#I have two shrines on my island

[emile-hides]

Here’s probably the final update to The Shrine

[waywardsalt]

my grievances with botw

Breath of the Wild is... undeniably a fantastic game, but it is very genuinely not the kind of game I like, and since I started playing it I’ve been enjoying it less and less so... I have a pair of problems with it that I’d figure I’d go into, as well as some stuff that, while weak in botw, were executed better in past loz games.

(small shoutout to @zeldanamikaze for encouraging this and having some points that i agree with and had some examples that i hadn’t thought about much initially)

Again, Breath of the Wild is an objectively impressive game, and I’m not trying to sit here and convince you that it’s a bad game. I’m just trying to point out things that detracted from my enjoyment of it, especially compared to my enjoyment of other Zelda games.

Before I get into the big stuff, I’ll just shoot off some quick little things that I think could’ve been improved:

- The dungeons generally felt like glorified shrines, and while they had cool mechanics and ways to access them, they were short and more or less pretty simple and all have similar visual and musical identities.

- Side quests and their rewards didn’t feel worth doing half of the time. I barely remember any notable ones off the top of my head and the longer ones just gave mostly generic rewards, which I suppose makes sense considering the limited amount of truly unique items in botw.

- Seeing the same enemies over and over again made the combat feel more like a chore than something to really engage with, not to mention that there is hardly any difficulty scaling beyond just making the enemies more durable.

- The story is fine, but in my experience, even seeing people go into more detail about the meanings of events, I never really cared for the events or the characters presented, since you don’t actually have to directly interact with any of that to play the game. Hell, you don’t even need to interact with the story at all to beat it, so the focus certainly doesn’t feel like it’s on the story.

- It would be a lie to call the soundtrack bad, but it’s sparse usage makes it hard to truly appreciate and the fact that most of it is meant to be more atmospheric generally makes them a bit less interesting to listen to on their own, though I will admit there are some fantastic tracks in botw, usually being some of the boss themes.

- While the Sheikah slate runes are cool, they feel very bland after a while, especially compared to the varied items seen in previous games. They’re good tools for an open world, but not much fun otherwise (the bombs were good though, since they had a variety of uses).

And that’s the quick stuff- again, mostly courtesy of @zeldanamikaze, since these are the examples I’ve seen her mention.

I have two big points that kind of encapsulate why I dislike this game and still adore the older games, that being: the minigames and the items and their relationships to dungeons.

Breath of the Wild is a very different game than what came past it, and I am very aware that it is a vast departure from those other games for a reason. However, this leads me to view it not only simply as a game not up my alley, but also as kind of inferior in some aspect to those previous Zelda games. Breath of the World is first and foremost an open world game, seemingly putting a focus on gameplay enjoyment above all else (not to imply that the ‘else’ is bad because of this, but I do think that the ‘else’ suffers in comparison to other Zelda titles.)

It may also be worth mentioning that the other Zelda games I have played is the following: LoZ NES, Link’s Awakening (Original and Remake), Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Phantom Hourlgass, Skyward Sword, A Link Between Worlds, and Triforce Heroes. I have also played both hyrule warriors games as well as loz 2, wind waker, and minish cap, none of the latter 3 i have finished or currently have access to.

1: The Minigames

Minigames are common in Zelda games, so of course botw has a few scattered around it’s world. Botw’s minigames are very different than the minigames seen in past Zelda games, mostly due in part to the limited array of items and unique gameplay gimmicks available in botw. Botw’s minigames usually focus on different forms of archery, gliding, or rune usage: all things integral to normal gameplay. At best you get rupees or cosmetic items from most minigames.

Botw’s minigames are just slightly altered situations of normal gameplay. The bowling is just using stasis except this time the game has a special little arena for it. Pretty much all of the archery games are either just counting how many deer you can kill or if you can just hit some targets on horseback. There’s one race I can think of and one gliding activity I can think of.

This makes sense, considering that there are a handful of other non-minigame activities to engage in, but these minigames feel... hollow. None of the minigames feature gameplay exclusive to those minigames or feature gameplay only used in certain parts of the game. They all make use of readily available mechanics in botw, so they’re like tests of skill- but otherwise not really any worth giving a second-thought unless you want to see how good of a glider or archer you are or grab some extra rupees.

But they aren’t very... worth it or generally fun within the context of botw. It’s just another way to do something that is available to you pretty much all game. They don’t feel unique, they just feel like a task.

Previous Zelda games (obviously) have archery minigames and allow you to use archery when you get the bow and from that point onward. And yet the archery minigames are made unique from the rest of the archery in the game; ocarina of time’s archery minigame is simply just shooting at targets, but the possible rewards and the simple fact that not often are you going to be continuously shooting arrows at enemies make it a bit of a novel experience within oot. The minigames in past zelda games take advantage of the items and area-specific mechanics: they usually include item-exclusive mechanics like bombchu games, or take advantage of more specific mechanics, like the minecarts in skyward sword, the masks in majora’s mask, or being able to control gongoron in phantom hourglass.

They also gave genuine rewards- empty bottles, quest items, ship parts, new masks, heart containers or pieces, kinds of stuff that are hard to get and very valuable. They’re worth doing for reasons outside of just a little activity. The minigames in other Zelda games do really enhance the experience by taking advantage of situational mechanics or giving a unique usage for some items.

You can probably get every item in botw without playing all of the minigames. They have little actual purpose. But in other zelda games, they have a purpose in the greater game and provide novel experiences within the game.

2: Items and their relationships with the dungeons

Obviously, compared to past games, botw’s ‘dungeons’ kind of sucked. They’re fine in a vacuum, with interesting gimmicks and the like, but they’re really little more than glorified shrines with four different-but-similar bosses at the end.

In my opinion, one of reasons why the divine beasts just... fell flat compared to other zelda dungeons is the lack of unique items in general. The runes in botw are cool and useful but you get them at the start of the game and never get anything new. You are give every tool you need to beat all of the dungeons the moment you finish the tutorial.

Older zelda games’ dungeons being tied to their respective items is a big part- to me- of what makes those dungeons so good.

Obviously, the theming, musical themes, and larger layouts and more varied puzzles make them objectively better experiences, but the way they interact with item acquisition makes the whole thing even better. 

Even in a link between worlds, where you can get every item whenever you want from Ravio, each dungeon is still tied to one of those items, and one of those items is needed to successfully complete that dungeon.

The dungeons in past Zelda games are practically complex tutorials on how you can use your new items. They are where those items shine and they are designed so that those items are used to their fullest potential within. And then you must then use that item to defeat that dungeon’s boss, and you usually have no chance of beating that boss if you don’t make use of the dungeon’s associated item. It’s like a final test for the item, seeing if you know how it works enough to complete the dungeon and use it against a boss’s weaknesses.

The most recent example, and probably one of the best, is needing to use the whip to tear off koloktos’ arms in the ancient cistern, but the classic scenario of the bombs for king dodongo works well enough, and the bosses of majora’s mask requiring you to understand how the transformation masks work. There are definitely some bosses that require no use of dungeon items (moldorm in the tower of hera, either ghirahim fights), but the item’s usage is still showcased prominently in their dungeons.

Outside of the dungeons, too, the progressive acquisition of items makes more areas and secrets available to you, giving a much more palpable sense of progression through those games’ worlds.

In botw, you get every tool the moment you are released into the rest of hyrule, so while figuring out what to do with those tools can be fun, the sense of progression is dampened by having every item from the start and nothing you gain beyond that being needed for anything aside from a nice little ability to make things easier.

I’m not really too sure exactly why I never found botw fun the way everyone else does, but I think lackluster minigames and the general lack of items that aid a sense of progression are parts of it.

[svtskneecaps]

ayo shoutout to revali for being the champion whose ability i have used the least since obtaining

[dottiro]

Botany Knowledge

Unreliable summary: Can you make a gamble to make Childe leave the house so you can escape his grasp once and for all? // Can you manipulate a manipulator? Warnings: Yandere, dub consent to marriage, implied kidnapping, toxic behaviour (both reader and Childe are manipulative), GN reader Note: I'm currently sick, so the quality might be lesser than the ones before and after. Again, this is a REWRITE of this fic on my old blog.

Childe loves the thrill of a battle. Capturing your heart was a game to him. The more you fought against your tormentor, the more excited he grew. Even when you’ve submitted after accepting you won’t be able to win with brute force, he lurks and awaits your tactical reprisal. Childe stalks your actions, sniffing out fear like you are prey.

Right now, his chin leans on your shoulder and his breath lingers on your neck. You feel his arms snake around you—trapping you with his body warmth. His quick heartbeat melts against yours. It makes the hairs on your neck stand upright. 

In your arms, you hold a book. On the page is a picture of a pink flower foreign to Snezhnaya. Your finger caresses it with a victorious feeling. 

“I want these,” you declare.

He’s silent as he processes your sudden words. “What…?”

“I want these sakura flowers.”

Childe’s hand sneaks up from your hip to the book, tracing the picture as you had done before. In his mind, something clicks.

During the first two weeks after arriving in Snezhnaya, you had done nothing but yell at Childe. He had expected a harsh treatment, but you went beyond your limits. Come dusk, your voice would be gone from all the harsh insults you’ve thrown, only for it to start again when dawn arrived. Neither did you want to eat. It had begun to affect you for the worse, and for the first time, Childe began to doubt his choices. 

In the following weeks, he allowed you more privacy as a way of letting you warm up to the cold country. To his relief, you began to eat the meals he provided—although always cautious; as if he was going to harm you with it. 

Then, once you turned more daring and left your room to roam the house—he returned. 

Childe had learnt a lot about you in those first three months. 

For one, he learnt that you’re more complacent when you have something rewarding to look forward to; more inclined to accept his affections when he’s giving and not only taking. Your good behaviour has been paid off with little glimpses of freedom. 

The book in your hands is one of such testaments to your ability to endure him. After all, you never learnt the Snezhnayan language. This botany book filled with pictures might be your only entertainment—a ‘welcoming gift’, as Childe had said when he gifted it.

Ginger hair brushes your neck when he leans in closer, trying to get a glimpse of it. 

You’re both sitting on the couch; Childe behind you so he can hold you close as you study the new book. 

He raises an eyebrow. The suspicion in his voice is clear, giving you the indication that he’s trying to decipher what you mean. “The sakura blooms?”  

“They’re pretty. I want them.” You try to tilt your head away from him as subtly as possible. While you’ve grown used to his suffocating grip, the wild strands of his hair annoy you more than you care to admit. 

“Sakura Blooms initially appear as clusters of floating petals which are found throughout Narukami Island. Many can notably be found around Mt. Yougou and the Grand Narukami Shrine…” Childe flawlessly translates the passage next to it. 

While the specific places sound unfamiliar, you know that the sakura blooms only grow in Inazuma; which conveniently is on the other side of Teyvat. 

You put on your best act when you tilt your head to him with a dazed expression. His face is so close, your breaths mingle into one.

“You can’t get it?” The words are meant to be innocent, but they almost sound like a taunt.

Childe’s eyebrows are lightly lifted and his body tenses. Within a second, he grabs the book from your hands, allowing you to move more freely. Challenge accepted.

If your plan succeeds, you’ll have him gone for a while. Remaining close to him is a worthy sacrifice if you make him believe you need the flowers.

Remaining in his hold without his arms caging you proves to be the most difficult part. Silently, you watch him study the page filled with detailed illustrations. Deep blue eyes inspect the words you can’t decipher. 

Hopeful, you wait as you inspect every expression that crosses his face.

Eventually, he returns his arms around you. He pulls you into his arms without another word, letting the book rest on your lap again. 

With a heavy feeling in your chest, you look at the page. You look at the illustration of the grand tree full in bloom, the one depicting a bundle of petals, and then the final picture; which has the branch from the tree.

“I, um…” The words leave your mouth without thought. “I want them because you don’t have that many flowers here. I used to have flowers at home, so it’d make me happy.”

You grip the book a bit tighter. 

He stays silent. 

You hadn’t convinced him.

“And well…”

In this important moment, you think of what you’re willing to sacrifice.

By now, you’re confident in your ability to escape the house. You know that your windows are locked, as well as the main doors; but you’ve long since found out that there are some places he doesn’t check.  

How confident are you?

What are you willing to give for a single chance?

You try to look as nervous as possible. Be weak and he’d feel in control. Hit his weak spots and you’d be able to succeed. Offer the one thing he can’t forcefully take.

“If you get these flowers, I’ll accept your proposal.”

The face pressed against your neck turns. His hands squeeze you tighter and he presses into you more. 

Your heartbeat races harder than your thoughts. 

Is your gamble worth it?

Childe muses, “don’t say anything you can’t take back.” 

“I’m serious!” You grip the book tightly, bending the pages that were unfortunate enough to be in your way. At your outburst, he seems to soften. 

“Then why didn’t you start the request with that part?” His lips curl against your skin, leaving a cursed promise as he kisses you. “You know I’ll give you anything if you’re good.”

One of his hands reaches for your face and turns it to the side. Blue eyes tend to pool into yours. A broad smile is on his face.

“So… you’ll get them?”

“Yes. I should be able to get in contact with a few people, but it does mean you’ll be alone for a while.”

As the words leave his lips, you recall the windows he kept open, the path leading into the surrounding forest, and the fact that ‘a while’ could get you to another nation by the time he’d return.

You relax in his arms but Childe continues, “Do you want to see some tailors in the meantime? You must have high expectations for your dress as well, after all, we’ll only get married once.”

“…what?”

“Of course, I can help you choose the dress. I already buy all of your clothes so I should have great insight into the styles that flatter you. If you continue to act well, I might ask my mother to visit before the big day. I’m sure she’ll adore you.”

He continues,

“Unfortunately, I can’t risk a grand ceremony. My family will come, but we’d first and foremost need our blessings from the Tsarista.”

You try to push his arms away from your waist. “Childe, you’re going too fast.”

Childe’s hold burns your wrists as he holds you in place. “Don’t tease me. You know exactly what you started.”

“No—I just wanted the flowers! You always do this, trying to manipulate me—“ Your breath hitches.

Silence follows after your outburst and you try to fake submission by relaxing your body. Time spent with him has made you impatient. You’re constantly in fight mode, making it hard to bite down your words. 

Unfortunately, he plays the game far better than you do.

Soft and tender, an apology leaves your lips as you turn your head.

A dark shadow is cast over Childe’s face. A smile continues to grace his face,

But he doesn't seem happy at all.

“Ajax…?” 

You call him by his real name, hoping to strike his heart.

He hums as he watches puffs of air race out between your trembling lips, becoming more rapid as the minutes pass. Your pupils constrict, making the colour of your eyes stand out against your fear. 

His hands continue to hold down your wrists like handcuffs, yet you’ve become relaxed. 

He knows you so well. 

So, so well.

Childe brushes on hand against your head. Softly. Affectionately. 

“It’s alright. Everything is new for you. You need time to adjust to these new feelings. A wedding can’t be planned in one day, and fortunately, we now have all the time in the world.”

He turns your body sideways and pulls you in. With one hand on your cheek and the other on your lower back, he holds you in place as he brings his lips forward. 

Gently, he eases you into it. With no counterforce, he can enjoy your lips as long as he wants.

He savours the expression he sees once he parts. 

“Since you’re still adjusting to our home, I’ll help you. Instead of gathering the sakura blooms myself, why don’t I send someone to do it for me? That way, we can discuss the wedding as much as you want. I’ll even bring your stuff to my room so you won’t have to be separated from me.”

He lays your head against his chest.

His heartbeat doesn’t calm you down. It beats too fast—as if he’s excited.

You’re reminded of a fox stalking a bunny; chasing after it and letting it tire so it can strike it without trouble.

Prey to the hunter, you’ve fought and lost.

©dottiro. Do not copy, repost, translate, feed to AI, or take heavy inspiration from my content. Thank you for reading ♡

[hibiscusol]

JJ MAYBANK BOYFRIEND HEADCANNONS !!

navigation ! masterlist

warnings: one suggestive line? none really

author's note: all my exams are almost overrr :> i'll be fully free on sunday though, can't wait to get to writing more !

he loves driving around in the twinkie with you and the pogues, but he feels better when it’s just the two of you on the drive, driving around the island, playing your favorite songs.

he doesn’t like talking to anyone about his dad, not even john b, but when he sees your puppy eyes and the way your fingers caress the nape of his neck, all his walls break.

he tells you about the past, the good memories and the bad ones, and he knows you’ll listen. because you’re his girl.

he buys you flowers whenever he can afford it (which is rarely), and he forgets your favorite ones and get you a different one every time.

he shows up at your house in the middle of the night randomly, saying he needs a hug or he’s horny. either way, he doesn’t leave until he’s happy again.

he definitely has a wall on his room dedicated to you. it’s like a shrine, with pictures of you or little letters you’ve written him, and it’s in a way where he can see it whenever he’s laying on the bed on his side.

he does not let any girl other than you or kiara get near him. if any girl comes up to him and asks him anything, he’s going to hit them with the “hi, i have a girlfriend” before answering.

he’s the only person who can jokingly make fun of you. he always tells you you look like shit in the mornings before drowning you in kisses. or tells you that an ugly character on the screen looks like you when you’re watching something. but if anyone else does it, they’re in trouuuble.

he’ll listen to anything you listen to cause he simply does not have a music taste to begin with. he doesn’t even have spotify or soundcloud, and just tells you to get on aux whenever you and the pogues are hanging out. whether it’s taylor swift and gracie abrams to future and travis scott, he’ll listen to it and jam out to every song.

whenever you two argue, there is no way he would agree he’s wrong right away. he’ll storm away and not hang around for a few days, then come back with flowers begging you to forgive him. you just have to give him time.

he’s a very impulsive person, so you quite literally never have have any idea what he’s gonna do the next minute. he might grab you and throw you into the water when you’re on hms pogue like he’s done before, so you’ve learnt to always expect the unexpected with him.

you’re literally his partner in crime, trespassing old houses and stealing little things together. you both also have the talent of making lies on the spot and also making them match, so that’s a win.

[chilumi-shipper]

My Favorite Girl (2)

Arataki Itto x Shrine Maiden!Fem!Reader

Summary: Part 2 of My Favorite Girl, you unexpectedly return, missing everything and everybody. You want to make things clear, does he still love you? And do you still love him?

Tags: Two lines with curses, Bullying in work place, Angst to Fluff

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Itto remained seated by the docks, similar to how his days ended the past month. The burning ache of your departure never left him, in fact, it has only gotten worse, your lack of presence making itself known to him and a certain mini-sized bull.

Two months.

You've been gone two months, double the time you said you were gonna spend on Watatsumi Island. All his prayers to see a boat containing you had been ignored, much like the letters he sent to you while you were gone.

"Hey, babe! How's the job treating you?"

"I know you'll ace this job like you always do! What is it that Shrine Maidens do specifically that they have to switch locations? Well anyway, you'll do so good, you probably won't even need a full month to finish the job."

"Looooveee, don't let Ushi warm your side of the bed for too long, okay? His sleep moos are kinda annoying, ya know? Ohh, crap! He caught me writing you a letter!" This particular letter had a bite mark and a hoof print of the sleep moo-er.

"So... I don't know how to start this up without sounding like a total jerk, but... Well, first I wanna say happy birthday! Very very late happy birthday..." This letter was quite long, yet it received no reaction.

"You haven't returned any of my letters yet, which is totally okay if you're too busy! But I just wanna know if you're okay... I really miss you, Ushi misses you, the gang too! It been a little bit over a month, waiting for you~ I love youu." This letter was signed by each member of the Arataki Gang, each with their own little message.

A few letters of concern goes by, no response.

"It's been two months, my darling... When are you coming back home?" He wrote this one drunk and in tears, the feeling of missing you sinking deeper and deeper into his gut, not letting him shrug off the feeling like he did before.

"Boss! Look what I found in your mail!" The loud shout of Akira irritated the many people at the docks of Ritou, but it did its job of catching the oni's attention.

Itto turned to see the gang running up yo him. "Hey! You can't just go through my mail like that! What if you accidentally open ones for Y/N? She'd kill ya!"

"Yeah, I know, boss. But I actually got this from the mail delivery before it reached your house, sooo... this isn't your mail yet..." Akira remarked, proudly showing off his loophole.

Kuki Shinobu rolled her eyes before urging him, "Go on then, show him."

The Akira, Mamoru, and Genta excitedly showed Itto the letter in Akira's hands. "From Miss Y/N herself! Ohhh, is our Honorary Maiden about to return? We must rejoice!" Genta exclaimed, hyping up the other members too. Ushi himself couldn't keep his little body from jumping in joy.

"Looks like we don't have to go to Watatsumi for a grand Arataki rescue mission."

"Yeah, hmmm... I was kinda excited about that though."

"Now, hold on..." Shinobu broke their thrilled conversation. "We haven't even read the letter."

"Shinobu's right. Maybe... she just wants to say there's nothing to worry about, and she'll be staying there longer..." The hopeless voice coming from the oni, perhaps preparing for dissapointment, didn't go unnoticed. The gang noticed the change in attitude their leader has been having a few weeks after you left, getting worse with each passing day without you.

"Aww, boss, don't be like that! I'm sure Miss Y/N's had enough of Watatsumi now, she's probably preparing to head home right now." Mamoru attempted to comfort his boss, but Itto has told himself the same so many times that he feels like he can no longer hold the statement in a high regard.

Ushi softly pushed Itto's ankle with his hoof, urging him to open the letter.

"I apologize, my dear. This letter may be long overdue, but I want to let you know that I am doing just fine, there is nothing to worry about. I will be returning in just a short while, I trust that Ushi has kept my side of the bed warm for me, hehehe. To the Arataki Gang, I missed you all as well, I look forward to seeing you. And as for my beloved, Itto, let's talk once I'm there."

"She's really coming back home!" Everyone celebrated, but Itto's mind started spinning.

The most terrifying words... "Let's talk..." without a hint of emotion.

He looked at the letter once again...

Not even an I love you.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Itto didn't expect the "returning in just a short while" to be just a few hours after he received the letter.

But when he found the door of your shared home open, you were standing visibly inside with your luggage laying on the ground, he could only stand in shock.

He has been dreaming of your return for the past month, but he hasn't exactly thought about how he was gonna greet you, he wasn't even sure whether you were still upset about how he treated you then.

"Y/N..." He whispered the name of the love of his life into the air, being loud enough to just about graze your ears.

You turned to look at him, and immediately, your heart fluttered at the sight. The ever so idiotically dashing man you think is still yours. Your heart sunk at the thought, opting to smile at him instead.

"Itto... Am I still welcome here?" There's a pain constantly in your chest when you think of him. Is his home still your home? Have you been thoroughly replaced? Did you absence spark something between him and a certain ninja you know?

"What are you-" The oni started of confused. "Of course you're welcome here! This is your home, did you think Ushi clamed your ownership entirely? He only took up the bed, but that's it, really." You giggled at his remark, finding it easy to talk to him still.

"It's just that you probably didn't expect me to come back now. My letter was pretty late, as I've heard." You reasoned as you look around, seeing that practically nothing has changed from when you left.

"Well, you wanted to talk, so let's save that for later, why don't we?" Itto picked up all of your luggage, reminding you of his pride of not making two trips just to transport something, prompting you to smile as you nodded at his suggestion.

Your smile lit up the house he found so lonely while you were gone, so naturally, he noticed you smiling at him, and it brought a light feeling to his heart. "What? Missed your strong oni carrying everything for you?"

Your oni... Is he really?

Your smile faded a bit, but you made sure to catch yourself so he wouldn't notice, "Yeahh, I really did..."

...

"So you're the maiden from Narukami right? The one in love with an oni?" You caught the condecending tone of another Shrine Maiden as she spoke to you.

You decided to ignore the way she spoke to you. "Yes, that's right! How can I be of assistance?"

"Mind throwing this to the garbage, just some useless junk mail." She placed a sizable amount of crumbled and shredded paper onto your hands. "Thanks." After giving you the most ungrateful thanks, she walked away giggling with her friend.

You merely sighed, heading for the trash can, pouring the paper in the bin. Just as you were about to walk away, you noticed something on the paper... Ushi's signiture hoof print.

With a gasp, you grabbed it and read the letter that was at such a sorry state. The letter was light hearted, yet when you read it, you almost broke down right next to the garbage. You scooped up the rest of the paper you just threw away and hurriedly ran back to your quarters. Most of the letters are in pieces, but you still needed to see what they say.

After two months in Watatsumi, you only received their letters then.

...

You're finally back home, the suffocating air the Watatsumi Shrine Maidens breathe no longer in your lungs. You took another look of the house as Itto carried your things into your shared room.

In a tired manner, you sat down on the couch, and Ushi immediately took a seat next to you. "Hello, my little bull..." You cooed affectionately, patting his head, which he all responded to positively.

Everything is where it should be... so normal and so familiar.

"Darling! I have a surprise for you! I almost forgot since, ya know, you came unex-" Itto's excited voice and enthusiastic movements halted when he saw you sitting down on the couch. "Y/N...?"

Your head was down, small sobs came from your throat, and he can tell that you're trying yo hold them in. You curled up into a ball, sobs getting louader as you can no longer hold such a pain in your heart.

"Itto, please... I need you..." At your call, the oni dropped his gift to the ground and hurried to your side before pulling you to his chest. "Let me stay here..."

"Love, it's okay... I'm right here. And you can stay right here too." He kissed the top of your head, rubbing you shoulder to calm you down.

"Don't leave me all alone. Do-Don't forget about me..." You were begging, clinging onto him. Hoping he wouldn't walk out the door without a thought.

You wrapped your arms around him, sitting on his lap before burrying your face on his neck. The concerned oni didn't completely understand, but he understood that you needed him, so he's going to be there, he isn't leaving you alone in your home this time.

...

"Feeling better?" With a grin, Itto placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of you. The sight of you nodding left him feeling relieved.

"I'm right here, darling, alright?"

"Do you still love me?" The oni was shocked by the suddenness of your question. You looked at him, expecting an answer.

After composing himself, Itto stood in front of you at the dinner table, giving you the same look. "I fucking love you too much for you to start questioning my love."

"But you gave me a reason to... question it..." You pointed out sheepishly.

The man you love sighed, "I know, and I'm hoping... if you let me, I can make up for that..." He then proceeded to place a gift in front of you, right next to the hot chocolate.

"My very very late birthday present?" You gestured at the gift with a smile.

You felt in your heart that... you should trust his words, to let him prove his love. So you will.

"So you did receive my letters..." He teased right back.

"It's a long story..." You sighed, looking at the present in front of you.

"And I'll be hapy to hear it, love. Because I will always be here." Itto walked up to you and proceeded to wipe the lone tear that fell from your eye.

You stood up and jumped at him, hugging him immediately. "I'm really sorry, Itto... I shouldn't have left."

Tears yet again fell to your cheeks, "But when you forgot about my birthday, about our special day... about me..." You recalled the many nights you spent without him by your side.

"It made me... questionn your love..."

The love of your life hugged you back, letting you lean on his chest. "Then let me ask you now... Do you still love me?"

You chuckled against him.

"I fucking love you too much for you to start questioning my love." He couldn't help but let out the biggest grin when you said that.

The oni let go of you, before bringing the gift to your attention. "Since you love me so much, you'll let me take you out on a date and wear this, right?"

As he opened the box, you saw a necklace with a pendant that in a shape of a bull... he knows you too well. Yes, this is the beautiful jade necklace, it is made out of jade, soooo...

You hear a moo at the your feet, making you look down. "Oh, and here comes Ushi." Itto bantered with the idea of him and the bull being competitors for your love.

Ushi presented to you a wilting flower, along with the purest eyes you can see on a bull.

"Ohh, my sweet darling, thank you so much!"

Itto scoffed, "He literally plucked it out of the neighbor's garden, he almost cried when he was being shouted at."

"Ahh, Ushi has faced such a great trial for this flower, I appreciate it even more."

As the two compete for your love just like old times, the hot chocolate on the table goes cold.

...

"Uh, Shinobu..." The boat of the rest of the Arataki Gang docked at Watasumi Island. "What are we doing here again?" Mamoru questioned the green haired girl.

"Apparently, there's a problem about receiving mail in the Sangonomiya Shrine, and that's why Miss Y/N took so long to get back home." Kuki Shinobu clarified. "Miss Yae asked us to take care of it. Think of this as part of the rescue mission you were talking about."

"Yeahh, alright! Let's kick some mail troblemakers butts!" Akira exclaimed.

"Yep, that's exactly what Miss Yae asked for. This is probably the only Shrine Maiden related thing I like, except for Miss Y/N, of course."

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

After a year with no update...

I was done with a lot of things on my plate (thankfully) so I thought, why not pick up an old project :3

Thanks so much for everyone's patience, for waiting for part 2 of this story for such a long time, I appreciate you guys (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

Tags: @l0diluvs @iiyumii @lockem @t4m3-simp @eliciana @freezombielover

[hornytofugirl]

Let Me Make It Up To You (Ayato x Fem Reader)

cw: minors dni, nsfw, fem!reader, fem!reader x ayato, masturbating, pillow humping, boob play, some dirty talk, creampie

note: my very first smut... be gentle with me lol

word count: 1.7k words

plot: you're home at the kamisato estate, frustrated that ayato will not be at home again due to a late-night meeting at the sangonomiya shrine. you start to touch yourself under the sheets, not knowing that ayato is coming home early due to cancellations

Ayato wasn't going to be home tonight again. This time, he's going to a late-night meeting at the Sangonomiya Shrine, and will have to stay overnight on the island. Sometimes, you ask if you could accompany him on such business trips, but Ayato always gave a sweet, yet tight smile, and said, "No, love. I will always be back." You often open your mouth to argue back and point out that sometimes, he was gone for two weeks at a time, but you could see his eyes darken. No, he wouldn't give you explanations, but you trust him, and he trusts you.

The trust you have in him doesn't diminish the dull ache you feel when you sleep in your bed at the Kamisato estate, the coldness of the sheets a reminder that he wasn't going to come back until... who knows. He did mention tomorrow night, but sometimes, last-minute changes happen, and then he wouldn't be back until another day. You swallow the hope bubbling up in your throat. Don't expect anything. You reach your arm out to where Ayato would be if he was sleeping next to you. It's cold. There's nothing to hold. Of course he isn't here. Why did you even try?

You close your eyes. It's going to be a long night. You feel a tingle below, and you already know what it is. You want him, but he's not here. He's not fucking here. He's not fucking you here.

You slowly trail your hands down into your shorts, your hands cold and clammy. You shut your eyes tight to forget the fact it's you touching yourself, and not Ayato touching you. Your fingers swiftly move back and forth across your clit, and you curl your body up, imagining it was Ayato's long, elegant fingers instead. You quicken the pace of your fingers going back and forth, visualizing Ayato's elegant face, his light blue hair falling over his face as he focused on making you moan his name.

"Ayato... Ah-" You moan softly, your hands feeling warm and wet. You imagine Ayato smiling as he deftly moved his fingers into your folds, whispering, "Ah, the way you moan my name is beautiful. Do it again," and without warning, he shoves his fingers into you, and you instantly feel your walls clamp onto him.

"A-Ayato!" You yelp, thrusting your fingers inside yourself over and over. You try to replicate Ayato's rhythm, his intuition when it comes to you. You swiftly take a pillow and press it between your legs. You start to imagine Ayato holding your hips from behind, ready to put his cock inside. You press the pillow against your clit, imagining that first thrust...

And the lights come on.

Ayato's hands and face fade away. Now, it was just you and the pillow under the blanket.

You feel your face warming up, and not in a good way. You panic and look at the pillow between your legs, and you can see a little wet stain in the middle. Fuck. You swiftly flip the pillow, and you emerge from under the blankets, ready to make a silly excuse to the housekeeper.

The light harshly blinds you, and you immediately squint looking down and trying to locate the housekeeper's dark kimono. However, you see white pants instead. Your heart skips, and you look up.

Ayato's face is staring right back at yours, and his face is unreadable. There's a small smirk that surely shows amusement, but his eyes...

"I've left you at home for too long. Is this what you do when I'm not here?" He asks, his voice calm and still. You freeze. You couldn't tell if he's mad, disappointed, or amused.

"I-I can't help it," you utter, "I miss you. Can I not cope with your absence in my own way?" You feel your eyes fill up with salty, hot tears, and before you could tighten your yukata with embarrassment, he swiftly grabs your wrist and pins you down on the bed.

"I'm not mad at you, love. I'm mad at myself. Let me make it up to you." Ayato says, looking down at you, slowly untying your kimono top. Your cleavage starts to slowly spill, your small, hard nipples popping out.

Before you could say that he doesn't need to make it up to you, he rushes into your chest, and sucks on your nipple. You cover your mouth to stop yourself from screaming with pleasure. He licks your left nipple in a slow circle, squeezing your right boob hard with your right hand. You can feel the hum of your moan vibrating against your hand, and you proceed to press your hand harder to your lips. To have the rest of the estate hearing you moan? Embarrassing.

However, Ayato stops squeezing your tits, takes your hand and has you completely pinned, both of your wrists trapped within his hands. He presses his lips against yours and grinds himself against you, his white suit grinding against your sleepwear. You can feel his cock poking against your thigh and your mind races. Oh god, he's so hard. You moan his name in his mouth, and you fight his hands so that you can wrap yourself all over him, but he holds you firmly in place.

"Like I said, my love, let me make it up to you." Ayato says, his eyes overshadowed with lust.

"You don't need to! It's not your fault-"

"I will make it up to you. Stop talking." Ayato said, his voice cool. He stares at you intently, and you immediately shut your mouth. He swiftly unzips his pants, and quickly grabs both of your small wrists in one hand so that your hands are straight above you, you arms completely up, your whole body naked and vulnerable. Ayato towers over you, covering the light above - his shadow over you.

His warm, hard cock trails within your wet folds, but doesn't quite go inside. You instinctively arch your body up, wanting Ayato's cock inside of you, but he doesn't let you get your way. His dick slips up and down your pussy with ease, his dick slick with your wetness. He moves his hips just so that his wet dick presses against your clit, and you let out a whimper.

"Ayato, please. Go inside me," You beg. You watch as his dick goes up and down, and in every place but the place you want it to be.

"Then look at me, love. Then maybe I'll go in." Ayato replied, "I can't tell if you want me or not if you're just going to look at my cock like that. So, look at me."

You muster up the force to look at Ayato. His eyes pierce right back at yours, and you can feel him thrust into your folds again, this time going faster. You wiggle, but you keep your eyes on him, with the hopes that he'll finally go inside you if you listen to him. But he keeps on moving his slick dick on you instead of inside of you. You feel your body boil with want. You moan, and your hips move wildly, hoping that somehow if you move your hips at just the right angle, he'll accidentally just slip in and proceed to do missionary.

"Please Ayato, stop teasing me-" You moan, and then that's when he thrusts his dick inside.

"Oh, fuck." Ayato groans, and then takes his hands under your ass, and raises your body so that his dick can completely and deeply be inside of you. He thrusts quickly, each thrust opening you up further and further. You wrap your arms around his broad back, your nails digging into his warm, smooth skin. You don't want him to stop. You don't want him to go. You claw and scratch to keep you inside, your walls tightening.

Ayato, noticing your claws, thrusts harder and harder, making your moans choppier as he puts all of his force into his hips. He slips his hands under your back and flips you over so that this time, you can be on top.

However, he wraps his arms around your back so that you would have no way to slip your pussy down into his dick with your hips. You were on top in terms of position, but that was it.

Before you could protest and volunteer to ride him, he thrusts his dick up inside, and you moan instead of speak. Your eyes roll back with pleasure as he proceeds to pull your hair back, your boobs bouncing in his face, his cock still thrusting inside your wet pussy without any sign of stopping.

"You look so pretty with your hair pulled back, taking my cock like this. You're such a good girl," Ayato says, his voice breathy, yet husky from thrusting quickly into you. His words only made you moan louder, you now being conscious of the way you looked. Did you look pretty? You couldn't think - all you could do was feel. All you could do was feel his cock ramming against you, and you can feel yourself tightening to make every thrust more pleasurable for him.

"Oh god. I'm almost there." Ayato mutters, thrusting into you with more fervor. You can almost feel your orgasm coming too, and everything starts to black out. You feel your legs tense, your pussy feeling flashes of pleasure-

"Ayato, cum in me, please!" You scream, and you can hear Ayato moan with satisfaction - with something warm filling up inside you. He cups your ass and makes sure that his cum is lodged all the way up inside you before letting you go. You look behind to see his cum trail out of your pussy, Ayato's cock glistening with your juice and his cum under the bedroom light. You look at him, and you give him a light kiss.

"I think you've made it up to me." You say with a smile. Ayato looks up at you, his eyes now light, and with a relaxed smile.

"I'll cancel my meetings tomorrow. I intend to do more, my love."

[sinsmockingbird]

THE SOLDIER AND PRIESTESS | Kokomi

PAIRING: Kokomi x GN!Reader

WARNINGS: Smut, NSFW, Dom!Reader, Sub!Character, Dirty Talk, Praising, Degradation, Marking, Blowjob, Throat Fucking, Gagging, Cock Slapping, Reader has a cock

AUTHORS NOTE: I did say I was gonna write this @nbdaddykink, @vrncaes. These ideas were excellent and needed to be expanded on.

YOU WERE one of the Raiden Shogun's trusted soldiers, almost to the equivalent of Kujou Sara. You were usually tasked with negotiations than battle plans, not that you minded. You were skilled with your words, your charming personality being a key player in that.

When the Shogun ended the Vision Hunt decree, you were tasked with seeing out negotiations on Watatsumi Island. All you needed to do was try to bring peace between the Shogun's army and the Watatsumi Army. Because of this, you frequently had meetings with non other than Sangonomiya Kokomi.

At first, you took the meetings seriously, upholding your duty to the Shogun. But as time went on, you began to steer away from diplomatic thoughts on Kokomi, beginning to have some rather... unruly ones. Though you'd never act on such thoughts and desires that you had, wanting to stick to what you were originally instructed to do.

Then Kokomi began to let her touches linger on your arms and back, her eyes continously moving up and down your body during meetings. You were finding it harder and harder to concentrate, till eventually you just couldn't handle it anymore.

You had Kokomi pinned against the wall in the Sangonomiya Shrine, your lips clashing against hers as you pinned her hands above her head. It seemed these days, your meetings about negotiations had longed turned into just you two touching and wanting each other.

"Mm, so beautiful." You muttered against her lips, before trailing your mouth down to her neck, kissing it before stopping to suck at a specific part you knew left her mind tumbling.

Kokomi let out a small whine as you sucked on her neck, her back arching further against you as she sighed, tilting her head more to allow you more access. She giggles softly as you tighten your hold on her, gripping her hands tighter and pressing her more against the wall, while dragging your press hand down to grip her thigh.

"Your very- mm, needy today." Kokomi mumbled, sucking in a breath as you nip at her neck one last time before moving your lips to her collarbone.

"Because your absolutely irresistible today, my priestess." You hummed, moving to pull your face from her body, gazing down at her with a look of lust.

"Am I not always irresistible?" Kokomi questioned with a hint of humor, a light pink dusting her cheeks as she shys under your lustful gaze.

"Mm, you are." You tilt your head slightly in thought, your eyes raking up and down her body, before you mumble out, "I just want to ruin you more today..."

A shiver runs up Kokomi's spine at your words, and she briefly looks away from you in embarrassment, before she slyly looks at you again. "So ruin me."

Your eyes flash up to her's in an instant, and you smirk at her. Then in a swift motion your pushing her onto her knees in front of you, while you fumble to undo the belt of your uniform. Kokomi is eager to help, as she undoes the buttons of your pants, tugging them down your legs as soon as you undo your belt.

You groan as soon as your cock is free of it's confinements, smirking as Kokomi looks at it hungrily. But she doesn't touch it right away, even though she desperately wants to, she looks up at you for permission first. She's learned overtime to wait than immediately take you for herself.

"You want my cock dear priestess?" You asked teasingly, seeing the way her eyes hungrily drunk in the sight of your length.

Kokomi quickly nodded her head, licking her lips before glancing up at you. "Please, can I touch it..?"

You smiled down at her, one hand taking your cock into your hand and moving to rub it against her cheek and lips, making her suck in a breath as she closed her eyes. "Go ahead. Suck my cock for me."

Kokomi quickly opened her eyes, letting out a shaky breath before raising her hands up to wrap around your shaft. You groaned at the feeling of her touch, humming in approval as she gave you a few pumps, making your cock harden more. The sight had the female's mouth watering.

"Mm, just like that." You hummed, sighing in satisfaction from the feeling, moving a hand down to stroke her cheek affectionately.

Kokomi sighed at the feeling, gazing up at you with slightly hazy eyes, before moving to tentatively lick a stripe up your length. You groaned at the feeling, you cock twitching at the feeling. It made the priestesses smile, and she began to lick your shaft more and more.

She held her hand tightly around your base as she brought her lips to tip, her tongue flicking out to lick at the precum dribbling out. You grunted at the feeling, closing your eyes in pleasure as she wrapped her lips around the tip, her tongue quickly moving to flick at it repeatedly.

She kept her eyes on your face, wanting to watch each of your reactions as she sucked on your tip, her eyes shining at the grunts and groans slipping past your lips. Kokomi then slid her mouth further down your length, taking a couple more inches in with no problem; she had grown accustomed to your size with your other past meetings.

"Fuck, so good, Kokomi." You grunt, one of your hands moving to thread through her hair, placing it on the back of her head as encouragement for her to keep going.

Kokomi quickly did just that, beginning to bob her head up and down. Her tongue rolled around your shaft, caressing each ridge, making your cock throb and quiver more in pleasure. You gripped her hair, tugging on it slightly as a way to tell her to go faster, and she did just that.

Moving her head up and down your length faster, she watched your head fall back slightly, your mouth open in pleasure as you enjoyed the warm feeling of mouth enveloping your cock. It was feeling so good, but unfortunately it wasn't getting you close to release.

"Kokomi, stop for a second." You instructed through a grunt, and quickly the priestess stopped, looking up at you curiously as you slid your cock out of her mouth.

You grabbed her shoulders, shifting her into a more comfortable position on her knees. She raised an eyebrow at you, wondering what exactly you were doing as you placed your hand onto the back of her her head again, angling her head up slightly.

"What's wron-?" Kokomi opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off as you quickly stuffed your cock back into her mouth.

Kokomi gagged at the force fullness of your thrust, your cock bumping into the back of her throat. You let out a moan at the feeling of having her mouth around more of your shaft. You laced your other hand in her head, holding the back of her head and allowing yourself to grip onto her.

She raised her own hands up, grabbing onto your thighs for support. After checking to make sure she was okay, you began to thrust your cock in and out of her mouth, your length sliding deeper and deeper into her. She gagged each time it hit the back of her throat, but her eyes pleaded for you to use her more.

And you did, quickly thrusting your cock relentlessly into her mouth, till tears were falling from her eyes. You grunted, fingers tugging at her hair, head hung low as you worked to fuck her throat more and more. You could feel your orgasm quickly approaching.

As you got close to the brink of orgasm, you suddenly slid your cock of Kokomi's mouth, hearing her gasp for breath. But you didn't focus on that, quickly giving your shaft a few pumps before you began to cum, painting the priestesses face white.

"Fuck, fuck fuck that's it." You grunted, sighing in content as you finally cummed, staring down and watching as Kokomi had her mouth wide open, trying to catch as much of your cum as possible.

When you shot the final few ropes, you grinned down at the sight of Kokomi covered in your cum. She licked her lips, savoring the taste of your cum, looking up at you with lust hazed eyes, her desire clear in them.

"Tell me your my cockslut." You breathed, your cock twitching in your hand as you rubbed it across the female's face.

"I- I'm your cockslut." Kokomi muttered, savoring the feeling of your cock rubbing against her.

You groaned at the words leaving her mouth, and you nodded approvingly at her. You then slapped your cock against her face, relishing in the squeal she emitted as you muttered under your breath. "I'm gonna ruin you tonight my dear Priestess."

ENDING NOTE: The idea of Kokomi being not so innocent has my mouth watering. You know she has more... dirty thoughts lingering in her mind, despite what her innocent appearance says.

[ezlo-x]

“Wow I hope BotW gets a sequel someday…” - my TotK summary <3

It’s been a year, and honestly. I did not complete that game at all. I watched lets plays and cutscenes in youtube and a few playthroughs of my friends. And every time, my regret of buying this game grows ever so slightly. I know I sound mean and harsh but I prommy I got nothing against ppl who actually enjoyed TotK. This is more of my personal experience of how my excitement playing this game completely burned me out less than halfway through the game.

Gameplay

I’ll start with gameplay first, as I have issues with it. Let’s start with the physics of the game itself. Ngl, there was a small worry in the back of my mind when I realized there would be in-game physics and that you have to rely on those said physics. I personally don’t have a good experience with game physics and they usually tend to frustrate me. Which somewhat happened when playing the game. It didn’t happen too often, thankfully, maybe because the zonai parts didn’t tend to last long. Speaking of Zonai parts and builds

I wish building Zonai stuff was a bit more fun. Or at least give us more time to experience our builds. We already have a disadvantage by having a limited amount of batteries that you have to slowly upgrade throughout the game. So, seeing that one of your Zonai pieces starts to flash and disappear is annoying. I understand we can obtain more zonai parts throughout Hyrule, but I wish it lasted long enough. Also, the fact that you can’t really travel a lot in many of the builds, oh how disappointing it was to build a cool Zonai truck with big ass wheels but get frustrated that it couldn’t pass through a few bumps on the road. I feel like the Hoverbike is the best Zonai build of the game.

The Ultrahand is fun when trying to solve puzzles or merge random items. Fusing weapons, on the other hand, is my favorite thing in the game. There’s something really satisfying about fusing a really powerful weapon together. I really don’t mind that the weapons are breakable if that means I have a spot to make a strong weapon. Weapon durability never really bothered me. Both games push you to explore around to look for weapons. I think it would be boring if they weren’t breakable.

The shrines are a big improvement from BotW's shrines. I wished there were more challenging Shrines over the many King Rauru blessings. I can't really say much about the dungeons as I only completed two out of the five. But I think there was a bit to be desired; it's almost a Zelda dungeon.

Sage abilities. I want to speak to the game designer who thought it was a great idea to activate the sage abilities with the same button you click to pick up items on the floor. A total downgrade to the way you’d activate the Champion abilities in BotW.

Rupees. I would like to speak to the game designer who thought it was a great idea that you now have to manually press A to pick up rupees from the floor rather than casually walking in front of it to automatically pick it up. From my previous point, do you know how many times I’ve tried to pick up rupees only for Tulin’s ability to fly them away from me?

The sky islands, ohh boyyy, finding out that they had to reduce the amount of sky islands is disappointing, but I understand in a game design aspect. BUT it is disappointing that the game was advertising itself for the sky islands, only for there to be very few in the final. Like remember back in 2021 when they were advertising SkSw HD, and then i think a year later a totk teaser dropped and Link was falling from the skies? Good times ❤️

The Depths: I enjoyed the Depths a bit more than the Sky Islands. But it does get boring after a while if you’re not there to fight monsters or look for treasure, which is also disappointing. I love the OST descending down a chasm and entering the depths. Also, don’t get me started on how frustrating it is to use Zonai builds there compared to the surface or sky islands.

I think those are all my thoughts on the gameplay. I still have a few more issues with it but I feel like it mixes with the story so lets get that over with

Limitation vs Freedom

My biggest issue with this game is that it gives you the freedom to do whatever you want. However, there is still a story attached, and the story still wants to play out linearly. So, we have a game that grants you total freedom on how you want to play this game, but the story is still linear. But even if you decide to experience the story while doing dungeons and shrines. The game doesn't update with the piece of information that you discover.

The Dragon Tears are a really flawed way to experience the story. Zelda's memories are scattered across Hyrule; the number of times I've seen ppl say they accidentally got the tears out of order cause they thought it was similar to BotW's way of getting the memories. Basically, if you happen to be near one memory, you might as well get it cause it'll get annoying to go back and forth. Only to the person's shock, they got a cutscene meeting the Queen and King and then going up the Hebra region as that's the closest memory from the previous one. Just to see Queen Sonia dead on the floor.

What also bothers me is that the game doesn't update when you make a discovery in these memories. For example, I found out that Phantom Ganon can transform into Zelda in the memories and walk up to the NPCs in hopes of a change of dialogue. But getting nothing, walking up to Purah, Tulin, then Yunobo, and seeing no change of dialogue got really tiresome. It's as if the game doesn't believe you're smart enough to connect the dots.

Also, for people who decided to explore and get the Dragon Tear memories before entering any dungeon. There is very little change of dialogue, suddenly the game strangely punishes you by not letting the npcs acknowledge what you just discovered. While it's not an actual in-game punishment, you're stuck with characters asking a million questions that you already know of. Suddenly, the game's freedom to do whatever you want gets put to a halt because you decide to have the freedom to experience the story however you'd like.

NOW I get to move the part that I’ve been waiting (dreading) for!!

Lore

Sheikah Tech…I don’t care how simple the explanation is on why they are gone. It is probably the dumbest explanation I’ve seen. The fact that it wasn’t even questioned in-game and by the developers baffles my mind. How does it vanish in thin air? Their explanation is that the Calamity no longer exists doesn’t make sense to me either. The Sheikah tech has been there for more than 10k years but only in a dormant state. I don’t want to ask any more questions, or I’ll be here all day, but it drives me up a wall how the lore of the Sheikah got shafted to the side for the new stone technology aesthetic. Speaking of which-

Zonai in general. The fact that WE DONT EVEN GET LORE from the Zonais aside from being viewed as gods is sooooo ughhhhh I wish there was more. Why are there two remaining Zonais? (This probably got answered tbh but idc to look) Who’s the ancient hero and how come he looks like a Zonai or just in fact a different race we’ve never seen before?

Draconification…god. I have many thoughts and also many thoughts about the secret stones. It is an idea that I find interesting and could’ve worked for me. If it didn’t contradict itself in many aspects, as in how becoming a dragon, you will lose your sense of self. I think it would be a nice foreshadowing of the fate Zelda could’ve had. I think making the other dragons take a role in that and expand on it would’ve worked. Idk I think instead of implying it, it could’ve been expanded and shown a lot more severity of the situation.

Apparently I don’t got much on lore, but you know what I got much of????

STORY

This one is going to be a FAT one so bear with me. God where do I even begin here, I'm going completely omit the part where the game feels like it’s gaslighting you through the npcs cause I feel like everyone knows that.

My biggest frustration with this game is that it has such interesting story concepts and cinematic moments. But I can’t but feel like these moments were there first, and everything else was built around it. However, whatever suspicion I feel about how they created this story, only to my shock and horror that there isn’t a credited group of people in the credits, only an outside team (company?). Before I continue, I think it’s dumb when people say TLoZ didn’t have much of a story when previous Zelda games had a storyline to follow (OoT, MM, WW, TP, fucking…even Link’s Awakening, and more). So yes, TLoZ does have stories. It’s not just about the dungeons if I'm being honest.

What I find so odd is that Monolith Soft has games such as the Xenoblade games, where the latest game of that series does have a credited team of writers. Hell, BotW had two credited writers. But I won't go far speculating why they decided to hire a company outside the team to write TotK; it is only interesting to me why they did that. Since there really isn't a solid team of writers, I will focus my issues on Fujibayashi as a story writer; after all, he is the director of this game. And I've seen multiple interviews after the game's release where he explains a lot of the game's "lore" and story that should've been easily explained in the game in the first place. I think this will be me sharing my opinions rather than critiques... boy where do I even begin...

Sages—the ancient sages, not counting Mineru, are pointless. I felt no connection seeing the Ancient Sages meet their predecessors. Can't believe Age of Calamity made me feel more strongly about the Champions meeting their predecessors than the ancient sages did. - I also think they really don't share anything important. Maybe the first time, yes, but you could easily remove their cutscenes and just have Mineru explain how everything went down, and nothing will change. - Now, to the present Sages, I can't really say much, sadly. Tulin and Yunobo were the only characters for whom I completed their quests, and I enjoyed their character arcs, especially Yunobo's. If I could pick up TotK again, I would try to do Riju's arc, as it seemed really fun to play from the playthroughs I've seen my friends do. I don't really care for Sidon. Before I dropped the game, I was going through his quest and got really irritated fast for many reasons that I have mentioned here previously.

King Rauru and Queen Sonia – There has never been a character that I've enjoyed where I think they deserved much better than what they were there for. I get it; Sonia was only there as the character to be killed off to move the plot forward, but oh my god...I could've saved her. I wished we could've seen her more involved in the story than just standing by Raruru's side. - King Rauru, my brain turns foggy when I think of this man, and sometimes there are too many words to explain my issues. But to water it down, I feel we centered ourselves too much on these characters who don't even affect the main protagonist to some degree. Sure, King Rauru first appears at the beginning to show you his magic hand abilities. But I guess I was hoping something like how the previous TLoZ games had your companion help you throughout your journey and are the key fact of many things in the story (Midna and KotRL appear in my head when I mention this).

Zelda—sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I think this game would've been 10x better if she had been the protagonist. I know it probably wouldn't make sense because she turns into a dragon by the end but Idc. What frustrates me about Zelda is that she's given very few options. It's a war or nothing. It's becoming a dragon or being stuck in the past forever. I guess that's the tragedy of her story, but instead of me feeling sad, it frustrates me.

Link—Oh god, here we go. Link has a very small role in this, and you can disagree with me. But how is it possible that this is one of the few Links that has little involvement in the story? Link just happened to stumble into a bigger mystery than it already was. Link didn't even prove himself to Ganondorf why he's a threat to him aside from the first cutscene and Rauru.

Ganondorf - .........I hope this is the last time we see Ganondorf in the series. I know that sounds shocking, but if Fujibayashi is going to take the lead in storytelling for future games, I don't want him to make another iteration of Ganondorf. To me, Fujibayashi works better by making completely new Zelda villains. Ghirahim and Kohga are perfect examples. Ganondorf in this game was so underwhelming and disappointing. He never directly confronted himself with either Link or Zelda. Gameplay wise, he's great, but the story? What is he doing here? Literally, it feels like they only brought Ganondorf back because people questioned about Ganondorf back in BotW.

Conclusion

There are many aspects of the game that I enjoy; however, in my case, the bad outweighs the good. That's why this game frustrates me: There was a lot of potential to be seen. There is probably more for me to say that I'm either intentionally leaving out or just forgetting cause there are many things. Happy one year TotK 🎉🎉🎉

[wild-dagon]

There is one amazing linked universe fanfiction on AO3 that I can’t remember the name of but it’s a Wild join the chain story.

Wild’s slate goes crazy and 8 of his shrines are different colors. He goes to investigate the one closest to Kakariko and finds Wind and a broken shrine. He then goes on a journey to find all the other members of the Chain through Hyrule (with a lot of Wild angst) I just can’t remember the name of it (it haunts me)

However it has birthed my own brain child. What if it’s not the chain that gets scattered across Wild’s Hyrule but their loved ones.

Botw has a lot of locations that call back to old games that could make this very fun.

Let’s say the Chain arrived in BOTW and Wild is so relieved because the step out of the portal just outside of Hateno village and he’s like “what a stock of luck” and takes everyone to his house. They are all able to relate and they think the goddess is giving them a break.

But while they are relaxing Wild’s slate starts beeping. He pulls it out only to see something weird. There is a new glowing symbol on his map. One he recognizes but shouldn’t be on his map. He calls Time over and shows him his slate, he wants to confirm what he’s seeing. Time looks at the slate to see Lon Lon Ranch’s little cow symbol flashing on Wild’s screen.

After a little bit of discussion (no that’s not supposed to be to be there. Yes it just appeared) they decided to go check it out. Wild can only teleport with one passanger and there is no way Time is letting him go alone (these are his kids) and the isn’t letting anyone else go (it has to do with Lon Lon ranch)

The two of them teleport over to the Wetland stables and start making their way over to the Ranch Ruins. Wild tells Time that they have to be cautious because there is a Guardian in the area. But as they approach they can see that the guardian is already on alert and the Bokoblins near by are also agitated.

Wild and Time pause to try and take in the situation when Time spots a flash of red hair. His heart drops because it can’t be. He points it out to Wild and asking him to use his slate to get a better look. As soon as Wild does he can see a terrified Malon hiding in the ruins of the ranch trying to stay as quiet and still as possible.

The two rush in to save her (wild handling the guardian with an ancient arrow and time quickly dispatching the Bokoblins). Malon is shaken but unharmed. She tells them that a portal opened up under her feet and dropped her into the ranch ruins.

They make their way back ti the stable. Time wants Wild to teleport her to Hateno immediately but Wild and Malon are both against leaving him alone in Wild’s Hyrule. They agree to make it back to the safety of the stables and then Wild will take Malon to Hateno before returning for time. (Deportation with passengers is also hard in his body and he doesn’t want to take the risk of passing out in a dangerous location when he’s their only way out).

They call Wind on the way back so the Chain is waiting for them at the Shrine. Wild’s exhausted from the teleporting and Twulight helps him back to the house as the boys lead Malon to Wilds home. They whole way there they are wonder why Malon is here? And more importantly will anyone else come through?

Yes.

I think Ravio will come through for Legend (his little bunny symbol appearing in the map) he appears on Eventude Island because of course he does and Legeand is flipping out because that’s the name of HER island and he can’t lose anyone else (you could also have Marine appear here or just do the angst of Legend worrying about losing someone else to the island)

For Twilight you could do it one of two ways the Oridon symbol appears and they go to find Rusl (and maybe his whole family) if it’s them I would put them in one of four places: by the broken mirror by Lurelin village. Maybe in the Faron woods or the Damel forest as they are both in the Faron province. Or somewhere in Akkala because u want someone to go to Tarry town. But I think the best place to put them would be Arbiter’s ground just because it’s such an iconic place in TP. (You could also do Midna near the mirror)

For Sky it’s obviously Sun (his Zelda) and I would put her in the forgotten temple. It’s to perfect and almost tomb like plus with all the guardians it makes for a stressful place for her to be. Especially if you put the shrine on the fritz. Even if it’s not she probably would have triggered some of the guardians but trying to leave.

Wind would be Tetra or Aryll and I would put them near Lurelin village as it is the most like their game or you could throw them somewhere completely different and put them in the dessert. (I need a good place to put them)

For Hyrule you could put Dawn (the princess from his first game the red head (right I’ve never been sure which was which)) or Aurora (the Zelda from Link’s adventure the one who slept for 100 years, the brunette?) or both in to the Typhlo ruins (the island that is shrouded in darkness) I think they would be really freaked out by that place.

For Four you could do Dot (or maybe Shadow) I’m not sure where to put them. Maybe somewhere cold since Four struggles in cold environments or maybe they are the ones that go to Akkala.

For Warriors it’s either, Artemis, Lana, or Linkle and they are in the castle. Or the Garrison ruins but I think the castle is the worst location for them.

Basically the links are rushing to their loved ones side and Wild is tagging a long as guide and transport. The bigger the group the harder it is on Wild and they have to do some traveling to get to a safe place to teleport the group one at a time. Some will have more travel time than others.

You can also have Flora trying to help out and find loggings for everyone.

[cheolism]

good things from bad days

✧ wen junhui x f!reader ✧ summary: jun returns to the apartment after you've texted him that you've had a bad day. seeing you drunk, jun decides to take care of you like you've taken care of him. only you are much more honest with your feelings when you're not sober. ✧ wc is approx 5.6k ✧ tags: fluff and comedy; roommates-to-lovers, mutual pining. in a relationship but only you two don't know. domesticity, knowing someone intimately. drunken confessions. ✧ warnings: this is not edited. despite jun being sober while reader is drunk, he doesn't do anything that takes advantage of this. this is ultimately: we've loved each other for five years and you admitting you're in love with him while drunk gives jun the push he needs. drink responsibly, kiddos. ✧ drabble sequel here!!!!!

When you had texted Jun that you were having a bad day, Jun didn’t quite know what to expect. You had your fair share of bad days, unfortunately; Jun wished every day was filled with nothing but happiness and contentment for you, but he was just one man and couldn’t fight the whole world. 

(Once, when you were having a bad day, a barista had nearly made you cry. She had given you a once-over, looking you up and down after you gave your order. Then she gave a little huff, irritated, before turning around and walking away.

Jun didn’t throw a punch at the barista because 1) she was, at the most, eighteen, and 2) it just wasn’t in his personality to do so. But he did leave a negative review and said he found a hair in his drink.)

Today had started out good, he had thought. But then around noon he got a message about your boss, and then twenty minutes later you were saying that you just wanted to be home, that you couldn't take another minute at work. His heart had broken, reading that.

But Jun did what he did whenever he noticed you were looking particularly sad. He went out and bought a bouquet of flowers, stopped at the little Chinese place that knew the both of you by name. Left a fiver at the little shrine in the back of the restaurant, placed his palms together, asked for your health and happiness, just as he always did whenever the two of you stopped. 

“Say hi to your lover for me!” Auntie Meilan waved, grinning at him. “Bring them in next time!”

“I will!” Jun called back, saluting and neglecting to correct the Auntie that no, you weren’t his lover, you were just his longtime roommate that he had been in love with for far too long. 

That was all. 

Night had long fallen on the city, street lights dim and headlights bright. Jun hated getting off this late. He hated it because it meant he missed out on the normal mealtime for the both of you, and he knew that instead of you just making food for yourself or even making a meal and saving some of it in the fridge for him to have later, you would hold off on eating altogether until he got home so the two of you could share dinner and talk about your day. 

Which was why he volunteered to grab food. 

Jun’s stomach grumbled as he walked to the car, and if he was a lesser man he would’ve torn open the takeout box and ate his portion right then and there. But he wouldn’t. Couldn’t. No matter how hungry he was. 

“You wouldn’t be so hungry if you actually ate a meal at lunch instead of just eating those shrimp chips you like so much.” You had said once, watching as Jun tore open a container of cherry tomatoes and began eating them whole as soon as he walked through the apartment door. 

He had gasped dramatically, and still chewing the cherry tomatoes, scolding you. “How dare you talk about my precious chips as if they’re nothing more than a mere snack! They’re in a league of their own, they deserve an entire meal dedicated to them --”

“Okay, shrimp boy,” you had amended, your brow furrowing in adorable concern. You had rounded the island and went to the cupboard, withdrawing with a box of pasta. “Hold your horses and I’ll whip up some pasta. Don’t make yourself sick on those.”

The smell of takeout permeated the car, to the point where Jun couldn’t even smell it over the vanilla scentsy you had gotten him. It took far too long for Jun to get to the apartment, and every time the light switched to red Jun wanted to just slam his foot down on the pedal and speed through the intersection. 

But he didn’t. 

The man with the french bulldog was walking the dog around the parking lot when he pulled in, and gave Jun a short wave in greeting. Spotting the takeout bags in Jun’s hands, he called out, “Must be your night to make supper!”

Ignoring how misogynistic that seemed and how Jun was the one to primarily make your meals, Jun gave the man a tight-lipped smile. “Yeah, haha. Nothing like takeout on a Friday night!”

“Tell your sweetheart I said hi!”

Again neglecting to correct the man, Jun made his way into the building. He greeted the old woman who always sat in the foyer because you always greeted her, remembering how you once commented on how she must live alone or feel lonely, to spend her entire day in the front watching people come and go. 

Jun took the elevator on the right, despite knowing that you didn’t trust that particular elevator and all the squeaking and moaning it did. He felt bad for the next person who would use the elevator, knowing they would smell nothing but delicious Chinese food. 

As Jun shoved his key into the hole to unlock your apartment door, he got the distinct feeling that something was off. He didn’t know how he knew, but Jun knew without even stepping foot into the apartment that something was wrong. 

This didn’t dissuade him; instead he hurried in, calling out for you as soon as the door was open. 

“I’m home! Food is acquired and ready for consumption as soon as you are!”

He kicked off his shoes, ignoring the shoe rack you had insisted on buying, and made his way to the kitchen. He set the takeout on the island, peering around the apartment for you. 

As it was Friday, the apartment was slightly a mess. Socks littered the floor, and Jun spotted your pants near the corner of the couch. He entered the space, noting the nearly-empty bottles of vodka and pineapple juice. There was an empty bag of chips -- his shrimp chips. 

He called out your name again, rounding the couch. The living room blankets were in complete disarray, and your laptop was propped up on the coffee table. There were a few crumbs on the couch, and Jun spotted a muffin wrapper on the floor. 

“Wen Junhui!”

Arms were suddenly around his middle, pulling him back and squeezing. Jun immediately knew it was you, and turned in your arms. You were already grinning up at him, slightly too-wide and with eyes that glittered brighter than usual. 

“Junnie,” you whined, pitching forward and burrowing your face into his chest. Bewildered, but slowly coming to a realization, Jun wrapped his arms around your shoulders and held you to him. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

“I’m glad I’m here, too,” he agreed. You tightened your grip around his waist, leading him into a swaying motion. “Are you okay?”

You pouted, resting your chin on his chest in order to look up at him. “No. I had a bad day. And I’m drunk.”

You may be drunk, Jun acknowledged, but you were no less beautiful than when he left you. You were smiling at him like he was your favorite person on the planet, as if he was the person most dear to you, as if he was someone you treasured and loved, and Jun couldn’t help but giggle and bend down to press a swift kiss to your forehead. 

“Yes,” he laughed a little. “You are drunk. I brought food home.”

You gasped, mouth gaping and eyes widening dramatically. “For me?”

“For you!”

Squealing, you burrowed your face into his chest. He hoped you couldn’t hear the way his heart was threatening to leap from it. “You’re amazing! You’re the bestest!”

Squeezing you one last time, Jun reluctantly pulled himself away. While he loved hugging and loving you, and would gladly do nothing but that for days on end, you were drunk and vulnerable. “No, you’re the bestest.”

You frowned at him as he untangled himself, whining. Jun couldn’t help but coo at you, reaching out and pressing your cheeks together. You were so fucking cute. 

“Noooo,” you protested, hands reaching up to cover his. “Youuuuuu!”

“I greatly disagree,” Jun said. He pressed another kiss to your forehead and pulled away. He rounded you, hands going to your shoulders, and began guiding you towards the kitchen. 

Jun was careful to make sure you didn’t hit a hand or foot on the couch leg, gentle and slow enough to ensure you weren’t going to stumble. All the while you were chattering to him, telling Jun about a show you had watched as a child. 

“I don’t know that show,” he admitted, guiding you to sit down at the island. He left your side to return to the takeout, pulling the boxes out of the bag and setting them on the counter. He then went to the dishwasher and pulled out chopsticks. “I grew up in China, remember?”

“Ooh,” you said, eyes wide. It reminded him of Bambi, almost, how innocent and sweet you seemed like this. You were always sweet, he knew, but there was something especially child-like about you when you were like this. “I forgot.”

Jun set your chopsticks in front of you. He then went to the cupboard and withdrew two cups, quickly filling them with water and setting them down on the island. “It’s okay. We can always watch that show later.”

You nodded somberly, puffing out your cheeks. He couldn’t help but grin at how intently you were watching him open up the takeout boxes, your eyes taking in his every move. Jun picked up his chopsticks and clicked them at you once, watching your eyes focus, before reaching for the box of noodles.

“Hey!” You snapped, reaching out and smacking his hand. Jun startled, dropping a blob of noodles on the counter. “Where did you grow up! In a barn? We use plates when eating in this apartment, young man!”

“Yessir!” Jun returned, roughly saluting at you. He stood up and went to the dishwasher, and when he set down two plates you gave him a sharp nod of approval. 

“Good.” You glanced down at the mess of noodles. Frowning, you hopped down from the barstool.

“Where are you going?”

“To clean up your mess, Mr. Junhui,” you slurred, rounding the island to grab paper towels. He couldn’t help but laugh at the serious look on your face, as if he had committed a serious wrong. 

He was going to clean it, of course, after your meal. But he said nothing as you walked to his elbow and leaned against his arm, reaching and collecting the fallen noodles. “Dirty boy.”

Jun nodded, still smiling. “Yes, I’m a dirty boy, aren’t I?”

You returned his nod, still serious. “But you’re my dirty boy.”

Suddenly feeling his heart warm with affection and adoration, Jun inclined his head. “Yes. I’m your boy.”

Satisfied, you tossed the noodles and paper towel into the sink and returned to your seat. You brought the plate between yourself and the boxes, and Jun watched as you, very carefully, lifted your chopsticks and grabbed the box of sesame chicken. 

Even as the two of you ate, you were speaking. Jun listened as you talked about this woman at work who did nothing but complain about her children and husband, but then also said she was trying for a fourth, and how you didn’t think she had ever said a single nice thing about her family since you’ve met her.

Then you were frowning seriously at Jun, pointing at him with your chopsticks. “We won’t end like that no matter what, right, Junnie?”

“Right, darling.”

You set your chopsticks down on the table, reaching out with your other hand. Your hand wrapped around Jun’s cup and brought it to your lips. “Wait -- that’s my cup, I’ve already drank from it, it has my cooties.”

Jun watched you pause for a few seconds, eyeing him over the rim of the cup. And then you raised it to your lips and gulped it. 

“There,” you said, sighing in satisfaction. “Now I have your cooties.”

You then opened up the steamed vegetables, delight taking over your features. Jun continued eating as you shifted through the vegetables, picking out the broccoli and placing each piece on his plate. Jun ate them dutifully, shoving each piece into his mouth. 

“Careful,” you scolded, “you’ll choke.”

Jun watched as you then set down your chopsticks on the counter, the metal clinking against the surface. You pointed at him, peering at him with an extremely serious look on your face that didn’t really suit the situation and had Jun fighting to keep his smile off of his face. 

“Listen here, Wen Junhui,” you slowly began, brows furrowing. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you to not stuff your mouth. But I’m serious. Choking is not a joke. It’s not fun. Have you ever been choked before?”

You had begun gesturing with your hands during your little speech, and at the end of your statement you waved your hand and sent your cup tumbling. 

Jun jumped up, rushing for the paper towels and rounding the island. You were blinking at the water even as it dripped into your lap, and Jun shoved away the cuteness of how you looked, confused and taken aback, and ushered you off the stoll. 

“Oh,” you mumbled, moving. 

“It’s okay,” he soothed, “we just have a small ocean in our kitchen. I’ll clean it up while you get changed out of your pants.”

He spun a few too many towels from the roll, focusing on turning the cup upright and wiping down the counter before moving onto the mess on the floor. You were still muttering to yourself, and it wasn’t until you made a small “oh” sound, followed by the sound of something hitting the wall, did Jun turn around. 

You were standing in front of him, legs completely bare and leggings sitting sadly on the floor from where you had thrown them against the wall. For a moment Jun couldn’t help but look -- look at your thighs and take in the shape of them, the color; his eyes trailed down over your knee and to your legs, taking in the spots where you had attempting waxing and given up halfway through, leaving bald patches on your leg surrounded by hair.

But fuck, if he didn’t want to wrap his hand around your leg and guide it around his waist, pull you tight against him and feel your body pressed against his. 

“Staring is rude,” you said, flapping your hand towards Jun. 

“Mm,” he hummed, turning his back to you. Jun dropped to the floor, beginning on the small puddle that had formed. “I won’t mention all the staring you do at me when I get out of the shower, then.”

“That’s not fair, though,” you argued. Jun stood, knees cracking, and watched as you stomped your foot. The fat of your thighs jiggled at the movement, and he wanted to dig his fingers into your flesh and see how it molded around his digits. “You know what you look like.”

“I do?”

“Irresistible,” you said matter-of-factly.

He echoed you, the word and its implications not really registering with him until he said it himself. And then the little light in Jun’s head flicked on, and he squinted at you. 

It wasn’t like you made it a habit to be drunk; you didn’t. In the years Jun’s known you, in the years he’s been your roommate, he’s only seen you properly drunk a handful of times. But he knows what you’re like when you’re drunk: you’re giggly, silly, and honest. 

“Alcohol is like a truth serum for me,” you had told him after a few weeks of meeting. “Get me drunk and I’ll tell you anything. It’s why I can’t be President: I’d reveal all the State secrets.”

And sure enough, Jun found out that when you were drunk, you were incredibly honest. He could ask you any question he wanted and you would answer. He had once tested this by asking you if you had ever lied to your grandma before. Sober you had frowned at him and shook your head, saying you had nothing to really lie about; drunk you had bursted into tears, sobbing about how you had lied to her about your whereabouts on your 21st birthday by saying you had been safely drinking with your friends at their apartment instead of being out at clubs. 

So: drunk you was as honest as you could get. You weren’t inherently dishonest, but all of the little things you were ashamed of or kept secret bubbled out. 

Irresistible. 

Truthfully, Jun wanted to poke at this some more. He wanted to ask you to elaborate, and he knew that if he was quiet for much longer you would elaborate yourself. 

But he didn’t. He couldn’t.

It felt wrong doing that. You trusted him. You trusted him when you were sick, when you were drunk, when you were in tears; you trusted Jun when you were at your most vulnerable, and taking advantage of you in this state, even to just question you about your feelings towards him, was wrong. 

Jun instead began talking, filling up the empty space with his own chatter in order to get your mind off of him in the shower. He narrated what he was doing as he did it, loudly, speaking everything as it appeared in his mind. 

“I’m going to throw away these towels. I know you don’t mind it when I leave wrappers around, because you do it too, but I know you hate it when dirty things are left. Like I remember you scolding Seungcheol for leaving his sweaty undershirt in our bathroom. 

“Gosh, I’m going to have to take the trash down next time I leave the apartment. I know you don’t mind doing it, but I also know you don’t like it particularly either. I’m okay with that. You do enough for me, I don’t mind doing this.”

Jun rounded the counter once more, reaching out for you. You went easily, hugging yourself close to him. Despite the alcohol you had drank, you still smelled like you: fresh linen, oranges and lemons, the sort of things that reminded Jun of home. His favorite smells in the world. 

He swooped down and pressed a kiss to your forehead, smoothing your hair away from your face. You blinked up at him lazily at the gesture, eyes taking just a moment too long to open. “Ooh, are you my tired baby?”

You hummed, nodding sleepily. Then you opened your eyes, your arms going over Jun’s to wrap around him in return. “Yes. Your baby.”

Jun tapped his hands against your lower back, leading you into a sway. You complied easily, grinning and rocking back and forth. Your warmth was pressed against his front, your weight in his arms a comforting one. 

Sometimes he felt selfish for having you like this. Like he was keeping you from someone, like he was wrong for keeping you a secret from the world, keeping you up here in your shared apartment. 

Sometimes it felt wrong, leading you into a dance during the late evening, wrapping his arms around you, kissing your forehead. But the thing was, Jun wasn’t stupid. 

You didn’t share an apartment with someone for nearly five years without there being something. You didn’t settle into a routine for five years, didn’t spend hundreds of nights pressed together on the couch watching television; didn’t wait up until late in the night for him to return, didn’t welcome his mother and little brother into the apartment with welcoming smiles and hugs. 

He didn’t remember the last time you went on a date. 

Or: Jun didn’t remember the last time you went on a date that wasn’t with him.

Yes: Jun wasn’t stupid. 

He saw it. He saw how you took care of him, how you always made sure his favorite snacks were in the cupboard; how you went out and bought new soles for his shoes when he complained about his back hurting too much; how you looked at him when he wasn’t looking, how your voice always took this gentle tone with him, as if he was someone precious, someone you treasured. 

He knew you were in love with him. 

Just like he was in love with you. 

But actually saying it, actually bridging the gap? 

Jun sighed, pulling away. He looked down at you, his darling sweetheart with sparkling eyes. He brushed your hair back away from your forehead. “Let’s go find you some pants, baby.”

You blinked up at him, seemingly unable to process. Then you pouted, lips poking out and eyes furrowing. 

Oh, how cute you were --

“‘m not cute,” you childishly protested. You blinked again, and Jun felt his heart plummet when your eyes took on a red hue and tears began to swell. 

“Baby!” He gasped, hands moving to hold your cheeks. Jun brushed away the tears that began to drop with the tip of his fingers, feeling concern bubble up within him. “What’s wrong, darling?”

“You just --” A little sob left you, and you threw yourself forward and into his arms. Jun stumbled back at the sudden addition of your weight, his arms wrapping tightly around you. You nuzzled into him. “You just take such good care of me, Junnie.”

Jun chuckled, squeezing your shoulder. “I’m just returning --”

You shook your head against his chest. He reached up and brushed your hair back again, revealing a single red eye and tear tracks on your cheeks. “You don’t understand, Junnie! You -- you’re so good and handsome and sweet and silly, and I love you so much.”

His heart thudded against his ribcage; he was scared it was going to burst from his chest entirely. 

Jun smiled down at you nonetheless, cupping your cheek in one of his hands. “And I love you.”

“No,” you shook your head again. “You don’t understand. I love you. Like. Like Captain Ri loves Seri.”

Jun’s heart flew out of his chest and left the building. It fucking flew away, soared through the sky and and rounded the earth. As a matter of fact, it took his brain with him, and the two decided to fly up to the moon and wave at the stars. 

“You -- like. Like marry me levels of like?”

“Yes,” you sighed, as if he was dull. “We’re gonna move out of the apartment because we can’t have cats and then move into a little townhouse and adopt two of them so they don’t get lonely, and I’m gonna buy you a ring to match mine and we’ll share a bed and I love you so much.”

Jun’s heart returned to his chest and was fluttering and acting as if it were a butterfly trapped within his ribcage; his brain, however, was still up with the moon and sun. 

Then you grinned up at him, tear tracks still visible against your cheeks. “Dude, we should adopt like, twelve cats.”

And he remembered the bottle of nearly-empty vodka, the spilled water, and his sensibilities. You were drunk, and while you were an honest drunk, it wasn’t fair of him to do this. 

It wasn’t fair of Jun to pester you further, to make you unravel all your secrets; not when you were vulnerable like this. No matter how much he wanted to, how much he yearned to know about the sincerity of your words, he couldn’t. 

Jun pressed a kiss to your forehead again, closing his eyes and exhaling. He felt you mirror him, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his chest. 

“Love it when you give me kissies,” you mumbled against him. 

“Well, I love kissing you.”

You blinked owlishly up at him, mouth agape. “Really?”

He laughed, both hands going to cup your cheeks and hold your face so he could press another kiss to your forehead. “Really, darling.”

Your smile was brighter than any star or sun in the universe. If you were sober, Jun would swoop down and press a kiss to your lips, but alas. 

Instead he began guiding you towards your room. “I think we should get some pants on, don’t you? Wouldn’t want you getting cold. I heard that if you get too cold you turn into a penguin, no joke.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Uh-huh,” Jun returned, reaching over to turn on the light of your room. Your room was messy, proof of how hard of a time you’ve been having lately. Clothes were strewn about, and your blankets were in a tangled mess. One of your pillows was on the foot of your bed, and your precious stuffed koala Jun had gotten you during one of his and Joshua’s dates to the fair was on the floor. 

“People don’t turn into penguins, Junnie,” you said. 

“They do if they’re cold,” Jun said. He left you standing in the doorway, moving to your dresser and pulling out a pair of sweats. “That’s how we got penguins. They’re just evolved from cold people.”

You were squinting at him when he returned. Jun held out your pants for a few moments, but you made no move to grab them from him. Finally you took your pants, holding out your hand; he offered his arm, and you held onto Jun as you slowly stepped into your pants one foot at a time. 

“I want you to know that I know you’re making this up,” you told Jun.

Jun laughed, shoulders shaking. He ducked his head, blonde bangs obscuring his vision. Your grip on his arm eased, and your other hand was smoothing back his bangs and revealing his eyes once more. 

“There you are,” you cooed at him, “my pretty boy.”

Then you yawned, wide enough to where Jun swore he saw down your throat. Despite seeing that, Jun still felt nothing but love for you as you blinked up at him sleepily, smiling like a dope.

“Okay, why don’t you lay down in your bed?” Jun pulled away, capturing your hand and pressing a kiss to your fingers. “I’m going to go get you some water, and then I’ll be back. All right?”

Jun returned to your room a few minutes later, cold cup of water in one hand and headache pills in the other for the morning. Despite the overhead light being on you were splayed out on your bed, face down and limbs going in every direction. 

He paused for a second, worried. Then he saw your back slowly move up and down. Assured he hadn’t walked in on a crime scene, Jun continued his way into your room. He set the cup and pills on your bedside table before leaning down and yanking the blankets out from under you. 

Grumbling, you rolled over on the bed and allowed Jun to gather the blankets. He took a few seconds to unravel them, and when he did he laid each one over your body. 

You hummed in approval as he tucked the blankets around your body, patting your arm and legs as he did so. “All snug?”

“Snug,” you agreed. 

Jun grabbed your koala off the ground. He hugged it to his chest, breathing in your scent that had rubbed off on the stuffie. Jun pressed a kiss to the koala’s forehead before setting it on the bed next to you. 

Your breathing was completely evened out as he smoothed your hair away from your face. He traced his fingers alongside your temple, your cheek. He ran his pointer finger over your nose, feeling the decline of it. Your lips, feeling the plush flesh give beneath his finger, watching as you subconsciously licked your lips. 

God, Jun was a fucking creep. 

Jun pressed a kiss to your forehead, finally retreating. He made his way from your bedroom, only pausing when he got to the doorway. Jun hovered his hand over the light switch for a moment, hesitating. And then: 

“I love you.”

And the light was switched off. 

You were conscious for only a handful of seconds before you were fleeing from the warmth of your bed and sprinting to the bathroom, the pressure of your bladder too great to wait a moment longer. 

Jun was laughing loudly through the bathroom door, and you opened it once you were finished washing your hands. Glaring at him, you flicked your still-damp hands at him, splashing him with droplets of water. 

“Hey!” He laughed, reeling back a little. His eyes were sparkling, and his pretty pink lips were parted to reveal his grin. “Stop bullying me!”

“You’re the bully,�� you mumbled, reaching up and shielding your eyes. Natural sunlight shined through the windows of your living room, reaching into the bathroom and offending your sensitive eyes. You shot Jun a glare as he laughed some more, flicking off the bathroom light and retreating to your room once more. 

The sound of footsteps followed you. “I left some medicine by your bed for your headache.”

“Don’t have much of one,” you replied. 

“Probably because you’ve slept until three in the afternoon,” Jun returned. 

You spun around, eyes wide. Jun was leaning against your door frame, arms crossed over his chest. The sleeves of his grey t-shirt were rolled up to reveal his biceps, which were constantly gaining size as he increased his visits to the gym. His blonde bangs brushed against his eyes, and you couldn’t help but follow their movement as he flicked his head to get them out of his eyes. 

“Three?”

“In the afternoon,” Jun finished. You sat down on the edge of your bed, crossing your legs. Jun sat down next to you, though he laid back and let his arms fall above his head. “Should’ve woken me up.”

“I tried, Grumpy,” Jun said. He reached out and tapped you, and you fell back to lay beside him. “Several times.”

“Evidently not hard enough.”

“Next time I’ll play the trumpet, if you want.”

“I guess that’ll work.” You stretched your arms over your head, and when you rested them your pinkie was brushing Jun’s. You tried not to think about it, but every time your fingers brushed it was as if every nerve in your body was concentrated on that one point. “I wasn’t horrible for you last night, was I?”

Jun shook his head. You turned your head slightly to see him already staring at you; when your eyes met, he smiled. “You’re never horrible for me when you’re drunk. Now when you’re sober --”

“Oh, hush,” you said, reaching out and slapping his arm. He let out a small noise of pain, but you ignored it. You shifted onto your side, leaning down and looking at him. “I really didn’t do anything bad?”

Humming, he tilted his head. He moved one hand to rest behind his head, and the other reached up for you. Your eyes fluttered as his hand brushed over your forehead, fingers gliding through your hair. “Nothing bad, but you said some interesting things.”

Fuck. 

“Fuck,” you hissed. Your heart began to pick up speed, as if you were standing in front of a thousand people getting ready to perform a song you’d only heard once before. “Fuck.”

“Don’t worry!” Jun assured you, his fingers tracing over the shell of your ear. He pinched the lobe of your ear, causing you to wince. “You only confessed that you found me irresistible. And that you love me like Captain Ri and Yoo Seri love each other.”

You furrowed your brow, watching Jun. He stared up at you, eyes half-lidded, lips twisting into a little grin. He looked perfectly at ease, but at the same time, there wasn’t a single hint of true mischief on his face. 

“Did I really?” You asked, voice small.

Jun nodded. His fingers dipped underneath your ear and traced your jaw. “Really. It was cute.”

“And?”

His fingers rested on your chin. He shifted his hand, and then his fingers were brushing against your lips. You let Jun trace your mouth, still leaning over him, heart beginning to calm. Jun’s touch was easing your nerves, and his apparent acceptance and serenity soothed you into following suit. 

This was what often happened, you knew. Jun and you were both introverts; you didn’t like new situations. You hated crowds, hated the loudness of them and how close everyone stood together; you hated the unknown. But then when Jun was beside you, his features neutral and seemingly unbothered, it did something to you. It was as if his tranquility tricked your anxiousness, leaked into your soul and tamed the rough seas.

“And,” Jun murmured, “I love you.”

It was like when you found a blanket at the store and sunk your fingers into it, the feeling of smooth softness encompassing your digits completely. But instead of just your fingers it was your entire soul. 

It wasn’t a big revelation, you thought; not a huge unknown that needed to be answered. 

It was just another fact of life, you figured as you lowered your head to Jun’s. He shifted, elbows pressing into your mattress, raising himself to you. It was just another fact. The sun was yellow, the moon was white, the ocean is big and Wen Junhui loves you. 

With your lips pressed to his, you had one last fleeting thought before his mouth consumed yours entirely: now you didn’t have to feel bad about not correcting the Aunties at the restaurant about him being your boyfriend. 

[werezolft]

Pt. 2 of my Dead Boy Detective covers inspired by teen detective novels. More info and reference photos under the cut

I’ve continued watching this series on repeat while creating the novel covers. I really didn’t think I would get through all the episodes, I often stop projects part way through. I might do another post of the covers in chronological series order, as opposed to the order I drew them in.

Style, colors, and very often the actual poses are pulled from covers featuring The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and The Three Investigators.

I don’t know if you can tell, but I struggle pulling the concentration to add details to make forests look realistic. Something about trees takes more energy than I normally have, haha.

I don’t really have a lot more to add, but thanks for all the love on the first collection, it’s been very fun.

Also, happy pride month 🌈🌈🌈

[ Alt Text

Image 1: An orange-red spiral staircase descends down into darkness. Charles Rowland is higher up, wearing his typical hero outfit; red shirt, black trousers and coat with pins. He’s holding a yellow lantern, and looking behind him anxiously. Edwin Payne follows behind, shrouded in shadow, wearing white nightclothes. At the top in yellow italics is “Dead Boy Detectives”, and in off-white bold caps “THE CASE IF THE VERY LONG STAIRWAY”.

Image 2: A blueish green forest at night, a full moon peaking over the trees in the top left corner. In the foreground to the right stands Crystal in her purple varsity jacket and floral turtleneck, hair half up in buns. Next to her Charles is wearing his hero outfit, polo shirt is fully black. They both look on hesitantly. In the mid ground Edwin, wearing his long brown coat is looking up at the furious glowing blue ghost of Shelby. At the top in yellow italics is “Dead Boy Detectives”, and in off-white bold caps “THE CASE OF THE TWO DEAD DRAGONS”.

Image 3: Crystal and Charles sit inside of a sigil circle on the blue floor of a green subway car. She’s wearing a red jacket, yellow shirt, and tan pants. He’s wearing his hero outfit. Charles is facing Crystal, while she’s angled away from the viewer, both are looking at sheet-ghost David the Demon, who is covered in the same sigils as the circle they sit on, running out the open subway door. At the top in yellow italics is “Dead Boy Detectives”, and in off-white bold lettering “The Case Of Crystal Palace”.

Image 4: A green forest, and brown earth, illuminated by the light of a magically summoned golden chandelier. Under it is The Cat King, brown hair angled into cat ears, wearing a white turtleneck sweater and sparkling black overcoat with red stripes. His arms are folded behind him, and his yellow cat eyes are gazing with feigned disinterest at Monty Finch and Edwin. Edwin is wearing his long brown coat, complete with brown vest and trousers, white shirt and blue bow tie. His cat bracelet is visible on his wrist. Edwin stands in an apprehensive crouch. Behind him Monty, long black hair, red scarf, and black coat, is glaring at The Cat King over his shoulder. At the top in yellow italics is “Dead Boy Detectives”, and in off-white bold caps “THE CASE OF THE CREEPING FOREST”.

Image 5: A series of covers on a white background. From left to right, "The Case Of The Dandelion Shrine", "The Case Of Devlin House", "The Case Of The Dandelion Shrine" (alt cover), "The Case Of The Hungry Snake", "The Case Of The Lighthouse Leapers", “The Case Of The Two Dead Dragons”, “The Case Of The Very Long Stairway”, “The Case Of Crystal Palace”, and “The Case Of The Creeping Forest”.

Image 6: A series of book covers on a white background: “Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators in The Secret of Skeleton Island”, “Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, The Ghost of Blackwood Hall”, “Nancy Drew, The Mystery at Lilac Inn”, “The Hardy Boys, While the Clock Ticked”, “The Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon”, “The Hardy Boys, The Disappearing Floor”, “Nancy Drew, The Hidden Staircase”, “The Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow”, “The Hardy Boys, The Secret Panel”, and “The Hardy Boys, The Haunted Fort”.

[totem-but-shark]

Foolish and Cellbit were my fav qsmp duo (Idk if they are supposed to have a duo name or something). Obviously bc they had an antagonistic friendship (funny), but also bc Foolish just got REALLY into whatever Cellbit was doing at any given time. Castle, wedding, feds murdering, Ordem Paranormal rooms, whatever. I love you grandmas room. I love you chaos room shrine. I love you coin flip decision. I love you wedding assination enigma. Ily interrogations and elections and that chance encounter in Fed HQ.

Foolish and bad had an antagonistic friendship, too, but they understood each other. They could see through the others bullshit and knee what they were after. Foollish and Cellbit did NOT understand each other (character) AT ALL. It was a mystery and theys what made it fun

I disagree on them not understanding eachother! To me qFoolish and qCellbit did not initially understand eachother but over time, especially after purgatory and towards the end of the server, I feel like Cellbit really came to get foolishs chaos. It used to frustrate Cellbit, Foolishs unpredictability, betrayals that from Cellbits point of view at the time could only be seen as malicious as to him there was only two sides on the island, you were with the federation or you weren't. But I think the turning point for their relationship was in Cellbit realising Foolish was never really against them, it's just who he is and that his actions don't reflect whether he cares for other characters or not.

I would say the way in which qBad and qFoolish understand eachother is different to the way in which qFoolish and qCellbit understand eachother. Bad and Foolish understand eachother through the intertwined nature of their immortality, they're the only person that could comprehend that experience for one another. But in another sense it's like they know eachother more than they understand eachother, which are two very different things. With Foolish and Cellbit it's harder to pinpoint, Cellbit came to understand Foolish as a person and love him for it anyway. They're both characters that value family highly and just needed to find the right wavelength, realising they're on the same side. That doesn't mean they weren't still beefing the whole time of course.

To qFoolish the chaos and betrayal is almost like play, a game of cat and mouse except the mouse was never really trying to get away but run one certain kitty round in circles for the fun of it. And eventually qCellbit caught onto the flow of it and was able to engage in this back and forth.

Foolish enjoyed being an another enigma to for Cellbit to solve, he liked winding him up, throwing red herrings, generally being confusing on every front. It was kinda like he was testing Cellbit to see if he could understand and was almost proud when he did! Pleased to not only have been a good puzzle but a good solution, that being that there wasn't one!

The dichotomy between them is delicious, he who searches for answers and he who has none, it made the two of them greater together! Sometimes there are no answers, and sometimes the satisfaction is found in searching and solving and getting to know the puzzle anyway.

Their Duo name is castleduo btw after cellbits castle build but they're often also called foolbit 😋 Thank you for the ask anon! They're one of my favourite duos too and I loved the opportunity to dig into their dynamic a little

[xiaosonlybeloved]

Arguments- Ayato

featuring:- Kamisato Ayato, fem!Y/N warnings:- angst, fluff, a small argument a/n:- and this, is my birthday gift to @kazuuaki , happy birthday bestie! <3 Enjoy your day! (Was originally gonna make this a breakup but changed my mind~) It's short, I know- but it's all i managed to do

masterlist

“You should take a break, ‘Yato. You’ve been working for hours nonstop.” You said, concerned about your boyfriend. He seemed like he’d had enough, the expression on his face anything but pleasant. Wanting him to unwind for a bit, you suggested, “Maybe we could go for a short walk along the beach? That would surely freshen you up a bit.” 

“Get out.” he said coldly, eyes never leaving the countless papers scattered around his desk. “You’re disturbing me. These papers have to reach the Shogun by nightfall, I don’t have to time to rest, and you’re suggesting a walk? Idiot. Can you not see how busy I am?” He hadn’t had a break in ages, was completely sleep deprived (like me), big bags under his eyes and incredibly pissed off in general, increasing your worry for him. You tried again. “‘Yato, that’s why I’m saying you should relax for a bit. Some fresh air would do you good, you’re very agitated right now.” “Of course I am!” He snapped, slamming his hands on his cluttered desk as he stood to look at you. “You’ve been such a nuisance recently, you know that? Always nagging me, ‘Yato do this, ‘Yato do that. Can’t you take a hint and leave me alone?”

He missed the hurt that flashed in your eyes as you swiveled around. “Alright, Ayato, I’ll leave you alone.” You immediately left and banged the door shut behind you. And leave him alone you certainly did.

~⟬◍⟭~

It was early dawn, and the cold grey light filtered through the windows of Ayato’s dark office. He’d been there the entire night, and had just managed to dispatch that set of papers to Inazuma City. Leaning back in his chair, he thought of how you’d scold him for his unhealthy habits, before he remembered the way he’d snapped at you, and the hurtful things he’d said. Shit, he didn’t mean any of that, if anything, it touched him how you always looked out for him. He really owed you an apology, big time. He walked out of the office for the first time since yesterday’s lunch, and went straight to your quarters, knocking on the door. “Love, are you there? Can I talk to you?” He received no response. “Love?” He tried again.

Just then Thoma passed by, confused on seeing Ayato knocking fruitlessly on your door. “Milord, [Y/N] isn’t here. I believe she mentioned yesterday night that she was going out for a bit, somewhere around Watatsumi Island? It was weird, but she was also acting weird so I let her be. She also added that she had some urgent business there.”

 “Oh..” Ayato murmured. “Alright.” But his heart did not calm down, the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach increasing. You two were dating. Surely you’d come back, right? Right?

~⟬◍⟭~

Wrong. It had been days, yet you still hadn’t returned. Ayato grew more and more worried with every passing hour. Were you safe? You hadn’t been ambushed or anything, had you? Were you upset? Were you angry with him? Had he really messed up that bad? Surely he didnt… 

A week passed, and Ayato couldn’t take it anymore. He handed over the duties of the Yashiro Commission to Ayaka for a while, and set off for Watatsumi Island on a waverider in the dead of night. It took him an entire day to reach there, frantically searching for his beloved along the way. The moment he docked on the shores of Watatsumi Island, he immediately started searching around for your whereabouts, not even caring about hunger or thirst. Fear was the only thing he felt, a fear of you leaving him. The soldiers looked so confused on seeing the Yashiro Commissioner running around, but did not question it. One helpful recruit told him that she was wandering near the Sangonomiya Shrine, and off he was. 

“[Y/N]!” He exclaimed, on finally, finally, catching sight of you sitting beneath a tree, a butterfly perched on your finger. The loud sound he made startled away the butterfly, and you looked up at him, before getting up and walking away without a word. “[Y/N], wait please, can I talk to you, please?” He pleaded, catching up to you. You merely shook off his hand and continued walking. “Why are you here, Kamisato Ayato.” You said coldly. “Your wish was for me to leave you alone, and I did that. Why are you following me then?” “[Y/N], I messed up, I know, can you please hear me out? I never meant any of that, I really didn’t, I swear. I was just really anxious and irritated and worried, and I let it out on you. I swear, I’ve been regretting it with every fibre of my being. I love you, you know that, I love you so much, you can never be a nuisance to me, in fact, you’re my saving grace. If I could take back everything I said, if I could turn back time, I would. [Y/N], please, could you forgive me? Please come back to me? I can’t live without you…”

Your eyes involuntarily softened as you stepped back a bit to observe him. He seemed even more tired and upset than the last time you’d seen him, if that was even possible. But this time, there was desperation painted on his features. “Ayato, you really hurt me, you know that right? I was worried for you, all I was trying to do was help you out. So when you snapped at me, I felt really terrible.” You told him quietly. He instantly said, “I know, I realised that. You have no idea how much I appreciate you always looking out for me. I never ever wanted to hurt you. I’m sorry… I’m really, really sorry [Y/N].” He whispered.

You sighed, extending your arms, hugging him tightly. “Come here, ‘Yato.” , and his heart nearly burst on hearing that nickname again after more than a week. He buried his face in your neck, relishing that warm and soft embrace of yours after so long. You gently ran your hands through his hair. “Apology accepted. But you better not do it again, or else-” “I won’t.” He quickly said. “Did I tell you how much I love that nickname?”

You returned with him to the Yashiro Estate, and ever since then, Ayato had been so much sweeter, always minding his words, and spoiling you rotten, despite your protests. But you accepted it, happy to be with your caring boyfriend again.

hehe kazu, i hoped you liked it, even tho its not much :)

[jeannereames]

Do you have any thoughts/theories on what it would've been like if Alexander ever returned to Pella? (sorry if this was already asked, tumblr's search system isn't really helpful)

What if Alexander Had Lived to Turn West?

First, I agree on Tumblr’s search system. It’s become increasingly bad. Even I can’t find posts I KNOW I made and tagged. I’m starting to compile a list of the more important (and lengthy) posts on various subjects, for my own reference. I wish Tumblr would let us pin several posts, not just one. (I’ve also sent a complaint feedback to Tumblr about this.)

Anyway, to the question: before we get to the “fun” (speculative) part, let’s address how likely it is he’d GO back. And as part of that, we need to ruminate a bit on what he might have done, if he’d returned west. So, let’s play a little “What-if?”

We must also keep in mind travel time. In the modern world, we can forget how long it took back then to get from Point A to Point B. Had he lived to attack Carthage (as I think he planned to do), or at least circumnavigate Arabia—both are on the southern coast of the Mediterranean. (See my tweaked map with significant places I mention below marked in purple, and recall that they tended to sail along a coast, not straight through the middle.) Macedonia is in the NW corner of the Aegean Sea. Such a side-trip would have eaten up a couple months. There might have been a sneaky reason for him to do that very thing: to come at Carthage from the north. (See discussion below.) But only if Arabia was a ruse all along. If he did mean to attack Arabia (and I think he intended that too), he'd go the southern route, then after, check on the progress of Alexandria (and visit the shrines for Hephaistion that he’d ordered built), before heading west.

If he did choose that southern route, he wouldn’t have returned to Pella before attacking Arabia or Carthage. And after…well, Italy was on the way back, so he’d probably have gone there first. And yes, I think after dealing with Carthage, he’d have used avenging the death of his uncle (Alexandros of Epiros) as an excuse to attack the Greek colonies in S. Italy. If he’d been successful against Carthage, I’m pretty sure south Italy, and possibly the north too, would have capitulated to avoid being leveled. Even Rome. At that point, Rome was in no position to fight such a titanic military powerhouse. Too many think of Rome later and backread the extent of Roman resistance into earlier periods.

Depending on the length of the campaign (e.g., how hard was any opposition), he’d have been in his mid-30s by then. Incidentally, if you’d like a speculative “What if Alexander went West,” I recommend A Choice of Destinies by Melissa Scott. (Ignore the cover.) She does have him return to Greece first, but because Thebes is in revolt (which called him back in the first place; he never reaches India). That’s the sort of event that would get him back to Greece.

There’s been speculation in both fiction and history that he didn’t want to go home because he was avoiding “his terrible mother” (as Tarn put it). I’ve written before on why Oedipal Complexes are both very modern and very wrong to assign to Alexander. I can’t now locate that post (annoyingly), but did find this one about Alexander’s relationship with Olympias in later years. So, I don’t think avoiding Olympias would have kept him from Greece/Macedonia before going west. If anything, the opportunity to see his family would have been a draw, not a dissuading point.

So, we can postulate two possible return scenarios. The first would be a side-trip on his way to Carthage as trickery to conceal his real target. After leaving Pella, he’d circumnavigate Greece to the Peloponnese, then cross the Ionian Sea to Sicily (a typical Greek trade route), and then sail around the southern edge of the island to pop across to Carthage from the north.

In this scenario, he’d be in “swing-by” mode. He’d already asked Antipatros to bring him fresh troops, so he’d have been picking them up, or acquiring more. As a recruiting campaign, it would have been short, but he’d no doubt make several religious sacrifices at Dion, Aigai, and Pella, and perhaps even visit Delphi for a prophecy about the west.

He would not bring his Asian wives with him in either scenario. First, it’s a campaign, not a family visit. But also, he intended them to stay in Babylon (or Susa). By that point, Roxane and probably also Statiera would have given birth. If both infants were male, Statiera’s would be designated heir in Asia. If only Roxana’s was male, he’d still be the “spare” by dint of his mother’s lower birth, but better than nothing in the meantime.

It’s quite possible that he intended a divided but hierarchical rule not so different from Assyrian patterns, where one heir was sent to Babylon while Daddy ruled in Nineveh and trained the other. He almost certainly meant his son by Statiera to rule in Persia/Asia, but perhaps a different son to rule in the west—one likely not even conceived yet.

I do not think he’d have married a Macedonian. He’d be looking for another political marriage, maybe to a Greek (Athenian, Syracusan…), but more likely, he’d marry a Carthaginian after any war (or as part of any peace treaty with Carthage). At that point, Carthage was the powerhouse in the Western Med. Remember, Rome had only begun her consolidation of the Italic peninsula in the wake of the Gaulic sack of the city. Alexander in Italy might have stopped that cold.

Anyway, whatever marriage he made in the west (or couple of marriages) would have been intended to produce an heir to reign there, probably subservient to any son by Statiera after Alexander’s own death, but it’s hard to know for sure. Roxana’s son (and Herakles by Barsine) would have been third and fourth fiddles. That’s WHY Roxana killed Statiera. Her status wasn’t high enough, and her son would have been destined to be regional governor in the NE territories (where his family was from): e.g., troublesome Baktria/Sogdiana. Herakles would probably have been given Asia Minor (where his Persian family was from). (More on Herakles in another post.)

But back to this scenario: if he visited on the way, it would have been a quick trip until he was off again to another campaign. (Not unlike Daddy who, in his latter years, didn’t spend much time in Pella.)

Now, let’s look at scenario #2: a visit after any victories in Arabia, Carthage, and possibly Italy. That would be a different homecoming, less pressed for time.

That said, he wouldn’t have intended to stay. After securing the eastern/middle Mediterranean, he might have driven up into Europe, to re-secure Thrace to the Danube and scout for river connections between the Black and Caspian Seas. There aren’t any, but they didn’t know that. In fact, late in his campaign, he’d already sent somebody north to do that very scouting, so this would be a follow-up.

Thrace had fallen away from Macedonian control in in his later years, thanks to the powerful Odrysian King Seuthes III. Also, Alexander hadn’t forgotten those Celts who’d been singularly unimpressed by him early in his reign. (ha) Alternatively, he might have decided to go South of Egypt to Meroë, or west of Italy to Spain. But as he was centered in Greece, my bet is north into Eastern Europe. He already had incentive from a rebellious Thrace.

What would this homecoming have been like? STUPENDOUS, of course. All the stops pulled out. Macedonia was a gift-exchange society, so bringing home a fair bit of booty would be important. We’re told he sent presents home regularly, but this would be above and beyond. It would serve two functions:

First, he’d get to claim to be the wealthiest, most successful Macedonian king EVAR, and then some. So personal fame and honor would be on the line.

Second, throwing around oodles of wealth would be a great recruiting tool. His constant warring meant he was also in constant need of new troops. In his last years, it was clear he was happy to get troops from a variety of peoples, but the Macedonian core remained (as in the Successor Wars). Of course, continually draining Macedonia of men was bad for the future population, but “sustainability” was not in any way an ancient concept, whether in resources or in manpower. Early in his career, he did show a little awareness of this, sending back men for a “conjugal visit,” but as the campaign continued, he stopped worrying about it.

Anyway, he would also probably take the opportunity to build that giant tomb for daddy that was part of his Last Plans. Hard to know how much of those plans were either exaggerated or entirely invented, but that sounds like something he’d do. He might also have taken time to improve on local religious structures (such as at Dion), and set up something (no doubt monstrously large) at both Delphi and Olympia, as panhellenic sites.

As for the reunion with his mother and sisters, as indicated, I don’t think he was staying away to avoid Mommy Dearest. So, I expect he’d have been happy, maybe even overjoyed, to see them again.

[ol-files]

The full story of Island of Wakfu

The introduction sequence shows an egg-like planet, the color of Stasis, from which a large meteor is seen shooting through space, hurtling toward the Eliatropes' planet.

A Thousand Mysteries

"The joy of a sweet summer afternoon for our Mysteries. rejoice, Eliatropes! The day has finally come!" - Pulva

These sacred rites, bathed"s with solar flares, complete our work in honor of your glory, Goddess." - Mina

Chapter 1: The Sanctuary

Stook

Sent to look for Waki Wa on the sacred Goddess island, Nora and Efrim meet Stook on the way, a "former Eliacube" who tells them that Master Qilby has disappeared and that something is going on between him and the king (Yugo). They then meet Glip for their Wakfung trial, after which he sends them on their way to the Goddess Shrine.

At the shrine, Mina announces that the Goddess has called them. The statue of Eliatrope beseeches them to pass her three Veils in order to meet her in her abode. To begin, she requests an offering for her face – a feather from a blue Tofu –, one for her tears – a cup, made of the bark of a singing tree – and one for her hair – a comb made of a silver scale from an Oracle fish.

They gather the first two items without difficulty, then meet the Oracle fish at the pond:

«  I need to show you something; in a distant place, across dimensions... On an island in time, your fate hangs in the balance. I need you to understand how to change it. — Oracle »

He warns them that everyone's Wakfu will be eaten by an unknown force, that they are their last defense, and gives them "the dream power to fight." To hand them a scale, he introduces them to the mighty Platypus, who will assist them later.

Having collected all three offerings, they present them to the shrine. The Goddess warns them that doom is already upon them. They must pass the three Veils and are sent to the forest to learn teleportation with Glip.

Chapter 2: The Forest

« Learning is a game. When you play a game, you learn the rules and logic, while trying to be the most creative and free under its constraints. This, my children, is the true way to learn ». - Baltazar

« We are not the only inhabitants of this world. The Goddess is at the origin of everything. We are all brothers and sisters, but we must not stagnate. for Wakfu is movement, and stagnation sin. » - Chibi

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Glip teaches Nora the basics of teleportation, but as they progress through the forest, they find Prespics. This link will take you to our sister Wikia, Dofus Wiki made aggressive by the Stasis that has fallen in the forest. Nora and Efrim fight their way through and rejoin with Glip deeper into the forest, near a Stasis meteorite. Glip explains that Stasis was forbidden by Chibi the prophet, but that this rock is somehow different. For now, he will only tell them that Stasis is "anti-Wakfu." A little further, they find Chibi's Great Hall, a sanctuary where Stasis is forbidden.

« Chibi was the first to cross the third Veil. This is where he died. His body is here, a tiny spark of Wakfu still trapped in his bones. » — Glip

Inside, a skeleton rests on a rocking chair. Nora's Eliacube comments:

« Stiff, smelly... Yep, seems like a corpse, all right... Look closely. Is it real? I wonder how the prophet REALLY died... And aren't Eliatropes supposed to be immortal? Chibi was our Prophet, but he was also a great poet. He left many poems, known as Mysteries, behind in this world. This Iwak is a plug-in allowing me to decode Chibi's Mysteries. » — Nora's Eliacube

A tooltip adds that "Mysteries are pages from Chibi's secret Herbarium. Each mystery tells a long-lost tale."

Chapter 3: The Meadow

« These flowers that we call Manolia, each of them is an individual, a singular being. Their roots feed on the core of Wakfu: the heart of our, a whirling vortex, breaking its waves on our shores. » - Mina

« All Manolias are linked to a network called Wik-Fi, a precious gift. We, Eliatropes, use it to connect our Eliacubes and communicate. And so we talk with flowers, and through flowers. » - Chibi

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"He has no time for the dark roots at his fingertips; the buds on the roots, their promise, not time. It is the most beautiful flower of the field he desires." - Shinonome

Back in the meadow, Mina shows Nora and Efrim how to interact with Wakfu creatures and flowers using Wakfu and Stasis. She then sends them on their way to Vili Summit for the ritual of Chibi's rebirth. The ritual is a symbolic representation of Chibi's resurrection in his Holy Egg. There is a legend that says maybe, one day, the Prophet will be reborn... and this may be the day. There is a large egg and a Dragoturkey This link will take you to our sister Wikia, Dofus Wiki, which according to Mina is too weak to crack the egg. Efrim forces the egg open, but "as always," the Prophet is not reborn. They proceed higher up the mountain to find Tina, their "most precious flower."

« It is Chibi's soul, his gift, an heirloom for us to tend. We must see Tina bloom. Then, perhaps, Chibi will come. «  — Mina

Efrim breathes on Tina to make her bloom, to no avail, and Grougaloragran calls out to Mina, saying he must speak to the initiates at once. Mina opens an Eliatrope path (similar to a trail of successive portals) to the lake for them.

« Something has happened to the King's Palace. Qilby has betrayed his people! We're at war with invaders from the sky. Soon the threat will be upon this Sanctuary. The King is dead... but all hope is not lost. He will be reborn in his Royal Egg, his Dofus, along with his Dragon, Adamai. The King's Dofus is in the forest, in the hands of our ancestors. » — Grougaloragran

Badly injured, the Dragon sends them to retrieve Yugo and Adamai's Dofus. Before they can leave, a rain of Stasis stones falls from the sky and Mina takes the other children to the temple. From the craters, Rozens sprout, Stasis-charged flowers that corrupt their surroundings and damage characters who get too close. The Goddess speaks to Nora and Efrim:

« An ancient galactic threat coming back to haunt us. They want our Wakfu. They will drink it all. The threads of this world unravel, revealing the truth of our Origins. My children are doomed by mistakes of the past. I am sorry. I am so sorry. Something... draining my soul... My voice... fading out... » — Eliatrope

Fighting through the Rozens, spiders and Prespics, they make their way through the forest and defeat a large, corrupted Prespic. Grougaloragran contacts them through a Drake Stone, beseeching them to secure the king's Dofus right away. The twins take down the protective field around the Dofus, and thus pass the first Veil.

Stasis Rising

« A secret Lab ? What kind of accusation is that ? How can I keep a secret from the King ? I am honest and truthful ! I would never, never, ever do something behind your back, your Majesty. » - Qilby

« The smell of the dark Rozen de Stasis is a breath of tartar, do not be seduced by its beauty. - Grougaloragran

Chapter 4: The Crater

As more meteors hit the planet, Orgonax is seen walking in the distance. The Goddess speaks once again:

« Our people were cursed, long ago, in another world. We escaped a terrible doom, and we built a new world. Who amongst our people betrayed us and awakened the past? My... voice... is running out... Help me, I'm disappearing... But not fast enough... Pain... » — Eliatrope

Nora and Efrim rush back to the Sanctuary, but passing through Chibi's Great Hall they find the skeleton has fallen off the chair and down the stairs, and the room is dotted with Stasis. Nora's Eliacube makes an intriguing comment:

« Well, look at that... It actually doesn't look like a real skeleton. Why would someone place a fake Chibi here? Why would they lie to us? «  — Nora's Eliacube

They find a trap door on the floor and head down, while the Eliacube warns them that this place is sacred and forbidden. They find an underground laboratory, with a replica of Mount Zinit in the center. The Eliacube recounts that Chibi heard the Goddess's voice when he was napping on the summit and that the Council has forbidden access to the mountain ever since. On the replica, Nora finds a way to activate a hologram of Qilby:

« Qilby speaking. I'm afraid time has already run out. I can't stand it anymore. Someone has to unveil the secrets, the taboos. The King doesn't want to listen to me, the fool. All he wants is a false heaven. I want to go back. I want to avenge our fathers and our sons. Nothing can stop me now! I leave this message for history. I will climb Mount Zinit, into the forbidden zone. I will open the gates of Wakanu. I will expose the parody that is our Eliatrope Goddess. I will save us all. I will make us true warriors again. «  — Qilby

Coming out of the lab, they find more craters and the tracks left by Orgonax. Reaching the lake, they see Lu-Fu invaders tearing down the Goddess's statue while she calls for help. By the time they get to it, the statue is already in shambles, but the Goddess leaves them musical notes to invoke her beyond the Veils. A tooltip describes the Goddess Song as "a devastating Hymn from the First Veil. None but Eliatropes can hear it without instantly being consumed." She begs Nora to use the Song against her (the statue), as she can take the pain no more. As the initiate complies, she thanks her and tells them that this soul, this voice, are gone only for now, and to find her in Intiwakana, her abode.

Chapter 5: The Temple

« Qilby? Ah, the poor fellow... if only he’d listened to me doing what he did. What was it? Uh... Look... You’re so young. You might one day understand. » - Glip

« Yes, yes, yes, I passed away a long time ago, by Chibi himself, when he created our technology here in this earthly paradise. According to Chibi, his inspirations were divine, the Goddess had helped him create his wonders. If that’s true, and I’m convinced of it, then I’m of divine origin. So that’s not cool? » - Stook

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In the nearby forest, the Treechnid This link will take you to our sister Wikia, Dofus Wiki Amalami's voice and song are being corrupted by "the song from space," sung by Rozens. He becomes Amalama:

« GIVE ME YOUR SONG! LET ME TAKE YOUR TONGUE! I WILL FREE YOU FROM YOUR ABSURD GOD! I AM THE TRUE MAESTRO! I AM THE PRIMO UOMO! ELIATROPES ARE LIARS! DO YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH? YOUR GODDESS DOES NOT EXIST! HAIL, ORGONAX! » — Amalama

Unfortunately, defeating the corrupted tree also kills Amalami.

Nora and Efrim reach the temple and find the Wakfu Fountain encroached by Stasis flowers, draining its energy. They destroy the flowers and find Stook hiding underground. He gives Efrim a power-up and as they return outside, Baltazar calls for them and asks for immediate help. They head to his rescue but are caught in the middle of rampaging beasts running away from some unseen threat. They escape and fight more Lu-Fu with the young Redmo, who is killed by troopers. They then come upon Glip facing off against their leader Odo, but he is quickly struck down. Odo thirsts for Wakfu and orders his troops to set up the "Extractor" to take samples from this world. He then returns to his Frigate, letting them handle the busy work. Before passing away, Glip begs the twins to save the children hidden in the temple.

Chapter 6: Vili Valley

« Our library is the memory of our people. Everything we have done is here. Books are precious, they are life, and our memories. We need them, without them we could not survive with abstract information. We need to give them substance. » - Chibi

« As the invader approaches, our way of life is threatened. This paradise we called home is gone. The king is dead, his palace on fire. Everything seems lost. We were betrayed, but we could have done something. It’s my fault... it’s... » - Glip

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Nora and Efrim fight more Lu-Fu in the temple and rescue the young Kiri. They find an Eliatrope path to the upper levels and come across Chibi's testament.

« Chibi left his belongings to his lover, Mina. And he crowned Yugo our King. Oh boy... Master Qilby must have been so angry. » — Nora's Eliacube

Trivia: One of the children to be rescued is Zora from Wakfu: Les Gardiens, and freeing her unlocks the achievement Guardian.

Once all the children are rescued, Baltazar calls for a meeting in the Dragon Hall. Since the children cannot yet teleport by themselves, he takes them "to a place where [they]'ll be safe forever" – the timeless dimension Emrub. He leaves after imparting another power-up to Efrim, after which the Eliacube comments:

« Those kids you saved... Baltazar's children, we call them... They are younger than anyone else, but no one remembers their births. Where did they come from? » — Nora's Eliacube

It is likely that they were the children sent to another dimension during the first Mechasm attack on the Eliatropes' original planet, but it is curious that no one else seems to be aware of it.

Later, Mina says she must make a sacrifice, now that Qilby has betrayed them. She must find the Pow Wow, their most secret place of ritual, and needs their help. They must go to the Zaap portal outside the library. But before they can follow Mina, Orgonax appears and destroys the portal, forcing the duo to head to the beach and find the backup Zaap suggested by the Eliacube.

On the Beach

« You talk about education. Well, I think education is the responsibility. We cannot drown our children in the news. They have to use them to get to where they can. We’re just watching them, so they don’t get hurt. » - Mama Conch

« Time will be born from the hourglass, a grain of sand after another. Cause and consequence, brothers jumaux from the will to change the world. » - Goddess

Chapter 7: Pliyi di Bili

Nora and Efrim reach the beach and see Prissy the Conch being attacked by crab-like creatures she calls bad krabbies. They rescue her and she asks for their help finding her sisters – Ellie, Evvy, Kelly, Marcy and Mary –, who were affected by "red fumes" that made them say bad words and terrible things. Near the beach, they find another of Qilby's holograms:

« Ah... If only the Council were honest people, I wouldn't have to do this... The truth? So simple: The Eliatropes are not what they seem to be. This society is not our first. This planet is not our home world. A long time ago, we escaped. Now, we must pay the price. I will be the redeemer. I will make things right once again... Because I'm the only one who can understand Chibi. » — Qilby

After all the Conch sisters have been found, Lu-Fu arrive on a ship and storm the beach. Nora and Efrim dispatch them, then pay a visit to Mama Conch in a nearby cave. Pleased that her girls are safe and did not pick up any bad words, she gives Nora one of her pearls, which will allow her to reflect projectiles.

Chapter 8: Club Platypus

“Many Eliatropes were disappointed by the Goddess. They joined cults to forget her. She and her Veils. It is a tragedy, because if no one believes in Her, then she will leave this plane of existence. It is a fact." - Baltazar

“I don’t understand. Why walk away from the Goddess? She is gentle and caring. What reasons can justify such an affront?” -Glip

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A little farther on the beach, they meet Yama, who says a giant flower (a Queen Rozen) is sucking the light away and driving everyone mad in the nearby village. Nora and Efrim immediately provide assistance but are stunned by the cry of the dying flower. They awaken in Yama's hut, where he tells them that his leader probably won't be happy even though the flower has been taken care of, and will probably still sacrifice his sister Zoe to his "stupid Egg."

In the village, they see the Shamipus, local leader, proclaiming that the sacrifices are working since the light has returned. To continue to receive protection from the Platypus Egg, he commands more sacrifices, as expected.

Attached to a totem surrounded by dancers, they see a Dofus protected by a force field and start looking for a way to deactivate it. Sneaking into the Shamipus's hut, they deactivate the force field and Nora dresses herself as another Shamipus. The villagers are confused and Efrim uses the distraction to cause the egg to hatch, freeing the Platypus. All the villagers immediately rally to him and therefore to Efrim and Nora. The Shamipus teleports away, promising to have his revenge. Immediately after, more Lu-Fu arrive and destroy the gate to come after the Eliatrope and Dragon. They drive them back and Yama thanks them for saving his sister and the village, then reveals the location of the secret Zaap on the beach.

Ancient Questions

« Wait a minute! There’s nothing logical about it!" - Stock

"Pow Wow is a special place. An ancient place where Chibi came when he was old. He went there to die, it was his choice; offer his soul to the Goddess." - Glip

Chapter 9: Pow Wow

Mina warns Nora that the Stasis is disrupting the Wik-Fi and making teleportation unstable. Because of this, Nora must reach the Pow Wow through a secret path below the canyon. Finding the place by herself will be her last initiation rite. Mina also says that she has a very hard decision to make, but not to judge her, as it is their only hope.

Islands of Wakfu - Mina's sacrifice

Mina's sacrifice

Finding their way through a bamboo forest, they find a Lu-Fu excavation site. They kill the invaders and find an Eliatrope path to the Pow Wow. Mina tells them that she needed privacy for the hardest decision of her life: she offered her Wakfu in this holy place in order to create a bridge to Chibi's soul. That was the only way for Nora to pass the second Veil. Activating a Zaap, Nora and Efrim reach the heart of the Pow Wow and find Mina dying. She tells them that Qilby has betrayed them and brought back Stasis. Her Wakfu has gone into a flower that Nora must plant in the temple of Wakanu, atop Mount Zinit, in order to find Chibi's island and save the Dofus.

Making their way to Mount Zinit, they find another excavation site where the Lu-Fu are forcing moles to do their labor. After fighting numerous foes, they are told by a mole that the entire mountain is collapsing, but they head into the mines, driven by necessity.

Chapter 10: Rizi

"The heart of our world is a heart of Wakfu, blue as the yolk of a timeless egg, before the cosmic omelette occurs." - Glip

"Beebee loves wakfu. Mmmm, you love wakfu..." - Beebee

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They quickly come out of the mines and fight their way up through more ranks of Lu-Fu, all the while feeding their new companion Beebee the bee with Wakfu to make her glow. With her help, they navigate through dark caverns and continue to make their way up. They find a Wakfu-extracting machine, pumping tirelessly to feed Odo's insatiable appetite. They destroy the machine and face Odo's general in battle.

On Top of the World

Chapter 11: Mount Zinit

« Why all these secrets? Something is wrong. Would the council have lied to us? Does the Goddess really exist? What would be the point of inventing such a story?" - Eliacube

"O ancient mountain, venerable spirit presiding over the material plane, you will not weep. Like insects, we cling to your sides. We dare not look upon your summit. Our eyes fall when we cross the path of your deep caves, and the intimate and dark secret of your origins." - Qilby

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Climbing ever higher, they make their way to Wakanu as Orgonax climbs Mount Zinit. On the way, they find a new hologram from Qilby:

« Mount Zinit is a place of corridors, of dark corners. Here lie the secrets of our kind. Halfway through my journey, I rest in this tomb to contemplate my choices. I may doom our way of life, our dreams, but I cannot endure the lies we tell ourselves. Eliatropes were born of the Stars, and we came here to escape our Fall. We need to confront ourselves with the truth. We need to avenge our people. The King is a liar and a coward. I will not stay silent. Not anymore. May you who find these words forgive me. » — Qilby

In the same room, they find schematics and drawings that resemble Orgonax, and the Eliacube comments that he is big enough to walk inside, and that there seems to be a hollow spot in his right hand.

Chapter 12: Wakanu

"Why did I do this? Because the king did not want to do anything! He wanted to stay here with his lies. We are supposed to move forward! We are supposed to feed on other systems to progress to the end of time. That is the real reason for Wakfu." - Qilby

"It seems unreal. Like we’re in the bowels of a whale perched on top of a mountain, like an ark from a distant past." - Eliacube

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Nora and Efrim undo the seal to the temple Wakanu and find Lu-Fu already inside. The temple is a maze designed by Chibi, and the Eliacube suspects that he may have a flower nearby, since according to Mina he performed the Pow Wow ritual. Inside a strange machine, they find the Oracle of Waki Wa. They wake him up and he tells them that he is not real, not really there. He used to be Chibi's personal assistant, but he is only a projection reactivated by Qilby when he was last here. Nevertheless, he has the power to activate a Zaap leading further inside the temple.

There, they find Lu-Fu that have drilled their way into the mountain, as well as Stasis deposits. They dispatch the creatures and reach the first chamber, first part of Chibi's puzzle. They are met there by Modo and Podo, Lu-Fu leaders looking for Stasis for Odo, who has gone to the top of the mountain to meet Orgonax. The Lu-Fu attack the characters, hoping to use them to force their way inside the Inner Sanctum, but they are no match for Nora and Efrim.

The next puzzle is a large room filled with tubes carrying Wakfu. Using the Platypus, they deactivate the force field that blocks the exit and proceed to the next room after collecting the original Eliacube. The last chamber contains statues of the Eliatrope Council, and strangely, a Rozen grows in front of Qilby's. They find Chibi's flower in front of his statue, proving that he sacrificed his Wakfu at the Pow Wow, and plant Mina's flower before her statue as she asked. Solving the last puzzle, they find an Eliatrope path to Mina's island.

Chapter 13: The Islands

"Chibi, my love, I am by your side now. I can see your face beyond the waves, like a lighthouse, which attracts me. We will be reunited in this world where souls are connected. I will be the bridge that joins you." - Mina

"Islands? You mean paradise? You really think there’s something after death? Do you think what we are looking for is a holiday? The islands are a lie, the Goddess is a scam. The Platypus is the one and only god." - Chamipus

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On Mina's island, they meet with the Oracle, who explains that her soul came here when she sacrificed her Wakfu. Since the Wakfu of Council Eliatropes and Dragons return to their Dofus upon death until their reincarnation, it may be that these islands are small planes of existence contained in those Dofus, where their souls remain conscious.

According to the Oracle, "to get to Chibi's island, you must uncover Mina's secret love for him." They find fragments of her soul, and open the way to Chibi's island. Grougaloragran meets them there for the Ritual of Ages, and to take the king's Dofus to another dimension where it will be safe. He instructs them to find the Goddess Beacon atop Mount Zinit.

« Pray for her to take you with her. In her womb, children, you'll live forever. Your soul, protected. » — Grougaloragran

*The Eliacube picked up in Chibi's maze appears on a pedestal while Grougaloragran takes the Dofus from Nora, but no mention is made of it and it simply disappears after the scene. In the animated series, Grougaloragran does however mention that Nora entrusted him with both the Dofus and the Eliacube.

Odo's Frigate appears in the sky, and as the Oracle instructs her that letting go will be the quickest way to reach Intiwakana, she lets the Lu-Fu take her aboard without resistance. There, Odo demands the king's Dofus, but Nora and Efrim attack him and his crew and gain the upper hand. Before it is too late, Odo drinks a full jar of Wakfu and becomes an even more powerful beast with the ability to teleport around the ship. But ultimately, he is still defeated, along with the rest of his crew.

Chapter 14: Intiwakana

"It’s not a lie if you believe it." - Glip

"Well, it’s time to go home now!" - Stook

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The Frigate crashes near the top of the mountain, where Nora and Efrim must face a Crackler guardian appointed by Chibi, who decreed that no one was allowed to pass. They then make their way to a small cave where they consult the Oracle one last time:

« You have saved the last Eliatrope, now this world is coming to an end. These invaders you've fought were once like you, innocent. They were seized, enslaved, brought to despair. Behold, this is their world, still alive in their dreams. » — Oracle

He shows them a vision of the Lu-Fu's world, of their Imperatrix giving up the fight after so many of her people have been taken away. In their last hour, they send a warning in dreams:

« Don't fear the loss of the material world, but embrace the pure bliss of dreams. In dreams, invisible waves become vessels. To believe is to feel. Sailing an endless ocean... to surf, but never to sink. Believe in the invisible. As it believes in you. »

— Lu-Fu Imperatrix

« This world is doomed. Mount Zinit is waking up. If you reach the top of the mountain, the Goddess may take you with her. Close your eyes, let yourself go. »

— Oracle

As they reach ever higher, Orgonax catches up with them and they are forced to fight him off to buy some time. They find a weak spot in his right hand and blow it open, creating an opening for the Platypus. Inside, he uses drops of Wakfu to tinker with the giant's internal mechanisms, making him lose his grip on the rock face. They quickly reach the top of the mountain and find a large flower that speaks with the voice of the Goddess (her last words are not transcribed for the player). Nora communes with it while Orgonax resumes his ascent. Channeling the Goddess's power, Nora launches a devastating attack against Orgonax, an explosion seen from space that wipes all life from the planet for millenia.

*The final attack against Orgonax had cataclysmic proportions and destroyed all life on the planet, and several millenia later, when the gods of the World of Twelve discovered the barren planet and recreated life on it, the process also involved highly destructive forces. Yet, mentions of Eliatrope artifacts abound in the world, such as Zaap portals, Eliatrope ruins and the book found by Karibd and Silar (mention in Dofus mmo and Dofus manga.

Source :

* https://krosmoz.fandom.com/wiki/Islands_of_Wakfu

* https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe_N8_H2VbTULBoBL65OY7VYRIUbC-fU7&feature=shared