#Legend is about five and twilight is not quite seven | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lyrabythelake · 3 years

Text

Ghost Wind AU

part 1 || part 2

These heroes can be real idiots sometimes, Wind thinks dully as he watches yet another poorly concocted plan pan out exactly as terribly as he had foretold it would. This one even involves explosives for that added spice of death.

“For Hylia’s sake,” he says out loud as Sky throws his sailcloth over Hyrule’s hair which is literally on fire.

“Well done everyone,” Time praises once all flames are successfully smothered. They look a mess, the lot of them. Hyrule’s hair is missing chunks and still smoking a little bit, Wild is sporting both a wide grin and a broken arm and Legend is noticeably limping as he joins the rest of the group where they’re congregated.

“I would say that was a pretty successful ambush. We managed to take out all the enemies—”

“And half the mountain,” Wind adds.

“—we may have to work on bringing down casualties on our side, but that’s something we can talk about for next time. Right now, I say we take a well-earned rest. Sky, can you distribute potions to those who need them, please?”

“Pretty successful?” Wind screeches incredulously, following Time as he separates himself from the rest of them and sits down with his back leaning against a tree, lowering himself with a groan like the dramatic old man he pretends he isn’t.

“Pretty successful?!” That was a disaster! I’m better at planning attacks than all of you put together and I have the mind of a fourteen-year-old.”

Time takes off one of his boots with a relieved sigh, wrinkling his nose at the smell. Most of Wind’s senses are dulled these days, but he swears even he can smell the stench coming from those socks.

“You should have attacked from the side,” Wind tells him, settling next to him with his chin in his hand. Time starts to remove his weaponry from the belt around his torso. “I know coming from above seems like the obvious attack, but you could have been stealthier if you’d come from the left. You probably wouldn’t have any casualties and you wouldn’t have caused that landslide.”

Time brings up a finger to clean the wax out of one of his ears and then proceeds to take off his shoulder pads and chest plate.

“I mean, I know Warriors is your best tactician, but he can also be as much of a pyromaniac as Hyrule sometimes, so you’ve got to be the voice of reason.”

Time settles back into the tree trunk, watching the others distantly as they set up camp for the night. It’s a peaceful scene, one much needed after the chaos and volume of the battle.

“Yeah, it’s probably not all that fun being the leader, huh?” Wind nods in understanding. “You do a good job really; who knows where the others would be if they were left to their own devices.”

Time grunts as if to agree and then rummages in his bag for a few seconds before pulling out a large, red apple.

“Now that’s just rude,” Wind mutters as he takes a bite, “you know how long it’s been since I’ve been able to eat an apple? Two hundred years, that’s how long, and you decide to eat one right in front of me. I’d kill to be you right now.”

Wind folds his arms as he watches him with a wistful frown. Even the memory of what an apple tastes like faded for him long ago. Food is something he misses most about being alive.

“This is torture,” he murmurs after a while and he pries his eyes away from Time to look around at his surroundings. The sun is low on the horizon, the faintest blush of pink starting to creep into the clear blue sky and the other heroes, having finished setting up camp, are laughing and chatting amongst themselves by the fire. They’re just far enough away that he can’t hear exactly what they’re saying, but they sound happy.

He stares at them longingly for a while before he realises there’s one missing.

“Huh. Where’s our resident ranch hand?” he asks nobody. He scans the treeline, pausing when he notices a flash of movement heading into the woods a small distance away.

“Or should I say our resident wolf?”

He pushes himself off the ground and heads in the direction he’s certain the wolf went. It’s not long before he catches up to him (he’s able to forgo weaving through the trees in favour of phasing right through them), and once he’s in his sights it’s relatively easy to keep up.

He’s curious about where he might be going; it’s not often that Twilight transforms into the wolf unless absolutely necessary. He probably just wants some time to his self; he’s sure sharing space with seven other heroes is probably quite taxing, so he’s likely after some peace and quiet.

“I don’t blame you,” he says out loud, “those lot are exhausting.”

Wolfie suddenly stops and stands stock still, ears twitching.

“You hear something?” Wind asks inquisitively, coming to a halt just behind him. He hadn’t heard anything himself, but that means nothing considering the proficiency of Wolfie’s ears compared to his own.

Wolfie perks up once more and twists around so his head faces in Wind’s direction, and if Wind didn’t know better, he would have been certain his eyes were locked straight onto his.

“What do you see?” he asks, his curiosity mounting. Wolfie lets out a small whine which turns into a bark before tilting his head ever so slightly to the left. His eyes still seem to look right at him, as if… but no, that’s impossible.

It is impossible. Wind hasn’t managed to gain the attention of anyone since his death over two hundred years ago, he’s accepted that’s how things are supposed to be now.

But what if…

“This is ridiculous,” he mutters to himself before taking a deep breath. He might as well prove to himself that interaction with the living world is just as impossible now as it’s always been. “Okay. Wolfie, bark twice if you can hear me.”

Wolfie barks twice.

Wind’s eyes widen so far, his non-existent eyeballs are in danger of falling out of their sockets.

“Holy shit.”

If Wind had a working heart, he’s sure it would be thumping hard right now.

“Wait… how do I know that wasn’t a coincidence? Er… Wolfie, bark five times if you can see me.”

Wolfie doesn’t bark, but instead lets out a low growl and Wind’s heart sinks. It was stupid to get his hopes up, of course he can’t see him, that would make no sense at all.

The air fills with dark particles and all of a sudden, a man stands where the wolf once did.

“I know you’re there,” Twilight says, “I can’t see you now, but I can as the wolf.”

Well this… this certainly changes things.

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu wind #ghost au #I needed a break from angst so i wrote something more light hearted #lyra writes

1K notes · View notes

abizarreyodelingincident · 4 years

Text

Our Nightly Confidant 3

Time for the Forgotten

He wonders. There's a question gnawing at him. Twilight knew. His wolf-boy had not wavered in the slightest when Time had suggested they could be related by blood. He'd been... serious. So serious. Scarily serious. It was a bit of a glance in his mirror shield. The reflection similar enough that it took some effort to mask it with nonchalance. Twilight hadn't been ashamed, more wistful and awed than anything after that talk with Malon.

But he had started to notice the way Twilight looked at him when no one else did.

Twilight knows. Twilight knows and he is a fine young man that Time is so, so proud of. He's not the favorite, because he can't have one. It's a different bond though (something like what he has with Warriors), and he always made sure to never let that influence his decisions on this quest.

The others don't doubt their place with the group. Not because of Time, at least. It's the least he can do for those incredible young men.

He just feels the question come and go in the dark. Twilight hadn't trained with a sword before his quest. Their technique is so similar however... He has to have been taught.

His heart hovers between settled and troubled, and it's the most innocuous thing that tips the balance.

A jab amongst others as they're cutting down wood for a fire, of all things.

Twilight, chainmail and shirt off, wipes sweat off his brows, an axe across his shoulders and a pile of neatly cut branches by his feet. “So slow,” he says, teasing his brother-in-arm a few trees over. “Didn't they run drills like those in the army?”

As always when pricked, Warriors heckles back. “Not every one of us was born in a barn, ranchhand!”

“For your information, I was found in the woods as a toddler, thank you very much,” Twilight replies, taking on an exaggerated snobbish accent. Or what he thinks passes as. It's a bit hard to tell with Twilight's countryside drawl.

The others laugh, join in the mockery, and they don't notice their leader taking a second to digest the news.

Twilight is his descendant. Twilight was adopted at too young an age to remember his birth parents. Might not even know their names.

And a wound he thought was closing suddenly bleeds inside him.

***

It's a slow evening, almost night, and they haven't encountered a monster in days. But he's reeling, his head spinning.

His mind is filled with questions he knows are futile. Pointless bites from a cruel, unknowable future.

Which of Twilight's parents had the Hero's blood? Was it a granddaughter or grandson that perished, leaving a little boy orphaned? Had they known? Twilight mentioned having the Triforce of Courage since as long as he could remember. Had his parents learned only then of the heritage? When their son was marked by fate?

Was it a lack of knowledge that had killed Twilight's birth parents? Training?

The Goddesses truly are cruel, to confirm all his greatest fear in the same breath they gave him a glimpse of triumph. He doesn't know how to feel.

Time knows he ought to talk to someone about those things. About the choice he'd been offered. Even if it felt like breathing glass, like baring his own naked flesh to the elements. He's done it before, mostly with Malon, bless his darling wife. He's spoken the words, cried in whispers and fallen asleep on a damp pillow with the arms of his love around him.

He let his Zelda erase all the suffering Ganondorf wrought, and that very act might have condemned his own to an ignominious death. Might have cost Twilight his birthright. Worse still is the knowledge Wind offered him: the timeline hadn't vanished either. What was the point then? A childhood he couldn't recover even with a child's body? A forsaken land threatened by a mad demon?

He should speak.

He... can't.

He sits down on a rock and ignores the few curious gazes of the boys when he pulls open his inventory. Other times, he might play with them, dance on their expectations and see their astonishment while he laughs inside.

He can't laugh right now.

His fingers close on the instrument, which sends a tingling of power through his hand. An ocarina to commune with the goddesses. He's not a pious man, never had the need, but as he raises the pipe end to his lips, it does feel like praying.

The Song of Healing.

Music to sooth pain beyond flesh and bones.

Why, then, does it only sound like screeching to his ears?

He put so many to rest in that forsaken place. Why can't he turn that power on himself? Why is he not allowed the slightest bit of-?

Something hits him in the chest. The last note of the song goes wild, off-key, and it stops the old memory playing in his head.

“Wolfie?” they call, some puzzled, a few like Wind rather ecstatic by the presence of the pup's beast form.

“... Did he just headbutt the old man?” Legend asks, smirking.

“Maybe the music hurts his ears?” Sky ponders.

Time doubts that. For one, Hylian ears wouldn't hurt enough for that kind of reaction even if he started playing as badly as he felt. No, it was the song that got Twilight into that state.

The whine Twilight makes pulls at some long dead heartstrings. Despite his size, worrying strength and undeniable intelligence, that sound alone gives Twilight the air of a kicked puppy.

The pup can't know, he tells himself. His heritage had been unknown to him until his quest, he mentioned that once. He can't know what the Song of Healing means, what playing it is supposed to do.

But the pain in Twilight's sky-blue eyes speaks otherwise.

“I suppose I ought to be more considerate of our canine friend,” Time declares, dusting off his pants. “My equipment could use a bit of maintenance.”

Busy work. The song had been a bad idea anyway.

As he stands though, he feels Wolfie's fang graze his hands and heels. Tug at his sleeves.

“Not sure he agrees with that,” Wild comments, amusement dancing in his eyes.

Wild knows what this is, and Time has the creeping idea that he's being herded like a goat.

“He'll have to get used to the idea,” he replies, more even than he feels.

The sympathetic feeling is starting to flicker at the repeated nipping. To be a hero, one needs to be stubborn. In this case, Time rather feels this is turning against him. He's rarely been the target of Twilight's protective streak. Fewer still as Wolfie. He is starting to understand that the style of comfort changed quite a bit during the transition. The inability to talk forces his protege to go physical.

And physical for a wolf...

Air is shoved out of his lungs as a massive weight crashes on his back.

“Not gonna work, pup,” Time bites out, trying and failing to keep walking as if nothing is wrong.

Wild's meals are far too rich if this is the result. A big lug of a wolf not knowing his place. He could shake him off, but now his pride is shouting for a decisive victory. He can't surrender so much authority at once. The group's survival and very continued existence depends on it!

His foot hits one of the logs they cut to sit. Of course.

Twilight chooses that moment to jump off. Of course.

Time has no time to brace himself for the puddle of mud. Of. Course.

Would the Goddesses strike him deaf so he doesn't have to hear the explosion of laughter shaking the camp!

His successor looks awfully smug, huffing and puffing on his side of the dead campfire.

Far too smug, in fact.

And, before he knows what's happening, Time finds himself chasing after that insolent youngster throughout the clearing under the thunderous laughter of seven other heroes.

Wolves are faster, but Time has far too many tricks up his sleeves to be bested. A hundred years of training might allow this brat to compete. MIGHT!

And when he collapses not too long after, it's side by side with an equally panting but not as annoyed pup.

He lets out a long sigh, his head lolling on a patch of moss, and the word is more mouthed than spoken: “Why?”

“Woof,” Twilight barks.

It's nonchalant, a little mocking and very much the non-answer Time would give in his place. He hadn't intended for his wall-building tactics to be turned against him this way. But, he supposes, a teacher can't always choose what his students will take from them.

There is, however, a clear hierarchy that needs reestablishing.

Time's grown up with eternal children. He has years of training in zero-ing of the most sensible weak spots in a body. Specifically, where one is most ticklish.

The effect is immediate, over-the-top and oh so satisfying.

Wolfie jumps five feet in the air. He tries to bolt, but in all his arrogance, hadn't realized he'd stayed too close to escape Time's grip.

(The others are watching with wide eyes as their glorious leader play-fights with their massive wolf-friend. Bets are, perhaps, being made.)

Only when the yipping sounds appropriately pitiful does Time give in and stop his ministrations. With a breathless laugh, he lets himself fall on his side, right next to his infuriating descendant. Clearly, Malon would have to be a stricter parent (Time knows he can't be one if his life depends on it) if this is the standard behavior to be expected of his lineage.

For a moment, Time lets himself lay there, on moist grass, half over, half under a wolf with behavioral problems. The thought, again, that he is promised a family line, that this irritating young man descends from him, soothes the old scars on his heart. Despite himself, his hand finds the soft fur and runs through the coat. He doesn't know the future. Few if none knows the full extent of his past. He's long learned to live in a world of strangers wearing friendly faces, of clueless happiness fueled by nightmares of events that, ultimately, never happened. He's a man of faded dreams, to be recognized only by the most precious few.

Some of the weight shifts, and Twilight's big head lies down on top of his chestplate, a soft glint in those gentle blue eyes. Time can hardly move, even if, at the moment, he finds himself comfortable enough resting with his eldest son.

… Which, now that he thinks about it, is what Twilight had been after all along.

“You damned nosy pup,” he says, smacking himself on the forehead. “It's not your job to worry. It's mine.”

The glare he receives goes straight to his soul. As if, it challenges. They really are the same on that front, aren't they? Him and his eldest?

Time can't even tell when it happened, but his chest doesn't feel tight anymore despite the added wolf head. His worries seem so much smaller when his descendant can wrestle-trick him into submission with ease. The boys would be alright.

“Thank you... ”

It's when he sits down by the campfire later that evening, glaring at a smug Twilight over his bowl of soup, that he suddenly realizes the ache has gone. That the bitterness of all his pain being forgotten just... didn't matter in front of that cheeky boy smirking at him.

Even his heart betrays him by going warm with pride. He's impressed.

It shouldn't be a surprise.

After all, his successor is descended from his Malon too. And she always knew best how to handle him.

“You're getting second watch tonight, pup.”

The grunt of annoyance is hardly repayment for a faceful of mud, but you take what revenge you can get. That's another lesson living with the kokiris taught him.

#Linked Universe #Linkeduniverse #LU Twilight #LU Time #LU Wolfie

75 notes · View notes

drabbledragon · 4 years

Text

Linktober: Warm

Happy third day of Linktober! For this prompt, I decided to do the obligatory sickfic because honestly, who doesn’t love a good sickfic?

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26749021/chapters/65390050

Summary: Sometimes a hero falls sick, and they just can't help the thoughts that come along with it.

Warnings: Swearing

Day 3: Warm

Hyrule felt absolutely awful today.

He first noticed in the morning when he woke up a lot later than usual. Instead of cracking his eyes open at the peak of dawn, he instead woke up four hours later, around noontime. Around noontime. None of the other Links slept in that late, not even Sky; but that wasn’t really concerning, though. The group had gone through a tough battle with 20 Lizalfos from Twilight’s Hyrule yesterday, and since the enemies there were more agile and brutal than they were used to fighting, it took quite the amount of effort and energy to bring them down. And not to mention that Hyrule was the one to heal the most life - threatening injuries, too: when Time had gotten a deep cut to the neck, and when Warriors had a large gash running through the right side of his body, and when Legend had broken about six or seven ribs doing some crazy stunt that pretty much saved all their lives, the Hero of Hyrule was there to save them in an instant, the magic of the Life Spell tingling readily at his fingertips. So it was fine, he was probably just a little bit more tired from all the commotion yesterday; really, nothing to worry about.

But as he stepped into the river beside the camp to wash up, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit worried. It had taken him a great deal of effort just to get out of his bedroll and stand up, and even a greater amount to stumble over to the body of water. There seemed to be a prominent, deep ache etched into his bones and the world seemed to sway beneath his feet with every dizzying step he took and for some reason, the whole effort was starting to make him tremble like a leaf. He eventually had to force himself into the river, because as soon as his toes touched the cold water, his trembles turned into downright shivers that felt like he was caught in a winter storm in the dead of night. This wasn’t normal; he shouldn’t be feeling this way all because he stepped into a small stream of water.

Alright, Link, he coached, just calm down. You probably just got hurt somewhere, that’s all.

Yeah, that must be it. There’ve been a handful of times where he accidentally forgot to heal a wound or two and as a result, felt generally unwell the next day. So if he was feeling that exact same way now, then the solution to the problem was just as simple as finding the injury and healing it.

He spent the next three minutes searching his body for the supposed wound but to no avail; his skin was its usual pale and pristine self, not a single scratch or scrape anywhere.

Then maybe - he quizzically stared at his bare chest and tentatively allowed his hands to hover there - he had broken a rib or something? It really didn’t make sense considering that he didn’t have the sharp pain that was usually associated with the injury but then again, it’s not very often he got a broken rib. Besides, it probably wouldn’t hurt to use just one Life Spell as a test.

He was wrong. The moment he allowed the magic to flow through his veins, the severity of his problems seemed to multiply by ten. The deep ache in his bones had now settled into his muscles and made him feel like a big blob of Chuchu jelly, and he was more than sure that he was shivering more from the physical exertion rather than from the freezing touch of the river. His magic felt cold and uncontrollable at this point, like it was a beast that Hyrule couldn’t seem to tame, and he could tell that the amount of energy he was pouring into his Life Spell was going anywhere but the invisible wound it was supposed to heal. He was finally able to pry his hands away from his chest within a few seconds, and once he was able to stop the stream of magic, found himself mindlessly wading over to a jutted rock, completely and utterly exhausted.

He lifelessly leaned his forehead against the smooth surface of the rock and tried to get his breath back. Why wasn’t he healing? He was an experienced magic user - has been for years - but the whole magic process seemed to blow up in his face like it was his first time trying out the art. He felt weak in the knees: he seemed to have a wound that couldn't be healed with his Life Spell.

“Pack up, boys; we’ll be leaving in ten minutes.”

Hyrule froze. That was Time’s voice echoing just beyond the trees, and as mentioned by his announcement, it sounded like the group would be leaving in just a few minutes.

The traveller bit his lip. He was beyond exhausted at this point, no doubt about it, and he was pretty sure that if he took one step out of the river, he would just keel over like a chopped tree; but just because he couldn't figure out what was going on with his own body and magic, did that mean he should just go and tell the group to wait? If memory serves, a lot of the Links were eager to get out of this dangerous forest as soon as the battle was over but couldn't due to the nature of their injuries; but now everyone's healed - everyone except himself.

So … did that mean he would get left behind? Would the other Heroes of Courage continue forward even when one of their own couldn’t seem to get their head on straight? He knew that they were willing to do almost anything to keep themselves and those they loved alive, so the thought really wasn't a far - cry from possibility.

He finally settled on a plan. He would travel to wherever they needed to go, face whatever threat they needed to face, and as soon as they found their camp for the night, he would immediately go off on his own and search for a healer that could help him figure out what was wrong with him. It was plain and simple; a mission he could easily take on.

With a careful push, he managed to steady himself and wade his way back to shore.

It appeared that he made it back to camp just in time: most of the heroes were already packed up and chatting idly with their leader while others were just about done with gathering their things, and if Hyrule played his cards right, he could act just as casual as the rest of them. He started by moving to his bedroll and began to roll it up, and briefly paused when a pair of Pegasus Boots stepped into view.

“I was wondering where you went.” Legend offhandedly commented, and he crouched down to help his successor gather his things.

The notion was so nonchalant, and the idle hum of Legend talking about whatever seemed to put the Hero of Hyrule at a state of ease. His little self - pep - talk from earlier appeared to do wonders for his resolve and with this newfound strength, he felt that he could last just long enough to travel, find shelter, and find someone who was willing to help him out with his dilemma.

His hopes were dashed when Legend suddenly regarded him with narrowed eyes and a matter - of - fact tone, “ You’re sick.”

It was only two words, but it seemed to have had the same effect on Hyrule as one of Time’s full - blown lectures. “ O - Oh yeah? Didn’t notice.” He inwardly cringed as his voice came out in a little rasp.

“Bullshit. You’re pale as hell, you got bags under your eyes, you got an extra four hours of sleep and you’re still tired, and you haven’t been paying attention to a single thing I’ve been saying for the past five minutes; not to mention you took half - an - hour to wash up, and not even Warriors takes that long just for that.”

Hyrule’s surprised façade crumbled in an instant. Goddesses, Legend was perceptive.

“Fine, I’m sick,” He finally admitted, but now that his true emotions were revealed, he couldn’t stop the mess of panicked words that came after, “ But I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I really just thought that I got hurt yesterday and didn’t see it so when I checked everywhere for a gash, scape, scratch, whatever, I didn’t find anything! And then I thought everything would just work out if I used a Life Spell on myself but when I used it, it made everything ten times worse and I think something’s wrong with my magic so I was just planning to follow you guys to the next town and find someone there who’s good with Life Spells so they can -”

“Then you’re just regular sick.”

Hyrule paused mid - rant and regarded his mentor with pure confusion. “ I’m - huh?”

“Y’know, like,” Legend gestured vaguely in the air. “ you caught a cold, or some kind of flu; something along those lines.”

“Oh, okay … so what spell do I use for that?”

He stared back at the other hero with complete disbelief. “ What? It’s not something you can heal with a spell! You just need to eat warm food and get some rest for a few days, that’s it!”

“What?! But I don’t have time for that; I need to get better now so we can get moving!”

Time’s voice rang out over the camp again, “ C’mon, boys, we need to get going if we want to make it to town by sunset.”

Legend scowled and made to stand up. “ I’m just gonna tell the Old Man that you’re sick and we need to stay here for the night.” But before he could take a single step forward, he felt the younger hero grab his arm.

“Leg, please don’t, I -” He bit his lip. “ I can make it, I swear. Time said before sunset, right? So it’s just a five hour walk and I can definitely walk for five hours. If you want, I can stay close to you and only use my sword to fight off any monsters we meet and I promise that I’ll tell you right away if I get any worse, okay? Just please don’t say anything to the others.”

His heartbeat thumped anxiously in his chest as he watched his friend consider the words, and held a breath when Legend finally let out a scoff,

“Fine, but don’t do anything stupid.”

Hyrule let out a sigh of relief. Good, he had won over his mentor’s approval, and he knew full - well that Legend wouldn’t betray him, not even if his life solely depended on it. He shoved all his items into his pouch without a hint of hesitance and forced himself up onto shaky legs. He could do this, he could walk for a few hours to the next sign of civilization; they didn’t nickname him the Traveller for nothing. He took a few tentative steps forward,

And blacked out on the third step.

The next time he opened his eyes, it was to a dark night sky dotted with hundreds upon hundreds of shining stars. It was a cool out, but a soothing fire burning brightly next to him seemed to ward off the cold air and a thick blanket wrapped snugly around his body appeared to chase away his fevered chills. He hummed absentmindedly at the comfort, and allowed himself to relax further into his little burrow of warmth, his mind content that he no longer had to worry about keeping up appearances.

He paused as he felt a bit of fur touch his face and being his usual, curious self, turned to see two blue eyes gleaming back at him.

“Wolfie.” He rasped out, and although the whisper was barely audible, the wolf still perked up and turned to face the Hero of Hyrule. The creature nudged gently at the Hylian’s hand and upon registering the cue, the latter brought a hand up to card soothing through the wolf’s fur and sighed when the motion appeared to bring an extra layer of comfort to the young hero. How long has it been since he was able to relax like this? To not worry about Wizzrobes or Lynels chasing him down?

“I’m glad you two are having fun over there.”

Hyrule startled at the sound of Legend’s voice and immediately sat up. He looked to see the other sitting cross - legged right beside him with cheek in palm and tired eyes staring idly back at him. Seriously, how did Hyrule miss him? He was practically two steps away from him!

Regardless of his successor’s shocked expression, the Hero of Legend began his frustrated rant, “ Honestly, what was I thinking back there, letting you just get up and walk around like everything was fine? I knew you were sick - right from the get - go, in fact - and I actually agreed with you that you were alright to travel like some kind of idiot. Lo and behold, I let you take three steps forward and what do you do? Collapse right onto the ground in front of everyone. Goddesses, you almost gave me a heart attack when you just fell like that, nevermind everyone else.”

Hyrule’s eyes widened. Did he really scare everyone that much?

“But we're lucky that you did that here instead of on the road; I would hate to think about what would happen if you fainted in the middle of an open field, or somewhere during battle.”

“Where’s -” He tried to clear away the dry scratch in his throat. “ Where’s here?”

“Camp. Once the Old Man found out that you had a bad fever, he told us to unpack our things and settle in for the night.” And under his breath, the elder hero quickly scolded himself, “ Ugh, if I just knew you that your fever was that high, I would’ve had you sit your ass right back into that bedroll in a second.”

Oh, so they were still at camp? That was a relief: he honestly didn’t think he could handle standing up, nevermind walking.

He paused. Wait, what did Legend say before?

“‘Us’?” He eventually rasped out, and the word blew past his lips like he couldn’t believe what he heard.

“Yeah, us: Me, Twilight, the Old Man, Warriors, Sky, Wind - everybody. We’re all here, just doing … our own … ” The Hero of Legend came to a stop when he finally caught on to the underlying meaning of the question. “... You thought we were going to leave you? All because you have a stupid cold?”

Hyrule felt his cheeks heat up, and he was sure it wasn’t because of the fever.

Legend rubbed at his face and sighed, “ Honestly, the things you believe sometimes.” And with a look of pure sincerity, he said, “ Listen, we’re Heroes of Courage, not monsters. If one of us is sick, we don’t just get up and fuck off to our next destination; we stay here and wait for them to get better, no matter how long it takes. So in case you didn’t get it through your thick skull, there’s no way in hell that we’re leaving you behind. We’ll stay here for as long as you need to - Goddesses and swirling purple portals be damned - and we’ll handle all the cooking, cleaning, fighting, and whatever until you feel completely better. So that means no standing, no walking, and especially no magic; all you need to do now is just eat, sleep, and stay warm, got it?”

The younger hero processed the words for a minute. Just eat, sleep, and stay warm? It was strange: he’s never had that luxury before, especially when he was first starting out on his adventure; in fact, he couldn’t really remember a time where he wasn’t constantly up and running just to make sure that he didn’t wake up one day to find his blood spilled across the ground and Ganon resurrected in the corner.

He dropped his shoulders.

Perhaps there really was no workaround for a sickness like this. There was nothing he could heal with his Life Spell, and there were no magic words he could say to drive away the fatigue, weakness, and headache; the simple solution was really just as Legend said: eat, sleep, and stay warm. He could do that, now that he knew for sure that the others wouldn’t leave him.

With a small smile, he looked up to his mentor and said, “ Thanks, Leg, I guess that’s what I really needed to hear.”

“No problem, kid. Now c’mon, go back to sleep. I’ll wake you up once Wild’s done with the Veggie Cream soup, alright?”

With a simple nod, Hyrule did exactly as he was told with no protest. He found himself sinking further into his bedroll, warmed by the blankets, campfire, and wolf surrounding him, and especially warmed by the knowledge that no matter how sick or useless he was, he wouldn’t be left or abandoned by the other Links, not even for a second.

He was sure that he'll be better in no time.

#linkeduniverse #hero of hyrule #hero of legend #fanfic #linktober2020 #obligatory sickfic

20 notes · View notes

goatessb · 3 years

Text

A solo trip to Jeonju, March 11-13, 2021

Living in the new normal that corona has brought about has probably been easier on me than on many other people. I still have a full time job, and Korea has never really been under a true lockdown. I’ve been healthy, and when the numbers of the infected are on the lower spectrum, I try to go on a wee trip somewhere in Korea. I can do this thanks to fully online classes. I teach three hours live on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the rest is premade videos. When I work hard and get organized, I can end up with a free Thursday and Friday, better days for travel than weekends that can be quite crowded.

I’d been to Jeonju five times before, always with friends and once with my niece. This time, I travelled alone. I wrote about this in detail in another post. I stayed at two hanoks, Sarangru and Happiness Full House. The former was absolutely gorgeous and it came with a wonderful, healthy breakfast, the latter was also very nice, more modest and also less expensive. I enjoyed both places.

I left Seoul at 10:15 from the Central City Terminal. I was surprised to see how swanky this place has become! Absolutely gentrified with lots of places to eat, drink and shop for little things and right next to a Shinsaege Department store. The trip was uneventful. I was tired and sleepy because the night before I couldn’t sleep well. The air on that day was atrociously bad. All I could see out the window was smog and hints of bare pre-spring trees and fields or stretches of uninspiring suburbia and grubby villages.

We reached Jeonju around 1:00 pm. The first thing I noticed was that the spring was more advanced here than in Seoul. Weeping willows had that lovely pale green color and there were some plum and apricot blossoms already on the trees lining the streets.

After I settled in my hanok nestled among bamboo trees, camelias and magnolias, I went out looking for food and ended up in Family House that serves Jeonju bibimbop with 12 side dishes. Very colorful, very healthy, very good. Then I spent the rest of the day walking the streets: lots of shops renting gaudy, fake hanboks, creative street food more of a fusion modern kind rather than original Korean fare, BNP choco pies everywhere, admittedly a few notches above the packaged store stuff. At around sunset I went to Jeonmang cafe for the views of hanoks awash in the golden twilight - and wasn’t disappointed. Finally, when it got dark, I walked up to Omokdae, a pavillion on the hill above the hanok village. In the past, a King (forgot which one, maybe the first one Taejo) celebrated here the win over the Japanese with a huge, lavish banquet.

I was too full from my bibimbap so I stayed in and instead of dinner I had some some boiled eggs and makkolli from a convenience store. I spent a good portion of he quite cold night sitting on the veranda, wrapped in a blanket. I was alone but there was almost a palpable presence of friends I’d been to Jeonju with before…My dear C with whom I loved exploring Korea; the intense. moody JS, but also one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met (I’ll never forget lying on the floor of our motel trying our countries’ tongue twisters); my quirky film distributor/producer friend and her crowd of artsy hot sake guzzling colleagues when we attended the film festival here; the gorgeous CD and his mane of raven black hair who took us to the makoli town where I smelled my first hongo fish – fermented skate - and swore that it’d never go past my lips; Ms. SH with whom I hiked on Maisan in bitter -14 and drank makkolli in some famous old establishment; and of course, the best, my niece who was then the sweetest yet quite complex and thoughtful 17 year old and our ridiculous problem with the super hot floor in July which left us with no other choice but to sleep in the yard under the stars and laugh hysterically and unstoppably until the owner of our hanbok appeared the next day and gave us another room. Sitting there, tipsy and nostalgic, I imagined myself as the last of the Mohikans, still holding fort when all of the old friends inhabiting my Korean landscape in the early and mid years either left Korea or got drowned in their own busy lives. Bitter sweet moments. It was only when I lost all the feeling in my fingers from the cold that I went in. It took an extremely long shower to thaw my frozen limbs and feel life coming back to my body.

GYEONGGIJEON 경기전 King Taejo's Portrat Shrine

Above, a motif in Gyeonggijeon: the crane carrying a blue bell flower used to brew "the elixir of immortality." The guide told me, "you know, it's not really true." What disappointment!

The next day I went to Gyeonggijeon, the shrine that houses the only portrait of Taejo, the founder of Chosun Dynasty. I had a guide, a lady from Mokpo who married a Jeonju guide. I’ve learned quite a few things from her. She pointed out the Chinese characters for luck at the entrance to the shrine. One actually goes through three gates and they all have three entrances. One goes in through the right and comes out through the left. No one is allowed to go through the middle as it is reserved for the spirits. She pointed out at a crane carrying the blue bell flower - yes, the one from Kingdom, Korean zombie series. If you drink tea made from it you become immortal. Or you become a zombie like that hapless king ...

Below: in the middle, the Chinese character for "luck" surrounded by bats

Apparently, bats are also a symbol of luck as they are pronounced same as ‘luck.’

The portrait is not original of course. It’s a replica made by some famous modern artist. The king wears a blue royal robe, apparently the symbol of the East and the beginnings (as in the first king). The robe feature embroidery of five-clawed dragons, symbol of a king. A seven-clawed dragon is a symbol of an emperor.

The guide took me to the Chosun Dynasy archives. This was a place where they kept the annals of the Chosun Dynasty. Reportedly, there were the court historians who wrote everything that the king and the important people did. Many historians wrote many drafts, and then revised them and bound the final copies in a yearly volume. The drafts, written on hanji paper, were then washed in a stream, dried and recycled. And the historians who wrote them? They were executed! Yes, as not to reveal the secrets of the court. I wonder how they found candidates for the job! Another interesting thing is that the king was not allowed to meddle in what was written so that the ‘true’ history could be recorded. Hmm…. Over the centuries, these annals had to be moved many times in order to save them from the Japanese. They’ve been to Kanghwa-do, among other places.

The portrait of King TAejo was made in the capital Seoul (then called Hanyang) a century or two after his death based on the previously existing one. Then, it was decided that the portrait should be moved to Jeonju because that was the original place of the Lee (Yi) family that started the dynasty. The move from Seoul lasted 8 days and involved 300 people, high officials, soldiers and peasants. To give such reverence to a portrait? Why? Because it was believed that the portrait is infused by the spirit of the diseased king.

The most grammable places in Gyeonggijeon are two apricot trees. The one with white blossoms is over 100 years old, stooped and gnarly. The guide brochure insisted that it looks like “a dragon that just landed on the ground and is about to jump high in the air again.” I just saw a bent old tree with pretty white blossoms. What a prosaic soul I must be. Across from it is a younger tree with pink blossoms. The few people present there were busy taking dozens of photos in front of the blossoms. A few steps from the apricot trees, there’s a small bamboo grove with a short paved path slicing through it leading through a small gate into another yard. I remembered that C and I found the old trees there fascinating and took lots of pics. Standing in the middle of this path surrounded by bamboo trees is a must have Instagram photo! I don't have it, though. A legend says that when people read a lot, the bamboo leaves are green, but when books remain closed, the leaves turn yellow. Well, not surprisingly, the leaves were yellow.

Above: the dragon tree^^

Below: the bamboos angry at people for not reading enough.

I had a late lunch at Veteran and another makkolli banquet with the ghosts on the veranda. Oh, I forgot to mention that it was raining the whole time.

The next day I went to Jaman Mural Village. I have a separate post about it. Well worth a visit as there are a lot of interesting murals. After Jaman I had coffee in Jeonmang and was told I could only stay for an hour. Urgh. Popular place. Oh, and an all day rain the day before, I was happy to enjoy a beautiful sunny warm day. I sat on a bench in front of Gyeonggijeon and just watched people. There were couples and families dressed in those gaudy hanbok taking photos. Some wore retro clothes from the 40’s or 50’s, women with fascinators and long narrow skirts, men in old-fashioned suits and hats. It’s a must in Jeonju if you’re a self (or should I say Instagram-) respecting traveller.

Then more walking along less visited alleys. There are many really beautiful houses, very aesthetically pleasing. That was probably my favorite part of being in Jeonju – just waling around pretty, quiet alleys. One last coffee, then picking up the backpack from the Happiness Full House, and back to Seoul.

Jeonju keywords: quiet streets; beautiful old-style houses; beautiful yards; gaudy hanboks; interesting murals; history; and more history. Loved it.

#jeonju #koreatravel

2 notes · View notes

tsvestidiabolus · 3 years

Text

@perpetualconfusion18 said:

Send me a fandom and I’ll tell you what my muse’s life would be like in that universe.// Zelda

it was only a matter of time before this happened, to be honest. and that skyward sword trailer just gave me the brainrot i needed, added with this ask 👁👁. so, here it is - AUs for the Legend of Zelda - this one being Ocarina of Time, because I cannot fit all of them into one post (sobs). Send me Twilight Princess/Skyward Sword/Breath of the Wild if you wanna hear about those games 👀

Ocarina of Time

Race: Hylian & Sheikah

Age: 21, 28

Place of Residence: Desert Colossus

⏳ Robin was born the daughter of a Sheikah woman and a Hylian scholar from Castle Town. At this time, the Sheikah were dying out - they were born during the Great War, a time which saw to the (almost) end of the Sheikah tribe. Their father died during the war, assisting another woman and her child to the Forest. As for their mother, she lived on as a Sheikah in Kakariko Village

⏳ The thing about living as a Sheikah after the war was the Royal Family of Hyrule were less than accepting of their past. A couple of years after the war was declared over and all the nations of Hyrule came to an agreement of peace, the great purge began. This was a necessity, according to the politicians that governed this law, to protect Hyrule’s people from the dangers a certain group posed to them. In reality, it was an attempt to keep their bloody history a secret. One night, in the height of summer, the town of Kakariko Village was set ablaze. Rumours say that several castle guards were seen in the Village during this time, but those were quickly quelled by the Royal Family. Robin was eight-years-old at this time.

⏳ Olvia, Robin’s mother, escaped during the blaze and took Robin with her. The pair found refuge with the Gerudo - who, at the time, had been - not quite at war with Hyrule, but not quite at peace. Their king at the time had shown sympathy to the pair, and offered them a place to stay in the Fortress, provided Olvia worked for him, It was unclear what exactly this work entailed, but Olvia accepted anyway, for there was no other place they could go - and certainly she wouldn’t risk her child’s life by going into the Forest.

⏳ The Gerudo King, who Robin quickly learnt was named Ganondorf, sent Olvia on a mission across the Haunted Wasteland to retrieve a flame from an old mining facility in the desert. Olvia never came back. Robin was twelve at this time, and beginning to train with Gerudo in the art of stealth and fighting. Their Sheikah blood, who were well-known for their stealth, allowed them to quickly learn ninjutsu and other such Sheikah arts. In honour of their mother, and of their heritage, they gained a tattoo of the Sheikah eye on their forehead - a tradition of the tribe, now long lost.

⏳ Ganondorf noticed Robin’s talents and potential as one of the last Sheikah - the only other known Sheikah being Impa, the nanny for the princess of Hyrule. Thus, he appointed them as one of his personal guard and a very important player in his game. Robin, along with the Twinrova sisters and Nabooru, would become his ally, his pawn, and partner. He lured them in with promises of justice for Kakariko Village and sympathetic comparisons of the Gerudo tribe and the Sheikah tribe. While Robin wasn’t entirely convinced, they teamed up with him anyway - for it was between the man who gave them refuge, or the family that killed their own.

⏳ On the topic of family and Nabooru, Nabooru, who was five years older than Robin, became an older-sister figure to them. Much of their time growing up was spent with the second-in-charge of the thieves, following them around and getting to know them. Nabooru accepted this, although it was a little strange for a Sheikah to think of her as a big sister - and it was tragic to see how Ganondorf’s claws sunk into Robin eventually.

⏳ Robin met the young hero Link when he was venturing Desert Colossus - a lad in a green tunic who looked much older and wiser than his age implied. They hadn’t attacked the boy, for they saw no reason to - and instead, showed him the carvings on the walls of the Spirit Temple and told him what they meant. The pair shared a common interest in the history of the Temple. When the hero talked, he spoke of times long past and times yet to come, and as if the fate of the world rested on his shoulders.

⏳ During the seven years in which the hero was asleep, Robin found themselves at an impasse. Nabooru was missing - taken by the twins, they found out - and Ganondorf was ordering them to do such bizarre and... downright evil tasks. Help trap the Gorons in Fire Temple, freeze King Zora, investigate Kakariko Village and the Shadow Temple - the seeds of doubt were beginning to plant in Robin’s mind. It was when they met the Princess Ruto, a year before the return of the hero, that they decided enough was enough. There was much hostility between the Zora Princess and the Sheikah, at which point Robin learnt of all Ganondorf had done, what he had planned to do, and that he was using them for his own gain.

⏳ After this point, Robin began working against Ganondorf in secret, becoming a spy for the resistance. Before the hero returned, they worked with the self-proclaimed Sheikah, Sheik, who sought out the Goddess Harp. Robin knew that Sheik was not who he said he was, but never pressed on for more information.

⏳ They mourned the deaths of their friends, Ruto and Nabooru, and began their new life under the rule of Queen Zelda as the scholar for Hyrule Castle - a new regime, with a much kinder and wiser princess.

⏳ One of Robin’s ancestors was Niro - a traitor to the Sheikah, who lived hundreds of years prior to their birth. Niro still lives to this day, at the Bottom of the Well and the entrance of the Shadow Temple, known as Dead Hand.

#;; ask #perpetualconfusion18 #xover verse ;; zelda #long post #sorry i went OFF #but i have a lot of thoughts and feelings and headcanons about OOT #also i couldn't not include niro in this #i think one of his siblings would be robin's great great many greats grandparent #but they would have a lot in common #sacrificing themselves for the sake of the ones they love #morals? very grey. intelligent. nerds #anyway that's it from me

2 notes · View notes

blues-sevenfold · 4 years

Text

More Nintendo in CBS Metaverse

In March of 1975, Nintendo created seven virtual realms.

In 1977, Nintendo was one of the creators of Digimon Realm - an augmented realm focused on Pokémon, Tamagotchi, Jewelpet, and Kirby. Nintendo are the creators of Pokémon and Kirby, but not Tamagotchi or Jewelpet. The Pokémon creatures included are the smaller cute species. There are no automatons or large creatures. Besides the Kirby, Kirby includes other similar small rounded species - such as the Gooey, the Waddle Dee, and the Fofa.

~~~~~

In 1980, Nintendo created ten more virtual realms. All of them are time-shifted variants of the original five (not including Subcon or Subspace), taken from a hundred years ago. The “Twilight” variants combine and overlay Subcon on the realms, whereas the “Night” variants combine and overlay Subspace on the realms. After ten years of each being in the condition, they “go live”. So, going by our calendar, each realm was time-shifted from 1875 - and then it was 1885 when they “went live” in 1980.

It should be noted that, while both Subcon and Subspace have both dream and afterlife elements... Subcon has more dream elements, whereas Subspace has more afterlife elements. Those that don’t have dream clones in either Subcon or Subspace typically immigrate to Subspace upon death, if they don’t become Boos (balloon-like ghosts) or reincarnate.

It should also be noted that, in the Nintendo realms, reincarnation is actually quite rare. Reincarnation can take one of two types. There is canonical basis for Link’s reincarnation in The Legend of Zelda. When Link dies, he is reborn right away. Link can then recall his past lives with relative clarity at the age of twenty. This type of reincarnation is reserved for legendary characters.

The other type of reincarnation is the Phoenix variant, as applied to Zelda. One Zelda existed 250 years ago. As the original Zelda died, two were instantly born in her place. Each Zelda lives about 50 years, and can recall her past lives with relative clarity at the age of twenty. There are 32 Zeldas by the time the original Nintendo realms “went live” in 1975. The number caps off at 64 - at which point, they are then rendered immortal by the age of twenty.

Both of these apply to each of the realms, not including Subcon or Subspace.

~~~~~

By 1985, Nintendo created seven more virtual realms. This time, each of the original realms (including Subcon and Subspace) were time-shifted from 150 years ago - as they combine and overlay elements from Pokémon and Kirby. Not being Nintendo creations, Tamagotchi and Jewelpet were not included.

After ten years of being in that condition, they “go live”. As such, going by our calendar, each realm was time-shifted from 1825 - and then it was 1835 when they “went live” in 1985. This brings the total of virtual realm by Nintendo up to 24 realms.

~~~~~

By 1990, Nintendo installs Dream Depot - which allows various collective lucid dream reams to be integrated into the Nintendo Virtual Sphere, providing that they meet certain conditions.

#world building #nintendo #cyberspace #biopunk #solarpunk #text post #xg

3 notes · View notes

a-bit-too-much-of-a-zelda-fan · 5 years

Text

Linked Universe Fanfiction ch. 9: Can We Get Back to Adventuring, Please?

Stop! You’ve Violated the Law!

So, you’ve stumbled upon this original post for my Linked Universe fanfiction. That’s okay, it happens to everyone. As of March 2021, I’ve uploaded the entirety of this fanfic to my Archive of Our Own page. Along with finally giving the story a name--Oops! All Links: A Linked Universe Story--I made substantial edits to some of the chapters. These range from minor stylistic revisions to fixing a gaping plot hole that kinda completely broke the character conflict in the earlier chapters. I also renamed and renumbered (but not reordered) the chapters. Specifically, this is now Chapter 11: Can We Get Back to Adventuring, Please?

The AO3 iterations of these chapters are the definitive versions. So, if you would like to read this fanfiction, please do so on AO3, right here. With this embedded link. Hehe. Geddit? Link?

Note: My screen name on AO3 is FrancisDuFresne. Yes, that is me. I am not plagiarizing myself.

Anyway, for posterity’s sake, the rest of the original post is below the cut.

The Links continue their journey to the next village and now face a dense, dark forest. By the way, have you ever wondered what the Links think of the Timeline? Thus continues my fan narrative of the @linkeduniverse AU. Word count: 1275

“Just a few more minutes, boys!” Wind exclaimed. “We’ll be out of these hills and into the… oh, shoot.”

Legend smirked. “You forgot about the possible swarms of monsters?”

“… Yeah.”

The Links had been walking a shade above three hours since returning to reality. The fire was far from gone from their minds, but they were glad to be rid of this place. They had to admit it was beautiful, though. The noontime sun shone on rolling hills, wind blowing the tall, swaying grass. A few clouds had crept up on the edges of the horizon but showed no sign of raining on their proverbial parade.

As far as Time was concerned, things were back to normal. His companions hadn’t brought up the masks, and they acted no differently towards him than before today. Time suspected they may still have questions but didn’t want to dampen their good mood by asking them. That was fine. They could discuss it more tonight when they were comfortable and safe in an inn.

Wild chuckled. “Relax, Wind. We don’t know for sure if there are any monsters. The woods are just so thick that I can’t get a good reading of it.”

“After yesterday,” Legend began, “I’m not shocked there are limitations to that Slate of yours.”

Wild was about to shoot back a retort when Sky butted in, “Drop it. We got out of there safely.”

“Thanks to you, Sky.” Hyrule said.

“You can thank Fi,” he replied, patting the Master Sword’s hilt above his right shoulder. “She was the one that guided us.”

“She is quite the sword,” Time added. Secretly, he hated the Master Sword. He saw it as a curse, one of the many factors that led to his childhood suffering. However, it was a blessing to the other six of them that wielded it. He felt it best not to sully their opinion of it.

“Fi helped me too, once,” Wild said.

Sky looked at the back of Wild’s head; the latter had the map and was leading the group. He thought Fi had only ever spoken to him. He wasn’t offended, per se, more shocked than anything. “Really?”

“I was mortally wounded when Calamity Ganon struck my Hyrule a century ago. Zelda thought I was doomed, but the Master Sword glowed and sort of sang to her. That let her know I could still be saved. I suppose I owe Fi my life.”

“Huh,” Sky replied. He drew the sword. Its silver blade reflected the sun brighter than the others’ swords, save for the Four Sword. He smiled. “Heh, I wouldn’t expect any less of her.”

Given he himself had forged the Master Sword, Sky gathered that his adventure somehow took place before any of the others’. It still confused him how they all could coexist. By reciting the legends and history they knew, they figured out a somewhat cohesive, yet confounding, chain of events.

Sky forged the Master Sword and Hyrule had yet to be established. He was clearly first. Time witnessed the split of the Triforce, so he must be next. Based on the historical texts in Hyrule Castle, Twilight seemed to live centuries after Time. Over their time together, Twilight began to see eerie similarities between Time and the ghostly Hero’s Shade who mentored him. He preferred to ignore them for his own sanity’s sake.

It all got muddier after that. Time had suspected Zelda sending him back in time had somehow disrupted the flow of time. Lo and behold, Wind seemed to also live centuries after Time, but Hyrule had been flooded. His legends told of a Hero of Time that disappeared when he was needed. Time wondered whether Wind lived in the world that Zelda sent him away from.

Even more disturbing was Legend’s story. In his world, Ganon was sealed away by the seven sages, but not a hero. In this alternate reality, could Time have perished in his fight against Ganon? Hyrule had heard vague legends of a legendary sword, but never figured it was the Master Sword until he met his other selves. Strangely, Warrior and Wild somehow seemed to hail from a melding of everyone else’s worlds.

Four was the most peculiar case. Neither the Triforce nor the Master Sword seemed to exist in his world. Instead, there were the Picori bestowing the Light Force upon the Hylians. The concept of it all utterly confused the Links. After trying to piece it together, they never mentioned it again.

Sky was snapped out of his thoughts of multiple timelines and realities when Warrior said suddenly, “Well, it’s about time.”

They had reached the top of a hill and were faced with a tall, dense forest. The heroes couldn’t see the village beyond, but figured the treetops were obscuring it. Wild frowned. He thought they would be able to see it based on map’s elevation readings. He hooked the Sheikah Slate back on his belt.

He withdrew his paraglider from his pouch, gripped one handle with his left hand, and knelt on the ground. In a flash, ghostly flames appeared around Wild. He jumped. An updraft carried him a hundred feet in the air, a hazy image of a Rito soaring up with him. His paraglider holding him aloft, he got a better view of their surroundings.

Satisfied, Wild returned to the ground. Despite seeing him use this ability several times before, the others were still awed by the sight. The concept of fallen warriors imparting this and three other powers upon him was foreign. Time’s experience with his masks was similar, but Wild’s seemed much more wholesome in nature.

“Don’t worry, I can see the tops of buildings way down there,” Wild confirmed. “Five or so hours in there and we’ll be through.”

“Wait, wait,” Warrior said. “Let’s think this through. We do not want another ambush on our hands.”

Wind groaned. He found Warrior’s obsessions with plans and tactics annoying. Time shot him a look. Wind saw it and stood at attention.

Warrior continued, “Legend, arrow count.”

Thinking back to last night, he remembered that he had counted the arrows before going to bed. That seemed so long ago. “Uh… oh, right. Forty-two.”

“Hm… four each. Wild, you’re our best archer, you need more. Volunteers?”

Sky shrugged. “Aye. I’m better with a sword anyway.”

“Seconded,” Time said.

“Third…ed?” Wind flubbed.

A chuckle spread across the group. Fighting back more laughter, Warrior composed himself. “Okay, Wild, take sixteen. Make them count.”

Wild nodded.

“Legend, Twilight, Four, Hyrule. Take four each. I’ll take five.”

Legend pulled their stash of arrows out of his pouch and divvied them up. Warrior came up last and took the remaining five. They fit their ammunition in their quivers. “Right, next order of business,” Warrior continued. “Twi, transform and take point. We need your senses. Wild, I want you behind him with two arrows nocked. Fire at Twi’s mark. Sky, cover them. Everyone else, fall in behind them. I’ll take up the rear. Keep your eyes on the shadows. It looks pretty dark in there, so everyone grab a lantern. We’re low on oil, so let’s try to get out of there ASAP.”

The others nodded. This seemed easy enough. At least, if they didn’t encounter anything nefarious. They knew they probably would, but they could handle it. Warrior turned to Twilight and nodded. The latter took on his beastly form and took the lead. Wild drew his bow and nocked two arrows. The others unsheathed their swords and raised their newly lit lanterns. With a last look at the clear blue sky, the heroes entered the dark forest.

#linkeduniverse fanfiction #linkeduniverse #my own #my writing #fanfiction #Can We Get Back to Adventuring Please

278 notes · View notes

han-made-bookbinding · 5 years

Text

La Prose Part Five: Finished Binding

OPEN BOOK NEXT TO BOX (ABOVE)

It is always a wonderful feeling when a book is complete. However long it has taken from beginning to end, there is always a sense of achievement. The work doesn’t stop there though, it needed to be photographed and I still had my blog post to write about it.

It turns out that this blog post has been rather a long one! The fact that it is such an interesting project to have worked on with the recreation of such an spectacular original and all the background research that Kitty Maryatt put in to realising it, alongside the point that I had never worked on this structure of binding before, and also the editing of such a lot of images and stages to write about has turned this in to a five part post.

The book is also on my website here.

OPEN BOOK COVERS (BELOW)

But what do the covers read? I took text from near the beginning of the poem for the back cover:

I was in my adolescence at the time Scarcely sixteen and already I no longer remembered my childhood I was 16,000 leagues from my birthplace I was in Moscow, in the city of a thousand and three belfries and seven railroad stations And they weren't enough for me, the seven railroad stations and the thousand and three towers For my adolescence was so blazing and so mad That my heart burned in turns as the temple of Epheseus, or as Red Square in Moscow When the sun sinks. And my eyes shone upon the ancient routes And I was already such a bad poet That I didn't know how to go all the way to the end. . The Kremlin was like an immense Tatar cake Crusted with gold, With great almonds of cathedrals all done in white And the honeyed gold of the bells… . An old monk was reading to me the legend of Novgorod I was thirsty And I was deciphering…

And for the front cover, a section towards the end. This was a rather apt section of text to choose given it included the words “rouge”, “vert”, “multicolores”, “jaune” and “d’or” - how appropriate for a colourful book!

O Paris Large glowing hearth with the crossed pokers of your streets and your old homes that hunch over warming themselves Like forefathers And here are the posters, red and green multicoloured as my brief yellow past Yellow the proud colour of French novels sold abroad. . I love to squeeze into moving buses in big cities Those of the Saint-Germain-Montmartre line bring me to the assault of the Hill The motors bellow like golden bulls The bovine twilight grazes the Sacre Cœur O Paris Central station last stop of desire crossroads of unrest Only the merchants of colour still have a little bit of light on their doors The “International Company of Sleeping Cars and Europeans Express Trains” has sent me their brochure It is the most beautiful church in the world

OPEN BOOK IN FRONT OF OPEN BOX (BELOW)

FRONT COVER AND TEXT BLOCK EDGE (BELOW)

Although in the original, due to how the text block was folded, neither the text or the imagery could be seen until the book was completely unfolded, this was not the case for my binding. I was really thrilled once it was finished to see how well the coloured stitching harmonised with the strips of colour on the folded edges of the pages.

DETAIL OF BOOK ON TOP OF BOX (BELOW)

BOX LID (BELOW)

I really liked the fact that the box remained so simple, with just the title added on the top. I didn’t want to take away from the intricate a coloured embroidery of the cover that popped out as you opened the lid.

BLAISE CENDRARS SIGNATURE INSIDE SPINE (BELOW)

Blaise Cendrar’s signature was placed so that it would be a little added extra surprise as the book was opened. With embroidering it inside the spine it is hidden behind the concertina when the book is closed.

DETAIL OF OPEN CONCERTINA

The wonderful colours of the pochoir spill out as the concertina is unfolded. I was really pleased with how well the pochoir-covered end-caps worked as an extra design element of the binding.

SPINE TITLE (BELOW)

The title was embroidered, thankfully without any spelling mistakes (see below for details of my near disaster!).

EMBROIDERY DETAIL (BELOW)

From pink, to yellow, to green, to red, to blue and on and on, this truly was a book of multicolour.

THE OUTER BOX (BELOW)

The wooden box I had made was further housed in an outer conservation box. This was partly to protect it, and also so that the small accompanying concertina pamphlet that Kitty Maryatt had produced explaining about the project could live with the binding. This little booklet had a section made for it in the outer box so it could sit below the wooden box.

THE SAMPLE BOARD/BOOK

I have made reference in previous parts of this blog post to the sample board/book that I worked on ahead of the actual binding, I finish with some photos of this. I chose a darker blue goatskin for this spine with gold thread to embroider the title, this changed on the actual binding as I felt the dark blue didn’t match the pochoir.

I didn’t have quite enough vellum to cover the back board entirely so I pieced two bits together and masked the joint with a strip of the leftover pochoir.

SAMPLE BOARD/BOOK COVER EMBROIDERY

I embroidered the sample with writing at and angle, however decided to change this on the actual binding working horizontally. Thankfully, I had asked in advance whether it was okay to post images of some of my work in progress online whilst working on this project, both Kitty Maryatt and Neale Albert agreed. I was very pleased that this was the case as a French friend of mine spotted a spelling error on the sample book! Rather than “La Prose de Transsbérien”, it should have been “La Prose du Transsbérien”, another good reason for doing sample boards I guess - phew!

THE OPEN CONCERTINA OF THE SAMPLE BOARD/BOOK

The book was made so that when closed, the width and height were the same dimensions as my sample boards. Although of course it is thicker than a sample board, it can still sit in the same box as them in a wider slot.

This mini book is also going to have a second purpose, I have been meaning for a long while to make an index for my sample boards. Given this book is a sample board, and will therefore be in the box with them, I intend to use it’s pages to index all the other boards.

SAMPLE BOARD CONCERTINA PAGES

The front and back doublures of the sample book are different colours, initially I thought I would go for red doublures but in the end opted for pale blue to match the first spread of the concertina when opened.

BLAISE CENDRARS SIGNATURE ON INNER SPINE

Blaise Cendrar’s signature also appears on the sample book in red thread. This is sample number 54 in my ever-growing series.

The completed binding is now safely in New York. It is due to be shipped on to San Francisco to take part in the following exhibition alongside some other absolutely wonderful bindings of La Prose by other binders.

EXHIBITION at the San Francisco Center for the Book TITLE: Drop Dead Gorgeous: Fine Bindings of La Prose du Transsibérien Re-creation DATES: September 6 to October 6, 2019 OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, September 6, 2019, 6:00–8:00 pm LOCATION: San Francisco Center for the Book, 375 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, CA.

The remarkable book by poet Blaise Cendrars and artist Sonia Delaunay, La Prose du Transsibérien et de la petite Jehanne de France, was produced by letterpress and pochoir in 1913. It was a landmark achievement for its time with its unprecedented format, avant-garde typography and abstract imagery, and remains vibrant and modern today.

Kitty Maryatt of Two Hands Press has been researching the production of La Prose du Transsibérien since 2012. In 2018, she debuted a new edition of 150 copies, which faithfully incorporates techniques and methods used in the original. At the same time, Maryatt and her underwriters commissioned fine bindings by notable design binders from around the world. These bindings, along with Maryatt’s La Prose du Transsibérien Re-Creation, have resulted in a traveling exhibition titled Drop Dead Gorgeous: Fine Bindings of La Prose du Transsibérien Re-creation.

Debuting in San Francisco, the exhibition will feature the work of twenty-two design binders, including Don Glaister, Monique Lallier, Midori Kunikata-Cockram and Kathy Abbott. Tools, materials, and supplemental material used in the creation of Maryatt’s edition of La Prose will also be on display. Upon closing in San Francisco in October, the exhibition travels to additional venues in the United States, Canada and England.

DOCUMENTARY SHOWING TITLE: The Re-creation of a Masterpiece: La Prose du Transsibérien. Documentary by Rosylyn Rhee. Los Angeles, 2019. DATE: Friday, October 4, 2019, 6:00–8:00 pm LOCATION: San Francisco Center for the Book, 375 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, CA.

19 notes · View notes

asharinhun · 5 years

Text

About The Writer/Mun

– one / NAME / ALIAS. Asharin or Asha are the names I go by here on tumblr and mostly on discord too.

– two / BIRTHDAY. 26th of December 1994

– three / ZODIAC SIGN. Capricorn

– four / HEIGHT. 182 cm (I think it is the last official one I had), let’s say around 180 cm

– five / HOBBIES. reading, collecting MtG cards, collecting and painting Warhammer miniatures, drawing, rping, playing on pc and sleeping

– six / FAVORITE COLORS. crimson and black, blue, different greens, greys, browns, violet

– seven / FAVORITE BOOKS. I have a lot of these... Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames, StarCraft: Liberty’s Crusade by Jeff Grubb, Legends of the Dragonrealm series by Richard A. Knaak, Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, The Twilight Reign series by Tom Lloyd, The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, and sooooo many more

– eight / LAST SONG LISTENED TO. I Want My Tears Back from Nightwish

– nine / LAST FILM WATCHED. if you mean the cinema, then The Lion King, if otherwise, it was either How to train Your Dragon 3 or Kung Fu Panda

– ten / INSPIRATION FOR MUSE. I have quite a lot of ocs, listing all the inspiration for them would be impossible... I generally like fantasy stuff, especially elves and dragons, that was a deciding factor about why so many of my ocs are from those races

– eleven / DREAM JOB. I don’t know... somethign I would enjoy to the fullest while earning nice amount of moneyy so I wouldn’t have to worry about the finances of my family and had mroe than enough to spare for my hobbies

– twelve / MEANING BEHIND YOUR URL. it’s the full first name of my main oc, duh xD

Tagged By: @safrona-shadowsun

Tagging:@lady-proudmoore @ask-naraenil @shuuhuu @penvenomstarkstar @thepalewolfhowls @anubelore-delana @liukka and anyone else who would like to do it

#ooc

6 notes · View notes

cloudchaserandflitterexplain · 5 years

Text

Cloudchaser and Flitter Explain: Top 10 Friends Forever Cards

But you said—

Hi everypony! Are you ready for the next set to drop? Because Cici and I sure are!

When Cici isn’t freaking out about what deck to run for continentals, that is.

I’m not freaking out. I’m deliberately taking my time analyzing my choices so I can pick the deck that’ll let me win continentals this year.

Got it narrowed down yet?

...No.

That’s our Cici, always worrying until the last possible moment.

But anyway, as much as I’d love to tease Cici about her deck, we just don’t have the time! Leaders and Legends is right around the corner, and we’ve not given you all our top 10 lists for Friends Forever yet.

So let’s get right to it! Cici?

Oh, right!

What do you call a Pegasus wearing a—

I said we have no time for jokes, Cici! I mean what’s your first card?

Oh, okay.

So I wasn’t ever sure when we’d get to this, so I’d been kind of updating my list throughout the year. And, uh, there have definitely been a lot of changes… And not just because of the Banlist. My original #1, for example, is much lower…

But the actual ten cards haven’t changed much. They honestly weren’t that hard to figure out.

Well, top 11 if you count Old Money. But banned cards don’t really count anymore…

Anyway, my top 10 card is Lacking Lesson Plans

Huh. WIth how much you’d been ranting and raving about that card when the set first came out, I’d have thought it’d be much higher.

Well it was! Originally, anyway.

The fact that it let so many Manes flip through Tempest seemed great at first. I was looking forward to breaking in some new Manes and see what they could do!

But in practice, it’s not really enough. Tempest’s opening Grubber: Minion play can still slow them down enough to where they’re not flipping early, or still deny req, or what have you. So it’s really only helpful for the absolute most aggressive confront to flip Manes.

I just wanted more, you know?

If you don’t think it does enough, why’s it on your list, then?

Huh? No, it’s amazing.

I basically include it in all my decks nowadays!

But you said—

While, yeah, it doesn’t really enable many more confront to Flip Manes, it’s still incredibly valuable for decks that confront a lot, just because being able to ignore Troublemakers is really good.

It’s basically to the point where as long as strong Troublemaker control decks are in the meta, you basically have to run 2 of these!

It’s a problem the game’s needed for awhile now, and it’s great to see it in action. So yeah, not as high as I originally thought, but still an easy number 10.

So unlike silly old Cici, I had a lot more trouble narrowing down my top 10 cards! There’s so many fun arts and flavour texts and I love the set for that!

But on the other hoof, there weren’t actually a lot of silly fun build around cards in the set. So there’s not a lot of those my list.

But that’s okay, because the art is just so fun and I love it, hehe. And let’s start with Skipping Class!

Uhh, what’s fun about that?

Oh come on, Cici. It’s six best friends just hanging out together and having fun in the sun, relaxing without a care in the world.

So ditching school is something you endorse then?

Well, no…

But it’s still nice seeing them enjoying each other’s company. It’s very relaxing!

It was a tough call between this and another similar art, but I just had to go with this in the end. Paving the way for a new generation!

Which other card?

I can’t tell you that, Cici! These are top ten lists, not top eleven lists!

There’s no harm in mentioning your runner ups, though.

Top. Ten.

Okay, okay, sheesh.

Moving on, my number 9 will likely surprise no pony for being on this list: The Fire of Friendship.

Oooh, that’s a good one!

The Fire of Friendship lives in our hands! As long as it’s there, we foil Grubber’s plans!

Uhh, yeah, actually. Basically exactly that.

When Tempest fist hit the scene, she was infamous for locking ponies out of Entry thanks to Grubber frequently showing up turn 1. Now there’s a card that helps fight that, thanks to Fire of Friendship, being Entry that protects your entire hand.

It even works against other discard effects like Rarity: Soprano and can work with your own discard synergies like Tank: Burrower.

Not costs, though. If you want to exhaust Apple Bloom: Re-Markable to reduce the cost of a card, you can still discard Fire of Friendship to do it, but you can’t put it into play. Since costs can’t be replaced.

Sure, but that’s not the worst thing ever.

It’s still incredibly versatile while still being helpful Entry that does double duty for protecting your hand.

It does only provide 2 req unlike Singing Barrel and Motivational Speech, which is a notable downside. But if you build your deck accounting for that, it shouldn’t be a major issue.

So, yeah. Good card. Goes in a lot of decks. Highly recommend it.

It’s my number nine.

Or is it five or seven?

Kettle Corn’s so cute!

What was that all about.

Silly Cloudchaser!

Everypony else get it.

Check her cutie mark.

Okay...

Anyway, Kettle Corn is just absolutely precious! The haikus, the circles, the combinations of the two. She’s also one of Rumble’s new friends! What’s not to love?

I suppose she’s not bad entry either. Not amazing, but, you know. Respectable.

Whatever makes you recognize she’s amazing!

...That it?

That’s it! Kettle Corn’s just fun is all!

Uhh, guess I’ll move on, then?

So these next three are all pretty similar cards. Just a bit different in application each. But they’re all on the list for the same reason, more or less.

I was originally going to put them all as a tie, but Flitter said my list had to be exactly ten cards...

Top. Ten. It’s not that hard, Cici!

So here we are with Daring Do: Crafty Collector as my number 7.

Did you know A.K. Yearling was secretly Daring Do this whole time? I was so surprised!

Nah, it was definitely obvious. I knew all along.

Hehe, sure you did Cici.

I did!

Anyway, Daring Do is… kind of nuts. The amount of AT value she can provide you is just incredibly high. An AT every time you can confront with her, and saving an AT every time you need to move her to a problem.

Which, if you confront that turn, gets you the AT you spent on moving her right back.

The only reason she’s the lowest of these three is because if you can’t confront with her, due to eccentric or a TM or whatever, she’s not doing much for you. You can’t just exhaust her for AT like most other common AT gens. So she definitely has the worst floor...

But when she’s at full capacity, she’s just fantastic, and definitely worth a slot on the list.

So, to properly introduce the next card on my list, we’ll need an expert on fashion.

Gee, where could we find one of those in this town?

Well, Cici, you’re in luck! Since, as everypony knows, I happen to be a fashion expert!

You are?

Of course I am, Cici! That’s why you always see me in this bow! It’s the absolute pinnacle of fashionably cute.

...I genuinely have no idea if you’re making this up or not.

So, as a pony who knows all things fashionable, I am proud to present to you my next card, Rarity: Shine on the Inside.

...Another Eccentric 1 entry?

Yup! Quite the coincidence, don’t you think?

No. I’m pretty sure you’re doing this just to mess with me.

An added bonus!

But no, I just really like the art they got for these cards!

Plus, you’ve gotta admit Rarity looks fantastic with a three colour mane. And she just rocks that jacket!

If you say so…

I do say so! Your turn!

Hold on, let me just brace myself for the oncoming onslaught.

Onslaught?

You’ll see.

So, uh, my next card is, uh, us.

Eeeeeeeee!

Hug. Too. Tight.

Just look at how adorable we were back then! And that flavour text is so us! Right down to you being moody about not coming in first place, hehe.

I don’t get moody…

Yeah, just like that!

Anyway, uh, this card is pretty good.

Eh, who am I kidding. We’re amazing.

And you’re not just saying that cause it’s us, are you?

Nope. I looked at every card in the set and decided this legitimately deserved to be included. It’d have the same position even if it were Gyro on the art.

You shouldn’t joke about that, Cici. He’s been complaining again lately he still only has one card...

But yeah, this is basically everything I wanted in a Blue Yellow card! Saving AT, giving extra power to confront, 1 play reqriement so you can play it early with Trading Traditions. What more could a girl want?

It’s even an Immediate ability, allowing you to combo with Hasty Friends, or even just exhaust on the opponent’s turn to avoid a single problem faceoff. It’s just a great card!

That being said, unlike Daring Do and the next card, this doesn’t actually give you AT. If you don’t have Friends to play, you’re not getting as much value as you’d like.

But on the other hoof, you can get value out of us basically every turn so long as you can play Friends. Unlike Daring Do, who needs a free problem. And it’s in a colour combination that kind of needed it more. So despite not giving actual AT, I think overall we’re the better card.

So it gets your stamp of approval?

Absolutely!

Know what gets my stamp of approval?

Uhhh, cakes?

Uh, sure, but not what I was getting at?

Pancakes?

Are you hungry Cici?

A little.

Anyway, what I was trying to get at is that Sorry Stamp gets my stamp of approval!

Didn’t we just talk about that the other day?

Sure did! Aren’t you sorry I didn’t stamp your forehead back then?

This better not go where I think it’s going.

I wouldn’t dream of it!

Anyway, despite the sad nature of the stamp itself, this art just makes me smile! It’s just kind of ridiculous going around with a stamp like that on your head, you know?

Plus, just look at Princess Twilight’s face! It’s just wonderful!

Shouldn’t you, you know, be sad that she’s sad or something?

Well, I am! A little bit. Twilight is genuinely very sorry about the situation she found herself in...

But the whole thing is also pretty ridiculous, so it makes me smile a little too. And I think a card that can evoke both emotions at once is pretty amazing, don’t you?

Sure, I guess.

Well, I like it a lot, and that’s good enough for my list.

Yeah, for sure. Your list is your list.

As for my list, well, I’m sure everypony’s already guessed my number 6 card based on what I’ve said in my picks for the 7 and 8 spots. Starlight Glimmer Guidance Counselor.

Which is honestly kind of surprising. At first, ponies thought she was only going to be so-so since there were already a ton of good AT generator options out there, like Princess Twilight Sparkle: Cover to Cover. Plus she costs 3, which means it takes a long time for her to pay for herself.

But in practice, she’s definitely proven to be an absolute all star.

I think you mean an “All Starlight”, Cici!

Sure...

So, to explain why people weren’t that excited about her at first… In the Seaquestria and Beyond Meta, ponies had the mentality that 5-6 AT generators was usually enough. More than that and you were diluting your deck with too many AT gens and not enough other cards that do other things.

Turns out, uhhh, that was just plain wrong. And in the Friends Forever Meta, we’ve seen decks with 8, 12, and even 18 AT generators! And almost every one of those decks was running Starlight here.

So what changed? Well I’ll get to one of those reasons later in the list, but the other thing is just there are so many good AT gens now, that running as many as you can just means you can have a tremendous advantage over your opponent.

I mean, which pony’s more likely to win? The one getting 3 AT a turn or the one getting 9?

Probably the one getting 9, yeah… You can’t catch up if you’re doing only a third of what the opponent’s doing.

Basically, yeah. Once you’re generating at least 2 more AT than the opponent, chances are you’re a mile ahead. At 3, it’d take a miracle for the opponent to beat you.

Anything past that and you’ve basically already won the game, regardless of what the scores are.

Unless it’s 14-0! Then they might still have a chance! Hehe.

Okay, in the vast majority of circumstances.

Anyway, Glimmer is incredibly key in these strategies for two reasons. First is her 1 req, allowing her to be played early even without flipping your Mane. So you can get her out turn 2 and start getting an influx of AT ASAP.

Second, turns out that 3 power is really helpful. Like Filly Racers, you get the benefit of a lot of power to confront in addition to increasing your AT economy. This has actually sped up a lot of slower Purple strategies. Cover to Cover’s 0 power doesn’t help confront, but Glimmer absolute does.

Also, being mono-coloured means she’s a lot easier to play than Filly Racers or Daring Do, giving her that much more utility. And, well, that goes a long way towards making it on my list, really.

So would you say she guides people to victory?

Hey, yeah! I get that one.

Hehe. Way to go Cici! Rah rah!

“Rah rah?”

Cici, Cici, she’s our Mare! Her deck will take Continentals unawares.

Why thank you!

Though I’m not sure it will. I mean, Nothing I’m considering is really that out of the ordinary…

Wait… you’re doing something weird to set up the next card, aren’t you?

Is it that weird for me to be my besty’s cheer squad?

...No? But I can’t shake this feeling...

Maybe I should wear a mask of you at Continentals like Rainbow Dash’s Parents in Cheering Section?

Please don’t…

But look at them! They’re so happy! Giving their daughter their full support, 110%! 220% even!

That makes even less than 110%.

Don’t be silly, Cici. There’s two of them, so of course it’s 220%.

You might even say it’s 20%—

Don’t.

Spoilsport.

But no, seriously, I love seeing Rainbow’s parent so into supporting her. It’s all sorts of heartwarming, and just fun! Such an easy inclusion for my list, hehe.

Yeah… I guess that would be nice.

Oh no, Cici. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.

No, no. It’s fine. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just miss them sometimes, you know?

Of course.

But now’s no time to worry about that. We’ve got our top 10 lists to complete, and I’m finally done with the AT gens.

And next up’s an absolute juggernaut! Daybreaker: Blinding Light!

Oooh, she’s a fun one, yeah.

I’m not sure I like the idea of Princess Celestia going evil at all...

But it’s just pretend, so it’s okay, right?

I’m sure no matter what happens, Celestia’d never turn her back on us.

But anyway, this card is just fantastic.

While you don’t get as many points from a single faceoff as you would from a Night Glider: Overpowering, you also don’t need to win by any threshold. Plus she works in any faceoff, meaning she can score you points off of Troublemakers, or any other faceoff she finds herself in.

And of course, she brings a lot more power to those faceoffs, due to her extra base power and extra point of Competitive. 6 is a lot of power for a 3 cost Friend.

She does cost more, though, and, again, gives fewer points. So there are definitely reasons to use Night Glider over her.

But all in all, she’s different enough to be a great option for different kinds of decks. And a very solid number 5 pick for me.

My number 5 pick also also very competitive.

Huh, really? You tend to pick build arounds or just flavourful stuff.

I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s the most competitive card in the set?

Heh, we’ll see about that.

I mean, just look at the fierce competition going on in Smolder & Sandbar: Pillow FIght!

I… should have seen this coming.

Probably.

But just look at how much fun they’re having! Whap! Pow! Hehehehe.

Hey Cici! Think fast!

Gah!

You almost hit me.

Well, yeah! That is the point of a pillow fight, silly.

Great reflexes, though.

Thanks! We’ve been training a lot lately, and—

Ow.

You shouldn’t close your eyes in a pillow fight, silly!

Oh it’s on now, Flitter! Come here!

Don’t you have a list to finish?

Oh, right. I guess I’ll have to get you later.

I look forward to it.

So this next one, when she was spoiled, I could have sworn was going to be the top of my list. She seemed insane, and exactly what the game needed. And, well, she is. Mage Meadowbrook: Pillar of Healing is the answer a lot of decks were looking for.

Which is why it’s a shame she’s only number 4.

Which isn’t to say she’s not as good as I thought. It’s just, well, other cards wound up being a bit better than I expected. Cause Meadowbrook is absolutely insane.

There are a ton of great Resources out there right now. And Troublemakers have basically always been a problem for aggro decks. It’s kind of what they’re for. And while there have been a few cards that can deal with one or the other before, there’s never been one that deals with both.

And definitely not one that just deals with them all. Unless the opponent has a Desert Road, Meadowbrook just answers everything, no questions asked. And she even comes with a 3 power body to help you confront that turn. She’s amazing.

Plus, just look at that action pose!

Resources and Troublemakers beware, Mage Meadowbrook is coming for you!

Now she is a bit expensive, and she’s not all that great against decks that don’t rely on resources or TMs, so not every deck’s going to want her. But if you’re in Yellow, you should definitely consider her. Nopony does what she does nearly as effectively.

She may not be an all star, but what she does do, she excels at.

Well your number 4 may be a specialist, but mine’s a generalist: Ocellus: Master of Disguise.

She does a little bit of everything!

Sure, but why’s that fun?

Cause mix and matching abilities is just super fun! And you get a different combo of abilities every time, or at least in a different order, hehe.

Agile and Swift and Showy and Dilligent and Eccentric. There’s a lot of fun possibilities!

Kind of disappointed Purple’s is just Meticulous cause it doesn’t really synergize with the other 5 as well, but it’s not bad, I guess.

Plus they brought Transform back just for her and Silverstream! That’s one of my favourite mechanics!

Yeah, it’s not bad.

and for maximum fun, just stick an Alicorn Costume on her. Then she’s automatically fully enabled!

So long as you don’t put any resources on anypony else, of course.

Since when do you suggest not putting resources on Friends?

Not every silly strategy works with every other silly Strategy, Cici.

Alternatively, you could just put all the hats on Ocellus. That way you won’t have a problem!

Uh huh. No way that could go wrong.

Are you doubting the power of my hats, Cici?

Anyway, moving on to the top 3. And, considering how good my top 4 card was, you know the rest have got to be pretty amazing. Pony of Shadows: Pure Darkness is no exception.

The sheer raw value you get out of this card is insane. That’s 1 AT for a Friend. 1! By passing all colour req and everything. And it doesn’t even matter who beats the Pony of Shadows.

Sure, it does need to be beaten, but if you build your deck right, that’s not too hard. And if the opponent beats it, they only get 1 point while you get what’s likely to be an incredibly powerful Friend.

Now I’ve seen some ponies try and use this to put some of the 5 cost tri-colour alicorns into play…

Like me! I’ve done that!

...but it’s honestly not really worth it. They tend to be difficult to play if ever drawn, and usually you don’t have a guarantee you’ll even hit one.

The better way to use it, honestly, is to just include a bunch of medium-cost friends that you’re okay with drawing or with playing for free. This way you’re happy if you draw them or if you get them off of Pony of Shadows.

Farming decks particularly get a lot of usage from this as they can defeat it, then put a large friend into play at another problem with an epic and have a good chance at beating that too. Plus farm decks don’t tend to run all that many friends, so you increase the odds of getting what you want.

I’ve even seen some farm decks run exactly one kind of friend to guarantee hitting it. The results can be a bit scary.

I like using Purple effects like Scope Things Out to stack my deck so I know what Friend I’m getting!

Yeah, that’s not a bad plan either. Though usually you don’t have to. It’s just handy.

Anyway, give it a try. It seriously does a lot more than you might think at first glance. And you probably think it does a lot. I’ve seriously been incredibly impressed with how good it is.

My number three pick is also great value at 1 AT! Rockhoof: Pillar of Strength

Want to guess how many coutners I’ve put on him, Cici?

Nah. I’m going to guess some big number and you’re just going to top it with some ludicrously large number like eighty trillion or something.

Oh, Cici. You always think so small.

Eighty trillion is a lot!

Sure, but we got him to eighty trillion and one

...You’re kidding me.

Of course, that’s when we were just doing silly things to see how big we could get him, hehe. And we kinda just started rounding once it got too big, hehe.

In a normal match, I think it was maybe 100 or so?

That’s still way bigger than you need…

Well, yeah, Cici! That’s what makes him so fun! Rockhoof just refuses to not be the biggest pony around, it’s great!

But what’s even better than just growing Rockhoof yourself is dueling Rockhoofs! You have one at 2 power and have your opponent have one at 3 power and they’ll never stop trying to best each other. It’s great!

“I’m the biggest pony around!” “No, I’m the biggest pony!” hehehe.

Are you quite done?

Yup! I have more power than you, so I’m not growing anymore this turn.

Wah?

Just go, Cici!

So I think a lot of ponies underestimated this next card at first. A couple other cards did a pretty similar thing, and so it was a lot easier to dismiss.

But then ponies started using it and found out, wow, it was absolutely the real deal. And now School Shut Down is a staple in basically any Purple control deck.

So the cards it was being compared too, obviously, were Party of One and Applejack: Captain of the Seven Seas, being the previous board wipes. Each of which was, and still is, very good, but left you with something, while School Shut Down does not.

But the thing is, it gets rid of everything. Nothing stays behind, short of Persistent Friends. Not even discard piles! And that can matter a lot too. It’s definitely not as great as Party of One if your only goal is to get rid of Friends. But that’s not its only purpose.

It’s almost like different cards can have different strengths and weaknesses!

Heh, yeah, exactly.

Being in the colour that gains lots of AT certainly helps as well. Especially in the current meta with basically all the AT Gens. It may be more Expensive than Party of One, but that’s not always a factor when you’re getting extra AT.

And I guess that’s it. It’s a board wipe. It gets rid of everything. That’s all you need to be a super strong card, really.

Well, we’re at the third and last card on my list because it’s just pure fun: Silverstream: Fish out of Water!

Nopony else in the game does what she does, hehe.

Huh. I wouldn’t have even begun to assume that Silverstream would have made your list, let alone as your number 2. She seems kind of… tame.

Are you kidding? Silverstream is insane!

With the right deck, she’s an invitation to put whatever problem you want into play! Or even all of them!

Please tell me you didn’t put all 20 problems at once.

Oh, Cloudchaser. Still thinking so, so small.

We worked together to put all 116 problems in play at once!

116?

Yup! 3 copies each of all sixteen dilemmas for each player. Plus both players 10 problems, of course. That makes 116!

It was the biggest multi problem faceoff ever!

Whatever makes you happy, I guess.

Of course, that’s not the best thing you can do with Silverstream. But I’ll tell you about dismissing problems and uniqueness later, hehe. It’s a whole lot of nonsense.

Wha?

Basically, Sivlerstream lets you do a lot of fun and silly things that couldn’t be done before. And, well, Cici, you may not know this… but I just love fun and silly things!

I think I may have heard that once or twice.

Cici, you made a joke! I’m so proud of you!

Gah! No hugs while we’re doing top 10 lists!

All the hugs while we’re doing top 10 lists!

So we’re finally at my last card and, uh... yeah. All of you probably guessed it’s Mistmane: Pillar of Beauty.

Now, I wasn’t sure she was all that great at first, but the fact she does four different things across two abilities is what makes her absolutely insane. Four. That’s a lot of things for one card to do, and they’re all notable.

Sure, she’s primarily used for her ability to get you a card back while also getting you a point, but that’s only half of what she can do. She also can get herself out from the discard pile while filling it with stuff you might want to get back. Not to mention also filling the opponent’s discard pile.

This makes it incredibly difficult to get rid of her short of banishing her.

Most of you are also probably aware of the fact that being Unique lets you use two of them to just score a point for every 3 AT you spend. Having 2 in play means one is dsimissed immediately due to Uniqueness, and then can be gotten back thanks to her Trigger.

Then, since you’re back where you started just with 3 less AT and 1 more point, you can do it again. And again. And again.

Put simply, she is a finisher, and very effective at it in this meta of a million AT gens. 3 AT per point is kind of expensive, but if you can stall the game long enough to be able to do it 8 or 10 times in one turn, the cost begins to not matter much anymore.

How often does that happen? Seems unlikely.

More often than you’d think or I’d like…

Now she does come with the drawback of letting the opponent get a card back as well, but…

It usually doesn’t matter. Ponies tend not to play Mistmane if the opponent can get something important back, unless they don’t care. It’s mostly meaningless. Kind of disappointing, really.

Long story short, she is incredibly versatile while also being exceptionally good at a single thing, which isn’t a combination you see very frequently. She’s trivially the best card in the set, even more so than Old Money, who got banned.

Which isn’t to say I think she should necessarily be banned…

But I wouldn’t mind it.

Cici!

I just don’t find her very fun to play against.

But that’s just me. I’ve actually heard a lot of ponies talking about wanting to ban her... But I don’t think it’s necessary. At least not yet since rotation is right around the corner. Which isn’t something we need to get into today.

We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess. And it’s not like every powerful card needs to be something I like specifically or anything.

Different cards appeal to different ponies.

Exactly! Part of what makes a card game great.

I do hope she’s being watched for the possibility of banning, if only because a lot of ponies think it might be necessary. But I doubt it’ll need to happen any time soon.

And that’s my whole list. Lots of powerful stuff this time around. Mostly good stuff too.

Well, my last card’s one we don’t even need to talk about…

Wah?

...Since Cici already did that for me!

Look! it’s us again!

Heh, yeah, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

It’s always nice seeing us on a card, and this one’s particularly nice.

Plus we’re just so gosh darn cute! Filly us is the best!

Shame I was wearing the bow that day and not you. That was back when we were taking turns, remember?

Flitterrrrrrr.

But yeah, I don’t really have much more to say that I didn’t already say when Cici talked about us! We’re adorable, we work great together, and we’re the perfect team. Always!

Always and always.

So, that’s our lists! Now if you’ll excuse us, Cloudchaser’s got a lot of freaking out to do now that there’s nothing else to do between now and Contientals.

I do not freak ou—

Gah, Continentals is like 2 days away and I have so much playtesting I need to do! Why did I let you waste so much time trying to teach me how to tell dumb jokes? I’ve got to go now! Later Flits.

That’s our Cloudchaser, hehe.

Bye everypony! See you all at Continetals!

#cloudchaser and flitter explain #cloudchaser #flitter #mlp fim #mlpccg

3 notes · View notes

omdaily10 · 5 years

Text

NEVER BEEN BETTER

Album: Fourth

Writers/Producers: Jason Evigan, Sean Douglas, Sam Hollander, Claude Kelly, Steve Robson, Martin Johnson, Peter Wallevik, Daniel Davidsen, Cutfather, Ryan Tedder, TMS, Steve Mac, Wayne Hector, Paul Weller, Jamie Scott, Matt Prime, FutureCut, John Newman

Release Date: 24/11/2014 (Original) / 20/11/2015 (Reissue)

Chart Positions: #1 (UK), #1 (Scotland), #7 (Ireland), #20 (Switzerland), #27 (Australia), #28 (Finland), #38 (Germany), #38 (Denmark), #40 (Austria), #42 (US), #50 (Sweden)

Sales: 861k (UK, 2x Platinum)

As we touched on with our 'Wrapped Up' review, anything longer than six months away in pop and people can start to ask questions about an artist’s future, such is the fickle nature of the beast. Olly was certainly in more of an interesting position than most, having now had two back to back million selling, chart slaying albums. He had quite literally confounded all expectations. ‘Never Been Better’ was a significant album for that reason, but it’s also a landmark album in other respects.

Back when work on the ‘Right Place Right Time’ album had only just got under way in the summer of 2012, a massive shift in personnel happened at Epic Records. Nick Raphael and Jo Charrington, who had overseen Olly from his launch, were poached by Universal Records to head up the relaunched Capitol label, in turn going onto launch the successful careers of 5 Seconds of Summer and Sam Smith.

Eighteen months on, and whilst Olly stayed under the Sony umbrella, he subsequently moved from Epic to the reactivated RCA label, headed up by former Island Records MD Nick Gatfield, meaning he had a new A&R man overseeing him and a new album for the first time since his debut. Now entering his fifth year in pop – which many cynics will tell you is the point popularity can either sustain itself or wane from a peak for an artist – Olly had a hell of a lot to prove. It certainly explains why he took as long as he did on it.

This album had to cement his position and popularity in the UK music scene and most importantly, have the songs to back it up. And it’s fair to say that for the vast majority of the album, that was the case. Certainly, you’d be hard pressed to find a more fitting song to kick off the album than the cheekily titled ‘Did You Miss Me?’

Initially touted as the first single before Olly got cold feet about a potential press backlash regarding misunderstanding of the title, and co-written with Los Angeles based hitmaker Jason Evigan (Maroon 5, Madonna, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears) this mischief making, horn drenched, Prince-esque strut was bold, brash and attention grabbing: ‘I can tell that you’ve missed me / Cause your eyes give it away / I know you can’t resist me / So show me, show me, show me that you missed me’. It’s a shame he didn’t go with his instincts, because really pop is built on those grand moments of statements of intent.

For that same reason, the title track, co-written with the TMS team, and a record that upped the epic grandeur of ‘Army of Two’ from the last album, was also a highlight. Recorded with a 60-piece orchestra and coming off as part Bond theme part McFly at their hardest, it was a soaring rocket of a track that Olly stretched his vocal chops on, hitting higher notes than he ever had before, and which he performed to devastatingly brilliant effect on the accompanying tour for the album (more on which in a second).

TMS also offered light and shade to Olly’s personality as an artist on the tracks ‘Why Do I Love You’ and ‘Nothing Without You’. The latter was a plaintive, simplistic piano ballad, stating to his then girlfriend of the time that life without her would be nothing. The former track, however, was possibly one of the most dark and experimental tracks he’d done to that point, an almost psychedelic, Northern soul leaning pop number on the agony of being in love with a non-committal partner. It was in many ways, like the renegade evil twin of ‘Oh My Goodness’.

British singer songwriter John Newman, who’d famously topped the charts with drum and bass outfit Rudimental on their 2012 single ‘Feel The Love’, as well as hitting the charts with songs like ‘Come and Get It’ and ‘Love Me Again’, co-wrote ‘Stick With Me’, a pulsing dance track with an eerie choir effect produced by Steve Mac and Wayne Hector. Immediately following it was the very lustful ‘Can’t Say No’, a stripped to the bone part acoustic funk pop number.

But closing off the album was possibly one of the biggest coups Olly could have hoped for in his career at that moment. Some two years previously, he had performed a cover of ‘Broken Stones’, a track from ‘Stanley Road’, the iconic 1995 album from British rock legend Paul Weller, first for The Sun Biz Sessions, and then at his headline slot for the annual iTunes Festival in Camden, North London. Olly had grown up around Paul’s music in his dad’s record collection and had stated what a fan he was of both his solo work and his work in The Jam (he also covered their 1982 chart topper ‘A Town Called Malice’ on the previous tour).

Fast forward to spring 2014, and he was fortunate to meet Paul at the annual Teenage Cancer Trust fundraiser gig at the Royal Albert Hall in London, who mentioned that he had written the bones of a song with Olly in mind. With some additional co-writing from Olly, that song became ‘Let Me In’, a genuinely moving acoustic number which showed off the more soulful, reflective tones in his voice and which you could almost picture being sung around a campfire at dusk.

If ever he’d needed confirmation that he was more of a serious proposition than ever, then his work with such a respected legend was it. In fact, many reviewers subsequently highlighted it as such, with The Guardian proclaiming it to be “the best thing he’s done in his career” in their analysis of the album. Amy Davidson, reviewing the album for Digital Spy, was also full of praise, stating that with ‘Never Been Better’, “Olly isn't in the wallflower business, rather he fully intends on running with his title without a whiff of uncertainty.”

‘Never Been Better’ then, ultimately proved to be a prophetic title – it became his third consecutive UK number one album, once again taking just under a month to achieve its first platinum disc, as well as sailing into the top 10 or top 40 in seven other countries, eventually going onto be certified double platinum by the end of its chart run. It also showed that, far from being forgotten with a year away, Olly’s popularity was quite undiminished and had, well, never been better.

BONUS TRACKS, UNWRAPPED

As with his previous album, the original release of ‘Never Been Better’ came in a standard 13 track version, and a deluxe edition, once again in a digipak booklet format, and substituting the yellows and reds of the standard artwork for a mixture of creams and beiges, as well as four additional tracks.

Highlights among these extra four songs included ‘Ready for Love’, a folksy, rousing foot stomper that you could almost picture being sung by a 70s era Elton John (although no relation to his 1979 song and subsequent 2003 chart topper of the same name). The twilight strewn dreaminess of the ballad ‘History’ ensured that it quickly became a fan favourite, and was performed by Olly on that year’s telethon for ITV’s ‘Text Santa’ charity.

Internationally, fans in Germany and Japan were treated to two further bonus tracks. Only available on copies of the deluxe edition sold in the German entertainment store Mediamarkt, ‘Alone Tonight’ saw Olly team up once again with the Future Cut team on possibly the steamiest sounding song he’d recorded to that point: ‘Kiss me like a stranger / It’s time to misbehave, don’t leave me lonely / I can’t leave you alone tonight’. It’s still currently unavailable for streaming or digital download in any territory at time of writing.

'Alone Tonight’ was also on the deluxe edition in Japan, along with a very special track recorded with another music legend. ‘Sukiyaki’ (literally translated as ‘I Look Up As I Walk’) had been a phenomenally successful record for the Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto back in 1961, having sold something in excess of 13m copies worldwide. Olly was invited to re-record a version of the song with English lyrics, titled ‘Look at the Sky’, written by none other than Yoko Ono, who sung his praises highly of his performance of the song.

As of time of writing in May 2019, Olly is still yet to release a Christmas album despite much continual demand for him to do so. The ‘Unwrapped’ EP, a five-track acoustic EP given away free for download on Google Play during December 2014, and recorded at Google’s British headquarters in London, is thus the closest we’ve probably got to an official seasonal release of his. ‘Wrapped Up’ and ‘History’ were performed in his set, along with an additional cover of Wizzard’s ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’, in the same arrangement as his previous recording of the festive favourite for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge in December 2012.

NEVER BEEN BETTER: SPECIAL EDITION

As in 2013, Olly spent much of 2015 touring (and pursuing other activities as we’ll come onto discuss in later entries for this era). Once again with no time to get a full new album ready, he decided to repeat the formula that had worked so well for the last album by repacking it as a special edition for reissue a year after it first came out. A new black and yellow colour scheme adorned the artwork, the original 13 tracks from the album remained. And joining them were seven brand new songs, including a further two singles which we’ll be discussing at a later stage.

Claude Kelly and Steve Robson bought the frenetic funk to ‘Sacrifice’, a lively up-tempo floor filler that hardly had time to pause for breath. Meanwhile, Sam Hollander, an American based songwriter and producer who had written for decidedly more punk pop orientated artists like Blink 182 and Good Charlotte, delivered the haunting, lighters aloft ballad ‘If I Stay’, an empowering song about wanting to not give up on a relationship until the last.

‘Love Shouldn’t Be This Hard’ marked Olly’s first collaboration with Toby Gad, the hitmaker for the likes of Beyoncé, Pixie Lott and JLS. A genuinely compelling, almost country leaning midtempo about that awkward first stages of dating when there’s a desperate but repressed need to fill the silences, it seems all but forgotten now but is a gem worth unearthing.

Rounding off the repacked album were two more recordings for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge from December 2014: his then new single ‘Up’, performed acoustically with Ella Eyre, who subsequently performed it with him when she supported him on his UK and Ireland arena tour for the album in April 2015, and his version of Wham’s timeless festive favourite ‘Last Christmas’, gentle sleigh bells jingling in the background and all.

Ella also crops up on the second home video release of Olly’s, as the repack included the accompanying DVD of the fourth and final London O2 show of the ‘Never Been Better’ tour, recorded on 7th May 2015, as she performs ‘Up’ with him on there too. The DVD sadly had to omit the popular ‘Funk Medley’ section of the tour that year, owing to the failure of clearance for use of several of the songs in the medley for release. However, the performance of ‘Troublemaker’ with Robbie Williams as a surprise guest is retained and is well worth a watch even now.

The repacked ‘Never Been Better’ had the dual misfortune of coming out during one of the toughest weeks in Olly’s career (more on which in future entries), but also during one of the best for Adele, who released her third album ‘25’ that same week and which sold over 800,000 copies in its first week alone. However, it still returned the album to the top 10 for Christmas that year, ensuring that Olly notched up one of the year’s best-selling albums in the UK for a fifth year on the trot.

#Olly Murs #Olly Murs Daily #10th Anniversary #OMDaily10 #Never Been Better #Fourth Album #2014 #2015 #Retrospective #Review #Deluxe Edition #Special Edition #Unwrapped EP

5 notes · View notes

jim-reid · 6 years

Text

Chain Reaction

David Sprague / Music Express 1989

Edition #142 Charles Grodin, an actor and a cynic, recently finished his memoirs, entitled It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here. Chuck and I have never been , you know, like this, so I'm not entirely sure what the heck the title's supposed to mean either. But I do know that it's a shame he picked such precise wording - wording that's tailor-made for the someday-to-be-published Jesus and Mary Chain story. It's all too easy to peg an off-kilter artist as "living in his own world" - which is, usually, codified music-biz slang for "his elevator doesn't go all the way to the top." But Jim and William Reid, the perfectly sane brothers who (for all intents and purposes) are The Jesus and Mary Chain, dream of doing just that. Trouble is, their East Kilbride bedroom fantasies - the one about being in a pop band, that is - came to fruition all too quickly. It's one thing, as the odd Twilight Zone/Night Gallery episode'll illustrate, to dream of ruling the world. To actually ascend the throne, however, is another thing altogether. "To be totally honest, I don't think we have all that much fun anymore," sighs Jim Reid, on a break from the filming of the Mary Chain's Blues From A Gun video. "I don't think anything can live up to the image of what you think it's going to be like. Or even to the first few months of playing. That was just the best time for us." of course, those first few months (now over five years gone) saw The Jesus and Mary Chain revered/reviled like no band since Malcolm McLaren's clerks got together in that combo called... what was it again? But where that other band gained notoriety with a spray of unfocused attitude, a few well-torn bits of haute-couture and a Ramones songbook, The Jesus and Mary Chain were doing something really threatening. They were messing with the music (man). "At the beginning, people were always talkin' about the 15-minute sets we did," says Jim, who is surprisingly soft-spoken. "But sometimes we didn't make it to seven minutes. It was all down to the type of sound we had. Plus we'd only written about five songs. We were just doing what came naturally." But the seismograph-sensitive British press thought they'd seen either the future - a future in which rock'n'roll would be obsolete (which Jim once claimed the Chain was intended to do) - or else, well... Mick Farren, who no longer writes frequently enough about rock music, insisted, "There's been considerable confusion on the part of the audience as to whether the band was tuning, playing or experiencing technical difficulties." By creating some of the most pristine, crystalline-pure Beach Boys/Velvets (circa third LP)/Phil Spector pop songs, then forcing their heads into vats of poisoned feedback, the Mary Chain created something - a pastiche, sure, but one that touched a nerve in anyone who cared anything about pop music as more than just a temporary diversion. Psychocandy, the 1985 debut LP, distilled this mixture perfectly. But after the raves had abated, most everyone was left wondering what The Jesus and Mary Chain would do for an encore. And this number doubtlessly included the Reids themselves. After all, the brothers (along with sole other constant Douglas Hart) talked ceaselessly of Psychocandy's place as the greatest record of all time - or, when feeling modest, of the past 20 years. How to top it? "Well, at the time we made it, Psychocandy was the best possible record anyone could've made," Jim confirms. "And we had to top that. At the same time, when we made Darklands, we knew it had to be different. We felt suffocated by the kind of press we were getting. It seemed that the guitar sound and the goings on onstage were getting more attention than the songs. So we deliberately set out to make a record that no one could talk about without talking about the songs first. But this time, we just set out to make a great album." This time, they have. Automatic, the new Jesus and Mary Chain album, captures a band two years further down the road, but the Reids haven't lost one iota of the emotional starkness that marked their previous releases. Alternating between the hopeless, spider-webbed love songs they've all but perfected (Halfway To Crazy, Head On) and the menacing, space-age Spector threats they've churned out frighteningly easily (the Sidewwalking-like Gimme Hell, Her Way Of Praying), Automatic sounds as if they've spent the whole 24 months toiling over it. Jim Reid wouldn't argue with that. "People expect a lot from the Mary Chain," he confirms. "That's why we take so long making a record. We're not lazy. But I think if you're making music and you find the process easy, you're doing something wrong. It's the kind of thing where you have to keep tryin' and tryin' until you get as close as you can to what you consider perfection." The past couple of years, Jim reckons, have been the toughest in the band's history. Having fired Alan McGee, the man many called the JAMC's Svengali, Jim and William spent a good bit of time trying to act as managers themselves. McGee's departure, perhaps coincidentally, saw a switch in the band's public face - a desire for more acceptance, maybe? "Not really," Jim muses. "We managed ourselves for a year-and-a-half, which was probably the most depressing time we've been through. You can't get away from it, really, 'cause every minute of every day, someone from the record company is phoning you up and asking you about things you'd rather not think about. "These days, though, we try to have as little to do with the business end as possible. We may sound different now, or play longer or more professionally. But it's merely because we want to. We have definite ideas as to what the Mary Chain should be doing right now, and we're acting on them." Does the record company have the same ideas? "Not usually." How do you differ? "We got quite a lot of resistance from the record company [when it came to] releasing Blues From A Gun as the single," Jim replies evenly. "More or less, they thought we were insane. I can see their point, but we think our reasoning is quite good. We've been away for a year-and-a-half with no records out [Barbed Wire Kisses, a collection of B-sides, was released early last year], and we felt that to come back with something really poppy, like Halfway Crazy, would be a bit too... obvious." Both Jim and William Reid have spoken in hushed tones about what they'd do if The Jesus and Mary Chain became superstars. In a sense, the master plan seems incongruous when one considers their oft-professed disdain for the music business in general. Were there unlimited capital in the JAMC coffers, the Reids would start a record label of their own. Something, Jim says, to enable him to release his own records only when he felt like it. "We do set extremely high standards for ourselves," he explains, continuing a theme that's apparently very important to him. "I don't understand why groups feel they have to put out a record every year, when doing that means you have albums that are mostly filler." It's odd, in a way, that a band so self-contained - so introverted (Jim grunts affirmatively at the adjective) - should have such devoted fans. Does the adulation please the Reids? "I don't like it when people get too fanatical about it," he whispers. "When someone can't see the flaws in someone else - that kind of attitude is totally wrong. You get somebody followin' you around who thinks you're God Almighty and you've just got to feel sorry for them." In a sense, this shows rather readily when The Jesus and Mary Chain are onstage. From their well-documented early gigs, which were basically, formless, 15-minute feedback fests, through their first North American gigs (which weren't much longer), Messrs. Reid, Reid and Hart kept their backs turned to the audience until their set inevitably collapsed into Jesus Suck, and equipment went flying. Even on recent tours, with the band fleshed out with a second guitarist, Bobby Gillespie's old galley-slave kettle-drum set-up replaced by a professional looking skinsman and sets constructed with consideration of not only the music, but of the ebb and flow needed to keep an hour-long show afloat, Jim (and especially William) seemed as though they'd much rather be somewhere else. "I think the way we are live confuses a lot of people," agrees Jim. "See, none of us are really show people. We consider ourselves musicians, not entertainers, and I guess we sometimes come across as cold because we don't have any conversations with the audience. But really, the only way I can describe it is to say that I don't have anything to say to them. Anything I did say would be totally false and we'll never do anything false. After all this time, Jim Reid still insists that The Jesus and Mary Chain are, in a sense, an Immaculate Conception. In other words, no forethought has apparently gone into their seemingly well-sculpted image of leather and shades, smoke and slhouette, rock myth and anti-rock myth-busting all in one neat package. And he genuinely seems to believe it when he insists their only contrivance was to "become the greatest band in the world." To be fair, he does give credit to the band's obvious antecedents - to cult legends the Fire Engines for braving 15-minute sets in 1980, and to Lee Hazelwood, whose eerie mid-'60s compositions (like Some Velvet Morning) the Mary Chain have electrified. But he's often been just as quick to lambaste folks as diverse as Lou Reed, Phil Spector and Brian Wilson, without whom, it might be argued, the Mary Chain might be just another British pop band. It could be suggested that some of the bombast is for effect - to simply piss people off. "It depends," Jim chuckles. "I suppose we do that. But a lot of people have pissed me off, so why shouldn't I do the same? Well, sometimes the Mary Chain seem to have picked the wrong targets... "I quite often do stupid things when I'm drunk," mutters the singer. "Probably all the stupid things I've done in my life have happened when I've been drinking too much. Sometimes I can't control my drinking habits, and though I'm not a drunk, I do tend to get a bit mouthy." So that's what was behind the incident in Toronto during the last tour (Jim, apparently well-oiled, responded to a group of hecklers shouting "Boring!" by attacking them; first with a mike stand, later with a bottle. He ended up spending the night in a jail and eventually received an unconditional discharge). He responds to the very mention of the city with a groan. "Yes, I remember. I feel totally responsible," he sighs, a note of genuine sincerity in his voice. "I've got to take all the blame for that. It was just one of those nights when I played too drunk and behaved really stupidly. That's one of the nights I regret the most in the band's history." While quite willing to talk openly about drink (giving him the advantage over, say, Shane MacGowan), Jim Reid is mum when talk turns to... harder substances. There've always been rumors of abundant drug use in the Reid camp (which the brothers have always denied). And JAMC songs, from day one, have had not-so-sly drug references you don't have to be a rock critic to notice. Automatic, f'instance, leads off with Here Comes Alice, a jaunty tune that wraps love addiction in Waiting For The Man lingo, while Coast To Coast whispers of "junk gun fever," "senses strung out" and the like. There's more, but Jim doesn't want to discuss it. Matter of fact, he doesn't like discussing lyrics at all, insisting that it's William who writes all of them anyway (a mild exaggeration, from what I've been led to believe). he then adds that their highly obsessive themes, like the oral sex overkill of early songs The Living End, Just Like Honey and Taste Of Cindy (and, for the extremely literal, who might be ready to accuse them of prurience, Head and Suck) and more recently, the insanity and/or suicide that dominated Darklands and Automatic, aren't particularly meaningful. "To be quite honest with you," he laughs, "and I know this doesn't sound terribly convincing, it's just coincidence. Pure coincidence. "I don't think there's anything terribly wrong with that, anyway. It would only become repetitive if we continued on album after album the same way. Sometimes you just want to write words that sound good. It's as simple as that - a selection of words that you think belong together. I've said it before, but that's what I love about Syd Barrett's lyrics. They don't mean [anything], but they don't have to. They sound good." Is writing a pop song easy, then? "The hardest thing in the world." Does it help you deal with your emotions? "That," he laughs softly, "is the second hardest thing in the world."

#interview

4 notes · View notes