Please stop this mad bovine

Well, regarding that-

I think I can say

with utmost certainty

that I am still

very much invested

in both Undertale

and the fandom at large.

So with 2017 officially coming to an end, I thought it would be prudent to post something this half of the year as well and might as well make it something useful.

As some of you may have noticed, 2017 was the year I all but vanished off the face of the earth. I had high hopes in January, but reality came crashing down and even now I’m scrambling to piece everything together.

The principal problem, as before, has been work. So far, over the two years I’ve been at my current place, we’ve gone through 4 other people who were supposed to help out, each departure leaving me with more to do. This resulted in my daily hours steadily moving into constant double-digits. Less hours meant less time to myself, slowly but surely grinding down my enthusiasm for basically everything. This meant writing, friends, gaming, so on and so forth, and all this on top of other more personal problems.

More and more I realize that some of my problems, especially those to do with the growing apathy I feel, have been around much longer than just these ~2 years, I just used to be much better at managing them. In reality, I wish I was even half the happy person I often pretend to be.

As for creative ventures, some of my frustrations definitely come from there. I still have so much I’d like to share, so many stories and ideas I’d like to elaborate, but I got to the point where it’s exceedingly difficult, even when I manage to squeeze in some time.

I really want to finish at the very least the stories I’ve begun. As to how and when, well, that remains a difficult question, but something I can work on at least. Writing has always been a great way for me to free my mind up a little, and the fact that I’ve been unable to muster anything is just another sign that I’ve fallen in a hole much darker than I’m used to.

I believe I can get out of this hole and retain at least some of the person I used to be (albeit I’ve perhaps burned one too many bridges for that), but the fine details of that are yet to be seen. Still, trying to piece things back together should make for a worthy resolution for 2018, right?

Honestly, not giving credit and all is bad enough, even as they keep making money off Patreon and regular YouTube ads, without even acknowledging the people who made those materials. That’s already scummy, especially since not only are they using an IP that isn’t theirs, but also models they didn’t create and didn’t negotiate for, either. Unfortunately it’s a thing that happens. This can be negotiated under the table even.

Sponsorship really is different. At that point, They’re not just running general ads, but you’re running paid advertisement for a specific product. They are receiving money specifically for that purpose and they’re essentially using someone elses IP and creations for it.

>I'm not defending them, this just seems to be a mess for both sides.

(continuing with the ‘fics I never previously posted’ theme, here’s an oddball one. In most cases, when I offer requests, people know what they’re getting into. Occasionally, however, they forget that I’m a writer, not an artist and they send me prompts that were clearly for drawing purposes. This fic was born from a trio of these kind of requests and you can probably tell I didn’t take this very serious. Without further ado, have fun!

(Prompts: Temmie as Gaster, Asriel holding a blue stop sign, Asgore eating a burger)

The enormous device glowed faintly in the distance, humming with a soft, yet distinctly metallic sound. Even from here, it was clear that it was brimming with a power few could comprehend, let alone reproduce. The work of many hours of labor, sweat and tears, but at last, even while trapped in the Underground and working against odds beyond measure, here was the tangible proof monsters could grow and prosper.

It truly was a sight to behold.

Never before, nor likely after would monster-kind produce such a technological marvel again; a beautiful mix of science and the arcane arts. The bright letters, visible even from the balcony, would forever serve as a sign to anyone traveling through Hotland; a landmark of development and progress.

The COURR was officially operational.

"Golly. I never thought this day would come." Asgore sighed. There was a level of tiredness in his voice, though mixed with hope and perhaps even a shred of excitement. A lot of sacrifice lead up to this point, but hopefully all would be worth it. "You've outdone yourself, Temster."

"i owe it to colleg!" the scientist proclaimed, inexplicably vibrating on place. They stood over by the railing, glancing towards the COURR and the swirling mix of energy and lava under them. There was something inexplicably curious about it, but Tem had no idea what exactly. "is simpel too! tem flakes go in, git swissed-mulded to enrgy! best powa in da wurld!"

"Indeed." the king stated, having little to no idea what Tem actually said. It didn't matter though, it was obviously high-science, things he couldn't understand, even if he had tried.

Asgore sat back against his chair, just calmly observing the handiwork of his Royal Scientist. While Toriel couldn't make it on account of being abjectly mad at the king for obviously minor reasons, Asriel did opt to join him, sitting in the other chair. Though the COURR was definitely an interesting sight, he still seemed extremely uncomfortable, repeatedly eyeing the little sack Asgore has placed on the table and was now reaching into.

"Would you care for some lunch, Tem?"

"nu, i fed on science n stuffz!" they said, bashfully looking away. "and tem flakes, sumtimes..."

"Very well." Asgore nodded. "You're welcome to join us anytime though."

With that, he pulled out a couple of bundles from the sack. They were mostly just colorful wrappers, containing one of Asgore's most beloved meals: a sizable, juicy burger from the best ingredients the Underground could provide. Asriel visibly cringed as he pulled out a vial along with them, containing a bright, red SOUL. It was floating inside a mostly clear liquid, still glowing from the power nestled within it.

Kind thoughts of a human coursed through the goat monster's mind, mixed with the decidedly less-kind thoughts of the accident that claimed their life. Although nobody could rightly expect it to happen, falling upon nothing but the rocky floor couldn't have been a kind way to go. Asriel just wished he at least knew their name. Asgore harvested the SOUL they've left behind, much to Toriel's chagrin. On the one hand, a human SOUL floating in the Underground was not only irresponsible, but potentially dangerous as well. On the other, the use his father had for said SOUL was... less than benign.

The king placed one of the wrapped-up burgers before the profoundly uneasy Asriel, while uncovering his own. It was still fresh from less than an hour ago, still quite warm against even his furry fingers. Asgore licked his lips and pulled the top bun off, to spice his meal up with the rarest of condiments, the kind he could never taste after the war and their exile.

SOUL-Sauce.

Asgore shook the plastic vial vigorously, the determination within the SOUL mixing rapidly with the mix it was kept in. He raised it above his burger and squeezed, watching with almost childish glee as liquid determination poured over the succulent meal. The boss monster made sure to leave his lunch extra sauce, before offering the vial to Asriel, next. His son looked like he was about to lose his breakfast as well, much less the incoming lunch, but he placed it between them, for convenience.

The first bite was heaven in burger form. The determination spiced up the already flavorful meal by margins impossible to comprehend. His eyes glazed over just briefly from the just-about intoxicating effect, barely even noticing as some of the extremely precious sauce made its way into his beard, leaving it red and pulsing with light. It really gave the burger that strong, zesty taste Asgore missed so much.

Once he could focus again, he glanced at Asriel to see if he was eating properly. Rather than consume his burger with the same fervor, like a real father-son duo, the child was more intent on dissuading him by meekly raising a blue STOP sign he acquired from somewhere, trembling all over like a leaf. Asgore couldn't even really guess where he got it from, though its implication was fairly clear to him, even without words.

Unfortunately, the meaning was lost on Temster.

To them, it was a challenge and an insult.

"HA!" Tem cried, attracting their attention. They gazed at the stop sign with seething hatred. "yu think dat blu borad will stop Tem? cant stop sciens! cant stop teh TEM! Yull nevr take me aliv!!"

Temster tensed up and before either of the goat monsters could utter so much as a single word, their jumped over the railing. Plummeting to the energized lava below, they could once again see the majesty of their creation, even here. It changed everything and it would define monsters for future generations. Power through science; power through tem flakes. Even if they could have done more, this was enough. They've secured the future of their kind, a lasting prosperity that would bring about the Golden Tem Age they so sought to find.

With that, Temster the Royal Scientist closed their eyes one last time and embraced oblivion.

Asriel and Asgore blinked, spicy determination still dripping from the latter's beard. They needed a moment or two to shake off whatever temporary stupor caught them, leaving both monsters slightly confused and disoriented as time itself reshuffled their memories to accommodate for the now-missing piece. As thoughts and recollections swirled about, only one thing remained clear as crystal.