#picking back up that Luigi one-shot that I started then dropped

[pianokantzart]

Time to write about an insanely talented poker player who knows the game like the back of his hand! First things first...

[creativesnek]

Mushroom Foraging Scare

“All right guys! Today, I’m out here with Peach, looking for some tasty mushrooms for dinner.”

Luigi panned the camera stick over him, capturing Peach on the shot. As he continued to film, Peach smiled and waved at the camera, her excitement evident. The sun-dappled forest provided a picturesque backdrop for their mushroom hunting adventure.

"Let's see if we can find some of those delectable chanterelles," Luigi said, his voice filled with enthusiasm. He adjusted his hat and led the way deeper into the woods, with Peach following closely behind.

As they ventured further into the forest, the air became cooler and filled with earthy scents. The ground was covered in a thick carpet of fallen leaves, making each step slightly crunchy under their feet. Luigi's eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for any signs of mushroom patches. As they did so, the man thanked the donations and let the comments flow.

The forest is so pretty 😍

New area unlocked

Damn, the dark web theory to mushroom foraging pipeline is REAL

Weeg looks so adorable and excited

Protecc this man at all cost

*SuperBro has donated 1500 bits! I will never understand y u like mushrooms so much🤢*

Luigi smirked at his brother’s words. Mario has always hated mushrooms, even when they were little. If Mama cooked with them, he’d pick them off his plate and give them to Luigi. To this day he finds it ironic, considering Peach is a Toad person. One can see it on the white freckles and reddish cheek that she bloomed from the royal mycelium. In the end, Mario ended up falling for the thing he disliked most and Luigi will never let him live it down. 

They continued onwards, stopping every now and then to look over a dead log before moving on. Luigi and Peach were taking their time, enjoying the outdoors and summer breeze. As they ventured deeper into the forest, Luigi and Peach marveled at the vibrant hues of green that surrounded them. 

So peaceful…

Do y’all have a club or smth I can join? Kinda wanna get into this🤔

Isn’t this… cannibalism for Peach?

“Peach, you got a question,” said Luigi.

“What?”

Luigi stopped for a moment. “Someone asked if this is cannibalism for you.”

Peach threw her head back and laughed. The question has popped up several times, and honestly it doesn’t bother her. Newcomers are a common occurrence during streams; plus, it was an opportunity to educate people on Toadfolk culture and physiology. Peach jumped over a log, “No, this isn’t cannibalism for me,” she replied with a giggle. “Toads are born from a special and totally different form of mycelium, which is why we’re sentient. Mushrooms, on the other hand, don’t come from this and therefore aren’t sentient or anywhere near close to being my species.”

Luigi adjusted his camera. “Well, Peachie here is born from an even more special mycelium, which is why she looks more like me than normal Toads.”

Ohh ok

Peach just *spawns into existence* 🧍🏽‍♀️

Guys, king oysters 3 o’clock

The green-wearing man’s eyes widened. “King oysters?”

“Where?!”

Luigi looked around, looking for the mushroom patch that the comment mentioned. And lo and behold, there it was to his right. Giggling like school children, the two ran towards it.

THERE THEY GOOO

Freaking dorks, i luv them

Damn they really want those shrooms😂

The two made it to the patch, then dropped to their knees. Luigi angled the camera, making sure he had a proper shot of the beautiful fungi.

Pat the cap

i wanna poke it

By law, Luigi must pat the cap.

*Tao Coffee ☕donated 1000 bits! give pats to the mushroom pls*

“Hold on, lemme double check that they’re safe,” said Peach.

She laid on her stomach, inspecting the fungi before standing up and nodding. Luigi lifted his free hand and proceeded to give the requested pats to the king oyster mushrooms. Cheers and happy emoticons flooded the chat. Luigi set his camera stick down, angled towards them as they started digging some out. 

“Oh wow, these are big mushrooms,” he commented.

Peach slowly dug one out and lifted it to the air. “Look at this one! It’s bigger than my hand!”

The two talked back and forth as they collected the mushrooms, exclaiming their excitement.

Still don’t know how tf I got here…

Take a bite out of it

I wanna bite it

Luigi looked at his phone. “I highly recommend not eating raw mushrooms, especially freshly picked ones.”

Peach gasped. “Ohh, how are you going to cook them?”

“I was thinking of sauteeing them and then eating them with rice,” he replied.

The two started suggesting recipes (with the Chat drooling over the suggestion) but were suddenly interrupted by the sound of thunder. They looked up and gasped; the once sunny sky had suddenly turned dark. Luigi dropped the king oysters into a bag, then put them in his backpack. Peach frowned, “That storm’s coming in pretty quickly,” he said.

Luigi nodded in understanding and looked around. In the distance, he noticed an old building, covered in vines and shrubbery. It looked sketchy but it’ll have to do, the storm was rolling in quickly. He grabbed his stuff and made a beeline towards it; Peach followed closely behind. The rain started pouring behind them. 

As they approached the dilapidated building, Luigi could feel a sense of unease creeping up his spine. The creaking sound of the rusty gate swinging in the wind added to the eerie atmosphere surrounding them. Despite his reservations, he knew they had no other choice but to seek shelter within its mysterious walls.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door, a musty smell filled their nostrils, and their eyes adjusted to the dimly lit interior. The room was cluttered with broken furniture and covered in layers of dust, as if it had been abandoned for years.

Sketchy af 🫤

Watch for glass or used needles u guys

Get out. Get outta there. 

Hell no, I’d rather stay out in the rain

*SuperBro donated 25 bits! Lu, Peach, keep an eye out.*

Heeding his brother’s and the chat’s words, they found a clean spot to sit and just wait. Bowser would be here soon to pick them up; he most likely noticed the clouds and is already on his way here. Luigi sighed, “Hey, at least we got our haul, right?” he said, trying to sooth the tension. Peach nodded.

An hour passed by. They tried to distract themselves by enjoying the sound of music or answering donation questions. Peach fiddled with her pocket knife, nervously looking around. Suddenly they heard glass breaking. Luigi's eyes widened in fear, his hand instinctively flying to cover his mouth to stifle any noise that might escape.

The group exchanged worried glances, their previous distractions forgotten in an instant. Peach's grip tightened around her pocket knife, her knuckles turning white as she prepared herself for whatever might come next. They had hoped for a peaceful evening, but it seemed fate had other plans.

Then they heard the horrible growl.

RUN

FUCKING RUN

Omg do we call 911???!

dis so fake ong

^^ stfu. 😡

Hey there demons, it’s me ya boi

The duo shot up to their feet and booked it towards an exit, leaving the camera behind. They leaped over debris, screaming.

Someone call King!

King!

He better come get his man

*King donated 1 bit! I’M OUTSIDE!*

They could see headlights from another exit. Peach and Luigi ran out into the rain. A large truck pulled closer. Both recognized it as Bowser’s standard vehicle. Without skipping a beat, they headed towards it as it meant safety. As Peach and Luigi dashed through the pouring rain, their hearts pounded with a mix of fear and determination.

Luigi headed towards the side and frantically got inside, wiping away wet hair from his face. Bowser picked him up by the scruff and pulled him inside further. Peach climbed inside, collapsing across the seats. There was silence except for their pants and the truck’s engine for a few seconds. Bowser touched his face, “Are you okay?!” 

“I-I’m okay…”

The concerned Koopa turned to look at the backseats. “Peaches, you good?!”

Peach gave him a weak thumbs-up. Bowser sighed and squeezed his boyfriend’s hand tightly. They took a moment to gather themselves. Peach slowly sat up and moved her ponytail over her shoulder, nervously running her hands through it. Luigi sighed and put his backpack on his lap. Then he froze. 

“I left my phone behind.”

Bowser stared straight ahead. Then took off his seatbelt. Luigi went to grab his arm but he got out before he could even touch him. He slammed the door close behind him, “Stay here.”

Peach and Luigi’s protests fell on deaf ears as the large koopa marched inside, smoke trails leaving his nostrils. They watched nervously as the minutes ticked by, fearful of what would happen next. Luigi knew Bowser was fully capable of defending himself, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t worry. 

They both jumped and screamed when the car door opened suddenly.

Bowser took his seat, getting comfortable on the custom-made seat fit for his shell. He handed Luigi the camera stick, which he had kept dry. Luigi took it, “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did. Also, it wasn’t some random crackhead or anything like that; just a bunch of asshole Boos playing pranks.”

The two sighed in relief. Luigi lifted the phone, trying to give the audience a reassuring smile.

He’s alive!

He lives!

Damn, Bowser lookin’ fine in the rain 👀🫦

Weeg, how could u cheatin on King? Disappointed 🙁

Bowser is King, dumbass.😑

The chat continued their expressions of relief (and the occasional bickering) as Luigi stayed on screen. Bowser wiped his hair back, then started the truck again. He also turned on the heater, “Let’s go home before you two catch a cold.”

Luigi smiled at him, “It’s my turn to make dinner.”

“Sounds good to me,” Bowser replied.

[coffeecat1983]

“Do anything for you.” Mario Bros One-Shot

Based on an idea I got after musing over the trailers.

The Shyguys pushed Luigi, forcing him to his knees. As he fell forward, something shiny slipped out of the pocket on the front of his overalls. Before he could try to reach for it, Bowser picked it up.     "Well well, what do we have here?" he said. It was a little, round, gold case, roughly the size of a pocketwatch.     "Please give it back!" Luigi sounded near panic. Bowser looked it over and pressed the small button, popping it open. Reaching in, he carefully took out a small white pill between his claws. He held it up. "Hmm, looks like medicine. What do you think, Kamek?" he dropped the pill and the magikoopa caught it neatly.     "It certainly seems so, your monsterness."     "Please, please don't! I need those!" Bowser looked into the case, ignoring Luigi's pleading. "Not many in here, maybe six, seven with that one," he nodded to Kamek, who dropped the pill and crushed it beneath his staff. Luigi let out a strangled cry. Bowser grinned down at Luigi as he snapped the case shut.     "So you need these, huh? Wonder what happens if you don't have them? Maybe I should just dump them out."     "No, nonono please! I have to have one each day!" Bowser growled softly and tossed the case to a Paratroopa that was nearby. "Lock him up, and see to it he gets one of those..."   Luigi's shoulders sagged with relief.     "Once every three days." Bowser finished. Luigi's angushed cry echoed out over the throne room.

-

  Mario sighed and reaching into his front pocket, pulled out a small gold case, running his thumb over it in thought. The golden material glinted in the light of the campfire.     "A pocket watch?" Peach said.     "Huh? Oh!" Mario snapped out of his thoughts. "No, it's a medicine case. My little brother has to take one of these each day. He has his case, and I keep this one, just to be on the safe side."     "What happens without it?" the princess asked gently.     "He'll get really sick. Doctors never really understood what causes it, but as long as he gets one of these a day, he's okay." He carefully tucked the case back into his pocket. "I just hope he still has his since we've been here a few days now."

-

  The Penguin King was worried. He had been keeping watch on the human prisoner after the young man had insisted the others get his rations when he saw they didn't get enough to eat. He didn't seem to be doing well. At first the king wondered if it was from how very little food they were given, but his actions weren't of one who was hungry. Rather it seemed he was ill. He had started shivering despite the heat coming up from the lava below, and yet sweat was trickling down his face.   Luigi had slid down in the hanging cage, resting his head against the bars. He looked up at the sound of wings. A Paratroopa flew over to his cage and Luigi grew more alert when he saw he was holding something along with a glass of water.     "His kingliness says you need one of these every three days." The Paratroopa smirked and went to let go of the pill.     "Wait!" the Penguin King's voice rang out. The Paratroopa glared at him.     "Think about it, that human could be used as a bargaining chip. Your leader wouldn't be too happy if he dies." the King said.   Luigi watched the Paratroopa as he seemed to consider this.     "Hmm," he muttered. "You know what? No." He let go of the pill. Luigi cried out and dove forward, desperately reaching for it.     "Oops, guess it's every four days now. You won't be needing this!" He tossed the water at him, soaking Luigi before laughing cruelly as he flew off. The Penguin King snarled, gripping the cage bars as he watched Luigi curl up, sniffling softly. After a moment, Luigi raised his head, rubbing at his eyes.     "Thanks for tryin' to help me." he said, looking towards the king.     "It was the least I could do, you've been so kind to us. I'm sorry I could not do more."     "I just hope my brother gets here..." Luigi said, curling back up.

-

Mario lightly touched his pocket again. "Don't worry lil bro," he muttered. "I'll do anything for you."

- By CC.

[empress-of-snark]

2, 3, 17, 23 🎮

2: games you’re currently playing

While I haven’t played in a couple of weeks, I am in the middle of another play-through of Skyrim, and I try to pick up Animal Crossing every once in a while so my villagers won’t get mad at me for not talking to them lol

3: 1-3 games you’ve played in the past 12 months that you’ve really enjoyed

I recently played Alice: Madness Returns all the way through (after previously just watching my best friend play it), and I finally started Luigi’s Mansion 3 and I’ve been enjoying that a lot!

17: A game you didn’t finish but would like to get back to or restart someday

I never got very far in Fallout 4. Despite playing on the lowest difficulty, it was still taking me way too many tries to get anywhere because the enemies were ridiculously hard.

I was told by a friend that it’s because I unknowingly chose one of the most difficult quests right off the bat (the Minutemen), but in my defense, how could the game introduce a character like Preston Garvey and NOT expect me to latch onto him as soon as I saw him??

One day I’ll give it another shot and try to resist immediately finding him and trying to romance him again.

23: A “wow” moment of awe

My first play through of Bioshock: Infinite—that first shot of Columbia literally made my jaw drop. The heavenly beauty of a city set in the clouds is just breathtaking every time. The game has its issues (mostly plot-wise), but the design choices are impeccable.

Thanks, friend! ♥️

[newtonsheffield]

Can you do Anthony’s reaction when someone disrespects Kate at work or in her personal life about her relationship with Anthony or her job position? Anthony defending her and Kate loving him all the more and/or maybe slightly annoyed.

Hello! I’m so sorry that this request has been just... collecting dust in my inbox I’m truly the worst! And I’m doing something even more reprehensible and combining it with another request ugh! I know! I know! I Will get better at this I promise!!! 

Another Anon asked: Can you write about Kate defending the Bridgertons? I feel like someone would bad mouth them and Kate would totally stand up against them and everyone would be impressed. 

Okay! On with the show this is also kind of related to a post I made ages ago about a dude objectifying Kate at her University reunion but I can’t find it. Anyway, Dudebro David is back.

“Oh Fuck!” Kate had sighed when Lucy had handed her her schedule this morning, glancing down the list, her eyes rolling when she saw the name David Warner listed as Mr Smith’s divorce attorney. Lucy’s eyebrows widened, her hand fiddling with the engagement ring on her left hand a little nervously.  “Is something wrong?”  Kate sighed “No, I just... I know Mr Smith’s attorney from university. We... didn’t date exactly we just...” Kate trailed off awkwardly. Lucy made a surprised little noise.  “Oh. Well. This should be... interesting.” She said, a small smirk starting on her lips. Kate had tutted.  “David is a professional, I’m a professional. It’ll be fine.” 

It was not fine. From the very moment he’d arrived David Warner, his square jaw set, his hair swept back with a little too much product, had been... snarky at best. He’d pulled Kate in by the arm leaving a kiss against her cheek that had made her want to cringe.  “Sheffield! It’s good to see you!” He’d said, a smirk on his face, his hand dropping to her waist. Kate had pulled back, nudging his hand from her and said sharply,  “David. I trust you’ve been well.” hoping to discourage him. It did not work. His eyes had flicked over her as they’d sat at the conference table, settling on the rings on her left hand, narrowing a little. And then he’d really started, He’d shot down every attempt at civility, glared at her, made several unseemly inferences. And Kate couldn’t help but wonder if he’d always been this disgustingly misogynistic. She was relieved when Lucy finally stood and said briskly,  “I’ll show you out Mr & Mrs Smith.” And yet David Warner had lingered as they’d walked through the hall 

“I can’t believe Kate Sheffield sold out!” He said, smirking irritatingly, and Kate could feel the thin strand of her patience fraying slightly further. “You also work for a well known firm David, I can’t imagine your billable hours are worth much less than mine.” She said, a tight smile on her face, desperate to end this interaction. David laughed a little humourlessly “We both know I was always going to do this. Kate Sheffield was going to save the world.” Kate bit back a tut, forced herself to remain civil as she said  “Well circumstances change David.” her voice cold when she thought about the real reason she’d come straight back to London after graduating. David opened his mouth to say something else, a sneer forming on his lips though what he was going to say she would never know.  “Kate, honey, there you are I was just going to pick up Edmund from-” Anthony said appearing in the bullpen from his office rather suddenly his eyes widening in surprise ad slightly odd recognition as he took in David. Perhaps they’d worked opposite one another before.  “Oh! Sorry!” Anthony finished awkwardly. David’s expression dropped into something curiously like disgust forming on his face. Anthony cleared his throat. “David wasn’t it? We met at your reunion I believe.” Anthony’s voice was tight, a warning almost, as his hand went out in front of him. Kate felt her eyebrows shoot upwards in surprise. David eyed Anthony’s hand, the sneer coming to his face all over again as he looked between Kate and her husband. 

“And here he is. The second way you sold out Kate: Mr Anthony Bridgerton!” David’s voice was dripping his derision, his jaw set, his eyes narrowed Kate felt her mouth open in surprise a little at the statement, felt Anthony’s arm tighten protectively around her waist.  “Was it getting on your knees for the most notorious man in London that changed your circumstances Kate?” David continued, chuckling to himself a little “You know, they say law’s a bit of an old boys club but it sure must be easy for you girls to sleep your way into a partnership. And The Bridgerton’s? Of all people Kate I mean come on!” Kate felt her patience finally snap, but apparently Anthony’s patience had frayed much quicker. His voice was cold fury when he spoke  “Mr. Warner, I’m afraid I’m going to ask you not to speak to my colleague that way, I don’t tolerate disrespect towards the employees of this firm in any way. Even less do I tolerate it towards my wife, Sir. Kate is extremely capable, far more than some and was promoted on professional merit alone, I assure you.” He finished coldly, his jaw set, his arm moving as though to move Kate behind him to shield her from what was being said. Kate refused to move, anger building in her chest., she could see Gregory moving closer towards their small group, his arms crossed. David sneered again,

“Come on Bridgerton, pretty honourable for you to marry her afterwards I’ll admit, and I’ll admit from what I remember it might have been worth-” He said, cutting himself off as Anthony lunged towards David his hand thrown out, likely to throttle the man, stopping only when Kate caught his arm, her voice surprising even her in its softness  “Anthony don’t.” Anthony’s posture relaxed, turning back towards her, his eyes softening immediately, Kate felt her own anger ebb away as their eyes caught. 

“He’s not worth it.” She said softly, and then turning towards her former acquaintance “David, if you’re a tenth as smart as you pretend to be you’ll stop talking.” His mouth opened, sneer still fixed in place, Kate shook her head  “David, maybe my life did go down a different road than I thought it would, but you’re exactly where you were ten years ago, tearing other people down to make yourself look bigger, and I feel sorry for you. My life is absolutely none of your business, and it has no impact on my ability to do my job. Which by the way, one of us graduated top of their class, the other scraped out of the bottom ten.” Kate finished, feeling a little smug at David’s mouth falling open in surprise. Anthony arm wrapped around her waist again, she could see the smug smile on his face, his thumb rubbing along the rings on her left hand. 

“I am extremely proud of my association with the Bridgerton family, David. And we look out for one another.” Kate said lightly, turning towards Gregory who was standing behind Kate, his arms crossed, doing his best to look imposing despite his bowtie  with Mario and Luigi in a jumping high five, their hands meeting at the knot. “Gregory, could you show Mr. Warner out, please.” Kate finished, tugging Anthony from the scene as Gregory gave her a kiss on the cheek before gripping David Warner tightly by the upper arm. 

Anthony remained unnervingly silent as Kate pulled him into her own office. His jaw still set in anger as Kate slowly collected her things before turning to her husband, whose eyes were glistening. Her stomach swooped uncomfortably. “You shouldn’t listen to the things he said about you, Anthony.” Kate said, reaching her hand out and running her fingers through his hair. Anthony’s eyes, which had closed at the contact, shot open again at the end of her sentence. His voice came out choked. “Kate, I’m upset because of what he said about you. I’m trying to stop myself from running after him and strangling him.” Kate’s heart clenched at the earnestness in his voice “Anthony, I don’t care what he says about me. I don’t care what anyone says anymore.” And it was true, truly the only emotion she’d felt as she’d stood listening to his words was surprise. David had never really been the type of person to say insults to someone’s face, if he hadn’t insulted Anthony’s family, truly she would have been more impressed at the guts it had taken to say what he’d said about her.  “We both know what really happened, right?” Anthony nodded quickly in response “And that’s all that matters. I really do love you you know.” She finished standing slightly on her toes to kiss him lightly as Anthony hummed happily, his posture relaxing. “I love you too, Kate. And you, really are the most incredible person I know.” He said wrapping her in a tight hug, his chin resting on her head, they stayed wrapped together for several moments before Kate chuckled to herself. Pulling back, with a smirk on her face she said,

“And besides Mr. Bridgerton, we both know only one of us has gotten on their knees in this office, and it wasn’t me. Now let’s go and collect our Son.” tugging Anthony from the office laughing as he puffed his chest out and said  “You’re damn right. And I’d do it again.”                   

[adenei]

Harry and Ron playing video games and teddy wanting to play (they give him a unhooked controller), accidental magic happens. Their wives walk in and are shocked at what they see

This was a fun piece of fluff to write. Thanks for the ask, Nena!

*************************

Teddy loves Yoshi

Harry and Ron were testing out the new GameCube console device while Hermione and Ginny had gone out shopping. Teddy was being a great sport, seeing as how Harry and Ron were so fixated on the Mario Kart game they were playing that they forgot he was there, too.

  “I’m gonna get you this race,” Ron swore.

“Hah, yeah right! I’ve already beaten you at least ten times in a row!” Harry laughed.

“It’s only because I can’t find the character I like!” Ron argued.

“Sure, blame the character and not your awful driving skills.” Harry taunted him some more.

“Harry, can I play, too?” Teddy was tugging on Harry’s shirt. Harry and Ginny had really bought the console for Teddy, who was waiting very patiently for a five year old to have his turn. 

“Oh! Uh, sure, Teddy. Grab that controller there,” Harry said, nodding at an unhooked controller. Ron gave him a look while they were waiting for the next race to queue up. “What character do you want to be?”

“ ‘Oshi!!” Teddy said eagerly.

“But that’s-” Ron started to interject before Harry shot him a glare to shut him up. Ron was already playing as Yoshi, while Harry had chosen Luigi, his trusted character.

“Great choice, Ted! Ron, you don’t mind sitting this one out, right?” Harry winked at him, willing him to catch on, which he did. “Okay, see him on the right side of the screen there?” Harry asked as he nodded vigorously. “You’ll control him, alright? The race is about to begin, do you remember the controls I taught you the other day?” 

“Uh-huh,” Teddy said as the countdown began. 

The race had started and Harry and Ron took off as their characters. Teddy didn’t need to know that Ron was actually playing for him. Harry just wanted to win one more game before he’d let Teddy, or Ron rather, win. 

Harry managed to keep hitting Ron with exploding shells and dropped banana peels in the perfect spot, so he’d gained a decent lead. He was sitting comfortably in first place when he began his final lap. That’s when things started getting weird. Harry was keeping an eye on Ron’s screen and noticed that Yoshi was passing the other characters at some sort of record speed. He looked at the race map and saw Yoshi’s icon speeding up, about to catch and pass Luigi. 

“What the…” Harry said under his breath. There was no way Ron had become that good in a matter of minutes! He was completely helpless as Yoshi sped by him and hit him with an exploding shell as he rode by. Harry tried everything to catch back up, but to no avail. Yoshi won, and Luigi came in second.

“I won! I won! I beat you, Harry!” Teddy was exclaiming. Ron was laughing, but also looked confused. 

“You don’t think he-” Ron started to say to Harry. Was he insinuating that Teddy had somehow used magic to help him win? Could that even happen? Harry was trying to make sense of it when all of a sudden trophies were beginning to appear out of thin air, littering the living room. They were all sorts of sizes, raining down from the ceiling as Teddy was jumping up and down, cheering loudly. As if that wasn’t enough, plush Yoshi dolls were also appearing now, too.

Of course Ginny and Hermione would have the uncanny timing to return right at that moment. “What in the bloody hell…” Ginny said as Harry and Ron turned around.

“It’s not what it looks like!” Ron said.

Harry added, “We’ve got it under control!”

“Er, sure, it looks like you’ve got it under control…” Hermione said laughing. 

“Teddy,” Ginny called to him, snapping him out of his reverie, “What’s going on, bud?”

Harry and Ron let me play Mario Kart! I got to be Yoshi and I won!” he held up the unplugged controller and the girls shot their husbands a look.

“Was he using accidental magic,” Hermione said, clearly astonished at all of the trophies and Yoshi dolls around the room. 

“Yeah, reckon so! Pretty sure he magicked the game to win somehow, too. There’s no way Harry would have let me win. I’ve been playing as Yoshi the whole time,” Ron explained to them so that Teddy wouldn’t hear.

“Teddy,” Ginny said, “Why don’t you pick your favorite trophy and Yoshi and go put them in your room. We’ll take care of the rest, and then you can play Harry and Ron again while Hermione and I order dinner.”

“Okay!” Teddy chose his favorites and clambered up the stairs. 

“That’s quite some accidental magic,” said Harry. “We’ll have to keep an eye on that.”

“Or better yet, don’t try and trick him and let him play the game. You did buy it for him, after all,” Ginny scolded while Hermione vanished the rest of the toys around the room.

“Hey, I don’t hear Ron complaining at all. That’s the only way he could win,” Harry lost it in his own fit of laughter.

“Well, maybe Hermione and I will get our own and I’ll practice to get better. Then I’ll show you!” Ron argued.

“Oh sure, you go through six years of Hogwarts and barely practice a single thing, but you’re more than willing to work to get better at a video game!” Hermione rolled her eyes playfully as they all laughed. 

They heard Teddy running back down the stairs. “I’m back! Let’s play more!” 

“Alright, alright, let’s get you set up!” Harry said, as the girls went into the kitchen. What a perfect way to spend a Saturday, Harry thought happily to himself.

[unohanadaydreams]

uh uh umu hewwo mars may i ask,,,,, for a kugo scenario pwease..... 🥺 ummm idm nsfw or whatever piques ur interest but something nice and sweet would be lovely 🥰🥰 thank u queen ily,,, 💕 if u want more info then just lmk!!

Of course, Kizo!! <3 Happy early b-day and here’s your big ol’ cake of soft wedding head canons to melt you with!! I guess I’ll stop teasing about seducing him now that he’s a married man lmaoooo.

Features: Some 18+ content/smut, fem!reader

KUGO GINJO

Wedding Day:

He’s tense. He keeps alternating between lashing out at Xcution members and lapsing into bouts of silence, his back hunched and chin resting on steepled fingers. Honestly, it’s insufferable for everyone around him. The fear of this commitment ending badly, of you fleeing down the aisle, and the fear of hating domestic life—of hating the unfamiliarity of children and stability and homecooked meals--gnaw at him. Kugo finds himself wanting to call everything off, if only to assert some measure of control over the day and his feelings.

Yearning for reassurance, he’s insists on seeing you. Jackie and Riruka lay down a valiant effort, but his entire entourage of groomsmen throw the balance in Kugo’s favor. So he gets his way.

”Like always,” Riruka says. “Such a spoiled brat,” Jackie responds.

Kugo is aloof at first. Your steadfast verbal and then bodily insistence that he not be in the same room as you before the wedding, especially with your dress bag unzipped and visible from the open closet changes that. His shrug and crude excuse of ‘thought we could practice our wedding kiss’ only annoys you.

But then his smarmy little smirk drops and he gives a sigh that seems to soften his body. His shoulders fall and the ticking muscle of his jaw disappears as he falls forward into your arms, his face pressing into the column of your neck.

Kugo is rarely an open book. You know him better than anyone, but honestly that’s like saying you won a race when you were the only one running. You hug him back and he unwinds enough to say, “you really wanna marry me? Forever with me and all the jerks in Xcution?”

After your reassurances, he shutters his fears again, smiles genuinely, and kisses you deeply until you push him away. When he leaves, one hand slicking back his gelled hair and the other stuffed in his suit pocket, Jackie and Riruka barge into the room.

“Did he seriously do ALL THAT just to practice a fucking kiss,” Riruka shrieks. You open your mouth to say no. And then your eyes narrow. Because he did do that, after all. “I’m marrying a scumbag,” you say. Jackie snorts, “It took you the day of to realize?”

Compared to before, Kugo is a veritable delight to deal with after his visit with you. He drinks scotch and brags about his honey moon destination over games of darts. He’s still a sore winner and lousy sport. He still lapses into broody silence over his alcohol and cheats if someone gets the upper hand. But, for Kugo, it’s pretty much his best behavior.

The entire wait to see you walk down the aisle and for the duration of the vows, he’s back to tense muscles and dire thoughts. Seeing you glide toward him coaxes a genuine and soft smile. But he wipes it the moment he realizes what he’s doing; goes back to smirking. Kugo keeps tight hold of your hands the entire ceremony, though.

It’s only when you’ve said ‘I do’ and are swept in his arms for a unnecessarily long kiss that he relaxes again. He seems giddy at that point, honestly. It’s so uncharacteristic that it steals your breath as he gathers you in his arms and struts down the aisle with a smirk (okay, so not totally out of character).

The after party is absolute chaos, despite everyone trying to keep it classy affair. Held in a sturdy concrete and brick building downtown—a modern, high-end take on a saloon really—it starts calm. But, then the members of Xcution get in their egregious amount of shots in before most of the guests arrive. And..then the guests arrive. The Karakura gang and their families, your family, and some arrancar; because nothing says ‘fuck you’ like inviting the enemy of your enemy.

You don’t know the full scope of what occured, because Kugo insisted on leaving early to rest before the honeymoon flight in the morning, but you saw enough loud, blurry footage from snapchat and frantic texts from Orihime to know you’ll be sending apologies instead of thank you cards to your family. Some blue haired man destroyed two tables trying to get to Kurosaki.

Riruka shrunk some of your family members attempting to contain them. Jackie got her arm sliced when she stumbled into Uryu’s arrow that was headed toward Grimmjow before he got shrunk by Riruka and Yukio forced Uryu and Chad to be Mario and Luigi in his game sphere until Uryu apologized and they both said ‘it’s a me mario’ and ‘Luiiiiigiii’ respectively. Kugo turned off your phone and insisted it stay that way until your honey moon’s over in the middle of all the notification assaulting your sanity in hopes that you’d stop freaking out. It helped, honestly. You have your zen until you land back home. Cherish it.

Honey Moon:

He picked somewhere tropical. The idea of massaging sun screen into your skin? The image of you walking everywhere in booty shorts? The temptation of jumping you on a private beach in the evening or a quiet boardwalk in the morning? He simply had to. There was also a sizable discount on the destination he picked.

Sure, he’s always got an air of nonchalance that only a devil may care flavor of man can have, but on your honey moon, he’s tender…for him. The first day and night are completely spent in bed. And his fingers smooth over your ring constantly—while you’re making love, when you’re eating over priced room service fare in bed, and the still moments before he falls asleep. Kugo kisses your ring too.

When you get the idea to joke, ‘kiss the ring, bitch’, you knew he would pout, but you weren’t quite prepared for being laid out on the bed and tortured with the skilled fingers of his left hand. The solid wedding band rubbing against your spongey gspot stroking you to completion as he smirked, “no YOU kiss it.”

The remainder of the week is spent doing activities and eating meals that seem spontaneous but have been meticulously planned out. If there’s something you’re hesitant to do, he extra invested in easing your nerves since he’s already paid for it.

”I don’t WANT to swim with sharks!” “Come oooon. The only thing in the water that’s gonna bite you is me.”

Your closet at the hotel is stuffed with strappy dresses, cute swimsuits, and tacky shirts that proclaim you’re married you’ve never seen before. Kugo refuses to answer for the shirts and insists that his just never made it in his luggage and isn’t that a shame. He gets a huge amount of satisfaction of telling people you’re his wife. He could carry a neon sign pointing to you that says ‘THIS IS MY WIFE’ and it might be more subtle. He won’t stop even if you point it out.

“What? You’re my wife.” “Oh my—fine. It’s whatever.” “Hey! Hold the fucking elevator for me and my wife.” “I’M—”

Obviously, he’s out to show you off. You both make for a pretty fucking package and he’s well aware of that. If he wasn’t so concerned about how he came off to other people he’d be yelling “LOOK AT MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE”. But he has a sense of shame. And would never just SAY something so vulnerable, especially in front of strangers. But he’s thinking it.

His proclivity for making out in public is also tremendous. When he points out how many people have their eyes on you it’s with a self-satisfied air and a smirk made of fucking daggers. Most of your outings and meals end with Kugo getting you worked up and leading you somewhere to finish you off.

Kugo seldom says he loves you in those exact words. But he seems to sneak it in almost every day while vacationing. He tries to make it seem witty or off-handed. But the fact he says it at all makes the attempts to lessen the seriousness of it rather moot.

[flamebearrel]

“What Just Happened?”

Fandom: Super Smash Bros

Synopsis: There is no better grand finale to a just-as-grand celebration than the sudden murder of two of the universe's greatest fighters. On live camera. Right after a reunion. If this is the general consensus, Master Hand's opinion is definitely an outlier. (An alternate universe where those killed in Smash Bros. Ultimate's character trailers are unable to be brought back to life and leave the roster permanently.)

Word Count: 1275

Original Post Date: December 1, 2018

Characters: Master Hand, Mario, Mega Man, Samus, Ridley (Minor Luigi, Little Mac, Peach, Lucas, Palutena, Ness, basically the whole Smash Ensemble)

Ships: None

Trigger Warnings: Death, Blood, Panic Attack, detailed description of Injury

Other Notes: The fighters are all friendly outside of battle and this includes the Hands; and as stated in the synopsis this is a Permadeath AU based off the character reveal trailers

Ao3 Link

~~~

What just happened?

It was a blur, confusing, as the fighters watching the projector screen suddenly gasped in unison, and immediately went into a panic.

Master Hand was in shock. He floated silently, still holding the clipboard with all of his announcements in a neat little line on it. He could feel himself shaking, just a bit. The view of the man through the magical lens dipped a moment and he had no choice but to will his core to steady it again.

Mario’s crumpled body was lying in the center of the screen.

Blood trickled from the man’s temples where the skin and muscle had been punctured. It came out like sludge against his ruffled hair, which was a futile attempt of hiding the deep claw wounds behind it. His body rested in a weird angle, like someone getting ready to spin in a circle, full of laughter, except he wasn’t laughing. It was clear from his deformed, soulless eyes that the plumber was dead.

What just happened?

Only feet away, in the corner of the screen, lay Mega Man. A hole was punched straight through him. Wires, frayed and sparking, had spilled onto the floor like guts. Upon closer inspection you could see a glint of gold and white and red from the tattered IC chip that lay broken in two. As Master Hand zoomed in, the LED accents in the robot’s eyes flickered out, leaving nothing else to break the dust that swirled around where they had fallen.

The screaming grew and grew. “Oh Naga. He’s dead,” came a voice. There was a thump, and everyone turned to see Luigi unconscious on the carpet, in a suspiciously similar position as his brother. Little Mac, not wanting to see blood of Mario’s caliber, picked up the green plumber and rushed to the health wing. He came back with a pale face and a reminder that they were now short of a doctor. Peach shrieked. Lucas sobbed. Palutena stood with her hands to her mouth, frozen. Panic. Panic. Panic.

What just happened?

~

Master Hand remembered checking his to-do list, issued personally from Sakurai, then called for volunteers to retrieve the next newcomer. Mario, as usual, had wanted to help, and Mega Man and Samus had joined soon after. He remembered hesitation in the blond bounty hunter’s eyes as he let them know who it was. Ridley. The hesitation had stirred there for no longer than a moment before it was replaced with fierce determination. They nodded. And they left to the Space Pirate’s lair.  

He remembered calling everyone to the room where announcements always made their mark. Over sixty heads staring up at him, and then the smiles at the news of everyone’s reunion, excited princesses as Daisy burst through the doors. There had been an almost unanimous wave of approval over the crowd, and at the end the projector light had dimmed and their eyes all widened and he signaled his far away volunteers and went live.

The sound of the three stepping across the metal floor had sent a hush over the fighters. Through the lens, Mega Man had raised his robotic hand and it morphed into a gun. The tips of Mario’s fingers fizzled with unseen flame. Samus clutched her arm cannon.

He remembered sudden movement, a shadow, perhaps, as it flickered across the walls. It had swooped and picked up Mega Man. He remembered hearing the “bew, bew, bew” of the alert that signaled fatal amounts of damage as he whisked the camera around. He had, on live film, recorded a violet tail stab through the robot’s chest and drop him over the edge.

Master Hand remembered a red cap flying over the lens. He remembered faintly hearing the crack of a skull.

The cap had been picked up just as Mario’s corpse followed the Blue Bomber’s. Ridley had twirled it on his finger. He remembered, the hand had turned the camera to Samus, suddenly aware of the Space Pirate. Cannon raised and aimed for the purple snout in front of her, the bounty hunter got ready to fire. He remembered seeing her shoot and Ridley screeching and swooping towards her and the lens getting battered against the dust.

He remembered remembering, reminding himself that the plumber and the robot were rotting away at the bottom of the pit and sending the camera down said pit almost immediately. Down, down it had gone, hundreds of feet into the deep abyss. He remembered seeing the corpses come into view and thinking for a moment that they were just lying there, dazed, half-asleep. He remembered finding the truth was just the opposite. He remembered the gasps and the screams and the panic.

That just happened.

~

“What are you doing? Don’t just- don’t just stand there! Do something!”

The shivering was suppressed for a moment. “W-what?”

Ness pointed to the screen, biting hard on his lip before saying, “You can’t just leave them there, right? Teleport them here, or, I don’t know! Can’t you do that?”

No. No he couldn’t. If there was one thing Master Hand couldn’t do, that was teleport. Not himself, which would have let him bring them back, and not anything else, not anything like a 1-UP or extra Life to shoot their way and offer immediate healing. What power was there in the hand if none of it could be used when it mattered?

The two heroes had ran out of time. There were only a few moments before that little window when Lives could take effect disappeared and they were gone forever. As the fighters screamed, the hand could do nothing but watch in dismay. Mario and Mega Man seemed to shimmer for a moment. Then their colors dulled. So did the sound. And then there was nothing but the cool atmosphere sitting and absorbing the silence.

Master Hand did whatever was the hand equivalent of swallowing before the camera moved again and flew back up. There was still one hero out there. Someone could still be saved. As fast as it could go, the camera whisked its way up to Samus.

Ridley stood triumphantly over a pile of broken armor.

Resisting the urge to start shivering again, Master Hand took a deep breath.

And Samus, in her Zero Suit, leaped out of the silent nothing and fired at Ridley.

Bang. Bang. Bang. The Space Pirate dodged the gunshots, the bounty hunter dodged his claws. His tail jabbed forward and she ducked down, sliding on her knees. With a spin, she kicked at his legs to knock him down. He grabbed her shoulder, wrenched it towards him as he hit the ground.

Samus pressed down on the trigger. A shot blazed towards the purple creature and grazed his arm. Screeching, he went to headbutt her. She turned.

For a moment, she stared straight into the lens.

Samus seemed to nod at it before his head connected with her back. She shot at the camera. It twitched and glitched, and then the screen went black.

There was quiet.

Then the mutters. Everyone talking at once, varying levels of sound, unsure whether to blame someone, or follow suit, or yell or even just sit and think. At first they just spoke amongst themselves, but then people were turning to Master Hand and drilling him with questions.

“Is Samus okay?!”

“What do we do?!”

“Master Hand, Master Hand…”

“A-are they really dead?”

“Who sent them there?”

“Master Hand, Master Hand…”

“Why… why would Ridley do that…?”

“We have to save them!”

“Master Hand…!”

“What’s going on?!”

“What. Just. Happened?!”

Master Hand decided he needed to lie down for a while.

[prolongingtheprologue]

Concerning Bycatch by Kathrine Snow Ch. 15 - Penny Drop

In which King Boo has officially had it.

Index

(click the source to read on the Porlonging the Prologue blog! for links to Ao3 and Fanfiction.net, visit the index.)

------

      It was his genuine pleasure to hear the old man scream. King boo rose from the grate, eyes aglow with anticipation, then he froze as he saw a very different person backpedaling across the room. His grin grew wider.  

      “Well, look who finally arrived,” he drolled. “I had begun to think you weren’t coming.”

       The courtyard group watched with exhausted satisfaction as Boolsome’s boos lead the charge, cutting off Luigi’s frantic retreat and driving him into the corner. He recoiled, cowering and protecting his head as they dove at him like a swarm of bees, then fell back, scrabbling, onto the floor. 

      The boos hovered over him leisurely, laughing and mocking:

       “Look guys! Luigi’s finally here! We’re going to do to you what we did to your brother, only worse!” 

       Sparks of lightning jumped across his form and Luigi made a spasmodic swipe at the crowd, one hand still protecting his face. The boos darted back with an excited yatter, then pressed in again as he tried to rise, snickering. Luigi made a grab for something at his side. King boo got a glimpse of red. 

      His grin faltered. It was the poltergust. How did he have the poltergust? 

     The thought was a mistake.

      The instant the other boos felt his uncertainty they faltered. Luigi had recovered himself by now. He was up; pale, pressed against the wall, obviously shaking, but he was up with the poltergust nozzle clutched in his hands. The boos around him recoiled. King Boo watched the hose like something venomous, eyes flashing red and the cracks in his jem sparking as what was left of his magic tried to build. Luigi’s eyes were on him now. He seemed to be trying to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. His face was a twist of extreme fear, but there was anger there too, and a hardness in his eyes King Boo recognized from the all-too-recent encounter in the courtyard. 

     This was not the fight he had come for. 

      “Scatter!” he barked. That was all it took to dissolve the mass. Boos plunged everywhere, through the walls, roof, and floor. In seconds, the room was empty.  

• • •  

      Luigi collapsed against the wall, breath coming in short, sharp gasps. He clutched at the poltergust nozzle, eyes locked on the hatch where the largest boo had retreated. He couldn’t believe—why had they just...

      The hatch sealed shut with a soft, electric click. Luigi jolted upright. 

      He had to follow them. 

      He stumbled forward and dropped down by the cap. It was smooth under his frantic hands, not offering enough purchase to even begin to pry. Its lock pulsed an agitating red. 

      Luigi knelt there, almost in a stupor as the full weight of what had happened leaked through his panic. There were boos here—more boos than he’d ever seen before. And they had Mario. 

      His head was spinning so fast he hardly noticed the gameboy ringing from where he had left it. After a moment, it stopped and there was silence, then it started all over again with its cheery tune. 

      Slowly, shakily, Luigi made his way toward it and removed it from the slot in the wall. 

      “Luigi! Thank heavens!” Blurted E. Gadd. “When you didn’t pick up I thought…” The professor trailed off as he saw Luigi’s pale face. “Never mind what I thought. Are you alright?” 

     Luigi gave a short, jerking nod. 

      “Are you hurt, lad? What happened?” 

     “I need to come back to the lab,” Luigi whispered, the words sticking in his throat.

     “Of course. Do you—should I stay on the line?” 

      Luigi gave a jerky shake of his head. 

     “No.” 

     The professor hesitated for a moment, then nodded. 

     “Alright, if you’re sure. I’ll meet you at the front of the place.”

     Luigi nodded again. 

      Despite the conversation being formally over, E. Gadd seemed hesitant to drop the call. 

      “It’s going to be fine lad,” he said after a moment of uncertain hovering. 

      Luigi nodded one last time and flipped the device closed. He only hoped the professor was right. 

• • • 

     There was an instant of shock, then Mario ran. 

      He ran like a drunken man, pushing off the walls with his hands and making for the half-open door at the other side of the lab. Beyond lay a dank stone passage—what looked to be part of the dungeon. 

      An unpleasant image of Luigi strung up in his old cell flashed across Mario’s mind. His heart pounded, and that yell rang in his ears. 

      The tunnel stretched out in front of him, growing steadily broader. His steps echoed off the stones, rattling among the black passages that riddled the walls ahead. His heart twisted as he lurched past the first entrance. Where should he go? Straight? How was he supposed to know? Then Mario slid to a halt, necked craning round to see the white glow leaking from the tunnel. 

      He doubled back and rounded the corner. There was King Boo. 

      The monarch had his back to him and was speaking earnestly to a group of his subjects. It was the smaller boos who saw Mario first, and their eyes bugged almost out of their heads. It was no wonder—he looked like a thing possessed. 

      The king saw their expressions and turned sharply, eyes locking onto the hero in red. For an instant there was disbelief, then murderous, horrifying rage.  Then he was back to his calm persona, albeit with a particularly nasty smile. 

      “Ah, Mario. I was just coming to fetch you.”

      “Where is he?!” Mario shouted. 

The king ignored the question, drifting forward with his gaggle of minions. 

      “I said where is he!”

      “I admit, I am thoroughly impressed. But as far as your ingenuity has brought you, you’re in no state for the fight you’re so obviously looking for,” Said the king. 

      What did King Boo expect him to do? surrender? Mario held his battle-stance, mouth set and grim. The king made no move at first, giving him time to lose his resolve. 

      “Take him,” he said finally. 

      The boos darted forward, mouths hanging open and squealing. Mario stepped to the side and smashed the first to the floor with a flaming downward slam. The next went much the same way. Then he was thrown back by a crackling purple bolt. 

      King Boo hovered at the end of the passage; his eyes glowed a dull red and his white aura flickered like a near-spent flashlight. Magic snapped around the broken gem of his crown, turning the air metallic until Mario could taste it. 

      “You’re beginning to try my patience,” hissed the king.

      Mario charged him. 

      King Boo held his ground, grin changed to a snarl as the weak sparks amassed around him. He took another shot, a pathetic, lose blob of energy, then vanished into the air. Mario braced himself, trying to muster a blast of fire. Then his hair stood on end as the buzz of loose magic brush through him. He whipped around just in time to see the king materialize, expression seeping with rage. 

      There was no fancy magic this time. King Boo slammed bodily into him, crushing Mario into the wall. But he didn’t stop there. Mario cried out in shock as the stones gave way behind him, like a puddle of thick glue. The king kept pushing, driving Mario through until he fell to the floor on the other side. 

      “Find your way out of this. If you can,” Snarled the King. 

      Mario choked down a breath of sharp, cold air and rolled to his feet, wet clothes peeling up from the frozen floor. The king was already going—vanishing through the wall; Mario lunged after him and slammed into solid stones. 

      He shouted, pounding on the wall, his breath steaming in the air around him. No one bothered to respond. It was viciously cold. After a moment, he rounded on the rest of the room. 

     He was in some sort of walk-in freezer.

• • •

      Luigi all but ran to the front of the mansion, flattening the few ghosts stupid enough to get in his way. He burst, squinting, into the foyer to find the professor waiting for him, just inside the double-doors. 

      The man’s face was tense and drawn, eyes darting anxiously over the room—it was touching in a way. He eyed Luigi intently as he approached, but much to Luigi’s relief, didn’t ask any questions—just held the door open for him and followed back to the lab. 

       Neither of them spoke at all until they had sealed the night out behind them and slid down the ladder. 

      “What happened?” The professor asked. 

      Luigi stripped the Poltergust from his shoulders and set it gently on the floor. 

      “I was ambushed.” 

      “By boos?”

      Luigi nodded, chest heaving. 

      “How many?” 

      “I don’t know.”

      Luigi stepped shakily to the old sofa and tried to sit down, but in a moment he was up again, clutching his hat. E. Gadd watched him with a piercing intensity. 

      “Lad, you have got to tell me what happened.”

      Luigi’s face twisted and he took another deep, calming breath. Quietly, he began to recount the incident. The professor listened without a word. 

      “And Mario’s your brother?” He said, when Luigi had finished. Luigi gave a miserable nod. 

      “Poor fella…” 

      The sound of rain clattered against the tin roof far above, and there was a soft, drip- drip- drip between the rafters. Faint humming escaped from the half-open door to the computer-lab. Luigi began pacing anxious circles around the room, looking dazed and still wringing his hat between his hands. 

      “Your brother’s that foreign treasure hunter, isn’t he?” Said E. Gadd. “The one the princess is so taken with. I dare say that explains a lot.”

      “What-” Luigi took another deep breath. “What will the boos do to him?”

      Gadd hesitated. 

      “I don’t know. I’ve seen some weird stuff, but I’ve never heard of boos taking a person like that. Whatever’s happened, I doubt they’ll kill him. Did you manage to catch any boos before they got away?” 

      “Ah. No matter. You’ve got one already, and at least you managed to split them up. Now you can pick them off before they regather.”

      There was another moment of silence.

     “Professor,” said Luigi, looking up sharply. “In that room, there was a combination to open the grate. What is it?” 

      Again, E. Gadd hesitated. “To open the trapdoor, you mean?” 

      Luigi nodded, still watching him intently. It was the Professor's turn to take a deep breath. “Lad, I don’t think you understand how lucky you got back there. Boos grow in power as their numbers increase. And if King Boo is still here... You wouldn’t stand a chance against all of ‘em at once, poltergust or not.

     “Besides there's a good chance your brother isn’t down there at all. There are plenty of old dungeons in that place. He could be in any one of them.” 

      Luigi visibly flinched at the concept. 

      “But- why else would they all be in one place like that?” he said.  

      “I don’t think that ambush was meant for you, lad. They were probably after me.”

      “Why?” 

     “I’m a ghost hunter. The boos are ghosts—well, spirits. I can’t imagine there are many people they’re less fond of than me.

     “And more importantly, that trapdoor leads to my lab.” The professor chuckled at Luigi’s confused look. “What, did you think this shabby place is where I do my work? This is hardly more than a shed—a panic room.” 

The professor’s grin faded, and he once again became serious. “Anyhow, there’s not a living soul other than me who knows about that trapdoor, let alone how to open it. It makes no sense for the boos to lay a trap there for you.” 

     “I have to check down there,” Said Luigi firmly, “The boos aren’t there now. This is the only chance I’ll get.” 

     Gadd hesitated for another moment, then turned to one of the crowded work-benches with a half-shake of his head. Luigi watched him intently as he teased a notepad and pencil from one of the stacks of junk and scribbled a short number combination. He ripped off the sheet and offred it to Luigi; he took it, clenching it in one hand. 

     “Have you notice that the gameboy beeps whenever you encounter boos?” Asked E. Gadd. 

     “Yes.” 

     “That’s the boo radar: it’s kept me out of a lot of trouble over the years. If that thing starts beeping and flashing red while you’re in the lab, you get out quick. Don’t count on the poltergust to scare the boos off twice because it won’t—I can hardly believe it happened the first time.”

     “I understand.” 

      Silent and grim-faced, Luigi went back to where he left the poltergust, shrugging it awkwardly onto his shoulders. E. Gadd followed behind him. 

       “Don’t look so nervous, lad. It won’t help you in there, let me tell you. Just be careful, and stay sharp. Keep an eye on the boo radar,” he said in his usual enthusiastic tone. “I’ll keep monitoring your progress from here.”

      “Thanks,” said Luigi, and began his resolute climb back up the ladder, the bit of note paper still crushed in one hand.

Previous

Next

Index

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

Notes:

Welp, it looks like this chapter is just short. It’s not 100% how I want it (I’m not sold on the scene between E. Gadd and Luigi), but it’s not horrible and staring at it isn’t making it any better. 

[le-fou-roux]

“Come on dude, it’s just a sandwich.”

Matteo continued to stare blankly at the plate, his miserable eyes did not leave a fixed spot on the table. Abdi sighed impatiently.

“What are you playing at Matteo? Just eat the fucking food!”

Jonas fixed Abdi with a glare before softening his expression and turning back to his best friend, who remained expressionless and exhausted.

“Matteo..Luigi, what’s going on?”

Matteo felt like this was the right moment to cry. To break down and let every ounce of frustration out of his body, but he couldn’t do it. He tried to feel something, anything, but nothing came. He was empty. He mumbled under his breath, feeling another wave of nausea hit him.

“What was that? What did you say?”

Matteo sighed,

“I’m not hungry.”

Jonas let concern cross his face while Carlos paced nervously behind the table, chewing his thumb. The boy suddenly grabbed his phone and began furiously typing,

“I’m calling Kiki.”

Matteo finally glanced up, not suddenly or with any energy, but this catches his attention.

“Carlos, no, don’t.”

It’s a feeble protest, but he doesn’t need stupid Kiki to start going on about eating disorders. It was true, that Matteo just wasn’t hungry. He hadn’t been for weeks.

Carlos let out an exasperated sigh, he was on edge and scared for his friend but he’d also dealt with this before,

“Well what else Matteo?! You’re not eating. She went through the same thing..”

Matteo scowled.

“I’m not fucking anorexic.”

“Then eat the goddamn sandwich!”

Abdi snapped once again, frustration laced in his voice.

Matteo let anger take over his body and glowered at Abdi, but it left as quickly as it came. His face back to its normal resting apathy, he let his gaze shift back down to the food on his plate. With all of his friends staring intently at him, anxiety and concern evident on their face, he swallowed hard. He slowly reached for the bread, Jonas watching his every move, but once he picked it up and the thought of putting it in his mouth crossed his mind he quickly dropped it back on the plate. The boys hope drooped, Carlos went back to texting Kiki.

“Matteo.. please, just one bite?”

Matteo stared at his best friends face. That face, he dreamed of it every night, of it noticing him the way he desperately wanted Jonas to notice him. But this was not the face of infatuation he always imagined. Instead it was a face of fear, and it hurt Matteo to see his best friend this way because of him.

He looked down at the sandwich one more time.

He couldn’t do this.

“I’m sorry-“ was all he managed to mutter before aggressively standing up and walking away. There was nothing they could do for him, there was nothing to do for him. Matteo would deal with this on his own, like he always had.

• • •

Once he managed to get down the hallway the edges of his vision tunneled once again. Black spots blinked before his eyes and suddenly he was sweating in his hoodie. As he leaned against a locker to stable himself, a harsh pain in his stomach, bright lights dancing in his eyes, a familiar voice called out to him. It felt distant and far away, but he knew who it was. He’d know that voice anywhere now.

Shit.

Matteo thought,

he can’t see me like this.

But before he could steady himself he felt a hand on his shoulder. Energy burst through the sudden contact, he’d never felt anything like it before.

“Are you alright?”

David.

This was the last thing he needed.

“All cool..” he managed to say, his mouth suddenly as dry as a cotton ball. He tried to stand on his own again but his knees buckled beneath him. David caught him just before he hit the ground.

“You don’t look like it.”

A slumped Matteo, being supported by the boy who was changing everything, what had he gotten himself into?

David slowly set Matteo on the ground before joining him and trying to find his eyes. He wasn’t good at this stuff, but there was something obviously wrong. People don’t just collapse when everything is fine.

“When’s the last time you ate?”

Matteo let his head rest against the lockers, he closed his eyes but the bright spots didn’t go away.

“Matteo..?”

David’s fingers brushed against his forehead, pushing Matteo’s unkept bangs out of his face. Once again, electricity poured out of his touch. Matteo sighed in relief, leaning into the contact.

“Matteo you’re burning up.. are you sick?”

God, how would he speak to this boy? How could he do anything but just sit there and hope the moment lasted forever?

David pursed his lips at this fragile kid he had in front of him, unsure of what he was supposed to do next. But the question answered itself as three breathless boys skidded into the corridor. David glanced up and, realizing his fingers still rested on Matteo’s forehead, quickly pulled his hand back to his own lap. Matteo noticeably slumped back down as soon as the contact was broken, this time with no sign of consciousness left in his body.

“I just.. i just found him like that,” David stuttered as he shot up off the ground. The boys ignored him and Jonas, the kid from his math class, hurriedly got on the ground with Matteo. David stepped back and watched the scene unfold: Matteo unresponsive as Jonas desperately shook him, trying to wake him up. A low groan escaping Matteo’s soft lips.. one of the boys began to pace in concern, tapping his phone against his hand nervously and staring intently at his friend.

“Matteo! Matteo! Can you stand?”

Matteo remained unresponsive again. Jonas cursed under his breath and then finally took notice of David standing nervously to the side.

“Will you help us carry him?”

David stared hopelessly at him, what else was he supposed to say?

Together, all three boys picked up the mostly limp Matteo, half dragging, half carrying him to the school nurse who, once the boys were there and had laid him down on a bed, shooed the friends away. Leaving Matteo alone, once again.

The nurse made him eat crackers.

He hated them, and he still wasn’t hungry.

But he knew he had to do something, so agonizingly and painfully slow, he put them in his mouth.

The nurse seemed satisfied with this and lectured him on making sure he was eating healthy and often, “a growing boy like you should be eating like a horse!”, before leaving him to rest. Matteo felt his eyes roll back into his head and a slow breath escaped his lips. He stared at the ceiling and ignored the pain in his stomach, thinking about Carlos and his stupid texts to Kiki.

Matteo wasn’t afraid of food, he didn’t care about calories or losing weight.

He just..

Wasn’t. Hungry.

And he knew why.

[flawedandimperfectangel]

A Marvelous Night For A Seance

(Ikemen Writers Halloween Prompt #21)

“Oh my gaud, I think the crystal ball is working. The spirits are telling me you’re a dunbass.” SFW (Mild Cursing, slight innuendo)

Starring:Fenrir, MC, Oliver (He can be either Child! Oliver or Adult! Oliver either way he’s still Salty AF!) and Blanc

Fenrir tried not to show how nervous he felt as they approached Blanc and Oliver's Small Cottage. Unlike it's normal bright and cheerful appearance, (not that you'd be able to tell now, since it was nighttime!) it seemed to loom dark and spookily out of the shadows, the effect not helped *at all* by the fact that there was a cruel wind whipping the bare branches *hard* against the windows. It's chill breath making everyone shiver and scurry to find shelter indoors before

the predicted rains would start. He hustled MC into the house quickly, startling at the spooky sounds and shadows that seemed to materialize out of nowhere. MC stifled her giggles and quickly grabbed the Ace's hand giving it a reassuring squeeze. "It's okay Fenrir, it's just Oliver's newest invention. I told him about 'Haunted Houses' from back home in London

and how they have all kinds of spooky noises and shadow effects and stuff like that. So he made something here that does kind of the same thing! It must run on magic crystals though, pretty neat huh?!" Fenrir rubbed at the back of his neck with his free hand, glad MC couldn't see just how big his eyes had gotten at  that eerie howl. It wasn't that he was scared

per se, it was just that it was Creepy as fuck! and well, he had to protect MC! yeah, that was it! he reassured himself.

What he didn't know was that MC HAD seen just how big his eyes had gotten and she thought it was absolutely Adorable! Which was why she had bitten the inside of her cheek hard so she wouldn't laugh at the magenta maned Ace. Fenrir had been nothing but a Sweetheart to her since the day she had shown up in Cradle, and she had seen him be a fierce and fearless fighter on the battlefield, which is why she found it so hillarious that he was terrified of ghosts but if that was his only weakness she'd gladly be his bodyguard in this one instance.

Both safely inside the cozy cottage that belonged to Blanc and Oliver MC smiled. It seemed like Blanc had gone all out on decorating the interior of the house as much as Oliver had done the outside. Only a few dim magic crystals flickered faintly in their sconces on the walls. The curtains were all drawn tightly, not that any light would be seen through the thick blanket of heavy grey clouds that rumbled ominously as heavy drops of rain began to splatter loudly against the windows. "Looks like we made it just in time MC-" Fenrir remarked glancing toward where the wind whipped rain sounded almost like gunshots it was being thrown so forcefully against the glass. "Indeed you did!" Blanc agreed bustling to raise the heat coming from the "fireplace".

After everyone had eaten and finished "Digesting" as Blanc called it. It was time for the true fun of the evening to begin. Treats for the upcoming Halloween party were made in massive quantities. Carmel Apples, Candy Apples Jack o' Lanterns. Pies "Pumpkin, not Carrot this time, you Crazy Carrot Muncher! Thank God!” Oliver muttered gratefully which made MC smile were out on the counter to cool. Cakes and Cookies had already been done earlier and were frosted and decorated in tubs and boxes waiting to be taken over to the barracks where the party would be held. "Phew!" Fenrir said with sigh "I think we made enough for-" "Even you and your bottomless pit your call a stomach?" Oliver said with a smirk."Oliver!" Blanc said reproachfully "Eh, it's alright Blanc, "I've gotten used to Olly being a Brat by now-" he said with an evil smirk all his own. "WHAT did you just call me? You pink haired princling Prick??!" At that MC lost it bursting into laughter, even Blanc struggled to hold in a chuckle or two. Fenrir's eyes bulged before he snorted and joined everyone else laughing saying "Alright, alright you got me, I deserved that, but just for the record? I ain't no princeling and as for a Prick, MC here can tell you it's A LOT more than- mhmmph!" he was cut off as MC, her cheeks Scarlet clapped a hand over his mouth shouting "FENRIR!" The magenta maned ace only grinned mischievously as he swirled his tongue on MC's palm just like he did on another part of her body that was guaranteed to make her scream. If anything MC's blush got even Darker before she pulled her hand away from Fenrir's mouth and lightly slapped him upside the head with it. "Behave you!" she hissed "Him?" Oliver snorted "I  Always behave-" Fenrir shot back "Badly" both he and Oliver said at the same time. Blanc and MC both sighed and looked heavenward.

But Oliver got the last laugh as the table was cleared and he revealed a Ouija board. MC tensed "Oliver, where did you get that?" she asked nervously. He grinned "I had old Hare brain pick it up for me last time he was in your world...Why?" he smirked "You Afraid MC?"At his challenge she narrowed her eyes "N, No, bring it on-" but the slight tremor in her voice gave her away. Fenrir squeezed her hand gently "What's the matter MC? What IS that thing anyway?" "It's a Ouija board-" she said quietly "A Wee-gee board?" the Ace of Spades said confused "What's that? Doesn't sound that scary-" MC grinned despite herself "No, it's a Ouija Board... It's a game, of sorts, you use it to -" "To contact spirits, you know- Ghosts?!" Oliver said with a grinning leer as Fenrir recoiled. "Gh,Ghosts??!" he yelped going paler than his already

normally fair complexion. "Yeah, don't tell me the gun crazy maniac, Ace of Spades is afraid of Ghosts??!" he taunted"N,No I'm Not!-" Fenrir spat, but under the table he was holding MC's

hand in a death grip "But MC is- and she doesn't like that Luigi board thing-" Oliver burst into fits of laughter "LUIGI BOARD?! It's Ouija Board you Idiot! Ouija! not Luigi!" Fenrir's eyes narrowed dangerously as he growled "I'm not an Idiot that wants to talk to dead people! that's YOU!" Oliver's eyes grew cold as stone as he stared down the irate Ace. "And I'm not the Trigger happy freak who wants to shoot but not kill people! That's YOU!”  Dead silence reigned in the house, save for the heavy drumming beat of the rain which still fell outside.

The two stared at each other, gazes locked, magenta and silver neither one flinching. It looked like this could go on all night, but suddenly Blanc stepped in, his tone uncharacteristically sharp as he snapped "ENOUGH!" Both Oliver and Fenrir (Hell, and even MC) jumped at the white rabbit's voice which cracked like a whip. "Oliver, Put that thing away-" When it looked like the Steel eyed inventor might say something Blanc's golden eyes narrowed just so behind his glasses before his voice dropped to a deep growl that no one had heard him use before but one that would INSTANTLY be obeyed as he locked eyes with his roommate and snarled "NOW!" Oliver was moving before he even realized it. Fenrir, who was about to make a smartass comment immediately shut his mouth, words unsaid as Blanc fixed that intense golden glare on him. "And you young master-" normally Fenrir would correct him and complain about being called that but this time, seeing that look on Blanc's face he wisely stayed silent. "You should know better than to egg him on! You were raised better than this, I know, I helped raise you after all-" at MC's startled look both Blanc and Fenrir nodded, Blanc with a fond smile and Fenrir

with a sheepish grin."Yeah, Blanc used to work for my family and tutor me before I went to boarding school and joined the Black Army." Blanc nodded "Indeed, you'd never know it to look at him, but young master Fenrir comes from one of the best families in Cradle." Fenrir snorted "Gee, Thanks Blanc-" Blanc, back to his normal, soft spoken self just nodded "you're

Welcome-" he said mildly as Oliver returned to the room.

This time he carried something in his hand shrouded with a green cloth which he set down on the table in front of him. Always the showman, he waited until he had everyone's attention before dramatically whipping off the cloth to reveal a crystal ball.Fenrir blinked "Whazzat?" he asked peering at it curiously Oliver gusted a huge sigh and rolled his eyes skyward."It's a Crystal ball you Crazy Bullet brained idiot!" Fenrir made a face "Those ‘Crazy Bullets’ pay well,

gotta admit-" now it was Oliver's turn to make a face "True enough-" he grumbled "But you're still a pain in my ass-" MC giggled, relieved, things were back to normal again. "So what do you do with this Crystal ball thingy?" Fenrir asked.

Oliver sighed before peering into it intently muttering "You use it to answer questions, to tell the future..." he blinked "but it doesn't seem to be working..." "Huh-" Fenrir said "Well as long as you don't try and use that Weggy board thing again-" Suddenly Oliver leaned forward his eyes widening dramatically as he proclaimed,

“Oh my gaud, I think the crystal ball is working. The spirits are telling me you’re a dumbass.”

[translightyagami]

"do you believe in aliens?" seto/joey

this isn’t very romantic and also only adheres to the prompt marginally and also is way longer than i intended anyway this is basically a fic where joey and seto smoke weed 

106: “ Do you believe in aliens? ”

Joey blinked slow at first and then faster until his eyes were dry. Like a dryer full of socks, his head turned over itself again and again while he flicked the lighter on again. He lit the bowl and took a deep hit. Smoke spilled out of his mouth and clawed upward.

“Oh man,” he said. “That’s good stuff.”

“I know.” Seto snatched the pipe from Joey when he offered it. “It is my marijuana after all.”

“Why do you call it that? Why can’t you just say weed like everyone else?”

Eyes closed, Seto ignored him. Was this a bad plan? Doubt wriggled in Joey’s stomach and it shifted the more he thought about his whole situation. Okay, so maybe he did kind of want to see Seto’s house and, alright, he was man enough to admit that him having a medical card influenced his decision. Plus Yugi bugged him all the time about playing nice with the guy. What was nicer than having a smoke with someone? Yet he was still on edge with a body full of rough waters. What precisely set off these anxieties wasn’t clear. If he were less high, then maybe he’d know.

“Are you just going to stare into space the whole time?” The pipe was shoved into Joey’s line of vision. “Or are you going to take another hit?”

“Ah.” He reached for the lighter. His hand hovered there and then he set it back down. “I think I should take a break. The high is hittin’ me kinda fast.”

“Hmph. Figures.”

In one rapid motion, Seto whipped the pipe back to his lips and lit the bowl, pulling in smoke before expelling it in a curling grey cloud. Joey had the unoriginal thought that the smoke looked like a dragon. But everything Seto did had the curl of a dragon. He moved too sharp, too armored to be anything human.

“Don’t be a jerk,” Joey said. “Just ‘cause you’re used to this stuff doesn’t mean you can act all superior to me.”

“Actually, that’s exactly what it means.”

Silence blanketed them after that and Joey used that time to take in his surroundings. They were in Seto’s entertainment room, or at least one of them. When he came in the house, he nearly fell over from how huge it was. There could’ve been eight of his own little apartment fit inside Seto’s house. The room was pretty big too and there were five consoles all lined up underneath a massive TV attached to the wall. Speakers flanked the screen and next to the X-Box was a little wicker basket full of controllers. On the far wall were shelves upon shelves of video games. While Seto had been getting his weed out, Joey had perused the titles and his heart sank thinking about his own tiny collection.

“I’ve been meanin’ to ask you." Joey picked at the carpet and rubbed one socked foot over the other. “Why do you have a medical card, anyway?”

“It’s none of your business, Wheeler,” Seto said. His voice went hard like a giant wall shooting up and in-between himself and Joey. Putting one arm back, he leveraged himself up and walked over to his TV. He rummaged in the controller basket before looking over his shoulder.

“Which system do you want to play on?” he asked.

“Eh.” Joey rubbed the back of his head. “Nintendo?”

“Heh,” Seto chuckled. The sound activated Joey’s fight or flight response but he tried to smother the feeling. They were just getting high. There wasn’t a duel happening. No one was in danger. “That’s Mokuba’s favorite.”

The TV sparked to life while Seto set up the system and then went over to flick through his games. Joey’s eyes fluttered under their own weight. He sunk into the feeling of cement but his skin still prickled with Seto’s every move.

“Hey.” Joey opened his eyes, not realizing he’d closed them, and a controller was being shoved in his face. He snatched it from Seto and frowned. “Wake up.”

“I am awake,” he said. “Like I said before, you don’t have to be a jerk.”

“Whatever.” Seto dropped back onto the floor and leaned back on his couch. “Just choose your character.”

Joey rolled his thumb over the toggle and went from character to character. Whenever he played with Yugi, they played matching characters--Mario and Luigi, Peach and Daisy. What was the protocol for playing against a guy who spent most of his time yelling about how you suck at dueling? Sweat dripped down his forehead as Joey picked Toad. Seto picked Bowser.

Even before he’d knew knew Seto, Joey had known he was good at video games. He owned a god damn gaming company. But he was a revelation at Mario Cart. Not that Joey was too shabby at the game with a good handful of second place wins under his belt. The floating sensation of being high rose in his head and made it feel weightless.

“Hey,” he said. “You ever wonder what Bowser is?”

“What?” The music of the game chimed as Seto won another race. “No.”

“Is he an alien?” Joey’s mouth felt gummy when he talked. “Where’s he from?”

Seto was quiet and then put his controller down. He took his phone out and started to type at a rapid pace. Joey goggled at the device in his hands.

“Is that a Blackberry?”

“So what if it is?” Seto shot a defensive look at him. “It’s better than piece of tech you’ve ever owned.”

“Alright.” Joey threw his hands up. “Don’t lose your cool, Kaiba.”

“I’m not losing my cool, Wheeler,” Seto said. He flicked his thumb over the roller-ball and clicked something. “It says here that Bowser is a Koopa. So he’s not an alien.”

“Huh.” Leaning back, Joey let his controller rest in his lap. Head like a block of cement, he turned it to face Seto. “Hey. Do you believe in aliens?”

A blank expression fell over Seto’s face and for the first time, Joey could see how high he was. His eyelids were low and his movements were more stiff as though the air around him was molasses. With great difficulty, Joey almost saw someone he could be friends with.

“I don’t.” Seto rubbed his lips together. “Aliens. Just a bunch of paranoid nonsense. Not that I’m surprised you’re bringing it up since you and the geek squad are always going on about that mystical whatever.”

“Listen, Kaiba.” A bolt of anger cleared Joey’s high and he shoved a finger in Seto’s face. “Just because you’re too far up your own rear end doesn’t mean you get to act like what’s happened to us is fake. You’ve been there and you’ve seen it too.”

“What I saw was a bunch of nerds playing friendship is magic.”

“You see.” Joey threw up a hand and rolled his eyes. “This is why no one ever wants to hang out with you. ‘Cause you’re always a jerk about everything.”

“You’re hanging out with me right now,” Seto said. His expression was smug and Joey wanted to wipe it right off him.

“I’m only hanging out with you because Yugi wanted me to,” he said. For a second, victory flared up in his stomach as Seto’s face fell. But the feeling didn’t last and neither did the unhappy look on Seto’s face. It quickly reconstructed itself but remained filtered through distrust. Did that guy really think Joey had just wanted to chill with him? After what an asshole he’d been time and time again? Joey folded his arms across his chest and willed himself not to care. His efforts didn’t work.

“Jeez,” he said. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be so, uh, mean like that.”

“Don’t apologize,” Seto said. He didn’t look at Joey and kept his gaze steady on the TV. The highlights of the last race were playing on a loop. “You were being honest.”

“Yeah but it was still a dick move. And I try not to be a dick.”

A chuckle escaped Seto and it was light, a shade of his usual crow of a laugh. He crossed his arms too and they sat in silence for a while. Neither of them moved to start a new game. Finally, Seto went and reached for his grinder.

“There’s still more left,” he said and then looked sideways at Joey. “Do you want to do one more bowl?”

His face wasn’t that bad. If Joey ignored everything about Seto, he could see something nice about him. There was a sharpness to him that bordered on attractive--not that he would ever call the guy a work of art or anything. In this one moment, he got why Yugi wanted Seto to be better. Because behind everything, there was someone who wasn’t all that bad.

“Yeah.” Joey rolled his shoulders. “I think I can do one more.”

[magiatales]

Madoka’s Birthday Party, ch 3

"Alright, everybody, settle down! Settle down... Hey, Kyoko! Shut up!" Everyone looked to Sayaka, and Kyoko stuck out her tongue. The blunette ignored it and continued. "Okay, so... Hitomi, your stomach okay?"

Hitomi nodded, though looked a little tired. "I'll be fi-"

Sayaka interrupted her. "Good, how about you, Kirika? How's your face?"

Kirika's forehead was still a little red from sliding across the ground, but she smiled. "Ready for battle!"

"Your face is ready for battle... okay... Well, now that everyone's ready-" Now Sayaka was interrupted herself.

Kyoko spoke over everyone else. "I'm fine too, thanks for asking!"

Sayaka adjusted the collar of her shirt. "I didn't ask. Anyway, it's time for the next event. Everyone, please follow me!" Regaining enthusiasm, Sayaka marched into another room, with the others following her. "If you'll all notice, this room contains many features that you've already been enjoying at this party, such as the couch, some chairs, a stuffed... frog... okay, but you'll also see that there is indeed a television affixed to the wall. This will be the point of focus for the next event! If you'll notice, there are three game controllers on the floor in front of the television!"

The girls noticed, and most quickly began envisioning having three arms.

Mami, on the other hand, went wide-eyed. "Oh my God! You have a Nintendo 64!"

Madoka cut in. "It belonged to my dad!"

"Belonged?" Kyoko wondered.

Madoka corrected herself quickly. "Belongs!"

Hitomi questioned Madoka. "Why are you being defensive about owning a Nintendo 64?"

Madoka shook her head. "I'm not being defensive!"

Sayaka nodded, agreeing with Hitomi. "Yeah, you kinda are."

Madoka looked pleadingly to Oriko. "Help me, I have no idea if owning a Nintendo 64 is good or bad!"

Oriko shrugged. "I dunno... Kirika has one."

Madoka whimpered. "Now I'm even less sure..."

Sayaka put a stop to the confusion. "Regardless, we are playing on that very same ancient piece of gaming technology! The game of choice is none other than the very best video game for playing at parties! Mario Kart! We have nine players, so we'll be going in groups of three! First up we have Madoka, Kyoko, and Oriko! Next will be Mami, Kirika, and myself! Then we'll have Homura, Hitomi, and the runt. The three winners will compete in the final round to determine who will wear the crown! Who will be the queen of Mario Kart!"

Yuma kicked Sayaka in the shin.

By the time the blunette had finished hopping around on one foot, the first round was already beginning. Sitting in the third player spot when selecting a character, Oriko was already on Princess Peach. Madoka looked dejected when Peach was no longer an option, but quickly jumped on selecting Yoshi instead. Kyoko went for Wario without a second thought. Looking over all the available races, Kyoko pounced on Wario Stadium before anyone could stop her. Just as the race was starting, Kyoko's face of glee dropped into a look of morbid terror at the realization. Madoka had this game in her house, and Oriko's best friend had one as well. They were likely both experts at the game.

The game started and Kyoko was left in the dust as Madoka and Oriko sped away. The entire race went by with Kyoko getting progressively farther behind. Madoka and Oriko consistently avoided all the items Kyoko got, and managed to stay practically tied with each other through the entire race. On the second lap, Kyoko found herself being lapped already by the other two. They were on their third lap. Madoka and Oriko sped off, heading up the ramp to the large jump.

The sound of Homura clearing her throat caught Kyoko's attention. Looking over, Kyoko saw in Homura's hands a crisp new ten thousand yen bill. Homura nodded suggestively. Kyoko understood. Looking back to the screen, she saw the green shell in her inventory. She may not be able to win, but by golly would the winner have her to thank. For a bonus, she could make money off of this. She just had to hit just this once. The green shell flew, striking true and sending Oriko flying and falling through to an earlier part of the track. Madoka made the jump, landing safely on the other side.

Acting as a rear guard, Kyoko stayed right behind Madoka until the end of the race, only to then realize that she was still a lap behind Oriko. She wailed in despair as she was smashed by a lightning bolt. A moment later, vengeful Oriko ran through her while shining with the power of a star. The race ended in a humiliating way for Kyoko, but she took consolation in her profit.

The next three jumped in eagerly. Kirika was quick to choose Donkey Kong, and Mami picked Toad. Sayaka chose Luigi, thinking that she related to the man in green somehow. With the same enthusiasm Kyoko had shown before the previous race, Kirika selected Banshee Boardwalk. The race begin and all three shot off. The first turn came and the difference between the player was obvious. Sayaka bounced off the wall, but kept going fast, while Kirika sped around the turn flawlessly. Mami hit the wall head on, not turning in the slightest.

Mami looked down at the floor. "I don't know how to turn." She remained in that spot for nearly the rest of the race, only escaping her predicament when she figured out how to reverse.

Already knowing she shouldn't have chosen Luigi, Sayaka found herself too far behind Kirika to hope for a win. Luigi is always second. Kirika, who had played this game every day of her childhood, was driving perfectly right until the end when, in front of her, she saw Mami going in reverse across the finish line. They slammed together, Donkey Kong's weight sending Toad flying. Unfazed by the impact, Donkey Kong soared across the line, winning the victory for Kirika. Sayaka passed in a measly second, but she was glad her loss was not as humiliating as Oriko's.

The third race began. Hitomi had chosen Peach, Yuma had chosen Mario, and Homura picked Bowser. The race selected left them all a little confused, as only one knew what they would face but had feigned ignorance. Hitomi had been to Madoka's house before. She knew what Toad's Turnpike held, and should have known better than to try navigating the never-ending onslaught of oncoming traffic. Her plan came crashing down on her as a large yellow bus smashed her less than two seconds after the race started.

Yuma took the lead, though mostly out of sheer luck. Homura kept a close second, out of sheer desperation. Hitomi only lost ground, unable to steer clear of the monstrous vehicles that seemed to aim for her. Nearly half the way through the third lap, Yuma lost focus on the purpose of the game and decided to try following behind a white car. While she succeeded, not crashing or hitting the wall, her speed fell and she never noticed when Homura passed her moments from the finish in a burst of mushroom speed.

With the three races over, Sayaka took to announcing the final round. "Now our winners will compete on the most obvious course made for victory, Rainbow Road! And our winners are Madoka, Homura, and myse-"

Kyoko hit Sayaka over the head with a stuffed frog. "You lost, damn it!"

Sayaka fell over, mumbling from the ground. "I meant to say Kirika."

The race went about as expected. The three girls had returned to their chosen characters of Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Bowser. While all were moderately deterred by the chomping creatures that chased them down the track, Homura predictably used every item she could get her hands on to keep Kirika behind Madoka. So strong was her determination that her aim was perfect. Her tactics were flawless. Her motive was questionable. Madoka would win.

The race went about as expected, until the beginning of the third lap where Kirika, still managing to stay not far behind, let out a mighty roar. "DESPERATE MEASURES!"

Immediately after crossing the line, reaching the third lap, Kirika hit the steep hill and pulled the right trigger, causing her kart to jump. Swerving to the left at just the right moment, time seemed to stand still for everyone as they watched. The kart flew into the blackness of space. Just when Homura's face began to show a grin of true victory, voices rose in a great cheer behind her. Kirika landed, safely across the abysmal void, on the other side of the track. Homura turned blue. True to form, Kirika was now well out of reach, thus making Madoka's victory equally out of reach. Homura had failed. Again.

After that, the win was assured. Kirika took the victory, and the even ended. Madoka, and all the others, cheered and praised the winner.

Finally snapping out of her trance, Homura stormed over to Kyoko. "Give it back."

"What? No! I did what you wanted. You're the one who sucked when it counted."

Giving in and letting Kyoko keep the money, Homura turned on her heel and walked away, grumbling to herself. "Seems I've failed in this timeline as well."

[junker-town]

All 53 NBA players at the FIBA World Cup, RANKED

Greek Freak, indeed! | Getty Images / SB Nation illustration

The 2019 FIBA World Cup tips off Saturday in China. As you have likely heard, very few American NBA stars are participating. James Harden and Anthony Davis were pegged as the stars to lead this edition of the team, but both begged off to prepare for very big NBA seasons coming up. A number of other players backed out, preventing the coaching staff from actually having to cut anyone.

The result: a roster that includes Mason Plumlee, Derrick White, and Joe Harris.

Yet some of the biggest international stars did show up, leaving the FIBA World Cup with some measure of star power. To put all of that star power and Team USA’s apparent weakness in perspective, we decided to rank all 53 NBA players expected to play in the tournament. Note that players continue to be cut and drop out — Oshae Brissett of Canada and the Raptors, and Isaac Bonga of Germany and the Wizards, were ruled out on Wednesday — so the list may remain a little malleable.

First, a couple of side notes.

Teams without any current NBA players: Poland, Cote d’Ivoire, Venezuela, China, Russia, Argentina, Korea, Iran, Puerto Rico, Angola, Philippines, New Zealand, Dominican Republic, Jordan, Senegal.

NBA emeritus players you’ll love or hate to see: Luis Scola (Argentina), Ike Diogu (Nigeria), Yi Jianlian (China), Andray Blatche (Philippines), Leandro Barbosa (Brazil), Hamed Haddadi (Iran), Renaldo Balkman (Puerto Rico), Paul Zipser (Germany), Anderson Varejao (Brazil), Luigi Datome (Italy), Rudy Fernandez (Spain), Mindaugas Kuzminkskas (Lithuania), Semih Erden (Turkey), Nick Calathes (Greece), Georgios Papagiannis (Greece), Nando de Colo (France), Hamady N’Diaye (Senegal), Andrew Bogut (Australia).

And now, all 53 NBA players expected to play in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, ranked.

(Note that NBA status and national team status both factor in here. Players with small NBA roles and big FIBA roles will end up higher than players with small NBA roles and iffy FIBA roles. NBA salaries do not matter: I’m not moving Harrison Barnes down the list because he makes a grip of money. Also, keep in mind that we have really limited data and observations on a bunch of these players, especially at the FIBA level, since very few of them have played anything but warm-ups since 2016.)

All that said . . .

53. Chimezie Metu, Nigeria/Spurs

Two important notes about Metu: he graduated from USC in three years, and the Spurs believe in him to some degree. Sounds good to me!

52. Vincent Poirier, France/Celtics

Poirier will be a rookie if he makes Boston’s roster, but he’s 25 and apparently the Celtics tried to sign him before last year’s playoff run. And by “playoff run” I mean “swift and brutal death spiral.”

51. Salah Mejri, Tunisia/Mavericks

Did you know Salah Mejri is 33 years old? I didn’t know Salah Mejri was 33 years old.

50. Khem Birch, Canada/Magic

When we were promised the Canadian national team would have NBA talent in the future, Khem Birch is not exactly what I had in mind . . .

49. Yuta Watanabe, Japan/Grizzlies

Japan has a spot in the Olympic tournament as the host nation, but it’d be really cool to see Watanabe led his country to a nice showing in the World Cup and then turn that into NBA success this season.

48. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Greece/Bucks

The Bucks put him on their roster, perhaps to please Giannis. Did Greece do the same thing? Nah, Thanasis is good enough to have earned this spot. Note that Kostas Antetokounmpo, one of Giannis’ younger brothers, isn’t on the roster.

47. Daniel Theis, Germany/Celtics

This guy might be the starting center for the Celtics this season.

46. Frank Ntilikina, France/Knicks

It’s so sad that Frankie Smokes is this far down the list at this stage in his career. I mean, to be below ...

45. Matthew Dellavedova, Australia/Cavaliers

... wow. Just wow.

44. Juancho Hernangomez, Spain/Nuggets 43. Willy Hernangomez, Spain/Hornets

Silly NBA teams keep picking just one Hernangomez. Spain wonders, why not both?

42. Cristiano Felicio, Brazil/Bulls

Felicio isn’t the first Brazilian big man I get irrationally hyped for (someone say hello to Bebe Nogueira for me), and won’t be the last. He has not really put much together in the league, though.

41. Mason Plumlee, United States/Nuggets

WE HAVE OUR LOWEST RANKED UNITED STATES PLAYER, folks. A PLUMLEE APPEARS.

I have some news for you, though: there are only three players in the entire tournament who have already won FIBA gold: Marc Gasol (2006), Rudy Fernandez (also 2006) and MASON M.F. PLUMLEE (2014). So, there.

40. Aron Baynes, Australia/Suns

In the NBA, I’d actually take Mason Plumlee over Aron Baynes. But Plumlee isn’t going to play much in the World Cup, and Baynes will be central to Australia’s chances. So Baynes gets the edge.

39. Ersan Ilyasova, Turkey/Bucks

Ilyasova is somehow an 11-year NBA vet with eight seasons averaging double-digit scoring. He’ll never catch Hedo Turkoglu as the greatest Turkish player in the NBA history, but he’s drawing pretty close to Mehmet Okur at this point.

38. Bruno Caboclo, Brazil/Grizzlies

Like Bruno, Brazil men’s basketball is always two years away from being two years away.

37. Maxi Kleber, Germany/Mavericks

You know and love a Mavericks fan who would put Maxi Kleber in the top 10 on this list, and both you and they know it.

36. Cory Joseph, Canada/Kings

Cory Joseph might be the oldest 28-year-old in the league. It’s really too bad the other NBA talent in Canada is skipping this tournament, because the team could have made lots of noise and perhaps secured an important Olympic berth.

35. Furkan Korkmaz, Turkey/Sixers

My kingdom for a Furkan Korkmaz-Bogdan Bogdanovic shoot-out in the knockout round.

34. Boban Marjanovic, Serbia/Mavericks

Folks, in the Serbia-USA match-up everyone is dreaming about, we’re going to get Boban and Brook Lopez battling off the bench. I ... I think I have Boban too low ...

33. Josh Okogie, Nigeria/Timberwolves

Lord let Josh Okogie show out for Nigerian or AT LEAST dominate the dunk reel from the World Cup.

32. Derrick White, United States/Spurs

Derrick White could be an integral part of the United States gameplan, or he could have four DNPs in the tournament. Is he really better than Cory Joseph when you set salary aside? I struggle with Derrick White in context.

31. Nicolas Batum, France/Hornets

Batum should make way more sense in a two-week sprint for France than an 7-month marathon for the Hornets.

30. Marco Belinelli, Italy/Spurs

What even is an Italian national team with Marco Belinelli, but without Andrea Bargnani?

29. Rui Hachimura, Japan/Wizards

Okay, I know this is way too high for a rookie we haven’t seen in the NBA yet. Like way too high. But he was a top-10 pick, and he was awesome at Gonzaga and in Summer League. And he freaking destroyed Germany in FIBA warm-ups to give Japan apparently its first-ever win over a European team in men’s basketball. I’m all in on Rui.

28. Joe Harris, United States/Nets

I would like to be all in on Joe Harris, except I can’t over the fact that Joe Harris is on the United States men’s national basketball team and he’s not even the least accomplished OR SECOND LEAST ACCOMPLISHED member! He should be no more than the Christian Laettner of this team. He’s, like, the Chris Mullin?!

27. Nemanja Bjelica, Serbia/Kings

We could have had three-quarters of the Sacramento Kings roster in this tournament had two of the three American contenders not dropped out. It’s probably for the best, as Bogdan and Jelly, plus general manager Vlade Divac, might have made De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III feel bad about silver . . .

26. Jonas Valanciunas, Lithuania/Grizzlies

Did anyone notice that Valanciunas put up incredible numbers for Memphis after being included in the Marc Gasol trade? He put up “some contender is actually going to trade a pick for him at the deadline this season” numbers. Get the Lakers jersey ‘shops ready.

25. Tomas Satoransky, Czech Republic/Bulls

Satoransky is the star for the Czechs, so his place on this list is a little inflated given his NBA status. But hey, he’s also pretty good.

24. Al-Farouq Aminu, Nigeria/Blazers

Really glad to see Aminu continue to represent Nigeria, which has a shot to make the knockout rounds. Aminu is the team’s best player, but not it’s only good player. Interesting player, interesting team.

23. Brook Lopez, United States/Bucks

The new Brook Lopez is kind of a perfect FIBA center, and yet this thing with Gregg Popovich does not seem to be working for some reason. It’s weird that Lopez and Khris Middleton, the two Bucks on Team USA who thrived under Pop’s acolyte Mike Budenholzer in the NBA last season, are totally struggling under Pop. So weird.

22. Patty Mills, Australia/Spurs

The inverse Derrick White situation: Mills shouldn’t be this high based on NBA status, but is a star at the FIBA level and will put up numbers and get wins. Just ask USA Basketball circa last week.

21. Harrison Barnes, United States/Kings

Salaries don’t matter here. Barnes is a darn good player, and versatile enough to get work at multiple positions in the tournament. Look at the wonders Pop has done with Rudy Gay in San Antonio.

20. Cedi Osman, Turkey/Cavaliers

CEDI TIME. Between Osman and Korkmaz, I’m irrationally excited about Turkey shaking off the dust of the stodgy Omer Asik-led teams of the past and getting wild.

19. Marcus Smart, United States/Celtics

Smart is the only American player who dealt with injuries in the training portion of the schedule and stuck with the team. I’m sure the Celtics front office is pleased as punch about that.

18. Dennis Schroder, Germany/Thunder

On the one hand, Dennis Schroder is a legitimate NBA scorer. On the other hand, he’s Dennis Schroder, and it’s only fitting that he would drive Germans as mad as he drives fans of his NBA teams.

17. Ricky Rubio, Spain/Suns

Remember 2008, when the teenaged wunderkind Ricky was low-key the best reason to watch Spain in the Olympics? Time is a cruel mistress.

16. Evan Fournier, France/Magic

France’s golden age is probably over with the aging out of Tony Parker and Boris Diaw, but Fourner is quite good and the French are pretty deep on talent. Lots of good NBA shooting guards in this tournament.

15. Myles Turner, United States/Pacers

No idea what to make of Myles Turner on Team USA. He’s probably going to have to defend Nikola Jokic at some point, though. Good luck, man.

14. Bogdan Bogdanovic, Serbia/Kings

A name so sweet, we say it twice. Low-key contender for the All-Tournament team. I really hope we get the Bogdan-Donovan Mitchell shoot-out we deserve.

13. Domantas Sabonis, Lithuania/Pacers

Sabonis is the centerpiece for Lithuania, and this tournament could be huge for Dom’s mythos going into the next NBA season, especially considering it appears Indiana will have to make a decision on whether to keep Turner and Sabonis together or move one of them. Sabonis is another All-Tournament team contender.

12. Joe Ingles, Australia/Jazz

It kind of feels like Jingles Season, but then doesn’t it always? Ingles is steady, so it’s hard to say Australia’s hopes rest on him — you know what he’s bringing every night. But if Australia succeeds, Ingles will almost assuredly be central as to why.

11. Khris Middleton, United States/Bucks

Middleton was an All-Star last season. He should be the starting small forward for Team USA, and it’s best defender and deep shooter. But he’s just looked absolutely awful in warm-ups. It’s pretty bizarre.

10. Jayson Tatum, United States/Celtics

Usually comparing Tatum to Carmelo Anthony is considered an insult (which is an insult to Melo), but we’ll take it here: if Tatum can be FIBA Melo for the next two weeks, USA Basketball can and will win this tournament.

9. Jaylen Brown, United States/Celtics

dontletjazzfansreadthisbutIthinkjaylenbrownmightbethebestplayeronteamusarightnow [cough cough] Oh, yeah, uh Jaylen Brown! Pretty good!

8. Marc Gasol, Spain/Raptors

I want to see Marc smile for a month. I want to see Marc battle Nikola Jokic for 40 minutes. I want to see Marc win one for his brother. I want to see Marc lead Spain back to the Olympics next summer. Marc deserves everything he wishes to receive.

7. Nikola Vucevic, Montenegro/Magic

Montenegro is more of an upstart than a power, but Vucevic has “No. 2 scoring average in the tournament” written all over him.

6. Danilo Gallinari, Italy/Thunder

Gallinari was really good last season for the Clippers, and will probably be really good for the Thunder next season, so why not be really good for Italy in between? The Italians have a good shot at making the knockouts. Gallinari has to be excellent for it to happen.

5. Donovan Mitchell, United States/Jazz

It’s not too much to say that Team USA’s fortunes rest largely on what kind of player Donovan Mitchell is during this tournament. This could be a gripping entry in the Donovan Mitchell origin story on his path toward All-NBA nods and MVP votes, or it could be a cautionary tale for the Jazz. Either way, it’s compelling as hell.

4. Kemba Walker, United States/Celtics

Meanwhile, Kemba Walker is real good, but he’s also kind of small and FIBA ball is known for being physical. That concerns me a little.

3. Rudy Gobert, France/Jazz

The top three players in this tournament are on teams other than the United States. Let that sink in.

Gobert is the best or second-best defender in the entire tournament, and assuming France’s guard play on offense is in order (and gets Rudy some dunks), he should be a shoo-in for the All-Tournament team. Team USA, which relies on two ballhandling drivers, should be deeply concerned with how it’s going to score on France if the threes aren’t falling.

2. Nikola Jokic, Serbia/Nuggets

Jokic isn’t anyone’s secret any more, of course, but most fans haven’t seen him in a FIBA setting before. Serbia is stacked to the jowls with talent, and with Milos Teodosic out due to injury, the team will rely on Jokic’s preternatural playmaking. But the game goes two ways, and you wonder if Popovich, for instance, will run the agile Myles Turner down Jokic’s throat. Just how good will Serbia be on defense? Is Jokic’s offensive skill enough to overcome it?

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece/Bucks

The best player in the tournament, hands down. The reigning NBA MVP. Maybe the best player in the world?

Greece should win its group. It will play the United States in the second round (which is not the knockouts — it’s a second group stage). This will be one of two games certain to break through the American disinterest in FIBA play, with Serbia-USA being the other. Greece doesn’t have to win that game to move on to the knockouts, but Giannis will desperately want to win that game. He wants to win every game, and he certainly wants to prove he’s the best player in the world by being the guy to beat Team USA.

Can he do it? Does he have enough help? Didn’t we just ask similar questions about him a couple months ago, but with the Warriors as Team USA? Didn’t the Raptors derail that quest? Kawhi Leonard didn’t sign up for USA Basketball, did he? No? Good.

Good.

[sqgtdevreviews]

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Publisher: Sega Developer: Sonic Team/Sega Technical Institute System: Sega Genesis Year: 1992

After the runaway (pun intended) success of Sonic 1, it was only natural that Sega immediately commission a sequel. While Sonic has had several periods of very high popularity over 25 years, this was easily the peak of his fame. Sonic 2 was one of the most hyped games in history, and the first ever to release worldwide on the same day, known as Sonic 2sday. Despite a troubled development with American and Japanese staff who had trouble working together, and the removal of several zones to make the date on time, Sonic 2 fully lived up to its colossal hype and is, to this day, still the most popular Sonic game of all time. While Sonic 1 continues to age well and is also considered a genre defining classic, Sonic 2 set the series standard that many of the following games try to build on or outright copy.

Sonic 2 managed to keep the gameplay from Sonic 1 simple without adding much to it. However, the additions Sonic 2 made became permanent series staples. The first is Miles “Tails” Prower, Sonic’s two-tailed fox sidekick. Tails is the Luigi to Sonic’s Mario: he’s orange instead of blue, adorable instead of cool, and he is the player two character. Tails is AI controlled and will follow Sonic around, collecting rings and attacking any enemies in his sight. When he gets left offscreen (which will happen a lot), he’ll use his two tails to fly back on screen. He might not seem that useful at first, but he can help you quick-kill bosses. He is a very fun addition to the game and without a doubt the most essential character in the series other than Sonic and Eggman. The best part is that a second player can pick up a controller and play with him to help you out! You can, of course, choose to play with Sonic alone, or with Tails alone, but unfortunately playable Tails cannot fly.

The second huge addition is one so important that new players frequently struggle in Sonic 1 without it: the Spin Dash. By ducking and mashing the jump button, Sonic will curl into a ball, but will stay in the same position and visibly build up speed. Letting go of the D-Pad will rocket Sonic forward in ball form. It’s a great way to gain speed quickly on any solid ground, and as a result, you don’t have to search for steep curves to roll down to gain speed quickly. This has the effect of kicking the game’s pace up several notches.

The third is a 7th Chaos Emerald. Other than the Game Gear games, the number would stay at seven for the rest of the series. Special Stages were almost completely reworked, and while you still need 50 Rings, you just need to bring them to a Star Post (checkpoint) now, which opens a ring of stars that take you to the Special Stage. Sonic 1’s Rotating Mazes were ditched in favor of a fake 3D halfpipe minigame, in which the player faces away from the screen and runs continuously. Each Special Stage has three sections to it, and in each section you have to collect a specific amount of rings that come towards the screen, while dodging bombs that will make you lose rings. If you reach the end of a section without enough rings, you’re booted out of the Special Stage. Otherwise, you’ll keep going, and at the end of the whole stage is a Chaos Emerald waiting for you. These are a lot more fun than the spinning mazes, and you get a lot more chances to beat them. However, they start to get difficult very quickly, and Tails’ AI is notoriously terrible here and will smash into bombs frequently. By tying Special Stages to checkpoints, you also start seeing a lot less of them by the fourth zone, though thankfully the main acts are short enough where you won’t lose that much progress if you die.

Now there is an actual reward for collecting all seven emeralds. By collecting 50 rings and jumping, Sonic will become Super Sonic, who is for all intents and purposes a fun nod to Dragonball Z. Super Sonic is invincible and much faster, and he has his own theme. However, you have to keep maintaining your ring count, because Super Sonic slowly drains your rings. If it drops to 0, you return to regular Sonic. He was clearly added in last minute as he is a bit glitchy, but he is extremely fun to play around with.

There is also a fun two player split screen mode. Sonic and Tails can compete to race to the end of Emerald Hill Zone, Casino Night Zone and Mystic Cave Zone. They all have different music tracks (originally meant for zones that were removed), and the bosses are removed, but they otherwise are the same. There is also an extra monitor type that switches both players. On top of that, there is also a competitive Special Stage; here both players share the same screen and have to get more rings than each other. Hardware limitations prevent this mode from being truly fantastic, but it still manages to be pretty fun.

The above additions make Sonic 2 a lot more engaging than Sonic 1, but a subtle change that goes a long way is that the game structure was redone for faster pacing. Zones are no longer made of three acts (other than Metropolis Zone), but just two, and there are a lot more zones this time around. There are also no more slow paced and blocky levels like Marble and Labyrinth Zone this time around. Now every zone has many opportunities to roll around at the speed of sound. Despite having (purple) water, Chemical Plant is widely considered to be one of the best levels in the series thanks to its intense speed and dozens of multiple pathways. Casino Night is the definitive casino zone and the first to add slot machines and pinball flippers, both a perfect fit for Sonic’s ball form.

Unfortunately, the level design still isn’t perfect. The first six zones are an absolute blast, but once you reach Oil Ocean, the game hits a slump that it never recovers from. The zones from this point on start to throw tons of cheap shots at you (especially the infamous Metropolis Zone) and generally drag on. The exception is Sky Chase Zone, a short and relaxing one act zone in which you wing walk on Sonic’s Tornado biplane. The entirety of the final level, Death Egg Zone, is two bosses in a row without any rings. If you’re very good at pattern recognition you’ll probably take them both out quickly, but if you’re not, God help you.

Thankfully, the relatively lame final stretch is the only real negative. Everything else is near perfection. The graphics and art style are the same as in Sonic 1, but with a ton of extra background detail and more bold colors, which makes the game as a whole much more eyepopping. The Special Stages are especially striking; while they are a bit choppy, it does nothing to make the fake 3D effect look any worse. The halfpipe tube even twists and turns with many frames of animation. It’s seriously impressive! The music is also more of the same from Sonic 1, and is still composed by Masato Nakamura. This is not a bad thing, and it lives up to the high standards of Sonic 1’s outstanding soundtrack. Just as Sonic 2 is a lot faster paced than Sonic 1, the soundtrack was also given a kick in the pants, and almost every song in the game feels more up-tempo.

I don’t consider Sonic 2 to be the best game in the series but regardless, it’s pretty damn close, and if someone else were to rate it #1, I would understand fully. It’s a great experience from start to finish and truly defined the Sonic series as we know it.

[entergamingxp]

DualShockers’ Favorite Games of 2019 — Cam’s Top 10

December 30, 2019 10:00 AM EST

2019 has been a pretty disappointing year overall for me when it comes to video games, but there was still plenty to love too.

As 2019 comes to a close, DualShockers and our staff are reflecting on this year’s batch of games and what were their personal highlights within the last year. Unlike the official Game of the Year 2019 awards for DualShockers, there are little-to-no-rules on our individual Top 10 posts. For instance, any game — not just 2019 releases — can be considered.

2019 has been an insane year for me. After getting my Bachelor’s in Journalism, I’ve been working to get my foot into the gaming industry to write and talk about what I love, and I’m forever thankful for the opportunities that have unexpectedly fallen onto my lap. I’ve traveled the country and have met and made connections with numerous members of the industry that I look up to, and eventually want to stand along side. So much has happened in such a short amount of time that I’ve spent most of the time that I can outside of playing games to prepare myself in big ways moving into 2020. If you are reading this, whether you are someone I know or someone I don’t, you are helping my dreams become a reality so, thank you. Now let’s get into what you came here for.

Depending on who you ask, some will say that 2019 was a great year for video games, while others will say that it was okay at best; I happen to sit on the latter. We have been spoiled with absolutely mesmerizing gaming experiences in both 2017 and 2018. If I’m being honest, I don’t think any game in 2019 would be in a serious discussion for Game of the Year if they came out in either of those time frames. Last year, I was incredibly conflicted about which title would be my Game of the Year between Red Dead Redemption 2 and Dead Cells to the point where I just said both (at this point though, it’s Red Dead).

For 2019, my GOTY immediately sat at my number one spot, and no other game made me question that choice as the year has progressed. 2019 has just been a mixed bag of games that a lot of people genuinely love, but nothing that most people could hold hands on and say is an absolute frontrunner. I don’t want to seem too down on the hard work that these creators put into their games, because I had some great gaming experiences in 2019, and still am going into 2020. I love talking about games, and I’ve been anticipating writing my top 10 games of 2019 so let’s get to it, shall we?

(Notable Games That I Did Not Get to Play in 2019: Ape Out, Astral Chain, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Judgment, Katana Zero, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Link’s Awakening, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order and Telling Lies)

Honorable Mention: Death Stranding

Alright, let’s talk Hideo Kojima for a second. I’m sure it will sound crazy to some, but Death Stranding is my first real crack at one of his games. I’ve always wanted to get into the Metal Gear Solid series, but the stars have never aligned for me to do so. Ever since the fallout of Kojima and Konami to the announcement of the game at E3 2016, all I ever thought was “what’s the big deal here?” while everyone else was dancing their pants off. All I got from him is that he likes to go big and over-the-top while naming his characters way too literally. Regardless, I wasn’t entirely sold on Death Stranding until a few weeks before its release. By the time I pressed start, I still had no idea whether or not I was going to like “a Hideo Kojima Game.”

After trying out Death Stranding for myself, the verdict is I like it. The scary part is that I think I INCREDIBLY love it, and the reason that is scary to me is that I want to do everything this game has to offer. I want to do every premium delivery, earn every absolutely pointless star and I don’t care because I love…delivering packages. I love sorting everything as best I can and keep them clean for the drop off. I’ve played almost 30 hours of this game and I am still on Chapter 3. I just refuse to mainline this game because it is such a disservice to the world that has been made.

Even with all the things I love about this game, there are an equal amount of things that I hate about Death Stranding. I still can’t even say much as to what I think of the story. The stealth mechanics are terrible, even coming from a developer that practically invented the genre. Specific areas of this gorgeous world are just designed for you to want to bang your head against the wall.

While I equally hate what I love about this game, what I love about the game wins at the end of the day. So I will keep playing it slowly but surely, probably until the end of next year along with everything else that 2020 has to offer. I will finish this game; I will complete everything possible because I want to feel that satisfaction and I will likely write a very long article about that entire experience.

Until then, it doesn’t feel right to rank it on my 2019 list. I have no idea where I’m going to be at with everything once the time credits roll. All I know is, Death Stranding is one of my favorite games that I will never play again, once everything is said and done.

10. Creature in the Well

Creature in the Well is the first game from developer Flight School Studio, which focuses on an engineering droid known as Bot-C who awakens from a deep slumber in an endless storming desert. Coming across a small village with a lifeless power plant, Bot-C ventures inside to restore the plant while evading an unknown creature that lurks in the dark. Known as a “pin brawler,” Bot-C travels through different dungeons that involve pinball puzzles.

By charging energy cores and batting them at bumpers I solved engagingly fun puzzles that helped me restore the plant to its former glory. It is a straightforward but challenging experience that makes me want more of that addicting gameplay. Knowing this game was created by a two-man team makes me applaud it even more. Creature in the Well left a lasting impression, and I will be keeping my eyes on what that team is working on next. The game has one of my favorite art styles of this year along with atmospheric music and environments, making it a favorite of mine in the indie sphere of 2019.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Creature in the Well.

9. Control 

Within the first couple of hours of playing Control, I was enthralled with everything about it: the world, the lore, and the aura, which is one of my favorites in any video game. It is beautifully made and feels haunting no matter what part of the bureau that you are exploring through. Being able to throw debris at enemies and levitate across platforms is incredible fun, even if the combat as a whole is pretty one-note.

At first, Control shot up to my Top 3 games of 2019, but as the game progressed and more of the story was explained, I felt like it fell to shambles. By the time I hit the end of Control, it didn’t feel like there was a proper “ending” to the story. It felt like a “to be continued” moment for the game’s upcoming DLC, with the number of things from the main story that didn’t get resolved. Even though the game didn’t entirely land on its feet, I still love the premise of what Remedy brought to the table with Control, along with its fun combat.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Control.

8. Borderlands 3

After waiting far too long since Borderlands 2, Borderlands 3 hit all the right notes for me except for what I was looking forward to the most, being the story. In Borderlands 2, I was so blown away by how strong a narrative that Gearbox was able to create in a universe that was so explicit and self-aware. Ending on a cliffhanger teasing the departure of Pandora to travel the galaxy for vaults on other planets encapsulated me, but I was worried about what was to come, especially after the end of Handsome Jack.

The story that was served in Borderlands 3 is such a disappointment on every level, but that doesn’t mean the full package wasn’t still great. With the amount of the quality-of-life changes made in Borderlands 3, the franchise is at the best place that it’s ever been. It is the first entry where I want to play as every Vault Hunter, just because all of them stick out so interestingly.

Even though I don’t get to play in co-op often, when I do it is some of the most fun that I have ever had in gaming. Gearbox may not have gone in the direction that I wanted with its story, but I love shootin’ and I love lootin’, which is exactly what Borderlands 3 is truly about.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Borderlands 3.

7. Indivisible

Indivisible is one of the few games from that come back to my mind of the most memorable gaming experiences that I had in 2019. When I reviewed it, I said that it was hard to put into words how I feel about the game, and up to now that is still true.

It has my favorite art direction of any game in 2019, all handcrafted and beautifully detailed. There’s a vast and unique set of party members that you can recruit into battle (including a lightning dog!), which gave me nearly endless ways to execute combos. The platforming is incredibly satisfying on so many levels, and it’s easily my favorite in the genre this generation. The story presented makes you truly consider the consequences that you might bring onto others based on the choices that you make.

There is very little about this game that I don’t think works in its favor. Give it a shot.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Indivisible.

6. Pokemon Sword and Shield

Pokemon was the first gaming franchise that I fell in love with. To this day, whether or not I am anticipating the newest mainline entry of the series, I will always pick it up and play the latest installment.

Earlier this year, I wrote about how the franchise has been a far off memory from what it once was back in the first three generations. For the longest time, there was nothing in the recent Pokemon entries that brought back the love I once had, until I played Pokemon Sword and Shield. When I found out that Nintendo was moving away from a handheld-only platform with the Switch, I finally thought we would be getting a new title similar to Pokemon Coliseum or XD Gale of Darkness back on the GameCube.

While Sword and Shield isn’t particularly that, it feels like what a modern-day Pokemon game should be. I’m always going to like the grindy old school versions more, because that is what Pokemon is to me. But with the incorporation of the Wild Area, being able to run into Pokemon from any generation and the variety with which they show up feels fresh. I can run into a Snorlax and then walk a few steps into a Drapion.

I know that a lot of people within recent years have criticized the series for having random encounters, which I still think is a weak criticism being a turn-based RPG, but I like how Game Freak was able to appease all players in that sense. This of course just speaks to the number of quality-of-life changes that Pokemon Sword and Shield made to make the series more accessible, combined with its great new setting. The Galar region–while on the nose a little bit too much–has a fascinating backstory, and how the legendary Pokemon Zacian and Zamazenta fit into that story is much more interesting than previous generations.

Pokemon Sword and Shield may honestly make the best changes that have ever been done in the entire franchise. The best part is, I’m not even finished with the game yet. I’m only five badges in as of writing this, and when I’m not playing Pokemon, all I’m thinking about is wishing that I was, which makes me so enormously happy. The only reason it isn’t higher on my list is that it is still just more of the same (which is not a bad thing at all).

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Pokemon Sword and Shield.

5. Baba is You

I’ve never been a huge fan of puzzle games. There are specific titles in the genre that I live and die for, but as a whole, I don’t go out of my way to play them unless they’re recommended to me. I heard great things about Baba is You and after hearing about its concept, I wanted to try it out. By playing as this rabbit-sheep thing known as Baba, you move words around changing the effects of items and environments around you. I can change a wall into water, or I can change my playable character to a rock instead. All of the game’s systems are new and cool.

Baba is You happens to make me feel like a complete imbecile the majority of the time that I play it, and I love every second of it. I will spend an hour trying to figure out a puzzle and not feel fatigued of my efforts, just stupid. Why is that ok? Well, it’s because after all the trial and error that I ensue by the time I figure it out and win, I can’t help to think that all that time and investment was worth it. It’s one of those puzzle games where you want to YouTube how to beat a specific level just to progress, but you refuse to do so because you’re doing the game dirty and you want to figure it out yourself. It makes me want to feel validated by beating every level so I can say “I beat Baba is You.”

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Baba is You.

4. Fire Emblem: Three Houses 

It is crazy how in-depth and detailed that Fire Emblem: Three Houses is. It includes a massive suite of fleshed-out characters that you get to learn about and build them the way you want to utilize them on the battlefield, or you can let them do whatever they want. While teaching my students, I found out pretty early on that I could recruit kids from the other two houses over to my house (Golden Deer REPRESENT), taking them away from the other house leaders. However, knowing that there are technically four different routes that you can choose from in this 60+ hour game, I decided to stick with my original house members to focus on them because they were in the house I chose for a reason, and I didn’t want to sacrifice their characterization for other unassociated students.

Developer Intelligent Systems decided this time around to get rid of the weapon triangle, which isn’t a bad thing per se. But in previous Fire Emblem titles, I felt more inclined to use every character as equally as possible, and with the absence of that long-running franchise mechanic, it also made the combat feel slightly less engaging. I haven’t gotten to finish Three Houses yet, but with the amount that I have played so far it is probably, in my opinion, the best first-party title on the platform in 2019.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

3. Disco Elysium

If I had to make an unbiased, objective choice for Game of the Year in 2019, it would have to go to Disco Elysium. It is simply one of the most well-written games I have ever played (and there is A LOT of writing). Throughout every conversation I have with an NPC, I learn something about them or the world that exists around me while I’m trying to solve a crime about a man hanging from a tree. Each character I interact with has great charisma, and I feel like that fits into the city of Revachol as a whole.

At the start of the game, your character doesn’t know who he is, so you’re figuring it out along with him. As an RPG, your skills speak similarly to how your brain sends messages to you before you decide what to say out loud. Depending on how you build the detective, you can attempt skill checks to get the information you want, whether it is with charm or force. It is all so intricate and fascinating that I wish I had more time to play games, because it is another that I have yet to hit the credits for.

That being said, everything that I have experienced up to the point that I am currently at has been innovative and gripping. I can’t wait to go back to explore more of Revachol and find out its mysteries along with the murderer.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Disco Elysium.

2. Kingdom Hearts III

Oh god, here we go. Listen, Kingdom Hearts III…no matter what people thought of the game whether you loved it, liked it or hated it, it never would have met anyone’s expectations. After waiting almost 15 YEARS it could have been everything fans wanted and there would have still been backlash.

When it comes to me, I loved it. Were there issues? Of course. But where the game succeeded is where it truly matters to me. Kingdom Hearts is about friendship, caring for one another, making connections and how those connections lift us. Even though I think that Nomura could have structured the game better instead of shoving everything that we’ve been waiting all these years for in the final act, I think it delivered in the end. Kingdom Hearts III, especially with being such an acquired taste to many gamers, could have been A LOT worse than people were making it out to be. Even then, it is still a great game, even if it isn’t the great game that everyone wanted.

The combat is exactly as you’d expect from a mainline Kingdom Hearts title (although I wish they kept Limit Commands). There are numerous quality-of-life improvements made, like being able to upgrade your Keyblades and transferring them over to new game saves. Square has already added the much-beloved critical mode and is releasing a patch where players can modify exactly how they want to play through the game.

Kingdom Hearts III is great, and the upcoming Re:MIND DLC seems to be adding a lot of things that fans wanted originally in the main package. There is much still to look forward to as a Kingdom Hearts fan, and I’m incredibly excited to see where Nomura takes me.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Kingdom Hearts III.

1. The Walking Dead: The Final Season 

The final season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead can be — and to a degree is — a reprise of the first season, but it is so much more than that. It is a game that teaches you valuable lessons in parenting and how to build up children as they take your place as the future of humanity.

Playing as Clementine one last time felt like a chapter of my life was coming to an end. I’m not a parent yet, but seeing this young woman grow from the girl she once was into a motherly figure must feel similar to watching your own kid in the same way. This was also the first time where I felt like I could build Clementine into who I think she is as a person. I loved that there was an option to romance someone for those who see her having a partner, but I loved it even more that I could decide Clementine doesn’t need that, because she has AJ. She has always walked her path up to this point that way.

Throughout the game you are teaching AJ important lessons about life. These lessons may be focused on the reality of living in a post-apocalyptic world, but they all translate into normal life as well. Constantly I saw myself being presented with challenging questions of morality on what AJ should learn, and constantly I sat by myself in an empty room questioning my choices over and over, just because I didn’t want my choices to affect his decisions poorly. Even if Clem and AJ were partners throughout the story, at the end of the day, he is just a kid who was born into this world that doesn’t know what it is like to be a “normal” child like the other children that he meets, and it is Clementine’s job to show him what is right and what is wrong.

I experienced a vast variety of emotions playing through Clementine’s final chapter. I laughed, cried, cheered, and applauded due to the wonderful, frightening, and heart-wrenching moments that occurred throughout. But it wasn’t just a sendoff for the series, it was a bow of respect to Telltale; the old Telltale who started it all. With everything that the studio went through, it was an utter joy that Skybound was able to bring back a portion of the original team to finish the game. I was continuously invested in the story and characters, not even including Clementine. By the time credits rolled, I was crying ugly tears while smiling cheek-to-cheek.

All I have left to say is thank you. Thank you to every single person who had a part in making The Walking Dead a reality, whether it be the final season or any season prior. Thank you for creating one of my favorite characters in any medium and thank you for telling her story…Clementine’s story.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for the final episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season.

Check out the rest of the DualShockers staff Top 10 lists and our official Game of the Year Awards:

December 23: DualShockers Game of the Year Awards 2019 December 25: Lou Contaldi, Editor-in-Chief // Logan Moore, Managing Editor December 26: Tomas Franzese, News Editor // Ryan Meitzler, Features Editor  December 27: Mike Long, Community Manager // Scott White, Staff Writer December 28: Chris Compendio, Contributor // Mario Rivera, Video Manager // Kris Cornelisse, Staff Writer December 29: Scott Meaney, Community Director // Allisa James, Senior Staff Writer // Ben Bayliss, Senior Staff Writer December 30: Cameron Hawkins, Staff Writer // David Gill, Senior Staff Writer // Portia Lightfoot, Contributor December 31: Iyane Agossah, Senior Staff Writer // Michael Ruiz, Senior Staff Writer // Rachael Fiddis, Contributor January 1: Ricky Frech, Senior Staff Writer // Tanner Pierce, Staff Writer

December 30, 2019 10:00 AM EST

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