#Counterforce

[yugiohcardsdaily]

Counterforce

"When a monster's attack is negated that targeted a face-up Attack Position monster: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the difference in ATK between the 2 monsters."

[80smovies]

[head-vampire]

Counterforce (1980)

Gottlieb

Source

[kiwikipedia]

Like I get why the Tamabros are upset that Aria isn’t in GO but we are forgetting that literally all the other new Servants who were playable and had a combat role AND a major story role also got shafted for ??? Yui ??? Shousetsu ???

[crossf15]

Saber finally being able to leave her own personal Silent Hill in the Throne of Heroes after getting summoned for the Holy Grail War only to get increasingly pissed off as she realizes over time that Shirou's the exact same kind of bitch she is.

[biblioklept]

Gravity’s Rainbow — annotations and illustrations for pages 712-13 | The Man has a branch office in each of our brains

Illustration for Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Gustave Doré, 1876 Well1, if the Counterforce2 knew better what those categories3 concealed, they might be in a better position to disarm, de-penis and dismantle the Man4. But they don’t. Actually they do, but they don’t admit it. Sad but true. They are as schizoid, as double-minded in the massive presence of money, as any of the rest…

[nobuverse]

@burdenedreverence From here

"I do not have, such a luxury." His words come out calm, his eyes closed. He is currently gripping a metal rail which protects those from following off the top of this particular building. On the horizon the Soul Society is bleeding, flames lick at ruined buildings. Those on the ground look like ants with the way they move about, tending to the wounded or collecting the dead. His shoulders are tensed and raised as he puts his weight onto the metal, it groans beneath his hands. He looks over the ledge, and a part of him wishes to leap. He does not have the luxury to determine when his war might be over, even once the swords enter their sheaths, he knows that his watch does not end. It is immortal, and immaterial, until fate deems his time up. A hundred a years ago, he was just a man. Now he is a monster. Slitting throats in the night, murdering men for peace, and any number of crimes which have stained his soul black. Blacker than midnight, blacker than the robes he wears, light cannot exist within him anymore. And yet as he draws a shaky breath, his eyes sting. Salty tears form on the edge of his vision, his eyes close tightly. His mouth hangs open slightly while his throat clenches. His anger is his grief. And it pours from in, spilling into the world like an overturned paint can. The container, which is body empties itself, in this moment of supreme privacy. His rage is not that of clenched fists and gnashing teeth, it is that of tears and choked words. "God… be damned…" The words slip out as fingers crush metal as if it was nothing more than tissue paper, gripping the torn metal he throws it over the edge of the building. He screams. It rises from his stomach, it bellows from his throat. The metal is flung an impossible distance, a reminder he is more than a man. He has become a monster. She asks him to forgive himself. He cannot. He will not. This world has need for its monsters, it has need for him. He falls to his knees; his palms face upwards with his knuckles pressed against the stone floor. He cannot begin to forgive himself for everything he has done, and everything he will do.

The scene is as horrifying as it is mesmerizing to her, in some strange way. It is a horrifying marvel compared to everything the agent of the counterforce has seen in - months? Years? She'd lost track of time completely in the amount of time she'd spent in the great beyond.

Everything there had been veiled in a bright shade of white. All that existed was light. No concept of space, beginnings or ends. An endless void which only held things that should not exist. Monsters and abominations she was tasked to cut down, one after another.

It was so beautiful to anything else but that. Even if the colors of flames do assault her eyes the first time she looks at them. How wonderful it was to see humans again - looking at them helping each other in these times of great danger. How wonderful that was.

Wielder, don't you think we should see what's happening?

Rengokuken's voice rings clearly in her mind.

"Mm. Can't. Too loud. Need to wait. Very overwhelming." she speaks in simple phrases, mind eroded by the passage of time. It'd take her some to get back to her usual self.

Understood. Take your time.

When she sees a lone person sometime later - she begins to get excited again, thinking of it as the perfect opportunity to help integrate herself among humans again. But something's wrong. She feels a certain - loneliness about him.

"You. You are sad. What is wrong?"

She's not really able to follow what comes next. Maybe because he's speaking too fast, or her thoughts are too slow to keep up. She only seems to understand that he's angry at someone for something.

Ah. She knew the answer to this one: Let your anger out, then let it go. Forgive him.

....Maybe not, though. It really only seems to make things worse.

"....sir?" her fingers girp nervously on her blade's hilt for reassurance, like a child clinging onto a mother's hand. "I see- that was...the wrong answer? Um, please don't be upset...I'll get it right next time...!"

She briefly panics at just how responsible she is for this, her tense body giving a jump back as the railing is torn from the rooftop. That display of strength was rather, shocking to say the least. He's probably not a normal human then...and he's not a monster - since the counterforce wasn't asking her to kill him. So..

Oh! He must be a hero, then! A grieving and heartbroken hero...

"Well, um - if we could find this - 'luxury' would you be able to? I could help you."

She can't remember the details, but she seems to remember that sometime, a long time again, she used to help someone find very important things too. And seeing him like this - it pains her. She wanted to help.

"...Maybe I should find that railing first, though. For safety reasons. I don't want someone to fall off. You threw it over...uh...there right?"

[primordialruin]

If I had to split her personality in two groups, it'd be this:

Positive traits: Assertive, selfless, benevolent, curious, visionary, empathetic, constructive, empowering, influential, philanthropist, persistent, optimistic.

Negative traits: Short-fused, delusional, argumentative, stubborn, reckless, impulsive, resistant.

[21tucadonka]

The Counterforce

Ele voluntariamente sacrificou sua pós-vida. Se ele pudesse continuar salvando pessoas, mesmo após sua morte... Ele não poderia pedir por mais nada. Ele acreditava com todo o seu coração... que ele poderia salvar dezenas de milhares de vidas. Mas... até mesmo essa sua esperança foi traída.

A única coisa que poderia ser dita sobre ele, é que ele foi constantemente traído por tudo e todos ao seu redor.

E em seus últimos momentos, ele foi traído até mesmo... pelo único ideal que acreditava.

[zerozeroren]

Oh absolutely! I'd love to see it, go right ahead! 💜

Fakiru week, day 3: Constellation of Tears

Mortal heart now writing immortal love

Everything I'm dreaming of

I will fashion a goddess, my obsession

[cottonlemonade]

Fake Dating Your Ex

word count: 2852 || avg. reading time: 12 mins.

pairing: University AU pining ex!Kenma x chubby!Reader

genre: fluff + angst

warnings: bullying

request: For a midnight snack I’ll get a 15 and 24 and go back to sleep with kenma please || fluffy-angsty, fake dating + jealousy, ex Kenma

“Question.”

“No.”

“You don’t even know what I’m gonna ask yet.”

“Fine. What?”

“How would you, as a person… as a…. as a human person”, you shook your head for a moment but then decided to roll with it, “feel about accompanying another human person to an event?”

Your ex finally looked up from the console in his hands with profound confusion written all over his face.

“What?”

Bracing yourself you tried again, spelling it out this time, “Would you please come with me to my high school reunion?”

You expected him to frown, sure, but instead of the immediate shot down he asked, “Why?”

Not a No. Okay!

Pulling up a chair from the adjacent lunch table to sit down across from him, you used your hands in a nowhere near helpful fashion to explain, “I got invited and originally I said No because why would I want to go but then this girl who used to bully me-“

“Momoka.”, he added.

“Yes.”, you said in surprise, “Her. Anyway, she messaged me and asked if it’s because we broke up.”

“How would one correlate to the other?”

“Because while we were dating I may or may not have bragged pretty excessively about you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And you were all over my social media for two years and well, now you’re not, so she was asking if we split up.”

“We did.”

You tried not to click your tongue, thinking any sass would lower the likelihood of him agreeing to play along. “I know, but I don’t want her to know. So I may or may not have kinda sorta said that we are doing better than ever and just because you gained so much more popularity that we are trying to keep it on the down low and”, you took a deep breath, “she said I should bring you then and I may or may not have said Yes.”

“Y/n.”, he groaned.

“I know, I know! But I will get you SlimeBlast2 and the new Counterforce if you just pretend to be my boyfriend for one more evening. We can even leave early!”, you offered, spurred on by the fact that he hadn’t yet simply gotten up and left, “You can say that you have a planned stream that night and be back home before you know it.”

He thought about it for a moment while he resumed his game.

“Why have a reunion three years out of high school anyway?”

You mimicked her voice. “Because she is moving to America with her doctor fiancé and wants to say goodbye to everyone before she leaves. - Tch.”

He paused the game again and regarded you with a studying look. You, on the other hand, were focused on kneading your chubby fingers and not meeting his gaze.

“When is it?”

“So this is what all that streamer money can get you, not bad, not bad.”, you said as you slid into the passenger seat of his new car. Kenma didn’t comment on that. Nor did he compliment your little black dress that had him do a minuscule double take the way it hugged you in all the right ways. You broke up six months ago and instead of wallowing in a dark room as you had done, Kenma chose retail therapy - to the extent that every other day another out-of-breath mail carrier was ringing his doorbell and handed him anything from new consoles to games to figurines and even a body pillow because, thanks to you, he was now incapable of sleeping without something soft and squishy in his arms. This car was one of those more recent purchases, an impulse that surged in him around the same time he watched you flirt with a TA. He also felt the forgotten price tag itch in the back of his black button-down and matching dress pants he wore tonight.

The drive to the venue was mostly silent due to a mixture of old comfort and new awkwardness. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw you play with your fingers, twirl your hair, scratch at your neck, and chew your lip.

“No one forces you to go to this thing.”, he eventually said. His GPS announced that you’d arrive soon.

You stopped scrunching your dress, sighed, and looked out the window onto the well-lit row of restaurants and bars you were driving past.

“I know. Social pressure does, though.”

“You never really cared about what people thought.”

“Ha! Good one.”, you countered drily.

“I mean it.”

“You only think that because we didn’t know each other in high school. This devil-may-care attitude”, you gestured vaguely up and down yourself, “was carefully curated once I was finally free of these people.”

“So, why not just ignore the reunion and go do something fun?”

“You know, if you’re gonna keep being right and logical, this night is not gonna work.”

He smiled and rolled to a stop in the parking lot among many other cars.

“We can still leave.”

You scratched at your neck again. He reached out to grab and trap your ever-busy hand in his, laying it gently on the middle console. He waited.

“Yeah… maybe you’re-“

“Hey!”, a muffled call accompanied by knocking on your window cut you off. Outside stood one of your former classmates waving excitedly.

Kenma grimaced.

“Look who I found getting all cozy in the car!” The large private room in the restaurant was filled with a whole bunch of people you hoped to never see again. They sat on the floor around the long table, apparently a couple of drinks ahead already.

“Oh my god, Y/n! I can’t believe you came!” Momoka got up to greet you like an old friend. Her cheeks were pink and she was clearly not too steady on her feet.

“What’s this? - Is that a hickey?!”, she squealed with mock scandal, pointing at your neck.

Your hand shot up to cover the reddening mark.

“I-uh-“

“Yeah, I just… couldn’t help myself.”, Kenma said in a tone that wouldn’t convince anyone sober. Luckily no one was.

She turned to him and as if she’d known him for years she slurred, “Well if it isn’t Kodzuken! I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t think you were real. I mean, of course you’re real but what would you ever want with our Y/n, when you could have anyone!” She laughed and ushered you both to sit next to her.

“I’m so sorry.”, you whispered to Kenma while cups of sake were pushed into your empty hands.

“Tell me, because I’m dying to know”, Momoka said, leaning forward, “how did you two even meet?”

The handful of former classmates in your general vicinity stopped their conversations to listen.

Kenma and you looked at each other.

“We just met at uni.”, you shrugged and pulled a platter of food closer to have something to do.

“Oh come on, Y/n-chan, there’s gotta be more to it than that.”, Momoka playfully pushed your shoulder.

“It was our first day actually.”, Kenma said, “I was sitting in the cafeteria playing a game and she came up to me with her tray and asked if she could join me.”

You caught his eyes and smiled, touched that he remembered.

“Of course, you met over food. Our Y/n loooves to eat, doesn’t she?” Momoka giggled into her sake.

Unfortunately, your mouth was just full of maki roll.

Kenma frowned.

“So, Kodzuken - or should I call you Kenma? You’re probably so tired of people addressing you by your username. Like hello, I’m a human being, too! So Kenma, what is it like being a streamer? I, personally, love YouTube. I think if I hadn’t gotten engaged”, she raised her hand to show off her ring, “I would have also gone into streaming. It looks so fun. And you’re just playing games all day. I love playing games. You could say I’m a gamer girl myself.”, she laughed and brushed her hair behind her ear like she was confessing something embarrassing, “I have played Animal Crossing over 100 hours. I know it’s too much, but what can I say, you understand, right? Sometimes you can’t put a game down for months.”

“… right.”

When he didn’t answer as bright-eyed and infatuated as she hoped, she turned to you with a devious smile, “Our Y/n should definitely do some of those… uh eating shows! You know, the ones where they just eat ungodly amounts of food at once. She’d be so good at that. Honestly”, she chuckled behind her hand, “I could have sworn she was training for that in high school.”

“Excuse me. I have to go to the bathroom.” You pushed your untouched sake further away, stood up, and walked quickly out of the room, sliding the door closed behind you. Muffled voices, cheers, and laughter could still be heard. You swallowed the lump in your throat and took a few deep breaths. Slipping back into your shoes you walked over to a corner with an open window that looked over the quiet courtyard that was closed for guests because of the snow. What a horrendous idea to even come here. Why did you think it would be any different? People didn’t change. As soon as you were in the company of your bullies suddenly you turned back to the timid little fat girl that was pushed into cold showers with her uniform on, that was tripped in the hallways, hackled in class for a wrong answer. The girl that was pointed at whenever she ate something. It didn’t matter what it was.

Normal lunch? - What a glutton!

A homemade salad? - Who is she trying to impress? As if that is gonna do anything.

It was only in university that you found people who accepted you for who you were and not what you looked like. And Kenma had made you feel loved and wanted for the first time in your life. Until he didn’t. You vividly remembered the night you broke up with him. His genuine shock when you told him that just hanging out and watching him stream was not how you envisioned your relationship to be like. After over two years of dating, you realized that you wanted more than dry texts and being the one to initiate intimacy. Kenma was a great listener and didn’t rush you into anything. He let you grow on your own and was truly happy when he saw you smile. But it wasn’t enough. You didn’t regret breaking up with him. It was the right thing to do. But whenever you felt stressed or overwhelmed you did seek out his streams. His calming voice and deadpan comments still helped you truly relax. You wondered if he missed you too sometimes.

“You’re gonna catch a cold.”, Kenma said behind you.

“Hey.”, you sighed, “Sorry I dragged you into this.”

“Don’t worry.” He came to stand next to you, close so that his arm was touching yours for a sliver of warmth. You both watched the snow fall for a moment.

“You really toned down just how obnoxious those people are.”, he noted, “I understand that you’re upset.”

“Oh, I am not upset. I am way past upset. I’m freaking miffed, that’s what I am.”

He gave a playful gasp. “Damn, not the m-word. - By the way, that girl hit on me the second you left the room.”

“Oh god, really?”, you scoffed.

“Yeah, apparently I’m on her list.” He put the last word in air quotes. “Like she can sleep with me and her fiancé would be fine with it.”

“Wooow, congratulations. Doesn’t that make you feel extra special.”, you said sarcastically.

“Absolutely.”

“Truly the bedrock of any good and healthy relationship.”

He chuckled under his breath. “I know, right? As if I’d ever want anyone else when I have you.”

A pause followed in which you were trying to find covert ways to push your face in the snow to cool it down and Kenma regretted ever learning to speak.

“Listen…”, he said after a minute or so, “why don’t we get out of here? You made an appearance, proved I’m real and now you can go enjoy your night. Maybe… maybe we can head to your place, get some pizza, and watch a bunch of those trashy Christmas rom-coms? I know Netflix is flooded with them right now.”

You stared at him for a moment, then squinted suspiciously. “I’m gonna yell at the TV, you know that.”

He smiled and his eyes softened.

“I’m counting on it.”

You looked down at your arm that was still gently pressed against his, thinking.

“Alright.”

“Alright?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I’m gonna go get your stuff then. - Here.”, he fished his keys from his pocket, “You can wait in the car, I won’t be long.”

You turned the keys over in your fingers as you watched him go, shaking your head in an attempt to smother the bubbling feelings in your chest. As you walked out towards the car, you tried to remember in what state you had left your living room when-

“Y/n?”

Very confused, you lifted your head and saw a young man standing a few meters away. He was maybe a head taller than you, broad shoulders were well hidden underneath a soft sweater and coat. Nothing about the man seemed familiar, not the glasses or the styled black hair. He must have noticed your confusion when he put a hand to his chest and said, “Izumo.”

Kenma was very glad that he wasn’t raised to be polite so he just gathered your purse, scarf, and jacket, said you both would be leaving, and closed the door behind him. Even though at most 20 minutes had passed since your arrival, it felt like you and he had stood by that window for hours watching the snow. He should tell you that he wasn’t over you.

He should tell you that he wouldn’t make the same mistakes again if you’d give him another chance.

He would ask you to take him back.

His steps lengthened at the thought of being back at your place, cozy on the couch and having an absolute ball listening to you rip the movies to shreds. Pulling his puffy parka tightly around him he hurried in the direction of his car and saw you talking to someone. At first, he was worried it would be another bully but then you laughed. His steps slowed.

N…no! He was not about to lose his opportunity to get you back to some random hunk with a sleeper build. Picking up the pace again, he thought hard about what to do. What happened next was not one of his proudest moments. Kenma came to a halt next to you, lay your jacket over your shoulders, and said, “Here you go, babe.”

“Oh, hey, you’re Kodzuken!”, the guy said and had the audacity to give him a genuine smile, “I’m a big fan! I’m glad to see you two are doing well. I wondered if you might have broken up because you haven’t posted about him in a while, Y/n.”

You laughed nervously.

“No, nothing like that.”, Kenma said, and, developing a life of its own, his arm naturally wrapped around your waist, “Everything’s great.”

“That’s what I thought.”, the guy said brightly, his eyes flitting momentarily to the mark on your neck and to Kenma he added, slightly flustered now, “You got yourself a good one.”

“Did you want something?”

“I- uhm.”, Izumo blinked, perplexed, “No, just catching up. But I see you’re on your way out. Have a good night you two. And Y/n, we should totally have coffee.” Kenma pulled you closer to him. “You know, when you have the time.”

Very glad his much-practiced glare was still hitting the mark, Izumo bowed to both of you and went inside.

Once in the car, Kenma looked at you, mentally preparing himself for a scolding but found you smirking and nodding your head.

“What?”, he asked.

“Nothing just…. Didn't have you being jealous on my bingo card this year. Interesting.”, you clicked your tongue in amusement, “Very interesting.”

“I wasn’t j-“

You met his eyes and cocked your brow.

He mumbled something and turned to focus on his steering wheel so you wouldn’t see the hue of pink blooming in his cheeks.

“Izumo was bullied in high school, too.”, you explained, “So he was one of the few people I got along with. We weren’t ever super close or anything but I’m glad he seems to be doing well.”

“Oh. Well… okay then.”

“So no need to be jealous, babe.”, you echoed his tone with the last word perfectly.

His face felt even warmer.

“In my defense, he looked like he was about to ask you out.”

“Uh huh.”, you became, if possible, even more smug and clicked your seatbelt into place, “I mean, could you blame him?”

It was remarkable how quickly your confidence bounced back by simply watching Kenma squirm for an answer.

art: 8.amidori_RN on Twitter

a/n: thank you so much to the anon for this absolutely juicy request. I hope you enjoyed it! And thank you everyone for waiting 🌱🌟

[ukelele-boy]

I was rereading some of my posts from 2021 and was reminded of how much meta I used to write so imma share my crazy headcanon/ theory which i thought up as plot for a revolution fic:

RR verse is on the "Olympus will fall" timeline and Zeus' actions are speeding it up.

In the recent decade there has been several great prophecies back to back. And people have remarked how weird it is that there have been so many. What if the reason is because of Zeus?

Remember, in greek mythology there is a major theme of how Your Fate Cannot Be Defied. And Zeus, king of Olympus, has a major Fate: being overthrown. However he managed to "defy" it by eating Metis.

My idea is that he has been forcefully clawing out a future where he is still king of Olympus. By doing this, he is literally changing the flow of fate. And obviously fate wants to correct itself, so the harder he fights it, the more counterforce he triggers. All prophecies meant to lead to his overthrowing are suddenly sped up. Olympus begins to lose power. Zeus is aware of this. He is also aware how people are becoming suspicious. And he needs a scapegoat. And who better than the god of prophecy who is also a threat to the throne?

Apollo mentions that Zeus blamed him for his oracle revealing a prophecy "too early" and therefore causing it to happen early. However, everyone knows it's not possible to actually cause a prophecy to happen early...so why would Zeus even have this weird line of thought? everyone probably dismissed it as Zeus being irrational, but there a juicier theory this ties into:

Apollo being the one to overthrow Zeus.

The idea of "fall of the sun, the final verse". What if this is the final prophecy that is meant to happen before Zeus is overthrown? And what if the fall this speaks of is actually when Apollo fell close to chaos? When he pulled himself together there?

What if he reformed different from his original godly form. He was literally almost gone, his body was disintegrating. Maybe he pulled himself together using the energies of chaos. Apollo himself isn't aware of this, due to a suspicious memory gap between him clawing up from the cliff and him waking up next to Artemis.

And this adds to another headcanon of mine, the fates choose Apollo to be the god of prophecy on purpose. At first glance, this is a horrible match. If they wanted a good servant, why would they choose someone so closely tied to his heart and so likely to fight fate? Someone who dares get them drunk just to extend a human's lifespan? UNLESS... they WANT him to eventually try and defy fate??

Imagine if fate was a compass and Zeus had forcefully wrenched the needle point at a bleak dark future where Olympus falls with him. And this river direction has been set so deeply in stone and run on for so long, it has worn a grove and become the mostly likely future.

you need someone willing to fight, someone to wrench the needle out. SOMEONE FAMILAR WITH FATE AND Prophecy. Someone who has the power to fight it and win. Someone who has the will. Perhaps a baby god who was willing to fight Python, and who would have likely died there. But if he successfully did take on the powers of prophecy, one day that same godling would fight Python again, would absorb the powers of chaos to recreate himself.

Perhaps not today and maybe not even for the next four thousand years

but one day that godling would stare down at that wretched compass hand and decide to yank the flow out of its place. And maybe, that godling means a chance for Olympus to have a different future.

Anyways that's my crazy theory i hope it wasn't too confusing. It also links up with my other story theme idea about fate, hope and apollo blah blah blah, which i rambled about in a different post.

Edit: just remembered my other crazy thought, what if ZEUS PURPOSEFULLY TRIED TO GET RID OF APOLLO NOT ONLY CAUSE HE IS A THREAT TO THE THRONE BUT ALSO BECAUSE AS THE GOD OF PROPHECY HE IS MOST LIKELY TO REALIZE SOMETHING IS WRONG AND THAT ZEUS IS MESSING WITH FATE?!???? Basically pulling a imma say you're the murderer before u realise im the murderer. (i cant remember the actual saying Lmaoo)

[zeravmeta]

since the new gudaguda has okita alter in it im once again thinking about how funny it is to compare the counterforce guardians we have. archer was so traumatized and embittered by his duties that he made it everyones problem in fsn and continued to do so in most subsequent appearances because emiya was never truly prepared for the amount of blood that would be on his hands for his duties as a "hero" and comparatively okita loves killing and bloodshed and violence so being a counterforce guardian ruled for her and she did it for so impossibly long that shes all but forgotten why she even started in the first place and somehow ended up becoming sakura saber mysterious heroine xx.

[nobuverse]

The alter grips onto Rengoku's hilt tightly - not with any intention to draw the weapon, but to the way a shaking child's hand might desperately hold onto that of a parent's. For comfort, reassurance. To solidify the idea that her best friend, her only voice of sanity in a world of endless white hadn't abandoned her.

Defend me. Protect me.

Not from the other, innocent people around her, of course, but her own mind which overwhelmed her so. In the great beyond; it had only been the two of them against every enemy in the world, never stopping in a world long enough to indulge in all its sights and sounds on a normal day.

The touch to her face brings her back to reality, loosening her grip on her sword ever-so slightly. Though she'd taken a second to look a Hayden before, her gaze was now firmly fixed on Rengoku again, whose center was dim and cold.

"Are you mad at me?"

It's vaguely worded, leaving it uncertain to anyone involved if she was talking to Hayden or her long-time companion. It felt as though she'd failed everyone's expectations in a way - though that might have been a fragment of her original self's soul speaking for her, in a way. ( How does she know that? It seems very far away now.)

Her gaze shifts back to her guardian, and she places her right hand on his outstretched arm, searching for stability.

"Yes. I think we should sit there instead. My head hurts."

He can feel the moment in which he has made an error in judgement, it resides in the way she tenses up the moment they enter the city. The human was a place he thought would be pleasing to bring her, far removed from the antiquity of the Soul Society. Here within the human world he could fulfil at least one of her desires: to simply eat some ice cream.

He did know, nor could he have accounted for, the sensory overload to which she was now subjected. He had never questioned her on the Great Beyond but in hindsight, he should have. Foolish as he was, he should have known to gather all the information before committing to an action!

Imagine if he had moved troops into a valley without having known it was flooding season! It would have been an unmitigated disaster! And now he had made a blunder of the same caliber, except this time it was not the lives of men he was gambling; it was the sanity of a poor girl.

Both hurt him, truly.

A callous hand reaches upwards towards her, his thumb wipes away a stray tear on his innocent features. It is almost paternal in the way he does it, such a terrifying and monstrous man demonstrating an action of compassion.

"You are not at fault, I am. We shall sit, and we shall wait, until you are ready."

The soft-spoken baritone would inform her, as he removed his thumb from under her eye gesturing to a nearby park bench. He supposed to the outside observer, they looked odd. That was fine. His concern was her.

[golvio]

i dont really know how to word it, but ganondorfs speech after his rehydration about reshaping the world, crushing opposition, as a king does. i just went "oh so like rauru but hes being more honest and less nice about it."

Yeah, like...the story's mostly uncritical nationalism, but there are certain lines that stand out that I interpret as Ganondorf's existence being a natural consequence of Rauru taking power. Not just as plain, mundane secular politics, but as the universe trying to rebalance itself after Rauru's attempt to build a perfect world by suppressing things like monsters and the blood moon that were a natural part of the world but he nevertheless saw as undesirable.

Take Jerrin's line about the Horned Statue, for instance:

"As there is the Goddess of light, then it follows that she would have an opposite—the horned god. Like light and dark, one cannot exist without the other—their power manifests through the other's existence."

The Horned God wasn't originally the opposite of Hylia. That role would be better suited by an entity like Demise. However, there's a certain implication that, in the absence of a competing counterforce, certain entities eventually emerged in response to Hylia's existence or were shaped by the consequences of her actions to occupy that niche. Jerrin's tone makes this process of opposition sound inevitable.

And then there's the Depths being a mirror image of the surface, a little like ALTTP's Dark World or ALBW's Lorule. The terrain of the Depths is an inverted version of the surface's terrain. The Lightroot names are even the names of the Shrines spelled backwards, and are in the exact same locations as their aboveground counterparts. As above, so below. And although the Depths were Ganondorf's prison, they eventually became his home and the metaphorical womb-of-the-earth where he could be nurtured back to health and reborn. As their ruler, he, too, is a mirror image of someone above: first Rauru, and later his descendants, culminating in the current Zelda.

As Rauru was the self-proclaimed King of Light, it would stand to reason that there would eventually be a King of Shadow who took charge over the things the King of Light refused to touch. Both the monsters and the blood moon, which IIRC existed well before Ganondorf took on the crown if Rauru and Mineru built the shrines to suppress them before the events of Zelda's memories, fall under the Demon King's dominion. And then there's that one theory that Ganondorf might be the Sage of Shadow, which made me literally say "oh shit" to myself because that was the one element that was missing from Rauru's stable of pals compared to the seven sages of Ocarina of Time. Of course Mr. Light-Must-Dominate-At-All-Times wouldn't want a Shadow guy around, even if they were an absolutely loyal secret-keeper and professional warcrimes-mess-cleaner-upper like Ocarina of Time's Impa.

But also...Rauru wasn't just "a king." The narrative presented him as the absolute monarch over the nation, literally sent by the gods to rule. He's elevated so far above "the common people" that even the leaders who aren't part of his Important Royal Bloodline are presented as faceless and subservient, always wearing masks in his and Zelda's presence and never giving their own names, as who they are isn't as important as their oath to serve the king. However, there cannot be absolute power without the capacity to abuse said power. No matter how "nice" the guy currently in charge is, systems of absolute divine-right monarchy are problematic by nature and inevitably create conflict. Ganondorf was the other side of the coin of absolute kingship, the uncomfortable truth lurking in the background, never outright said but always felt. It's kind of why a lot of our ancestors got together and agreed the whole "divine-right monarchy" thing wasn't a great idea.

[mako-neexu]

(i know what this means but) BAD????? tf you mean bad? link good? link strong?? link eternal?? link love each other????? link literally cannot be severed he's literally summonable bc guda reached out and dantes still accepted the call??????? link is literally each other's desinty?????? link literally cannot be broken bc of LOVE???? stfu Counterforce/PHH 😭