#except maybe actually figure out your backstory in full

[narsh-poptarts]

My computer in the shop.... The last little babies it could muster out before I took it in,,, my dearest Gozzi I'll do anything for yooouuu

[tayrussfangirl]

You’re Out Boy-scout. Part-1

Backstory: It’s your first year at Oxford, you’re one year below Felix and Oliver, who have already been friends for a while now. You struggle finding your footing as one of the few Americans there, but eventually figure it out. On your first day, like many other girls, Felix immediately caught your eye, but what happens when you catch his as-well?

Felix Catton x female reader 🎀

No warnings for this part except for language if that counts.

As you roll your suitcase along the rough pavement beneath you, you take in all of the Oxford scenery. A sense of joy and excitement flows through you as you think of the fresh start that is to come. Walking through the gate you momentarily stop to look for any sign that may point you in the direction of your dorm. That’s when you see him. Towering over everyone around him, except for who seemed to be the only other American you spotted so far. Deep brunette shaggy hair, just barely reaching the bottom of his neck. Heart stopping brown eyes that seemed to almost radiate warmth. Thick eyebrows with a silver piercing that shone in the sun. You find yourself starring at sharp and chiseled figure. Starring, and starring. He was gorgeous, everything you had imagined in your dream man brought to life. You’re eyes begin to feel dry when you quickly blink and look away as he looks in your direction. You pull out a map and you pretend that it was what you were going to do all along. You feel his gaze, looking you up and down. A warm sensation stings your skin. You scramble around the pages as if you actually know what you’re looking for, when he quickly strides in your direction. Almost creating a breeze with his long legs. You continue looking down like you don’t even see him. “Do you need help finding somewhere?” he asks with a bit of intrigue in his eyes and voice.

You hesitantly look up and lock eyes with him. Kind and inviting. “Um.. yes actually, I do. Thank you.” you say with a small smile. His eyes widen. “You’re American?” he grins. “No, I’m Australian.” you joke. It was a lot funnier in your head, but he lets out a soft laugh nonetheless. “So where are you trying to find?”. You close your map and brush your white flowy skirt. You explain to him how you’re trying to find your dorm, and about how you were under the impression that someone would be here to escort you. “Well, I guess that’s my job now. Wasn’t busy anyhow.” Felix takes your bag and leads you toward the direction of the dorms. You look back to the place where Felix was standing to see a short blue eyed man and a taller curly haired man. They didn’t look pleased to see you walk away with Felix either. Felix notices the looks that you guys exchange. “Oh, that’s my cousin Farleigh, and my bud Oliver by the way.” You slightly grin.

The two of you walk for nearly 2 minutes when he stops. “I’m sorry, I haven’t asked your name. Fuck how rude of me.” You tell him your name and you see the side of his mouth just barely curl up. “Nice to meet you, I’m Felix. Catton” He extends his hand towards you and his large hand grips yours. “You as well.” you say and laugh. You keep walking but can’t help yourself from thinking about how his touch felt, even if it was just a handshake. You two stop in front of a tall brick building with bikes parked out front. “Well would you look at that, I’m just across the way.” He points towards his building. “Looks like we’ll be seeing each other often.” He smirks at you. You look up at him and say “Guess so.” You go to grab your bag from him. “I’ve got it.” he says. “No really, it’s ok.” you insist. He lets go. “Well if you need anything else..” he gestures towards your phone. You hand it to him and he types in his number. As he glances up at you he has a sincere yet charming look and places it back in your hands. “Thank you, you’ve been a lot of help.” You say as you beam up at him. “No problem, maybe I can show you around sometime soon if my schedules not too full with all the partying I do, y’know.” He says sarcastically. You giggle and nod your head. He pivots on his foot and trails of back in the other direction. You grab your bag and see the blue wool sweater out the corner of your eye turn towards you and wave before he continues on. You smile at him, and then to yourself for a little too long. He was kind, but you still struggled to fathom that he had even approached you to begin with. Seems a little to good to be true you think to yourself. As you press the button to the elevator your mind floods with all the possibilities of what could happen this year. You step in to the empty elevator, and close your eyes, you meet Felix’s face again. You’ve only spoken to him once and he’s already consumed your mind, he tends to have that effect on people. This is going to be a long semester.

My first time writing so let me know what you think! Not sure how many parts yet but I’ll try and get the next one out soon.

[nobody-is-here01]

back on my bullshit, (im here to spam you Marine Luffy stuff)

Thinking about Marine Luffy’s dynamic with the 7 warlords and it's one of the funniest things ever.

Boa Hancock is going to get her own post because I have SO MUCH to say about her and Canon! Luffy along with Marine Luffy’s dynamic with her.

Anyway, personal headcanons of what I think Marine Luffy and the Warlords dynamics are.

Doflamingo: Luffy is usually the one who during Warlord meetings has to deal with Doflamingo’s bullshit. This is partially because Luffy is the only thing that really puts the fear of god back into Doflamingo. Also, Marine luffy is absolutely feral, and terrifying, and does indeed bite. I think in some twisted ways Luffy in this AU reminds Doflamingo of when he's younger. In some fucked up way of trying to cope with trauma Doflamingo tries to simulate situations that he went through as a kid to see how Luffy reacts. To see if things had been a bit better, if things had been different, if Doflamingo could have been a better person. The Dressrosa Arc still happens in this AU except a bit later. As Doflamingo’s tyrant rein finally falls he realizes that “huh maybe we never were that similar…”

(I have no idea if this AU is a Crocomom AU or not but I’ll go ahead and write up how it would go in either situations.)

Crocodile: Dynamic is definitely more cold and distant than in an AU where Crocodile is Luffy’s other parent. Luffy is seen as a threat, and Crocodile has at least 15 different drawn-up plans on how to deal with him. (none of these plans would actually work in practice.) The dynamic is pretty much just business, you leave me be I’ll leave you be.

Crocomom: Similar to the first one. Except the first time he meets Luffy and he hears that he's Garp's grandkid he's freaking the fuck out. Because holyshit, that's his alive, grownup, kid. Crocodile has no idea how to explain to Luffy that like “hey im your biological mother, now a man, hahaha…” So Crocodile simply doesn't. (The two of them do have a heart-to-heart much later alone in Impel down during the breakout.)

Moria: Honestly I don't have much to say about him. Luffy absolutely hates Hogback and Absolom though. So Luffy has a dislike for Moria and what he does. But Moria out of all the warlords not including Kuma is the easiest to deal with, so that earns him some brownie points.

Kuma: Im not sure if you caught up with the latest chapters. (specifically his backstory chapters) so I will be staying silent for now as not to spoil anything for you.

Mihawk: Mihawk is both intrigued and concerned at the beginning. Because that is Shank’s hat, and Shank’s kid. Why is Shank’s brat in the Marines?? Mihawk also like all the other warlords tends to use Luffy as some form of a coping mechanism. It's not uncommon to hear about Luffy and Mihawk getting into another physical fight. But after a while, Mihawk does realize that he has been accidentally treating Luffy as if he is Shanks. Mihawk realizes that he can't force Luffy to become his new sparring partner. Luffy is not Shanks, and he can't fill that hole either. After Marine Ford Mihawk reads the news regularly, a rare grin on his face whenever he catches sight of a straw hat.

Jinbei: That is Luffy’s emotional support parental figure your honor! The only one who is normal, safe, and sane. Also, the only one to look at Luffy and go “Are you okay?? I don't think healthy humans are supposed to act like that.” Also, the one to get Luffy to open up and heal slowly after Marineford. Also Luffy definitely knows the full truth of what happened to Fisher Tiger in this AU, so yeah that's something.

(I am so sorry, this is a really long post 💀)

Aaaahhhhhh!!! I've missed you and your bullshit bombarding my asks!

I love how with each dynamic all of them are also like, 'alright this kid is fucked up, keep an eye on him' but for different reasons

So here are some of my thoughts on what Marine Luffy’s relationship is with the warlords (love yours so much)

Crocodile : so unfortunately not a coco-mom au, like you said their relationship is strictly business, Luffy doesn't really care for the warlords as long as they don't get in his way.

Domflamingo : Luffy finds him kinda annoying so he tries to avoid any situation where he would meet him, unfortunately he can't at warlord meetings, but he's tried, probably one of the only warlords Luffy wouldn't mind punching out of the blue, dude would punch him without reason (gets away with it too)

Kuma : (no sadly not that far yet but I know a bit of his background not much though) but Luffy likes him

Moria : almost the same relationship as Domflamingo, except he just straight up avoids him, unless he has to deal with Moria then he will and he'll do it quickly

Mihawk : one of the few warlords Luffy actually respects, he admires his fighting and his character, granted it annoyed him a bit to constantly be reminded of Shanks, like you said he also like the other warlords used luffy as some form of coping, but after he realized what he did he stopped and him and Luffy kinda became like gossip buddies, like they'd hang out whenever Mihawk was in the area, but Luffy wouldn't actively seek him out, Mihawk would have to come to him if he wanted someone to talk to or spar with,

Jimbe : only warlord and person that Luffy actually likes from the warlords, yes he likes Mihawk, but Jimbe is different, Luffy has a sort of awe for Jimbe and felt very honored to know about him and his past with Fisher Tiger, Jimbe is the only one who knows that Luffy secretly wishes he was a pirate instead of a Marine, when Jimbe asked why Luffy didn't just become a pirate now Luffy replied saying that he's made so many promises to the people he protects that he doesn't want to go back, not now at least, Jimbe is also the only one who knows about Ace and Sabo and how much Luffy misses them and how proud he is of them

absolutely love your asks 🩷

Have aa good day/night

[undertheopensky]

The Ocarina 2

Whumptober Day 25: “You’re not delivering a perfect body to the grave.”

Characters: Same deal as last time, everyone’s there except Four but he’s somehow the main focus

Trigger warnings: Alternative Backstories, Unreliable Narrator, Past Child Death, Discussions of suicide

Read on Ao3!

Missed the first installment? Read here!

-----

Leaving Vio and the plaintive sound of his ocarina behind, the group heads off into the forest again.

In theory, they’re aiming for the northern side of the woods and the road that leads to Hyrule Town, but they already know they won’t make it.  This isn’t the Minish Woods, with the village and castle just over the next rise; it’s a representation of Four’s mind and his memories.  Just walking isn’t going to get them out.

But what will? Sky wonders.

The cottage comes back into view, all the more ominous now.  The bright sunlight contrasts with the heavy, creeping mist; with the too-dark forest full of screaming and fear.  Sky lets a hand trail close to the bark of a nearby pine; swears he can feel a chill rolling off it, hear the faint echo of a wail.

Everything just feels more intense, now that he knows the truth; now that he knows what Four’s been keeping locked up in his heart, locked away in the woods.

Why didn’t he trust us?

“I was thinking.”  Wind runs a hand along the smooth wood of the boundary fence.  “Vio, and Green, and the others - what if they’re not just memories?”

Sky looks back at him.  Wind’s acting too casual.  “Oh?  What else could they be?”

“Ghosts,” Wind says, then cringes as if expecting ridicule.

“I don’t think they’re poes, Wind.”

“Not that kind of ghost!”  Wind’s gone red, though Sky thinks it’s less embarrassment and more anger.  “The ghosts of people!  Of Four’s brothers!  What if they’re trapped here, stuck haunting Four’s mind, or wherever the fuck we are?”

Before anyone else can dispute this Legend is nodding thoughtfully.  “Actually, that’s a fair point.  I’ve not run into many ghosts, but the parallels are there.”

“Yeh’ve dealt with ghosts before?”  Twilight sounds startled.

“Of course he has, it’s Legend.”  The veteran, unsaid.  “Haven’t you dealt with ghosts though Twi?  You told a story about the queen of your Zora being a ghost.”

“Yeah, but that was jus’ the once.”  Twilight thinks for a moment.  “An’… she was pretty fixated on her son.  Only reason she was hangin’ round at all, ah figure.”

“Exactly!” Wind says.  “Ghosts often stick around when they have people they care about or things left undone.”

“But…” Hyrule looks troubled.  “What difference does it make?  Whether they’s ghosts, or memories?”

“Well… it’s pretty clear they’re trapped here.  Maybe we’re supposed to help them move on.”

Legend’s mouth tightens.  “They may not want to go.”

“Maybe not,” Wind says softly, “but we can at least try.”

It was as good an explanation as any.  As good a goal as any.  And didn’t force them to face the creeping worry that they’re not here for anyreason at all.  That they’re just here, and there’s nothing they can do.

(Can’t help Four.  Can’t help his brothers.  Can’t even help themselves.)

From here along the boundary line they can see the low fence of what’s supposed to be the vegetable field, if not the field itself - the mist still lays thick on the ground.  It’s somewhere to start.  Blue Four - shit, Four’s brother - had been pretty adamant about not moving from that spot.

He is, indeed, still there, mist swirling round his feet.  His sword hangs at his side like he’d gotten distracted partway through a drill.  Although - the way his head is ducked, like he can’t hold it all the way up, and his shoulders sag -

He looks so tired.

When they cross an invisible line his head still snaps up to glare at them.

Wind stops short.  Backs up half a step, and smiles.  “Hi!  You’re Blue, right?”

Blue, who had settled when he backed away, immediately gets his hackles back up.  “What’s it to you?!”

Wind shrugs with deliberate calm.  “Just making sure.  Vio told us your names, but I didn’t want to assume.”

“Damn nerd,” Blue mutters.  Despite his grumpy words, he calms further, enough to sheathe his sword across his back.  “So.  What are you bothering me for?  Vio’s the smart one.”

Wind hums.  “Just - trying to figure things out, I guess.  What was it like, when Four - Link - went on adventures?”

Blue scrunches his nose at him, confused by the question.  “What do you mean?  Like we didn’t all go?  He couldn’ta left us behind if he tried!  What, did he just never mention that he had his brothers along helping him the whole way?!  That bastard, taking all the credit.”

“He doesn’t like talking about them much,” Sky intercepts.  “So it was more of a group effort?”

“Of fucking course!  How else would an eight-year-old climb fucking Death Mountain all on their own?  Not that four eight-year-olds was much better,” he mutters.

Sky frowns.  Didn’t that -?

“It was a pain in the ass keeping all of them alive and focused,” Blue continues.  “Do we have enough food, do we have enough water, who’s tired, who’s hungry, has Red lost his weapon again?  Never mind trying to get everyone out of bed in the morning.  It’s a miracle we ever got anywhere.”  Blue scratches at his head, upsetting his hat.  He snatches it back into position angrily.  “Now that idiot doesn’t even have me keeping him on track, goddesses.”

“You must love him very much.”

Blue’s hackles go up yet again.  His shoulders fly up around ears that are quickly turning red, and his gaze jerks away from them so he doesn’t have to make eye contact.  “I - he - he’s -” he struggles with the words, folding his arms tight across his chest and hunching over a little.  Defensive.

It’s - hard to see him, Sky realises with a start.  He can see the mist through him, just a little, swirls of movement where there should be solid fabric.

Maybe they’re ghosts, Wind says in his memory, and he bites back a shudder.

“Of course I love him,” Blue says, in a tight, small voice.  “He’s my brother.  I love him so much, and -” he shivers, curls in on himself further, goes a little more see-through.  Sky considers waving at Wind to change the fucking subject already.

Blue’s already continuing, though, head ducked to stare at his hands.  “I’m glad one of us made it out.  I’m glad he lived.  And - I’m glad it wasn’t me.”

Sky’s eyebrows go up without conscious thought.  That’s - not something he’d expected.  Bitterness, grief, jealousy or envy - that’s more what he’d expect from the ghost of someone who’d been left behind.

Blue huffs, making a face like he wants to scowl at their expressions but is too damn tired.  “Think what you want.  But… when you’ve been surrounded by brothers your whole life… being alone really sucks.”

There’s a moment where his eyes go blank, and suddenly none of them are in a well-lit summer field; there’s only ice and darkness and tight spaces and knowing there’s something behind you –

Then Blue blinks and the moment shatters.

“It doesn’t matter,” he says.  “It happened, and we can’t change it now.  And - even if we could -”

He frowns.  It’s hard to tell where the mist ends and his small form starts.

“Even with everything… I know we made the right choice.  Because if it came down to it, I’d do everything over again, exactly the same.  I just wish… I just wish he didn’t have to be alone.”

Blue’s face crumples, and abruptly he turns away from them and strides off into the mist.

“Hey, wait!” Wind yelps.

Blue’s already gone.  His shadow had faded to nothing almost as soon as the fog swallowed him up.

“Well, now what,” says Legend.  Mist swirls uneasily around his boots.

“Maybe go back to the house?  We didn’t get much of a look at it before, we got distracted by… everything else going on.”

Sky glances back at the fence and has to suppress a shudder.

In a reverse of the last time they’d been in the vegetable patch, they head for the forge.  The door they’d originally exited through was back to being barred shut, though, with a few heavy scratches in the wood that hadn’t been there before, so they had to detour around to the front.  Maybe Red will be there, Sky thinks optimistically, or maybe they’ll really luck out and a portal will be waiting to take them somewhere else.

Instead, when Legend opens the front door, they find Green standing by one of the shop counters, studying a dagger with an idle sort of focus.

Since friendliness had worked okay before, Wind pastes a smile on his face.  “Hi Green!”

Green doesn’t respond.  His eyes are kind of distant, actually, like he’s not really there.  Like Four gets, sometimes, in the dark hours of the night, or when he’s got all his focus on the movement of a whetstone.

Then, before they can do more than exchange uneasy glances, he comes out of it with a blink and a tightening of fingers on the hilt.  He doesn’t seem to notice them, occupied with gently placing the dagger on a shelf.  The way he handles it - it’s more than a just a smith’s respect for a weapon.  Legend thinks it’s almost - fond.

Then he turns round and startles, and the thought is gone.

“Nice to see you again!  Are you Green?”

“You talked to Vio,” he says instead of answering.  “That’s… good.”

“We also talked to Blue!” says Wind cheerfully.

“That’s less good.”  There’s a smile sneaking onto his face, though, as he shakes off whatever daze he’d been in.

“Oh, so it’s not just us, he’s always cranky?”

“He’s been a cranky old man ever since we were kids.”  Green blinks, still a little hazy.  “Red says he’s just mad he’s not the oldest.”

“Ah, sibling rivalry,” says Twilight sagely.

“Who is the oldest?” asks Wild.

Green’s smile turns sardonic.  “Me.  Some big brother I turned out to be, though.”

Wind drifts a little closer.  “What do you mean?”

“Well…” Green retreats into himself a little.  “Look where we are now.  If I’d been a better leader - a better brother - then maybe - maybe they’d still -” he chokes, and shakes himself.  “I made so many mistakes - but - at least one of them lived,” he says, almost wistfully.

Wind cocks his head.  “You’re not jealous?”

“Jealous?”  Green looks startled.  “Goddesses, no!  If one of them lived then I didn’t - I didn’t completely fail.  If it was me - if I was the only one left - ”

It happens again - their sense of the world around them vanishes, replaced by darkened hallways, empty beds in empty rooms, names shouted but somehow the silence swallows them up -

“No,” says Green, shaking his head hard.  “No, no, no, it’s - it’s not real, that didn’t - that didn’t happen, it’s fine, it’s -”

He’s almost crying, breaths sobbing out of him as he hugs himself and shakes.  All around him the shop is smeary with colour as the world bleeds into itself, like tears staining a painting.

“That’s not how it happened - it’s not -”

He turns to run up the stairs - to check the rooms Legend knows will be empty - and is gone.

The room finishes swimming back into focus.  Legend finds himself pressing his hands against his eyes, like it will help.  It doesn’t.

Warriors clicks his tongue.  “That did not go well.”

“Yeah.”  Wind looks sad, but not surprised.

“Should we go after him?”

“No.  He’s gone, we won’t find him upstairs - and he probably won’t manifest again for a while.”  Wind grimaces.  “And if he’s so… fragile, it’ll make it hard to discuss things.”

That also explained why Wind hadn’t tried to go after Blue earlier.  Legend had wondered.  Adds weight to Wind’s ghost theory though.  A simple memory or echo wouldn’t react so strongly, surely.

…he thinks of Green’s soft smile, handling the dagger like he would a cherished memory.

Could a memory have its own memories?

“Forge’s empty,” says Twilight, from the stone doorway into the smithy proper.  “Red ain’t here, and the fire’s cold, so he’s prob’ly been gone a while.”

Warriors sighs.  “And if there’s really no point in checking upstairs…” Wind hesitates, but nods firmly when Warriors looks at him.  “…then we should probably head back outside.”

Legend’s not the only one to slump in defeat.

What were they missing? he thinks to himself, filing out the door after Time.  They’d been going round and round in circles and made no progress - it feels like a dungeon where he’s missing a key item.

Blue they’d found exactly where he was the first time.  Green had been in the shop, and the forge was empty - leaving them with no ideas on where to find Red.  Four’s home property wasn’t large, exactly, but there was enough space that it made finding one specific person difficult.

The fog wasn’t helping, of course.  Legend squints out across the fields and sees a whole lot of nothing; sunlight streaming through the fog turning it opaque and blinding, the fog itself, the menacing shadows of the forest beyond the fenceline.

The forest.  “If we found Green close to where we found Red - maybe Red’s in the forest, now?” he says aloud.

“It’s as good an idea as any,” says Time, and it seems no one else has any better ones because they don’t argue.

As they set off, Twilight asks, “Why ain’t we seen them close to each other?”

“Red wasn’t that far off from Blue the first time,” Legend reminds him.

“But not together,” Twilight stresses.  “We ain’t seem them interact with each other at all. If they’re ghosts of brothers, wouldn’t they wanna stick close?”

Wind shakes his head.  “Ghosts don’t really think like that.  All their attention is on the living.”

Legend agrees.  Though whether that attention is desperate protectiveness, or jealousy for what they could no longer have - well.  That depended on the ghost.  At least so far these spirits have been relatively non-violent.  Closer to memories, echoes of people going about their daily lives, than individuals with their own goals.

(Is Wind right?  Are these real ghosts, spirits of people trapped on a plane they no longer exist on?  Or are they just imprints of the people Four remembers, held desperately close?)

They hit the forest again and cluster together - no one’s willing to risk brushing against a trunk.  Legend doesn’t like tripping over people, though, and drops to the back while the others jostle for position.  He shakes his head at Wind and Wild getting into a slap fight over the right to walk in the exact centre of the dirt path.

It’s strange, though.  Under the low squabbling and Warriors subtly egging them on, Legend almost thinks he can hear music.

Not like the piping sound of Vio’s ocarina, clear and sweet.  This is duller, more organic.  He’s almost sure he’s imagining it.  Except for the heroes and the ghosts of the past, this place is unnaturally empty and quiet.

When you travel with eight noisy people, though, it’s easy enough not to notice.  Legend wonders if it’s his ears playing up.  It’s just a soft hum, after all.

The forest continues to loom and waft mist at them.  He’s reminded uncomfortably of the Lost Woods.  At least he’s pretty sure they’re notwandering in circles, the path’s too deliberate for that.  And the fog’s not that thick.  Unnerving, not all-encompassing.  This is fine.

Besides, Time’s not worried.  He’s always the first one to get a bit white around the eyes when the magic of the Lost Woods starts streaming up from the dirt.  Sometimes Legend wonders why, but the old man’s never brought it up, and hell.  There’s plenty of stuff Legend would just as rather never have to talk about.  He can let the old man hold his peace on this one.

He’s more likely to answer if Twilight cracks and asks first, anyway.

“Legend will you quit humming!”

“It’s not me,” Legend protests automatically, but his attention’s gone sharp and clear-edged.  It’s not just his ears.  Wars hears it too.  The low hum seems to be coming from the forest around him, maybe from the mist itself.  He’s the last one in line, he knows there’s no one there, but it’s instinct to glance back and check -

Red blinks back at him, smile a little too wide.

Legend is not the only one who screeches in surprise.

Red laughs at them as they all scrabble for a vantage point.  It’s a miracle no one pulls a weapon, even those near the lead who didn’t see the cause of the ruckus for several precious seconds - it would have been easy to assume they were finally being attacked.  But no, it’s just Red.  Fuck.

“Are you okay?” Hyrule asks.

“Just leave me here,” says Legend, where he’s sprawled on his back in the dirt.  “My heart can’t take this shit.”

Wild snorts.  “And you call Time an old man.” Legend raises one hand so Wild can see the very specific gesture he has in response to that accusation.

“Come on, vet, you’re alright,” says Wars, hauling him not unsympathetically to his feet.

There’s mischief in Red’s eyes.

Sky takes the lead on this one.  “Hullo there - how are you feeling?”

The mischief fades a little in favour of curiosity.  He tilts his head, inviting an answer.

“You got a bit of a fright earlier, I was hoping you’d be doing better now,” Sky continues.

Glancing around as if in confusion, Red just shrugs.  He looks okay to Legend, even if he’s gone back to not talking much.

“Well, that’s good.  I’m glad.  But, what are you doing in the woods?  You didn’t seem like you wanted to come out here earlier.”

Red purses his lips for a long moment, considering, then finally answers.  “They can be scary.  But there’s good things out here, too.”

“Yeah?  What kind of good things?”

Red grins again.  Bounces on his heels and - tips his body away, then back again, in a clear indication that he wants them to follow him, then sets off without pausing.

“Hey - hold on, okay, we’re coming!”

He’s at least not trying to lose them - just lead them somewhere, Sky thinks.  He moves through the forest with a confidence none of the heroes have, never worried about tripping on a fog-shrouded root or running into a tree cursed with terrible memory.  Occasionally he glances backward to make sure they’re still there, too.

Red looks eerily alike to his brothers, save the curls in his hair and the colour of his clothes.  Somehow, though, Sky can’t help seeing him as younger.  Maybe it’s the light in his eyes, even muted by the mist; maybe it’s the cheer in his face or the way he bounces as he moves.

“So Red, you’re the youngest, right?”

Red bursts into giggles.  “No way!” he says, spinning to face them.  “I’m second oldest, after Green!  What gave you that idea?”

Sky has no idea how to point out Red’s general air of childishness without being impolite, so he just shrugs awkwardly.  “Oh, no real reason, I guess.”

There’s a wicked flash in Red’s eyes that says he knows exactly what Sky thought.  “Now I can’t wait to see you find out who’s really youngest,” he giggles.

“It’s Blue, isn’t it,” says Legend.  “No wonder he’s so cranky.”

Red grins and doesn’t answer.  He speeds up.

“Whoa, Red!  Wait up!  Where are we going, anyway?”  Wind asks.

“Better keep u~up!”

Red’s cheerful singsong has no right to sound that menacing.

It turns out he’s leading them to a stream, shallow and noisy over rocks both large and small.  Red jumps into it with a whoop.  By the time he lands his feet are bare, leggings rolled up to the knee, and he splashes around happily in the shin-deep water.  Wind scrambles to get his own boots off and join him.  Sky wonders if he’s forgotten his original mission, or is just trying to connect with Red.

“Is this stream always here?” They sure hadn’t seen it the first time they came this way.

Red hums.  “Only when I want it to be.”  He pounces, scattering water everywhere and making Wind shriek, and comes up wet, pouting, and empty-handed.  “I missed the fish,” he whines.

That’s certainly interesting.  “Did you play here a lot when you were little?” Legend says.

“Yeah!  All the time!  It was the best in summer!” Kicking at the water, Red sends up a spray of sparkling droplets.  Wind yelps and ducks and splashes him back, and for a minute things seem like they’ll devolve into outright war.  Legend quietly backs out of reach.

It proves unnecessary.  Red flicks his hands a bit and loses interest, and Wind steers things back on track.

“So do does the stream just not run anymore?” he says casually, wading along just to make noise.  “I don’t remember seeing it when we visited last.”

Red hums.  “In really bad years it dries up, when Lake Hylia drops below its inlet level.  It’s… not good for the - for the forest.  I like it better when it’s running high.”  He finally clambers out of the water onto a sun-kissed rock near the bank, sprawling happily.  “When the rains come, though, it fills up again!”  Kicking his feet a bit, Red discovers he can just reach the water with his toes, and flicks some at Wind with a giggle.

Wild flicks some back.  “So the stream’s still there, but you don’t play in it anymore?”

Red slumps, ducking to hide his face.  “We just… didn’t have as much time, after we had to start being heroes.”

“Oh.”  Hesitating, Wind chooses his words carefully.  “How old were you when you had your first adventure?”

Red lights up at the question.  “Eight!”

Like Blue had said.  Not that he had a reason to lie, or at least not an obvious one.

“That sounds hard.”

“It was scary sometimes, but we had lotsa help.”  Giggling, Red reaches out with both hands to cup a massive daffodil.  Legend realises too late -

The world dissolves once more.

“Stop pushing me!”

“I tripped!”

“I’ll trip you if you step on my foot one more time -”

“Shush!” a small Green tries, tugging on his one captive hand and nearly bringing the whole chain to a tumbling stop.

“Gree-een!  Don’t pull me!”

“Sorry Red,” says Green, rubbing at the back of his head.

“This isn’t working,” complains Vio.  Baby fat and a pouty expression make him look all the younger.  His hair is getting in his face; he tugs irritably at the hand Red is holding, trying to sweep it away.

“Well the last time I let go of your hand you got distracted by a mushroom and nearly wandered off the path,” Red says.  “And then Blue yelled at me.”

“Why do I have to be at the back?” Blue joins the protest.

The sigh Green lets out shakes his tiny shoulders, makes the sword buckled across his chest wobble with the force.  “Because you actually keep Vio on track, but when you’re in Red’s spot, you’re always trying to step on my shoes, and if we put Vio behind me, it puts Red at the back, and then when he trips over we all fall down.  This works.”

Blue makes a high-pitched grumbling noise but otherwise settles down to sulk.

“M sorry,” says Red.  “I don’t mean to trip so much!”

“We know, Red.  It’s okay.  It just means you need two hands held.”

“This is still very im-practical,” says Vio.  “The knights said there were monsters on the road, and if we get attacked, we’re all stuck together.  I want my hands free!  And why do you get the sword?”

“You don’t even want the sword, Vivi, you hate swords.”

“It’s just for a little longer,” Green insists as he turns back around.  “C’mon, the forge isn’t much further.  Once we’ve all got weapons we can decide what to do next.”

Blue scoffs.  “‘Decide’, he says, like he hasn’t already decided what we’re doing.”  Then Vio trips him and they all go down in a heap.

“Grrrr!  That’s IT!”

Blue lunges.  Vio bares his teeth and drags him down to the grass, where they start scrambling to sit on each other and yank at handfuls of hair.

Lurching up on his knees, Red reaches out, much too far away to do anything.  “No, guys!  Guys, please stop fighting!”

Green sits up from where he’d been knocked to the ground, but doesn’t bother to stand.  “It’s okay, Red.  They’ll calm down eventually.”

Red sniffs.  “But I hate it when they fight…”

“I know.”  Green shuffles closer on his bottom until he’s pressed close to Red.  “C’mon.  We’ll… rest for a bit.  It’s not much further, an’ we haven’t seen any monsters yet.”

Reluctantly, Red sits down on his heels, then wiggles his legs out from under him so he can sit cross-legged.  “I wanna go home,” he says softly.

“It’s okay.  We’re nearly home, Red.”

“Didn’t mean that.”  Red curls up a little, watching his brothers roll around in the dirt with unseeing eyes.  “I wanna go home.  To before the stupid festival.  Before all the monsters an’ the scary people an’ Dottie -”

Green grabs him in an awkward hug as he bursts into tears.

“I wanna go home!”

“I wanna go home,” Red whispers, and it takes a moment for his eyes to stop swimming and actually focus on what’s in front of him - Red, still curled on his river rock, looking so much like that long-ago child that it hurts.  “I wanna go home, but it doesn’t exist anymore.  Not for me.”

Wind takes a moment to centre himself after the unsettling memory.  “If you can’t go home, then what will you do?”

Red rocks from side to side, biting his lip uncertainly.  “Stay here.  Can’t go home, but don’t wanna leave.”

Wind frowns.  “Is there some reason you have to leave?”

“I miss them,” he says like he hadn’t heard.  “I miss all of them.  I wanna go home.”

But unlike Blue, unlike Green, when his emotions ride high, Red doesn’t fade away.  Legend exchanges a glance with Sky - this might be their chance to get some real information.

Sky kneels down, on the bank level with Red’s rock.  Making himself small and unthreatening and calm.  “What happened?” he asks.

Red sniffles.  “It wasn’t fair.”

It never is, Legend thinks, aching.

“We weren’t expecting anything to go wrong.  It was over.  We’d already won.  There was nothing left to do except – except put up our weapons and go home, and –”

He swipes a hand over his nose.  “I wanna go home,” he whispers again.

Wind sloshes his way to the shallows, looking like he maybe regrets getting his breeches wet.  “It’s always hard, being away from home,” he says almost carelessly.  He sits down on the bank and starts trying to wring out his hems.  “Is that why this place looks so much like - the forge, and the fields and the forest?  Because you lived here?”

Red ducks his head.  “…maybe.  Doesn’t matter, though.”

“What do you mean, it doesn’t matter?”

“There’s no point.  At the end of the day, we’re still dead, and there’s nothing we can do to change that.”  He shakes himself; tries for a smile that quivers at the edges.  “You know, I’m glad it wasn’t me.”

Blue had said the same thing.  So had Green - or implied it, at least.

Red continues, “I love my brothers, you know.  And… going on without them…” he shivers.  “We never liked to be separated.”

Wind looks sad.  “You don’t wanna be alone, either.”

“Yeah, but also…” His smile is wry and self-depreciating.  “I’da given up by now, if it was me.”

Wind edges a little closer.  He’s near enough to hug Red, now, if he wanted.

“I love my brothers.  I look up to them, you know.  They’re so much stronger than I am.  And to keep trying, and trying, and failing – I couldn’t do it.  I know I couldn’t.”

Remembering what Blue had said, Sky says, “Would you have changed anything?  If you could do it over again?”

Very slowly, Red shakes his head.  “…no.  Someone needed to do it.  It had to be done.  I just wish we’d had more of a choice.”

Sky feels a frown flicker, smooths it away before Red can see.  “What do you mean?  Were you forced to -?”

Red shakes his head again.  His eyes have gone intensein a way that has nothing to do with their colour. “I wish we’d had a choice,” he repeats, and falls into the water.

It’s suddenly broad and deep and rushing, a river instead of a stream, and Sky cries out and reaches without thinking.  Time has to grab him to keep him from jumping in.

“He’s a memory, or a ghost,” he reminds him, “there’s nothing you can do.”

If Four’s mindscape would even let them.  The mist now reaches to towering heights, almost looming on the far side of the bank that’s suddenly so far away.  Threatening.

(Even now, Four protecting his brothers with everything he can bring to bear.)

The dirt under his boots crumbles a little.  Dampens from underneath.  “Uh, maybe we should move,” says Hyrule, looking alarmed.

Red is gone for now.  There’s nothing more to learn here.  Sky hates what he has learned, heartsore and sick to his stomach.

The water nips at their heels for a few worrying minutes before finally deciding it had expanded far enough and settling.  On the opposite bank of the new river-lake, only the very tips of the treetops are visible through the heavy mist. 

“Fuck,” Legend sighs, making Wild snort.

“That’s one way to put it.”

“They were so little,” Wind says mournfully, as they start off walking again.  Goddesses, more walking - Sky’s exhausted just thinking about it.

“When they died?” says Legend.  “Yeah.”

“Well, yeah, but I meant - what Red showed us.  They were so little, and they were on their own.  Why are so many heroes so young?”

It’s a rhetorical question.  Sky grimaces anyway.  He doesn’t like thinking about how young some of the others had started.  At least he’d been all but an adult - even if he hadn’t known what he was getting into.  None of them had, not really.

And Wind’s right.  Four and his brothers had been so little.

In that last memory - except that photograph on the mantle, it was the first time Sky had seen them all side by side.  Their first adventure.

“Where was Four?”  he asks aloud, stopping still.

“What?”

“Four.  In that last memory.  Remember, Red said - well he implied - that was their first adventure.  And Blue told us that all of them went on adventures together.  So where was Four, in that memory?”

Everyone looks at each other.

“Well… the memory musta been from his point of view, right?”  says Twilight.  “So we wouldn’ta seen him, if we were lookin’ through his eyes.”

“But we saw him in that picture with Dot,” Wind points out immediately.

“Maybe it was one of the others and he was just watching?” Hyrule tries.

Sky shakes his head.  “Even if he was - we never saw his hands, or his nose, or - none of the others so much as looked at him, or spoke to him, or even - none of them was holding his hand, and they made such a big deal out of everyone being in contact.”

“Maybe he was the one who was supposed to take care of monsters?”

“But Green had the sword,” Sky says.  “And it was their only sword.  That’s why they were going to the forge, to pick up more weapons for them.”

“My head hurts,” Wind complains.

“Okay, hold on.”

Warriors, ever practical, grabs a nearby stick, immediately drops it when the howling winds of high altitude and a bird’s screaming cry rush over them, and starts drawing in the dirt with his gloved hand instead.  “So.  We have our Four, who is Link.  He has four brothers, Green, Red, Blue, and Vio.  Green is the oldest, Red second.  All five of them -” he makes a weird face - “all of them went on the three adventures he’s mentioned to us, and… his brothers died sometime between then and when we met him.  Any questions so far?”

“Yeah, why are we calling him Four when there were five brothers to start with?” Wind jumps in.

“Because Four had four brothers?” Hyrule suggests.

“That’s morbid,” says Wild, sounding impressed.

“It was for the Four Sword, though, not his four brothers,” Legend points out.  “He even told us that directly.”

“The tunic’s definitely not.  Those aren’t even the colours of the elements, and most contemporary classification systems only use three elements anyway -”

“Four came from a different time, though,” Legend argues, “and purple was the colour of the earth element, before it got rolled up with fire.  Besides - the tunic could easily be for his brothers.  He was wearing it before we came along and started needing nicknames to figure out which Link was getting yelled at.”

“Okay that’s a good point,” Wind mutters.

“This still doesn’t answer where the hell Four was in that last memory,” Sky drags them back on track.

Warriors offers, “Maybe there’s a simple explanation - maybe he just stayed behind at the forge?”

That would almost make sense - but why?  They’d been at a festival.  Why would one of them have stayed behind?

And then, if he was never there at all - why did Four have that memory?

There’s too many pieces that don’t connect.  Sky hates to say it, hates to even think about it, but - “I think - I think we need to know how they died.”

Wind grimaces.  “There’s really no good way to ask a ghost that.  You didn’t think I was talking around the topic by accident, didya?  And - you’ve seen them.  When it came up anyway.  They’re not - remembering things that hurt them - it’s hard.”

“Is that information we really need to know?” Time speaks up.  “Our main goal is simply to get out of here.”

“And we still have no clue how to do that,” Warriors says.  “We don’t have any leads, except for the four of them.”

That’s not completely true, Sky thinks.  But trying to dig through Four’s memories when they don’t even know what they’re looking for - just the thought of it feels vile.

“Ledge,” says Warriors, “you said at the start you had a few ideas?  I know you said they were last resort,” he adds before he can protest, “but we’re starting to run low on options.  Just put it out there.”

Legend looks very much like he would rather not.  Hesitating, he runs a hand through his hair, and doesn’t seem to notice when it sets his hat askew.

“It is… a song of awakening,” he says at last, every word precise and deliberate.  “I don’t actually know if it will work here.  Are we asleep?  Is Four?  We don’t know exactly what’s happening or why, and - I don’t know.  I know I’m casual about a lot of my gear and items but throwing more magic into a situation that’s already so delicate seems -”

“Unwise,” Time finishes when he falters.  “I agree.  I wondered if one of my own songs might help, but -” he hesitates, and there’s a strange sort of grief on his face.  “But like Legend, I don’t know for certain what it will do.  And Four’s brothers - by all accounts, they don’t want to move on.  Which is the most likely effect of the Song of Healing.”

“I’m a little concerned as to how you know that,” Warriors mutters.

“So what do we do?” Hyrule says.

Warriors sighs, reluctant.  “I think it’s time to find Vio again.”

“He said last time he didn’t know how to get us out,” Wind protests.

“No, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have other information.  He’s been the most… put together, so far.  Maybe he knows something he doesn’t know is relevant yet.”

They’ve all seen that before, time and time again.  Seemingly useless information that only shines at the right time.

“Well, let’s hope he’s still at his rock,” says Sky.

“Let’s hope we can find the rock,” says Legend.

The forest continues to be loomingly inhospitable.  The banks of mist and fog are nearly knee-high here, and if Sky looks too closely, he keeps seeing things in them - hands and wings and mouths, and things that make his stomach turn.  The forest doesn’t like them.  It tolerates them, but - they’re not supposed to be here.

Go away, says Blue.  You’re not supposed to be here, says Green.  Red’s eyes, wide and frightened, before he bolts - before he vanishes - before he falls into rushing water and is swept away.

And Vio.  Cold, disinterested, flat and blank and not entirely present.  Holding his ocarina like Blue holds his sword - like Green had held that dagger - like Red had cupped the daffodil, careful and loving and confident all in one.

They’re in luck.  Vio has, in fact, not moved in the slightest.  He’s still perched on his rock, still playing his ocarina, though he cracks an eye as they approach.  Honestly, Sky doesn’t understand what he’s playing.  It makes no sense from a musical standpoint.  There’s no melody, no storyline, no repeating patterns - it feels like notes played out of order, or chosen at random.

Vio finishes playing, or reaches a stopping point, or just decides to stop making them wait, and lets his hands fall.  “Back again, heroes?”

“We haven’t found our way out yet,” says Warriors, with a half-charming, half-tired smile.

Vio doesn’t smile back.  “I can see that.”

Last time, he had started to open up when - “We saw your brothers again,” Sky says, trying not to seem like he’s interrupting.

Sure enough, Vio’s eyes snap to him and gain a tiny flicker of - not quite interest, but focus.  “And how did that work out for you?”

“Not as well as we’d hoped,” Sky admits.  “We’re still - something at a loss, on how we got here, or how to get out.”

“I’m worried,” Wind pipes up.  “What’s happening outside while we’re stuck in here?  Is Four okay?  Is he alone, or is time not even passing while we’re figuring this out?”

Warriors touches a hand to his shoulder.  “I’m sure he’s fine.”

Swallowing back his own anxiety, Sky continues, “We’ve been doing our best, but - so much of this place is made up of things he hasn’t chosen to share with us.”  Sky turns his eyes back to Vio; the biggest secret of all.  Why hadn’t Four told them?  Did it still hurt too much?  Did he believe they would think less of him?  Did he feel responsible for his siblings’ deaths?  There was just so much they didn’t know.

Had they ever really known Four at all?

He’s not dead, Sky reminds himself fiercely.  They’re going to get out of here, and Four will be waiting for them, and he will be fine.

Fine, except for a forest of dark memories, and the ghosts of his brothers that haunt it.

“We haven’t found any answers,” he finishes weakly.

“Perhaps you’re not asking the right questions,” Vio says.  His fingers move restlessly over the ocarina.

They all look at each other, hesitating.

“Something Blue said is bothering me,” Legend says slowly.  “He said that four eight-year-olds climbed Death Mountain.  That he, and all of his brothers, went on every adventure with Four.  But he said it like there were only four of you.  And when Red showed us - the beginning of one - there was only you four there.  Where does Linkfit into all this?  Where does Four fit?”

Vio looks blank for a moment - confused.  Then he sighs, and scratches one ear.  The movement - doesn’t suit him, too casual, too careless.  “I should have expected you to get caught up on that,” he mutters.  “No - I shouldn’t have expected you to understand it in the first place.”

“I’m sorry,” says Sky honestly.  “I want to understand, though - can you explain it to me?”

For the first time, Vio looks genuinely lost.  “I don’t - know where to start.  We don’t know where it started.  We never noticed, or - no.  It was more we didn’t care - didn’t want to care. What did it matter how it happened?  We were alive.  We lived, through three adventures and the worst Vaati and Ganon could throw at us.  We lived.

“Until we didn’t.”

It’s not entirely what he asked, but - Vio’s been the most composed of the four.  The most logical and self-aware.  If his death - their deaths - are where he thinks he should start, there’s a reason.

When he doesn’t continue, just stares off into space for a solid minute, Sky prompts him, gently.  “Red said something went wrong.”

Vio plays a few distracted notes.  “The plan was to seal the Four Sword back in the Sanctuary, and let their combined power purify Vaati over time.  We’d done it before.  Returning four blades to their original singular form wasn’t difficult; we’d done it before just to hide them more easily.  Except I guess… with one soul already in its grip… the sword got greedy.

“Four of us went in there.  But only one came back out.”

“Wait, wait, I’m confused.”  Wind waves his hands around.  “If there were four of you putting the sword back, and then one came out, then - why haven’t we ever met you?  How did that even work, if there were only four swords and five of you?”

“There were only four of us.  There’s only ever been four.”

“But - you, and Green, and Blue, and Red, and then - and then Four - are you saying Four is - is one of you?  But - who? And how?”

Vio draws in on himself.  His knuckles are white on his ocarina.  “I don’t… know.  We don’t know.  We’re not - we’re just memories, we’re not connected to him, so - we don’t know for sure.  He’s never said his name, never - given us anything concrete.  All we know is that he is very, very alone.”

“You really can’t tell?” Legend asks, surprised.  “But - I know you can’t ask him directly, but you shouldn’t need to.  Even though - you all looked similar, you all talk differently.  You move differently.   You have all sorts of small mannerisms that are your own, and I know you knew him well enough to see them on him.”

Vio shakes his head.  “We were always close.  The Four Sword made us closer.”

“What do you mean?” Sky presses.  Gentle, gentle.

Vio frowns, fiddles with his ocarina.  Not anxious - just thoughtful.  “You toss your brother the spare whetstone and a cleaning cloth before he’s even opened his mouth to ask.  You get handed a waterskin before you’ve even fully conceptualised that you’re thirsty.  You find yourself racing across a battlefield to block a blow, and you don’t know if you saw it from the corner of your eye, or you felt your brother overbalancing, but either way you’re right there to catch the sword that would have killed him as he fell, or to deflect the arrow he couldn’t have seen in time.  The Four Sword - isn’t a normal blade.  Its parts are always connected, and - as a result, so were we.  We became so close it was hard to tell where one of us ended and another began.”

“That sounds… uncomfortable,” Wild says delicately.

Vio snorts, the sound surprisingly human.  “Oh, we hated it at first.  Sharing a bedroom has nothing on sometimes sharing a head.  Spent a lot of time figuring out how to hold each other at arm’s length, establish boundaries that made us all happy.  In the meantime? So much screaming.”  He sounds almost fond.

Sky hates to ruin the moment, but - he has to be sure, has to make certain he understands.  “So… the survivor - the one we know as Four - is one of you.  But you don’t know which, because the Four Sword muddled you up.”

“It’s likely why we’re able to be here at all,” Vio admits, though it clearly pains him to do so: shoulders slumping, fingers going loose on ceramic.  “What remains of our memories clinging to the survivor.  It’s even possible he formed us himself, to keep from being so very, very alone.”

And despite being on the inside of it - maybe even because of it - Vio can’t even say for sure which of his brothers survived.

Sky has his suspicions.

“But in truth it doesn’t matter who it is.”  Vio leans forward, eyes gone bright and sharp.  “Do you care about my brother?”

There’s a collective outburst - eight people all shouting some variation of ‘yes!’ or ‘of course!’ and crowding shoulder to shoulder the way they’d been trying to avoid.  Vio doesn’t blink.

“Then you need to pay more attention.”

It’s an accusation.

Sky is breathless with offence.  How dare he - say that they’re ignoring Four - does he think they don’t care -

Legend gets his bearings first.  “Of course we’re paying attention!” he barks out, and looks like he’ll go on when Vio cuts in cold and sharp as a knife.

“Then why haven’t you noticed how much he’s struggling?”

What?

“What’re you talking about?” Despite his own offence Twilight’s trying to play peacekeeper.  “Four’s doin’ fine, unless somethin’s happenin’ outside -”

“No.  He isn’t coping.  Andhe hasn’t been for a long time.  He may look like he is to you, but he’s good at hiding things he doesn’t want noticed.”

It’s not that Sky doesn’t believe him, exactly.  But Four is - so steady.  He keeps up without complaint, smiles at Wind’s jokes and chats lightly around the campfire.  Sure, he’s a little reckless in battle sometimes, but compared to Wild he’s the pinnacle of restraint.  He even keeps up with the weapons maintenance a fighting group of their size needs.  How can he not be coping?

Warriors clearly agrees.  “It must be hard for you, seeing him out there alone.  Without you.  And I know it’s not the same, but he does have people watching his back.”

The displeased look Vio gives him isn’t quite a scowl.  “He may not be alone in that respect, but it doesn’t change the fact that he isn’t doing as well as you think.  If you knew him better, then perhaps -”

Around them the world starts to swim, the way it does when someone’s touched a memory and they’re about to get sucked in.  Sky wobbles; tries to brace himself without grabbing anything, when gravity feels like it’s gone sideways.

Vio stops midsentence to lift the ocarina to his lips.  He looks hyperreal sitting on his rock; though the world’s gone strangely blurry his outline is still clear and sharp, his colours unchanged by the muddying swirls.  Where Wind’s cursing sounds like it’s coming to him through water, the notes Vio plays are bright, almost too-loud, vibrating in the air until the world steadies, resolves into tree and grass and stone.

“You’re the one keeping us here!” Hyrule gasps, eyes wide and fixed on the ghost.

“Yes,” he says, unashamed.  “Doubtless my brother’s mind would have kicked you out by now otherwise.”

“But - why?” says Sky.

“Because no one is LISTENING!”

His voice is like a thundercrack, sudden and earsplitting.

“Because I don’t want this all to be for nothing!”  He leaps to his feet, pacing back and forth in front of his rock perch.  “I didn’t want to die, but Din take it, at least one of us lived.  That was enough, that made it worth it.  And now he’s decided it’s not good enough, he’s just going to throw it all away?”

“You’re mad at him,” Sky says quietly.

Vio snarls.  “Yes, I’m mad at him, because he’s making bad decisions and there’s nothing I can do to stop him!”

Bad decisions? Like wandering off with eight strangers through a portal of unknown origin?  Somehow he doesn’t think that’s it.

“Bad decisions?” Hyrule echoes Sky’s thoughts.  “Like what?”

“Stuff that’s gonna get him killed,”Vio snaps.  “I’m not letting another one of my brothers die!  Not if I can help it.”

Hyrule nods, still soothing.  “This has been going on a long time, huh?  Does anyone else know who can help?  His family, or -?”

Vio slumps back.  “No one ever listens.”

“Our father’s worse than useless,” says Blue, materialising out of nothing and scaring the daylights out of Wild, who’d been closest.  “If he’s not pretending everything is fine, he’s acting like everything is our fault.”

Red appears on the other side of Vio’s rock.  “I wanna say he means well.  But some of the things he’s said… I dunno anymore.  I don’t wanna be near him anymore.”

“He’s not helpful,” Vio summarises, as the other two fade away (and gods that’s creepy).  “Our grandfather, maybe, if he hadn’t died shortly before this portal nonsense began.  Losing that anchor - it made things all the harder for him.  And then just before it happened –”

For the first time, Vio hesitates.

“He dreamed,” Vio says slowly, “that the goddess spoke to him.  One last time, she said.  Only once more.  And the next morning, the portal showed up, and – well.  Now he’s determined that this will be his last adventure, one way or another.  After this, the goddess has promised he won’t be needed again.  If he doesn’t die along the way, then –” his voice fails.

“Then he’ll take matters into his own hands,” Legend finishes, making Vio flinch.

Sky feels like he’s falling.  Like someone punched him in the chest when he wasn’t looking and now he’s struggling not to drop something precious, something that will shatter irreparably if his grip slips but holding too tightly will crush it.

Being a hero isn’t easy.  He knows that firsthand.  In learning about the others, and the things they’ve been through, the things they had to do.  But to consider - to decide on suicide -

“Why didn’t he tell us?” asks Wars, sounding lost.

Vio turns flat eyes on him.  “Why would he?  If he told, you’d stop him.  That’s exactly what you’re going to do, now that you know.  Why would he throw roadblocks in the way of his own goal?”

Nausea rocks him.  To lose one of them - one of his brothers that way - Sky feels it down to his bones.  It’s wrong, it’s awful, it will wreck them all completely -

Behind his eyes pale skin and dark bruises and bright arterial blood flash there-and-gone in an instant; nightmares in potentia.  Possibilities.

And that - that’s unacceptable.

“We won’t let that happen.”  It’s Legend who says it - grim faced and determined.

Wind nods.  “Four’s our brother too, now.  We’re not gonna let him – hurt himself, or be alone anymore.  We’re gonna help.”

Like a sunrise, Vio smiles.

“Thank you,” he breathes, “thank you.”

There’s tears in his eyes, and as Sky watches they spill over, rolling down his face in wet streaks that he doesn’t bother to wipe away.

How scared had he been? Sky wonders, and for how long?  Knowing no one could hear him and no one was paying enough attention to know his brother needed help - how much had hope hurt, when he realised that maybe-maybe-maybe here were people who would care enough to try - would care enough to notice.

And then they hadn’t.

No wonder he’d hesitated.  Had he been watching how they interacted with Four’s internal space, with the memories left behind by his dead siblings, whether they were careful and respectful and trustworthy - whether they could be trusted with his surviving brother?

Warriors steps forward, as courteous as he’d be in a foreign court. “Can you help us get out?”

“I - yes.”  Vio wipes his eyes with the back of one hand and smiles at them again.  Sky’s heart skips a beat and sinks.

He looks so young.

Vio’s too-small hands lift his ocarina to his lips, one last time.

The song - and it is a song this time - is sweet and mournful, tugging at the heartstrings.  There’s also - more depth to it than Sky would have expected, from a small single-chambered ocarina.  A deep bass tone, and then a high fluttering soprano -

Sky glances back; there’s Green, sitting on a tree branch playing another golden ocarina.  Half-hidden behind the trunk, Red’s fingers flash over the holes of his own.  And if he peers sideways around Vio’s stone perch, Sky thinks he can see the edge of Blue, sitting with his back to them and all his focus on the instrument in his hands.

The forest melts away.  It’s quicker than before, but still messy, still ugly; colours smearing into each other until it’s all a green-grey blur.

The constant swirling makes him feel sick, so Sky focuses on the islands of stillness that are Vio and his brothers.

They’ve shifted, somehow, now standing clustered together.  It’s the only time Sky’s seen them like this, barring the pictograph Vio had shown them; four boys in four colours, near-identical looks of concentration on their faces as they play the lovely, haunting song.  They’re skilled.  Most Links are, he thinks with a pang.

Vio’s eyes are intent on him over the mouthpiece.  Don’t you dare let me down, they seem to say, though maybe Sky is projecting.

From behind him, he hears Wars muffle an exclamation.  Time shifts, readying himself to grab his blade, but Sky’s pretty sure he won’t need it.  It’s just light, spilling in from outside through what almost looks like a tear in the fabric of the world.  Bright.  Warm.  Everything the false light in Four’s mind couldn’t be.

“This is it,” Legend says lowly.  He takes a tentative step, then another, until even his shadow disappears into the portal of light.

Warriors follows on his heels, then Wind, with one last glance backward.  Wild, Twilight, Hyrule, Time; one by one, they all head on through, glad to be shot of the eerie reflection of Four’s home.  Maybe even glad to get away from the people they can’t help, who died too young and too far away for them to save.

Sky - can’t quite make himself turn away.

He hates leaving things unfinished.  Abandoning these four to the quiet and the emptiness sits wrong with him.  He just - doesn’t know how he can help, when they’re determined to watch over their brother and guard his memories - what’s left of themselves.

The light tickles at the back of his neck.  Beckoning.

“I’m sorry,” Sky says, and hates that it feels so inadequate.  I’m sorry we didn’t notice.  I’m sorry we took so long.  I’m sorry I can’t help you.

I’m sorry you died.

Vio pauses in his playing; the other three don’t so much as open their eyes.  He slowly lowers the ocarina, an unreadable expression on his face.  Then, one side of his mouth quirks up.  “If you save my brother, you can consider whatever debt you feel to me fulfilled.  Now.  This place isn’t for you.  Off you go.”

Sky’s heart hurts, but he knows Vio’s right.  He forces himself to turn his back on their plaintive chorus and steps forward, into the light.

There’s nothing he can do for them.  They’re dead, and nothing can change that.  His focus needs to be on Four, now - before they lose him too.

[noyasaur]

hi! Can you talk a bit about you jjba dr? (If youre comfy ofc!) ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶

an introduction to my jjba dr! ✩₊˚.⋆

cw: spoilers for jojo's bizaare adventure!

-> hihi! and yes omg ofcc!! i haven't shifted to my jjba dr yet but i would LOVEE to just ramble all about it if you don't mind 😌 gonna make it all aesthetic and cute too cuz hell yea😍

-> all images used (except the dividers) are from pinterest and full credit goes to the authors of these images :)

★ . about my jjba desired reality!

right now, i only have one jjba desired reality which the whole thing about is me going on all the adventures from part three to five!

i think in the future i want to have a few more desired realities like one experiencing part two and part six and maybe even more of the parts if i end up finishing the other mangas! i also want to have a jjba dr set in modern times and also a jjba-based reality with kpop idols!

the timeline: in my main jjba reality, i've changed the timeline of some things so i can experience all the adventures in the different parts with the jojo boys in succession one after the other.

for example, when i first shift to this reality, i start with going on the adventures of part three with jotaro and the other stardust crusaders. the events of part four happen a year after the events of the stardust crusaders adventures when me, and jotaro are ordered to go to morioh by the speedwagon foundation to investigate well, jotaro's 'cousin'😭

in this reality, there was no affair 😙 joseph has a daughter and a son: holly and hugo. hugo is holly's younger brother and when he graduates high school, he goes off to japan for university. however, he meets tomoko there and they become a couple. long story short, he gets her pregnant and he never told any of his family, in fear of what they might say about him having a child so young. so that's how there is no affair that makes everyone go crazy, how josuke exists and how i can experience adventures when i'm not an old lady and i don't have to wait like twenty years between each adventure! (lmao)

obviously i can't live without kakyoin being dead and everyone else, so they live in this version 🤗 also, i made dio sort of less? evil? he doesn't actually commit any crimes against other humans (except blood-sucking ew but he doesn't kill anyone and just keeps people hostage as slaves and maids while he does his evil bidding eek) but is just hellbent on 'destroying' the joestar bloodline.

thinking about adding some other people into this reality too? for example, i was really contemplating adding sunghoon into this reality and making him one of dio's sons or something but during part three, he turns on his father and helps us defeat him 😜 this is a possible addition but i'm not sure if i'll go through with this or not!

i also have some generational pact with the brandos (i didn't do it, my grandpa did smh), though i fight with the joestars. long story short, my grandpas was in love with dio and made a pact that he would swear to protect the brando bloodline (my grandpa = speedwagon but dio's version) /hj might explain this later but im still in the works with figuring out how it's going to work and the backstory behind it!

★ . about me!

background: i was born in australia on the (??\??\???? - not sure on the dates and whether i want it to be set in the 80's or the 00's). i was born with a faint, butterfly-shaped marking on my back. none of my parents knew what it meant but as i grew older, it continued to grow darker, and darker. self-conscious of the odd mark etched into my back, i bandaged it up to hide it. i lived a pretty peaceful childhood. however, the after i turned thirteen years of age, very strange occurrences kept happening to me.

there were some instances where things would become heavier or lighter, or where my parents felt as if they were moving in slow-motion or faster than usual. i would get weird dreams, some of the past, and some of the very, far future.

little did i know, this was all the work of my stand manifesting.

not knowing what was happening, i was shipped off to japan to live with my uncle, in tokyo in hopes that my uncle would be able to fix whatever was going on with me. you see, my uncle is a very spiritual man. while he works as an astronomer and a psychologist, he is very knowledgeable in the likes of tarot cards, magic, and otherworldly forces (etc). he did everything he could and that was in his power to try and figure out what was happening to me, since that was his forte and all.

and thus, after years of dealing with these strange incidents, at the age of 15, my stand manifested before me. i was crossing the street, on the way back to my uncle's apartment from visiting a convenience store. however, i didn't notice a car zooming towards me until it was too late. i shut my eyes, assuming it was all over. this was my fate: i was going to die a horrible and painful death. and there was nothing i could to about it.

i shut my eyes, bracing myself for the impact and my inevitable doom.

i waited.

and waited.

and yet, i felt nothing.

the impact never came. the excruciating pain and blast i expected to feel, never hit my body.

i was alive. and completely unscathed. but. . . how?

i wearily opened my eyes and to me confusion and horror, i saw her. i saw a strikingly beautiful but eerie human-like creature floating in front of me. it had it's arms extended out toward the car, which was now moving at an impeccably slow snail's pace.

after standing there in shock for a few seconds, i shook my head and scurried away.

around a few times after this incident, the frequency at which i had those 'weird' dreams dramatically increased. they turned from being a fortnightly, even monthly occurrence, to having those dreams many nights in a row, back to back.

oddly enough, with every dream i was having, i couldn't help but feel they were starting to feel a lot less like dreams but a lot more like visions.

after two weeks of more odd visions and happenings, i finally told my uncle. he was deeply puzzled as he tried to make sense of what was happening to me. and after a few minutes of pondering, something washed over his face.

was it relief? or more confusion?

did he finally work out what was happening to me?

but in the end, all he told me what that if i were to ever run into a man with the name 'Joseph Joestar' he made me promise i were to stick with him if i ever met him.

i asked him who he was, and all he replied with was: "Joseph? oh why, he's just a very good old friend of mine."

and so, i continue my life as usual, trying to deal and overpower these strange incidents and even became familiar with my beautiful and endearing new creature. luckily for me, i was enrolled in an online school so any incidents i would have would hardly leave a scratch on my grades and records.

although, this completely changed in the last year of my high school.

you see, my uncle wanted me to have a 'fun' and 'memorable' high school experience, especially considering it was my last year. and so, he enrolled me into an actual high school, which would change the course of my fate forever.

and what a 'fun' and memorable year it was. . .

(i am so sorry if this is so corny omg this feels so corny sdsdjs)

★ . my stand!

my stand name: Ancient Dreams (In a Modern Land)

statistics: power: B Rank speed: A Rank range: B Rank durability: A rank precision: B Rank potential: A Rank

abilities: weight drop! (weight change): the ability to change the weight of anything. can make objects or people light, or make objects or people heavier. the stand user cannot use this ability on themselves. the ability can be activated by shooting small orbs or energy at the opposing object or person, where they will have a butterfly emblem on them, shaded corresponding to a highlighted moon phase on my stand, which corresponds to the 'levels' of weight taken off the person. flash! (speed manipulation): the ability to change the speed of any object or person. however, this can only be done when the stand makes contact with the object of person. dream telepathy/communication/travelling: has the ability to communicate with others during their dreams, or enter one's dream through a meditative trance, with the help of their stand. the stand user can appear in one's dreams and communicate with the person, and also manipulate their dreams. however, the stand user cannot physically harm their target's through their dreams. rather, it is a soothing and positive technique that puts the target in a state of comfort. dream energy: the stand has the ability to shoot out energy orbs as a way of fighting. the orbs are made of 'dream energy' and can easily damage and slice through objects, depending on the manipulation of the orb. the orbs can be thrown in their pure form, or even me manipulated into whatever the stand user desires. for example, i could turn dream orb into a 'dream sword,' made from the cosmic energy of dreams and fantasy.

appearance: has a slim and feminine appearance. it's body is a gradient and mix of light baby blue, lilac purple and cotton candy pink, with the phases of the moon imprinted on it's chest. it wears a majestic headpiece of a butterfly on it's head, which is coloured a shimmering mix of pastel gold, purple and pink. it's eyes are a deep blur colour, and has transparent blue 'butterfly' wings.

🪐 saturn's note:

-> um this was a little more than just 'talking a bit about it' but i hope you found this interesting and enjoyed! kinda scared to post this because i've never really talked about my drs like this so it's new to me but also fun 😍 i might update this here and there and i def swill reblog if i do or just make another post for anything else you're interested in!

-> oh and when i shift there? hell yeah am i going to be writing and sharing my experiences omg 😩

[russenoire]

18, 25, 27

from this ask: weird questions for writers (because writers are weird)

18. choose a passage from your writing. tell me about the backstory of this moment. how you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. spicy addition: questioner provides the passage.

Teruki Hanazawa’s tousled bottle-blond mop pops in first, followed soon after by the rest of him folding itself around the open door. ‘You know something?’ ‘What?’ He blinks. Hard. Then matches Teruki’s positively perverse grin with one of his own, not entirely devoid of mirth: ‘Do enlighten me.’ ‘I just... think your space would feel so much more like an actual home with some art on these walls. Or some, mmmm… décor in here. Don’t you agree...?’ He fails to suppress a groan at this; it stretches out much longer than he would like. ‘If you’d… maybe let me help…’ No. Teruki needs to be stopped. And he’s never had much use for an abundance of stuff. What else would he keep in here, anyway? Here, under the black sofa he picked out because it was the least complicated on the show floor, an ivory sheepskin rug, ample enough to accommodate his full height and then some: the bare wood planks chill his toes painfully in winter, even with socks. Sleep finds him sprawled out on it from time to time, its wispy but dense curls like late spring breezes spun out of cotton candy against his skin. At the moment, said curls are flirting shamelessly with his fingers. There, on the far wall, a sizable flat-screen television. As a joke, Teruki actually insisted on framing it for him with a silvery rococo border that wouldn’t look out of place in a Parisian museum. It felt garish to him at first, but it’s grown on him since. That… that was enough. Except for a clock and a calendar on the wall closest to the door? These walls are otherwise empty. He doesn’t mind. From across the room, the arrangement of his limbs on the sofa obeying a logic all their own, he counters the man’s impish glee with the most antarctic deadpan he can conjure up. Teruki’s grin refuses to budge. ‘Well. We can stay here, or go someplace…’ he shrugs, ‘more home-y.’ Perhaps his well-honed death glare loses a little something with him inverted like this. Twisting his mouth instead into a resigned little smile—this time genuine, but still upside-down—he looks up at the man quite literally brightening his doorway. ‘Your call.’

so, uh, i'm a pantser when it comes to writing.

a scene *poofs* into my head; i run with it. i shape it until it feels right, or i discard it because it's not working. this moment here, where teruki cracks shigeo's door open partway and slinks around it into his genkan, just For Teh Lulz, and shigeo meets the shit-eating grin he's wearing with one that belongs on a shark? that idea, along with much of the dialogue, was the first part that sprang to mind for this chapter.

at this point in the story, shigeo has weightier concerns on his mind than yesterday's big talk at work. so weighty that he's sprawled upside down on his sofa and staring down the walls. he figures teruki's puckish, tireless cheer might help and asks him to come over.

i wanted to describe shigeo's minimalist-ass living room here. (remember his bedroom in canon? how... empty it is, compared to his brother's room? that struck me, and it didn't feel like his parents imposed that starkness upon him at all.) teruki also might have found that notable, i thought, and originally i wrote this description from his perspective as a flashback leading into the present. but i couldn't find a good justification to shift away from shigeo there, and the extra description kinda dragged this scene out. so i shed a tear and cut it. i'm proud of the language i used; perhaps i'll find another use for it someday.

framing it through shigeo's eyes instead gave me the opportunity to focus on his character more: the simple things he really likes, why they're present in his space, and why he's being kinda stubborn here. information teruki wouldn't have access to.

the rest was just polish: crawling inside shigeo's head a bit and sitting with this part of him that can be prickly but still needs company, then seasoning the language until it tasted good to my ears. (i know i've apparently written shigeo 'smarter' than he is in canon; in my AU he becomes a halfway decent student in high school with a lot of help and outside tutoring. his language in japanese is already not 'simple' so i don't treat him that way.)

25. what is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

itō ryōsuke, shigeo's senpai and office-mate, is in his sixties. he has two daughters he adores, naomi (not pronounced 'nay-oh-mee') and atsuko. one is a successful rakugo performer and a gender trailblazer. the other is an architect. neither is married, which bothers him a little bit.

27. who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? why?

reigen arataka. he's so stressful to write that i've only alluded to him thus far. i'm planning out a fic with him and i'm... dreading writing it...

i like him as a character, but not as a person: he acts out his self-hatred in ways i find deeply unpalatable, and i have too much personal experience with another someone who has to be forced to, y'know, actually respect people they love. (and winning that battle with them only teaches respect for a single person in a single circumstance. the next person they come to love and exploit will need to 'earn' their respect, too.) i don't want to swim in that headspace any longer than i need to.

[leonardoeatscarrots]

So i don't really know much about your fandoms or interests so... idk, would you mind giving me the rundown maybe? Like a little description about the games you like, or some info about your different comics? I want to chat more with you but I'm not sure where to start since I'm not familiar with your fandoms

Haha, that makes sense, my Fandoms can be considered a little niche.

First off, I'm super glad to finally meet you, lol. I've sorta been watching you and Pringles from afar, and you two seem like good friends.

But yeah, I'll happily give you a rundown, thanks for asking ^^

Pathologic/Мор: Утопия is a Russian videogame developed by Icepick Lodge. You play as one of three healers in a bo-hum steppe town, and your goal is to try and save the population from the outbreaking plague. The game has a lot of heavy theatrical influences and is well known for being extremely difficult and cruel. Which means the writing is perfectly catered to my tragedy-loving gay-theater-kid ass.

Karamora/Карамора is a show I got into a while ago. Basically, it's a fictional retelling of the Russian revolution (one of my special interests, lmao), except all the nobles are vampires. It's dumb but it's unironically so well made. Plus it has that twinky ginger guy, Evgeny Schwartz, in it. This show is also what got me on the Russian media pipeline to begin with XD

Lost Splendor was a memoir written by Felix Yusupov (aka the guy who killed rasputin, aka an important figure in the Russian revolution), and it's just incredibly funny for no reason. Man killed Rasputin, but all he could think to write about was how gay and ADHD he was.

Comics. I'm just very normal about them. I have a collection of around 80 different comics, single issues and graphic novels included. My favorites are queer and indie graphic novels, but im also a huge sucker for some of the classics like V for Vendetta. I have yet to purchase The Sandman comics, but they're on my list.

As for webcomics, I'm addicted to those too. I'm probably the biggest fan 5-ever of The Peculiar Compendium of Victor Van Wolfe on webtoons, and I've written a few fanfics and made fanart aplenty, as well as made custom stuffies of the characters. But I have a wide list of recommendations across a lot if genres XD

As for comics that IVE written, I currently have two open to the public on webtoons and tapas.

The first is Spaceships and Vodka, which is my primary comic. It's an anachronistic sci-fi surrounding a band of space pirates. It's a monster of the week style story with a lot of extra narrative told through backstories. It's currently still in the exposition stage and on hiatus.

The other is Gentle Hands, which is technically an AU of S&V. It's a gay romance following a disabled WWI soldier in a shellshock home and one of the nurses he has a crush on. This one is, alas, also still in the exposition stage, but is currently updating one page every other week.

As for like individual OCs, I mostly obsess over my comic characters. I don't typically make Fandom OCs.

My absolute pride and joy is Craig. He's also the fan favorite thus far.

I don't even know where to begin with him.

I have a bio for him and some other OCs I think, but I have yet to actually fill out any more >>_>> executive dysfunction my beloathed.

The full main cast list includes

Craig

Mirium

Derick

Terric

Carl

As well as Erasmus, Rusty, Cipher, Jadyn, and Jesper as some other extras.

So long as I'm here I may as well finish all the bios and make a master post lol...

[amtrak12]

To anyone who has been watching me flail and gnash my teeth over the past year as I write a monstrously long fanfic and maybe thought to themselves, ‘Damn, should I watch Lucifer so I know what she’s talking about?’

My answer is, NO! Bestie, I cannot, with a clear conscience, recommend the TV show Lucifer to anyone who knows me here on Tumblr. Now, if you want to learn how to utilize parallels in story telling? Then, absolutely! Lucifer is a MASTERCLASS in utilizing parallels, both visually and narratively. A++

But otherwise, you will have to do your own soul-searching and research to decide if Lucifer is worth your time. Because if I recommend Lucifer to you, then you’re going to start with episode 1 like a normal person and then you’re going to hate me because IT’S GARBAGE!

Oh, but Amber, all pilots are rough. I can just stick with it. — No, you misunderstand me. The pilot is FANTASTIC. It’s HYSTERICAL. But only if you know how the series ends. If this is your first introduction to the characters? It’s awful! I don’t know how anyone ever watched any part of S1 (except maybe the finale because the kidnapped child trope is chef’s kiss) and thought “OMG yes please, more of this”.

And I know what you’re going to say: Parks and Recreation. BUT THIS IS NOT THE SAME THING! You can absolutely skip S1 of Parks and Rec and never, ever go back and watch it, and you would be fine. You wouldn’t miss a goddamn thing.

You absolutely have to watch S1 of Lucifer. This is not a case of ‘oh the writers haven’t figured out these characters yet’. NOPE! This is 100% who these characters are at the start of their journey together. It’s crucial to understanding and appreciating their full character arcs. But it’s the start of their journey together and if they’re not a jackass (Lucifer, Dan) or sex-crazed* (Linda, babe WHAT was that), then they’re boring (Amenadiel and YEAH I’LL SAY IT Chloe^). Yes, Maze is hot, and toothless, 7 year old Trixie can do no wrong (bless that child) — BUT YOU CAN’T STICK WITH A SHOW FOR TWO CHARACTERS WHO ARE BARELY IN IT!+

[* — I don’t want to slut-shame. I am merely too aspec to relate. Also for a show about the Devil with a queer protagonist and more than one queer supporting character, Lucifer is WAY too Het (tm), but especially in S1]

[^ — Credit where credit is due: Chloe’s backstory of being a child actress who did a nude scene in a movie when she was 19 is FASCINATING. I love it because it is soooo outside of my comfort zone. I never in a million years would’ve made a character with that backstory, and for that reason, I love it.]

[+ — Watching a show for a character who’s barely in it is exactly something I’ve done in the past. It’s probably something we’ve all done at one time or another, but it’s not a sustainable business model for production companies, okay? You can’t always rely on the gays to do the work for you!]

You know what you get out of S1 if you wait to watch it last? (with spoilers — but honestly, it makes the show better. That’s my entire point in this post!)

Shouting at your screen 8.5 minutes in when the writers telegraph the end game goal of the show

General questioning where all the blue tones came from o_O (They liked ~filters~ in S1)

Having your mind goddamn BLOWN when you learn Chloe and Dan were still actually married at the start of the show. Like, WHAT?! No, I’m sorry… WHAT?!!

The horror that you were always going to feel now mixed with hysterical laughter as Linda is WAY too horny and WAY too susceptible to Lucifer’s desire power

“Did my father send you?” — DYING! DEAD! DECEASED!

Absolutely not being able to take Amenadiel seriously even for a second. Everytime you look up at his stony expression, you fall out of your chair laughing all over again

[^Amenadiel, I'm so sorry, but this does not intimidate me. I know you too well now.]

AND THAT’S JUST THE PILOT! You keep watching and you get to see Maze meet little Trixie for the first time (adorbs <3). You get to watch Maze meet Dan for the first time and IT’S SO GODDAMN FUCKING FUNNY I AM NOT EVEN JOKING! Like, if you can make it that far into the show by watching from the beginning, then it’s still funny. But TRUST ME! It’s way better once you know they’re besties and have seen Maze sob over an N*Sync shirt. I’M CRACKING UP JUST THINKING ABOUT IT!

You also get to watch Lucifer’s struggle with mortality/vulnerability already knowing how it works (already knowing how all of his powers work). Chloe says, “Oh, I want to shoot you so bad.” And you’re shouting YES, PLEASE! DO IT! DO IT! And it’s not because you’re hate-watching the show, it’s because you know he’ll bleed when she does and LUCIFER DOESN’T KNOW THAT YET! Malcolm’s about to shoot him episodes later and you’re yelling again DO IT! DO IT!!!! Because Chloe’s no where around this time and Lucifer won’t bleed but he doesn’t know that either! (And then you groan in disappointment when Malcolm walks away without shooting — and then you cheer when two seconds later the villain of the episode shows up and shoots Lucifer instead! \0/ It’s SO satisfying!)

What I’m saying is, Season 1 is incredible… but only if you add dramatic irony to it. If you’re as clueless as the characters? Then, god help you, because I wouldn’t have made it past Linda jumping Lucifer’s bones in her office during the pilot. I just wouldn’t have.

Further caveats:

If you want to watch solely for Maze/Eve — DON’T! My girl Eve is barely in the show after her S4 introduction, and she’s dating Lucifer for the majority of that season. Like Maze/Eve are incredible and perfect and integral to Maze’s overall character arc. You get to see them get married and they have such gems like “You broke my heart” / “Really? :D That’s awesome!” and “I don’t care if you die.” / “:’) That’s the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me.” — LIKE BABES, THEY’RE GORGEOUS! I just wouldn’t watch 6 seasons of a show for like 1.5 seasons total of B-storyline content. I don’t think that’s really worth it but your scales may differ.

Now if you want to watch solely for Tricia Helfer…. FAIR! THAT’S FAIR! I’m pretty sure she’s what got me sucked in. Technically, that’s probably not worth it either because she’s only a regular for S2 and 3 and then guest stars in a couple of S5b episodes — but then again, IMDB confirms she was in 47 of the 93 episodes while Eve was only in 14 (FOURTEEN??? :O What do you mean?? Wasn’t she in like most of S4????? JFC no wonder it seems like she’s never around T_T) So yeah, Tricia Helfer might be worth it! She’s fabulous as both Lucifer’s mom and as Charlotte Richards! Love her!

Season 3 is both the longest and the WORST season no matter when you watch it. Unless you have some deep-seated nostalgia for Smallville, you’re going to be miserable during this season and there’s absolutely no way I can make it better for you. I am so sorry. It’s horribly paced. It has a narratively useful characterization backslide with NO TRIGGER POINT so it therefore doesn’t actually flow with the narrative after all. It has too many filler episodes which for this show, does actually ruin the pacing, and includes two miscellaneous episodes that have nothing to do with anything slotted AFTER a very massive, huge finale cliffhanger! (WHY???? @ Fox execs, PLEASE EXPLAIN!!!!!) They completely fucked up the character foil I assume they were intending because there’s no way you intended that to be a face value parallel. I refuse to accept that. And that’s before whatever the fuck their goal was with the Chloe/Pierce romance. IT WAS SO BADLY DONE IT MAKES ME RAGE!

But also we got Chloe and Linda drunkenly taking over Lucifer’s penthouse when he was out of town, and the finale scene of Lucifer shielding Chloe with his wings as they’re getting shot at which makes me FERAL, so it’s not all bad.

Speaking of Lucifer shielding Chloe with his wings, I might have an unexplored obsession with angels that is clouding my judgement of this show. :S Okay, years ago I read a Supercat AU where Kara was the devil and I was enthralled but anything else I found featuring angels just wasn’t the vibe. And then I found Lucifer and got hooked. So IDK! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[twinkle-art]

i know this isn't the website where you posted it but your wol andromeda seems really cool. you mind saying a bit more about her

i would be THRILLED to tell you all about my beloved daughter. pics and exhaustive description below the cut

andromeda elo (or andromeda viator caecus) is, as you could probably sus out, my mixed garlean/roegadyn girlprince wol💗

she's very into the whole "embodying a super idealized image of The Hero" thing. some would say to her detriment. her decision to run away from her upbringing in garlemald and throw herself headlong into life as an adventurer was, initially, a pretty childish and impulsive one. then some stuff happened and now she's eorzea's champion so. that's pretty irreversible at this point

she's quite cagey about her past- despite hardly being the only garlean defector among them, she has it in her head that the truth of her identity would get in the way of being a perfect, uncomplicated symbol. and for reasons she's not yet willing to self-reflect on, the thought of losing that (totally definitely attainable) status is unbearable to her.

that said, if you spend enough time with her, you'll probably notice that her various stories don't quite add up or that the way she talks can be a bit strange at times. she was raised to be a proper lady, and even though she's rejected that box her whole life, it's not something she's truly free of, even as Thee warrior of light

she (by which i mean me, but i'm doing it for immersion) spent arr/hw as a paladin (it has the aesthetic she likes and isn't magic heavy- she grew up taking for granted that this was out of reach for her. but it's not.) then switched to red mage early on in sb after getting her shit rocked by zenos and having a full-on crisis of identity

the deeper Lore to her backstory is that her mother, lucretia eir caecus, was once an idealistic adventurer in her own right- in her time outside of the empire, she had a passionate affair with a man that she no longer speaks of. despite this, she ultimately found herself becoming the second wife of the head of a particularly stifling military family.

already bearing the mark of being an illegitimate child (and one othered by being visibly not-garlean among what i imagine was a pretty damn hostile environment, at that), lucretia raised her daughter strictly, believing that her keeping her head down and playing a more demure role was the only route she had to a comfortable life in their environment. naturally this didn't go over well with teen andromeda, who was just old enough to remember a time before her mother was so embittered and resigned to their fate, and resents her for it.

as for her father, i still haven't figured that part out andromeda knows next to nothing about him. she's not even sure if he's alive or not. her only keepsake from him was signed e. loetwilfsyn which, due to her not knowing a word of roegadyn, became bastardized into elo, the name she adopted in eorzea.

uhh this has gotten really long so here's some lightning round notes on relationships

she's a lesbian but i'm not sure she's properly sorted that one out yet despite a very long string of intense female friendships because her weird sense of identity keeps getting in the way

in ARR, she had a little crush on minfilia that had absolutely nothing to do with her as a person and everything to do with liking feeling like a dutiful little knight who answered to a woman who was authoritative.. but still gave her ample opportunity to feel like the big hero saving the princess. she thought this was normal

in HW, she was utterly taken by ysayle for slightly adjacent reasons. this went just as poorly as the first one. maybe worse.

has a DEEPLY personal vendetta against zenos for. you know. being both an embodiment of her homeland and being a real prince. except her animosity crumbles into primal, bone-deep fear in his actual presence

(i haven't actually finished sb yet so i'm jumping the gun with this last one but i'm too obsessed with it not to share)

emet-selch reminds her of her mom. it's going to be exactly as psychologically harrowing as that sentence suggests. please look forward to that it's gonna get really weird over here in about a month

i'm.. definitely forgetting stuff because she's been in the slow cooker of my mind for about. three months of playing this now and i feel like i'm starting to lose it. all of this is subject to be fleshed out further in the coming months. you're welcome, or i'm sorry

[smolghostbot]

The One Without A Name

I haven't had the brainspoons to do writing recently because of a fun medical situation, but I miss posting writings of my silly little fellas (gender neutral) so I decided I wanted to post a part of their first meeting story that I've (mostly) edited, specifically the part of the story that actually gives Patch their nickname.

(I keep mentioning the full story... I swear it'll happen, I'm just very much an "edit the whole thing first" type of writer. Most of Spring is done except a few scenes... but the whole thing is a mess editing-wise.)

Context: This happens not long after Melody realizes Patch is mute, and is one of the first times they manage to communicate.

Word Count: 500ish Character bios in my pinned post

CW for the vaguest possible mention of Patch's backstory and associated abuse (Literally one line). Warning just in case.

======

"What are you pointing at?" As they looked closer to the tiny backpack, they noticed what appeared to be a different fabric sewn on, with some kind of… unusual symbols written on. The little thing pointed repeatedly to himself, and then the writing.

Her disappointment was obvious as she spoke her next words. "That's… your name… isn't it?"

The small creature seemed to be somewhere between excited and nervous as they hesitantly nodded, obviously seeing the lack of recognition on Mel's face.

"I…" They sigh before continuing, "I have no idea what that says, little cutie."

Melody picked up one of their books and pointed to an arbitrary passage of text, making sure the little one could see it. "Can you… read these words? Any of them?"

The tiny being's large ears drooped in disappointment and he shook his head sadly, as Melody's own expression mirrored his. This was about to make things much more complicated.

"Okay, well, I can't just keep calling you 'little cutie'... even though you totally are, you need some kind of name. Maybe I can try to guess? What about… Gilbert? Linus? Derwin? Stop me if any of these are close to your name."

. . .

The completely blank response they got from the little being said everything Mel needed to know.

"Yeah, you're right, this is stupid. This would be so much easier if I could just read your little backpack patch…"

-

The human's face seemed to light up as they said that, to the confusion of the sprite.

"Wait a second… that sounds cute… what about Patch? Just- Just as a nickname. Until we can figure out a better way to communicate. If you like it, of course."

At this unexpected politeness, the sprite nodded their head enthusiastically. Truthfully, the name didn't sound that bad… especially compared to Derwin. And though there's no real magic behind them, names do have a certain power when it comes to empathy, something that they hoped would work on this human. They remember how the last human refused to call them anything other than… … they didn't exactly get named.

"Perfect! Well then, it's nice to formally meet you, Patch. I guess I never introduced myself, it's… probably safe to do that. You tried to tell me your name, after all. You may refer to me as Melody, or Mel," the human stated, in a slightly odd manner, as she gave as much of a curtsy as possible while sitting in a chair wearing a t-shirt.

[withlovelunette]

Hi Lunette! How've you been?

So full disclosure this is about a self indulgent fanfic with a self insert oc lol but anyway I still want it to be good™

The characters of the actual show have super tragic backstories and my oc is just a regular ol girl, but she's still like.. an emotional/sad character, do I need to give her a tragic backstory for it to make sense & for her to be able to connect with the other characters?

Hello hello!! Upfront, sorry for the super late reply; I began answering this almost immediately when it came in, but then I fell ill again shortly afterwards and struggled to get myself to write anything, and I didn’t want to give you anything that was half baked, hence the delay :,) Aside from that, I’ve been good! And been looking forward to tackling your question!

Firstly, my short answer here is no, you don’t need a tragic backstory for a character to be tragic, nor does your character need to be tragic to connect with tragic characters! But I figure you’d like something more in-depth, so I’ll try my best to provide something more concrete.

I think it’s actually a very good exercise to practice making characters connect despite not having anything specific in common backstory wise. The reason I say this is because I often find that this can be something of a crutch for writers, and there’s a risk of this connection coming off as somewhat superficial. Don’t get me wrong; there are incredibly well written character relationships where part of their bond is shaped by their shared tragedies, but this should never feel like a component that their connection depends on. If removing their equally tragic backstories suddenly breaks their bond completely, then there’s likely something else missing there (the notable exceptions here would be more dysfunctional/codependent/complex relationships). Try and see if you can find some other components than tragedy (such as shared themes, opportunities for narrative foils, opposing or shared ideologies, etc.) that your characters can connect over!

I also think that writers (myself included) can sometimes overemphasise backstories as a "function" for why a character is a certain way. Sometimes, characters can just be a certain way without there being a blatant cause-and-effect in play! Some people are just naturally more emotional and sensitive than others, and have an easier time connecting to other people as a result of that.

There is also an inherent sadness to such characteristics which you might be able to play around with. A character who is very emotional and has an easy time connecting with other characters, but maybe has a difficult time allowing others to connect with her in that same manner. There's a lot of vulnerability that comes with putting in so much emotional labour into other people, which somewhat generates a certain tragedy to her own arc without having to explicitly give her a tragic backstory to justify the way she acts. That in and of itself could be something for your character to connect with other characters (I'm speaking a bit vaguely here, since I don't know what media this is for. Hopefully that's ok!)

A very longwinded answer to what basically amounts to just a "no", but I hope I was able to help you churn some ideas and get the gears going :,) Thank you for trusting me with your question! And again, very sorry about the delay in my answer. If there's any follow-up questions or anything you'd like me to explain more thoroughly, don't hesitate to send in another ask, and I'll do my best to help out!

[evilpenguinrika]

So I had a thought about my hosie fankids in the ffxiv AU while talking about them in the FC I'm in.

Hayley and Leo are a little complicated--in terms of how I wrote their stories in TVDU--to translate into FFXIV AU, mostly because of the types of Jobs that you can pick in FFXIV (here's the full post of Hosie and my Hosie fankids with the FFXIV Jobs I have chosen for them)

Since Hayley is a werewolf with vampire blood running inside her and has no affinity with magic whatsoever, like I'm talking her witch side is so dormant that it's practically non-existent. But in FFXIV terms, I think maybe she does have some abilities with magic, but in a way that it doesn't actually work. Like I'm talking FFXIV!Hayley cannot use magic in the way her Mom and Momma Hope and Josie, her older sister Lana, or her twin brother Jay can do. But I think for her, it's okay because Hayley's fight style is--like in that post I linked above--is more "rush into the throws of battle and right in the front lines" rather than staying behind. Also while writing this, I think having her take up Reaper Job would actually be really good and sort of fitting to the "she's a werewolf who also has vampire blood running through her" tidbit. Fuck i have to update that post now lmao. But yeah, she theoretically can do magic in FFXIV world but chooses not to because she would rather be front and centre in battle and taking the enemy's target off of her loved ones and onto her so everyone else can get a chance to get in their shots.

With Leo, however. In TVDU, he's the only human amongst his family of supernatural, and that can lead to a bit of an inferiority complex (maybe?) especially when he wants to be a part of his older sibling's adventures and world but can't because he's just a kid. just a human. So it makes him feel pretty shitty. But in FFXIV AU, that can't really be a thing because for starters, Hosie+Lana+twins are Hyur, which are basically just humans; while Leo is a Miqot'e, which is basically a cat race (now you too can live out your catboy/catgirl dreams). So I would have to focus on abilities, specifically magical abilities. So that means, Hosie+Lana+twins have some sort of affinity to magic (except Hayley's is a bit um, wonky and she doesn't use it like ever so it's fine). I have his main Job be Scholar--so I think the way he can cast spells and magic is through the Carbuncle(/Selene but I glamoured the fairy to a yellow Carbuncle because I thought it fits Leo way better so in canon-lore, Leo has a yellow Carbuncle since he was young!) because the Carbuncle formed a really strong bond with Leo, so the Carbuncle's lending Leo its abilities to allow him to cast magic and spells.

Same reasoning for when Leo picks up Summoner Job because, again, Leo's probably befriended the three main Egis (Titan, Garuda, Ifrit Egis) and Carbuncle is like the middleman kind of to help bring the Egis into battle whenever Leo needs or calls it.

Now, for the Astrologian Job, I'm not entirely sure yet. I'm still refining some semantics, but so far, I think the idea would be Leo's using the magic that's infused in the Astrologian weapon, the Star Globe, to draw cards to cast spells. So, like the magic isn't inherently his, but he's using the magic already in his weapon to channel what he wants to do, if that makes sense. My other idea was still going with Carbuncle route, which actually I might make canon? Because I think it'd be cute for Leo's Carbuncle to stay beside him all the time despite not being Scholar or Summoner (bc I did have Leo pick up Jobs like Astrologian and Machinist and Bard) and lending Leo its aetheric energy for Leo to use. I think that's cute and yeah, I might stick with that actually. Leo's Carbuncle MVP!

//

So that's pretty much all I have. I think this is a solid foundation of how to incorporate Hayley and Leo's TVDU backstory ability lore into FFXIV AU, which is always nice to have and I had a lot of fun figuring this out!

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

Reacting to Contemporary Comics (Without Context) 6/?

Not only are we playing No Context for this arc, we're playing No Context for this character. I have no idea who Iron Fist is. Actually, hang on.

Okay, so I asked my best friend, who knows more about superheroes than I do (because why Google shit when I can just pretend I live in the 80s and ask my friend), what's one thing I should know about Iron Fist before reading, and she said, "Rich white boy gets dropped in a monastery and inherits their ancient Chinese powers." So excuse me, hey Marvel, what the fuck?

I'll be honest, I'm rooting not only for Loki in this but against Iron Fist for 2 reasons. One, I'm here for my boi and nothing else, and 2, I've got personal beef with Iron Fist. This asshole has the audacity to have the same costume colors on basically the same parts of his body as vintage Loki designs, so I'll see an action figure or something from halfway across the comic book store, and get super excited as I full-tilt run safely speed walk towards it, only to be let down by Iron Fist's smug fucking face staring at me like "Bitch (gender neutral) you fucking thought." So fuck this faker. And maybe for racist reasons, too? Alyssa Wong had to have fixed this, right?

Spoilers for Iron Fist issue 1.

Okay, I know nothing, so I don't know if it's been fixed or if Wong fixed it, but it appears Iron Fist's backstory/identity is no longer If Culture Appropriation Was a Character.

And he's with Loki immediately, which is excellent

Oh, so we're back to God of Stories now, huh? We're gonna actually give that title a chance this time (for a year. Until we're back to The Liar for 4 issues)? What happened to God of Outcasts? Because The God Who Fell to Earth came out before this

Oh my god flashback!

Dammit, Thor, why do you always gotta fuck shit up? And right in front of Chekov's frozen lake, too. Are you trying to get your brother to push you in?

This is the most Thorki-coded thing I've seen in canon since the elevator scene in Ragnarok

This comes after ego death, meaning after AoA, but also what the fuck happened to "A brother whom I love"??? Okay, new rule: no one is allowed to write Loki except Ewing. He's the only one who understands the character.

Loki stop being emo and start being a hero

Oh fuck now I ship it. HE SAVED LOKI'S LIFE, what did you expect me to do?!

So...Loki's judgment was whether he could rewrite a betrayal and Iron Fist's is if he can cause one?

What if I just...

I'm sorry.

Oh, so now you're gonna try to bully him into compassion? When the fuck has that ever worked?

No it's almost done and the next issue I have is #5. I'm so into this.

Oh. It's over. They passed. That was too fast.

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO WITH THIS??!!

As if I fucking needed another love interest for this flirty motherfucker

[simgerale]

Any tips on sticking with a legacy? It's amazing to me you have Sims from 2016!

ooh!! i know many people struggle with sticking to their sim families, but i will try to give my most relevant advice!

✨ miranda’s tips and tricks ✨

for me, I can only stick with sims that i am connected to. this means creating a backstory (or actively playing through a story i’ve made for them), giving them real personalities outside of sim traits, and figuring out what their favorite hobbies and interests are! it’s important to me that i don’t limit my creativity to in-game things, even if that means i can only imagine that a sim does a certain activity (or pose them doing it)! you’ll get bored real fast if you decide that they have to fit a mold.

with each generation, i’m trying to do something different and new. The easiest way to get lost in the motions is to do something repetitive! sure, there can be a lot of similarities from one gen to the next, but variation is key! [Ex #1: gen 1 had two kids, gen 2 had three kids, and now gen 3 has one kid] [Ex #2: vibes have been quite different. Gen 1 was more gameplay, gen 2 was full of spicy drama, gen 3 has been about finding oneself amidst relationships + enjoying the little things]

On that same note, I want romance in each generation. And as a hopeless romantic, i have used a different trope every time! It keeps things interesting while also playing to cheesy cliches that everyone can’t help but enjoy. you could also have the ‘no romance but sleeps around’ generation to shake things up [gen 1: forbidden love except not forbidden, just frowned upon at the time] [gen 2: best friends become lovers but with a SLOW burn] [gen 3: fake lovers to real lovers]

using gameplay outcomes to help further your legacy helps. i know the game is lacking…. Take it from me as someone who owns only 10% of the packs lol. but I try my best to let the game decide on some things while guiding it in other areas! your sim is actually bad at something you thought they’d be good at? cool that could change their career! your sim suddenly wants to have another baby and it isn’t planned? up to you, but it could open up lots of opportunities! your game killed off a parent too soon? rip but maybe you can use that for your heir’s personality development lol

if you’re intimidated by following certain guidelines, you don’t have to! I’ve set my own (can’t age up the heirs to see what they’ll look like, can’t travel to worlds that would realistically be too far away for every day activities, try your best to have family events/holidays)

my final tips go hand in hand: take your time and only play when it’s enjoyable. if the fact that i still have a sim from late 2016 isn’t hint enough, i can tell you that I’ve only played my legacy when I absolutely wanted to. if i wasn’t feeling it, i didn’t bother because i wouldn’t have enjoyed myself! this meant that i would go periods without playing (and posting), but i can speak from experience when I say that it has been for the best!!!

all of this is to say… everybody is different! what works for me may not work for you. overall, do what makes you have fun. as long as it is isn’t hurting other people, you’re doing great 😌

[syncopatedid]

Got gifted by friends to go watch the fan screening of The First Slam Dunk movie and it was the best present ever! I wasn't even a big fan of the series and had forgotten nearly everything about it going in, so I figured it'd be a good time for a refresher, maybe entertaining enough for a solid 8.5/10? But no! Turns out it exceeded my expectations. 10.1/10!! Heck, it was so good that I found myself thinking the movie trumps the movie of my favourite Kuroko no Basket! Whenever Shohoku made a basket score, the whole theatre (all 1500++ fans and 3 storeys strong) erupted in cheers and applause. Team Shohoku was out in full force at the gallery that day! Few thoughts on movie (bit spoilery but not too much):

I was very surprised to discover that Hanamichi was not the main character in this movie! Instead, this story focused on another member of Shohoku and much of the movie is from his POV. A risky (?) but interesting gamble adopted by the creator, no doubt, but one that paid off handsomely. I said (?), because I did wonder if fans of hot favs Hanamichi and Rukawa might be turned off by the idea of having another member take the spotlight, because they may feel it would steal screen time away from their mains. I suspect that is the reason why the marketing of this movie seems to keep the fact that they're going with another member as mc under wraps. The synopsis I have read for this movie used the synopsis for the Vol. 1 manga, which had little to almost no relevance to the actual movie itself other than the fact that Hanamichi is in it (but it's not even his POV this time)! The promo materials too, felt like they were very intentionally not pushing any one member into the spotlight but rather, promoted them as a team. So naturally, I think most would assume Hanamichi would still be the main POV. But! I don't think it's a deal breaker at all, because not only did the POV from someone else other than Hanamichi give a new perspective to what we already know from the manga/anime, it still retains enough presence of the team and key moments with the other members that call back to the source. I mean... my personal fav was "Specs" back in the day, and they practically benched him for the entire movie and I didn't even miss him that much, ahaha. They did kind of sub him in twice? But we don't even get to see him play. :*) Ultimately, it is Shohoku we are watching in the finals, playing the match of their lives. The reason why I loved this movie and why I didn't feel as much for the original is that as a manga it was a product of its times. It was all shonen all the time, meaning the bulk of the story was getting your feels from the adrenaline, testosterone-filled matches. This movie still had a lot of that for sure, but it had something else which I felt the source was never great at -- a deeper, heartfelt dive into the backstories and motivations of an individual. The "otoko no roman" aspect of the story always felt thin and glossed over quickly in favour of it playing out during the matches, as that was how shonen manga were mostly like at the time. In this movie, however, it switches between the moment in the match and flashbacks to the past. Every personal struggle off the court hurts so much more but it just made his and their achievements all that much sweeter. I must have shed tears at least three times in this movie. There is drama, but all the emotions felt warranted and never hit the point where I thought was pandering or excessive.

Speaking of team matches, it would be remiss of me not to mention the animation choice. I was skeptical when I saw the trailer because it seemed like a weird mix of CGI and traditional drawing and I wasn't sure if I'd take to it, but this movie made it work! The CGI motions were all natural-looking enough, yet had this 2D animation feel to it that I honestly can't tell you where the CGI began or ended except there were probably CGI elements somewhere because of the fluidity of certain moves that I feel only CGI can achieve. It felt as if they had rendered all the motions in CGI, then went back and hand-painted over every CGI frame so it looked like a 2D animation before splicing it all back together again. I liked it a lot, and the style blended well and lends an interesting flavour to the look and feel. The camera angles and the way the final match is animated also really felt like you were watching a real-life NBA match from the spectator gallery! I guess the art style of Inoue sensei always bordered more on realism, but it got me thinking yeah, these guys are how real basketball players feel like! Huge gorillas, towering giants AND pretty bad boys. Go big or go home, as they say! It was a most immersive experience. Anyway, please go watch it if you have the chance! I can’t recommend it enough!

[hollythame]

3+4 from the General section and 1 from Romance for the Tav asks :3c

QA For a Companion!Tav AU:

My tav is Kali, a tiefling shadow monk.

Does your Tav have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions?

She'll have a ton of quips or other small comments whenever someone joins up with the party, she's a bit of a chatter box. But with hindsight or reading into it, the player maybe able to figure out she was giving some advice or insight she noticed about the companions because it mirrors her backstory in someway.

Like for Astarion she'll probably say something like "Leave the sulking in the dark to the two of us friend." Implying that she already sees through his lil performance when you first meet him (and that their backstory has some parallels as both their backstories have them doing shady things in the dark at night). Or for Shadowheart she'll say "A girl who can keep her secrets? I like it." Since Kali also is used to keeping secrets locked away in the dark.

The only real exception to this would probably be Wyll. With Kali knowing of him before hand and making a comment of "Oh great, the duke's son, here to save another lost soul." But its a thing where once Wyll's pact is revealed and they get to know each other, Kali will quickly realize she kinda misjudged Wyll on the misinformation she was given about him and that Wyll is actually kinda leading the life she wants to leave (Roaming around, helping people, but not being a stary eyed native kid about it).

What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

She approves of the Tav tricking people, getting people to think you are on their side before backstabbing them once you get what you want or have weakened them. She approves of helping people, doubly so for helping any tieflings or helping people getting out from under the thumb of someone oppressing them.

She'll generally disapprove of any dialog that shows the Tav having way to much of an ego or sense of pride. She'll also disapprove of any time the Tav tries to be controlling of her, even in little ways like trying to get her to stop making her silly lil jokes or comments.

She won't necessarily be opposed to doing bad acts or agreeing to work with bad, but the Tav has to frame it as "a necessary sacrifice for a greater good" otherwise there will be some heavy disapproval dinks (She has a branching path of helping her be a better person or pushing her to fall back on old bad habits).

Is your Tav a romanceable character?  Are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

She'd be hella romanceable. In my brain the main requirement for romancing her would be to save the tieflings, even if she could be convinced to say in the party if you turn against the grove (even if it would be a hard sell). Since saving the tieflings would be the start of her "I can actually do good in the world and help people rather than just randomly wander" journey.

But also now my brain just jumped to a more hidden romanceable option where you choose to turn against the grove and she starts falling back on bad habits of justifying all her bad actions "for the greater good". And with high enough approval and taking a slower romance path with her and the player and her can just go full evil and take control of the absolute's plan in the end. With her and the player being the best evil powercouple.