#(She's as much as a Zelda nerd as me and was the one to point out the biggest mistakes)

[lennsart]

Btw if anyone thought I forgot/became normal about the french Zelda encyclopedia

I'm just building up proofs, THE STICKY NOTES ARE IN

[nolongerapileofashprobably]

I just want to say that BOTW/TOTK's Zelda is the first version of the character I've ever loved, and I've been a LoZ fan since OoT. It just frustrates me the way some fans lambast her for being angry at Link in BOTW and also claim she was wasted/fridged/sidelined/reduced to "pure sacrificial maiden" and had her adorable nerd personality stripped away in TOTK (also claiming her sacrifice in TOTK is an attempt to validate Rhoam's treatment of her in BOTW). I thought her arc in TOTK was a wonderful continuation of the one she had in BOTW and showed how much stronger she had grown. Poor gal can't catch a break. What are your thoughts?

….I do not know how long of an answer you expected, but I have so many thoughts. So. Many. Thoughts. And boy do I go on tangents when I should be sleeping. Anyway. Here you go :)

For the most part, I hold a lot of the Zelda’s near and dear to my heart! Though, admittedly, it comes from the fandom’s exploration of these characters rather than just purely canonical content.

But Botw/Totk Zelda…. I don’t need any ‘additional’ content or exploration beyond what we see in the games to make me absolutely love and adore her. She is the most developed Zelda and she has an amazing arc— her complex feelings regarding her own magic, the complicated relationship she had with her father, the realistic exploration of her feelings regarding Link and how they went from jealousy and dislike to acceptance and adoration.

I always find that many complex and well developed characters are nearly always wasted on those who cannot look past mistakes (especially ones that set up future developments and start plot lines). Sometimes, people fixate on the moments writers use to cement that yes, this character is in a very low point of their life and the way they cope is not the ‘good’ way to.

The first memory in botw tells us that Zelda is none too thrilled to have Link as her knight attendant and the Hylian Champion. That she’s using him to project her own frustrations regarding her own failures. Which is the very introduction used to draw us in, make us curious about her history and how Link is tied into any of it.

So many just… can’t see past the reason we are shown this memory, nor why her frustrations led her to yell at Link. Because she was absolutely powerless and unlike Link who has had the Master Sword since he was 12, she had nothing to show. And her character is constantly forced to listen to her father, to heed the teachings she was vaguely given through one-off comments her mother and grandmother said. She was forbidden to pursue her hobbies and give it all up for the sake of the prophecy.

And then, to find out that Zelda awakened her powers through love, love for Link who she initially misjudged and mistreated, is so so powerful. Because she had grown to resent the spirits and herself. But Link. She grew to not only care for Link but to fall in love with him. And that instinct, that belief, that faith, that love. That is what sparked the power within her.

Zelda finally heard the spirit in the sword. She understood her part in this fight. For so long she had struggled to find her power, and she awakened it just in time to save Link, but at the cost of everyone else she held dear.

Something I don’t think a lot of people who criticize and hate Zelda understand is that Zelda’s pure and unwavering faith in Link is her drive to make these sacrifices. She knows it will be worth it. Because she believes in Link. And she supports him in whatever way she can. The reason they don’t understand this is because they can’t see past Zelda’s initial emotions regarding Link. They can’t see how she never believed in herself but she always had unflinching faith in him once she got to know him.

Then to see her accept that her magic has been sapped from its constant, draining use for the last 100 years at the end of botw…. It is a powerful moment. She fought so long to have those powers, ones her father berated her for not having access to, but she can finally accept that she can’t hear the spirit in the sword anymore. That’s development.

And for those who think Zelda’s cute adorable nerdiness was wiped from totk obviously don’t have the greatest history of understanding context clues. Zelda legitimately geeks out in the very first opening sequence of totk.

*totk Spoilers ahead*

She goes on and on about the Imprisoning War and the Zonai, taking pictures and obviously ecstatic about the discovery. She finds the Master Sword’s ability to heal itself fascinating. She founded research teams and build a school to further education in Hyrule. She wasn’t just a nerd. She was the Princess of Nerds.

Her sacrifice in ToTK is at surface level the action of a sacrificial maiden. Those who can’t read beyond that won’t understand it any other way. They won’t see how important it is that Fi sought Zelda thousands of years into the past, when in the beginning of botw she couldn’t even hear the spirits. They won’t understand how Zelda’s unflinching faith in Link parallels Link’s unflinching loyalty to Zelda. ToTK is a zelink centered game. Yep. I said it. We all know it’s true.

The entire plot revolves around, get this, Finding Princess Zelda.

Link’s entire motivation behind this game is to find Zelda. That is quite literally all he truly wants to do. He wants to find her. He isn’t there for duty. He just simply wants to find her.

And she is in the past, ensuring Link has every possible thing to help him secure a future for Hyrule. She went from detesting her place in the prophecy, from being forced to comply to her father’s choices, to embracing her role as the Princess of Hyrule and choosing her own way of aiding Link.

Totk gave Zelda the supportive father figure and guiding mother figure she sorely lack in botw. It showed us and Zelda that despite having the things she didn’t have, they still failed. Sonia was killed. Rauru had to sacrifice himself.

Zelda had to sacrifice herself. She was known for being stubborn, perceptive, analytical, and independent. Now she is known for her kindness, her intelligence, her empathy, and her compassion. And she sacrificed it all just to give Link the Master Sword. Because she had unwavering faith he could defeat Ganondorf.

Zelda is a RIDICULOUSLY complex character who has been through so much. But complexity is lost on those who only look for the simple, easy to understand things. So she is bound to have haters.

But for those who can understand and admire that development, we see Zelda for who she is. And if it’s any consolation, so does Link. While this game didn’t officially make zelink canon, they did make it canon that Link stayed by Zelda’s side after the Calamity. Once she was gone, they again made it canon that he would not stop until she was back with him. His Zelda. The one that rambles and excitedly tells Link that so much has happened.

Botw/totk Zelda is so so complex. And for that reason alone, she will have haters. But they don’t know or understand her. Not in any way that truly matters. Because those who do understand her and love her, well, it’s pretty clear that’s the way to go if Link’s main purpose and the entirety of totk tells us.

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 1

Propaganda under the cut

Mipha

Honestly she's not just a victim of yaoi, tbh. Basically: she canonically had a massive crush on the protagonist, Link, which consistently gets swept under the rug or ignored entirely in favor of shipping Link with her brother Sidon, their fellow champion Revali, or Zelda herself. She deserves nice things and so many people just... completely overlook her??

She has a crush on Link, but so does her younger brother Sidon, who is much more affable and outgoing. Link/Sidon is the more popular ship. Mipha gets a lot of flak for being a weak female character who's only defined by her romantic relationship to the protagonist. That's not really fair; she has her own storyline about being the golden girl from her town who everyone looks up to, and the hole that's left in the town after her death. It is unfortunate that she is better remembered as the less compelling corner of a love triangle.

The princess of the Zora, sweetheart of the Zora's Domain. Champion pilot of the Divine Beast Vah Ruta. Master healer, cut down in her prime by an ancient evil. But you wouldn't know it, because she's reduced to someone who was in love with Link (the game's protagonist), and therefore has to be sidelined and villainized to ship Link with her younger brother Sidon or her fellow Champion Revali.

Zelda

She spent 100 years in a metaphysical wrestling match with an ancient and primal evil after seeing it destroy almost everyone and everything she held dear in the hopes of saving the few that remained and Link's main goal after HIYAHing his way out of a amnesia-inducing coma was to come in and tag team said evil in order to save her and like 90% of the memories he can regain focus on their relationship with each other and its gradual improvement up to the point where Link fucking dies protecting her and it's the push she needs to awaken the power to push back the blight and PEOPLE ARE STILL OUT THERE IN THEIR POST-CANON FANWORKS TRYING TO TELL ME THAT LINK FUCKS OFF AND LEAVES HER ALONE TO GO SMOOCH THE HOT FISH PRINCE BECAUSE ZELDA WAS BEING TOO OVERBEARING OR WHATEVER AND HE COULDN'T DEAL WITH THE EXPECTATION??? LIKE ZELDA'S WHOLE FUCKING ARC WASNT ALSO ABOUT HER STRUGGLING WITH EXPECTATION AND FAILING TO LIVE UP TO IT AND YOU WANT ME TO BELIEVE THIS WUALITY THEY BOTH OSTENSIBLY HAVE IN COMMON WOULD DRIVE A WEDGE BETWEEN THEM?? WHERE'S ZELDA YOU COWARDS?? I DON'T EVEN CARE IF YOU DON'T WANT HER AND LINK TO BE TOGETHER, JUST STOP DIMINISHING THE GRAVITY OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP AND MAKING ZELDA SUCK FOR NO REASON. SHE'S A BIG NERD! SHE GETS TOO IN HER OWN HEAD! SHE'D DO ANYTHING TO HELP THE PEOPLE SHE CARES ABOUT! SHE UNASHAMEDLY AND EXCITEDLY TRIED TO FEED HER PERSONAL KNIGHT A LIVE FROG IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE! HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE HER 

Im specifically saying botw Zelda here because oh my gOSH this poor girl can get made out to be like a horrible bitch when people. want link to get that shark dick. on average she doesnt get thattttt badly treated compared to some others but goddamn.

title character but people hate her because they want link to get w sidon. so she gets fridged or entirely forgotten even though shes literally his canonical soulmate and they have been reincarnated together hundreds of times (w ganon but whether u make em poly or make him the long suffering third wheel is up to you). people will be like oh but zelda was mean to him that one time (??). be serious w me rn. she just got removed from fandom entirely and if that isnt the epitome of victim of yaoi idk what is.

[originalgenshinscenarios]

So I saw you can do crossovers and I have been CRAVING Genshin girls with a crossover S/O. I was thinking either Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, or Pokemon.

So...if you really don't mind, could I get Ayaka, Yae, and Shenhe with an S/O who is a Pokemon trainer (the Pokemon they have can be up to you!)

(If the whole crossover thing has changed, feel free to ignore this, it seems like a bit of a stretch anyway lol)

I only know something about pokemon from the media you said! But I'm not an expert, somehow pokemon is one of the medias where I am not a total lore nerd... Also it's not general hcs... I just thought about first meeting scenarios and went all in haha...

Also explanation for their "signature" pokemon. Ayaka just cuz I think it suits her lookwise lol. Miko cuz her having a nuisance of a pokemon is funny to me. Shenhe cuz it's is one of the best counters for ghost types. I'm typing this just so people won't write stuff like "bUt wHy DoeSn'T MikO hAVe A VulPIx" she does. I just wanted to include one pokemon per character.

[Pokemon AU] Ayaka, Miko and Shenhe meeting their trainer S/O

Ayaka

She was one of the more popular pokemon idols as well as a gym leader, so she didn't have much time to herself at all.

Froslass is one of her signature pokemon. It was odd that actually when the two of you met, she had an argument with it.

The constant fighting and training for the performances has drained her Froslass, and you saw how upset it made her when you went to challenge her. The very idea of neglecting her pokemon made her feel terrible.

So instead of fighting her, you helped the two get along again. And she appreciated it more than anything else.

Ever since that moment you've been in contact. She wanted to repay your kindness after all.

It took her a long time to reach out again, but when she did she was so happy to see you again.

So you went on a "date" where it was just her trying to thank you for everything. You really enjoyed talking together and if you didn't connect last time, you sure did now.

Miko

Her life was always one where she didn't travel too much unless she needed to. She had a few pokemon she spent her daily life with. She really adored taking care of them. But secretly her pokemon were very well trained.

She liked to challenge random trainers from time to time, often acting like she doesn't know anything.

When she met you, you could immediately call her bluff but you still accepted. Your suspicions turned out to be correct when you saw what kind of a monster her Gengar was.

And her strategy was confusing you. But she had everything planned for a sudden win, rather than overpowering you and crushing your hopes in a minute.

Such playing with her food had caused her to lose because you weren't some newbie. She was everything but disappointed though, although she couldn't amuse herself with your reactions, she was entertained by battle instead- which she didn't think would ever happen.

So ever since that she wouldn't just let such a fun opponent go. She was hoping that the two of you would run into each other more often.

And she wasn't disappointed. Because fate kept bringing you together. By that point you've already became close.

Shenhe

Her job was dealing with ghost type pokemon who were often getting a little bit too comfortable fooling around public spaces.

And one day... She ended up having to scold your pokemon on your behalf before you managed to catch up to it.

You made sure to apologize to her for all that inconvenience, but all she said was that it was okay and then went her way.

She was so beautiful and graceful... When your pokemon saw the way you looked at her... Let's just say that it wanted to play a wingman.

It kept running away from you and making you run into her often. It only stopped once you got the courage to ask for her number.

She was blunt and it made her so appealing. Your ghost pokemon actually really liked her too!... But it didn't get along with her Weavile as much...

In the end your pokemon was listening to her better than to you. You honestly had no idea by that point if it played wingman for you to be happy... Or for it to spend more time with her.

~Mod Lisa

[bearmemesreviews]

FotW: SDMI - In Fear of the Phantom

Welcome back to Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated, and now we're getting into a problem many reboots and adaptions face - what happens when you try something different. Today's episode isn't really that special, serving as a bridging point between the next stint of episodes focused on the gang's love lives.

Except for featuring the Hex Girls of course.

Not to overshadow the main villain, which would be extra funny considering their backstory, but come on that's what y'all are here for.

Yeah, they got a bit of a redesign since their last few appearances in the two billion direct to DVD films. Fans DID NOT like this, and in a later episode they had to actually address the backlash while also scrapping these outfits for the original ones. They also steal Luna and Dusk's hair dye and gave Thorn's highlights a diminished role.

My personal opinion? Eh, I would've preferred a middle ground between the two, but for reboots I encourage designers to go all out since it's their own thing. So for Mystery Incorporated I would've either kept the redesigns or gave them completely brand new looks a second time. The OGs have a more cohesive aesthetic, but I like how MI experiments by giving each girl their own Alt style. It's probably Dusk who could probably use a new outfit though, since her Tank Girl getup doesn't mesh as well as Thorn's "Pagan School Girl" and Luna's "Lesbian Thespian" outfits do. Actually, maybe one of those Scene Kid reconstructions of School Uniforms would've worked better?

Oh yeah, this nerd.

Backstory: Like most lesbians Velma is a massive fan of The Hex Girls, snagging front row tickets for the Scooby Gang just in time for them to witness a "Phantom" try to murder Thorn on stage. As with every mystery the gang decide to take it upon themselves to do the cop's job to keep the concert going while protecting the band.

This leads to an exploration of the show's two main ships, Fredphe and Shoob - again, yes really.

This show is really good trust me on this.

Scooby outright calls Shaggy a cheater for going to prom with Velma instead of hanging out with him like they always do, and replaces Mathew Lillard with a wooden dummy much to Shaggy's chagrin.

Fred meanwhile comes out as nonbinary a teenage boy with emotions as he finally grasps Daphne's romantic interest in him. All thanks to an entire song written by Daphne where she uses Fred's special interest to get through to him.

Behold, one of the best songs made for a television show in history.

Before this spectacular moment of audio interposed with occasional Zelda CDI-level animation (to be fair are you even looking at the animation in the first place) we got some Phantom shenanigans. Mostly him responding to Scoob and Shag's ability to warp time and space by just setting them on fire, probably the most effective thing one these guys have attempted so far.

Design: Obviously a homage to The Phantom of the Opera, and as we go through the series, you'll start to notice a lot more homages that Wikipedia will kindly point out for you. Though you can also see a bit of Comic Supervillain in his design, so much so that he doesn't seem to fit with the show's own aesthetic. He wears a black full body suit with a gigantic, taller than his own head, Dracula collar and grim reaper-esque hood. He has a fabricated piece of his outfit that goes over his shoulders like Football Pads, but with a sleeker design as it attaches his cape to the main costume. His cape is black but its interior is lined with a sparkling holographic material.

His mask, belt, boots, and glovers are all made of golden mechanical pieces, as they actually allow him to charge up bolts of electricity to fire at the teens in our show. This tech is never explained, and he really only uses it a few times before forgetting he has these weapons at his disposal.

His mask is the best part of the outfit, legitimately cool while evoking a gas mask. It's almost like it was made out of several pieces asymmetrically stuck to each other with large bolts, like if C3PO was mangled in an accident and put back together with recolored bits of R2-D2. There are several short, cylindrical ports on his gauntlets, boots, belt, and mask that occasionally glow green.

Reveal: Shaggy, with an extensive knowledge of obscure musical groups as we'll be shown time and time again, recognized the shiny material of The Phantom's cape as belonging to a One-Hit Wonder named Fantzee Pantz. And once that's discovered it's pretty obvious that the other suspect, The Hex Girl's manager, is not the culprit as he was just as responsible for Fantzee's obscurity as THG.

No, the true culprit is the girl's songwriter, who first attempted to sabotage them through badly written songs but was thwarted by the girl's talent and popularity - So he then turned to just trying to kill them, and Daphne. He ends up taking Scoob's dummy to jail with him, but the original duo patch things up by then - letting us look back at Velma who got sidelined so badly this episode.

2/5 Goofy as hell design for a goofy character, probably the most "Villain of The Week" we've encountered so far. In fact, he'd probably fit in better in Miraculous Ladybug than this show. Not that bad otherwise, just not as impressive.

[kettleghost]

begging you to just post all your spot thoughts your art of him is so good... slurping it up like some kinda pasta dish

OF COURSE!! id be happy to! i have. so many thoughts about that silly dude.. here are my crazy spot headcanons 😁

he seems like the kinda guy who would like mint choc chip icecream

i think he’s autistic😁😁

there is no way that man is straight

i think when he worked for alchamax, him and liv octavius were kinda like. frenemies? i guess?? as in, they were coworkers and whatnot but were also kinda friendly rivals! i think liv definitely didn’t care that much for jonathan though since she was the head scientist and had a lot of other stuff to worry about- i like to think jonathan thought they were best friends and liv barely knew his name LMAO i think if she and him ever were to reunite after his incident, they’d definitely be a lot closer, bonding over wanting to destroy spiderman LOL

he definitely, albeit very briefly, debated actually adopting a dalmatian after miles’ comment

he watched better call saul and loved it.. this is the most important spot headcanon.. to me

i think at some point while travelling through dimensions (possibly before going to mumbattan, which would definitely recontexualise that comment he makes about not recognising himself in the mirror) he discovered an alternate version of himself, one that was still human. and that fucked him up big time and made him sad <\3 breh idk

i like to think the reason human spot appears in the movie with both short and long hair is because, when he was working on the collider, it took up almost all of his time, leading to jonathan pulling a bunch of all nighters and neglecting himself a bit, leading to his hair and beard growing out! when his work on the collider eased up nearing its completion, he got a haircut

i love the idea that his face hole can’t. actually close so when he sleeps it’s just perpetually open LOL maybe it subtly grows and shrinks when he inhales and exhales or something like that snooorkk mimimimi

he listens to weezer and talking heads it’s the truth

he can’t cook at all he lives off of two minute noodles like a struggling university student

he loves puzzle games, he’s definitely at a ridiculously high level in candy crush, he was probably a zelda nerd when he was younger

he used to wear a lot of fun button up shirts to his work (this one’s backed up by some of his concept art!)

he seems like the kinda guy who desperately wanted a pet lizard when he was younger but as he got older and his alchemax workload got larger, he decided against getting one out of fear he wouldn’t have time to tend to it

he uses emojis unironically

idk he’s just a silly loser nerd who does silly loser nerd things what a funny fella!!! yahoo

that’s all i got off the top of my head! but if you want more crazy spot thoughts you should check out my instagram story i literally. post every single thought that comes to mind relating to that guy over there (or follow me on @awesomesaucewizard i talk about him sometimes there too!)

[sage-nebula]

I think what is pissing me off so badly about Tears of the Kingdom’s story – or at least the part of the story that is told through the geoglyphs – is that I feel so much importance and agency was removed from Zelda and foisted onto Rauru in order to make him the focal, important narrative character. To explain in more detail:

Breath of the Wild is very much Zelda’s story. Although we play as Link, Link serves his titular role well in that through the memories we gain, we learn about Zelda – her struggles, and her character development. The story of 100 years ago is as much about Zelda’s struggles in awakening her sacred power as it is her triumph over everything that plagued her during her life: the expectations of her father and her kingdom, the feelings of worthlessness and failure on her shoulders, and Calamity Ganon himself.

And through it all, we see that Zelda’s story is one of her own agency; although expectations are thrust upon her shoulders, Zelda herself is the one who makes decisions every step of the way to do what she feels must be done. She travels to each of the sacred springs, she researches the Guardians and searches for alternatives to fight Ganon in case her power doesn’t awaken, she journeys to ask the Champions for their assistance, she travels with Link and gets to know him. Zelda is the one who saves Link’s life by telling Impa and Robbie to take him to Shrine of Resurrection, Zelda is the one who takes the Master Sword to Korok Forest to be protected, and Zelda is the one who imprisons Calamity Ganon in Hyrule Castle. For the first time in the series’ history, Zelda was the one who trapped and imprisoned Ganon, not the other way around. And she held him there for one hundred years. That takes a level of strength and fortitude no other character in the series can lay claim to. Although the game was pitched as Link having to save Zelda, not only did she save him first, but in the end it really was HER sealing power that sealed Calamity Ganon after Link dealt the final blow. She did that.

In Tears of the Kingdom, though . . . as soon as Zelda is yeeted into the past, she becomes a passive character for most of the flashbacks. Her personality is diluted into her saying “oh” and, at times almost timidly, voicing her thoughts on things to Rauru or Sonia. She never brings up Calamity Ganon, though she alludes to the name Ganondorf giving her pause; she lays the salvation of Hyrule entirely on Link’s shoulders instead of telling them how she awakened to her sacred power and was the one to finally seal him; we don’t once see her doing ANY research on her own even though she LOVES research and was actively searching for alternative methods to fight Calamity Ganon when she couldn’t get her own powers to work; when Sonia is killed she does literally NOTHING against Ganondorf . . . I could go on. Zelda only takes initiative after Rauru has already sacrificed himself to seal Ganondorf beneath the castle. The first real initiative we see her take is to turn herself into a dragon, which – okay, mood, but also it’s a complete departure from the driven young woman we saw in Breath of the Wild, who pushed herself past the point of exhaustion time and again even after her own father told her that her people thought that she was “heir to a throne of nothing.” Hell, we didn’t even see her start nerding out over being in the past and meeting the people she’d read about; it was a departure even from the little geek-outs that we saw in the very beginning of the game!

It’s a complete disappointment, and one made worse by Rauru’s existence. Now, one could say that Rauru’s light power is meant to allude to the Sage of Light in past games. After all, he DOES share the same name as the Sage of Light from Ocarina of Time. But Sonia explicitly says that Zelda’s power is the same as Rauru’s power, and Zelda’s power is Hylia’s power, which is supposed to only come from the blood of the goddess and only activate in women . . . and Rauru is both a man and is clearly not of Hylia’s bloodline. In fact, it’s kind of implied (imo) that Rauru married into the Hyrulean Royal Family, although that makes no sense because: a.) Hyrule would need to already exist in that case, and b.) he wouldn’t be King in that case, he would be King Consort, and Sonia would have been the one ruling the kingdom.

But then, that brings us to Nintendo’s misogyny problem.

The Zelda series is a weird case where in past games, there was actually a lot of focus on female characters, and particularly female characters in positions of power. Ocarina of Time, as much as I feel it is overrated, is a great example of this; we learn that Hyrule’s polytheistic religion is focused around three female deities (Din, Nayru, Farore), and five of the seven sages are female (Zelda, Saria, Ruto, Impa, Nabooru). Zelda herself plays a huge role in the game as not only is she the seventh sage, but she is also Sheik, who teaches Link all of the songs he needs to travel to the various temples. She played an active role even if she did ultimately end up captured, and this is a trend that continued in later games, such as when she fought Ganondorf alongside Link in Wind Waker’s climax and also partnered up with him in Spirit Tracks.

But then we have ways in which Nintendo seems to have been walking back some of this lore, such as how they went from goddesses to speaking of the power of gods in the aforementioned Wind Waker, and how they’ve now decided to do away with everything established in Skyward Sword to instead make it seem like the sacred power comes not from a female goddess (Hylia) but instead a goatman from the sky. We also see a gender imbalance among the cast; whereas the Champions were evenly divided by gender in Breath of the Wild (Urbosa and Mipha for the ladies, Daruk and Revali for the gents), we now have three boys (Sidon, Tulin, Yunobo) to one lady (Riju). Of course, this was a problem that was set up in Breath of the Wild . . . but at the same time, if they weren’t going to have Teba be the new Champion/Sage, then there was no reason why the new Champion/Sage couldn’t have been a female Rito. They could have easily gone with one of Kass’s daughters, or hell, even Teba’s wife, and they chose not to

But to me, the shift to focus on Rauru is the bigger issue, because of everything that comes with it. Because now he, not Hylia, is the source of Zelda’s power. Because Hylia isn’t even mentioned at the goddess statues anymore (and while it didn’t make sense for them to worship her instead of the big three in the first place, I’d still rather have that than this). Because he was apparently the founder of Hyrule even though that makes no goddamn sense. Because the technology that came from his people replaced everything that the Sheikah did. Because the Sheikah didn’t even get one iota of representation in the past flashbacks despite the fact that they were there before Skyloft even descended to guard Hylia and her bloodline. And I’m getting off track again, but moving Zelda to the background and removing her agency and her personality in order to try to get me to care about this skygoat (which failed, btw) just . . . bothered me, a lot.

I know I can write this whole game off as just a “what if” fanfic, because Breath of the Wild stands as a self-contained story that didn’t need any of this. And I probably am going to do that, but I’m still just . . . so immensely bothered by this. I finished the geoglyph flashbacks and saw that Zelda is now a dragon (which – are they trying to say that Din, Nayru, and Farore were mortals who decided to become dragons? Is that where Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh came from? That better not be the implication here), and I’m sure she’ll get turned back in the end, but this is just . . . a hot mess. And the tilt toward monotheism in the Zelda Lore, and also the centering of male characters, just . . . bugs me, a lot. In the end, I don’t like this Rauru any more than I liked OoT Rauru, which is to say, I really don’t care for them.

Sonia was good, though. I did like Sonia.

[a-pale-azure-moon]

Random TotK Thoughts #2

I've gotten a bit further, having completed one regional phenomenon, found a few more dragon's tears, and done some sidequests and exploring. I am having so much fun!!!

Specific things under the cut just to be safe.

-Something I forgot to mention in the first post, but how awesome is it that your horses carry over? I love that the devs included this little bonus. I spent so much time catching horses in BotW just for fun, so it's extra nice having all of my favorite ponies around for another tour of Hyrule.

-Where did Zelda find that gold horse though? How does a gold horse even exist in the first place? It even looks metallic with the way light refracts off of its coat. Bizarre. xD

-Penn's "Soar Long!" is the best/worst catchphrase ever.

-The journey up to the Wind Temple was great. Just climbing higher and higher, using the islands as "stairs" to reach the eye of the storm. I can't say I was very impressed with the dungeon itself though; it's an improvement over the Divine Beasts in terms of design, as it feels like it has its own identity rather than just repeating the same aesthetic as the shrines, but the puzzles and layout were very basic and once again, the goal was to activate five things. It's still a downgrade from a more traditional Zelda dungeon.

-I did like having to fuse a giant icicle to a broken handle though. That was a neat idea. And the Colgera boss fight was good and very fun, if a bit easy. I'd rate the whole sequence as like, a B overall, i.e. good but still has room for improvement.

-Tulin is cute as heck and his skill is useful. His headshots are even more useful (except when the enemy falls off an edge and I lose the drops, which has happened a lot). I've still found myself missing Revali's Gale a little though. :/

-I killed my first Frox in the depths on my mission to get Autobuild. It was almost completely dark since I hadn't found the next Lightroot, so it took me a minute to notice the ore deposits on its back. I kept shooting its eye and wondering why it was barely doing any damage, lol.

-Imagine my surprise when I ran into a Yiga down there, and then when Kogha showed up. I like how this is a "logical" way for him to have survived his confrontation with Link back in BotW. And that he's still an idiot who's easy to beat.

-Did Link just give Zelda his house in Hateno? (Also, I appreciate that the photo from the Champion's Ballad is still on the wall. Another nice little continuity touch.) Interesting though that the table is set for two but there's only one bed....

-After I visited Robbie at the lab and got the shrine sensor (finally), whom did I see casually flying by but Naydra! And man....I'm so psyched that you can actually land on the dragons now. I hitched a ride on her for quite awhile, and it helped me reach a couple of towers and scout for some other points of interest. And I harvested a few of her parts too, of course.

-I was surprised to discover that she goes into the depths (I assume Farosh and Dinraal do as well). I almost fell off when she started diving and then I realized we were entering a chasm. Neat!

-Also, I love how her body undulates as she flies, and she makes this soft purring/growling sound too. It's the little details like this that make the game world feel so real and immersive.

-Knowing now that Mineru tinkered with the Purah Pad in the distant past, I'm getting a headache trying to figure out if Sheikah technology derived from Zonai technology, or if it's actually the other way around because of time travel shenanigans.

-Also, you can't tell me that Zelda, the massive history nerd, didn't take at least one selfie with her great-great-great-great (etc) grandparents and many, many pictures of ancient architecture and technology while she was in the past. Somewhere on the Purah Pad is a hidden file filled with hundreds of photos that she took. Change my mind!

-I have a mighty need to know how Rauru and Sonia met and what their courtship was like. This two second interaction in Memory #2 begs for elaboration.

(She hit him with a closed fist! The look he gives her just sends me, and then he rubs the spot afterwards like it bruised.)

-I like how Sonia's reaction to Zelda is basically, "I'm taking her home with me and adopting her."

-I'll confess to my idiocy that I didn't immediately notice that Rauru has three eyes; I thought its lid and lashes were part of his facial markings (tattoos?) until I looked more closely. Does he keep it closed by choice or does it only open as a reflex in certain situations? I'm guessing the latter since Mineru's third eye is closed as well.

-It's funny to me that he literally has hair down to his heels and his sister's hair is cropped so short it's almost unnoticeable under her ears and visor. xD

-Also, bless the animators for actually using Rauru's magnificent ears to show some of his emotions. The way they twitched in Memory #3 made me grin so much.

-I think I've figured out what the major plot twist of this game's going to be. It can't be a coincidence that Mineru mentioned a forbidden power of draconification and that there was a dragon that flew right next to the Great Sky Island to allow Link to descend to Hyrule, can it? Hmm...

[nickmaghighlights]

Nick Mag Highlights - #1 Summer 1993

Hello! Welcome to the very first edition of Nick Mag Highlights! What better place to start than with the very beginning, Issue #1 from Summer of 1993? 

(Well, not counting the two editions of Nickelodeon Magazine exclusive to Pizza Hut that came out before this first issue, although I’m sure we’ll get to those at some point.)

But before we begin, I should probably quickly explain what Nick Mag Highlights is and answer some questions first.

A Nick Mag Highlights post will mainly be composed of screenshots of pages from a specific Nickelodeon Magazine issue alongside my thoughts, whether they be commentary or little factoids. In a way these posts are a way to transcribe my thoughts on each issue as I’m reading it.

All images are not mine unless stated otherwise, scans of these issues come from the fantastic folks at archive.org. Special shout-out to The Nick Mag Project on Twitter and their awesome Google Spreadsheet outlining what issues have and have not been archived yet.

I’ll always include a link to a specific issue’s archive.org page when I cover it on a Nick Mag Highlights post. Read along if you’d like!

I don’t plan on covering Nick Magazine chronologically. Hopefully this will allow for more variety, plus I can cash in on all that budding 2000’s nostalgia way quicker!

I’m just a fan of these magazines who wants to share them with whoever is interested. 

No, not every post will have such a long-winded intro. I hope you enjoy this retrospective!

And without further ado, let’s dive in to issue #1! You can find this issue on archive.org here.

Surprise surprise, the issue’s cover opens right up to a lovely smattering of Nickelodeon merchandise AVAILABLE NOW*! 

Side note, I hope you like Ren & Stimpy, ‘cause they’re all over this book. Not a big surprise since it was one of the biggest cable television shows of the early ‘90’s, but seriously, not a single Rugrat in the whole first issue?

*whenever 1993 was considered “NOW!”

Y’know I never read the table of contents in these things when I was younger. I think it was because I didn’t want to spoil what was inside. 

Also, newcomers should take a good note on that wiggly R symbol in the bottom right, which the appearance of such denotes any article’s inarguable truthfulness. That's an element of these books that made its way into every single issue, and it must have made stomping-out misinformation on the elementary school playground at least a little easier. My writing isn't so beginner friendly, I don’t include R’s. So you’ll just have to believe me all the time.

Anyway, speaking of stuff that made its way into every issue…

Zelda. Van. Gutters. Good lord. 

I truthfully believe if there’s any iconography that will incite memories of Nick Magazine for anyone who’s in-the-know, it’s the image of a small Lakeland Terrier spouting a snarky non sequitur (that, or an image of Spongebob, I guess). She's certainly not as chatty in this as she will be in later issues, but feel free to say "Hi" if you see her.

For those unfamiliar, here’s a good example of your average Nickelodeon Magazine page: a couple of gags or a puzzle usually centered around an issue’s main theme. Since this issue doesn’t have a theme, expect a lot of flack thrown at unsuspecting teachers. Nerds need not apply.

I'm not sure lunch ladies will be able to come back from this one!

They must have been serious about this gag, usually they save pull-out cards solely for mail-order forms for Nick Mag subscriptions.

And the very first feature in Nickelodeon Magazine’s very first issue is all about… State fairs? I love a fair as much as the next guy, but surely there were better options, like interviewing someone who drives a big truck or something. Big trucks are pretty cool.

Never give a breakfast fan the aux they’ll just put on the honeycomb rap.

Alright time for things to get serious. Even as the type of kid who usually liked the mag's interviews and other features, it's hard to deny that The Comic Book was the real star player of Nick Magazine. This section made it into every issue, and pretty quickly built up a roster of regularly updating series. Not to mention comics based Nickelodeon shows featuring stories you couldn’t find on television. Their popularity even got to the point that Nickelodeon started selling versions of the magazine that were just compilations of the comics! So yeah, these were popular.

Of course with The Comic Book, there comes even more ads.

Also, if anyone reading wants to get into the Niche Youtube Video Essay market, may I recommend tackling the rise and fall of temporary tattoos? I hardly see these anymore. A shame, too, cause these ones seem pretty cool, and they even have the Bubby seal of approval.

This was a section The Comic Book had which seemed to fade out pretty quickly into the magazine’s run: The Cartoon Calendar. A shame too, cause I actually find these pretty funny.

Here’s my favorite section from the two calendars in this issue.

Alright, so no actual Ren & Stimpy comic, instead we get a small journal writeup from Stimpy about him and Ren becoming models. Interestingly I can't help but feel this section of The Comic Book could've used a couple more pictures. Hm, wonder why…

But alas, it's all just set dressing anyway for a cutout activity, DARING you to sacrifice the eventual resale value of your rare first issue magazine in exchange for limitless dress-up fun in the short term. A worthy trade? You decide...

And here’s another section of The Comic Book Nickelodeon stopped doing fairly quickly (to my knowledge, anyway): the reprinting of old comics from the 40’s and 50’s. This issue has two reprints. There’s two reasons I could think of why they did this. One would be that the staff behind the magazine read these comics when they were kids and wanted to share them with a new audience, which is a cause I can obviously sympathize with. The more cynical reason is that Nickelodeon had the rights to some old comics and they used them to fluff up their page count. Regardless, once they stopped doing this it made more room for original content. Content like…

Bill Beak! Yeah I’m figuring this guy did not last long. He definitely wasn’t around when I started reading Nick Magazine. I’m not surprised! He sucks! Deeply unpleasant.

But you know what doesn’t suck and was still around when I started reading Nick Magazine? 

Scene But Not Heard (which interestingly doesn’t seem to have its name yet) was definitely an iconic part of Nickelodeon Magazine. If it wasn’t in every single issue, then it certainly must have been in most of them. These were done by cartoonist Sam Henderson, who went on to work on Season 3 of Spongebob Squarepants, and that ended up landing him an Emmy nomination. Pretty cool stuff, and these comics were always worth a smile.

Embarrassing display from Nickelodeon Magazine’s local toy store… Really glad Nick saved a page in their magazine to expose those guys.

And to promote the release of the 1993 movie Super Mario Bros., Nick got Luigi’s actor John Leguizamo to say a few words straight from the Nickelodeon “Movie Couch”.

He sure does seem thrilled to be here.

Here’s his stats in case you ever must battle him.

After that there’s some insane article about chewing gum that has nothing to do with anything. And then there’s this article about a fictional professor studying the history of troll dolls. Hey, I think this magazine might be a little wacky!

OOZE News… Y’know, come to think of it, this magazine has been pretty lacking in slime, slop, and ooze. Especially for something created by Nickelodeon in the 90’s. Even here this just seems to be giving the low-down on new episodes and happenings related to Nickelodeon shows. Hardly anything I’d call slimy!

Oh, nevermind.

I’m shocked by the amount of apparently recurring features this magazine had phased out by the time I started reading in the 2000's. Had to make more room for IPHONEs and JAVASCRIPTs, I guess, so kids never got to see a lady eating not-nice things. Thanks Web 2.0!

Lots of fond memories here! I’m pretty sure most of the rides in this list aren't around anymore, which is a shame. And even if the E.T. ride was responsible for inspiring my crippling fear of that little beef-jerky-looking alien bastard, that didn’t change how awesome the park was.

Okay first off: TV Table, obviously. Second off: QZ is a little creep and I don’t like that he was given the opportunity to give children advice. He’s 500 years old and “observes Earth and knows everything about the personal lives of its inhabitants, including its letter writers”? This guy is bad news. THIRD off: How did he already get a letter addressed to him if this is his first ever appearance, hm? All very suspicious.

Rounding off our journey is one last recurring segment: Say What?. Kids from across America were urged to muster up the funniest set-up and payoff they could make with a given photo, usually either of politicians or a stock photo of some kids. I don’t mean to spoil, but as far as I can remember, most of the answers had to do with farts. You probably could have guessed that yourself, but hey, I could be wrong!

And that’s Issue #1 of Nickelodeon Magazine! Well, most of it anyway. What a humble start to a publication so near and dear to so many people.

Anyone actually reading along may have noticed I skipped over some stuff, including a Clarissa Explains It All-themed section with a quiz on driving etiquette. I know that show was popular with a lot of people but I personally know nothing about it, and I’m not gonna bring something up if I have nothing to say on it. I did get a B on the quiz though, if you’re curious.

Thanks for joining me on this trip down memory lane. If you liked it, feel free to stick around for more!

Until next time, keep reading!

[transboykirito]

my (actual) scherzo of the deep night thoughts!! spoilers for the movie, obviously.

okay first of all asuna and argo in this movie were so pure, i love their friendship so much and i’m glad it’s finally being animated. i loved their duel sm, and i LOVED the bit at the start with the three of them eating together - kirito, start bolting the doors so people stop leaving without paying for their food xD

maybe argo and kibaou are the reasons kazuto makes kikuoka buy him expensive food… #canon

the kirisuna!! the scene where she tells him to take a knee??? i was trying not to squeal in the theatre. my grandma actually whispered to me “are they gonna kiss” and i wish i could’ve said yes </3

kirito’s speech about not wanting to be a hero and just wanting to keep himself and his friends safe, and then asuna praising him and thanking him and appreciating him… it was so sweet. i’m not gonna lie, i half expected her to say “well you’re my hero” or something along those lines but i really loved and appreciated what she did say.

and the way neither of them corrected poh when he called asuna kirito’s girlfriend…

and poh oh my GOD!!!!!! the whole theatre gasped (there were like 11 of us okay?) and one guy yelled “OH SHIT IT’S THE POH GUY” which… i don’t know who you are but please know you make me snort my water out of my nose xD seeing these early origin stories for laughing coffin was so cool, i loved it.

agil was so hot in this movie like my first post when i got out of the theatre was literally “i would let agil do anything to me” and i stand by that. he looked so good. i know there is already a mrs mills but like… hello…

mito!! i’ll be honest, i was apprehensive about her going in because i didn’t like how they changed the story to work her into it, but i do like her as an individual character (if that makes sense) so… i actually liked her role in this movie. it felt like a good closure for her and asuna’s relationship to this point. i predicted shortly after the first movie that i thought their relationship would come to friendly acquaintances who nod and say hi in the halls, maybe stop to chat, but don’t really act as besties anymore, and that seems to be the conclusion the films reached.

i’m kinda sad we didn’t get a villain arc for mito though because it would have been sooooo good.

i see people say they aren’t making more progressive movies after this and i’m kinda sad to say i agree. but!! this is wishful thinking, i am aware, i’m holding out for an anime adaption as an actual series, maybe one there’s more out? i think that would be nice.

i enjoyed it overall!! the fight scenes were cool, the characters were good, the soundtrack kept reminding me of legend of zelda so my nerd heart was happy lol. it was good!!

[loz-furbies]

Thoughts on botw Zelink

It's very rare that I'm ever interested in shipping anything, so it was surprising that I ended up actively enjoying Link x Zelda in botw (and also not hating any of the other Link ships).

Zelda and Link obviously have the connection that they both have a predestined role in the Ganon thing, and the fact that they have such different starting points (Zelda struggles at her job while Link is pretty much already ready for his) gives them an interesting contrast. And when they eventually start getting along better they're probably the only people who can understand each other's situation properly.

I do think it's a shame that we get next to nothing from Link's side. Like how did he feel about being a bodyguard to a charge who openly dislikes you? Or in general about the added responsibility of guarding the most important person in the plan against Ganon? What was on his mind when Zelda managed to slip away in Gerudo? How well could he understand her situation before she opened up about it?

(meanwhile in Age of Calamity their relationships sucks since there's next to nothing to it, and Link only finding the Master Sword during the story destroys years of angst from both characters)

I've seen some people call Zelda abusive, which even aside from disliking the term being thrown around whenever a character does anything even mildly controversial I don't really agree with. Or more specifically I like it when characters do stupid and selfish things and then grow from that, and I think Zelda has a great character arc and she apologised adequately. And while the whole power dynamic that Link doesn't have a lot of room to complain could have its issues, I'm a sucker for the princess & knight dynamic so I really like how they're pretty formal around each other.

The turning point in their relationship (the Yiga attack) is in my opinion pretty weakly executed. I've seen complaints that it's stupid that it relies on Zelda being shocked that Link as the bodyguard does the one thing he was hired to do, which... sure. I do think it's fair that she'd be shaken about it, like it's different to have someone who annoys you follow you everywhere by your dad's order because of a theoretical danger, and actually see them put themselves in danger for your sake, so on a mechanical level the scene checks out. But I bet there would have been better ways to execute the plot point of Zelda starting to warm up to Link, preferably something that shows his personality beyond "he's a bodyguard who does bodyguard work".

The most important thing to me thought is the frog memory which honestly carries the whole thing; I don't think I would have gotten this interested in the ship if it was just about the triforce roles. Nerd Zelda is my favourite kind of Zelda and the scene shows a different side of her so well. It's so cute how excited she gets! I would like to think that she really likes to go all in on field research and get all dirty, but it's difficult for her since she has to keep up appearances because she's already an unpopular princess.

Speaking of the frog memory, my vision is that Link totally ate the frog with little issue, which caused Zelda to get really embarrassed and distraught afterwards when she snaps out of her science zone, and also demand that nobody must ever find out about this. I bet if Nintendo were to ever confirm anything about the frog incident they'd wuss out and say that the frog escaped, so I'm glad I've never seen anything from them on this topic and that my theory remains canon compliant (please don't crush my dreams if you've ever seen them say anything stupid about this).

As for Link, I avoid the feral gremlin babby interpretation like the plague, but even I think he's pretty strange. Like he canonically eats rocks and you can feed him all kinds of weird stuff from raw animals to hinox toenails, and you can also have him do things like ride a burning bear in your underwear and try to register it at a stable. Since Mipha's diary depicts him as an energetic and active, I like to think that he used to do all kinds of dumb stuff all the time, and tell everyone who would listen about it, because it contrasts well with how silent he is later. As he grew older he'd get told that the things he says are stupid and improper for a knight, and that would contribute to him eventually not speaking at all.

(we're still firmly in the headcanon territory now) So when and Zelda become friends, he eventually accidentally lets some weird interest slip out, and is surprised that Zelda's reaction is enthusiastic interest when he's used to disgust or concern, and they can start bonding about bokoblin guts or something. And that's where Link would begin to see her more as a person too and not just being concerned or sorry for her situation. So that is what makes them a great ship in my eyes; they're two people who have gone through a lot, and now they have someone who understands them both in shared trauma but also in things that make them happy in each other.

And then after Ganon is beaten Link can tell Zelda about all of his adventures, and they start developing more powerful elixirs with Link as the guinea pig.

[lucky-clover-gazette]

(5971 words, rated g) in which shadow and vio cover an impressive amount of conversational and emotional ground. we've got some comedy, some angst, some hurt/comfort. we've got references to shadow's cringe blog from the manga side content, a retelling of their villain era through flashbacks (kind of), more stolen furniture, their first "i love you," a panic attack, asexuality, shadow trying to eat a dry erase marker, and so much more. this is nostalgic media for lots of people but i just learned about it last week. this fic is essentially my love letter to the story, ship, and their small but perpetually adoring fandom.

now that it's finished i wanted to post it here in its entirety, but you are also very welcome to check it out on ao3!

or, of course, read it under the cut:

Naturally, they stole the rolling whiteboard.

“You think Zelda will miss this?” Shadow asks as Vio opens their cottage’s front door. The frame is just high enough for Shadow to push it inside. 

“Doubt it,” Vio says, craning his neck to see Shadow on the other side of the large item. “Looks like it’s never been used.” 

“Why does she even have this? I don’t see her doing a lot of office work.” 

“To be fair, we don’t really know the extent of her administrative duties,” Vio shrugs. “If she notices it’s missing, we’ll apologize and bring it back. That is today’s theme, after all.” 

Shadow groans. “You’re a nerd. Where are we taking this, the den?” 

“Sounds good to me.” 

They roll the board together into their shared living room, cozy and small and lined with books. Vio goes to light the fireplace as Shadow rips open a package of dry-erase markers (also looted from Zelda’s office). He flicks the cap off the purple one and inhales deeply. 

“That’s bad for you,” Vio says, not even needing to turn his head.

Shadow sticks out his tongue petulantly, then glances down at the marker, and wonders…

“NO,” Vio scolds, relieving him of the potentially delicious item with impressive haste.

It’s been a weird time for Shadow, learning about food. Before his resurrection, he had no need for food or drink, only enjoying it when he saw fit… or when he wanted to impress one specific person. Now, Vio is teaching him about all the different kinds of food in Hyrule, and the special ways they can be nutritious or harmful. Protein is good, Shadow knows, along with fruit and veggies. Fried food tastes good but isn’t an everyday staple. Lactose is a risk, but sometimes one worth taking. 

And now he can add dry-erase markers to the list of non-edible things, along with Vio’s fancy shampoo and the paint they used to fix up the cottage’s exterior. 

Vio caps the marker, shoves it in his pocket, and stands in front of the whiteboard like it’s an opponent in battle. He looks so stupid with his hands on his hips, expression deeply serious, that Shadow has to laugh. Vio’s head swivels and he looks genuinely flustered. “What? What’s funny?” 

“It’s just… you,” Shadow says, smiling wide. “You’re taking this so seriously.” 

He hugs around Vio’s waist from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder. “Are you picturing the board in your head? Figuring out what to write?” 

Vio snorts. “Maybe.” 

“I’ve always known you well,” Shadow says, and then his face sours. “With one major exception.” 

They’ve talked about it more this past month. Slowly but surely, they’ve been unpacking the time they spent together under Vaati and/or Ganon, including Vio’s betrayal and subsequent attempted execution. Shadow’s comment is made without malice and Vio knows it.

Vio’s been growing his hair out since the four split, and at this point it’s almost down to his shoulders. Shadow loves it. He would like nothing more than to sit around idly playing with it as Vio reads, instead of their actual plans for the day. 

Vio shrugs Shadow off—not unkindly, but as a reminder of the task ahead. No such luck.

“I know you don’t want to do this,” Vio says tenderly, rubbing Shadow’s back as they stand side-by-side and face the blank board. “But I also know you want to do the right thing.” 

Shadow grimaces. “Yeah. I do.” 

Vio kisses the side of his head, minding the mangled black cap Shadow still proudly wears. The thing is sick as hell, what can he say? 

“We’re gonna do this together, S,” Vio whispers. “I’m not going to leave you to do it alone.” 

“I… thanks, V.”

Vio smiles reassuringly as he retrieves the purple marker. “Here,” he tells Shadow, putting the plastic cap in his pale hands. “You can fidget with this. Helps me when I’m anxious.”

Shadow nods and Vio finally gets to work. The marker squeaks against the board, forming a single phrase in huge letters:

THE SHADOW APOLOGY TOUR 

Vio turns to Shadow with an infuriatingly smug grin. “Let’s get planning, shall we?” 

━━

Objectives: 

Apologize for all the atrocities (dragon arson, kidnapping, identity fraud, destruction of protected wildlife areas, petty and grand theft, vandalism, distribution of illegally acquired substances to hinoxes, disturbing the peace, etc.)

Community service

???

“I think that about sums it up, at least for now,” Vio says, proudly standing back to review their initial brainstorm. Shadow turns the plastic cap over in his hands, still trying to recall every bit of damage he inflicted upon the land of Hyrule. 

They’ve talked about this, too. The inhumanity of Shadow’s actions. To a degree, they can be explained by the simple fact that Shadow wasn’t really human at the time. He wasn’t part of the light world, didn’t care to understand its living denizens or natural beauty. That doesn’t rob him of accountability, of course, but it does explain the carelessness with which he destroyed entire regions of Hyrule. 

Since being resurrected, Shadow’s been learning a lot about the world—way more than just nutritional science. He’s learned about plants and animals, the history of Hyrule’s many towns and settlements, and the reasons why it rains and the ocean has waves and the sun goes away at night. Vio loves sharing all his knowledge with Shadow, and Shadow loves to listen. It’s a nearly perfect arrangement.

The only downsides of Vio’s teachings are moments like this, forcing Shadow to acknowledge the immense damage he caused. Still, it’s what he has to do. It’s what he wants to do. It’s the least he can do.

“So those are the abstract steps,” Vio says, crossing his arms over his chest. “Now let’s get practical.” 

“Must we?” Shadow asks half-heartedly.

“Yes, and to your credit, I can tell you’re really trying here.” 

That makes Shadow blush, just a little. Good thing Hyrule’s Biggest Nerd Ever is too busy staring at the whiteboard to notice.

“Do you remember the specific places that were affected?” Vio asks, utilizing passive voice in an act of mercy. Oh Hylia, Shadow knows what ‘passive voice’ means, he really is down bad— 

“Uh,” Shadow says, “kinda?” Not only did he destroy entire regions of Hyrule, but he also cared so little that he can’t name which ones. 

“That’s okay,” Vio says, doing that dorky chin-on-hand thing in deliberation. “I remember a few. The good news is, we only hit parts of the countryside, mostly uninhabited by humans. I know you were about to steer us towards the humans, but then the sun started coming up, so we had to go back, and then the whole mirror thing happened…”

“Yeah. I was there too.” That part, Shadow definitely remembers. 

“So no murder, that’s good!” Vio exclaims, pointing to the list of offenses. “Well, attempted murder of me via execution. And you kind of contracted me to kill Green. And you sentenced a bunch of people to the dark realm, which I’m not sure legally qualifies, but—” 

“Why don’t we just tack murder on there and keep it moving,” Shadow says, turning the cap faster in his hands. 

“I’m sorry,” Vio says, taking a breath. “I just get really focused sometimes when I’m working on projects. I know this is hard for you.”

Shadow would mind Vio’s hyperfocusing more if it wasn’t so damn adorable. 

“It’s fine,” he says with a sigh. “Jot down what you remember, I think I might have an idea. I’ll be right back.”

Vio looks mildly concerned as Shadow leaves the den, but nothing can compare to the dread Shadow feels. He remembered this… thing… last night at dinner, when the two came up with their plan to help him make amends. He didn’t say anything until now, despite knowing it was going to be useful eventually, because it is so incredibly embarrassing. And visceral. But it’ll help him know for sure what he did and where, and he really does want to give this his all. 

Shadow ducks into his bedroom, a perpetually disorganized space, and reaches under his rarely-used bed for the item he knows he needs. He tucks it under his arm and returns to the den, where Vio looks very relieved to see him.

“Is that a laptop?” the blonde asks, cocking his head.

Shadow nods, and then sighs. “Vio… I need to tell you about my blog.” 

━━

“The Shadow Chateau?” Vio reads off the screen, looking over Shadow’s shoulder from behind the couch. Shadow cringes. “I didn’t even think you used your laptop.”

“I don’t, anymore.” Shadow faces the stupid blog he maintained while serving Vaati and Ganon, complete with a clip art image of the Palace of Winds. This obviously isn’t the same laptop he used then—that one was from the dark world—but the Sheikah gave Zelda a few of their own to distribute amongst people she trusted for testing purposes. 

“I’m not proud of what I posted here,” Shadow says slowly. “Honestly, I don’t remember a lot of it, but definitely enough to be embarrassed already.” 

“Is it in order of, uh, most recent events?” 

“Yep.” 

“Oh. Great.” 

They exchange a look, and a nod, and then turn back to the screen.

The first post on the blog is not at all what they expected:

V and I took a break to get some rest. Of course I don’t need to sleep, but I know he does. I could have gone for longer—we’re moving on to human-occupied towns next!!—but I want him to enjoy every second of this just as much as I am. 

Shadow breathes in sharply. Vio looks confused. “I thought there’d be something from after the mirror.” 

“No. I was in a pretty bad headspace then… not that these posts are the paramount of sanity either.” 

“That one is sweet,” Vio says, kissing Shadow on the top of his head. “I would never have guessed that you didn’t need sleep. Before I went to the mirror, I stopped in to check on you. I could have sworn you were out.” 

Shadow nods. “I didn’t need to sleep, but I was still exhausted. So I just… turned my brain off for a little while. I did it a lot more before you came along. I found it peaceful. It helped the time pass.” 

“I can’t believe I almost shattered that mirror. It would have… Hylia, Shadow, I’m so sorry.” 

“At least I would have gone out happy. I had no suspicions. I was such an idiot.” 

Vio’s grip on Shadow’s shoulder tightens. “Not an idiot. I’m the idiot. I could have thought of an alternate plan, one that saved you.”

“No arguments here.” 

Vio takes a deep breath and Shadow lets him. These simply just aren’t wounds they can heal in two or three conversations. It’ll take time. They’re working on it, slowly, together. 

Hoping for something less mortifying, Shadow scrolls down to a series of photos. He is sorely disappointed. “I should never have stolen that Sheikah Slate.”

The photos are accompanied by a caption: 

DAY WHATEVERTHEFUCK OF TERRORIZING THE COUNTRYSIDE WITH V!!!

“Wait, okay, this is helpful,” Vio says, leaning in closer. “Make the pictures bigger.” 

Shadow is already too tired to argue. He expands the first, a selfie taken from the helm of a dragon. There’s a huge manic grin on Shadow’s face, but something is so clearly off about Vio behind him. Seriously, how the hell did he not notice?

“The land beneath us looks yellowish,” says Vio. “Gerudo Desert, I think. Did we hit the Arbiter’s Grounds? They’re abandoned, so no memorable casualties.” 

“I think so,” Shadow says, and the next photo confirms it. This one is just of Vio, making a silly ‘shhhh’ face as a re-dead creeps in the corner of the shot. They were definitely inside the Arbiter’s Grounds here. And Vio looks happy… but like, for real this time. 

Vio looks happy in the other photos too, for the most part. There they are on Mount Hylia, roasting marshmallows over the smoldering ruins of a lodge. There’s another selfie that appears to have been taken mid-air, Vio holding on tight to Shadow as he hovers above a lake. They laugh in some abandoned temple, pretending to pull a blue sword out of a stone (not Blue’s four sword, totally different vibe). They drink evil root beer, sober but oh-so-clearly intoxicated.

The last photo has no living subjects, but both Vio and Shadow recognize it immediately. 

“That’s the view from our tower,” Vio says. “Why did you take this one? No one’s in it.” 

Shadow furrows his brow. “I… I was just happy, I think. For once. It didn’t feel real, so I captured the moment. And… it wasn’t.”

Shadow can hear Vio moving, walking around to the front of the couch and sitting down beside him. Other than that, he’s silent.

“Did you enjoy yourself at all?” Shadow asks, hovering the cursor over the scroll bar. 

“Yes,” Vio answers immediately. “I did. For real. Not with the death and destruction, but the shenanigans of it all? Very fucking fun. Don’t tell the others I said that, though.”

“Hylia forbid they know you enjoy spending time with me,” Shadow mutters. “Sorry. That’s not fair. I know that’s not what you mean.” 

Vio rests his head on Shadow’s shoulder. “Just being around you was exhilarating. You were at peak chaos, like, blissfully unhinged, and it was scary…but also really attractive.”

Shadow did not expect that answer. “Uh, do you mean hot?” 

“Well, sure,” Vio says, “but I always think that. It was more like your energy, your passion… it drew me in. The day we met, it drew me in. And the more we kept winning, the more sure of yourself you acted, the stronger it got. It was kind of intoxicating, actually. I wanted so badly to be on your level, but I just couldn’t let myself go all the way. I get that you didn’t know much about this world, so it was easier to take your actions lightly, but I felt the weight of it all. It was… exhausting. And terrifying.” 

“And hot?” 

“And hot. I liked it. Kind of. I could see it after the mirror, too, but it wasn’t from a place of happiness then. I don’t know why I expected anything different, but still, it was jarring.” 

“You were stone-cold,” Shadow says, “after I found out. That didn’t help.” 

“I’m not sure I could have said anything to take you out of that place.”

“You’re probably right.” 

Vio pushes a sheet of paper onto Shadow’s lap. Seven locations are written down, seven places they can now visit and help heal. “It’s a great start.”

Seven entire areas devastated, and it’s all Shadow’s fault.

He’s awake, of course, but he feels… a little glazed over. When did that happen? Is this some kind of self-preserving mechanism, a side effect of his resurrection? It doesn’t feel good. He feels like he’s not in his body at all. He wants to be in his body, next to Vio, in their tiny cottage full of stolen furniture at the edge of town. But he also knows that if he moves a muscle, or opens his mouth, he’ll start crying and never be able to stop. He feels… like he never wants to feel anything ever again. Like that’s the last line of defense between him and becoming the same monster who made those posts, did those things, felt so much and let it consume him entirely. 

“Hey,” Vio says softly. Shadow hears rustling, and then a pause. “Is it okay if I touch you right now?”

Shadow nods. Vio gently slides an arm behind his back, angling Shadow’s rigid body towards his own chest. “You must be feeling a lot.” Vio’s voice is calm, but holds no pity. “You’re very brave for confronting this. You didn’t need to tell me about these posts, or the blog, at all. But you did, because you care about making things right.”

That energy Vio described, it’s dangerous. It’s not a virtue. Shadow has a life now, one he likes—he can’t afford to experience powerful emotion. It makes him foolish, weak, and strong in all the worst ways.

Why did he post those things, or even do them in the first place? For what audience? He never cared what Vaati or Ganon thought of him, and sure, he wanted to impress Vio, but Vio wasn’t even on his side! He was showing clear signs of discomfort! How couldn’t he see how stupid he was being, how wretched, how unloveable and irredeemable and monstrous and proud of it all?

Vio carefully takes the laptop and paper from Shadow, allowing him to curl up completely in his arms. Shadow’s heart is pounding, he can feel the tears at the edges of his eyes, every single muscle in his body is tense and it’s hard to even breathe. 

Vio’s heartbeat is steady, though. His body feels relaxed. Shadow can hear his even breaths. 

They sit like that for a few minutes, Vio silently rubbing Shadow’s back as he wages war on himself. It’s a losing battle. He’s struggling. Something has to give. 

So Shadow starts to laugh. And cry. At the same time. 

Vio looks alarmed but relieved, unsure whether to mirror Shadow’s expression or call for a medic.

“I… am a terrible person,” Shadow says, tears running over his grin. “I’m seriously deranged. I can’t even cry right.” 

“I don’t think there’s a wrong way to cry, Shadow.” 

“If there was, I’d find it.” 

Should he be joking right now? Probably not, but it’s his time. This whole stupid day is about him. And right now, Shadow just really needs to laugh… and cry. So he does, and he doesn’t hold back, and soon enough he’s okay. It takes some time to return to his body, to Vi’s arms, but he gets there all the same. He’s safe. 

“Hi,” Vio says softly, letting Shadow pull away from the embrace. “I hope I did the right things.” He cups Shadow’s face with one hand and wipes a tear with the other. Shadow finds himself leaning into the touch. 

“You have a beautiful smile,” Vio tells him, “truly. A lot of fake smiles, but then there’s your real one, and it’s… just like that, yeah.” 

This is a foreign feeling for Shadow, one he’s only experienced in fleeting moments before:

He feels loved. 

“You were a sight to behold, then,” Vio says, glancing at the photos on the screen. “But I prefer you like this.” 

“Weak?” Shadow’s voice cracks. 

“No.” Shadow feels himself pulled into another tight hug.. “Strong. You are the strongest person I know.” 

“I’m… really tired.”  

“It would be surprising if you weren’t. You’ve been working so hard to make things right. Everyone’s noticed it—Green, Red, Zelda, even Blue. And you’re keeping at it, even when it’s hard. Even when you could avoid it. I don’t think I would be working this hard in your position.”

“I was so unstable,” Shadow mutters into the fabric of Vio’s sweater. “Who’s to say I won’t go back to that, when something inevitably goes wrong? When someone doesn’t accept my apologies, when I’m forced to confront the wreckages that I created? When you do or say something that upsets me? And… if I somehow succeed in fixing everything I ruined, who’s to say I won’t grow arrogant and foolish, the same as before? I can’t imagine living without this guilt crushing me. It’s what keeps me human.” 

“You’re assuming a lot of things about yourself.” Vio counters. “I was there, too, you know, before your resurrection. When you weren’t fully human. You did a lot of bad things, and you were wrong about the light, and someone needed to stop you before things got any worse. But I think you’d be surprised… that simply wasn’t the sum of your character. Even then, I knew it. The others knew it too. From what you’ve told me, Zelda figured it out almost immediately, and told you as much. There has always been good in you, Shadow. The only one who doesn’t think that is you… and maybe some random townspeople who don’t know you, but like, screw them. You can’t make everyone happy.”

Shadow looks up and sniffles. “I’m sorry I got tears on your sweater.”

“It’s okay,” Vio responds. “Hey, I want to show you something… would that be okay?” 

“Vague, but proceed.” 

Vio shifts Shadow’s position slightly so they can both see the laptop screen. Shadow cringes. “I retract my answer. No thank you.” 

“I’m not going to force you to look,” Vio says, “but I really think you should. I think you should see the person you were, even then. The things you found important enough to record.” 

“What, have you read ahead?” 

“No. But I believe in you—who you were, and who you are now.”

Shadow blinks his eyes, relieved to find them dry. “Fine. I believe that this is going to be incredibly embarrassing, and probably just make me feel worse… but I’m no coward. Show me the damn blog.” 

“Glad to hear you’re feeling better.”

“Shut up. Let’s just get this over with.” 

Shadow scrolls down and the photos disappear. The next post, thank Hylia, is just a body of text:

Finally, it’s all coming together. We’re knocking down obstacles left and right. Soon we’ll douse this defenseless world in darkness, and rule whatever slice of it Ganon grants us. Everything is going completely according to plan. 

Shadow turns to Vio. “See? Pure evil.” 

“Keep reading.” 

But something does bother me. It’s been a week or so since the fight in the volcano, and I do worry about what happened there with V. I don’t know much about these avatars of the Hero, but I do sense some sort of intuitive bond between them. Then again, I wouldn’t place V on the same plane of intelligence as those halfwits. Unlike his colorful counterparts, he feels like a real person, not an echo or singular trait… or, I suppose, a shadow.

The original plan was simply to stroke his ego and watch as it led him into our clutches. But V has demonstrated, time and time again, that he already possessed some innate attraction to the darkness before our first encounter. He is, in his own right, impressively wicked. He humbles me… although I’d never admit it to his face. 

But still. He killed Green, because I asked him to, and seemed not to mind at all. I was expecting him to voice some sort of concern, at least, but he was surprisingly resolute. In the past few months he’s only cracked a few times, which is more than I can say for myself. I fully admit that things upset me and I respond accordingly. Vio, meanwhile, is like stone. 

I wish I could ask him how he feels. We both know he’s been off since the duel, but I have no idea how to approach such a conversation. I’m honestly beside myself that I even care. 

Maybe a joyride on the dragon will help. Some sight-seeing, local cuisine. I bet he’d enjoy the Arbiter’s Grounds ruins, if only so he can over-explain Hyrule’s history as we forge its future.

I hear him at my door now. 

Shadow seizes the laptop. “Okay, I’m reading these before you can,” he says, trying and failing to hide his blush. This is preposterous! He sounds pathetic! 

The next post is a video, focused on Vio as he takes his first sip of evil root beer. His expression is… layered. That’s the fairest term for it. This must have been taken right after he ‘killed’ Green, receiving much fanfare from Shadow for his efforts. The weight of the day is clear in his expression, but so is something else: pleasure. Comfort. Sadness.

“Bittersweet,” he hears Vio say. Shadow sighs and returns the laptop to its spot between them. No use making Vio crane his stupid neck to see the thing. 

Given the timeline they’re piecing together, Shadow scrolls down further and expects the worst. Sure enough, his past self delivers. 

Hoooooooooly shit. V totally just murdered Green. Like, sword through the abdomen murdered. And he bantered with me, and we completely blindsided those idiots, seriously, they had no idea.

 At this point the world is as good as ours. I can’t believe he did it. I can’t believe WE did it. We are drinking tonight!!1!

Vio chuckles. “The, uh, confetti and party popper emojis are a little over the top.”

Shadow turns his head, dumbfounded. “Seriously, you’re not mad? These are the writings of a madman, Vio!”

“Shadow. You were excited. You had every reason to be excited, especially right after everything went down. You… didn’t have the moral compass you do today, or the appreciation for human life and Hyrule itself. Those things just didn’t matter.” 

“Yeah, well, you mattered,” Shadow hears himself say. “Obviously.” 

“I was wondering if you were gonna try to deny it.”

“Fine, never mind, you mean nothing to me and I hate you. I wish Green had won.” 

“Uh-huh, sure.” 

And then it occurs to Shadow—Vio didn’t even kill Green. Like, it never happened. That blood is not on anyone’s hands. It didn’t actually fucking happen. 

Shadow has never been more grateful for Vio’s deception than he is now. Emboldened by his sense of relief, he scrolls again.

Had a little talk with V today after all the mindfuckery with the poes. Some weird magic shit was going on with the four sword and for a second he really looked like the Hero of Hyrule. Of course I set him right—or wrong, I guess—and he came to his senses. He’s a creature of darkness now. When I told him we were alike, back in the woods, I had no idea how accurate the sentiment would prove to be. 

I do feel guilty being so hard on him, though—me, guilty, it’s crazy! But really, he can’t help where he came from, or *who* he came from. 

That still confuses me. We are so far from the same person. It’s nothing like I’d imagine with a brother, or a family member, even with Vaati or Ganon. I guess it helps that we do look relatively different, despite our shared affinity for purple and outfits modeled after the Hero’s. I wonder, years down the line, if we’ll still look the way we do now. I really hope Vaati and/or Ganon give us the go-ahead to dress differently at least, because this shit would not be my style of choice. 

Maybe, when the world is engulfed in darkness and the others are long gone, V will be able to claim the singular identity of the Hero. Although at that point I suppose he wouldn’t be much of a hero at all.

V really is something special. One-of-a-kind, despite everything. I so badly want him to know that. The sooner he realizes that this is where he belongs, the better. 

“Huh,” Vio says, his expression unreadable. 

Shadow flinches. “I feel like I should be apologizing.”

“No, I don’t think so. If I wrote down everything I ever thought about you, it would probably read as a little obsessive as well.” 

“Uh, thanks?”

The funny thing is, that absolutely makes Shadow feel better. Vio can be insensitive a lot of the time, but when he knows what to say, he knows exactly what to say. 

Further down they find another selfie, Vio and Shadow sharing snacks as they supervise the Poes, followed by a break and another body of text. 

Got slapped by Zelda today. She’s the worst. She called me a “faint and twisted echo,” whatever that means. She said that I’d be the one crying by the end of this whole thing. Screw that, screw them all. I’ve got an ace up my sleeve with the purple hero (I’ll call him V). No one will see this coming, not even her.

I should probably try to get to know the guy, though. I want to make sure he’s really on my side.

Vio snorts. “Zelda slapped you?” 

“I mean, I probably deserved it.” 

“Oh, you definitely deserved it.”

MAJOR UPDATE: I GOT THE PURPLE HERO. It was so easy, I just had to corner him in the woods and tell him how smart he is. And it was SUPER FUN. I enjoy messing with people in general, but with this one it was like a whole different game. And I swear, he looks at me in a way that’s different from the rest—not with fear, but intrigue. 

Right now he’s just sulking alone in his room, but I’ll have to start really breaking him down soon. We could do some great things together, if he does what he’s told. 

Vio turns to Shadow, amused. “You really thought I was going to take orders?” 

“I mean, not for long. It just hadn’t occurred to me that there could be more to our… arrangement… than me simply controlling you. Like, that you’d take initiative.” 

“I don’t think I expected myself to take initiative,” Vio admits. “But it was fun. I liked bantering with you and getting my repressed annoyance out on the others. I appreciated your attention, even if it was just some manipulative game at first. In full honesty, if you were trying to corrupt me, you didn’t completely fail.” 

Shadow cannot believe he’s smiling. He can’t believe Vio is smiling. He can’t believe any of this… but somehow, Vio did. He believed in Shadow without even needing to read ahead. 

“Wait, so this is before the forest now, right?” Vio asks, raising his eyebrow at the remaining posts.

“Well yeah,” Shadow says, “my life didn’t start the day I met you.”

“Rude.” 

“Buuuuut it was definitely more boring. I watched what you guys were up to a lot, back when you were traveling as a group. Definitely hit maximum jealous rage levels when you went to the amusement park.” 

“Oh shit, I forgot about that.”

“Yeah, well, it pissed me off. I couldn’t go out during the day and you idiots could. That’s why I started the blog in the first place, actually—I was tasked with watching you, but it just made me feel left out. Nothing cool is open at night here.” 

“I’m sure we could find some places to hang out,” Vio offers. “Although I guess now the whole daytime thing isn’t a problem.” 

Shadow smirks. “Thank darkness for that.” 

They look into each other’s eyes, and it’s like they’re meeting each other again for the first time again. That is, until Vio turns back to the screen and his jaw drops. 

Today I went to the amusement park with my girlfriend.

Now it’s Vio’s turn to cry-laugh, while Shadow cringes harder than he did when literal war crimes were involved. “Oh, this was a fantastic idea,” Vio says between gasps. 

“Well I’m glad you’re having fun, because I’m reconsidering my stance on murder.”

It takes him longer than Shadow would have liked, but Vio calms down. Then, after reading the post a second time, he appears to be confused. “Wait, you like girls?”

Shadow blinks. Have they not talked about this? “Uh, not every single one of them. But sure, in theory, if I wasn’t already… nope, not giving you that much credit. Do you like girls, Vio?” 

Vio shakes his head. “Don’t think so. The Hero was different, though—pretty open to all possibilities. So I suppose it makes sense you are too. And I… I guess I got the gay braincell? I mean, gay as in… guys. Only. Is there a word for that, besides gay? You get what I’m trying to say, right?” 

Shadow thinks this is adorable. “Yes, Vio, I get what you’re trying to say. It’s funny, I kinda figured you’d be an expert in queer theory, given your expertise in, like, everything else.” 

“I mean, I didn’t have a very long time to ponder. I kinda just appeared, from the Hero, and then I met you. And, uh… figured it out pretty quickly from there.”

He’s blushing! Vio’s blushing! Shadow made Vio blush, and everything that sucked about this day is suddenly worthwhile.

(Except for the atrocities. Of course.)

“Well, I’m glad we both agree about boys,” Shadow says, taking Vio’s hands in his own. “Otherwise, the way we conducted ourselves on that throne would have been super confusing.” 

Vio smirks. “Let’s be real, everything we’ve ever done in each other’s company would have made exponentially less sense if we weren’t some flavor of queer.”

It feels good to say this kind of stuff out loud, and Shadow can tell Vio feels the same way. The fact that they like each other, that they’re attracted to each other, that they’re together, it’s all just so damn good to say. They’ll never be Hyrule’s golden couple—that title belongs to Green and Zelda, who have performed significantly fewer crimes than Vio and Shadow—but they’re perfectly happy living in quiet domestic bliss. 

“Can I kiss you?” Vio asks, trying very hard not to trip over his words. 

Shadow nods without hesitation. “Of course, genius.” 

And it’s wonderful, as always, just the way they both know they like it. No complaints from Shadow. 10/10. 

Physical intimacy, too, has been a slow development for the pair. It was inevitable from the first time they kissed—really, the first time they shared that damn throne—that Shadow would have to bring it up eventually. The fact that, while extremely touchy and very eager to receive affection, he’s just not interested in certain physical relations a lot of other couples enjoy. He was nervous to bring it up at first, worried that he wouldn’t be able to give Vio everything he wanted in a partner. He even started to convince himself it wasn’t going to work between them at all. 

And yes, Shadow had to be patient while explaining the whole ‘asexual’ thing to Vio, who would probably place himself somewhere on a spectrum rather than a far end. But it’s okay. It’s not something Vio needs, and there are plenty of other couple’s activities that ignite their passion. Few things build intimacy between Shadow and Vio more effectively than mischief. No wonder their meet-cute was also their villain arc. 

This apology tour can be a bonding experience for them, too. There are going to be some genuinely distressing times ahead, if Shadow really means to do things the right way. People are not always going to be kind to him, and by extension Vio. They’ll probably end up pissing each other off at least once in a while. But they’re not their only people—when that happens, Vio can blow off steam with Red, Blue, and Green, and Shadow can text Zelda on the Sheikah Slate. They’re actually friends now, despite the kidnapping and slapping of it all. Actually, if Shadow could mend his interpersonal relationship with Zelda of all people, maybe he does stand a chance in his efforts to heal Hyrule.  

“Hey, Vio?” Shadow says, pulling back from a kiss. He keeps his hand in Vio’s hair and looks right into his eyes. Say it, he tells himself. It’s time. You know it’s time. 

“Yeah?” Vio asks, eyes sparkling.

“Thank you for caring so much about me. For doing all of this work today. For stealing a whiteboard.” 

“Of course. Thank you for trusting me.” 

Time freezes, and despite all the history behind them—or perhaps, even because of it—they both know what’s about to happen. 

So they say it. Together. 

And the future has never looked brighter.

[thehylianidiot]

No Clue What This Is, But Why Not?

tagged by @legendoftheotherside

Rules

Post the names of the files of your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you ask with the title that most intrigued them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it. If you want, tag as many people as you have WIPS.

Don't have a lot of WIPs compared to a lot of other people, but thought it would be fun. So here's of the stuff I'm trying to work on and hopefully will finish one day (ha).

So here's the doc titles (many of which are subject to change)

Fairy Tail

The Other Four Idiots, Plus A Cat: My current time-waster cause I like roleswap aus. So I threw a bunch of characters into a blender. After all, who better to go taking the spot of heart-on-sleeve battle junkie with a penchant for friendship speeches than their emotionally constipated nerd brother?

To Slay a Demon: My rewrite oneshot for the Gray vs. Natsu fight, because I may have been the teensiest bit disappointed with it and got some inspiration.

The Little Raindrop of Magnolia: In an AU where Gray and Juvia start in different guilds, focuses on young accidentally-makes-flash-floods Juvia growing up with a support system.

These Are Not the Reincarnated Mortals You're Looking For: You know where at the end of Fairy Tail it was implied that Zeref and Mavis somehow reincarnated? As in were there, in the background, as the main series went on? You also know how many cults were and are still in Fiore? Let's combine these facts and make a comedy!

Consequences of Neo Eclipse: Anyone else think resetting time is a terribly shortsighted idea? In which Zeref wins, time is reset.... and he realizes he might have forgotten a few details after a few centuries.

Stars Align (And Then They Fade): In a totally-won't-end-badly retelling of 400 years ago, Anna goes on a quest for the Celestial Keys. And much like her descendent, she has to deal with her insane teammates.

I also had a few whumpril ideas, but none of them clicked on their own. Maybe they will be incorporated into future fics.

Legend of Zelda

Lost My Cap: A Minish Cap AU/retelling where Vaati gets rekt by his own hubris and has to clean up his own mess. With his old mentor. You can imagine how well this will turn out.

Believe me, I wanna try to make a big story incorporating characters from all across the series sometime. I just need to mesh all the ideas coherently in headspace still.

Genshin Impact

Just a Prototype/The Puppet God: There's one point about the consequences of absorbing divine knowledge capsule in Chapter 3 Act 5 that stuck with me. A few details in the follow-up interlude quest didn't help any. Thus, that last battle could go way different if say... there was in fact enough time for all divine knowledge capsules to be absorbed.

Crossovers

Untitled FMA/FT Project: I found out that Fairy Tail's Natsu and Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood's Greed shared the same dub voice actor and the idea spiraled from there, okay? Still piecing together the details, but I got some scene ideas.

Hmm... who to tag? (please ignore if you folks did this already, but feel free to @ me in a comment and I will try to read through it)

@genavere

@inkperch

@classysassy9791

@kiliinstinct

@pencilofawesomeness

@tokkias

Eh, 6 is good nuff.

[van-zieksy]

Hi Ma'amsir Zieksy, hope you're having a good day. Here's a slightly ridiculous question I've been dying to ask: In a modern AU, how gamer do you think the van Zieks brothers are?

Greetings! I hope you are doing excellent! What a delightful ask! :D As someone who thoroughly enjoys games and adores the Van Zieks brothers, I am very happy about this ask.

I see the brothers as being very different in this regard. One might say they are polar opposites.

Barok isn't that much into video games and prefers board games and chess. Video games he does partake in are simulators, logic-based games and detective games where he can solve crimes. He does enjoy playing games like Mahjong or Solitaire on his handhelds. Occasionally he picks up a game with puzzle elements (like Zelda) or point-and-click games. It's not that he is against being invested in games, it's just that he prefers reading, arts and wine making more. Barok sees gaming as something that can enhance other aspects in his life as much as it is a way for him to unwind after a hard battle in the courtroom.

Klint is a gaming nerd to the point that he doesn't draw a line between real life and games anymore. He uses gaming slang when he talks to others without even realising it. The older brother enjoys games from all genres and usually spends his free time locked away in his ostentatious gaming room. A successful streamer, he has amassed a large following with his charming attitude and wits. He met his wife during one of his live streams. She kept sending him super chats to get his attention, and upon meeting in person for the first time, they immediately fell in love. They are now one of the most beloved couples that stream together. Even in court Klint often quotes characters to get his point across. While he's still quite the successful prosecutor, he only does it part-time, as streaming games is now his main job.

The brothers have respect for each other as each one hase their unique strengths, but they just love teasing each other.

Klint: "Dear brother, I have heard of your outstanding performance in court today. However, you can't hold a candle to me, which should go without saying. I am like a big boss. Feared by many and stronger than everyone else."

Barok: "Yet the big boss always ends up getting defeated by the protagonist in the end, who's usually an underdog, I may add."

Klint: "Gaaah, what do you know about games anyway!!"

-----------

Klint: "Hey Barok, look, I just created myself in this brand new RPG."

Barok: "Hmmm...please don't take this the wrong way. I can certainly see the similarities, but he looks more like you on steroids, Klint."

Klint: "Nonsense! I am strong. Look!"

Barok: "I am not denying that. You certainly are well-built and have many admirers, but Klint the Destroyer right there shares a closer resemblance to me."

Klint: "Don't forget I'm still the older brother, baby boy!"

Barok: "Sure. Despite that I am one inch taller than you."

Klint: "Nooo! How dare you! Size isn't everything, you know. I won the Prosecutor of the Year award just last month after I singlehandedly defeated all my enemies!"

Barok: "And it's certainly well-deserved. You are an outstanding prosecutor. But I needn't remind you that I am Director of Prosecutions. And before you can say anything, please don't forget that I was recommended for the position even before you stepped down from your full-time position as a prosecutor, so you can't use your second job as a streamer as an excuse."

Klint: "Aaah!"

/j

(Barok is taller and broader than Klint, even of it's only ever so slightly, so I'd say that would carry over to a modern AU. Unlike in canon, Klint is alive and well here + Barok is older than 23 and already has his own career, so they can be on even ground.)

So anyway. Barok does casual gaming as a hobby. Klint made gaming his profession. Both are happy with what they do, which is what matters most. The brothers sometimes play local co-op games, such as racing games or sports games, together with friends. I like the idea of them both having very distinct habits/preferences, because in canon, one isn't like the other either.

I hope you have a great day/evening! Thanks again! ☺️

[nolongerapileofashprobably]

I SAW YOU WANT TOTK FIRST IMPRESSIONS I HAVE SO MANY.

Rauru?? Such a good design 10/10 character and voice. Extremely worried about his backstory because it's just a liiiiittle too close to retconning and I despise when games do that and zelda usually just 'yes and's itself.

Zelda looks so good too! And link! And our favourite nerds! Don't know how happy she is with being back in a ceremonial worship dress tho lol. Really hoping she doesn't pull a skyward sword zelda.

Hyrule is nigh unrecognisable. It's struck a perfect balance between knowing it like the back of my hand and being completely lost. Like I know where things SHOULD be. I know where to find the biggest points. When tf did that get here. I SWEAR there's way more deep ponds than there used to be. I'm in love again already.

And it might just be the fact that I've played so many loz games and botw just yesterday, but Link feels so incredibly entrenched in the world. Intertwined. Bound up in every inch of it. Everyone knows his name, they respect him and care for him if they don't know him personally. I recognise places and symbols and cutscene locations. It feels right to scramble all over things and talk to everyone and vanish into the grass and no one bats an eye.

It's only been a few hours but totk is just incredible. Even if I have to run everywhere again XD.

Just. YES!!!

I feel the SAME WAY about Hyrule. I’ve played botw so many times that I feel like I should know where shit is but then I’m like “wait this rock formation is higher than normal, wait when did that get there, oh my god what is THAT, hey I recognize this!!!”

Getting to go near Hyrule castle and not hear panic-inducing piano music is something I should have been prepared for but it still messed me up.

Hyrule isn’t this desolate wasteland with barely any civilizations. It’s got people, it’s got structure, there’s teams and a whole system going on. And it. It makes me SO happy.

Link and Zelda really did all that. GOD!!!!

God this game is fantastic. I’m getting major ss Zelda vibes 😂 so I’m envisioning she’s going to be just out of reach the entire game (but who knows!!!)

I’m wondering if botw is just going to be in its own timeline to make up for them lowkey retconning stuff LMAO

Thank you so much I love hearing everyone’s impressions of this game it is so so wonderful

[sunmoonjune]

Ahhhh! Moonie! I finally caught up with Chapter 15! How do you write so beautifully! No detail is ever spared and once again, you made me cry en route to work!(I posted on A03 last time).

The way you have brought the characters to life in your own way yet keeping them somewhat true is incredible and Bug! Don’t get me started on Bug! Watching Bug grow with each chapter is so breathtaking.

I know you’ll be talking more about Hwa’s bow but I’m curious about how you paired each member with their respective weapons because they fit so well!

If it isn’t already taken could I be ⚔️- anon?

hello my dear <33 thank you so much hehe <3

I'm glad you enjoyed the update! and I'm also happy you like bug <3 I think she's slowly becoming an oc rather than just the reader but I love her so much :"))

and yes I do have all of ateez's weapons chosen! I'm honestly not super sure on how I decided but I can try to explain some of them? there's probably little crumbs of atz backstory here! not a lot but just a lil insight that you'll get more of in LTM (also this is way long than I meant it to be omfg sorry xD but I hope you enjoy all my references for weapons haha I'm kind of a nerd)

[also yes! you can absolutely be my ⚔️ anon!]

For seonghwa, I'm honestly not 100% what led to me making him an archer,, but I think the longbow just fits him somehow? when I was imagining him with other weapons, they didn't seem to always feel right -- tho he was almost a pole arm user like san! I sort of imagined him a little bit like legolas when writing hehe xD

Hongjoong's weapon is a double-edged long sword! (think Link's sword from legend of Zelda almost haha xD ) it's very regal in appearance and has an ornate cross-guard with a crimson colored ruby in the center (this sword will make an appearance in his backstory at some point!) I can't say how the sword relates to his backstory but I can say that I sometimes kind of imagine hongjoong as a king in some ways,, he's the captain and leaders sometimes have very regal sort of weapons, so I chose the longsword for him! (if you're a LOTR nerd like me, I sort of imagined Aragorn's sword anduril as inspo for the blade - besides the crossguard of course xD)

Yunho's weapon is a double-headed axe,, this was something a little different for me when I was picking weapons for each of them, but I think because Yunho is tall and fairly strong, the axe fit kind of well? With his height he gets a decent leverage for swinging and he definitely has enough upper body strength to wield it well -- after I picked it for him I honestly couldn't imagine him with anything else xD

I don't think I've actually talked much about Yeosang's weapon choice in LTM yet,, I mentioned him preferring a single sword as opposed to two in chapter nine I think (when Seonghwa offers to let Bug train with someone else) but Yeosang is one of the more versatile members that can handle any weapon well! He most often takes up the bow with seonghwa in distance combat (as the main healer he's most often kept away from direct combat) -- his signature weapons are actually daggers, and he always has a small collection on his person at all times -- I chose this for him because of his occupation as a healer! It makes the most sense that he wouldn't have a ton of training in his previous village with weapons since he was trained to be a healer - however, all the specialization there gave him dexterous hands and the ability to skillfully use knives. after he left his clan, he trained in combat with jongho much more and now he can wield daggers very well!

San is a polearm user! His weapon is a spear (I've always kind of imagined it to look a lil like Xiao's from genshin impact!) To me, San has always been a little more lithe and I kind of imagined him to be quick and graceful in combat (maybe it's cause he's a skilled dancer irl? xD ) so I wanted to pick a weapon that allowed him that kind of movement and then from watching gameplay in genshin and other games, I think san sort of fit being a polearm user - idk I could just see him pulling moves like zhongli or Xiao or something xD

Mingi was one of the first members I easily chose for when picking weapons! He's muscular and has a really good build so I immediately chose a claymore! Mingi is very strong and tall so he can easily swing a heavy sword during combat,, and I think the image fits him well too :D If you play genshin (or have just seen videos haha) I kind of imagine him a little like diluc? tho his build might be closer to itto xD

Wooyoung was honestly a little bit harder to pick for me,, but he's kind of like san in that I see him being a little more lithe in combat than aggressive like yunho or mingi so I wanted to pick something that would give him that kind of skill! I think I ended up picking two swords (a duel-wielder) for him mostly because it fit the plot xD he and bug being able to progress with each other via combat training (and him teaching her all the things she wasn't able to learn before ie offensive combat) was important to me! It's a big step in their relationship because woo wants to help her gain the freedom she wasn't able to have before :") ) I see his swords like Inosuke's from demon slayer -- the chips in the blade give him a little more gorey/aggressive approach to fighting since they allow him to tear into flesh rather than merely slicing through it

and last but not least our jongho! Jongho was just like Mingi for me in that I saw him as a claymore/broadsword user from the beginning! he's definitely very strong and has the raw power to swing around a heavy weapon so the claymore came to mind almost immediately!

also of course our bug is a duel-wielder like wooyoung, so her swords are katanas,, if you're curious about my inspo for her weapons, I used the weapons from demon slayer to imagine her swords - probably sanemi's fits the closest! (I originally imagined her to fight like inosuke, but she doesn't quite yet have that kind of offensive ability (except for her introduction in chapter one when she uhhh went a lil ... ) -- but perhaps one day in the future she'll get there xD )