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abalidoth · 1 year

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Die a Hainly or Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become the Vilia: Gender, Breath of the Wild, and Representational Sterility

Thanks to @start-anywhere for encouraging me to write this essay!

Major spoilers for Breath of the Wild, minor spoilers for Mass Effect Andromeda and Horizon: Forbidden West, as well as the Tears of the Kingdom trailer and H:FW Burning Shores.

cw: transmisogyny.

"Be careful playing the Gerudo segment," I heard from friends. "There's a transmisogynist joke there."

There's a lot I don't remember about 2017. That year was a perfect recipe for dissociation: I was finishing a very fraught and frustrating PhD dissertation and TAing at the same time, with very little sleep. I was constantly worrying about finding a job after graduation, and moving to a new city sight unseen. I spent the first two months of the year away from Emma for a math fellowship, the longest we'd ever been apart.

And on top of that, I was a closeted trans femme living in Laramie, Wyoming, a town famous for a homophobic hate crime, during the first year of the Trump administration. My gender pressure had been building for years, out to friends online but not to anyone in person save Emma. I knew I wasn't a man but the closest I could come to expressing it was wearing skirts at home, and nail polish on the weekends. (Apply Friday afternoon, remove Sunday evening, repeat weekly.)

But I do remember playing Breath of the Wild with Emma.

Zelda is in the DNA of our relationship -- Emma showed me Ocarina of Time before we even started dating, Twilight Princess was one of the first games we played through together, and I proposed to her with a ceramic replica I made of Anju and Kafei's wedding mask from Majora's Mask.

So, getting to play a new Zelda game -- an extremely good one, at that -- with her, during one of the worst years of my life, was an incredible beacon of light.

So the warning about a transmisogynist joke in the Gerudo segment was disappointing, but I kept it in mind as we played.

For those who haven't played the game, here's a quick synopsis of that quest: Link, our hero, needs to access Gerudo Town, a town of all women. (Sorta. Put a pin in that. 📌) You talk to a male shopkeep outside who tells you that he's heard "a man" has been "sneaking" into town, and he's waiting to catch a peek. Other (Gerudo) characters mention an odd human woman, a merchant, who hangs out on the roof of a bazaar a ways outside town. Up there you find Vilia.

(image source: Zelda Wiki, which correctly genders Vilia unlike some wikis 😒)

If you accuse her of being the "man in disguise" she brushes you off and won't speak to you further. If you compliment her, she'll offer to help you get into town, sell you the Gerudo clothing set (grab another pin 📍) and say how pretty you look, making Link blush. Then the wind will blow her veil aside, which we only see obliquely, but we do see that she has facial hair. Link acts surprised.

Okay. Let's unpack.

First off... Vilia is a trans woman with a beard. I'm just gonna treat that as a fact from this point forward. Everyone who actually interacts with her refers to her as a woman, she refers to herself as a woman, we will set "but maybe she's just a crossdresser" or whatever aside, she's a trans woman. With a beard.

Is that problematic?

A big theme of my evolution as a social justice advocate is that "problematic" is meaningless in a vacuum. The existence of a trans woman with a beard is not, itself, problematic. Otherwise that's pretty bad news for me, a trans femme with a beard.

But her depiction... There are definitely some elements of cultural transmisogyny being upheld here. Stubble is a common feature in popular caricatures of the Gross Tranny. Link's reaction being played for comedy makes Vilia's existence sort of a big joke.

And on a surface level examination, it looks like this is a straightforward "man dresses as woman to gain access to women's spaces" story, straight out of Joanne's Twitter-addled fever dreams.

But other than that, Vilia is pretty well treated by the narrative. All of the Gerudo refer to her as a little odd, but fundamentally a helpful person, and they respect her identity. It's clear when Link runs around Gerudo Town that multiple people clock him, but nobody ever throws him out because they just assume he's a trans woman and therefore implicitly welcome.

Vilia's character model isn't exaggerated in any way I'd consider transmisogynist, aside from the facial hair, and Link in the Gerudo outfit is, well, far from an unflattering portrayal.

And importantly, you cannot progress the main story if you misgender her.

There is no other way to get into Gerudo Town, and thereby the Divine Beast Vah Naboris, if you just say "you're a dude, right?" and don't walk it back. You can technically finish the game without any of the four Divine Beasts, but they make it MUCH easier, and a significant chunk of story is locked behind her quest.

So back in 2017 I played this, went "well that wasn't great but it wasn't as bad as I thought," and went on to wear the Gerudo outfit as much as humanly possible.

Flash forward to my 2023 replay, in anticipation of the sequel. I'm avidly curious to replay this section, given my evolution in my own gender understanding. (The first time around, I id'ed as genderqueer and Definitely Not A Guy but I'm not sure I was comfortable with "trans" yet, and definitely not "situationally a girl".)

Turns out? Vilia fuckin' rules. Gender icon. They hate to see a girlbeard winning.

Ok, I'm exaggerating. (A little.) But there is a reason I'm writing this essay, and I came away with a much improved sympathy for her character and her position in the story. I want to talk about why, but first let's clear a couple of those pins.

📌 The Gerudo are an all-female race. This is historically true in the Zelda games, with the single exception of Ganondorf, an ancient incarnation of evil who is born as the only make Gerudo once in an age. Ganondorf isn't in this game (though he is in the sequel!) so he's not relevant here. There are two things to note here: one, the Gerudo are nonwhite and heavily middle eastern coded. This is something I can't get into, as an Extremely White Person, but their interaction with gender is not without racial context and it would be irresponsible of me to not mention it.

But second, and the thing I will talk about, is that they seldom use the words "man" and "woman", but rather "voe" and "vai". We get these translated for us, but they are just that -- translations. They are gender concepts unique to the Gerudo that get mapped imperfectly to Hylian standards. The Gorons, a race of rock people who all use male pronouns and forms of address, are allowed into Gerudo Town, being "neither voe nor vai". And all of the Gerudo characters treat you differently when you're in the Gerudo clothing, even though it's clear that many of them have the perceptiveness to see through it.

I think it makes perfect sense to interpret "vai" as less "woman" and more "fem presenting". The Gerudo's actions are consistent (arguably, more so) if you do so.

📍The Gerudo armor. There's a few things to talk about here. First, Vilia sells it to you rather than just giving it to you. This seems a bit callous, but there's other similar monetary roadblocks in the game, and she's explicitly a traveling merchant and jewels are (as she says) expensive. I don't blame her.

The Gerudo armor is also, in game, pretty terrible. If you're wearing all three pieces you get a tiny bit of heat resistance, but it has basically no armor and can't be upgraded. There is a purchaseable "voe armor" with similar aesthetics but much better stats, but it can't be used to access Gerudo Town.

This is... Not ideal. I like to run around in the Gerudo armor because Link looks absolutely adorable in it; that was more of a priority back then than it is now that I have my own fem wardrobe, but it's still true. I wish it could be upgraded. I also wish you could just wear whatever armor aesthetically and get a different set of bonuses.

Okay. Now. To explain what it is I actually like about Vilia's portrayal, I want to talk about two other transfeminine characters from open world games: Hainly Abrams from Mass Effect: Andromeda and Wekatta from Horizon: Forbidden West.

Hainly Abrams is a scientist on the planet Prodromos in Mass Effect: Andromeda. In her first conversation with you, you can ask her why she came to Andromeda, and she says she was looking for a fresh start for her transition, and then... weirdly deadnames herself, in a way that feels utterly alien to anyone who's interacted with trans people. BioWare took criticism on this... sort of, and patched that conversation to only happen after you gain her trust by saving her fiance. But it's still extremely jarring. I cannot find information about her voice actress.

Wekatta is a troop leader of the Sky Clan Tenakth in H:FW. Like Vilia, the narrative is actually somewhat cagey as to whether she's a trans woman or not. I don't believe anyone actually refers to her with she/her pronouns, unlike Vilia, and the closest she gets to saying she's trans is

Aloy: And you think he's crazy for trying?

Wekatta: I'm not a fan of that word. When I chose to wear a woman's armor, people called me crazy, too.

Wekatta only shows up for a single minor side quest, and doesn't really get to actually do anything. She is at least voiced by a trans voice actress, Rebecca Root.

Both of these portrayals are mostly free of overt transmisogyny. Hainly deadnames herself in a strange and off-putting way, and Wekatta's portrayal is ambiguous to the point of over-caution, but there's not much that could be read as a transphobic joke like in Vilia's story.

They're also both boring as heck. And neither of them really feels trans.

Both of these characters feel like existing bit-player characters with one "bee tee dubs, I am A Tran" line slapped into their dialog. Sure there isn't anything overtly wrong with that kind of representation, if it's done carefully, but this is "minor character mentions he has a husband" rep, not "on-screen gay kiss with main character" rep. (Side note, though, good for Guerrilla for making Aloy canonically queer in Burning Shores. Haven't played it yet but I'm stoked to. Hell yeah.)

Vilia, as problematic as elements of her portrayal are, feels like a real transfeminine person. She feels more like me. Her gender is kinda messy! She has a girlbeard! She gets to call you out if you misgender her!

And best of all, her interactions with Link (excluding the shocked face at the end, which is pretty annoying) can be read very easily as an older, more experienced trans woman helping a younger trans girl with early transition, giving her her first feminine outfit and complimenting her. There's no wonder why transfem Link is such a popular headcanon. (My personal favorite for Link is some kind of transfeminine genderfluid.)

Vilia isn't perfect, but truly great and realistic trans representation is going to be easier if you start with a Vilia and clip off the overtly problematic bits, than if you start with a Wekatta or a Hainly and try to make them feel more real.

#botw #breath of the wild #vilia #tesserants

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musical-chan · 2 months

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Father of Time Chapter 27: What makes you happy? Does it make others happy, too?

When Deity returned to the Inn later that night, he found his son perched on his bed with a strange instrument in his hands, made out of what were apparently fish bones. He had never seen an instrument quite like that before, though what remained of his connection to Termina whispered an idea of a memory in his head. Link's unsure fingers would pluck out notes but they were often awkward and sour.

"What is this?"

"Oh! Hey dad, I got a guitar at the Zora hall today! It cost a thousand rupees! I used to play it with the mask but I bet I could learn it on my own too. I can kinda almost remember notes if I think about it."

"Ah."

"Hey, how'd the rest of your day go?" The boy set the guitar on the bed, rubbing his fingers to ease the raw spots that had started to form. Pressing on the strings was more painful with his regular fingers than he expected.

"It was fine. I have settled my business here."

"Can we go look at the tower tomorrow?"

"Certainly."

"Hey, um…" Link paused, grappling with the words he wanted to say. "I thought…you told me you weren't bothered by Termina. So, um, this morning…and destroying the temple. Uh…"

"I did not realise until we came here that I was bothered. I'm sorry I inadvertently lied to you."

"Oh man, no, dad, I don't think that's a lie really if you didn't know it. I guess I just thought maybe you weren't going to tell me or something." A knock at the door paused the conversation and Deity walked over to open it. Anju was there, holding the baby and smiling up at the god.

"Oh, hello! Kafei and I were wondering if you'd like to join us for dinner tonight? You're still our only customers and we can set up extra seating in the kitchen. I thought it would be nice!"

Deity glanced over at Link and the boy nodded enthusiastically. He looked back down at the redhead and inclined his head. "We would be honoured."

"Great! It's all ready so come on down."

A year ago, if someone had told Link he was going to have dinner with his deity father and two friends from Termina, he would have thought that person was crazy. It felt a little crazy even still. Everyone treated his father so normally here. Mostly normal; he still got the occasional look due to his height. At dinner, both Anju and Kafei were at ease, even sitting so close, and they involved him in conversations as much as they could. Deity never really understood the desire to fill a space with words but he would answer questions if asked and chuckled at all the correct places in stories.

So it was about as normal of a dinner as Link could remember with his father. Eating, talking, watching the baby make a horrible mess of itself. Kafei was scooping out a third helping for Link and he glanced up at the god while setting the bowl down. "Did you need more?"

"I am fine. My thanks."

"For someone your size, I expected you would be the one who ate more but I can see why Link has gotten so tall. He eats enough for an entire family."

"Mmmmph!" The boy pointed his chopsticks at the chef with a glare but Kafei only laughed. Deity sighed at his son, wondering how long it would take him to remember his manners.

"Link, do not speak with your mouth full."

"Mrmph mrr."

Anju giggled as she scooped soft rice porridge for the baby. Not much ended up inside the infant but she did not seem concerned. "So, Deity was it? Does your height run in the family? Will Link be tall as well?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Though I doubt he will be quite as tall."

"Well, that's nice! He seemed like such a small boy back then but you two are so similar, it's no surprise he grew into the height. I bet he'll be taller than Kafei someday!

Link blushed at being the focus of the conversation but at the same time it was nice. It felt normal in a way he didn't get to experience often and he was glad the couple had invited them to dinner. A part of him grew sad at the idea of leaving in a couple of days but a bigger part couldn't bear being away from Hyrule forever either. He'd miss home and Malon and everyone else he'd grown close with. But Termina wasn't that far away, right? He could probably come visit! As long as the tunnel in the forest didn't just disappear someday, he could come and go as he pleased. Now that he knew this place was just as normal as home, he didn't think he wanted to give it up.

Later that night in bed, he stared up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head, thinking about home and Termina and all the other places he'd seen since freeing his father. He loved the idea of travelling and seeing new places but he also wanted to do things at home. When spring came, he wanted to start a garden maybe. He wanted to keep working at the ranch. Maybe he could convince Talon that it was safe for Malon to visit. And they had to keep patrolling for all those new monsters showing up. How could he do all that and find time to travel?

He paused for a moment, then exhaled loudly. He was only thirteen. There was definitely going to be plenty of time to do lots of things. He bet other kids his age didn't worry about that. Those thoughts definitely seemed more like the weight of adulthood on him than normal worries. It would be fine.

He'd find a way for sure.

After all, wasn't he the Hero of Time? He'd find a way to do it all.

(Read the rest on AO3!)

so much lovely domestic fluff in this one. Also, you get to see what happened to the Stone Towers after FD was done with them.

#Legend of Zelda AU #post-OOT AU #post-MM AU #Legend of Zelda fanfic #Fierce Deity #Fierce Dadity #loz fanfic #Fierce Deity is a good dad #loz au fic #post MM Link #Legend of Zelda #Father of Time fic #Termina domestic fluff #domestic fluff #I love Anju and Kafei you guys #I could have made them Link's parents and it would have been lovely #Except we need the Fierce Dadity content

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randomwriteronline · 2 years

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why is majora's mask a game about love?

Because every waking moment is devoted to the inevitability of death, and in the face of that inevitability the most pressing thought on many characters' mind is love.

The first example to come to mind is likely Anju and Kafei, who spend the last three days before their impossible wedding fretting to make so that everything is ready for it; maybe it will remind other pairs too - Madame Aroma and mayor Dutour, Honey and Darling, the Deku Scrub in Clock Town who wants a Moon Tear for his wife. The seahorses. The implied romance of Lulu and Mikau.

But I would argue that more than romance it's a game about platonic love first and foremost.

It fits with Link being a child, with him noting (after receiving Anju's letter for Kafei) that he doesn't understand all this grown up stuff, but someday he might. It fits with there being no love interests and it fits with all the examples of platonic love we are shown over and over.

You have the love of a parent for their child. You have Madame Aroma sending you to find her missing son with a mask of his likeness, the Deku King so heartbroken by the disappearance of his daughter that he can't even think straight, the Goron Elder distraught at the news of his child desperately calling for him, Lulu falling into despair after her newborn children are stolen and Mikau giving his life to save them; you have Anju's grandmother and the Deku butler who see their lost sons in every boy they meet. You have Anju's mother, whose love makes her distrust in Kafei and Cremia because they remind her of something that hurt her and that she doesn't want to hurt her daughter - you have Tingle's father, who is ashamed of his son yet cares for him all the same.

You have the opposite too, children's love for their parents: the bomb shop owner, as punkish as he may appear, worried sick for his mother walking around alone at night with valuable good that could get her attacked, and Pamela, who keeps the Gibdos at bay and her half transformed father safe and calm as best as she can.

You have the love between siblings. Between Koume and Kotake, one immediately urging you to help the other as soon as she hears she's in danger. Between the Gorman brothers, who are awful and conniving and still get tears in their eyes seeing the ringmaster's mask because miss their last triplet so much. Between Romani and Cremia, who makes her an adult right before the end of the world so her little sister too can feel fulfilled. (Maybe so that she can have her drunk and unconcious, so she won't feel anything.) Between Sharp and Flat, who even when betrayed and locked in his own grave worked on a melody that would free his brother's soul from the deal he had struck. Between Tatl and Tael - the reason why she teams up with Link in the first place being so that she can get reunited with her more timid brother for whom she worries.

You have the love for a people, a nation, so to speak. Darmani, dying to stop the winter that so threatens his tribe, and captain Viscen, who only wants the townsfolk to evacuate to safety while he himself will very likely have to remain directly beneath the moon.

You have the love for things that might not love back. The astrologist is infatuated with the Moon; the rooster man of Romani Ranch laments only that his dear chickadees won't ever be roosters; the twin dancers and twin jugglers love their jobs, but can get frustrated by them. The barkeep loves you, his favorite costumer who decided to spend their collective last hours with him. Mutoh and the councilmen love their town and remain in the face of imminent destruction. Gorman loves a song sung by a voice he will never hear again and a home he has forever left behind,

Unhappy kinds of loves are the swordsman's excessive faith in himself (which backfires and leaves him terrified in the end) and the postman's devotion to the mail and schedule (which traps him). Maybe even Kamaro's love for his art, which he laments having no one to pass on to.

You have the love for friends, which drives the story - without which there would not be a story.

Because it's Link's love for Navi regardless of the player's opinion of her that sends him on the quest that has him ending up in the Lost Woods, and it's his love for Epona that has him chase down into the hollow tree stump that ends up in his new adventure.

It's the love that Skull Kid feels towards the Giants, and that he feels has been betrayed by the Giants, by their leave and their banishment of him from Termina, that leads to the stagnating sadness and resentment that has him so vulnerable to Majora's influence.

It's Tael's love for Skull Kid that cues him in on how something is not right with him, and it's the Giants' love for Skull Kid that makes them implore Link to save him, and that they repeat for their friend to hear, to know now and forever.

It's love that Ikana lacked - the trust, the camraderie that comes with it - and that led to its downfall. It's love that Majora doesn't seem to recognize or entertain or care for. It's love that the Fierce Deity, as a personification of Termina's collective memory, embodies and unleashes so absolutely violently against its absence and the looming threat of eveything coming to an end.

It's the love that makes up, at least in part, the happiness the Happy Mask Salesman comments Link has brought to the people.

And all of these loves, it's important to note, fail.

They are all fated to fail.

Mostly, by no fault of their own.

After all, if an entire Moon is falling a hug can't do much.

Sometimes you're not strong enough, lucky enough. Sometimes you just feel too much and that keeps you from being able to think or act. Sometimes good intentions lead to bad decisions. Sometimes you're just faced with something you cannot fight back against and win, if you can fight back at all.

Love is powerless against death and forgetfulness.

But that doesn't mean that you can't feel it. That doesn't mean that, when faced with inevitable death, you shouldn't feel it. That doesn't mean that, on the last moment to feel it, you shouldn't allow yourself to feel it.

All over the Apocalypse, people look up at Thanatos inching closer in the sky and run to their loved ones to hold them tight, shield them, let them know of an affection that will have no other time to be told.

Majora's Mask is a game about love.

#majora's mask #random talks #its also a game about the past failing the future #as most older characters are unable to save the younger ones #ikana being the most overt example of course as there are no children in it. dead before they were born #though mikau darmani and the deku king are also obvious #anjus mother is a particular case bc in her case its two failings of sorts #the first one by her perspective: not being able to take anju away from town on the last day #the second from anjus perspective: trying to demolish what little hope she still has left #you may notice that the inside of the moon is not mentioned. its because i feel its about something else entirely #one of them could still fit. the one asking about friends #in your last hour who IS really your friend? who would die for you?#but even then it might be a stretch #anyways yea

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yuzukahibiscus · 1 year

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のせ様’s (No-se-sama) Documented Events (February 2023)

(Note: This was taken from “Eto-Bun” (えと文) section in February Kageki 2023. Eto-Bun is a section written by a particular sienne in each troupe to share some little stories about them or about their troupe every three months. In this cycle of January-March, Ichinose Kouki is the one writing for Flower Troupe. And I thought, why not drabble and translate a little to see what Hanako* has for us!) *Hanako is her nickname as mentioned in OTOME, a biography of all siennes in Takarazuka.

A little introduction to Ichinose Kouki for those who are unfamiliar with her.

Ichinose Kouki・一之瀬航季

Entered the Revue in 2014 as the 100th class. Her favourite roles include Oswald Vickers for "A Fairy Tale” newcomers’ performance. She was originally going to have a newcomers’ performance lead for “Haikara-san: Here Comes Miss Modern” in 2020 but it was cancelled due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, she went on Yuzuka Rei’s “Lock-On” Episode as a guest to talk about what she learnt from Rei, being Rei’s first “shinko kid” since she became Top Star. Later on in 2022, she starred in the Bow Workshop “Junjou” (or Complete Devotion) alongside with Mihane Ai as her partner. She also previously joined Minami Maito in her CAST side-A and was one of the members of Flor5. She will be performing with Minami Maito in her “One and Only” dinner show, also the final performance for Minami Maito as a Flower Troupe member before transferring to Senka.

Before you read February Issue, feel free to check the first of three series in January issue here.

Everyone, how are you all doing!?

This month is February. Very quickly, we’re at Valentine’s. Speaking of which I am Ichinose Kouki wearing an apron style fashion, pretending to be a chocolatier for taking the photo♪ In this season, streets are surrounded by heart-shaped objects and sweet smells, and it’s really a heart-fluttering feeling ✨

In this month, I’ll start by talking about Tsubasa Anju-kun who’s responsible for the drawing!

“のせ様’s Documented Events" Please enjoy reading for this month✨

🌻 Strange fish 🐟

“Can you help me with the illustration since I’m going to be working on ‘Eto-Bun’”? The first person I thought of handing this task is to Anju (Tsubasa) who’s a class lower than me (101th class). In Takarazuka Music School times, I received a letter from Anju who was still a primary course student (Yokasei)...The envelope had an illustration of a “very realistic but strange fish” wearing a mushroom T-shirt (She drew a fish with its mouth wide open and had sharp teeth, its lips were plump and its gaze was unusually strange...)

...THE STRANGE (LOL).

At that time, I asked Anju why she drew a fish...and she answered with a flashing smile, “There’s no particular reason~🥺✨” And that ended our little story and from then onwards, I love Anju’s art. This time, the title illustration is about waking up in the morning and immediately drinking red tea. It’s fancy! (LOL) She’s just a loveable underclassman. Anju, thank you for your best drawings. (*Okay somehow that illustration was not in the scanned copy? Haha sorry for those who are interested, here’s another illustration instead.)

🌻 How are you so cute!

And now, now. The next story is about what I didn’t document about in the last month’s issue, and that’s an episode about our Flower Troupe Top Star Yuzuka Rei-san✨ One day during rest time, I told her...

“Yuzuka-san! I’m responsible for writing ‘Eto-Bun’ this time, I’m definitely going to write something about Yuzuka-san!”

“Let me see what kind of story I can tell you 😊” she replied kindly and left but then at that time...! Madoka-chan (Hoshikaze) was close to her and thought of something, “Yuzuka-san!! Hey...the story of your sleep talking...” and whispered to her. Huh, sleep talking!? What is that, I feel like it’s something good to record about! So immediately I went to hear from Yuzuka-san and she was a little embarrassed and said, “Eh~Wanna hear?” and took her iPhone out. Yuzuka-san opened from her iPhone an app and in a tempo of Winnie the Pooh I heard,

Ka..Kawaii~...(Cute)

Kawaii~...

(A short pause)

How are you so cute~ huh~

Isn’t that Yuzuka-san’s voice when she was briefly sleeping! OMG!!

Right. The voice that I heard was Yuzuka-san’s sleep talking! When I asked Yuzuka-san about this more in detail, she said she used a sleeping app that could ensure better sleeping quality✨ Sometimes, there would be some interesting sleep talking recorded 😁

I wonder what she was dreaming about. I’m curious about the other sleep talking moments 🥺✨ Anyway, anyway, this is Ichinose whose lifespan increased because I heard Yuzuka-san’s precious sleep talking. I’m content.

Thank you for doing this...for “Eto-Bun”.

🌻 A perfume bottle full of love✨

And now, now, to our next topic... It’s about the show this time which is “ENCHANTEMENT–A Luxurious Perfume–”✨

There are numerous songs that are so Takarazuka-styled, so gorgeous that just by hearing it you would feel excited. From the start of the rehearsals I already felt that I love this show and this is Ichinose who continues to listen to the show songs even at home😁. Especially, I’ve been infinitely looping the Irish song from the “Sea Salt” scene led by Hito-san (Towaki)!! I want to join in this scene even if I’m going to playing a wood (from the wooden oar) or just a boat (LOL). Okay, maybe not that’s dangerous. There are so many points I like that I hope there wasn’t a word limit! But still I’ll start writing about it!😁

The perfume is the theme of this performance. Everyone, did you all look at the perfume props!? (the front panel at the stage sides) Because if you look closely, those are some cute perfume bottles✨ But it’d probably require a more condensed focus to realise the labels that...What! There’s actually all the names of the staff members and the Flower Troupe members names’ printed😊🌟 Besides, all those designs are only one (and unique to each other)! Isn’t that the greatest thing!? This idea was originally not proposed, but after Noguchi-sensei looked at the stage venue again, he told (the staff), “Later, let’s print all of our names (into perfume bottles).” Love! So much love!!✨ When there were performance suspensions in January, Kido-sensei responsible for stage setup said, “I hope you could take a look at this label and hope you like it!” and with that, they gifted us the design of the labels and we were so touched by it😌💓

It’s a perfume bottle full of love by our senseis. I hope that everyone could at least see a little of those labels.

And now, now, I’ve finished documenting the 3 episodes for this month and we’re at 2 pages. The backstage of Flower Troupe is often so lively and there are plentiful of episodes that I still have yet to document. For example my douki Izumi Maira did a “Mary Vestera-themed skit” and there was a big failure I did in my underclassmen times…there are numerous episodes I have them written in my Stuck Memo (app).

It’s suddenly getting terribly cold and it’s probably more likely to catch a cold in these days, I hope everyone would laugh a lot, and have the greatest fun!!

We will also be in one heart together with this!

Toi toi toi!!

#ichinose kouki #flower troupe #takarazuka #takarazuka revue #hibiscustranslation #yuzuka rei #hoshikaze madoka #tsubasa anju #minami maito #towaki sea #hibiscus translates eto-bun

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anjukoneko · 8 months

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#yeah...#anju speaks #wish i was dead

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cerise-moon · 11 months

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Hewwo Friend Ceri, you asked for characters for headcanons, may i ask for Angie/Anju or Hazuki headcanons?

(CRACKS KNUCKLES) ok a few hours of sleep paralysis and a walk thru irl terajuma later

(sorry for lateness lol)

I'm gonna split up Angie and Anju since yknow, same body, vastly different personalities . I have way more for Anju tho since she's the actually relatively functional one in terms of mind.

--- Angie ---

if she were to have a favorite seafood. it would be fried shellder

doesn't actually sit waiting for people to come to dinner parties of death all day . lord help the maid that accidentally interrupts her while she seems to be talking to herself, though

there's still a glimmer of favouritism towards the regice above all of the pokemon she uses.

--- Anju ---

Very very very good at ice skating.

Loves ice puzzles, and her friends would endure smacking facefirst into ice for her if it meant her face lit up from them trying it

blue raspberry . favorite water ice

girl has NO spice tolerance fr lmao

she loves spoiling her friends with gifts. particularly clothes, pins, the visual kind. she gave Vivian in particular a lot of flower pins, etc, after learning her wish for the cherry blossom trees.

Cella is also HER lawyer lol. before the uh, incident:tm:, she was helping her deal with all that fun stuff listed in the papers on her castle's desk. Hence why they were also in contact; besides the situation with Vivian, of course

really likes Snorunt. finds the little guys adorable. probably knitted/bought baby Kreiss a Snorunt plush. hc he still has it and doesn't know where tf it came from of course, he just finds it nice.

--- Hazuki ---

favorite foods include stuff like eggs, stews, etc

she's actually very smart! despite how the impulsiveness and the "humans from eggs" comment. Any misinformation on that front is entirely her family's fault. As Saki learned engineering and stuff FROM her, she is also very good at engineering and mathematics.

speaks at LEAST five different languages; Japanese (Hoennian), English (Galarian), Spanish (Paldean), French (Kalosian), and Russian. Perhaps even more, considering how business oriented both her family and Thomas Sr's were.

Knows how to use normal swords and the like too, but her Aegislash (then Honedge) was always her main weapon when it came to her duties. She duel wielded for a time when it was a Doublade of course, and was very skilled with that as well.

Liked fairytales and daydreamed a lot-- when she wasn't on guard of course. Actually had a bit of trouble in early life due to trouble staying grounded, but it got a lot more manageable.

Was friends with Anju before she was friends with Nymiera, Vivian, and Cella. They'd play little classic saving-princess-from-the-dragon games (despite Anju's ice specialty making her technically even more capable of killing dragons lol.) With both of their families in such a standing, they basically met thru a bring your kid to work day lol.

Was kinda scared of Darumakas when she was small

#asks #kyublivion #:3 thems #pokemon rejuvenation #cerisii rambles #cerinterrogate

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cloudninetonine · 1 year

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For this ask, I’m going to have the player as a ghost that’s separate from the glowing light on their chest. They can go back but I wanted them to have their own figure. Anyways-

Imagine Time attending Anju and Kafei wedding. He comes as appropriately dressed as he could be with player next to him. As the wedding goes on, he’s happy to see them married but also reminiscent over all the actions he had to perform for this day. On the other hand, Player is very enthusiastic and awestruck. (They worked hard for this ending so they are certainly going to enjoy it)

As Anju walks to the front, her dress flows with the breeze, showcasing the love and care she put towards the dress. It’s a beautiful day to attend a wedding.

“Link, look how beautiful she looks!”

“Yes, she looks very beautiful in her dress. I’m sure Kafei will become very emotional once he sees her..”

“Oh, everything is perfect. I can’t help but wonder about my own wedding. Do you ever think about that Link?”

Time thinks and envisions his happiest day.

In the Kokiri Forest, everything was decorated nicely. There was fairies flying around with Kokiri waiting patiently for the bride to come out. A clear path was set for the bride to come walking towards Time.

Speaking of him, he was taller and older. He was dressed in a suit that fit quite well, ambient a little tight. Navi was dressed with a bow tie and acted as the priest.

As Time keep pulling at his collar, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. Navi kept reassuring him that everything will be fine.

Eventually, everyone stand as the bride comes walking in. Time looks at Player in disbelief. They wore the whitest dress that fit perfectly. A veil covered her face and the dress slight draped on the floor. She walked to the front where she meet Time.

As Navi starting the ceremony, Time couldn’t help but drown the words out as he kept looking at Player.

“You may now kiss the bride.”

Time snaps out of it and blushes. He hesitantly goes to remove the veil with Player moving their head slightly. Once removed, Player smiles tenderly at him as she looks up at him. Time cups her face and kisses her lips.

Cheers were heard as everyone celebrated the newly wed couple. Time carries Player as they walk to his house.

“—ink, Link, LINK!”

He snaps out of his vision as he sees Player’s face a few inches from his. He moves back and covers his red face.

“Hey, are you ok? Everyone is starting to go celebrate the event. You were just standing here looking at nothing.”

“I’m fiNe! You can go first, I’ll make sure to keep up once I’m ready.” His voice slightly cracks as he continues to cover his face. His ears start slightly flapping and his face continues to get redder.

“Alright, I’ll meet you there”, they said apprehensively as they leave.

As they start to float toward the destination, Time removes his hands from his face and thinks again about his wedding. Although it seemed surreal, he hopes that it can become a reality.

Sorry for my poor writing skills 😭 but I wanted to write this. I thought it would be so cute to see!! I can imagine each boy having their own wedding as Player as their bride. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

POOR WRITING SKILLS?! THIS IS AMAZING I LOVE IT!

Time fantasising about marrying Player just 🥺🥺

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fwoosheye · 5 months

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Was flipping through one of my sketchbooks the other day and since I had so many [X Character] as Fierce Deity doodles I got the urge to make a role swap where Majora is the Fierce Deity and Fierce is the evil heart-shaped mask. Yk, as a challenge and as a colour palette study and so on.

Anyway, since my brain can't just leave concepts as is, it got me thinking: what if other characters got role swapped too?

Like, the first ones that came to mind are Anju and Kafei. I don't remember if it was the reason in the game, but in the manga Skull Kid Majora turns Kafei into a child when Kafei left his bachelor party because he didn't want to play with him. In this kind of au, perhaps the Fierce Mask meets Anju leaving her bachlorette party, and because she is giggling and skipping he asks why she's acting so childish, and when she answers even adults need to let lose their inner child sometimes he says "then you can be a child" and *poof* now she's a little girl. Perhaps she is hidingfor the same reason Kafei did, or maybe she is worried about what rumors would be spread about him if he was seen with a child. Lots of potential.

Something that have even more angst potential is swapping Romani and Cremia, where Cremia is the one who is aware of the aliens and tries to protect her farm. Where failure results in Cremia being the one left in an almost vegetative state and little Romani doesn't understand what's going on with her big sister. Perhaps the dog lady sent Romani to the cucco guy to keep her distracted while she tries to take care of Cremia.

Perhaps the dancing sisters are juggling, and the juggling brothers are dancing.

Maybe, instead of Skull Kid stealing the Mask from the Happy Masks Salesman, the Skull Kid was guarding the Fierce Mask on the request of the Giants and the Salesman stole the Mask anyway only to get possed by it immediately.

Perhaps it was the Deku Butler who was turned into a tree instead of his son.

Perhaps Lulu goes after her eggs herself leaving Mikau the one alive.

... not sure what kind of swap could if be made with the Gorons though.

I guess one could swap Igos du Ikana and the Garo Master, but I'm unsure how much that would affect things other than the boss battles.

But hey speaking of stuff in the Ikana Canyon maybe Pamela would be the one who is partly turned into a gibdo – or a redead? Or a Garo? – instead of her father.

Like... sorry for the text wall but there's a lot of stuff one can do with this!

#what started as a simple drawing challenge idea turned into a full au idea #again #at least this one only tickles my drawing urges and not the writing ones #loz #majora's mask #fierce deity #fierce majora role swap #loz au

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allmyfriendsareheathens · 5 months

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Part 1 here ⬆️

If 4Kids got Love Live(Part 2)

General

Yuri undertones would be removed obviously

Sad moments would be downplayed or turn more lighthearted

Any Japanese references would be Americanized

Japanese text would either be turned English or removed entirely

The songs would be replaced by generic pop songs(they would either be about the lesson of the episode, or about stereotypical "girly" things, like boys and shopping).

School Idol - School Popstar

Costumes would be altered(such as skirts being lengthened, girls being given digital tights/shorts, midriff/cleavage being covered, etc.)

All instances of slapping will be cut

Ellie, Diana, and Nella's actions would be downplayed prior to becoming School Popstars

Sad moments would be altered to be more lighthearted or downplayed

School Idol(Popstar) Project

Lynn and Hannah would be related(similar to Uranus and Neptune from the infamous Dic dub of Sailor Moon)

Episodes would be cut(like Rin's focus episode, or the diet episode, either that they'll change it to promote healthy eating instead)

The Washi Washi scenes will be removed, instead Nora is just going to love hugging people

A-Rise would be popular mean girls instead of friendly rivals

Speaking of A-rise:

Tsubasa Kira - Tiffany Keller

Erena Todo - Ellen Todd

Anju Yuki - Annie Logan

Nico Nico Nii - Nikki Nikki Lee

Otonokizawa - St. Olga Girls Academy

It will take place in New York instead of Tokyo(and I guess for the movie they instead go to London?, or perhaps Time Square?)

Sunshine

The drama between the third years(seniors) would be downplayed. Katie instead would have gotten genuine stage fright, and would still be embarrassed about it

Marie would be British

Scenes were the girls say "I love you" would be changed to sound more platonic, like "Thank you for being a good friend" and stuff

The show would take place in Miami, Florida instead of Numazu

Hazel would be given a Southern accent, and will not say "zura"

Joanne would be a "witch" instead of a "fallen angel". And all references to demons and stuff will be replaced by references to witchcraft and stuff

All kabedon scenes will be removed

Uranohoshi - St. Helena Girls School

Just like A-Rise, Saint Snow would have also been turned into popular mean girls. They would retain their first names, but their last name would be changed to Collins.

Nijigasaki(Rainbow Academy)

The scene where Yuu(Lori) leaps onto Setsuna(Stella) would be cut

Episode 11 might be skipped?

It will take place in Queens, New York instead of Odaiba

Mia would be British instead of American, and would probably be aged up?

Stella would be obsessed with cartoons instead of anime

Emma would be given a Swiss accent, or her Swiss heritage would be removed entirely, and her family would instead live in a farm in another state

Superstar

The scene that looked like Sumire(Samantha) kissed Keke(Coco) would be removed

The episode where the girls through that Ren(Lena) and Mei(Mae) were dating would either be skipped or they'd be mistaken for something else(like spies or something)

Lena's mother would not be dead, instead she would have disappeared when Lena was very young

Cindy would be given a Southern accent

Natalie would want fame instead of money, and will be turned into a valley girl

Shirley and Mae's relationship would be more platonic

Wien Margarete would be a popular mean girl. She'd probably retain her name, but go by Margarete(but only change the spelling to "Margaret")

Sunny Passion:

Yuna Hijirisawa - Luna Hilton

Mao Hiiragi - Maya Hilton

They would be sisters for no apparent reason

Yuigaoka - Harolds Girls Academy

#love live #4kids #again feel free to add more

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justlarkin · 1 year

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Speaking of Alice, what do you think of the Game Masters as a whole?

The Game Masters as a whole? They're dickheads. The three geniuses are shitlords. I don't know wtf is going on with Sanat, but he's mid anyways. I feel bad for Jambavan and Leanan (when she was with them) because Jambavan is absolutely whipped and Leanan accidentally got herself in deep shit because she wanted to feel needed. Alice is the only one I could say I like since she's funny and she reminds me of Anju Maaka, but she's a bastard too.

#ask

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valkyrie-of-the-rising-sun · 2 years

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Exposition Post 1: Mechanics

Tagging @fangaminghell, @alltheoutsinfreeeee, @lurker-extraordinaire-657645, @lemonade-juley and @kiroons-hyperfixtations for subscription alerts.

While the term “Aura Wielder” would have you believe that the mystical ability is exclusive to them, it is a misconception. Everyone residing in the world created by Arceus has the potential for it, and could pick up the art given sufficient time as well as proper guidance.

Even Pokemon subconsciously rely on this potential, drawing upon their aura to fuel their Moves and using it as a basis for their language*.

So, what is aura? By definition, it is the life force of every living being on the planet. The energy that is continuously generated by the soul, no matter the stage of life it is at. On its own, it is elementally neutral; it does not align with any of the eighteen known types and is therefore “typeless”.

If such is the case, how did Pokemon Moves acquire their elemental alignments? The answer is simple. Every Pokemon is born with a unique organ, so to speak, that allows them imbue their channelled aura with one (sometimes two or more) of the eighteen types, granting them properties of their respective type(s). By doing so, they had converted their aura into what is known as “type energy” - the basis of every Pokemon Move. This is done completely on an instinctual basis for Pokemon, and it is why we generally see them manipulating the elements freely even though they may be utterly inexperienced in battle.

Humans, however, had no such privilege. They lack this instinct that all Pokemon possess, and require rigorous training in order to tap into their aura reserves on the same level as an infant Pokemon. Furthermore, as they lack the organ that enables them to alter the elemental alignment of their channelled aura, most humans are incapable of utilising moves the same way Pokemon could.

Then, how did Aura Wielders manage this? They, too, are humans, despite the noticeable differences in their physiology. So what is it that allowed them to manipulate type energy the way Pokemon could?

For the Aura Wielders, each and every one of them are born with a “spirit Pokemon” inside them - what it is, only the individual knows, but it is always one that best matches their personalities. This spirit Pokemon can be of any species, even extinct species or species that only existed in the distant future. Regardless of the species, it is the typing of their spirit Pokemon that determines the type energy they can manipulate. This is predetermined upon birth, and it will remain the same for the entirety of their lives.

Because of this unique trait, Aura Wielders could only manipulate two kinds of type energies at most, unlike most Pokemon who can typically manipulate type energies aside from their own typing. There are exceptions to this rule, but those are exceedingly rare and almost unheard of.

Speaking of the exception, there is a myth amongst Aura Wielders that those who “defy death”, would gain a secondary/tertiary Ghost typing. No one knows if it were true, because thus far none had managed to return from the dead. It is, however, interesting to note that the Ghost-typing is not a type that can be acquired naturally by Aura Wielders.

Nowadays, Aura Wielders no longer have a spirit Pokemon; the ones that still operate on that mechanic are Artemis/Hauyne and Orion, being direct descendants of the original Blessed warriors. All modern Aura Wielders can all trace their history back to the Protectors of Aevium, warriors who were bestowed a Blessing similar to the one she gave to the ancestors of the original Aura Wielders.

For modern Aura Wielders, their elemental alignment is instead determined by the primary typing of the Pokemon they had bonded with. Examples of this are Vivian (subsequently Taelia and Aelita) with her Regirock, Anju/Angie with her Regice, and Hazuki (subsequently Saki) with her Registeel.

*Pokémon communicate using two media: vocalisation, which conveys the speaker's emotions, and Aura, which conveys the speaker's intentions. In order to fully grasp what the Pokémon is saying, the individual must also be able to detect the faint fluctuations in their Aura.

#pokemon rejuvenation #au exposition #as usual. i hoped you enjoyed this post!#next post: the clans of the aura wielders #chroniclerverse

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