines or not.) 

More 3D portions in levels. Goes with out saying that mostly everyone wanted more 3D levels in Forces. This has been a problem ongoing for 9 years since Unleashed, so Forces isn’t new to this. Sonic team really needs to find a way to give us more 3D POV’s without having to compensate it with 2D. 

Nerf the abilities of the wispons to a degree. Some of the abilities of the wispons were overpowered at times in the levels and bosses. Nerfing them along with raising the difficulty would increase the challenge in completing them. Along with just having more wispon varieties in general. Where is my Bomb grenade launcher, Rocket launcher, and Cyan sniper rifle?! 

More enemy varieties. It gets boring seeing the same basic enemies after awhile. Eggman’s taken over the world, there should be bots of all different designs, old and new, everywhere. 

Change the final boss phase so that it isn’t a rehash of the Nega Wisp Mk II fight again. you can do better than that, Sonic Team. 

Story:

More cutscenes to avoid “Tell, Don’t Show”. While I liked the briefing style the game had between missions as a fan of Starcraft, too much information was given strictly through that when it would have served better to show those events in short cutscenes to further detail their impact on the story. 

Changes to some of the characters. Tails should have been less of a pussy during the game. There are some justifications for why he’d not be so eager to put up a fight, but he still should have shown some backbone at least, especially by the end. You didn’t see Knuckles and Amy losing their complete shit over Sonic being “dead’, despite also being as close to Sonic and knowing him the longest besides Tails.. Why? Because there is more important stuff that needs to be done besides moping in a pity parade, like making sure Eggman doesn’t enslave/kill them all. And going AWOL in a warzone where the rest of the force doesn’t know where you are when they need you and care about you, just because you feel sad is incredibly stupid and selfish. 

So Tails should have been written to still be affected from Sonic’s loss, but still be contributing to the war effort. Or Knuckles and Amy should have been portrayed more saddened over the “death” of Sonic. So it isn’t uneven. And Sonic should have been portrayed with some amount of negative feelings about the situation. By being really angry and/or guilty for Eggman winning and doing this. Him being afraid and admitting such can even tie back into the main theme of the game of fear and overcoming it through friendship and give the Avatar even more reason to overcome their own fear as well. 

More callbacks to Infinite’s backstory in the main game and just a smidge more backstory in general for Infinite.  Having Infinite mention the events of Episode Shadow would help tie both stories together and even spark some interest in getting the DLC to understand what they’re talking about. And while we’re on Episode Shadow, I would change the last cutscene to show Shadow’s perspective of the fight and show what Shadow was going to do next so that we can get some answer as to where the fuck he was for half a year, instead of just copypasting the same intro cutscene. 

If you have to have Classic Sonic there, then at least incorporate him into the story. Explain some reason for why the Phantom Ruby teleported him to Forces. That way we can get some idea of what Mania exactly is in the Sonic continuity. Maybe also try to have him give information about the Ruby by explaining his experiences in Mania to the Resistance. And most importantly, an explanation to what Classic Sonic even is in relation to Modern Sonic, whether if he is still his past self, from another timeline now cuz Generations, or from another dimension entirely. Something clear cut. 

Give a handwave to where the Chaos Emeralds are and why no one is searching for them. I didn’t miss the emeralds in this story and I don’t see how they would have fit a plot for searching for the emeralds in the story while having it make sense, so I don’t mind their absence. But they should have had a throwaway line about why they can’t use them and don’t want to find them, just so people wouldn’t get their panties in a twist with wondering where they are. 

[dejaaalm]

Interracial Marriages

I feel like writing right now. I normally would have these kind of thoughts reflected and drafted out first before posting but I feel like writing freely and letting my thoughts flow through at this moment. 

A few weeks ago, I was on Facebook looking around and somehow I landed on a video of a Hmong pastor speaking about being rooted in having values, a vision, and a belief system. Having these things in your life will teach your children how to be good people or Christians. I thought the message was good and on point; I really liked a lot of the motivational things he said. But there was one thing he said that left a really bad taste in my mouth. He said that one (Hmong person) should never think that their soul mate is somewhere among the White people, nor would a black person think that their soul mate is among the Hmong people. In a nutshell, what he was saying is that we need to know our parents' values and incorporate those values into our own which is to say that we should not be in an interracial marriage or relationship. I have nothing against him or what he said. My only concern is that as a pastor, you have the platform and authority to teach, influence, and lead others. With that kind of statement, it creates a ripple effect and impacts the way people view those who are in interracial marriages. I was actually quite sadden by the comment. In case you didn’t know, I married a White guy. Does that mean I devalued my parents' values and my own culture? Or that I am lesser than those who decided to marry their own kind?

He said that when he was determining what his values were, he looked to see if they are rooted in scriptures. It made me ponder, does the Bible really prohibit interracial marriages? I've read many times about being unequally yoked but this is not the same thing. Being unequally yoked has nothing to do with race but more so to do with faith. The apostle Paul wrote "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers." (2nd Corinthians 6:14) Moses was a Hebrew and he married a Cushite woman. In Numbers 12:1-15, Aaron and Miriam were punished for criticizing Moses' interracial marriage. There are also other stories in the Bible about Godly men and women who were in interracial marriages.

My parents have always wanted my siblings and me to marry a Hmong spouse. My older brothers married Hmong women. My older sister married a White guy. I married a White guy. My younger sister, Mk, married a Hmong guy, and now my baby sister is engaged to her African American fiancé.

My dad, the leader of our household, always said to us "My heart desires for you to marry a Hmong person. I cannot stop you from making your decision, but I want you to marry someone you really love and who can love and take good care of you. I do not want you to feel sad that your dad did not stop you from marrying your spouse." My dad's view on interracial marriages is that if there was ever an issue, it will be hard for him to intercede because of the language and cultural barrier. Hmong culture is a collective culture. We do things together and when things go south, we try to find a resolution together. It is not that he hates other cultures but more that he is afraid he cannot help us if our marriage is failing.

My mom, the caretaker of our household, has a much different view than my dad. She is succumb to saving face. Hmong culture places a high value on having a good face, good reputation, good fame, and good everything. Having your child marry someone who is not Hmong is a sign of disgrace. It means you did not do your due diligence of parenting correctly because your child has rebelled against you and the Hmong cultural values. Her view is "everyone will look at me and ask why my kids don't love me." Hmong can be very blunt and hurtful, but they'll say that their words are words of encouragement. When Scott came to my parents' house to pay the bride price, my aunt said to my mom (in front on me), "Tias neej no ces ntshai koj yuav tsis tau txoj hmoov zoo tau ib tig vauv Hmoog. Pab nrog koj tu siab niam hlob." (Translation: In this life, you will probably not have the good fortune of having a Hmong son-in-law. I feel sorry/sad for you.) Supposedly, her saying that was supposed to guilt me into changing my mind.

I feel sad that I have to even write this. I have to get this off my chest because it is heavy. Never once in my life did I ever think that I wanted to be a disgrace to my parents, or purposely rebel against them because I don't love them, or bring humiliation to them. I love my parents. Everything I've ever done or continue to do is to make them proud of me, to succeed for them, to show them how much I appreciate them, and that their sacrifices and survival for all of us was not done in vain.

It's not that I'm not attracted to Hmong guys. I am. In fact, I dated a Hmong guy for 5 years all throughout high school. I was adamant he was the one for me. Of course, the man above had different plans for me. I love my Hmong culture. I value that we are a strong and resilient minority group. I love that we value family, education, and having a good job. I love that we care about our elders, preserving our cultural practices such as the bride price and wearing Hmong clothes during the new year time, and our unique language. What I don't love is this! This saving face crap.

I had the wonderful opportunity to teach people at my workplace about my culture. I spent countless hours reading, researching, observing, and putting a professional presentation together. One of the biggest things I learned is that you can not mix culture and religion together. Sometimes, it seems as though religion drives culture and at other times culture drives religion. The biggest difference is that culture is always changing whereas religion does not. Secondly, culture is about a group of people’s social heritage and religion is associated with God, a god, or higher being. A lot of our Hmong churches with older generation members (Baby Boomers and Generation X groups), has a tendency to mix cultural values and beliefs with what is biblical. Marrying someone who is Hmong is NOT a biblical or Christianity thing. That is a Hmong cultural value. Although, as I mentioned above, culture tends to change. Is it really a cultural value or an individual value? Marrying someone who is NOT a Christian is not a cultural thing, that is a biblical thing.

Here’s another perspective, a Somalian can be a Muslim. Is a Muslim a Somalian? No. A Hmong person who marries a Hmong person can have good values. Is it a good value to marry a Hmong person? Well, that depends on what YOU as an individual believe in. Marrying a Hmong person is not something that I value or place a high regard on. I value marrying someone I am attracted to and who loves me and my family. 

Back to what I said earlier, though, to be a minister and say that kind of bold statement is quite an incorrect thing. It is no wonder why people like my mom would feel ashamed or belittled. I’m not trying to bash on anyone or offend anyone. I just wanted to express how this ripple effect affects people like my mom. I think it’s important that everyone has their own individual values, but don’t try to promote your own personal values as a propaganda to say that it is from the bible. You like grapes. I hate grapes. You might think drinking alcohol is a sin, but I might think drinking alcohol leads to uncontrollable drunkenness that can lead to sin and not the act itself. 

If I lived in a society where all men were Hmong, my chances of marrying a Hmong man is 100%. Here in America, we are exposed to hundreds of diverse cultures. What were the chances of me ever meeting my husband? 1 out of millions. My husband loves me and I love him. We have two beautiful children together. I’m pretty sure the only person who is responsible for me meeting and falling in love with my husband is God. I believe and live by this Bible verse every day: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) After all, God didn’t just create Hmong. He created all of us and we were all created in His image.