ok guys y'all gonna hate this one but i had a thought

undertale: well here's the delta rune, it's referencing a prophecy where someone will come down from the surface, the angel, and the underground will go empty. some people think this means the angel will kill everyone and some people think it means that the angel will spare everyone. the fanbase as a whole thinks that it's either chara/frisk or asriel, for the most part, although it's never confirmed. asriel is the only one to get wings, however, and in the pacifist ending is the one who actually breaks the barrier, so there's a good chance that it's him.

deltarune: lmao this one's literally called delta rune, and the prophecy in this one is about some Bad Stuff happening that a) results in the earth being destroyed, causing b) a human, monster, and prince from the dark rolling up and closing the fountain so they can "banish the angel's heaven." the angel. is also here. and also asriel is "at college" and we haven't seen him yet. they stop the angel by closing the fountain.

anyway what i'm saying here is that asriel is the angel in both stories and in this case that'd probably make him the knight as well

Skelly's brother who doesn't know about resets finds out! With this newly gained knowledge, they have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reset, and keep their memories! Would they take it? or would they let it pass? What do they do once the reset happens?? Please include HorrorSwap/Fell and Delta, I feel like their reactions would be interesting to see!!!

Undertale Papyrus - No. It seems unsafe and way too much power and he doesn't want to have that power. He's no one to steal the life of so many people just to change things for the better. Life would be boring if everything was always working as it should. Instead, it can help him to understand Frisk a little better.

Underswap Sans - Hell no. He's already aware of it because his brother told him and it's a BAD thing. He doesn't want anything to do with it and he thinks no one should have this power. Time magic is always bad magic.

Underfell Papyrus - It's tempting, of course, he could go back in time and just prevent Asgore from hurting everyone, but they are happy right now, so what would be the point? He's very fine with the way things are right now and wouldn't change anything.

Horrortale Papyrus - He would refuse. Sure, he would have loved to change the past, and that they would never have to go through the famine and Undyne's betrayal... But this also means he would be the one with a great power, with the right to decide what is a right time and what is a wrong time, above consequences. After seeing what power did to his best friend, he really doesn't want to test it. Things happened, but in the end, they are alright. And anyway, it doesn't mean because he changes things, things won't get worst than they were.

Horrorfell Papyrus - He would reset. He knows it's maybe egoistic, but he is sure he can still make sure none of this happened. He killed Undyne as soon as he is back in time, feeling guilty because she saw nothing coming and her eyes screamed "Why?!". But he knows this is better this way. After Frisk leaves, despite his attempt to hold them back, Chief becomes emperor of the Underground and tries to make things right. Turns out he is no better than Undyne and everyone hates him. At least, he saved his brother's leg and he's not in a wheelchair. Chief will regret sacrificing so much, forcing himself into a second famine, just for so few results. He would never do it again.

Horrorswap Sans - He's doing it, of course. He kills Chara as soon as they fell, take their soul and breaks the Barrier. He then puts as much distance as possible between him, Alphys and his brother, leaving in another country as soon as they have citizenship. Alphys and Undyne will never understand why Blue became so cold to hers, to the point they became strangers to each other in a few years. At least they are happy and his brother is not traumatised by years of imprisonement.

Swapfell Sans - He doesn't. He knows it's no use. Sure, there are things he could have done better, like protect his brother from his addictions better, but he knows that even if he didn't join the Royal Guard, they both could have been killed a long time ago. It's tempting, not being forced to be Toriel's slave, but he doesn't want to take the risk.

Fellswap Gold Sans - He refuses to use it. He could, sure, to take over the throne, he knows he's perfectly capable of that, but he knows it would only make Coffee more of a target that he is already, and he would never put his brother in more danger just to satisfy his huge ego. He can still take control now, but he has only one brother.

Outertale Papyrus - He would not take it. He's in good terms with Frisk, who regrets what they done, and he is perfectly aware of their capacity. He doesn't want to touch that power, it doesn't seem safe.

Disbelief Papyrus - He would hesitate a very long time but does it. If he has a chance, just one chance, to save his brother, he needs to take it. He didn't think seeing everyone again would be this hard. He can't stop crying, even if no one understands what's wrong with him, he could never tell them how much he missed them. He will save everyone, and then tell everything that happened to Sans, because he needs to talk to someone, and after talking so long to the ghost of his brother, he is glad he can finally talk to him for real. He's still going to need a lot of time to heal fully for this horrible timeline. Sometimes, he wished he forgot everything when he reseted.

hey, so!! i was in the car for a couple of hours yesterday and all i did was listen to music and make animatics in my head. so here are a few songs i thought i could ramble about that fit certain arcs/characters

pitiful children - be more chill

starring:

c!wilbur as squip

c!tommy as jeremy

l’manberg as the squip’s influence

l’manberg members as “the children”

c!dream as the confused guy in the background

-

“then i invaded” because that’s what. yes. c!wilbur moment.

basically, he’s convincing tommy that everyone is “incomplete” or “in pain” because of the “obsolete operating system” that is dream’s “rule”. that’s a lot of quotation marks right there. he’s saying how they’re going to “save” them by making them loyal (“let’s complete their chains”) to l’manberg. “let’s teach the pitiful children, who just haven’t a clue, just what to do” - you know, the whole “you’re naive, that’s good” thing because c!wilbur is scarily smart.

he’s trying to make c!tommy think the world will be better - “shiny happy people singing sweetly, gone is human error and fear” (again, criticizing c!dream) - if they make l’manberg and if l’manberg wins. the usual.

“every issue tucked away so neatly, if you feel a sob or tear, just turn that knob and switch that gear” probably my favorite lyric in the musical. this could be c!wilbur hiding the fact that he has Issues because of the stress he’s putting on himself, as well as the fear of being controlled, via trying to gain more power with the elections and pretending that he is fine and definitely not spiraling.

the next “pitiful children” switches into wilbur trying to convince dream to give him the tnt to “save” people. jeremy changes from tommy to dream; dream sees tommy beaten down and exhausted from the rebellion and does what he thinks is necessary.

the instrumental pause are the events of the 16th, and the next chorus and last upbeat verse is dream thinking everything will be “wonderful” again and no one will feel “left out or unsure”, that he can fix what wilbur broke - that he can have his happy family back, and being determined to get it. “when we rule” refers to the final disc confrontation and the vault.

basically, the song could be used for c!dream and c!wilbur’s parallels.

over all it’s a banger song. yes i did have a bmc phase, next.

unaligned - the undertale neutral route fansong

c!ranboo, 100%. it matches him so well.

“The brave and foolish ones

They walk not on the center

The signs are pointing every way

And I don't know which route's better

Some will take the fall

And some will see tomorrow

I could be the light or darkness

Redemption or sorrow

How could I live on with what I've done?

You took me in, showed me love when I had nowhere to run

You offered me your everything and I threw it all away

My indecision keeps me unaligned”

this could be his regrets for technically “betraying” l’manberg by helping c!techno and c!phil even though they gave him a home when he had no place to stay. could also apply to the community house and c!dream, with him not wanting to believe or “live on” with what he’s allegedly done.

his indecision, not wanting to be on any side, is what keeps him “unaligned”, because he doesn’t know “which route’s better”. light or darkness matches up with his aesthetic as well.

bring that fire - war*hall

looping this song for hours on end is the reason why i made this infamous post.

this is a dream smp army (sapnap, dream, george, punz) song, no questions asked. the freaking hype i feel is exactly the rush i got from seeing them kill it. it being l’manbergians - and, hey, look. i never said dream was some weak-minded woobified idiot, alright? i despise l’manberg with my soul, so that is the true evil, but in the l’manberg war, dream’s a brilliant anti-hero. he did kill people, but he was very fun doing it, and he was in the right, and they asked for it, so. anti-hero vibes.

as well as everyone else - i freaking love them, did i say that yet? yes, so these lyrics really match their ruthlessness and how they were determined to win, taking it further and further to assure victory (beloveds) -

“No stopping me

Breaking barriers

I keep on crushing it till I am done

I didn't get here by accident

No I've been gunning it since I was young

Better believe I'll be standing

There ain't no moon that can outturn the sun

I didn't get here by accident

No I've been gunning it since I was young

Second to none

Been gunning it since I was young

I'm standing at the edge now

It's about to go down

I'm gonna take it higher

It's time for me to light it

So they can't deny it

Ay!

Bring that fire!”

“If you take a shot, boy, you better not miss

'Cuz it won't ever happen again

You gonna wake up and not even know what your name is or where you have been

Better be ready to bleed if you think that you have any hope for a win”

“I never go dim

'Cuz I only know how to win”

i miss them. bring them back. i want them to fight more revolutionaries. they only know how to win and they Freaking Did LET’S GOOOOOOOOO

song’s a banger idk where or when it’s from but please listen to it.

pity party - melanie martinez

dream stuck alone in prison feeling his sanity slip away from him piece by piece in isolation, wondering where everyone is and why they aren’t coming :)

“did my invitations disappear? why’d i put my heart on every cursive letter? tell me why the hell no one is here?”

like, you know. people who he still cared about. the thank you notes he made. also, exile arc parallels.

“tell me what to do to make it all feel better”

[ Dream tried to swim in lava ]

[ Dream tried to swim in lava ]

[ Dream went up in flames ]

“maybe it’s a cruel joke on me, whatever”

sam being cruel to him, dream being convinced everyone hates him and he deserves this after all, forcing himself not to care.

“i’ll cry until the candles burn down this place

i’ll cry until my pity party’s in flames”

[ Dream burned to death ]

[ Dream tried to swim in lava ]

[ Dream tried to swim in lava ]

“maybe if I knew all of them well
i wouldn't have been trapped inside this hell that holds me”

pandora’s box - maybe if he had more allies, more friends, more people on his side, they’d not let him suffer like this. they’d come help him, get him out.

“i’m laughin', i’m cryin'”

the whole ‘laughing at tommy’s death’ bit as well as the fact that - yeah, he’s not been doing very well mentally in there, has he.

“it feels like i’m dyin'

i’m dyin', i’m dyin'”

[ Dream tried to swim in lava ]

[ Dream burned to death ]

[ Dream tried to swim in lava ]

[ Dream tried to swim in lava ]

[ Dream tried to swim in lava ]

[ Dream went up in flames ]

:)

that’s all! i don’t know what this post is. feel free to send in songs, i have a playlist.

DREAM SMP UNDERTALE!AU

The previous parts can be found at the end of the post.

JUDGEMENT:

After hearing across L’Manberg’s streets about the tale of the Tragedy from long ago, Ranboo's road is blocked by a familiar figure: Karl, standing in front of him with his arms crossed. A shiver runs down Ranboo's back, despite not knowing what's going on. A bell is heard in the distance. It’s time for judgement. Karl explains to Ranboo how all actions have consequences. How every time you kill a Mob you get experience... but every time you kill a Player, in this server, you get EXP... Executions Points, and you earn LV... Level of Violence. The six players who fell into the Underground before him and after the Tragedy  behaved differently one from another: some of them got a lot of LV; others, very little; some none.  Ranboo gain none. Not only has he never killed anyone but he never hurt anyone, he never stole anything, nor griefed anything seriously - some pranks there and there (unbeknownst to Karl, nearly all prompted by the ghost boy, as Ranboo has the “backbone of a chocolate eclair“ ), but nothing really serious... Ranboo never gained LOVE, but he gained love. Does that make sense? Maybe not. Karl also notes that Ranboo seems to have become a little more self-confident than the first time he saw him, at the start of his journey: he is more assertive, he talks more to people, and seems to act more "alone", but he still "doesn't seem to have grown up enough". In the end, Karl wishes him good luck with the King and lets him pass. Ranboo approaches the throne room. The ghost boy seems to have become way more sad and gloomy, but after a brief hesitation, he follows him inside. THE KING: A lonely figure is building something in the garden of the Castle, muttering to himself before noticing Ranboo approaching. Although he initially greets him cheerfully, in the exact moment King Phiza realizes who's arrived... everything seems to get silent, and his face darkens. He doesn't seem angry or bloodthirsty, however. Rather, to Ranboo, he seems almost surrendered, and sad. Phil apologizes to Ranboo, but invites the boy to follow him to the final battle. He also notes that, despite his height, he is quite young, and comments softly on something Ranboo can't hear. Phil takes him in front of the Barrier, showing him the SOULS of the other six Players who have fallen before him. Then, saying goodbye, he attacks him. Ranboo tries to settle the battle peacefully, but he can't. Philza won't let him, and it would make no sense: after all, he has to absorb the king’s SOUL to be able to go home. The two fight and Ranboo is forced to reset several times to figure out how to beat the terrifying force that is the King. In the end, however, he succeeds. He brings the man to his knees, the Axe of Peace in his hand, a weapon that Philza had noticed during the fight and that had prompted him to hesitate, several times. Maybe that's why Ranboo really won. Ranboo could kill him immediately. Instead, he lowers the weapon. Despite what's at stake, he can't do it and the boy collapses too, apologizing. The two talk. Philza reveals to him that after the initial desire for revenge, when the previous King left the city, running away towards the Ruins, Philza also realized the truth: that all that hatred was corrupting L’Manberg, that it was corrupting him, its citizens. But he had lost three sons, and people needed something to continue fight, and Philza hadn't been able to leave them in trouble. So for years he had held the crown on his head and continued with the plan, even though he hated with all his heart what he had become. Ranboo tries to tell him that, perhaps, all is not yet lost - and Philza notices, with a sad smile, that perhaps now is the time to start over. At the exact moment the man offers him to stay there, to make a home, to become a family, an axe is thrown at his back, straight between his wings - and in front of Ranboo's eyes, Philza falls to the ground, disappearing in a cloud of dust while the ghost boy screams.  Dream laughs, destroying the king's SOUL. And then everything falls to...

                                                  DARKNESS

Darkness it’s the only thing Ranboo sees. The Barrier is gone, Dream is gone, the ghost boy is gone. Ranboo tries to search around, to call for help, to access his Save File. But in front of him there is only a smiling face - and then another, and another, and another. Always the same smile. Finally, Dream appears in front of him, having stolen his Save File. Dream teases him, thanking him for having weakened King Philza so that he could take the SIX SOULS. He now has all of them: all he needs is Ranboo's to become the most powerful person on the server - and thus be able to continue playing. Dream also tells the boy that he can try to call for help as much as he wants, but that "nobody will come", and that he has also blocked away that "stupid ghost pawn” who kept following him. Ranboo tries to continually survive Dream's attacks, calling for help several times, but it's useless and Dream kills him again, and again, and again, playing with him as a child would. Until something change and, to his absolute shock, Dream cannot reset anymore. Someone answered Ranboo’s call. The SIX SOULS have managed to rebel. They weaken Dream and heal Ranboo, allowing the boy to attack him and finally, after a long battle, he defeats him. Dream crumbles in front of Ranboo. He’s so weak that he actually seems a lot smaller and younger that he was before. Dream, still with his -now chipped- smiley mask on his face, mocks Ranboo and tells him to kill him, as the world is kill or be killed. Ranboo initially wants to, but he hesitates and refuses to do it, over and over again. Dream looks confused and runs away, not understanding what is happening. As darkness surrounds Ranboo, he feels a receding presence along with the SIX SOULS - but it doesn't feel like that of the ghost boy. It is different, but still familiar. Darkness, again, comes.

A GOODBYE?

A telephone rings, as a voice resounds in the silence. It's Karl's, who’s trying to call Ranboo. Realizing that the boy is not responding, he just leaves a message on the answering machine along with everyone who is there - Sam, Sapnap, Quackity, Puffy and so on. They say they don't know what exactly happened, but that when Ranboo disappeared, the SIX SOULS apparently went away with him. With all their progress’ gone and no guidance left, the Underground had been in danger of falling into despair again. They had however tried, all together, to bring hope, and the old King, Techno, had returned from the Ruins. Instead of resuming his role he dissolved the Kingdom: now everyone is equal, working as a community. They build, they create projects, they collaborate. Fundy, Sam and various others are working on another way to leave the Underground. Sapnap is willing to leave, now that the plan they hated so much is gone, to seek for the friends who had wandered off into the depths of the Underground, to ask them to return to the SMP lands. Karl also says that Techno, absent at that moment, is not angry with Ranboo for Philza's death because he realizes that Ranboo had been "forced to" do it in order to return home, and that he understands what it means to act under the pressure of something “stronger”. With his phone at a very low battery, Karl ends the call, hoping that wherever Ranboo is, he remembers them.

The message ends. Ranboo stands in front of Dream, in the void. The latter asks him why, if the boy did everything correctly, he’s still there. Why didn't he go home? Maybe because Ranboo thinks that this is not a happy ending? Maybe he wants to change things? Who knows... maybe Ranboo hasn't done enough. He became friends with everyone, but did he become friends with everyone? If the moral of "kill or be killed" is wrong, then maybe Ranboo can prove that the opposite is right? Dream invites Ranboo to reset, once again, and discover all the secrets of the Underground and the Dream SMP.

Masterpost - Previous - Next

Tag Fact #3 -  I’ve come to realize I’ve always been a fan artist more than I thought. so here is a timeline of influences that shaped my childhood to now. from nostalgic times, to sad changes, to great loss, to strange rises to fame and phases, to stepping stones and finally a laughing place. all the things that make up your favorite fan artist Tag.

1. Rayman (bumped into this in the year of 1999) was actually the first fandom (with crossovers) I bumped into when I was 9. although the internet wasn’t available at the time it was still fun to dwell in home amusements. I remember the storylines and the OC’s I made but they’re kind of embarrassing and it’s probably a good thing there was no internet. I’ve done fanart and comic crossovers of Rayman with Calvin and Hobbs and Nights Into Dreams, spinoffs of Sonic the Hedgehog OC’s, Yoshi with Pikachu, and the Pokemon/Digimon craze with OC’s and other Nintendo comic shorts. but the drawings and comics are long gone and disappeared in the garage in a backpack due to suspecting my sister’s dad accidentally throwing them away. years later towards the year 2018 (now 28), we decided to move to North Carolina and it was my chance to find them again. unfortunately the backpack was gone just like I suspected (my main stuff), but for some reason I found my Pokemon/Digimon fanart, a good batch of Super Mario drawings (vaguely remember doing these), my sister’s drawings and some other neighborhood kids’ drawings in a dirty box. I was partially happy I found something at least but it was the backpack I wanted the most. sometimes I regret not looking for the backpack (’cause I was too busy being a kid) but it’s alright, noone needs to see that shit anyway, ha ha. anyways, I recall being a fan of Rayman from 1999 ‘til 2002.

2. Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (bumped into this in the year of 2003) my second fandom I bumped into when I was 12 going on 13. at the time, my sister and I both liked the Sonic The Hedgehog Franchise based on the Battle remake and ended up making our own secret fanart club that consisted of only us two members. she liked Sonic (and that was her boyfriend, ha ha) and I liked Knuckles (and he was my boyfriend, ha ha) and we were crazy in love about Shadow’s backstory. we listened to the game’s soundtracks as we drew fanart and comics after school and man, those were good times. however, as we grew older towards the year of 2005, we ended up having separate rooms and I believe it played a part in disconnecting on the same interest. then one day, I asked her why she wasn’t into Sonic anymore and she replied, “Because I grew up.” I was sad after that and slowly observed that she was influenced by the emo culture and the new friends she’s made. I was the only member of our little club for a little longer...but eventually I moved on too. I still have some surviving fanart we did together but it doesn’t mean shit anymore since she turned out to be an abusive mother from the last I’ve heard of her. 

3. Gorillaz (bumped into this in the year of 2006). as the Sonic years were at its end, I first heard the song “Feel Good Inc” on Music Choice and seeing the first image of them as displayed on this post (except the fan-made background doesn’t count since I can’t find the original artwork). this was my third fandom and later had proper access to the internet to the website I still currently use called DeviantArt. at first I liked 2D but eventually fell for Murdoc and developed a spiritual connection towards the character as obviously seen in my old fanart and rare photos of my devotion shrines on Valentine’s Day and his birthday every year. for the longest time since being a permanent fan from 2006-2017 (11 1/2 years) I had no knowledge that it was a political propaganda band and other realizations I don’t want to talk about. I only followed them because it was a cartoon and not the bullshit behind the musical project. the world I’ve built and support for them for all those 11 1/2 years shattered the fuck out of me and I just wanted to be left alone to find myself again, somehow. activity stopped on all my profiles, the flow of fanart stopped since I now cringe from the fan service and felt I was used for my talent. I didn’t want to be reminded of it all so I took down all my Gorillaz fanart and archived them for old followers’ nostalgia but also in the hopes they’ll be forgotten in my timeline. I ceased to exist in the fandom for huge personal reasons but it’s best to not say why. I know for sure that the fandom wonders what happened but it’s none of their business. THE END.

4. Waluigi (although I knew he’s been around since 2000 during childhood, I took deep interest once I revisited the character again in the year of December 2013). as silly as this sounds, when I revisited him again, the character was so bizarre that I ended up staying up 3 nights and 3 days in a row just looking all over the internet on everything about him and the questionable “hush-hush” absence of a backstory. despite there being no backstory he slowly gained a cult following and in many ways it’s a good thing. however, since the early 2010′s tension has been building up between Nintendo and its fans about him starring in a main game but everyone hasn’t fully gotten it in their heads that it’s not gonna happen. as long as Nintendo is in control of that, the fandom will not win, I’m sorry to say. on the other hand, if it’s going to be this way, then that’s what fanart and comic projects are for. as for me, I am doing my very best to get my comic project “Waluigi Land” going. again, I apologize if it’s taking very long to get Chapter 2 going if you’ve been keeping track but aha moments need to develop before I start permanent drawing (since concepts, character design and storyline needed improvement badly). as of right now I am still a Waluigi fan and I will not quit on him.

5. Turbo from Wreck-It-Ralph (although it debuted in 2012, I watched the movie two years later into the year 2014). for some bizarro reason, I had an unhealthy obsession with this character to the point where I dressed up as him for Halloween 2014. only 2 fanarts of him and the Turbo Twins exist on my profiles, mainly because my mind was more focused on just ‘thinking about him’ or ‘being him’ rather than drawing physical drawings. luckily, this supposed alleged fandom didn’t last long a little after Halloween so I chalk it up as a very short phase. to this day I don’t know what has gotten over me about him. the only thing I can think of now is that I think it’s because the character had yellow eyes and teeth but I don’t know. now that I think of it, that little fucker was ugly as hell and I STILL don’t know what had gotten over me. one day, my brother mentioned what that was about, and I said to him, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

6. Undertale (although it debuted in 2015, I later took interest in it in 2016). It was all about Sans and Papyrus. I couldn’t get enough of the skeleton bros. eventually Toriel and Mettaton EX became my favorites but it took a long time to draw more of all 4 of them because I had other important things to do in my life plus I was still waiting for the next Gorillaz album to revive my imaginative juices (or so I thought). I really want to have this as one of my frequent fandoms but I just don’t have time for it anymore. it’s still in the back of my head to want to draw them but at this point I still have other better interests to be in. and besides, I’m lazy just like Sans.

7. Cuphead (June 28th, 2017 was the official day I called quits on the British-based band Gorillaz due to the bullshit behind it. since that date I was lost, had no inspiration to look forward to and no cartoon guy to make me smile...but lo and behold of the same year, I took an interest in playing the game Cuphead and man...that shit was a frightening exaggerated metaphor for being on that one drug (forgot the name though) and having sex at the same time but man that was the best fun I’ve had in years. I mean, it’s like, enemies are just so happy to murder you and that scared the shit outta me. and the facial exaggeration?....I think I should stop, ha ha. anyways, the Moldenhauers saved my ass from spiraling down, they have no clue. anyways, eventually I became a permanent fan of their work so to ease the hurt and erase my past from the G-fandom I had to re-wire my brain into a different cartoon category that’s a rather more American, so anything Toon related like Roger Rabbit, Felix the Cat or another favorite that’s a western-based cartoon makes me feel better, especially my new man .......King Dice <3 <3<3<3. however, there was something about this new fandom category I still didn’t quite understand until the date March 14th, 2020. I finally understood what it was but I feel I shouldn’t bring it up. anyways, Cuphead and anything western or rubber hose is my last stop in inspiration for the remaining years of my life. many say never say never but I believe I’ve found my laughing place and that’s all that matters.

[Flowerverse] Dreamtale: Origins ~ Chapter 1

With every outcome, comes solutions of everything and anything.

With the consumption of the fruit came a change that not many foresaw or seen. Changes came everywhere with every second ticking faster and faster.

One such change was the very tale of Dreamtale.

Two beings changed from the Original tale to suit their own needs and desires.

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

Dreamtale.

An AU of Undertale changed to where nobody was sealed Underground yet a tree sprouted instead.

This tree was not normal nor was it pure evil. It grew into a tree that watched over the feelings that lay bare in everyone’s soul. Negative or Positive, it grew apples that either gave you pure positivity or pure negativity. But like every tale, greed grew in the souls as many sought the Tree of Feelings. Thus, the tree was appointed guardians by beings that sought to protect the tree.

But the guardians were killed off. One by one, many have died while taking the trees location to their graves and only one remained. She could only watch on as her fellow guardians were killed for the whereabouts about the tree and she burned every location of the tree off the map herself as she watched over the tree.

Nobody knew her name nor her origins. Everyone knew her as some kind of dryad that never had a real tree to claim as her real body so the tree became her home and body. She took upon the name Nim.

So she watched over the tree while keeping watch over the other kingdoms to make sure none come and steal the apples that bloom from its limbs. She eventually made friends with fellow guardians of different trees that were over the land. Lanny and Quetzalcoatl were Nim’s friends and she adored them. They adored her in turn as the three guardians worked together to protect their trees from everyone with greed in their souls.

Years have passed when she met a skeleton with bones as black as the abyss. Nim was still young by more long lived beings but the skeleton has lived longer than she knew of. Nim was cautious at first as the skeleton was the first living being that wasn’t her friends but the skeleton proved that they didn’t care for the apples. The skeleton ignored the apples with ease while getting to know Nim so easily.

It was where she learned the name and their pronouns. Their name was Error, the God of Destruction for the Balance of this Multiverse. Nim saw the marking on his skull easily along with the flower that glowed with a brilliance of blue mixed with red and yellow dots that to Nim looked like stars.

Nim found herself at ease with the Yang aligned being as he never asked for any info of the apple nor while she was alone with only her tree for company. It’s also where she learned more everything outside her little AU.

Error got rid of corrupted data, virus’s, or even destroyed AU’s if there is too much for the Multiverse at once. He fixed and cleared any data that can bring harm for the whole of the Multiverse. He was also a Keeper of Information as he deals with codes that can change everything if Error does one small step wrong. Error knows many subjects as he has to keep several top secrets safe in his mind.

Of which when he has to destroy an AU he wraps the red soul of DETERMINATION in strings to make sure they don’t reset then he kills everyone else off so they can never fall victim to the Void. He will release the soul when there is enough space for them but they will stay wrapped in his strings so they can’t make the AU come back of which will set off a reaction if there isn’t room.

Nim found this information fascinating as it showed more sides to those considered ‘evil’ or ‘dark’ as from what Error tells her then those forces are just general. They are every day and needed, no matter how everyone tries to stamp them out. Error then showed her the darker side by showing certain AU’s and their natural cycles.

Nim found herself more in awe of the forces that not many would ever think about. Nim knew of her balance between emotions but she never imagined of how beautiful it can truly be. Nim was truly younger than her more mature friends but she was more open than them as they both were set in their ways unlike her. Error showed her how everything had a side along with a story that can be told. Nothing was ever truly white or black like everyone voices but Nim saw the grey that it was truly.

No, everyone was neutral in the beginning until influences gave way the false white and black.

Nim was truly grateful for Error as he showed her so many things. Of which lead to Nim forgiving the humans, slightly. Nim still held some hatred for humans but she now knew that not all of them were greedy in nature. Though Nim would still keep her guard up around humans until the human proves themselves to her.

Of which it didn’t shock her that she gained some feelings for Error. But she knew that Error wasn’t looking for a relationship at the time as she saw how tired he was from his counterpart going over the limit multiple times. So Nim would just put her feelings on the backburner for the time being.

Until she found herself dying.

She was bleeding out from a deep cut on her stomach from a human that found her. She killed him but the human told her why he needed the apple. His wife was dying and he thought by getting a positivity apple he could heal her. Nim didn’t know how to feel as he had cut her deep but she felt pity for the other. Nim told the human that her apples didn’t work that way and he just smiled sadly as he died along with her. Nim decided to create two other guardians for her tree, one for positivity and the other for negativity.

The human then asked something that made her pause.

“Lady, May I ask you to use my soul? I’ve wounded you to where I know you have to create other guardians but I know that you will make them both one guardian of certain emotions. Positive and Negative. I will just ask you to take my soul and split it 50/50 so your little guardians can feel both emotions than only one certain types. I want to own up for my mistake and greed that overtook me. I’m…sorry…that I…took……away…….anything.”

Nim looked at the human as they cried and she gave a solemn nod as she took his soul carefully. His soul was a mix of PERSERVANCE, JUSTICE, and DETERMINATION. She gave the now dead human a nod while burying the body under her tree. She wanted to human to have some peace. Nim huffed lightly as she carefully split the soul while cleansing the new souls. She smiled as she saw their little lights dance in her hands. She spoke softly and lovingly to her children of their new roles while her body got more transparent every passing second.

“My children, I’m your Mother but my time has come to an end I’m afraid. I’m passing on to join the Tree of Feelings, of which you shall be the new Guardians. Nightmare, you are the guardian of Negativity and thus shall keep the balance of negativity. It’s not a bad thing my dear, for the light needs darkness to shine so brightly in the first place. Dream, you are the guardian of Positivity and thus keep the balance of positivity. But remember, with every light, greed and pride lie in wait to strike. Keep each other safe and remember, I will always love you, my little lights. I just wish Error can meet you both before I pass, he will love you both no questions about it.”

So with her last remaining strength, Nim created skeleton bodies for them and put the twin souls into the empty rib cages. Her soul yearned for a day where she could see Error again but her soul merged with the tree and thus two new guardians were left under the Tree of Feelings.

Nightmare and Dream just slept peacefully under the tree while dreaming of a beautiful green woman talking to a skeleton with black bones and tear shaped markings.

Change has happened but the beginning was the same for the small differences.

While for Error?

He never knew of his friends passing until later in the years.

And by then, Dreamtale would be sealed with making anyone forgetting it even existed.

Error never found out until Nightmare showed up years later and the Universe unsealed.

By then, Dream became the one corrupted and Nightmare the only guardian left for emotions.

(I don’t own the Original Dreamtale or anything close to it. I just own the idea of a multiverse called Flowerverse with Dreamtale being apart of it. Flowerverse is an AU that is a Multiverse of where everyone has flowers growing from one of their eye sockets or places. These flowers give powers that suit you and only you. Please bear in mind that none of this is canon for the Original Universes or timelines but for this AU it is canon. I also posted pictures that feature what they all look like, you might just have to find the post.)

OH??? Diamond skellies??? I've seen llama's so what's your diamond au like?

oH NO, YOU’VE CONVINCED ME TO SPILL

Fair warning, this is obviously…a big-ass Diamond Authority, so their individual roles are more specialized than if there were only three or four of them who had to handle everything.

Also, the diamond colors I picked are all apparently naturally found, none artificially created! Doesn’t impact anything, but I thought it was cool lol

Sans (Undertale): Blue Diamond, in charge of all the laws and legislation of the Empire. He oversees all trials for any transgression of said laws and has the final judgment of any accused. He can create or abolish laws with complete impunity on a whim, but luckily for everyone, he’s extremely fair and doesn’t abuse his power. He pretty much never leaves Homeworld as his function requires he remain in a predictable location and he adores his cushy job.

Papyrus (Undertale): Orange Diamond, the figurehead of the Empire! He’s the diamond most often seen by the common people, giving speeches and making visits and hearing the concerns, thoughts, and feelings of the citizens. He’s great for morale and making gems feel heard, and while it’s impossible to please everyone, he does a really good job bridging the gap between he and his fellow diamonds and the rest of the Empire. Responsible for lots of social events, balls and galas and the like.

Sky (Underswap Sans): Yellow Diamond, a very important gem with a lot of responsibility. What’s going on with the Empire? Where are they going to go next? How are they going to get there? Those are his questions to answer, mapping out the goals of their civilization and planning the steps they’ll take to realize them. Keeps up contact with all the other diamonds to stay informed but does most of his work behind the scenes– the majority of gems just know him as ‘the very friendly diamond who always seems busy’!

Paps (Underswap Papyrus): Green Diamond, his specialty is Homeworld’s infrastructure. He keeps on top of the practical things the gems living on their home planet all need– public works, things in need of repair, requested and/or necessary buildings and warp-pads, the works. Obviously, he’s not doing all this dirty work himself, but he does oversee it and coordinate the necessary machines and gems at his discretion. He gains a real sense of satisfaction making sure all the little things run so smoothly that they’re constantly taken for granted.

Jasper (Underfell Sans): Red Diamond, one who’s really in the thick of things and always off-planet, conquering new territory for the Empire. He’s a real diamond of the people, so to speak, not too good to shoot the breeze and make bawdy jokes with common quartzes and rubies, or afraid to put himself right on the front lines to turn the tide of a battle. He works very closely with another diamond…

Pyre (Underfell Papyrus): Black Diamond, a master tactician and one of the driving forces behind the Empire’s military success. He coordinates frequently with Red Diamond and they’re rarely more than a few lightyears away from each other when conquering new star-systems, as Red Diamond’s intuition and power make an effective match alongside his own finesse and gift for big-picture strategy. Even solo, though, he’s only ever lost a few battles and never the war.

Mal (Swapfell Sans): Purple Diamond, overseer of colonies. Every new territory added to the Empire’s might hosts him for at least a few star-cycles as he makes sure everything is set up properly and perfectly in order. He ensures the construction of gem structures and kindergartens happens on schedule and with minimal screw-ups and delays, as well as dealing with any potential setbacks in a quick and efficient manner. He’s quashed many a native inhabitants’ rebellion in his day, and devised plenty of unique solutions to planets’ uncooperative geography. He’s almost always on the move, as there’s always more colonies being built, needing to be signed off on.

Rus (Swapfell Papyrus): Violet Diamond, integration and assimilation specialist. He follows along in Purple Diamond’s wake, investigating new colonies and making note of anything unique or which could be useful to the Empire– flora, fauna, minerals, sentient lifeforms, anything interesting you could find on a planet, he’s the one who gives it a once-over and decides what to do with it. If something’s special enough to be important and worthy of preserving or otherwise utilizing, he’s also the one who comes up with the plan to make sure that happens as smoothly as possible and then gets the ball rolling on implementing it. He gets to see and interact with a lot of cool stuff this way, and usually ends up preserving a little bit of everything from every world the Empire conquers.

Slate (Horrortale Sans): Gray Diamond, the oldest living diamond…they think. No one’s really sure where he came from and they can’t exactly ask because he’s just a teensy tiny bit…cracked. It’s affected his memory a little, but he’s still an imposing figure on Homeworld– where he never leaves, because he oversees gem production. They all contribute their essence of course, through the extraction chambers, but Gray Diamond is the one who signs off on the allocation of resources for this gem-type or that, and who works with the engineers and technicians who test and develop entirely new kinds of gems. He has a lot of reverence for and fascination with the creation of gem life and consequently, he loves his job.

Papy (Horrortale Papyrus): Brown Diamond, a bit of a recluse, actually… Lots of rumors fly around about it, that he’s off-color, that he’s almost as old as Gray Diamond and even more badly damaged, that he doesn’t even exist… They’re all wrong, of course! There’s nothing wrong with him at all! He’s just a bit of a homebody these days and likes to stay close to his brother. There’s also the matter of his pet-project– gem healing! Partly inspired by Gray’s crack and partly by his genuine compassion, he really wants to find some kind of solution for gems who’ve become physically damaged other than ‘pray it doesn’t get worse and be glad you didn’t shatter instantly.’ It might be a wild goose chase, like a human trying to find an immortality serum, but he holds out a lot of hope for the research and it’s already stumbled on a lot of promising things, if not the specific thing he‘s looking for. As long as he’s personally helming that project, his public appearances are few and far between, but he always has a knack for showing up right when those ‘Brown Diamond is a myth’ rumors start flying the strongest. ;3

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

So yeah, this was meant to be my Halloween upload, but then I got a case of stage fright and mental “bleh” so that got delayed. But hey it’s still closer to Halloween than Christmas so I’m going to call that a win!

This is a reading of the wonderful short story written by @eatbreathewrite​ based on the concept of an old woman accidentally summoning a demon, then mistaking it for her goth-phase grandson. It was such a fun little story I was inspired to share it. BUT the video is not monetized because the author never got back to me on approving that.

(Also sorry the audio is a bit hard to listen too, my gain was a bit too high when I recorded and I couldn’t quite salvage it :< )

I have more to say, but putting it under a break thing to keep the post length reasonable lol.

Actually I think I’ll just copypasta what I put in the video description, because it’s basically everything I wanted to say here ^^;

Also sorry for disappearing for months on end...again, lol. It seems like every time I put something out I’m like “This is it! This is the comeback you’ve been waiting for!” And then it’s not. And it feels that way to me too. I guess the best way I can describe it is a mixture of stage fright and fear of the compounding disappointment that comes with having to wait so long.

Even though NONE of you have expressed anything remotely near disappointment. And I thank you for that <3 I’ve been meaning to start live streaming on Mondays since that’s my day off, but I had a case of that stupid stage fright last week. I’ll keep trying though. And keep putting out videos. The next 2 I have lined up are a reading of a fan-made Undertale story, and the first chapter of Their Wings from the Heavenfell series. And The Scientist once I get those two out, since I already have them recorded.

A few things have helped me get back on my feet, here. My new SO has been very supportive and helpful, in the gentle but firm way that apparently I need. The realization that sometimes worrying about your creative project being “perfect” isn’t as important as just getting it “done” has also been enlightening (which is why this video is pretty plain with the white backgrounds, lol). I’ve been watching a ton of Critical Role lately, and seeing such amazing creative energy from professional voice actors is really inspiring. And of course the long history of all of your gentle support as well.

So yeah, still going over here. I’ve been trying to think of a way to stay more regularly in touch that I won’t get avoidant about like I can on my tumblr. Maybe a Discord? Still adjusting to that idea. Or maybe just making sure to post something every day on Tumblr lol. So yeah, that’s where I’m at right now.

OH I guess I could stream editing all those comics I read before? I really like that idea actually. Anyway thank you THANK YOU and enjoy <3

The Art of Review: YIIK: A Postmodern RPG

I have been sitting here for about two hours with this tab open, trying to find out how to properly introduce this. At the time of writing this (May 7, 2019, 10:02 PM), I have just finished watching YIIK several hours ago. However, I have been doing just about everything to avoid actually writing about it, because I have no idea how to ease the reader into this.

YIIK is so reprehensible that I created this segment--”The Art of Review”--because I needed to talk about this game. I needed to explain just why this game fails on every single account, and is so blatantly offensive. Initially, I was going to do a piece on something creator Andrew Allanson had said about games and his protagonist, Alex. It had to do with character development, and a common criticism was Alex’s sheer lack of it; naturally, I decided to watch a walkthrough online in order to see this for myself first-hand.

I was not prepared for what I saw. I have never had to take as many breaks from any media before due to sheer anger at what I was witnessing. I have never seen a game that fails in every single sense, that is regarded as such high art by its developers. Except maybe David Cage, but he’s a topic for another day.

YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is one of the worst pieces of media I have ever had the displeasure of viewing... probably in my entire life. I wish I was exaggerating.

Before I go any further, I would like give immense credit to GrandmaParty and the others at the Something Awful forums for doing an LP of the game with commentary and cutting out the fights. GrandmaParty graciously linked the thread to me--which is full of sources that I will also be linking to throughout this piece--and made the entire game tolerable enough for me to power through. It wouldn’t have happened without you guys, so thank you very much for extending a hand to a small creator trying to get her footing in the world. <3

I will also be linking to the various episodes of GrandmaParty’s LP with timestamped links to show particular scenes or dialogue. I’ve heard that one Andrew Allanson likes to say that people doctored screenshots of his game to make him look bad. Sorry, but I don’t like being accused of forgery, so I’m going to just preemptively strike that claim down.

Now then. This is going to be a big, long review. Allow me to tell you how we’ll be separating this.

We’re going to have two main sections: a non-spoiler review, and a spoiler review. This is mainly due to the fact that a lot of the game’s issues come from its mess of a story, one that can only be understood fully if you’ve seen it through to the end (and its multiple endings).

But let me be clear here.

DO NOT BUY THIS GAME.

Don’t buy it for a laugh. Don’t buy it to see how bad it is. It’s broken, it’s offensive, and the creators and proven themselves time and time again to be genuinely awful and prejudiced people. Do not give these people money.

The non-spoiler and spoiler sections will be divided into subsections, which may also have subsections of their own.

With that said... let’s begin my review of YIIK: A Postmodern RPG.

Non-Spoiler Review

Plot:

The plot of YIIK (it’s pronounced like Y2K, but I’m going to pronounce it as ‘yick’ personally) follows Alex, a freshly-graduated college student, and the strange events that begin to occur once he returns to his hometown of Frankton. He follows a cat to an old factory/hotel, where he meets Sammy, a young woman who appears to live there. When she is taken by some mysterious creatures in front of Alex, he begins a journey to try and find out what happened to her, and begins to make discoveries that could endanger the very fabric of the universe. In theory, at least. In reality, the story is an absolute clusterfuck of vague metaphysics, and the rules of the world were never clearly established, so everything just becomes an incoherent mess.

Characters:

The characters are bare-bones at best and absolutely insufferable at worst. Alex especially is infamous among critics and detractors of the game for his arrogance, ignorance, underlying racism/sexism we’ll get to that, and lack of properly-written development. I’m not going to go into full detail with Alex just yet--there will be an entirely separate post on him. Something also to keep in mind that general consensus appears to be that Alex is an author-insert for Andrew Allanson. Whether that is or isn’t true is frankly up to the viewer, but there’s no definitive proof of it.

(Oh!!! Quick thing!! This image here keeps circulating around--this person is not Andrew! That is someone named Cr33pyDude on both Twitter and Reddit! He just so happens to look like the main character. Don’t rag on this guy, everyone, he doesn’t have anything to do with this shitshow. <3)

Most of the other characters are bland and underdeveloped, but all have potential to be better (Rory especially, in my personal opinion) if they were in the hands of a better writer. The female characters, though... either they are fawning over Alex, being written as nagging and overbearing, or having so little significance that taking them out entirely would change nothing. Don’t worry, we’ll get to that. Other NPCs are forgettable, and enemies are out-of-place monsters that hold no consequence to the story.

Writing:

And the writing--dear god the writing. The writers don’t know the phrase “show, don’t tell.” So frequently would Alex monologue about nothing. Upon coming back from seeing a woman get taken by supernatural creatures, he goes home and reflects--only to go on a tangent about his mother. Immediately after that, he goes on a rant about p/o/r/n/ when sent an email and how girls that he used to go to school with wouldn’t be doing “particularly unladylike” things. And the entire game is like this. Alex will go on pseudo-philosophical rants to himself, and they reveal nothing about his character except that he thinks he’s better than everyone else. He’ll also frequently describe things as though talking to someone--while this does get explained later, it still is completely frustrating when the narrative says “I said this and she said that” instead of just having dialogue or actions between characters. A lot of the dialogue doesn’t exactly... sound like anything a human would say. It’s stilted and unnatural.

Graphics:

The graphics are... bad. Really bad. The style is supposed to be a throwback to old-school, very polygonal games, but environments lack any and all actual texture, making them incredibly flat and uninteresting at best and painful for the eyes at worst. Everything is extremely colorful, but in the sense of neon colors. Everything is so bright and vibrant, and there is barely a place where someone’s eyes can rest--it’s balance in art. Brightness like this needs to be contrasted with darker, more muted shades, or else it just hurts to look at. The viewer’s eyes need places to rest, and the muted shades allow them that reprieve. You don’t get that with YIIK. It’s just a constant bombardment of colors and lights, to the point where if you are sensitive to these kinds of things, you may not want to look even at game footage unless you’re prepared. The character portraits are fine, even if some expressions are odd, but the in-game chibi-esque models are... bad. Really bad. They’re so uncanny and unsettling, and their expressions almost never change. (Also Alex has detailed teeth and it’s just as horrifying as you might think.)

Music/Audio:

The music is. Awful? It’s awful. It’s genuinely really bad. Case in point: one of the boss battle themes. You can hear this poor guy trying so hard to put power behind his voice, but it just sounds unnatural and strained. (Also he clips the mic at some points, and the balancing in general is. Bad.) He’s out-of-tune and occasionally off-beat, and it just makes for a very unpleasant listening experience. And a lot of the music is like this, being just an assault on the ears. The one real exception to this is the track “Into the Mind” made by one Toby Fox, presumably before he made Undertale and was doing freelance work. (He has since deleted his tweet promoting it. Screenshot of the tweet here, courtesy of @GameTheoryRejects.) The audio in general is poor, with irritating sound effects, occasional distorted audio that’s supposed to be scary but is so poorly done that it just hurts to listen to, and voice acting that’s lackluster at best and utterly emotionless at worst.

Gameplay:

Full disclosure: I did not personally play the game. But just looking at it shows how irritating, slow, clunky, and repetitive it is. Each character has a minigame that you play in order to attack, defend, use special attacks, and even run away. These minigames, unlike in something like the Mario & Luigi series, are slow, drawn-out, and completely break up the flow of the fight. And none of the other characters matter then anyway, because turns out if you max out your LUK stat, you can use a particular move that hits all enemies and completely one-shot them from critical damage. (And this move can even glitch out the game in some cases!) The menus are crowded and visually uninteresting, making everything sort of meld together. (Another minor criticism: YIIK has a tendency to put the player in unwinnable fights. You are never aware of what fights are winnable and which fights are designed to kill you. More on this later.)

Speaking of gameplay, the leveling system is... bizarre and tedious. You get EXP, but you don’t gain the ability to level up (yes that is an ability you have to gain) until a couple hours into the game. Leveling up is done in the Mind Dungeon, which you access from save points, and you have to go through doors that increase the stats you assign it. There are four doors per floor, and when you go to the next floor, you and all of your teammates (even if you haven’t met them in-game) level up. Sounds simple, right? Well. It’s slow and repetitive, and NOTHING HAPPENS. You walk in a door. You walk out the door. Rinse and repeat for 70 floors. (280 doors, by the way.) Here’s GrandmaParty doing this for an hour to get an idea of the tedium that this induces. You get to play a minigame when you banish certain enemies, but that serves less as ‘spicing up the gameplay’ and more of ‘adding more steps to this already-boring section.’

So to recap: Flat characters, word-salad plot, painful prose flat-out ugly graphics, backwards gameplay and leveling system.

Tl;dr: Game bad. Don’t buy it.

... This ends the non-spoiler portion of the review. And also the section where we start to talk about some... sensitive topics.

As such, I am going to issue a legitimate trigger warning: the following pieces talk about suicide/depression in detail, as well as physical & domestic abuse situations.

And a small content warning for those who aren’t legitimately triggered by these subjects but still feel uncomfortable reading about the following: homophobia/transphobia; sexism; racism; and the actual use of a real-life woman’s death as a plot device. No I am not fucking kidding about that last one.

So. Let’s get into the real shit about YIIK.

Spoiler Review

Plot:

Let’s start with the plot. There isn’t really a driving force for this plot; initially, it’s finding Semi “Sammy” Pak (well, everyone except Rory says “Park,” even though all of the written lines say “Pak,” so that’s great) after she is taken by mysterious figures. However, as the game progresses, the search becomes less about finding Sammy until she’s just a footnote, and becomes more about... meandering around the world going from one goal to another while fighting things. (The game points this out, but self-awareness doesn’t excuse the fact that it happens. Especially considering the upcoming plot points...)

Then the metaphysics start--people have been trying to decipher this world’s rules for a while with little success, so bear with me, I’m going to try to make as much sense of what we’re given as possible.

There exists a “place between places“ known as the Soul Space. It exists between parallel realities. A person can actually will themself into the Soul Space via... depression? One character, Vella, says that another character, Rory, left his body when he “surrendered himself to his misery” following the death of his younger sister, and explained herself that she fell into a deep depression as well before entering the Soul Space... but it’s not dying? Or it can be? Here Rory asks The Essentia 2000 oh we’ll get to her don’t you worry if dying means you enter the Soul Space. She says that it’s complicated. Her explanation boils down to, “if you care only about material goods and not about your bonds, when you die, you will cease to exist. If you don’t care about materialistic goods when you die, then ehhhhh???”

Also, if your reality is destroyed but you go into the Soul Space, you can become a Soul Survivor (aka the not-Starmen, seen in the cutscene with Vella and Rory linked above) and get stuck in other’s realities as you try to find a physical body. Also, people share a Soul across parallel realities--meaning, parallel versions of yourself would share the same Soul. But they’re not the same people. They have different lives, races, genders, names, but they share the same “Soul.” Only one person with that “Soul” can exist in a reality at a time, hence the form that the Soul Survivors take if they enter a reality where another person with that “Soul” lives. If, however, that person with your “Soul” is no longer in that reality, you can retake physical form and essentially take their place--though not as them, but as you.

And if you go into the Soul Space you apparently understand the secrets of the universe and are beyond normal human follies.

Confused yet? Me too, and I wrote this damn thing. The worldbuilding is so vague, and the players aren’t given set rules that the world plays by. Even when the more surrealist elements of the game start to appear, there should still be rules. Perhaps nonsensical rules, but rules nonetheless. Instead we get talk about Souls and parallel realities, scenes of bright colors and strange imagery that never gets explained or really acknowledged (other than a mention of them being “breaks in reality” like, once), and some plot twists that imply... a lot.

Let’s talk about the characters before we get to the ending.

Characters

Besides Alex, there are five major characters in YIIK:

Michael, who is Alex’s childhood friend and who doesn’t really have much relevance between the beginning and the end of the game. No, really, for the middle portion of the game, he doesn’t really do anything. He hangs around, that’s about it. He gains relevance again during the end of the game where he goes into the Soul Space and becomes Proto-Michael, and that... happens, I guess. I think it contributes to the revelation later on about reality breaking.

Vella is... a strange character. A strange character forced to contradict herself because the plot demands it. She’s shown to be a character who takes no shit, but also bends at the first flimsy apology Alex gives her. She is compassionate to someone like Rory, but spends most of her time calling out Alex. (And yet, somehow, they fall in love???) These notes I took previously on Vella’s first appearance show how what kind of walking contradiction that Vella is as a character:

”Stop creeping on me while i’m at work”

”Okay I’ll go to the house of two strangers who i just accused of perving on me, in the middle of my work shift, to look at these pictures of me on this website i’ve never heard of that can’t go wrong”

”So let me tell you about this traumatizing experience i had with a supernatural creature, saying how emotional and painful it was without any emotion in my voice”

”also i’m not going to tell you how I got to where the supernatural creature was because it’s very personal and I don’t know you and revealing that would make me vulnerable”

”By the way I’m going to give you my number as well as this other number for a training dungeon basically because I like you two”

... yeah,

Rory is probably my favorite character out of this dreck, and he deserves so, so much better than being in this shit. He’s a quiet scene kid who initially gets roped into the plot with the disappearance of his 12-year-old sister--turns out, however, that she killed herself, and Rory struggles with the resulting grief, trauma, and depression that follows. He’s a sweet kid who’s a pacifist, is teaching himself how to make games, knows a lot of random bits of information about many things, and overall deserves so much better than this game. Sorry Allansons you’ve lost your Rory privileges he is My son now

Claudio and Chondra... are just kind of there? Claudio’s a stereotypical weeb. Chondra is the “sassy black girl”/little sister type (which is later revealed to be even stranger, because she’s apparently a graduate student). They don’t have much outside of that, and that’s a shame, since they had a lot of potential to be really good. However, they also seem a bit... tacked on and included for diversity’s sake, as both of them mention racism at some point, and... yeah. The game isn’t very graceful with that topic, as I’ll soon get into.

There is also the character of Panda, who appears out of nowhere in the factory/hotel and is never questioned. It becomes very clear that he’s a figment of Alex’s imagination, and is Alex personifying him as his sort of “conscious“ when he is, in reality, only a stuffed bear. He only talks when Alex is alone. A lot of people really don’t like him, but I will admit that I got mildly emotional when he drifted away in space near the end--but only because I myself make stuffed animals and dolls, so nearly any stuffed animal holds a place in my heart. However, I can very much see why people wouldn’t like him at all.

Anyway.

The Fucking Ending:

So everyone just kind of meanders around for the middle portion of the game until surprise! On New Years’ Eve the world is going to be destroyed. Not just the world--the entire reality. And it’s going to be Alex’s fault, somehow. Also Sammy--who Alex becomes obsessed with--Vella--who is an explicit love interest for Alex--and an android--the previously-mentioned The Essentia 2000, who Alex has a dream about and immediately becomes infatuated--with all turn out to be the same person! Why pick between love interests when they can all just turn out to be the same person?! Also, Sammy was taken by apparent demons because her Soul was in the process of going into the Soul Space, and the creatures the took her were actually the other 2/3rds of her Soul that had already gone into the Soul Space and they were just collecting the last piece. I think.

The game turns into a watered-down version of Persona 3, where you have about a month--from Thanksgiving until New Years’ Eve--to train and get strong enough to stop whatever is going to destroy reality. (The actual Y2K thing is mentioned about halfway through and serves little relevance other than to mark when the end of the world is, since Y2K isn’t actually the cause of the world ending). Then there are some weird plot twists about how reality has been breaking for a long while (this was briefly foreshadowed in Alex going to Michael’s house only to be told that Michael doesn’t live there, and then going to another house where Michael is) and it makes a lot of things really confusing?? And then New Years’ Eve comes where everything is really breaking. Turns out the end of this reality is caused by a meteor with Alex’s face on it a la the moon from Majora’s Mask, no I am not fucking kidding. And it moves around like an inflatable arm-flailing tube man, no I am not fucking kidding.

And then everyone dies. No, really, this is an unwinnable fight. You die. Your entire party dies. Their reality is destroyed.

Alex wanders around the Soul Space for a while until he finds other versions of himself, and various “dark versions” merge together to create the Proto-Comet (’proto’ being the suffix to describe the end product of parallel selves merging together to form one entity). Alex follows the comet around as it destroys reality after reality until...

He finds one that hasn’t been attacked.

And gueeeeeeess what?

You, the player, are a parallel version of Alex. So he enlists you and another party of parallels (using the names you were supposed to input in the beginning) to destroy Proto-Alex. Here, you meet a spectre who is very obviously Sammy Pak, and she says that she’s sorry that Essentia “used her to get to you,” and you hug her.

Eventually you do get to Proto-Alex, as well as a different form of Essentia. Turns out that Essentia lied to you about Sammy and Vella--turns out, Essentia IS you. Well, Essentia is part of Alex, and she tricked Alex into destroying Proto-Alex in order to free herself from the “Soul” that they share. So you can choose to fight Proto-Alex, and if you do, you lose. Again. The boss fight in unwinnable.

And then this... really weird section happens with the character of Roy from Two Brothers, Ackk Studios’ previous game that got pulled from Steam due to bugginess and crashing. Roy basically says that people were “trying to stop his quest” (aka critics) and that Alex shouldn’t give up. (Note that this is a complete non-sequitur to anyone who doesn’t know who Roy is, where he came from, or the story behind the game being pulled.)

After that, you control both the player avatar given and Alex in order to “unplug” Proto-Alex and Essentia, which will make them “whole”? It basically means that all the versions of Alex will merge together into you, the player.

Then the game ends.

At least. Kind of. There’s more than one ending.

But... we’ll get back to that in a bit.

There are many questions the game raises without answers. Why was Sammy bleeding and screaming for the Soul Survivors not to take her because “you promised you wouldn’t move me again!”? Who actually is Vella? Why did no one question Essentia and Vella being in the same space if it was already said that they couldn’t be? Who actually is Sammy? Why is she a ghost and not a Soul Survivor? Why were Proto-Alex and the other “dark Alex”-es trying to destroy realities? Why does Proto-Alex look different than the other Alex-es, who look relatively similar? Who actually was the voice on the phone--it was implied to be Proto-Michael, but he didn’t exist when those phone calls were made? Is Claudio and Chondra’s missing younger brother actually a version of Alex, as this clip implies (esp. w/ the anime shirt)?

Good luck getting answers, because we sure as hell don’t get any.

Also--glad to know that the entire month of training that you spent the latter half of the game doing was all for naught, since the last two major fights you’re in are unwinnable. There are four minibosses to fight, so it isn’t all for nothing, but still. You don’t even get the satisfaction of killing the final boss. You pull a lever and he and Essentia get weirdly electrocuted.

One more thing: the twist of “Essentia lied to you” made a metric fuckton of exposition in her Mind Dungeon utterly pointless, and also feels like a flimsy excuse to absolve Alex of blame for the shitty actions of his parallel selves--more on that later.

So let’s touch on some controversy now that we have gone over the rest of this incoherent mess of a plot.

Elisa Lam

One of the most famous controversies of YIIK is the use of Elisa Lam’s death to propel the story. This is true--the creator admits that he “was very moved” by Lam’s death.

For those not in the know, let me give you a brief summary of the case of Elisa Lam. (Yes this is going to be primarily from Wikipedia but it also has news sources cited for it.) Elisa Lam was a 21-year-old Chinese-Canadian student who was reported missing at the beginning of February 2013. On February 17th, the workers at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles (where Lam was visiting) discovered her nude body in one of the hotel’s water tanks after guests complained about the taste of the water. The police released footage of Lam, from the day of her disappearance, acting strangely in an elevator, appearing to be hiding from something, pressing elevator buttons, and gesturing and talking to no one. There was controversy surrounding her death, as people wondered how she could have locked herself in the water tank, and how the police could rule her death as accidental. People have suspected that it was due to paranormal activity that she was acting like that, or others said that she could have been having hallucinations (as Lam was diagnosed with bipolar and depression). Her death was quickly spread through internet circles as some paranormal myth.

YIIK incorporates this as a huge part of its starting plot.

Semi “Sammy” Pak is very clearly inspired by Elisa Lam. The two bear striking resemblance to one another, being young Asian women in their early twenties with straight black hair (even parted in the same place)--and this photo from the LA Times shows that Lam wore rounded glasses, like the ones Sammy wears. (Lam is Chinese-Canadian, while Sammy is stated to be Koren-American. Sammy is also 23 when Lam was 21.)

This photoset from JamJamJamJamuel shows the biggest criticism of YIIK: the recreation of the elevator video. It’s obvious by the angle and some of Sammy’s movements that this was, in fact, meant to emulate the elevator video of Lam. The game also shows that people are less concerned about Sammy as a person and more about the mystery of the elevator, like the internet stopped caring about Lam as a person and more of a supernatural myth.

However, there’s more than just this.

There’s a weird... almost fetishistic nature when the in-game protagonist talks about Sammy. Alex describes his meeting with her as “intimate” (they met for like. an hour), calls her “my Sammy” when comparing his story to the story of the news, says that he “misse[s] her. I didn’t know her really, but I felt like I did.” And the very next line is uh. “In the unreal twilight hours, in-between sleep and waking, she slipped into my dreams, got tangled in my thoughts, like the blankets tangled between my legs, her brain melting with mine.”

... Gross, to say the least.

And yes, by the way, Sammy basically becomes a love interest. That’s not completely disrespectful and disgusting to the actual human woman that the devs never met or anything at aaaaaaaall.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE.

Rory basically goes on to describe a “creepy urban myth” about the water tower near his town. You can imagine what that leads to. It’s a beat-by-beat retelling of the finding of Elisa Lam’s body, except they make it a “nameless girl,” and the writers basically insert their opinions of how it was definitely a murder and the police called it an accident.

More tasteless than a fucking saltine.

OH BUT WAIT THERE’S EVEN MORE.

Near the end of the game, you find the ghost of Sammy Pak. Since she’s not a part of Essentia, it seems that Essentia used her form to get to Alex. She says that she’s sorry and that she’s going to go back ‘home’ now, and you hug her.

But that’s not even the worst of it.

Allow me to tell you about the second ending.

Second Ending:

YIIK has more than one ending--both are considered canon. Ending 1 is the one described above.

Ending 2, however...

Just before leaving the house for the last time, in order to get this second ending, you have to look at the computer in Alex’s house and read this post. It implies that you need to go find Sammy. (It also has some things to say about postmodernism but that’s for another day.)

You go outside... and she’s hiding behind a tree outside your house. No I’m not kidding. (Granted, this is the part of the game where reality is beginning to break apart, so.) She also says “I love you” which, given her “inspiration” by Elisa Lam... yeah. That’s not creepy and tasteless at all. And it also doesn’t make any FUCKING SENSE BECAUSE ALEX KNEW HER FOR AN HOUR AND NEVER SAW HER AGAIN.

Okay, okay, anyway, if you go back into the house and leave through the back entrance, you’ll be taken to the world map. Your destination is the KNN--the Korean News Network, where Sammy had been employed before she vanished. The faceless NPCs only refer to Alex as the name you put in at the beginning of the game, so presumably, everyone from this point forward is now talking to you, the player. (Also everything is pink. Really pink. For no real reason unless it’s “””symbolic””” of something?) You wander around for a bit, doing menial tasks, until you finally get to a pink version of the room you first met Sammy in. She calls you on a phone and tells you that she’s sorry for dragging you into this mess (because Alex/the player went looking for Sammy in the first place), and that she “has a solution” to prevent Essentia from using Alex any more.

You find yourself in front of an elevator, the same elevator that you rode with Sammy when she disappeared. She calls you on the phone again and says that if you go through the elevator doors, there’s no turning back. If you step through, you see the spectre of Sammy again, and she wants to show you where she’s been. You hug her, and she says that she’s so glad that she met you, “even if it was just a game. We’ll be together in your waking reality one day, I’m sure of it. For all I know, we may already be.”

... Roll credits!

No. Seriously. That’s the second ending. You, the player, (presumably) go into the Soul Space with Sammy for eternity, and Sammy basically gives you a love confession (after all she says “I love you” before anyway).

Need I remind you all that she is based off of a REAL-LIFE WOMAN WHO DIED THAT NEITHER OF THE ALLANSONS KNEW?!

Hi, yes, sorry, I’m fucking livid about this. Not just because of the disgusting use of a real-life woman’s death in your game, not just because they fetishized her and turned her into a love interest, not just one of the endings--which is a canon ending--had her telling you she loves you and having you go off with her...

... but because this game has been in development since 2013.

Elisa Lam wasn’t even dead for a fucking year.

Yes, other media has cropped up about Lam’s death, and I think it’s just as tacky and tasteless as this. But these guys had so much time to change it, to have someone say “hey maybe you shouldn’t do that,” and it happened anyway. The sheer lack of respect that the Allansons have for not just Lam but also her still-grieving family is astonishing, and it genuinely makes me sick. My thoughts and condolences to the family of Elisa Lam, having to deal with the press, internet conspirators, and people like this. I hope that they all can still find some sense of peace, even with all of this going on.

Racism:

So this game can be really, really fucking racist sometimes. Let’s start with the more explicit dialogue.

In the very beginning, Sammy calls Alex a ginger, and he says “that’s our word.” He’s equating “ginger” to a derogatory slur.

Here’s the next instance, with Alex referring to Vella--an Asian woman--as “vaguely ethnic” and “exotic.” (He doesn’t face consequences for this, either. Just a slap on the wrist of “don’t talk about race.”)

Later on, Chondra talks about race in an actually not that bad rant about how “I bet if [my brother] had been a beautiful white woman, everyone would have cared that he vanished.” This actually is somewhat insightful, as... well, it’s rather true. POC, when it comes to investigations, are often pushed aside, ignored, or given the least amount of effort. And then Chondra also calls out Alex’s lowkey racist fantasy of “being the white knight swooping in and saving the exotic Korean girl.” However... that’s it. Alex doesn’t get any insight from that, or rethink his reasons on why he wants to save Sammy.

And that’s where we get into Claudio and Chondra and the more implicit racism in the game. Neither of them have much in terms of personality--Claudio likes anime, Chondra is there for quips. Neither of them have any significant arcs, nor do they serve much story purpose beyond being extra party members and talking about race--which feels racist in and of itself, just to have characters of color there to talk about race. (Claudio even goes into an extensive rant about how it’d be racist to think that he knows how to pick locks, but he does know how to pick locks, just not the type that they need open. It comes out of nowhere, is utterly unwarranted, and is completely against the rather chill persona that Claudio has had up until then.) Their characters had a lot of potential to be good! However, much like every other character, they’re very underdeveloped.

(Also, if you have either Claudio or Chondra in your party when you get attacked by cop enemies, they will only shoot at either of them, you know, the only black characters in the main party, and my god I wish I was kidding.)

And then... the love interests.

Sammy is a Korean woman. Vella is an Asian woman of unknown descent. The Essentia 2000 has shown that many of her parallel lives are women of color. All of them are love interests for Alex, the white hero. Yeah. And the game calls it out, but no actual repercussions are given!

Speaking of these ladies...

Sexism

This game is really fucking sexist. Like, genuinely, it’s really sexist.

I think a lot of Vella’s contradictory character comes from this sexism and seeing her as a love interest rather than a character. Though she calls out Alex and is upset with him most of the time, she still accepts his weak apologies very easily--apologies that seem very manipulative and insincere when almost immediately after, Alex tries to convince her to let him into her Mind Dungeon, and if you take that as a metaphor than it gets even worse.

As well, Vella’s backstory includes her being used by a much-older man. What can you do after she tells this traumatic story about her being used by a man? Kiss her. And she doesn’t even get upset or angry with you; she just blushes and says to head back to the others. Because that’s not gross and manipulative or anything. That’s not taking advantage of a vulnerable woman at ALL.

The only female characters of importance that aren’t lusting after Alex are his mom and Chondra--I’ve already mentioned that Chondra has little story importance and personality, and Alex sees his mom as nagging for asking him to get groceries, gets angry at her when she says that she lost her job and asks him to get one to support the house (please note that she paid for his and his sister’s college educations in full, including semesters she didn’t plan for), and gets annoyed with her freaking out when he went missing for five days.

So yeah. The game doesn’t have the highest view of women.

But let’s talk specifically about Essentia. Essentia mentions that Alex has hurt her in parallel realities--but it’s okay, because they’re parallel versions, not actually him! And Essentia reveals that Alex’s parallel was the person who hurt Vella! But it’s okay, because she’ll love him unconditionally no matter how much he hurts her. It’s... really reminiscent of domestic abuse. And it frankly doesn’t matter that Essentia turns out to be a part of Alex and that any of the story of Vella or Sammy isn’t true; the game frames it as perfectly okay that it might have happened. It’s okay that parallel versions of Alex have hurt parallel versions of Essentia, because she loves him. It’s incredibly twisted, and it’s honestly a dangerous message to be sending.

(Also, in a very weird instance of sexism against men, out of all of the parallel selves that Essentia shows Alex, the only man is extremely hostile and violent towards Alex. It’s... kind of weird, honestly.)

Depression/Suicide:

Oh boy. Oh fucking boy.

A little background on myself.

I’m two years into my undergrad for a Psychology/Criminology double major. Classes I have taken include classes about pathologies of the mind and mental health (Psychopathology of Childhood, Developmental Psychology, Personality Psychology, Seminar on Positive Psychology, and of course Basic Psychology to be specific). I have also been clinically diagnosed with anxiety/depression, and both of these are genetically based, meaning that I have lived with them my whole life and will continue to live with them. (I am medicated, for anyone wondering. The meds are the only way I can function at a normal level.) I have felt suicidal before, I have had friends who have been suicidal before, and I have talked others down from self-harm or suicide. I’m not an expert, but I know a thing or two about mental health, depression, and suicide.

This game... this game doesn’t fucking get it at all.

(Just a quick thing: the game makes an OCD joke. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder jokes aren’t funny, folks, since people who have it are affected by it all the time to the point of it often being debilitating. Just wanted to mention it a) to give you an idea on how the game handles mental health and b) because it really doesn’t fit anywhere else.)

Most of this surrounds the character of Rory, as he clearly suffers from depression and suicidal thoughts, as well as feeling grief surrounding his sister’s own suicide. When this is revealed, you know what Vella says to “comfort” him? “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. I understand what you were feeling. 'This depression is unbearable.' 'I can't take it anymore.' The 'depression/pain' part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can overcome it is up to you. You decide if you're going to keep going. Your sister is dead. Nothing can change that. [...] You can't help but feel the pain, but you can get through the suffering. That will go away. Look, I understand that it's easy for me to say. I'm not the one whose sister is dead. But you have to understand that I am telling you the true reality of the situation. You're playing with some otherworldly dangers here!“

Let me break this down to show you why this is not something to say to someone who is traumatized and in a deep depression due to the loss of a loved one.

“[W]hether or not you can overcome it is up to you.” This puts full responsibility of overcoming grief and depression onto the person suffering from it, which is not okay, and not true. Rory lost his 12-year-old sister to suicide! Very recently in the game’s timeline, as well!

Vella is basically telling him “it’s your job to get over your grief and depression.” Putting full responsibility on someone for feeling depression and grief is disgusting. If someone is grieving, what they should do is reach out. If they aren’t, reach out to them. Don’t let them suffer alone. Suffering like this is not a choice. People don’t choose to suffer.

By saying that suffering is “optional,” it subtly blames the person suffering for their own suffering, which makes their chances of getting better plummet. So frequently will people suffering from mental disorders put the blame on themselves for “not trying hard enough” or “being broken” or “not being good enough” because they think that this is all their own fault, and they won’t seek help, because “it’s all my fault.”

Now, when someone is in recovery? Yes, they should definitely try--even if it’s in small bits at a time--to to learn to cope with their disorders in healthy ways. However, when in recovery, the person is assisted by therapists, friends, family, and possibly medications. They aren’t alone. They aren’t alone, and are often guided by those who know how to help them and want to help them. The responsibility isn’t pushed solely onto them. One doesn’t “get over” being depressed. They learn to cope. They learn to accept it as a part of them, rather than all of them, and learn that they are more than their depression. The suffering never truly goes away; it can lessen, though, and a person can learn to live with it.

Some people may defend this by saying that the Allansons lost their mother very recently, and this is how they handle their grief. I lost my father in February of last year. I know this type of grief. And just because that’s how they handle their grief, that doesn’t mean it’s a healthy way of coping, nor the type of coping mechanism you should promote in your game. (I will admit that my own methods of coping weren’t great, and that I’m trying to improve on that now.) There’s a quote that I heard somewhere that goes something like, “grief never really goes away. We just learn to live with it.” That suffering doesn’t ‘go away.’ It ebbs and flows, some days being bearable, and other days not.

But that’s not the end, friends. Oh, far from it.

At one point, you can flat-out tell Rory to “stop being depressed. Being depressed is a choice.” It is noted to be the “wrong” choice, however, Rory barely reacts to it, making it not seem like the wrong decision. I don’t feel like I need to explain why “depression is a choice” is a take colder than the depths of space. Depression’s not a choice, folks. Hell, I would love it if it was, I would love to stop the fatigue, the emptiness, the lethargy, the lack of motivation, the irritability, the messed-up appetite, the fucked-up sleep patterns, the fits of crying. That would be fucking great. But I can’t. BECAUSE IT’S NOT A CHOICE, YOU WALNUT.

Okay, okay, sorry, back on topic. So let’s say you’re mean to Rory. You wanna know what happens?

He kills himself. And according to this user, the story doesn’t change and barely acknowledges Rory after his death. (Obviously there’s not footage out there of the characters mentioning that Rory committed suicide. However, the developers themselves commented on the previously-linked Steam forum post confirming its legitimacy. This is so unbelievably fucked up. Suicide is already a topic that should be handled with care, but having a main character commit suicide and have that death have no impact on the story? I don’t even have words for how deplorable that is. (Doesn’t help that the game basically pushes whether Rory lives or dies onto the player, which is also disgusting, because I don’t think the developers had the insight into suicidal ideation to know that it’s a multitude of factors that lead to suicide, and not just one person being )

(Sidenote: here are the links to the National Suicide Prevention Line and the Crisis Text Line in case anyone needs them. Please take care, friends. <3)

[Addendum: as I was working on this review and listened to the podcast linked a little further down, Andrew Allanson had this to say at 2:08:47: "When you make an unlikable character, people expect Sherlock Holmes or Dr. House. They want flawed heroes, but only to the extent that they’re beautiful and intelligent and slightly Asperger-y."

Thank you for basically saying that having Asperger’s Syndrome is an unlikable trait or makes people unlikable.]

Anti-LGBTQ+

So let’s talk about the prejudice against non-straight and non-cis people!

Andrew Allanson has been rather fucking clear about his prejudice against trans people and non-straight people. In the “The Dick Show” podcast, starting at 1:45:45, Andrew Allanson was interviewed by the commentators. I will be providing timestamps of quotes since I can’t directly link to them.

(Sidenote: I was listening to this podcast and waiting for Andrew’s pa rt to start, and one of the commentators was talking about Women’s History Month, and saying “If a woman doesn’t have a man, she’s going to expect the government to be her man. That’s just the way they’re wired.” [1:44:24 - 1:44:31].  Yeah. That tells you the type of people who run this podcast and the type of people that Andrew decides to associate himself with.)

[1:52:15 - 1:52:] “... we made the mistake of asking the player, ‘what name did your parents give you?’ And it turns out that that is a very offensive question. Because some people, um, are trans, and don’t use the name their parents gave them. So immediately the game is targeted as being transphobic. [...] So we wanted to basically create a character off of the player in the game, the first thing we ask you ‘are you a boy or a girl,’ ‘what’s your name’, and people were so bent out of shape over this. Look, I’m sympathetic to trans people, I understand why it upset them. But the problem was when we apologized, that wasn’t good enough. People then took it and said ‘what else can we find in this game to prove that it’s offensive?’”

So here’s the thing: that... is lowkey transphobic? Because it’s like you said, these people don’t use the names that their parents gave them. You’re asking them, intentionally or not, to deadname themselves. There’s a reason they call it a “deadname.”

Later on they ask, “which of these do you identify with?” and show a male figure and a female figure. Which frankly, is alright.

And then they changed it in an update to “what do you look like?” which feels like a very direct jab at trans people, especially the ones who were upset by the initial question relating to names.

Oh, and then there’s this part (I only know DIck and Andrew’s voices, I’m afraid I don’t know the third, sorry m8).

[1:54:35 - 1:55:10]

Andrew: So you play as this guy, Alex, you just come home from [college, audio cut out here], you’re an entitled asshole--

Dick: You get points for stomping queers, as I understand it, that’s the game, right? You go around and--

Andrew: The goal is to establish the white ethnostate.

[unintelligible as others laugh and talk over each other]

Dick: --you have a little ‘gaydar’ in the corner and it points you to the nearest homosexual, and then you go, y‘know, “Hammer [X]”

Andrew: It’s - it’s - yeah, it’s a hack-and-slash.

Dick: If you buy the game they send you a special overlay you can put on your controller that turns all the buttons into ‘K.’ So it’s not ‘A’--

Andrew: Yes!

Dick: --Just ‘K,’ ‘K,’ and ‘K.’

Andrew: Just ‘K,’ ‘K’--yeah, exactly, exactly.

So we not only have the mockery of gay folk, but also mention of murdering them (whether in a joking fashion or not, this still isn’t fucking funny and not something to joke about, especially if you are not LGBTQ+ yourself. And to my knowledge, none of these men are).

And that’s just from the creator himself, as well as the first few minutes of the game.

Let’s talk bout The Scene.

What is The Scene? Well, it’s the scene where Alex and Rory talk, where you can tell Rory that “depression is a choice.” Should you be kind and supportive to him, you know what you can do? “Try to kiss [him.]” And there’s art for it. There is literally no reason for this to be here other than “haha it’s a guy trying to kiss another guy, gay people are funny!” It seems to be an attempt at humor, but it fails... rather miserably.

The Legendary Third Ending

I call it “legendary” because no one knows if it actually exists or not, because people can’t find it, regardless of the hints given by the developers.

Andrew, while doing “The Dick Show” interview, mentions that he put DIck Masterson (the host of the show) into the game in the third update [1:45:56] , and that you have to give Dick a pair of aviator glasses, where he will give you a red pill [1:47:15 - 1:47:33]. Dick is also found in Chapter 4 of the game [1:47:40].

The devs also tease it on Twitter, saying that it’s “sad and challenging to complete”, and they give vague and unclear hints that don’t seem to help even the fans of the game--after all, no one has found it, apparently. Even the YIIK Discord (though this is just hearsay) has been losing steam in trying to find this ending.

I think it’s a testament to the quality of the game when one of your major three endings is nigh-impossible to find. (For the record, I feel the same way about how PT went about its ending, and how arbitrary it felt to do these very specific things that the game barely tells you about.)

Miscellaneous Other Things That Don’t Fit In The Above

There are a couple other things that irk me about this game, so time for a rapid-fire round!

You can kiss Rory, who’s implied to be a senior in high school (due to this talk of college). So he’s, at best, 18. Alex had 5 and a half years of college (the game says “five and a quarter” but unless I’m mistaken colleges work in semesters not quarters,), so he’s probably 23-24. Yeah. (There’s also the issue of consent--when you kiss Vella she just blushes and acts more docile, while with Rory, he rather vehemently rejects it. So women just accept an unwanted kiss? Hm.)

You fight a flasher as a miniboss. Because sexual harassment is hilarious. (And if neither Michael nor Rory are 18 yet, then there’s the possibility of minors being involved. YEAH.)

The title card is intentionally glitchy af and it hurts the eyes, honestly.

If you go through New Game+ and go to the 70th floor of the Mind Dungeon, Alex will basically talk to himself about some things:

It mentions that “crows are ugly.” You fool. You absolute buffoon. Crows? Excellent. Very intelligent birbs.

This is basically “hey we suck, but so does everyone around us, it’s fine”

This game unironically uses Wonderwall lyrics in an emotional scene, like I know it was popular and not a meme in the 90s but my guy, you gotta think about the connotations with the audience you’re releasing this for,

“I sighed as the elevator began to shake, vibrating with motion.” Thank you for using three words to describe the elevator shaking,

The One Thing That I Liked

Surprisingly, there is something I liked about this game. Not solely in concept, not in its potential, but in its actual execution.

It starts on the day of New Years’ Eve. It’s dark outside and inside. Alex suddenly starts getting many random calls, some from people he knows, others he doesn’t. Some voices are distorted, some aren’t. Some are talking to him, some aren’t. And they’re quick little calls before they hang up, and Alex barely says a word. He can’t leave the house, and keeps getting phone calls that get more and more distorted as time goes on.

That? I think that actually really works.

It’s a more subtle way of showing reality breaking: getting calls from people, both friends and strangers, that are slowly getting more and more broken, and you can’t do anything. You’re trapped in your house, you can’t see outside, you don’t know what’s going on. You can’t help your friends, even when Michael screams for your help. The slowly deteriorating stability of the calls are your only indication of what’s going on outside.

And for me, that works. It was the one section of the game that I felt legitimately invested in. So, kudos to the devs for that one.

Conclusion

YIIK isn’t just bad. It’s offensive. It’s ignorant, it handles serious topics incredibly clumsily, and the worst of it is that Andrew Allanson considers it to be ‘art.’ (If you’re wondering why I didn’t talk about the “video games aren’t art” quote, don’t worry. That’s going to be its own essay.)

YIIK fails on every level, from technical to storytelling. Please, I beg of you, don’t give this game money. Just go watch the LP.

You may have noticed that I didn’t talk much about the “postmodern” aspect of the game, nor much about Alex as a protagonist.

Both of those are going to be their own separate essays.

This wild ride still ain’t over, folks. Hang on.

Name: Bloodstone

Nick Names: Bec Race: Gem Weapon: Scythe Gender: Genderless Pronouns: She/Her Hair: Red Eyes: Red Clothing: Dark green chest and pelvic armor with twin red stripes and dots. Red arm pads and boots. Black, fingerless gloves Gemstone: Bloodstone Gem Type: Jasper Gem Location: Right Knee Alignment:  Yellow Diamond's Court (Formally) None (Currently) Fun Fact:  Bloodstone will take odd jobs here and there. Favorite Quote:  "It's best to learn from the past than to be stuck in it." Voice Actress: Sandra Bullock Theme Song: History Maker by Dean Fujioka: https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?Move Along by The All-American Rejects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnEOS5kupuc Bio: Long ago, Bloodstone was a Quartz soldier who fought bravely for Homeworld. She was more of a lone wolf, thus causing issues for her fellow warriors. To fix this issue, her commanding officer assigned Bloodstone to an Emerald who was looking for a top quality solider to protect her and her Aquamarine partner. The soldier was furious about the whole arrangement, but she had no choice in the matter. Biting her tongue Bloodstone guarded the high class Gems silently. However she slowly started to warm up to them. Their friendliness was contagious. Soon the Quarts started to have full conversations with them, especially with the Emerald. She was funny and kind. She treated Bloodstone like an equal. She even asked her for the soldier's opinions. The Gem was never treated this way. Soon the three of them formed a tight friendship that no one else knew about. the three would even fuse when they went on solo missions with each other. Things would turn for the worse when the Rebellion started. Emerald shocked Bloodstone by stating she was going to join the Crystal Gems. She offered the soldier to join her. Bloodstone was loyal to her Diamond and her planet. She couldn't betray the very being that made her. She declined her offer. However the Gem let Emerald go instead of taking her in for treason. She prayed that she wouldn't see the green Gem on the battlefield. Later Bloodstone had to go to the front lines. The fighting lasted from early morning to late into the night. In the corner of her eye she noticed a Citrine soldier was fighting a green Crystal Gem. Bloodstone felt a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach when she saw it was Emerald, her Emerald. She was losing her fight with the Homeworld Gem. She felt her body turn cold when she saw her closet friend be poofed. The Citrine was about ready to shatter Emerald when, without thinking, Bloodstone attacked her fellow Homeworld soldier. She fought with the rage of a thousand suns. But even that didn't stop her from being poof. Everything then went black for her. About three months later, Bloodstone regenerated. She was very confused where she was at first. Then the memories came back like a blinding light. Bloodstone quickly searched for her friend. Sadly she didn't find Emerald. She didn't find anyone. The Gem was utterly alone. She felt herself starting to sink into a black pit. Before she fell beyond the brink, there was a shimmer of hope for her. Just because she didn't find Emerald, doesn't mean she was shattered. With this in mind Bloodstone pulled herself together. She vowed she wouldn't rest until she found Emerald. Years passed. Humanity grew and Bloodstone grew along with it. It was then she realized why the Crystal Gems fought to protect Earth. Humans were amazing creatures who could create, love, and be the masters' of their own destinies. Bloodstone did make a lot of new human friends who helped ease her feelings of loneliness. She's now living happily in Greta, New South Wales, still looking for Emerald. Name: Aquamarine Nick Name: Aqua Race: Gem Weapon: Steel Fans Gender: Genderless Pronouns: He/Him Hair: White Eyes: Light Blue Clothing: Blue sandals and leotard with black leggings and fingerless sleeves Gemstone: Aquamarine Gem Type: Beryl Gem Location: Left Knee Alignment:  Fun Fact: Aquamarine can summon water out of the ground, but can only control small amounts. Using the water he can summon, Aqua can make wings for himself. Favorite Quote: “You just got to enjoy life as much as you can and be thankful for what and who you got. You never know when you’ll see them again.” Voice Actor: Khary Payton Theme Song: sans from the Undertale Soundtrack www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzo6L3… Bio: Aquamarine was a high ranking Gem who lived a life of luxury. He served his Diamond faithfully. However he felt as if something was missing in his life. Day in and day out he was going through the motions. Aqua felt as if he was trapped in a tight box. He did have some leeway being a higher ranking Gem, but he always felt like had to act how everyone expected him to. Aqua wanted to explore, see worlds for longer periods of time before they get colonized. He wanted Gems to call him 'he' instead of 'she'. He wanted to let loose instead of acting proper all the time. But he knew deep down that these were nothing more but hopeless dreams. One day he was assigned to work with an Emerald captain. Finally, some change in his dull life! What was better is the Emerald wasn't like the others the Gem has come across. She was funny, kind, and playful. Emerald would even address Aqua as a 'he' when she saw how he would react to be called a 'she'. The aristocrat met someone who felt the same way about him with their current situation. The Emerald wanted freedom. She wanted to choose. Their bond grew to a tight friendship that resulted into fusing and plans of running away from Homeworld. They both knew they couldn't leave however, not with their planet having eyes and ears everywhere. The duo did have missions but soon realized they needed a soldier to accompany them when Aqua almost got poofed by an alien. They both searched and searched until the Aquamarine found a file on a rebellious Quartz soldier. Worrying for her safety, the Gem shared his concern to his friend. Emerald agreed to request for the Bloodstone's service. It took awhile for them to get the soldier to loosen up to them, but after funny jokes and heart to hearts, the three became the best of friends. Things would forever change for the group of friends when the Crystal Gems started the Rebellion. Aquamarine secretly rooting for the traitors, hoping that they would somehow dethrone the tyrants that ruled their planet. He was even thinking about joining them but he was too afraid. He could gain his courage to join them when Emerald announced to him that she was going to join them. Aqua decided to stay on Homeworld as a spy for the Crystal Gems. He knew that it was risky, but he knew that if he died, he died for a noble cause. The Gem was shocked to hear that Bloodstone didn't join as well. He however didn't want to force the soldier to convert. He would not take away the only choice that his friend had. He didn't tell her about his spy work. Aqua didn't want to risk the chance of getting exposed. When the War was reaching its end, Aqua lost contact with both the Crystal Gems and Bloodstone. He knew something dire but all lines of communication were down. The aristocrat knew he had only one option: hijack a Homeworld ship and travel to Earth to share his information. It took awhile but he eventually did get a ship and make his way to Earth. Once he left Homewold Authority territory, he was too late. The Diamond Attack had begun. Aqua felt every inch of his body turn cold. He failed the group and friends he cared so much about. For some reason, his despair turned into anger. He vowed he would avenge his friends. He knew he couldn't go back, the news of him stealing a ship probably was reported by now. Aqua had no choice but to head for Earth and hopefully find some survivors. He's currently travelling space, hoping against hope that his friends are alive.   Bloodstone and Aquamarine (c) Me Steven Universe (c) Rebecca Sugar

♔ ROMAN SANDERS ↬ POSITIVITY 

“he was the royal heart of gold.”

A Prince’s Royal Declaration.

I can’t do it. I can’t be what I want to be.

My Lady, Lord, or Non-Binary Royal, that simply isn’t true. I know I live in a world where castles cascade the mountains and knights defend every person. I know that, in your land, it may be as if though you are shackled. It’s like someone has put a curse on you - perhaps that annoying Dragon Witch. But, have no fear!

Every curse has a magic spell to remove such. And in your land, every negative thought can be fixed with a positive one. The ideas that exist in your land is love, passion, loyalty, and trust. These things are more powerful than any magic my kingdom has.

At times, you may think that you lack those very things. It might seem like nobody loves you, that everyone will betray you, and that you’ll never go anywhere- but my dear royal, never believe in those lies!

I will fight with every fiber of my being, every day and every night, against those lies. Even if that Dragon Witch is against me, I will fight, so if to make you happy, so if to make you see the truth.

My grandeur lover… you are everything and more.

You can climb those castles of happiness, fight those beasts of might. You can power through the depths of the night, to finish that quest you’ve been attended. You can romance your way with your special words or actions. You can gain those companionships and that friendship circle of trust. You can make wonderful works of art - of literature, of editing, of speaking, of being. You can do anything, my charming noble.

Don’t ever let anyone shackle your Creativity.

I am here to help you, my love.

You are always free.

A Prince’s Noble Tips.

What can I do about it?

So glad you asked, you dashing looking royal! Whenever you feel as though you cannot make it, I have asked the greatest of scribes to write down the most helpful tips and tools!

[Writer’s/Artist’s/Editor’s] Block

Oh, I have heard of this monstrosity! Thomas gets it all the time, but nothing to fear! Here are a few tips about what to do!

⭑A Musical Never Hurt Anyone!

⭒ Ah, I love singing~! But, I have found that singing does help those juices get flowing! What we don’t think, we speak - And singing lets you put so much emotion into it. What do you sing? Well, anything! Perhaps a song about overcoming an obstacle? Just sing, and soon you’ll find lyrics coming out into a full-fledged story/art/edit!

⭑My Kingdom~!

⭒ Get a fellow royal to discuss your idea or anything with! Even if your idea is as simple as, ‘I want Roman to get the princess,’ your friends will often ask questions! Like, ‘Where is the Princess?’ ‘Who is the Princess?’ ‘What is Roman wearing?’ ‘Make sure it’s a good outfit, because a prince has got to slay~!!’

⭒ Live in a secluded forest or a far village? No worries, you can always come to me with your ideas~!

⭑BURN BABY BURN!

⭒I absolutely love candles! While ours are lit by magical dragon-breath, you can have yours with simple fire! When I smell something miraculous, I often times come up with fascinating ideas! A vanilla cupcake candle? Ooh, what if I did a baking competition with Logan? [Of course, I’d win, but the thought is still out there!] Don’t like the smell of seashells? Then write an epic about travel over the sea, or draw someone terrified about it! Perhaps a young boy’s father is a sailor, and the boy tries to overcome his fear of the sea? That would be miraculous to see/read!

⭑Storytime!

⭒ Ooh, I love this one! The historian of my kingdom always throws a fit whenever I arrive, but hang with me! Remember that boring old hike in the forest? Well, let’s stretch the honest truth a bit more! That boring old hike was interrupted by you spotting a mysterious footprint in the ground.  And then- HUZZAH, A DRAGON WITCH! Hi-Ya, Hi-Ya, TAKE THAT YOU IMBECILE! There’s more sword where that came from- ...oops, I got a bit into character there. Take a memory and make a story/art/edit from it! Change everything, but use what you have!

⭑The Curse Hasn’t Lifted?

⭒ Have no fear! If you ever need something to kick in for your absolutely beautiful creativity, come to me! I had a scribe write down so many ideas, and I wouldn’t be opposed to handing them out to you loveable and loyal royal!

A Beast’s Insults

Ah… yes, I’ve had my own fair share of beats and monsters yelling out insults left and right. Yet, none of those sting as much as my villagers of the kingdom insulting me behind my back. It hurts, more than it should… But a Prince can’t be brought down by measly insults! Which is why I’ve gotten a long list of quests you can attempt to lower that anxiety! (…Not Virgil, but your own anxiety)

⭑Allergies Are Horrible, But Nature Is Not

⭒When I find myself torn apart by an insult, a quick walk in the deep Fairy Forests often allow me to realize their insults hold no power of me. Perhaps its the fairy dust or magic spells lying around the forest… But while you might be a bit far from the Fairy Forest, any old woods would help. The tranquility of just nature really is one to calm the nerves!

⭑The Royal Parliament Decrees…

⭒Often times, even the wonderful wilderness of my Kingdom fail to help me. That’s when I leave the beautiful land I have and go back to the Mindscape. There I have all the friends I could ever want. Logan’s objective words ease my mind, Patton’s hugs help my heart, and Virgil calms me down with techniques. Sometimes, all someone needs is to be listened to. Talking with someone or your fellow royals can especially help!

⭑Epic Fail Compilations Of All My Enemies!

⭒Oh, I do love the techno nymphs that create all these fascinating machines! Whenever I feel down, they usually recommend me a video or two. Ones that include fail compilations or some cute cat videos, they never cease to make me happy once more! The insults soon fade away when I see there’s so much more happiness in this beautiful land!

⭑Still Being Attacked By The Ogres of Procrast Nation?

⭒ No fear! You are beautiful and amazing, in both personality and looks, my dear royal. You have always been such a constant support of my own world, and it is my time to send my support to you! All those insults are lies, my love. Do not believe in them - For I have now declared them false~!

A Prince’s Parting Letter.

I don’t think any of what you said is true… I’m horrible at everything.

You may be at a time in your glorious story where you are facing some conflicts. Every exciting story has one, but for the main character, it’s often times a whole sequence of agony. Yet, don’t fall into despair! There is a reason that “And they lived happily ever after,” exists!

Your story is one of greatness, and that means there will be a happy ending. While it may not appear to you in your magic mirror in this moment, I have heard from several known witches that happiness will come to you!

If you are alone, I will gather my friends around you. If you are in despair, I will be there to fight off those demons. If you are just sad… I will save you from the evil Dragon Witch’s curse!

Remember… villains will always strike you down.

But stand back up, and strike them harder.

And if you need a helping hand in your quest….

I will be at your side.

                                                Your Lovely Prince,

[royal subjects (like this post to join!!): @leesacrakon @fairy-cat-friend @awesomelissawho @lamp-calm-sanders @thisimmortalnerd @ssides @monkeygirl2455 @lukeisfluffy @pirate-patton @preyed-llama @longlivethecarcrashstars @undertale-trash217 @thepusheenqueen @importantrunawaystudentstuff @adreamoverlife @powerfulwoman03  @thetrashyloser @random-sanders @thegeekgirl42 @consultinghuntertimelady @patton--here @frisk-is-flowerfallen @musicphanpie-b @cecilia-blaze @phantomstudies @doctorwhitttaker @morticiaadams1 @bookworm411 @violetflowerprincess @galacticallynonbinary @super-writer-gal @purplepatton @cinnamonrollpatton @amazable01 @sanders-sides-enthusiast @pinkglitterandbruises @neetrash @magicalwolfgirllupus @spookyghostio @getlostinthedark @vathpro @preciousbeaan @fander-phangirl @half-blood-geek @litplants @flowerbubb @virgillikespurple @just-someone-in-flannel @rosetylerx10doctor @dudlebuggs @simplelittlestar @stevie-is-a-nerd @mythicalquill @pumakittycat @pattoncakesvirgil @de-is-me @the-baddest-bitch-in-slytherin ]

History lesson #4: Amalgamates

Disclaimer: Every part in italics comes from the Undertale game itself.

Warnings: Anxiety, suicide thoughts, unethical science, verbal abuse

ENTRY NUMBER 1: This is it... Time to do what the King has asked me to do. I will create the power to free us all. I will unleash the power of the SOUL.

“Thank you for your report, Alphys. We count on you to watch this situation closely.”

“Yes, your Majesties.”

ENTRY NUMBER 2: The barrier is locked by SOUL power.. Unfortunately, this power cannot be recreated artificially. SOUL power can only be derived from what was once living. So, to create more, we will have to use what we have now... The SOULs of monsters.

“Do you realize where this is going, Alphys?! You can't use your own kind for experiments! That's highly unethical!”

ENTRY NUMBER 3: But extracting a SOUL from a living monster would require incredible power... Besides being impractical, doing so would instantly destroy the SOUL's host. And, unlike the persistent SOULs of humans... The SOULs of most monsters disappear immediately upon death. If only I could make a monster's SOUL last…

“This is messed up. What are you gonna do, kill someone?”

ENTRY NUMBER 4: I've been researching humans to see if I can find any info about their SOULS. I ended up snooping around the castle... And found these weird tapes. I don't feel like ASGORE's watched them... I don't think he should.

“... You're right. Please hide them.”

ENTRY NUMBER 5: I've done it. Using the blueprints, I've extracted it from the human SOULs. I believe this is what gives their SOULs the strength to persist after death. The will to keep living... The resolve to change fate. Let's call this power... "Determination."

Mirror Alphys is lost. Traits aren't a thing on the mirror side. Reflections aren't the essence of patience or integrity or anything else, they just are. She has no way of researching what Alphys does herself, which could help the reflection to block the original’s work. The former is condemned to observe and try to make the latter doubt. Mirror Alphys feels so guilty to use the wrecking anxiety of herself.

ENTRY NUMBER 6: ASGORE asked everyone outside the city for monsters that had "fallen down." Their bodies came in today. They're still comatose... And soon, they'll all turn into dust. But what happens if I inject "determination" into them? If their SOULS persist after they perish, then... Freedom might be closer than we all thought.

This is a nightmare. Alphys progresses faster than planned. Mirror Alphys is beginning to fear her old demons again; she stutters again and dreams of burying herself in her Lab and never get out. It's so difficult to tell her King and Queen every week that they are all closer and closer to be erased! Lucky, Undyne is here for her.

ENTRY NUMBER 7: We'll need a vessel to wield the monster SOULs when the time comes. After all, a monster cannot absorb the SOULs of other monsters. Just as a human cannot absorb a human SOUL... So then... What about something that's neither human nor monster?

Hope. There is hope. Maybe she won't find a convenient vessel.

ENTRY NUMBER 8: I've chosen a candidate. I haven't told ASGORE yet, because I want to surprise him with it... In the center of his garden, there's something special. The first golden flower, that grew before all the others. The flower from the outside world. It appeared just before the queen left. I wonder... What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live?

No no no no no this is a bad idea. Alphys is now lost in the thrilling pleasure of succeeding at something, finally, and she forgot all ethics for good. Mirror Alphys has a very good idea of what would happen if a thing without SOUL could suddenly act on its own. Even the reflections have a SOUL. This is unnatural.

Alphys doesn't even listen to her anymore.

ENTRY NUMBER 9: things aren't going well. none of the bodies have turned into dust, so i can't get the SOULs. i told the families that i would give them the dust back for the funerals. people are starting to ask me what's happening. what do i do?

“She is hoping for, for, she is hoping for the death of monsters. And I am her. I disgust- I disgust myself.”

“You're not her, sweetheart… You will never be. Please don't cry, I love you…”

ENTRY NUMBER 10: experiments on the vessel are a failure. it doesn't seem to be any different from the control cases. whatever. they're a hassle to work with anyway. the seeds just stick to you, and won't let go…

“See, you're gonna fail anyway! Stop this madness, I'm begging you!”

Mirror Alphys was so furious and panicked that she didn't stutter once.

ENTRY NUMBER 11: now that mettaton's made it big, he never talks to me anymore. ... except to ask when i'm going to finish his body. but i'm afraid if i finish his body, he won't need me anymore... then we'll never be friends ever again. ... not to mention, every time i try to work on it, i just get really sweaty…

“You don't deserve any friends. I'm so ashamed of being your reflection! It's not over, Alphys, you can still stop all of this!”

ENTRY NUMBER 12: nothing is happening. i don't know what to do. i'll just keep injecting everything with "determination." i want this to work.

Mirror Alphys blinked. She just saw the reflection of Aaron in front of her. In her lab. She was certain of it. One second he was there, and the next he wasn’t.

She never went to Waterfall so fast. One of the fallen down original monsters was an Aaron, so she looked for this one first. She found him surprisingly rapidly; the word was already out that he just vanished then reappeared out of thin air and everybody was calling him a miracle already, knowing that his original was falling down since a while. She rushed down to the natural pool where he lived and she was greeted with a freaked out Mirror Aaron who was chasing away all the people coming down to congratulate him.

His eyes widened when he saw Mirror Alphys, and she understood he’d been indeed in her Lab, and he had probably seen her as well.

They both got back to the lab for examination. She didn't find anything, but at the end, when she turned back towards him after putting away his tools, she froze.

“What?”

“A part of your face just, just… just disappeared and- and reappeared…”

ENTRY NUMBER 13: one of the bodies opened its eyes.

The reflection of Aaron is stuck. Glitched and stuck. He's in the mirror Lab and he's not free of his moves anymore. He can move about two meters around the location of his original, no more.

ENTRY NUMBER 14: Everyone that had fallen down... ... has woken up. They're all walking around and talking like nothing is wrong. I thought they were goners...?

Alphys closed access to all the mirrors in her Lab. She's thoroughly ignoring the fact that her experiment ruined the lives of reflections.

ENTRY NUMBER 15: Seems like this research was a dead end... But at least we got a happy ending out of it...? I sent the SOULS back to ASGORE, returned the vessel to his garden... And I called all of the families and told them everyone's alive. I'll send everyone back tomorrow. : )

“LIAR! COWARD! I HATE YOU SO MUCH!”

Mirror Alphys keeps yelling through the mirrors, but to no avail. Her anxiety is gone again, since a long time now. There is only anger left.

ENTRY NUMBER 16: no No NO NO NO NO

Alphys has ripped out everything she used to cover the mirrors. She's crying, she can't breathe, she wants to ask for help but she can only stand here under the wrath of her reflection. She feels her sins crawling on her back.

ENTRY NUMBER 17: monsters' physical forms can't handle "determination" like humans' can. with too much determination, our bodies begin to break down. everyone's melted together…

Mirror Alphys has no greater desire than saying the horrible truth about her original self to everybody, but she’s already afraid to vanish at any moment, because Alphys can't take the pressure anymore. Mirror Alphys managed to convince the reflections’ families to seal the truth away from their counterparts, but sooner or later the original monsters won't believe anymore that the reflection of their loved one exists somewhere.

ENTRY NUMBER 18: the flower's gone.

Mirror Alphys is sure this is a very bad new. But she's too mad at Alphys to keep caring.

ENTRY NUMBER 19: the families keep calling me to ask when everyone is coming home. what am i supposed to say? i don't even answer the phone anymore.

Everybody is convinced on the Underground side that their relative is dead now, despite the news Alphys announced on the phone. After all, their reflection is missing. The angry phone calls and letters from the original families are taking their toll on her. Mirror Alphys is now convinced that if the truth, which is even more awful than the actual lie, is revealed, her counterpart will not be able to bear the weight of her guilt. The reflections’ families accepted to never tell to the original monsters they could visit their relatives.

ENTRY NUMBER 20: ASGORE left me five messages today. four about everyone being angry. one about this cute teacup he found that looks like me. thanks asgore.

Mirror Alphys ignores Alphys now. She just takes care of the poor reflections trapped in her Lab. But sometimes, she cracks and yells at her counterpart.

ENTRY NUMBER 21: i spend all my time at the garbage dump now. it's my element.

“You're right. You deserve nothing more.”

MY AMAZING FRIENDS Part Seven. the revenge of the Prequel to the sequel

So anyone new to this, hi, this is a massive list where I tell everyone about how great my friends are, why I love them and just how much they mean to me! It’s shrunk and grown over the years as friends have gone away or I’ve gained new ones, but it doesn’t change the most important things, these are the people I want in my life more than anything. SO, normally I’d post this list around December Christmas, cause, it’s meant to be a treat, a Christmas treat, as I can never get out presents to everyone and I felt it meant something important, well Christmas has come early, why? Cause life is hard right now, people are scared, things are getting tougher and it’s just so frustrating seeing all the people I care about disheartened and worried, I want to do something important for them, so I’ve decided to post the list early, for the people, who need it the most.

@mistercrowbar

BEHOLD probably one of the most important people in my life right and I don’t mean that lightly, Crowbar has been everything to me, a friend, a teacher, a companion, a voice of reason and even a critic, she’s taught me so much about art, myself and even the universe we currently inhabit, seriously this woman is a wealth of knowledge you would not believe. But more importantly, she is my friend and I care so much about this girl, I want nothing more than her absolute happiness, if I could give up everything just to see her smile, I would, she’s been in such dark places and battles them everyday, I’d do anything to stop that from ever happening to her again. she has done so much for me, hell she became a friend to me when I was a nobody and I still am, she encourages me to do better, to push and challenge myself every day, I owe her so much, I care for her so much. Please do yourself a favor, check out her amazing artwork and get to know this beautiful person.

@nightmargin

MY GUUUUUUURL, Holy fluffy apples infested with Caterpillar demons, when I first met this girl, she was awesome, as we talked, she was more awesome, her ideas, her imagination, if she didn’t go somewhere, I’d imagine the world would implode for making a mistake, AND NOW MY GURL MADE A GAME AND IS ACTUALLY BEING PLAYED AND ENJOYED LIKE IT’S THE NEXT UNDERTALE! For better or for worse. I always believed in her, I can’t ever recall a time where her art style a beautiful mixture of darkness and whimsy has ever disappointing me, I’m so proud of her right now, i wish her nothing but the best going forward and if you’ve not bought her game Oneshot, WHAT ARE YOU DOING.

@articbleu

Oh hey is this one of the greatest people ever, why yes it is! Artic’s determination and drive is, MIND BLOWING, I always feel like I’m trying to catch up to her, but in a good way, I’ve also never met someone who agrees with me so much, from video games, story structure and politics, it’s actually a tiny bit creepy. BUT IT A GOOD WAY. When I first met this amazing blazing comet of a woman, she was drawing rose themed anime girls for Original character tournaments, now she has her own store, plans on making a comic and has been in several zines, like, WHAT and, and the best part, SHE AIN’T SLOWIN DOWN. She is such a kind and thoughtful person, fueling with the fires of determination and passion, there is something inside Artic that could fuel the planet. Go check out her art blog, Go check out her store, IMPROVE YOUR LIFE.

@tuz-ohtopia

Have you ever met someone who you graverly underestimated and regretted, I SURE HAVE, I’ll openly admit when I first met Tuz back in the days of Deviant art, I didn’t think much of him, CAUSE I WAS A FOOL. His story chops, his character designs and his overall whit and personality is probably some of the best things you’ll ever run into, if you ever get the chance ask him about his amazing DnD campaign that he runs with some of my other fave nerds, the plans he has are stellar, I just wish I’d gotten to know him better. This guy is pure gold.

@knifetotheback

the moment when you’ve refereed to someone by their nickname so much that just becomes their name, meet Smudge, I met smudge somewhere most people regret to meet their friends, IN A ROLEPLAY GROUP, and at the time I didn’t really know smudge that much, we’d chatted by not a lot, not until I have the pleasure of having them as a player in my DnD game, and while they did grind on others nervous, I am surprised to find someone who put so much effort and emotion into something they cared about. Smudge is a person who is open to criticism and willing to sit down and talk about problems, a rarity in many things, but also very enthusiastic and supportive of peoples decisions, I’ve not had the pleasure of talking to smudge much due to their work. But I do miss them, very much so.

@sunshinedrago

have you ever met someone who screamed excitement, I don’t mean figuratively, I think my ears have actually ruptured thanks to this wonderful human, I’M SENDING YOU THE BILL. This beautiful person, whose actual name I can’t ever type correctly..., is so full of energy and wonder, she is a delight to have in my DnD games just because of the drive she brings, even if it does get the better of her at times. They are also some who actually gets some of my strange interests, such as slice of life anime and cute shit with no shame, it’s beautiful. But more importantly they are a person, a real down to earth person who actually understands people, it’s a rare thing to see and must be treasured, like the dragon she wishes she could be.

@GrittySugar

LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL MOTHAR FUKAR, when I first met this wonderful person she was a funny silly girl who did fun silly, DARK, comics, it was amazing, (Hellen X Ralph OTP), but NONE of us, were prepared with all the stuff she has done recently, the animations, the videos it’s also just so! I am so happy and proud for her, this is a person whom I competed against at one time and got to talk about silly things with and now look at her, look how far she has come and she’s still going. If you haven’t go to her youtube channel, check out her shit, DO YOURSELF A SOLID.

@roseillustrates

Speaking of beautiful people, here is someone I’ve sadly neglected, she is a beautiful friend whom will also be Bubby to me, her art is dark, twisted and fucking amazing! And she herself is also amazing. Some whom I miss dearly and wish I held onto so much tighter, cause I barely get to see them much, their head is swimming with such, amazing potential and stories, like, my god, please, I beg you, do your self a service and check them out!

@ssksscrapboard

BROOOOOOOOOO, I have missed you! but it’s nice to see you’ve been keeping busy, like seriously people if you are looking for fun expressive art that captures personality and humor check this guy out, he has a really addictive style that is fun to look at, with well designed characters, all detailed and simplistic, it’s so fun, he himself is a great guy, probably one of the friendliest guys I know, easy to talk to and always encourages. Please check him out, look at his art, enjoy his humor, all that fun stuff.

@spesiria

Well, well, well, if it isn’t the person whom adore the most, or at least one of them, god I miss you, your activity is either lost in the sea of 639 people I follow on tumblr, or simply you’ve just disappeared. I really wish I had the chance to talk to you more often as you are such a lovely and interesting person, you are the best, I miss you.

@thelovelyghosty

I met this lovely loveable through a friend of mine and I’ve not regretted it, she might have, but not me. She’s fantastic and very smart, probably WAY too hard on herself and probably puts more effort into her writing than I have ever done, I love the time I spend with her, she always make me smile. I hope to spend more time over the following years getting to know her and hopefully making her smile.

@hunnylou0

When I first started out on Devinatart Lou was one of the first ‘big’ artists whom I had the privilege to get to know, it was so weird at the time and to think that I’ve manged to continue following someone whose been such a big influence to me all this time really means something, I know I’ve sadly not been the best of friends, but I have been trying to keep in contact and I hope nothing for the best for this person, she’s such an interesting and fun individual, I hope I get the chance to meet them in person and thank them, please check out her stuff, commission her if you can.

@nickala

Sometimes you need someone who knows what your thinking to make life a little easier, this is my person! Nicky is an amazing girl, she has a great sense of humor, a level head and has a job at cutting up guts and gore, best, person EVAH. Also! Also! She has some dope ass art that will just blow you away with it’s creativity and design work, her colour it’s all just, FWAH! Not to mention with the top included, she’s a person whose helped me realise I’m not.., a freak, to be quite honest, for the longest time I knew there were others out there like me, but I never, connected with them, I felt that I was always on a different wave length that life was just, impossible to understand, then I sat and talk with Nicki and she has helped me so much with stupid brain things and I could never thank her enough, for listening to my insane ramblings and just being a great friend.

@valbey

MAN WHAT AN ASSHOLE, okay, okay not ‘completely’ true, this dude has been with me since my days in college and even went on to be my roommate, for better or worse and despite how we can sometimes get on each other nerves, he still tries to understand and respects my opinion, sometimes, dick, But he is probably one of the most level headed and thoughtful people you’ll ever know, who is also doing commissions, please check him out and call him a dick from me.

@doodlediddydaisy

Do you know many people whom you could say ‘If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know if I’d still be here today?’ Well meet the godsend here, in the literal sense, she saved me during a very dark moment in my life, where I was depressed, unmotivated and scared about the future so much, I was an emotional wreck and she manged to help me, I owe my life to her! And now she’s happily married and I don’t get to speak to her much -cries-, but I’m not gonna be down, why? CAUSE SHE’S HAPPILY MARRIED’, that doesn’t happen a lot to people, so I’m so glad it’s happening to her, and I know she has been through a rough patch this year, but I’m sure she can pull through, she is a strong person.

@funktrash

MY GIRL HAS HER OWN FUCKING COMIC YOU SHOULD GO CHECK IT THE FUCK OUT, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR! Okay so I knew Hyper all the way back in my early days of creating mary sues and weeb art on DA, back then I wasn’t the best of guys, but I was amazed that someone could find my art.., inspiring, it was so..., INSPIRING! And I hope I leave or left some impact, even if I don’t deserve it, I’ve come to admit my faults and I don’t want to forget them, so I’m gonna do something good for this person who deserves nothing but the best. CHECK OUT HER FUCKING COMIC! No seriously, do it, it started out as an idea, that became a DA group and now it’s own work, if you followed her on DA do it, it’s so amazing to see these characters that you saw from her early days and see how far they’ve come! so, I’m just gonna grab the link and you better be clicking on it! [Link to Comic]

@clauseart

HOLY FLYING CRAB APPLES, MY GURL HAS HER OWN COMIC AND IT’S JUST SO, MMM, MMMMMMNG GOOD. When I first met her she did comics about a crazy girl with an over side pinwheel and I loved her for it, found out she was English and loved her even more, Now she’s writing a modern fantasy story where the real world and the magic community co-exist together, while a buff ginger haired lady punches the undead and has to baby sit a brat, CHECK IT OOOOUT, I want her to succeed so much, she is worth it, here is a link, if you haven’t checked it out, I’ll know. [Comic Link]

@velkro-bitch

I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR LETTING ME MISGENDERING YOU!, wait is it misgendering if they don’t apply to one gender or the other? Either wait, I love this person, they were the voice of reason in my DND group and continue to be a person who’ll always make me laugh and miss so much, they’ve gone off to live a successful and hardworking life and I could not be more proud of them, but it doesn’t hurt that I still them so much!

@a-trashcan-in-a-corner

You and your fucking sibling, I love this girl so much, funny, kind, compassionate and a no shit taker, they are a great source of joy and sadness, cause very much like their sibling, life took over and they had to leave my DND, I try to keep in contact, but as anyone who knows me, knows I’m terrible at that, but if you ever just want to talk to some this is someone whom is the best at doing that and is very good at playing sexy buff shy dudes.

@flunafloon

I WUB MY HEAD, and I’m a terrible friend again this year, I’ve not been as active and as friendly as I would like to be, MAYBE IF SOMEONE WAS ACTIVE ONLINE MORE AND DIDN’T HIDE, HMMM! but I seriously do miss you, I hope you are doing well and everything is going well for you, please take care of yourself.

@mercuziades

I love gothic art, I love this girl and I love her art! Sadly I’ve not seen much of her work of late, as sadly much with many friends I’ve come to know life has gotten in the way, but I’m always hopeful to speak to her more, when my life isn’t getting in the way, but to any and all out there, check out her work, if you love the Gothic esthetic and do mean romantic Gothic, the true Gothic, got do it. NOW!

@riyamilea

So, I’ve followed this person for sometime and I’ve only gotten to know them recently, which is strange, cause I’ve been following them since the rise OCT, and for anyone who still remembers the rise OCT, don’t you feel old now, HUH! But seriously, she has such an amazing body of art work, her designs are outstanding, her skill with anatomy and detail is breath taking and she’s so fun to talk to! She’s level headed, smart and never argues her opinion, she acknowledges other peoples points either adding to them or deconstructing them, talking to this person is a breath of fresh air. And I really hope I get to know them more.

@seriousmealtime

HERE’S SOMEONE WHO MAKES ME FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE, in a good way, I only met Sam briefly last year and thanks to some close friends we’ve been talking a lot more and what I love/hate about this person is they are always lavishing me in praise. IDON’TTAKECOMPLIMENTSWELL,LETMEFEELUSELESS! Sam is great and I love them to bits, their crude enough to get my stupid sense of humor, but kind enough to sympathies with, sadly Sam is dweeb and doesn’t upload any of their amazing art so I can sell it to you, but it’s amazing and if they ever do decided to get off their butt and actually show it, I’d highly recommended them.

@ioanaartblog

I remember meeting this girl after attempting to join a deviantart Roleplay group that went, nowhere and after talking for a bit and introducing them to Critical Role, we started a DnD group, that has lasted for about two years now. It is my first and longest DnD session that has taken up so much of time and energy as a creator and it all started with her, if it was for Ioana I wouldn’t have such wonderful memories as well as a burning desire to improve on what I have done, I’m so exictied each session to challenge my players and watch their reactions with what I have planned. It has meant to so much to be and it of never been possible if it wasn’t for Ioana, likewise, Ioana has gotten herself noticed in many ways, after watching Critical role she became inspired and now she has some of her artwork up for sale in the their official store, not joking, here is the link, [Shop Link] And now she is currently at university studying art and improve her skills, despite anyone else who’d of called it quits and ridden he coat tales of their first success, I’m proud to see her chase her ambitions.

@phantomdotexe

Sometimes it really helps to have someone to talk with, cause not everyone wants to hear EVERYTHING about yourself and we are flawed deep down, it’s what makes life so interesting, no one is the messiah. So I’m really happy I met her, she’s smart, funny and more importantly she allows me to be more open than I have ever been with some other people and she is very supportive, if not a bit nagging ‘why aren’t you in bed’ SORRY YOU GET ON SO LATE!, hehe but if you ever into anything, risque, I suggest taking out her library of work, she’s a writer you see and while her taste lends to the mature, it doesn’t stop it from being an engaging series of work, please check it out if you are into rope and gags, also send her a hi and let her know how amazing she is.

@dansome0203

Mother fucker, let me love you! This guy, besides me being envious of this skill to draw such beautifully curvaceous women, he is just such a nice guy, like, stupidly nice, He’s probably an alien, hmm. I’ve sadly not had the time to talk to him much STILL! God I feel like those assholes who refuse to talk their fav artist then whine about it on their art blog!...wait. But this guy, he just continues to surprise me, found out he’s not just a nice guy and an amazing artist, but he also runs a very good DND session! The stuff I have seen pour out of it has made me so excited if this guy ever plans to do some writing in his own free time.

@totalobelisk

A friend of mine for the longest time, who I’ve sadly not stayed in contact much with, cause I am a terrible human being. That said he’s incredibly bright and funny as well as creative, I’ve never met a guy who just doesn’t give up, he’s driven and determined, willing to do what he enjoys more than anything! I wish I had some of that drive, his work might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but hey, in the end, it matters if it makes him happy and he being happy makes me happy.

Uh I

I have a theory

Also, tag for somewhat mentions of suicide below

Spoilers for Undertale Below! Do no proceed beyond this point!:

So ya know In the Undertale Pacifist Run, Flowey goes fucking awol and is intent on killing the player in order to take the human souls and become a God.

But eventually by the end of the Neutral Run he gets defeated. You see him laying like a corpse there by the end while you’re given the chance to either kill him or spare him.

If you’re doing the true pacifist run, you would spare him and Flowey would throw a tantrum asking why the player was being nice to him, why hadn’t the player liked him, why has the player not taken the chance to get rid of something that has been causing them torment and pressure ever since they fell into the underground. Why was Frisk... sparing him..? When no one else would...?

Somehow he has the ability to grow legs, then runs away from the player and it would end the neutral run. Those who played the rest knows how it ends - Flowey would return by the end allowing the player to return to the game and reach the true pacifist route, every last thing is mentioned, everyone but Flowey himself is completely saved.

But if you decide to proceed by killing Flowey, when you choose FIGHT instead MERCY... Flowey is surprised. It’s like.. like he knew it would come some day. That someone with a powerful human soul like Frisk would either fail and give Flowey the chance to escape and become the True GOD, the human would die at the hands of Asgore, leaving another human soul for the monsters to break through the barrier and take forth the surface, or the human would succeed in killing Asgore, escape the underground themselves, and leave the monsters - including Flowey - begins. To Flowey, each ending - besides him becoming a God - seems like a bad ending. At least for him. And here’s my theory.

Flowey knows each of these is a bad ending, because not one of them ends nicely for him. We know Flowey is a heartless and cruel creature, right? He tries to kill Frisk just as the human falls down, he whispers horrible messages into Papyrus’ head, he bets Muffet - knowing she’ll probably accept for the future of spider kind - a huge span of money if she was able to get your SOUL.

The previous endings about - none of them are beneficial for Flowey. The human dying at the hands of Asgore could be beneficial, but that would only be if Asgore would be at low health, and Flowey would be able to kill him and take his soul. Obviously that wouldn’t be the case since Asgore won the battle - meaning Frisk most likely didn’t fight back. And with the monsters breaking free, with them breaking through the barrier, with them finally becoming free and escaping their long held prison, no one would ever think to find Flowey, pick him up and take him with them. Not after all he’s done.

The other ending - where Frisk kills Asgore instead and takes his SOUL and leaves the underground - resulting in a neutral run - means that Flowey (along with the other monsters) would continue to be stuck underground. We remember the end of the genocide route, right? Where Frisk kills Flowey? Since Flowey can activate things such as the Save Files and the ability to load and reload, and the fact that he basically described the fake meaning of love just to gain some from Frisk and get their soul, that Flowey knows how much LV Frisk has. That Frisk is so far gone that he knows Chara probably wouldn’t answer him if he tried. Still, he tries to gain Chara’s attention, tries to give Chara the idea of sparing him, give them the idea that if they were to spare him, they would get more help then needed and they could be partners once more. However, Frisk doesn’t allow it as they force Chara to kill he brother until he is nothing but ashes. So since we already know how Flowey would react to Frisk if they were to go genocide, we know he would be nervous and anxious around them if they were neutral. Flowey knows that since Asgore didn’t collect the human soul, that Frisk has hsir soul intact and is able to escape the barrier and return to the surface with both their and Asgore’s soul, that Flowey wouldn’t stand a chance against them. Therefore, Frisk returns to the surface and Flowey is left down with the other monsters once again as Undyne takes rule.

So obviously this doesn’t make a lot of sense and you’re asking me stuff like - how does this add up? Why does this matter? What is your point? My point - my theory is that - Flowey wants to die.

Now before you fight me on this, I have evidence:

By the end of the Pacifist/Neutral Run, we see Flowey generally confused when Frisk spares him. He begins to question the child’s actions, only to become more harsher to the point of threatening Frisk that if they weren’t to kill him now, just to think of all the awful stuff they could do in the future. How much pain and misery they could bring to others. How much sorrow they could cause in Frisk’s life, and how they could easily gain the human souls and make Frisk’s life hell once more.

Not only this, but Flowey speaks of himself awfully as if... he’s used to it. We know he isn’t here anymore, he’s dead, and all that’s left is a sorrowless, soulless husk inside of a plant body. Plus, with the amount of time since his death, with the amount of time the monsters have been underground, Flowey has seen enough humans fall down, enough times trying to gain their souls, that he’s probably used to being called an evil flower. That he’s so used to it, that he himself has started calling him self a murderer, a vengeful killer, a genocidal maniac. So using that to get Frisk to kill him wouldn’t bother him in the slightest, believing that with enough pushing Frisk would decide to kill Flowey and spare the lives of the underground by getting rid of the demon once and for all.

But reread what is said again, because I’m about to make sense of it all as I possibly can: It seems as though that Flowey might have some human left in him, but that’s not the case- the method up above is Flowey’s own way of persuading Frisk to kill him. To not help the underground, but to help him.

Before I explain more, another piece of evidence would be in the final moments if you decide to kill Flowey rather than spare him. Once you pick the choice, Flowey smiles brightly - almost sadistic - and cheers Frisk on with a cheery “I knew you had it in you!”. Flowey seems to be satisfied and somewhat proud that Frisk has made the decision to kill him.

And finally the last piece of evidence would be his last words by the end of the Pacifist run. Once he frees all the monsters and destroys the barrier and gives everyone their own soul back, he explains what will happen after everything he just did - “In a few moments I’ll go back to being a flower. I’ll lose the ability to love other people.”. He makes it known that it was awful being a flower - and understandably from what has happened so far, it probably is. When we all first met Flowey, when he showed his true intention, we thought of him as this evil prick of a flower. This heartless bastard with no sympathy or care for anyone in the world. And although Flowey might not care for that, although he might be used to it by now, you know who would care for it?

Him. Asriel Dreemurr.

We know that from the use of the genocide ending, when Asriel reveals he is Flowey and begs for Frisk not to kill him, that Asriel probably still has consciousness inside of Flowey’s body. And at the Pacifist ending, he reveals that he knew what was happening throughout while a flower and even knows enough to describe it as awful and horrible. How horrible he was - how Flowey was - to the ones he loves and cared for. So, during his time in the underground along with the falling of the human children, Flowey has probably heard enough slurs and back talk from Toriel who saved the children from Flowey, has heard slurs from Sans. And although it may not bother him as much, if Asriel may still have some consciousness inside of him, then Asriel can hear what they’re saying. Of what they’re saying about Flowey - about him.

Since Asriel sees himself as Flowey, then he would probably think that those slurs and insults are being directed at him, which sort of, they kind of are. And do you know how much pressure, how much harm that could do to a child? A child thst’s already been deprived of their future, of a lifetime of memories and been forced into the life of a soulless being. Can you imagine how Asriel might feel to hear his mother speak of him like that? To hear his past friends, speak of him like he was nothing?

There is no denying it that Asriel could have cracked while being Flowey. No one has observed it because Flowey always hides out until Asgore’s battle where he kills him and takes the souls.

So it would make sense - and don’t take this out of context - for Asriel to believe this way. To believe that he deserves to be killed; for all the crimes that’s been done to his family, his friends, his subjects. All the pain he - as Flowey - has put the entire underground through. Asriel could most likely blame himself for the death of the human children that fell down - Asgore started killing every human child that fell down because of the grief over his children’s demise. That much pressure, that much grief and regret, it’s no wonder Asriel might be feeling these things.

And once the final child falls down, once Flowey’s only resolution is to take their soul instead and become god otherwise his existence is pointless, once Frisk wins against Flowey, once Flowey sees that Frisk still has their soul intact...

Flowey gives up. He gives up his “life”, his journey, his mission to become a god. He doesn’t believe it’s possible anymore. The human child won. The child was able to survive every possible throw the flower launched at him, no matter what the child went through, with DETERMINATION they were able to succeed. And with that, Flowey has no choice.

By that time, after all the SOULS escaped from his body, after his omega form completely trashed his “body”, he’s too weak to even fight against Frisk. Sure, throw a couple of insults here and there, but no real physical fighting occurs. That’s because Flowey gave up, he gave up on trying to fight against Frisk, he accepted that Frisk won and thought that for victory, for the safety of every monster in the underground, it would be safe enough to kill him right then and there.

And yet, Frisk allows Flowey to live on, to which Flowey’s obviously confused. But for what exactly? What else is there to live for? He failed at his goal to become all-powerful, and to have that all soiled by a stupid child that fell into the underground by accident, a child that Flowey could have had the SOUL of, could have become powerful with and escape the underground, could have severely damaged his pride. And by this point, Flowey knows what happens now. Frisk will either leave the underground with the monster king’s soul, or bring the entire monster community with them and free the underground. Without Flowey. Flowey will be alone, and this time for good.

But Asriel. Asriel probably feels like he deserves this. Like he deserves to be killed. With all the regret that’s built up inside of him, all the rage he let out during the Omega Flowey battle, probably left him numb and dull. He didn’t decide to fight back against Frisk anymore, he just wanted to end it all. He’s rather be dead then be hated and abandoned and left alone forever once again. And to have a human like Frisk, SPARE someone like them. It could do a lot to Asriel. And all that emotion Flowey felt, and since Flowey’s a heartless being, it’s most likely some of Asriel’s traits popped through. It’s possible Asriel was too shocked and confused by Frisk’s choice that he couldn’t take it. He had to run away.

Now, I could be completely wrong on this. But this is just. A theory of mine and I have no intention of it being real or fake. I honestly don’t care.

Earthbound: A First Timer’s Perspective, Over 20 Years Later

I was born too late to enjoy Earthbound when it was new. The game came out in 1995, a year after I was born, and around the time the SNES had begun to give way to the Nintendo 64. Any excitement about a potential entry in the series for the N64 passed me right on by, and, like so many other people my age, my first experience with the series was when Earthbound’s main character, Ness, appeared in the Smash Brothers series. As a teenager, in the beginnings of the emulation age, friends recommended it to me, but the game’s slow start and strange aesthetics never quite grabbed me. It wasn’t until it finally got a Virtual Console release for the New 3DS that I finally sat down and actually played it, and even then it was as a “rainy day” kind of game.

Which is how I ended up in the strange situation where most of my experience with Earthbound and the themes that went into it came from games that were most influenced by it, particularly Undertale, a game so bleeding in influence from Earthbound that I’d almost call it a spiritual successor. It’s no surprise that this is the case -- its creator, Toby Fox, has history in the Earthbound fangame community, and has specifically cited Earthbound as an influence in how he wrote Undertale. 

Playing it now, more than twenty years after its initial release, long after the franchise came to an end, I can now see everything I missed in the time since then, and everything I’ve missed since then. There’s something about the game, from its simplistic, charming presentation, to its surprisingly introspective moments, to its cartoonish enemies and its overall optimistic view of the world that spoke to me in ways I can’t put into words (though I’m sure as hell going to try).

Earthbound starts off generically enough -- the player controlled character, Ness (I hesitate to call Ness “you” in this instance, for reasons that are obvious to anyone who’s played the game), is told that he has a grand destiny requiring him and three other children to go on a journey to face a grand evil named Giygas. At the behest of a magic bee, he sets off to record the sounds of the “Your Sanctuaries” around the world so that he can gain the strength needed to fight Giygas, and unite with the other destined youths who’ll help him on this journey.

And when you start off the game, Ness is completely alone on this journey. These beginning parts of the game are easily the toughest parts of the game -- it’s Ness against the world, and with just his baseball bat and a couple of not-so-great psychic spells at his disposal, the world’s pretty willing to stomp all over Ness. I remember spending a good chunk of my first few hours running back home for free healing before trying again and again to get past the current plot obstacle.

And Ness is alone for a good chunk of the game -- your first party member, Paula, you don’t meet in proper until after you get past the game’s second town, and you have to actually rescue her from the boss of the third town before you can use her. There’s a good chance you’ll actually accidentally tackle the second Your Sanctuary before you save her, too.

Every time I got a new party member, I felt like things were starting to get a little bit smoother. And that’s not a statement to Earthbound’s detriment -- with every friend Ness met along the way, I felt the world open a little wider. Things that I struggled with before I had no problems with now.

And this went the other way too -- every time a character had to leave my party, I yearned for them to come back. There’s a part where Paula gets kidnapped again in Fourside, and suddenly I realized just how much I wanted her back when I realized how much Ness and Jeff struggled without her. At one point, Poo leaves the party to become stronger, and even though I’d barely used him at that point, I felt incomplete without him around. When he triumphantly came back at the end of Deep Darkness, everything finally felt right again.

Earthbound is a game that’s generally light on the characterization and plot, and Ness’s group is no exception to this. I think each of them has maybe five lines total in-game. But even with that, I felt attached to these kids and their journey through the game itself.

Even with how sparse it is, though, there’s something about Earthbound’s writing that really sticks with me. There’s a dryness to it that’s definitely indicative of the era it was written in, but there’s a quirkiness to a lot of it too, and more than that, there’s an earnestness to it that’s very welcome. Nothing ever feels like it was written just to take a potshot at someone (...except for the club from the above screenshot. That one might just be a potshot :V). Eagleland, the country the majority of the game takes place in, is so obviously a pastiche of what Japan thinks America is like, but it never passes into the territory of parody.

That’s without even getting into the general acceptance the game gives to some of the weirder bits of it. Like the guy who wants to talk to a mad scientist so he can get himself turned into a giant dungeon, because he loves dungeons that much. Or the monkey colony in a hole in desert, lead by a monkey Dalai Lama. Or the sesame seed you can talk to in that same desert that yearns for its partner, which is another sesame seed. These scenarios are all presented in the only way Earthbound knows how: completely straight-lacedly.

Something I found interesting early on is that even though the main characters are all children, the majority of the NPCs you interact with are adults. And none of these characters are really villainous. Antagonistic, yes, and occasionally you do have boss fights with them. But on the whole, these characters are helpful or at least earnest with their intentions. And there’s no real judgment toward the party for their friendship with people much older than them. For example, early on, it’s established that Paula is good friends with Everdred, the local crook, and it’s the party’s friendship with the Runaway Five that helps them out of several jams during the story.

Another thing is that, aside from one character very early on (who is a literal magic bee), no one dies in Earthbound. Random encounters are generally animals, monsters, or inanimate objects that have been compelled to fight you by Giygas’ evil influence, or they’re aliens and robots that follow Giygas and are here to invade earth. When you defeat them, animals become tame, plants and objects return to normal, and robots are turned to scrap metal. For a genre generally defined by its protagonists basically being D&D Murderhobos, it’s a surprisingly nonviolent take.

Even though the story is established early on, Earthbound really doesn’t spend a lot of time focusing on the ultimate goal of the journey. The game is separated into small arcs, each focusing on their own subjects and characters and plot bosses, with the common factor generally just being the influence of Giygas on whoever the head honcho is of the current problem. And the problems of those small arcs are so often small in the scale of the world-ending horror Giygas is supposed to be. The first major threat you take on is a cult that wants to paint the world blue, after all!

I think this is part of why Earthbound’s creepier moments (like Noonside and Giygas himself) stick out so hard to people -- they don’t fit with the calm, homey atmosphere of the game until this point. But I think that’s important too -- Earthbound is, ultimately, a game where the villain is the concept of evil itself. And what does evil take the form of in Earthbound? Something incomprehensible, something that doesn’t fit with the world until this point. It’s Noonside, where yes is no and the people are being manipulated by an evil idol. It’s Giygas, who has become so consumed by evil that he’s become something eldritch.

For how grand your journey is made out to be at the start, for the majority of the game, it feels very relaxed, almost homey. The plot really doesn’t ever kick into high gear -- your fight with Giygas comes nearly immediately after getting the final Your Sanctuary and going through Magicant, and Magicant itself is kind of homey and introspective -- it’s a journey through Ness’s mind, and on a whole, everything there is very chill.

(Ness’ Nightmare can go suck a dick, though.)

There’s something almost coming-of-agey about Earthbound. I say “almost”, because you don’t really learn much about Ness himself, but that’s the kind of journey you feel like you’re having. I feel like this is best evidenced with the Your Sanctuary sections, where, in each one, Ness has a vision of himself as a young child, and his family around him. It’s a story about Ness’s growth, even if we don’t concretely see what that growth is. And at the end of the game, after the threat’s all taken care of, you’re given time to go back to talk to everyone you’ve met along the way and retrace your steps back home, if you so want. 

It’s all very cozy. It’s all very friendly. I’d say it’s not the kind of RPG I’ve ever played before, but I played Undertale first. But even with that foreknowledge, the further I went into Earthbound, the more I realized that Undertale is bleeding in its Earthbound influence. Everything about how Undertale is written, how it approaches morality, its combat, the journey you take, it’s all clearly born out of Earthbound. I’d even go so far as to say that the meta-role of the player in Undertale and Earthbound is very similar, too -- because in Earthbound, you are who saves the day in the end. The characters pray to you for help, and you, the player, are stated as praying for them to win. You beat Giygas in the end.

I’m not sure how much I have to say about Earthbound that other people haven’t said already in much cleaner or plainer terms. But it absolutely touched me. I suddenly understand why it’s as beloved of a game as it is, why people have clamored for Mother 3 to get an official release for so long, why it was such an influence on other RPG developers over time. I’d say I want more games like it, but I’m not sure any other game could scratch the same itch that Earthbound did for me. But now that I’ve played it, I feel like it’s filled a yearning I didn’t even realize I had.

Maybe that’s enough for me.

Endtale story-Endtale sans information.

Endtale opening: Long ago, two races ruled over the earth. Humans and monsters. For awhile all was peaceful between the two races. Until one day the monsters discovered these 3 artefacts what could be used to summon 3 beings with unimaginable power. Out of fear humans took action and war broke out between the two races leading to the monsters being sealed underground with the artefacts. Endtale base story: Eventually a human fell into the underground by the name of chara, the first fallen child, the royal family took them in to live with them, but one day chara found out about the artefacts and used it to shatter the barrier with this monsters came out of the underground for the first time in centuries. But the artefacts have these side effects to humans causing chara to die as the only child of queen toriel and asgore. The humans saw the king bring the dead child to them holding it in his arms. They took this as they had murdered 7 missing children to get out of the barrier where as the artefact broke the barrier instead. But this did not stop war from breaking out between the two races yet again with now the monsters being locked underground once again this time with a spell that would take 16 souls to break the barrier and they had none. Endtale neutral route: You play as the 16 fallen child who falls into the underground, all the rest of the children were killed and its randomly generated what soul trate they all were so you can find different weapons of the children throughout the underground. The first monster you encounter is Endtale sans nickname, End. In the ruins End is a veteran of the two wars that humans and monsters were in along with his brother. He greets you with the old whoopy cushion In the hand trick, then proceeds to take you to toriels house she had left asgore for the murder of the 15 human children not all of them killed by him though. Things play out as normal with sans going to meet his brother in snowy beginnings to pretend he was doing his sentry job all that time. Things play out as normal with toriel with the fight and everything all of the monsters being a little harder than the original undertale. Eventually you ether kill her or spare her. From this point on the journey is close to the original undertale with you killing at least one monster somewhere. Flowey doesn’t exist because there was never a Asriel in the first place. Things go as normal until you meet sans in the judgement hall and he will judge you for your actions but this time he will fight you if you have over 5 LV the battle will be tough because sans is a lot stronger and won’t go down in one hit but eventually he will break your fight button making you have to spare him during the fight. After the battle sans will heal you up and leave the judgement hall to let you fight asgore the only one in your path to get home. He breaks your mercy button and you have to fight him as normal you can chose whether to kill him or not. after this you can go through the barrier like in the normal neutral route and your never seen again. Endtale pacifist route: If you follow the same path as the neutral route but this time sparing every monster you encounter throughout the underground also the boss monsters like papyrus and such. You start the do a all mercy run where you can learn about what happened before In history of humans and monsters along with helping everyone to be happy. Endtale sans will let you past as normal because you would have no LV from any monsters you’ve killed. The fight with asgore will go the same with toriel stopping the fight as it’s about to start. But then sans will use the 3 artefacts to break the barrier this time it’s a monster who does it so he doesn’t get killed during it. They all get to the surface once again and this time things go back to how it was before the two wars. Endtale geno route: In this route sans will teleport out of the ruins to his sentry post to meet you there instead of you encountering him in the ruins. You will go throughout the underground killing all of the monsters as a normal genocide run with some evacuating from the underground when you get to undyne the undying. After you continue to slash through the monsters you eventually get to the judgement hall where sans is waiting to fight you. During the Endtale sans fight you gain 184HP and it becomes a literal bullet hell like omega flowey fight with the 15 human souls stepping in to help him also. Eventually you will be able to slash him and cause him to turn to dust but this is when the human souls get absorbed by end and you have to survive a rush of attacks for 10 minutes non stop with them being able to hurt you badly and if you die you have to start the fight from scratch. But once you have survived 10 minutes of non stop bullet hell you can attack the souls around end feeding him power and cause them to shatter once all souls have been shattered you get to slash the heck out of end causing him to die. After the fight you meet asgore and instantly kill him and then you use the 3 artefacts to erase the timeline. Ultimate genocide route: If you do 3 genocide runs in a row sans will personally get evidence of you doing everything from the runs before. This time undyne papyrus, mettaton and sans will be waiting for you at the judgement hall all of the monsters left will be killed by your player but they will be in large groups making even the normal monsters seem like mini bosses. You will only have about 6 LV or so when you get to the judgement hall and then you will have to fight all of the boss monsters sans got to the judgement hall with him. First you take out mettaton in one shot, then papyrus in 3, then undyne In 5 then you will have to fight the full length sans battle with the time he uses the artefacts to his advantage and he teleports you to the ruins where you’re stuck behind the door In toriels house forever trapped in the ruins because sans broke the door and trapped you in there. These 3 artefacts were made by the multiverse them self and they revealed to sans about the multiverse the many other timelines and universes how they could all be wiped out at any second. This is where sans found the judgement button spawned by the multiverse this would make him the judge of all if he pressed it and he did but with great powers it comes at a cost it reset his world and caused all the monsters there to turn into these sprit ghost creatures that would constantly scream in pain and they eventually gave sans ptsd from doing this because he thought it was his fault. He then went throughout the multiverse doing what he now does today killing those who need judgement good or bad ((check out the after ultimate genocide post if you want to know more about sans after his judge of the multiverse power up)) but he wasn’t the only one who got this power up the frisk was now turned into infinite frisk and gaster was now Endtale gaster they were all 3 judges of the multiverse. Ultimate genocide route aftermath Endtale sans stats: Endtale current summary: Endtale is Au created by the will of the multiverse itself this au helps balance out the destruction in the multiverse as the sans in it is sort of the judge of the multiverse who doesn’t take sides and he carries out creating and destruction by himself he was the only one in his world the snow is black and the lava is black in hot lands the residents can be seen as ghosts that constantly roam the au because of Endtale sans and the decision he made to work for the multiverse he pressed a button that the multiverse needed him to make things balanced but in doing this great power comes at a cost Turing the resistances of his Au into spirits that constantly haunt Endtale sans and they gave him ptsd from doing it non stop. Endtale sans was now thrown into a loop that he couldn’t get out of and try’s to redeem his internally suffering au by doing his job.his au contains a frisk and gaster the frisk and gaster being extremely powerful also but they are hiding in Endtale somewhere due to it having no barrier. In Endtale if the multiverse is in a code red alert that means everything is in danger or has been damaged there are 3 keys for each of the judges what can be put into the ground in a shrine in Endtale to summon these 3 massive creatures called the destroyers if everything in the multiverse is wiped out it’s there job to completely erase the multiverse and create one from scratch. Endtale sans:
Endtale sans wears a black jacket and both of his eyes are left eye blue and his right eye red but when he is mad the left one goes black and the right eye goes glowing red when he is extremely mad his eye colours will switch places and both glow with extreme power and they will flare with energy Endtale sans is extremely powerful able to take out any one in the multiverse with his cunning skills and power he carries around a book that contains all aus in its pages and he judges people good and bad off karma points once you get 100 good or bad karma points your on his radar of people to stop. Endtale sans also has these blue and red rings around his arms these limit the amount of multiversal power he can take in at any time. When he takes these off he gains a extremely strong increase in power what can't be stopped or altered by anything because he is connected to everything and everyone there ever is he can pull from this limitless power for however long he needs. Endtale sans stats: He can not be deleted by code. Because he is more of an entity than anything also he is connected to everything there is in the multiverse as long as the multiverse core is alive he will be alive. Note this means no code abilities have effect on him so no buttons can rewrite him or copy his code he is protected by the multiverse in that regard.
Hp:unknown- he feels pain still from attacks but he can take a awful lot of punishment.
Def:changes all the time otherwise non existent.
Atk: changes on his opponent 
Yellow text:the judge of the multiverse has appeared. Endtale sans personality: he’s very cocky with his abilities but also very open minded able to read there attacking styles able to find weaknesses in them or how to beat them his power increases with his opponent able to even take on Error404 sans and match his strength because he’s the will of the multiverse. He rarely is even known about because he erases the mind of everyone that sees him. Endtale sans is extremely powerful due to being linked to everything there ever is he would be the last one standing in a fight. Endtale sans is far more powerful than anyone in the multiverse accept a few. He’s not allowed to kill Error or Ink due to the multiverse needing them to function he can also summon a blue create button and destroy button and has all the multiverse protocols. Endtale sans abilities
Bones of judgement: the damage changes on there opponent
Blue soul mode: he can stop his opponent in there tracks and throw them around 
Blasters of judgement: there’s blasters do more damage the stronger his opponent
Blast of judgement: he can fire a blast from his mouth or hand doing more damage or able to devastate a opponent 
Bone armour: he can attach bones around his limbs and chest to give himself armour or spikes on his body 
Demonic judgement: he can instantly send fear into anyone just by turning on his eye.
Multiversal power: the power of everything flows through him so he’s able to power up to deity like levels 
Invisibility loss: he can take away invisibility from his opponent giving them hp 
Stat damage: he can damage the stats of his opponents
Universe travel: he can travel to all Au’s
Omnipresents: he can be everywhere at once but only be seen by a certain person at that time
Double trouble glowing eyes: both eyes can glow red giving him a incredible increase in power
Mind wipe: he can erase people’s minds of them seeing him
Touch of truth:can make people tell the truth with a touch Inhibitor rings: he can take off the rings around his wrists and become extremely more powerful to any agree he wants and this can't be stopped by any means. Multiversal protection: the multiverse will go out of its way to protect him by summoning his own attacks to block anything that try's to harm him. This includes not being able to take his invincibility away being able to kill him mind control him or anything else another person can influence on him.
Trivia and facts:
*He is the only one strong enough to match 404 without the omnipotent power up.
*he likes pretty much all ketchup but prefers black ketchup made from squid ink and ketchup 
*he has a secret only known To himself 
*his judgement hall is a proper court room
*he can become stronger the more opponents he faces or by the multiverse giving him strength Weaknesses: he often gets ptsd from his AU if he’s in a area with tones of death he can feel the sprits crawling on his back and gets confused and frustrated.
If the fight is taking more than 30 minutes he will literally just straight up leave back to his au.
There are a few ways to make him just completely leave the fight If ink is killed it makes his creation eye(blue eye) lose its power If error is killed it makes his destruction eye(red eye) lose its power Making him weak due to the multiverse needing them to function. Other then that he’s built to kill and judge the actions of even the unkillable he mays be the end of your tale! He is linked directly to the multiverse core what makes up everything if that goes he is completely destroyed. If ink and error die he has to take there jobs as well as his own and the power decrease doesn't last for that long then he will be more powerful to compensate for them dying. Endtale sans only dies when the multiverse dies or the multiverses core is destroyed what kills everything. Endtale sans is very close with the multiverse core as it speaks to him everywhere he goes telepathically. His theme: I am all of me from crush 40