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sparklyfaerie · 10 months

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Zelink Week - Day 1: Yearning

Since Ao3 is still down, I'm posting my submissions here until such a time as I can get it on the archive. This is yesterday's. @zelinkcommunity

Title: Oblique Summary: In which Zelda is obvious, and Link still manages to completely miss what’s staring him in the face.

Words: 5,071 Rating: General Relationships: Zelink (Twilight Princess) Extract:

He doesn’t think there’s a man among the peerage that isn’t falling all over himself to ingratiate himself to her. “I find that hard to believe.” She’s not looking at him, peering off to the west. The sun has almost set, the sky above painted in pinks and oranges. She seems otherworldly in the fading light, almost like a fairy queen slipped into the mortal realms in her finery. The gold of her tiara glints in the sunset. “Oh, I’m fairly certain.” She shoots him a crooked smile. He tucks it away in his chest, knowing that very few are privileged enough to see her so informal. “He is, perhaps, the only man in all of Hyrule who does not seem interested in the least.”

Ao3 Tags: Talking Link (Legend of Zelda), Minor court politics, Zelda is just blatantly flirting, Link is not good at the nobility’s version of it though, Gossip, there’s not much more to this it’s literally just Link being dumb

Ao3 Link

Oblique

There are entirely too many people in the room for Link's liking. Having grown up in the pastures of Ordon, he's not one for large crowds; the crush of bodies makes him uneasy. Usually, when he's surrounded by this many living things, he's either herding them or fighting for his life.

He thinks the Queen might be displeased if he tries to do either in the middle of her ballroom.

He's only here because she wrote and asked him to attend. He's still a relatively social unknown, even if rumours of how he earned his barony abound. Some are close to the truth—that he saved Her Majesty's life on some unspecified occasion—and still more are utterly ridiculous. He'd once heard a rumour that he'd earned his title because he'd fought and slain a hundred shadow beasts at once during the invasion.

Link doesn't think he killed a hundred of them all together, let alone at once.

His doublet is overly-starched and bordering on uncomfortable, but the deep burgundy blends in better than his customary green ever could in such a sea of self-importance. He tugs at the collar and tries to fight the urge to rip it so he can breathe.

Link does not like formal events. He doesn't have the breeding or the manners to fit properly in such a crowd, so he keeps mostly to himself. There are other things he could be doing—teaching Colin and Talo swordplay, or dealing with that pesky bokoblin incursion in the Faron Woods, for example. Instead, he's spent his afternoon—and will probably spend a good part of his evening—pretending to be one of the painted elite.

It's times like these that he can still practically hear Midna muttering snide comments into his ear from his shadow, mocking the pretentiousness in the very air. He's been without her now for longer than she'd ever accompanied him, and yet, he still finds himself missing her sarcasm in times like this.

"Oh, excuse me!" A young lady stumbles into him, her cheeks warm with a telltale flush that speaks of inebriation. Fortunately for him, the drink that sloshes everywhere misses everything except the very toe of his boots. Unfortunately for the girl, it ends up staining the front of her bodice.

She cries out in dismay, and Link shrinks away as she begins to draw attention to herself. He vaguely recognises her—some minor lord's daughter. The type that he seems to attract every time he comes to town; eligible bachelorettes who are more enamoured with the title of 'Hero' than they are put off by his manners, and whose fathers are more covetous of his close relationship with the Queen than they object to his humble birth.

"Trying, are they not?"

Link does not give the Queen the satisfaction of jumping. She is one of the few people in the country that can manage to sneak up on him—though how she manages such a thing when she's so very visible in a public setting, Link doesn't know. He suspects magic.

She would probably tell him if he asks. Instead, he merely turns to her and bows in greeting. "They are the same as always. Good evening, Your Majesty."

Zelda, Hyrule's young Queen, is as beautiful as ever. Link can understand how some of the other young men lose their powers of speech around her—she's almost ethereal, her skin glowing in the light from the chandeleirs and shining off of chestnut hair. Blue eyes glitter at him over the rim of a wine glass as he straightens.

"Good evening, Link." She doesn't bother with formality with him, even in such a public setting. His status as her Favourite is well known and resented throughout the kingdom. "I'm pleased to see that you made it, despite your distaste for such company."

"You asked me to come." He looks around pointedly. "I assumed it was important."

She hands her empty wine glass to a passing serving girl. "Perhaps I simply wanted to see you." She teases lightly.

He raises an eyebrow. "There's no need to throw a party for that."

She smiles properly. It does wonders in making her look less like an ethereal Goddess and more like an approachable, mortal woman. She reaches out, and he offers her his elbow; she tucks her hand into the crook of his arm and sighs as they start to pace the edges of the ballroom. "The ball is to appease my Councillors."

"What do they want this time?"

"The usual." Zelda rolls her eyes. "Three years on the throne, and still no husband, let alone an heir. They're growing anxious. I must at least give the impression that I'm looking for a consort."

Link reaches over and pats her hand in sympathy. If he's sick of young women throwing themselves at him over his hero status, he can only begin to imagine how much worse she has it. Link has watched countless men try to win her favour over the past few years, some getting even more brazen as time goes on.

"That doesn't explain why I'm here." He points out mildly as they slip out through a large set of glass doors and into the gardens. The music follows them into the hedges as they disappear from view.

Link is not of a high enough station to be considered a suitable suitor for Her Majesty, so he doesn't know why his presence is required at such an event. In truth, at first, he hadn't really been interested in getting to know her—Midna's loss had still been fresh when she'd Named him. But time spent in each other's company in the years since has made him fond of her. Still, he doesn't forget himself.

He can be a confidant. Nothing more. He holds himself at the appropriate distance and does not presume to greater intimacy than he is entitled.

…even if he might have started to wish otherwise, recently.

She hums noncommittally. "Perhaps I wanted at least some sensible conversation tonight that does not contain empty flattery every other sentence." Her voice is bland.

Link smirks. "Your suitors aren't up to your standards, Your Majesty?"

She's quiet for a moment. "More like… the one I want doesn't seem to be interested in presenting himself as a suitor."

He shoots her an incredulous look. He doesn't think there's a man among the peerage that isn't falling all over himself to ingratiate himself to her. "I find that hard to believe."

She's not looking at him, peering off to the west. The sun has almost set, the sky above painted in pinks and oranges. She seems otherworldly in the fading light, almost like a fairy queen slipped into the mortal realms in her finery. The gold of her tiara glints in the sunset.

"Oh, I'm fairly certain." She shoots him a crooked smile. He tucks it away in his chest, knowing that very few are privileged enough to see her so informal. "He is, perhaps, the only man in all of Hyrule who does not seem interested in the least."

Link snorts. "Well, it's his loss." He says with conviction. "Any man who doesn't want you is a fool." Of course, he's not at all biased. And even if he were, it's true. She's the Queen. Quite literally no one in Hyrule could do better.

"Thank you." She lowers her voice. "But I think we had best return to the party, before the gossips miss us."

Link grimaces. "Probably a good idea." The last thing either of them needs is a scandal.

"Perhaps you'll be so good as to dance with me?" She asks lightly as they step out of the hedges and towards the doors again. "I hear you've been practicing."

Link wonders how she knows, but refuses to ask. He'd embarrassed himself a few months ago, at the last ball he'd attended, and he'd hired a private tutor to teach him to dance so it would never happen again.

It wasn't so that, if he ever got the opportunity to dance with the Queen, he could do so without tripping over his own feet. Again.

Certainly not.

He isn't going to complain, though.

"If Your Majesty wishes."

They slip into the ballroom unobserved, blending into the crowd as if they'd never left. Zelda tows him toward the dancefloor, where they slip into the circle of dancers while the band is beginning a slower piece. She releases his arm and he faces her, bowing before offering his hand.

She sets hers into his, her other hand coming to rest on his shoulder. His other hand finds her waist, and they begin to move with the music.

It's a simple waltz, thank the goddesses—one that he already knows. Zelda smiles encouragingly as he lifts his arm to spin her, her hand clinging to his until she returns to him. His palms are sweaty beneath his gloves, his heart beating rapidly as she steps back into his personal space.

They dance a few measures, the Queen's eyes getting brighter. "It seems I must reevaluate my assessment of your skill." She murmurs as he moves to spin her again. When she comes back into his hold, her lips are quirking. "I must place you solidly in the intermediate. You've improved, from what I've been told."

The back of Link's neck warms. "You heard about that?"

Zelda laughs a little, a slight chuckle that doesn't draw attention. "I think everyone has heard about that."

He can feel his cheeks heating up now, feeling every inch the farmhand dressed in finery that he is. It was bad enough that some two dozen nobles had witnessed his embarrassment the last time—to know that the gossip has made it to the ears of the Queen is mortifying.

The dance ends, Link spinning Zelda to a perfect stop. He reluctantly lets go of her hand. He bows—she curtseys.

His fingers tingle beneath his glove. Idly, he wonders what the skin of her hands feels like. He's never seen her without gloves of some sort. Would her fingers be callused from all her fencing and archery, like his? Or would her moisturisers keep her skin supple and smooth?

He shakes himself from these thoughts as she's asked to dance by another man, and he steps aside as she accepts with courtly politeness. She looks at him over her shoulder and smiles, almost invitingly, as she allows herself to be led away.

Link flexes his hand and tells himself not to get any ideas.

She invites him to go riding the next day, as part of a small, intimate party consisting of her closest friends.

He accepts. Of course he accepts—one does not refuse an invitation from the Queen unless they are ill or otherwise incapacitated.

In reality, it's an excuse to take a picnic by the river. Link, never one to be idle, spends most of his time strolling along the riverbank, eyes alert for roving bokoblins. He knows the Royal Guard are on watch, but he knows these fields better than them; there are any number of caves or thickets that a monster or five could be hiding in.

Zelda joins him after nearly an hour, frowning at his intensity. "Do you see something?"

He shakes his head. "Being in the open makes me… tense."

When he'd been roaming Hyrule as a wandering swordsman, he'd been beset by beasts on the roads more times than he could count. Even now, he never spends more time out in the open than he has to.

She smiles indulgently, putting a hand on his arm. "I sent a scouting party out this morning. There is nothing here."

Link hums, eyes flicking to her before surveying the area again.

"Do you know this area well?" She asks lightly, keeping pace with him. "I must admit that I don't manage to travel beyond the castle walls all that often anymore."

He nods. "Do you see the Bridge of Eldin, over there?" He points to the structure in the northeast. The top of the watchtower is just visible over the rolling hills.

She follows with her eyes. "Yes?"

"I fought King Bulblin there." He says matter-of-factly. He knows she likes stories of his travels, having asked him for details before. She'd been trapped in her tower—and then comatose, after saving Midna's life—for most of the occupation. "He'd kidnapped a boy from my village and was parading him about like a trophy. I gave chase."

She stares out over the hills. "Was the boy alright?"

Link nods. "He's fine. I've been training him for the past few years as a favour. His father was the one who taught me swordplay."

She nods, frowning thoughtfully. "I recall that you introduced him, once. Rost, was it?"

"Rusl." Link corrects. He can't hold it against her—she'd met the man once, very briefly, more than two years ago. That she remembers the encounter at all is impressive, considering how many people she meets on any given day.

"Oh, of course. I apologise."

He shakes his head. "Don't worry about it. He'd be honoured you even remember meeting him at all."

Her smile is melancholy. "He was a part of the resistance that assisted in liberating Hyrule Castle. Of course I remember meeting them." She tightens her grip on his arm, drawing him to look at her. "Won't you come sit? You haven't eaten; there might still be a sandwich or two left over. I promise you that the Guard have our protection well in hand."

He wants to refuse, but she looks at him from under her lashes—a feat, given that she's taller than him—pretty face drawn into a frown of concern. He sighs. "Very well, Your Majesty."

The blanket is vacant by the time they reach it to sit, its occupants scattered about the riverbank. Zelda keeps him company as he picks over the remnants of the food, keeping up a light stream of conversation about inane topics that don't truly interest either of them. He's careful to keep a proper, respectful distance between them, but she keeps leaning in to him, smiles tugging at the corner of her lips.

She practically ignores the rest of her guests unless they approach to ask a question—and though Link basks in her attention, he worries that rumours of her neglect will begin to circulate at court. There are already whispers of dissatisfaction with her single status. She doesn't need rumours circulating about her and him of all people.

But she doesn't seem to be concerned, smiling at him as if she doesn't have a care in the world until the Captain calls that it's time to return to the Castle.

He tries not to be too pleased, and fails.

He overhears the serving women without really meaning to, dropping by the kitchens for a late breakfast after sleeping in. It's not an uncommon occurrence during his stays at the Castle for him to oversleep and miss breakfast; the staff have come to expect him.

"That's what I heard." Two young women are huddled over by the door as Link waits for the head cook to bring him something. He can't see them, but he can hear their words clearly enough. "Her Majesty is sweet on the farm boy from Ordon."

Link freezes.

"Well, who wouldn't be?" Her conversation partner titters. "A little on the shorter side, but he's handsome. And he's got those gruff country manners that those silly noble girls like in their book heroes."

"Shh! Cheshi will hear you!"

"Oh, pish. She's busy." But the speaker lowers her voice. "Do you think it's true, though? Would Her Majesty really—?"

The other woman scoffs. "What woman wouldn't? Gods above, I'd takea crack if I thought he'd go for it."

A giggle. "Why don't you? He's so uptight. He might like a tumble."

"Oi!" A third voice shouts across the room. "You two! Get back to work! We ain't got enough hands for you two to be flappin' yer gums all day!"

There's some grumbling and shuffling of cloth as they go back to work, leaving Link wide-eyed and filled with dread on the other side of the wall.

He's not bothered by the comments regarding himself. The Gods know he's heard it all before, having been approached by more than one brazen chambermaid or kitchenhand. It's the rumours surrounding the Queen's supposed interest that bother him more.

A rumour like that could materially damage her chances of making a good match down the line, if it stuck around. Nobility are proud—even the merest whiff of interest in someone viewed as 'lower class' could cause her judgement to be questioned. And Link knows enough about castle life to know that if even the kitchen staff—who are usually very isolated from the rest of the household—are talking about something, then the rest of the castle is probably talking about it, too.

He stalks away without even getting his breakfast, already mentally planning his departure the following morning. It's a shame—it's his first real visit in months, and he'd been enjoying himself for the most part. Zelda has made more time for him this time around than she usually does, perhaps sensing that he'd begun to miss her.

Which is a stupid sentiment. She's the Queen. She has more important things to do than indulge a country-bred ranch hand, even if she'd given him noble rank.

There is a page stationed outside his door when he reaches his chambers, blinking up at him in awe as he approaches. He gets that a lot from the pages and squires in the castle—boys who aspire to grow up and become heroes, looking up to someone who is already labelled as such.

"Pardon, milord," the boy's accent has an eastern twang. Most likely, he's from around the Kakariko region. "But Her Majesty wanted me to deliver this." He holds out a folded sheet of paper, held together by a wax seal.

"Thank you." Link slips the boy a blue rupee, and he scurries off.

He doesn't break the seal until he's in his chambers, mouth pressed into a line as he unfolds it. Usually, a written message from the Queen is an invitation of sorts.

Inside, he's proven correct; it's an invitation to take supper with her in her chambers. He feels a mixture of anticipation and dread. This will only fuel the rumours.

But he can't refuse. She's the Queen; an invitation from her is an honour that he doesn't want to turn down.

She notes his unease right away. As soon as the serving girl closes the door behind her, Zelda peers into his face with concern. "Is everything alright, Link?"

"I'm fine." He lies. "I was just considering the best route home at this time of year." It's not technically a lie; spring rains usually flood the roads, making passage difficult if one is unprepared.

She blinks at him in surprise. "You're leaving? Already?" She straightens in her seat. "Have you had bad news from home?" He shakes his head. "Then why, if I may be so bold as to ask? Do you truly find castle life to be so unpleasant that it puts that dour look on your face? You've only been here for two days."

Link frowns down at his dinner. He realises that he's hungry; he'd skipped lunch, too, in his haste to make preparations. "Not at all."

In truth, he doesn't feel exactly comfortable in the castle. The day to day aspects of actually living here are fine; his discomfort is more due to the nobility sniffing around in everyone's business.

He is not a proud man, exactly, but he knows that he's seen and done more in his short life than many of them will achieve in generations. He knows himself and is comfortable with who he is and his role in history… but he will never like the feeling of being scrutinised and found wanting.

She spreads her napkin on her lap and picks up her fork, spearing a piece of roasted vegetable and looking at him with raised eyebrows. "Then what is the matter?"

He shrugs—a casual gesture that he would never indulge in with an audience. Zelda has always insisted they do not stand on ceremony when it is just the two of them, perhaps sensing his unease with learning to navigate court politics. He's gotten better, but she has yet to insist on any kind of formality between them. He suspects she finds the lack of it refreshing.

She lowers her fork, her expression inscrutable. "I… have not made you uncomfortable, have I?"

He looks up at her, confusion writ clear on his face. "What?"

She shrugs, a line creasing between her brows. "My attentions have not been exactly… subtle." She presses her lips into a line.

He stares. "Attentions?"

His confusion appears to be contagious; she peers at him with an incredulous look on her face. "You… have noticed, haven't you?" She asks bluntly. "I have been obvious."

"Noticed what?" He blinks, re-examining the past two days. She has certainly sought out his company often—but that's no different than usual. She quite often keeps him close. He'd always assumed that it was to protect him from the vicious tongues of her nobles while he found his footing, and then became a habit borne of friendship.

She exhales in a huff that might have been laughter. "Goddess above, I cannot believe it." She mutters, more to herself than him, he thinks. To him, she says "I have been making a fool of myself for months, it seems."

They stare at each other over their meal, steam warping the air between them. When it becomes obvious that he has no idea what she's talking about, she continues, "Link, I have been trying to gauge your amenability to beginning a courtship for nearly a year. And you haven't even noticed!"

"What?" He croaks. He remembers their conversation the night before last, in the gardens. "But—you said—you said you wanted someone who wasn't interested?"

She looks like she wants to shake him, frustration plain on her features. "And so you appear to be. You are incredibly hard to read when you want to be, you know. I suppose I should have just asked, but I do need some plausible deniability in case of rejection. Aside from making our relationship awkward, if word got around that I had been turned down, it would… well, it would not reflect well on either of us."

He sits back in his chair, staring openly at her. He has a vague suspicion that his mouth is open. "I had… no idea." He has been so careful not to get too close, conscious of wagging tongues and dismissing her familiar overtures as friendly behaviour.

He feels like a fool.

Well, maybe not a fool, exactly. Any reasonable person would have drawn the same conclusions in his position—a lowborn man, only recently elevated and who would usually be beneath the Queen's notice. Perhaps poleaxed is a better word.

She stands abruptly, skirts swishing around her ankles as she moves to look out the window. When he follows, he's astounded to see that her cheeks are pink. "Well, I suppose this is an answer of sorts to my question." She says airily, feigning unaffectedness. "Please, forget I spoke."

He sputters. "What? No!"

Zelda grimaces a little, looking at him from the corner of her eye. "Link, please. It is bad enough that—" she purses her lips. "Never mind."

"I'm sorry, I really had no idea." Link cringes inwardly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." She makes a dismissive gesture. "I am merely astonished that you didn't notice." She laughs lightly, the tone ringing false in Link's ears. "Even the servants have been gossiping about it. One of my handmaids informed me just two hours ago."

Link presses his lips into a line. He looks out the window. "I overheard the gossip this morning, in the kitchens."

"And you didn't think to connect it to my behaviour?" She stares at him, disbelief written all over her face.

He shakes his head. "I'm aware of my circumstances, Your Majesty." He nearly trips over his words in his rush to explain himself. "My position is a very precarious one; your court barely tolerates me, most of the time. I dismissed the rumours as malicious gossip."

"Malicious?" She scoffs, tossing her head imperiously. "Your position is secure, Link. If anyone implies otherwise… well, quite frankly, I do not care what they think."

"You should." He asserts, frowning himself, now. "They all hold wealth and power—"

"At my leisure." She reminds him. "I can revoke a title as easily as I can grant one, remember."

"I can't see your council approving." He presses his lips into a line.

She shrugs a shoulder. "The Privy Council is split on the matter." She admits. "But I am the Queen. They are merely my advisors. All that matters is that whomever I ultimately attach myself to is beneficial for Hyrule."

"Then that should exclude me from the get-go."

She rolls her eyes at him. "Oh, yes, the hero that the entire populace looks up to should be excluded from the list of men who would be good for my kingdom." She drawls sarcastically. "It is a moot point; your feelings on the matter are clear. I apologise for my presumption."

He gapes at her. "Presumption?"

"I assure you," she turns her smile onto him, "that your indifference will not change—"

"Wait." He holds up a hand. "Indifference? What indifference? I never said I was indifferent."

"It's alright." She says soothingly. "It was not an offer of marriage. You haven't offended me. There's no need to pretend—"

"I'm not pretending anything." He runs his hands down his face in frustration. "Your Majesty, I am far from indifferent."

That shuts her up. "Excuse me?"

He sighs, rubbing his temples. "Perhaps my low station doesn't matter to you, Your Majesty," he begins carefully, "but it does to others. I've been attempting to… not fuel gossip. It's not that I'm not—that I wouldn't be… if it were up to me…" he clicks his tongue in aggravation.

"Link." She finally turns to him, tone serious. "If I were to ask you if you wanted to—to begin a formal courtship… what would your answer be?"

"I would… well, I would ask 'why me'?" He answers honestly.

She frowns in thought. "You are a good man." She answers slowly. "You treat me with respect, but without sycophancy. And your service to Hyrule—"

Link holds up a hand. "If you're only trying to… reward me, or something, please—"

"I'm not."

They stare at each other in silence. What must she be thinking, he wonders. He admires her mind—sharp, analytical, practical. She's not a woman given to sentiment. Every move she makes is calculated thrice over.

Which is why this conversation makes absolutely no sense to him.

"Your qualifications are unorthodox, it's true." She allows. "But that does not mean that you are without them. I respect you, and I enjoy your company. You are attractive. I… well, to be frank, I have great affection for you, and would like to see if this relationship could be expanded upon. It is not an offer of marriage—not yet." She waves her hand between them, as if to lighten the mood. "But if we find that we are as well suited as I hope, I may extend one."

Link forces himself to breathe. "I see."

"It is alright if you wish to decline." She offers gently. "It will not change our friendship."

"I don't want to decline." He hastens to reassure her. "But—you know what people are going to say."

"I don't care what people say." She shakes her head. "There is not a single objection that any of my council has made that was legitimate. There will be talk, of course, but you know as well as I do that most of the nobility are selfishly out to further their own agenda. They will complain no matter who I choose. And I could certainly do much worse."

Link finds his lips twitching despite himself. "You could be interested in Duke Tirrul, I suppose."

"Exactly." Her eyes crinkle at the corners with her smile. She takes one of his hands, folding it between both of hers. "I would like to see where our relationship could lead. Are you open to that?"

The answer comes easily. "I am, if you don't mind the gossip."

"I do not."

"Then there's just one problem."

"Oh?"

He rubs the back of his neck and grins sheepishly. "I have no idea what a formal courtship entails. Where I come from, these things are simple. I assume this will be very different."

She laughs, releasing his hand. Carefully, she tucks her hand into the crook of his arm and tugs him back to the table. "Don't worry. I will guide you. Or," her smile becomes something of a smirk, "perhaps I can hire you an etiquette tutor. We would not wish for you to misstep."

Link groans as he takes his seat. The food has cooled, but it's not yet cold. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

She chuckles as she sits. "Most likely not." She acknowledges, fixing her napkin on her lap and picking up her discarded fork, popping the vegetable speared onto it into her mouth. She chews thoughtfully before swallowing. "I'm sure they'll find something else to talk about, though, in time."

"Great." Link groans, poking at his meal with his fork. "Just great."

He looks at the Queen over the table, truly allowing himself to read into the lines of her smile for the first time. Her eyes are bright as she brings a glass of wine to her lips, and he wonders that he hadn't been able to recognise the fondness in her gaze before now.

He supposes he might have, if he'd allowed himself to.

"So," he picks up his fork, "when can I expect this new tutor?"

She chuckles. "I'll begin looking for one tomorrow."

#zelink #zelink week 2023 #day 1: Yearning #my fanfiction

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heraartaxis · 10 months

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SECRET INVASION

What an episode!!

THE MOST AMAZING SCENE IN THE MCU AS OF TILL NOW THE ON SCREEN SCENE BETWEEN JAMES RHODES AND NICKY FURY ITS WELL WRITTEN.

THE EMOTIONS ARE CONVEYED WHAT AN EPIC SCENE. ALSO RHODES SAYING YOU ARE FIRED THAT HIT HARD. EVEN SOMETHING INSIDE FURY BROKE. WASNT IT LIKE THE LAST RESORT.

Rhodes acting like the perfect diplomatic and saying he would carpet bomb the Croatian rep is hilarious

When Maria’s mother told Fury so you are the reason why daughter is in a box was so hard to watch. I wonder what Fury does from there.

Olivia Coleman channeling her inner Umbridge for the character of Sonya Falsworth is amazing.

Also on the side not is Talos a villain?? Like something isn’t right about the guy

Also like oh my gosh we saw Cull’s hand use after the infinity war damn. It’s confirmed like in the comics they are making super skrulls that’s how his hand extends like groot in the trailer!!

DUDE FURY IS MARRIED TO THE SKRULL?? HE FUKKKKED AN ALIEN!! ALSO IS SHE THE LADY HE HEADBUTTED IN THE FIRST SCENE??

Also I think he knows that’s she’s a skrull but dayum married the one who he was using for the spying purposes.

I feel like Fury did Skrulls dirty like using them as spies?? No wonder things got out of hand

It’s really funny how all the important world leader are skrulls and only one among them said no to their hideous plans.

It was funny the way Fury said we started fighting the day we stood upright.

#marvel mcu #marvel #mcu #secret invasion #nick fury #james rhodes #olivia colman #sonya falsworth #talos #giah #gravik #skrulls

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nientedenada · 1 year

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Who wanted the Draconis family dead? J'accuse . . .

Originally posted on r/teslore, reposted here on Halloween as an appropriate tale of murder and ghosts.

In Oblivion, the quest Next of Kin has you kill of all the members of the Draconis family: an aged mother and four adult children. You don’t get an answer who asked for the hit in the first place. Sensible answers discussed in the past include a relative who is eliminating other heirs, or someone with a hatred for the entire family.

But let me share my crazy theory of how Perennia Draconis, loving matriarch of her family, arranged for her own death and her childrens’ at the hands of the Dark Brotherhood. It got less crazy the more I looked at it, and I’m now it’s my personal Truth of the matter.

A lot of people remember Perennia as a nice old lady who wanted to send her children gifts, and unfortunately mistook the Dark Brotherhood assassin as the gift-buying and courier service. But if you pay attention to what she’s saying, she isn’t nice. At all. She’s a nasty old piece of work whose children have gone low or non-contact with her. She has outright awful things to say about three of her four children, and her compliments of the fourth may also be passive-agressive condemnation.

She gives the player a list of where to look for each kid, butchering their characters in the process.

Matthias – Imperial City - Talos Plaza District, Imperial City (he has a home there): Matthias always was a rough and tumble lad. The last I’d heard, he’d fallen in with some pretty tough characters there in the Imperial City. I’d feel so much better if I knew he was well protected, so I’d like for you to find him a nice cuirass. Nothing too light – iron or steel should be fine. And, if possible, I’d like it engraved with “To my Dear Matty, I’ll always be here to protect you, love Mum.”

First kid, gone no contact with her: “the last I’d heard”. After he dies, his tombstone, btw, says

Here lies Matthias Draconis. His mother always told him he’d end up dead if he didn’t clean up his life…“

Sibylla – Muck Valley Cavern. Yes, my daughter lives in a cave, and no, I’m not very happy about it. Sibby has always loved animals (almost as much as Andy loves beer) and a couple of years ago she apparently thought it a good idea to abandon the Empire and live as a savage with the rest of the animals. In that time, I’m afraid Sibby has kind of… cracked. She’s basically as wild as the beasts she lives with. What can I do? I’m Sibby’s mother and I’ll always love her. She obviously doesn’t want or need anything from civilized society, so what I’d like you to do is find a tanner and secure the largest fur blankets you can possibly find. The last time I saw Sibby she was nearly naked, and I can’t imagine there’s much in that cave to keep her warm. When you do bring them to Muck Valley Cavern, be careful! The wild animals are bad enough, but Sibby herself will probably attack anyone on sight.

Again, has ran away from mom, not in contact.

Caelia – Castle Leyawiin (you’ll find her in the barracks): My beautiful Cae! My dearest daughter broke so many hearts when she was younger. But now that she’s an officer in the Imperial Legion I’m afraid she’s let herself go a bit. Not gotten fat! By Mephala, not that! But she’s settled into a more… practical kind of look. Even a bit boyish, I guess you could say. So what I’d like you to do is get my Cae as much pretty "girl” stuff as you can. Flowers, perfume, Nord chocolate, that sort of thing.

This one is absolutely venomous. It’s the most personally nasty of the lot, and the gift suggested isn’t even useful to Caelia, unlike the other gifts on the list ostensibly are.

Caelia says she defied her mother’s plans for her

I came to Leyawiin after a tour in the Legions. Poor Mother. She hoped I’d choose the chapel or civil service, or perhaps even marry well.“

and Caelia says

My mother? Oh, do you know her? She’s such a sweet woman. I’ve been a terrible daughter I’m afraid. I simply must visit more often! Anyway, I have duties to tend to. If you see my mother, tell her I’ll visit soon! I promise!”

“I simply must visit more often”, doesn’t, moved all the way to Leyawiin after retiring from the Legion, I really doubt Caelia wanted to see her mom that much. She’s keeping her mom at a civil distance, even if she keeps up contact.

Andreas – The Drunken Dragon Inn (he owns the place and lives there as well): Andy has been brewing his own beer and spirits since he was six years old. The opening of that inn was the happiest day of his life. I’d like for you to get him some new tavern glasses. I’m sure there are craftsmen in the Imperial City who could make a fancy set from frosted ebony or Altmeri crystal.

This is the only description of a child that seems kind of positive, but I don’t think the bit about brewing his own beer and spirits since he was six is really meant to be.

Perennia complains about living alone when you first disturb her and here’s her dialogue about the list.

My children? Whatever for? Oh! Oh, dear, excuse an old woman’s stupidity! You’re here to pick up my gift list! Using your gift service was the smartest thing I’ve ever done. My children are spread across Cyrodiil, and it’s so hard to shop for them all! So, here’s the list of all my precious little ones, though I dare say they’re not so little anymore! Ha ha ha ha ha! They grow up so fast, I swear! You’ll notice that the list gives each child’s location and some suggestions for gifts. Oh, and here’s the gold I’m supposed to give you. Now please go. Those children are so dear to me, and I’d really like you to get them something special. Thanks again!“

To me, it begins to look like she is paying the Dark Brotherhood fee here and giving the targets of each child. I see her as a hateful old woman who’d lost control over her children, and asserted final control with this murder-suicide.

Now she does come back as a ghost if you activate her tombstone and she attacks you, which shook me when I discovered that. Maybe she was meant to be an innocent lady who is avenging her slaughtered family. But, on reflection, the sort of person who’d undertake family annihilation via Dark Brotherhood would attack you as a ghost too. You were a tool she used, in this scenario, and now don’t have any use to her if you come bothering her grave. So I stand firm in my belief that Perennia is an evil, evil woman who took out her family when they wouldn’t obey her.

#Oblivion #tes lore #tesblr #niente lore

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smileytiger28 · 10 months

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secret invasion ep1 thoughts

Not sure what to think about the first scene. I started out hating it because Agent Whatsisname (the one that isn’t Martin Freeman) plays his part so cartoonishly. Then I started liking it because it veered so far into parody that it was funny, or perhaps self-aware. Then it turned out that Ross was a Skrull and the other guy was right, which meant we were supposed to take him seriously, which made the scene cheesy (derogatory) again.

Talos had better not turn out to be evil I have a parasocial relationship with Ben Mendelsohn’s australian ass

I don’t ship Fury and Talos yet but by the end of the series I’m sure I will. Like fury comes down to earth and Talos is like “omg bro hey 🤗 my wife died tho 😭 wanna do the super intimate forehead touch 😳”

Speaking of his wife I think Talos killed her. Or something. Something is up with that story, there’s not enough detail, and I am itching to hear more. Talos manipulates his daughter to listen to him and do what he wants using her dead mom. “G'iah listen to me, your moms last words were to find you” “G'iah you’re working with the people that killed your mom” “your mom would be proud of you for betraying Gravik & co.” Even if it’s not intentional I’m keeping my eye out for their relationship

Did they really not come up with a plan for if they would be impersonated? Bro they are literally fighting skrulls

I thought if they were gonna kill Maria hill they would have at least done it later after they made us care about her. Idk she’s always been meh to me. the internalized misogyny probably doesn’t help. But yeah boo fridging

Gravik spent most of the final scene just walking around dramatically which is so true of him. If I were an MCU villain I would do the same thing. You go girl (gn)

The scene where Talos fights another skrull and fury shoots him and Talos says “I told you not to” hit right in the feels

#mcu #secret invasion spoilers #secret invasion

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sigil-stone · 1 year

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a tale of two crows: a story spanning centuries involving the nerevarine, ysmir’s beard, the woman who made talos her bitch, a time-traveling egg, and more than a few gods.

but let’s talk about the blade of elis first; every good song needs its opening note, after all, and who better than the catalyst?

at some point in the late third era, around 414, a raven-haired imperial came wandering into ivarstead. he charmed the village healer, and after a Night Of Passion™️, the healer woke up to find the imperial (who never even gave her his name!) vanished and her beloved younger brother, a rather well-known mercenary, slaughtered in his room with his throat slit.

oh! and she’s pregnant. woops.

anyways, 9 months later, a little raven-haired baby pops out and the healer promptly decides Oh Yes, This Is My Beloved Daughter And She’s Cursed.

she’s not a bad mom! really. she’s just, well, not a great one. she does love little baby elisnir (nîr meaning blade, elis being the name of her beloved brother), but she also hates the man who killed her brother.

so that manifests in some weird ways! she doesn’t let elisnir cut her hair, for one, but she also won’t let her brush it or maintain it in any meaningful way. elisnir’s not allowed outside, as her mother is convinced she is an omen of death.

so merry (she insists on the name, though her mother does not oblige) starts reading and writing, a lot. mostly songs and poems. one day, at the ripe old age of exactly ten years old, after months of careful preparation, merry began executing her Master Plan.

there’s this guy, you see. a guy who passes through town. he’s an elf or something from windhelm, her mom gossips idly, and he’s really quite handsome. a mercenary! he passes through on the 15 of every month, riding atop an ox-driven wagon filled with all sorts of rations and supplies.

that night, the wagon also contained a small child squished between some heavy boxes, trying not to make noise as the wagon bumps and jolts down the uneven road.

tyr doesn’t even realize she’s there until he wakes up in his bedroll, panting and heaving from another nightmare that left his chest hollow and sore - the fire he built slowly dying, and an ominous little cloaked figure frowning intensely at it.

they’re very fast friends.

(tyr tries to leave her at every town they come across - not because he necessarily dislikes her, but she is a ten year old child and he is a twenty year old blade-for-hire who is NOT ready for this sort of responsibility and does not trust his ability to keep her safe.)

(merry knows this. she follows him anyway. he lets her anyway.)

tyr gets better with a sword, and most of his gold that isn’t going towards supplies and repairs are going to training, both for him and the kid. she’s a natural sneak, and getting good with a bow; a year goes by like it’s nothing and they fall into a routine.

a bounty comes in. merry goes in, scouts the place, finds any traps or places of interest, locates the bounty, comes out and relays all this. tyr goes in and raises bloody hell.

sometimes merry gets caught. it’s not as fun to watch tyr, then. from the outside the walls, she could imagine him, the stone-faced hero mowing down the enemies; here, bloody and bruised and hanging in a rusty gibbet in some dark corner, he looks different. she can smell the blood and taste the copper and hear the sound of entrails splattering against the floor, the viscera flung by tyr’s blade as he screams, animalistic, and he strikes downwards and someone’s torso is in half and their guts are oozing out of them and merry has blood on her now and it’s too much, it’s too much, she can’t, she can’t and then it’s quiet and they’re at camp.

tyr is staring at the fire. merry doesn’t think she was sleeping, and she’s sitting up and her eyes are sort of dry, but it feels like she’s waking up from a dream. she feels like that a lot, but only ever with the nightmares; she wonders if it’s punishment from vaermina for being so boastful about never being caught. (tyr looks really sad, so she plays a song on the bone-flute he made her: a jaunty little tune that always makes him smile, though sometimes she wonders if he’s just humoring her.)

sometimes tyr has nightmares, too. (he says they’re nightmares. but merry’s mama was a healing woman, and she knows a vision when she sees one! tyr rolls his eyes, leans over to rub his knuckles over her scalp and tells her not not worry about it.) merry’s there for most of them - they start relying on each other for more than just reconnaissance missions.

a year passes and she calls him brother. he’s piss-drunk and grumbling at her, but he’s also smiling like she gave him the stars themselves, and he falls asleep when she tucks him in, the big baby.

then he’s put on a prison ship and sent east. (and when has merry ever let him do something on his own?)

#a tale of two crows #< gonna tag my storybuilding stuff with that #anyways its like … a story outline for the 2 years of tyr & merry’s skyrim adventures before the vvardenfell crisis

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guacam011y · 3 years

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***SPOILERS FOR WANDAVISION EPISODE 6***

So I’m still processing everything but holy shite that ep was wild...

FIRST THINGS FIRST - WANDA, VISION, BILLY AND PIETRO ALL IN COMIC ACCURATE-ISH COSTUMES AND TOMMY IN A MINI QUICKSILVER COSTUME

PIETRO CALLING BILLY AND TOMMY DEMON SPAWN - GOD DAMMIT, IT’S MEPHISTO ISN’T IT? HOUSE OF M HERE WE COME

HERB ASKING WANDA IF SHE WANTED SOMETHING CHANGED

AGNES ASKING VISION ABOUT THE AVENGERS AND STUFF AND AT FIRST SHE SEEMED GENUINELY FREAKED OUT BUT THEN STARTED LAUGHING MANIACALLY AND I STILL DON’T TRUST HER AND AGNES BEING DRESSED AS A WITCH? AGATHA HARKNESS WAS A WITCH - COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT!

DARCY LOOKING OVER MONICA’S MED SCANS AND TELLING HER HOW THE HEX AFFECTS HER EACH TIME SHE GOES IN - IS SHE DEVELOPING HER POWERS?

PIETRO’S CORPSE - SCARED ME JUST AS MUCH AS VISION’S

MOVIES SHOWING IN THE THEATRE IN THE BACKGROUND - THE INCREDIBLES: A MOVIE BASED AROUND A SUPERHERO FAMILY AND THE PARENT TRAP: A MOVIE ABOUT TWINS WHO MEET AT CAMP AND TRY AND SET THEIR PARENTS UP

DON’T GO PAST ELLIS AVENUE - NOW I DON’T KNOW IF THIS IS A CONNECTION OR JUST A COINCIDENCE BUT ELLIS IS THE LAST NAME OF THE PRESIDENT DURING IRON MAN 3

TOMMY HAVING HIS SPEED POWERS AND BILLY HAVING HIS REALITY WARPING/TELEKINETIC POWERS - WELCOME SPEED AND WICCAN

A CALL BACK TO INFINITY WAR WHEN VISION EXITED THE HEX? SLIGHTLY DUSTING AND HE PROBABLY WON’T SURVIVE BEING OUTSIDE OF THE HEX - HE’LL JUST DIE AGAIN 🥲

I STILL DON’T TRUST HAYWARD - HE’S VERY SUS

DARCY BEING TAKEN INTO THE HEX WITH THE OTHER S.W.O.R.D AGENTS - HOPEFULLY WE CAN SEE THE OUTFITS THAT KAT DENNING’S WAS EXCITED ABOUT

I SWEAR THEY BETTER NOT STRAIGHTWASH BILLY AND TOMMY OR I WILL RIOT 😤

***FURTHER UPDATES***

So sit-com wise, it seems they were referencing Malcolm in the Middle as the twins broke the fourth wall and talked to the audience, like Malcolm did

However, the theme song has told the viewer to stop questioning the reality of Westview - which could be a little reference to Mystery Science Theatre 3000? - When Pietro first shows up in the title sequence, along with his name title card, the lyrics say “Though there may be no way of knowing who’s come to play” - Istg, I do not trust Pietro

Vision says to Wanda that he had to wear his Halloween costume because there were no other clothes in his closet, Wanda is trying to move the plot along and forcing Vision to play along

Evan Peters’ ‘Mom’ tattoo is shown, which is a tattoo he actually has in real life ! But could this stand for ‘Multiverse of Madness’ or some other red herring?

Pietro mentions to Wanda that if he had found ‘Shangri-La’ he wouldn’t want to leave either - Shangri-La is a real place on Earth-616 that was founded by a version of Vision

Tommy refers to Pietro’s speed as ‘kickass’ and then Wanda repeats that, saying ‘kickass’ again - Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Evan Peters (both versions of QuickSilver) were in Kick-Ass together

The ad for this episode was freaky af - the character on the beach who starved and decomposed could be a little nod to Indiana Jones, where a Nazi’s face melts in - and it could also be reference to Wanda being all alone and struggling to process her grief. The shark in the ad could also be Nightmare or Mephisto or just someone more powerful than Wanda offering her a new beginning with Vision or trapped her in some way - and is feeding off her magic? The flavour of the yoghurt is strawberry flavoured and strawberry’s are red on the outside and pink-ish on the inside - much like Wanda’s og costume and her magic being red 👀

Pietro and Wanda talk about their Sokovian accents at a point in the episode and how neither have them anymore. Wanda’s, as we know, has disappeared over the course of the MCU movies and Pietro’s just doesn’t exist - another nice little nod to Peter Maximoff from the fox X-Men films? Also, Pietro states that “I’m just trying to do my part, okay? Come to town unexpectedly, create tension with the brother-in-law, stir up trouble with the Rugrats (a 90’s cartoon 👀) and ultimately give you grief.” - in reference to the grief part, could Pietro be killed off again? Stir up trouble with the rugrats, being possible shards of the demon Mephisto’s soul, could this be Mephisto trying to influence them on a deeper level? It’s also many many common sitcom clichès

Pietro talks about how “I got shot like a chump on the street for no reason at all” - nice little nod to how Pietro was killed off unnecessarily and how we as a fandom still talk about how regular bullets shouldn’t have killed him

Herb is dressed as Frankenstein’s monster - Dr. Frankenstein created his monster and soon lost control over him, and he was created using electricity or lightning - much like Vision was created and brought to life by Thor using Mjolnïr to bring lightning down to his incubator thingy majig. Could this also be a reference to either Wanda slowly losing control over Westview or someone else controlling Wanda/controlling the citizens of Westview - we saw in episode 3 that Agnes told Herb to be quiet as it seemed he was about to spill the beans 👀

Vision goes towards Ellis avenue and is at a ‘crossroads’ of sorts - in folklore, crossroads are often used to speak to or summon the devil and are also used when an important character is making a decision that could change everything. He spots some citizens repeating certain actions and/or just standing completely still, could these be npc’s (non playable characters)? And now that the barrier of the Hex has spread, will those citizens now start to move? 👀 Also I know that all stop signs look like it, but the stop sign is also a red hexagon 🛑

Darcy scrolls through Hayward’s computer files and goes past a file called “Project C4-113” - it could reference Avengers Issue #113 in which Wanda and Vision both appear on the cover and she says she’s going to make the world pay for Vision’s death. There’s also another file called “Project M5-247” which could be a nod to Avengers Issue #247, which shows the origin of the Eternals and in the same vein, Scarlet Witch and Vision trying to help Captain Marvel. And when Darcy emails Hayward’s cataract plans, you can see the names of “James Alexander and James Gadd” - James Alexander is a visual effects producer on Wandavision and James Gadd works on post production at Marvel

Also: Agnes pulls as Mrs Hart and repeats the same phrase over and over again

After Wanda blasts Pietro, you can see on a fake grave stone the name of “Janell Sammelman”, Janell is a first assistant director on Wandavision

When Wanda moves Westview to save Vision, she turns S.W.O.R.D and it’s agents into clowns + a circus - I just love that the agents turned into clowns 😂 but there is a nice little plot line in the comics where Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Hawkeye join the circus - and this COULD be stretch, but earlier in the episode there is the number #22 which could be Avengers Issue #22, which is the Issue that they join the circus

As soon as Vision was brought back into Westview, he was healed - which means if he was to exit again, he probably wouldn’t survive 😭

The episode title is ‘All-New Halloween Spooktackular!” - which “All-New” is a designation that is often used on covers for comic books. And the first issue of the second The Vision and the Scarlet Witch series takes place on Halloween night - but the events in this comics didn’t influence this episode’s plot

Pietro points out that he has the “XY chromosome” - X for X-Men? Plus there’s the X gene 😂

He mentions “Uncle Peter to the rescue” - Peter is the name of Quicksilver from the Fox X-Men Franchise

Pietro and Tommy quote the movie Top Gun (1986) by saying “I fell the need, the need for speed”

Wanda almost seems hesitant to trust this version of Pietro (rightfully so, in my opinion) and is wary of him being around Tommy and Billy

Pietro says some very Mephisto/Nightmare-like things this episode - “Unleash hell, demon spawn!”, “The kids need a father figure”, “Damnit, if Westview isn’t charming as Hell...” - And if Pietro isn’t Mephisto/Nightmare, it HAS to be Agnes or her other half Ralph and Pietro is probably Ralph tbh...or could Pietro just be a scapegoat and Hayward is Ralph? 👀

The theatre in town, which is playing the Incredibles and The Parent Trap, is called the Coronet. There’s a classic poem called “The Coronet” written by Andrew MARVELL (Marvell, is also the true name of the first incarnation of Captain Marvel in the comics) and is about a guy who knows that the sins of mankind led to the death of Christ. He attempts to create a new crown for Christ’s head in an attempt to atone, but finds that there is sin in the crown as well, as the devil is within the crown and therefore he may achieve glory and success with his new creation 👀

Hayward’s confidential project “Cataract” included experimenting on Vision’s body, as was revealed by Darcy (my wife 💙 and Monica is also my wife 💚 and so is Wanda 💛, I just love women, you know? 😂). A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision - is Hayward trying to weaponise Vision? Or maybe even trying to bring Ultron back? Or do what Tony wanted to do in the first place, and make a suit of armour that’s around the world? Either way, it’s for nefarious purposes

Who is Monica’s guy? Jimmy and Monica are off to meet him - could it be Reed Richards (Mr Fantastic)? Or could it be Victor Von Doom (Dr Doom)? Could it be Hank McCoy (Beast)? Or even Adam Brashear (Blue Marvel)? Or if it is a woman, could it be the Skrull daughter of Talos that Monica befriended at the end of Captain Marvel? Could it be Abigail Brand (A major character in recent S.W.O.R.D comics and an Alpha Flight Member)? Or even Toni Ho (Iron Patriot, and could she be introduced to help lay the ground work for my other queen, Riri Williams/Iron Heart?)? Or could it even be Sue Storm (Invisible Woman)?

In the background of the episode we see a number of children and adults dressed up as many different characters, which includes: Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat, Jason Voorhees, with a sweater striped like Freddy Krueger’s and even a kid that looks dressed in an off-brand Charizard costume 😂 Pokèmon has always been popular, but saw an increase during the 90’s

Pietro and the kids are drinking “Kane Cola” which could be a reference to the 90’s drinks “Jolt Cola” or even “Surge” - it could also, with all the X-Men Easter eggs, be a reference to Garrison Kane, who was a member of Cable’s mercenary team “Six Pack” and is sometimes also known as ‘Weapon X’

The kid that Wanda mentions having a “skin thing” in the orphanage - could that be a reference to her Brotherhood of Evil Mutants co-worker Toad? Or maybe even Mystique? Maybe Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler)?

One of the houses has a sign up that says ‘Macabre Mansion’ - another possible reference to House of M?

During a flashback, it’s shown that the twins are playing Dance Dance Revolution, which came out in 1999. Also this might be a stretch, but the boys have a dog plushie in their room the right - which is coloured red and black - could this be a reference to Dogpool? 😂

I love this show 🤣💙

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amongtheshadowandlight · 3 years

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In Twilight: 7 of ?

Chapter Seven: Silence is Deafening

"Aw, but it was so nice here in the twilight, what's so great about the world of light anyway? See ya later."

Ombretta blinked blankly as her vision returned from the sheer white, her body tingling as She shook out her arms and legs, the familiar tingling coursing through her limbs. She examined the area around her. Gone were the yellow haze and the floating squares but seeing the familiar light of spring, the water turned a liquid gold before the ball of light, same to the one in Ordon, floated up from the water. With the ball of light, manifested the likeness of what Ombretta could only picture was a giant squirrel, it's tail circling around it.

"My name is Faron. I am one of the light spirits who dwell in Hyrule. By order of the gods, I protect this forest. Oh brave youth...in the land covered in twilight where people roamed as spirits, you were transformed into a blue-eyed beast."

Obviously talking about Link. Ombretta thought.

"That was a sign. That was a sign that the powers of the chosen one rests inside you and that they are now awakening. Look at your awaken form..."

Ombretta looked to her left, her heart leaping at the sight of the sight of blond hair instead of grey fur. But instead of the normal Ordonian clothes she was used to seeing and what Link was originally wearing in the first place, was replaced with green tunic. Her eyebrows furrowed together the more she looked at the green outfit. It was like...she had seen the same outfit before, but she couldn't place it. Looking at the outfit felt like a locked up memory, something her mind was desperately trying to remember, but couldn't.

"The green tunic that is your garb once belonged to the ancient hero chosen by the gods...his power is yours, the true power that slept inside you. Your name is Link. You are the hero chosen by the gods."

Ombretta took a step back, her jaw slacking open as Link stared up at the spirit, his eyes wide as dinner plates.

"Brave youths...A dark power rests in the temple deep within these woods. It is a forbidden power. Long, long ago. I and the other light spirits locked it away." Faron began to explain, his form beginning to grow fainter with each word. "Because of its nature, it is a power that should never be touched by those who dwell in the light. But this world weeps under a mantle of shadows and there is no other choice...you must match the power of the king of shadows. Proceed to the temple within the forest depths."

His form faded, leaving both Ombretta and Link silently standing still in the shallow waters, trying to process all the information given. Link was the first one to make a move, lifting his hand to look at the leather glove and guard he now donned.

"Well...huh!" Ombretta finally got out, swallowing the building up saliva. "That's truly somethin'..." She looked at Link once more. "That stitchin' is immaculate..."

"Of course you would say somethin' like that."

"If you were raised by my mother, you'll be thinkin' the same thing."

"Well well well...!" Midna sneered as she popped out of Link's shadow. "You're the chosen hero and all that, huh? So that's why you turned into that beast! What a shame...I mean, maybe you'd rather just wander as a spirit like the rest of them? Totally unaware of what's going on for all time, right?"

"Doesn't answer my question as to why I didn't change into a spirit." Ombretta shot back, crossing her arms. "I have no ideas, my head feels so jumbled right now..."

"Well, what do you want to do? Do you want to head to that temple?" Midna asked, seeming like she was ignoring Ombretta's comment. "How convenient! I was about to head there myself!" she sighed. "Look, you want to help your friends, right? And get the answers you want? The way I see it, it's all in that temple, just waiting..."

Ombretta glanced at Link, who just gave a slight shrug in return.

"Well, good luck you two." Midna giggled before diving back into Link's shadow.

"Well, what's the plan here? Go to the temple?"

"I guess there isn't much choice, is there?"

Ombretta shook her head, handing Link the scabbard and shield off her back. "No, not really."

"Well, I better go back to town to stock up, I have a feeling it won't be easy."

"Oh! Now that you can produce words. How is everything?" Ombretta asked as they began walking back to Ordon, but frowned when she was met with silence. "Link?" she jumped slightly ahead of him, turning around so she was walking backwards. "Link, what happened?"

"We weren't the only ones taken..."

"Link...?"

"All the kids were taken. Beth, Malo, Talo, Lennel..."

It felt like the world stopped. Everything zoned in on her as her breathing picked up, her heart beginning to race as she turned around on her heel, taking off in a sprint. She could barely hear the call of her name behind her as she ran through the woods, her vision becoming a tunnel as she only focused on the pathway in front of her. Her lungs screamed at her to slow down, her legs begging but she only pushed herself forward, only slowing down as she ran through the clearing.

She skidded to a stop once she passed through the gate. The air fell so still, even being the village for one minute, the quiet was deafening, the normal ruckus of animals seemed to have disappeared along with the usual bustling of the adults.

It was like the very life of the village was gone.

Ombretta let out a shuddered breath, flinching slightly at the gloved hand landing on her shoulder.

"I'm gonna go check on Rusl and Uli, you go home. I'll come see you before I leave." Link said before walking away from her.

She felt like her body was moving on it's own as she walked towards her house, dread building in her chest as she got to the door. "Hello...?" She called out as she walked through the front door. "Anyone here-oof!!" All the air escaped her lungs as a body flung into her, a pair of arms wrapping around her shoulders.

"Ombretta, oh my good stars." Her mother whispered, squeezing her daughter as tight as she could. "You're alright..."

Ombretta wrapped her arms around her mother, "yeah...yeah I'm alright."

"Oh! It was horrible, when you didn't come home I assumed you were taken as well..."

"So..it's true then?" Ombretta asked as she let go of her mother. "All the children were...?"

Maren nodded. "It was so fast, Rusl got badly injured, the mayor went out and your father as well. But they're up there in age so Ciel went with them and took Kano and oh!" She shut her eyes tightly, rubbing her forehead. "I can't help but think the worst."

Ombretta glanced down at her feet, her eyebrows furrowing together before shooting her gaze back up at her mother, Link's words floating around her mind. "Where's dad's old huntin' clothes?"

"Huh?"

"Where are dad's old huntin' clothes?"

"In-in a chest, in our room." Maren stammered out, following Ombretta as she raced up the stairs and into the main bedroom. "Ombretta, what are you doing?"

"I'm going."

"What?"

Ombretta pulled out the clothes, draping them over her arm as she stood up. "Link's going to find the children, and I'm going with him."

"Ombretta, no." Her mother protested, blocking the doorway. "I won't let you!"

"Mom..."

"Don't "Mom" me."

"Mom...I gotta go, if I can help in any way, I'm going to."

Maren sighed, moving away from the doorway after a few minutes, allowing Ombretta to rush past her and into her room.

Pulling on the hunting clothes, Ombretta stilled in her movements, staring at herself in the mirror. It felt like the previous day was finally catching up with her, her body beginning to feel sluggish, knees beginning to tremble as she lowered herself to the ground, her face going straight into her hands once more. She only lifted her face out of her hands when she felt a body next to her, peering at her mother.

"...Will you be okay, mom?"

Maren nodded, smoothing the back of Ombretta's hair. "I will be, I have a feeling that you need to go."

Ombretta shrugged a shoulder, the corner of her mouth lifting. "Then we share the feelin'." With a heavy sigh, Ombretta pushed herself to her feet, grabbing the arm guards and slid them on before pulling on her boots she mostly wore for travelling.

"Come to the kitchen once you're finished," Maren said as she stood up after Ombretta before leaving the room.

Her nose crinkled a bit as she looked to the door, sighing before turning back to the mirror, checking if everything was in place. It felt a little weird, the clothes being bigger than what she was used to, her belts being the only thing keeping some things in place but that being a given she supposed. Deeming that everything was good, she left her room, pulling her hair to the side so she could throw it in a quick braid.

Walking into the kitchen, Maren stood by the table. In her hand was a brown leather pouch, on the table were two scabbards laying on the tablecloth.

"Here, this was mine when I was younger. I figured you'll get some more use out of it."

"Oh, thank you, Mom." Ombretta thanked as she took the pouch from her, attaching it to one of her belts. "And thanks for pulling out my swords. But I'm shocked you put them on the table. I thought 'no weapons on the table'?"

"Oh, shush you."

Ombretta laughed, putting the scabbards on her hips, but her laughter dying down quickly as she stared at her mother.

"Please, be careful."

Ombretta simply just nodded. She couldn't bring herself to say anything, her saying anything would feel like an empty promise. She already knew what they were facing, it wasn't going to be easy. And she felt like her mother knew that as well. Giving her one last look, Ombretta raced out of her house and towards Link's house, where said man was climbing down his ladder.

"Ombretta?" He said once he noticed she was there. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm coming with you."

"Ombretta, no way."

"Yes way."

"Ombretta..."

"Link, I need to come with you." Ombretta crossed her arms, her stare becoming hard. "I wouldn't feel right just having you go on your own, plus those kids are just my responsibility as yours..."

"And the third argument?"

"What if Midna's right?" Ombretta sighed, her arms dropping to her sides. "What if the answers I want are out there? If I can kill multiple birds with one stone, so be it."

Link couldn't help but smile slightly at his friend's determination, "it's gonna be dangerous y'know."

Ombretta smiled back, "I was countin' on it."

"Well, then we better not waste anymore time."

"Lead the way."

So they went, silence surrounding them as they trekked through the forest. With each step taken, Ombretta could feel her nerves coming more and more alert, the pain slowly coming back, not the skull splitting pain she was growing accustomed to, but like a simple poke. It was like her own body was trying to warn her. Warn her of what, she didn't know.

She didn't dare say anything out loud though, what would she even say? Link would probably attempt to tell her to turn around and go back home. She couldn't have that. So she simply pushed the feeling to the back of her mind, focusing in front of her.

"How's your leg?"

"Hm?"

"Your leg," Link pointed down. "How is it?"

"Oh!" Ombretta patted her leg slightly, "It's fine, I used some of the spring water I told you to have, nothing but a dull ache now."

"Oh that's good!" Link said. "You have no idea how nice it feels to talk again, I thought I was gonna go insane."

Ombretta giggled. "I can't imagine. I would never want to be in your shoes-oh yeah, gate's still locked." Ombretta walked over to the wooden gate, giving the metal lock a few tugs. "Yeah no that's not happening."

"Let me go talk to Coro, maybe he'll have a key or something."

"Coro?"

"The guy who lives in the shack just over there?" He pointed to the clearing.

"Oh! Him, yeah okay." She said, watching Link take the path to the left. She leaned against a rock face, arms draped across her chest as she waited for Link.

"Don't tell me you're bored now."

Ombretta jumped back with a yelp at the sudden voice, scowling when she saw the black shadowy figure of Midna floating next to her. "Sweet Nayru, What are you doing?"

"Saying hello."

"And scaring me outta my wits more like it." She scoffed, moving back to lean against the rock wall, her hand pressed against her chest. "Oh my poor heart...so, what's with the shadowy-ness?"

"It's the only way I can be in your light."

"Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense huh? I can understand you a bit there I suppose." She shrugged, lifting up her arm. "The sunlight doesn't really like me either. But, what can you do, right? It won't kill me."

"No, the sunlight won't."

"Oh! Link," Ombretta pushed herself off the rock, Midna fleeing back into her shadow. "Well?"

Link held up a small key, "I also got a bottle of oil for the lantern."

"Did he just give it to you?"

"Oh no," Link said as he went to unlock the gate. "Sold to me for about a hundred rupees."

"A hundred rupees? Link!"

He shrugged, giving Ombretta a guilty smile as he pushed the gate open.

"You're too nice for your own good, I swear." Ombretta said as she walked past him through the gate. "Speaking of which, what did you tell Rusl and Uli about the sword you stole from them?"

"I didn't tell Rusl anything and Uli assumed that a monster stole it and I just happened to get it back." He replied, jogging to meet Ombretta's side, a now lit lantern in his hand.

"Wait, whaddya mean by that?"

"Rusl was badly injured, he had just fallen asleep when I went there."

"And what about Uli? Is she okay? And the baby?"

Link nodded, making Ombretta sigh, her hand clutching at her heart. "Goddesses, the poor woman, husband injured, son missing and heavily pregnant."

"Speaking of that, how's your parents?"

"Well, only spoke to mom. Dad joined the mayor on his search and Ciel went with them and mom is just...distraught."

"Which is why we need to find everyone as soon as possible."

Ombretta nodded. "Quick question," she asked as they were nearing the opening of the tunnel. "If the purple fog’s still there, how are we getting across?"

"Oh I didn't even think 'bout that." Link scratched at his cheek as he peered at the purple fog that was still as thick covering the forest floor. "You can "jump" I guess but me-HEY!"

It was a second, from Link holding the lantern to then being in the clutches of a monkey, who put it on a long branch. Ombretta took a step forward, but was held back by Link, watching as the monkey made her way to the end of the broken bridge, waving the lantern around then turning around, making the motion to follow.

"Hey, what's this monkey's problem?" Midna asked as she popped out from the shadows. "You idiot! While you two were chit chatting, your lantern got stolen!"

"Excuse you, Midna. But we were trying to figure out how we're gonna get across, no need for names."

Ombretta locked her jaw as Midna merely scoffed as she dove back into Link's shadow.

"Let's just follow the monkey, maybe she can help us."

"Hm, fine." Ombretta sighed.

They made their way towards the monkey, who jumped down from the broken bridge, instantly waving the lantern around. And to their amazement, watched as the fog moved, as if it was trying to get away from the light as much as possible.

"Well, that solves that issue." Link pointed out as he jumped down from the bridge, holding his hand out for Ombretta to take. "I have good ideas."

Ombretta took Link's hand, stumbling slightly as she landed. "Um, it's more the monkey's idea than yours but sure!" She giggled, following the monkey as she kept waving for them to follow.

The walk was mostly eventless. Other than the occasional keese or deku baba showing up, they safely made their way up to the gate to the north part of the woods. The monkey jumping around as they got to a safe part of the woods, the lantern falling off the stick and the monkey running off past the gate.

"Huh, at least she helped us right?" Ombretta shrugged. "And gave us back the lantern, somewhat?"

Link nodded, picking up the lantern and looking it over. "Used up all the oil though. Luckily I bought more." Link pulled out a jar of oil, giving it a little shake towards Ombretta. "See? I was smart to buy the oil."

"Oh, I wasn't against you getting the oil, I was against you paying a hundred rupees for only one jar."

Link merely shrugged his shoulders as he filled up the lantern, making Ombretta roll her eyes.

"And how do you plan on getting more money?"

"There's treasure in temples, isn't there?" Link said nonchalantly as he continued past the second gate.

"Oh, we're temple robbers now?"

"Ombretta..."

She giggled, shoving him lightly. "I'm just pullin' your leg." She went silent after that, something feeling like it was stirring inside her, the warning feeling showing up once more. "Pull out your sword."

"Huh?"

Ombretta pulled out one of hers, "Pull out your sword." she repeated, her walking became more slow and cautious as they neared a clearing, the likeness of two bokoblins standing within the clearing, their backs to them. Slowly, Ombretta inched her way behind them, getting close enough before trusting her sword forward, her blade going through one. The other one let out a single squawk before Link's blade followed Ombretta's.

"How did you know that these two would be here?" Link asked as he pulled his sword out, sheathing it.

"I didn't." Ombretta replied as she followed Link's movements, watching the two bokoblins turning to black dust. "I just...had a weird feeling. Almost like I knew that there was danger, before I really knew myself?"

"Weird."

"Tell me about it."

"Hey!!"

Both Link and Ombretta looked to the right, to the small hideaway vendor or rather, to the lone bird sitting within the hideaway vendor.

"Buy something! Anything!" The bird squawked, waving it's wings about.

"I didn't know there was a vendor here."

"I didn't either until that day that Talo was captured." Link walked towards a large vat, filled with what Ombretta assumed to be lantern oil.

She watched as Link pulled out the empty bottle from before, dipping in the vat of oil. After making sure he put the right amount of money in the box, Link walked back to Ombretta, sliding the bottle back in his pouch.

"There! Now we have extra, just in case."

Ombretta rolled her eyes once again, continuing to the temple, only to stop at the sight of a golden wolf just sitting in front of the narrow path, just staring at her, nothing like she had ever seen before. She slowly inched closer to the wolf, who just sat there unbothered. She jumped back once the wolf suddenly moved into an attack stance, growling but not at her.

But to the man beside her.

Both of them pulled out their blades, watching even for the slightest movement. Ombretta put her blades up to block as the wolf made a lunge at them or specifically, at Link. There was abruptly a flash of a blinding light, causing Ombretta to promptly shut her eyes tightly. She opened them after a few moments, the light slowly fading away. She scanned the area, looking for any signs of the golden wolf, but couldn't see any traces of it. Seeming like it just disappeared along with the bright light.

"That was odd, don'tcha think?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing at the lack of response. "Link?" She asked once more, looking to her left.

She let out a gasp as she saw her friend laying on the ground, still as a board. Instantly, she fell to her knees, barely acknowledging Midna popping out of the shadows, pressing her ear to his chest. Relief washed over her as she felt his chest rising, a heartbeat under her ear. A slow one but a heartbeat nonetheless.

"What was that about?"

Ombretta shrugged as she lifted her head off his chest, giving Link a shake, frowning at the lack of movement from him. "I don't know. He's alive, that's all I know. Something tells me that wolf isn't an ordinary wolf..."

"So, now what?"

Ombretta sat back on her heels. "We wait."

She didn't know how long she waited, Midna having gone back into Link's shadow after a while. But finally and to Ombretta's relief, a small groan escaped his lips, his face scrunching up before opening his eyes.

"Link! You're alright!"

"Yeah..." Link drawled out as he slowly sat up, rubbing his forehead. "I'm alright..."

"What happened?"

"Would you believe me if I told you that the wolf turned into a skeleton that I had to meet in battle, called me a disgrace and taught me a sword technique?"

All Ombretta could do was blink at Link, scanning his face for any trace of a lie.

"I'm not kidding."

"Well....I'm glad you're okay at least?" Ombretta dragged out as she stood up, helping Link stand up as well. "I believe you, but wow that's a lot in thirty second."

"Tell me about it." Link shook his arms, rolling his head around his shoulders. "It was...really weird."

"To say the very least. Are you okay to continue?"

Rolling his shoulder one last time, Link nodded, "let's go."

They made up the narrow winding path up to the temple once more, quickly cutting down the two bokoblins standing in front of the temple's entrance, which was covered by a large silk web. Ombretta swallowed thickly the more she stared at it. She didn't want to meet the thing that made that.

She looked to Link, who had pulled out his lantern, it already flickering to life. With a final nod, Link swung the lantern at the web, the flame quickly catching it, the web disappearing within seconds. The familiar feeling of dread settled into her stomach once again, but with a single deep breath;

They stepped in.

#link x oc #link x reader #twilight princess #legend of zelda #Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess #twilight princess link #TP Link

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athenadcvell · 3 years

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My thoughts on the WandaVision Finale

Not that anyone asks, but Imma make this anyways cause I need to rant :D !!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

Okay, so, ngl, the finale wasn’t exactly as exciting as I hoped it would be, and def did not live up to the hype, but I think that’s just because we all spent weeks coming up with our own insane and ridiculous theories that were never going to happen. I was disappointed that Strange never showed up, and Fietro ended up just being a Boner joke, BUT, there were really good moments in this episode as well.

For starters, I think it’s so important that Wanda defeated Agatha and fixed everything on her own. She didn’t need any help, and she proved herself to be the hero without anyone’s assistance, which just goes to show how powerful she is. Also, Agatha said she’s stronger that the Sorcerer Supreme. Not even Strange has achieved the title of Sorcerer Supreme yet, and Wanda already has more power than The Ancient One, and all that came before her. She’s the most powerful Avenger and Marvel confirmed it, end of discussion. Plus, that outfit change was a GODSEND our girl looks so badass!!!

On that note, we ended the very last scene of the show with Wanda practicing Astral Projection. In Doctor Strange, even with a photographic memory, it took Strange some time to master it, and he had to be asleep or unconscious to make it work. We can assume it took Wanda only a few months to master it, and she’s still able to be awake. A small detail, but a very important one. She’s already so powerful, and she’s only scratching the surface.

Now on to Agatha’s husband ‘Ralph’, who ended up just being some dude with Evan Peters’ face. Or is he? I saw theories on Reddit (i reblogged on earlier) of how Jimmy has someone in Witness Protection, and how that someone may be a misplaced Peter Maximoff. Again, the theory is more just being in denial, BUT, I refuse to believe Marvel just brought in an actor as big as Evan Peters only too have him play some nobody. He’s definitely coming back later on.

Vision. We saw Wanda’s version of Vision ‘die’, but the White Vision got his memories back and flew away. This isn’t the last we will be seeing of our favorite Toaster, and I have a feeling he and Wanda are going to find their way to back to one another. However, the twins are somehow ‘alive’, as seen when they are calling for Wanda in that last scene. I think this is because they were more developed than Vision was, and that they became their own beings. With Spider-Man, Monica, Billy, Tommy, and a soon to be introduced Kate Bishop, I think Marvel may be getting ready to introduce the Young Avengers franchise.

Lastly, I end this rant off on Monica. That last scene with her and the Skrull wasn’t just some random Skrull- I think it was Talos’ daughter that she befriended in Captain Marvel. And the guy who wanted to speak to Monica? That’s definitely Fury, who we saw in Spider-Man: Far From Home aboard the ship that the Skrulls have been living on above Earth. The sudden introduction of Skrulls is probably setting up for an Avenges Secret Invasion storyline, which will be exciting to see.

Anywho, that’s my thoughts on the episode! This episode has its ups and its downs, but nonetheless, I’m excited to see how they’re going to play out Phase 4 of the MCU.

#wandavision #wandavision spoilers #im back for my weekly rants :D #dont worry yall will get a break next week #but as soon as fatws is released we launching right back into it #but i doubt ill have crazy theories for that show since its a lot less magic based #but who knows #wanda maximoff #elizabeth olsen #scarlet witch #vision #paul bettany #marvel #mcu #disney+

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365days365movies · 3 years

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March 12, 2021: Jason and the Argonauts (1963) (Part One)

I am so goddamn excited for this one.

Back to Greek mythology, my first mythological love! And not just Greek mythology, because this...THIS...this is the first true Avengers story. Oh, yeah, like The Avengers.

After all, mythology produced the first equivalent of our modern superheroes, with demigods and legends that wield fantastic abilities and powerful items to fight the forces of evil. I mean, it’s the most superhero thing I can think of, and it’s literally a story as old as time. Fact of the matter is, I love superheroes, and I love mythology. Which is why I’m excited to finally see an adaptation of one of the biggest superhero team-up stories ever: Jason and the Argonauts!

See, it all starts with Hera, queen of the Olympians and petty as FUCK.

See, the newly (and wrongfully) ascended king of Iolcus, Pelias, honored the gods after stealing the throne from his brother. Well, all of the gods except Hera. So, Hera, rightfully pissed off, decides to fuck Pelias over by recruiting his nephew, Jason. Jason’s a naturally hot blonde kid who was raised by the centaur Chiron, also making him wise...theoretically.

Hera tests this kid, and he passes, so she gives him her favor, and tells him to fuck up his uncle. Jason arrives in Iolcus, and demands the throne from Pelias. His uncle agrees, IF he can bring back the Golden Fleece, a legendary treasure that is guarded by a vicious monster and a zealous king. Pelias didn’t think Jason had any chance, but Jason had the gods on his side. They sent their best subjects to his aid, and Jason procured an awesome ship, the Argo. So, who’s coming to help? Oh, you ready for this? ARGONAUTS ASSEMBLE

Now there are anywhere between 46-85 heroes that are assembled in the Argonauts, with different members in different iterations of the myth. But the big members are:

Heracles, son of Zeus, with the strength of a thousand men

Orpheus, son of the muse Calliope, and master musician

Calais and Zetes, sons of the North Wind, with the ability to fly upon it

Atalanta, the swift-footed huntress, and only female member

Castor and Pollux, twin half-brothers (yeah, really) and horse-riders

Theseus, son of Poseidon, and slayer of the Minotaur

Tip of the iceberg there, but you get the point: we’ve got a superhero team on our hands! And these heroes would perform MANY great deeds on their journey to the Fleece. They fought the Harpies to defend an oracle, they passed the dangerous Clashing Rocks, they battled the Stymphalian Birds, with feathers of metal. Sirens, fire-breathing bulls, and a giant bronze man named Talos.

Different one. Eventually, they procured the Golden Fleece on the island of Colchis, where they fought a dragon with a help of the young sorceress (and niece of Circe), Medea. She fell in love with Jason, and the two fled the island, married, and had twins. Only for Medea to reveal herself as a stone-cold sociopath, and only for Jason to ditch her for another woman. That goes...VERY badly for Jason. Breaking off his marriage pisses off Hera, THE GODDESS OF MARRIAGE, and he dies sad and alone after Medea does...Medea does a lot, I’ll just leave it at that. Jason, completely fucked at that point, takes a nap at the foot of the now rotting Argo, which collapses on top of him and kills him.

For the record, I truncated that story A LOT. There’s a lot to it, but I have a movie to watch, goddamit! And I’m really excited because this is my first Harryhausen movie! You know, Ray Harryhausen, one of the early greats of practical special effects in film? A specialist in stop-motion from its earliest days, he revolutionizes the art throughout films in the 1950s and 1960s, with this one being one of the most successful. You’ve definitely seen his influence, from stuff that he’s done directly...

...to those inspired by him and his methodology...

...to the arts that were descended indirectly from his groundbreaking effects.

Oh yeah, I’m fucking GOING THERE. Fun fact: Ray Winston Studios, a stop-motion group active during the ‘80s and ‘90s, and a descendant of Harryhausen’s works, were originally going to do the animation for the dinosaurs in this movie, in Claymation. However, the recent advent of advanced animatronics, alongside ILM’s founding, caused them to take some of those principles, and apply them to CGI and animatronics. So, yeah, I’m claiming an indirect connection here!

Anyway, enough being a nerd, LET’S WATCH THE GODDAMN MOVIE! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

As the bombastic and epic score plays, the credits role of a Greek-style fresco, detailing the various adventures of the Argonauts. And before the movie starts, I come to a realization: there is a high chance that I’m going to hate this movie’s inaccuracies to Greek mythology. It’s not impossible. I’m real persnickety about my mythology adaptations, just warning you all now. I’ll probably get into it in this Recap, too. Full goddamn warning.

We begin with a seer, reading the future for the treacherous Pelias (Douglas Witmer). He sees first a Golden Fleece at the end of the world, but Pelias ignores this, and asks of his upcoming conquest of the kingdom of...Thessaly. Not, uh...not Iolcus. Mmmkay.

The seer fortells that Pelias will seize the throne, by force, from his brother and the king of Thessaly...Aristo...not Aeson. OK then. The seer says that he will be successful, but will eventually fall to one of Aristo’s kids, who will take his throne. He has two daughters, Philomena and Briseis, and one son, Jason. Looks like they’re gonna die, too.

The invasion begins! Amongst the chaos, Briseis (Davina Taylor) takes her baby sister, Philomena, into the temple of Hera, and pleads to her for her protection. However, they’re found by Pelias, who asks who she is. He’s interrupted by a priestess of Hera, who claims that the Queen Goddess has answered the girl’s prayer for protection.

Pelias responds in kind.

Well...I’m sure that’s gonna piss off Hera. He claims it to be the will of Zeus, but she states that it is his will, not Zeus’. The gods have abandoned him, and he will one day fall to a one-sandaled man, Jason. And as the woman reveals this...she disappears. Nice. FUCKIN’ NICE.

This “priestess” is Hera (Honor Blackman), of course. She goes to her husband, Zeus (Niall MacGinnis), and asks if he ordered Pelias to destroy and profane her temple. He says no, as that was Pelias’ attempt to stave off his inevitable fall by Jason. However, Jason has escaped Pelias’ wrath, as has his sister Philomena. Hera decided, however, that she wants to take down Pelias, and Jason is the best was for that to happen. Hence, she wishes to sponsor Jason.

However, Zeus, being the classic misogynist, says that he will allow it, but she may only help Jason 5 times, once for each time that the fallen Briseis prayed to her. She agrees, and waits 20 years to start fuckin’ with Pelias. Pelias, meanwhile, is growing more paranoid over the one-sandaled man prophecy that Hera gave him.

One day, on the bank of a river, Hera appears to make Pelias fall off of his horse into the river. He’s saved from drowning by a young man, who loses his sandal in the process. This is, of course, Jason (Todd Armstrong), who was already on his way to see Pelias for some reason.

For the record, this is an adaptation of the original story, in which Hera disguises herself as an old beggar-woman, and Jason proves himself to her by helping her across the river, after which she gives him her favor. To be honest, I like this a bit more, or at least as much.

Pelias brings Jason back to a camp for a celebration, with him as an honored guest. Jason reveals exactly who he is, and that he was raised outside of the city by one of his father’s loyal soldiers. He has come to reclaim his right place as king of Thessaly, and to restore it to it’s rightful glory. However, Pelias hasn’t revealed himself as king, and asks Jason how he plans to accomplish these feats. Jason replies with his ultimate plan: obtain the Golden Fleece.

Here’s the deal about the Golden Fleece. One of the most legendary items in Greek mythology, the fleece is essentially a symbol of royalty, and is the coat of a ram with wings found on the island of Colchis. Now, the meaning of the fleece has long been debated, with the main consensus stating that it’s a symbol of royalty. However, some claim that it’s a symbol of prosperous farming (golden grains of wheat), the forgiveness of the gods for some unknown deed, Zeus in the form of a ram, or simply the promise of the unknown at the edge of the world.

What it DEFINITELY ISN’T is a magical healing garment, as Jason claims it to be. But OK, whatever, we need a good reason to get the Fleece, sure. Pelias, not revealing himself, says that Jason should try to get the Fleece, with a boat and a crew, and bring it back to Thessaly, returning and killing Pelias in order to take the throne. Of course, Pelias thinks that this is impossible, which he says to his son Acastus (Gary Raymond). He also knows that if he kills Jason, he it will mean his own destruction, as Hera told him.

Jason goes to ponder this journey, only to encounter the seer. The seer asks if he has come to pray to the gods, to which Jason states that he doesn’t believe in them, nor does he have cause to. The seer offers to give him that cause, and reveals himself as Hermes (Michael Gwynn), the swift-footed messenger god, god of medicine, and trickster god of the Olympians.

Hermes isn’t usually directly involved in the myths of Jason, but that’s OK. He also does something particularly unusual, and brings Jason TO Olympus to meet the Gods themselves. Which, uh...yeah, hot damn. Zeus and the rest arranged for Hermes to bring Jason to them. They ask how they can help him on his quest. Zeus offers him a ship and crew, but Jason refuses, much to the gall of EVERYBODY.

Hera helps him by telling him where to find the Golden Fleece: the island of Colchis, at the other end of the world. To get there, though, Jason’ll DEFINITELY need a ship. He decides to go to the shipbuilders of Greece, and tell them that great treasure lies on Colchis, and they may receive some for their aid. As for the crew, he’s got a similar tactic. Offer the reward to the athletes and heroes of Greece, who will compete in games to determine their eligibility.

Not from the original myths...but it actually makes a lot of sense. Goddamn, is this going to be a good adaptation? I’m excited! The games are held, and many athletes win their place on the journey. They include: Castor and Pollux (Ferdinando Poggi and John Crawford), Acastus, and of course, Heracles (Nigel Green). And yeah, he’s called Hercules here, but I don’t care.

When Hercules arrives, this grabs the attention of the young Hylas (John Caimey), who arrived to late to compete in the games. He challenges Heracles to something, believing that beating Heracles in something will guarantee him a place on the ship.

While everyone mocks this, Heracles agrees to go up against him in a discus-throwing contest. They must hit or pass a rock in the ocean by throwing their discus. Heracles hits it easily, of course. And the frail Hylas...

...Nice. Did not see that coming, and that’s actually very smart. Also takes a lot of skill, because I could NOT do that. Hylas wins his place in the ship, to the delight of both the crowd and the Olympians. And yes, Hylas actually is a companion of Heracles in the original stories, so that’s neat!

Now for the boat, being built by master builder Argus (Laurence Naismith), who is coming on the ship with them. He notes that something appears to have guided his hand during the ship’s construction. In the original myth, that would be Athena. However, here, it’s probably Hera, as the figurehead is specifically carved in her image. And is also...alive?

Well...to be fair, in many myths, the ship contains wood built from a magical tree that could speak, and see the future. So, OK, magic ship, fair enough. Well, hopefully, that ship’s guidance will happen soon, as the voyage immediately proves difficult. No water, no rest, and frustrated men.

Jason asks the figurehead for help (which would be help #3) and Hera speaks through it to tell Jason to head to the Isle of Bronze, where Hephaestus once had his forge. However, the island is lorded over by a powerful something called Talos. I know what Talos is, but the movie hasn’t revealed him yet.

The Argo makes its way to the island, and the men head ashore to get food and water. They see goats there, which will provide them both food and drink, and Heracles and Hylas chase after them for just that aim. And that’s when they blunder into a giant bronze statuary, lorded over by the statue of Talos.

The two enter a chamber in the statue’s base, which is filled to the brim with gold and treasure. However, Jason warned the men of the Argo not to take anything from the island but food and water. Hylas remembers this, but Heracles doesn’t care, and takes a golden staff from the chamber. And Talos...Talos doesn’t appreciate that.

Oh, that’s a great place to take a break! See you in Part Two!

#Jason and the Argonauts #don chaffey #ray harryhausen #todd armstrong #nancy kovack #honor blackman #gary raymond #laurence naismith #greek mythology #argonauts #argonautica #apollonius rhodius #user365 #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #movie recap

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ncrediblystupid · 3 years

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MARVEL OPINIONS AND THEORIES WITH @imactuallyincrediblystupid

Theory #2 - Monica Rambeau's friend from the post credit scene in Wandavision

Background info

Nick Fury, Maria Rambeau and Carol Dancers all knew each other/worked together in Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau also met them as she is Maria's child)

The Skrulls and the characters above also met in the movie

In a FFH post credit scene, Talos and Soren (the skrulls from Captain Marvel) were shown to have been playing Nick Fury and Maria Hill the entire time while the real Nick Fury is having a fake vacation in a building (suitable for a shield like operation that is full of Skrulls)

(Finally lol) The Theory

The Skrull talking to Monica in the post credit scene of Wandavision, I assume from the look/the voice is either Soren or the daughter skrull grown up (although it could just be a random skrull) because Monica knew them and was comfortable (most likely soren as she was on earth in ffh but not ruling out the possibility)

The skrull specifically said "he wants to ask to you" so that rules out the possibility of it being captain marvel (who was one of my three possible options, my second was talos but there isn't much theory behind it except that they know each other and he's on earth)

In the scene, the skrull says "he heard you'd been grounded". The FFH post credit scene depicts fury in a shield like operation, surrounded by skrulls. Thinking about how Fury was well known throughout shield, he probably had a lot of contacts and the fact talos spent a movie impersonating Fury, it would exactly be difficult to get the information about her, especially if he was looking for Maria (who died during the snap so he probably redirected the search to the next person - monica)

When asked where the person is, the skrull points upwards which gave me two ideas, one a little more information based but oh well. First, they're in a movie theater and nick fury likes dramatic entrances from dark corners so I doubt it would be hard for him to hid in a dark corner on the balcony and appear at the right time OR they're pointing to space where the skrull base with him on seemed to be

Also the fun idea that when they came to earth to pose as armed forces/shield/sword agents and found it really easy because Fury started the space division of shield (actually called sword in the comics) with the skrulls and trained them like agents so now they have full combat/agent training

If anyone actually ever reads all of this, omg I love you,

masterlist of my marvel opinions and theories

Feel free to leave your opinions and drop an ask if you have any theories you want me to talk about or to let everyone know what you think :)

#marvel #wandavision #captain marvel #far from home #spiderman far from home #talos #soren #skrull #monica rambeau #maria rambeau #nick fury #carol danvers #post credit scene #marvel theories

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rainofaugustsith · 4 years

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A conversation with a mutual has really made me think more and more about just how off balance the original SWTOR was, in terms of how female companions and PCs were treated. Specifically: - Most of the women companions are between 20-22 years old. In contrast the male companions have a very wide range age. The oldest romanceable man, Malavai Quinn, is 37 when the story starts. The oldest romanceable woman, Kaliyo, is a full 8 years younger. I suppose this is in line with those statistics that men at any age see women who are 20-22 as the most attractive, but yikes for perpetuating that. - EVERY one of the women companions other than LS Jaesa can be romanced. - There are only 10 (ETA counted wrong!) female companions in total in the original class stories vs. 27 male companions (not counting droids SCORPIO, Fourex and T7). - There are more romance options for male PCs wanting a female companion vs. the other way around. - There are two one-night stand options with companions for female PCs and they're both pretty awkward. You can sleep with Theran Cedrax and then get dumped, or you can sleep with Lt. Pierce and tell him that is going to be part of his duties, which is a little...yeah. - Most of the women are depicted as being in a subordinate, subservient or vulnerable position vs. a PC and vs the male companions. Several refer to the PC as 'master.' - The PC is in a teacher role for several of the women companions. The only male companion who is an apprentice is Xalek. - The women companions who are not depicted as being subordinate are depicted as being untrustworthy or cold. - Of course, there's fucking nothing for wlw or mlm and the game has a lot of heteronormative moments, such as the female JK being told she could have "any man she wants" and the female smuggler being asked if she has a husband (but not a wife). And then we get to the companions. With most, but not all, of the male companions, you get the feeling that if the PC died tomorrow they'd be fine. They come from jobs in the military or government, like Pierce, Aric Jorgan, Talos, Rusk and Felix, or they have their own things going on, like Theran Cedrax and Lokin. This is borne out in KOTFE and onward. When you meet up with, say, Rusk, Guss, Talos or Blizz again, they might be very happy to see you, but it’s also clear they’re doing just fine. The men that are or were in positions of vulnerability, like Felix Iresso being captured or Vector and the kiliks, are glossed over. When you meet up with the female companions a lot of them talk about feeling lost and possibly needing to flee the faction.

I love most of these companions, for what it's worth. I'm just sorry the writing did them dirty.

Imperial: Vette: Literally a slave when you meet her. She's a trained assassin and ran with one of the most notorious pirates in the galaxy, but once you're off Korriban she really doesn't get to show off those skills. The PC can take off her slave collar, and in another conversation can confirm that Vette is not a slave anymore. However the PC can also keep the collar on and continue torturing her with no consequences. Jaesa: If you've chosen DS Jaesa the Sith Warrior can manipulate her in very horrifying ways. If you've chosen LS Jaesa she is trapped as a LS person in the Empire and you could probably turn on her at any moment, and she'd have no recourse. Ashara: Another former Jedi. The Sith Inquisitor's actions burn her bridges with the Jedi on Taris, she's spent her entire life with the Jedi and really doesn't have anywhere to go. Kaliyo: The oldest woman companion in the class stories and one of a few that are not depicted as vulnerable or dependent on the PC. She could walk away at any minute and you get the feeling she'd be fine. When you meet up with her again on Zakuul you find out that's exactly how she rolls once the Agent vanishes. But...the writers make a point of depicting her as callous and very untrustworthy, too. Raina: The Chiss have her back, so she has more clout than some of the others, but she's constantly asking the Agent for advice and instruction. The Agent also has a key piece of information they could potentially use to harm Raina: they know she is Force sensitive and left the Empire as a fugitive. Telling the right person about that would get Raina's head sliced off in about two seconds, so the Agent does have some power over her. Mako: She's very young, she's an orphan and shortly after you meet her, her father figure and the other adult looking after her are slaughtered. She's in a very vulnerable place and really doesn't have anyone to turn to, except the PC. Republic: Kira: She has far more agency than some of the other Jedi. She's knighted fairly early on and she works more like a team with the JK. But the JK also does have the power to turn her in to the Council for her past. Nadia: She's naive, sheltered and traveling with her father. When her father dies she really doesn't have anyone else to turn to. You're put in charge of caring for her and teaching he the Force, so she depends on the JC for just about everything, Elara: This is one of the only other women who isn’t really vulnerable. Technically she is a lower rank than the PC, but you can promote her to the second-in-command and it's clear she has a lot of agency and self-sufficiency. She was doing just fine in the Republic military before the trooper and she seems to keep doing fine after. But she is depicted as being very rigid. Risha: Another woman who could walk away and be fine. She's a literal queen and Nok Drayen's daughter, after all. But again, just like Kaliyo, she is depicted at first as being untrustworthy. In the smuggler story you meet people who say Risha screwed them over to the point where they don't want to see her.

Akaavi: The only woman besides Kaliyo who is older than 25 when the class story begins. She is a Mandalorian and she could destroy you. She talks about getting off the smuggler's ship and leaving. The one place where she's vulnerable is that she's in Republic space and her clan has been destroyed, much like Torian's. But Torian is still around the Mando community and Akaavi is isolated. I think some of the the later companions are better in this regard - Lana Beniko, Major Anri and Tau Idair clearly take no shit, could kill you on the spot and aren’t reliant on the PC. Playing through the original game, though, you come across these tropes.

#swtor #swtor critical #rain talks swtor

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mocoat · 3 years

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Ok, first actual post so if anything’s wrong or weird just tell me.

So this is my oc, Ellina Gold-Claw in a thing I’m writing. I’ve been writing random stuff in a google doc to try and keep to her character and I thought it be interesting to post.

Tiny Bosmer, itty bitty baby that will rip your tongue out and feed it to you if you ask if she knows any recipes for people.

She’s not that short tho, about 5 3’. Tall for a Bosmer. Gets it from her literal 7 foot tall Atmoran descent father.

Has bright blue eyes that turn gold when using the Thu’um.

Mums a Bosmer and dads a Nord. Both live in the Imperial city, mom is the head of the Penitus Oculatus and dad is the Archmage of the Arcane University. Writes them letters and maybe she’ll visit on Odah. Dads a softy, moms the badass.

Her dad, Eris Gold-Claw II, is 7 foot 1’ and hella intimidating. Towers over the tallest Altmer (6ft 5’- 6 ft 8 is my kinda canon for them.) and is best friends with Mead. He is a Master in Conjuration, Illusion, and Alteration. Gave Ellina her blue eyes (Martin Septims blue eyes) and her curly hair. His hair is curly, half braided back in a Nord ish style and dirty blond. Doesn’t carry a weapon but when fighting will conjure a daedric sword. Wears his dark blue Archmage robes with the little gold thing at his neck

Her mother, Lilith Gold-Claw, is 5 feet of pure muscle. Is fucken ripped from carrying a ebony bow a head taller than her. Wears ebony chainmail that has a plethora of enchantments to make it lighter and stronger. Literally makes arrows turn the other way when coming at her. Has bright red hair that is kept at shoulder level and is usually tied up. She is a woman of few words and is eternally patient, until she isn’t. If you cross this Bosmer you’re getting your throat ripped out. She quite literally makes people tremble with a look, the rest of the Penitus Oculatus have learned to fear her and also love her. Is very fair but loyal, will beat anyone who calls her husband a dumb Nord who only got his job because of his family name.

The Gold-Claws date back to the Nerevarine. Eresin Gold-Claw. He had a wife and 16 year old daughter, Willow Gold-Claw, the Hero of Kvatch. He was arrested for a bar fight and thrown in prison. Just like Willow would 7 years later. Ever since then the Gold-Claws have been close with the Empire and when Martin Septim died and left Willow alone and pregnant they became even closer. They helped the Meads rise to power and told them their secret. Titus knows who they are and always keeps it in mind that if they wanted to they could have his place as Emperor.

Their family’s are close as a result. Ellina basically grew up in the Imperial Palace, having every guard, maid, cook, prince wrapped around her little finger.

Has wild gold hair, big poofy curls that reach her mid back when dry and go past her butt when wet. Will only put it up when she’s relaxed enough around you. (Kinda backwards but I don’t care.)

Wears a green cloak flecked with gold, reaches the floor when she wears it. Wears Neloths robes, no armor plates. Later on she trades her green cloak for a red and gold one, matching Neloths colors when she goes to the Imperial city for a party

Likes dresses but only when she can. They’re a bit impractical for her line of work. Usually wears her cloak over dragonscale armor. Pretty badass

That’s when she’s traveling, when she’s just sitting around Lakeview she’s just in a shirt and leather pants or a plain dress.

Fucken loves Neloth’s robe that he lent her, and will never take them off now. They’re soft and have P O C K E T S. Yaaas

Once she spends some time around Neloth she starts to fall for him. She liked him from the start, she likes his no shit attitude and his unforgiving bluntness. After she sees him in the midst of a horrible nightmare about his mother using a cruel spell on him and after he wakes he curls up in her arms to cry. She's touched by him letting her comfort her. When he called her dear she just fucken melts. Sure he may be half asleep that first time but who cares.

When he kisses her for the firsts time she’s completely smitten and doesn’t bother trying to deny it to herself.

Also has piercings on her ears, two on the tip of her right ear and just the regulars ones on the other.

Can’t use a bow to save her life, uses Dawnbreaker and she usually has a dragon bone dagger in a sheathe on her lower back.

Used mostly alteration and illusion magic, is decent at healing and can throw a fireball if needed. Prefers her sword. Hates it when people comment on her not using a bow, Windhelm was particularly bad until she threw a guy across the city.

Is a stupidly brilliant artist, draws beautifully but rarely does it. If she finds the time to draw you, you’re special. Neloth keeps her drawing of him on his desk or in his pocket, specially enchanted to not rip or tear.

Likes to sit on Neloths desk and draw him. His expressions are always the best.

Also likes to sit in stupid places. will always choose a table over a chair, had scaled the tower and sat up there when Neloth needed space. Tops of bookshelves until Neloth finds her. Stuff like that

Is always humming, singing, tapping her fingers or feet. Always has a song going through her head.

Odahviing is her best friend, and so are the Companions. (Her and Farkas are close but not romantically.)

Can sing like an angel but can also destroy a tavern if she gets too into it so she doesn’t much.

Loved to hoard books. Until she goes to Moras place

Sucks ass at alchemy but tries her best, Neloth has (or will) banned her from using his alchemy table due to many explosions.

She specializes in Alteration and Illusion magic. Is decent with healing and knows like two fire spells. Hates shock magic, like fucken hates it. Can’t stand to see someone use it

Has three claw marks on her back from Alduin. They travel from the right to the left down her back. She almost died fighting him and if it wasn’t for the Greybeards she would be.

Also was tortured by the Thalmor when she was younger, 10 to be exact, has a lightning shaped scar down her right side that reaches her neck. Can be seen in regular clothing and armor.

Has horrible nightmares, has broken windows in her house in Falkreath from screaming. All of Alduin killing her family, the Companions, or the Greybeards. Neloth makes an entrance later on

Can change her appearance at will, takes concentration though and only lasts a few hours at most.

Hates the Blades with a seething passion, will never kill Paarthurnax. Ever. He’s amazing and he talks nice.

Didn’t take a side in the civil war, thinks Ulfric is hot but a dick. Hates him slightly less than Tullius. Rikke’s fucken funny tho. Hadvar is the best, so sweet. The way he says burns runs through my head constantly.

Is hella allergic to apples and will die if she eats them.

Also her sneezes will send her flying backwards and anything in front of her goes flying as well.

Loves Dunmer food and drink. Sujamma mostly. Flin is alright. Loves canis root tea as well. Is the only person who Neloth knows who actually likes the taste besides him.

True to Skyrim fashion, she loves cheese. Hoards cheese, will kill a room of druager for cheese.

Loves picking on the Thalmor, doesn’t kill them if she doesn’t have to, just likes to slip a Talos amulet into one’s pocket and watch the chaos.

Never calls Neloth anything but his name or when their alone “Dii brit onik fahliil.” Which means, “My beautiful wise elf.” Always makes sure to complement his mind and body.

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howtodrawyourdragon · 4 years

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There is a whole other story beneath Twilight Princess’ main plot- [1/3]

And it explains why the children of Ordon were taken in the raid.

They were taken because King Bulblin was searching for Link.

[Part Two]

[Part Three]

Okay, but hear me out for a second here, I come with a theory that I think really makes sense and it can possibly answer a few question in the plot of the game.

Why were the children of Ordon taken? (You Are Here)

Why was Link, after his first transformation, still taken as well?

Why was he taken to Hyrule Castle of all places?

And more.

Now, before I begin, which are some of the games we tend to associate with Twilight princess chronologically? Ocarina of Time. Which is the other game that also serves as a sequel to Ocarina of Time? Wind Waker.

I bring these two games up because there is a notable difference between these three incarnations of Link that I want to bring up before I continue.

OoT: Link receives the Triforce of Courage due to Ganondorf’s attempt at making a wish, causing the Triforce to break into three.

WW: Link earns the Triforce of Courage after finding all eight broken pieces found scattered in the ocean.

TP: Link is born with the Triforce of Courage.

Remember this detail.

(Video for reference from NintenU on YouTube)

Why were the children of Ordon taken?

First of all, what do we know of their abduction?

(Timestamp for video: 11:00)

We know that they were taken right before the Light Spirit Ordona was to lose their light as we know from the same cutscene that Faron was already cloaked in darkness. We also know that only the children were taken and nobody older than Ilia.

When Link is concerned we can only make assumptions whether he was meant to be taken, too. As, while he is knocked out cold by a bulblin, we see King Bulblin enter the spring as well and then not notice that Link is even there. He just blows his horns and hauls ass after a portal opens up. So whether Link was actually meant to be taken, too, is something that we can’t quite answer from the scene presented to us.

(Timestamp for the lines: 44:33)

When Link reunites with Colin, Beth, Malo, and Talo after light is returned to the Eldin Province, Colin and Malo tell Link that the bulblins had left them for dead somewhere far enough away from home for Renado to find them. The children aren’t injured either and Twilight Princess isn’t exactly above showing us injuries or even violence towards children.

We’ve seen Rusl covered in blood and bandages. We’ve seen him limp his way through Ordon when he hears Wolf Link in the distance and then later can be found sleeping deliriously on the sofa of his home.

And them being kids doesn’t spare them either as we see young Ralis (very likely) near death when we hurry him to Kakariko Village. His mother, the late-queen Rutela, states “I feel it. His presence grows fainter to me over time.” This most likely means that Ralis is losing his life.

(video for reference from Psuedo Twili, timestamp: 2:04)

And if you remember the cutscene in which King Bulblin charged through Kakariko Village, Colin wasn’t exactly left unscathed as he was run over and knocked out cold for the entire duration of the fight between King Bulblin and Link and then later found resting in bed with Beth and Luda looking after him.

The bulblins aren’t above hurting children, yet, instead of harming them any further, they choose to simply abandon the children instead. If they were harmed any more than they already have been, the game would have shown us.

It is also interesting to note from the Queen Rutela cutscene, that the Zora’s were raided, too, but their child, Prince Ralis, was not taken. This is a striking contrast, compared to the raid on the human village of Ordon, where the children were taken. Though, admittedly, this is possibly because they were raided by the Shadow Beasts and not the bulblins.

So what do we know?

The children of Ordon were taken, nobody older than Ilia (or presumably, older than Link)

They were brought all the way to the Eldin province, which is far far away from home.

Abandoned, left for dead. This makes their abduction strange and out of place, without reason.

Not physically harmed, from what we can see.

With these facts summed up, we have to wonder why the bulblins would steal people from their homes if they are just going to abandon them in the middle of nowhere anyway. What is the point? Why go through all that trouble of kidnapping them? (Besides moving the plot forwards and giving Link reason to set out, of course) And why do I claim that the Triforce of Courage has something to do with this?

Let’s begin with why I would bring up the fact that TP Link was born with his piece of the Triforce.

(Timestamp: 1:42:20)

Well, we’ve seen the cutscene with the Sages. We’ve seen that they attempted to execute Ganondorf themselves, believing themselves capable of bringing justice to the King of Thieves. But that it was a foolish attempt as Ganondorf, in what they call a divine prank, possesses the Triforce of Power and uses it to revive himself. Whether this was a conscious decision or not, we don’t know and for this theory it doesn’t really matter too much.

Now, the reason why this Ganondorf, which is canon to be OoT’s Ganondorf, has the Triforce is because OoT Link was sent back in time with his piece. We saw in the very last cutscene of OoT that the mark of the Triforce is on his hand, meaning that he traveled back with it still in his possession.

With TP Link stated to be his descendant by blood more than once in-game, it is natural that the Triforce would be passed down through Time’s bloodline until it eventually reached Twilight. What happens with the Triforce after Twilight is a mystery.

(I’m not familiar with Four Swords Adventure’s story, so I don’t know if the Triforce really makes an appearance in that game)

With Courage already gone, it caused Wisdom and Power to break apart and go to their respective holders as well. Wisdom, of course, to Zelda. Power to Ganondorf. (Link being sent back in time with Courage, may also explain why this particular piece is in literal pieces in WW. Or maybe it was explained why you had to find the individual pieces and I just don’t remember.)

We know that it is canon now that the Triforce tends to break apart under certain circumstances. I.e when evil touches the Triforce or when a piece is already missing, as was the case in TP, WW and presumably at the end of OoT. We also know that the former fact is a known fact, at least for those who know the Triforce and are familiar with its lore.

Knowing this, would it really be farfetched for Ganondorf, who already knew exactly where and how to find the Triforce in OoT, to look at the back of his hand, see one of the pieces of the Triforce there, and conclude that there are two others with the other pieces? I don’t think so, with how much Ganondorf already knew of the Triforce.

For one of the pieces, the most obvious choice would be someone of the Hyrulean royal family. Hyrule is where people know the entrance to the Sacred Realm to be at, tales say that is where the three Golden Goddesses made their exit after creating their world, leaving the Triforce at that exit that is now the Sacred Realm. It is even the reason why Ganondorf is so set on taking Hyrule, of all places, because it is The land of the Triforce.

But with Wisdom (presumably) already found, where would the third missing piece go?

Well, what are the chances Ganondorf knew OoT Link was in possession of one? That OoT Link, upon attempting to convince Hyrule’s King of Ganondorf’s treachery, was forced to show Courage as proof? If the King doesn’t even believe his own daughter, what are the chance he would ever believe Link without the Triforce?

Maybe this is how Ganondorf found out the third bearer was Link? A ten-year-old boy in possession of one of the three golden triangles isn’t exactly something that would stay under the radar of someone with a deep desire for said Triforce.

But before Ganondorf even realizes he has Power, he is captured (at a much later age than he is shown in OoT, btw), executed, and sent to the Twilight Realm when Power revives its holder.

Years pass, so many that the former Gerudo King is completely forgotten by everyone except for the five remaining Sages who banished him as a last resort.

In the meantime, Ganondorf, believing himself Hyrule’s rightful king because “the Triforce chose him”, figures out there are two others with Triforce pieces, remembers that this one boy was one of them. And then Zant comes along and Ganondorf sees a way to return.

Presumably, the first place Zant takes in Ganondorf’s name is Hyrule. It leads to Zelda surrendering instead of choosing to sacrifice the lives of her people in a battle with an enemy she clearly recognizes as powerful. Keeping Zelda hostage in her own castle, it is possible GanonZant find out she is in possession of Wisdom. The very reason she is still alive and kept well is most likely because of the Triforce. (but this is only a guess)

If Zelda can use hers to sense which magic Wolf Link has been cursed by after the Lakebed Temple, maybe Zantdorf can sense she has Wisdom?

And then their question remains; Where is Courage?

What if Ganondorf still remembers that young boy even know? Knows that it is possible for even a Hylian of low beginnings to have it as well? What if King Bulblin and his bulblins were approached by Zant, under Ganondorf’s instruction, and told to pillage each of Hyrule’s villages in search of the final one bearing the mark of the Triforce? Right before each of the Light Spirits had their light stolen?

King Bulblin, in their last confrontation, tells Link that they “follow the strongest side”. That this is “all they have ever known”. That makes them sound more like a mercenary type of group, people following those they consider “the strongest” unless the other side can prove himself more powerful, which Link does.

What if this is the reason why Ordon’s children were taken for seemingly random reasons? Because King Bulblin was actually "hired” and told to search Hyrule for Courage? For Link? Maybe he was even specifically told to look for children? Much like how, in Wind Waker, young girls with pointy ears were hunted down and kidnapped by the Helmaroc King?

It is interesting to remember that this very similar plotline started Wind Waker’s main game. Link started his journey to save his younger sister, who was kidnapped in Ganondorf’s search for Zelda.

It would, in my opinion, explain why the kids were taken and then just randomly left for dead without really physically harming them, in spite of the game clearly not being above hurting children and showing injury. Or it would explain why that horse battle scene after Colin’s second abduction went the way it did.

But I’ll come to that particular part in Part Three.

[Continued on Part Two]

#loz #legend of zelda #tp #twilight princess #tp link #link #ordon village #colin #beth #malo #talo #ilia #king bulblin #tp zelda #zelda #tp ganondorf #ganondorf #zant #zelda theory

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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WandaVision Finale Ending Explained

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains WandaVision spoilers.

After eight near-perfect episodes, the story of WandaVision has concluded with a finale installment that sticks the landing on all fronts, including multiple cinematic battles, several heartfelt goodbyes, and a long-overdue moment of agency for a heroine who has so often been denied a choice in her own future.

But while “The Series Finale” is a deeply satisfying coda to what is probably Marvel’s most emotionally satisfying outing to date, it leaves us with more than a few questions about where these characters go from here. Let’s break down what happened in the WandaVision finale, and what it might mean for the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Wanda Transforms Into the Scarlet Witch

Thanks to Agatha’s pronouncement last week, we already knew that Wanda was the legendary Scarlet Witch but in “The Series Finale” we see her fully embrace her chaos magic, right down to an amazing contemporary riff on her traditional comics costume. (That headpiece! The cape! We love to see it!)

There’s even a return of the mind control visions we saw her deploy to such great effect in Avengers: Age of Ultron. What can’t this Wanda do?

Granted, we still don’t know what all this power now means for her character in a larger sense, but to be fair, neither does she. Wanda’s abilities as displayed in this episode are fairly tremendous, as she uses witch runes to neutralize Agatha, wipes her mind, and brings down the Hex she’s built around Westview, freeing its residents.

In the episode’s post-credits scene, however, her abilities appear to have grown even further, as she’s able to take in a scenic lake view even as her astral self is also busy reading the Darkhold, right down to making its pages turn on their own.

This is a move we’ve seen Stephen Strange pull before, but according to Agatha, Wanda is even more powerful than the Sorcerer Supreme. So….what else will she be able to do? That seems to be what she’s trying to find out.

Westview Returns to Normal (Sort of)

During her (quite frankly pretty badass) battle with Agatha, the older witch frees several Westview residents from Wanda’s mind control, forcing her to face what she’s done to the townspeople in her quest to build a perfect life. The simultaneously angry and desperate crowd of Westview residents – who look like nothing so much as a suburban take on a horde from The Walking Dead – confront Wanda and reveal a bit of what it must really like as a person who lives under the town’s spell.

The most harrowing victim is certainly town queen bee Dottie, who comes to herself long enough to beg Wanda to allow her to see her daughter, or perhaps write her into the larger storyline as one of the twins’ friends. But we also learn that Wanda has been projecting her grief and pain into Westview’s nightmares, forcing them to suffer right alongside her, rather than providing a peaceful, perfect escape.

What Happened to Agatha Harkness?

At least one resident of Westview won’t be returning to normal, however. After Wanda defeats Agatha by scattering witch runes around the Westview Hex to neutralize her magic, she uses her own power to wipe Agatha’s memories and essentially turn her into nosy neighbor Agnes, the WandaVision “role she chose,” for good.

Your mileage may vary on whether this is an acceptable ending for Agatha – a character who was, admittedly, often monstrous, even though she was right about the way that society is all too willing, even eager, to vilify powerful women out of fear (and often just because it can). On the plus side, since nothing lasts forever in the Marvel Universe and Agatha Harkness is a pretty powerful witch in her own right, there’s every chance this character will reappear down the road. After all, Agatha was Wanda’s mentor in the comics and she tells Wanda here that her magical expertise will be needed in the future.

We Said Goodbye to Wanda’s Kids (Or Did We?)

As products of the Hex, young Billy and Tommy Maximoff’s fates were always going to be tied to it, so in choosing to break the illusion, Wanda also accepts that she’ll have to say goodbye to her sons. In one of “The Series Finale’s” most heartbreaking scenes, she and Vision, knowing what’s coming, tuck the boys in for bed one last time, as the red glow of the shrinking boundary line edges closer to their house.

Wanda also thanks the boys for choosing her as a mother. Reader, I cried. Plus, this basically confirms that Billy and Tommy aren’t entirely constructs of Wanda’s imagination. They’ve come from somewhere, and possess something like souls. How that all happened is anyone’s guess – here’s your entry point for Mephisto, folks! – and it’s something future series can explore, but it’s certainly the way I’d prefer to read it.

But, since the last thing we hear on WandaVision is also the voices of Tommy and Billy shouting to their mother that something is wrong, it seems pretty likely we’ll see some version of these characters again. There’s precedent in the comics after all, and finding her lost boys is a pretty powerful narrative throughline to carry over to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

What Happened to White Vision?

Paul Bettany’s dreams of essentially working with himself are realized, as Vision and the White Vision come to blows in the skies of Westview. But despite the epic battle between the synthezoids – or, synthezoid and Mind Stone-fueled recreation of that same original, as the case may be – physical combat isn’t the most compelling, or even interesting part of their encounter.

Instead, it’s philosophy. Yes, you read that right. Upon realizing that the two are too evenly matched for either to emerge victorious, Vision decides to engage the White Vision in a thought experiment about their shared existence, and whether either of them is truly the man (robot?) they claim to be. The two end up in a sort of pseudo-philosopher’s debate about The Ship of Theseus, a thought experiment centered on issues of identity and meaning, and what makes a thing real.

This is surprisingly deep stuff for a Marvel property but the conversation contains tantalizing hints about what we could expect as we head into Phase 4 of the MCU. After all, it will likely contain stories full of magic, mutants, and transformation of all types; this is simply WandaVision giving us a metaphorical anchor to hang onto throughout. Well, that and providing a way to bring Vision – or some version of him – back for good, as Westview Vision restores White Vision’s memories and gives us all a reason to hope that he and Wanda will one day be reunited again.

Was the Vision in Westview Real?

Yes and no. The Vision that lived in Westview and shared a house with Wanda wasn’t physically the Vision we’d previously seen in the Avengers films. He was a flesh and blood construct, created by Wanda’s power, informed by her grief memories, and born from the piece of the Mind Stone that lives inside her. (This makes sense, given that the rise of Wanda’s magical abilities was connected to her initial exposure to the Mind Stone. As Agatha puts it, the Scarlet Witch is forged, not born, and for Wanda, that crucible was her time with Hydra and the Infinity Stone that served as a sort of cosmic gasoline on her sleeping abilities that might never have stirred otherwise.) This Vision represents Wanda’s hope and sadness, but mostly her love.

And, as a result, even Westview Vision doesn’t greet his oncoming demise with sadness, or even fear. Instead, he reasons, he and Wanda have been here before twice already, forced to say goodbye before their time. And since their relationship has survived before, there’s every reason to believe it will again, and they’ll find their way back to one another.

Monica’s Powers, the Skrulls, and Captain Marvel 2

Unfortunately, thanks to everything else going on in “The Series Finale,” Monica Rambeau doesn’t have a ton to do here. However, she does get a straight-up hero moment, where she throws herself in front of a bullet (or four) for Wanda’s kids and reveals a heretofore unseen ability to phase through objects and slow them down. She also frees the real Ralph Bohner, and happily helps send dirtbag SWORD director Tyler Hayward to prison.

Happily, however, despite her limited screentime in this episode, Monica’s MCU future looks bright. In the mid-credits scene, she’s approached by a Skrull disguised as a SWORD agent who takes her aside and reveals she was sent by a friend of her late mother, Maria’s. And that friend, who is most likely Nick Fury, would like to see Monica – in space.

We’d all basically assumed that Monica, who is Maria’s daughter and clearly has some as-yet-unprocessed resentment toward Carol Danvers, would be a significant player in the upcoming sequel Captain Marvel 2, but perhaps there’s an even broader future in store for her, as part of the SWORD-like organization Fury and the Skrull named Talos formed at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Who Was the Fake Pietro Maximoff?

Sadly, the character played by Evan Peters in WandaVision was not actually Wanda’s brother Pietro ported over from the FOX X-Men universe like we all hoped. So, yeah, unfortunately, that means mutants technically still do not exist in the MCU, and that’s a problem another movie or series will have to address.

While trapped in his self-described “man cave”, Monica discovers that the Fake Pietro is really just Ralph Bohner, the mysteriously absent husband Agnes was constantly complaining about throughout the season. Agatha kept him under her spell using an enchanted necklace, and when it was removed his real identity returns. Whether the fact that Agatha’s punishment to live as her Agnes identity involves being really married to Ralph is unclear but in Westview, anything is possible, I guess.

Wanda’s Future and Doctor Strange 2

Wanda has long been confirmed as a major player in the upcoming sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but we haven’t known how exactly she would fit into this story, having never exactly met Stephen Strange before. But since the WandaVision post-credits scene confirms that the new Scarlet Witch is determined to learn more about her powers, it seems that will change fairly quickly. The only question is, how?

Stephen Strange has served as a mentor to many magic users throughout Marvel Comics history and could certainly be someone that Wanda seeks out to help her access and control her new abilities. But, given that she’s also currently DIY-ing her knowledge of witch history with a magical item that is basically subtitled the “book of the damned” it’s also very possible that she and Strange will end up at odds over the Darkhold’s existence, her possession of it, or both. Plus, there’s that interesting wrinkle of her still hearing the voices of her construct children that shouldn’t still exist outside of Westview thing. Time to explore the multiverse, anyone?

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