#like from a list of new things to try on botw once you were getting bored

[drsteggy]

Do you have tips for where to start for making a costume, and/ or where to start to get more comfortable possibly being in photos?

Hello, boy do I have thoughts on both of these.

On starting a costume- first off, you do not NEED to make your own costume to cosplay. It’s ok to buy some of it or all of it. The only time you NEED to have made your costume is if you’re competing.

I started by making props, which were things I was very comfortable with. The reason I started sewing was I could not find a tunic that fit me right- most of what I found was based on a large T shirt and that’s not what a tunic is…so it would hit my hips badly and end up much shorter than I wanted. I’m one of these people who wants to try to get it as close to my vision of “correct” as possible, and I suspect my version of BOTW Link will forever be sort of a work in progress forever, but I’m ok with this.

My first sewing project was Link’s undershirt. I based it off a pajama top I loved. I’m pretty sure I just googled instructions on how to reverse engineer a T shirt and went from there. I sewed it by hand and it’s served well for the past 2 years. A T shirt type thing really isn’t hard! It doesn’t need a lot of expensive stuff. You can take your time on it and see if you like sewing.

I later did the blue tunic, based, in part, on a sundress I own. Both of these were learning experiences for me on how to put things together. There are TONS of free resources and sewing demonstrations on YouTube, so it’s really easy if you’re stuck to go learn how to do it online.

I did buy a sewing machine at the end of last year as I decided I did want to do more of my own stuff- I’m a competitive cuss at the end of the day. It made the process much, much faster, and my results are better, too. I’m planning on version 2 of my Champions tunic this weekend.

Cosplay is really fun and I’ve had a whole thing exploring who I am even after I was pretty sure I already knew that. So no matter what level you’re doing it at, I totally recommend it.

On to photos…I self shoot a lot, but I’ve also gone and done some shoots. Photo shoots are also fun if you have a photographer you trust and are willing to be open to trying stuff. If you’re not comfortable with that yet, I recommend the art of the selfie.

Hear me out.

I got into cosplay in the fall of 2019 and I planned so many cons for 2020! We all know how that went. So I suddenly had this brand new hobby and no way to express it AND being an essential worker with a job that suddenly tripled in its insanity, very much needed an escape. Cosplayers turned to tiktok and instagram and I found myself suddenly having to learn both platforms.

I had help in the form of a discord full of much younger Zelda cosplayers who were willing to teach me stuff. But I still had to make stuff I was comfortable showing off.

So I took selfies. Thousands of them, most deleted immediately as I hated them. I did not like myself on camera for a variety of reasons but I kept taking them and sometimes they came out good. At this point, I’m pretty comfortable in front of MY camera. I have learned what angle and lighting look good. I have become that person on the book of faces taking a selfie in front of anything interesting I find.

But man, that took time and a lot of internal cringing.

It helps to approach it as play- I had to play with lighting and backgrounds. I started with an old bedsheet as my backdrop and a $20 ring light on a tripod I already owned. My setup still isn’t very complex- I still rely on that ring light a lot, but I have a couple of other lights on an Amazon wish list as I’d like to continue playing once winter is back. I have a couple professional backdrops I bought from a place called Kate Backdrop- they have a bajillion styles and many lend themselves to Zelda stuff and they look really convincing in pictures. They are reasonably priced for the size I use and there are sales where you can save more.

I’d like to learn how to edit my images next- right now I’m just doing the auto color correct on my phone. I use my phone as my camera and until very recently I was shooting on an iPhone 8. If you have a phone with a portrait mode, that’s a quick and easy way to make your photos look really good.

But yeah….it’s really just about practicing. Set up your phone and either use the timer or get a little remote trigger and just shoot a bunch. Learn what looks cool with your props. Be silly. It’s supposed to be fun. Have fun.

I was utterly horrified the first time someone else took photos of me and put them online (they asked first). They tried to pose me and I was just super self conscious and felt awkward and oh yeah you can see it. But now I have a go to pose I strike when someone asks at a con. It could be better. But acting in character is a skill, too, and skills can be learned and honed. You just gotta do it.

I’m more than happy to answer any more specific questions if I didn’t quite answer the way you were asking. I love cosplay and I’ve grown to enjoy taking photos to the point I’ll strike out into a local park in full gear and go ham with my phone.

#ask me things #answered asks #cosplay #anon ask #my midlife crisis is more fun than yours

[thetrueshan-blog]

My long winded thoughts on TOTK, aka I just beat the game so let me write this up

Just a fair warning this will include full spoilers for TOTK. You have been warned. What lies below are some of my rambling (long winded) thoughts I collected after beating TOTK for the first time. Some would be stretched to call this a review. I personally would just prefer to call this as my own ramblings I can refer back to in a digital sense. I’m trying to in corporate a lot of my thoughts into this piece, but as I am writing it I am finding it harder and harder to talk about everything. So I will probably leave something out on accident and I apologize for that. Again: Warning if you want to avoid any spoilers don’t read past this point.

Also just gonna apologize right now for the length of this one. I had a lot to talk about, but had to cut some stuff out and even then this is an extremely long post.

Table of contents:

0. Intro: we gotta start somewhere 1. The Voice Acting Pre-ramble 2. The Tears of the kingdom (or in other words: the story) 3. The return of the rushed and unrewarding ending. 4. The Disconnect between BOTW and TOTK 5. List of complaints that were improved on (?). 6. Who knew Nuts and Bolts had good ideas? (Or the new powers in TOTK) 7. Rapid fire list of new things I liked 8. Conclusion

0. Intro: we gotta start somewhere

So, here we are. TOTK came out exactly 2 weeks ago from this post. And I just beat it. Took about 72 hours over 2 weeks. So, what do I think about TOTK? After all I was quite harsh on BOTW in my write up for BOTW on May 5th. And it has been three weeks since I posted that write up. So how did TOTK live up to my expectations?

Well, I’m not gonna beat around the bush. I loved TOTK. It’s not a perfect game, and shares a fair amount of flaws from BOTW. But I had an absolute blast playing through TOTK.

I mentioned in my last write up that I don’t like to give out numbered reviews. That’s mostly because I tend to flip flop my scores around. It’s kinda one of those things that the score I give for something really depends on how I feel that day. But if I could retroactively give BOTW a numbered score, it would be a 6/10. It’s not a bad time overall. But there’s a lot of room for improvement since it can be quite rough.

So what about TOTK? What score would I give that game? I’m thinking an 8/10 right now. It’s almost a perfect game for me. But there’s some parts that are really rough. Plus it still shares some flaws from BOTW, and biggest for me of all is there is no post-game content. That last point also makes me want to give this game a 7/10. It’s that disappointing to me that once again we are not given a chance to explore a peaceful world that we helped to create. It’s so baffling to me that Nintendo thought that was a good idea again. Give me some rewards for beating the game, besides the petty star sticker next to my save profile. But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here. Let me try to describe this game in a similar format to how I described BOTW.

1. The Voice Acting Pre-ramble

Yeah, the voice acting returns with a vengeance in this game. But I knew from my recent play time with BOTW that I couldn’t stand the EN voice acting and that would probably hurt my time with the game. So the moment I got the chance to (as in the first five seconds of hitting play on the game) I switched over to the JP voices. And, thank Hylia for that, I am so glad I did that. It massively improved my opinion of the game and the story moving forward. I think there’s a disconnect from how the EN VAs are trying to convey the characters and how the JP VAs do it. EN Zelda sounds like a pompous upper class princess that wants to be treated with respect but still doesn’t under stand why the lower classes of Hyrule may distrust her. Meanwhile JP Zelda sounds like an innocent girl told to take on the weight of the world and doesn’t quite know how to deal with that heavy burden.

I don’t know, this might just be my hate for the EN Voice acting coming out but I really just don’t like Zelda’s characterization in the EN side. It might some kind of cultural language barrier when trying to translate the game into English.

But enough about voice acting. I played TOTK with JP voices on the whole time and I enjoyed all the voices and thought they fit their characters nicely.

2. The Tears of the kingdom (or in other words: the story)

So, one of my biggest gripes of BOTW was the disjointed and lack luster story. The story focused on how Zelda failed to live up to the expectations thrown at her. Which is a tragic tale, yes. However it got very stale and eventually annoying when every single piece of the story linked back to this point. The main issue I had was that there was no major wrap up point for that tragic tale. Well until the end of the game that was. But then we see the conclusion for like a minute or so and then BOTW ends and tells you to play TOTK if you want more. So going into TOTK I had some very low expectations. And honestly that might have helped. Because TOTK’s story compared to BOTW is actually one I care about.

Alright warning again about story spoilers. Skip to next section if you don’t want to read this.

The first thing that happens in TOTK is that Ganondorf wakes up. Yes that Ganondorf. But a new version. His hatred and malice was spilling out creating the “great calamity” from BOTW. But in this game he wakes up and immediately attacks Link and Zelda. Shenanigans ensue: Link looses all hearts and stamina; Zelda falls down a pit (but time warps herself); Link looses his right arm; and the master sword is shattered. Basically starting from scratch all over again. I won’t do a full summary since I think that would take up like 2,000 words. And I kinda wanna spare my hands for doing that. But needless to say I already like this premise way better. There’s a definitive goal: Find Zelda. There’s a definitive villain: Defeat Ganon. And a decent explanation to why Link looses all upgrades from the first game. All in all a pretty great start to a game. But wait it gets better. Turns out this game has the seven sages. Yup, the seven sages from OOT. When I saw this I was so excited. It’s not exactly the same sages from OOT. But it’s the idea of seven sages helping Link to stop the great evil that is Ganondorf.

TOTK also starts by explaining who the Zonai are. Which were barely hinted at in BOTW. I don’t think I even mentioned the Zonai in my BOTW write up. But not only does TOTK explain stuff about the Zonai, it turns out the Zonai play a huge part of the story. Since the Zonai’s Secret Stones are the MacGuffin that gives who ever holds them great power, turning them into sages. But the stones only amplifies power already there. It’s not gonna awaken a new power in you all of a sudden. But there’s also one more note, don’t eat them. If you do you will become an immortal dragon and loose all sense of self. Which is a neat extra side note for lore purposes on explaining how the giant dragons like Farosh exist in hyrule.

So yeah, I massively enjoyed this setting way more than BOTW’s story. I don’t know if it’s because I already knew so much from BOTW that hearing new things in this story really ended up helping. But it certainly didn’t hurt.

3. The return of the rushed and unrewarding ending.

I kinda spoiled this earlier, but yeah the ending to TOTK is similar to BOTW’s. It ends, rolls credits, quick cutscene, and then reload back to the title screen where you can then reload your save file right before the final boss with a new star sticker icon next to it. I know this is a trend with Zelda games. Once the evil is vanished the story is no more. But with huge open world games like this, especially since I enjoyed the setting of TOTK more than BOTW, I think it’s a huge wasted potential to not reward the player by seeing the world in a peaceful state. Or to see how people react. What the next things would be like. Like imagine if the end of BOTW was to finish the shrines, koroks or whatever but along side that you start working with Zelda to establish a reconstruction of Hyrule. But that doesn’t happen in BOTW. Nor does it happen here in TOTK. There’s this kind of disconnect between the player and link about what happened in BOTW to TOTK.

Which speaking of...

4. The Disconnect between BOTW and TOTK

I know it’s a hard challenge to even build such huge games like BOTW and TOTK. But I am disappointed by some of the lack of continuity between these games. I wonder how much of the game actually depends on your save from BOTW and how much is a mirage. In BOTW you can help foster a new town called Tarrey Town. In TOTK, Tarrey Town exists and has expanded. But does this mean this action is because Link, being played by me, helped Tarrey Town? Or does this happen no matter what and Tarrey Town always exists? I think it’s the latter. And frankly I don’t blame Nintendo for not creating systems that check every little thing like that from BOTW to TOTK. But at the same time there are some other times that this “disconnect” irks me.

The main disconnect is a question that remained in my head the entire game. “Where are the guardians and divine beasts?” Like no seriously. Where are they? They’re just gone in TOTK. Did they get repurposed and destroyed? What happened to the sheikah towers? The only evidence I can even spot of the old sheikah stuff from BOTW in TOTK is the guardian that sits up on the Hateno Research lab. But that’s it. Maybe I missed some important diary log where this is explained. But I just couldn’t find a reason for this. Link probably knows what happened. But since he’s mute we don’t get to hear that side of things. Though I am definitely not trying to say that Link should have had voiced lines or anything. If anything I am really glad he doesn’t speak. But he just doesn’t communicate to us the players in any way.

And honestly that is something that is bugging me. With so many characters having so much dialogue and even some having voiced lines, it’s baffling to me that we know so little about Link himself. Link acts as an avatar for the player, until he doesn’t and does stuff on his own. Like we, the player(s), don’t know exactly what happened between BOTW and TOTK. But Link sure does. So there’s a weird disconnect there where you could draw a ven-diagram that showcases the difference in what Link knows and what we the Players know.

Like a good example of this is how Purah’s first appearance is treated in TOTK. To us the player it is a shock that the once child looking researcher now looks like a mid 20 something grad student. So the cut scene plays out to be a surprise to that fact. However the cut scene really just showcases how surprised Purah is to see Link is alive and well. Link isn’t shocked about her appearance and there’s no mention of it. But we as the player are vastly confused on why Purah looks like she aged very rapidly. And in my case I was trying to judge how big of a gap between BOTW and TOTK was* so when I saw Purah for the first time I was wondering if it had been like 15 years or so. But I found out later in a diary she hid that she aged herself up to 100 and then back down to 20 because she was sick and tired of being treated like a child. (*Side note: I think it’s somewhere between 5-10 years of a gap. Probably around 6 though. The only indication is the child of Hudson and Rhondson, Mattison being taken away to Geurdo town as she has reached the age of maturity. However Mattison didn’t exist in BOTW so it depends on when Rhondson got pregnant for the time gap. End of Side note)

Which wouldn’t be a problem if the info Link knew was also shared with us the player. I don’t know, maybe something like Link having a journal or something that we the player can read through as we journey along so we can keep up to date? Or maybe a journal left by Zelda as she’s trying to keep track of history for new history books? Something like that would have helped a lot with this issue. Especially when there’s something like Link’s house in BOTW in now Zelda’s house in TOTK. What happened there? Are they living together? Did Link give the house to Zelda? Did Link not buy the house but Zelda bought it? I don’t know, because the game won’t tell me anything except for the fact that this house is now Zelda’s.

But enough of this, let’s talk more game mechanics now.

5. List of complaints that were improved on (?).

Alright so for this next section I am going to refer to this list of complaints I had for BOTW in my previous write up:

   1. Durability system is wack. I get what they were going for, but it does seem weird that weapons can break so easily and fast.    2. Rain stops all exploring if you need to climb. It’s just not fun.    3. Combat feels slow and clunky. Never really got a hang of it.    4. No passive upgrades to anything except to health and stamina.    5. Dungeons are neat. But way too small and I wish the guardians didn’t speak during them. Just let me bask in a cool place nintendo. Stop talking my ear off.    6. Shrines all feel the same. Also randomly the walls aren’t climbable in shrines? Just put barriers to stop link from climbing on them.    7. No themes in shrines or dungeons. They all look the same. At least the music is different in the dungeons at least.    8. There is no way to see the durability of weapons until it is about to break.    9. You cannot get a full set of hearts and stamina. You will always be missing one. (this might have been fixed in the DLC?)    10. If an enemy can guard your attack then you can’t damage it until you break their stance. Even if they are facing away from you.    11. Koroks... so many koroks... but eh kind of a pro/con situation. Don’t need to worry about getting them all, but at the same time feels so boring getting them.    12. Blood moons. Freaking blood moons. They appear at the worst times.    13. Thunder blight fight. I have no idea why this one fight is so hard compared to the rest. Each blight and including the final boss I beat all on the first try. With thunder blight I died like 15-20 times on. It’s just tough as nails. You need to dodge instantly otherwise you get hit so badly. Like here’s a link to me beating it: click here. It’s by far the hardest boss in the game for me.    14. If something needs to re-charge (master sword, or guardian powers) it needs to fully deplete before re-charging. Which is a bit annoying.

So let’s see what I think about these in TOTK since TOTK is very similar to BOTW.

Immediately numbers 1-4 are basically the exact same. They are issues in both games. But number 5 is interesting. When I played TOTK there are 5 dungeons*. Which is 1 more than BOTW. But the difference is that while BOTW’s dungeons felt like big shrine puzzles. I would say TOTK dungeons feels like proper Zelda dungeons. Heck these are called “temples” in this game too. They might not be the greatest dungeons mind you, since they’re still pretty open and easy to complete. But there are some tougher puzzles and they feel much more Zelda like to me. (*Side note: though I don’t know if there’s another sixth dungeon since I didn’t complete the depths. If there was another one I would think it would be the “shadow temple. But I didn’t find any “shadow temple”, which might be in the depths(?) but honestly that’s a pure shot in the dark, hehe. End of side note)

Number 6 is also still true.

Number 7 is half no longer true. Shrines have the same music and look but are different from BOTW. Meanwhile the dungeons or Temples are very different in themes both visually and musically. They all incorporate some level of “Find X number of things to unlock the boss door”. But they at least look and sound different this time around. They also incorporate different music and you complete different parts of the temple.

Number 8 is still true.

Number 9 is something I can’t tell. The beginning of the game showed Link with a full set of hearts and stamina but that’s not something I know if you can also get in this game. I would assume so. But I have not done that yet so I can’t say for sure.

Number 10-12 are all still true.

Number 13. I had an easy time with all the bosses in BOTW except for thunderblight ganon. But in TOTK I can’t really say I faced the same hardships. Well except for the 2nd Master Kohga fight. But for main bosses I really didn’t have that much issue. That was until the final boss. Ganondorf third phase kicked my ass. But in a good way. It was still frustrating since it forced me to dodge perfectly and then parry to even damage him (which actually makes it a bit worse than thunderblight). But it was the final boss. So it was a nice challenge. (Side note: I found some cheese starts for Ganondorf. If he does a big two-handed attack that you avoid with the paraglider. Use bullet time and arrows on him. Does a decent amount of damage. In his second phase ignore the phantom Ganons. Just go for the big guy himself. In the third phase, try to pinch him near against a wall. When he backflips he doesn’t make a much a distance from you and him and you can get some easy hits in. It was the only way I was going to beat that third phase. End of side note)

And Number 14 is also still true.

So TOTK improved a few areas but it still has a lot of the issues of BOTW.

6. Who knew Nuts and Bolts had good ideas? (Or the new powers in TOTK)

Alright let’s get this one out of the way. Link has new powers in TOTK. I was thinking he would retain the old powers and get some new ones. But nope. He got a whole new bag of tricks of his sleeve this time. Which honestly is a bit shocking to me because I was thinking he was going to at least keep the bomb ability. But even that’s gone. What’s in it’s place is a new plant called a Bomb Flower you can pick up and store in your inventory to later fuse with. Which is really nice to see the bomb flower return in another Zelda game like this. But let’s talk abilities:

   1. Ultrahand: Basically the new magnesis of this game. This one is a bit weaker and can’t push stuff around as much, though it can rotate objects. However that’s not all it can do, because it can also attach objects together. This combined with the new Zonai devices creates the possibilities to create vehicles, automated battle bots, and basically anything you can come up with. It’s really the main crux of new exploration and puzzle solving for this game. And I really like it. Though it does raise the bar for how complex some of the puzzles can definitely be.

   2. Fuse: So this ability allows you to fuse basically any object to your sword or shield that you have equipped. Because of story reasons involved with Ganondorf’s Gloom, all weapons are now weaker. But you can fuse objects on top of other weapons to make them stronger. At first I didn’t use this ability that often. But as time went on I really saw the benefit to using something like this. At the end I was able to make really strong weapons out of boss materials to make weapons in the 30-60 damage range.

   3. Ascend: This ability allows you to ascend throw any solid surface above you that also has a solid surface above it. This allows for a lot of vertical movement.

   4. Recall: This ability allows you to rewind an object’s path up to a certain point. Think of this as TOTK’s version of stasis. But it move’s stuff backwards.

   5. Auto-build: This ability you don’t get in the tutorial area but have to go deep into the depths to obtain it. Basically it’s a recent history of your latest builds using “Ultrahand” or some schematics you have unlocked that you can build using either parts on the ground or by consuming a new resource called zonaite.

So yeah that’s the end of the new abilities. And I really like them. I was expecting the old power and some new ones but I didn’t expect only new ones.

7. Rapid fire list of new things I liked

Alright my stamina for finishing this rambling list of things I want to mention is dwindling so I’ll just rapid fire a numerical list of things I enjoyed.

   1. New sages abilities and they join you in fights after each temple. With the exception of maybe the last sage and Sidon’s abilities. I really enjoyed having the sages by my side as I jouneyed around Hyrule. Even if they got in my way.

   2. Lady Yona. Thank you Nintendo for bringing some new fish love. Honestly I love Lady Yona’s design. It’s so great. Her face is so wide yet so lovable. The fact that she’s also married to Sidon as well is great too. Though I will mention when I first saw Zora’s Domain I went back and forth so much about whether or not I liked where the story was going that I might have caused a small tornado in my apartment.

   3. Purah’s new design. I love it. And so does the internet.

   4. Zelda and Link seem to share way more of a bond in this game than they did in BOTW. So that definitely helps sell me on their romance. Since I definitely didn’t buy it in BOTW.

   5. Ganondorf’s design. Just a great evil tyrant that you want to stop and face against. Such a good villain.

   6. New house building was neat. You can now buy rooms and build a house yourself in anyway you want.

   7. Geoglyph memories. Honestly the memories in this game were so much better for me. Maybe because they all weren’t about how a girl is worried she is going to fail and you already know it. Honestly the big reveal from the memories was pretty shocking to me. I won’t say what it is here, but know I was pleasantly surprised by it. The Geoglyphes were also way easier to find in TOTK since you are given a map early on, if you go looking for it.

   8. Caves are neat and cool to explore through.

   9. The Depths are both a challenge (almost too much) and a sight to behold at times.

   10. The new sky layer of the map is giant as well, though sparse.

   11. TOTK is much more “Zelda Like”. It has bomb flowers. Like likes. Gibdos. It’s little things like  these that were missing from BOTW but make this game feel much more like a “Zelda” game to me.

8. Conclusion

So yeah. Lots of long ramblings. I know I complained a lot in this. But hopefully I still got the point across that I really enjoyed TOTK. It definitely isn’t my favorite Zelda of all time. But it’s definitely up there now. BOTW feels so much more like a prelude or tech demo to this game now. It still has charm to it, and playing it will definitely help you feel more attached in TOTK.

[attllhak]

Wild Returns

Hey, so, the trailer for BotW 2 dropped...

And I was think like, everyone assumes Wild will get pulled away to do his second adventure and then return. And I saw the trailer and thought “Twilight is going to take one look at that arm and lose his mind.”

So I channelled all of my losing of my own mind into creativity. This was supposed to be cracky but then the boys decided feelings had to happen instead. Anyways, enjoy!

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

“So, rations again?”

Everyone in camp groaned.

It had been a few months since Wild had been called back to his own Hyrule for another adventure, and the entire group had been mourning the loss of his cooking since the moment he left.

They missed other things Wild brought to the table, of course they did, but the cooking was the thing that was most universally missed.

“I really want Wild back,” Wind groused as Warriors began counting out some of the dried military rations his Zelda had been kind enough to supply them with the last time they were in his Hyrule.

“Want me back for what?”

Twilight jumped and barely stopped his arm in time to avoid striking the source of the voice with his sword when it piped up near his feet.

He blinked stupidly for a long moment as he took in what he was looking at.

Wild, their missing friend and his protege, blinked back up at him. This would be fine, except only Wild’s head and shoulders were visible, and the rest of him was in the ground, a faint bit of mist-like green light swirling around the place where Wild and ground met.

“Cub?!” He finally managed after a long moment.

“Hey Twi!” Wild grinned, fully pulling himself out of the ground once Twilight stepped back and sheathed his sword.

A glance around said no one else knew how to deal with this development either.

Wild, looked different. His hair was down, and he only had a bit of fabric pulled over his scarred left shoulder in place of an actual shirt. The sandals definitely were new, and he looked vaguely like he’d just tied a sheet around himself to act as clothes.

Then he lifted his right arm to wave, and Twilight’s brain broke for a second.

What happened to his arm was that recent or not why is it glowing what happened to his real arm why does he have a new arm

“Cub, your arm,” was all he managed to get out through the mess his thoughts had become.

He stepped forward hesitantly, reaching for Wild’s arm but pausing when he thought maybe Wild wouldn’t want him touching it. Wild reached out and wiggled it a bit, inviting him probably, and so Twilight stepped up and grabbed it.

Warm, smooth metal met his hands, and he could feel the pulsing of magic just below his fingers. Soft, rolling waves of gentle magic under metal, and what was clearly a mix of sheikah tech and something else made up the limb. Ignoring the ridges and metal and magic, it was a near perfect copy of Wild’s original arm. But it wasn’t Wild’s original arm, that much was obvious.

Wild had lost his arm.

A soft, flesh hand landed on his, and Twilight hadn’t realized he’d stopped breathing until Wild made a show of doing so when he looked up.

Twilight breathed in, tightening his grip on Wild’s new arm a bit in doing so, and did his best to swallow the wave of emotions rolling like thunder clouds in his chest.

“Cub,” he managed, his voice strangled and uncooperative.

“It’s not that big a deal, Twi,” Wild tried laughing it off, but sobered up when he must have realized Twilight was having a bit of an internal crisis. “I lost it early on, so I’ve had a lot of time adjusting to the new one. And this arm has so many cool new features! Like, I can phase through stuff now! You saw that just a minute ago. And it can use the runes just like the Sheikah Slate can, but there’s more to it all now. And it can shoot fire! Just like the fire rods Legend and Warriors have! And I can still feel things with it, somehow, so really it’s mostly just positives. I can barely tell it’s not the original sometimes,”

Twilight swallowed again, breathing harshly through his nose and glancing between Wild and his arm. He gently turned the arm over in his hands, trying to wrap his head around it being there, before his thumbs finally came to rest in Wild’s palm.

He opened his mouth to say something, but everything got stuck in his throat, and he had to close his mouth to swallow again, like the words that wouldn’t come would choke him otherwise.

“No using your new powers to scare us,” Time said, the first of the group to speak. “We don’t need to stab you because someone thought you were a floormaster or something,”

Wild shot him a thumbs up with his free hand. “No phasing close enough to be stabbed, got it,”

Time sighed, well aware Wild misinterpreted what he said, but not feeling like fighting him on it.

“Can you cook for us?” Wind asked, glancing between Wild and the rations Warriors still had out but had stopped splitting up. Warriors was also looking at Wild hopefully.

“Sure,” Wild shrugged. “I’ve actually kind of missed cooking for you guys,”

That elicited a cheer, and Wild carefully pulled his hand from Twilight’s fingers in order to take his place at the cookpot.

Twilight spent all of dinner (goddesses, he’d missed Wild’s cooking so badly) doing his best not to stare at Wild’s arm. His best evidently wasn’t good enough, if the look he got from Time was any indication.

He offered to take the first watch when things winded down, well after Wind had talked Wild into telling them about what he’d been doing while away for so long. No one argued with him, and they shuffled around just a bit to let Wild set up his own bedroll.

He specifically decided not to think about how Wild set up right next to his own.

Twilight was glad this was Four’s era. There wasn’t a lot to worry about in the forest here, which worked well with the fact that Twilight was doing a crappy job of keeping watch.

His mind kept pulling back to Wild’s arm. What happened? Why did he lose it? Was it because he wasn’t prepared enough? Had Twilight not passed on enough of his own skills that Wild could have prevented this? What if he’d been there, like on Wild’s first adventure? Could he have prevented this? What if-

“There wasn’t any way to avoid it,”

Twilight’s head snapped up, twisting to look at where Wild was curled up on his side, wide awake and flexing the fingers on his prosthetic arm, watching the digits move.

“Wild, what,” Twilight trailed off.

“You're thinking about my arm,” Wild said, like he knew. Twilight privately hoped ‘mind reading’ wasn’t on the list of Wild’s new abilities. “You’re feeling guilty about it,”

“I’m not,” Twilight tried to argue, but stopped when he realized how much even he didn’t believe himself.

“It’s okay,” Wild said, setting his arm down on his pillow, finally twisting to look at Twilight somewhat. “I figured you would. But there wasn’t anything you could have done,”

“Cub,” Twilight faltered, face screwed up as he fought internally about arguing that point.

Wild sat up then, looking at Twilight head on. “Twi, you couldn’t have saved my arm. I couldn’t, Zelda couldn’t, no one could. It didn’t matter how prepared I was, or who was with me. I would have lost it anyways. There wasn’t a way to avoid it,”

Twilight looked away, eyes on the fire that he’d neglected so far. He threw another log on, waiting for it to catch before adding another.

“You’re sure?” He asked, probably right when Wild had decided he wouldn’t answer. He ignored how small and unsure he sounded.

“Unless you have a cure for pure Malice,” Wild shrugged. “Yeah, I’m sure,”

Twilight nodded, watching the fire crack.

When he crawled into his own bedroll after waking up Legend for second watch, he wasn’t surprised to find Wild still awake. He was a bit surprised by Wild basically insisting they shared a bedroll by reaching out to cuddle into him, but he didn’t object. He just wrapped an arm around Wild’s torso, pulled him close, and tried his very, very best to ignore the soft whispers and hums from the magic in Wild’s arm.

Twilight struggled with guilt over Wild’s arm for a few days, even as Wild continued to assure him it was fine.

Everyone was pleased by the return of Wild’s cooking, and for the levity he added to the group. Even Twilight couldn’t complain.

Well, he could actually. And did.

Whichever goddess decided it was a good idea to let his already chaotic protege be able to ignore walls was going to get an earful from him eventually.

#linked universe #lu #twilight #wild #this is me contributing to the freak out #behold i've written more things #i have like #2 or 3 other random writings i might post later #but for now you can have this

[baconpal]

pokemon rant time

this one’s about the 2 new things, and is at least slightly intended for people actually excited/interested in them, click keep reading or perish

Gonna try and keep stuff short cus there's a lot of topics this time and I've already gone off about how pokemon Isn't meant for me or meant to be a good video game anymore, but gamefreak is right back on their bullshit, so I feel I need to at least point it out.

I'd like to preface all this with, if you are a fan of pokemon still, please realize you can ask for more out of this series. Expect perfection, even if you don't think you'll get it anytime soon. Pokemon won't go anywhere, the old games won't go anywhere, and gaming is a hobby, not a necessity; don't accept low quality products from a company just because you feel like you're supposed to.

With this next wave of pokemon games, gamefreak is clearly testing how little they can put in to a $60 game while still keeping the 2 major audiences they've cultivated. By responding to the most obvious and vocal complaints from the community, gamefreak is aiming to make games that seems like what most players want, without having to put in the work on quality products.

GEN 4 REMAKES Pokemon BS (I am not calling this shit BDSP) is intended for the audience that put up with let's go and RS remakes. The most vocal and obvious complaints for these games is their failure as definitive versions of the games they are remakes of, such as missing features/content, or drastically changed story/dialogue/style. In a way, the recent remakes are inferior versions of incredibly old games, which shows a lack of improvement in pokemon as a whole.

To address these issues, BS is very, very, VERY clearly aiming for a more 1-to-1 recreation of the DS games, but with fully 3d graphics. Clearly the map layout has been transferred exactly, and gen 4 already had mostly 3d environments to begin with, and everyone knows about the future-proof pokemon models at this point, so the amount of effort required to create something like this is absolutely minimal. Assuming dialogue, trainer teams, move lists, etc. are also lifted directly from DP, then this game could be developed in basically no time at all, leaving the team time to ensure the product is of decent quality and includes ALL of the content of the originals, if not more, like the earlier pokemon remakes did to ensure they were truly definitive versions of the games. That being said, it is unlikely the team behind BS has been making use of this saved time to improve the game.

One failing already clear is that the quality is not very good, at least graphical quality. The footage we have shows environments lacking in color compared to the original, with messy, unpleasant textures that contrast poorly with the simplistic environments. The characters especially do not work. As cute and fun the fanart of tiny dawn has been, BS dawn and all other characters look awful. They have gorilla arms that reach down to the floor and lifeless faces, as well as incredibly stiff/simplistic animations. As it stands, BS is a visually inferior game to DP, though most consumers will simply see it as 3D>2D without any understanding of what an artstyle is, so this might not be a problem for many, but that doesn't mean you should accept it.

What remains to be seen is what content will be added/missing from pokemon BS. It is very possible that massive parts of the game, such as the underground, variety of online modes, postgame areas, and content from platinum could be missing entirely. We also do not know if pokemon from after gen 4 will be worked into the region, or even supported. Gen 8 still currently does not support a large number of pokemon, and the remakes may continue this limited dex trend.

Even assuming the remake includes everything from the DS games and doesn't add anything that slows down the story or harms the experience, it will still only be an exercise in forced obsolescence. The main reason people can't really play DP still is that the online isn't supported anymore. If BS turns out to be exactly the same as DP, then you're buying the same game for at a higher price, only to play it until the online service goes away again, or the next game comes out, if both don't happen at the same time.

Don't let yourself buy a 13 year old game at twice the original price.

GEN 4 NOT-REMAKE KIND OF NEW THING On to legends now, gamefreak is targeting the people who put up with sun/moon and sword/shield. The obvious problem with those games to most people was simply a lack of change from the standard pokemon formula. Even when changing the gyms to trials or stadiums, most people still understand that the format and story structures are mostly unchanged. Of course, this problem has seemingly been addressed by changing the game structure a fair bit, but almost entirely by removal.

Trainer battles, and by extension, gyms and tournaments/elite 4 have been confirmed to be absent, meaning all battles are only vs single pokemon, in spite of the player likely having a team of 6 pokemon. Even if battle difficulty is increased to compensate (doubtful), this will still drastically increase the simplicity of combat and make it even less likely for the game to include any meaningful challenge. Exploring towns and meeting NPCs is also seemingly missing, as the game is confirmed to have only a single village, which frankly looks incredibly boring and we've yet to see a single NPC inhabiting the village.

Battles now use an ATB format instead of a turn-based format (for those of you who don't know what that means, it basically means nothing, it's still turn based, it just means the speed state determines who gets more turns instead of who goes first, that's it), but beyond that there seems to be no noteworthy changes, pokemon learn 4 moves with limited PP, type advantage will still definitely be the most important aspect to battle, and the player being able to walk around during battle provides no meaningful impact. While the little dash the pokemon do to approach each other is cool, it is already a sign that gamefreak will not be addressing the issue of lacking animations for pokemon battles, as they can't even be assed to animate and program pokemon walking around the environment during combat, and lucario doing 1 kick for a move described as a series of punches isn't a great sign either.

On the topic of lacking animations, the new "pet simulator feature" for legends seems to be an advancement on the ride system from sun/moon, which presumably people missed from sword/shield. Being able to ride on your pokemon to do stuff sounds cool, but in all likelihood, this system will be limited to only a select few pokemon who will each do a select few actions, and is not a reasonable replacement for all the other pet raising features that have been removed in the past. Similar to BS, the total number of pokemon included may also be limited arbitrarily, in spite of the fact that no new pokemon need to be added, as these games are not claiming to be a new generation.

The largest issues I personally have with this new game is the horrible technical quality and gameplay quality shown in the initial trailer. Unfortunately, these types of problems seem to be difficult to explain to the average consumer, even though the issues seem incredibly obvious and inexcusable to people like me.  Most people were able to understand the problem with the berry trees in gen 8, because it was easy to explain, "this tree doesn't look like the other trees, and it sticks out, isn't that weird?", and so gamefreak has eliminated any immediately obvious issues like that, sticking with a very consistent artstyle for legends, making it almost impossible to easily explain its faults to the average pokemon fan.

People have been really quick to compare legends to BoTW; the game that invented grass, trees, and mountains. In spite of these comparisons, nobody seems to point out that legends looks dramatically worse than that almost 5 year old game from the previous generation. Plants are stiff and lacking in energy, draw distances are poor, colors are drab, and textures are messy. Many parts of legends seems to ape BoTW on just the surface, essentially just following market trends. Even the controls seem to follow after modern 3rd person shooters/stealth games, including a seemingly pointless roll and a clunky looking ball lobbing arc that feels unfun before even getting to play it myself.

The largest issue, painfully obvious to some, and impossible to explain to others, is the framerate. The trailer clearly was ran on actual switch hardware, and not prerendered, which would be a good mark for gamefreak if it didn't result in a trailer that never once hit 30fps. Even with empty fields, with only 1 or 2 characters on screen, the game was incapable of meeting the target speed, and had to resort to optimizations like reducing the frame rate of pokemon only inches away from the player to stop-motion levels of choppy. If situations with almost nothing going on result in slow-down, how will the game perform during actual gameplay? Even though slow-down is something everyone can feel, many people aren't capable of identifying it.

The major things to wait and see for legends is if the removed aspects of the series are made up for by some additional systems or content, and definitely wait to see if the performance improves. As with BS, preordering a game like this only shows that gamefreak only has to market the game by saying it's different, not improved, like they've been doing for years now.

TL;DR FUCK GAMEFREAK One major thing of note is that gamefreak is releasing 2 games based on gen 4 at the nearly the same time, meaning they have no obligation to design new pokemon or even include pokemon not from sinnoh, and also that the sales of each game can be used as an indicator for which of their 2 audiences is more loyal to them. Both BS and Legends are in a position to be pushes aside if they fail, but if either succeeds, gamefreak can continue in the direction of the more successful game and reap the benefits, without any need to innovate, improve, or adapt to criticism.

The last thing I feel I have to remind people about is that gamefreak is a company; you don't need to be "grateful" to them. I've seen that word thrown around far too much by people who seem to buy pokemon games like its a tax, and not something they want to do. You don't have to suck up to a company that made games you liked as a kid if the games aren't what you want anymore. Pokemon is so wildly successful that it can't possible die, so don't buy the games out of pity, or out of some feeling of obligation. Buy the video games you want to play and nothing more.

Basically, if you are considering getting any of these new games, please wait until the games are out before purchasing them, and decide for yourself if they are worth your money, and more importantly, your time. Preordering these games only lets gamefreak know their audience will buy and put up with anything. They have no real competition at the moment, so the only thing the audience can do to encourage improvement is show some of restraint.

#juvenile rant #pokemon #if you read all that then good job cus jesus that got long #please just respect yourself #you deserve better games #you arent weird for wanting things to be good #anyway have a good night

[maryse127]

E3 hopes and dreams waiting to be crushed

I am not doing predictions cause let's be real E3 is about hyping up every game you would like to see and then getting either none, one or something you didn't even know you wanted. I am very excited.

So here is a list of things I would like to seeat E3 this year:

Xenoblade Chronicles

GIVE ME ANYTHING. But mostly X or X2. X deserves more love and attention. It deserves a second chance now that we have a popular console and the series has gained a lot of new fans with 2 and DE. Just pls give me Xenoblade. (X won't happen. Nintendo does NOT like to acknowledge that game even exists. But I will proudly clown with the like 5 other people in the fandom)

Fire Emblem

Honestly once again: Anything. A new game would be fun but seems to early for that. An Echoes like remake of an old Japan only title would be cool too. I also would really like Tellius ports or remakes. It's just time for more Fire Emblem. (I feel like FE is actually one of the more likely things to happen but would not be surprised of it didn't)

Zelda

Like obviously I (and everybody and their mothers) would like to see BOTW 2. I think now is the time. At least a trailer or teaser. My hopes for BOTW are actually very simple. 1. Playable Zelda. 2. No spiders. Really all that is needed to be perfect. Other Zelda things I'd like to see are a more classic top down game like A Link Between Worlds. But let's be honest we all just really want botw 2

Kingdom Hearts

Considering I now own a PS4 and recently started KH1 I will no longer beg for Switch ports. Now I am here to say it would be nice to see the next KH game but we all know it will take Nomura like 13 years to make it so maybe it's better if we don't get a trailer too early. Also it would be for next gen consoles so I wouldn't be able to get it anyway. I'd still like to see it tho. I am back on my KH bullshit and you will suffer with me

Final Fantasy

On a very related note: Show us the next part of Final Fantasy 7 Remake! Allthough it will take Nomura 7 years to make it and it would be PS5 so I can't get it. I'd still like to see it tho. Also I should finish my playthrough of FF7R... Another thing I'd like to see is more FF ports to Switch. I am curious about 13 so pls port those games?

New Style Boutique/Style Savvy/Girls Mode

Now you are probably thinking: wtf. This is a series of games that has a different name in each region (listed as Europe/Murica/Japan respectively here). These games were my jam on 3ds. You own a fashion boutique and are like a stylist and it is so much fun. Core gameplay is making outfits based on your customer's wishes. It is a great no pressure relaxing game but doesn't require the dedication of building a town in Animal Crossing. Really a guilty pleasure. I could write a whole post about what I would like to see in a new game. Maybe I will. Anyway I really hope this series didn't die with the 3ds. (Also remember the song Ring a Ding in Smash? That's from this series. It's great)

Tomodachi Life

I have been curious about this game and would like to try it and with Miitopia on Switch I feel like they could (and should) port Tomodachi Life too. Or make a new one. I don't know details about this game tho so I don't know how much they need to change for the new platform and making it more up to date in general (is gay marriage a thing in that game? If not it should be)

Anyway that is all I can think of right now. Really shows I really only play/watch like a few select series.. oops. Anyway I am looking forward to get literally nothing from this list. Clown make up at the ready!

#e3 #nintendo #square enix #xenoblade #xenoblade x #zelda #fire emblem #final fantasy #kingdom hearts #new style boutique #style savvy

[pastelsandpining]

The Greatest Gift (Freebie)

The twelfth and FINAL prompt in 12 Days of Christmas by @zelink-prompts​!! Thank you so much for all the support! Happy Holidays!

Prompt List

Words: 2917

Summary: Very fluffy. Link pops the question. Proposal fic. Can’t get any better than that folks

BotW Post Calamity Zelink

Zelink-mas 2020  l  Masterlist 

There were many words that could describe how it felt to have Zelda back by his side. He could call it wonderful, magical, amazing--just about every word in the book. None could fit better, however, than natural. Natural was how it felt when she’d appeared before him, glowing in a gold far richer than the ores beneath the surface could ever produce. Natural was how it felt when she smiled at him, striking his heart with an arrow of warmth he’d forgotten how to know. Natural was how it felt when he hugged her, holding onto her as if his life depended on it. And natural was how it felt to love her, like he’d done it a thousand times over and would do it a thousand times more. 

It felt natural to celebrate every little thing with her, whether it be her new haircut, or a holiday, or an advancement in the reconstruction of Hyrule. It felt natural to follow her back into the heart of the kingdom, where he would spend the rest of his days as her knight attendant because the thought of not being with her made him feel empty. Everything he did with her, even if it meant to just exist within her presence, felt so incredibly familiar and natural, and perhaps that was why they fell into a rhythm so quickly.

Perhaps that was why most nights, Link only fell asleep after Zelda did. He liked to see her curled up underneath the covers, tucked into his arms, with the peaceful expression of a sleeping goddess visible in the silver moonlight. Perhaps that was why he found every reason to accompany her wherever she went, so that he could see the way she lit up and smiled when things were working out. Perhaps that was why he took his job so seriously, even now, simply because he liked to be around her. 

Admittedly, it’d be problematic if he didn’t like to be around the very princess he was courting. That would never be an issue though, even in times like these, when she was trying to use him as a test subject for her new, trial-and-error elixirs.

“You know I trust you with my life,” he said, holding her wrists as gently as ever. “But I’m not putting that in my body.”

“I promise you’ll be okay,” she replied with a pout that almost swayed him. But Link stood his ground and shook his head, chuckling softly at her antics.

“You’re ridiculous, Zel.”

“I know what I’m doing, Link. I wouldn’t willingly feed you something that could harm you.”

“Uh huh. And what’s the elixir supposed to do?”

“Well, if all goes according to plan--which it should, it would boost the natural defense of a person against any sort of attack or condition.”

“You’re brilliant, but I’ll still have to pass.”

Zelda huffed, then uncapped the vial and brought it to her lips. Link was quick to snatch it from her hands and cap it again, shaking his head.

“Nope,” he said, “We’re not doing that either.”

“Then how are we supposed to know whether or not it’s effective?” she argued, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“I’ll find you a volunteer,” he replied, which she knew was code for I’ll be your test subject later, and it was enough to satisfy her into smiling. “Can I make our dinner now?”

“It’s all yours, sir knight,” she answered, handing the slate over and lifting her hands up in defense. 

“Thank you, Princess.”

It was far from the first time he called her that, and it was a proper title anyone could use. But Zelda still smiled with a pink on her cheeks, and Link could do nothing but watch her. Watch the way crinkles formed by her eyes when she smiled, and the way her freckles became more prominent in the sun, and the way her golden hair bounced when she moved, and the way she furrowed her eyebrows whenever she was confused.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, like it was the simplest thing in the world. She ducked her head and laughed, and he smiled in return.

“So you’ve said, many times,” Zelda replied, giving his arm a gentle shove.

“And I’ll keep saying it until the end of time. You’re divine, ethereal, gor-“

He was fairly certain the kiss was solely to stop him from talking, but he was happy to return it nevertheless. 

She tasted sweet, like the berries they’d eaten for a snack earlier in the afternoon, and if sunlight had a taste, he imagined it would also taste like her.

“If you don’t get to cooking, I’ll take the Slate back,” Zelda warned with a poke to his chest. 

“Alright, alright,” he replied with a laugh. He truly enjoyed cooking, but not even that could keep his mind off of the girl besides him, who was busy scribbling away in a journal. His thoughts always drifted to her. Her, and his love for her, and just how much they’d survived together. 

And without thinking about it—well, it’d been on his mind, but he didn’t think before speaking:

“Would you ever want to get married?”

“Yes,” Zelda replied, too quickly and too casually for him to think she’d really heard him. He looked over to her with furrowed eyebrows, but she was staring right back with wide eyes, like she couldn’t believe it either. It took Link a minute to find his voice. 

“Are you serious?” he asked in a voice just barely above a whisper.

“Are you?” she asked.

“Yes,” Link said with a nod, reaching for one of her hands. “Of course I am.”

“I— you do mean us, right? You would want to marry me?” 

“Yes. Without hesitation.”

“Is this..?” 

Link shook his head quickly.

“No! I mean, no, I just— I kind of want to.. plan something..? I mean, the princess of Hyrule deserves a grand proposal.”

Zelda’s cheeks were as red as a rose. He could imagine he looked very similar, with the way his heart was racing. 

“You better not,” she said with a smile. 

But he did. He spent the next few weeks planning a perfect proposal. It didn’t have to be a surprise, but he did want it to be special. Zelda was special, in so many different ways. She was so very special to him, and he wanted to convey that, but he was stumped. 

Link didn’t want to put her on the spot in front of their friends or a crowd of any sort. He didn’t want to pressure her with grand gestures or gifts, but what else could he do? 

He’d written and scratched out so many ideas. 

Should he bring her to the Sanctum and make it the place of a happy memory instead of what it had become? Should he take her on vacation to Hateno and ask in the privacy and comfort of his house? Should he be clever about it and slip the ring into a book, or a journal, or on a guardian piece? Should he have a friend help him?

He tried asking said friends on their opinions, but he had pretty limited options. Riju was a child, and she’d take pleasure in sending him straight to a Voe and You class that he did not want to participate in. Yunobo didn’t seem like the type to talk to anyone, much less do something as outgoing as propose. It didn’t feel right to ask Sidon, even if he would give good advice. His best bet was Teba and Kass, or any of the families he’d come to know in Hateno. 

Kass had suggested a song, but Link didn’t think he had a musical bone in his body outside of an appreciation for it. It would be a decent last resort, if anything. 

So the days came and went, and he remained clueless, but the ring, carefully crafted in Gerudo Desert with diamonds and sapphires and emeralds, stayed in his pockets. Just in case.

“Could you pass the sugar?” asked Zelda from beside him. Hylia’s Day had come around again and three years after their first celebration full of friends, they were spending the day in solitude. He was trying, key word, trying to help her bake a fruit cake. The kitchen staff were hesitant to let them, but he managed to convince them.

Link used it as an excuse to hug her from behind and place the sugar in front of her.

“You’re ridiculous,” she said, but turned her head to kiss his cheek anyway. 

“Careful not to use too much,” he warned, giving her a gentle squeeze. “It’ll be too sweet.”

“If I can put up with you, then I think I can handle a little ‘too sweet’.”

“I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or an insult.”

Zelda snorted and dumped the measured sugar into the bowl. Link hid his grin in her shoulder. He loved the way she laughed, and the way her nose scrunched up when she did. 

“There. Now I can stir them all together, right?” she asked. 

“Clever girl,” he replied with a kiss into her shoulder. She threw some flour into his hair, and he shook it off all over her shirt.

“Oh, you just wait until this is in the oven.”

“Is that a threat, my princess?”

“Absolutely.”

Though she didn’t need help pouring the cake batter, Link set his hands over hers and did it anyway. It was nothing more than an excuse to touch her, but she clearly didn’t mind. 

“See? You’re a professional,” he said as he took the trays and slid them into the oven. She’d burned herself once, years ago, and he never let her touch it since. 

“I can give up the crown and turn the castle into a bakery instead,” she replied, leaning against the counter with crossed arms. He shut the oven and set his hands on either side of her, trapping her where she stood.

“We could be Hyrule’s most successful sweet shop. Specialty is fruit cake, made by and for the former princess herself.”

“Maybe we’ll just run a side business.”

“Ah, Princess and army general by day, bakers by night.”

“Exactly.”

Link laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Zelda brought her flour covered hands up and stuck them onto his cheeks. 

“Why do you insist on starting a food fight with me?” he asked with a sigh, before sticking his hand in flour and dragging a finger down her nose, leaving her with a flour streak of her own. 

“You’re cute when you’re covered in flour,” she replied before ducking out from under his arms and darting away from him. When he turned to grab her again, she tossed a handful of flour in his face. “See?”

“Princess of Hyrule, Daughter of Hylia, spends her day assaulting her escort with flour,” he said with a huff, then turned back to the counter to scoop up some flour of his own.

“Are you seriously pouting over it?” she asked. Now that she’d moved closer, he spun around and dropped the handful onto her head.

“You know me better than that,” he replied with a grin. Zelda let out a sound somewhere between a gasp and a scream, and Link took the opportunity to make a mad dash across the kitchen and out of her reach.

Maybe they should’ve cleaned up the ingredients when they were done, because Zelda grabbed an egg and chucked it in his general direction. He ducked, then darted to one side of the table. She took the other and mirrored every move he made with a grin of her own.

“Your aim is getting better,” he teased, nodding towards the splatter of egg on the wall. “But I will again offer training-“

“If you hadn’t ducked, it would’ve hit you!” she defended.

“A lovely Hylia’s Day gift that would’ve been. Egged by my princess.”

“I think it’s fitting!”

“I got you an empty kitchen and a day to try whatever you want, and you egg me!” 

“Because you’re an egghead!”

“Unbelievable. She’s the Daughter of Wisdom and the best she can come up with is egghead.”

Zelda sputtered a response, then made a break for him. Instead of running in the opposite direction, like any sensible person, Link jumped clean over the table and waved with a smile.

“Ugh! Show off.”

“I could teach you,” he offered.

“I’m perfectly capable of jumping over a table on my own!”

“Prove it.”

Zelda glared at him, but it was filled with a playful love that made it hard to stop smiling. She pulled herself up onto the table with all the grace of a goddess blood princess, then scooted across it to meet him.

“Very impressive,” he teased, grabbing her by the waist to pull her close. She only rolled her eyes and stuck her fingers into his hair, effectively spreading more flour. 

“High praise coming from you,” she said. Link only hummed and tilted his head to meet her in a quick kiss. 

“Come on, let’s clean up a bit,” he replied as he scooped her up off of the table in a bridal hold, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Yeah, we probably should.” But she’d tilted her head up and was pressing kisses along his neck.

“Are you trying to distract me?” he asked, glancing towards her with a lifted eyebrow.

“Now why would I do that?” 

The warmth of her breath tickled his neck and, well, it was certainly working. He almost wanted to forget about cleaning their mess and instead give his full attention to Zelda, but his foot hit a pile of flour on the floor.

The wind was knocked out of him immediately upon impact with the floor, but no harm had come to Zelda, and that’s what mattered. He tried to laugh through the pain.

“Are you okay?!” she asked as she scrambled off of him and helped him sit up. He nodded, but she checked him over anyway. Only when he could breathe again did she relax, then burst into a fit of giggles. “You’re an idiot.”

“I’m being bullied by the love of my life,” Link said with a hint of exasperation as he dropped onto his back. Zelda leaned over him with a smile as soft as a cloud. 

“Am I really?” she asked, running her fingers through his hair again.

“Of course,” he replied with a smile, lifting a hand to rest on her cheek. “You’re my sunshine.”

Zelda scoffed and shook her head, but Link took her free hand and pressed a kiss to her fingertips. Even covered in flour, she was absolutely divine. And she looked so happy that his heart could burst. He decided there was no moment he loved her more than when she was smiling at him, with a warmth in her eyes and a sweetness in her smile that was reserved only for him. He loved her most when she was happy. He couldn’t keep the smile from his face and the words from his mouth.

“I love you,” he said as he sat up, cupping her face with both hands. “So much. You are everything to me and I want to do all I can to make you happy, for the rest of our lives.”

“Link,” she replied, her voice choked full of emotion. 

“I want to marry you, Zelda.”

Even though they’d had this discussion before, there were tears building in her eyes. She looked like she didn’t know what to say, so Link took the opportunity to dig into his pocket and pull out the velvet box. And right there, on the floor of the castle kitchen, covered in flour, Link opened the lid and revealed the ring. Zelda burst into tears and, goddesses, when she nodded, he let out a watery laugh. She tackled him backwards, burying her face in his shoulder, and he hugged her close.

“I love you,” Zelda said, and repeated it probably a hundred times over. 

“I love you,” he answered, pressing a kiss to her head.

“Can we have fruitcake at our wedding?” she asked in a wobbly voice. Link laughed again and if he could hold her closer, he would’ve. 

“We can have whatever you want.”

And a few hours later, when the future queen and Hyrule’s army general stepped out of the (now clean) kitchen covered in flour, hand in hand and glowing with a happiness that suggested they’d seen Hylia herself, no one questioned it. But their engagement was no secret, because the ring on their princess’s finger had the castle staff whispering excitedly to one another mere minutes after the couple was gone. 

That very night, as Link watched Zelda fall asleep in his arms, he could swear he felt King Rhoam smiling down on them, and he thought he could hear Urbosa’s laughter echoing on the wind. 

They would celebrate tomorrow, he decided. For now, he would be grateful for how their solitary Hylia’s Day had gone. 

He must’ve been the luckiest man in the entire world. 

“I’ll take care of her,” Link whispered into the night air, a quiet promise to all those who cared about her. She didn’t need his protection, but goddesses, she’s all he could’ve ever wanted. 

To have the pleasure of falling in love with her over and over again, perhaps that was the greatest gift of all.

#zelink #botw zelink #post calamity zelink #zelink prompts #christmas prompts #zelink proposal #proposal fic #link in love is my favorite thing to write #in case you couldn't tell

[mable-stitchpunk]

What kind of videos would your characters post if they were Youtubers? Would they even want to be one at all or would they prefer to just watch or be part of a backstage editor/camera crew?

Not only the FNAF ones as humans but also the Fool's Endeavor gang!

Let’s be extremely honest here... Mari and Ennard would both have a let’s play channel and would be doing crossovers for multiplayer games whenever they could. XD Mari’s the story-driven one who focuses more on deeper experiences and existential horror. Ennard just likes good scares, body horror, and the story doesn’t matter unless the ending is bad- and if the ending is bad, Mari will tell you how to improve it. Ennard will “jokingly” tear it to pieces. 

Mike’s the guy who pops up in the webcam whenever he walks into and out of the kitchen, and he doesn’t care. Occasionally he pops up in one of Mari’s videos. Sometimes when they’re playing a game that takes a little more skill with a controller. Typically older, emulated games. Sometimes Jeremy, Fritz, and Natalie get involved if it’s a big enough multiplayer game.

Charlie has DIY channel where she shows simple repairs and occasionally craft videos, which Mari sometimes joins in on. She occasionally posts song covers at Baby’s insistence. Every once in a blue moon, Baby posts song covers anonymously on Charlie’s channel.

Foxy and Jeremy run a channel that’s pretty much 100% Pirate Cove marketing. They do unboxings, show new merchandise, and react to old Freddy movies and cartoon episodes, but they also provide news about upcoming events and do giveaways. Their fanbase ships them. Fritz works on Foxy and Jeremy’s channel as “the crew”. 

Balloon Boy has a successful(?) YTP based channel. He’s still using Mama Luigi and somehow it’s still working. He also likes going into random comment sections and leaving controversial hot takes, but then replies to every reply with: “no u”.

Louise has a hair and makeup tutorial channel that focuses on getting great results without having to pay much. She’s gotten big enough that companies are now sending her free makeup to try on camera. She underplays how much she loves it because she knows she could never afford it on a regular basis.

Moondrop, A.K.A. DroppingtheBoom666, does Majora’s Mask glitchless speedruns and spends the entire time complaining about how long it’s taking BOTW 2 to come out. Stop asking where the Sun is or he’s going to block you.

Now we get onto A Fool’s Endeavor. Thankfully, we have a much shorter list here. The only ones who would likely be Youtubers are Lure and Balsam, as Morrick and Yves are definitely more reserved. Morrick doesn’t go for the attention and Yves is deathly afraid someone might recognize him.

Balsam’s channel is largely education based. He teaches survival techniques, including on the fly first aid, gardening tutorials, and sometimes tells stories that his mentor told him. His most popular videos are the series he does discussing and breaking down historical plagues, bizarre illnesses, and gruesome medical treatments from throughout history. 

Lure’s channel is a cluster of various things. He makes videos explaining mythology and the origins of legends and fairy tales, lore videos talking about his favorite movies and games, does song covers and various instrument tutorials, and just whatever he feels like. Unlike Balsam, who takes his channel a lot more seriously, Lure just does whatever he wants and sees what sticks.  ...Except when it comes to D&D. It took Lure two months to make that character creation tutorial and tips video: “How to build the Best Bard”.  ...And then there’s his passive-aggressive rant about Fable. It’s his only video that’s reached one million views and he’s not exactly happy about it. ...And since he’s mine and we’re already breaking the laws of the world- having someone from a medieval fantasy suddenly becoming a Youtuber- I’m also claiming him as a hardcore Oddworld fan.

Well, I hope that gave you a good idea of... Well, this. XD As weird as this is. Hope you can make some sense of it!

[worm-man-gaming]

My top 10 list for who I WANT as DLC in Smash

We’re reaching the end of an era. Smash Ultimate’s DLC is going to end eventually, with four more characters to be announced. They could release some kind of ‘Echo Pack’ in the future, which I would be hyped about (They didn’t really do much with the echo fighter mechanic), But I have a feeling that after this, there won’t be any more. So I wanted to post my list of who I, specifically, would like to see in the game.

This is not based off of likelihood, as some of these characters probably don’t even have a chance of making it in. I just think they would be neat.

Full list under the cut, counting up from #10

- Papyrus (UNDERTALE)

Okay, so hear me out.

We got the Sans mii skin, and that was by far one of the most popular mii skins since Geno, probably. People were more excited for the Sans mii skin than Terry Bogard and maybe even Banjo. They probably made a lot more money than expected from it. So why not try it again? 

And while Sans is the popular character, he definitely is not a fighter. He’s a lazy, laid back character that just wants to have fun, but he’s far too weak to go into an all-out battle without risking his own safety. 

HOWEVER!

Sans’s brother, Papyrus, is the polar opposite. He’s dedicated, hardworking, and can take quite a few hits. He’s got plenty of moveset opportunity. And it would be another indie rep, which is really really good for someone like me, who wants to go into game design. 

Another thing: When we got the Cuphead mii skin, we also got Cuphead Spirits. They could have easily done that with Undertale, there’s enough characters. So maybe they’re saving it for a DLC Spirit board? I don’t know, just a theory.

He would be primarily a ground-based fighter, with projectiles that could crawl across the stage like that one sparky item. He could also use his blue attack, which could be good for an easy spike on airborne characters. And, who knows, maybe for his final smash we could finally see his special attack.

I really enjoy Undertale, and seeing Sans as a mii skin made me super happy. Getting a whole fighter from the series would be even cooler. 

- Paper Mario (Super Paper Mario)

Nintendo, we’ve got three whole Links in this game, but only two Marios? Preposterous!

With that being said, Super Paper Mario was one of my favorite Wii games (Although I didn’t play it until very recently) And it’s a very popular series. He’s essentially his own character separate from Mario at this point. The games have so much lore put into them, and we already have a Paper Mario Stage in the game, so maybe we could get Dimentio’s dimension, or the Origami Palace or something.

He’s been in enough games and done enough crazy things to earn a pretty diverse kit for himself. He could use Pixils, the 1000-Fold arms, or even summon Paper Bowser, Peach and Luigi for some attacks. 

I think he would be super fun to play. I’m terrible at vanilla Mario, but I think Paper Mario would be a good fit for the game AND be a super good-feeling character. However, this comes from a G&W main, so take from that what you will.

- King Boo (Luigi’s Mansion)

I 👏 want 👏 more 👏 villains 👏 in 👏 Smash! 👏 

King Boo is a staple of the Luigi’s Mansion series as well as being an enemy for Mario in some games like Sunshine. He’s the Big Bad Evil Guy for Luigi. 

And I DEFINITELY want him in this game. 

It’s not so much the character himself, although King Boo is really good, I want him in for his kit. Think about it. A large character but with floaty jumps like Jigglypuff and an aerial based moveset AND a teleport? He’d be ruthless. And really fun. And that’s what I’m looking for in a character.

- BOTW Zelda (Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity)

Yes, I know. “But Worm, the Zelda we have now is annoying and awful, and you say you want ANOTHER one?!?!?” Well, you’re half right.

Yes, Zelda is known for her darkness-sealing powers in BOTW, BUT, in the recent Age of Calamity game, her moveset for almost have the game revolves around the Sheikah Slate. She uses it creatively, hopping around on ice and whirling metal slabs around with a magnet. And I think that would be a SUPER cool moveset for Smash Bros. 

And who knows, maybe they would call back to older games and allow her to switch to using her powers, like Zelda used to change into Sheik. 

She would be very technical, with her attacks being powerful but with some startup, almost similar to Snake of all characters. And for her final smash she could use a Weak Point Smash or they could bring back Bow of Light (Which was MUCH more fair than the current one, by the way). She’d be fun, and that’s what I want.

- Maxwell (Scribblenauts)

Maxwell is from Scribblenauts, a game where you have to solve puzzles by writing words in a notebook and those words coming to life. So he’s work in the same way in Smash, although much more randomized. 

For his neutral special, maybe he could write a random item and it shows up in his hand. That would be funny AND cool, and it’s possible (because Peach does the same thing with Turnips!). He could use projectiles but also have plenty of close range options, and for a Final Smash he could use the Meteor, which in the game clears the screen of living things. Brutal! He also uses Adjectives on both his creations AND himself, so maybe for some moves he could effect the other opponent with a poison or freeze effect.

Would he be banned in competitive play? Yes. Would he still be fun? Definitely!

- Jibanyan (Yo-Kai Watch)

I may be in the minority here, but I REALLY liked Yo-Kai Watch as a game. It may seem like a cheap Pokemon ripoff, but the gameplay is nothing like it at all. You’re given a map to explore and various objectives within the map, and the battle system is really creative and fun. It’s actually the inspiration for some of my own games. Yo-Kai watch deserved more credit than it got.

Jibanyan is the poster boy for the series (and also has the saddest backstory of any cat-based character ever), and mainly attacks with both his paws and fire attacks. He could have fire-based moves and would almost play similar to Pichu. His final smash could be Paws of Fury, his soultimate move, that would hit like Donkey Kong’s final smash as a flurry of blows. 

This series is really well made and thought out, and it deserves more than it got. So please put my boy in Smash, I’m begging you.

- Specter Knight (Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment)

Okay, yes. I know Shovel Knight is the main character of this series. But again, hear me out.

Specter Knight is either the first or second boss you encounter in the main Shovel Knight game, and he’s already got some moveset potential from that alone. However, he also had his own story mode, Specter of Torment, ad let me say, that is a phenomenal game. I’d go so far as to say it’s better than the main Shovel Knight game itself. His controls are quick and easy to pick up. And he has a whole bunch of special abilities you can get as the game progresses, such as a boomerang or even a shadow clone. 

His smash moveset would pull most of the specials from the unlockable items he can get, leaving room for an incredible spacing game as well as a good aerial defense, as Specter Knight can both float and do a Dash Slash through enemies for some extra air time. 

Shovel Knight is the main character, but Specter Knight obviously has the most soul put into him (Pun not intended). And, again, he’d be fun to control. 

- Master Hand / Fighter Hand (Super Smash Bros. Series)

This is mostly me just being mad at the game for giving us a playable Master Hand, but only once. We couldn’t have even gotten a Master Mode in extras, huh? 

Yes, yes, I know Master Hand is the staple boss character for Smash Bros. He’s been in every game, for crying out loud! I’m honestly surprised it took them this long to give us a playable Master Hand. But this leads into my idea:

A new hand, made specifically to fight in Smash Bros, called Fighter Hand.

Yes, it’s cheesy. Yes, it’s stupid. But hey, it would be fun.

He would have scaled-down versions of Master Hand’s moves, with mainly projectile-based specials and tilts. He would be floaty, although introducing a flying character would be interesting to see how they balance it. For a final smash, maybe they could bring back Master Core from Smash 4 for a Giga Bowser-esque punch.

- The Knight (Hollow Knight)

Hollow Knight is an Indie Game that I never finished (I’m working on it, okay?) that’s kind of like Metroid in the way it’s played. It's also a very popular game, and I like bugs, so they get the number two spot because I like him.

And the special Soul moves you unlock translate well into Specials. Platformers always translate well into Smash, so he would work very well in the game. I don’t know what their moveset would be (as I haven’t finished the game yet), but I know they would be a small, fast character that mainly uses their nail to attack like a sword.

And my most wanted character in Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate is...

- Beatrix LeBeau (Slime Rancher)

Okay, look. I’m aware this has zero chance of happening. Slime Rancher was never the most popular game, and Nintendo has never mentioned it ever. But it’s one of my favorite games, and I just think Beatrix would be an incredible character in Smash Bros. 

She would use her jetpack to recover, she would shoot plorts as projectiles, use he vacpac to suck up both fighters and projectiles, and maybe shoot a boom slime as an explosive and unpredictable bouncing hazard. Her smash attacks and aerials would use the various slimes you can vacuum up and feed in the game, like the Rad Slime and Rock Slimes. She would be really good offstage and onstage with her weakness being her speed. 

She could bring a LOT to this series, and it would be another inspirational indie rep. And, hey, Minecraft Steve got in. Who knows at this point.

Anyway, there’s my list. Feel free to argue with me or explain why Geno should be on my list (I will not care) in the comments or reblogs, this list is not changing unless I play some new game that I feel should be represented. 

#smash bros #super smash bros #super Smash Bros ultimate #super Smash Bros dlc #Smash Bros dlc #ssbu #papyrus #undertale #paper mario #king boo #luigi's mansion #zelda #BOTW zelda #BOTW #age of calamity #maxwell #scribblenauts #jibanyan #yo-kai watch #specter knight #shovel knight #specter of torment #master hand #hollow knight #Beatrix lebeau #slime rancher #ultimate dlc #ssbu dlc

[scarcitti]

“gaming asks”

🎈 original post 🎈

First game you can remember playing?

either tetris or skifree or space cadet pinball

Last game you played?

BLACK BIRD by onion games for nintendo switch!! it’s basically “defender” but with that great onion games/lovedelic art style. it’s really great tho there seems to be some occasional slowdown on the switch.

Games you’ve played?

i have played “virtual boy wario land”, “pac-man VS.”, and “rockstar games presents table tennis”, among others.

Game(s) you’re currently playing?

this is too long a list but: i’m currently playing BLACK BIRD, super mario 3D world, bowser’s fury, hitman 3 (which i “beat” but am nowhere near finished with), nioh 2 (only just started but rly liked), golf on mars, ACNH. (also unfinished: ghostrunner, RDR2, prodeus, “the dark pictures: man of medan”, sludge life, metro exodus, tony hawk pro skater 1+2 (finished 1 but not 2))

Game you plan to play next?

more BLACK BIRD! i think i might have been at the final boss. that might put me in the mood for some MILLION ONION HOTEL or maybe restarting DANDY DUNGEON(, both from onion games).

Games on your to-play list?

i just bought “The Ninja Warriors Once Again, or: The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors”, ODDWORLD: stranger’s wrath HD, and “Sky Racket” when they were on sale on the eshop recently. i also downloaded SINE MORA EX, might load that up whenever i’m done with BLACK BIRD. i might try to play more cyberpunk 2077 before tim rogers’s review hits (though i didn’t really like the game at all). i rly wanna play more nioh 2 as well. generally, prey (2017), sekiro, RE4, pathologic 2, and rain world.

Game you’d get if time / money was no object?

chess, netrunner, magic the gathering. or rainbow six seige

Favorite game?

DOOM (1993), or TETRIS EFFECT, or moon: Remix RPG Adventure (or donkey kong: jungle beat)

Favorite game franchise ?

donkey kong, “souls”, or mario

Favorite game in a series?

mario 3, f-zero GX

Favorite game to play?

f-zero gx or god hand. maybe sekiro. using those gamecube shoulder buttons to slide side to side in F0GX and then pulling both for those 90° turns feels amazing. no dodge has ever felt better than using the right stick in “god hand”.

Most frustrating game to play?

tetris 99 is just not what i like abt tetris. dirt 5 feels like competitive plastic chewing. forced TAA, crashes, jerkweed voice fuckers spitting in your ear constantly, gross dutch angled race countdown, bogus music 😑 bogus! rockstar games also frustrate me (tho i like RDR2 & table tennis (& i probably like the manhunt games)); those awful menus do nothing but clunk. (having to hit “A” scroll the map in the map tab in GTA V? when the map is the only thing you can interact with on screen? 😑)

Comfort game?

mario kart 8 dx, puyo puyo tetris

Underrated game?

moon: Remix RPG Adventure, kane & lynch 2: dog days, rock band unplugged

Game that reminds you of your childhood?

lego star wars, “star wars battlefront ii: the 2004 one”

Game you’re really good at?

guideline tetris. i’m also good at star wars battlefront ii but only on mos eisley and only against bots

Game with the most playtime?

across different versions, tetris. on my switch ACNH takes the cake over BOTW, puyo puyo tetris, and mario kart 8 dx. on steam it’s dirt 4.

Favorite console?

PS2 & GBA SP (which just both happen to be the first consoles i had as a kid). honorable mentions to the gamecube, the personal computer (which is the actual best but does not count, i suppose), and “the switch pro”.

Favorite game ending?

nier automata or moon: Remix RPG Adventure or APE OUT

Favorite genre / kind of game?

racing games (see: f-zero GX, burnout 2, outrun 2, dirt 4, mario kart 8 dx, hotshot racing, etc.), “stylish character action” (god hand, bayonetta 2) or “hard action” (god hand, ape out, disc room, tormentor X punisher), platformers

Favorite side games / quests?

the baker in moon: Remix RPG Adventure, siegward in dark souls iii, dark souls/bloodborne quests in general

Favorite cheat codes / glitches?

my fav cheat code is the one in lego star wars that changes all guns to coffee mugs. in super mario land 2: six golden coins you can make mario fall into the game’s memory and walk directly to the end of the game.

Favorite game mechanism?

the directional dodges in GOD HAND. the push/grab in APE OUT. looping level design, like doom or dark souls or metroid. getting a tetris.

Favorite characters from a game?

wario, bayonetta, everyone in moon, donkey kong, the guy from panic restaurant 

Favorite boss battle?

beauvoir from nier automata during route B. also a fan of the final boss in dark souls iii. 

Favorite game soundtrack?

katamari damacy, moon, mario 3, botw, ape out

Most calming game soundtrack?

tetris effect, DKC, firelink shrine theme/DS1 menu music

Most energetic / pump up game soundtrack?

ape out, those digital hardcore songs in TAIKO NO TATSUJIN

Favorite boss fight music?

something from splatoon or bloodborne probably

Favorite game aesthetic?

megaman legends, sonic mania, mario 3, the wario land games, moon

Favorite character designs?

moon, chulip, the wario land series, katamari, panic restaurant

Favorite game fanart / fanartist?

splendidland

Favorite game fanfiction / author?

those splendidland comics where mario says fuck or where smash brothers characters are gay for each other. also this CYELATM

Do you make fancontent for any games?

i got ok at drawing wario a while ago. i should practice again

What streamers / playthroughs would you recommend?

jerma985: jurassic park trespasser, saw 1 & 2. giant bomb: “giant bomb makes mario”, “hitsmas”. aurateur.

What skins are on your controllers?

my own :-(

Are you a completionist?

no, i do play slowly though. as far as being a series/franchise completionist, i am bad about thinking i need context for new games by playing old games in the same genre first

Has anything made you ragequit a game?

ornsein & smough :-( bad menus, slow tutorials in lots of games

What do your customizable characters look like?

green skinned ladies with mustaches, balding or with a bob

What game would you suggest to a non-gamer?

golf on mars, bad chess

#ask meme

[skekheck]

In that same vein, how about gelfling ranking??? OwO

Warning this post may contain lightly spiced opinions. Also not going to list all of them because there’s a lot...

BUT HERE WE GOOOOOO

1. Seladon: Say what you want with how AOR handled her redemption arc, but she’s by far the most interesting and complexly written gelfling character in the series. She was raised with a lot of pressure, being the eldest daughter of the all Maudra. She had to train hard and taught by a mother who never really showed her love or recognize her accomplishments. Most scenes she’s in with Mayrin her mother criticizes her constantly. Seladon was raised to serve the skeksis and that their word is law and true. And then suddenly her mother and her younger sister who she had a strained relationship are planning to flip it upside down. Lead by the being who represents all of Thra who hasn’t been seen or heard of in forever. And then her mother was murdered for treachery and further being manipulated by the beings she was taught to serve. Does any of this excuse what she did? Of course not, but constantly seeing people berate her over actual genocidal turkeys is very telling how people’s biases get in the way of what’s going on. But at the same time, a character generating this much discussion for her gray morale is proof of how great of a character she is. Also she rocks the goth look. 

2. Kylan: Sweetest boy. Because he’s a minor character in AOR, I’m going to be talking about him from the books. His characterization was inconsistent in Shadows, but they became clearer in Song thanks to the fact his story was told from his perspective. He never really fit into anything: his parents were taken from him at an young age, his step-mother was not very kind to him despite loving him, he never fit in as a Spriton. Now, being part of a resistance of fighters, he once again feels inadequate as a songteller. How can a songteller fight the skeksis? Kylan struggled with self-worth, constantly comparing himself to his peers. But through his travels, he discovers that he has a place in the resistance and there are things that he can do that no one else can. He took on and defeated skekLi the Satirist through playing is firca (and aided by the mystics). Kylan was able to engrave dreametches (a rare and hard to learn skill) into the petals of the Sanctuary Tree to get the word out about the skeksis. He even saved Tavra’s life. He may be the broth boy in AOR, but he’s the smart, shy but very sweet songteller and I think more people should acknowledge that. 

3. Tavra: Absolute MVP in both AOR and the book series. There are things I wish AOR kept about her, like her relationship with Onica (but I feel this can still be remedied if they find the right way to include it). She was the glue in her relationship with her sisters, keeping them together even after she “passed away”. Although it took her a while to get there, Tavra shined even brighter in the books. After losing her original body, she lives the rest of her life as a spider. Like Kylan, she was having her own self-doubts of what she could do with her new body. She does manage to find ways to work around her predicament, but seeing what sacrifices she would have to make (like not being able to see her sisters ever again) is heart breaking. Whatever her situation may be, in both iterations her bravery is commendable and I absolutely adore her character.

4. Periss: So this is my complete bias coming in, but I loved this character. Although he’s not my favorite from the book series anymore, he still remains high on my list. He’s a rebel: he hates his clan and their complacent ways. He knew their Great Tree was alive, but no one listened to him as they thought he wasn’t able to let go. He fought with his brother, sandmaster Erimon, to the point he decided to run away. Periss became a thief who grew a fondness for materialism, as opposed to a clan who lives on minimalism. When the main group finds him after stealing from them, they force him to get them to the Dousan Clan and indirectly confront his problems. It’s there that we find he’s not completely selfish and cares for those around him. I adore smug thief characters with a heart of gold and Periss quickly grew on me. Please be in future seasons.

5. Onica: While a minor character in AOR, she plays a bigger role in the book series. Her characterization is similar, but we get to see more of her: she has a backstory and established relationships with other characters. She lost her wings while stuck in a storm, losing her wings by saving one of her friends. Although she mourns over the loss, she will never regret doing what she did and even concluding that meeting Tavra was worth it. She’s also got a little sass to her and I love how she doesn’t take shit from no one. I hope we get to see this version of Onica in future seasons.

6. Naia: Once again, book series does her more justice. She’s a headstrong badass who cares about her family and goes through great lengths to find her brother. Like a lot of her friends, she has her own problems of fitting in into the grand scheme of things and eventually doubting herself when she believed her one special gift was taken from her. Also she had a super interesting expansion on her dreamfasting ability where not only could she dreamfast with animals but also with the skeksis/mystics (with Gurjin involved). She doesn’t take shit and she gets stuff done no matter how hard it is. 

7. Maudra Argot: Sassy, doesn’t take any shit, should have been the All Maudra. How dare Mayrin rob that from her?

8. Maudra Seethi: My favorite maudra only for the tiniest bit of lore about her and design. I want to know more about you. Gimmie more lore.

9.  Rek’yr: He’s really cool, but there’s not much to him. Hopefully we get a prequel comic starring him soon.

10.  Kira: Should have been the protagonist of the movie. She’s a cute bog princess with a noisy rolly polly dog, can speak to animals, used said animals to kill a skeksis, knows how to use throwing weapons, what’s not to love? Sequel comics ruined her, though.

11.  Brea: I love her inquisitiveness and her need to find the truth. I said this before, but my friend and I joked she was BOTW!Zelda and that still sticks with me. The two are so much alike. Brea is my favorite out of the main trio, but I wished she was as developed as her sisters.

12.  Gurjin: I like him just fine. I don’t really get why people are so thirsty for him but everyone’s got different interests. He is really funny though and kiddos to him for staying strong while being tortured by the skeksis. He’s kind of the odd one out as I like him better in AOR than I did in the book series. I mean we didn’t really get to know him until Flames and by then he just couldn’t leave an impression on me.

13.  Mira: Should have been alive instead of Rian. I kinda really wanted an all girl trio.

14.  Maudra Ethri: I wish they kept her gem eye that was really cool.

15. Maudra Fara: She’s cool. That’s all I can really say.

16.  Maudra Mayrin: Conflicted. One hand I understand why she acts the way she does but on the other hand that doesn’t excuse her from treating Seladon so poorly. Even when she finally steps up to the skeksis I don’t think it really makes up for what she did. A golden star for trying, though.

17.  Elder Cadia: Who?

18.  Deet: Okay I might get some salty fans on me but... I don’t particularly care for Deet? Like she’s cute and should be protected, but that’s really it. She’s just cute. It’s cool to see things from her perspective: the surface world of Thra is so new and newcomers to the series can see its wonders and dangers through her. But there’s not much else. Hopefully this changes but I’m not very impressed.

19.  Rian: Now I don’t mind him, but I think I fell into the camp of I wish Mira was alive instead. He’s the typical hero character who’s needlessly surrounded by tragedy. The show never really gets him to mourn properly. And then he just moves on from Mira to Deet just like that? He’s also not really interesting as a character. He’s my least favorite of the main trio.

20.  Ordon:  I like him, but I don’t think he was very rememberable. I think he resolved his issues with his son too quickly and as soon as they reunite Ordon is killed off. His sacrifice wasn’t even worth it because skekMal survived anyway. Ordon’s death felt cheap, adding needless trauma and sorrow for Rian who was already dealing with the loss of Mira. Ordon deserved better.

21.  Amri: Okay here’s another take people might get salty over: he’s boring. he had promise being a weird experimenter, but we don’t really get to see much of that except for a few instances. Amri had a collection of jars full of weird junk he made. They were brought up in Song and never again. I’m not sure why he became the protagonist of Tides I feel like he should have remained as a side character. He just never made an impression on me.

22.  Jen: As interesting as white bread. I haven’t read the novelization of the movie yet so this opinion may change, but he’s just... not interesting. Also the sequel comics totally ruined him for me.

23. Kensho: I keep forgetting him most of the time. He’s boring.

24. Maudra Mera: Fuck this racist bitch. Worst gelfling 0/10.

#here's a longer one I probably forgot some peeps but here you go #nightmarefueler #asks for skekheck

[spiritmaiden23]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. For sure, for being the cutest of cutes!! All Zeldas are cute though but she was the blueprint ;v; 

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. I’m a devout christian virgin I would never ever look at those kind of topics the only hot I see is the flames of hell for even considering this smh smh bUT NO FOR REAL THO I’M NOT REALLY SURE???? I mostly see people gushing over how cute she is rather than hot. 

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / In some aspects. We don’t really see Skyward Sword Zelda’s abilities in the games as we did in, say, BOTW where she goes full goddess mode. Aside from blessing the master sword, sealing herself away, and the implications that the game gives us with Zelda being not only a student at the knight school but also a badass warrior goddess in her past life; I’d say she’s pretty up there in terms of strength. 

Are they underrated?  YES / NO. GONNA GO WITH YES AND NO ON THIS. As a character, Zelda is far from underrated she’s actually cliche blonde character we all love and stan but in this incarnation.... also yes and no because while I see a lot of people like SS Zelda keep in mind that SS is the black sheep of the series so not a lot of people have good opinions on it. I’ve seen some say she’s annoying, too shoujo or even Mary Sue at some points and hweoh we all know that the last one ain’t even close to true since she’s far from bland and OP written. But it’s all a matter of perspective!  

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO /

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL / FOR THE MOST PART, if we were talking verses like say witch verse she’d have more of a neutral reputation considering witches aren’t really well-liked ;-; 

How strictly do you follow canon?  

I try to do the best that I can do given with what we’re working with here all while adding my own spin to her characterization because we all have different perspective when it comes to art! How I see Zelda is someone who’s bubbly, playful (big ol bully hweoh), a bit of a busybody if she feels she needs to step in due to worrywart tendencies yet highly responsible and carries a wisdom that’s beyond her age, she doesn’t like seeing people bullying others and isn’t afraid to put her foot down to speak her mind if something is up. While kindness is sorta her strong suit I wanted to go beyond “nice girl” and just showcase other sides of her too, hence why main verse is typically set during the events of SS because here we see her growth into the girl we see at the end of the game where she’s melancholic of her past but is looking forward to seeing what the future holds and wants to build a brighter tomorrow with Link by her side along with friends and loved ones. I’m not at all confident in playing as her, despite playing as Zelda since 2017 haha!! So I can’t really say that I’m super strict in following canon considering that’s how I view the character through the actions and dialogue throughout the game, perhaps the creators had something different in mind than how I see Sky Zelda.   

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  

DO YOU LIKE WHOLESOME GIRLS?! Wait no, hold on, that’s a little too vague, so let’s try that again. Do you like wholesome genki girls who were once a god who fought in a war in their past life? How about pastel girls who may seem sweet but are deep down bullies towards loved ones? Are you at a point in your life where you find yourself wondering: where on earth can I find someone who’s ray of sunshine can brighten up my day. Will do I have good news for you buddy! Introducing your very own friend: Zelda from hit series Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. This Zelda is more extreme than the others due to the fact that she’s not a princess, that’s right no princess titles clogging up that beautiful name. Just a knight who somehow finds out she’s actually a goddess reborn as human, no biggie! 

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?)

SHOUJO PROTAG WHO’S TOO FREAKING CUTE!! So.... if that’s not your cup of tea ;v; but nah I can see people not liking Zelda because not everyone like the nice girl who’s your childhood friend characrter, I totally get it but if you dig a little deeper you see that there’s more to it than that.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  

My close friend was FINALLY getting into the LOZ series back when BOTW was first coming out, her playthrough of SS made me remember how much I loved each characters and honestly Zelda’s design in that game was always my fav right next to Tetra and ALTTP/ALBW! At the time I mostly played more introverted muses or straight up villains and I wanted to try my hand at playing more wholesome characters like Sky Zel and ALTTP Zel ;v; now look at me, the CEO of wholesome cute girls ;v; 

What keeps your inspiration going?  

Motivation and time at this point, I’m not the young starry-eyed rper who used to have playlists and replay things to keep up with canon. I just pray to god I’m doing ok, let jesus take the wheel and just sorta do my own thing. I think having fun threads or a friendship with partners or just good vibes from them def helps a whole lot. 

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO.

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO. SORTA KINDA NOT AS MUCH AS I DO WITH ALTTP ZEL BECAUSE I’M ALWAYS NERVOUS THAT I MIGHT LIKE BREAK THE CANON OR ZEL’S CHARACTER!! 

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO.  

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO.

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO / Most of the time!

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. I mean, that’s a trick question because I can be sensitive in picking up tones and reading between the lines but like if you mean if someone says something mean than no not anymore at least, I’m too old to care about what people say about me or think about me. 

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  

YE! I do! I mean we’re all improving and junk so I see no issues with criticisms uvub I always worry about whether or not you can hear different voices within the characters I rp as among writing issues I have that comes with learning disability and ADD, I try my hardest but I know at the end of the day there will always be grammar mistakes and even spelling! 

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?

YES YES YES!! OMG YES!! I TAKE WHATEVER QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE AND JUST... WORD VOMIT BACK SEVEN PAGE ESSAY SOMETIMES ;V; 

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?

Eh, well yeah it’d be nice honestly to hear feedbacks and thoughts. Just saying ‘I don’t like this or I don’t agree with this’ doesn’t really help anyone who wants to improve but I’m not gonna like press them for it either because again I’m at the stage in my life where I’m just like ‘it is what it is’. 

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?

Shrug emoji, and then move on! Again it’d be nice if they can tell me though but I won’t press them for it if they don’t feel like it. We’re allowed to have our opinions after all yo!

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?

It is illegal to hate sky zel or any Zel really... NAH JK I DON’T REALLY CARE I’ve liked characters who aren’t popular among the fandom, I’m more or less used to seeing character bashing for faves so like it doesn’t really affect me at all I’m just like “lol” and move on. 

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?

YES! Though keep in mind, despite me using Grey instead of Gray, I use US English ;v; so keep that in mind when spotting out certain words other parts of the world may spell differently because us US Americans just..... gotta be extra like that. 

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?  

I TRY!!! IDK IF I COME ACROSS AS THAT but I’m very much someone who goes with the flow anyway, I’ve been told that much IRL and I’m just hweoh not really someone who’s a stick in the mud or has a stick up their ass, you know? I’m pretty laid back and not much bothers me, I can get petty if I have to come across rude people that’s the one thing that kills it for me but aside from that, I just wanna try to get along with people. We don’t have to be friends if you’re not feeling the vibes but friendly terms is good enough for me!

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

#long post / #ooc postings. #the ceo of cute wholesome girls that's all i wanna be known for #but phew the sleeping pills are kicking in i can't write too well now #so good niiiiight enjoy this early munday meme!

[badger-writes]

2020 Creator’s Self-Love Extravaganza/Creator Tag Meme/8 Favorite Works

I was tagged by @findswoman! (also my first ever meme tag, so thank you x2!)

This was a very apt time for this meme since this was easily my most active year writing fan fiction (mostly because what else am I supposed to do, what with the Everything™ happening this year)

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 8 favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works! 

I only completed about 9 separate stories altogether in 2020, so this is very much a list looking back on 2020. Here we go:

working vacation (10 chapters, 20,072 words, still ongoing) Not really a secret that this one’s been my baby this year. My first big breakthrough on AO3 and I’m still thrilled to death with how much engagement there’s been - especially since it started as basically half-experiment/half-boredom killer on my part. Plus it was nice to breathe some new life into a rarepair.

boonta’s eve, and luckless (oneshot, 1,653 words) I’m probably only ranking this one as high as it is on account of how recently it was released and also the Greedo brainworms that have been infesting me for the last week or so, but honestly, I really liked this one once I had it typed out. It’s kind of fun taking a character everyone else sees as a one-note joke and trying to do something serious and heartfelt with them. Probably very inspired by Tom & Martha Veitch’s Greedo story in Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina, but also the general malaise of 2020.

a song of healing (oneshot, 1,715 words) I had a Zelda phase this year as well, in which this internal crossover between Majora’s Mask & Breath of the Wild presented itself. What can I say, BotW is really popular and I’ve always had a soft spot for Skull Kid. Also I fill my library with melodramatic fluff bc there’s a depressing shortage of it in real life.

a very busy fellow (oneshot, 841 words) Written for the 20th anniversary of Majora’s Mask, a timely piece of media if ever there freaking was one. I was pretty deep in the fan lore at this time and it kind of bled through into the text, but I think for this one it works out well. The deliberately sparse and lyrical style was an attempt to preserve the mystery of Happy Mask Salesman even though the point of the story was, like, a biograph.

The Crane Conundrum (3 chapters, 6,416 words, complete) Written in late spring when the DC Comics brainworms were still in full force and I still had a job. It was fun getting into Eddie’s head for this one, especially in a circumstance which dictated showing how he gets his info rather than just telling you that he did.

every good apothecary needs a stuffed crocodile (oneshot, 3,220 words) Dipping my big toe in the world of comic book smut. To be honest, still pretty proud of this one. Crack rarepair, of course, because I’m trash and Arkham Asylum has been infesting my brain since 2009.

a talk about strategy (oneshot, 2,197 words) One of two stories written shortly after Episode IX, when I was still trying to headcanon and create my way out of accepting what had been given to us. Eventually I grew out of that mindset when I realized I didn’t have the time, energy, or investment to fix JJ’s problems for him. If I were writing this today I probably would’ve gone all in on Stormpilot, but I’m fine with it as is, honestly, and I don’t personally feel like revisiting the world of the sequels anytime soon. Also the last story published before global quarantine, lmao

ain’t no mountain high enough (oneshot, 2,426 words) Another anniversary piece, this time for N7 Day 2020. I had my first fling with Mass Effect since high school and the omnishambles that was the last 15 minutes of ME3 and fell out with it again just as quickly. Tali best girl 2K∞

Honorable Mention: cenotaph (oneshot, 834 words) Another attempt to “fix” the sequels, of which there were a lot in the wake of IX. I barely feel anything for this one now, quite honestly, which about matches where I’m at on Kylo Ren as a character. The only thing I want people to take away from this is that Leia’s saber should have been purple becuase Carrie motherfuckin’ Fisher deserved that much. Or at least indigo like in that one Empire Strikes Back Infinities comic from Dark Horse. The hilt can stay, though, because LFL artists showed up to work on this film even if the writer/director didn’t.

I don’t know of any of my other mutuals who actively write/create, so if anybody else ends up reading this and wants to play, go for it!

#tag games #writing #fan fic writing #rendar writes

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #454

Top Ten Launch Games 

Oooh, it’s finally here!  

By the time you read this, the Xbox Series X/S consoles will be out, and the PlayStation 5 will be imminent if not already with us. At the time of writing I’ve yet to sample either console, although hopefully that will soon change. However, it’s a bit of a weird console launch, especially for Xbox owners, as there’s not much in the way of actual launch titles. PlayStation has the excellent-looking technical showcase (in that it shows off their sexy new controller, if not necessarily the excesses of the console’s visual prowess) Astro’s Playroom. But on the Xbox side, the only genuine first-party exclusive (not including the port of rather smashing PC title Gears Tactics) was to be the troubled Halo Infinite, which has now been pushed to next year to deal with some of its apparent graphical deficiencies. For what it’s worth, as a Halo fan, I thought the actual gameplay presented looked as good as it always has, so I’m still very excited, but it’s a shame not to sample something genuinely new and shiny at launch. For me, then – as someone not getting a PlayStation this year – I’m going to have to contend myself with updated versions of older games, and hopefully something like the really exciting-looking The Falconeer or, eventually, Cyberpunk 2077.  

Of course, it’s not always been like this; in the past, a landmark game has often been the core reason to upgrade to a new console. Certain titles have defined their hardware platforms, offering a taste of the experiences to come, be it through revolutionary control systems, previously-unimaginable graphics, or simply by shattering preconceptions and expectations. As such, this weekend I’m celebrating my favourite launch titles. 

Now, a couple of my usual caveats. I’ve hardly owned any consoles in the grand scheme of things; I was a computer gamer until the launch of the first Xbox, and even then was PC-first until about midway through the 360’s life. As such I came to a lot of these late, or played them on friends’ systems. I’m sure a videogame historian would give you another list, one that was able to put each title into its historical perspective. For my part, I’m mostly basing it on how much I like the game, but I am also trying to weight it in terms of its “importance”. I mean, one of my favourite “launch titles” of all time would be Lego Marvel Super Heroes on the Xbox One/PS4, but that seems a bit of a ridiculous game to call a launch title, especially as it doesn’t really show off the hardware or define the generation in any particular way. I just think it rocks. So I’m trying to judge it also in terms of how effective a given game was at being a launch title, as well as my personal preference; as such, some games, which I think are more emblematic of their time or their hardware, might end up higher in the list than if I was otherwise just ranking my favourites.  

Christ, that was boring. Look, here are ten games that I like that came out when a console came out. Have at it. 

Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox, 2001): it’s not just that it made playing an FPS on a console as comfortable and enjoyable as on PC, but it revolutionised what an FPS could do. Expansive open landscapes, dynamic combat with intelligent enemies, an ingenious shield/health combo, two weapons, drivable vehicles, and frankly outstanding graphics. And for Xbox – a curious underdog, a big black sheep devoid of cool or class and feeling like Microsoft was trying to buy its way into the console space with a hefty dose of brute force – here was something unique, something incredible. I don’t think anyone quite expected Halo, and it’s arguable that it single-handedly changed not only Microsoft and Xbox’s fortunes but the entire game industry too.  

Wii Sports (Wii, 2005): the Wii was this strange outlier, a tiny white box that eschewed the grunt and girth of its rivals, and seemingly built around its unique motion controller. Would it work? Wii Sports proved that yes it would, a delightful bundle of games that perfectly showed what the console and controller could do. Immense fun in and of itself, but the Wii’s ability to lower the barrier of entry to non-gamers meant that your dad could thrash your brother at bowling. And that is a thing to cherish forever. 

Tetris (GameBoy, 1989): depending on where you look, Tetris may just be the best-selling game of all time. It’s on everything now, from the Xbox Series X to your watch. But there was a time when “Tetris” meant “GameBoy”; that four-colour greenscreen box of wonder that everybody had but me. It was beyond ubiquitous, and its short-form nature and simplistic styling made it ideal for the portable console, its chirpy and iconic music sounding perfect coming from those tiny speakers. And above all else, of course, Tetris is fantastic, one of the greatest games of all time. It was a perfect marriage of software and hardware. 

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch, 2017): so here’s the thing: I like Zelda, but I’ve never fallen in love with it. I didn’t grow up with it, so coming to Ocarina of Time, there were too many old-fashioned trappings in the way; it just didn’t feel as enthralling or as fun to play as, say, Half-Life or Deus Ex. BOTW changed that; the limitations were gone, the world was blown wide open. It no longer felt like an 80s game in three dimensions, it felt new. Better than new – it felt like tomorrow. Despite the Switch being graphically weaker than its contemporaries, BOTW was and is simply gorgeous to look at, but it’s how it plays, how it feels like a vast but real world, how it has its own rules and they make sense instantly. It’s the greatest open world game of all time, and emergent physics sandbox, and yet it’s still unquestionably Zelda, emphatically Nintendo. Okay, it technically came out on the Wii U at the same time, but who the hell played that? This was the game that made you want a Switch.  

Super Mario 64 (N64, 1997): this is often the game people cite as being one of the great revolutionary launch titles, but I must confess its charms were lost to me at first. Taking what was great about Mario and converting it expertly into 3D was a heck of a feat; graphically for the time it certainly impressed in the scale of its worlds, and whilst back then I felt it lacked the detail and granularity of some PC titles, in retrospect it was a perfectly-suited art style, offering smooth textures even when right up close. But it was its precise controls and the open, hub-based nature of its worlds that was revolutionary; many games aped its style, but it took a long time before anything really matched it.  

Hexic HD (Xbox 360, 2005): not every game here has to be some genre-busting graphical powerhouse; they can be simple but quietly revolutionary. Hexic HD is a terrific puzzle game with a simple hook, brilliantly executed, and enough intrigue and nuance to keep you coming back for one more go, to beat your high score, to get to the next tricksy level. But the time and manner of its release, and what that signified, marked it out as something more important. It was the first Xbox Live Arcade title; Microsoft’s curated gallery of smaller, more indie-flavoured games. More than that, it was free, coming pre-installed on all Xbox 360 Pros (the ones with the removable hard drive). It was a taste of what was to come, introducing audiences not only to the idea of playing these kinds of smaller, less intense games on a console, but also the idea of purchasing and downloading them digitally. It was great and ground-breaking in equal measure.  

WipEout (PlayStation, 1995): I kinda missed the PlayStation generation. I was still, more or less, in my PC-centric “consoles are toys” mindset (which I wouldn’t fully shake off till the release of the N64). But I came to appreciate its qualities as a cool, exciting, super-fast futuristic racer. I’m pretty sure it’s not the first 3D hover-car racing game, but it was presented in such a groovy package that it ticket all the boxes, and helped show off just what the PlayStation was capable of in terms of its 3D graphics and CD sound. And, of course, it helped define the console as being a bit more edgy and grown-up than the previous Nintendo and Sega stalwarts. 

Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1988): what can be said about one of the most iconic games of all time? Mario Bros defined not only a console, not only a generation, but arguably an entire artform. Creating what we now know as a platform game, it expanded and surpassed the basic template of Donkey Kong into a roaming adventure, part twitch-gaming reaction test, part puzzle game. I played a lot of copycat games on my Amiga, but even then, as a whiny computer brat, I knew that Mario was better. Even when my cousins got a MegaDrive and Sonic, I knew – deep in my heart – that Mario was better. It's a deep game, an endlessly replayable game, a supremely fair game despite its difficulty. I think it’s hard to overstate just how good, or how influential, Mario was. 

Project Gotham Racing (Xbox, 2001): I tried hard to pick a different platform for every game in this list, but I couldn’t exclude PGR. This may be tied up with my biography a little bit, but my other half and I played this game to death. I never think of myself as a big racer fan, but every once in a while a title comes out that I just really, really get into – Jaguar XJ220 on the Amiga, Midtown Madness on PC, the Forza Horizon series nowadays – and PGR did that in spades. A gorgeous arcade racer, it was a great launch title to show off the sheer grunt of the Xbox; then, as now, the most powerful console on the market. It also offered a terrific four-player split-screen. But its Kudos feature – borrowed from semi-prequel Metropolis Street Racer – offered ways to win outside of sheer racing graft, awarding cool driving. I still love the original, and I kinda wish they’d bring back or reimagine its city-based driving for a future release or Forza spin-off. 

Lumines: Puzzle Fusion (PSP, 2004): okay, so this is a bit of a cheat as I've barely played the original PSP version, but Lumines is just phenomenal; the best moving-blocks-around game since Tetris, and probably the most influential one since then too (for the record, I've played it extensively on multiple other platforms). An excellent spin on a Tetris-a-like, its use of music and colour made it a beautiful, brilliant sensory experience. With Sony entering the handheld market, the PSP needed a USP, something vibrant and cool that suited a portable experience, and Lumines provided it in spades; also its funky visuals and music was a good fit for Sony’s brand.  

Well, that was fun, and a lot harder than I expected. If you’re enjoying a new console this Christmas, then hopefully you’ll have fun with one of the new launch titles too – even if I doubt any (apart from maybe Astro) would trouble a list like this in the future (although I do think The Falconeer looks all kinds of cool). 

#top ten #games #gaming #launch games #xbox series x #xbox series s #playstation 5 #nintendo #switch #halo #mario #zelda

[multi-fandom-nutjob]

How I’d tweak every Smash Character(Part I)

Hello, everyone! Cinnamon-Guardian here! I love Smash Bros to death, but not everything is perfect. I’ve been mulling over some ideas on how to tweak some characters to be better(or at least more accurate to their series of origin).

This won’t be super concerned with balancing, but tier list standings and how broken or whack certain moves are will be taken into consideration. This disclaimer is just me saying I am in no way claiming that I could do better than Sakurai or any of the other developers! This is purely to have fun and flex my creative muscles to try and get better at this sorta thing.

Mario

With Mario, I’m pretty happy with most of his tech, from his standard moves to his smash attacks and his neutral and recovery specials. The aspects of him that frustrate me the most are his down and side specials, both of whom I ultimately think could be better.

The Down Special works well in theory, pushing opponents back without any sort of hit-stun so that it won’t reset their recoveries any. The flaw I see is that it has no use beyond that. As such, I propose that Flud’s bursts do chip damage, akin to Fox’s blaster. That way, it can do very minor damage and still push opponents back without resetting their recoveries.

The Side Special, in contrast, works decently enough in practice but feels hallow in homage. The Cape Feather that it draws upon appeared only once in Super Mario World, a game that admittedly did exceedingly well, but also came out in 1990. When implemented, it works as a great reflector, but nothing more. As such, I propose it be replaced with the Luma Spin from the Super Mario Galaxy titles! The creators clearly know that there is a sizeable fandom for the dualogy, seeing as how Rosalina joined the roster. The Luma Spin could serve as a valuable reflector itself, but could also act as a secondary, more instantaneous smash attack that could even have some horizontal recovery to it akin to DK’s recovery. It could do all that the Cape Feather did and more with a more contemporary fandom!

Donkey Kong

Off the bat, I think something Donkey Kong needs more of is Speed. While he is the poster child for the slow and heavy characters at the bottom of the tier list, in the games where he is playable, he possesses ample agility.

The main means through which I would propose adding more speed is through a more refined dash attack. In the games, he could steamroll through enemies at ludicrous speeds. While I don’t think it needs to be as fast as Sonic or Captain Falcon, his dash attack could be a powerful roll attack that could boost him forward more.

Adding more onto his agility, I believe that his jumps should have much more of a vertical gain and have ample momentum to it. That way, when combined with his horizontally focused recovery, DK could regain his footing much better than most heavy characters. His special moves don’t need much, if any major alteration.

Link

I think Ultimate gave us the best Link we’ve seen to date, made incredibly distinct from the other two and given more weight than before. My thoughts ultimately fall on his grab and recovery.

In order to keep in line with Breath of the Wild, Link lost the hook-shot grab that he’s had since Smash debuted, severally nerfing his grappling prowess. To replace it, I would have altered it to be the Magnesium Powers you get early on. That way, Link can still have a long-range grab, but it could be slower and easier to break out of so that it’s not broken.

As for recovery, Link is still the same old Link, spinning ‘till he pukes. One thing that stood out in BotW, however, was the glider. If brought into Smash, it could effectively be the same as Peach and Daisy’s, with a sharp upward draft followed by a slow horizontally focused descent.

Samus

Samus has always been sort of the Black Sheep of the Original Roster, characterized by idling shooting inefficient projectiles from a corner. A far-cry from the ass-kicking bounty hunter we all know she is! In Ultimate, most of her competitive gameplay is centered around her charging dash attack and her grab, as if she were a football player.

How do we change that? By letting her move more, of course! As such, her neutral special will get a massive revamp, as it defaults to a pea-shooter mode that allows her to move about as she’s shooting, only having to stop for her side special, which itself will be upgraded to the ice rockets because if she can’t move, you can’t move either! The Charge Shot will only come out after you shoot and hold down the Special Move Button, making it practically the only chargeable move that you can freely move and charge simultaneously! The damage for the pea-shooter and charge shot will stay about the same, as anymore would break the game. Every other special move and her grab are all good, but since she’s so mobile, her charge attack will be replaced with a charge more akin to the energy charge she had in Super Metroid

Dark Samus

Okay, so, I don’t HATE hate echo fighters, but I do hate echo fighters who stick too close to the original’s gameplay. Dark Samus is pretty much on par with Daisy in that regard.

Off the bat, I think a slower but more powerful approach would suit her character better. It would also add to the tone of her gameplay more in my opinion.

The only big change I’d make to Specials are the Recovery and Down Special. The Screw Attack is amazing, don’t get me wrong, but it only really makes sense for Samus herself. As lame as it might sound, a massive boost in whatever direction she chooses, akin to Lucario, would fit Dark Samus better.

As for her Down Special, though, I have a more interesting idea. Dark Samus is made of Phazon, a sort of super energy. If she replaced the bombs with charging it up, it could heavily empower her Neutral Special(again like Lucario but more naturally than taking damage).

Yoshi

I kinda love him as he is. No real changes to be made honestly.

Kirby

Kirby is a character that frustrates me. His games have so much creativity with the premise of absorbing powers, but he only uses the Neutral Special of whoever absorbs him. But I do have an idea on how to change that!

Not only will he gain the Neutral Special of whoever he absorbs, but he will also gain “aspects” of that character. For example, if he absorbs Ganon, he becomes heavier and his moves have dark aura effects. If he absorbs Sonic, he and all of his moves becomes faster. If he absorbs Charizard, all of his moves have dire effects and his Side-Special gets a massive upgrade at the cost of damaging himself.

Fox

Okay, so, the thing that made Fox both legendary and infamous was how fundamentally broken he was as a character in Melee. Watching a pro-player use him was like watching a Shonen fight. At the risk of obliterating the tier list again, my goal now is to recapture that without breaking him too badly.

What Fox needs more of is consistent momentum. The main way to tweak this by reshaping the Side Special into something with more raw power but more need for precision. Being a dash attack of sorts, the main goal now is to make it both faster and more chargeable. When Fox crouches, it will charge until released, and it will go in the direction of the analogue stick akin to the recovery. This can be quicker than it is now if you release it quickly, however, though it will do marginally less damage. If running, it will default to the no-charge version for an instant strike for little damage.

This revision, however, would make the recovery seem obsolete in comparison, which is why the Recovery will default do more damage than even the max-charged side and go much further, almost being a smash attack in comparison. As such, we have a very fast and powerful Fox that can move in every direction.

How will it be balanced, then? Well, the Reflector will still be stationary, and most of his attacks will have reduced damage to ensure he doesn’t end every round before it starts.

Pikachu and Luigi

I don’t really have anything for either of these, besides the fact that I wish they have the same Final Smashes as Brawl.

Ness

Can I confess something? I hate Ness and Lucas. So much. I hate playing as either of them and I especially hate fighting either of them.

And you know what else? None of their special moves are canon! That’s right! All of the PK moves they use are from different characters! So my move would be to replace them with a far more accurate and less spam-ridden moveset. That is all. Fuck PK Fire.

Captain Falcon

Okay so, this is a Football Player that makes sense *cough, Samus, cough*. My main concern is that his side and down specials are too similar((much like another speedster)). While I don’t think taking the speed from the second fastest character in the game is at all fair, I think a set-up move for the Falcon Punch could work wonders.

As such, I think his Down Special should be replaced with a flaming kick spin tornado of sorts! That way he can juggle the opponent for some minor damage and set them up for a Falcon Punch that comes out too fast for them to dodge. Make for the best combo in the game honestly.

Jigglypuff

What is there to be done for a joke character? Well, Jigglypuff isn’t a joke character anymore! So a lot, actually!

Firstly, her neutral special should replace her side special. That side was a waste of a slap anyways. For her new neutral, however, it should be a Fairy Type move of some sort. My main choices as of now are “Dazzling Gleam” or “Play Rough.”

Dazzling Gleam is self-explanatory, essentially being a burst of energy in all directions, which is surprisingly rare in Smash(kind of like a weaker but further reaching version of her Down Special). Play Rough could tackle an opponent into a cloud of dirt as they cartoonishly fight until the opponent jumps out, doing combo damage overtime.

That’s all for tonight! I plan on doing more of these down the line, but I don’t have any sort of schedule for that and make no promises.

#super smash switch #super smash bros #mario #donkey kong #link #samus aran #samus #kirby nintendo #fox mccloud #captain falcon #jigglypuff #smash bros

[virgofem]

got quarantine tagged by the lovely @highfemheartstrings 💕 it's 4am so i can't be bothered to tag anybody tho slskdjskshd

are you staying home from work or school?

yeah my university is closed at least until may 13, it hasn't affected me much because i mostly have independent courses anyway but i've had some lectures on zoom. it's been fine actually, i don't go to the campus often anyway

if you are staying home who is with you?

my butch! we live together so it's the two of us

are you a homebody?

i am! i spend most of my time home anyways, but it's not too good for me because i've gotten somewhat anxious about going outside even for little walks or so with this quarantine now. i had a full blown meltdown about it a week ago too

//ah shit i somehow missed one lmao editing

an event that you were looking forward to that got canceled?

nothing........ bc i don't go anywhere lmaoooo. not an event per se and technically not canceled either but i am pretty bummed that we missed our goddaughter's 2nd birthday party :( they live far away and we did not dare to make the 8 hour trip by train and bus. also i do miss seeing my friends, we were planning celebrating our good friend's engagement but that's now a no go especially because said friend and her fiancé very likely got the virus. they're okay now tho so that's a relief.

what movies have you watched recently?

howl's moving castle last saturday, it's me and my butch's favorite ghibli! other than that i haven't really watched movies lately, i am however trying to convince my butch that we should watch lotr again (they've only seen them once whereas i've seen them like... 50 times probably) or the hobbit movies (which are not as good as lotr obviously but my butch hasn't seen them and i love thranduil)

what shows are you watching?

only ex on the beach finland lmaoooo, it's bad... we've watched Linkus7 speedrunning botw 100% tho

music?

y'know i haven't actually listened to a lot of music recently! we did party a few weeks ago and then we obviously listened to our party list. i am however VERY excited for The Fratellis' new album that's coming out in may

reading?

i've had a copy of boots of leather, slippers of gold loaned from my university's library for ages so i finally started to read that as a whole! i've only read some parts of it before

what are you doing for self care?

i'm trying to just relax in general, get enough sleep and drink enough water and just like very basic things, nothing special

#tagged #gosh i should figure out a tag for myself shouldn't i

[aterglittle]

Quarantine Questions

I was tagged by @because-weareglass

1. Are you staying home from work/school? Yeah, I work(ed 😭) at a preschool so we’re closed until further notice, and I wasn’t enrolled in a class this semester

2. If you’re staying home, whose there with you? I’m staying with my mom and her partner at her house, I was going to visit her for our school’s spring break and just stayed cause we’re taking advantage of the lessened traffic to learn driving :D not sure when I’ll head back to my apt atm, I’m torn cause it’d be nice to be back in my space but when I leave I honestly don’t know when I’ll see her next...

3. Do you have pets to keep you company? My mom’s partner’s dog Tanner!

4. Who do you miss the most? My friends and coworkers

5. When was the last time you left home? I went for a walk today! I go on walks just about everyday

6. What was the last thing you bought? Groceries, we still go out about once or twice a week for them, mostly for fresh things like fruits and vegetables

7. Is quarantine driving you insane or are you finally relaxed? I get stir crazy and/or worried occasionally but I’m mostly relaxed despite everything lol

8. Are you a homebody? Yes, and I’m currently addicted to Zelda BotW (just finished the game!!!), I’ve also been reading, so I don’t mind staying home as much as some. I do miss the choice of coming and going freely though, and working to an extent (I still participate in our school’s zoom sessions which are great)

9. What movies have you watched recently? What shows are you watching? I saw Detective Pikachu and Pain and Glory (very different movies), I’m watching the newest season of Black Lightning and (soon!) Fruits Basket season 2. Probably other things too, I’m going to try and catch up on my list

10. An event that you were looking forward to that got cancelled? My mom and I were going to go to a Harry Potter screening at a really cool old movie theater right when the first stay at home orders started rolling out

11. Whats the worst thing you’ve had to cancel? Midway through the week of spring break I was going to fly down to visit a friend in Socal that I haven’t seen for months and do a lot of fun things in the area, other friends joining us for part of my visit, and celebrate my birthday together... 

12. What’s the best thing you’ve had to cancel? I don’t think there was anything I was dreading that I had to cancel

13. Do you have any new hobbies? More baking than usual, in fact we baked my birthday cake cause most bakeries were closed, and I’ve gotten back into fanfiction, otherwise still doing Duolingo and other little things that I usually do

14. What are you out of? Nothing

15. What music are you listening to? Spotify’s discover weekly (which is still unfortunately because our students always ask me to play Frozen rip) and then random songs, mostly ones I’ve already liked or anime ones I just found on spotify

16. What are you reading? I just finished rereading Claymore, I’m reading Les Mis (got off track because of Zelda), Song of Solomon, and Sorcerer’s Stone

17. What are you doing for self-care? Catching up with friends, walking, things like that

18. Are you exercising? I’m still active for about 100 minutes a day which is actually a bit below average for me but it’s still something

19. Hows your toilet paper supply? Good

20. Have you made any changes to your hair during quarantine? Not yet

I tag @cyanwings, @1of1vcr, and @roseperfume if they’re interested!!!