#this was originally going to just be a mask ranking but i think its more interesting to take into account the whole outfit | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fixfoxnox · 1 year

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Do you have any soap/ghost/price headcanons, like soap and ghost’s love story or Price’s dad vine origins?

It is about time I talked about these three lmao, I've somehow talked about everyone but them:

Present! Ghost's backstory is primarily the same as Past! Ghost's backstory, at least in regards to the outcome of his entire family dying

I think that Present! Ghost was on a specialized team before the 141, one that did a lot of undercover/stealth work. Ghost didn't wear a mask at the time and one of the men that the team was going after was able to figure out who he was and killed his family as a message.

Ghost started wearing his mask after that. He quit the team after they captured/killed the man who killed his family.

At that point he kinda did a bit of everything

Got his face scars after being captured and tortured by a terrorist at one point. This was the mission that he met Price on

Was super nervous about joining the 141 just because of what happened the last time he was on a team. Price assured him that he could keep his mask on at all times and, in the field, he'd only be referred to with his call sign.

Primarily he joined because he trusted Price.

Bisexual man, but has only ever dated men

Soap has a big family (love love love this headcanon in general)

He has three sisters and two brothers. He is the middle child through and through.

Both of his brothers are older, he has one older sister and the other two are younger

Similar to Jackson, he has hoards of nieces and nephews

Has wanted to join the military since he was little, it was always his dream and his parents were supportive, though a little confused with his enthusiasm

Chaotic teenager, used to do the dumbest shit just because

Got scouted for the team specifically because of his demolitions knowledge. He was good with weapons but, after seeing one of the more complicated bombs Soap rigged up as well as seeing how smart he actually was with strategy/mission knowledge, Price knew he had to have him on the team

I think Price's beginnings are much the same as they were in the OG universe, at least in regards to MacMillan and Prypiat.

He joined the military young, after being kicked out of his home due to an argument with his dad

Immediately proved himself to be super skilled though. Caught the attention of several different people during his training, including MacMillan

MacMillan scouted him and took him under his wing similar to how Price did with Gaz

Quickly worked his way up the ranks and when he was a Lieutenant he was chosen specifically by MacMillan for the Prypiat assassination

Not on Zhakaev in this universe, likely some big up and comer in the Ultranationalist movement who was making too many quick grabs of power for anyone's tastes

Was a success in this universe!

Sometime after this is when he started running missions as a team leader/by himself

This includes the mission with Farah where he adopted his first child

Admired her strength and how good of a leader she was. Always kept tabs on her and checked in to see if she needed any help with anything (even if it meant him breaking protocol)

He was promoted to Captain after MacMillan retired and he started working anti-terror specifically

Met Laswell around this time at a soccer (🦅🇺🇲) game during a mission and the two hit it off

They became really good friends and eventually Price brought Laswell with him to meet up with his sister at one point (she was the only member of his family he kept contact with)

Watched his sister and Laswell fall in love and served as Laswell's person of honor at their wedding

He definitely didn't cry (he for sure cried)

Adopted Alex sometime after this. Met the kid on a mission and was like "oooo, okay, adopted"

I like to think its because of either Alex or Farah that he has his hat

One of them gave it to him as a joke gift and it very quickly became his favorite thing ever and he started wearing it all the time

He and Nikolai met during a joint force operation with a Russian team back before Price was a Captain. They became fast friends while on the mission and have stayed in touch ever since.

They also definitely kissed at one point but decided they were better as friends

Price lowkey regrets not dating him on occasion (until he meets me then he'll never regret it again because he will have found his one true love)

Definitely fishes and does all sorts of other dad activities

The team will often walk in a room to him hyper focused on a crossword puzzle with a pair of reading glasses perched on his nose

Definitely an avid jeopardy watcher, if he can he makes the team watch with him. He never misses a question 💪(he misses a lot of questions)

Hates trains. Will do literally any other form of transport but trains are an immediate no

Doesn't have a good relationship with his parents, but MacMillan and his wife have essentially taken him in as their own

After every successful mission he and Laswell take a shot together. They did it on an off thing after their first mission together and just kinda kept it going

Started smoking cigars because of MacMillan, used to smoke cigarettes before that but only smokes cigars now

Drives like the oldest most beat up truck ever and refuses to get anything new, even if the thing sounds like its going to break down every time he drives it

His favorite child is Gaz, though he would never admit it outloud. He see's a lot of himself in Gaz and he would very literally die for him

Seems very demanding/smooth but gets easily flustered if someone flirts with him. This has resulted in the team seeing him go bright fucking red at bars several times

Speaking of which, I adore the headcanon that no matter how many times Price says he's gay, the team still are shocked any time he mentions it

Has literally the best eye for future couples. He knew that Soap and Ghost would get together then that they would date Roach within like minutes of seeing them together. Could tell Gaz and Jackson would end up together (though protective dad Price mode was engaged immediately and he was so not cool with it because Jackson had already apparently slept with one of his kids (Roach))

If it hadn't been for the poison bracelet he probably would have shot out Makarov's kneecaps before finally killing him just because of what he'd seen him doing to Roach

He and Laswell secretly call Soap "problem child" when talking about him in private

He threatened to put a bell of Ghost once after the man snuck up on him and scared the shit out of him one too many times

Just a single dad who loves his problem children

#this became mainly about price #but he's my boyfriend and i love him #so it makes sense #thoughts with luke #you asked luke #something in the orange #simon ghost riley #captain john price #john price #john soap mactavish

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heavnsvnt · 1 month

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﹟𝙇𝙐𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙊𝙉𝙏𝙑 ⁝ peter gadiot, cis man, he/him. introducing javier vermund to lunathion. the archangel serves their city as the governor of lunathion. appearing to be 40, one would be shocked to discover they are truly 650. visions from the oracle produce images of the raw instinct to survive, sweet bourbon running through your veins, pulling at the ties that bind, and the scent of tobacco clinging to ones clothes. the archangel of valbarra is known to all as a dauntless, and meticulous individual. but, in the shadows, they are more arrogant and cunning. regardless, they align themselves as a neutral agent posing as an asteri loyalist. may they not question the hand urd has dealt.

I. BASIC

— FULL NAME : javier vermund — NOTABLE NICKNAMES : archangel of valbarra — AGE : 40 / 650 — BIRTHDAY : winter of 14.350 ve — BIRTHPLACE : eternal city, pangera — ZODIAC SIGN : scorpio — SPECIES : archangel ( malakh ) — GENDER : cis man — PRONOUNS : he/him — ORIENTATION : pansexual — OCCUPATION : governor of lunathion + head of the business district — LIVING ARRANGEMENTS : governor's spire of the comitium

II. PHYSICAL

— FACECLAIM : peter gadiot — HEIGHT : 6'4 / 195 cm — BUILD : here — HAIR COLOR + STYLE : mousy brown, and here — EYE COLOR : brown — WARDROBE : here

III. MENTAL

— PERSONALITY TYPE : entj — MORAL ALIGNMENT : true neutral — CHARACTER INSPIRATION : rhysand ( acotar ), elijah mikaelson ( the originals ), desmond flynn ( the bargainer ) & thomas shelby ( peaky blinders ) — THEME SONG : just pretend by bad omens — PINTEREST : here — POSITIVE TRAITS : dauntless, meticulous — NEGATIVE TRAITS : arrogant, cunning

IIII. ABOUT

javier is the product of an asteri experiment, one that set out to see what would be produced if two formidable bloodlines were merged. he was then born, and raised in the eternal city, under the watchful, and cruel eye of the asteri. at a young age, most could not bear the weight of status, and expectation, but not javier, his power, and mind thrived in the gilded cage. by the age of maturity, he had become the ideal for malakh, and it earned him rank amongst the asteri. javier then spent the following decades as an liaison of sorts, using not only his mind, but strength to maintain asteri influence. yet, his success proved that he was meant for more, and thus came javier's reassignment to valbarra. lunathion was now his future, and responsibility as a newly crafted territory, and javier wasted no time in engineering its modernization. his plan was to model the eternal city, and its society, but a wrench was soon thrown at the glass house. first, it was the archangel rebellion, and the devastation it left its its wake, but as a once close friend of shahar, javier began to wonder, though he didn't outwardly speculate, javier knew firsthand the lengths his kind would go for power. then, the conflict in pangera finished the job, where javier began to fear that lunathion may one day be caught in the crossfire. from that point on, he prioritized the wellbeing of not only the territory, but also its people, all without lessening the ironclad grip he formed around it. the last five hundred years have been a blur to javier, who has been consumed by his duties as the governor, head of the business district, and supposedly a loyalist of the asteri. the mask he's learned to adorn has allowed him to think clearly, and utilize the freedom his obedience has earned him, which naturally puts him in the middle. at some point, the archangel of valbarra will be forced to choose between divinity, or damnation, but javier is determined to see peace in not only pangera, but all of midgard before then.

V. HEADCANNONS

javier is a wielder of storms, and has shown the ability to summon, and control storms at will, which often leaves devastation in their wake. his use of the ability is typically saved for the battlefield, but every now and then, even javier enjoys a thunderstorm. javier is a smoker, and it is rare to see him without a cigarette in his mouth, or between his fingers. it has become a habit for the archangel, but it also offers comfort during stressful times. art has always been a guilty pleasure for javier, so much so that he is one of the largest donators to it in lunathion. he has a private collection within his squire at the comitium, and is often buying pieces from dealers in, and out of the city. for the two centuries, javier has been mated ( arranged ) to a fellow archangel, who governs a city in southern pangera. they live completely separate lives, but remain close friends as they share two children, who are asterian guards. javier is extremely protective of all three, and rarely speaks about them unless it is with someone he trusts completely. to the public, javier is seen as a loyalist, and part of him is, as it is all he knows, but the rebellion, and now the pangera conflict has changed his mindset. he of all people know what the asteri are capable of, and has experienced their wrath first hand. while he is not quite ready to jump ship completely, javier is learning to play both sides of the fence, because war isn't about who wins, but who's left. javier is incredibly devoted to lunathion, and chooses to rule it with an iron fist, as a lack of results in the crime, and corruption seen recently. some admire what he does for the city, but others see him as no better than the asteri themselves. they aren't totally wrong, as javier was raised learning their doctorate,

VI. CONNECTIONS

click here to see a list of javier's wanted, and current connections !

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ali-dot-txt · 1 year

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ramblepost about Yunaka GO!!!! Serious spoilers follow after the cut though so WATCH OUT if you're not done with the game two months after its release

you meet Yunaka very early in the game, after you meet Veyle for the first time but just before you meet her for the second time, and the game doesn't draw direct parallels between them but it does immediately introduce you to the concept that Yunaka lies regularly and habitually, that she's trying not to do that so much anymore, and that she is not what she seems, with a map design that actively encourages you to put her in avoid+ terrain and get her crit quotes, which sound very different from the way she normally speaks.

Then (one hopes) you get her supports and bond conversations and learn more about her and you learn that she used to be an assassin, that she was raised to be a killer by a man who picked her up after she was willingly tossed aside by her parents, and that her name before she decided to become Yunaka was "Larimar."

Larimar, like every other Brodian character's name, is based on a type of precious stone, but a larimar is a much more specific concept than a sapphire or a citrine.

The name "larimar" comes from some guy in 1974 who combined his daughter's name "Larissa" with "mar," because it kind of looks like the sea. I'm not sure where the name comes from in Elyos but I really can't assume it has the same origin.

Isn't that neat?

Anyway it must be fucking wild for Yunaka to join this army to escape her past and then over time learn that the literal Divine Dragon was also raised to be a killer by a man who didn't care for them at all.

And for some reason Yunaka doesn't have supports with Veyle!? Like there's so much you can do there with the fact that both of them are trying to be better people after doing bad things in the past and how they both put up facades to hide their guilt and all that. Let me see Yunaka try to teach Veyle her coping mechanisms. Come on.

Also on reflection I think Yunaka may be my favorite pact ring recipient just because her ring-rank support and wake ups are really sweet. She's just looking for someone to be truly honest with and also ramble about weapons for hours with. God that's good.

Also this might just be because I think she's a good character but she's got total Neurodivergent Vibes with her hatred of crowds and deliberate masking with a peppy, uncomplicated facade and extreme interest and knowledge of weaponry and constant apologizing and worry that anyone who really knows her would hate her

Yunaka good. That's the post. If you expected a point to this, I'm very sorry, this was just me rambling. I did say.

#fire emblem engage #fe17 #yunaka #rambling #yunaka fire emblem

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thealmightyemprex · 1 year

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90's Pulp Movie Villains Ranked

SO I am going to be doing a series of rankings ,as I have been marathoing the Pulp superhero trend of the 90's .Why not start with my favorite topic ,the villlains...THis was hard in a sense,because I love all five of these baddies

5.Big Boy Caprice from Dick Tracy

The biggest mob boss in town and arch nemesis to Dick Tracy.I actually though going into this rewatch ,I thought he would be number one ....But looking at the other villains he fell to the wayside.I love how bonkers Al PAcinos performance is and his quirk of messing up qoutes and the makeup looks great but honestly I cant help but feel he is a wannabe of Jack Nicholsons Joker .He is fun though

4.Xander Drax from the Phantom

An evil powerhungry business man who wants to harnass the power of 3 magic skulls .On paper he is the weakest villain,going into this rewatch,I thought I was gonna put him dead last .The problem is the side villains are more intereresting ,like the pirate king Kabai Sengh and Quill who killed the Phantoms father,while Drax is just an evil rich guy ......Thank GOD for Treat Williams performance ,he is taking character description of evil 1930's capitalist and running with it .Not great but he is a ton of fun

3.Neville Sinclair from the Rockateer

A swashbuckling movie star who is actually a Nazi spy trying to get his hands on an experimental jetpack .NOw we get to the really interesting guys .While Big Boy and Drax were fun,theres a bit more to Sinclair .Being a dashing movie star he is charming but his villainy is motivated by a sense of desperation .Timothy Dalton is an actor who feels like he is right of the 1930's and 1940's ,so he is able to nail the deonair side while also being a legit menacing villain

2.Don Rafael Montero from The Mask of Zorro

A Spanish Governor who wishes to take over California ,but the big thing is he stole the daughter of Don Diego De La Vega AKA the original Zorro and had him imprisioned for 20 years .NOw what impresses me about Don Rafael is he couldve been a mustache twirly villain,just a hate sink as we root for Zorro to run him through....But they decided to give him nuanace .Oh he is still a villain who kills and enslaves innocent people ,but he has his own morals ,doesnt want children to see his crimes,and does very much care for his adopted daughter Elena .Stuart Wilson plays him with a sense of dignity and nuance one doesnt often see in a blockbuster bad guy of that era

1. Shiwan Khan from the Shadow

The last descendant of Genghis Khan(I know there are millions of descendants of that guy just roll with it ,its a movie ),Shiwan Khan is a wannabe conqueror who wishes to rule the world using his psychic powers and an atomic bomb.SO while DOn Rafael is a more nuanced villain,Shiwan Khan is a classic supervillain done REALLY well .Like the guys got a simple goal,he wants to rule the world,cause being descended from a great conquerer he wants to be a conqueror himself.A few things make him stand out ,one is John Lones charismatic performance,especially in his scenes with the Shadow .In classic villain fashion he is a dark reflection of the Shadow.....But of the Shadows past .The Shadow used to be a bad dude but has put his sins behind him to fight evil .Basically Shiwan Khan has all the powers of the Shadow and is what the Shadow would be like is he still pursued evil.What I love is Shiwan Khan actually admires the Shadows past and is diappointed he has turned good cause he really wants him to rule with him .He also reminds me of Kilgrave from Jessica Jones in how he uses his mind control powers to convince people to kill themselves who mildly inconvience him .With cool powers ,a good performance and a great dynamic with the hero ,I think Shiwan Khanis one of the most underrated supervillains in superhero movies and best villain of the 90's pulp movies trend

@ariel-seagull-wings @amalthea9 @angelixgutz @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie @scarletblumburtonofeastlondon @princesssarisa @filmcityworld1

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ackalice · 2 years

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@mono-chrono (curiosity i hear?? alrighty)

I present to you my very first original characters and original story!

heads up, that description was heavily generalized and, as the post indicated, a very poor way of explaining it- SO

In present day Minnesota, local 17 year old "weird kid" Vivian is living life as usual. She's bubbly, extroverted as all hell, and as her title suggests is the town weirdo. It isn't her fault, but her interests and her attitude have given her a reputation as someone no one else wishes to interact with. Harsh, but it is what it is.

Viv is makin' her way through highschool, a part-time job, and is juggling all her other hobbies as well (Ballet, theater, knitting, scrap booking, flute...among others). She even plans on going to a near-by art college when she graduates!

Heres some scribbles:

One afternoon, while she is relaxing at home after some of her after-school activities, someone decides to pay her a visit. Not the normal way like a normal person, oh no. It's a fucking shadow in her hallway staring at her laying on the couch.

One second she's staring at this shadowy motherfucker and the next its right in her face and shes screaming to high heaven until she blacks out.

Vivian wakes up in a emo-black manor. When I was emo-black I mean the only colors in this damn house are black, deep red, and the occasional silver. It's also dark. Really dark. The only light comes from old fashioned candles scattered about.

So like any other completely sane and totally not mentally challenged individual Viv decides to go slinking around the house and stick her nose into everything. On her way, she finds that same bitch that jumped in her face. Just kinda standing their awkwardly with a pasty deer mask and dark cloak. Like a weirdo.

When faced with an entity that presumably transported her to this very dark and eerie place and consequently kidnapped her, what do you think she does? She chases this asshole and actually catches them off guard for a minute. Its a minute long enough for her to be able to tackle them hard enough to send them both down the very long staircase to the first floor. Ow.

Somewhere along this bumpy and painful fall the deer mask gets taken off. And thus reveals Vivian's kidnapper. A skinny dark haired kid.

Enter Finn Blanchard! The resident try hard underdog who is also, haha you guessed it, a demon! Not a very high ranked one, but a demon no less. He attempts to put on a bad-boy face, which works if you dont know him, but if you do you'll read right though it and know that hes secretly freaking out

his backstory is uh. hhhhhh. stupid traumatizing- but thats another story for another time- NOW WHERE WAS I

So Viv ends up getting freaked and jumping off of him. But only briefly before she noticed the DAMN BOY HAD HOOVES AND LITTLE ITTY BITTY HORNS AWWWW

Finn sat there in shock and flusterment while Vivian fawned over his features.

Then the story continues as Viv figures out why Finn brought her there and her finding out that "there" is actually HELL. With satan and all that crap. And also maybe Viv and Finn finding feelings for each other-

I DONT WRITE THE RULES-

but again thats just the beginning of the story and there is much MUCH more to it that im not sure i should dump all on tumblr. but this is fun so m a y b e...

also heres a height chart for fun

#thanks for being curious! I actually really love the excuses for me to ramble #ive said that many times but ITS TRUE #ocs #my ocs #oc story #my art #insta thought #insta thought but the LONG version

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inspector-montoya-fox · 2 years

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i’ve finished Sly 3 and it’s actually the first time i did all the challenges and got 100%. Here are my final thoughts on this recent playthrough (mostly bitching):

it’s an honest mistake but after completing an entire section centered around the ancestors, you’d think they’d get the spelling of Thaddeus correct

Dr Matthew’s bossfight is very underwhelming. as a bossfight on its own, it’d rank average but considering that it’s the game and series’ final one, they could have come up with something better, something more dramatic than... him controlling the elements ? also, at the beginning of the fight, Sly says ‘Come on, aren’t we supposed to banter a little?’ and i was like uh yea?? for them to point it out feels a bit lazy. like where’s the final bossfight dialogue? if the Contessa, who didn’t even know ConnEr, gave the iconic you’re an ignorant, young child playing dress-up in his father’s legacy, then you’d expect Dr Michael who actually knew ConnEr to say something similar?

on that note, while i was playing the bossfight, i realised what my biggest issue has been with the game. i could never really point out why Sly 3 felt lesser to me. i mean, there are a couple of reasons like the small number of episodes or some of the missions being annoying, but those were never enough to make me go meh towards the entire game. i think it’s the narrative and more specifically, the way it’s handled. Sly 3 has a handful of story beats and only a few of them actually get the attention they need, whereas sometimes focus is placed on stuff which wouldn’t have mattered otherwise. for example, Dr Micah’s pre-bossfight dialogue being non-existent whereas Lemon Rage is given so much attention (which is what makes it such a great mission). Sly 2 was extremely cinematic and its cutscenes helped preserve the story’s flow: Sly dancing with Carmelita while the camera focuses on the wings smoothly being stolen behind the statue; all of Neyla’s scenes, from flying by the train on her little jet to her crushing Arpeggio and escaping into the night; SHE’S GOT THE EYE !?!?!?!? These are all so eye-conique because they are treated like scenes from a movie. Sly 3 on the other hand, lets a lot of its pivotal story moments go to waste. Penelope getting abducted by LeFwee is basically him holding a sword to her throat and the dog guards behind her muddling the dialogue because of their audible yawns. Jing King’s escape is literally just her silhouette getting lowered. major events like the opera recital and Tsao’s wedding are literally non-existent. where. are. the. cinematic. scenes ? i think this deserves its own post but, catch my drift?

first time completing the challenges and honestly, some of them are genuinely challenging. like beating Tsao with limited health? it took me a few tries. i feel like they could’ve gotten more creative with these instead of just slapping ‘under time pressure’ or ‘with limited health’ on every mission, like, let’s say, maybe have Sly complete a mission with Carmelita constantly chasing him? and also, when i got 100%, nothing happened. like not even a message saying congrats? maybe like a secret cutscene as a reward??? Goodbye, My Sweet ??? no???

i wish they’d go with one of their original concepts for Octavio instead of what we got. i like the idea of him being genuinely scary, i think villains that are scary is what’s missing from the Sly 3 rogues gallery when compared to Sly 2. i mean, 4 out of the 6 villains are Bentley’s height with their short tempter played for laughs. and the other’s a mask. it doesn’t have to do with stature and size, it’s more like, Octavio being a lion and being associated with the mob would be the most appropriate to strike fear. his get-up and singing outbursts serve... Liberace? idk

Operation: Reverse Double-Cross is, um, cute. she’s cutesy yea, ig. but how does Sly avoid getting blown up by the Penelope bomb? it’s never explained. was it part of the plan? if so, why does Sly enter the room and fall for the bait? and how does he survive the blast?

i can’t find the in-game unlockable concept art anywhere online, but i went over it after years of not checking it and... Sly smokes? like Sly genuinely has a lit cigarette in his mouth in most of the concept art, especially the Venice ones. it took me by surprise, it’s such a bizarre detail. Lol

#nothing like popping off at 9:30AM #sly cooper #i've been playing a lot of Phantom Hourglass lately. found the DS cartridge while tidying up and gave it a try #it's really fun! i don't know why it gets flack for the stylus controls #i mean yea. The Ocean King temple is... GRRR!!! but other than that? solid game

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neon-green-reagent · 1 year

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Ranked: A Nightmare on Elm Street

This is long overdue. I finished these months ago. I just got lazy. Better late than never?

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) : I am not being original here. I might be as the list goes on, but definitely not saying anything new right now. They made Freddy utterly disgusting. A shame, because Jackie Early Haley deserved a bit better than to play the worst incarnation of the character they could come up with. They wanted darker and edgier, and buddy baby boy, they fucking went for it. Meanwhile, it was a test of my gag reflex to sit through. Just a depressing butt flop of a movie, when you'll find as I go on, I prefer the series silly and fun.

Freddy Vs. Jason : I've ranted about this before. Freddy is not my favorite guy. But Jason sure is. So watching Freddy find Jason's PTSD and poke it was not my favorite moment. Also, the special effects are lacking, especially with the CGI Freddy caterpillar. The group of kids is forgettable, final girl included. And because it was the early aughts, we just HAD to have a gay slur in there. Man, fuck this movie.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (OG) : Really low, I know. It's not a matter of hate. It's a matter of... I think the sequels are more fun. Honestly, the remake wasn't that far off the mark. This is a dark film that's not that easy to have popcorn-y fun with. It is remarkably filmed with great special effects and a real eye for the surrealism of nightmares. I'll say, too, a point I seem to be perfectly alone on... Heather Langenkamp was very young, and her acting... leaves a lot to be desired here. She gets better down the line, but this performance was kinda painful.

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare : This movie is hilarious. I love how goofy and bad this is. Freddy was officially not scary anymore, and even though this was, at the time, intended to be his swan song, they didn't give a single shit. They had him killing kids with the fucking NES Power Glove and cackling at his own dumbass jokes. The story goes totally sideways and suddenly he had a daughter. Even moments that could be frightening, like the parents of dead children wandering around with decreased sanity and no purpose, just get turned into a dumb gag. So bad, it's good, indeed.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child : I love Alice. It needs to be said. She's my favorite final girl in the series. Anything with Alice will be getting a thumbs up from me. It's amazing to me that the production of this movie was so troubled, because they actually managed to cobble together something so unique and fun here. It has some of my favorite kills in the series, as a matter of fact. Though at this point, the series was becoming more about the kills than characters, so watch out for that.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge : The gay one! That's partly why it's high on my list. It actually does something with coding the character as gay, and let's just say I might know something about being young and closeted and scared. So maybe it hit me where I live. I know people hate that they changed Freddy's lore for the movie, but that makes it such an interesting outlier to me. It stands on its own in a lot of ways and makes for a unique watching experience in a sea of movies that start to become very similar.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare : This is Craven's pre-Scream attempt at being super meta. And it's better than Scream. There, I said it. I've truly never seen anything like it. I'm not even sure how he got everyone to agree to let him do this. It's so risky. And it works. Freddy is now a demon feeding off of Craven's muse and transforming the actors in the film into his puppets to play with. His look here is warped, like a demon wearing an ill-fitting mask of the character it wishes to portray. Basically I find this scarier than the first film. It plays with the idea that scares literally everyone who first hears of Freddy: what if that was real?

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master : Have I said I love Alice? I love Alice. This is her origin story as the ass-kickingest Freddy fighter this side of dreamland. I love that her power is she can harness the power of others, so that even when characters die, their deaths aren't pointless. That is kind of a problem with this series. The pointlessness of even trying to fight Freddy, so I love seeing characters become empowered enough to stand up to him.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors : Yep, not original. Not me. Just loving what everyone loves. So everything I said about the fourth film goes double here. For the first time in the series, a movie said, hey, these kids matter. Their struggle matters. So we have a group of intensely memorable protagonists going through hell and just trying to stick together. Then discovering their secret powers to stand up to their collective demon. It's very "othered" coded, and so a lot of us othered people feel pretty strongly about this one. For good reason. It rocks.

And that's the series as it stands right now. As you can tell, I prefer when the series decided to blow the limiters off. Or when it decides to get good and stupid. So the idea of remaking it yet again to be dark and edgy leaves me yawning. If we could get a proper 80s throwback, then I'd be interested.

#franchise review

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liugeaux · 1 year

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Ranking Zeldas

It’s simple. This is my Ranking of the 15 “main line” Zelda games. The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom got its release date today. So I figured I’d finally publish this Zelda list I’ve been sitting on for about 5 months. This mainline list includes all the major console and portable games. What it doesn’t include are the spinoffs and weird side games (examples: Hyrule Warriors, Link’s Crossbow Training, Four Swords, the CDi games, etc.). Some of the placement here is kinda controversial. Please keep in mind this is MY list, I’ll gladly read yours, but you’ll need to assemble it first(and justify the placement of each, lol). Until then, eat this 15 game list.

Note: Many of these games have been remade or remastered. Most of the remakes are pretty true to the originals. Assume I’m talking about the original unless otherwise stated.

15. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Let's start with one of the more controversial placements on this list. The Adventure of Link is so drastically different from its predecessor and consequently was very hard for me to get into. I understand that a lot of games were influenced by it, but I really don't have any love for this dud. If you enjoyed it, fantastic.

14. Spirit Tracks

Spirit Tracks was the follow up to Phantom Hourglass. Unlike Phantom Hourglass the gimmicks of the DS just didn't stand out. Also, the illusion of openness that Phantom Hourglass successfully achieved, was completely wiped away by the snooze-inducing train mechanic. There's nothing inherently wrong with Spirit Tracks, it's just rote in a way that other Zelda games are not.

13. Oracle of Ages and Seasons

These two Capcom-developed portable games suffer from being Capcom games. I'm not saying Capcom makes bad games, but they do make hard games, especially in the '90s and early ‘00s. I think the ultra difficulty of these two wouldn't be as big of a problem if they were released on a platform better suited for games of this scope. No other titles on this list are as ripe for a Link’s Awakening-style remake as Seasons and Ages, but I think these two might be lost to time.

12. Skyward Sword

By the time Skyward Sword came out, the 3D Zelda formula, established by Ocarina of Time, was too transparent for Skyward Sword to succeed. I'm sure if this were my first or second Zelda game I would feel very differently about it because again, there's nothing wrong with it. Unfortunately, the gimmick of the Wii motion Plus was not enough to make Skyward Sword’s experience drastically different from previous games.

11. Majora’s Mask

I really want to like Majora's Mask more than I do. The time loop mechanic is charming, the mask transformations is a mechanic not seen anywhere else in the series, and that damn moon is creepy. However, something about the overall presentation just doesn't come together. I've played both the original and the remake and both times I've finished the game with the same feeling of frustration and disappointment. If Nintendo were to visit the concepts of this game today, I feel like the Zelda team would be more prepared for such a weird experience, As-is, it's too messy to put any higher.

10. Phantom Hourglass

Link’s first adventure on Nintendo DS was solid. Phantom Hourglass successfully squished down a lot of the concepts found in The Wind Waker, and brought the traditional 2D gameplay from classics like Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening into a more modern setting. On top of this, the touch screen and two screen gimmicks were novel and exciting. As we get farther away from the DS and the 3DS, I don't know how those gimmicks will age, but unlike Spirit Tracks, Phantom Hourglass feels big and is a proper adventure for Link that some of the 3D Zelda’s don't achieve.

09. Breath of the Wild

This game's placement on the list is going to upset a few people. I've been very vocal about how I feel about Breath of the Wild. I recognize that it's a groundbreaking achievement in Zelda games, especially on the underpowered Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, Breath of the Wild neutered almost everything that I liked about the Zelda series. I like the open world, but I don't like the lack of direction, I don't like weapon durability, and I don't like that I can wander into a section of the map where all of the enemies are way more powerful than me, without warning. Breath of the Wild feels like the Zelda franchise taking a step into a future where Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls have greatly influenced the landscape of gaming. While that might technically be the right thing to do, it definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Tears of the Kingdom, promises a lot more of this. Hopefully they can iron out the experience and convince me that Zelda Souls is a good choice.

08. Twilight Princess

At the time, Twilight Princess seemed like the Zelda game we all wanted. A darker motif, a tortured protagonist, and a feeling that Nintendo had finally made a Zelda game for adults. What Twilight Princess proved was that the window dressing of a Zelda game is less important than we anticipated. The dungeons are fantastic, and the wolf transformations were novel at the time, but Nintendo's unwillingness to go fully Rated R with the substance of Twilight Princess leaves the game feeling like a knock off Lord of the Rings adventure. Of course the tried and true Zelda gameplay and structure is there, but with only that in place, it's hard to rank the game higher than 8th.

07. The Minish Cap

The Minish Cap, another Capcom developed Zelda game, seems to learn from its predecessors in almost every way. The difficulty has been toned down, the tone has been lightened, and the fact that it’s a Game Boy Advance game helps The Minish Cap feel like a modern 2D classic. That's without even mentioning the Honey I Shrunk the Kids vibe the whole game has. Second only to Oracle of Seasons and Ages, The Minish Cap is hungry for a Link’s Awakening-style remake. With this being developed by a third party I don't know how easy that would be to do, but knowing Nintendo, they probably own everything regarding this game. So there's always hope.

06. Link’s Awakening

Link’s Awakening on the Game Boy was a window into the future of what portable gaming could be. It was substantial, it was charming, and it successfully adapted the core gameplay of the console experience. What it wasn't, was approachable. Link’s Awakening, the original, has aged very poorly. Luckily, Nintendo saw the opportunity to remake it. The remake improves its gameplay, inventory system, art style, and most of all it's approachability. There's something about the Link’s Awakening remake that feels like a game you want to pick up and play. Sure, playing it on a big screen makes it feel tiny compared to games like Breath of the Wild, but this remake stands as the template for reviving forgotten headaches of games.

05. A Link Between Worlds

Many of the concepts in A Link Between Worlds were carried over to Breath of the Wild. The inventory system, and the fact that there is no designated order in which you have to explore the dungeons, makes this game feel like a proof-of-concept for a much bigger game. I don't say that to be dismissive because as a standalone game, A Link Between Worlds is phenomenal. It successfully calls back to the iconic A Link to the Past and finds ways to set itself apart from not only it's predecessor but also the rest of the games in the series. Funny enough, A Link Between Worlds only further proves how unengaging Spirit Tracks really was.

04. The Legend of Zelda

The original Legend of Zelda was groundbreaking, no one can dispute that. I have fond memories of renting it as a child and trying to figure it out, despite the game giving very little direction. The charm of dropping into a world and simply not knowing what to do was exciting at the time, at least until the technology caught up to what Zelda games are supposed to be. Playing The Legend of Zelda today is quite an undertaking. Without the patience of a late '80s gamer, it's hard to dive in without some sort of guide or walkthrough. So I guess the original game’s biggest barrier-to-entry was created by the technology available at the time. That doesn't mean we can't rank it with those hurdles in mind. I love this game, but I know better than to go back and try to play it in 2023, I don't need that punishment.

03. The Wind Waker

At the launch of the GameCube, no game was more anticipated than the new Legend of Zelda, and with a darker more serious trailer played at Space World, Nintendo wrote a check they just refused to cash with The Wind Waker. This however, didn't affect my interest in the game. The Wind Waker very much feels and felt like a greatly improved upgrade of Ocarina of Time. It was beautiful, it capitalized on the power of the GameCube, and it introduced a huge open world that simply wasn't available prior to that platform. The cell-shaded art style gave Link and the other cast members a vibrant feel that very few video games have been able to replicate. The HD remake on Wii U, with its reworked ending sequence, only improves upon the already fantastic game. Despite its placement at number 3, The Wind Waker might be the most inherently playable game on this entire list.

02. Ocarina of Time

Ocarina of Time doesn't need my stamp of approval. It is widely seen as one of the greatest games ever made and I don't disagree. It has a polish and a presentation not seen in many games to that point. With Z-targeting, it perfected combat in a 3D environment and told a long intriguing story while still holding true to the formula put in place by its predecessors. In my mind, the success of Ocarina of Time was the catalyst for the dozens of 3D adaptations of 2D games that followed. Ocarina changed gaming, and no one can take that from it. Oddly enough, Ocarina's biggest sin is creating a standard that basically every 3D Zelda game has followed for 25 years. That's not really a complaint, more of an observation. Outside of a couple of puzzles here and there the game holds up and its inclusion on the Nintendo Switch online service is a fantastic way to introduce new audiences to a classic game.

01. A Link to the Past

That leaves us with one more game, A Link to the Past. The original NES game was fraught with quality of life problems. It’s hard to blame the game for that, since the NES had its limitations. The SNES, in many ways, was a system whose handcuffs were removed. A Link to the Past is a perfect video game, and is as vibrant and exciting today, as it was in 1992. It improved on the original in every single way and packaged it in a user-friendly interface that simply wasn't available on the previous console. The puzzles are solid, the action is nerve-wracking and most importantly the difficulty is manageable. It would have been easy to make this game inaccessible, but Nintendo went with a more positive-whimsy that encouraged exploration instead of leaning into relentless combat encounters that would quickly ruin much of the experience. Some have argued that the SNES is the greatest video game console of all time, and I’d say A Link to the Past is one of the cornerstones of that argument. I'm probably preaching to the choir with this one, but if somehow you made it to the end of this and you've never played A Link to the Past, do yourself a favor, no, do humanity a favor and play A Link to the Past. You might end up being a better person.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is scheduled for release on May 12, 2023. Unlike Call of Duty, or Assassin’s Creed, Zelda games only pop up every 5 or 6 years, so these releases are precious. I hope for the best, and I’ll be there day-one, but if the series is still moving in the direction I fear it is, I might end up more disappointed than I’d like. We’ll see.

#the legend of zelda #zelda #tears of the kingdom #ocarina of time #link to the past #majora's mask #a link between worlds #wind waker #minish cap #oracle of ages #oracle of seasons #link's awakening #the adventure of link #Zelda II #Twilight princess #phantom hourglass #Skyward Sword #spirit tracks

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adamwatchesmovies · 7 months

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Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (1998)

Making your way through a franchise compels you to rank the installments from best to worst. Having reached Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, I’d put it third on the list after the original and the first sequel. That sounds promising but actually, it’s more of a testimony to the weakness of the follow-ups than to this one’s success.

Set after Halloween II and ignoring all subsequent chapters, it’s October 29th, 1998. Michael Myers (Chris Durand) has acquired Laurie Strode’s address from Dr. Loomis’ personal files. Meanwhile, in Summer Glen, California, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) has faked her death and is living under the name “Keri Tate”, raising her son John (Josh Hartnett) while remaining haunted by the tragic events of 1978. She has no idea Myers is once again on her trail.

In some ways, this is a “good” sequel to Halloween II in that it maintains the continuity established and progresses the story further. This Michael Myers was described as “pure evil” by the late Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance having passed away in 1995) but really, he’s a deranged “normal” human being who is obsessively stalking his sister. Nothing supernatural going on. It’s not the way I like my Halloween but your mileage may vary. Regardless of your preferences, credit is due to Jamie Lee Curtis for her portrayal of Laurie Strode and to the filmmakers for the conclusion. Laurie isn’t like the characters we usually see in horror movies. She knows that knocking Myers down isn’t enough so she grabs an axe; she knows the killer is after her and uses it as a way to protect her son from harm. As for the finale, I don't want to give away too much, but it doesn’t get much more definitive than this. It would be impossible for another confrontation between Strode and Myers to happen.

I said “good” earlier because this film consistently makes some major mistakes. First of all, this Michael Myers isn’t frightening at all. His mask looks cheap and trashy. You’d think the people in charge would’ve taken the time and effort to make it look 1) like the original 2) appropriately weathered considering it’s been 20 years since Myers last wore it, and 3) intimidating. They didn’t. Throughtout the whole film you can clearly see Myers’ eyes, which makes him look human and therefore vulnerable. You believed he could take several gunshots and disappear into the night 20 years ago. Now? It seems ridiculous.

The best parts of this film have Strode pitted against Myers either in person, or psychologically when she “sees” him in reflections or in the distance. Everything else is generic and a waste of time. John and his friends are only there to give us a body count and they play no part in the film’s conclusion. We get one decent kill that involves a service elevator. The rest lean toward the unintentionally funny. Some of the humorous tone is clearly deliberate. LL Cool J’s portrayal of a security guard is played for laughs all the way through but this is less of an attempt to bring new life in the franchise and merely someone trying and failing to emulate the success of Scream, released 2 years earlier. That film was lampooning slashers while also being one. The humor was subversive. The protagonists being able to knock the killer over with conventional weapons didn’t take away the tension because their identity was still a secret. Here? It deflates the potential for terror completely. There isn’t a scene in this film that’s tense or scary.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later shows just enough potential for you to stick with it, but this just makes it more disappointing. Even if you like the path this installment chooses, I doubt you’ll be pleased by its lack of scares and lackluster killer. Ironically, that awkward title is just about perfect. This is a clunky, uneven film with ambition. (On Blu-ray, October 29, 2021)

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wow-cool-robot · 1 year

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Episode 30: A Wish of War Orphans

this is either going to be really depressing or be about the little kids. possibly both

the grunts bitching about nothing happening before getting crushed by that massive suit was pretty good

that snake just panicked and left its spots behind, so i have a sneaking suspicion this is going to be a comedy episode

they all have official ranks now! it's not just bright anymore

amuro isn't crazy about it, but it'd be pretty silly to complain only in episode 30 that you're a soldier. i mean, i get it. i wouldn't want to be conscripted into daily duels to the death either, and i don't think he's wrong to have second thoughts, it just wouldn't make much sense to vocalize them. and so he stays quiet

does amuro outrank sayla? i'm not totally sure how military ranks work, but i think chief petty officer outranks petty officer first class. feels weird

also weird is hayato and kai being the same rank. these 2 do not fill the same role at all. hayato is there to occasionally take out a grunt, but mostly to panic and be taken out of the fight by the enemy, while kai is there to hold off the enemy until amuro shows up. and also has a personality

fraw bow is doing her best to take the kids to daycare, but sadly has not realized this show would be too depressing to show to anyone under 14 without them

ryu got a poshumous promotion. that's nice, but it was a little cold to act as if he was the only one who mattered. i mean, he was, but the characters don't know that!

thought amuro was jealous for a second, but he actually thinks they deserve more than 2 ranks for giving their lives. unusually selfless of him

now amuro. you didn't deserve to get slapped, and the strict hierarchy found in the military is bullshit. but at the same time i do feel you should have expected that

i was going to say "you can't be considering keeping them! you're taking them from warzone to warzone!" but then i remembered everywhere they go gets destroyed, so the white base is probably safer than most places

it's definitely true they should be allowed to not deal with this though. amuro's on a roll re:thinking of others this episode!

this is one cynical kid!

kikka crying at the word mother is very sad. but the way they animate it is so good, i love it

and now they're all crying :(

running away is obviously dumb, but i'd have to be an asshole to care about that

them walking over the zeon troops without noticing is pretty good

char still wearing all red and his stupid mask and helmet on this misson fills me with joy

the kids magooing their way through the zeon attack and just being like "wow! it's like a gundam but it isn't!" is wonderful

you can't treat the kids like that! was gonna say "at least he didn't kill them" but he left them there with the bombs, so he just didn't want to see it happen

i'm surprised he can reach the pedals

kai staring at the bombs piled up in the back made me laugh out loud

kai's good with the kids, remaining the best character

yeah there's no way the kids would have survived being that close to the explosion

and now we have a return to the char and sayla subplot. i originally typed char/sayla but figured i should change that

sayla's acting like she didn't see char after mirai just started blasting. she saw you!

i think char just doesn't want to hurt sayla

i would not go on any missions involving char if i was a zeon grunt tbh. they have worse survival rates than federation officers helping the white base

char's willingness to just run (and also the fact that he's 3 times faster than normal) remain his biggest strength. though if he was slightly less cautious he might have destroyed the gundam in like episode 2, when amuro didn't know what he was doing

he's also a big adherent to the principle of 'you don't have to outrun the gundam, you just have to outrun everyone else'

their safety didn't seem very guaranteed to me!

thank you kai, 'these kids are so traumatized it couldn't possibly hurt them worse to come with us' is the perfect message for the situation

don't know it's necessarily worth celebrating the fact that they can't adjust to life not during wartime, but whatever

'bright. the white base is doing a great job. but you bring destruction along with you because zeon keeps going after you. you should have them do that somewhere else. like space. space is nice this time of year'

guessing this episode isn't very popular, but it's nice

i believe this is where the second movie ends, but i decided i didn't care after how nothing the first one was

#0079 #gundam liveblog

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obsessedwvampbois · 3 years

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𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐋 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬

Oh boy so this is gonna make people really mad. I have listened to a total of 52 songs from the Diabolik Lovers franchise (that I could find) and ranked them for the hell of it. For this ranking I will be including all character songs, openings (both anime and game) along with the remixes. I will not be counting solo versions of songs (eg. Gin no bara), soundtrack bgm or the endings themes.

My ranking is based on these things:

how well does the song fit the character/s or game, both in lyrics and aesthetic

the overall production and performance of the song

is the song a bop? would I willingly listen to it again?

Couple of disclaimers: I do not speak Japanese so I will be crediting the translations of each song as I go through them along with any think pieces / essays that I come across. If there is any song I missed, please let me know and I’ll slot it into the rankings, its hard to find one source that has all the songs recorded. Finally, just a reminder because I know I'm gonna make someone mad, this is my list! If you don't like it make your own or ignore mine, I'm only one person and my opinion is not final!

With that in mind, my rankings are below the cut

*Least Best*

These are the songs I will probably never listen to again. I have a few gripes with them that I'll talk about in my explanation.

52. 誓いのカンパネラ (Chikai no Campanella)

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

This song is just super underwhelming overall. The guitar is my favourite thing about the song but that's it. There is so much build up for a boring chorus. The lyrics don't have much for me either.

51. 血戦のDies irae (Kessen no Dies irae)

Tsukinami Brothers

~translation~

On the opposite end, this song is so overwhelming. There are so many elements to follow and its hard to keep up. This is the first time I'll bring it up but the volume of the voices is so quiet compared to the backing track, its frustrating. The lyrics is what brings it up a notch as it talks about the day of wrath (dies irae) as the day the founders take over. I was also low key hoping to hear some version of the dies irae song hidden in the background but I couldn't hear any.

50. S.O.S-ΑtoΩ-

Tsukinami Brothers

~translation~

This song just feels so forgettable, I just feel like there isn't much to comment on. There are some interesting lyrics sprinkled out like comparing literal self mutilation to abstinence. Also the actual delivery of 'S ah O ah S ah', I can't take it seriously.

49. Dystopia

Kino

~translation~

This had an interesting start because I hadn't heard anything similar for DL but then after a few lines the tone change was just a nope for me. Again, Kino's voice is super quiet and the constant barrage of all these instruments that don't really gel together its confusing. Overall, it didn't leave much of an impression and I couldn't really visualised DL in the song.

48. 吸愛ラビリンス (Kyūai Labyrinth)

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

Praise for the saxophone! Props to that because it shines here and is really the only memorable thing besides that final line of the chorus. The song does give the vibe of the Vandead Carnival with its more playful energy though. The lyrics feel really typical, like there are so many times I read lyrics about drinking blood before I get bored.

47. 極限(UNLIMITED) BLOOD -Remix ver.-

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation w/ original ver.~

I don't think I really need to hear EDM/dubstep and Diabolik Lovers again thanks. It feels super dated and the vocoded singing is a little much for my taste. Good source material and the stripped back vocals at some points is quite nice.

46. 愛しきPain (Itoshiki Pein)

Subaru

~translation~

First off please never let me see Subaru near a fedora again thanks. Overall I felt bored with this song, like its nice, but that it. There are similar sounding songs that just hit home similar themes a lot stronger later on. The best part of this song is the spoken word but it feels weird for Subaru to be singing such a slow song.

45. Luv Apple Juice

Ruki & Azusa

~translation~

Yes, I am counting Ruki's spoken word, its my list. Lyrics are a must read with references to Adam, Eve and Eden throughout. Again, the voices are super quiet and with how fast paced the instrumentals are its annoying. The tempo also backfires because these are two of the more 'chill' characters. The last complaint is that the speed of Ruki's speaking compared to Azusa's singing just isn't right.

44. DIE IS CAST

Kou & Yuma

~translation~

This has to be my least favourite opening to a song, the staccato is just really grating to me. The way I'd describe the chorus is loud, the same note over and over again isn't appealing. The lyrics are an interesting read but nothing feels super important. The highlight of the song is the pre-chorus, thanks production!

43. カレイドナイト (Kaleido Night)

Kanato & Subaru

~translation~

This song is just generic, like overall. The sound, the lyrics, the production. There just wasn't must for me to listen to without zoning out.

*Average*

These songs don't leave too much of a lasting impression on me, but I still enjoy them.

42. 苺の罪 (Ichigo no Tsumi) (strawberry sin)

Reiji

~translation~

First of the generic rock songs! I couldn't really find much in the lyrics of note I think the actual performance of the song is my favourite element here.

41. 真夜中の饗宴( MIDNIGHT PLEASURE) -Remix ver.

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation w/ original~

One the best part of the original is that opening section with the steps, it creates some nice anticipation for the coming song. The chorus this time round feels a little low energy after the hype of the pre-chorus. After watching the actual opening with the remix, I kind of wish they had the voice over, the song is so chill the last chorus could have it to make it feel more grandiose.

40. ZERO

Subaru

~translation~

Second generic rock song, this time it actually suits Subaru's brand! The lyrics do have some hints to Subaru as a character which is better. My sustaining thought is that this sounds like an off brand Arcadia.

39. Bloody★Mayim★Mayim

Sakamaki Brothers

~translation~

This has to have one of the strongest hooks for DL. For how many people sing in the song, it's easy to keep track of and the chemistry between them all is in sync. The main issue is that it feels like its missing some element to make it shine, the lyrics aren't in-depth too which brings it down another peg. The bridge/interlude is the best part though as I can visualise some mini story within the song here.

38. ADDICTED (2) PHANTOM

Ayato

~translation~

This song would be so much higher if I felt like it was more memorable cuz the lyrics here really shine. My interpretation is that this is Ayato questioning where his love stops and his sadistic nature to satiate his desires begin, can he separate the two? He both loves and despises the idea of draining his s/o dry. Another gripe with the song is that its not quite Ayato's aesthetic sonically.

37. Kindan no 666 (Three Six)

Kou & Azusa

~translation~

What puts this song so low is the majority of the instrumental, it takes a backseat here when I feel there could be more added. Props to percussion, drums are great though. After watching the MB opening so many times its hard to not see DL. Lyrics match with this one line here describing Kou in a nutshell:

"Sin spread from mouth to mouth, saying 'I’ll be gentle' pulls the trigger on a casual disaster!"

36. Iolite (アイオライト )

Shu

~translation~

I don't know why the producers associate electro-pop with Shu, I can't really see it much. I think they should have gone full glitch-pop instead considering how the song does a deep dive into his mind and thought process. Again, I think the voice is also quiet here but the instrumentals have some great moments, especially the strings.

35. 常夜KNOW UNDERSKIN

Sakamaki

~translation~

Well this gives Sakamaki vibes, nice guitar! Again, I like how it isn't overwhelming despite the amount of people involved. Lyrics aren't super impactful but super catchy.

34. 冷たい血 (Tsumetai Chi)

Ruki

~translation~

You have to read the lyrics while reading this, please! Its surprisingly wholesome and emotional overall. Again, there is the issue of the voice being way to quiet as the instrumentals swallow him whole after the second clock tick. The delivery is really well timed and production does a great job adding elements that works with the lyrics. There is a subtle echo to the voice that feels super enchanting as he comes to terms with the fact that he has fallen in love. Biggest drawback obviously is that this is just spoken word.

33. KISS♥MARK

Shu

~translation~

This song delves into the more perverse side of Shu, but we haven't really reached the level of Laito (we'll get there). The phone feels a little out of character but it suits that narrative. The straight cut out of music for the intermission was a bit abrasive but the transition back to music makes me forget about that with how slick it is. At least its better than a generic rock song.

32. カモフラージュ (Camouflage)

Shu & Laito

~translation~

What a great match up for subject matter, my interpretation is a denial and inability to accept oneself, ultimately using a mask to hide. So please look up the lyrics for some gems. However, after the 'against the blood' nothing really hit that same point sonically, furthermore its not the most aesthetically fitting for the two characters.

*Great*

These songs I actively enjoy, think about and do listen to occasionally and would recommend you check it out too.

31. >REDRUM<-

Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

This song is full of anagrams in the lyrics, I mean look at the song title. Its super catchy and is hard to forget about. The bridge is the weakest part of this song but it is made up by the distortion of vocals after the final chorus.

30. Fanatic of Night

Sakamaki Brothers

~translation~

Well time to party, talk about a bop and a half! Its just so fun, even though its to exactly DL to me, but that's Lunatic Parade for you. Shout out to the guitarist and percussion once again.

29. Bad Howling

Shu, Ayato & Kou

~translation~

This is super catchy, its nice to hear Kou in the opening song this time round, it spices things up. Theres some really nice elements played with the vocals as they sing over one another that is really well balanced. The biggest peg down is that I don't get super DL vibes and the lyrics aren't the deepest.

28. I.M.I.T.A.T.I.O.N. G.A.M.E

Kino

~translation~

Overall this song is a little generic and doesn't sound like DL but! There is a lot to love here too. Starting off with the performance, I really like the vibrato in his voice and the decent of notes at the end of the chorus is just, yes. It a nice hook and the lyrics are pretty good too. My only other complaint is that the drums mask some smaller elements in the background of the song which would have been nice to hear more in the forefront.

27. 極限(UNLIMITED) BLOOD

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

This is where the rankings get pretty hard cuz I wish this was higher but oh well. the dramatic shift from the opening piano to the song is so abrupt but it gets you pumped. The intermission does a good job of changing things up without cutting tension. The lyrics themselves seem to be from the view of the Adam project during more blood and the unquenchable thirst they get in the story.

26. アルカディア (Arcadia)

Ayato

~translation~

Immediately I get Ayato vibes from this song and the rapping does help too with a nice flow that isn't too jarring from the rest of the song. These lyrics are basically Addicted2Phantom on steroids, I can't see anyone else other than Ayato in them.

25. Kekkyoku Night

Ayato

~translation~

Don't know why but the guitar melody just seems like I had heard it before but I can't put my finger on it. The bass is super slick here and I really enjoy it. The vocal distortion at the start of the verse sets a scene for him to hunt down this person and its a narrative choice. The main issue is that I wish there was a little more pizzaz to the chorus.

24. Kaikan DEATH-TRUCTION

Kanato

~translation~

Spoilers but I have placed both a Kanato's songs pretty high up so this was a little bit of a let down after the other two. The main issues here is that I don't really get too much of Kanato in the song and the yelling before the chorus is a little much. This, to me, is a self reflection from Kanato which is a good switch up from his last two songs. Overall, the song is abrasive in a good way that isn't overwhelming and the 8-bit section is my fave.

23. 血濡れた密会 (BLOODY SABBATH)

Laito

~translation~

Oh boy, look these lyrics up for a good time. This song is about his hook up with a women with the song getting progressively darker as it goes on. Nice psycho reference but I don't know if it does much in the end. Really catchy hook and the escalation of the final chorus is just so good. Also I'm just going to leave this line from the song here:

“You wend all out with the rodeo girl play? So then, let’s grind!!!”

22. 幻日理論-Parhelion Logic

Ayato

~translation~

This song is meant to be kind of an open letter to Cordelia and my word these lyrics are haunting. It fits the vibe of Haunted Dark Bridal so well, super strong overall. I just wish there was a stronger performance vocally.

21. 暴言シンドローム (Seiron Syndrome)

Yuma

~translation~

Yuma, to me has some pretty good observation skills and its really highlighted here. The first line just hits the nail on the head in terms of how rough he is both in and out of the bedroom. This song is the best of the 'generic rock' with production being really smooth despite the high energy, it matches him really well. First line:

The pain of your sprained neck won’t subside

20. 蠱惑のParade (Kowaku no Parade)

Reiji & Kanato

~translation~

We got another catchy banger here! This song just screams 'the two of us are here to hunt you down and we won't stop till we get a taste.' I mean this song is super pleasing aesthetically and great lyrics to boot!

19. KILLYOU,AGAIN

Azusa

~translation~

The strings are an immediate attention grabber and its hold it throughout the whole song. Super catchy, and these lyrics are Azusa, especially this chorus. Id be interested to hear what people think about the second verse in particular cuz there's a lot to read into:

"In a worn out state of mind, no matter how many nights we question it... We’ve idealised too much."

18. SQueeze…

Subaru

~translation~

Okay before anything else, the squeeze at the start is goofy, I can't take it seriously. Anyway, I can't help but tap my foot to this song. Third times the charm, finally hitting Subaru's aesthetic to a T. The voice is a little quiet on the track but what takes over just sounds so good. The contrast of the bell and the guitar is just, yes thank you. The pre-chorus is a nice mix up to the status quo and these lyrics are great too.

17. 愛の檻 (Ai no Ori)

Ayato & Laito

~translation~

The opening is a nice tone setter for a haunting head bopper. These voices work together so well, just like how the sirens work with the strings. The singular violin during the bridge is great, praise to anyone who can do that my god. The string motif climaxes at the final chorus and it creates an awesome song!

16. 月蝕(Eclipse)

Kou, Yuma & Azusa

~translation~

Well we have a nice build up ballad here. The opening is a little out of place but I forget about it as it builds to this final chorus with the tempo getting faster and faster. The stripped back production also ends up aiding the song in the end with its punches and message. Speaking of which; I get the idea this is about watching some either currently or in retrospective how their personality changes after turning into a vampire; a loss of innocence. How fitting for the Mukami's.

“Despising the sunlight that filters through the blinds is only inevitable, I suppose”

*Faves*

This is what I think the best of the best is. It reflects the themes, ideas and characters of Diabolik Lovers in the best way possible. When people ask me what music from the franchise to listen to, I point to these songs.

15. Count off

Kino

~translation~

There is so much to talk about here, this is a mix of singing and spoken piece and it works so well for me. The delivery over this contagious beat I can't help but get hints of a k-pop vibe here. The movement to singing then vocoded voice are interesting and fun. The bridge switch up too is great, my only wish is that the choir hand a little more presence in the final chorus cuz its fun the first times round, it would be a nice call back.

14. A Certain Prophet's Fate [とある預言者の、運命 Toaru Yogensha no Unmei]

Reiji

~translation~

I can visualise a Nutella Kookie moodboard with this opening alone. To me, this is Reiji explain his views on women with allusions to Faust too, not the Ikemen version relax. there are some cool allusions to his mother in the lyrics too. The bass is so cool to listen out for and the guitar nodding to the chorus at the end is a nice way to end. I was just hoping for a little continuation to the opening like Reiji finding this person escaping on horseback.

13. CHAOS☆PARTY

Laito

~translation~

Aaaaaand another innuendo song from Laito, what a surprise! The jazzy, circus-pop vibes are super fun and catchy, I love it. It's like an upgraded version of Bloody Sabbath to me. The distortion on the guitar is also great to listen out for.

"Don’t decide where’s the critical point, grind as you feel it,

Till the moon oh, mockingly"

12. Mr.ButterflyMask

Reiji

~translation~

The opening may be cliche but it works so well, this is such a deep dive into Reiji's psyche; his mother, inferiority complex and village burning to name a few. The actual song is easy to remember which makes it even better here, the descending notes at the end of the chorus is a highlight.

"Burnt black, that awful land mark"

11. 真夜中の饗宴 (MIDNIGHT PLEASURE)

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

The song to start it all, thank god it's such a highlight. I get so hyped from hearing the opening footsteps; mirroring the prologue with You stepping into the mansion for the first time. I feel so nostalgic for this and I'm hyped to play the game every time I hear this. The spoken section is the high point in terms of the HDB aesthetic but these lyrics maaaannn:

"With a scream that shatters the moon itself I’ll give you this extraordinary pain called “love”!"

10. Guilty×Guilty!!!

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

I'm gonna get crucified for putting this above midnight pleasure but my list and this is my fave game op. The only peg down is the lyrics but it makes up so much for the actual sound variation. The unnerving energy from this scifi-y noise, it screams danger with the Tsunami arrival. The variation between the two verses in robs what places it high and the bridge is excellent to boot.

9. Farewell Song

Shu

~translation~

If I had to make one song recommendation outside of DL with this list it is this song here. The lyrics and melody match up the same way and both are strong in their own right. Onto the song, these lyrics really shine wrangling with ideas and the thought process of depression; something that hits close to home for me. With the inclusion of the destructive nature vampires its truely impactful. The sound of the song aids these lyrics too while all sounding like Shu.

Without pause, the drops of a drizzle had begun to weep...

...Comforting the screams of the things you’ve touched"

8. Mr.SADISTIC NIGHT

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

This is my favourite opening of all the games and anime and it is the most on theme with the DL franchise, not just the one game. The guitar rifts at the start are just sooooo iconic. The actual line "Mr Sadistic Night" is delivered so well too. I mean the song speaks for itself. I will make the observation though that this song is the epitome of kids unknowingly singing a song with dirty lyrics.

"If I’m so aroused by the snare of your enticing blood

Tonight, as I thrust deep into you, a lust for death awakens from within you!"

7. 悪魔的（Devil's）Spire!!!!

Kou

~translation~

This song is just Kou at his best, I can imagine him singing this at a concert as a debut single. It has all the elements of a catchy pop song with some sinister elements that just reflects his personality. Production has my praise here too. The song seems to be a friends with benefits situation Kou has as he recounts the tale. Also, more innuendos:

"In the deep red velvet sheets, Do you want to taste my forbidden syrup?"

6. Operation X

Tsukinami Brothers

~translation~

Haven't seen these guys in a while! You can tell production had fun adding all these medical sounds in the back like the sirens and heart monitor. The song itself is super catchy too, that bass just hits you at the core! The lyrics look like the Tsukinami's observation of You as she has become entangled with all these vampires and the situation just seems to spiral even more out of control.

"The risk spreads further the deeper you get involved...

...The more you give up, the more that guy mocks you"

5. GRATEFUL★DEAD★MARCH

Kanato

~translation~

Production had fun again, you can tell. It's more upbeat there is still a sinister vibe here. The constant switch ups within the song all flow so well. I feel genuine despair listening to this chorus, like Kanato is mocking or toying with me before going in for the kill. My only complaint is that the slowing down at the end is a bit of a mood killer.

4. 切断★舞踏会 (KIRISAKI CARNIVAL)

Kanato

~translation~

In terms of character aesthetic, this is sheer perfection. There is a narrative within this song that you need to look at the lyrics for the best experience. The sound effects act as a good way to heighten the story as they match the lyrics. One moment to note it both the chorus and pre-chorus as they act as the extreme ends on Kanato's personality and it creates a great dichotomy when placed together.

3. Q.E.D.

laito

~translation~

My favourite solo song, and the one I constantly visit the most. Laito is a complex character and this song does a self reflection in the best way possible.I would also recommend reading this great analysis by everything laito because I can't do a proper analysis justice. For the song itself, the piano is a great mood setter as it acts as if we are approaching Laito as he plays the piano about to go into one of his many monologues to himself. The intercut from the piano to the guitar is abrupt but it works so well as if there are crack in his facade showing through. The change back to the piano is great too and isn't distracting in any way. I also think this is such an emotional performance, like I can feel the sadness and despair along with almost a self deprecating humour to the delivery. Top notch stuff

2. 罠-If You’re Diablo- (Wana -If You’re Diablo-)

Mukami Brothers

~translation~

I want mention first off that the spoken word from Ruki is such an aid here, the pace is slower, more haunting and despair-inducing in tone. The speaking adds a nice break to the vocals. The chorus in particular packs such a punch its kind of nice to lie on the ground and just let the song envelop you. The lyrics give the impression that there is a mutually destructive relationship here with the Mukami's mentioning of betrayal yet they suck the blood of this person. There is also a feeling of hopelessness that the Mukami's know they can never achieve their goal of becoming Adam.

"I'd been resigned to become Adam since who-knows-when...

I continue to hate this fate, my prayers in zero"

1. Gin no Bara

Sakamaki Brothers

~translation~

And we're finally at the end! This song encapsulates everything that Diabolik Lovers is. Vocally, it's really catchy with such a somber vibe, because that's what DL is. It's a dark series but you can see that darkness with each backstory, the actions these characters take and just the overall hopelessness in this one song. The Sakamaki's all singing together packs such a punch too. There are so many gems in these lyrics, to literally acknowledging the pain and suffering their mothers' caused and coming to terms with the actions they have committed as they fall in love.

"The proof remains on your neck while you sleep quietly Even if an eternal curse awaits me beyond those overflowing tears

I now hold this love and pain in my chest"

*SHOUTOUTS*

I want to give a huge shout out to the following people. They have helped immensely with translation and just overall accessibility to the songs because they would be 1000 times more harder to find without them.

Silvermoon249 (Live Journal)

Asyqin98 Creator (YouTube)

S I s o v o l i (Youtube)

DIABOLIK LOVERS (YouTube)

Dialovers otaka (Tumblr)

Starlight voices (Tumblr)

Cannonette (Tumblr) @canonette

The Precious Sugar Chan (Tumblr)

One final note, I would recommend listening to these with headphones because the audio sometimes does that thing where it jumps from ear to ear and it creates the best effect to be more involved in the atmosphere.

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #sakamaki #mukami #ayato sakamaki #sakamaki shu #reiji sakamaki #laito sakamaki #kanato sakamaki #sakamaki subaru #ruki mukami #mukami kou #mukami yuma #mukami azusa #tsukinami shin #carla tsukimami #kino sakamaki

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0-racle-0-f-hylia · 3 years

Text

Who did the Hero of Time end up with?

In every Zelda game I could always find some reason, convenient or otherwise, for Zelink to be present- every game except one.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, 1998. Unlike games previous to it, it had several female love interests for Link. Saria, Ruto, Nabooru, Malon, and of course Zelda herself.

I never really considered the first three mentioned to be a good match for Link though.

Saria is a perpetual 10 year old

Ruto forced a 10 year old Link into an engagement with her (he didn’t even know what that was) and had him carry her around in her shoulders like he was her servant. (Not to mention if they did have any kids they’d be Zora, not Hylian)

Nabooru is at LEAST 7 years older than Link. I mean, she was an adult when they met and he was a little kid. (Also it is hinted at in game that she is Malon’s MOTHER)(think about that)

And then there was Malon. Initially, I didn’t think much of Malon to begin with. I mean, to me she was just the npc that gave you a horse, but whatever. I didn’t like her as a love interest for Link because I didn’t think she was good enough for him. I really HATE shallow-female-love-interest-characters that do nothing to support plot/Link and are only there to look pretty.

And a never gave Malon a second thought because it seemed to me that during the game, Link had a stronger connection to Zelda than he did Malon.

Zelda gave him the Ocarina of Time, an essential tool for his quest

Guided him after his seven year sleep as Sheik and taught him the teleportation songs

Helped him in the final battle against Ganon

Had a heartfelt goodbye as she sent him back to relive his childhood

To me, there are two legitimate reasons why people ship Malink. One being that, in the manga, Malon had a crush on Link and dreamed he was the “Prince” she was waiting for. Two, in Twilight Princess, Link, a descendant of the Hero of Time, lives in a ranch. So people naturally assume that since Malon herself is also a rancher, the Hero of aTime married Malon and hence all his descendants are ranchers.

Now, since the Manga isn’t canon, the first reason is void, but the second? It does seem pretty solid doesn’t it?

And for the longest time, I couldn’t find any reason to deny that, even if it made me want to pull my hair out because I couldn’t find anything to prove it was wrong.

Every Zelda theorist I knew, claimed that Malink was canon and I COULDN’T DISPUTE IT.

But after looking through both OOT, TP, and every trusted Zelda resource that I know-

I’ve come to the conclusion- that it is far more likely the Hero of time married Zelda not Malon.

I do find it believable that Malon or Talon founded Ordon village as it is the closest thing TP has to LonLon ranch, sharing many similarities in culture. And it is logical to think that Malon’s descendants would live in Ordon village.

So, in conclusion, the Hero of Twilight, descendant of the Hero of Time, is related to Malon because he lives in the ranch-centered village of Ordon!

Yes, it’s the perfect theory! No flaws in it whatsoever.

. . . except for one thing- TP Link- is not an Ordonian.

It’s a tiny detail most people seem to miss. In Twilight Princess, alongside all the other races of Hyrule, there are two kinds of humanoids:

Hyruleans: the non-magic people of Hyrule with round ears.

Hylians: with long ears, gifted with the ability to “hear the gods” and possess magical ability, as said in the Hyrule Historia.

Link is from the latter category, as he has long, pointed ears. And while it is possible one of his parents or grandparents was Ordonian, there is no way to prove this as he looks the same as any other Hylian. Meaning, it is likely that Link had no relation to the Ordonians by blood.

There are no other Hylians in Ordon besides Link, which leads me to conclude that Link’s parents were from castle town, the only other place in TP where Hylians reside.

In the beginning of the game, Rusl does say that Link has never been to Hyrule. But that merely implies that Link has ever been outside the village in his memory or since Rusl has known him.

Meaning his parents may have lived there when he was a baby. Or he was found/given to the Ordonians after his parents death or disappearance. Similar to how the Hero of Time was raised as Kokiri because his Hylian mother brought him to Kokiri forest and died soon after.

Epona is another factor that needs to be accounted for. It could be argued that as TP Link has a horse named Epona, this ties him to Malon, as the original Epona came from LonLon ranch. But it is a null point as the Hero of Time owned Epona even if he didn’t marry Malon and therefore his descendants, wether or not they are related to Malon, could have a horse that is related to, or named after Epona.

Now I’ve stated a couple reasons why I think Link didn’t marry Malon, but I haven’t given any reasons why the Hero of Time would marry Zelda. But I’m getting to that :)

One of the reasons why I believe the Hero of Time married Zelda is due to his appearance on TP, specifically, the Hero’s Shade.

Besides his ghostly, skeletal figure, the most intriguing thing about him is his armor. Comparing his elaborate armor to the much simpler armor of the guards or soldiers (not knights, as some people think) in Ocarina of Time, makes me believe he is much higher ranked , probably an esteemed Knight or something similar.

Which makes sense, considering he was the one who warned the king of Ganondorf’s treachery and possesses amazing swordsmanship skills. It is also hinted at in Hyrule Historia, that Link’s father was a knight as well, making Knighthood, Link’s inheritance.

Another detail I find interesting is, though faded, you can tell that the Hero’s Shade’s armor was once gold with red detailing. The armor’s color scheme, red and gold, is typically used by kings of Hyrule.

As seen in Wind Waker and the Minish cap. King Gustaf, King Daltus, and King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule all wear red and gold.

Another peculiar detail about the Hero’s Shade’s armor is the shape of the breastplate resembling that of an owl’s head. Owls are associated with wisdom. In OOT, Zelda holds the triforce of WISDOM.

In TP, you can buy an item called magic armor in castletown. It’s design is reminiscent of Zelda’s appearance in the game. Including the design of the crown pauldrons and tassel. This makes me assume it once belonged to a prince of Hyrule. This is further backed up by its red and gold color scheme, colors associated with the king of Hyrule.

The most obvious connection between Hylian royalty and the Hero of time is concerning the magic armor. Specifically, the long, red cap included in the outfit. Compared to the rest of the armor Link gets in the game, the magic armor just doesn’t seem to fit.

The hero’s clothes have a green cap because it’s what the previous hero wore, Kokiri styled.

The Zora armor has a blue cap because it is made to resemble the Zora’s long head fin.

But the magic armor? Something made for royalty? In all the other games, no other Hylian royalty is depicted with a long cap, so where could this style have come from?

Well, if the Hero of Time married into the royal family, perhaps his unique style would have carried over into the traditional Hylian royalty get-up, as he become a prince. Creating an outfit that includes the royal colors, crown, tassel and the Hero of Time’s long cap.

On a side note, may I remind everyone that in Majorca’s Mask, when the Skull Kid was attempting to bring down the moon the first time, Link flashed back to his last moment with Zelda?

Sure he could have just been remembering the song of time and yes, the fact that he has Epona means he did go back to LonLon ranch to see Malon.

But one, he probably just went to LonLon to get his horse to travel with

And two, he didn’t flash back to his last moment with Malon, did he?

And three, the fact that he rembered how Zelda reminisced about their time together and he didn’t just recall the song of time just go’s to show how strongly he felt about their relationship.

#zelda #twilight princess #ocarina of time #zelda theory #zelink

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borisbubbles · 2 years

Text

Eurovision (#35)

35. NORWAY Subwoolfer - “Give that wolf a banana” 10th place

youtube

Decade rank: 70/79 [Above Sheldon, below Efendi]

You’d expect them to be higher, but nope!

We interrupt this bashfest of Sad Emo Boi Ballads to shred some fuckin’ nihilistic novelty that -true to form- makes me feel absolutely NOTHING! Which honestly, given *the sort of entry* this is, is a giant fucking red flag for its (lack of) quality.

For some reason I convinced myself that I had always vaguely liked Subwoolfer before Eurovision, but oops here’s the review I wrote *before* their first live in MGP:

Way to go, me from the past!! I guess my pre-show appreciation was merely spillover relief that they won that *DREADFUL* National Final (if you want a sense of how brain-numbingly stupid MGP2022 was: Subwoolfer aren’t even amongst the 10 dumbest things about it! Imagine THAT!)

Regardless, my impression of Subwoolfer was always one of an act that isn’t nearly as witty or original as it thinks it is. It is effectively what a bunch of marketing researchers would come up with if you asked them to design a viral hit by strictly looking at census data. “HA HA HA! Masked singers in space wolf suits singing utter nonsense while doing a meme dance! HA HA HA HA! Are you not entertained?!”

Sadly the answer to that is: “not really”. First off, EVERYONE already knew Subwoolfer were Ben Adams and Gaute Ormåsen before they even won the NF, so fuck your mystery and shove it, Norway.

Secondly, once you get through the initial ‘wtf did I just watch” phase, it becomes stale alarmingly fast. For all its “ZOMG SPACE WOLF” bluster, “Give that wolf a banana” is formulaic and bland, and I blame a fucking lack of chutzpah..

Sadly, Subwoolfer also chose to take themselves seriously as a Joke Act and didn’t content themselves with merely being likeable gimmick filler. (a role they would have been fine in! “Dads in wonky outfits doing stupid meaningless shit for funsies” is Circus Mircus’s entire appeal!). The Concept Demanded however that Subwoolfer go viral AT ALLLLL COSTS!!!! So they tried, with a level of desperation usually reserved for Jessika Muscat’s MESC entries, and failed. Multiple times.

A wise individual would simply accept that “well, perhaps the overal project just isn’t that good” and leave it at that, hoping for the best, but nope, not these eejits.

Soon enough my enjoyment of “Give that wolf a banana” would be directly tied to my willingness to put up with the increasedly inane and obsequious bullshit they were spewing JUST to maintain a modicum of relevance. They lost me somewhere between “FUN FACT: “Give That Wolf” is actually a pro-vaccination anthem, where 🐺🐺 = 🦠 and 🍌= 💉 ” [ah, ain’t nothing like openly ridiculing a pandemic that killed millions of people] and “DID YOU KNOW THAT JIM AND KEITH ARE NON-BINAIRY? our 3000 year old space wolves are really woke! 🚀🐺”, [despite having male names and wearing male clothes and being played by cisgender men] Like, OKAY, now is the time to shut the hell up 🙂

(Also we don’t care if and when and where TIX wore that DJ Austronaut costume or not. How about you rely on a good song/gimmick instead of pulling some more extraneous BULLSHIT?!)

Eurotwitter still lapped it all up, ofc, as if we needed more proof you need to fail an IQ test to be a part of that community. The Casuals *and* Radio DJs I will point out completely ignored Norway, and instead were discussing the amazing entries from the UK and Serbia, two songs that *did* go viral because they were, in addition to great acts, ALSO great songs! 😁

but sure, secure that top 10 so NRK doesn’t have to learn from their mistakes and can FINALLY get their overdue NQ in 2023, I guess.

THE RANKING:

35. NORWAY - Subwoolfer - “Give that wolf a banana” 36. AUSTRALIA - Sheldon Riley - “Not the same” 37. SWITZERLAND - Marius Bear - “Boys do cry” 38. AZERBAIJAN - Nadir Rustamli - “Fade to black” 39. ITALY - Mahmood & Blanco - “Brividi” 40. ISRAEL - Michael Ben David - “I.M”

#Eurovision #Eurovision 2022 #Eurovision Song Contest #ESC 2022 #Turin 2022 #Norway #Subwoolfer #Give that wolf a banana #BorisBubbles

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anxious-ace · 2 years

Text

Some SCP AU shit:

Since River was a FNAF OC originally and has since evolved into more of a SCP OC, the two media's are in the same world in this au (it's also because of the Phantom family in general)

However, it doesn't mean that it's a broken masquerade scenario (yet, that comes later when the foundation finds out about the town of Gravity Falls and, albeit later, the Afton Family when someone spots the logo on a foundation truck outside of the Pizza Plex and alerts the news)

The Phantom, Bright and Afton families have major competition with each other for the title of the most fucked up family (the Gierisons would be competing if this was the "real" world but since it isn't, they can't, they'd be up there though)

Since "The Phantom Files" was created by Phantom Productions as a show/game series based on FNAF and "The Walten Files", it's fictional in that universe but it's its own universe where it's "real life" (or as real as a fictional universe inside of a fictional universe can get)

(It sure as hell explains a lot doesn't it?)

Ok back to business, no one knows who actually founded the, well, foundation, but there were rumors that it was Adam Bright (which would explain the family's vast knowledge on anomalies outside of being anomalies themselves and the family's fame, but it isn't true as he was a junior researcher when it was founded)

Since Jack is fucking immortal (thanks Abel), he is now almost as old, if not older than, the foundation itself (but he's still not an 05 because of, reasons)

He is pretty damn close though, he is right under them (which is terrifying to think about) which makes him pretty much in charge of certain sites whenever the 05's can't be bothered

(He's canonically site command/director which is what I'm getting at)

(It means people report to him and he reports to the 05s)

Since he's been around so long and has a very high rank, the 05s have decided to make updated personnel cards (they have level 6 cards now and site directors have the new level 5/Omni cards, everything else is the same)

No one knows why the Bright family has such bad luck, Clef has proposed that it was because someone in the family "pissed off the universe or something like that"

"It's either that or they pissed off 343." -Clef

As I said before, most of the rules on the list are jokes, whereas some are "just in case" and the rest are actual rules because of something he did (he knows which ones but no one else does which freaks them out because, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!?"

He might actually be insane at this point (it's either that or he uses the chaotic crazy personality to mask his crippling depression, anxiety and other mental issues)

"Both are likely, I honestly don't know anymore so it's anyone's guess." -The fucking man himself (Bright)

Since Jason (Jack's younger son) and Alexsiev (Jack's husband) are a part of a MTF (still don't know which one that'll be), they are usually on the front lines which sends Jack into a panic everytime

Jasper is anomalous with abilities similar to their uncle's (TJ) ability meaning they can heal a person's wounds or illness with a single, albeit prolonged (depending on severity), touch but instead of the wound or illness transferring to them, they just feel the symptoms without actually having the ailment (which is why they are usually used to heal people instead of TJ)

Jason could be anomalous but I'm not so sure about the details (could be some kind of super solider which has super human reflexes, enhanced hearing, enhanced sight and some other super soldier type abilities like inhuman aim)

There is a theory, made by foundation staff, that the Bright's have anomalous abilities pertaining to whatever job they have, which would explain Jasper and Jason but what about TJ, Sarah and Jack? (as well as Alexsiev but I'm not going into that yet)

(The answer to that question by the way, is I don't fucking know)

Jack and Mikkel hate each other because of their views on situations like, dealing with their own family members for instance (Jack is more understanding of how the other party feels when something is done to them, whereas Mikkel is a jackass who only wants to do his job)

Jack has gotten TJ out of containment, restrictions still exist though, and he's let David and his brother (don't know his name, I just know he exists) move in with him, Alexsiev and his oldest children (Claire lives somewhere else, close to where she works)

The house has multiple floors (it's basically a manor like the Thomas-Wright family manor) with the ground floor having the kitchen, living room and dinning room (+ two bathrooms) and the second floor having all of the bedrooms (+ two more bathrooms)

There is also a basement and an attic that are used for storage

Jack has snuck arts and crafts, food, water and other stuff to TJ numerous times

Jack had an ex boyfriend (Jasper's dad) that, let's just say, wasn't the best (like any of my favs exes) and basically abused him (it got worse when Jack, or I guess Jackie, was pregnant with Jasper)

(The body Jack/Jackie is currently in functions the same way it did before but with Jack's conscious instead of the original person's)

Alexsiev already knew Jack/Jackie (childhood best friends, yes Alexsiev is technically immortal too which is why they've been together for as long as they have and why they were so close to begin with) and the situation that was at hand, which is why he showed up to the house, had the ex arrested and let Jack/Jackie live with him so he could help raise Jasper

They started dating shortly after the ex was arrested and got married a few years after Jasper was born

Jack and Alexsiev still haven't told Jasper about it but they are that age where they now understand that their dad must've been bad enough to warrant silence/a very emotional response when asked about

Jack says that his life was "ruined way before they were even conceived, not that they ruined my life, in fact, they made it better. They gave me a reason to live, they gave me a reason to keep going. I'm glad I kept them."

The foundation has this graveyard (they have a lot of them, pretty standard for how much death happens) just for all of Jack's bodies that he maintains himself (which is kinda grim, the man has to dig his own grave and bury a past version of himself and not in a philosophical way)

Since "The Executions of Dr. Bright" happens in the broken Masquerade timeline in the Middle East (I think, the writing on the truck translates to "caliphate party") and (in this universe) it takes place after a van is spotted at the Pizza Plex, so there is a need to figure out why and how they went to the middle east in the first place before leading into "The Executions of Dr. Bright"

(There was probably some really anomalous shit that made the foundation send like 7 researchers to that area after they've been found out)

#my ocs #scp oc #scp foundation #the phantom files #scp

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today-only-happens-once · 3 years

Text

clarity

Word count: 5463

Summary: Hakoda had been hearing rumors about the Fire Lord's son for years. That doesn't mean he is ready when the truth finally comes to light... especially when the truth only confirms the worst. Companion piece to “out of focus” but can be read separately.

Warnings: injury/burns, angst, some mentions of trauma and PTSD, canonical child abuse/mutilation, Sokka gets angry protective and yells a little, blink-and-you-miss-it mention of nausea, please let me know if I missed anything.

A/N: Turns out, I really wanted to explore Hakoda’s POV of the events in “out of focus”. So much so that not only did I write this, but’s longer than the original. Woops. Hope you enjoy it!

Read on AO3.

...

His son is good at many things, Hakoda thinks, but his poker face is not one of them.

He’d had never been particularly good at it, if Hakoda is being honest. He’d usually been able to tell with one glance when Sokka was at fault for something breaking and would blame Katara, and Kya had been even better at reading the micro-expressions of their son. Sokka is older now—and in more ways that Hakoda is comfortable with, he carries those extra years around like a weight on his shoulders—but he still hasn’t quite mastered the art of subtlety. It was something he’d need to work on if he wanted to be chief of the Southern Water Tribe one day.

Sokka shifts in his seat across from him, his brows pinched slightly in evident annoyance. Hakoda sees the shared glance between his son and the Fire Lord. Zuko’s mouth twitches in something like amusement.

“I want immediate release of all war prisoners,” the Earth Kingdom ambassador, Bashi, beside Sokka demands.

Hakoda inclines his head. “I second that. I have men in those prisons that haven’t seen their family in a decade.”

Hakoda couldn’t imagine what that would be like. Two years apart from his children had caused him to feel like he’d already missed out on so much of their lives. The idea of going five times that without any news from the outside… Suffice it to say that Hakoda did not envy those men.

“Of course,” the Fire Lord says, but his voice is nearly swallowed by the loud demand down the table, “Absolutely not!”

The hard glare that Fire Lord Zuko sends down the table at the Fire Nation Admiral makes Hakoda grateful that he is not on the receiving end of it. “Admiral, people who were arrested as prisoners of war have no need to remain so after the war has ended.” Zuko meets Hakoda’s gaze, the heat in his glare lifting at the redirection of attention. “I’ll draft that mandate tonight and will ensure its circulation as soon as possible.”

The Fire Lord—dressed in the traditional royal robes and his hair pulled into a top knot—is a stark contrast to the first time Hakoda had met him back in Boiling Rock. At the time, Zuko had been Fire Nation public enemy number 2 behind Aang. The tattered red tunic of Fire Nation prison uniforms had hung off his thin, borderline-malnourished frame. He looks better now, a little. Zuko is still lean, but not quite as gaunt as he’d looked in the Fire Nation prison. Hakoda’s biggest concern when it came to the Fire Lord’s well-being these days was the dark circles around his eyes that, though he tries to hide it, indicate too many sleepless nights.

“This is an outrage!” The admiral slams his fist against the table, leaping to his feet.

Hakoda feels his jaw clench in frustration. He has little patience for men who try to assert themselves through aggression and yelling rather than calm rationality. Even so, it doesn’t surprise him, exactly. Hakoda had been around long enough to know that Fire Nation men had long been taught there was power through anger, and to wield it as they see fit.

Zuko rises to meet his feet, slowly and deliberately. “Admiral--”

“Where is the justice for the Fire Nation families whose sons and daughters were slaughtered by those criminals?”

Hakoda presses his hands together to keep them from curling into fists. Did the Admiral not realize just how many Fire Nation soldiers walked free after slaughtering innocent people, let alone soldiers? Even the person who killed Kya--

“Admiral.”

“I remember a time when you cared about Fire Nation soldiers! And it’s hard to believe you’ve forgotten, seeing as you ought to be reminded every time you so much as look in the mirror--”

Hakoda frowns. The comment rings vague bells in his head, though he can’t remember why…

“Enough!” Zuko snaps sharply. “You will watch your tongue or you will be escorted out. You approach insubordination.”

“You are a child,” the admiral says, spitting the word child like it disgusts him, “though one that ought to know a thing or two about insubordination, given your father’s attempts to brand you with a permanent reminder of its consequences--”

“Warriors!”

“Then again, he always was twice the leader you never will be. Long live the Phoenix King!”

Sokka is suddenly on his feet. “Zuko—!”

“Sokka—!”

Hakoda leaps up just as the admiral punches a fireball at the space between his son and the Fire Lord. His heart jumps to his throat, but Zuko is fast. He shoves Sokka’s shoulder down with one hand and dispels the fireball with the other. Hakoda leaps over his chair as he sees the glint of his son’s boomerang hook through the air.

The admiral’s gaze locks onto him for a moment and Hakoda instinctively ducks, diving underneath a bolt of scorching flames. He feels the ground tremble, hears the roar of dying flames above him. Hakoda risks a glance towards his son just in time to see Zuko step in front of him, bending the burst of flames to split on either side of them, rather than hit Sokka straight on.

The door ricochets open. Two Kyoshi Warriors spill into the room, and in a flurry of quick strikes, the admiral drops to the floor. Limp.

Bashi unbinds his feet with the bending from earlier—it’s only now that Hakoda realizes that tremble in the ground a moment ago had been earthbending—and the admiral hurls insults at Zuko as he’s dragged unceremoniously through the doors.

The silence that follows echoes in the room.

Hakoda takes a quick, calculating sweep of the room. Kovrik, the Northern Water Tribe ambassador, is wide-eyed but appears unharmed. Bashi is panting but standing upright. Sokka is hidden behind Zuko who shifts awkwardly in the silence.

He clears his throat. “Apologies for the, uh, disruption. It won’t happen again.” He looks, for all the world, genuinely apologetic. Embarrassed, even.

Which is foolish, Hakoda thinks. Zuko couldn’t reasonably be expected to have weeded out all of the Ozai sympathizers in a month. Ozai may have been one person but there was an entire ideology and system that allowed his tyranny in the first place. A sixteen-year-old couldn’t be asked to single-handedly dismantle it all, and certainly not so quickly.

“It’s not your fault, Fire Lord Zuko,” he tells him.

“I appreciate that, Chief Hakoda,” Zuko says. Behind him, Sokka sucks in a breath through his teeth and Hakoda feels his chest twinge in concern. He had fought in a war long enough to hear the pain laced through the noise. Zuko turns around to look at him, then turns back around sharply to address the room. “We will adjourn the meeting for today. We will reconvene tomorrow.”

Zuko hides it well, Hakoda thinks, but there’s an urgency to his words hidden behind a carefully constructed mask of stoicism that leaves no room for doubt in Hakoda’s mind. Sokka is hurt.

“But Fire Lord Zuko—”

“I think we could all use a breather, Kovrik,” Hakoda jumps in, not eager for another argument to break out. “Coming back tomorrow with a clear head is a good decision.” Besides, the sooner he can clear the room of other people, the sooner he could check on Sokka who Zuko was—almost protectively—keeping from view.

“Yes,” Kovrick acquiesces, though Hakoda can tell he’s still not pleased. “Yes, I suppose that’s fair.”

Zuko nods his appreciation. Kovrik, Bashi, and the few other dignitaries that had been in the room bustle out the door. Hakoda waits until it’s latched shut behind them before he turns his full attention towards his son. Zuko has already turned his full attention to him, saying something in a low voice.

Hakoda can sees the clench of his son’s jaw and the slight wince as he places his hand in Zuko’s. Hakoda steps up behind the Fire Lord, peering over his shoulder. His chest tightens a little in sympathy when he sees the blistering, angry red skin on the back of his son’s hand.

“Do you have anything that can help?” he asks of the Fire Lord, frowning. He thinks briefly of calling Kovrik back in before he remembers that the Northern Water Tribe’s men, even when benders, didn’t typically learn its healing abilities.

“Yes, sir,” Zuko replies, not taking his gaze from Sokka’s hand as if he could heal it by staring at it hard enough. “Though it’s not quite as immediate as waterbending healers. But it should help with the pain and prevent infection. Follow me.”

Hakoda follows as Zuko guides Sokka by the elbow out the door of the meeting room and through a network of hallways. There’s something almost jarring about it to Hakoda. The image of the Fire Lord leading his Water Tribe son through the palace to get him help, rather than as a prisoner, has a part of Hakoda’s mind reeling. Sokka’s blue clothing stands out against the dark reds and blacks that adorn the walls and pillars around them.

How quickly times had changed.

Hakoda thinks back to the conversation in the meeting a few moments ago as he watches the back of Zuko’s head, moving quickly down the corridor with Sokka in tow. Rumors and propaganda about the Fire Nation, and especially about its leader, flew quickly amongst the ranks of soldiers in the war. It had been difficult to know fact from fiction, especially as it related to the royal family.

A year ago—the memory comes crystal clear to Hakoda now—one of the men on his crew named Horrak had told him what he’d been certain was an exaggerated, hyperbolic story. Something about the Fire Lord and his thirteen-year-old son. On Tui and La, I swear it’s true. Heard it from the mouth of a Fire Nation soldier myself who was actually there.

He’s a tyrant and cruel, Hakoda had said, rolling his eyes because the idea was just… incomprehensible, but there’s no way Ozai would do that to his own flesh and blood. He’s too proud of his bloodline anyway.

Zuko glances over his shoulder at Sokka, and Hakoda sees the angry scar across half of his face. The words of the admiral in the meeting whisper in the back of Hakoda’s mind in a way that makes his stomach turn. Your father’s attempts to brand you… Hakoda had thought that surely, surely, even Ozai had a line in the sand when it came to his own family.

He’s less confident of that now.

Zuko says something to two of the guards stationed at the set of double doors that Hakoda doesn’t quite catch, and then slips through the door. Hakoda follows close behind.

“Wait here,” Zuko says, and then vanishes through a door on the far side of the room.

Hakoda glances around the room. It was a bedroom, but Hakoda had a hard time believing it was Zuko’s. It seemed too simple of a room to belong to the Fire Lord. Then again, Zuko had been full of surprises from the very first time Hakoda had met him.

He looks to his son, noticing the tight grimace to his face and the very slight sway and grabs the chair beside the bed to get his son to sit before he falls face first into the floor.

“You had good reflexes in there,” Hakoda says. He’d dealt enough with injured Water Tribesmen to know that distraction was usually the best way to help them deal with the pain of a burn. He had no doubt that his son was no exception to that.

“Lots of practice,” Sokka replies, obediently taking a seat. He hisses out another breath as his grip around the arms of the chair stretches the skin across the back of his hand. He swears under his breath.

“Easy,” Hakoda says softly, bracing a hand on his son’s back.

The comment from his son makes his chest twist, but he can’t very well deny it. His son had seen more combat in the past year than he’d hoped he’d have to in his lifetime. Hakoda knows that it was an unreasonable expectation for his son to somehow be the exception to generations of pain. It wasn’t that he didn’t think Sokka would be able to handle the fight—Sokka always been able to hold his own—but could you blame a father for wanting to spare his son the experience of waking up from nightmares, haunted by the people he couldn’t save?

Hakoda dealt with that enough for the both of them.

“Wish Katara was here,” Sokka says.

“I know,” Hakoda tells him. “Unfortunately, I don’t think she’s coming to Caldera for a while. She’s still in Ba Sing Se with Aang.” She and Aang were working on their own negotiations of reparations and treatises. Caldera was only one location of many that were in the middle of such conversations.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Sokka sighs. “Her magic water comes in handy, though… Get it? Hand-y?”

Hakoda snorts. That’s the kind of joke he used to make to get Kya to smile.

The door across the room opens again. Zuko emerges with his arms wrapped around a giant tub of water, several vials and rags gripped in his hands. He’d also pulled his hair out of the top knot so that it falls into his face, shaggy and unbrushed. It makes him look younger somehow.

Spirits, he really is only sixteen, isn’t he?

The Fire Lord seems to be studiously avoiding both his and his son’s gaze as he crosses back to him and sets the washbasin at Sokka’s feet. The realization twists uncomfortably in Hakoda’s stomach.

“Can I see your hand?” Zuko says in what is perhaps the softest voice Hakoda has ever heard come from the teen’s mouth.

Sokka blinks. “Yeah. Sure.”

Hakoda crosses his arms over his chest and watches as Zuko examines his son’s hand. The Fire Lord handles it with care, mindful of the injury even as he inspects closely. His brow is furrowed in concentration and there’s a long beat of silence. Sokka is almost uncharacteristically quiet, but Hakoda doesn’t miss the very slight way his shoulders seem to ease. There’s a familiarity between them, Hakoda realizes, and it makes him wonder in the back of his mind if maybe this wasn’t the first time they helped each other.

“I don’t think it’ll have permanent damage,” Zuko says eventually. “But I still need to treat it so it doesn’t get infected. It… might hurt a little. But then it should feel better.”

Hakoda sees his son swallow. “No permanent damage. That’s good.” He nods, evidently steeling himself. “Okay.”

Zuko looks for a moment like he’s about to say something else, but seems to change his mind. Instead, he busies himself with wringing a cloth in the basin of water, into which he had emptied the contents of the vials. Hakoda’s gaze flickers again to the scar on his face and wonders if he might be so intimately familiar with the care of burns from his own experience.

Hakoda wonders if there was someone else to help him and teach him. Perhaps that uncle that he and Sokka had mentioned. Iroh, Hakoda thinks his name is, though that would mean the uncle was General Iroh, as in the Dragon of the West. That seemed unlikely to the chief. No way this “wise old guy” who apparently spent his free time giving advice and making tea was also the same person who laid siege to Ba Sing Se for six-hundred days.

He watches Zuko press the rag gingerly to the back of Sokka’s hand and Sokka yelps, yanking his hand back.

“I’m sorry,” Zuko says immediately with a bit of a grimace. “This part is painful, but it’ll stop hurting in a minute.”

Hakoda listens to the strained breathing of his son, taking a step towards him before Sokka manages, “Right. Right, sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Zuko tells him. “I know it hurts.”

Hakoda watches from behind Sokka as his son places his hand back in Zuko’s, who slowly but gingerly presses the rag back to his hand. There’s a casual intimacy to the way that Sokka willingly gives over his injury to the Fire Lord. An assured immediacy to Sokka’s movement combined with the extraordinarily careful way in which Zuko handles it that surprises him. He’d known, intellectually, that his children had become close with the Fire Lord. But the moments in which Hakoda got to be witness to that friendship sometimes still caught him off guard, even all these months later.

It even folded into the way they fought beside each other. Hakoda had gotten very fleeting glimpses of it back in Boiling Rock, but he’d seen it more clearly in the meeting room a few minutes ago. They watched each other’s back, protecting one another without getting in each other’s way, like it was a rehearsed dance. Hakoda had watched the way Zuko stepped in front of flames to protect his son and had seen the way Sokka had timed his boomerang through to ensure the next fireball directed at Zuko would be kicked wide.

For a long moment, the only sound heard in the room is the quiet splash of water as Zuko submerges the rag again and wrings it out. Hakoda glances at the Fire Lord’s face and wonders if Zuko had always had a habit of facing flames head-on.

“What did the admiral mean,” Sokka blurts out suddenly, breaking the silence, “when he talked about insubordination?”

Hakoda’s lips press into a thin line, his gaze flickering briefly to his son before flitting back to Zuko. Zuko’s eyes had gone wide, the rag in his hand frozen half-out of the bowl. He blinks. “What--uh. I, uh.” Hakoda sees his hand clench around the rag and the way he takes a careful, intentional breath. “When I was younger, I spoke out at a meeting.”

Zuko busies himself back to tending to Sokka’s hand. Hakoda, however, feels something sink like an anchor in his stomach. He goes very, very still.

“After the stuff at Ba Sing Se? When you went home?” Sokka asks, and Hakoda realizes that he hasn’t heard the same rumors he had. Rumors that were at least a little bit true, but surely not all of it. Surely--

“No, I uh.” Zuko coughs a bit. “Before that. Before… yeah. Earlier.”

“What happened?”

Hakoda stays quiet but he keeps his eyes on Zuko, who looks for all the world like a wild snow leopard caribou that had been cornered. His shoulders tense and Hakoda wonders, very briefly, if he might make a run for it. His jaw clenches, and he shifts to the balls of his feet.

Zuko doesn’t run.

Instead, he seems to focus even more on the administrations he’s giving to Sokka’s injury, as if healing something else might be able to protect him from his own old wounds coming under scrutiny.

“My uncle allowed me to attend a war meeting,” Zuko begins after a long beat as he wraps a fresh bandage around Sokka’s hand, “where they were talking about some battle strategies to use against an Earth Kingdom battalion. There was a general that wanted our newest fleet to serve as a distraction while we mounted an attack from the rear.”

Hakoda feels for a moment like he’s standing on cracking ice. He heard about that attack. The few members of that battalion spoke of how victorious they’d felt, decimating an entire fleet of rookie Fire Nation soldiers only to be attacked from the rear. Hakoda had spoken two years ago with one of the Earth Kingdom soldiers that had escaped, had listened as she recounted the bloodbath it had been.

They must have known, she’d been saying with a haunted, far-away look to her eyes, that we’d win against a bunch of newbie soldiers. It was like they were served up as goat-dogs for slaughter. Just a… distraction. Ozai doesn’t even care about his own people.

That conversation had been two years ago. Which meant—

“That’s not fair,” Sokka says. “Your newest recruits? They’d be slaughtered by an experienced battalion like that.” Hakoda feels a brief flicker of pride through the growing tightness in his chest. His son is far smarter than he gave himself credit for.

“Exactly,” Zuko sighs, bitterness dripping from his voice like venom. “And that’s what I told them. I wasn’t thinking. I just… yelled at him.” Zuko secures the end of the bandage to Sokka’s palm slowly, as if reluctant to be done with the process. “My father didn’t… take it well. I was challenged to an Agni Kai, and I thought I would be facing the general in it, so I accepted.”

The steadily growing tightness in Hakoda’s chest snaps around his lungs like a steel band. So even the worst rumors—the ones he’d been certain couldn’t possibly be true, not about that, not even Ozai—had been true. And it was all because he tried to save people’s lives.

Hakoda does not have a weak stomach, but it rolls with the lead weight of realization.

Zuko still doesn’t look at either one of them. Unable to keep his attention on helping Sokka’s injury, he turns his attention instead to gathering the basin of water and the empty vials and used rags. Something to keep his hands—his attention—busy. Hakoda had seen some of the men he fought with do the same thing when talking about stories they mostly tried to forget.

“No…” Sokka says in a low voice, and Hakoda knows from the horror in his voice that his son is starting to put the pieces together too.

“It wasn’t the general,” Zuko confirms, his voice quiet and heavy in the silence around them. “It was my father.”

“You faced your father in an Agni Kai?” Sokka asks.

“Not exactly. I…” Zuko stares down at the bowl, his gold gaze looking a thousand miles away. “I couldn’t fight my own father. Instead, I begged him for forgiveness. I was met with a fist full of flames.” Zuko waves a hand towards his face.

I begged him for forgiveness.

Hakoda thinks of the version Horrack had told him. I heard the kid was kneeling in front of him when it happened—

“He--” Sokka also sounds at a loss of words, his voice choking off.

“I was banished after that,” Zuko continues and his voice is hollow in a way that ricochets like shrapnel. Hakoda watches him meet his son’s gaze. “I was told to bring the Avatar back and all would be forgiven, or to not come back at all. That was before you and your sister woke Aang up from the iceberg.”

He hears what Zuko won’t say. It was before there’d been confirmation that the Avatar was still around at all. He’d been banished from his home and told to chase a ghost. It was an impossible task. Ozai didn’t want his son to come home at all, Hakoda realizes. And from the tight way Zuko swallows, he’s pretty sure Zuko knows it too.

Hakoda clenches his grip into a fist to mask the tremble to his hands. Zuko had done the right thing at that meeting—had tried to spare lives—and had still asked for forgiveness. Begged for it. And Ozai had lit his hand on fire and… and… painfully mutilated his own son and then kicked him out, telling him to chase a legend. In some ways, Hakoda thinks, it was crueler than telling him not to come back at all.

Zuko is sixteen. But he is still a child, though saddled with the weight of righting a century of conflict on his back. And Hakoda knows that the Agni Kai had been three years ago.

“How old were you?” Sokka asks tightly.

Spirits above, he was only—

“Thirteen,” Zuko says, and Hakoda sighs, shutting his eyes against the confirmation.

“Thir--” Sokka cuts himself off, his voice strained. “Thirteen. Tui and La, when I was thirteen--” he breaks off again.

Hakoda knows what Sokka is thinking about. Sokka was thirteen when he’d left to join the war effort. He’d tried so hard to keep Sokka as safe as he could. Protect his childhood from being stolen more than the war and the loss of his mother already had. He’d seen the stubborn set to Sokka’s jaw when he’d chased after him onto the ship gangplank, and Hakoda knew that Sokka was just as protective as he was. He’d asked him to look out for the village, for Katara.

Hakoda would have done anything in the world to keep Sokka safe. He still felt that way, despite all the ways that Sokka had proven he could hold his own. He couldn’t help it. He wouldn’t want to. Sokka was his boy. Not so little anymore, not so innocent. He’d seen and been through too much, and Hakoda had missed most of it. But he’d tried. He’d tried to keep him safe for as long as he could manage.

At thirteen, Zuko had been hurt by a person he’d loved and then thrown out into the world with barely a second thought. The Fire Nation had robbed him, too, of so much. Too much.

Sokka takes a sudden step towards him and Zuko visibly tenses as if expecting a blow. Sokka freezes in place. “Zuko…”

Zuko shakes his head quickly, and there’s a small part of Hakoda that uncoils when he sees the way Zuko’s gaze doesn’t look quite so distant anymore. “Anyway. That’s--that’s what the admiral was talking about.”

“You…” Sokka sounds close to tears. “You were his kid.”

“Yeah, well.” Zuko looks at Sokka again. “He spent most of my life wishing I wasn’t.”

Hakoda’s jaw tenses. He looks at Zuko who looks, for all the world, like a sixteen-year-old kid, with his shaggy hair falling into his face and in Fire Lord clothes that are maybe just a touch too big for him. At thirteen—barely a teenager—he’d spoken up out of an intense desire to keep more people safe. To save lives. In Hakoda’s eyes, Zuko was a hero. Just for that.

How anyone could look at him and not be proud was far beyond Hakoda.

“Zuko,” he says, and Zuko’s gaze flashes over to him almost like he’d forgotten Hakoda was there in the first place. “I… hope you understand that you didn’t deserve that.”

The words fall short of what he wants to say, of what he means. But they feel important to him. Zuko deserved better from his nation and especially from his own father. Hakoda doesn’t know very much about the former royal family, but he doesn’t get the impression that Zuko heard that a lot. And if nobody else was going to make sure Zuko knows that he deserves better, Hakoda will at least try.

Something softens a little in Zuko’s gaze. “I know, sir,” he says. “It… I didn’t at first. It took me a long time to understand that it was wrong of my father to do that. But I know that now.”

Hakoda inclines his head. It is a small mercy against the tremendous pain the kid carries on his back, but it’s something. And as far as Hakoda is concerned, it’s not a small thing, either.

“Where is he?” Sokka demands in a near growl.

Zuko blinks, looking far more surprised by Sokka’s outrage than Hakoda is. “Where’s who?”

“Ozai.”

“Sokka, what are you going to do? Fight him?” Zuko looks completely bewildered. “He already lost.”

“Against Aang, not against—did Aang even know?”

“Um, I guess I don’t know. I never told him. I… never told any of you.”

“Yeah--and what’s that about, huh?” Sokka takes a step forward. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

Hakoda takes a step towards his son. “Sokka,” he warns.

He wants to explain to him that sometimes things are hard to talk about. Spirits know there were things Hakoda had seen in his days involved in the war that he didn’t want to talk about and hoped he never would have to. He wanted to explain that events like that, things that linger on the edges of your nightmares and follow in lock-step with your shadow, had a nasty habit of strangling in your throat so that the words don’t come. That it is easier to carry those things close to your chest rather than lay them bare for the world to see.

But Sokka is fuming and cuts his father off. “What, did you think we wouldn’t care? That it wouldn’t matter?”

“It doesn’t matter!” Zuko hurls back at him, waving a hand towards the bedroom window. “My father already lost to the Avatar, Sokka. The war is over. The fighting is over. Aang took his bending. And that—I don’t know about you, but that’s the best, most justified end to his legacy I can think of.”

There’s a long, heavy moment of silence. Hakoda watches the way his son’s shoulders heave with angry breaths, his non-injured hand curled into a fist. Sokka had always been fiercely, desperately protective. It runs in the family, Hakoda thinks idly. But this wasn’t something Sokka could protect Zuko from. The damage had already been done.

Hakoda thinks, perhaps, that such a truth only makes it harder for his son to deal with.

“Wherever he is,” Sokka growls, “I hope he rots. He deserves worse.”

Zuko blinks, his eyes wide. Hakoda wonders briefly if Zuko has ever had someone be angry on his behalf, rather than angry with him.

Sokka evidently doesn’t understand his surprise. “Don’t tell me you disagree—”

“No,” Zuko says quickly. “I just… nothing.” He offers the barest hint of a smile at Sokka. The reminder of the familiarity between them relaxes some of the tightness in Hakoda’s chest just a fraction.

There’s a long beat as Hakoda hears his son suck in a deep, slow breath. Zuko’s gaze falls from Sokka’s, drifting back to the basin of water beside him. Zuko’s fingers twitch at his side. He looks suddenly uncomfortable, Hakoda thinks. Nervous, almost.

“Thank you for helping Sokka’s hand, Firelord Zuko,” Hakoda says suddenly, and maybe it’s a foolish way to convey to him that this didn’t change their opinion of him. At least, not for Hakoda… and from his surge of protective anger, he’s pretty sure the same goes for his son. Zuko was still Zuko. And if maybe he made sure to call him Fire Lord as a quiet reminder that Hakoda did not think him less of a leader either, then maybe that was okay too.

Hakoda sees the slightly pink tinge to Zuko’s cheeks as he meets Hakoda’s gaze. But he reads the understanding in those gold eyes as well. “Oh. Uh, of course, sir. And… just Zuko is fine.” Thank you, is the unspoken words that flit across the teen’s gold eyes.

Hakoda smiles a little, inclining his head. “Understood.” He turns his attention then to his son. ”I should draft a letter to Bato tonight to update him on the treaty. Will you be okay without me?”

Sokka rolls his eyes, but the corner of his mouth is tilted up in a half-smile. “Yeah, dad. I think I can manage.”

Hakoda gives Sokka’s shoulder one last squeeze and a nod to Zuko before he ducks out of the room to give them both a moment to talk more. He closes the door behind him, pausing long enough to take a breath.

Generations of conflict had been ended a few months ago by a bunch of kids with too much weight on their shoulders and too many shadows clinging to their edges. But at their heart, they were good people trying to do good things. Spirits know they all had plenty of reasons to be otherwise. War had a nasty habit of bringing out the worst in people, of demanding sacrifices to who you are. It could latch onto the darkest parts of you and pull until it was all that remained. He’s grateful that the group of kids that ended the Hundred Year War managed to keep the best of themselves despite everything, and that they continued to do so.

Hakoda had learned a long time ago that goodness is a choice. And he’s grateful that the world was in the hands of people like his kids, like Aang, like Zuko. Kids who, despite everything and all the ways people tried to pull their darkness out of them, continued to make that choice.

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