#another fun fact is that since i had no idea who ganon was | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

anarchopuppy · 2 years

Text

It's time for another one of my long-ass Zelda posts that no one actually reads but that's okay because I'm just posting it for myself. The topic today:

The Zelda Timeline Actually Makes Perfect Sense If You Just Think About It For A Minute

Casual fans and non-fans will take any opportunity to mock the Zelda timeline, with their criticism often starting and ending with "Look, there are three whole branches! Three!" followed by not inspecting it any further. Even big Zelda fans who know the lore extensively will still claim (without giving evidence) that the developers never intended for there to be a timeline or shared story at all while they were writing the games, and just made it up post-hoc to put in Hyrule Historia. But is that true?

Even as early as 2003 (around Wind Waker's release), Miyamoto and Aonuma confirmed that they had an official document with the entire timeline laid out in it, and that claim was reiterated in several other interviews following that. So, there's that idea put to rest right away. Straight from the horse's mouth, there has always been an official timeline

Fun fact: Did you know that back when Ocarina of Time was still called Zelda 64, around the same time that the very first ingame footage was being shown to the public, before the time travel concept was even decided on - we're talking very early development - Nintendo reportedly told IGN that its story took place after Adventure of Link? Now, you may say that that proves that they don't care much about the timeline if they're changing it up partway through production, but to me it says the opposite. Even in the experimentation phase, before they had even come up with the central concept of the game, they were already considering where it would fit into the timeline

But the claim I made at the top wasn't that the timeline was considered beforehand, but that it makes "perfect sense"

The Official Timeline Is The Only One That Works

Let's consider the games in the Zelda series in release order and see how they fit with each other

First was Zelda 1. After that came Zelda 2, an obvious direct sequel with the same Link. Then LttP, which the devs clearly stated was a prequel to Z1 - and it couldn't really have been anything else, since Z1 ends with Ganon being killed and AoL ends with his resurrection being prevented. Link's Awakening is just a dream and could go anywhere on the timeline. Ocarina of Time is a clear prequel to LttP, exploring the origins of Ganon and the beginning of his life as a man, as established in LttP's manual (I'll talk more about OoT and the Downfall Timeline further down). Majora's Mask is a direct sequel to OoT

After that comes Wind Waker, the first seemingly ambiguous placement. The game begins with a legend of the Hero of Time, the player character from OoT, sealing Ganon and then disappearing forever. It's clear that this is referring to the timeline that Link left in OoT. And since in LttP Hyrule hasn't been flooded and abandoned along with the Triforce and Master Sword and Ganon's corpse (which is how WW leaves it), we can be pretty certain that this doesn't come before any of the previously released games. Nor does it come after, since it makes clear reference to the events of OoT and explicitly states that no hero like the Hero of Time has appeared since. So it must be a new timeline split from all that time travel stuff. Cool

Then is Twilight Princess, which also doesn't fit with any of the other games we've seen. In its backstory, Ganondorf was stopped before taking over Hyrule or even touching the Triforce, which doesn't match with either of the two histories that have been established. It does match perfectly with the timeline the Hero of Time returned to at the end of OoT, though, and there's other evidence (such as the Hero's Shade, which is heavily hinted in-game to be the Hero of Time) that supports that. Again, can't come before anything else we've seen since Ganon dies, and can't come after since Ganon never got the Triforce. So the only option that makes sense is for this to be another timeline branch following from OoT

After Twilight Princess comes Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, both of which are explicitly sequels to WW. Then Skyward Sword, which is heavily established as the first game in the series chronologically and came with an official timeline to prove it. Then Link Between Worlds, a sequel to LttP (in Japanese it's even a numbered sequel), and finally Breath of the Wild which has its own nonsense going on and effectively soft reboots the timeline

Ok, so where's that famous ambiguity and arbitrariness? Everything locks in pretty solidly, there's just no other option that makes sense. This is supported by the fact that the Zelda fanbase came to the exact same conclusions before there was ever an official timeline. There were some people who were so attached to a unified timeline that they came up with wild and varied theories to fit it all together, but among the people who recognized that there was a timeline split, they effectively all put the games in the exact same order that would later be revealed as official. But with one major difference - everyone agreed on the order of the 2D games, but no one could figure out whether they belonged at the end of the Adult Timeline or the end of the Child Timeline, with some even arguing that the split timeline "merged" somehow before the 2D games. No one had even considered the Downfall Timeline as an option

What's Up With The Downfall Timeline Anyway

The DT is the most controversial part of the official timeline. There are two timelines that are clearly explained by the events of OoT, and then a third that splits off at the same point that just exists for seemingly no reason. Before the official timeline was released, the fanbase couldn't make sense of the 2D games and how they fit into everything. So what gives?

As I said above, OoT was conceived of and established as a prequel to LttP. But even before the timeline split nonsense, that didn't really make sense. In the backstory of LttP, Ganondorf acquires the entire Triforce before being sealed by the sages - and in-game we do see Ganon in possession of the completed Triforce, even able to wish on it - but in the events of OoT Link and Zelda retain their pieces at all times. OoT is clearly intended to be the events of LttP's backstory, but the ending is changed, like a "what if" scenario where Ganon loses instead of winning

And I argue that's exactly what it is. The Zelda team wanted to flesh out the stuff from LttP's manual, but a game where you lose at the end no matter what you do isn't fun, so they had to make it so you can win. The DT doesn't make a lot of sense when you think of it in timeline order, in terms of how it came to be in-universe, but it becomes a lot more clear when you think of it in development order, in terms of why the developers made the decisions they did. Ocarina was a reboot, a "what if we won instead" story in the same vein as Age of Calamity

In other words, the Downfall Timeline split isn't something that mechanically exists in-universe like the Child/Adult split, and it becomes very confusing if you try to think of it in those terms. Instead, it's another story being told by Nintendo where a different version of events happened, like an alternate history. And when you realize that, the entire timeline starts to make perfect sense

Hold On You Left Out Like Half A Dozen Games

Yeah, you caught me

The other most controversial part of the Zelda timeline is the placement of third-party games. This is the source of the only retcon in the official timeline, which was moving Link's Awakening from after the Oracle games to before them. It also results in the "Vaati trilogy", which was clearly meant to be one continuous story, being split up by thousands of years across multiple timelines. Surely, you say, I can agree that that's confusing and arbitrary?

And I would respond, yeah. Trying to fit games and stories from third-party devs into a timeline with the mainline games post-hoc was a bad idea, and the Vaati trilogy, the Oracle games, and Tri Force Heroes fit into the history about as well as the CD-i games and the Nelsonic Game Watch do. They're great games, by and large, but they're spinoffs and should've been treated as such - trying to include them is the only thing that screws with the timeline. Throw them out, and everything makes sense

#zelda #loz #legend of zelda #the legend of zelda #tloz #i finally did it like i promised i would all those months ago #pops talks zelda

333 notes · View notes

hitoshisbabygirl · 3 years

Text

Author's Notes ♡: Hey Hey, it’s me, ya girl and I’m back with another collab! Ive always loved the roommates theme and have a few ideas for some other ones in my head making this. It’s kinda all over the place because it was a professing with their friendship! Yes I made a Zelda reference and I land about it no. I know Rapp is seen as violent and dense but but this is in a collage au so he’s just a bit...aloof I just love the idea of him actually being a big softie ʕ⊙ᴥ⊙ʔ. I hope you enjoy! ~ bunny ❥

Warnings : NSFW!!! (◎_◎;)

Sweet caring sorta himbo(meh?) Rappa, female oral, Big Dick Rappa , sorta size kink if you really sqint,cheater ex mentioned like once , language

Word count : About 5k! Yikes ^^’

Paring(s) : Kendo Rappa x F! Reader

Enjoy ♡

———————————————————————

Having Kendo Rappa as a roommate is an interesting feat in itself. He is big, and loud , very very loud. He wasn't a bad roommate he just..was like a cute large and fluffy puppy that didn't know his size...or power. Their interactions started as the two met during a halloween party one of the frat houses down the street thew. [ ] went as Midna, her best friend Rumi was dressed as Impa while the last two of her friend group , Amaya and Asa, a pair of sisters, were dressed as fairies. “[ ]! Rumi! you two are so cute! Zelda costumes?” Asa asked as her sister ran up to admire their outfits. “Yeah! [ ] wanted to do some characters that matched us y'know?” She said as she nudged her quiet friend , the girl jumped and laughed , scratching her neck as she gave the excited sisters a small smile “If i was coming out tonight I was gonna wear what i wanted to really wear” [ ] said as the group of them laughed and mingled with their other friends and classmates. While heading to get juice , she heard loud screaming , as the sport boys were starting to show up. First was the football team, then the basketball. Baseball and wrestling came next, then the smaller clubs finished them out. Sighing [ ] was content away from everyone as she watched mayhem ensure, chugging of barrels , more music, girls swarming around the players they crushed on as they did minor things, like talk to their teammates or eating from one of the big food trays laying around. Feeling a tap on her shoulder broke her from her people watching, Rumi giving her a bright smile as she took a cup and joined her. “How's my favorite antisocial babe doing now that all of the party has arrived?” She asked as [ ] gave her a pained smile, going to get more if something to drink “Well I don't feel the need to smack anyone is that a good sign?” she chuckled as she got a hug from the more energetic girl “That's my girl! Don't worry, i wanna get out asap but we’re gonna need our favourite pair of sisters before that can happen and it seems like they're fawning over some of the baseball boys as we speak” Rumi said as they watched a familiar tutu of blue go by, followed by a pink one going a similar way. “I don't get it… but at least their taste in men isn't too bad” [ ] joked as Rumi agreed , laughing “Yeah miss tsundere, you can't stand saps, or most of the jocks either” giving the white haired girl a look she rolled her eyes and gave her own laugh back “Yeah I guess i'm either picky or just got high standards” “Ain't nothing wrong with that we all do!” She said as she elbowed the girl beside her.

As the two of them sat there and talked Rumi glanced past her and her eyes widened, causing [ ] to stop talking “What is it-” before she could question her, the white haired girl jumped up, waving at someone “Rap! Over here!” Constantly yelling to someone [ ] started to ask again when a booming voice came from above her “HEY RUMI” a very loud voice called as stomping could be heard before it stopped “I see you took our idea huh?” With that comment [ ] turned around only to be face to face with a dark cover chest, only to then look up to some of the most warm and amber colored eyes looking down at her “Hello there little lady, I like your costume! Erm..Midna aint it?” The giant ganon dressed man questioned as all she could do was shake her head in agreement, causing the giant male to laugh “Awe don't be shy of me kitten i ain't gonna bite!” He chuckled some more as her friend jumped in “I told you she was shy! Be nice Rappa!” Rumi yelled at the flaming red head as he gave her a toothy grin “Oh I was just teasin’ , I bet I ain't hurt her feelin’s did I sweetheart?” Rappa questioned as [ ] face felt hot, hiding her face in her hands as the teasing duo laughed causing the girl to huff “I'm tired of you two already” She said as a giant warm hand touched her shoulders “Awe dont be like that hun, in time ya’l love me” Rappa teased as he gave her a smile,making her stomach flutter “Yeah! This is who wanted you to meet anyway [ ]! This is Kendo Rappa, our top wrestling boy, Rappa this is my adorable best friend [ ]!” Rumi said as the two gave each other a shy smile , a sly one creeping up on Rumis as she thought to herself “Yeah, this'll definitely happen”

Since then the two had become more acquainted , having many classes together and sharing some similar friends [ ] was used to the bruting and sometimes dense man making a random ( and loud) appearance. As [ ] sat in her mostly empty room thanks to her last roommate moving out after constantly breaking sound rules and getting into it with the girl downstairs for being in her bed with her boyfriend (Yikes) she felt a sense of calm. Closing her chemistry book and letting out a relieved sigh [ ] thought about the fact she was going to get a new roommate, the thought was nerve wracking but also it was exciting as well. It was almost too quiet , having the last room by the stairs meant she didn't have to deal with many people besides her friend group. They weren't loud , unless one of her friends decided to get laid and made way too many sounds, or if their neighbors under them threw parties or also had...extra partners coming around. She definitely could feel she was sorta excited she was going to have a roommate again. The sisters had a room to the left of her while Rumi had the one to the right, sharing it with a girl they knew from math. The rooms were not gender defined, some girls having rooms with guys and vise versa so it made it easy to get a room.

These dorms were also quite spacious, the walls not paper thin and a large enough area space that could house two or maybe even three people. So when she heard a knock on her door she expected it to be her new roommate she was advised would come today. Happily opening the door she was shocked and almost terrified to see just a box, well actually a few boxed stacked hiding whoever it was behind them. But if the faed rustic orange hair and wide shoulders meant anything she knew her new roommate already “K-kendo?” [ ] said as the boxes walked by her , landing with a soft thud as bangs covered the male “[ ]? Is that you?” moving his hair out of the way their eyes had the same expression, shocked. “Uh h-hey there sweetheart why isn't this cute, we’re roomies hun?” he laughed as she couldn't help but give him a smile back. “I never expected to see you as my roommate” [ ] teased as Rappa gave her a hardy laugh “Well it looks like me and you are gonna be close friends here darlin’!” With a wide smile he picked her up and gave her a tight hug, taking her breath away ‘ Oh boy i wonder how this will turn out’ she thought as she was eye leve with her giant puppy like friend, his eyes filled of joy

Which leads into now, [ ] trying her hardest to read up on what her next project could be. As she sat there thinking she heard the tale tell sound of her roommate entering with some of his teammates, the boys loud and rambunctious as they entered. Feeling a heavy hand on her shoulder she looked up to the towering boy that was her roommate, his eyes just as bright as usual. “Hey darlin, we're just gonna talk up sum strats a for the upcoming match and play some games in the back , is that alright?” He asked with pleading eyes as one of his more cocky and jock like friends spoke up “Well youre the man here, dont let some women say if we cant or can be here” Rolling her eyes and proceeding to stand up and push past the wide eyed boy who knew what was going to happen. [ ] took in a breath before opening her eyes to look up to the boy “Well it is my room, i pay shit here and the man over there didnt get this place, so i do choose who can and cant come through my place” She said as she pointed a finger to the boys chest. Trying to push his luck he pushed back against her finger “ I bet you just haven’t gotten a good enough dicking for you to just stay out of the way” He laughed. Before [ ] could hit him hard enough her rust haired friend moved in , clearly towering the boy “Yer better watch yer mouth, she has her right around here, im invatin her space so watch it before there's no place for any of us to relax without rules” He said as the boy sucked up any laughing and nodded his head in understanding. Surprised by her usually aloof roommate [ ] stood back and went back to her work, the other boys scrambling behind kendo as the boy who tried to challenge her jumped to follow, never making a move to mock or do anything again.

The boys picked back up and were having fun in the back room of kendo’s , sighs and groans when they lost and victorious laughs and screams if someone won. Once they all left and everything settle to a quiet rumble as the last few funneled out [ ] could here herself think, reading up on chemistry as she felt a presence behind her. “ ‘M sorry, i didn't know my question wouldve cause a roar outta ya..” Kendo started as she smiled gently, turning to face the wounded boy “Its okay….guess it just lit something in me i always did y'know?” She said with a small laugh as she went to type again, but was stopped by the hulking boy. “I gotta make it up to ya alright? I know i aint say anythin that he did but…. It feels like my fault y'know?” He admitted as his large hand covered hers. “You wont live this down will you?” She questioned as his eyes flickered up to hers, sparking. “Nope, not at all. Lemme treat ya right okay?” For such innocent words [ ] couldnt help the shiver that ran down her back at his words. Maybe it was because he was so close, or that the smell of his cologne was too much, either way her head was spinning as she let him still hold her hand as he tugged her away from her computer , his smile widening as she reluctantly shut the bright screen “Great! Now let's get something to eat im starvin” He rasped out as [ ] gave him a giggle that made the boy stop in his tracks. He always thought she had a cute giggle but this one,for some reason , made his heart and chest feel warm and tight. Ignoring the feeling he took the girl with him, the two headed out to get something to eat as they headed down , the sound of her giggling still running though kendos mind.

Getting a random frantic text from Kendo wasn't unusual, in fact it was quite common for him to do such, which now didn't faze [ ] at all but this one was...particularly odd giving what he was asking ‘Hair? And messy? What in the world is he up to’ [. ] thought to herself as she headed to her shared room with the boy, nervous of what scene she could be entering.

Sighing after his last text she hurried her way to their dorm room and in fact he did leave the door open, making her more nervous as she entered the living room. “Kendo?” [ ] called out as she heard a gruff sound come from her bathroom. Entering was a sight of its own; towels, a bowl of some..substance , bags and bottles of body wash and a one flustered and shirtless Kendo. “[ ]! ‘M so glad yer home here take this” The large man said as he handed her an old toothbrush that was frayed and covered with the same odd substance in the bowl. The lingering smell from the room eventually gave it away ; shampoos. “Uh why do i need this? And why is there shampoo on a toothbrush” She questioned as he groaned, taking the towel off his head as she blinked owlishly at his very faded red orange hair, the color now more of a neon pumpkin. Shaking off extra water caused even more of his hair to fall, landing between his shoulder blades as he gave [ ] a desperate look. “It wont come out, and the more i scub the more...orange i become. I look like a orange peel” He whined as [ ] figured out what he was trying to do

“ You wanna remove the color right? A bowl of shampoo and body wash isnt strong enough” Going into their kitchen she grabbed some baking soda and lemon juice , coming back to the hopeless boy “Let me mix something up ive used before okay? Then we can proceed with your hair” Two and a half hours later the boys hair was now a light peachy orange, just light enough to take up with bleach “Well, if were gonna go for blonde ill go get some bleach and some masks, deep conditioners too, your hair is definitely gonna need it and I don’t want it breaking off because you're impatient to take care of it” she sighed as he was amazed at his hair, running a large hand through the still damp mess atop his head “Wow yer good” He said as she smiled at him, taking her keys “And you have a lot of hair. I'll be back” She said as she hopped up “Wait! Lemme go with you?” He asked but also seemed to demand, pleading eyes looking down at hers as wet hair dropped onto his still bare chest.

Trying not to be hypnotized by where they landed and proceeded to slide down she looked up at her amber eyed friend, who was staring intently as he waited for her answer, soft “Please?” coming from his lips. Sighing dramatically on purpose [ ] laughed at him, giving him a grin “of course you can you big puppy” she said as he picked her up in a hug, a gesture that shows his excitement she's come to learn. Putting her down he went to go to the door before his friend called him out “uhm Kendo? You don’t have on a shirt” she said plainly as he looked at her, raising a brow as he gave his rebuttal “Its hot” He responded. Giving him a side eyed look she turned from him and towards their bedrooms, [ ] sliding into his. Soon she came out with a sleeveless one, throwing it at the hulk of a guy infront of her “You can't come in the store without one” She said as he gave a growl of his own, sliding the shirt over his head as they left their apartment “Well at least ya got me one without sleeves” He huffed as they started back to the door, heading out to finally go to the store to start another process on Kendos hair, the male just excited to finally get rid of his pumpkin hair.

As Kendo sat in the shared living room with [ ] , deep conditioning his hair at her yelling request (‘If you dont re nourish it before you want me to bleach it , I won't do it!’ ) he watched his roommate and now his best friend wanderer around and do housley things for their apartment, the girl content as she cleaned and sorted out things in the kitchen, her body turned away from him as he started to think over how beautiful he thought she was. He want the type to brag or gloat about having so many girls comment on his size , height wised and well sometimes other ways , trying to tempt him to them. All while his friends wanted him to explain how he got the attention from the other gender , Kendo hated to admit it but ,he only wanted his roommates' affection. He knew how put together she was, smart and kind. He saw what her previous boyfriend did, a cheater that didnt take care of the beautiful soul he lived with. He couldnt stand seeing her come home and cry herself to sleep broke his heart, and when he fought the cheater, in the act he didnt feel bad once. Of course it ended their relationship, and [ ] yelled at him for fighting , explaining how he couldve ended in jail for fighting her ex, but he argued it would be worth it.

Sitting and mulling over everything he realized Rumi was right, hed do anything for [ ] but not the same for the other females that passed through his life. She actually, was the first person he did that for and that thought made his head dizzy. Moving from his place on the couch he went to stand in the kitchen, waiting for [ ] to come back from her room. Hearing the iconic sound of her feet pittering across the wooden floor he gave her a lopsided smile as she jumped, smacking into the chest of Kendo. Before [ ] could fall from impacting with his chest he caught her, holding her arm to his chest. “K-kendo! You shouldve told me you were in here! Why are you in here anyway?”[ ] scolded as he laughed, moving out of the shorter girl's way as he started his staring again, this time [ ] noticed him “......What?” She asked as he looked down at her, an unreadable look on his face. “Kendo” she called as he hummed, moving closer “Yer gorgeous” Kendo blurted out as [ ] started to stutter, eyes going wide. Taking teo steps forward he essentially trapped his friend between the corner of their kitchen canopy. “Remember when I fought that bastard of an ex you had?” Kendo asked as he saw [ ]’s eyes go soft , shaking her head “What about him...i'm still mad you almost lost everything just to fight him yknow” she huffed as he poked her cheek “Id do it again if it meant you'd be happy again yaknow” Kendo said as he leaned down to push his head against hers, amber and [ ] eyes mingling. Lifting his large hands he traced each side of her cheek, analyzing over her face as he nuzzled against her nose “Stop playin hard to get would ya? Bad enough you got my heart all in your little hands” he whispered as [ ] just started at the giant , her arms gently coming over to cover his that were place on her cheeks “K-ken..i need to start you hair..” She hopelessly try to argue as he groaned, burying his face into her neck. Squealing at his damp hair touching her shoulder [ ] jumped ,pushing the large boy back “Your hair's wet!” She whined as he chuckleed, mo\ving back as it turned into a booming laugh “Oh my ‘m sorry babe , you look surprised” He said as she smacked hsi chest “Go to the sink, i need to rinse the conditioner” She yelled as he hwld his hands up in a mocked surrender, pulling his shirt up and off in one fluid movement. Caught up by him stripping his shirt off [ ] gave him a glance over, the heaviness of him admitting feelings for her in his own unique way still lingering in her mind as the toned and strong back of her friend made her head hazy. Turning around from the lack of notice of his smaller friend Kendo caught the eys of [ ] staring, her eyes quickly flickering to his curious ones as he grinned “See somethin you like darlin?” He teased as she grunted, reaching up to push his head in the sink “Shut up and let me do your hair”

And like clockwork, Kendo rappa was an icy blonde after two days, a break given to his long ,thick and wavy hair, the giant boy looking over his new look as he sighed happily, loving to have his hair finally look normal. “Well damn [ ]! Ya made it even better than what i was thinking. Look! My hair’s all wavy at the ends and it's soft! Whatever you made me do made it feel better!” He raved as the girl looked over her work. And in fact it was highly even, his hair consistent and lavishy soft. Giving him a shy look she giggle “That's what a deep conditioner will do to damage hair and the way i'm always untangling your hair for you, i knew it would need it before you wanted to go white” She said as he just kept running his hands in his hair, turning back to her “I could just kiss you right now!” He blurted out as they both froze at his words, eyes wide from both parties “I-I aint mean it [ ]” He croaked out as she giggled, stepping back from him “O-of course you didnt, why would you i mean aha..”She said as she moved away more , his own words started to hit him as he realized the reverse effect it was having “NO! No, I'd want to kiss you, I really really want to. I just...want it to be on your terms okay?” he said as he grabbed her arm, holding her in front of him as if she'd float away if he didnt.

“Kendo...I..” [ ] started as she came back to his hip, laying between his legs onto his thankfully covered chest “I just dont want to lose you if you decide you wouldnt want me around” She whispered as he pulled her even closer, kissing her forehead as he stared at her “Dont you ever say that again ya hear me? Youll be my princess and ill be your humble er..knight” He hesitated as he tried to think of a sweet way to explain his feelings. [ ] looked up to him as she felt here eyes feel heavy with tears. Before one even fell Kendo pushed his lips as soft as the strong boy could, wrapping a large and beefy arm around her waist as he slipped his tongue in her mouth, letting his hand slide down to pull her up to sit on the tops of his thighs while he leaned against his dresser. Softly [ ] pushed her hand on his chest and pulled away, now eye to eye with Kendo “Sorry , d-did i overstep my place” He asked as she let out a snot, before laughing. Confused, Kendo went to talk before she stopped him “No no, youre good, just that if we keep kissing on this dressed there's gonna be a hole in the wall” She said as she pointed to where the mirror kept tapping a spot, scrapes already aroring it “R-right!” He laughed too, picking her up to set her on his bed “Now then...lemme serve you princess” He said before kissing her again, not letting her rebuttal his own comment. As the two kissed he made sure to be as gentle as he could be , at times clumsily nipping her lip or his hand pulling hard at her clothes.

All in the name of wanting to show how much she meant to him. Soon he pulled away, a small string of saliva strung between them from the hearty kissing. “[ ]...i think i love you” He said as she gave him a soft look , trying to catch her breath from the dramatic kiss they came from “Good, because i love your loud ass too Kendo” She teased as he smirked,leaning down to bite her neck, causing her to moan loudly “We’ll see whos loud after im done wit ya” he gave his own tease back as he moved between her plump thighs, kissing the flesh there as he pulled her shorts to the side, exposing her flushed lower lips. Gasping she reached for his hand that held her legs apart causing the fresh blonde to look up at her, eyes wandering over her face for signs of him to stop “I-Im not used to being this bare sorry..” She whimpered out as it dawned on the other side of her words “Have you ever ate out baby?” he asked as she hid her face from him, shaking ehr head as he groaned, pulling her shorts down as he saw her lacy panties , a smirk placed on his lips as he peeled them off too, a string of arousal keeping them plastered to her lips “fuck, that bastared really didnt take care of you” he growled as she sat up to see his darkening eyes kiss up to her lips whispering out a “but i will” as he sucked one of her lips into his mouth, causing a lound moan from the woman he was inbetween. Slowly he licked up her lips, searching for that small pearl as she whined, a hand coming down to tug his hair. Grunting he soon found it, sucking onto her clit as she gasped, her thighs shutting over his head as he looked up to her, watching as her back arched off of the bed once her pressed his tongue hard against her clit. Softly he let a hand run under her thigh, a single thick finger tracing over her twitching hole as he pushed it in gently, making [ ] squeal. “K-Ken!” She called out as he looked up again, catching her eyes and flushed face on his actions. Making a show of what he was doing he let a second one join the first as he sucked hard on her bud at the same time making [ ]’s eyes roll back as her hand fell from his head, nervous od pulling too hard. Kendo however had other plans. Feeling her walls tighten around his fingers he made sure to find that spongy spot and hitting it, finally pulling his lips from her clit as he smiled “Uuh Uh doll, look at me” He growled as she hesitantly glances at him, regretting that she did. He looked way too good, hair a mess as he was panting, catching his breath from being down on her. With evry pump of his fingers his muscle in his arm twitched, making her own walls spasm as she watched it “Ya like it sweetheart?” He asked as she shook her head, watching him move back to her pussy “Good, cause i aint done” He said as he gave her clit kitten licks beofe slurping on it, throwing a wink at her as he picked up his pace, making [ ]’s voice rise as she felt herself getting close before quickly snapping at a particular hard thrust of his finger to her spot on her walls.

Letting out a light scream she came over his fingers and tongue, the male laughing gleefully as he sucked up her juices. LEtting her come down some he watched her face as bliss spread through her body and a sense of confidence whent though his. Slowly he picked up the pace of his fingers again, going from a shallow push to more stroking as he heard [ ] whine, grabbing at his hand “Uh uh sweetheart, you taste too good fro me to only let you cum on my tongue once” he said as he pushed her down by her stomach, letting her take his spare hand as he went back to suckling on her lower lips. He knew he had a lot in stored for her, and watching the newly admitted love of his life cum from his pleasing was enough for him to realized he needed to do more. Popping off her clit as puling his fingers gently out he looked at her ravished body, using his non wet hand to pull at his sweats. “Youre beautiful like this [ ]” kendo said as she took in heavy breaths, feeling her throat close as he stroked his massive size, rubbing the swollen head as he looked at her , giving her a soft smile “Ya dont have to take me just yet , hes just throbbin too much” He groaned as he twisted his hand hard over his leaking tip, feeling himself throb as he laid back on his bed. “Ride my face?” he asked with one of the most sinful looks [ ] had ever seen ; lustful eyes watching her as his large hand stroked his larger dick, the soft and fleshy muscle jumping at watching her crawl to him, throwing a leg over his neck

“I-i dont wanna suffocate you..” She said as he smirked before saying “Ya cant suffocate me i want it” Soon he grabbed her hip, pushing her onto his awaiting mouth as he picked up his pace, sliding his tongue into her twitching hole as she rocked her hips, keeping a steady pace as she held herself on his shoulder and headboard, ,depreate moand and cries tumbling out as he rocked her too, going from her clit to her dripping entrance, stoking his dick harder and harde as her moans spurred him on. Soon he felt the bud in his mouth twitch and throb harder, the sounds [ ] made increasing as his own hand sped up with his throbbing head, the telltales of them both getting close. A moan erruptred from the girl on his lips as she came again , her essence running down his face as he groaned, ropes of cum shooting onto his hand and stomach as he came himself, still stroking out what he could as the pressure he felt subside. Sliding off softly [ ] saw the mess behind her, taking it upon herself to lick up some of it as she was met with his same aber eyes, watching her move to his still hard member “Let me take care of you too?” she asked shyly. Fuck he was done for as he felt himslef hardend worse at her words, a large hand coming up to smack her ass as he psuhed her up and over his head, letting his tip and her swollen lips run over eachother. Slowly he pushed his tip past her budding lips, entranced by the way it swallowed her whole “Fuck...i love you [ ] and by the time im done with ya...youll know it” he whispered in her ear as she felet him push, more and moreof his large size spreading her lips father than shed ever had. Her eyes rolled up as she felt him bottom out, both moaning as he picked up his pace, making a soothing rhythm as little moans and whines came from [ ], deep grunts coming from Kendo as he kissed her shoulders and back, marking where he could as he felt himself get closer with how she was throbbing over his member.

Digging his fingers as deep as he could in her plush hips he let our a mantra of ‘Cummin’ i and ‘ I love yous’ in her ear as she pushed back against him, feeling herself teetering as he pushed as deep as he could go ,letting himself cum as she came too, the overwhelming feeling of him throbbing against her spongy walls and previous orgasms enough to push her over a third time. “[ ]” Kendo rasped as [ ] hummed , feeling her legs still shake with him in her “Im serious, i'm never leaving you...you're mine and i love you…” kendo said as he kissed the back of her neck, nibbling her ear as he stayed in her “Mhm….i love you too Rappa..”

#collab event #bnha smut #bnharem collab #kendo rappa #bnha rappa #rappa x reader

272 notes · View notes

scripttorture · 4 years

Note

I'm not sure if this question has been asked before, but what would be usually the reason why people would torture someone? Not to justify (torture is unjustifiable in any situation) but I really needed a driving force for a villain why they would w/o sounding ridiculous or implausible, and any reason I come up with falls kind of flat (... Which I suppose is expected, since that's how the reasonings behind tortures are in rl I guess)

I can help you out here. And I want you to know that from a writing stand point this does make perfect sense. Motivation, however shallow, is important for capturing a character.

Yes a lot of the motivations in reality are flat, shallow and outright stupid. And it can be a careful balancing act, showing those motivations making them understandable without straying into justifying them. It can also be hard to make an interesting character with flat motivations.

I think I’ll start off with talking about motivations/‘reasons’ in reality and then talk a little about when and whether we should break from reality when we write about torturers.

Remember that there isn’t a lot of research on torturers. So I’m working from the little bit of research I can access, interviews with torturers and anecdotal reports. It isn’t perfect, but this is (so far as I can tell) the best information we have at the time of writing.

Understanding why torture occurs means understanding that it is structural violence.

I do take questions on abuse, I personally don’t see much point in sticking to the strict legal definition of torture when I’m trying to help authors do a decent job portraying trauma survivors. But sometimes the definition matters. And torture is essentially defined as abuse by government employees*, by public servants in positions of authority.

Over and over again the reasons torturers give for their crimes come back to flaws in the organisations they were part of. Consistently, across cultures and time periods, they describe understaffed, high pressure environments with no training, little supervision and the instruction to produce results or else.

This combines with cultural messages that violence ‘works’ and existing sub-cultures of torturers within organisations to perpetuate abuse.

It’s also worth mentioning that for most torturers they’re coming into an organisation where there are already established sub-groups of torturers. The group dynamics do seem to play a role in all this. Though it’s difficult to say how much when we’re entirely going from what torturers say and they are… demonstrably inaccurate when it comes to talking about torture.

Having said that; torturers do seem to encourage each other to more and more acts of violence. They treat it almost competitively. They will also, sometimes, approach new recruits and bring them into the torturer sub-group, pressuring them to participate.

I’m unsure how much of a role the social factor plays in torturers starting to torture, but it definite seems to keep them torturing when they say they’d rather stop. There are a couple of reasons why.

First of all there’s a sort of implicit threat; refusing to torture is seen as a threat to the torturer sub-culture. And these are people who have already shown a capacity for violence. There have been cases of torturers attacking other members of the same organisation for their opposition to, or refusal to, torture.

There’s also a social aspect; once involved with the torturer sub-culture the individual tends to become more and more cut off from the rest of the organisation. The group of torturers becomes more or less their entire social circle.

We’re social animals. So leaving, rejecting the entire social group, is a big deal. It’s hard for us to do.

The toxic sub-culture torturers form encourages them to root part of their identity in their capacity for violence and how ‘good at it’ the other members of their group think they are. They tend to tie ideas of toughness, dependability, achievement and (often) masculinity to torture. They frame themselves as especially manly, strong and ‘willing to do the tough jobs no one else has the guts to’.

It’s complete nonsense but it’s what they do.

And it means that facing up to the fact torture is pointless feels like an attack on their self worth. A lot of them choose to double down rather then face that reality.

This isn’t a definitive list of relevant factors. It’s my assessment of the ones that always seem to show up. There are usually other factors that feed into particular situations. Rejali’s Three Systems is a worth a read on that front.

Ideas about social hierarchy and transgression are common features. So things like ‘anyone who does That Terrible Thing deserves to be tortured’ or ‘no one Like That would be in this part of town for an innocent reason’.

All of this means that motivation can be tricky to write, because the real motivations are often not the sort of thing we’re taught are ‘interesting’.

Real, honest motivations are often things like:

‘I think those people deserve it’

‘I was told to’

‘Everyone else was doing it’

‘I couldn’t think of anything else to do’

‘I got angry and took it out on someone else’

‘I thought it would work and no one ever taught me another way’

That’s not a definitive list but you get the idea. And probably get the point about these sorts of shallow motivations being narratively unsatisfying.

So let’s step back from the reality and tackle the writing problem at the heart of this: how do we make this interesting?

There are a couple of different approaches.

The first approach I see is to accept that the motivation and the villain are shallow and shift the interest away from the villain.

Villains don’t need to be interesting. And they don’t need to be the focus.

If your story is structured in a way which primarily makes the villain a looming threat and focuses on the heroes, their journey, their relationships then adding detail or depth to the villain is unnecessary.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy does this with several of its major villains. The Shape of Water does it for the main villain. Zelda: Breath of the Wild (yes I bought a switch during lock down, and it’s my first Zelda game I am not sorry) does it with Ganon.

Another approach is to accept the motivation is shallow and shift the focus away from the villain’s motivation.

Villains do not need to have a grand philosophy or deep motivation or underlying pain in order to be a good read. They don’t need to be an intellectual threat to the heroes in order to be a legitimate threat.

For instance Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, I’d argue one of the best takes on the character ever. But if you go back and watch the episodes he isn’t deep. His motivation almost always boils down to pettiness, greed and a vindictive streak a mile wide. It is incredibly shallow.

But he’s fun to watch, because he’s unpredictable and funny. He’s also a legitimate threat to the heroes because he’s so incredibly destructive. More then any other villain his crimes are aimed at effecting large numbers of people. That sets the stakes high without any motivation or philosophy coming into it.

The focus is on what he does each time he shows up, not why.

Persona 5 pulls off a similar trick. Every single one of its villains has a shallow motivation. But each of them also has power over one of the heroes or another innocent person. They don’t need a deeper or more interesting motivation in order to make life miserable for the heroes. And every caper hinges on the heroes trying to stop that worst outcome.

As much as Fullmetal Alchemist is a deep story which touches on many complex topics, neither version (the original manga or the 2003 anime with it’s very different plot) had a particularly complex villain at the end of the story. In both cases the ultimate leader of the ‘bad guys’ just wanted more power. And didn’t care how many lives they destroyed to get it.

Not all stories need a Killmonger.

It’s always worth taking the time to consider what your story needs, rather then what’s fashionable in fiction at the moment. On a personal note some of my favourite stories have been either entirely focused on the heroes or had explicitly shallow villains.

The reality is that most of the time motivations for large scale atrocities are shallow and unsatisfying. Giving fictional villains deeper or more complex motives can work, but it can also mean twisting the narrative up to make it look like the villain (and hence their actions) are more reasonable then they are.

Killmonger’s twisted vision of what would make Wakanda ‘better’ works in Black Panther, just as White Wolf’s similar motivation did in the comics a decade or so earlier. They work because they’re directly competing with the hero’s vision of what would make the world better. And because ultimately it’s about showing why T’Challa’s way is better then the villain he’s facing off against.

But I can think of other stories where giving the villain a ‘deeper’ reasoning just served to make them look reasonable. While they were arguing for torture and genocide.

And… I just think we’ve got enough of that in real life.

At the end of the day your villain should be serving a role within the story you’re creating. Motivation is one of many ways that we try to make sure they serve that function effectively and entertainingly.

But, despite what some people would have you believe, it ain’t the be all and end all of whether a villain or story is entertaining. Personality, plots, aesthetic and sometimes how satisfying it feels to see their day ruined, all feed in to how well a villain works.

The threat they represent in the story isn’t dependant on whether their motivation is deep or nuanced or rational. It’s about their ability to follow through and sometimes the horrific nature of the desire itself.

So I guess a lot of my advice here is to consider what your villain actually needs to do in the story. Then take a step back and consider whether deeper motivation adds anything to that.

Be aware that the more complex motivations and drives you add the further you’re getting from a realistic torturer. Which is not inherently apologia, or inherently a bad writing idea, but consider what any deviation from reality implies.

I hope that helps. :)

Available on Wordpress.

Disclaimer

*The international definition can include groups that control territory, ie an occupying force. In some countries the definition is slightly wider and encompasses some international criminal gangs.

#writing advice #tw torture #writing torturers #behaviour of torturers #motivations of torturers #threatening villains #motivation #writing villains #effects of torture on organisations #defining torture

78 notes · View notes

junnie133 · 4 years

Text

dead hand

A spooky one shot I wrote after a weird nightmare. I’m so sorry in advance for making Wind suffer like this, my poor baby ;-; I wanted to write something for halloween and here I am. (no beta)

{+}{+}{+}

The first thing that came to Wind’s mind when he regained consciousness was ‘that hurt like a goddamn motherfucking bitch’. He was sure Sky would scold him harshly for saying that all aloud, but even if he wanted to talk his throat wasn’t cooperating right now, feeling all raspy and dry. He reached for the canteen hanging on his side and tried to get up from the floor, but the pain on his side only let him sit down, resting his back against the nearest wall while he drank copiously. Breathing harshly, he opened his eyes to see where the fuck was he now, growling like a rabbid dog when he realized there was no one else around.

Right. Time’s Hyrule. Switch. A bigass-hand falling from the ceiling. What the fuck.

It must have been some kind of Floormaster or something, it took him away from his friends to some shithole in the middle of nowhere. There was light coming from the top of the room, so yeah, a hole in fact. He was impressed by how many of them were around in Time’s Era, like, sure there were some hidden places in his own world but at least they weren’t near enough to (or inside) a dungeon to stumble into one after a damn switch.

He was really pissed off.

After drinking some more water and adjusting his eyes to the dark, he took some deep breaths and stood up slowly. For how long was he unconscious? He didn’t know, the light from outside was faint and silvery, so it was nighttime, and the memory of the first glance he gave to Time’s world after the switch of Eras before he fell told him they arrived there in the afternoon. He cursed all aloud this time, thinking that maybe if he swore loud enough Sky would actually hear his potty mouth and come to scold him, saving his sorry ass in the process.

“Where the fuck are you all bunch of damn cunts?!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, but his voice broke at the end, leaving him coughing and wheezing a little. He wasn’t sure if it was because puberty was finally deepening his voice, or thanks to the pain on… well, now he thought of it, all his body.

That was quite a fall. As soon as they got into the dungeon the hand grabbed him, and he couldn’t remember anything since that moment.

He now reached for his Spoils Bag attached to his side, and groaned loudly, not caring about the pain on his chest while he did. It wasn’t there. Fucking great.

This was so frustrating, and yeah, he normally tried to find the bright side to every bad situation, moreover, he could think about some good things right now (he wasn’t dead, hurray), but honestly? He wasn’t in the mood. Moments prior to the switch he was already upset with the others. Was it really that easy to forget half of them were still kids, not only him?. Wind found it rather bothersome that guys like Wild and Four tried so hard to protect him when they both weren’t old enough to be legally allowed to drink themselves (He and Four stole some booze from Warrior’s bag one time, his friend’s eyes glinting cobalt blue. The shorter couldn’t stand a single sip, and Twilight got them before Wind could prove himself as a true pirate).

He hated Time’s hard glare of disappointment he gave every time one of them behaved somehow ‘un-heroically’ or something, and it wasn’t even directed to him. Yes, it was Wild who came up with the idea of sneaking out the camp to do some shield-surfing on a nearby hill, and yeah, Wild might be slightly older than him, but it was Wind who decided to do it in the end.

And Wild only nodded and accepted the scolding, like he agreed Wind didn’t have any idea what they were doing. Last night he went to sleep at the skirts of the camp with a frown and the only company of Wolfie.

He has proven himself before, his sword was just as valuable as anyone else’s. This was bullshit.

(Somewhere deep inside him he knew the guys did it because they worried about his behalf, because it angered them how Hylia was such enough of a bitch to throw a child to the jaws of Ganon’s pure malice willingly, to did what she did to Wild) But he was too mad right now.

Detecting movement by the corner of his eye, he looked at the other side of the room. The moonlight was moving little by little, reminding him of the pass of time (what time was it?), and illuminated a spot in the ground that made Wind breathe relieved for a minute.

It was his bag, and not far from it, his sword.

“Finally” he huffed, starting to move and evaluating his injuries along the way. Nothing broken (he wouldn’t be a Hero of Hyrule if his bones broke so easily, duh), but his right wrist was twisted. He felt bruises all over his torso and legs, and the sharp sting on his side slowly disappearing with time. I didn’t feel like a cut or some internal injury, most like his body was complaining about how little food and water he had had.

His bag hung from a weird-looking white branch, and his senses made him stop suddenly. The bag swung gently like a wind stream was moving it, but the air was still down there. He subtly looked around, searching for rats or any kind of small animal he hadn’t seen before, but there was nothing. He frowned, eyeing his sword, half hidden in the darkness while the tip glinted with the moonlight.

“Huh?” he pretended to hear something in a random side of the hole, looking away but keeping an eye for his things, barely catching the way his bag moved again, from a tiny jerk from the branch itself.

He frowned and kept staring at his things, taking a deep breath. As quick as he could, he leaped right towards his sword and rolled far from the ‘branch’ holding his bag, his eyes widening when he saw the way it began moving, like an articulated limb.

“Fffffuc- Ack!”

He didn’t have time to even swore in peace as another limb came out from the ground right in front of him. He slashed at it in reflex, but the Phantom Sword didn’t do any damage to it, bouncing against its resistant flesh rather comically. He fell to the ground by the recoil of his attack, grimacing to the pain of his wrist. He needed his bag.

But before he could tore his things from the hold of whatever-the-everloving-fuck that was, another pale limb sprouted from the ground and grabbed his entire head with its hand before Wind could do anything. The Sailor trashed and squirmed, trying to set free. Sharp nails dug into his skin painfully, he couldn’t breath, and by the corner of his eye he saw something big moving near him.

The hand didn’t let him go until he poked its arm harshly with the sharp end of his sword, and once he was out of its reach, he saw it.

A moving bag of flesh and bones, slowly approaching him while facing the sky. It had short arms without hands, there was blood on its skin and when it lowered its face to goddamn bite his head off, he saw an ugly face with no eyes and large, rectangular teeth snapping inches away from his own face.

“Fuck off!” he screamed with a trembling voice, slashing his sword vertically. He managed to cut the monster’s mouth, breaking some teeth and bones in the way.

It screeched loudly before hiding underground again at a frightening speed, forcing Wind to step back. What in the world was that?!

“Damn Time, and we all thought Wild’s Hyrule was bad…” he grumbled under his breath.

He was about to begin searching for the creature to finish it once and for all when another arm grabbed him from behind, obscuring his vision again. He heard the beast’s nauseating sounds again and he noticed the pattern.

“Asshole! You only come out when I can’t fight! Fucking coward!” he enjoyed screaming to his enemies like this; not even in combat Time allowed him to insult monsters. It was almost too satisfying, if it wasn’t because there was a damn corpse about to eat his brain right next to him.

The hand let him go once the monster was near enough to attack, but Wind was too mad, too scared and on alert to let the fucker just kill him like that. He dodged, his body complaining for the rude treatment, screaming in pain when somehow, enemy teeth reached for his twisted wrist and bit down.

Then Wind did screamed in pain. The monster released his arm momentarily before biting with more force, tearing muscle and breaking bones. Seeing red and with an almost animalistic growl, Wind stabbed it on the head, giving him time to rescue his arm and get away from it and its infinite arms. He was breathing laboriously, watching his flesh torn apart and bleeding. His anger toned down, leaving room only for panic.

‘What if it gets infected? What if the beast reaches me? What if it eats me? I’m gonna die. Where is Time? Where is Warriors? WildTwilightLegendHyruleFourSkyWolfieSomeone…”

A shadow rose in front of him and he gulped hard. What the fuck, Hylia? Wasn’t he good with her? Wasn’t he good enough for her? It was getting hard to breath, the stench of his own fresh blood and the creature’s body odor was too much, the hole was too small, too deep, the walls too near and the exit too far from his reach.

Tetra’s mocking voice made fun of him on his head, Aryll’s fearful whimpers filled his mind. He glared at the monster, getting a hold of himself. He was still trembling when he stood up with the Phantom Sword on his hand.

The Hero of the Winds couldn’t come down so easily.

#im sorry #my poor bby #wind #linked universe fic #linked universe #linkeduniverse #damn you spooky month #kind of halloween special?#idk #might do a part 2 #maybe #with a happy ending

36 notes · View notes

certainempatheticturkeymuffin · 3 years

Text

Age of Calamity Review

Hey! I wasted three hours of my life writing this in Arlo's comment section and part of it had to be cut out because of Youtube's word limit, so y'all get to suffer with me.

Here's the video that I wrote this on, give him some love, his opinion is a great juxtaposition to my own!

There are a few weird formatting errors because tumblr wants me to make new paragraphs, but there's no missing words as far as I can tell.

I like it, but I like the first one better, mainly for the appearance. I don't know why, but the pop ups are hard for me to see (by pop-ups I mean the challenges and weak point meters, the out of battle menu is actually pretty good, though I admit the text is a little small on the opening screen), and the lack of saturation makes it hard for me to see. Actually, that might be it, I just don't like the paler color palette in this context, since for a fast paced game I kind of need to be able to see, which I can't because I'm partially blind, and glasses have a glare that's an annoying trade off. Compare that to the original Hyrule Warriors, the weak point meters are brightly colored and change color the more you damage it, which is good for those with visual impairment who need some extra feedback to judge their next actions. The menu was also this aged tan color which provided a great contrast that wasn't the blinding white on top of dark blue, which wasn't bad at all, but the buttons and text were always big enough for those with visual impairment to see, though I will admit that the little pop ups with all the people crying out for help have a bit of the same issue as AoC. I think I just like the more vibrant colors of Hyrule Warriors in the context of a faster game, rather than the pale beauty of BotW, since my eyes can't really see what's going on if the colors aren't at least comparable to what you'd find in Minish Cap or Triforce Heroes. I can see fine in BotW during the day time, but at night, well, I just run and hope for the best, trying not to get killed by an electric keese, which is also a problem in AoC, mainly Zora's Domain; I could barely see a thing and it negatively impacted my experience.

I've got hundreds of hours in HW, and maybe five or ten in AoC. It's mainly because I just don't like how it looks. I've heard a lot of people say that it looks pretty much exactly like botw and...I have to disagree. A lot of areas are pretty perfect, but some, like the tower, are just a little off in a way I can't describe. That's a personal irrelevant nitpick though, but it negatively impacted my experience, so I thought it was worth a mention, the tower on the opening screen always annoyed the crap out of me, every time I see it I just want to exit the game because ew.

The gameplay is fine, and thank goodness for the addition of the meditation room, there's not a feature like that in the original, so I had to play the first stage over and over again to figure out new combos, I think Mipha is my favorite hero that I actually unlocked (though I've been wanting to play more just to see if I can control Revali and Teba like I can Fi (which makes her insanely good since her wide area of movement is the only thing you need to account for)), and I think Zelda is my least favorite, since she's a little clunky for my taste (Daruk is too, but his rolling makes that more bearable). I was a little disappointed with Impa, but her seal thing is kinda like Zelda's and Fi's thing in Hyrule Warriors (there are probably stronger connections, but I'm not experienced with every single hero), and I think it was just the hype that she got. She's not the type of character I like to play, since Zelda and Fi are my favorites, speedy and nimble area clearers (Sheik and Marin are cool too, I just have less experience using Marin, and Sheik is always a B pick since I find them a little harder to control with less area of impact), which meant that Mipha, a character I admittedly was never attached to, became one of my favorites in the game. Impa wasn't an area clearer for the most part, she had a few moves that could do that, but she was mainly a boss-killer to me, Mipha though? She's great, set up a few waterspouts and everything dies.

I do like that they've lessened the kind of ridiculous amount of items that were in HW, and that they didn't try to strong arm fairies in, because that system was the most annoying thing in the world and so poorly explained that I had to watch the same tutorial three times over about once a month because it was so convoluted.

I do hate the runes though, I just, couldn't seem to use them right. It might just be me, but I found trying to use them weird. It's a little hard to explain, but it's probably just a me thing. Not only that, but I found the inclusion of the rods on top of the runes annoying. The rods were entirely unnecessary if you were going to use runes. They just added another layer that was thin at best, not to mention that I found them hard to use as well. I hated the weird controls of the targeting system. I don't think there's anything wrong with a basic hack and slash, and if you're not going to have the excessive amount of items, runes were a good idea i think it might've been a me issue, but rods? It seems a bit excessive. It's probably just a "you'll get better with practice" kind of thing, which, fair, most people can't use Fi like I can, so that makes sense. I figured it was worth a mention anyway since the runes were a constant source of annoyance and I used the rods twice before never bothering again because I hated them so much.

I do like the addition of healing from food drops whenever you want though. In the original if there was a dropped heart but you were at full health, sucked to be you, going back for it when you need it would waste time. The plot is still as weird as ever though (from what I've heard from other videos and such), which is fine, since I tend to play my favorite levels over and over rather than actually do anything plot relevant (can you believe that it took me over a year to finish the story of HW because I kept getting distracted by letting Fi and Zelda mow down everything in the Adventure maps and challenges? I literally got the boomerang like six months after

getting the game. It's perfect for people with ADHD I swear) though I am extremely disappointed with the fact that they took the cheap way out, it's a kid's game and a nintendo game, what did I expect? For them to let everyone actually die? Nope...though honestly, I can't comment on the overall amazingness of the plot they went with because...er....I only did Mipha's and Daruk's stages before just losing interest, so I'm not the person you want to ask about any story criticism, because that would be pure conjecture and utterly pointless.

The customization of heroes, now that's great. It's a weird system that I needed to google a lot for, but it's absolutely brilliant and I love it. Sure, getting the specific seals I want is a little annoying, but it's a great mechanic and I love it.

I probably should've said this earlier, but I'm comparing it mainly to Hyrule Warriors rather than BotW because AoC's a Warriors game and thus plays more like Hyrule Warriors than BotW, and BotW has a different set of standards due to being an open-world game. I'm still salty about the plot though, so I guess there's your comparison.

Also, I absolutely ADORE the fact that you can track materials. Not having to google which stage gives me which material is just the best. And the fact that the side quests have little blurbs, absolutely fantastic. We didn't get that in HW, but then again, once you finished the main story, the rest was just, Have Fun and Kill Everything, which is great, and I love it, but adding in a weird ingredient fetching quest with a nugget of lore is kinda cool. I don't wish we got it in HW though, since, as aforementioned, there was no way to track which material came from which stage, so that would've made it a nightmare.

The Divine Beasts....I hated them, they were literally just time wasters, and, granted I only did Rudania and Ruta before dropping the game, I just hated them. The UI was horrendous and even Ganon's Fury was better, and I absolutely DESPISE Ganon's Fury. Once I finished them, I was just happy for them to be over and never bother with them again. I hated their controls, I hated the cramped paths, I hated how I couldn't really turn and see anything, and honestly, I commend the champions for being able to control these bulky slow and absolutely horrible machines.

On the music, I think it's good. I loved BotW's soundtrack, I loved Zelda 2's soundtrack, I loved Wind Waker's soundtrack, I loved Cadence of Hyrule's soundtrack, I loved Hyrule Warriors's soundtrack, I loved Minish Cap's soundtrack, Triforce Heroes, Spirit Tracks (you're lying if you say otherwise, this soundtrack is a bop and I will actually fight you), etc etc, and this one is no different, though I will admit it did a pretty good job of having me ignore it, though that may have been more due to my frustration at the rods and runes and Zelda and Daruk more than actually having an unimpressive soundtrack.

Personally, it didn't do much for me, I can't get over the color palette, the mechanics, the divine beasts. I had pretty average, maybe a bit high, expectations, but they weren't quite met. I played it for a few hours one day, dropped it, picked it up again a few months later, then remembered exactly why I dropped it. I think the original Hyrule Warriors is just better visually for me, even if the plot isn't great or it's a bit fanfictiony, it had depth in combat that didn't absolutely annoy me, and the annoying battles were usually optional, and the bosses had variety, which is a fault mainly of BotW and was just an inherited problem for AoC, and I'm not a completionist, I don't want to have to complete anything with Darunia or Cia, so I don't unless I have to to progress something, which means that I don't stress about the gargantuan amount of content in HW.

IN SUMMARY: I've never had problems with frame rate (though I play docked due to visual impairment), and if you're visually impaired, wear anti-glare glasses because the pale colors aren't going to help much. I haven't found an option to make text bigger. The soundtrack is good,

there isn't much boss variety (not AoC's fault, but it's still there), the meditation room is great, the runes take a bit of getting used to, as do the rods(i never got used to them), Divine Beasts tank performance in all aspects and are just disappointing, you actually know which stage drops which item, and there's no My Fairy (which is definitely a positive).

To slap on an arbitrary rating that only means something to me: 4.5/10

It's a good game if you can get passed the issues that bug ME to no end.

And there we have it. There goes....holy crap I spent three hours on

I wanted to like this, I really did, and I'm glad others enjoy it, but as it stands, I'll let y'all move on to Age of Calamity, and I'll stick to my handy dandy Hyrule Warriors ice cream with a dash of Breath of the Wild, a sprinkle of Cadence of Hyrule, and a Zelda 2 cherry on top. It's not like I have to wait long for Subnautica; hopefully that doesn't disappoint me too much, I preordered this one. Actually, I get Pokemon Snap today too, hopefully it isn't a SwSh level disappointment, AoC is magnitudes better than SwSh at a 4.5

this????? Three hours of my life. Gone.

#age of calamity #loz #hyrule warriors #review #game review #zelda botw #age of calamity review #hw aoc #aoc #botw #aoc spoilers #legend of zelda #breath of the wild #late review #like several months late #who cares #visual impairment #gaming

3 notes · View notes

jimintomystery · 4 years

Text

Zelda II

As long as I’m playing Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, it’s a good excuse to vent about one of my pet peeves about the game: the story. You see, the character you control is the same Link that appeared in The Legend of Zelda...but it’s not the same Zelda.

In the original Zelda, Link assembles the Triforce of Wisdom so he can recover the Triforce of Power from Ganon and rescue Princess Zelda. In the manual for Zelda II, the princess’s nursemaid Impa reveals another Princess Zelda, who has been under a sleeping spell for generations. Impa explains that all subsequent princesses were named after this sleeping Zelda, which is basically the last reference to the title character from the first game.

This really irritated me thirty years ago. It’s such a waste of the first Zelda character to casually replace her with what is essentially an identical character. (The princess from Super Mario Bros. had by this time gone on to be playable character in Super Mario Bros. 2, so I had high standards for expanding the roles of these damsels in distress.) Why couldn’t the first Zelda help Link out in his quest to awaken the second? Which of them is next in line to throne, and which one gets to marry Link? Which one is the girl in the cartoon supposed to be? All these issues bothered me.

Compounding this problem is the fact that Zelda II doesn’t have a clear central antagonist. Ganon is dead, and although his underlings want to resurrect him by killing Link, that doesn’t really drive the plot. Zelda was sedated by an unnamed magician trying to force her to reveal information about the Triforce of Courage to her brother, the prince. But the magician is said to have died, and the prince recanted his cruelty, so you’re not exactly out to thwart either of them.

So Link is just out to complete a series of trials left behind by Zelda’s father, to earn the Triforce of Courage so it can break the sleeping spell. Which feels awkward to me--you’re not ridding the kingdom of evil so much as you’re being put through an obstacle course by some dead king. Are the monsters the king placed in his palaces acting on his behalf? Because they seem less concerned with protecting the Triforce than just being evil jerks.

In short, the backstory feels convoluted and unsatisfying, especially compared with the first game. Which makes it tempting to assume the game’s manual is wrong somehow, especially since so little of its story is acknowledged by the game itself. (The game just says Zelda is under a sleeping spell, without any indication she’s not the same Zelda from the first game.) It kinda makes me want to learn more about how the story was developed, and what changes might have been made for localization.

When “Zelda 3” was announced, I probably hoped that game would clear some things up, so I wasn’t terribly pleased to hear it would be a prequel. At the very least, I figured the princess in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past would be the same long-ago Zelda that is awakened in The Adventure of Link. But I’m pretty sure nobody ran with that idea. Instead, the series shifted to the infamously loose continuity we know today, where each major installment re-tells the basic “Zelda gets Link to fight Ganon” cycle, and events from prior games are little more than half-remembered legends.

In the spirit of the later Zelda games, it’s kinda fun to imagine Zelda II is a pure reboot. Like, the first game happened centuries ago, and Link and Zelda’s descendants are destined to reunify the kingdom as king and queen. Link has to prove his worth by obtaining the Triforce, but maybe the prince and that magician corrupted the king’s trials with their evil or something. But as I grind through the game, I can’t help but remember I’m running errands for a dead man because he made it needlessly difficult to save his own daughter.

#video games #the legend of zelda #zelda ii #the adventure of link #also who the heck is that little dude at the end of the game?#and what about scarecrow's brain?

12 notes · View notes

multi-fandom-nutjob · 4 years

Text

How I’d tweak every Smash Character(Part I)

Hello, everyone! Cinnamon-Guardian here! I love Smash Bros to death, but not everything is perfect. I’ve been mulling over some ideas on how to tweak some characters to be better(or at least more accurate to their series of origin).

This won’t be super concerned with balancing, but tier list standings and how broken or whack certain moves are will be taken into consideration. This disclaimer is just me saying I am in no way claiming that I could do better than Sakurai or any of the other developers! This is purely to have fun and flex my creative muscles to try and get better at this sorta thing.

Mario

With Mario, I’m pretty happy with most of his tech, from his standard moves to his smash attacks and his neutral and recovery specials. The aspects of him that frustrate me the most are his down and side specials, both of whom I ultimately think could be better.

The Down Special works well in theory, pushing opponents back without any sort of hit-stun so that it won’t reset their recoveries any. The flaw I see is that it has no use beyond that. As such, I propose that Flud’s bursts do chip damage, akin to Fox’s blaster. That way, it can do very minor damage and still push opponents back without resetting their recoveries.

The Side Special, in contrast, works decently enough in practice but feels hallow in homage. The Cape Feather that it draws upon appeared only once in Super Mario World, a game that admittedly did exceedingly well, but also came out in 1990. When implemented, it works as a great reflector, but nothing more. As such, I propose it be replaced with the Luma Spin from the Super Mario Galaxy titles! The creators clearly know that there is a sizeable fandom for the dualogy, seeing as how Rosalina joined the roster. The Luma Spin could serve as a valuable reflector itself, but could also act as a secondary, more instantaneous smash attack that could even have some horizontal recovery to it akin to DK’s recovery. It could do all that the Cape Feather did and more with a more contemporary fandom!

Donkey Kong

Off the bat, I think something Donkey Kong needs more of is Speed. While he is the poster child for the slow and heavy characters at the bottom of the tier list, in the games where he is playable, he possesses ample agility.

The main means through which I would propose adding more speed is through a more refined dash attack. In the games, he could steamroll through enemies at ludicrous speeds. While I don’t think it needs to be as fast as Sonic or Captain Falcon, his dash attack could be a powerful roll attack that could boost him forward more.

Adding more onto his agility, I believe that his jumps should have much more of a vertical gain and have ample momentum to it. That way, when combined with his horizontally focused recovery, DK could regain his footing much better than most heavy characters. His special moves don’t need much, if any major alteration.

Link

I think Ultimate gave us the best Link we’ve seen to date, made incredibly distinct from the other two and given more weight than before. My thoughts ultimately fall on his grab and recovery.

In order to keep in line with Breath of the Wild, Link lost the hook-shot grab that he’s had since Smash debuted, severally nerfing his grappling prowess. To replace it, I would have altered it to be the Magnesium Powers you get early on. That way, Link can still have a long-range grab, but it could be slower and easier to break out of so that it’s not broken.

As for recovery, Link is still the same old Link, spinning ‘till he pukes. One thing that stood out in BotW, however, was the glider. If brought into Smash, it could effectively be the same as Peach and Daisy’s, with a sharp upward draft followed by a slow horizontally focused descent.

Samus

Samus has always been sort of the Black Sheep of the Original Roster, characterized by idling shooting inefficient projectiles from a corner. A far-cry from the ass-kicking bounty hunter we all know she is! In Ultimate, most of her competitive gameplay is centered around her charging dash attack and her grab, as if she were a football player.

How do we change that? By letting her move more, of course! As such, her neutral special will get a massive revamp, as it defaults to a pea-shooter mode that allows her to move about as she’s shooting, only having to stop for her side special, which itself will be upgraded to the ice rockets because if she can’t move, you can’t move either! The Charge Shot will only come out after you shoot and hold down the Special Move Button, making it practically the only chargeable move that you can freely move and charge simultaneously! The damage for the pea-shooter and charge shot will stay about the same, as anymore would break the game. Every other special move and her grab are all good, but since she’s so mobile, her charge attack will be replaced with a charge more akin to the energy charge she had in Super Metroid

Dark Samus

Okay, so, I don’t HATE hate echo fighters, but I do hate echo fighters who stick too close to the original’s gameplay. Dark Samus is pretty much on par with Daisy in that regard.

Off the bat, I think a slower but more powerful approach would suit her character better. It would also add to the tone of her gameplay more in my opinion.

The only big change I’d make to Specials are the Recovery and Down Special. The Screw Attack is amazing, don’t get me wrong, but it only really makes sense for Samus herself. As lame as it might sound, a massive boost in whatever direction she chooses, akin to Lucario, would fit Dark Samus better.

As for her Down Special, though, I have a more interesting idea. Dark Samus is made of Phazon, a sort of super energy. If she replaced the bombs with charging it up, it could heavily empower her Neutral Special(again like Lucario but more naturally than taking damage).

Yoshi

I kinda love him as he is. No real changes to be made honestly.

Kirby

Kirby is a character that frustrates me. His games have so much creativity with the premise of absorbing powers, but he only uses the Neutral Special of whoever absorbs him. But I do have an idea on how to change that!

Not only will he gain the Neutral Special of whoever he absorbs, but he will also gain “aspects” of that character. For example, if he absorbs Ganon, he becomes heavier and his moves have dark aura effects. If he absorbs Sonic, he and all of his moves becomes faster. If he absorbs Charizard, all of his moves have dire effects and his Side-Special gets a massive upgrade at the cost of damaging himself.

Fox

Okay, so, the thing that made Fox both legendary and infamous was how fundamentally broken he was as a character in Melee. Watching a pro-player use him was like watching a Shonen fight. At the risk of obliterating the tier list again, my goal now is to recapture that without breaking him too badly.

What Fox needs more of is consistent momentum. The main way to tweak this by reshaping the Side Special into something with more raw power but more need for precision. Being a dash attack of sorts, the main goal now is to make it both faster and more chargeable. When Fox crouches, it will charge until released, and it will go in the direction of the analogue stick akin to the recovery. This can be quicker than it is now if you release it quickly, however, though it will do marginally less damage. If running, it will default to the no-charge version for an instant strike for little damage.

This revision, however, would make the recovery seem obsolete in comparison, which is why the Recovery will default do more damage than even the max-charged side and go much further, almost being a smash attack in comparison. As such, we have a very fast and powerful Fox that can move in every direction.

How will it be balanced, then? Well, the Reflector will still be stationary, and most of his attacks will have reduced damage to ensure he doesn’t end every round before it starts.

Pikachu and Luigi

I don’t really have anything for either of these, besides the fact that I wish they have the same Final Smashes as Brawl.

Ness

Can I confess something? I hate Ness and Lucas. So much. I hate playing as either of them and I especially hate fighting either of them.

And you know what else? None of their special moves are canon! That’s right! All of the PK moves they use are from different characters! So my move would be to replace them with a far more accurate and less spam-ridden moveset. That is all. Fuck PK Fire.

Captain Falcon

Okay so, this is a Football Player that makes sense *cough, Samus, cough*. My main concern is that his side and down specials are too similar((much like another speedster)). While I don’t think taking the speed from the second fastest character in the game is at all fair, I think a set-up move for the Falcon Punch could work wonders.

As such, I think his Down Special should be replaced with a flaming kick spin tornado of sorts! That way he can juggle the opponent for some minor damage and set them up for a Falcon Punch that comes out too fast for them to dodge. Make for the best combo in the game honestly.

Jigglypuff

What is there to be done for a joke character? Well, Jigglypuff isn’t a joke character anymore! So a lot, actually!

Firstly, her neutral special should replace her side special. That side was a waste of a slap anyways. For her new neutral, however, it should be a Fairy Type move of some sort. My main choices as of now are “Dazzling Gleam” or “Play Rough.”

Dazzling Gleam is self-explanatory, essentially being a burst of energy in all directions, which is surprisingly rare in Smash(kind of like a weaker but further reaching version of her Down Special). Play Rough could tackle an opponent into a cloud of dirt as they cartoonishly fight until the opponent jumps out, doing combo damage overtime.

That’s all for tonight! I plan on doing more of these down the line, but I don’t have any sort of schedule for that and make no promises.

#super smash switch #super smash bros #mario #donkey kong #link #samus aran #samus #kirby nintendo #fox mccloud #captain falcon #jigglypuff #smash bros

11 notes · View notes

marshmalleaux-queen · 5 years

Text

Does anyone want to hear about the extensive headcanon I have for Ghirahim in a pathetic (but non-serious and all in good fun) attempt to somewhat justify his ruthlessness and villainy

i’m pretty sure the answer is no so I’m gonna spare you the headache by giving you the option to hear it under the cut or just keep scrolling bc it’s 1 am and I’m sleep- and sick-drunk and just babbling random shit

So a headcanon I've always had for Ghirahim - mostly (and shamelessly) to make up for the fact that my self ship with him would absolutely sink if we went strictly by canon - is that even though he's Demise's sword and does things exclusively to please his master, it doesn't exactly mean he enjoys doing so or wants to. I have two ideas/reasons for why this might be:

Before he was sworn to Demise, he was his own person (er, Sword Spirit), with his own free thoughts and desires, and similar to Fi, he was simply waiting for his master to come and claim him (whoever that may have been). As far as I'm concerned, the only weapon that's ever had a "you must be this pure/sinful to ride" requirement is the Master Sword - so what if the sword Ghirahim resides in doesn't hold that requirement? Who's to say that he couldn't very well be claimed by some powerful but benevolent warrior who's sole purpose in life isn't to be an absolute monster? Who can say that Ghirahim didn't actually have a benevolent personality himself, or at least a neutral one?

Another possible reason is that Ghirahim was created not as a weapon of evil, but for the purpose of balance. We've already seen one instance in which a hero wielding the Master Sword began to think that he was invincible, when in reality, holding that sword requires one to know their own strengths, weaknesses, and limits, and that even the simple initial action of pulling the sword from its pedestal is not always without its drawbacks. (And yes, I know that I’m referencing Hyrule Warriors, which is is a non-canon game, but none of this entire post is canon either okaydkjfhgdf)

Perhaps the intention (keyword here, "intention") of Ghirahim's creation was a means to remind those heroes of their vulnerability and weaknesses, be it from someone wielding him or by his own actions (as we've seen him summon many a monster and possess powerful magic and strength of his own). Even the good guy should never have too much power or control. Ghirahim's creation could ensure that there will always be a counter, a balance, a force going against the awesome and "good" power of the Master Sword and its wielder - not necessarily an "evil" force, but just a force to ensure that nobody has more power than another.

But surely, if he was only intended to serve as balance, then it wouldn't make sense for him to fall into Demise's possession, right?

Well, the Master Sword can only be drawn by certain people - and the circumstances change. Sometimes you have to be pure of heart, sometimes you just need to have a ton of resolve and complete an insane amount of trials, and sometimes there's no requirement other than bearing a piece of the Triforce. Once it's drawn, though, the sword spirit residing within is bound to serve that person without question - which makes sense, because the person already proved themselves to be good and trustworthy just by pulling it. But even afterwards, the person can change - like the example before - and it can still be in their possession anyway.

The circumstances regarding who can pull the sword that Ghirahim resides in are a complete mystery - but let's say, for the sake of the argument, the requirement is that the wielder needed to have a sincere desire to maintain balance and nothing more. No greed in their heart, no thirst for power - just a drive to make sure no one force is too strong. Who's to say that before Demise began causing all the chaos that he did, he didn't truly intend to keep balance by using the sword, and consequently could have drawn it? And who's to say that, just like the example with the Master Sword, he didn't get cocky once he realized how strong it was, and wanted to see just how much good he could suppress with it? Or maybe it's a lot more simple than that - maybe it's like how the Triforce of Power being bestowed to Ganon was a "divine prank," and Ghirahim being claimed by a destructive and evil force like Demise could simply be another cruel twist of fate.

Regardless, Ghirahim's not particularly interested in the whole "world domination and take all the power" thing himself. But, as fate would have it, he ended up being claimed by Demise. And Demise's cruelty has no exceptions, even to his own sword.

I imagine that since Demise is the very first incarnation of Ganon, completely built on hate and ruthlessness, he doesn't even attempt to show a shred of mercy to his own weapon. When Ghirahim fails to perform a task correctly for his master, he is punished for it - be it physical punishment, isolation, anything to demean Ghirahim and remind him that he is nothing more than a tool - a useful tool, but a tool nonetheless. Demise attempts to teach Ghirahim that the only reason he is still in one piece is because he is a powerful weapon, and that he should be afraid to disappoint his master because he will only stay alive as long as he is of use... And it works.

Ghirahim is no longer his own entity - now he is afraid to show that he is anything but malicious, cruel, and devoted entirely to his master. Even though there were no limitations as to who could claim him, his purpose as a Sword Spirit is to serve that person without question - it's simply what he was created to do. Since he is now unfortunately at Demise's mercy, he's forced to carry out a myriad of wicked deeds that he doesn't always feel are right, and any attempt to object or voice his own concern gets him ridiculed, punished, and ignored by his master.

Perhaps it explains his numerous encounters throughout Skyward Sword? He often claims to have spent too much time "toying" with Link during their previous battle and "allows" Link to walk away with his life. Ghirahim appears uninjured at the end of their fights, but the next time they see each other, his body is suddenly more and more damaged, revealing his true form underneath. Why is it that cracks and chips don't appear across his body during the fight, but are suddenly there upon their next encounter? Why does he only show signs of being hurt after he leaves and returns entirely? Perhaps it's because Link isn't the one that truly damaged him... Perhaps someone else saw it fit to harm Ghirahim - and not because he was trying to eliminate Link... but rather because he didn't eliminate Link. I think about this a lot: Clearly, Ghirahim is a powerful entity - he's extremely skilled in combat, has a ton of magic at his disposal, not to mention he himself is a literal weapon. It's not entirely irrational to think that, if not for the fact that you play as the hero and have to win the game, Ghirahim would be more than capable of wiping the floor with Link. For the sake of the argument, let's take the "forced to win" aspect away from the story, and just focus on the fact that Link always bests Ghirahim. What other explanation would there be if not that Ghirahim intentionally goes easy on Link - both to show his true benevolence (that he is desperately trying to hold on to and show others, in light of this constant charade) and to increase the possibility of Link stopping the reincarnation of his master - and when Ghirahim returns to his master, he is punished and harmed for it?

...And yes, I know the other explanation would literally just be "he's the villain, he's evil, and he is canonically just a violent and vicious asshole." Yeah, I agree, that's canonically true. Like I said, if we went strictly by canon, I know that my ship would absolutely sink because Ghirahim would never canonically act benevolent to, or give a shit about, anyone who isn't his master or caters to his master's wishes. Ghirahim doesn't even really think for himself in canon - just what Demise wants. But look this is just a big dumb massive headcanon cut me some slack and let me have fun okay ksjdfhgkjdf

1 note · View note

kob131 · 5 years

Text

RWDE Story Comparison 1: Dudeblade Part 1

https://rwdestuffs.tumblr.com/post/181687313437/done-dirty-word-choice

I’d give you the middle finger Dudeblade but I cut it so I’ll just settle for verbally tearing you apart.

You assholes wanna talk to other writers? FIne, better make sure you don’t share the same blind spots.

Truer words have never been spoken.

Not entirely sure how to break this down.

Basically, the choice in words is important. In a non-comedic series like this one, fans, theorists, and critics are going to comb over pretty much every detail.

Except that in a different post, when someone (suspicious you never mention WHO considering this is before Monty’s death) you bitch at the writers for a joke. An even then, people combed over Red Vs.Blue when it is largely comedic so that doesn’t work here.

Why am I doing this? Cuz Dudeblade is gonna try to use comedy as a defense since I’m gonna be using his precious fanfic.

Easy example: The word choice on how Qrow describes his semblance (fun fact: I have this particular screenshot labeled “Qrow being a melodramatic piece of shit” on my laptop).

Now, with the phrase “It’s always there, whether I like it or not.” Heavily implies that it’s on 24/7. That he has no control over it whatsoever. However…

This clarification from the Reddit AMA then says that Qrow’s semblance isn’t at all how he worded it. Now, this could be because even Qrow doesn’t know his semblance that well, but given that these are the writers whose response to being given an out by a fan who theorized that the reason Zwei survived all that stuff in Volume 2 was because Tai unlocked his aura was “There’s this thing called ‘Anime.’” I doubt that they’ll use that reason.

Funny thing:

"Indeed." Ganon added, "Do you want an update on that curse that I cast?"

Lex hummed and nodded in response. "Well, it took hold of the one that the emotionally weakest. They should be turning into a being of near-insufferableness soon."

"I'm pretty sure that 'insuferableness' isn't a word." Lex mentioned.

"It does not matter." Ganon replied, "Soon, we shall be able to use one of their own against them."

"Why the one with the most glaring emotional weaknesses, though? Wouldn't a much more stable victim be more useful to our cause?"

"The curse works in mysterious ways, Luthor. We must first force them on our side. Then, we break the heroes from the inside." Ganon replied.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11815703/104/Aftermath-The-DB-Chronicles

Why was the change so drastic? - Because time travel That's why.

https://www.deviantart.com/dudebladex/journal/Mewtwopoint-of-Future-Past-Alt-Timeline-battles-694649032

You’ve pulled that shit yourself.

So if it’s NOT okay when Miles does it, why did YOU do it?

Here’s another example:

Jaune knowing about Yang’s mom. Given Yang’s dialogue with Blake back in Volume 2, we can gather that it’s a very important secret to her. Given her reaction to Qrow knowing where Raven was but never telling her, we also know that for a fact. Given that Yang said that Ruby was a bit too young when she went on her “I want to find my mom” search to remember, we can gather that it’s likely that even Ruby doesn’t know. But, even if she did know, what reason does she have to tell RNJR?

Was she all “Hey guys! Let’s all share secrets with each other as a trust exercise! I’ll go first! Yang’s been searching for her biological mom for over ten years!”???

See, if it had been Ruby who had said Jaune’s line, we could gather that, yeah. Yang probably told her what happened. But we don’t get that. Instead, we get Jaune asking about it. Which either implies a betrayal of trust either on Qrow’s part, or on Ruby’s part. Either way, one of those two shared information that was very personal and important to Yang, and it was… brushed over.

IBurnBlonde: What, are you planning on dating me or something? IBurnBlonde: T? IBurnBlonde: Tifa? IBurnBlonde: Seriously. It's been ten minutes. What happened? IBurnBlonde: Forget it. I'm signing off. * * * [LockYourHeart has made a Private Chat With Buster Blader] LockYourHeart: Cloud! I need your help! Buster Blader: What is it? Did Yang confess her love to you? LockYourHeart: No, but she almost figured out that I have plans to date her! Buster Blader: smhâ€¦ You didn't go on your tirade about how nobody deserves her, did you? LockYourHeart: â€¦ Buster Blader: You dug yourself in this, Tifa. I'm not digging you out. LockYourHeart: You are absolutely no help. Buster Blader: If you want help, as Link. Speaking of, I think he's in the main chat. LockYourHeart: Really? We might get to see how he chats with people? Buster Blader: Yep. Buster Blader: Tifa? Buster Blader: You did this to Yang, didn't you?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11815703/103/Aftermath-The-DB-Chronicles

Why do I bring this up? This is a betrayal of Yang’s trust in Tifa except Tifa is doing it for far more selfish and creepy reasons.

Again, apparently it’s okay when DUdeblade does it.

And as for a third example, we have this:

If the narrative or writers wanted to paint Tai as a “Father who is trying to work through his loss to take care of his kids” then these lines of dialogue don’t help in the slightest. “

"What?" Jaune asked, "Are you seriously going to tell us that we need to go out there? - I already lost enough people in my life, thank you very much."

"Then you aren't cut out for the real world, kid." Frank said, "I lost my wife and children, and I still go out to keep the city clean of criminal scum every day. But you?" He gestured to the swordsman, "You only lost someone you barely paid attention to. That was your only personal loss. Everyone else here lost more than you, more than once, and we still go out there to fight." Jaune was at a loss for words. "So make your decision. Live and hide, or fight and die.

" "Your girlfriend chose the second option. But considering that you couldn't be bothered to even try to save one of your other friends after bemoaning losing everything earlier, I guess it's no surprise that you can't be bothered to try when it's the whole world at stake." Deadpool sneered.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11815703/134/Aftermath-The-DB-Chronicles

"Klicks? What are those?" Jaune asked, "Can't we use a distance people actually know? Like Kilometers?"

"How did you get into a prestigious combat school without knowing this basic combat stuff again?" Chun-Li jeered.

"I uhâ€¦" Jaune stuttered. "He cheated." Tucker clarified, "He wasn't sent there to be used as a test dummy, he actually cheated."

"So, why doesn't he know the basics?" Chief asked in an annoyed tone. "I heard from Blake that he slept in class and spent most of his study time reading comics." Cheetara mentioned,

"That probably has something to do with it." Jaune sighed, "Can we justâ€¦ drop it? Please?"

"This is going to escalate later." Mega Man realized, "I don't know how, but it will."

"Seriously, were you reading a comic book while we were doing the debriefing on the way here?"

"No!" "He actually wasn't." Tucker defended, "He was busy crying over a picture of his girlfriend that he has on his phone."

"There are other people who lost more than you." Master Chief pointed out, "Also, two Klicks to Joker and Skull's battleground."

"Guts definitely lost more than you." Doomguy pointed out, "How someone on the internet thought that you had the worse life than him is beyond me, but whatever."

"Guts has not had a 'worse life' than mine!" Jaune whined. "How so?" Chief asked, putting his binoculars away.

"His girlfriend's still alive." Jaune said, as if it proved his point.

Everyone else was silent. Even one Predator facepalmed at the statement.

"Starting to see why Guts said that nobody would miss you." Tucker sighed, "You make pain be all about yourself, and don't let anyone else mourn.”

"Please." Mega Man sighed, "Please tell me that you're making a joke that's in poor taste and that you don't actually believe that."

"Uh, itâ€¦ kinda isâ€¦" Jaune trailed off.

"Oh my God." Tucker snarled, "You actually think that?"

"Well, I don't know his life!" Jaune defended.

"His girlfriend was violated!" Sonya screamed, "I swear, if you actually think that dying is a worse fate than that, then I'm throwing you out there to get killed!"

"See, this is why nobody likes you." Doomguy pointed out, "You don't care about anybody but yourself, and put more people in danger than you actually save."

"The only thing worse than baggage is baggage that whines and complains all the time." Master Chief replied, "Get your priorities straight kid. People might let failures slide if you actually try, but if you just look away from a friend about to be killed without trying to save them, then you aren't any better than the killer."

"How so?" Jaune asked, "All I hear is 'Jaune, you suck at this!' or 'Arc, you suck at that!' but I never hear any ideas of how to improve!"

"Did you ask?" Mega Man asked, deflecting some plasma blasts with his Mirror Buster. "Well uh, noâ€¦ But-"

"No buts." The Blue Bomber replied, "It's not our job to 'open the door' for you and offer advice. You have to be willing to accept it, and acknowledge that you have things to improve on!"

"Yeah, I mean, I was willing to listen to Wash when he was offering some tips on how to be a better leader back on Chorus. But you just grunt and walk away." Tucker pointed out, taking his sword out of another Hydra soldier.

"You aren't complaining that it's hard to improve," Orchid growled, "You're complaining that it's not 'magically happening' automatically."

"Beat has the area covered. We can move on to the next sector." Mega Man reported.

"You can either stay here, or keep going." Tucker said to Jaune, who was visibly shaken up, "But we're not going to be playing babysitter. I get enough of that with Caboose. Except Caboose can actually fight."

Our HEROES ladies and gentlemen, showing even LESS empathy than Dudeblade’s delusions he calls Taiyang Xiao Long. For those of you who don’t know, Dudeblade hates Taiyang because he called Yag’s depression ‘moping.’ And yet here is his HEROES, the guys we’re suppose to be ROOTING FOR, mocking Jaune for the exact same thing, using arguments Dudeblade as decried as immoral and sociopath.

Once again, not okay for RWBY but a FAR FAR FAR worse version is okay for Dudeblade.

Overall, these lines and details don’t have a lot of thought put into them. They’re used to further develop characters, but the writers don’t realize the implications of who is saying it, what they are saying, and why the choice of words matter.

I could bring up in each instance how Dudeblade is fucking up, whether it be that Qrow doesn’t understand his Semblance, that Yang could have old JNPR like Blake told them about her race or the numerous arguments about Taiyang but you’ve heard it all before. Instead let me prove to you that RWDE has no fucking idea what it is doing, By showcasing that for every single bitch they deal out: they commit the same if not WORSE sin.

The issue from them isn’t the action: it’s just the person who did it they hate.

#dudeblade

4 notes · View notes

askmajora · 7 years

Text

Non-linearity: LBW vs. BotW

So I was kind of just having a little think last night, and a topic crossed my mind. Aonuma has said that BotW’s formula is quite possibly going to be the new standard for Zelda games, and that got me thinking, if not a bit concerned. Fair warning, there are probably going to be mild BotW and Link Between Worlds spoilers here and there.

So, to start off, BotW and LBW both strove to break the linear Zelda formula through different means; LBW gave you a few dungeons to pick from in sort of “tiers,” while BotW just opened the entire world to you from the get go.

There’s a slight problem with the non-linear formula that comes up though that I think needs to be addressed: Story. Ever since Ocarina of Time, or even debateably Link to the Past, story has been a pretty crucial part of the questing experience of Zelda. You want to help the characters because you care about them, in most cases, or if anything, it’s at least extra motivation to do so. It enriches the world and can make it feel a lot more “full.” Some games do it better than others, and some let their story dictate the pace of their gameplay a little too much. Skyward Sword comes to mind in the fact that the game is probably THE most linear Zelda, but I can kind of forgive it because we got to see some genuine character development with Groose. I despised him at the beginning of the game and kind of wrote him off, but by the end, I loved him to death, and it was a very new thing to see how other people that have known Link all his life would react if he had become the hero of legend. It’s kind of like that nail biting moment when a superhero finally reveals their secret identity to a close friend or loved one, you just relish in that interaction.

Breath of the Wild...didn’t have that magical moment, or any for that matter. The story is told entirely through flashbacks, and it’s all so minimal anyhow. It’s a bit more of a mystery than anything, going around and finding clues to piece together what happened 100 years prior to the game. The mainly sad part though is that you never really get to interact with any of the champions, characters that HAD relationships and feelings with Link. Yes, you get their descendants or relatives, but that’s...not the same. They’re kind of “allegories” for the champions--replacements or placeholders, and that just kinda robs some of the fun of it for me.

On the other hand, Link Between Worlds isn’t a prize winning story either. It’s pretty straight forward with one or two little twists here and there. But the cast of characters is already more fun. Like Ocarina, the Sages are all characters you know or had met, people that interacted with Link at some point or another who seemed like ordinary people, but then they get to react to becoming sages and seeing Link become the hero, and that kind of makes them stick out a little more in terms of memorability.

With all that kind of being said, which do I prefer? Hands down, if you want non-linear gameplay with a good story, Link Between Worlds has the right idea. Yes, the right idea, but the execution could be done a bit more...more.

I think the tier system of content being unlocked is honestly the best way to go when it comes to making a non linear Zelda game. Yes, there is then still some linearity when it comes to having to work your way up the tiers to get to the actual final encounter and beat the game, but that’s really a small price to pay for a quality story with a tangible sense of player progression.

Let’s call the tiers “checkpoints” in the story. With those checkpoints being passed, developers can actually make the world feel much more rich by having subtle changes being made to it as checkpoints are met. Enemies can become stronger, you can reach new secret areas with items you’ve acquired, and character interactions and patterns can change too. Heck, like in Link Between Worlds, you can unlock an entire second world map during the second and third acts of the story. This results in what I think would be a much more engaging and satisfying experience rather than having the option to just skip to the end.

I’ve rambled on enough, so I’m going to kind of bottom line it here. Breath of the Wild tried too hard to be non linear, and I think its story and overall characters suffered for it since all of them except for Link, Zelda, and Ganon were basically optional. That doesn’t mean there weren’t great characters in there, but you can see they weren’t honestly given the attention they deserved, save for maybe Sidon. I forget Teba and Yunobo even exist most of the time. On the flip side, Link Between Worlds has the right idea, but I think it’s a bit limited by chaining itself to its ancestor. I think a balance needs to be struck, and here’s how I’d do it.

Breath of the Wild’s Great Plateau was a good tutorial area, introducing you to all of the core mechanics of the game, so that’s worth saving. Have the intro take place in a gated off region like that so the player can learn, with a story reason to justify it. Once the tutorial is finished, the majority of the kingdom is open for exploration. I say majority because there are going to be story elements along the way that will open dungeons or areas where you get certain items that then open the way to new, smaller areas. However, certain areas of the kingdom will be rather odd to the player because the story event that’s meant to occur there hasn’t been triggered yet. Some people could see that as a flaw, but that doesn’t mean the area would be devoid of things to do--it’d just not be of any more significance than a place to explore. Have the story progress in tiers based on dungeons, like Link Between Worlds did, though perhaps split the numbers a bit differently. Maybe 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1, for a total of 12 dungeons (including the final boss dungeon). And then you can have sidequests that open up with each tier of the story as well, or minigames, or...you get the idea.

That would be my ideal Zelda game, honestly. Good pacing, lots of dungeons and things to do, and all sorts of sidequests and places to explore. Not all of it is optional, but that’s NOT a bad thing. I don’t think BotW should be the new standard. I think BotW should be mixed with LBW, taking the strengths of each, and that will make the penultimate non-linear Zelda game.

#ooc #basically a small thesis

5 notes · View notes

sage-nebula · 7 years

Text

Ohhhhh boy. So I’ve seen all of the memories now (save for the ones associated with the Divine Beast of the Gorons), and let me tell you, I am having emotions. I’m going to go ahead and place this under an actual cut in addition to all of the spoiler tags, because I anticipate that it’s going to be rather long, and it’s also going to be extremely spoiler heavy due to the fact that I’m going to use this post to talk about Zelda (and her relationship with Link) overall.

So, I am going to say this to get it out of the way: I think that it might have been better to view each of the memories in order, to see Zelda’s relationship with Link play out in a natural progression. I didn’t do this; because the nearest memory to Kakariko is the memory where Calamity Ganon returns (photo #11), I started off near the end and then just kind of hopped around depending on where I was at the time. Because of this, I think that I saw Zelda’s relationship with Link not progress as much as I saw it remain really bad for most of the game, until I finally started to patch in some of the memories that showed them actually interacting on close / friendly terms, and becoming friends.

Regardless, though, even though I saw the memories out of order, I don’t think it’s negatively impacted my perception of Zelda’s character / their relationship too much (and these things are intertwined, because even though Zelda is a well fleshed out character, Link isn’t, and so his characterization is dependent largely on his relationship with Zelda---a nice inversion from how these things typically go). In fact, quite honestly, I don’t feel as if my perception of Zelda’s character / their relationship is negative at all, mostly because there are some memories sprinkled in there that show them on friendlier terms, that show that they’ve grown closer, that they care about one another. I will admit; when I was triggering memory after memory of Zelda resenting Link and pushing him away, I was pretty firmly on the “nah, I don’t ship this at all” boat. But now that I’ve seen that there were times when they were on better terms . . . yeah, I ship it, and I actually think that this might be my favorite rendition of their relationship yet, topping both Wind Waker and Skyward Sword.

The thing that I like about the Link and Zelda of this game is that their relationship has a lot of development. Wind Waker’s relationship had some development as well, given that Link and Tetra didn’t start off on the best of terms (the opposite, really), and they had to come to trust and care for each other over the course of the game (even though we didn’t get to see them developing this trust; rather, we just saw that they had it at various checkpoints throughout the game when we got to see them interact again). Skyward Sword’s relationship didn’t have a lot of development since they were childhood sweethearts and cared for each other from the start (and then barely interacted throughout the game because Zelda was always gone), though there was a bit of conflict on Zelda’s end when she realized who she truly was and that she had potentially, even if inadvertently, manipulated Link into caring for her (though the line, “I’m still your Zelda” gets me in the heart every time). But even with that spice of added conflict, and even though Link and Tetra didn’t get on very well at first, the relationships were still pretty simplistic at their core. That’s not necessarily a bad thing---they were still enjoyable---but I feel that there wasn’t a lot of depth to them, all the same.

I feel differently about Link and Zelda in Breath of the Wild. To be fair, there is still so much that is missing; Nintendo could only give us a handful of flashbacks, which means that there were so many days (/weeks / months) that they simply couldn’t show us. To get around this, they showed us snapshots from different points in their relationship, and gave us enough in characterization (again, mostly from Zelda’s end) to allow us to fill in the blanks. We do get a little bit of characterization from Link; we learn that he’s following in his father’s footsteps when it comes to being a knight. We learn that he’s pretty sure about this path (or at least, that Zelda feels that Link is pretty sure about this path). We learn that he cares for animals (horses in particular), and that he’s the one to advise Zelda on how to bond with hers. But for the most part we get characterization from Zelda, and how she reacts to his presence and the situation in general tells us a lot about their relationship. It allows us to fill in the blanks, particularly given whatever personality we’ve decided on for Link as we play through the game. (My Link is still a lot more . . . well. The audio from this video sums up what I imagine Link’s personality / experiences to be as I play through this game. Seriously, that’s my Link right there. Note that there is a photosensitivity warning at 0:21 in that video, so if you’re actually watching, be wary of that!) And considering the fact that there’s no possible way they could have shown us everything without having the game focus on the part of history that led to Hyrule’s downfall instead (and have the game end on a Downer Ending as a result), I think that was the right choice to make. By showing us a selection of moments from different points in their relationship, we can see the nuances that they had---we can see how they grew as individuals, and how they came together as a pair. We can see how their relationship developed naturally over time, which makes it feel more realized than previous incarnations of Link and Zelda.

And what’s interesting about this to me is that they didn’t have to do it. Particularly since Link was Zelda’s personal knight in this game, they could have easily gone the “well, they get along great, he’s the knight and she’s the princess, of course they’re a perfectly matched pair” route. No one would have batted an eye, because at this point that’s kind of expected. But they opted not to do that. Instead, we know that Link has been training to be a knight for his entire life, and we know that he ends up appointed as Zelda’s personal knight. But because Zelda has so much characterization to her, she doesn’t simply accept this. It’s not that she hates the idea, per se, but it’s that she has a will and mind of her own and doesn’t always want a personal guard following her around. It’s that she sees that Link’s destiny has accepted him, and she resents him for that, because hers is still evading her at every turn. It’s that she feels insecure about her place in the world, it’s that she wants something different than what she’s supposed to have, but she can’t even content herself with what she’s supposed to have because no matter how hard she works at it, she can’t unlock that power, and yet everything comes so naturally for the knight that has to follow her everywhere. We see her resent him, we see her grow frustrated and irate with him, we see her insecurities brought to light because of him, we see him comfort her at her lowest moments, we see that he has given her advice and that she’s a bit playful with it, we see her happily spending time with him before her father comes to ruin everything (seriously, he was just as much of a dick in life as he was in death, and no one is surprised).

I’m not being very eloquent about this because it’s nearly 5 AM and I’m very tired, but what I’m driving at here is that by showing us scenes such as Zelda trying to drive Link away, but also scenes where she’s trying to get him to eat a live frog---by showing us scenes where she’s officially knighting him with the same attitude she would use to read his eulogy, but also scenes where they’re peacefully riding their horses and she’s cheekily talking about making her horse earn the royal adornments---we get to see that Link and Zelda’s relationship was not always easy. She resented him, but no doubt there was a time when Link himself resented the fact that he was the appointed knight for a princess that seemed to hate his guts and wanted nothing to do with him. I mean, it’s not fun to follow someone around who clearly does not want you there, especially if you want to respect the boundaries she’s trying to set but can’t because the king could literally have you executed for disobeying. And it can’t be easy to listen to Zelda cry and be upset over the fact that her powers won’t awaken when there’s nothing you can say to ease those insecurities or that pain, because you can’t make the powers awaken and saying “it’ll be okay” sounds hollow when the fate of the entire kingdom literally rests on whether or not she can do it. As much as Zelda resented and didn’t want to be around Link at times, I’m positive that he often felt the same way about her, but did so because he had to, because it was his job (and we see how seriously he took his job in his body language---how he stood at attention at the door with his back turned to her as she prayed in the Spring of Power (and only turned toward her when she started to cry), how he immediately dropped to his knees when the King entered in the palace memory, et cetera). But although their relationship was not always easy, although they were not always on the best of terms, they did get there. Slowly but surely, they got there, even though I’m sure they still had their bad days here and there. And I think that this adds a few layers of complexity and realism to their relationship---it makes them feel more like two people rather than just two characters and it’s a very welcome take on their relationship.

But of course, all things come to an end. Aside from the scene from the trailers where Zelda falls to pieces because everything has gone to Hell and she blames herself for it (and I wish so badly that they had hired a better English voice actress for Zelda, because although I could tell that this one was trying very, very hard, she just could not cut it), the memory you get after unlocking all the rest---the one where Zelda’s power finally awakens, when the Triforce finally flares to life on the back of her hand---really got to me, emotionally, for a number of reasons:

It was the Guardians. It was the fucking Guardians. Of course it was the motherfucking Guardians that killed Link. I swear to god these Guardians are basically like the Hyrulean equivalent of the Daleks, except they don’t shout “EX-TER-MIN-ATE!” before they try to kill him. (They also can’t have Sass Offs the way Daleks can, which is a shame, because sassy Daleks are amazing.) It really adds an entirely new layer of terror to the Guardians, I feel, given how many of them there are in that scene, how badly Link is wounded, all of the lightning and the rain, and the fact that one was staring him down right before Zelda shoved him out of the way and her power awakened. My Link has already encountered Guardians plenty of times by the time he remembers this (and has killed a couple of them as well), but I feel like recovering his memory of being murdered by them---or at least, very nearly murdered by them---has to instill a new wave of fear inside him, or at least explain the gut instinct of “no no no no no bad bad bad run run run” that he had upon first spotting one. Like, imagine that he probably had a panic attack when he first saw one---even a dormant one---and didn’t understand why. Now he knows. Now he remembers. Now he understands. This doesn’t make it any easier.

We really see the Spirit of the Hero flare inside Link in this scene. Link is basically dead on his feet. He can barely stand. Zelda is telling him to run because she can tell that he’s about to die. But does he run? No. Of course he fucking doesn’t. Link pushes himself to his feet through sheer will and determination because the Spirit of the Hero is an indomitable will. He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t quit. He won’t until the last gasp of air leaves his lungs and his heart gives out on him. That’s what being the Hero is all about, and we see that in Link as he continues to face down the Guardians, fighting to his last breath, refusing to let them kill Zelda. Link doesn’t give up. The concept of giving up just isn’t in him. If it was, he wouldn’t be the Hero. He wouldn’t have been reborn with that Spirit inside him. Being the Hero isn’t about wielding the Master Sword or opening shrines, not really. It’s about having that unbreakable, unwavering Determination. Link has it, and this flashback---this one in specific---showed it, and I love it.

We also came to see how much Zelda has come to cherish Link in this scene. I do think that part of her desperation for him to run and not die is due in part to the fact that the other Champions have died, her father has died, Hyrule has all but fallen and Link is all she has left. I do think that there is a part of Zelda that just didn’t want to lose him too, on top of losing everyone else. But I think that there’s also a part of her that just didn’t want to lose him period. Again, we’ve seen flashbacks where they’re friends, where they’ve come to care for each other. I don’t think they were actually romantically involved (though I do ship them---more on this at the end of the post if I remember it), and I’m not even saying that her feelings for him were romantic in nature at all. But just because she’s not in love with him doesn’t mean that she doesn’t care about him, and I think it’s more than obvious that she does. She shoves him out of the way and nearly takes the hit herself because she doesn’t want him to die. She rushes to his side and cradles him in her arms because she doesn’t want to lose him. And as much as part of this might be because she just doesn’t want to lose the one person she has left, I do think she genuinely cared about him for him and didn’t want to lose him, and that hit me pretty hard, emotionally (especially considering some of the earlier memories where she just . . . really wanted him to go away and leave her alone).

And then, honestly, the most important part of this whole scene: FI. FI. FI. FI!!!!!!!! Like, we don’t actually get to see her or hear her speak, but the Master Sword flashes multiple times, Zelda hears a voice we don’t, and most importantly, what we do here? That chime. That chime when the Sword flashed---that was Fi’s chime, that was Fi trying to communicate with Zelda to tell her how to save Link’s life, I’m fucking sobbing all over the place, crying my heart out, because I love Fi so much and that’s not just an ambiguous nod toward her, that’s showing that she is damn well conscious within the Master Sword even if she can’t actually manifest. I’m not getting my hopes up that she will actually make a concrete appearance, I know she probably won’t, but I would actually probably cry for real if she did (rather than just having my heart weep while I claim to be crying). My entire fucking heart weeps for Fi and she actually got to be the one to help Zelda pull it together long enough to tell her Sheikan attendants to take Link to the Shrine of Resurrection. Asdfsagdsa;fda Fiiiiiii ;___; ♥

At this point I’ve been told that it’s now time for me to go defeat Ganon, but it’s actually not because I haven’t awoken the final Divine Beast yet (oops). Oh well, it’ll be time for Ganon soon. In the meanwhile, I do have to say this:

After viewing all the memories, as I said above, I have come to ship the Link and Zelda of this game---but that said, I don’t think they were romantically involved prior to Link’s near-death and induction in the Shrine of Resurrection, and I’m not even entirely sure that their feelings for each other were romantic (or rather . . . I think they were, but that neither of them had really realized it because they had way too much else going on). I think it’s a bit more complicated than that, that they cared for each other incredibly deeply, that they had a very strong bond forged not only of the days they spent together that were calmer, but because of everything they had fought through together in their (failed) efforts to stop Calamity Ganon. (And you could say that the fact that Zelda has a telepathic connection with Link says a lot, but it actually doesn’t, because the scion of the goddess very often has a telepathic connection with the Hero. We see this in both Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past, for example. I think that comes more with how they’re joined together in the Cycles than their relationship as individuals, especially since they had never previously met in LttP and barely knew each other in OoT when those connections took place.) So they weren’t romantically involved, they didn’t realize they had feelings for each other, but they did realize that they cared for one another deeply. Depending on how the game ends, I think there’s a real possibility they could end up realizing their feelings, thus deciding to be together as a result. I still think it would take time for them to become reacquainted with one another again, to calm down from everything that happened, to strengthen their relationship and just spend time together, but I think that it definitely could happen and that they have a multi-layered foundation to build a relationship on. Again, their relationship has nuance, and we actually saw it develop naturally rather than just having it slot into designated relationship points. I think it’s incredibly appealing as a result.

(And note: I still really like Link/Tetra and SS!Link/Zelda, and I’m definitely not saying that relationships need a certain amount of contention and drama to be interesting. Far from it. I’m just saying that I feel as if both Link/Tetra and SS!Link/Zelda were a bit under-developed, and that BotW!Link/Zelda is an improvement on this. The issue with SS!Link/Zelda is not that they were childhood sweethearts; the issue is more that we were told that they were childhood sweethearts, and that we didn’t get to see very much of the two of them interacting before the plot kicked in full force. With BotW, we see different stages of their relationship, different moments that flesh them out and define them as characters and make them feel more real. It’s these nuances which make it better to me, more than the fact that there was a time when they didn’t really get along very well. Tl;dr: It’s not the conflict I’m looking for, it’s the development / depth, and I think that BotW!Link/Zelda has the best development out of any iteration of these characters so far. They actually showed us the slow burn for once, and as a lover of slow burns, I love this more than I can eloquently say at 5:30 AM when I am this tired.)

#scrawlers takes a breath in the wild #loz spoilers #botw spoilers #legend of zelda spoilers #breath of the wild spoilers

11 notes · View notes

longroadstonowhere · 7 years

Text

so, breath of the wild

hoo boy, that final area and boss battle

i can see now why you could technically go up against the final boss at any time, but man, i cannot imagine dodging or defeating all those guardians without half the stuff i brought along

i did mostly just dodge junk on my way up - i think i only killed like three guardians? most of my time was spent climbing walls or waterfalls because i like the stealth approach

so before the final battle, i ran around finishing as much stuff as i could, like going to a couple extra shrines to round out my spirit orb count and grabbing the master sword and finding all the memories

getting the master sword was actually suuuuuuper cool - it hearkened back to the original zelda for me, where the requirement for getting more powerful swords was in fact your heart count, so again another cycle between the oldest and newest games which resonated with me

of course, i didn’t actually use the master sword until the fight with ganon because i didn’t want to waste it, haha - based on what the deku tree said, i think the master sword won’t ever break permanently, but it would go into a broken state and take time to recover (haven’t tested for that yet)

regarding memories, i’ll be honest, i cheated to find three of them - the horse statue, the random forest that could’ve been anywhere, and the castle ramparts

i’d feel guiltier about it, but i did find like three or four of them just based on geographical recognition, and a few more of them through the in-game hint system (where you basically have to know the area you should be looking in anyway), and like i said, one of them was in a forest that could’ve been literally anywhere, so i figured it was better to just accept what i had done well at and move on with my life

personally i’m not a huge fan of how one of the memories is in hyrule castle - i don’t really like going into places just to get something, leave, and come back later to finish the job, so going into the final dungeon to finish a different quest didn’t sit well by me, but that’s just a me thing and it’s done now, so whatever

i do like how the memory log screen has all the memories in chronological order, including the champion flashbacks, so you can piece together just how the adventure one hundred years ago went

the final battle

first off, i love that the cutscene before the fight starts as soon as you enter the sanctum, because of course it’s not a safe place, this is the center of ganon’s power, this is the least safe place you could be

so then the fight begins, and immediately all my buddies take ganon down to half health, which i was so happy about because dear gods is he huge - so now i understand how getting all the divine beasts isn’t necessary, but man i cannot imagine fighting him without those (well, on the first try at least - now that i understand how the fight goes, i’d be more willing to try out challenge runs)

the fight within the castle basement itself was pretty fun - just challenging enough to be exciting, and i don’t think i actually died ever during that phase (ignoring the fact that i fought long enough to be able to trigger mipha’s grace twice, haha)

i do really suck at the timing for proccing a flurry rush, but i did get better since fighting the camel beast at remembering which button means jump, so, you know, progress

so it took me a long time to take down the first ganon, and i was like ‘sweet, hyrule saved’, and then we were outside and ganon was transforming and it was like ocarina of time all over again, in a super epic way

i kinda found it hilarious that piebald (my horse) was there, because piebald was the first horse i tamed waaaaaaay back in the beginning of the game, and he is not a great runner or anything, but also he was the only horse i tamed because i had more fun jumping off mountains to get to places, so piebald became a hero of hyrule with me (though to be honest, he took enough hits during my successful run that he deserves that appellation)

the battle itself was cool and fast once i figured out what i was doing, since i’m pretty decent with shooting arrows, but i screwed up twice on what i was supposed to be doing for the final blow (tried just shooting arrows from my horse and jumping at him to strike him with the master sword), so i ended up having to do the battle three times - the overall thing felt more like a victory lap to me than an actual fight, though, so it was fine

after i won, i honestly just started laughing hysterically because i got through this whole giant difficult game in a week and a bit, doing like almost the bare minimum for the maximum amount of main quests completed

i loved finally seeing zelda in the flesh and not a memory of her, and how she asked ‘do you really remember me?’ because that’s honestly a good question no matter how many of your memories you’ve recovered

and oh gods, my absolute favorite thing is that you have that little scene, and then you have the credits, and a screen that says ‘the end’, and then the story continues

like their world does not end because ganon has been defeated, in many ways they’re just getting to the good stuff and they have so much to rebuild and people to grieve for and ugh

never have i loved a zelda ending more

especially when zelda’s like ‘oh, i can’t hear the sword anymore so i guess my power’s faded, but honestly i’m pretty okay with that’ when she’s been anxious her entire life about having the power that princess zelda is supposed to have, and yet because that power is required only to fight and banish ganon, it could almost be a blessing that she no longer has it, because it means ganon is gone

just, man, i want zelda to be able to go on archaeological expeditions and learn everything about the land of hyrule and to be the most awesome scholar queen the nation has ever known

(although i just made myself sad when i realized most of her scholarly inclinations were slanted towards the guardians and ancient tech, and she was working with purah and robbie who were actively studying the last hundred years, and link’s actually been inside the shrines she couldn’t get open, and there’s so much she’d have to catch up on before she could be making new discoveries..... aaaaaaaaa)

so yeah, absolutely gorgeous game, i loved every single moment i was playing (and surprisingly low amounts of frustration - i think the only time i was really getting annoyed was fighting the camel beast’s boss, and that was just because i had no idea how i was supposed to be damaging him during the second phase), and i’ve still got an insane amount of things available to do, which is nice

on my list for later (because i do want to take a break playing for a while) is to grab some shrines i saw when flying around doing endgame things, and then just to explore the entirety of hyrule on foot, because i flew over a bunch of places and was doing a lot of fast traveling yesterday, so there’s chunks of the map i’ve never really experienced and i wanna see what’s in them (plus see if they’ve got any cool/referential names of course)

i’ve also got a whole lot of side quests lined up already, and there’s a few areas on the map which intrigue me (labyrinth looking areas), so i’m sure i’ll be playing this save file for a long time yet

man

it really is a great game

#because this is like my final reaction to stuff it's a really long one #just giving y'all the heads-up

1 note · View note

hidden-chaos · 7 years

Text

Legend of Zelda Game Idea

I've almost completed my play-through of LoZ Breath of the Wild which got me thinking about what would be next for the series. I remember reading somewhere that the open world concept is going to become a norm for the series, which I personally enjoy. I also have really enjoyed getting to know Zelda's character more than in other games. Note: I haven't played every Zelda game out there, and I have only beaten fewer than you can count on one hand (two I think?). It got me thinking, again, how I would really like a game where I get to control Zelda AND Link. Hence the idea... Imagine if you would an open world game where Link, Zelda, and Ganon are around the same age. You start off with just Link and after progressing to a certain point, you get Zelda too. You can swap them in and out to progress throughout the world, as each character has its own unique skill set. You utilize Link and Zelda - swapping them in and out when needed - and soon take on Ganon. After the defeat of Ganon, Zelda has a premonitory dream of a completely destroyed, withered world and an unknown villain laughing. She sees Ganon a prisoner of the unknown entity. She wakes up in a cold sweat. She doesn't believe what she sees until something bad happens to a nearby village, something that shouldn't happen since Ganon was defeated. That's when she believes her dream. Link and Zelda set out to save Ganon, who then joins them as another controllable character. Imagine having the opportunity to control all three characters to take down a force more threatening than Ganon would have been (in that lifetime). I'd love to be able to use Zelda to closely examine things/solve puzzles and use magic, Ganon to bash through anything in his way, and Link (as we have always used him). Imagine a younger Ganon with a backstory as to how he is Gerudo, despite the fact that normally only females are born to the Gerudo (I have my own headcanons on that). It can be called Triforce Trinity. Just a random thought I had today. I was kinda excited about it. I almost feel like I should just write the story - though it would miss all the fun of side quests, puzzles, and open world exploration...

#legend of zelda #Nintendo #loz #link #Zelda #ganon #chaotic video games #just a thought #long post #sorry

0 notes

gotermina · 7 years

Text

Shadow’s Dungeon Reviews: The Legend of Zelda: Death Mountain (FINALE)

Welcome back to the Legend of Zelda Dungeon Reviews! This is it. The final dungeon. The one you’ve all been waiting for. And I have to go to dinner… brb!

Back. Sorry about yet another delay. But this is the final dungeon! So it might be the final delay… probably not. Anyway, this dungeon is, if you haven’t already guessed:

LEVEL 9: DEATH MOUNTAIN

Hit the jump for the review by me, ShadowSect!

Here’s how I review dungeons again:

Dungeon Design (15 Points): Is the dungeon linear or complex? If linear, was it meant to be linear? If complex, does it have unfair frustration? Does the gamer have much of a choice? Is there reasoning to what you have to do?

Visuals (15 Points): Does the dungeon look the part? Is the music good? Is the dungeon believable? If not, does it impact the dungeon? Does the overall mood of the dungeon bring chills up your spine?

Gameplay (15 Points): Is there a lot to do? Does the dungeon take full use of the item you’re given? If there is no item, is there a major hook that grabs you in this dungeon? Is the playstyle repetitive and does it get in the way of your playing?

Enemies (15 Points): Is there a variety of enemies in this dungeon? Does that variety fit the dungeon theme? Do the enemies bring a challenge and are entertaining? Is the miniboss or boss good, or does it fall flat? Would you battle the enemies again?

Puzzles (15 Points): Do the puzzles challenge your brain and treat you like you’re a functioning human? Are the puzzle rewards worth it? Is there unfair consequences to getting something wrong? Do the puzzles fit with the theme? Do the puzzles involve the dungeon item?

Challenge (10 Points): Is the dungeon too hard or too easy? Is it so linear that there’s no way to get lost? Is it very possible to die in this dungeon? If it is too easy, is it a fault of the game or the dungeon? Does the challenge work with how far you are in the game?

Fun Factor (15 Points): What did the dungeon make me feel like when I was in it and when I left it? Do I want to do it again? Was it entertaining and did I ever get bored? Was it too short or too long? Is there anything to enjoy in this dungeon that doesn’t end up as repetitive?

Now, the epic review awaits!

*Cue Michael Jackson’s “This is It”* This dungeon. THIS dungeon is… WOW. It’s AWESOME! What a great way to end a game, and this dungeon is really good. To all those people who say, “but it’s SOOOOOOooooOOOOOooo difficult”, shut your face. I suck at this game and I still had a lot of fun with the dungeon. Definitely my personal favorite of the game, but I’ll try not to impose my opinions on you too much.

Disclaimer: You get the picture. It’s on the frickin NES. It’s going to be forgiving. Another Disclaimer: This dungeon review is 25% influenced by what Rabbidluigi says about this dungeon, which I completely agree with, and I absolutely recommend that you should check out his channel. It’s fantastic. But the other 75% is my own dang opinion, and believe me, there’s a lot of it… and facts. Don’t forget facts.

————————————————

Dungeon Design (15): It’s the final dungeon, the last hoorah in what is overall a great game, and Nintendo is going to put it out with a bang. So of course the dungeon design is going to be pretty difficult. The dungeon is a labyrinth, with 50 rooms with swarms of enemies including dozens of Wizzrobes and the difficult Patras alike. There’s many rooms, bombable walls, secret passages, Old Men, and minibosses alike. And with the aspect of a labyrinth, it is not linear at ALL. There are a lot of secret passages that lead to other sides of the map that make this dungeon difficult without a dungeon map, a compass, or even a cheat sheet that you can write down on. Unfortunately, it’s very, very easy to get lost in this dungeon, and I couldn’t get through this dungeon without a walkthrough, especially on my minimalist run without the Magical Key, and the design of some rooms have their own unfair frustration, but that can be slightly forgiven since it’s the last dang dungeon, despite no hints to the passageways. 14 points.

Here’s a cheat sheet btw, if you need it when you get there (THANKS ZD):

————————————————

Visuals (15): Finally that music is gone and replaced with a sick beat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps3jZCfha4c This music is killer, and it certainly boosts the mood for a final dungeon. The music has this drumming beat like a heartbeat that rhythms with your health when it’s low, which is pretty good, and the melody is full of accidentals that complement the enemies you face. The dungeon itself, however, is thankfully better than before. The white background was already shown in Level 8, but the design of the dungeons isn’t repetitive anymore thanks to the increasing difficulty and the “no mercy” enemies that you face. It doesn’t look too old at all. And the red water in the dungeons? OMG. 15 points.

————————————————

Gameplay (15): Huge dungeon, my friend. Huge dungeon indeed. To start with, there are 2 main items you can get in this dungeon: The Red Ring that lowers enemy damage even more than the blue ring:

(and is totally worth it for the amount of enemies you face in the dungeon and the reward for all the enemies you faced to get to it), and the legendary Silver Arrows that Link requires in order to defeat Ganon, which unfortunately are a bit out of place in this dungeon, and that’s kind of sad. The main hook of this dungeon is the challenge, and the Red Ring is used RIGHT AWAY, with Wizzrobes everywhere that make this place difficult and make it almost impossible on a minimalist run, but I’ll get to that in the Challenge section. Anyway, the gameplay is awesome. 15 points.

————————————————

Enemies (15): The variety of enemies in this dungeon is outstanding, but creates some frustration that I’ll get to in the Challenge portion as well, but it’s definitely the hook of this dungeon. There’s Blade Traps combined with the return of Like Likes and the very difficult Wizzrobes (in thankfully not too congested rooms), rooms with Like Likes, Wizzrobes, AND bubbles, a new enemy called the Lanmola that’s similar to the Moldorm but can only be hurt on the head but end up being more of a pushover than an actually challenging enemy, and of course, Darkn–… wait. No darknuts? Thank GOD. I’ll explain why that’s a good thing later, but the enemies here are fun (even the gels make a reappearance in this dungeon as being hilarious to kill with ease XD). And now the boss section. The minibosses are 2 types of a new enemy called the Patra, which always has an outer ring of little enemies that spin around him, and the outer ring fights differently from Patra to Patra. It’s either a circle that expands and contracts, or it rotates like a gyroscope. Nevertheless, you have to defeat the outer circle in order to defeat the inner Patra, and it’s no pushover. I had to use Medicine after I ran through this guy due to how much I suck at the game, and it pops up about 4-5 times in this dungeon. How difficult. But the rooms you fight him in have a lot of room to walk, so any damage that happens to you is your fault and not the dungeon itself. Before I talk about the boss, I need to talk to Nintendo for a second. Whoever person thought it was a great idea to have Like Likes and Wizzrobes in the same room, (beep) YOU. I lost my shield to those (beep). And now the boss: Ganon. I heard he was going to be a pushover since he only takes 4 hits to kill him, but he ended up making me use the last of my medicine. THIS GUY IS HARD ON A MINIMALIST RUN, PEOPLE. 16 HITS HOLY CRAP. But yeah, when you enter the room, it’s dark, and you’re afraid you’re going to fight this guy with no sight of the room, but then you hold up your Triforce and BOOM! He appears, and the dark goes away. Yay, that means I’m going to see the enemy, right? NOPE. He’s invisible, and he teleports in a pattern around the room shooting fireballs at you that deal 1 heart of damage even with the Red Ring. Holy (beep). How do you defeat this dude? Guess where he is and hit him to make him pop up, and repeat that 4-16 times depending on your sword. Then he turns brown, and then you get your Silver Arrow, and WOOT! YOU WON THE GAME! WOOT. What a great boss, and the cinematics before and after complement a worthy opponent. 15 points.

————————————————

Puzzles (15): Um… I wouldn’t call them puzzles, but there’s a valid reason why I used a walkthrough throughout this dungeon (Woot Zelda Dungeon!). But yeah, there are random points in the dungeon where you have to fight off all the enemies in a room that you can kill, and THEN there might be a block in the room that you have to push. Most of the time it’s obvious (there’s a staircase in the middle of the room surrounded by blocks, hmmm….), but 3-4 times, it’s NOT. There’s a room with blade traps and Wizzrobes and once you defeat them, you would guess there’s no block puzzle, right? I mean, there’s blade traps in each corner… NOPE. THE STAIRCASE IS FOUND UNDER A BLADE TRAP. WTH NINTENDO. But yeah, the puzzles in this dungeon are not exactly logical, and there’s a lot of testing that you have to do, and although I’m glad that there’s finally a puzzle at the end of the game in a dungeon, they aren’t easy and not completely logical. 11 points.

————————————————

Challenge (10): This requires some explaining, because this is the last dungeon of the game. Is it fair when a room is congested with Like Likes and Wizzrobes and bubbles and you have to fight all of them to unlock a door? This requires some debate, but I have to say, yes and no. While I know this is the last dungeon, and it’s fair to have a huge difficulty curve at this point, it’s so very easy to die in those kind of rooms, and there’s a lot of them too! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… 6! It would be fine if it was just 1 or 2, but 6 is too much. Thankfully when it’s not the case, the room is forgiving, where damage taken is your own fault (Patras are the prime example). I can say one thing though: Thank god there are no Darknuts. That would’ve made this dungeon’s challenge go through the ROOF as unforgiving frustration, and this dungeon would’ve gotten a 6 or 5 on the Challenge section in a heartbeat due to that type of frustration. As for fighting in this dungeon on a minimalist run, that’s your fault. Don’t do it. Only the most hardened veterans would do such a thing, but I advise you don’t. It’s difficult as heck, and unfair frustration is your own fault at that point. It’s the last dungeon though, and it’s not the dungeon’s fault if it’s very easy to die in it. Since it’s the last dungeon (and the fact that this bias could be me just sucking at the game), 8 points.

————————————————

Fun Factor (15): This dungeon was a worthy challenge. A final hurrah. The Finale. The 4th of July. Fireworks. Boom boom. When I finished this dungeon, I felt proud of myself. Wow Jacob, you just went through hell, got all those 8 pieces of Triforce, you just beat Ganon, and you saved the princess. I AM THE MAN. Have you ever watched Game Theory’s “Why You Play Video Games?”? Well, they analyzed that it’s 3 things: Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness. Ignore Autonomy and Relatedness, but Competence means the ability to something successfully or efficiently, and more specifically in this context, to feel yourself getting better, getting stronger, and conquering impossible odds. This dungeon had that certain aspect. Competence is what made this dungeon fun and AWESOME, and that’s awesome. I want to do it again, and other than a challenge that’s huge, it’s perfect (by the way, here’s the link to the Game Theory Video, it’s pretty good and the guys there are really smart and deserve compensation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyUC_28HIvA&feature=kp). 14 points.

————————————————

Overall, 92 points. Badass. This dungeon is the best NES Legend of Zelda dungeon. Other than nitpicky flaws (and some challenging aspects), this dungeon boasts a huge amount of awesome gameplay, enemies, and fun. Play it, love it, and I hope you agree with me. That’s all for the Legend of Zelda!

(end)

That’s it for now! I have one question for you guys: Either I continue the series and move on to Zelda II, or I go over the underrated Second Quest? Please let me know in the comments!

What do you think? Was the mountain truly as deathly as I put it, or should it have whimpered? Let us know in the comments.

–ShadowSect

Thanks for coming along on the ride!

0 notes