#and zelda is definitely one of those things tbh | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

futurefind · 16 days

Text

//I DID THE THING FINALLY!! 😭😭😭The years on first one indicate when they first inspired me/influenced how I wrote/saw Sa!! Hence them being absent on the latter

Elaborations/details below the cut!!!

Element Valkyrie: (Kit) Literally how/why Sa has her main gimmick of fire + water/ice lmao!! In fact I think fire was her original main...? Ice became a focus post-atla (all of like... a year later lmfao)

Link (Twilight Princess): (Aesth) What can I say I really loved TPs, well, 'edgier' aesth (my second zelda after all of wind waker). Also, probably the first wolf association...? Less consciously, perhaps the first taste of cryptid drifter that goes around solving problems? (Kit) Why Sasume has a sword!! And why it's at her back/shoulder!! Also, sort of, ass kicking with said sword, but as a video game YMMV lmao. (Chara) The silent protag stuff could not hurt? Esp w the contrast with being good w kids, implicitly (Heart) WHAT CAN I SAY I'VE SAID IT BEFORE Sa is very much HeroTM, in broader loz/link sense, at heart. Saving and helping people is her priority!! Even when it's hard!!

Naruto: (Kit) Tbh... the source of Shinrei's aesthetic effects wrt eyes, teeth, claws, etc? (Bg/Lore) Samehat with her bg. With an emphasis on samehat, as the two were connected 1:1 in those early days. But unlike canon Naruto even baby Nori went 'reality ensues' 'edgier' variant where shit is traumatizing as fuck. (Heart) As I've also Also stated elsewhere... she's very much a shonen protagonist at heart??? A Knight in Sour Armor but a Knight all the same

Sasuke: (Aesth) Do I even need to say it...? The grumpy/angsty edgelord Lancer surface level absolutely came from here, lmao. Not as conscious as Naruto (iirc, I gave her blue hair bc my brown marker ran out when doing that design? lmfao) but definitely couldn't hurt. (Bg/Lore) Probably colored/inspired taking the aforementioned 'reality ensues' traumatic framing for Sa's bg. And a bunch of other plot-y stuff that's sliding scale of preserved to scraped entirely (ie being Nth distant relative survivors to the Uchiha clan lmfao). (Chara) What can I say... aren't we all familiar w the broadstrokes atp?? Loner angsting edgelord who's just afraid of letting people in... A staple of the archetype, and undoubtedly helped staple that archetype onto Sa. (Other) Far more nebulous, but did inspire a general 'special heritage/family line' power stuff. Though what said family line stuff was wouldn't be figured out 'til further down the line.

Kanda: (Aesth) For a hot second I literally intentionally looked to Kanda for aesth inspiration for Sa lmao... in my NLOG phase I even did an inverse of him being confused for a woman by having Sa be more Bifauxnen bc 'feminine = weak' lol (gag). Also, while from DGM's uniform as a whole rather than Kanda specifically, codified Sa's token look of skintight slevelees turtleneck + fingerless gloves— as well as remove previous aspects of color from her wardrobe. (Kit) Again, a side effect of DGM as a whole rather than Kanda specifically, but this is why Shinrei's kit isn't just so thought out but so specifically staggered (the 'Levels/Stages' aspects present across many Innocence). As a direct inspo, though, Mugen fucking with his pupils/eye is what I used to preserve Sa's emotive angy vfx (and what made it, and her entire kit, 1:1 with her sword rather than being innate). (Chara) Do I need to elaborate...? Lol. He also fits into the archetype of Sasuke that Sa was already in, so nothing too big, particularly as DGM made me develop Sa so much more and breakaway from copypasting him. However, he's liably the source of her more overt tsundere tendencies, as well as her aversion to using people's names (also for tsun reasons). Also probably why Sa's surface level is outright Jerkass and not just ominous stoic dude deal lmao.

GRAVEYARD/REVERSE INSPO BOOGALOOS!!

As these are blorbos you can use to 'find Sasume in' instead of vice versa, these'll hopefully be more brief...? Things to make you point at and go 'omg just like Sa :)', rather than unpacking the building blocks of inspiration that helped codify her into how she is.

Geralt: (Aesth) The wandering enigmatic monster hunter with an extremely dangerous rep but with more heart/morals than you'd think... yk? Bonus spn gold eye points. (Kit) Nothing overt, but general hyper-competence wrt combat. (Bg) Witchers' sliding scale of dubious rep, yk? As well as his Butcher legacy. (Chara) As stated, gruff bastards with a caring heart that's variably concealed, depending on the moment. Notably (vs some prev examples), very okay with killing human monsters, even if it's not ideal.

Alucard: (Aesth) Pwincesses The supernatural & enigmatic auras that are both intimidating and inspiring reliance/protection yk? (Kit) Again general combat competence, but also healing factor and resulting being a gd tank, relatively. (Heart) Hearts of gold!! More overt since he's not a tsun though lol

Mizu: (Aesth) Edgelord wandering blue eyed 'samurai', lol. (Kit) Violence hypercompetence, pragmatism, and being a disturbing levels of tanking severe wounds. (Bg) What can I say Mizu's entire traumatic backstory and hardening into who she is is because of being othered and seen as nonhuman (if due to racism, vs Sa's). Plus some spoilery stuff I'm not gonna say bc oh my god guys go watch BES :') Esp if you like Sa. (Chara) The terrifying determinism, raw brutality/pragmatism, being stubborn idiots who need to be forced into accepting help... but also going to extreme lengths once the loner walls are breached. Also, the sass and taunting and blood knight aspects??? Peak Sa. Chef kiss. (Other) Holy fucking SHIT the insecurities? And self perception?? Seeing oneself as monstrous and inhuman and that inhumanity linked with an 'inability/failures of' being a woman yk......... augh,

Ed: (Kit) Having fun with 'bending' elements in utilitarian ways. (Bg) Orphaned big siblings whose main priority is saving/helping baby sib yk... Also, in retrospect, the hypercompetence being developed for the sake of said sib. (Heart) Again!! Shonen protagonist at her core!! Though ofc focusing more on the unironic softness, as well as her 'aspiring' for pacifism and hating having to kill but having no qualms doing so when necessary.

Rengoku: (Kit) Badass swordsmen with fire related aesth? Badass swordsmen. (Bg) While far more... mundane in the tragedies of his upbringing, the overlap in the themes and impact of their traumas are :') very much similar :'))) (Heart) Shonen protags but also mentors!! Staring very loudly at and ignoring even harder how as a kid my intent for Sa's story would be to kill her off. Tbf she's a very solid candidate for the Obi-Wan type 'crutch' characters whose death symbolisms an emblematic turning point...........

Vash: (Kit) Again: See: Hypercompetence in combat, now with more overt inhuman uncanniness!! (Bg) While far more fantastical and sort of... spread out? Impersonal? Than Sa's, it's impact and his view on it are very Sacore!! (Heart) SHONEN PROTAG OF ALL TIME??? And also see: aspirations of pacifism and how, just like Vash is able to be so extremely pacifistic because he's nonhuman levels of sturdy... Sasume cannot be because she's still very much human, and so can only take so much before she's forced to retaliate :') (And also being long past the point of breaking pacifism for sake of necessity/saving others... and p much Only breaking it to protect others... yk.......)

#mun babbles //#dash games //#about // sasume #meta //#meta // sasume #lays on the floor :'))))))#hope this makes sense!!!!!!!

4 notes · View notes

hepatosaurus · 4 months

Text

2023 AO3 Wrapped!

I had a lot of fun tracking my fic reading in 2022, so... I did it again in 2023! Still fun, still both completely unsurprising and a little illuminating at the same time. I definitely read less fic this past year—only 77 across 12 fandoms, compared to last year's 110—but that's OK. Life happens, and I'm very aware that I'm never going to be a person who reads a million words per month (or 100 books a year). Stats-wise, I can't guarantee that these numbers are completely accurate, but they feel right and that's what counts.

Word Count

971,646 words! Numbers fluctuated throughout the year with one real dead zone (lol @ June - I was busy! sibling got married! played a lot of Zelda!), and I kind of petered out by the end of the year. On the plus side, my brain can handle reading actual books again, which was fun. On the minus side: less fic. Oh well. (Also: May's number isn't entirely accurate, but I had to put rubicon's final word count somewhere. No, I haven't finished reading the complete edited fic yet, but that's when the last chapter draft hit my inbox, soooo there.) Most fics were on the shorter side, unsurprisingly (average length was ~12k); I think rubicon was the only one over 100k. I did read more 50–100k fic compared to last year though, which was nice.

(Putting the rest behind a cut. Obligatory warning that this is mostly about Fire Emblem, but what else is new?)

Top Fandoms

My FE3H reading took a HUGE hit this year, falling from 87.3% to... 83.1%. Ouch, how will my faves recover. Really though, this was yet another reminder that although I certainly watched and loved a lot of new movies and tv shows, read new books, played new video games (ok, it was mostly BOTW/TOTK), all things that could conceivably lead me to check out greener pastures, I am still in an extremely monofandom phase in terms of actual fic reading/fandom participation (four years now!). And honestly, I'm fine with that! I'm having fun, blorbos are still my blorbos, there's still a ton of fic I haven't read yet (new and old), and I'm in a nice/quiet/drama-free corner of fandom. Besides, the average fandom lifespan is too short these days anyway. I'm doing my part to break the cycle. :P

I do wish I had the brain space to read a little more widely, though. I was so close to going on a zelink bender after I finished BOTW, but life got busy and it just... didn't happen. Maybe in 2024. Severance and fandom juggernaut SoftBank Next 30-Year Vision tried their best—two fics each! impressive, lol—but the heart wants what it wants, and what it wants is anime chess pieces kissing (and/or killing) each other.

Top Authors

56 individual authors, with the top spot going to...desmodus! which does not surprise me tbh; they write such good fic. Looking at these particular results was an interesting reminder that I'm really not someone who methodically/voraciously reads through an author's entire back catalogue, at least not currently. Like, besides the named authors, there were four more with two fics each and the rest had only one each. Next time, I'm almost tempted to see if I can factor in word count to get a better idea of how much time I really spent reading each author, especially since I might (hypothetically) read multiple forgettable 1–5k fics by Author A, and then a single memorable/meaty 95k fic by Author B that sticks with me for years. Is Author A really more of a "top" author? Not really. That's more work on my part though, so we'll see what happens. (All of this waffling could be solved by making an actual rec list for once, but shhhhh.)

Top Pairings

Surprising absolutely no one, I'm still in sylvix hell. Congrats to None for jumping a couple spots in the rankings, though! A solid showing. I need to get better at tracking platonic relationships, but to be fair, those tags are underutilized on AO3 to begin with (or not used consistently), and I typically—but not always—stick with the main tags chosen by the author.

Also, please note that the ship in sixth place was entirely thanks to alphabetical sorting (it was a six-way tie), but I'm keeping it as is because it makes me laugh/implies some sort of character growth on my part that may or may not exist.

Top Characters

Lol. In my defense(?), Sylvain did drop almost three whole points this year; he couldn't even hit 60%! What kind of blorbo...?! Jokes aside, it's an entirely expected list. My Blue Lions/Golden Deer bias persists, but I'm not sure what determined when I logged "Blue Lions Students" vs. their actual names—probably half laziness, half just following what the author picked. I did love seeing Ask A Manager's Allison Green chilling at the bottom of this list with Bakugo, though. I'm sure she'll be fine. (And god knows Mr. King Explosion Murder and the rest of my top 20 could stand to follow her advice.)

(Also: apologies to Lorenz Hellman Gloucester, as I see his illustrious surname was cut off accidentally. Forgive me.)

Ratings, Categories, etc.

Also pretty unsurprising! I considered cutting my NSFW tracker at the beginning of last year since it's a little redundant, but that never happened. It might come in handy one day, especially if I'm looking through my spreadsheet for individualized recs. I was surprised that the Multi category was so low, but that could be due to inconsistencies in how people tag their fic? And/or how I logged them. Sometimes it means poly, but sometimes it just means that there are multiple kinds of ships in a fic. Either way, it's something to consider for 2024's tracker. Consistency! Let's strive for it! ✨

Tags & Tropes

Also about what I expected, though I was honestly shocked to see Established Relationship ranking so high? And Friends to Lovers so low? What is going ON here. (The former is probably partially due to mikey desmodus's excellent married sylvix fics.) Sorry to Horse Feelings, though; I made a dedicated tag on my google form and everything, but there was only the one fic in the end :(

Etc: Commenting, Rereading, Reccing, and Bookmarks

Commenting: My only real fic-reading "goal" in 2023 was to get my commenting percentage up to at least 50% and...I did that! Just barely, but 51.9% is 51.9%. Obsessive media tracking works!

Rereads: As expected, and pretty in line with last year (with a tiny increase). I'm just not a big rereader in general, though I did do a fair bit of rereading WIPs to prepare for new chapters. (Not sure how I classified those, come to think of it...)

Bookmarks: Also pretty similar to last year (with a tiny decrease).

Reccing: Now this DID surprise me. That "Yes" percentage seems almost absurdly high, jumping from 46.4% to 61%, and my "No"s dropped a ton too (22.7% to 5.2%). Either I got nicer or I just read better fic. :P Leaning towards the former, but probably a bit of both tbh. My one DNF was a longfic WIP that didn't spark joy and was becoming a hateread, which is rare for me - byeeeee.

Takeaways

By now my tracking form has become part of my fic-reading routine (read - track - comment/etc), and I can't see that changing any time soon. Obviously not everyone wants to (or should!) engage with fic this way, and I can definitely see how it might suck the joy out of reading for some people, but for me, it's been a good mental exercise and a really helpful commenting aid. Also, it's just fun. I like thinking critically about media! I like having a place to record my silly little thoughts about the silly little fanfics I read! All in all, I highly recommend doing something similar if you, like me, get a rush from making lists and compiling data, and if you like complimenting people but sometimes need that extra push to actually tell them and post a comment.

Goals-wise... I don't really do those lol. Probably to continue commenting and maybe try to read more widely, but honestly I'm probably not going to change my habits intentionally. Besides, looking at what I've read so far, yes, it's already half Fire Emblem, but also half gen and half F/F with nary a Sylvain in sight*! We got History Boys, we got Haikyuu filk, we got Ingrid and a MILF! Who knows what's around the corner?

(*This is quite literally only because I haven't logged rubicon yet. Don't worry, he's coming.)

#fandom #fic tracking #ao3 wrapped #fandom navelgazing ahoy!#and fire emblem obviously.#also a bit of a rehash for anyone who follows my fe twt but i get to ramble more here

5 notes · View notes

amiharana · 1 year

Note

currently declining to study for bio and am instead thinking about college au revalink where they have an apartment together because they are such Boyfriends and link is a bio major because he just Loves Nature but he's struggling with studying (can you see the self projecting😁🙏) he definitely has gifted kid burnout

meanwhile revali is a major perfectionist like if he gets below a 90 on anything he wants to start crying and tbh even a 90-95 is too low for him, don't ask me what he majors in though idk

anyways they are struggling together but link is just not having a good time and is stressing out studying so much he forgets to take care of himself so revali has to get him to remember things like eating regularly or showering or sleeping ANYWAYS i just felt like projecting onto revalink🫶

as a fellow bio major with gifted kid burnout who doesn't wanna study for bio (can you believe i still have a fucking bio lab due tomorrow. it's spring break for me rn. blasphemy.), i 'm 100% all for this projection COUNT ME IN!

link is totally a nature guy but i lowkey feel like he would make a great veterinarian 🥺 he's just a little guy who loves his silly little creatures 🥺🥺🥺 what do you think about revali going to flight school to be a pilot 😳 like i think if revali wasn't doing something viciously intense like. becoming a neurosurgeon or some shit, anything related to aviation is absolutely right up his alley. DEF agree with him being a perfectionist. a 99.9% will make revali lose his shit, he'll be in his professor's office hours taking up the whole time just arguing why he deserves a 103%

link brings home strays all the time and gives revali the 🥺 eyes, and revali is very weak for both link and a cute little creature, but he has to be the voice of reason since they realistically cannot take care of a pet full-time with how demanding school is on both of them. so to compromise, they foster the strays and take care of them with the local vet until they can be taken to a shelter for adoption. link gets hands-on experience which is good for his vet program but he also cries his eyes out every time they send off one of the animals because those are his babies 🥺 link with his strays is that one tiktok that's like BITCH I'M A MOTHER!!!!! NO DRAMA!!!!!

to deal with link's post-foster pet depression, zelda brings her puppy terrako to their apartment to let link cry and play with him, while revali just rolls his eyes (and secretly is looking into surrounding shelters and pet stores to find the perfect pet for the both of them once school isn't so intense for them anymore 🥺)

do you think they have study dates at a cafe or do they stay home and rot in the living room studying together? because i love the idea of study dates but if link is a bio major looking to become a vet and reval is an aviation student trying to become a pilot, these bitches must be stressed out of their mind i think. the week before finals week they're camping out in the living room and haven't slept in their bedroom for a couple days, the room is covered in papers and diagrams and books and pens and markers and flashcards and sticky notes. revali's hair is a mess which is a rare occasion, and it's held up by one of those hair claw clips, he has his glasses on, meanwhile link is lying facedown on the floor having his third breakdown of the hour. in this au i'm thinking that revali is a decent enough cook but neither of them have the energy or the time to go to the grocery store or kitchen to cook an actual meal, so they're living off of takeout and instant noodles for those two weeks. but revali definitely is the one in charge of time maintenance and prying link's ipad out of his hands to make him take a shower or drink water

it all pays off in the end because they both get high grades on their finals!!! link and revali cheer but immediately go to their bed, curl up around each other and sleep for the rest of the weekend because these bitches are exhausted 😭 hashtag ScholarLife

#revalink #loz #botw #loz botw #legend of zelda #amihan's revalinkverse #amihan's headcanons #ask #cryiling #dw they go have a nice dinner the following week after they've recovered :>#i actually really love this au it's so cute....#link has an ipad because he's an ipad kid but also because i have an ipad for school and i said so #ipads/tablets in general are actually such a good investment #i didn't realize how many diagrams i was gonna need as a biology major #+the amount of scratch work i need to do for my math-based classes.....#saving money and paper! as a bio major who loves the environment and sustainability link loves his ipad #his background on it is most certainly a silly cute selfie of him and revali with revali giving link a kiss on the cheek #link is lowkey one of those people whose lockscreen is their class schedule LMFAO #manifesting high grades on my finals for this semester too i need it please #but i believe in you oomf! study hard!#i'm so burned out too though...#u r welcome to come into my dms and complain about bio whenever u want i understand u 🤞😭

18 notes · View notes

legendofzoodles · 2 years

Text

LOZ Character Analysis/...

Hero of the Sky part 1

Link was born for the expressed purpose of finishing off the evil entity Hylia and her Hero failed to defeat eons before his time. At first, neither knew the true scale of what they were getting roped into, but as the stakes rose, sacrifices had to be made. Link wasn’t at all interested in fighting someone else’s war, he just wanted to save his childhood friend.

Fate however, demanded more of him, and through the course of his adventure he came to realise that this was bigger than himself. There was a job to do and as the new hero he was the only one who could do it. Although there were many dangers and trials on the path he took, one person kept him going.

It was all for her.

A/n: This is a reupload of an oldish post which I’ve taken too long to edit. I do go pretty hard on Sky’s character and SS’s storytelling. I tried to just cover Sky’s character, but most problems I had with also related to Sun’s lack of development- since the two are meant to grow and change together- which is the fault of the story as a whole.

Any writing in italic will be my attempt to rewrite parts of SS, mostly just ideas though, not a fully formed script. Also, I have not proofread this, so expect edits.

Even if you don’t agree with what I say, I hope it’s fun to read :)

~~~

This Link had it easy compared to the rest of the chain, especially Time and Wild. Sky was low-key coddled by Fi, whereas the other two were completely screwed over by her judgement.

This boy spent his days sleeping on floating island, sleeping on a flying bird, and sleeping…everyday, all the time. He had a natural perfect bond with his incredibly amazingly rare crimson Loftwing, he was naturally the most gifted swordsman despite sleeping in class, sleeping in, frequently skipping class and whenever he was awake he’d mentally be somewhere else.

He seems to have no family and Zelda seems like his only friend (but those are just assumptions). Also he got bullied a bit, but that was because Groose was jealous of him and his relationship with Zelda (wouldn’t be surprised if the whole academy knew that tbh). So I’d argue that this guy had the most idyllic and carefree pre-adventure life of any hero.

Out of every incarnation of the hero, Sky should have been the one to get development. But instead he just sort of goes through the motions of the hero’s journey and doesn’t seem to be impacted by anything he goes through. Which worked for the other heroes who were either children with no responsibility in the first place (like Time, Wind and Hyrule) or proactive young adults with accomplishments (like Twi, Warrior and Wild), because their characters didn’t warrant an arc (they developed a bit though). However, it’s a detriment to Sky’s character because he starts out as a naturally gifted but lazy daydreaming individual and doesn’t go through any sort of development.

...Btw having his spirit ‘grow’ after those Silent Realm trials isn’t all that symbolic and definitely isn’t character development (not to say that they were bad, they were scarily fun to play through). I will stand by the notion that despite being one of the most characterised incarnations, Sky doesn’t have an arc. Nintendo were able to give Midna an incredible clear arc that was driven by her adapting and responding to the selfless acts of Twi and Dawn. Meaningless metaphors and fetch quests aren’t good enough.

The game went out of it’s way to characterize Link, giving him dialogue options, varied facial expressions and information from other characters. Which is all well and good, but it doesn’t communicate what Link thinks and feels about the quest he’s on. From memory the only things I remember is that he cares a lot about Zelda, enjoys playing his harp and watching Fi dance, doesn’t seem to like combat much and thinks Groose has ‘nice hair’:

Ok forgive the tangent but...if Groose always styled his hair that way then Link would have no reason to comment on it. Which means that it was a new style he was trying out. In that case, the line can either be read as Link complimenting Groose or sarcastically making fun of him. Given that the line wasn’t relevant to the conversation, Link probably wasn’t listening and just said it to get him to shut up and leave him alone. Then again, Groose was stroking his hair constantly, maybe Link noticed that and complimented him to assure him that the new style looked good. The former reason sounds more like Sky though.

What could motivate an idle sleepyhead with great untapped potential rise up to become a courageous hero? Is it love? Maybe the theme SS was going for was that love can motive great courageous acts and inspire people to change for the better. To the game’s credit it does a great job of exploring that theme...most notable in Groose’s arc as well as the gratitude crystal side quests.

With this idea in mind you’d expect Link to take charge, grab the reins of destiny and proactively go after Zelda- maybe even ignoring advice from Fi to chase after his friend, showing his unwavering resolve. He’d form a sort of rivalry with Impa, maybe even swinging the fact that he’s ‘the hero’ in her face to justify staying by Zelda’s side. He’s being selfish here, maybe he knows it but doesn’t understand what’s actually at stake here and so doesn’t care (I know he’s been told a bunch of exposition from everyone and their grandma- but getting too complacent/not taking his duty seriously and then messing up would be more effective at making Link shape up and improve. Especially when his life’s gone perfectly so far with little effort on). Then that mindset can blow up in his face, maybe endanger Zelda or a group of surface dwellers making him shape up as a hero, go out and kick ass. Changing for the better and selflessly dedicating himself to his role for the sake of those who can’t defend themselves from the evil he’s destined to face alone.

Except Link has little to no agency in the game. He’s either following Impa’s demands or Fi’s ‘advice’, which makes me wonder if he’s doing all the hero stuff because he wants to or only because he has to. There’s no real sense of saving the world from a devastating threat when the Skyloftians are safe from any danger high above the clouds, and the beings on the surface appear to be blissfully ignorant of what’s at stake.

Imagine how much more compelling it would’ve been to have the game open with beautiful watercolour storybook exposition about the Hylia and the war with Demise, before transitioning to Link and Zelda as children nestled in a sweet little blanket fort reading the story by lamplight (the old ‘show don’t tell’ us that they are childhood friends, and maybe they can remark on the fates of those left behind by Hylia as she formed Skyloft. Also, smol Sun and Sky). Then they make a promise to venture to the surface together when they graduate the academy, and it transitions then to them as young adults.

It can play out the same as in the game, but after Link wins he surprises Zelda with plans and packed bags ready to go to the surface, recalling their childhood dream. They then sneak off to break through the cloud barrier, maybe through some shady Ghirahim shenanigans or Zelda’s Goddess powers can unconsciously awaken and create a path for them (that would then alert Ghirahim of her presence).

Then there’s a cute montage of them exploring the surface world together. They would arrive in some part of the Faron woods, and would look at plants, marvell at the tiny birds and run after other strange wildlife. At some point they are attacked by Ghirahim, and after some fighting he overpowers Link, takes Zelda away and sends the teenager back to Skyloft. Via tornado, because that would be cool.

Link miserably tells her father what happened. Before their adventure, he had a fight with them beforehand about going to the surface, so here he really chews Link out for losing his daughter, throwing everything he said days ago back in his face. Everyone on Skyloft hears what happened and they are all now on edge because they think something bad is going to happen. Meanwhile Link is a mess, regretting what he did and wishing things played out differently. Then Fi joins the plot and the quest begins.

Now there are personal stakes, Link is more of an active character and he has a more personal vendetta against Ghirahim- who I think was meant to be like a rival type antagonist. There’s also more of a sense of urgency with this version, and some redemption and knight’s honour to be restored too. Plus it makes the surface world seem more dangerous, foreign and hostile from Link’s pov.

But back to reality, the nightmare itself in game was kind of pointless. After all Link freaking ignored it! He didn’t act on it at all, he wasn’t anxious about it in any meaningful way during the ceremony and he didn’t even mention it to Zelda. It was just business as usual for him, until destiny smacked him and his bird out of the firmament.

The night following Zelda’s disappearance, Fi appears in Link’s room and leads him to the Goddess Sword, thus starting his journey. And can I point out the ludonarrative dissonance going on in this beginning section. Link and the player are supposed to be laser focused on getting to Zelda, but since the game is all about exploration it also wants the player to slow down and look around. But that actively undermines Link’s drive to reach Zelda and makes it seem like he isn’t taking his role seriously. I would say that this reflects Link’s fascination with the surface...but Zelda was the one who wanted to explore the surface. That was her dream not his! It wasn’t established that Link felt about it just as strongly as her.

Also why are we never shown how Impa meets Zelda? Heck, why aren’t we given more scenes of Zelda’s journey in general when she’s the deuteragonist? It makes sense that she’d drop her want to explore the surface in order to focus on her new duties. She was characterised as more responsible and active than Link, so her taking it seriously from day one and encouraging Link to do the same also makes sense. But how did she initially react to learning that she was the ‘spirit maiden’? When Link finally gets to her, she’s already dolled up in her Goddess drip, harp in tow and ready to do whatever Impa tells her. But why?! And why is she going along with Impa and not insisting that she and Link work together?

The game doesn’t address it and I’m not going to bother coming up with reasons because there was no real reason in the first place why they had to be separated. Everything about her character told me that she would want to work with Link at her side, as childhood friends they would have unyielding faith in each other, yet this strong willed girl let a stranger control her every move.

That aside, can I also mention how manufactured the conflict is in the game? Every now and then the Imprisoned shows up to wreak havoc…but, that thing is never really a threat. To be honest, there’s no collateral damage and they fight it so many times it basically becomes a minor annoyance…almost routine. There’s Ghirahim sure, but Link is able to beat him three times, which begs the question: why does Link let Ghirahim live after each encounter? He is the one Zelda and Impa are running from and if he dies then Demise can’t be resurrected. It’s clear he hates him and knows he’s the biggest threat, so what’s stopping Link from killing him?

It makes sense with the evil legged avocado, I guess, because each time it’s defeated Link just puts a magical band aid on its seal. I can understand him escaping once, but three times? Although I’d forgive him if he didn’t take Ghirahim seriously as a threat (even though his facial expressions in game prove otherwise), after all it’s not like Zelda is ever in any real danger at any point in the game. She’s either being chaperoned by Impa or asleep encased in amber.

Hey, here’s another question: does Link actually want to be doing all this?

The obvious answer would be yes; with the other heroes this is something you don’t even think to question, at least a few dungeons in. But like I said earlier, Sky is different. Despite being almost an adult he’s still complacent and a daydreamer coasting through life on natural talent alone, (since he doesn’t go through any development I’ll assume he stays that way), and during his quest he has the servant of the Goddess dictating his every move. So it’s not like he could opt out, but he’s always told exactly where to go and what to do, with nothing going wrong.

Would someone like that willingly put themselves through all this because they genuinely want to or just go along with it because they’re given everything they need to succeed?

Does he even like adventuring? How invested is he in helping people? Does he disagree with Hylia’s decision to flee into the sky, having seen the precarious state of the surface (at least that should be the case, and following my lore it is. But, the in game npcs on the surface are straight vibing despite the fact that a primal evil is trying to resurrect itself and destroy them all) without the Goddess’ protection? Does he feel guilty perhaps? Does he feel a need to protect the surface? Does he value the tribes on the surface as much as the people on Skyloft? Does he maybe resent Zelda for his circumstance, as Hylia’s incarnation/replacement?

My interpretation is that he realises at some point that he actually doesn’t actually like adventuring and travelling (hence the frequent breaks headcanon and keeping everyone on Skyloft posted). He likes some aspects of it like seeing new sights, catching bugs, camping and gathering food/materials, but he finds long drawn out enemy camp battles exhausting, dungeons aren’t really his cup of tea (save for the Cistern and the pirate ship because they were amazing), he hates constantly needing to fight the evil avocado and more than anything despises Ghirahim’s numerous encounters- he doesn’t kill him...because he can’t, incompetence I guess.

He does disagree with Hylia’s decision to leave the surface and he does feel awful that the other races were left to fend for themselves, but he doesn’t resent Zelda for it at all. Because it has nothing to do with her, she ain’t Hylia.

Speaking of, Zelda immediately being ok and accepting of the whole Goddess thing with no push back is a waste of potentiel. It could have been a huge paradigm shift for her, but nothing comes of it. Unless it was an act so that Link wouldn’t worry about her...but they’re childhood friends! Even if that was the case Link would’ve seen through it immediately, leading me to believe that her reaction was genuine. When I first watched a playthrough of SS, I thought she was possessed by Hylia and that’s why she was so calm.

It’s a shame because there’s some really compelling stuff that SS’s story doesn’t want to delve into. The story is mainly focused on the relationship between Link and Zelda, but there’s no interesting conflict there, instead it’s just Zelda is in trouble and Link needs to save her and save the world. I’d love to have seen them grapple with Zelda’s identity as the Goddess reincarnated or lean more into Link’s reluctance to play the hero (does he maybe blame the hero before him for Demise’s return?) or talk about Hylia’s decision to abandon those on the surface.

‘Even though I am Hylia reborn, I am still my father's daughter, and your friend. I'm still your Zelda...’

That’s such a beautiful line of dialogue. It would have been nice to have seen cutscenes of Link and Zelda as children to really hammer the feels home. It would have been even more impactful if Zelda came to that realisation after some sort of internal struggle. It would have been great to see the two of them work through this together rather than constantly being separated by the plot.

I feel like Sky frequently took breaks from the quest in order to return to Skyloft, possibly justifies this with the excuse of keeping everyone posted- hence why everyone in game knows his business. He has low stamina and I’ve always seen it as just another result of his laziness. However, some in the fandom have headcanons that he has asthma (at least I think that’s the connection, please correct me if I’m wrong), which was an interpretation I hadn’t thought of before. I’m not going to go along assuming that in this post, because it undermines my gripes later on, but it is something I wanted to acknowledge.

Due to his low stamina, despite being the only one able to parkour (at least in human form, looking at you wolfie. In his case though wouldn’t it be...barkour?), he’s the least athletic. Being the worst at long distance running, swimming and climbing- long distance anything really. That being said, he can do some awesome parkour moves, such that during short term encounters he’s reliably fast and agile.

He is the book-smartest in all the chain, being the only one with a confirmed formal education (funny how the Link at the furthest point back in history is the most educated). I like to think he’s talented at math, with logic and numbers being easy for him to understand and use for problem solving. With geometry being his favourite topic.

However, he doesn’t pay much attention to his surroundings. The opposite of Time (veteran), Warrior (soldier boy), Twilight (nature boy), Legend (veteran) and Wild (survivalist) who are always 100% aware of their surroundings at all times.

It would be funny if he gets motion sick on boats, because it would’ve made the WW style small boating section in the Lanayru Desert a nightmare for him. And the rollercoaster section(s) too I’d imagine. I wonder what Fi would think seeing the legendary hero throw up breakfast while he sped around in the minecart.

...she’d probably just tell him to replace his batteries or something.

Where Twilight’s an elven Disney Princess, I think Sky wants to be as far away from cuddly animals as possible. Which is wonderfully illustrated whenever he holds Remlits. He always has them at arm’s-length and is even willing to yeet them off the island (it’s more of a gameplay thing, but the fact that the player even has the choice is quite interesting).

He has a cute habit of wildly gesturing when he explains stuff (which is relatable af because I do that), like in the cutscene he explained to Zelda’s father that a tornado kidnapped his daughter.

He a soft boi. He’s sweet, well mannered, polite and so you’d assume from the way he acts that’s he’s got just the biggest heart ever and is super caring and friendly. Although, I like to think that’s only partly true.

Yes he can be all those things, but that’s reserved for those closest to him. He values people as individuals sure, but doesn’t care too deeply about them. If he was having small talk with a stranger/acquaintance and they told him facts about themselves or stories, he’d mentally tune out of the conversation. This makes him forgetful of details people have told him. So, someone outside his orbit would have to keep repeating the same facts about themselves and their life to him. Which would make repeat encounters with him awkward and not very engaging.

Picture this: if he saw a stranger on the street crying, he’d either dither a bit before straight up ditching them or awkwardly offer them a hankie and a pat on the shoulder. If they tried to vent to him, he’d immediately retreat into his daydreams and just sit there not really listening. Even though he wasn’t paying attention, he’d still be sweet to them before leaving.

The idea of Sky having a lack of consideration for others, especially those who are unpleasant came from that side-quest where Link has the option to give Cawlin’s love letter to Karane or the creepy toilet hand. Given that the latter is arguably the more satisfying ending, I have to accept that as canon, therefore making Sky kind of an asshole....not that the rest of the chain are saints. Sky’s flaws are much more normal than say, Warrior’s fatal overconfidence that is powerful enough to manifest as an evil version of himself if he doesn’t keep it in check.

The two best conclusions to draw from this decision is either he really wanted the toilet hand to find love (although that’s still a dick move because it’s like saying that Cawlin would have no chance with Karane) or just preferred to help out his boy Pipit (tbh I don’t buy that they’re any more than acquaintances though).

Also yes, it is true that Link is exclusively kind and understanding with Groose his former bully. But (and just hear me out here) what that was only because he didn’t care about retaliating or getting even. He’s is on an epic quest, he doesn’t have time to settle the score with Groose, especially when he himself eventually makes himself useful. Being nice to him is just less mentally taxing. And don’t forget that Groose’s animosity stemmed from jealousy, and the player can enter Groose’s room and see a drawing of Link’s face on a punching back- plus the dude was never subtle. Link knew about all that which is why he doesn’t hold a grudge, plus I think he’s always liked him and wanted to be friends.

Sky can be very unforgiving and is capable of holding grudges that last a stupidly long time. That sort of hatred is reserved for the worst of the worst in his opinion, i.e Ghirahim and Demise (Bruh did you see some of the faces he pulled at them in game? There was 1000% malicious intent in those eyes).

Outside of being irredeemably evil, a couple of areas where you could incur his wrath include:

Mistreating the Master Sword: sure Fi was pushing him along the hero’s path, but she’s servant of Hylia and also just following orders, so there’s no need to hold a grudge. As shown in SS, they became good friends over the course of the adventure. Link genuinely likes her.

Badmouthing Hylia: he may not have agreed with everything she did or be too happy with finishing off her crusade... but as a citizen of Skyloft he’d have been a devoted worshipper like everyone else. Having it been drilled into him since he was little, because society be like that. Since he hardly suffered at all during his adventure and arguably did almost everything perfectly, he’d have no reason to stop worshipping her.

Over the course of SS Link does prove himself and becomes a true hero, growing his soul after the Silent Realm Trials (he’s had nightmares about those since and you can’t tell me otherwise) and tempering the Goddess Sword into the Master Sword. I feel like this act severed Hylia’s connection to the sword, giving true ownership over to her hero’s successors. Now the blade draws its strength from the hero’s spirit not the Goddess’ power.

At the end of the journey Link finally fights Demise, and after a hard fought battle (in which the lightning coming from the storm clouds scars his right arm and torso- love those lightning scar headcanons, super creative!) he prevails and ends the Demon King once and avenging the hero before him. Or so he wrongly believes. With his dying breath, Demise curses Link to reincarnate with him in an endless bloody cycle for the rest of eternity.

The fact that the game and Link both sweep the whole curse thing under the rug is jarring to say the least.

To be fair, Skyward Sword’s ending by itself is absolutely adorable...so long as you forget the rest of the franchise exits. Including that context makes this ending bafflingly lighthearted given that it’s the beginning of Hyrule’s cyclical history of suffering and conquest written in blood.

It really comes off as tone deaf to me. The characters, who are completely unaware of the hell that will plague their newly formed kingdom in the centuries to come, understandably feel at peace. But the player and therefore Link should not.

I feel like a bittersweet send off would have been better, a sort of ‘we’ve done what we can and can live in peace, but we need to protect those who come after us’ kind of vibe. Maybe have a post credit scene where Link is telling Zelda all about the epic battle with Demise (the oblivious adolescent dork acting out the whole fight in all his cute hand gesturing glory, with the Kikwis as backup actors), but when he offhandedly mentions the curse her smiling face suddenly hardens.

She tentatively asks him to explain exactly what Demise said and Link does to the best of his memory, but stops part way when he realises that Zelda is now frowning. Voice low and shaking she begins to put together the true meaning of those words, but a defensive Link assures her that it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe he’s so adamant to dismiss it because Fi assured him that it was indeed over (but now he can’t call on her anymore to verify what she meant), but a small part of him trusts Zelda’s judgement and starts to worry. This turns into a fight that neither side end up winning.

It could get really petty. Zelda chastises Link for not finishing the job and he says that her paranoia is the result of Hylia’s influence- which would really sting if they had spent the adventure working through Zelda’s identity together.

The issue is never properly resolved because both don’t have a clear-cut answer, and it starts to eat away at the back of both their minds. To ease her worries (and maybe his own regrets), he advices that they write down the possibility of Demise’s return as a prophecy for future generations. This prophecy is passed down what will become Royal Family in secret until Demise inevitably does show up further down the timeline. Now in his new and improved form: Ganon.

I don’t believe that Sky would be all that into rebuilding civilisation on the surface immediately after saving the world. He’d want life to return to normal and go back to being a regular Skyloftian knight. I can appreciate Sun wanting to take some time off to heal and recover, but soon she’d want to go about establishing relations with the surface tribes and moving the humans back down. Link would go along to protect her and because it would make her happy, but his heart wouldn’t be as in it as hers. And as shown at the beginning of the game I feel like she’d still have to nag him to get stuff done.

Groose would be the goat though, he’d be all for building new inventions for the settlement of humanity and exploring the surface. Man, what a fantastic character.

...

To conclude because I realise that this essay was kind of a mess, I tried to do what I could with Link’s character but the game simultaneously gives me too much and too little to work with. I see him as a soft and gentle spirit, but to the point of being idle. Since he’s crazy talented at a bunch of things, he’s spent his life coasting by on those talents without needing to try. Unlike the others his quest goes perfectly, or at least he doesn’t screw up in any meaningful way and Demise’s curse doesn’t impact him at all. How the fandom can paint him as this near perfect cinnamon roll, I have no idea. Like, he’s cute and a dork, but also kind of a jerk.

For the record, despite my criticisms I do like Skyward Sword and I think the story has a lot of potential. I also just really love Groose, maybe I’ll do an analysis of his arc in the future.

~~~

Thanks for reading!

This is all my opinion, feel free to disagree but pls don’t take what I say too seriously. It’s supposed to be a bit of fun for me.

Here’s part 2 Era of Hylia Lore 1 Demise’s curse theory

Masterlist

80 notes · View notes

cutebutalsostabby · 5 months

Note

12, 21, 24 :D

12) favourite character to write about this year

I just answered this one on a separate ask and said Hyrule, but I also like Legend! He's so soft to me. So squeezable. For my version of him: he means so well and he's actually quite clever and astute when he applies himself, BUT... he's a bit (a lot) impulsive, and can be clumsy as a result. Woe: ADHD be upon ye.

Idk I know some people view/write him as the most traumatised of the bunch but in my head he's coping with things in a reasonably healthy way (by Link standards at least lol).

21) most memorable comment/review

WHA- DON'T MAKE ME PICK A FAVOURITE CHILD!! ;_;

Ok fiiine, I will pick a favourite child. But I do really appreciate all comments!! I just chose this one because it was probably one of if not the longest comments I received, which also had the SHEER AUDACITY of apologising for being a long comment. And this is the same commenter who prompted me - politely and hopefully - to update that fic in the first place (complete with author note about pasta-related burns which probably looks ridiculous out of context and tbh doesn't make much more sense IN context lmao), so bonus points for that, and I'm glad they were so excited to see the update. I know some authors don't like being prodded for updates, but I definitely do (dependent on tone, obviously, and it won't always work - but it does help motivate me!).

24) favourite fic you read this year

I AM ONCE AGAIN CALLED ON TO PICK A FAVOURITE CHILD >:O

/j. But also not /j because I'm bad at picking absolute favourites, so I'll instead just add another item to the "fics I enjoyed" list from my previous post:

Things I enjoyed about this:

One of those whump scenes I like to reread a bunch.

Downfall duo belovvvvved.

Autistic Hyrule and also ADHD-coded Legend (idk latter might be just my reading into it but I'm going with that). Neurodivergent downfall duo: yes, correct.

Also it updated daily which is actually a thing I really appreciate in fics (but can never replicate in my own, sorry). I think it was probably afternoons/evenings for the authors but it was generally early mornings in my own time, so it was lovely to go to bed with the expectation of waking to a new chapter!

#fanfic author asks #ask game

3 notes · View notes

errorwarblesrr · 5 months

Note

Came up with another ask: if YOU had to make a Zelda movie and had infinite money to make it but also had to make sure it appealed to the mass public, which game would you adapt/what would you do for a story

Hoho boy okay so for starters 2D ANIMATION IS A MUST!! With the obvious out of the way, I would love for it to be wind waker because I am absolutely biased, but I don't think that would be the smart move. I think basing it off of games like the first one, alttp, tp, or oot would be the better move since those settings would be more recognizable for the mass public. Botw is also a contender, but I would want Link in the green tunic since while botw is the best-selling game, the green tunic is the most recognizable. Buuuut I would rather the movie not be based on any games but rather be it's own thing. The safe option is definitely that while having plenty of references for fans. I mean I'd love for there to be a movie where it's like based on Hylia and her first chosen hero, but that would mean no Zelda and I don't think that would be a smart move. It's so hard to say tbh. I feel like it's restrictive to appeal to the masses. I think it should be focused for the fans and by that I will scrap the movie and make an anime Jojo style where each season is based on a new Link aka the different games so we can go all the way instead if being restricted like an hour and something minutes. Screw it there can also be some movies too to accompany it.

#asks #you gave me infinite money to make a movie I made an anime that may lr may not have some movies #the legend of zelda

6 notes · View notes

minijenn · 1 year

Note

Very cool you did a Zelda marathon. I recently got into the games myself and I love them and I just want to explore more of the franchise. So far I've played Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild and I'm currently busy with Ocarina of Time. You know to keep me busy until Tears of the Kingdom lol Fave game so far is definitely BotW . I will say though I think I prefer the bosses in Skyward Sword than BotW. I mean in SS every boss felt unique and you had to outsmart it or figure out it's mechanics, and the final boss. Best final boss I've fought in a while. Demise is hype. BotW, most of the bosses are those Ganon guardians or some giant robot. That's just my take I know this isn't really an ask. Just wanted to share my Zelda opinion. After I play Windwaker I'm looking forward to reading your story. Keep up the great work.

Ah I actually completely agree about the bosses; tbh the bosses and the divine beasts in botw were one of its weaker aspects. I’m really hoping totk takes things up a notch in therms of both

3 notes · View notes

astrxealis · 2 years

Note

also also sorta offtopic but: what other games do ya play?? GO FULL OUT IN RAMBLING

ik you've seen me ramble abt twewy all the time but I also love pokémon, kirby, legend of zelda, detroit become human and golden sun !!! my brother has also been playing Hades lately and tho the playstyle isn't my thing bc I get stressed easily IT'S AN AMAZING GAME AND I LOVE IT

someday I will be able to properly try playing final fantasy and fire emblem HAHA if I have the time to play I'll let you know !!! I really want to try those games TT

HEHEHE AHJBHGDBJGH omg if you say so ,, under the cut bcs idk how much i might. ramble GSGBHB <3 <3 <3 warning. just in advance. sorry annie but you've just enabled me HGSBDHJG

( ok i finished writing. uh. i think i legitimately spent more than an hour what. BUT UHM warning it might be really long but idk HSBDHJG but disclaimer yes no need to read it all!! and tysm once again!! and sorry for. so much rambling HSDJHBG )

( edit again bcs i've woken up HOLY SHIT I DIDNT REALIZE I DIDNT POST THIS. I JUST SAVED DRAFT AND THEN POOFED HELP )

OKAY WAIT FIRST. ik you want more twewy moots yes AND THO i do consider myself to like twewy i still am sadly not into it that much yet despite i rmbr uhh neo demo, wanting to watch the animation, and then once it was on sale. i was hyperfixated on it WHFBJH and then moved on to . triangle strategy HJDSBJG which i still don't have but i cld maybe ask a friend who i convinced to buy it bcs he was curious and i was like ROLAND ROLAND ROLAND and i was rlly excited bcs it ws just around release but they haven't even touched it at all so i'll one day force him to lend me it (and i'll never return it JKJKJK HLEP) BUT YEAH. i feel like i wrote that latter bit w no breath breaks

!!! i rmbr you talking abt pokemon once (IN DMS ?? >O< & ff7!!) and ofc ik you love loz HEHE i was goin thru pics some time ago and. came across the link stuff again GDSGB ^^ I DON'T THINK I KNEW YOU LIKED KIRBY AND DBH THO ... kirby is ADORABLE but i've only ever played like. 5 minutes worth of one of the old games HGBSJHD and loz botw which i haven't finished yet bcs i am not enthusiastic to do the bananas and i had to give back the card to my tita TwT DHB okay funny story we had to make smth for school once and i used a somewhat triggering photo and thankfully it wasn’t anything too bad and no one got yeah. also i was rlly young. but DAMN i’m better now thnkfully ALSO i rly wnt to play sometime >< <3

HADES OH MY GOD I LOVE THAT GAME (than and zag. oh god) !!! i'm only a few hours in uhh around 16?? >< i shld def play more ,, can understand it not being your type in playstyle AHBAHFBJ but fr it's amazing and so loveable <3 tbh i kind of get stressed a bit easily like. i could MAYBE be that kinda "toxic" gamer but i'm too nice and don't want to be mean Out Loud so that's good THGBJ i like the stress . somehow. I HOPE YOU CONTINUE ENJOYING!!!!!

okay uhh so we have a lot of games here. kinda?? my game library in my Head is huge but in my actual reality kind of but not really T__T so ofc there's final fantasy!! i like all 15 (and the upcoming 16th) and the spin offs but i definitely haven't played em all yet HSBDJHG 7, 10, 14, 15 i've played! we have 8, 9, 12, and 13 (kinda, doesn't work anymore T_T) >< also type 0 i think but idk </3 i blame/thank my dad's side esp for me w games/anime/ff HGBJSDH!! 14 is kind of obviously my fave game hehe <33

fire emblem!!! 3H is the one i've only played but i LOVE awakening and fates >_< and shadows of valentia!! i know that even less but i love the credits song which i've alrdy accidentally spoiled myself on and the characters i know!

OK SO UHM. there's a lot we have that i haven't actually played so i won't go too much into depth q-q but god of war, xcom, last of us, uhhhhh wait okay

from ones i've played a bit!! or tried to play a bit!! or know outside of actually playing >< drakenier (3, automata, replicant! 3 is. kinda uh sus but i rlly like it and wna know more in the future. we have automata but i haven't played... i LOVE it sm tho and it's just so good,, & the raids in ffxiv i love SDHGJHA and the small spoilers ik </3 replicant same feelings as automata but we don't have it </3) + ghost of tsushima (i played a bit and it's a beautiful game!!) + uh. AH YES soulsborne (okay these kind of games make me scared. i tried to play bloodborne thrice and chickened and i don't actually have or want the guts to not Chicken BUT. I WANT TO HEAR THE MUSIC. and be challenged by the hard gameplay so sometime,, also we have ds3!! i want elden ring/sekiro rlly badly tho ><) + uhh what else. help OAAAAHH THE WITCHER!! okay we have 3 i. meant to start it a bit ago but then ffxiv took my time again SBDGHJH but i love the series!! just close my eyes at times!! i love the witcher man. and there's horizon zero dawn which i've played for quite a while but i'm def not TOO far into it,, it seems like open world isn't rlly my type T___T

i forgot the others. help. SAHGBJH okay from the ones i've finished or play/ed a lot!! persona <3 i like 3 and 4 but dk well yet :(( i love 5 tho!! such a good game, esp w royal <3 anddd then uh. uhm. HJHBF HELP i've barely finished games tbh T___T but <33 UHHH i like cod too! mario! OH MY GOD SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY!!! and other games oh man T~T

I FORGOT FALLOUT EXISTS HELP okay i’m like. really There in fallout shelter but i don’t play anymore </3 fallout 4 and las vegas we have!! i’m scared to play 4!! but yes!! i also feel terrible for forgetting skyrim holy shit i mostly just watched my dad/sis play until i actually started playing myself. i’m a coward and i admit that but that game is my CHILDHOOD... cuphead is also rlly cool i have just played REALLY little myself but <33 animal crossing is rlly cute!! i love new horizons!! also assassins creed!! we have odyssey which i played a bit but it makes me scared to play too ngl!! devil may cry and metal gear rlly interest me but no games or experience playing :(( love the music and memes tho <3

uh. minecraft was my childhood FOR REAL. i played a bit of mass effect then stopped but i’ll cont when i have time. somehow. HSDBGJH ik it’s rlly good !! LEGO GAMES WERE MY CHILDHOOD TOO... my only 100%. man. i fought so much w my twin over those games it’s absolutely hilarious. dragon age is cool i love inquisition soundtrack but i played a bit of origins and then stopped bcs i got stuck and it’s so ANNOYING... red dead redemption 2 i havent played but <333 resident evil is cool but horror. goodbye. GSHGBFBSD AND OH GOD I FORGOT I ONCE PLAYED A BIT OF GTA5. i stopped bcs it rlly was too much even for me who doesn’t mind swearing. i stole cars and did a bit of story and thn stopped i will never forget the man who opened my car door in the road and i drove off HABJGH ... i forgot what other games i’ve played or have or am interested in this is so much oh god . OH GOD WAIT I FORGOT KINGDOM HEARTS EXISTED HELP that series is so weird but means so much to me weirdly. i rmbr so clearly playing literally the first bit of the game. by first bit i mean literally probably just the first hour or less. and i never got past that bcs i never got to a save but then had to stop playing over and over again but wld always go back and play it AAA kh1!!! and thn kh3 i borrowed and man... <3 i love that game and somehow understood and enjoyed even if it’s literally the ending of a saga i think and i never played the rest HELP

i once again lost track of time it’s almost 5 am oh my god i have to get up before 10. BDHGBD i’LL PROBABLY STOP HERE THEN....... i hope you don’t feel like you have to read everything i’m just rlly Yay you asked and uhm enabled me WHEEZE i love rambling but also i do it a lot but also not that much T___T i genuinely do hope this isn’t annoying though! ^^ not in a like Oh i’m annoying way but in a like. this might actually seriously be A Lot JHGSDJHG

i actually barely know anything about golden sun!! but i searched it up rq and rmbrd i’m interested in dragon quest + diablo + castlevania too !! super mario galaxy was my childhood even tho me and my twin barely did anything bcs we were cowards. HELP. we fought too bcs i shaked the controller and then the stars went everywhere and escaped so she got angry at me. why did i even do that what. ANWAYS UHM IDK WHAT i’M EVEN TALKING ABT ANYMORE HELP gran turismo also interests me!! bcs of my dad >< OH MY GOD I FORGOT i also finished littlebigplanet 3!! it was so annoying w my twin /pos!!! we fought also. man. i love twins they suck (affectionate)

i feel like there’s still more i’m forgetting hm but idk. not gna say stuff about ffxiv bcs that’ll be a lot more rambling I’M SO SORRY. also no mobile games orrr free games uhhh there’d be a lot too. help. BUT UHM YES if you do ever someday properly play ff and fe i’d be really happy but pls /nf !!! and i hope you do enjoy if ever!! <3 tbh i’m a bit >:( when it comes to some stuff abt specifically uhh 7 13 15 and 3h but generally i still love them lots <3 personally i’d def rec xiv even if you aren’t a fan of mmorpgs bcs it’s def an rpg first >< also imo the best final fantasy overall!! even best mmo and def one of the best stories i’ve ever seen ,, BJSDHBG but from the single players, it’s a bit depending on your taste but safe best for sure is 9! overall i’d say the best, from what i’ve heard :O below 7 is not 3d yet but i’m biased to 3 bcs of 14, for reasons, and 4 is <3! and 6 def has prolly the best story from what i’ve heard if not for 14!! 8 is heavily romance based ?? but i personally love the themes sm >< 7 is rlly famous and probably the biggest franchise in the ff franchise :O if you ignore ffxiv HJBHDG! i’d def rec it too <3 10 is my first and rlly special to me and i’d def rec it too for sure!! 12 is more political but personally i love it. havent playe dbut uhm yes. tactics i’ve heard is incredibly good ^^ i barely know it. barely being a bit of an understatement uhhh ik some of the story!! yes!! okay squints that’s all i can talk abt rn help it just turned 5 JBGDHJGB ALSO I’M INTERESTED IN OMORI I ALMOST FORGOT!! horror scares me but ik omori is rlly good <3 i’m just watching bcs i might waste money on not playing if i buy it myself <//3 ^^

GN ANNIE!! or good morning. help. HBGSHDBGJ THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN BTW AND SORRY HELP rambling tho helped clear my head more so aaaa <33 ^^

BUT B4 I STOP FOR REAL i just want to advertise rq BUT NO FORCED /nf /nf /nf SERIOSULY it just makes me happy to do this WHEEZE but ffxiv has a rlly good free trial!! lowkey want to send u stuff no spoilers tho and see what wld convince u to play but do be truthful abt it all uhh yes yes gn >< WHEEZEHBGSHJ it’s available on all platforms basically! not like. switch or mobile tho aaaaa T___T </3 but playstation, mac, steam, pc... ^^ it’s pretty time consuming but it’s an experience i’d definitely recommend!! also no time restrictions for free trial :O so yeah >;D

#i like a lot of things but my favorites all in all would be ffxiv and gbf (mobile game tho ><) and fe3h! i feel like nier is definitely a #top contender when i properly get into it more <3 but these r games i actually. completed or am vv far into GHJSJBHGB T__T ^^#so many interests but it feels like. hm. idk how to explain but yeah <//3 idm tho HBDSJHBGH i genuinely do like all of them <3 #⋯ ꒰ა my galaxy ໒꒱ *·˚#⋯ ꒰ა letters of stardust ໒꒱ *·˚#— annie! ♡

5 notes · View notes

risingsouls · 2 years

Note

🦎 + and for fun, what are you most loathed headcanons throughout the DBZ fandom ( bonus points for LoZ, too! )

🦎 for a Ramble || Always Accepting!

[I'll try to think of one for both. The trick is finding something that isn't the dumb shit canon did and are actually headcanons the fandom seems to have latched on to.

It's bad because all my brain can come up with is that I disagree with the pervasive narrative that Vegeta is a sub/bottom, mostly because some art i would rather never see again was suggested to me. 🤣🤣 I guess I struggle with this because most of my frustrations come from canon and fans touting every canon decision as absolute top tier greatness when it's garbagio at best. I also don't actually interact with a lot of fan made stuff tbh. The most I get is face.book's obsession with suggesting DB fan pages with their absolute trash takes. And I'm finding this is even harder with DB because the writers are so into fan pandering and taking shit the fandom has latched onto and pushing it in canon. So hm...

Alright. I'm going to channel @unboundpower here for a second and go with this (and she probably influenced it if I'm real because I never really considered it before interacting with her), but I hate how it seems a lot of people assume and write the fusions as just like...Vegeta's/Goku's replacement and with very cut and dry personality traits from both. Like yes, to a degree, you have to. They're a fusion of these two characters. But that's bland and boring. I like a more nuanced approach that treats them like their own being with their own personalities--influenced by their creators than just cut and pasting them exactly might be a way to put it--ambtions, and lives rather than just being a Goku and/or Vegeta clone. If that makes sense. Like this one is probably very fine line and hard to explain, but if you want a better idea, hit up Nebula's blog and you'll understand what I mean. She does soooo good with the boys and it's fantastic.

On that note, I'll add that, when it comes to the fusions, most of the fan content I see puts them into a relationship with Bulma after they fused permanently. Like not only is it fucked up because ChiChi was basically widowed as well, but it also goes back to what I was talking about in the fusions shouldn't just be Goku or Vegeta's replacement, and I like it WAY better when they're treated as their own beings in every facet, including their personal lives and dealing with how their existence effects those Goku and Vegeta had in their lives. It's makes for a more interesting narrative than, "oh well of course he just got back with Bulma and continued his (read Vegeta's) life."

Now for Zelda. Let's seeeee. It's been a hot minute since I've really interacted with that fandom or fan made content so gotta THINK.

Alright. We're gonna get controversial. And this is probably less headcanon than just like...how fans treat things, but I cannot stand when fans ride the black and white, good vs evil thing with the stories of LoZ, especially when it comes to Ganondorf. And, disclaimer, I do contend that I understand why it happens because the story itself does really push that with some probably too subtle wiggle room to play with that. But to be more specific, I LOATHE the idea that Hyrule is blameless for what happens to it. It's not something outright rampant in the fandom, but I know I had a few run ins back in the day that reeked of this sort of "blameless Hyrule" vibe when it's suggested that the shit they've done help cause the strife they go through (also note: this is me barring Demise's curse; I don't care what anyone says, I don't accept it. It's a cop out at best and cheapens the story).

Ganondorf is probably the greatest example of this. The shit he pulls is a result of how Hyrule treats his people. Yes, he definitely takes it too far and loses sight of that goal and is a horrible person for what he did. This isn't Ganondorf apologist hours by any means. But it's not Hyrule apologist hours either, and I hate how it often feels a lot of fans don't grapple with the other side of the coin, ESPECIALLY after WW comes out.

Which brings up another point: WW suggests Hyrule literally just prayed to the gods and waited around for the hero to return rather than trying to deal with Ganondorf's return themselves. Like there was PROBABALY a better fight than that but I don't know. The way Hyrule as a whole is written, it's VERY dependent on its heroes and the monarchy in a lot of games. But where are people calling that out HMMMMM???

Honestly, what that one comes down to is I just like it more when fans engage with the narrative on a deeper level than what's presented. There are arguments to be made that Hyrule isn't the guiltless, helpless victim that often portrayed, and there is often more eto the villains than gets looked into (and the writing doesn't help *side eyes Skyward Sword for that damn curse*).]

#.:ooc:.#.:ask:.#viopolis #i wanted to say more but im about to drive to the other office.#and i dont trust tumblr not to post it rather than save SO

3 notes · View notes

tentatechnologies · 2 years

Note

8, 20, 30 for art asks 🗿

meme link 🎨

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in?

i’m really having to wrack my brain for this one because i don’t think i’ve got any, at least not to do with marlo. i’m still half-invested in writing his fic but for the most part, and i swear to god i’ll do that ‘the other side of paradise’ animatic someday, but apart from that i don’t entertain myself with the delusion that i’d actually get it done :’)

the other stuff all belongs to lapsed interests! i had this enormously elaborate post-canon universe for the four swords, the type where i worldbuilt a new dark world / evolution of the twilight realm / parallel to lorule out of whole cloth. or tried to, at least. i was like, twelve, so... (the gist was rolling back shadow link’s slapdash excuse of a redemption arc, making him “king” of the dark world, but really a puppet for the Secret Banished Fourth Goddess—the tetraforce is a fun idea, sue me—so she could like. get her revenge or whatever. i’m still fond of the idea to name her ‘ikana’ though, like the place in majora’s mask.)

nothing came of it, but i still have fsa lore memorized front to back & shadow link has his own little niche in my heart 🖤 the first chunk was structured like an actual zelda game from the links’ pov, with a bunch of macguffins and items to find, then an intermission, and then a more traditional fantastical story following shadow link trying to restore light/balance to hyrule while the actual four swords are separated. (admittedly, i don’t like to ship the links, but you’ll pry the green/shadow dynamic in this timeline from my cold, dead hands.)

ok that’s enough infodumping if you want to know more about this universe. just ask

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy

OLDER FOLKS/DIFFERENT FACES!!! i don’t know if a whole lot of folks find it hard—in fact i would argue it really isn’t—and some do it a lot better than me, but IMO they’re way more fun and interesting to draw than the same “pretty face” template another dozen times. i do not care about your skinny slim-face button-nose bishie-boy oc. give me a big nose, imperfect teeth, particular lip shapes, different facial proportions, smile lines and crow’s feet! they’re so pleasing and fun and create that extra distinctive Flavor, and it’s just better character design to implement those type of things.

i’m never not gonna have more fun and be prouder of the end result when i’ve got to draw a character that presses the definition of ‘attractive’. marlo is way handsomer than i ever intended to make them, but a lot of that’s from their more unique features and how much i love drawing them. and like, i’m not joking. over half my non-fandom artfight bookmarks are weird old guys (gender-neutral). i love it (also i think machinery would be really fun to draw but i haven’t had the courage to give it a shot)

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

i could list a lot, tbh. my art is fantastic. marlo’s outfit meme got plenty of notes, but i love it to death. that tango redesign i did got an eighth of the old version’s notes and i’ll die mad about it. this sango-themed one with the fun perspective. that valentine’s art i did and stare at sometimes because it’s just plush. that tits-out marlo moping in their penthouse i never finished. OR MY STICKER FOR THE NSBSZINE’S CONTEST. marlo glaring over their shoulder asmr. and though it is now an entire year old i’ll never forget how hard i fought for those 20 notes on that full scene of nori in octo valley

#inbox #melonandcoconut #THANK UUUUUUUUUU #also i act like a brat about engagement but i am not the least bit ungrateful #sry if this is incoherent (again) i am really tired lol

2 notes · View notes

icharchivist · 5 months

Note

Tbh that's my issue with a lot of modern video games

I don't need photorealistic graphics. I want things to look good and clear and interesting

Trying to make your humans look like real humans only leads to the uncanny valley and it usually ends up dating your game because by the time the next generation comes out, your graphics are outdated

Also, I play video games to get away from people

It's completely fine to stylize things. It looks better, even in twenty years, it avoids the uncanny valley, it can still be expressive! And it cuts down on rendering and ideally on development costs. Like, I play the new Baldur's Gate and my computer is not high-end, but the game runs fine. Except for the dialogue scenes, where sometimes the expressions are weird and it kind of lingers uncomfortably for a few seconds before going to the next dialogue. Again, probably a problem with my computer, but it's a bit weird every time

Meanwhile I'm looking forward to Relink, which is a very stylized Anime game and I'm sure it's still gonna look good in 20 years

Or like, Super Mario. The new Zeldas. Stuff like that

There's also the argument that back then, games had to sell you on their narrative and story and gameplay instead of just graphics. I personally don't have an opinion on this, there's plenty of ugly games that also suck as well as pretty games with good stories. But I'm also not one of those people who throw a fit about a game not running at 60 FPS

But yeah, Final Fantasy games could totally embrace their Anime roots, I'm sure they'd be better for it

Fortunately, animation in movies at least is moving towards more stylized and I think that could be cool

Video games are art as well, after all and I'm happy for each one that isn't trying and then subsequently struggling with this self-imposed realism where it's not actually needed

You don't have to publish this ask btw, this just popped into my head just now and I have a lot of thoughts about animation

TOTALLY AGREE, 100%.

Like i think trying to perfect some graphic is fine and all but it's been quite a few years now that the progress is genuinely not worth it. Like the constant rush for realism often end up bringing duller artistic choices (which is even more noticeable with the remake trend in general because you see how older games went around those "graphic limitations") and it's just... not worth it? not with how big and huge it makes a game in the end?

like i know BG3 is that big because it's a huge game and stuff, but the fact i need over 150GB of stockage to install it gives me hives. If a part of it is due to the overthe top animations and high res's designs... i'd rather them toning it down instead.

Final Fantasy definitely fall into this category as well. Like for crying out loud, they justified making the remake a multiparter because the assets for Midgar alone were too big to just make the prologue of the game (which it IS, the current remake that came out in 2020 only covers the PROLOGUE of the main game) and it ended up being the reason they went completely off script and made a whole new narrative instead. All because they wanted the whole city to be this HD? Like Crisis Core came out in 2007, it's not perfect graphic wise, but it plays well within its limitation. And most of it happens in Midgar!!! they just knew to limitate as much of the Midgar's sets as they could!! Seeing how its remake just basically butcher most of the artistic creativity just by replacing the models with HD models is genuinely so boring to me. What's the point!! what's the point!!

maybe it's nostalgia and all but i'm at a point where i feel like most graphisms from up to the mid 2010s, as far as realism go, have pretty much filled this artistic approach, and anything else is just more flashy just to prove they can do it.

like i keep seeing those Last of Us' remaster's comparaison and i feel so ill like, the first game already holds up fine!! it didn't need all those remasters what the fuck are you people on about!! how is it improving the game the slightest!! i mean i know it's all about money, but jesus christ it's SO not worth it???? (for the record i don't give a shit about TLOU, i just saw the screenshots and it makes me feel ill).

i've also seen comparaisons of some Metal Gear Solid's remakes comparaisons where in order to chase the realism of the effects of the jungle and everything, they just completely removed the stylized lightning and atmosphere because REALISM, amnt i right? how is that better?? i don't need 30GB+ of game on my computer just to nod like "ah yes this one cutscene was worth me uninstalling a couple of my old games for it. you got me."

at this point i'd rather they focus on the story! on the characters! allocate this time somewhere else!

and it comes with a major disregard for stylized games in general. Games that don't want to pursue realism and are doing just fine like this.

idk i'm also just rambling but it makes me so sad. I'm not even against HD graphisms, but i definitely think we reached a cap years ago already and most of the attempt at progress we've had since have been about removing the stylization to push the realism, and it's genuinely not the interesting way to push the medium forward.

and like i'm definitely at the age where i'm probably clouded with nostalgia and i'm just "old man yelling at clouds" (ahah get it because Cloud stri-) and all but this is genuinely something that gets me annoyed.

and with ff7 in particular i'm just so upset because the pursue of realism led to "the game is too big now because of the assets so we need to cut it into pieces" to "but the pieces we have don't have enough plots to explore all the assets we have so now we're doing an original story!" and every decisions the "remake" has taken outside of the remake portions have been making me sick in my stomach. And while greed is of course the main cause of it all, it just ends up feeling so disingenuous and now i'm at a point a remake i awaited for a long time just so the saga could have a coherent imagery together (because the OG's graphisms do in fact clash a lot with the rest of the graphisms of the others game of the saga) just now is something i want nothing to do with. (except to take screenshots when the characters look pretty. 3D model simulator only.)

so yeah. felt. so much so. it fucking kills meeee like whyyy

BUT ALSO YEAH it's why games like Relink is definitely up my alley on that. Finally a game that is trying to actually do some style and isn't relying on realism to sell you something. Fucking lord. At last. We just needed Granblue to save us istg.

#ichareply #anonymous #ichasalty

1 note · View note

deargodhelpmeaaa · 9 months

Text

a horrid list I can best describe as being akin to a kin list

to the unaware, kinning a character refers to feeling a really deep connection to a fictional character to the point of feeling almost like you are that character and that they are you, especially while going through the work that they come from. I may have defined that wrong but whatever... I would rather say I relate to certain characters in some way or another than that I kin them.

This list will have 3 categories, the first is characters that I felt a connection to in some way and realized it was a bad thing, the second is characters I felt a connection to in some way and found it wasn't really a bad thing entirely and the third is characters who I have been compared to by other people. These categories will be listed as category 1, category 2, and category 3.

to reitorate: Category1= oh shit I'm just like him I think I need therapy

Category 2= I'm just like this person but that's not so bad tbh

Category 3= People say I'm like them and they're not wrong.

With that being said, let's get to the list.

Category 1

Bojack Horseman

Well isn't this a wonderful way to start the list

Bojack honestly scared me with how much I related to him. He has severe mommy issues, just like me, he had this obsession with people liking him, he would constantly make dumb, self destructive decisions, constantly sabotaged his own relationships with how he acted, he was needy, and he had a lot of baggage. I should note here that no I've not gotten into any Penny or Sarah Lyn situations (if you watched the show you know what I mean) that shit is fucked up and there's no defending it. However, there are aspects of it I do relate to (like how Bojack isn't very attentive to Sarah Lyn's needs, as I think I sometimes did this and I feel bad about it) it's just not... that one specific thing those two situations have in common.

Anyway, that aside, as I was watching the show I actually felt a connection to him that I just... never really feel towards most characters. Me and him were really similar, I think, and there was a point where I just could feel what was gonna happen next. I could sense it, and when I saw it happen it almost felt like I also made that decision at the same time? It's hard to explain. This viewing experience was insane, though, because me and the main character were so similar.

I don't know if anyone I know will see the show and say that this character reminds them of me. I think most people might consider me to be a less graceful Diane, but I don't know. One of my followers is a Bojack fan, she can say who she thinks I'm most like. But when I watched this show I really just felt so connected to this character and I knew that wasn't a good thing, because his portrayal is anything but pretty. I don't know if I changed much after watching it but I definitely got a new perspective on myself and my life, and have made some progress as a person since. I think I'm a lot nicer now and hold back a lot more when it comes to talking to people.

Category 2

so this is a fire emblem character. look. I got into fire emblem at a young age bc my sister picked legend of zelda and I needed my own series so I wouldnt be the same as her so I looked through the super smash bros roster and what series the characters are from and opted for the anime one that makes up 90% of the roster. And I kinda like the gameplay so I sometimes get games from the series.

Anyway. This character is Marriane Von Edmund from Fire Emblem Three Houses, to those unfamiliar with her. I expected very little from her but was shocked to find that I actually really like her character after deciding to sit through some cutscenes with her in them. She's a shy, self loathing and pessimistic young woman who considers herself a burden on others. But she also has a really good heart and in many of her support conversations (where she talks to the other characters, all of them tend to have a little over arching plot and are split up into 3-4 parts) she is shown to be helped in finding a way past her self loathing and towards something new and beautiful... it's been a while since I last read these. Long story short, she's a sweet character, but her self loathing and pessimism make her really relatable to me. Also, just like me, she loves horses!

(wait why do both of the characters I have listed here first have to do with horses-)

What stands out to me about her is that during some of her support conversations, when the other person spoke to her it felt as if they weren't just speaking to her, but directly towards me. I had some really weird emotional reactions to this, and distinctly remember even crying over one (or even multiple) of them (or at least being brought nearly to tears). This is because I'm a total fucking pussy; I don't think the writing is that phenomenal. Anyway I love this character. I'm glad she exists. I come back to her support conversations every now and then.

Category 3

a lot of my friends compare me to this character, Tomoko. (well mostly my boyfriend but everyone else who knows abt her and knows abt me agrees with the comparison) I've never watched the show she's in (or read the manga) but here's what I know about her. She's a socially inept dipshit, excessively horny, and just wants more friends. I'm also a socially inept dipshit, I may or may not be that second thing, and I also want more friends. I also am the same archetype as this girl, like... appearance-wise, so that is another reason for the comparison.

another friend compared me to this character I fucking know nothing abt the game she's from besides that it's bad

this is Toko Fukawa. I looked into it and she literally just seems to be me if I was created by an edgy 14 y/o. Big into mlm shit, has two sides to her personality (well it's a split personality bc the writer is an edgy 14 y/o mentally) one being chaotic and unpredictable and the other being more introverted and extremely cynical, and she has an obsessive crush on some guy. She's also a writer much like me? I was terrified when I read this because my friend was completely right to make that comparison.

Anyway I'm throwing in another horse related character here. Everyone who made this comparison was like 12-14 years old and they're not me they're other people so fuck you.

A lot of people compared me to fucking Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony. It's solely due to me being really high energy sometimes. Not much more to it, but it's worth mentioning bc so many ppl said it.

And I guess I could mention Violet from the Incredibles here, too, as a surprising amount of people compared me to her because I kind of look like her.

Here's a weird one

one of my friends said that I remind him a lot of this character, Annie from the show Community? He said I was like her but not a drug addict. Idk anything abt this show. Buuut if you do and you saw this post maybe you can use what I've said abt myself her to put it together?

Since we're on the topic of sitcom characters, here's one my sister loves to compare me to:

Pheobe Buffay from Friends. I think me and her both just have a similar manner to us and it doesn't go much deeper than that. idk tho maybe it does.

1 note · View note