#go the distance is SO papyrus' theme song

[tookishcombeferre]

Papyton Week Day 1: Movies "You Are Right Where I Belong"

Papyrus hasn’t seen this movie in a long time. No. Papyrus hasn’t seen this since he was small, and he and Sans watched it Underground on the TV in their house in Snowdin. He liked it well enough, but they didn’t usually have much time for movies. Besides, Sans always fell asleep which made it boring to want to watch movies anyway. There was no one to share the suspense and joy with when Sans decided to nod off.

However, Papyrus finds that watching movies with with Mettaton is very different.

[anotherfuckingkinblog]

favorite kin memory? maybe one from each of your kintypes or timelines, or maybe a top 5 or 10. If you have the time, of course!

hiya!! thank you for asking :)

i was going to make this a top 5 but i kinda went a little over– oops 💀

anyways, in no particular order:

Rouxls:

taking Lancer to a theme park with Queen, he went on the carousel i don't know how many times–

sitting outside on my own in castle town while it rained. someone was having a party or something in the castle and i wanted some space; i could still hear music and people talking in the distance, it was peaceful :)

Mettaton

pretty much any time i got to hang out with Papyrus, i remember messing around on a bridge together in the summer, hanging off the railings and chasing each other back and forth like kids– i think one of us fell in the river.

also we would routinely sit under a blanket on the sofa and binge tv shows together, we'd make it maybe a few episodes in before i'd fall asleep.

Barracuda

i think a lot of people disliked me to some extent, admittedly i was kind of a dick sometimes, and i spent a lot of time alone or with Rave at home. Blixer, Lycan and the Heroes would try their best to include me in things, they'd pretend to be my "enemies" so i would have to "fight" them; it was quite sweet, really. i'm not sure if i ever told them how much i appreciated that.

i also remember listening to music with Rave, we just layed on the floor for hours. they got so excited to show me their favourite songs, it was adorable :)

SCP-035

meeting Doc (049) in Italy. while we didn't necessarily hit it off right away (he loathed me), we got really close after a while, i liked his little idiosyncrasies. i'd travelled alone most of my life and now i had someone else to share those experiences with.

also bonus memory: any time there was a mass breach at the facility, i loved the pure chaos of it all plus it was nice to have that freedom back again, even just momentarily. apologies to the MTF that had to put up with my shit, though 💀

[lynn-does-stuff]

More than Friends

A Kustard Oneshot

—————

“You suck at this game.”

“Shut up! It’s only because my hands are tired!”

“Tell that to your ever growing list of losses.”

“Shut up!”

Fell began laughing at his best friend’s pout. This only caused Classic to huff and turn away and pout even more. Which also caused Fell to laugh even harder. Which ended up in a chain reaction of Classic growing more and more upset before he did the only thing appropriate for the situation. As Fell was laughing so hard that tears were starting to form, Classic reached behind them and grabbed one of the pillows from his bed. He then proceeded to smack him with the puffy object.

That shut him up.

“Oh it’s on.” Fell said in a low voice. He quickly stood up on the bed and dropped the game controller on the floor, grabbing the other pillow. They ended up participating in a full on pillow war, each of them being smacked and then immediately hitting the other. They were jumping on the bed as they tried to dodge the other’s attacks, which caused them both to be uneasy with their footing and and stumble a few times, which caused even more laughs between the two of them. All the while the sounds of large guffaws and a forgotten video game theme filled the room.

Eventually, the two of them crashed to the bed, still a mess of laughter. They could barely breathe, for they had worked up quite the sweat, something they found they had been doing more often due to their strong friendship.

The two lay there for a bit, trying to catch their breath and staring at the ceiling. It was almost peaceful, just two best friends hanging out and having a good time.

Suddenly, the tranquility of it all was interrupted as Fell’s phone dinged, signifying a text message. Groaning, he sat up and looked at his phone, then groaned some more and flopped back down on the bed.

Classic sat up and smirked at his companion’s behavior. “Oh? What’s gotten the grumpy cat upset now?”

Fell just groaned again. “Boss texted me. Wanted me to come home. Here for too long I guess.”

“Aww, well I guess you should get going then.” Classic sighed, only now starting to calm down from their earlier squabble.

“Yeah, guess so.” Fell stood up and started to grab his things. He walked over to Classic’s nightstand and grabbed his red turtleneck, slipping it over his dark gray tee shirt. He then grabbed his jacket and slipped that on as well before heading to the door. Classic got up and stretched before following him out of his bedroom.

When they reached the front door, Classic stood in the doorway, waving Fell off. They called out their farewells to each other before Classic almost closed the door. However, before he could, Fell called back again.

“Oh yeah! And next time, I want an opponent!”

“Hey!”

Fell started laughing again as he continued to walk home. Classic shut the door then shivered, for he was still wearing just a light gray tee shirt after all. He had taken off his jacket when they were playing games in his room earlier because it was so hot in there.

Hot... Fell was hot..

Classic kind of wished it was so hot in his room that Fell would have been forced to take off his tee shirt as well, revealing his rib cage to Classic’s eyes.

Classic’s eyes went wide as he realized what he was thinking, a light blue blush dusted across his face. He bit his lower lip as he tried to shake the thought from his mind. The worst thing is that these thoughts have occurred many times before.

Classic and Fell were best friends. When the Multiverse event happened and all of the incode characters were able to become outcodes, they immediately hit it off. Classic had been a little surprised at the appearance of his edgy self, but he was a carefree monster, so he didn't shove him away like Fell thought he would. Ever since, the two have been nearly inseparable. They did almost everything together, like talking about their timelines, playing video games, and even sharing all of their deepest secrets.

Classic smiled at that. Almost all of them. There was no way Fell would be allowed to know his secret. No way in hell would he reveal his true feelings for his best friend. He didn't want to ruin their friendship, Classic wasn't sure what he would do if Fell left him. They relied on each other, and they needed each other.

So, he shoved the dream deep down into the abyss of his soul before collecting himself. They had left their earlier game running after all. Classic smiled to himself.

If he could beat his feelings, he could beat Fell at that stupid game.

***

A few days had passed and Fell still hadn't asked to come over again. They still texted every night to check in with each other and chat, but apparently Fell's brother was working him to death and couldn't get away. So, Classic spent those days lying in his room, avoiding all work possible. He was starting to get a little bored though. All he had been doing was texting Fell and playing that game. He was over it, the bosses were easy to beat, he'd almost mastered the characters, and that theme song was stuck in his head and now it was just annoying.

Classic sighed. He didn't want to do anything, but at the same time he was done with the nothing. So, he sat up and got on his phone and started texting Fell again.

Classic smiled to himself and stood up off the bed. He slipped on his jacket over his gray tee shirt and left his room. He slowly trudged down the stairs, hands in pockets, when a loud voice filled the room.

"SANS! THERE YOU ARE! YOU FINALLY LEFT YOUR ROOM! ARE YOU FINALLY GOING TO YOUR SENTRY STATION?"

Classic looked up to see his brother in the kitchen. He bit his lower lip as he thought of an excuse. However, he was known to come up with ways out of sticky situations like these.

"Nah, I'm too lazy. Plus, I'd just sleep all day. Don't wanna steal the credit from your work and all."

Papyrus seemed a little struck back at that before grinning. "OF COURSE! I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES ANY WORK AT ALL, SO I SHOULD GET THE CREDIT! MAYBE THEN I'LL BE IN THE ROYAL GUARD!"

Classic laughed as he strolled on into the kitchen. He walked over to the fridge and took a bottle of ketchup out of it, taking a nice, long drink of the tangy substance. He loved that taste, the tangy goodness as it slid down your throat was amazing, and it went with just about everything. And while it was good with other things, it was amazing just on its own. Nothing else to hide some of it's flavor away.

Papyrus just sighed at his brother's shenanigans. He truly didn't understand his obsession over it. He honestly hated the condiment himself. It was too tangy for his liking, nothing like the spaghetti sauce he used. But wait.. wasn't that made from tomatoes? And isn't ketchup as well? Then why don't they taste the same? Also, if you can put tomatoes in the form of ketchup on a hotdog, can you put tomatoes but in the form of sauce on it? And what about spaghetti? Was that why people made a face when they ate it? Was it because he was supposed to put ketchup on it?

Papyrus sat there, pondering to himself as Classic finished his bottle of ketchup. As he went to throw the bottle away, he saw his brother standing still for once, dead set on whatever it was that was going on in his mind. He chuckled a bit before leaving the puzzled Papyrus behind.

Classic closed the door behind him and breathed in the cold Snowdin air. He shivered slightly as he began walking. How much he wished he had Fell right next to him, holding his hand to warm him up, or maybe even wrapping an arm around his shoulder as they walked.

Classic's eyes widened as he realized what his thoughts had drifted to, blushing furiously. He stopped dead in his tracks at the thought and tried to shake it from his mind. Suddenly he realized he needed to teleport to the surface to go to the movies, silently cursing himself for not realizing it sooner and sparing him from these thoughts.

He brought up his hand and snapped, a sudden tingling feeling erupting all over his body. He felt light, yet heavy at the same time as a faint blue swirl of magic encircled him before he vanished. When he appeared again he felt the tingling feeling disappear as he stumbled slightly, slowly recovering from such a long distance travel. He looked up, suddenly realizing where he was as his eyes widened.

No matter how many times he sees it, the surface will always marvel him. The vibrant colors painted the sky, something that was impossible to witness while they were still underground. There was an infinite amount of space and plenty of room for all of the monsters and humans to live together peacefully.

In his daze Classic failed to hear the oncoming footsteps behind him. Suddenly a hand fell onto his shoulder making him tense up and his eye flare dimly.

“Hey.”

Classic relaxed and let his eye flare go out. Fell had just arrived and stared at the sun with him, hand still on shoulder. Classic relaxed even more at the realization that this is exactly what couples would do. Go out, watch the sun, see a movie, hang at the house, just like couples would do on a date. Wait, was this a date? No, it was merely a hang out, just two friends going to see a movie and play video games, that's all it was and would ever be.

Classic sighed unhappily and leaned his head to the side. He closed his eyes, not truly caring what hard surface his head was on.

"Uh, Classic? You gonna stop falling asleep with your head against mine so we can go see the movie?"

Classic's eyes shot open and he moved away from Fell faster than he's ever moved before, even when he was fighting the human. Because of this, Fell stumbled forward a bit before catching himself and looking to the side.

"Well, uh, let's go see the movie then." Fell turned away and started to walk into the building. Classic recomposed himself and followed close behind, but a question kept boggling his mind.

Was that the tiniest hint of blush on his face?

***

Classic and Fell walked out of the movie theatre, a bit dazed. When they went to buy their tickets, the cashier told them there was only one movie that wasn't sold out for their showtime, so they had decided to take it anyway, not caring what it was. Unfortunately, not only was it a horror movie, but it was also a romance movie. He never got scared during the scary parts, in fact, he and Fell both were laughing at a few of the events in the movie. However, anytime anything romantic happened, Classic's face became a dark blue as he imagined himself and Fell in place of the characters. He had glanced over at Fell and quickly jerked his head in the other direction when they had made eye contact. And all he while Classic couldn't get the fact that Fell was blushing just as bad as him out of his mind.

"It's just because of the movie," he had thought. "He just can't take the romance parts, that's all."

But when they stepped outside, their shoulders bumped, causing Classic to stumble forward a bit before losing his footing. His eyes went wide as he realized his skull could get cracked by the sudden impact of the cement sidewalk and immediately shut them tight, preparing for the impact, when two arms suddenly wrapped around his waist, hoisting him up and setting him back on his feet. Sweating, Classic glances back at the wide eyed Fell whom was still holding onto him. He felt a light, jittery feeling in him, almost as if there were butterflies not just flying around in his nonexistent stomach, but also slamming against his rib cage and his soul even, begging him to make a move.

He stared longingly into his eyes, now realizing how close their faces were. He could feel the other's hot breath as he took in all the features about Fell. His sharp, protective eyes, his loving smile, the crack on the top of his skull that made him look even stronger, it was too much for Classic to handle. He didn't hesitate to close the gap between them, kissing him passionately. Fell's eyes widened in surprise before closing and practically melting into the kiss. He pulled Classic into a better position and tightened his grip around his waist as Classic brought his arms up around the other's neck. When they finally broke away, the two stared lovingly into each other's eyes, blush still very much present. Suddenly Fell turned away.

"I had no idea you liked me like that.." he said, a bit of guilt in his voice. "If I knew, I would've shared my feelings such a long time ago."

Classic was ecstatic. Here he was, his wish finally coming true. He was with the love of his life, hearing that he likes him back and has for a long time. He was practically bouncing up and down because of his joy, rivaling that of Swap!Sans, also known as Blue. He breathed in, happiness still gleaming in his eye lights.

“I guess you could say we’re more than just friends.”

—————

Hhhhhhhh sorry about the weird spacing, I swear my phone is on crack right now-

[sternenteile]

★*･ lovely ooc meme.

TAGGED BY:  y’all i stole it from multiple ppl on my dash TAGGING:  idk just take it from me and let the thief train continue

NAME:  nikki NICKNAME:  nikkibun, bun, assturd AGE:  26 weeps......... FACE CLAIM:  my bunsona!! my bunsona’s icons are so old and crusty tho so i’ve just. been using geno’s. rip. PRONOUNS:  she / her, but they / them is fine, too! HEIGHT:  5′3″ i am berry tinie BIRTHDAY:  april 4th

AESTHETIC:  cute animals (namely bunnies and cats), a basic n64 with a purple controller, pastels, piles of tasty chicken wings, and. and. more terribly charismatic buns.

LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO:  y’all listen the lavender town theme from pokemon lgpe is absolutely destroying me and it was absolutely the last thing i listened to. i love it.

FAVORITE MUSE ( S ) YOU’VE WRITTEN:  my boy papyrus ( @outbraves ) was easily one of my favorites ever. i just had... so much fun with him and had a lot of development for him, and just. i have such fond memories of rping him. i love my bone boy, even though his muse has long gone.

tbh, tho? geno is climbing up there, too. in so short a time, i’ve already got so many ideas and so much development plotting going on. given how expansive the mario universe is, too (esp. compared to undertale’s), there is just... so much room for different things to do with him?! i’m really excited. the potential is bananas.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO TAKE ON YOUR CURRENT MUSE ( THAT YOU ARE POSTING THIS ON ):  ok i’m not going to lie. this is a bit of a story, and it starts off in a very interesting way. at first, i actually... didn’t really give a single floppy titty for geno? seriously. i didn’t care. i played smrpg and i just fell for mallow that much more. i was like, gee, i wonder what people see in him. he’s cool and cute, but mallow has all this development and stuff! basically, based on my memories of smrpg and how ‘overrated’ i felt he was, i just didn’t really give geno much of a chance.

now, rosalina is my favorite mario character. ever. i used to rp her a long time ago. i absolutely adore her. thanks to smash speculation really bringing geno to the forefront of peoples’ minds again, i was like, huh. i wonder what kind of lore could come from her and geno? a lot of stuff i saw was implicating ship stuff, and i was... not impressed LMAO. i was like, naw, i see them being like mother and son. he’s a star spirit, after all, very similar to a luma. she’d totally be his superior + mom figure.

and then i started headcanoning more between them, which... via causation, started the headcanon train going for geno in general? i was like, no, i’m not going to get attached to this dumb doll, he’s overrated, blah blah. then i started thinking of him more, started doodling him, seeing why people liked him so much, and i was like... fuck. shit. damn. i used to have a weird disdain for you, you fuck puppet, why are you wiggling your way into my heart. no. get out.

needless to say, he didn’t get out, and i had to unleash my creativity with him. i missed rping, too, and i was like... this, this will do. voila. here we are.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ASPECTS OF YOUR CURRENT MUSE:  where do i even begin omg... ok. let’s see.

first, his design in general is just? really great. he’s a design that fits in the mario universe while also feeling so unlike it. mallow feels more integrated, yet geno feels... so... otherworldly? so different? his design philosophy hinges on round, soft familiarity while also being colorful, complimentarily so, and encapsulating it in a way that comes off as both cute and mysterious. i just love his design. even in all of my disdain for him initially, i’m pretty sure i always liked his design.

with that shallower bit out of the way, let me tell you about the virtues this boi has that i love (or, at least, in terms of my version, most of it not being canon oops). i love how courageous and forward he is, even if at times, it results in some fumbling. he’s fascinated in the world around him and has an innate desire to explore, to experiment, to experience. he gets pretty into it, but it does result in some very silly moments where his cultural differences play a large factor. he’s so distant from the modern world in a lot of ways, and it shows. between this and his curious nature, he’s just... god, he’s just a dork. he’s just a huge dork.

but boy, his vices. he doesn’t have much of... any at all in canon, but it’s clear how attached to his duty he is, even in what little we see. building flaws off of that has been a blast. i love how he feels so tied to his purpose that he feels branching out isn’t an option, yet it conflicts with his desire to break free and just be. he’s still figuring out how to be his own person, how to be geno and not just ♡♪!?, the protector of star road. even then, he’s trying not to fail his most precious person, rosalina, and those who depend on him. it’s a lot of conflict that pulls his heart in a lot of directions at once. chances are that he’ll progress and then harshly regress multiple times, going through a bunch of shit before he finally manages to find a happy medium. it’ll be a long road ahead, and what can stem from this has me soooo excited.

also he’s just rly cute. did i mention he’s cute? he’s so cute. he’s literally a doll and i need to cuddle him.

WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING:  honestly? steven universe and undertale have played huge inspiration into the way i write. undertale is obviously because i love it (and deltarune) and have written a muse from it. it’s just kind of integrated into my writing to the point that it feels natural. it’s... it’s something that’s just there now, lmao.

steven universe, however, is more particular. it hasn’t really influenced how i write in general, per se, but some aspects have inspired my geno, actually. garnet’s cool demeanor with inner conflict and a goofiness that she often shows? yeah, that definitely inspired a good chunk of my geno’s exterior personality. 

in terms of his inner self, those bits of garnet, plus the pearl + rose and steven + rose conflicts, pretty much shaped that up in my head. pearl + rose on its base level minus the romantic aspect definitely touches stone on how geno feels about his duty, his dedication to rosalina, and how he’s trying to become his own person, not just a star spirit in servitude. steven + rose more represents the mother + son aspect, the way geno wants to live up to her and what she wants, the way he views her as a parental figure that’s just unattainable (even if in a more figurative sense than steven and rose). there’s also a tiny, tiny bit of lapis in there, solely the tendency to flip a switch and bail if he thinks it’s best, just for less selfish reasons and more dutiful reasons. it’s. it’s very minuscule and very base-level, but it’s there.

in terms of geno himself, those two have to be my biggest inspirations at this point. ye.

FAVORITE TYPES OF THREADS:  god. anything is great, but these two are especially important:

slice-of-life. given geno’s distance from earth traditions, customs, and general livelihood, slice-of-life threads are immediately that much more interesting and even a bit crazy. being able to show how much of a curious little nerd he is and Hecking Things Up is always a good time.

finally, anything that draws out his insecurities. something that conflicts with his view on his purpose in life, that stirs his longing for parental recognition, that turns his beliefs on their heads... things like that. just. yes. gimme that.

BIGGEST STRUGGLE IN REGARDS TO YOUR CURRENT MUSE:  honestly, the fact that he’s such an old character that nintendo and square doesn’t care for is easily the worst part of playing him. it’s rough knowing that, even with all of the fan demand, he’ll likely never get a revival. he’ll just fade out of a lot of peoples’ memories more and more, and he’ll be even more irrelevant than ever. every time someone so much as knows who geno is, it just makes me giddy. i want that to stay alive, even if nintendo and square won’t do anything with him. the fan base keeping him going makes me feel so warm.

[smellslikefeathers]

Who is the Mystery Man?: Theories and Speculation

Sans and Papyrus are rather mysterious characters. That’s a huge part of their appeal, and why they’re so damned popular in the Undertale fandom, Sans in particular. But even more mysterious than either of them is Dr. W.D. Gaster, the former royal scientist.

But just who or what is Gaster? Most people seem to agree that this guy is Gaster:

This sprite’s file name is “spr_mysteryman_0″ in Undertale’s game files. He’s not given a specific name, so we don’t really know if he’s Gaster or not.

But supposing he was? Or, at the very least, he was a part of Gaster?

One of the gray Gaster followers you meet as a “Fun” event in Undertale informs you that when Gaster “vanished”, he was “shattered across time and space”. That same follower claims to be holding a piece of Gaster before disappearing himself into thin air.

Let us consider that we encounter different random events in the game according to your save file’s “fun” value, which is generated with each new game or reset. This includes every event related to Gaster, like the followers and Mystery Man’s door. You can encounter more than one random event per save file. Here at this link is a chart of “fun” value events by maxdefolsch from imgur. Three of the values are of the Gaster followers. One is for the sound test room, which has Gaster’s Theme. Another is Mystery Man’s hallway, with a very tiny chance of seeing his door and being able to enter his room. Values 91 through 100 allow you to meet Goner Kid, which arguably is related to Gaster based on their Follower-esque colors and the conversation you have with them.

Oh, and of course, there is the “Wrong Number Song”, where the caller asks for someone whose name starts with “G”. Sure, they could be asking for Grillby, or Gerson, or perhaps someone else... but why would they try and hide the name of whom they’re looking for unless it’s taboo?

After all... it’s rude to talk about someone who’s listening, according to one of the followers, and to Sans on the official Undertale blog. And you wouldn’t want to disappear because of it, like that one follower did.

My point is, Gaster’s presence is in 53 different “fun” values out of a possible 100. If we regard each “fun” value as a separate timeline, then Gaster’s existence is horribly split apart across 53 different timelines. If we DON’T count Goner Kid, and they’re a separate incident from Gaster entirely, that’s still 43 timelines left over.

Mystery Man is a tiny piece of Gaster, one who barely exists at all. Hell, you can even walk through him when you enter his room, as he possesses no collision physics. He only disappears into thin air when you try to interact with him, with this expression on his face:

(By the way, this is “spr_mysteryman_1″ in the game’s files.)

But, you’re probably wondering... if Mystery Man is only a part of Gaster, what part is he? My theory about this connects way back to Toby Fox’s other game of note, his Earthbound Halloween Hack. Yeah, we’re going there.

It’s no secret that Undertale was heavily inspired by Earthbound. Toby is a huge fan of the game, and he’d actually made multiple hacks of the game under the alias “Radiation”. His Halloween Hack, however, is his most famous one, and as MatPat from Game Theory pointed out (whether you love him or hate him), it’s easy to see that Toby took quite a few ideas from the Halloween Hack and put it into Undertale.

Allow me to name some examples (and don’t worry, there IS a point to this):

Behold, an Amalgamate.

A predecessor to Flowey in Dr. Andonuts’ Magicant.

Time travel, complete with time machine (which is what many speculate to be in Sans’ workshop).

And of course:

A mad scientist resembling Uboa from Yume Nikki, a.k.a. this weird thing:

And by the way, that last screenshot? That takes place before you fight Dr. Andonuts. But you don’t fight the swearing and angry Andonuts first, remember? No, what you fight is this:

You fight The Id. What is The Id? According to Wikipedia, a person’s id is one of the three parts of Sigmund Freud’s model of the human psyche. It is the part of the human mind that is “the source of our bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses, particularly our sexual and aggressive drives”. The id is the part of the human mind that says “I WANT”, and if left unchecked will do absolutely anything to get it, even if it’s unrealistic, destructive, or immoral. If it means getting what it wants, it will destroy everything around it. This is not because the id is evil, but because it is our most primal self. Dr. Andonuts sees himself as a monster, and his personal desires as monstrous, hence his most primal self looking the way it does.

How does this tie to Gaster, though? Well... let’s have a look at this scene from the Genocide boss fight against Sans in Undertale:

Sans has dealt with someone in the past who has allowed their id to consume them and become a destructive force. Sans knows the player will destroy the timeline if he doesn’t stop them, and he knows this because he’s dealt with this exact same situation before. The timeline Sans was originally from was destroyed by this person. This person is none other than...

Our mystery man. The Id of Dr. W.D. Gaster.

But remember how I said that there were THREE parts to Sigmund Freud’s model of the human psyche? Let’s examine the other two parts for a moment:

The Ego is the mediator between The Id and reality, seeking to find ways to please the id and grant it its desires in a realistic, organized manner. The ego utilizes “judgment, tolerance, reality testing, control, planning, defense, synthesis of information, intellectual functioning, and memory” to make sense of the person’s thoughts and the world around them. If the id was a car engine, the ego would be the driver behind the wheel.

The Super-Ego is the third part of Freud’s model, and is a direct contradiction to the id. It represents a person’s conscience, borne from societal expectations, spiritual teachings, “cultural regulations”, and morals taught to the person as they were growing up.  The super-ego strives for perfection, and shames the id for their desires. The ego uses the super-ego as a guideline to try and keep the id in check, and to set personal standards for the person to live up to.

Now, with these in mind, let’s have a look at Sans and Papyrus, who are clearly tied to Gaster by the fact they likely both own Gaster Blasters:

Now... remember how much Sans values integrity? Integrity is defined as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness”. This alone seems to make Sans a very Super-Ego sort of guy. Unfortunately, Sans isn’t pure Super-Ego; he gives into his desires of laziness, eating junk food, and basically being a slob. It’s up to Papyrus to snap him out of those things and keep him in check. In fact... doesn’t Papyrus seem to be a far more moral person than Sans? Hell, he even refuses to kill the human when its clear they’re genocidal.

Besides, let us also remember that Papyrus uses Blue magic just like Sans, which could mean he values integrity just as much as his brother.

But what about Ego? Papyrus, for having a very passionate and driven personality, is very much Ego in the Freudian sense. He is far more organized than Sans is. Though he does get impatient, he’s a lot more tolerant than, say, Undyne. He calculates battle strategies and builds puzzles, making use of planning, defense, synthesis of information, and intellectual functioning. As for memory, there are many clues throughout Undertale that Papyrus remembers every single reset. He knew about Mettaton having “bishonen eyes” before Mettaton EX was revealed to the public. He predicted Asgore cutting a hedge in the shape of his smile. He makes a remark about the True Pacifist ending being “the worst possible ending” with a smile on his face, as if he knew there were other endings and knew they’d reached the best one. You could argue that Papyrus knows about some of this stuff through Flowey’s “predictions”, but Flowey himself has stated that Papyrus has never failed to surprise him somehow, so who knows?

So what does this all mean? Well... if I’m correct, Papyrus is physically all that is left of W.D. Gaster. Yup, you heard me. Papyrus is Gaster’s Ego and Super-Ego combined!

But wait, you ask, how on earth is that possible!?

Here’s where things get speculative: you know the DT extractor from the True Lab? The one Alphys built using blueprints, possibly from Sans’ workshop?

Take a look at that and tell me that doesn’t look like a Gaster Blaster. In other words, something Dr. Gaster would have built. I believe that, in the original timeline (the one that was destroyed), Gaster DID build the DT extractor, and was extracting human determination to experiment with.

We all know monsters melt when they have too much determination in their bodies, right? And yet, we know for a fact there is one monster who can alter reality to their whim: Sans, who can teleport at will.

It is with this in mind that it is entirely possible that Sans - who was Gaster’s lab assistant - was injected with just enough Determination to manipulate space-time so he could teleport short distances. And perhaps Gaster gave himself determination to grant himself power as well, and it worked. But as neat as the party tricks he and Sans could pull were, they weren’t enough to get past the Barrier.

How could they do that without melting? In your typical RPG, a skeleton monster is a member of the undead, once human but given life once more through the power of magic. What if skeleton monsters in Undertale can withstand more determination than most monsters because they used to be human? Wouldn’t they have more physical mass than most monsters because they were part of a human body?

After their initial failure, Gaster had reached the same conclusion as Alphys would: using monster soul power was the only way to break the Barrier. Perhaps, now that he and Sans had powerful determination, maybe their own souls would be strong enough to help?

Maybe Gaster began developing technology that could extract souls and contain them, provided the body they came from had enough determination. Gaster would inject himself with increasing amounts of determination until finally, he deemed himself able to use the soul extractor on himself. There would be just one problem: just as Alphys states in the game, it would require a great amount of power to extract a soul from a monster. Gaster would have a solution, however: Chara’s soul. Though he would dare not kill King Asgore’s child and harvest their soul, he could easily employ Chara to be a living battery for his soul removal technology. And that just might be what he did.

So, Gaster uses the soul removal tech on himself with Chara’s help. Somehow, he successfully removes his own soul from his body, but because he was so full of human determination, he did not die. He could never die, now reduced to a pile of undying goop.

However, something peculiar happened with his soul. Rather than crumble to dust, it immediately began to re-form into a new monster. a little baby skeleton. This was Papyrus. Canonly, a monster’s soul is what makes up their entire body, hence why they immediately crumble to dust when they die. And according to my theory/speculations/whatever, this is why Papyrus was born from Gaster’s soul.

So, Gaster now lacked a soul, AND his experiment was a colossal failure. His kindness, compassion, and morals now existed in a separate monster. He was now pure id without an ego or super-ego. He would pretty much go down the same path as Flowey, and end up destroying his and Sans’ timeline.

Woo... that took LITERAL HOURS to write. But these are just my own thoughts. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll talk a bit more about Papyrus.

[undertaleimages]

"Yes!!! I sing Disney music all the time! And since I watch the movies at work I can recite a lot of Disney Dialogue. Lol! So I can see me doing this! :D Maybe one day I’ll post my headcanons on what Disney Songs are their theme songs!" Please do.

Yay! Today was actually my last day working at Disney. Sooo.. Btw, can you imagine UF!Sans singing “My Lulluby” from The Lion King 2 to UF!Paps when he was little? Cause I can!

Undertale:

Sans: “Why Should I Worry” from Oliver and Company

Papyrus: “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid (I have this little story idea in the back of my head where Mettaton is derecting a movie like The Little Mermaid and he casts Paps as the little mermaid or in this case the little monster.) either that or “Go the Distance” from Hercules

Underfell:

Sans: “I’m Still Here” from Treasure Planet (like seriously. I feel very strongly about this choice. Go listen to this song and look at pictures of UF!Sans.)

Papyrus: “Be Prepared” from The Lion King or “The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind” from The Great Mouse Detectives

Underswap:

Sans: “Just Can’t Wait to Be King” from The Lion King or “Zero to Hero” from Hercules

Papyrus: “The Bare Necessities” from The Jungle Book

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #91

“does he love you the way that i do?”

would you rather have stars in the sky or the moon? moon do you ever stop and appreciate little things?  all the time. what is the worst natural disaster you’ve experienced firsthand? hurricanes do you cuddle with your pet (if you have one)?  yeah! you are completely alone with your favorite celebrity/person/whoever. what do you do?  just talk to him about stuff. if you had the power to instantly transform someone’s life (for the better), who would you choose to use this on?  off the top of my head, my mom. if a family member (or boyfriend/girlfriend, if you have one) happened to be infected by a zombie, how would you go about dealing with that situation? i'm a merciful person that doesn't want to see someone suffer. i'd kill them in the quickest way possible. if you were paralyzed from the neck down, would you still want to continue living? why or why not?  absolutely fucking not because that's just awful. has any medication you’ve taken ever made you sick? how so?  yeah. the mood stabilizer i'm on now, latuda, sometimes makes me so nauseous that i actually do get sick. did you ever listen to avril lavigne when you were younger?  dude she was like my crush full homo. i loved her. did you ever buy "now that’s what i call music" cds?  as a kid, my older sister did do you like turkey or ham more? ham. do you like rihanna? no. have you ever become good friends with someone you never met in person? most of my closest friends i've ever had i met online. what do you consider your default mood to be?  content have you ever dipped french fries in a frosty?  once. disgusting. favorite undertale character?  uhhh. asriel is honestly really cool. but i also love sans and papyrus. what do you think about lizards?  SO CUTE is there a certain place or store you especially hate going to?  walmart. the flourescent lighting makes me yawn. do you like any cover songs? which ones if you have any favorites?  sure. i love "hurt" by johnny cash, "another brick in the wall" by korn, "whiskey in the jar" by metallica... if you’re old enough, do you go clubbing on the weekends or not?  i've never been to a club. don't want to. what is/was your best subjects in school? science. have you ever gambled and won? i don't gamble. do you ever count the presents you're getting for birthdays or holidays? no! that's awful! be grateful for whatever you were given! do you have your ears pierced? twice in each earlobe. are you easily offended? sometimes. what is the best prank you have ever pulled?  i don't pull pranks. when you’re in a relationship, do you tend to be very physical? no. have you ever ended up dating someone you initially disliked? no. do you wear a lot of yellow? no. i don't like yellow. do you and your siblings actually look alike?  yeah. have you ever suffered from chronically bad acne? no. if you could own anyone’s autograph, and not be allowed to sell it, who would you choose?  mark fischbach's *heart eyes* how many dogs have you had, and do you remember all their names?  oh god. trigger, angel, harley, delilah, teddy, cali, bentley. how do you feel about snakes? i absolutely adore snakes. how many cats have you owned and can you remember their names? we have, without a doubt, had about 50 cats. there's no way i could remember all of them. were you sick a lot as a child? what illnesses plagued you the most? no. i like... never get sick. do you have any sinister or morbid tattoos? no, but i do have some pretty dark ones planned. do you feel that you are better than most humans? i mean some, sure, in regards to being better in temperment. i don't believe any human is ultimately "better" than the other, though, in essence. what is your favorite type of meat to eat? chicken or pork. have you ever dated a red-head? no. what do you call small children? (children, kids, tots, etc.)  kids how old were you when you took driver’s ed?  16 have you ever pet-sat for someone? yeah. what’s one theme song you will NEVER skip?  the one to "deadman wonderland" what’s something that gets much more hate than it deserves?  nickelback. like shut up, you like at least one of their songs lol what show/movie never gets old for you? the shrek series lol are you an official couple with the last person you kissed? not anymore are you happier now or three months ago? now! how old do you think you will be when you finally have kids? i don't want kids. do you think you’ll be married in ten years? probably? what do you miss most about your ex? my most recent ex, all the things we had in common, i guess. my "main" ex, i miss a lot of things about him, but more than anything, i miss him actually being a caring person. are you attracted to the last person that kissed you? no. how long have you liked the person you like? since late 2011. are you one of those people who are always cold? people usually tell me my skin is freezing, but i'm typically very hot. if you won a trip to a nude beach would you go or give the trip away? i'd definitely give it away. tongue piercings - cute or trashy? i honestly find them cute. when it comes to jeans: skinny, flared or boot cut? skinny would you rather be a star ballerina or a star break dancer? ballerina. ballet is beautiful. honestly - can you say that looks don’t matter at ALL? you can't tell me with a straight face that they don't matter at all. i’ve got to know, who do you prefer: mario or luigi? luigi! yes or no: techno music? no. yes or no: pigtails? cute mostly on kids. how old were you when you had your first boyfriend/girlfriend? i was about to turn 16, if you mean my first "serious" boyfriend. i don't remember what age i was when i started "dating" aaron, but i was in the 7th grade. is your home town nice? noooo do you believe in love at first sight? explain. hell no. you can't just look at someone and automatically "love" them. do you currently have any medicine in your bag / purse / etc? if so, what kind? yes, my adivan. what do you like on your pasta / noodles? sauce, butter, grated cheese, etc.? sauce ultimately, do you believe nature controls man or that man controls nature? explain. both. do you think it’s wrong to put yourself before others? in what sort of situations? it strictly depends on the situation in school, are / were you ever reluctant to ask questions? what about to answer questions? for what reasons? yes, but i was worse at asking questions. i was and still am shy. are you weary of displaying signs of affection for your significant other around adults? why or why not? no, when i do have a s.o. there's no shame in expressing love. have you ever had red velvet cake or carrot cake? have you ever made either of those? i've had both, but never made either. what is your favorite take out food to get? what do you usually order? bojangle's, and it's called a chicken supreme dinner. if I handed you a concert ticket right now, who would you want to be the performer? i REALLY wanna go to a metallica concert. what color looks best on you? black name three facts about your family. uhhh. we're german, irish, and polish; our surname is scottish; and we live all over the country. if you could pick the gender and appearance of your child, would you? gender yes, appearance, it'd be cool to select a few features if you died right now, what song would you want to play at your funeral? "took it like a woman" by alice cooper favorite holiday dish? spiral ham would you ever get into a long distance relationship? i honestly don't think i could. favorite kind of soup?  vegetable soup. the best was surprisingly from my elementary school. what’s your favorite hot beverage? hot chocolate. for your birthday, what kind of cake do you ask for?  red velvet did you ever play an instrument? if so, what? i played flute for years, and i shortly played around with guitar. best i could do was probably the intro to "crazy train" would you rather carve pumpkins or wrap presents? carve pumpkins favorite kind of candy? reese's if you're including chocolate, sour punch straws if not. what’s a movie you cried while watching?  "the notebook" destroyed me how old were you when you had your first kiss? 16 would you rather have hair that changes color with emotion or get injured each time you’re touched by the person you love? hair that changes color with emotion, obviously. do you have a laptop? yes, but mine's currently broken. i've been using mom's. have you ever been the object of someones affection, when they were ‘taken’?  yeah. does it bother you when people lie to spare you ‘heartache’?  it depends. have you ever had a black eye?  no. would you sacrifice your dreams, to help someone else reach theirs?  no, i wouldn't. ever wished you were alive when there were dinosaurs? lmao no?? do you believe we “live and learn”? depends on if you want to learn. what is on your wrists right now? nothing on the left, my tattoo on the right. reason for the last tear shed?  i was fighting with my mom. have you ever been called a babe or baby?  yes, and i don't like it. name one person you wish you could fix things with? if i could only pick one person, jason. but i also really really wish my old best friend megan and i could be friends again. if you’re single, then why don’t you get a girlfriend/boyfriend?  because you don't simply "get" a boyfriend?? are you and the last person you kissed in a relationship or just friends? we're not even friends anymore what was the worst night of your life, or the night you have been scared the most? the night jason broke up with me. what three places in the world do you want to travel to? south africa, germany, aaaand... australia, maybe? are you allergic to cats? no have you ever babysat?  once what’s your second favorite color? pink do you refuse to use public toilets?  i avoid them as best i possibly can. how do you feel about golden oreos? never tried, don't want to, because i know i'll hate them. favorite cheese? i only like american. favorite lunch meat?  salami what's the strangest animal you've had for a pet? rats are you more annoyed when decorations are up two months prior to a holiday or still up two months after a holiday? hmmm. prior, maybe. what’s the strangest art piece you’ve come across?  i've heard of one where a woman vomits onto a canvas in abstract designs. and they actually sell. fucking gross. can you legally drive? not without someone who's had their license for seven years. do you know any songs that are older than you are? most of the songs i enjoy are older than me lol are you comfortable sharing drinks with your friends? not really. what season were you born in?  winter have your parents ever questioned your virginity?  yes. what pizza place do you usually order from? domino's, my favorite. if we want something quick though, little ceasar's. do you have a least favorite color? what is it?  brown, puke green do you find graveyards scary?  no. do you swear a lot? yes. do you know if you were born in the am or pm? am do you sit on the mattresses in furniture stores?  ha ha yeah have you ever read the bill of rights/declaration of independence?  we had to memorize the bill of rights in high school. have your parents ever thought you were gay? what happened? no. my old therapist thought i was though once. she was awful. what do you normally order when you go to subway? turkey, bacon, american cheese, pickles, jalapenos, banana peppers, chipotle... and i feel like i'm forgetting something. are you comfortable talking to both your parents about sex and boys? just vaguely with my mom. what is your idea of “too big” when it comes to weight? when you can no longer properly function. how about “too thin”?  once your bones are clearly visible. have you ever experienced an overly clinging boy-/girlfriend? yeah. partially why we only dated for two weeks. have you ever decided that you like/dislike someone based on their survey answers? i wouldn't say entirely. but i'll sometimes get a bad idea about some people. a bloodied, possibly wounded man is on the side of the road: do you stop to see if you can assist him, or do you drive past? i'd call 911. i wouldn't help because who knows if he's dangerous. what’s the ultimate cake topping?  chocolate have you ever walked into a wall?  more like ran ha ha can you name all 50 american states?  no. have you ever needed stitches? yeah. when i passed out onto the floor on my chin. have you ever been in a submarine?  no. do you believe there used to be dragons?  no. who’s your favorite god from ancient history? hmmm. athena. could you go out with someone who had a child from a previous relationship? no. what was your first alcoholic drink?  strawberry mike's hard lemonade where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?  ohio who was your first kiss? the first person who kissed me was juan, but the first person i kissed and who reciprocated was jason, so i consider him my "first kiss" what nicknames do you have/have had? britt, britt-britt, brittany bear, ozz, ruby, flower did you ever have a treehouse as a kid?  no. we only had tall pine trees where i grew up. have you ever planted a tree? an apple tree, yes. have you ever dated someone with longer hair than yours?  no. do you have any cats? no, but i want one. are you a moody person? i have either bpd or bipolarity ii. of course i am. how many girls do you know named alison? my little sister's best friend's name is allison. do you prefer to do the asking out, or be asked out?  be asked out. have you ever been evicted? yes. do you know anyone who snores?  my mom snores louder than anyone i've ever met. dad, too. what is your favorite font?  garamond. have you ever seen a rooster? yep. have you ever seen a lunar eclipse? yeah. what is your favorite number?  13 what color are your slippers?  they're meerkat slippers lol. so tan. what state were you born in?  north carolina. do you know anybody who has been diagnosed with cancer? multiple people. do you ever feel self-conscious when you eat around other people? rarely. where is your favorite place to get fries?  bojangle's. their seasoning is ohhh goodness how many romantic relationships have you been in so far? one have you ever been camping in the wilderness?  no. would you consider yourself to be a picky eater? VERY do you have gluten intolerance or anyone who does?  i don't, but my cousin does. do you trust the media?  HA what kind of cookies are your favorite? chocolate chip do animals have souls? yeah. are you easily embarrassed? YES how well do you handle your alcohol?  apparently extremely well. i've never been smashed, despite drinking a moderate amount. how can people tell if you're drunk?  i'm talkative and kinda loud. tell me about the best pet you ever had: the dog i currently have now, teddy<3 are any of your siblings married? ashley, yes. who was the last person to spend the night with you at your house?  chelsea. that was fun. who was your date to senior prom? jason. does your dad smoke?  yes. he's getting better about it, though. is your mom over 50?  yes. who would you tell, or who did you tell when you lost your virginity? i'd tell my mom first. that or i'd tell nobody because it's not really anyone's business. do you have a debit card? no. why did you stop working at the last place you were employed? i was getting so anxious that i was puking. do you have freckles? no. what would you do if you found out your ex was pregnant/fathered a child? tyler, wouldn't care, jason... i'd feel weird. do you think the drinking age in america should be lowered to 18?  no. what is the nearest big city to you? raleigh. do you think what bill clinton did was wrong? ... obviously? have you ever run away? yeah. what is your favorite holiday?  halloween. how often are you online?  like... all the time. what are you obsessed with? mark fischbach, link neal & rhett mclaughlin, meerkats, "silent hill"... backstreet boys or nsync?  backstreet boys. what is your favorite disney movie? "the lion king" who did you last go bowling with?  colleen, bradley, girt. do you have any pets?  three great dogs, one lovely snake. who do you look like in your family? vaguely like my sisters, and an equal amount of people say i look like my mom or dad. could you ever believe in assisted suicide? no. have your parents ever put one of your pets to sleep? we had to. he had spleen cancer and was dying. have you ever been hunting? no. what oceans have you swam in? atlantic. are you ugly? i feel like i am, mostly because of my weight. what was your favorite park ride as a child? the carousel gnr or aerosmith?  ohhh. hmmm... i think aerosmith, but i love gnr too. could you pull off red hair? i have red hair now and it looks great. do you know any guys with their nipples pierced?  i think so. favorite beatles song? "hey, jude" have you ever seen a tornado? no. have you ever felt an earthquake? no. do you eat apples with the skin on or skin off? skin on. what is the first thing you do when you get on the computer?  open youtube what do you mainly watch on youtube?  let's plays do you sing in the shower? no. are you the competitive type? not at all. have you ever stolen someone's boyfriend/girlfriend?   unintentionally would you ever consider being a scientist?   no. are you scared of cancer?   who isn't? do you want to get married?  yeah. how many bisexual friends do you have?   two, off the top of my head. would you get married four times?  well first of all, i'm against divorce unless you're in an abusive/neglectful/overall horrible situation, so. are you good at chemistry?   no. do you have online friends?   yep. do you like your handwriting?   i do. have you ever been called emo?   yeah. describe your favorite shoes:   i have this pair of slip-ons that is a black cat design with sunglasses lol do you like zombie movies?   no opinion. have you ever volunteered in a hospital? if not, would you ever want to?  no to both. have you ever had to give a pet away?  yes. what kind of wild animals do you see most frequently where you live?  squirrels, i gues?  besides birds? if a stranger went in your room, would they be able to tell what gender you are from just looking at it?   no.  i actually think a lot of people would think i was a guy.  well... that is if you exclude my huge meerkat display lmao does the smell of cigarettes, weed and beer repulse you?   yes to all. do you like sitting on the inside or outside of a restaurant booth?  inside.  i feel safer. do you own a nightgown?  no. have you ever made a tent out of sheets in your bedroom?   ha ha yeah. have you ever had sex or something like it?   something like it, yeah, but not actual sex. have you ever worn fishnets?  fishnet gloves, yes. do you always wear your seat belt?  always. is there ice cream in your freezer?   i wish. does your bathroom have a window?   a small one. do you go somewhere to get your eyebrows done?  yes.  a family friend's salon. do you have a fish tank?   no. if you found out you couldn’t have kids, would you adopt?   finding out i couldn't have kids would honestly be relieving.  i don't want kids, so i obviously wouldn't adopt, either. do bunnies roam around your backyard at night?   yes, actually.

[hotgarden]

Music Spotlight: Hyper Potions, Undertale, and A Day to Remember

Hey guys, this is ShadowSect! Welcome to my new series, the Music Spotlight! In this series, I shout out 3 awesome musicians or music groups, whether it be bands, singers, EDM, video game soundtracks/composers, classical composers, orchestras, etc.

For our first go, we’re going to look at Hyper Potions, the people behind Sonic Mania’s trailers and a part of the EDM label Monstercat, the Undertale soundtrack, created by the awesome Toby Fox, and A Day to Remember, a pop punk band that started in the late 2000s as a metalcore band. Hit the jump for the article!

Tip: If you’re lazy and don’t want to read the article, just scroll down to the videos featured, as well as click on any links that will be highlighted. I’d really prefer if you read the whole thing though, even if it’s super long.

Hyper Potions

If you don’t know Hyper Potions, I don’t blame you. They’re relatively new to the EDM music genre, but they’ve recently made a name for themselves by making the music for the Sonic Mania trailers, which immediately netted them a load of popularity. Nowadays, they compose music for some video games, as well as their own EDM music.

Hyper Potions is an American duo made up of Sushi Killer and Kevin Villecco, starting out with their collab Anime Bae. They eventually moved on as a group named Hyper Potions, after the Pokemon in-game item, and released their first track named “Porta Vista”, and they jumped into the field of Future Bass, which is basically a broad EDM genre.

2015

They didn’t compose much, but now we’re going to actually highlight their music (not all of them mind you), so fun stuff! Starting with first year, 2015, we have Adventures, a collab with Subtact. It’s an extremely upbeat EDM song, somewhat taking inspiration from 8-bit tunes, and it’s a kickass beat. It’s a great song to help cheer you up. We then have Legends, a song originally by Razihel featuring TeamMate, but remixed Future Bass-style by Hyper Potions. Following the trend of being upbeat, but what was originally more of a soothing song becomes a rejoiceful song, changing the mood to something happy or hopeful.

We then have yet another collab, this time with Richard Caddock for Distance, definitely their first FULL song, since this was a huge collab. Both adding synth as well as vocals to the mix, it’s a beautiful track with an amazing drop in the second half. It’s a bit simple, but it gels so well, probably one of their best collabs. Finally for 2015, we have Christmas Morning, their wrap-up of 2015 in a nutshell. Taking elements of Porta Vista, Adventures, and Distance all in one drop, it’s a celebration of all their music so far. It’d be called a mashup if it didn’t more than that with some bells and acoustics to sound like a warm house in the middle of winter, with a cup of eggnog in one hand.

2016

Now it gets cooking. First off we have Unbreakable, their first song by themselves with a feature instead of a collab, in this case featuring Danyka Nadeau. Instead of being Future Bass, we have Tropical House, which is hard to define so I’m just gonna link a Wikipedia article here. The acoustics are brilliant, mixing well with tropical major chords and other beach elements, making for a great summer song. Then we have Checkpoint, which I must feature because now their music goes from great to amazing in my opinion, so it’s right below here. Functioning as both a collab with Nitro Fun and as a partnership deal with SEGA for the Sonic Mania Premiere Trailer, this song doesn’t really fit under a genre and at best would be classified as EDM in all its glory. Mixing around with 8-bit elements, synth effects, and some house drops, the song progresses into a fantastic cacophony of sound, building and building and building the whole way through. This was the song that really made them popular, and they deserve it here. The rain at the end really nails the whole thing, along with the climax in general.

We end 2016 with yet another remix, which I’m again going to feature because it’s their best remix yet. The song this time around is Matches, the song originally by Ephixa and Stephen Walking, which featured Aaron Richards. We’re once again in the realm of Tropical House, unfortunately for the last time here (sorry). Featuring the acoustic guitar more than ever, it’s their quintessential summer song. It’s sunny, it’s happy, it’s upbeat, and the vocals just make it sound like a song you’d hear in the car driving down the highway with the roof off.

2017

Ok, this is their best year by far, and also when they start uploading their music on their own without the Monstercat label! We’ll start with Surf, a sort of summer song with House elements and Future Bass, back to their roots. The guitar in the beginning is icing for what becomes a lovely synth extravaganza. The middle with the quick-beat tapping really keeps the song fresh and upbeat. Next is Time Trials, another song they made for Sonic Mania, this time for their pre-order trailer. We immediately start with a leitmotif that the whole song plays on, plucky notes on what sounds like a xylophone, and then we’re in synth territory, where they add more to the theme as the song goes on. They also add a really slow and thoughtful section, consisting of 8-bit sounds, a piano, and an acoustic guitar, which then goes right into a brilliant climax, again putting twists on the theme.

For our last two songs, we have Tropical Resort and Friends (linked below). Tropical Resort is a remix of the Sonic Colors song from the beginning of the game, which starts with the same tune, but is immediately slapped with a Hyper Potions touch. You have the best of both worlds, with great Sonic music on one hand, and the best of Hyper Potions on the other. Finally, we have their latest song for the Launch Trailer of Sonic Mania, Friends. If you haven’t seen the trailer itself, check it out here, because it’s amazing. Probably the best of their music, reliving some of the nostalgia with Sonic, with an upbeat song that goes as fast as Sonic goes. It has enough brevity so it doesn’t get degrading, and... just check it out below.

And that’s Hyper Potions! An EDM group that originally worked with Monstercat but now on their own! Known for Tropical House, Future Bass, and their VGM music (not just Sonic Mania, check out their YouTube page), they’re an awesome group that deserves mention on here!

Undertale -- Toby Fox

If you haven’t heard about Undertale, then first off, where have you been living, under a rock? And second off, is it nice under there because I would like to join you it’s hot as hell out here. In any case, it’s a huge indie game, probably one of the biggest up there with Terraria and Minecraft, well known for its story, subverted expectations, and, of course, the bloody soundtrack. Composed entirely by Toby Fox, this soundtrack is one of the best for a video game, and I’m going to step through 10 songs from the soundtrack. Let’s do this.

Let’s start with a peaceful song, Home. Played in the comforts of a warm house, it’s a relaxing tune played by acoustic guitars. It’s comforting and calm, but the tempo is off a bit. The notes jumble together, a little confused, like someone is learning how to dance and is messing up a bit. It’s a neat touch. Next up is Bonetrousle, the song played when fighting Papyrus, that really meets all of my standards (get it?!?! ..... sorry). The music sounds somewhat European in its chords, and it’s an upbeat melody for a really fun boss battle. It’s a funky tune that I wish was longer, but unfortunately doesn’t stay long enough to really please.

Next up is Another Medium, and damn is this song good. The area it encompasses is techno and hot, so what we have is an upbeat song utilizing synth, snares, drums, bass, and toms to create an atmospheric electronic track for walking through the area. Next up is Spider Dance, a fast paced, jazzy song for the boss fight against a spider. Taking cues from the music played for fights against ghosts, the sixteenth notes really makes you feel like you’re surrounded by creepy, crawling spiders, not to mention the accidentals.

Now for my favorite song of the soundtrack, Death by Glamour. I love jazz, and this song has a lot of jazz. Taking tunes from Another Medium and Mettaton’s previous songs in the game, using electronic sounds, what vaguely sounds like a saxophone, and more synth! The amazing part is how it progresses, keeping one theme going from the very beginning while having completely different stuff for the melody throughout, always energized and always fast. Then we have what is probably the most renowned of the soundtrack... Undertale. This 6-minute song plays during an extremely plot important portion of the game, and only advances the song as you progress. Utilizing the theme of Undertale that’s played through a majority of the soundtrack, it utilizes a piano to the fullest extent along with an acoustic guitar. However, it gradually picks up, adding harmonies, small melodies, and key changes, getting louder and louder. It’s subdued in the middle, but only for a short time before it picks up again. And it’s still using the original melody, yet it never gets old! It’s an incredible song, and you should listen to the whole thing in all its glory.

Time for a fan favorite on this site, ASGORE. It’s a fan favorite for good reasons. It utilizes its own theme for the song, but also the theme for Toriel, Heartache, the Game Over theme, and Determination. It’s a complex track for a powerful battle, using low notes on a piano, synth effects on the top, and electro all the way through. Then we have Finale, another fan favorite for good reasons. Adding bass and orchestra to the theme of Flowey (Your Best Friend), it adds so much more to the theme. It’s the final tune, the curtain call, and the it just revels in repeating the theme louder and louder. It has the feeling of despair, but you will prevail, and you will see this battle to the end, no matter what. Everyone is relying on you.

Time for the last two. Hopes and Dreams, a fan favorite of mine other than Death by Glamour. What makes it so cool is how it changes in the game. At first it’s black and this song is playing, but right when the drop hits at :20-22, suddenly there’s a huge amount of color and the boss battle it plays during just picks up immensely. Largely a fast-paced remix of the previous Undertale theme, it’s hard to put into words how happy this song makes me feel. Finally, we have MEGALOVANIA, by far the most popular song of Undertale because of one particular boss battle everyone seems to know about but I’m going to avoid mentioning in case someone doesn’t. Using its complete and original own theme for the song (though it’s history is from Toby Fox’s older games), it’s an upbeat melody used for probably one of the hardest boss fights in video game history.

And that’s the Undertale soundtrack. I want to mention much, much more, but then I’d go all day with so many songs. To help, I put a playlist of my favorite songs from the soundtrack linked here, so do check it out if you have the time.

A Day to Remember

A Day to Remember, one of my favorite bands of all time, although it’s purely because of nostalgia. I grew up on this band. It became a punk pop band from what was originally metalcore, and throughout has had elements of each throughout its albums. The guy in the middle right there is Jeremy McKinnon, the lead singer (and the guy who’s screaming sometimes) of ADTR. Of course, we’re going to go album by album here, and don’t worry they’re not very old so there’s only 6 albums to go through, 2-3 songs from each.

We start with their 2004 and first album, And Their Name Was Treason. This album... frankly wasn’t that good, even for metalcore standards, but it had one good song in it, and it wasn’t even metalcore. You Had Me at Hello. Utilizing an acoustic guitar, a rarity for ADTR, it’s a melody about falling in love with somebody who already broke him apart, because she’s different now and he’s missed her. It’s sweet, the vocal backups are really good, and the bridge to the final chorus is brilliant.

Next up is For Those Who Have Heart in 2007, still in metalcore territory (though they’re picking up some Pop Punk vibes). First up we have The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle, a hate song at an ex living in the place where ADTR grew up, Ocala, Florida. Jeremy absolutely hates her, and completely rips at her throughout the song. On the topic of the actual music, the song has a great guitar melody and energizing screams and vocals. Then we have a bonus track, Heartless, a re-release from the first album, though MUCH better this time. It’s completely metalcore, going completely hard and being insulting throughout the song. It has great guitar rips, and while this song won’t be for everyone with the ending part, it’s a great twist for me.

Now we’re entering pop punk territory, with Homesick in 2009, their most popular album by far. Let’s go with their most popular song of the album first, The Downfall of Us All, a song about leaving Ocala to become the band they wanted to be because everyone in their old town just wants to live simple lives, which is a common theme for some of the best songs from ADTR. The song is super catchy and easy to sing along to, and yet again the guitar is lit. Next is I’m Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of? Werd name of a song from some movie, and it personifies their roughest song in the album, with harsh guitar rips and a great chorus. The backup vocals are really good in this song too. Finally, we have If It Means A Lot To You, their most popular song... ever. A modern day example of a great ballad, it’s a story from the perspective of a singer and the girl he’s in love with, who are two steps away from breaking up and going their separate ways. It’s a sad song with acoustic guitar, but ends in a climax with a repetitive outro, everybody singing along to Jeremy’s music. It’s a brilliant song.

Before the next album, we have their EP Attack of the Killer B-Sides in 2010. First up is their Christmas song, Right Where You Want Me To Be, which I’m posting a video of below because it’s decently funny but also one of their best. It’s just a group of friends coming home for Christmas, making music to get by but also to sing with their friends, and it’s great, stepping away from metalcore to just sing. Finally, we have their cover for The Fray, Over My Head (Cable Car). Though this is a cover, it shouldn’t be compared to the original, as ADTR makes it their own song, with the screaming, the guitar part, and Jeremy’s badass vocals. This song also introduced a lot of people to ADTR, which I think is pretty awesome.

Next is What Separates Me From You, also in 2010, and while this isn’t their most successful, it is by far their most popular album in terms of fan favorites and views, which is... weird. First up is All I Want, a callout to the fans that all Jeremy wants is to mend the hearts “of everyone who feels alone”, for them to dream big but stay humble, and we can move forward. It’s super catchy and if you don’t know some of the lyrics by the first listen, you’re the exception. Next is 2nd Sucks, the most popular song of the album, and also the obligatory metalcore song, and it is all screamed and there is almost no singing whatsoever (along with having some video game references). It’s by far their roughest song ever, lashing out at all the people criticizing them, hitting chords about being self-reliant, and letting the critics know they’ll be ignored in the long term. Finally, there’s All Signs Point to Lauderdale, a song that should reach out to anybody who’s always hated their hometown (I know this should reach a few of you). Jeremy here feels like he’s trapped, and desires to be somewhere he belongs, because again, the town fucking sucks. It has great lyrics, awesome vocals, and the last part is amazing.

Two more! Next is Common Courtesy in 2013, by far my favorite album from them, because every song in it is great, so link to that here. It’s also their first self-published album, since they had a fallout with Victory Records (they’re a crap publisher). This song has a lot of great guitar punk songs like Right Back At It Again, City of Ocala, and Sometimes You’re The Hammer, Sometimes You’re the Nail, but I’m gonna highlight the underrated non-punk songs. First up is I’m Already Gone, my favorite song from ADTR in general. The song is about a guy leaving his life behind him to keep on moving on, because he doesn’t want to get stuck in the past. It’s a great acoustic guitar piece, really hitting home with me personally, and the melody is just so gooooooooood. Next up is Leave All The Lights On, a bonus track from the album that’s criminally underrated. It starts with acoustics, but it moves upward and onward to electric, drums, and other instruments to create a huge song about spending time alone without a girl you love because things aren’t working out, and maybe they’ll figure out how to get home if they “leave all the lights on”. Finally, and this is usually considered their best song, End Of Me, which I’m linking below. While the song is about breaking up and struggling to move on because it hurt him more than her, the video is about cruelty, a father’s abuse, and a kid struggling to stay focus when in the end, it’s over. It’s a heartbreaking track both musically and in the video, and I recommend you watch the video, not just the music. It’s powerful, it tugs at heartstrings, and it’s a beautiful song.

Finally, we have their newest album that came out last year, Bad Vibrations. It’s not one of their greatest, but it has a good mix of metalcore and pop punk which should appease both sides. If you want metalcore, may I suggest Reassemble and Bad Vibrations, and if you want pop punk, may I suggest We Got This and the bonus track In Florida. However, it has three hits that blend both sides. First up is Bullfight, which starts out slow and methodical, but after a minute the song picks up and just kills from there. It doesn’t sound great the first time you listen to it, but it grows on you with each listen. Next is Paranoia, the main single of the album (yeah no, not Bad Vibrations). Not one of their greatest, but it’s a super catchy song, and the chorus is really good. Finally, we have Forgive and Forget, their obligatory intense song with emotions and strength. Notice a trend that some of their best songs are either about hating where they are or about relationship? This one is the latter, a relationship with a narcissist. This song just builds and builds, making for an amazing climax and a good ending song to this whole article.

So that’s A Day To Remember. Did I convince you to listen to my childhood nostalgia, or have I plagued you with music you’re not a fan of? I hope you like them ;_;

And that was the Music Spotlight! We have the EDM of Hyper Potions, the video game soundtrack of Toby Fox and Undertale, and the nostalgia favorite band of A Day To Remember! What did you think? Do you like this new series? What do you think of the songs and musicians? Let me know!

Also, this is important, but you can recommend artists for the next Music Spotlight below. The 3 most upvoted will have a poll to decide the one that gets into the next Music Spotlight. Happy choosing!

In any case, if there’s anything I missed, or you want to talk about these delightful composers above, hop into the comment section. See you next time!

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1. Shadow’s Dungeon Reviews: Breath of the Wild: Great Plateau Shrines

2. Composers Countdown: David Wise (#10)

3. Wii U Countdown: Splatoon (#10)

4. X-Men: First Class Review

5. Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Review

-- ShadowSect