#UNDERTALE REAL IN PYRE?!?!?!?!?!!??!?!!? REAL?!?!!?!?

[metaphorthejesterdraws]

Oct 30 | Rush

(inktober)

okay so i went with a REALLY frantic sketch style for this one to convey energy and urgency and just an overall frenzy. it didnt turn out quite as well as i'd hoped, but hey, i actually had a lot of fun with this one!! ironically for someone who tries to draw full art a bunch, sketching is my strong suit, so i might play into that and use it more often from time to time. i dont think id make it a main style but this was fun and i might do it again!!

anyway i haven't fully gotten through pyre but ive played enough to know that barker makes rukey Very Upset. for what reasons....i haven't gotten there yet.....but im worried lol

[popatochisssp]

If u haven’t answer this already

How do your boys react to strangers in general?

Externally, as in how they act around someone new?

Friendly: Sans (Undertale), Papyrus (Undertale), Sky (Underswap Sans), Jasper (Underfell Sans), Mal (Swapfell Sans), Papy (Horrortale Papyrus), Yrus (Undergloom Papyrus), Merc (Horrorswap Sans), Pitch (Horrorswapfell Sans), Sunny (Gastertale Sans), Aster (Gastertale Papyrus), PapAIrus (Transcendtale Papyrus), Xanth (Ascendswap Sans), Piper (Ascendswap Papyrus), Carmine (Underfell Fruition Sans), Hunter (Swapfell Fruition Papyrus), Bram (Descendtale Papyrus)

Wary: Paps (Underswap Papyrus), Pyre (Underfell Papyrus), Rus (Swapfell Papyrus), Slate (Horrortale Sans), Brick (Horrorfell Sans), Ell (Horrorswap Papyrus), Nemo (Horrorswapfell Papyrus), Vi (Swapfell Fruition Sans), Kohl (Descendtale  Sans)

Neutral: Ash (Undergloom Sans), King (Horrorfell Papyrus), Spectr (Transcendtale Sans), Tank (Underfell Fruition Papyrus)

As for some of the internal…

Sans (Undertale): He’s a friendly guy, definitely not wearing his heart on his sleeve or getting super deep with anybody right away (…or possibly ever…), but he likes getting to know people and figuring out what they’re all about, and that does involve some amount of being approachable.

Papyrus (Undertale): He’s often been a little lacking in the friends department, so he always puts his best foot forward with new people—that way, they know from the jump they’ve just met a fun, cool guy who’s prime friend-material, and whatever they decide after that, they at least have the facts!

Sky (Underswap Sans): Perhaps surprisingly he’s not inclined to be open or intimate with people right from the start, but he fully believes in getting back what you put out into the universe, so of course he’s friendly and polite with everyone as a matter of course, unless given a reason otherwise.

Paps (Underswap Papyrus): He doesn’t have a whole lot of ingrained, well-developed social skills, and he’s had some not-so-great experiences with friendship in the past, so while he’s never rude if he can help it, he does hold himself back a fair bit and instinctively ducks the attention of new people…

Jasper (Underfell Sans): He’s a pretty social guy and prefers not to have enemies if he can help it, so he’s the ‘funny guy, seems decent, nothing to worry about’ wherever possible, rarely vulnerable or openly real with people, especially strangers—but is that really so egregious?

Pyre (Underfell Papyrus): He’s vigilant to potential threats, he’s been burned (or rather scarred) one too many times trusting people just because they seem harmless or nice, so while he won’t be cruel to someone new without cause, neither will he be all that open to them until they’ve earned it.

Mal (Swapfell Sans): He trusts basically no one and expects everyone he meets may someday stab him in the back if it might benefit them—but one of the best ways he’s found to combat that is by being charming and friendly and helpful, so that people at least think twice about it first.

Rus (Swapfell Papyrus): People are terrifying, he has no idea how to talk to them and usually ends up putting his foot in his mouth…especially when he’s nervous, which is most of the time he’s in a social situation—and that’s presuming they’re even nice people, which is not always the case in his experience, so…yeah…

Slate (Horrortale Sans): He never entirely knows what reaction he’s gonna get, with his size and how he looks, so he tends to hedge his bets around new people, steer a little clear and leave room to be avoided if it’s the more comfortable option…better for preventing explicitly negative reactions that aren’t great for his self-esteem.

Papy (Horrortale Papyrus): Kill them with kindness, he always says…except he doesn’t ever say that, but it’s a good saying, he should say it more because everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect as the default—or at least the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise!

Ash (Undergloom Sans): He’s a bit of a social lurker, likes to be around groups but he’s pretty quiet so he reads as shy or a loner to new people. It just takes him a bit to get comfortable chatting and quipping since he likes to pick his moments, and that's less about the stranger(s) and more just about how he rolls.

Yrus (Undergloom Papyrus): He loves to meet new people and always does his best to make a good first impression, very friendly and full of offers to be a helping hand right from the start. While he won’t bend over backwards for a relative stranger, he will go pretty far out of his way in the name of good will—to say nothing of how he is once he actually gets to know someone!

Brick (Horrorfell Sans): It’s less that he doesn’t want to socialize than it is him not trusting himself to, certain things set him off and it’s not a pretty scene when that happens, so until he knows what kind of people he’s dealing with, it’s generally better that he keep a little distance—at least initially.

King (Horrorfell Papyrus): He’s largely uninterested in other people and explicitly not looking for any friends, so the attitude he has approaching those kinds of interactions is usually curt and aloof—in most cases, he has nothing to fear and nothing he’s interested in gaining, so basic acknowledgment is most of what he gives.

Merc (Horrorswap Sans): He’s a little less approachable-looking than he used to be, but still definitely wants to talk to people and make some friends, so he puts a little extra effort in to be kind and express interest. His general aim is to cast a wide net and see if he can't catch somebody longer term.

Ell (Horrorswap Papyrus): He’s selective about the kinds of people he wants around him, not inclined to go out of his way to be a dick to strangers, but he’s not really putting his best foot forward with everybody—and frankly, he’s got limited ‘don’t say something thoughtless and/or rude’ energy, he just can’t be spending it all on randos…

Pitch (Horrorswapfell Sans): He’s using his charm for evil for personal reasons these days, he likes making connections and having a good time, and being friendly and gregarious (even with strangers) is a great way to facilitate that—which isn’t to say he really trusts any of those people, or wants them around a lot, but why make enemies unless it’s fun?

Nemo (Horrorswapfell Papyrus): He’s got trust issues, it’s nothing personal, just hard for him to figure out how safe any given stranger is…and from there, to convince himself of it, because logic says one thing and anxiety says another and who really knows which one is right. He’s not rude, but definitely quiet and standoffish, slow to engage.

Sunny (Gastertale Sans): Strangers won’t be strangers for long, he has a habit of making friends out of people most anywhere he goes. He can come back from even the most random places with a new bud to introduce—it could almost be terrifying if it wasn’t just kinda bizarre, but he loves people! That's all it is!

Aster (Gastertale Papyrus): He’s very charming and sociable, always interested in meeting someone new and making a connection, hearing all about their lives and interests… A lot of it is, admittedly, very calculated as he actively chameleons to try and get a good grade in Normal Person, but it’s still genuine in intention if not something he naturally comes by.

Spectr (Transcendtale Sans): He’s not really looking to make friends, but he doesn’t have an especially strong aversion to people either. He kind of just accepts it as an inevitability that he’ll encounter them, do the bare minimum of whatever social contract the situation requires, and then be on his way. Not much else to it.

PapAIrus (Transcendtale Papyrus): He loves meeting people and being social and showing off, receiving the praise and adulation of the masses on occasion, but he rarely makes any kind of effort to cultivate or even leave room for anything further. He’s fun and kind to most everyone, just not often interested in investing any more than surface-level.

Xanth (Ascendswap Sans): He’ll happily talk to and try to befriend strangers all day long, he sees something beautiful and interesting in everyone—and that can get him into trouble sometimes with people who are put off by his enthusiastic interest, or with those who catch on that he’s a huge people-pleaser and would give the shirt off his back if asked, but…it’s just how he is.

Piper (Ascendswap Papyrus): He’s a self-made Prince Charming down to his marrow, he’s great with new people and loves to chat and charm and network wherever possible. …He does hold a lot back and keep his guard up, only really getting comfortable with people after a long while, but that doesn’t stop him from being warm and polite in the meantime.

Carmine (Underfell Fruition Sans): Strangers are just buddies he hasn’t met yet, he’s been locked up in solitary so long that any opportunity to run his mouth is more than welcome—though occasionally, he will get a gut feeling about somebody, usually if they’re real bad news, and he doesn’t listen to a lot of things, but hey, his gut’s never wrong.

Tank (Underfell Fruition Papyrus): Meeting people and socializing with them was decidedly not part of his training, but while he doesn’t have a lot of familiarity or skill built up for it, neither is it especially distressing to him. He may be spoken to, he will respond as necessary, and otherwise…? Just monitor the situation and act if appropriate.

Vi (Swapfell Fruition Sans): Not very fond of people in general but especially not strangers, he doesn’t like to be the subject of any special notice, so around new people he tends avoid being central to any conversation and does his best to just blend into the background…or to escape entirely, if that’s feasible…

Hunter (Swapfell Fruition Papyrus): He’s good with strangers, anything and anyone new is cool and he likes scoping ‘em out, seeing if they might be fun. At least early on, any investment on his part is selfish and generally centered around what he might be able to get out of it, but that doesn’t make him seem any less mischievously fun to the people he charms.

Kohl (Descendtale Sans): He does not like strangers at all, no matter how friendly and harmless they may seem to be. He mostly keeps his distance but tries to stay aware of what anybody he doesn’t know is doing, sizing them up and—if their character allows for it—gradually becoming accustomed to them until he’s willing to count them as something other than threat/nuisance/inconvenience.

Bram (Descendtale Papyrus): If he ever learned the phrase ‘stranger danger,’ he’s willfully forgotten it, everyone is a friend unless they prove otherwise and he will engage them as such! He definitely has a tendency to come on a little strong, which can sometimes be off-putting, but he’s immediately ready to go above and beyond for anyone willing to match his energy.

[videogamedogbracket]

Final bracket reveal!

Hello, everyone! After some deliberation (and a very stressful shift at work) I've compiled the final list of participants for this bracket! This post is both a bracket reveal and a confirmation that I have the right characters/images. Be sure to let me know if there are any that need correcting!

Aesop/The Flame in the Flood, Ai/Puyo Puyo Tetris, Alice/The Last of Us 2, Amaterasu/Okami, Annoying Dog/Undertale, Arven's Mabosstiff/Pokémon Scarlet/Violet, Barbas/Skyrim, Barista/Rhythm Heaven, Barkley/Cassette Beasts, Barkspawn/Dragon Age: Origins

Blanca/Shadow Hearts: Covenant, Boney/Mother 3, Boomer/Far Cry 5, Brown/Rule of Rose, Caesar/Wargroove, Cain/Red Dead Redemption 2, Cerberus/Hades, Chibiterasu/Okamiden, Chop/Grand Theft Auto 5, Colonel Ruff/Brawl Stars

DD/Metal Gear Solid V, Digby/Animal Crossing, Dogamy and Dogaressa/Undertale, Dogmeat/Fallout, Dr. Potan/THE DOG Island, Dribble/WarioWare, Duck Hunt Dog/Duck Hunt, Elena/Spiritfarer, Flash/Jetpack Joyride, Flippy Doggenbottom/Toontown Online

Fondue/Rhythm Thief, Gab/Zero Time Dilemma, Garm/Guild Wars 2, Giblets/Elder Scrolls Online, Gretchen/Scarlet Hollow, Hewie/Haunting Ground, Holly/Super Lesbian Animal RPG, Hot Dog/Skylanders, Interceptor/Final Fantasy VI, Isabelle/Animal Crossing

Jackal/Hyper Light Drifter, Jake/Dog's Life, K.K. Slider/Animal Crossing, Koroku/Suikoden III, Koromaru/Persona 3, Lesser Dog/Undertale, Lord Arcanine/Pokémon Legends Arceus, Mame/Yakuza, Mira/Silent Hill, Missile/Ace Attorney

Missile/Ghost Trick, Monty/Spelunky 2, Moonless/Fear & Hunger, Noishe/Tales of Symphonia, PaRappa/PaRappa The Rapper, Pepita/Trauma Center: New Blood, Pickle/Papa's Pancakeria, Pizza/Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Polterpup/Luigi's Mansion, Pom/Pom Gets Wi-Fi

Poochy/Yoshi, Ppodae/Lobotomy Corporation, Princess Pooch/Fossil Fighters: Champions, Pryna/Final Fantasy XV, Randy/Wobbledogs, Rei/Guilty Gear, Ren/DRAMAtical Murder, Repede/Tales of Vesperia, Rex/Fallout: New Vegas, Rex/Fossil Fighters

Riley/Call of Duty, Rukey Greentail/Pyre, Rush/Megaman, Rusty Slugger/Rusty's Real Deal Baseball, Sam/Sam and Max, Sant Angelo di Roma/Final Fantasy VIII, Satty/Breath of the Wild, Sergeant O'Fera/Cuphead, Sif/Dark Souls, Sommie/Fire Emblem: Engage

Spot/Nintendogs, Sumo/Detroit: Become Human, Taroumaru/Genshin Impact, Toby/The Great Ace Attorney, Umbra/Final Fantasy XV, White Beast/Guardian Tales, Wick/Identity V, Willie/Deadly Premonition, Woby/Don't Starve Together, Wolf/Minecraft, Wolf Link/Zelda Twilight Princess, Wulfgar/Etrian Odyssey 2

Again, I can't thank everyone enough for their submissions. Sorry to everyone whose submissions didn't make it in, and rest assured that narrowing the list of participants down was hard.

The bracket itself is going to be posted tomorrow, as well as the first group of matchups. I'll be splitting the first few rounds into multiple groups, just so the sheer volume of contestants isn't so daunting!

And, of course, I wish the best of luck to each of these amazingly good boys and girls. See you all tomorrow!

[marshvlovestv]

I’m in a bad place right now so I thought I’d bring myself some positivity by talking about my top ten favorite video games I’ve ever played! They’ll be in alphabetical order rather than being ranked because I love them all for different reasons and don’t want to compare them against each other. I wholeheartedly recommend every game on this list, honorable mentions included.

1.Celeste - I’ve gone on at length before about why this game is so important to me, so I won’t repeat that all here. I really, truly believe that Celeste is a perfect video game.

2.Cuphead - Cuphead is a treat for the senses and an absolute blast from start to finish.Even when I was losing, I was so delighted by the music and animation that I still had fun (except when I was trying to beat that stupid robot, I hated every second of that). Cuphead is an exciting challenge, and finally beating it is one of my proudest accomplishments because my life is really sad.

3.Elsinore - I feel like more people have probably heard of The Sexy Brutale, which is, similarly to Elsinore, a puzzle adventure game with a time loop mechanic. But I’ve never played The Sexy Brutale, and Elsinore is better anyway because it’s based on Hamlet, of all things. It’s a video game for a different kind of nerd, you might say. I love what they did with all the characters, and the story is gorgeous, with all its different endings both tragic and bittersweet.

4.Hades - You can probably tell from the other games on this list that I’m not one to gravitate towards action games. Even in a game like Cuphead, combat for me is something to get past, rather than something to be enjoyed for its own sake. But Supergiant Games did something incredible with Hades: it made action combat something so deep and varied and downright fun that I wanted to return and return and return, to master every nuance of the weapons and boons and challenge myself with the customizable difficulty. The story is worth every ounce of praise it has received and I adore all the characters, but the story is not why I have over 400 hours of Hades logged on Steam (maybe it accounts for the first 50 or so).

(Honorable mentions: Bastion and Transistor. Haven’t played Pyre yet but I’m sure I’ll love that one too.)

5.Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass - Undertale was my very first experience with video games, but I only watched other people play it. Furthermore, it’s not the most traditional JRPG out there. My real first impression of Earthbound-like JRPGs was JatPM, and it made me fall in love with the genre. I delighted in the cuteness and was utterly shaken by the horror of it - and yes, you could absolutely make the argument that OMORI belongs in this spot instead, but honestly, I found the psychological horror of that game too familiar to be fazed by it. But I don’t have personal experience with the existential horrors of being a small child with a terminal illness, and Jimmy’s portrayal of that made me legitimately queasy.

(Honorable mention: OMORI)

6.Life is Strange 2 - It’s frankly amazing to me that a French studio was able to tackle American social issues like police brutality and the discrimination faced by Latines with more honesty than an American studio would ever be willing. I am a white woman - playing as Sean in LIS2 is the closest I will ever get to being a Latino man, and the experience is heartbreaking. But that’s not to mention gorgeous environments, the beautiful story about brothers, great characters, and some real mechanical improvements over the first game, from a more comprehensive way to choose dialogue to the increased subtlety of the choice-consequence system.

(Honorable mentions: LIS 1, Captain Spirit, and Tell Me Why. I’m hype for True Colors but I’m scared that it’s going to be ruined by having a bigger studio behind it; The Sims 4 notwithstanding, I am strictly an indie girl.)

7.Paradise Killer - I love detective games. In theory. When I made this list I was surprised that I couldn’t think of more detective games to include, and I think the reason for that is that while a lot of games have a lot of great detective stories, very few actually make you feel like a detective in the way that Paradise Killer does. The onus is entirely on you in this game to scour for clues, ask people the right questions, and ultimately come to your own conclusion. If there’s an important clue you didn’t find on your own, too bad, the game won’t lead you to it, and if you’re misled by red herrings, oh well, the game won’t correct you and ultimately you’ll get a less satisfying ending.

(Honorable mention: The Painscreek Killings - similarly an open world detective game that puts the investigation entirely on you, just without the quirky characters and fun worldbuilding of Paradise Killer)

8.Rising Dusk - Truly the definition of a hidden gem. I found Rising Dusk buried deep in the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality and it turned out to be really fantastic. Cute, clever, totally committed to its theme of Japanese folklore. The main mechanic of “limit how many coins you carry” makes for unique and varied puzzles. I almost excluded this one because it didn’t quite “stick with me” like some of these other games have, but thinking back to just how high-quality it was, I think it absolutely deserves a mention.

9.The Sims 4 - Okay, okay, I’ve kind of gotten bored of The Sims 4. I haven’t played it in ages and I don’t know if I’m even going to download it on my new computer. But that doesn’t change the fact that this game was the first one I really got into playing as an adult, or that my Tumblr avatar is, always has been, and always will be my Simself.

10. Unavowed - I discovered this game through a Let’s Play which made me fall in love with it. I wouldn’t have bought it for myself, except for the fact that this is a replayable point-and-click adventure game. Can you imagine? I’m not really a completionist but I was obsessed with getting every achievement, which was just an excuse for me to experience the game again and again, playing every backstory and trying every possible combination of characters for every case just to see what dialogue I’d get. I kept coming back for more of those characters I loved. (And hey, to all the Supergiant fans seeing this post because of Hades, Logan Cunningham is in this game. So, that’s pretty cool.)

(Honorable mentions: Any other point-and-clicks with this aesthetic: Kathy Rain, Lamplight City, Whispers of the Machine, the Shivah)

Honorable mention: Heaven’s Vault - This game was made for me. A story-rich mystery adventure game with a major mechanic centered around translation, of all things? Perfection. Unfortunately Heaven’s Vault was disqualified because of those godawful flying segments. I get that we’re in space and have to travel to different moons, but I signed up for translation and mystery, not an outer space racing game that handles like garbage.

Honorable mentions: Ori and the Blind Forest/Will of the Wisps - A rule I went for at first was that any game I had liked enough to buy its soundtrack automatically goes on the top ten list. Yeah, I do have the soundtrack to Blind Forest, and I do really like both games, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that other games were just edging Ori out. Not to mention, these are metroidvanias, a genre I like in concept but not so much in practice - the huge worlds are overwhelming and the backtracking is tedious, and while Ori is beautifully made enough that I still like it, those elements I dislike are still there.

[deliriumsdelight7]

Top 5 or Top 10 vidya games!! (whichever is easier for you to do)

Top 10 is easier because then I don’t have to narrow down my picks. In no particular order:

1.) Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir. A completely unhinged soppy anime fairy tale retelling of the myth of Ragnarok. With bunny people who cook you tasty food, and a death goddess with tits bigger than my head.

2.) Journey. Gorgeous visuals, quick playtime, a whole story told without using a single word.

3.) Persona 5: Royal Edition. This game features well-fleshed-out characters and a Pokémon style battle system where the “monsters” are mythological creatures who represent your innermost self. The gameplay is fun, the soundtrack bangs, and the themes of rebellion and being true to oneself are hilarious when juxtaposed with the pressure to fit in at school.

4.) Final Fantasy VI. This game features just the right blend of fantasy and steampunk. The cast of playable characters is… maybe too big… but most of them are fleshed out so you really care about their struggles. Having to learn to navigate the world all over again because of Kefka’s shenanigans with the Warring Triad was a brilliant move, and the endgame side quests honestly make the whole game.

5.) Heavy Rain. Not quite video game, not quite visual novel, Heavy Rain tells the story of Ethan Mars, a man who lost one son to an accident and faces the very real possibility of losing his other son to a serial killer. I definitely didn’t see the killer’s identity coming!

6.) Undertale. Listen. I still tear up any time “His Theme” comes on. Enough said.

7.) Transistor. Basically a loose retelling of the Little Mermaid fairy tale using a sort of cyberpunk-esque setting which may or may not just be a computer program. Never did I expect to fall in love with a sword with a voice and a woman with none, but here we are. I wonder if there’s good Red/B fic out there…

8.) Pyre. The closest I will ever get to playing a sports game. A story of an idealistic justice system gone wrong, of overcoming the odds stacked against you… or failing. I still kinda wanna Rumbelle this game but that would be a TASK.

(Fans of Supergiant Games will notice that I included two entries by them, but not their most popular one. This is simply because I haven’t gotten around to playing Hades yet.)

9.) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Is it the biggest Zelda game? No. The best? Debatable. But it’s the most atmospheric, with the one “assistant character” in the series who I didn’t want to strangle by the end of the game. Plus… shipping.

10.) Chrono Trigger. Time travel shenanigans that cover everything from cavemen to the end of the world and beyond. Characters given the opportunity to right their mistakes (or those of others) through side quests. A broody mage-dude with a skin condition and dark affiliations. I like what I like.

[autopotion]

Restarted Pyre to enjoy it from the beginning and made some more progress in it. Kind of a slow burn but I'm finding I really like it so far. It's like... The #weird SG game, where they just did whatever the hell they wanted, came up with the wildest character designs, wrote really humorous stuff next to really sad stuff, Logan's doing his most outrageous voices. And it really works. It seems kind of dense and impenetrable but it knows that about itself and moves at a breezy clip in spite of it.

It took me a little bit to get into the "combat" but I'm enjoying that a lot too? It's real time but it weirdly hits a lot of the same mental beats I feel whenever I do a battle in FFT. Like you know you've got your particular team set up for the battle with their special strengths and weaknesses, everybody else is benched... It's fun. Weird but fun

I think my favorite so far oddly enough is Hedwyn... He's so soulful and melancholy in a way I find really appealing. I like Mae too (that's what I named her), she's clearly autistic, but she's got a little bit of what I'll call Merrill syndrome -- neurodivergent-coded female character whose eccentricities are just so so cute and adorable. Infantalizing instead of relatable lol. Still like her though

Anyway I just want to express my frustration that I wanted to search for pyre fanart on Tumblr and discovered most of the posts tagged as "pyre" are for some bizarre person's extremely horny Undertale AU. So like. Thanks I guess -_-

[kiokodoodles]

Since now i have a panda plushie named Jerry Ross....

What happend with your guys finding their partner asleep cuddling a plushie? (Extra points if the plushie is a small version of them lol)

Ooh!

Undertale

Sans says a casual “Sweet” but with a bit of heart eyes. It’s adorable that his partner missed him so much that they had to get a plushie of him to cuddle with.

Papyrus will coo over them. Would it be weird if he asked his partner if he could get a plushie of them? ... Yeah that might be weird. He’s really touched by the thought that his partner got a plushie of him! Why wouldn’t they since he’s great?

Underswap

Junior will coo over them, kiss their forehead... and then kiss the plushie’s forehead. When his partner wakes up, he’s going to greet them and then greet the plushie him as “Junior the Second”.

Paps is taking a picture to save for himself and to tease his partner about later. Though he is a little stunned that the plushie is a smaller version of him. He’s touched even.

Underfell

Jasper is like “haha what the fuck” because he zeroed in on the plushie of him and is thinking why his partner would even have a plushie of him.

Pyre’s worked up to a point where he’s allowing himself to touch his partner more and then they go and get a plushie to replace him? Is his hugs and cuddles not up to his partner’s standards? Guess he’ll have to hug them more...

Swapfell

Mal takes one look at the plushie of him before he goes and cuddles with his partner. That plushie can’t replace the real deal, he’ll show them.

Rus is taking a picture to save for himself. He’s also cooing over his partner and cuddling with them. He feels so happy right now. He doesn’t know why his partner got a plushie of him, but he’s going to assume it’s because they love him.

Fellswap

Aster thinks it’s very sweet of his partner to get a plush of him. He will give his partner a kiss on the forehead before cuddling with them. Though he is going to tease them a bit later about why they have a plushie of him.

Cyrus sighs and is muttering to himself that his partner is dumb to get a plushie of him. Out of all the plushies they would get, why of him?

Horrrortale

Aspen is very much heart eyes over this. He’s always thought his partner looked adorable when they’re sleeping, but with a plushie? And it’s a plushie of him??? Man, he’s so lucky.

Pine is really touched and also confused. His partner got a plushie of him??? That’s really nice but he’s not cute enough to be a plushie???

[gaiienpokedex]

Finally together, here are all 8 gym leaders from Gaiien! You can read more about them on their individual portrait posts.

Tier 1: Luciana “Tierra” Rodriguez – Ground – Dust Badge – Umber Village Tier 2: Alex “Hawthorn” Wong – Grass – Seed Badge – Verdure Town Tier 3: Bryony “Belladonna” Jourdain – Poison – Venom Badge – Porphyry City Tier 4: Brent “Pyre” Carter – Fire – Pyre Badge – Russet Town Tier 5: Galen “Lord Ironhelm” Richter – Steel – Gear Badge – Port Brac Tier 6: Mikoto “Tsukuyomi” Arata – Ghost – Oblivion Badge – Sere Island Tier 7: Genevieve “Nocturna” Park – Dark – Starlight Badge – Sunset Mountain Tier 8: Matti “Polaris” Virtanen – Ice – Frost Badge – Sastruga Fjord AKA "Ordinary Ground-type Leader", "Asshole Grass Leader", "Super Asshole Poison Leader", "Used-to-be Spooky Fire Leader", "Dismissive Robot Guy", "Ser Not Appearing in This Fanfic", "Life Ruined By Demons", and "Sans Undertale" The "tier" system refers to the approximate level/skill/pokemon diversity range expected in the match with the gym leader, with level ranges of 25-30, 30-35, 35-40, 40-45, 45-50, 50-55, 55-60, and 60-65, respectively, and 65+ for S-tier (or trainers with 8 badges). (Subtract 10 levels for most other regions that don't have an age 18+ league). In the most populous regions like Kanto and Unova, the gyms see so many challengers that the leaders often have seconds to take matches, and have a wide variety of pokemon of different levels to support challenges at any tier. Gaiien is less well-traveled and requires challengers to stick to either the designated Tier or S-tier (every gym leader will have a personal team that can handle and is frankly eager for a battle at S-tier). That said, most of the gym leaders have some higher-level pokemon kicking around too strong for their own tier and not quite ready for an S-tier match due to level decay, so many gyms can still accommodate a mid-tier challenge if needed, but it's recommended that you set up the match by appointment with the leader. "Levels" are real in the Gods and Demons universe but they're the result of aura studies of hundreds of pokemon; your Ivysaur reaching level 32 doesn't guarantee it evolving to Venusaur, but on the spread of "level" of evolution of every Ivysaur ever scanned by a Pokedex, the average timing of evolution was about Level 32. Similarly, you won't get in trouble for using pokemon that over- or underlevel a tier in a match, although you might be thrown out by the referee if you pull out a very underleveled pokemon. The level range is for the gym leader, not the challenger. Pokemon level caps out at about level 70 in the Gods and Demons universe, with 100 as a theoretical maximum achievable by constant absorption of type-compatible energy. Legendaries with few on-record pokedex scans or kaiju pokemon can trigger a pokedex to report a level above 100, or even one that overloads the counter and appears as gibberish text.

-----

Seeing them all together, I sort of wish that I’d put them in more strongly-themed or brightly-colored outfits to make their type association more obvious, but this is how I intended the leaders to look for the fanfic, i.e. more like more ordinary people with differing amounts of commitment to their gym leader Brand (and hence the stage names instead of just strangely coincidental first names by type affinity).

[ut-paper-story]

Undertale: PaperStory - Hotland Story

(I have decided to split Hotland and the CORE into separate story parts so as to not make the post like a million words long. I apologize for the inconveniences this may cause.)

Here you’ll find: -Beginning -Hotland  -MTT Hotel & Restaurant

Ruins | Snowdin | Waterfall | CORE | New Home | Post Neutral | The End

-Beginning-

After having barely escaped Undyne's wrath, the group takes a small break by the water dispenser, and have some water before continuing on. It is then that Paper notices that Chara has finally appeared again, where were they?! Chara doesn't really bother explaining, so Paper doesn't ask... Cue Stemphany tries to lead the group to the elevator, but then the blocking beam appears.

"WeLL, OkAY then." The crew tries to have Kongo fly everyone over it, and it works!.... Except, the elevator doesn't work. So much for that plan.

The crew walk into the lab, and they spot Alphys, the Royal Scientist, currently bickering with Mettaton about wall-related topics. When Paper and his friends try to get the duo's attention, Alphys and Mettaton awkwardly turn at the group, and Mettaton suddendly is like "..." "OH SHOOT, I ALMOST FORGOT, I NEED TO GO SET UP A DRAMATIC BATTLE SOMEWHERE ELSE. TODDLES!" And he just ditches Alphys and leaves her to try and make sense of what just happened.

Alphys introduces herself, and explains that that was Mettaton. "I-It's likely you guys know him..." She mentions to Paper's partners. (Theoretically, depending on your active partner, there'll be a different reaction. Kongo doesn’t care, and Merry’s just not a fan. Stemphany loves MTT tho.) Alphys upgrades Paper's phone, and sends the crew on its way, and warns them about the danger that is Mettaton.

-Hotland-

All in all, hotland does stay relatively the same. At least, up until you arrive at the first show: Cooking with a killer robot! In this show, there's no jetpack, but napstablook is going to be the cake tester! The crew must put together a cake to cheer up this SAD, SAD GHOST ;-;. You only get one try to make the cake, and napstablook will either give you a smile of approval, OR... dissapear through the ground because paper's baking skills are debatable at best. Should the latter happen, Mettaton will ask you to get an ingredient for him, as he will make the cake so that it doesn't actually kill ghosts, which will lead into the jetpack minigame.

The bomb game has the added twist that you have to actually fight off the bombs, not just deactivate them. And the final bomb becomes a mini boss whose timer you have to increase to be able to beat it, think King Bob Omb from Paper Jam. Once the crew manage to defeat the bomb bot, Mettaton opens a trap door under their foot, and make them fall into a deeper, hotter cavern section of hotland.

The area is a dungeon-like section, and there are torches that need to be lightened up. Somehow, though, they were already turned on when they got here... They decide not to think too hard about it, and keep going forward. Eventually, though, they come across Pyre whilst in the middle of trying to reach out for a flame a bit too high up for her liking. The crew approach Pyre, and he asks "How'd you guys end here? I was just trying to get home and chill out. You know, playing games, eating sweet coal... But then the trap door just, opened out of nowhere!" The little flame seems a bit exasperated, and she asks the crew for help which, Paper and the crew accept to do.

* Pyre has joined your party!

Pyre can light up torches, melt snow and ice, and can do stylish moves much more easily.

With the little one's flames, and the crew's skills, they manage to open the staircase that leads to the exit. Merry seems kind of cautious, since Mettaton could be just around the corner, to which Pyre is like "Wait, you guys are with METTATON?!" Paper is like "Well yes, but--" and Pyre instantly joins the party for real despite them telling him that MTT's kind of out for Paper.

The crew arrive into Mettaton sing along musical, Paper surprisingly seems to get stage fright, so he tries to hide behind mettaton for most of it. Meanwhile, Pyre is just dancing along with Mettaton- much to the robot's surprise. After the song ends, it leads into the tile puzzle section, but THIS time, Paper can't just fly over it with Kongo, as the ceiling was brought down a bit. He's gonna have to do it legit. He obviously fails, and it leads into a fight against MTT. Which is short lived because of the yellow mode. Pyre is not happy with Paper for having """defeated""" MTT, meanwhile Paper just feels something is off.

-MTT Hotel & Resort-

The crew arrive over to the hotel's doors, and what do you know- Sans is standing by the entrance. He offers the crew a nice meal, which Paper agrees to almost inmediately- so the gang kind of just follows as well. They all go inside the restaurant, and have a relatively nice meal. After they finish eating, Sans asks Paper to go out with him for a moment. Paper's a bit weirded out, but agrees to anyhow.

Once in the bridge that connects hotland to the CORE, Sans asks whether or not going back "home" really is worth it. He's got friends, food, and he could offer a place to stay... Paper nods, he is very well aware of that, but he'd rather be back on the surface. Sans just sighs, and shrugs. "welp, i tried." he says. He then goes on to talk about his relationship with the old lady behind the big door in the Ruins, and yada yada yada.

After their chat is over, Paper and Sans make their way back with the gang, who's almost done eating. And then Sans lays the bone-chilling question:

"so, who's gonna pay for all o' this? i only offered you to come, i never said i'd pay."

Everyone stays dead silent for a good bit, but Sans laughs his ass off, as he then says that he'll pay for them. The crew sighs in relief, and a bit later, the skeleton makes his way out of the restaurant, wishing good luck to the team. After they're all well rested, the group packs up their stuff, and heads into the CORE...

[bbs-backlog-challenge]

BB’s Games Of 2019

2019 as a year felt like it lasted two years, and a lot happened in my personal life. Got a new job, learned to drive, got my first car, moved out of the in-laws’ basement into our first real apartment, started my first long-term game of DnD (which in itself has involved a new relationship and an emotional breakdown)- and between it all I somehow managed to play 77 games. Backlog’s down to 35 titles, lads- at this rate, I’ll be down to zero by July 2020. (Not gonna happen.) In 2020, I’d like to explore the SNES catalogue a little more, but before that happens we have to review everything 2019 brought me, in a somewhat chronological order.

- Near A Tomato Carry-over from last year’s post since I was in the middle of playing it at the time. I definitely never quite got a handle on the combat and I think some of the themes went over my head, but I still had fun here, and the 9S hacking minigame never got old. It was a gift from an old friend who I miss. Was nice to reconnect. - SSBU With my new main Zelda, I cleared all of WoL and got every spirit on the Spirit Board. I never really used her before but she’s cute now! Really liked the attention to detail in the spirit encounters. Unfortunately, Cloud is still in the game. - Mega Mans 1 2 and 3 I actually spoke about my experiences with the Mega Men in my BBLC post for Mega Man Eggs, so you should read that right now. - Metroid Samus Returns It’s Good. Like, a solid Good. Never Great, never Bad, just Good. It’s nice to see one of the least accessible games in the series get a remaster, but it feels very disposable, if that makes sense. Like they just needed a Metroid to keep people busy while they reboot Prime 4 development. AM2R is vastly superior, go play that. One point of amusement- the game tells its story without narration, and also seems to pre-suppose you know Metroid lore. I was entertained by the thought of a newcomer to the series being completely mystified by the sudden space-dragon that comes out of nowhere to wreck you at the end of the game. - Khimera: Destroy All Monster Girls You can click here to download it, ‘cos it’s free, which is almost criminal. This is one of the higher tier games I’ve played this year. A little bit Mega Man, a bit Metroid, with hints of Touhou and Undertale, it’s pretty tough at times but never to ‘precision platformer’ levels. It’s a lot of fun and the dev deserves your support. - Steve And Ollie RPG Oh, I made this one. Making something else next year? Question mark? - Prof Layton 3 Feels like these are getting weaker as they go along. The story has always been absolute boohockey, but the puzzles feel like they’re degrading in quality too. With over 200 in each game, that’s not super surprising, and I’m glad they didn’t bulk it out with a load of the awful block-slider puzzles. Still, it’s Layton, if you liked any of the other games you’ll like this cos it’s the exact same thing. - Fault Milestone Two Yo, there ain’t a damned thing I can say about Fault, so go play the first one and then play this and you’ll understand. - Full Throttle I never bothered to finish it. The obtuse old Sierra puzzlers were hard enough to deal with back in the day, and just feel kind of inexcusable now. I don’t have the patience for it. - eXceed 3rd Slick and fun bullet hell with a nigh-incomprehensible story and great music. Touhou fans will like it. Music by SSH who is relatively well known in doujin circles. - ASAMU Finished it before writing my BBLC post! - Eternal Senia Everything I said in my post rings true- do your best to look past the wonky translation, because there’s a heartfelt story underneath it. Very accessible gameplay, by design. - Inivisble Inc You have never before been, nor will you ever again be, so aware of having left a door open. I fully expected to hate Invisible, but I got hooked pretty hard. Quite tempted to do another run of it once the backlog is clear. - Pyre GOTY. Supergiant’s best game so far, and that’s not an easy thing to say for this Bastion veteran. I sobbed by the end. I’m not being dramatic- literally sobbed. Please play it. Music and writing and, just, heart, are all top tier. All the Nightwings are the best, but Hedwyn is the best best. - Ellipsis Finished it before writing my BBLC post! - Just Cause 2 I found myself getting bored very quickly. The main missions are all identical (really, they are) and the side missions are very uninspired. Blitzing around in a jet or grappling around a mission target is a lot of fun but it feels very shallow. There’s a lot to do but not really any reason to do any of it. I dunno, it’s a kind of hollow experience, that I nonetheless had fun with. - LiEat It went over my head a little, but that’s more on me I think. These horror-esque, eccentric japanese RPG Maker games usually do. But, it’s neat, and short. If this sort of thing usually sticks on you, I think this is a good title. - Shantae Pirates Curse These games always felt non-essential to me; I’m not sure why they never stuck. They never really go below or above Good. Entirely enjoyable but I don’t feel like I’d have really missed anything if I hadn’t played them. It is, however, absolutely worth investing in for the utterly superb sprite work. That doesn’t sell a game by itself, I know, but Shantae is a pixel art masterclass. - FF5 I’d more or less finished it by the time I wrote my BBLC post, so I don’t have much to add. It’s a refreshingly goofy entry in a series known for taking itself too seriously, even compared to its predecessor. Look forward to my entry for this game in my Games Of 2020 post, having played the Four Job Fiesta! - Touhou 17 It’s mid-tier in the touhou hierarchy, IMO. Didn’t set my soul alight but I did enjoy it. Playing as Wolf Marisa makes the final boss too chaotic to really enjoy, but playing through again with Reimu made it more fun. I beat Extra on my third run through, which gave me false confidence that after 10 years I might actually be good at these games- to then be quickly humbled by attempting Th11’s Extra. Final Boss’ theme song has one of the greatest lead-ins of all time, especially given you start the fight by running away from her! Also really loved the Stage 4 theme as you barrel head-first into Hell (the real one this time), and the haunting, calm-before-the-storm serenity of Stage 5, overlooking the City Of Beasts. - HackNet + Labyrinths GOTY. (Yes, I know I already said Pyre was GOTY; it’s my post, I can have two GOTYs. Make your own damned post!) It’s hard to say what I loved about these games without spoiling too much- just know that they play very much like investigation games, and figuring out the puzzles feels great. Labyrinths technically takes place during the events of Hacknet, with a somewhat more Black Hat approach to things- despite this, play all of Hacknet first, and then play Labyrinths. The expansion introduces a lot of new stuff and much trickier challenges, such that going back to the base game afterwards to finish that would leave it a little hollow- a disservice to how great the ending is. - Mega Man X I said everything I wanted to say in my BBLC post, and anything I didn’t cover was better said by Egoraptor. - Octodad Finished it before my BBLC post! - Chroma Squad The final mission is disappointingly poor, but everything up to that point was pretty good. Huge variance and creativity in the bosses. However, the most fun I got from it was when I realised the game allowed me to customise my team name, transformation name, and other such terminology. Dave, Dayve, Davy, Davina, and Dehve shouting “It’s time to Chromatise, Chroma Squad!” very quickly became “It’s time to shit, you bunch of fucks!” and it was funny every single time. (Personal favourite bit of dialogue- “I tried to shit! It worked!”) - Pyrite Heart Finished it before my BBLC post! - Starfox 2 Finished it before my BBLC post! - Burly Men At Sea Finished it before my BBLC post! - Disc Room Finished it before my BBLC post! - Kokurase Finished it before my BBLC post! Should have broken these ones up a bit! - Metroid Rogue Dawn Very, very impressive romhack let down by a distinctly un-fun final section. They managed to fix so many of OG Metroid’s problems, I’m surprised the gauntlet of terribleness that is Tourian escaped with only a cosmetic change. Nonetheless, it’s free, and the other 95% of the game is superb, even from a purely technical standpoint. - Wuppo I dunno what happened here! I was full of praise for Wuppo when I played it, but somehow I just couldn’t stick with it and just never felt like playing it. It’s a very aimless game, and I wonder if that might be why? It’s a shame, I feel disappointed in myself for not seeing it through, but ultimately I play games to have fun and I just wasn’t quite there with Wuppo. - Super Mario Odyssey I loved it, obviously. I wrote my BBLC post towards the end of my time with Odyssey so most of that stands- I do want to add that the controls always felt a little loose, like I wasn’t quite as in-control as I was in Galaxy. Also Mario prioritises walljumping over ledge-grabbing and it’s super-hard to unlearn that instinct after 20 years. Finally- Long Journey’s End is just bullshit. - Secret Of Mana Dropped it pretty soon after Finning it. There’s some logic to the way the game works, some kind of hidden turn-order system, that I could not at all figure out. My AI companions (useless, btw) would hit an enemy which meant I couldn’t, except sometimes the hit would still register but only actually go through 3 seconds later, without any way to tell which way it was going to go. It takes like 7 months for your character to get back up after taking a hit. It’s just, wonky, and I couldn’t solve the puzzle of how to make the game do what I wanted to do. - Pokemon Shield Still working my way through it. It’s- yeah, it’s pokemon. Get a similar vibe to Sun/Moon with it that it’s kind of unfinished- lots of small (and some not so small) parts of the game just feel like there were bigger plans that couldn’t be realised in time. I’m still enjoying it! They did a great job of making the gym battles, and the whole process of 8-badges-then-champion, feel like a spectacle. I think only the anime has managed it to this degree before. - Earthbound Man, I really, really want to like this game, but the battle system is terrible. I need to play through the game again buffing my party up with cheats or something, because it’s so unbalanced and cheap. Everything else about the game is wonderful, but I got so frustrated with the fights! - Mario Kart 8 Didn’t play any of the single player this time, it was midgi’s christmas present so I just joined a couple of multiplayer games. Absolutely baffled that the game features F-Zero style anti-gravity courses, has Mute City and Big Blue, and even has the Blue Falcon as a selectable vehicle, but they haven’t put Captain Falcon in it. Like he’s ever going to get another game of his own? Let him have this! - Carmageddon 2 It’s pretty clunky by now, being 20 years old, but still plays well enough. The physics are super loose so you slide around like your tires have been buttered. It was more fun when they were zombies instead of just normal people. Missions are brutally hard and should be skipped with cheats. - Neopets After 15 years of playing, I finally got a Ghostkersword. The site as a whole has gone through a lot, and certainly its heyday is long gone, but there’s no other game quite like it. I’m playing the Food Club every day, still. - SIF New phone can’t run the actual gameplay section well enough, so I just log in occasionally to grab free scouts. Here’s another one whose golden years are behind it, sadly, but I certainly still have a lot of affection for SIF. - FF1 Mobile version, which fixes a lot of the bugs with the NES original. This year I completed a solo run with 1 Red Mage, a 4-black belts run, a low-level run, and a 4 White Mages run (which ended up being a lower-level run than the low-level run). I’m fairly comfortable in calling myself an expert in FF1, now. There’s still not really any other games like it- build a party as balanced or imbalanced as you like, and see how they fare. I’d like to build my own game in a similar style, one day. - Re: Live Gacha games and RPG just don’t mix! Both gacha and events do not gel with core RPG mechanics of your character(s) developing in strength as the game goes. It seems impossible to balance the game well- do you cater to the whales who spend and spend until they have the strongest teams possible, meaning the free players or the terminally unlucky can’t stand a chance, or do you cater to those players and give them no reason to spend for the more powerful characters? It’s a shame, because the anime was baffling but in that enjoyable way where you just kind of go with whatever it throws at you, and exploring that in a non-freemium game with a solid beginning middle and end would be really interesting. - Tiny Thief Mobile game that’s not available any more, I think my BBLC post covered it well enough. - F-Zero One of the criticisms most commonly levied against F-Zero is that it wont hold your attention for long. While that’s true, it’s not like you have to make a purchasing decision about it any more- it comes bundled in with the other games you’re buying, so the only investment is time. Ignoring that, it’s still fun to burn around the tracks, and the sense of speed hasn’t ever diminished. The music, too, is underappreciated, with Port Town being my personal fave. - F-Zero GX I can’t believe Nintendo hasn’t done anything with this ridiculous universe for 15 years now. The cutscenes are so hilariously overwrought, and the cast of characters is huge! It could so seamlessly intersect with the Starfox universe, too. There were rumours of a Starfox Racing title some time ago, and I really hope that’s the case. It’d work so well (by which I mean, a particularly enjoyable kind of awful). Anyway, the game still plays great, Story Mode is WAY too hard, Dr Stewart’s theme is a Tune. - Stratosphere This game is from 1998! Build a flying fortress, deck it out with fortifications and weapons and power supplies, then use it to destroy other fortresses. I only ever played the demo as a kid, never got the full game. Took some cajoling to get it to work on modern hardware, but eventually I got in and it wasn’t worth it at all. Wow, that performance, apparently it was designed to run at a terrible frame rate and it wasn’t just a result of my 1998 PC not being up to the task! A shame, but I guess it put one of my ghosts to rest. - DKC 2 The best of the three SNES games, despite the inclusion (and protagonism) of Diddy Kong. Lots to love here, but the OST is top notch. - DKC 3 Not as good as 2, but IMO better than 1. There was a much heavier emphasis on gimmick levels in 3, not all of which hit their target, but does provide a great deal of variety. Consensus is that 2 is better, but if someone claimed 3 was the best DKC, I’d let them get away with it. - King Arthur’s World (SNES) Speaking of putting ghosts to rest… We somehow always managed to get this game whenever we got a SNES, and kid!Beebs most certainly didn’t have the patience for it. Adult!Beebs barely does, either. It’s a very ambitious attempt at some sort of RTS/Puzzle hybrid, somewhat comparable to Lemmings? King Arthur must make his way from his starting position to the throne elsewhere in the map to claim it as his own, using the myriad abilities of his soldiers to get him there in one piece. I decided this year that I was finally going to play through the whole damn thing, start to finish, for the first time ever. With copious use of save states and rewinds, I was finally able to slay this demon. For as fiddly and frustrating as it is, I would still say people should check it out if they have the tools to do so- there’s not really anything else like it, on SNES or otherwise; you’re guaranteed a unique experience, if nothing else. - Oscar (SNES) Terrible. - Spanky’s Quest (SNES) With a name like that, how could I refuse? It’s a weird little puzzler, aping (wahey!) Bubble Bobble and Parasol Stars a little. You’re a monkey who can blow bubbles that stun enemies, but if you bounce the bubble on your head it gets progressively larger and can be burst to send a barrage of similarly-sized sports balls at your opponents to knock them out. You know, just like real life. - Addam’s Family (SNES) This easily-dismissible movie tie-in is actually a very competent platformer with some very, very light metroidvania exploration involved. Gomez has to go through Addams Mansion and rescue the members of his family who have been kidnapped by… something. There’s hidden secrets everywhere and the family can be rescued in any order you like. Genuine recommendation. - Panel DePon/Tetris Attack The only vs puzzler I enjoy (yep. Not even puyo puyo. I know.) I played the HECK out of this in my teenage years, and got crazy good at it. Tendonitis says I’m not allowed to do that any more, but once I shook the rust off I was still pretty strong! It was released as Panel DePon in Japan and was fairy themed, but for the western release they replaced all the fairies with Yoshi characters and renamed it Tetris Attack despite having nothing to do with Tetris at all. Up to you which you prefer- language isn't too much of a barrier here. Soundtrack is killer. - Subsurface Circular Finished it before my BBLC post. Still not decided if I liked the way it ended. - Master Of Orion 2 C’mon. After playing three other pretenders to MoO2’s throne, I had to give the real deal a couple of spins too. It’s Civ 5 in space. Customisable race builds. A whole galaxy to bring peace to, by whichever means you prefer. Would love for someone else to get into it. - Touhou 8 Last minute entry I just played yesterday ‘cos I wanted some Touhou and I haven’t played this entry in a long while. A Solo Marisa Normal Final B run, if you’re interested. Kaguya beast-mode tearing apart the Spell Of Imperishable Night at the end of the game is still an awesome moment, but it’s a shame you can miss the last couple of spells if you take some unlucky hits. - And here’s the list of Bins, which are all covered in their BBLC post: No Time To Explain MoO Skyborn Jumpjet Rex StH 4 Ballistick Munch’s Oddysee Outland Project CARS RiME Magicka Waking Mars Urban Chaos Divinity: Dragon Commander Strike Suit Zero Hell Yeah! Lambda Wars Beta Stranger’s Wrath MoO 3 XCOM Lots more Fins than Bins this year! Good to see!

[thewrongexecution]

thinkin bout Haru an vidgames

dsn makes it clear that the vidsgam would kinda be outside her purview but hanging with the thieves makes her exposure thereto basically an inevitability. she might be new to the scene, but she’s observant and clever, an I think she’d pick up on even the deeper complexities in games pretty quick, even if lacking the manual dexterity or muscle memory to act on that knowledge right away.

generally speaking, I feel she’d favor

methodical games, with time to think and room to breathe,

turn-based strategy and visual novels, generally

Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Ace Attorney, Ghost Trick

Animal Crossing

not so much pure puzzle games, though

heavy atmosphere, deep lore, and emotionally evocative experiences,

adventure games generally

Zelda, Metroid, Yakuza, Half-Life, Myst, Katamari, Undertale, Shadow of the Colossus, Pyre, Nier: Automata, Mario Odyssey

Resident Evil, Dead Space, Silent Hill

and sharing an experience with others.

co-op preferable, but any game gets better with friends!

(side-eyes mario party)

almost any game.

this includes playing for or being in an audience, too

you know the thieves are all gonna like different genres, they gotta have a game night where they all play for each other

while avoiding

score-chasers, strict time limits, and micromanagement,

it’s escapism!! real-life stressors can literally make an appointment.

zero-sum multiplayer,

don’t plant no seeds in toxic soil

and games that otherwise don’t respect their players.

you know the type.

games from companies that don’t respect their players, too; she’d def be conscientious about that kinda thing

dead space........... silent hill..........................................

this is probably where Yusuke and Taba would launch into an argument about games and art and Games and Art, but I have enough trouble stringing together one coherent thought at a time so I’ll spare you my inferior rendition. suffice to say, though Haru avoids elitism, she’s still a bit of a connoisseur.

regardless, there are several punchlines to take away here--

(there always are, where I’m concerned)

--but here’s a fun one for Gamer’s to enjoy:

her penchant for methodical, evocative adventures, love of horror, and keen observation skills ultimately converge to make her, the computer-illiterate casual gamer, the first out of all the thieves to beat bloodborne.

[a-shrieking-cloud-of-bats]

anyway let’s do a top howevermany video games of 2018 (that’s “that I played in 2018″, and not “released in 2018″) before the year rings out (I got three hours) no particular order in here by the way, and the readmore’s after the first entry so don’t worry too much about this here post length (at least on the dash) Games in this here post: Lobotomy Corp, Pyre, Cultist Simulator, Deltarune, Hollow Knight, and while I didn’t write about it because I hven’t played enough of it yet, I want everyone to know that HEARTBEAT is delightful Lobotomy Corp I... sort’ve have complex feelings about this game. Because it does a lot of weird stuff and I don’t necessarily agree with every single thing it does. I think it’s even bad in places, sometimes, but overall it’s a game that tried to make something mechanically complex out of an SCP-like setting, and that’s a niche that I think has been empty for a very long time, given how convoluted some of those containment procedures get, and while I dunno if they hit it dead on, they certainly did a good job of it. It’s basically a little manager game where you’re managing an SCP-like facility, you start out knowing nothing about the abnormalities and as you interact with them you get more “points” which can be spent on unlocking info that help you deal with the abnormality safely in the future! This gets pretty interesting at best and pretty russian roulette-ey at worst, I distinctly have a memory of botching my first interaction attempt on one only for the thing to immediately break out, fly into the center of the facility, and murder everyone in an extravagant fashion. Like a lot of my beefs with the game, though, this happens exceedingly rarely, so it’s okay (and I could’ve retried that day if I wanted to). To boot, the game sort’ve creates stories in and of itself, not unlike dwarf fortress or something, where someone botches something in the facility and it has widespread consequences and you’re suddenly running on all cylinders to find out what buttons that thing pushed and how to get them unpushed, and it’s super awesome when you manage it. I had one time where a beehive abnormality managed to infect a few employees with spores, and it turned into a whole ass situation (that you can read about here, it’s long by the way) that IIRC took down like, half the employees in the facility. I should’ve reset, but I didn’t, because I Won. And any game that gives you that vibe can’t be all bad. On top of all this, the game does have a plot, I don’t think everyone ever is going to love it, but it’s not bad, and honestly some of the plot related challenges later in the game are some of my favorite thematic set pieces in a good long time. If you like resource management games, visual novels (a little bit, the plot is there, it’s in visual novel format, and it’s pretty good), and don’t mind a bit of anime plot (or even prefer it, maybe!), consider this one.

Pyre Pyre is a game about a person (you) that falls into a sectioned off part of the world called The Downside. The game starts with you, unconscious, and being rescued by a group of people, where you learn that you were exiled from The Commonwealth, to The Downside for the crime of literacy, and that literacy is extremely valuable in the downside because a literate person is required to perform The Rites of Flame which are sort’ve soccer ball games where you try to get your team to throw a crystal ball thing into the opposing fire. These rites eventually free a single person from the downside, using a tournament format. Over time you learn about your fellow team members, why they were exiled, among other things, you learn about the history of the world, and find out exactly how bad The Commonwealth actually is in some ways, and you, eventually, do something about it. The plot is legitimately fantastic and despite this there are at least  2 “overall endings”, and at least two endings for not only all of your team members, but also for the members of opposing teams, as you can lose to them on purpose to let them escape instead of your own dudes. All those tie into the over-arcing plot, which is to send people back to the corrupt other side to resolve the conflict going on there in secret. So you may not want to let some people go back because they won’t be much help, or they might actively hurt things. Some characters might even be better suited to life in the downside as a whole. It’s also neat to see your liaison on the other side that’s helping you perform the rites steadily reacts to how the overall situation is developing on the other side. The soundtrack is also fantastic, seriously top notch. If you like narratively driven games, games with good characterization, games with a just sort’ve full bodied plot in general, and don’t mind a bit of sportsball, you might take a look at this.

Hollow Knight People call things Dark Souls Inspired a lot, and that unfortunately is rarely a good thing, as dark souls difficulty when done poorly is a huge frustrating mess and it’s a testament to how well FROM did things in that game that it’s as fun to play as it is. And of course a lot of games just aren’t dark souls inspired at all and it’s used as a tagline, but with all that said I will say Hollow Knight is absolutely Dark Souls Inspired in the best way. You’re a little fella and you mysteriously arrive to a town called Hallownest, no knowledge of why you’re there or what you’re doing, and you set out to romp around in the caverns beneath the town. For most of the game you just sorta listen to NPCs talk about things and you slowly piece together the plot (maybe, it’s certainly not required and it’s certainly not guaranteed), unlocking upgrades and such along the way. Basically a metroidvania, with attrition based combat based around knowing your limits and when to go back and rest, along with more traditionally difficult boss fights. It all culminates in a big fight with the big bad and if you did everything right, you get to figure out what the hell was actually going on (sorta). It’s a beautiful game, the character looks like exactly the sort’ve character to never talk, partially because he doesn’t have a mouth, admittedly, the combat feels great, and the NPCs are a delight, I really can’t think of anything bad about this game, unless you just don’t like platformers, or prefer easier games, or something. If you like metroidvanias, a bit of a meloncholic tone, inferred plot from dialogue and item description clues, and don’t mind having to wrestle the game a little bit, I’d say give this a shot. Deltarune Like everyone else, I played Deltarune the day it came out, and had no idea what to expect, probably because we got 24 hours of warning and no tell that it was a new game at all, and ultimately I found out that it was a marked improvement over Undertale (which isn’t to say Undertale is bad, of course). Party based combat was a blast, the game just sort’ve in general warmed my heart (after scaring me briefly right at the beginning), and honestly I’m very very happy that the focus on pacifism was taken out because it was great the first time, but I feel like it’d just be more of the same to functionally “quote” Undertale, so I’m super happy with that decision, and really as a companion piece to Undertale I think it makes a load of sense as a bit more “grounded” take on the whole “combat in video games as a means to an end” thing, that (mostly) manages to not lose the good vibes. I don’t think I could’ve been happier with it, really. If you love to be happy, I highly reccomend deltarune (and it’s free anyway so whynot right) To be real, if you like top down shooters, games that don’t take themselves entirely seriously, or games with just sorta positive vibes in general, take a look. Cultist Simulator I’m gonna be honest with You, The Reader, and say that I do not like reading a whole lot, in general. This is important because Cultist Simulator is a game with a lot of reading in it, and honestly, I loved it regardless. It paints a fantastic picture of a world with Actual Occult Business of some description in it, and it manages to have a unique UI that didn’t make me throw my hands in the air out of frustration and quit. I’d say that this UI, would be a fantastic way to do adventure games in the future, in general, in fact. It is that good. The game itself revolves around you, a person that, up until just recently, was working at a hospital as a ferrier (so someone that wheels around wheelchairs with people in them). One of the patients you wheeled around leaves you a package, you open it, and find an address to a bookstore, a person, and a load of money. You move on from that in a very free-form fashion and Things Happen, I legitimately can’t tell you anything more the game is all about learning how to do things. To go on about the UI more, you have cards, initially you have a reason, health, and passion card. You use these cards in slots to cause certain effects, so putting health into the work slot gives you money and vitality after 60 seconds have passed. You can put the vitality in the dream slot to get a prompt to get more vitality, so you work with health again (after it’s cooldown has expired), get another vitality, put them both in, you got a “hardened physique” skill card and another health card. This is basically how the game flows and how you get access to everything in the game, there’s obviously more to it then hard labor, but again I can’t talk about it too much or I’ll ruin it. And while I’m here, it’s really nice that they didn’t just base it on the Cthulhu Mythos and call it done, it’s a unique, original setting and it’s great. Got no hate for the Cthulhu Mythos but I feel like I’ve seen or heard it A Million Times. If you love adventure games, resource management games, reading, narratively driven games (kind’ve, the plot and characterization is mostly on the side, but it is there in a way), or just really want to see an occult game that isn’t based off Cthulhu, check this one out I say.

[popatochisssp]

Hello Poppy! I hope you slept well! Here is the reminder you requested to create a mob au hc post like the cowboy post. Have a wonderful day!

Thank you, it’s finally time! I’m gonna put it under a cut immediately because having twenty skeletons makes every post with all of them automatically a long one!

Full disclaimer-- none of the boys are bosses, that falls on the monarch(s) of their universes... but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their own roles to play~

(Warnings: mentions of crime, drugs, violence, sex, brief sexism [probably not the way you’d think] and ableism, plus all the usual mob-tropes I may have forgotten to mention)

Sans (Undertale): He’s a...humble purveyor of items, quality goods produced economically in order to pass those savings on to the crafty consumer who might not want to pay full, exorbitant price for ‘name-brand’ luxuries... Yeah, he’s the ‘you wanna buy a watch?’ guy and he spends most of his days (strategically) wandering around the city looking for customers to hock knockoff, lookalike watches, wallets and bags to. The fuzz know him by name but can never seem to find anything to hold him on, so he’s mostly just a harmless nuisance to be shooed along elsewhere if there’s been any complaints. (He’s real good at making friendly conversation with the law enforcement and keeping all eyes on him, and frankly, if there were any real shady business going on somewhere nearby... well, the cops certainly wouldn’t know about it, too busy hustling him along down the street, now would they?)

Papyrus (Undertale): An upstanding citizen, unlike his brother who’s always in some little trouble with the law or other. He is gainfully employed at a fitness center, and he commutes there by car, because paid for his license to operate one and practiced his driving skills and saved up until he could afford a very beautiful, shiny car of his own! It’s a very nice vehicle...so nice, even, that he doesn’t like to drive it for...recreational outings with friends, in case the paint might get scuffed. That’s why his friends let him borrow their cars when they go out, and let him drive very fast (but safely!) all over the city, even at strange hours or by ‘suspicious’ locations. He’s certainly never seen anything suspicious going on, he just waits outside, and if he happens to keep a First Aid kit in his glove-box, that’s just taking precautions, isn’t it? Accidents happen, you know! (He’s the best getaway driver in town and he knows it, but plausible deniability--the less he ‘knows,’ the better.)

Sky (Underswap Sans): Just your average, ordinary businessman, running a nice little bar for average, ordinary folks of all kinds. Well... he co-owns the place with a buddy of his, Grillby, but Grillbz is a free spirit and a real man about town, so really most of the ‘running’  is down to him. And he loves it! So many people (monsters and humans) to meet and chat with and serve... human food and alcohol, of course. Monster food and alcohol isn’t legalized yet to serve to humans, and a black mark like that against his little establishment would be just awful. He adheres fully to the rules and regulations set forth by human governmental agencies, no magic in anything he passes across the counter, skeleton’s honor! ...Total bullshit, obviously-- he’s running a speakeasy for humans who want to partake in a little monster food or booze, because it’s not harmful to humans and that makes it an even stupider regulation than prohibition was. Grillby taught him most of the menu and cooks on the rare occasions he’s in, while Sky handles the liquid menu and keeps an eye-socket out for snitches and inspectors trying to catch him in the act. He’s never missed a rat yet.

Paps (Underswap Papyrus): He works at his brother’s place. In the back. Only part-time, though, Sky’s got it mostly buttoned up there, so Paps has a lot of leisure time to wander around the city, hit up his favorite joints, chat with friends--and strangers that can become friends, he’s a friendly sorta guy. And if he’s ever seen sharing a cigarette or two with one of those friends, of course it’ll be a totally normal tobacco cigarette, and no exchange of money or anything else incriminating about the interaction. ...Doggo is the one that does the deals, he’s got the Dog Treat supply and a client base that’s steadily starting to include humans--but since Dog Treats are classed as Monster Consumables and illegal to distribute to humans, in spite of being non-addictive, only mildly affective, and non-irritant to lungs, things get a little more convoluted. Paps hits up Doggo at Muffet’s (a wholly monster establishment) for the Dog Treats and a client list, ‘refurbishes’ the Treats to resemble cigarettes, and then meets up with anybody who prepaid for their order real casual-like to fence ‘em. He gets a little cut of the profits, and a discount when he’s picking up for pleasure instead of business--like a (slightly) more illegal girl scout cookie racket.

Jasper (Underfell Sans): Him? He’s just an average joe in all respects. He’s got a little auto shop, spends his days tuning up cars and bikes and such as the like, and most evenings out having fun with anybody else who’s out looking to have a good time--food and drink and maybe a little gambling, but small games, low stakes, for charity, yanno? Nothing illegal, he’d freely assure anyone concerned about the law. Yep, he’s a perfectly normal, law-abiding citizen...as far as anyone can tell. If he does a little work on the side, when specifically requested to, by perhaps one of his monarchs or one of the parties they’d approved to ask for his...services... Well, he’s certainly too quick and clean about it to leave any hard evidence behind, and he’s always far away from...whatever may have happened...with too many witnesses all in agreement that he was there and couldn’t have been anywhere else, unless he could somehow make it across town in the blink of an eye. (His side-gig is as a hitman. He keeps his shortcut ability very tightly under wraps to make for perfect alibis, and takes his targets out with magic bullets which he can disappear afterwards. If he’s ever somehow implicated in anything, he’s happy to point out to the nice officers that he doesn’t even own a weapon. They’re free to look, but all they’ll find is a set of knuckledusters he keeps on his person, purely for protection--and look how shiny the brass is, never even been used, officers! Guess they’ve got nothing on him, after all...)

Pyre (Underfell Papyrus): A law-abiding citizen. He must be--surely one can’t get more law-abiding than a lawyer...right? He actually does keep his (lack of) nose clean, but studying the convoluted mess that is human law doesn’t leave time for much else--even when your studies are funded by royalty and you’re given everything you need to open up your own practice as soon as you’ve passed the bar. Still, his skill and knowledge in arguing the law is very valuable and his services are in high demand, so he’s well-compensated for his chosen career and lives his life outside of it both comfortably and legally. His clients...are innocent until proven guilty and it would be an extreme failing of his duty to give any of them anything less than his best in the courtroom, regardless of their character, their associations, and what they happen to have been accused of. (Yeah, he’s a mob lawyer, used almost exclusively by Asgore and Toriel to protect them and anyone they send to him and all of their collective...interests. He respects the law, but values justice above it, so in spite of having a lot of clients who are definitely criminals in one way or another, he has no trouble sleeping at night.)

Mal (Swapfell Sans): He’s an accountant, nothing more, nothing less. ...For Toriel, of course, so he’s paid well for his services. And he has quite a head for numbers and figures, so he plays the stock market and does quite well there, too, smart investments and reading the writing on the wall, and all that. It’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for his very healthy finances and his lavish lifestyle--fur coats, fine suits, fancy cars, shiny gold pocket-watches-- it’s all expensive and almost over the top, but hey, he is the money-man and all the numbers check out. It seems that he’s just very good at handling and investing his capital, it’s no wonder the monster-queen herself hired him on... (He is, of course, running several money laundering schemes at any given time, taking all the less-than-legally-obtained money earned by constituents of the [former] Empire and layering it through official channels to make it look legal in such a convoluted, complex web that it doesn’t raise any significant red flags. He’s got his claws in a lot of pies, and he takes what he needs off the top to live a little luxuriously, with Toriel’s knowledge and permission-- a perk for the necessary service he provides.) Whatever else may be true, it’s a simple fact that he’s very, very good at his job.

Rus (Swapfell Papyrus): With the lucrative career his brother has, the lucky SOB doesn’t have to work a day in his life if he doesn’t want to, but he’s using the safety net to pursue his passion in art. Subjective as it is, it’s hard to say if he’s really any good, but people seem to like what he produces well-enough--not a household name, but people passionate about the subject might recognize his work and his pieces sell with at least moderate success. For all that it’s probably not going to make him famous or rich(er than his brother), he’s dedicated to his craft and regularly makes bulk purchases of his supplies, canvas and reams of paper and paint and ink and the like, to keep up his steady work and art sales. He seems like an altogether normal and down-to-earth sort of guy, nothing suspicious about him at all. (He’s a counterfeiter and works in tandem with his brother--they even hit a Bureau together to lift a set of plates for the one and only active crime he was involved in--and his art is just a really good cover for why he needs so much ink and paper and other supplies on a regular basis. He does love and care about his art career, that part’s not fake, but he’s also got a good eye-socket for detail and steady hands to replicate it, and if fake human money that looks really real can help monsters, he doesn’t really see why he shouldn’t.)

Slate (Horrortale Sans): He’s...been through a lot. All monsters have, really, but he was hit kind of especially hard and... Whatever Gerson, or Undyne, or whoever’s running things now up on the Surface are getting involved in...he doesn’t really want any part of it. He gets regular stipends for some unspecified ‘service’ he performed for the Queen, Underground, and while no human (alive) knows what that was, it’s apparently enough to live off of relatively comfortably without being employed himself. He has a nice little place with his brother on the outskirts of the city and he lives there quietly, peacefully. He rarely goes into town, just the occasional walkabout, stopping at restaurants or scoping out the architecture. (Part of his one concession to being left out of whatever illegal, mob-type business may or may not be going on: he needs a good mental map of the city and at least a few landmarks that he’ll definitely remember, because he’s the emergency evac should...anything...go especially south. The house phone doesn’t ring too often in the middle of the night, but when it does, he needs to know where he needs to be, and quick.)

Papy (Horrortale Papyrus): He’s, ah... not involved in any ‘business’ either, but he does spend a little more time out of the house, at the local hospital. He was allowed to make a study of human medicine and become a nurse by Very Special Exception--mostly due to some friends (or at least one) in high places, and some very backwards human attitudes about parts that constitute a ‘man’ and how a skeleton without any parts could perhaps be allowed into nursing--and he’s proven himself a valuable member of staff and even made friends with all of his coworkers. He’s happy at his job, and with his life, and returns home to his quiet, peaceful house every night with a smile. (He has a go-bag ready by the phone for those late night calls, though, full of healing items and medical equipment he may have subtly nicked from the hospital, just so he has everything he needs to treat a monster or a friendly human that may have gotten hurt...somehow...and for reasons they have no need to specify, can’t risk going to a doctor.)

Ash (Undergloom Sans): Just a poor street musician...or at least, that’s what most people figure, ‘cause he doesn’t dress too well and the trombone he plays while sitting out on the sidewalk looks like it’s probably the nicest thing he owns. He gets a couple bucks from time to time, but rarely any second glances, and that... That works in his favor. You’d be surprised how much people talk about when they think nobody’s listening (or at least...nobody important) and he can pick up a lot of interesting information of what’s going on in the city just by setting up in the right spot and waiting for folks to talk business. He’s pretty quiet when he’s not tooting the ol’ horn and great at blending into the background, and that’s made him the guy to go to when you want to know something--like how much somebody else knows, or if there are any plans in place for say, a raid or a sting or some kind. (Law enforcement is the worst about keeping proprietary information ‘proprietary’ when they think their only audience is some nobody monster bum sleeping on a bench...) He’s also got something of a whole information network going on with the actual homeless people in the city, since he gives great tips about places who are hiring or somewhere to get a meal or a bed for the night and he always gives his earnings from busking to those who need it more than him. He’s paid for the service he provides and he’s got a home to go back to, it just seems right that the music-money goes to help somebody else.

Yrus (Undergloom Papyrus): He works as a nanny for the Queen! Not too long ago, she might’ve opted to just stay home and look after her newly adopted child herself, while Asgore handled business with the humans, but... They’re freshly split now, and Toriel wants to be just as involved in things as Asgore as much as she wants to s l o w l y ease into being a full-time mother again. Yrus is the solution, already fond of little Frisk and a very warm and trustworthy soul who stayed bright even in the gloom of the Underground. He happily takes the job when asked and splits his time between supervising and caring for Frisk, and tutoring them in all the important subjects (math, history, magic, et cetera). He finds he has a passion for teaching and thinks he might go into that someday, when Frisk is older and Toriel has a little more time and confidence to no longer need him as a buffer. (Whatever it is, specifically, that takes up so much of Toriel’s time and keeps her out so late that he sometimes has to wait around well past Frisk’s bedtime for her to come back and ask after them... Yrus couldn’t fathom a guess and isn’t going to ask any questions. That would definitely be out of his scope as a simple child-minder and even if he knew anything, it would be an extreme violation of the family’s privacy for him to tell tales, which he’s happy to point out to anyone with a lot of questions for somebody so close to two of the Dreemurrs.)

Brick (Horrorfell Sans): He’s on his brother’s payroll. It seemed like the best way to kill two birds with one stone: he’s a big, scary-looking wall of bone who isn’t well suited to a regular-joe sorta job, and his bro’s a very high-profile guy who needs somebody big and scary-looking to stand next to him and be a deterrent. Nepotism, maybe, but they’ve been looking after each other their whole lives already and it’s something Brick knows he can do--he’d do it for free, but if King thinks it’s better (and safer) to have it as his job description, he’s probably right, so Brick’ll take the paycheck for it. King’s also very likely the only one who could stop him if he...lost control...somewhere out and about, so sticking close to him makes Brick feel better and hey, maybe they’re actually killing three birds with this stone of an arrangement. Still, he mostly just goes about town with King, standing around and watching his back and staring people down when he needs to while his brother carries on with his conversations and business. He hardly ever has to do anymore than that...almost never. (One of his favorite places to go is a little hole-in-the-wall craft shop, where King always pretends to take longer than he needs so Brick can peruse the yarn and try to pick up a little sign language from the nice old deaf lady who owns the place.)

King (Horrorfell Papyrus): Yes, yes, he’s very high profile--he did lead monsterkind for a time, getting everyone up to the Surface and settled there--but he’s since stepped down. He’s retired, and anything his successor may be involved in... surely, he couldn’t say. He and Toriel are barely in contact and the money he receives from her on the regular is a gift of goodwill, mostly for medical expenses (his leg, and his brother’s...well). All he does these days is collect for a charity, a pet project of his, Monster Reparations. Lots of people give such generous donations when he goes around to ask for them, maybe impressed a little by his fame, but he can’t feel too terribly about using it for such a worthy cause... (It’s a thinly veiled protection racket and the people and businesses who buy into it tend not to fall victim to ‘mysterious’ criminal activity. Toriel may be officially calling the shots now, but King, as the monster who put her back there, is in a very unique position of power in having her ear, an unofficial underboss totally off the books. Some ‘donate’ more than necessary when he comes collecting, hoping to earn preferential treatment, and sometimes they get it and sometimes they don’t--it’s entirely down to King’s opinion of them personally. ...The old woman who runs the craft store pays about half the going rate, and the immigrant who imports the miniature trees he likes gets a heavy discount, too. The deli-owner he overheard hurling discriminatory epithets at a customer, however, pays triple. You get the idea.)

Merc (Horrorswap Sans): He’s a researcher. Highly confidential, he’s sworn to secrecy and even mentioning that he’s being funded by Elder King Shroomba is pushing the boundaries of what he’s allowed to talk about. Still, he has his own facility, and several assistants, monster volunteers and sometimes human ones--but they have to sign papers swearing not to talk about what goes on in the lab, too. From what they are allowed to say, the gist is just that it didn’t seem like anything sinister was going on; not even a blood-draw... Merc seems pretty happy to leave at the end of every day, though, and whenever it comes up, he talks very fondly about being able to finish the project. (He’s researching DT, specifically how it can be used to enhance monster physiology and make them more resistant to damage from intent. Merc’s misadventure with DT destabilized him, but from 1HP he’s now more durable than ever, and his second attempt with his brother had less dramatic but still noticeable and successful results. The king wants that safety net for more monsters, especially ones who are on the front lines of...potentially less than legal dealings...who could really be at risk. Merc is reluctant, but with the stipulation of informed, willing volunteers for DT extraction and infusion, he can’t bring himself to turn down the resources and funding to research his own condition and bring the possibility of being normal again ever closer. He still has a hard time with the idea of ‘enhancing’ monsters, but the fact that it’s at least being done safely, willingly, and with a whole team behind it this time helps a lot.)

Ell (Horrorswap Papyrus): He’s in a wheelchair but not letting it keep him down, and he’s running a modest little newspaper stand on the corner--papers and magazines and cheap books--nothing all that special but boy, what an inspiration, good for him that he’s got a job and can run the place by himself! All kinds come and go from his stand, and sometimes he closes it up for a little bit in the middle of the day to take a...er...roll, with some people who must be friends of his, but he’s never gone too long, so nobody says anything to the poor guy about the inconvenience. He’s a dedicated businessman, or trying to be; won’t even let people help him with those heavy-looking boxes of deliveries he gets, and for a fella with no legs, he seems to be doing his best! (...The whole thing is a low-key smuggling operation and he is making bank off it. There’s a system of code-words in place related to the publications he sells for a ‘customer’ to indicate whether they’re buying or selling, and what--magic consumables, stolen/hot items, imported goods, the works--and where and when they want things to go down. There’s even hidden compartments in his custom-built wheelchair for some of the riskier stuff, because he knows no cop in their right mind would force a guy with no legs out of his chair just to search it with witnesses around. And that’s presuming any law enforcement were to even catch wise to his set-up, which he kind of doubts: he’s sly and subtle and even if he weren’t, he knows people see the chair before they see him. Why not take advantage of that?)

Pitch (Horrorswapfell Sans): He makes his living as a boxer, and a subsequent minor celebrity. Pretty much any match he’s in is an exhibition match--not just a monster, not just a little guy (...relatively), but a short skeleton monster who’s blind, wow! You don’t see that every day, that’s a spectacle! Plenty of ‘ooh’s and ‘ahh’s in the packed stands every night the sightless skeleton scrapper is in the ring and nobody can figure out how he bobs and weaves so well that he hardly ever gets hit. He loses some matches, that’s to be expected, even for a ‘normal’ fighter, but hey, people love an underdog story, so when he wins, it’s an uproar every time. (For his part, Pitch hates most of his ‘fans’ who think of him the same way they probably think of a silly little dog who learned a funny trick, but the fame in general, and the thrill of the fight... Those are enough to keep him in the ring. Just... maybe not quite enough to keep him fighting clean. He’s as dirty as sportsmen come and he and a few other monsters regularly play his own odds with the bookies: he’ll subtly use magic to cheat and stay in longer, or go down when he could easily keep fighting, whatever’s more profitable with the over/under from match to match. If he’s going to be a circus act doing what he loves, he may as well get hazard pay for his dignity... and y’know, a couple of idiots who think being able to fight is a ‘trick’ because you’re blind aren’t nearly so annoying when you’re being driven away from them in a luxury car, to your expensive house in the hills decked out with all the amenities.)

Nemo (Horrorswapfell Papyrus): He’s got a place he looks after, keeps things running. Just a small joint, nothing fancy, a little cabaret variety show type place--singing, dancing, drinks on tap, that kinda thing. After dark, some of the...performances... might get a little more risqué, stuff that titillates like burlesque and striptease, but rest assured, his permits are all in order and everything’s on the up and up. Nothing illegal whatsoever going on here, just a bit of singing and dancing and everybody having a good time. (Most of the performers are sex workers--monsters, but some humans too--and patrons can negotiate private shows or off-the-clock ‘meetings’ at their discretion. Nemo opts to not know too much of the details of what his dancers do when he’s not looking, for legal reasons, but he makes sure they have a safe place to do it, are paid for their services, and don’t have repeat problem-patrons if any slip through. Being one of the gentlemen running such an establishment in the city that doesn’t happen to touch or steal from or mistreat the performers, his place is the place to get hired if that’s your line of work. He’s mostly just happy to be able to provide the job security and the job safety for a group that really seems to catch a lot of hell up here on the Surface just for how they make their money.)

Sunny (Gastertale Sans): He’s a busy guy, bouncing around from place to place, job to job... Being so scattered, you might think he’d be having money troubles by now, but while he may not be the type to stick with one thing and stay there for a good few years, nobody who knows him would say he’s unreliable--he’s the type of guy that you can give him a call anytime and if you need help, he’ll be right over, and he’ll get the job done well, too! Of course he lives with his fancypants brother, and the King and Queen probably spot him a loan or two now and then, since they’re friendly, so all in all, no one really wonders how he makes enough money to live so comfortably. The answer’s right there in their face...isn’t it? (Yes and no. He is the kind of guy you can call anytime to get a job done, and he will do it well, but the money he gets from Asgore and Toriel is less of a ‘loan’ and more of a ‘payment for services rendered.’ He’s a cleaner, the guy you call to make things go away, things that aren’t supposed to be there: stains, papers, weapons, evidence... He’ll get rid of it for you, and if you need a convincing coverup or an alibi for...whatever it is that you weren’t there doing, he’ll take care of that, too. If somebody’s calling him up for his special brand of help, they probably just want to put it all behind them and forget all about that nasty business. He’s happy to facilitate--after all, what are friends for?)

Aster (Gastertale Papyrus): Like his brother, he gets on well with the King and Queen. (They both feel like they’ve known the monarchs much longer than they actually have...somehow...) But in any case, unlike his brother, Aster is very well-organized and thoughtful, so he’s a natural choice as an...advisor, of sorts, when monsters surfaced and it was...decided that perhaps there would be some...activities and...ways of doing things that...should remain unknown to the humans. Not unknown to Aster: he keeps track of everything, reminding the monarchs of little details they may have forgotten, pointing out things they may not have noticed, making educated suggestions for courses of action with likely positive outcomes based on past experiences... He’s the linchpin between Asgore and Toriel that makes them terrifyingly more efficient than they would be without him, a consigliere-equivalent who certainly isn’t a boss himself, but he has the bosses’ trust and their ears and that makes him a person of great interest. But...no one can get anything useful out of him: he’s loyal, above all, and much as he values truth, he also realizes that perhaps not everyone deserves to know the full truth of everything, especially not those who might use that truth to bring some sort of harm or misfortune to his friends...or to monsterkind at large. ...And trying to directly seize his extensive notes on the private and personal business-doings of the Dreemurrs is an even more doomed endeavor--he writes them all in a strange jumble of symbols that no one’s ever seen, and the code-breakers never have it long enough to decipher anything useful before its back in his hands, reclaimed quite speedily after unlawful seizure of private property containing confidential information. Lots of well-meaning law enforcement have their sights set on him as some sort of criminal white whale, but the simile is all too accurate-- they’ll never catch him, and even if they do, there’ll be nothing to hold him on. He simply has too many friends (and family members) in very high, very useful places.

[videogamedogbracket]

Bracket (Round One)

First off, big thanks to Challonge for making this bracket so easy to generate! (Also, yes, I'm sorry about the tiny text.)

We'll be starting off Round One with the matchups furthest to the left, which will be split into four groups. Group One is going up at the same time as this post, and the next groups will be posted in order once the previous one is finished.

Here are the Round One matchups:

Group One

Angelo (Final Fantasy VIII) vs. Toby (The Great Ace Attorney)

Rush (Megaman) vs. Flippy (Toontown Online)

Lesser Dog (Undertale) vs. Spot (Nintendogs)

Riley (Call of Duty) vs. Blanca (Shadow Hearts: Covenant)

Sergeant O'Fera (Cuphead) vs. K.K. Slider (Animal Crossing)

Dribble (WarioWare) vs. Barkley (Cassette Beasts)

Gab (Zero Time Dilemma) vs. Randy (Wobbledogs)

Group Two

Dr. Potan (THE DOG Island) vs. Ai (Puyo Puyo Tetris)

Colonel Ruff (Brawl Stars) vs. Mame (Yakuza)

Repede (Tales of Vesperia) vs. Aesop (The Flame in the Flood)

Umbra (Final Fantasy XV) vs. Pepita (Trauma Center: New Blood)

DD (Metal Gear Solid V) vs. Fondue (Rhythm Thief)

Polterpup (Luigi's Mansion) vs. Flash (Jetpack Joyride)

Ren (DRAMAtical Murder) vs. Rusty (Rusty's Real Deal Baseball)

Group Three

Annoying Dog (Undertale) vs. Boomer (Far Cry 5)

Hewie (Haunting Ground) vs. Isabelle (Animal Crossing)

Moonless (Fear & Hunger) vs. Elena (Spiritfarer)

Pryna (Final Fantasy XV) vs. Amaterasu (Okami)

Koromaru (Persona 3) vs. Dogamy and Dogaressa (Undertale)

Pickle (Papa's Pancakeria) vs. Digby (Animal Crossing)

Ppodae (Lobotomy Corporation) vs. PaRappa (PaRappa The Rapper)

Group Four

Missile (Ghost Trick) vs. Hot Dog (Skylanders)

Boney (Mother 3) vs. Pizza (Chicory: A Colorful Tale)

Taroumaru (Genshin Impact) vs. Brown (Rule of Rose)

Satty (Breath of the Wild) vs. Interceptor (Final Fantasy VI)

Rukey (Pyre) vs. Sam (Sam and Max)

Koroku (Suikoden III) vs. Rex (Fallout: New Vegas)

Lord Arcanine (Pokémon Legends Arceus) vs. White Beast (Guardian Tales)

I don't have much else to say that isn't self-explanatory, but I will make one thing clear about this tournament. Propaganda for your faves is allowed, and even encouraged, but any rude or disparaging comment about another participant will result in an instant block. Please just be civil and uplift your favorite without tearing down anyone else's, okay?

Happy voting!

[elkian-art]

October 2017 Sketchdump: Fanart

On Pixiv

My Patreon

[showyoumyfavoriteobsession]

In my spare time (of which there is not a lot, since I’m working overnights now) in the last few weeks, I’ve been on a bit of an ‘indie games you can play in one sitting’ kick so here I am to ramble about the three I’ve played recently. Almost spoiler-free (they’re marked), but I talk about the endings of all three in general terms.

I finally got around to Transistor, which has been on my list basically since I found out that the creators of Bastion made another game. (I’m hoping to get to Pyre sometime soon; maybe even tonight?) I absolutely love Bastion - it’s easily one of my top five favorite games - and I was glad that the gorgeous art style was the same, as well as some similarities in the gameplay. The combat took me a little while to get the hang of because I’m not a great strategist - I’m more a run-and-gun kind of guy - but once I understood how much customizability was built into it I was blown away. The biggest thing I felt was lacking was choices in the story. Transistor has great writing and I got really attached to the characters and interested in their world - just like Bastion - but Bastion turned that on you by giving you an extremely difficult choice near the end of the game involving the characters’ fates. While it wasn’t actually of a lot of consequence since it was so close to the end of the game, it felt agonizingly hard. The end of Transistor was sad, but I didn’t quite feel the emotional gut-punch that Bastion delivered with either ending, and I think involving the player in the characters’ stories would have improved it. It was a lot shorter than I expected, too; I finished it in a little over 4 hours. I don’t pay too much attention to game lengths in general, but I was surprised that it was so much shorter than Bastion.

I bought INSIDE during the Halloween sale this year - LIMBO has been sitting in my library for a few years, but I decided to jump in with the newer one. I’m honestly not sure what can be said about this game that hasn’t already been said. It’s (again (this is a common theme for me)) visually striking and deceptively simple in terms of gameplay, with a story conveyed without any dialogue. This does leave the story a little vague, but the world is so tightly constructed that it can’t be considered lazy. The first chapter was my favorite to play - it sucked me right in - and the last chapter turned everything on its head. I’m still contemplating theories about both the regular and secret endings, but to me it feels like thinking about it too hard will just cause it to fall apart, and I don’t really want to do that. As I mentioned above, I am not a good strategist, and I had to look up walkthroughs for some of the trickier puzzles, as well as almost all the orb collectibles. In all (including going back for the collectibles), it took me about 8 hours to finish - I played this one over a few days.

And finally, I played Firewatch yesterday and I’m still thinking about it. Another absolutely gorgeous game. It stands out to me as one of the few games where I felt I really got to know the game world - I remember viscerally almost every trail I walked on, and I want to go back and visit them as if they’re real places. The shale slides (the ones you rappel down) were the only thing that felt a little copy-and-pasted; everything else was unique and vibrant. This one is also very much about the relationships between the characters, but unfortunately most of the plot didn’t quite hold up to the incredibly well-acted characters. :SPOILERS: As soon as I found Brian’s backpack on the second day, I figured there was no way he was still alive, the Wapiti Station was pretty clearly for wildlife tracking, and while I didn’t guess that Ned was still living in the woods, I ultimately wasn’t very shocked by it either. :END SPOILERS: The actual end of the game - the conclusion of Henry and Delilah’s story - I thought was handled pretty well, and that the open-endedness was actually a plus. But anyway, I really enjoyed this, and I feel like I’m going to be back just to wander through the woods and chat with Delilah. The game took me just under 4 hours at a leisurely pace, although I didn’t get all the achievements.

I’m not sure what I’m tackling next - I started Cuphead but it’s so hard that I can only play for a little while before getting frustrated, so it’s taking me a long time. I’m also going to get back to FNAF, I promise! Possibly tomorrow, even, since I have the next two nights off. After INSIDE, I started LIMBO and played a few minutes, but it didn’t grab me in quite the same way so I put it down for now. I’ll probably pick it up again in a little while when I’m not going to just be comparing it to INSIDE. I’m thinking either Virginia or OneShot for my next short story-based game. I also still need to play Undertale, but it’s a little on the long side so I might save it for after the holidays. If you’ve played anything good that’s around 6 hours or less, I’m always looking for recommendations!