#then martlet being the final part

[krazydraws]

((UTY GENOCIDE SPOILERS))

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I’m an expert just like you

[orilimbs]

There's no time to explain who am I, so im gonna show you my own take on Horrortale Yellow.

This au's name doesn't need to be explained, the underground sets in an uncanny ambient after a neutral route in general, but based on Undertale Yellow's timeline, the underground sets in this ambient after a neutral route made by Integrity.

Each area like The Dark Ruins and Snowfall (Lower Snowdin) are based on the horsemen of the apocalypse in order: Death (Ruins), Pestilence (Snowdin), Famine (Dunes/The Wild East), War (Steamworks and UG Apartments), and finally, the last area called "Clover's judgement" can be heaven or hell depending of the route (genocide, neutral or pacifist (NOT FLAWED), where your fate will be sealed if you choose to fight Zenith Martlet, Kitsune Ceroba or Flowey.

Monsters CAN bleed in this au if they arent at a very low HP but still damaged, if they lost all their HP they turn into dust normally along with the blood.

I dont have enough energy to explain every character's deep lore on this au, so im gonna say their general characteristics:

Clover is 10-years old, they escaped from home and fell from a mountain on accident, without having any bandages or any gun, they have to dodge every attack to not to die. They fell in a flower bed that had spines on it, making them lose a part of their vision and getting hurt, leaving them with a very low HP permanently at the beginning.

Dalv is a REAL vampire this time, he will try to attack Clover no matter if theyre friends or not, but Dalv knows is better for Clover to leave his house for their own good if they want to survive. Dalv is selectively mute and has vampire urges that need to be satisfied. He lost a horn in a fight that he doesnt remember.

Martlet lives in Snowfall where there is a fungus infection that was born after the dust mixed with very cold snow on trees that made a fungus live on fruits and honey panels. Martlet is infected and a bit hungry, but she would never attack a poor child. She's vulnerable to cold and diseases, she's is in the late-third phase of infection where fungus take place on her physical body and cant fly.

Ceroba lives in the dunes where everyone fights and eat themselves to survive, concluding on cannibalism and blood, everyone is hungry and will attack anyone who steps on the area. Ceroba has a scar on her left eye like Clover and has insomnia to protect Kanako and Chujin, who are alive but need to be feed. She has SEVERE problems with Orion (Starlo's brother).

Axis was created after Integrity's neutral route where The Integrity Incident never happened, Axis serves as a doctor and emergency robot, when he was closed in the Steamworks, the Steamworks and UG Apartments summerged on war due to being trapped by their own creators. Axis is mute due to his "radio" being damaged, he is a pacifist and tries to help Clover until Clover and Ceroba wrongly attack him.

I will drop more information later, but these are the most important ones. The others who I didnt included (Decibat, El Bailador, Starlo, Orion, along with others) are secondary or important to a specific character's development. Here are the old designs, some of them stay the same and others changed a little bit or generally.

[cosmicskittlez]

God dude could you imagine being Starlo

You're running a small town because you love cowboys, and it's going great because you're the sheriff. And it's not only because you love cowboys, you also wanna cheer up your childhood best friend who's still pretty upset after her husband and daughter passed. And you also did it to help bring people to your family's farm so they don't go out of business, even if you don't talk to them often anymore. The cowboys are still a big part of it though

Then, get this, a human child comes down who's an authentic genuine cowboy! You go nuts, immediately bringing them into town to show them off and then training them under your wing seeing deputy potential in them. Sure you've been dragging your friends through the mud a little but you're sure they understand! Then when you finally crown them deputy you almost forget their badge, so when you go off to get it made you're shocked to find your own friends trying to attack them. They tell you that you've been being a jerk, which was true, but you weren't accepting it at the time and started being even more of a jerk. Then you run away from your problems and the little human child finds you, and you fight them.

You tie them up and shoot at them, and yet they still surrender. Your hand shakes as you almost shoot them before Ceroba comes back to rightfully tell you off. You admit you were being a jerk and think that'll be all, but then she drops a bombshell of news on you. Her daughter is alive, which is great! And to find her she wants to bring along the child, who admittedly was quite tough for their age and would be able to help her out quite a bit. So you wish them luck and let them go and go back to your friends to apologise. Luckily they let you right back in with open arms, and you share the news with them about Kanako, and they're thrilled! You all think up of a plan to spruce up Cerobas old home to to throw a welcome back party.

As you're cleaning though, you find a room. Hidden under the dining room. In it there's tapes, tapes of her husband telling her a plan to save the entire underground, at the cost of two souls. A boss monster, and a human. And you learn your friend's child is a boss monster, like her father. And you remember who Ceroba took with her, a human. And you realize you need to do something before it's too late. You rush to write a letter to the poor child and storm out of town with Ed in case it doesn't get there in time. You find them both just before they're about to go to the lab, you question her but all she can do is run. You chase after her and tell Ed to bring the kid home to safety, your heart still in disbelief at your friend. You never could've expected this

You chase her all throughout the core and all throughout New Home, trailing her with every step as she tries to run. Finally you both end up at a cherry blossom tree and you beg her to help you understand why she has to do this. You know her, she's kind and caring and motherly, so how could she hurt not only her own child but another? But before you can get an answer, a certain bluebird you jailed in poor judgement shows up with Clover right behind them. The rest of what happened was only a blur, Martlet tries to leave with Clover but she's struck down by Ceroba, and when you try to stop her she strikes you down all the same, and your head hits against the stone as your vision goes black.

You come to only a bit later, Ceroba and Clover now worse for wear but no longer fighting. You find out Clover even won, and pride rushes to you before you look at Ceroba. She looks so tattered and broken. You go to hug your friend and promise that no matter what, you're here for her, and you're going to help her move on despite everything. But then it was time for Clover to go to Asgore. You and Martlet try to convince them they they can't go, that they shouldn't go, that Clover can stay with one of them while you wait for another human. But as the arguing between everyone grows and grows, Clover's soul comes out of their body, a yellow light filling the air.

All they say is that it's time. You try again to convince them down from this metaphorical ledge but they persist, they want to give up their soul themselves. They want to help monsters in whatever way they can. You get one last moment with them before everything. You try to say everything but only so few words escape. Then they reach up to you and hand you their gun, the same gun you bought them. You kneel down and accept it with a heavy heart, trying not to let your tears show. Eventually you and Martlet walk out. A minute passes, and Ceroba walks out with a canister, holding a glowing yellow soul.

You take a breath as you make the trek to the king's castle. This can't be right. This can't be just. How could someone so kind and so brave be so ready to give their life for monsters that killed their own kind? And why did it have to be this way? You and your friends give up the soul to the king, holding back tears as you let your friends soul go one last time, and possibly never to see again. Martlet goes her own way, and you and Ceroba make your way back to the Wild East. You wait to tell the posse, it's already pretty late and you figure they've had enough pain for one day.

You sit down at the empty bar with your head low. Dina can tell somethings not right, but she knows better to dig. She serves you up a shot without you having to ask. You chug it down fast in hopes it'll wash away the day you've had. But your thoughts drift. Clover was just a child, scared and pained and hopeful all the same. They didn't deserve this. You can't even think what could cause anyone to deserve this. As you look down again, you trace a finger around the rim of the tiny shot glass. Their hand couldn't have fit around it if they tried. Your head drops as a tear falls into the empty glass.

They were just a child.

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

I feel bad for Starlo. (pt. 5)

Most see this as a Staroba moment (not saying it's wrong to see it that way), but I'm like: why is Star’s first thought after he is brutally kicked to casually admit how he deserved to be hurt that much? He could have fallen to his death! Like, dude, stop. You're breaking my heart. Just look at how chill he sounds:

no starlo.. please be more gentle with yourself And then he says how his and Ceroba's mistakes were the same?

How??

What she did was MUCH MUCH worse. It's like comparing Papyrus to Alphys or Asgore. And I don't even hate Ceroba, or Asgore, or even Alphys. They're all flawed but well-written characters (gonna discuss the fox woman soon) But like… Ceroba not only had time to process things (and plan everything) but got support from Star. He didn't get either. The posse and Ceroba all left him hanging, all because of his enthusiasm and insecurities (that somehow nobody ever picked up on; the struggle of people who always seem happy is real) and good intentions. His entire life fell apart without him expecting it, all at once. Even worse, no one who was supposed to be there WAS there. And when Ceroba finally intervenes she basically reveals to us how North Star was someone no one liked?

I really hope she meant just who he was while Clover was there. Otherwise….

She better not be saying that, for the years this persona existed, they all hated it. That they hated this part of Star, the insecure part. They obviously wanted him to go back to being the Nice Guy™ (but like, he was always nice. The only time he was overly enthusiastic was when he met a real human for the 1st time and got to live his dream. Ceroba basically says how, well, the guy’s lived a pretty unfulfilling life before he found out about westerns. They gave his entire life meaning. She should have been more patient with him istg.)

Ceroba’s actions were manipulative. She never planned to tell anyone the truth. She wouldn't have told anyone the truth, EVER, if Star and Ed hadn't found out about her secret. Starlo on the other hand felt lost, since he got 0 support. Ceroba had Star. He gave her a free home. He was so thoughtful as to think "my childhood friend is currently crying herself to sleep, alone at home, why not give her company and ask her to stay with us?" Ceroba got a hug from Clover, lots of understanding from the kid, Martlet and Starlo. She got easy forgiveness. Star had to make up to his group himself and be the only one who apologizes. Even though they’d been gaslighting him (is that the right word for this situation?) for years apparently, or didn't let him enjoy himself for once in his life (depending on how you choose to interpret it). He even said sorry for forgetting to turn off the rock machines. Yeah, he deff goes back to Nice Guy™ AND does it pretty damn quickly when you think about it, after how much he was forced to deal with all at once ALL BY HIMSELF before Ceroba came and lectured him for the most part. He really is emotionally strong

yeah, ceroba didn't comfort star like this when he was at his lowest (bonus points for him soothing her all while grieving for the child he clearly saw as his own)

Even though she thought she was doing the right thing, Ceroba was a twist villain. Starlo was no villain. He just really hated himself, was glad to find someone who could understand both his passion and his beliefs (aka Clover), really wanted to finally feel useful and expected others to enjoy his fantasy world as much as he did. As a farmer he felt like he couldn't do anything for himself and his community. He only wanted to help the best he knew and got carried away.

[cheddarchandelure]

Zenith Martlet might be my favorite video game boss but the fight is still absolutely devastating! Let me explain.

Throughout the pacifist route of Undertale Yellow (and neutral) Clover and Martlet form a very special bond, a bond with some maternal undertones. Hell, undertones is a stretch because at one point Martlet calls Clover her kiddo. So yeah, these bitches are found family and its great, I love them :). And while they may become separated at the end of the game, Martlet still cares very deeply for Clover.

Part of what makes their relationship bittersweet is how Clover is implied to have an unhappy homelife at best, and an abusive one at worst. Even before Flowey puts Clover on the alternative path, Clover wants to stay with Toriel. Its clear that Clover greatly desires a mother figure in their life, even before meeting Martlet. But once they do meet Martlet, she gets to act as their mother figure (and maybe also Ceroba but this ain't about her and even then the mother-child bond is stronger with Martlet and Clover) Even if for only a little bit, Clover finally gets a mother figure in their life.

And then we get to the genocide route. The once sweet Clover becomes corrupted by their twisted sense of """justice""" and seeks to eliminate all in their path. Not even Martlet can see the good in Clover. Her character arc about learning to trust and love a human despite Chujin's advice has gone the complete opposite direction. Now her arc is about Chujin's advice being Validated and seeking to stop the human threat. Clover has become so far gone that they are willing to pull a gun on Martlet, and Martlet's desire for humanity to be good has all but faded, and now she must put aside part of her good-natured self to stop Clover.

And thats whats so devastating, these two people who should have loved eachother, and been what the other needed, now want eachother dead. And to me, that is fucking heartbreaking.

Oh you thought I was done? Nope! I have one more thing about the Zenith fight I wanna point out, because from a story perspective, Martlet should have won.

Think about it, up to this point, the genocide route has been a story about evil prevailing. Clover has gone on an absolutel rampage, murdering innocent monsters left and right. But in the darkest hour the hero of the story, Martlet, gains incredible power to defeat the villian once and for all, to have good triumph over evil! A classic trope.

But thats not what happens, because this isn't a story about good triumphing over evil. The whole point of the genocide route is having Clover finally break free from fate but at the cost of literally everyone else and canon itself. The genocide route is a story of evil triumphing over good and plunging monsterkind into despair. So to have Martlet undergo a heroic transformation, to become the zenith of monsterkind, and still lose after everything all because this is isn't a story about heroes winning fucking devastates me.

I'm not sure if I managed to get my thoughts out in a intelligible manner but I hope you enjoyed my ramblings nonetheless, and who knows, maybe I helped you appreciate Zenith Martlet (and Martlet in general) some more!

[guns-blazing]

ive been posting about luckypatch but havent brought up something i find interesting and something i find other people havent brought up either: flowey's manipulation.

other people have talked about him trying to get clover to fight the king. that's what he's been doing reset after reset. grim dreamer has a good video that discusses that here that i recommend if you're curious since i won't dwell on the "getting them to fight the king" bit.

i'm talking about one method he uses for this goal: he tries to plant in clover's mind that he's their only friend and the monsters around them can't be trusted. this happens throughout the entire game, but just gets more and more obvious as it progresses.

one of his earlier acts is painting martlet as a guard who ruined clover's plan and then ditched them...

and he progresses onto saying "Cowboy roleplaying's a stupid roadblock! You're better than everyone here and shouldn't spend time around them." that leads onto...

Good lord this part! "It's awful that fox lady is around you because it means you can't talk to ME! She ROPED you into a detour, hahaa like you'd WANT to go with her! Your non-friend is crazy!"

the most blatant one yet is actually in a different route from that, in neutral:

here he comes and says it outright: "You don't need anyone but me."

i don't know if i'm in a position to call this relationship abusive, but i think it at least ticks some of the boxes. flowey's trying to isolate clover from people who can and would help them, protect them, and lead them away from what he wants them to do. it's obvious he separated clover from toriel, even in timelines before he started tampering with the switch, but it's less obvious that he never stopped.

not only that, but clover cannot leave this relationship.

clover knows they die a lot, and flowey's the only reason they're alive. flowey repeats this a lot, but i doubt he needs to. it's apparent to clover that they need flowey to reach the king. (what clover doesn't know: when they try to abandon their mission to live out a life where they won't constantly die... yeah.) flowey holds power over clover, so they just have to deal with it. they have to listen to him shit-talk their friends.

there's so many other things he does along with this.

flowey paints many of the opinions he voices as things clover not only knows, but agrees with, while never asking their thoughts. (EXTRA fascinating when you consider flowey never gives clover a choice in any of his dialogue, while clover's other friends at least have some things they can say yes or no to.) clover never speaks out against flowey and only picks a fight when they know they can win (vengeance end) or know he's against them (neutral pre-final boss fight). this is probably a combination of flowey being in a position of power and flowey never giving them the chance to talk.

and then there's how he avoids calling any of their friends by name, favoring saying "that guard" or "fox lady"; and how he says opinions that the player knows is him lying, like saying there's nothing in the Lab; and how up until the ending he always paints what he's doing as looking out for clover or keeping clover's eyes on their mission...

i love luckypatch, but god is flowey such an asshole.

[a-legacy-not-to-be-forgotten]

Hot take, I don't really like Starlo x Dalv for one big reason

It undermines the bonds that they have with other characters.

Like you have Starlo and Ceroba finally reconnecting with one another.

Ceroba and Martlet bonding over loosing Chujin, a man both of them cared about.

Dalv and Ceroba possibly reconnecting over Kanako.

Dalv and Martlet being neighbors with one another.

Hell, maybe Martlet and Starlo being neurodivergent together (part-joke, part serious)

But no, you're telling me none of that interests you and you'd throw it all out the window for a generic yaoi pairing between two guys who hardly speak to one another.

Aight, I understand the appeal of Dalv and Starlo as a pairing. I like M x M ships (being a queer man myself) and I do have a soft spot for opposites attract. But my problem with this ship is that it overshadows the potential that both of them have with other characters, and it frustrates me that the fandom ignores all of the above to focus on two guys being together when they have no buildup beforehand. Not saying that Dalv and Starlo don't have potential together, but I do believe it's second fiddle compared to what they have set up with others. Also I don't see a solid romantic connection. If anything, I see Starlo being more of a cool older brother figure to Dalv than a boyfriend.

P.S., this isn't me saying you can't ship it. I'm just giving my main reasons as to why I don't like it.

[usafphantom2]

2nd September 1937. First flight of the Grumman XF4F fighter, which would become known as the Wildcat. Its performance was initially inferior to the rival Brewster Buffalo, and the aircraft required an extensive redesign before being put into production. Despite this unpromising beginning, the Wildcat would prove crucial in the early stages of the Pacific war. Though less manoeuvrable than the Japanese Zero, it was well armed, rugged and a capable adversary in the hands of a skilled pilot.

The Wildcat’s first combat sorties were actually flown by the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. Named Martlet in British use until 1944, the type’s first victory was a Junkers 88 over Scapa Flow on Christmas Day 1940. Martlets went on to serve successfully on the first Royal Navy escort carrier, HMS Audacity, in 1941. They continued in this role until the end of the war, scoring their final victories in Fleet Air Arm service by shooting down four Bf 109s in March 1945.

Wildcats first flew in combat against the Japanese during the attempt to take Wake Island in early December 1941. Four Marine F4Fs mounted a heroic defence, breaking up several air attacks as well as sinking a destroyer and submarine with 100lb bombs before the island finally fell on 23rd December. Wildcats served in all the key early engagements of the Pacific war, including Coral Sea, Midway and the defence of Guadalcanal.

Wildcats quickly established a reputation for toughness, able to absorb far more punishment than their Japanese opponents, and had an impressive kill/loss ratio. Wildcats were credited with destroying over 1,000 Japanese aircraft for 178 aerial losses, 24 to anti-aircraft fire, and 49 to operational causes. One Navy and seven Marine Corps pilots would earn the Medal of Honor in Wildcats.

In early 1943, Wildcat production was taken over by General Motors under the designation FM-1 and later the improved FM-2. Though replaced by the more powerful Hellcat on American fleet carriers during that year, the Wildcat’s small size and light weight made it ideal for use on escort and light carriers. With the addition of folding wings, they were well suited to the limited hangar and deck space available.

As in Royal Naval service, they remained in use until the end of the war. For example, during the battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, Wildcats mounted strafing runs against Japanese warships, helping to buy time for their parent escort carriers to escape.

Pictured:

1) First prototype Grumman XF4F-2 in flight. Note the cowling machine guns, forward radio antenna mast and telescopic gunsight, none of which featured on production models.

📷 thisdayinaviation.com

2) Grumman Martlet of 888 Squadron NAS warming up on board HMS Formidable prior to takeoff.

📷 IWM (A 11640)

3) Wrecked Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighters of Marine Fighting Squadron 211 (VMF-211), photographed by by the Wake airstrip sometime after the Japanese captured the island on 23rd December 1941. The plane in the foreground, 211-F-11, was flown by Captain Henry T. Elrod during the 11th December attacks that sank the Japanese destroyer Kisaragi. Damaged beyond repair at that time, 211-F-11 was subsequently used as a source of parts to keep other planes operational. Elrod received a posthumous Medal of Honor after leading a beach defence unit during the final Japanese assault.

📷 NHHC 80-G-179006

4) FM-2 Wildcat over the escort carrier USS Santee during the Leyte landings on 20th October. Santee would survive a kamikaze attack and a torpedo hit from a Japanese submarine 5 days later.

📷 NHHC 80-G-287594

@JamieMctrusty via X

[delta-drawsarts]

Ok ok hear me out

I think I have a au were clover is still a human who fell from the surface world and dasent have to give up there soul.

The name of this au. The cowpoke with a monster soul.

It start off as a normal uty das with clover falling into the underground meeting dalv

then clover goes through snowdin and meet martlet were they get on the boat martlet like to take clover to king asgore.

(( but all the while no one not a soul has seen his soul yet not in any of the boss battle or fight. But the monster we well it a human thing I guess and goes on ))

But then the boat crashed but the sound of a crack cude only be hard. But only clover hard this but martlet didn't.

(( a small crack came from clover soul without his knowing )).

But then clover make it to the wild east das starlo test (( advoid the fight with the feisty four )) advoid fighting with starlo and goes through the steam work with Ceroba.

(( but this is were the story take a turn ))

While through the steam work clover would began to fell I'll/sick (( because a small part of his soul crack. )) but they make it to the room before the ending of the stram work Ceroba finally the one monster to Question way hasn't anything see clover soul yet. So she took it on herself to check clover soul (( and not expecting to see a monster soul)) Ceroba would gasp but would get into gear after seeing the crack in clover soul and pick clover up and rush them back to the wild east and back to the estates before starlo and the fisty five got there before her.

(( in this au monster soul are extremely rare in humans like a 0.01 trillion light years rare. ))

WOW. Uh, that's honestly a neat idea. Humans being born with a Monster Soul being a VERY rare thing, but still look human sounds like an unfortunate circumstance. Imagine Clover getting killed and they fade to dust (Would... Clover fade to dust or just be a corpse?) like... How fucked do you think would that affect Monsters? You just killed someone who looked human but has no human soul.

Genuinely curious how this would go. Would Clover have magic not yet unlocked? How did they survive battles if their soul wasn't present? What's Ceroba gonna do??

Please continue with this, it sounds like a neat story to hear the ideas of :)

[polyhexian]

Okay, okay, I think I have a way to make the Enoch's Bones AU even more convoluted and angsty.

Let's say Hunter's motivations for leaving Belos are actually not that straightforward. The Martlet hasn't actually convinced him of anything. Instead, he's launching his very own Secret Mission as the Golden Guard and has his own agenda here. This mission is so secret that Hunter hasn't even told Belos he's doing it, and he feels really bad about that, but he's sure his uncle will understand after Hunter is successful!

The first part of his plan is all too easy. He can't believe he never had this idea before. It's literally been lying there for the taking for years. The next time Hunter has a one-on-one fight with the Martlet, no scouts or CATTs around, he indulges his weirdo stalker's apparent need for conversation. And again the next time, and the next. He isn't sure what game the Martlet's been playing all these years, but Hunter's finally gonna play back.

The Martlet is taken aback, then cautiously delighted, and after a month or so of weekend fights Hunter decides he's built up enough of a rapport with the guy to make his move. The Martlet has always tried to kidnap/capture/convince Hunter to leave Belos. All Hunter has to do is ask if that offer is still open.

Belos punishes Hunter on a Friday, and Hunter thinks "perfect" and doesn't do much tending to the wound, and on Saturday he shows up to his fight with the Martlet already hurt and bleeding and very meekly asks if the Martlet would still be willing to help him run away. It isn't even all that hard to act like he wants to leave his uncle. Like he's tired of hurting and failing and being punished and never being good enough. He tries not to think too hard about that.

The Martlet stares at Hunter for a long moment, apparently stunned speechless, before he says of course he'll help, and Hunter refrains from punching the air in victory. He's in.

Hunter says that if he's going to run away, they need to fake his death. He says this because he wants the Martlet to think he really is running away, but also because…he knows Belos would never approve of this mission. So Hunter's decided to do something noble and stupid and go behind Belos's back for the greater good.

Maybe Belos has been very hard on Hunter recently, and Hunter wants to do better as the Golden Guard but isn't sure how with all the limitations he's under. He knows he's a disappointing nephew. He's trying. He could accomplish so much if he could leave the castle on weekdays, and he really does think looking into wild magic could help cure his uncle's curse… Belos is hard on him because he loves him, but Hunter is starting to wonder if Belos is also subconsciously holding him back for the same reason. Obviously Belos is concerned about Hunter's wellbeing, which is sweet on an uncle/nephew level, but is pretty counterproductive on an Emperor/Golden Guard level.

Belos says that now that Hunter's the Golden Guard he needs to behave accordingly. They don't get to be uncle and nephew very often anymore. And Hunter understands…but it's no good if Belos keeps treating him like a child.

So clearly, for the good of the Empire, Hunter has to remove himself from the equation for a while. Hunter has to do this, for the Emperor. His uncle will understand.

(And maybe, selfishly, he hopes Belos will miss him, will realize how much he loves him, will be so relieved when Hunter returns that he'll overlook his transgressions… This is awful of him. He's an awful nephew. He's trying not to think about it, just like he's not thinking about how nice it might be to not fear his uncle's curse for a while, or how bad the punishment might be if this mission doesn't go as planned and he has to slink home in shame.)

So the plan is:

Get in good with the Martlet

Fake his death so his uncle can't stop him from doing what's best for the Emperor

Infiltrate the rebels and figure out all their plans

???

Return to the castle with tons of intel and lead a raid to arrest every member of the rebellion

I feel like Jasper has to be at least a little aware of what's going on here. Of course, there'd be good angst if he wasn't and then later learns that Hunter was lying the whole time. But Jasper isn't stupid and he trusts no one and he'd probably be very suspicious of Hunter suddenly getting (comparatively) chummy with him and then asking him for help. So he's probably fully aware that Hunter is trying to play him, but figures this is the best chance he's ever had and if he plays along he could potentially convince Hunter that he has to be saved before Hunter double-crosses him and goes back to Belos.

So Hunter's feeling pretty good about himself. Phase One is complete, Phase Two is a go, it won't be long before he's on to Phase Three and learning all the rebellion's secrets! This is going great!

And then Jasper decides it's worth the risk to immediately show Hunter the Grimwalker pit. He's in a race against time to convince his son that going back to Belos is a bad idea and he should run away for real, so as risky as it is, Jasper's going to make it immediately clear to Hunter that there is a LOT more going on here than he's aware of. Questions can be answered later; right now he has to fake a death and make his son realize that there are questions that need to be asked.

Hunter started this entire scheme in a bid to learn secrets and information, and now he's standing in a secret bone pit with waaaaaaaay freakier information than he was expecting. He's watching the Martlet holding a tape measure against skeletons like….what is happening? What is this place? What…what am I getting myself into?

And that's when Enoch shows up and starts making everything so much more confusing.

YESSSSS THATS PERFEFT OMG.... Enoch is NOT helping because jasper is t going to fight Belos while Hunter is alive and hunter is a pussy who isn't going to turn against his uncle. She needs to get hunter sad or weak so that she can try to possess him and do the job herself and she needs jasper Out of the way. So even though Hunter has just been shown some WILD shit that undermines his faith in Belos, Enoch is here is here to actively encourage him to kill the Martlet and go back to Belos so she can get closer to him.

[mspandorasart]

Thoughts about Undertale Yellow

Greetings, I just returned from binging through Undertale Yellow, True Pacifist Route specifically, and am seeking a place to let out some thoughts (and steam). It's the first time I'm doing this type of "review" on my blog, but since my thoughts on it are quite strong, I thought, "hey, why the heck not"? Spoilers for the game and its ending ahead, fellas. Buckle up.

First off, let me begin by stating that, for the most part, I had a blast playing through it. The music is amazing, the boss themes real bangers, the environmental ones great as well. My favorite track was the OST that played in the Dunes: a really catchy western vibe with Flowey's theme in it as well, an earworm that filled me with Determination while running through the sandy fields. Then we have a beautiful pixel art style, gorgeous sceneries, great gameplay with challenging and fun boss fights (side note: although I couldn't fully appreciate Ceroba's fight since it had a couple pretty much unavoidable attacks. Or is it just skill issue on my part? Anyway, that part annoyed me more than it should have. Moving on, lmao.)

Furthermore, the game also has charming characters! They are the ones that kept me going and really ignited my interest. Not gonna lie, it took me until the town in the Dunes to become really invested in the game. Martlet is charming and cute, sure, but North Star and his gang, no, that guy specifically sold it for me. Charismatic, funny, very expressive sprites (well, all facial sprites are quite colorful, but it took me until North Star to appreciate/notice just how many there are for each character) and an interesting internal conflict with wanting to entertain others so they forget about the pain of being stuck underground, but at the same time being so absorbed in his persona that he temporarily acts like a douche towards his pals and forgets who he truly is. He also features my favorite joke in the game when he proudly proposes to the salesman that "he wants to buy a gun for the child". Freaking hilarious, love him, huehehue.

Story-wise, I was pleasantly surprised and taken aback by the dark twists of Ceroba and her husband Chujin. And I appreciated how the flashbacks got intigrated within her final boss fight. I don't know about you, but my biggest motivation to play RPGs are not just the gameplay, it's mainly the characters and the story. If the gameplay is amazing but the characters/plot boring, then I lose interest quickly. To me, the real rewards of a tough battle are story progression and seeing just what the characters will do next. Therefore, I greatly enjoyed the breaks between Ceroba's phases in which we saw parts of her backstory. They even made me cry!

...Although, to be honest, I don't exactly understand why we had that insight into her mind in the first place. Why did we survive so many hits to the point of 0.00001 HP? Where's that coming from all of a sudden? Why did time stop at some point like Za Warudo? Maybe that random plot armor (that happened the first time and never again) is explained in another route, but anyway, moving on-

This review-style blog entry only exists because of the True Pacifist ending. I'll be blunt, I hate it. Why?

So it ends with Clover sacrificing their soul for the monsters so they can eventually break free. Which is fine on its own. Clover is for the most part a blank slate of a character, only driven by their desire to seek the lost humans, that's basically it. Maybe it would have made a bit more sense for Clover to see an actual physical proof of their demise before they give up on them completely, but eh. I'm also wondering whether they are really okay with potentially another, possibly innocent human falling down sometime in the future only to get killed by the monsters. But oh well.

(You know, now that I think about it, I actually am a bit salty about Clover's decision to sacrifice themselves, lmao. Would've been kinda cool if it was up to the player, have another ending split.)

Anyways, the issue I'm having is how our cast of supporting characters, Martlet, North Star aka Starlo and Ceroba react to Clover's decision. They are shocked first, but... agree surprisingly quickly?? What?? Excuse me, the entire hassle we went through to get to this point was to stop Ceroba from taking Clover's soul. Now with Clover volunteering to sacrifice themselves, the gang is cool with it??

Of course they don't agree immediately, but are easily swayed within a few arguments back and forth. Man, what friends you are, guys. The reason I'm having this pet peeve in the first place is because we as the human, who has known these guys for just a day, did a lot for them, alright? They all tried to kill us at one point, but we took the beating, the hard battles, forgave them and were there for them during their internal conflicts. We were a pretty decent friend, if I may say so.

Especially with Ceroba! We did a lot to change her mind and path of self-destruction! Yet our so-called friends don't put in the same amount of effort when it comes to convincing us otherwise- or heck, use force if you must- get Clover away from there, lmao. Wouldn't it have been an interesting act of redemption on Ceroba's part, by the way, if she tried to stop us? Being touched by our mercy and refusal to give up on her, she does the same for us?

I suppose the reason I am so baffled by all this is because of Clover being a blank slate, the player character really felt like me, like I was going through the journey and not like I was controlling another character. It felt like my decision to spare them all, to talk to them and wanting to get to know them better. So the group of characters I have really grown to like giving up on me within about a minute of back-and-forth just felt... wow. Thanks, guys.

If I compare it to Undertale's True Pacifist in which every important supporting character gathers up after the confrontation with Asgore, all agreeing with the decision of me, the player, staying in the Underground with them, then oh boy, it really stings. Just would've been a cool, wholesome sign of friendship if Martlet, Starlo and Ceroba decided that "nah, even for the surface, we won't give up on Clover". By the way, in this game, we don't even really get to see why the monsters want to return to the surface so badly. They keep saying they want to, but what are the reasons exactly? More freedom, I suppose. Yet by expanding the Underground with the Dunes, the Mines, the Factory, and some of Snowdin, the Ruins and New Home, their habitat seemed so much larger than in the OG game- What I wanna say is, their desperation should've been shown way more instead of told, so the player can understand the monsters' aspiration better.

The thing is, it's a shockingly easy issue to fix if you really want "the canon ending" with Clover ending up dead and their soul taken: have Clover still have their moment of doubt and realization, remembering what the monsters told them throughout their journey. Then they go to Asgore with their gang, hoping to convince him. It doesn't work out, so Asgore starts a fight. During the battle, Clover realizes it's useless to fight back, it's better to have their soul taken for the monsters, so they allow Asgore to kill them. Their friends are not powerful enough to stop him. There ya have it.

Siiiiigh. Is it just me, being annoyed by that ending? As a whole, the finale felt a little... rushed? Was New Home always meant to be so empty? Is it to build up atmosphere? Yet there were two silly NPCs in the first screen of New Home, making me assume that maybe, there was another plan originally? (If it has been stated in a devlog or any other comment by the creators, then I apologize, I haven't read those fully.)

Anyways, if I didn't care about the game, this rant wouldn't even exist in the first place. I was really invested in the game until the ending just left me... kinda sad, not gonna lie. It will take me a while to process it all.

If you got this far, then thanks for reading. Am I the only one feeling this miffed about the ending? I might go back and edit this post if I find out there are things to be corrected. Buuuut as of now, happy holidays!

[natalieleif]

UPDATE: I finally got stuck and went on Youtube beat Undertale Yellow! All in all, I really liked it! It's infested that part of my brain where things go that are fun enough to invest time in, but also have enough scattered potential for some really good fanfic/art.

I do agree with a lot of the critiques, and I'm glad to see a lot of stuff added in Version 1.1 to make life easier (bug fixes, Easy Mode, recovery items, etc). I'm hoping there's a 1.2 version later that adds even more quality-of-life. That said, a lot of the critiques aren't... really... things that seem feasible for a patch update. ("Make the character art more monstrous!" You mean, redraw every sprite in the game!?!)

So with that in mind, here are some things I'd love to see in 1.2 that are maybe (hopefully!) easier for a freelance dev team. Spoilers below!

Adjusted mechanics/dialogue for bosses that have no reason to kill you. This is most obvious with Starlo and Martlet's Pacifist fights--both are friendly and reluctant towards murder, so their Pacifist fights ending in death or defeat feels... odd? Compare to Toriel or Papyrus: one will adjust her attacks to never hit if you take too much damage, and another will cut his battle entirely if you hit 1 hp. A similar form of 1-hp cutoff or "Oops, that was an accident!" Game Over dialogue would match their motivations a lot better.

Related to the above, offer a Skip option for any battle the player's lost 3+ times. This is a common video game handicap, and one I always support in story-heavy games like this. A lot of feedback I've seen is from people who want to love the story but struggled with Sir Slither's ACT pattern or Axis's breakout puzzle, so this is an easy way to get most people to finish the game.

Have Dalv gift you any items you missed in the Ruins as a "thank you" for Clover's support. This patch would solve two immediate concerns: that Dalv doesn't have a larger role, and that many players will miss items like the Golden Pear. Sure, Dalv sends a letter to Clover, but the incentive to go back to Snowdin at that point is low. Having some sort of item reward makes it an active part of an average game run and lets more players see Dalv post-Ruins.

Call the Sunnyside Farm a Ranch like it's called in the files. Okay, this one's just for me, but it being a Ranch makes way more thematic sense for the cowboy area.

Let Ace run the card game at least once in the Wild East. Seriously, it's kinda weird that he doesn't. I understand why he can't while he's napping, but the other times??

Edit Ceroba's post-Starlo Pacifist fight dialogue to make it more clear that she's taking you on the fastest shortcut to Asgore. The main critique with the third act to Pacifist route is that it very quickly becomes Ceroba's plot about finding Kanako. And because it's framed as a hunt for Kanako, the dialogue becomes a rush of info about who Kanako is and why this side-plot should matter to you, the player. But at this point we've already done a side-plot, and most players are antsy to get to the end game. Yet the Steamworks really is the only route to Hotland in that area! Having Ceroba guide the player through what they think is a spooky shortcut to the End Boss fits the story, braces the player for the finale, and lets the TALK dialogue with Ceroba build up naturally through the lab, so her betrayal about Kanako has more time to build up and hurts more as a final boss fight.

That's all I got! Thanks for reading, and feel free to reblog with your own wants for a 1.2 patch!

[stuffyflowers]

re: "give me a character" ask thing

can we get your breakdown on martlet :0

- how I feel about this character

I LOVE MARKET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Um I’ll keep this part short since I’ll prob ramble on the other ones but yea. She is so awesome she is so me (if I was cooler) I love her martlet the markeps the martk yeah yeah yeah

- all the people I ship romantically with this character

there aren’t really any mart ships I feel strongly abt,,, but I do enjoy martlet/moray when it occasionally shows up in fanworks ig. Voice of reason x voice of reason <3

-non romantic otp

HER N CLOVER NO CONTEST. She cares about them so much it makes me ILL. Even if clover kills dozens of monsters, she still wants to see the goodness in them, believe they can change and have a violence free childhood in spite of what she has been told about humanity all her life (even if clovers actions appear to reaffirm what chujin told her. even when hating humanity and doing her job would be the easier option). She stays by their side when no one else will in the flawed pacifist ending, she’s the one who organises their memorial in the true pacifist ending,,,, SHE MAKES THEM VISIBLY SMILE WHEN SHE FISTBUMPS THEM,,,,, augh

- unpopular opinion

I never know what 2 put for these questions bc unless it’s a universally divisive character, the opinions that are considered ‘unpopular’ really just depend on what corner of th fanbase ur in. I guess a constant I see w martlet is ppl just undervaluing her role in the story and ESP her relationship w clover. I really do think mart is clovers favourite person and their bond is at the heart of the game, particularly evident by each routes ending focusing on her confrontation w them on the rooftop. Martlet and clover stopping ceroba together, martlet wanting to adopt clover and lead them away from violence, martlet being the final stand against clover and, as she observes, being the only monster they needed to find a deeper justification to kill (bc everything about her appeals so heavily to who clover is deep down). It’s why I kinda roll my eyes at the popularity of final boss/zenith starlo stuff, it feels like ppl just want martlets role pasted onto him despite that undermining his character arc what who said that

- one thing I wish happened with this character

I wish we got to see inside her house!!!! It would be so cosy in there esp with that unused peaceful home track playing. I need to know how she lives. I also wish we got to see more interactions w her and star and especially ceroba before the final battle in pacifist. I find it so funny that one of cerobas battle texts implies martlet is her friend when basically their only interaction prior was ceroba breaking her out of jail only to immediately abuse her trust to take clover away from her. I’ve said it so many times and I’ll say it again the martlet and ceroba dynamic has sooooo much potential!!!! They’re both strongly associated w justice but while martlet demonstrates this value alongside her kindness and reason, ceroba tries to achieve her idea of justice through manipulation, cruelty and tunnelvisioned plans. Do you get me!!!!!!!

[half-blood-goods]

My live Undertale Yellow Reactions - Dunes Edition Part I. - Ft Mines

Oh we western now?

Curse whoever programmed this stupid sandstorm

That's a rock

*Mo appears* MY MAN

"In case the conveyor belt ceases to work, fix it" sounds oddly like something a real company would say

How the hell do I fix the elevator

*Fighting Bowll* NOT THE SANS ATTACK

*While going through the falling rocks area* Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck-

Oh wow, they referenced the Tile Puzzle from Undertale

*Riding the minecart* Preeeetyyyy

I still have 0 trust in Flowey

Ominous Corridor is ominous

*El Bailador appears* TF are you?

"If I didn't know any better, I'd mistake you for a Sentinel of Silence" You're not gonna believe this pal

Are we seriously just gonna play DDR

Okay this looks more like Guitar Hero

Wait what do I do-

Why are we in Powerpuff Girls color scheme

Help why am I struggling

*Gets killed by Bailador's fake out* Oh go fuck yourself

I had to turn on auto rhythm but don't care, this motherfucker killed me like 5 times

*Lives on 1 HP* FINALLY! Now get out of my sight-

*Martlet appears* Hey girl, what's up?

Oooo we get a party Deltarune style? Probably just an overworld thing but still nice.

I hope someone makes a compilation of her talk options, cause I ain't gonna go back all the way to Snowdin to check every room. I did that with Papyrus and Undyne's calls in Undertale and I felt like I aged 20 years.

*Reacting to that one fortune* Are we.... Are we Frisk in a pervious life?

I legitimately spent like an hour playing Mew Mew Love Blaster and the only times I managed to get to the Final Boss (including my winning attempt) was the one where I didn't move. I let RNJesus take the wheel while I was blasting my love and it worked out.

Not the giant girlboss cactus

"Well well well what do we have here" Do you want me to push you into this well?

Flowey is being a jealous little bitch

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

this song reminds me of uty

idk how many of y'all remember/know of brother bear 2, but "it will be me" reminds me of this entire game. I'll explain why

*** If you hear a voice in the middle of the night Sayin' it'll be alright It will be me

I just imagine that this would be something Clover would say to Ceroba to reassure her, watching a child die and all (plus, add the guilt of what she had done to Kanako and it feels unbearble). I can mentally picture her lying in her bed in her old home at night and thinking of the day of Clover's sacrifice, crying to herself. But then she remembers that Clover wanted this; they wanted her to be happy again and start over, and Ceroba would smile instead

*** If you feel a hand guiding you along When the path seems wrong It will be me

This message would be for Martlet. The lyrics reminded me of this quote of hers:

Even though she willingly left the royal guard and apologized for being scatterbrained, I feel like Marts would still need more time to gain confidence in her own judgement. And whenever she would feel insecure, she would remember to follow her heart (and not superficial benefits like she used to) just like Clover did. It would bring her comfort

*** There is no mountain that I can't climb For you I'd swim through the rivers of time As you go your way and I go mine A light will shine And it will be me

Clover climbing Mt. Ebott, and, post pacifist, finding small ways to reach out to their friends even after their body is gone. As you go your way and I go mine especially hits hard. Basically the others are going to a new life and a bright future (light), while Clover goes towards death (darkness). And the "light" is their soul, "them"

*** If there is a key that goes to your heart A special part It will be me

How special Clover made Star feel (not like a "nobody" but like an actual sheriff), and how he saw them as the child he never had (based on my hc but it feels pretty canon). These lines can also be talking about the impact Clover had on everyone, but I had to include Clover's impact on Starlo, just like I did their impact on every other main character (minus Axis, sorry buddy, not enough stanzas)

*** If you need a friend Call out to the wind To hold you again It will be me

The first line reminded me of Dalv right off the bat. He'd sure as hell miss his first friend, the one who got him out of his comfort zone

*** Oh how the world seems so unfair Creating a love that can not be shared As you go your way and I go mine A light will shine And it will be me

*** Past the ever after there's a place for two In your tears of laughter I'll be there for you

Clover's message to everyone to keep being happy, to smile and laugh and stick together even after their passing, because that's where Clover will be

*** In the sun and the moon In the land and the sea Look all around you It will be me

Once monsters finally reach the surface and Clover's wish is fulfilled. Enough said

*** There is no mountain that I can't climb For you I'd swim through the rivers of time As you go your way and I go mine A light will shine And it will be me It will be me It will be me...

(nothing I didn't explain already in these last lines, but seriously, I'm making myself bawl again)

[winged-wheel]

UTY Axis Braindump

I feel the need to ramble about one of the several UTY-related thoughts bouncing around my brain at approximately 3 million MPH, so here's one:

Thinking about characters' themes, Axis stands out as having a surprisingly grandiose and triumphal sounding one compared to how physically small he is, coupled with his pretty inconsistent nature of being either successfully competent or a silly goofball shitfailure of a robot (and we love him for it)

And then the idea hit me. Given that there's a gag about the battle music being diagetic if you talk to Martlet in the Dunes, what if Chujin explicitly programmed an over-the-top theme song into Axis as part of his efforts to make Model 14 the final realization of his work? The triumphant culmination of every past failure, every rejection from the King, every moment of scorn from his coworkers at the Steamworks, every blind fool who couldn't see beyond just breaking the Barrier at what the future would hold. A song that would play to spite each and every naysayer when he finally had a chance to unveil it at the foot of the throne... of course, until that chance never came.

All that wrapped up in one little song that at first doesn't seem all that fitting for Axis, but that once you understand its context makes perfect sense.

I'm not necessarily suggesting that this was an intentional choice on the part of the UTY team (although it'd be really cool to know if it was something they thought about too!!), just that it's one interesting way of interpreting Axis and his characterization.