#Gerudo Girl Gang

[magical-girl-04]

Yknow I wonder what it says about me that Princess Ruto from Oot was like my first childhood crush-

[kokiriofthevalley]

Link's search histories

no totk spoilers pls also sorry obscure link fans and TP fans

Side note: oui oui baguette

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[thegeminisage]

ok, i only have an hour at most, but i've been informed the way forward is to the castle, so...gulp, yikes, jinkies, zoinks, etc

OKAY WELL.

firstly i tried to be funny and start at the top bc i knew. and i was right. that they put a korok here

secondly IT'S ALWAYS LIGHTNING? I DON'T HAVE ANY WOODEN WEAPONS!!!

thirdly. the fake zelda's voice is INCREDIBLY creepy. the model would've fooled me but not her voice. yyyyyikes.

ohhhh the music is different! not just what plays near it down below...

snagged a shrine for fast travel but im NOT doing that shit rn

i would say "at least theres no guardians" but....

wait. lemme check for hands.

ok, a couple on the outskirts but none IN the castle itself thankfully......

normally i'd stop and explore the entire castle, but i'm hoping there'll be time for that later...right now i'm just picking my way over to her

SHE'S TELEPORTING!!!!!!!!!!!

TRYING TO KILL MY ASS WITH MONSTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ooooh the original hyrule castle theme snuck in here.....multiple times!!!

stumbled across a korok puzzle. lol.

OOPS i fell too far and left the castle...goddammit i thought i was supposed to be going down!!! i miss the 3D map tbh

FOUND HER...the library...where her dad's diary was...wah

a HINOX??? she's gonna spawn a fucking lynel next i just know it

yooooo royal guard boots! nice

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

REDEAD

I ALMOST GOT JUMPED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

god i would have preferred the lynel

her study!! waaahhh

i need to go down, but not so far down i leave the castle...i can't figure out what to do >:(

FOUND IT. wah the barracks or whatever

HER VOICE IS SO CREEEEPYYYYY

omg wait aaaa the MUSIC changed..............it's HER SONG!!!

oh i see. four fights for four fake zelda...just like the objectives in any other dungeon lol. cleverly hidden, i nearly missed it

THE ROOM WHERE I FOUGHT GANON..............NO THANK YOOOOOU

oh god okay here i go!!!!!!!!

dont be a lynel dont be a lynel dont be a lynel

oh! a cutscene!

WHAT

THE

FUCK

WHATS GOING ON...IS THIS TIME TRAVEL...WHAT DID SHE DO

ive got my sword out mentally. knife emoji. i hate this little freak gimme back my GIRL

"does it bring back memories" IM GONNA KERMIT

GANONDORF????????????? DEHYDRATED VERSION?????????????

Y'ALL SWORE TO ME THIS WAS NOT ENDGAME SHIT.......................

"did my puppet entertain you" PUPPET ZELDA PUPPET ZELDA HE SAID THE THING

PHANTOM GANON????????????????????????????????????????????

oh god oh god oh god at LEAST i didnt have to do the hands first!!!!!

god by the way i like matt mercers dehydrated ganondorf voice SO much better bc he is doing a thing to make him sound less like matt mercer. he should do that all the time

PHASE TWO DISABLED MY SAGES?!?!?!?!?!!?

oh my god...oh my god...phase 1 was fun like me & the gang vs ganondorf...but now hes HARDER and im ALONE!!!!!!!

omg you can reduce the sludge and they wake up but then it gradually creeps up again 😭😭😭 thats so cool and also SCARY!!!! somebody come hold my hand

it keeps telling me the master sword is low on energy, but it also keeps not running out because it keeps GLOWING when the malice spreads......nice. fi is unkillable thanks to zelda. she stayed a dragon 10,000 years for this outcome specifically

GOT HIS ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD........OH MY GOD THE GANG IN PERSON...................oh my god oh my god i thot i knew everything but i still got to be surprised!!! immediately welled up wtf

"you stand before ganondorf" YES WE DO KING

the world that WAS and WILL BE AGAIN....TIME TRAVEL?????????? TIME TRAVEL????????????????????

oh a VISION!!! it's a cool vision though i HOLY SHIT HIS HORSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh my god..................

man the way riju is the one to clock that he's not all there yet. mwah. i love gerudo girls reading him for filth

there's sooo many good weapons on the ground here after all that a true shame i can't take them all........

omg lookout landing everyone is HERE 🥺 i miss the cool music though...

oh man...everyone's reunions are great but harth noting the injuries on tulin and how he's been doing more than his fair share...HE IS A BABY!!!

"and the princess was an impostor" FINALLY we get there

"so she's REALLY in the distant past!!!" oh my FUCKINGGGG god

i knew it. i knew it was mineru its GONNA be mineru

you can tell muzu you did the geoglyphs but not that zelda is a dragon...CMON

well well speak of She...she's flying over the great plateau right about now!

since i have only the vaguest idea of what to do about the fifth sage im gonna farm some parts and then call it quits for now

okay, i did it. i will now be lying down for the next 6,000 business years.

[seasaltcosmos]

🎮🕹️💘👑👍

(hope this isn't too much, got zelda brainrot replaying botw lol)

🎮 Favorite Zelda game?

WIND WAKER ;O; I LOVE WIND WAKER WITH ALL MY HEART

🕹️ What’s the first Zelda game you ever played?

funny enough, and prolly the reason i love it so much, wind waker ;w; it was the first one i played, but ocarina and majora were my first real exposure to zelda when i'd watch my mom or aunt play it when i was a baby

💘 Favorite Zelda ship(s)?

ZELINK ZELINK ZELINK ZELINK ZELINK ZELINK ZELINK-

......oh also malink and shadvio (MANGA GANG)

👑 Favorite version of Zelda?

breath of the wild and toon zelda/tetra ;w; they're my baby girls.

👍 Favorite Zelda Headcanons?

i LOVE the theory that malon's mother was a gerudo, it's such a cool idea. and also a cute one because that means that talon, this unconventional doofy looking guy, romanced a beautiful, strong, 8 foot tall woman, MOST DEFINITELY with his big heart qwq considering malon is the only hylian in the game with vibrant red hair AND says the gerudo mask looks like her mom......

and i'll admit, even though it's been debunked i really DO like the idea that link is slowly dying in majora's mask and termina is a manifestation of that. do i personally believe it? nah, not really, but the concept is cool to think about.

there's also a particular theory i'm fond of and i don't see many people talk about, ghirahim was transformed into majora's mask by the sheikah. >:3c

[koopzilla]

rrrrrrrrghhhhh

Though his chipped smile voted for the hunt, his stomach chimed in with a growl that could outdo the molduga. Marching through the desert is zapping what reserves Bowser had left. "A bath and buffet sounds good to me!"

A small gang of koopas struggles close behind. Flyers chuckle at marchers as they strain to masters the dips and climbs of the sand. The Gerudo easily hold homefield advantage if their contest happens outside an arena.

Bowser smirked, peeking backwards. "Might be a good idea to let the girls meet the boys first anyway! I got a feeling they got a hundred and one questions waiting.."

Nabooru snickered behind her free hand at the king's poor show of fibbing to the broom-mounted wizard. Their exchange made her wonder about their dynamic, as it appeared to her to extend perhaps beyond mere monarch and subject or trusted advisor. A question to pose another time should should she find an opening for it. The more she learned about Bowser and the Koopas, the more they intrigued her.

She did not miss the disapproving glance from the wizard before he heeded his king's warning. Her smirk remained fixed to her painted lips. It wasn't the first time a magical (potential) parental figure regarded her with such withering glances, after all; Twinrova had been no fan of hers when she lived.

" What do you think he needs to say to you that he can't say in front of me? " she asked teasingly. " It's not like I'm a bad influence or anything... "

Mirroring the Koopa King's grin, his suggestion lifted her onto the balls of her feet and back down again in animated excitement. " Isn't that thoughtful of you. You're not even the host here and you're concerned about me having a good time? I need to step up my game. "

Slipping her slender hand from his she waved for him and the expectant Koopas to follow her and began the trudge over golden dunes and newly pockmarked sands back to town. " We could maybe move that feast or tournament up with a little bit of maneuvering. Or we could go bullbo hunting. There have been some herds around. But we should get you cleaned up, first. What do you think? "

[cryptidcrone]

The Spearhead

I realize that I make a lot of reference to Urbosa’s soldiers, so I thought I’d put my thoughts all in one place for later reference.

For most of “The Center Cannot Hold” Urbosa is accompanied by six other warriors, comprising her Spearhead. A Spearhead is the smallest unit in the armed forces of Gerudo Town, usually comprised to three pairs of sworn sisters and a leader. Urbosa’s Spearhead is a ceremonial guard that is also lethally functional. Every woman there has proven herself worthy to ride the war-road with their Chief, though some of Urbosa’s choices are considered unorthodox by the Town Elders.

Makeela Urbosa va Rana: SHE. Needs no introduction. The Point of the Spearhead.

Taarvi va Vikla, aka Old Taarvi, aka Battle Crone: The oldest member of the team at 156; she was once a member of Urbosa’s mother’s Spearhad back in her prime, and swore an oath to Chief Rana that she would look after Urbosa as long as she was physically able. Has known Urbosa since she was a baby. Loyal unto death, but Extremely Done with everyone and everything. Still refuses to retire and take up the mantle of Elder. Can and will kick the ass of anyone who looks sideways at Urbosa. Had Some Kinda Thing with Urbosa’s mom but refuses to elaborate. Wants Urbosa to settle down with a nice Gerudo girl and maybe stop dropping everything to help the Hylian Princess...but also recognizes that a mother’s duty is to her daughter.

Corvuu va Fatira: The Spearhead’s combat medic. Highly skilled, has saved the life of everyone in the Spearhead thrice over. Extremely calm under fire, intense interest in the natural world. She’s writing a book on the commonality of all living organisms, and employs an army of children to collect specimens for her wherever they go. Decent at fighting, but prefers the scalpel to the sword. Is very done with the dumbass younger members of their group injuring themselves in foolish stunts. Married happily to Sabri. Will occasionally eat thing she shouldn’t to test the effects.

Sabri va Savee: Corvuu’s reckless and cheerful wife; full of roguish charm, has connections all over Hyrule because she used to work for a mercenary group. Gave up the roving life the moment she met Corvuu and worked her ass off to prove herself worthy of joining Urbosa’s outfit. Will flirt with Corvuu at the least appropriate times possible. Excellent storyteller, and has an unending barrage of dirty jokes in her arsenal. Irritates the living shit out of Taarvi for sport. Absolutely is the reason that one of Zelda’s first words in Gerudo was ‘fuck’.

Brona va Deerdra: Grim and unyielding in battle, Brona is nevertheless is warm and gentle in her everyday life. Tries to find peaceful resolutions to conflicts, much to her sworn-sister Taarvi’s irritation. Everyone is mystified by her relationship with Taarvi, who is at least a century her elder. The popular theory is that Brona’s unrelenting good humor eventually broke Taarvi’s spirit. Enjoys music of all kinds, and has some skill with a few instruments, including the Zora harp. Her true talent is with the Gerudo pipes, and serves as the piper when their unit marches to battle. Once had a wife and daughter, but lost them when their village was attacked by Yiga infiltrators. Refuses to speak of them at all; mentioning them is the one thing that can flip the switch on her affable personality.

Makeela Ubala va Ubari: One of the newer members of the Spearhead, eldest daughter of Urbosa’s sister. Joined the army the hot second she turned 17 to get away from the chaos of six sisters and parents who are nauseatingly in love. Loves the life of a soldier and is proud to serve under her aunt. Like all the women of her family, she is extremely stubborn and has a deep sense of honor and justice.Hates to see people in power mistreating people below them. A horse-hearted young woman who wants to build up the cavalry. Frequently engages in dumbass behavior because impulse control is not her forte. Considers Zelda her baby cousin (even though they have only recently started spending time together and is only a year or so older than her), tries to bring her out of her shell.

Ritva va Retava: Sworn sister to Ubala, the youngest member of the Spearhead at 17. A bit shy, and deeply anxious to prove herself. Daughter of the greatest armorer and blacksmith in the tribe, she has an innate understanding of how to repair or rebuild things. Finds ancient technology fascinating, and hopes to study it in greater depth when she’s done with her stint in the army. Falls hard and fast for Princess Zelda as they bond over the Sheikah slate, which has not escaped Urbosa’s notice. Co-conspirator in dumbassery; is the first to suggest they try to ride things that have been charged with a Stasis rune.

BONUS: Arakna va Amala: Urbosa’s sworn sister; they’ve been bound since they were fifteen, when they went through something traumatic together. Loyal to the point of fanaticism. Spy master and occasional murderer for the sake of Gerudo interests, side-hustle/cover as a cloth merchant. Would kill for Urbosa. Has killed for Urbosa. Has eyes and ears all over Hyrule Castle and beyond. Largely cheerful and irreverent, she nonetheless has a lethal temper. Can and will gleefully roast Urbosa at the slightest provocation. Has a deep aversion to touch; you don’t touch Arakana, she touches you. Multilingual, excellent dancer and seamstress. Favors poisons and strangulation as methods of disposal. Will very literally murder anyone who hurts Urbosa in any capacity; the only reason Rhoam’s still alive is because Urbosa ordered Arakna to lay off. Aranka keeps offering to kill him at least once a year.

[shadow-djinni]

....yes, I know, I've been completely awol since like January, because I got sucked into a Zelda homebrew dnd campaign.

anyway I made the entire party cry today, so here's some art of the character I used to do it: Aldin, Gerudo sorcerer (...and recent warlock multiclass), resident Harbinger of the Calamity!

[captainreverie]

The Gerudo Thieves! (Forgotten War AU) Nabooru has a hideout in the canyons away from Gerudo Town where she is hunted for various robberies over the years. Her gang is very ride or die and become her guards when she becomes the Sage of Spirit. I just have to say Ive been in love with the Gerudo ever since I first played OoT as a young girl cause how could you not be starstruck by a group of baddass warrior women who kick man butt. Getting Gerudo town in BOTW was so amazing 😍

[nimsahara]

Stupid ideas time:

So what if when the group of Links first come to Legend’s time, they start looking for him but he’s currently in Labrinthia, or something, so Ravio tags along with the gang. He would probably end up in charge of all the money spending because he’s greedy af. The gang at first is like ‘a dark Link??’ (Warriors, Time, and Wind probably never saw his face during the war because of the bunny hood and also they’re just dumb) and Four’s probably thinking Ravio’s a shadow. Hyrule has a hunch that Ravio isn’t the Hero of Legend but he likes Ravio too much to say anything.

Then, the group would discover that they in fact got the wrong hero when they return to Legend’s era, but surprise it’s still the wrong person. This time Fable and Legend have swapped places, likely because Legend things some political figure is planning something and he wants to stab them before he has to save Hyrule again. So, instead of the Hero, the group is traveling with the Princess guised as the hero. Wild would probably be the first to notice that Fable isn’t a ‘man’ like the rest of them, but it just gives him room to discuss his adventures in Gerudo Town with her. Fable would probably tell the group that her ‘sister’ is the ‘Princess’ but struggle slightly not to accidentally out herself. You may ask how does she defend herself during attacks, but this girl is in Smash Bros she’s the last person you need to be concerned about. Hyrule is probably on to the fact that once again this person is not the Hero of Legend.

When they’re back in Legend’s era, they go to meet the ‘Princess’ and realize pretty quickly that the ‘Princess’ is a guy in a dress. They don’t comment on it of course because that would be rude (and let’s be real Legend would probably pull of the look). Legend immediately updates Fable on what’s happened while she was gone and also rubs her for taking a vacation from her royal duties without telling him. This is when the group finds out that they’ve been bamboozled once again and the ‘Princess’ is actually the real Hero of Legend.

I’m pretty sure the castle guards don’t necessarily like Legend (brainwashing and what not) but they’re aware that he and the Princess swap places and just play along with it whenever they do. Legend would probably magically dye his hair completely blonde just to sell the ruse and if he had long hair it’d be even less suspicious.

[echo-of-sounds]

botw!au

Breath of the Wild is one of my go-to depression™ games. Yesterday, I restarted and have been playing it for the past fifteen hours strait. I haven’t slept, feel physically horrible, nauseous, lightheaded, and somehow worse mentally. But! Here me out: botw!au for bnha.

This is towards a very specific audience... me.

Gang Orca is a Zora (he'd basically look the same). He never really had a home- never felt welcomed in the Zora’s domain. He feels he looks ‘too different’ since his appearance is much more whale-like than others. So, Kugo left and spends his life traveling alone, only talking to traders or vendors for the necessities because people tend to be scared of him (Rito, Zora, and Hylian alike). Since he hates seeing their brief-flinches, he keeps to himself to spare them, resigning himself to a life of solitude, probably living on some beach, swimming every morning and fishing every evening.

Then a little Hylian wanders along. You don't shriek. Or hurry away. Or even stiffen in shock. You just start a friendly chat, asking about the native fish and insects, searching for anything and everything.

Kugo looses himself in the conversation. It’s the first he’s had in so long. You’re listening. You’re smiling. You’re looking him in the eyes. And he just feels happy. Someone’s taking the time to talk to the looming, rough recluse that people spread bestial rumors about.

He’d invite you to stay the night, take a break, rest your legs, and regroup yourself and your supplies. And the next day, he practically invites himself along on your journey. It doesn’t matter what you’re goal or destination are. He just wants to spend some more time with you.

Fatgum is a Hylian. But he’s abnormally tall, rivaling a Zora. People don’t know what’s approaching when he comes. They only recognize him as a Hylian once he’s in front of them, with his cute little ears poking out from his scraggly hair. On his back is a huge bag, filled with food and supplies. 

Tai doesn’t really have a goal in his life. He simply wanted to see the world, see cultures and people and their food, writing down recipes and tricks every time he meets someone new. He stretches food across the kingdom- bringing Goron spice delicacies to the Zoras, providing Zora fish dishes to the Gerudo, then spreading their refreshing fruits to the Rito, and sharing the wheat they have (and all the sweets it can make) with the Gorons.

Hizashi is undoubtedly a Rito, inspired by a cockatiel. He has an uncanny ability to shriek, completely unlike other Ritos. You can hear it from miles away. 

One day, as Hizashi’s flying about, he notices a lonely Hylian. He looks grumpy, irritated, snarky, and in need of a great new friend. So he swoops down and introduces himself, barely getting a response from the loner. But that doesn’t stop him.

He stays in the area. Every day on the loner’s way to work, or wherever he goes, he joins, singing, talking, and questioning away. Eventually, he gets his name: Aizawa. And Hizashi learns he takes the long trek every day to a different village, where he’s helping a little girl. Hizashi joins every day as well.

Anyway, I just thought this was cute, especially Kugo. I have more thoughts, but I’m stopping for now. I need food and sleep. I haven’t had either in quite a long time.

JSKJSKJSK Wait! Quick edit: A teenage, Hylian Bakugou with a weird affinity for bombs. They just blow up whenever he’s around, sometimes to a much greater degree than they ever should. No one can figure out why. The entire village is tired of him.

[theaviskullguy]

Someone encouraged me to post about a niche eddsworld au i had so uh. here

its a legend of zelda au with my oc

so

yeah

:D

this is mainly botw

Edd is Link. Classic himbo. Woke up in the shrine of resurrection, heard Zelda, and accepted his destiny. Buuuut then he got sidetracked sightseeing in Hyrule and making friends. Also he's trans cause i said so. he cant go into gerudo town even with the disguise cause his scars show. Big oof-

Tom is a sheikah warrior. He meets Edd in Kakariko, and upon noticing he's the hero due to the Sheikah Slate, he opts to help. He's very focused on freeing the divine beasts and defeating Gannon, but Edd isn't. So, this leads to plenty of conflicts. He does eventually learn to actually have fun and hang out with the gang. Also he's part Twili, and has a pretty scary beast transformation. He can control it but when he gets seriously injured he shifts into it for his body to heal since he heals quicker in that form-

Matt is a descendent of the royal family. My idea is Zelda had a sister who was rather neglected by the kingdom. So, she fled and had children with a gentleman in Hateno. Matt actually knows of his heritage, and wishes to train as a knight to have some claim to his bloodline. He joins the group, claiming that the hero needed a bodyguard to protect him and what better guard than a prince? (he wears hand-made royal guard armor btw)

Tord's a Yiga member that Edd bested in a fight. He didn't kill Tord, but he did convince him to join their gang. So that's fun.

And of course i need to add in my OC. Adrian is a Hylian who was adopted by a Rito family. He loved to sing, and he always felt left out that he couldn't fly, so he decided to get really fast on foot instead. He can run faster than some horses. Edd came to, originally, face off against Vah Medoh, but he ended up racing around that loop with Adrian. The two goof off for a bit, take on Vah Medoh (Adrian is light so he's carried by Edd), and kinda... fall in love. its cute :D

also cause i cant forget best girl, Ringo is a cat who lived at a stable after her first owner died. When she saw Edd, she just... followed him, seeing as Edd looked so much like her previous human. She's just attached to the gang in general, and when Edd and Adrian go to fight a divine beast, Edd leaves Ringo with the other three.

[jdkloosterman]

Hyrule ain't no fairy-tale city.  You die hard and bad in a gutter with no name unless you're quick with your hands and light on your feet. You live by the game and you die by the game, and you look out for no one but yourself and your Deku brothers. Or at least so Link, street runner and loyal Deku soldier thinks, until the day he runs into a desperate young girl from the other side of Hyrule.  Strange men in pig-faced masks are after her and the glittering necklace she's wearing. The last thing Link wants to do is get involved, but the mystery seems to involve not just the strange new boss of the Gerudo, but also the mysterious "Demon King" who's slowly been taking down the rival gangs across the city.  Link may have no choice but to protect the girl Zelda and unravel this mystery--even if it takes him to the heights of power.

I seem to do better with colored pencils than with digital works, but my pencil scans always look so messy to me.  When I scanned in the colored-pencil version of my Punk!Zelda picture, it looked way too messy to post.  So I overlaid it with the digital (a technique I also used in my Nephilim Protocol picture) and did some digital clean-up, and got... this.

[erinysceidae]

Legend of Zelda: Requiem of Power

Happy NaNoWriMo! 

Instead of actually participating, I am posting some things I’ve been working on.

 This is my Legend of Zelda fan fiction, which I want to finish, but I also want feedback on... I don't want to post it to AO3, or FF.N, because it’s just too big an audience, but I’ve got a handful of followers, many of which may or may not be Zelda fans or Fan fiction readers, so this should only reach a handful of people? 

If you do read this, comments are desired and critiques are heartily encouraged; I’ve done a lot of editing, but editing is no my forte, so I apologize for spelling errors.

Gosh, I am 34, I can not believe posting some writing is making me so anxious, haha.

Chapter 1 - The Boy among Ghosts

The sun was just beginning her journey into the pale, scorched sky; the holy valley held the shadows of night tight in her stony hands. Poes drifted from from memorial spire to monument headstone, occasionally stopping to chitchat with one and other, to themselves, or to no one at all. They went about their routine seamlessly, just like they had every day before for decades; some for centuries.

The golden light of morning slid over the cliff top and upon the stone relief over the entrance to the Shrine of the Fierce Goddess; the translucent desert marble glowed in the shadowy gloom. The entryway, still frigid from the windswept night, slowly illuminated as sunlight poured into the valley.

From the temple entrance a tiny green-clad Poe came zipping, whirling and giggling with glee. "Oh my Goddesses! So exciting-- so excited!" she squealed, embers spilling and spiraling from her lantern as she spun recklessly through the air.

The narrow valley was full of grave markers of all shapes, sized and materials. One specific mausoleum was the source of the little poe's attentions; an open gazebo of white marble, aged shrouds tied around the narrow pillars to block out casual peeping eyes and the twisting winds that managed to get into the valley.

"Wake up, wake up! It's time to wake up!" the Poe squealed, passing through the shrouds and diving toward a makeshift bed. She grabbed the top blanket and yanked it away. 

The bedding below-- several layers of fraying woven grass mats-- was unoccupied.

"Oh land, life and law, he's gone!" she squeaked. "I lost the Prince!"

"Ghola? I'm right here," came a voice from behind her.

In the center of the small mausoleum, sitting calmly in lotus position, was a young Gerudo boy. His only scrap of clothing was a loincloth, but his ears were lined with golden hoops and studs, and a gold and ruby ornamental crown rested on his forehead. He rolled his eyes at the frantic poe.

"I thought I'd lost you!" The tiny poe, Ghola, squeaked, "she woulda killed me if I lost THE PRINCE!"

"You're already dead, you can't..." he started to explain, but stopped as he noticed that she wasn't listening. She continued to wail and lament her imagined punishment. 

He stretched his legs, leaned back and watched her gestures and flailings for a moment, before turning back to his meditations. Instead of returning to the lotus, he rolled backwards onto his shoulders and lifted his feet further and further over his head until his toes rested on the ground. As his weight shifted, the crowd slipped off his forehead, thin golden chains slithering to the floor. He grunted in frustration.

"But I found you! Yay! No one gets in trouble and we can both go see Maman!" Ghola concluded.

"Maman?" He swung his legs back over his head and pushed himself upward, landing on his feet. He didn't stay on his feet, however; gravity and his thin, gawky body conspired against him, and he landed unceremoniously on his rump.

"Ow! Every time," he muttered.

"S'cause your so tall. You were this tall once," Ghola said, sinking to a foot from the floor. She dipped down and grabbed the crown before rushing upward and draping the chains into his unruly hair, "But now you're this tall, big gangly Gangrel."

He ducked away from her tiny hands, quickly sorting out the chains and replacing the ornament upon his forehead. "Don't call me that in front of Maman," he said sternly as he grabbed his pants from the foot of the bed and pulled them on.

"Why, are you embarrassed? Gang-grel?" Ghola teased. 

"No, I'm not. I like my name, it's the only one I've got, but Maman ordered me not to leave the valley. Falon's ranch is definitely out of the valley, and 'gangrel' is not exactly a respectable name for a Prince," he snipped playfully, fastening his belt.

"Oh Goddesses, you're right! She's gonna be so mad if I mess up!" Ghola gasped, hiding her face in her hands. 

Gangrel slipped his boots on, shook his head, tossed the curtain aside and headed out of the gazebo. 

"Okay! I promise I won't mess up at all, okay? Gangrel?" Ghola said, bobbing confidently, then looking around the empty room. "Gangrel, where'd you go?! You need to eat before we go!"

"Are you coming, or not?" He called.

---

The Gerudo Prince ran his dark hands along the cool, softly glowing stone hall. Ghola floated along behind him, watching motes dance in the slim beams of light that drifted from the ceiling. To either side of the main hall stairways wound up to private chambers, long empty. There was an alter between the stairs, and beyond that a long torchlit hall, extending deep, deep into the mountain.

"Wow," Gangrel whispered, "I've never seen the temple lit up and open before. It's a lot bigger than I thought."

"The temple is way bigger than what you see here," Ghola said, lowering her lantern. "There are small prayer halls, sleeping chambers, store rooms and if you keep going down the hall you come to the temple proper. Those lanterns haven't been lit in like ten years. The Poes don't need them, and normals like you aren't allowed any further, so I wonder why..."

"Normals? I am the future King of the Gerudo, I can go where I want," Gangrel informed her.

"You're not a priestess, so no you can't. Only a follower of the Fierce Goddess can enter." Ghola gave a loud raspberry to the indignant prince. "The memories and memorials to Gerudo come and gone are locked within. The secret to entering the temple proper died with the last acolyte. She took up all her courage and for that the Fierce Wolf spared her, but then there was light, and She died. Her secrets were buried in no grave, lost to the dust."

"Ghola, are you... Wait, did you say wolf?"

The tiny poe spun in a circle and bobbed cheerily, "am I what? Courageous and amazing? Yes. I am."

"Y-you didn't really see a wolf, right? It was an illusion, or a dream... It had to be."

"Of course I didn't see a wolf, I wasn't there-- She was, and She did, but She's dead now," she said, twirling her lantern and throwing shadows across the halls. "Maman, there you are!"

Gangrel wasn't able to inquire further before a husky chuckle fell upon his ears as Maman materialized beside him. An enormous poe, easily as tall as the eleven year old Prince and-- lanky as he was-- many times as wide. Her tattered robe had once been of the same sage green as Ghola, but the centuries of ceaseless existing had faded her very essence, making her seem pale. A glimmer-y golden sheen of a crown, similar to Gangrel's own, rested on her shadow-hued brow.

"My Prince," she said, bowing low, "Sister Ghola."

"Maman," he replied, bowing lower.

She swatted the back of his head, nearly loosing his crown again. "A king bows to no one-- how many times must I tell you?"

"For as long as you are my Maman," he replied, looking up at her.

"Humility does not suit a king, you must be strong and stalwart-- but I can not be mad at you," she replied, her thin, bony hand brushing his hair back. "My handsome little Prince. You have said your prayers today, yes? You practiced the holy steps?"

"Of course Maman," he said.

Her eyes burned dim, and her face, though so dark as to be featureless at a distance, was full of concern, and sorrow, and agelessness. "You remember the tenets?"

"Of course, Maman."

"Speak them."

"The Three Goddesses created all," he recited. "They gave us life, the land and the laws. It is our duty to use our skills to protect these sacred things. Those with courage must do all they can. Those with wisdom must teach all they know. Those with power must protect all without. Strive to have these holy attributes. There is no sin in fear, only cowardice. There is no sin in foolishness, only ignorance. There is no sin in failure, only surrender."

"Hold them in your heart, my Prince, the kings of the past forgot them..." Maman said, placing her pitch black hand over his heart. She closed her eyes and began to chant. "Praise the Goddesses, creators of all--"

Ghola coughed, "uh, Maman? Focus."

"Hmm?" The ancient Poe intoned, looking between the two as though she had forgotten they were there. "Oh, my Prince, good morning, you have said your prayers?"

"I understand the importance of the tenets Maman," Gangrel said, hoping to get her back on topic, "but I'm sure you didn't call me here to hear me quote holy words."

"Yes, yes, I recall now. I have an important task for you-- and urgent task. One that will take you out of the valley, far into the desert. Are you ready to explore your kingdom?"

"O-out? B-but you said not to leave the valley-- not until I was an adult," Gangrel said obediently.

"I did, I did." Maman said, her glowing eyes narrowing, "and did you listen to me when I said that?"

Gangrel looked to the side, grimacing, "yes... I listened."

"Did you, Gangrel?" she said. "I know about the goatherd girl, Falon."

His dark cheeks blanched; shame pulled his gaze to the cold, dim floor.

"Oh no! I didn't tell, I swear!" Ghola squeaked, waving her arms. "I promised I wouldn't, and I didn't! Not even a little!"

"I know, I believe you," his eyes turned to the tiny green Poe, and he gave a small smile before turning back to Maman, "I'm sorry Maman. Yes, I listened to you, but I didn't obey you. I tried to stay in the valley's shadow, but once I got into the sun there was so much to see. I had to know what was out there. I made a friend-- and I trust her."

She sighed, a dry and dusty sound. "I will not punish you for curiosity, Prince. I forbade you from leaving for my own well being, as much as for your safety. I worry, greatly, for you my little, little Prince. The world is much bigger, and much harsher, than you know." Her wide, luminescent eyes closed. "I will not punish you for breaking my rules, but time will tell if you will punish yourself for the consequences."

"...Maman?" Gangrel asked softly.

"No, now is not that time," she said. She twirled in the air, summoning her own large, bright lantern. Blackened by time and soot, the lantern was of an older style, different from the oil lamps and candle cages most of the poes carried. Maman twisted the fasteners on the top and opened it, causing the light within to pulse and twist. Holding the lantern with one hand, she reached in with the other and pulled out a long, glowing, indistinct shape-- far longer than the lantern itself. She held the glow out to Gangrel.

"Those with Power must protect those without. Will you accept your duty as a Prince? Will you protect those less powerful?"

"I-I don't have power."

"You are the Prince of the Gerudo, Son of Dragmire. You do have power. How will you use it?" she thrust the light-obscured item toward him again. "Will you protect those who cannot  protect themselves?"

Gangrel reached for the proffered items, but hesitated and looked at his own hands for a long moment. 

He'd been barely a toddler when he'd last seen another Gerudo-- or so he had been told. They had dark skin and wide eyes, red hair and golden jewelry, just like him, the poes said. The Gerudo villages were always heavy with incense and song. They were happy and peaceful people; studious, strong and brave.

He wanted to say he remembered them; that he remembered something: flashes of color, certain smells, distant voices, anything.

He didn't. He'd never known them. If the words he’d heard outside the valley were true, he never would. He was alone in the world. A boy amongst ghosts.

He remembered fear. He remembered a bright, cold flash and being dropped into the sand, a warm, guiding light and then nothing but growing up in the Memorial Valley.

It made him angry. 

It made him furious; a burning hatred festering in his heart toward whomever had done it, whomever had ordered it, for those who had allowed it, for those who hadn't defended themselves, for those that had died and left him alone, for himself not fighting harder-- No.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Violence was not the answer. It was never the answer.

He prayed, for the power to restrain himself, for the courage to keep going, for the wisdom to know that the past couldn't be changed, but the future was open. He pushed the anger down, bottled it up and turned it away.

Opening his eyes, he reached and took the item from her, pulling it close and clasping it in both hands, "I will. I swear, on the sand, the wind and the water, that I will. I will protect those who can not protect themselves. I will be a Prince-- I will be a King-- that you can be proud of."

The glow abated and revealed, clasped in his hands, two swords. Just over a foot each, but so sharp they nearly sang. Etched on the base of the blade was the symbol of the Gerudo and several old Gerudo runes, which meant nothing to him. The hilts were simple time-hardened wood and metal, with long red clothes tied around the blade collar.

He turned his arms and looked at the shining, deadly blades. There was power within the metal. 

At his feet the dust began to prickle and sway.

The power to fight. 

Power pulsed within him, with his heart beat.

The power to avenge. 

The sand gave the power shape, concentric circles of scales dancing around him, crackling with power.

The power to kill.

"No!" He dropped the swords to the stone and stepped back; the dust fell still. "No, I changed my mind, I don't want it!"

With a sharp flash of light, the blades returned to him, materializing in two scabbards hooked to a belt around his waist.

Maman sighed heavily, "it was never truly a choice."

"No, life is sacred, I must protect it, not end it! I'm not a killer!" He screamed, pulling the swords from his belt and discarding them again. 

"You made a promise to protect."

They returned, again.

"No, no, no!" he whimpered, this time trying to loose the scabbards themselves from his belt, "I won't be a murderer! I'm not a monster!"

Maman simply watched him struggle, her lantern distinctly dimmer now than before. "You must," she said, and nothing more.

Ghola flew to him, "Gangrel, calm down. Hey, look-- look at me-- look at this," she said, holding up her lantern.

Confused and struggling for composure, he looked the lantern; thin braided leather cords bound a cup of green glass; luminescent smoke drifting over the rim and inside a small, but bright orb of light rolled in slow circles. He stopped struggling with the scabbards and his eyes flickered between the lantern and Ghola.

"Hold out your hands," Ghola said.

Slowly, he brought his hands up, cupped in front of him. 

She set the lantern in his hands, letting the unnatural warmth from it soothing his shaken nerves. Floating up to his face, she set a tiny hand on his cheek.

"You don't have to kill anyone. Swords are not for killing, they're for protecting," she said, drifting beside him and stroking his hairline gently.

"I don't have anyone to protect," he whispered.

Gangrel went silent, his eyes falling to the lantern in his hands. It was small, but glowed with a fierce, courageous light.  

"For now, you just have to protect yourself," Ghola whispered. "Don't worry, I'll go with you. I'll protect you. I'm good at that."

The lantern was heavy in his hands; he'd known Ghola as long as he could remember. Though silly and somewhat carefree, she was the most lucid poe in the valley, always concerned with his safety and well being. She was protective to the point of annoying, always bugging him to eat more, not to climb on things, not to pick up wild animals and insects, and to not have any fun unless she was involved. Whenever he got out of her sight, he always ended up messing up, or getting hurt, and she would have to clean him up, saying nothing, but never forgetting.

"Yeah, you are," he admitted.

"You mustn't dally, you must go beseech the Goddesses for their blessings," Maman said. "The Great Goddess, the Merciful Goddess and the Fierce Goddess. The Desert Colossus, the Oasis Library and the Memorial Hall."

"He's not a priestess, he won't be able to get into the Hall proper," Ghola said.

"He is the Prince. I imagine the Goddess with make an exception for him," Maman said.

Gangrel stuck his tongue out at Ghola, also holding her lantern out to her; she raspberried back, snatching her light back.

"Children, this is a serious time. Please." She twirled, holding a length of cloth as she came to face him again. She wrapped the cloth over his head and shoulders, "this will protect you, from the heat of the sun, and the chill of the moon. Go now. Pass through the Memorial Hall and speak to the Fierce Goddess. Beyond the hall you will find the Haunted Wasteland. The spirit guide there can take you to the Desert Colossus and the Desert Oasis. Go now, and be safe."

Gangrel nodded, running his fingers along the soft, cool shawl on his shoulders, "I will return-- and I will keep myself safe without killing anyone, I swear."

"Do what you must."

[thegeminisage]

ok, i got thirty minutes. i warped to the gerudo tower so i can do the yiga hideout quest...but i also wanna take a picture of spectacle rock for the stable, so up i go

oh wait no scratch that when i spawned zelda was RIGHT next to me i am not taking pictures of shit i am gonna go say hi to (and shoot, and groom??) my girl

OH IT'S NOT ZELDA...IT'S FAROSH.......i haven't ridden farosh yet i don't think bc it took so long to get my rubber armor...rad.......

ok ive DEFINITELY never done this. she's the hardest dragon to ride for sure bc you cant climb in the ran, and of course it's raining and lightning like crazy lol. and i def cant put on any rain ARMOR bc i gotta use my rubber armor. hard mode!!

im so glad i got to do this before beating the game lol

uh oh we are going Down

THERE'S zelda, way off in the distance...but i can't wait ten minutes on farosh if i go get her and i def don't have time to wait ten minutes on her and THEN zelda. sorry babygirl :(

BACK DOWN TO THE DEPTHS....this is what i wanted to get away from lol. maybe its a good thing?? i dont think ive been to where she's gonna take me yet. like yes ive been under lake hylia but i think she flies all the way to the desert. so i can snag my part, and then a lightroot, and then go back to the gerudo tower where i started

god i am literally cruising thru here in SUCH style. i take back every single thing i said about them ruining dragon farming, it totally rules now. i wish some other gameplay elements had been done so cleverly

at least in the depths it isn't raining, lol

got my scale just as i reached unknown territory. sadly i don't see any lightroots from here...

OH there it is...wow, lucky, i would've had to do some serious climbing on foot but farosh boosted me all the way up to the ceiling. thank you girl

lit up a big piece too. this whole area looks like it'd be fun to explore...some other time

a few poes, and i'm outie

ok, got the pic! it's too bad stuff is so hazy up here

there's also a shrine which i might as well get while i'm here

got a better pic now that it's sunset. i'm satisfied lol

and a korok seed so i don't have to come back...ohhhh it's zelda again...i can't let her fly by twice but this sky island has SECRETS

unfortunately a choice for another time, i have to take a break for now lol

ok im back. this is a SERIOUS puzzle to get this sage's will chest...but, if i do it now, i won't ever need to return to these islands. sorry, zelda :( again :(

oh FUCK me there's a shooting star. so i have to miss zelda AND make a return trip to these islands AND i still havent done the fucking. yiga quest. which is what i SET OUT TO DO. these games lol

it landed in a monster camp.

fuck it. i warped out w/o fighting and now im hitting a different tower to catch my girl lol

ANOTHER??? SHOOTING STAR? good FUCKING lord lol

am i really gonna miss zelda three times...

ok. got it. in the NICK of time. now BACK to the highlands tower. and to. MY GIRL! and then to the sage's will island. AND THEN!!! to the yiga quest

i made it to zelda but i missed the fang i shot so i had to take a dive. so i have to warp AGAIN to get back up to her...

MADE IT. so much fucking trouble but anything is worth it to spend a little time with the gf.......

fun visual glitch happening with some water below coming in and out lol. kinda freaky

got my second part and went back to the sky island. this is the puzzle from hell. i fell off and fast traveled to a nearby shrine to come back and the whole fucking thing reset itself. i am SO pissed

ok i finally got it but that was fucking ridiculous

im making myself crazy. multiple sources tell me theres a hudson sign right by this tower but i cant find it anywhere. unless it's fucking underground lol. i give up

HACKER VOICE IM IN......i took off the master sword just in case lol

i like how me and the entire gang can come tromping thru here woth no repercussions whatsoever lol. i wonder what happens if i take off my mask...

SCREAM HE DOESN'T RECOGNIZE ME...... "i feel like i know you from somewhere but i'm drawing a blank" wow he should join the lookout landing search party

anyway. five banana offerings. classic. one down four to go

three to go...

two to go. might as well foght this gleeok while i'm up here on spectacle rock...

one to go!!

I DID IT...now what

lol pay no heed to the glowing ruins. inwant my shrines, pal

is that it...? i thought there was more to it for some reason. maybe vague internet spoilers mislead me lol

wait. wheres that damn frog

omg if you touch trap bananas while dressed up you'll get scolded by the yiga instead of attacked lol. i wanna try chopping a yiga tree down in this getup

ok, i could have sworn i saw addsi9n from a distance, but i went to check a new different sign place and he wasnt there. i think my game is borked

reloaded and there he is. i was literally fucking glitching. i wonder if i could find the other one now...

oh wow yeah here it is. wtf

ok, that's all i can do tonight. more tomorrow hopefully fighting kohga again!!!!!!

[rosecorcoranwrites]

Video Games as Interactive Storytelling

As I previously established, video games are a worthwhile form of storytelling, combining the best aspects of books, movies, and comics. They are unique among mediums, however, for being a truly interactive form of media. They are games, after all, and thus incorporate aspects play and choice.

Environment

Because you, the player, control the character, you experience the world as if you were in it, much more than in any other medium. You explore the environment. You fight the boss, and experience the struggle of battle. You help various NPCs, or non-player characters, with tasks. You make friends and allies, and fight alongside them. Although I never like my favorite characters getting hurt in any medium, when people attack my allies in video games, it's personal.

And that's what video games do: offer an incredibly personal experience. Unlike books, movies and comics, where you have to read from start to finish, video games let you meander and spend time in the setting. In games like Zelda, Okami, or Dark Souls, you can discover secrets that aren't necessarily part of the main plot. These can include hidden areas or side quests. Sometimes these add to your understanding of the story or make the main plot more emotionally impactful. For instance, I actually did all those side quests for people in Okami, so the cutscene during the final boss fight was personal to me. I helped those people; they were lending their strength to me.

You can also gawk at the extra details of the world. One of my favorite examples of this is in Skyrim, where you can read books of short stories or admire intricately carved Nordic architecture, neither of which are important to the story or gameplay, but which make the experience more complete and immersive. I like to wonder at the fact that some person was paid to write those stories and design those carvings; they’re neat little details that someone at the studio thought were important enough to put into the game.

Even a game as linear and straightforward as the Ace Attorney series allows for a sort of exploration. Though you can only "move" through a series of set-like locations during the investigation stages, you can click on almost every object in order to hear banter between you and your assistant. While this doesn't generally offer much in the way of world or story building (unless the object turns out to be a crucial piece of evidence) it does let us experience more chemistry between the characters, endearing them to us even more.

Choice

Games in which the player’s choices effect the story obviously offer an interesting experience. Certain games have binary choices—send this character to the safety of the cathedral, or to be experimented on in a laboratory!—while others have branching trees and dozens or hundreds of possible endings. Many games incorporate a morality system, where the more bad choices one makes make for a darker ending, with the best result being the “Good ending” and the worst result, the “Bad ending”; many games opt for multiple bittersweet conclusions.

While some such games have fairly blank-slate, player-insert characters as protagonists (that is, they don’t have too much personality, because the player can fill that in), others have very specific motivations, while still offering choice. My sister was describing her initial frustration, in Red Dead Redemption 2, that she could only make not-so-good choices in some of the side quests. This makes sense, given that you are playing as an outlaw in a gang, but was still annoying in a game that claimed to give one choices. She was later delighted, though, after something important happens to the character (spoiler: they find out they have tuberculosis, which not only makes them sympathize with one of their former victims of the same condition, but also forces them to come to terms with their decisions, as time is running out), and good options start opening up. The way the game presented choices made sense for that individual character while still giving the player the freedom to reject certain choices if they want. Masterful!

Happenstance

I will say, however, that player choice is not totally unique to games, as Choose Your Own Adventure books were and occasionally still are a thing. Programmers can program in more possible choices than can be contained in a physical book, but the storytelling principal is the same. More interesting, I think, is video games’ ability to create random happenstance. What do I mean? Depending on what the player does when, they might stumble onto a part of a game in a different way than other players.

For example, in Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, musical themes for each location play during the day, while nighttime has only sound effects. As anyone who has played Ocarina can tell you, the Gerudo Valley theme is some of the coolest, most adventurous music in the franchise, and it starts playing in the canyon, before you arrive at the desert. In order to get to the desert the first time, you jump your horse over a broken bridge, which feels pretty awesome to a first time player. But for me, it was more. I arrived on horseback at the canyon at dawn, rode to the edge as the castanets of the Gerudo Valley theme started playing. Just as I jumped, the sun came over the horizon and the guitar began! I could have sworn there was even a lens flare, but that might have been my imagination reacting to the epicness of what was happening. It was a totally random, unrepeatable event, and I’ll never forget it.

In Okami, I never knew that going through some torii gates led into mystical areas while going around them led to ordinary shrines, because I always went a certain way. Thus, my mind was blown when I discovered, after following a little sparrow girl through a gate, that what had once been a solid wall was actually a pathway. It wasn't until my second play through that I went around the gate of the first shrine, which led to a glowing portal to a celestial world, and discovered nothing but an ordinary statue in a moss-covered cave. I never knew!

In another Zelda example, every player had a different experience of their first Blood Moon in Breath of the Wild. Blood Moons are events that serve to replenish the enemies in the area, but in-game are meant to be the malice of the main enemy infecting the environment and causing monsters to resurrect. They happen at random, and are preceded by the music changing, the light dimming, black wisps issuing out of the ground, and, of course, the full moon turning red. My brother first experienced it while looking at some goats in a pasture outside an inn, while my sister experienced it after climbing up a tower to reach a treasure chest. Never having heard that Blood Moons were a thing, their thoughts, respectively, were, “What the HECK is wrong with these goats!?” and “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry! I’ll put it back!” I’m sure others have their own fun stories of their initial horror at what was happening.

Social Interaction

Cast your mind back to when this whole diatribe of mine began (many weeks ago), when I mentioned a coworker of mine saying that video games don’t inspire social interaction. Just the opposite is true, and it always has been.

One of the first, if not the first video games was the two-player game, pong. Though not actually a story game, this led the way for more two player, and then multiplayer games. Kids used to go to each other's houses and play Mario Brothers or Bubble Bobble; now, they interact with friends and strangers across the country in online, multiplayer games. There are even games that have “emotes”, special moves you can do to communicate with other players without voice chat. Others let you vote for another player as the MVP of each round to show your appreciation. Lest you think it’s all online, Nintendo is keeping in-person multiplay alive and well with games like Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Smash Brothers.

Single player games, too, invite interaction. Pre-internet, people would spread hints and strategy and cheat codes by word of mouth. “How did we know how to do that move without reading the manual?” my sister asked, recalling some odd special move in an older game. “I think a friend must have told me, and they probably heard it from one of their friends.” Nowadays, internet forums and Let’s Play videos serve the same purpose: a community of gamers helping each other out and spreading information about games.

I myself have talked repeatedly about what my brothers and sister experienced in their playthroughs. Some of this is because some games are too hard for me (like, every game FromSoft will ever make), but a lot of it is just because there was one TV and not enough time for me to start my own game. I’ve never actually played Sekiro or Bloodborne or Last Guardian, but I’ve watched people play all of them from start to finish, so I still have that experience. My brother and I both gasped when we first encountered a Mist Noble and its enchantment in Sekiro (and my advice, “Kill it with fire!” worked like a charm). My sister and I squeed over the griffin-dog-thing’s cute antics in Last Guardian. Unlike books, comics, and movies, which are best enjoyed in silence, video games invite conversation during play.

Online streams offer a similar experience. Even here, choice rears its head. Some streamers play it straight, from start-to-finish, with little editorializing. Others derp around doing a lot of nonsense, or add hilarious commentary, often adding their own layer of storytelling to the mix. Viewers of said streams can type comments in real-time, so that the streamer interacts not only with the game but with his viewers, and the entire experience is like one big conversation. Who said video games don’t inspire social interaction?

Community

Right about now is when I connect this new form of storytelling to something ancient. Books are the new songs and poems, movies are the new plays, and comics are the new tapestries and hieroglyphics. What, then, are video games? As I said before, they take elements from all of these other mediums: video games are the new bard adding their own lyric to a song, or the actor playing a well-known role a different way, perhaps due to choice or happenstance.

But mostly, video games are the new play, that most primal and primordial of all human storytelling. We play as soon as we can think, and play act as soon as we can walk. Children assign themselves roles and act them out together. Humans are communal creatures, after all, who process narratives by interacting with other humans.

To some extent, all storytelling is like this, as it is one human telling something to another rather than keeping it in their head. Video games, though, bring back the communal aspect of storytelling. Wanting to take part in stories—whether as a child going on adventures with friends, or an adult participating in a narrative ceremony, or anyone telling a story around a fire to a group of rapt and responding listeners—is part of being human.

At some point, however, that part of life got chopped off and shunted to the corner, as if adults shouldn’t desire narrative play unless they are writers. Thus, video games are put down as childish, or geeky, or not as valid as books. Oddly, they are stereotyped as being something beloved by loners, which ignores the vibrant and vocal gaming community.

I’m not sure where the animus towards gaming comes from. Why is immersing oneself in an imaginary world while staring at a book is considered high-brow, but doing the same while staring at a screen considered low? I don’t know, nor do I want to. What I do know is that some of the most unique, innovative, and emotional, stories I’ve ever seen have been those in video games, and I hope that in the future, more people give them a chance.

And those, dear readers, gamers, viewers, and story lovers of all stripes, are my thoughts on video games.

[blue-scorpion-king]

The Bagklock Races

(Post version for mobile followers)

The 52+ most populous species of Bagklock Earth: Humans, Hutui/Hutus [Eretus descendants], Hubits [Hobbits descendants], Huliaths [Goliaths descandents], Huthals [Neanderthal descendants], Chimans [Ancient chimpanzees descendants], Gorimans [Ancient gorilla descendants], Orangumans [Ancient orangutan descendants], Près des Hommes Extensibles [Stretchy and rubber-like near-humans], Faunus, Therians, who are humanoids with some animal parts; The Kemono race (http://blue-scorpion-king.tumblr.com/kemono-detail), Monster Personas, with categories on the different Monster Personas, excluding some ones, who became their own race not in an category, like the different youkai, the Centaur, the Manticore, the Minotaur, and the Thunderbird Monster Personas (Think of Monster Girls, expect with male individuals of each monster ‘species’), the three types of Anthros, the Kim kind, who is like the most humanoid, the ‘inbetween’ Deviant kind, and the Zoo-Bipedial type, which are basically evolved bipedal animals, but not much is changed, yet are connected as one race [No Pokemon, Digimon, Bakugan, or any of that sort of Anthros exist], Stuck-Trolls, Orcs [Warcraft], Orks [Partially different biology in the Bagklock Universe], Torks [Tolkien kind of orcs] [All three have sub-species], Elves [With the main species calling themselves ‘Eldar’ {Warhammer}; Nifel-Elves {Tolkien}, Night Elves, Blood Elves, Dark Eldar/Drow Eldar, Half-Elves, Sun (High) Elves, Silver Elves, Wood Elves, Avariel (Winged) Elves, Mithral Elves, Green/Greenish Elves, Aqua Elves, Dwemer (Dwarf-like) Elves, Orsimer (Orc-like) Elves, and Snow Elves], Dwarves, Gnomes, Goblins, Draenei, Undead, Taurens, Warca-Trolls, Pandarens, Ghouls [From Tokyo Ghoul], Nitros [From Toriko], Eosapiens, Pivots, Inklings, Octolings, Worgen, Vampires, Holves [Jak-verse], Draguns [Humanoid Dragons], Gr-Na'vi [Green Earthling Na'vis], Fishmen, Merfolk, the Atlanteans, Thri-Kreens, Tarkatans, Yoshis, Giants, the Shandorians, Birkans, the Skypieans, Sangheilis, Zabraks, Twi'leks, Wookiees, Mon Calamaris, Ewoks, who are also said to inhabit much of the planetoids and moons of Bagklock Earth, tracing their species’ origin to the ‘Goat-Moon’, Gungans, Dugs, Chagrians, Kaminoans, Genosians, Togrutas, Nautolans, Utapauns, Pyronites, Vulpimancers, Petrosapiens, Kinecelerans, Galvans, Tetramands, Lepidopterrans, Piscciss Volanns, Arburian Pelaroti, Florauni, Loboans, which originate from the ‘Goat-Moon’, Thep Khufans, Transylians, Gourmands, Slipxsons, Opticoids, Spheroids, Methanosians, Sonorosians, Vaxasaurians, Aerophibians, Necrofriggians, Crystalsapiens, Cerebrocrustaceans, Arachnichimps, Biosovortians, Appoplexians, Orishans, Amperis, Talpaedans, Geochelone Aerios, Prypiatosian-Bs, Citrakayahs, Gimlinopithecus, Eatles, Chronosapiens, Conductoids, Segmentasapiens, Galileans, Crashhoppers, Polar Manzardills, Mole-Staches, Kickin’ Hawks, Nosedeenians, Vladats, Fangines, Canigus [Both from Oddworld], Togorians, Bipamammals, who are an invasive immigrants from the 1960’s, 72 years after the Martian invasion of England, but in the U.S.A and ultimately, after six months, got defeated and have to left their traitor prisoners behind, Saurians, Poleepkwa/Prawn, Locusts [Gears of War], Yuzzems, Sullustan, Trandoshan, Matora (Bionicle [Not movie version] species), R'Zahnians, Kluts, Ssi-Ruuk, Whiphids, Rodians, Toydorians, Gamorreans, Ithorians, Bothans, Kaleesh, [Eight sentient and sefl-aware] Rancors, Acklays, Nexus, Reeks, Opees, Wampas, Metriadleys (Ripley’s species, from Metroid), Andorians, Horaxes, the Chirmaerea [Traitor Chimeras of the ‘horde’, from the ‘Resistance’], Cybertronians, that came from the mechanic planetoid of Bagklock Earth several billions of years ago, Cybertron [The smaller Beast Wars kind, without the large vehicle alternate modes, and most small vehicle alt. modes, not just 2 factions, but with “Titan Bots”, “Combiners”, “Mini-Cons”, and some other sub-groups, even with the sub-sub-group of the Fuzors; They are still connected to the spirituality of their ancestors’ culture back in Cybertron, like the Matrix and Primus, and can ‘evolve’ further by adding more ‘bulk’/parts either the Real Robot way {Like Gundam: Thunderbolt or some parts of Evangelion} or the Super Robot way {like GaoGaiGar or Gaiking},, into Transmetals, to Transmetal 2, and even Transmetal 3. Though, there are only 20 Transmetal 3 Cybertronians EVER in the race’s history {Also, this comic and the comments below it clears up Cybertronian intercourse} Also also, the general term for the transformation of Cybertronians, even among factions, split since the 3rd Great Cybertronian War and 4th Great Cybertronian War so long ago {Both G1 and Beast Wars/Machines, expect with no terraforming Cybertron, with the time shenanigans}, is “Rollaize”, which “Rollaizing” being before the faction’s own transformation phrase like ‘Primaize’, ‘Maximize’, ‘Demolitionize’, ‘Wreckaize’, ‘Terrorize’, “Titanize’, ‘Pygmyize’, or ‘Armadize’], Boomop-Boomops [The Boom Booms and Pom Poms from Mario], Ferengi, Kenku (DN’D), Elcors, Marts, who claim to be descendants of Martians from Mars, that are not like the Martians that tried to invade Earth in very late 1800’s (Looney Tunes/Duck Dodgers In The 24th & ½ Century), Orions, Mazones (Harlock; With an history of being left by ‘something’ in their extremely early history), Ctarl-Ctarls, Lyca-morphs, who are a moth-like race, Modrons, Zoqs, Fots, Piks, [sentient griffiths] Criffiths, Xextos, Iyras, Baabians, Killiks, Labois, P'we'cks, Xi'Decs, Niktos, Mossies, Seksis, Gelflings, Mogwais, the Smurfs, the Snorks, the Muppets, including the entire Sesame Street, Qberts, Lombaxes, Pacs [The species of Pac-Man], Gorns, Asaris, Turians, Volus, Krogans, Quarians, Yahgs, Drells, Exos, Cabals, Eliksni, Asogians, who are all immigrant races from 1970, Apostles, who are descendants of the ones from the medieval times, starting at Midland {Berserk}, Herglics, Majins, Kousou-Akuryo, meaning ‘Frost Demons’ [Descendants of Frieza’s Race from long ago], Yordles, Gorons, Hylians, Zoras, Dekus, Gerudos, Au Ra, Bangaa, Elezen, Mithras, Tarutarus, Moogles, Vestals, Neathians, Gundalins, the Viera, Candy People, [less hostile] Earth-Daleks, along with Earth-Cybermen, Flame People, Ooo-Dogs, Rainicorns, Lemon People, Lumpy Space People, Nut People, Tree People, Exceeds, and [Immigrant descendants] Klingons, Chiss, Anzati, Quarrens, Balosars, Nosaurians, Devaronians, the Fosh, Iktotchi, Horusians, Huks [A race extremely similar to the Hulk/Bruce Banner, expect not created by gamma radiation], Florans, Apex, Avivans, Hylotl, Novakids, Vipers [X-Com-like], Garmillas, Xens [Near-human Gijinka-like Xenomorphs], Centurians, Centurii, Krylorians, Kt'kns, Kymellians, Landlaks, Nibelungs [Harlock], ‘White Walkers’, Taurians, Xixix, Stenth, Lava-Min {Marvel’s Lava Men}, Glx, Kawas, Z'Nox, Zundamites, Thranx, {D&D} Garrgoyyles, Charr, Saiyans, from one groups of crashed pods during the Ice Age [There are more females Saiyans than males on Bagklock Earth], Hyleks, Quaggans, Norn, Slyvari, Djinn, Myconids, Weav-Spiders, Kobolds, Elins, Accretians, Omnics, Anodites, Incurseans, Stits (Tummyhead’s species), Nemuinas, Falleens, Miralukas, Nagaii, Rakatas, Talz, Ishi Tibs, Decapodians [Zoidberg’s race], Detrovites, Trumbipuai (Humanoid elephants with bat wing-like ears), Thundragohs (Humanoid warthogs), Planchakoles, Cephalod-ae, Basalts, Ickthyperambuloids, Zaroffians, Gelamen [Gang Beasts-like], Argonians, Khajiits, the Skaven, the Ratonaga, and the soon-to-be merging Newtypes & Coordinators in the future. {2 not registered races; Which only has three billion sightings total, but no solid proof of their existence, from the 1900’s to 2042, are the so called ‘Mudokons’, and the Henries of Earthland}. Plus, ‘Minions’, of different colors, like the Pikmin, are a part of the races that live on Bagklock Earth, but choose not to be registered in the documented races, that are most populous. 44+ minor races, that are registered, are the Olympians, Steefs, the four human subspecies; Ogryns, Ratlings, Squats, & Beastmen, the Lemurians, earthling Chozos, Shokans, Gnolls, the Blueys, [Earthling Grey Aliens descendants, supposedly, expect dark blue in skin color and about 6 to 7 feet tall, on average], the Kongou, the Yodalili [Yoda’s Species], Earthling Sligs (Oddworld), the Gour-Ogres [Gourmet Ogres], the Goombas, the Kerbals, the Yautjae, who are immigrants from very long ago, the Hirogens, and the Namekians, who are also immigrants from long, long ago, Minks (Not Zou-born), Trills, [Runaway] Geems, [A bit smaller] Yithians, Chevins, Crites, Zeti, Toads [Mario] {Are a race who has multiple genders, like funguses}, Thunderians, Zanburgs, Twilis, Aegyls, Beastmen, & their tribes [Final Fantasy], Burmecians, Cleyrans, Clavats, Selkies, Yukes, Lillties, Dragoniers, Galkas, Garifs, Genomes, Hummingways, Hypello, Lalafells, Nu Mou, Peruperu, Qu, Roegadyn, Seeq, Shumi, Zilarts, Breakfast People, Cloud People, Crystal People, Cube People, Cuties, Earclopses, Grass People, Hot People, House People, Mushroom People, MOs, Peanut People, Pillow People, Rock People, Rump People, Sand People, Slime Princess, Soft People, Spiky People, Turtle People, Veggie People, Wildberry People, Worm People, E-Vulcans [from Earthland], Kyuzos, Aqualish, Draethos, Gotals, Harchs, Noghris, Nelvaanians, Vulptereens, Stenax, Sluissi, Junkers, ZeHethbras, Critokians, Squalrises, Adarians, Lutrillians, Niktos, Ryns, Glymphids, Keroidens, Roclites, Yirbeks, Yrds, Kineticlops [A race that are a giant organic sphere, with a eye pupil, and electricity that lifts them up on two legs and with two arms], Atsts [Organic sentient versions of the AT-STs], Xwaings [Organic sentient versions of the X-Wings], Tivdes [Organic sentient versions of the TIE Fighters], Atats [Organic, giraffe-size sentient versions of the AT-ATs], Agamo [A 15 foot tall rock golem-like race from both Central America and the South Pacific, with eons of evolution behind them], Magmo [A 15 foot tall, four-armed rock golem-like race, evolved from various volcanoes’ magma chambers at the beginning of their existence, during the vague-known ‘Deep-Time Missing Period’, in the range of 100 billions and 4 billions, at the creation of Bagklock Earth, that even they can hardly remember], Vuvrians, Nekghouls, Skritts, Margonites, Mursaats, Grawls, Streearks, Marmice, Batttoads, X-Mutants, Metahumans, Kelari, Talarians, Feeorins, Khils, Massassi, Houks, Selkaths, Snivvians, Shistavanens, Swoke-Swokes, Kian'thar, Farghuls, Cathars, Arconas, Defels, Chadra Fans, Skakoans, Talortai, Selonians, Colicoids, Cragmoloids, & Codru-Ji. The Diclonius and the Ajins are an emerging, but not registered within populations, race ever since 2005.

=+Most of the races on Bagklock Earth evolved on the planet, alongside humans.

+-The ‘almost’ extinct Vegeta-Saiyans are on the other side of the planet, but in the single digits and are very certain individuals, who do not know of the Bagklock!Saiyans.

+-Like in Disney movies, there are in fact talking animals as well, but only to themselves.

All of the races’ blood are a few colors: Pink, Blue, Purple, Orange, or Black. But, not red, like the Bagklock water. Black, blue, pink, and orange are the four most common blood colors.

Every race on Bagklock Earth, unlike real life Earth, would feel, and resist, that normal 111.8 degree temperature of an mortal Olympian like you would feel someone’s very high fever, expect it is normal.

~The Bat~