#pizzahead right hand man

[merwynsartblog]

margarita ex doodle

i love him and hate him at the same time i hate him bc he was a jackass partner and very manipulative and shit but i love him bc very gay energy for pizzahead

[moorhsnoom]

This is weird...

[bob-mirum]

Okay, it was difficult, but I finally came up with and drew designs for the characters according to my Mafia AU :D

I promised to tell you about them, but it will be quite brief (because I don't know how to tell beautifully)

All these characters can be divided into three groups, two of which are two mafia gangs, and the third is ordinary citizens who stand for the law. Bosses from the original game will be humanizations 👀

You have already seen Peppino and Gustavo (btw I made a small redesign for Peppino, he will have metal claws instead of a pizza cutter).

Gustavo here plays the role of the one who created the usual gangster group together with Peppino, which later acquired some rules and became the mafia. Since Peppino's small restaurant some people already knew – they managed to promote their business to a large scale on the name of Peppino by building several pizzerias all over the city, from which they receive money (not only at the expense of visitors, but also at the expense of some illegal "things").

Gustavo is the head of the whole group, a calculating and intelligent man who does most of the business. In appearance, we can say that he is an ordinary kind man, but I don't advise you to peck at his kind appearance. Peppino is his right–hand man. Despite their friendship in the past, they now have a slightly strained relationship due to aggressiveness and Peppino's anger problems.

Now them

Pizzahead, one might say, is also an organizer of his own group, but here his job is to promote his casino, from which he receives money (obviously not in the most honest way). Once upon a time, his father (Pizzaface) was the head of a mafia gang, but Gustavo and Peppino managed to destroy them. He always wears a pizza mask and plays the image of a friendly cheerful guy, and rarely shows his real appearance. He hopes to crush Peppino and Gustavo's business with his competition, since he has his own personal scores with them.

Noise and Pepperman are his assistants. Noise is the one who promoted the casino with the help of advertising and attracted visitors to it, and also works there himself. Insanely gambling guy, incredibly greedy for money. Pepperman is one of Pizzahead's bodyguards, the closest to him. He's a bit of a gambler, still loves to draw, gets a lot of money with his paintings, doesn't draw infrequently.

And them

Noisette here is Noise's ex-girlfriend, who left him because of his excessive gambling. As in the original game, she owns her own small cafeteria, but, unfortunately, she has a similar fate as the original Peppino – a rather small attendance.

Vigilante is a local policeman who was initially on his own side. He and Noisette have been good friends since their youth, Vigilante is also the main visitor of Noisette cafe. He was the one who helped Noisette recover after the breakup, and has some romantic feelings for her.

Mr.Stick is a detective and Vigilante's assistant. He was also initially on his own side. The three watch both mafia gang together, Noisette and Stick help Vigilante gather some evidence against their criminal activities.

*spreads tiredly on the floor* I'm not sure if this all sounds good enough, I spent a lot of time to more or less correctly come up with everything, but I hope it was not all in vain x")

[manicplank]

headcanon on seeing cute stuff idk what else to ask for but I needed to ask somethign

Purposely doing this one after an angsty post.

How do the act when they see something cute?

Peppino: Smiles brightly! He's suddenly filled with great joy and forgets all of his problems! He even baby talks to it with a high pitched voice.

Gustavo: Probably puts his hands to his cheeks and does the pogchamp face. He's so struck! He points and smiles, just look at it! Can he hold it? He wants to hold it!

Mr. Stick: This thin man suddenly turns into a little school girl. He puts his hands to his cheeks and goes, "Eeeee!!" How cute! He wants to poke it, but only if he's allowed to.

Pepperman: Oh... My... GOD... He MUST draw this thing IMMEDIATELY. Can he hold it? He promises he won't crush it. Can he just borrow it for a bit? He needs it as reference so he can draw it as accurate as possible.

The Vigilante: "Well, I'll be damned! Look at that thing! Innit just the cutest?!" This old man is filled with glee. His smile is so long that it could be used as a bridge over an ocean. He looks at it with pride as if it's his own.

The Noise: "I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT!!" He wants to hold it and pet it. He will tippy tap with his feet and hold his hands out. Maybe don't let him take it, cause he'll start running away with it. (He did this with an opossum once.)

Noisette: She squees and squeals with uncontrollable excitement. She will hop up and down. She wants to hold it and squeeze it and nuzzle it with her face. She wants to boop its little nose. Can she keep it? Please please please please please please PLEEEAAAAAASE????

Fake Peppino: Screams! Hops around. He doesn't know what this feeling is! He's excited! He wants to bite it, he wants to hug it, he wants to squish it! He wants to eat it! Can he? No? Okay, he will just sit and look at it with a giant smile on his face. (Just keep an eye on him.)

Pizzaface: Aw, look at the little thing. He'll hover over it and just observe it. What's it doing? Walking? Oh my god, that's so cute. What's it up to now? Drinking water? With that tiny little mouth? That's crazy.

Pizzahead: Holy wowza! That thing is flippin' cute! He pets it immediately. He might pluck a hair so he can try and make a clone of it. He wants one for himself! He wants to snuggle it and tuck it into bed. He wants to read it a bedtime story. Golly... It's so nice to see something so cute in such a wretched tower.

Pillar John: "AAAAAAAH!" John! You're scaring it! He wants to cuddle it, but he's afraid he might crush it. So he'll kneel down and pet it. He thinks it's the best! Can he like, have visitation rights or something? He'd ask to keep it, but he doesn't think he has the responsibility. And, ya know, he doesn't want to crush it.

Gerome: Oh... Well, look at that. What a nice creature, he thinks. It's relieving to see something so cute in the ugly tower. He'll give it a pat on the head. And what... Is that a SMILE?? ON GEROME'S FACE??? He'll try to show it to John. He thinks John would love it.

[unexpectedbrickattack]

Okay so i know this is your askbox and everything but I want to say that i feel like the bosses would start to hate pizzahead after peppino tells them what he was planning on doing, because as far as I know they were simply hired to guard the keys and look out for peppino.

I have some very minor tweaks to this but for the most part i agree!

put under a readmore bc i dont wanna clog up any potentially Non-Exploded pt tags lmao

-Pepperman, the eccentric man that he is gets shown 1 (one) image of a fucked up drawing of peppino and hes like ‘yes yes fat little human man, got it.’ And continues sculpting as if he hadnt heard pizzahead at all. Hes the MOST startled when peppino enters his arena bc he literally forgot he had to fight him 😭 hes like WHO is this little sweaty human in my fucking ART STUDIO????!! and then immediately gets stomped.

He is definitely indifferent to pizzahead; he didnt really care about this weird man and even postgame hes like well. This sly dog led me straight to my muse so I cannot be too angry with him 🤔

-Vigilante is like ‘hmm. Never seen this man round these parts; whatd he do?’ And pizzahead is like if you need a reason; its no longer just a simple request; its a bounty. And Vigilante it like ‘well... A bountys a bounty; if he wanders into my town he aint comin back out’ and pizzahead is like great! Fantastic! Im holding you up to that 🧡

Vigilante is probably the one most angry about pizzahead. Hes not exactly lawful good but he does Not like being used as Hired Muscle. He hunts down Bad People; not a human some weirdo has a personal vendetta against. He doesnt know exactly WHAT that vendetta is but its not worth his time and its not worth getting his cheesy ass handed to by Peppino again 😭

-The Noise craves violence and destruction. Hes a little menace! He also likes money. LOTS of money. And lucky for him, Pizzahead had seemingly Infinite Funds. Funds that he used to hire the Noise; to utilize this brats WEALTH of questionable tools and contraptions in case Peppino climbed his way through the tower. The noise was like ‘ur hosting this shitshow on TV? give me a 40/60 split from whatever ur filming and you have a deal’ and he does NOT find it troubling at all that Pizzahead is so eager to accept this.

He never figures out that the recorded content was never actually hosted anywhere. He eventually tries searching it up, asking his agents to look up anything recent with his face in it but they all come up emptyhanded. When asked about a name or title or scheduled tv slot and publishing, hes a bit sheepish to admit he never asked. Thats not his job! Thats his agents job! Hes so weirded out though; Pizzahead gave him a Ton of money. Obviously not alot by the Noise’s standards but more than what most people could even remotely afford. Weird. Well he got money and Peppino doesnt try to kill him unless he ignores the restraining order placed on him so its okay ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-Fake peppino cant really comprehend hate. But he does comprehend…distrust. A man comes up to him, gives him a picture of some human, asks him to make sure this human does NOT make it to the top of the tower- ‘nononono. Listen to me. He does NOT make it past you. Do you understand that? I am serious. If you see this man come by your sorry excuse for a shop, kill him. Maim him. Eat him; i dont care WHAT you do as long as he does Not get this fucking key.’

And Fake Peppino just nods. But hes so wary despite his dopey expression. Hes got little goosebumps prickling along the back of his neck as the man hands him the key and a picture of the human. A human that looks like him. JUST like him. In the back alley of his poorly lit pizzeria. Just like him…Hes a bit taller than the man in the picture but…just like him… just like him just like himjustlikehimjustlikehim- ‘Yeah, yeah, just like you, but listen- listen; hes messin' with My business and you gotta understand that, right? You have a business too! Whatever this…*gestures weakly* is. You would be. Sad. If someone destroyed your business. Right?’

A slow nod.

‘Exactly! See? Right on the same page! Thats why im countin on you!’

When Fake Peppino gets to see that Human Peppino has his own Pizzeria; a pizzeria that almost got destroyed (a BUSINESS just like his...) everything seems to click into place at once. Hed probably maul Pizzahead like a chimpanzee 😭 WHAMWHAMWHAM BASH THAT DOUGHY FACE IN !!!!!!! Peppino doesnt need the manpower, but its Nice to have the equivalent of a bulldog guarding his shop

[victoria-weee]

So I am finally finished with the concepts-

Welcome to Technology Tower!

Peppino Spaghetti: was an owner of the pizzeria, unfortunately after a war he went bankrupt and became an engineer instead (has his own workshop, he still tries to make business)

Mr. Stick: Peppino’s “fellow”, was working for him as an assistant. Soon he became a successful businessman. Has his own building company in which Peppino is working now.

Fake Peppino: is fake Peppino, but is literally pure evil and has no mercy. People call him a real monster. He is blind, but can hear in 75 km radius with high volume.

Pepperman: is a famous YouTuber. He is quite a bastard, but he really likes helping people. Mr Beast 2, I guess.

Noisette: 17 years old game designer and artist on Tumblr.

Noise the Hacker: he is a hacker. Noise can hack any system and security. He is also a game designer, the boy can create games and teleport himself INTO the game. Also 17 years old.

Vigilante: Guard of the Pizza Tower. Fond of cowboy things

Pizzabrow: Pizzahead’s brother and right hand man. He helps him with different experiments and inventions, but Pizzabrow is definitely against Pizzahead’s intentions

Pizzahead: is just Pizzahead, but uses his technological costume in phase 4 in the battle with Peppino.

Bombface: controlled by Pizzabrow. In “It’s Bombastic Time!” he chases Peppino, but as soon as he enters lap 3, a countdown will begin. When the countdown ends, Bombface blows up and kills Peppino.

Hope you like it! Requests are open!

[hiptobeitalian]

As he was literally at the edge of his seat as he watched the action on his television, something drew his attention on his pizzeria's wall.

A childish looking rectangle? Wait, was that a door?

His pupils shifted from the desperate action to this new concern right next to him, his stool slowly teetering with each rapid movement of his head.

Back. Forth. Back. Forth. Sweat built upon his already sweaty bulky frame.

Finally, something steps out from the door...

❛ PIZZAH-- ❜

Peppino's seat finally gave way and he flopped onto the floor face first. Luckily he was able to recover just as quickly. However, his face was a certain hue of crimson as his hands grasped his counter with such a force to crack it between his fingers.

❛ PIZZAHEAD. ❜

He spat out again, his arms raised and jittering as he felt himself reach his last nerve already. The Italian's digits curled and flexed at the though. HE WAS GONNA GET THAT GUY. HE WAS GONNA--

Before he could do what he wanted, he paused as the pizza FREAK's words finally reached his ears. Brows raised, teeth become unbared, skin returning to its usual color, hands lowering. He...wanted to help his other self? How weird was that? Even after he got his butt handed to him in the tower?

The other vanished to fetch more people, he guesses, before he could even sputter a response. Peppino's head swiveled around to spot him but no sign. Man, he hated Pizzahead so much. Ok, his focus was back on the door the guy came in through. Sure, he already stated he was relieved he wasn't involved in this bullshit but, hey, he hasn't had a good fight in a long while. Plus business sorta died for the day (like usual) so might as well do something fun, eh?

He flipped the sign to "closed" on his door and slipped on his purple p-ranking clothes because...

...it's time to p-rank this.

One shoulder barge through a crayon door later, he's in the middle of it and ready to deliver some red hot Italian hands at whatever freak asked for them.

It's cartoon violence time!

[pizzatrocious]

Finally, he had everything he needed. Names, locations, and a pocket full of surprise tools to help him later. All that was left now... more crayons! While not magical in their own right, he needed something, anything, to draw doors with, and what was more appropriate than the very same crayons his child-friendly restaurants handed out? Better grab some spares though, there's nothin' worse than trying to draw with a broken crayon!

Pulling open a nearby drawer, he was pleased to see several small boxes of the simple four-color selections sitting atop a series of coloring books and activity pages. Some of those pages and books were so old that they'd likely make a collector drool, funny how that works!

Quick to pocket the little wax wonders, he stared down at the activity page that sat underneath the boxes of crayons. The simple maze that was made to be solvable by the average young child, the black-and-white art of Pizza Boy, the peaceful little cottage at the other end of the maze, and the words that sat at the top of the page...

'Pizza Boy is lost! Can you help Pizza Boy find his way back home?'

. . . Could he?

He silently stared at the page. Silently stared through it, the corners of his mouth drooping ever-so-slightly as that lovely little pizza-shaped boy stared back at him with an infectiously-radiant optimism. Each passing second, he expected that optimism to turn to judgement and resentment, yet that smile remained as bright as ever. The complacency and dopamine addiction that stared back at him in the mirror nowadays, where did it come from? What happened to erode that bright spirit?

Perhaps it was the endless cutthroat pursuit of growth. Perhaps the desire to spite all who stood in his way. Perhaps the countless passing years watering the apathy that the cruelty of others planted within him. Pizza was his passion, pizza was his mission! A wondrous meal easily modified to suit all diets and walks of life, something that humanity could always rely on! From the rich to the poor, from the young to the old, it was a thing of wonder that most of the world could agree on!

Now, it was... Cold machinery. A company. An industry. Something to constantly advertise, capitalize, and monopolize. Culinary experiments not done out of a passion to revolutionize, but to simply catch the eyes of paying consumers. Declining quality that leaked from the cracks so slowly that the consumers boiled in it like a frog unaware of the rising temperature. A soulless machine that chewed up and spit out miserable teens and young adults that'd given up on all ambition in life. Constant board meetings with tone-deaf old men that see pizza as nothing but cheap slop to throw into the trough.

He thought back to the earlier moments of that wretched TV show. The genuine heart behind Peppino's passion for cooking that stood resolute even in the face of death. The way that even on the brink of madness, it pulled him back and comforted him like a warm blanket.

"I usually ate whatever-a was given to me without fuss. I began to appreciate how many different ways you could prepare the same dish, though." "I liked cooking for myself. It passed the time, and as I said, you immediately gain something from it. Even when I burned something, I just..." "...Moved on and tried to do better."

It was that very unbreakable spirit that constantly dragged Pizzahead back to the Italian. One might see that sweaty little man, see the anxiety and fear in his eyes, hear the hollow apathy in his voice, and, well... not associate that with an unbreakable spirit. Yet, what drove Peppino to defend his pizzeria with the fervor of a mother grizzly? Potentially losing one's livelihood would cause anyone to fight like a cornered animal, but Peppino... the man fought an entire ARMY'S-WORTH of foes, tore through the Tower like a hot knife through butter, and fought tooth and nail with an immortal foe, beating Pizzahead into submission!

Perhaps in his own weird way, Pizzahead was deeply envious of that spirit.

The Tower, the experiments, the antagonizing of all those who he saw as a threat to his brand... when was the last time he'd actually made a pizza with his own two hands? Had it been months? Years? Decades? What was that feeling like anymore, to create for the sake of giving someone a full belly and a happy smile? To play with the amounts and types of each ingredient like paint on a canvas? Had it truly all atrophied into this soulless husk that haunted him in every quiet moment?

. . .

He gently lifted the page that stared back at him, folding it a few times. He tucked it into the conveniently-placed pocket on his shirt (Which was always there, you just can't see it. Trust me.), silently musing on how one simple sheet of paper could feel so heavy.

Perhaps a sabbatical was in order. But for now... he still had work to do.

[neoyi]

Sooooooo, obvious Pizza Tower spoilers for the final boss and stuff.

I finished Pizza Tower the other day. The game was already plenty good using anxiety and anger as a vehicle for Peppino's motivation and the situation he's been placed in. It's not just his animation, where left idle, he will nervously gesture (teeth-clattering, biting his hand, etc.); it's also the music which draws the line between smooth techno backdrops to FRANTIC FRANTIC FRANTIC, the fact that everything is literally out to get him, and the brilliant escape sequences per level that forces Peppino to haul ass or he'll DIE.

Normally, I can't stand games where you're forced to escape with a timer, but Pizza Tower feels so appropriate because it's suppose to be anxious and heart-pounding. It also helps that the game has such tight, well-defined controls. Peppino is fast, so you get a sense of speed that helps defy the clock when you're on the move, but he can also stop on a dime, so you never feel hindered from what could be a costly mistake if Peppino was a bit more loose. Not to mention the timer is often generous. Once I got a groove on the game's control schemes, the time you had to get the heck out felt marginal enough while juuuuuust a tad left over that it still left you feeling wrecked, but never frustrating.

All of this is a great, great tool to teach you for the upcoming final boss and oh my god, OH MY GOD, so rarely do I feel anything could get me pumped up as Pizza Tower does with Pizzaface.

The whole ass fight is a great demonstration of what happens when you push a man to his limits. We've seen Peppino mad, but never has he been filled with SO MUCH WRATH until now. By the time Pizzaface (quickly revealed to be Pizzahead) started bringing in the other bosses for a rush, it felt so justified when Peppino started SCREAMING with rage. He's had it, this is the fucking straw. This motherfucker and his minions had fucked with him for the

LAST. GODDAMN. TIME.

I tend to dread boss rushes (it depends), but Pizza Tower knows it. It knows because Peppino was also dreading it. No, none of this bullshit. No more. He's DONE. Other than each of the main four being truncated to a manageable level, Peppino straight up BEATS THE CRAP OUT OF THEM when he physically contacts them. FUCK THIS SHIT, FUCK EVERYTHING, he's probably thinking.

Then he proceeds to CREAM the fuck out of Pizzahead.

Pizzahead, who had the audacity to mess with his restaurant; Pizzahead, who sent wave after wave of enemies to stop this pissed off Italian; Pizzahead, who dares to put on a smile and pull off silly little pranks and other misfits during the boss fight because he's NOT taking Peppino seriously, a mistake he's paid for with several broken (cheese???) bones.

And a lot of this wouldn't have worked if the music didn't go hard. But they went hard. I'm gonna upload a Youtube link where someone compiled all three songs into one, because it just feels like the kind you have to listen to back-to-back.

This is like right up there with Final Fantasy VI's final bosses, where it had four major phases, each with their own songs, but you had to listen to all sixteen minutes of it because it just wouldn't feel right otherwise.

"Unexpectancy" is in the same boat.

The guitar riff, the rise in tension, the goddamn sampling of an old 1920s public domain song, "After You Get What You Want, You Don't Want It" by Van & Schenck (which seem appropriate given the lyrics talk about someone who can never be satisfied even after getting everything they want) - the whole ass thing is so. Damn. EPIC. And after the final fight, you have to get the hell out of the tower before it crumbles. Not just one level's worth, but the WHOLE ASS tower. Everything you've learned and hopefully mastered by this point will be tested as Peppino dashes like Sonic on drugs.

And it's so cool because you can pick up both your friends and the bosses (who, I guess, learned their lesson or something) to get the hell out (I guess the pig citizens are dead now cuz' they don't count.)

Like by the time you're outta there, you feel an IMMENSE sense of relief and satisfaction. Peppino won. YOU won. He can rest now and save his restaurant from debt (and maybe take his amlodipine while he's at it.)

Maybe because I'm so prone to anxiety myself, Pizza Tower - this silly little game - somehow ended up being not only relatable, but absolutely CATHARTIC.

It left me feeling so good by the time I finished. That a man like Peppino, where everything feels like it's out to get him (which, fair, they are), still decided that he's not going to put up with this bullshit, so he goes out and FIGHTS.

I don't think I have the strength to get all P-ranks in this game, but I'm so glad I played Pizza Tower. It was an incredibly fun, satisfying, validating experience.

[strawberryamanita]

loved it when peppino said "trans a rights are human a rights!" and then he sank pizzahead into the ground with a cartoonishly huge hand

PERIODTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Peppino Spaghetti has anxious trans man energy and i fucking love it

[gl1tchy-4rt]

Chilean Towa

Batch 3 baby!

yippie! :)

Lucho Trucho = Fake Peppino

Lucho is the owner a Quiosco (Chilean minimarket) he sells Anticuchos (Meat Keebabs) and Sopaipillas (Fried dough) to the college students that study... Wait a sec... i don’t think this is the actual Lucho Anticucho we know...

Trucho: Fake or Phony

Mr. “Saboya” Salinas = Mr. Sticks

Santiago “Saboya” Salinas, a banker, buisness man and Lucho’s landlord, Nicknamed Samoya due to the spiky, wheat-like hair he used to have (really bad hair genes took a toll on his hair)

Saboya: Common name for Holcus lanatus (Chilean grass)

Spoilers for the ending of Pizza tower past this point!

Cara de Sopaipa = Pizza Face

Sopaipa is well... a giant sentient Sopaipilla, topped with cheese and butter, He threaten Lucho to blow up Lucho’s Quiosco, when you are to close to him, you can hear a clock-like sound.....huh...weird

Sopaipa: Sopaipilla

El Compa Sopaipilla = PizzaHead

The man behind it all... a Sopaipilla topped with cheese and pebre, who’s name is Cristián and he’s obsessed with Lucho and Huasos, he made the whole tower fiasco and builded both the Sopaipilla Tower and Sopaipa, his right-hand man

Come on Lucho...IT TIME FOR THE FINAL SHOW!!!!

Sopaipilla: A fried dough made with chilean pumpkin and flour

Pebre: Chilean sauce made with Tomatoes, coriander, onion, garlic and green peppers

Part 1: https://gl1tchy-4rt.tumblr.com/post/720509947508670464/i-did-a-thing

Part 2: https://gl1tchy-4rt.tumblr.com/post/720776573770448896/sopaipa-towel-part-2

That’s all for now!

Bye buddies :)

[whyisummmuknow]

Merry Christmas 🎁

To my pizza tower oc

He's a ghost who likes to roam around the pizza tower

Okay now back story he died by a disease that made him not move anymore and faints all the time.

The disease made him weaken he's whole body and it does not have a cure whatsoever they let him be in he's death bed for a long period of time. And died right there from he's bedroom with no one around.

They then buried him from the nearby graveyard below the pizza tower.

But he then ascended as a ghost thinking he's still alive but he wasn't and started roaming around the place with no hesitation and stayed on he's abandoned room for years now.

And starts breaking things and scaring the pizza tower workers for fun cuz he's bored. He then stumbled upon he's old friends but they didn't notice him since except for pizzahead cause he's also bored too there both bored so pretty much he always sees him breaking things with he's own eyes he sometimes ignored it and thinks it was a strong wind but it was he's old worker who has passed away.

He then heard he's voice with a whisper but it was a little loud he didn't get scared but then he greeted him with he's teething grin.

He was surprised that he could see him but he thought he was talking to himself.

They both became buddies and hung out together. He sometimes annoyed pepperman and ended up making him mad. And always go threw to he's paintings to scare him or prank but it did work out for those two and always end up bonding together.

He's interaction with noise doesn't go so well. cuz whenever he saw him he got scared immediately but he got angered by him getting mocked from he's pranks and ideas. They both have something in common (same goes to pizzahead) they hate each other very much.

Noissette on the other hand is pretty brave and somehow annoys him that much. And she tries to punch him or kicking him cause it doesn't work at the end they did get together but it's a sibling relationship. And sometimes sneaks in her bakery to eat her pastries and goods.

Vigilante is very skeptical whether it's a good spirit and a bad spirit he always pulls he's gun out for trouble. He sometimes calls vigilante an old man grandpa. Vigilante gets very delusional when he sees him. The ghost starts breaking its tears to the fact he can't help that vigilante overacts all the time whether he sees him or not. yea both of them also hate each other

Next is fake peppino (Bruno) he did in fact like him. At first he was creeped out by him but now he seems like a chill guy to hang out with.

And Peppino also overreacts but still gets used to seeing him they have a good bond with each other.

Gustavo is pretty much annoyed by the fact that he always calls him short or small. But they did bond in the end.

[phantomdoofer]

Chapter 17 - Grudges, Part 1

Trigger warning. Just... trigger warning.

Peppino stood in front of the oven. He scratched at the rampant stubble on his cheek. It had been two weeks since the attacks, and everyone in the town was on edge. While the cold had loosened its grip, the icy fog still showed up daily. Everyone was a nervous wreck. Several more attacks had happened, only blunted by the fact that no one went out without a Toppin alongside them now. No more deaths, at least. Peppino had narrowly dodged a few himself. The only thing that seemed to stop the horrible things was a strange reluctance to enter buildings.

Peppino was hardly sleeping. He'd forgotten to shave so many times now he was in danger of looking like his brother. Not that anyone else is different. The police were stretched to the limit, patrolling day and night. Vigi seemed to be more coffee than cheese these days - his arm had grown back in short order, but that was small consolation.

Peppino glanced across the street. Noisette's was quiet these days - both for lack of customers and fear of attracting attention. Peppino's own business was slacking again, though his deliveries were through the roof. He refused to do them after dark, however. I'm not risking anyone, even for my business.

Tower Town and La Crosta were cities under siege.

Mushroom piped a little noise, trying to cheer Peppino up. He idly scratched its cap, thinking. We have to find a way to break this. There were no leads, however - nothing so far had given them a single clue where the monsters came from. Even Giuseppe's vaunted secret connections were coming up blank.

The door opened, and the man himself appeared. Speak of the devil. "Buongiorno, Seppe. What brings you out in this?"

Giuseppe walked to the counter, Sausage hopping off to greet Mushroom. "Mio Dio, Pino, you look like hell."

Peppino looked his brother over. "You're-a one to talk." Indeed, his brother's mustache and beard were even bushier than usual. His hair looked mussed. Looks like he just rolled out of bed. Or forgot to roll into it.

Giuseppe flippantly waved his hand. "Too busy trying to find out where this nut is." He leaned over exhaustedly. "Not that I've had any luck. Nothing. No one has a clue. Even Anita's underworld connections are clueless."

Peppino slammed a hand down. Giuseppe jumped. "Porca Puttana, fratello, we have to find-a something! We can't-a live like this!"

"I know, I know!" Giuseppe grabbed the sides of his head, his eyes bleak. "Even the government is clueless, though! These things are starting to turn up other places, too! Did you know there was an attack on the Italian capitol yesterday?"

Peppino was stunned. "Why didn't-a I see that on the news?"

"They kept it quiet," Giuseppe said, "trying to quell panic. But it's getting worse." He shook his head. "That's the fifth capitol that's getting attacked now. No one knows where they're coming from."

Peppino matched the motion. "Come on, fratello, think! Monsters don't-a just appear from thin air, do they? Except... in... the Tower..." Peppino's voice trailed off.

"The Tower... that only appeared... when it wanted to be found..." Giuseppe's voice trailed off as well.

The looked at each other in surprise. They spoke in unison.

"The Ruins."

~~~~

Peppino had called in the Tower Bosses, just in case. Peppino, Noise, Pepperman, Vigilante, Gustavo, Brick, Fake, and Giuseppe stood outside the crumbled remains of the Tower. Purple stone walls and pillars stood everywhere.

Noise flicked a cigarette away. "So why are we here, fat man? Figure you can't handle ol' Pizzahead alone?"

Giuseppe shook his head. "Most of us were the first targets. Everyone here was involved, except me. And since I was attacked at the same time, I'd be willing to bet he wants me here, too." He walked to a particular spot, and opened a hidden trapdoor. "My team found this right before I moved here, but they said they didn't find anything. Got a hunch that'll be different now." He pulled a handful of flashlights out of a bag and gave them out. "Stay together. No telling what we'll find in here."

Below the trapdoor was a set of solid stone stairs. The dim light seemed reluctant to enter - the shadows were thick within a few feet. As the group walked, they shone the light around. "None o' this looks familiar," Vigi said, "and I thought I explored the whole place." He turned to Fake. "I know you got around, any o' this look right?"

Fake shook their head. "Nnno. We explored as well, and we never found this. Somehow it was hidden from us."

Noise snorted. "Youse guys remember that ol' Pizzaface said no one could find this place if he didn't want it found, right?" He growled. "Guess he didn't want us findin' this. Creepy as hell."

Gustavo patted Brick - the rat was shivering. "Something's not right. Brick was never this scared in the Tower. Not even at the top."

Peppino turned. "Do you-a think she can pick up what-a the Toppins do?" The Toppins had one and all refused to come into the Tower ruins. "Badbadbad," Cheese and Pineapple had both repeated. Kind of wish I'd listened to them.

Gustavo touched the rat's head, and she turned and nuzzled his hand. After a moment, he nodded. "She says this place feels unnatural. Threatening. Like it's angry we're here."

All of them felt a chill at the words. How can a place feel hate?

Suddenly they could all feel it - pure malice on the air, like a stink. Peppino shivered. "Whatever's-a going on here, we should be-"

BWIP

~~~~

BWIP

"-care...ful...?" Peppino trailed off. He recognized the feeling from his previous visit. We just got teleported.

Behind him, Noise looked around in a panic. "Uh, just you and me here, big guy. Great. Where'd the rest of 'em end up?"

Peppino grimaced. "Wherever they are, I wish I hadn't-a ended up with you."

"Fuck you too, fat boy."

Peppino snorted. "I may hate-a your guts, you little-a gremlin, but this is serious. I'd-a work better with pretty-a much anyone else."

Noise looked thoughtful. "Which is probably why Pizzamug put us together."

Peppino raised an eyebrow. "Good point." He looked around. "Well, it's-a obvious he's here. Let's try to find-a the others."

As they walked, Peppino looked back at Noise. The little man was walking slowly, looking around. He had a Noise Bomb in each hand. He's terrified. "I don't-a think I've ever seen you this scared, Noise."

The yellow-suited man growled. "Listen, pasta paunch, Pizzahead freaked me out before I found out he was psychopath. If he's back, and mad at us, I'm gonna blow shit to hell if I catch even a whiff of him."

"Capisco," Peppino replied. Seeing the little man so unnerved would normally have made him happier. But in this situation...

The two crept along the dark hallway, checking every shadow.

~~~~

BWIP

"...what in the hell?" Vigilante said. He clutched his head. He'd only experienced the feeling of a teleporter once, but it gave him a migraine.

He looked around. The dark hallway was empty, except for himself and...

Brick nosed the cheeseslime, obviously distressed. Her eyes were wide, and she was whipping her head around, searching.

"Just you and me, looks like, girl," Vigi said. He pulled his sidearm. Not risking it anymore, with Pizzahead around.

Brick turned and looked at him. She squeaked pitifully, and clenched her paws. She looked ready to cry.

Aw, hell, don't have time for this, Vigi thought. He held out his free hand. "Listen, girl, I'm sure he's somewhere else, that's all. We just gotta find him."

She looked mournfully at him, then stood up and struck a stolid pose, squeaking confidently at length.

Wish I understood what the hell she just said. Vigi shook himself. "Aight, let's see what we can see. Stay together, ya hear?"

The rat nodded.

~~~~

BWIP

Gustavo winced. Great, a teleporter. "Hey, Brick, you all..."

He turned. Brick was gone. In fact, everyone was gone except for... "Pepperman? What happened?"

The giant pepper was picking himself up off the floor. "I... don't know. My head is positively swimming." He looked around. "Where's everyone else?"

Gustavo shook his head. "Think we got teleported away." Be safe, guys. "Any of this look familiar?"

Pepperman looked around. "No. Of course, I never ventured as far as the others. I'm afraid other than my dashing good looks, inestimable charm, and massive strength, I won't be much help to you."

Gustavo rolled this eyes. If egos were weapons, we could level the tower right now. He chastised himself. Being away from his companion had him edgy. "I can't sense Brick. Too far away, or something else?"

Pepperman shrugged. "With the technology in the Tower, could be both. We could be on the other side of the world."

That thought chilled Gustavo to the bone. "Let's hope not. Come on, let's see what the can find."

~~~~

BWIP

Giuseppe immediately threw up his hands in a defensive position. Teleporter! He scanned around. The room was different, a long hallway. It was just him and Fake.

Fake was down on all fours, growling softly. "We smell him. We smell him here."

Giuseppe's hair stood up a bit. "Pizzahead?" And now we're separated. Wonderful. He pulled this firearm. He knew all too well what the insane Ninda was capable of.

Fake whipped their head around, trying to keep everything in sight at once. "We're not sure where, but the smell is everywhere." Their hands reflexively formed into claws. They climbed onto the ceiling. "We will stay up here. If an attack happens, we will defend you."

Giuseppe snorted. "I'm not exactly defenseless, you know."

"We know," Fake replied, "but he has planned this. We leave nothing to chance. Be ready to fight."

Giuseppe nodded. They've got the right idea. "All right, I'll take point. Keep your eyes open."

"Agreed."

~~~~

A distorted figure stated at monitors. Each one displayed one of the four groups. They grinned, their face twisting horribly with the motion. "I hope they enjoy the playgrounds I've prepared for them. This will be so much fun!"

Their voice cracked and echoed as they cackled. The figures around it, each twisted and monstrous in their own way, shrunk away in fear. Their master tended to spread the "fun" around.

The figure turned and waved a hand. One of them burst into flames. They didn't even have time to react before they were a pile of stinking ash. "Don't worry, children. You'll have your fun soon enough."

~~~~

Giuseppe crept along the darkened corridor. It was still of debris. Lots of places to hide. Or be hidden. It also prevented him from getting up to speed - he didn't have Peppino's acceleration. Probably by design. He shook his head. Can't believe I didn't think about a trap. Too tired, I guess.

Above, Fake crept along the ceiling. They had been deathly silent the entire way - Giuseppe couldn't hear the faintest sound from them. They were moving in a very predatory way, creeping from shadow to shadow, slinking along like some malicious cross between a big cat and a snake.

The fact they were doing this on the ceiling just added to the anxiety factor.

Suddenly, Giuseppe saw something on the ceiling he recognized. He waved at Fake, making a "stop" motion.

They obliged, tilting their head inquisitively.

Giuseppe pointed at the object, then pointed at Fake, making a motion like he was pulling off a bit of himself and rolling it into a ball.

Quietly Fake spit out a glob, balled it, and dropped it to Giuseppe. Just like a wad of dough. Giuseppe tossed it at the object.

A virulent green ray shot out and the ball vaporized, then the object sparked and fell apart.

Fake dropped down beside Giuseppe. "What was that?"

"We called 'em biomines. They're only set off by biological matter getting too close. Figured your dough would count. Good thing it did." Giuseppe shivered. "Evil little things. Thankfully they pretty much always give out after one use. Lost too many people to them over the years."

Fake looked thoughtful. "Then you won't like that we can see several more ahead, on the walls, floor, and ceiling."

Giuseppe sighed. "Well, think that's up to you. Not like I can snap off my fingers and toss 'em."

Fake grinned. "We could snap them off for you, if you like."

"Very funny."

A few minutes later, the passage was full of sparking, smoking debris. Giuseppe carefully searched. "Nothing. You see anything else, Fake?" Silence. "Fake?"

He turned. Fake was sprawled on the ground, unmoving. "Oh, merda." Giuseppe trotted over and flipped them over. They're not breathing... do they even breathe? "Fake," he said, shaking their shoulder. "Fake! Say something!"

Fake weakly turned their head. "We used... too much... so tired..."

Giuseppe's heart clenched. Without a word, he grabbed them and tossed them onto his back. They're so much lighter...

Fake looked up weakly. "You... why? Why are you doing this?"

Giuseppe grimly trudged through the gloom. "I'm not leaving you behind. I'm not losing anyone else if I can help it."

Fake sensed there was more to that than was being said. "But... we are... extra. Expendable. No one needs us. Why do you care?"

Fake felt a shiver pass through the big man. "Fake, never say that around me ever again." He shook his head. "I saw... too many people toss away their lives for "the greater good" over the years. Dozens. Maybe hundreds." Giuseppe faintly heard the sound of bodies hitting the floor, the sizzle of energy beams, the rumble of an overloading engine.

And bodies. So, so many bodies.

He shrugged Fake higher up on his back. "Besides, who said no one wants you? You really think Pino would let you stay in his pizzeria if he didn't care? Do you think he'd put up with your pranks?"

Fake considered. "He invited us to Christmas dinner."

"Exactly. Not exactly a wide invitation." Giuseppe was quiet a moment. "I don't think Pino would want you to be left behind."

Fake considered this. "We're sorry. We never really considered it." They thought a moment. "Your fear of leaving someone behind... there's more to it than that. Something deeper."

The big man shuddered again. "I lost a lot of people that way over the years. The worst was... a little kid. Couldn't have been more than ten. A refugee. Didn't know til later he was the deposed president's son. We were trying to get him to the border, but they had vehicles, and we were on foot. Even I couldn't outrun them yet. The kid kept telling me to let him go, that they only wanted him." He paused. "Suddenly the kid lets go of my hand, and runs back. I didn't even feel it at first. I was too focused on running." He sniffed. "Before I could catch up, those bastardos gunned him down. Like... like he was nothing. In the end, his sacrifice didn't matter. They caught us, and we had to fight our way out." He sniffed again. "He gave it all up... for nothing."

Fake was silent. "We're sorry for bringing up such painful memories."

Giuseppe paused to wipe his nose. "Ah, forget it. But... no heroic sacrifices. I don't think I can handle any more."

"Deal."

Giuseppe felt the ground tremble. "Uh oh." He jogged to the side, and laid Fake down.

"Something... is coming..." Fake muttered.

Giuseppe looked grimly down the hall. "Yeah. Figured. Try to stay out of sight, all right?"

Fake nodded and crawled behind a rock.

Giuseppe jogged to the other side and hid in a small cleft in the wall. He started working up his rage. He hated doing this. Always feel burned out afterwards. But it was useful for activating his powers when he needed them.

Down the hallway loped... something. It was at least twenty feet tall, or would be if it stood straight. It looked to have multiple limbs. It crawled along, weaving it's head around, obviously searching. For us.

As it got closer, Giuseppe realized... It's Fake. A giant Fake... but horribly, horribly changed. Multiple eyes dangled from its face. It's mouth extended much too far - it's entire face was split. A sickly yellow tongue lolled out, practically dragging the ground. It had four arms, and they ended in vicious claws. Its body was covered in things that shouldn't be there - eyes, teeth, fingers. Its back legs had far too many joints, and it didn't even have feet.

Giuseppe had never seen anything like it. Talk about nightmare fuel.

The thing raised its head and snuffled, searching for them. Great. And me without de-scenter. It had always been a problem of his during stealth missions - he had a strong scent.

It was only a matter of time before the thing found him.

As Giuseppe worked himself up to charge, the thing suddenly whipped it's head towards -

Fake! As weak as they are, they'll have no chance!

That was enough to make his anger burst. In a flash, Giuseppe charged the beast, slamming into its side.

The creature emitted a horrible gurgling shriek and fell on its side.

Giuseppe pummeled it quickly, but seemed to do nothing. It's made of dough, too!

Suddenly the creature stood and opened it's mouth wide at him. A strange rumbling sound filled the air...

"Look out!"

Fake appeared from nowhere and tackled Giuseppe out of the way just as a huge blast of heat came from the thing's mouth. Giuseppe smelled burning rubber and baking dough. His shoe soles had partially melted, and Fake's feet looked crispy.

The wall behind them spewed melted rock.

"Figlio di puttana!!" Giuseppe yelled. He was shaking. It reminded him of the weapons the Demons had used in Inferno.

Giuseppe grabbed Fake and ran for it.

The giant clone roared and gave chase.

Giuseppe frantically dodged as smaller bursts of hot light melted rocks around them. He was fighting not to panic. "I can't dodge this thing forever! I don't have any weapons that'll take it down! You have any suggestions, I'm all ears!"

Fake nodded. "It is dough, like us!" They yelled. "Tough, but if blown apart it may not hold together! If you throw me at it, I will distract it while you get up to speed, then you will ram it!"

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?!?" Giuseppe said. "It'll kill you! You're too weak! I'm not sacrificing you! I'm not sacrificing anyone! Not again!"

Fake grinned. "Do not worry! We have an idea! There will be no sacrifices today! Trust us!"

Giuseppe turned this head. Fake looked completely serious. "Promise me!"

"We promise!"

Giuseppe nodded, turned, and charged at the beast. He juked as it fired several small blasts at them - the smell of poisonous gas and hot rock was choking. As he ran past, he hurled Fake on the beast's back.

The creature warbled in surprise. Fake grabbed it by the sides of its grotesque head. "HUNGRY!" Fake yelled... and bit into the beast.

The giant shrieked as Fake began devouring its doughy flesh.

Giuseppe, still turning in the distance, heard the bloodcurdling cries. Whatever they're doing, that thing really doesn't like it! He dug down and pushed himself beyond his limits. His eyes turned wild. Not again! No sacrifices! NOT AGAIN!

The room shook. A sonic boom echoed as Giuseppe broke the sound barrier.

Seeing the shockwave, Fake leapt upwards. "Addio, abominio!"

Giuseppe flashed underneath, and the creature exploded.

Skidding to a stop, Giuseppe turned. The walls were laminated with burnt dough. The smell of bread was almost overwhelming.

Fake crouched on the ceiling, looking enormously pleased with themselves.

As Giuseppe panted and caught his breath, Fake dropped down beside him. He obviously was feeling better. "What... what did you do?"

Fake looked smugly at their fingernails. "We saw they were made of dough, like us, and realized... we could distract it and replenish ourselves at the same time. So we started eating it."

Giuseppe shivered. "That's... that's a bit fucked up, Fake."

"We know. Normally we wouldn't do such a thing anymore. But we would not have survived." Their expression turned serious. "Sometimes it is kill or be killed."

Giuseppe looked at Fake grimly. "True. Doesn't mean I like it."

~~~~

Brick picked her way through the rubble of the huge room, Vigilante on her back. "Better if can get a good view, right?" He'd said, and she'd seen the wisdom in it. Not that it had helped much, though. The room was so huge even Vigi's telescopic sight couldn't see the walls, or ceiling.

Brick considered. She might be a rat, but she absorbed everything she heard. She recalled something she'd heard someone discussing. "This place can be bigger on the inside - a lot bigger. You could fit a whole city on a floor of this place."

Seeing this, Brick believed it. Her senses were scrambled - it was telling her she was in a small room and outside at the same time. And nothing her nose told her made sense.

She was relying on the cheeseslime on her head to guide her.

Vigi scanned the terrain, looking for any clue of where to go or what to do. Every time he tried to use his Sight, he got dizzy. The images were confusing. Swear this place is designed to fuck with me. How am I supposed to aim when I can't damn well see right?

He closed his eyes, remembering his days with Grandpa John. Just close yer eyes and visualize, Vigert, his grandpa had said. He opened his eyes again... but things still felt just as distorted. He snorted. "Somethin' messing with me in here. How about you?"

Brick nodded. She was nervous, interacting with the cheeseslime. Like all of her kind, she loved cheese with a passion, even an obsession. But cheeseslimes were not food, they were people.

The smell was driving her crazy, even so.

Suddenly a strange device popped out of a rock nearby. "Gun!" Vigilante yelled.

Before Brick could react, it fired on her.

Brick doubled over in pain - her hunger had increased immensely. Food! FOOD!

Vigilante picked himself up from where he'd dove, hoping Brick would be able to get out of the way. He turned and saw her doubled over. "Ah, no," he said as he oozed up to her. "Where ya hit, girl-"

Suddenly Brick snapped at him. He jumped away. "What the hell?" He looked at her as she stared at him... Red eyes. She's droolin. Aw no... He remembered the Giant Rats, back in the Tower. They'd looked like that. Pizzahead had kept them hungry, and they'd eat anything. They especially liked Cheeseslimes. He'd had to put quite a few of them down. He'd hated doing it - they were just following their instincts - but they were a menace.

Brick had the same look they'd had. She advanced on him, slowly. Food, food!

He pulled his sidearm out and pointed it at her. He trembled. He hated putting down animals. Grandpa had always had to do it. It's a kindness, Vigert, he'd said. They're just a ball of pain and rage at that point. It's mercy.

But she's not an animal. "C'mon, girl," he said, "snap out of it! Don't make me do this!"

She continued stalking towards him. Food. Food. The thought filled her mind. So hungry. So tasty!

No! A tiny part of her screamed. Friend, not food! Not an animal!

Vigilante cocked the hammer of his pistol. He was trembling so hard, he wasn't sure he'd even hit, if he did shoot. "Brick! Please! DON' MAKE ME DO THIS!"

Brick paused. No. She shook her head.

Vigilante realized what the motion meant. "Yeah! Fight it, girl! Don't let it win!"

The inside of Brick's head was chaos.

Food FooD

NO

HuNGry

NO FRIEND

FEED KILL

NO

NO!

The red left her eyes.

Brick collapsed to the floor, writhing and squealing in agony. She thrashed around - her pained squeals made Vigi's heart ache. Then she started banging her head against a rock.

Vigi was horrified. He oozed over. "Stop! STOP! YER GONNA KILL YOURSELF!"

Brick looked up at him. There were tears in her eyes. Her expression said it all. Good. I want to die.

Vigi's heart clenched. "Naw, naw, girl. Don't be like that. You fought it. You beat it. You didn't let Pizzahead win." He patted her head. "You beat it."

She stared at him for several seconds. Then she squeaked piteously, and wrapped him up in a hug. Vigi felt tears dropping on his hat.

He patted her back. He was trembling. Damn you, Pizzahead. Damn you for what you almost made us both do.

Continued...

[unexpectedbrickattack]

What do you think is the huggability score of our main characters + Brick out of 10?

Putting this under a readmore bc this is some EXTREME Research happening here

Peppino: 6/10. Hes short and hes fat and warm and soft so theoretically he SHOULD be a solid 10/10. But he sweats easily and i think physical contact would make him explode so hes shakes like a leaf the entire time. He will not return the hug well but he WILL make an attempt. If you catch him at a good time, hes got the perfect hugs. But maybe bring a napkin or two.

Pepperman: 1/10. Hes too gotdam big. He would love to be able to hug properly but hes very. Wide. And if he does manage to hug you properly, you will end up directly inbetween his eyes and unnervingly close to his teeth. This is also assuming he Wants to hug people; hes got better things to do. Like sculpt and draw and do rich people things like vacationing on a yacht or gaslighting poor people. (The actual pepperman portrait for the boss fight is very cute looking and i give that a 7/10 just bc i can. Hes got a lil painters apron; the whole fit makes him look huggable)

Vigilante: 3/10. It depends on your tolerance for odd textures. Hes just cheese. Hes cheese! Hes a bit sticky; he never leaves residue but the stickiness can be a bit offputting. Hes remarkably dense, so hugging him would be like hugging a memory foam mattress; wonderful pressure pushing against u but again. The texture… He would be a good weighted blanket; thats not a hug but do what you will with this information

The Noise: 7/10. He is small 🥺 Assuming the hug is earnest and Not a ploy to lower your guard, you are just hugging a Small Person. And we (small people) give the best hugs you can possibly have. But only if you let us hug around ur neck and not the midsection; he (we) cant wrap our arms around that. Points deducted bc the noise is just a menace and hed use a hug as an opportunity to chuck a potion of Explode Your House and then ur house Explodes.

Fake Peppino: 10/10. He can change shape and density at will; whatever you look for in a hug, he can do it. Light? Hes as delicate as a flower. Tight? Coiled like a snake. Dont like the goopy texture? For the time it takes to make this hug happen; the texture is Gone. This man Loves Hugs and with practice, has learned to give the Best hugs. As long as u dont mind his face and the odd way his skin seems to warp and bend in front of you.

Pizzahead: 2/10. TECHNICALLY capable of good hugs. Tall, long arms, friendly disposition. Massive point reduction bc hes doing one armed hugs to try and befriend you so he can sell you on this pyramid scheme he just Knows ur going to knock right out of the ballpark. Weaponized Hugs. Put him in Jail.

Gustavo: 9/10. Hes a gnome. Hes hairy and short and he always ALWAYS goes for the arms around the neck bc hes like 3’ tall. He is strong and so all hugs are tighter than you expect them to be and that can be good or bad depending on ur preference. He is also Small and Compact so hes very warm :) Solid hugs :)

Brick: 5/10. VERY pet-able!!! Imagine a rat but just Big. Hes SOFT and hes got Luscious Fur and wonderful little rat hands. But hugs are either 10/10 (rat owners dream) or 1/10 (texture hell). Hugs can be suffocating. Brick does Typical Rat Movements which includes snuffling your head very rapidly. Whiskers tickle. Rat Hands tickle. Brick MAY nibble at your head (beware). You wont be able to wrap your arms around this beast which may be a dealbreaker to some. But assume that this rat both Loves and Craves little huggles, so he is always an eager hugger :)

Noisette: 10/10. All the positives of Noise but without possible mischievous intent. She may fall asleep in your arms since she will be forced to stay still for longer than 2 seconds. Its endearing though.

Gerome: 7/10. Hes like Clay to me, like a block of playdoh. Tough enough to keep his shape, but soft enough that it doesnt Hurt to hug him. Hes not very soft or comfortable BUT hes got Intent behind his hugs. Hed only hug someone if they needed to be comforted and hes Very good at that. Very solid and grounding hugs if youre willing to hug a Block.

Snotty: 3/10. Smelly. So fucking smelly. Ranked higher than Pizzahead just to spite that twink.

[iheartpeppino]

So I have a theory about Sugary Spire... it's ONLY a theory, and I don't have solid proof, but I feel the need to share.

So, on the official Sugary Spire website, Pizzelle made a blog post where she writes about Dilk Wilkam, the creator of Wilka chocolate bars. Wilka chocolate is apparently very popular, but Pizzelle describes it as "just chocolate-flavored wax". She also describes Dilk Wilkam as "extremely dead and extremely elusive" in the same post.

Elsewhere on the official website is a fan page for M'lass, a brown frog with a little brown hat who used to be a "local celebrity" and helped sell a wide range of products, "ranging from shampoo to chocolate chips". M'lass inadvertently ruined his career by getting caught cheating on his wife and kids with "some other frog lady": none other than Dilk Wilkam's daughter, "the princess of the Wilka brand".

Now, you're probably wondering, why would Dilk Wilkam's daughter be a frog? Take a look at this image Pizzelle posted of a Wilka chocolate bar:

Notice anything odd? Yeah, it says FROG MILK on the label. Meaning the reason Wilka chocolate is so nasty is because they use "frog milk"... whatever the hell that may be... as an ingredient. It's possible that Dilk Wilkam is either a human who adopted a frog as a daughter, or he is also a frog and this daughter of his is biological.

Now... what Pizza Tower character do we know that has a connection to frogs?

More specifically, which character has a body slam attack that makes them look very frog-like? And leaps around to great heights, like a frog? And has a long stretchy tongue, like a frog? AND they are officially stated to possess frog DNA as a nod to Jurassic Park?

That's right. My theory is that Fake Peppino, in some form or another, is the supposedly dead Dilk Wilkam in the Sugary Spire universe. Again, just a theory! I could very well be wrong! But man, if I'm right about this, that is hand-flappingly fantastic!

But if this theory is right, what does it imply? Pizzelle's blog posts paints the Wilka chocolate company in a bad light, making sub-quality, overly sugary chocolate for profit. My guess - and this ONLY a guess - is that Dilk Wilkam is still alive, and is the true mastermind behind the Sugary Spire and the creator of Coneball. If Fake Peppino/Bruno is Dilk Wilkam, that might mean he's the Pizzahead equivalent of Sugary Spire.

Meaning if Pizzahead does exist somehow in this universe, he's probably in Fake Peppino's role somehow, not as a pizza person, but as a candy person of some kind with a different name and personality.

This is mostly speculation, you must understand, so I could be very wrong about this. But... it's a fun idea to think about.

[cuiizhu]

Helios Rising Heroes - Rise on GoldenXXSection

Chapter 1:

Akira: HELL YEAH! The Genius Idol, Ootori Akira’s back at it! Gonna work at Voltage Max again today! 

Dino: Good morning, Akira-kun. You’re as lively as ever~ perfect marks♪

Akira: Hehe♪ Ain’t that right~

Asch: Oi, greet people properly. 

Akira: Haah? I just did, and happily too! 

Asch: That wasn’t a greeting. It was just a big monologue. 

Akira: …Shit, don’t say things that ruin the mood. Even you don’t greet us all the time either.  

Asch: Aah??? Don’t fuck with me, shithead. 

Gast: Now now. Why don’t we turn the voltage down a notch instead of maxing it within the first minute of arriving at work, both of you? 

Akira: Gast! Don’t steal MY Voltage Max! 

Gast: It’s not stealing…. And anyways, where’d you get the idea that Asch isn’t greeting us? 

Gast: He’s more thorough than any of us, you usually just don’t see it. 

Akira: Eeh….? 

Asch: In the first place, you’re always arriving later than me. Know your place. 

Akira: Guh…..

Asch: For a rookie to do it this often…Do you want to learn this lesson the painful way? 

Akira: The hell, you wanna go? 

Gast: Oi, quit it…. Asch too, don’t let it get to ya. 

Asch: Hmph. 

Dino: Let’s just calm down you guys. Look, here’s the piping hot pizza that just arrived~

Akira: You ordered pizza again!? Everytime I come here, this agency’s always got pizza. 

Asch: It’s not the agency’s fault, it’s this guy’s. This pizzahead bitch never gets tired of ordering it day in and day out. 

Dino: I’ll never get tired of it! One pizza per day! Then I’ll be happy, and everyone will be happy! 

Dino: Definitely, love and peace…..☆

Gast: Ahaha, there it is. Dino’s inscrutable motto. 

Asch: Tsk, who’s ever heard of an idol that eats nothing but pizza everyday. …..How have you not gained weight? 

Dino: I won’t gain weight. In fact, it’s full of benefits for health and beauty! See? If you eat pizza, it’ll be love and peace …..☆

Asch: Stop shitting around…. speak like a normal person.

 

Akira: Dino’s supposed to be our leader, right? At first glance, he seems normal, but I don’t really understand…. 

Akira: Hm? Gast, whatchu lookin’ at? 

Gast: Our fanclub site. Subscribers seem to be on the rise.

Akira: Oh!? What’s that feel like !?

Gast: Take a look…our followers on social media are steadily increasing, and results from searchin’ your own name feels pretty great. 

Gast: For a while there were some rumors of member disagreements that’d pop up, but that’s calmed down since. 

Dino: Ahaha, there it is~. I think everyone’s realized Asch’s lone wolf persona.

Asch: Aah? This ain’t a persona.  

Dino: Is that so? Well, even so, it just means they’ve accepted who you are as a person, I’m glad ♪

Asch: ……Tch….

Akira: Ah! By the way, there was talk of using our song in a commercial right? Any updates on that?

Gast: Aah that, huh. That kinda talk…

Dino: That huh~ It’s a shame but it seems that’s a dead end. Apparently they picked another song last minute. 

Akira: Seriously!? Man, and I was so looking forward to it…..

Dino: There there…these sorts of things happen all the time, so don’t get too down in the dumps. There’ll be plenty of other chances soon enough. 

Asch: ….Plenty my ass? 

Asch: We’ve been like this since before the rookie’s arrival. We’re not at a level where these offers come handed to us on a silver platter. 

Dino: You think so? Between the conditions and power balance within the agency, so on and so forth—I think it depends a lot on those kinds of circumstances…..

Dino: But I think first priority should go to whether we fit what they’re looking for. 

Dino: “This is what I wanted! This is exactly what I was looking for!” —till we get those kinds of feedback, let’s keep giving our all♪

Asch: Tsk, if only the industry were so simple—

Akira: You mean, till you’re the strongest idol! Leave it to me, I’ll shut everyone up! 

Dino: Akira-kun…..!

Akira: Let’s aim to have the most fans in Japan, no, in the WORLD! Voltage Max!!!

Asch: Turn it down….

Masterlist || Next