#tumbal

Tumbal is my idea for a Secret Boss for my take on Chapter Three of Deltarune. He, as his design might suggest, is based on the infamous Woody Theory based on Toby's remixes of the song You've Got a Friend in Me. Tumbal is not a skrunkly fellow and nor is he a chaotic critter, instead he is a horrific, compassionless beast who actively lures people into his abandoned set to kill them and use their bodies as puppets. To find Tumbal, you'll first need to find his Friends. Around Homewood, you'll be able to find NPCs that seem a little bit. . . off. They seem to be made of trash, people comment on their strangeness, and there seen to be vines growing around them. You'd find the first one very early on, and you'd need to find all four of them to get the OldReel. This reel can be given to one of the shopkeepers, Barley!

Barley's Light World object is an unopened wine bottle that Toriel left in the cupboard. He's a bit of an older gent but there's a reason he still gets roles in Rook's productions. He's chipper and runs a bar near the end of the journey. Once you find him and talk to him about his past roles, you can give him the OldReel, which will allow you to get his secret dialogue about Tumbal, after which he'll give you the TrashKey.

". . . sigh. . . So y' found out about it. . . Alright kid, pull up a seat, it's been. . . A while since I had to think about this. . . Look, everyone has their start. For some, it's a small production that shows their future strengths. For Rook, it was a small little show. A pretty low budget, dinky sets, an amateur filmmaker's playground. Tenna was the first to join, and then a casting call was put out and I got hired to do some work for it. . . But there was this one kid. . . He was full of hopes. . . And so many dreams of grandeur. Yeah, the show wasn't the best, but we all eventually grew to love our cast members and crew. It was great. . . sigh . . . Until the accident. The time for the finale had come around. We'd all been waiting for this day, all of us excited for what was to come. . . But then. . . Disaster struck. . . I don't even remember what happened, all I remember was a gunshot and then violent screams of agony. Everyone was running for the door, everyone was panicking and rushing out. . . Except that kid. He was nowhere to be seen. . . And I knew. I knew that Tenna. . . Tenna unintentionally. . . You can fill in the blanks. Some would say it was only up from there, I'd say that it's gotten so much worse. Tenna never really recovered from that, nor did Rook. It never felt like any of us were close or. . . Even friends anymore. . . Sometimes I think about that kid. . . And I start to notice things I hadn't before. . . Vines growing from mouseholes, trash appearing out of nowhere, random people disappearing. . . All I could think about after that was that leaving that kid there was the worst mistake any of us had ever made. . . . . . Maybe you could stop it for good and give us some closure on that, kid. . . Or maybe it's better to let the dead rot. . ."

You'd find the abandoned set in a lower level of Rook Tower. On of the only things visible once you'd get down there would be a fogged up piece of glass in the wall, like a forgotten window. . . But in the basement of all places? The place would be dark, filles with cobwebs, broken props, loose scripts, and vines galore. One you inspect the glass. . . You finally see the person you've been working your way towards this entire time. . .

* . . .

* {Come on, Kris! Just this way and-}

* {Just this way and-}

* { JUST THIS WAY AND-}

* . . .KRIS. . .IT'S ME. . .

* {Your Ol' Pal!}

* . . .DON'TCHA REMEMBER YOUR OWN {Pal!} , FRIEND. . ?

* FRIEND. . .

* I HAVE LOTS OF FRIENDS. . .

* YOU'VE MET THEM. . .HAVEN'T Y'. . ?

* ALL OF MY BESTEST FRIENDS. . .

* WOULDN'TCHA LIKE TO SEE 'EM

* {This isn't going back on air, Rook! Not after that god forsaken acci-}

* I SEE. . .

* YOU WANT TO. . .{Exit}. . ?

* FRIEND. . .

* YOU CAME ALL THIS WAY. . .

* Y' MADE SO MANY FRIENDS. . .

* WHY STOP HERE. . ?

* WHY STOP WHEN YOU'RE ALREADY {So far gone}?

* YOU DON'T NEED THE OTHERS. . .

* YOU ALREADY KNOW THAT. . .DON'TCHA?

* ALL OF THEIR FAILURES. . .ALL OF THE REASONS TO {shot.} THEM. . .

* {LITTLE KNIGHT! WHY DID YOU STOP THE SHOW ?}

* {I'm not cuttin' y' a DEAL, Kris. I'm not helping you steal all I've got.}

* {. . .What have I done. . ?}

* WHY DON'T Y' COME ON OVER TO MY SIDE. . .

* LET'S LET THEM FALL WHILE WE RISE. . .

* YOU CAN'T LET THOSE {Snake}S HOLD YOU DOWN. . .

* SO WHATDYA SAY. . .KRIS. . ?

Similar to Spamton's fight, you'd be alone for the first part of this encounter. Help would arrive only after you'd already used the TrashKey on the glass panel and entered into Tumbal's Domain. This location would be a whole 'nother level of dilapidated compared to the room before it. The life that used to permeate through this set, a place filled wall to wall with times of the good and the bad, is reduced to nothing but an ugly mess of decay and carcasses. . . Tumbal would monologue for a bit before grabbing Kris, throwing them to the floor and getting ready to tear into them, when Ralsei would burst in and restrain Tumbal with his scarf. The Fun Gang would stand in front of Tumbal, the first few notes of DEATH ANGEL blare out as he tries to shoot Kris dead. . . When a familiar green glow envelopes their soul and let's them, and by proxy you, block attacks. Unfortunately, Tumbal has a trick up his nonexistent sleeves, RED attacks. These attacks can't be blocked, but instead need to be blasted away by the Green Soul Mode's new ability, a beam that is charged by oncoming attacks and TP. Now the fight may truly commence!

Tumbal's fight would be a lot more difficult than the bosses before him due to his constant switching of the soul modes for certain attacks, even switching the mode mid-attack. Tumbal would throw everything he has at you, using bullets from his fingers, thorns, vines, signs from his speech quirk, trash, and anything else he could feasibly use to bash Kris's face in. To spare him, you'd need to shine light onto him, slowly causing his movements to become less erratic as he slowly but surely freezes in place. Once you are finally able to freeze him entirely, or beat him until he can't fight anymore. . .

A stage light would fall directly on top of Tumbal, killing him instantly.

Tumbal's end of fight dialogue would come from a recording that starts playing on a TV in the now darkened arena. It'd be the only surviving footage of Tumbal before the accident, and in it he'd talk with someone behind the camera about his hopes and dreams. Eventually, the recording would glitch and distort until Tumbal words would be stitched together to form one final statement, "let me be your strength." After this, you would be given the BanditsHonor if you spared him, the TwistedDagger if you killed him, and a ShadowCrystal. . .

So, that is Tumbal' entire quest line. I really wanted this to be dark and twisted because my take on Chapter Three is pretty light-hearted and it wod contrast well with the other two Canon Secret Bosses. For clarity's sake, I'd like to clear up a few things. Tumbal's speech quirk would have him replace phrases with signs in-game, but in-universe it would be him mimicking things he's heard before. This would be shown through other character's dialogue noises playing during these brief moments. I know this is very similar to Spamton. . . and I don't have much to add after that. Anyway, Tenna and Barley aren't the only ones affected by Tumbal. A minor character in the storyline, Chai Nelguid, would be manipulated by Tumbal to try to get The Fun Gang to him earlier. The rest of The Midnight Channel, the main villains of this chapter (Mike, Rook, and Tenna), would all be affected by his death. Rook would try to play it safe from now on due to Tumbal's death, Tenna would grieve and try to cover the entire thing up, and Mike. . . Mike has a few loose ends he needs to tie up for his master plan. . . Finally, here's a list of his tracks.

*flytrap.ogg - Tumbal's Friends' theme.

*corpselily.ogg - Abandoned Set theme.

*DEATH ANGEL - Tumbal's battle theme.

*foxglove.ogg - after-battle theme.

For making it this far, here's some art of him that I've made! Some of these may include other people's characters who I'll be sure to credit!

These three don't have anyone else in them besides characters that I made for my Chapter Three Take. And Kris. They're also there. So is Susie and Toriel.

All other characters mentioned or shown besides Tumbal are owned by @glitch-the-artist . Yes, even Sailor Moon. /j

That concludes my rant about Tumbal, if you'd like to know more, Tumbal has a Toyhouse that you can look through. There isn't much and it is a bit outdated but I think it's neat. Thank you so much for reading through this massive post and, to those who've awaited my return, I expect nothing, so shock me with something. That is all. Goodfright from me!

So, Tumbal used to be the start of a old Western Show. But as most things do, it got canceled. Tumbal was heartbroken when he heard the news, he lived working on the show and it was all he had left. So he stayed in that old set while his mind decayed and decayed into pure violence and madness. He's been stuck behind a wall of glass since the show was canceled, and he may never leave... until a familiar fun gang shows up. Tumbal begs them to let him out for one last show and, if you do want to fight him, you unlock the glass and walk inti that old rotting set for ONE. LAST. SHOW.

Remember when I said he was very violent? Well he is. He'll use anything to maime the Fun Gang. Bashing his face at them, launching his own fingers, ripping off his own spines to use as bullets, anything. But like all things, his time eventually comes to an end. You deal the final blow and he finally gets to rest. . .

Firstly, I'd like to take the time to detail Tumbal's backstory has I have not delved into it all that much on the Blog. The story starts with a pre-Secret Boss Tumbal as an optimistic actor ready to put their best foot, or root in this case, forward. He eventually got a role as an Outlaw in a western, which was the first project that good ol' Mr. Rook Action was directing. All went well until the day of shooting, where a freak accident occurred. Tumbal was shot with what the crew thought was a prop gun. As the shot rang out through the set, the cast and crew ran out, ignoring the body of Tumbal in the process. That is where he found himself, a bullet through his heart on his deathbed with no one to remember his legacy. . .Until a figure appeared to Tumbal. He told him that his time was not over just yet, as well as a new way of seeing the world, as a performance put on to entertain the higher beings. . .After that, Tumbal was left alone in that set for years, rotting into what he is today. He now uses any props he can scavenge as puppets to lure in Darkners to make friends with them, before brutally tearing them apart. This is the state The Fun Gang finds Tumbal in on their journey through Homewood. . .

Secondly, as I did with Sketchit, I'd like to explain how WALL-BREAKER would sound as a song. Of course, the song would use motifs from Battle Against a True Hero and Your Best Nightmare as well as using the Freedom Motif. The song would have a very frantic feel to it, shown through the pacing and use of the instruments. Throughout the song, some sort of banjo or guitar would be played over the track, being used for the beginning and even the Freedom Motif. The song would also reference the lietmotifs of Tenna and Rook's battle themes, in reference to his backstory. Near the end, the song would basically go insane and lose all rhyme or reason and eventually end with the sound of the banjo used in the song being smashed to pieces as an ominous voice laughs in the distance.

Next, I would like to discuss a few posts that will be made in the near future and changes to a few of my Secret Bosses. Firstly, Pocket Sand will be continuing containing the one and only Rouxls Kaard as well as Sketchit! This will be out around next week, or whenever I have time to write it. Secondly, I will be moving a few of my bosses to a group I like to call the Misfits. These bosses are ones that are basically the only part of their AUs, which will include people such as Funn N. Gaems, Fredde-E, Rustflare, Inkwel, and the other Chapter Three Secret Boss takes I made that one time. This will not mean that they will disappear, only that they have a new group name and could potentially be moved out of The Misfits if I find their stories interesting. . . Thirdly, as always, The Ask Box is wide open for anyone to throw questions, suggestions, or anything else at my characters and myself. You can literally ask any of my Deltarune based characters. The sky's the limit.

Finally, I want to give a huge round of applause to all of the people who have helped me along my journey as an artist and as a member of the Secret Boss Fandom. @mercair , you bring so many wonderful ideas and designs to the table and your characters are always a delight to draw and design for. Rest assured, you're not getting rid of my System or our nonsense at your expense any time soon. @creepa-b0t-inc , you have been an amazing part of this community, working on so many amazing projects yet still finding time to help smaller creators, such as myself. I am so glad that I know someone such as yourself and it's been amazing knowing you. @glitch-the-artist , you are an amazing traditional artist that I have adored for so long. Your work and dedication to your craft has inspired my own work and my own aspirations to get better at art. @almightyaxolotlz , I want to give you the most sincere "thank you" I could possibly muster up for being the voice of Sketchit. Thank you so much for caring about this character as much as you do and not letting Chapter X fall to the wayside. @mrchaosman , you have so much potential and so many great ideas. You're honestly an unsung hero of the community and you deserve a lot more respect for the dedication you bring to the Secret Boss Community. @petra-creat0r , you're one of the most talented artists I know and never fail to bring a sincere smile to my face. Your love for your characters and this community is inspiring and I can't wait to see what you do next. Any to everyone I did not mention, I just want to say, thank you. Thank you for inspiring me to continue being a member of this community and for allowing me to get where I am now. Thank you so much, all of you. Now, I should probably get to replying to some posts right about now. . .Goodfright to you all!

-Best Regards, Jackal.