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rawliverandgoronspice · 8 months

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This is not me defending Nintendo's shoddy writing when it comes to heavy parts of the Gerudo lore. But I do wonder if some of their really bad missteps are because of their lack of knowledge of Western racial politics. A lot of Japan is still heavily xenophobic, and racial diversity is almost zero, so they might just not actually think about the implications because they just... don't know they exist. It's not an excuse, because Nintendo IS a global company, and there should be some extra research done, since stuff like that is just really fucking iffy. I'm just trying to figure out where that stuff comes from tbh, and why it's still around, instead of being weeded out. So maybe that's a reason, in which case... maybe get some writers who can write depth into their characters.

Hey, thanks for the ask!

So... I feel many things about this, and I completely see where you're coming from, and I think you have hit the nail on the head about why Nintendo do not feel like handling this issue is necessary, or that it doesn't concern them altogether... but I have to be honest, I feel like we give Japan way too much slack on these issues in general, and it's a very common problem (thinking of the controversy on FF16 for just another recent example, or the way queerness is handled in a lot of anime and games). Regardless of, just, the artistic integrity to incorporate the rest of the world as existing alongside you which isn't... mandatory of course, but I believe is important for the sake of honesty: there are japanese people of color, there exists a queer japanese community, and a lot of immigrants living in Japan have to deal with rejection and being considered a second-rate citizen all of the time. Not to mention anything about the new generations of people who were victims of their occupation not so long ago, a subject which is still regularly repressed and ignored by their government (and by the world at large, the US had interests in quieting down some of the worst things they did due to Cold War stuff, and in the West we mostly focused on Germany and collaboration --which makes sense, it's what we knew, but anyway it's complicated and not the topic). This is not a case of mere innocence, it is a case of politically construed ignorance; which is very different, and should not be regarded as equivalent.

But even beyond their own internal socio-political issues, which I am not qualify to speak about beyond what I know from second-hand stories I heard and what I have personally researched, The Legend of Zelda is an IP that is tailored for the West (TM). It is incredibly more popular here than it ever was in Japan. It is a product designed for export. Trying to anticipate what the western market enjoys and fitting right in is part of their responsibilities as a brand if they want to succeed. So, either they did not consider this aspect, which was absolutely something they should be criticized for, as subjects of diversity are hot and trending right now (even without getting into their moral implication) and they did what I consider to be the bare, cynical minimum in this department; or they had an inkling, and considered their choices wouldn't be a dealbreaker. Which... they clearly were not.

Again, I am sorry to be a little cynical here, but while I certainly don't think Nintendo was being consciously malicious here, like making choices to actively play into harmful stereotypes and strict gender roles as some form of active ploy in some sort of culture war, Nintendo is run by conservative japanese men with capitalist interests and a responsibility towards their own government as a major player for japanese soft power. The company will *never* question its own biases, especially if the West just eats up whatever they do and build a human wall of excuses to justify their absence of accountability. This, beyond the game itself which is good and fine and also kind of soulless the more I think about it (in my opinion), is what depresses me and what makes it hard for me to move on: to give them a free pass on these subjects is a choice everyone is collectively making, because it is the Nostalgia and the Childhood and we are desperate for wonder and joy --and it ultimately makes us somewhat toothless as consumers.

And I want to add I am absolutely not immune to this, and it doesn't mean I'm condemning the practice of fandom or the possibility, or even the necessity, of holding several simultaneous truths about a piece of media at the same time and navigating them depending on what is being discussed; but Nintendo is obsessed with controlling its image as a company, curating things as acceptable or unnacceptable as they see fit, approving or disapproving of their consumers' behavior and punishing them accordingly (as well as the rest of the industry *side-eyes the thirty patents on basic gameplay actions*), and it's to say nothing of how employees may be treated beyond the perfectly curated Pikachu yellow walls. This corporate image of being non-controversial is enforced. It doesn't mean I don't admire them for a lot of things, their genuine commitment to game design innovation, their virtuosity when it comes to level design in particular, the way they foster pools of raw talent, their devotion to open up the market to new demographics of gamers, or for the risk they took with the Switch and the wonderful venues it opened for indie devs. I love their games, profoundly, and I owe the company a lot of my joy.

But again, I think it's important to consider several realities simultaneously; and this joy, this goodness, this beauty, while absolutely wonderful and worth preserving, always runs the risk of getting in the way of our discernment in what is getting sidelined.

#asks #totk critical #zelda critical #zelda fandom critical #nintendo critical #gerudos #thoughts #thanks for the ask!!#sorry if I went a little hard there #a little uhhh Too serious #but I am genuinely a little depressed about how we settle for corporate safety as the epitomy of greatness #mechanical perfection as sufficient in itself #and I don't know how we meaningfully fight this #the structures of power comprised of people who are terrified of their own soul and the capitalist safety they will forever cling to

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vestaclinicpod · 8 months

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Audio Drama Sunday - 3rd September ✨

I think it’s criminal to have to work on a Sunday instead of going on a little walk and listening to little podcasts, but here we are 🫠 It’s been a frankly ridiculous week of listening and there’s still so much more I haven’t had time to catch yet!

🌲@hellofromthehallowoods (131) Percy! Going to get Diggory! I think it makes it so bittersweet that he was about to apologise off the bat because you just KNOW that when they meet for real it won’t happen that easily. My god, I could listen to.a whole show just about this hastily assembled Friends of Zelda team. It’s so lovely to have Alice back in the narrative and I care for Tattery Stabs so much!! ‘How much do you like your brother?’ Really cracked me up. I love how hfth takes horror tropes (e.g. creepy doll) and they’re immediately someone new to love. Speaking of someone to love!! Hector is putting in a really good bid for the award of ‘most traumatised man in the Hallowoods’, though the competition remains tough. This experience will no doubt have changed him, I can’t wait to find out how!

🦀 @thesiltverses (31) So many new and familiar voices in this new season and all of them are delightful! The writing and delivery of Val’s monologue in particular was so powerful and I was left cringing in my skin at the callous assertions that she is controllable… did we just hear the same thing? I have no idea what is going to happen this season and it’s thrilling and terrifying in equal measure!

🦮 @malevolentcast (35) This episode is such a rollercoaster oh my god!! There are so many layers of horror here! Not just the fear of the ‘other’ and of what other humans can do, but also the intrinsic fear of losing the self. What’s happening with John is so very unsettling, it’s been so long that we’ve almost taken for granted the way that John guides Arthur . . . what will he do when he can’t trust John’s assessment of the situation?

📻 @monstrousagonies (110) penultimate?! Excuse me??!! Penultimate!!! How am I going to cope without having fictional night folk problems solving my actual real life problems every week?? Panic aside, I really loved this episode. I was so glad to hear the presenter telling the author of the first letter that it actually wouldn’t be unreasonable to kick off just a little. I’ve often thought about just bringing a cat home and seeing what my wife would do . . . (I know this is bad, it’s not going to happen 👀) BUT a CHILD? And aw, yay, what a satisfying end to an unsatisfactory CEO. It was a pleasure to meet station and the MA community was in fine voice!

🌒 @monkeymanproductions Moonbase Theta Out FINALE!! I’m not going to share too many thoughts today because it may not even be out at the time of posting but IT’S AMAZING GO LISTEN!!!! Seriously, I cried so much at the thought of this show being over. I’ve loved it for such a long time and it’s been amazing to listen to it grow and see all the team’s hard work pay off spectacularly!

🧛‍♂️ @re-dracula what a busy, busy week for the Dracula characters! Marriages, millions of kisses, casual medical abuse, VAN HELSING. What a week.

🧬 Regina Prime (7) Damn, Epsilon has both the fire and the fight! Veeerrryyy interesting that Omega needs an assistant with a physical body… what have you got, Omega? I’m imagining a clone that is 1000s of years old, more mush than human. And the slip up with the number of clones . . . Omega . . . ? Something you want to share with the rest of the class??

💫 Wolf 359 (49 - 50) I am usually not the biggest fan of time loop stories but, of course, if W359 makes it, you know it’s gonna be great. The whole set up of the aliens being unable to communicate clearly because Doug chats absolute shit all the time is just so endearing to me. I can’t believe I’m getting so close to the end!

🏴‍☠️ Yes, I did listen to the @levianpod pilot again. What of it? Please, please support this show if you can! It must be made. I need it.

🎧 So lovely to hear from @thestoragepapers in last week’s episode of The First Episode Of! I feel like it’s so brave to ask for people to join in on the writing of your show but we love to see a collaboration thriving!! I need to bump this up my to-listen list!

🐬 @patterspod (3) Fiona Caruso, the woman, the myth, the legend. Someone needs to check in on the thriller writers because they’re just not okay… Also, Ryan, you idiot. I don’t even know if we can blame the influence of some eldritch force on these bad publishing attempts, but I feel like he’s going to snap like one of twig man’s branches at the slightest supernatural pressure. Which will be fun for us, at least!

All these amazing episodes, but my ears are bigger than my schedule and I still need to listen to new KILL FM. I’ve been really, really meaning to catch up on Additional Postage Required as well! Here’s hoping for a more chilled week next week! 🤞

#audio drama #podcast #podcast recs #audio fiction #audiodramasunday #audio drama sunday #hfth spoilers #malevolent spoilers #tsv spoilers #moonbase theta out #monstrous agonies #finding pattersby #wolf 359 #regina prime #re dracula #levian podcast

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chemicalbrew · 5 months

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2023 game list, part 1: I love complaining!

Once again continuing what has become an honorable tradition thanks to @smash-64 💜

I tried to promise myself I'd be more organized this year, trying to take notes after I beat things, making lists and gifs and everything, as it has become a consistent yearly undertaking. In truth, what happened is that I felt more overwhelmed by this than I did the last three years. The best explanation I can give is a combination of two facts: this year, while not particularly worse than what came before, still saw my confidence in myself tank a bit (i.e. What does this matter when few people read it and I don't bring much things of value to the table?)...

And the fact that I played very few games that really stuck with me, that I enjoyed enough to see through to the end and feel like that had merit, for a lot of the year. When that wasn't the case, it was more than likely I'd been on my nth playthrough of Katana ZERO of the year (more on that in a later post, hopefully).

I probably need help, don't I?..

games I played, but don't have much to say about at the moment without being prompted, aside from 'I kinda liked them, I guess', ordered best to worst:

Purrfect Apawcalypse trilogy (2019-2021) - series of VNs that's genuinely just good fun as you find yourself attached to the characters before you know it. You'll know if this one is for you at a glance. Also, this is how I found out about Panel Royale! LOL

The Witch's House MV (2018) - good old RPG Maker horror with a few decent twists. The remake has good QOL changes.

Gunbrella (2023) - the plot might be forgettable, but you get a gun that's an umbrella! What's not to enjoy?

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995) - I played this game, but only in the most technical sense. Literally cheated the fun out of it - either that, or this platformer style is not for me.

Coffee Talk: Episode 2 - Hibiscus & Butterfly (2023) - the most upsetting entry on the list. The writer behind the original game has passed away, and his absence is felt keenly even if you're not aware of the fact - because this sequel lacks charm.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (2021) - yet another of those cheap and short indie 2D Zelda clones. The definition of the word meh.

Irisu Syndrome (2008) - a unique free puzzle timewaster. Tries to have a story and fails.

dishonorable mentions (the part with the most complaining)

2064: Read Only Memories (PC, 2014) [♪ Home (Not) Sweet Home]

Starts off decent enough, doing the bare minimum to string you along the mystery (which, for most people with standards, wouldn't even be good enough, but I was willing to stick with it for the sake of the neat audiovisual presentation).

As soon as the murder scene is revealed, however, the main plot starts to fall apart, and the longer you spend with the game's writing (which seems to go on and on forever) and characters (about as flat as a pancake fresh off the pan), the more bleak and yawn-inducing they seem (including Turing, who just took longer than everyone else to annoy me).

Do yourself a favor, play VA-11 Hall-A (which this game gratuitously references) instead. You'll get all the benefits of cute pixel art and upbeat soundtrack, but with an actually good story\character cast to match. I swear it says something about 2064 that one of its most exciting moments was seeing throwaway lines from a VA-11 character!

Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (PC, 2015) [♪ Climbing the Ginso Tree]

This is a game that won awards back when it came out almost a decade ago. Unfortunately, it feels like it was made to win awards and little more. While the credits scrolling up the screen tried to convince otherwise - with the usual special thanks given to families and pets of the developers - I sat there, unsure of what I was supposed to take from this experience (once again, the less words you try to use to tell your story, the more it usually suffers!).

The heart of any platformer is its movement systems - and, while eventually Ori's tools open up just enough to make you feel at least a little free and alive in its world, they also never go beyond what is almost painfully typical. Double jump, wall climb, ground pound, glide, charged projectile? None of that is going to wow anyone. The way it comes together is not too pleasant, either - Ori's too floaty and the obstacles before him, while painted with a talented stroke, are too unclear in their presentation to make for truly fun traversal. The exception to this is the escape sequences - sure, a lot of the time they're not much less frustrating than the rest of the game, but they're definitely more memorable, to the point where the accompaniment to one was the only part of the soundtrack I could think to showcase.

I don't regret the time I spent on this, per se, but what I can tell you is that it probably didn't deserve the awards. Also, the way the wall jump worked was annoying! Pushing towards the wall to do it feels very counter-intuitive, and with this I found that I much prefer when games have you face away from the wall to register wall jumps, or do not require you to press a direction at all.

Celeste (PC, 2018) [♪ Checking In] + Celeste Classic (2015, played as part of full game) :)

I was in high school when this made waves. I pointedly feigned disinterest as it splashed all over the internet, while making sure to download the soundtrack quickly and listen to it - more than occasionally - over the next three or so years. Lena Raine's work carried me through my school years and empowered me, and all the while I hadn't a clue what playing the game is actually like.

Those were the better days.

Now, the things about this game that seem to appeal the most to a lot of people are how refreshingly simple Madeline's moveset is and how much the game respects your time with death transitions and reloading, and the story it tells through heartfelt cutscenes and gameplay working in sync. To which I boldly say... none of those things are good enough.

Having to climb and manage your stamina adds another layer to navigating the rooms, sure, but to my simple ass, that's one layer too many. To the game's credit, there's a setting to make climbing toggleable instead of requiring you to hold down the trigger, and using that was the only reason I managed to push past the hotel and Oshiro (call me a scrub, it was genuinely overwhelming otherwise), but it still did nothing to change how I feel about this mechanic fundamentally.

I get it, it adds precision and verticality to your movement, and, seeing as you're literally supposed to be scaling a mountain, it's more than a natural inclusion... but its existence did nothing but add pressure for me, somehow. I would frequently forget it's an option at all before realizing the room in question expects me to utilize it. Instead of feeling like climbing expands my options, I felt constricted and awkward.

My second issue is much simpler. I'm a spoiled brat, and Celeste's respawning process involving that annoying whoosh sound effect and a transition that, yes, takes only about a second, but is still not quite instant, was not good enough. I recognize that having it be truly instant would not be ideal, either, but I can't help but wish that was the case.

As for the story... It underwhelmed me even back when I was doing surface level research at the time of release, and it's not impressing me now. It's okay, and I recognize why it would resonate with people - the themes of self-acceptance and resolve are plain to see (and just as plain to mull over). But in my time with the game, Madeline never began feeling less like an avatar for my failures and more like an actual character, never changed into someone I would truly like.

By the time I reached the Mirror Temple, I was certain that this game, in most respects, is just not what I would ever want. I pushed towards the summit anyway, and left it feeling profoundly... nothing.

However... Celeste Classic did not have any of those things! That little prototype gem of a game wastes zero time trying to set the stage and make you feel things with ~a story~, doesn't give you any opportunity to climb whatsoever, and neither does it waste your time having the screen fade to black when you die! And these three things, I reckon, are key to why this smaller version, that's supposed to just be treated as an Easter egg now, a relic of the past, and to be forgotten in favor of the project it grew into... resonated with me so much more! I beat it twice! It's lovely! It's what I actually needed Celeste to be!

IT'S COMPLICATED

AI: The Somnium Files (PC, 2019) [♪ MonzAI] + AI:TSF - Nirvana Initiative (PC, 2022) [♪ Nefarious Institute 1]

You know how they say not to judge the book by its cover? This is a story of me learning (once again) to judge a game neither by its reception nor by the credentials behind it. When I plowed through this duology, I came to understand that sometimes, lightning might strike just the once.

Of course, most of my bitter feelings about it stem from just how miraculous of a fuck-up Nirvana Initiative ended up being as a sequel (it's impressive how much it had to twist everything its predecessor stood for to even have a chance at making a mediocre point!), but a lot of the disappointment came from the way the first game carries itself in general, and maybe even from the presence this game has among fans. 'Oh, if you want more of the magic and mystery that you so enjoyed in Zero Escape, you have to try this! It'll be just as good!'

I should have had my doubts from the start, given how little I had enjoyed the ZE series after 999. AI1 flounders in many things, like its obtuse, deeply unfun gameplay loop - most of which is pressing random buttons until you see the most ridiculous shit present itself. There's also the overt reliance on stale and perverse jokes, and a story that can barely do much except trudge to the finish line and attempt to convince you the journey was worth it with a trite dance number, of all things.

But the thing is… even with all that, the first entry was somewhat compelling during its runtime, though most of that comes from its bold novelty. The idea of taking advantage of the surreality of dreams to find deeply concealed truths is fun to occasionally ponder, and there's just enough fluff to the places you visit and things you do to string you along for the ride (though having to check the same spots for flavor text on each revisit to very little results is a deep annoyance I have with both entries). The characters actually got a chance to grow (if not by much… this series' urge to be immature at every turn is nothing short of ruinous, sometimes), and their designs strike a wonderful line between outstanding and cringeworthy that makes them just… stick out in your brain, you know?

So while I thought the song and dance (both the literal and the metaphorical) were ultimately not worth much, I was still convinced, fooled by the magic just enough to see things come to an end; and the resolution itself was satisfying and believable, if nothing else. And with how exhausted I felt reaching this point, I figured that'd be enough.

To me, AI1 is all about finding shards of diamonds in the rough, and it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that its fandom runs away with what little they have to try and improve on it (and often succeed). As such, you'd expect its sequel to take advantage of how much room there is to grow, capitalize on this chance to refine things, and use the few strong themes the original presented (value of bonds and family made both by blood and by choice, finding those you can rely on to carry what you have done forward, etc)... right?

Um, yeah, turns out it twists over itself even more than I'd already thought possible in order to make sense (not to mention seemingly forsaking most of that mess right at the true end in order to approach the established universe from a contrived meta angle). If AI1 can be described as having extremely unrefined gameplay coupled with a decently intriguing story, NI is just about the opposite of that.

While I'm glad they bothered to make exploring the dream worlds enjoyable this go around, there's no way in hell that makes it worthwhile to bear witness to the innumerable ways in which this mess of a sequel sullied the already weak foundations laid down by its predecessor. When I had finished that game, I wrote, on impulse, that 'I haven't been this confounded by a sequel's existence since Chrono Cross'. It just… did not need to happen, like, at all.

Nirvana Initiative posed to me one of the worst questions you can have while playing a game, which is…

'Why am I doing this, again?'

Let's be real, it was mostly for the soundtrack. Unlike AI1, this game had passable music! Though having to watch ANOTHER dance number (like half a dozen times, actually! and no, there's no skip button!) just about had me gagging.

That's not even the worst part about that sequence, no - that would have to be the way it almost actively ruins and undermines what's probably the only passable character arc in NI (and even then, you have to squint hard for it to pass your judgement, given how it starts... gotta hand it to this game for managing to have multiple relationships with genuinely questionable setups involving uncomfortable age gaps).

I wanted to feel touched by the new, somewhat expanded narratives, I wanted to see the world grow a little, despite all the grievances I was certain I would have... But not even halfway through the plot, I realized that my true wish was to just move on. I think that's what I'll do here, as well, as even reminiscing on this chaos is quite dreadful.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch, 2022) [♪ Agnus Colony]

Don't become prey and victim to your own expectations - or to bad advertising.

Xenoblade is a special series, full of wonder and power. Words fail me this year, as they did the year before, when it comes to describing how much of an impact these games - the second entry most of all, a game I think about now and then with a bittersweetness on my heart that I oddly never can get enough of - had had on my mental well-being last year. They might as well have saved me back then, and while getting to experience them was something I'd been planning to do for a while, the specific circumstances it all had happened under were just so special, so exceptional, so wild, that it's hard to think of those days as anything but a gift.

And yet, there are plenty of things in this particular journey I still have to reconcile with. I never settled on what my impression of 1 is, in the end (or, some might say, I never properly played it); I could use a fresher look at 2, and… I never, ever, will finish Xenoblade Chronicles 3. It's a game I once had hopes for, but nowadays don't ever want to think about.

I thought it a privilege, of sorts - the fact that I was there to witness (and acquire) a brand-new release in a series that became dearly important to me. I ended up hearing many things - the trailers, the rumors, the leaks. They all spoke of a definitive resolution to the series, of levels of refinement never seen before, of intrigue so big you can barely take it, of key character appearances we were all dying to see.

Turns out most of what we were so eagerly expecting came with an extra price tag.

The base game of Xenoblade 3 is a mirage, a mere shade of what came before it. The environments are open and vast, but they look more drab than ever - and with the new autowalk feature, it takes even less time to get sick of it. The music takes you on a journey, but you forget what it sounds like far sooner than you'd prefer. The battle system promises lots of options and a nice learning curve, but it only overextends, overwhelms and forces you to grind. The cutscenes look every bit the part of a Xenoblade story, but meander and stretch things out to the point of boredom, which means none of the characters get enough time to grow on the player, either… Though a lot of them would probably go nowhere even given all the time in the world.

And the setting as a whole? Well, it's a simulation, so who cares about it feeling unique or fun? That's the point, the game says, you're supposed to empathize with these characters breaking out of their bonds, out of this miserable existence! Well, I say that things can be made appealing even in decay. You don't have to actively worsen things to make a point.

Future Redeemed is an impressive demonstration of how things could have been. It fixes practically every point where the base game falters - and it is in this part of the game where all those promises that once seemed hollow finally come true. Sort of. The exploration process is smooth as butter in the way none of the games before were, characters are at last back to having defined roles in battle, and all that teasing becomes a thing of the past as 3 acknowledges its own roots and past in full, and you think to yourself… 'If only we'd got this in the base game all along!'

But we didn't. And the credits on Future Redeemed roll far too soon to truly be satisfied. Is this how you wanted the saga to end?

honorable mentions

Butterfly Soup 2 (PC, 2022) [♪ Night Tourist] *I hope you'll forgive me for not finding a GIF for a mostly static VN...

It's so funny. For me it has been two years; for the creator, it'd been five. But I guess time doesn't matter when it comes to maturity, as I feel like both myself and this game have done plenty of growth. And for that, I love it all the more, just as I am now thankful to be able to call Butterfly Soup a short series.

Compared to the first game, the art is more refined, the tone is more consistent, and treatment of serious topics is more grounded - in more ways than one, this sequel is like a fond, yet melancholic look at what you once had, what changed since then, and what you hope to make of things. But between all that, it stays sincere and silly in the best of ways - the ones that make you feel cozy on the darkest of nights, the ones that endear you for a good while yet. Truly, this game was a ray of light in a sea of mediocrity this year.

Road 96 (PC, 2021) [♪ Hit the Road]

Yeah, I know. The fact that I have played a goddamn walking simulator at the behest of a good pal (who might or might not be reading this, hi on the off chance that you are!) is nothing short of a miracle. Not to mention the fact that I ended up having a good time with it!

I'll put it plain: the vibes of this game are almost impeccable. It wastes little time setting things up - it's the turn of the century, and a massively corrupt government is practically folding in on itself as it closes its borders. It's up to you, as you're literally put into a blank-slate teenager's shoes, to go on a desperate journey and see whether or not you make your way out.

Over the course of Road 96, you do this six times, and the people you meet on the way and choices you make with them may or may not shape not just your own future, but that of the whole country. There's nothing for it, then, but hit the road and see what awaits you, as you sit in a car that's probably stolen, blaring music from your carefully curated tapes… or are dropped off on the wayside with nothing but a paltry backpack to speak of… or find yourself biding your time near a gas station… or… whatever it is the game throws at you, as you hope that the strangers you run into actually deign to help.

Yes, the biggest way this game attempts to stand out is with our good old friend, RNG. Even reading blurbs about it, you cannot escape the all-too-typical claims of 'your own personal journey', 'a thousand unique paths waiting for you' and all that… months later, I find myself unable to decide whether this helped the game or harmed it more, as it's definitely smaller than it makes itself out to be.

As a story hook, this setup is clever and delightful, as I tried to illustrate a moment earlier, but the moment you begin to overthink it, you realize that the randomness aspect clashes hard against the continuity the game tries to establish. You, as the player, indeed learn more about the world and colorful characters in it each time you venture forth, but the avatar you control is supposed to be clueless as ever, setting out on a path that is, in fact, not quite their own any more. It's a weird gripe to have, and I found it an easy one to ignore, but I wish something could be done about it anyway.

As for the rest of the plot, let's just say it's... surprisingly binary, and the supporting cast small and not always compelling in turn. The game sacrifices some of the personal intimacy and uniqueness it has built up to make a sweeping, painfully boring statement of 'freedom good, suppression bad' before credits roll, but as damaging as that is to the overall experience, I feel like one can't deny the fundamental appeal of just being asked to go on a journey with sweeping stakes and truly, truly banging music. Seriously, it was meant to be put on speakers and blasted as the world passes you by!

In a word, Road 96 is ambitious, and in a sentence, it is ambitious, yet falling short of itself. Nonetheless, I was impressed by how it managed to worm its way into my heart for a while.

A Space for the Unbound (PC, 2023) [♪ Don't Have Much Choice]

Wouldn't you know it? I had actually played two games involving entering people's subconsciousness to solve their problems this year!

Truth be told, I'd been looking forward to this game for about a year, given that it was published by the people behind Coffee Talk (which, if you recall, I had quite enjoyed). The warm and inviting screenshots on the back-then almost empty store page, showing off awesome art and promising a sweet little journey with slice-of-life tropes and a mystery waiting to be solved… well, to say all of that was alluring is to say nothing, really. I just about jumped when I received a notification for this game releasing at last at the beginning of the year, and wasted little time trying to dive in.

The sad thing is, what you see is not always what you get. The cozy, comfortable, sensible vibes of the early game - running around the city, doing chores at your school, naming every stray cat you come across, watching the protagonist's diary fill up as he crosses all the little goals he had set in life off his precious list… Yeah, those things won't last - definitely not long enough to get you attached to characters living in this world.

As the plot begins to unfold, it fumbles over itself trying to introduce various cliches and supernatural elements, to the point where you recognize the whole experience as a tedious drag as you see exactly where it's heading, and think to yourself that you have heard all this before. It's yet another heartfelt story about self-actualization, and as the game hammers it in harder than ever before, you sigh and wish you could go back to the times of bottle cap collecting and cat petting. Sometimes, simpler is better.

Unfortunately, that's not exactly true when it comes to actually playing A Space for the Unbound. The gameplay is as simple as can be - basically all you do is walk around (quite slowly) and interact with things. I can appreciate how linear the game is, for the most part, but I wish it let us accomplish our goals without wasting too much time! Not to mention, if you try to see everything there is, you have to be prepared to deal with quite a few mind-numbingly repetitive mini-games for far longer than you have to. Don't do that. It'll just sully your impression of the game.

If you're somehow still interested in this after reading this messy opinion of mine, don't be too discouraged - you'll see plenty of beautiful sights, hear some cute music, and, maybe, be affected by the story far more than I was. (Besides, for a cat lover, it's always nice to see others appreciate them!) Just... try not to waste too much time with the game's superficial sidequests.

Tales of the Abyss (3DS, 2011 port of a 2006 release) [♪ The Distribution Base]

There's something ironic in how playing (most of) this game has been one of the best things I have done with my lovely 2DS since I homebrewed it earlier this year... and yet I quite regret not checking how (ahem) easily available the PS2 version is, instead. They may be functionally identical, but the hardware is not - you have no idea how hard some of the goddamn Mieu Fire puzzles become when your character is taking up a mere four or so pixels of an already tiny screen. Man, that was trying my patience at its finest.

These horrors aside, though, what kind of game are we even dealing with here? Well, it’s a Tales game first and foremost. I can’t deny claims that Abyss has a few strengths of its own (most notably, of course, actually bothering to have coherent character development arcs), but it’s not quite enough to obscure the ever-prevalent issues this series has:

exploration and side-questing is still annoyingly obtuse, not to mention traversal is painfully slow in the first half of the game,

some characters (in this case, Anise more so than others, but I'd argue Mieu's whole existence is part of this too) are obligated to suffer because Tales has to meet its unhealthy anime tropes\wackiness quota per game,

the skit system has not, unfortunately, evolved one bit (the amount of times I would skip a skit on accident, because any input halts its playback entirely…),

while I’m inclined to say the battle system is, for the most part, an improvement (the Field of Fonons mechanic is quite a nice change given the foundations of Tales gameplay, I have to admit), any goodwill you might want to give it gets shattered when you realize Free Run breaks bosses in half. And aside from that, it’s just your usual button-mashy fare.

So why did I push on with this game as far as I did, pulling the classic move of quitting right at the final boss instead of, well, any earlier? A lot of that is because I was just in the mood to mash some buttons in bed until I realized I was slightly underleveled for the finale and caught myself groaning at the mere thought of trying to even cheese it. A shame, that, because the ending of this game is pretty wonderful for what it set out to do, and it was the only bit I did not see on my own. It's like my experience with Final Fantasy VI all over again…

That's not all there is to it, though. Abyss has some of what's probably the most involved and curious worldbuilding (once you get past all the awkward made up jargon it loves to throw at you) of any Tales game I know! Not that this says much, because that's a low bar, and I'm not too familiar with the series at large, but it was enough to keep me engaged for a long while. And, as mentioned earlier, it puts in greater efforts than I expected to endear you to the cast as they slowly band together and uncover their own talents, purposes and aims in life - Luke in particular.

I liked him almost immediately - because I'm not too hard to please when it comes to this series, and his design is, I feel, particularly sweet and striking (especially given how nicely the game used the Important Haircut trope with him, and of course, the contrast between him and Asch). But that alone doesn't a good protagonist make - it's the fact that the story allows Luke to make mistakes (from small ones to straight-up catastrophes), get his comeuppance and grow from them organically, at his own pace, that makes him stand out in my mind.

As Luke sheds his sheltered ways of thought and accepts his responsibilities, those that were traveling with him, either out of obligation or by chance, begin to support him more and stand by him in earnest. It all comes together gradually and at a satisfying pace, and is definitely a highlight of the experience to me.

Growth and connection are probably among the biggest themes of the game, so it's nice to see that it applies pretty much equally to both protagonists and antagonists. Sure, it's the job of a Tales' Big Bad faction to be goofy and up to nefarious activities, but beyond that, the group has solid enough chemistry both among themselves and with the party that I actually ended up looking forward to most encounters with them, even if ultimately it felt a little predictable. As an aside, for a game this old, the voice acting was really good and plentiful (though there is none for skits, which sucks), and further piqued my interest in the story along the way.

To conclude, I'd like to say that the biggest thing I learned while playing this game is that I'm a sucker for grounded tales of (ha) self-actualization even this many years later. And also that once you play one Tales game, you truly, to some extent, know them all.

SANABI (PC, 2023) [♪ Warm Hospitality]

Do you want to know why I ended up playing this one? Of course you do, that wasn't really a question. I only bring this up because the answer can be revealed with a single screenshot:

...yep, the inspiration is that blatantly on display. I was expecting it, of course - the Katana ZERO community is the only reason I know of SANABI in the first place, and even as you read people's thoughts on it, the extreme similarity is practically all they ever bring up, be it in a positive or negative light. It pleased me and warmed my heart, while also making me feel wary - it's one thing to be inspired by something, and another to actually carve an identity of your own.

That said, KZ is far from the worst thing to try to replicate, particularly when it comes to visuals - SANABI has some awesome scenery that makes me feel right at home. And while the story at times feels so much like an amateurish copy that it leaves me confused more than anything (I'm sure the awkward English translation sadly does not help matters, not to mention the fact that I'd played this game in an unfinished state - you might expect me to write about it again next year!), the gameplay is anything but.

I'm sure there are quite a few platformers out there that have you use what's essentially a grappling hook to swing through the stages, but SANABI is my first experience with something like this, and in this regard the game absolutely manages to shine on its own. Movement is lightning-fast and responsive, enemy targeting is extremely generous - almost to the point of being handholdy (and, of course, they all die in one satisfying hit - as do you, if you set the game to the highest difficulty. It's nice to be given an opportunity to learn the ropes before engaging with the game earnestly!), and there's something to be said about how the level design has that extreme kind of clarity to it that I always appreciate and favors speed over precision, with how spacious everything is.

My only big issues with how the game plays are how it doesn't seem to be designed with a controller in mind (it is an option, but I found myself moving much more precisely with KBM! Me! Someone who never plays games with that!), and, once again, the just-a-bit-too-long death animation\transition. Being able to skip it helps, but I just yearn for no time to be wasted...

#celeste #aitsf #xbc3 #tales #abyss #zero.txt #yearly game list #flashing gif #.gif

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bahbahhh · 6 months

Text

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Tagged by @novantinuum and @marimbles. thanks friends! <3 I loved reading your responses.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

ten!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

108,441

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Legend of Zelda. I like what I like. I have dabbled with FFX, too.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

the killing moon

begin again

desire path

like someone would

windows

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! Honestly, it means so much that people take time out of their day to let me know their thoughts/reactions to my stuff. I love the interaction, and I've shared this story before, but it was @embyrinitalics outreaching to let me know she enjoyed the killing moon (which had been on hiatus for YEARS) that help spring-boarded me into creativity again. A lot of these comments keep me motivated and energized, so I want to let people know I pay attention and care.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

LOL this is hard. Angst is my jam.

I'm tempted to say the Killing Moon but probably almost beautiful? It's the death memory from botw and it's a oneshot without any resolution whatsoever.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

This is a tie between begin again and desire path.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've gotten some coldish comments, but not direct hate. I don't understand it. If you don't like something, just move on by? It's free content. It literally takes so much more of your previous energy to generate hate. Put it somewhere else. Find something else you actually like and pour love into that. Or as my kid's favorite book right bow Teeth are not for biting (send help) says "Try this instead: take a break, drink a cold drink, take a rest, get a hug!"

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I have written ONE smut fit. I was possessed by an idea. It is not my wheelhouse for sure. It was porn with plotish and I had more fun with the dialogue between the side characters than the actual sexy stuff. And I'm me, so it was sexy yet depressing LOL

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I wrote a FFX x BotW oneshot a few years ago that I actually took off my ao3.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I am aware of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I am aware of!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I feel like this would be fun with the right idea. I really like doing collabs for events.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Zelink!

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I'm a little worried about currents. I love the idea in my head, but its very VERY specific writing and of course I started it right before linktober and now my brain is all about the depths au. It's hard for me to switch gears.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I love a good turn of phrase, man.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I get BIG ideas and a lot of them and a lot of the time, I get lost in them. This happened in The Killing Moon. Of course, it was my first stab at fanfiction and I decided to write a massive multichapter monster, and perhaps, that is evidence enough for you, but I had so many ideas for the story/conflict/direction and I didn't spend enough time organizing it and weeding out what I don't need. I think it translated okay because of the mystery leading up to TotK and the fact I was working with characters that were trying to make sense of lost, incomplete, and inconsistently reported history over 10,000 but

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I think the most important question a writer can ask themselves when doing this in a fic is "why am I doing this?" And then close follow up to that is "how can I do this correctly and respectfully?"

19. First fandom you wrote for?

LoZ

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

I really, really love like someone would. I love the complex characterization of Link and have carried it forward into other pieces. It's one big love letter to botw side quests and zelink and was also written in tribute to two of my favorite fanfiction pieces by others.

tagging: @embyrinitalics @fioreofthemarch @zeldaelmo @flutefemme

#ask game

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dappledpaintbrush · 2 months

Note

Good day, I hope that you are well;

Do you ever happen to ponder what the writers' room must have been like for Super Paper Mario? "Yeah, you know our main Wahoo go-lucky happy Mario protagonist? Yeah, well, let's make a game where he isn't relevant at all, make it touch relatively dark themes and we make my intricate and deep teenage Original Characters the real main characters with an extremely intricate plot that you wouldn't expect any game of the brand we are known for to have"

The game is so...Jarringly out of place, it's...Fascinating-

Nintendo has a few of these very large art books (Eg. Zelda and Mario Odyssey) where they go over all of the development work, conceptual stages, writer material in excruciating detail- It would be amazing if there were one of those for this particular game-

It's a shame that there isn't a lot of beta material released for this title other than some early Nastasia sprites, early animations (eg. The Dimentio Walking one and the Super Dimentio unused mouth animations) and Flip Folk character designs (And of course the early cat build) I can imagine a lot of work was put into the game's writing- I find the geometric designs to be extremely fascinating for multiple reasons too, symbolically and visually, but that's a discussion for another day. Are there other beta materials I seem to be missing?

My apologies for the long "ask"

Have a nice day.

Hello!! I hope all is well too :]

Oh my god I think about this SO MUCH. Like. One, how did they come to the conclusion this story is what they’re gonna go with, and two, how did it get approved? I’ve heard SPM be described as a “bad fanfiction,” and honestly, take “bad” out and I agree. This game strays so drastically from the norm that it does feel like a fanfiction (in the best way possible). I wonder how much DIDN’T get approved that is now lost to time.

I’ve been on many hunts for any beta content, but all I can find that is reliable is stuff from The Cutting Room Floor. It honestly upsets me. I feel like this game deserves an art book regardless of whether or not I personally wanted one. The design of SPM is incredibly creative and one of the first of its kind. The character and level designs themselves (because they really are unique), the constant references to technology in an era where it was becoming increasingly more apart of every day life, and the thought process behind implementing 3D into a 2D space are all things I want to know the details behind SO badly. Of course art is important in every video game, but in the Paper Mario series, the game almost revolves entirely around the art and design choices, and SPM is no exception. I would also go even more crazy for a book or even any information at all about the writing process, but I’m not sure how much of that has survived. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of it has to come from the writers’ own recollections. Hell, who even knows if any concept art is around anymore either, unless they kept it in a filing cabinet somewhere (or, if it’s all digital, they actually kept up with the files).

The cat build is very interesting to me because we have NO idea what it was for. Was it for another game? If so, what is it doing in SPM’s files? Is it for SPM? The “3D world builds” that were also found imply SPM was originally not going to be a side scroller and instead, you’d be able to roam around like you do in any other Paper Mario game. Unless those world builds were for the cats only- which again, were they for SPM or something else?? WHAT WERE THEY DOING THERE?? EXPLODES!!!!! AND YES!!! THE SYMBOLISM FOR THE GEOMETRIC SHAPE DESIGNS IVE HEARD ABOUT THAT SOMEWHERE. GOD ITS SO GOOD . CHEWS ON MY ARMS.

And to answer your question, there’s definitely more beta material out there, but none come to mind at this moment :O

And don’t apologize!! I love longer asks! I enjoy discussing this game with people a LOT

Have a good day to you to!! :D

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gay-jesus-probably · 11 months

Note

Okay this ended up being a little bit of a rant, I apologize

Most of the rewrite that my best friend and I are working on is just character devlopment tbh!! Like I think what totk tried to do was make their story both character driven and plot driven, they just failed miserably at both. Like imagine if Zelda and Mineru were parallels!! We have an entire plotline written involving making Rauru a secondary antagonist with that! And if Zelda and Sonia were foils instead of half assed parallels! Like yes, Zelda's a terrible character as is, but she has SO much potential because of her position, both politically speaking and emotionally speaking. It's like you said, it's really stupid that she's just in charge of all of Hyrule again. Why not like. Do something else with her?? Anything else??? And did we just. Forget about her father's abuse in botw? Because she shows exactly NOTHING as a result of that. This is an entirely different Zelda who happens to look the same. For all we care, the real Zelda in game could be the imposter and it wouldn't change a thing!!

Oh yeah, the characters in the game definitely needed more attention from the writing. Or like... literally any amount of attention.

For the record this might just be a case of me doing some sequence breaking and getting through things too early (via setting off the fifth sage plot AFTER finding all the memories and retrieving the master sword), but I truly, genuinely do not understand why Mineru exists. I can't tell what she adds to the narrative. Maybe she was supposed to tell me that Zelda's a dragon go rip a sword out of her head, just in case I hadn't figured that out? But it's kinda weird to have that failsafe, considering that the game is quick to spell it out for you that you should find the geoglyphs to learn what happened to Zelda, and we KNOW she was the last one to have the Master Sword. So Mineru is just a redundant reminder of something the player's probably already done, because yknow going to hyrule castle after four temples feels like a finale, so you'd obviously want to handle unfinished business first.

I mean, I guess the spirit temple boss fight was okay, if only because I found the robot fistfight to be so ridiculous that it was absolutely delightful (though the actual fight mechanics were tedious and annoying). But she didn't tell me anything new, I already knew that Zelda had vored a rock to become her fursona. Sharing that information was apparently the only thing Mineru was there to do, but the game had already spelled that out for me ages ago. She didn't contribute anything. I don't even know if she was supposed to contribute anything. Mineru was just there to force us to sit through the same fucking story about Ganon's sealing for the fifth goddamn time in a row. And then despite being literally the only person left from the actual war, she had literally nothing to contribute. WHY WAS MINERU IN THIS GAME. HOW DID SHE CONTRIBUTE TO THE NARRATIVE. I started jokingly referring to her as Mineral after I got started on the fifth sage plotline, because I knew from the dragon memories she was supposed to be haunting the Purah Pad, but she'd spent the entire game being about as important as a random rock. And apparently I was right, Mineru did literally nothing the whole time!

...Actually now that I think about it, what the fuck did ANY of the modern sages do? Their abilities were just the old powers except worse (give me revali's gale over tulin's thing any day of the week, jesus christ), except for Yunobo's ability which was just to replace remote bombs as a convenient infinite mining tool. The sages apparently were just there to show up at the end as a Big Damn Hero moment to rescue Link from the absolute terror of... red bokoblins. Seriously, WHY did they do all the 'ooooh ganons summoning an aaarmy' scenes using mainly the lowest tier of enemies??? Sir, I'm armed to the teeth, fully armoured, and loaded up on hearts and stamina, why the fuck am I supposed to be intimidated by enemies that were still cannon fodder when I was stark naked and armed with a tree branch. At least the four sages were characters we already knew from BOTW, and they got to do some stuff (though using Tulin instead of Teba was complete bullshit, I DO NOT WANT TO TAKE THIS RANDOM TEN YEAR OLD INTO A WAR ZONE. I FOUGHT A GIANT MECHA BIRD WITH TEBA, LET ME KICK ASS WITH BIRB DAD AGAIN)

Eugh. Just so much bad writing in this game, it's a constantly unfolding minefield of horrible decision making. Good luck with your fic though, and I hope you and your friend end up posting it! I've been finding pretty slim pickings on AO3 so far tbh; it seems everyone like me that's been trying to pick this story apart for good content is still trying to figure out what the fuck nintendo just handed us, so the AO3 has been mostly just people writing awful generic Link/Zelda content, mixed with the Link/Sidon shippers trying to fix the whole clusterfuck of Sidon getting a wife out of nowhere. Though I will say I have been very pleased with the fandom unanimously responding to that whole subplot with "Okay so this is some hetero nonsense because nintendo wanted to sink SidLink, BUT we love and respect Yona anyways". I guarantee if something like this had gone down like a decade ago, Yona would be the single most hated character in the game for it. I'm glad that she's being given love and respect despite having been made to be a shipbreaker!

Anyways my point is, I am a huge slut for character studies and worldbuilding, and dear lord have I ever been starved for content. There's so much ZeLink. All power to y'all that ship it of course, I'm glad you're happy, but their dynamic is the single most boring pile of dogshit I've ever seen in my life, and I'm way too aromantic to put up with it. My kingdom for some good character studies and/or platonic fics. Or even just interesting shipping fics that aren't focused on some shitty generic romance. There's a reason I love GanLink and it's not (just) for the porn, it's because those two literally always have some spectacular issues if they're together, regardless of the context. They're a walking psychological thriller, I love them.

#tears of the kingdom spoilers #tears of the kingdom

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sisters-sideblog · 1 year

Text

Jewelry

I'm working on an actual "start of the story"-story for my (still untitled) Links Meet AU but have also been writing little snippets to start getting a handle on personalities and interactions. I liked how this one came out!

Fandom: Legend of Zelda (Not LU!) Characters: Legend, Wild, Mask Rated: PG (mild language) Wordcount: 680

“Y’even wear that outfit when you’re climbing up on mountains? With snow? Don’t you get cold?” Mask’s slightly louder than necessary question turned a few nearby heads, Legend’s included. Wild didn’t appear to be bothered by the extra attention.

“Sometimes, if it’s cold enough. That’s why I wear this.” She thumbed the jewel centered in the circlet over her brow, then bumped one opal earring with a curled finger to make it flash in the light. “These have an enchantment, too, but I’m just wearing them today because they’re pretty.”

Ravio and Men turned back to the ledgers they’d been pouring over. But Legend, sensing a more interesting conversation, twisted around to peer over the back of his chair towards where Wild and Mask sat at the dining table. “Is all your jewelry enchanted?” he wanted to know.

“Most of it. I helped someone out who makes them, she gives me good prices. I’ve commissioned a few mundane things from her too.”

“What kinds of enchantments?”

“Mostly elemental effects. Protection and the like. Why?”

Ravio gave him a shove and a cross look; he was probably being distracting, calling across the room like this. Legend got up from the couch and instead dropped down to sit across from Wild at the table where she and Mask had been swapping stories that, so far as Legend could tell, had meandered away from comparisons of their versions of Death Mountain to, somehow, climbing things.

He held out a hand, on which glittered some of the things he’d managed to bring back from his adventures abroad; the rings that had been on his fingers and looped on a cord around his neck when he shipwrecked for the second and final time. He pointed to the one with a heart-cut ruby set in gold. “This one has a slow healing effect.”

Now fully interested, Wild bent over Legend’s hand, asking after the rest. It didn’t take long for both of them to be bringing out everything they had on them, comparing the spells.

Mask’s eyes darted between them, watching and listening with his chin propped up on his hands and his swaying feet occasionally finding Legend’s knees and shins beneath the table. Eventually, he seemed to tire of the topic. “Masks are better,” he declared, with just a hint of defiance and a challenging gleam in his eye.

“You trying to start shit, pipsqueak?” Legend demanded, squawking when Mask kicked him again, deliberately this time.

Wild nudged him with her elbow. “If you used them enough to be titled after them, I can’t say I’m surprised. Sometimes it’s nice to feel pretty, though.” She patted at the jeweled band around her bun.

“I’ve got a mask for that, too.”

“A mask for feeling pretty?”

“This I’ve got to see,” Legend said dryly.

“Is it one of those fancy ones with lots of beads and ribbons like the Rito use in their festivals?” Wild guessed.

Mask shook his head. Grinning, he ducked under the table. When he sat back up, he had on a mask depicting a feminine face that trailed long streams of bright fuschia hair, all wreathed in plants. It had an ethereal quality to it that made Legend squint with niggling recognition. He saw Wild doing much the same.

“Huh,” Legend said.

Wild ran her hand down one of the mask’s multiple ponytails. “It’s got nice hair?” she offered. She pulled her hand back, an abrupt motion, staring between her fingers and what they’d just been touching as if they’d done something unexpected. “That’s, uh. Floating?”

“Wait, it is?” Mask twisted around to look. The hair streamed after him, drifting up and around as if following the movement on a gentle current. “It is! You two can sit here and talk about your jewelry, I gotta go find the fairy. Bye.”

With that, he shoved away from the table, twisting his head from side to side before following some unknown prompting of direction from the mask and trotting towards the door.

Wild and Legend both blinked.

“Wait, it finds fairies?” Legend yelped.

#linksmeetau #legend of zelda #legend #wild #mask #myfic #loz #lmau legend #lmau wild #lmau mask

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elegiesforshiva · 1 year

Note

HI!!!!! firstly, i hope you have been able to sleep a bit better :( if not, i wish you more awesome cookie eating and zelda playing :) - kae pt. 1/?

i just wanted to say that when you sent out that very first ask about how lovely my messages were with all of your super cute emojis (i’m on my computer so it’s a little harder to send emojis haha) and how you would try to reply as soon as possible and just how much they meant- AHH my heart felt so full and my smile widened across my face!! you’re so cute!! i’m so happy they could provide a bit of brightness to your day. i hope they continue to provide you warmth like an infinite bonfire with toasty marshmallows ehehe you don’t ever have to apologize for taking the time you need to respond!!! (apologize appreciated, but totally not needed!!!) thank you for sharing the tidbits about your process with asks like these! i’m like that too where sometimes i just need to read it and let my brain and being sit with it and mull over it before i can properly feel up to hashing out something back. when i was reading your response to my messages and hm how do i say this - it makes me feel like i have lovely company right by my side … but through my screen LOL. i only hope that others continue to give you so much love and check in on you from time to time and continue to read your awesome stuff!!!!!! i really do appreciate from the bottom of my heart how much love you put in your response right back - from dissecting sasuke’s existence as a victim/abuser to into/sakura’s relationship. again, i just think you’re deeply intelligent, kind and in touch with your personal psyche and are able to articulate your perspective very powerfully, and it shows in the way you respond to people on your blog/in comments and through your writing! /I/ am so happy to mention all the awesome things - and there’s so many other things that i haven’t brought up, but truly Ghosts is such a gift because there’s so much to process in it, and every time i sink my teeth in it, i come out with something else entirely. sometimes i feel like i go into zombie mode but instead of saying “brains.. braaaiinnss” i just go “writing… sooo… GOOOODDDD” and i mean this in the best of ways! like it makes me truly speechless and flabbergasted LMAO again i’m SO sorry for being like “i’m so excited that you’re going to continue writing” i was silly and was just looking through the #sasusaku tag and then assumed the most recent one up was the most recent update and i had already sent my ask and was like uh oh i should scroll through the blog thoroughly to see what is ACTUALLY up - GAAAHhHHH. my apologies again about that TvT and UH HUH i mean this in the KINDEST way possible but literally you have NOTHING to thank me for. there is no patience i am giving you - i feel like not expecting anything from writers in terms of updates, etc. and being on their side when a fic might not get completed is the bare minimum and anyone who says otherwise can be sent MY way (where i will put them in fic 101 boot camp and tell them to write and hopefully by the time they’ve been booted all the way through they will realize how much time and work goes into writing for FREE. i am blowing my figurative whistle at them right now and wearing a shirt that says “kae’s fic writing bootcamp”). i could rant about how readers have no sense of empathy and only have a sense of entitlement yadayada but long story short - you’re awesome. don’t let anyone tell you otherwise - they can tell ME

i’m really sorry to hear that things aren’t so hot - and are only hot in a turd on fire kind of way. i really hope that you are able to get an apartment and get that quiet even if not to write, but just to have some peace in the palm of your hands. (as i’m typing this, i feel my heart beating and my fingers tingling as i try to put into words what i want to say - interesting. kinda freaky. kinda magical. i don’t think it’s quite how i wanna word it but this is what i’ve got). i don’t know if you believe in a higher being out there - weirdly enough i don’t either, but i as a random stranger on the internet, do promise to you that you’ll get there. There is a safe space that you belong to that you will be able to come home to, where you can sleep and meet your dreams and wake and have them walk with you. Your hopes for how i'm doing brought another big smile to my face. i’m really lucky in my life.tThere’s a lot of people that i love and i am loved by a lot of people and for the first time ever I’m really aware of that and it’s a really cool feeling. Sending all of my love right back to you - I’m blowing some kisses your way. MUAH MUAH MUAH <3 - kae pt. 10/10

I hope you know this was an absolute blast to read the first time and it’s no less great as I’m rereading. I’m sorry I definitely don’t have the time right now to give as much love as you gave me so long ago. Thank you for sending this, I need you to know I’m feeling AAAAAAALL the hugs through the screen rn, and have been since you first sent this 5 million years ago lmao. Thank you for them!!!!!!! 🥰 🥰 🥰 🥰

I hope you didn’t actually feel too bad or embarrassed, I still love hearing about how much people adore Ghosts!!! It was my absolute heart for so long and I never get tired of hearing how much people like it!!! I am really glad I could give what I did of it...thank you for loving it as much as you have, and for giving me that love directly in my ask box too...💘

Fandom culture is honestly such a ride right now?? It’s changed so much, and I want to stab western consumerism in it’s small nutsac because I know it’s contributed to a lot of the shittier parts that have been manifesting, including the entitlement of readers from fic authors like you mentioned. I really don’t know how younger creatives are keeping up with these pressures. I don’t know how anyone is.

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH *falls onto my knees and sobs* I forgot how hopeful about my life I was when I last responded to your messages.......pretty sure the crash from those turn of events is what made me wanna dig a hole and never come out of it again. Yeah, the apartment isn’t happening but thank you for the well wishes and all the sweetness though—you’re literally so obscenely kind lmao I love how fun and lighthearted your energy is in these, you’re a darling and I already know anyone who has you in their life is very lucky to.

Thank you again for all the praises, well wishes, all the love...There was honestly so much positivity in here lmao. It really means a lot to have someone say this to me, it startles me receiving it sometimes. I want you to know I’m giving it all back tenfold!!! I genuinely find a lot of my readers from Ghosts come from a higher level of emotional intuition and processing, probably because of the heavy and dark nature of that fic, but it’s just so cool to see me moving the exact sort of people I instinctively love and admire with my work. I love the arts. I love them endlessly... Sending hugs and kisses kae!!! Sorry for less emojis this round, I’m on desktop too! And also sorry for the long ass wait, I really hope you’re doing amazing these days 💕 �� 💓 💗 💖 🥰 🥰

#smooches!!!!!#love notes

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karama9 · 5 months

Text

Responding to Anonymous Reviews

A bit of context: I’m currently writing a Legend of Zelda fanfic where Link is a non Hylian black guy and Zelda is a transgender woman. I knew going in some people wouldn’t like either, but it’s gotten to the point I feel like Link in Tears of the Kingdom, where nobody recognizes him except the bunch that absolutely hates him.

I just posted chapter 4 and I have no comment on AO3, and 4 reviews on fanfiction dot net. Of the four: one (1) is nice, two (2) are hate and one is sort of neutral in a ‘don’t like it so far’ kind of way.

The two hate ones are anonymous, so I thought I’d answer here to get the answers out of my system.

First one: Guest chapter 1 . Nov 12

This is disgusting...

Response:

You posted this in response to the prologue, where all that happens is the characters being introduced and a bit of world building. If you find that disgusting, you're projecting.

Second one : X from Aumsville chapter 1 . 2h ago

And as long as Link refuses to accept he's a male instead of forcing himself to be something he isn't the master sword will forever be cursed knowing Link is messed up in his heart. He is no longer worthy of even breathing in the same space as that sword which knows better.

Response:

(sigh) The fact you didn’t read the story is not surprising, you’re obviously a transphobe. What really elevates this to another level is how you managed to read a very short summary that explicitly states that Link is a person of color and Zelda is transgender, and come out of it thinking this is a story where LINK is transgender. Congrats, not only are you hateful, not only do you devote time to expressing that hate to random strangers, you also can’t read.

More context, and a request:

This story came about because of two things.

One, I found out at some point that white supremacists were trying to use the Triforce as one of their symbols. It got me thinking, and I realized, like many other people, that Nintendo was not doing a great job of representing other races than white coded Hylians in Hyrule. I say this with a lot of love for the franchise, but although things have improved with the two most recent games, both the lack of color and how the other races are treated are notable flaws in the franchise. I wanted to make a story that addressed that with a Hero who was NOT a white Hylian. I made him non Hylian so it would be a significant thing for the in-story characters, I made him black so it would be a significant thing for the readers.

Two, JK Fucking Rowling. I have a loved one who is transgender, which maybe is making me more likely to notice things, but I think unless you’re really not paying attention, it’s pretty obvious that transphobia is on the rise. Several years back, the trend was improving. Things were getting better, people were becoming more accepting, at least in our neck of the woods. Now? Now that a ridiculously famous and rich author has been devoting time, money and energy to making people hate transgender people more and reject their identity? Everyone else who feels the same way feels more empowered to speak out and act out, the feeling is becoming normalized (more so) and things are getting worse again.

I was inspired by a trans female character in Supergirl, who inherits powers that ONLY go to female members of her family, because I loved the idea of the magic, the universe, unequivocally saying that YES, she is a woman. I wanted to do the same for Zelda, so I made her transgender, and she’s a Princess of Destiny.

So, basically, this story came about because I wanted a fix-it fic for Hyrule since I can't fix reality. I’m putting a lot of time and effort in it in the hope that it will eventually catch on and actually circulate enough for people who would get some joy from it to find it.

So far it’s not working.

SO, I have to ask a favor of my followers and mutuals. Please help me spread the word a bit about this story. Getting pretty much only negative feedback is disheartening when you’re trying to do a good thing. Don’t get me wrong. I am personally enjoying writing the story. I like the characters I created, I’m happy with the plot, etc. But unlike some other stories, the idea was never to write this one just for me.

Please reblog this, or when I post a chapter, and help the story get some visibility.

Links to the story:

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51450898/chapters/130021738

fanfiction dot net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14296946/1/All-That-Hurts-Us

#LGBTQIA+#Transgender Rep #POC Rep #The Legend of Zelda #All That Hurts Us #Writing #transphobia trigger warning in the reviews #JK Rowling trigger warning I mention the hateful woman

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lewdladylily · 11 months

Note

Do you still rate kinks/characters? If so: Cursed Loot

So this is like two weeks after you sent this, but yes and thank you for the ask! And I would still answer more asks like this if people are interested, they are fun :). Just understand that I answer based on how well I am feeling, so sometimes it can be a while before I am able to respond to the ask.

Cursed loot does so many things for me. You've got a sort of long term bondage, being unable to remove the cursed items, you have humiliation as the person is forced to seek help to remove the gear, the concept lends itself extremely well to fun stories and a wide variety of stories.

The idea is strongly tied to the secondary idea of a "punishment game" scenario, where the character has to do some task, and if they fail they get punished in sexy ways - in this case, a lack of caution or skill gets them caught and trapped with sexy cursed gear. The tension of these punishment game scenarios is sexy to me in the same way that a predicament bondage scene is. The degree of control the victim has over their suffering makes it so much hotter when they fail. The futile struggle is sexy as hell, as well as the fall at the end.

There's are all sorts of things you can do with cursed loot, and that is before you even start to consider what the items themselves do, and it supports almost anything in terms of other kinks. My favorites are bondage, fetish style clothing, sexual stimulation without release, enforced chastity (preferably with some way built in to continue to molest them, the best is when *they* don't get a choice), and mind control.

And it is also just a really fun concept. Fun, interesting, and sexy all in one!

My banner image for this blog is an OC of mine, Lucie (drawn by my wife!). She was originally from a pathfinder campaign with some of my friends, but after that campaign ended I repurposed her as a lewd RP character with the idea that she retired from active adventuring and used her fortune to open up a shop. Specifically, she collects cursed gear and repurposes it as magical bdsm gear, reselling it to the rich and horny (along with other things they might want related to sex). Basically, she runs a magic sex shop. I've been thinking about writing some stories of her testing out some of her gear on an unfortunate slave girl, or maybe extorting sex out of a poor adventurer asking for help removing a cursed chastity belt or something. (Lucie is not a nice person, it was an evil character campaign.)

Also, Raven and I actually recently started working on an RP/game based around a dungeon core story (if you don't know what that is, its a story about dungeon diving with the focus on one dungeon that evolves and grows) with the major focuses of maids, enslavement, bondage, and cursed loot. Game in that we use some dice and rules to help guide us as we write.

Thank you again for the ask!

Zelda by WossaRem - Love Zelda's panic face in this lol. Also, very creative design in how it incorporates the design of the BOTW. I really like how the boots are made to look kinda like bunny feet with toes instead of just a boot. The listed debuffs are fun too.

I'm pretty sure there is an entire subreddit dedicated to this stuff. Or at least there was, who knows now with reddit imploding.

#lily talks

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undeadchestnut · 3 years

Text

The true weight of what Strickler was asking him - what Strickler was going to ask his mom if Jim gave his consent - was just beginning to settle on him.

My little take on a Stricklake proposal. Maybe not as romantic as some, but important decisions call for a dash of pragmatism.

I wrote the dialogue for this a month ago as a comic script... but dropped it when I realized it would take far too long to draw. Maybe now that I'm (apparently) learning how to write, I can actually share these sorts of ideas without having to turn everything into a dang comic? :O

Read it on Ao3, or right here:

(Reminder that I pretend RotT doesn't exist. The movie was written like a joke and should be treated as such.

You can make up your own scenario for this one, but it takes place at some point in time after Wizards. The world is at peace and the Order has been dealt with in one way or another - preferably with peaceful solution.)

To Family

Jim could barely remember the last time his childhood home had seen a quiet afternoon. It certainly wasn’t quiet now.

Settled on the couch, he spared a glance at little Zelda from time to time, her small, excited figure bouncing up and down on a playmat in the middle of the living room floor. She seemed content with her current pastime - banging building blocks together, the noise filling the air along with her giggles. Despite the racket, Jim didn’t see any reason to interfere with her playing. There was the relatively harmless danger of her tiny fingers getting caught between the blocks, but… Well, some lessons are better taught by small mistakes than warning words - or so he thought.

“Riiiight, I wonder where I picked that one up.” He mumbled, more to himself than to the second toddler on his lap. “Not sure how I feel about that, I tell you.” That’s what he said, but he knew. Knew it by the fond smile on his lips as he pondered the thought. Knew it in the way he gently ruffled the soft black hair of the boy in front of him.

Young Walt was quite uninterested in his words. His eerily familiar green eyes were instead fixed on his adoptive sister, who had just discovered that the blocks could, in fact, be stacked on top of each other.

“Okay. Maybe we can try that book now, huh? Before your sister gets going again.” Jim held Walt close and reached out for the story book on the coffee table, but halted and looked up when he heard the sound of clawed feet on wood approaching.

Strickler entered, little Otto in his arms, carefully navigating the toy littered living room. An exercise that wasn’t made easier by Otto, who cheerfully bumped Strickler’s nose with the palm of his hand. Prominent as it was on Strickler’s face, it was always a favorite with the children.

“Alright you rascal, go play.” Strickler said with gentle gruffness, sitting the boy’s freshly diapered behind down on the mat. The arrival of his brother prompted young Walt to start wriggling on Jim’s lap. Jim placed him on the ground and watched him waddle over to his siblings. The boy plopped down next to Zelda and promptly swatted at her growing tower of blocks. Ever the troublemaker. The blocks clattered on the floor, Otto gaped open mouthed, and Jim and Strickler both watched with halted breath, waiting for Zelda’s reaction. Thankfully, the girl only let out a joyful shriek and began her second attempt with even more zeal. Strickler nodded approvingly.

Settling back on the couch, Jim took out his phone, but looked up soon after when he realized Strickler was still just… standing there. Staring at the children and fidgeting with the hem of his left sleeve.

Okay. Something was up.

As if he could feel Jim’s questioning stare - and Jim didn’t think it unlikely - Strickler turned to look at him, a confident smile spreading across his face. Jim didn’t buy it, not for one second.

“Jim!” Strickler said jovially and gestured towards the nearest spot on the couch. “Mind if I sit?”

Okay, something was definitely up.

“Uh, yeah? Why ask? It’s your house too, dude!” Jim gave him a showman-like smile to rival his own. “Don’t make it awkward again.”

“Yes, well, hmmm…” Strickler sat down hesitantly, his back a little too straight, and his hands a little too neatly folded in his lap. “You see, there’s something I would like to talk about…”

Jim shoved his phone back in his pocket and leaned forward curiously. He watched Strickler reach inside his jacket and pull out a small.... box, of sorts? It was oval, just big enough to fit in the palm of one hand, and - as far as Jim could tell - made of brown leather. It looked in good shape, yet something about it felt old to Jim. Although, that might just be because everything about Strickler felt old sometimes. Most times.

“I know, I wasn’t always deserving of a place in your family, and…” Strickler cleared his throat, his voice carried little of his usual self-confidence. “...and perhaps I never will be.” He held the box out to Jim. On closer inspection, Jim could tell it really was old. And then he suddenly realized what kind of a box it was.

“Jim Lake. Would you allow me to ask for your mother’s hand in marriage?”

By now Jim’s eyes had left the box to stare directly at Strickler’s face, at a loss for words. The moment might have dragged on awkwardly, if it hadn’t been interrupted by another clatter of falling toy blocks, followed by another gleeful shriek and giggle.

“No wait, hang on!”Jim gesticulated wildly, one hand thrusting out towards the box, palm first as if to shove it away. “You’re asking me?! Uuuh, I’m pretty sure that’s something you should talk about with mom?” He pulled up his shoulders and laughed nervously. “I mean! I knew you were old-fashioned, but this…”

Strickler shook his head, his smile more genuine now, soft and perhaps a bit relieved that Jim’s immediate reaction hadn’t been outright dismissal. “It’s not like that. I would like to know if you’d feel comfortable with it, that is all.” He lifted the box a little, encouraging Jim to take it.

Jim obliged and opened it carefully to examine its contents. A silver ring with a slim filigree band and a faceted stone of deep green, that Jim - who didn’t know a whole lot about mineralogy - would have called an emerald. Strickler could have more correctly identified it as chrome tourmaline, had Jim cared to ask. Much like the box, the ring felt old, although it certainly looked shiny and brand new.

“We do have quite the history, you and I,” Strickler said now, with a light chuckle. “So. I would like your approval before I bring it up with her.” ‘Quite the history’ was putting it lightly, Jim thought, staring at the ring in his hands. They’d been living under the same roof for a long while now, and it certainly hadn’t been easy at first. Not easy for Jim, that is. But then, nothing had been easy for him in the aftermath of everything that had happened. Strickler had been remarkably patient, and had weathered Jim’s lingering anger and frustration with humility and understanding. With time, countless cups of tea, and many, many late night talks, Jim’s remarks against his former teacher and enemy had become less cutting scorn, and more light-hearted teasing.

And once again, Jim just couldn’t help himself.

“Looks expensive!”

Jim snapped the box shut with a sharp crack that made even the composed Strickler flinch. Then he fixed on the changeling's wide eyes with a deadpan stare.

“Well, I sure hope you kept the receipt.”

“Oh. I see.” Strickler mustered a sad smile, but his slumping posture told Jim that perhaps his joke had been out of line this time. “It’s an old heirloom that’s been in my possession for centuries. I suppose I could find an antiquar to sell it-”

“Whoa! Hey!” Jim waved his free hand in a placating gesture. “I was joking! Sarcasm? That’s usually your thing?” He held out the box with an encouraging grin. “Here. You’re fine.”

Strickler shot him an incredulous look as he reached towards the box, and Jim had to admit that he felt extremely pleased, seeing Strickler unnerved like that. An uncommon situation that just screamed to be exploited.

Just as Strickler's clawed fingers took hold of the box, Jim’s other hand shot out to rest on Strickler's stony wrist. Strickler’s eyes snapped up and found Jim’s clear blue stare fixed on him again.

“I know she loves you,” Jim said levelly. “And I can see how happy she is. And you, well...” Jim hesitated. The true weight of what Strickler was asking him - what Strickler was going to ask his mom if Jim gave his consent - was just beginning to settle on him. Jim thought he was giving his approval for his mom’s sake - if being with Strickler made her happy, Jim could be happy with it too, right? But it wasn’t just for her sake. He realized that, when he felt the slight tremble of Strickler’s hand under his touch, realized it as he looked into hopeful amber eyes. Eyes that dared hope not only for acceptance… but for love as well.

“You…” Jim’s voice was shaky now, nothing of its previous flippancy left. His throat felt hot, the words just wouldn’t come past it. And he could feel the weight fall off his shoulders when he became aware of how little that bothered him now. To show this kind of weakness in front of Strickler. No, it wasn’t just for her sake.

“I guess you’ve earned your place in our family.” Jim let go of the box and of Strickler’s wrist, raised a hand to wipe at his eyes with a defiant sniff. Then it shot out to wag one pointed index finger directly in front of Strickler’s face. “Just don’t screw this up!” His grin was wide, his eyes gentle (and wet, but he tried not to think about it.) “You know what my sword on your throat feels like.”

Strickler leaned back, the ring box pressed close to his heart. “I’ll behave, promise.” Jim could’ve sworn his voice sounded even more hoarse than usual. A fond smile spread across Strickler’s face and then a relieved chuckle rumbled from deep within chest. “Thank you, young Atlas.”

Jim relaxed as well, wiping the last of the dampness in his eyes away. He caught Strickler doing the same, though he did it with his whole body turned away to watch the children, pretending to scratch his nose, the sly bastard.

“So,” Jim said loudly, determined not to let this moment linger on into awkwardness. “When are you going to ask her? Nooo, wait-” He held up one hand, eyes rolling dramatically. “Don’t tell me. You’re probably gonna make it all grand and corny and embarrassing.”

“Believe it or not, but...no.” Strickler was facing Jim again, absentmindedly turning the ring box over and over in his hands, his voice quiet and tender. “There’s… a lot to consider. I’d rather not put her on the spot with a flashy display.” He shrugged nonchalantly, but once again Jim couldn’t quite buy into the lighthearted gesture. “So, we’ll just have a talk about it. Tomorrow, maybe…”

“Waaaaaait…” Jim narrowed his eyes at Strickler. Glanced down at Strickler’s hands, still fidgeting with the box, then nailed him with a sharp stare and a disarming grin. “You’re having cold feet!”

The box stopped its spinning, abruptly. Long fingers curled tightly around it, as if seeking reassurance. “I most certainly don’t-”

“Yeah, you do!” Jim laughed openly now, incredibly pleased at seeing Strickler wide eyed and flustered yet again. From the floor, three tiny voices joined in with giggles of their own, unaware of the source of Jim’s laughter, yet infected by it all the same. “You’re afraid she’ll say no!”

“I just... Look, I’m merely trying to be considerate-”

“Sure, sure.” Jim bit his lip to try and regain some seriousness. Which proved difficult with Strickler right in his view, chest puffed out in indignation like some insulted rooster, bruised ego and all. Maybe a change of topic was in order.

“No look, it’s gotta be special somehow!” Jim rubbed his chin, gears turning in his head and excitement taking over as he thought about what he could do for his mom. For both of them. “Jeez, Toby is usually the man for this sort of stuff, but… If you want to keep it small, how about dinner for two?” Jim was really getting into it now and he took out his phone to type a few messages right on the spot. Strickler looked on, bewildered at the turns this conversation was taking. The Lakes never quite realized how disarming their generosity could be, and Jim was oblivious to it in this very moment. “I’ll get my friends together to take care of the kids. You better pick up one of those fancy wines with a name I can’t pronounce.” Jim looked up from his phone, excitement plain on his face. “And I’ll cook for you. Plenty of time for you two to talk!”

“Now just wait-” Strickler tilted his head, embarrassed and very aware of the fact that he should be the one to do this sort of planning.”Jim, you don’t have to-”

“I want to!” Jim didn’t leave any room for hesitation or embarrassment. “I really want to.” Another disarming smile. “Mom deserves the best, right?” And so do you.

Strickler nodded. Slowly, hesitantly at first, then with conviction. Jim’s excitement proved just as infectious as his laughter. “Right…Right! The very best...” Strickler clutched the ring box in his hands tightly, close to heart again. “Jim, say…Would you - I might be getting ahead of myself here, ha.” A single nervous titter escaped him. “But if she agrees, would you...be my best man? It would be the greatest honor.” That last part - stilted as it was - was added so Strickler could regain a bit of his composure. In his hands the little box started spinning again.

Jim played along with his grandeur for but a second. “The honor would be all mine… Is what you would say, but I’m not lame like you! Sure, I’ll be your best man!” He finger gunned in a gesture that would have been embarrassing on him just a few years back, but that now came across with all the endearing confidence of one who had learned to embrace his inherent awkwardness. “It’ll be crispy.” He said with a wink that was the final proverbial nail in Strickler’s attempt to lend this moment any kind of gravitas.

Strickler couldn’t help but laugh.

“I see.” He snorted. “Thank you, Jim.” And then, another ill-fated attempt at seriousness: “Words cannot express how-”

“Nope, lame!” Jim jumped up. If the situation was about to turn awkward, he wanted no part in it. And besides, his head was filled with planning, he couldn’ possibly sit still right now. “I need to get some groceries for your dinner tomorrow. I’ll take your car, yeah?” He squeezed by Strickler and made for the front door, ruffling little Walt’s hair in passing. Grabbing his bag from the banister and hastily slipping into a pair of shoes, he was struck by another thought. “Oh, and I need to start thinking about my best man's speech!” He said, car keys jangling as he opened the door. “Which will not be lame!”

“But you don’t even know if-” Strickler yelled after him, but the door had already clicked shut.

Strickler looked down at the ring box in his hands, his voice very small now:

“You don’t even know if she’ll say yes.”

________________________________________________________

“So...Walter Lake?”

They had long finished their meal and each said their words. Many of them. The open ring box sat between them on the dinner table, the ring still inside - a question asked and an answer half given.

Barbara looked up from the box, his would-be name on her lips. Her sapphire eyes left the moss green of the gemstone to look into eyes that were of that exact same color when she fell in love with them - but that now shone in that brilliant yellow and red she had grown to love even more.

“If you’ll have me,” he said, chin resting on folded hands, those eyes fixed on her, still waiting for a decisive answer.

She never understood how he could make that fanged smile of his look so gentle. Nor how his rough voice could sound so timid.

“And you seriously asked Jim for his blessings?” she asked, head tilted, with a smile of her own. Oh, how she wished to know how that conversation went.

He spread his hands in a gesture that encompassed the entire table. “Hence, the fancy dinner.”

“Walter...Lake… Walter Lake.” Looking at the ring again, she repeated the words. Felt them on her lips. They felt...right. “Walter Lake. I do like the sound of that.” She looked up at him and found his eyes narrowed with mirth.

“So, would you say…” he said slowly, drawing out the moment, relishing in the way her expression slacked when she realized what was about to happen. He picked up the box, gave it a little shake. “...it has a nice ring to it?”

“Ugh…” she groaned, fingers rubbing at her temple. “I walked right into that one. Hand over that ring already, so I can divorce you.”

He did as she asked, a pleased grin on his lips that he just couldn’t hide. His long fingers picked up the ring and his other hand took hold of hers gently. She watched, eyes widening as he carefully slid the ring on her own finger.

“Walt... Your hands are shaking,” she whispered fondly. She searched his face, her eyes sparkling. How on earth had he managed to hide his nerves from her until now?

“Hush.” He brought her ringed hand to his lips, kissed it tenderly, eyes shut. Let his lips linger there. He didn’t trust himself to speak, she noticed, now that she was more aware of his feelings.

She slid her hand away from his lips and around his face, cupping it gently. Pulled him closer, her own head leaning forward at the same time. His eyes fluttered open briefly, then their foreheads touched, and came to rest against one another, soft skin pressed against cool stone. They sat there in silence, eyes closed to the rest of the world.

She pulled away after a while, reluctantly, but she needed to see those eyes again. They opened to look at her, a soft glow in the dimly lit room. “Will you marry me?” she asked, another tender sparkle in her own eyes that was threatening to spill over now.

His smile became lopsided. “Isn’t that my line?” One hand reached for her face, curled to hide sharp claws. Smooth stone wiped away a single glittering drop that had found itself on her cheek after all.

She grabbed his hand, held it tightly, her nose wrinkled in amusement. “Should have learned the script! Well?”

He leaned back a little, raised his head theatrically. “I will. Barbara Lake, if you’d make an honest man out of me-”

“No!” She laughed brightly, let go of his hand and pressed her index finger against his lips. “No, please! No corny speeches until I’ve had that wine you denied me earlier!”

“Alright.” He kissed her finger, then gently pulled her hand away from his face. His hands reached for the wine and corkscrew. A toothy grin flashed in her direction. “Just wanted to make sure you kept a clear head.” He uncorked the bottle with practiced movements and she watched through half-lidded eyes, head tilted and cheek resting on folded hands. One of her slender fingers rubbed the cool surface of the gemstone on her hand. Dark wine ran smoothly into both their glasses.

She sat up straighter once the cups were filled.

“To family,” he said. They raised their glasses, eyes locked, a smile on both their faces.

“All kinds are welcome,” she replied to the soft chime of their glasses touching.

#stricklake #tales of arcadia #trollhunters #jim lake #walter strickler #strickler #stricklander #barbara lake #fan fic #fan art #my art #my writing #long post

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attllhak · 3 years

Text

Surface Too Soon .2

@tortilla-of-courage and also @emenerd because apparently this story is getting a proper tag list now!

So, here’s chapter 2, featuring Zelda and Fi. I’m actually pretty happy with how I managed to write Fi here. I was worried I’d have trouble with her considering how different of a character she is from any other character I’ve written before.

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

Chapter 2: Chasing Fi

There was something familiar about this woman, though Zelda didn’t know what or why.

“You are not Master Link,” the woman said, meeting Zelda’s eyes, voice gentle but robotic.

“Link, he’s alive?” She asked.

The woman ignored her, looking back around the walls. “I do not sense my master here. Proceeding to search elsewhere.”

“Hey, wait!” Zelda shouted, running after the woman as she floated away. “Wait, come back! Why are you looking for Link?”

The woman ignored her, floating out through the door of the academy. Zelda nearly ran into the door, grabbing at the handles and yanking it open, running out into clear, cool night.

She scanned the area, spotting the woman floating off a ways away.

Zelda jumped from the roof, landing in a roll and keeping up her chase.

“Hey! Wait!” She shouted, finding it hard to keep pace. “Why are you looking for Link?!”

The woman disappeared into the bazaar, and Zelda ducked under the heavy fabric to follow, mentally apologizing for breaking the rules about it being closed.

The woman paused, floating in the center of the dark building. Zelda had to squint to see her in the darkness.

“Hey!” She called, and the woman finally turned to look at her.

The woman just floated there, watching her in the darkness.

“Why are you looking for Link?” Zelda asked. “What do you need from him?”

She floated there for longer, and Zelda was about to speak again when the woman finally broke the silence.

“Apologies, Your Grace, but it is not my role to speak with you. My role is to seek out your chosen hero and assist him in his role,” she said, voice devoid of emotion, and confusing Zelda a lot. Her chosen hero? “Your presence confuses me,”

“What?” Zelda asked.

“My master is not here,” the woman said instead. “Proceeding to search elsewhere,”

“Wha- hey!” Zelda gasped, nearly tripping on a stall, and most certainly bruising her hip, trying to follow as the woman started moving again. “What does any of that mean?!”

She ducked under the fabric, desperately trying not to lose this weird blue woman. Your Grace? Chosen hero? What was she talking about?

“Stop running away from me!” Zelda shouted, only able to keep up since the woman stopped to stare at every door they passed for a few moments before moving on. “I’m trying to talk to you!”

The woman never hesitated, nor turned to look despite Zelda’s repeated shouting. It was like she couldn’t even hear her, which Zelda knew for a fact was untrue.

“I know what happened to Link!” She finally tried as the woman passed over the plaza.

The woman stopped at that, finally, turning to look at her and giving her a chance to catch her breath.

“You have information pertaining to the location of my master?” The woman asked.

“Yes,” Zelda gasped, leaning her weight on her knees. This woman was fast! “Yes, I know why you can’t find him,”

“I must ask you to provide me with this information so that I may locate him,” the woman said, staring at Zelda with her expressionless face, even the eyes looking like it was part of a smooth blue mask. “It is essentially that I meet with him as soon as possible,”

“I want some answers first,” Zelda huffed, straightening up and planting her hands on her hips. “And don’t think you can find Link without my help, because you won’t,”

The woman watched her, tilting her head slightly for a long moment.

“My analysis concludes that there is an 87% chance of you being correct about needing your help. Very well, I will answer a few questions in exchange for information on the whereabouts of my master,” the woman said, floating up in front of Zelda, who stumbled back a step. “My records indicate that your culture demands I perform an introduction at this point. My designation is ‘Fi’. You may begin asking questions now.”

“Why are you looking for Link?” Zelda asked immediately. “And what’s this about him being your master? And the whole thing with the ‘chosen hero’ deal. And why were you calling me Grace?”

“I am searching for Link because he is my master, and as destiny has begun to unfold my directives demand that I seek him out,” the woman, Fi, said simply. “He has been chosen as my master since a time long before your people have recorded memory. He has been chosen for a very important role in the future of your people, and those on the Surface. I call you Your Grace because that is your respectful designation, and I do not know your mortal name,”

Zelda frowned. Destiny? The future? Her designation? And, wait…

There was something below the clouds! If Link survived his fall, then he was down there, on the Surface! Oh, she had so many questions for when he got back!

In the meantime however…

“What’s this about destiny?” Zelda asked. “And, there’s land below the clouds? What does Link have to do with any of it? Oh, and, um, my name is Zelda,”

“Your Grace, Zelda.” Fi said. “Your preferred designation has been noted. I am not permitted to speak on your destiny, as it is not my role to help you fulfil it, nor am I permitted to speak on the nature of my master’s destiny with you. Yes, there exists a land your people call ‘The Surface’ below the cloud barrier. Your Link has been chosen to play an important role, and it is imperative that I find him quickly,”

“That is not very helpful,” Zelda frowned.

“I have answered your questions,” Fi said. “Should you have no more, I would request that you fulfil our agreement and provide me with the information you have on the location of my master,”

“Ah, right, about that,” Zelda bit her lip, looking away. “He’s, not on Skyloft,”

“I am not sure I follow, Your Grace, Zelda,”

“It’s, it’s my fault really, it’s all my fault,” she admitted, feeling about ready to burst into tears all over again, once again exhausted by the weight of her guilt and all the crying she’d already done. “I didn’t listen to him when he said he couldn’t sense his loftwing and I, I pushed him over the edge. I didn’t realize that something was wrong until it was too late and, and he’s gone now, and it’s all my fault!”

She reached up to wipe at her face, feeling somewhat embarrassed for crying in front of this strange woman but unable to stop herself.

Muffled sobs tapered off in confusion as she felt what might have been fabric woven of metal settle around her shoulders. She looked up in confusion to see Fi looking down at her with what might have been concern or sympathy.

“What are you doing?” Zelda asked through tears.

“My records indicate that this motion is used commonly among your people as an act of comfort,” Fi said. “Your distress led me to believe this would be a soothing action to take,”

Zelda nodded, sniffling. “I’m not sure anything you do or say could help, but thank you for trying,”

“My analysis concludes that this information may alter your emotional state,” Fi said, and Zelda looked up in confusion. “My master, your Link, is alive.”

Zelda froze, looking up at Fi in confusion and shock.

“How do you know that?” Zelda asked, voice shaking.

“I am somewhat connected to my master,” Fi informed her. “I also have the ability to sense and locate certain individuals, called dowsing. My dowsing would not work if he was not alive, and it does. Therefore, he is alive.”

Zelda felt like collapsing all over again. There was so much to take in there.

Link was alive. She hadn’t killed him. He was alive and on the Surface.

He must be terrified! Alone down there, no idea where he is or how to get home. He must be so scared. Not to mention hurt! It was such a long fall, even though he survived, who knew how injured he was? He could be curled up on the Surface somewhere, injured and unable to move, vulnerable to all sorts of dangers.

The relief and worry and fear that replaced the guilt was crippling, and she dropped to her knees, clutching at her hair. She didn’t even realize she was struggling to breathe until Fi told her.

“Your Grace, Zelda, your breathing has become irregular, and I can sense you are in emotional distress. I would recommend you attempt to regulate your breathing to ease your distress,” Fi said. “I am willing to provide you with a grounding point to match your breathing to if you must,”

Zelda nodded, and Fi gently began moving one of her ‘arms’ in a gentle motion. Up, in. Down, out.

Eventually she calmed down, moving her hands to fist in her dress, knuckles still white from how hard she was holding the fabric.

“I conclude that you have returned to a stable emotional state,” Fi said simply. “If my master, your Link, is on the surface, this provides a difficult problem in my location of him,”

“Take me with you!” Zelda said abruptly.

Fi paused to look at her. Zelda imagined she would have been blinking if she had eyelids to do so with.

“Take me to the Surface with you,” Zelda explained, a bit of desperation seeping into her voice. “Let me help you find Link. If you can find a way down there safely, then I’ll help you find Link. Please,”

Fi looked at her for a long moment, then floated up. “I do require a wielder to make it to the Surface. Very well, I accept your offer of assistance. Please follow me so that we may open a path to the Surface.”

Zelda had no idea what Fi meant by wielder, but stood to follow the strange woman regardless. If she could help Zelda find Link, then she’d follow her anywhere.

Fi led her to the statue of the goddess, and then into a small room under the statue that Zelda swore wasn’t there before.

Fi, it turns out, was a sword. Which, explained a lot, actually.

It didn’t explain the sense of deja vu she got when she pulled the blade.

Her father arrived as she swung the sword and activated the little thing that lifted the frame for the tablet that Fi produced.

Fi and her father went back and forth a bit about some prophecy, but Zelda was more focused on putting the tablet in the frame, and then putting the sword in a sheath on her hip.

“Your Grace, Zelda,” Fi said as she finally tuned in. “I can confirm that a beam of light has created a small rift in the cloud barrier separating your world from the one below. Using this rift, we will be able to travel to the place you call ‘The Surface’ and begin our search for my master, your Link,”

“What?” Zelda’s father gaped a bit.

“Fi is taking me to the Surface,” Zelda told him firmly. “Link is down there, and we’re going to find him. Don’t try to stop us.”

“Well, you aren’t going now,” he said. She opened her mouth to argue, but he held up a hand to pause her angry argument. “Zelda, it is nearly dawn, and I know you have not slept yet. At least take some time to prepare before you go. I know I cannot stop you, but if you at least promise to sleep first, I can find you a better outfit to wear than your current one. It’s not exactly suitable for a trip to the Surface,”

Zelda looked down, still in her outfit for the Wing Ceremony that had been cancelled.

“I’m taking the sailcloth,” she said, and when her father nodded she eventually agreed to sleep before she left.

Fi vanished into the sword, and Zelda followed her father back down to the Academy.

The green light breaking through the clouds called to her. Link was down there. He was down there, alone, and he needed her.

Just a few hours, Link, she thought, setting Fi’s blade down on her desk, eyes still drawn to her window and the light breaking through the clouds. Just a few hours to appease my father, and then I’m coming to get you. I swear it,

She only realized exactly how tired she was when she passed out the moment her head hit the pillow.

#skyward sword #zelda #legend of zelda #loz #fi #sksw #hey here's chapter 2 #which is focused entirely on zelda and fi #stubborn zelda my beloved #also should probably start tagging this as #skyward sword spoilers #since we're starting to get there #especially with the bits here about the whole zelda reveal about 2/3 of the way into the game #and hey! we have a tag list now!#if you want to be on the tag list for this fic (or any of my fics) just let me know #i'll probably make a masterpost at some point today to make that a bit easier #but for now have more of this au #we catch back up with link and his new babysitter next chapter

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watery-melon-baller · 3 years

Text

Danny Phantom Fic Recs

Absolutely nobody asked for this, but I feel like doing this so here are some, as the title says, Danny Phantom fic recs! There’s not really any cohesion or theme to this, these are just fics I find good in general. They’re not ones I’ve seen around on a ton of rec lists, so maybe this can help people find something new to read.

Tucker Foley and the Long Arc of the Paranormal Universe by helpivefallenandicantgetup

I cannot recommend this fic enough. The quality of the writing is extremely high. It may start off a bit slow, but once you get into it it really sucks you in. It’s a longer one, currently sitting just above 90,000 words, and still a work in progress but actively updating. The fic is a paranormal mystery AU centering around Tucker, as the title implies, with some good focus put on Sam as well. Danny is the new kid in town, and, not to spoil too much, it crafts an interesting mystery around a series of related murders. This fic provides a remarkably fresh take on the Danny Phantom characters and setting. I in particular love how the interpersonal relationships between characters come so naturally. The take on the characters really stands out to me, giving a lot of depth to them in a way that makes them feel like full people. The plot is engaging, with each development adding to the intrigue. Seriously, probably the best piece of fanfiction I’ve read, ever.

Face to Face by DP_Marvel94

This one has a special place in my heart. It’s one of the first long pieces of fanfiction I read (currently sitting around 150,000 words), and it’s a good one. It’s a very character driven story, centering around what happens when Danny, not long after the accident, tries to get rid of his powers but instead splits himself in two. Now I will say I’m a big sucker for split Danny stories, but even so this is a very interesting take on the concept. As I said, it’s highly character driven, with an engaging arc of Danny learning to accept himself. Another thing that stands out about it is the writing of Jack and Maddie, with some excellent takes on a reveal and reveal aftermath. Big queer allegory vibes, which sure hits for me. This fic is still in progress and continues to update.

Losing Teeth by halfpastdead

This one’s much shorter, a oneshot of around 2000 words. Still, it’s one I find myself coming back to again and again. It’s about Danny becoming more ghostly after a few days stuck in Phantom form. Highkey angst with the Fenton parents, which I am here for. The author portrays the consequences of a post reveal Danny well, how Danny struggles from the trauma of them hunting him, how they can’t just instantly let go of their prejudices once they know the truth. The writing and prose is well done, with good characterization as well.

Doppelgänger by CrzyFun

Boy oh boy do I love this one. It’s halfa trio AND qpr trio, two concepts I love immensely. The writing is well done, and it’s really interesting to see how things have been changed. It’s very much an AU, following through canon but showing how things change with all the tweaks made and, of course, the halfa trio thing. It works well, as do the little tweaks to character. Especially standing out is the portrayal of Valerie; the author manages to give her a lot of nuance and development, giving her a realistic relationship with Danny and the trio as Doppelgänger. And the queerness, I love the queerness so much. This fic currently sits around 40,000 words, so pretty middling in length. It went on a hiatus for a while, but now it’s back to regular updates and seems set to be completed soon.

Eidolon Interloper by HeroineofTime

Everything HeroineofTime writes is so good. Their two other DP fics, Can I Not Grasp Them with a Tighter Clasp? (Around 20,000 word completed multichapter, psychological horror centering around Danny’s protection obsession going too far) and Speak of the Banshee (A ghost speak humor oneshot with Danny and Valerie, at about 7000 words) were both excellent and I enjoyed them immensely. You should read them both. Eidolon Interloper just stands out for its originality and length. It is a crossover with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but as someone who has never played Twilight Princess and has very limited knowledge on it, I had no issues getting into it. It follows Danny after he falls through a portal into the world of Twilight Princess and proceeds to have a terrible time. I really enjoyed the handling of Danny’s character and how his secret-keeping goes. Currently around 50,000 words, it is ongoing. I binged it.

Analog by Workparty

I don’t know, I just enjoyed this one. It’s kind of an anthology of oneshots exploring Danny-clone related situations, scenarios, and AUs. It’s well written and I like how the author explores different ideas and themes. I actually don’t have a lot to say about this one, it’s just good. This one is actually completed, sitting around 20,000 words over 7 chapters.

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by LichrallyJustVibin

I love full ghost Danny aus so much, and this is pretty much the perfect take on a full ghost Danny au. And that pretty much sums up the plot: Danny Dies. Now he has to deal with the aftermath of that. The author puts so much character into the narration; they absolutely nail everyone’s voice. They also manage to strike such an expert balance between angst and fluff, which really makes the fic. It might be abandoned (it hasn’t updated since January), but I’m unsure as of now. Still, the 14,000 words we do have are completely worth checking out. Seriously, this fic is so good.

That’s what I have for now! If any of these interest you, please go check them out, they’re all really good. -Aru

#Danny Phantom Fic Recs #Fic Recs #Danny Phantom #Fandom #Fanfiction #Recs #fic #writing #if any of these summaries I'm giving are too spoilery tell me and I'll try to fix it #If y'all want more fic recs from me I can definitely dredge up more fic recs

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bokettochild · 3 years

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I just finished reading The Ties that Bind, and I love it! I have a small suggestion, one that you could completely ignore if you would like. Will Fable, Legend’s Zelda, meet Sky? Or Sky and the rest of the chain? I feel like that would be fun. But this is just an idea that I had, I’m not pressuring you do to anything.

I'm sorry it took so long to get to your ask, Anon! I've been thinking about this for a while, and the truth is that, while I would LOVE to have Sky meet all of his daughters at some point, I don't know if it will happen in the main plot of the story itself.

Currently in the story, they are in Legend's Hyrule, so there is a good chance of it happening, I just don't know if it will.

Considering this came along with various fic requests, I did end up writing something where they 'meet' but.. I'm terribly sorry, it's entirely crack, and I took way too many liberties with it.

I hope it will do to hold you over until Fable can make an actual appearance in the story!

“So, we finally get to meet your sister?” Hyrule asked, following as Legend led their group down the halls of Hyrule castle.

“Yes.”

“Yes!” Wind pumped his fists. “The only Zelda we haven’t met! I wonder what she’s like?”

“Kickass.” Legend smirked, stopping before one of the opulent doors and turning to face them. “I’d watch yourselves.”

There were a lot of things the Chain was expecting to see when they walked through the doors, but Warriors wasn’t expecting to see a young woman who looked quite ridiculously like Legend, if not for the haircut, spinning around to see look at them before having a wide smile break over her face.

“Z?”

“Link!” And the princess was running, running forwards with feather soft, tinkling laughter into the arms of...Wild? “Oh, Link! I haven’t seen you in ages! Why, look at you! Growing your hair out I see.” Another giggle drifted into the air as the girl brushed a hand through the Champion’s messy bangs.

Wild flushed slightly, much to the shock of all present, but especially to Legend, who stared between the two with his mouth hanging open.

“Everyone’s missed you so terribly, especially after you disappeared so suddenly! The Master was absolutely furious.” Fable added with a nervous laugh, smacking Wild’s arm lightly. “Thank goodness I can tell him all is well and you didn’t get killed or something, we thought he’d oust Robin for good when we couldn’t find you!”

Wild winced, nodding slightly. “I’m on another quest, but maybe I can send a letter? The mail system is working pretty well, for some reason.”

“Not out of Hyrule unfortunately.” Fable pouted, seemingly taking no interest in noticing the rest of them for the moment, instead continuing to stand in Wild’s personal space, neither having quite let go from their unexpected and rather startling hug. “Without you, the Master has closed all contact with Hyrule; I don’t think he wanted anything else to happen, especially since Mother would have been furious if someone else had gone missing.”

“Wait,” Warriors turned to see Wind staring at the- couple? Duo? “Zelly?”

“Tune!” Fable squeaked, pulling away from Wild and darting over to hug the second smallest hero. “My goodness you’ve grown! Are the two of you on an adventure together then? Wonderful!” Ocean blue eyes trailed up to look at the rest of their gang and Fable brightened even more. “Why, all of you are here!”

“All of us?” He couldn’t keep confusion from his tone as he spoke, quirking a brow.

“Well, nearly all,” Fable frowned, setting Wind down to gently stroke her chin. “And here I hoped to see Young Link again.”

Warriors was going to lose his mind. “Young Link?” His eyes turned to Time, who smiled with a light flush, raising one hand in a nearly shy wave.

“Hey, Zelly.”

The princess gasped, hands flying up to cover her mouth as she stared upwards to meet Time’s gaze. “Young Link? My. Goodness! Look- Oh my! You’re all grown up, aren’t you? I declare, you get even more terrifying than half of the others!”

“Legend,” Sky was grinning as bright and warm as the princess, eyes sparkling in the same manner and erasing any doubt that he was the young woman’s ancestor. “You didn’t tell us your sister was The Princess Zelda!”

Legend stared up at his ancestor in disbelief before shaking off Sky’s hands and throwing up his own. “That’s it,” The vet spun on his heel and turned towards the door. “I’m gonna go bang my head against the wall for an hour, toodles.”

“Well,” Fable turned to Sky with a bright grin. “It is wonderful to see you again, Link. Good heavens, how on earth do all of you handle being ‘Link’, it was bad enough having you all switch out, but now you’re all together at once! How do you handle it?”

“I go by Sky,” The Skyloftian replied with a fond smile. “He’s Wild, Wind, and Time. We use our hero titles.”

“Oh! That is clever! Sheik and I both have different names, so I suppose had it easy, I’m surprised no one thought of that before, what with how you all switched out so often- oh!” And the princess was spinning around to look up at Twi. “We’ve missed you too of course, but I must ask, since you’re all apparently time-traveling or some nonsense, could you give a message to your Zelda for me? I haven’t seen her in ever so long, and I do miss being able to talk over things with her.”

“I’ll pass it along.”

“You too.” She turned to Time, brows furrowing lightly. “Sheif is so terrible about writing to me, and I’ve missed being able to ask for advice with my fighting skills.”

“Understood.” Time grinned, earning a mirror expression from the princess.

How the heck was everyone taking this all in stride? Was Legend’s sister...dating Wild or some shit? How did she know Wind and Time? How did she know Sky? How did she know any of them?

“So,” Twilight cocked a hip and stared down at the princess with a warm smile. “They let you stay around, even after switching out all of us?”

“Yep! I am, apparently, quite the favorite. As is L- I mean Wild.” She sent a warm smile towards said hero, who flushed with pleasure. Ew.

“Should’a known it, he's a good kid.”

“He says you mentored him, so I suppose that can be attributed, in part, to you!”

“Aw, thanks, Zelly.”

Warriors would like a drink now please.

“Wait,” Four stared at the princess, eyes slitted and brows furrowed in a way that revealed he was clearly having a headache as well. “You’re- good grief- you know all of us, don’t you?”

Warriors really needs a drink. Seriously? Four too?

“And who are you?” Fable cocked her head.

Four flushed, ducking his head. “Hero of the Four Sword.”

Like a switch had been flipped, recognition sparked in Fable’s gaze. “Oh! That- that makes sense! I had forgotten, I suppose, how you all- well-” She waved her hand vaguely, and while none of the others seemed to understand it (thank Hylia he wasn’t the only one), Four apparently did. “You don’t think it’s weird?”

“Heavens no!” Fable drew back, looking mildly offended. “Link- my Link- or rather, my brother- Good heavens, what on earth do you all call him?”

“Idiot. Pain in the ass. Veteran.” Warriors listed off, making sure his displeasure with being left out of the conversation was made very clear.

“Legend.” Hyrule answered, shooting a glare Warriors’ way.

“Legend, my, that fits,” Fable shook her head with another tinkling laugh. “Does the same thing, albeit in a different manner and without the use of the Four Sword.”

“Heard that!” Legend shouted from just outside the room. “Stop telling them things!”

“Then come in here and make me, you sissy!”

The vet stormed back in, cheeks red and brow looking considerably more bruised than it had been ten minutes previous. “Not a sissy.”

“Yet you only appear on occasion, and never fight?” The princess snarked, hands on her hips.

“Do I look like I have the time to be fighting?” Legend returned, mirroring her pose with enough attitude to match the blue flames of the princess’s gaze.

“Well, if you have time to play dress up-”

“Necessary for a mission, miss ‘I fight duels in my regalia’.”

“I win duels in my regalia, thank you very much.”

“Heck yeah you do.” And was that- pride in the vet’s voice? “You scare the shit out of all of them.”

“I always was the better of the two of us at doing that, you just spend your time talking to cuckos and wearing my clothes.” The princess smirked.

Legend didn’t even have the decency to flush, crossing his arms with a smirk of his own. “You have to admit, I look better in it than you do.”

“Yes.” Fable beamed. “Yes, you do, and I hate it.” Her smile said the opposite but the conversation seemed to be over at that, the princess turning to continue conversing with the other heroes only to spin around again and clap her hands. “Oh! You're off exploring and adventuring, so you drop a message for me! Tell Peach and Daisy that I’m awful sorry I missed tea last time, we’ve been trying for weeks to get around to it, but with L- Wild having disappeared, the Master simply won’t give me the free time and Mother’s been just as strict.”

Legend pouted. “Only if they’re the only ones home, if I have to see that insufferable plumber’s face again I think I might just punch him.”

“Please do.” Fable spat. “He used that stupid hat of his to mind control me and make me kick the crap out of my team.”

“He mind controlled my sister?” Legend hissed.

“Yes, that dumb hat of his is sentient now, and he can force us to do things.”

“I hate that thing.” Wild scowled.

“Same.” Several others echoed.

Sky looked between them all. “Are we talking about Mario? Because if so, Legend, I will totally join you in punching him in the face, that guy is a pain!”

“Oh, him!” Hyrule scowled. “I don’t like him; he grates on my nerves like nobody's business.”

“He’s worse than Tingle.” Wind added, face screwed up in distain.

“Seconded.” Twilight and Time called out together.

“Third, Fourth, Fifth and sixthed.” Four added.

“Just because your name is ‘Four’ doesn’t mean you get four votes.” Warriors groaned, staring at his companions in irritation. “And who the heck are you all talking about? How do all of you know him? Is he immortal?”

“Hylia, I hope not.” Nine voices groaned at once.

“Neighboring kingdom.” Legend replied. “The Mushroom kingdom’s own hero is an idiot plumber by the name of Mario. His twin isn’t bad, but he’s a piece of work. I’ve had to deal with outbreaks of monsters from their kingdom on multiple occasions because he can’t keep them contained. Add in there that their princess is captured every other Tuesday because the guy can’t up and beat her kidnapper for good, and the kingdoms a mess.” Legend paused, frowning. “Wait, I just agreed to go there, didn’t I?”

“Yep.” Fable chirped. “But don’t worry, Bowser is hanging out with his kids this weekend, so he shouldn’t be causing problems while you’re all here.”

Warriors groaned, this time, loud enough that all of them heard him. “Bowser? Are you on a familiar enough standing with some villain that he tells you his weekend plans?”

“Yes.” The twin siblings answered, Fable bright and cherry while Legend deadpanned.

“We even play sports with him on occasion.” Fable added.

“And who,” Warriors tacked on, absolutely done and uncaring for the fact that apparently Legend and Fable played golf or something with their neighboring kingdoms greatest threat. “The heck! Is Mario?”

Nine pairs of eyes stared back at him for a moment, blinking in confusion.

“You know,” Twilight stated slowly. “Has anyone actually ever seen Wars at an event?”

“Come to think of it,” Fable tapped her chin. “You are the only one I’ve never seen before.”

“The only one?” Can Warriors please get a drink?

“I’ve met all of the others, be it in racing, sports, fighting matches, any number of things, but I don’t think I’ve ever even seen you, much less heard of you. Who are you?”

“That,” Legend smirked. “Is the Hero of Warriors. And I don’t know if I should laugh or feel bad that he was never popular enough to get selected for the games.”

“You weren’t either.” Wind hissed.

“Mom said I was on bed rest from being struck by lightning.” Legend waved him off. “I’ve had my time in the Mushroom kingdom, and if they ever do invite me back, I’d burn that Smash invite so fast the Master would think it never arrived.”

That’s it. He’s done. “Legend, I’m stealing your thunder-”

“Please do.”

“I’m going to go bang my head against the wall until the world makes sense again, or until I black out, Bye.” And with that, Warriors left.

(This entire fic was inspired by @tortilla-of-courage, her blog had a stint of asks about the boys knowing each other from Mario Kart and whatnot and it set my brain spinning. I blame her that this was the only thing I could think of when trying to write Sky meeting Fable. Thank's Tortilla!)

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