#learning to paraglide

[science-lings]

I think a fun way to explore a character is to take away something that defines them and force them to grow in other facets of themselves and have them go through the grief and healing of losing that vital part of themselves. I think that’s just a fun thing to do.

[agirlwithglam]

a guide to take back your power ‧₊˚🦢✩

do what you want and don't be afraid to do it alone. if no one else wants to go with you somewhere, or do something with you, learn to have that ability to do it alone. and obviously i don't mean illegal or bad stuff, but i mean if you've been meaning to try out a new activity but no one else seems interested, go do it on your own! when you start doing this it'll show people that whether they join you or not, you will still go and do things that make you happy.

say no. just say no. its not that scary once you start saying it often. you don't wanna do something? say no. you don't wanna give something? say no. you don't need to have a reason.

get a life outside of them or get a life outside of whats draining you. when your whole life is primarily centred around maybe a toxic friend, a job that drains you, something that makes you feel very anxious, then of course you'd be on survival mode 24/7. because all you're thinking and stressing about is that thing. so instead maybe after a long day of school or work, go home and do something you love. because remember, your life doesnt stop after school/ work okay?? you can go and actually DO STUFF to take your mind off things. you don't even need to go out of your house, you could have a cozy night in with yummy food and your fav movie, pick up a hobby or if you do wanna go outside your house, meet up with some friends, learn a sport, join a club, go paragliding or something- anything that makes you feel happy!!

refuse embarrassment. because you can. because torturing yourself over what happened in the past is doing you absolutely no good right now. just learn and move onnn- LEARN AND MOVE ON! if learning takes time, so be it but make sure that you're focussing on learning, on why you did that, and not beating yourself up for making a mistake. and also because when you show people you're not embarrassed about something, they'll realise that they cannot hold that over your head. now you have the power.

when you say you're gonna do something, DO IT. don't be all talk and no walk, people will lose respect and trust in you. don't say anything unless you are confident that you will actually do it. "do what you say but do not say what you do"- keep up to your promises you've made to others & yourself, but also keep private. what people don't know, they can't ruin.

[tiamathh]

Your life in a parallel universe?

Note: Hi! Tysm for the person who left this idea in the suggestions form <3 if anyone wants you can send ideas here: FORM as well! Take care and Like and Rb if you enjoy!

♡ Masterlist ♡

Pile 1

Hi Pile 1! Your life in a parallel universe is filled with learning, you may be an academician or a "guru" of sorts. You may live in seclusion, preferring your own space and having a lot of books especially on the occult, you could also be very committed to spreading knowledge and could have apprentices. Your job may be related to spirituality and magik as well, where you could help people out through rituals and communication with deities. You may have to face a lot of obstacles and could also face troubles with fatigue, especially recovering from spiritual fatigue that can manifest physically. You may not have a lot of luxury or money, but you will be content, satisfied and happy with your life, you will also be extremely knowledgeable.

There will be A LOT of good people in your life, ones on the same wavelength as you who you can rely on, and a lot of romance too. You may have like a lifelong partner, like the first person you date turns into the person you spend the rest of your life with. You could have a fear of travel and prefer staying where you are, you could live on the outskirts of some town or the countryside, somewhere with a lot of nature where you can essentially grow your own food and stuff, all natural here, living with what the earth gives you, does not mean you will like abandon society or technology or anything you will just like living from the earth and in nature. Talking about your love life because it seems very prominent here, you and your partner will be similar in so many ways and have businesses together, probably online like tarot, reiki, etc and your partner will be extremely optimistic and strong and charming!

Song: That old feeling - Chet Baker

Pile 2

Hello Pile 2~ In a parallel universe, you are probably at the top of the career ladder and living a life of luxury and fame. Not only do you have anything you could ask for materially, you also hold a lot of power over people, which could sometimes make you a little bit arrogant. In general, you will be a social butterfly and almost like a socialite where you run in circles with famous wealthy people as well. You may have gotten the success through a startup or idea you came up with on your own during a time of feeling lost and directionless, a true rags-to-riches type story. Your belief, originality and slight recklessness with your leaps of faith that brought you there. In a parallel universe, you are impatient and impulsive, but your intellect and charge pulls you out of any mess you may find yourself in. You are a spendthrift and want nothing but the best from life because you can afford it and will be very worldly, travelling whenever you can.

You may retire early and let someone else deal with the workload while you can spend your time seeing the world, experiencing new cultures and new food, especially. Moreover, you may have a lot of friends who you can have fun with, but they could also be overly ambitious, the kind of people who will look for others weaknesses to exploit them, leading to you having to be cautious around them. You may have a lot of flings and romantic rendezvous' but you may feel a lack of connection when it comes to having long term romantic partners. You are also very courageous with the decisions you make, and could love extreme sports like paragliding and bungee jumping and stuff. Lastly you may not have the best relations with your family because you could have cut or minimised contact with them in this universe.

Song: The Leaders - ATEEZ

Pile 3

Hey Pile 3 my star pile (literally)! In a parallel universe you are definitely in the public eye, probably as an artist or performer. You may have a lot of fame and reputation and live a life of thrill, there could be drugs and alcohol involved as well, and you may feel like you have to depend on them to be able to fully unleash your potential as an artist. You are rich but also charitable, I'm getting for some of you guys it's because your PR manager wants you photographed while doing charity to improve your reputation with fans and potential collaborators. Although you will feel fulfilled because you can share your art with the world, you won't feel satisfied because you may feel stuck having to cater to an audience or the people around you and could often feel lonely and left out from the bigger picture, feeling like if you make any changes to your art or style, or start experimenting, people will abandon you, and you will have a fall from grace leading to a downhill spiral.

Parallel universe you is stressed and anxious about their future even though they are good at saving and may be good at investing as well, however they don't get to spend enough time with their friends and family which may lead to feelings of unhappiness. You are also very emotionally mature and connected with how you feel I just keep seeing water flowing, in a parallel universe you go with the flow, even if you are anxious and stressed you will just let it be and ignore it with a staunch belief that at the end of the day things will be okay. You may have an older feminine energy in your life to help you through everything, this may be like an older sister figure and could be with you through thick and thin. Your romantic life could be lacking because you may not feel confident enough in your ability to be committed to someone.

Song: Need you Now - Lady A

[ilovejeongintoo]

𝔸 ℝ𝕚𝕤𝕜 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝕋𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘

!WARNING NSFW Content ahead! !MDNI!

Genre: Fantasy, Rich man Yunho x Thief Reader, Warnings: Handcuffs, implied mafia?, implied yandere behaviour, unprotected sex(smh), slight praise, name calling (dear) Wordcount: 3353 Not proofread

Yunho drives me mad, he's just so...ugh, there aren't words that are worthy enough to describe him. Also I wrote this at like 2 am.

Summary: A thrill-seeking burglary, driven by a craving for adrenaline, you break into the grand Jeong Estate to steal a priceless necklace. Equipped with skills from past heists you're dressed for stealth, the owner unexpectedly decides to make an appearance and punish you in his own way.

Out of all the things that you would do, this one was probably the craziest, no this is the craziest idea ever. Sure, you've done stupid things before but this one was going to take the cake, even if you were fully prepared.

Your mother had always told you, this hobby of yours would get you in trouble. For her you were a "normal" kind of adrenaline junkie, bungee jumping, paragliding, rock climbing, something that was in a controlled environment but would still get your heart racing. Your blood pumping. When that didn't satisfy you anymore though, you turned over a different leaf, starting with cliff diving and some urban exploring, graffiti, crimes that's what this hobby of yours turned into. Especially little crimes that involved stealing something, from a store, a jacket, a purse your hands were quite skilled at the task and the feeling you got from it was just too addictive to stop.

And after a stupid night with an even more stupid idea from your friends you were here now, a block down from the biggest estate in the city. The Jeong Estate.

The idea was stuck in your brain like gum on your shoe and you wouldn't leave until that itch inside of you was cleansed. The worst thing was, this was completely solo, from the planning, to going through with this.

It was simple really, sneak around the cameras, hopefully find some open entrance, if not you'd get entry in some way. You learned a few things about security systems from rich homes like these, they all worked the same, so you'd be able to deactivate it, you just didn't know for how long, that's why that was as a last resort.

You honestly looked like a burglar, the dark leather jacket, black jeans with an old black t-shirt and a black cap. In case you were somehow caught, they wouldn't recognize you.

You just had to get in, find something worth taking and then get out. And that undetected.

Interesting enough the whole layout of the mansion was on the internet, you guessed they like to brag about their wealth and how many bathrooms one could possibly need.

There were multiple interviews taken in the house, pictures of the outside, inside, around it, with a little bit of smart thinking you'd be able to sneak past any cameras where they wouldn't be able to detect you.

Because of their huge security set up, they didn't think to have any guards, the place completely empty, anyone that was going to try anything had a death wish. And you wouldn't pass up on the thrill of escaping that mansion with a little souvenir that you'd pull out and brag to your friends about.

You could already imagine the dumb, shocked faces they'd pull when you got back. You stepped out of your car, combat boots hitting the ground, you only got a small bag, as to not make your form any bigger. You decided the back was safer to gain entry, less cameras more blind sports as well, with the huge maze-like garden blocking your silhouette from everything, combined with the darkness of the night, this was going to be a walk in the park. your heart was racing though, not even inside yet. You checked various doors and windows hoping someone left at least one open with a house this big, poor luck.

You guess that meant plan B was officially going to commence. You whipped out your phone connecting with the security system in a matter of minutes with the closeness, there seemed to be a manual lever hidden just close to you, that was the only thing you couldn't find amongst the endless photos taken of this place. You opened a small metal box being faced with a control panel, thankfully each button had some words on them, not making you guess what each does. You clicked one and then another to confirm it, the cameras immediately losing their red recording light, and the alarm presumably being off now.

You grabbed a rock off the expensive looking assortment next to a little pond and smashed it against a glass door. Sliding your hand in and turning the knob, it slid open, and you were officially in. No going back. You gulped the nerves hitting a little harder, but your excitement burnt even more. Turning the lamp on your flashlight, you snuck around a little, figuring out which hallway you were in, looking at a few vases, might take one of those.

But you were actually on the lookout for a particular door, leading to a secret treasure room. The Jeong family apparently liked collecting stuff a lot, paintings, statues, jewelry. You were going to go for a specific necklace, only one in the world and it was here, so close to you. You moved further down, passing high chandeliers and a set of stairs. The doors couldn't be missed, big embroidery and golden accents making it stand out even more than everything that you've seen here yet, however that was possible. You pushed it open, startled of it not being closed. There wasn't anyone inside, thank God.

You looked around the room, in awe. It was filled to the brim, to each treasure a sign explaining it was from or what it symbolized. As you watched each one with interest your eyes landed on the glass in the middle of the room, encased in it was the necklace you were here for. What you would be taking home. You walked up to it, your boots squeaking a little on the oak wooden floor.

You pressed your gloved fingers onto the glass, admiring the piece inside. You would obviously have to break it and then sneak out again. You brought some equipment just for this, obviously they didn't have normal glass around these national treasures. You got a laser cutter for a pretty dime, and you'd leave with something worth every coin spent on this device. You put your bag down, going through it, setting up the little machine, turning on the flame and testing it a few times. You were just about to cut it when you heard some noise.

Which wasn't you for sure. You immediately panicked a little and turned the thingy off reaching for your bag and pulling it behind the counter of the necklace, hiding behind it. There wasn't any reason that someone would just come in here. Or was there?

You were mentally going through every scenario that was about to happen. Your palms sweating, heart bursting out of your chest. You had to calm down a little or you'd make stupid decisions right this second. The racing of your little heart was promptly stopped by the door creaking open, the clanking of shoes evident in the spacious room. Definitely dress shoes, definitely someone that lived here. It was okay. They didn't know you were here. They were probably just having some weird midnight museum tour here. This was probably just some rich person behavior, going to your own treasure haven at the dead of night, yeah, must be it.

The steps grew closer and thus louder. You prayed they wouldn't walk around the counter and see you, briefly you regretted ever coming here but you did get what you wanted, a thrill.

You held your breath when the sounds of those shoes stopped. Listening intently for what was about to happen and staying alert. Just when you were trying to get ahold of your breathing again, there was some fast movement, a click, a shove, and you were on the ground. Looking up, you saw your one hand cuffed to a bar embedded into the counter. And some very shiny looking shoes, that were now directly in front of you. You moved your gaze slowly up, black slacks, further there was a simple shirt and a black tie. Who the hell wears those in their own home? And finally, a rather young-looking dude, you'd have expected a man in his fifties by the clothing choice. The black-haired man didn't looked like he was in his mid-twenties, slightly older than you.

Your bows furrowed at that. His deep voice was the next thing that shocked you as he leaned down, setting himself on his haunches.

"Now what do we have here? A little mouse lingering in my house." There was no way that this was the Jeong Yunho, he was just way too… young, for a successful multi-millionaire. You didn't realize that you haven't responded.

"I was wondering what crawled in when I heard some noises, you ought to be more careful than that." He smiled mockingly.

You were trying to keep your gaze away from him, not wanting him to catch even a single glance of your features, he might just let you go. Who are you even kidding? Fat chance, you were lucky if you made it out of here alive now, genuine fear setting in.

He kept trying to move his face to yours, obviously wanting to look at the intruder that snuck in, but you just turned in the other direction. Having enough of your attitude he gripped your jaw in his hand, your free one trying to pry him off of you. He turned you to him and knocked the hat off your head.

You stared into his eyes, not wanting to get intimidated no matter how much money this guy had. You wouldn’t be intimidated by a pretty, rich boy that was born with a silver spoon.

"Happy now?" You questioned. His hand left your face.

"Oh, so she does talk, and she's got some fire." That grin just wouldn't leave his face, it was so goddamn punchable even if it was a shame to ruin.

Maybe violence was next on your hobby list of crimes. If looks could kill, he would be buried six feet under, your glare was burning a hole through his face.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting my home?" Any words that came out of his mouth made you want to shut him up. If it was with a fist or a kiss you honestly didn't care.

"Why don't you take a guess?" You wouldn't answer anything with a guy like this squeezing you into a little corner. Which was risky to say the least.

"Well… judging by the get up and the fact that I found you here, means you were planning on stealing something." No shit sherlock, for what other reason do people break in.

You gave him a deadpan look.

"Oh, come on, this is the most interesting thing that has happened here in a while, usually, people get caught by the alarm or cameras before even making it inside."

"Makes me wonder how you made it this far." He looked you over, studying you, analyzing.

This was probably the best time to convince him of letting you go, somehow. "Look, I'm sorry okay, this was stupid, I'll pay for the broken glass and just leave."

"See now, that just won't work. I can't just "let you go", that'll just make me look bad if it comes out that I just let little thieves like you come and go."

"I have to set an example." What the fuck does he mean by that?

You hadn't even thought about what kind of people lived here, for all you could know this was some secret mafia family that built their empire on corpses. Sure, sounded like it.

"I promise I won't talk; I won't do this again."

"You really expect me to believe that?" He raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

"Trust me, I'll make sure you won't." Now that sounded like something a killer would say, you were fucked, so fucked.

"Please, look, I have family, friends, please just let me go." You looked at him a little pleading, fuck your pride and not getting intimidated. This was beyond anything.

You shook the cuff slightly, trying to slip your hand through it in any way. "Look I'll pay or whatever, j-just don't kill me." He seemed in thought about something, his tongue poking the inside of his cheek and then he stood up, your eyes following his long, slim figure.

"No." He curtly replied.

Okay fuck him and fuck reasoning with this asshole.

"I'm gonna cave your face in when I get out of these handcuffs, I swear." You glared. His smile grew again, this fucker was getting some sick satisfaction of seeing you seething in anger.

"Ouuu there's that fire that I was beginning to miss, you were begging so nicely a second ago." He twirled a stand of your hair. He grabbed at the cuffs unlicking it from the bar, getting your hopes up of being free when he clasped the now free shackle to your other hand. Your hands now cuffed in front of your body, he pulled at the chain holding them together.

He stood up, dragging you with him. "Girls like you only learn the hard way, don't they? Lucky for you, I know just how to handle your type." Anything he said sounded so suggestive, you don't know if the fear was activating some hidden side in you, or if his attractiveness eliminated any red flags in the situation. He tugged you along, crossing room for room way too fast for you to keep track of where you were and therefore not making you figure out where he was taking you, until he hauled you into a dimly lit room. A bedroom, okay woah, this was turning into one of your fantasies real fast.

"I'm feeling generous today, it's not every day where a pretty thing just turns up at my doorstep, so I'll even remove these." The restraints from your wrist fell to the floor, your hands massaging your wrists. "I'll let you off the hook" But? There had to be some twist. "You'll spend the night here, after all you wanted to be here." Yeah, to steal something, not to fuck a loaded dude.

You did consider it, he wasn't bad looking. But that fucking attitude was just so aggravating. "And what makes you think that I would just agree to that?" Your arms crossed in silent protest.

"Maybe the fact that you wouldn't land yourself in jail."

"You kind of interrupted my work so It's only fair that I get a little bit of a compensation for being so nice."

Oh, hell to the no, not this guy, nu uh. He looks like someone that would brag about this for centuries to come. You whipped around ready to leave; "I'll just turn myself in."

"Come on, didn't you notice the tension between us, are you that oblivious?"

Of course, you had noticed, from the first second you realized his hands were way bigger and that he was towering over you, had you thinking dirty. Like if he had just bent you over the glass in the other room. Or the hallway wall, or this bed. God there must be something wrong with you. Some adrenaline induced arousal that activated since you were caught.

You didn't notice yourself stopping nor did you notice Yunho moving up behind you until his warm breath hit your ear.

"Right, you did notice. I'll even gift you a little something to take with you, or you can leave with nothing right now."

He brushed the hair from your neck, kissing it slightly. You could just leave now, but his offer was too tempting. You whipped around, grabbing him by the tie and pulling him in for a kiss, before you could second guess your decision making.

He pushed you against a nearby wall, caging you in. He was so fucking big it felt suffocating in an intoxicating way. Like all your senses were filled with Yunho only.

The movements were rushed buttons falling off, his tie almost getting ripped apart. Your shirt and jacket being discarded in a matter of seconds. You called his name in between kisses, desperate to get him to move faster.

Only one of your legs was out of your jeans when he stuffed you with his fingers, you were hoping that your legs kept their strength, and your knees wouldn't buckle. It was getting increasingly difficult, the more fingers he added, the harder he thrusted, the deeper that he hit. You tried your best to hold onto his shoulders. You took notice of the large bulge pressing against his slacks and slipped your hand in. You stroked him making him bite his lip a bit, his brows furrowing in pleasure. Groans were the only things you could hear besides the wet squelch of your pussy. When your knees were going to give out, he pulled his hand from you, reaching over, grabbing a familiar object, clicking it onto you again but lifting your arms making you wrap your cuffed hands around his neck, your hands holding onto him. He lifted one of your legs getting closer to your body while his other hand moved down and pulled his length out of his pants.

A pretty thing from top to bottom, with just the perfect curve. Fittingly big for his stature. Your favorite part was when he started rubbing it against you, getting it wet, a vein that ran along his cock brushed your clit at the perfect angle. It made you cry out just a little louder for him.

"I might just keep you in my treasure room dear, you just make such cute noises."

You couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, not that you cared at this moment. When he slipped himself inside that's when you almost came on the spot, your insides were clenching so much around his length. Wrapping around him, it was so so warm. And when he started moving it was even better, the drag of your ridged walls pulling him back in when he pulled out.

"Yunho, Yunho, god ah."

His thrusts reached deeper than your fingers every could, than any man before him could. Yunho kept thrusting while alternating between playing with your boobs and circling your clit with his thumb.

"You're gonna kill me, you know that? o-my fucking god." He groaned after each thrust. Your stomach became so warm and tingly, it was only a matter of seconds before you'd cum all over his cock. It was after a particular calculated thrust up into your g-spot that had you seeing stars, tightening your arms around Yunhos neck and letting out a pornographic moan. The squeezing of your pussy had him coming just a moment after, not giving him the chance to pull out, not that he wanted to.

He spilt himself into you, driving aftershocks from your orgasm out of you. His thrust slowing down, to ride out his own, until his hips stopped.

He pulled back, your hole opening and closing a little and making cum dribble out of you.

"Can't have you waste that." He pushed some of it back in with his fingers. You moaned in hypersensitivity. Your legs completely gave out after that and he picked you up, carrying you over to the bed that would have been the more ideal place.

He untangled himself from you, you grumbled at the loss of contact. You just heard the click of the cuffs, your eyes closed in contentment, too tired.

He continued staying at your side, bringing you a glass of water, and pulling the blanket over you, making you fall asleep faster than you'd ever think was possible. Considering you were still in a stranger’s house, said stranger was inside your guts just a moment ago, so couldn't really call him that.

This definitely wasn't part of your masterplan, but you wouldn't change a thing.

When you woke up in the morning, Yunho peacefully sleeping next to you, you quietly dressed yourself and excited the mansion. Not forgetting to take a price, in the form of his ring and a note that read: "If you want your souvenir back, call me."

[thanotaphobia]

fly bird fly

i'm losing my mind. i'm going crazy. i'm going CRAZYYYYY. i wrote this in like 2 seconds literally oh my god

i will crosspost this to ao3 in a second lmao EDIT: CROSSPOSTED

⋆

They trip through the portal, and Phil’s stomach drops.

Not that it wasn’t already on the fucking floor. Through the floor, even. All the way in fucking hell, where apparently, that goddamn eye beast thinks they belong. Phil trips through the global portal and ends up by the cornucopia, Tubbo shrieking in his ear and a vague ringing in his ears.

His lungs hurt, clogged with thick dust from the crumbling marble ceilings. He can still see Chayanne in his mind’s eye, terrified but hiding it well. Tallulah, openly terrified. All the other eggs, dirty and frightened. He can still hear Foolish’s voice in his ears, shouting, screaming. He can see Fit’s face, and that thing. He can’t believe how tall it was, towering over them. And El Quackity…

“Phil, lasso me,” Tubbo demands.

He shoves his face into Phil’s space. Phil doesn’t jump– just stares at Tubbo and the dust in his hair, the blood running down his face, and then blinks.

“What?” he asks.

“Lasso me, lasso me,” Tubbo says, already pulling out his glider and shoving it onto the floor, struggling to open it. “We can fly, you can fly–”

Phil inhales, the very action sending bolts of pain through him, and his wings extend without so much as a thought. It’s strange, having muscle memory for something you haven’t done in months. His feathers ruffle, and every inch of him aches with the effort.

“I don’t know if I can, Toby,” he says, and Tubbo shakes his head.

“You take the paraglider, I have water, we can– you can fly us out, can’t you? Can’t you? We have the coordinates–”

“My wings are– I can’t–”

“Can you get us there, Phil?” Tubbo asks, shoving a lasso into his hands. The other end is tied around Tubbo’s waist, and Phil looks at him. He sees Tubbo face and the blood and his own sword crushing through Tubbo’s sternum with the thick crack of still-wet bone, and he exhales. Then he nods.

“I don’t know,” he says, “but we can try.”

“Go,” Tubbo says. “I have a water bucket.”

“Okay,” Phil says, and he fumbles for his grappling squack, and fires.

Flying isn’t something that just comes naturally. It’s a skill that has to be learned and honed, a sport like any other. There are specific muscle groups linked to certain maneuvers, stretches specifically created just for avians who fly professionally, all sorts of things in order to make someone’s wings in perfect shape for all types of flying. Long distance, sprints, racing twirls. Phil is known for being able to do them all– or at least, he had been. He can remember the training, the time he’d put into it. The things he’d had to do in order to instruct his body over and over and make it used to the strain.

It has been more than six months, and his muscles scream.

His shoulders ache. His forearms burn with the stress of pulling Tubbo behind him. His legs cramp and his lower back throbs. The pain is immeasurable, uncountable, uncontrollable. Phil can grit his teeth but it doesn’t stop the flashes of white behind his eyes as he spreads his wings and flies, desperate. He can barely see the horizon as he goes, but he does anyway, listening intently for Tubbo and pushing down the instinct to curl into a ball and sob with the pain.

They land, and it’s a brief moment of relief before they’re off again, Phil firing his grappling squack and Tubbo shouting something unintelligible into the wind behind them. He trusts Tubbo to land the water bucket shots every time he lands, but he only has to a couple times before his MDA pings he’s getting close; his wings are numb by now, the shoots of pain frequent and intense, making him shudder and twitch every three seconds or so. Behind him, Tubbo is yelling, screaming into the wind, and Phil would join him if he wasn’t so out of breath. Every inch of him is on fire– and not in the good way, not in the Bolas way, just in the torturous way. 

He keeps seeing Chayanne. Flashes of yellow on the landscape below. Hope, like a flower, blooming in his chest. But every time he sees it, or sees Tallulah, a black fist crushes that hope with a quick blink. 

Finally, he sees water, and the boat. His wings are on the verge of giving out and he barely gets Tubbo out and over the water before he stumbles, cramps, and pulls into a nosedive.

When he slams into the water, it’s cold– it shocks him, and he inhales by accident, coughing as he breaks the surface. His wings are wet and heavy but he can’t bring himself to care, spitting out clumps of water and dust mixed together into a thick, glue-like paste. He feels like a cement mixer, and ahead of him he can see Tubbo crawling out of the water and onto the back of the boat, hair plastered to his forehead. Somehow, he finds the strength to lift his arms and make his wings spasm in a way that pushes him forward, towards the boat. He feels Tubbo’s hands on his arm and then the faint sound of him shouting, and then Fit invades his gaze and two other hands grasp him, dragging him onto the boat. 

The wood is hard beneath him and Phil lies there for a second, still spitting up water and gunk. Fit and Tubbo are talking, and he clues in just as Fit says–

“Phil, we have to go get the others.”

“I can’t,” he says. Neither of them seem to hear him. His wings lie limp and lifeless behind him, waterlogged and exhausted. His entire back is on fire and his feathers are dull, the weight dragging him back as he forces himself to stand. His body feels like one gigantic bruise.

“We have to get others,” Fit says, the elytra on his back ruffling. Phil envies him, but only for a moment.

“I can’t,” Phil insists. He rummages through his inventory, and comes up with a lasso in his hands. “My wings are gone, dude, they’re– I can’t fly, it’s not physically possible. I can’t get anyone–”

It doesn’t matter how much he wants to. It doesn’t matter how much guilt gnaws at him, tearing through his stomach lining with teeth that gnash and chew. 

“I will, then,” Fit says, determination writ on his brow. His face is impenetrable, but Phil sees his own guilt reflected back at him. “Here, the lasso, I’ll–”

And then he’s gone, and Tubbo is left supporting Phil with one hand, and Phil is still reeling. They have one singular moment to breathe. Phil spits onto the deck, and Tubbo follows suit, red blood mixing with water and then disappearing as another wave washes up onto their feet. They stumble forward and Phil shakes Tubbo off, then shakes off some of the water from his wings. Even that little motion sends acres of pain flashing through him, like sparks of electricity up and down his spinal cord. He thinks he might be dying.

He kind of hopes he is.

God, Chayanne.

“Phil,” Tubbo says, looking at his MDA. It’s ringing, and vaguely Phil realizes his is too. Everything is still a little fuzzy in his ears. “Shit. Meteor. We need to go, we need to–”

And then they’re on the move again.

He has no choice. He runs.

[nightttoon]

Ello! I was wondering if you are still doing Legend of Zelda requests. If so I’d like to ask for a rather simple topic. How would our precious bird boi Revali, And if you can Teba and Tulin (Tulin platonically of course), react to a Rito Reader who lacks the ability to fly? It’s not discussed how or why the reader cannot fly, if they were born with the disability or if they lost it, either way they are now the first earthbound rito to live in Rito village. Would they try and help her, or would they listen to the new ways reader has learned to get around hyrule without even needing to fly. Would they tease her or feel pity? Really I just want to see how they would react to see someone without the ability they pride themselves for. Thank you for listening and thank you so much if you do this request!

Love, me 💚

Revali was making fun of you at first. Rito who cannot fly? Pff, are you even a rito then??

It was for a long while, untill he heard you talking with other person from village about all the difficulties you have with such disability...

Revali felt ashamed after that... he knew that it wasn't exactly his fault that you can't fly, but he couldn't help it. What if he lost ability to fly or was born without it...? Damn, life would be boring and useless for him then...

Next time you met, rito champion asked if you can go with him. Turned out, he found a spot on rito territory, where wind feels as if you are gliding in the sky... he watched how your feathers flattered and smile appeared on your face...

Revali cannot explain it, but since then he started looking for such places if he was in other parts of Hyrule, telling you about them then you meet.

If he happened to travel with you, he mostly kept close to the land, so you could talk, occasionally raising up in the sky to be "your eyes" as warrior called it. Mostly helping to find direction or place to make a stop at.

He was interested in how your life changed, what were you doing now and how you travelled. Revali tried to not raise questions about your flying ability, cursing himself if he made too harsh comment about how much shame it is that you cannot join him on his flying trips.

He even asked Zelda and champions if where are devices that could help you...

Teba's heart aches every time he sees you. Man isn't one to show emotion easily, but sight of you walking on your two just to get from one place to another... it makes him sad.

He saw you not once, while you were walking around rito territory. Where everyone flew, you walked on foot. It was confusing for him, till he confronted you about it. Warrior regretted it moment explanation left your mouth.

You sounded like you were over it, at least you tried to sound so. But he saw how hurt you looked, watching young birds learn to fly...

Teba would protect you if other villagers start acting rude around you.

He probably would ask Link to tell him where he got paraglider or even Purah to make something for you.

If it works, he would happily help you get used to it. It not, rito warrior will gift you something else, that would remind you that you are just as much rito as he and others, even if you cannot fly.

Tulin, oh sweet boy.

First thing first, he didn't know it's possible. Then Tulin asked you about it, he wasn't ready to get such answer. He apologized.

Boy went to his parents, asking what he can do for you, then they didn't have ideas he went to Link and Zelda.

Young rito and hero of Hyrule decided to teach you use paraglider.

If it works out well, he will take you to the places he likes, helping you rise up with his ability.

If not, well... he tried. But! Tulin will be happy to hear about your life. He is so damn curious about your everyday experience.

Tulin would be so happy if you explained him how you travel, or how you get to the places he would normally get by the sky. He even tried to travel with you, but his legs got tired with so much walking.

Young sage would visit you often, introduce you to his parents, Link, Zelda and other sages in case you will need help in other regions.

He will also show you his ability, sometimes fooling around and blowing wind at you. It becomes kind of your 'hello' with him.

Requests are open

[girlactionfigure]

THURSDAY HERO: BEN SHIMONI

Full English text of this sign about Ben at the bottom of the page

Ben Shimoni, 31, was celebrating peace at the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7, 2023 when the event came under massive terrorist attack by a barbaric well-armed horde of killers and rapists. Amid carnage and chaos, Ben dodged bullets to reach his car and then picked up four strangers. He maneuvered their way out of the festival site and drove thirty minutes to Beersheba, where his passengers got out of the car. To their shock, Ben said he was going back to rescue more people. They tried desperately to change his mind but Ben turned the car around and headed back to hell. 

Ben was very familiar with the roads around the festival area because he spent his childhood in Gaza. Ben lived in Gush Katif, a tight-knit, warm community of Jews. In 2005, when Ben was only 13, his idyllic life was hideously disrupted when his family and all the other Jews in Gush Katif were forcibly ejected by their own government in a tragically misguided attempt to conciliate the Palestinians. Families who’d harvested land and built businesses over a lifetime had to hand it all over to their enemies. The Palestinians immediately destroyed the farms and factories, elected Hamas and began building terror tunnels to kill Jews. Now 18 years later, paragliding terrorists on a mission of destruction were at the Nova music festival and Ben was on a mission of his own: to rescue as many people as possible. 

Like a firefighter rushing into a burning building, Ben drove into a field that was still under massive attack. He immediately filled his car with five more terrified strangers, and drove them to safety in Beersheba. This group, too, was shocked because once again, after reaching safety, Ben chose to go back to the festival site. He’d already saved nine lives but made one more desperate and valiant attempt. He picked up three frantic girls and almost got away until they were stopped at a checkpoint manned by heavily armed soldiers. Ben’s girlfriend Jessica Elter was on the phone with him and heard what happened next. Jessica told the Jewish Chronicle: “Suddenly I heard Ben asking, confused but not afraid, if some people in the road were Hamas terrorists or Israeli police. I heard the girls in the back screaming and pleading with Ben at the top of their lungs to ‘Drive, drive, drive.’ I heard a lot of yelling in Arabic and a big crash, some shooting and, after a minute of quiet the phone just hung up.”

Ben’s car was later found riddled with bullets but empty and he was initially classified as missing. However after five days Ben’s family was notified that his body had been identified, some distance from the car. Nearby was the body of the girl who’d been in the passenger seat. They had both been shot. The two girls who were in the back of the car have never been found and are presumed to be hostages in Gaza. Jessica is praying for their rescue and hoping to learn more from them about Ben’s final minutes.

Jessica says that Ben’s heroic self-sacrifice to save at least nine other people was completely in character. “He was shy, loyal, very honest with every person he met, and never said no to someone in need. He always put others before himself, truly. He had the best heart ever. And the thing he did that morning testifies to the person he was.” Jessica and Ben had attended several previous Nova festivals. Jessica would have been at that one too, except that she had recently grown more religious and stayed home to observe Shabbat.

Ben was a successful businessman who worked in the restaurant industry and appreciated the Israeli night life scene. His brother Avinoam remembers that Ben “loved life. Loved cars, traveling and parties. Always puts himself last and wants to help, so it’s not surprising that the last action he did in his life was trying to rescue his friends from hell.” 

Israeli band Synergia released a song based on a poem written about Ben Shimoni. It begins, “Who is the person who goes back into hell, a moment after he escaped?”

At the Nova festival site, Ben’s loved ones put up a sign about Ben’s life and his heroic actions on October 7, 2023. May his memory always be for a blessing and may his soul have a great elevation!

Full text about Ben (from the blue sign in the image above) at the memorial site, written by his family:

Ben Binyamin Shimon was the first born son to parents Pnina and Rafi Shimoni after many efforts to bring children into the world. Ben has younger twin brothers, Avinoam and Chai, and Chai has special needs. The three of them grew up in Dugit of Gush Katif near the sea. Following the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, Ben’s parents Pnina and Rafi divorced. Ben moved to the north with his father, and two years later, his brother Avinoam joined him, spending their teenage years there together. After completing his military service, both Ben and his father decided to leave the north and move to Modiin to start a business together, which led Ben into the world of business and back to the south. In recent years, Ben moved back to live with his mother and brother Chai in their home in Ashkelon. Later on, his partner Jessica also joined them. Ben always loved extreme sports, cars, and motorcycle racing. His friends and close-knit family were his whole world.

He was always ready to help, even when not asked. Ben loved to celebrate life and live in the moment; nightlife and parties were an integral part of his life. He owned several businesses related to food and nightlife.

In the last few months of his life, he decided to leave these businesses and began working as a sous- chef with his good friend Matan Zafrir at the Pitmaster restaurant in Petah Tikva, with a bright future ahead in the industry. His coworkers recount that they had never met a more professional, caring, and dedicated person than him. 

That Saturday, Ben decided to stay home for the second holiday of Sukkot, a decision that, as it turned out later, saved his mother and brother Chai from traveling to celebrate at the home of their friend from Dugit, Tova Goren, who lived in Kfar Aza and was murdered in her home along with her daughter Eran.

On October 7th, in the early morning hours, Ben left for the Nova festival, where he met up with his friends Tom Peretz and Michal Ohana. His partner Jessica, who was inseparable from him, surprisingly decided to stay home that evening with his mother and brother Chai. When the attack began, Ben immediately called his mother to inform her that there were rockets and to wake up Jessicaand take everyone to the safe room (bomb shelter).

Ben wasn’t afraid of the rockets; he got in his car and started to flee. He knew the area well, having grown up there and served there during his military service. Ben was an experienced driver and knew how to navigate the roads of the Gaza envelope. At the beginning of the journey, he picked up four passengers he didn’t know; Jude Kotler, Amit Shalit, Mashi Lindner, and Tal Gozal. From their testimonies, we understand that Ben quickly grasped the situation and did everything to calm them down and bring them to safety.

He rescued them to Be’er Sheva. On his way there, he contacted his father, who lives in Be’er Sheva, and asked if he could bring them to his house.

His father was at work in Omer (another city in the South) and told Ben to come and get the key. Ben realized this would delay him and decided to drop them off at a house he didn’t know at the entrance to Be’er Sheva. There, they begged him to stay with them and not return to the festival area, but he was determined to save his friends who were still there. That morning, during the rescues, Ben managed to speak with his friends and family. Everyone had the chance to talk to him; his father Rafi, his mother Pnina, his brother Avinoam, and his girlfriend Jessica.

They were all proud of him for saving people, and asked him to come home and not return to the area of the festival. However, Ben was determined to save his friends. He returned and managed to save another eight people he didn’t know to the Netivot area. Only ten months later we were connected with these people and learned that they were physically healthy but not mentally. Afterward, he returned to the festival area for a second time in hopes of finding his friends Tom and Michal, even though they told him not to come.

Nevertheless, he drove to the last location they sent him. But when he arrived at the location, Tom and Michal were no longer there (probably because their phone battery died, and they had already moved to their next hiding place). Today Tom and Michal are safe and sound. At that time, Ben knew that Gaya Halifa (Z”L), who worked with him at the Pitmaster, was also at the festival, so he contacted her and understood she was in danger. He asked her to send him her location. Gaya was with her friend Romi Gonen; they were hiding from the terrorists’ gunfire in a small bush near the Re’im parking lot.

Gaya sent Ben the location, and along with it, she wrote, “Don’t come; there are gunshots.” Despite this, Ben chose to look for them. He found them and got them into his car. In addition to them, Ben saw Ofir Tzarfati (Z’L) and offered him to join them in the car. Ofir had just made sure that his friends and girlfriend were rescued into another car and there was no space for him to go with them, so he joined Ben’s car.The four of them began driving towards Ashkelon on Road 232. Gaya managed to speak with her father, Avi and tell him that Ben rescued them and they were on their way out, asking him to pick her up from Ashdod. Romi texted her friends and family that a friend of Gaya’s from work (Ben) came to rescue them and that they were on their way out. After a short drive of a few kilometers at a crazy speed, during which Ben was on the phone with Jessica, he told her that he saw figures ahead and asked, “Are they terrorists? Arabs?” Immediately after, Jessica heard gunfire and screams. At 10:12 AM, at the Alumim Junction, they encountered an ambush by terrorists who slaughtered them.

The car stopped, and Ben and Gaya were murdered on the spot. Ofir and Romi were injured and half an hour later, kidnapped to Gaza. All this was recorded on a phone call between Romi and her mother, Mirav. After 54 days, we learned that Ofir was murdered in captivity at Shifa Hospital, and his body was found and returned for burial in Israel. As of today (ten months after October 7th, at the time of this writing), Romi is still held captive by Hamas, and we all pray for her safe return to her family, healthy in body and soul. Ben and Gaya were declared missing for five days. After extensive searches and understanding that something terrible had happened, we hoped that perhaps they were injured or even kidnapped, but the bitter news came. Ben planned to continue living life to the fullest and build his life his way, but fate chose for him to die a hero. Ben left behind a grieving family, friends, and a girlfriend who miss him, are proud of him, and love him deeply.

[pitchblackespresso]

Everything from BOTW had so much clear intent in it's design. Nothing felt random. Even for something as simple as chests everywhere, you could think "This was abandoned or lost by people running from the Calamity" it it would work.

TOTK, nothing made much sense. Why the fuck is the Hero of the Wild outfit, that Sheikah monks made and awarded to me specifically in the last game, buried in the fucking Depths? What is anything that's down there DOING there? Why are there these weird outcroppings on the cliffs in the surface, like Zonai rocks that somehow morphed into the landscape?

I can't tell you how deflating it was to return to that beautiful map to see that it's been littered with Zonai junk piles and those ugly chasms, that the Plateau was even more destroyed seeming. And obvious places for expansion, like actually going into the Citadel, were totally ignored.

There was almost no real emotional or intellectual reward for exploring at all. My favorite part of the game was The Great Sky Island, because it was all new and interesting. What's it say that the best part of the game is the tutorial? Which, oddly enough, was the reverse of my experience with BOTW.

You see, part of me agrees because there are a lot of dubious design choices (like the aforementioned Zonai junk piles, what an apt description), but another part clings onto the love I have for this game despite its numerous flaws.

For every nonsensical design, we also have choices that show how much love and care went into crafting a totk-Hyrule that felt familiar, but still distinct from botw. The caves are a perfect expansion and reward exploration with Misko's rare clothing items. The game remembers your horses and Champions' portrait from botw. Zelda's flower garden has silent princesses in it, fulfilling her old dream of domesticating them. Putting on the Yiga outfit in Gerudo Town sends you to prison. There's a royal claymore by King Rhoam's grave (his main weapon in AoC). The golden horse is already bonded to Link because he canonically travelled with Zelda and so spent a lot of time with the horse already. The nostalgic paraglider fabric is in the exact location in the Temple of Time where you first get the paraglider in botw. NPCs have character arc between games, like the groom in Rito Village leaving his toxic wife and getting in a (slightly) better relationship, or the terrible junkyard cook in Gerudo Canyon learning to cook with Monster Extract. Zelda's dropped torch is found at the bottom of the chasm. Mipha's Court wordlessly shows the journey of the Zora letting go of Mipha, but never forgetting her, by instead moving her statue to the former territory of a lynel that terrorized the Domain. Cheese.

Those are the details that I cling to when I think about totk, the ones I revisit the game for. That make it easy to ignore the piles of Zonai junk while I'm horseback travelling across Hyrule Field and instead look at the mounds of building materials that, yes, are there for the player to use, but are also part of the Hyrule Restoration Project, reminding you that this Hyrule is young and healing after a century of torment. Everyone's got an example of a detail in totk that I'm sure made them smile, and I like to think that those matter just as much as randomly retconning Typhlo Ruins all about almighty Rauru.

And if nothing else, we have suavemente Ganondorf

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Hello!! I'm back for: more whining about TotK Quest Design Philosophy

I can't reblog a really great post I just saw for some reason (tumblrrrr *shakes my fist*), but hmmmm yeah not only do I completely agree, but I think I might expand on why I feel so much annoyance towards TotK's quest design philosophy at some point, because it does extend past the fundamentally broken setup of trying to punch a pseudo-mystery game on top of BotW's bones, where the core objective was always explicit and centered and stapled the entire world together; or the convoluted and inefficient way it tells its story through the Tears, the somehow single linear exploration-driven quest in the entire game.

Basically: I'm talking about the pointless back-and-forths. There were a lot of them, a lot that acted against the open world philosophy, and almost none of them ever recontextualized the environment through neither gameplay abilities nor worldbuilding nor character work.

I'll take two examples: the initial run to Hyrule Castle (before you get your paraglider), and then the billion back-and-forths in the Zora questline.

I think?? the goal of that initial quest to Hyrule Castle is to familiarize you with the landmark, introduce the notion that weapons rot, tell you about the gloom pits, and also tell you that Zelda sightings are a thing? But to force any of these ideas on you before giving you a paraglider is, in my opinion, pretty unnecessary. I think the reason it happens in that order is to prevent Link from simply pummeling down to the gloom pit under Hyrule Castle and fight Ganondorf immediately while still introducing ideas surrounding the location; but genuinely, the Zelda sighting makes the next events even more confusing? Why wouldn't you focus all your priorities in reaching the castle if you just saw her there? Why lose time investigating anything else? Genuinely: what is stopping you from getting your paraglider and immediately getting yourself back there, plunging into the depths to try and get to the literal bottom of this? (beyond player literacy assuming this is where the final boss would be, and so not to immediately spoil yourself --which, in an open world game, you should never be able to spoil yourself by engaging with the mechanics normally, and if you can that's a genuine failure of design)

I think, personally, that you should not have been pointed to go there at all. That anything it brings to the table, you could have learned more organically by investigating yourself, or by exploring in that direction on your own accord --or, maybe you think Zelda is up there in the castle, and then the region objectives become explicitely about helping you reaching that castle (maybe by building up troops to help you in a big assault, or through the Sages granting you abilities to move past level-design oriented hurdles in your way, etc). Either way: no need to actually make you walk the distance and back, because the tediousness doesn't teach you anything you haven't already learned about traversal in the (extremely long, btw, needlessly so I would say) tutorial area.

But to take another example, I'll nitpick at a very specific moment in the Zora Questline, that is honestly full of these back-and-forth paddings that recontextualize absolutely nothing and teach you nothing you didn't already know. The most egregious example, in my opinion, is the moment where you are trying to find the king, and you have to learn by listening in to the zora children who do not let you listening in.

So okay. I think Zelda is great when it does whimsy, and children doing children things guiding you is a staple of the series, and a great one at that. But here? It does not work for me on any level. Any tension that could arise from the situation flattens because nobody seems to care enough about their king disappearing in the middle of a major ecological crisis, except for children who are conveniently dumb enough not to graps the severity of the situation, but not stressed out enough that it could be construed as a way for them to cope about it and make anything feel more serious or pressing. It feels like a completely arbitrary blocker that isn't informed by the state of the world, doesn't do anything interesting gameplay-wise with this idea, doesn't build up the mood, and genuinely feels like busywork for its own sake.

This is especially tragic when the inherent concept of "the zora king has been wounded by what most zoras would believe to be Zelda and is hiding from his own people so the two factions do not go to war over it" has such tension and interest and spark that the game absolutely refuse to explore --instead having you collect carved stones who do not tell you anything new, splatter water in a floating island, thrud through mud who feel more like an inconvenience than a threat or, hey, listen to children playing about their missing king less than a couple of years after being freed from Calamity Ganon's menace. It feels like level designers/system designers having vague technical systems that are hard-coded in the game now, and we need to put them to use even if it's not that interesting, not that fun or not that compelling. It's the sort of attitude that a lot of western RPGs get eviscerated for; but here, for some reason, it's just a case of "gameplay before story", instead of, quite simply, a case of poorly thought-out gameplay.

Not every quest in the game is like this! I think the tone worked much better in the sidequests overall, that are self-contained and disconnected from the extremely messy main storyline, and so can tell a compelling little tale from start to finish without the budget to make you waddle in a puddle of nothing for hours at a time. It's the only place where you actually get character arcs that are allowed to feel anything that isn't a variation on "very determined" or "curious about the zonai/ruins", and where you get to feel life as it tries to blossom back into a new tomorrow for Hyrule.

But if I'm this harsh about the main storyline, it really is because I find it hard to accept that we do not criticize a structure that is at times so half-assed that you can almost taste employees' burnout seeping through the cracks --the lack of thematic ambition and self-reflection and ingeniosity outside of system design and, arguably at times, level design-- simply because it's Hyrule and we're happy to be there.

There's something in the industry that is called the "wow effect", which is their way to say "cool" without saying "cool". It's basically the money shots, but for games: it's what makes you go "ohhhh" when you play. And it's great! The ascension to the top of the Ark was one of them --breathtaking, just an absolute high point of systems working together to weave an epic tale. You plummeting from the skies to the absolute depths of hell is another one; most of the dungeons rely on that factor to keep your attention; the entire Zelda is a dragon storyline is nothing but "wow effect" (and yeah, the moment where you do remove the Master Sword did give me shivers, I'll admit to this willingly) and so is Ganondorf's presence and presentation in the game --he's here to be cool, non-specifically mean, hateable in a non-threatening way and to give us a good sexy time, do not think about it too hard. What bothers me is that TotK's world has basically nothing to offer but "wow effect"; that if you bother to dig at anything it presents you for more than a second, everything crumbles into incoherence --not only in story, but in mood, in themes, in identity. This is a wonderfully fun game with absolutely nothing to say, relying on the cultural osmosis and aura of excellency surrounding Zelda to pass itself off as meatier than it really is. This is what I say when I criticize it as self-referential to a fault; half of the story makes no sense if this is your first Zelda game, and what little of that world there is tends to be deeply unconcerned and uncurious about itself.

And no, Breath of the Wild wasn't like this. Breath of the Wild was deeply curious about itself; the entire game was built off curiosity and discovery, experimentation and challenge (and I say this while fully admitting I had more fun with the loop of TotK, which I found more forgiving overall). The traversal in Tears of the Kingdom is centered around: how do I skip those large expanses of land in the most efficient and fun way possible. How do I automate these fights. How do I find resources to automate both traversal and fights better. It's a game that asks questions (who are the zonais, who is Rauru and what is his deal, what is the Imprisoning War about, where is Zelda), and then kind of doesn't really care about the answers (yeah the zonais are like... guys, they did a cool kingdom, Rauru used to run it, the Imprisoning War is literally whatever all you have to care about is who to feel sad for and who to kill about it and you don't get a choice and certainly cannot feel any ambiguous feelings about any of that, and Zelda is a dragon but we will never expand on how it felt for her to make such a drastic and violent choice and also nobody cares that's a plot point you could *remove* from the game without changing the golden path at all).

I'm so aggravated by the argument "in Zelda, it's gameplay before story" because gameplay is story. That's the literal point of my work as a narrative designer: trying to breach the impossibly large gap between what the game designers want to do, and what the writers are thinking the game will be about (it's never the same game). And in TotK, the game systems are all about automation and fusion. It's about practicality and efficiency. It's also about disconnecting stuff from their original purpose as you optimize yourself out of danger, fear, or curiosity --except for the way you can become even more efficient. And sure, BotW was about this too; but you were rewarded because you had explored the world in the first place, experimented enough, put yourself in danger, went to find out the story of who you used to be and why you should care about Hyrule. I'm not here to argue BotW was a well-written game; I think it was pretty tropey at large to be honest, safe for a couple of moments of brilliance, but it had a coherent design vision that rewarded your curiosity while never getting in the way of the clarity of your objective. There is a convolutedness to TotK that, to me, reveals some extremely deep-seated issues with the direction the series is heading towards; one that, at its core, cares more about looking the part of a Zelda game than having any deeper conversation about what a Zelda game should be.

[phoenixcatch7]

Botw's final boss fight with ganon would have been fixed if it was a shadow of the colossus style climbing his giant boar form to get to the eye instead of shooting it from a distance.

Easy enough for kids to do, speedrunners can come up with some insane strats like they did the shrines, it takes advantage of botw's unique traversal system, it's CINEMATIC and CLIMACTIC. Running your weapon into the beasts skull and clinging on for dear life as it thrashes and roars. Falling off wouldn't be a problem with the paraglider and horse, even better if the coding allows for the horse to chase underneath so you land on its back like the totk final boss. Zelda could actually use the bow rather than having link use it, or if link is out of weapons he could use the light arrows instead!! She could snipe obstacles out the way, distract ganon, idk!

But man, it'd be so visceral, so personal, Link using his full body, his full strength, everything he's learned from roaming this landscape to mountain climb ganon and ram his sword into the eye with all the building fury of a hundred years. Totk got close, but even that was more hit and run slash tactics. I want a qte of link SLAMMING his weapon in the reverse grip into ganons SKULL. Like tp or ww! Or!! Ss!!! It's iconique. For a reason!! Stab the mf!!!

That, and with the optional weapons in botw/totk, we could easily have the dramatic ganon stabbing scene, Link snarling and glaring, happen with like. A ladle. A broom.

But yes botw ganon should have gone the shadow of the colossus route, it would have fixed all its problems!! Shooting it down from a distance was too impersonal and really didn't take advantage of boar ganon ridiculous size. We could have had something so good.

[triforce-of-mischief]

Goponga Village

Summary: Link leaves Kakariko to find the first Divine Beast, hoping to find his memories on the way. However, the Sheikah Slate also has a faulty memory of lives that have long been lost. (Or: what if the slate didn't know that the old villages are ruins?)

Words: 780

AO3

Please reblog to show your support, likes do nothing! Do not reblog to communities.

Link had barely gotten to explore Kakariko Village, and Impa was already sending him away. She had refused to suggest which region he should explore first, and he sat on the floor of her house and looked at his map. The Sheikah Slate displayed four markers spread across Hyrule, but one was clearly closest to where he was now.

Divine Beast Vah Ruta.

The name meant nothing to him. Impa had said something about a Zora, which wasn’t familiar either. Link was still surprised- and more than a little scared- by just how much he had yet to remember.

At least the Sheikah Slate knew things. After the King had faded away, the ancient relic was the only constant companion at Link’s side. It didn’t offer much for company, but Impa had said that it was important for Link to keep it safe so he could regain his memory.

The village was surrounded by tall hills, and Link had learned his lesson by stubbornly traveling in a straight line to reach it in the first place. He studied the topography of the area, finding that he could go downhill and loop around to Vah Ruta by leaving Kakariko from the north. Walking to the top of the hill, he saw that there was even a shrine on the way.

He still wasn’t used to his paraglider, and redirected midair to land at the bottom of the opposite slope. He folded the glider and looked up to see… rotting wood planks, the foundation of what had clearly been a house once. He had seen this kind of structure before, at a distance, but he had been too focused on his objective to take a look before now. He swallowed hard, and stepped closer.

A whirlwind of magic rushed around a well packed with dirt, and a Korok appeared at Link’s feet. “You found me!” they cheered, seemingly oblivious to the ruins surrounding them.

Link knelt to take the Korok’s tiny seed. “What happened here?” he asked softly, and the Korok giggled.

“Silly question!”

The spirit wouldn’t say any more, and Link sighed and grabbed his slate once more. He flipped to the map and stared at the small symbol that indicated a house, like the ones found around Kakariko. He tapped on the picture and a name even appeared beside it.

Taya’s Training Hall.

Training for what? Did it even matter? There was no hall anymore, no signs of life except for the Korok bouncing by the decrepit well and the flowers growing around a few rusted swords stuck in the ground…

“Taya?” Link called, and again, “Taya, are you there?”

In the swamp below, a blue heron startled and flew away. Nobody answered Link’s call.

Something bad had happened here, and he didn’t like it, but whoever this Taya was they were gone, and Link needed to reach somewhere safer before nightfall. He sighed, waved to the Korok, and picked his way down the hill towards the shrine.

Between the monk’s puzzles and the unfamiliar attacks of the fast-moving Lizalfos, the ruins of the training hall were firmly in the back of Link’s mind as he continued across the swamp. He saw more shapes in the distance, dotted across the interconnected islands, and dared to hope that it was another proper village. They would have lodging for the night, and could answer what happened to Taya…

But he was disappointed once again.

He stood in the middle of one of the larger islands, surrounded by what should have been a dozen homes, but the smell of rot and mildew chased that fantasy away. His slate chimed, and he turned the screen up with shaking hands.

Goponga Village.

The text sat glaringly, innocently, in the corner of the map as icons spread over the islands. The Slate offered information about each business, every family, a hundred people who couldn’t be more obviously gone. Link walked around the swamp, his eyes blurring with tears as the Slate told him the names of those who should have been living in the village.

Sweetspring Inn.

Harpoon Fishing Supply.

Lotus General Store.

Goponga School.

He found grass sprouting between overturned stools and cracked tables. He walked past a wagon in front of what had once been a stable. He knelt before a pair of halberds that hadn’t been enough to protect the souls of children long dead.

Was this… the Calamity’s doing? Had this village and countless others been destroyed by rampaging Guardians while Link tried to escape with the Princess? All of these fallen citizens… was this Link’s fault?

The Sheikah Slate, he thought bitterly, was just as naive as he was.

[rjhpandapaws]

Heroes that Live are Seldom Remembered

His first memory of Revali comes when the phantom of a king hands him a well worn paraglider. As he holds it and looks it over the scene around him changed. It's in a colder place and the hands holding out the paraglider go from fingered to feathered. Revali's expression is one of fold smugness. "You told me you wanted to know what it really feels like to fly. While no such feat is possible for a mere Hylian, gliding is a close second, and something I'm sure even you can handle." His words are harsh, as they always tend to be, but the kindness beneath them isn't lost on Link, it rarely is. He finds himself smiling as the scene fades around him. He is careful as he tucks the glider away. Faint though it may be a century later, Link can still feel the care Revali put into crafting this for him, and he has no intentions of letting it fall into disrepair.

He remembers more of Revali as he travels through Hyrule, and each memory he finds is more painful than the last. Early on in his journey it was a simple thing to do small feats of mental gymnastics and continue to believe they had been nothing more than close friends. But with each careful brush of ghostly feathers his denial crumbled away and was replaced with anger. Toward himself, toward the goddess, toward Ganon, and toward the blights that he had recently learned of. To everything that took away his future. They had plans, they had a future. They were going to live just outside of Rito Village so that Link could raise his horses and Revali could have the space that he so desperately craved. They would travel when the mood struck them, stay away for as long as they felt inclined. Link would retire from the nights once his service to the princess was up and they would live peacefully as former Champions going wherever the call of adventure lead them. They were going to grow old together. Until Revali grew too stiff to fly and Link had no hair left for feathers to be braided into. Instead Revali had died cold and alone thousands of miles away from Link, and Link had died in a lonely field in the arms of a princess who finally had the power to change destiny. Then he had woken up with nothing to his name except the slate and the feathers woven into his hair with the careful hand of someone who had known what they meant to him. He wore those same feathers around his neck now, tucked safely between his tunic and his chest to keep them from being destroyed.

Finally reaching Rito Village comes with another kind of pain that he wasn't ready for. The kind of pain that comes from the small intimate memories that come with spending so much of his time in one place. No matter where he looked there was always something to be remembered, there was no place safe from Revali's ghost. He was relatively sure the villagers thought him crazy when he stood on Revali's landing and let out a blood curdling scream of his own to rival that of Medoh's. Not to mention when he collapsed in tears immediately after, because not even screaming his loss and pain could make it go away. Taking back Medoh was bittersweet. Getting to hear Revali's voice outside of a memory for the first time since waking up, almost brought him to his knees again. He stayed standing because it was the only way to get his Revali back. What fuels his strength in the fight against Windblight is nothing more than anger. Every moment of pain he'd felt for his loss so far on his journey was poured into each blow against it. When it ended he felt blissfully numb up until he saw Ravali's ghost, then it was grief and pain all over again. The gift of his gale, something they had ridden so many times together was the piece that broke him in the end. What drove him to finally say something in response to Revali instead of just basking in his presence.

"This isn't fair..... I - I ..... Your gale should be yours, it shouldn't be a parting gift to me. Nor Mipha's healing, Daruk's protection, and whatever it is Urbosa will gift me in return for her freedom. None of this should have happened." His voice is ragged both from the weight of his emotions, and lack of use, "We had plans Revali. We had so many things we were going to do, sights to see.... When this ended there was so much we were going to do. And now it's just gone." The look he gets from Revali is a familiar one of exasperated fondness, and Link knows he is going to hate what Revali says next. "We both knew those plans were little more than fantasy Link. Something to make us feel like this fight was worth it. A reason to fight that might be bigger than our destiny to die." He sighs softly, "But we knew deep down it wouldn't happen. The heroes that live are seldom remembered. We are Champions, Legends in a sense, there was no life after for us, and I am sorry that after waking up you were lead to believe there was." Revali reaches for Link and neither one of them flinches when he doesn't make contact, "Just know that when this is over, I will be waiting for you like i always said I would."

The fight with Ganon is long and exhausting, and even before he lands the final blow, Link knows he won't be surviving it. He's too injured and has lost too much blood, but more than that, he doesn't want to. There is nothing left in this Hyrule for him. As Ganon dissolves into nothing, the weapon that had pierced through Link's chest does the same. He falls to the grass wet with blood, malice, and goddesses knows what else. Zelda's cries for him to "just hold on" fade into emptiness. He is content to bleed out in a field for the second time in his life.

When he becomes aware again Revali is looking down at him with a gentle smile, "You know she isn't going to forgive you for giving up for quite a while." It's said with almost a laugh, "But I'm sure she will come to understand how much you were missed." "I just wanted to be with you again." He presses his forehead to Revali's beak like old times and relishes in the contact, "I didn't want to keep you waiting another one hundred years."

Medoh is perched above Rito Village still glowing a serene blue. At night, it is said that if someone looked closely there are two spirits standing atop it's head looking out over Hyrule, one is a Rito and one is a Hylian. They're names have long been lost to time, but it is said that at one time they woke from the dead to save the world.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Dion J. Pierre

During Wednesday’s interview with the Algemeiner, Davidai defended his approach as a genuine expression of grief and concern for the welfare of Jewish students.

“People are free to see exactly the videos and see, you know, what did or did not happen and judge for themselves,” he said. “That is why I call this a clear act or retaliation. My lawyers got on a phone call with them on Oct. 7 [of this year] and were told that the university is going to suspend my ability to be on campus. On that day, the university found that the most important thing is to remove me from campus. I am, to the best of my knowledge, the only professor who has been removed from campus since Oct. 7 [2023].”

Davidai went on to point to faculty conduct which has been covered by The Algemeiner, including Columbia professor Joseph Massad publishing in Electronic Intifada an essay cheering Hamas’s atrocities as “awesome” and describing men who paraglided into a music festival to kill young people as “the air force of the Palestinian resistance.”

Davidai continued, “The only person who was removed from campus is the one that exposed the chief operating officer’s antisemitic problem. And I say this, you know, I don’t know if he is or isn’t an antisemite. I do know that he’s awfully comfortable with antisemitism and that he has an antisemitism problem.”

According to Columbia University, the campus ban, which does not affect Davidai’s compensation or employment status, was prompted by “threats of intimidation, harassment, or other threatening behavior.”

Samantha Slater, a university spokesperson, continued: “Columbia has consistently and continually respected Assistant Professor Davidai’s right to free speech and to express his views. His freedom of speech has not been limited and is not being limited now. Columbia, however, does not tolerate threats of intimidation, harassment, or other threatening behavior by its employees. Because Assistant Professor Davidai repeatedly harassed and intimidated university employees in violation of university policy, we have temporarily limited his access to campus while he undertakes appropriate training on our policies governing the behavior of our employees.”

This latest clash between Davidai and Columbia University comes during what has been widely described as an unprecedented “crisis” at the school which, since Oct. 7, 2023, has undermined its credibility with the public and drawn the scrutiny of federal lawmakers.

In April, an anti-Zionist group occupied Hamilton Hall, forcing then-university president Minouche Shafik to call on the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for help, a decision she hesitated to make and which led to over 108 arrests. However, according to documents shared in August by the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, 18 of the 22 students slapped with disciplinary charges for their role in the incident remain in “good standing” despite the university’s earlier pledge to expel them. Another 31 of 35 who were suspended for illegally occupying the campus with a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” remain in good standing too.

In August, Shafik resigned as president of the university, and just two months prior, in June, its legal counsel reached an out of court settlement with a student who accused administrators of neglecting their obligation to foster a safe learning environment during the final weeks of last spring semester. While stopping short of admitting guilt, the settlement virtually conceded to the plaintiff her argument that the campus was unsafe for Jewish students, agreeing to provide her and others “Safe Passage Liaisons” tasked with protecting them from racist abuse and violence.

Amid this cluster of scandals and conflagrations, Davidai has allegedly received a lion’s share of the university’s attention. Last semester, it launched an investigation of his conduct, which he called a persecution that “reveals the depths of its hostility towards its Jewish community.” He has since retained counsel to guard his rights and prevent being bulldozed by one of the wealthiest and powerful universities in the world. Despite his troubles, however, he told The Algemeiner on Wednesday that Columbia is redeemable.

[richardsgraysons]

I have a request, if that's alright.

First date fluffy one shot or headcanons for Dick Grayson, please?

ahh im sorry for replying so late, op, finals studying </3

dick grayson on a date would entail:

he’s meticulously planning everything out. he’s one to go with the flow, but first, he likes being in control

he learns everything about you (in ways one might be disturbed, but he has good intentions!) to figure out what you like. so he’s observing your body language a lot, the way you react to specific things

“you look so—um—wow!”

backup plans for backup plans. he doesn’t want anything to ruin your night

calls wally over to help him (when wally was…nvm) but now he just calls jason

dick strikes me as the type of guy to take you on patrol as a date. like swinging through the city while you cling on him desperately if you like adrenaline

he makes dates memorable—paragliding, the food version of fear factory etc. if you aren’t comfortable with those things, he goes basic but sweet. candlelit dinners, those movies you watch in your car, walking around and just holding hands together

he likes tucking in your hair behind your ear when the wind blows your ear by. it makes you blush and he smiles

he always holds your hand and comfortingly squeezes it. dick grayson’s love language is quality time, and second is acts of service.

but he is an absolute sucker for physical touch. he likes touching you just to know you’re there with him—holding hands, kissing, your arms touching, etc

watches you very closely to see if you like what he has plan. he’s extremely sad if he sees you don’t like something

[ladycremecaramel]

Let's Play Tears of The Kingdom! First playthrough. Part 34

Hello hello 🖐Welcome back to my first playthrough of TOTK. We found a hidden passageway in Hyrule Castle where it's still grounded. We went down a spiral staircase and at the bottom was a headstone with a scripture saying the castle was like a seal to keep The Demon King sealed away (along with Rauru's arm and stone)

You can imagine my surprise that we possibly found the way back to the beginning of the game with Zelda. Tbh I'm doubtful but we'll see.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Not Zonanite or Luminous stone. Just...glowing rock (I learn later that it is Luminous stone and that I keep calling it lumious stone). Well it definitely became a cave. I got a Bubbul gem.

...blue rock? I haven't smashed it yet because I saw this after smashing regular rock.

NUH-UH! NO WAY!!! Is it what I think it is?! I must make a video RIGHT NOW!!!!

By the time this post uploads here, it would have been a week since I did the recording and days to edit until Wednesday night. A lot of things were happening irl that was causing me to stress about not getting this post in the scheduled que in time. BUT now that the video is done and on zee youtube, I feel better. I would like to give credit to kiddo for providing some voicework. (After listening to the video after its completion, I forgot to add some sound to a muted sped up spot. whoops)

While I was editing, I did take the time to get all of the koroks around Hyrule Castle and Lookout Landing. Due to lack of storage space on my phone at the time, I couldn't start making the special video yet. I did however go to the skyview towers for Kakariko and Hateno. I didn't activate them yet but here are screenshots of what I saw during my playthorughs.

More paraglider fabric! Also during my hunt for koroks, I found this!

pretty dang sweet if you ask me.

I did try to throw hands with these guys but they don't stick around for very long if they can't get you.

GASP!

A rito! 😍😍😍😍😍 my first meeting with one besides Penn!

So after this, I went under the tower where I found a cave a little earlier and figured out I could ascend to get inside. Billson was like "What?! How did you get in there? Can you see what's stopping the door?" Two sticks were holding the door shut and were removed and I opened the door. I didn't realize the tower wasn't operational until he fixed it. After that, he left and I got kinda sad cuz I didn't see a reaction to Link's lack of underoos.

Soooo I went to find the tower that covered the region Hateno was in and found out it was on top of Lanaryu mountain. Greeaaaaat. Meaning I gotta wear pants and extra protection. Thankfully I had the Medoh mask so I was covered....literally.

It wasn't an easy trek but I did make it to the spring of wisdom and found this guy.

I was not impressed but he did activate our first shrine quest. NOw I'm gonna talk to this goddess statue and get another stamina boost. And I wanna see if the cave behind it is still there.

What? It's gone! What the hell? I would've at least expected the little cave to be there and a well. Lame.

Oh...That can't be good. I'm assuming she's referring to the really big statue in the Forgotten temple right? Looks like I gotta go there sooner than I anticipated.

NO!

I'm so done with caves for a while. But you know what's coming up soon? My journey to Rito Village!

See y'all later bye bye!

[sokkas-first-fangirl]

My best friend is playing Breath of the Wild for the first time (nearly finished with the Great Plateau!) and so far she has: Unlocked her bloodlust for killing monsters Keeps shouting at Rhoam to give her the paraglider Climbed everything in sight Has already learned to scan every square inch of space for chests and Koroks Demands I tell her who Hestu is and where to find him Blown up so many monsters, trees and crates with the Sheikah bombs Spotted Medoh in the distance and immediately said, "Do I have to fight that? I kinda want to fight that." Wants to kill a Lynel Saw the Faron region in the distance and declared she wants to go there first, Zelda can wait

I allowed her to think all the Guardians on the plateau were dead and laughed with glee when she walked right up to a dormant one. She nearly pushed me right off the sofa

I'm so proud.

I'm not gonna warn her about blood moons 💕