#saria dy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

burstfoot · 5 months

Text

Figured I'd make a post outlining Arknights' auxiliary material for those who want to see more of the universe and aren't aware of all that's out there! ANIMATION Arknights Prelude To Dawn (S1) and Perish in Frost (S2, currently airing): [Crunchyroll]

A straight up adapation of the main story, up through Chapter 0 to Chapter 6! It's much more fast-paced than the story, so I wouldn't use it to replace actually reading it, but it's very cool to see some of these scenes in full animation. Lee's Detective Agency: (Youtube)

A mini-series animated in a chibi-style with a comedic tone focused on the adventures of the Kuroblood-illustrated Lee's Detective Agency! Distributed by Crunchyroll globally, but entirely free to watch.

Closure's Secret Files: (Youtube)

A cut-out styled series of shorts hosted by Closure which outlines a lot of the game's basic mechanics!

Holy Knight Light: [Youtube]

A short Youtube OVA focusing around Penguin Logistics delivering a package, celebrating Arknights' first anniversary!

[Upcoming]: Kay's Daily Doodles: (Twitter Annoucement)

Another free youtube mini-series that starts airing December 1st, focused around Ceobe! Here's some additional animations! Each event usually also has a 15 second 2D animated preview of the event, but there's so many of those that I can't list them all. Official Anniversary Event 3D Animations: Lone Trail Where Vernal Winds Will Never Blow Il Siracusano Ideal City Stultifera Navis Invitation To Wine Near Light Dossoles Holiday Under Tides Bonus 3D Animated Shorts: Legend of Chongyue Arknights Special - IL Siracusano Lo Scontro Youtube Shorts: Ch'en and Lin's Watermelon Splitting Game Part 1 Ch'en and Lin's Watermelon Splitting Game Part 2 Amiya's Siracusan Food Guide Part 1 Amiya's Siracusano Food Guide Part 2

Comics, Manga, Manhua

Officially Translated Rhodes Island's Records of Originium: Rhine Lab: (Offical Website)

A canon manhua centered around the circumstances that lead to Silence falling out with Saria and joining Rhodes Island with Ifrit, as well as Ifrit's attempt to save a dying infected stowaway on the landship. Essential reading for understanding the Rhine Lab storyline and characters - read it right after Mansfield! One of the characters, Darya, is mentioned in both Ifrit's module and briefly in Lone Trail.

Rhodes Island's Records of Originium: Blacksteel: (Official Source)

A short story focusing on the lives of the Blacksteel operators aboard the landship. While it often gets overshadowed by the Rhine Lab manga which is bigger in scope, this is a great read especially if you're interested in Franka or Liskarm.

Rhodes Kitchen -TIDBITS-: (Official Source)

An anthology story related to the cuisine that's important to a variety of operators. While it might seem unassuming, the art is gorgeous and it's really well-written. I particularly recommend the Goldenglow (Chapter 4) and Rosa (Chapter 5) chapters.

Unofficially Translated

Arknights Comic Anthology: (Mangadex)

As the title says, a series of non-canon anthology stories regarding the cast of Rhodes' Island! Note that the link provided only has complete translations up to Volume 4 (and Vol. 4 is missing Ch. 7), and most of the chapters avaliable after that point were MTL'd, so I can't vouch for their accuracy. Chapters I'd recommend are: Volume 1: Chapter 12 (focused on Myrrh trying to improve her medicine), Chapter 14 (focused on Saria and Silence trying to put apart their differences to take Ifrit on vacation, afaik the only place where they are directly referred to as her "moms") Volume 2: Chapter 1 (Manticore tries to make friends), Chapter 3 (The LGD gets drunk), Chapter 11 (Texlapp and Mosexu yuribait), Ch. 13 (Magallan tries to find a pet), Chapter 16 (Ethan spies on the interior lives of Rhodes operators) Volume 3: Chapter 6 (Snowsant, Ifrit, Nian and Shaw are forced to make friends), Chapter 7 (Gummy flashes back to Chernobog), Chapter 10 (FEater and Shaw yuribait), Chapter 13 (Blackout on the landship, as well as Ayerscarpe and Leonhardt yaoibait)

Volume 4: Chapter 4 (Thorns tries to make friends with Weedy [this one is my favourite]), Chapter 6 (Tomimi tail spankings), Chapter 9 (Elysium helps Frostleaf get along with Dur-Nar) Volume 6: Ch. 1 (Whisperain opens up to others) [this one isn't MTL'd afaik]

123 Rhodes Island: (Mangadex)

A series of non-canon gag 4komas! Many of the games' offical stickers are done in this series' art style.

Arknights: Operators!: (Mangadex)

A compilation of 4komas posted on the official ArknightsJP twitter account! Thank you to @sleepywoodscans for their work on translating these, please show them some love!!

[Edit: For clarities sake, the only stuff here that has used MTL is later chapters of the Comic Anthology! Sleepywoodscans’ work on Operators! is all done by hand (they’re a native Japanese speaker). Again, I really appreciate their work!]

Arknights: A1 Operations Preparation Detachment: (Mangadex)

Part of the Terra Historicus website and not yet officially translated, focusing on Fang, Kroos and Beagle, and a catastrophe striking the Columbian city of Tkaronto. Unfortunately, only translated up to Chapter 6, but one of the characters (Elba) has a brief cameo in Light Sparks in Darkness! Edit: Chapter 7 has been translated by @pooce-art, and they're working on Chapter 8!

Angelina: Sketches of THIS Messenger's Journey: (Mangadex)

Also published as part of the Terra Historicus website and not yet officially translated, focuses on the adventures of Angelina travelling across Terra as a Messenger! Recent chapters relate to the upcoming Sami event & IS4, as well as the upcoming So Long, Adele.

Prelude Suite: Unrestrained Play: (Wiki)

Unfortunately, I can't find a full translation for this one - an epilogue to Hortus De Esscapismo focusing on Arturia's background. Of course, major spoilers for Hortus apply - if you can find a full translation yourself.

As well, an upcoming manhua focused on the Break the Ice cast was annouced during the 4.5 Anniversary stream. As far as I'm aware, chapters have not begun releasing yet!

Other:

Arknights Ambience Synesthesia: (Youtube)

youtube

A series of concerts (3 so far), focusing around Arknights' music! A live performance has been done every year, with skins released in-game for the concert's theme & 3D animations produced featuring the skin's cast in 2022 and 2023.

Monster Siren Records: (Spotify) (Official Website)

Arknights' official (and-in-universe) record label publishing game OSTs, themes for almost every 6 star operator that releases, and occasional bonus songs.

Arknights: Endfield: (Twitter)

An upcoming 3D action gacha game from Hypergryph, set in the far future of Arknights' universe on another planet. Currently in closed beta testing for their CN servers!

Arknights: Nomad City: The Founders: (Youtube)

A to-be-released CN Arknights board game! Unclear of if it will ever be translated or released globally, unfortunately...

Terra: A Journey: (Wiki)

An upcoming CN lore book focused on the intricate details of Terra's worldbuilding. As well, unclear if it will be translated or released globally.

UNOFFICIAL:

Some fandom-developed tools that might be of use to you are the Arknights Terra Wiki - which just transferred from FANDOM to wiki.gg, and has very detailed information on both game mechanics and world-lore.

As well, the Arknights Story Reader can help you catch up on stuff you don't want to or can't read in game!

Finally, Aceship's Toolbox provides access to a variety of tools, including a levelling calculator, a calculator to ensure the best recruitments, and all the CGs, backgrounds and character sprites that are avaliable in-game.

Conclusion:

Thank you for reading! I hope this provided some new information to you or at least provides an easy reference resource in the future. There's a lot to check out even outside of the game, and I hope you find some stuff you enjoy!

#arknights #ohhhh my god this took way longer to write than expected #dont want to reblog beg but they would be greatly appreciated!#take care with the mangadex & non-offical links #I can't guarantee their safety #i could've sworn who is real had a 3d trailer but it mightve been an ambience synthesia vid

415 notes · View notes

the-au-collector · 5 months

Text

So has Time ever told the Chain he was raised by a tree?

Because I can’t get over the comedic potential of Time talking about his father, and the Chain just assuming he’s talking about a human being. He doesn’t bring up his elusive father often, but when he does it’s always a punch to the gut. Time will just be like, “Oh yeah my dad took me in as an infant when my mom died.” “I watched my dad die at the start of my journey.”

At first Time doesn’t mean to trick them, but then he realizes that the Chain is just assuming that he was raised by a human. So he just lets it snowball. He starts telling them more, seeing how long it takes for them to realize he was raised by a tree. “My dad couldn’t move around much but he was a good dad nonetheless.” “Oh how old was he? Ancient.” “He was our protector, really. Always seemed to know what was going on in the woods.”

And it just keeps snowballing. Malon gets in on it. Since Time knew him in the War of Eras, Wind already knows that Time was raised by a tree but is 100% down to keep up the charade for Time.

Meanwhile Warriors is just fuming because, guys, guys he’s talking about a tree. No I’m being serious guys—

No one believes Warriors when he says Time was raised by a tree. Absolutely no one. It makes Warriors so mad. Time, though, finds this all absolutely hilarious.

Somehow though it gets out that Time really was raised by a tree. Maybe they end up in the Kokiri Woods and either Saria or the Deku Sprite are like “oh yeah lol you mean the Great Deku Tree? Yeah, Time was raised by it like all the Kokiri.”

The rest of the Chain is just flabbergasted. Time is almost dying of laughter. Warriors is pissed because he’s been saying this all along.

So yeah. Time was raised by a tree and uses it to fuck with the Chain. Don’t ever tell me Time is not a gremlin underneath his mature-looking armor.

#lu time #linked universe #shenanigans #time was raised by a tree #lu warriors #time being a gremlin #headcanon #this has been living rent free in my brain for days

245 notes · View notes

cherry-blossomtea · 6 months

Text

This scene, slotted so neatly into all the chaos happening around them, absolutely shredded me. For a moment Rhine Lab disappeared, Control disappeared, Maylander disappeared, and it was just Silence and Saria sharing this moment of “oh god has something happened to Ifrit” that transcended any issues they may have with each other. Just two women terrified to death about their terminally ill kid. It’s such a harsh snap back to the reality of her situation.

“No Ifrit, I trust you, but…”

But you’re dying and I don’t know how to stop it.

#unfriendly reminder as always that Ifrit has the worst case of Oripathy afaik on Rhodes Island #arknights #lone trail #MORE CRYPOSTING SORRY #gonna go listen to the Cure again and sob

121 notes · View notes

shuttershocky · 8 months

Note

Heya! I'm a huge fan of Silence and I've been really hype about her alter, but actually I've been wondering of good she actually was? I've seen a lot of people or tierlists putting her very low, and it's worrying me that my favorite character's alter is going to be that bad (but I mean, I'll still play her anyway-)

So, how good is she, if you have any clue? What's the best way to play her? And would she be better in a Rhine Lab squad?

Silence the Paradigmatic is not very valued both because she's purely defensive, and people just hate Abjurers in general for their low numbers and lack of otherwise outstanding utility on top of their heals and shelter, such as Eyjaberry being seen as busted as fuck due to having a global range, 5x heal that also heals elemental damage.

However, when it comes to actually doing her job of keeping her allies from dying, nobody does it better than Silence. This is because of what her S3 does: give a temporary immortality buff to all allies within her attack range.

Purely from a numbers standpoint her S3 is wild. It has a humble +30% ATK buff to boost her heals and boosts her Talent 1 (10% shelter on allies in her range, scaling to 24% when they're at 30% HP) by 1.8x which is decent, but what is nuts is that it applies a buff on allies in range where, if they take lethal damage, their HP gets prevented from going below 1 for 10 seconds. The skill also lasts for a mind-boggling 60 seconds, meaning you have a whole minute where everyone gets a one-time get out of jail free card. If an ally uses it up early, they can still die later on even while the skill is ongoing, but still. You make everyone into Specter.

With an SP cost of 30 at S3M3 and a starting SP of 20, Silence can come in with the immortality buff just 10 seconds into deployment. It's so conceptually broken than HG tried to keep it in check by only making it usable up to 2x per battle (they knew this would inevitably take over the Contingency Contract meta otherwise), but due to its ridiculously long duration of 60 seconds, most stages are over by the time you use it twice anyway.

Counter AOE boss skills. Aak buff whoever you want without thinking about if they can survive it or not. This skill even works on allies she can't directly heal, meaning the immortality buff works on Juggernauts and Mushas.

Rather than break the game by ending a stage on her own, Silence instead increases the viability of other, less meta strategies, opening up way more ways to play the game than simply ungga bungga meta spam. It means that while she's never going to be high on anyone's tier lists, she actually accomplishes her intended job of being a support unit, all while being a free unit that you don't even have to roll for.

As for being in a Rhine squad, Silence's faction buff is a doubled buff on her S2, which heals allies constantly by 5% of Silence's ATK every second when they're below half health (so 10% if a Rhine Lab member). Not much on its own, but with Abjurer modules Silence ALSO gets a +10% max HP to all allies in range which means free fucking +20% Max HP for Saria. HELL yeah.

#Arknights

74 notes · View notes

bracketsoffear · 4 months

Note

fan statements?

"Ad Astra Per Aspera", Statement of Saria [no surname provided] regarding the piercing of the veil that obscures the sky. (Arknights, Vast)

"Human Wholeness", Statement of Emil Sinclair regarding his former classmate, her transformation, and the destruction of his hometown. (Limbus Company, Flesh)

"The Graveyard Shift", Statement of Enoch Drebber regarding his former occupation and expulsion, and retrospectively, role in the decline, and later repair, of the justice system. (The Great Ace Attorney, Buried/Web)

"Twisted Sonder", Statement of Daley Vigil regarding his firing from Barclay Prison, the actions of his alternate persona, and role in the death of Tobias Gregson. (The Great Ace Attorney, Lonely/Stranger)

"A Kick in the Head", Statement of an unnamed courier regarding their sudden inability to stay dead, or, potentially, a dying dream. (Fallout: New Vegas, End)

"The True Form", Statement of Paula Jones regarding the end of existence and the entity she saw at its epicenter. (Earthbound, Spiral/Extinction)

#asks #statement ideas

24 notes · View notes

the0maski · 1 year

Text

I need more Time was raised by Kokiris content.

This tall as a tree man, was raised by a tree.

One of his "siblings" is Fado, guys! You think Fado didn’t took little Time to the lost woods with her, and laughed at some hylian getting transformed into a monster? And take the stuff left behind?

(Also Fado probably taught him swear words, because if someone was the cause, for little Time just yelling profanities all over the village, it’s her)

Adult Time having nightmares about dying because he left the safety of the forest. Maybe Malon helping her husband calm down, just enough to help him go to the forest so he feels save again.

In moments of panic, he will forget some words in hylian yelling one command in kokiri and not even realizing it, causing confusion at times.

All his beliefs of fairy’s, dying if one leaves the woods, manners and world views are just different and he is still getting to understand or to unlearned some.

And lets put Time’s fear of being an outsider into the mix.

Not having a fairy was hard enough as a child. The whole village just bullied him, and Saria couldn’t be always there for him. Now he knows he is a hylian, that never learned how to be a hylian. So what better way to avoid reality, and just spend most of his childhood looking for Navi, and traveling with Skull kid until, the day he mustered the courage to become part of hylian society! And still be scared of becoming an outsider.

Meeting the chain, Time doesn’t reveal much, not to be cryptic, even thou that is also funny, but because he still feared being bullied.

He knows how everyone feel about the lost woods. It’s scary, people disappear and it’s better to avoid it. Yet Time would love to disagree, but he can’t! What would they think of him if he just said that the lost woods where the safest place for him? Would the slowly drawn away from him? Call him names?

They all talk about getting old one day, a concept that Time maybe is still getting used to. Yes he can imagine dying in battle, but of old age?

He still waiting for Navi, like when he was a child. That’s not what hylians do, right? That’s a kokiri thing, right?

There is so much more to our poor traumatized boy Time that happen years before Termina was even a thing.

#this all is probably just my bullied trauma ass talking #but let’s be honest time has some issues nobody talks about #he is in Lu canon just as salty as legend if not worse #and for a valid reason distance yourself before they left you mentality #for every time a read a fanfic where Wild is being the weird one I picture one Time screaming inside #lu time #linked universe #lu thoughts

62 notes · View notes

raisengen · 2 years

Text

In the light of her behaviour in the Rhine Lab manhua, I went back and scanned through Mansfield Break to try to get a better handle on Muelsyse's character.

Muelsyse's overall motive in this event is to gain access to Anthony Simon to use as leverage over Energy, who backed HydeBro who in turn destroyed Simon Co in an industrial dispute. She asked Saria to be her agent in the prison, but lost out when Saria sent Simon off to Silence and Rhodes Island instead. She wants to understand what happened, and she awants Silence and Mayer to pave the way for her forming a cooperation agreement with Rhodes Island that will let her get close to Mountain.

Throughout her words and actions, Muelsyse gives plenty of hints that she's a dyed-in-the-wool schemer and a manipulator, but she's not really leaning hard on those tactics right now. Indeed, the fact that she lets it show so easily itself shows she isn't making use of them — Silence says Muelsyse is "just as repulsive as my mentor" for the knowing attitude she takes towards other people, but it took Silence a long time and a deep crisis to realise how manipulative Parvis can be. Meanwhile, she's only just met Muelsyse and already reached the same conclusion.

I think this combination of duplicity and authenticity helps give Muelsyse her particular pathetic and dubious aroma.

(An aside on Parvis: since he apparently still wants her to succeed him as Director, that he gave Silence a trove of data that's lead to multiple shadowy affairs such as Anthony Simon suggests he might be trying to show her "this is how the world really works, the Diabolic Crisis is just business as usual" and bring her round to his viewpoint to make her more suitable for the job. In his eyes, his actions are noble.)

Muelsyse herself as much says that she could put on an act and frame things in a way that would make it palatable for Silence to agree to her requests, and that she's good at that sort of thing, but she isn't doing that out of respect. And that's not just some double-bluff. What she wants is help getting a working agreement with Rhodes Island, but what she says is "give me Anthony Simon" because that's her end goal, even though it pisses Silence off that she treats people as means rather than ends, as objects or functions rather than people.

Though, perhaps some of that is Muelsyse's limited understanding of how people work. She's pretty Machiavellian herself, but she assumes other people work in much the same way, looking out for their own interests and engaging in political manoeuvres as necessary. She's aware that Saria's ethical principles drove her from Rhine Lab, but doesn't consider that anyone in this incident could have a motive other than powerbroking.

She tells us well before the manhua that Kirsten is invested only in her own research and doesn't even see the ethical boundaries that are being crossed. She compares Mayer to Kirsten, and in some ways her assessment is correct! Mayer is a nice person, but she isn't all that concerned about what happened in this prison break or its questions of right and wrong. She just cares about the research that she likes to do and helping out her friends. However, she also thinks that Silence might be like herself, then corrects to her being like Mayer and by extension Kirsten — a brilliant scientist driven by their love for their own research in abstract. She fails to see that moral convictions might be at play here. Mountain indicates as much himself, saying that he agrees with some of her takes but that she's only seeing the bad stuff in the world, and hasn't noticed the good.

It's a bit of a pity that Silence turned down getting Muelsyse a role in Rhodes Island because it means she isn't playable I think she would benefit from rubbing shoulders with openly committed idealists that do the right thing because they believe it to be right, and not only that which intersects with what they enjoy doing.

(After all this, I'm not really sure how to reconcile Muelsyse's physical threats to Silence. She drops an I-won't-let-you-leave early in negotiations, which seems counterproductive when you have plenty of carrots to pull her in. Then at the end she hits her with a case of did-you-really-think-I'd-let-you-walk-away-with-all-you-know? when… yes, your original plan was to trade a favour and have them walk off with everything you just freely told them. You even turned up as just a clone instead of in person, showing you were more worried about making a quick escape than you were about fighting! It feels like it was more of an excuse to have Mountain burst in right at the end.)

I think there's a fair chance Muelsyse comes across as quite charming and charismatic to people that only know her in a professional or heirarchical context, if she doesn't feel she should be authentic in those contexts.

#Arknights #Muelsyse

189 notes · View notes

balladetto · 4 months

Text

Once, when Link was even smaller than he feels, he'd knocked his shoulder out of its socket in a terrible fall.

Terrible in that he'd cried about it, ashamed and at the then-height of pained, not that it was a particularly horrific tumble. He'd just landed wrong, he remembers someone telling him — frantic and almost apologetic in their reassurance. Too much has happened for him to reconstruct a face for the memory, but Link can still recall the stutter in their words. You're g-gonna be okay. Y-you're gonna— gonna be f-fine.

And he was. Someone had gone to fetch a healing fairy while others came to keep him company. It'd been the right shoulder, burning at the joint and numb all the way down to his fingertips, but he'd found a spot of hurt he could grit his teeth through; then breathe through; then eventually speak through. By the time the fairy was brought over, Link had been so deep in the rhythm of holding himself together that he'd nearly slapped her away when she broke it.

He remembers her, he thinks, the most out of everything. There's a distinct clarity associated pain will give you with any recollection. She was rose-pink, a little darker than he was used to, and she'd bristled when he whimpered through a fresh wave of tears and pushed at her with his pinky.

"Stop that," she'd said. "Bones aren't easy, you know. It'll only hurt for a pinch, it has to for me to fix it. You're already being so brave! Can't you be brave a while longer?"

Outside the memory, Link lays crumpled on cold tiles, eyelids like crushed butterfly wings and the cave of his chest barely moving as he looks up and up and up. He thinly wonders, for a fixing like this, how long he'd have to keep being brave for.

Neither of his shoulders took the landing this time, but he knows many things are wrong with both of them. By extension, many things are wrong with all of him. He should take stock, a part of him understands. He'd like to take stock, another part realises, if only he had the capacity to. Each breath shifts the slivers and splinters his bones have shattered into. Agony twists through every vein like a replacement for the blood he imagines paints his trail from platform to windows to the far below floor. He can't feel his fingers, which twitch as if to grip something — his left hand, mangled, rests as if in graveyard dirt.

There is no amount of searching in this sea that will land him in a place where this might be bearable.

"Link!" Navi yells, a trilling bell that drowns out the sound of dying. His heart threads an extra thump, like he still has it in him to be scared alongside everything else, before it fades back into a whisper of a pulse. She wheels above him in panicked, powdery circuits: hair to boots and back. "Get up! You have to get up!"

He does. He does have to. Link doesn't get to think he's gonna die now. He doesn't get to be tired enough — small enough — for that. He draws a rattling inhale, head practically cracking open with how the air presses against its seams. He's sixteen. The world will end if he's nine. He's sixteen, sixteen, sixteen.

He chokes on liquid rising in his gorge, coughs it up, and closes his eyes when gravity brings the blood down in blotches on his skin. It's— really gross, and that's such a mundane thought in the face of what he has to reckon with that his chest starts spasming with strangled laughter instead.

"Link!"

Navi, he replies in his head, 'cause that's all he can do. He traces over more names: Sheik, Zelda, Saria, the Sages, the Kokiri, the list goes on as his voice dips into hitching, searing gasps. It's an awful thing to realise — that's all he can do. Link has to get up, has to be Courage, has to be more than what he is.

And he can't.

Sound drifts down from above, mocking. Cruel. It's a laugh getting louder and louder, and Link prises his lashes apart with the sheer will borne from a unique dread. A kind of fear, if you felt it not in sensation, but in the dizzying spiral that is the certainty of where this will all end.

A kind of fear — and a kind of fury.

Link is nine, thrown to the ground, battered and muscles stinging with a magic he tastes as something crackling on his tongue. He glares up at the tall man on the tall horse, smouldering so brazenly with protective, frustrated outrage that he shakes with it. He is not unafraid of the sneer that answers him, but he does not look away.

Link is nine, broken over the ground, near dead and stuck in a body he's tried to make his. His eyes are cold as he watches Ganondorf descend, burning with tears dyed red from failure. The brand on his left hand glows, resonating with a magic he no longer has the nerves to feel. Navi doesn't leave. There are a thousand things he wishes he could scream.

Large fingers fold around the wrist of his gauntlet, deliberate in their ignorance of the softness a joint that bent must be afforded. As his arm is lifted, the pain dragged along every passing second like some horrible, continuous song-note that eclipses even his fears, he pretends none of the noises coming from him are his and thinks everything that could mean: I hate you.

He thinks everything that could mean: I'm so sorry.

The man raises his other hand, palm closing in, and Link forces another entire earth on the child he can't be even here — even now. He does not look away. Navi, oddly muffled, rings something wordless.

Link waits for the end of this story.

#* lionheart / study.#( so uh. down.fall timeline drabble! [pops a party popper]#i don't usually write on full workdays because i /can't/ write on those days (head fuckening. empty) but god. god #Inspired!! i hope it reads well <3 #thinking about. an ending where li.nk turns out more kokiri than hylian (yay?) in that he's a spirit that no longer ages who takes on the #image of a child most times because that's what his core mainly reflects. but it's like looking at smth you aren't supposed to #in the itchy brain sort of way -- and sometimes the borders of his form blur so entirely that he's the image of what he was when he. y'know #do you get me. do you see the vision < delirious with sleep deprivation #i'm sure i'll find something to regret about this when i wake but i am sending post i can't look at this anymore flksjdf )#* lionheart / ic.#* ic / para.#* v / a story that can't be changed.#death implied #ask to tag /#* intermission / queue.#long post cw

11 notes · View notes

prettycottonmouthlamia · 7 months

Text

Sometimes it's fun to just find a cheese strategy, even if that strategy isn't the fastest at dealing damage or what not. "The Immortal" my friend I have bad news for you.

I'm a really bad fighting game player. I subscribe to the School

OF NO BLOCK!

To explain this cheese for people who aren't aware and are wondering why my friends here aren't getting sandblasted to death, "The Immortal" has an interesting AI quirk where the attack he uses is dependent on the tile your unit is on, not whether or not he can hit them. If the enemy is on one of the ranged tiles around the map, he will hit them with his sand blast.

But if they're on a melee tile, he will always use his axe swing. This means that melee units with 0 Block can actually attack him with impunity. This means that Ambusher and Dollkeeper Specialists are at zero risk of dying to him and can freely whittle away at his HP.

There are two risks however: the first is the weather, so it might be a good idea to have a Healing Defender (like Saria) to keep their HP up. I had Thunderstorms and that can kill operators deployed, which will restore 12,000 HP to the boss, which is not great. As long as Saria doesn't damage the boss, she won't be attacked by him too. You might even be able to use her S3 instead of her S2, I haven't tested that yet.

The second is that _one_ of the Ore Guardians will decide to waltz his ass in the middle. We hate this guy. It's not super likely he kills anyone straight out since he'll also be whittled down, but importantly, it's annoying as shit. Once you see him, it's a good idea to block it with either Jaye or Lappland (since Silence turns off the retaliatory Arts damage iirc) and kill it off.

Ambushers:

Ethan: Ethan can actually damage The Immortal with his S2, but he'll only do about 250-360 damage with each swing depending on his Module progress and this is assuming E2 Max Level and Mastery 3. You'll want to use his S1 instead, because The Immortal actually has 0 RES and so the 100 Arts damage per second will be a much higher DPS.

Manticore: Manticore barely misses the 1000 DEF mark for her normal attacks to do damage, so it's best to use her S2 for this stage. She won't contribute all that much to DPS outside of doing a lot of damage to the Core Guardian, so she's not the most useful here.

Kirara: This might actually be one of the best stages for Kirara in the game, which is absolutely hilarious to think about. We've done it. We've finally broken Kirara. I'm not entirely sure whether her S1 or S2 is better, I think her S1 has better overall DPS than her S2, but her S2 boosts her survivability in the stage and she's pretty easy to position for the bonus.

Mizuki: Mizuki is actually the only Ambusher who can deal more than chip damage with his normal attack (only 97 though), but he does so much Arts damage its not really a fair comparison. You can use either his S1 or his S2 on this map, depending on which one you find has better DPS against a lone enemy.

Dollkeeper:

Bena: With Dollkeeper's, their skills don't tend to matter because they pretty much always instantly die. You might be able to get some use out of her S2, but Bena is more important due to the fact that her Substitute deals Arts damage, and a fully upgraded Bena can deal about 800 per attack, which is pretty reasonable.

Kazemaru: With proper timing, Kazemaru might actually be able to deal some damage with S1, but the big draw is the burst damage she gets off of her Substitute being summoned. This being said, she won't contribute that much damage even with her Module since the Substitute does physical damage and is just barely under 1000 ATK. Like Manticore, she's not really needed.

Specter the Unchained: This probably will not be surprising, but she's easily the best Dollkeeper for this bit. While it's highly unlikely that she'll survive to use her skills (even with the help of Gladiia and Skadi) her best one is obviously her S2, and she'll even do pretty good damage with it. Her Substitute is one of the big damage dealers here, as a full rotation will do about 17,000 damage and gradually wear him down. Skadi's Mod Y will also be a big help her for increasing her damage output.

I don't have everyone maxed out, so I can't say if this cheese can kill him within the 5 minutes for the stage. If not, it can get a good idea to supplement with a high damage Operator (they need to deal at least 12,000 damage in order to be worth it).

#arknights #fire within the sand

14 notes · View notes

arkiwii · 3 months

Text

cute date :] i wanted to try some clothes and also experiment on colors since ive been unsatisfied lately... it ended up looking good!! im happy with it

#i am so fucking much dying right now my tummy hurts so much ill just catapult this piece and go in my bed to cry #arknights #stalkiwiart #olivia silence #saria #art #fanart

219 notes · View notes

heartofsurgingflame · 7 months

Text

i got my silence bunny in the mail. i dont have tbe saria and ifrit ones though so i drew them instead

#arknights #silence arknights #olivia silence #saria arknights #ifrit arknights #ahrens parvis #dying's easy art is hard

139 notes · View notes

brave-symphonia · 3 months

Text

Decided to put together a strategy with the operators I had going into that BSL run, and adding one or two, just to see what kind of strategy I could make if I brought a reasonable team in.

And I kind of want to share it a bit.

I'm thinking something like this?

With Ptilosis on the left as a healer, Nightingale on the right as a healer.

Ch'en Alter and maybe Specter or some other damage dealer wailing on BSL over on the right side.

Mountain in the lower left protecting that bottom point from enemies, although probably could move him up to benefit from Nightingale.

And Thorns and Lee dealing with the enemies on the left.

No idea if this would work, but all I did was adapt my plan where I took BSL down to half, accounting for Mountain dying and me having no one to place on the bottom right aside from Saria.

Although, she might've been fine.

Basically, right now I'm trying to practice figuring out this level based on squads I know I've been able to bring to this fight.

But yeah, Thorns, Lee, and Nightingale should be able to hold that left side pretty well, I assume. And all I need is to make sure it doesn't fall before BSL dies.

Then I just need to defend from the far-right enemies, and have units to attack BSL with.

I even think I know what to pick as a starting squad, when i usually just wing that. Because the Sniper and Healer starting squad gives me 3 of these fully promoted immediately.

I just kind of wanted to share the basic change to my strategy I made that I'm aiming for.

#zack plays video games #zack plays arknights #integrated strategies

8 notes · View notes

destined-to-never-meet · 10 months

Text

Home - OOT Roleswap

“I’m Li—“ “my names Zel—“ they had both reached out at the same time.

With that stumble, they both started to giggle.

The boy stood straight up, appearing to fix his posture and adjust his clothes slightly. Zelda didn’t know what he could be adjusting. He was just wearing a simple tunic and trousers.

“Sorry about my manners, my name is Link, what’s yours?” He reached out his hand and smiled at her.

“Zelda.” She reached out on autopilot, again transfixed by how bright his eyes were.

Words: 4k

Rating: T (Warning for themes of death)

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48410614

@zelinkcommunity

Prince Link stared through the window, locked onto the suspicious king of the Gerudo. His eyes narrowed when he saw how easily his mother fell for his charms, their mouths opening and closing in what could only be laughter.

He has to do something. Ever since the man had walked into the castle, a horrible feeling had washed over the prince. Something was wrong, so very wrong, about this man.

He had tried, begged, his father to not go along with it. He had been simply shooed away.

He doesn’t believe me… It was really a horrible feeling.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

It was turning out to be a rather.. crummy day dare she say. First, Mido had once again come after her for the billionth time for being a “fairy-less loser” and then they had fought. Zelda was tired of getting picked on day in and day out. Saria, ended up being the only reason Mido didn’t walk away with a bloody nose.

Saria, she thought, how blessed I am to have a best friend like you.. the amount of times her presence and wisdom saved her.. was unmountable.

The worst thing that happened that day was finding out that the Great Deku Tree was sick. Everyone in the forest was in various stages of distress. As it turned out, they were right to be distressed. He had been poisoned and was dying.

“It’s all her fault” they whispered.

“Without Zelda the Great Deku Tree would be fine.”

That had eclipsed a lot of her earlier enthusiasm upon finally, finally, getting a fairy companion of her own. Navi, was her name. And so she and Navi quickly got close as they had to traverse the skulltula-infested insides of what was once her home.

It was hard watching him go and not being able to do anything about it other than promise him that she’d help the Prince of Hyrule and stop the evil man that poisoned him in the first place.

Without much fanfare, she was off, that was until Saria stood in the center of the path.

As it turned out, she wasn’t a real Kokiri girl. Just a Hylian. Saria gave Zelda her precious ocarina, and then they bid a tearful farewell.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

Despite the increasing worsening circumstances at home, when she finally arrived in Castle Town everything seemed to be doing okay. It was more people than she had ever seen before. She had no clue this many people even existed. It was very overwhelming.

She had gotten distracted by some very delicious looking candies when all of the sudden the man started to yell at her! It was quite scary. He was going on about something “rupees” and how she owed him..

She was ready to make a run for it when she felt another presence walk past her to get in front of her.

It was a boy, who seemed to be around her same age. A mop of blonde hair was all that she could observe from behind, his face hidden from view.

“Excuse my friend, she’s forgotten her wallet at home. I will pay for her.”

Zelda blinked. Huh. She didn’t know this boy? Why was he acting like they knew each other, let alone friends? Zelda didn’t have many friends, enough that she could count them on one hand. Big Deku Tree, Saria, and now Navi.

The boy handed over the strange currency and turned to her.

The first thing she noticed were his eyes, the brightest, bluest eyes she had ever seen. She was a little in awe. But he himself seemed to be as well.

He then unceremoniously grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the table and her thoughts. “Hey! Where are you taking me—“ she protested.

“Shhhh” he turned to face her while he still pulled her through the crowd. “I’m trying to help you!”

When they had finally reached far enough in a clearing, the boy stopped and dropped her hand like it burned. They just blinked at each other for a moment, not sure what to say.

Oh! That’s right! I need to introduce myself!

“I’m Li—“ “my names Zel—“ they had both reached out at the same time.

With that stumble, they both started to giggle.

The boy stood straight up, appearing to fix his posture and adjust his clothes slightly. Zelda didn’t know what he could be adjusting. He was just wearing a simple tunic and trousers.

“Sorry about my manners, my name is Link, what’s yours?” He reached out his hand and smiled at her.

“Zelda.” She reached out on autopilot, again transfixed by how bright his eyes were.

“Sorry about Mason back there, he’s a real grump sometimes. I thought it was the right thing to get you out of there. Do you wanna play a game?” The boy had asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Zelda was too taken aback at his rapid fire questions to answer immediately but she must’ve nodded unconsciously because he was excitable anew.

“Awesome!” Was all she could make out before he was once again talking way too quickly, explaining the rules to some game.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

They had spent the afternoon together, the mission was completely forgotten. Too caught up in meeting someone who wanted to be her friend.

“So. Where are you from anyways?” The boy had asked.

“Hm? Oh! Well I’m a Kokiri! I live in the Kokiri Forest!” Well, did, anyways. But Zelda didn’t feel like dredging up those bad feelings at the moment.

“A Kokiri?” The boy had turned to her with a perplexed expression on his face, eyebrows knit together in concentration. Like there was something on the tip of his tongue that he just couldn’t remember.

Just then an imposing figure appeared behind her new friend. Zelda’s eyes widened and she backed up slightly. Link quickly caught on, as he swiveled around.

“Eek!!”

“Little one.” The tall figure regarded Link.

Link had turned on his tail and attempted to flee, but strong arms had descended to pick him up.

“Heyyyyyy! I’m not done yet!” He protested.

“Your mother is worried sick looking for you. You must return home at once. Do you even realize how long you’ve been gone?”

What had Zelda gotten into the middle of? She didn’t know what it was like to have an actual parent in her life. She started to back away, when the tall, intimidating woman’s eyes swiveled to her.

“And where do you think you’re going, little lady? It’s getting late and your parents must also be worried about you, hurry along.”

Zelda couldn’t think of anything to say, so she nodded, making eye contact with Link in silent apology. Before turning and scurrying away.

...

She had found out through some rather clever sleuthing, she must say herself, that this Prince of Hyrule lived in the huge castle on the hill! And so that’s where she went. The guards wouldn’t let her in, and so she was forced to find another way in. Those meanies.

The next shock of the outside world was after she finally snuck her way through the gardens. Piece of cake, she thought. Then there was a figure in small stature turned away from her. Head to toe in royal regalia.

She stepped closer, Navi keeping close, “Uhm, excuse me.. Prince..?”

With her intrusion she heard a gasp and the figure turned around, causing her to gasp as well.

It was the boy from the market?? He was the prince! She had met the prince..?!

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

I was asleep… for seven years? Zelda couldn’t even absorb this information before she was dropped back into the world. Plopped down onto the pedestal.

She must’ve been hallucinating, after all, there was a strange instrument being played and she was completely alone—

She turned around to see a slim figure leaning on the doorway strumming away on a stringed instrument.

She..he? Zelda couldn't tell. There was a mask covering the lower half of the face, and the top half was disguised by a curtain of hair covering one eye. A bright, red eye was all that was visible besides tanned skin. An icy blonde long braided strand fell out from the bandages that wrapped their head.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

“I have forbidden myself from any sort of relationship that would distract myself from my goal of overthrowing the tyrannical king.”

“Woah..” was all Zelda could think of saying. The Sheikah she came to learn was named “Sheik” sat across the campfire from her. So intense… She thought. The Sheikah’s lone visible eye shimmered with the glowing embers of fire.

From the time she had spent with the lone warrior, the last of the mysterious Sheikah tribe, she had learned quite a bit about the world… significantly less about the person themselves. First off, Zelda still wasn’t sure if it was a he or she. Sheik never corrected her if she used either, so she was left to her own guesses.

“I still am thankful you’re my friend, Sheik.” She smiled brightly, trying to drag him out of his gloom.

Sheik just stared at her before looking away at something in the distance. They did this a lot. She never was sure what they could’ve seen that she didn’t.

“I’m sure—no confident—that if we work together Ganondorf’s rein will crumble down easily!” She insisted.

The lone visible eye crinkled, it could’ve meant a multitude of things, happy? Painful? Regretful? Embarrassed? Zelda still couldn’t read the sheikah’s expressions very well. She had come to rely on body language. Right now they were relaxed—or as relaxed as Sheik could be anyways.

Happy, then? I’ll take that.

“Plus. Having friendships doesn’t make you weaker, it makes you stronger! It means that you have people to back you up!“ She continued.

The Sheikah didn’t respond. Zelda didn’t like when her friend was perpetually silent like this. So she scooted over to be right in front of them and grabbed their hands.

“Hey. Don’t shut me out. We’re friends right? You can tell me anything.”

The lone eye widened and she felt the hands tense under her grasp. What does that mean? Does Sheik simply hate close contact? But they never pulled away.

He heard the warrior take a deep breath in and exhale rather than see it. “When you lose everyone who’s dear to you, you learn quickly not to get too attached.” Their tone was low, bitter, if she looked too far into it. That only made Zelda more convinced.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

Kakariko village was burning, and a loud gust of wind was the only warning before he was ripped from the very ground he stood on. There was no time to breathe, let alone think. The nausea swirled in his gut as he was violently thrown around like a ragdoll.

“Sheik!” he heard his name vaguely called out from somewhere.

Before he knew it he was unceremoniously reuniting with the earth, hitting the ground hard.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

All that she heard was her companion’s screams before she looked up to the sky. Sheik was being thrown around by an invisible force. There was nothing Zelda could do but watch in horror. Her body trembled in unused adrenaline.

Eventually after what seemed to be eternity, the invisible force let go of her friend and she watched as they were flung carelessly to the ground. Her legs were moving before she could process what was going on.

She kneeled besides the lithe body curled on the floor. “Sheik! Are you alright?'' When her friend responded in a pained grunt she wanted to aid them, however the sound of rustling wind brought her attention back to the attacker. She quickly stood to her feet and unsheathed the Master Sword, leveling it out to prepare to attack. She stood in a defensive position in front of her fallen companion, who lay motionless and vulnerable.

Sheik had protected her many times, more than she could count, and it was about time to repay the favor.

She didn't know when the invisible force would strike, but she would be ready–or so she hoped.

“Zelda…don’t…” a low voice cried out.

What?

Just then she felt the wind pick up and she felt herself get pummeled with what felt like a strong punch and then everything was black.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

Zelda blinked awake, above her the sky was clouded and angry. She could feel the cold drops of rain fall on her face.

“Looks like you’re coming to.” A familiar voice said beside her. She jolted up, startled slightly. Oh, it was just Sheik…

Sheik sat in a little uncomfortably close distance from her, their lone visible eye seemingly scrutinizing her very carefully.

“You’re alright?” Sheik asked plainly.

“Are you alright?” She countered, still distracted by how the lone red eye was locked onto her.

Sheik scoffed, before resting back on their haunches. “You don’t need to worry about me, swordsman.”

“Well, I may not ‘need’ to but I want to, okay?” Zelda was not in the mood to deal with another one of their self-sacrificing moods. You are my friend, I get to choose whether or not to care about you? Okay?

“Mmm” the warrior wordlessly responded, looking away from her once more.

“What are you looking at anyways? You always do that?”

“Do what?” They asked, head tilted in an uncharacteristic amount of expression.

“Whenever I say something you don't have an immediate answer to or don’t like you never want to look at me.”

“So?”

“So, what’s going on in there? What’s on your mind?”

“It’s none of your concern.” They dismissed.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

The breath was stolen from Zelda’s lungs.

What? There’s no way…

Before her stood the Prince of Hyrule where her Sheikan companion had stood moments before.

“I’m sorry I lied to you, Zelda. My disguise was necessary to hide from the KIng of Evil.” He said, sorrowful.

She stood across from him, slack jawed. This whole time, the person that she had come to know, fight besides, travel besides, was the Prince this entire time? To be honest, if she said she wasn’t at least a little hurt it would be a lie.

“Sheik–Link–I–I am not sure what to say. If everything that we’ve done together was a part of a ruse then–”

His eyes widened. “No–that’s not it at all!” He paused at seeing her expression. “I mean.” He took a breath. “The only thing that wasn’t real was my name. That was still me –I am still me. None of that was a lie, I assure you.”

Zelda wasn’t sure what to make of that, before she could open her mouth to inquire further a horrible dark laughter echoed from the walls of the temple.

The unsheathed the legendary blade, looking around for the source of the wretched laugh. Link besides her gasped, and she turned. Oh no.

He was encased in an opaque crystal, Zelda ran to him, banging on the clear barrier.

He was trying to tell her something, she could see his mouth open and close rapidly, but she couldn’t hear him and she was left to frantically try and read his lips.

She banged on the crystalline surface, desperately trying to break it. But it was no use, as Link encased in the barrier was hoisted up into the air.

“Ganondorf” Zelda said with a snarl.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

The castle started to fall around them, and Zelda grabbed the Prince’s hand. “Cmon,” she urged “we need to go now.” He agreed and started down the treacherous path down with her.

Zelda was forced to stop every so often to slice down a monster or two.

It was going to be close.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

She stood across Link among the clouds. The king of evil was dead and now there were the pieces to pick up. She was mentally prepared and ready to be there to help rebuild the crumbling kingdom. But now they are here.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess I made, Zelda” he had said, and how she hated the tone of his voice.

“Link. You don’t need to apologize.”

He held up a hand. “No, I need to say this. Please let me finish.”

“Oh..” she said sadly. Her gut twisted and turned, she had a bad feeling about this.

“I had no right to rip you from your childhood, and take away seven years of your life. I am going to do my best to repay my debts.”

“Link.. what are you saying?”

Then the Prince of Hyrule extended his hand, “Zelda, please hand me the ocarina.”

She trusted Link with her life, but still she still very reluctantly relinquished the ocarina back to him.

Link didn’t pull back immediately and neither did she. They held each other's hands and stared at each other wistfully.

As all nice things come to an end, Link eventually pulls back, taking the ocarina of time with him.

“I took away what was yours, and it’s only right for me to give it back.”

“Link… you’re starting to scare me, what are you talking about?”

Link took a deep breath before continuing. “This is goodbye, Zelda, I’m going to send you back before you were put to sleep for seven long years.”

“What!” Zelda exclaimed. “But—but you won’t remember me? Won’t remember everything we’ve been through? Are you serious? I want to stay here—with you!” She pleaded, tears forming in her eyes.

He didn’t budge. “I’m sorry. I truly am. But I have to do this.” And with that he raised the ocarina to his lips.

Fine. Hurt me? I’ll repay the favor... she mimicked his voice in her head.

A thought suddenly came to mind, “All those days ago, at the campfire. You were telling the truth. You really are incapable of forming attachments.”

She meant for it to hurt, and hurt it did. But she was exhausted, and angry, and now hurt. The wounds may have healed but this form of betrayal would sting for a while.

She would come to regret later on that her last words to Link were ones of contempt.

When she returned home, as she feared, the young Prince had no true recollection of her or everything he had done as a Sheikah warrior.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Navi had wordlessly flown away. Not a goodbye. Nothing.

Was she just cursed to never have a true attachment to anyone? Cursed by the Golden Goddesses to be forbidden from finding anybody. She didn’t know.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

Long after her time spent in the future, and in a strange unknown land that left her with nightmares of an evil cackling voice, she returned to the castle. No matter how much she denied it, her heart and soul would always belong to the kingdom of Hyrule.

Even farther into the future, after the ashes had descended upon the land, she stood alone. Would I be here forever? To rot in eternity alone? What have I done to deserve such a fate?

It was quiet, there was at least that. The sky was hazy and the trees and leaves shook with a soft wind.

She had died with many regrets, and so here she was. In a purgatory of sorts. But she had a purpose, she learned eventually when a new knight dressed in green garb not too dissimilar to what she wore once upon a time, stepped before her.

The goddesses whispered into her ears, “this is your successor, train her well.” And “teach her to not end up like you did” went unspoken.

Apparently the land of Hyrule had changed a lot since she departed, as it had fallen under the control of a wicked man and so a new hero was called to save the land.

She was a lot older than she herself had been when she was called to duty. The girl—no older than 20–was not too different from how she must’ve looked carrying a sword when she was barely 10 years old. Only now did she finally understand the horrified looks of those who saw her fighting and carrying a sword as a kid. This is a girl—-no more than a child—and now she was the fate of the world on her shoulders.

And so, every time she was called upon to train this girl, she did just that. It wasn’t easy by any means but she did it to protect her. The world was nasty sometimes and the hero of the land had to be ready.

The brunette girl spoke rarely, so when the last time she saw her she opened her mouth to speak, she was quite surprised.

“What happened to you? Is that what happens to everyone who carries the title of hero?” She had asked, a hint of an accent on her voice.

She wasn’t sure what to say. She could never know for sure if this young girl, with so much hope in her eyes, would end up old and rotting away like her. But she could do her best.

“Live your life fully, and don’t die with regrets like I did.”

The girl nodded and stepped back, fading into the foggy atmosphere.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

One day while she was standing there, she heard another’s footsteps approaching. She had no clue who could possibly be here, and so she turned around.

Before her, looking a little older than in her memories, was none other than Link, her Link. The scar that ran down the side of his cheek was what immediately identified him to her.

She gasped. “Is it really you?”

The figure of Link nodded, and chuckled softly. “You were always so surprised when I appeared to you as sheik, no matter the amount of times I did it.” He smiled fondly.

She stumbled forwards, suddenly the armor on her shoulders felt so much heavier. Link was there to catch her, holding her in his arms.

She tried to hold back her tears, but when she heard Link sniffling as well the floodgates opened.

“I’m so sorry. For what I said. It was cruel.” She sobbed into his shoulder.

“I’m sorry too. I missed you. So. Much.”

They held each other like that for a while.

“You did well—Good. Zelda” Link said into her shoulder.

“The girl I mean—she’s another Zelda—I wasn’t sure if you realized that.”

“So that means that she did it?” Zelda asked apprehensively.

Link leaned back to look into her face-or where her face once was. “More than enough . She’s amazing. No thanks to you.”

Zelda sighed in relief, and she felt a hand come to cup her face. There was an odd sensation that tingled from her toes, through her spine, up to her neck.

“You don’t belong here in the land of the forgotten, Zelda.” Link said, taking her hands to hold it to his heart.

When she opened her eyes she gasped —the rusted armor and rotting bone she had come accustomed to looking at —gone. In place was the soft flesh she had forgotten long ago.

“You passed on what you learned. Your death was not in vain. Please leave with me?” He asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“It’s been so long, Link. I had thought that I would spend the rest of eternity here. This was my grave.” She responded mournfully.

Link stood in silent thought for a moment. “Do you want to see them? Zelda and the new prince I mean.” He finally said.

Her head snapped to his. “I can do that?”

Link nodded enthusiastically.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

She watched with rapt attention as she watched the young duo interact with one another. There was no more major world ending event lingering over their heads, and so they were free to finally act their age.

“They’re rather cute, don’t you think?” Link commented.

“Oh, yeah. I guess.” Zelda replied.

“I would’ve married you in a heartbeat if you had stayed.” Link’s comment took her aback.

What? Who just admits to that?

“You’re not objecting in horror.” Link commented.

“Oh shush. You sappy old ass.” Zelda retorted, and Link just chuckled.

“Good to have you back.” He said.

“You too.” She replied, smiling earnestly for the first time in a century.

#oot zelink #zelink week 2023 #zelink community #zelink #ao3 is still down :(

24 notes · View notes

legendofzoodles · 2 years

Text

LOZ Character Analysis/Rant

The Hero of Time

‘the flow of time is always cruel’

Forced to grow up too quickly, to abandon childhood and embrace adulthood for the sake of his destiny and kingdom. Neither Ganondorf nor Majora were the true villains. Time itself as always been Link’s true enemy.

Ironic that history will forever champion him as The Hero of Time.

~~~

To be honest he never struck me as the cold serious type. I feel like he only became hardened and jaded as his perspective on his past experiences changed with age. I mean, look at that goofy kid! He was a mischievous little gremlin back in the day and I won’t hear otherwise. He would have been very sociable with the forest children, playing games, playing pranks and living a carefree life.

At least subconsciously, he was aware that he was different to the Korkiri. This would have been pointed out to him due to him being the only one without a bonded fairy until much later in life and the fact that everyone was aware that he was growing up. This wouldn’t have been a major concern for him at the time. It would be 7 years later.

The inciting incident that spurs his adventure is the death of his mentor figure: The Great Deku tree. This would have had a profound effect on the young boy, but the send off was so inspiring that more than anything it motivates Link to fulfil his new role. The Deku tree recounts to Link the creation story of the three Golden Goddesses and the business with Ganondorf. At the time much of this would have flown over Link’s head who was probably more focused on the fact that his tree dad was dying and the job he needed to do.

Much later in life though, realising that there are supposedly benevolent beings with infinite power who created this world who sit around and let fiends like Ganondorf cause such misery would add to his jaded view of the world.

Leaving the Korkiri forest must have been bittersweet, especially since he had to do it alone, for the forest children could not leave (I feel like if Saria could, Link would have wanted her to join him). The first part of OoT must have been a blast for child Link. For a short time he got to go out and explore Hyrule with no strings attached, a truly free kid (many characters refer to him as a child quite often: ‘kid’, ‘lad’, ‘fairy boy’).

At his young age he didn’t properly grasp the severity of the situation, and saw the quest as fun. To his credit, things were going great, he met princesses (and got engaged to a fish princess! He would’ve looked forward to bragging to Mido about it), wrangled himself a loyal horse and explored the land (bet this cinnamon roll had planned to bring back gifts for his friends in the forest).

Then Ganondorf pulled the rug out from everyone and great googly boogly, it all went to shit.

The shock of waking up from what he probably initially assumed was a nap must have traumatised him. Imagine waking up to realise you had missed out on puberty, see the kingdom in ruins, your woodland father figure is dead, your childhood friend/crush is dead and it’s your job to fix everything.

He did everything perfectly up until now. None of this was deserved.

At first he might have felt guilty for abandoning the kingdom, but honestly I think that would have dissolved into sheer anger the more he thought it through. Since he was a child, nothing regarding the 7 year coma can really be attributed to him specifically. And being 9 I don’t think that would register until much later in his life, but due to the confusing nature of the whole thing, he wouldn’t know who to blame or what to direct his anger to. Hence the bitterness he carries with him.

Fi obviously didn’t want him to perish. She did what she did to give him the best fighting chance, but perhaps it was poor judgment on her part to prioritise the wellbeing of her master over that of the kingdom. It was the right call in terms of protecting the hero, but it screwed over literally everyone else. Not to mention that the Royal Family and Raru had been duped by Ganondorf and Zelda/Lullaby had been forced into hiding.

All in all, I don’t think the 7 year coma was anyone’s fault; the forces of good made their moves and Ganondorf just outplayed them.

Link himself wasn’t a much of a player at all, more like a variable both sides used in order to outplay the other. The outcome of this struggle behind the scenes was cruel and unfair in the eyes of the hero. He’d done what he was told, he had purified the Zora and Goron’s guardian deities, he had collected all the sacred elemental gemstones and was ready to claim the power that was his birthright.

Raru, Fi, Hylia, the Goddesses even the Royal Family failed the Hero of Time. But he wouldn’t have thought this back then because he believed that he was destined for greatness. He’d been told by the Deku tree that he’d accomplish amazing things and save the kingdom. In his mind, he had failed.

Since Time still pretty much had the mind of a child in the latter half of OoT, he probably deviated from the main quest, unable to resist the need to help the suffering people. The sight of the kingdom he’d just explored now in such disharmony, a twisted corrupted version of itself, must have been awful. The kingdom had already been taken over, so there was no real need to hurry, he just needed to focus on building up his strength and make sure he defeated Ganondorf. It probably also took him a fat while to get used to his new body.

Because of this, I’m genuinely not surprised that there’s a canon outcome where he dies to Ganon. The odds were against him from the get-go. There was no way he was going to be at his best when he was still mentally 9 and in a body he’d barely gotten any experience in. Maybe he misjudged a sword strike, overestimated his reach or underestimated his speed. It wouldn’t have taken much, just one small mistake for it all to be over.

On the flip side, following the outcome where he does win, it would be a massive boost in ego. Not in an arrogant way, more just in self assured confidence. The fact that he was able to overcome all that despite the trash hand dealt by the Gods and his own weapon, would give him the attitude of not fearing what life throws at him. Although it wouldn’t make him reckless, it would be the reason why he’d continue to go out adventuring and helping people. He has the hero’s spirit after all, going out of his way to do what’s right is in his nature.

The trauma from speedrunning childhood was probably the main reason he allowed Zelda to send him back in time. That, and to expose Ganondorf before he can cause all that devastation. He probably thought it would be exclusively beneficial for him and the kingdom, by way of erasing those 7 years of hardship under Ganondorf’s takeover...not splitting the timeline. I feel like Zelda knew it would cause a timeline split (she has the Triforce of Wisdom, she 100% knew and you can’t tell me otherwise) and leave her timeline without a hero, but purposefully put his wishes above that of hers and the kingdom. Maybe out of pity and/or guilt.

To protect him, she didn’t mention that teeny weeny world shattering detail.

Regarding Sheik, I think Time would have liked and respected them a lot during OoT, taking comfort in their guidance. Probably saw them in an older sibling sort of light, quickly feeling comfortable to joke around with them and maybe confide a bit too. I don’t know how he’d feel about them being Zelda, because I don’t know how he’d feel about Zelda herself. It wouldn’t be overwhelmingly positive though, some of that unyielding bitterness would be directed at her I’d imagine.

After all he lost everything, his father-figure, his best friends, his childish innocence and doesn’t even have a home to return to anymore. But Zelda? When all this is said and done she can return to her life of privileged luxury, ready to rule the kingdom healed by the Hero of Time (and the sages too). To be fair that’s adult-timeline Zelda, child-timeline Zelda isn’t really the Zelda he knew, but he probably isn’t too keen on having much to do with her either.

I feel like there would be things from both OoT and MM he’d struggle to get over later in life, due to him being so young when he experienced them.

Needless to say he never touched the Master Sword again.

His desperation to find Navi at the end of OoT is interesting though. It shows that he cares about her, but she wasn’t kidnapped or went missing...she left him. It’s possible Link thought she just needed to go somewhere, but I don’t think that was the case.

No matter the reason, it was for all intensive purposes, a dick move. Because even if you’re not a Korkiri, I believe you can still make it into the forest if you have a fairy companion to guide you. Be doing this, she effectively locks Link out of the Korkiri forest, banishing him from his childhood and robbing him of the chance to live in carefree peace with the forest children. So aside from missing her, he probably chased after her because without her, he can never return home.

And we know in LU that years later she still hasn’t come back...

During his life leading up to LU, he was probably going with the flow. There was no way back into the Korkiri forest without Navi, so he sort of aimlessly roamed around Hyrule and went wherever there was adventure. Helping anyone who needed it, taking down dangerous monsters and travelling around the kingdom. He didn’t think of it as a job and didn’t take it too seriously, he knew he had the power to do good so like his predecessors before him, and did what was right because he could.

I do like the idea that sometime before LU, maybe in his mid twenties, there was an incident where he used the Fierce Deity mask and something went horribly wrong. He ended up defeating whatever forced him to resort to that power, but it resulted in the Fierce Deity almost possessing him, or the power itself tried to take over for a moment- either way it lead to the missing eye and tattoos.

I have a fair bit more to say on the Fierce Deity...but I’ll leave it there for now.

Time never saw the masks he collected as toys. Some were connected to the dead, one housed a very powerful entity and therefore needed to be treated with respect. Keeping the collection mostly to honour those they represented and maybe also as proof of the adventure. MM was another thankless quest, no one outside of Termina (which may or may not exist) knows what happened there, so he could tell stories using the masks as evidence that he wasn’t full of shit.

That being said, his skill as a swordsman and warrior would be enough for most to believe him. He’s had a long while to master the blade and was probably besting even the most skilled knights in the Hyrulean Army while back in his child body after OoT. He can use a bunch of different items, shoot a bow with deadly accuracy and even do a nifty bit of magic.

Unfortunately, due to his circumstances his intelligence stat capped off mid-way through childhood. Filling his time with adventure and daring do meant he wasn’t exactly hitting the books and making up for the lost years of homeschooling...or tree-schooling in his case. As such, he’s a very slow reader, his handwriting is like that of a 4th grader’s, his arithmetic is excellent as long as the numbers don’t get to big or the math more complex than adding, subtracting and multiplying. Also statistics and fractions smaller than 1/4 mean basically nothing to him.

In his defence, what’s reading a few books compared to year’s worth of life experience? This man is wise beyond his years, always aware of his surroundings and one could say he’s very much a people person. The only thing that didn’t improve with age is his cringe humour.

Since the Hero’s Shade looked heavily armoured, it seems likely that Time was officially signed up to the army but maybe as a reserve and has had knight’s training once he became old enough to enlist. Things didn’t go smoothly after Ganondorf was outed by kid Lullaby and Time. The King of Thieves didn’t get arrested lying down, he got arrested after a long drawn out bloody conflict with the Royal Family.

This conflict led to the Gerudo being chased out the desert and the reuse of their Spirit Temple, turning it into a prison: the Arbiter’s Grounds. Time couldn’t fight in this war because it happened when he was still a kid (could have ended when he was in his mid teens) and since he isn’t known as the legendary hero there was no way the army would let a minor fight in their ranks. He wouldn’t have risked pulling out the Master Sword to prove his status, for fear of Fi putting him in stasis again or Ganondorf having access to the Triforce and Sacred Realm.

He may be bitter towards the Master Sword, but he’s downright hateful of Royal Family. He saw evidence of the atrocities the Sheikah committed under their orders in the Shadow Temple, their cruelty towards the Gerudo and incompetence to stop Ganondorf in his original timeline. Hence why he spends his life doing his own thing rather than rise the ranks of their army.

Music is incredibly important to him. It not only serves as a meaningful connection to Saria and the life he once had, but it’s also how he interacts with the world and enforces his will on it. Again, as a kid he only saw the ocarina as a practical little instrument that could do cool things (btw I know for a fact that Time would never drop Saria’s ocarina or favour it to Zelda’s, even if it’s something the player can do. He wouldn’t do it willingly, only resorting to it if he needed space for a item that could save his life), but as he grew into an adult appreciated its connection to space as well as time.

He may travel alone, but that’s mostly due to the sense of isolation he acquired from his experiences and the burden of bearing the God-like power of the Fierce Deity. On days off or when he feels he needs a break, he’ll seek out the company of those he cares about. Those relationships would have started from scratch, because in this timeline no one remembers him and courageous acts he committed to save Hyrule.

Still has a deep connection to the Korkiri forest. Even though he couldn’t return. It’s a safe bet to assume that the Hero’s Shade is in fact a Stalfos. What if the reason he risks going into the Lost Woods without a fairy guide was because he’d heard news that the Korkiri Forest was falling into decay. The Deku tree still dies in this timeline and without a new sapling to replace him, the forest dies. What if Link went to try and save the forest by finding a new sapling, only to find himself lost and cursed to forever roam the haunted woods as the Hero’s Shade. All while his home slowly perishes.

Leaving the forest in the decrepit state seen in Twilight Princess, with the hollow husk of the Deku Tree serving as the game’s first dungeon. Who knows the fate of the Korkiri...

Twilight’s existence makes him exceedingly happy. Before that revelation, he probably didn’t think too much about stuff like legacy, descendants and passing down his skills. He’d have a funny view on nostalgia. Spent most of his life not putting too much thought into the past or dwelling on a future that may not come to past if he doesn’t make it back from an adventure. Until he gets a family of his own. The normalcy and security his wife and kid(s) bring will finally have him looking at the past fondly and the future with hope.

I’ll leave you with a couple more famous OoT quotes:

‘melody that will draw you into infinite darkness’

‘A childish mind will turn into noble ambition’

~~~

Thanks for reading!

I truly believe that this incarnation of Link is one of the most interesting. Imagine what having control over yet being completely at the mercy of the flow of time would do to a person. There are lots of other interpretations you can pull from Link’s experience on OoT and MM, which is a testament to the incredible game design.

Expect edits every now and then for posts like these. They take a while to write and I don’t always proofread...

If you enjoyed this post check my other ones:

Hero of Twilight character analysis

Hero of the Sky character analysis (TP story) From Shadows: Link’s backstory

Masterlist

#legend of zelda #legend of zelda ocarina #ocarina of time #link ocarina #time #linked universe #linked universe twilight #time linked universe #zelda #loz #oot #loz oot #lu time #lu twilight #linked universe time #lu mask #majora's mask #loz mm #majora

288 notes · View notes