What would you do if you died and discovered that your whole life was a game? That you were someone else's pawn? That the entire world was run by a guy named Phil? And what if you could try over again? Would you do anything to return to your life as it had once been?
Button Mash would.
```
Inspired, in part, by THIS.
Prereading by TGM.
Not usually a fan of the fanwork characterization of Button, but this one seems okay. (Just as a thought, Twi, Shining, and his friends are all tabletop gamers, at least in the comics.) Anyway, thumb and star for you.
And so it begins...
-TGM
4579536
Thanks M! Hope it won't disappoint!
Twilight the Gamer is gunna inspire a few goodies i hope.
We need a group called 'Life's a Game' or something to that effect
4579775
I bet it will. It's a great idea that can be applied in a BUNCH of ways. Going for a more tabletop aspect in this fic, while the original is veryold school RPG. I wouldn't mind seeing a FPS version, haha
4579789 seeing him as a sparkle kinda bothers me...i think that something should happen at the exam..rainboom and then he explodes himself..
I really hope this sub-genre takes off in a major way.
But this will hopefully tide me over until then .
Gamers are INVINCIBLE !!!
I love it, but you could do better than "Button Sparkle" It just doesn't roll off the tongue.
Great job! Loved it so far, hope to see more.
4579977
Actually, I just did some brainstorming, and I agree. I'm gonna change his name to Button Shine. Seems to flow better! Thanks for reading, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
~Doc
This is an interesting concept. I've read Twilight the Gamer and I was not particularly enthralled by many of its choices. Particularly the vague and ultimately false nature of "the game" and how poorly much of it was explained, along with the detached manner of writing and lack of sufficient characterization, ultimately leading to the choice to make Twilight a seeming sociopath.
This is doing a lot better right off the bat, it seems. It explains the nature of the game a lot better and seems to promise to take a much more in depth look at the character of Button Mash and creates ways of getting by a lot of the problems and nagging questions that Twilight the Gamer had. I won't make any final judgments, of course, since this only just started, but I think I'll be following this for now.
That said, I do agree with 4579977. The name "Button Sparkle" sounds very weird. And we know it's Button Mash, so there's no real reason to add a part of his name into his player name. I'm sure you could think of something better; something that sounds both magic related and video game related. Like, naming him "Magic Point" or "MP" for short.
4582866
Wow, thank you for such a long and detailed comment! The Twilight Gamer fic goes in an entirely different direction from what I plan with this story. The focus is not on stats, but rather upon internal conflict here. But that makes sense, considering that the writer of T:G is 15 and that I don't watch anime or play those kinds of games. I'm more of a D&D guy myself.
I really hope that I fulfill those promises I've made! I'll be trying my darndest!
I do agree that the Sparkle part is not the best name ever, so I have already changed it. However, I do have a reason for keeping the first name of his character as Button. I won't spoil it though, but it should become obvious within two chapters. But, I will consider what you have said. Maybe changing the name in such a way will make the fic better.
Thanks again for all the thought you put into this! It is quite an encouragement to me.
~Doc
This... This intrigues me...
Wait? He took Twilight's body? wouldn't that mess with time and all that?
Well I'm interested and wanting for more.
Oh my...very different take, but I"m liking it! Let's see where this goes! Good luck and I am eager to see how you spin the tales!
Your premise is really interesting.
You have your objective (win the game and be free), and you have your philosophical question (what is it to be alive?).
So long as you continue to keep your goals as a writer in mind, I think this story could be great.
Ah, something similar to Twilight: The Gamer. I love this concept, and truly want to see more of these types of fics where the protagonist is faced with the fact that they truly aren't that significant, but are still important. (It also might be due to the fact I have a deep-seated love of any kind of game.)
Normally I'd say "I like where this is going," but we all mostly know where this is going, so instead I'll say I like how it's getting there.
meh. woulda been better with him exploding himself. only reason i didnt want him to be a sparkle is cos i saw him doing the same thing as twi. i was..sorta right adding the ability for him to hear..himself..that sounds weird.....is a great idea though.
4593028
For now, it is similar to what Twi does, but having another voice in your head telling you what to do may cause some changes along the way... *hint hint*
Don't worry, I have some twists up my sleeve. You won't be bored.
Is is pretty good. I like how the dead button mash can still affect the new alive button mash, I've never seen that before! Well make moar of this!
4594502 for the sake of fun, name 'spike' Doc and from there on all instances of 'spike' will be Doc
button better be able to do a bunch of cool video game moves i want to see him FALCON...PUNCH the shit out of something
when I read stories like this, I turn my mind off and no assumptions of future chapters come to mind! So, I can't wait to see what happens next.
The cconcept of all this is really cool!
Does this mean you'll add the young mane six!?
Also, I'd like to see a team of the elements of disharmony (as mini bosses). For example:
Magic= Dark Magic
Laughter= Despair
Etc.
4595770 FALCON... PAWNCH!
Like that?
4921119 three words yes
it seems is going to be a good story
I am interested.
You've earned a like and a fave, and I can't wait to see what adventures Button Mash, Button Shine and Phil go on in the upcoming chapters
Why do I have the strange feeling he's going to die and play through the life of every element :P
Ell...Oh...Ell
That is all.
Awesome.
Wait, the world is run by a guy name Phil? Phil is short for Philonecron, right?
Awesome! I like this so much! More more more more more more!
*starts reading*
oh so thAt's how its gonne be
4953377
That would be awesome!
Interesting.
Another good and seemingly dead fic returns! Hoorah!
Loved the Doctor Who reference, that's one of my favorite episodes of all time
31.media.tumblr.com/4228ffa2ebeab88afde94065be19e391/tumblr_mpwgutsrM01qahmfso1_1280.png
I cannot imagine how awkward this must be for Button Mash, he's going to be seeing all the people he sacrificed his life for and they don't even know who he is . That has got to hurt, especially in the case of Sweetie Belle whom he seemed to have feelings for and now he night never actually speak to her again, just more motivation to win the game I guess !
Dude, question! Why did you decide to place him in the role of Twilight? You could've just put him way back in time as Starswirl or something.
5236609 well...
He COULD talk to Sweetie again... But the situation would be awkward and probably make him look like a pedophile if it actually played out.
But other then that. Yeah, you're pretty much right.
Strange since the letter mentions the pizza... Celestia must be psychic!
Also, how is Mash going to handle suddenly being twice the age of his friends?
What i thought Inter Button liked liked when he realize what happen to his pizza.
derpicdn.net/img/2013/8/4/391157/full.gif
5244263
Actually, there were two letters that Celestia sent. The first replaced the pizza, and the second thanked them. She might write insanely fast (just like in the show), but she isn't psychic