So I just finished Half-Genie Hero and I gotta say this. It's a really good game but I thought it was a regression of the Shantae Formula, with how it got rid of the much better equipment from Pirate's Curse. And the loss of Dungeons, which were basically a stable of the series since the first game.

Plus the whole game felt...Incomplete. When it comes to story AND gameplay, I know that there will be DLC with extra stories and characters, but if you weren't a backer, then you have to pay money for the DLC, which to me, felt a little bit unfair considering that Shovel Knight's DLC was totally free.

But that's just totally my opinion, and anyway, enough of me, let's focus on the story.

Bolo was simply standing in his favourite place, his gazebo in Water Town. As he distracts himself by using his signature weapon, the ball and chain. Practicing with it, by repeating a similar motion to a certain half-genie's hair whipping. But as he did that, his mind wondered over to his best friend since childhood; Shantae.

Thinking of her simply made his face turn into a shade of red and his heart begin to beat faster. Why did he have these feelings for her? He always saw her as like a sister, ever since they were little. Perhaps it was obvious, considering how he've been close to her for a long time, so it was inevitable for something like this to happen.

But does she feel the same way? Bolo wishes he could go from being her friend to her boyfriend, he felt he had no shot with her. He had convinced himself that a slow-witted, plain guy like him could never be good enough for a dynamic, amazing, and gorgeous girl like Shantae. He would always hear the same thing over and over again.

Her beautiful voice constantly berating him for his mistakes and foolishness, as much as he secretly enjoyed it, he also disdains it. Because it's basically undeniable proof that she doesn't feel the same way.

Who are you actually kidding here Bolo?" he asked himself mentally. "A moron like you with a girl like her? Pfft. Get real, you would have a better chance with Risky Boots!"

Perhaps he should just accept the fact that she doesn't love him, and stop trying to chase something you can't catch. And maybe look for someone else...Like Risky Boots! After all, the residents of Water Town just got a visit from her, and you know, for a pirate, she was pretty polite in asking where the fountain was.

As Bolo sat there, lost in his own thoughts, he didn't even notice someone walking up behind him. He felt a finger tap him on the shoulder, shaking him from his thoughts and making him turn himself towards the source of the tapping, only to find Shantae herself.

"Hi Bolo, I knew I'd find you around here, there's a big emergency in Scuttle Town!"

(Jack's POV)

'What a odd looking fountain, it kinda looks like a one-eyed monster or something.'

The term "One-eyed monster" quickly gave me a quick shutter remembering that uncomfortable experience with that spider in the forest. Looking at the fountain itself, it seems that the water is coming from it's mouth. It also has a red jewel that is the iris for the fountain's one eye.

You know, I'm starting to think that this isn't a fountain at all, if I touch it, it'll probably come to life and attack me. But considering that this doesn't seem to be a lucid dream, it could just be anything. Hell, it could even be some sort of secret entrance to a dungeon holding some super special item.

'Maybe it is one, you know what? I'm gonna risk it, the saying goes "no pain, no gain!'

A part of me feels as if this dream is helping me improve as a person, for some strange reason. Maybe it's how I'm making all these decisions on my own?

When I touched the eye of the fountain, it felt as though it was actually made of stone. It's pretty crazy how everything in this dream looks and feels like it's real. When I pushed my hand forward, the eye moved as well. At first, I was surprised by this, thinking about my first assumption about the fountain. But as it turns out, the eye was rounded and I was simply just moving it with my hand.

And for a while, I tried to move the eye to different angles, hoping that something will happen, but eventually when I made the eye look up, the "mouth" of the fountain lowered. With no more water coming out, and a hole inside the mouth, big enough for someone get inside.

"Huh...I guess it is a secret entrance, but where does it lead I wonder?" I asked, fully knowing the answer. I then walked towards the inside to the fountain and crawled down the hole. Basically, going down that hole was basically like a rollercoaster—only wet, and with no safety belt or track.

So it was like going down a water slide, only except the fact that you land in a floating platform instead of a pool.

"Gah, my ass feels sore as hell! So what kind of dungeon is...This?"

The only way I can describe this place is water, water, pillars, water, rotating platforms, water, blue, and more water.

"GOD DAMNIT, WHY DID I END UP IN THE WATER DUNGEON OF ALL DUNGEONS!"

Hey guys and gals, it's me again, here with a update on my Shantae Self-Insert fanfiction "Mortals and the unnatural!" And to be honest. I'm feeling a bit burned out, and kinda uninterested in actually writing the story as of lately.

And I can't really explain why I've been feeling this way when writing the new chapters. Perhaps it's just writing block, or lack of interest in the Shantae series lately after Half-Genie Hero.

To be honest, this is the same reason as to why my RWBY S-I fanfic was abandoned. Same with my Skullgirls one, which I then deleted. Because honestly? That story was a giant sack of shit and I was in denial for a while about it.

I considered many options, one was to just cancel production of this fanfic, or possibly just give it to someone else. Or just leave it, as it is on hiatus for the time being.

And if I try to continue writing in the state that I am in now? Then the story will probably just turn out bad or no longer interesting. I don't know if the story will continue or not, but that's up to me. And I'm not in the right mood to answer that as of right now.

- HopesTweet