#it all just reminded me of zora??? ugh i love her!!

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas]

OMG sorry to request again seconds later, but I just saw the Sheikah slate ask. Could we see Kohga just... continously sending Sooga dirty texts and pictures during a dinner with the gang or something? Until Sooga's all "we gotta go NOW" and drags Kohga off to make good on those texts??

Canon use of the slate;*tracking towers, mapping areas, stopping time*

MY use of the slate;*sending nudes*

"Dorephan, really good to meet you, big guy!"

Kohga waved up at Dorephan. Him and Sooga were invited to dinner, not by Mipha, but by the king himself apparently. Dorephan nodded from his spot on the throne.

"Kohga, was it? Lovely to meet you. My children talk about you so often, I had to get to know you a bit more! You and...Dooga?"

"Sooga, your highness."

"Right right. Sidon, do tell the chefs that company is here."

"Yes father. I call dibs sitting next to Sooga by the way!"

Sidon dashed off into the kitchen, and Mipha chuckled, clinging to Kohga's side.

"It's wonderful that you've accepted Father's invitation, Kohga. He has been dying to meet you. Please, sit here with me. If you don't mind Sooga being away from you."

"Oh hows he gonna survive, the poor guy?"

Kohga chuckled. He sat next to Mipha, Sooga sat at the far end (with Sidon quickly joining him), and king Dorephan in the middle of them. A Zora soldier (handsome devil, if you ask Kohga. Real nice looking teeth), served everyone a nice healthy cup of wine, with Dorephan raising his own glass a bit.

"An honor to have you both join the family. I was looking forward to having my future son in law here, but-"

"Father!"

She hid her blushing face in her face, making everyone chuckle. While every man at the table was different, they had one thing in common; love for Mipha. Dorephan gave a good, hearty laugh.

"I tease, my daughter! Once Sidon finds someone to wed, I'll be the same!"

Sidon, practically giddy, grinned over at his sister.

"Has he seen the armor you made for him?"

"Not...quite. Still adding finishing touches. I'm...a little worried about it, honestly."

Kohga found the whole conversation cute, but unless he heard a 'he said yes', he found himself not very interested in the conversation. He was WAY more interested in Sooga and Sidon. Those two were chatting it up in between Dorephan and Mipha's speaking, and it reminded Kohga of the time Sidon let out all of his horny frustration on him. Ugh. Now he was DAMN horny just thinking about it.

Bored at this point, Kohga pulled out his sheikah slate, starting to mess with it. It was considered the same as pulling out a book at the table, so many didn’t seem to mind when he used it when he was bored. He scrolled through his pictures, and found one of himself. He did like to take a good selfie here and there. Looking at Sooga across the table, he grinned, and sent it to Sooga. It lit up at his waist immediately, and Sooga held the conversation while pulling it up. Look at this sap, smiling so giddily at a selfie of him. Even if it was a DAMN good selfie. He even managed to respond with a ‘<3’, which was even cuter.

“What else what else…”

Kohga mumbled to himself. He gave the occasional nodding towards Mipha (he listened to her for the most part, but this seemed much more important), before he found another picture. Another selfie, this time with his mask slightly askew, and his tongue sticking out between two of his fingers. THAT one made poor little Sooga’s wine get stuck in his throat, and he coughed a bit, but otherwise kept his composure. He always did like his mouth. He clearly didn’t know how to respond, choosing to continue his chat with Sidon. Kohga didn’t like being ignored, so he shot him a message.

‘If I send you something, respond, Sooga. You know I don’t like being ignored.’

Sooga read over the message for a moment, before forcing himself to respond.

‘I apologize, I just wasn’t expecting a suggestive picture. I will respond from now on.’

‘Good. Shark boy is cute, but last I checked, you were bananas about ME’

‘I am, I swear. He just keeps trying to look’

‘So? Let him look. You guys ARE super cute together. Here, let me give you something to show him’

Kohga pulled up a picture of him eating a banana in a...not appropriate way, if you wanna put it how Sooga would. You wanna put it how Kohga would, it was a picture of him stuffing his mouth full of banana, having the end pressed against his cheek. It was a picture that EASILY said he was asking for it. Sooga was hiding his mouth over his hand, melting in his seat. Kohga tried not to laugh. He knew no one could suck dick better than him, and BOTH knew that Sooga knew this.

‘You want that when we get home? Wanna just sit back in our cozy bed and let me suck that pretty cock of yours?’

“Well, Kohga?”

Kohga lifted his head up to Mipha, who was clearly saying something to him. He put the slate down for a second, shaking his head.

“Sorry, I was talking about something super important, what was it?”

“Oh, we were wondering if blue was the right color for Link’s armor.”

“Oh definitely, great contrast to your own colors. I say keep it.”

That seemed to please Mipha enough, as she clapped her hands a bit, and continued to talk to her father. Kohga went back to his slate, just in time to see Sooga’s message.

‘Master Kohga, please, we’re in public’

Ugh. Such a buzzkill. Always with the manners and being a good guest. It was sweet, but Kohga REALLY wanted to poke at Sooga. He was trying SO hard to just sip wine and eat his bread, trying to look good for Kohga.

‘You’re trying to tell ME what to do, Sooga?’

‘No! No! Never!’

‘You know I hate that. So, you’re gonna get a lesson. I want you to put your hand on fish stick’s thigh. Under the table. That is a command’

Sooga was just DYING. Kohga was chatting him up, and without using his voice, he was seducing poor little Sooga. He hesitated, but as per usual, a command was a command. So, he slid his hand up Sooga’s thigh, lightly clenching his leg. Sidon seemed confused for a minute, before laughing.

“Sooga! I had no idea you missed me and the domain so much!”

Sidon’s bubbly personality made the whole thing seem inconspicuous, and it was hilarious to the ever blushing Sooga. Such casual flirting between them, all while Kohga was saying he’d suck him off right fucking now.

‘Good boy, Sooga. You know, I could take a video of it. Of me sucking your cock, of me drooling all over your nuts-right till you cum in my mouth. And we can send it over to Sidon, see what he thinks about it. How does that sound? How badly do you want my lips on your cock?’

Suddenly Sooga put the slate away, and stood up. Kohga thought he somehow offended him, when Sooga walked up to him, and hoisted him over his shoulder. All three of the zora looked at Sooga curiously, and Kohga tried not to laugh at Sooga’s attempt to lie on the fly.

“I apologize. We uh, just recalled we had an important meeting to attend to. I do hope you’ll forgive me.”

He was about to turn, when Sidon’s interest made him jump up a bit.

“Oh what was it?! Care to tell us?”

“Yeah Sooga, just WHAT was that meeting we forgot?”

Poor little Sooga. He floundered for a moment, before pulling something RIGHT out of his ass.

“Banana problems.”

Mipha cocked her head to the side.

“Banana..problems?”

“Yes. Yiga things, as I’m sure you’ll understand. King Dorephan, excuse my rudeness, we simply must do this another time.”

Sooga didn’t let anyone else speak before he turned the corner, and poofed. They were back in the clan, and right when Kohga realized that, he just could NOT stop laughing.

"BANANA PROBLEMS, SOOGA."

"I am good at MANY things. Lying is not one of them, especially under pressure."

Sooga opened the door to their room, locking the door behind them, before finally setting Kohga down. Kohga chuckled, hand roaming till he cupped the slight bulge between his legs. Excited boy.

"You've got LOTS of pressure, poor boy. Lay down, let's take care of you~"

Kohga didn't wait, practically throwing Sooga onto the bed. He looked up at Kohga as he crawled onto him, being firm as he parted those big, pretty legs of his. Sooga's grip on the sheets was so desperate and needy, it was cute.

"W-wait, don't you want to record-"

"Not yet. First one is for me, and me alone. He gets to see you all nice and loose~"

He loved this big, stupid man, and his big, stupid body

[juviin]

who are your favorite top ten black clover characters & ships? talk about them!

ok!! lets gooo (i’m sorry this took SO long and it is SO long I just have Lots of Thoughts)

Characters-

Noelle--yea I love Noelle. Her development is one of the best I’ve ever seen. At the beginning she was always looking down on others and felt so little confidence in herself, but look at her now. I think another big part of it is that I caught up to the manga right at her fight with Kivn lol

Finral--I love him, he’s so stupid! Fr tho, usually I’m not a fan of the like playboy type characters, but there’s something about Finral. I love the fight vs Vetto where we see him and Nessa throw Asta around. He’s just so caring to those around him ;;

Mereoleona--She’s feral!! I love so so much about Mereo. For one, her solution to every problem is just “set it on fire” and I would love to care so little about things (two Astas? set them both on fire). I also just love that we have this crazy powerful, feared by everyone, doesn’t care about anything character and she’s a woman! (also, I share a birthday with her!!!)

Asta--Babyyyyyy. There have been a lot of series that ive read where I love the side characters, but the main characters just fall a little flat for me. But nope, not Asta. I feel like my issue is that a lot of them are just stupid and happy all the time, but Asta isn’t! he’s dumb, but we also see him have complex emotions.

Leopold--I just love the fire Vermillions. Leo is so sweet. I love how he met Asta for 2 seconds and was like okay! You're my rival now! He’s precious and I want to give him hugs.

Vanessa-ok I love Vanessa so much. I think it's because she reminds me a bit of my older sister, but I love how she's all the Bulls' big sister.

Zora--Mr. Sexy...So I love his personality but can we talk about his DESIGN for a sec? He walks around looking like a mannequin in a bdsm store. Also, I have a bit of a Thing with piercings (and also with pointy teeth). But also? He's just an asshole and I love it. also i think his backstory is SO interesting. we hear about the classism in bc alot but we don't very often hear about the ramifications of it. so yea, since we know the nobles and royals suck ass it's nice to see a character that actually fights against the corruption in the nobility

Fuegoleon--come on, how can you not love him? he makes me want to do my best

Vanica--ok i know she’s crazy but she is very attractive. She is a favorite character in an i want you to get beat up/i want you to beat me up kinda way

Nozel--he's hot! Seriously though, I'm really starting to like him. I think once we get more development for him I'll like him even more

Ships: (i dont have a ton of romance ships so itll be half romance and half platonic)

Asunoe--Ugh they're just so sweet. I just want them both to be happy and i love how (despite Noelles tsun) at the end of the day they support each other and believe in each other so strongly.

Fana and Mars--We haven’t seen them in literally forever (and I’m Concerned for Mars rn..) but oh my god they are in love. Tabata please bring them back...

Licht and Tetia--god i know we’ve only seen little bits and pieces of Tetia and theyre both dead but their story makes my heart hurt in a way no other romance does. Their ending was so tragic, I wish they had the opportunity to be happy ;;

Luck and Magna--seriously i LOVE their relationship. The fight at the beginning of the reincarnation arc and their hug at the end of it.;; my heart

Yami and Charlotte--ah, the queen of tsun. I really like couples with different vibes. Like Yami the human fridge who walks around in a wife beater and beautiful noblewoman Charlotte.

Platonic:

Vanessa and Noelle+Asta-- *looks at icon* could you have guessed? Seriously tho I love how she’s like a big sister to the two of them and helps them out a lot ;;

Yami and Asta--UGH THE MOST RECENT FIGHT. u kno the you are my dad vine? thats Asta @ Yami

Yuno and Asta--ok i kno a lot of ppl like them romantic BUT their like brotherly relationship kills me. During the Kiten fight when Finral expected Yuno to talk shit but then he didnt uu

Noelle Mimosa and Leo--lol i just want to see these disaster royals hang out together more. 

Noelle+siblings--i just want them all to apologize to her and give her lots of love is that too much to ask? Tabata?

Honorable mentions:

Character: Mimosa is a precious darling and id die for her

Romantic: Vanessa/Yami and Yunoelle. I just think theyre neat.

Platonic: Finral and Noelle. Shitty siblings gang

[stopforamoment]

Part Four And It’s Different with Every Shore (Series Eleven, Part 4 of 16)

Series Eleven: It Takes Its Shape from de Shore It Meets (Sixteen Parts) Part Four And It’s Different with Every Shore (Series Eleven, Part 4 of 16)

Masterlist

Book: The Royal Romance (After Book Three)

Pairing: Bastien Lykel x OFC Rinda Parks Word Count: Rating: M for Language, Dealing with the Grief of a Spouse Author’s Note: Obligatory disclaimer that Pixelberry Studios owns the TRR characters and my pocketbook with those darn diamond scenes. OFC with all of her quirks is all mine. My apologies if Tumblr or I do something stupid when I try to post this. The keep reading link shows up on my laptop but not my phone. Ugh.

Thank you @asherella-is-a-dork-3 for always being my sounding board! Thank you @liam-rhys and @silviasutton1989  for still being a part of the journey!

Triggers: There are going to be some dark themes in this series that deal with the consequences of what happens when parents don’t put their children first. I promise I won’t get graphic, and I’ll tag each section accordingly. This will tie in with future events and another aspect of Bastien and Rinda’s personalities—as individuals and as a couple.

Series Summary: It’s the week of October 14th, the sixth week of the school year. Henry and Rinda are staying in Cordonia, which means that Rinda can now begin to move forward, and backwards, with professional and personal aspects of her life.

One inspiration while I wrote this was a quotation from Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God: “Love is lak de sea. It’s uh movin’ thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore.”

The other was these lyrics from the song “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables: “But the tigers come at night / With their voices soft as thunder / As they tear your hope apart / As they turn your dream to shame.”

Chapter Summary: Bastien visits Rinda and Henry that night, and he has surprises for them--and something surprises him.

And It’s Different with Every Shore “Love is lak de sea. It’s uh movin’ thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore.” Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Wednesday Night of Week Six When Henry talked to Bastien Monday night and told him the news that they were staying in Cordonia, Bastien was thrilled. And although Henry was excited to see Bastien again, Rinda reminded Henry that it was a busy week at school with the King and Queen visiting. Let’s all agree that we’re going to get through that first, and then we’ll figure out the rest. So when Bastien messaged Rinda Wednesday night to ask if he could visit, even though it was last minute, Rinda said yes. Absolutely, please yes. Henry and Rinda ran outside to greet Bastien when he pulled up, and Rinda stayed back while Henry ran into Bastien’s arms to hug him. And she melted into him as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her cheek and asking “How’s my Tria?” She wrapped her arms tighter around him. “Perfect, now that you’re here.” Bastien needed Henry’s help bringing in a few things to celebrate that they were staying in Cordonia until summer. He brought dinner, and there were chocolate chip cookies for Henry and spumoni ice cream for Rinda. But they both had to share with him. Then for his Tria he had a bouquet with roses, but not cliché long-stem red roses. They were spray roses, like the old-fashioned climbing roses you see rambling around in a garden. Bastien knew those were her one of her favorites. Daisies were her other favorite. But tonight he wanted roses for his Tria. And although Rinda didn’t know it, Bastien had asked the royal florist to put together something like an English garden that had rambling roses. Something that was the opposite of cliché one dozen long-stem roses. And when he saw Rinda’s face light up with joy when she saw it, when she gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek, and when Rinda carefully examined the bouquet, getting excited as she listed the names of at least six flowers she loved that were in the bouquet, names that Bastien had never even heard of before, he knew he needed to give the florist an extra thank you for creating the perfect floral arrangement for his Tria. Then for Henry he had . . . Bastien handed Henry a wrapped gift, and Henry’s eyes were that bright cobalt blue with excitement. He thanked Mr. Lykel and quickly ripped off the paper, then jumped up and down with excitement. It was the Rick and Morty Clue game. Mr. Lykel already proved he was the Monopoly mastermind, but Clue? With Bastien���s experience interrogating people and solving mysteries as part of the Royal Guard? Henry didn’t stand a chance. Henry hugged Bastien again, and Rinda suggested that he open the game and figure out the instructions while she and Mr. Lykel got dinner ready. And IF there was time after dinner they could play a game, so he could set the board up too. But no cheating!

. . . . .

They went into the kitchen to get dinner ready, and Bastien had a question. Drake mentioned there were some problems at the school. “Tria, are you and Henry okay? Drake wouldn’t give me any details. He was actually mad at himself for saying anything because he knew you were going to talk to me this weekend. He didn’t want to interfere, but I can tell that it’s something serious.” Rinda sighed. “I asked Drake not to say anything until this weekend because we all need to focus on the security for the King and Queen’s visit this Friday. There are some things happening with one family, but Drake and the rest of us have it handled. And yes, Henry is having problems with another kid at school. I know he’ll want to talk about that tonight, please. But everything else? I promise that we’ll talk about it after the visit. I just need all of us to focus on that first, okay? Bastien took her hands in his, his thumbs brushing her knuckles. And then brushing her ring finger, his eyes never leaving hers. “Tria?” She wasn’t wearing her wedding ring. Rinda gave Bastien a shy smile. “Yeah, I’m trying to take my ring off at home, but I still wear it during the day.” She paused, unsure of how to continue, and Bastien gently released her hands and took a small step back to give her some space as she struggled with her thoughts. “Bastien, I still need to wear my wedding ring at work. I’m not ready to deal with people asking me why I’m not wearing it, and I’m just scared. It’s been a security blanket, and I just . . . I’m sorry. Please, I need more time before I can completely take it off . . . or do anything more.” Rinda’s breaths were getting shallow and Bastien stepped closer to her. “Tria, I’m just going to hold your hands to help you breathe. Sweetheart, breathe in. Now breathe out.” He was gently rubbing up and down Rinda’s arm, helping her fight off the panic attack. “Tria, I never want you to feel uncomfortable with me. I promise, it’s okay sweetheart. You can wear your ring as long as you need to.” Rinda slowly raised her head to look at him, and he held her gaze. Those grey eyes that had so much depth to them when it was just the two of them. So much love. “Tria, I care about you and Henry so much. You’re absolutely perfect to me. You’re absolutely perfect for me.” “Tiger? I don’t know how long I’ll need, but you have a say in this now and I want you to always be honest with how you’re feeling about this. But, if I’m taking too long it has to be a conversation. If it comes out in an argument that will break me.” Bastien was still holding Rinda’s hands, and he reached behind himself, moving Rinda’s arms so they were around his waist. She smiled when he did that and she let go of his hands so she could hold him close while his hands moved to caress her face. “Tria, I know that you hate how your parents always yell at each other. And that you and Jameson would never fight in front of Henry. Sweetheart, I promise I won’t yell it during an argument and I promise when we do fight that we won’t do it in front of Henry.” Rinda smiled and squeezed him tightly for a moment. Thank you. “Tiger? Henry has Jameson’s ring. We’re keeping it in a safety deposit box for him back home. But I never knew what to do with mine when I was ready to take it off. But I’m thinking I might give it to Cassie. That feels right to me.”   “I think that’s a beautiful idea, Tria.” Bastien kissed her forehead and leaned his forehead against hers. “Thank you for telling me. And please, I do want you to tell me what’s happening at school so I can help. If it’s something with Henry, I need him to know that I’m there for him too.”

[pml1225-blog]

4:(urbosa>)mipha>zelda(>revali>daruk)

Link is not really the most interesting character. No RPG protagonist is, because their sole purpose is to serve as an insert for the player. As such, some of the side characters have much more compelling stories and become much more memorable. Let’s take a look at two of them in Breath of the Wild.

Breath of the Wild’s story is a backstory of events that happened in the past, and it focuses on Zelda’s struggles to unlock her power to seal Ganon away. She is fiercely devoted to unlocking her inherited power, but when her training doesn’t pay off, she understandably gets frustrated. In the off-time from her training, she works on deciphering and engineering the Guardians, ancient mechanical spider-bots that she hopes to use in the fight against Ganon’s forces.

“At the current rate, we’ll soon know all we need to know about the Guardians and the Divine Beasts!”

“He always says, ‘Quit wasting your time playing at being a scholar!’ I’ve spent every day of my life dedicated to praying!”

Her father adamantly disapproves of this, insisting that she focuses on her training. This leaves Zelda feeling helpless and not in control, and when she goes to the final holy spring to pray, only to be met by silence once again, Ganon suddenly attacks. Zelda can’t do anything but stand by as she watches Link and the rest of her friends go fight the war she knows she can’t finish. When Calamity Ganon hijacks the Guardians and Divine Beasts with his ~evil essence~, killing the other champions and turning the army that she had worked so hard on against her, the defeat is complete and she breaks down. Throughout this ordeal, Link is by her side, but being the silent protagonist that he is, can only offer a meager lap for her to cry on in the rain. It is only when Link collapses from his injuries and exhaustion and a Guardian is about to lay waste to them both that she jumps in front of him and cries out, and unlocks her power, saving their lives. Power unlocked, but still thoroughly defeated, she arranges for Link and his sword to be safely stowed away for 100 years, and goes off to Hyrule castle to hold off Ganon as best she can until Link reawakens.

well, that was easy.

Zelda’s story throughout the games has always been somewhat of a disappointing one, because the games, despite their titles, center around Link. In past games, Zelda always plays a secondary role in Link’s quest, and her involvement and agency in the story ranges from just being asleep for the entirety of Zelda II to Ocarina of Time, where she semi-orchestrates the entire plot from behind the scenes, setting up things so Link can save the day. When Zelda plays an active role in the stories, it is almost always as an alter ego – either as Sheik in Ocarina of Time or as Tetra the pirate in Wind Waker. The Zelda/Tetra distinction is especially interesting and particularly glaring because Tetra is a badass and a primary mover of the plot for the first half of the story, but is unaware of her heritage as Princess Zelda. When she is informed of her ancestry, she goes full princess mode and is relegated to being asleep in a dungeon and firing arrows at Link for him to reflect at Ganon. In the next game (Phantom Hourglass), she readopts her Tetra personality, but her story is very much that of a damsel in distress, which came as a disappointment to fans yearning for more.

By telling Zelda’s story in the past while letting the player finish Link’s story, Nintendo cleverly maneuvered around the problem of having Zelda, who is technically the title character, always being the secondary character. Her story is quite compelling and relatable, seeing how her attempts to balance the burden of unlocking her power with her knack and interest in research and essentially the Hyrulian version of engineering. The way she, as psychoanalyzed by one of the Champions, views Link’s steadfast dedication to his set path as a constant reminder of her own failure paints a convincingly conflicted character, stuck between a rock and a hard place. However, Nintendo fails to bring her story to a fully satisfying conclusion. In the end, her efforts to tame the Guardians are useless and actually lead to her defeat, and she unlocks her power not through her own dedication to her training, but rather her desire to protect Link. This girl climbed three (3) mountains for that shit! Eventually, when she can’t hold Ganon back any further, she calls out to Link to help, and that’s when the game begins. In the final post-game cutscene, Zelda expresses her desire to explore all of Hyrule and continue learning about their ancestors while helping the people, so she does get to do what she wants, but it is still a happy ending that is given to her by Link and the player. In a game where the primary gameplay philosophy is “you can literally do whatever you want”, Zelda’s story where she can’t escape her destiny and the wishes of her father and ancestors leaves a bitter irony. However, her character that is portrayed still shines through the miserable lot in life she was given, as her scenes show her as a real character with real motivations that players will want to root for. Just not a primary character.

That’s not to say that Nintendo is incapable of telling non-Link stories in the context of the Legend of Zelda. The stories of the characters Link meets throughout his journey are often quite compelling and imbued with feeling, and even through the brief interactions the player has, they really contribute to the overall vibe of the games. Breath of the Wild ups the ante by introducing 4 other secondary characters – the Champions. Of the four, Mipha’s character stood out to me, especially since her reception among the fanbase seemed to be extremely divided. Most of her critics claim that “her only character trait is liking Link”, and while, admittedly, much of her character arc revolves around her love for Link, it is told in a way that provides agency and weight to her decisions. Mipha is a childhood friend of Link’s, and as adults/teenagers, she often tends to his wounds with her healing powers. When their respective duties as Champions require them to travel separately and pair Link with Zelda, she is understandably jealous, but keeps it to herself in order to not jeopardize their group’s mission. Instead of being passive, however, she still expresses her wishes to spend more time with Link when their mission is fulfilled, and vows to stick by his side and protect him with all of her power. She also harbors no ill will towards Zelda, instead offering her advice on how to unlock her power by describing how she thinks of someone she cares about (Link) when healing (which somehow ends up being the key to unlocking Zelda’s power even though she’s not the one with a crush on Link ugh).

“We just don’t seem to know much about what we’ll be up against. But know this: that no matter how difficult this battle may get, if you - if anyone ever tries to do you harm, the I will heal you. No matter when, or how bad the wound, I hope you know that I will always protect you. Once this whole thing is over, maybe things can go back to how they used to be when we were young. You know...perhaps we could spend some time together.”

Though she falls to Ganon along with the remaining champions, the extent of her feelings towards Link is revealed during the game. The Zora, her race of fish-people, initially distrust Link because they believe that he took Mipha away from them and failed to protect her from Ganon. After her father reveals the truth that Mipha loved Link and desired to protect him along with the rest of Hyrule, however, the elders turn to begrudgingly placing their faith in Link based on their trust of Mipha’s judgement. This is symbolized by the armor that Mipha crafted for Link, which in Zora culture is something similar to a proposal. The armor is instrumental to Link’s success, and when he frees Mipha’s soul from Ganon’s grasp, she expresses her gratitude and feelings and passes on her healing powers to Link so she can continue to look over him from the afterlife. In this way, Mipha’s story, though a trite one of impossible childhood love, is more satisfying than Zelda’s. Many of her actions are dependent on her love for Link, sure, but they are logical and are met with logical results. Her happy ending is a direct result of her own actions and character (other than the part where Link still has to free her soul from Ganon, but he has to do that for everyone). The player is reminded of this every time they don the armor she made for Link or get merked by some dumb shit and are revived by her power. The difference between Zelda’s and the Champions’ stories can be seen by how fans responded. When the DLC came out promising more backstory on the Champions, fans were excited and rumors even circulated that you would be able to play as Mipha and the others. Though the DLC eventually fell way short of these expectations, providing little more backstory than “Mipha is kind to everyone”, the prospect that people wanted to play as her indicates that people wanted to experience more of her character beyond her devotion towards Link, something which you can’t exactly say for Zelda. I hope that Nintendo will continue to tell compelling and satisfying stories that aren’t solely based on a male lead, but perhaps the traditional Legend of Zelda story isn’t fit for this. Maybe Metroid?

[thegeminisage]

since i FINALLY finished the comic page im gonna make the poor choice of playing zelda ALL NIGHT get ready for The Longest Post which is full of Big Super Spoilers

since lynel thoroughly kicked my can last night i need defense food and preferably stronger weapons

i technically already had more than enough shock arrows to proceed but i wanna kill him!!!!

LMFAO I JUST COOKED SOMETHING THAT GIVES ME 21 EXTRA HEARTS...HOLY FUCK

okay but in all seriousness i only have like 3 defense things........

i guess i'll try it fuck i dont feel like scouring the world for ironshrooms rn

ok. slept on the bed to get my stamina wheel & 3 hearts, will use my 21 hearts when those run out, got 3 defense things for about 14m of defense, I Can Do This

really i wish i had a one-handed weapon, two-handers are so slow :/

well here we go again :|||

lol why does my heartrate always go up for shit like smh.....

getting better at dodging

ooh he hates my ice arrows

HAHAHA I MOUNTED HIM

maybe i can get a snapchat pic

YES i did i didn't attack him in that perfect moment but hey some thing are more important

NOOO FUCK I DIED

I FORGOT TO REFRESH MY DEFENSE ELIXIR BC I HAD GOTTEN UP AND FORGOT IT WAS ALMOST OUT

JESUS FUCK

im so fucking annoyed lmao i was so close

oh well at least now i can use that whole mount

aaand again

oh. im out of ice arrows.

YIKES i forgot to refresh my thing again just for a sec and almost died

YES i got a perfect dodge purely on accident NICE!!!!

i can see everything from shatterback point, even naydra, but im too scared to jump while the beast is down there

no yk what fuck it. im turning this paraglider around

first tho i really wanna wait to see if i can catch another rainbow...they were so pretty and i lost the other pics i took when i died ):

oh!!! there it is!!!!! and i was just about to give up

ah it last such a short time - but it comes at the same time every day, around 4:05

i'm sure it won;t appear here anymore after the divine beasts knocks it off with the water though, haha

okay.......time to dive

/saves first

AHAHAHA I DID IT

WOW THAT THING IS SO HUGE UP CLOSE BYE

i mean it didnt even move im just Scared. ok

duuude i gave the lynel pic to the lady and got swim pants?! FUCKING SICK where do i get a helm

okay time to go free the divine beast!!

haha wait i came out here without defense stuff. i didn't cook anymore

oh well yolo

or actually this is a game so i live as many times as i want #determination

i do still have some extra hearts left, and stamina, and some healing items, and even some electricity elixirs, sowow!! okay! still huge!!!!!

ah i love sidon so much

he tries so hard and he's so ready and he loves his people so dearly

i bet he's gonna die lol

if it's like, a sage thing, maybe he has to replace mipha if she really is gone

jesus please don't die sidon PLEASE

OH MY GOD I GET TO RIDE ON HIS BACK?

JFC THIS MUSIC IS SO COOL!!!! AAAAKDSHFGKLJ

OH MY GOD HE'S TALKING!!! IN THE FIGHT!!!!! IM CRYING THIS IS SO COOL SKDFHBG

oh my gos he's talking he's talking there's voice acting im literally dying i cant handle!!!!!! this!!!!!! i lvoe him so much

omg omg

dude that was SO cool

and link got to ride on his back and then say goodbye!!! and sidon BELIEVES in him!!!!!!!!!!

god i wish i had gotten the helm before i did this haha i looked up the location but i don't think i can back out now

MIPHA?

MIPHA IS TALKING TO ME??

I CAN HEAR MIPHA'S VOICE

I'M CRYING I KNEW SHE WAS STILL ALIVE

i feel like she's about to die like the old man like Move On but

to see her again!!!!!!! im so emotional

oh my god oh my god

no okay i can leave and i need a second too im gonna go get the helm

apparently theres a quest you can do that doesnt give you the helm but tells you where to find it? but i can do that later rn i just want complete armor

alright nice full set hell yeah

HOLY fuck i was paragliding back and i tried to paraglide over the divine beast and it fucking OBLITERATED ME jesus CHRIST

dude there are these absolutely freaky eyeball things you gotta shoot to get rid of gunk and the music gets all creepy near them lsdksjfgh

oh no i found the cockpit but it's all closed up...is her corpse in there? her ghost? oh my god it says the terminals are unactivated

i'll be honest im a BIT stuck here i hate to have to use a guide, but

NO wait oh my god my runes!!! dumbass

i can lift the bars lol

oh my god the CONTROLS are on???

I CAN MOVE IT?? HOLY SHIT

this map is fucking 3D a 3D map!!!! in the other games they were flat holy shit!!!!

i can even see it moving on the minimap!!! holy FUCK

LMAO i was trying to move this crank with stasis and all along i needed to use magnesis. jesus

uh the music got freaky as fuck after i did the first terminal??? no?? thank you????

LOL YOU GOTTA RIDE THE TRUNK oh my god. oh my god.jesus christ

i am so small. it is so big. oh my god

I FEEL UNSAFE!

who is the boss of this dungeon? there's gotta be a boss

don't tell me i fight it

or the undead mipha

jesus god

i have had to ride this trunk 3 times now and i am not at all comfortable

reminds me of the big windmill in mirror's edge

okay yep i did all the terminals and now the music is downright terrifying!!! nice good Okay

HOLY FUCK WHAT IS THAT BLUE LIGHT

MIPHA?

NOT MIPHA!!!

"my demise 100 years ago" is she Really gone

omg no mipahs talking to me as i fight!!!

im straight up gonna look up what to do im too weak and defense-potionless to do this the hard way

ooh motherfucker doesnt like my shock arrows and lynel bow ahaha

huh that was actually like SUPER easy compared to some of the other stuff i've done

eeeewwwwww

MIPHA? ARE YOU ALIVE OR DEAD IN THERE? oh god oh god

holy fuck

i straight up just cried

she's a spirit and i thought she was gonna like, move on? which is sad enough

but no she's hanging around to pilot the divine beast from the afterlife

she even talked to it i was so sad it's been her only companion for a century of course she fucking talks to it

and i was staying strong!!! i was!!!!!

but she talked about how she wished she could see her dad again and i cried lmao why does this game give me dad feels of all things

i hope she gets to see her dad one more time too i'm so sad she's really dead and not alive like link

jesus fuck

oooh dorephan's talking about the master sword...gimme gimme gimme!!!

aww he was nice to sidon as everyone should be!!!!

holy shit he's really big?? i didn't realize it but he's like twice link's height JESUS

man. i am fucking wrecked lol

time to...explore...the rest of the province...i guess

i got a trident but i can never use it bc it will break. it was mipha's!!!!

on the other hand all three pieces of armor, my shield, weapon, AND bow are all zora themed i took a pic of myself to remember it by lol bc they will all break

i wonder where i should go after this...?

my brother went up to death mountain but i kinda want to do something different so we have something to tell each other about

but i kinda want to do the same so we don't spoil each other

i also REALLY wanna do the southeastmost province for some reason, all that water

tbh tho im getting ahead of myself i still have lots of this left to cover

it's getting harder to tell where i've already been, haha - when the things had borders and there was less visible that was easier

ooooh mipha's ability brings me back from death and she speaks briefly to me ;_; and it's active again in 23 minutes nice!

so i guess each champion gives you a different one and you can chose which to have active but tbh this one seems like it's gonna be the most helpful already

aww i did a little quest in kakariko to root out a theif and i love the way they built up dorian's past that's so cool

i think i was supposed to be able to pick up that yiga dude's sword tho and it glitched on me bc i was too fast :/

ugh i'm doing this oen shrine puzzle where you have to mount a male deer

and i finally mounted one after losing 10000 times and it was past some hills it wouldn't climb down

every time i find one thats close enough they fucking bolt im so fed up :|

and my sheikah sensor isn't picking up any more so i must have literally scared away all of them. fantastic. what a huge waste of time!! guess i will go somewhere else!

also can't solve the puzzle on how to open the shrine at veiled falls so im just batting a thousand today so much for sidequesting tbqh

FOUND A BLUE MANED LYNEL

SO MUCH NOPE

urgh and a blue hinox

exploring might not be worth my time either tbh

yeah no that's two shrines i haven't been able to open and this has stopped being fun, got one more ridge to explore before im done with this province - and some weird islands waaaay out there too but idk if i can get to them yet, and i'd just as soon wait until i unlocked the one next to them

yyyeah looking at them from here it makes much more sense to explore them when i get to that province

at least im all done with this one!! still plenty of sidequests and stuff, but those i can come back t more easily...it's harder to remember which terrain i have and haven't covered when i don't do it like this

i was thinking about how big the divine beast was when i saw it in the distance and

this sounds nuts but i bet im right - what if that flying island thing is a divine beast. WHAT IF

and that is The Day's Liveblog, more tomorrow, except probably not much bc of stream

[stopforamoment]

TRIGGERS Part Fourteen: Shit Show Rodeo (Series Eleven, Part 14 of 16)

Series Eleven: It’s uh Movin’ Thing, but Still and All (Sixteen Parts) TRIGGERS Part Fourteen: Shit Show Rodeo (Series Eleven, Part 14 of 16)

Masterlist

Book: The Royal Romance (After Book Three)

Pairing: Bastien Lykel x OFC Rinda Parks

Word Count: 2,054

Rating: R for Strong Language, Verbal Fight, Reference to Online Child Predators, Reference to Grief after Death of a Spouse, Reference to Children Affected by Death and Divorce

TRIGGERS: Verbal Fight, Reference to Online Child Predators, Reference to Grief after Death of a Spouse, Reference to Children Affected by Death and Divorce

Author’s Note: Obligatory disclaimer that Pixelberry Studios owns the TRR characters and my pocketbook with those darn diamond scenes. OFC with all of her quirks is all mine. My apologies if Tumblr or I do something stupid when I try to post this. The keep reading link shows up on my laptop but not my phone. Ugh.

Thank you @asherella-is-a-dork-3​ for always being my sounding board! Thank you @liam-rhys​ and @silviasutton1989 for still being a part of the journey!

Triggers: There are going to be some dark themes in this series that deal with the consequences of what happens when parents don’t put their children first. I promise I won’t get graphic, and I’ll tag each section accordingly. This will tie in with future events and another aspect of Bastien and Rinda’s personalities—as individuals and as a couple.

TRIGGERS: Verbal Fight, Reference to Online Child Predators, Reference to Grief after Death of a Spouse, Reference to Children Affected by Death and Divorce

Series Summary: It’s the week of October 14th, the sixth week of the school year. Henry and Rinda are staying in Cordonia, which means that Rinda can now begin to move forward, and backwards, with professional and personal aspects of her life.

One inspiration while I wrote this was a quotation from Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God:

“Love is lak de sea. It’s uh movin’ thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore.”

The other was these lyrics from the song “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables:

“But the tigers come at night / With their voices soft as thunder / As they tear your hope apart / As they turn your dream to shame.”

Chapter Summary: This jumps backward to Tuesday night of week six, before Bastien visited Rinda and Henry at their house. Bastien and Drake get into a fight, and Drake points out Bastien’s shortcomings—and dumps out some of the pain he’s experiencing.

Shit Show Rodeo

Tuesday of Week Six, Three Days before the King and Queen’s Visit

They were at the palace, and Bastien found Drake drinking in his room. “Drake, why is Vivian Trakas on the guest list for this Friday’s teacher appreciation dinner?”

“I don’t know, Bastien. Why aren’t you ever able to tell her to just fuck off? She only invited herself because you’re going to be there.”

Bastien pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to be patient. “Why would she do that? Everything was resolved at the block party, and besides, I’ll be working. It’s not like I’ll even have time to talk to her. I know she’s annoying . . .”

Bastien actually flinched when Drake threw his whiskey glass against the wall, shattering it into tiny shards that sailed through the air and settled on the floor. “I’m trying to deal with this goddamn shit show and now you’re here asking me why Vivian Traskas is on the guest list, and all you can say is that ‘she’s annoying’? He slammed his fist into the wall. “You have no fucking clue what’s going on, so just let it go. You’re back to doing palace security, and that guest list is part of your job. I gave you an answer. If you don’t like it, then I suggest you do your job and figure out why she’s on the list. Or better yet, just take her off the list. Having her at a teacher appreciation evening? Fucking priceless, Bastien.”

Bastien sat down. “What’s going on?”

“Do you know how much this entire shit show is hurting Rinda? And Henry? You have no fucking clue, because Rinda won’t tell you. She wants you to be able to focus on security for the King and Queen’s visit. Bastien, all you have to do is take Vivian off the fucking list. You don’t have to deal with her every day anymore. You have no fucking clue . . . You never do. Just like you didn’t know how badly my mom was hurting because she didn’t want to tell you the truth and burden you. Or how badly you fucked over Riley when you helped set her up with the Tariq scandal.”

Bastien stood up, livid because he knew Drake was right. If something was going on, he knew Rinda wouldn’t say anything until the visit was over. And he knew he failed Bianca, even if he did judge her for leaving her children in Cordonia. And God knows he regretted what he did to Riley—probably now more than ever before. “Drake, you’re out of line. And I did everything I could . . .”

Drake cut him off. “Well you didn’t do enough. And you don’t know how badly you’re fucking up now. Do you? Sit down, Bastien. I’m going to tell you. I’m going to fucking tell you what you are too stupid to even realize you’re doing.” Drake stared at Bastien until he sat down.

“Look, Rinda reminds me a lot of my mom—especially how much Rinda loved Jameson. But when dad died, mom just broke and nothing could fix it, and she had to run away. I think Rinda’s different that way. At least she’s trying to be. She stayed in the same school building Jameson died in just so she could be close to Henry and try to protect him, but then she knew when it was getting to be too much and she had to do something different. So she talked with Henry, and they decided to do the exchange program. She needed to run away, but she knew she still had to be a mom.

“And even when it was changed to Cordonia instead of Scotland, she still checked with Henry before they agreed. This position was supposed to be a full year, not one semester. But Rinda fought like hell to make it one semester, for Henry, with the condition that she would stay for the full year if that’s what would be best for her and Henry. She gave Henry the most time she could to make his decision on whether they would stay or not, and you know she was in fucking agony while she waited for him to decide. She was so fucking afraid she was going to tip her hand that she wanted to stay, and she begged me to talk to Henry and keep reminding him that it was HIS choice to make. And when I told her that Henry was asking about what it was like for me when my mom wanted to move back to America? And when I was stupid enough to be honest and tell her that Henry was asking me how I dealt with protecting my mom when she was trying to protect me? Fuck, Bastien. It was horrible to see Rinda in so much pain.”

Bastien closed his eyes, feeling his chest tighten as he listened to Drake tell him how badly Rinda was hurting. Bastien knew it, but really, he had no idea. His Tria . . . But Drake was still talking. There was more.

“And she told me this earlier in the year, after we first met. So I don’t know what’s going on with you two now. She always respects your privacy, Bastien. But she told me that she couldn’t date because she wants Henry to be ready for that step. And she won’t date a guy unless Henry likes him, but she also won’t introduce him to a guy because she doesn’t want to confuse him by introducing a potential dad figure in his life who may not work out.” Suddenly Drake gave an eerie laugh. “Oh, God. I remember I actually joked with her about setting up a Tinder account. And even though we laughed about it, she told me that she could never use a dating service. She knows having a child is something you have to disclose pretty early on, but that would be a predator’s wet dream. To pose as a  . . . Shit. That’s why she’s been talking about internet safety . . .” Drake trailed off for a moment, deep in thought, and Bastien waited for Drake to continue.

“Bastien, it may look like she’s moving forward, but she’s not. She can’t. It’s going to be better now that she’s staying in Cordonia. But otherwise she’s stuck in this holding pattern with all these Catch-22 situations and backup plans, and she knows life is passing her by. She just. Fuck. She told me that she just wishes time could stop so she could catch up. Or that someone would just be patient and wait for her. She’s terrified that she’ll make the wrong decision with Henry and let him down again.”

Drake was frantically running his hand through his hair and he suddenly caught himself and blushed. He grabbed another glass and poured himself another drink, offering the bottle to Bastien.

“Drake, how do you know all of this? And why would she think that she’s letting Henry down? She’s an amazing mother.”

“Look, that first weekend that we met we got drunk and just started talking about stuff and the next day I thought it was pretty amazing that she swam back to shore with me when we went fishing. Then she found out about my dad, and how you thought I could help Henry. Well, you know Rinda. Being part of a team and all that. She’s been really great. I know it’s strange to say she’s been like a mom to me, but maybe like an aunt to me? I don’t know. But she’s also talked to me a lot about ways she can help Henry, and she’s really afraid of letting him down again. You know. When she stayed with Jameson’s body in the school when she should have been with Henry. She’s . . . that decision is always going to haunt her, even though it probably would have been a lot worse if Henry had seen her like that.”

Suddenly Drake looked at Bastien. “Describe Vivian to me.”

“What?”

“Don’t fuck with me, Bastien. Describe her.”

“She’s tall, about 5’10”. Slender build but still curvy, Dark eyes. Dark hair.” Drake kept staring. “Okay, she’s got legs that don’t stop. Huge . . .” Drake arched an eyebrow. “Breasts. Okay? Rinda would joke that they’re made for motorboating.” Drake leaned back in his chair but didn’t say anything. “She’s got long, dark hair that you just want to run your fingers through. Wrap around your hands so you can pull her head back. Is that what you want to hear? Physically, she’s totally my type. And she even loves football.”

“Okay, now describe Rinda.”

“What the fuck, Drake? This isn’t a Friends episode. You don’t compare . . .”

“Yes, Bastien. You do. We all do. Women do too. Why do you think I’m such a fucking insecure mess when it comes to dating? Riley choosing Liam didn’t help. Now describe Rinda.”

Bastien ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “She’s funny. She has the most inappropriate sense of humor. And she’s tough. And brave. And compassionate. An amazing mom. Friendly. She just lights up the room, you know? And her laugh. I once told her that she’s everything and not to ever forget it. Because she is.” Bastien suddenly stopped. “Why?”

“Rinda is all those things, and more. But she’s still . . . Rinda. That loveable insecure mess who can’t order a fucking meal to save her life. Who is a total football disaster. Who questions every parenting decision she makes. Who rambles. She hates how short she is. She thinks she’s overweight because she isn’t as thin as she was before having a kid. She thinks her hair is a troll doll rat’s nest, and she always wears it up because she can’t do anything with it. And you didn’t even mention her looks when you described her. Not one thing about her eyes, hair, smile, body. Nothing, Bastien.”

“I love her hair. I tease her about it, but I’ve told her that I love it. She has beautiful hazel eyes. I can tell what she’s feeling because I can see how her eyes change colors. She knows that. And I love Rinda because she’s . . . her.”

Now Drake leaned in. “But have you ever told her that she’s beautiful? Or that you love her? That she’s more than just a mother or great teacher? Reassured her that it’s okay she’s her—even with the stuff she hates about herself?” He saw the panic in Bastien’s eyes. “I can’t believe I ever got dating advice from you. No wonder I’m still single. No wonder you are, too.” Bastien winced. “Bastien, think about it from Rinda’s perspective. Vivian is the opposite of her in every way possible, and it’s no secret you could have Vivian if you wanted her. Do you know how shitty and inadequate that must make Rinda feel? And Vivian has already moved on since her divorce—a lot. But for Rinda it’s different. She doesn’t even have to say it. You know she hasn’t . . . since Jameson died. She needs to get to know someone really well first, and she knows no one will wait for that, either.” He flushed. “I went too far. I shouldn’t have said anything about that. It’s too personal and I’m sorry I crossed that line. But . . . I get her, Bastien. I get what it’s like to think you aren’t good enough for someone. And Rinda’s been trying to help me with that, and it’s partly because she’s the same way. She doesn’t want me to be a mess like she is. Fuck. Just never mind. Just forget I said any of this. Seriously. There’s some sad stuff going on at school, and I’ve been drinking too much trying to forget it. I don’t know how Rinda and Laura deal with the shit they see every day. I don’t know how you were able to handle it. I’ve only been there a week and I’m already seeing shit that I wish I could forget. And I’m sorry what I said about my mom and Riley. That was out of line. I’m sorry. Just. Go away and let me drink in peace.”