#icarus was surprisingly difficult to write for

[silvrash-797]

Febuwhump 2025 - Wings of Time, Winds of Chance

Read on ao3

Warnings for present tense writing, blood and injury, and an ambiguous/open ending

“Come on!” Wind waves, full of energy and excitement and exhilaration to be exploring a new dungeon. Four waits patiently by their chosen passage.

“What did I tell you?” Time says as he approaches the pair. “This old man will be slowing you down.”

Time checks behind himself one more time, for one more glimpse of his boys. He can’t help the feeling that something terrible is going to happen to one of them.

Unbidden, the memory of wearing the Mask of Truth and seeing the ominous writing on Wild's slate rises to his mind.

Someone will die.

It had almost been Twilight. Goddesses, he’d almost watched his own descendant perish from a cursed wound.

He desperately wants to keep these boys, young men, heroes, sons under his wing, where he can see them and feel them close by and know they are safe.

He cannot bear to lose a single one of them.

This dungeon makes a mockery of his fears; the shadow is toying with them like a cat with a mouse, forcing them to separate, to weaken their integrity.

Time doesn’t like it.

One small consolation in all this is that he has the two youngest heroes with him still. He reminds himself that, though they are young, they are seasoned heroes, with two or more quests behind them. Yes, he wants to protect them, but he must also let them flourish.

His part in this group is to guide, to lead. With painstaking care, he will weave from diligence and experience the wings with which they will fly.

Time finally catches up to the younger pair, and Wind bounds away, down the stairs, only to stop and double back when he finds himself alone.

“Come on, come on, come on!” he begs. “I wanna see all the cool rooms and find some treasure! Somethin' tells me there’s more than 20 rupees in this place!”

“We must exercise caution, Sailor,” Time tries to corral the excitable young hero, to no avail. “The shadow could be around any corner, could have laid any number of traps for us.” Anxiety gnaws in his gut at the thought.

“Give it up, old man,” Four says with a slight chuckle as he descends the steps behind Wind. “You know there’s no stopping him when he gets like this. He doesn’t have a lantern – he can’t go far.”

Time hums in agreement and takes the first half-dozen steps at a quick walk to catch up.

The dark stairway gives way to a darker hall, lined with empty torch brackets. Keese flutter by and are quickly slain. Zols and Chuchus meet the same fate. Wind runs to and fro, checking pots within the lamplight for treasure.

The hall seems to go on forever, and Time begins to miss the sun. Wind, too, seems to grow more subdued the longer the dark persists. Four remains stoic as always, though Time can see his grip tighten on the lantern's handle.

Finally, a bright, warm light can be seen at the end of the endless tunnel, far in the distance. After a few more minutes of walking, all three heroes heave sighs of relief as the chill of darkness is slowly dispelled by the not-so-distant sunlight.

Wind finds his energy again, fairly flying toward the growing brightness. The sun greets him, limning his hair in bronze.

But when you fly too close to the sun, you get burned.

A sudden shing splits the air, like a blade being drawn. Light flashes on metal, Wind screams, and a small body is thrown to the floor.

Time's world narrows down to the whirling blades retracing from the doorway and the ominously still leg he can see just on the other side.

“WIND!”

Blood pools, and the boy remains still.

[veebs-hates-video-games]

More small ones because that seems to be what I'm doing a lot of again lately after some long stuff that I needed a break from.

Graceful Explosion Machine is surprisingly polished and well balanced for something I got on a whim and had never heard of before. It does a good job incentivizing you to play strategically and use each of your different types of weapons, all of which feel useful in different situations. The balance between the default weapon overheating if used too much, the more powerful weapons running out of energy if you use them too much, needing to stay up close to enemies to recharge your weapons, and the cooldown on the double dash being just long enough that you have to ration it feels well thought out and probably took a lot of playtesting to get right. My only complaints are that usually the tiny easiest enemies in the game are the ones that hit me because I can't see them through all the effects happening on screen and that the later levels are causing me pretty significant physical pain to play. I'm about 3/4 of the way through and still having fun, but we'll see if I just need a break or to give up entirely before I hurt myself like with Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Otoko Cross: Pretty Boys Mahjong Solitaire is...ok just hear me out on this one. I used to have a friend who would randomly gift me bad games on Steam because they knew I'd play them anyway and then complain about them. One of those, several years ago, was Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire, which was actually surprisingly well put together compared to what I expected, even if the horny on main aspects of it were very silly. Sometimes I just get nostalgic for people being like "hey this looks terrible and was 99 cents, have fun" I guess? Anyway it's actually decently made for what it is (and extremely unforgivingly difficult unless you set it to easy mode), and if it were a little less horny some of the costumes would be pretty cute instead of like 70% of them being too ridiculous for me to take seriously. Then again, I'm aroace, so what do I know?

Meet Her There is one of those things where I'm not even sure how I ended up with it, but thank you past me for finding it somehow, apparently. It's a very short VN (like I think I finished it in maybe 15 minutes and saw all the alternate stuff in another 15) originally made for a game jam. It has the color palette of a Virtual Boy game, which really highlights how awful the cheap TV I'm using as a monitor is, but it works well with the art style and music to set the dark tone of it. Speaking of which, do not ignore the content warnings on this one for suicidal themes if that's an issue for you. I feel like it handled what it was going for pretty well, even though like some other stuff I've mentioned recently the writing is a little stiff/awkward. It didn't bother me as much here as it did in some of those others. Also it's very funny how when I looked at the user reviews for it on Steam afterward almost none of them mentioned or seemed to even have picked up on some stuff that was really obvious to me, like right away I was like "oh this is FULL of gender".

[eight-twenty]

Eight Things: I currently have two brains yet I can only manage to write half of eight.

Five, no, seven eight months today, and I am feeling the transition of embracing this new phase (if you could ever call this just a phase). There are still no words to encapsulate this whole ordeal. You’d think 3 ultrasounds, monthly OB appointments, and being more than halfway through full term would have put me in full pregnancy mode. If it weren’t for a growing belly that I often surprise myself seeing whenever I walk by mirrors, measuring time in weeks has been (what I think) my only giveaway. And I guess finally writing this all out is my psyche’s way of taking it all in.

I am very very much excited. And ready.

1.) Okay, Kai; but did you not want kids?

Yes. And do I regret ever being so loud about it? No. Because the said decision made so much sense for me at that time of declaration. And I’m glad (blessed, actually) it had been a choice—not a circumstance I had to deal with. Never has turned to maybe’s to ‘if it happens, it happens’ to prayers that it does push through in the best way possible. I don’t feel myself any more spineless; rather, I have become more capable and grateful of change—an ability that is shrinking in modern society.

2. ) As far as my emotions and aspirations are concerned, I have not felt this more ‘focused’ or ‘calm’ or 'in-tune' with myself in a while…and surprisingly less terrified of the future. Overwhelmed, maybe, but no more than what I normally feel on a regular basis pre-pregnancy. Pregnancy wasn’t a diagnosis but a cure to whatever was eating me up inside somehow. It’s safe to say pregnancy has been the most relaxing thing my body has done for me.

Don’t get me wrong, growing a human being inside of you isn’t a walk in the park (I also literally couldn’t walk in the park because I was confirmed pregnant on the onslaught of winter), but I have always been so good at going through things with grace when they were impossibly difficult to begin with. It’s nice to be good at something new again.

3. Contentment. Such a simple word. Too simple that it’s difficult to grasp, so easy to toss around carelessly, and I am clutching to it so fiercely yet gently. Where my dreams, wants, and fantasies are concerned—I have made it; anything further from here felt like Icarus being a wax-melt away, spiraling to his demise for reaching the sun. The baby weight has anchored me down (quite literally, too) just at the right moment. I might not have reached the sun (yet), but I flew. And I am not falling. And I rest knowing I can fly. I’m honestly convinced I would have been downward spiraling after a trip to Disneyland if I weren’t pregnant. When my whole life has been ‘curated’ to lead to that moment—what else is there left for me then?

4.) That said, it has been a great privilege to be able to (over) think for my self.

[to be continued...]

[storytellerofuntoldlegends]

an icarus and his sun: chapter 8

A/N: hello i have returned!! this chapter was weirdly difficult for me to write, but from here on out i think the writing will go much smoother! but unfortunately i do have classes to be worrying about soon, so who knows how much time i will have to write. but still!! very excited about this fic and how you guys will react to upcoming events >:) (plus i added some implied nature wives (katherine and shelby) to this bit so this fic is basically turning into me making empires smp gayer) also check out this stunning art of chapter 5 by @artanogon! and if you wanna make art of this fic, you absolutely can, just be sure to tag me so i can see it!

Warnings: depression of the heartbreak variety, past violence

AO3 Link - Tumblr Masterpost

-

Jimmy was trying his hardest to not be mopey as he helped Katherine with rebuilding. He knew that he had promised that he would help her- but his own confusing feelings about Scott, his lack of building know-how, and the dejected look Katherine had as she looked at the slight crater where her castle used to be had Jimmy feeling far out of his league. But he put on a brave face- he needed the distraction, after all.

They began with filling in the crater, mostly silent as they moved dirt over with their shovels. Then once the ground was level, they could begin with setting up the framework of the castle. They spoke more to each other then- but it was mostly Katherine telling Jimmy where to put the support beams. Jimmy wanted to say something, anything to break the tension and melancholy air- but he couldn’t think of a single thing to say to Katherine that didn’t lead back to the tragedies they had experienced. Jimmy wished that Joel or Lizzie were there- but they were off gathering more materials for Katherine’s castle, and probably wouldn’t return until nightfall. So until then, it was just Jimmy and Katherine, silently stewing in their respective sadnesses.

Luckily- or maybe unluckily- someone much more chipper than either of them came along. Jimmy almost didn’t recognize her at first- but quickly realized that the figure approaching them was the mushroom gnome queen, Shrub. Or Shelby-she had said they could call her that too. She was dressed far more casually than she had been at the ball, a polka-dotted red kerchief tied over her head, brown overalls over a green shirt, and red boots with white polka dots. She had a bag slung over her shoulder, and Jimmy could see the tops of mushrooms peeking out of it.

“Um- hello! I- I wanted to offer some gifts from the Undergrove, maybe they could help with rebuilding! Or they could just look pretty- or just be a peace offering- or a gift of sympathy for what happened,” Shelby rambled, seeming just as skittish as she had at the ball, but was less afraid and more excited. Katherine set down the beam she was holding, and gave Shelby a small smile.

“The gift is much appreciated, thank you. It was nice of you to stop by- I apologize for the appearance of the Overgrown. Usually it’s prettier here,” Katherine said, looking over her lands for a brief moment before focusing back on Shelby.

“Oh! Well, what I saw of it at the ball, your empire is lovely! I’m sure it will be back to its former glory soon… if you’d like, I can help! I’m good with plants and I’m not a bad builder!” Shelby offered with an encouraging smile. Katherine practically glowed at the praise of her empire, and smiled back.

“I’d love to have your help- it’s just been me and Jimmy working all day, and most of our time was spent filling in the crater. Some extra hands would definitely help things go faster,” Katherine replied, gesturing at the land around her. Shelby beamed back at her, setting down her bag of mushrooms.

“Then I’m more than happy to help! We gnomes are small but mighty, just tell me where to lug these beams around and I’ll do it!” she chirped. Katherine blinked in slight surprise at her eagerness, but looked over to the stack of beams beside them.

“Well, there is one that needs to go across those two over here for the entrance. If you’re as strong as you say, then maybe you can help Jimmy with getting it up there- I’ll set some scaffolding up so you guys can reach it,” Katherine explained, going over to where two beams were upright and doing just that. Jimmy watched her set up the scaffolding for a moment, until he felt a pair of eyes on him. He turned and looked down to Shelby, who quickly looked away once she realized she had been caught staring.

“Is everything okay? You seem jumpy,” he asked, brows furrowed in confusion. Shelby chuckled nervously.

“Oh. Well- you see, gnomes can’t swim. And I’m kind of afraid of the water and water related things because of it. But you and the ocean lady seem like really nice people! So… sorry for being jumpy. It’s a habit,” she admitted sheepishly. Jimmy let out a good-natured laugh.

“I mean you’re right to be spooked by Lizzie, she can be scary when she wants to be- but most of the time she’s very nice! And trust me, there is not a single threatening thing about me,” Jimmy said, tone turning a bit rueful at the end of his statement. Shelby frowned.

“The guy with the goggles and his friend sure seemed to think otherwise, why else would they bother you like that?” she asked. Jimmy blinked in surprise at that.

“You… you think Fwhip and Sausage are afraid of me?” he asked in disbelief.

“Well… not afraid, but definitely threatened. I’ve seen it before, back where I came from. You’re someone who won’t bow to people easily, and people like them don’t like that,” Shelby explained with a shrug. Jimmy considered this for a moment.

“Huh. I guess… I never saw it like that before,” Jimmy said, a small smile coming to his face.

Their conversation was ended by Katherine waving them over, and Jimmy and Shelby picked up one of the beams to carry over to where the scaffolding had been set up. Shelby was surprisingly strong for her stature, and carrying around the beams and placing them where they needed to be was much easier than before she had arrived. It was less quiet with Shelby around too, as she cheerfully asked questions about their empires, as well as sharing some things about her own empire. But then there was one question that caused Jimmy’s blood to freeze in his veins.

“So you said that Joel and Lizzie were getting more building materials, but what about your partner? Is he with them too?” Shelby asked, and for a moment, Jimmy was confused.

“My… what?” he asked.

“The elf guy you were dancing with at the ball! You’re very cute together, by the way,” Shelby continued, completely oblivious to the tension in the air her statement created. However she soon noticed Jimmy’s pained expression, and it was her curious smile changed to a concerned frown.

“We uh. We were never together. And he betrayed us,” Jimmy said stiffly.

“Oh- oh I’m so sorry. You guys had just looked so happy together, I had just assumed- I’m sorry,” Shelby rambled, and Jimmy gave her a weak smile.

“It’s alright. I guess I was kinda happy- but it was never real. Not for him, at least,” Jimmy replied, throat feeling tight. He hadn’t really meant to burden all of his issues onto Shelby, but his mouth was moving a little faster than his brain was at the moment, and he couldn’t hold back his words.

“Well- well then that guy is missing out! You seem great, and he gave you up for what, tactical gain or political advantage or something?! He doesn’t deserve you!” Shelby declared, hands on her hips as she smiled up at Jimmy confidently. If someone he barely knew had so much confidence in him, then why shouldn’t he? Jimmy smiled back at Shelby.

“Maybe you’re right,” he conceded. Shelby gave him a half laugh, half playful scoff.

“Of course I’m right! Now c’mon, this castle isn’t gonna rebuild itself!” she chirped, heading over to the stack of beams. Jimmy could only stare after her for a moment, dumbfounded. Katherine seemed just as amazed by the gnome’s boundless positivity, a smile growing across her face.

“She’s spirited,” Katherine murmured. Jimmy chuckled.

“Yeah, you two are like birds of a feather,” Jimmy murmured back.

"We both are definitely nature-oriented," Katherine added with a chuckle. She looked at Shelby fondly for a moment, until her expression turned into a frown as she noticed something in the sky. Subconsciously her hand started reaching for Jimmy’s, and he took it as he looked up to the sky with her. Two figures were flying in- and the tension in Jimmy’s shoulders relaxed ever-so-slightly when he recognized them as Pearl and Gem. But he still gave Katherine’s hand a gentle squeeze all the same.

“What’s going on? Are we under attack again?!” Shelby asked anxiously, coming over to stand beside them and look up at Pearl and Gem flying in.

“Don’t know yet- they weren’t directly behind the explosion… but they are allied with the people who were,” Katherine said apprehensively. Shelby looked down from the sky, frowning in concern- and upon noticing Jimmy and Katherine’s joined hands, she grabbed Katherine’s other hand with a comforting smile. Katherine flushed slightly, but smiled back at Shelby gratefully.

“Please don’t be alarmed!” Gem shouted as she came in for a landing. Frankly, that didn’t make Jimmy feel any less alarmed.

“We aren’t allied with Fwhip and Sausage anymore. We don’t want any part of what they’re up to,” Pearl clarified, landing beside Gem.

“Really?” Jimmy asked warily. Gem looked to Jimmy with an open, pleading expression.

“I meant what I said when we told you that we didn’t know what Fwhip was up to. He left myself and Pearl completely in the dark, while Sausage and Scott were the only ones who knew about the full plan. But even then, I don’t think those two had the full picture, they looked surprised that we hadn’t known about the TNT. The point is- Pearl and I were tired of being part of an alliance that lied to us, and lied to us to hurt others! Katherine- if I had known what was going to happen, I would have never gone along with it and would have tried to put a stop to it,” Gem explained, turning her focus to Katherine as she spoke.

“So… you two are… on our side then?” Katherine asked slowly. Pearl gave her a gentle smile.

“If you’ll have us, yes. We also figured you could use our help rebuilding,” Pearl replied. Katherine looked to Jimmy, as if she was asking for his opinion. Jimmy blinked, and looked at Pearl and Gem. They seemed… candid, at least. But after Scott… Jimmy wasn’t sure who he could trust anymore besides his steady allies. However, they weren’t Scott. And furthermore, it really wasn’t his call to make. It was Katherine’s.

“It’s your empire, Katherine. If you don’t want them here, then just say the word. But you won’t get a fight from me if you do want them to help,” Jimmy said gently. Katherine smiled, and looked back to Pearl and Gem.

“I would absolutely appreciate your help. We’ve almost got all the framework for the castle set up- but having someone with wings help us out with some of the taller parts would be lovely,” Katherine said. Pearl beamed, and Gem clapped her hands excitedly. Gem came closer and Katherine let go of Shelby and Jimmy’s hands to talk over building plans with Gem, Shelby following after her and listening as well. Pearl, however, walked over to Jimmy with a mildly timid expression.

“Pearl?” Jimmy asked.

“There’s something I think you should know,” she blurted. Jimmy blinked in surprise, tilting his head to one side in confusion.

“I… okay,” Jimmy said semi-apprehensively. Pearl took a deep breath, like she was unsure of how to continue.

“Gem and I just came from a meeting with the Wither Rose Alliance. Well… it wasn’t much of a meeting, Gem and I broke off ties with the alliance pretty quickly and then left. But… there’s a… there’s something about Scott,” Pearl explained slowly. Jimmy tensed, swallowing nervously.

“Oh?” Jimmy asked, trying to keep his tone neutral.

“Like I said, Gem and I didn’t stay long so I don’t know for sure- but there was something off about Scott. He just… didn’t seem himself. I think he was just as unhappy with Fwhip as we were with him. I… I just know he meant a lot to you. And I think you meant a lot to him too. I just… I don’t want to get your hopes up, but maybe… maybe you should give him a chance,” Pearl continued. Jimmy’s mouth fixed into a firm line.

“It’s a nice thought… but I don’t think I can trust him anymore. Not after everything that happened,” Jimmy said, throat tight as he tried not to cry. Part of him really wanted to hope that maybe there was some sort of misunderstanding, that Scott really did care about him- but Jimmy couldn’t afford that kind of hope. Pearl nodded in understanding.

“That’s fair. Like I said… just thought you should know,” she said, before walking over to join Katherine in her discussion for the build. Then Jimmy- only feeling ever so slightly useless now that Katherine had so much more help- swallowed the tears that thinking about Scott caused, and joined them.

-

Taglists below! Ask to be added or removed!

MCYT General Fic Taglist: @corazon10000 @damiensaidno @franticfandomfanatic @gattonero17 @hetapeep41 @space-ace123 @vyeoh 

AIAHS Taglist: @anty-kreatywna @beepa99 @devilwoodkitty18 @riobug 

[imaginaryelle]

Tag Game

Tagged by @sineala. Thank you!

top 3 ships:

(only 3?? difficult choices...)

• Wangxian (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, MDZS & The Untamed) • Steve Rogers/Tony Stark (Marvel Comics) • Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (Arthur Conan Doyle novels and stories)

chapstick? lipstick? nothing?: chapstick forever. My lips. Are so dry, constantly, due to my cycling commute in the freezing wind. I like lipstick on other people and not myself.

last song: Icarus by Bastille. It somehow seems to fit… all my faves?

last movie: Into the Spiderverse if we’re only counting actual movies, The Untamed if we’re counting serial episodes too.

reading: Ah, too many things, I have a whole stack of microhistories going at the moment, hm. I actually finished this recently but Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright was quite interesting and surprisingly funny.

Tag 9 people you’d like to get to know better Tagging: @theflowergirl, @somanyjacks-writes @roamingjaguar, @vera-invenire @rosestormclare, @bizarro-sai, @lightningcatters, @shaharadaganwade, @intoxicatingimmediacy - only if you want to play, of course!

[spiltcandycoatedpunkblood]

I know I'm like a day late, but if you would like to still infodump about Greek myths please do!!! I love Greek mythology.

AHHHHHH I KNOW I’M LATE ABOUT THIS TOO BUT I HAVE THE TIME NOW!!!

okay so like my favourite greek myth that i practically absorbed as a child was Daedalus and Icarus and it still is

so Daedalus is a talented craftsman working for the king of Athens and is known for making stuff like cool statues and he actually designed the labyrinth for King Minos (more on that in a bit). he has a nephew, Talos, who is also super talented, making stuff like the potter’s wheel and compass. unfortunately Daedalus becomes incredibly jealous (of a child??? pffft) and decides the best course of action is to push the kid off of the roof of a temple. guy resorted to murdering his own nephew because he was jealous of him, okay.

anyway, the goddess Athene is there and turns the boy’s spirit into a partridge, which is important to know because of what happens later and what it signifies. Daedalus meanwhile realises that this is a massive problem and he would be caught and punished for this (yeah dude, maybe you wouldn’t if your intense jealousy issues motivated you to mURDER A CHILD) so he escapes with his son Icarus to the island of Crete and meets King Minos. the king’s wife has given birth to the Minotaur after mating with a bull in a bronze bull that Daedalus built for her (…yeah, i really shouldn’t be surprised) and so Daedalus builds the Labyrinth to house it. unfortunately, Minos doesn’t want people to find out the secret to escaping the Labyrinth so he imprisons him and his son on the island.

here he comes up with the idea for escaping and taking flight with wings made of feathers and wax. too close to the sun, the wax will melt. get the wings wet, they won’t work. so when they’re flying they actually get mistaken for some of the gods, it’s pretty cool. so at first they start flying together, but Icarus gets really excited at the idea of actually flying, because of course, that sounds rad (why can’t i fly??? i wanna fly too) and so flies around wildly with his father calling after him to come back but the kid just flies higher and higher until he reaches the sun. 

so, of course, the wax melts and the poor kid plummets to his death in the ocean. Daedalus finds his body floating on the surface and goes to bury him in the nearest piece of land. and here we see the partridge again, flying back as he’s putting earth over his son’s body in the grave he dug. he believes that this the spirit of his nephew Talos come back at this moment in time as the god’s form of punishment for him for murdering his nephew. basically, karma for his previous crime. Greek myths certainly had a way with morals, such as with Athene punishing Arachne (i think that’s how it’s spelt) for her egotism and displaying the god’s as drunken sinful fools after they had a competition for designing cloths via weaves (i think) by horribly turning her into a spider who will spend a lifetime spinning webs.

the book i used to read was surprisingly informative and fun to read with comic panels and interesting detail, which is probably why i found it easier to read and understand. like i was a bright child but teachers didn’t understand why i felt it kinda difficult to learn but give me a whole bunch of books, even like non fiction guide and recipe books, and i was FOCUSED. this was one of my favourite books as a child, and we’ve still got it. honestly, this is my favourite greek myth because of this book.

i hope that’s cool!! i love just writing like this and this was the perfect opportunity!! thank you!! i know someone else was interested so i did it here so they can see it to, and anyone else who wants to have a look!!

[eggoreviews]

Top 10 Lamest Game Protagonists

I’ve already taken a good look at the coolest main characters in games, but now it’s time for the flipside; the most lovably bumbling main characters in game history. Those heroes you can still sympathise with, but it’s difficult to get over just how incurably lame they are. Big note, this isn’t an insult to the characters I list, most of them are perfect little eggs. Hope you agree with these characters I’m about to roast!

Spoilers ahead!

10. Sir Daniel Fortesque (MediEvil series)

To be fair to poor Sir Dan, he spends most of his time trying to make up for how medicore he turned out to be in life. Daniel Fortesque went down in history for leading the charge in the Battle of Gallowmere and felling the evil sorcerer Zarok, when in reality he was hit by the first stray arrow while cowering at the back of the horde. But when Zarok came back and started raising the dead, Sir Dan found himself up and walking also, except now he’s a skeleton and he’s missing an eye and a jaw. He can only talk in muffled noises and has to endure the majority of the characters in the game ripping into him for his prior cowardice. So yeah, unfortunately pretty lame, but his low placement is due to his redemption by the end of his story.

9. Frisk (Undertale)

I know what you might be thinking, ‘But Frisk silent the whole time, it’s all the other monsters that are big ol’ lame eggs’, but no, Frisk is just as much. While they’re silent for most of the game, the very few conversation options you’re given as Frisk tell you just how much of a dork they are as they haplessly befriend everyone they come across in the underground, provided you aren’t doing the genocide route (but why would you?). And while you aren’t given too much detail as to who Frisk is and why they chose to climb Mt. Ebott in the first place, it’s clear from the get go that you aren’t playing the strong, silent protagonist in Undertale. Rather the strong, silent dork type.

8. Pathfinder Ryder (Mass Effect Andromeda)

You may be thinking this is an odd choice, but compared to Commander Shepard from the previous Mass Effect titles, Ryder stands as as a cheesy, bumbling mild idiot of a character. Not to say that he’s particularly badly written, it’s just the fact that he tends to blunder through the majority of his dialogue, and the slightly wonky facial animation present in Andromeda doesn’t help his case too well either. Poor old Ryder, he tried his best, but he just turned out a bit too Flash Gordon.

7. Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)

I want to make it clear that I love Shulk with every fiber of my being, and having an over the top JRPG protagonist with a strong English accent was honestly a masterstroke. But who, honestly, can take this man seriously? All you have to do is listen to him scream out the name of the attack he’s performing in unabashed enthusiasm or shouting out random meaningless phrases like ‘I’M REALLY FEELING IT’ to get a good impression of just how much of a total dweeb Shulk really is. But hey, I love him for it, so keep doing you Shulk.

6. Rhys / Fiona (Tales from the Borderlands)

Tying in the sixth spot on my list is the dual vault hunters from Telltale’s spinoff of the Borderlands series. And yeah, they’re both completely lovable losers. On a first glance, it would seem like the hapless, slightly incompetent Rhys is the only lame one, with his terrible flirting and endless supply of awful puns. But no, Fiona is just as lame, it’s just that her lameness is so deeply ingrained in her character she hides it quite well beneath her quips and gunplay. The both of them quibble and argue pretty much constantly throughout the game, but what becomes extremely obvious by the end is that they’re both as bad as each other, and Sasha is the only cool one.

5. Chris (Until Dawn)

The funniest thing about Chris as a whole is how the game tries to establish him as the funny one, but in reality, his jokes are bordering on the terrible and he’s a tiny bit of a laughing stock. To his credit, of the eight teenagers trapped on a snowy mountain being hunted by monsters, Chris is surprisingly one of the most capable survivors, as well as being one of the easiest characters to save. But each time you get round to his parts of the story, you’re reminded of just how noticeably lame he is compared to pretty much everyone else. But you can’t fault him for it, it’s good enough for Ashley! Or, you know, Josh.

4. Pit (Kid Icarus Uprising)

Pit is a big ball of positivity and puts up with quite a lot considering his age and his status as a fledgling angel, but that doesn’t change the facts. Pit is arguably the lamest Nintendo protagonist, even beating out Kirby purely because at least Kirby can wield a cool sword if he succs the right enemy. But Pit is a brash, reckless and tiny angel who can’t fly without Palutena’s help. If there’s ever a Kid Icarus sequel, maybe he’ll finally find his feet and manage to get himself off the ground without his favourite goddess, but until then, he stays pretty firmly on this list. At least until his voice drops.

3. Max Caulfield (Life Is Strange)

I’ll admit right now that the vast majority of photography student Max Caulfield’s lame factor is probably down to the writing. Her careless use of words like ‘bizarro’ and the sentence I never wanted to hear ‘Ready for the mosh pit, shakabrah’ establish fairly quickly that Max is a veritable goldmine of lame. She’s a walking edgy art film stereotype, complete with her ‘quirky’ personality and avant garde interests, topping it all off with a polaroid camera, the edgiest accessory ever conceived. Max has a good heart, using her never properly explained, newfound powers to help people wherever she can, whether that be preventing a suicide or saving the life of her future girlfriend Chloe Price, so Max remains a lovable and brilliant character. But oh boy, is she lame.

2. Sora (Kingdom Hearts)

As the protagonist of a franchise that nobody really knows why it exists, Sora acts as the tenuous bridge between the colourful, family-friendly Disney and the edgy, complicated and wonderful mess that is the Final Fantasy series. But Sora, with his intoxicating positivity, overly-dramatic poses and massive clown shoes, defines lame. God I love him, but there is nothing at all about this character that doesn’t make you sigh a bit inwardly, especially when you consider his constant company of Donald and Goofy. The odd blend of Disney and Final Fantasy in the needlessly epic plot spanning 15 years and many games only serve to accentuate how ridiculous Sora is as a character, so that’s why he’s this high. Plus, he’s far too extra to use a sword, he’s gotta wield a massive key instead. I love this spiky boy.

Before I imprint my face into a desk while talking about my top pick, here’s a few that almost made into the Hall of Lame (haha get it I’m funny):

PaRappa the Rapper (PaRappa the Rapper series)

Kid Dracula (Castlevania series)

Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong series)

Olimar (Pikmin series)

You (Duck Hunt)

1. Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog series)

During his inception in the early 90s, Sonic didn’t start out as incredibly lame as he is these days, but what puts him at the top spot is his steady decline into lame territory, which started right about when they started putting him in 3D. Sonic was designed to appeal to the kids of the 1990s and hasn’t evolved at all since, holding the same overly enthusiastic, outdated persona that people either love or hate, in games of varying quality. Everything from his weird anthropomorphic body, his massive eyes, constant shit-eating grin, his strained voice that sounds a bit like he’s always in pain, it all comes together to make this epitome of lame the character hasn’t been able to escape since Sonic Adventure. And it only looks like it’s set to get worse over the horizon with the announcement of a Sonic movie. Most of my love of Sonic comes out of a place of irony, but it’s love nonetheless. May Sega keep milking him until they run out of totally out of place environments to throw him into.

There’s my list! Just to reiterate, this isn’t a post hating these characters, it’s mostly just pointing out aspects of their personality that for one reason or another, put them on the lame radar. Hope you enjoyed, stay hydrated!

[blodkru]

You Could Have Done So Much

Linctavia fic. Hamilton inspired.

This is something I wrote while rewatching season 3 today. I needed it and for season 4 and 5 to not exist for a very brief moment. It’s more or less a bunch of thoughts at once and I apologize if it doesn’t make sense. If you’re tagged and don’t want to be, I’d appreciate a RB but I understand if you don’t or don’t like it.

Word count: 3015

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I finally stopped crying.

 She writes the words down with shaking fingers. It hurts just as much as it did the first time she ever wrote in the journal. It doesn’t get better, much to everyone’s disagreement. She’s tired of hearing it really. But she let’s them hope she will be okay, eventually, that she’ll be able to be herself again. But it’s only been 3 years.

Or already 3 years depending how you see it.

3 years since A. L. I.E. Since Roan became King of both Azgeda and the 13 Clans. She’s surprised how well he’s done. But then again, he’s doing what he said he would. He hasn’t lied since he became King. At least, not to Spacekru. Part of her is glad he’s done so well. Clarke becoming a Nightblood had complicated things but only temporarily. Once she found out A. L. I.E. had been lying about the nuclear plants, Clarke wanted nothing to do with being a leader. Octavia had expected her to go back to Floukru with Luna. Something in her had changed once Lexa died; Octavia can’t blame her. Something in her died the day he died. And she wasn’t a leader. Sure, Skairipa was someone people looked up to. But thankfully not to the extent they did Wanheda.

The last she did hear from Clarke, she was in Polis on an ambassador visit. With Bellamy. She wished the two of them would get it over with and become official. Everyone in the 100 wanted them to be together, she wanted them together, even those in Arkadia could see it. If Finn, Lexa, Gina, and Echo couldn’t get in the way then maybe they needed to get it together. Get together.

But it’s never that easy and she knows it.

It had been a full 2 years since she had been in Arkadia, refusing to go there after everything. Seeing the faces of those who all but caused the disasters that happened was nearly impossible. Even seeing Monty’s always kind face was difficult at first. He and Harper did their best to soothe the nightmares she had; more than once she woke to the woman’s concerned face and let herself be comforted. Bellamy would have done the same if she allowed him near her. He was her brother but part of her would never forgive him. He had come to understand that.

But he did send her off with one hug. She couldn’t stay in Arkadia, she needed to leave and find herself. “I love you, O.” He had squeezed her tight and she nodded into his shoulder. She hadn’t been able to make herself respond. She held on for a moment longer before mounting a new horse she came across- Icarus, she named him- and left. Monty had given her a satchel full of just about any medication she would need. And moonshine, of course. Raven gave her a small radio she could use if she ever was in trouble.

“Or if you miss us.” The brunette had shrugged. Octavia had taken it hesitantly. She wasn’t sure if she would ever use it; trouble or not. Abby gave her more medication and told her to please be safe. Even Clarke had sent her off. She had simply told her to be safe and if she was ever in need of supplies, Nylah would never charge her for them at the trading post.

2 years had felt like so much and no time all at once. She of course had seen her friends and brother since then. Once every 3 or 4 months they would run into each other in one place or another. Mainly the trading post. She quickly figured out Nylah would let Spacekru know when she would be at the post for more than 1 day. They would show up only hours later. Part of her wanted to hate the woman for doing so. But she couldn’t, not with every kind and knowing word she would say.

 I spoke to the last of your friends yesterday. You left a journal with him, too.

 Since leaving Arkadia, Octavia had traveled. With boarders being less of a factor now- and people fearing Skairipa- she was able to go nearly wherever she pleased. She decided on tracking down any and everyone who knew him. It was hard, much harder than she even thought possible, but she managed. She started with Indra.

“He was a great healer, Octavia. You know just as I do.” Getting the warrior to open up had been difficult in its own way. Octavia pleaded with her multiple times; had sat outside her hut for three days until Indra relented. Indra had watched him grow up, they were both Trikru after all. He had grown kinder than other boys; he hadn’t wanted to be a warrior. Much to his father’s chagrin. His mother died when he was only 6 years old from a disease that took a dozen or so others with her. Since then, he had wanted to be a healer and help others. Especially since the man in the ship who his father made him kill. Octavia had left more than satisfied. She wrote everything down in the same journal he had given her.

She couldn’t bring herself to ever lose it.

She found others soon after Indra. The woman had let slip that Octavia was looking for others who could tell her about him. Friends of his came out of nowhere. As far as Octavia had known, he didn’t have many friends. But people did know about him. Many men, woman, even one or two children sought out the infamous killer from the sky. The told her stories, times he had helped them. Sickness, injury, anything. If he was needed, he would help.

It wasn’t long before she found out he would leave journals with these people. Much like the one she had; drawings, notes, medicine ingredients littered the pages. The all too familiar handwriting was like a blessing each time she would meet someone who had one. More than not, they would give them to her. The first woman had all but shoved it into her hand. She refused to keep it, claiming she had memorized everything she needed, and Octavia should have it. Everyone knew of the grounder and sky girl who fell in love. They wanted to help the love story in some capacity.  She hardly slept. She stayed awake days at a time just reading everything he wrote. It took her almost the full two years since she left to find them all.

The last notebook came in the form of a young man on the outskirts of Trishanakru. Him, his parents, and brothers. They had also heard of the girl seeking notebooks from her lost love. The mother had greeted her with a hug Octavia tried to keep away from. The father asked her to stay for dinner and rest in their spare shed. “Even killers such as yourself need rest.” She had grimaced and politely declined. Only when she was given the last journal did she change her mind.

He cornered her just as she was about to mount Icarus. “Wait!” He came running out of the home and up to her. He held out a notebook a little smaller than the others. “Stay, please. I want you to have this and please stay. Just for the night.” She had taken the book and flipped to the front page. Handwriting she would know anywhere met her. She held the book to her chest as she considered the offer.

She accepted.

 You wrote so much. I’m surprised you didn’t write books. Encyclopedias even. Some of it makes no sense to me- what even is a pomegranate? I wish you could explain it to me.

 Making her way back to Polis had been a hard decision.

But word had spread that King Roan was having the leaders and ambassadors of every Clan meet. She wasn’t part of a Clan anymore…was she? Two years on her, going here or there, led her to feeling like she belonged in no clan. Nokru. A Clan of one. She decided to go there and see what the meeting was about.

She hadn’t expected to come back to the mess she did. Then again, everywhere seemed to be a mess really. Something was always going wrong. She arrived in Polis the day of the meeting. The city had been surprisingly quiet as she entered. Even Icarus seemed uneasy. When she came to the tower, it was almost like they were expecting her. She left her horse there but took her bag. It held every single notebook she had managed to find, and she refused to be separated from it. She walked right up to the war counsel room and entered without a second thought. All 13 Clan leaders and ambassadors surrounded the center table.

“Octavia?” Of course, her brother had been there. He had grown a not too shabby beard and looked less tired than the last time she’d seen him. Clarke hung by his side; it took Octavia seconds to realize they held hands. She bit back the smile that almost surfaced.

“Skairipa, nice of you to join us.” Roan addressed her. She nodded at him and was pleased to see Indra to his right. She hadn’t seen the woman in over a year. Octavia weaved through the bodies in the room and came to stand next to Indra. The older woman welcomed her at her side. “As I was saying, about the attacks.” Roan continued what they had been discussing. Octavia scanned the small crowd for faces she knew. Bellamy and Clarke, Kane and Abby, two or three ambassadors from neighboring Clans, Echo (the woman’s face made her want to gouge out her eyes). To her surprise, Luna had been there. The curly haired woman met her eyes with a sad stricken face.

Octavia found out quickly how dire the situation was. A group of rogue Grounders were slaughtering villages. They killed anyone just for the food and shelter. Many children were left orphaned and starving. Three parties were being sent out: one to find and bring the children to Polis, another to provide medical care to any they found, and the last to stop the rogues. Octavia didn’t hesitate to volunteer for the last one. Along with nearly half the group. It was decided Skaikru would lead the medical party. With Clarke and Abby as the only doctors in the group. The scout party would be led by Indra and Luna, along with an ambassador from Trishanakru and Podakru.

Roan and Echo would lead the kill squad. Octavia had bit her tongue about Echo. Roan had nearly banished her for betraying Skaikru and attempting to kill Octavia. How could anyone trust her now? It didn’t matter in the end. The found the men who were behind the killings and heresy. They found them camped out near Arkadia of all places. There were more casualties than Octavia had wanted. She left the battle bruised and bloody; nothing unusual. Bellamy had broken his hand beating the living hell out of one man. Even Roan walked away with a broken nose and bruised ribs. But the men had been caught and dealt with in a more humane way than Octavia had wanted.

With the men taken care of, they had found some people had been kept as prisoners. Specifically young girls. Octavia had been disgusted and set them free with Echo’s help. The girl’s and woman cried and thanked them as they were led to safety. Octavia refused to accept the praise. Echo had shrugged and told her she should accept it. “You saved their lives. Who knows what would have happened to them if we hadn’t found them in time.” Malice echoed her words. Octavia reciprocated her anger. For once, she was glad to be back in battle. Blood, bruises, and everything that came with it.

 I think you would be proud of me. I killed for a cause this time, saved people. You should have seen how many people there were. So many little girls who didn’t know what was going on. I couldn’t just leave, right?

 One little girl attaches herself to Octavia. Her hair was deep brown with dozens of braids. Her skin such a familiar sepia it was almost odd. Her eyes are what got Octavia. The light brown made the hardened warrior melt. The little girl had appeared by her side one day a week after the incident. She sat on the floor next to Octavia’s feet and stayed there the whole time Octavia spoke to Clarke. The older of the two had been checking up on her injuries when suddenly, there was a child. Neither thought much of it as the infirmary was crowded with injured and scared children. But when Octavia tried to leave, the little girl had gotten up and followed. Octavia thought it was odd to say the least.

“Maybe she likes you. You are well known, after all.” Clarke had shrugged and left the two. The little girl couldn’t have been more than 8 years old. She wore simple black pants and a shirt and looked like she needed a bath. And shoes. Her tiny feet were bare and red. Octavia had looked around petrified for a moment. Who was this child? Why was she following her?

“What’s your name?” She finally spoke to the girl.

 You’d like her, Linc. She looks so much like you it had me almost in tears all over again. She even acts like you I have to think you had a secret child you never told me about. She’s quiet but loves learning. Especially about medicine and healing. She spends almost as much time with Clarke and Abby as she does me. Bellamy likes her and thinks she’s good for me. Just like you were. But her eyes are what get me the most. I don’t think I’ve been able to look her in the eyes without almost breaking down. I think she understands, though. She asks about you. Who you were, what you were like, why you wrote so much. I tell her everything. About you, you saving me when I fell off that damn embankment. You helping Skaikru. Arkadia. Even about us almost escaping to Luna. She likes that story the best. I do too. Sometimes she tells me to rewrite it like we did make it. I haven’t been able to. For now, she likes reading your journals and learning everything you’ve taught everyone else. What you taught me.

 Octavia sits in front of a fire. It’s been another 2 years. 2 years since the last entry she had written. She has all the journals still and reads them frequently. More than she did any mythology book Bellamy gave her. She reads them to Rory mostly. The little girl she’s come to love is now 9 and still loves bedtime stories. Love. Octavia doesn’t know how the word snuck its way back into her life but it did. Along with every emotion and heartache that came with it. She wouldn’t change it for anything.

Since Polis, she continued traveling. Only this time she had a purpose. She became a tracker and map maker. There had to be more of the world than the small area of TonDC and Azgeda. The desert could surely only go on for so long. So, when Roan approached her with plans to seek the West, Octavia took the job happily. Rory would come with her along with anyone else she wanted to take. She had been hesitant to take anyone else. Only when Indra and Bellamy found out her plan to leave at night did she allow others to come. Bellamy brought Clarke, of course. Indra brought Gaia. It was startling to see the Flame Keeper after so many years. She had chopped her hair off and wore more warrior type clothing like her mother.

Together, the group of 6 found life in parts of the world they never thought possible.

Octavia looked up at the sky and down to the body in front of her. Rory lay between her legs with her head resting on Octavia’s chest. She kept her legs tight around the girl, always afraid of letting her go. Bellamy and Clarke were fast asleep on the other side of the fire. Indra and Gaia are looking at maps and writing down everything they’ve come across. They don’t seem to notice Octavia as she looks at her makeshift family.

Family is a word she never thought would be in life again. After losing her mother, Lincoln, almost Bellamy, and even herself. But she has her odd family now and wouldn’t give it up for anything. There was only one person missing from it. But he was there, as long as Octavia continued to read his journals and tell his stories. Their stories. Soon to be Rory and the rest of the family’s stories. They’ve formed their own nomad Kru now. The name was hard for her to get use to, but she knew Rory meant well when they all discussed it. It was to honor him.

He would live on and he would be there with her.

 Though I can’t wait to see you again, I know I have to keep living. For Bellamy, for Rory. Even for Clarke, Indra, and Gaia. We’ve found so much I can’t wait to tell you about it all. I’ve started writing in my own journals since this one is becoming a little worse for wear. Rory still reads them and can quote front to back. I hope you’re watching somewhere. I hope you can see me and what I’m doing for our people, for the world. For you. I think this will be my last entry in this journal. Hopefully by the time I pass these on, the words won’t be faded or total nonsense. It’s only a matter of time.

May we meet again.

Octavia kom Linckru.

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Tagged (I hope you guys liked it?)

@and-now-youre-home  @madigriffen @gardenofstories @miles-ezekiel @bellarke-stydia-olicity

[snarkyowl]

Partridge

A contribution to the Icarus au from yours truly. Understand this might not be accepted as a canon event, but this is me writing another story based off of a tale that carries a character from the tale of Icarus.

Dark didn’t enjoy getting his hands dirty, nor did he enjoy getting his wings dirty. Mess created questions, and questions required proper answers. He had no time to formulate such replies, but he still needed to take the route that would put this mess on his own hands.

It wasn’t a decision easily reached, surprisingly, and it disgusted him with himself. He found a decision like this difficult to make? It was absurd. He was Darkiplier, head of house. He shouldn’t have to struggle to pick and choose the weak over the strong. The useful over the useless.

Killing Bing off should have been a decision made sooner and easier, but he had foolishly let himself get attached. He’d gotten attached, and now Bing was causing problems in his careful planning.

He needed to go.

Bing arrived on time for once, stepped into the office as though everything were made of glass. He was always careful, Dark appreciated that in someone. Still, being careful wasn’t enough to make you valuable unfortunately. One needed to provide, and in Dark’s eyes all Bing had done was take. He needed to go.

The window had been left open to imply he’d left for a brief flight for one reason or another, and he watched with sick satisfaction as Bing approached the window curiously. Leaning forward, the ego in sunglasses seemed to be looking for him.

The fool never realized Dark was behind him.

One shove was all it took to send Bing topping out of the window and into a free fall. The wind whipped and whistled around him, crying that she couldn’t catch him if he didn’t help her.

Feathers ripped free from his wings as he rolled to face the ground and spread them out desperately. The wind filled them like sails an the pain was a shock to his system as the appendages were ripped back by the force. His floating lasted moments before he was desperately flapping his already tired and sore wings to try and get up. Up to the window, up to safety.

All around him he could hear everything and nothing, could see his death and his salvation and it was terrifying. He couldn’t get anywhere, not with his still ruined feathering and wings not used to hard work like this. Again, he began his descent.

He saw them as they dove down from their office, the Googles. A flash of blue followed by yellow, green, and red. He was certain he’d dreamt seeing the other three colors, only yellow would be coming for him if at all.

Yet, the colors he saw circling him in a panic were definitely the ones he thought would never want to save him. Blue shot forward, silver wings powerful and elegant carrying that blue toward him.

Arms, stronger than his own yet ever-so-similar grabbed him around the middle. Suddenly he’s being carried, and his wings stopped thrashing. They throbbed in their agony, Bing’s mind was still reeling. His glasses were gone, and he hung  limp in the arms of his savior. Around him, he heard anxious beeping and whirring. Clicks and drawn out sounds until finally, they’re moving.

The other three colors dove down before Blue descended, and Bing watched in silent fascination as they moved in a formation. They moved like this was a practiced procedure, like they had practiced for an event like this. Eerie thought, but a necessary one Bing decided.

Watching the rescue sent Dark’s temper flaring, but he shut the window with a gentle click. So the annoyance will be staying, wonderful. As he turned back to his desk, he adjusted his suit with a distasteful sniff. Time to play innocent and place the blame where it didn’t belong.

The Googles landed, then watched as Blue followed them down with Bing still in his arms. Blue didn’t acknowledge his brothers upon landing, and instead laid Bing carefully out on the ground. Bing had yet to move past breathing, and they were all afraid of what that could mean. As Blue moved to investigate his wings, though, Bing sprung to life.

No one expected him to punch Blue, hell he didn’t even expect to punch Blue, and yet there they were. Bing, crouched forward like he was going to run, and Blue laid out on his back in confused shock.

Oliver moved to check on Bing while Blue refigured, and moved back a step once Blue had gotten back into a seated position. Bing went to apologize, but the look on Blue’s face told him to keep it for later, and so he did.

They got Bing to Dr. Iplier as quickly as they could, and he was a good patient for the doctor. He was startled when the entourage of Googles didn’t leave after that, and instead escorted him to his new room.

He felt someone had been moved down and would be mistreated like he had been, but decided he would find out later who had previously owned this room to make sure they weren’t. As the Googles helped him settle in, he wondered how long this would last.

How long would Red, Green, and Blue especially, continue to put up with him when they were the three that seemed to avoid him most?

They all filed out after telling him to call if he needed them, and he breathed a relieved sigh. What did this mean? Was he on good terms with Blue now? Did he forgive Blue? The others?

Tiredly, he looked at the time.

Later.

For now, Bing had a dramatic fall to get over, and Dark had a new plan to hatch.