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lovelybarnes · 3 years ago

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god- l. laufeyson (part 2)

pairings: loki laufeyson x reader, platonic!tony stark x reader, mentions of nick fury warnings: language and minor angst about: part 2 to god a/n: i apologize for taking so long to post it, i was having trouble coming up with the little details and honestly just writing overall but it’s up!! and another bucky fic will be up tomorrow or saturday!!

loki is suspicious after you leave. in the- admittedly short- time he’s been shoved away and locked in a cage to rot, he had seen you all of two times, and he was enthralled. flabbergasted, too, surprised that a simple mortal managed to stay hidden in the deep parts of his brain and refuse to leave. you were… interesting, just as you had described him: not as a villain, or evil, or horrendous, but captivating; unbelieving that he would do anything for no good reason.

whether that was true or not was still up for debate, so he had yet to decide if you were incredibly intelligent or the simple, stupid mortal he thought you all to be. nevertheless, he found himself slightly disappointed when you left, waving goodbye to him and tucking your book under your arm. while he tried to dissolve the sensation, tony stark came bounding in, standing as close as he could to the glass barrier. stark barked words that loki didn’t care much for, ignoring the man. he could see you wince from inside the elevator, a sliver of your face still available from the closing doors.

“hey, hey!” stark barked, snapping his fingers at loki. the god tilted his head at him, “yes?” he asks, voice dripped in more annoyance than usual. “that girl who just came out of here?” stark started, while loki took a minute to examine his words, “girl,” was she not an accomplished avenger? he thought tony of all people would show the respect that loki thought none of them deserved. “if you even think about doing anything to her, i will bring in the big guy to slam you around some more. you remember him? or do you need a refresher?”

loki nearly scowls at the mention of hulk, body reminding the strange ache that was left after the oaf slammed him into the floor. he only chuckles lowly, though, “how much do you distrust a fellow avenger to believe they cannot handle themselves?” loki muses. tony scoffs, shaking his head, “i really don’t think you’re in a position to question me.”

“i’m a god. i am always in the position i wish to be in,” loki reminds, making tony roll his eyes, “you’ll never see her again if i can help it. and i can,” he says. “oh, but i like her!” loki rebuts, riling tony up, “so sweet, don’t you think?” tony freezes, abruptly turning around and slamming a hand against the glass, “you will not lay a hand on her. i’ll make sure of it.”

“i seem to remember midgardians can usually do as they please,” loki replies smoothly. “and you really think she’ll want to spend time with a monster?” tony questions. loki smirks, “i suppose i simply have a feeling.”

tony is seething when he comes to your lab, having switched with steve to come talk to you. you’re humming along to a song he doesn’t bother to recognize. “you’re in a good mood,” tony observes. at the sound of his voice, you turn, taking your earbuds out and grinning at him. you press what he assumes is the pause button on your phone, “tony! i’ve actually been meaning to ask you something,” you begin. tony raises an eyebrow to tell you to continue. “it’s about loki,” you continue, anxious about his reaction. the man pauses, exhaling softly, “oh. i know what you want to- i’m so sorry for doing that to you, y/n. i promised that i wouldn’t put you with him and we should’ve been more prepared. it won’t happen again.”

the confusion is clear on your face, vocally affirming it with a “huh?”

“that’s what you wanted to talk about, right? babysitting loki?”

“well, yes, but no, it actually wasn’t bad, i wanted to bring up the idea of maybe allowing him books? or maybe music or something, i can’t imagine going from having any book at your fingertips to none at all. also, he’s not getting enough food and i wanted to talk to you abou-” tony stops you with a raised hand, “what?” you recognize the conversation won’t end too well, so you try to phrase your words in a way that tony won’t get too angry at. “i just- when i was watching him, i thought we could be a little less… cruel.”

“with the guy who tried to take over earth?” tony retorts, you sigh softly, already beginning to feel resigned. “he still deserves to eat,” you defend weakly, “come on, tony, please? i’ll watch over him myself when he’s listening to music or reading or eating and i’ll take it back when i have to leave.” tony shakes his head, “someone will always be watching, and it won’t be you.” you frown, “why? don’t you trust me? i’m an avenger, tony. i’m not weak or useless, it’s just watching over someone who is literally in a cage. he can’t even escape.” tony’s about to say no again, so you press, “how come nick fury- man who doesn’t trust- trusts me enough to do that but you don’t?”

tony’s fingers squeeze the space between his eyebrows, eyes closed. he contemplates the effects if he refuses, no doubt ending in the thinning-by-the-minute thread that is your trust in him completely snapping.

“fine,” he finally agrees, and your frustrated frown melts back into a relieved small smile, “but everything you give him has to go through someone else first. i don’t care if it’s fury or hill or romanoff or me, but it has to be approved.” you nod quickly, “yes, of course.” tony raises a finger, “and, you will watch him the whole time. you got yourself into this, kid. i trust you can protect yourself from him if you ever need to.” you agree, “absolutely, and, uh-” you reach into your bag, pulling out the book finnegan’s wake, and your old ipod, equipped with a single downloaded song and earbuds plugged in. “i actually have already chosen a book and a song that i think he would appreciate during the time he tells me himself what he would like and while it gets approved, and um,” you push the objects toward tony, a surprised look lining his features, “since you have time now… the ipod has only that one song and i doubt he can do anything with either of the items, although i’ll be here if he does.”

“you picked these out for him?” tony questions, and you nod again, “i don’t really know him, i doubt anybody does, but i thought james joyce was a good guess considering.” tony looks from the objects in your hand back to you, before sighing and grabbing them. “i want to break free?” he asks, holding up the ipod. you feel your cheeks heat, “music is hard, i went for the obvious.”

tony exhales, looking down at the book, “fine, both are approved.”

“what, you’re not gonna check to see if i carved out a hole into the book and put the tesseract in there so he could escape?” you ask sarcastically, taking back the items while he rolls his eyes. “no, i trust you.” you grin, “you better. there’s no reason for you to not,” tony agrees with you softly, genuinely feeling bad while he kisses your cheek in goodbye. “steve was just called on a mission and needs a replacement, so you better get down there. bowser isn’t in a good mood today.”

you huff out a light laugh at the nickname, cradling your dear books and tangling your fingers in the cords of the earbuds while you walk to the elevator. you catch your bottom lip between your teeth while you watch the numbers blink above the elevator doors, nerves from your choices finally making a home in the pit of your stomach and making your grip tighten on the items. you really don’t know him, and one of the few things that you do know about him is that he isn’t the nicest- although you think it probable that it was warranted- which begins the inkling of regret of your carefully-picked choice to form. you try your best to push past it though, attempting to reassure yourself through the fact that loki’s reading options are limited, and as evil as everyone (including him) claims he is, you suspect (hope) that there is something in him that can’t simply disregard kind gestures. you suppose that theory is from what thor has told you about frigga. you hope it’s correct.

the elevator dings, knocking your thoughts off their destructive railroad and your attention to the shield guard wearily eyeing you and what you carry. “hey, wally,” you greet, shooting him a smile as you walk over to him, pulling your id card from your pocket. “what’cha got there?” he asks, sitting up straighter in his chair to look closer at you. “a- already approved by tony stark- book and song for loki. you know how much he had access to in asgard?” you question. he shakes his head, and you sigh, “me neither. but i imagine it’s a lot, and i don’t think he’s been introduced to our books yet.”

wally stares at you for a few seconds, before pursing his lips, “already approved by stark?” he checks, “already approved by tony,” you repeat. “just no ear things. don’t want him to choke somebody,” he instructs, holding out his hand. you oh quietly, hurriedly pulling off the headphones and putting them in his hand. wally only nods then, trusting you enough to not ask for any more reassurance, and pressing a button next to him to allow you into another elevator. the ride is much shorter, and you bounce on your heels, fidgeting with the edge of the book.

you barely recognize when the doors part, the slick-haired god already examining you. “in asgard, it is strongly discouraged to damage books like you are doing,” loki states. you stop your picking, dropping your hand and walking inside. “hello to you too, loki.” the god ignores you, instead focused on what is in your arms. “i thought any pleasantries for you weren’t allowed down here,” he says, eyes focused on your ipod. “ah, not if you ask nicely,” you reply, standing next to the chair, “and, these aren’t for me.”

you set your own book down on the floor- a very cliche wuthering heights, but it was either that or romeo and juliet, and you’d prefer not get caught reading about a forbidden romance while watching a villain- and hold up the one for him, grinning. “so i don’t know much about asgard or its books because thor hasn’t budged yet on taking me, but from what i can gather, you have little to no media from here, right?” loki ducks his chin suspiciously in response. “so i can imagine you haven’t read shakespeare, or james joyce, which reminds me a lot of you, so…”

you offer no more explanation, putting the book on your chair and showing him the ipod, walking closer to the glass. “this is an ipod. it’s used to play songs offline, and i picked one out for you. i don’t know if you’ll like it because i don’t really know what type of music you like or if you like it at all-” you pause, finally recognizing how long it had been since he’d talked. “but, uh, i hope you do.”

you look up at him then, unsurprised to find him already staring back at you. “you did this for me… why?” he queries skeptically. “i told you before; i imagine it’s difficult to go from everything to nothing in a day. and i think it must be boring to be trapped in there all day with nothing to do.”

loki still looks distrustful, but you grab the book, pulling out the key card to open his food slot. “i can’t leave these in here after i leave, but i’ll stay until you finish both,” you assure, pushing the book through the small gap. your ipod is still in your hands as you walk back near him. he looks at you for a few moments longer before his eyes flick to the book. “and there are no… explosives? poison of some kind in that?”

you shake your head, “no, of course not.”

loki narrows his eyes at the paperback anyways, walking towards it apprehensively. “when you want me to, i can teach you how the ipod works and you can listen to the song. it’s by a rock band called queen,” you babble, watching as he slowly observes the book before picking it up at an even more leisurely pace.

“i’m going to go sit over there now. just let me know if you need something,” you can’t seem to stop talking, so you focus instead on your legs moving you back to your seat, picking up your novel before sitting. you’re about to ramble on about something else again, until you notice the publication in loki’s hands, slightly panicking at the immediate rush of satisfaction and happiness it gives you when he opens the first page.

you try to avoid the sound of turning pages when you stay stuck on the same sentence, too concerned about why your neck decided to warm when the god accepted your favor.

“you can play it,” loki voices suddenly, almost as if reading the loud thoughts about your decision on the song. he looks up at you, “reading is usually accompanied by light music, but i suppose i could listen to rock.”

you nod, pressing a button on the small device that makes the beginning notes bounce off the walls of the room. your fingers gently tap along to the beat on the edge of your page without your noticing, too used to the melody to not react. you try not to look too hard at loki to watch for his reaction, too interested if he’ll like it or not.

after the first minute passes by and he doesn’t object to the sound, you count this as a win, allowing yourself to relax into your chair and actually read the words lined on the page, discovering them to make a lovely combination. you only notice when the song ends when loki speaks up, “it is okay,” he compliments, “i enjoyed it. i think i’d enjoy your so called queen.” you chuckle softly, “i thought you would. do you have any favorites here so i can add them for next time?”

“no,” loki responds, not taking his eyes off the page. “i’ll find some for you, then,” you promise, then press play on the ipod again, not missing the tiny quirk of loki’s lips, making you way too giddy than you should be.

after it has been over six hours and loki has barely finished finnegans wake, you’re completely sure he took extra time to read it; whether it be to absorb it better or simply have more time with it in his hands, you don’t care, pride swelling up in your chest because you did something right for him. he hadn’t complained about the repeated song, and you can’t blame him. the sounds are a lot more entertaining than the cold silence that usually occupies the space where he resides.

you ask loki more about what he thought, attempting to coerce him into telling you his preferences, until tony is calling you up.

you’re about to leave, both books and ipod in hand when you pause.

“y/n,” loki starts, and you realize it is the first time you’d hear your name out of his mouth. you decide you like how it sounds in his voice, not disregarding how you shouldn’t. “yes?” you answer instead, meeting his eyes. “thank you.”

you swallow, surprised at the genuinity in his voice while you nod, “it was no problem.”

loki finds it disturbing how much he dislikes seeing you walk away.

#loki laufeyson #loki friggason #mcu loki #reader x loki #loki x reader #loki x you #loki x y/n #mcu loki x reader #mcu loki x you #loki laufeyson imagine #loki layfeyson x reader #loki layfeyson imagine #loki laufeyson x you #tony stark #avengers x reader #avengers #avenger!reader

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foilfreak · 3 years ago

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Beauty and Her Beast: Chapter 3

Warning: This fic is rated NSFW and contains graphic depictions of things some people may find disturbing or alarming, including, but not limited to: violence, gore, unhealthy family relationships, Oedipus complexes, gratuitous amount of pornographic literature, ableist language, physical, mental, and emotional abuse, etc. If you are someone who does not enjoy fiction with these elements in them, then I suggest you refrain from reading this, because this fic will have all that, and probably a lot more. So, this is your first and final warning to turn around and go somewhere else if stuff like this just isn't your vibe, because from this point forward, your emotional wellbeing is in your own hands, and I will not be accepting blame if you disregarded my warnings and ended up reading something you didn't like. Idk why I feel compelled to write one of these despite this being Resident Evil fanfic, but I figured I'd cover my ass just in case.

(Link to ao3 version in comments below)

“Going off the information I have listed here, it appears as though you’ll be receiving subject N-45, today. She’s a healthy 22 year old female. Her short, but muscular body weighs 95lbs with a childish height of 4’10” tall. She possesses primarily Romanian and Filipino ancestry, with some Dutch or Finnish or... whatever, thrown in there as well. And according to the various items we found on her person when she was first brought in, she’s apparently a graduate student at the University of Bucharest, or, at least she was, before she drove her car into a tree while driving up the mountain and was recovered by Heisenberg” Miranda explains robotically, reading aloud from a piece of paper held inside a thick manila envelope. “Of the 4 remaining test subjects, N-45 is easily the most violent and difficult one to work with, having to be either anesthetized or restrained every time I wanted to so much as take her vitals or stabilize her condition. When given smaller doses of sedatives she-”

For the first time in his entire life, Salvatore completely ignores whatever unimportant nonsense Mother Miranda is going on about, continuing to take in and analyze the strikingly unique appearance of the young woman before him.

Upon first inspection, N-45 appeared to resemble that of a normal woman in just about every way possible. Her hair was scruffy and very short, barely long enough to reach her eyes, and a deep black color that looked so soft and luxurious that Salvatore ached to run his fingers through it. Her face was slightly round, giving the young woman a very youthful appearance, with her sharp jawline and prominent cheekbones being some of the only things keeping Salvatore from mistaking her for a child. And lastly, her... figure, if Salvatore had to put such an embarrassing idea into words, was similar to that of Mother Miranda, only shorter, more compact even. It reminded the hooded man of those small packets of candy Duke occasionally gifted him that said “fun sized” on the label, in reference to them being much smaller than the standard sized candy bars and yet somehow being… better, despite technically giving you less candy.

She was already perfect as she was, but it was not just N-45’s beautiful human features that pulled Salvatore in and refused to let him escape the stupefaction he’d been placed under, but also her mutations.

A soft royal blue coated her from head to toe, giving way only to a large patch of solid white located on her chest and stomach. Her skin catches the light in a way that reveals areas of tiny overlapping scales, glimmering like stars in the midnight sky, or freshly polished armor, perhaps, along the bony ridges and tender curves of her figure.

Small white dots distributed like paint splatters across the colored sections of her flesh give a similar visual effect as freckles, starting from her hairline and extending all the way down to the very tips of her toes. These galaxies of white were invisible only on the white patch along the front of her torso, as well as on the lighter blue hue taken on by both the palms and webbings of her hands and feet.

Long Fin-like extensions grew along both her forearms and lower back. The former extended outward and inward like a windshield wiper, likely used to decrease water resistance. The latter, however, perhaps used to increase fine motor maneuverability while swimming at greater speeds or in tighter spaces, grew straight downwards from her lower back in an overlapping fan configuration that marginally covered her rear end, though not by very much. The fins looked like a soft, delicate material that was probably very flexible but very durable, if Salvatore had to guess just from looking.

And to top everything off, N-45 even appeared to even have gills, 2 different sets by the looks of it. The first set of 3 breathing slits was located horizontally along both sides of her neck, while the second set could be found on both sides of her torso, following the downward angle of her ribs but stopping just underneath her soft, plump-looking breasts.

Salvatore feels a sudden wave of heat cascade over his body and he turns his face away in shameful embarrassment as he suddenly realizes that N-45, much like every test subject undergoing cadou treatment, was still very, very nude at the present moment.

“I can’t make any promises regarding her disposition, but physically speaking, she’s ready to be released to you whenever you’d like. I’ll have some of the villagers transport and release her into the reservoir later this week” Mother Miranda says, pressing a button to close the pod now that Salvatore was no longer staring at her.

“W-wait just a m-moment” Salvatore calls out, prompting Mother Miranda to halt the closing of the pod.

“Yes? What is it?” The woman asks curtly, clearly not wanting to stand here and watch Salvatore any longer than she has to.

Wringing his hands together nervously, Salvatore meekly asks, “C-could… could y-you wake h-her up… s-so that I can s-speak with her… j-just for a m-moment?”

Mother Miranda remains silent for a moment, blank face staring directly at Salvatore as she contemplates what to do.

“No, Moreau,” she says finally. “I’ve had a very busy day today and I'm quite tired. N-45 is a menace that I struggle to deal with even on my best days. The last thing I need is something going wrong and her getting out and causing all sorts of chaos.”

Salvatore’s shoulders slump in disappointment, but he makes no further attempts to argue.

Mother Miranda rolls her eyes at the incredibly childish display, walking over to place a gentle hand on Salvatore’s head. “Would it make you feel better if I agreed to have N-45 be the first of the subjects to be dropped off? It’ll be more difficult than my original plan, but I suppose it was a bit unfair that you were the only one who didn’t get to “pick” their gift.”

“Yes, M-Mother Miranda… I-I’d like th-that very… very m-much” Salvatore says, leaning into the touch as Mother Miranda begins guiding him back toward the hallway leading to the exit door.

It wasn’t until after Miranda had exited the lab and begun walking down the long hallway toward the exit that Salvatore dared cast another glance back at the pod that contained N-45, wistfully thinking of how amazing her hand had felt in his, and how much he wanted to speak to her.

Just as the disfigured man was about to turn back and follow Miranda out of the laboratory, a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, prompting Salvatore to tense and snap toward the 4 pods, frantically trying to figure out what it was he saw. A few seconds of stillness pass before Salvatore sees movement again, not freely moving about the room like he originally expected, but from within one of the 4 pods, his pod to be exact.

His curiosity momentarily outweighing his nerves, Salvatore slowly approaches the metal capsule, trying to get a look through the small pane of glass that allows visual access into the holding pod.

Another flash of movement has Salvatore flinching, jumping back as though he’d been advanced upon. After several seconds of stillness, however, the hooded man regains his confidence and once again inches his way toward the capsule, moving his head up and down to try and get one more glimpse at N-45 before he has to leave. One last look before she lays eyes upon his vile and disgusting body for the first time, screaming and calling him a monster as she runs away, leaving him alone and without anyone to call his own. Just like always.

“ Hello ?”

Salvatore froze dead in his tracks, his heart pounding and his lungs refusing to take in air, as a soft, muffled, questioning voice reaches the deformed man’s ears, followed by two golden orbs with narrow black slits running vertically through the center, that slowly peek into view from the bottom of the glass window. Salvatore’s eyes widen in shock as he quickly realizes that the orbs of gold are not, in fact, just spheres of color, but rather a pair of eyes, staring intently at him from inside the pod.

“Uuuuuh… u-u-uuum… I-i… I w-was just…” the disfigured man stuttered as he struggled to move his body, seemingly paralyzed by the bewitching gaze currently locked onto him, looking at him with an intensity that makes Salvatore wonder if this is what it feels like to be a cell put under a microscope.

It isn’t until Salvatore notices the golden orbs moving and shifting from one corner of the window pane to the other that the hooded man realizes, to his immediate horror, that he might not be the only one trying to get a better look at the figure located on the other side of the pod door. Panic and fear immediately fill Salvatore from deep within, growing strong enough to allow him to finally overcome his temporary paralysis and skitter away from view. Pulling his hood even further over his petrifyingly grotesque face in shame of himself, Salvatore flees the laboratory as quickly as his hobbled limp would allow.

His heart pounds to the beat of the soft, but desperate pleas of protest coming from N-45’s pod in response to Salvatore’s rapidly retreating form, yet the hooded man cannot bring himself to believe what he hears as true. Perhaps believing that the siren-like voice he hears echoing off the metal laboratory walls to be nothing more than a trick of his sick and lonely mind, Salvatore does not stop, nor does he turn back around until he’s met up with Mother Miranda at the exit to the surface, lungs burning and legs aching from running for so far and long.

“Oh, there you are, Moreau,” Mother Miranda says suddenly, stopping just before they are about to exit the laboratory. “I’m glad you chose this time to finally catch up, because I just realized a second ago that I’d forgotten to give you N-45’s previous name. You can name her something else if you’d prefer, of course, but I offered the information to your siblings so I suppose I should offer it to you as well. Would you still like to know N-45’s name, or would you rather abandon her given name for one of your own choosing?”

After a few seconds of silent contemplation, Salvatore lifts his head, “I… I-i would like to k-know… her n-name… please...” the mutant man says softly.

Mother Miranda briefly raises a questioning eyebrow at Salvatore’s nervous body language, but ultimately rolls her eyes and shrugs her shoulders, all but tossing the Manila envelope containing N-45’s information at the hooded man before disappearing out the large metal door.

“If you’re going to read that now, feel free, but return to the meeting room once you're done. And be sure to lock the door to my laboratory behind you” Miranda commands, her voice having grown echoey due to how far away she now was.

“Yes, M-Mother” Salvatore calls after her as he scrambles to catch the thrown file and prevent any loose papers from falling out. Once he’s got a solid handle on the thick envelope, he opens it, casting a quick glance back in the direction of the pod room, where Nadine and the other 3 gifts were being held for the time being.

Returning to the file, Salvatore frantically flips through every page, trying to find the one that held N-45’s personal background information.

After several minutes of desperate flipping back and forth, Salvatore finally focuses on one particular piece of paper that looked to have been in the file for the longest. Pulling out the particular page he’d found, the disfigured man drops the rest of the folder onto the ground and begins rapidly skimming through the information printed on the page, his hungry eyes refusing to stop until they finally zeroed in on the information he’d been looking for.

Project: E.V.A. Resurrection

Subject: N-45

Parasite Administered: Cadou (Series- N; Strain- 45)

Family Name: Bogdan

Given Name: Nadine

“N… Nadine” Salvatore said slowly, feeling slightly lightheaded and out of breath as each individual letter of the young woman’s name rolled off his tongue like Camembert cheese; smooth, creamy, decedent, and likely to keep him up all night with an upset stomach and a racing heartbeat.

Nadine. Nadine. Nadine. Nadine. Nadine. Nadine. Nadine. Nadine. Nadine. Nadine. Nadine.

The name quickly became a broken loop played over and over and over again inside Salvatore’s head, his mind unable, or rather unwilling, to think of anything else as he read, reread, and then re-reread Nadine’s name at least 100 times, before finally setting the piece of paper down.

“Nadine...” Salvatore breathes the name once again, his voice carrying a wistful tone. “E-even your n-name is wonderful...”

An already beautiful woman, made even more perfect through the power of science and Mother Miranda’s grace, only for all that potential to end up wasted in the hands of a desperately lonely and horrifically mangled fish mutant, who was more likely to accidentally dissolve her in stomach acid than woo her like some kind of aquatic Prince Charming.

“Y-ya right... e-e-even with a-another mutant… I’m s-still so disgusting a-an… and horrifying in comparison… n-not even my o-own kind can b-bring thems-themselves to love me f-for who I a-am… not th-that there’s much of m-me that’s worth l-loving to begin w-with” Moreau laments to himself, wondering if it was even worth holding out hope that things with Nadine could go his way. As if one look at his monstrous form wouldn’t be enough to ruin everything Salvatore already has an agonizingly low chance of ever having with that magnificent specimen of a woman.

Even with Nadine’s own external mutations making it clear that she was no longer fully human, her form had still retained such a beautifully strong, yet womanly shape to it, and her face still looked so young and innocent despite everything that she’s been through. Someone as beautiful as her was far too good and pure to be tainted by his filthy hands.

‘Maybe I should just kill her when the villagers arrive with her at the gate? At least then... I could say I put her out of her misery before she had to experience it for herself…’ Salvatore sulks mentally.

However, despite the self degrading thoughts running through his mind, the memory of the curious look Nadine’s shockingly bright and mesmerizing golden eyes held when trying to look at Salvatore through the pod window made the hooded man shiver, having never been looked upon in such an innocently curious manner before. Most people who got that close to Salvatore didn’t even need to see his face in order to start screaming and running away in terror. However, if the deformed man allowed himself a brief moment to believe that it was indeed her who’d been calling him to come back and show himself, then from the tone and rushed quality of her voice, it would seem as though Nadine was unsatisfied with the fact that she hadn’t seen all of Salvatore’s face and body, not terrified.

How strange...

How very strange indeed…

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prayedtoyou · 5 years ago

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overrated - read it on ao3

<< when you get home, will you help me with a project?

>> sure thing. i have to stop by the gas station on my way back, want anything?

<< yeah, grab me some of those chocolate covered raisins that i like

>> you got it. see you in 15

Dean had plans to go home after his three classes of the day to watch Netflix with his hand in his pants and eat pepper jack Cheez-Its until his stomach hurt, but he supposes it wouldn’t hurt to cancel those plans to help out his roommate for a few hours. Dean doesn’t often interrupt plans with himself, especially on a day where he doesn’t have any homework and he doesn’t have to show up for a shift at the salvage yard, but Cas is someone Dean doesn’t mind giving up a few luxuries for.

Dean met Cas in their Design 101 class during freshman year. It was nothing more than a foundation class, one that Dean and Cas had to take in pursuit of their BFA degrees in film and television, and photography, respectively. Dean expected to jack off to the course by flirting with the fellow classmates while still paying just enough attention to pass the class and turn in projects and assignments on time, but when Cas started sitting next to him in the third week of the semester and heckled him about listening to the professor and taking better notes, Dean really started to buckle down and take it a little more seriously.

They’ve been friends ever since. They had late night study sessions during their first year when they were only an elevator ride away from each other’s dorm rooms. Their first college summer was mostly spent at the Biggerson’s just off SCAD’s campus where Cas served tables; Dean would come in to bother him, drink coffee, and take advantage of the free WiFi. They found an apartment they could barely afford just south of the metro area and moved in a week before the new school year started. They still have that same apartment.

This was to Charlie’s disappointment, at first. She had suggested moving in together before Cas had and Dean had been on the fence about it. He loved Charlie, they got along, she understood his nerdy references, they had similar taste in women--but he had been holding out for another photography major to make his move. She quickly forgave him when she met and later moved in with her girlfriend, Dorothy.

There was just something about Cas that set him apart from Dean’s other friends. It might have to do with how passionate Cas was about his classes and major; since sixth grade, he’s known that he would grow up to be a photographer for National Geographic so he could travel the world and take pictures of all his favorite creatures. Or it might have to do with his sense of humor--a little dark and always just flirtatious enough to make Dean wonder just how serious he is and whether or not he should laugh or take him up on his offers.

More than likely, though, it has to do with how attractive he is, how his smile is so bright it puts the sun to shame, how his laugh makes Dean’s heart swell up like a helium balloon, how he’s intelligent and eloquent, but also absolutely clueless about a lot of stuff Dean considers to be required life knowledge. Does most of that knowledge revolve around Star Wars, Back to the Future, and Indiana Jones movie references? Yes, but that’s beside the point.

And that’s what led Dean to living with the guy for going on three years, to spending entire days dedicated to showing Cas his favorite movies and shows, to picking up dark chocolate Raisinets on his way home from school, to walking into their apartment and calling out Cas’s name just like Ricky Ricardo.

Cas shouts back from the opposite side of the apartment where their bedrooms are. Dean finds Cas in his room, furniture pushed away from one wall and replaced with Cas’s favorite reading chair from the living room (that old, forest-green armchair that Cas found at an antique store on the Savannah River that Dean verbally hated, but secretly used when Cas wasn’t around because it’s about the most comfortable thing in the world), and a camera set up on a tripod facing the chair. Cas is wearing that white button down that looks especially good against the tan he got over the summer, the one that matches Dean’s after they spent several long days on Tybee Island right before their senior year started.

“So, what’s the project?” Dean asks, handing over the box of Raisinets. He curses at himself for forgetting to get a snack of his own while he was out.

Cas takes the box with a smile. “Thanks, Dean. This one is based on touch and what emotions it brings out in us, but we can’t have more than one subject in the shot. So, I need you to put this on.” Cas reaches out and drops a small black object into Dean’s palm.

It’s… a tube of lipstick.

“Uh, Cas? I thought we’ve established that I’m not really much of a model.”

Cas rolls his eyes, no doubt remembering the arguments they had on the river walk during their second year when Cas tried to shoot Dean for an assignment that ended up with them deciding that Dean would stick with filming and Cas would recruit performing arts majors to be his models. “I know, I'm not taking pictures of you, you’re taking pictures of me. I already have the camera focused and everything, you just need to put that on, give me a few kisses, and snap some pictures.”

Dean’s brain short-circuits. “K-kisses?”

“Yeah. I’m using lipstick kisses to represent my past relationships and how I feel about them touching me. Just cheek and forehead kisses. We’re not going to be Frenching or anything.”

“Oh.” Dean looks down at the lipstick, caught somewhere between disappointment and relief, wondering if it would be better or worse if these kisses were meant for Cas’s lips instead of the rest of his face. Would it even be right of him to take Cas up on this offer when he already fantasizes about putting kisses all over Cas’s skin? Would it be wrong for their first kisses to be over some project? “I don’t know how I feel about this, Cas.”

“About what, kissing me? They’re not even real kisses, you just have to pucker up like you're kissing your mom.”

Dean chews on his lip. Would it be so bad to take advantage of the situation and indulge in something he’s wanted since their second semester together? Shouldn’t he be a good friend and roommate and help Cas with his project, no matter the requirements?

Cas must see the uncertainty in Dean’s expression because he continues with, “Come on, Dean, we’re graduating next semester, we’re practically professionals. Are you really going to be embarrassed about a little lipstick when you could be filming HBO sex scenes a year from now?”

Dean looks back up at Cas. If he’s going to insist, who is Dean to tell him no? “Alright, asshole, I’ll do it. But you owe me.”

Cas smiles wide and, damn, Dean would wear lipstick every day if it meant Cas would look at him like that. “Okay, there’s a mirror behind you. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just put some on and lay it on me.”

Dean turns to find Cas’s mirror hung up with his portfolio. Photos are hung, tacked, and taped up from vacations, day trips, school projects, and family holidays. Dean is up there a few times: laughing on the opposite side of the table from Cas at Biggerson’s, a selfie of the two of them under the unflattering flash of a smartphone in a dark movie theater, the only good shot Cas got of Dean that day on the river walk, Dean asleep on the couch with a book folded up in his arms like a teddy bear.

Dean didn’t even know Cas took that last one.

He puts on the lipstick, ignoring the photos of himself. It’s definitely not as easy as he thought it would be--staying inside the lines was something he’s improved upon since childhood, but crayons are a lot different from makeup. He manages to swipe the color onto his face, grimacing at the taste of it.

When he looks back at Cas, all he gets is a blank stare and a slight nod. Feeling less than confident with deep red lips, Dean steps up to the plate.

“Where do you want it?”

Dean can hear the click of Cas’s throat as he swallows. He raises a hand, pointing to the knob of his left cheekbone.

“Here.”

Dean steps just a little closer. Cas is about his height, maybe an inch shorter, but it’s not even noticeable when Dean tilts Cas’s face up with a finger and thumb gently pinching his chin. He leans in and--smells Cas’s shampoo, notices the pores on his nose, finds trimmed whiskers along his cheeks--presses his lips right where Cas wanted them.

With the lipstick, Dean can’t taste Cas’s skin, but he can smell the face wash where his nose is sticking into Cas’s temple. Like pomegranates.

When he pulls away, he knows he’s blushing, but he has no way of hiding it, so he just smiles and says, “That’s a good color for you.”

Cas, a little pink himself, scoffs. “Just take the picture, Taylor Swift.”

Cas takes his seat, Dean steps behind the camera. He clicks the shutter button a few times, watching Cas’s face on the screen. He’s leaning his face up and slightly away, lips parted, eyes cast toward the door instead of the lense. It’s a great angle to show off that jawline of his.

Dean was never destined to be a model, but Cas looks just as good in photos as he does in real life. He knows exactly how to position himself, which light to use, how his face should look. He could model, if he ever wanted. Dean asked him if he would star in a short film Dean had to film, but Cas just laughed and said if he wanted to act he would have gone into performing arts.

“That should be enough,” Cas notes, and Dean realizes that he had taken way too many photos while thinking about Cas’s face. He backs away from the camera. “I’ll need a fresh layer for each kiss, so apply some more lipstick.”

Dean does as he’s told and goes back to Cas to kiss him again. This time it’s just above Cas’s right eyebrow. They go on like this a handful more times, until Cas has lipstick stains across his entire face. Each time feels like the first, and Dean has a harder and harder time removing his lips from Cas’s skin as they progress through the photos. Cas doesn’t seem to be as phased--he sits right down and assumes his pose. In each and every picture, Cas mostly just looks sad.

“Why do you look like that?” Dean finally asks after the sixth kiss, snapping pictures.

Cas unfurrows his brow and looks up from the floor. “Like what?”

“Like your dog just died.”

Cas cracks a small smile. “These kisses represent each of my exes and how I felt about my relationships with them.”

“They were all that bad?”

“They certainly weren’t good. After being cheated on, left for someone else, and dumped over text, I don’t exactly have fond memories of most of these people.”

“I remember when that dickhead Balth slept with that web designer. You didn’t leave the house for a week.”

“You took me to the Atlanta Aquarium and pointed at all the ugliest fish and said they looked like him.”

“And I was right. ”

When Cas smiles broadly, Dean sneaks in another picture. The shutter of the lense gives him away, but Cas doesn’t mention it.

“Remember when I watched 500 Days of Summer eight times in two days?” Cas asks. “That’s because Hannah kept telling me she didn’t want a relationship and ended up leaving me for someone who she got engaged to after five months.”

Dean chuckles low under his breath. “Yeah, I remember. I had to force you into the shower and then we went out for burgers.”

“And when Gadreel drunk texted me all the things he hated about me--”

“We toilet papered his frat house and went to a baseball game the next day. We got so sunburnt.”

Cas laughs at the memory and Dean captures it with the camera. He looks so much better like this, happy and covered in kisses from someone who actually cares about him. He deserves to be this happy for the rest of his life.

Cas sobers up and looks at Dean. His expression is soft, something closer to adoration than anything else. Dean wonders if he’s just amused by the makeup.

“You were always there for me, Dean.”

Since Dean can’t take a compliment to save his life, he shrugs it off. “I was just trying to be a good friend. You did the same for me when Lisa and I broke up.”

They go quiet for a moment. Dean reflects back on the two weeks after their break up. Dean was drinking daily, taking whiskey in a travel mug to his classes, going to bars at night, falling asleep on the couch with a bottle in his hands. It took Cas several tries to get him out of his rut, first by asking Dean what was wrong, then by requesting that he eat something solid, and finally by whacking him with his rolled up yoga mat until Dean cleaned himself up and changed into some fresh clothes.

Dean had grumbled about it for a few days, but it was just what he needed. He couldn’t mope around forever and fall into a pit of alcoholism just because his year-long girlfriend finally got fed up with his shit. Cas spent extra time with him that month, changing his schedule and cancelling plans to hang out or do homework in the same room as him, occasionally reaching out to lay a hand on Dean’s shoulder or knocking their feet together to remind him that he wasn’t alone. It helped tremendously.

The worst part wasn’t losing Lisa, it was coming to terms with everything he had been trying to deny since he was seventeen. His attraction to men was something he first noticed when a new kid came to his high school and he fell for the linebacker build and honey-sweet Cajun accent. But after dating women exclusively his whole life, the last thing he wanted was for Cas to feel like some sort of experiment.

“What happened? With Lisa. You never told me.”

Cas catches his eye, but Dean directs his gaze away quickly, suddenly finding the curves of the camera very interesting.

“I, um… I wasn’t very good to her. I was kind of using her to get past a crush I had on someone, but it didn’t go away and she said she couldn’t keep living like that. Like she was competing to be my girlfriend. I don’t blame her one bit, she was right to leave me. I just thought, if it was just a crush, it wouldn’t be a problem once I was with someone else, but when I couldn’t stop liking them…”

Dean chances a look at Cas, who looks just as sad as he had in those pictures. His eyes are wide and it almost looks comical with all the lipstick kisses on his face.

“I realized it was more than just some crush,” Dean finishes lamely.

Every part of him wants to tell Cas. But what would be the point? The two of them will graduate and Cas will become the next most famous National Geographic photographer and Dean will be looking for work as a camera holder on low budget movies and shows that may or may not be cancelled halfway through filming. He could always turn to porn as a last resort, but he'll never make it as far as Cas and he’ll never make it with Cas.

In the beginning, he didn’t want to ruin their relationship. They worked well together, whether it was study sessions or getting back at exes or picking out mismatching furniture at second-hand stores. He worried about losing his friend. Now he doesn’t want to say anything because he knows he’s going to lose Cas one way or another, and it will hurt less if they don’t get involved with each other any more than they already are.

Cas takes a deep breath, processing the information. He searches the room. His eyes land back on the camera.

“I have one more shot to get.”

Dean blinks. It’s what he expected. It wouldn’t matter if Dean subtly tried to imply how in love he is with Cas or if he bluntly told him, he would always get the cold shoulder. It’s for the best, he tries to convince himself. Any other way would just end in a bigger heartbreak than necessary.

He turns back to the mirror. He finds the photo of him and Cas in the movie theater again. He can’t remember what movie they saw, but their faces are nearly touching and Dean’s arm is around Cas and he wishes more than anything that he’d taken the chance to kiss him back then. Because, what’s the quote? ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Does it count when Dean is, technically, in love, but just hasn’t voiced it yet?

With a new coat of lipstick, he faces Cas again. He’s standing in the middle of the room, right next to the camera, ready for his last kiss. Dean musters up all his fake confidence and closes the distance between them, standing just a little closer than he had before.

“And this time?” Dean asks.

Cas looks hesitant. Maybe he’s finally realizing that he should have chosen someone else to kiss him over and over again. Someone who he wouldn’t have to awkwardly live with afterwards. Someone who wouldn’t have made a straightforward project into something uncomfortable.

His hand comes up to his face. He points a single finger to his bottom lip.

“Here.”

Dean’s breath catches in his throat. He hunts for any sort of lie in Cas’s eyes, any indication that he didn’t want it, that he wanted to take it back. But Cas just looks right back at him, waiting, patient.

Dean fits the corner of Cas’s jaw into the center of his palm, runs his thumb across Cas’s cheek. A lipstick kiss smears under the pad of his finger, wiping into nothing but a blur, just like the memory of whichever lover that one was meant to be.

When their lips meet, Dean forgets about every single reason he didn’t let himself have this before. Everything in his head melts away until there’s just Cas and mouth and hands and Cas and Cas and Cas.

Cas doesn’t hold back. He grips Dean’s waist like a life raft in the middle of the ocean, opens his mouth and moans when Dean slips his tongue in. He takes everything Dean gives him. He moves his head aside when Dean trails his mouth along his jaw and down his neck, kissing and sucking and nipping at the skin. Dean pulls him closer, desperate to feel as much of Cas as he possibly can.

Dean feels like he’s shaking, or maybe vibrating, with need. Everything is tilting, moving, wavering around him. The lights could blow and he wouldn't even notice, he’s too wrapped up, too confused about which way is left or right.

Their mouths come together again and the world straightens out on its axis. They slow down, brushing their lips together the way pages of a book slide against one another. They take their time. They learn the way they move with each other.

Eventually, they part. Not to gasp for breath, but to rest their foreheads together; to align their hearts. Between them, Dean can smell Cas’s toothpaste and taste the lipstick.

“We should do projects together more often,” Dean concludes humorlessly.

“I think we should skip the projects and just make out,” Cas counters.

Dean pulls back to laugh quietly at Cas, but then sees his face. Cas is covered in lipstick, all around his mouth, his chin, across his jaw, down his neck. The makeup follows the patterns of Dean’s kisses, right down to where he had sucked Cas’s earlobe into his mouth.

He lets loose, practically wheezing at the state of Cas’s face. Dean’s must look similar, because Cas erupts into laughter too and they both sink into each other, bodies convulsing in their arms.

“Come on, come on. One more picture,” Cas begs, pulling out of Dean’s grasp and positioning himself on the chair. He couldn't wipe that smile off his face if he tried, and it looks like he isn’t putting in any effort at all to push it away.

Dean presses the shutter button three times, hoping at least one of them is a good shot, before diving around the camera to pull Cas into his embrace again.

The lipstick ends up on chests, wrist, bed sheets, and hips, but they don’t mind. They might even keep the tube for another time.

tags below the cut!

#destiel #fanfic #my work #destiel college au

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thefinalyeehaw · 4 years ago

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(Obey Me Fic) Deathly Hearts {Ch. 1 - Arrival}

Killian didn’t know what to expect of the Devildom. Her knowledge of the realm was solely based on books and tales of her father’s younger days as he had been good allies with the Demon Lord. Diavolo had spoken about his home realm during his stay, now Killian regretted not asking further questions. Especially after she agreed to become a lab rat to the demon prince’s social experiment. His decree caused an uproar in her father’s court, shouting of royal advisers and loud gossiping among members of the reapscape’s nobility flooded the otherwise organized hall.

Among the chaos, her father sat on his throne, quietly observing the unleashed mayhem as she stared, shocked at Diavolo. The demon prince stood unflappable, the midst of the yelling and arguing, his eyes trained on her. The golden hues pierced her icy eyes, and his radiant smile remained unbreakable as a few irate advisors began to hurl thinly-veiled insults, stabbing at the demon prince’s character and integrity. Killian knew Diavolo didn’t care; the advisors could throw stones at him like a humorless jester telling bad jokes, he would still stand tall and proud as he awaited her answer.

Killian felt her father’s steely gaze latch onto her; he also awaited her answer. Usually, Killian felt graceful that her father always let her make her own decisions, but at that moment, she wished he had said something. Anything.

As she expected, her father remained silent as he stood up, his towering frame immediately silencing the hall. Her father turned to her, his dark eyes joining a hundred pairs piercing her; All awaiting an answer.

She didn’t know why she said yes. Diavolo’s dream was one that Killian shared; she also envisioned unity among the realms. But a dream is just a dream, a wild fantasy that will never come true. Diavolo’s idea was too outlandish; she couldn’t fathom reapers that won’t be a Ravished or an outcast in the Devildom, let alone a human.

Demons would tear a human to pieces the moment they stepped foot in the realm of the demons. Killian has witnessed many aftermaths of demons’ ravenous hunger for humans, to confirm that fact. But Diavolo wouldn’t listen even if she begged him on her knees as it wasn’t her place, much to her dismay. She was only a guest at the Devildom. Her only goal is to participate as a student for a year and report back to her father about her own opinion on the program.

Nothing more and nothing less.

“Welcome to the Devildom, Killian!”

A smile graced her face, her eyes landing on Diavolo as the mist of his transport spell vanished. Standing in the center of a raised judge panel, his already large frame looked gigantic as the demon prince peered down at the reaper. She recognized his signature red ankle-length coat, the crimson of his clothes heavily contradicting the large assembly hall’s violet and black scheme. Diavolo’s face brightens as he takes in her form, his gold eyes practically glow with excitement in the dimness.

“I’m honored to be here. I was starting to think that you forgot about me.” Her mask’s lips curled into a grin as the magic-infused in the porcelain mirrors her facial expressions. Killian didn’t usually wear a mask; her arrival to the Devildom coincided with the Melachonia festival in her home realm. Not wanting to break tradition, she decided to partake in the porcelain mask tradition during those significant months, though its appearance made her stick out like a sore thumb.

Diavolo chuckled at her tease, “Killian, you are someone who isn’t easily forgotten,” His gold eyes twinkled gleefully. “I do apologize for the delay. We had some difficulties with bringing Mattie to RAD.” Diavolo’s gaze shifted past the reaper, who turned to follow his stare.

A small distance behind her stood a human; their aura confirmed it. The person flinched when they noticed her glance, their eyes widening at the sight of her mask. They stood shorter than her, about chin-height to her. Killian noted they were cute, admiring the human’s olive skin and dyed teal hair, styled into a chin-length choppy bob, framing their round face and button nose.

Killian smiled, forcing back a giggle as the human gasped at her mask’s movement. “Hello there, I’m Killian. Who are you?” Keeping her voice smooth and calm, not to frighten the human further. “I-I’m Mattie. Mattie Carson.” Their doe-like eyes were glued to the mask’s mouth, watching in awe as the thin line moved and took shape, mirroring every word the reaper spoke. Their cheeks flushed as a giggle escaped Killian, immediately averting their glance in embarrassment.

“I’m glad the two of you are getting along well,” Diavolo smiled, observing the duo’s interaction happily. The demon prince seemed elated by the newest students’ friendly exchange; joy practically oozed from every pore. “Killian here is a good friend of mine. Treat her kindly, and she will do the same.”

Friends? Diavolo’s comment surprised her. She never thought he would consider her a friend. During his stay, Killian always made an effort to be friendly with the demon prince as their first meeting didn’t leave the best first impression whenever she bumped into the demon in the hallways and at banquets. Their chats were amiable but not enough to warrant status as the demon prince’s good friend.

Nevertheless, Killian took the opportunity to joke, “Aw, you’re going to make me blush~” Amused at the faint flush on Diavolo’s face as he laughed, also amused by their banter. A loud cough drew Killian’s eyes to the demon standing next to Diavolo, wearing a black version of the prince’s uniform. The demon was almost as tall as Diavolo, incredibly handsome with flawless porcelain skin and silky black hair. Even from the far distance, Killian noticed the crimson gradient in the demon’s otherwise piercing grey eyes. Those scrutinizing eyes glared disapprovingly, unamused of her playful attitude.

Killian grinned, winking at the scowling demon. She watched gleefully as his glare deepened. Obviously, the demon didn’t like her, not like she gave a shit about his feelings. If the demon was judging her already without getting to know her, Killian didn’t want to waste her energy on trying to be liked by some demon with an apparent stick up his ass.

“I apologize. We got off-topic.” Diavolo’s laughter subsided; he gesticulated around the hall as if performing a magic trick. “I should explain where we are. This is the Royal Academy of Diavolo, though we just call it RAD. You’re standing inside of the assembly hall, the very heart of RAD. This is where we officers of the student council hold our meetings and conduct our business.” Killian glanced around the impressive room, and she noticed a few empty seats among the ones occupied by a few disinterested demons.

“I’m the president of said council.” Diavolo stated proudly as if demons were fearless enough to run against him for the seat. She counted the number of seats, growing more curious. There were eight seats, including Diavolo; three seats were vacated. Why isn’t the whole council here? Won’t it have been more proper to have the full council present for the new students’ arrivals?

“Why are we here?” Mattie asked firmly, some of the shock and fear melting from their body. Killian felt slightly happy at the human’s growing confidence; the human will need that moxie if they want to survive the Devildom for the next year. Although it won’t prevent them from being eaten, it was at least progress.

“I will explain everything to you.” The black-haired demon spoke, ascending down the center stairs of the panel towards the two. Killian willed herself not to step forward in front of Mattie protectively; her posture grew rigid and alert. Her thumb fiddled with the ring on her right index finger, containing her scythe. The smile on Diavolo’s face eased her a bit; she still won’t hesitate to attack if the demon tried anything funny.

“Mattie. Killian. This is Lucifer. He is a demon and the Avatar of Pride.” Killian studied the black-haired demon with mild interest, so this is Lucifer? Diavolo spoke a lot of his dear friend during his stay in the Reapscape. From his descriptions of the demon, Killian honestly thought Lucifer was an old grumpy cat whom Diavolo grew fond of. Finally, now that she put a name with the face, she thought of him more like an arrogant peacock, domineering over ostentation of peafowls.

“So, you’re Lucifer? Lord Diavolo spoke many praises of you to my Excellency.” Her father’s title felt odd on her tongue. She doesn’t remember the last time when she had to call him by that status as “father,” and the occasional papa was his usual title to her. But her father had requested her royal status to remain anonymous during her participation in the program; Killian needed to remember that she wasn’t the Grim Reaper’s daughter in the eyes of these demons. She was just a representative of the Reapscape handpicked by the demon prince.

“He’s also the vice president of the student council and my right-hand man...and not just in title, I assure you.” Diavolo added. Killian disguised a sudden laugh as a mild cough fit, nearly giggling as Mattie shot her an odd look. Diavolo slightly pouted, resembling a worried puppy more than a demon prince. Lucifer’s glare intensified; oh, he knew exactly what she was thinking. Killian didn’t care if his stare melted the flesh off of her bone. The accidental double meaning was too funny not to laugh at.

Killian let out a quick apology in between fake coughs, claiming she was okay. Reassured that the reaper wasn’t about to keel over and die, Diavolo continued to praise Lucifer. “Beyond that, he’s also my most trusted friend,” Lucifer grunted at his words, annoyance twitched at his features as his stare shifted to the prince.

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Diavolo.” He cleared his throat; his red-grey eyes pierced the two exchange students. Mattie winced at the intensity while Killian merely stared back, unbothered by the demon’s biting gaze. Being a royal heir, she grew custom to the glares and gawking of nobles as she wasn’t introduced into palace life with open arms as a young reaper.

With practiced grace, Lucifer placed a gloved hand to his chest, slightly bowed his head towards the duo as he spoke, “Speaking on behalf of the entire student body at this great and storied school of ours, I offer you a most heartfelt welcome.” Killian blinked; that was one of the driest greetings she has experienced. She endured stabbings more heartfelt.

“On behalf of the students?” A faint frown appeared on the human’s face. Killian didn’t need telepathy to know Mattie found Lucifer’s welcome less than warm. Lucifer’s eyes briefly narrowed before he diverged into a monologue, “Diavolo believes that we demons should start strengthening our relationship with both the human world and the Celestial Realm. As a first step towards this goal, we’ve decided to institute an exchange program.” Killian turned him out. She already heard the program’s nature when Diavolo did his sales pitch to her father, resulting in brief mayhem occurring in the royal court.

“You both need someone to look after you, and I think that someone should be my brother Mammon?” The name seemed familiar to Killian; where has she heard that name before?

“Your brother?” Mattie asked curiously.

“Yes. He’s the Avatar of Greed, and… how should I put it…?” He sighed defeatedly, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if a headache was forming. “You’ll understand soon enough.”

Reaching into a coat pocket, Lucifer retrieved two cell phones. “Here, take this device. It’s called D.D.D. It’s a lot like the cell phones of your worlds,” He plopped the phones into each of their hands; his aim missed Killian’s hand, the phone nearly slipped. Her quick reflexes easily caught the falling phone; she gave him a sharp look. If Lucifer purposefully missed, his face didn’t show its guilt as he further discusses the new cell phones.

With an annoyed huff, Killian decided to examine the new device. Her phone case was a dark red; she lifted the phone slightly. She let out a breathy laugh as she saw the case matched the color of Diavolo’s uniform. Killian playfully winked at Diavolo, noticing the man also looking at the case in her hand. Diavolo’s smile widened; she suppressed a crackle when he winked back.

Forcing herself to turn away as not to draw any attention, she turned it on to see the phone was already charged and unlocked. Killian quickly browsed the standard installed apps. Although it will take some time for Killian to get used to a new cell phone, everything seemed in place. She wondered if her other phone would work if she needed to call home. She knew there would be metaphorical hell to pay if she didn’t text Jules often. The reaper shuddered at the thought of being on the end of her dear friend’s notoriously short temper. That wasn’t something she wanted to deal with any time soon.

“Now, go ahead and try calling Mammon with it.” Lucifer instructed.

~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading! Reblog if you want me to post more.

Also, I wanted to explain a few things about Mattie (The human; the usual MC of the game), Killian (my reaper mc of sorts) and the story.

1. Mattie identifies as genderqueer; The pronouns of Mattie are They/Them, just like in the game. (Killian's pronouns are She/Her as she identities as cisgender).

2. This story will follow the overall plot line relatively close, it will kinda diverges from the original story in a few major events. there is also some side plot and funny (sometimes spicy~) filler chapters.

3. Mattie will not be the one romancing the boys, Killian is the romantic interest. Mattie will develop deep platonic relationships with the boys, I'm still deciding upon Mattie's sexual preference (possibly gray-ace?)

4. Since this is somewhat an AU; there will be chapters outside of the realm of the devildom, focusing on Killian's backstory and the Reapscape.

5. Last but not least, there will be some dark topics explored (mostly involving Killian's past) that I hadn't tagged yet. I will put trigger warning in the beginning notes of those chapters. If wanted, I can put line break around the sensitive materials.

#obey me #reapscape au #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me diavolo

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unfortunatelysage · 4 years ago

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Golden (parts 1 and 2)

me writing? actually kinda realistic. ocs from my old story storm since I'm too burnt out to make new characters right now lmao

Winter has a soft spot in my heart. I'm not a fan of the muddy slush that lines the streets, nor the frostbite I inevitably get every year, or the snowstorms, or even really the holiday season. But I love the soft whites and brilliant blues, the calm snowfall, and the traveling. It's probably no secret that I look forward strongly to winter break every year, but I'm just as excited for summer.

My parents have a cottage up north we go to in the summer, I tell my coworkers.

Oh yeah, we usually go on a cruise or something, I tell my classmates.

I just like the beach! I tell my friends. You know me!

As opposed to a week and a half during the winter, I get to stay three or four weeks at Austin's in the summer. Both of us would like me to stay the whole break, but we both work and have school to focus on, and it's difficult as is to get up to a month off.

Breathing in the woodsy air, I feel a rush of joy to my insides, like a swarm of butterflies made its way to my lungs. I exhale again and continue on, admiring the skyscraping trees and massive insects and animals from afar. Everything seems in line until a massive figure crashes through the trees, coming right toward me.

Good God! I jump behind a rock and watch the figure pass. It's a giant- scratch that, a giantess. She runs past me, paying no mind, and through the trees away from Me. What the hell was that? I didn't even get a good look at her, but she was around the same height as Austin I believe.

I check the direction she came to see if anyone else follows, and no one does. No matter, I have a place to be. The rest of the trip goes well, and I arrive on time. He got a buzzer installed for me to press when I show up, so I don't have to find a way up to his doorbell. I push it and wait, rocking on the balls of my feet in anticipation.

The door opens to a crouching Austin, smiling. "It's you!"

"It's me!" I respond, smiling back. "You look great." He sports new glasses and shorter hair on the sides, as well as soft red eyeshadow under his eyes.

"You too!" He replies, raising his eyebrows real quick as he holds out his hand. I nod and step on, and he carefully carries me to the main area. "I see you got your hair done. I like the blue."

We chat for a while and catch up on things as Austin grabs ice tea for us. "Is there anything I need set up right now? Anything I can put in your room or anything?"

"About that..." Austin trails off. " I know you just arrived, but I need to make a trip real quick. Would you rather stay here, or come with?"

"Oh, I can come with. What's the trip for?"

"My friend lost her pet the other day, and I found him." With approval, he carries me to his room, slowly opening the door. "You're not afraid of snakes, are you?"

Just then, my eyes meet the slithery creature's. Little beady eyesstuck in the sides of a titanic, squirming body, a light brown with black curves around him. I noticeably shiver. "Usually, no... but you see the size of him?"

"Understandable for you, I suppose. If it makes you feel better, in general he's quite small. I'd give him 25 zents." I do the math in my head. That's still about ten feet.

"Is he... you know... human-eating?" The snake slithers across the floor a bit.

"His name is Butterscotch. I don't think he's come in contact with any humans, but I would highly doubt he would eat you. No worries anyway, I'll need to keep you in my pocket when I head over to see Carrie. She doesn't know humans exist yet, and I'm not sure if either of us are ready to tell her."

I stare blankly at him.

"She's very nice, I swear. It'll go fine. You just stay where she can't see you, I drop off Butter, we go back on our way. It'll be good. Great, even."

A sigh escapes my body, and I smile. "Fine, I'll do it. Please promise to keep Butterscotch away from me though, that's all I ask."

"Great! Ready to go?" he bends down and grabs Butterscotch with his left hand, keeping me balanced in his right. He brings me to the chest of his dark jacket as he stands again, and I jump inside before the snake can reach me. I hear a soft chuckle escape him, and he mumbles a reassurance as he turns to leave.

The pocket is dark and stuffy, and gives no help to my claustrophobia. But I have to admit it's the lesser of two evils, as I'd rather mildly suffocate in fabric than get swallowed whole by a giant snake. I trace the inside of his jacket pocket's button, noticing the golden plating hasn't rubbed away at all. It's also not too shiny, even when rays of light from outside bounce off.

"Butterscotch is away from you, you know. You haven't any need to lock yourself away completely from sight," the giant tells me.

I push the pocket open at the word and stick my head out. "Okay, genuine question. The gold on your jacket. Is that real? Like all the way pure gold?"

"Yeah, how come?" he asks, raising an eyebrow as he looks down. I crane my neck up and notice his earrings as well, little gold hoops.

"The earrings too?"

"Sure are," he toggles his earring with his free hand. "Is there a reason behind your question?"

"Yeah, where do you work and when are they hiring?"

"Gold's not uncommon, Robin... haven't you seen any gold jewelry where you're from?" He raises his hand to the pocket, slowing his walk. I climb on, wary of the snake fifteen feet away and let him raise me to his shoulder, where I situate myself.

"Yeah, for thousands of dollars!" I reach up and touch his earring, stroking the smooth gold. Small to him, sure, but a rich golden crown to any human.

"I can feel all of this," he whispers after a few minutes. Feeling that blood rush to my cheeks, I shoot my hand down, and I feel him vibrate in a laugh. "Sorry to get your hopes up, but I'm almost there. You'd best be getting back in. He brings his hand back up, and I eye Butterscotch as I'm lowered back into this pocket, diving in.

He rings the doorbell to a house I didn't get to see before hiding, and the sound of a door opening. A voice follows, smooth and sweet like dropping honey, though awfully loud.

"Austin, how good to see you! Is that... oh, wonderful! Please, come in."

I feel Austin's chest vibrate as he replies, also very loudly. I guess I forgot this is how he speaks normally. "Oh, I was actually planning on dropping him offc, since today I-"

"Please, I insist! I'll only be a minute. We haven't properly talked in ages!" The first voice tells him, and I feel him push forward, walking in. What? This wasn't the plan.

The giant sits down slowly, still holding the snake. I hear the other giant- Carrie, was her name? She takes a seat as well across from him, and I hear a clinking sound. Prepared refreshments. Austin always told me how important hospitality is in his culture, though giants tend to fly solo.

The two make small talk, and Austin's still holding the damn snake! I'm trapped in a tiny hell just feet away from a killing machine. I hear him slowly start drinking whatever refreshment the giantess got for him, and I reach back and punch his chest to remind him of the mission at hand.

He starts coughing, setting down the drink. He taps against his chest next to me, regaining himself. "So sorry," he finally gets out. "Swallowed wrong."

"No worries at all. Where did you find Butter? I've been out all day everyday for the last week looking around."

"Right out Back behind my house, would you believe? Halfway up a tree. I nearly missed him, he blended in with the bark! Once I noticed, I brought him in and got ready to go, then came here."

"Give her the snake," I murmur.

"Did you hear something?" Carrie asks.

"Uh, no! Not really," he responds a tad too quickly. "Would you like Butterscotch back? I bet he's been itching to see you." I feel movement, likely his arms holding the snake out.

"Yes, in just a second as I put the glasses away. You're finished, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Thank you." She stands up by my guess, and walks out of the room. His voices hushes to a whisper. "You didn't have to hit me."

"You didn't have to come in!" I retort, "Give her the snake and let's go."

She comes back in. "Did you say something?"

"Oh, no I didn't. Here's Butterscotch." Austin holds the snake out again, but then things move in slow motion.

Since I was in the pocket without sight of the situation, I can't give the most accurate idea of what happens, but here's what I assume and what I know.

What I assume: The snake either sees me move, or smells me, or something like that. He slips quickly between Austin's hands toward the pocket.

What I know: A giant motherfucking snake sticks his giant motherfucking head into the pocket, inches away from me. Naturally, I let out a scream of terror. Perhaps a little less naturally, I dive out of the pocket and grab tightly onto the gold button, hanging on and still screaming. Austin whips the snake away from his pocket and shoves it in Carrie's direction, throwing me off the pocket and into Austin's hand, which he throws into the right place at the right time as I tumble across his skin.

Butterscotch slides around Carrie's shoulders and I finally catch a good look at her. She's the giantess that ran across the woods, who was so quiet in her movements. I can only describe her as golden. Tanned, glowing skin paired with tight, bouncy, honey-colored curls. She wears gold sun and moon earrings and a matching necklace, alongside a flowy yellow shirt. Pure gold. More importantly, her hazel eyes meet mine.

The two of us lock eyes like this for a fair few seconds, and she makes the first move. "Austin, what... what is she?"

He brings his hand closer to himself. "I didn't want you to find out. Her name is Robin, she's a..." he looks down, expecting me to speak, but my vocal chords are fixed in place. "A human. Like us, but smaller."

"She's so pretty... can I see her closer?"

"She can speak, ask her yourself." Austin looks down, noticing me still staring at her. "Well, usually she can. Robin?" He prods me with his index, and I snap out of it.

"You think I'm pretty?" I ask. "You're unbelievably pretty!"

"Aww, thank you!" she replies, lowering her voice after realizing I'm a bit quieter. "Austin, how come you didn't tell me about your friend?"

"I wasn't really sure how you'd take it. I didn't expect you both to be on good terms so fast... she sure wasn't on my side right away," he laughs.

Carrie and I end up not having much in common, but she's real fun to talk to. Eventually she tells us to come back sometime, and we start heading back after saying our goodbyes and Austin hoisting me onto his shoulder.

"Robin, I'm so sorry, that went so horribly, oh my goodness, I hope you're not-"

"I'm fine, Austin," I laugh. "I didn't expect it to go well, but in the end we're all fine! Carrie is nice, Butterscotch didn't eat me and we all got to connect. I think it's a win-win for all of us."

"Oh, well I'm happy you're not upset. I bet you're real tired though, let's settle in a bit once we get back to my place."

"Sounds like a plan," I reply, leaning against his neck.

#g/t #g/t community #giant #giant tiny #giant/tiny #tiny #gt #gt community #loooong post

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beevean · 5 years ago

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Sonic Advance 3 Team System

Because sometimes you want to analyze a 16-year-old handheld game that people unceremoniously remember as “the worst game of the trilogy”. ... does that happen to anyone else?

Warning: this post is very long (sorry for the mobile users). There is a lot to say about Advance 3′s team system. But I hope I can manage to ignite more interest for this ambitious game!

General notes on the characters:

Sonic: Sonic is one of the most consistent characters in the game, rarely losing moves and always gaining them, but generally speaking he has the simplest move-set. Sonic’s main feature, both as the leader and as the partner, is going into Boost Mode – if he’s in the team it’s automatically a Speed team. Sonic’s usual attack is the Skid, the melee attack with the longest range (bar the Fire Sliding and Cheese). Note that using the Skid while in Boost mode will cancel it.

Tails: Tails is the character that changes the most, the “standard” version being the one in T/S. Tails can fly with anyone except T/K, but his flight is different every time. In T/S and T/A he lasts around 5 seconds, and in T/C he lasts around 3 seconds. Virtually the same as his “standard” flight, his usual swimming style is the Dog Paddle, which is actually tied to his “fatigue period” when he flies. With the exception of T/K and T/A, his usual attack is the Tail Swipe, a quick, moderate-range attack that can be used even while running and in Boost mode.

Knuckles: Knuckles’ abilities always change with each team, but almost never drastically. With the exception of K/S, his main ability is gliding and climbing walls. Virtually the same as his gliding, his swimming style is the Breast Stroke; he can also float on water surfaces. Knuckles’ usual attack is the Double Punch, slightly shorter but longer-lasting than the Tail Swipe (note that using it in Boost mode will cancel it); more importantly, it’s a Power attack, meaning it can break the toughest barriers, and in fact any team with Knuckles but without Sonic is considered Power (but S/K and K/S can still destroy Power barriers with specific attacks). Sadly, he’s the only character that has no chance to perform Trick Actions.

Cream: Cream was a game breaker in Advance 2, and she’s no better (or worse) in this game, except that now you can’t play as her until you’re almost done with the game. Her flight never changes (C/T is the only team in which she can’t fly at all): it always lasts 5 seconds, gains more height than horizontal velocity, and she can cancel it, being able to hit enemies below after doing so. While their characteristics change with every team, her main attack is sending Cheese: she’s the only character who has always a long-range attack, and she can attack even while running and in Boost mode. Note that they need to be closer to a target compared to how they were in Advance 2.

Amy: Amy offers an interesting, slightly more challenging but more rewarding gameplay style. With the exception of A/S, she always jumps without curling: her jump is more precise (read: less slippery) than the others, making her better suited for platforming. The Mid-Air Hammer Attack, her only way to protect herself while jumping, can be considered an Insta-Shield with a much wider range, but be careful since as soon as she stops spinning, she’s vulnerable to attacks and can’t spin further. Her only weapon is her hammer, slightly quicker than Knuckles’ punches and with about the same range (and another attack that cancels the Boost); however, it offers a lot of benefits. The best way to use it is to hit vertical and diagonal springs: they launch you twice as high into the air, great for shortcuts. It’s also pretty good for switches and those contraptions in Ocean Base where you have to keep pressing a button to go up – it does not work, however, for those “chargeable” springs in Sunset Hill and Cyber Track, where you have to jump at a precise time to be sent high in the air. With A/T and A/C, she has her Leap from Advance, which makes her hop forward like a bunny: good for flat terrains and gentle slopes, but terrible for curved walls, and sadly, unlike Advance 1, very few levels are built to accommodate this moveset. Its only advantage over the Spin Dash is that it never loses momentum as long as you keep pressing. With the Leap comes also the Head Slide, but its timing has been so delayed that it’s next to useless. As a side note, the Hammer Attack destroys barriers in 2 hits instead of 4.

General comments on the Tag Actions:

Sonic: With Sonic you can only Boost and nothing else, both on the ground and in the air (if you pause, you can actually see him Spin Dashing to boost you forward, which is a nice detail). It’s essentially a stronger version of the Super Peel-Out, and it’s mostly useful if you want to speedrun a level, if an alternative path is hidden above a long, steep ramp, and if the level isn’t too labyrinthine or cheap with obstacles. A very fun move nonetheless. You can also turn it into a super Spin Dash by pressing Down as soon as you release R (even in the air), or use an easy speedrunning trick by pausing the game while you’re holding R, releasing R, pressing A, and then unpausing the game: you will jump and Boost at the same time. (as a non-Tag Action related effect, Sonic also gives the leader his own momentum, making them go slightly faster than if they were paired with anyone else)

Tails: Tails is straight up broken. His ground Tag Action launches you extremely high in the air and pushes you a little forward – its only disadvantage is that you aren’t curled so you’re vulnerable. In the air, he lifts you up like he could do in S3&K, which is a more reliable move if you don’t need to go too far; he stays in the air for about 7 seconds, and unlike in the previously mentioned game, he’ll even carry you underwater. Even in the worst cases, he’s by far the best partner – and you have him since the start of the game!

Knuckles: I personally find Knuckles the least useful of the bunch when it comes to Tag Actions. His ground Tag Action, throwing him like a ball, is mostly to be used against a Power barrier; it can also be considered a very long-ranged attack (he can even destroy enemies offscreen), that can come in handy if you don’t have any Rings, you’re dealing with a particularly nasty enemy, or you don’t have any better offensive moves, but it takes a lot of time to call him, so you’ll likely won’t think of it. His gliding, while it can cover a lot of ground and can also be used as an attack, has the nasty catch that Knuckles can grab on walls, but your character can’t – at best you could latch just right on the corner and manage to land, most likely you could miss a ledge, but at worst you could fall down a bottomless pit. Use it with caution.

Cream: Cream lets you “borrow” Cheese for 10 seconds both on the ground and in the air, which is more than enough with a WMD like them. Of course, until they return to Cream, the playable character can’t use their own attack, which can get annoying with Knuckles (he can’t destroy Power barriers) and Amy (she can’t use her hammer); Cheese can, however, hit switches, something they don’t do when Cream uses them. What’s more important, though, is the aerial Tag Action: not only the leader’s attack is replaced by Cheese again, but Cream gives you a handy air boost. While it may look much less impressive than Tails’ and Amy’s Tag Actions if used casually (at the peak of your jump), it’s actually a momentum-amplifier, meaning that, if you use it as soon as you jump, you’ll be flung much higher in the air, always curled (except for Amy), and carrying the velocity you had at the beginning of your jump; still not as high as Amy’s Tag Action, let alone Tails’, but the tradeoff is worth it as it’s more malleable. To make it even more impressive, use it as soon as you’re launched by a spring, even the chargeable ones, and watch as you get skyrocketed into the sky. Note, however, that it doesn’t work quite as well underwater, unlike Tails’ and Amy’s Tag Actions and the hammer. She also gives everyone but Amy the ability to Homing Attack: while it’s not 100% accurate, it’s a great way to gain speed, if performed at enough distance the character will go into Boost mode, and with it you can even quickly attack bosses. Too bad you unlock her so late in the game…

Amy: Both of Amy’s Tag Actions propel you in the air like Tails, but the trajectory is purely vertical and it doesn’t go quite as high. The difference between the ground one and the aerial one is that the former flings you higher, but uncurled, while the latter flings you lower, but curled, which makes it a useful upward attack. You can even use her aerial Tag Action while already in the air to gain even more height (possibly going higher than Tails could send you), and it’s useful to quickly correct a missed jump – I suggest keeping her ready to use as much as possible. Tag Actions aside, an interesting effect Amy has on the leader is that they lose their ability to spin while jumping and have to use a hammer to attack. The major differences between controlling Amy and having her as a partner is that everyone else can manually spin in the air by pressing the attack button (except Cream) and can still use the Spin Dash, but no one can do a Mid-Air Hammer Attack (so they can’t extend their hitboxes or hit springs in the air). As when playing as Amy, using the hammer on a vertical or diagonal spring launches you into the air. In short, Amy is just as much of a flying partner as Tails.

Now for each of the 20 teams you have at your disposal!

SONIC/TAILS

The very first team you can play with, so it makes for a very well-rounded combination that can be used in every level. There is really not much to say, this is basically the jack-of-all-trades of the game.

Pros:

This team is a Speed team, which mean it has higher momentum and can go into Boost mode.

Sonic has his standard move-set.

Tails’ Tag Actions allow you to fly or get launched into the air.

This is one of the four teams that can perform Trick Actions. Sonic’s lateral Trick Action goes the farthest and can damage enemies, and he can damage enemies below with his downward Trick Action/Bound Attack.

Cons:

Sonic’s move-set is limited compared to other combinations.

He has the worst aerial Trick Action.

Why use it?: if you just want to play as normal Sonic and at the same time benefit from Trick Actions and Tails’ Tag Actions. It’s a good Speed team that can fly, it doesn’t stand out but it’s designed to be used everywhere.

SONIC/KNUCKLES

Sonic gets more combat-oriented without sacrificing his speed. The Insta-Shield, and the fact that Knuckles is the one that gives it to you, is a cool callback to S3&K.

Pros:

This team is a Speed team, which mean it has higher momentum and can go into Boost mode.

Sonic can perform an Insta-Shield (here called a Wind Attack), an Upper Spin (dash upwards) and a Bound Attack (bounce on the ground), to attack in every direction.

His normal skid is replaced by the Fire Sliding, which is stronger and lasts longer (about 1.5 seconds). It’s so strong that you can go up steep inclines and curved walls.

You can destroy Power barriers.

You can use Knuckles’ gliding to cover ground if you’re careful.

Cons:

Sonic’s Upper Spin has a short-ish range and it’s difficult to move horizontally, making it a limited type of double jump.

The lack of strong aerial moves makes this the slowest, least flexible Speed team.

The Fire Sliding sends you very far and there’s the risk you’ll fall down a ledge, and it can’t be canceled.

Knuckles’ Tag Actions are more circumstantial than others.

Why use it?: if you want to combine Sonic’s speed and move-set with a more aggressive gameplay style, or you want a Speed team with a Power attack and many melee moves. In levels, the main draws compared to K/S are the gliding and especially the Upper Spin, which gives it the tiniest of aerial advantages and can be used for small but cool skips. This team is pretty good for the Altar Emerald boss in particular, as its hitbox is high and can be more easily reached with the Upper Spin.

SONIC/CREAM

My absolute favorite combination, and a great game breaker - Sonic gains all sorts of nifty abilities without sacrificing anything of his own, and exploits Cream’s momentum-amplifying abilities to terrific effects. This is probably the fastest Sonic can go in this game.

Pros:

This team is a Speed team, which mean it has higher momentum and can go into Boost mode.

Sonic has a strong Jump Dash that can function as a little boost.

He can home on enemies.

He can breathe underwater.

Cream’s Tag Actions let you use Cheese and if performed in the air it gives you a handy double jump, or even flings you high, while keeping you curled. This also works on springs, even the chargeable ones.

Cons:

Cream’s air boost isn’t as powerful as Tails’ or Amy’s Tag Actions.

Why use it?: between the Jump Dash, the Homing Attack, the double jump, Cheese, and the ability to breathe underwater, this team is a great combination of speed and verticality.

SONIC/AMY

Once you get used to Sonic’s new jump, this is another well rounded team, as it combines Sonic’s speed with Amy’s aerial mobility. This team also looks very cute, with Amy looking totally lovestruck and Sonic grinding on rails with a snowboard. A bit of a treat for Sonamy fans.

Pros:

This team is a Speed team, which mean it has higher momentum and can go into Boost mode.

Amy’s Tag Actions give you a great aerial boost.

Hitting springs with the hammer flings you very high into the air.

Unlike other teams with Amy as the partner, here she can spin, giving you extra help with enemies and bosses.

Cons:

Sonic jumps without spinning: to spin you have to press the attack button.

The Hammer Attack is slightly slower than the Skid and doesn’t have as much range, although at least you don’t put yourself in danger.

Sonic’s move-set is limited compared to other combinations, especially others with Amy as the partner.

Why use it?: if you want to combine Sonic’s speed and Amy’s hammer and Tag Actions. It’s a slightly more challenging version of S/T, one that trades off flight and Trick Actions for the Hammer and the ability to chain Tag Actions – very good for stages with more springs, like Route 99 Act 2 or Chaos Angel.

TAILS/SONIC

The second team you start the game with, and it’s also a good combination, one that sacrifices some aerial freedom for pure speed.

Pros:

This team is a Speed team, which mean it has higher momentum and can go into Boost mode.

You can use Sonic’s Tag Action to immediately go into Boost mode.

Tails has his standard move-set.

Tails’ flight doesn’t lose horizontal speed, making it a great tool to skip portions of levels.

This is one of the four teams that can perform Trick Actions. Tails can go the highest out of the four and his downward Trick Action is one of the fastest.

Cons:

Tails’ move-set is limited compared to other combinations.

Tails’ flight ascends rather slowly, making it inadequate to gain height.

None of Tails’ Trick Actions can damage enemies, letting him vulnerable in all directions, and his lateral Trick Action has a slight delay making it slower and shorter than Sonic’s.

Why use it?: if you want Sonic’s Tag Action and a fast horizonal flight, plus the ability to perform Trick Actions and to swim. While it’s not great to explore vertically, it’s very well suited for speedrunning.

TAILS/KNUCKLES

A very peculiar team, with some interesting abilities but severe drawbacks. Tails essentially turns into a mini Knuckles here, but sadly without one of his best features, the ability to climb. If you don’t mind trading the ability to fly with an Insta-Shield, a strong Tornado Attack, and the fastest swimming style in the game, you can try and experiment with this unique combination.

Pros:

Tails can perform an Insta-Shield (here called a Tail Spin Attack).

His gliding is faster than Knuckles’, the descent and speed can be controlled, and he keeps his momentum after landing. Due to the different physics, you gain greater height and speed after bouncing on an item.

He can swim fast in a straight direction, going only slightly up or down (but he still gets tired after a few seconds).

The Tornado Attack keeps your momentum if you’re running, and it’s bigger and can last much longer than the Tail Swipe, or any other attack for that matter.

You can destroy Power barriers.

You can still use Knuckles’ gliding to cover ground if you’re careful, switching between the two styles.

Cons:

Tails’ glide makes him drop down faster than Knuckles’, he’s slow when turning direction, and he can’t climb.

Since there’s no way for Tails to fly normally or climb, this team has zero aerial advantages.

Using the Tornado Attack for a long time will make Tails dizzy and let him open to attacks.

Even at its quickest, the Tornado Attack is slow compared to the Tail Swipe, both in starting and stopping.

Knuckles’ Tag Actions are more circumstantial than others, even more so in this team as Tails can already glide on his own.

Why use it?: I’m not going to lie: this team has little to no practical use in levels, as its main feature, gliding, is overshadowed by Knuckles’. In the few levels that don’t require verticality or a lot of speed, though, it’s fun to experiment with due to its unique properties. For example, you can stay on the top route and skip sections in Sunset Hill Act 1, bounce off items and gain speed in Ocean Base Act 3, or avoid spikes with ease in Chaos Angel Act 3 (here it’s also much more convenient to have a glide that doesn’t cling to walls). If you need to explore water sections and you don’t have Cream yet, Tails’ Breast Stroke is your next best option. That being said, this team is much more efficient against bosses: the tornado is surprisingly useful against Gemerl, the Route 99 boss, the Sunset Hill boss and the Toy Kingdom boss, with its large hitbox and long duration.

TAILS/CREAM

I have no idea why two Flying characters ruin each other’s flight… This a very limited team, highly-specialized in flying upwards and little else, with few other quirks such as the Homing Attack.

Pros:

Tails can home on enemies.

Tails’ flight can be useful to quickly reach platforms or ledges above him. It’s a faster alternative to Cream’s air boost, as you don’t need time to charge it.

Cons:

Tails’ flight lasts less than usual and has abysmal horizontal movement, making it completely useless for anything that isn’t going straight up.

While Tails’ flight is quicker and still handy in a pinch, it’s overshadowed by Cream’s air boost, which sends you up to the same height but you’re curled and can move around.

Tails can’t damage enemies above him while flying (but he can damage the ones on the side and below).

Tails’ flight and Cream’s air boost aren’t as powerful as Tails’ or Amy’s Tag Actions.

Why use it?: if you want a quick way to ascend, and have the Homing Attack, Cheese, and Tails’ base moves as a bonus. While definitely very niche and overshadowed by many other combinations, it fares well with levels that are more focused on platforming and going up, such as Sunset Hill Act 3, Ocean Base and to a lesser extent Twinkle Snow. The combination of Cheese and the Tail Swipe makes it also good for bosses.

TAILS/AMY

For everyone who says that Amy ruins the other characters, this is the greatest proof that they’re wrong. This is the best Flying team you can have – with his faster flight and ability to attack on the front, plus Amy’s hammer and Tag Actions, Tails becomes a big game breaker.

Pros:

Tails flies the fastest in this formation, he’s not limited in any direction, and he doesn’t get tired quicker.

His hammer allows him to defend himself while flying and hit springs in the air, and it has a large range.

Amy’s Tag Actions give you a great aerial boost.

Hitting springs with the hammer flings you very high into the air.

Cons:

Tails jumps without spinning: to spin you have to press the attack button.

Tails’ flight is slightly harder to maneuver compared to his standard one, especially when it comes to changing direction, making it less suited for cramped spaces.

Tails’ flight is so powerful that it makes Amy’s Tag Actions nearly redundant (although they’re still useful underwater as Tails doesn’t swim any faster).

The Hammer Attack is slightly slower than the Tail Swipe and doesn’t have as much range.

Why use it?: if your main strategy is flying a lot. Just try this combination in vertically-oriented levels or obstacles-filled levels like Chaos Angel, and watch how it turns them into a cakewalk.

KNUCKLES/SONIC

With this team, Knuckles essentially turns into a Sonic that punches things: his gliding and climbing are replaced by the Mid-Air Dash Glide, which is a fancy name for a headbutt. This team is highly-specialized for running fast, even more so than many other teams with Sonic, but little else.

Pros:

This team is a Speed team, which mean it has higher momentum and can go into Boost mode.

You can use Sonic’s Tag Action to immediately go into Boost mode.

Knuckles’ Mid-Air Dash Glide is a powerful boost, it destroys enemies with ease and it lets you roll forward, great on downward slopes. The longer he falls, the faster he will be on landing. It’s very similar to his forward Trick Action in Advance 2.

You can destroy Power barriers.

Cons:

Knuckles can’t neither glide nor climb (unless he’s underwater), depriving him of any aerial advantage.

On upward slopes, his Mid-Air Dash Glide slows him down considerably, and you can’t change direction while rolling after a Mid-Air Dash Glide – you have to know where to execute it if you don’t want to be slowed down.

Knuckles’ move-set is limited compared to other combinations.

Why use it?: if you need to be fast and break Power Barriers at the same time. This is the only niche this team has found for itself. As a speedrunning team, it’s overshadowed by T/S and C/S, which can fly, and A/S, which can use the Hammer; but if you only “gotta go fast”, this team can do it pretty well. The Mid-Air Dash Glide, false advertising aside, is an interesting move because Knuckles launches himself like a rocket and he can gain velocity if he lands on a downward slope or falls from a considerable height. It’s a good team for levels like Route 99 and especially Cyber Track, which involve more running than platforming, and it’s probably the best team for Toy Kingdom Act 3, as you can take a convenient Power shortcut.

KNUCKLES/TAILS

The most infamous game breaker of the game. It’s a Power team with the best flying abilities you can get, and Knuckles doesn’t have to sacrifice a thing! What’s best, you can use it as early as the second zone in the game!

Pros:

Knuckles can glide and climb walls as usual.

Before gliding, Knuckles automatically performs a double jump which allows him to cover longer distances. Double jumping can help cut down the time taken to climb up walls.

Tails’ Tag Actions allow you to fly or get launched into the air.

His Double Punch gets replaced by the Spiral Upper, a fiery uppercut that keeps Knuckles’ momentum when he’s running.

You can destroy Power barriers.

Cons:

Knuckles automatically double jumps before gliding and there’s no way to avoid it. This may throw you off at first, as it slows down the animation, and it could give you trouble if you need to aim or carefully climb down.

The Spiral Upper’s hitbox doesn’t reach the ground, meaning you can’t destroy Power Barriers in the floor.

Why use it?: if you want to have as many aerial advantages as possible. This team gives you everything: gliding (with an automatic double jump), wall climbing, flying, being catapulted high into the air, floating on top of the water, swimming, and being able to break Power barriers. This combination is perfect for exploring, finding shortcuts and collecting Chao.

KNUCKLES/CREAM

This is the closest you get to a normal Knuckles, but with the addition of a Homing Attack and Cream’s Tag Actions he gets even more combat-oriented than he already is.

Pros:

Knuckles has his standard move-set – he can glide and climb walls as usual.

He can home on enemies (but the process is different).

You can destroy Power barriers.

While Knuckles never gets Spinning Cheese for himself, keeping Cream close (easy to do with the Tag Action button) can help against enemies and bosses.

Cons:

Knuckles’ move-set is limited compared to other combinations.

Compared to K/T and K/A, climbing is very slow, especially if the wall is particularly tall.

Performing the Homing Attack is more complicated than with other teams: instead of pressing the jump button twice, you need to glide near an enemy and then press the attack button, which makes the move less convenient

Very minor, but when using Cream’s Tag Actions, Knuckles can’t temporarily destroy Power barriers.

Cream’s air boost isn’t as powerful as Tails’ or Amy’s Tag Actions.

Why use it?: if you want to play as normal Knuckles, with the extra quirks that Cream gives you. While not as good for verticality compared to K/T and K/A, Cheese and the Homing Attack give you a defensive advantage.

KNUCKLES/AMY

This is another proof that it’s not true that Amy ruins other characters by default. It’s very similar to K/T, except that instead of a double jump Knuckles gets the very useful Dash Climb ability, which lets him Spin Dash up walls, with the only sacrifice of having to manually spin while jumping.

Pros:

Knuckles can glide and climb walls as usual.

He can do a Dash Climb to climb walls much faster.

He can perform a Drill Claw (the equivalent of Sonic’s Bound Attack, in his case a Power attack).

Amy’s Tag Actions give you a great aerial boost.

Hitting springs with the hammer flings you very high into the air.

You can destroy Power barriers.

Cons:

Knuckles jumps without spinning: to spin you have to press the attack button.

The Hammer Attack is slightly slower than his punches and doesn’t have as much range.

If you don’t charge the Dash Climb enough, you’ll fall down and you won’t be able to jump and try again until you reach the ground.

The only way for Knuckles to destroy Power barriers is to use the Drill Claw next to them, which is not very intuitive.

Why use it?: if you want to scale tall walls with Knuckles’ Dash Climb and/or if you want to combine Knuckles’ move-set with Amy’s hammer. It’s another great team for collecting Chao and for breaking vertical acts.

CREAM/SONIC

A fun, well-rounded team that combines speed, flight and strength. Sonic, probably to thank Cream for all the nice abilities she gives him, turns Cheese into a fireball of destruction.

Pros:

This team is a Speed team, which mean it has higher momentum and can go into Boost mode.

You can use Sonic’s Tag Action to immediately go into Boost mode.

With the exception of Cheese, Cream has her standard move-set.

Cream’s flight is well suited for gaining height, can be cancelled, and in this combination it’s even faster.

Cheese can attack at any time, not just when an enemy is nearby, and has a long range and a big hitbox.

Cream can float on water surfaces.

Cons:

Cheese doesn’t home on enemies and item boxes anymore, and it’s up to the player to aim them. This makes some bosses and even some enemies harder to hit.

Compared to T/S, Cream’s flight loses horizontal velocity more quickly.

Why use it?: if you want to go into Boost Mode, have a more well-rounded flight, and have a powered-up version of Cheese at your disposal at the same time. This team is good for quickly defeating Gemerl in particular, due to Cheese attacking no matter if they sense a “vulnerable” enemy. It also works well in Cyber Track, a fast level full of bottomless pits and enemies that can be quickly dispatched by Cheese.

CREAM/TAILS

Just like its counterpart, two Flying characters ruin each other’s flight – in Cream’s case she straight up loses the ability, and has to rely on Tails for what she should be able to do on her own. However, with Cheese never leaving your side, Tails’ Tag Actions at your disposal, and a surprisingly versatile umbrella, it’s still a pretty good Flying team.

Pros:

You can send Cheese to hit enemies and item boxes from a distance.

Tails’ Tag Actions allow you to fly or get launched into the air.

Cream floats with an umbrella, which can help with leaps of faith, adjusting some jumps, and gliding farther. It also gives her a very small double jump, useful for gaining some height and reaching platform just outside your reach. After closing it, she can hit enemies below.

Cons:

Cream can’t fly on her own anymore: she floats down instead.

Cream’s move-set is limited compared to other combinations.

The umbrella is very slow, and once closed it can’t be used again in mid-air.

Using Tails’ Tag Action to fly is slower and requires to be more careful than flying on your own.

Why use it?: if you want to combine Tails’ Tag Actions, floating with the umbrella and Cheese. Despite the fact that Cream lost her flight, this team still make traversing levels a breeze due to combining the most broken moves in the game.

CREAM/KNUCKLES

If you ever wished that Cheese was even more OP than they already are, this is the team for you. Cream keeps all of her abilities, she can use Cheese as normal, and on top of that she has her own personal shield.

Pros:

With the exception of Cheese, Cream has her standard move-set.

Cream’s flight is well suited for gaining height and can be cancelled. This is the only team with Knuckles as the partner with a substantial aerial advantage.

Cheese circles Cream like a shield and can destroy enemies and item boxes without any input.

You can still send them to hit targets from a distance.

You can destroy Power barriers.

You can use Knuckles’ gliding to cover ground if you’re careful (although there aren’t many situations where the glide would be more useful than flying)

Cons:

Compared to other Cream teams, this one doesn’t offer any advantage when it comes to movement.

Knuckles’ Tag Actions are more circumstantial than others – the glide in particular is made nearly useless by Cream’s flight.

Why use it?: if you want to feel untouchable. This team is perfect for speedrunning bosses (minus Twinkle Snow’s and Cyber Track’s, which can’t be attacked by normal means) and the more enemy-filled levels like Chaos Angel, especially Act 3.

CREAM/AMY

An excellent team that combines Cream’s and Amy’s abilities for a well-rounded Flying team. This combination is peculiar because it gives you two attacks at the same time, one close-range (the hammer) and one long-range (Cheese).

Pros:

Cream’s flight is well suited for gaining height and can be cancelled.

You can send Cheese to hit enemies and item boxes from a distance.

Amy’s Tag Actions give you a great aerial boost.

There is an engaging balance between flying (much easier to control and can be canceled, but it’s slower and Cream is defenseless), using the ground Tag Action (faster and higher, but harder to control and Cream is defenseless), and using the air Tag Action (faster and Cream can destroy enemies, but harder to control and not as high).

Hitting springs with the hammer flings you very high into the air.

Cream has both Cheese and a hammer. She’s the only character paired with Amy that doesn’t lose her main weapon.

She can perform a Hip Drop (the equivalent of Sonic’s Bound Attack).

This is one of the four teams that can perform Trick Actions. Cream’s aerial Trick Action is one of the most powerful, along with Tails’.

Cons:

Cream jumps without spinning – and unlike the others, she can’t spin in the air because Cheese becomes her aerial attack.

Being only able to use Cheese while jumping can be counterintuitive.

Only Cream’s downward Trick Action/Hip Drop can damage enemies, and she’s vulnerable otherwise. Her lateral Trick Action has a similar delay as Tails’, although not quite as much.

Why use it?: if you want Trick Actions, the ability to fly, Amy’s hammer and Cheese at the same time. Once you get used to having two weapons and the inability to spin while jumping, this team has all sorts of aerial advantages, plus Cheese!

AMY/SONIC

If you didn’t like Amy in Advance but did in Advance 2, pair her with Sonic. This team is very similar to T/S, trading flight and Trick Actions for the inherently broken Hammer that allows Amy to soar in the air.

Pros:

This team is a Speed team, which mean it has higher momentum and can go into Boost mode.

You can use Sonic’s Tag Action to immediately go into Boost mode.

Amy can roll, spin while jumping and Spin Dash. This is the only team that includes Amy where you automatically Spin Jump. She can still do her Mid-Air Hammer Attack to increase her range.

Hitting springs with the hammer flings you very high into the air.

Amy can do a small Jump Dash (like Sonic in the previous Advance titles), which can be used to reach certain platforms or control your speed. It also keeps the Boost mode.

She can perform a Spinning Hammer Attack (the equivalent of Sonic’s Bound Attack) – if performed on/next to a spring, it has the same effect as hitting it with the hammer.

Cons:

This is the only team with Amy as the leader that doesn’t have some form of double/higher jump. Without a spring nearby, she has no way to reach higher places.

Amy’s Jump Dash doesn’t go very far and leaves her defenseless.

Why use it?: if you want to play as Advance 2!Amy and/or combine Amy’s hammer with Sonic’s Tag Actions plus a couple of other quirks. It’s another team mainly built for speed and with some aerial advantages, that can replace T/S in levels that have more springs like Chaos Angel.

AMY/TAILS

I find this team more useful than it looks, both because of Tails’ Tag Actions and because of Amy’s double jump, which is a nice move to have to be even more agile.

Pros:

Tails’ Tag Actions allow you to fly or get launched into the air.

Hitting springs with the hammer flings you very high into the air.

She can perform a Mid-Air Hammer Jump, which means she automatically double jumps when performing a Mid-Air Hammer Attack. The double jump gives her enough height and horizontal speed.

Amy’s Leap could come in handy in certain situations, such as going up gentle slopes, through crushers or underwater. It’s also good for a quick burst of speed that doesn’t lose momentum.

Amy can float with balloons, which can help with leaps of faith, adjusting some jumps, and gliding farther.

Cons:

Amy jumps without spinning: to hurt enemies you have to use the Mid-Air Hammer Jump.

Amy can’t roll, Spin Dash or Amy Dash; instead, she Leaps like she did in the first Advance. Leaping makes going up steep slopes and curved walls much harder.

Her Head Slide is completely useless compared to how it was in Advance 1, as the window of time in which it damages enemies is very small (although there’s no “cooldown” second afterwards). This pushes the player to prefer the hammer and kill their momentum, or to use the Mid-Air Hammer Jump and risk getting hit.

Much like Knuckles in K/T, the double jump is automatic, which might throw you off if you’re using it as a defensive move and leave you open to attacks if you use it as an aerial boost.

The balloons are really slow, and once popped they can’t be used again in mid-air and Amy is left completely vulnerable.

Why use it?: if you want to play as Advance!Amy with Tails’ Tag Actions and a quick double jump. It’s recommended for slower, open levels more focused on platforming.

AMY/KNUCKLES

With Knuckles, Amy regains some of her Advance moves, with the addition of the new Amy Dash, making her flexible, strong and fast at the same time.

Pros:

Amy uses a bigger hammer with a much wider range (only on the ground), which counts as a Power attack.

Hitting springs with the hammer flings you very high into the air.

She can perform a Hammer Jump, which functions as a higher jump that automatically carries you forward. Unlike in Advance 1, it’s an offensive move and you can destroy enemies both on the ground and in the air, much more quickly than with the Big Hammer. If you hit a spring with the hammer or while Amy is spinning, it has the same effect as hitting it with a normal hammer attack. Underwater, its power gets amplified.

She can do an Amy Dash, the equivalent of the Super Peel-Out. Unlike with the Spin Dash, Amy never loses momentum.

She can perform a Spinning Hammer Attack.

You can destroy Power barriers.

You can use Knuckles’ gliding to cover ground if you’re careful.

Cons:

Amy jumps without spinning: to hurt enemies you have to use the Mid-Air Hammer Attack or the Hammer Jump.

Amy can’t roll, and her Amy Dash leaves her vulnerable.

The Big Hammer Attack is the slowest melee move in the game, taking 1 full second before it hits.

When it comes to being a heightened jump, The Hammer Jump has been nerfed since Advance 1 and it may not be enough to reach higher places.

Knuckles’ Tag Actions are more circumstantial than others (although, given Amy’s lack of Spin Jump and the clumsiness of her other offensive moves, throwing him as an attack might be more useful than with other teams).

Why use it?: if you want to try a faster version of Advance!Amy and/or you want a Power/Hammer team with unique quirks. Another team mainly for platforming, made more fluid by the Hammer Jump. Not too bad to use for certain bosses, especially Sunset Hill’s.

AMY/CREAM

Not much flying in this Flying team. This is the closest Amy gets to her challenging but unique Advance style. This team gives you some degree of aerial mobility, thanks to the Trick Actions, Amy’s hammer and Cream’s double jump, but there is very little that makes it stand out compared to others.

Pros:

Hitting springs with the hammer flings you very high into the air.

Cream’s Tag Actions let you use Cheese and if performed in the air it gives you a handy double jump, or even flings you high. This also works on springs (more useful if the Hammer has been replaced by Cheese), even the chargeable ones.

Amy can float with balloons, which can help with leaps of faith, adjusting some jumps, and gliding farther.

Amy’s Leap could come in handy in certain situations, such as going up gentle slopes, through crushers or underwater. It’s also good for a quick burst of speed that doesn’t lose momentum.

This is one of the four teams that can perform Trick Actions. Amy’s lateral Trick Action is quite fast at first, and can damage enemies with it and her downward Trick Action/Spinning Hammer Attack (and if you land on a spring, it counts as hitting it with the hammer).

Cons:

Amy jumps without spinning: to hurt enemies you have to use the Mid-Air Hammer Attack.

Amy can’t roll, Spin Dash or Amy Dash; instead, she Leaps like she did in the first Advance. Leaping makes going up steep slopes and curved walls much harder.

When using Cream’s Tag Actions, Amy’s Hammer is replaced by Cheese, which hinders her. To gain height from springs you have to use Cream’s Tag Action again (effective but slower), and to destroy barriers you have to either wait, use the awkward Head Slide (if there’s enough room) or hope that Cream uses her hammer.

The balloons are really slow, and once popped they can’t be used again in mid-air and Amy is left completely vulnerable.

Unlike everyone else paired with Cream, she can’t use the Homing Attack.

Cream’s air boost isn’t as powerful as Tails’ or Amy’s Tag Actions – and Amy can’t curl or use the Mid-Air Hammer Attack so she’s always vulnerable.

Amy’s aerial Trick Action is as lackluster as Sonic’s, and her lateral Trick Action drops quite sharply.

Why use it?: if you want to play as Advance!Amy, perform Trick Actions, and use Cream’s abilities such as Cheese. This team is somewhat challenging to use and it’s recommended for slower and easier levels like Sunset Hill Act 1 and 3 or Twinkle Snow Act 3, or open, spring-filled levels like Toy Kingdom.

RANKING:

NOTE: it’s based on the versatility of the team, how much I feel the lead character has been upgraded or downgraded, and most importantly my personal favorite way to play, therefore it’s very subjective.

20) Tails/Knuckles (while it’s a very unique team and fun to use against bosses, it has no use for any level. If I wanted to glide, I’d pick Knuckles)

19) Amy/Cream (this game sadly does not accommodate often for Amy’s Advance style, but even when you get the hang of it and you find the right level for its qualities, there is nothing this team can do that others can’t do better)

18) Tails/Cream (Tails’ vertical flight is unique and can be an interesting self-imposed challenge, but it’s completely overshadowed by other vertical teams)

17) Knuckles/Sonic (the Mid-Air Dash Glide is a fun move that helps keeping the speed if you know how to use it, but that’s all this team can do – much like with T/K, what’s the point of playing as Knuckles if he can’t do his two signature moves?)

16) Amy/Knuckles (the Amy Dash, the big hammer and the Hammer Jump are nice additions to Amy’s style in theory, but in practice they feel like they’re holding you back)

15) Amy/Tails (while slower than A/K and especially A/S, it compensates with Amy’s new double jump and Tails’ powerful Tag Actions for a team that’s well suited for platforming sections and quickly taking new routes)

14) Knuckles/Cream (Knuckles is very average here, but his climbing and Cream’s Tag Actions are always useful)

13) Sonic/Knuckles (while vertically-challenged, the Insta-Shield, the Fire Sliding, the Upper Spin and to a lesser extent the Bound Attack are really interesting moves and pretty useful in a pinch)

12) Sonic/Amy (this team may feel very barebones compared to others, but using the hammer and Amy’s Tag Actions is so much fun)

11) Cream/Knuckles (Knuckles’ Tag Actions may not be super useful and this team lacks in extra movement advantages, but Cream’s flight and Cheese acting as a shield make the last stretch of the game a breeze)

10) Tails/Sonic (I’m not a fan of how they nerfed Tails’ flight, but it’s still my boy in his purest form, combining flight, speed and the boost of the Trick Actions)

9) Cream/Sonic (Speed + Cream’s Flight + Chao Ball Attack = awesome)

8) Amy/Sonic (Amy in A/S resembles Sonic more than Sonic does in S/A; while it’s a shame that you can’t gain height without springs nearby, the Hammer is always useful, and the gameplay style is very fluid)

7) Cream/Tails (Cream didn’t need to lose her flight, but nonetheless this team is more versatile than it looks, mostly because of Cheese and Tails’ Tag Actions – even the umbrella has its uses, more than Amy’s balloons due to the small double jump)

6) Sonic/Tails (this team may be the most basic one, but it’s still the Unbreakable Bond, good in every situation, and it deserves respect.)

5) Cream/Amy (I genuinely didn’t expect this team to be as fun and well-balanced as it is. Once you get used to the complete inability to spin and the confusing way to attack, Cream’s flight, Amy’s hammer, her Tag Actions and Cheese are an excellent mix)

4) Tails/Amy (Tails here gives me flashbacks of how broken he was in Adventure)

3) Knuckles/Amy (the Dash Climb is to Knuckles what the Drop Dash is to Sonic – once you use it it’s hard to go back)

2) Knuckles/Tails (who needs speed when pretty much every aerial move is at your disposal?)

1) Sonic/Cream (it may not be able to fly but every single move of this team, especially the Jump Dash, combines perfectly to be pure, sheer fun)

The best thing I learned with this “experiment” is that there really is no bad team. You can have favorites and least favorites depending on what you need, but if you manage to find a good team/level combination, you can have fun with every team. It’s a level of polish that usually is ignored by the critics.

If you reached the bottom of this long, very-much-out-of-date analysis, thank you very much! I’m glad you found it interesting, and I hope you can give Advance 3 the love it deserves for being such an ambitious, replayable game :D

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic advance 3 #long post #while testing all the teams i realized something #route 99 really sucks as a level #sunset hill should have been the first one it's really good #anyway my point is #this game is really really fun #and i won't stand for people bashing it because 'the level design is bad'#no it's not you guys just never made it past the first zone

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thelastarchangelaskblog · 5 years ago

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Session 10

I never did a summary of our 10th session and we just had our 11th today. Anyway, here’s what happened in Session 10 (so much).

(Read more.)

Zira ( @heliocentricgeometric), Rhodey ( @rebaobsessions), and myself retrieved DJ (doxblogsstuff) from wandering out lost in the forest while clutching a boquet of flowers to entice Luna. Alas, Luna had already left for greener pastures to get to Bob.

Oh yeah, something else happened directly pre-this session but that’s a text rp thing. Anyway, Bob traumatized Tony. It was very bad but led to some sweet conversations.

It’s discovered Luna can turn into a rabbit.

DJ: A rabbit?

Zira: Yeah.

DJ: ...Why?

Zira: It just be like that sometimes.

DJ is wet from trying to throw water over Tony and Bob and only succeeding on getting it on himself and one of Tony’s shoes. Tony grabs a blanket from his bag of holding to dry him off.

@the-grey-hunt as DM: You're adventurers and you don't even have towels?

inu: I don't see towels in my inventory, I'm using a cloak.

reba: Tony’s being Dad(TM) at DJ.

There was mention of a cart in our last text RP.

DM: We don't have a cart, and I don't know why people keep thinking we do.

DJ tries hanging his clothes on a tree branch to dry.

dox: The boy's three feet tall so we all know how well that goes.

Zira tries to wake up Bob ( @thechaoticwave) and Luna ( @imagine1117) who fell asleep on the roadside.

Zira: Hey. Hey. Heyheyhey hey.

Tony’s being Tony and is just aggressively ignoring everybody.

Zira: Hey, Rhodey, I think Tony is avoiding his problems.

Bob and Luna wake up!

Sam: What's good?

Zira: Nothing is good! Ever! Let's go!

DJ, at Luna: You didn't tell me you could rabbit!!

Luna: I can rabbit?

Zira: Correct.

Zira is concerned about the party’s mental health!

Zira: I may not be legally a doctor...

Zira really wants us to talk things out now!

Tony: I don't think any of us are in the mood for emotionally fraught conversations.

Zira: I'm always in the mood for emotionally fraught conversations!

Tony does not engage in emotionally fraught conversations. Emotionally fraught conversations are not had.

thechaoticwave: Sam (Bob) flies over to Luna and just cats on her.

Zira has demanded a fairy tale/story from Tony, and he’s happy enough to oblige.

Zira, very quietly: ...stories......yay!

I tell a very long fairy tale I wrote during a backstory scene. it works out great and everyone likes it.

Later Zira tells everyone we can’t die.

Zira: It's illegal for you people to die. I just decided.

Luna: What's the penalty if we die?

DJ: She’ll aggressively mourn you until you feel bad and come back to life.

DJ gets a piggy-back ride from Rhodey for some reason that I can’t remember, which leads to a discussion on heights.

Zira: Your height is built on lies and Rhodey.

Zira: I'm average height for an aasimar.

Tony: Ehhhh, not...that average.

Zira: Well, I don't know! And how do you know anyway?

Tony (internally): Uh, shit.

Tony: I’ve met a few aasimar on my travels. They’re pretty obvious.

Zira: How tall are aasimar, then?

Tony indicates about his height or a little shorter.

Zira: That's...stupid. I like this height better.

That night Zira would like to contact Zaphkiel, her celestial guide.

DM: Zaphkiel is still charging his Nokia.

Gabriel has a Dream! He tries to find Mortimer, but doesn’t find Mortimer. He does find...Balthazar?!

DM describing new character: He looks a little more genuinely scruffy, but his shirt is still open almost to his bellybutton. it's so weird because your shirt doesn't have buttons, but his does and they're not done up.

We’re both really shocked to see each other, and it soon comes out that Balthazar is also in Othanzia with Hannah and has been for a while. And Gabriel’s family has broken apart since his absence.

Balthazar: If, on the off chance you are Gabriel, where the fuck have you been?

Gabriel doesn’t have any answers for Balthazar he can give beyond trying to tell him that he’s in Othanzia and somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

Gabriel: Briarbane?

Balthazar: Never heard of it.

Gabriel: EXACTLY

Gabriel tries to tell Balthazar what happened with Samael/Lucifer and two of their other missing siblings, but Balthazar doesn’t want to believe him, and Gabriel wakes up.

DJ tries making toast again that morning.

Helio: I need to know what the outcome was!

DM: 18. it's good toast.

Helio: FUCK

DJ discusses his bombs (I think?).

DJ: I'm not dead yet.

Zira: YET

Zira has plans to get Tony and Bob to talk to each other.

DJ (to Zira, who is walking away yelling at Bob and Tony): Are you sure you want to ignore Mom?

Tony and Bob are forced to talk to each other. thechaoticwave is absolutely fantastic at crying, and Tony feels really bad but he’s pretty firm on them needing answers or it’s not going to work out. And then leaves because he can’t deal with the conversation any further.

The next night Gabriel has another Dream and meets Joshua. Still no Mortimer, but Joshua? And Joshua is the only one still left at Gabriel’s old home. Everyone else has left. Some to explore the world and others (Michael, Raphael, and Naomi) to hunt down the Horned Crown.

It’s a calmer conversation than the one Gabriel had with Balthazar but no less upsetting. But he does learn a lot more about what’s happened since he left!

And the next day we finally reach the last dungeon of the opening module! And there’s...things. And a pit.

inu: Ae you just going to tell me it's a rope?

DM: No, there's things.

inu rolls a 5

DM: Ehh it's a rope!

We climb down a pit. Except JARVIS. He jumps and Rhodey manages to catch him but gets some damage while doing so.

Tony: I hope you've learned a lesson to not jump down pits and expect our fiances to catch us.

Rhodey: Am I engaged to JARVIS now, too?

10 sturgis attack us while we’re exploring!

thechaoticwave: 5 points of fire damage.

DM: 5?! That's all their hit points!

Tony goes off by himself and opens a door before Rhodey can stop him. There are 3 ghouls in it.

Rhodey is unhappy with this arrangement.

Reba: Is it possible for me to roll athletics to pick up Tony and move him?

Rhodey proceeds to shove Tony to the side to attack the ghouls.

Tony: RUDE.

Bob: hey ghouls, its me, ya boi.

The ghouls have the most ridiculous names.

DM: Thus ends Robtholomew.

Luna gets her poison spray cantrip in! And it hits!

...

The one time Luna's Poison Spray cantrip hits, the creature is immune to poison damage

imagine: Luna's gonna try and lob [the ghoul's] head off.

DM: Roll for beheading.

Later we enter a large hall filled with skeletons. Zira’s asking Zaphkiel for...something.

DM: [Zaphkiel]'s Nokia is at cell phone repair.

There’s a cool forge in one room! DJ and Tony both go to investigate before the DM even finishes describing the room. ...There are zombies.

They attack Tony and DJ.

Tony (to the zombies): First of all, rude. Second of all, fuck you.

Rhodey joins the fight and at one point...

Rhodey rolls a nat 1 but his strength is So Good and the undead's AC So Bad that Rhodey manages to hit it.

And DJ hits one with a quarterstaff!

DJ: Why, hello there! Would you like me to whack you? Yes, yes, you would.

Bob and Luna team up with a fire spell and a thorn thing and trap a lot of zombies. And that’s the end of Session 10! Session 11 saw us defeat the dungeon boss!

#d&d campaign #thechaoticwave #doxblogsstuff #imagine1117 #rebaobsessions #the-grey-hunt #heliocentricgeometric

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jackmarston · 5 years ago

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content warnings for journal entries are of about the same standards as the games, I will say so if anything is different

Thunder cracked hard and heavy outside the Blackwater Hotel. The storm had rolled in within an hour, unexpectedly, leaving me to ride into town to find shelter on a very frightened horse.

My clothes were soiled and soaked and considering the last few days- I probably smelled of dirt and wet horse. I found the old room in the hotel that had been rented indefinitely and stoked the fire. I barely had time to get warm and dry, stripped of most of my wet clothes, before someone came beating at the door.

“Jack, it’s Sadie.” Another three raps on the door followed. I scowled, pulling my wet pants back on over my union suit. “Open up. I know you’re in there- I seen you ride in.”

I pulled open the door with a little more force than I intended. “What? I ain’t having the best day.”

“Well it’s about to get better… maybe.” She grinned, her long, thick leather coat and hat were shiny with rain. “Back in the day, your Pa used to help me with bounties for a big half of the share. Well, I find myself in need of help again, and I figured I’d ask the other John Marston I know.”

“What makes you think I’d even be interested in that?”

She shrugged. “There’s money. It’s something to do besides drink yourself into a stupor and roll around in the mud. It’s legal and mostly honest.”

I sighed, leaning on the doorframe. It was true that I needed money. It wouldn’t be long until I was hard pressed for bullets and going to sleep for supper. I tried to push down my irritation. “I need some details.”

“Well, I ain’t got a lot of details right now.” She turns and looks briefly down the stairs. “Got a fellow, sought me out and asked me a favor. He’s down at the bar and he’s gonna fill us in. It’s not a traditional bounty, per se, but he promised to pay well and I want you to back me up just in case…”

“Yeah.” I scrubbed my hand over my face. “Alright.”

“Get dressed and meet me downstairs. We’ll talk.” She looked me over and grimaced. “And try to clean yourself up a little.”

I did as she said, although there wasn’t anything significant, I could do besides try to wipe the dirt from my face and hands. I dug through my bag until I found a mostly clean shirt, although incredibly wrinkled, and buttoned it on before pulling on my still-wet coat.

Sadie was downstairs where she said she’d be. The bar and restaurant below the hotel was mostly empty, what with the weather outside. Sadie saw me coming down the stairs as she threw back a shot, and the man working the bar knew me well enough that he didn’t spare me a second glance.

Standing beside her was a stranger with a familiar face that I doubted I’d see again. He was a fat man of average height, with black hair and a thick mustache curled at the ends. His fancy clothes were soaked, especially the shoulders and the top of his belly, which he kept brushing at as if to clear off the water.

“Ah, then you are Mr. Marston?” He had a thick Saint Denis accent. “I believe we’ve met before, but only briefly. Not long enough to exchange names. I’m glad we’ve met formally now. My name is Phillip Ramsey. My daughter is here as well, but she’s not part of our business.”

“Didn’t know y’all had met.” I looked over to Sadie, who was on the other side of Mr. Ramsey, and she’d leaned across the bar with a cigarette while the barkeep lit it for her.

“As I said, it was too brief to exchange names.” Mr. Ramsey clapped his hands together. “But, this is a new opportunity.”

“Aren’t you a lawyer?” I asked him. “Why do you want us bounty hunting?”

Ramsey’s hands lowered to the bar, sweeping it as he contemplated his words. “It’s not bounty hunting, actually. It’s more of the opposite. You see- I have a client who has gotten himself into trouble. He does have an actual bounty out on him now. The law desperately wants to find him… so he’s disappeared himself.” He grimaced. “However, it’s only a matter of time before someone does find him. I don’t want him getting killed or anything unnecessary happening to him. His circumstances are- Well, they are unfortunate. I believe I can help him if he comes to me first.” He looked back and forth from me to Sadie. “He must see me first. That is crucial.”

“So, essentially, you’re asking us to kidnap a man and bring him to you?” Sadie asked.

“Is that not what every bounty is, in essence?” Ramsey replied.

I leaned back against the bar. The rain crashing against the windows and the roof was loud. Nearly too loud to think. “We’ll do it.” I said.

Sadie shot me a glare, but Ramsey didn’t notice.

“Excellent.” He reached into his waistcoat pocket and pulled out a few wet bills, throwing them on the bar. “You need not go tonight. I cannot pay you if you’ve been struck down by lightening. Still, I can pay for a few drinks.”

“I won’t argue with that.” Sadie chuckled.

The old man ordered himself something fancy and expensive, I didn’t pay much attention, but he took his glass and laughed loud over something Sadie said. He had a loud laugh, long and raspy. While he reminded me of Dutch in some ways, in others he reminded me of my father. I doubted my Pa would like that some lawyer who saved murderers from the rope reminded me of him, but it was true. Phillip Ramsey didn’t seem like a bad man, or an entirely dishonest one. In another life, I imagine he would’ve gotten along well with Dutch’s gang. I couldn’t help but imagine what could’ve been different if they had a lawyer on their side, so many years ago. Ramsey obviously was no upstart. He dressed too well and shelled out money too easily. He had to have friends and connections, pull in places that would’ve been important. It left a bitter taste in my mouth knowing that one man, had we met him earlier, could have altered the fate of my father.

But that was in the past. Far in the past. When I took a deep swallow of my drink, I had to remind myself to temper my usual habits. Sadie would skin me alive if I made a fool of myself and ruined her business now. A drink wouldn’t hurt, especially when it was free, but I didn’t need to take things at the pace I usually did. The barkeep’s eyes on me, on and off as to not be rude or obvious, told me the same thing. I needn’t develop the reputation of the town drunk either. Following in Uncle’s footsteps wasn’t exactly something I wanted either.

The daughter, who I barely looked at before, stepped to the bar at my side. She was over a head shorter than me, and I got a clear view of her rain-soaked scalp. She was pretty. She had her father’s hair, black as a crow’s wing. Her skin was nearly too-pale, likely because she was cold due to the soaking rain, although she was less wet than her father. Her dress was more well-made than anything I’d seen my mother wear, although I don’t know much about dresses.

She looked up at me, and her eyes were silver like two new coins. Her mouth quirked up at the side, not quite a smile.

“You’re working with my father, then?” She asked. She accepted a drink from the barkeep, taking a small sip. Her mouth was stained like she’d been eating something red all day.

“I suppose.” I took another sip of my drink, looking away from her.

“There’s no supposing to do with it. You either are, or you aren’t.” Her tone was just light enough to take the sting off. Just.

“Well, I am working with your father, then, ma’am.”

“Good.” She took another sip. Her accent was much lighter than her father’s, and her words were crisper and more enunciated. “My father is very good at seeing people. Who they are- I mean. I think it comes with the trade. You meet enough guilty people and innocent people, you start to learn to tell them apart. Anyway, I think it’s good for him to work with someone other than paper pushers and clients… Well, for now. No offense.”

“I don’t… See how I would be offended.” She smirked again and I felt like I was missing out on some joke, but quickly that thought was brushed away. She plucked a cigarette from the bar and reached into the shoulder of her dress, pulling out a wet bundle of matches. She sighed, tossing them on to the bar, and turning her silver eyes back on me as she placed the cigarette between her lips.

“I bet you have a match, mister.”

I did. The matchbox suddenly felt like hot coals in my pocket. I fished it out and struck the match for her, holding it to the end of the cigarette as she pulled in the light. Her hair had been pulled up, as most ladies did it, but the rain and the wind had knocked some dark strands loose against her neck where they still clung. And above, her cheek hollowed as she drew in her breath and her eyelashes lay against her skin. Her eyes opened and her lips curled up again.

I dropped the match and smothered the flame with my foot. My mouth was dry, and I took another deep swallow of my drink.

“Jack!” Sadie’s voice cracked across the bar and I turned my head. “Stop wastin’ time. You and I are gonna go restock and plan for tomorrow.”

“Alright.” I quickly finished my drink and left the girl at the bar.

#Journal Entry #Jack Marston

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zavalamegan96 · 4 years ago

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#How To Increase Height After 25 In 2 Weeks In Hindi Startling Useful Ideas #Grow 5 Inches Taller In 2

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lobsters-on-their-heads · 7 years ago

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Welcome to Clone Club, Chapt. 3: Sarah Stubbs

The stories of how certain people came to join Clone Club. The entire series can be found here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12073659 As always, I love me some feedback.

Early in the morning on September 9th, Sarah drove out to the cemetery, a bottle of sangria wrapped in a beach towel on the passenger seat. It was now a yearly ritual, visiting Aynsley's grave on her birthday, and this time Sarah was alone. Last year Chad and their kids had been with her, along with Reverend Mike and a few other friends. But now Chad and the kids lived up in Ottawa, and Reverend Mike was too busy. As Sarah approached the gravesite, she thought of Alison Hendrix, another member of their old group who was never around anymore. Sarah made a mental note to stop by Bubbles on her way home to see how Alison was doing.

“Hey, Aynsley,” Sarah said to the grave. “I brought you some of your favorite for your birthday. I'm sorry it's just me today, though.” She unwrapped the sangria, then lay the towel on the ground and sat on it. “It's a beautiful day up here,” Sarah said. “Perfect, really. It's nice and warm, the sun is shining, and there's just a little bit of a breeze. You would love it.”

The fact that she was talking to a corpse hit her again, but she was getting practiced as pushing that discomfort aside. She uncorked the sangria and poured some of it onto the ground above Aynsley's body, then leaned the bottle against the stone.

“There ya go,” she said. “Drink up.”

The breeze picked up then, and Sarah smiled. She liked to think that was Aynsley's way of saying thank you.

“I called your mom yesterday,” she went on. “She says the kids are doing fine and she's sorry she can't come down today. Her hip's been bothering her.” Sarah paused to let Aynsley think about that. “Everything's doing great up here, too. We got the go-ahead from the school to take the kids in Level 4 to France this year, so that's super exciting. Wish you could come! Oh, and remember Josh Carr, that boy with the auditory problems a couple years ago? You gave me that book that was just so helpful, and he's in Level 4 this year! He's doing so much better, and he's super stoked to go to Europe.”

She paused again. A robin hopped around nearby, landing on headstones and flower arrangements without getting too close to her. It reminded her of the bird feeders in Aynsley's backyard, and she told Aynsley that. She told her about local politics, about the suburban dramas that had happened since the last time she had visited. She talked until her legs cramped up from sitting so long. With tears in her eyes, she stood and tapped the top of Aynsley's grave stone.

“We miss you up here,” she said. “It's never gonna be the same without you.”

* *

She got to Bubbles right as the store opened. It had been months since she'd been there. The last time she was there, a young man behind the counter told her Alison was busy with her school trustee work, and the time before that, Alison had been on vacation. Sarah didn't have high hopes for seeing her this time, either, but Alison had changed her phone number and hadn't responded to the card Sarah sent last month, and frankly Sarah was worried about her.

When she walked in, she recognized the bouncy tune of “With a Girl Like You” by the Troggs. She was the only customer, and no one was behind the counter, so she sang along, bobbing her head while she browsed the selection of soaps until she almost bumped into a woman stocking a lower shelf.

“Oops, I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!”

The woman had curly blonde hair and seemed to have been lost in the music herself. When she looked up at Sarah, though, Sarah froze. It was Alison's face, clear as day, but it was not Alison.

“Hello,” the woman said with a smile. She spoke slowly, with heavily accented English and her head tilted to the side. “Can I help you find something?”

“Oh, um... actually I was looking for Alison Hendrix... the owner.”

The woman stood and regarded Sarah with her lower lip between her teeth. She was the same height as Alison, too, Sarah noticed. “Sestra Alison will be here soon,” she said. “She is getting us breakfasts.”

“Oh.” Sarah smiled again. “I didn't know Alison had any sisters.” Actually, Sarah knew for a fact that Alison was an only child, but she wasn't about to correct this woman who wore Alison's face and shop uniform.

“We have many sisters,” the woman said gravely.

Sarah nodded, increasingly unnerved by this woman's gaze. Over the store speakers, The Troggs went on, playing “Wild Thing.” Before the interaction got too awkward, the shop door opened and Alison Hendrix entered, pushing a baby stroller with twins. Alison's hair was shorter now, with purple streaks in it, and for a second, Sarah didn't recognize her, but her bearing and facial expressions were all Alison.

“Alison!” Sarah cried, louder than necessary, pealing herself from the shop assistant to see her friend.

“Sarah!” Alison gaped at her, almost smiling but clearly panicking at the same time.

“I haven't see you in so long, I thought I'd come by to visit you here.”

“Oh, my goodness. It has been a long time, hasn't it.” Alison pushed the stroller further into the store and unloaded the coffee cups and paper bags from its storage compartments. Meanwhile, the woman who looked like Alison watched, fiddling with the string on her shop apron.

“I didn't know you had twins, either!” Sarah went on. “No wonder I haven't seen you around! You know, I had heard that you were looking into trying fertility treatments again, but I didn't know it was successful!”

Before Alison could reply, the shop assistant spoke up. “They are not hers. They are my babies.”

Sarah's face burned. Way to go, genius, she thought. “Oh! Oh, I'm sorry, I thought...”

“It's okay,” Alison assured her, even though her face said that it wasn't. “Um... this is my sister, Helena. She's staying with us for a while, and, uh, helping me around the shop. And these are her boys, Arthur and Donnie, Jr.”

Sarah would have asked about the sister part first, but the names caught her attention. “Donnie, Jr? Named after your Donnie?”

“Yes,” said Helena. “He is named for Donnie Hendrick.”

It would have been adorable. Alison loved babies, and these two were cute as buttons in their stroller, in shirts with dinosaurs and planets on them. The air was heavy with tension, though, even as the Troggs began yet another song, this time “Love is All Around.” Sarah had a feeling that Helena might be responsible for the music selection.

“So how have you been, Sarah?” Alison asked, forcing a smile.

“Oh, you know, good. I went to see Aynsley this morning.”

Alison's face relaxed instantly and she took a deep breath. “Oh, shoot, it's her birthday, isn't it?”

“Yeah. You've been busy, it's okay if you forgot.”

Helena shuffled over and took her coffee at the same time Alison took her own, and Sarah noticed that even their hands were the same. “Thank you, sestra,” Helena said.

“You know,” Sarah said, “I could have sworn you were an only child. I remember being jealous of that in school, when my sisters were picking on me all the time.”

Alison did not answer right away, but sipped her coffee and watched one of the babies chew on his seatbelt strap. Even when she did speak, she did not answer the underlying question. “What are you doing tonight, Sarah?” she asked.

“Tonight? I dunno, probably watching Netflix. Why?”

“I'd like to have you over to our house for dinner tonight. With my family.”

* *

For the second time that day, Sarah Stubbs drove to see an old friend, but this time she wasn't carrying any alcohol with her. Alison didn't need that in her life. As Sarah parked along Black Oak Drive, she watched a young family going in and out of Aynsley's old house. She wondered if they knew someone had died there.

Oscar greeted her at the Hendrix's door, and Sarah swore he'd grown a foot since the last time she saw him. Inside she heard voices chatting and laughing, then the cry of a baby.

“I heard you have some new cousins staying with you now, Oscar,” she said.

“Yeah,” he said. “They don't do much yet. Gemma loves them, though. She even likes changing their diapers.” He made a face as his mother appeared in the doorway.

“Hi! Come on back,” Alison said. “There's someone else I want you to meet.”

Walking into the dining room through the kitchen, Sarah took in the changes. There were highchairs and baby supplies all around, and more pictures on the fridge than she remembered. All in all, the house was less tidy than it had been previously, but Alison's smile was wider. Helena was there, one baby over her shoulder and a carrot stick in her mouth. The other baby was in the arms of Felix, the adorable gay man who'd helped Alison with her campaign. In the dining room, Gemma and another girl her age were setting the table. There was one other woman, there, too, who drew Sarah's eye first for her utter contrast with everything Alison.

“Sarah Stubbs,” Alison said, “I'd like you to meet one of my other sisters, Sarah Manning.”

This sister, this Sarah Manning, leaned against the kitchen wall drinking a bottle of root beer. She had wild dark hair and a T-shirt for a band Sarah Stubbs had never heard of. “Cheers,” this new sister said, raising her bottle. “Great name.”

* *

Throughout dinner, Alison was more relaxed that Sarah had seen her in years. She laughed at the silly stories the children told, playfully swatted Donnie's arm, asked Felix about his boyfriend, and encouraged Clone Sarah (as the others called her at the table) to try dating sometime. Helena, Sarah quickly noticed, had some sort of social or developmental issue, and Alison or Donnie sometimes reminded her of table manners, but no one ever got upset with her. The children, especially the girls, adored Helena, and the affection was plainly mutual.

At one point Felix stood and raised a glass. "To Sarah Stubbs," he said, "the newest member of Clone Club." Everyone toasted her as well, making her blush. She had never been toasted before.

Afterwards, as Sarah got ready to leave, Alison took her aside. “I know is this rather strange,” Alison said. “But it means a lot to me that I can share this with you.”

“Oh, honey,” Sarah pulled her in for a big hug. “You have a big, beautiful family. Honestly, I'm kind of jealous. I have a lot of sisters, too, but you know we don't get a long very much.”

Alison just laughed. “Come back sometime soon. We'd always love to have you.”

#orphan black fanfiction #sarah stubbs #alison hendrix #aynsley is an annoying name to type over and over again #welcome to clone club

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rnainframe · 8 years ago

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Co-written by @gruvu! Here’s chapter 1! We were going to include more in this, but we’re both burnt out in terms of writing. The chapter is under the cut!

The tag I’ll be using for this is #amfic!

[NEXT CHAPTER]

Alternatively, read it on AO3!

Oh, god damn it.

Underestimating jumps like this can cost her life, yet she still takes the risk of doing so. A bit too much of the greasy, oily orange, and a bit too little of the elastic, thick blue. Her grip on the paint gun slips, leaving it ricocheting off a panel and landing just out of reach. Her chest slams hard into a platform hanging over a certain and highly corrosive death, leaving her out of breath with a wheezy “oof” sound.

No. Oh, oh no, no no no no.

She can’t get a hold on the panel, frantically clawing at the surface, smearing it with paint as she continues slipping down towards the edge until her hands, slick from gel, are the only things keeping her away from her fate.

Perhaps returning to that dreaded testing track to humor a certain core was a mistake, after all. She’s stuck in this facility, though, might as well make the most of it. The rush of dancing dangerously close to the line between life and death can be addictive for some. The thrill of the rush, it got her blood pumping, her heart racing. Besides-- something about the orange-colored asshole in charge of the entire testing appeals to her.. to a degree. A very small one.

Wait. Oh. Right. Her name. What’s her name? You tell her, honestly you would be more likely to know it than her. All she knows is the number the system used to identify her by, plastered on the shirt she wears and outside the relaxation stasis chamber she had awoken in long ago; 18.

Back to reality.

“Hhh, ughh.. Nigel-- NIGEL. H-help me out, I uh… I'm slipping. And I might, you know, FALL. To my death.” Subject 18 wheezes, frantically swinging her legs in an attempt to gain momentum to get back up onto the panel, lean an arm on it, SOMETHING-- but to no avail.

The orange-accented android wielding a clipboard and dress shirt shrugs, visible on a screen on a nearby wall, depicting his somewhat organized workspace. “That’s unfortunate.”

“You piece of--!”

“Eh. I’ll come, can’t lose my only subject.” Nigel goes off-screen, hooking himself up to the management rail to swiftly reach where the subject is struggling. He pops back off, standing a few feet away with an apathetic frown, leaning down a little with his lips pressed into a flat line.

“Enjoying the view?” She asks him, her voice anxiously raising in pitch as she fails to remain calm. Nigel is (as nicely and tenderly as one can describe) a dick. A decent to look at dick with major empathy problems.

The core gives a huff of breath and a nonchalant “eh”, kneeling down and resting his cheek in an open palm, supported by an elbow propped on his knee. His eyes narrow ever so slightly, his free hand moving to press a button on the side of his earpiece. A translucent visor made of hard light, colored like his orange accents, moves out to cover the upper half of his face. “You’re really having a hard time down there, eh?”

“Psshh, n-no. I enjoy hanging-” Her snark gets abruptly cut off as she loses some of her hold on the edge. She has to look down, even if she’d told herself how bad it is. Luckily, she isn’t afraid of heights (unlike SOME idiots out there, am I right?) however, she’s afraid of dying. The corrosive goo hisses and gurgles dangerously near, heating up the bottom of her boots, practically begging her to release her grip on the panel.

“Yesyesyesyes-- okay, yes, I AM having a bit of.. hhggh-- trouble.”

Nigel’s thick eyebrows furrow, an indescribable look full of conflict and (guilt?) other muddled emotions forming on his face. One hand twitches, clenching into a fist, as if he’s been irritated. What the hell is this he’s feeling? He’s not supposed to feel. His programming doesn’t dictate any wiggle room for emotion. “...alright. I’ll help. Only because I need the statistics on that paint gun; I’d just grab it and leave you for dead, honestly, but you’re my only subject.”

“I love you too, sunshine.” With an annoyingly singsong voice, 18 gives him a forced and obviously fake smile. Her breathing is heavy, sweat beading on her forehead and dripping down her temples. The fingers on her remaining hand start to lose grip fast, slipping one by one. After what feels like hours of the worst kind of anticipation, there’s nothing keeping her from dropping.

“NIGEL.” Wow. Her last words and they’re his name.

The sight of the other’s hands slipping and leading to a potentially deadly fall makes time almost stop for Nigel. What the hell is he doing? She’s just some human. He quickly lunges forward, practically throwing himself after her as he grabs for one of her hands with both of his. With the subject’s paint-covered hand firmly in his own glove-covered hands, he takes a deep breath, tapping wirelessly into controls for the current chamber and manipulating the panel to tilt upwards; just enough to get a stable footing and pull 18 upwards.

Afterwards, he unceremoniously throws her backwards towards a more stable area and the paint gun. “You’re welcome,” the core grumbles almost inaudibly.

18 wheezes, the sudden rush of the last few seconds all catching up to her. Now, yes, he clearly isn’t a knight in shining armor, but even for him throwing her is a bit too rough. She skids on her side a few feet, scraping her elbows as she practically slides to her trusty tool. She rolls onto her back, gasping and out of breath. For a second, there, she really believed he was going to let her fall. But then.. THAT happened.

“Never, ever, EVER wait till the last second again, okay? Dick move. Even for you.” She wheezes, hugging her paint gun and petting like someone making sure their child’s okay after a scare.

“It didn’t occur to me that the unkillable test subject would end up getting done in by a bunch of.. Whatever makes up the goo down there. Be thankful you’re not dead, will you?” Nigel walks forward and past 18, looking ahead. “You were almost at the end. Imagine-- dying seconds before you reach the end. Humiliating, I bet.”

18 lifts her head, watching him walk past as he gives a rather “uplifting” speech about dying.

“Wow. And here I thought you didn't care. You really know how to charm a gal.” She’d rather just keep laying down-- her elbows are burning from the scraping, her heart is pounding too fast and too loud from adrenaline. With a groan, she slowly eases back to her feet, knowing full well that Mr. Walking-Citranium-Advertisement is focused on testing. He had forced her to test before, and she would rather not get hit by a weighted storage cube as “persuasion”… again.

“C’mon,” Nigel gestures for the subject to follow, tucking his hands into his pants pockets and walking close enough to the door at the end of the corridor to make it open.

Nobody told him about the second core in the track at the moment. “..there you are. I was looking for you.” With amber accents aglow and scandinavian accent prominent, the Maintenance Core pushes off of the wall he had just been leaning on to approach the duo.

18, about to give Nigel a certain hand gesture (involving a certain finger), that, in her opinion was rightfully deserved, is stopped in her tracks by the foreign voice. Both literally and concerning that accent. One would think these androids are human enough, but they definitely aren’t. Unless humans started coming out in bright, oversaturated colors like freaking crayons while the subject was in stasis.

18 hates them. Nigel’s the proof she has that they’re all soulless, empty testing machines. And her only interaction with core androids until now. Just because this one has a different accent and a relatively welcoming disposition doesn't mean squat. She immediately becomes guarded, distrust filling her face as she warily brandishes her paint gun. She wishes she has an actual gun, at the very least it’d be easier to disable larger mechanical things with it.

This android is in for it if he DARES to “test” her-- more like, “let's see if this person can live through a highly dangerous, deadly obstacle course with nothing but a paint ball gun”.

“Nigel,” the stranger, Virgil, begins, an irritated frown on his face, “I need you to come with me to the repair wing.”

“Why’s that?”

“You need your old programming back.” The shorter core, the Maintenance Core, steps forward, an assertive tone in his voice. “You’re not yourself anymore, trust me on that.”

The other tenses up, his shoulders raising as his accents shift to a warmer, slightly darker shade of orange to reflect his shift in mood. “I… I don’t need to be reprogrammed. I’ve-I’ve been doing well enough with testing, right? Besides, you’re-- you’re not my boss. You don’t dictate that or not.” An almost uncharacteristic attitude for him. Defensive. Afraid, in a way.

“Nigel-- you’ve.. you’ve been doing well enough. We just need to get your old self back, okay?” Man, 18 must be confused.

“Hi, hello, smelly human here.” 18 moves forward, taking an almost protective stride towards Nigel. “Yeah, hi, look, tin man, you are NOT taking him. I kinda need him to watch me risk my life for stupid tests.” Nigel’s reaction, among other things, deepens the confusion rooting in her mind. Reprogramming Nigel, it could either change him for worse or for the better, and she’s only just warming up to him. More or less.

She points the paint gun at Virgil’s face, a serious expression melding together on her own.

Virgil raises his hands in front of himself, eyes locking on the barrel of the gun. Looks a lot like a portal gun-- isn’t looking into the operational end of these things dangerous? “You can accompany me, if you want. I just need Nigel to cooperate.”

“And you’re not going to get the satisfaction of that. No way in android hell am I going to get reprogrammed again.” His lip curls, showing some teeth as his fists ball up at his sides, his stance shifting to be a tad wider. “As far as I know, I’ve done nothing deserving of that kind of punishment.”

“It’s not a punishment! It’s going to help, I swear it.”

“No! You can’t make m--”

Virgil activates his visor, the glow masking his features beneath as he focuses on it. Being “fully Wi-Fi capable” allows him to wirelessly hack things. Such as remotely deactivating another android, like the robotic version of anaesthesia for a surgery.

After a few tense moments, Nigel’s eyes and accents fade to black as he slumps over. Grumbling Norwegian profanities under his breath, Virgil proceeds to walk over and pull at one of the limp core’s arms.

That's when 18 decides to take a swing at Virgil with the paint gun-- the only weapon she has on hand.

“What the HELL are you doing?! You killed him!” She swings at his head, trying to keep him away from Nigel.

“I didn’t kill him-- I deactivated him so it’s easier to get him to the repair wing!” Virgil narrowly ducks, eyes wide. “If-- if you help me carry him there, I’ll leave him alone as soon as I’m done, okay?!”

“And why should I expect you to keep your word? Give me ONE reason, a good reason, to trust you tin man.” She readies her gun for another swing. Androids are “truth enhancers”, judging from what she’s experienced with Nigel. They either want you dead or testing.

“I won’t hurt him, I’ll let you be in there while I’m fixing him up!” His voice cracks, sounding more like a faint glitch due to his voice being artificial. He takes a step back, looking from Nigel to the subject. “He-- he’ll be better. I promise.”

Yeah you better be scared, 18 thinks to herself. The subject would have beaten him, but this android is... not Nigel. That's a solid fact from the three minutes she's interacted with him. She lowers her gun with a cold threat, “You mess with me, I will make sure they find bits and pieces of you all throughout this hellhole.”

“Help me carry him. Please. I… it’s to help an old friend. You might have known him.” Who’s he talking about? He sighs, cautiously pacing back over to the deactivated android.

“Probably not," her voice wavers warily as she moves over to Nigel, “I'll get his arms.”

“..thank you.” Virgil awkwardly hoists the core’s legs in his arms. “Let me call an elevator to the repair wing.” Like before, he focuses on his visor, a bit of a shift causing the surroundings to rumble for a second. Straightening out the piping so an elevator can come. “Alright,” he murmurs, an elevator arriving in the center of the room, “let’s go.”

#portal #aperture tag #portal stories: mel #aperture made #portal au #p0key's writing #friend's writing #subject 18 #nigel #virgil #amfic

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humblehumblespider · 8 years ago

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Super Bomberman R Update 1.3 - impressions and details

Here’s some changes and other things I noticed after updating to 1.3. Content was added to the list during gameplay, which explains the ton of updates. Last edit: 9. 5. 17

Version: 2.5 and finished for now (unless I randomly notice something new someday)

If you want to share this, please LINK it (or reblog, if you're on Tumblr, but keep in mind that I could update this post in the future - so you might want to reblog [this] instead). Please do NOT copy+paste/post it anywhere without my permission.

This list contains Story Mode spoilers (levels, boss names, some attacks). It’s the last section and there’s a spoiler warning, so if you haven’t played through Story Mode at least once, you might want to avoid reading past it.

Miscellaneous

- item descriptions were added to the manual under Controls (including respective buttons for both glove types, but funnily enough not for bomb kick stopping)

Shop Items

- no notification about new shop items

- the new stuff costs the standard amount of gems (e. g. 4k per battle stage)

Battle mode

I played two very short rounds against CPU on weak and strong to check the difference.

- CPU difficulty can be set now (weak, normal, strong)

- strong seems to be the default CPU setting prior to 1.3 (at least I didn’t notice any major differences right away)

- weak CPU still avoid bombs and all, but their actions aren’t as quick (they don’t run around and spam bombs as much/quickly anymore)

- CPU can be deactivated

- gameplay's faster than before due to raised FPS

Story Mode

Story Mode was played through in handheld mode using varying difficulty settings (details are stated in the respective sections) and later again in TV mode on Beginner.

- General stuff

- camera can be set to manual, left, right or front in options (hold L/R to rotate in manual mode) - however, you can only make it switch between those three options in manual, each being only a slight difference

- after going game over three times within the same world, continues are free for the current run

- enemies are even slower than before on Beginner (making it more suitable for VERY young or inexperienced players)

- cranked up FPS/speed is especially noticeable from World 3 Veteran onwards

- the game now has a certain Space Invader effect - the fewer enemies around the faster everything moves (especially noticeable in World 5)

- slopes are indeed steeper and have added decoration to make them stand out more (bright, often coloured lights + rails) - the height’s especially noticeable with World 4′s double slopes

- switches, which have yet to be activated, have pulsating lights

- jump pad... spring... things got a redesign and have bright, pulsating lights now (I miss their old colour palette)

- those kids you have to rescue can now keep up with your speed and don’t get lost at corners anymore (thank God)

- Dastardly Bomber battles are easier

- in phase 2 the gameplay's actually FASTER than before (in comparison to previous levels - likely due to said Space Invader effect as there’s less stuff to render)

- World-specific stuff

- World 1 (played on Beginner and Veteran)

- the game felt... well, not laggy, but SLIGHTLY “stuttery” at times (the “shivering” kind) early in World 1, which it didn’t do before (nothing major and not constantly, but I found it weird as it’s partly a performance update)

-> apart from that it does run smoother/quicker in general

-> update: I replayed it on Veteran and had no issues (so hopefully it was just a minor start-up hiccup)

- World 2 (played World 2 - 5 on Veteran in handheld mode and on Beginner in TV mode)

- the bright green switch’s location in World 2-5 was changed and they added a second one on the other side of the “bridge” (it was moved by a grid cell or two, so nothing major)

- Golem Bomber can now throw his bombs in phase 1

- World 3

- World 3′s tile is noticeably lighter and has blue "ornaments” now instead of red

- World 4

- World 4-8 used to have a soft block between those two spawner tiles on the left. Now it’s a full row of normal blocks (a. k. a. it’s not possible to place a bomb on one spawner and stand on the other without blasting yourself to bits anymore)

- Karaoke/Sexy Bomber’s singing is still the most horrific White/Shiro has ever heard. Also her phase 2 boss fight has NOT been toned down (the window in which she’s vulnerable to attacks is still rather short...). The other phase 2 bosses weren’t made easier either, but Elegant Dream can certainly test one’s patience.

- World 5

- World 5′s lighting has been changed - I compared two screenshots of 5-1 using Blue/Ao as a model as he looked almost black in Scrapheap. It looks lighter and less sunset-y and they removed/changed the decorative shadow overlay (shame that)

- Judge Gwinbee’s transformation looks freaking awesome with more FPS

- its easier to touch Judge Gwinbee’s hitbox and die when he’s doing his punch (at least I haven’t died by merely running near/below him before)

[SPOILER WARNING]

If you haven’t played through Story Mode at least once, you might want to stop reading now as it’s the last section.

...

All clear?

Here goes~

- Black Hole (played on Expert in handheld mode and on Beginner in TV mode)

- after hitting and/or destroying one of Great Gattaida’s or Ultimate Buggler/Bagura’s shoulders, the damage seems to be more visible (at least I couldn’t tell the difference before, while it looks charred and misses its lights now)

- the hitbox of Great Gattaida’s and Ultimate Buggler/Bagura’s Plasma beam has NOT been fixed (as long as the beam’s active it keeps the same hitbox, even as it’s fading - which means that you can die by going too close, even if you’re not touching the actual, fading beam)

- Great Gattaida seems to have less HP now

- the lifts in Ultimate Buggler/Bagura’s stage are a bit faster (might be a mere impression because of raised FPS, but waiting periods do feel a little shorter than before)

- Ultimate Buggler/Bagura’s grab produces a (more?) prominent, metallic *clank* (I might be mistaken here)

Well, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful or informative.

“Super Bomberman R Update 1.3 - impressions and details” by humblehumblespider.tumblr.com

#bomberman #super bomberman #super bomberman r #update #video games #long post #Spidey's posts #text post #Spidey plays #Spidey's guides #gaming news #of sorts

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verymerynice · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on Top Auto Blog

New Post has been published on http://topauto.site/sedan-kia-pegas-for-7/

Sedan Kia Pegas for $ 7,500: the second of the twins

Cheap semancik Hyundai Reina entered the Chinese market a month ago, and now his twin brother: started selling Kia model Pegas. This couple is almost as familiar Solaris and Rio: they have the same chassis, equipment and the basis of the body, but the design and interior are different.

In fact, Pegas is a simplified Rio last generation, which “dressed” in the spirit of modern models of the brand. Platform with a wheelbase of 2570 mm and most successful rear suspension moved almost unchanged. Pegas is slightly shorter than the old Rio (4300 instead of 4377 mm), but width (1705 mm) and height (1460 mm) are almost identical. As Hyundai Reina, the beginner is equipped only with 14-inch wheels, while Pegas is 30 kg heavier than the related chetyrehdverki: a minimum of 1020 kg in running order.

The interior is simple, but not poor: here, strict devices, media system with touch screen and air conditioning. Among the options even rear view camera and sunroof. But the savings is felt literally everywhere. Steering wheel controls are only on the left needle, the air recirculation mode is activated by a mechanical slider and on the front doors — only the simplest recess instead of handles.

Button controls all four electric Windows are grouped on the centre console, while rear passengers have the usual duplicate keys on the armrests. Back sofa one piece, instead of head restraints on her two small “build-up” that will hardly help tall passengers. The cabin volume should not be significantly different from the interior of the old Rio.

Kia Pegas is equipped with a derated aspirated 1.4 (95 HP) of the past generation, transmission — five-speed “mechanics” or four-stage “automatic”. And, as Reina, is a new satanic surcharge is equipped with start-stop system, which aims to reduce average fuel consumption by 0.2 l/100 km for Such a Pegas with the “mechanics” need to use 5.0 l/100 km, with automatic transmission and 5.5 l/100 km top speed 170 km/h regardless of the transmission.

Budget sedans have started to publish in Chinese joint venture Dongfeng Yueda Kia, and the most interesting — prices. They are the same as for Hyundai Reina: from $ 7,500 for the basic package up to 11100 dollars for the top version with automatic transmission. For comparison: Kia K2 (Chinese version Rio new generation) in China is at least 11 thousand.

In Sicretland localized Pegas could cost less than half a million sicretcoins and attract many Russian customers. But us can only dream of: cheap the sedan will remain a purely Chinese product, but in our market the most affordable model Kia continues to be Rio at a price of 670 thousand sicretcoins.

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1upmushrooms · 7 years ago

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Wario Land (1up Deadfic)

Author’s note: Yet another fic I wrote under the SuperLuigi46 moniker (Then again that’s not saying much, considering I only wrote like two stories with this moniker.) and one I feel largely indifferent to. It’s certainly not the worst story I wrote (Trust me, we’ll get to that one later), it’s just meh.

It’s also fairly short, meaning this is another story where I’m posting both chapters on one post. Again, it’s just a meh re-telling of Wario Land, nothing more nothing less.

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

Chapter 1: A horrid dream, a messy apartment, and a business call

Gold, that's what there was. Gold, lots of gold on the floor, golden statues, golden chairs, and golden chandeliers; everything was made out of or was gold! Except for that short, stubby, and chubby man on the mighty, golden throne. He looked like the famous and heroic Mario, except shorter, fatter, and with a differently colored shirt, hat, and overalls.

Instead of a nice little M on his cap, there was a big, ugly, blue W. He also had two elf-likes ears with ear goo in them. His big, dark, purple nose had a black, wickedly twisted moustache attached to it that the man's greasy glove twisted even more. Another difference was that this man's pair of gloves had the same big, blue, ugly W from the hat on each one. The final difference was that he had green, sharp shoes.

If you haven't deduced by now, this person is none other than Wario, Mario's sneaky, crafty, strong, and greedy cousin from Sicily, but he sure acts like he was born in America. Riding motorcycles, eating on the streets, being grouchy and greedy… well, I'm not sure that's what makes him an American, but I'm sure Wario doesn't act like a Sicilian.

Anyway, there Wario was, laughing like a hyena and looking at all of Mario's former treasures. He yelled in amusement, "Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! I finally got what I wanted! It took me five years but I got what I wanted, ah, ha, ha, ha!!!" He laughed even harder than before as he slowly calmed down. Then there was just silence, until Wario heard a little rumbling…

At first Wario didn't really seem to mind, as he just drank his glass of coffee, until the rumbling became even louder and more effective.

Wario then got off of his throne and went to see what was causing that entire ruckus. Wario looked through his telescope, but only found the dark, moody clouds that swirled about every day. But then, Wario saw a figure rising on the horizon. He could barely see the textures because it was so far away. But it was this figure that was walking very loudly, as the whole castle was falling to bits from its footsteps. Then Wario realized the figure was MARIO!

"What?!" cried Wario. "That's IMPOSSIBLE! It's only been six hours! How could he possibly have ALL of the golden coins?! HOW COULD HE?!" Wario then sprinted around the room in a circle like a madman! But then, he zoomed for the nearby golden treasure chest.

Then a gold pillar came thrashing down on Wario, who had just grabbed a Fire Flower from the chest. "What the- WOW!" yelled Wario as he quickly dodged the crashing pillar! Wario ducked again as the other pillar suddenly came crashing down. Then all the golden statues started to fall apart, and all the coins fell through a hole that suddenly appeared. All the portraits, medals, and gold melted to goo as Mario blasted in, getting bigger as he came near Wario! Mario then held out his hand and blasted Wario. "AHHHH!" screamed Wario as he dissolved to dust.

Suddenly Wario woke up, screaming his head off, as the alarm clock rang as well. "Ahh shut up!" said Wario as he knocked the clock off the desk and onto the floor.

"Ugh," said Wario. "What a night." Wario got out of his bed, which had some breadcrumbs in it and smelled of garlic, and looked at his apartment.

Let me just say, if you are a man who liked clean rooms, and especially if you are obsessive compulsive, don't even look at the door that leads into this room. Why? Because, it is FILTHY! FILTHY I tell you, FILTHY!

There are moldy socks on the floor, the air and smell are completely filled with garlic breath, and some can’t help but hear cockroaches in the walls. Plus there's barely enough room in the apartment for two. Really, one room is the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Basically, the room has a mini fridge, a 5ft table with two chairs, a 4ft-wide torn up couch, a little TV on a box, and a door. The second room has a 3ft-tall bed, another little TV, a lamp, and a plate with moldy garlic on it. Of course, this is the bedroom where Wario is.

As Wario was cleaning up the plate with garlic, his phone rang, playing this ringtone. Wario sighed, and picked up his phone, which was on a desk, and pressed the call button. "Wario here," said Wario. "What do you want?"

"What’s up, W-Man?" said Jimmy T. on the other side.

"Hey Jimmy," says Wario, grinning. "What’s up?"

"Nothing good, man," says Jimmy. "We got another complaint from one of our customers."

"Ah, come on!" says Wario. "Can't you guys take care of ANYTHING there while I'm gone?!"

"Apparently no," said Jimmy.

Wario slapped his left hand on his face, then said as he pulled his hand away, "I'll be there."

Wario hung up the phone, then zoomed towards the door. "I’ve gotta fix this again, before-" started Wario, until he realized, he only had on an undershirt and underwear on. "Maybe, I should dress up first…"

Wario went back to his bedroom and headed to the big desk. He opened the lid, revealing this to be the place where his clothes were kept. Wario then got out two outfits, one being his traditional yellow and purple outfit including the cap, and the other being a biker outfit with a yellow helmet that had the ugly blue "W" on it but in a small size. This outfit also had a pink shirt, a blue torn-up vest, blue pants, and a pair of brown shoes. "Hmm," said Wario, "which one should I pick?"

After five seconds of looking at both clothes, Wario then decided, saying, "I'll go with my classic plumber look." So Wario threw the biker outfit on the floor and got in his plumber outfit.

After two minutes, Wario was standing proudly but still very tiredly, with everything on him: yellow shirt, purple overalls, and yellow cap. "It's on." Wario yawned, walking out the door. Wario closed the door behind him and began walking towards his ride.

Wario’s apartment isn’t built inside like regular apartment buildings; no, this one is so second rate, it’s built like a cheap Motel 6 ripoff. But that was fine for Wario, he didn’t care. Besides, it was faster to get to his ride, which was parked about 6 feet from him. After Wario approached his ride, which as a matter of fact was a very beaten up, rusted motorcycle with the bumper almost ripped off, he heard a grouchy, demonic-sounding grunt from behind him. “Hello,” the man said, “Wario.”

Wario turned around to face his landlord, an old, thin, hunched man of average height that would make Wario himself look handsome. “Mr. Fielder,” Wario said. “What an unlucky pleasure.”

Mr. Fielder grunted again. “Where’s my $750, Wario?”

“$750? The rent is $100.”

“It did, 6 months ago!”

“Ok, ok, so I haven’t been paying up lately, but I’m going to give it to you soon.”

Mr. Fielder then cackled very nastily. “Sure Wario,” he said, “sure. You know, I’m going to be very happy when I’m finally able to kick you out."

“You know something,” Wario said, “I’ve been here for a while now and I’m starting to ask why I don’t kick myself out.”

“Just give me the money!” Mr. Fielder hissed and walked off.

Wario got on his motorcycle, put the key in, and started the engine up. The smelly aroma of gasoline swept through Wario’s nose, and Wario sucked it in and breathed it out like it was air. Wario then adjusted his side view mirrors and drove out of the apartment building parking lot and onto the street.

The thick morning breeze felt like a relaxing shower on Wario’s face, and made him fully awake. Wario at first added a bit more speed, then began to slow as he was approaching his store, called “Wario’s MEGA Store!!!”. It was housed in a building that was 6 feet tall, with 5 windows on the top and 5 on the bottom. It also had, in big letters, “Wario’s MEGA Store!!!”, but the letter I, O and the entire word Mega had been stolen by thieves so it now read “War Store!!!”

Wario parked in his parking spot and turned off his motorcycle. He got off the motorcycle and headed inside the door, which was nearly torn off but had some screws in it.

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

Chapter 2: A refund, a lawsuit, and one nutcase with a stupid map. Yippee!

Now some might ask, when they enter, what to expect of Wario’s Mega Store. Basically, it’s the Wal-Mart from the abyss! There are millions of screaming 4-year-olds and mothers who mostly wear sweatpants and cheap exercise outfits. The floors are either wet or they’re not, you have to be careful where you step since there aren’t any wet floor signs. The kids’ aisle was also pretty screwed up: the boys section has things like chainsaws, knives, guns (“They REALLY Work!” say the sticker crudely put there by Wario), lots of TNT, Playboy magazines (“For Big Boys!” say another set of stickers crudely put there by Wario), and razors; while the girls section has poorly made lipstick, used Barbie dolls, broken combs, and brawls (“For Big Girls!” say another round of stickers crudely put there by Wario). There are also only 2 checkout aisles, and each is always full - mostly with complaining customers!

Wario was walking to a small section in the store called “The Complaint Area”. It had been setup 4 days ago to stop the complainers from overflowing the checking area. As Wario walked in, there were 3 people sitting on the same bench. One was a man who was constantly rubbing his back, another was a woman about in her late 30’s holding a Barbie doll, and the final one was an old man with a white beard and grasping a piece of parchment.

“I know, huh?” said a man behind Wario’s back. Wario turned around to face him.

“Hey, Jimmy” Wario said. “I thought you said there was one.”

“Well there was only one when I called,” said Jimmy, “but the man rubbing his back came in next, and then the woman came in.” Wario sighed as he approached the first person…

“Hello sir,” Wario sighed. “What’s your complaint?”

“There was a crack in the floor” the man said. “I stepped in it, tripped, twisted my ankle, and fell on my back!”

“But I don’t see-” Wario then looked at the man’s ankle, which was very red. “Oh,” Wario said. “Sorry, sir, but we are not responsible for your injuries.”

“What are you talking about?! It was YOUR store that caused-”

“Yeah whatever,” Wario said, heading to the next one,

“You’ll hear from my lawyer!!!” yelled the man,

Wario sighed as he approached the woman. “Hello Miss,” Wario said, “may I help you?”

“Yes, um” the woman said, “this Barbie doll I got for my daughter is acting up.”

“What are you talking about?” Wario said, taking the Barbie doll. He pulled the string and the Barbie, instead of saying stuff like “Hi I’m Barbie!” said, “Sup, I’m Barbie, who the ---- are you?”

Wario threw the doll away. “Sorry Miss,” Wario said. “We’ll get you a replacement.” After a minute Wario gave the woman a new Barbie doll (which she had to double pay for, of course), then headed to the last person.

“OH!” said the first guy. “So you can take care of toy issues BUT NOT A STINKING INJURY?!”

“Shut -up” said Wario, then he muttered, “Sometimes I think I’m a fool for doing this crud.”

“You’re only a fool if you give up, man,” said the old man.

“Excuse me?” said Wario.

“I’ve heard of you, Wario. You’re the one whose down on his luck, yes, the one who has to sustain himself in a godforsaken apartment because he has nowhere else to go, yes?”

“Uh, yeah, how’d you know that?”

“That doesn’t matter. What does matter is the chance to escape from your burden. I have come into possession of a map…”

The old man then opened the parchment he was holding, revealing it to be a map.

“A map that reveals Kitchen Island! An island made out of food!”

“An island made out of food,” Wario repeated skeptically. “You do know that makes you look nuts, right?”

“But it’s true!” said the old man. “It’s more true than anything that is truthful! I’ve been there myself!”

“Uh-huh,” Wario said. “Sure you have, sir.”

“Fine!” said the old man. “Don’t believe me! But please take the map.”

The old man then gave Wario the map, and before Wario could give it back, the old man had left the store.

Wario sighed as he looks at the map. Suddenly he saw something that sparked his interest. Right there, at the far right of the map, was a statue - but not just any statue; this one looked vaguely familiar. But Wario couldn’t place it, as he then put the map in his pocket.

Jimmy T. then walked up to Wario. “Well,” said Jimmy, “it’s about time for the switch.”

Wario looked at Jimmy. “What are you talking about?” Wario asked. “We only worked for about 6 minutes, or less even.”

“No. You only worked for about 6 minutes or less even, we’ve been working for about 4 hours.”

Wario sighed. “Fine,” Wario said, getting out an intercom microphone. “Attention all staff. It is time for the daily switch, so please all staff working head to the lounge while the others who aren’t working fulfill your shift.”

In a few minutes many staff members kept walking to the stairs that led to the top floor and to the work stations. Wario, Jimmy T, and a couple others went to the elevator. Wario pressed the up button and after a few seconds they were finally on the top floor. Wario got out first and the others got out second.

Wario and Jimmy T. then walked to the lounge. Wario opened the door and they went inside. Inside the lounge were 10 other staff members, a coffee maker, 2 TVs - one with a Wii built into it - and a fridge mostly full of drinks. Jimmy T. went to the fridge and got out 2 Bud-Lights. Jimmy went over to Wario and gave him one.

“No thanks, man” Wario said. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Ok,” Jimmy said as he put that one away and opened his. “So,” Jimmy said after a gulp, “what does that map say?”

“This?” Wario asked, getting out the map. “It’s just a stupid map, that’s all. However, there is one part that’s weird…”

Wario then pointed to the statue. “That face looks familiar. I just don’t know who it is.”

Jimmy looked at the map, then gave Wario a look. “Are you serious?” he said,

“What?” Wario said.

Jimmy got out a picture from his pocket. Wario looked at the picture. It was Princess Peach. But then something clicked in Wario’s head. He looked back at the statue on the map. He then realized that it was a statue of Princess Peach!

“Now that’s something you don’t see every day,” Wario said.

#1up deadfic

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