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rubyiiiusions · 2 years ago

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So there's a take that crops up every so often in the Breath of the Wild fandom, and it goes something like this:

Windblight Ganon is such a piece of cake! If Revali were as talented as he claimed to be, he wouldn't have been defeated by it, so clearly he's just an arrogant blowhard.

I disagree. Because while Windblight might have been relatively easy for the player to defeat, circumstances conspired against Revali in every possible way.

Strike 1: The Blight Ganons were tailor-made to defeat the Champions

While it's not stated outright, the Blights seem to be custom-made to put their respective opponents at the worst possible disadvantage. So while Link can avoid the whirlwinds on the ground, they would be very disruptive to Revali's Gale (something he's only been able to do consistently for a short while). Arrows, too, can easily get blown off course by the wind even when using a heavy bow (so can a Rito, who is presumably lighter than a Hylian).

If, on top of that, it was raining (implied by memories #16 and #17), then Revali's favoured bomb arrows would have been useless. Not a great recipe for a fight.

Strike 2: Rito don't see well in the dark

Botw is a game that doesn't tell you a lot upfront, but you can find a wealth of information in every little corner. Case in point, in Gerudo Town there's a Rito named Frita. And she has a very interesting tidbit to share if you talk to her at night.

[Image ID: A Rito named Frita in Gerudo Town says: "Us Rito... We haven't got the best night vision, to be honest."]

When the Calamity emerged, an unnatural darkness blanketed the land. A darkness that persists from its appearance all the way through Link and Zelda fleeing and their final stand at Fort Hateno, up until Zelda temporarily sealed the Calamity (memories #15, #16 and #17).

That’s without even mentioning the laser show Windblight Ganon puts on. Ever encountered a car with LED lights on a dark road? Now imagine how Revali felt.

Strike 3: Revali had to fly non-stop for hours to get to Medoh

After sinking some hours into playing botw, you probably get used to warping all across the map via the shrines. Going from Lurelin to Rito Village is a matter of seconds. And if the Sheikah had been able to unlock the Sheikah Slate fully in the past, that would have been a massive boon to the war effort.

Unfortunately, they didn't. Which means that, when Calamity Ganon emerged, all the Champions had to take the long road to their Divine Beasts.

Now what does that mean for Revali? We can hazard a pretty good guess, but we don't have to, because the art book tells us: Revali flew straight from Lanayru East Gate to Rito Village. It's hard to tell exactly how long that would have taken him, but I'm estimating that would be about 8-10 hours flying non-stop.

[Image ID: A map of Hyrule showing the presumed routes the Champions took to get to their Divine Beasts. Revali's is a straight line across Hyrule.]

Which means Revali (like the other Champions) was probably already exhausted by the time he got to Medoh.

Aaaaaand that's three strikes, he's out!

But if that's not enough for you yet, here's one more thing. Admittedly, this is less solidly canon than the previous parts, but it's conjecture that, in my opinion, is backed up by the Champions' Ballad DLC.

Strike 4: Revali lacked his best weapon and may have been injured

The artbook shows us another salient tidbit. Revali could have detoured if he wanted to, but he didn't: he flew in the straightest possible line across Hyrule Field.

Hyrule Field, better known as the center of the chaos at the time.

Can we really expect a Champion, especially a Champion who's so eager to prove himself, to not stop and at least try to help? And while trying to help, what might have happened to him?

When you fight the Blights in the memory realm, you gain a set amount of equipment, implied to be what the Champions carried with them at the time. And with Revali, something's missing.

[Image ID: The bow inventory during the DLC fight against Windblight Ganon. It includes a Falcon Bow, Duplex Bow and Phrenic Bow.]

Where's the Great Eagle Bow?

Would Rito Champion Revali, greatest archer in known Rito history, really not be carrying his signature bow, when every other Champion carried their favoured weapon?

This, combined with his route straight across Hyrule Field, makes me suspect that he did engage the Guardians, lost his bow, and may even have gotten injured in the process.

So there you have it. Just about everything was against Revali in that fight. And while Link, and by extension the player, may have had an easy time of it, they went into it at full health and with all the advantages of the Sheikah Slate.

Meanwhile, Revali arrived at Vah Medoh after a frantic hours-long flight only to be thrown into a fight he didn't expect against an opponent tailor-made to counter his every move, while he was unable to see properly and lacked his best weapon. And he still managed to put up one hell of a fight.

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rubyiiiusions · 2 years ago

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crawls out of the void,,, here u go bowuigi enjoyers

tongues and teeth // bowser x luigi

word count 2244 // ao3 link

summary: “Ah, rigatoni… I’m sorry–” “It’s fine.” “...Oh. Eh… has no one ever called your singing beautiful before?” “...Not in so many words.” (or, luigi is afraid of a lot of things, but fire has never been one of them, much to his dismay.) [rated T: mario movie spoilers, hurt/comfort, torture, rough kissing but they dont kiss its just really gay ass dialogue]

He’d banged his head against the bars, jolting as the chains above him whirred away. …Great, just as I thought I could stop having a panic attack, Luigi thought wryly, hissing in pain and scrambling to his feet as he was lifted, his cage pulled up into the gaping maw of the ceiling. Below him, a few of the penguins(and of course that absolutely enlightening blue star, but Luigi had been trying to filter out its voice) squawked out protests or questions, and he bit his lip. Like I chose to be here! He wanted to yell. I never wanted to go in the sewers, I never wanted to get sucked in here, I never wanted to leave my brother! I just wanted to start a business, wanted to prove to my dad that I’m more than just a good student…

I just want to go home.

“Here he is, your highness!” The wizard chirped, far too cheerfully, and Luigi let out a small, nervous laugh, giving his captor a small wave and trying not to instinctively rub the sore spot where a few of his mustache hairs had once been.

Luigi could see the smoke curling in the air as it left Bowser’s nostrils. It was almost mesmerizing, the way he could see the barely-held-back fire, trapped in his maw, glowing and flickering in the dim light of the throne room. If he wasn’t terrified, he’d be curious.

“Shoo, Kamek,” the King dismissed, and the wizard instantly scurried away, muttering a quick yes sir. And, suddenly, they were alone.

Luigi’s heart was pounding in his chest. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Bowser, letting out a quiet heh and pulling at the collar of his shirt nervously. For a moment, all his captor was doing was studying him, tracing his figure, as if imagining what it would be like to tear him apart, how his skeleton would look bare, skin burnt to a crisp.

“Is… there a reason you brought me here, L-Lord Bowser?” He ventured tentatively, sweat beading from his forehead and dripping down his neck.

The Koopa let out a huff that could have passed for amused. “Never had one of my prisoners call me ‘lord’ before,” he mused, and extended a hand. A glowing, shimmering star materialized in his palm, spinning at his will. It pulsed and thrummed, like a heartbeat loud enough to rival Luigi’s own, power radiating from it in waves. Bored, Bowser flicked it with a finger, sending it spinning across the room, before calling it back to his grasp.

“Eh… what would you prefer?” Luigi asked, trying and failing to tear his gaze away and instead opting to awkwardly readjust his hat. “King? Majesty? Sovereign? Sir? Master?”

Bowser seemed to choke on something before clearing his throat. He closed his fist and the star flickered back to its place behind his throne. “Lord and King are fine, thank you,” he snarled, more embarrassed than hostile. Luigi took a sheepish step back.

“You… bald ape people fascinate me,” he muttered, more for himself than Luigi. The human furrowed his eyebrows. “So small, so… smooth. Warm-blooded. It’s odd.”

“We’re… uh, we’re called humans, sir,” Luigi attempted, voice small, but Bowser didn’t acknowledge him. “Majestic, even…” the Koopa was muttering, lost in his own thoughts. “Is there…”

He snapped back to attention and took a booming step forward. “You! Uhh…”

“Luigi,” He tried to state calmly, but it came out as more of a squeak.

“Luigi. Yes.” Bowser clasped his hands together. Luigi tilted his head curiously. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought that the Koopa King was nervous. “I have a very important question for you.”

“Me?” Luigi almost whimpered, and his heart was racing. …Mamma mia, what have I gotten myself into?

“Well, duh. You’re the only one here,” Bowser muttered, still quiet, and Luigi stifled a yelp of fear at the reminder, taking another step back. He cleared his throat and, surprisingly, seemed to retreat into his shell a bit, eyes darting from his talons to the volcanic brick floor to Luigi and back again. “Let me… present a hypothetical situation. You look like her. If… if you were a powerful, strong, heart-stoppingly beautiful princess who led her subjects to great prosperity, would you fall in love with me?”

Luigi blinked. “What.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of Princess Peach!” Bowser snapped, casting his gaze skyward, as if a spotlight was trained on him as he went into a powerful, heartbreaking monologue, Romeo and Juliet style. “The most beautiful princess in all the land? Blue eyes, blond hair? Ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, which I’m about to raze to the ground as I ask for her hand in marriage?” There were stars in his eyes, somehow glimmering brighter than the one shining behind his throne. “She’s… she’s perfect. I’m going to rule the world by her side. We’ll destroy everything… together.”

Luigi let out a small, nervous laugh. “I… eh, I don’t know if I can answer for the princess… I’ve never met her, and–”

“Let me rephrase,” Bowser snarled, and suddenly he was towering over Luigi’s cage, smoke curling from his open mouth, rumbling in a growl. He yelped and scrambled backward. “If you were Peach, would you fall in love with me?”

“Y–Yes!” Luigi blurted, terrified, and Bowser’s eyes widened. A genuine smile spread across his face. What the hell is wrong with this guy?

“As I assumed!” The King clapped his hands, turning to hide his excitement. Luigi found he couldn’t tear his eyes away. “Thanks for your help–not that I needed it, or that you had a choice,” He quickly tacked on, shooting him a glare that somehow seemed forced. “I wasn’t nervous, by the way.”

Bowser waved a hand and the chains holding Luigi’s cage in place began to whir, sinking slowly back into the ground. Luigi kept his eyes trained on that shell, shining in the flickering firelight, and that tail that whisked back and forth happily until the throne room turned into a sliver of light and disappeared. He let out a sigh of relief, far too shaken to unpack any of the truth in his words.

“If… ah, if you don’t mind me asking… what’s so special about this ‘Peach’?” Luigi ventured. He would have been terrified–hell, he still was, but he could breathe and his heart wasn’t threatening to beat out of his chest, so he counted that as a partial victory–if these… visits hadn’t become a regular occurrence. It was like clockwork; every night(or what he could only assume was night–the time his internal clock was begging him to sleep, but that wasn’t quite a reliable source) chains would start whirring and he’d be pulled back up to the throne room, face to face with King Bowser himself. If he wasn’t so put off, he’d be bored, but there was something about him that seemed to spark a flame in Luigi’s chest, as if preparing him to burn to a crisp.

Bowser had a faraway look in his eyes that, for once, was marred with conflict. “She’s… she’s beautiful,” he murmured, and Luigi studied the sudden softness in his expression. “She has heart-shaped bangs, the voice of an angel, the strength of a thousand men, the…” He trailed off, cleared his throat. “What an absurd question. Now, tell me. If you were Peach, would you be entranced by this song?”

(He couldn’t answer for the princess, but Luigi was so drawn in by his bellowing, trembling voice, shaking with emotion, that he couldn’t do anything but nod, couldn’t tear his eyes away from those fangs, curved and sharpened to a knife’s point, couldn’t turn away no matter how much of a bad idea this was. He was a prisoner, after all, but he’d been beginning to wonder if it was to the Koopa King or his own, traitorous, fearful(aflame) heart.)

“Your voice is beautiful,” Luigi couldn’t help but murmur in the deafening silence that followed. Bowser let out a small huff, a tiny smile flickering on his face for a moment.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me and meant it.”

Luigi turned, eyes wide with shock. He was sitting at the foot of the piano, and he could have ran. Should have ran. But there was nowhere to go, and what harm could one more song do?

“...Really?”

Bowser shrugged, seemingly resigned, soft around the edges. “I mean, the only other person I’ve ever sung for this way is Kamek, and… well, you know. Brainwashed and everything.”

“Huh.” Luigi studied the king’s eyes and, for the first time, saw something that might have been sadness in them.

(His irises were auburn, a gnarled tree caught aflame.)

“So you think Peach will like it?” He asked, soft voice betraying the hidden longing in his expression.

“Mamma mia… I’d be surprised if she didn’t,” Luigi answered honestly, and something trembled in his chest.

Luigi yelped as a claw curled around his mustache, pulling playfully at the hairs. “Wha–yeowch–what are you doing?”

“Physical torture,” Bowser responded bluntly, before breaking off into a bellowing laugh. Fear and awe, in equal parts, boomed in his chest.

“Eh… I thought…”

“Wrong!” Bowser hummed, gleeful, and the malicious grin on his face widened as his claw moved from tugging at mustache hairs to tracing Luigi’s jawline past his ear to flick his hat. “You’re my prisoner. I’ll do as I please. What, did you forget? You’re entirely at my mercy.”

He should have been afraid. Was afraid. But…

That fire, glowing from behind Bowser’s barely parted grin. The way his eyes flashed, fiery amber. He was afraid of a lot of things, but flames… flames had never been one of them. No matter how much it hurt as they singed his fingers.

“Ah, rigatoni… I’m sorry–”

“It’s fine.”

“...Oh. Eh… has no one ever called your playing beautiful before?”

“...Not in so many words.”

He knew it was the beginning of the end when as his eyes were drooping, the chains didn’t clank and whir anymore, didn’t pull him up to what had somehow become his escape. He heard a faint whooping of joy above, the newly-captured Kongs and Toads sitting sullenly in their cages, some rattling their bars and others yelling at the floating, ever-cheerful turquoise star, and bit his lip.

What the hell had he been thinking? How had he let that fear, the only thing keeping him alive right now(and maybe not his brother, but–no, he couldn’t, wouldn’t think about that right now) morph into something entirely different, something he was afraid to put a name to? Why hadn’t he noticed? Why–

Oh, no… why did he miss his voice?

The wave of relief that surged through him as Mario swiped him out of midair with a cry, pulling him close into a tight hug, swearing to never let go, was almost enough to extinguish the fire.

Almost.

But as Luigi’s eyes caught Bowser’s, as the ice shattered, as the volcano roared and the princess he’d heard so much about cried out, reaching out in vain as the bullet bill surged towards her castle, seemingly infinitesimal in the shadow of Bowser’s Castle, he felt a spark lick its way from his stomach up his spine, through his veins, and settle into a flickering flame in his chest.

It had been nothing compared to this; the searing metal trash can lid, the burns on his palms, stinging, and the metal was bending. The star thrummed behind him and Bowser’s panicked roar echoed in his ears, humming humming humming with the fire that licked just beside him, curling around his mustache in a way that had him seeing stars.

He wondered–was this what it was like to feel alive? To burn?

And then–

A white glow, searing behind his eyelids, but it was cold. Fast moving, like an icy, brittle moon orbiting its sun, and his skin was shimmering, tingling with a numbness that made him uneasy. Nonetheless, power flooded through his veins, beating with his heart, and he narrowed his eyes.

Fear was a good look on Bowser. So was defeated, lying facedown in the dust. Luigi had a strange urge to reach down and smooth the tangles in his hair. Almost a shame, how pathetic he looked, rendered to nothingness and trapped in that jar.

(He dreamt of his voice, of full, booming piano tones and bursts of flame, of amber eyes.)

Luigi was jostled awake to the realization that he couldn’t breathe or move. His eyes widened and he stifled a yelp. His wrists were bound, behind his back and tied to a chair, and sweat beaded at his neck. The walls were flickering, and fear bloomed in his stomach.

A rumbling laugh, far too familiar, echoed throughout… wherever he was, and he whimpered. Something stirred in his chest, and he gasped when he realized it was a spark. It was too late–the flame was already fueled.

“You’re an amusing one,” Bowser growled, low and cocky as he lumbered forward. Oh, how Luigi wished that voice didn’t send a shiver down his spine, equal parts relief, yearning, and fear. A claw hooked under his neck, thumb playfully teasing his mustache before poking at his lower lip, mouth agape. Bowser licked his lips. “I think I’ll keep you.”

#bowuigi #bowser x luigi #luigi #bowser #mario movie #super mario movie #bowuigi fanfic #bowuigi fic #im normal guys #i promise #fanfiction #fanfic

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