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the-river-person · 3 years

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Secrets of the Deltarune

Okay so I was taking a closer look at the Deltarune and I started to notice some really weird things. It’s a symbol for the Kingdom of Monsters, right? Wrong. Gerson tells us “That's the Delta Rune, the emblem of our kingdom.The Kingdom...Of Monsters.” Okay so its the same thing, right? Nope. I looked up emblem and its distinction from Symbol. A Symbol represents an idea, a process, or a physical entity. While an Emblem is often an abstract that represents a concept like a moral truth or an allegory. And when it is used for a person, it is usually a King, a saint, or even a deity. An emblem crystallizes in concrete, visual terms some abstraction: a deity, a tribe or nation, or a virtue or vice and can be worn as an identifier if worn as say a patch or on clothing or armor or carried on a flag or banner or shield. So what does it matter? Well Gerson even tells us why. “That emblem actually predates written history.The original meaning has been lost to time...“ Hold up. Predates written history? The beginning of written history is approximately 5500 years ago. Somewhere around 3400 B.C.E. Thats a long time. And the prophecy that goes with the symbol talks about the Underground going empty, so it can only really be as old as The War Between Humans and Monsters. But...when was that? The game doesn’t tell us the exact dates. Well we have a couple clues. At the beginning of the game we have a little cut-scene of the war and then a bit where we see a human going up the mountain only to fall down into the Underground. Most players assume that this is you, beginning your adventure. Except its not. Later in the game, when you SAVE Asriel in the True Pacifist Route, we’re shown another cutscene with the exact same human figure in EXACTLY the same position, being helped by a very young Asriel and the silhouette of Toriel. It’s Chara, not Frisk. So our date of 201X (2010-2019) takes place long before Frisk even arrives. We don’t know how long before. That really doesn’t help with when they were first thrown down there though. So I took a look at the images before that, of the war. The first image shows a human who is very different from the later pictures. Both the make of the spear and the animal hide-like clothing suggest that it’s probably stone age. The text tells us a very general “Long Ago”when describing how both races ruled the earth together. In the next two images we’re shown the actual war. The crowd of humans have various things like torches and spears. Those diamond type spears are very similar to Roman Pilums. The Human figure with a sword was interesting though. He bore a mantle (cape or cloak) and is sporting a sword. Though there’s not much detail, we can still identify the general time period of the sword. The size isn’t big enough for a proper claymore or longsword, or even a hand and half sword. Since our figure appears to be moving forward, and we can guess that it’s not in a friendly manner given the context, yet still holding the sword in one hand instead of two, it’s probably a one handed broadsword. It also has a cruciform hilt (cross-shaped) that is slightly curved. The blade is quite wide with what appears to be straight edges (based on two images with limited detail). And it has a very narrow Ricasso, an unsharpened length of blade just above the guard or handle. Ricassos were used all throughout history, but they’re pretty notable for the Early Medieval Period in Europe. And the rest of the sword (blade type, length, crossguard, and method of use) is very reminiscent of a Medieval Knightly Arming Sword, the prominent type of sword in that period from the 10th to 13th centuries. So I had to take a closer look at my spears. Turns out, they actually more closely resemble a medieval cavalry lance or javelin. And many Javelins have their root in the style of the Roman Pilums, including the sometimes diamond shaped tips. The sword and mantle of the figure suggest heavily he’s a knight, and backed up by the spear carriers we can guess that its the Early Medieval Period, possibly the beginning of the Romanesque Period. So that would place us all roughly a thousand and at least ten years before Chara fell into the Underground in 201X. Asgore was certainly alive back then. In the Genocide Route Gerson says “Long ago, ASGORE and I agreed that escaping would be pointless...Since once we left, humans would just kill us.“ and in the Post-Pacifist when you go back to talk to everyone he’ll say this when talking about Undyne “I used to be a hero myself, back in the old days. Gerson, the Hammer of Justice.” He even talks about how Undyne would follow him around when he was beating up bad guys, and try to help, by enthusiastically attacking people at random such as the mailman. This tells us that Gerson and Asgore are as old as the original war and both had been part of the battle. And both lived long enough to survive till now. Gerson is quite old looking, while Asgore is not. He explains this by saying that Boss Monsters don’t age unless they have children and then they age as their children grow, otherwise they’ll be the same age forever. But Undyne doesn’t appear to be old. And I started to wonder how long normal monsters lived in comparison to Boss Monsters. A long time for sure. From the Undertale 5th Anniversary Alarm Clock Dialogue we can learn that Asgore once knew a character called Rudy (who also appears in the Deltarune Game), who he met at Hotland University and appeared to be generally the same age as Asgore. Since it takes place in Hotland we know that it was already when they were underground, Asgore was King and was already doing his Santa Clause thing, and that Asgore was trying to find ways to occupy his time aside from actually Ruling. In the dialogue he tells us that Rudy began to look older than him. “I was there for it all. His Youth, his Marriage, his Fatherhood. Then, suddenly, one day... he fell down. ... Rudy... I... was never able to show you the sun.” Monsters can live a long time. But Boss Monsters, as long as they don’t have a child, can live nearly forever as long as they aren’t killed. Based on that, Undyne is probably quite young and Gerson is incredibly old even for a Monster, and yet only recently he’s stopped charging around fighting bad guys. Since Undyne was with him, those bad guys were in the Underground, and his distinction of her attacking not so bad folk like the mailman, means that he was probably in an official capacity to fight crime, such as a guardsman, or maybe captain of the royal guard. So. Even though there’s plenty of time for a prophecy to spring up naturally. We have a number of Monsters who have actually lived that long that would be more than happy to correct mistakes and assumptions. Gerson is quite elderly and is a tad forgetful, but he still knows much. Characters such as Toriel and Asgore are still hale and hearty, and both had witnessed so much. Though we know very little about the character, Elder Puzzler is also implied to be quite aged and knows a great deal about the “Puzzling Roots” of Monster History. You’re probably wondering what all of this is leading to. Well with these characters in place to maintain knowledge of history in the populace, then we have an Underground which created a prophecy AFTER it was trapped there, which leads me to conclude that when the prophecy was created, it must have been referencing something older than the War of Monsters and Humans.

“The original meaning has been lost to time... All we know is that the triangles symbolize us monsters below, and the winged circle above symbolizes... Somethin' else. Most people say it's the 'angel,' from the prophecy...” ‘Angel’. This is when we hear about the angel. We see the Deltarune on Toriel’s clothing and on the Ruins door. As well as behind Gerson himself. The thing he mentions clearly has wings of some kind. Surrounding a ball (note to self: Look into possible connection between mythical ball artifact from the piano room and the Deltarune Emblem). It looks a little like the fairy from the Zelda series. Those “triangles” are the greek letter Delta. That letter has a lot of connections and meanings to it. A river delta is shaped like the letter which is how it got its name. There are a number of maths and science connections. But the two connections you’d be interested in are that a Delta chord is another name for a Major Seventh Chord in music. The soundtrack of Undertale uses these chords to do fantastic things with the tone and aesthetic of its leitmotifs, changing them from a happy or hopeful tune, to a dark and despairing one without actually changing the melody. And in a subfield of Set Theory, a branch of mathematics and philosophical logic, it is used to calculate and examines the conditions under which one or the other player of a game has a winning strategy, and the consequences of the existence of such strategies. The games studied in set theory are usually Gale–Stewart games—two-player games of perfect information (each player, when making any decision, is perfectly informed of all the events that have previously occurred, including the "initialization event" of the game (e.g. the starting hands of each player in a card game)) in which the players make an infinite sequence of moves and there are no draws. But why is one of them turned upside down? I started looking things up again. Turns out there is such a symbol. The Nabla symbol is the Greek Letter Delta only inverted so that it appears upside down. Its name comes from the Phoenician harp shape, though its also called the “Del”. A musical connection is exactly what Toby would do. But its main use is in mathematics, where it is a mathematical notation to represent three different operators which make equations infinitely easier to write. These equations are all concerned with what is called Physical Mathematics. That is... Mathematics that calculate and have to do with measuring the physical world. Why is that relevant? Well the difference between humans and monsters is that humans have physical bodies while monsters are made primarily of magic. Well I also discovered that the Delta symbol for the ancient Greeks was sometimes used to as an abbreviation for the word δύση , which meant the West in the compass points. West, westerly, sunset, twilight, nightfall, dusk, darkness, decline, end of a day. All this symbolism for a couple of triangles. There’s entire books devoted to them. And he calls the whole symbol, deltas and angel alike, the Delta RUNE. Whats a rune? Well a rune is a letter, but specifically a letter from the writing of one of the Germanic Languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet. Interestingly... the Greek Letter Delta does NOT qualify as a Rune. In any stretch of the word. I searched for hours. What I DID find was the etymological origins of the word Rune. It comes from a Proto-Germanic word “rūnō“ which means something along the lines of “whisper, mystery, secret, secret conversation, letter”. Interesting. So since its paired up with the Delta... it could be taken to mean “The Secret of the Delta” or “The Delta’s Secret”. If we make a few assumptions we might even get something like “The Secret of the West” or “The Mystery of the Twilight” or numerous other variations that have different connotations. It’s conjecture, certainly, and possibly a few stretches. But it is certainly there to think about. My thoughts centered around the positioning of the letters. The idea that the one facing up represented Humanity, and the two ordinary Deltas were Monsters. With the Angel above them all. Or rather, SOMETHING above them all. We have no proof that the idea of an Angel existed before the Underground’s prophecy. I like to think it did because usually that sort of thing draws on previously existing beliefs and ideas. For all we know the symbol could represent an abstract idea that governed both monsters and humans. Like “Kill or be killed” or “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” or other basic idiomatic ideologies of that sort. Other than the realization that the Deltarune is older than the prophecy and the Underground, I didn’t have a concrete idea of what the Emblem actually means. Just a lot of theories and connective ideas. But there’s certainly a lot to be found. I don’t really know how much thought Toby actually put into this, but he’s quite well known for secrets within secrets. So its possible he knew all this going in. If he’s anything like me, and I am notorious for writing this sort of twisting references within references within references into my stories, then he’s probably at least aware of an existing connection. Its quite probably that the Deltarune is exactly what Gerson tells us. An emblematic set of symbols that is used to represent the continuing Kingdom of Monsters and has been since before written history. But as he says... its so old that it might have had a different meaning originally, whatever idea the Monsters wanted to remember, wanted to uphold enough to use it for their royal family and their kingdom, a reminder. Of something, or someone.

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burnouts3s3 · 5 years

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Kill la Kill IF, a review

(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, don’t take anything I say too seriously.) Just the facts 'Cause you're in a Hurry! Publisher: Arc System Works Developer: A+ Games Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP): 59.99 USD How much I paid: 49.94 USD (I got a pre-order discount) Number of Playable Characters: 8; Satsuki, Ryuko, Nui, Houka, Ira, Uzu, Nonon and Ragyo (Satsuki and Ryuko have 2 variations). Number of Stages: 6 Rated: M for Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes and Violence Nudity: Lots and lots of cleavage and side boob. Characters usually dressed down to bikinis and thongs when disrobed. No visible female nipples. Can I play offline: Yes How long I played: 4 Hours. 2 hours to complete Satsuki's perspective on Story mode and 2 to complete Ryuko's. Microtransactions: None so far. What I played on: My Nintendo Switch. Performance Issues: When the Switch is docked, the performance 'mostly' runs smoothly, albiet shows the soft textures up front. When in handheld mode, the framerate sinks like a rock and becomes stitled. One instance of the game pausing for one moment before resuming. Lenghty loading screens whether docked or on handheld mode. And of course, no anime game is complete without its most famous feature, missynced lip flaps. Dual Audio: Yes. Both English and Japanese voices are available. English Cast: Erica Mendez as Ryuuko Matoi, Carrie Keranen as Satsuki Kiryuuin, Matthew Mercer as Aikuro Mikisugi, Patrick Seitz as Ira Gamagori, Stephanie Sheh as Nui Harime, Christine Marie Cabanos as Mako Mankanshoku, Kaiji Tang as Tsumugu Kinagase, Grant George as Uzu Sanageyama, Romi Pak as Ragyo Kiryuuin, David Vincent as Senketsu, Sarah Anne Williams as Nonon Jakuzure, Steve Staley as Hoka Inumata and Todd Haberkorn as Shiro Iori My Personal Biases: I recently watched Kill la Kill and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought it was a good show. My Verdict: Even fans aren't going to be satisfied with this package. With an anemic roster, few stages and a battle system where you fight the camera more than you fight your opponent, Kill la Kill: IF is wasted potential. Even the amusing cutscenes can't save this piece of junk. Wait for a sale. Kill la Kill IF, a review

It's strange that after 5 years of one of the most beautifully animated action shows that we finally now get a release of Kill la Kill IF. Based on the popular anime, will the game do its original source material justice? Let's find out in this review! For those of you who aren't familiar, Honnouji Academy is a fictional high school situated in Tokyo Bay, Japan on the island of Honnō City. The school is dominated by its fearsome student council led by their president Satsuki Kiryuin. Its students wear Goku Uniforms, which give their wearers superhuman abilities because they are constructed with a special material known as Life Fibers. Vagrant transfer student Ryuko Matoi, who wields a scissor-shaped longsword that can cut Goku Uniforms, challenges the council as she searches for her father's killer. Although she is initially easily defeated by Takaharu Fukuroda, she finds a sentient sailor uniform that she names Senketsu, a Kamui which is completely made of Life Fibers and transforms her so that she can face Kiryuin and her trials and obstacles. Kill la Kill IF is a filler story set in the anime's canon storyline. Gone are the various side characters and multiple developments throughout the story and instead speeds through to the main battles and opponents. Set as an arena fighting game, players control one of the characters found in the show and use their unique abilities to whittle the enemy's lifebar to zero. Each character is given access to a melee attack, a ranged attack and a grab which breaks the opponent's guard. Overtime, a player's SP bar builds up. 2 out of the 4 bars can be used for a special attack or to unleash bloody valor, a rock paper scissors mechanic to gain boosts such as attack or health. Losing the battle results in damage while winning continuously allows you to unleash a final ultimate attack. The issues become evident right from the start. Despite Studio Trigger, the animator of the series, supervising, the game's engine just cannot live up to the 2D anime that told the original story so well. While the art direction certainly lives up to the original with its use of contrasting colors and unique aesthetic, the actual animation itself remains stilted and choppy, even on the best of machines. While the animators are able to work around this (Mako's scenes continue to be the highlight of the franchise), you can't help but feel the 3D counterpart is struggling to match up what Trigger mastered in 2D animation. You better get used to the visuals. In order to unlock any of the other modes, you'll have to play the MANDATORY story and watch the stilted cutscenes (which you can skip, Thank God). Because who wouldn't want a story mode that has cutscenes that are longer than the actual gameplay? After all, it isn't like someone won't upload those cutscenes up to Youtube and you can watch them for free... Wait... And that's not even mentioning the numerous loading screens that come between every other cutscene and before the gameplay starts. I don't know if the loading screens are shorter on more powerful consoles and PCs, but they were certainly a slog on the Nintendo Switch. So, if you're in the market for a game with little gameplay, lengthy cutscenes and lots and lots of loading screens, have I got a game for you. Most matches are set between an individual opponent and involve whittling down the foe's health bar to claim victory. However, certain modes allow multiple opponents to face off against each other, either in battle royale or with pairing into teams. Half the time, the game plays like a Musou or Open world beat em up where in the player character must defeat multiple enemies on screen. Sometimes it's rogue Covers, sentient uniforms and other times its Nui clones. With no camera control and no ability to lock on to individual opponents, you'll often miss your intended target and end up hitting a new enemy instead. Story mode, even on its easiest difficulty, opts to pad out the game by giving certain enemies so much health, it takes forever to shrink it down to zero. Forget the sword sponges throughout the game; half the time the camera can't keep up and my poor player character is out of frame because of all the enemies are upfront while said PC is all the way in the back. In addition to the story, there's also Online matchmaking, survival challenge in which you play AI opponents in a row and Covers Challenge, in which the game becomes a full Musou and you must defeat all foes in the arena. All the original voice actors from the anime's dub cast have returned. Erica Mendez as Ryuuko Matoi and Carrie Keranen as Satsuki Kiryuuin give the same respect to the source material as did the Japanese Seiyuu and it's always fun to hear Patrick Seitz, Grant George, Stephanie Sheh, Todd Haberkorn, Matt Mercer and Steve Staley again. If you dislike the voices, the game comes with Dual Audio and you can switch to the original Japanese. CAVEAT: What a waste! How did such a great property get saddled with such a lousy adaptation? Kill la Kill (the anime) still holds up as a show even 5 years after its release. It's too bad all that potential is made into a cashgrab of a game. With its limited roster, wonky camera, and lack of stages, even diehard Kill la Kill fans should wait for a sale while watching the cutscenes on Youtube. It's too bad. For just a brief moment, I did see the makings of a good game. The only reason this anime adaptation doesn't take home the award of "Most squandered potential of an anime property" is because Jump Force came out earlier this year. Verdict: Rental or wait for a sale. Or just watch the anime again.

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bunwithabox · 7 years

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[ My Zelda Drabble ]

[ So when I made that post, I didn’t really have a plan of whether or not I was going to actually post the little fanfic, drabble thing I was talking about - but I got quite a few people actually asking me to post it - so here it is I guess! A little drabble of a scene that I’ve had in my head for a while from Breath of the Wild! To my knowledge this hasn’t been done in game or in another fic, so if it has, my apologies!. Enjoy I guess? haha ]

It's been months since the fall of Calamity Ganon and the resurgence of Hyrule Castle and the bordering towns. Reconstruction has been slow as many have been tentative to return to what was once a beautiful landscape scourged with lumbering mechanical beasts known as Guardians; things of nightmares that had taken the lives of thousands and made living in such a place nearly impossible without the constant fear of being obliterated. Castle Town itself has been slowly rising from the ashes to form a beautiful amalgamation of all the different cultures over Hyrule all coming together to bring back the once capital into its former glory. Gerudo, Rito, Goron, Zora, and Hylian architecture can all be pinpointed and seen with ease if one were to walk through the streets, and even if the cultural aesthetics of each race differed greatly, it all came together in one big group effort that made it look almost... Natural in its entirety. The open nature of the Gerudo's beautifully simple and cubic taverns, to the Gorons' rough and slightly ramshackle forges, to the ornate, and curvaceous, and silvered pathways and docks, to the nicely simplistic and somewhat rustic roosts of the Rito, set atop other buildings to give beautiful views of the entire town. The populace is still fairly scarce compared to what it used to be as it is still shocking to the people of the land that this once hellish place is now able to be resettled. Most of those who lived through the fall of the Calamity creature saw this place as death incarnate with massive pools of Malice slowly creeping over the landscape like sentient, acidic ink with a mind of its own; so seeing it now begin to thrive is almost a culture shock to them. There is one thing, however, that had never been thought of until the rebuilding began which brought a rosy tint to the Hero who saved them all's cheeks; and that is a statue in his honour, alongside a statue of the new Queen of Hyrule. The two who were responsible for the fall of Calamity Ganon, The Hero, Link, and The Princess who held the beast at bay for 100 years, now Queen, Zelda. The two statues are locked in a never-ending pose of heroism as Link stands aside Zelda, the Master Sword raised to the heavens and Zelda in the same pose, with her empty hand emitting a spray of colour made from a myriad of stained glass spires and gems, courtesy of the Accessory Shop owner from Gerudo Town who was once helped by Link himself, Isha. The rest of Hyrule has been slowly recovering as well; multiples of more stables have sprouted all over the map where once there was nothing but open fields and monsters. One such field would be Hyrule field, and roughly ten miles out, the Heroes who assisted in the slaying of the Calamity Beast have decided to take a break from all the research and rebuilding to relax and take in the scenery of the place they spent so long to protect. A small picnic was held by the Hero and the Queen for those who assisted in the pacification of the Divine Beasts, as a sort of nice get together to acquaint each of the Divine Champions with one another. First off, Yunobo, a Goron Youth with a quaffed tuft of white hair and a blue scarf wrapped around his neck sitting at the edge of the water with a large smile on his wide face. Being a Goron from Goron City, he wasn't too privy to the splashing waves and the calm, cool breeze of Lake Hylia that bordered the eastern side of Hyrule fields, so to him, this was astounding. It was still fairly early in the morning, so the stones that protruded from his back - a significant feature that all Gorons possessed - were slightly glistening with little droplets of dew. He didn't seem to mind though, as his full attention was on the lazily lapping waves at his feet on the shoreline of the fields, a light mist hanging low over the water's surface, giving him the intense curiosity of almost childlike splendour. Next was Sidon, the extremely tall, red Zora Prince who was standing tall and smiling wide, with a gold and bejewelled necklace hanging loosely around his neck. He was no stranger to Lake Hylia, but for some reason, the lake never looked so pretty to him as in this moment. The glistening waves in the morning sunlight, the low hanging mist giving it that mysterious glamour that nature allowed, and the sound of the rustling leaves in the trees flanking the small party of relaxing Champions. He turned every now and then to comment on the ongoing conversation between Yunobo and himself about how the currents of the Lake worked and how wonderfully vast it all seemed to the Goron. Sidon relished in the idea of teaching another person about this where his entire race was born with the natural instinct of how to read all the currents at just a split second's glance. He tried to act cool and collected as he was now appointed Champion of the Divine Beast that sits atop Zora's Domain, but his shark-like tail was swishing in such a way that betrayed his attempt at seeming collected. Then there was Riju, the child Chief of the Gerudo people, with her bronzed skin glistening with beads of water as she had tripped over a rock and fallen into the lake, something that she will never actually admit to. Her carmine hair plastered to her forehead in little rivers of red. She was still wearing her Gerudo Chieftan raiments which were not meant for the chilly morning breeze in the Central Hyrule regions, and was now wrapped up in a fur blanket that was packed by Zelda; you know, just in case. She swore up and down to Zelda that she was pushed into the water, to which the Queen giggled and nodded, reassuring Riju that she definitely saw someone push her, though she wouldn't name who. And lastly, out of the Divine Champions, there was Teba, the Rito who was slightly standoffish at first, but quickly warmed to the group after spending some time talking to them. He was sitting on a small blanket that was laid out for the picnic-esque gathering, cross-legged, sipping a small cup of tea which looked rather comical in his large, wing-hands. The pot of tea was sitting next to him on the blanket, small ornate Rito designs covered it with dark blues and reds, and gave off a very gentle chamomile tea smell. His white feathers were a bit ruffled around the shoulders as he was constantly changing the position of the blue scarf that each Champion was given to show their connection with the royal family. For some reason it just never felt quite right on him; one minute it would be around his neck, then another around his waist like a sash. The other Champions giggled at this and Sidon even went so far as to call him a "Prissy Bird" once. Only once though. Link and Zelda were both wearing their outfits that they remembered each other in all the way back, 100 years ago; Link in his blue Champion's Tunic, and Zelda in her white woollen top and blue half-shirt. The two of them sat close to where Teba was drinking his tea, Zelda talking to him about some of the things she now had to put up with while being Queen of Hyrule, while Link in his normal fashion, sat silently and listened intently. Once upon a time, Zelda would have found his silence infuriating, but now knowing what she knows, just knowing he's listening so intently was comforting, almost in a therapeutic sense to her. They had become closer than they had ever been before, Queen and Queen's Knight, best friends till death, and it showed. Zelda was never this forward or open to anyone else but him, and even though she was amongst others, just being within Link's presence gave her a calm feeling.

As the hours progressed onwards towards mid-morning, the sun cresting ever so slightly over Crenel Peak to the east, the morning mist faded from the lake and the dew of the grass (and on Yunobo's back) dried and warmed the party of Champions sitting at the lake's edge. They had all breakfasted on meat and vegetable sandwiches, as well as a hearty broth to go with it, which were prepared by Link himself - something that Zelda had requested personally from her Knight, knowing his cooking as well as she did. After a while more spent chatting and enjoying one another's company, a silence had fallen over the entire group as they all watched the sun rise above the Crenel Peaks and the far off Ploymus Mountain which kept Zora's Domain safe from any westward blowing storms. The clouds in the sky drifted lazily across the sun's path, casting the group in a cool, springtime shadow. Riju shivered at the sudden drop in temperature and they could all hear the girl complain openly that the temperature in Central Hyrule fluctuated too much, which brought a laugh from everyone but her, before they all fell into a comfortable silence once more. As the silence dragged on, Link left his spot aside Zelda and walked up to the water's edge where the waves were lazily lapping against the shoreline. His boots sank into the damp sand a bit as he walked, and he could feel the eyes of everyone on his back, but he didn't' mind one bit. These people were his friends, his new family even. He was comfortable with them as they were with him. After a moment, he drew the longsword off his back; the sword to banish all evil and to seal the darkness, The Master Sword itself. As he drew the sword, the cloud coverage drifted away from the sun, and the blade seemed to glisten in the light. Everyone back at the blanket of the picnic seemed confused and quite interested in what he was doing, and all raised their eyebrows as he turned the tip downwards and drove the blade into the sand, his hand resting on the pommel of it. No one really knew what to make of this - the Hero of Hyrule, taking the sword that seals the darkness and driving it into the sand, staring off over the water, his hair gently swaying with the breeze, what could he be thinking? As if Zelda had figured it out, she stood up and joined him, standing next to him with a hand on his shoulder; out of assurance, comfort, or just kinship, no one else could tell but Zelda and Link themselves. A silent conversation was going on between the two of them through that one touch, one that no other was privy to. A few moments passed like that, Link and Zelda standing at the water's edge with the Master Sword acting as a glorified walking stick, jutting from the sand tip down - that is until Riju stood as well and joined them, standing next to Zelda and smiling up at her. Yunobo, not wanting to feel left out of whatever it was that was going on, joined them as well, then soon after Sidon too. Teba wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing, as it seemed pretty silly and he almost wanted to call it quits there and head back home to his child and wife, but something odd tugged at him. This strange urge to join them in their unknown vigil at the lake's edge. After losing a mental argument with himself, Teba shrugged and stood, joining the line of Champions at the far end, staring off out over the lake like the rest. It wasn't clear to even Teba what they were all doing, but somehow... Somehow it felt right to stand by all of them.

A few moments passed in complete silence, with everyone looking over the clear blue water glistening in the late-morning sunlight. No one broke the silence, and no one really moved either, aside from their hair blowing in the breeze. It was a breathtaking site to behold, and it was only made better when Link finally turned to see all of his newly founded family standing beside him. It made him smile, a gentle, sweet smile. A smile that had seen a lot of pain and hardship that had finally found its home. But as he turned his gaze back towards the water, the smile widened, and tears started to well in his eyes as he looked at the lake and saw their reflections, for their reflections were not their own, but those of the previous champions that had stood besides him and Zelda 100 years ago in the first clash with Calamity Ganon. Riju's reflection was none other than her ancestor Urbosa, Yunobo's reflection bore the image of Daruk, Sidon's was replaced by Mipha, and Teba, Revali. Even 100 years after their deaths, and another few months after freeing their spirits from the prison that was the Divine Beasts under Calamity Ganon's control, they were still with him. They never left his side, not one of them. They just came in a different form each time. And this time, this time the form they took were his family.

He and Zelda were home.

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