#I haven’t played Bugsnax and I know little about it

[nomgeonmunchie]

How about bungee from Bugsnax? (Even if the answer is fairly obvious..)

[beelikesbirds]

hi wow i’m finally making an intro post!! my name is jess (or bee or whatever other variation of my url that you want i suppose)! welcome to my blog! it’s mostly reblogging things but i have been making original posts more and more lately <3

ok i’m putting everything else under a cut bc i don’t want to be too long LOL

fandoms i’m in/general interests:

- the magnus archives/protocol

- ace attorney

- red dead redemption 2 (i haven’t played the first one yet i’ll get around to it eventually i swear 😭)

- bugsnax

- stranger things

- psych

- ducktales

- pokemon

- many MANY other things that escape me at this moment!

i write sometimes!!! i haven’t actually finished anything in forever but i have a couple of original stories in the works that i’m sort of obsessed with so those will probably see the light of day at some point (please know that if you ask about them you WILL be opening a can of worms whether you wanted to or not LOL)

i also draw! rn i’m mostly just doodling and practicing and such bc soooo many little people live in my head but alas i do not have the skills to get them out yet. you may see some of that if it’s ever where i want it to be as well!

i’m sort of completely awful at starting conversations (even with people i know well) BUT that doesn’t mean i don’t want to talk to people!! forever the anxious introvert’s dilemma. i’m trying to get better i swear. anyway, all this to say my inbox and dms are always open if you ever want to chat! :))

[bugswapau]

A Handy-Dandy Guide to the Cast’s Regional Dialects

A couple people have asked me how the cast would sound in the AU. So, I figured I’d give my go on how I imagine the cast would sound! Bare in mind I don’t know Literally Every Regional Dialect In The World, so I might word things wrong. It’s a bit of a long tangent, so I’ll put it under the read-more to spare everyone’s dashes of my accent jargon.

Filbo: In the base game, he has a General American English dialect (to avoid repeating over and over again, a General American English dialect means a pretty standard American accent with no real quirks here or there). I imagine in this AU, he sounds the same.

Ripley: I actually made a video on my primary Bugsnax blog about what I imagine my OCs would sound like, Ripley included. My voice claim for them is Haley Joel Osment, so hopefully that gives a good idea of what they’d sound like!

Triffany: In the base game, Triffany has a fairly pronounced and noticeable Midwest accent (I'd say a mix of Minnesota and Milwaukee-Wisconsin accent). I think she would have a slightly gruffer accent in AU, something closer to a Boston or New Jersey dialect. It would probably match her tougher, more cynical personality.

Cromdo: In the base game, Cromdo has a thick ‘Eyyy-I’m-Walkin’-Here New Jersey/New York accent. It would go unchanged in the AU.

Wiggle: I’ll be honest and admit I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’d classify Wiggle’s accent to be. Sure, it’s a posh-sounding dialect, but which dialect specifically is beyond me. British? Californian? Beats me. Either way, I imagine she’d sound about the same, maybe a little softer.

Gramble: In the base game, Gramble has a southern accent. More specifically, he has a mid-southern Cajun accent. In the AU, he’d sound about the same, albeit it a posh sort of flamboyance to it (I’d say something similar to Dolly Parton).

Wambus: Like Gramble, he also has a southern accent, but specifically an Appalachian accent. In the AU, he’d sound about the same.

Beffica: In the base game, Beffica has a classic Californian “valley girl” accent, and it’s no different in the AU. It’s all about the brand recognition, baby!

Chandlo: Like Beffica, Chandlo also has a Californian dialect, but more similar to a “surfer”/“dudebro” sort of accent. But surprisingly, in the AU, it’s a lot different. I wanted to give him an accent that was European like Snorpy’s, but still has that Californian edge. The easiest answer? SCOTTISH. Tragically, I have no idea how to write Scottish dialogue, so just imagine his dialogue with a Scottish accent.

Snorpy: Snorpy is an inverse on Chandlo’s accent change. Instead of a Californian becoming European, he’s a European (more specifically, a British person) becoming Californian. He’d sound pretty similar to Sonic the Hedgehog (who, coincidentally, his voice actor played too), but with more maturity behind his voice.

Shellsy: As Shellsy isn’t doing the whole “Shelda” jargon in this AU, she’d have the dialect she does in the parts of the game where she breaks character (which I have to assume is also American General English? But I could be wrong).

Flooftix: When in character, Floofty maintains their canonical British accent, only heavily exaggerated. But out of character, they drop the accent, having a similar Californian dialect to Snorpy.

Lizbert: In the base game, Lizbert has a rough Australian accent. In the AU, I imagine it’d be downplayed, almost British-sounding, to match her more reserved personality.

Eggabell: Last but not least, Eggabell! She has a American General English accent, and it’d stay the same in the AU.

So, there you have it! If you need resources on how to write the cast’s dialogue, or even how to portray it in comic dubs, now you know! Hope this is of help.

[j4zz4lop3]

I just made up an an amazing au for bugsnax but it doesn’t make sense to anyone but me hvgfbgg

It’s objectheads btw, and i haven’t decided on all of them. So far I’m pretty confident snorpy would have a landline phone (expertly inspired by the song touch tone telephone by lemon demon) when he got flustered, angry or just overall emotionally charged the phone would ring really loudly, he would also use it to communicate with the journalist *imagine him holding the talking part up to where his mouth should be*

Chandlos head is a basketball, he keeps loosing it because he uses it to practice (btw all of their heads can be lifted up and used as the actual objects they are, they’re just levitating above their bodies) when you first meet him he doesn’t have it, the quest about retrieving his balls would be called “don’t lose your head” ( i know very clever of me) and only at the end would he put it back and reveal what it meant

Floofty has one of the classic objects for a head: a computer. Their speech is like a text-to-speech program, and everything they say is also written in text on their screen. Facial expressions are also written out next to the text as emoticons, for example:

>I’m having fun! :D

>ahhh, the goggles! they do nothing! >:O

Triffany has a floating skull, closest thing to a head you can really get here but still not really one, it clacks when she speaks, and since they cant move their bottom jaws the top part moves up and down, not in the usual trashcan with a hinge grumpus way tho, imagine the canadians from south park (this makes her pun possibilities so much worse, damn you triffy, damn you and your mom jokes) (also i bet you someone stole it once to make a Shakespeare joke) (it was probably wiggle, she seems like the one, if not just triffy doing that herself)

Cromdo has a cash register, the payment for the broken bridge goes in the drawer, whenever he has an idea he really thinks can work the drawer pops out and he subconsciously goes *ka-ching!* also i like to think that the loose coins would rattle inside of him

Wiggle has a record player, fully functional one, plays records you put in. Plays her own records in there. Once again she sounds like her voice is coming from a vinyl record. And like the others that have their own emotion based quirks i think when she’s scared or shocked she makes a record scratch noise.

Wambus is a watering can, filbo and beffica stuck some stickers on it so imagine glittery cats and yellow smiley faces stuck on there, as a little bonus since i don’t have much to say here he drinks by pouring the snakwater inside of it from the top

Shelda would have a potted plant which i though of mostly because of the flower crown she wears, i think based on her emotions the flower would be limp and down or up and flourishing, it curls up when she’s meditating, the type of flower would also adapt to where she was actively living, in sizzlin sands she has a desert flower but when she moved to snaxburg it became a regular pansy flower

Lizbert has a compass, which instead of pointing to north, points twoards eggabel because i think it’s cute.

Those are what i could think of right now, if you have any good ideas lmk and if i make up something else that’s good or really like the ideas I’ll make another post

[gensuta]

GAMES WITH TRANS/NONBINARY REP!!

Happy pride month!! I love playing video games so I thought it'd be neat to share the many many games I've played with nonbinary and trans characters >:3

Sorry in advanced I’m copying and pasting stuff from twitter ;v; Also know that many of these games ARE on consoles, but if you buy them on pc/mac use itch.io if it exists. It gives devs more money!!

VALIDATE!!  There's a demo on Steam and Itch.io that you can play RIGHT NOW and also a patreon you can support and I highly suggest it ^o^ It's a lovely VN with several playable characters and rlly good writing

Extreme Meatpunks forever is so SO good omg. It's a VN/mech brawler where u be gay and fight fascists!!! Trans and nonbiney ppl are out here being badass af. The game has cws/tws built into the game ( which i love sm ) Also there's a ttrpg on Kickstarter RIGHT NOW!! 

Another game with nonbinary characters is an rpg called Ikenfell! It was one of my favorite games to play last year and the music and just everything? Honestly so good I'm def replaying it this year. It also has tons of good accessibility features!

ok but i wanna geek abt ikenfell just a smidge more  U DON'T UNDERSTAND 3 OF THE PLAYABLE CHARACTERS ARE NONBINARY <333 The strongest playable character also uses ze/zir pronouns and I think that's pretty epic

Ok so like literally every game I've played by @analgesicprod I've loved 100% And Anodyne 2? Everyone should go play it and I will keep saying it until everyone does. And yes there's a trans character in it <3 Drem my beloved <3  Go check it out!!

Another game studio I love is @pillowfightio !!! They worked on Later Alligator, We Know the Devil, and Heaven Will Be Mine. I highly recc all of them but esp. Later Alligator cuz like just look at Joanie. They're so cool.  

In the game Everhood gender doesn't exist <3 Literally multiple characters are referred to with they/them pronouns and the gameplay is very enjoyable 

 CW LOTS of flashing lights and I feel like there should maybe be more cws but I'm not sure what else to add :l I guess a warning is that Everhood gets into more serious stuff and I'll be honest when the game first came out I had to put it down for several days b/c I just wasn't ready for a lot of that stuff, but I honestly liked the game a lot!

I was debating on adding this bc while I love this game there's some issues. So Gnosia is like werewolf ( or among us if you will ) but more narrative focused with time loops etc. There's two wonderful nonbinary characters and you can be nonbinary HOWEVER ( minor gnosia spoilers. skip past if you want to avoid it) . . . For some reason finding out the AGAB of one of the characters is mandatory and I fucking hate that. It's so unnecessary esp for the world building that's been done. Also tws for the game: sexual abuse / assault, gore ( in only one scene ) (spoilers end) but yeah I still added it because the characters are so neat and strong for the type of game it is and without that bit I wouldn’t feel so :/ abt recommending it. It’s pretty fun ngl

Wandersong!!! The main character is nonbiney and I love them <33 It's such a lovely little musical adventure with such a nice narrative and!! Some of the devs just released Chicory ( which I haven't gotten to play yet ;v; ) but check that out too!!

Bravery Network Online is super fun!! It's a turn based rpg that feels really good and has two characters that use they/them pronouns ( Fel and Reed ) the character designs are sooo good and the game is currently in early access!

I never thought I'd see a claymation point and click musical featuring a nonbinary detective but Dominique Pamplemousse is just that Need I say more?

A personal fav I think about every now and then is Dad fighter 30XX!! Like who doesn't wanna beat up their friend's shitty dad in the parking lot of a dennys?? Also the win music is my FAV

SPIRIT SWAP!!! By @SoftNotWeak !!!! Super chill and pretty game by lovely people with a demo you can play right NOW!! This game makes me want to become a strong magical thembo

More games I’ve played, but am too lazy to ramble about

ROM:2064 ( game is amazing but i got mixed feelings tho bc the og devs aren't getting paid for it I think :/ )

A Year of Springs

Secret Little Haven 

A normal lost phone

Calico 

Celeste

Hollow Knight

Undertale

Deltarune

Monster Prom / Monster Camp

Hades ( all of supergiants games slap btw )

If Found

Here’s games I haven’t played but have heard about

Bugsnax

Diaries of a spaceport janitor

Hustle Cat

Tell Me Why

Our Life

Last Minute Love

Black Tarot

Apex Legends

World of Warcraft has trans npcs :0

Dragon Age Inquisition

Sky, Children of the Light

TemTem

Battletech

Death and Taxes :0

Flicker :0 ( roblox games do count! It’s always cool to see what ppl make in it )

Assassins Creed Syndicate has a trans npc

Verdant Skies

Wandering Wolf Trick ( I love nomnomnami’s games sm but haven’t played this one. Highly reccommend her stuff )

If you have any games you wanna add to this PLEASE please do and I'll add them!! And while you're here please support the Queer Games Bundle going on itch rn to support tons LGBTQ+ game devs financially (including me ) <3 Last little edit for now: I’d def suggest trying to find cws/tws for these games just in case I haven’t covered everything for the ones I did talk about <3

[thegalleonsnest]

DUNGEONS & GRUMPUSES

You bet I just drew the Bugsnax crew playing D&D! This was something I sketched out a few weeks ago but finally got around to it! Haven’t done a large piece like this in awhile, especially with so many characters! I tried drawing each Grumpus with different pieces of cosplay that tell you how committed they are to the game. These are just random little headcanons for how I think about them playing D&D.

I’ve got a whole list written out for each Grump’s class they picked and why, so keep reading if you wanna know who’s who!

Starting from the front left to the back, you got:

Filbo; Sorcerer: He’s trying his best while working with a slightly below averaged charisma modifier. He doesn’t play often, so he’s gets confused about what he can do and how to properly build characters, but he’s learning.

Wambus; Paladin: He pretty new to it, so decided to go with the simplest one that was all about being good. Mainly followed Floofty & Snorpy’s instructions on how to make a good starting character. Triffany; Wizard: She’s just as new to playing as Wambus, but hopped on board super hard after learning that you could be a necromancer. Loves getting into character. Gramble; Druid: After raising his barn full of Snax, felt natural to play as a class close to nature itself. He had friends who were into playing D&D, but rarely participated and just watched. Mainly acting as support rather than being front and center. Wiggle; Bard: It’s pretty self explanatory lol. She spends more time playing music & setting the tone during sessions, but surprisingly, she’s super into role playing. Cromdo; Warlock: When something stinks of opportunity, why not take advantage of it? Even if it means making deals with various demons/gods/whatever is willing to make a blood pact with him for some easy riches? Used to play back when he was way younger, but life became a bigger factor.

Beffica; Rogue: Gotta get that perf dirt without getting caught, you know? Might take advantage of the party, who knows? Barely had any interest in playing, but why not use this opportunity to learn some things about your local residence?

Shelda; Monk: She’s more of a pacifist, spreading the word of Mother Naturae, and still spouting metaphors and riddles. She has no idea how to play, but she’s surprisingly effective at confusing any NPC for whatever reason. Eggabell; Cleric: Resident doctor is your resident healer of the party. And managing a party of 12 in a campaign is stressful as heck. Might crack under pressure deciding who to heal. She’s always liked fantasy stuff, so of course she still had some props for cosplay should could use. Elizabert; Barbarian: Adventurous and reckless by nature, so it was an obvious choice for her. Usually the one to start attacking without asking too many questions. Used to play a lot of D&D back in high school, so she can get pretty into it. Barrowed some of Eggabell’s old cosplay material for a sweet ’tume (If you get that reference, you’re a legend) Snorpy; Artificer: Veteran D&D player; grew up playing with Floofty. You gotta have your engineer on the team to think outside the box (and correct you on the rules constantly and make sure your dice rolls are correct). He likes dressing up for the part to really get into it. It’s the few times he is actually calm and having fun. Chandlo; Fighter: Plays with Snorpy from time to time. As long as you have the highest constitution & strength modifier, you can take the hits and throw them back at them pretty hard. His Wisdom is pretty high for a Fighter as well. Teams up hard with Liz & Wambus to protect the group

Floofty; The DM: Veteran as well, and yes, they would totally be the one to run a D&D campaign as way to run “hypothetical” experiments/test that would otherwise be rejected if performed in real life. I would also think just because of their personality, they would rarely ever be a player because of the number of disagreements that would come up during normal play with other people, unless it’s with a good group that knows each other.

[shwoo]

I’ve been feeling really exhausted over the past few years, but I’m beginning to feel a bit better, and who wants a fanfic status update!

Too bad, I’m doing it anyway!

I have a Pokemon anime fic about Rotom Pokedex that I posted a little over a year ago on AO3, and I have an Adventure Time Reverseworld fic that I haven’t posted anywhere yet. Despite saying I would, like, months ago. I will post those... soon. I hope.

But mostly I wanted to talk about the ideas for fanfics I’ve had over the past year. I haven’t spontaneously had ideas for stories from new fandoms for a long time, so this is really novel for me! I doubt I’ll get to all of these, though.

Outer Wilds

(Outer Wilds is hard to talk about because of how sensitive it is to spoilers, but I’m not going to try to avoid bringing up the time loop here. It’s so well-known it’s part of the game’s marketing. I wasn’t even interested in playing it until I found out about the time loop. I won’t mention the second thing everyone knows about the game’s plot, though)

-The protagonist goes to the other travellers for help with the game’s events, and ends up bringing them all into the loop as well, with their permission. Most of the detail in this idea is around the protagonist bringing the others to the statues (They were going to bring one of the statues to Riebeck, but Riebeck wanted to see the Black Hole Forge, so the protagonist was like "Okay, don't throw up in my spaceship), but I have tentative ideas for an ending.

-The protagonist goes to the endgame area, but something else happens instead of the usual ending, and they go back home and everything's fine. Nothing in the loop actually happened, although everyone remembers it, as a single 22 minute span of time where sometimes contradictory things happened. Except Solanum is alive now, which the protagonist doesn't even realise until she shows up on Timber Hearth with Riebeck. I really just wanted everything to be okay, but for conflict, the protagonist is dealing with returning to normal life after the time loop, and whatever happened at the endgame (it's not clear at first, and they don't like to talk about it), and Solanum is dealing with everyone she ever knew being long dead. So neither are having the greatest time.

-At some point after the protagonist's first launch, where nothing unusual happens and no time loops are triggered, Chert and Gabbro explore the Stranger. They've just found the secret rooms, and what the secret rooms do. They then get spooked, Chert more than Gabbro. Really, these two characters are just fun to bounce off each other. (First draft partially written!)

Psychonauts

-After the events of Psychonauts 2, Raz and Lili go into Raz's mind to fix his water phobia, because he still doesn't seem to be able to go into deep water without slapping himself out of it with his hydrokinesis. He has a big top and a Whispering Rock in there. And he’s got a pretty good helping vs making things worse record at this point, right? (Detailed outline partially written! (Very partially!))

-Augustus's experiences as a child during the Deluge of Grulovia. He's gone through a lot of nonsense even just going by canon. Poor kid.

Bugsnax

-An expansion on the scene in the game where the journalist eats a Strabby and discovers that they're allergic. Anaphylaxis is involved. The word grump is said multiple times. Pretty short, but working on it helped remind me that writing can be fun. (In the final stages of editing!)

-Floofty writes a research paper they know they can't publish in a field they dislike for its fuzziness. It's about the effects of Bugsnax on Grumpus behaviour. It lays out everyone's personal business, which Floofty knows about because the journalist helped them with it, and doesn't really come to any conclusions, but it does have a bunch of my headcanons in it.

Encanto

-After the events of the movie, Mirabel suddenly has super-sight, like she's always had it. So, long after accepting that she doesn't need to have superpowers to have worth as a person, she now has superpowers, so she has to deal with that. And Alma has to deal with it as well, very soon after accepting that her family's worth isn't in their superpowers. The idea came when I was thinking what Mirabel's Gift would be if she'd got one. I knew her getting a Gift after the movie would go against its themes, and I'm very glad that didn't happen in the movie, but I just decided to lean into it.

Or maybe I just wanted a stargazing scene with someone with super-sight.

"Open your eyes. Abre los ojos. What do you see?" "I see... the Galilean moons."

Crossovers

(Or: I just want to have the Outer Wilds protagonist interact with the other things)

(Outer Wilds/Psychonauts) The Outer Wilds protagonist is on Psychonauts Earth for some reason, and has amnesia, probably for some other reason. Fortunately Raz is there to go inside their mind and look around. I imagined this from more of a game perspective than a writing perspective. There's a hub area with a campfire in a pine forest at night, and the different planets appear as the astronaut remembers the traveller on them, and they each focus on a different aspect of Outer Wilds’ story. Parts of the story ended up getting much realer than I intended. I think that might just be a side effect of Outer Wilds.

-(Outer Wilds/Bugsnax) The Outer Wilds protagonist and the journalist from Bugsnax hang out in a room together and are sarcastic at each other for a bit. They've played each other's games somehow. This one is really aimless, but it's got some lines that I like. They interview each other for lack of anything better to do, and the astronaut steals all the journalist’s questions.

[sukipershipper]

Can you spill some of ur bugsnax hcs?

I assume you mean with the characters, in which case, Yes of course!  Bear with me though that all of these are going to take place Post-Snaktooth Island. I might do some headcanons on what happened on the island but for now take these.

(SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE END OF THE GAME, I also apologize for it being so freaking long...I actually did not intend on that)

FILBO

They all lived in a small but very prosperous town, said town doesn’t have a name cause Mun isn’t creative enough to make one yet

After being elected Mayor, Filbo had learned to become more assertive with others. His role as Mayor of the small town involves him doing a few small tasks, like cleaning up the streets or helping with lessons at the schools

Other times however he is brought into meetings to plan celebrations, opening new buildings and ways they can develop the community.

His meeting council includes Floofty, who is always helping him out in terms of his decisions.

His office has all of the trinkets and maps from Liz’s adventures, as well as pictures of everything they did on Snaktooth and all the pictures she and Eggabelle have of each other.

Filbo constantly sends out letters in bottles to Snaktooth in the hopes that Liz and Egg will find it and write back. He is still waiting on a response from them

When he gets bored, he often just draws in a spare journal he has. He does this in meetings or when he’s at a lunch with the others

He had a statue of Liz and Egg made and placed in the center of the town to help remember them and what they stood for

WAMBUS/TRIFFANY

Wambus and Triffany live in a small country home just outside the town next to the beach and a small grotto. 

The place has a large amount of land for Wambus to start a farm with all sorts of sauces. The beach they live next to has a big cave with all sorts of secrets that Triffany is willing to discover.

Reconnecting with their kids has been a challenge, seeing as they left quite abruptly. The kids did eventually start coming around though.

Wambus is a very good cook, lots of people headcanon it and I headcanon it too. The man can make a mean roast. Only reason he never did it on Snaktooth was because the food was already walking around so he had no need to.

Triffany may look like a stick but she’s actually quite strong. On the same levels as Wambus and Chandlo? Maybe not. But she has punted several people before.

She is also very unconventional in her methods, resulting in lots of Scars and broken bones. Wambus had tried bandaging her up before but after failing 15 times he just called Floofty.

Speaking of Floofty, the couple have a very good relationship with the scientist. Floofty often helps Triffany with collecting samples or attempting to help Wambus with growing crops, though those attempts often result in Wambus yelling and Triffany trying to calm her husband down.

FLOOFTY

Floofty now teaches at the towns school, they’re a very talented professor and many of the students they teach have delighted in their work. Though other teachers find the methods very...unconventional.

Though Floofty is still quite cold hearted to most of the grumpus’ they have learned to be more cheerful towards certain Grumps. One of which being Snorpy and the other being their students.

Many students ask how Floofty lost their leg, to which they reply: That information is irrelevant, but if you truly wish to know then speak with the Mayor

When Not teaching they’re usually helping Snorpy out with anything involving the Grumpinati. Though they aren’t really of much help considering their methods

They definitely are considered a cannibal, Floofty was once seen carrying an arm (no one knows if that was theirs) and took a little nibble of it...then spat it out and complained that it was too salt

They are always helping Filbo out in terms of his mayoral duties.

GRAMBLE/WIGGLE

Gramble and Wiggle share a small little two story home in the town. The house is decorated with all sorts of flowers and different patterns on the fence

While Wiggle is always busy touring, playing music, Gramble became the local veterinarian for the town. His experience with the Snax actually prepared him for the animals. 

He also has a small little puppy, ten times better than any of the Snax he had

Gramble still does keep pictures of Sprout around his room, as much as he hated knowing he harbored a parasite in his home, he still missed the little guy. (I am fully convinced the one at the end though was Sprout)

He and Wiggle began dating right after they settled into the house together, believing that it was much needed change for the both of them.

Gramble knits sweaters for Wiggle since she goes out touring so much, he also knits plush versions of the Snax he kept back on Snaktooth. It was the biggest mistake he made, cause now he envisions them staring at him and wanting to murder him

Wiggle always tries to help him when it comes to his nightmares. Playing white noise or ASMR videos so he can go to sleep

Her songs are very well received and she has quite a lot of publicity. Do The Wiggle is still one of her best selling numbers, but she has some love for her other pieces too.

She is always asked to sing at events by Filbo, and of course she never says no. One of her favorite things to do is get one of the kids to come up and sing Do The Wiggle with her since it’s one of the best songs in their opinion

She has a ring box tucked away in her dresser, she’s waiting for the right moment to pull it out on Gramble and propose

CROMDO

Cromdo is doing much better in life, opening up a successful karaoke bar and gets quite a lot of business from some of the guys in town. 

He also showed the less serious side of himself a lot more, and once he let down such a defensive guard he was able to get further in life, albeit he still has a long way to go

He and Beffica still don’t get along, but they’re on better terms than they were back on Snaktooth 

He hasn’t completely dropped his ways though, he’s still a big old Scumbag (and we love him for it). Often he tries to make a profit off something miniscule like an old bottlecap. 

Though Cromdo is still a scumbag, he helped Filbo and Buddy set up Filbo’s campaign to get him elected

Cromdo still tries stealing Triffany’s stuff and Wambus fucking yeets him all the way into town. How he has no broken bones from that is still a mystery to everyone.

BEFFICA

Beffica is now a photographer for the local newspaper, probably not a good choice in many of the Grumps opinions

She is however much better than she was on Snaktooth, and does have a small friend group outside of the Snaktooth Island group

Her old friend group has tried getting in touch with her but she’s very reluctant to talk to them again

Many of the older grumpus’ have basically adopted her because she’s still very shaky after everything, they didn’t expect her to be so shaky but life is surprising.

Her favorite person to go to though is Triffany, for the pure fact that she and Triffany just talk about guys and it’s the best chat ever

She and Filbo are on much better terms, and she may or may not have some feelings hidden for the new Mayor but we will never truly know

She and her ‘Bestie’ go out for Boba tea all the time, a truly fun experience for the both of them

CHANDLO/SNORPY

Chandlo takes Snorpy out on morning runs all the time, he’s proud that his bro is taking baby steps into letting the outside world embrace them

Oh, Snorpy is also He/They now, I honestly feel like it fits them

Snorpy and Chandlo moved to a small little apartment complex for now. The home is very quaint and the two have little designated areas for all the stuff they have.

They also had to make room for Floofty as the sibling insisted on staying with their brother for...reasons

Chandlo goes to library a lot to learn new techniques to help Snorpy, but he also secretly reads up on articles about the Grumpinati in the hopes to help Snorpy destroy them one day

He and Floofty have made a strong pact over the fact that Snorpy must be protected at all costs, no exceptions

Snorpy is a lot more open about what he does now, often asking for advice from Chandlo about his inventions and whatnot.

Neither of them are good cooks, they both try but both almost always burn the complex down so they just ask Floofty to do it

Snorpy actually bruises very easily, he is a literal tomato. So he doesn’t always participate in many physical activities but he does try his best

When Snorpy does bruise, Chandlo goes into full panic mode as he doesn’t know how to tend to wounds. No one ever told him that you can put ice to make it go down quicker

They are married, they have all the paperwork signed and the rings to prove it

SHELDA

She does still go by the name Shelda as people aren’t quite used to calling her Shellsy Woolbag

She actually took up dating when she encountered an old friend of hers, such friend does not have a name because as stated before, Mun is not creative

Shelda has a lot of books and meditation CD’s in her shelves, she also has a Tape Player so when she goes out on walks she can listen to some of the best audiobook readings

She and Floofty get a long a little better, sometimes Floofty will give her insight as to what the world is to THEM and Shelda shares a funny story in return, one that does manage to make Floofty laugh surprisingly.

People don’t often see her get out much, possibly because she’s always busy writing up her experiences and whatnot

She is Buddy’s comfort and the one that they room with currently, she is actually very good company believe it or not

She and Buddy also love writing little stories together as practice for her next book, and they also exchange drawings and doodles they’ve done over the course of the day.

And that’s pretty much it! 

[poliel]

Surprise Egg Chapter 1/13: Morning After

This is actually the 2nd chapter of this fic. However, the first chapter won't be posted here on Tumblr because it's smut. If you are 18+ (and only if you are 18+, please and thank you) feel free to go read it over on Ao3. As I'm sure you can probably guess from the title though, Buddy ends up pregnant in this fic so heads up on that.

~

Buddy woke sore and achy but comfortable too. They were… cuddling with Filbo, half laying on top of him, their head resting on his chest, arm draped over his middle while his arm lay across their back, lightly holding them. He was purring softly, his chest lightly rumbling with it. A wonderful way to wake up except for the fact that the only thing separating them from lying on the cave floor was a few blankets and a sleeping bag. Despite that and their hunger they remained still.

The moment was too good to ruin yet. How likely were they to ever wake up like this with him again? Depends on if he wanted yesterday to mean anything or if he’d just been helping them because he was a good friend like that. And then there was the fact that Buddy would leave eventually. With how things were shaping up that probably wouldn’t be for a long while though. So they weren’t going to think about it anymore. Instead, they nuzzled their face into Filbo’s fur, it was so soft and nice.

His relaxed purring stuttered to a halt. “You awake Buddy?”

Oh! They’d assumed he’d still been asleep because if he’d woken up, wouldn’t he have gotten out from underneath them? Apparently not. Now Buddy could maybe stay silent and pretend to still be sleeping but they’d already given themself away so… “Mostly, yeah.” They didn’t move yet though.

“Good morning then. How are you uh… feeling?”

“A little sore and stuff but otherwise good. You?”

“Uh… same actually.”

“Thanks again for helping yesterday. I appreciate it.”

Filbo hummed an uncharacteristically thoughtful acknowledgement before falling silent. Buddy let him think, just enjoying the warmth and his closeness. … They had things to do though, important things, including solving a mystery and finding a missing person; the biggest story of their whole life, let alone career. And they’d already wasted so much time thanks to their heat and then sleeping it off. So they really needed to…

“Now that you’re uh… in a less compromised state, do you want to talk about it?”

Buddy took a breath to ask what ‘it’ was but… yeah, he was referring to last night and whether or not it meant anything for their relationship. With a sigh, they sat up so they could look down at him. The look he returned was one of disappointment and sadness, quickly hidden.

“Yeah, I thought so,” he said as sat up too and put his smile back on. Looking down, he fidgeted with his paws. “I understand. I’m not really…”

“Filbo!” Buddy’s tone was sharper than they’d intended but at least it drew his gaze back up to them. “I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“Yeah but…” he shrugged. “I’m just glad I could help, really. Especially with everything you’ve been doing for me and the others. It means a lot, especially getting them to come back to town in the first place.” He stood up and brushed himself off, seemingly totally okay with letting the whole matter go.

Buddy however was willing to do no such thing. So they hopped up to their feet, ignoring how the aches in their body protested to such a movement. “I was hormonal and thus all kinds of emotional and affectionate last night but I meant everything I said.” They placed themself right in front of Filbo. He looked a little unsure but he didn’t step back from them so that was probably a good sign. “You really are amazing and cute and lovely.” They were mostly just fumbling, saying whatever came to mind and hoped it was good, but they weren’t going to let this opportunity go. “And I like you a lot so if you want yesterday to mean something, it can. I want it to.”

“Oh… uh… um… okay. All right.”

“See how easy it is to just talk about things?” Though honestly, Buddy was surprised about how easy that had been too. Surely romantic relationship should be harder than that, right?

Filbo chuckled as he lifted a paw to rub the back of his neck. “I guess, yeah. Does that mean I can uh… kiss you again?”

“Of course.”

They were standing so close Filbo barely needed to even lean in to do so. It was surprisingly sweet and chaste considering how passionately they’d made love to each other yesterday. Buddy wanted lean into it and insist more but… “We should probably go back to town now. I gotta eat something and then go hunting for everyone else.” They’d been too busy being distracted by their oncoming heat all day yesterday to do any bugsnax hunting, making it the third day in a row they’d been away from town so it was probably time they fed everyone again. And then they had to go back to searching for their story and convincing everyone to return to town.

“All right, let’s go.” With his signature bright smile, Filbo took Buddy’s paw and led the way out.

“Why you’d come looking for me here anyway?” Buddy asked as they exited the cave. They weren’t going to question the good fortune but they’d chosen this place because they hadn’t thought anyone would come by.

“Well uh, Beffica told me you might need my help out here. And she wouldn’t say what kind of help or anything, just that I should go look for you out here. I uh… take it she knew then.”

“That’s not surprising.” It was Beffica after all so she probably both knew Buddy was in heat and that they’d only have accepted help from Filbo. The question was had she intentionally been trying to play matchmaker too? If asked she’d probably deny it, regardless of the truth. Not that it mattered much anyway.

~

Before returning to Snaxburg they washed up in the river a bit. They’d cleaned up last night but had been too exhausted to do a fully proper job of it. As a result they were both damp as they met up with Beffica at the town entrance.

She snapped a photo of them before approaching. “Hey Bestie and Filbo.” Her usual way of making Filbo’s name sound like an insult was toned down for once, a nice change for sure. “How’d it go?” She smirked, giving both of them an expectant look. Oh, she’d definitely intentionally set them up on purpose. Buddy appreciated it but…

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” they replied in their best neutral tone as they hooked their arm through Filbo’s, not letting him stop or slow down to talk to her even if he wanted to.

They brought him to the center town before stopping and disengaging their arm from his. “I gotta go now but I’ll see you later, ‘kay?”

“Are you sure? Don’t you want to rest for a little bit and eat something?”

“I can just eat on the go.” The distraction of walking made the experience of downing the ketchup sauce in particular less awful. Also, they’d already wasted more than enough time as it was. “I’ll bring you back something good though.” They’d always done so whenever they could anyway. So really not much had changed. … Or well, maybe it had.

Because they could now and because there was no way they could keep their relationship a secret for any significant length of time so they might as well put it out in the open sooner rather than later, Buddy stepped in and gave Filbo a quick kiss on the cheek before running off.

***

Feeling warm and fuzzy inside, Filbo lifted a paw lightly rub where Buddy had just kissed him as he watched them head off towards the desert. It was almost hard to believe they were now actually… together. They were so competent and strong. And rather good looking too. It was almost impossible not to…

“What do they even see in you?”

Filbo flinched as he snapped around to see Beffica had approached. He took a breath to defend Buddy’s choice in being with him but… “I don’t know.” He was clumsy and weak, physically most of all but definitely mentally too.

“Well at least you admit it. Still though, I suppose I’ve seen couples far less suited for each other. So… I’m happy for you. Enjoy it while it lasts.” And with that she was leaving.

Warm fuzzies gone, Filbo sat on the log bench with a sigh. She was right about that too; it wasn’t going to last forever. Eventually Buddy would have to leave to publish their story. And living off sauce had to be pretty miserable even if Buddy never complained about it so expecting them to come back after they published their story, especially for a long time, would be no fair. So this whole thing could only be temporary. … Unless he went with them when they left. Hmmm… that was something to think about later. For now, he would just do as Beffica said and enjoy it for however long it lasted.

[if-the-crown-fits-translate-it]

Discord pt 43

[Date: 23/02, 04.05 PM - 05.01 PM GMT]

fetch: “oh hey guys I’m not dead or brainwashed from last night lol”

fetch: “yeah like??? I read back on the muted chat and I legit don’t remember that happening

all I did yesterday was nap and play bugsnax”

jaynoblade: “fetch... you made a tumblr post about it

give me a second, i’ll show you”

fetch: “no CROWN made a post from my account. I was it already”

jaynoblade: “oh... that explains the red”

boo: “pardon, crown has access to your account?”

fetch: “I saw that I also sent baron an ask but I don’t remember that either

look I don’t know if he does or not

I mean he obviously did for I thin a little bit? maybe I should change my password”

jaynoblade: “that might be a good idea”

fetch: “if it makes yall feel any better mona is off work today and last night she said she'd be keeping an eye on me

I get yall were worried about me but take it easy on her she literally could not leave her job lmao

I dont think Walmart is gonna take "my friend is about to get brainwashed by an enderman thing" as an emergency leave excyse”

fetch: “And yeah just. be careful calling her king, that sounds way too close to a court member. if you're gonna refer to her like that, spell it like k1ng”

fetch: “so like! i'm not dead that's good! :]

i don't know what weird game crown was playing with me last night”

jaynoblade: “crown's always playing games with all of us, so an extra one comes at no surprise”

fetch: “man I was having such a good time jamming to tunes too

server admins work hard but groovy bot works even harder/j”

fetch: “anyway sorry if yall saw my half-asleep ramblings in the doc, I'm trying to form some sort of chronological order of events”

jaynoblade: “that's valid! sometimes it's hard to remember things”

fetch: “anyway i. i had a little bit of a thought yesterday. yknow before the whole delerious screaming because of a music box song thing. but its a pretty far stretch so I don't know if it'll help if I toss this into the ring”

jaynoblade: “oh?”

fetch: “i was thinking. the dreamsmp loves their greek myths right? the whole theseus thing, pandoras vault, etc etc right. i think crown and this court is sort of like the hydra”

fetch: “i fell out of control (a head gets cut off) and chat and page are still up there (two grow back in its place)"

fetch: “ what if we try to release someone else from control, but that just gets more people hurt"

[boo: “we gotta burn the cut head yeah?" ]

boo: “ that's how the hydra was defeated"

fetch: “i always thought he pierced the heart? killed the whole beast rather than just one head

thats where I was going with this metaphor anyway

that crown is the heart of the hydra”

boo: “ huh you're right, i just thought that lessening the heads would help w getting to the heart"

jaynoblade: “he burned each of the heads until it was reduced to one, and then either stabbed it in the heart or cut off the final head (which was immortal, and which killed the body) and buried it under a rock. myths don't agree"

boo: “yeah"

jaynoblade: “but yeah, lessening the heads would definitely help with getting to the heart”

fetch: “oh ok"

jaynoblade: “ or the final head, whichever version"

boo: “i don't know how we'd burn it though”

fetch: “maybe something to do with the crowns?"

jaynoblade: “ i don't know either

hmmm maybe”

fetch: “crown is very insistent that they keep their circlets on

odd that I didn't have mine- er, knight's when I woke up in the woods”

jaynoblade: “ ....so do you think that you took it off, and that's why you woke up?"

Denora: “Hmmmm, maybe it got snagged on a branch? It might've been unintentional...”

fetch: “if it's really that simple, I think prince would have done it already. you remember that whole "doesn't want to be in the family" thing at the start of all this?"

disks and the color red |Stars: “maybe someone took it off for you"

fetch: “I dont know. on one hand, crown seems very confused that i got free. on the other, I don't think he'd be so careless with something so important.

i dont think they just "come off"

regardless, im also worried for maxwell. he's still just as under crowns control as is was. only difference is he hasn't come around

and the fact that he did it because i got taken.”

jaynoblade: “he did, once. it was only for a few minutes, but we had him back

and then he was gone again"

fetch: “...so he's still in there

its not too late

that. makes me feel a little better.

look maxwell may have been a bit of a prick who kept antagonizing crown even after we asked him to stop but he was still one of us and he shouldn't be working with crown. the last thing maxwell would want is to give the "pissbaby" (his words not mine) more power"

jaynoblade: “not sure about the other court members, but.... they've been there for much longer, and we haven't had as long with them”

fetch: “there might be time to save the other court members too. even prince. baron seems the least of concern for now since he's went to crown and actually confronted him multiple times now with seemingly no consequence.

and when I say confront I really mean its like 2 or 3 times not he's said that he was gonna ask crown something”

jaynoblade: “yeah definitely

but then again.... crown’s had him even longer than prince”

fetch: “despite that he seems pretty low on the food chain...”

jaynoblade: “he really does, and there’s probably a reason for that

maybe he’s overall harder to control or something like that”

fetch: “probably

maybe he's the "you're not my real dad you can't tell me what to do" type”

fetch: “or maybe. hm.

maybe he's leaving baron alone to make prince happy

they are best friends after all”

jaynoblade: “....that could be completely possible”

fetch: “if prince sees crown hurting baron that would be a mega fuck up on crowns part”

fetch: because they're loyal to crown but childhood friendships run deep

boo: or maybe baron's just not that big of a risk

fetch: yeah maybe that too

also during my reading back I saw what jayyy and a couple others were planning. not a fuckin fan at all if you ask me”

fetch: “trying to "summon" crown or sacrifice yourself for him is in no way shape or form a good idea

just because I broke control doesn't mean everybody can”

fetch: “and if you just flat out say "if I get yoinked feel free to use me for information" then thats just? not going to make crown take you if he knows you're gonna do that?

or at the very least he's gonna keep you in the dark

he isn't stupid. he knows where information is supposed to be.”

fetch: “and- let me reiterate- getting taken is NOT FUN. it isn't something you can just make weekend plans for and act like you or anyone else won't be affected once you're done with your little "experiments"”

[People continue to discuss how fetch might have gotten free and to k1ng’s house for a few minutes more.]

[theirrationalzone]

My Top Ten Games of 2020

Let’s just address the giant elephant in the room from the offset: 2020 has been one giant mess of a year. Every event, every major moment this year just felt like the worst case scenario every time.

For a lot of us though, there was one saving grace: video games.

2020 has been a damn fine year for video games. From the return of certain classic franchises to some amazing new entries and experiences. Gaming really managed to thrive in a year where other entertainment mediums such as films and television struggled.

Let’s dive in and take a look at some of the games that made this year a lot more bearable:

10: Watch Dogs Legion

I’ve had a soft spot for Ubisoft’s hack ‘em up franchise for quite a while. I didn’t think the original was as disappointing as it was made out to be and I thought the second one was an underrated gem. When Legion was first announced, I liked a lot of what the game was setting out to do but I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger on getting it. I decided to give the game a chance in the end and I’m glad I did.

Legion might suffer from the same pitfalls that have plagued other Ubisoft enterprises, but the recruitment mechanic is one of the coolest systems I have seen in any game ever. The fact that you can recruit any NPC that you see on the streets of London and use their unique talents to complete your objectives is just an awesome thing in and of itself. Its depiction of London is also incredibly fun to explore and cause mayhem in. While I found the writing to be pretty subpar, the game quite buggy and the whole PS5 upgrade fiasco a farce, I still found Legion to be a fun open world experience overall.

9: Resident Evil 3

Resident Evil has been on a real hot streak as of late, hasn’t it? Ever since Capcom made a promise to its fans that the Resident Evil series would go back to what made it so popular in the first place, the series has gone from strength to strength. Last year saw the release of the RE2 Remake which was absolutely excellent in that it kept the spirit of the original while also taking a few liberties of its own. It was only a matter of time before RE3 got the same treatment and well... it did.

I’m just going to spit this out. It’s not as good as the RE2 Remake. It didn’t need to be though. I still think this is a good game that provides a satisfying and fun survival horror experience. It carries over a lot of the elements that made the RE2 Remake such an excellent game and in certain areas (especially the writing) it makes a few improvements. Plus the game looks absolutely stunning thanks to the RE Engine. It is quite short. It is missing quite a bit of content from the original game. It definitely isn’t as replayable as the RE2 Remake. I still had a blast with it though overall. If this really is a blip for the Resident Evil series, then it must be in a really good place right now.

8: Tell Me Why

Dontnod Entertainment have fast become one of my favourite developers in the industry right now. When I first played Life is Strange back in 2015, it felt like a revelation. It weaved a fantastic story with characters you genuinely cared for and took you to a place you never wanted to leave. I’ve enjoyed all of their other ventures since then such as the underrated (if quite janky) Vampyr and Life is Strange 2.

Tell Me Why is another venture that fits the Dontnod MO: A grounded emotional story with slight supernatural elements, a degree of player choice and a setting that makes your jaw drop. The major difference here is the game’s attempt to portray a transgender character. That’s nothing new in and of itself. It’s more the fact that it attempts to accurately portray a transgender male character which is a bit of a rarity in all forms of media. Transgender portrayals (from what I’ve seen) tend to focus on male to female rather than female to male.

I’m in no position to comment on whether the portrayal is accurate or not, but I got the impression that Dontnod really went out of their way to get this right. Their FAQ explains that they worked with GLAAD and the voice actor to get it as right as they could. That alone deserves huge praise, but I also loved the Ronan Twins’ story as they dealt with their harsh past and the uncertain future. The game was a delight from beginning to end and it just looks absolutely gorgeous to boot. Dontnod have done it again.

7: Bugsnax

One of the early delights of the last generation was a little ditty known as Octodad: Dadliest Catch. It was a fun little physics based affair which cast you as a octopus masquerading as a human. The game had a terrific sense of humour and it was just bloody fun to play. Young Horses (the developer of the game) kinda went dark after that. They only really resurfaced to release two bonus levels for that game and then they just disappeared again. Now we know why that was the case...

Bugsnax retains some of the qualities that made Octodad such as a memorable game. A great sense of humour and a unique gameplay hook. You play as a reporter sent to the mysterious Snaktooth Island to interview an explorer called Elizabert Megafig who has discovered these unusual creatures known as Bugsnax. After crash landing onto the island, you discover that Elizabert and her significant other have gone missing. It’s up to you to find out what happened while also documenting and capturing Bugsnax for yourself. Capturing the Bugsnax is a big part of what makes this game such a delight to play. As you unlock more tools to play around with, you can come up with different strategies and methods to capture these weird snack based creatures. It’s pretty awesome. Throw in a lovable set of characters to interact with and a beautiful environment to explore, and you’ve got one of the most lovable games released this year.

6: Mafia: Definitive Edition

The last few years haven’t been too kind to the Mafia franchise in my eyes. I really wanted to like Mafia III when it came out back in 2016. It was a sequel I waited years for and it did have some good qualities such as an excellent story that dealt with some pretty heavy topics, solid gameplay mechanics and an amazing licensed soundtrack. Unfortunately the game had one of the most tedious and boring gameplay loops I think I’ve ever seen in an open world game. It just got so dull after the first couple of hours.

This year saw the announcement of the Mafia Trilogy which was to be a celebration of the entire franchise with a remake of the first game, a remaster of the second and a re-release of the third. Half of this was botched with the remaster of II being poorly put together and the re-release of III receiving a broken patch. Things were looking grim for the remake...

As you can see by it being in this list, we were proven wrong. Mafia: DE is a fantastic remake that pays good lip service to the original while also expanding on certain elements. The story which follows the rise and fall of cab driver turned wiseguy Tommy Angelo is more fleshed out with new sequences and character moments that weren’t in the original. Gameplay still retains the solid shooting and cover mechanics of Mafia III and the driving feels absolutely excellent especially when you put it in simulation mode. Lost Heaven is just gorgeous to behold as well with its bustling neighbourhoods and beautiful countryside. I hope this is the beginning of a redemption arc for Hangar 13 and the Mafia franchise. There is a lot of promise to build upon from here.

5: Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise

Anyone who knows me personally or has followed me on social media for a while knows that I’m a big fan of Deadly Premonition. The 2010 cult survival horror hit pretty much encapsulates why I love video games with its lovable hero, an eccentric cast of characters and surprisingly solid mechanics considering the budget it was made for. It was definitely more than the sum of its parts.

When I found out that a sequel was being made exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, my jaw hit the floor pretty hard. I thought any hopes for a sequel were dashed when SWERY left Access Games (the original dev), and yet here we are. A Blessing in Disguise is a brilliant sequel to the zany original. It captures everything that I loved about the original game to a T while also improving in certain aspects. The story is more ambitious this time with it being both prequel and sequel. A lot of the gameplay elements have been improved. The combat benefits from better aiming controls and an upgrade system for both York and his weapon. Getting from A to B is less wonky (and more fun) thanks to the addition of a skateboard rather than a car.

While I do still think the original is better due to the more creative side quests, the more challenging difficulty and the fact that it functions better from a technical perspective, I’m still a big fan of DP2 and it deserves your attention. Here’s hoping that it makes its way to other platforms in the future.

4: Ghost of Tsushima

This last generation has been good for Sony and its Worldwide Studios. In the last five years, they’ve managed to produce hit after hit after hit. A definite far cry from the first year of the PS4 where they produced some dire exclusives. Infamous Second Son was one of these. Sucker Punch’s first effort on the console was very pretty and a good technical showpiece for the console, but as a game, it was boring and dull. I couldn’t even muster the strength to finish it. The standalone expansion First Light was a huge improvement in my eyes. It cut out a lot of the fluff from Second Son. I knew then that Sucker Punch would eventually give us something amazing. They certainly did in the end...

Ghost of Tsushima is honestly one of the best exclusives that Sony has ever produced. Giving us a brutal tale in the vein of a Kurosawa flick where samurai Jin Sakai is forced to betray his code in order to drive out the Mongol force that has enslaved his homeland; we have a story that is genuinely gripping from beginning to end with an incredibly powerful final duel to boot. The combat is incredibly fun with a brilliant combat system that is easy to pick up but challenging to master. Duels especially show the combat system at its finest. Upgrading your abilities genuinely makes you feel incredibly powerful as you begin to decimate enemies left, right and center. Stealth is solid giving you plenty of tools at your disposal and certainly changes up the gameplay a fair bit. Did I mention that Tsushima Island is one of the most aesthetically pleasing locales in any game to date? Well I’m saying it now. It is one of the most beautiful locales in any game to date.

I’m very excited to see where this new IP goes in the future because this first entry is just incredible. A must buy if you own or plan on owning a PlayStation 4 or 5 in the near future.

3: Astro’s Playroom

Memorable pack-in exclusives are a bit of a rarity nowadays. The last one that sticks in my mind is Wii Sports, and that was a long time ago.

Astro’s Playroom serves as the pack-in title for the PlayStation 5 as it is pre-installed on all units. It’s also my favourite exclusive for the console so far. The main reason for this is that Astro’s Playroom evolves past being just a tech demo for the console and its fancy new controller. It actually is a fun little platformer in its own right. It offers something different with every level. In one level you can transform into a giant ball and attempt to navigate some pretty tight platforms, and in the next, you take control of a rocket ship and navigate through corridors while also avoiding bombs. There is great variety here and to be fair, it shows off the potential of the new DualSense controller fantastically.

Plus the game is just one giant love letter to the PlayStation brand and the games that made it what it is today. You’ll see references to obscure PlayStation paraphernalia such as the Multitap and UMD discs, and also games like Final Fantasy VII and Silent Hill. The final boss of the game in particular is one giant callback to something you might remember if you got a PlayStation 1 back in the day. I won’t say any more, but it made me yelp in joy when I saw it. If you plan on getting a PlayStation 5 in the future, make this the first game you play. You won’t regret it.

2: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2

Activision have been on a roll in the last few years with the revitalisation of some of their classic franchises. Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon for example have enjoyed newfound success thanks to the excellent N Sane Trilogy and Reignited Trilogy. When it was revealed earlier this year that Vicarious Visions and Beenox would be resurrecting the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise with a remake of Pro Skater 1 and 2, my heart skipped a good few beats.

The Pro Skater franchise means a lot to me personally as I have very fond memories of putting hours into 1 and 2 when I was a kid. Going through the Career mode with each skater, learning the gaps and getting used to doing manuals when they were introduced in 2, it’s all ingrained into me. I’m happy to say that this is probably the best remake I have ever played. It perfectly captures what made those first two entries so special. Each level is beautifully recreated with a ton of new details that serve to enhance these levels. The soundtrack includes all of your old favourites like Goldfinger’s Superman and Rage Against the Machine’s Guerilla Radio along with some fantastic new tracks like Less Than Jake’s Bomb Drop.

The gameplay definitely taps more into Pro Skater 3 and 4 territory with Reverts and Flatland tricks included. These tricks don’t feel out of place and the game does give you the option to play it legacy style if you want. It feels magnificent overall though. The physics are pitch perfect. Creating lines and large combos is still as addicting and rewarding as ever. Online leaderboards certainly tempt you to reach for the stars if you’ve got the ability. Career mode isn’t particularly long, but the pretty robust Create-a-Park editor and solid multiplayer suite should keep you coming back for more. I’ve already put dozens of hours into this and I have no intention of stopping anytime soon.

If my number 1 entry on this list didn’t exist, this would be my Game of the Year. As it stands though, this is a very close second.

1: Doom Eternal

How do you follow up one of the best first person shooters in recent memory? Basically turn everything up to eleven and then some. Doom (2016) was such an eye opener when it launched. It gave everything we could have ever wanted from a new Doom game: a whole planet full of demons to kill and some big guns to help them back to where they belong. It was awesome and an easy choice for my GOTY back in 2016.

I anticipated Doom Eternal with bated breath. The excitement was building but the nerves were building with it. How could it live up to the previous one? What if it makes the same mistakes as Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus? Thankfully my worries were unfounded as soon as I loaded up the game and was thrown straight into the fold with a Combat Shotgun and some entry level demons to destroy with it.

Doom Eternal is the FPS genre at its absolute finest. The levels are much bigger with more secrets to find and loads of demons to kill. Said demons are much more plentiful in their ranks and they move faster too. Fortunately enough, you have a huge arsenal to deal death to these demonic denizens from the depths of Hell such as the starter Combat Shotgun, the Plasma Rifle, the Ballista and even a giant sword known as the Crucible. Enemies now have weak points to exploit as well which can turn the tide of battle and it rewards accuracy. Before you know it, you’ll be entangled in a ballet of bullets, beams, blood and guts (HUGE guts mind you.) This game makes you feel like a hero at the end of every fight. It’s so satisfying.

Toss in a soundtrack that will get your blood pumping and your goosebumps raising along with environments that will make your TV or monitor look like a window to a scorched earth, and you have my Game of the Year for 2020. Well deserved for sure. I really need to get on that DLC.

To those of you who actually took the time to read all that, you have my heartfelt thanks. I really appreciate you reading this and I hope my choices made sense.

To those of you who just glanced at each entry and skimmed through the text, I don’t blame you for doing that. I still appreciate you taking a look anyway.

All that’s left for me to say is that I hope each and every one of you has a safe holiday season and I hope that the New Year will be better for all of us.

I’ll see you all in 2021. Stay safe and well, folks.

[rebornghostgirl]

💢💢💢💢💢!!!!!!!

Contained censored cursing. Zom!Athena Au is used. Zom!Athena is close to irl me... So i will be reacting to how I normally would and say... I say lots of bad words... Sailors seem like angels compared to me... Also bugsnaxs spoilers. Itll make sense when you read...

Zom!Athena was usually mild mannered and kind. She can usually take a lot and when provoked usually only results in a smart mouth. But not today...

It involved a failed peer review from a team of scientists rejecting her latest scientific discovery: the ecology of Never Fairies. Claiming that magical creatures "are not real".

"BULL****!" She yelled while sitting on the couch. Avery Richman leaned over right beside her.

He sighed. "Got rejected? Why would they reject that?"

"I... I... F***!" She boomed as she threw the papers across the room. It hit the wall and tumbled down unceremoniously taking down a vacation photo with it.

"F***! F***! F***! F***! F*********!" She grinded her teeth and punched her legs.

Avery hugged her not knowing what else to do. The awkward silence coupled with the fuming fat living dead girl made him just confused.

"I exist... You exist... F***ing Mickey Mouse exists!" She hissed, her southern accent coming out.

"You met my Dad, Redleaf! You took pictures with him. A tiny fairy in your hands. What more proof do they f***in' want?! Are you s***ing me?! Really, Mother f***ers'?! Are you f***in' s***in' me?!" She broke free from his embrace and angrily picked up the papers and replaced the photo back up.

She mockingly read it out loud. "Despite how well written it is, we cannot accept facts about fantastical creatures at this time. And your title of a supernatural biologist is simply made up. We recommend you put your talents into the science fiction genre."

Avery winced over the last line. "You may want to speak to a higher up about that. They may just have a hard time accepting fictional characters becoming real."

"They accepted bugsnaxs like no f***ing problem. And bugsnaxs are parasitic f***ing gremlins not beneficial helpers like never fairies. No classification, no on bothered to make a phylogenetic tree for them. Nor figure out their real origins beyond what we know. They just gave cute widdle names... F*** outta here, man."

Avery picked up his car keys and his coat as she kept fussing.

"No speciation, no word on reproduction, no evolutionary history, nothing! Just f*** all nothing! Just.. "This is a strabby!" AND?! THE F*** DOES IT DO?! And don't get me started on the Island of Chew-and-swallow!"

Avery gently held her hand and pulled her away. "Let's get some food. You haven't eaten today. How about we grab some hibachi and have a picnic, eh?"

She sighed and took a deep breath. "Aight... Ok! Let's go."

It was a lovely day to go to the park. The sun was shining, big fluffy white clouds making shapes as far as the imagination could muster, the sky was beautiful blue, bright vivid flowers, and soft grass made the scene. The couple decided to eat near a river next to a playground where kids happily screamed their heads off having fun!

Apparently, another team of scientists and their rich donors also thought it was a nice place to eat today. A young hotshot strolled over to the couple smirking.

Both Athena and Avery's eyes began to narrow.

"Hello, Dr. Richman..." He said mockingly.

Athena growled. "I am Dr. Fallington! Avery did not work for this degree, I did... I am to be called as such."

"Oh Im soooo sorry. Nice to know that the disaster of a paper you wrote was completely your own doing..."

Avery chimed in. "Young man, You better show some respect..."

"Or what, Boomer... Gonna bore me to death about trains?"

"Boomer?!" Avery gasped. "I'm not that old..." He muttered.

Athena got in front of the hotshot's face. "Listen here, you little s***... I'm five seconds away from going complete apes*** on your a** if you don't quit it. You and I both know that as more as fiction merges with reality, supernatural biology will become more and more important. So... Kindly take five steps back, turn around, and f*** off!"

She sat back down and shoved some chicken and broccoli in her mouth.

"Well..." The hotshot said. "Still... Good luck on finding anymore grants for your fanfictions. But judging on your chubby chasing sugar daddy, maybe if sell your body he'll shell out enough for you..."

In five seconds flat a 298 pound girl was on top beating the everliving s*** out this fool.

"WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" was her war cry as she tackled him to the ground. The kids stop playing and began cheering for her.

"すごいです!"

"Awesome!"

The other scientists rushing over. And Avery trying to peel her off.

"Try me again, b****! I bet you think that you can insult me! And how that s*** is cute. I'll shove your head up your a** for you! I'm sick of you b****! I'm f***ing sick of you!" She shrieked as she punched him.

Avery finally managing to wrap his arms under her shoulders and hoist her off. "Snap out of it!"

The hotshot now dishelved mess coughed.

"This is why you zombies need to go back to where you belong, in the dirt... Take your ancient husband with you."

At that remark Avery let her go. "Nevermind... Have at him..."

Everyone else did nothing as she once again released her fox frenzy of fury upon him.

When Athena was tired. She and Avery bailed the scene before the police arrived with the kids running back to play.

Athena slammer the car door shut. "Let's get the f*** outta here... I... I think I'm good for now..."

[nightcoremoon]

why does console generational discourse bring out the absolute worst humans

I have an xbox one and plan to buy a ps4 and switch when I have the financial ability to. when I was little I had a nintendo 64 and a ps1 for a brief period of time. but I spent my formative years, my adolescence, with a gamecube and a ps2. then I briefly had a ps3. and when I was an older teenager I had an xbox 360.

regardless.

the nes/5200/colecovision began the 90s and modern video gaming as we know it today

Mario. Zelda. Kirby. Metroid. Contra. Castlevania. Earthbound. these are the games that Gen X played. this is the gen x console generation.

the genesis/commodore/7800/snes capped off the 80s and ushered in the 90s

I can guarantee even some millennials don’t remember some of these but that’s probably because the 7800 and commodore weren’t that great. but everyone knows the super nintendo and sonic. no matter how old you are. toddlers today know about the super nintendo and sonic. but these is still the console generation that is specifically associated with millennials.

the 64/jaguar/saturn/ps1/3d0/amiga/neogeo in the 90s

if you’ve never heard of half of these you’re not a fucking millenial. atari sega commodore and SNK haven’t really made a console since then and it’s because they weren’t great consoles with good libraries and that’s why they fell into obscurity and failure. but at the time they were beloved, and still are. sega consoles were the lifeblood of millennials, not zillenials. and so was 3d Mario, 3d Zelda, goldeneye, donkey kong, banjo, resident evil, silent hill, metal gear solid, symphony of the night, final fantasy 7, crash, spyro… yes you’ve probably played these if you’re a zillenial or zoomer but that’s because these games are all classics beloved by everyone but in these cases you’re an adult or teen going back in time. you were not a literal actual child who remembered a time when these games didn’t exist. this is the console generation that is associated with millennials and zillenials.

dreamcast the awkward one in the late 90s, rip, only remembered by millennials and the lucky few zillenials who had parents or older siblings who had them

ps2/gamecube/xbox1 in 2000

the older half of zillenials and some millennials who happened to have money and like video games who bought these as adults but didn’t spend their childhoods with them, had these. smash, halo, kotor, half life 2, god of war, okami, shadow of the colossus, the wind waker, games that NEWSFLASH, EVERYONE LOVES REGARDLESS OF WHAT GENERATION THEY’RE FROM. literally everybody had one of these. but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re still specifically associated with zillenials because it came out during our childhood. not millennials. zillenials.

ps3/xbox360/wii in the mid-2000s and early 2010s

the younger half of zillenials grew up with skyrim, bioshock, modern warfare, resident evil 4 HD, all classics nowadays but at the time they were all so far beyond technological breakthroughs they blew everyone’s mind. and zoomers were all either a) not alive or b) in diapers for the first half, and actual children in the second half. which means that this is the console generation that is most associated with them. not the prior: this one. not millennials.

wiiU/ps4/xboxOne/switch in the mid to late 2010s

the transition between zillenial and gen z is a blurred line but it takes place in the 2010s so the older gen z and/or gen z with older siblings and the younger zillenial and/or zillenial with younger siblings are gonna be the ones most associated with bloodborne, breath of the wild, splatoon, overwatch, and stardew valley. except zillenials and millennials also play those games. fucking oops.

ps5/xbox X in the 2020s

the generation after gen z is gonna grow up in 2020 and on, so the ps5/xbox X is going to be mostly associated with them because they’re the ones growing up in a world where elden ring, bugsnax, and starfield have always existed

the buffer generation between millenial and zoomer is a separate entity with some overlap, and until you get that through your thick fucking skull there’s no point being an insufferable ass to content creators online because your personal definition of what generation you identify as is different than their definition, besides being a dick.

[goddamnmuses-a]

Dan’s Playstation 5 Reveal Analysis

Alright so first off, if I say something bad about a game you care about.. It’s just my opinion, although tbh they were all pretty decent games so.. yeah.. Just gonna give my thoughts on stuff, Idek if anyones interested I just feel like doing it. Maybe have some conversations with people about it. 

Okay let’s do this.. Under Cut cus long.

GTA V

It’s a ps3 game, cool that the online is free when it comes to PS5 but like..it does just feel like Rockstar paid to have this mentioned and they just shrugged and quickly shoved it at the front of the presentation to get it over and done with before starting for realsies. 

Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Now this isn’t their Spider-Man 2, this is a side game like Infamous First Light was a side game but I love the PS4 Spider-Man it’s one of my favourite games and I know I’ll love this one too so yeah, real solid start. Makes me realise I need more Miles Morales in my life. 

Gran Turismo 7

I played Gran Turismo back on like.. maybe the Playstation 1, honestly Car games just aren’t for me but in like my first initial reaction to the whole reveal I said that there’s games for basically everyone, if you like a specific type of game there is a game for you and car nerds have this. Looks visually stunning though. 

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

Looks stunning, so much happening and really good at showing the power of the Playstation with the travelling to different worlds instantly so quick. I grew up on Ratchet and Clank and I am down for more! I wish it had a dirtier name like Rift A Whole or something to go with the vibes of Up your Arsenal or Quest for Booty or Full Frontal assault.. but looks great! 

Project Athia

Games with the word Project in the title we don’t end up seeing for ageeees but visually it looks stunning, I’d like to know more about it but we’ll just have to wait and see. 

Stray

I have no idea if this is a linear story or a wide open world game or anything. The world looks amazing, robots and fun Grafiti art hinting at a really dark past but yeah Stray cat sim looks cool. I just wanna know more about it but it’s for sure on my to watch list. 

Returnal

Terrible name.. but the game’s story seems somewhat interesting, I thought it would be a first person horror space game with survival elements but then the gameplay seems like a third person bullet hell type thing, honestly it’s not for me but I’m sure there’s some people hyped for it. I’m also a coward so too spooky 4 me. 

Sackboy: A Big Adventure

I like Sackboy as a mascot, same with Ratchet and Clank actually, and I actually really enjoyed Little Big Planet, I never really messed around with the creation aspect of it, I’d like to know if that’s still in the game or if this is simply a platformer type game that you can also play with your friends, either way I might get it but with all the other games around, maybe not. Great if you’re a parent who wants to play something with your kids though!

Destruction Allstars

Honestly.. I haven’t played a Destruction Derby game since like the PS2 and I am so ready for one, I like the whole being able to get out of your vehicle aspect too, seems like a really new and fun idea and take and I’m down to play. I kind of hope it’s free to play with like paid customisation options, like Fortnite, because then I can Just play it for free and people can work out if it’s for them or not. 

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

OHMYGOD THEY ARE SO CUTE THEY KEPT MY BOLD ON! No but this game looks gorgeous and kind of like a Pixar film but in the best way. It’s like a mix of Pikmin, Horizon Zero Dawn and Zelda and I am sure it’ll be probably quite liniar maybe with puzzles but loooook atthe spirits omg they’re the cutest. The enviroments also look gorgeous so.. I’m down. 

Goodbye Volcano High

One of those like Teen growing up discovering the world but like.. they’re dinosaurs and I’m sure the game probably ends with the meteor wiping them out.. honestly not a game for me but people that love that feelsy teen drama type game might be loving whatever this is. 

Oddworld: SoulStorm

The first game creeped me the fuck out as a kid but fans of the series are gonna love this by the looks of it, personally it’s not for me, I’m terrible at these kind of side scrolling lemmings type things but.. I’m sure it’s someones game of the year when it comes out for sure. 

Ghostwire Tokyo

Again, I’m a coward. Game looks interesting, too spooky for me for sure but I’m sure some people will enjoy it’s aesthetic but yeeaaah just not for me.

Jett: The Far Shore

This game looks stunning and very interesting but I also have no idea wtf it even is, it’s like a space.. exploration game maybe? No idea. For sure a wait and see game. 

Godfall

This trailer is terrible for a game that I could enjoy. This is like supposed to be like Destiny from what I’ve heard where you play with your friends and you get better gear but this trailer feels like it’s from 2011. I’d like to see what the progression looks like because right now all the gear I’ve seen looks the same, I need to see what a starting character looks like, someone who’s in the middle of the game and then someone at the end, because the getting gear loop is only good if you actually want the loot.. but yeah looks interesting, i need more information and maybe a better trailer? 

Solar Ash

I never played Hyper Light Drifter but the fact the name rings a bell to me means it’s probably a great game, this gives me like weird Journey vibes which is a game I found really gorgeous and if you haven’t played Journey you should, it’s a basically the answer to “Are games art?” and the answer is yes. But Solar Ash.. I need more than these like 5 seconds so.. We’ll see. 

Hitman 3

Kill people the most creative way you can, now with better graphics. Idek if anyone is interested in the actual story of it anymore but I know a lot of people will be hyped to play it, it’s not for me because I’m terrible at it, but for sure going to see a lot of this on youtube probably. 

Astro’s Playroom

If you’re hating on this, you don’t understand it. Apparently, first off, it’s apparently free. So.. instantly you can’t hate it. Second off, it’s really just Playstation’s tech demo for the controller. I think it’s just going to show you how the controllers haptic feedback works and feels and maybe show some cool Playstation graphics but yeah, it’s a free way to see how cool the controller is now so.. fair enough. 

Little Devil Inside

This is the game I’m probably the most curious about. I love the art style of it, I don’t really know what the gameplay is of it, it seems like ti could be some sort of big open world monster hunter type thing then you bring your kill home to your Butler Jeeves, who knows. Looks really interesting. 

NBA 2K21

is basketball

Bugsnax

This is made by the people who made octodad so maybe it’ll be a big like youtuber or streamer game.. the ending of the trailer for it is.. like.. suddenly spooky and scary for some reason :P Honestly though, I’ve seen the trailer a few times now and that fucking song is stuck in my head even though the only word i know is ‘Bugsnax’.. again it looks like a game for kids and parents so like that’s nice!

Demon’s Souls

The daddy of all the souls type games is back and remastered. Honestly, I can’t play those games to save my life, i don’t enjoy them because I just get annoyed and stop playing forever, but this will be someones favourite game of all time. 

Deathloop

I have no idea what this game really is despite seeing gameplay, is it two player where one of the people has to kill the target and then the other has to kill them before they do? Or singleplayer? Or.. ???? either way I love the style of it and I like the death time loop mechanic so I am more than happy to give this one a go. 

Resident Evil VIllage

Very cool use of the VII to be quite honest, but I’m a coward so this looks to be a stunning game that a lot of people will love that I will never play :D 

Pragmata

No fucking clue. Your guess is as good as mine. *shrug* wtf? 

Horizon Forbidden West

I love Horizon Zero Dawn, I platinumed it.. So I am really fucking down for this sequel. I don’t even know what to say, it looks interesting, some new environments, new robot things to take down. I’m sold. 

The Actual Ps5 Console 

I think people will either hate the design or love it. I really like it and honestly the more I see it the more I like it. Idk about the digital edition, I kind of like owning disks but if it’s considerably cheaper then maybe it’ll be worth it seeing as I do tend to buy most of my games digitally now. Either way, looks cool, the tech is impressive and Yeah.. let’s face it, I’ll get one. Idk if it’ll be on release, but I will get one.

[poliel]

Snaxsquatch

This is directly inspired by my in game experience in catching sight of the Snaxsquatch and then approaching it, thinking it was one of the villagers and then it melting into the ground before I could get a good look at it. I spent a while trying to get it to reappear and even now during my second play through, every time I'm in that area I look down into the alcove with my camera, hoping it's there. It sadly never is though. I decided to turn the fic into a Filbo/Buddy thing because why not?

~

Stepping out of the cave, Buddy looked up. … But alas, the sky was still crystal-clear blue. There were a couple wispy clouds but nothing that had much of a chance of yielding rain any time soon. Waiting around for it wasn’t the best use of their time but… it was the last snac they needed to document in Flavor Falls. Supposedly anyway, there could be more, the entire island was still largely unexplored after all. So there could easily be…

“Sandopede, sandopede, sandopede…”

Coming to a stop, their eyes naturally followed the sandopede as it crossed right in front of them in its seemingly never-ending loop. It was weird how so many snax resorted to running or flying around in a loop, almost like they wanted to be caught. Perhaps later Buddy should ask Floofty about…

Someone stood at the end of the little alcove they’d fallen in when first arriving upon the island. At this distance and with their back to Buddy it was hard to tell who it might be. But if they were out here it had to be for a reason.

Abandoning their prior path, Buddy jumped down to the lower level. They then crossed the stream and ascended the hill to the alcove, taking a breath great whoever it was. They didn’t get a single word out though because that was not a grumpus!

Its large googly eyes locked onto Buddy, sending a chill down their spine. Despite that they were already scrambling to lift their camera. They were too slow though, the thing disappeared, seemingly melting into the ground, before they could even get it in the view finder. … Dammit!

Their fur bristling with fear and anticipation, they glanced around, both hoping and fearing that it might’ve reappeared elsewhere. … But no, whatever that thing had been was gone now. Shaking it off, they held their camera at the ready, just in case, as they approached the spot it had been standing.

No trace of it remained, not even a single footprint. It was rock and grass so that made sense but was disappointing nonetheless. They hadn’t gotten a good look at it but it had definitely been grumpus shaped and perhaps made of bugsnax? It was hard to say for sure with how brief their glimpse had been.

There was a good chance it whatever it had been was the thing Beffica had seen that night a couple weeks ago. Buddy had already been intrigued by that mystery but now that they’d seen it themself, it was a whole other story. They had to document it, simply had to. And since bugsnax seemed to like to hang out in one place – and that was probably what it was given how no other native creatures had been spotted on the island – it was probably still around here somewhere, perhaps watching them. That thought made their fur prickle with fear again but… no matter. They wouldn’t rest until they’d found, scanned, and officially documented whatever it was.

A week or so later and back at Snaxburg

“Hey Gramble,” Filbo said as he poked his head into the barn. Gramble looked up from whatever bugsnax he was tending to, giving him a slightly suspicious look. It hurt a little but… it was understandable so Filbo continued. “Have you seen Buddy around lately?”

“Nope. They ain’t been by when I wasn’t around to drop off any new little ones for a while now neither.” Which meant they hadn’t been back to Snaxburg at all because they always had something to donate to Gramble’s barn every time they returned to town.

“They’ve never been gone this long before.” They hadn’t really been gone for a super long time but previously the longest they’d been away from town without returning for even a short while was like two or three days. And given how Liz and Eggabell were still missing after disappearing… “I’m starting to get a little worried.”

Gramble suddenly looked nervous too. “Well what do you want me to do about it?”

“I don’t know. Help me go find them maybe?” Filbo didn’t exactly trust himself to find them on his own otherwise he’d have gone off to do so already.

“I would but… I can’t be away from my little ones that long. Someone would break in and eat them for sure.” That was unfortunately probably a fair point.

“Right, yeah, uh… I guess I’ll go ask the others for help then.” Buddy was friends with everyone here so surely getting a search party going wouldn’t be too hard.

-

It turned to Snorpy had placed a tracking device on them, making determining their location in Flavor Falls a breeze. But… “They didn’t respond when I tried to contact them earlier today for I too was starting to get worried. I was thinking of sending Chandlo out to go find them if they didn’t return by nightfall tonight.”

“No need for that. I can handle it,” Filbo said even though he was not at all confident that he could handle even that. But Flavor Falls was the least dangerous place on the island other than Snaxburg so he’d probably be fine. It’d be chance to possibly prove himself a little.

“Very well then,” Snorpy replied with nod. “I suppose I shall see both you later then. Be careful though, you never know what might be out there.” That sounded a bit forbidding but… Snorpy was just like that so Filbo wasn’t going to worry about it.

-

It wasn’t until he was halfway there that the realization that things might not be so safe hit him. Surely there had to be a reason Buddy had been gone for so long. It was possible something had attacked them and they were hurt or perhaps worse. What would he do if he when he found Buddy they were…

The distinct sound of a snaxscope snapping a picture made him jump a little and drew his gaze upward. Buddy stood atop a steep hill, looking down at him, their camera still raised. Oh thank grump, they were okay.

“Hey, Buddy.” He smiled, lifting a paw in a small wave to hide his relief.

“Hello, Filbo.” Buddy lowered their camera and jumped down off the hill with seemingly no concern for their own safety. “What are you doing out here?” As they approached it became hard to miss the heavy bags under bloodshot eyes. Clearly they hadn’t slept in a while.

“Looking for you. You’re been gone for a while and I was starting to get a bit worried.” And apparently, given their appearance, he’d had a right to be. “So… you okay?”

That gave Buddy pause as they opened their mouth as if to speak but said nothing for a solid few seconds before finally speaking, looking Filbo right in the eye as they did so. “You’re amazing and I would kill someone for you if you asked me to.”

Now it was Filbo’s turn to be taken aback. Who said that kind of thing in general but especially to someone like him? He wasn’t all that great or amazing and nobody should be killing anyone at his request. Also that was something he very much did not want. But before he could gather himself enough to say that or anything really…

“But anyway,” their tone now matter-of-fact as if they hadn’t just said something super weird, Buddy broke eye contact as they shifted their backpack around to start digging through it, “the reason I’ve been out here so long is I’m hunting what I’ve decided to call a Snaxsquatch. It’s shaped like a grumpus but made of smaller bugsnax… I think. I only saw it for a split second before it melted into the ground. Which is why I couldn’t get a picture of it. I’ve been trying to get to reappear or root out its hiding spot ever since. I may have gotten a bit wrapped up in. But I did capture what I think might be a footprint it left.” They pulled out their notebook, flipping it open and holding it out so Filbo could see.

On one page was some writing, repeating most of what Buddy had just said. Beneath it was a sketch of a shadowy grumpus shape with googly eyes much like the bugsnax’s but bigger. On the other page was a photo of a grassy patch that did indeed look kind of like something large had stepped there.

With a shiver, Filbo glanced all around them. Thankfully whatever it was didn’t seem to be around right now. “Surely if something like that was on the island, especially this part of it, we would’ve seen it by now, right?”

Buddy closed their journal and slipped it into their pack and shifted it around onto their back again. “We have seen it. Or at least Beffica and Gramble saw it. But I think this one’s smarter than most bugsnax. Which is why we haven’t seen it much. It’s hiding somewhere, probably watching us.” Their face and tone seemed to indicate that idea excited them somehow. “I’m going to find it though.” If anyone could, it was probably them, right? But…

“Maybe you should rest first though. You look pretty uh… tired.”

“I can rest after I find it.” They started to turn away, probably to return to their hunt it. Filbo couldn’t let them do that though, both for their sake as well as his own because returning to town alone knowing something could be out there watching him was not something he had any desire to do.

“It seems to be taking a long time though. And… and… what about Lizbert and Eggabell? You still haven’t found them yet. And what about the rest of the town too? We’re kind of uh, depending on you.” Probably more than was fair.

They froze before snapping back around to face Filbo again. “Shit, you’re right. After I got that quick glimpse of it I just go so excited to find another cryptid I guess I forgot about everything else. … Whoops, sorry. I’ll hunt it down afterfinding Lizbert.” They turned and started fast walking back towards town. “I’ll get back on that right now. Thanks for coming out here to find me.”

Filbo scrambled to catch up, almost having to run to keep up with their walking pace. “You’ll get some rest first though, right?” Because they looked like they needed it and because in general they didn’t seem to rest as much as they should. And if Filbo was already out here checking up on them he might as well also take the opportunity to encourage them to take care of themself too.

They turned their head to look at him. “If you insist, I suppose I could use a nap.”

“Awesome.” And for once in his life Filbo had actually succeeded at something. He’d found Buddy and was bringing him back to town and had convinced them to take another much needed rest. Not a grand achievement or anything but he’d take it.