#not in the story itself you understand

[ravenpuffheadcanons]

Readers should read widely for a variety of reasons - different genres and topics appeal at different times; immersing yourself one week in a complex intergalactic war, the next week in the political machinations of the Tudor court, and the next in the in-depth dynamics of a dysfunctional family - without leaving your house - feels like a form of very advanced magic; exposing yourself to different perspectives broadens your horizons and helps you think about the world in more depth.

Writers should read widely because sometimes you read a short story by a respected mystery writer, accepted by a real publishing firm in 1942 and then republished on purpose in 2023, where the solution was "an eagle did it". If that can find a receptive audience, so can I.

#really and truly #it's not the whole solution but it's important to the plot!! #i think we can know that writers we otherwise respect have their “an eagle did it” moments and feel better about our own work as a result #an eagle did it #now going to be my personal shorthand every time i don't feel like going on a pages-long diversion to explain a minor detail #not in the story itself you understand #but when i feel myself getting distracted and wandering down rabbit holes in the planning and plotting #fretting over minor details #i'm just going to write AN EAGLE DID IT in my notes #and come back to it later if necessary #lou writes #you can only get away with eagles as the solution if you're tolkien #those are the rules

[pestilentbrood]

VERY long Ramble incoming

honestly now that I'm looking at the auraboa lore situation, I'm just disappointed. There was such POTENTIAL in the idea of the Loop and the horror of a new generation inexplicably being disconnected from it, forcing the newly hatched children into a world totally separate from that perceived by their parents (I mean, hell, they perceive TIME differently!).... but then the writer(s?) just fell ass backwards into Icky Tropes.

I feel like I can see what the idea was, especially with the recent alterations to the Encyclopedia entry... It seems like staff fundamentally understands the true Horror potential here, but... Instead, through the short story, they proposed it through the lens of a condescending outsider character, turning the fears of the older generation into something trivial. And also weirdly demeaning the Auroboa's situation by portraying them as overreacting.

Why... why would you do that? Like, from a storytelling perspective? What's gained from that? Why not embrace the true horror and even Emotional significance of that disruption? Why instead go for "ohh we NEED outsider help we NEED to be saved because we are so helpless and it is so Silly that we, creatures who have never experienced such things, do not know what sleep is"????

And if they WANTED to have a condescending outsider, I feel like they COULD have done that, but it would have to have that character realize the horror at some point. And make it obvious that their attitude towards distressed parents and children facing Eldritch Shit and the Sudden Deconstruction of it was not cool!

(or at the very least be a bit more...idk. Consistent with said outsider character? Juniper just goes from "omg I am so honored that the fascinating creatures of the behemoth have chosen me to speak to" to "oh their wasting my time because they don't know what sleep is. I'd rather be sleeping!! 🙄" like girl... c'mon now. Why are we trivializing it like this. Do you want me as the reader to be invested in their plight or not.)

I mean come on. They're beings connected through one networked hivemind-like system, yet each still maintains a silver of individuality that allows them to move freely throughout the Behemoth that they care for. And they've got an eldritch understanding of time that no other dragon could understand. They're seeing the future, past, and present unfold simultaneously. They're witnessing the birth and death of the world at the same time, and have no way to communicate it to other dragons. The best they can do is maintain their home, and even then, they see its roots spread and decay all at once.

And then the newest generation is suddenly disconnected. An inherent link between parent and child and all dragons in-between, that has existed since the creation of their species, is just suddenly GONE for the newest births. With NO explanation for it. The children have no easy way of communicating with their parents. The children are experiencing time in a way that was not meant for their species. They've forcefully been shoved into a circadian rhythm that they are Not! Built for!

The only way a parent could communicate properly with their child would be when the latter is sleeping, something that is also completely foreign to this species. It would be terrifying for all involved!!!

They are literally experiencing eldritch horror from the perspective of the eldritch being forced into the mortal.

Like why WOULDN'T there be panic!!! And why would that panic be trivialized! Why are we only shown the perspective of an outsider who looks at this situation and goes "Oh the silly tree beasts are being so silly over nothing, it's no big deal!"

That and the way the auraboas talk to outsiders. Like. There was such potential there. Real opportunity to explore how ancient, time-bending beings would communicate to someone who couldn't even BEGIN to understand the intricacies of it.

Instead we got what feels more like baby talk (even described as though they were hatchlings enunciating their first words, which... I dunno man, maybe we don't want to compare them to children like That) and less like... Beings that experience all of time at once. I mean, the hatchlings and the adults speak the exact same way, and that doesn't make any sense given the literal time barrier going on.

I totally get why people thought there was just a language barrier and that auraboas had their own language, thus causing the disjointed speak, and not that it was because They Do Not Experience Time Like We Do. And I feel it would've been far easier to get it across by just... I dunno. Do anything else?? I saw someone on here suggest they speak in the "wrong" tenses, or using multiple tenses in the same sentence, which I think would've been far more clear.

Like, as opposed to "saplings wilt! saplings silent!" just "the saplings will wilt in silence, they've wilted in silence, they are wilting silently." Said all at once like all things are true simultaneously. And if we're going for hivemind, have each auraboa speak in a different tense, all at the same time, and have them switch it up every time. Have our outsider get confused and be like "which is it? are they wilting now, or have they already wilted?" and the cluster of auraboas respond in a cacophony of yes's, no's, and maybe's all at once.

Would've probably gotten across the "alien" vibe they were supposedly going for far better than wide-eyed desperation for an outsider's guidance conveyed through disjointed, in-world described as baby speech.

And also maybe would've had less accidental connotations. Because as it stands, I completely see why people have made the connections to the real world where they have. This doesn't read like eldritch timey-wimey intrigue, or even a respectful look at how younger generations can become detached from their families' cultures over time and the struggles that come with it. It reads like a culture being perceived by an ignorant outsider who (despite supposedly respecting these dragons) scoffs and rolls their eyes because the tree beasts with their funny words are being silly again, and that Hey, isn't it actually a great thing that the children are fundamentally different in all manners now? Because now they can join the rest of us in the "real world."

Yknow. Ick.

(I Personally think it would've been better to have the perspective be one of the Auraboas themselves, especially one of the children, to really understand what was going on here. Give us the full brunt of the mind of a creature experiencing all of time interwoven as one shape. The waters fall and the oceans crash with waves. They've now fallen to drought. The ocean has yet to be born. Caves have been carved out through the waters' currents. And when I break from this timeline, I open my eyes to see a child, the child not yet born, the child born now, the child born yesterday. Why can't I hear it? Why couldn't I hear it? Why won't I ever hear it?)

I dunno. People more qualified than me to speak on this matter have already torn the lore apart, I'm just... dropping my own two cents. Potential got weirdly squandered and we ended up instead with unfortunate implications and tropes that could be connected a liiiittle too awkwardly to irl situations.

*Also, before anyone points out: Yes, I know the hatchlings aren't COMPLETELY detached from the Loop and can join it when they sleep. But the fact is, these thangs never had to sleep before. That wasn't in their species' nature. So that's still weird and foreign for them on both sides. And since the hatchlings now have a circadian rhythm, they can't stay connected to the loop permanently. And also Also, seeing as the previous generations aren't experiencing time linearly, who's to say they even recognize when their child joins the loop? They'll speak with an echo of their child when that child was last asleep ages ago, not knowing that it's not them presently, because there is no 'present' for the older generations.

#i also really really do not understand the ''word count'' explanation given by staff. #I'm honestly rather lenient with ignorance happenings like this so long as they're remedied but. #cutting out important details of lore Fundamental to the understanding of it? For? ''Word count''? #Like firstly. Surely someone on the team is skilled enough to pull that off right? To get all that needs to be said in a short story? #but secondly. w. why is there a word count limit to begin with. This is Your House. Why are you limiting yourself unless this is like #a paid-by-word situation and they don't have the money to afford something longer #but like it feels like shooting yourself in the foot if you're going to write something that leaves a ton of information vague instead of #properly explaining your lore so there's no unfortunate misunderstandings. But I dunno. I'm just rambling #flight rising #fr auraboa #I'll probably be incorporating my Own version of the lore regardless of what the staff decides to do with this presentation of it #or just ignoring it outright hskdgjhskjh we shall See #Also if anything I've said here is Wrong in some way or comes across ignorant in and of itself. Let me know

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Y’ALL THE MARKETING TEAM DID PIXAR’S ELEMENTAL SO DIRTY

#knox rambles #Elemental #ITS SO GOOD??????? #ITS GOT SOME FIRE (pun intended) LINES #AND THE TRAILER IS LITERALLY NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIE Y'ALL DONT' UNDERSTAND #I'M FLIPPING TABLES #I SWEAR DISNEY IS JUST TRYING TO OFF PIXAR RN WITH HOW BAD THEIR MARKETING HAS BEEN LATELY #actually i notice marketing in general has just dropped in quality lately but what'eve's #my bro wanted to take me to see it so badly and i couldn't understand why until i watched it like #trust me dudes it's GORGEOUS #AND its got amazing story #like #UGH I'M FISTFIGHTING THE TRAILER #IT LEADS YOU TO BELIEVE THE MOVIE IS ABOUT SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT #LIKE ITS SO BAD #THE MOVIE ITSELF IS TOP TIER QUALITY #I would say i'm overhyping but then i remember some of the lines and the way the characters and relationship are written and just #no i'm really not overhyping it's actually really good #there's so much mroe going on in that movie than just romance my dude

[unlimitedgolden]

hey no offense but did we play the same DLC??? did we watch the same video???

Abuse??? the old couple being greedy??? pecharunts friends???? not to be autistic as hell but literally none of that happened??

the old couple loved pecharunt like their own son because they straight up didnt have any kids

pecharunt being like. a runt. a child. thought "wow this is great lemme get more of this" because it's literally a child with crazy powers who definitely doesn't understand the consequences of its actions yet, poor thing

the old couple didnt tell it to do ANY of that until the mochi and i quote "draw out the greed of anyone who ate them". thats literally what it does.

"they were just like that on the inside" no i dont think so, who DOESNT have greed within them? you are not free from greed. you literally see in the beginning how much they truly loved this lil guy

and you then literally see pecharunt doesnt "make friends" it obtained allies to use through the poison, it LITERALLY says that.

Theres a big BIG emphasis on the chains that are on all three of them !! it's the chains that come OUT of pecharunt!! it's ability isn't "Poison Puppeteer" for no reason. It's signature move isn't MALIGNANT chain for no reason either!!

I mean. Let's look at the other facts about the Loyal three such as the Scarlet Dex entries:

"After all its muscles were stimulated by the toxic chain around its neck, Okidogi transformed and gained a powerful physique."

"The chain is made from toxins that enhance capabilities. It stimulated Munkidori's brain and caused the Pokémon's psychic powers to bloom."

"Fezandipiti owes its beautiful looks and lovely voice to the toxic stimulants emanating from the chain wrapped around its body."

In the in game lore it tells you that they didn't always look like this, and the chains changed them AND, you guessed it, brought out their inner desires. Their greedy desires. So do you see how the old couple literally were never greedy, they didn't demand this as they were under pecharunts influence? there was no abuse??? and they did NOT get its friends killed either!! They didn't even know!!

Look how at the end of the DLC everyone is no longer under the effects and they have no idea how they got there. They only remember the moments before the mochi. So the real kicker isn't "oh how tragic pecharunt was in an abusive family and its friends were killed cus of their greed", oh no the kicker is:

Pecharunt was nothing but a child with an evil power that it clearly didn't know how to use, or didn't even intend for it to be used for such evil. It did what it thought was right, for the love of the only two people that it had known, only for it to lead to it's own downfall and the downfall of three other Pokemon who succumbed to the poison. Furthermore, Pecharunt never came home. Those old couple woke up not having a clue where Pecharunt, the pokemon they loved as a son, had gone off to and they died not knowing (this is an ancient tale after all). Hell, Pecharunt probably doesn't even know they're dead either. Nobody wins.

#goldenposting #[wakes up from my autistic rambling #hey guys #no offense to OP whatsoever seriously but I don't understand how you misunderstood the story #and i'm sorry for this word diarrhoea I've spewed up but lord #<- cannot contain itself when it comes to the chance to infodump #disclaimer: if its not clear i dont think pecharunt is really evil #also with such potential in the old story why was everyone doing the funky chicken #couldve absolutely brought out the greed of everyone so easily #oh well whatevs i mean it was funny. #also pecharunt literally mirrors the story of Momotarō. JP folklore #<- except sad and evil i guess. #oh well whatevs #again sorry for the ramble. autism does that #and by god pokemon has been my interest since i was like. 6 #you bet your ass i leap at the chance to talk about it #pokemon #pecharunt #pokemon sv

[cheese-water]

I know I’m late but idc that person who tried to spread fake allegations about tubbo is so fucking stupid. Like yeah, the obviously fake story is telling enough but their lack of forethought as to what they’re actually doing is just crazy.

They outright used Tubbo’s name and blatantly accused him of a crime that he didn’t commit. AND if his viewers can defend him based on the limited evidence we have, I can only imagine what his lawyer could do if given the opportunity. This random person has potentially put themselves in so much legal trouble and for what? goddamn twitter likes???? Like congratulations, thanks to your actions not only will you rot in hell but also possible rot in jail as well.

It hasn’t even been a month since Cellbit’s twitter calúnia case was made public and yet we still have people who don’t understand that their actions have consequences ESPECIALLY IF ITS FUCKING ILLEGAL

#discourse #tubbo #cellbit situation #ig #ask to tag #THATS THE FUCKING LAW #WHEN YOU DO A CRIME #YOU GO TO JAIL #anyway whenever I see of critics of victims stories saying there’s not enough context or it’s too vague or too much “flowery language” #my eyes roll into the back of my head #like first of all shut the fuck up #if you’re only opinion of abuse accusations is about minimizing the victim #nobody wants to hear it #and second of all you really don’t understand the severity of these situations #there are reasons why abusers identities were confirmed indirectly and not on stream #amongst more legal jargon victims have to hoop through if they ever want to share their story #always support victims #just be aware of what you read and believe #stupid people have a hard time pretending they’re not #and anyone willing to falsely accuse people who can and will sue the hell outta them is stupidity itself

[fictionadventurer]

The worst part about reading in a genre where you have low expectations (in this case, Christian historical fiction) is that when a book impresses you, you have no idea if it's actually good or if you're just overly impressed because it was a fraction of a degree better than the usual garbage.

#basically lately anytime i read a christian fiction book that isn't romance-based i find myself surprised by the quality #i do think that some christian publishers are getting better #and trying to tell stories that dig deeper into real faith and messy issues #instead of making only vapid squeaky clean prayer-filled tropefests #but i'm not sure *how much* better #because anything above the low bar feels like great literature #the most recent is 'in a far-off land' by stephanie landsem #and let me tell you setting the prodigal son in 1930s hollywood is a genius concept #i have some issues with the history and the mystery #but the characters! #it has been a long time since i cried this hard over a book #several chapters of solid waterworks #(and i also have the issue of figuring out if it's actually that moving or if i'm just hormonal/sleep-deprived) #i keep thinking about this book but also i worry about recommending because what if it's actually terrible by normal book standards? #(also the author DOES NOT understand the seal of confession and i was SHOCKED to find that she's actually catholic) #but also looking at the reviews makes it clear that if most of christian fiction is vapid garbage it's these reviewers' fault #here you have something that's digging into sin and darkness and justice and mercy and these people are just #'how can it call itself christian fiction if it only mentions god at the end?' #are we reading the same book this WHOLE THING is about god! and humanity and our fallen nature and how this breaks relationships! #your pearl-clutching anytime someone tries to get even a tiny bit realistic is destroying this genre #i'm gonna run out of tags so i'll stop now

[good-beans]

I know most of our focus goes (rightfully) to the trial songs, but I genuinely believe Baptism of Fire is equally a masterpiece of meaningful writing and intense vocal acting

Incoming tag rant because I need to yell about this, feel free to yell back

#milgram #fuuta kajiyama #like the other vds have good writing about the character and whatever social issue their crime focuses on #but this one is very pointedly about YOU #its about the audience. its about the milgram project. its about self reflection. its about self-appointed roles. its about you #even if you didnt vote t1 or anything the whole things is calling on you to reflect on your own judgements of others #how you treat people who come off rougher. how you treat people who have made a (bad but) common mistake. #do you also find entertainment in seeing people dragged down and suffering because it would 'serve them right?' #but es always remains in control of the situation. the drama doesnt end with 'and fuuta was right - you guys suck!' #its clarified that situations are different and have nuance. we are reminded to look at things with nuance. #then we are smoothly re-immersed in the story #and then!! the acting itself!!! #arthur lounsbery put his whole fussy into that performance (<- fuuta pussy) and i am in his debt every day for it #in both his vds hes just super expressive and fun to listen to #i dont understand japanese but he packs so much interesting intonation and emotion into every word -- im obsessed listening to him #he nails all the subtle emotions fuuta has: the pouts and outrage as well as underlying fear grief insecurity and immaturity #and then baptism of fire hes just... Wailing #like mahiru has her innocent and pathetic cries of pain in her sweet voice that works for her character but fuutas pain feels much more raw #the way hes practically sobbing at the end -- his voice cracking and screeching throughout -- the whimper of pain #its so unbearably intense!! it hurts!! and its supposed to!! but hes just so raw with it #and dont even get me started on his pained hysteric laughter omg.... #its just. a masterpiece. #i always appreciate the vds but i dont think ive enjoyed/relistened to one as much as this one #okay WAIT im back to add one more thing because im obsessed with ths idea of intentions #specifically in milgram i think the intention behind the murders are very important to consider #so i love love love the huge focus on 'i didnt expect/mean for this to happen' #plus as a general theme in fiction i think its sooo juicy when good intentions get fucked up #so i loved the repetition of that #fuuta is such a special case because he genuinely had no desire or expectation for his victim to die #(maybe kazui too? but he doesn't say so in his vd like fuuta does)

[public-trans-it]

I'm already know for being very opinionated and having some Hot Takes, but I still usually keep it in line and fairly reasonable. Typical "Unpopular (but still somewhat safe to voice) Opinion" territory, where I might get some blocks and some scowls, but like, nothing major.

However I'm... gonna be posting an uncharacteristically rancid take this time.

I cannot fucking STAND vibes based design. Its become a trend lately to explain game systems by vibes, and it feels EXACTLY like the tropification of romance novels. A thing so many other people have complained about far more than I have, where so many works of fiction are now just being advertise as "Its a queer little slow burn, found family story that features enemies to lovers" OKAY, BUT WHATS THE FUCKING BOOK ABOUT?

And I feel like over the past 15-20 years, the TTRPG industry has been having the exact same issue. I can go through dozens of listings on itch.io for indie games and not see a single fucking game mechanic mentioned, and its frustrating. "This game is about gathering your friends to turn your local farm into a sustainable commune!" WHAT KIND OF FUCKING DICE DOES THE GAME USE? DOES THE GAME EVEN HAVE A GM?

And like, this isn't just about the feel good warm and fuzzy games. OSR is JUST as fucking guilty in this. "This game is a black metal death crawl through your worst nightmares." IS IT A RETROCLONE? IS IT A RULES LITE D6 SYSTEM? HOW THE FUCK DO I RESOLVE AN ACTION? DO ENEMIES USE STATBLOCKS?

If a video game showed absolutely no gameplay in any of its advertisements, only showing concept trailers and cutscenes and talking about its plot, you would probably shy away and think the game isn't worth playing if it can't even stand on the merits of its own gameplay. So why the fuck are we accepting that as the norm in TTRPGs?

#special shout out to Avery Alder #Avery I fucking love your games #The Quiet Year is one of my favorite games ever #its pretty much my go-to for any campaign of any kind to give players control over the worldbuilding pre-session 0 #BOB is so well designed and such a rad way to handle diceless/GM-less design #and I ABSOLUTE understand the need for queer designers like us to carve out a space and stand our ground #in a hobby that has historically housed people who want people like us dead in a ditch #but the idea that BOB can only support inherently queer/marginalized stories is ABSURD #and the way every BOB game advertises itself/is listed on your site makes me want to tear my skin off #please #you designed a game #AN INCREDIBLE ONE at that! #please please let it stand on the merits of its own design instead of just the vibe its built for #I was about to post this on my game design blog... #but I really dont have the heart to do that. This isn't actually about game design and the industry its just... personal frustration #and the fact that the thing that makes me autistic about games to the point to where I have spent like 25 years studying them #is just... no longer even the main focus it feels like

[raccoonshuffle]

I'm continuing my thoughts on the overall presentation of AC6 and there's a certain beautiful tragedy/tragic beauty in the events of all three routes. I didn't play 4 or 5 at all, but things are much less personal in the other games—like it's hard to call Evangel or Jack-O or Zinaida your rivals, per se, because the end of the world feels like business as usual in the hellscape of 3's setting.

And Rubicon is absolutely a hellscape and you're still a mercenary, but you have a choice and each choice has a price in blood. The Liberator route sees Carla and Chatty go down fighting tooth and nail to avert what they see as the doom of mankind, and I feel like that's the most "hopeful" ending (at least at face value).

Part of it is in the presentation. The cinematic freeze frame going on when you deal a boss the final blow emphasizes decisive moments and finalities, and there's a certain romance to it happening with, say, a laser blade. The chattier characters add to this, too. You feel accomplished when you shoot through JUGGERNAUT or CATAPHRACT, the final blow highlighted to glorify you, the victor. The assistance from Ayre as you take on a desperate battle against ARQUEBUS is driven to a height of emotion by the exhilarating "Contact With You," a track that is at times joyous and fearful and soaring.

#i just love everything about this game #it's what i always wanted in an ac game really #armored core #armored core 6 #if you aren't willing to insert itself in this type of story then it's probably not gonna land for you the way it does for me #but i finally understand why stories like twilight do so well with that type of storytelling

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Small Tears of the Kingdom changes that could have done a lot

(at least according to me, the one singular flawed person writing this post)

In my desperate attempt to close off the Tears of the Kingdom season on my side of the internet (failing so far), I wanted to join the proposals of a couple of small restructurations/rewrites I've seen on my dashboard. These wouldn't change much of the game, but enough to boisten some of the themes and make the experience both more open and more streamlined. They try to ignore a lot of my own biases towards what I would have loved to see explored within the game and focus on what already exists (I said try). These changes are not only story-driven but also focus on quest design and narrative reward logic, which puzzled me even more than the story itself.

It's obviously not the end all be all of everything, there's a ton of small things that aren't fully adressed, etc.

Here are the 3 main tenants of this proposal:

We know about Fake Zelda by the end of the tutorial section. We see glimpses of her all the way, even though Rauru doesn't seem to be aware she's here, and most of our obstacles come from us trying to reach and save her. Then, by the end, she tries to kill us in the Temple of Time, and we realize she's fake and a lure (it could be a small mini boss, nothing too severe; just something to prove we understand combat). It could also be an earlier occasion to have Ganondorf shit-talk us using his creepy voice through her body, that could build up a better sense of rivalry going forward and make the betrayal of him using her body sting much more than it does in the current version.

Ganondorf, using Fake Zelda, tries to antagonizes each region of Hyrule towards their princess --and, the very important part, it works. The kingdom is splintering apart as he plans his return and his invasion. The goal in each region is not to vaguely solve the weird local problem, but, using the regional hero that knows and trusts Link, to prove that whatever is happening isn't Zelda's fault. This allows to build some sense of tension and stakes, makes us deeply empathize with an overwhelmed Zelda trying to step up as a leader in the aftermath of the Calamity and isn't here to defend herself (and then when we learn where she is and what she did it hurts so much more). The camp where Purah is could also double-down as the beating heart of Hyrule trying to reconnect with the suspicious regions suffering the turmoil isolated from each other.

The Dragon's Tears questline is overhauled, and that can happen in two simultaneous ways. Some of these memories remain Zelda's, but now only some of them, perhaps those who are connected to Zelda's decision to become a dragon without ever spilling it out (and could even focus more on her insecurities as a young ruler and her relationship to her ancestors), remain sprinkled into the land to reward those who want to understand more about her motivations. But now, each of the secret stones collected along the way also function as tears, and instead of being treated to another delicious serving or The Imprisoning War? The Demon King??? we get to discover a little bit more of the mystery. The way it could work is quite simple: the Sage introduces us briefly to their own perspective into the war outside of a voiced cutscene to give the writing more flexibility regarding what the player already did to avoid repetition ( :) :) ), and then plays a pre-determined cutscene in a linear fashion, which is one of Rauru's memories embedded within the secret stone and tells the story of the fall of his kingdom to Ganondorf. (also bonus: now Zelda's tears don't embody the entire kingdom anymore, which was very strange and never sat right with me)

So what we did is to separate the different stories while intertwining them: Zelda's struggles and sacrifice on one hand, Rauru's regrets and bitterness on the other (lololol sorry), and Ganondorf's attempt to break the kingdom apart --which would feed into both Zelda's anxieties and Rauru's long winded defeat. The bonus to this approach would also be to question Hyrule's legitimacy: the various races would then need to decide, after having actively questioned the young princess, that they actually still believe in Hyrule and a future they all get to live in together.

This would also give a little bit more teeth to Ganondorf's motivation, his deep envy for the power of Hyrule and the fact that his own people chose it over him, let alone everyone else. As for the Link's motivation, trying to have everyone see that Zelda is worth it and stop that evil force from shattering her image while also acknowledging the faults of the past could make the player invested in wanting to bring Zelda back down after everything she went through and all the sacrifices she made to prove herself a worthy ruler (Rauru's forcefulness in assimilating the realm under his banner even though he meant well being his actual character flaw that Mineru could eventually acknowledge, to give her something to do instead of... feeling bad for no clear reason!! Also just *give emotional weight* to that time she holds Rauru's hand again when she swears fealty to Link, this was so simple and obvious how was it not given the time it needed for us to care about what was lost!!! aaa)

Yes, it's still about the power of love and sacrifice over ruthless domination, but now characters have a little bit more agency and we feel a little less like they have a zonai knife under their throats the entire time forcing them to always be happy and enthusiastic about swearing fealty to the immortal kingdom. They find out about the past but get to redefine their future instead of falling over themselves in worship; literally using pieces and bits of the past in the form of zonai tech to rebuild their own kingdom and their future dreams. Together they are stronger; but because they all chose to believe in that mantra instead of having it being imposed by long dead kings and faceless ancestors expecting them to die for a war that shouldn't concern them.

(Also, obviously, the gerudo region has to reckon with the Demon King being particularly angry at them for betraying him, and them deciding to reject his rule a second time and embrace their own path, because in the original TotK Ganondorf being gerudo could be removed entirely without any consequence, which is pretty sad since it's basically an enormous part of what makes him compelling as a villain for a lot of people and keeps him from being a completely generic Nintendo stock villain!!)

And honestly? Beyond a couple of dialogue changes and slightly different setups and reasonings for Link to do certain things, especially in the various regional quests? Most of everything else could stay roughly the same. The bones are here! They're just arranged in a really weird way.

(except for Ganondorf surviving as a big bad dragon in the end through the sacrifice of his mind to immortality because that's just much more interesting than turning him into a supernova --but that's really a bonus honestly)

#totk #totk spoilers #tears of the kingdom #thoughts #zelda #rauru #ganondorf #because we can access information from different angles doesn't mean we should access it whenever imo #not if it fucks up the pacing and our understanding of plot characters and story #also to pace the story from between challenges instead of shoving it all down in your mouth if you do all the memories at once #is just better user experience imo #especially for a zelda game that attempts to pace itself like a legend #so trial and tribulation -> new development #not new development because you tried to paraglide into a pond missed but like you have 1 heart left but you ate 28 apples ok let's go #and then you do that 10 more times in a row #anyway!!! #just thoughts

[densitywell]

that "Orym made his deal contingent on all of the Hells coming back from Ruidis alive bc he knows Imogen's probably gonna be absorbed into Predathos and turn on them" take truly one of the "he would not fucking say that"s of all time

#i understand many of you are still in the bargaining stage of grief rn but like please be serious. #anyways i still believe in the 'predathos isn't inherently evil even if its being used by evil' dream a bit even if its. not looking good #i'll be sad if he is just Bad tbh! i think its more interesting this way i think we should expand the ways to be #i think the story should keep growing out towards the strange and the scary not shrinking in on itself #and kord isn't gonna make her more alien :( #cr spoilers #crposting

[p4nishers]

can we actually take a moment and remember swan upon leda? can we actually shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down and think about our lord and savior swan upon leda because i'm tired of doing it alone every single day guys

#the title itself!!! THE FUCKING TITLE #swan UPON leda #god he's an actual genius THANK U HOZIER SO FUCKING MUCH #i hate how that myth is portrayed and received and objectified bc they make it out to be such a funny little chuckle story like 'hahaha led #is SO easy that she fell for a swan isn't that actually the funniest thing you've ever heard omg like women are literally so easy to please #whatever whatever blahblahblah yes that's fucking hilarious matthew thank u SO much for that absolutely fascinating commentary on a women #getting raped by a god really truly an amazing insight into ur pea fucking brain #like fuck sorry but i just absolutely despises how this myth is made out to be and i remember learning abt it in class and being literally #nauseated bc guess fucking what it's literally not hard to understand wtf is happening and while u r laughing away about i repeat a WOMEN #getting RAPED some fucking of us have brain enough to be mortified #jesus ANYWAY #hozier dropped that song after roe v wade was over turned and i just i love him so fucking much he cares SO MUCH and before anything else #he's an activist and he actually gives a shit about women's rights and he dropped this song as a comfort as something to hold onto but also #as a social commentary and he linked charities and resources to help women and keep them safe and this song just means everything to me #bc greek mythology often gets reduced to children stories bc most ppl know myths from children books and obviously a book for kids not gonn #outloud say the word rape or even imply that that's what's happening and that's fine ig but bc so many ppl know it from there it gets #reduces to a joke and a raped women gets ridiculed but hozier actually took one of the few poems about leda being raped and it being a rape #at all and made it into a song during a time that was so traumatizing for ever afab person in the world basically and it just says 'i see #you i see what you're going through and i'm listening and i actually care and i want to help you' and he's helping by writing a song yes bc #he's spreading the word that way bc that's how movements are spread and people listen to him when he's singing and that's how he helps and #i did i mention that i love him? bc i'd actually do anything for him and to meet him and tell him how much he fucking means to me #the line that always gets me is 'a crying CHILD pushes a CHILD into the night' bc yes she was a fucking child who had to deliver 4 KIDS BC #AN ASSHOLE DECIDED SHE WAS PRETTY ENOUGH TO FUCK and nobody ever cares that she was just a child and her child helen was just a child when #she was abducted and raped and impregnated (JUST LIKE HER MOTHER) by theseus a supposed great hero and im genuinely sick she was just a #child like so many women or girls in greek mythology and ik it was a different time back then or wtv but they were just GIRLS and nobody #cared about that or cares now. but this song does. #bc of course it does it's hozier. #hozier #swan upon leda

[silverjirachi]

uh oh sisters! new avatar adaptation is looking like its gonna suck again

#it looks like they're gonna make it too gritty #albeit it ALREADY looks better than the.. other one #but what people fail to understand that animation and live action are inherently different mediums even though they're both movies/tv #and whenever you change the medium of a story #you HAVE to be very aware of what the medium itself is doing to the source text #and how that story used the strengths of its medium #and how the new medium will lack these strengths #but how the new medium will have different strengths that should be drawn out #and despite what people think #'grittiness' is not inherently a strength of live action #it's really trite and overdone now and avatar the last airbender #NEEDS the inherent JOY that comes from the medium of animation #which is NOT impossible to capture in live action #but if you do not center that feeling #the whole thing falls apart #anyways #ATLA needs joy because even though the story is actually very intense #it is at its heart about a young boy who chooses joy in spite of that #any adaptation that doesn't capture that is never going to have the same heart the animated series had

[smilepaint]

farlyns rosacea is everything to me <3 her cheeks are forever rosey and she chooses not to cover it with makeup and her girlfriend thinks its adorable and i think about it a normal amount

#on a similar note #laius's eye and nose shape genuinely has done so much for my self image #you never see a main character with features like that... subtle things like that make a character feel like a Person #as a character designer we fall into the habit of “”matching“” features and shapes to personality #ie certain features indicate a certain type of person #where's my pure hearted and sweet characters with sharp features? my soft edged doe eyed villains? my spineless big rectangular hunks? #idk i feel like kui is really good at not visually typecasting people #and it lends itself to a really rich and exciting story because you simply cant understand any of them without getting to know them #dungeon meshi

[grandorderconfessions]

#anon i am honestly trying to understand what you mean #draco is not treated like a joke??? #the collab deals with nero's tragic backstory more seriously than any other time in fgo #and what other beast servants ARE treated as a joke?? #while it's true that once they get summoned as another class #most of the beasts loosen up a lot #but in the story itself #all the beasts are presented as a serious legitimate threat #sfw #fate grand order criticism

[no1ryomafan]

Not to make another mecha rant at unholy hours about something particular that isn’t shocking and only shocking to me bc my autistic ass learn stuff so slowly but I think after enough observation I finally clocked why people are so hard on mecha: Nobody realizes robots are the appealing aspects but can still be used as story telling tools.

People think mecha fights diminish character development when that’s far from the truth. A mecha in a show is a secondary vessel to the protagonist. It has a connection to them, a relationship, even if it’s not sentient. It is an extensive of their own sheer will power and most mecha fights can be seen just like any anime fight: driven by its pilots determination and it’ll overcome the obstacle. Being in a big robot over fighting hand to hand with super powers doesn’t change this.

If shounen can prioritize cool fights but still tell interesting stories, why do people think mecha can’t do the same? When it being in the realm of sci fi opens up even more deep story possibilities? Why can’t people realize you can have “WAH COOL ROBOT” but also a deep narrative? Why do people always pick one or the other?

People who don’t realize this end up making mechas that don’t fit into both appealing categories because they think having more character focus over robot fights is better story telling, but why would I watch a mecha if the thing it IS isn’t present? Why strip mecha of its identity? Why not just make a media in a different genre if you aren’t going to respect what it is?

There is no “deconstruction”, you simply refuse to watch the actual influencers of this genre. You pick at something you don’t understand and don’t want to learn from because you think you know what you’re doing. You think you know what you’re talking about when you only watched maybe one show and put it on a pedestal without actually trying things.

It’s fine if you did try and don’t think it’s your cup of tea, but most people don’t. They just assume. This isn’t even asking to watch more mecha but to be OPEN MINDED. To LISTEN to people at least when they mention it and be aware of what the genre actually is, and not the fabrication you made up. Learn. Don’t refuse.

#meg text #evening mecha ramble #this is trying to sound deep but probably come off shitty lol #probably gonna be more like myself in tags #Moral of the story If you don’t like old things or toxic fans whatever but don’t talk about shit you hardly know lol #I don’t even like to be involved but as a getter fan im strapped to this #just like ryoma to fate fr fr #(god kill me for that one) #Also no this did not stem from twitter as I look at it less but this also ain’t a twitter issue #we have western mfers make mecha and not understand it and that’s a curse in itself but it’s worse here #also this isn’t aimed Eva hate bc Anno LITERALLY made Gunbuster (a huge getter homage) and mecha fans hating a lot doenst help #but at the same time please stop with saying it’s special or a expectation #your better saying it clicks with you and that’s fine #if you say it’s a deconstruction your pulling it out of your ass