#the awakening river

[liquidlightandrunningtrees]

She lies on silver pillows: the sun leans over her. He warms and warms her, kisses and kisses her. There are sparks in her hair and she stirs in laughter.

Katherine Mansfield, the awakening river

[jessaerys]

that poll made me think of this excellent post by @magicaii re: mello’s fanon interpretation as overly emotional, and i broadly agree with all the points made, but i would also like to posit that if one subscribes to the hypothesis that mello and near grew up in a somewhat foster-sibling-like environment (which seems to already be almost universally accepted in the matt-mello relationship. is it even canon that they were roommates? it is so prevalent in the fandom that i forgot to even question it. but i digress) 

in a foster-sibling-like environment at the orphanage a certain level of childhood intimacy would be inescapable between mello and near just by virtue of growing up together: having meals together, attending the same classes, sharing caretakers and chores, being teamed up by teachers during assignments, existing in the same recreational spaces, etc. even if they were never particularly friendly with each other, they would inevitably, perhaps even unwittingly, develop some kind of understanding (“something identical in them […] something which would dart to one face, then to the other, depending on an expression or a trick of the light or the angle at which a head was cocked”) by virtue of being intellectual equals above the rest of their peers. they are, after all, foils to the L-light relationship.

in fact i find it harder to believe that they would not have interacted often at wammy’s. being slated to become and in competition for the role of L’s successor, their tutors would have set them up to push each other through special assignments/tests/projects. it is a highly effective didactic tool used in all sorts of competitive and academic environments. mello’s “you know near and i don’t get along” would be thoroughly justified: who amongst us would not hate being Assigned Partners At School with your (self-declared) nemesis!  roger knows this! he has probably threatened mello with a get-along-t-shirt! mello’s emphasis on you know is not clunky as-you-know exposition but an exasperated teenager going UGHH MOM! at a guardian that keeps refusing to acknowledge mello's protests

all of this is to say that, with this context in mind, i can imagine mello lightly “bullying”⁽¹⁾ near not because he wants to make a punching bag out of him but because in the way kids naturally learn through play and social interaction, he'd be feeling for his advantages over near (being more athletic, better with people, easier to get along with, etc) debatably he might even want to establish/prove these differences in the social hierarchy at wammy’s (given his high “social life” stats in dn13:htr) it is these differences (that near is too passive, emotionless, haughty, at least in mello’s head) which seem to frustrate mello the most, so it doesn’t strike me as out of character to think the boy who is introduced hitting someone with a ball and tugging at someone else's hair would surrender to his id⁽²⁾ and try to get a rise out of near, that he’d want to bring near down to everyone else’s “level"

and perhaps this is the shipping goggles i have on but there is something thoroughly intoxicating about being the center of attention of someone who you passionately resent when you are undoubtedly on top.⁽³⁾ you could argue mello subconsciously desires near’s admiration and either refuses to see it whenever it is there (“near told me i did good job, the condescending dick”) or near is absolute shit at communicating it (“your thought process in this essay was almost impossible to follow” <- badly worded compliment), so mello veers for the next best thing: near’s attention. much like with a bad cat, negative attention is still attention, and on god he is getting his fix of being so fucking annoying (look at me, why won't you look at me!) wherever he can get it

-

⁽¹⁾ie. wrestling him down in the playground, toppling over his towers, hiding favorite toys, pulling his hair, locking him in closets etc. nothing life-threatening or overly painful; the mean teasing of a resentful older brother, not the harassing of a bloodthirsty middle school terrorist 

⁽²⁾especially when they are younger mello would have far less developed self control lol. by the time we first meet them, at 13 and 15, this light bullying would've been largely a thing of the past, with mello becoming gradually more distant around the time he transitions into brooding teenagehood while near is still a kid, which would've made leaving wammy's far easier (i also think that mello would firmly believe that he has earned the right to bother near while everyone else has not and he WILL be fighting them about it. only he can mess with near, thank you very much. typical older brother behavior. but this post is already too long)

⁽³⁾ no. i shan't say it

[earthjournalbyawildrose]

untïl dūsk, do us pārt .:::. @roseeadsdesign

source

[doomed-era]

Sentient Monsters/Enemies in Zelda

People seemed to enjoy my last list so I'm going to touch on probably one of my favorite topics in LOZ! I'm mostly focusing on monsters and enemies that are shown to be not completely affiliated with any sort of Big Bad or are demonstrably capable of speech or independent thought but I'll also be including other enemies and monsters. I'm not going to really include bosses unless I find it necessary (hence the lack of Maz Koshia, Gohdan, Byrne, Bellumbeck, etc) As usual, I may touch headcanon territory a little, and I'll happily take any corrections/suggestions and reblog them!

...Actually I might just edit the post, not sure.

This contains gameplay spoilers for...a lot of Zelda games, so please proceed with caution!

Ache

Batlike enemies from The Adventure of Link. They are usually hostile, and will disguise themselves as villagers, revealing their disguise if spoken to. There is a friendly Ache that can be found in the Town of Nabooru that Link can speak to.

Batreaux

A reformed demon from Skyward Sword who has a secret house on Skyloft. He expresses a desire to become human, and requests that Link bring Gratitude Crystals to him so he can become one.

Bulblin

Namely King Bulblin, but I personally think this applies to regular Bublins as well. Throughout Twilight Princess you fight King Bulblin in various boss fights, but he always retreats before Link can kill him. In your final battle with him, he finally speaks, claiming that he "always follows the strongest side," before leaving and dropping a key to the inside of Hyrule Castle. Bulblins in general are shown to be fairly intelligent, riding on large boars called Bulbos and Twilit Kargaroks, creating structures, and cooking food.

Dark World Creatures

Many of inhabitants of the Dark World in A Link to the Past are heavily implied to be people who sought after the Triforce but were trapped upon entering the Dark World and transformed into monsters according to their true nature. These creatures can be aggressive at the start, seem initially friendly and attack you later, like Blind the thief, or can be completely passive.

Deku Scrub

These are plantlike creatures that spit out seeds to attack. In Ocarina of Time, Deku Scrubs seem to have made an allegiance with the first boss, Gohma. When attacked, they will surrender and either give you information or sell you items. In Majora's Mask, not only can Link transform into a Deku Scrub, but there is a Deku Scrub palace to be explored. Like in Ocarina of Time, Deku Scrubs are hostile to outsiders, and will refuse to let Link into the palace if he is not in Deku Scrub form. In Minish Cap, a sick Deku Scrub blocks the way by sneezing out seeds at Link and Zelda.

Garo

The Garo from Majora's Mask are a tribe of undead, ninja-like hooded creatures. They reside in the Kingdom of Ikana, though they're not originally from there, and will only appear to Link if he is wearing the Garo Mask. At some time in the past, the Garo came to Ikana Valley as assassins, but like most Ikana residents they were killed and their ghosts linger around the area.

Goriya

A slightly more obscure enemy from the original Legend of Zelda, Zelda II, Link's Awakening, and the Oracle Games. Goriya are moblin-like creatures that attack with a boomerang. In the original Legend of Zelda, a hungry Goriya blocks a door in a dungeon. In Link's Awakening, there is a hidden friendly Goriya that can only be seen using the Magnifying Glass, similar to the friendly River Zora.

Iron Knuckle

Armored enemies in Zelda II and Ocarina of Time, serving as minibosses of the Spirit Temple in the latter. In the last room of the Spirit Temple, the Twinrova control Nabooru, the Sage of Spirit, and force her to fight Link as an Iron Knuckle. Looking closely at the ordinary Iron Knuckle model reveals a Gerudo face inside, so many people believe that the other Iron Knuckles Link fights are also possessed or evil Gerudo.

Mad Batter/Li'l Devil

A batlike creature from A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening that lives in an underground cavern. Link can disturb him by tossing Magic Powder at a statue, where he will become angry and "curse" Link by giving him a magic upgrade.

Moblin

Featured in the original Legend of Zelda, Moblins are one of the quintessential enemies in the Zelda series. They have been shown multiple times to be capable of speech and seem to be able to defect from Ganon's horde in some instances. The original game also contains the first instance of a friendly monster in Zelda, the famous "it's a secret to everyone" Moblin. In the Wind Waker, a girl named Maggie has fallen in love with one of the Moblins in Forsaken Fortress, and sends a letter to him. Moe the Moblin sends a letter back, proving that Moblins are not only capable of speech, but probably writing.

Phantom

Guardians of the Tower of Spirits in Spirit Tracks and invaders of the Temple of the Ocean King in Phantom Hourglass. Phantoms are highly intelligent enemies that will chase Link down, and are capable of speech. In Spirit Tracks, Phantom Zelda can converse with them to distract them while Link makes his way through the Tower of Spirits.

River Zora

River Zora are featured in the original Legend of Zelda, a Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, A Link Between Worlds, Oracle of Ages, and Phantom Hourglass. River Zora are highly territorial creatures that inhabit bodies of water in most of the games they are featured in. They will usually shoot fireballs at Link and dive under the water if confronted. However, in many games, there are several Zora who will not attack you and may give you helpful items. In A Link to the Past, Link can speak to King Zora to get the Zora Flippers. In Link's Awakening, there is a secret friendly Zora that can be seen after Link has obtained the Magnifying Glass. In A Link Between Worlds, the Zora Queen Oren will give you the Zora Flippers.

Soldier

Hylian Soldiers have a long history of either getting possessed, turning evil, or being extremely incompetent in the Zelda series, and A Link to the Past is probably what started it. Soldiers are the primary enemy fought in the Light World, and are friendly to Link at the beginning of the game, telling Link to go home to bed on such a rainy night. One soldier mentions that they have noticed something strange about the other soldiers, and expects that they will soon succumb to whatever is possessing them. This is of course Agahnim, an evil magician and Ganon in disguise.

Stalchildren/Stalfos

Featured in almost every game in the series, Stalfos are undead skeleton-like enemies. Stalchildren are weaker, more common enemies that are featured in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Ordinarily Stalchildren will attack you in Majora's Mask, however if you wear the Captain's Hat—the hat of their leader, Skull Keeta—they will talk to you, and give you access to secret underground areas each night. Stalchildren, like the Garo, are also one of the undead races from Ikana Valley, and their king can be fought there.

Yiga

(they get a shoutout cause I love them. mwah)

Featured in Breath of the Wild, the Yiga Clan are an offshoot of the Sheikah Tribe that separated ten thousand years before the events of Breath of the Wild. After Calamity Ganon emerged for the first time and was destroyed with the help of Ancient Sheikah technology, the Royal Family turned their backs on the people who helped them, forcing them to abandon their work. The Sheikah went into hiding, but some of them fought back. This group became known as the Yiga Clan, and they are well known for their affinity to Calamity Ganon and their murderous tendencies. Dorian was originally a member of the Yiga Clan, and served as an informant to them for some time.

[blueberrythefrog]

I have awaken, it is time to spread the joy of insomnia kinitopet And.. to spread the joy of Soni, existing again Hellor, mutuals, I see we have a mutual understanding that art is art, and we love art here Now onto the topic of Kinitopet, do you think he'd like it, if I fed him digital shrimp?, I think he would

[hanakihan]

sigh I’ve been thinking about sacrifice au where jinwoo is an eldrich being living and walking in forest at night and village is terrified, so they send gifts but none are touched

then they decide to send a sacrifice so maybe this monster will leave them alone and people will stop disappearing and usually it’s supposed to be a maiden but no one wants to send young girls here, jinchul volunteers because at least he’ll die fighting or even may survive. It’s still better than to send a young girl or an older person. He’s one of few who can fight and knows forest’s layout because he used to hunt before becoming village’s right hand man.

so he goes into forest dressed fancily with some gifts (and a dagger and a sword in his robes just in case) closer to nighttime. His trip is mostly peaceful until he’s attacked by some kind of beasts and he thanks gunhee for giving him weapon. he mostly holds on until there’s too much and he starts to sustain injuries. and just when he thinks he’s gonna die other weird shadow(??) creatures step in and actually save him??? he lost too much blood and is too tired to keep up with what’s happening but he sees glowing violet eyes and feels someone’s hands on his back supporting him before everything goes black. then he wakes up at daytime and he’s pretty much taken care of by a stranger.

apparently jinwoo is that eldrich being wandering forest but he’s not the one making people who wander in forest to disappear. he’s actually the one to hunt spawning monsters but he’s not always on time to do so, jinchul is actually the first and only one he was able to save. jinwoo also can’t enter village or approach it unless someone from it invites him in.

anyway things happen, jinchul does invite jinwoo in village and gunhee allows jinwoo to take jinchul on night patrols in forest and they start to bond. jinwoo did eventually ask why jinchul was alone in woods at night dressed as if for wedding (veil and all that along with some red eyeliner wheeze) and jinchul embarrassingly admits he was supposed to be a gift or sacrifice. jinwoo actually wheezes at this because it’s such stupidly human thing to do.

‘What are you, a bride sacrifice?’

‘… you make it sound even worse—‘

‘Are you a virgin then, since you’re a bride wheeze’

‘… that’s it I’m leaving goodbye’

jinwoo has too much fun teasing jinchul over his status as a gift and then jinwoo remembers that he technically didn’t accept him as a gift lmao

It’s just a silly au where a human sacrifice bonds with eldrich being who’s actually nice and wants to help and socialize after centuries of loneliness and they just spend nights patrolling and talking and bonding to the point you can rarely spot them separated (gunhee on background laughs and collects bets from everyone who lost lmao)

[purdykittykatsworld]

[rivilu]

Giving my personal thanks to Larian for pulling me out of the Da trenches just at the right time to be blissfully unaware of the dreadwolf updates now that i no longer check the tags daily. Gods bless

[best-childhood-book]

[spacewives-in-spacetime]

In response to the fanfic writer post, you are queer and neurodivergent. Also you like milfs

...... how the fuck do you know me so well

I AM GENDERFLUID LESBIAN

I AM ADHD

I AM PERSON WHO LOVES RIVER SONG

I MEAN, JUST LOOK AT HER:

[earthjournalbyawildrose]

cāught in your äurä -:::- @roseeadsdesign

roseeadsdesign.com

[stardust-in-my-mind-blog]

creation of calamity

my spirit is a starry river

a calm current under still water

reflecting evening starlight in a mirror

it offers a place of refuge

and the peaceful philosophy of lullabies

bt is willing to foam in rapids

and flood out debris and pollution

my psyche is the spiraling sea

full of power that ebbs and flows

unpredictable and demanding respect

teeming with life and vitality

the fresh water of the river empties into her salty depths

and together they summon their daughter

often when something has gone too far

my heart she is a tempest

born of the union of river and sea

warmed by the warm winds of sun tempted by the cool breezes of the moon

sparked into action by the mercury bolt

of my intellect and wit

my heart is a vessel that holds

great passion and great emotion

she is intense and poignant

but to many she is merely

a sweet calamity

but to me

she is a muse

[hella1975]

listening to call your mom rn (god it feels wrong spelling it like that)

gripping u by the shoulders. this song is everything to me.

[squireofgeekdom]

I could finish reading one series and then start reading/rereading another series. Or ... I could do whatever this is.