#I am normal about Puppet Zelda... | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whumplovers-collaborate · 8 months

Text

Fandom List 2 — Whumpy Works created for the Multimedia Summer Exchange in the Whumplovers Collaborate server

This list features Whumpy art and writing for the following fandoms: Fullmetal Alchemist, Genshin Impact, My Hero Academia, Voltron: Legendary Defender, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Call of Duty, Banana Fish, Doki Doki Literature Club!, [Módào Zǔshī, The Untamed], Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom, Gravity Falls, Tiger & Bunny, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Tokyo Ghoul, SCP Foundation, Sonic The Hedgehog, Black Butler, Undertale Gears of War, Night Head Genesis

Original Work List — Fandom List 1 — Fandom List 3

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist — All Media Types

Writing

Rat Race by nxllxfy @null-whump

It was when his vision started fading that Ed distantly realized that he might die.

No one was there, no one was coming, and no one would find him when he did die. He would be left down in this god-forsaken sewer, a fucking sewer, of all places, and Al would never know what happened to him. And for fuck’s sake, even he didn’t know what had happened to him, because he couldn’t fucking remember.

The Blade for the Undiplomatic by User_needs_a_Username

Fullmetal is missing and no one is quite sure where he is. Ed's been stabbed and is bleeding out.

Coming Home (Home is Wherever You are Not) by User_needs_a_Username

Edward and Alphonse get a letter from their father... And emotions stir... He’s coming to see them.

Watch Your Back by Anonymous

Riza doesn't watch Roy's back for a moment...

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Art

One Mistake by BeneathAScorpionSky @beneathascorpionsky

Even as a puppet, you're not invincible by Dye_Iguess @whumpedydump

Scaramouche art. Il Dottore experiments.

Tragedy in the Wind by emcSCARED @emcscared-whumps

(ARTWORK) Kaeya is very, very sad and is (most likely) having a (-n ambiguously) awful time. I don't know much about Genshin, but I've seen the art and I pin his vibe as someone who doesn't outwardly process emotion very much, so, let's stress him :)

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Writing

noise creates illusions [silence brings truth] bynitroglycerin_and_paraffin (candleshopmenace)

Shinsou Hitoshi is trapped.

driven to my knees by Rookblonkorules

A mission gone wrong sees Bakugou on the wrong side of quirk traffickers.

choking on my own blood by Rookblonkorules

Midoriya is injured severely during a villain attack. Aizawa stays with him until help arrives.

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Writing

Actions have Consequences by ASmallVoice

While on a supply mission for Allura, Keith is kidnapped by the Galra.

the fire that was by Rookblonkorules

Hunk and Shiro rescue Keith, who has been a prisoner of the Galra for some time.

No Dawn. No Day. I Am Always In The Twilight. by Gem_Of_The_Land @whumpy-gems

A mission failure leading to the capture of three Paladins. They don't know where they are, why they are there, or what is going to happen. All Lance, Keith and Pidge know is that they must stay together. In order to survive the brutality they are going to face. Hoping each new day wont bring any other troubles.

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Art

fallen pheonix by Chordata7

a gift for a small voice for the summer whump exchange.

Alone by MidnightCity @circuitdelasarthe

Hurt Zuko by Silver_Treats (SuperSilverSpy), SuperSilverSpy

Zuko got stabbed on his own ship…

Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Writing

Saving Ferdinand by WriterOfWorlds

Ferdinand gets kidnapped by Those Who Slither In The Dark and is presumed dead. Hubert is determined to save Ferdinand.

An exchange fic. For my Bad Things Happen Bingo: You Can Scream All You Want

Just Another Theory in Motion by The_Walking_Pie

When Hubert takes longer than usual to return from a scouting mission, Ferdinand can't help but worry. But when Hubert finally does return, something seems...off.

Bait on a Hook by The_Walking_Pie

During a normal fishing trip, Byleth gets kidnapped by Those Who Slither in the Dark.

Fandom: Call of Duty

Writing

Crawling rot by Livingblurr @livingblurr

But he fucking loathed it right now. Sweet baby Jesus, he hated himself even more. The coffee in his ‘best mom ever mug’ was stale and cold, poured hours ago just to be forgotten about as Graves had indulged in yet another file Shepherd had sent over.

Graves doesn’t get enough sleep because of far too much paperwork and his mind does a funky thing and lets him hallucinate. His medic is there to catch him.

Feral claws (don’t cut chains) by Livingblurr @livingblurr

Metal bars caged him in the small space, like a damn animal in a Zoo enclosure, ready for viewing at a moment's notice. Only thing missing was stupid plexiglass and a brat hammering against it with their sticky grippers.

Graves gets captured and (somewhat) tortured.

Fandom: Banana Fish

Art

Hurt Ash Fanart bySilver_Treats (SuperSilverSpy), SuperSilverSpy

That one time when Ash was restrained and beaten…

Sacrifice For A Friend by Sishal @sishal01

Eiji just wants to help his friend. No matter the cost to himself.

Fandom: Doki Doki Literature Club!

Art

Niemand by rikkacha

"Hey, hey, wake up!"

the red means i love you by Steefwaterbutter

Yuri sure does love y/n, huh?

Fandom: Módào Zǔshī, The Untamed

Writing

I Only Sink Deeper by Steefwaterbutter

A grieving sect leader, a night hunt gone terribly wrong, and a smile that must not fade.

Or: Lan Xichen falls ill and his family reminds him how much they love him.

Art

Return Me To His Arms by ProjectXIII @project-xiii

A snapshot in which a tortured soul finally freed finds itself pulled back to mortal fetters at the loving but wounded voice of his loved one, a voice gentle enough to stall the screaming in his ears but powerful enough to bring him back to earth.

Fandom: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom

Writing

What the Courageous Fear by Sparky_Lurkdragon @sparkylurkdragon

Link recalls that time King Rhoam made him give a speech.

Art

Caught in the In-Between by Sishal @sishal01

Link is caught in the war between light and darkness.

Fandom: Gravity Falls

Writing

I've got you, brother by ilike_color @graham-cracker-guillotine

Stan gets lost trying to find Ford's cabin. Ford helps him warm up.

Fandom: Tiger & Bunny

Writing

A Shortcut to Danger by The_Walking_Pie

On the way to the movies, Kotetsu and Barnaby end up embroiled in a robbery. They dispatch the robber quickly, but one of them ends up with an injury that's more than it appears to be.

Fandom: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Writing

House of Memories by Rookblonkorules

Narancia finds himself in an unfortunate situation with no one to come for him.

Fandom: Tokyo Ghoul

Art

It Doesn't Get Better by emcSCARED @emcscared-whumps

(ARTWORK) Kaneki suffers some more (ambiguous) torture (presumably with a Special WeaponTM of some sort) because he isn't miserable enough yet :) He looks good in chains.

Fandom: SCP Foundation

Art

Transportation by Gadgetrocks

My piece for the Whumplovers Collaborate summer exchange!! Looks like SCP-049 is being transported somewhere after an… incident. Is it the bloodloss or the lavender circulating the air making them woozy? Who can tell, really >;)

Fandom: Sonic The Hedgehog

Art

Sparky Lurkdragon's Treat by Anonymous

Fandom: Black Butler

Art

Bad Day For Sebastian by Silver_Treats (SuperSilverSpy)

Sebastian got stabbed…

Fandom: Undertale

Art

Hurt Flowey by Silver_Treats (SuperSilverSpy)

Flowey’s not having a good time

Fandom: Gears of War

Art

MidnightCity's Treat by Anonymous

Fandom: Night Head Genesis

Art

Night Head Genesis Art by Anonymous

9 notes · View notes

whereeammii · 2 years

Text

okay so ive been thinking about this all night and has spirit tracks actually happened in linked universe yet?

i recently reread all of LU and I’ve been wondering why there’s no mention of anything spirit tracks related.

now, pls pls correct me if I’m wrong or if I’ve missed something, but LU wind seems VERY phantom hourglass and wind waker oriented. there’s barely any mentions of anything in or about spirit tracks at all.

in the latest update i believe wind was thinking about bellum—not malladus. he mentions ganon all the time and even wields the phantom sword. i know jojo has stated that wind = spirit tracks link and it’s very likely that the lack of spirit tracks references are simply because jojo has a strong preference for phantom hourglass (as detailed here) but what if it’s not?

i looked through a lot of stuff but not everything. im far too tired for that atm. but I even looked through old q&a posts. there’s not even any ST references in wind’s design.

also keep in mind, the bokoblins wind recognizes are from the great sea. whenever he talks of his home, it’s always of islands or his time on the water. it sounds like they’re still sailing and looking for land. and i believe the general consensus is that wind and tetra don’t even discover new hyrule until they’re adults or at least in their late teens considering they set up the monarchy in new hyrule. idk about anyone else but I wouldn’t want my leading authority to be a fourteen year old.

as I said before, I admit there’s a high probability that jojo just….doesn’t care much for the game. last I recall, she said she’d give the game another chance after getting used to phantom hourglass’ mechanics. but do we know if she actually finished it?

the only evidence i have to refute this theory is a few handful of things.

likely the biggest proof against this theory (unless I’m missing, not understanding, or forgetting something) is wind’s current shield.

i believe as far as these three games are concerned, it only shows up in spirit tracks. it could also be argued that wind was referring to chancellor cole or ST zelda in the latest update when expressing his concerns about twilight getting corrupted but chancellor cole was never really corrupted? from the start, he was a demon who merely pretended to be a normal hylian and byrne did everything of his own volition in an attempt to become more powerful. i suppose it could still be about zelda (especially when you really think about the puppeteer line) but I wouldn’t describe ST zelda as having been corrupted and certainly not in the way wind is worried twilight could be. her body was used as a vessel but not when her spirit or consciousness was in it and it wasn’t because of any practice she participated in or item she used.

jojo did upload a video at one point and one of the time stamps shows she talked about spirit tracks zelda. unfortunately, I’ve never seen this video and am currently still unable to access it so I have no idea what was spoken about in this video.

furthermore, while this may be trying to find a needle in a haystack, one could look at this comic and find it suspicious that wind knows and understands cuccos and their dangers very well despite them not being present in the wind waker. while cuccos are in spirit tracks, they are also very much present in phantom hourglass.

anyway, long story short—im probably overthinking. but wind speaks of the great sea as though it’s still very much present in his current time which leads me to believe spirit tracks hasn’t happened yet among other things. you could always just argue that wind found his shield somewhere in the great sea or on an island post-phantom hourglass and it was merely kept around until the events of spirit tracks.

i really don’t mind this lack of reference though! for those members of the fandom like me who love to make wind and spirit two separate people, it helps that wind hardly (if ever) alludes to any spirit tracks adventures. and if you like meshing all three games together, it’s interesting to think of spirit tracks as an adventure wind has yet to begin!

pls lmk if I’ve gotten anything wrong or missed something! i’ll be very embarrassed but i’ll live!! also, if you happen to know what was said about ST zelda and want to lmk, I’d be happy to hear that too!

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu #lu wind #lu spirit #kinda #wind waker #phantom hourglass #spirit tracks #lu theory #ALSO!!#he always refers to his home as hyrule or the great sea #never NEW hyrule #just an observation

70 notes · View notes

aurathian · 7 months

Note

baptism director’s commentary please please please

omg hi b thanks for enabling me (the fic is here for those who want to read it)

guys. i just. i have such an unhealthy obsession with religious trauma and it is SOOOOO intriguing in the zelda universe especially botw and sksw and totk and like tbh. i know lots of people hate it but i feel like morally grey or even leaning "bad" hylia is so cool and intriguing and awesome. she is not someone i will ever see myself writing as an actual normal character but someone i love to depict through the eyes of other characters like.... zelda. obviously. this fic itself is less about hylia and focuses more on zelda's mother but zelda's mother's feelings are a direct result of religious trauma & anxiety & her own perceptions about hylia

we know so little about zelda's mother she is briefly mentioned and that's it and i CRAVE knowing more about her so i took it into my own hands (i came up with delusional headcanons) and this fic is just one manifestation of that. i could go on about it forever. we saw how the whole prayer thing affected zelda and her father, but we know nothing about how it affected her mother. did she ever have to share the same burden? did she understand the gravity of what zelda would have to go through? in this fic her guilt and anxiety is so intense that she wishes literal death on her baby so that she will not have to go through these things that she knows about but hasn't experienced--but knowledge of it is enough to send her into panic.

i am so sorry. this is less about the fic and more my own ramblings but its some of the thought behind why and how i wrote it... i hope thats ok LMFAOOOO heres a snippet below

The fortune teller said so.

She cradled her baby in her arms, so delicate and small, her tiny hands grasping at the air, mewling; so innocent. There was a small basin before them, gilded and shining, filled with shimmering water; so holy, so pure. Untouched by evil or misfortune, it waited patiently for the dip of the baby’s head. Undemanding, void of stress, it did not beckon or call; it waited, because it knew it was only a matter of time before the baby was baptized.

The woman cradling her baby could only stare at the gentle ripples prompted by the slight movements of the people holding the basin. One of them, the Bishop of the Church of Hylia; the other, a mere boy. The Bishop smiled at her, gentle and polite, giving a small nod toward the bath. If only he knew, she thought.

Her husband asked her, Why do you hesitate? She said, I don’t know. His hand on her shoulder was anything but comforting. His hand on her shoulder was doom; an omen, a prophecy, a call to a future known yet unpreventable.

The fortune teller said so.

She took a step toward the basin, the soft tap of her shoe against the marble floor echoing through the empty cathedral, empty except for the five people in the room and the hard, stony gaze of the Goddess Hylia above. Here, her steps weighed heavy like no one, not even she, could fathom; her steps were laden with fate, controlled by the puppet string of the gods. Each step spelled another death, another destruction, another ruin. Tap, tap, tap.

She was beside the basin, hushing her baby in her gentle embrace, her baby with a head of blonde hair much like her own, with eyes like her own, with pale skin like her own; the baby who looked so much like her she wondered if this foretold fate was not the baby’s but hers instead, and by some divine mistake it had been passed down to one daughter too many.

#bahbahhh #ask game #zelda

2 notes · View notes

strawberrycircuits · 11 months

Note

the uhhhh fairy god from windwaker that looks creepy and controls the fairyts like puppets but Zelda

oubbff... i always thought she looked like fi which is also making me think of sword spirit zelda. which i am of course very normal about too ,,

#i think generally i just want zelda to be weird and creepy and fucked up. i want her to terrify me and i want the whole goddess thing to be #explored in a horror fueled way. i wnt her to be scary so soo bad ok shes been put into so many crystals she deserves it i think

5 notes · View notes

keefwho · 6 months

Text

November 23 - 2023 Thursday

11:12pm

I took the day off today like was advised of me, I think it was a good idea. I woke up and immediately tried to tune into the Thanksgiving parade. The best I could do was watching this puppet guy stream it on Twitch which was actually wholesome and funny. I missed the first half of it though. Afterwards I made a bologna sandwich and rice for breakfast. A little smaller than usual to save room for Thanksgiving lunch. While drinking my coffee I decided to work on a picture I was thinking about last night to tell Daisy how thankful I am of her. While doing that I was chilling in a Black Cat in desktop and was briefly interviewed by this Australian guy before he got in an unironic fight with a couple of trolling teens. It started off funny but over time it got more toxic and people actually got upset. It sucked to watch because I thought the guy was smarter than that. I'm surprised at how many people just give in to strangers shit talking them. It was a nice time, it felt good hangin around and goofin off. I then joined a random furry who was in a cuddle pile with a few people, making sexual references constantly and flustering one another. Shit I can NOT understand and never did. Afterwards I was unsure what to do with myself for awhile. I got that brain fog and tried to sit down with a stream to anchor myself to. I didn't really figure out what to do, I sort of just waited until lunch time. It was then I found out that I didn't have a can of turkey spam like I thought and that sort of put a hamper on my lunch. Instead I had to use hickory smoke flavor which meant I couldn't bake it like I planned so I just fried everything in the pan. I had spam, hash browns with onions, green beans and carrots, corn, stuffing, and gravy. I wasn't in the eating mood when I made all this but it actually came out fantastic. Wasnt TOO many calories over either but it was still a pretty big meal. After lunch I tried to work on another drawing but wasn't feeling it. I still had the same problem not knowing what to do but I tuned into a stream that was actually kinda cozy even though it wasn't someone I usually liked. After a bit Daisy said she wanted to kill Ganon tonight so I had to grind a little for the lightscale trident I needed. We got all set up and finally went through the finale of TOTK. It took about an hour and a half and I recorded the event for the future to check out someday. It was a spectacular ending. I loved the fight with ganon and his dragon design. I'm glad Zelda was turned back to normal. During bedtime I played Neopets and started my first big combat portion it seems.

Degen time. Before bed I was chilling but wanted to do something. I've really been into cucking lately and still am but it's starting to wear off which is good I think. Theres just a lot I've wanted to try or discuss that I haven't been able to so I keep feeling the need to do it. I don't wanna go full cuck though because I can see the negative effects that might have on my opinion of myself. Deep down I want a normal mutual engagement most of the time. But in some ways I don't feel like I deserve that or am capable so I try to settle for more degrading things. Thats not always bad though, only if I do it too much.

#journal #diary #thanksgiving #bored #zelda #thankful

1 note · View note

anomalocaris-for-season-four · 9 months

Text

The Legend of Zelda: The Extermination [of the Gerudo] - Part 2

So I noticed how much people liked the previous writing, so I decided to make a part two, finally. Heads up: there might be some stuff that conflicts with the canonically accurate story. I hope you guys like it, though. Enjoy!

——————————

Zelda stood, exhausted, before the tan steps leading to the throne room. She barely had the strength and energy to climb the stairs, but telling herself that she was almost there was enough to push her forward. She collapsed onto the room’s floor without so much as a hello. “Princess Zelda!” Riju was surprised and worried, rushing over to Zelda. “Are you alright, your majesty?” Zelda responded with a groan, sitting up slowly. “I’ll be fine.. I appreciate your concern,” she said politely. “I am here on very important business.” She stood and dusted herself off, standing tall and proper. “So I have been informed.” Riju listened attentively. “Could you tell me a bit about your people, for starters?” Zelda asked softly. Riju was somewhat surprised, as she had thought the matter urgent when she was told that the princess of Hyrule was coming to speak with her on such short notice. “Erm, yes. Well, my people only give birth to a male every hundred years, which one may call a reason for why we are all women. That male is always…” “Ganondorf. Do continue.” “Y-yes. Just a moment- why are we discussing this? I thought you were here to talk about some major occurrence somewhere in the more populated region of Hyrule.” Riju couldn’t focus on such a trivial topic as her culture at a time like this. “Well, yes. Aren’t you aware of the Upheaval?” Zelda asked a question she very well knew the answer to. “Of course I am. Who isn’t? It has brought unspeakable calamity {*hehehehehehe*} upon our home.” “And who caused this catastrophe?” Once again, Zelda knew that they both knew who the culprit was. “Ganondorf. Princess Zelda, I must ask, why are you asking such asinine questions?” Riju was trying rather hard to maintain a civil attitude towards Zelda. “Please, just bear with me. Where does Ganondorf come from?” “The Gerudo-” Suddenly, it hit her. “Zelda. What are you planning to do?” Her inquiry sounded more a statement than a question. Zelda looked at the ground and sighed. “When you injure a limb too badly to fix it, do you live with the suffering? No. What do you do to it, Riju?” “You.. you..” She struggled to choke out the words. “What do you do?” Zelda repeated in her gentle voice, though a hint of light aggression lingered in her tone. “..Amputate.”

On the way back to central Hyrule, Zelda was silent. Her companion could sense something off about her, and his mind flashed back to something from many a year ago. Ganon had made a demonic puppet of Zelda, and though Link didn’t want to admit it, it had been nearly enough to fool the swordsman. Knowing Ganondorf, it wasn’t unlikely that he would do something similar again. But no. This couldn’t be the case. It simply wasn’t true. He’d never let Zelda out of his sight since the Upheaval. He stopped the horse and turned to her. “Is there something wrong..?” Zelda looked at him somewhat tensely. He did not respond but stared her down, as if waiting for some disguise to give way to one of Ganon’s horrors. He stared for several moments before slowly and hesitantly turning back to his previous position. They continued through the lonely desert until their return to central Hyrule.

The castle was within sight, so from that point they just had to navigate to Akkala. You see, since the castle wasn’t reachable(by normal means, anyway), Link had been keeping a very close eye on Zelda by having her stay at his house for the time being. He’d gotten quite the discount from Hudson and his wife. The house had a great view of the sea, and was just by the edge of a cliff. A great location, if you asked Link. But, of course, he wouldn’t answer. After a long and tiresome horseback ride through most of Hyrule, they had arrived at Link’s house. He deposited Zelda there and locked all the doors before leaving and hastily taking his house to the nearest stable, hurrying back to the princess as quick as possible. When he arrived, beads of sweat had just barely begun to accumulate on his skin, he’d have just blamed the sun, but it was quite literally the middle of the night. Perhaps he had just been overworking himself lately? Nonsense. Nothing is too much for him to handle. He had to protect Zelda, and a little exhaustion was a very small price to pay for… nothing. Link wasn’t getting anything out of this, really. Sure, he’d killed millions of monsters, but the demons that haunted him when he closed his eyes could never be slain with a sword, no matter how damn hard he tried.

#the legend of zelda #tloz #link #Zelda #fanfic #fanfiction

1 note · View note

emblemxeno · 3 years

Text

JP vs. Localization in Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation

(Okay, for real this time lol)

Again, here’s a link to my sources post.

Fortunately, this route follows suit in terms of good localization quality after Conquest. It’s the shortest out of all the posts, since I don’t really have a lot to talk about. Mostly subtle line changes, references and a few key points of information that were cut out. I also went through Hidden Truths and Heirs of Fate to see if I could add stuff from those on here, but there were no big problems that I found.

Once again, the main part of this post will all be put under the cut. If a chapter isn’t covered, it means I didn’t think there were any differences worth talking about.

I’ll use localized names for characters and locations, unless I feel the need to do otherwise.

I’ll be using she/her when referring to Corrin in this post. (I flipped a coin to decide the gender lol)

Also, note that after Chapter 14, the translation of this route on Fateswartable ends, so I mostly relied on the English patch done by Serenes at that point forward. (I also used PegasusKnight.com as a reference to fall back on if I needed it)

Chapter 7

-A minor gripe I have with localization. The JP version compares Touma (Valla) to hell constantly. To jump ahead a bit, I believe in the JP versions of the End of All Sky/Land/Below tracks are even called The End of All Roads Heaven/Earth/Hell. The Vallites are also often called demons in the JP version, and Anankos himself is known as the ‘Invisible Demon Dragon’.

Another cool thing I just thought of too, is a connection to a popular Japanese short story. Zelda fans might be familiar with the story, “The Spider’s Thread”, which inspired the Ancient Cistern dungeon in Skyward Sword.

The beginning of the story has Buddha walking through paradise (heaven), before coming across a pond. The pond is filled with crystal clear water, and covered with water lilies/lotuses. As Buddha gazes further into the pond, he begins to see the depths of hell.

Sound familiar? “Azura is walking through Hoshido, before coming across a lake. The lake is filled with crystal clear water, and when she gazes into the lake she sees the fallen kingdom of her birth. Valla, the kingdom associated with water lilies/lotuses in the game, has been turned into hell itself.”

This association loses its meaning a bit when the comparisons to hell are a bit toned down, as well as when the Buddhist inspirations were kind of supplanted in favor of Greek renames. It’s not supremely important to the plot as a whole, but it’s something interesting I wanted to bring up.

-In the JP version, while explaining what happened in Valla, Azura eventually says “Using the art of manipulating people’s souls, he (Hydra/Anankos) made the people kill each other.” This bit of the people killing each other was cut in localization.

Chapter 12

-In the JP version, when Corrin asks Flora if she knows anything about dragons, Flora says “Sorry, I don’t know…The ancestral dragon of the Ice Clan has already perished and isn’t part of the legend. I don’t know what role it plays, sorry…” Localization makes her response “I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything... They've been gone so long that we don't even have tales of dragons in the Ice Tribe. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more assistance...”

So, the JP version explicitly says the Ice Dragon is dead (I believe Fates’ second artbook mentioned this as well), whereas the localization only says the First Dragons have been gone for a long time.

Chapter 16

-There’s not really much of a problem that I have with what Ryoma says about Corrin “having leadership qualities at a young age” but I wanted to do comparisons regardless cuz the word choice might lead one to different conclusions. In localization, Ryoma says this:

Ryoma: Huh... So she told us the same thing... I don't think it's in Corrin's nature to lie. And there's a leadership quality about her that just attracts followers. I remember being jealous of her as a child, in fact. Even at such a young age, she displayed the characteristics of a ruler. Silly to be jealous of her, right?

In the JP version, Ryoma says this:

Ryoma: Oh... So, she told you the same thing. …Corrin isn’t one to tell lies. She’s been like that since childhood. She’s always genuine and honest... She has this mysterious appeal that draws people to her. Seeing my younger sister with the qualities of being a ruler... Honestly, it makes me feel envious. …What a ridiculous thing to say, right?

Again, I don’t necessarily have a problem with how it was localized, but some might. The localization version might have people think that Corrin somehow was a fantastic leader at such a young age, but JP is more clear that it was about the qualities she had at a young age that would be valuable as a leader.

Chapter 19

-A minor gripe. In the localization, Azura says that Anankos uses his magic to send Vallites to Nohr and Hoshido to stir up conflict. In the JP version, she says he uses magic, along with the help of a body of water. That’s why whenever you fight Vallites outside of Valla proper, there’s a body of water nearby; Hoshido’s lake (and the ponds shown in Hinoka’s CQ battle which are in the capital) for Chapter 5, the sea for BR chapter 11, the burning falls for BR chapter 21, and the city for Rev chapter 13. Similarly, the consequences of being a victim to the curse are described as “turning into sea foam” in the JP version. Localization as a whole kind of toned down how much water has an influence on the story.

Chapter 23

-Probably the pettiest gripe I have lol. As Arete is fading away from Azura’s arms, Azura has a different reaction in localization and Japanese. In localization, Azura says “Mother? Mother!” while a voice clip of her in-battle pain cries plays. In the JP, she says “*Sob... Sob*…! Mother... Mother...!”, while a voice clip of her crying plays. Her crying voice clip I don’t recall hearing anywhere else.

This is one of the few times in the you get to see Azura express a heavy and heartfelt emotion, since her rough childhood caused her to remain guarded and stoic around everyone. The equivalents to this scene in other routes is her death scene in Birthright, and her crying with Corrin over Ryoma’s death in Conquest; a normally unflinching and aloof character breaking down is a rarity, and indicates that the cause of it is something to take note of for the character as a whole. Localization softened this aspect, and I take issue with it, despite it probably seeming trivial to most other people.

Chapter 24

-When Corrin is questioning the phantom Mikoto, an exchange happens. In localization, part of it goes like this:

Corrin: But this can't be... Are you truly my mother?

Mikoto: I am. Even as a puppet of Anankos, my spirit at least remains my own.

Corrin: I... I believe you.

In the JP version, it goes like this:

Corrin: It can’t be... …Are you really my mother?

Mikoto: Yes... I became an Invisible servant, controlled by the Invisible King... Even so, I am your mother.

Corrin: …………

Again, a minor thing that I don’t personally have issue with, but replacing Corrin’s silence with an admittance of belief could make some believe she has “reverted” back to being too naïve.

Chapter 26

-While Gunter is relaying his past, an exchange happens. In localization, it goes like this:

Gunter: I ask myself that, every day. I cannot understand the minds of royals. To you all, we commoners are little more than pawns in your schemes... Or weeds to be killed on a whim.

Corrin: That's not true...

Xander: Is that how people view the royalty?

Ryoma: Such an impression would easily breed powerful resentment...

In the JP version, Corrin, Xander and Ryoma don’t say anything. They just remain silent.

Endgame

-Not a major problem so much as a general thing about the game, but I can think of like... at least three memes that Treehouse inserted into the localization. Now I like memes, but there is no better way to date your media nowadays. One of them was Kana’s “That’s dragon for I love you” which tbh, is kind of cute and isn’t the most well known meme so I guess I can let it slide. Another is Felicia saying “I had one job!” when she messes up in the dining hall, which isn’t that big of a deal since the dining hall is very optional.

The last one I can think of is why I put this specific grievance here, and it’s during Corrin’s speech before facing Anankos.

Corrin: We won't back down! This is my... This is our destiny! Ready your weapons! Fight for your friends! With the Seal of Flames... With the Fire Emblem on our side! We fight for our world!!

Yeah, she says “Fight for your friends” which is everyone’s favorite Ike line from Brawl. Now, this isn’t even a totally inaccurate translation either, but it kind of just... makes the moment funny for the player when it’s supposed to be commanding and serious I guess.

But yeah, not the most important issue by far, but something I’d thought to mention. Hell, it’s not even that bad compared to how they made Peri’s, Effie’s and Hisame’s quirks into exaggerated and tired jokes. And the Beruka-Saizo support. Never forget.

-When Azura and Corrin are by the lake and discuss the latter’s plans to rule, Corrin says this in localization:

Corrin: I'm going to make Valla a wonderful place! In honor of the true last king and for Queen Arete. And everyone who fought... I promise to make them all proud.

In the JP version, she says this:

Corrin: I’ll make the Invisible Kingdom (Valla) into a great land. For the previous monarch, Queen Shenmei (Arete)… And for all of my allies who fought beside me. I promise.

So, JP version only mentions Arete as the reigning monarch of Valla. Which makes sense, cuz unless there was some wild “keeping the bloodline pure” shenanigans in Valla, Arete being the Queen keeps in line with what we know about the rest of Valla’s history. Arete was royalty from birth, as was her sister Mikoto. Arete is the one who passed down Lost in Thoughts and the pendant to Azura.

105 notes · View notes

claybrownie7566 · 3 years

Note

I think this is the final rant? Thought dump?? For now

I wanted to think abt wing types😔 some ideas for what type of wings they might have

Active Soaring Wings (long narrow wings, made for soaring over water ie gulls): Easily Tetra! They're on the great sea after all, this one is simple! Wings like these only really fly well when the wind is favourable, so shed probably have to stay on her boat most of the time- but Wind controlling the wind currents with his wind waker to help Tetra fly, my beloved

Passive Soaring Wings (Long broad wings, made for soaring high in the air and have fast take off speed ie eagles): Id say Dusk, Artemis and Lullaby. These wings are pretty typical for predator bird/birds of prey, so out of all of them these wings are the most intimidating which works for Arty! Shes the princess of a war, bird of prey wings are sufficiently scary for her. Plus sometimes you see the Trope of characters using their wings as a shield, I feel like out of all the wings these are the only ones thick and big enough to actually be used like that. For Dusk I picked this because the way she sorta circles you in the puppet Zelda fight reminds me of birds of prey/Vultures. Imagine Twi being circled by puppet Zelda with her big wings, I would be veryyy intimidated. For Lullaby, I feel like passive soaring wings just feel more confident. Instead of flapping to keep up right, your just soaring! I also like the idea that she only flys really high in the air where no one really notices her so she can be free to just be herself by herself, before coming back down and having to be either Sheik (Downfall,Adult) or the perfectly well mannered Queen (child). Also one of the birds of prey are seen as good omens in the down fall era because the Goddess Hero has said kind of Wings (Like to think that Sheik is a cultural icon in the Downfall era like Time is in the Adult era)

High-Speed wings (Medium long and narrow wings, built for long sustained speed ie Falcons): Sun, Dawn, and Flora. Sun is already cannoncally super fast, always ahead of Link and Ghirahim. So she gets the Zoomy wings. She can fly faster than Ghirahim can teleport and it drives him crazy. Bonus when she shoves Sky off Skyloft, she has to go get them, but her wings arnt stong wings like Dusk/Artys/Lullaby so she just has to lay there for a while after pushing herself too far (mirroring her loftwing in game). Her wings are easier to use in the stiller wings of the surface, compared to the harsh winds of Skyloft- one of the reason she likes the surface more. For Flora, I like the idea that after Wild died, Flora flew around powerfully quickly to the Calamity after returning the Master sword. Like the botw speed run stasis launch but shes just like that. Also it would be funny for her to fly faster than Link can ride a horse. She leaves him in the dust as soon as shes out of the castle. The Rito in botw must really like Flora bc they're constantly talking about how Wild doesn't have wings. Flora who dive bombed the Calamity with all her strength means the world to me. Dawn's is more practical. If non of their wings look the same im just assuming that like Hylia picks which wings they get based on their personality/environment. Wings built for fast sustained flight would be amazing for the Downfall era, to always be too fast for anything to catch you. Too bad she still gets kidnapped tho, she must of been yanked outta the sky when trying to escape. I could see Dawn being the fastest flier before getting kidnapped and her bonding with Leggy over not having the most presentable Wings. I love Dawn so much. I feel like shes 100% embarrassed of her wings and prefers to keep them hidden, but seeing Legend struggle with his would cause a mom friend override. She will talk about them, but only to help others

Elliptical Wings (short broad wings, made for short bursts of high speed tightly controlled flight and fast take offs ie sparrows): These are the wings require a lot of flapping for normal flight. Out of all of them I feel like they have the highest skill ceiling. Like to be able to quickly dart between trees seems hard, and if you arnt darting youd be flapping constantly instead of Soaring. I feel like these would be good for Leggy and Fable! Legend needing to flap constantly to stay in the area, but when he finally figures it out he can move faster than Flora/Dawn/Sun and maneuver better than them at higher speeds too- but its hard. I feel like that fits with the Legend learing how to accept/use his wings plot line. Its hard but theyre super cool after he figures it out. For Fable, ive always seen her as high enegry and excitable. Flappy wings that allow her to maneuver easily just sorta vibe with that. Esp if shes just a natural at it. These wings are made for avoiding predators. Whats a better wing type for a Hero who gets in so many fights, and has so many enemies.

Hovering wings (humming bird wings, used for tightly controlled hovering, very small compared to body, can fly backwards): Dot. Minish cap Zelda having tiny wings is my only thought process for this I am sorry unu

For Aurora being flightless: Aurora was said to live in a golden era before she was cursed. She probably never needed to fly before, she lived in luxury and could just lounge around. A lot of flightless birds uses their wings for displays. So i like to think her wings are very very very very pretty, yet almost useless. (Dawn is a little jelly bc her wings have always been drab looking. Aurora thinks Dawn's wings look warm and comforting.)

Bonus: Hyrule has wings in his fairy form! He can also fly. Hyrule trying to teach leggy how to fly my beloved- I like to think he has little dragon fly wings.

(AH!! an Angst pass!!! Ohohohohoh Dawn and Aurora come hereeee- might draw my ideas of thoes two if it doesn't step on ur toes lol. Two princesses that cannot fly, what heartfelt conversations full of feelings will they have!!)

HYRULE TEACHING LEGEND HOW TO SLY MY BELOVED

C-can I use that? Would that be? I need that now can I put that in?

Bro Anon this is some FANTASTIC STUFF. Ease excuse me while I just....*drops pen and paper from trying to jot it all down.

Dusk with big vulture wings ooooooo.

Yo hmu if you wanna help me hash out designs because O_O

#go anon #yes #brownie bites #feathered au

23 notes · View notes

sheikfangirl · 1 month

Text

Blade Runner 2049 redraw with a angsty Zelink twist, dedicated to @rottencandyapp1es! She also drew her take on that iconic scene, check it out if you haven't already! 🔥

I am obsessed with the idea of toxic Puppet Zelink haunting and torturing Link all the time😭 HDGDNGDHS !!!!! Like....REALLY OBSSESSED!

2K notes · View notes

pocketramblr · 4 years

Text

Masterpost- fantasy AUs edition

My BNHA stories in various fantasy AUs are listed here under the cut!

[Masterpost Main Link]

FANTASY AUS

Kraken Tales: Mermaids/Daemons au. In which every human has an ‘otherself’, an animal companion. they can fuse into one being with magic (land and sky otherselves) or natrually (aquatic otherselves). Aquatics typically live their entire lives as ‘wholeself’, aka mermaids. This AU, which i nickname ‘the krakenverse’, started off as a normal little mermaid au. it got bigger.

Poor Unfortunate Souls: the first installment. Reveals how AfO was imprisoned, who his son is, and how he deals with both his father’s imprisonment and his friendships with Toshinori’s, the ruler of the nearest land kingdom’s, sons Mirio and Izuku. (Completed, 2/2)

You’ll Be In My Heart, Always: Soft Toshiinko oneshot with their boys. Inko, Mirio, and Izuku have seal otherselves, Toshi has a big newfoundland dog.

Softly Tread The Sand Below Your Feet Now: Aizawa and Eri’s story. They come from a desert kingdom to the east of Midoriya, fleeing Eri’s uncle and would-be-murderer, Prince Regent Kai. Kai keeps sending people after them. Expect lots of Dadzawa and worldbuilding. (Incomplete, 1/2)

Certain As The Sun: an upcoming oneshot that was supposed to be for valentines day, whoops. Mirio and Tamaki growing closer.

Unnamed, Upcoming installments: Will include a How-Toshiinko-met oneshot, a Fuyumi oneshot, and an “Princes Izuku and Shoto take down a murderer together” oneshot.

Defying Expectations: A Legend of Zelda AU, collaboration with ProclaimerSOfHeroes. Izuku is the prince of the Geurdo, Mirio is the Hylian prince, and no one can find either the Hero of The Mastersword or the Princess With The Goddess’s Power.

Trapped: (PoH) Izuku is kidnapped by the Yiga Clan, who want to raise him to host their master (AfO)- who’s possesed and led to the death of nearly every male-born gerudo since anyone can remember.

Safe-Hold: (Me) Izuku escapes after the events of Trapped. We meet Toshinori, a Hylian who works to protect travelers and caravans, and reunite with Queen Inko of the Gerudo.

Home: (PoH) Izuku dealing with being home after his kidnapping, trying to banish the traces of the Shade Of Power from his mind.

Plans: (Me) Mirio and his shiekah guard, Tamaki, discuss plans for how to deal with the Yiga and AfO, who can’t be putting off their attack forever.

Wrath: (PoH) The fall of Tenko Shimura

Upcoming: Shame (Me), the reaction to this host’s reveal... and more, of course

Marks of Light: Possibly my most ambitious fantasy AU, taking place in the land Illumnais. Three kingdoms, Sun, Moon, and Stars, make up this continent, and on their fourth year, all children go to the temples to receive a Blessing from their patron Light. Izuku is Bereft, having recived no Blessing. But, the Might of The Sun, The Eyes of The Moon, and the Crest of The Stars are special, and one of them can be passed between people- if the Dawn, champion of illumnais, and the Sun deem you worthy. (Incomplete, 6/?)

The Fisher King: Another fantasy AU, in which kingdoms are full of magic, and the heir to the throne can summon a Spirit Protector for them. Prince Izuku summoned the Guardian Spirit All Might when he was a little child, an omen of war in the near future. Inspired by the ‘official’ fantasy au story in the light novel- All Might, when not summoned, is a little wooden doll, and AfO (another heir’s Summoned Spirit) is going around turning people into demons. (Incomplete, 1/10 chapters)

The Deltora AU: An au explored on my tumblr here and also in this oneshot: Pride, and this oneshot: Shoulder to Cry On. Izuku’s the heir to Deltora, unfortunately the Shadowlord (afo) has been occupying for many years, since he shattered the belt and cursed his father. There are two snippets of Kurogiri’s death and Oboro’s death in the tag linked as well.

Glyphpairs: Oneshot, set in the Stormlight Archive Universe (Roshar). Shoto Todoroki tells Izuku, who’s officially a former slave of a royal guard and rather unofficially a Knight Radiant, about his family’s history.

The Labyrinth: Based on the movie- in which Fuyumi’s brothers are wished-away to the land of the goblin king, and she’s got to get them back. But Touya’s been there so long he has another name, Shoto has no memories of the human land, and is there any reason for Natsuo to want to come back from Hawks’ realm? (Incomplete, 8/?)

Prophecy’s Puppet: Belgariad AU. Sometimes i’m listening to the audiobook of Pawn Of The Prophecy and i am compelled to make this au. Follows the belgariad’s normal storyline for a while, so not a lot of changes but it’s so fun. (Incomplete.)

4 notes · View notes

tandeeee · 7 years

Note

What kind of retro games do you like?

Ahhhh man, just about any jrpg from the super nintendo and on. I love anything atlus, especially during the ps1 era. I collect everything from the normal stuff (nes, square soft, zelda...) to the weird ( neo geo pocket, everything fromsoft, everything grasshopper, working designs jrpgs). I at one point worked for a local game store that sold retro stuff so i went wild with my paycheck. I can post pictures tomorrow most likely, i have a lot of wild and crazy things. I have a puppet from lunar, a real neat smt if... limited edition, a sealed copy of shadow tower and a sealed first edition pier solar. My favorite game is probably earthbound or xenogears. I also love snatcher. I am too obsessed with smt and persona... in particular smt nocturne. I have a tattoo from that and a jackfrost tattoo :)

1 note · View note

niamsuggitt · 7 years

Text

The Ides Of May 2017

Hi guys! It’s that time of the month again, time for me to write a ‘lil bit about all of the various media I’ve stuffed into my gaping eye and ear-holes over the past 30 days. I would have included mouth-holes there too, but Nintendo deliberately made Switch cartridges taste horrible so unfortunately I haven’t been able to eat one. Oh well.

This month includes the return of some Sitcom favourites, more of me slowly, ever-so-slowly playing Zelda, a Booker Prize winner and a nice heap of Marvel Cinematic Universe fun.

Let’s do it!

—

Movies

Once again there’s only 2 movies this month, and whilst they are both very different, both provide quite a bit to think and talk about. Up first is Anomalisa (Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson 2015). This may be surprising given the types of films I normally like, but before watching Anomalisa I have to admit to not liking Charlie Kaufman as a writer. I’ve seen Eternal Sunshine, Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, and none of them resonated with me like they do for so many others. I just find him a bit… pretentious? Like he tries too hard to do different things and in the end it just obscures what he’s actually trying to say? I dunno. But much to my surprise and pleasure, I really enjoyed Anomalisa, which is different from Kaufman’s other work in that it’s animated. This stop-motion story follows a man (voiced by David Thewlis) who is on a business trip to Cincinnati. This man, Michael, sees everyone else in the world, including his wife, a former girlfriend, as the same person. They have the same face, and the same voice (Tom Noonan). That is until he stumbles across one other person who looks different, Lisa, (Jennifer Jason Leigh). It’s a complicated, dare I say, pretentious set-up, but for me it works. The animation is fantastic, incredibly detailed, and it’s used to go to places other animated films wouldn’t. This is a truly adult film, so if after Team America you wanted to see more puppet nudity and sex… I’ve got you covered. The way the technique of having everyone except Michael and Lisa be the same person works is incredibly effective and disorientating. It took about 10 minutes for me to twig it, the unease sort of snuck up on me. I said earlier that I think Kaufman’s gimmickry gets in the way of what he is actually trying to say, but that is not the case here, I think I pretty much got what the film was saying about solipsism, and how so many other films feature a ‘manic pixie dream girl’ who shakes a depressed male protagonist out of their funk. Anomalisa flips your expectations here. Lisa is not Michael’s soulmate, she’s just a blip in his mental illness. If it even is that, he might just be an asshole. That’s not to say that Lisa isn’t a well-drawn character, because she is, and Leigh’s voice acting makes her come to life. Then again, maybe this isn’t what Kaufman and Johnson are saying at all and I’m an idiot. Either way, Anomalisa is a fascinating film that has been rotating in my head since I watched it. It’s unlike anything else I’ve seen lately, and has me reconsidering my position on Charlie Kaufman. I certainly plan on watching the other film he directed, rather than just wrote, Synecdoche New York, and maybe I’ll go back to those other, older films.

Up next, I took a step away from the esoteric puppet show towards the mainstream blockbuster and into the cinema, as I went to see Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (James Gunn 2017) which is of course (of course) the third film in the third phase of the monolithic Marvel Cinematic Universe. As is par for the course when writing about these films (and some, most, of the TV projects) I feel like I have to fully lay out a bit of bias. I love these films and just seeing these characters on screen and being done justice like this takes away a lot of my critical faculties. Problems I have with other, similar movies, I can brush aside because, hey, it’s the MCU, I trust these people. But that aside, I thoroughly enjoyed Guardians 2, and whilst I don’t think it’s quite as good as the first one, I really appreciate it’s weirdness and how much crazy Marvel Universe lore it puts out there, if only just to hint at. The film of course sees all of our favourites from the first film, Star-Lord, Gamara, Drax, Rocket and Groot return for another adventure, but this time, the stakes are far more personal, as Star-Lord meets his father, Ego, who is brilliantly portrayed by Kurt Russell. Firstly, it was just awesome to be back with these characters again, they are just so much fun. The Guardians are perhaps the MCU versions that are the most different from the originals (of course, the comics have in turn, begun to reflect the movies far more) and as such I have a different emotional attachment to them. I’m not constantly comparing Gamora to the 500 Gamora comics I’ve read in my life, I’m just invested in her relationship with Nebula, and with Star-Lord. As I mentioned, the main plot here is Peter and his father, but the script makes sure that every Guardian (except maybe Baby Groot, but he’s adorable enough that you don’t mind) has their own story. Drax forms a bond with the newcomer Mantis (who is great!), Gamora fights her sister again, but even more personally, and Rocket deals with his anger driving people away. I found myself invested in all of these storylines, and it mean that, whilst the overall plot did sag a bit in the middle of the film, I didn’t mind. I will say that I am a bit sick of people dismissing Star-Lord’s story as ‘just more daddy issues’ or something like that. I think that’s reductive, and to me, the real plotline is how much Peter Quill still cares about his mother. His love for her is what snaps him out of cosmic brainwashing, and let’s not forget that, as awesome as the classic soundtracks are, they do serve an emotional purpose, as they are his only link to Earth, and to his mum. Maybe it’s just because my mother died of cancer as well (although hers wasn’t put there by an evil Celestial, at least I don’t think it was), but if anything, this is far more of a ‘mommy issues’ movie than a daddy issues one. I mentioned the soundtrack earlier, and I will say that this particular ‘awesome mix’ was a bit of step down, with the songs either being too mainstream (Fleetwood Mac, ELO) or way too obscure. Maybe I’m asking too much, but the first movie’s track selection was just perfect, hard for lightning to strike twice I suppose. The other character I want to specially highlight is Michael Rooker as Yondu, who is just amazing here. He has real pathos behind him and makes a character I never really knew into an absolute favourite. His storyline also sees the film do something I really didn’t expect and bring in more of the ‘original’ Guardians, the ones who, in the comics, were in the future. This movie has Sylvester Goddamn Stallone in it as Starhawk and I went in without knowing! I love that Gunn hasn’t forgotten the likes of Charlie-27 and Martinex, and that a major movie can feature characters as weird as them. That’s what sets this film apart from me, it’s not afraid to get a bit odd, and to use weird elements from the source material to their full potential. A few years ago, Ego The Living Planet would be considered way too goofy for a film, but not here, here he’s Kurt Russell! Some of this is pure fan-service, but as mentioned, when it comes to these films, I don’t mind that at all. The Stan Lee cameo was amazing, the teaser in the credits for Adam Warlock blew my mind (it took me an embarrassingly long time to connect Ayesha and her golden skin to that classic cosmic character). This film’s links to the wider universe are like that, more hints. I did expect some big Thanos developments, but ultimately, I don’t mind spending 2 hours just inside these goofball’s messed-up heads. I can’t wait for Vol.3, and I hope that, when the Guardians appear in Avengers: Infinity War, they don’t lose what makes them special. This film was just a blast, it delivers more of what you want, as well as surprising you with where it goes, the best kind of sequel.

Television

There’s one new TV show for me to talk about this time out, in the form of American Gods (Starz), the long-awaited adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s 2001 novel. This is an interesting series for me adaptation-wise because, whilst I have read the book, it was a long time ago and I don’t really remember a lot of what happened. Just the basic gist really. This isn’t like Game Of Thrones or The Expanse where the source material is fresh as a daisy in my mind and I’m constantly comparing the show to what I already know. Here, I’m kind of hazy on the details and it’s a lot of fun being surprised both by what I didn’t know, and what I forgot I knew! The basic plot has barely begun, but basically, Gods are real, they live in America, they are at war, and a man named Shadow Moon (as far as I can call this dumb-ass name does have a good explanation) is drawn into their world after the death of his wife and his release from prison (on the same day). Not only is that, to me, a great intriguing premise, but it’s really elevated by some fantastic performances and amazing visual flair. One of the show’s main producers is Bryan Fuller, from Hannibal, and the opening 2 episodes where directed by David Slade, who directed a fair few episodes of that show too, so you can really tell that there’s a link in how the series looks and feels. The dream sequences and trippier moments are straight out of Hannibal, they are brilliant. There’s a sex montage in Episode 2 with Bilquis that is just insane. The performances so far have been great as well, Ian Fucking McShane is of course stealing the show as Mr Wednesday, but Ricky Whittle is really doing well as Shadow, which must be a hard role to play as he’s kind of intentionally inscrutable and a bit blank. And, if you watch nothing else, watch Orlando Jones’ monologue as Anansi that opens Episode 2. It is one of the best single scene performances I’ve ever seen, it knocked me for a loop. It’s only been 2 episodes, but this is already a fantastic, ambitious series that’s unlike anything else on TV. I can’t wait to see where it goes, and what else I can remember.

This month also saw the return of 2 of my favourite US Comedies. Silicon Valley (HBO) is back for a 4th season of tech-based misadventures. So far this season has managed to somehow feel like more of the same, but also change things up in a lot of interesting ways, as the characters move about into new situations. At the end of Season 3 it felt like we were right back to the beginning, but that wasn’t the case, as we’ve seen multiple characters leave companies, join new ones, sell companies, and all sorts of other manoeuvring. The prospect of Richard actually working with Gavin Belson is very exciting. In amongst all of these shake-ups, the characters have continued to be as funny as ever. I love how Big Head continues to fail upwards, he’s now a Professor at Stanford! And seeing Dinesh get a girlfriend is something we haven’t seen before. I’m also enjoying the increased role for Jian-Yang. Jimmy O. Yang has always been very funny in his brief scenes, but now he’s getting actual stories, which is cool. And man, Zach Woods is still killing it as Jared. He had one moment of madness in Episode 4 that had me wetting itself. At times it does feel like Silicon Valley is in a groove, but it’s such an enjoyable groove!

One series that hasn’t been afraid to get out of it’s groove is Veep (HBO), which is now in Season 6, and is a very different show this season. Of course it changed when Armando Iannucci left, but now that Selina Meyer is out of office, it’s even more different. With the character scattered all over the place, I did feel like the first one or two episodes were a bit lacking, but after that, it’s really found it’s feet and become just as funny and scathing as ever. In the wake of Trump it was going to be difficult for Veep to be the same show as it was before, so wisely it’s pivoted, it still has a lot to say about America and politics, but really, it’s become more about seeing who these characters are in new situations. I’m particularly enjoying Dan working as a TV News Anchor and Jonah as a Congressman has just been brutally brilliant, especially with Mary Holland joining the cast as his new ‘girlfriend’. It’s also interesting that the series has started to delve deeper into Selina as a character, and her backstory. She may be a bit ridiculous, but in the world of the show, she is the first ever female Vice President and the President, she is interesting. So yes, Veep has changed, but it’s still intelligent and funny and well worth watching. When real politics is as scary as it is these days, we need this magnificent bastards to laugh at.

Now for quick hits! We’ll start with comedies. LOL! LOL indeed.

The final episode ever of Girls (HBO) was a bit of an odd one, it jumped ahead to the birth of Hannah’s baby (the horrifically named Grover, and that’s a ‘Niam’ saying that) and only featured Hannah and Marnie from the main cast, out in the middle of nowhere. In a lot of ways, it was a typical Girls way for the series to end, Lena Dunham has never really done the conventional thing. I enjoyed it, particularly Becky Ann Baker’s performance. She’s always been excellent and underrated as Hannah’s mother. I will miss Girls, it was funny, different and always provoked debate, and I can’t wait to see what projects Dunham does next. As infuriating as she can be, she is very talented. How about a Dunham/Max Landis collaboration? That could destroy the internet.

I reached the end of BoJack Horseman (Netflix) Season 3, and holy shit, that was brutal. What happened to Sarah-Lynn just fucked me up. And then it’s followed up by the sublime ridiculousness of Mr. Peanutbutter’s spaghetti strainers actually being useful! That sums up BoJack for me, it can be gloriously silly and funny, but at it’s core it’s a dark series about depression and the sadness at the core of humanity (or animality, whatever). It’s one of my favourite shows ever at this point, and I am very excited for Season 4, and just where BoJack is going to go now. It’ll be bad… but also so, so good.

The Last Man On Earth (FOX) also wrapped up its 3rd season very well. Jasper has been a fun addition to the cast, and the 2-part finale in particular was a great, as the series once again upended it’s cast. Erica gave birth to her baby, but then Nuclear Reactors started going off and they had to flee. This series continues to be brilliant at balancing comedy and real dark drama, as the consequences of a post-apocalyptic world are actually thought out. The very last moment also brought Kristen Wiig in contact with the main cast, and what a way to do it.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX) has continued to be very funny and strong, and one episode in particular really surprised me, as ‘Moo Moo’ became a serious examination of racial profiling in the Police Force. It’s rare that Brooklyn Nine-Nine addresses real issues, but it did it very well here, I think it should actually do more, especially in this era where the Police, in America especially, are not so popular. I don’t want it to become propaganda for the cops, but it can certainly shine a light on some real issues. As well as being dumb and funny with great actors of course.

The ‘Dreamland’ arc of Archer (FXX) is still going strong. It’s just a lot of fun to see these characters in this setting, and the storyline by itself has actually been rather arresting, with a lot of fun twists and turns. I’ve particularly liked Eugene Mirman’s performance as Cheryl’s brother. He’s delightfully creepy. Also, is Pam just a man in dreamland? Her character isn’t meant to be a woman in drag, here, she’s just a man? I kind of love that.

Oh, and I watched one more episode of Inside No. 9 (BBC Two), ‘Tom & Gerri’. It was very good, and actually managed to surprised me with the twist at the end. It was fun to see Lord Varys himself, Conleth Hill play an actually nice person, and Gemma Arterton was good too. That’s the strength of an anthology show, they can bring in really big names for just one episode.

Bridging the gap from comedy to drama is Better Call Saul (AMC) which is having an excellent third season, as it gets closer and closer to Breaking Bad territory. Not only has Gus finally appeared (with Giancarlo Esposito just as good as ever) but the whole tone of those scenes is straight out of the parent show. Episode 4, ‘Sabrosito’ barely seemed to feature Odenkirk at all. But that doesn’t mean that the series has just become Breaking Bad-lite, as the following episode ‘Chicanery’ was all courtroom stuff, and really did a fascinating job at delving into the central Jimmy/Chuck relationship. It really needs to be said again, but both Odenkirk and Michael McKean are amazing in this show, tour-de-force performances. This stretch of episodes has been a great microcosm of what makes Better Call Saul so good and basically the perfect prequel. It has plenty of links to what came before, including themes and cameos (Huell!) and camera work, but it’s also very capable of being it’s own, separate thing. So good.

The Season 2 finale of The Expanse (Sy Fy) was another strong episode in an exceptionally strong season. It was an incredibly tense episode that brought a lot of things to a head. The central plot of the Protomolecule monster being on the Rocinante tied everything together and, perhaps most importantly, brought the central crew of characters onto the same page. It’s interesting that the show isn’t precisely following a ‘1 season = 1 book’ model, and I like that, it’s allowing for things to unfold at a different pace.

The Americans (FX) is having an… interesting season. It’s still very good and all of the performances and episodes have been good, but, maybe it’s just me, but it doesn’t seem as focused as it used to, which is odd, because the writers know they only have this and next year to wrap things up. Maybe that’s actually the reason, they know they have a guaranteed 26 episodes, so can pace things differently? Either way, there doesn’t seem to be any particular driving plot, missions and side characters come and go, and whilst each individual hour has been strong, it’s not a satisfying whole. Yet. I think maybe something big is going to happen (Pacha’s suicide? Something with Pastor Tim?) that will lead to a major event in the finale. Or at least I hope so. This is a fantastic series so maybe I just have too high expectations.

Now it’s time for everybody’s favourite corner… superhero corner!

So far in iZombie (The CW) Season 3, the biggest pleasure for me has been the classic thing, seeing Rose McIver play Liv on various different types of brain. Hippie Yoga Liv, gossipy bitch Liv, Dominatrix Liv and Hot Mess Liv have all been hilarious. I really think McIver is underrated by how she manages to play so many different shades of the same person. Some of the individual cases of the week have been a bit weak, but her performance, along with the new development of Clive knowing she’s a Zombie have made it work. As for the over-arching plots, I liked the way the show revealed that Blaine had been faking his memory loss, and what that means for Major and Liv going forward. The Fillmore Graves plot has been on the back burner a bit, but you just know it’s going to explode later.

Gotham (FOX) has returned with some really great episodes and has become a show that really embraces it’s ridiculousness, and is all the better for it. Corey Michael Smith in full on Riddler mode, green suit and all, is so much fun, as is Penguin and Poison Ivy gathering an ‘Army Of Freaks’ and a goddamn clone of Bruce Wayne. I’m also really enjoying this take on the Court Of Owls, I’ve said this before, but I get an extra kick out of seeing more recent concepts like this used in other media, and so it’s awesome to see something Scott Snyder invented on TV. Gotham is dumb, but it’s the good dumb.

The Flash (The CW) revealed who Savitar was, and it was… actually satisfying. The fact that Barry (or at least a Time Remnant of him) becomes his own worst enemy is interesting, and it’s a perfect expression of the consequences of too much time-travel meddling. What I found cool was that the show followed this big, tragic reveal with a somewhat broad comedy episode where Barry lost his memories. Not only was this funny, but it showed why the show needs a bit more levity. When Barry gets too Emo, things get bad (as shown by the trip to the future, where Barry literally was Emo). I’m also really enjoying Anne Dudek’s guest role as Tracy Brand. Her chemistry with Tom Cavanaugh is a lot of fun. 2 episodes left, and I hope they continue to get the balance between drama and fun right. The Flash is one of those characters who needs to stay optimistic.

Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.LD. (ABC) has continued it’s hot-streak with more really fantastic episodes. This Hydra alternate reality arc really has been excellent. It’s allowed us to learn more about the characters, had a real impact, and also allowed the show to comment somewhat on real world political elements. It was cheap, but referring to Hydra’s ‘alternative facts’ and ‘fake news’ was great. The performances have also gone up a gear, Henry Simmons choosing to stay in the Framework was a great, although I do think that somehow they’ll use that machine to bring his daughter into the ‘real world’. Although they might be saving that for Face Turn Grant Ward. I also want to praise Iain De Caestecker, who has taken Fitz from somewhat of a comic relief character into probably the most complex person on the show. He played the ‘evil’ Fitz so well I almost feared he would still be bad once he was back. Mallory Jansen has also been very good, whether as Aida, Agnes or now Ophelia, she has played the same person in 3 very interesting ways. I can’t wait to see how this finale ends things, and to see what Season 4 brings. It feels weird to say this after the slow start, but Agents Of SHIELD is one of the better adventure shows on the air.

And finally, I finished watching Marvel’s Iron Fist (Netflix), and whilst it does have it’s share of problems and is probably the least of the ‘Defenders’ shows, I still very much enjoyed it and am excited to see more of this version of Danny Rand, particularly alongside Luke Cage. Heroes For Hire! I’m not going to re-tread the race conversation as we discussed that last time, so instead I’ll say that, as is customary, some of the episodes did drag a bit in the middle before an exciting ending, and I do think the show’s budget was a bit too low. I think that really hurt things as we never go to actually see K’un Lun or the Dragon Shou-Lou. I wanted a goddamn dragon getting it’s heart ripped out of it, is that too much to ask? I don’t think so. I also think it took way too long for Danny to realise that Howard Meachum was a bad dude, but that naïveté is intentional, and a great character bit. The performances only improved as it went on. Finn Jones is actually very convincing, and both Jessica Henwick and Tom Pelphrey were brilliant. I actually think Pelphrey’s Ward Meachum might be one of the best performances in the MCU, as he manages to make some pretty dumb plot developments work just through his performance. I did like how, by the end, things had been twisted and it was Ward who was working alongside Danny, and Joy who had become his enemy. That was unexpected and fun. Her working alongside Gao and Davos should be interesting in a second season. I did like Davos’ role later on too, Sacha Dhawan was very good, although why does someone from K’un Lun sound so Mancunian? I admit it, I am an MCU mark, but Iron Fist really isn’t that bad, if you give it a chance, it is well worth it, and can only improve. Look, it took Agents Of SHIELD 3 years to get good, I think sometimes we need to appreciate that.

Music

There’s only one album this time out, but it’s kind of a big deal, as Gorillaz are back with their first album in 7 years, Humanz (Parlophone/Warner Bros. 2017). Now the Gorillaz are pretty significant band for me, their eponymous debut was one of the first CDs I bought from myself and I must have played that and Demon Days hundreds of times. Plastic Beach had less of an impact, and I don’t think I’ve actually listened to The Fall. So I’m kind of a lapsed fan, however this particular hype train, and the idea that this was some kind of politically vital and contemporary record brought me back in, and I bought the album, hell, I got the deluxe edition! After listening to it a few times, it’s pretty good, but a lot of that hype is way over-blown. There’s nothing here that’s particularly timely, it’s just the usual Gorillaz mix of interesting backing beats, fantastic guest contributors and Damon Albarn getting to experiment. That’s not a bad thing, but I think I went into it expecting something truly game-changing. That’s probably more on me than Gorillaz though. As I said, the guest stars on here are fantastic, I particularly like Vince Staples on ‘Ascension’, Grace Jones on ‘Charger’ and Benjamin Clementine on ‘Hallelujah Money’, those are great tracks. It’s also a lot of fun to try and spot Noel Gallagher on ‘We Got The Power’. How crazy is it that Albarn and Gallagher are on the same song? Britpop Hell has frozen over. So yeah, this album is decent, but as is probably par for the course with Gorillaz, the ideas and concepts around it are more interesting. The idea of all of these artists reacting to Trump (or not Trump, an un-specified huge event) is great, but the end result isn’t that amazing. I say par for the course, because what’s always appealed most about Gorillaz isn’t just the music, but the whole package, the artwork from Jamie Hewlett, which is fantastic. I think I like the artwork in the leaflet more than the album! Gorillaz are a unique project, and I’ll always appreciate them, but I think I want more than just cool artwork and weird samples from my music at this stage.

Books

2 books this month. I think my reading pace has slowed down a bit, not sure why. Hmm, anyway, I started the month with the last 100 pages or so of Jonathan Wilson’s Angels With Dirty Faces (2016). The history of Argentinian Football got pretty much up to date, as Wilson gets up to the current era of Messi, Aguero, Tevez, Higuain etc. It was pretty much I thought it would be, as the Argentinian domestic game has been basically ruined by all of the best players moving to Europe. What I didn’t know was the state of hooliganism and fan violence in Argentina, which was surprising, and also the continued political links in the game. The fact that the Argentinian government owns the broadcasting rights to league football and uses it for propaganda purposes is very unique, and I would have liked more exploration of that. Imagine if Theresa May was on Match Of The Day or something, At least we know Corbyn is an Arsenal fan. Overall, the end of the book lived up to the rest of it, this was a very readable, informative history of a fascinating subject and culture. Argentina’s national identity is inextricably linked with it’s football, and now, I feel like i understand that country so much more.

After this, I got my fancy literature on, as I read the winner of the 2016 Man Booker Prize, The Sellout (2015) by Paul Beatty. Only this isn’t the kind of novel you’d really expect to win such a lofty, some would say wanky, prize. It’s an incredibly dark satire of American Race relations, and it’s actually very funny. The plot sees an unnamed African-American man (he’s only referred to as ‘Me’, which I think is his surname (So his name is like ‘Dave Me’ or ‘Tom Me’ or something) who somewhat accidentally brings back both segregation and slavery to the LA suburb he lives in. It’s an insane premise, but it works, and Beatty’s witty writing carries it through even the largest logic leaps. Much like with last month and ‘Get Out’, I don’t feel like I can fully parse a lot of the more caustic racial elements, being a white non-American, but it was shocking at times, and certainly made me look at certain things differently. I would be interested in reading some of Beatty’s other books, he has a unique sense of humour. I will say that I didn’t really laugh out loud at reading this, like many of the blurbs did, but then I’m struggling to think of many books that did make me LOL. I just don’t do it, even with comics. I think seeing something written down elicits a different reaction in me. More of a wry smile, or an ‘oh, that’s funny, I get that’ than actually laughing. The Sellout comes close though! Maybe literary prizes aren’t so bad…

Games

As mentioned in the intro, I’m still making my way rather slowly through The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Nintendo Switch 2017). I need to carve more time out to play it, but video games, even ones as good as this, are still bottom of my entertainment list. I only really play it when I have nothing else to watch, read or listen to. As of now, I’ve finally got off the Great Plateau and am in the wider world of Hyrule, and man, it is intimidatingly big. That sense of freedom to do what you want can be both very freeing, but also kind of freezing. I can’t decide where to go, so in the end I don’t really go anywhere. Does that make sense? I’ve just been wandering around and not really advancing the plot. But still, this is an incredibly good game, the look of it is so beautiful, and it’s even more so after the Plateau. I think that is what’s holding me back from playing more, because it looks so good on the big TV, I’m not putting the Switch’s handheld mode to use to play when someone else is using it. The controls are just that level of intuitive that, for me, only Nintendo can reach. The Joycons on the Switch are bit flimsy, but after while, I’m used to it. I’m of two minds on what to do next video-game wise. I really want to pick up Mario Kart 8, especially because my girlfriend wants to do multiplayer, but can I justify it when I’ve barely scratched the surface of Zelda?

—

That’s it! Just an addendum for you, after writing that last bit about the Switch and whether I should by Mario Kart… I went and ordered it on Amazon. So expect something about that next week. I also bought La La Land, so you’ll get to read my lukewarm take on that film on or near June 15th. I’ll probably be lame and quite like it, that’s the kind of person I am, I can never bring myself to truly hate things like the rest of the internet. Anyway, I’ll see you then! Hopefully we’ll be living under a Labour Government by then.

1 note · View note

chaos2go · 7 years

Note

12, 13, 43~

Oh boy, I hope this goes okay. Thank you for the ask though ;w; It got really long so I apologize for putting a read more in. I don’t want people’s feeds to get flooded with my nonsense!

12. Name an OC that isn’t yours but who you like a lot

Gosh there are quite a few out there, it’s hard to name just one. So I am going to go with a few. SORRY. They’re probably going to be mostly Zelda themed OC’s because they’re the easiest ones to get a hold of orz.

I really enjoy @booigis-mansion‘s characters a lot. One of which is Menesme. I’ll be honest, Mene was one of the reasons I got to know Lu in the first place. So she’s kind of got a special place there for me haha XD But I’ve just seen Mene grow so much as a character that I love to hear about her. The version of her I linked to I think is a very fun version of her as well. The little grease monkey there has changed a lot from her original days.

Another character I really enjoy is @tdp312‘s Haeata. I mean heck, once again Haeata was the character I got to know as I got to know Bali. So it puts her in a fun spot. Plus she was one of the first skull kid characters I got to interact with that wasn’t just a Skull Kid (aka MM one) rip off. Haeata is a good doer of her own and just a sweetie to boot.

This character belongs to @libralizard. That character being Lenore. I honestly think at first Libra thought I was being kinda tough on her for the character but I do think she’s a good one! She was fun to see be used and a great take on a wizzrobe IMHO.

But yeah… there are original ones, spaltoon ones, pokemon ones, steven universe ones, etc that I love. Honestly, I just love hearing about my friends characters. I can’t just pick one. So sorry if I didn’t include you here. I tried to pick people that I feel I don’t tell them I like their characters enough ;w; I owe you all for all the help and just aaaaahhh! Ya know? XD (You too Crystal!)

It goes beyond just characters too ya know? I enjoy hearing people’s worlds and story ideas and aldjflasdjf.

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs?

Do I? This seems like a redundant question XD Many. I’ll try to stick to most that have art of some sort, even if it’s old.

Fandom ones in no particualr order:

Alden of course is the most obvious one. He means good but he also wants to fit in and be a kid. His fairy Oran doesn’t help much either and might be the real cause behind some of his bad behaviors. Another is an older character, Hobo-man. He’s not intentionally bad but rather just really freakin random. And you know what that means? Chaos XD And last but not least, we have Trent. Who needs work. But he’s a glutton and a freaking crybaby. So he’ll make a scene which is trouble in itself.

Original ones in no particular order:

Zeer is pretty much the idea of a trouble maker. He wants to keep bad things going on so he does what he can with his shadow magic to do so. My living puppets for my fantasy story are pretty much the equivalent of fairies after all. At the same time, Squiggle Bug does a much better job and without the magic. She’s just loud and annoying as all get up. You ain’t happy? Well you better be! Lyth (link NSFW) is also a trouble maker but only because she doesn’t much care for humans. She only takes on the form I linked so people get to know her. In her true form, she causes a lot more damage. Last but not least, Maru. He’s a kid who can’t control his powers. Plus his partner Chris (no picture sorry) isn’t the best influence. Maru is supposed to have an important job but he isn’t exactly good at it since he’s still young. The best I can say is Barret (also no ref sorry) probably would have been a better partner given they both have psychic powers.

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confess

I’ll be honest, I’m awful at designing. I try my best though. I often find myself unfortunately designing more females while trying to write more guys. Which is weird I think. I think the answer above shows a thing I do a lot though. Try to go for trouble makers or make a character that’s more of a ‘comedic relief’ kind of thing. IDK I don’t intend for it to happen most of the time but people tell me that my characters are just SAD even when they’re fun. And I’m like, no. They’re characters. OVERALL THOUGH, I tend to go with reds/browns with humans a lot lately… and I stick to too many of the ‘normal’ hair colors when I should be able to go crazy.

My real big weakness is getting attached to one character for too long though.

#ask #crystalline-caverns #oc talk #oc chat #oc ramble #idefk what to tag this #thank you though!

1 note · View note

anotherlifefic · 5 years

Text

Chapter 26: The Fortress

Princess Zelda and I didn‘t talk much as we made our way across Hyrule Field, towards Lake Hylia. The fight at LonLon Ranch had made us both tense, and we kept a close eye on our sorroundings, fearing to be attacked at any moment. However, nothing happened. And thus, with only one break to let our horses eat and drink, we spent the entire way to the lake in silence. However, as we reached it and followed the road around the edge, leading to the mountain pass that Hyrule‘s army had crossed not too long ago. My thoughts were going wild as I looked ahead. I would find Link, and I would make Ganondorf pay for whatever he had done to him. I spurred Glory on, making her fall into a fast canter. I could hear Zelda shout my name somewhere behind me, but I did not stop. I was way too fixated on getting to the fortress… to Link. After a while, she finally caught up to me, riding ahead and blocking the way. „Rebecca! What do you think you‘re doing?!“ „I‘m doing everything I can to make sure we get to Link as fast as possible“, I retorted perhaps a bit more aggressively than intended. „We have to preserve our strength. And the strength of our horses, too.“ I felt the familiar heat of anger in my veins. „Link could be tortured or killed at this moment! Why are you stalling?! Don‘t you care that-“ „Rebecca.“ The tone of her voice reminded me who I was talking to. Just a weeks ago I would have flinched at the mere thought of even disagreeing with her, and now I was so openly questioning her dedication. „I love Link just as much as you do. Never forget that.“ She turned her horse and rode ahead again, at a normal speed. My heart sank as the reality of the things I had just said caught up to me. Oh by the Goddesses…

After a few hours of uncomfortable silence, it was getting dark and Zelda decided that we should take shelter in a nearby cave to sleep. I had gathered some twigs and branches from the sturdy trees around the cave, so we could light a fire. Once that was done however, I retreated to the farthest corner of the cave, away from the light and warmth of the campfire, only occasionally looking over to Zelda, who was staring into the flames. Whatever feeble kind of friendship had connected us up until now was surely lost; destroyed by my stupidity. I quietly cursed myself and wrapped my coat tightly around me, trying to keep away the cold of the night without having to go closer to the fire and risk a confrontation with Zelda… no, Princess Zelda. I had lost the right to just call her by her first name. I stared at the dancing shadows on the wall, wallowing in self-pity, when I heard soft steps approach me. I turned my head to see Princess Zelda sit down next to me. She looked me over. „Why don‘t you come to the fire? It‘s cold tonight.“ I averted my gaze. „I wanted to give you some space.“ I wanted to apologize. To beg on my knees for her forgiveness. But all I managed to say was a soft, choked „I‘m sorry.“. She sighed, wrapping her coat around me. „Come. Sit at the fire with me. Then we can talk about this.“ We got up and she led me over to the fire, propping me up like I was sick or injured, and sat down again. My joints had already gone stiff from the cold, and I stretched out my hands to warm them. While I did so, I sighed. „I‘m sorry for saying these horrible things about you. I had no right to do that. I know that you are worried about Link, and that you love him, and…“ I broke off before I could say anymore. There was no way I would start the whole „He would be better off with you“ conversation again. „I understand“, she replied, wrapping one arm around my shoulder. „And I forgive you.“ I let out a sigh of relief. I did not know how I deserved a friend like her, but I thanked the Goddesses for her.

The next morning, we mounted our horses as soon as we woke up, having a quick breakfast consisting of dried meat and bread while riding. While I was still embarrassed about my outburst the previous day, Zelda seemed to have all but forgotten about it. She chatted with me as if nothing had happened, her chipper tone indicating that she was trying to lift the mood. „...and once all of this is over, I want to properly meet your little son.“ She smiled and leaned forward. „What do you think he will look like when he's older? Like you or like Link? Or maybe a bit of both?“ „That's how it usually is with children“, I replied, getting sucked in by her enthusiasm. She was so easy to get along with...

After a while, we saw the silhouette of a large building in the distance. Zelda turned to me. „That must be it. From here on out, we have to be prepared for anything.“ „Got it.“ I stared at the fortress with determination. Maybe my husband was somewhere in there... and by the Goddesses, I would find him. We were expecting to be assaulted any moment as we approached the fortress' blackened walls, and I felt my heart sink as we came across a field filled with freshly dug graves, a sword marking each one. This must have been where the battle took place. How many of the dead resting in these graves did I know? I felt a chill run down my spine. Best not think about that quite yet; Ganondorf would get what was coming for him soon enough. It was eerily quiet. The wind was whistleing in between the walls and rooms of this place, and that was all we heard. „We should probably leave our horses here and continue on foot“, Zelda told me as she dismounted. „That would probably be for the best“, I agreed and did the same, giving Glory a calming pat on the neck before following the Princess.

The gate was wide open and the courtyard was empty, still we stayed close to the walls and kept ourselves in the shadows as much as we could. We entered a door on the right side of the main building, which turned out to lead us to a kitchen not unlike the one back at Hyrule Castle. Like the courtyard, this kitchen was empty. I dared to relax a little. But if this place was completely abandoned, then there was little hope of actually finding Link... or any information about his whereabouts here. Zelda looked around, tense with suspicion. „I don't trust this.“ „Do you think we should leave?“, I asked. „No.“ She strode forward. „But stay on guard.“

As we exited the kitchen, a stairway deep down into the bowels of the fortress caught my eye. I tugged at Zelda's sleeve and pointed to it. „This looks like it would lead to a dungeon.“ She eyed the stairway, then nodded. „Looks like it. Maybe we'll find something there.“

It did indeed lead us to a dungeon. It was cold and humid, and the sickly-sweet stench of decay thickened the air to the point where it was hard to breathe. The silence was occasionally interrupted by the quiet rattle of chains. „Do you hear that?“, I asked. There was someone down there, and chained up from the way it sounded! „Don't get ahead of yourself, Rebecca“, Zelda hissed, grabbing my arm so I couldn't rush down the rest of the stairs. „This might be a trap.“ I looked over to her, only able to guess her features in the dark. „Shouldn't we light a torch or something?“, I asked. „We can barely see anything here.“ „Too risky“, she told me. „Probing about in absolute darkness isn't the safest thing, either“, I replied dryly. „And don't monsters have a heightened sense of smell? Or better nightvision than Hylians?“ Zelda remained quiet for a moment, then sighed. „I suppose you're right. Just a moment...“ The unmistakable sound of flints hitting each other rung through the thick air, and a second later, a torch that had been hanging in the wall lit up with fire. Zelda took it from its holder and nodded at me. „Let's go.“

We descended the rest of the stairs in silence. At the bottom was a long corridor lined with prison cells. We walked on, looking into each one, only to find them empty, save for a few cells containing bones. They were too old to be Link's, thank the Goddesses. At the end of the corridor was a heavy wooden door. The chain-rattle seemed to come from the other side of that door. Zelda and I looked at each other, grim determination in our faces... and pushed it open.

The room we found ourselves in seemed to be meant for solitary confinement. The first thing that met my eye was a bottle on a table, emanating a soft, blue glow. „Navi!“, I called out and ran over to the table, pulling the cork out of the bottle and letting the fairy out. She was so weakened she could barely fly, so I caught her in my hands. „Princess Zelda! Rebecca! Oh I'm so glad to see you! Link and I have been kept prisoner here for weeks now.“ „How did you survive that? The fortress is abandoned!“, I asked, frantically looking around until I saw him. He looked emaciated and dirty, but he was alive. I dropped the bottle, causing it to break on the ground, and ran over to Link. He was chained to the wall in a sitting position, his hands lifted above his head and legs stretched out. His eyes wandered from Zelda to me and back again. „Reb... Rebecca.“ „I'm here, love“, I said in a choked voice. „We came here to save you.“ „And come you did. Like moths to a flame“, said Link's voice, but it did not come from the Link sitting in front of me. I turned around, facing the disguised Ganondorf. „You“, I said, venom in my voice. He did not even acknowledge me. Instead, he turned to Zelda, still keeping up his disguise. „You disappoint me. I would expect a foolish peasant like her...“ He nodded in my general direction. „...to fall for such an obvious trap, but you? You should know better. Ah, but who am I to complain? Here I am, having both the Triforce of Courage and the Triforce of Wisdom at my mercy.“ Now he turned to me, his blue eyes turning the same sickening yellow they had been during our first meeting at the marketplace. „You have been a very useful puppet. It was almost too easy. I knew that if I just fed you the right information at the right time, you would go running to your darling little princess and lead her right into my arms.“ „No!“, I cried out. „What?“, he asked with a patronising smile. „Did you really believe that you exposed me? Foolish little thing. You only saw what I wanted you to see. But now, you have outlived your usefulness. Fare thee well... puppet.“ The last thing I saw was a flash of bright light, then everything went black.

When I regained my vision, I was laying in that tiny cell in the not-so-abandoned fortress. But Link, Zelda and Ganondorf were gone. The only one who was still here was Navi, who I was still clutching to my chest. My stomach lurched, and I felt like vomiting. With all energy I could muster at the moment, I turned to the side. „Navi?“, I asked weakly. „What happened? Where are Link and Zelda?“ „I... I don't know.“ The small fairy sounded faint. „Just that Ganondorf did... something to us.“ I bit my lip. „We have to get out of here. If they're not here anymore, Ganondorf probably took them to Hyrule City.“ It was easier said than done, though. My muscles were stiff and barely obeyed me, and my whole body was sore, like after a particularly long and hard day at work. Only that there was no satisfaction about a job well done, just the terrible knowledge that my actions probably doomed all of Hyrule. I let go of Navi, who crawled into the satchel on the belt of my armor, and pushed myself into a sitting position. It was so dark that I could barely see anything, though that also could have been from the bright light of the spell. Crawling along the walls of the room, I tried to feel for the door. Finding it seemed to take forever, but finally, my fingers hit the rough wood.

This time, the fortress was really abandoned. It seemed decrepit, as if it had aged by several years without maintenance while I had been unconcious. Once I found my way up the stairs, a process which was made much easier by Navi's light, I took a good look around, hoping to find Glory and Zelda's horse. But they were gone. I hissed a curse under my breath, hoping that Glory was alright. But there was no way for me to find her, so I would have to go on without her... and hope that she had found her way home.

The way back to Hyrule was long and tedious. Good thing that I had put some of our provisions into the satchel on my armor, so at least I didn't have to go hungry for too long. But that was about all luck fate could muster for me. When stepping foot onto Hylian soil again, I gasped in terror. Lake Hylia was gone, leaving only a massive, dried out hole in the landscape. The once so fertile land around the lake was also devoid of any life now; the grass was brown and crackled underneath my feet. The sky was covered in thick, dark clouds, shrouding the entire lake in gray. But despite the clouds, it looked like there had been no rain for months. Even the air was so dry that it made me cough. An unfamiliar sound made me grab my weapon, just in time to slice through the monster that had approached me. A tektite. A red one, like one would normally find on the path to Death Mountain. I cursed under my breath. How could all of this have happened in the few days I had been gone? Had it just been a few days? How long had I been unconcious? Either way, I had to go on. Had to get to Hyrule City, and save Link and Zelda... somehow. I knew that in my current state, there was little I could do. But there seemed to be no alternatives. No way to free them without a fight. My grip around the naginata tightened. Just as I approached Hyrule Field, someone grabbed my arm. „Wait.“ I turned around, startled, only to find a familiar Zora-woman. Her fins wrapped around her slender body, almost like a dress, and her deep-purple eyes looked at me in a way I could not quite describe. My eyes grew big. „Princess Ruto?“

#The Legend of Zelda #Another Life #fanfiction #OC

0 notes