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#I’ve really come to love zelda 2

swiftllama · 2 months

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January Compliments ☀️🔍

[Compliments Masterlist]

Hello everyone and welcome to the first Compliments Post of 2024! Hope the year has started off well for you all, and if not, then I hope this post can at least provide a little bit of joy to your day 🫶

We may be only one month in but the boys have been delivering since the very first day 🙌 So let’s get into it shall we! :-

January 2024

Ian’s 2023 Wrap Up

So to start us off, first day of the year and Mr Sunshine was already tugging at our heartstrings with his wrap up of 2023, and who made his 2023 what it was? Well Anthony of course 🥹

STOP IT! RIGHT NOW! 😩

LIKE WHAT IS THIS??? IM MEANT TO COPE WITH THIS??? HOW???

The fact the WHOLE post is Anthony - from the photos to the caption! EVERY SINGLE PHOTO HAS ANTHONY 😭 Also don’t even get me started on the two unseen photos and the fact they’ve been kept from us till now. How dare 😤 AND the fact the first person he thanked was Anthony! Like yes he’s thanking and appreciating many people with this post but come on now, from the pictures alone it’s clear who made his year. This is just SO SPECIAL! Especially coming from Ian, who isn’t normally a big one for sharing his emotions (I think we’ve seen a change with that recently though), but this is BIG!

Anthony also in return left a sweet comment :-

“proud of you buddy.”

CRYING 😭 They kill me these two, couldn’t even go one day without being sappy to each other - not that I’m complaining. And as much as I would love to just sit here in this gooeyness, we’ve got a lot to get through so I must move on 🥲

LEGEND OF ZELDA RAP (Flashback)

So they reacted to the classic Legend Of Zelda Rap in this Flashback eps and got a few little compliments thrown in :-

[discussing the scene of Ian dressed as Link winking at the camera that spawned a viral gif]

Anthony: “That for some reason was a clip that went viral- or a gif that went viral.”

Ian: “Yeah, it’s like horny posters.”

Anthony: “Yeah.”

Ian: “Yeah.”

Anthony: “I see it way too much.”

[shoutout editor Kortney for this 😆]

Ian: “Gotta say, never looked better.”

Anthony: “That’s true.”

Anthony agrees 😏

Erin: [asking Ian if he had spicy time in the Link outfit like Anthony said about the Assassin’s Creed outfit in their 2 Truths 1 Lie eps]

Ian: “I did not have spicy time in the Link outfit because that outfit was very tight, there was not much of a range of motion in it.”

Anthony: “Right. Well you could be a pillow princess in that.”

Ian: “I’m not a pillow princess.”

Anthony: “Oh really?”

Ian: “Yeah.”

Anthony: “I’ve heard otherwise.”

[look at each other and Anthony laughs]

Ian: “Oh yeah, cause canonically we had sex for seven years.”

Anthony: [laughs] “In the Food Battle lore.”

Ian: “Yeah. Canonically in Food Battle, we’ve had sex for seven years. You know every crevice of my body.”

Anthony: “Of your anatomy.”

Ian: “Yeah.”

Anthony: “Anywho…”

Ian: “Wow, this went a weird place.”

Anthony: “Back to looking at Link in his prime.”

Ian: “Back to me looking freakin’ HAWT.”

Anthony: “Yeah.”

Just them casually discussing the fact they’ve canonically had sex for 7 years and then Anthony once again agreeing Ian looked hot in the Link outfit… I don’t think I even need to say anything.

Anthony: “Oh! And I just want to give a shoutout to myself.”

Ian: “Oh, [sings] shoutout to myself.”

Anthony: “I painstakingly added those fucking stars [in the scene] for some reason. I thought they were so necessary.”

Ian: “Yeah, no, that was sick.”

Ian giving Anthony a little compliment for his hard work 😊

…

Speaking of the stars it was also something Ian brought up again later when they appeared in the video again :-

Ian: “Stars. Stars.”

Anthony: “Oh yeah. Stars. We got ‘em in there.”

Very cute how he wanted to shoutout Anthony’s work again ☺️

Erin: “That’s Anthony?! [as Ganondorf]”

Ian: “Yeah.”

Anthony: “Shut up. You knew that was me.”

Erin: “That’s crazy.”

Ian: “You didn’t know that was Anthony?”

Erin: “Where’d your, like, jaw go?”

Ian: “What do you mean? He’s got an epic jaw.”

Ian got so defensive on Anthony’s behalf here, I love it! Reminded me of the moments from Who Meme’d It when Anthony was defending Ian 😌

And that was us for this video!

Moving on…

SOUP!

Gets a big title cause why not!

But yes, soup! So Ian has gotten into making soup this year and on that same Friday we got the Flashback, that evening we were blessed out of nowhere with these stories :-

THE WAY I SCREAMED WHEN I SAW THESE 😩

Like this is the cutest, most domesticated shit ever! They kill me!!!!

And okay yes when that first photo was posted I thought Ian was right then and there cooking it for him, Ian then responded with this :-

Let me live in my fantasies Ian! 😤

But regardless of Mr dashing-my-dreams Hecox, I’m still of the mindset they were hanging out that day and that’s when Ian gave him the container of soup.

Evidence :-

This photo only. That I believe Anthony took 😌

Also I try not to make these posts too shipper-heavy so that everyone may enjoy them if they’re just here for the friendship alone, so I’ll just leave this other little post I made here about some other thoughts I had on this soup situation that isn’t in the friendship realm 🤭 All cool if that’s not for you though!

VidConfessions

So 7 months later Vidcon finally decided to post this little interview they had with them lol. And even with such a short video we still got a few complimentary/cute moments :-

So Anthony was being his usual self and finding Ian the funniest person alive as always. There was a couple moments where Ian gave his answers and you just hear Anthony’s laugh in the background 🥰

Q: What are the last three things you Googled?

Ian: “Jared Leto cult…”

He’s a cutie ☺️

…

And it happened again!

Q: What’s the cringest thing you’ve ever done for views?

Ian: “I mean like our whole channel’s cringe.”

Anthony, once again: [laughing in the background]

Love him and how much he loves Ian and his humour 😊

This was just one wee last bit I thought was cute :-

Ian: [signing out the video] “This has been Ian from Smosh, that’s right, the channel that is 17 and a half years old that’s doing sketch comedy again with my best friend Anthony.”

Can never resist them calling each other ‘best friend’ so of course had to include it!

Making of Pokémon In Real Life 2024

So they brought back the classic Pokémon In Real Life sketch, and from that obviously we got the BTS. Only a couple little moments from this one but just wanted to include them cause they were silly 🤓

Ian: [sneezes] “Sorry. Your hairspray.”

Anthony: “Ohhh… he’s allergic to me [smirks].”

👀 Don’t know what that was about but alrighty, Anthony…

Ian: [cuts his finger and there’s a dot of blood]

Anthony: “Oh my god, dude. Are you okay?”

Ian: “No, I’m not okay. Trigger warning gore.”

Anthony: “Do you need someone to suck out the blood?”

Why did this just turn into Saltburn? Don’t know what Anthony was on with the these two moments but I won’t question it 😝 And despite saying ‘someone’, he was definitely offering to suck the blood from Ian’s finger himself 🤭

Pokémon In Real Life 2024 Watch Party

Of course with the sketch and BTS we got a livestream, which gave us some cute and complimentary moments 😊

To kick off this livestream I just wanna point out that they were wearing matching colours with Anthony’s jacket and Ian’s hoodie, plus matching Smosh Pokémon hats which is very cute 😊

Ian: [apologising for getting annoyed in the BTS due to the background noise messing up their filming] “Dude, this video. This Pokémon video. I apologise if I looked very angry in the behind the scenes.”

Anthony: [laughs] “You didn’t look that bad. Honestly, it amped up accurately.”

Erin: “The compilation of you getting angry, it was pretty funny.”

Anthony: Yeah, so it was justified. People knew why you were angry.”

Love the reassurance from Anthony here so that Ian isn’t worried about how he came across in the video.

[take their hats off]

Ian: “How’s my hair? Is it weird?”

Anthony: “Is mine weird? Yours is fine.”

Ian: “No, I feel like yours is like, yours has like a messy chic to it, you know.”

Them just complimenting each other’s hair - here for it! Also Ian’s added compliment of “messy chic” 😄

[playing Pokémon quiz]

I&A: “Jinx.”

Crew: [laughs]

Anthony: [smiles and points to Ian] “Jinx.”

Ian: “That’s our favourite. Favourite Pokémon.”

Funny because it’s both the Pokémon’s name and they said it at the same time 😝 Cute how Ian also got in that that’s their favourite ☺️

[complete the quiz]

Anthony: “Dude, 100 percent, bro.”

I&A: [high-five]

Of course always gotta include the highfives 😌

After the quiz they go on to play a Pikachu x Sonic crossover. Anthony plays a round and then Ian goes to play but can’t get the controls to work for him so Anthony’s showing him what to do 🥹 I don’t feel the need to include what they said here as it’s just Anthony saying what buttons to push but just wanted to include a little description of what was happening at this moment 😊

Ian: [completes the game]

Anthony: “You won the game.” [clapping]

Just another little cute moment I wanted to include of Anthony clapping for Ian 🙂

[playing Pokémon Among Us]

Anthony: [playing the game well]

Ian: “Alright, I hate that you’re like kind of eating.” [as Ian kept dying]

A begrudging little compliment from Ian there 😄

[signing the livestream off]

Ian: “Happy New Year, hope the holidays were a fun time for you and you had some eggnog and sat by the campfire…”

Anthony: “Roasting chestnuts.”

Ian: “Roasting chestnuts.”

Anthony: “Or chestnut. I’m not making any assumptions.”

Ian: “….What?”

Anthony: “Just if they don’t have more than one chestnut.”

Ian: “Ohh, okay. I don’t know if you could buy a singular chestnut but…”

Anthony: “I think there’s a way.”

Ian: “Go off king.”

Just a silly little one to end on because I wanted to include Ian calling Anthony ‘king’ 🤭

Can I Guess Who Slapped Me?

So the video of Anthony getting slapped finally dropped! And it was everything and more, especially when it came to moments between Ian and Anthony so let’s jump right in :-

Right off the bat we had this as the description for Ian…

👀👀👀

Now onto the actual slapping…

The moment that got us all was just before Ian slaps him he slowly started caressing Anthony’s face so obviously that had us all going crazy! Including the cast and crew!

Anthony: [after the slap] “Oh. Wow. Uhhh, this person thinks they’re hilarious.” [laughs]

Cast & Crew: [laughing]

Ian: [Trying not to laugh]

Anthony: “Uhhh, who would do that? Who would caress my face and slap me out of nowhere?”

Ian: [boops Anthony’s nose]

Anthony: “Uh, it feels like an Ian move to me… Did you just boop me? Um, that feels like an Ian move.”

Kiana: “That is correct.”

Everyone: [celebrating and applauding]

Anthony: [puts his hands out and Ian high-fives him]

Angela: “Friendship always wins!”

Ian: “Well done. Well done. Good job to you.”

Anthony: [bowing]

Ian: “There we go. There we go. That’s the only one you truly needed to get right.”

Anthony: [laughs]

So true Ian! That was the most important one he needed to get right! And I just want to point out how Ian was only the 3rd person Anthony got right, and of course he knew it was him right away with his cheeky little joke of “this person thinks they’re hilarious” 😝 he knew the second Ian caressed his face that it was him cause they truly just know each other that well ☺️ Live for Angela yelling “Friendship always wins!” after he got it right too! And can we also talk about the totally unnecessary, but very, very cute little nose boop Ian threw in there just cause he wanted to! Obsessed!

A little bit later in the video during Duran’s round of slapping Anthony another little moment happened that I just wanted to include cause I thought that it was funny and showed how silly of a mood Ian was in, I think Anthony being blindfolded was playing a part in that and he gained a little extra layer of confidence to just fuck about with Anthony 😆

Anthony: [standing with his butt pushed out waiting to be slapped]

Kiana: “The stance is great. The stance is great.”

Ian: [runs over and pretends to go in to slap Anthony’s butt]

Anthony: “Why’s there wind?”

Cast & Crew: [laugh]

Hehe 🤭

Anyways! That was it for the slapping video but I did also want to include something that came off the back of it and that was…

Bonus

Anthony dedicating a whole Instagram post to Ian slapping him :-

Obessed with this though! The fact he went out of his way to make a post specifically about Ian slapping him over anyone else, plus that caption! ‘only ian would slap me like that’ - truly the cherry on top of it all 😌

Jacksfilms Confesses His Biggest Regret

So they had Jacksfilms on as a guest for Flashback to react to some of his old videos and an old collab of his the boys had been a part of.

Jack: [talking about how he moved to LA after he graduated] “…And that’s when I started collaborating with some, then, very big YouTube channels.”

Anthony: [looks at Ian] “Yeah, back then we were big.” [elbows Ian and Ian elbows him back]

Them just being silly 😄 loved the little elbowing of each other too 😊

Jack: “I remember I was in college, I was like out hanging with my friends. I just got 50,000 subs on YouTube, baby. And one of my friends just like took the air right out of my tire, or sails, whatever, and was like ‘Uh, yeah, did you know that Smosh has like a million now?’.”

Ian: “Pffft.”

Anthony: [silent laughs] “Noice!” [high-fives Ian] “Noice!”

Again, just more of them being silly. Plus high-five!

I should have mentioned at the start of this section that Ian is in a tshirt-dress for this video as a reference to Jack as it’s got tweets of his printed on it. Anyway, as a result his legs are out obviously, and that’s relevant to this next part :-

Anthony: [talking about how there’s always an audience for every kind of content, it’s just about what kind of audience you want to have]

Ian: “That’s true. And you want this audience.” [pointing to show off his legs]

Anthony: “You want this.”

Ian: “You want the audience that accepts this.”

Anthony: “This is what you want. This is the audience that we have. And we are very happy with this audience.”

Ian: “Exactly.”

Anthony: “They’ve been begging for this.”

And we’re more than happy to be the audience for it! 😌 (As is Anthony considering how many times he was checking out Ian’s legs during this video 😉)

Anthony also had this to say about YouTube’s hate for Ian’s attire 😤

Jack: [talking about a sponsorship he done with other youtubers to test out a new workout program]

Ian: “Did you get Jaaaacked?”

Anthony: [looks at Ian with a smirk and high-fives him]

Second high-five for this video! Also Anthony just quietly complimenting Ian’s pun 😄

Ian: “Do you [Jack] have any regrets? Any videos that you regret making?” [smiling]

Anthony: “You look so happy saying that.” [smiling] “This is happiest I’ve seen you all episode.” [laughs]

Just thought it was cute how Anthony seeing Ian smiling made him smile and laugh 😊

And that was it for another Flashback!

No1 Ian Fan Strikes Again

So Anthony was back at it! The Smosh team was out celebrating one of the crews birthday - Erin posted this to her story. Now I’m sure there were probably multiple photos and videos taken this night but what was the only thing Anthony shared from it? That’s right! Ian of course!

He’s obsessed with that boy and I love it! 😌

Ian also reshared and replied to Anthony’s story which you can find here

Making Of “MrBeast Copycats Have Gone Too Far”

So the BTS of the MrBeast Copycats Have Gone Too Far sketch offered us a few little moments :-

So this seemed to be a very high-five, hand-hold heavy BTS. Think they were just in one of those moods where they want any excuse to touch each other 🤭😉

[Finishing off their little video introduction]

Anthony: [goes in to high-five Ian and grips his hand]

Ian: [high-fives Anthony back and also grips his hand in response]

I&A: [still holding each other’s hands] “Let’s go shoot this shit!”

Ian: [messing up his line] “I’m having a trouble! I’m having a trouble…” [facepalms]

Shayne: “That’s so funny. ‘I’m having a trouble’.”

Anthony and Courtney: [laughing]

Anthony: [to Ian] “Are you having a trouble?” [puts hand on Ian’s shoulder]

Ian: “I’m having a trouble. Words.”

Anthony: [laughs]

I know they were (lovingly) poking fun at Ian here, but the wee glimpse of the shoulder touch from Anthony to Ian is what got me ☺️

I&A: [In character but joking around]

Ian: “There’s a twist. There’s a twist.” [puts hand out to Anthony] “There’s a twist.”

Anthony: “There’s a twist.” [takes Ian’s hand and grips it]

I&A: [still holding hands whilst lightly pushing/tapping each other and repeating “there’s a twist”. They then start scissoring their fingers together, before gripping each other’s fingers and pulling the other in closer to them whilst now repeating “getting twisted” and manically laughing]

Well… that was… something… 👀

Told you they were just looking for any excuse to touch each other. But hey, wouldn’t be a Smosh BTS if Ian and Anthony weren’t flirting with each other 😜

And to finish off this high-five heavy BTS, I’ll leave you with this :-

Ian: [talking about how Anthony injured himself by dropping a laptop on his foot and how he should take an Advil but Anthony doesn’t take Advil so he doesn’t know if it’ll help]

Anthony: “I don’t care about the pain, I just want the throbbing to stop.”

Ian: “He doesn’t like throbbing.”

Anthony: “I don’t like throbbing. I like pulsating.”

Ian: [laughs] “I hate both of those words.”

Anthony: [laughs] “Yeah, usually I say throbbing or pulsating member…”

Ian: [acting disgusted]

Anthony: “Speaking of members thank you so much being a Smoshtastic or Smosh Royalty member!”

Ian: “Yeah! Thanks for being our throbbing members.” [laughs]

Anthony: “Our pulsating members.”

Ian: “Yeahhh, throbbing members.”

I&A: [high-five]

Um… thanks boys, I guess… happy to be a throbbing and pulsating member… 🥴🤦‍♀️ They high-fived so I had to include it, don’t blame me for what they said! 😩

And on that’s note that brings us to the end of January! Hope you all enjoyed reading - I’d say it was a very good start to the year in terms of content, and the boys very much delivered in terms of complimentary moments so can’t complain 😌

Thank you all again for reading and I shall see you next time! 💖

#feel I say this every month but sorry this took me so long to get out for you guys 🫣#appreciate your patience!#but anyways hope you enjoyed the compliments for another month 😊#ianthony compliments #ianthony #☀️🔍#ian hecox #anthony padilla #smosh #my posts

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cocogum · 3 days

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how long have you been watching wakfu

Hey moth ✨✨

I’ve actually been watching Wakfu since 2012.

The first time I heard about it was when I used to have Netflix and even then, that was back when the streaming platform didn’t have Season 2 yet lol

What drew me into watching it was mainly cuz of the cover. This one specifically 👇

It used to only show Yugo opening a portal and because of the style, it made me wonder what the story could be about (at the time I used to think Yugo looked pretty cute so that was also another reason lol).

I remember how my first instinct was switch the language to English when I first watched it. THAT WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE. The reason why I switched it for english tho was because netflix was primarily English so I thought that the French language of Wakfu wasn’t the main one (and I thought it sucked without even taking a second to listen to it 💀 ) Thankfully, as soon as I heard Alibert and Ruel talking, I IMMEDIATELY went back to the settings cuz I knew I fucked up. I ain’t listening to this trash again lol

So I switched it to French and i realized it was a thousand times BETTER than the English version. That’s when I realized Wakfu was french.

I loved the places and the people. It was something I’ve never seen before. The French dubbing was so smooth and funny I loved it so much. The “fillers”, which let’s be honest weren’t actual fillers, were also so fun to see with the whole gang.

Even at the time, I used to believe there would eventually be something between Amalia and Yugo lol cuz ain’t no way you guys constantly hug like this for the dumbest reasons.

When Season 1 ended, I really hoped they weren’t gonna do us like that because I really wanted a season season. At the time I didn’t think ankama already did Season 2 (since 2011 💀) cuz I thought Netflix was always on time so it took me some time to wait for it but a year passed by and it finally got here!! I was so happy that day you had no idea. I had to wait for a whole year before it dropped so my ass was pretty much traumatized after seeing Dally die for the first time I legit thought that he was gonna come back cuz of Nox’s machine but nope 💀 I remember being so sad when I first saw that ending. I really didn’t want it to end, I got too attached to these guys (Amalia was still my favorite back then cuz she was too relatable)

So i watched Season 2 in 2013 AND I LOVED IT. Again, they couldn’t disappoint me. It just got better from that day on.

That’s when I slowly started to dig deeper into Wakfu because there were so many references to things that Yugo and the others were saying that I didn’t even understand. I then learned that Wakfu was based on an MMORPG with the same name,Wakfu, and that there was a prequel to it, Dofus. I also saw how they even had a side story called “Mini Wakfu” which were just shorts from Season 1. I watched that mini series on youtube back then.

Because of Season 2, I was now sure that there will be more to it because so much has been said and yet so little has been explored. So I waited, bought myself some time by watching other shows.

That’s when the ovas happened.

And oh my god I was not ready for it.

The ovas released in 2016 on Netflix but had already been a thing since 2014. Blame Netflix.

And again, there were so much more references that made me feel so confused like who Otomaï was, Ogrest (who was only a giant mention in Season 1 to me), Maskemane, Echo, Sipho, Harebourg, etc.

I was confused but so intrigued because it made me learn that the Krosmoz was A LOT BIGGER than what I thought it would be. And that’s what I like. I love how a story has multiple timelines, has complex strange plot holes in certain places that makes you want to become a theorizer, has so many diverse characters and relationships. Things like those are why I fell in love with the legend of Zelda and fnaf franchises.

That’s how I learned about the mangas, comics, different games (Dofus, Wakfu, Krosmaga, Dofus touch, minor Dofus games on the App Store, etc.) as well as cancelled games (Islands of Wakfu, Wakfu: Les Gardiens, etc). I even started learning more about the Dofus era by going through Dofus shows like “Dofus : Kerub’s Bazaar”.

Right after the ovas, I watched Goultard’s special episode, Ogrest’s special episode, and Nox’s special episode. Then, I saw the Dofus movie featuring Joris and his mom before watching the show. After, I read the wakfu manga that was supposed to situate itself between Season 2 and the ovas. At the time, there were only four volumes so I binge read them all on a google drive that someone was kind enough to share publicly (that google drive doesn’t exist anymore). All of this happened in 2016 btw.

After that, I waited for more news of Wakfu but my dumbass got sidetracked because of binge watching other shows while waiting. I was joining multiplie fandoms while unconsciously waiting for more of Ankama. And that’s how I missed Season 3 that came out in 2017 💀💀 I’m so dumb my god all I had to do was wait another year but noooo youtube had to show me the new season trailer in 2018 instead!

I went back to Netflix, freaking the hell out, binge watched the whole season, got emotional, loved Oropo for kissing Amalia cuz I knew there’d be drama, absolutely adored the whole percedal family being a family, trying not to laugh at Adamaï’s look for the first time, expecting Ruel to get hard over money, and LOVED the drama between Yugo and Amalia. I WAS A FAN OF THEIR SHIP SINCE SEASON 1 FOR CRYING OUT LOUD which is why I was so happy that we finally got to see so much more of their problems being addressed.

After that, I knew I needed more so I went back to reading comics. I bought the actual volumes 1 to 4 of the wakfu manga (because I wanted to have a physical copy of them even though I already read the story) and then waited for the fifth one. As soon as volume 5 released in 2019 (July 4), I TOOK IT FROM AMAZON’S HANDS CUZ VOLUME 4 WAS KILLING ME WITH IT’S ENDING- (I’ve been waiting since 2016, I wasn’t gonna wait any longer).

In 2020, I joined the best wakfu amino on the amino app, and then mainly went looking for Ankama related things like their anime Radiant (I started reading the manga first and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT FOR ITS ORIGINALITY. But I still can’t believe that it got released back in 2013 tho…) and then watched the anime that came out for it (the opening song was good but I hate how the anime changed some things to the story. The manga is better but the anime gets its fair share of popularity so I guess that’s good).

In 2021-2022 I think that’s where I heard about the kickstarter for Wakfu Season 4 and I was mind blown when I saw the trailer for it.

In 2023, I bought Ogrest’s volumes 1 to 4 because I’ve been waiting to read and know more about Ogrest and what was the deal with the Sadida dolls since I heard about those from some people. My god the manga was so good!! I’m still waiting for that volume 5 but I’m extremely certain that it will come very soon now since Mig, the illustrator for the Ogrest manga, has been giving small sneak peeks here and there lately. It was also in the same year that I learned about the One More Gate game and watched Oropo’s special episode.

Then came 2024. And that’s where I went ape shit. Now you know everything ✨

The latest thing I bought from Ankama shop in 2024 now was the standard version of the Amalia figurine, the vinyl disc pack containing Krosmoz osts, and the Wakfu S3 artbook (tho the artbook was actually not something that you can find in the Ankama shop. I had to dig deep on Amazon and find a seller willing to give it away).

So yeah my history with Wakfu is a pretty messy one and has always been all over the place mainly because I was so slow back then to realize when the releases were happening and how the lore was actually constructed lol

Like it took me so much time to understand that Wakfu was only one piece of a bigger puzzle set and being unaware of so many things back then is still something I tend to regret. I understand that it was because I was still a snotty kid back then who didn’t know much about the internet but I can’t help myself to think how easy it was to keep up the pace 💀

At least I won’t have to think I’m late anymore because I’ve got a better idea of how it all works now.

Wakfu has been playing a huge part in my life because it’s always been at the back of my mind no matter what fandom I was in at the time. Sure, it was at the back burner but I never had the intention of forgetting about it. It holds way too many memories of the simpler times and has a lot of great ideas I think I’ve never seen other shows have.

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darthpastry · 8 months

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Incorrect Quotes of the Kingdom Pt. 2

Link: I'm never donating blood again. The second you walk through the door, it’s just one invasive question after another! ‘Where did you get it?’ 'Why is it in a bucket?’ I mean... do you want it or not?

——————

Revali: Any idiot would know that.

Link: I knew that!

Revali: See?

——————

Revali: Could you be any more annoying?

Link: Definitely.

——————

Purah: Ew, what kind of tea is this?

Link *sipping tea cup with pinky in the air*: I boiled Gatorade.

——————

Link: Ok so, apparently the "bad vibes" I've been feeling are actually severe psychological distress.

——————

Tulin: I’ve become a bread crumb dealer to four crows at the lake. They pay me with a bit of everything. Like shiny things, fabric, or pens. But recently they paid me with a 20 dollar bill they found somewhere. So I decided to buy them some more expensive bread. They loved it. So they understand what to do. Give me money. I’ve probably racked up about 200 dollars at this point. Is it morally wrong though, I mean. They’re the ones who steal the money from others. Or perhaps they just have a big pile laying somewhere. Should I keep on doing this?

Riju: You sound like the start of a Batman villain.

——————

Zelda: What are you two arguing about this time?

Purah: They're always using common phrases incorrectly!

Link: Cry me a table.

——————

Link: Fight me!

Ganondorf: Ha, look at your size! What are you gonna do, kick my ankle?

*Later*

Ghost Sonia: Why is Ganondorf crying?

Ghost Rauru: Link kicked them really hard in the ankle.

——————

Zelda: Please could you go to the shop and get a carton of milk, if they have avocados get six.

Link *coming back from the store with six cartons of milk*: They had avacados!

——————

Link: Rauru, I screwed up big time.

Rauru: Link, given your daily life experiences, you’re gonna have to be more specific.

——————

Link: *About to do something incredibly stupid*

The sages: I know I can't stop you, but I won't let you go by yourself.

——————

Sonia: I have been tricked, I have been backstabbed, and I have quite possibly been bamboozled.

——————

Purah: According to the footage here, you shook the vending machine and when the shake alarm went off, you punched the glass and broke it.

Link: ... I was hungry.

——————

Sonia: Not gonna lie, I'm kind of afraid of Link...

Rauru: As you should be.

Sonia: No, for real. They're kind of-

Rauru: As. You. Should. Be.

——————

Ganondorf: Life is like Link. It's short.

——————

Link: Don't worry, I have a few knives up my sleeve.

Yunobo: I think you mean cards.

Tulin: He did not.

Link *pulling out knives*: I did not.

——————

Link: The risk I took was calculated, but man am I bad at math.

——————

Link: Like they say, "If you can't beat them, curl up in a ball and protect your organs."

——————

Purah: When will Ted himself...finally show up to the talk?

Tulin: The final boss.

Riju: You guys know TEDtalks stands for technology, entertainment, and design talks, right?

Link: I will not let Ted hide behind these lies any longer!

——————

Link: Yum, thanks!

Ganondorf *puts more tape over Link's mouth*: I said, stop eating it.

——————

Purah: Didn't you die?!

Link: That was weeks ago. Things change.

——————

Purah: Wake me up...

Tulin: Before ya go go

Zelda: When September ends

Link: WAKE ME UP INSIDE

——————

Sidon: What if mayonnaise came in cans?

Link: That would suck because you can't microwave metal.

Riju: Good morning to everyone except these two people.

——————

Ganondorf: I've been expecting you, Link.

Link: How did you do that without turning around?

Ganondorf: Let's just say the first few people I did that to were not you.

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breannasfluff · 4 months

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Breanna's LU Fanfic Wrap Up 2023

Zelda Works this Year: 160 Posted Word Count this Year (12/26): 476,376

1: Linked Moments 2: Wing Bois 3: Wolf Family 4: Eldritch Adventures

1: Hurt/Comfort 2: Fluff 3: Angst 4: Humor

Favorite Fic? (not series, individual story)

1: Wild Wolf 2: Lavender Scarf 3 (tie): Broken Wing & Saving You

What would you like to see more of next year? (most mentioned in responses)

The First & The Fierce More of the other WB characters Ravioli Wild (some want fluff, some want angst)

Anything else you'd like to add? (a small collection; there were so many lovely and encouraging comments <3 )

You are a brilliant author. Your style and writing flow very nicely and naturally and often I forget that your stories aren't technically classified as professional. You have made me cackle and moved me to tears, possibly even in the same story, and the sheer intricacy of your stories made me see the zelda games in a totally new light. With every one of these I read I wish a little more that Nintendo would invest in making the Linked universe a series or Show. And honestly, I'd be surprised if they didn't hire you for ideas on it.

I love the platonic intimacy shown between the characters. It's one of the things that drew me to your work the most. I like the safety felt in those moments. Warm hugs, leaning against one another, sharing a sleeping space (for warmth or simply for company), and grabbing another's hand. It's just nice.

THANK YOU for writing and encouraging so much of us to write! I’ve only started writing because of you and that’s now pulling me through the winter months!!! So thank you!!!

I hope you have a great year! And thanks for all you’ve done for this fandom! I honestly think you are a cornerstone to the LU fandom

Whatever you write is gonna be awesome and make the world a little better so please do what makes you happy. Also thanks for everything <3

A huge thank you to everyone who responded to the survey; this was really helpful. I hope you enjoy what's coming in 2024! I've already started working on some of these requests ;)

A special thank you for all the sweet comments; I reread them for a mood boost and motivation <3 My ask box is always open if you want to drop a thought about a story or just come say hi!

#Breanna's Fanfic Wrap Up 2023 #fanfic wrap up 2023 #wrap up 2023 #breannasfluff #my writing #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu wing bois #eldritch wild #wolf pack #lu fanfiction #feedback

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legend-of-binkus · 2 years

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5 LoZ Details You Might Have Missed in the LU

You know… I’ve seen a couple posts about Zelda lore recently and it got me thinking… it’s fun to write head canons and explore theories and stuff (I definitely indulge in the theory side of the fandom quite a bit) but I also really want to show my appreciation for canon and how well Jojo incorporates it into the LU.

Jojo really understands the source material. There’s obviously more references than just these five, but these are a few that I think are really cool. Also... I've been wanting to make something like this for awhile… just been lazy.

—

1. Time uses a mix of OoT's spin attack and TP's jump strike to protect Twi.

When wolfie goes down, Time is pissed. He demolishes a horde of monsters like it's nothing by combining two iconic zelda moves. The jump strike in particular is cool because it's one of the Hero Shade's Hidden Skills— moves he describes as "forgotten ways that do not leave our bloodline."

Love little details like this. Twi doesn't use magic, so it seems the shade actually adapted his techniques when teaching them to fit Twi's fighting style better and I kinda love that.

2. Sky's mannerisms

From friendly jabs at others hair, to talking with his hands, to how he holds adorable creatures that want to maul his face off, Jojo nailed Sky's character.

Sky's handling of tiny creatures in particular is quite funny to me, because we went from Twilight-Princess-Snow-White-Link-Animal-Whisperer-Extraordinaire to Skyward Sword Link holding the little gremlins as far away from himself as possible.

3. Time's pose mirrors his statue from the Wind Waker

Within Hyrule Castle in the Wind Waker there's a large stone statue that is meant to be a monument to the Hero of Time. Wind grew up hearing the legends of the hero and it's part of the reason he's so in awe of Time.

Seeing him mirror the pose, it's no wonder why immediately after he began questioning Time about his original adventure.

4. Hyrule's magic

Taking a 35 year old game and trying to transfer details over isn't exactly easy, but the way Jojo worked around some of this is pretty cool. For Hyrule's magic Jojo modeled it after the Champion's abilities from BotW (which Nintendo modeled after the spells in zelda 2, so full circle!).

Healing magic in past games was usually pink, but Mipha's magic emanated blue from her hands and so Hyrule's magic followed suit. Urbosa summons lighting with a snap of the fingers, and so does Hyrule. I imagine the jump spell is meant to be Revali's Gale (which Jojo did great job of transferring an 8-bit model over for), and if Hyrule ever performs his shield/reflect spell, I'd bet you anything he'd achieve it by either clenching his fists and holding them out or pounding his fists together like Daruk.

5. Two Master Swords?!

Interesting how Legend hasn't said anything about this... because he has to know, right? (gonna be delving a tiny bit into theory territory here)

Unless you've played his games, you probably wouldn't be able to tell that the sword on his back is the Master Sword. But it's an... upgraded(?) version of it. Well I suppose within LU context it's more like a patch job. ALttP was the debut of the Master Sword but it's iconic design didn't come around and stick until OoT.

The small hints that Jojo has given us that the Master Sword wasn't in "perfect condition" for Legend is super interesting! Looking at the way Legend found the sword compared to Twi, it appears like much of the blade had to be redone. The cross-guard is missing its little spike, and the grip has already been covered by what appears to be cloth or leather. The rain-guard (the part that connects the blade to the hilt) seems to also be missing a piece.

Legends sword is now called the Tempered Sword, but there's still hints as to what it was. The cross-guard had to be replaced but it's kept its blue hilt. The pommel is the same and of course the sword still bears the mark of the Triforce.

It also freaking glows when in the presence of the fully powered Master Sword!

Now why is this? My theory is because the previous hero died. The whole reason Legend and Hyrule exist is because there's a universe where Time fails to beat Ganon and dies.

I want to really delve into this deeper in a future theory so... shameless self promo. Stick around, check out my other LU theories in the meantime!

And of course let me know your thoughts and favorite zelda references! I'd love to hear them! <3

EDIT: Here's that Legend's sword theory!

The Master Sword of the Downfall Timeline

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu time #lu sky #lu wind #lu hyrule #lu legend #the details!

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aheathen-conceivably · 9 months

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how do you go about planning your storyline? :) especially for your decades challenge

Hello there dearest! I’m sorry this took me a while. It’s a bit of a difficult one and I wanted to take some time to sort out the chaotic process in my brain before I tried to type it out 😅

This is just a rough outline of what works for me specifically in writing a historical story on simblr. I can’t speak to writing advice in general because it’s not something I have experience with; nor do I think this will be helpful for everyone. So please feel free to pick and choose whatever suits your fancy or ignore it all completely.

Of course, it’s time to take this below the cut, since you know it’s going to get a bit long 😉

1. Find Inspiration (Nonfiction books, Blogs, TV shows, YouTube videos, Period Pieces, etc etc…)

For a decades challenge/history based story I think this is really the starting point for me. Whether it be styles of architecture, clothing trends, a historical fact, or an individual’s story, there’s so much real life inspiration to be found for this type of story. It can often seem small, but sometimes pinpointing what you know you want to include and working it in there can be the crux of so much of a story.

I’ve said this before but one of the very first things I knew I wanted to include was the Titanic, since it was the first historical event I ever became interested in. Other examples are New Orleans as a setting, the inclusion of Storyville, and even something as small as the axe man that I included in this post.

When I find these moments of inspiration, I try to immediately transform them into tangible scenes or plot points rather than simply jot them down as a note or like a “maybe for later”. This keeps me from getting mired in too many ideas or overwhelmed with things I like, but that don’t necessarily have a place in the story.

However, sometimes it also means I will need to tweak ideas as the plot develops, such as changing the original storyline of Rosella and Lord Harrington to Rosella and Georgiana; but even with these edits, this process still creates a sort of scaffolding structure for the story as a whole. It gives me plot points or small, specific scenes that I am working and writing toward. I’m then able to allude to the eventual outcome beforehand as well as weave a larger narrative around it while still having clear points of guidance for where I want to go. 2. Connect the Dots

The “dots” here are the aforementioned scenes and/or plot points that I have written well in advance. I have dozens and dozens of these, and I’m basically constantly adding to the document where I keep my writing. This is all kept in chronological order so I can see the progression as well as where I need more narrative to fill out a decade. I generally look at this structure and ask myself: how do I realistically reach that point?

To use the example of the Titanic again: this meant somehow getting the oldest daughter of a relatively poor and close knit family aboard a ship bound for America. It meant not only putting her in contact with someone who would have access to these tickets, but also giving her a reason to leave the people she loved. Then once those larger dots are connected, I continue to focus on smaller and smaller threads, like the details of Georgiana herself or Rosella’s relationship to Zelda, until the storyline feels fully fleshed out and a character’s motivations are coming through. 3. Character Consistency

That last bit is very important to me, and I always try and think about how the characters are functioning within the framework of what I’ve written and the historical landscape. Sometimes this comes into play before connecting the dots, but often it is actually what finally puts the puzzle pieces in place. Something sim-specific here is that I really do use sims traits as guidance on who the characters are, how they interact with the world, and how the world has affected them. So often when I am referencing a prewritten plot point or scene I will ask myself, how would that character get to this point? What may have happened that would lead them here? How does their personality interact with this historical event or point of inspiration?

Many scenes have often come from more outward facing questions, like, is this trait clear to everyone reading as well as me? Has this visibly impacted their life and done so in a sensible way? This is in part responsible for many extra scenes we saw at the end of the 1920s when a few of my best simblr babes pointed out to me that Antoine’s motivations weren’t very clear. It also helps me to fill in and round out that base storyline structure with more small, real-life scenes that showcase and develop certain traits as characters grow and interact with the world around them.

—

With all that said, this is often a very long process that involves reading or watching historical content, going over my own writing again and again, and just waiting for the day when my brain suddenly writes 5-6 scenes unprompted. Other times I’m flying by the tip of my boots, watching y’all feedback and incorporating it or reading through scenes with friends for their help.

So the process has looked very different at various points in the narrative and through the many months I’ve been writing this story. But overall, having those points to write toward as well as tangible character traits have guided the process throughout.

#ask #answered #resources

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themarydragon · 11 months

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Trouble the Water Continuation

It will be AWHILE before I have anything written, as I am still working to finish my first playthrough, I have a lot of things happening in my life, I am 75% done with the first draft of the first book of my own original world, and my only coherent thought about TOTK right now is SUFFERING

but

Issues and contemplations below the cut. Some reference to TotK in the fifth paragraph that is spoilery. I tried not to make it explicit, but you have been warned.

First, IDK if you caught it, but the very last chunk of Chapter 2 in Born a Storm talked about sages. Let the record show, I posted that in June of 2020. I have a lot more I had planned for Born a Storm, and stopped writing it due to completely unrelated (cough cough Covid cough cough Loved and Lost) issues. Also, I realized if I was going to turn it into a complete work, like I kinda wanted to, I was either going to have to take it down, or somehow move chapters around as I went and I never actually decided how I wanted to manage that. I am still undecided, and I have to make that decision before my brain will allow me to work on totk in that universe. THE POINT, though, is I thought of a way to tie in sages (just a hundred years too early) that would be satisfying for me to write and not contradict TotK.

Second, SO FAR nothing I’ve found in TotK has completely screwed up my Trouble the Water [TtK] storyline. I’m not FINISHED yet, so that might change, but it really looks like the TotK worldstate is more or less compatible with where I left off in The Quiet River Rages [tQRR] with just a very little bit of handwaving.

Third, YOU CAN’T JUST GIVE ME THIS ANGST AND EXPECT ME NOT TO RUN WITH IT.

Fourth, I feel like I have all the jumping-off points already loaded into the existing work. For example, tQRR, Chapter 5: “I would have waited millennia if that’s what it took to get you back. Link, I chose-” Or Zelda’s gentle commune with the sword from Chapter 12 of CWRD.

Fifth, I want to write two parts. One is [spoilers] Zelda’s POV from-then-until-now just like Remember the Spring, and with the same flavor (and for the same reason). Again, I haven’t FINISHED it, but the Master Sword IS sentient and DOES talk to her, canonically, so it’s NOT EXACTLY ALONE and I don’t think forgetting was allowed, not entirely. The final Tear, which is NOT ancient, but rather we witness being shed, indicates possession of Sense of Self or at least Memory that I am definitely going to run with because angst. The other part is Our Boy desperately searching, finding Tears, and reflecting on how F’d up it is, given Zelda’s canonical parental history (her mother, then Rhoam). I don’t know yet exactly what I will include or exclude, but I’ve been in this place before and I know I have to write about it eventually.

Last, if anybody expected me - ME - to see an amputee kilted tattoo’d protagonist and leave that shit alone, you got another thought coming. My husband has had some REALLY great insight into some of the cinematic moments (Link’s pause before taking Zelda’s hand for the Reverse Time ability) that I think deserve some love.

#totk #do not spoil totk #totk spoilers #fic planning #loz #fic writer #fic writing #my fic #cwrd #trouble the water #calm waters run deep

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jancy-central · 5 months

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💙 Hello, everyone, and welcome to an exciting Spotlight Saturday! 💜

Today we are doing something a little different… we are spotlighting an artist with amazing talent (who happens to create fantastic Jancy fanart):

@soniclion92 aka Kirsten!

After the cut is her Q&A (read it to get to know her better!) and below is some of her artwork. Run to her page to see it all because everything she does is so, so GOOD. 😍

(Fun fact: The first one is Kirsten’s favorite! The last two are our favorites here at JFC.)

NOW IT’S TIME FOR SOME BIG NEWS!

Starting January 1st, we here at Jancy Fanfic Central will be changing our name to….

✨ Jancy Central! ✨

We will still post about Jancy fanfic but we will be blogging/reblogging about anything and everything Jancy. This includes fanart, fics, analysis, spoilers, and whatever Jancy related fun you guys come up with!

(Spoilers will be under a cut and labeled as such so no worries if you want to remain spoiler free. We will not be reblogging spoilers since you can’t hide reblogs under a cut.)

Jancy Central will continue to be run by myself, @gnarly-love, and @twin-scars . If you’d like to join our team, please shoot us a message!

AND NOW…

MORE BIG NEWS!

To celebrate our new name, we will be holding 2 events in early 2024:

1. A fanart event, tentatively titled “We Love Jancy,” will run from February 11-14. Yes, we are ending the event on Valentine’s Day… it is Jancy, after all. 🥰

(Artists: more info, including prompts, coming soon!)

And…

2. Once our fanart event has ended, we will start our month long artist/writer collab! Meaning, we want to see all the fics inspired by the amazing fanart from our “We Love Jancy” event. We’d like to pair up writers with artists so they can create a joint masterpiece (fanart and fic). The artists can be as hands-on or as hands-off as they’d like in the process. They can say anything from “Write whatever you want!” to specifying rating guidelines, setting, etc. The only thing we ask is that the fics are Jancy centric.

We would like fics completed by March 20th as that’s the first day of Spring (new beginnings) and s5 will be bringing us new Jancy! So that gives writers a little over a month to write their fics… fics can be any length but we ask that they are at least a Drabble (100 words).

Fic writers, both new and experienced: Please be thinking about participating and sharing your talent! More info on this event will be coming soon…

Artists, as I said above, you can be as involved as you want… it’s up to you! We just ask permission to repost your art (with credit) for this event only. You can obviously also choose not to participate, ofc.

We are really excited here at Jancy Fanfic Central (soon Jancy Central!) for these two events that we hope will bringJancy shippers together to showcase all the amazing talent that lies within our community!

(If you’d like to help us run either event, please send us a message or ask. 😊)

Questions for @soniclion92:

🎨 Kirsten’s answers to our Q&A: 🖌️

1. I first got into fanart through the Sonic The Hedgehog series, I'd look up renders and try to draw them on paper. What drew me to the fandom was seeing other peoples drawings/interpretations of the characters I liked.

2. The fandoms I’ve made fanart for are: Sonic The Hedgehog, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Undertale, Steven Universe, South Park, Attack On Titan, Tokyo Ghoul, Haikyuu!!, Seraph Of The End, Voltron: Legendary Defender, Yuri!!! On Ice, My Hero Academia, Hamilton, Heathers, Ben 10, The Dragon Prince, Miraculous Ladybug, The Legend Of Zelda, Ace Attorney, Stranger Things (there's probably more but these are the ones I can remember) I don’t do fanart for a lot of these fandoms anymore but sometimes I’ll do redraws of the old fanart for the sake of comparing my progress.

3. I’m not going to do ALL the fandoms but some of my favourite characters to draw overall are Chat Noir (Miraculous), Keith Kogane and Princess Allura (Voltron), Link (Zelda), Godot and Mia Fey (Ace Attorney), Rayla and Aaravos (The Dragon Prince) Armin Arlert and Mikasa Ackerman (Attack On Titan) and, of course, Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers (Stranger Things)

4. My muse characters are pretty much the ones listed above, I always have to sneak my favourites in lmao

5. If I absolutely *have* to get a character in I always find a way to add them into the background or do a separate doodle with said character

6. I don’t think I have a preference, actually I enjoy drawing both equally.

7. Not really, my opinions are usually based on canon media.

8. I’ve made a few OC’s, they’re usually characters designed to fit in the media I like

9. Again, I’d be here all day if i listed 3 ships for every fandom so here’s a few of my favourites: Klance (Voltron), Marichat (Miraculous), Rayllum (The Dragon Prince), Miego and Klapollo (Ace Attorney), Arumika, Yumihisu and Levihan (Attack on Titan), Gwevin (Ben 10), Sidlink (Zelda), Silvamy (Sonic), Jancy and Byler (Stranger Things)

10. I tend not to draw pairings I don’t like, the closest to this Is when I used to do OC x Canon fanart requests on DeviantArt when I was like 12

11. I’d say the main genre of art I draw is ship art/fluffy art but every once in a while I love to do a horror/creepy piece

12. Not that I can remember but I’d love to do something like this in the future

13. It’s a mix of both

14. I'll draw almost anything in terms of rating but whether I'm comfortable enough to post it is another story - the only ‘nsfw’ stuff I've actually posted is gore but even then it's been pretty mild.

15. I do use warnings bc i don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. I feel like it's important to tag the usual stuff like gore, nsfw in general, any sensitive topics like abuse etc. I don't think I've had to add a warning that could be considered strange before though.

16. I don't use anything like headers or previews tbh I just post the drawings with a caption and call it a day

17. I don't title my art for the simple reason that I cannot come up with names for the life of me. The filenames of my drawings are usually just a random jumble of words or letters

18. Most of my inspiration comes from browsing random poses/references, listening to music, watching tv and movies

19. I try to get the idea sketched out as soon as I can but if not I'll just make a note of it in my notes app

20. Definitely!

21. Yes, it's usually stuff like AUs where I've gotten really invested in the idea and want to create as much of that idea as I can

22. No, the closest thing to these events is a week event for ships/characters. I don't do much of these bc I often end up procrastinating and leaving it to the last minute and then I end up stressing myself out trying to finish it in time

23. The main sites I post to are Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter. Occasionally i'll post before and afters to my tiktok account and once in a blue moon i may even post to my old DeviantArt account

24. Nope, no betas here I'm afraid.

25. I love listening to music while drawing, sometimes it'll be a character/ship themed playlist and sometimes it's just any music that I'm into at that moment.

#jancy spotlight saturday #announcement #big changes #jancy fanfic central will become jancy central #upcoming events #fanart event #fanart/fanfic collab #jancy fanfic #jancy

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redisaid · 10 months

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The World Will Only Darken Without Candlelight - Chapter 2

Solider, Poet, King

I’m just having some fun with this one. Been a minute since I’ve written a modern AU, much less a retelling, and I forgot that I love both of those things.

In which Link can definitely make it up to that Divine Beast on his own this time. In which Zelda gets to say fuck, several times. Also in which I accept that my estimated word count for this thing is far too low, and weep softly to myself about that.

8287 Words

Read it on Ao3!

There will come a soldier, Who carries a mighty sword, He will tear your city down. Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord.

Opening day of the renaissance faire always managed to make the chaos of rehearsal week seem worth it. Mildly worth it. Almost worth it.

But being simultaneously ambushed by the smell of caramel corn and a group of excited kids as soon as she stepped out onto the faire grounds proper served as a good reminder for Zelda of why this was supposed to be fun.

Stay in character, was her immediate reminder to herself. Something repeated to her over and over throughout her childhood. She didn’t need to remember that so ardently, but she thought it anyway.

She’d been playing the character of Princess Zelda for fifteen years, after all. She knew what to do. She could do this in her sleep.

It was something she was apparently better at than her academic career, for all her trying. Zelda wondered how her father might react if she told she wanted to be a washed up actor just like him one day. It’d always been his idea to make her a carbon copy of her mother. What a fitting punishment that would be, to offer him instead a mirror of his own failings.

A question from a little boy in her crowd of admirers broke her reverie, “Who’s that?”

Zelda looked to find the child pointing behind her.

No, not again. Rehearsal was over. Surely he’d leave her alone?

But upon following the child’s gesture, she found Link. Link, yet again five paces behind her, saying nothing and looking as lively as a sack of potatoes.

“That’s our new knight, Link. I’m sure he has something much more interesting to do than accompanying me. Don’t you have a demonstration on swordsmanship to give, Sir Link?” Zelda improvised.

She had no idea what his schedule was. He hadn’t really followed one even during a full day run-through. He’d just followed her yet again.

Link shrugged an answer to this.

“His sword is bigger than he is!” the little boy exclaimed with a clear and palpable delight. “Can we see it? Please?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until the tournament tonight,” Zelda explained, bending as much as her dress and the corset beneath it would let her. She didn’t quite make it to eye level with the little Hylian child, but it was an effort at least. “Sir Link here will be fighting to prove himself worthy as one of my Champions.”

That was enough to defer the kid to start asking his parents if they could go to the tournament. In fact, the news scattered most of the crowd with similar questions. Enough that she could move.

Enough that Zelda could send Link a venomous glare over her shoulder, and gesture for him to come walk beside her, instead of behind her, for once.

Surprisingly, he obeyed.

“I’m serious about having somewhere else to be,” she muttered under her breath as she gave another group of fairgoers her best princess wave. “Rehearsal week is one thing. I didn’t understand the purpose of it, but I let that slide. But I have a job to do. I know how to do it without your assistance. In fact, I know far better than you how to do it. Between you and me, I don’t particularly care what my father has to say about that. So, let’s both agree that you will stop following me as of today, hmm?”

She’d had many such one-sided conversations with Link in the past week. It was rather stifling to constantly have him as her shadow, but she’d tried to make the best of it. He was good for carrying things. He made a decent sounding board for opinions she didn’t want to be contradicted. He didn’t expect her to make jokes, nor would he laugh at them if she did. Her sense of humor was awful anyway. The world was a better place without it.

But that attitude was only something that lasted as far as this father-sanctioned stalking had an end date on it. And if that wasn’t the case, well, it would have to be.

To her surprise, Link seemed to process what she had to say, and nodded.

He was even shorter than her when she was wearing her heeled boots. She felt all the more regal for it, getting her way and looking down at him from the glorious three or so inches she had on him as they walked side by side.

If that wasn’t dedication to character, Zelda didn’t know what was.

“Good. If the King has a problem with it, tell him to speak with me and not to blame you. You are dismissed, Sir Link,” she said, picking up her tone and old-fashioned accent to get back into character again.

Her route, like her speech, had only changed slightly. It was easy enough to remind herself of her various destinations throughout the day as she watched Link fade into the crowd.

There was plenty of time for her to get across the faire and still greet guests and interact with them. This, of course, was her main job--to be paraded and shown off as the perfect little princess.

Nope. That would not help. Positive thoughts. Positive thoughts only.

“Revali,” she whispered, coaching her memory. “Revali first, archery demonstration.”

Secondarily, her job was to visit all the Champions in their corners of the faire, and interact with them to promote the tournament. She could do that. She could definitely do that.

Plus, sometimes it was fun to watch Revali make fun of the crowd.

Her journey to the little version of Rito Village that inhabited the western edge of the faire was relatively uneventful. She encountered a lost little Zora girl in a fairy costume and helped her find her parents. She consoled a Goron teen who’d dropped his rock dog on the dirt. As it turned out, he didn’t need the consoling. He picked it up and ate it anyway, then gave her an awkward compliment that the dirt of her kingdom was tasty.

The miniature version of historical Rito Village was as faithful a recreation that could be made both on a small scale and small budget. A large, long scenery wall had been constructed out of fiberglass and covered in fake rock texture. Onto this was mounted a sort of wooden boardwalk, and then little Rito-style open huts mounted on stilts to give the illusion they were suspended in the air. Some even had some fake snow still attached to their roofs. Nevermind that it had yellowed over the years.

But still, it was close enough to give the fantasy. Rito Village these days was, well, Rito City. Hyrule had a penchant for an extreme lack of creativity when it came to naming places. And while it still had the historical city center around the great rock spire, the opposite shore of the lake surrounding it was home to high rises and office buildings, parks and schools. Not a lot of roads, though. The Rito still flew most everywhere and had little use for cars beyond logistics.

Zelda had been there once as a child, and had spent many an hour watching the people dive from their balconies and into the air. She found herself jealous of them, wishing she too could fly away from home with such ease.

Thinking of flying had Zelda searching for Revali among the other Rito performers. His navy blue plumage was usually relatively easy to spot. He’d told her several times that it was rare for a Rito, a sign of greatness.

Sure it was.

He held court on his own little rocky spire, upon which the replica of Vah Medoh was perched. The massive fiberglass sculpture of the Divine Beast of legend loomed over the archery targets he practiced on. But it was just that, a sculpture, sitting on a tower of fake rock.

But the man, the myth, the barely tolerable asshole that Zelda knew Revali to be, was nowhere to be found at the moment.

Was she early? Surely she wasn’t. Not after the rock dog incident.

She should have tried to sneak her phone to keep the time. Zelda cursed herself for being a good little daughter in the moment of that decision and leaving it in her locker.

As she scanned the crowd, she did find one familiar face. One that made her mutter a quick and very unprincessy, “Fuck,” under her breath.

Link stood out front, right by the archery range, looking for someone.

She should have known. Mute and short and strange as he was, she’d learned over the last week that he was not stupid. Not by any means. He was still following her, but obviously had taken to memorizing her schedule to meet up with her again.

During rehearsal week, she’d tried to lose him many times with both her usual tactics and some she invented especially for him.

Zelda thought for sure that introducing him to the food vendors on the last full rehearsal day would be the end of her woes. And while Link had been momentarily distracted then, he’d only taken all of five minutes to catch up with her, turkey leg and frozen lemonade in hand.

The frozen lemonade had been for her. One of her favorites, eagerly offered with the tiniest and briefest of smiles and the shaking insistence of his skinny little arm.

How had he managed to find that out? Or order it? It had been five minutes. He didn’t speak.

Zelda had pondered all this as she enjoyed the lemonade anyway.

Link didn’t seem to see her from his position, at least. She might have had the hair-braiding stall to thank for partially obscuring her.

Good, let him look. She had at least until Revali made his appearance before she had to make hers.

As if to remind her that no, she wasn’t getting out of anything today, Revali came soaring through the air and landed just in front of Link on the demonstration stage. Zelda couldn’t be sure exactly where he came from, but she had a hunch. He liked to linger in a storeroom on the backside of Rito Village for longer than he was supposed to, with his usual excuse being that he, “didn’t feel like mingling with the riffraff today.”

But he didn’t hesitate to give Link a quick stare-down, and then immediately improvise a little monologue at him.

“Impressive, I know,” Revali said as he hopped onto the railing that separated his range from the crowd. “Very few can achieve a mastery of the sky. Yet I have made an art of creating an updraft that allows me to soar. It’s considered to be quite the masterpiece of aerial techniques, even among the Rito.”

Honestly, as much as Revali hated Link for stealing his shot at the spotlight, he was a perfect scene partner for him. Someone who didn’t speak couldn’t stop his ranting, or try to take a piece of the scene for themselves.

For his part, Link’s reaction to all this bragging was just a slight narrowing of his eyes and furrowing of his thick eyebrows.

Revali assumed a heroic pose and went on, “With proper utilization or my superior skills, I see no reason why I won’t best you in tonight’s tournament.”

“Leave the little guy alone!” a guest shouted with a wave of a beer mug, his cheeks red from clearly having enjoyed himself with it already.

It was ten in the morning. The faire had only been open for an hour. The mystery of how someone could already be that drunk was almost as unexplainable to Zelda as how Link had managed to buy her a frozen lemonade.

Revali ignored him. He was too deep into his own heckling to respond to a guest’s. “Now then, my ability to explore the firmament is certainly of note,” he continued, hopping down from the railing to pace around Link--and the small audience forming around them--on the grass around the archery range. “But let’s not--pardon me for being so blunt--let’s not forget the fact that I am the most skilled archer of all the Rito. Yet despite these truths, it seems that I have been asked to compete with the likes of you. All because you happen to have that little darkness-sealing sword on your back. I mean, it’s just…asinine.”

Revali gestured to the crowd, expecting to get some agreement. Instead, he was meant with mostly silence. A little Gerudo girl booed at him.

But, to his credit as an actor, which Zelda would rather die than tell him herself, he rolled with it, looking back to Link with a challenge and bending down to get in his face, “Unless…you think you can prove me wrong? Maybe we should just settle this one on one? But where? Oh, I know! How about up there?”

Revali gestured widely behind him, up to the looming shadow in the morning sun that was the sculpture of Vah Medoh.

Then he laughed. “Oh, you must pardon me. I forgot you have no way of making it up to that Divine Beast on your own!”

Revali then, ever the showman, took this opportunity to swoop upward, leaving Link’s hair and tunic ruffling in the wind he created to propel himself upward.

“Good luck sealing the darkness!” he taunted as he flew up the three stories of his tower with ease, landing on top of the sculpture that perched atop it with a bow.

He got a few claps here and there. A bit of confusion too.

People were honestly more interested in Link, whose stationary nature helped him seem like he was playing the part of the brave hero through all that. He’d stood perfectly still the entire time, at least. Unflinching.

Nevermind that the archery tower had a set of spiral stairs surrounding it. Vah Medoh was hollow. Zelda found a joint that Revali had hidden in it once. She’d helped repaint it two years ago. Link could very much get up there.

And maybe that’s why he looked upward as the sculpture, confused.

Revali let a little sigh slip before announcing, “Lords, Ladies, Jesters alike. The morning’s archery demonstration shall begin in a few minutes.”

And that’s precisely when Link looked away from him, and spotted Zelda.

He stuck around for the entire demonstration, watching her watch Revali and pretend to be interested in him while he pretended to be very good at this. To his credit, he was pretty good. Not perfect, but he hit most of his targets and performed his usual tricks with the flare of both a seasoned archer and performer.

That, at least, was how her dad had met Revali in the first place. He was another washed up actor, of course. He’d been on Rito soaps when he was younger, most famously playing one female lead’s evil gay cousin and stealing away her various love interests. The role had suited him quite well.

But soap operas hadn’t been trendy for decades. Zelda was two when Revali had his last show credit, or at least according to IMDB. Not that she’d been petty and looked it up one year when he was being particularly difficult to deal with. Not at all.

And when the show ended, Zelda couldn’t find any sign of Link’s blank stare. Not in the crowd around her. Not at the stall selling salmon skewers, baked apples, and sugary crepes. Not even at the bowyer’s.

Good. He had something else to do. His own schedule, surely. No need for him to follow her through her own.

---

Zelda’s hopes were dashed an hour later, when she made it to the miniature version of Goron City on the faire’s northeast side.

Because there Link stood, dwarfed next to the mass that was Daruk, as he went through a little scene of his own.

Goron City was perhaps the cheesiest of all the faire’s recreations. Death Mountain itself was represented by a massive wooden cutout that was secured to one of the old castle’s crumbling walls with some scaffolding. The shops and booths were caves, again made of fiberglass and fake rock. Sand that had been dyed an obnoxious orange was meant to represent the lava, marking paths lined with stepping stones leading up to the various attractions of the area.

But, of course, the highlight of the scenery was the sculpture of Vah Rudania that sat perched on a particularly large boulder. But Daruk had not been content to keep his Divine Beast a mere sculpture. No, he’d had to make it move.

The large robotic lizard was, well, robotic inside. That is to say, it moved its head and blew smoke out of the area that resembled a mouth. Daruk controlled all of this with a little remote he could easily hide in the palm of his massive hand.

And even though the effects seemed a bit sad to Zelda these days, she watched as the children in the crowd jumped and screamed with delight as this Divine Beast moved.

“I think I’m finally getting the hang of controlling this Divine Beast,” Daruk shouted, both to the crowd and to Link. “I’ll tell you what, it sure is a blast to have this thing at my command.”

He gave a grin and turned to Link, continuing on with, “Let those other Champions know, they better eat their gravel if they wanna keep up with Daruk!”

This actually netted him far more cheers than Revali could ever muster. Zelda wished that the Rito actor would take some hints for his character. There was a way to be confident and still be likable. Everyone liked Daruk.

“Speaking of which,” he went on as he turned and gestured to the fake mountains around the little stage beneath Vah Rudania. “Can you believe this view? Just look at all those delectable rocks sprinkled on those mountains. Mighty tasty. I’m just a humble blacksmith, and I may not know much about this tournament thing, but mark my words, I’ll represent the Gorons with all my might! Right, little guy?”

Daruk wound up the one massive hand that wasn’t curled into a fist to conceal the remote and gave Link a big slap on the back.

And Link, to his credit, only staggered forward a little bit from the sheer force of it.

Daruk let out a booming laugh as Link did his best to recover. He then turned to the young man, grinning again. “Hey, by the way. Congrats on becoming the princess’ appointed knight. That is a really big deal, protecting the king’s daughter,” he said with a nod, engulfing Link’s shoulder with his massive hand as he added, “No pressure!”

What? Appointed…what?

This was news. And apparently, a narrative reason her father had concocted for Link to be following her around.

Was she going to have to deal with him the entire summer? Day in and day out, just blankly staring at her with those infuriatingly blank blue eyes of his. Not even a thought seemed to dance behind them, yet she knew they must.

Goddess, he probably fucking hated her.

Yet there was Daruk, still going on. “Seriously, though. The princess is a strong personality--so strong she can’t quite see the range for the peaks. Remember that and you’ll be fine.”

A strong personality. Really? Really dad? Or was Daruk himself to blame for this?

Zelda was so tired of being too much and too little at the same time. She was always told she talked too much, but apparently according to that internship program, she didn’t have anything worthy to say. Aside from all these weirdos she’d grown up around at the faire, she had a hard time keeping friends. Hell, even her dating life had been difficult for these reasons. Her last girlfriend--who may have not considered such terminology mutual--had called it off after their third week together, saying simply, “I thought you’d stop, you know, trying so hard at some point.”

What was she supposed to do? All Zelda had done her entire life was try hard. And it won her nothing. Nothing except being considered a “strong personality”.

She started to storm off, but realized that she was due to attend Daruk’s blacksmithing demonstration in a few minutes.

Of which, of course, Link watched her watching. Hell, Daruk even had him come up and throw some axes he’d crafted for a bit.

Link, unlike Revali, didn’t miss a single one of his targets.

Nor did he speak, of course, but by now, it seemed more of the crowd had gotten word of this new Silent Knight, and they were loving it. Loving him.

Meanwhile, Zelda was just trying her best to get through her usual act without being too much of a “strong personality” about it.

That was the character, right? Stuck up, regal, formal princess. The Champions were vying for her favor, not her for theirs.

Though answering the question of why anyone would was where Zelda got stuck.

---

The lunch hour was Zelda’s to do with as she saw fit. On a better day, she might choose to spend it near the large congregation of food stalls at the center of the faire, greeting guests and pretending to check on the various vendors and make sure they were serving the needs of the “Lords and Ladies” who were guests at her upcoming tournament.

She’d sneak a bite to eat herself back at the dressing rooms before running out to Urbosa’s dance at around two in the afternoon, then head toward the water show in Zora’s Domain.

But on a not so great day, as this one was shaping up to be, Zelda didn’t quite have it in her to brave the lunch crowds. Nor did she take Revali’s route and hide backstage. Instead, she frequented the more boring and lesser-visited spots at the faire.

The old Great Fairy Fountain was a good spot. It was dilapidated and not quite as showy. Cotera, the buxom woman who had been playing the fairy since Zelda could remember, wouldn’t bother her and was more than willing to cover for her. When she was younger, she used to sneak a paperback in her ever-useful dress pockets and go read by the fountain. Unfortunately, the textbooks she’d brought home to study over the summer were far too large to smuggle in such a way.

However, Zelda chose option two today. The Shrine. No one ever visited the Shrine. Maybe a few teens here and there, looking to write their names inside of it with a sharpie, as so many had done before them. Maybe someone looking for a family photo op, who was willing to ignore the chipped paint of yet another fiberglass sculpture of Hyrule’s ancient history.

But no one would take notice of Princess Zelda idly admiring the Shrine or sitting on its platform for a quiet moment or two. They would just think it was part of the show.

As Zelda quickly looked over her shoulder to confirm she was alone, it became her favorite part of the show thus far. No Link in sight. He’d once again disappeared after Daruk’s demonstration.

It was almost a little shameful how she smiled at the thought of him looking for her around the food stalls or even trying to go ahead to the Gerudo quarter to find her there. Appointed Knight be damned.

Zelda appointed herself to enjoy the quiet, admiring the sculpture that nature was trying so desperately to reclaim. Here on the north side of the castle ruins, both the Shrine and the authentic ruins that surrounded it--these mostly being some columns and archways that made up an old courtyard and formal garden--were covered in moss. Tall trees, perhaps the grandchildren or great grandchildren of the trees that once stood in that historic garden swayed softly in the wind. Well, at least when they weren’t punctuated by some weird accordion music in the distance. Kass must have been nearby.

This place, this moment, felt very much in line with Zelda’s feelings on the faire. The past was fun, and not just fun, but perhaps even beautiful in its own way. All the myths and legends that surrounded this country and its history were certainly a treasure all their own. This was all a good thing to celebrate, surely. But Goddess above, did they have to do it in such a cheesy way?

Footsteps crunched on gravel. Only very lightly, very slightly. The footsteps of a small person who was trying to keep quiet.

Footsteps that Zelda had become all too familiar with.

“I thought I made it clear that I am not in need of an escort,” she said as she turned to face Link, then found herself walking right up to him.

He stared back at her.

She hated this. She hated that he was always looking at her. Mister Perfect. Mister doesn’t miss any of his targets. Mister somehow has all the personality of a dead fish, yet still draws the crowd’s attention with ease. No wonder father favored him enough to make him this year’s winner. He could do it all without even trying.

All while she burnt herself out time and time again, trying too hard.

“It seems I’m the only one with a mind of my own,” Zelda went on, looking away just briefly enough to confirm that there were enough guests close by that she had to keep this rant in character. Very well, challenge accepted. If they wanted a strong personality, she’d give them one. “I, the person in question, am fine, regardless of the king’s orders.”

For a moment, just a moment still, Link’s face changed. His eyebrows knit just slightly closer together. His eyes seemed to soften from stony neutrality. A tiny bit of a frown seemed to tug at the corner of his lips.

Well, what did he expect? She was supposed to be difficult. And if he hadn’t intended to stop following her, he should not have agreed to her request that morning.

Too bad.

Zelda walked past him, making sure to brush his shoulder with hers. Well, more like her upper arm.

Short. Short, mute, annoying. Bane of her summer with his stupid little wolf tail and stupid, piercingly blue eyes.

“Return to the castle,” she said, giving her most regal of orders to her wayward knight. “And tell that to my father, please.”

She heard him turn around, pivot and start jogging to catch up with her.

Zelda didn’t look back as she added one last demand that she was quite certain wouldn’t be followed--both for script reasons and whatever plan it was that her father was trying to act out with this nonsense, “And stop following me!”

---

Gerudo Town was perhaps the most faithful recreation of the various ancient racial capitals that the faire had to offer. Which, was perhaps a better way of saying it had been the easiest to recreate. Yet even more fiberglass and steel had served as a foundation for yet more fake rock texture to masquerade as the adobe buildings of the desert tribe. Water too, was easy, as were tile mosaics to cover the channels in which it ran. The fake palm trees, though, Zelda thought maybe they could do without. Still, they had their purpose.

Vah Naboris stood in the center of it all, surrounded by jewelry shops and tailors and a traditional massage parlor. The great camel’s two cage-like humps now served as a stage for belly dancers, and for a show combining swordplay and dancing that Zelda was far too early for.

Early enough for Urbosa to spot her, snatch her, and immediately drag her backstage. She was under some much needed shade behind the replica of the chieftain’s palace, with a bottle of water being pressed into her hands in mere minutes.

“Drink,” was Urbosa’s first command.

“I don’t have heat stroke again, I promise,” Zelda informed her, but took a sip away.

“Then why are you all flushed, little bird? You’re as pink as a ripe voltfruit,” Urbosa said, poking to her cheek with concern.

Zelda pushed away her hand. “I ran here. Power-walked, really. Still being very princessy about it, I assure you. I was trying to get away from Link,” she explained. “Urbosa, please, I should have asked this earlier and realized how stupid I am just now, but--”

“--You’re not stupid.”

“Stop that for just a second all right? Let me ask my question. You can be all positive and wise and motherly about your answer later,” Zelda attempted to defer. “For now, can you just tell me if Link is supposed to follow me all day?”

Urbosa’s face twisted in confusion. Enough to make Zelda almost want to laugh at the ridiculousness of this, but not enough to make her look any less beautiful. No, decked out in her garb that was fit for both fighting and dancing, complete with traditional blue lipstick, Urbosa was nothing short of stunning.

“I thought you knew.”

Zelda only groaned in response.

“Drink your water,” was Urbosa’s sage advice to that, as if proper hydration would fix anything.

“All day! All day Urbosa! I’m supposed to deal with him all day, every day? Just staring at me all day?” Zelda asked, wanting very much to throw the water bottle instead.

“Quiet now,” Urbosa warned. “Or you’ll spook the guests and the sand seals alike. But, I don’t understand. Rhoam told me he ran all this by you. He said you’d be thrilled at this new storyline.”

“It’s a fucking fairy tale,” Zelda muttered, crunching the water bottle in her fist a little feeling the plastic biting into her palm as it formed a sharp edge. A little water spilled from the top onto her fingers, but she ignored it. “Captain historical accuracy decided to go whole hog on a fairy tale so I could get stared at all day by some weird mute who--”

“He’s not mute.”

“--What?”

“He’s not mute,” Urbosa repeated. “I’ve seen him talking to Rhoam. He can speak. He just usually chooses not to. As someone who chooses to speak her mind perhaps too often, I was hoping you could be understanding of that.”

“Well, obviously he can speak,” Zelda course-corrected. “But still.”

“Listen, little bird,” Urbosa said, steadying Zelda by the shoulder with one hand and taking the bottle from her before she could crush it more. “It was wrong for your dad not to tell you, yes. You have every reason to be angry about that. I’m angry about it too. But, that’s not going to help anything. The show must go on, hmm?”

Zelda took a deep breath. Funny how Urbosa’s voice had such a soothing quality to it. Irrational and silly if she thought about it for too long, but still soothing.

But she was right. She was always right. She’d been right ever since Zelda had known her, long before the faire had even started.

Because Urbosa hadn’t been one of her father’s list of odd characters. No washed up actor. Not even a lost soul that happened to be looking for work in the area.

No, Urbosa had been her mother’s friend. Not her father’s.

So, for her, Zelda nodded through another deep breath.

“Now, calm down, take a rest back here. No one will come looking for you. I’ll keep your dad and Link away for a while. You’re smart. You’re very smart, Zelda. You are and you know it, so don’t argue with me,” Urbosa threatened. “Take a break and think about it for a moment. Think about your options. And I’ll certainly be thinking about what I have to say to your father about this.”

“I’d rather not have to think about any options,” was Zelda’s reply, but the words seemed childish and petulant as soon as they left her mouth.

So much so that she didn’t even remember falling asleep in the shade, sitting on a discarded rug that would have to be clean enough not to make Purah come after her for abusing her costume.

She stirred from this inadvertent nap, squinting at the sun to try to determine the time. It wasn’t too far in the sky. Maybe still before the dance?

She was never good at this shit anyway. Historical reenactment too, she could add to her list of many failures. What kind of renaissance woman was she, if she couldn’t tell the time by the sun?

But what she could tell were familiar footsteps, this time on the packed earth that made up the ground behind the Gerudo Town facade. Not the click of Urbosa’s heels, but again, soft and light. Trying their best to make as little noise as possible.

Zelda slammed her eyes shut again. She’d rather be caught sleeping on the job than deal with him again so soon.

Only it was Urbosa’s smooth voice that had an answer to Link’s approach. “Ah well, you certainly got here fast. I should have expected as much.”

It was only then that Urbosa’s heels did make impact with the hardened dirt as she stepped close to Zelda. Protectively close.

Even in her feigned sleep and seeming lack of witness to him, Link chose not to reply.

So Urbosa went on, “She wore herself out, trying to get away from you. Still as the sands now. So, spill it boy. Have you two been getting along all right?”

What was the point of even asking? Urbosa knew Zelda’s answer on the subject. And she’d said herself that Link would most likely not choose to volunteer one on his own.

Still, she asked. She gave him the opportunity. And Link still said nothing.

“It’s okay, I know,” Urbosa told him after a moment, letting a little chuckle slip before adding, “Your silence speaks volumes. She gets frustrated every time she looks up and sees you getting praise. It makes her feel like a failure when it comes to her own role here. But don’t worry. It’s not like you carry the blame for any of this.”

Zelda loved Urbosa with all of her heart. She really did. She thought of her as a second mother. She’d grown up beside her, guided by her. Hell, she texted and called Urbosa a lot more than she did her dad. And Urbosa was always happy with her achievements, never pushing her to do more. Never criticizing.

But damn if she didn’t have a bad habit of psychoanalyzing the ever-loving shit out of everyone she met.

Zelda was beginning to regret her decision to fake sleep now.

“She’s put in more than enough work,” Urbosa went on. “Ever since she was a young girl, she’s just tried to make her father proud of her. She once passed out from heat stroke doing this stupid bit we used to do with a magic spring. And what did she get to show for it? Rhoam yelling at her afterward for ruining the scene.”

Zelda remembered that, unfortunately. It had only been five years ago. What a way to spend her seventeenth birthday, getting screamed at and over in the ER, as both her father and Urbosa argued with her and each other about whose fault it all was.

“That’s what’s motivating her to try as hard as she always does. To care as much as she does,” Urbosa offered in explanation. “I’d be doing the same thing. But, she really is quite special, you know. You be sure to protect her, you hear me?”

Protect her? From what? Handsy drunks? Tripping over a guest’s shabby costume? Forgetting her lines?

What in all of Hyrule would Link need to protect her from at the fucking renaissance faire?

Urbosa turned, likely looking toward the exit they’d ducked into earlier. “It’s nearly time for the show. Best I wake her. Your choice if you want to be seen here or not, boy.”

Link, for all his silence, made that choice loud and clear. He did not move.

“Suit yourself,” Urbosa said, then bent down to shake Zelda awake.

She put on her best acting to ensure she seemed to be truly surprised to find them both interrupting her nap. “Urbosa!” Zelda said as she stirred, then looked over to Link to find him staring back at her, as usual. “Wait, what--how did you--what are you doing here?”

Urbosa let forth a deep chuckle at that, then less-than-subtle a reminder, “It’s nearly showtime. Would you two care to watch me dance?”

---

After Urbosa’s advice, Link seemed to have seen fit to avoid Zelda. She didn’t see him in Gerudo Town, even if he would have been easy fodder for the guards there to pick on for being a voe. He wasn’t hiding from her in any place she would have chosen to lay low. Not the sand seal stables, nor at the bar. Well, they probably wouldn’t let him in there anyway, with how much he looked like a teen.

Short, scrawny, annoying, and yes, she had proof now that he was a coward.

Good, let him run. Maybe he’d go back to her father for her, save her the trip. Because that’s where she headed after this--straight to the replica castle within the ruins of the real castle to give him a piece of her mind.

But first, the damn water show.

Zora’s Domain sat barely suspended over the most shallow pool possible. It was…an effort, certainly, at getting the look of the actual thing right. And while Zelda had to admit that building a city suspended over a lake by elegant pillars, cascading with waterfalls would have been a feat well beyond the budget of the faire, this was still a rather lame attempt at it.

At least the sculpture of Vah Ruta seemed semi-functional, spraying a constant stream of water out its trunk from its vantage point on top of a replica of Ploymus Mountain so short that it made Link seem like he too was making an effort at tallness.

Link, who was perched atop said Vah Ruta, on said fake mountain, sitting next to Mipha as she mimed healing his arm.

“Fucker,” Zelda muttered to herself as she got to watch yet another of these sickly little scenes unfold.

“I was thinking,” Mipha began. The small red Zora was just about Link’s height. For once, the scenery and his partner doing something to make him seem less miniscule. “This reminds me of the time we first met. You were just a reckless child, always getting yourself hurt at every turn. Every time, I would heal you. Just as I’m doing right now.”

Great. Just wonderful. Amidst all this cheese, they were going to play Mipha as being some childhood friend turned love interest? Zelda was half-tempted to call Revali over and ask if he’d seen this shit--if it reminded him of his days on the Rito soaps.

“I thought it was funny how, being a Hylian, you looked grown-up so much faster than I did.” Mipha’s delivery was as saccharine as the script.

Zelda found that she had to admit that this was the perfect thing to do with her. The perfect way to draw interest to her character again. Rowdy guests only had so much patience for a mostly pacifist version of a Champion, who had been given the win a scant few times by virtue of her compassion and grace. Being a googly-eyed love interest was at least something different.

“I was always willing to hear your wounds,” Mipha went on, looking up to gaze at Link with doe eyes straight out of a grocery store romance novel. “Even back then.”

This was some sort of cue, enough to make Link stop miming being healed and pull away. He examined his arm, making a show of it having been magically mended.

In reality, Zelda actually did like Mipha. She was a little shy and reserved, but a nurse by trade. A travel nurse to be precise. Her passion had always been for the ren faire, though, and for promoting Zora culture and history. So she worked as a nurse in the colder months, and came back to Castle Town year after year, ready to once again teach about the ancient ways of her long-lived people.

“So, if this tournament does happen tonight, what can we really do? We’ll be up against one another, you realize. But know this, no matter how difficult your battles may be, or who they may be with, I will heal you. No matter how bad the wound,” Mipha said, looking away again, out over the audience and offering a conflicted nod that had even Zelda convinced of her concern. “I hope you know that I will always protect you. Once this whole thing is over, maybe things can go back to how they used to be when we were young.”

But the last line had Zelda almost retching for the sickly sweetness of it.

“You know, perhaps we could spend some time together,” Mipha said with a sad little smile.

But the crowd was eating it up, full of a mixture of aws and applause at the scene.

Only a whistle distracted Zelda from her disgust.

She turned to find a familiar Zora, a similar shade of red to Mipha, but easily three or four times as large.

“Good day, Princess Zelda!” Sidon beamed as he announced, far too loudly and far too exuberantly for her to hope to blend into the crowd any longer. “May I interest you in some fine Zora wares before the water show begins?”

Sidon was Mipha’s younger brother, in the Zora equivalent of his late teens. His massive shark-like grin and constant aura of positivity were too much for Zelda sometimes, but at least he meant well.

And he sold ice cream. Hardly a traditional Zora treat, but damn if he wasn’t proud of it. Mipha had landed him this job, of course, and if there was anyone at the faire that matched Mipha’s genuine passion for it, it was her very tall and very loud brother.

“Uh, no thank you good sir,” she offered, waving her hand.

To his credit, Sidon only tried to sell her ice cream in character three more times during the water show.

---

Hyrule Castle within the ruins of the castle was, well, a cinderblock building that yet another fiberglass facade had been built on top of. Because her father just had to make himself an office that was shaped like a castle, and occasionally step out from it onto a balcony to wave at the adoring crowds. Owning the ruins of an actual, real, historical and intrinsically interesting castle wasn’t enough. No, everyone had to know he was the king.

The king of her anger, Zelda decided.

She’d moved past putting the blame on Link. He was just following orders, surely. He didn’t have to be so annoying about it, or good at secretly tailing her, or somehow wildly successful and engaging with his silent acting. But, he was still just following orders.

No, she was going to lay the blame where it belonged. Zelda had time before the tournament preparations began. Usually, this was her dinner break, but dinner be damned. She wasn’t going to be followed around for three whole months.

She made her way to the door of the office, finding it closed. Muffled voices sounded from inside. Definitely her father’s baritone, and another she couldn’t make out. Probably Impa or Purah.

So Zelda didn’t even hesitate as she turned the knob on the door and peeked in.

But she did as soon as she saw that it was Link speaking to her father.

The office was large and cluttered--littered with decades of old props that had no better place to be stored or no reason other than sentiment to be kept. Among them was an old floral-patterned couch that Zelda felt she’d spent years of her life on. She would wait there as a child while Rhoam presided over his little mock kingdom, speeding through her summer reading list or doing crosswords or playing video games on her handheld.

“What a patient child,” people would say. “What a good girl you have there.”

Not anymore.

But for all the distance between the desk where the two men stood and the door, and all the crap in-between, Zelda couldn’t make out what Link was saying.

His voice was too soft, too gentle. Just barely above a whisper. Enough not to seem weird, but, you know, still kind of weird.

Rhoam however, had no such lack in volume as he answered what seemed like a question. “I warned you she’d be difficult about it. You said it wouldn’t be a problem.”

Ah, great, another conversation happening about her that she wasn’t meant to hear. Zelda was about done with this. She was more than ready to hang it up and go home and not speak to her father for at least a week. She was ready for another very long, very hot shower and perhaps another ill-advised amount of late night pizza.

But she still had that damn tournament to sit through.

Link shrugged to this, shoulders sinking afterward in an oddly honest gesture of defeat.

“Listen, boy, I wouldn’t ask this of you if I had anyone else that could do it. Beyond you and Urbosa, I just don’t trust anyone else with this,” Rhoam went on, reaching out to grab Link’s shoulder. “But I know what you can do. I know she’s in good hands. And I trust you. I trust you do what’s right for all of us.”

What was he even talking about? Her father had the air of a man defeated. Even in the ostentatious glory of his king costume, he looked almost…deflated. A popped balloon. A spilled box of popcorn. A dropped ice cream cone, its contents merely a smudge of melted pink upon the pavement.

Nevermind that Zelda had seen all of those things on her way to the castle.

Link nodded to this, seeming to perk up a little.

“I’ll have a talk with her. I don’t know what I can say that she won’t pick apart, but it’s best she doesn’t know for now. I love my Zelda more than anything. I may not be the best at showing it, but I do. And if I know her, she’ll be on this like a dog on a bone,” Rhoam explained. “She’ll try to fix things. But this isn’t something she can fix. No, it’s better she doesn’t know.”

Link said something in reply to this, gesturing outward with his hands. It was the most lively she’d ever seen him.

“I understand your concern, son, but the cops would just shut us down. I can’t have that. For your sake, my sake, and the sake of all the people that work here and depend on this faire to get by, I can’t have that,” was Rhoam’s answer.

The cops? What? What was going on? What was he hiding?

Zelda must have leaned too much onto the door in her outrage, and the hinge squeaked loudly, alerting both Link and her father to her presence.

“Ah, speaking of my princess,” Rhoam said, beckoning her in. “We were just, um, we were just talking about you. Why don’t you come in and have a chat with me and Link here?”

No, that was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do right now. Her father was hiding something from her. Her newly appointed combination of a scene partner and bodyguard was in on it. And so was Urbosa.

Of all the betrayals, hers stung the deepest. No wonder she’d said something weird to Link about protecting her. Protecting her from what?

Zelda had the right to know, but she was very much done with being talked over and around. It made her feel like she was back in that ER again, crying her eyes out and being made to feel guilty for everything. For not being strong enough. For not being, well enough.

For being too much.

“I…I was looking for something for Purah. Seems it’s not here. I’ll leave you two to it,” Zelda offered as a cover, and quickly saw herself out.

She went to just about the only place she was guaranteed to be left alone at the faire. The castle had another room, not as nice or large as her father’s office. Not even really all that functional. Atop a rickety set of spiral stairs that made even Revali’s look structurally sound was a little tower on the western side of the castle. It had a room all its own, a high-walled balcony of sorts that Zelda’s father had constructed for her so she could wave from it when she was younger.

But the high walls of her tower top room made for a good place to hide. Grown as she was now, twenty-fucking-one years old to be exact, she barely fit up here anymore. But still, she curled into herself enough to make it work.

Zelda took deep, steadying breaths. One after the other. Counting to ten, then one-hundred. Then thinking about the book she’d been reading about the mysterious Zonai culture of prehistoric Hyrule. Then thinking about how she could find this out, how she could understand what was going on, or get someone to at least just tell her.

And by the time sunset began to paint the sky in orange, marking her nearly overdue for the tournament, she had a plan.

#zelda #breath of the wild #zelink #fanfic #the world will only darken without candlelight #this baby can fit so many rewrites of memory cutscenes into it #in which i also speedrun zelda being mean to link so i can get to them being cute faster #i promise that isn't going to last much longer

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lil-tachyon · 1 year

Note

Who are some of your biggest influences in your art?

I’ve answered this question or something like it a couple times (1 2 3 4 + archive of interviews I’ve done with people) so I’ll hit the main points and then talk about some different stuff I’ve been into recently.

Favorite artists who have influenced me the most in no particular order:

Wayne Barlowe

Moebius

Mark Schultz

Simon Roy

Cosimo Galluzi

CM Kosemen

John Howe

James Gurney

Katsuya Terada

Hayao Miyazaki

I could name more, but those are the main people that I come back to, year after year.

Picture above by John Howe

General art movements/styles that have influenced me

19th century academic art, especially Orientalist painters (to be clear, I don’t endorse any of the harmful racial attitudes behind many of them, it’s just stuff that I saw as a kid that I thought looked cool and different and mysterious)

Ukiyo-e, Shin Hanga, Japanese woodcuts generally

Late 80s to 90s anime

Most comic art

Online spec bio art communities

Video game character/creature designs: Sonic, Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, Shining Force, etc

Art Nouveau

Fuck it, basically all Gilded Age, Fin de siècle, Belle Époque, late 19th/early 20th century European art movements that were more or less representational or illustrative

Picture above by Ludwig Deutsch. I had a bookmark of this painting for many years and I would often get distracted while reading and just stare at it.

I think I’ve talked about all that stuff before but if you want more details or specifics just ask!

For the last couple years, my really big influences have all been other artists I’ve met online. I mean I made a whole book with @ordheist and @bagb0ss. There’s a sort of loose cloud of (mostly) SFF artists that I’ve been really lucky to work and speak with and we all kinda know or know of each other or end up in the same Discord servers, or working on the same RPGs, etc. I’m not gonna link everybody but if you go through the interviews I’ve conducted for my newsletter or check out my side blog you’ll start to figure out who I mean (seriously a lot of these people are coming to tumblr now from twitter and I’ve been reblogging the hell out of them.) Seeing all the stuff my peers are putting out and talking with them is the source of like 90% of the ideas for my personal illustrations these days. It’s cool to be part of a community. I wish there were more opportunities to meet in person, but it’s still cool.

The other stuff that’s really been in my head lately is art that’s less illustrative, more abstract and graphical. Not pure abstraction mind you, but I’ve really been digging stuff that’s more about communicating a concept, feeling, piece of information, or idea than a narrative. More about design and composition than rendering. I recently read Philip Meggs’ History of Graphic Design and that’s turned me on to so new many artists and styles. In particular I’ve fallen in love with all the Vienna Secession guys, the Glasgow Style artists, and all the graphic and bookmaking ideas that came out of the Arts and Crafts movement. I don’t know how I want to work these ideas into my drawings yet and I haven’t had a lot of time to experiment lately but they're definitely bouncing around in my head.

Above from top to bottom: two pieces by Koloman Moser, two posters by Frances Macdonald, and two pages from The Glittering Plain, written and designed by William Morris.

There’s a whole lot of art that I really love but it rarely gets reflected in my drawings- American Regionalist paintings, gig posters, childrens’ storybooks, Eastern European Mosaics, Native American art, outsider art, colonial Americana …. One day I’ll find a way to synthesize it all.

Anyway, hope this is interesting/fun/informative and if you have any follow up questions don’t hesitate to ask!

-Logan

#art nouveau #illustration art #vienna secession #arts and crafts movement #glasgow style #send me an ask!

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galaxias-scabbard · 2 years

Text

I don’t think I’ve really seen anyone talk too much about Subspace Emissary in Brawl much in reference to King Dedede and his role in the whole thing + the scenes that were cut from the final project since they happened prior to the start of the story.

While Subspace isn’t canon (arguably) it is still on a project by Sakurai so that means he was still the one with the say on his characters. It can also be a bit confusing since I know that I only now realized some of this once I started digging deeper despite playing brawl for over 200h when I was younger.

In Subspace Emissary it’s assumed King Dedede is a villain as in his first appearance he does turn Luigi into a statue and then steals Ness and Zelda/Peach from Wario. But it comes to light he became aware of Tabuu’s plan to turn everyone to statues, defected, and thus created the 3 badges that ultimately revived Ness, Luigi, and Kirby who swallowed the one from Peach/Zelda.

So we gather a few things from this.

1. Another credit to his smarts/how he’s good at engineering/inventing because presumably he was the one to be able to figure out how to make the timer badges to revive the fighters after a given time and they did in fact revive the fighters after everyone was seemingly wiped out. He was working alone so it’s not really likely anyone else made them for him or would make them in his likeness.

2. He hesitates but ultimately gave the third badge to the princess rather than himself showing that he’s not always selfish and that he put faith in the other fighters to wake him up after they were revived and realized he was the one to revive them. It shows how he’s grown as a character over the years to put others first and that he isn’t still the selfish King he once was in the early days.

3. Overall just how Dedede is often time presumed to be a villain when he isn’t and his intentions are misunderstood when he tries to do good (also see Kirby’s Adventure and Squeak Squad for him trying to do the right thing and things not going the right way). But he does play a role in saving the day as much as even Kirby. Had he not made those badges everyone would have been done for.

We also get more inclination of his good allegiance as Luigi and Ness both stand up for Dedede against Wario, showing they both have some respect for him in saving him and even the cowardly Luigi (I love him but he is scared of his own shadow) make it clear if Wario starts something with Dedede he starts it with all of them. Also the way he reacts to reuniting with Kirby it’s hard to see how people can say Dedede hates the little guy.

Now to go touch on the cut scene involving him and Meta Knight.

It’s set prior to the events of subspace the player experiences and was cut from the final product. In this King Dedede is part of the reason why the Halberd is under Subspace Army control as at the same time the ship was under attack Dedede sought out Meta Knight. The wiki says this was unintentional so presumably he wasn’t working for the Subspace Army any longer and my theory is that he was actually seeking out Meta Knight because who better to hand a Timer Badge to than someone who you know can kick ass. (although Meta’s wiki says Dedede attacked him so maybe Dedede knew Meta wouldn’t trust him and was like “he’ll thank me later” and went in with intent to defeat Meta and keep him as a trophy instead of a cordial hand off.) Meta Knight having his ship being attacked at the moment likely assumed Dedede was a part of it wether attacked or not probably got in a spat with him which meant he didn’t hear Dedede out, and since he was occupied there instead of defending his ship the Halberd ultimately fell. The two fled separate directions and Dedede had to hatch a new plan and realized time was running out if they now claimed the Halberd which is how he ended up with Luigi and Ness. (King Dedede is about to sign adoption papers for that kid btw)

But just the idea that Dedede purposely sought out Meta Knight to give him a Badge to ensure his safety because he knew Meta Knight was someone who could have his back (and the fact Meta Knight likely threw it in his face a bit given the situation) is just an interesting dynamic.

Also seeing as Dedede made 3 badges and there are only 3 fighters from his universe it’s possible he would have sought out Kirby as well given the time. Again, he does know that both Meta Knight and Kirby can be relied on in a fight so it would make sense they would be the two people he’d want to have with him.

Long story short: Dedede saved the day, doesn’t get the credit he deserves, was likely perceived as a bad guy as usual and that his change of heart was only a late game thing when it wasn’t, and he cares for others which many people gloss over.

#uhh lotta rambling #tldr give the man (bird?) some credit #Kirby #king dedede #meta knight #ssbb #is the brawl tag even alive???#super smash bros #subspace emissary #meta talks #i just have a lot of feelings #especially given that I only found half of this out recently after playing brawl so much as a kid #ness #Luigi #they’re mentioned #and semi relevant

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constellation-sys · 4 months

Text

bsd ramblings (seasons 1, 2, and dead apple)

i would commit double suicide with dazai

why does everyone have a gyatt

kunikida x dazai??????

WHY ARE THE SIBLINGS SO WEIRDDDD

ranpo’s my scrungo

atsushi has trauma and is a furry

kunikida and endeavor sound really similar

dazai <33333

what the actual fuck is wrong with the doctor

oh hey ginger

oh those bitches are homosexual

the way they fight is so homoerotic

“go to hell! i was being saracastic!” — chuuya to his boyfriend

dazai x chuuya

atsushi x akutagawa

WHY IS EVERY SINGLE GUY IN BSD SO HOT

the animation has no right to be so good

kenji is so silly. i love him

kenji loving cows is so real of him

i need more port mafia exec dazai

“he both fears death and is drawn to it” ME FR

DAZAI <33333333333333333333

i want to hold dazai. i need to ruffle his hair. i want to commit suicide with him, my last words being heard by him only. i want to drown with this man, the holy water bringing us both to the afterlife. we will both be free.

chuuya is so silly

“come now, take me with you to the afterlife” DAZAI AJHDISBEUDBEUBD

dazai is a disaster bi and i love him for that

i pledge allegiance to the flag of bungo stray dogs and to the fandom for which it stands. one nation under dazai, indivisible, with fanfic and fanart for all.

dazai is down horrendous for oda. i don’t blame him

dazai my silly wet cat disaster bi husband <33333333333333333

akutagawa is so silly

WHY DID THE THEME SONG HAPPEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EPISODE WTF

men <3

oda is my dad now bc i said so

the kid’s name is shinji? evangelion reference??

“because odasaku’s my friend” NO HE AINT DAZAI. HE’S YOUR UNREQUITED CRUSH.

“because i know my friend better than anyone” DAZAI’S LITTLE GASP OMFG IEBEKSHWJJDEBBE OMFG OMFG IM GONNA CRY DONT EVEN WINEUEHEJEJ (friend who got me into the show) YOU BITCH

“you’re a were-tiger, grow some were-balls” KUNIKIDA YOU DID NOT

ranpo is autistic

WHY THE HELL IS THE BOSS SO WEIRD ABT HIS KID WIHDJEBE OMFG

“i can’t hear the voice of god with you staring like that” — every catholic ever

nathanial hawthorn is a silly catholic

margaret basically being the daughter of a rich plantation owner in the 1800’s is so american

ranpo my silly

chuuya <3

q and kyouka are my children

osamu dazai my silly little wet cat autistic depressed suicidal maniac disaster bisexual husband <3

WHY IS MARK FUCKING TWAIN SO FINE OMFG THIS SHOW

lovecraft is weird. i like it. he’s accurate.

margaret x nathan??

chuuya and dazai are an old married couple. i love them so much.

“god i hate you” — chuuya to his husband who he loves very much

“don’t worry, buddy. i’ve got you” — dazai to his lover

“i’d expect nothing from you, my worthy adversary” poe to his bf

WHY IS POE FINE SOEJDIHENSHDBE

ranpo is so silly

dazai is a cool uncle to kyouka fuck you

akutagawa and atsushi are down bad for each other

why is scott fitzgerald a crossbreed between a dilf and a twink

cmon you two kiss each other already

is akutagawa down bad for dazai or just looks up to him

WHY IS THE WIFE NAMED ZELDA?? IS SHE A PRINCESS OR WHAT

i am OBSESSED with this show

never have i ever watched an anime with a shit theme song. i love bsd’s intro so much

hehe moby dick

if kyouka dies i’m killing myself /hj

welp guess i’m dying

akutagawa my silly <3

nvm not dying today. hey at least kyouka isn’t dead

dazai is akutagawa’s father figure sorry not sorry

lovecraft is so real for jumping in the sea

POE IS HERE WIHEEIHEIEHEUDHEHD I LOVE POE

RANPO KISS HIM RN KISS YOU TWO KISS

“but i prefer the women in my life to be under 12” E X C U S E M E S I R

RUSSIAN MAN????

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT DUDE HELL YEAH

IWJDUEBEHE DAZAI QUOTING ODA IEHRUEBEUDHWHDUENDJDJHE IM GONNA CRY AGAIN BYE—

DEAD APPLE IS AMAZING. I WATCHED IT ON 9ANIME. ONLY SUB THOUGH

READING THE TRANSLATOR STRUGGLE IS SO FUNNY. o7 TO THEM GOOD JOB.

#bsd #i’m so normal abt this show

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kolbisneat · 10 months

Text

MONTHLY MEDIA: June 2023

Summer months here we go! Just wrapped up my time with Zelda so I foresee more reading and tv in my future again. In the meantime, here’s how I spent June!

……….FILM……….

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) Saw it twice and the first time was very nearly too much to take in. The second viewing was far less overwhelming and still a joy. While it didn’t feel like a complete story following Miles, at least there’s some satisfying conclusion with Gwen. I’m glad part 2 comes out in less than a year.

Ali Wong: Baby Cobra (2016) Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood or maybe going with one of her older specials wasn’t the right call but I wasn’t really feeling it. I can see hints of overlapping themes that pop up in BEEF (which I loved and why I wanted to watch one of her specials) but that was more interesting than it was funny. Still gonna check out her other specials.

Goldeneye (1995) I have more memories playing the game than watching the movie but still a big fan of this flick. Really great characters and locales and I forgot just how comedic it is. So many one-liners! Always feels a little long at the end but worth it to see Boris’ death scene.

Encanto (2021) Late to seeing this and really great! Beautiful and personal and peak musical songs where characters basically ONLY share their personality through song.

……….TELEVISION……….

Ted Lasso (Episode 3.11 to 3.12) I was really dragging my feet about finishing the series as I found season 3 wasn’t as consistently enjoyable to watch. But those last two eps really stuck the landing. Some beats were expected, some were welcome surprises, and there were so many callbacks that were naturally woven in that I was really impressed. Some of the best from the season (and on par with the rest of the series) and I’m really glad I finished it.

……….YOUTUBE……….

Do "gun buybacks" work? by Vox A really succinct breakdown of how the US can do better, and an honest look at why this needs to be a part of a more complex plan. VIDEO

Agnostic TTRPG Prep Method by Map Crow Really fun way to use all the books that you’re not currently using! Watch the vid and then if you like the process you can pick up the bundle HERE (not affiliated, just a fan). VIDEO

The Station Toronto Needs by RMTransit Hey I’m a big fan of trains and I just found this channel. This was my first introduction to them but I’m keen to watch more. More trains! VIDEO

How Editing Creates Comedies That Make You Cry... by The Editing Podcast Another channel I recently came across and I’m keen to watch more. I know very little about editing but am keen to learn more. VIDEO

……….READING……….

Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber (Page 7 of 285) Clearly I’ve only just started this (thanks to me dragging my feet on The Righteous Mind) but really excited to dig deeper. The prologue is the original essay that inspired the book and that alone already has so much in it! A really great primer and I wasn’t expecting it to lay a lot of the blame at capitalism’s feet so I think it’s gonna be a great read.

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt (Complete) The first time I read this (at a time when the COVID-19 vaccine was just coming out and folks were choosing not to get it) the book really helped me understand the reasoning behind other people’s choices. For that it was really helpful. This time around, with more time and more political moves behind us, I find it glaringly obvious just how out of touch (or conservative-leaning) this book is. There’s a whole section about how the free market and capitalism is good for healthcare. Wild stuff. If you want more in-depth reviews explaining why this didn’t sit right with me this time around, I found Storygraph had a lot of great write-ups (also Storygraph is great if you want an alternative to the amazon-owned Goodreads).

Delicious in Dungeon Vol. 12 by Ryoko Kui (Complete) Listen I sing this series’ praises every time I read a volume and this is no different. Somehow the story, setting, and characters grow while still remaining connected to the main theme of “what if we ate the monsters we fought in an RPG?” It’s truly top-tier and I can’t stress enough that if you like charming, funny, expertly-illustrated comics, you should try out this series.

The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, and Elizabeth Dismang (Complete) Really fun read. Old Hollywood murder mystery with a lot of really nuanced characters. The resolution felt a little abrupt and unsatisfying, but without giving anything away I think it was appropriate. I’m also not sure if it was a stylistic choice but all of the women have different shadows than the men. It feels like they’re living in two different worlds but maybe that’s intentional? Still really great.

……….AUDIO……….

PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation by King Gizzard (2023) Loved King Giz’s first foray into metal and this continues that trend. I may not love everything that they do, but I love that they do everything that they do.

……….GAMING……….

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The Tuesday Crew is currently up against a young dragon (Dragonette) plaguing a mine (recap HERE) while the Mof1 Crew is divided across Munchkin District and each dealing with their own small crisis. They say never split the party but I think the trouble gets way more interesting when you do.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo) Finally moving on from this after countless hours spent in this world and it’s all bittersweet. Loved the familiar stuff, loved the new stuff, and loved the overall arc of the game. Hopefully the next game in the series goes back to something smaller and focused.

And that’s it. See you in July!

#Monthly Media #Kolbisneat #Andrew Kolb

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waywardsalt · 21 days

Note

For Linebeck 👀

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character

For Ganondorf

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Linebeck:

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

oooooh how do i pick… i love pretty much all canon information (within phantom hourglass) about him… i think for the past few months my favorite canon thing has to be his whole role in the final boss. phantom hourglass’ final boss makes me want to eat drywall (pos) and i’m obsessed with how linebeck plays into it and how it could be read as a further extension of his arc or a forced regression or… it’s just a really, really cool thing he’s involved in, and nothing else like it really happens in the rest of the series, and it’s like… hell yeah man go be the only non-villain character to be the final boss of a zelda game. at a certain point it stops being me purely enjoying canon and then starts being me having fun with piecing together anything that could even slightly stick and following every branching idea that starts with linebeck ending up as the final boss, and it’s all very fun.

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character

hmmmmm... as something i don't think i've clearly shared here, i think he really, really likes snakes. not to the degree at which he likes cats, but he loves all kinds of snakes. he knows about snakes and does research about snakes and picks up snakes out in the wild without first explaining that 1) he saw a snake and 2) it’s not venomous. linebeck’s a snake guy as well as a cat guy.

Ganondorf:

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like

i suppose i really enjoy seeing people just… talk about him? about his motives and history, what they like about him, i like it when the fandom treats him as more than a one-dimensional villain, it’s not much but he’s honestly not a character i’m tooo invested in, so i just like seeing what the people who really like him do with him. i like when people make him a little silly, it feels like it’s done best with the person doing it really loves ganondorf.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

i honestly can’t quite remember what my first impression of ganondorf was; i started with the original legend of zelda, and a link between worlds was the first one i finished, so i was familiar with beast ganon before ganondorf, and likely saw ganondorf for the first time either in some youtube video or in a smash bros game. so i think my first impression was a sort of… oh neat he exists. no real strong feelings, played ocarina of time and og hyrule warriors and figured he was just neat. now, since i’ve been seeing more of what people who really like him have to say and generally engaging with him more as a character, he’s easily one of the most interesting loz characters and one i really want to learn to write in some way, since only recently i’ve really written him in earnest (as opposed to an incidental character or something).

Questions

#asks #bloobluebloo #salty talks #ganondorf #linebeck #loz #legend of zelda #i’m new to this whole liking ganondorf thing so im feeling around with how i feel abt him and theres a lot on here to read #a lot of my viewpoints on him have been def influenced by you. you do your spokesperson job well #with linebeck its kinda like we got the kernel of canon in the middle and then branching fractals of years of personal ideas and thoughts #abt him hes been lodged in my brain for YEARS it was really hard to pick a favorite canon thing bc i just see him on screen and cheer #but ive been losing it over bellumbeck for ages recently so i picked that #SORRY this took ages ty for the ask tho

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topramenfinds · 11 months

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Major Tears of the Kingdom Story Spoilers!

So I’ve been seeing a lot of comments lately about Link looking kind of dumb when talking to NPCs about Zelda after he’s already found her. The common criticism is “Link knows where Zelda is so why doesn’t he tell people that the person they saw isn’t her?” However, I haven’t really felt this way when playing and I think it’s for the following reasons.

1) Most people are trying to find Zelda because she gave them weird instructions and they want answers. Link can figure out it’s not really Zelda even before actually finding her, and the “goal” of these encounters doesn’t change much even with this knowledge.

Take the gorons, for example. The player can figure out pretty quickly it’s not Zelda talking to Yanobo. But even if you know it’s not her, you still have to try and find this person to figure out who they are and what their end game is. Link isn’t going to be like, “well, that’s not the real Zelda, so why bother?” He’s still going after them. It’s the same for Yanobo. Knowing it’s not Zelda doesn’t change anything. They’re still going after her because there’s still the mystery of who this fake Zelda is. Besides, the person looks like her, so why not call this person Zelda until they figure out who it is?

2) Most of the people looking for her are random NPCs and there’s literally no reason for Link to recount the entire somewhat complicated story of why that’s not Zelda to these people. I mean, most people don’t even recognize Link, so imagine recognizing a celebrity as they come to your horse stable, this celebrity tells you not to go near your well. You are so convinced this person is who they say they are, and that they have your best interests at heart, that you follow their instructions. And then some random twink cryptid comes up and explains a psycho story about how he saw (clearly drug induced) visions of the past, so he knows that the celebrity was sent back to the dawn of civilization and they turned into a dragon so the person you saw isn’t really the person you think they are. Even if the guy has a degree in engineering, you’re probably not going to believe him. Link is not going to explain that to every random person he meets who thinks they saw the princess. At the very least, it’d be too time consuming. I’d argue even people he knows marginally well wouldn’t believe his story, so if he is going to explain it to someone, it has to be someone he really trusts and who really trusts him.

Which brings us to the question of why doesn’t Link tell people he’s close to, like Purah or the sages? Well…

3) The whole thing is traumatizing. When I found the Master Sword, I just sat there, staring at the Light Dragon until she moved out of view. Every time I see her I stop and watch for a few minutes, just out of grief and as a sort of tribute. And that’s because I’m just playing this game. The character, Link, who is probably in love with her, is likely worse off. Whenever I, as a player, meet someone that I, as a player, know and care about, I feel like I don’t want Link to tell them about what happened. Because why am I going to make Link experience that trauma again? And why on Hylia’s good earth would I want to bestow that trauma onto those I care about? These people are full of hope that she’s still out there (and they’re not wrong), and I’m still hoping there’s a way to bring her back (I haven’t finished the game yet so no spoilers please).

I just got to Gerudo Town and talking to Riju is the first time I was a little surprised Link didn’t say anything about Zelda. But, at the same time, Riju doesn’t need to know right now. She’s got all of Gerudo Town to worry about and I still have hope that the real Zelda will be back to visit her someday.

I feel like Link would be the type of person keep his pain to himself, to try and minimize the suffering of others by not putting them through what he’s been through. Even in Breath of the Wild, we saw in the memories how he suffered alone, and that’s why he stopped talking. It’s because of this that Link’s actions in Tears of the Kingdom make sense to me. He’s not refusing to tell people about Zelda because he’s dumb. He’s not telling them because he doesn’t want to burden others with the pain of knowing the truth. He’s traumatized and doesn’t know how to deal with his emotions in a healthy way. Also explains why he keeps building war machines…

#totk spoilers #tears of the kingdom spoilers #trauma #my boy can’t handle emotions #leave him alone #he’s committing war crimes to cope #legend of zelda #light dragon #totk link #Link’s not dumb he’s sad

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