Hello loyal readers,

I admit that I haven't been overly active on FA over the past year, and by 'overly active' I mean I haven't reared my ugly head at all! Those of you that follow me on DA will know I have still been active over there, but I think it's high time I started to upload some stuff here too.

Most of it will just be me catching my FA up to my DA account, though given DA's rules on more mature content, my FA followers will certainly be getting one or two unique pictures.

To those of you still following me, I'd like to thank you for your patience (or just being too lazy to unwatch me). I don't want to just art dump all over my page, so going to be uploading pictures and stories a few at a time over the next few days.

Hope you all enjoy my content and I'll try to be more active on here (because I have never said that before). Thanks all once again.

Regards,
Luke8t88

Dear loyal readers,

In an attempt to try and spark myself some creative inspiration, and showcase a little bit more of the UG's elite roster, I will be holding a YCH competition, where you, my loyal readers, can have your characters appear as a cameo in a UG story as a contestant. The rules for entry are extremely simple, all you have to do is send me a reference, either written or visual, of the character you wish to enter, and at the start of each week I will raffle off a winner. The winner will appear in that weeks UG story, against a house fighter that will be listed when the competition opens each week.

The rules for characters that can be entered are as follows:
1) The character must be an anthropomorphic creature. And were talking full Anthro, like Bugs Bunny levels. No Nekos, etc.
2) The character must be Male OR Female. Sorry to all the genders in between, but Herms and the like just don't interest me.
3) No characters from existing and well known universes, such as MLP, Pokemon, Sonic characters, etc.

This weeks elite:
The elite this week will be Bear; a large polar bear woman with an inclination towards the following kinks:
Face sitting, Breast Smothering, Sweat Play.

If you would like to see your characters playing against (and losing to) such a character, then note me with your references. Keep in mind this character will be subjected to the above listed kinks.

Good luck to everyone that enters,
Luke8t88

Hello everyone,

I know I am a bit late on the whole folders thing, been a bit busy with real life and all, but now that FA finally has a way to sort things I fully intend to start uploading things once more. My main grief with FA in the past was that I had no way to sort things, and whilst pictures may not need sorting too much because of thumbnails, I always felt stories needed to be catergorised so they could be grouped into things like story lines, side stories, commissioned pieces, etc.

Really happy to see that FA finally has a folder system now, and I fully intend to become more active on here once more now that it does. Thanks to anyone still watching me here, I will try to reward your patience with some good stories.

Regards,
Luke8t88

Hello to all my readers,

Sorry for the absence on FA, but recently all my stuff has just been getting uploaded to DA where I have more watchers, and the ability to make folders to put my uploads in has just proved convenient for keeping all the different story arcs seperate. Anyone interested in reading my stories should check out my account here: http://luke8t88.deviantart.com/

Greetings loyal readers, over the past few weeks it may have come to your attention that I haven’t uploaded any new stories, or much of anything for that matter. Well the reason for this is that I recently had a bit of an identity crisis regarding my writing, where I found myself torn between writing what I wanted to write, and writing what people want to read. Having previously written several stories that are orientated around a particular fetish or two, I feel that I have become viewed as someone that just writes that sort of content.

This is where my problem lies. I don’t want to be viewed as someone that just writes stories to cater to a very specific audience. The problem is, I have backed myself into a corner. I have been labelled, and now no matter what I write, that label will persist. People that don’t like the content I am often associated with will never read my stories, and those that do enjoy that content will complain if it isn’t included in them. I feel like I am trapped in a position where I have to write the content I am associated with, which is only furthering that association.

As such, I will be making a new account, one where I can upload under a new name, and not be branded as ‘that one guy that writes stories about X’. It will still follow the story of The Underground Game Show, but there will be a variety of content from the backgrounds of the elites (for those that care for the story aspect), quick game short stories (for those that just want the kinks) and UG > DS interaction (for those that enjoy a mix of both).

Once the new account is made and there is some content uploaded to it, there will be another journal with a link to that account. My existing accounts on the various sites will remain in existence, but will not be overly active, so feel free to remove them from your watches when the new account is up (which I am hoping will be sometime within the next week.)

Thank you all for your patience and support,
Luke8t88

So some of you who read my stories may have realised that currently the stories do follow on from one another in a round about sort of way, each story starting with the game from the previous story ending. Well this trend will continue, but specifically, there will be five games per 'night', meaning every five stories I write will effectively mark a chapter of the UG story.

From now on, every time I finish the fourth story in a chapter, I am going to open up five commission slots for people to buy the right to have their character show up as a contestant in the UG in the following chapter. Each slot will cost just $5, and for that you will get: Your character in a story of the UG as a contestant, to pick which elite they play against/what kinks they recieve, and the story will contain a written reference that you are free to use if you have need of it.

The rules are simple: 1) Contact me via note with a reference (either written or drawn) of the character you want to see. 2) Your character will be losing the game. 3) Your character must fit in the UG universe, which means no gods, no freaky monsters, no overpowered characters, no humans, etc. Nor can they be a herm. 4) I reserve the right to refuse any character for any reason, though I will give the said reason and we can work out compromise. 5) Sex is not an option, though any kink that doesn't involve sex is fine. 6) Your character can't be under age, or even appear under age.

The slots will be on a first come, first served basis, and the 'first come' will be the person that sends me the ref and details of what they want, irons out any details, and sends payment first. Note that each character may only appear once per chapter, however you may submit multiple characters per chapter. I am going to open the first batch early (i.e now) to get a feel for how popular this idea is, so feel free to note me if interested.

So today I realise the flaw of wanting to submit my stories on Monday at 5PM GMT. Namely that work want me to work at this time, and with a few other commitments to attend before hand, I don't want to pile more things to do before work on my list. So updates will now be taking place on Sunday at 5PM GMT, since on Sunday I only get called in if the shop is busy, and normally no earlier than 7PM. Sorry for the delay on today's stories, hope you all enjoy it.

Just to let you all know, following my long absence, I am finally getting back into the swing of writing, and will be resuming my usual schedule release of Monday. Stories will be now released a set time: 5PM GMT, which is noon Eastern. With me having so much free time right now due to losing my job(s) recently, I may release more than one story a week, but this is not a promise. I do promise one story a week, released on Monday at around 5PM GMT each week, real life permitting.

This will start as of tomorrow, so there will be a story tomorrow. The new stories are going to follow a set pattern, including one contestant playing one game, and dependant on how many pages I can write this into, there may also be some after game action. Any bonus stories outside of the Monday update will not specifically follow this trend, but those released on a Monday will. So if you don't like the story that goes with Erret and the Dark sector, etc, and just want to see contestants being abused by elites, well you're in luck, because that is the majority of what will be getting uploaded. For those of you that did like the story of the UG, that is what the bonus uploads will contain, so you're not missing out, you may just have to wait longer to get updates.

Once again, thank you all for your continued patience, I have been through a lot lately and I know I haven't exactly kept you all too well updated on what is going on. As a bonus to my DA readers, I will be creating a folder where all my UG commission work (I.E. pictures) will be getting uploaded and stored. Alternatively, if you are on FA, these pictures can already be found in my scraps folder.

Best wishes to you all,
-Luke8t88

So yesterday I arrived at my new job, started working as I normally do when the boss pulled me to one side. This wasn't irregular, my bosses were a husband and wife, and they often gave me conflicting orders, so there was a lot of being pulled aside to talk about what I had done (always ending with me explaining I was just doing as the other had asked me).

When we got to the quiet area, the husband revealed that the bakery I have been at for two weeks is basically not making enough money to support itself and all the staff it has (which given how they were managing the place, doesn't surprise me) and they couldn't afford to keep me on. So after finally finding a full time job, having worked multiple part time jobs just to bring in enough money to pay my way, I am now back to square zero.

I gave up all my part time jobs to take this one, I even moved so that I could work it, and they kicked me to the curb. I won't miss it, the management there was horrible and the bosses treated their staff very poorly. Part of me is glad to be out of there, as the area I live now has plenty of other jobs, and I should be back in employment soon.

However, as I am currently living in a static caravan, I have very little in the way of entertainment, so I may actually get back into writing (hopefully). This isn't a promise, more just an update on what is going on in my life and what might be happening in my future.

On a side note, having some people interested in the UG to talk with about it may very well help keep my focus and stave off a writers block (one is bound to try and surface now that I have zero income and money worries will eventually set in), so if anyone ever wants to talk to me regarding the UG, I am adding my skype address to my profile information. NOTE: Do not just add me and send the generic 'I want to add you' comment. Let me know where you're from or I won't add you (I get enough anonymous virus friend requests to ignore names I don't know).

Thank you all for your continued patience

-Luke

So been a while since I uploaded anything, and here is the reason for that: I have finally moved out of my parent's house and got full time employment (was previously working 5 part time jobs) which has taken a significant drain on the amount of time I have to write, and even when I do find time, I often lack the motivation thanks to having long working days. Once I get settled in with my new routine I will try to get back round to some more writing, but until then, keep an eye on my scraps. More disposable income means more commissions for TUGS characters.

This may seem out of the blue for me (someone that generally keeps my stuff outside my writing off my FA) but something has been bugging me lately and I need to get it off my mind. So yesterday I was in a stream and someone started trying to explain to me how Starbound and Terraria are not the same. Now, I have played both, but I admit to not being an avid gamer. As I got older in life I started to look past the shiny and glossy exterior of things, and look at the inside mechanics. What I have noticed with a lot of games, is pseudoism.

Now, pseudoism is the act of posing as something you are not. I aren't talking about RTS games that pose as RPGs, I am talking game mechanics. Specifically: Difficulty, importance, and variety. Now you may think, how can a game pose as hard when it isn't? That makes no sense right? A game is either easy or hard.

Wrong! Pseudo difficulty is very much a thing. Who here can tie their own shoes? I'd like to imagine all of you, so tying your shoes is easy. Now compare it to velcro shoes, velcro is easier. Why? Because it's a mental thing we all have. Things that take a longer time to do are percieved as more difficult. Tying your shoes is easy, but it takes longer than pushing down a velcro strap, so people percieve it as more difficult to do, despite the fact just about everyone in the world can do both.

Pseudo difficulty preys on this mindset. Enemies that take a long time to kill are generally considered more difficult. Bosses in many games are not more difficult for anything they do, but simply because they have higher health, and thus take longer to kill. I have come across countless a game where I go into a cave, fight giant spiders, then the end boss is an even bigger giant spider. This boss is no more difficult than the giant spiders I already killed, I don't need to employ any new tactics to beat it, I just need to hit it more than the 'regular' enemies.

Let us look at the difficulty settings in games like Halo. The difficulty settings simply dictate two things: 1) How much damage you take from enemies, and 2) How much damage enemies take from you. The enemies didn't get smarter or even harder, they just take a lot longer to kill because they take more hits and you need to take cover more often. If the grunts ran into the open on easy, but on legendary they took cover, support fired for one another, grenaded your position, and worked together to try and pincer you. THAT is real difficulty. The AI is being smarter to make your job harder, even if they still have the exact same stats as the easy grunts.

Next is pseudo variety, and I am going to rip into borderlands for this one. Borderlands brags having thousands of weapons, when the reality of the matter is it only has a handful. The best analogy I have for this is let us say I decide to redecorate my room, I get a tin of red paint and put one dot on the door, then say: "My room is totally redecorated!" It isn't, it looks the same with a very mild difference. Now imagine I put that spot somewhere else and claimed that was different from the first place I put it. In the literal fact it is different, but it is a difference that makes absolutely zero change.

This is what games like Borderlands do, you have a handful of guns, their stats randomly generated to create the illusion of difference. These two assault rifles look the exact same, but this one does slightly more damage! This is not a different gun, it's an upgrade of the existing one. It's taking the controlability out of upgrading by randomly generating you something and telling you it's completely different. The place I stick the red spot on my wall is randomly decided by my mind, but at the end of the day, I have still just stuck a red dot on my wall.

The same is true with Starbound, which loops back a bit to the debate I was in last night. The person that liked starbound was arguing about how many different enemies there are. Are there though? In starbound an enemy is just randomly generated to fit certain criteria. Generated with wings? It can fly. With horns? It can charge. In a literal sense these enemies are different, but I as a player do not need to change the way I play to defeat these new enemies.

Let us hop back to Halo. When I first started playing Halo Combat evolved, I get a pistol, walk out, and I am assaulted by 3 grunts. Piss easy, three shots and they're all down. I walk into the canteen to find this massive enemy that is twice the size of grunt, fires a faster weapon, has more health, isn't afraid to melee me, and has an energy shield. Ho-ly shit, that escalated quickly. A second ago I was popping these little one shot and done snail things, now I am facing this? It's exciting! It's new. I can't just pop it like I did the grunts, I need to take this things shield down before I can even try that. This is variety.

A few levels later, I find this massive armoued guy with a beam weapon on it's arms. No worries guys, I got this, bitch doesn't even have an energy shield. I unload a clip of assault rifle ammo, the thing is still standing. Two clips later I realise this thing is just not going down. It's not tough, I am just not hurting it. I can't just spray it down like an elite, or pop it once like a grunt. I need to get behind it, to shoot it in the back where it's armour is weak. I learn this, and Hunters become easy. The enemy is easy when you learn how to defeat it, but the joy is learning that is how this enemy works!

I hop into Starbound and find an enemy with charge. Ok, what's charge? I dunno, until this enemy surges right at me. Wow! What a thrill! I beat down the enemy and move on. Next planet I visit, I find an enemy with charge. It has a different skin and a bit more health, but I know exactly what it will do, so I just shoot it whilst backing up. Next planet, more enemies: Different skin, higher health, same ability. These enemies bore me, they require no different stratergy to combat them. They may look different and have more health, but they are the same enemy.

This is Pseudoism at its finest. You find something that looks new, but take away the new skin and what real difference is there? Starbound even tells you what ability enemies have, so there is no suspence approaching them. Even if there was suspence, it would be lost the moment that enemy revealed its ability and you realise you have dealt with it before. Yes, I am curious, even interested when I find an enemy with an ability I have not yet encountered, but typically enemies all die the same way: With a bullet through the brain or a sword through the gut. Either tactic is valid for all creatures, some just go down easier to option A than option B.

No longer do we have games where enemies actually require a variety of tactics. There are no more grunts and hunters, where they both need a very different approach. There is: Try method A > Did it work? If no, try method B. We are regressing to the days of old. I remember when my brother got an sega emulator and started to play sonic. He got to Robotnik and said: "Luke! How do I beat this guy?" And my response was: "It's a sonic game, just jump on his head." We have gone back to the days of head jumping, where we have one universal tactic to beat all enemies. The enemies look different and sometimes do different stuff, but the tactical approach needed is the same: Non-existant.

Finally I come to pseudo importance. How many people here like Skyrim? I personally love it. Why? Because of the stuff on the side. "So Luke, you like the side quests?" No! I hate the side quests. So what do I mean by side stuff? I mean the adventure I make. Now a game needs a story, no doubt, and I personally enjoy the one Skyrim has, even some of the side missions are fun. But retrieval and delivery quests? Snore! A game can have side quests without having what I call a one shot mission.

A good example of a side quest is the guilds in Skyrim. I don't need to join the dark brotherhood, but there is a wealth of new things for me to do if I do. Finding 30 crimson nirnroot for someone? This is boring, but it makes you feel important because you are doing something for someone. I personally don't want to go and walk through a cave because their is a quest item at the end. I want to explore a cave because I am curious as to what is inside! I don't need to feel important to have fun, I can make my own adventure, and I love doing so.

Again, this is not to say a game should go without story. Exploration can only carry a game so far, it needs a purpose, but not every little thing in the game needs to have one. I don't need a reason to explore this 'abandoned' castle, and it is more fun not knowing what awaits me inside. Being told: "You have to go to this castle because some bandits inside took my heirloom" removes the mystery for me, but a lot of people like it because it makes you feel like you are doing something that actually counts for shit. This persons life is now slightly better off thanks to you, good job hero!

But I get my sense of importance from the main story, and the side stories like the dark brotherhood and other guilds. Don't force quests on me to force me to explore, I will explore your game in my own time, at my own enjoyment. If I am sick of playing hero for a day, I want to wander off and explore on my own, not explore because I have that one side quest, then I am still playing hero which I have no care to do. Of course, I could just not do these quests, but then the opposite of pseudo importance comes up: pseudo guilt. This person is relying on me and I am doing Jack to help them.

These side quests suddenly becomes chores. Chores with rewards. Paid to do chores? Isn't that... Suddenly my video game has become something it never should: A job. I am doing these chores because I need money for my armour and alchemical ingredients, when in reality I should be diving into unexplored caves with a hope that at the end there is a chest full of loot. There just isn't cause to explore any more, I aren't exploring as much as I am going where I have been told to go.

Well, that is my rant over, and the sad thing is that I know I will get a lot of hate for it. Let me make something clear: Do I think Halo is bad for having pseudo difficulty? No, I love the Halo series. Do I hate Starbound for having pseudo variety? No, personally the game doesn't hold my interest for long, but I don't hate it for that, I simply don't enjoy it. Do I hate Skyrim for pseudo importance? Most certainly not, I can sing the entire Skyrim theme in Dovah. I do not hate these games.

What I hate is the mechanics games repeatedly feel they have to encorporate in order to be good. Bars are set, and straying from them is scary, but that is how innovation happens. What I am stating are facts. These are things games do. Why? Because it works. I do feel like Halo is harder on different difficulties, I do feel important doing quests for people. The thing is that under the skin and flesh of these games, the bare bones are the bare minimum to hold the game up, but at the same time, I am not being allowed to look away from these bare bones. The game isn't allowing me to try my own path any more. I feel like I am being nannied.

Now people will hate me, people will argue. Many people will present their opinion to try and rebute facts. I am not saying do not play or enjoy these games, we all enjoy what we enjoy and it's nice to know we all have something. But do not try and pass onto me that games do not do these things, because they do. The fact that they do is just that, a fact.

Here is an opinion, I do not think they should. I think game designers should start to have more of an open mind to let gamers try their own way. We are not children, and we do not need our hands held. Let me walk away from the protective grasp of the games hand and touch the stove. Yes I will burn my hand, but I will learn, and I will have fun doing it, because now I know that my tactic was wrong, and I learnt that, I was not told it or forced into it; it was mine! And for better outcome or for worse, I enjoy that more than I enjoy someone telling me everything. Discovery is awe inspiring, that is why as kids we like to run to new places, but generally hate being sat in a classroom and told stuff.

The above paragraph is all opinion, you may disagree with it. It is not wrong, it is not right, it cannot be proven or disproved. It is my enterpretation, it is what I want. Feel free to express your own opinion, because opinion can counter opinion. Opinion cannot counter facts, so please do not come to me telling me games do not suffer from pseudoism, it is a fact they do, and just because you don't like it doesn't make it any less true. I don't like bananas, saying they taste horrible is my opinion, saying they taste nice is a counter opinion. Saying they taste like bananas is a fact, and neither opinion can or will change that.

If you want to yell at me, to say I am wrong, by all means, take my opinion and beat it with your own, you have that right, and you will not change mine no matter how hard you hit it. Do not try to beat facts with your opinion, as so many have in the past when I present them in a manner like this, you just end up looking foolish. Ignore facts if you like, you have that right, but do not try to deny them. If you like a game in spite of pseudoism, or even enjoy the pseudo aspects, then by all means enjoy away, I honestly hope you have fun doing so.

Ok, rant over, kudos to all of you who read this far, it went on a lot longer than I meant for it to. Let me know what you all think in the comments below, your opinion is as valuable as my own after all. And to all my readers, I wish you all the best until next we speak.

-Luke8t88

Hello loyal watchers,

Some of you may be wondering where this weeks story is, after all I did say there would be one on Monday, and yet now it's Thursday and there is still no story. Well the reason behind that is that last Friday, I got a call from my grandmother, who I only recognised because of the caller ID, saying in a very raspy voice that she wasn't feeling well and had pains across her chest. Of course I dashed over and immediatelly called her an ambulance, fearing she was having a heart attack. It turned out to be something called an Angina attack, which for those of you who don't know, is basically a heart attack's little brother. It's not as serious as a heart attack, but it it still pretty bad, and it very much replicates the symptoms of a heart attack.

Now my grandmother cares for her sister, my grand auntie, who suffers from Dementia, so all day Friday I stayed at her house to take care of my auntie in her absence. Fortunately my grandmother was sent home the same day, and by now she has really picked up, but I have spent the majority of the week looking after her and my auntie. I have had free time, and I have been working on the story (almost have it finished) but understandably this whole ordeal put a dampener on my mood to write.

So writing will resume next week, sorry for the delay in both the story, and letting you all know about it (been a bit rushed off my feet between this and getting my parent's house ready for their return from holiday tomorrow). Thank you for all being patient.

Regards,
Luke8t88

Following the recent poll of what you guys would like to see, the majority of votes across all places I upload this has been for the UG to simply be a story of the contestants vs the elites. So that will be the majority focus of my writing from now on. That said, I myself much prefer writing story over combat, so those that voted for the other things, fear not, there will be uploads of them too.

My usual Monday upload will, from now on, always be contestants vs elites. These will stick to the usual weekly upload, and more greatly detail the fights and the humiliating defeats. My own enjoyment (the story side of things) will still be uploaded, but there will be no set schedule. They could be weekly, could be monthly, I may upload three one week and then not upload any for months to come (though I hope my brain will be more consistant than that.)

As a thank you to those who voted on this, if you voted and are reading this, I am offering you a character slot in the new, more combat orientated TUGS. This slot will only be good for one chapter, your character will appear in the first (or second if I get a lot of responses to this) chapter. If you're interested in redeeming this, just send me a note explaining such and I'll note you back to iron out the details. Please note that as TUGS is extremely biased, anyone claiming this reward will be seeing their character lose.

Thank you to all who voted, and everyone that has stuck by me this long.
-Luke8t88

So recently I have just found myself very unmotivated to do much of anything. Writing, hanging out with friends, even getting up in a morning, and normally I am out of bed the second my alarm goes off. Can't say what has me in such a rut, but I am trying to get out of it.

Going to try and get back into my writing, and I wanted some feedback before I start. Now I have asked for feedback before and found people reluctant to give it, so going to approach it from a different angle. Below are a list of opinions, I'd appreciate it if any fans of the UG would take a minute out of their time to read the opinions and just reply with the number(s) that most relates to their own.

1) "I enjoy the story of the UG, but would like to see some more of it's origins. You should do a story line detailing the UG from the day it was created."
2) "I like the current story with Erret. Nothing wrong with what you're doing now, don't change what isn't broken."
3) "I would like to see more interaction between contestants and the elites. The focus of the UG should be more on the assertion of elite power."
4) "I would be interested in seeing more of the dark sector's relations with the UG. More DS attacks and elites vs vindicator fights!"
5) "I'd like to see a healthy balance of all of the above, with flashbacks to show the origins of the show, but with a balance of Erret, UG, DS, and contestants.
6) "Your writing sucks and you should stick to your day job. I only read it to laugh at how pathetic you are."

Thank you for any feedback
-Luke8t88

I will be taking a break from writing for some time. Can't say how long, possibly indefinately. My urge to write recently just hasn't been here, which has only been helped by a few 'fans' of my writing. People that are quick to send me a hate letter when a story is delayed (rather lengthy ones in some case), but then won't take 2 minutes out of their day to give me any feedback when I ask for it. I apologise to those of you who aren't like this, but am sure you can sympathise with why this behaviour would somewhat kill my mood to write.

Maybe I'll come back to write here, possibly soon, possibly never, I really can't say. And to those of you that will write me hate mail about this, please make your hate mail legible, it's more of an amusing read when I aren't trying to translate it to proper English.

Again, sorry to those of you that just enjoyed my stories, I hope for your guys sakes that my mood to write does one day return, but right now anything I produce is just garbage when I read it back. The next chapter I was working on has about 8 drafts, none of which I am happy with.

All the best,
-Luke8t88

Just a quick question to find out what people that read the stories I write like about them. To any loyal fans out there, I request you speak up and let me know what it is about the UG story that you enjoy. Is it the kinks? The story? Characters? I never tend to get much feedback on my stories and I would like to know where I can improve.

Any fans of TUGS will have probably realised that this week there hasn't been a story. The reason for this is that I recently purchased a new computer, and most of my time was dedicated into getting it set up and moving all my important files from my old laptop.

Whilst I actually had this weeks story finished by last Friday (three days ahead of schedule) I have been that busy familiarising myself with windows 8, and working out all the bugs from my new computer (which came with some software that clashed with a lot of my own programs) that I just haven't had chance to upload it.

Now that I finally have some free time, I find that it's already Friday, and I am yet to really start the chapter after next. I could upload this weeks today, but then I'll only be rushing myself to get next weeks chapter done, and between working the weekend and doing chores around the house, I doubt I'd find the time to write anything half decent. Not to mentione I'm typing on a new keyboard, and my fingers need a little breaking in with it.

So this weeks chapter will just be posted this coming monday, giving me a chance to get all my stuff done without rushing myself to produce a new chapter. Sorry to anyone that is a fan of my writing.

So a couple of weeks ago I promised a reboot to the story of The Underground Game Show. It's still on it's way, but due to recent real life problems, my focus has been pulled elsewhere. I'd like to say I will upload it this week, but I honestly can't say for sure that I will. Grandmother is having heart surgery so I have been busy helping her, and looking after my great-auntie who she normally cares for.

So the next installment of the U.G (first of the new reboot) will be uploaded a week today, and to apologise for the delay, I am giving away a 3 chapter cameo slot. This cameo slot will entitle a person to have any of their characters (so long as it meets my criteria) appear in three chapters of the story as a temporary character.

Interested in winning the prize? All you have to do is reply to this journal saying what you like most about the U.G, or what you would most like to see in the new reboot. On monday (a week today), I'll pick someone from the list to have the cameo, and their character will appear in chapters 2, 3, and 4 of the U.G reboot.

So uploading the first few chapters of the U.G has shown me a few things about what my audience want to see. And sad to say, what I am currently delivering does not emphasise what the majority of my readers seem to be interested in. So the U.G story is going to be undergoing a reboot to help sway things more for your guys enjoyment.

From now on, I will only be updating once a week on Monday, but each chapter will now be much longer each week, so you're still getting the amount of content you may have come to expect. The story will also now focus more on the U.G, and less on the D.S. This means more focus on contestants getting humiliated, though the inner workings of the show will still be detailed, just with much, much less emphasis.

Also stepping up my game when it comes to detail, structure, and other such writing mechanics. Now that I feel I have a better idea of what my writers want, I can focus it more appropriately, and my writing will be less all over the place.

Though the story will have the same characters, the new story will be completely seperate from the previous chapters I uploaded. The U.G is getting a new acronym: TUGS (The underground Game Show), as well as a new logo so that the seperate stories can be easilly identified.

Thank you to all those who read my stories, and I hope you like the new layout.

Any artwork I have done is going to be placed in my scraps for quick and easy reference, without flooding my gallery. All credit will be given to the relevant artists.

After assessing the popularity of certain chapters of the U.G, I have decided to revamp the way the U.G is written.

Starting next week, both Monday and Thursday will be garaunteed upload days (up to now, Thursday was an optional day for me). However, the story will be split into two branches. Those interested in the story between the D.S and the U.G will want to check out the monday updates, which will follow the story of Erret, Pyro, and the elites in general. Those more interested in seeing a contestant suffer will want to follow the Thursday updates, which will be more centered around Ark, and the games of the U.G.

Thank you to all out there who are watching me, and following the story of the U.G. If you guys would like to see anything special, do not be afraid to make your voice heard, I am also eager to hear suggestions.

I have been thinking lately, and want to try and connect more with the people that read the U.G. As such, I was thinking of starting up some sort of questions and answers event, where people can come and ask me questions about the U.G, or share their general feelings on how the story is going, and what they would like to see.

Thing is, I aren't sure how many people would be interested, and if it would be worth my time setting it all up. So I want to ask everyone that reads this, would you attend such a session? If I get enough interest I will look into setting it up, so please let me know if this would at all interest you.

As a side note, my 'helping a friend' journal is still very much relevant, so if you're interested in getting a story from me, or getting your character to make an appearance in the U.G, feel free to check that out.

Recently one of my favourite hobbies (which required other people to be fun) has fallen through on me. People have either lost interest in doing it with me, or just aren't putting in enough effort that I consider it to be worth my time any more. So I now have a lot more spare time on my hands, and find myself filling that spare time with writing.

As such, I actually have the next three chapters of the U.G written out. However, rather than just upload them now, then risk a dry spell when something else demands my time, I am going to go to a scheduled weekly update.

From now on, the U.G story will be updated every Monday. I may up this update to two chapters a week (in which case the second day will be Thursday) if I find myself writing too far ahead, but for now, Monday is my only promise.

Thank you to all who are watching me and enjoying the U.G story, sorry I have been so inconsistent of late, and thank you for sticking by me.

As a side note, my 'helping a friend' journal is still very much relevant, so if you're interested in getting a story from me, or getting your character to make an appearance in the U.G, feel free to check that out.

So a friend of mine recently revealed that he and his wife had never had a honeymoon due to the economic climate, and I am eager to help him out.

As such, I am now opening for commissions. I will charge $10 for a 3-4 page short story, any content at all. I will write adult, mature, safe, any fetish, you name it. All money made this way will go towards a fund I am putting in place for this friend to help him and his wife get their dream honeymoon. They work hard and are some of the nicest people I know, they deserve to enjoy themselves.

Anyone who just wants to donate without recieving a story will be gratefully recieved too, and for every dollar I make (Through donations or commissions) I will myself match it in the fund.

My only rule on commissions is that you have permission for characters you wish to include in the commission, so no using another person's character against their wishes. On that note, all characters from my own story, the U.G, will be fair game to use.

Anyone that donates more than $15 will also get a character appearance in the U.G stories, with the amount donated determining how much of an appearance their character gets. Anyone donating $50+ will get a permanent place in the U.G story as either a contestant or stage hand (their choice).

Money to be sent to the paypal account: Luke8t88@hotmail.com. And any commission/reward info (such as the character you want to see in the U.G if you donate eligably) to be noted to me here on FA. Please send all payments over paypal as 'sending money to a friend' (Not paying for goods/services as this takes a cut of the money you send).

Thank you to all those who took the time to read this, and keep an eye out for the next episode of the U.G, which I am about to start writing now.

Regards,
Luke8t88

To all fans, well wishers, and people generally interested in my writing. Some (probably most) of you know me from my old DA. Back then I had more time and used to spit out stories on a weekly basis. These days I am trying to limit myself to one a month so that I have time for other stuff in my life.

Of course it's not fair to give you all less than you're used to, so whilst my stories will be taking longer to produce, I'm going to be giving each chapter much more time and detail. I can write substantially better than I do in these chapters when I want too, and I am going to try and give you all my best.

However, there is no point in me pouring my best work into things no one wants to see, so I'm going to leave it up to all of you where the story heads next. Do you want more background story about the U.G? Do you want to see Shaun suffer some more? And if so, how do you want him to suffer.

Drop me a note, reply to this journal, do whatever you like to inform me, but let me know. This isn't going to be a majority takes all vote, I will try to give a bit of everything I am requested, but with more emphasis on the more requested items.

For those that don't know me too well, I'll write anything. If you get off to the most weird and depraved stuff out there, good for you, I'll write it if demand is for it. Words on paper are just that to me, words on paper. I enjoy writing, I care not the content, so request whatever you want.

On a side note, anyone that wants a custom story, I am open for commission. I doubt I'll get too many requests so I aren't going to bother with a price list or anything unless I am proven wrong and requested frequently. Just note me if you want a commission.