#ALSO TY NINTENDO FOR MOTHER | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kyndaris · 3 years

Text

Pray Forgive this Discourtesy of an Impression

Many of my friends - and by extension, I also include you dear readers of this blog - know, I have been a fan of the Ace Attorney series for a very long time. It began in the days of my youth, when I discovered Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney for the Nintendo DS. As someone that was interested in legal proceedings but was unsure of actually taking the step of becoming an actual barrister in court, it helped feed my very unique itch of shouting OBJECTION! and pointing at the counsel opposite me.

That and the fact that the lawyers of the franchise were also amateur sleuths, piecing together the truth of whatever crime had actually been perpetrated and denouncing the witnesses brought in to testify as the actual masterminds.

Honestly, I wish court cases in real life were this exciting.

Even back then, the idea of acting the sleuth and figuring out the intricacies behind a complex plot of murder had me salivating. It did not help that I had read Arthur Conan Doyle’s collection of stories about a world-renowned detective and hoped to emulate his ability to make rapid deductions based on simple observation.

So, when The Great Ace Attorney was first announced, I was justifiable excited. To play as the ancestor of the great Phoenx Wright? Interact with Sherlock Holmes in 19th century London? WHERE DO I SELL MY SOUL TO?

To my great dismay, however, there were no immediate plans to release the games in the West. In fact, I even pondered on whether or not I should indulge in obtaining a fan translated copy (or watch a playthrough).

As the years passed, I lost hope that there would ever be a release of The Great Ace Attorney games in the West. And so, life went on.

UNTIL OF COURSE, THEY ANNOUNCED THAT IT WOULD BE RELEASED! IN JULY 2021! AND THOUGH MY SPIRIT WAS A LITTLE CRUSHED TO HEAR THAT THERE WOULD BE NO PHYSICAL RELEASE IN AUSTRALIA, I QUICKLY PUT THE GAME ON MY NINTENDO ESTORE WISHLIST, READY FOR PURCHASE!

When release day came, I was pumped to dive into the world of finger-pointing and strange reversals where the defence attorney had to prove their client innocent beyond all reasonable doubt. The game itself begins with Ryunosuke Naruhodo, a student of Yumei University being accused of murdering a visiting professor: John H. Wilson. At his side is his best friend: Kazuma Asogi, a practicing law student.

Wishing not to dash his friend’s dreams of travelling to Britain (should the trial not be won), Ryunosuke steps up to represent himself. Valiantly, he battles against Prosecutor Auchi. And just like his descendant, fumbles his way through to the inevitable truth. That he was setup and that the actual culprit was a person hidden under plain view: an English gentlewoman by the name of Jezaille Brett. She had murdered the esteemed professor through the use of a special poison that could not be identified by the technology at the time before shooting the victim to pin the blame on our hapless student.

It was a tale as old as time for those that have played the Ace Attorney series. What I liked, however, was the fact that this time round, there were multiple witnesses in the stand and how they would play off each other. Their reactions to what someone else said were great ways to enliven up the gameplay and helped move the story along when I seemed stuck on where to present my piece of crucial evidence to highlight an inconsistency.

By the end of the first trial, however, the game sees our protagonists on the way to the United Kingdom. Having stowed away in his friend’s trunk, Ryunosuke is accused once again of murder. This time, of his friend. And by the great Herlock Sholmes, no less! Unfortunately, due to copyright infringements, the translation team was forced to change the name of the character. Still, this adaption of one of the best literary detectives served to be a breath of fresh air. He was an enjoyable and lively companion.

I also very much liked how they inserted so many references to the actual stories that were penned by Arthur Conan Doyle: the Red-Headed League, Speckled Band, Hound of the Baskervilles, the Man with the Twisted Lip...

The reinterpretations of so many beloved characters also helped to put a spin on what I would have expected. Truth be told, I never thought I would become so protective of diver-turned-inspector-apprentice Gina Lestrade. She is a precious cinnamon roll! How dare anyone think she would actually murder anyone when it’s clear that she’s a misunderstood tsundere with a heart of gold!

After finishing the first game: The Great Ace Attorney Adventures I could not help but feel that the story was incomplete. In many ways, just like with Trails of Sky, it served as a prelude to things that would come. There were plenty of hints of what Ryunosuke, with plenty of dangling and tantalising mysteries. A few characters that were introduced, such as William Shamspeare, never got to see the limelight until the second entry: The Great Ace Attorney Resolve.

Why have such a uniquely dressed character walk by in passing without putting them into a case? It made no sense. It was as if Chekhov’s gun, placed in clear view, remained unused.

As such, when the credits rolled, I immediately dived into the sequel. The cases that I played through in the second entry seemed much more connected and provided a more cohesive overarching plot. In fact, while I thought the first game was a good addition in its own right - what with its stereoscopic images (which was very difficult to try and make 3D on a huge television), I thought Resolve was much better at tying up all the loose ends that players were left with.

That and we also got to enjoy the return of multi-day trials, with a mixture of investigation and court appearance, rather than ones that seemed concentrated on a single day (and were quite tiring to endure). I will say that the final episode being a continuation of the fourth was a little suspect, but didn’t mind it because of how much was revealed and discussed in those last few moments.

In saying that, the games are not without their flaws. As always, sometimes it takes a while to make the connection on what evidence needs to be presented to which statement. There were times in the first case of the second game where the hints provided to the the player once they had gone through the testimony, made me focus on a completely different area than I should have.

I also floundered a little because the clues relied more on memory of what Ryunosuke and Susato had been discussing when they were examining the evidence, but which was not updated in the actual information. As such, it took quite a while to figure out the SS Grouse inconsistency during the fourth case in the second game.

Then, of course, there were the the inconsistencies or unexplained plot points in the games themselves. In the first case of the first game, one of the key evidences that was used to highlight who the real murderer in the John H. Wilson case was blood on a serving of beef steak. The blood was on the left of the platter. The victim however, had a bullet hole on the right hand side of the chest. Given that he had been facing the table at the time he was shot, why would the the blood be on the left side of the serving platter?

Also, how did the reporter Menimemo even get a knife to stab Jezaille Brett in the first case of the second game? Did he already have it on his person? Also, since it had been first established that the victim had been stabbed, why go through all the rigmarole of having to also prove that the reporter had both poisoned and stabbed the victim? Talk about overkill.

And someone please explain how anyone could serve as a prosecutor in a case when they have a CLEAR CONFLICT OF INTEREST! A court of law is not a place where someone can slake their thirst for vengeance. And it was clear from the start that Kazuma Asogi should have been removed because of his misguided vendetta against Barok van Zieks.

The same could also be extended to the jurors. I don’t think anyone who knows the accused or the victim personally is allowed to serve as a jury member because of implicit bias. Then again, this is a game and I should probably just enjoy the game for what it is.

Despite these little quibbles with the narrative and the fact that there seem to be a very limited number of prosecutors and defence attorneys in Britain and Japan (along with jurors), I had a fun time playing through both games. After all, never in my wildest dreams did I think that they would be released out in the West. Even the summation examinations and pitting the jury members against each other was something fresh and different. While the Mood Matrix and Apollo’s ability to perceive have given new ways to solve cases, there’s still little that’s been done to shake up the formula of cross-examining a witness.

The Dance of Deduction between Herlock and Ryunosuke was also a brilliant piece of change that made some of the investigations more fun. While I’ll miss the psyche-locks, perhaps it’s a good thing that The Great Ace Attorney has moved away from mysticism and spirit channelling to focus more on Herlock’s wacky hijinks.

And before I forget, I need to throw out a special mention to Iris Wilson, the ten-year-old child genius that puts us all to shame. Growing up in an Asian household, I’m sure my mother wishes I could have got a doctorate in medicine by that time.

On a side note, it was fun voicing a few of the characters as I played. I’m sure my family were quite confused as to why these terrible accents were petering down to the kitchen.

Do I have any regrets?

Some.

But it’s always fun giving voice to these wacky characters and bringing them all to life with a few flamboyant performances.

#video games #the great ace attorney #ace attorney #gina lestrade is a precious cinnamon roll!

11 notes · View notes

eggfucker-1 · 4 years

Text

Ai yah, I really have to respond to this post again, huh?

Well, for starters, I apologize for a mistake I made in my original post. In the OP, I insinuated that the Princess Zeldas we see in the series could have possibly had a role in the atrocities committed by the royal family. This is incorrect, and it was poor wording on my part. I should have clarified my intentions when writing that particular passage; however, I felt it was unimportant, given that the point wasn’t solely about Princess Zelda, but how the addition of the Goddess Hylia and the Demon King Demise not only invalidates Ganondorf’s character up to that point, but adds much greater weight to the terrible actions committed by the royal family, especially towards the Sheikah.

Given that tumblr user lorelylantana is the third person to make a reply by discussing the reincarnation cycle, rather than the actual point of my post, perhaps I should have proofread and double checked my post before sending it out into the world to cause problems on purpose.

With that said, after I read lorelylantana’s response, I felt it necessary to make a proper reply of my own. It’s going to be a rather lengthy reply, as I have many things to say and many images to post.

However, I’m going to do all that I can to avoid discussing fanon or fan theories. I don’t mind them, but adding fanon wasn’t the point of my original post, and it shouldn’t have been the focus of the responses I received. I want to stay as close to the canon Nintendo laid out as possible. Thusly, my sources will strictly be drawn from the games, game manuals, Creating a Champion, Hyrule Historia, and Hyrule Encyclopedia. Despite the latter two being dubiously canon, they were approved by Nintendo, so they’re worth mentioning.

So, without further delay, let us begin.

- “The original post seems to be based on the idea that Zelda and the royal family of Hyrule are synonymous, which is questionable for reasons I’ll get into later.”

For all intents and purposes, yes. Zelda and the royal family are synonymous, as she is the face of the royal family in almost every Zelda game featuring her. Even if she isn’t the ruler of Hyrule in that particular moment, she is our figurehead for the monarchy, by all means.

- “The games don’t hand wave the actions of Hyrule’s royal family, they just don’t go out of their way to hold a young girl personally responsible for the actions of kings […]”

While the actions of the royal family are briefly acknowledged, as is the case with the Shadow Temple and the Arbiter’s Grounds, the monarchy has never had to answer for their actions. Even in the case of the Sheikah’s massive exile 10,000 years ago, the royal family never answers for this, nor are they ever portrayed being in the wrong. In fact, the event in question is only mentioned by a single member of the Sheikah in Breath of the Wild, Cado.

Image credit goes to YouTube user Macintyre.

The royal family’s actions are never directly described as “these were horrible things that happened.” Instead, it’s simply, “yeah, it happened.” There is no acknowledgement that the Yiga was created by the royal family’s own hands, nor is there any emphasis placed on the impact any of these acts have.

For example, the exile of the Sheikah wasn’t even the first instance of the royal family of Hyrule mass-exiling a group of people and displacing them from their original homes.

After the events of Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf is captured and executed for his crimes leading up to the events of the game and presumably the events of the Adult Timeline, given Young Link’s testimony. (I’ll get into why the King of Hyrule believes Link over Zelda later.) After Ganondorf was executed, the Gerudo were forced out of Gerudo Valley and banished from the Haunted Wasteland. Even during the events of Twilight Princess, the Gerudo Desert is completely abandoned. Once again, there is no discussion concerning the royal family’s actions, with the narrative instead being that the Gerudo, some of whom were actively against Ganondorf’s actions and many of whom were hypnotized during the events of OoT, are entirely at fault and have to atone for their sin of… having Ganondorf for a leader, I suppose.

Source: Creating a Champion, p. 405

Source: Hyrule Encyclopedia, p. 46

The royal family gets to punish an entire people for the actions of one man. Rather than the act being portrayed as negative or even discussed, it’s hardly even mentioned.

While I’m aware Encyclopedia’s canonicity is dubious at best, its material was still approved for publication by Nintendo. Thusly, I feel it worthy to discuss.

To summate, the royal family did bad things, and very select few acknowledge it.

Next point.

- “I think that the Zelda/Hylia = good Ganon = bad situation serves a narrative purpose that justifies the black and white nature of the games because it highlights the shades of gray in between installments…”

The Legend of Zelda is almost thirty-five years old. This series should have long evolved beyond the black-and-white-morality narrative, especially when the side we’re supposed to sympathize with literally used the Sheikah to commit war crimes. You don’t have to have stark white and pitch black in order to see shades of gray.

- “… And trying to assign Zelda a dark side is kind of missing the point, especially when no one seems to question Link’s morality even though he’s constantly stealing people’s stuff.”

Examples of Consequences to Link Stealing People’s Stuff

1. In Twilight Princess, stealing from Trill will result in the bird branding you a thief and pecking you every time you come near him, which will only cease when you finally pay up.

2. In Link’s Awakening, stealing from the old man’s shop will result in instant death the next time you enter his shop. If you steal, your name is changed to THIEF for the rest of the game.

Furthermore, Link is controlled by the player; thusly, his actions have no consequence to the story or Link’s character. Zelda, on the other hand, is an active participant in the story, whose actions and whose family’s actions weigh heavily on the games. That’s not to say Zelda is ever evil. However, as much as she is a victim of her own family’s history, she still has just as much power to change it.

- “If the games wanted to gloss over the sins committed by the royal family[,] they wouldn’t have designed entire dungeons around them.”

I reiterate: the sins of the royal family were mentioned once, and then immediately dropped shortly thereafter. It’s not there for you to dwell upon, merely window dressing as if to say, “Yeah, that happened.”

- “I believe The Legend of Zelda series is a critique of the Divine Right of Kings”

Until the events of Skyward Sword, the Hylian Royal Family wasn’t a divine lineage. A thirty-five-year-old series can’t be a critique of a concept that it barely even acknowledges. The only emphasis placed on the “goddess blood” part of the royal family is in Breath of the Wild, in relation to Zelda having to unlock her sealing powers. Despite the massive repercussions the revelation of the royal family’s lineage tying back to divinity should have, it’s barely even mentioned,let alone discussed.

As a side note, the divine right of kings specifically denotes that the monarch is chosen by God to rule. In contrast, the Hylian Royal Family continues to rule by, presumably, claiming lineage to the Goddess Hylia, which is closer to traditional practice in feudal Japan.

- “If the Divine Right of Queens is indeed present, does that justify a hereditary monarchy? As far as the Legend of Zelda is concerned[,] the answer is no.”

The Legend of Zelda series never questions the validity of the royal family’s rule.

- “Isn’t it funny that the Kingdom of Hyrule seems to be perpetually stuck in the dark ages?”

Ocarina of Time has neon lights, jukeboxes, and canned goods. The lakeside doctor’s chemistry is advanced enough that he is able to synthesize eyedrops. Given the newspaper articles strewn about shops, Hyrule also has pictoboxes in OoT.

By Wind Waker, pictoboxes have evolved to print in color. In Phantom Hourglass, Linebeck’s ship is steam-powered.

In Twilight Princess, pictoboxes now print higher quality images. In addition, with the introduction of Malo Mart’s Castle Town branch, TP is confirmed to have fully functional electrical lighting in some places. Cannons are so safe, you can get launched out of one for fun. Pyrotechnics have grown advanced enough that explosives can function underwater, and Death Mountain has become a functioning, refined mining facility stable enough for Hylians to safely walk in. Also, Auru has a bazooka.

SPIRIT TRACKS HAS TRAINS. THEIR AESTHETIC DIRECTLY REFLECTS THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

Hyrule is hardly stuck in the dark ages. It’s high fantasy.

Next point.

“For starters, I want to establish that I don’t agree with the assumption that what the Hyrulean Royal Family does = Zelda/Hylia would do. I don’t think it’s a mistake that almost every text in the OP explicitly mentions that it was a King that committed those acts, not Zelda herself.”

Once again, that was an error on my part. It wasn’t my intention to imply Zelda had any part in such actions. However, Zelda learns how to rule from her father, or her mother, or whomever holds the throne in that particular moment. These acts are never questioned in canon beyond “Yeah, that happened,” and the most conflict we have is the issues between Zelda and her father in Breath of the Wild boiling down to how to confront the Calamity—science vs. sealing magic— rather than anything else.

It’s a personal issue, and Rhoam treats Zelda terribly, essentially alienating himself from his own daughter and treating her as little more than a pawn. I agree that it’s absolutely terrible. However, that’s merely a personal issue. She’s complicit in how Rhoam addresses the Sheikah, possibly even fully aware of the anti-aging rune Purah was developing to force retired soldiers into battle against the Calamity, and from what we’ve seen in Age of Calamity, she doesn’t have an understanding of the Yiga Clan other than the snide remark Urbosa gives:

Image credit goes to YouTube user BeardBear.

It’s up to Zelda to develop a deeper understanding of her country’s history; not to take personal responsibility, but to understand where those who are suffering are coming from.

That said, acting with the Hylians’ best interests at heart is exactly something Hylia would do.

In the prologue to Skyward Sword, the Demon King and his army attack the Hylians, slaying many and throwing the world into despair. Thus, the Goddess Hylia saves the Hylians by sending a chunk of land up into the heavens, sparing them from the war to follow while she gathers every other race to fight alongside her.

So… How come Hylia only saved the Hylians?

I understand many were wiped out by demons, but if Hylia was fully prepared to spare people from violence, why not also send small numbers of every other race? Why only save the Hylians, her chosen people, while essentially dragging everyone else into battle with her? Furthermore, when Hylia’s immortal body suffered grave injuries, she opted to take advantage of this by choosing to be reborn as a person. Not only is it explicitly stated that Hylia reincarnated in order to utilize the Triforce’s power, as she could not do so as divinity, but she knowingly chose to be reborn as someone who would become close with her chosen hero, in order to influence him to follow her plan without hesitation.

Hylia used Link.

That much is certain, and it’s laid out clearly by Zelda shortly before she takes Hyrule’s longest beauty nap.

It must be noted that while Zelda states she is Hylia reborn, and has regained Hylia’s memories by this point, she still sees herself as a separate entity from Hylia. While she herself is immensely guilty and apologizing over and over for what she’d done in her previous life, we have no way of knowing if Hylia herself would react the same way.

In fact, according to a fan-translation by ZeldaUniverse user Yamikawa, Demise goes as far as to describe Hylia as “brave and so-prideful,” hinting that even a being who loved her chosen people so much to save them still saw them as beneath her, if being reborn as human is seen as such a drastic extreme contradictory to her supposed character. Now, this is merely reflection on the inner workings of the Demon King, so his word can’t be taken as gospel. But, like all things, I find it interesting.

From what I can gather, however, Hylia certainly cared more about the Hylians than any other being in the land of Hylia, not dissimilarly to the royal family.

- “I also don’t think that every princess Zelda is a Princess of Destiny or Representative of Hylia, I think that she reincarnates just about as often as Link and Ganon(dorf) do, because the logistics don’t really work out otherwise. This leaves hundreds, if not thousands of years where Zelda/Hylia isn’t on the throne.”

This is merely speculation. Moving on.

- “There’s a notable trend of the King of Hyrule getting in the way of Zelda’s attempts to save the kingdom. First[,] he doesn’t take Zelda seriously [in] Ocarina of Time, forcing her to rely on Link […] I don’t know why the King of Hyrule was willing to listen to a random boy claiming to have been from the future over his own daughter but whatever I guess.”

The King of Hyrule believed Young Link because he came back to the Child Timeline with the Triforce of Courage. Up to that point, the whole Triforce was supposed to be safely locked away in the Sacred Realm, which was supposed to be completely inaccessible without the spiritual stones and the ocarina of time, neither of which Link had. I’d listen to the kid’s story too if he came back with a God Dorito on the back of his hand.

- “And then again in Breath of the Wild when Rhoam bans Zelda from ancient tech research despite the fact that he has absolutely no reason to believe his pray the incompetence away method is the right one.”

The tapestry showcasing the events from 10,000 years ago depicts a princess possessing the blood of the goddess using her sealing magic in order to seal away Calamity Ganon. Link can swing the Master Sword at Ganon or whack him with ancient arrows or light arrows all he wants. Without the ability to seal away the darkness, as shown at the end of Ocarina of Time, all of this preparation and planning would have been for naught. That is why Rhoam is so harsh on Zelda. That’s why so much emphasis is placed on unlocking her power. Without it, defeating Ganon would be impossible.

On that note, Rhoam also had no idea what he was doing. Zelda’s mother was the one with the sealing magic, not him. She was supposed to be the one to train Zelda, but she passed away before she got the chance to even start. He puts so much emphasis on prayer rather than ancient technology because he genuinely doesn’t know what else to do.

I can’t believe this post forced me to defend Rhoam of all people I’m gonna have a stroke—

- “Also, this is purely speculation, but [I’m] pretty sure there’s an implication that King Daphnes Nohansen caused the flooding of Hyrule in Wind Waker […] This sounds like a wish on the Triforce that backfired[,] but I digress.”

Daphnes couldn’t have made a wish on the Triforce before Wind Waker because, when the Hero of Time left the Adult Timeline, that timeline’s Triforce of Courage shattered into eight pieces and scattered throughout the land—er, ocean. Even if he had Wisdom on him, Ganondorf still possessed the Triforce of Power when he was sealed away, and he wasn’t going to let go of it when he broke free.

Besides, if Daphnes did wish on the whole Triforce, it would have disappeared. There would have been no Wind Waker.

- “When she saves Hyrule in spite of interference…”

I’m not even going to finish the quote because the entire paragraph is too much for me to unpack. I’m assuming they’re saying that Zelda is never the one truly in power, and the royal family takes advantage of one Zelda’s good deeds to get brownie points.

However, concerning the first line…

In Ocarina of Time, Zelda going behind her dad’s back to try to “save Hyrule” leads Ganondorf straight to the Sacred Realm. Even though a time paradox leads to everything turning out okay in the end, the bleak future was created because Zelda wanted to play hero and pulled Link along with her. Even if Ganondorf managed to wrench the spiritual stones away from the Zora and Gorons, he wouldn’t have been able to access the Sacred Realm if Zelda didn’t send Link there to pull out the Master Sword, which Ganondorf would have never been able to touch. By all means, Ocarina of Timehappened because a little girl was in over her head and tried to take matters into her own hands when her dad didn’t believe her.

Aside from Breath of the Wild, there’s no other “interference” from the royal family that Zelda has to face.

- “Zelda is the representation of a deity, so it makes sense that people would worship her to some extent, and having a goddess on the throne [probably] blesses the land. So[,] while the kings of Hyrule have a tendency to screw things over, [it makes sense] for Hyrule to be a monarchy because Zelda’s power as the goddess incarnate is needed to defend against Ganon and other threats, [r]ight?”

I acknowledge the author is attempting to portray the royal family’s possible justification for their rule. However, until I reached the succeeding passage, I believed it was the author making this justification, given how the entire paragraph preceding this was pure speculation. Once again, this passage is speculative, as nobody in Hyrule has ever explicitly given any notable opinion concerning the royal family. Why try to justify your rule when nobody’s criticizing it?

Since the author brings up Zelda being a representation of Hylia, however, it does bring to mind a particular problem I have with the royal family suddenly being goddess-blood.

It completely recontextualizes the relationship between the royal family and the Sheikah.

According to Creating a Champion, the Sheikah have a deep devotion to the Goddess Hylia. Since the royal family is descended from the goddess reborn, the Sheikah thusly are deeply devoted to the goddess Hylia.

Source: Creating a Champion, p. 372

Now, the royal government using a minority group of people to do your dirty work is already scummy enough when you’re just a normal royal. In this case, however, the Sheikah are so devoted to their goddess that they will do anything for you. Whether it’s because certain monarchs are a “representation of a deity” remains to be seen, but the point is that they’ll do anything for you.

And the royal family takes complete advantage of a group of people unconditionally loyal to them, bidding them to do unspeakable things in the name of their religion, which for all intents and purposes is the royal family.

That’s absolutely deplorable, and it’s a wonder nobody’s brought attention to it yet, whether in-canon or in-fandom. What’s more, given how Impa is always Zelda’s attendant, this relationship is never questioned or criticized, whether it be by the Sheikah or Zelda herself.

And that’s terrifying.

- “The reason Ganon is always an antagonist is because he’s the vessel for the curse of Demise.”

Demise was introduced in Skyward Sword. Demise is the root of all evil, the creator of monsters and conjuror of demons. He is pure evil in every sense from the word, the Zelda series’ version of Satan. Naturally, he’s as simple as you can get in terms of character. Barebones characterization, providing only just enough to tell the player exactly what they need to know:

He’s evil, he’s powerful, and he wants the Triforce. You have to stop him.

Ganondorf existed before Demise. Ganon had over twenty years of development before Demise brought his progress to a permanent flatline.

Who was Ganon before Demise?

Allow me to remind you.

In The Legend of Zelda, first released on February 21st, 1986, Ganon is simply described as “the Prince of Darkness,” and steals the Triforce of Power when he invades Hyrule. After the Triforce of Wisdom is shattered, he kidnaps Zelda.

He’s evil, he’s powerful, and he wants the Triforce. You have to stop him.

Although Ganon doesn’t physically appear in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, released in 1987, his presence is still felt as his minions pursue Link in order to revive the Prince of Darkness. In fact, the game over screen is the successful revival of Ganon.

Now, given that these are the first two games in the series, it’s perfectly alright for Ganon to be as barebones as he was. After all, many villains at the time were the same way, with the most notable of Ganon’s counterparts being Bowser from the Super Mario Bros. franchise.

However, with innovation of technology comes innovation of narrative, and it’s with the release of A Link to the Past in 1993 on the SNES that we begin to see Ganon develop as a character. In the prologue to ALttP, Ganon is revealed to have once been human; he is given the name Mandrag Ganon—or Ganondorf Dragmire, as we now know him—and he was once the leader of a band of thieves who sieged the Sacred Realm and took control of the Triforce after murdering his own followers.

Source: A Link to the Past SNES game manual

Ganon is still irrevocably evil, but in this case, we begin to learn more about him. We begin to see a character starting to form. One who isn’t just mindlessly evil, but who has the charm and wit to infiltrate Hyrule Castle and earn the King of Hyrule’s trust in the guise of Agahnim. Ganon was also a very capable leader, having successfully led his band of thieves straight to the Triforce. Even after wishing upon the Triforce and corrupting the Sacred Realm, Ganon’s power attracted followers in the form of greedy, power-seeking people. He’s powerful not by brute force alone, but through his cunning use of intellect.

Ocarina of Time served to further develop Ganon in little ways. For example, this is the first game wherein, for the majority of the game, Ganon is seen and referred to by his human form: Ganondorf. Ganondorf is shown to be powerful enough and stealthy enough to infiltrate the homes of the Zora, the Gorons, and the Kokiri, and send dangerous hazards their way in an effort to seize the Spiritual Stones. At the same time, he is first seen at an audience with the King of Hyrule, as if there for diplomatic reasons.

Although Zelda sees Ganondorf as evil because of her prophetic dream, the King of Hyrule doesn’t believe her. Because of this, we can infer that Ganondorf has enough charm and charisma to, if not win over the King of Hyrule, not be seen as suspicious despite the horrible acts he’d committed, not just in the past, but at that very moment. He’s also shown to be highly cultured, shown at the end of Link’s ascent up Ganon’s Tower. Not only is Ganondorf playing his own theme, but he’s doing so on the pipe organ, which is notoriously one of, if not the most difficult musical instrument to master.

Once Ganondorf seizes the Triforce of Power, the kingdom of Hyrule is subjected to seven long years of his rule. During this time, normal people such as Ingo succumb to their greed and follow Ganondorf’s influence in pursuit of power and riches. Although Malon is naïve enough to believe Ingo was somehow under Ganondorf’s control, it’s clear to players that he was completely in control of his actions, and that Ganondorf’s rule brings out the worst in seemingly average people.

Image credit goes to YouTube user ZorZelda.

Even a Hylian knight can fall under this influence, with it highly inferred that the knight who once guarded a room of pots for Link to smash is now a twisted poe collector, the man even stating that he likes it better this way.

In Wind Waker, we finally see a more introspective side to Ganondorf. While he’s just as ruthless and fully ready to murder a child in the name of accomplishing his goal, he reveals the reason that started him on his path of darkness:

His people were suffering, and he wanted for his people what Hyrule had. He believed that taking Hyrule and taking the Triforce meant that his people could finally live freely, away from the harsh desert.

Now, I’ve seen this challenged time and time again. Was Ganondorf lying to distract or manipulate Link? Was he telling the truth? Is this what Ganondorf has convinced himself to believe, after so much time sealed away and in isolation? We will never know, and that’s part of what makes the game so interesting. Ganondorf’s portrayal is a large part of why so many people love Wind Waker, and it’s not hard to see why.

Perhaps the darkest the Zelda series has ever gone in terms of the Triforce’s power was in Twilight Princess. After freeing Lanayru, the Light Spirit warns Link of the dark power he seeks, the Fused Shadow. In order to do this, she explains the history of the Triforce, and the bloodshed brought by its allure to the darkness in the hearts of men. Before the construction of the Temple of Time, many battles were fought, and one of them was the “Interloper War” that inevitably resulted in the creation of, not only the Light Spirits, but the Twili and the Twilight Realm.

It’s important to note that Lanayru’s cautionary tale highlights that Link, the hero of the story, could succumb to the allure of the Triforce and dark magic just as easily as any other person. In this particular case, anyone could have fallen down the same path as Ganondorf. If anything, this tale is one of the most important bits of lore to take into consideration when discussing the series.

Anyone could have been in Ganondorf’s shoes. It could have happened to anyone.

Then, in one fell swoop, Skyward Sword ruined it.

In a single game, every bit of progress on Ganondorf is lost. Once again, we’re dragged down to the baseline characterization from the original game.

He’s evil, he’s powerful, and he wants the Triforce. You have to stop him.

Suddenly, everything the previous games had built up no longer matters. There’s no longer a need to question whether what Ganondorf did was solely out of greed, but also out of what he felt was necessity. There’s no need to wonder if Ganondorf was once a rational man, who succumbed to the irresistible pull of the Triforce like so many before him.

Ganondorf is, purely and simply, the reincarnation of Satan, so there’s no need to go any deeper than that.

And that’s why I hate this “vessel of Demise” thing. It completely undermines everything Ganondorf once was and reduces him to a single, cardboard cutout of a villain.

Moving on, before I get sad.

- “This curse is specifically tied to Hylia’s bloodline and the Link’s soul, which is pretty specific…”

Demise’s curse is essentially dooming the earth with a never-ending rebirth of his hatred; his malice, if you would. The wording of his curse is specifically “people like you,” which could mean that it isn’t Link and Zelda’s exact souls that are tied to his hatred. Rather, people possessing the blood of the goddess and a heroic, courageous soul are doomed to deal with this curse.

However, my thoughts on this matter are pure speculation.

Also, Demise specifically targets his curse at people like Link and Zelda because they were the ones to kill him in the first place. That much is obvious.

- “… [So] why do the clashes with Ganon always throw the fate of Hyrule into disarray? Because Zelda’s bloodline runs the country.”

Ganon would attack Hyrule even without Zelda’s family in charge. His pursuit of power and domination of the Triforce/Hyrule is therefore closely tied with the fate of Hyrule. Goddess blood on the throne has nothing to do with it.

- “If Zelda came from a small town the curse would probably manifest in peril for that one region which isn’t great but it’s better than an apocalypse.”

Firstly, this is a run-on sentence. Secondly, I reiterate: Ganon would attack Hyrule as a whole, regardless if Zelda’s bloodline was on the throne. It wouldn’t matter if Zelda’s whole family suddenly moved to the countryside. When Ganon inevitably comes back, he’s still gonna go straight for the Triforce or to conquer all of Hyrule. Goddess blood isn’t even part of the equation for Ganon. And if goddess blood isn’t there to stop him, then that’s even better.

Alright, so I’m not even going to bother gratifying the last two paragraphs of the response with an answer, because it’s all rambling that has nothing to do with the original argument. Relinquishing the throne would do nothing to right any wrongs dealt to the many people who were hurt, and evil doesn’t care about a single princess with goddess blood or a boy with a pointy stick.

In conclusion, the addition of Hylia made it so that the royal family’s power dynamic with the Sheikah is even more critically imbalanced than it originally was, making the exile of the Sheikah 10,000 years ago even more heinous than it originally was. Yet, because Hylia is portrayed as wholly good and incapable of doing wrong, despite in-game evidence to the contrary, the royal family, and Zelda by extension, will never be criticized for any wrongdoing. In fact, doing so may well be heresy, if the responses to my original post are anything to go by.

By comparison, the addition of Demise diminishes Ganondorf’s character, rendering him down from the makings of a complex, human character—where anyone could have easily been in his place and had the same greed and ambition for power—into simply the reincarnation of the literal devil, where of course he’s evil, and you don’t have to do any digging beneath the surface. Ganondorf is the reincarnation of Demise, or his hate, or his vessel, so he’s pure evil and nothing more.

And that’s the greatest disservice Nintendo has ever dealt to The Legend of Zelda.

#legend of zelda #ganondorf #princess zelda #breath of the wild #botw #loz #tloz #ocarina of time #twilight princess #zelda #link to the past #alttp #wind waker #ganon #the legend of zelda #hylia #goddess hylia #demise

46 notes · View notes

dreamypeachass · 3 years

Text

Sk8 the inifinity headcanons <3

This is my first post here so yeahhhh-

I probably mostly post Anime hcs here from multiple fandoms here so yeah prepare for that lol

So here i beginn with Sk8 hedcanons because its the fandom im most recent in rn, so enjoy ty!

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

- Reki can play the guitar, he learned it as a joke to impress girls as first but he found a liking in it after a while. He also sometimes plays Langa a few Songs on the guitar that Langa listened to when he was younger

- Miya is more often at Joes restaurant than he is home, probably because he has more peace there than home by his parents that annoy him with National Championship and stuff. And he probably enjoys the food more there.

- Reki and Langas met at some point (thru their sons probably) and turned into besties lmao. (They probably also bond over not having husbands i mean what)

- Reki has abondon issuses bc of his dad probably, yk probably smt happened in his past or smt like that.

- Reki found out about the Strawberry Lesbian trend at some point and didn’t rlly understand it but called himself and Langa Strawberry Lesbian at least once. (Miya and Joe laughed their asses of while Shadow was just confused and Cherry gave up on them)

- Cherry and Miya use They/Them pronounces and Reki He/They

- Langa is gay, Reki is Bi and Miya Pan i don’t make the rules-

- Langas Mom turned into a Ricky Montgomery fan after her husbands death as a coping mechamism and someday she made Langa listen to him and after that Langa turned into a Ricky fan (His fav song is This December)

- Reki and Miya have a lot of Gaming and Anime Nights. They usually play Nintendo/Mario games (Mario Party, Mario 64, Mario Party ect.) And as Animes they watch the basic stuff yk, MHA, Haikyuu, AOT, SAO ect. ect.

- Reki has a bunch of Marvel Comics, hs favs are the Spiderman ones.

- Langa has the DC ones and his favs are suprisingly the league of villian ones-

- Shadow reads a lot of slice of life Mangas secretly and he also watches a lot of romance animes so he can raise the chance to get together with the flower shop lady.

- I kinda have a feeling that Joe listens to Mother Mother, idk why tho he seems like the dude for that.

- And Cherry listens to Penelope Scott bc her songs remind him of the Time he and Adam were still friends and how fucked up Adam is now.

- Miya probably gets a cat themed tattoo when hes older, yk smt like a cat paw or a cat head (simplified ofc) or cat whiskers

- Reki and Langa don’t like the idea of matching tattos so they decided to get matching piercings. Reki has a snowflake piercing on his left ear and Langa a gear one on his right ear

- Langa wears rings. Yk these kind of rings u see on these Aesthetic hand photos all over Pinterest.

- Cherry has a Cherry blossom Tattoo somewhere.

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

Damn that took long- i hope yall still enjoyed tho (or at least one person, idk if anyone will see this lol, lets hope so) Well chile anyways, bye bye-

#skate the infinity reki #langa #sk8 the infinity #sk8 cherry blossom #sk8 shadow #reki kyan #gay?#gay #sk8 the infinity headcanons #headcanons #anime #anime headcanons #multifandom #so many tags wow #anime tags

8 notes · View notes

sunsofmars-moved · 4 years

Text

okay I really hate that I need to do this but I need some help

hello!!!! i am mars and i am a broke black nb lesbian and i need help

okay so there's no one in my household who's employed right now — my 37 year old mother is disabled and chronically ill, and my 16 year old sister and I are trying to acquire work (to no avail) and the government is playing games when it comes to that stimulus check — and there's things that we have to pay for that our current budget won't cover

also I feel like shit for letting my mom do shit by herself and I'm tired of her doing it on her own

there's important immediate things and things that aren't as important but it'd still be nice to have but y'all don't have to donate for those things if you don't want to!!!! just the important stuff tho pls

please read the stuff below the cut and donate if you can!!!! thank you!!!!! 💞

td;lr it's juneteenth and i'm broke and i got shit to do so pay me please 💞

(cashapp: $sunsofmars20) (zelle: [email protected])

IMPORTANT STUFF:

• my overdue rent due to my mom's dss case being cut for 4+ months and my dumbass slumlord ($1800)

• i'm trying to apply to a better school in august and the background check is $45 and tuition is $45,000 a year, and financial aid won't cover all of it. I don't need a lot for this, just enough to get on my feet until i can make payments on my own

• my phone bill (it's supposed to be $225 every month but it's usually higher and with our current budget we can't make every payment and we need the phones to set up my mom's doctor's appointments and transportation)

• extra food (my mom has a lot of gastro-related diseases and she has a new heart condition that prompt her to eat better but, like I said, our current amount of food stamps can't support her ever-changing diet. also my sisters keep eating all the damn food 😤😤😤)

• my landlord is a fucking SHITHEAD and he won't get shit done around here so we gotta do the repairs ourselves (i.e. there's a big ass hole in the fence that's been there since last summer, plus the back gate is down so anyone could sneak into our backyard and the thermostat and electrical sockets are DONE)

• the water bill (it's like $257 and change and was due like a week ago lol)

• a new backbrace (I have scoliosis, it's mild but it's still a bitch, and I am currently in the process of reapplying for Medicaid but it's not guaranteed they're gonna pay for it at all)

NOT IMPORTANT STUFF:

• I kinda need new shoes (the majority of my old ones have holes or give me blisters) and so does everyone else (they're too small for my mom, whose feet swell a lot, and one of my sisters only has one goddamn pair smh)

• my cat had kittens and she needs more litter and food so she can get the nutrients and feed her kids

• I'd like a new hydroflask to carry around when I start school/work (I have asthma and I'll most likely have a new inhaler by then, but my doctor has advised me to carry water around as well just in case, and it does soothe my throat and chest when I wheeze)

• new clothes!!!!! I'm donating or tossing like 95% of the stuff I have since it's too small/too old to keep wearing

• i.....I wanna buy my mom a switch???? she deserves a birthday present......her birthday was in April.........and I wanna replace her broken vintage nintendo ds.......

• tbh my mom needs a new phone bc hers is BUSTED so we're gonna pay the partial upgrade (it's like $70 or something)

I'll keep adding/deleting things as needed as we go along. ty for reading!!!!!! 💞

#i hate asking mfs for shit......ask my friends #but I need this help #eeven if I do start working they're definitely not gonna pay me enough for all this #so please donate or boost if you can!!!!!#important #mars speaks

76 notes · View notes

dragoneyesstuff · 4 years

Text

My ideas of a modern avatar au.

( I've seen others headcanons of the gaang in more modern times so I wanted to share mine!)

(Some small notes on the gaang)

Aang:

Lived in an orphanage for a long time until meeting katara and sokka

Likes aesthetics ranging from cottagecore to frog core.

Loves puppets (in the style of the muppets of course) and made one that resembles Momo.

Absolutely LOVES Nintendo games, with pokemon and animal crossing being his favorites.

Vegan, but doesn't force it on others, he just reminds his friends that he is a vegan when going out to eat or when they have the occasional sleepover.

Goofball. Katara constantly has to watch him and sokka so they dont get into trouble, since together they share one braincell and katara has it.

Katara

Because of her caring nature, I could see her wanting to be some kind of doctor.

Makes sure that no one gets into trouble.

If she didnt wasnt apart of an argument, either her or aang will stop arguments.

Acts like a mom, despite her age. (And has probably done the classic "mom arm" at some point.

Sokka

The best way to describe his intelligence: Has been a straight A student throughout his entire life, but has also has done things like microwaving raw eggs because he thought it would hard boil them. (He found out it didn't)

Laughs at stupid memes and probably has either the best or worst sense of humor.

Plays soccer and is a part time coach.

Eats a lot and will eat random things at random times (zuko once caught him eating a bowl of cereal at 3 am and was like "wtf, dude?")

Like aang, he likes to play video games, but plays games like doom or super smash brothers.

Used to be sexist and kinda tight minded, but now he regularly chugs his "respect women and men juice"every day.

Will pull either really good or childish pranks on everyone. Ranging from that time attacked katara with a nerf gun, to that time he wrapped everything in zuko's room with Christmas wrapping paper (beware of him on April fools day)

Toph

Doesnt really spend money on herself, rather, she spends it on her friends. Most of the time its things that her friends cant really afford but they want, things like a Nintendo switch for aang, or tickets to a baseball game so sokka could take himself, suki, and zuko. But shes also used her wealth to personally help her friends, like helping them pay off tuition and student loans while in college, to personal things like buying an absolutely beautiful headstone for katara's mother, or personally paying for zuko's therapy sessions after he ran away from his abusive home life.

Even in the modern world, toph can still kick your ass with very little effort.

Wears baggy clothes often.

Wants to be a professional wrestler.

Appa was originally her seeing eye dog, but he wasnt really good at it, and she could already used her seismic sense to see, so she ended up giving him to aang

Zuko

Came from a really abusive and toxic home and still has trauma about his scar, but he never told anyone how he got it, except for his therapist.

Has major depression and anxiety. Sometimes he has an endless amount of energy, and sometimes feels like doing nothing all day and lies in bed. Iroh has tried his best to help his nephew, and is proud that zuko eventually realized he needs help.

Did some pretty bad things as a teenager. Ended up serving a stint in juvenile hall.

Had some really unhealthy coping mechanisms. Ranging from shoplifting to setting things on fire.

He started opening up more after befriending the gaang and even discovered more things about himself that he never really focused on.

He is a huge dork/nerd. Dont let that glare fool you.

Loves theater and will talk to suki for hours about their favorite musicals.

Is actually a really good cook. Aang, katara and sokka opened him up to showing this talent that nobody thought he would have.

Lived with his uncle iroh for a while until he had enough money to live in an apartment.

Goth boy. Absolutely loves going to concerts (especially grunge or metal)

Secretly craves the sweet release of death.

Has a thing for idiots.

Suki

Football player

Once absolutely destroyed sokka in a wrestling match and katara couldn't stop being smug about it for weeks

Was the catalyst for sokka realizing that sexism is worthless.

Yue

Sokka's ex.

Died from a terminal illness in her teens

Sokka occasionally visits her grave and leaves flowers on it.

Azula

Power hungry and really insecure.

Capable of really terrible things

Eventually gets admitted to a psych ward.

Ty lee

Bubbly cheerleader

Loves drama and people-watching

Kind of an airhead at times.

Loves to show off.

Mai

Goth girl.

Loves cryptids and witchcraft. Has a lot of merchandise relating to both

Deadpan in just about every kind of social interaction.

Very blunt. Is not afraid to call people out.

Will detect bullshit.

Works with zuko.

Ran away from her family in her teens, but is still financially supported by her parents.

(Now for the adults)

Hakoda

Hard working single dad.

Loves and supports his kids equally.

Basically a father figure to both aang and zuko.

Loves taking everyone on trips.

Will tell sokka to stop messing with his sister.

Police chief.

A good dad.

Ozai:

Owns a very valuable business company worth billions of dollars.

Secretly a cult leader.

Wins the worst father/husband of the year award.

Iroh

One of the few people who ran away from ozais cult and lived to tell the tale.

Hopes his nephew will get his life on track.

War veteran.

Has a great inheritance that he got from his father, but he uses it for three things. 1. To expand or pay off debts for the jasmine dragon. 2. Donating it to non for profit charities. 3. Helping his nephew get through life.

Some general stuff about places and events)

The jasmine dragon isnt just a teashop, its also a bistro/bakery. It's just more famous for its tea.

Ozai's cult is the reason why katara and sokka's mother is dead. Her murder has remained unsolved for years and hakoda has dedicated a good portion of his life to solving his wife's murder.

#avatar au #team avatar #avatar the legend of aang #avatar the last airbender #atla

19 notes · View notes

gwoongi · 4 years

Text

(abandoned) all i want for christmas is woohoo

kim seokjin / kim namjoon genre: uni au, fluff, crack rating: general words: 4.9k warnings: clownery, i knew nothing about uni, character dynamics based off a fic none of u have read a/n: incomplete prequel to the yoonmin fanfic i wrote three thousand years ago. i will never finish this so here’s what i started and left behind for the dogs to have at

The stranger makes a noise of voiced agreement. “Mood.”

September 8th.

One thing they never tell you before going to Uni, is that it’s fucking mental on Move In Day.

Obviously, he had some idea that the student digs would be fairly busy with students moving in, but he never expected to be waiting in a thick line of tired and excited first years for around fifteen minutes, only to then wait another twenty just for the student- who, by the way, was way too busy picking at her purple nail varnish to give two damns about Namjoon’s clearly very important moving in schedule- to find his key on the board barely 50 centimetres away from where she was sitting.

So, yeah- when his sister comes to Uni after him, he’s definitely going to warn her about the madness that is Move In Day, because clearly nobody else had cared if Namjoon was stuck waiting like a doormat for one student who thinks she’s something to hand him a key. I mean, how hard can it be? He doesn’t get it.

“Sorry about the wait,” another male student, who noticed the lack of enthusiasm from second year student apparently named Jisoo, says as he moves from behind the desk to give Namjoon a silver key on a chain, with two other keys present. “Here are your keys- one’s for the front door of your flat, second is for the main building in-case you’re late after hours and the third is for your pigeon box.” He pauses: “no help from your parents?”

Namjoon shrugs politely, “Just me. My parents are back in Ilsang, couldn’t make it.”

“Bummer,” the student replies. Along with the keys, he shoves a brown paper bag into Namjoon’s hands with a toothy smile. “Your complimentary moving in gifts, from the students who moved out! Thanks for picking Blossom Island as your student accomodation!”

Although Namjoon wants to tell him that Blossom Island was the only cheap option out of three absurdly priced accomodations for first years, he doesn’t; instead, he smiles, lips closed and dimples on display, nodding his head and turning all within the same second. The student moves away after, so he doesn’t feel bad about ending the conversation so abruptly.

Blossom Island is located smack bang outside of campus, across a small stream that Namjoon thought would be filled with blossom, but instead is littered with algae and tinfoil. It’s large, tall like a regular apartment complex, with a courtyard out the front with a bouncy castle that Namjoon can already see some people jumping on with what he assumes is their new roommates.

Namjoon leaves the lobby- should he call it a lobby? It was more of a downstairs kitchen and living room, with two small sofas and a mounted flat-screen, a pool table pushed weirdly in the middle of the colourful boxed room and a door near the back wandering into the community study area, another door for what he guesses is for laundry. Hauling his suitcase and big, cardboard box in his arms across the courtyard, he follows the number on the key- number 8, floor 6, Kyoto Building and barely makes it five steps without almost dropping the box entirely, all thanks to some jerk wearing Thrasher and a beanie.

“That’s what you get for not tying your shoelaces.”

Mid-crouch, Namjoon looks over his shoulder and spots Min Yoongi stepping out of the building, followed by a rather proud looking set of parents, preening at the fact that their son is going into Nursing. Due to that, he bites back a curse word he figures would be impolite for the elders, and manages a smile in the sun.

“What? He clearly pushed into me,” Namjoon reasons, standing upright and saying a hasty hello to Yoongi’s parents, who, in all honesty, have never really liked him much. He laughs breathily, waiting for a few seconds before asking, “where are you?”

Yoongi checks his key. “Number 13, Floor 0, Juko Building. What kind of name is Juko, anyway?”

“Beats me,” Namjoon scoffs. “I think Juko’s close to Kyoto. I’ll come visit when you’re all settled and moved in, yeah?”

Yoongi nods, already beginning to walk away. “Yeah, I’ll get your mug out ready.”

That’s the thing with Yoongi, Namjoon thinks as he walks away; he’s always been about the little things in life. In the many, many years that Namjoon has known Yoongi, he’s never really changed- Yoongi has always been compassionate and cutely caring, buying two mugs instead of one and making pasta for two when he knew Namjoon was due to visit on days his parents were working late. And he feels bad, because Yoongi is a giving guy, not a receiving one.

He watches as Yoongi leaves with his parents, and he feels weirdly sad. It’s none of his business, too, as he watches the three Min’s enter the Juko Building, painted a pastel pink with mint compliments, swirling patterns dancing as the leaves on the trees move in the whisper of wind.

Namjoon now has the urge to paint.

In Number 8, Floor 6, Kyoto Building, Kim Seokjin finally sets down the last potted plant on the sparse looking shelf above his desk, and he steps back with his hands on his hips to admire the minimal effort. Although it definitely took some struggle, what with his Dad accidentally dropping his bag with his Nintendo inside and his Mother judging his absurd amount of pink bath-towels, Seokjin has a feeling in his stomach- the feeling where you know that everything is going perfectly.

There’s a smell in the air; blossom from the large tree outside his window, propped open on the hatch to allow a breeze air out the room. Since his roomie hasn’t arrived yet, the least he can do is get rid of the stuffy smell, something strangely similar to pool chlorine. He inhales it deeply, a smile tugging at his lips. Seoul weather amazes him- even though Gwacheon is a blink away, Seokjin is already starting to feel like a new person.

Maybe it’s just University excitement. Maybe it’s University nerves. But, maybe it’s also because he really needs a wee and can’t think properly.

He waits nicely for his parents to finish up straightening every single crease in his bedsheets before saying goodbye. Although he might tease to their faces that he won’t miss them, and they won’t miss him, Seokjin knows from the minute they open the door to head back out to the corridor that it’s going to take a while to adjust to life without the nagging, but endearing, guidance of his family.

Because Seokjin has always sort of been the baby boy of the Kim’s from Gwacheon- his older brother inherited a type of broodiness that Seokjin is thankful he hasn’t got yet, and so Seokjin’s always been the favourite. The favourite crawler, the favourite footballer, the favourite baker and painter- in honesty, Seokjung never wanted any of that. Seokjin’s proud of who he is- he’s so fucking proud of his family. So he sort of takes pride in being the baby boy of the Kim family. He wears it like armour, glistening armour that represents him in front of a whole army of potential threats and friends.

Jinyoung, an old friend, used to say it was embarrassing- as if Jinyoung doesn’t have a comfortable enough life with parents who would murder for him, but Seokjin doesn’t care. Why should he be ashamed of being loved? Most families aren’t as close as the Kim’s, so he takes extra care in making sure his family know that he loves them. That’s the sort of guy he is- giving, occasionally receiving, but giving, giving his whole heart and soul to everybody else in order to make others happy.

Seokjin pinches the bridge of his nose as the door closes with a sickening click, the noise muting around the faint buzz of traffic across campus and the baby birds in the nest a few floors down on a branch, fluttering in the wind like wings. He’s so lost in the way the small twigs are woven together, like the way a spider builds a web, or an ant a colony, that he doesn’t realise three minutes have passed.

Now he really needs a wee.

When Namjoon opens the door to room 8, he’s surprised.

Not shocked, but surprised. Because there’s a difference between shock and surprise- shock is entering a room and finding a serial killer, but surprise is walking into a room and finding a party. The difference is in the level of reaction, and Namjoon hadn’t walked in and been completely thrown off by a wall of cute posters and the obvious collection of DS games and a cool looking computer. If anything, he’s intrigued. Surprised. Pleasantly surprised, perhaps.

To the right, Namjoon hears the toilet flush and he knows that he has a couple seconds to look around the room and plonk his bags and box on the plain bed before his roommate emerges from the bathroom. As he sets them down, he casts a gaze towards the right side of the room where his roomie has claimed a bed, a desk and a small looking wardrobe near the door. On the wall next to his bed, a collection of posters have been washi taped to the boring blank canvas- although, as an artist, Namjoon considers anything blank and white to be inviting and anything but boring, because a canvas holds endless opportunities- and his bed covers are a washed out blue, a colour that now, actually, as he’s looking at it, is becoming more chiffon coloured.

It’s evident his roommate likes video games- half the posters on the wall are related to games he knows that they must like; Animal Crossing, a small Stardew Valley postcard and a commissioned drawing of Jinx from LoL, taped next to a large artwork of Mario Kart and more postcard art of games Namjoon thinks he’s heard of but isn’t sure- The Last of Us, Tekken, Zelda. He pretends not to notice the small Minecraft postcard in the corner of the mural but weirdly enough, he finds it endearing knowing that someone at University still plays Minecraft.

Most of all, Namjoon notices the strange obsession with The Sims, as seen through multiple artworks and the fantastic collection of Sims3 Expansion packs sitting on the shelf above his bed, next to pop figures and a photo frame of a group of friends.

He wonders if his roommate will let him use the expansion packs when he’s bored.

“Oh, hey.”

Clearly having not heard the bathroom door open, Namjoon spins on the spot to look back at the bathroom, where his roommate stands with his hand animatedly raised in a wave, a smile lifting his cheekbones. They look pale, almost watery, but Namjoon doesn’t say anything. He knows why.

“Hey. Namjoon,” he says, leaning forward to shake his hand. For a moment, his roommate stares at the hand, as if wondering what to do with it. “What?”

His roomie shakes his head, moving to shake his hand once, up and down, before letting it drop. “Nothing. It’s just, well, how many people give handshakes nowadays?”

Namjoon thinks it over in his head. “Well, a lot of people. Useful in business, and stuff. A manager might want to shake your hand at a job interview.”

As he says the words, Namjoon can tell by the passing look on his roommates face that he wasn’t expected to give an answer. He stops talking after that, looking back to his bed with a feeling similar to embarrassment, while his roommate moves towards the window and clears his throat awkwardly.

“Seokjin.” He finally introduces himself. Seokjin- it has a ring to it. Namjoon says it over in his head, growing familiar with it. Now that he’s mentioned it, Namjoon looks back over his shoulder and realises that he looks like a Seokjin. The name suits him. “What’re you studying here?”

“Art and Design,” Namjoon replies with a brief smile over his shoulder. Seokjin isn’t looking, anyway. “Nothing too crazy.” He looks at the wall of posters- “Are you studying graphics?”

“Yeah. I’m studying Digital Art,” Seokjin replies, and it’s clear in the way his whole body moves as he says it that he’s passionate about his subject. He laughs shortly, “Isn’t it funny how we’re both doing art and we got pushed together? Do you think that’s intentional?”

Namjoon shrugs, taking out his clothes first from one of his suitcases. “Maybe. I’m glad you’re Digital Art and not Performing Arts. One, this room is not big enough to dance and sing and two, I don’t want to be woken up by a classical alarm clock. You know?”

Seokjin laughs and it suffices as a reply.

As Namjoon sifts around his bag and pulls out the remainder of his clothes, Seokjin turns around and watches for a swift three seconds, and then moves back towards his desk and absent-mindedly moves around his keyboard, straightening it up.

“Do you need any help?” he asks, and as Namjoon turns to catch his eye, he notices he means it genuinely.

“Uh, I’m alright,” Namjoon replies, and even though Seokjin can clearly see the amount of work he has left to do to his half of the bedroom, he doesn’t pry and decidedly drops it. He shrugs.

“Alright then. I’m gonna head out,” Seokjin says. He gestures with his head to the hallway. “Out on campus, they’re doing that thing. What do they call it- Wildflower? I think I just wanna go meet some people. I can wait for you, and we can go together, if you want?”

Namjoon does want. He really wants to. But he takes several glances back at his boxes and frowns deeply. And anyways, he’ll have plenty of time to hang out with Seokjin later, won’t he?

“I’ll pass,” Namjoon rejects him softly, a smile on his lips as if to say, I do want to come but I’m way too busy. Seokjin’s lips twitch into a pursed mouth and he nods. “I’ve just got a lot to do. We could hang out later, if you want?”

“Sure,” Seokjin replies, already inching towards the door. “Yeah, alright. If you need help, just text me. I’ve got my number on the pinboard above my desk- just incase, you know?”

Namjoon glances over; surely enough, on a corkboard pinned to the wall above his desk and beneath the shelf, he can see the sleek black letters printed with “emergency number” written next to it in messy handwriting. He smiles, mostly because he’s never seen someone have their own phone number hung up in their room before, and nods without looking in Seokjin’s direction. “Okay, thanks, Seokjin-ssi.”

Seokjin makes a sound similar to a laugh, air through his nose, a small intake of high pitched breath afterwards. Out the corner of his eye, Namjoon can see him hovering his hand over the handle and to be polite, he finally looks over. Something tells him he was waiting for that.

“Seokjin should be fine,” Seokjin replies with a smile.

By the time Namjoon finishes sorting out his things (and by sorting out, he means that he’s hung up his clothes and kicked the cardboard box towards his desk out of the way), Seokjin’s still not back from Wildflower, and quite frankly, he’s bored.

As if by a magnetic pull, he finds himself leaving Kyoto building to trudge in the mid-move-in-manic, across the small courtyard where the bouncy-castle has deflated thanks to someone jumping on it wearing shoes, and towards Juko building, a big clump of pastel next to the white blossom tree that Namjoon is jealous of. Yoongi’s room, even back at his home in Daegu- where Namjoon had lived throughout his entire high-school life before his parents moved back to Ilsang during his final year-, was somewhere Namjoon had felt completely and utterly accepted. At home.

He always found it funny how Yoongi said the same thing for him- his bedroom back home was small, smaller than the dorm room he has now. It was an average room, with small bold letters spelling out his name on the front of his door, and his walls were painted a navy blue with dark wood floors that went through the entire house, with thrown around covers and three pillows to sleep with and furniture which didn’t match the colours. But Yoongi’s room was different. Yoongi’s room was Yoongi.

Slanted ceilings and an off-white coloured paint-job on the walls, with grey curtains and white sheets and an electric piano pushed up against the window-wall, overlooking a small line of houses out the front of the street Yoongi lived on, a tree that turned orange in October. On his walls, Yoongi liked to keep it minimal, minus the posters of his favourite artists and a little area above his desk for pictures of him and Namjoon, his first family pet, a ticket to his first family vacation when he was thirteen, dried flowers from a tiny bundle he was given on a Valentine’s Day. His first Valentine’s gift. A memory. A wall of memories, stuck with shimmery tape and dried blue-tac on the white, unremovable, stuck like glue. It was everything Namjoon wanted in a room. It was everything Namjoon needed in a place to feel completely and utterly safe.

Namjoon wasn’t surprised that Yoongi had stuck with the bland style of dorm room, compared to the bed next to him which his roommate- a kid studying Music with an incredible obsession with BoA and Michael Jackson- who, even though he was an amazing artist, Namjoon always felt weirded out by.

He stands by the doorframe as Yoongi shuffles to straighten his blanket at the end of his bed, simply looking at the decor, taking it all in with a deep breath. His roommate stared at Namjoon waiting in the doorway and pulled his lips to a frown, excusing himself, “...heading to Wildflower, bye,” being the only words he ever said to Namjoon.

“Namjoon, I hate it.”

“You’ve been here for two hours,” Namjoon frowns, sitting on his roommate’s bed. He won’t mind (only he does, and he notices the imprint of Namjoon’s arse left behind which he thought would disappear after five minutes.) “It’s not that bad, surely?”

Yoongi shakes his head adamantly. “I wanna go home, Joon. I don’t wanna do nursing.”

“You might really like it, though,” Namjoon sighs. “You never know!”

“I don’t want to study nursing,” Yoongi repeats himself through pouted lips that Namjoon can hear. “I wanted to do art, or music like my stupid roommate. I don’t know why I’m here, Namjoon, I really don’t know why I’m doing this to myself.”

Namjoon knows it’s hard for Yoongi. His family expect too much- like most parents, actually, Yoongi knows they want the best for him. But, the best isn’t forcing him into a nursing degree.

Toying with the frays on Yoongi’s roommate’s blanket, Namjoon says, “hey, hey, calm down. It’s fine- if you don’t like the first three classes, you can’t be expected to stay. You’ve got to do what you want to do.”

Yoongi bites his lip before replying. “I have nowhere to go if I drop out. I’ll do a year, maybe. Maybe half a year. Oh, I don’t fucking know. I don’t wanna give up and let down my family, you know?”

Namjoon does know. His parents had wanted him to be a lawyer. His sister, Kyungmin, wanted Namjoon to do something with his music. But, like the delinquent he is, Namjoon always knew he had a passion for art. Drawing made him happiest- letting his thoughts draw something on a blank canvas was the closest thing to real magic. Singing your feelings is one pleasure, but capturing the colours and movements onto paper was something Namjoon found absolutely rewarding. Thankfully, his parents knew there was no point in forcing him into doing something he wouldn’t enjoy. He was lucky.

“Yeah, I know.”

Yoongi knows Namjoon knows, and he also knows Namjoon doesn’t know what to say. He pulls at the bridge of his nose and lets out a low grunt. “Anyway. How’s your roomie? A weirdo?”

Namjoon shakes his head. “No, not really. I mean, he’s really into video games but it’s not overbearing. Kinda endearing. He’s fun. Seokjin.”

“Oh, cool,” Yoongi replies, nodding slowly. “You get all the good stuff, you know that?”

“What’s mine is yours,” Namjoon says with a frown.

At that, Yoongi smiles. “Yeah. I know, Joon.”

Wildflower lives up to the frantic Google search that Seokjin did moments before heading down to check it out. Even before arriving, he could smell the variety of foods on rickety stalls, and hear the experimental strum of a live band getting ready to play near the main building to the University campus.

Ducking his head underneath the waving arm of another female first-year, Seokjin took a stroll around the small section of Wildflower, politely looking at the bits and bobs he could purchase, like complimentary University flags and tapestries for walls, or a coffee where the change went to a local suicide-prevention charity. He bought one, a tea that was too milky for his taste, and continued walking.

He hadn’t bought much change with him. After the rather awkward first meeting with Namjoon, Seokjin had let it slip his mind. Regardless, he wasn’t willing to let the lack of coins and a credit card spoil his First Day mood. Inhaling the smell of a nearby Jjinmandu stand, he let his stomach steer him towards it, collecting the spare change in his pocket- luckily for him, he had around 4,000 in his jacket pocket which more than comfortably paid for a portion of Mandu.

“Here you go,” the server hands Seokjin his small paper dish of Jjinmandu with a smile, a smile that reminded Seokjin of his third-year teacher back when he was a child. Warm, inviting, kind, a mother’s smile. She smiled toothily when Seokjin handed her more than he was being charged, saying it was a tip, first day luck, or something. She bowed her head meekly.

Without wanting to hold up the slightly growing line, Seokjin moves out of the way and towards a small cluster of metal tables and chairs, shivering as the umbrellas moved in the wind, passing the sauces with a thoughtful pause. He has time to kill; he puts his dish on the small counter and puts a tiny blob of sauce in the corner, and he dips his finger in to taste it. He recoils visibly, finding the taste too bitter.

From somewhere behind him, Seokjin hears what sounds like laughter and he turns, surprised, and finds another student with a bright orange lanyard hung around his neck. He’s a total stranger, with hair pushed into a black beanie and a denim jacket covering a brown shirt, with some black jeans with the knees cut out. On his feet, worn out Converse. Seokjin does a double take.

“You know that’s spicy BBQ, right?”

Weirdly enough, Seokjin finds that he sounds exactly like what he thought he would. He stares at his glasses, first, and the way they slide down his nose, slightly oily because of the heat.

“Don’t you usually have teriyaki with Mandu?” he continues, wandering over to glance at the bottles of sauce, before pushing a slightly stained bottle towards Seokjin with a smile. “There. Honestly, scrape off the BBQ, this will taste so much better.”

Seokjin feels dumb. “I only usually have the tomato chilli. “

“Yeah, and BBQ?”

“No,” he replies, and then he laughs quietly, “no, never BBQ. Let’s call that...first day experimenting.”

The stranger nods along, shoving a mouthful of his own Mandu. Seokjin wants to point out that he has sauce on the corner of his mouth, but it feels rude. He barely knows him.

Glancing at the lanyard around his neck, Seokjin finishes his mouthful- “Are you staff?”

“What?” the stranger asks, caught off guard. Then, he looks down at the lanyard and smiles, politely, not in mockery, and shakes his head, disturbing feathery hairs that were once tucked up into the beanie. “Oh, no. No, I’m a first year.” He chortles at Seokjin’s stunned expression. “What, do I look really old?”

“No,” Seokjin replies. “I was just...surprised. I don’t know- today’s been weird for me. I’m all over the place.”

The stranger makes a noise of voiced agreement. “Mood.”

They stand in silence for a couple moments after that, eating, staring off at the little stream that ran around the perimeter of the small square, listening to the sound of the live band kicking off their setlist with a slow song appropriate for the weather.

The stranger swallows his Mandu, pointing at Seokjin with his spork without really realising, “oh, I’m Hoseok by the way.”

Hoseok. A name to the face.

“Seokjin,” he replies. Now he’s finished his Jjinmandu. “Digital Art.”

Hoseok makes a noise. “Woah, no way.” Gesturing to himself, “Art and Music.”

Seokjin wants to laugh. “That’s so weird. My roomie also does art. It’s like I’ve been thrown into a pool full of art students.”

“Yeah. Well, we are in the Arts Square. Wouldn’t it be weird if I was doing Chinese studies and I hung around in the Arts Square on my first day?”

“True,” Seokjin nods.

Talking to Hoseok is easy. It’s so fucking easy- it’s as if Hoseok has been a friend for years. They walk together, along the small path that barely fits them both, weaving around the stream. Seokjin learns that Hoseok is from Gwangju, and has a sister who designs clothing in the city. Hoseok, in return, learns that Seokjin barely escaped being a lawyer and comes from a family inheriting endless zeros. It doesn’t bother him. It usually bothers people.

“It’s cool that you got to do what you wanted to,” Hoseok says as they walk further along campus. Now, they’ve reach the on-campus convenience store, the artificial lighting making Hoseok squint, even though daylight still pushed on. “Most kids don’t when they’re in your kind of position.”

Hoseok quickly looks over, “I don’t mean that in a bad way, I only-”

“No,” Seokjin agrees, nodding and thrusting his hands into his pockets. He dips his head upwards, inhaling the smell of the sunshine, before looking at Hoseok with a friendly smile. “No, you’re right. Most kids don’t. I’m lucky.”

Hoseok’s grateful Seokjin didn’t misunderstand. “Hm, maybe we’ll be in each-other’s classes.”

He says it with a hopeful tone, lightly nudging Seokjin’s shoulder with a small smile, that caused dimples to spread across his lower cheeks.

“I hope so,” Seokjin replies, but the sound of the stream covers it. Hoseok keeps walking, not making it known if he heard. He probably hadn’t.

Namjoon rolls over the next morning, not quite remembering how he got home and when, and squints at the Sepia screen of his phone. It reads 6:45am, too fucking early to be awake on a Saturday.

did you get home ok yoongi

dont think i care about you or anything yoongi

Namjoon snorts quietly, wincing when he thinks he’s woken up Seokjin across the room. But, when he looks over towards Seokjin’s side of the dorm, he notices that he’s not even in bed. His sheets are tucked in tightly, and his jacket is absent on the coat hangers on the back of the door.

Holy shit, Seokjin gets up early.

yeah. hows minjoon, the name robber joonie

seriously fuck off he’s playing fred videos yoongi

it’s fucking 7am yoongi

Namjoon scoffs, mostly to himself- because who else is he going to scoff too?-, and rolls over flatly to press his feet onto the flattened out carpet of his room. The sun barely peeks through the shitty curtains, and he yawns loudly, feeling the euphoria of a morning stretch. Namjoon sighs with pleasure at the feeling of his body stretching out, letting his arms drop and grabbing his phone to reply to Yoongi, who Namjoon’s surprised is awake, even when Fred is involved.

i thought fred had died, fr joonie

bitch me too but here we have his channel, still screeching away about rubber sharks in his tiny swimming pool yoongi

im really not joking joon. i wanna quit so bad i’ve been here less than 24 hours and i’m already fantasising about drinking the bathroom bleach yoongi

He’s about to reply when the door to their dormitory room swings open, and the hostility of the swing almost makes him drop his phone on the floor. Namjoon scrambles to catch it, staring up with surprise at the sight of Seokjin carrying two mugs of what appears to be tea. Namjoon smells the cranberry as Seokjin comes closer with a sheepish, yet almost smug, smile. Bare in mind, Namjoon hates cranberry tea; at the smell he smiles and fakes joy.

“Saw your post-it saying you had to set an alarm for seven,” Seokjin said casually. “Figured you’d be up by the time I came back with this...hope you like cranberry.”

11 notes · View notes

bbologna · 4 years

Text

I was tagged by maz @henriettia ty!!! <3

1. NAME: elicia 👀

2. NICKNAMES: i go by elis !, mostly online

3. ZODIAC SIGN: aquarius

4. HEIGHT: 5′6

5. LANGUAGES SPOKEN: english, nd like c2 french

6. NATIONALITY: british

7. FAVORITE SEASON: spring/autumn

8. FAVORITE FLOWER: lavender? R they flowers and orchids

9. FAVORITE SCENT: fresh linen in the airing cupboard, n that rainy day smell I think, I like a good fresh smell

10. FAVORITE COLOR: purple

11. FAVORITE ANIMAL: lil snakes , I rlly want a milk snake

12. FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER(s): I simply cannot think

13. COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: tea

14. AVERAGE SLEEP HOURS: anywhere from 2 hours to 12

15. DOG OR CAT PERSON: I love both I'm sorry! I have 2 dogs and 1 cat I cant be having favourites

16. NUMBER OF BLANKETS YOU SLEEP WITH: 1, occasionally 2

17. DREAM TRIP: I wanna go back to paris/france n travel a it round europe I'd live to go to Italy too

18. BLOG ESTABLISHED: 2015?

19. FOLLOWERS: 65

20. RANDOM FACT: uhhhh I only have psych facts? U can live w half a brain which is groovy

Extra

1. LAST MOVIE I SAW: worlds end

2. LAST THING I GOOGLED: nintendo switch lite yellow (I wanted to see if I could afford it and I cannot)

3. FAVORITE MUSICIAN: car seat headrest is my fav too !!!!!

4. SONG STUCK IN MY HEAD: white winter hymnal by fleet foxes for some reason??? Even tho I havent heard it in yonks

5. OTHER BLOGS: I have others but dont rlly use em @m0nomanic 4 poetry and art and @itsalwayssunnyongallifrey 4 cringe

6. DO I GET ASKS: rarely

7. FOLLOWING: like 700 odd

8. LUCKY NUMBER: 11

9. WHAT I’M WEARING: a big jumper

10. DREAM JOB: I think author/writer!! Or to be able to make things all day like a potter or Baker (I do work in greggs but it's not the same lol) or a florist, something wholesome and creative essentially// youth worker/ charity worker/ counsellor/psychiatrist type thingy which is more the path I'm following

11. FAVORITE FOOD: any type of pasta

12. INSTRUMENTS I PLAY: I play a few but barely : piano, guitar, uke, drums, I also played the ocarina for a bit when u was a kid

13. FAVORITE SONGS: famous prophets (stars) but I like minds too by csh/ how to disappear completely by radiohead rips my soul apart everytime/verbatim by mother mother bc bop/ nancy boy by placebo/ space song by beach house and I like levitation too/ these r just the top of my head I have So Many favourite songs tho

14. DESCRIBE YOUR AESTHETIC: plaid trousers, protest marches, when spring blends into summer n summer blends into autumn, campfires, clifftop walks, dyed/bleached/buzzed hair, anything in paris lol, idk thisnis hard uhhh, old postcards, victorian bric a brac (I have a phrenology head n I love him) uhhhhh angry graffiti (like when I see acab or fuck thr tories it gives me a buzz ) idk if these all count as aesthetic but hey ho ty for the tag its been fun

I'm gonna tag @bookrockshooter @chaoticeddie @striffyisme @art-e-m-i-s @cryrapie if u guys wanna have a go!! Also @constelsupernova I'm adding u on

7 notes · View notes

the-girl-in-the-band-tshirt · 6 years

Text

You’re Killing Me, Swan - Chapter 3/3

This is it, the last chapter. Thanks to everyone who has given it a read. Thanks again to the @fallforcs project for giving me the opportunity to write this monster and experiment with being posted anonymously. I’d absolutely participate again! Thanks to my beta, @theonceoverthinker, for dealing with 60 pages of fluffy baseball-themed Captain Swan falling in love. Thank you to @sailingcaptainswan, who created the poster I know we’ve all enjoyed seeing for this story. It is seriously too cute! And now, the last chapter. Rating: G Also on Ao3

The team didn’t have a game today. Even the sandlot crew couldn’t play baseball everyday. So with no game tying up the day, Killian invited Emma over for the whole day. She got up early so she could walk over and maximize the amount of fun they could have before she had to go home for the night. After throwing on a tank top and an oversized plaid shirt and jean shorts she can’t really wear for playing ball, she ran downstairs to walk to Killian’s. Ingrid and Arthur had already left for work, and they knew Emma would be headed to the Jones’ for the day. She grabbed the house key from the end table near the front door and practically bounced out the door, only to run into someone on the porch. She apologized as she bent down to pick up the key, only to find the other person had beat her to it.

“Thanks,” she took it, her gaze finally landing on the other form. “Killian? I was just leaving to go to your house.”

He scratched the back of his right ear. “I thought I’d walk you.”

“How long have you been here?” She turned to lock the front door before pocketing her key.

“Not long. Few minutes maybe.”

“We never agreed on a time.”

“I would’ve sat here until you were ready.”

“Really?” She gestured in front of them as a cue to start walking as they talked.

He shrugged. “It’s a nice morning.”

The two walked in silence for a few feet before Emma spoke up, looking at Killian as she did. “You know, this might be the first time I’ve ever seen you without a baseball cap on other than that time at the pool.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Ah, well, no game.”

“No jersey either.” He was wearing a teal t-shirt and jeans. It was a change from his usual baseball jerseys and black athletic shorts, but not an unwelcome sight.

“They’re in the laundry.” Emma chuckled. Killian smiled. “How long can you stay?”

“Ingrid said to be home by 10:30 since it’s still summer and I don’t have to be up for school or anything.”

“We can work with that.”

“What are we going to do today?”

“Whatever we want.”

“Great!” Emma linked her arm with Killian’s as they walked the rest of the way to his house sharing jokes and laughter. ----- “So, Swan, where would you like to start?”

“Um, could we use your swing set? I’ve never had a swing set before.”

“As you wish.” He led her to the backyard, and Emma sat on one of the swings. Killian sat on the swing to her left. Emma found it so easy to just talk to Killian about absolutely nothing as they swung side-by-side. And after they decided they’d had enough swinging, they played pirates with the monkey bars and the little shelter above the slide. Even Liam came out to play with them a little. Emma and Killian hid out near the slide while Liam approached their “ship” from above the monkey bars, and they took turns dueling with foam swords Liam found in the basement, all while making sure Liam didn’t fall between the bars. They didn’t care how stupid they looked or sounded, they were just so happy to be playing.

By the time Liam had to go to work, it was only a couple hours before lunch time. Killian brought Emma up to his room where he shared his pillowcase secret stash of Apollo bars with Emma. He stocked up after he found out they were her favorite. They sat on his bed eating their respective chocolate bars.

“Your room is so cool.” Her eyes studied the baseball wallpaper and his huge baseball card collection on his dresser. Even his lamp was baseball-themed. His bed sheets, however, were pirate-themed with little skulls all over them.

“My mum let me pick out everything.” He glanced around his own room, smiling.

“I hope I get to decorate my room like this one day.”

“You will, Swan.” She met his gaze. “Especially with Ingrid and Arthur. I think they’ll be it for you.”

“I have some pictures up on my wall, but nothing like this.”

“How do you want your room to look?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe something with books or art supplies. Maybe Ingrid would let me paint my own room.”

“I think she would.”

“And Starry Night sheets. That would be cool.”

They sat in comfortable silence as the chocolate bars disappeared. Killian threw their wrappers away and grabbed something from his bookshelf.

“Here,” he handed her two books.

“What’s this?”

“These are my favorite books. I think you’ll like them.”

She read the titles: Peter Pan and The Princess Bride. She hadn’t read either before.

“Thanks, Killian. I’m excited to read these.”

“I want to know what you think.” Emma nodded in acknowledgement. She was always excited at the idea of new books. “So what do you want to do now?”

“Does Liam still have the Nintendo hooked up in his room?”

“Aye.”

“MarioKart?” She smirked.

“You’re on, Swan.” ----- Over microwaved chicken nuggets and fries, Emma decided to tell Killian about her unwanted visitor last week.

“Killian?”

“Yeah,” he got out with a mouthful of fries.

“Neal came over the other day.”

Killian froze.

Emma shook her head. “He asked me to join his team.” She sipped her lemonade as she waited for Killian to react. He just blinked.

“I said, no, obviously.”

“You did?”

“Does that surprise you?”

Killian put down the chicken nugget in his hand. “Well, no. But he gave you the chance to play on a real field.”

“I like the sandlot.”

“His team can make you better.”

“You make me better.” Killian blinked rapidly again. “I wouldn’t even be playing if it weren’t for you.”

“You’re good, Swan. You just needed a push.”

“You guys are my friends. I don’t abandon my friends.”

“I - thank you, Swan.”

“Neal and his friends aren’t the kind of friends I want.”

“Don’t tell Liam I said this, but Neal’s a bloody wanker.” They both laughed. “I can’t believe he tried to steal you.”

“He’s just bitter I stole home when he could never.” Killian bit his lip to keep from laughing too hard.

“Seriously, Swan, you could have said, yes, if you wanted.”

“I know, but I didn’t want to. I’m happy where I am.”

“Good.” ----- Emma and Killian continued playing until Killian’s mom and Liam came home from their respective jobs. Together, the four of them helped make potato chip-crusted chicken, asparagus, and mac and cheese.

“Ms. Alice, this is so good,” Emma complimented the dinner she was trying very hard not to just inhale like a vacuum.

“We all made it together, love. It wouldn’t be as delicious if you didn’t help.” Emma smiled at the red-headed mother of her best friend. “And,” Alice leaned in closer to Emma, “you are more than welcome to come over for dinner any time you’d like.”

“Thank you,” Emma said, really trying to make sure how much that meant came through her voice.

“Any friend of Killian’s and Liam’s is alright in my book, especially if there’s another woman to balance out all this testosterone in this neighborhood.”

Liam and Killian looked at each other. Emma laughed.

“Do you cook together every night?” Emma looked between the three Joneses.

“Sometimes, but mostly on special occasions.” Liam looked between Killian and Emma as he took a large bite of mac and cheese to hide his smirk. Alice saw through that and elbowed her son lightly, eliciting a snort from Liam.

If Killian knew what was going on, he pretended not to. “My mum is a fantastic cook.”

“Yeah. She is.”

“Thank you, you two. Emma, if you can stay a little longer, I can make Killian’s favorite fudge brownies for dessert.”

“I just have to be home before 10:30, Ms. Alice.”

“Perfect. When you and Killian are done eating, you can go hang out more while I make the brownies.” Emma and Killian nodded their agreement.

“Thanks so much.”

“Any time, Emma. I’m glad to have you here.”

“Well,” Liam starts, “I’m finished my dinner.”

“Great,” his mom smiles, “you can do dishes so Emma and Killian can enjoy themselves.” Killian tried to hide his laughter as Liam frowned. Emma took another bite of chicken as she took in the family in front of her.

Both Killian and Emma rushed to finish eating so they could have more time to hang out together. When they finished, Emma offered to do her own dishes even though she knew Killian’s mom would never let her. When, as predicted, Alice said “absolutely not” to her guest, Killian grabbed Emma’s hand and brought her to his backyard.

“What are we doing out here?” They were still holding hands.

“It’s a clear night. It’s dark. We should get lots of fireflies.”

“Fireflies?”

“Have you ever caught fireflies before?” He asked her, tightening his hand on hers.

“No.”

“You’re killing me, Swan. Okay, I’ll teach you.” He glanced around his yard until he found a group of fireflies under a tree. He led her over there before dropping her hand.

“They’re so pretty.” Emma took in the sight before her, dark blue sky, bordering on black, with balls of yellowish-silver lights flickering and flying all around the space in front of her.

Killian leaned down to the base of the tree and grabbed a jar. “Can you hold this while I show you what to do?”

“Sure.” She took the jar and he adjusted her hands so the opening was facing him.

“Okay, Swan. You have to come up to one gently with one hand,” he said quietly as he demonstrated. “Then, when you’re close, bring your other hand to the other side of the firefly quickly so it doesn’t get away. But don’t clap your hands or you’ll squish it. Cup your hands together.” He brought his closed hands closer to her so she could see the light peeking from between his fingers. “And then,” he stopped talking as he guided the bug into the jar Emma held, covering the top with his hand. He held the jar up to show Emma.

“Wow.”

“Can you grab the lid?” She knelt down to where he got the jar and picked up a lid with lots of holes poked through it. Killian put the lid on the jar carefully. “When we catch more, the jar is going to be full of them. And then when we’re done, we let them go.”

“Can I try catching one?”

“Of course!”

Killian held the jar as Emma came up to a firefly with one hand, and brought her other hand down quickly. She caught one on the first try, but she immediately let it go as the light crawling feeling freaked her out. She was happy it was dark so Killian couldn’t see her blush.

“It takes a couple tries.”

“Yeah,” she barely got out.

“Try again. You can also come at one with both hands if you’re gentle. Nudge it into your hands.” She nodded as she took a breath. She knew to expect the crawling this time, but she missed her first firefly as she clasped her hands too slowly. However, Emma was a fast learner, and it only took her one more try to get one and keep it between her cupped hands. “Well done, Swan!”

“That was so cool!”

Killian approached her with his hand covering the top of the jar. “Put it in here.” They worked together to get the firefly in the jar without either of the two escaping, and Killian was fast to get the lid on. “Look at that, Swan. We have two now.”

“This is amazing.” She was mesmerized by the flying lights.

“The closest thing to magic.” Emma chewed on her bottom lip as she looked back to the group of fireflies.

“Your turn.”

“Go ahead and get another one. I can wait.” Emma nodded and moved closer to the bugs. Between the two of them, they caught 14 fireflies before the small jar became crowded. They spent about 15 minutes watching them move around the jar, lights going on and off throughout the small glass container, before Alice called them in for brownies.

“We should let them go before we go in.” Killian nodded in agreement.

“Would you like to do the honors?” He held out the jar to her.

“Yeah! Thanks!” She took it and positioned the opening toward where they caught the bugs. Making eye contact with Killian once more, he nodded to cue her to open it. She carefully worked the lid open before watching the fireflies pour out to fly free once more. Emma thought they looked like little stars in the dark night. They were little stars they could catch and hold. She put the jar back at the base of the tree and walked with Killian to the back door. “Thanks, Killian. That was…”

“Magical,” he finished for her.

“Yeah. Magical.” ----- The group only played one night game a year, and it was on the Fourth of July.

They could only play this night because the sandlot had no lights. But on the Fourth of July, the field was lit up as the entire town of Storybrooke lit fireworks to celebrate.

They played their best then because they all felt like the big leaguers under the lights of some great stadium. Emma was willing to bet that Killian felt like that all the time. They all knew he was gonna go on to bigger and better games because every time they stopped to watch the sky on those nights like regular kids, he was there to call them back.

However, no kid could really resist the draw of fire in the sky. Emma sat on the ground and rested her head on her knees as she stared up into the sky absolutely mesmerized. She smiled as she took in the bright red bursts, followed by the golden weeping willow pattern. It was easy to lose track of time as she gazed up into the dark sky, which for this night was a perfect canvas for the colorful explosions of fire.

When Killian could no longer keep his team from being distracted by the blinding lights in reds, blues, whites, and greens, he gave into the magic himself. But this Fourth of July game was special. When his team turned their attention to the sky rather than the game, he ran over and grabbed Emma’s hand, to which she responded with a barely noticeable gasp in surprise.

“Come along, Swan,” he whispered into her ear as he tugged on her hand.

“But everyone else is here. Shouldn't we stay?” In reality, she just wanted to watch the fireworks with her friends. She'd never seen a fireworks show quite like this.

“You're killing me, Swan! Just trust me.”

Looking back at her teammates all ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the fireworks, she turned back to the kid rubbing unconscious circles onto the back of her hand and let out a quiet “okay.” He grinned. She smiled in return and followed him as he ran out of the sandlot and to his own backyard.

“Follow me.” He let go of her hand as he started climbing the biggest tree in his yard. Emma was right behind him. He crawled into a treehouse. Emma paused outside. “What’s wrong?” Killian poked his head out the hatch that served as both entrance and exit into the small dwelling.

“It says ‘no girls allowed,’” Emma pointed to a sign just above where she would climb up into the treehouse as she tried not to laugh. Even in the dark, she could sense the tips of Killian’s ears turning pink in embarrassment.

“I think I can make an exception.” He extended his hand for her. She took it and climbed into the structure. Killian scratched behind his ear as Emma looked around. “I haven’t been up here in years. Apologies for the sign.”

“It’s fine, Killian. I get it.” She pretended not to feel the sigh of relief that he let out against the back of her neck. “But it doesn’t feel particularly sturdy.” Emma shifted slightly and felt the whole structure shake a tad.

“Maybe, but I promise the view is worth the risk.” He crawled carefully to a small and crooked window cut out of the paper-thin wall. “I spent my first Fourth of July up here. The view of the fireworks is the best.”

Emma crawled over and peeked out the tiny window next to Killian. “Wow.”

Even without looking, she knew he switched to watching her instead of the fireworks.

“I didn’t even notice this when I came over.”

“It’s pretty high up. And the leaves tend to hide it. No one would see it unless they were looking for it.”

“Yeah.”

“I meant to bring you up here when you came over, but I thought I’d wait for the fireworks. It’s worth it.” Neither of them said anything for a while as they watched the fireworks. “You know, the rest of the team doesn’t even know this treehouse exists.”

Emma turned to look at him. They didn’t have much room since the window was so small. They were both overly aware of their movements and those of the other person. “Really?”

“Liam and I built this together when we got here. That’s why it’s not-so-sturdy. But he never really came up here. It was mine. I came up here to be alone and think.”

“It’s nice for that.”

“It is. And I want you to share it, too. You’re welcome any time. If you ever need some time to yourself, just know it's here. You don’t even have to ask.”

“Thank you, Killian.” She hoped that thank you said much more than just the simple words themselves; she really hoped her true appreciation for the gesture came across. Emma was happy with Ingrid and Arthur, but it could still be overwhelming sometimes. She wasn't used to the whole family thing, and it could be a little suffocating never really being on her own anymore. And when school starts, she could picture herself coming up into that shaky treehouse to read or do homework. Emma looked at her friend to find he'd turned his attention back to the fireworks. She followed his lead, jumping in surprise slightly when he spoke again.

“And I’ll get rid of the sign.” They both laughed and watched the fireworks together. Emma felt entirely content sitting there with Killian. She was comfortable with his company. Something about the fireworks made her time with Killian in that treehouse even more special that night. And if Killian intertwined his fingers with Emma’s, well, he could say he was caught up in the magic. ----- “Okay, guys, last game of the summer. Make it a good one.” Killian glanced around the team huddled in a circle around him. The expressions on all their faces were somber, though they all seemed to be doing their best to hide it. It was the last day of summer before school started up, and while this was far from the last game they’d play even that week, the mood just changes with the start of school.

Killian nodded for the group to break and head to their spots on the field, and they did on his cue, like clockwork. “Swan! Over here. You’re batting first today.”

Emma stopped in her tracks. “What?”

“You improved our team this summer. You should bat first in the last game of summer.”

“Go for it, Swan.” Will gestured toward home plate. “It’s an honor. Jones doesn’t let us bat first in a game like this.”

Not finding the words, Emma nodded and switched places with Killian, who gave her a wink as they passed each other.

Emma took her stance at home plate and adjusted her new baseball cap to block out the sun. She pulled the bat up over her shoulder and braced herself for the pitch. Emma focused on the feel of the bat on her shoulder, the tight grip she had on the bat, and the ball headed her way. She heard the crack of the bat before she registered she hit the ball, and she looked in her hands to find the bat had shattered. The ball fell as the team stared.

“Whoa, Swan,” Will came over to inspect the bat himself.

“We’ve been playing with the same bat all summer. I mean, it was bound to happen,” Emma stared at the frayed wood. She looked up to find Killian running over.

“That is pretty cool, Swan. Major league players do this to their bats.”

“I mean, it’s an old bat.”

“Nolan.” David jerked his head up to look at Killian. “Run home and grab your extra bat.” David nodded, dropping his mitt and literally running off the pitcher’s mound. “Swan, you should keep it.” He put his hand on hers on the bat.

“You sure?”

“Absolutely.” They lingered in each other’s space for a moment, until Killian cleared his throat and let his hand drop back to his side.

“Um, yeah. Okay.” She put the bat behind home plate and off the field.

“Alright, guys,” Killian addressed the rest of the team. “Break until Nolan gets here with the bat.” The boys left their places to talk amongst themselves.

“Killian,” Emma started. He raised his eyebrows. “Do you want to come over after the game? I want to show you something.”

“Sounds great, Swan. I’ll tell Liam.” Killian ran over to his brother, then immediately back to Emma. “It’s a-go.”

“Cool.”

“Any clues to what you’re showing me?” His eyebrows bounced up and down with excitement. She laughed.

“It’s not that exciting for you. More for me.”

“It’ll be exciting for me then.”

Emma shrugged. “We’ll see.”

When they looked up, David was running back to the field, bat in hand, nearly out of breath. He handed the ball to Killian.

“Swan needs to run the bases first. She did get a home run after all.” Killian nudged Emma toward first base, and she flashed him a smile before taking off. It was a great start to the last game of summer, and the momentum lasted the whole game. They were even more carefree than usual, and the kids all played their hearts out.

----- When the team was sweating, partially sunburned, and could no longer keep the sun from their eyes, they called it a game.

“Well done, mates. Play this weekend?” Killian’s question was met with nods all around. Sneezy sneezed. “Have a great start to school, guys. Wish we could all be in the same classes.”

“Yeah, me too,” Sneezy added.

“Yeah,” Grumpy chimed in gruffly, kicking the dirt at his feet.

“Liam’s in his last year of school, you lucky bastard,” Scarlet slapped Liam on the back.

“Careful what you wish for, Scarlet. Senior year means college applications and SATs and AP classes. I might not be able to play as much as I could this summer.”

“Oi, don’t talk like that, Liam.” Killian’s voice was more defensive than he probably meant it to be.

“We’ll see, little brother.”

“Younger.” The team laughed.

“See you guys around?” Emma looked at her group of friends, not wanting to separate from them for the school year.

“We all go to the same school,” David told her, “so we’ll probably run into each other.”

“Cool.”

“Alright, guys. Go get ready for school.” Killian was anxious to get some time with Emma before they would be separated by grades at school. The boys all walked - not ran, for the first time all summer - back to their houses. Emma grabbed her shattered bat in one hand and Killian’s hand in the other and took him to her house.

She said a hello to her parents before taking Killian up to her room.

“Ready?”

“For what?”

“Ingrid and Arthur let me decorate my room, just like you said they would!” She was grinning ear-to-ear.

“Swan, that’s incredible! I can’t wait to see it!”

“Okay,” she bit her lip to keep from smiling even harder. “Here it is.” She opened her door to reveal her newly decorated room. She put her bat down behind her door and shifted her focus to her guest.

She got Starry Night sheets, just like she wanted. She had some pictures she drew framed and displayed across the walls, and her desk was covered in art supplies. The balls from the game they went to together were proudly sitting on Emma’s windowsill by her bed. But the coolest part of her room was the one wall in her room with no closet, no door, and no window. On that wall, she drew the sandlot. All her friends were represented. Killian stared in awe, eyes wide.

“Swan, that’s amazing.”

“I drew and painted it myself.”

“You’re so bloody talented. I knew you liked to draw, but this - this is something else.” He couldn’t take his eyes off the mural. Emma glanced over the details. She saw the moment Killian realized where he was in the painting. He was at home plate, hitting a home run, wearing a major league jersey with “Jones” written across the back. She had made his number his birthday. “I can’t believe this.”

“Well, you are the best one on the team. It’s pretty accurate.” She shrugged even though he was still looking at her wall.

“How long did this take you?” He finally pulled his attention off the artwork and looked at the artist.

“I stayed up way past when I should have. I’m pretty sure Ingrid and Arthur knew, but they let me. I wanted to get it done before school.” She sat on her bed and watched Killian get closer to the wall to examine the details.

He laughed. “This is going to be on your wall forever.”

“I hope so.”

He turned around and joined her, elbows knocking together gently. He still could barely peel his eyes off the wall.

“This was the best summer of my life. I want to remember it.”

“You should be an artist.”

“I like keeping my art for fun.” He nodded in understanding.

“You’re…” he let out a breath “...incredible.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Love it, Swan. I love it so much.”

“Thanks, Killian. This summer never would have been so amazing without you.” She looked at him. He was still looking at the wall.

“No, Swan.” He turned to look at her. “You’ve made this the best summer for me. Thank you. I found a best friend.”

“We both had pretty great summers, huh?”

“Aye. The best.”

“The best.” ----- While the group played together for many summers, Emma's first summer was the most magical. But as they continued their game for years, the kids grew up along the way.

David met a girl his first day of school that year, and the two of them started dating almost immediately.

Liam was working full-time while looking at colleges, but Emma could sense that he wanted something else.

The young teenagers grew into older teenagers, and the gang all got together for games even when school and jobs tried their hardest to separate them.

And Emma and Killian grew inseparable. As Killian got older, his brown hair darkened into black. He started to grow facial hair, which made him look much more his age as he matured. Emma loved the way his scruff was still brown, lighter than his hair, and she loved the red peeking through. But as she got closer to Killian and developed clear feelings for him, she knew she could never tell him and risk breaking up the group. For Emma, after having been sent back from foster homes one too many times she thought it was because of her, and Killian, whose father left his ailing wife and two sons to avoid criminal charges, the group was a comfort. This group of boys (and Emma) was solid. There was no danger of abandonment on the sandlot. They were a family. And to risk messing that up over a teenage crush just wasn't worth it in Emma's eyes. ------ The group spent a few more summers together, but eventually, they did all move away from the sandlot. Emma and Killian were the last to leave, actually. And this time, every time someone moved away, they didn't replace them. There was a permanent empty space where that person had been. The group remained a group, even after circumstances forced their separation.

Squints got contacts, so he no longer had to squint all the time. He actually ended up marrying Ariel, the lifeguard from that pool day. Turns out she admired the bravery of a teenager willing to do anything just to kiss her. They had a little girl and a little boy, and they spent every weekend at the pool.

Grumpy and Sneezy became miners, finding a group of five other men to work with even past retirement age. Grumpy ended up with a girl named Astrid, but they never married. It didn’t matter. She countered his grumpiness, and she called him Dreamy. Sneezy eventually found allergy medication that took care of his excessive sneezing, but the nickname followed him into mining.

Robin became a businessman at Mills Inc., eventually marrying his CEO, Regina. The two adopted a kid together, who Robin taught to play baseball, sandlot-style. Regina was dubbed “the Evil Queen” by Grumpy, a name that stuck with the rest of the group - as long as Robin wasn’t around, anyway. Roland Locksley is still young, but Killian claims he’s going to be an MLB pitcher one day.

Will stayed solo for much of his life, enjoying the single life until he became infatuated with a librarian who was tricked into coming to the bar Will frequented. After settling down with Belle, his life calmed down, too.

Liam joined the Navy - a lifelong dream. He rose to rank of captain before taking leave to spend time with a girl he met overseas. Liam, Elsa, and Killian spent every holiday together. Killian was there for every naval medal ceremony, and Liam was extremely highly decorated, so he and Killian saw a lot of each other despite the overseas distance between them.

David married his high school sweetheart. They got married their freshman year of college, and they had a baby not long after graduation. While Mary Margaret stayed home with their son, David went to the police academy and became an officer. He and Liam lorded their power over the group every chance they had. David's life ended up being fairytale perfect, and his son was Killian's biggest fan when, as predicted, he became an MLB player. Killian’s first team, the Mets, assumed he had a son because the wallpaper on his phone was little Leo Nolan, proudly wearing an official MLB Jones jersey.

Drafted right out of college to the Mets, Killian Jones moved to the city to play the game he loved. He and Emma had gotten close over the summers playing ball together. In fact, when Emma got into NYU, she and Killian decided to become roommates, seeing as NYU was exactly 24 minutes from Citi Field. Emma spent her days in journalism and sports management classes, and she attended every night game to watch Killian play baseball. It was Killian who encouraged her to take up journalism after reading one of her creative writing assignments - a written account of that first summer she spent with the group. In the big leagues, Killian started in left field, then moved to second base. Emma made signs and everything when she went to the games. And Killian made sure she kept drawing, letting her design their shared apartment.

The whole team went to every wedding, and they reunited every few years to play the occasional game of baseball in the sandlot, always picking up right where they left off. These games got larger and larger as all their families grew, and the sandlot became a place for everyone to catch up. Leo and Roland became friends, starting their own sandlot game with Eric and Ariel’s kids. They would all say the thing they were most proud to pass on to their kids was that sandlot. ------ Emma was terrified things would change when Killian got traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had been slowing down in the game and striking out more, so the Mets were happy to trade him. And the Pirates were happy to sign him. However, PNC Park was way more than 24 minutes from where Emma and Killian shared an apartment.

But Killian had a contract, so with unshed tears threatening to spill, he hugged Emma goodbye in the airport with promises to “see you soon,” and, “hit lots of home runs for you.” Unable to hold back her own tears, she responded with a shaky, “you better,” and she kissed his cheek before they both turned away and went in opposite directions.

They had both known what was happening between them over the years, but they both individually decided that emotional involvement would hurt the game, so to speak. And both knew that if they turned back at this moment in the airport, they could never find the strength to walk away again. So they both went on, not looking back at the other. ----- He came to her graduation. He sat with the Swans, the foster family that decided to adopt her. After hugs from her parents, she turned to her best friend, both of them wearing matching beaming smiles.

“I'm so proud of you, Swan.” They moved in simultaneously to hug each other, the reunion long overdue. Between classes, a job, and her internship, Emma didn't even know what free time felt like anymore. And Killian was busy as part of the main lineup for the Pirates, as well as with his nice promotion to shortstop, where he excelled. But between home games, away games, training, practice, and workouts, he spent his free time sleeping. He never got used to switching time zones so often.

But all that was forgotten as the two hugged outside NYU’s stadium. Diploma in one hand, Killian took Emma's other hand as they walked behind the Swans to their car before a celebratory dinner in Emma's honor. And throughout the night, she just kept thinking how much it felt like old times. ----- “And up to bat is Pirates number 2, shortstop Killian Jones. He may be new to the Pirates, but he’s already changed the way this entire team plays. No other man could take a near-last place team and turn them into a World Series contender. What a huge loss for the Mets, trading the league’s star player when he was only in a bit of a rut.” Emma smiled to herself, proud of her best friend for everything he’s accomplished. He looked up at the media suites as he exited the dugout and practiced a couple swings. She knew he couldn’t see her, but the fact that he knew she was there made her borderline giddy. She would swear she saw him wink her way as he strutted to the left side of home plate. “And the man himself steps up to the plate,” Emma announced.

The pitch was thrown, and Emma watched Killian jerk backwards to avoid being hit by the 94-mile per hour fastball.

“And the pitch will be taken as a ball.” Emma let out a sigh of relief as she looked down and confirmed he wasn’t hit. Away from the microphone, she muttered, “jeez. You don’t have to try to take him out.” The radio reporter next to Emma laughed at her murmuring, sending her a knowing look. Emma flashed the reporter an appreciative smile as she sat up again to reach the microphone.

“And the second pitch,” she paused as Killian hit the ball impossibly high, but into the stands behind him, “will be taken for a foul. Strike one.” Sitting back as the pitcher and Killian prepare for the next pitch, she whispered to herself, quieter than before as not to be overheard again, “c’mon Killian. You’ve got this.”

When Killian stepped back up to the plate, Emma straightened her posture and got ready to get back to her job.

“The score is 4-3, the tying run is at first, two outs, and the count is 1-1 at the bottom of the 11th. A place in the World Series is at stake. Jones steps up to the plate, and this pitch is again taken as a foul. The count is now 1-2 for Pirates’ star player, shortstop Killian Jones.”

Killian took another step back and took a few practice swings. Emma held her breath as the next pitch soared straight into the zone, only to be met by Killian's bat. He followed through on the swing and watched as the ball flew.

“Jones hits the ball. And it's going, going, still going, gone,” Emma screamed into the microphone. “Goodbye home run!” Emma smiled and laughed along as the entire media suite cheered. As Killian finished rounding the bases, she took her seat again. “And Jones gets both the tying and winning runs home with an impressive home run. That's the ballgame. The final score is 4-5 Pirates after 11 innings of gameplay.” She paused so the excitement could build. “And the Pirates are going to the World Series!”

The crowd had been cheering consistently since Killian's home run, but the idea of a World Series run made the people in the stands scream even louder.

“Thanks for joining us at PNC Park tonight. We hope you'll see you soon. Drive safely everyone.” And with that, Emma's job was done. She sat back in her swivel chair as Killian signed some baseballs, mini-bats, and hats from some fans in the stands before heading to the locker room to, no doubt, shower. Emma couldn't go without seeing him, so she checked her phone while fans filed out of the stadium. The radio and tv announcers around her all left before her, and she acknowledged each of their departures as they left.

Hoping she wouldn't get kicked out for being there so late, she snuck down to the field and wandered over to home plate. Standing next to the plate, she took in the night sky in front of her, the stadium’s blinding lights still on.

“So, Swan, first woman to announce a Major League Baseball game live. I knew you could do it.”

Emma jerked around when she heard him. She couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face.

“Although, I don’t know why you went to university for journalism all those years when you were perfectly capable of calling a baseball game at 15.” He paused for a moment before adding, “still impressive nonetheless.”

“Well, I’m no shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates.” Emma watched Killian’s tongue dart out to wet his lips. Her gaze dropped to her shoes in the dirt as she pretended not to be affected.

Apparently, he had the same goal in mind. Avoiding the topic on both their minds, he said “I know I made you work extra tonight. Sorry about that, by the way.” He adjusted the strap of his gear bag.

“Yeah,” she fiddled with the ends of some of her hair that fell over her shoulder. “You know I don't get paid extra for extra innings, right?” She teased. He laughed.

“I really am proud of you, Swan. They started you on a really high-stakes game.” He paused. “And they really should pay you extra for those two innings.” They shared timid smiles, making it known to each other that they were both aware of their connection and both unsure whether to acknowledge it.

“I could never have gotten here without you. All those years ago, you took a chance on a teenage girl who didn’t even know how to play catch.”

Killian shrugged, but the meaning behind his words was anything but casual. “I just introduced her to the greatest game in the universe. She did the rest on her own.” Emma could see the pride in his bright blue eyes - pride for her.

“You know, PNC Park is a lot bigger than the sandlot.”

“Aye. That it is.”

“You certainly seem right at home.” Killian shrugged again, the tips of his ears tinged light pink. “Think you’ll stick around on the Pirates another season?”

“I hope so. I like it here. And I quite fancy the Pirates’ new announcer.” He scratched that spot behind his ear, just like he used to do when they were teenagers. It was in this moment - looking at Killian and seeing the same kid from the sandlot - that she made her decision.

Emma smiled and replied, “good,” before reaching up and removing her baseball cap, tossing it behind her. She tangled her fingers in Killian’s hair, still wet from his post-game shower, and pulled his face to hers, though pull may have been an overstatement, as he went right along with it without complaint. The moment their lips touched was magical. It was better than playing baseball with fireworks as a light source. It was better than stealing home. It was better than hitting a grand slam. They pulled away for air, but they kept their foreheads pressed together. Her eyes were closed as he opened his and brought his fingers up to his lips, which were still tingling.

“That was…” Emma interrupted herself with a short laugh. She opened her eyes and her green ones met his blue ones. She bit her lip as he sighed in contentment and disbelief. Killian brought a hand to her cheek, caressing her face so his thumb landed in the dimple in her chin.

Finally, he spoke. “You’re killing me, Swan.”

#fallforcs #fallforcaptainswan #fallforcs 2018 #you're killing me swan #the-girl-in-the-band-tshirt #classiczebra #captain swan #cs ff #cs fanfic #sandlot au #theonceoverthinker #sailingcaptainswan #thank you everyone #i hope you loved it

10 notes · View notes

seasonofthegeek · 6 years

Text

Adrien Appreciation Week, Day 5: Patrol

12 Years before Just for Tonight

Adrien glared at the blue light filtering in under his door. How could Nino still be watching television? He was always in his room by now. If he stayed in the living area much longer, Adrien was going to miss his window to sneak out for another hour while the guards were patrolling their hall.

It was probably his own fault. Nino was always suspicious when he wanted to go to bed early. He moved to the edge of his bed and pulled his backpack up, unzipping it quietly to check his supplies again. He grabbed some of the snacks from his personal cabinet earlier and stuck them inside, along with two bottles of soda. He would find a store in Paris to buy more food at, better food. His Nintendo DS had fresh batteries and he threw in one pair of clean underwear just for good measure.

“Come on, Nino,” he muttered. “Go to bed already.”

As if by magic, the light under his door went out and he heard Nino’s bedroom door close. He quickly slid off his bed, pulling his shoes on and tying them. He grabbed his backpack and eased his door open as quietly as he could.

Adrien had been working on this plan all week. He was tired of being cooped up in the house and he was going to go to Paris. Maybe after he got bored with being there, he would go visit Felix and stay with him for a while. He really wanted Nino to go with him, but he knew that he would end up telling on him. It would be okay. He left him a note on his desk. If Nino decided to be cool about it, Adrien had put his destination in a code he was pretty sure his guard could figure out but no one else could. He was proud of it, if he was being honest with himself.

He slipped out of the suite and down the hall, carefully ducking into one of the guest bedrooms in enough time to hear two guards go past the mostly closed door. That had been too close. His timing must be off by a minute or so.

“Nino,” he grumbled.

He eased the door open and followed the hall to the end, happy to see his research paid off and the guard breakroom was empty. He hurried past the furniture and pushed through the door to the backyard with a triumphant grin.

He did it! He was actually out of the house! Everything else was going to be a piece of cake.

Adrien readjusted the straps of his backpack and started across the backyard, rolling his eyes at the playset that still stood guard by a big tree. He requested that it be torn down and replaced with a skateboard ramp but his mother gave him big watery eyes and his father said no. At least Nino thought it was a cool idea.

He was going to make it down the driveway and then instead of going right towards the village, he would start walking left and hope that maybe a car picked him up. Even if a car didn’t come, he was pretty sure he could just walk to Paris. He was really strong and fast. He also had taken one of the daggers from Nino’s room the day before just in case he ran into trouble. He was definitely prepared.

He kept to the shadows along the driveway, being sure to duck under the guard shacks along the way. The driveway sure didn’t seem this long in a car but that was to be expected. He stopped by a tree and pulled off his backpack, checking his supplies again. It wouldn’t be good to get too far away from the house and not have everything he needed.

Adrien shivered and rubbed at his arms. Maybe he should’ve packed a jacket. It was a little cooler than he thought. Darker too. He looked around, swallowing thickly. Something rustled the leaves of the tree above him and he jumped, cheeks going red. He was glad Nino wasn’t here to see him. He should be braver than this. He was thirteen, practically a man.

He looked towards the house and could see the pinpoint of the lamp at the backdoor he had come out of. He really made it farther down the driveway than he realized then. He turned to look down the driveway but he couldn’t see much of anything in the darkness.

Adrien shifted his weight uneasily. Maybe he could figure out a way to do this during the day. It would be harder but then at least he could see where he was going. And Nino was probably going to be worried. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to decode the message. His parents would be angry too. He worried his bottom lip and turned back towards the house with a sigh, trudging back up the driveway.

The leaves above him rustled again and Adrien whimpered, clutching the straps of his backpack tighter and running up the drive as fast he could.

Nino watched him from the tree with an amused sigh before jumping down and casually following in the young prince’s wake, nodding at the hidden guards along the way.

Buy me a coffee?

#Adrien Appreciation Week #Just for Tonight

59 notes · View notes

calvinjohaanson · 3 years

Text

Eddard Stark lifted his head and looked long at the weirwood, frowning, but he did not speak.

Eddard Stark lifted his head and looked long at the weirwood, frowning, but he did not speak. There is a sign on the wall stating the discount according to the color on the tag, and I struggled with the simple math, but eventually concluded the garment was actually in my theoretical price range.. Boltons make bad enemies as well. No, you can’t deceive me! Perhaps you have some other calculations now; perhaps I haven’t said the worst yet; but no matter! You have deceived me — that’s the chief thing. Dre and Jay Z apparently know the label. For the sake of comparison, that's three mpg better than an automatic equipped Mazda5 or 2011 Odyssey and a whopping six notches haibike e mtb 2020 better than the four cylinder Sienna. IT IS ONE OF THE LARGEST WALKS IN OUR REGION AND IT bottines cloutees femme IS SET TO KICK OFF RIGHT HERE WITH A FEW ANNOUNCEMENTS ON THIS STAGE. Others skittered off Drogon’s scales, lodged between papuci de casa din pasla them, or tore through the membrane of his wings. Bigelow, I hope you will not forget me. Of course, I would not wear a faded print house dress that had to be ironed and an apron, made out of a former print house dress, which also had to be ironed. When Ty came home from school, you could find him playing Nintendo, with Boo on his lap, Risa at his side, and Benji at his feet. He had looked around at other faces. In 2011 Toms added sunglasses to its product line, giving sight restoring surgery or treatment for each pair sold, and in 2014 they announced that they had given away more than 10 million shoes, and given clear sight to 200,000 people. Keep the men to your right and left in sight, so the gaps do not widen. I have taken a flat on purpose, where we shall live when we come back. “There are times you make me wonder if you truly are my seed. He takes their money but he wants more. The Broadcast Television Journalists Assn. Sam Abou Ndour est l'un d'entre eux. She rose. Levi. Natasha herself, who was so libelled, knew nothing of all these slanders and accusations till fully a year afterwards. The mate who had assumed command reckoned that they catalog cercei aur turcia were somewhere off the southern end of the Isle of Cedars. To be eligible to receive some of the surplus foods, a man had to earn less than forty five dollars per month or a man and his wife together had to make less than seventy dollars per month.. Asha had spent her life on islands and on ships. This final half was the strongest rugby of the day, with good teamwork, powerful tackling, and more passing among the boys than we have seen in the past.. These simulations identified structural weak points in our design and provided information about its overall strength.. The junior finished second in the 200 22 years after his dad was second in the 200.. It drove the breath from him and sent him lurching backwards. Dark skin and white hair, the broken nose, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. Robinson says his best advice is to buy now when many are thinking about the sun and not the snow and the price is still frozen in place. Lady Walda gave a shriek and clutched at her lord husband’s arm. How could she? He was a knight of the Kingsguard, sworn to Mens JORDAN Hoodie celibacy. papuci de casa din pasla "I feel like it's an incentive to strive for originality," he continued, "something new, and maintain something exciting and different so you can beat them out and maintain a personal edge. In that training scenario, Jacob was leading the first four ship of allied jets, whose task was to defend the area from enemy aircraft. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark WeingartenUnbroken Jon Taylor, Frank A. Does he know? Griff wondered. Every mother who has a mother’s heart within her, ought to know that this is blasphemy against nature, and, standing between the cradle of her living and the маратонки puma mercedes amg grave of her dead child, should indignantly reject such a slander on all motherhood.. Street performers don't have a ticket price (for their shows). My son has plagiocephaly and is currently in a corrective helmet. They are joined by a young lad who stands a little distance away. As co director of "A Summer Celebration of Jewish Music" and director of the Jewish Jazz Project, Green presents a wide variety of Jewish music throughout the Berkshires. It’s too cold for most of them. “For me, it is all about the olives. To be called swing the puma red bull racing evo cat ii ball would need to bend in the air before it hit the pitch. Text >The appraisal district is responsible for supplying fair market valuations to some 63 taxing entities within the county, including 17 school districts, 27 cities or towns, the Alamo Colleges district and the .. Mr. May, president and CEO of Air Transport Association of America, an industry trade organization, said lengthy tarmac delays were never a benefit for airlines, but that the new rules will not benefit passengers.will comply with the new rule even though we believe it will lead to unintended consequences, more cancelled flights and greater passenger inconvenience, Mr. Given the right izraeli kézműves ékszerek team on the right day, they can be beaten. They have become alarmed at seeing the laws of God trampled under foot with impunity, and that, too, by legislators, sworn officers of the peace, and professors of religion. It is admitted; but no great evil can be averted, no good attained, without some inconvenience. Eight days ago Asha had walked out with Aly Mormont to have a closer look at its slitted red eyes and bloody mouth. You need to look down the road to make sure your income will match your needs for the house but also for other expenses such as college tuition and retirement savings, says Behnam. But anything to keep the bloody bastards sweet.. Now, if ever, was their time to cut this loathsome incumbrance wholly adrift, and stand up, in this age of concession and conformity to the world, a purely protesting church, free from all complicity with this most dreadful national immorality.. Snow caked his legs almost to the knee, and Bran had felt him stagger more than once. “Come, drink with me,” the fat man said. A knight of the Kingsguard was always posted at its far end. But Tywin had been disappointed in that. He holds little hope that his children will grow up to see a single Brooklyn neighborhood free of free range fowl and fair trade coffee.. He was walking beneath the shell of the Lord Commander’s Tower, past the spot where Ygritte had died in his arms, when Ghost appeared beside him, his warm breath steaming in the cold. “There. Is the Dior woman the Raf Simons woman? "No." Short, and emphatic. In the wild, alone with axe and garron, he was as good a ranger as any in the Watch, but he had never gotten on well with the other men. Out in the yard, night was settling over the Dreadfort and a full moon was rising over the castle’s eastern walls. Greene already had a federal disaster declaration because of damage from Tropical Storm Irene which struck on Aug. [I] draw, paint, anything like that. He protested his eternal unchanging love, and hotly justified his devotion to Katya, continually repeating that he only loved Katya as a nike jean jacket sister, a dear, kind sister, whom he could not abandon altogether; that that would be really coarse and cruel on his part, declaring that if Natasha knew Katya they would be friends at once, so much so that they would never part and never quarrel.

1 note · View note

princerevelucide · 7 years

Text

i wrote down some personal sma5h thoughts

first things first:

fucking kick corrin out

no new fire emblem or any xenoblade x or 2, please, god

no western indies (shovel knight, shantae, hat kid, undertale bullshit, etc.)

corrin gets kicked out

i don’t want king k. rool in. he feels like a boring and dumb choice tbh

3rd party characters are fun but i don’t think very many should be added if at all beyond what we have now. i feel like if too many more are added the fun of ssb being a celebration of nintendo will be taken away.

kick! corrin! out! please!

who i'd personally like to see included:

vaati (the legend of zelda: minish cap) (one-eyed boss form would be final smash, ftr)

victini (pokemon)

masked man (mother 3) (good mix of meta knight, samus, and mega man) (spoilers abound though, so yikes, dont look him up if youve never played mother 3 and plan/hope to)

prince fluff (kirby's epic yarn)

bub and/or bob (bubble bobble)

plusle/minun tag team, a la ice climbers (pokemon)

please kick corrin out, by the way

other ideas i've seen that i agree with, regardless of how passionate i actually am or am not about their potential inclusion:

mario bros: daisy, waluigi, paper mario, baby mario

legend of zelda: linkle, skull kid, impa, midna

kirby: bandana waddle dee, marx

donkey kong: dixie kong (i can't call myself a DKC fan as i've never played any of them before but i think the series deserves more rep)

kid icarus: phosphora, viridi, magnus also i'm hoping dark pit isn't kicked and if he's not reduced to a pit costume (which i'm fine with that if he is, he’s still in in that case after all) i'd like to see him be more varied, using other weapons from ki:u, especially his signature staff, rather than being a straight clone of pit with the minor differences he has. there’s a lot of missed potential there

pokémon: decidueye i'm sure there are other potential pokemon but i can't think of any more that i'd like... maybe some that were in pokken? as long as we don't overexplode the gen 1 rep again, fuckin hate how much that gen always gets. pikachu, jiggs, char, and mewtwo are Enough

mother/earthbound: paula, poo, kumatora, duster

other:

bring back the ice climbers

bring back wolf too, he was cool

snake is neat as well

an ARMS character (probably Big Springo, and/or maybe Ribbon Lass)

another sonic character (tails? knuckles? shadow?)

banjo & kazooie

a rhythm heaven character

can we remove corrin. thanks

also fun - some potential new music choices:

galacta knight battle theme (warrior from another world) (genuinely shocked and appalled this wasn’t in smash 4, please fix this glaring issue and bug sakurai, ty)

jump up, super star!

champion battle

prayer song to god (ver. 2)

vagrant counting song of retrospection

void soul

inkoming!

color pulse

gusher gauntlet

i have high hopes for the game’s future splatoon music in general

-i'd really love to see more pikmin rep but it's not varied enough to have a new fighter since everyone would just have olimar's moveset, so maybe some assist trophies?? fiery blowhog, puffy blowhog, burrowing snagret, and volatile dweevil would work GREAT (also, pikmin deserves better music choices? environmental noises? really? what the hell?? why did THAT make it into TWO GAMES???)

-subspace emissary is so cheesy and edgy and fucking good, more of that, please, i’m begging you

-i always thought that rainbow cloud from pokemon snap and the stone tower temple (complete with turning upside down) from loz majora’s mask would be superneat stages

-also i know i said no western indies but snipperclips would make for a cute stage. might be kinda like the electroplankton one. but only stage is allowed

-also you know how the animal crossing stages have k.k. slider concerts when played on saturday nights? what if the splatoon stage(s) did the same thing with splatfest night themes... (what will the splatoon stages even be, anyway? inkopolis plaza/square? the lowest middle part of moray towers? the centre of blackbelly skatepark? a single player-theme stage??)

-also fucking kick corrin i swear to god there's no good reason at all for their inclusion, the fact that it was all advertising further proves their horrible home game is nothing but a soulless cashgrab, PLEASE get this boring useless marysue representative for a disgusting samey incest game OUT of smash for christ's sake they shouldn't have been added to begin with

i might edit this with more later, idk, i just love smash ok

#poyo.txt #(please do not rb by the way. i know despite my personal rule and request that someone will try)

11 notes · View notes

micahrodney · 4 years

Text

Thread; Chapter 1 - Lost Boy

The following was a commissioned piece for MatthewCaveatZealot. Awakening with a start, Neil managed to bash his head on the ceiling of his dorm room. He collapsed back into his loft bed, running his hands across his temple. He had always known this was a distinct possibility with his sleeping arrangement; there was barely three feet of clearance between his mattress and the unsettling popcorn-style stucco which always left flakes in his bedding. The only damage appeared to be a mild contusion, and a slightly hurt ego. The boy glanced at the alarm clock, which was inelegantly tucked into a corner of the frame, cord precariously taut.

8:35 AM

“Shit!” Neil cursed.

In his panic, he practically hurled himself over the rail of his loft. Fortunately, his faded blue bean bag chair – presently covered by a week's worth of dirty laundry – broke his fall. Fishing in the bureau just beneath his bed, he managed to dig out a clean pair of jeans and a grey tee.

As he reached for his bookbag, he noticed he'd left his computer on. The dull white of a Lotus document was burning into the monitor. Upon reading the salutation of “Dear Erica” the previous night's phone call came rushing back to him; three years discarded in two minutes. He had trouble saying what he needed to say in that call. Truthfully, the shock of it had rendered him phased out of reality. There was a hollowness that consumed him upon hearing those words, an emptiness that had to be embraced lest it consume him.

He couldn't even bring himself to cry. Tears would only validate the nightmare. That had to be it: a nightmare. One that he would wake up from in a day or two when she called him back and apologized. When she remembered how happy they had been together and realized what she was giving up. After a few hours, he had passed from denial to bargaining. Every possible scenario played through in his head simultaneously, from magnanimous acceptance of her apology to him banging at her door and pleading to take him back. That was when the rational approach of writing her a letter presented itself.

Without bothering to save the document, he flipped the switch. The dull fizzling sound was always a strange comfort. To Neil, it represented the end of a day. Maybe that's how he should view Erica: just another chapter in his life that he would move past. And maybe, like the document itself, there really was nothing worth saving there anyway.

---

Voxton was once a whistle-stop town just outside of the state capitol. It was the home of an active farm community, and the state's number one exporter of unemployed drunks looking for better opportunity in “the big city”. Then somebody decided to build a college there in the wake of the 1973 stock market crash, presumably with hopes of turning the state's fortune around.

McCain University – presumably named for its founder, though Neil had never bothered to find out – had grown to become something of a Mecca for the technically inclined. If you wanted to break into engineering or computer science, you went to McCain, assuming your parents weren't wealthy or connected enough to ship you off to MIT.

Thanks to a grant from the Governor, the school had an entire campus building dedicated to the most powerful machines on the market. Perhaps this was why Neil insisted upon using a personal computer from the 80s, despite the fact that his father had offered many times to buy him something newer.

The IBM 386 was more than a little dated, but the chunky machine could do the important things in his life. Sure his classes had him learning on top-of-the-line Power Macintosh hardware, but it had been the computer he grew up with. Its impressive 32 MB memory was stuffed with the text-adventure games of INFOCOM. While his first love would always be Zork, it was the murder-mystery Moonmist that made him want to become a writer.

These dual interests had conflicted before, and while Neil's father was supportive he was also wary. Writing, after all, was a hard market to break into. But computer technology was in high demand and only rising. When he had embarrassingly tried to connect with his son by saying maybe he could learn to make “some of those Nintendo games”, Neil had politely laughed and agreed to consider it. The boy's consideration didn't take long. As a lawyer, his dad always was the better negotiator. Perhaps it was overkill to mention that it is what his mother would have wanted.

Neil opened the door to his usual morning haunt, a student-run coffee shop called “The Junction”. The place was barely bigger than his dorm, but they also had the best muffins in Voxton. He stumbled up to the register and barely sputtered out his order before his bookbag slipped off of his shoulder, sending his notebooks scattering.

“Damn,” Neil cursed. “Sorry, Angie. A blueberry muffin and a coffee to go please!”

“Running late again, Neil?” The senior asked, tying her long ebony hair back with a scrunchy.

“I know, they're lucky to have me as a student,” Neil mumbled bitterly, shoving the papers haphazardly back into his bag.

“Four bucks. Your dad's Amex, I trust?” Angie replied, extending her hand.

“Cash today. I forgot to grab my wallet, but luckily there was a five in my jeans,” Neil chuckled benignly, handing her the bill.

“Moving up in the world.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Lemme grab your breakfast, champ,” Angie smirked.

Neil took his change and leaned back against the bar. The place wasn't really all that bad. Sure two people couldn't walk side-by-side behind the bar, but the little brick shack was alright. He had particularly liked the ironic name. Before the University reclaimed land for a parking lot the place had been a rail depot. The result were tracks that didn't lead anywhere just behind the restaurant and for few miles north and south respectively.

“And in offbeat news today,” droned a local news anchor on the 16 inch TV in the corner of the bar. “IBM supercomputer 'Deep Blue' went six games against chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov yesterday. Although Kasparov won the match with four games to Deep Blue's two, this is the first time a computer has ever defeated a world champion under tournament regulations. Truly this is a sign of things to come. Just how more advanced can these computers get?”

“Neil!” Angie called, snapping her fingers in front of his face. “Muffin, coffee, late for Computer Theory 221, remember?”

“Right, sorry!” Neil sputtered, grabbing his food and bolting out the door.

---

“Mr. Brown. How nice of you to grace us with your presence.”

Professor Barker was generally a nice guy, but Neil had tried his patience one too many times. Tardiness was just one of Neil's offenses against the would-be silicon valley elite. In short, Barker didn't like his attitude. He didn't like that Neil would sit through his classes, mind clearly on other things. But what he hated worse was the fact that Neil continued to ace every assignment in spite of his lackluster classroom performance. It wasn't Neil's fault that he felt he got very little out of the lecture hall experience, preferring instead to study on his own time.

“Sorry, sir,” Neil apologized half-heartedly. “Rough night.”

“Wait until you become an adult, then you'll learn what a real rough night is,” Barker scolded.

The aging technician looked like a slightly sunkissed Steve Wozniak. He had the beard and the plaid collar shirts, but his face was a bit more rugged. Barker had learned computers while serving in the Army during the 70s. The synthesis was a computer nerd who looked like he used to beat kids up for their lunch money.

“Now that Mr. Brown has found his seat,” Barker sighed. “Let's resume. Where were we now? Ah, yes! The potential of virtual reality. Now, this ain't your 'Virtual Boy', we're talking about actual virtual reality.”

Barker was nothing if not fond of the sound of his own voice. The lecture was more or less him pontificating about the achievements that had been accomplished with the budding technology and his wild-eyed fantasies of future use. Of particular note, Barker's assertion that we could one day use virtual reality to explore the entire planet's history in first-person seemed especially romantic.

“Imagine, if you would, you put on a visor and are instantly transported to the wild west. With a few mouse clicks, you are in the Roman Empire, or watching the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza.”

A loud digitized beep came from the clock just over the door. It was already 11 AM.

“Ah, well, I seem to have rambled on right to the end of class,” Barker chuckled. “Alright, that's a good stopping point anyway. I'll let you head out. Mr. Brown, a word.”

The students began to pack up and make their way towards the door, as Neil marched down the steps of the lecture hall, prepared for his weekly chew-out session. The beard of the middle-aged educator seemed to twitch in anticipation and annoyance.

“Neil, do you want to be in this class?” Barker asked bluntly.

“Yes sir,” Neil stoically replied.

“You know the class starts at 8:30 AM every Monday and Wednesday, right?”

“Yep.”

“The winter semester has only just started and in the six classes we've had together you have been on time to one of them.”

“That's correct, sir.”

Barker sighed and waved his hands about in front of him as if he was grasping for something to strike him with.

“I don't know what you expect from me,” Barker steadied his hands and pointed a finger in Neil's face. “But I know I expect from you. I can't have you barging in after the class starts. If I have to lock that door, I'll do it. Your work is good, but if you want to stay in my class I expect you to show up on time.”

“I understand sir.”

“Well, I hope so,” Barker grumbled. “I'm not kidding about that lock either.”

---

Monday was, by design, Neil's easiest day. He only had the one class, and he used the remainder of the day to run errands. So as soon as Barker let him out, his first stop was to the Store24 to pick up some groceries. Considering his food storage options in his dorm was a mini-fridge and the top shelf of his closet, he only wound up with two bags and a twelve-pack of the store-brand cola.

He dropped off the bare essentials of sustenance and took a brief moment to tidy his room. There wasn't much cause to impress anyone, but he felt compelled to use the time. It felt better to accomplish something – anything – rather than waiting around for the day to end.

The next two hours were spent overseeing a load of laundry in the dormitory laundromat. It was pretty depressing, featuring bare stone walls and illuminated by a single dirt-specked window. with a line of six washers and four driers on opposite sides of the room from each other. There was a table in the middle, slightly off-set from the window in a way that mildly infuriated Neil. There were technically chairs, but two metal folding chairs took a certain wear-and-tear over the decades and had never been replaced.

Neil found himself sitting on the edge of the table, staring out that window and reflecting on the bizarre dream that had woken him with such a start. The events of the day had driven out most of the fantastic experience from his mind, but bits and pieces still lingered. Those omnipresent voices, speaking in grand detail about him. An idyllic planet that was repeatedly destroyed. The beast from within the pit, as Neil was bound and helpless on a web of light.

He considered whether or not he wanted to try and duplicate the effects of his lucid dreaming again tonight. Was it a story worth picking up? Or did he want to find himself once again at the genuine mercy of some phantasm?

A low blare came from the drier, in what was more than once mistaken for a fire alarm.

Discarding the shards of his recollection, he set about folding his clothes for about five minutes, before hastily shoving the rest of his clothes into his basket and resolving to just “do it later”. This was perhaps his favorite lie.

So it was, at 3:00 PM, Neil found himself back in his room with nothing else on the docket. The young scholar now had to decide between drowning his mounting sorrows in video games, television, or – if he were feeling particularly adventurous – both at the same time.

Looking to a torn up photo of Erica on his desk, he considered what he would be doing if last night's conversation had not happened. The weekends were theirs and sometimes she would visit him Monday night as well, to hit up a movie when it wasn't crowded with people. She wasn't a terribly social girl, and Neil had always done his best to accommodate that.

They both used to joke about how she was a “cheap date”. She was the kind of person who genuinely enjoyed an experience-driven rendezvous. Erica would much rather walk through the Voxton arboretum or take in one of the free community light-shows at the planetarium rather than actually go out and spend money.

On their first date, Neil had nearly blown his chance with her by trying to flaunt his dad's wealth. He had been given $100 to “impress the girl” with. Erica, in that way she always did, knocked him flat on his ass.

“I'm not here to get to know your money, I'm here to get to know you,” she said, before insisting on having dinner at the cheapest restaurant in Voxton, where she paid for her own meal.

The wake-up call had worked, and he loosened up considerably; enough so that she was agreeable to a second date. In spite of the rough start, they had gotten along famously. But apparently not as well as he had thought.

A knock on his door disrupted Neil from his day-dreaming.

“Hey man, open up. You're decent, right?”

Neil chuckled as he opened up the door. His friend Damian could only be described as “dashing”. The heart-throb of choice for all the girls when they were in high school together, his looks had only improved with age.

“Did they finally let you in?” Neil teased.

“Dude, they let you in,” Damian retorted. “If I wanted in, I'd be in. But money is good in the sales game.”

“You work in retail.”

“Retail sales. If I sell ten computers, they give me $50 of store credit,” Damian replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Anyway, we doing dinner? My treat. Gotta cheer up my sad-sack friend, don't I?”

“Damian, you don't have to-”

“Nah, brother, I insist,” Damian smiled, patting Neil on the back. “Breakups hurt. I've been here, and you're gonna be fine. We will eat, drink, be merry and this weekend we will go out dancing and find a girl to make you forget all about her.”

It was this benevolent nature that led to the two becoming friends in the first place. In middle-school, they were both slightly awkward, but Damian had the further disadvantage of being an immigrant. His mother Tabitha had fled Egypt shortly after that assassination of Anwar Sadat, carrying along a four-year-old Damian with her.

The pubescent Damian was dealing with bullying and trying to adapt to both a new country and a stepfather who Neil had never met. The two had met while Damian was hiding out in the library during one fateful lunch and they managed to hit it off over Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles. Neil had just started reading The Black Cauldron, but Damian was already on Taran Wanderer. A young boy's excitement to talk about his favorite fantasy series led to the longest-lasting friendship either of them had enjoyed.

“Damian, I'm not sure if I really want to 'forget' about her, you know?” Neil sighed. “But I don't really need to get into that now.”

“Why not now?” Damian asked. “Take the time, friend. Dinner can wait.”

“It just seems kinda,” Neil struggled to find the words. “Pointless. I mean she's made her decision. I have no idea why, but she made it clear she was done with me.”

“Your feelings aren't pointless,” Damian replied, tapping his chest for emphasis. “It's all we really have in this world. Of course, if you don't want to talk, I won't make you. But, uh, make a decision quick. I skipped lunch.”

Neil laughed and opted to continue keeping his thoughts concealed. At least for now.

“Alright. Dealer's choice,” Neil said.

“What a dangerous power you've given me,” Damian chuckled. “Thai food it is.”

---

This one is hard to position. The thread is destabilizing.

Neil was not dreaming. The voice was not in his head. It was just on the opposite side of his dormitory door. The room around him was shrouded in darkness, and only the door was illuminated. If he could just reach out and grab the handle...

A terrible weight was dragging him down, and his limbs felt as though they were made of concrete. A biting cold was gnawing at him, and there was a presence just behind him. Somewhere in that darkness, a great unseen thing wanted to devour him. Panic seized him as he flailed his useless forelimbs at the impossible contraption. A doorknob; he had seen thousands of these. But his brain could not process how to manipulate one.

With looming annihilation mere inches from him, he resorted to throwing all of his weight at the wooden barrier, hoping it would yield under the force of what, to Neil, felt like two tons of his own mass.

If the thread is lost, we lose the Binder. This is unacceptable.

“Nox?” Neil called out, vaguely remembering the kindly voice from the other night.

We are here, Binder. Patience. We will pull you into our realm. You will not be sundered.

At this pronouncement, a hideous shriek invaded Neil's mind. The darkness wrapped around the young man and began to flay him, leaving crimson marks on his arm. By the time the third sinewy tendril had lashed him across the face, he felt an uncomfortably familiar tug around his midsection as he was dragged out of the darkness and through the door, beyond which lay the sea of stars from his prior visit.

As the distant sparks sailed past him, the memory of that Eden weight heavily upon his mind. He wanted to see it again, and yet he could not bear to watch it be destroyed once more. The thought of having to relive the same disaster over and over again throughout eternity was unbearable. How many times would he have to suffer the same loss? How many people would abandon him to the darkness of his own mind?

Hey Neil, it's Dad. Hope you've had a good Monday. You're probably out with Erica, but I just wanted to get in touch with you about... well, your mother's remembrance. It won't be a big social gathering like last year's. Basically just gonna be your siblings and me, but we wanted to coordinate with you. Just give me a call back when you can. I love you.

His father didn't know yet. Of course, why would he? That was only last night?

Focus on the moment, Binder!

Rem's voice was as stern and monotone as ever, but with a renewed sense of urgency. There was a planet on the horizon, but it was no paradise. The world was molten rock and scattered space-dust, perhaps one in the process of still being formed. Or was this was had remained of the other world after the disaster?

See past the reality of your eyes, Binder. They are not a reliable path to truth, Nox urged.

He is weighed down by his emotional attachment to his own thread. We are losing him, Rem added.

The planet was quite hot, and Neil felt his flesh beginning to sear as he drew ever closer to it. He closed his eyes as he fell through the atmosphere of a dying world, the weight of his grief dragging him into oblivion.

#thread matthewcaveatzealot commission #scifi #short story #90s

0 notes

sage-nebula · 7 years

Text

Since the Gen VIII games are going to be Switch titles, I really, really, really want them to go the open world route, a la Breath of the Wild. There are a lot of reasons for this, not the least of which being that Breath of the Wild is the best game I’ve ever played, but I think that they have the potential to really do something incredible by combining Pokémon with an open world aspect, particularly since it would be a breath of fresh air for a series that has been strangled by linearity and restrictions in recent titles. (Particularly in Gen VII; when you’re not even allowed to visit the clothing shop in a city without progressing the plot first, there is a real and definite problem.)

With that said, we have to consider how Game Freak would craft a plot around an open world style game, since (unlike The Legend of Zelda) Pokémon is a role-playing game first and foremost, and therefore the story is actually important. While Nintendo crafts The Legend of Zelda titles around whatever gameplay mechanics they want to explore, Game Freak crafts Pokémon games around whatever themes they want to express. I can’t predict what theme Game Freak will try to explore next, but I can still try to find one that I think would fit an open world title . . . and to be honest, I think I have it:

Freedom of choice.

Part of the beauty of Breath of the Wild is that you could choose to experience the game however you wanted. There was no linearity; you could take on the Divine Beasts in any order. You could skip them entirely and, after the requisite beginning game tutorial (which doesn’t take that long at all and, to be honest, hardly even feels like a tutorial) rush straight to Hyrule Castle to face off against Calamity Ganon. Yes, you would likely die, but the point is that you can do it even if it isn’t wise. While I don’t think it would be possible to make a Pokémon game that open to the player’s whims, I think that Game Freak could still restore a lot of freedom back to the series, and perhaps even expand on the freedom that we experienced back in the first generation, when there was hardly any story, but we were rarely prevented from doing something if we so chose to do it. (In fact, the only notable barricades I can think of were the old man blocking your way until you delivered Oak’s parcel; the thirsty guards who refused to let you pass until you brought them a drink; and the Badge requirement for the League. Otherwise? You could pretty much go wherever, even if it meant you got stuck in Rock Tunnel for sixty years because your dumb ass went in there without HM05 Flash.)

With that in mind, I think that freedom of choice could be a really interesting concept to explore. Tying legendary pokémon to this might be a tad difficult, as I feel we already have series legendaries which sort of brush against this theme (e.g. the lake trio from Sinnoh have representatives for spirit and will, for instance). Then again, that hasn’t stopped them before. Celebi was associated with time before Dialga showed up, and Mew was supposedly the first ever pokémon until Arceus reared its head. They could probably create a legendary to represent freedom / choice if they wanted, although to be honest, I don’t think that’s necessary. In fact, it could be neat to not have a legendary at all . . . or if there is one, have it not be a legendary of choice, per se, but rather tie its involvement in the plot to the player’s choices.

To that end . . .

Obviously, though this would be open world, it’s still in the PokéWorld, and we aren’t doing any massive time jumps. Thus, we need to base this region on a place that would offer a lot of exploration. Personally, I think basing a region off a country like New Zealand would be excellent, but Australia could also work for something like this. Hell, if we’re being honest, even if the Midwest in the United States could work. God knows there’s nothing in the Midwest but a bunch of wilderness, flatlands, and some mountains, and while in the past I’ve thought that this is the reason why Game Freak will never base a region off the Midwest (versus how they based regions off Arizona, New York, and Hawaii), this could be the excuse they need. Whatever the case, everything is still modern; I’m not saying they should go for the Breath of the Wild aesthetic entirely, in which it’s post-apocalyptic and much has been lost in the way of technology. No, nothing like that; but this region, whatever it is, could still have a lot of wilderness. There’s a lot to explore, and for the first time in series history the camera follows behind your character’s back at all times, or at least you’re able to freely rotate the camera, much like in a Legend of Zelda game. Also for the first time in series history is the ability to call upon your pokémon at will, and to actually climb on and over things. And as for wild pokémon battles? No longer do you just stumble across one in a random encounter. Rather, as you traverse the landscape, you can actually see the wild pokémon around you. Get near enough, and a battle will start. I think having battle transitions a la Tales of Graces would work very well. (Trainer battles could still work the same way, although again, having smoother battle transitions would be nice, and would help with the immersion aspect.)

All of that said, that’s our setting. So what about our plot?

I think it would be interesting if, as I said, there was a lot more freedom given, and I think that could show in how the plot starts off. In this narrative, perhaps you, as the player character, have decided to go on an adventure. There is no professor here to help you. You have not been summoned, the professor doesn’t happen upon you---it’s quite possible that the regional professor doesn’t even know your name. Instead, you decide---entirely of your own volition---that you want to go adventuring that day. (Or maybe your mom prods you, who knows.) So you set out. The game doesn’t tell you where to go. There’s one exit out of town, but you have to wander that way yourself, rather than being guided by your hand. And once you leave the town, you see that there are three paths you can take:

One path leads down to a riverbend.

One path leads into a forest.

One path leads up to some mountains.

And this is how your starter is chosen. Rather than having three pokéballs set before you with the choice laid out for you to ruminate on, you’re instead given the option of choosing where you go, and where you go determines your starter. If you go to the river, you’ll find the water-type starter. If you go to the forest, you’ll get the grass-type starter. And if you go to the mountains, you’ll get the fire-type starter. (Or you can stay in the town forever and not get anything. Your choice.)

In a move similar to (but not the same as) Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, you befriend your starter after they rescue you from some disaster in the locale of your choice. If you go to the river, there’s a cutscene where your character falls into the river and perhaps gets caught in some rapids, and so the water-type starter saves them from drowning. If you go to the forest, there’s a cutscene where the player gets stuck in some bramble, and the grass-type starter helps them get free. If you go to the mountains, there’s a cutscene where the player character is either cornered by some other wild pokémon, or where rocks tumble down and almost crush the player, only for the fire-type starter to leap in and save them at the last moment (because while yes, fire is weak to rock, I have to believe that a strong blast could knock some rocks out of the way). The player wouldn’t have any pokéballs at this point, but perhaps after they get free and thank the pokémon that saved them, that pokémon deigns to follow them around. The player character is bemused, but they can’t tell this wild pokémon what to do, so the pokémon traverses the rest of the area with them, fighting other wild pokémon (on the player’s command) along the way. When the player leaves the area and returns back home, the pokémon follows . . . and upon returning to their house, the player’s mother gives them a pokéball to use, and tells them that hey, they’ve got their first pokémon now, isn’t that special? And that’s when you get to name it, because once you name it, it’s yours forever.

After that there would be a brief skip to the next day, wherein the player’s mother would tell them that, since they have a pokémon now, they should go on an actual adventure around the region. And the player decides, why not. There’s still no overall quest here, you’re not told what to do. If you want, you can just waste your life in the town. But now that you have a pokémon, you can explore, so . . .

Go do that.

I figure that, in a game like this, there still could be Gyms. (There could also be Trials similar to the Gen VII games, but for the love of everything, if that’s the case, then make the Trials actually indepth (akin to temples in The Legend of Zelda games), and knock it off with the linear hand-holding, I beg you.) But even if there are, the player is not at any point required to visit them. No longer will there be a level requirement for pokémon to obey you. Instead, it’s a friendship requirement. Pokémon tentatively place their trust in you upon their capture; should you treat them well, they’ll obey your commands and listen to you in battle regardless of how much you level them up / how many badges you have. However, should you mistreat them, they’ll become unruly and rebellious, refusing to battle for someone who would treat them so cruelly. Similarly, you can trade over high-level pokemon, but their disobedience at first isn’t because you don’t necessarily have the Badges to train them, but rather because they don’t know you and miss their old trainer (awkward if they’re your ‘mon from a previous game, but they don’t know that yet---you have to prove it to them). You have to spend time befriending them in order to make them want to battle alongside you. So in this way, the Gyms are no longer a requirement, and for that matter, neither is the League. You can do those things if you wish, but you don’t have to. It’s not mandatory.

So then, you wonder, what about the plot? Well, I think it would be interesting if, in a game about freedom of choice, we actually had multiple different endings this time around. Perhaps this game is less about being set on a path to see whatever story is laid out for you, and more about changing the direction of the story based on what you do. The fandom has been begging for a game where you can be the villain since 1996 / 1998, and perhaps this is the game where you don’t necessarily start out as the villain, but if you want to help the villains, you can. You’ll get a Bad End, but you can do it if you want.

Here’s the idea:

Over the course of your wandering around (and completing Gyms, probably, because it’s habitual for us by this point), you encounter numerous different characters, as per usual. You encounter characters such as whatever rivals you pick up, but you also encounter the villainous team, and whatever it is they’re doing. The only difference here is that while the villainous team is the villainous team, they don’t necessarily act that way to you. Instead, perhaps the Big Bad is actually quite affable. They’re cordial to you. They explain their motivations and, since they don’t see themselves as evil, they have no reason to be aggressive (at least, not when you first encounter them). They think that whatever they’re doing is for the benefit of everyone, and they hope that everyone can see that, you included.

And the thing is, you’re given the choice to see that.

At a certain point in the game, perhaps you’re given options to join up with (or at least assist) the villainous team. And unlike previous games where you could say “yes, please, let me help you” but then get told that you were being sarcastic even when you weren’t, this time, you’re taken at your word. You can help them. You can battle alongside them, against characters such as local Gym Leaders or even the regional Champion. You can take important items to whatever important location they need those items taken to. You can, if you choose to, assist them in whatever goal they have, and ultimately help them accomplish it, if that is what you want. Again, this being Pokémon, that would lead to a Bad End---but if you want that, if you want to see what will happen, you have that choice. You can do it.

Alternatively, of course, you can be the hero you’re so used to being. You can fight them at every turn, and as a result they’ll grow increasingly more aggressive toward you, until the affable gloves come off and they fight you for real, all the while saying how they thought you could see things their way, but no. Clearly you can’t.

And more alternatively still, perhaps we could get a bit of Undertale in here where you can have a route that is more neutral, where you sometimes help the villains and sometimes fight against them, all leading up to a neutral end where the villains don’t succeed, but perhaps not everyone is as happy as they could have been, either.

All of this is to say . . . Pokémon games don’t allow for multiple save files, and obviously no one would want to be locked into a Bad End. So perhaps, then, the mascot legendary (or one of them) has an association with time, like Celebi or Dialga. Perhaps the multiverse can be brought back for Gen VIII, and perhaps in these games it can be explained that the multiverse is really more like a bunch of different branching timelines. These separate universes are the way they are not because they were created as separate dimensions by some god, but rather because some significant choice was made along the way that resulted in the creation of a great big parallel world. The legendary pokémon of this generation (perhaps it’s one pokémon with multiple evolutions, like Cosmog) can traverse those different timelines at will, rather than being restricted to one timeline (a la Celebi), or simply being in charge of creating time (a la Dialga). Since this legendary pokémon can hop across the different timelines / parallel worlds at will (and since they can move along those timelines / worlds as they please), perhaps you befriend them, and so at the end of the game, if you don’t like the ending you received . . .

. . . if you want to see how things could be different . . .

. . . if you want to give it another go . . .

. . . you can battle that pokémon, and if you win, they’ll take you back in time to a point where your choices could still change your ending. The points would be predetermined, there would be some things you couldn’t undo (and note, if you choose this, any levels you gained or items you had after that point will be lost), but for the most part, you could rewind enough so that you can have a shot at a new ending without starting the game over from scratch. And, so long as you’re okay with losing certain things in your trip back through time, you could do this as many times as you pleased to see the different endings as many times as you like. It’s your choice, after all. It’s all up to you.

I think something like that would be very cool, as well as a fresh, new experience. Who knows what the villainous team’s goal would be (regional domination, or world devastation, who knows), but I also don’t think it would matter as much as the experience of getting to assist them with it, only to reset (as in, use the legendary) and stop them, only to reset and help them a little while ultimately stopping them, only to reset and . . . (bonus points if, like in Undertale, dialogue starts changing to reflect that they have some degree of awareness you’re doing this, while not full awareness of it. Things like, “I don’t know why, but I get the feeling we’ve been here before . . .) I think something like that would make for a very cool Pokémon game with tons of stuff to do, and it would really utilize an open world and all the themes surrounding it, but, well . . .

Probably what we’re going to get instead is another very linear game with tons of roadblocks and handholding.

Well, I can dream of better things, anyway.

#pokemon #i just think it'd be really neat to do something that the series hasn't . . . necessarily done before #and an open world game could be so cool #esp if you could use your own pokémon like ride pokémon #without ugly outfits and at will just #select them from your roster - choose to call them out - and the ride or w/e #and removing the Badge requirement and making it a bond requirement instead would really foster the feeling of friendship #which is a core tenant of the series #like idk ymmv but i think i've got good ideas #i think Game Freak should hear me out #@ Game Freak if you ever wanted to hire me now is your chance #i will gladly write your games for you #quite happily in fact

14 notes · View notes

loruleanhistorian · 8 years

Text

BotW: Sequel to TP??

Hints dropped (so far) which may place Breath of the Wild as a sequel to Twilight Princess:

Ganondorf’s (unused) dialogue from Twilight Princess

Twilight Princess HD’s Castle Town easter egg(s) vs. new avian race (Kass)

Twilight Princess’ Bridge of Hylia vs. Breath of the Wild’s Bridge of Hylia

Ocarina of Time/Twilight Princess’ Castle Town/Lost Woods’ ruins, respectively, vs. Breath of the Wild’s Temple of Time and Eastern Abbey ruins

Presence of a snowy peak to the northwest, in both Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild

Twilight Princess’ Hyrule Castle (appearance & location in-world) vs. Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule Castle (appearance & location in-world)

Ironically, the presence of the Korok hiding throughout the world

Let’s begin with Ganondorf’s dialogue, after your last fight in Hyrule Field, in Twilight Princess. We know his quote off by heart:

“Do not think this ends here… The history of light and shadow will be written in blood!”, but thanks to a game text dump found at The Cutting Room Floor, we’re now blessed with what he should have said:”When the chosen ones appear… They are always born into this world in perfect balance. That is the destiny of the chosen. That is the fate decreed by your gods, the only path for those who bear their crests. When this world brings forth another marked as you are… Know too, that it shall also be visited by one of my blood. Do not think this end here… The history of light and shadow will be written in blood!”

We know that there exists a cycle of incarnation, particularly since Demise’s defeat in Skyward Sword, but this quote confirms it tenfold. And the way it’s worded is, I feel, key to what is coming next in the franchise.

Second, we have the existence of some detailed bass relief panels in Hyrule Castle Town, courtesy of Twilight Princess HD. Three panels repeated: first is a Goron, communicating with three humans — a man, woman, and child — in the presence of the Triforce; the second shows the man and child, in-between two avian people; the third has the woman and child, with an Oocca mother and child, apparently fending off an armoured Zora warrior. Initially, many believed the winged folk from the middle panel were simply Rito — the winged humanoid race who claim descent from the Zora tribe — but the Rito only came into being from stresses specific to the deluge of Hyrule, which only occurred in the Child Link timeline (i.e., The Wind Waker). So who exactly are these folk, if not Rito? Well, the latest couple of videos from Nintendo — the E3'16 trailer, and the Treehouse Let’s Play — revealed a wholly new class of avian folk, who will make their debut in Breath of the Wild! I think it’s obvious that the winged men in this fresco are meant to represent these very people.

One of the most popular theories out there right now, compares the architecture/design and location of the as-of-yet unnamed bridge spanning what we can surmise is Lake Hylia in Breath of the Wild, to the Bridge of Hylia which we first lay our eyes on in — you guessed it — Twilight Princess. This great bridge spans the expanse of Lake Hylia, yet at the time we see it in Twilight, it has definitely seen better days; in Breath of the Wild, the bridge — like the Temple of Time — is certainly aged, but it seems… grander; much like there was a resurgence of Hyrule, and its bygone ruins of its former glory were touched up again: only to succumb to the wrath of time once more.

Speaking of time, the Temple of Time has been completely renovated to almost match brick-for-brick its heyday during the Era of the Hero of Time… only to have fallen into some disrepair since the coming of Calamity Ganon. And, for the same reasons as to why I feel the Bridge of Hylia was renewed, I feel the Temple of Time was refit and rebuilt to honour the gods during a new Silver Age of the Hyrulean Kingdom. And around the Temple of Time, nearly freed from its Lost Woods’ burial, are the remnants of the first Hyrule Castle Market Town: and the forerunner Hyrule Castle itself! But by this time, it has exchanged custody to the Sheikah as a monastery — the Eastern Abbey — only to be left to the elements again for more than a century…

We come now to another element of tying these two games together: an icy element. I’m speaking, of course, of the northern mountain of Snowpeak. This weathered alpine landscape is glaciated, riven with deep gorges, and home to several frigid lakes, and it lays in the northwestern reaches of the Kingdom: opposite of the fiery Death Mountain. While we haven’t seen very much of this region (or many others, for that matter, outside of the Great Plateau) we can see it: a) from the Plateau, due NE; b) in the cutscene where the Sheikah towers activate across the kingdom. This region on the map is west of the dark “deep” cut, in the upper lefthand side, with a lot of lighter “high” terrain.

Last but not least, we have the real nail-in-the-coffin to this sequel theory: Hyrule Castle and its environs are nearly a perfect match-by-match between these two games, from the castle’s layout, its architecture, and spires, to the layout of the town ruins’ plaza — complete with royal/Hylia crest fountain piece — and its situation in the north-central region of the world map. I’ve seen comparisons of these two places online, and it’s astounding! Either these are very elaborate easter eggs, intended to make us feel like we’re in familiar territory, or they are screaming clues to how this undoubtedly fantastic title will fit into the official Zelda timeline.

As a bonus, we have another piece of evidence… the Korok! We know these loveable, woody children from The Wind Waker, where they are the forms taken by the fairy children (i.e., the Kokiri from Ocarina of Time) due to their home being flooded centuries past. However, there is another side to this: the Kokiri appearing as children may simply be that, an appearance. Their father is a living, sapient tree: they are suited to being a plant-like life form from the start, with long lives. When their Father died (this occurs before Link pulls the Master Sword, ergo, it occurs in the Child Timeline as well as the Adult), the Kokiri would have been left without a patriarch; a protector. Since the Hero of Time was essential in clearing the Forest Temple and bringing the new Deku Tree sapling into the light of day, it can safely be assumed that the sapling did not grow in the Child Timeline… so, left to their own devices, in a world where humans were ever expanding… they took on more plant-like attributes, and took to the skies, finding nooks, glades, and springs to hide themselves away from prying eyes. This explains why we do not see them in Twilight Princess — but we do see their old home, then known as a Forest Temple to the people of Hyrule. The fairy children became Korok to hide from humans and monsters in a world without their Father.

EDIT: New evidence from the latest trailer kills my theory on the Koroks and the Great Deku Tree’s demise: he’s alive! And he’s guarding the Master Sword?!

EDIT#2:The sky folk are indeed the Rito tribe; they are wholly separate from the Zora, however, and seem to be their own unique species. One that evolved naturally, which still directly contradicts their origins presented in The Wind Waker. Seeing as how these bird men have been presented in etchings from the Child Link timeline, these new, true Rito have likely existed since the time before: perhaps a natural evolution of the Loftwing? These are the only other divine, sentient race associated with both Hyrule and the skies whilst being separate from the Oocca who, c'mon, cannot have made the City in the Sky. They're entire civilization, from their tools to architecture, are designed for or by human-sized beings, which the Oocca aren't.

#the legend of zelda #zelda breath of the wild #zelda twilight princess #zelda timeline #theorizing #timeline placement #botw #breath of the wild #twilight princess #twilight princess hd #nintendo #nintendo wii u #nintendo switch

132 notes · View notes

meeedeee · 8 years

Text

Dear Simon Sinek: STFU About Millennials RSS FEED OF POST WRITTEN BY FOZMEADOWS

The last few weeks or so, I’ve seen the same video endlessly going around on Facebook: a snippet of an interview with Simon Sinek, who lays out what he believes to be the key problems with millennials in the workplace. Every time I see it shared, my blood pressure rises slightly, until today – joy of joys! – I finally saw and shared a piece rebutting it. As often happens on Facebook, a friend asked me why I disagreed with Sinek’s piece, as he’d enjoyed his TED talks. This is my response.

In his talk, Sinek touches on what he believes to be the four core issues handicapping millennials: internet addiction, bad parenting, an unfulfilled desire for meaningful work and a desire to have everything instantly. Now: demonstrably, some people are products of bad parenting, and the pernicious, lingering consequences of helicopter parenting, wherein overzealous, overprotective adults so rob their children of autonomy and instil in them such a fear of failure that they can’t healthily function as adults, is a very real phenomenon. Specifically in reference to Sinek’s claims about millennials all getting participation awards in school (which, ugh: not all of us fucking did, I don’t know a single person for whom that’s true, shut up with this goddamn trope), the psychological impact of praising children equally regardless of their actual achievements, such that they come to view all praise as meaningless and lose self-confidence as a result, is a well-documented phenomenon. But the idea that you can successfully accuse an entire global generation of suffering from the same hang-ups as a result of the same bad parenting stratagems, such that all millennials can be reasonably assumed to have this problem? That, right there, is some Grade-A bullshit.

Bad parenting isn’t a new thing. Plenty of baby boomers and members of older generations have been impacted by the various terrible fads and era-accepted practises their own parents fell prey to (like trying to electrocute the gay out of teenagers, for fucking instance), but while that might be a salient point to make in individual cases or in the specific context of tracking said parenting fads, it doesn’t actually set millennials apart in any meaningful way. Helicopter parenting might be comparatively new, but other forms of damage are not, and to act as though we’re the only generation to have ever dealt with the handicap of bad parenting, whether collectively or individually, is fucking absurd. But more to the point, the very specific phenomenon of helicopter parenting? Is, overwhelmingly, a product of white, well-off, middle- and-upper-class America, developed specifically in response to educational environments where standardised testing rules all futures and there isn’t really a viable social safety net if you fuck up, which leads to increased anxiety for children and parents both. While it undeniably appears in other countries and local contexts, and while it’s still a thing that happens to kids now, trying to erase its origins does no favours to anyone.

Similarly, the idea that millennials have all been ruined by the internet and don’t know how to have patience because we grew up with smartphones and social media is – you guessed it – bullshit. This is really a two-pronged point, tying into two of Sinek’s arguments: that we’re internet addicts who don’t know how to socialise properly, and that we’re obsessed with instant gratification, and as such, I’m going to address them together.

Yes, internet addiction is a problem for some, but it’s crucial to note it can and does affect people of all ages rather than being a millennial-only issue, just as it’s equally salient to point out that millennials aren’t the only ones using smartphones. I shouldn’t have to make such an obvious qualification, but apparently, I fucking do. That being said, the real problem here is that Sinek has seemingly no awareness of what social media actually is. I mean, the key word is right there in the title: social media, and yet he’s acting like it involves no human interaction whatsoever – as though we’re just playing with digital robots or complete strangers all the time instead of texting our parents about dinner or FaceTiming with friends or building professional networks on Twitter or interacting with our readerships on AO3 (for instance).

The idea, too, that millennials have their own social conventions different to his own, many of which reference a rich culture of online narratives, memes, debates and communities, does not seem to have occurred to him, because we’re not learning to do it face to face. Except that, uh, we fucking are, on account of how we still inhabit physical bodies and go to physical places every fucking day of our goddamn lives, do I really have to explain that this is a thing? Do I really have to explain the appeal of maintaining friendships where you’re emotionally close but the person lives hundreds or thousands of kilometres away? Do I really have to spell out the fact that proximal connections aren’t always meaningful ones, and that it actually makes a great deal of human sense to want to socialise with people we care about and who share our interests where possible rather than relying solely on the random admixture of people who share our schools and workplaces for fun?

The fact that Sinek talks blithely about how all millennials grew up with the internet and social media, as though those of us now in our fucking thirties don’t remember a time before home PCs were common (I first learned to type on an actual typewriter), is just ridiculous: Facebook started in 2004, YouTube in 2005, Twitter in 2006, tumblr in 2007 and Instagram in 2010. Meaning, most millennials – who, recall, were born between 1980 and 1995, which makes the youngest of us 21/22 and the eldest nearly forty – didn’t grow up with what is now considered social media throughout our teenage years, as Sinek asserts, because it didn’t really get started until we were out of high school. Before that, we had internet messageboards that were as likely to die overnight as to flourish, IRC chat, and the wild west of MSN forums, which was a whole different thing altogether. (Remember the joys of being hit on by adults as an underage teen in your first chatroom and realising only years later that those people were fucking paedophiles? Because I DO.)

And then he pulls out the big guns, talking about how we get a dopamine rush when we post about ourselves online, and how this is the same brain chemical responsible for addiction, and this is why young people are glued to their phones and civilisation is ending. Which, again, yes: dopamine does what he says it does, but that is some fucking misleading bullshit, Simon Says, and do you know why? Because you also get a goddamn dopamine rush from talking about yourself in real life, too, Jesus fucking Christ, the internet is not the culprit here, to say nothing of the fact that smartphones do more than one goddamn thing. Sinek lambasts the idea of using your phone in bed, for instance, but I doubt he holds a similar grudge against reading in bed, which – surprise! – is what quite a lot of us are doing when we have our phones out of an evening, whether in the form of blogs or books or essays. If I was using a paperback book or a physical Kindle rather than the Kindle app on my iPhone, would he give a fuck? I suspect not.

Likewise, I doubt he has any particular grudge against watching movies (or TED talks, for that matter) in bed, which phones can also be used for. Would he care if I brought in my Nintendo DS or any other handheld system to bed and caught a few Pokemon before lights out? Would he care if I played Scrabble with a physical board instead of using Words With Friends? Would he care if I used the phone as a phone to call my mother and say goodnight instead of checking her Facebook and maybe posting a link to something I know will make her laugh? I don’t know, but unless you view a smartphone as something that’s wholly disconnected from people – which, uh, is kind of the literal antithesis of what a smartphone is and does – I don’t honestly see how you can claim that they’re tools for disconnection. Again, yes: some people can get addicted or overuse their phones, but that is not a millennial-exclusive problem, and fuck you very much for suggesting it magically is Because Reasons.

And do not even get me started on the total fuckery of millennials being accustomed to instant gratification because of the internet. Never mind the fact that, once again, people of any age are equally likely to become accustomed to fast internet as a thing and to update their expectations accordingly – bitch, do you know how long it used to take to download music with Kazaa using a 56k modem? Do you know how long it still takes to download entire games, or patches for games, or – for that matter – drive through fucking peak-hour traffic to get to and from work, or negotiate your toddler into not screaming because he can’t have a third juicebox? Because – oh, yeah – remember that thing where millennials stopped being teenagers quite a fucking while ago, and a fair few of us are now parents ourselves? Yeah. Apparently our interpersonal skills aren’t so completely terrible as to prevent us all from finding spouses and partners and co-parents for our tiny, screaming offspring, and if Mr Sinek would like to argue that learning patience is incompatible with being a millennial, I would like to cordially invite him to listen to a video, on loop, of my nearly four-year-old saying, “Mummy, look! A lizard! Mummy, there’s a lizard! Come look!” and see what it does for his temperament. (We live in Brisbane, Australia. There are geckos everywhere.)

But what really pisses me off about Sinek’s millennial-blaming is the idea that we’re all willing to quit our jobs because we don’t find meaning in them. Listen to me, Simon Sinek. Listen to me closely. You are, once again, confusing the very particular context of middle-class, predominantly white Americans from affluent backgrounds – which is to say, the kind of people who can afford to fucking quit in this economy – for a universal phenomenon. Ignore the fact that the global economy collapsed in 2008 without ever fully recovering: Brexit just happened in the UK, Australia is run by a coalition of racist dickheads and you’ve just elected a talking Cheeto who’s hellbent on stripping away your very meagre social safety nets as his first order of business – oh, and none of us can afford to buy houses and we’re the first generation not to earn more than our predecessors in quite a while, university costs in the States are an actual goddamn crime and most of us can’t make a living wage or even get a job in the fields we trained in.

But yeah, sure: let’s talk about the wealthy few who can afford to quit their corporate jobs because they feel unfulfilled. What do they have to feel unhappy about, really? It’s not like they’re working for corporations whose idea of HR is to hire oblivious white dudes like you to figure out why their younger employees, working longer hours for less pay in tightly monitored environments that strip their individuality and hate on unions as a sin against capitalism, in a context where the glass ceiling and wage gaps remain a goddamn issue, in a first world country that still doesn’t have guaranteed maternity leave and where quite literally nobody working minimum wage can afford to pay rent, which is fucking terrifying to consider if you’re worried about being fired, aren’t fitting in. Nah, bro – must be the fucking internet’s fault.

Not that long ago, Gen X was the one getting pilloried as a bunch of ambitionless slackers who didn’t know the meaning of hard work, but time is linear and complaining about the failures of younger generations is a habit as old as humanity, so now it’s apparently our turn. Bottom line: there’s a huge fucking difference between saying “there’s value in turning your phone off sometimes” and “millennials don’t know how to people because TECHNOLOGY”, and until Simon Sinek knows what it is, I’m frankly not interested in whatever it is he thinks he has to say.

from shattersnipe: malcontent & rainbows http://ift.tt/2iKOneF via IFTTT

#IFTTT #shattersnipe: malcontent & rainbows #RSSFeed

14 notes · View notes