#and with the spinoffs i feel like i barely see it at all

[phantomknights]

animanga fanfic writers/readers:

[devotedlystrangewizard]

totk really is one of those games that make me go "ok thanks for the characters, setting, and general plot, but ill take it from here <3" because the entire historical timeline had so much potential for interesting and nuanced story telling but they just went with the old zelda story formula and YES thats how theyve always done it but botw was such a reset in terms of gameplay that they couldve overhauled how they handle story in totk. but they didnt

[writingwolverina]

Damn, this imposter syndrome's got HANDS

[hairmetal666]

au where Steve is a famous Disney kid and Eddie is a teenaged singer-songwriter. They get pushed together at events because they're close in age, but they just quietly dislike each other.

Steve's got a new show starting, a spinoff of the one that made him a household name. They hire a newcomer, Robin Buckley, to play his best friend and the two quickly become BFF in real life.

The show runs for two seasons but when it comes time to renegotiate contracts, neither star is interested. They're older now, ready to live life on their terms and not the company's, or in Steve's case, his parents.

As soon as the finale airs, Robin and Steve celebrate by going to a gay club. A few weeks later, an interview is released where Steve comes out as bi and talks about how his parents mistreated him; how they worked with the network to pressure him to be a perfect "all-American" kid even off screen.

Meanwhile, Eddie's an impossible level of famous. He's had number-one hits, won a Grammy, headlined an arena tour, achieved every dream he had for himself as a kid growing up in a trailer park in Indiana. He's not shocked by the news that Steve is leaving Hollywood, but he's flabbergasted that the guy isn't straight. When Eddie reads the interview, he gets this weird pang in his chest, almost like regret. But he never even liked Steve.

Steve isn't in the news again and Eddie doesn't think of him for a long time.

Steve goes to college. He loves it. Not because he's great in his classes, or anything, but because he's free to be himself for the first time. He makes friends and goes to parties and relaxes. He and Robin share an apartment.

After a few semesters, Steve decides to take a couple of theater classes, and is quickly cast in campus productions. In the vague anonymity of college theater he rediscovers his love of acting. No one has expectations of him, no one forces him to perform. He graduates and slowly starts appearing in small roles in Indie films, gathering critical acclaim. He feels good. Happy. Hopeful.

Eddie is blissfully unaware of Steve's career resurgence, experiencing his own musical highpoints, until the day where he's scrolling Twitter, sees a Variety headline that's getting a bunch of attention, "Steve Harrington in talks to star in Max Mayfield's first film." Eddie's livid.

"Maxine, what the fuck?" He growls when she answers his call.

They grew up together in the same Indiana trailer park. When she moved to Hollywood to start a career as a screenwriter, Eddie was by her side. And when her first script wound up on the Black List, his involvement on the soundtrack and original songs sealed her production deal.

She gives a long suffering sigh. "Munson," she grumbles. "I know you have a weird history with this guy, but I swear he's the right choice."

"He's a stuck up rich boy who's never been in trouble in his life."

"He's changed."

"Doubtful," Eddie sneers.

"Look. I'll set-up a meeting. Come hang out and you'll see what I mean." Before she hangs up she adds, "Call me Maxine again and I'll end you."

They invite Harrington to Eddie's recording studio. His hopes are not high for this meeting, so he's already a little thrown when Steve Harrington walks in, all grown up. He's in a crimson sweater, tight jeans, hair grown long so that it flops around his face in tousled waves that actually look genuine, windswept and golden. Eddie's eyes instinctively trace the scatter of moles on Harrington's face and neck, a pang of something hitting deep in his gut. Fuck, this dude is beautiful.

"Harrington," he greets, sticks out his hand. Eddie barely hears the answering, "Munson," because instead of a handshake, Harrington pulls Eddie in for a hug. Muscles bunch under the sleeves of the sweater, against Eddie's chest, and he's assaulted by the scent of cedar and sunshine and Steve. Eddie's not prepared for any of this.

They make small talk, Harrington sharing about going to college, falling in love with theater, Robin Buckley who he calls his soulmate. Eddie's head rings with how wrong he was about this guy; the pretty kid he grew up alongside who seemed to have the world in his hands. Max was right, he's perfect. Except.

"Let's get down to it, Harrington," Eddie says. Can't bring himself to call him Steve yet, feels that will somehow change everything and he's not ready. "I'll admit that Mayfield had the right idea about you, but can you sing? Play guitar? You have to perform my music, dude. That's not a small ask."

Harrington smirks, asks for a guitar. He gets it settled across his lap before he speaks. "I started taking piano lessons when I was 4. Voice and guitar at 7."

Eddie belatedly recalls that Harrington's parents were the worst kind of stage-parents, pushing their cute kid to perform even as he sobbed about wanting to play soccer with his friends instead of going to auditions. He has a moment of shame that he forgets as the other man begins to play. It's one of Eddie's biggest hits, a ballad about a teenaged broken heart from a kid whose name he can't even remember.

Harrington's hair flops in a swoop over his forehead, his fingers move across the strings with ease, skill. His voice is a rasp, close mimic to Eddie's own, but not quite deep enough. Goosebumps spread across Eddie's arms, his neck, and warmth pools low in his gut.

Steve finishes the song, looks up, cheeks glowing pink, honey eyes bright. Eddie's fucking gone for this guy. He wants so badly he might choke on it.

"Good?" Steve asks.

Eddie's embarrassed suddenly. Unsure. He tugs at his hair. "Yeah," he laughs. "Good."

He reaches out to take the guitar, the one Steve's already handing to him, and their hands brush. Eddie flushes. Their eyes meet and Steve smiles. Eddie's thoughts are consumed with the desire to kiss his plush pink mouth.

"You wanna get dinner? Just you and me?" Steve asks.

"Yeah, Steve," he laughs. "I'd love to."

🎬🎸🎬🎸

Fifteen Months Later

"Former Teen Heartthrobs Make Love Connection?"

Fans of musician Eddie Munson and former child star, Steve Harrington, were in for the surprise of their lives last night as the men arrived together for the premier of Harrington's new movie, Small Town Sins, written by up-and-coming screenwriter Max Mayfield, featuring original music by Munson. While Harrington's performance and the movie itself are garnering quite a bit of positive buzz, it's being overshadowed by gossip about Harrington and Munson's budding romance. They walked the red carpet together, pausing for photos as a duo, holding hands and flirting. When asked for confirmation of their relationship, Munson answered, 'we're bros,' before winking and pulling Harrington close.

There's a TikTok video embedded below the article, showing the men being interviewed on the red carpet. Their arms are loosely around each others' waists, and when their eyes meet they catch and hang for a beat.

"So, longtime fans of both of yours are going feral online right now because of the rumors that you two used to hate each other. Is there any truth to that?" An off-camera voice asks.

The men laugh. "We've always been great friends," Eddie answers.

"Eddie thought I was stuck up," Steve giggles.

"I did not." Eddie slaps at Steve, who gives him an affectionate smile.

"Liar," Steve answers.

Eddie leans into the camera like he's telling a secret. "Harrington here was afraid of me."

"Fuck off, I was not." They wrestle around for a couple of seconds.

Steve shrugs Eddie off, straightening his suit jacket. "Okay, maybe I was a little intimidated back then, but then this morning you found a pretty rock and cried about it."

Eddie shrieks, swatting at Steve until someone in a black suit and name tag shoos them down the red carpet.

Eddie walks off first, so he misses Steve withdrawing a hand from his pocket and saying, "Still have the rock, though." He flashes the red, grey, blue striped stone at the camera.

His gaze drifts away, landing somewhere in the distance, hazel eyes soft and heart-wrenchingly fond.

[fangirl-dot-com]

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris - It's not Orange, It's Papaya

Welcome to the second instalment of my spinoff series – Besties for the Resties! I really thought that I could maybe have made a single chapter for each driver, BUT I feel like Oscar and reader would be too introverted together and the story would be a bunch of lines about silence and them staring at each other. They really needed Lando to be able to get talking and to banter. 

I myself am very introverted and I freeze up around people that I don’t know. But when I’m with my extroverted friends, I have a completely different side! I don’t explicitly say this but I do base the reader off of myself most of the time. I am a Virgo, I am from Texas, and I just turned 20, so many of the lines I give the reader are things that I have said or would say. That being, do you think that the reader is a bit all over the place or is she a good solid character who acts in very realistic ways?

I hope you enjoy and please don’t forget to comment! I love reading everything that you all have to say about the story! It makes me happy to see that you’re enjoying it! (Also comment if you want to be added to the tag list!) Much love – author! 

Of course the elevator had to be broken, on today of all days. You sludged up the stairs, leaving puddles to follow where you stepped. Once you hauled yourself to the top of the stairs, you stomped over to your apartment door. Why Christian wanted you to come to London for an extra training session during rainiest week of the break, you didn’t know. 

You were supposed to be at Max’s house right now, eating dinner with his family. But noooooo. Max didn’t even have to come either. Something about how your test time was deleted, or something like that. You could barely hear Christian over the ocean when he called you in the middle of a beach day. 

Your hand dug through your pocket, searching for the keys as you approached your door. But, your fingers never came into contact with the smooth metal piece. You flipped your pocket inside out, and all that fell from it was lint. 

“Great. Just perfect,” you muttered as you looked at your door. You turned your head. Maybe Logan was here. You shuffled over and knocked. Tiredly, you rested your head against the nice wood. 

After a few moments, you didn’t hear anything, which brought out another sigh. Of course he wouldn’t be here. He was probably back in the states for the break. 

You were definitely making a statement by dripping all over the floor. Maybe you should lay down, floor time always helped. As you were about to lift your head, the door suddenly opened up. 

You didn’t have enough time to react and found yourself sprawled in between Logan’s flat and the door frame. 

“Logan am I so glad that you’re…You’re not Logan,” you looked up and were met with the sight of none other than Oscar Piastri. 

He looked down at you, “Good to see you too Y/n.” He put out a hand for you to take. You gently placed your hand in his and he hauled you up. There was now a massive you-shaped puddle on the ground. 

You looked down at it, “Sorry for the mess.” Oscar crossed his arms. 

“Why are you knocking on Logan’s door at,” he looked over at the clock on the wall, “5 p.m.?” 

You sheepishly grinned, “Well, I may or may not have forgotten my keys back at Milton.” Your hand scratched your head. 

Oscar just stared at you. You stared back. 

“Why are you here?” you quizzed. You knew that Logan and Oscar were best of friends, but didn’t realize that Oscar had a key to the flat. 

He sighed, “Lando invited me to be in the Quadrant Christmas video and the filming is this week.” He ushered you to come more into the room so that he could close the door. “But Lando graciously forgot that Max Fewtrell only has one extra bed. So Lando took it and I called Logan to see if I could stay here.” 

“Ah,” you nodded and looked down at yourself. 

Oscar suddenly sputtered, “I will go get you a towel and then see if Logan has something in his drawers.” He quickly left, but then turned back around. You raised an eyebrow. 

“Yes?” 

“Do you know where everything is? I guess you’d be over here more than me.” You gave him a reassuring smile and walked deeper into the house. You had taken your shoes off before stepping on the carpet as to try to not drench everything. 

In the bathroom, you found some towels. “Here,” you handed one to Oscar. “Could you wipe the puddle I left at the front while I change?” He nodded and disappeared down the hallway. You closed the door behind him and peeled of your soaked outfit. 

You took some sweats and a random t-shirt from a drawer and put them on. You bundled your wet clothes and threw them in the wash as you walked towards the living space. It seemed like Oscar had already cleaned everything up since the towel was now hanging on the back on a chair. You ran another towel over your hair, drying it to the best of your abilities. 

Oscar walked back in. The two of you stood in silence before you fished out your phone. You pressed on the uber app, but a notification told you that the roads were flooded and you’d have to wait until the morning. You sighed, which peaked Oscar’s interest. 

“Everything ok?” he asked, Australian accent filled with concern. 

You showed him the screen. “Everything is flooded. I can’t get back to get my keys.” Oscar looked deep in thought. 

“You could always stay here?” It came out more like a question. 

“I don’t want to trouble you,” you fiddled with your fingers. Before now, you had never said more than ten words to the Aussie. Sure, he was Logan’s friend, but he wasn’t your friend. You were about to say something, when a knock resonated in the small entrance. The two of you whipped to look at it. You both waited in silence before another knock sounded. 

You raised an eyebrow and mouthed, “Are you expecting anyone?” Oscar shook his head. He quickly moved you behind him before looking out the peephole. He groaned before opening the door. 

There, standing in the doorway, was a soaked Lando Norris. You wanted to laugh. 

So you did. 

The two boys looked at you while you tried to calm yourself down. Lando brushed past Oscar and made his way into the flat. 

“By all means, welcome in,” Oscar sarcastically said. He locked the door and turned to look at him. You had finally been able to calm yourself down. 

“Hi Lando,” you greeted before turning around to enter the kitchen. 

“Uh, hi?” 

Oscar hit the back of his head, “What happened to you staying at Max’s?” 

Lando shrugged. “His girlfriend was over and I wasn’t about to watch them suck faces.” You snorted. 

“Aha, felt.” The three of you kind of just watched each other. You were the first one to talk. “Lando, do you want a towel?” 

He breathed a sigh of relief before answering, “Yes please.” 

You turned and headed back into the direction of Logan’s bedroom. Thankfully there was one more towel. You also grabbed another pair of sweats and a t-shit. You reemerged from the hallway and handed the items to Lando. 

“Bathroom is down the hallway to the left.” Your head jerked in the direction. Lando went around you and disappeared. You looked back at Oscar. 

“So. Sleepover?” A smirk grew on your face, before your cheeks got hot and you panicked. “Unless you’d rather me go see if I can find the landlord to get another key. I wouldn’t want to make you or Lando uncomfortable?” You continued to ramble until Oscar lightly hit your face. That shut you up. 

He rubbed his face. “No, Y/n it’s fine. Besides it’s getting late and I don’t think Logan would like it if I told you to leave.” You nodded as Lando finally came back, clothes in a heaping wet mess in his arms. You told him to put them next to the washer and that you’d start his clothes when yours were done. 

Lando clapped his hands. “What’s the plan?” 

You went to respond but Oscar beat you to it, “Sleepover.” You watched as Lando’s lips turned upwards. 

“Hold on!” you yelled and watched Oscar and Lando jump in their place. 

The two boys watched as you made your way to the kitchen. You leaned down to look what was in the fridge. “Jackpot. Bless you and you Americanness Logan.” You brought out three dark red cans and handed them to each boy.  

They looked at the cans with the white font. 

“What is this?” Lando asked, popping the can. 

You gawked at them and smacked you head. “You’re telling me. You’ve been friends with Logan and he hasn’t given you Dr. Pepper!” They both shook their heads. “Well, it’s about time you tried it.” Two more pops sounded as you and Oscar opened your cans. 

“Is it alcoholic?” Oscar asked, taking a sip of the sweet drink. 

You looked at the both of them, “Guys, I’m twenty. And where I’m from, you have to be at least 21 to partake in such adultish things such as drinking alcohol.” You took a sip and closed your eyes. You could feel the freedom seep into your veins. 

The boys looked at you strangely before Lando spoke in a childish voice, ‘Aw so you’re just a baby.” 

“Says the one who acts like a 5-year-old,” you quipped. Oscar choked on his drink while Lando stared at you. Oscar quickly wiped his face. “Do you like it?” 

Lando nodded, “It’s very sweet.” 

“That’s the taste of freedom boys.” 

“Y/n, none of us are under communism,” Oscar pointed out. 

“But you both have a monarchy who makes all the decisions.” 

“That’s Parliament,” Lando coughed, a smirk adorning his face. 

“Tomato, tomato.” You waved your hand. “I think Logan has a severe addition to frozen pizzas. I could make one real fast?” Their stomachs answered for them. 

You got to work by preheating the oven. When that was done, you carefully took off the plastic (not wanting to melt it onto the pizza), and placed the circle on a baking sheet. By now, the two McLaren drivers had moved to the couch. After setting the timer, you also joined them, but sat on the floor. 

You looked them up and down at you sipped. “It’s weird seeing the two of you not in orange.” 

Oscar slapped his face. “Here we go.” 

Lando looked like you had insulted him, his whole family, and his cow. He sat up straighter and crossed his legs. 

“It’s not orange, it’s papaya,” he emphasized the syllables. 

“It falls into the orange category of colors,” you bit back. 

“Then it would be called orange then. Oh wait, it’s not.” 

“Aren’t you a sassy little dude,” you peered at him. “It’s giving Scorpio.” Lando lit up like a Christmas tree. Oscar again, face palmed. 

“Please let’s not start this,” Oscar groaned. However, you and Lando didn’t listen to him. The two of you began to discuss star signs and what characteristics came with them. He was surprised when you told him that you were a Virgo. 

“Aren’t they shy?” 

You looked down at your fingers, “I’m shy until I get comfortable. Believe me, when I first saw you guys, I was shaking like a leaf. I still do. And if you put me into a room full of strangers I will find a way out so help me.” 

Lando dramatically brought you into a hug, his face pressed against yours. His hand came up to pat your head as you shot help-me-eyes at Oscar. “It’s ok little introvert, your extrovert is here to protect you.” You shoved him off when you heard the oven beep. The pizza had turned out perfectly. 

Not wanting to do dishes, you three ate off of paper towels. You picked up the remote as you ate a bite. “What movie should we watch? Logan has Disney Plus.” 

Oscar rolled his eyes, “Yeah I know. You two finished Cars without me.” 

“It’s not like we can’t start it over.” You turned to Lando. “Have you seen Cars 2?” 

Lando scoffed, “Of course I’ve seen Cars 2.”  

You held up your hands in mock defeated as you turned the movie on, “You seem uncultured.” You missed the look that Lando gave you. 

Like it always is, Cars 2 was fabulous. Lando was the first one to speak during the movie. His finger was pointed at the large TV. 

“Look its Charles.”

You thought he was pointing at Lightning McQueen, but Francesco. You and Oscar wheezed at the revelation. 

“But Charles is Lightning though,” your hands now pointed at the flashy red car now on screen. 

Oscar took a sip from his Dr. Pepper, “Lando would be the Volkswagen.” 

You gasped, “You’re right. He’s such a Filmore. Logan would be Sarge.” The two boys laughed out loud. 

The three of you screamed as you saw Lewis’s car come up. Lando quickly took a picture and promised to send it him. 

The movie continued before Lando spoke again, “Yeah, Max is definitely Mater.” 

“I know right,” you said, munching on another slice of pizza. “What car is Oscar though, none of them really fit him.” Oscar gave you an offended look. 

“He’d be Axelrod.” 

“I beg your pardon,” Oscar whipped his head around to look at Lando. 

“Well you would. I swear, if you were planning our demise, no one would think it’d be you.” 

You jumped in, “Either him or the Professor.” Oscar grimaced and shook his head. 

“I’ll take Axelrod.” 

“Y/n you’d be McMissile.” You fist pumped. 

“Why does she get to be the cool character?”  

“Because I’m better than you?” That earned you a scoff from the Aussie. 

“Sure. Just because you’re going to be driving a rocket ship doesn’t mean you’re better.” 

“Ladies, ladies, ladies, can we quiet down, the movie is still going on,” the Brit complained. You and Oscar leaned back and continued to watch the movie. You’re pretty sure that Lando was in tears at the end, and you and Oscar couldn’t help but tease. You went to change the movie to another one, when yet another knock sounded on the door. 

The three of you froze and slowly turned to look at the door, as if it would move. The knock sounded again. You and Oscar pushed Lando closer to the entrance. He gave you both a stink eye before looking opening the door wide open. 

“Christian!” you squealed and ran over to the older man. He was smart enough to have brought a rain coat and jacket. 

He held out your keys, “I think you forgot something.” He looked over your shoulder and stared at the two McLaren drivers. “Giving our secrets away Y/n?” 

You looked over a smirked, “As if they could use them properly in their tractor.” The two boys rolled their eyes in sync. Christian bid you goodbye and closed the door behind them. You noticed a sad look on the guys’ faces. 

You shrugged and sank down into the couch once again, a blanket over your lap. You looked at them as they continued to stand. With your eyebrow raised, you questioned, “Why are you two still standing there?” 

They shrugged and joined you. 

Lando looked at you, “I think we thought that you’d want to go to your flat now.” 

“Well boys, I was promised a sleepover. And a sleep over I will get. Now, what movie are we going to watch? I say Spider-man Homecoming. Lando is it true that Tom Holland is going to play you in a movie?” 

“My lips are sealed.” 

“That’s ok. He’s not called the Spoiler King for nothing!”    

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ATTENTION: if you were not tagged, it means that I was not able to add you. I will reply to your comment if I was unable to. Please check your settings and then message me to try again after! Thank you <3

So we have met the tag list maximum of 50 people - does anyone know how I could add more??

[thankskenpenders]

IDW's Fang the Hunter miniseries! All four issues are out now! I don't have as much to say about it as I did with the Knuckles show, but I do have some thoughts.

So! This is a pretty fun miniseries. I liked it.

It's fun to see Ian get to write a four-issue arc starring the Hooligans, his precious boys, with a B-plot showing Sonic and Tails' perspective on this little adventure. As always, Ian captures the characters' voices well. In particular, I really liked Bean in this, who despite being a slapstick screwball is actually a pretty perceptive guy. He often acts as sort of a voice of reason for Fang, seeing right through his sweet talking and pointing out how badly all of their schemes go but sticking around nonetheless just for funsies. And the art (illustrated this time by Mauro Fonseca for the first issue and Thomas Rothlisberger for the rest) is as good as we've come to expect from IDW's Classic Sonic output. Overall, this is a fun little romp that captures the vibes of the Classic era very well.

...But...

Well, as I've said before with the Amy and Tails anniversary specials, I feel like we're kind of seeing diminishing returns with these Classic spinoffs. They're fun, sure, and very nice to look at, but their writing always leave me wanting more.

A big part of this is just that there's just less to work with compared to the Modern universe. The Classic cast is much smaller, and within that cast there are a bunch of characters currently going unused, some of which are currently off-limits. Aside from the appearance of the Witchcarters in Tails' special, we've pretty much just stuck with the cast of Sonic Mania and the Hooligans, as established in the first special. No Chaotix, no Battle Bird Armada, barely any Honey. (Classic Vector was able to get a tiny cameo in the Amy special only because he was so obscured that it gave the IDW team plausible deniability to say it was actually a different character if Sega complained.) It's a very small box, and Ian's recent Classic comics haven't particularly expanded the boundaries of that box. They're just excuses to play the hits for old times' sake. And that was a lot of fun the first time around, but the novelty is starting to wear off for me.

I will admit, sure, the tighter focus on a specific set of characters from the games is a big part of the appeal of these Classic comics. They're simpler. They're nostalgic. They're shining the spotlight on characters that can't be used in the main series. They're the slavishly faithful old school Sonic comics that we could never get in the '90s, because the comics we did get diverged into their own continuities with tons of new characters. I get all that.

But the thing is, the Sonic comics have always added all those new characters because you can just do so much more with them. The game cast is great! But they're corporate mascots Sega keeps on a tight leash. You can do so much with a character like Sally or Surge that you could never do with any of the game characters, and by pushing into new territory with these new characters you can also bring out interesting new sides of the game cast. Maybe Sonic himself can't have some crazy complex character arc, but you can see how he'll respond to the things going on with these other characters, and how these other characters' arcs are informed by their relationships with Sonic.

So I look at the Fang miniseries, and I'm like. This was pretty fun. But by the end, what was the point of the story? What did we learn about the Hooligans as characters that we didn't already know? Is the point just to depict an adventure where things go off the rails a little and Bean and Bark end up a little miffed, explaining why they weren't with Fang in Superstars? There's potential for an arc there about the dissolution of the group, but it really does come off more as the type of spat these three probably get into all the time before coming back together for the next job. It's neither super dramatic nor super funny, feeling more like it ends on a fairly matter-of-fact note where Fang's like "welp, time to go do the events of Sonic Superstars" at the end, not particularly plussed by anything that happened in this arc. What we're left with is four issues of the Hooligans encountering recognizable characters and visiting recognizable locations from the Classic games, with little that really feels new or fresh here.

Ironically, the most interesting story element to me here (aside from Bean's characterization) is its tie to the main comics, something previous specials couldn't do since Sega had yet to reunify the Classic and Modern timelines. The plot of this comic revolves around Fang following the myth of the "eighth Chaos Emerald," riffing on both old playground rumors and Sonic the Fighters. What they actually end up finding isn't an extra Emerald, but rather the Warp Topaz that would eventually end up in Starline's possession in the Modern era, having apparently been found by the Hard-Boiled Heavies in the cave seen in the 900th Adventure special.

That's kinda neat, and the abilities of the Warp Topaz are used in fun ways. But this isn't exactly something to write home about for people who aren't lore nerds like me. There isn't a particularly meaningful connection between Fang and Starline's arcs here due to the presence of the Warp Topaz, it's just a thing for the wiki. Again, Ian's in his connect the dots mode a little more than I'd like here.

(...So wait, if Starline didn't find the Warp Topaz himself, did he track down the cave where the Heavies found it to leave that "greatness began here" graffiti? Eh, I guess that sounds like something he'd do. He's known for nothing if not his obsessiveness.)

So, again. This was a pretty good miniseries. This all makes it sound like I hated it, but I did like it overall. I particularly liked seeing the Hooligans fight the Hard-Boiled Heavies. But it leaves me feeling less fulfilled than something like Scrapnik Island or Tangle & Whisper or Imposter Syndrome. I get that, by the very definition of the word, Classic Sonic is always going to remain trapped in amber to some extent. This isn't the version of the franchise that's supposed to grow and change. That's what Modern Sonic does. Classic Sonic will always be trapped in the early '90s. I'm not asking for them to add a dozen new characters with complex dramatic arcs to the Classic comics, since that's not what Classic Sonic is about. But I think the other Classic Sonic stories not written by Ian - i.e. the driving school story by the McElroys and the two stories about Amy by Gale Galligan - show that you can tell fresh new Classic Sonic stories that aren't just about remixing the hits from the games.

If we're going to continue getting Classic Sonic comics from Ian (and I hope we do!), then I just hope he's able to find a better balance between familiar and new ideas, like he and Evan do so consistently with their Modern Sonic output.

[golden-earcuffs]

I just want to reflect how much the Loki show ruined Loki as a character for me and how much disheartened I was with it.

I had always wanted a spinoff on him, which explored him more. And the Loki show did anything but that.

Do you guys remember how Loki was in Infinity War for like 5 minutes, yet Tom Hiddleston was at almost every media interaction the cast had? The same thing happened in the show as well. They used him to market the show, then sidelined him in his own show. I think that was unacceptable, because they used Loki as a bait to promote a character that I held no emotions for.

Sylvie.

The argument that one does not like Sylvie because they “hate a strong female character/a character with complex arcs” is so pathetic. I don’t think I would’ve liked Sylvie even if she had the most elaborate arc in the MCU (which she doesn’t) because it just wasn’t meant to be about her.

I wanted to see Loki’s story, his journey, and if you take this moment to interject with the statement that “she’s Loki too, just different”, then I say that I wanted to see our Loki, the one who was broken when he found out that he was the monster parents told their children about at night, the one who had plethora of iconic dialogues while fighting the avengers, who was killed only for us to realize that he wasn’t.

Everytime I said that we needed a Loki spinoff before it was announced was not because I wanted new characters, it was because I wanted to see more of the character that was already there, very much beloved by the fans. I wanted them to explore his character in a deeper sense and maybe dip a little into mythology as well.

I think Loki was one of those characters that neither needed a love interest nor was ready for one. I don’t ship him with either Sylvie or Mobius, because it feels like neither of them genuinely like Loki for who he is.

Loki had far more compelling things they could have explored like his jotun heritage, his trauma from the time with Thanos and his magic that is the only memory he has of Frigga instead of his love life.

The whole show felt like it was written by someone who wasn’t the least bit interested in Loki and barely looked into him before creating his female counterpart.

It feels like a disrespect for the fans who were connected to Loki on an emotional level.

Why am I saying this now, after like 2 years since the show came out?

I don’t know, after hearing the news about season 2 releasing in October, I just feel so upset. Tired. I hate this show much because it made Loki so irrelevant to me. A sidepiece in his own show. He went around in ugly costumes and all the regal vibes I had from him just disappeared.

I still remember a time when Loki was on the top of my favorite characters, and I loved him so much. I still do, but I’m not sure if I’ll watch the 2nd season and my 13 y/o self would hate me for this.

I’ve gotten detached from his character and I hate myself for it because Loki was someone whom I adored more than anything else in the fandom world.

Loki is that one character who is loved by the fanon but absolutely despised by the canon.

[dapper-lil-arts]

what do you think of the pillars? I always thought they were so fascinating

criminally underutilized, somewhat poorly placed on occasion, but individually very very fun characters. My favorite is Somnambula because she's just cute as hell, design is great and voice is adorable (I used the element of hope for Sunset Shimmer in one of my fics lmao) I apreciated getting to see the MLP gandalf even if it wasn't strictly necessary; He does turn out to be fun as hell; Though damn he barely appears.

All the others are pretty fun! (Why is flash here?! Why there 2 flashes lol)

I apreciate how they mirror (some) of the mane 6 better than others (I see little to no combination with Pinkie and Sonnambula) And how their backstories do feel like legendary tales (I think Mistmane's is awfully nice, giving up on a thing you're known for just to help a friend, even if the whole conception of 'beauty' could be interpreted as skewed. after all she and became a gilf lol)

I think that each of the Mane 6 could have used episodes partnering up with their counterparts, or even episodes where the pillars lead (Hell, an entire spinoff show set on the ancient time of the pillars coulda been pretty sick. Younger Celestia and Luna, and a fun group with dudes that aren't one dimensional in it) AND you get a rethread of Rarijack but old people flavor. nice.

Also its so dumb that they all just lose pathetically in the finale LMAO they literally help with nothing, thanks for nothing tirek

[wenellyb]

Random thoughts on Bucktommy and Buddie

Please bare in mind that I'm only sharing my personal opinion and that I'm always open to discuss.

The discussions I've had over the past couples of weeks have been very interesting and I wanted to add my 2 cents.

Before season 7 episode:

I'm a causal viewer of 911 and I'm also on Tumblr so of course, I know Buddie, but I've never really shipped it... I can understand the appeal and I think the ship has potential but I never felt like the writers ever intended to go there. And I'm not a big fan of non-canon ships.

If they had gotten together, however, I think that I would have enjoyed it.

What has always bothered me was the behavior of some Buddie shippers who would complain about queerbaiting on the show, when there were already several Queers characters in it and one character (Hen), who's part of the main cast. I always got a weird feeling that those shippers didn't care about Queer characters if they weren't White. There is also a spinoff of the show, 911 Lone star with Queer characters who are also part of the main cast.

To me, the fact that Buck and Eddie never got together was a writing decision, not queerbaiting or anything like that... the writers had decided this wasn't the way to go for Buck and Eddie's chatacters, because if they had wanted to write a storyline between them, they could have.

I've seen a lot of people being happy about Buck being confirmed as Bi, and I get it. But to me, it was confirmed he was bi in the 911/911 Lone Star crossover when TK told Buck he had a boyfriend after Buck asked him out. I was just waiting for a storyline to confirm it. Obviously, I always thought the storyline would involve Eddie, but I was wrong.

After Season 7 Episode 4:

I follow some 911 accounts so I knew something was happening before the episode aired and I saw a preview of Buck seemingly being jealous of Eddie leaving with Tommy and I thought... this is it, this is where the writers are going to confirm Buddie. Buck will realize his jealous and realize he has feeling for Eddie or something like that.

I was very curious so I tuned in for that episode and imagine my surprise when I realized at the end, that the jealousy wasn't about who we thought and all this time the writers had been planning a storyline with Tommy.

So to me, it doesn't look like the writers are planning a Buddie storyline. Otherwise they would have prepared it gradually after the Buck and TK's discussion.

That doesn't mean it won't change in the future, writers and showrunners can change but I have never noticed them introducing a storyline that could lead to a Buddie relationship.

Everytime I see a post "proving" Buddie, it's always showing something friends or best friends do (hugging, being affectionnate), even Eddie making Buck Chris' legal guardian is something a best friend could do.

I'm not saying that they couldn't be romantic in another context, but there hasn't been any indication that the writers are planning a romantic plot for Buck and Eddie.

The writers decided to go there with Buck and Tommy. They're treating their story like a romcom, with the kiss, the hearteyes and everything. Buck is obviously into Tommy and being ready to tell the world about him.

That's the storyline the writers have decided to give us and it's a very nice one.

I know a lot of people are expecting Tommy and Buck to be temporary but to me that's wishful thinking. It wouldn't make sense to have Buck invite Tommy to his sister's wedding just for them to break up a few episodes later. If a breakup is what the writers had in mind, they would just set up another normal date.

Shipping goggles are ok, I have other ships for which I have shipping goggles on and for which I'm not very objective.

What's not ok is trying to ruin the fun of Bucktommy shippers who are trying to enjoy this beautiful storyline but can't go in the tags without seeing a post about the ship's impeding break up.

[emeryhiro]

Hi! Thanks so much for your epsiode breakdowns of the book of carol! I had a couple of questions for you about episode 1. No worries if you can't answer though!

1 - after watching, do you feel more or less confident about caryl going canon? Or about the same?

2- if you had to use three words to describe the ep, what would they be?

3- if you had to use three emojis to describe your fave scene, what would they be?

4- was there anything you didn't like about the ep?

5- do you think ep 6 is going to be the best episode of walking dead anything ever?

Thanks so much!!

Hey Anon!

You're so welcome 🩵 and thank you for the interesting questions 😊 I apologise in advance because my response for Q1 is going to be a little long and slightly ranty.

1 - When I compare how I felt about it in the last 10+ years to how I feel about it now after watching episode 1, I would say I definitely feel more confident that we're heading for Caryl canon. AMC indeed had plenty of opportunities to give us canon before (but obviously never did); however, the setup now is the best it's ever been. From a storytelling perspective, I believe the way Episode 1 set up Carol on her journey to find Daryl is the perfect lead-up for canon. And S02EP1 made 3 things very evident to me:

Finding Daryl is Carol's number one priority, and she'd do anything to get him back

Daryl would never be truly happy without her, and he can't stop thinking about her and how she's doing without him.

The longer they're apart, the more mentally and emotionally unstable they become.

I'm aware there are some people who think that after watching episode 1, the new season's story is not going to be the one we want for Caryl. To those people, I want to ask: Did we watch the same episode?🤣 'Cause I didn't see a single anti-Caryl thing in the episode I watched.

I'll dive into my opinion on the timing of canon a little more as well:

If Caryl had gone canon on the main show, I'm sure we would have all been so happy, but it's all going to be so much more rewarding after the tension that has now been built with Daryl after season one and Carol in season 2 (so far). With all the time they've spent apart, they have started to experience the real fear of never seeing each other again or knowing if the other is even alive.

I think this was the plan all along. The initial spin-off idea was for Carol and Daryl to leave the group and join everyone again later in the show. That opportunity to leave the group and what they experienced in that time away would have been their plan to get to that level of tension where canon was the most satisfying.

When it was decided that the TWD would end with s11, they knew they had to hold off on canon until the spinoff because there was no way they had enough screen time left to get through the character development they needed for Caryl or the opportunity to build tension the way they envisioned it.

I'm happy they waited because getting a rushed canon would've been led up to by moments that we've already seen and experienced by the characters many times before (and never previously led to canon) would not have done Caryl justice.

Unfortunately, the pattern that we consistently saw in the flagship show was that as soon the group settled somewhere (Prison, Alexandira, Commonwealth) and got into some sense of normalcy, Daryl and Carol were automatically pulled apart by circumstances and responsibilities, and barely end up getting any time together. Carol even spoke to Maggie about this in S11EP21. That's who Daryl and Carol are; they never put themselves or their wants/needs first. So, for canon to happen and to make sense, they needed to be taken away from everyone else, given their own journey and time together, without the distraction of their obligations to others.

Carol and Daryl are my favourite characters in all of fiction. I ultimately want them to be cared for and get the happiness they deserve. Some might strongly disagree with me on this, but I think if, after this point, they still don't give us canon, then it'd be because Norman and Melissa didn't want it. I'll stand by my previous comments on this; Norman and Melissa are being heard by the writers, and to me, their character arcs have their input written all over them. If they want Caryl to be canon (which I strongly believe they do), then it will be, and if they don't, then it won't be, because I don't think there's anything else holding that back anymore.

2 - EMOTIONAL, unhinged, and nostalgic

3 - 💥🛩️🌅 - I'm curious to know how you interpret these and if the people I attended the premiere with would agree ( @celtic-crossbow @maggie-atwood )

4 - I strongly disliked how the people at the nest (i.e. Isabelle & Losang) treated Daryl. We saw them constantly emotionally manipulate him in season 1, and I was still seeing that in S02EP1; however, what made it a little better this time was that Daryl was clearly sick of it all. He looked ready to wrap things up, resolve the Nest's conflicts as soon as possible, and start heading home.

5 - Idk... someone should ask Norman. I wish he'd share his thoughts on episode 6 🤣 (Yes, I do! To me, the whole season is gonna be the best season of twd anything ever because it's all about Carol and Daryl)

Thanks again for the interesting questions; they were a lot of fun for me to answer, and I hope I've answered them well. Please feel free to lmk if you have any others ♡♡♡

[bookdragonideas]

The thing that bugs me about Dragons: The Nine Realms, (ya know, besides literally everything else) is that it completely kills the last message/theme of the original movies and even the original books.

Whether you love Hidden World or hate it you have to admit that the last scene is very close to the last scene in the books as far as tone goes.

The books end with telling us that the Dragons were real and now they're gone. But that someday the Dragons will return and the world will need a Hero and the Hero could be you.

Hidden World ends by telling us that the Dragons are hidden and gone. But the secret is kept and someday the Dragons will return when humanity is ready for them.

Both end with a bittersweet hopefullness. An admittance that the Dragons aren't real anymore, they're hidden and gone and never to be found. But. But someday they'll return. Someday Dragons will be real again. Someday the world will be full of adventures and heros once again. And maybe, just maybe, it could start with you.

And both end with a subtle nudge to do better. Humanity should get better so that someday Dragons can live in peace with us again. You should get better so that someday you can be the hero the world needs.

And nine realms takes the bittersweet hopefullness and that subtle nudge to do better and spits on both and the audiences face as well.

Nine realms says that the Dragons came back, and whoops! You aren't the hero! These random brats are! Nine Realms says the Dragons came back and, Whoops! The world's still not ready for them!

Both books and movies ended in the perfect way. They ended with a promise to the audience. A promise for the audience. The ending made it feel real. Like this could have happened in our world. Like this could happen to us. Like maybe the next time you're in the woods you might find a dragon!

The ending added a sense of realism that made the fantasy more believable. It took a fictional story and made it feel more like a piece of forgotten history. It aided the suspension of disbelief.

Nine Realms rips that apart and reminds you in the worse and harshest terms that this is all fake. It gives a lousy, poorly designed story, with weak characters and cheap animation, and offers nothing narratively.

And the worse thing is... They have no excuse. Other spinoffs could have worked! Other sequels could have worked!

There's a kiddie spinoff show called Rescue Riders and it doesn't insult the source like this. (In fact they had the kids able to speak the Dragons language, so if anything it honors the original books that way)

The Christmas special managed to dodge hurting the narrative by having the dragons barely interact with the people and only coming back for one Viking equivalent Christmas.

A great idea for a Dragons show would be a book adaptation that focuses on Hiccup 1 and Hiccup 2! I would love to see that!

They could do a reboot of the whole thing and stick closer to the books this time.

They could do a show placed inbetween the second and third movie, covering Hiccups first year as chief!

There are so many things they could have done with this franchise. But nope! They chose the WORSE possible option.

And that's why I hate big media.

Anyways, read the original books. They're so good.

[anxiescape]

NEW CLOAK REBORN!!!!!

Oooh! A fun one! 🤭 Okay, so New Cloak Reborn is a one-shot spinoff of Stargaze. You know when Wukong really pissed off the Celestial Realm and they eventually sent down Erlang to capture him? Well, there’s this one thing that Erlang says in Stargaze that’s pretty darn creepy:

Erlang: I find your kind to be rather hideous… (eyes Liu’er in a creepy way.) But your pelt will make a fine cloak. (Liu’er feels a shudder of fear/disgust roll down his spine, but he isn’t even able to respond before Wukong lets out an ungodly bellow of rage and throws himself at Erlang. A few blows are exchanged before Wukong locks eyes with Liu’er.) “LIU’ER!!!” Wukong screamed. “GO!!!”

Anyway, the chapter ends with Wukong being captured, and then the gods come back a year later or so and burn the mountain. Liu’er survives and manages to scare them off. Well, in New Cloak Reborn, Liu’er doesn’t survive. He is overpowered by Erlang and his brothers, and well… when Wukong gets out of the furnace, and sees the glittery new fur pelt that Erlang is wearing…

Wukong screamed. He could do nothing to stop the terrible sound tearing its way out of his throat, and all other beings in the room were forgotten as Wukong lunged for Erlang. The god reached for his sword, but Wukong moved so fast that Erlang could barely wrap his fingers around the hilt before the monkey was on top of him. Wukong’s voice was inhuman—ungodly, deafening as he howled like an enraged banshee. He clawed at Erlang, his nails tearing both cloth and flesh. He moved to tear the pelt from Erlang’s shoulders—that bastard had no right to even look at it, let alone touch it—but the moment Wukong’s fingers touched the strands of black fur, he pulled away as if he’d been burned. The fur… was so cold. Lifeless. It felt wrong.

… yeah, he’s not having a great time. Wukong is inconsolable and enraged, and he ends up being slapped right under Five Phases Mountain without the fun pillars lesson from Buddha. And when Guanyin eventually comes along to invite him on the journey, she finds a horribly depressed monkey that wants nothing more than for his suffering to end. But… she has a deal, should he choose to accept it.

“I have spoken with the Diyu. Complete this journey—see that Tang Sanzang is safe throughout his travels—and when you have successfully completed this task, Liu’er Mihou will be returned to you.”

Obviously, Wukong accepts. Originally he just goes along to fulfill his part of the deal, but over time he grows to care for the other members of his little group. By the end, he is still quiet and solemn, and he is resigned to the prospect of a future without Liu’er (he never fully trusted Guanyin’s promise). He hopes that Liu’er would be proud of the changes he’s made in himself: he’s less foolish, thinks a little more before acting, etc. And when he finally comes back to Flower Fruit Mountain… Well, here’s a little more from one of the last chapters, since I do love my happy endings:

There was someone waiting for him on the other side. They were dressed in gleaming white robes, with the faintest of pale pink lotus flowers embroidered along the edges. And their fur… Wukong would recognize that glittering midnight pelt anywhere. He had seen it in his dreams, as well as his nightmares. But unlike the last time he had seen it, the fur was now attached to a living, breathing being. One that he had never thought he’d ever see again. “Welcome home, Shí Hóu,” Liu’er said softly.

Woohoo! A happy ever after, with lots of tears and hugs and long awaited cuddles. Both of these monkeys have a lot of nightmares ahead of them (Wukong’s are of seeing Liu’er’s pelt/dead body, while Liu’er’s are memories of being skinned alive… 😳), but now they have each other again and it’ll all be okay. Liu’er gets to meet the other pilgrims, and modern day Monkie Kid happens a little differently than in the show… but you’ll have to wait until I’m finished writing. 😜

[lovemyromance]

Why do you think there won't be an Illyrian plotline? There's been a lot of emphasis on Ramiel, the BR, the focus on the political unrest in Illyria and the backwardness of the wing-clipping of Illyrian females

This might get me cancelled but quite frankly I don't think SJM is capable of or even wants to explore that kind of story.

I don't like bringing race into things, but SJM is a white woman. It can't be ignored. While I'm not trying to say that people of a certain race can't write about injustice or about a different oppressed race, especially one that's fictional- I just think SJM specifically doesn't have the right voice... so to speak... to write such a story.

Like I am sure she understands injustice. She understands classism. She understands oppression. But a story like that deserves a full focus, a full detailed account into that narrative of feeling oppressed, feeling like you are inferior, feeling like you are lower than an entire group of people ... all based on something you couldn't even control.

That kind of story doesn't fit into what she has set up for ACOTAR. SJM is not writing a story about social justice. She is writing a romantasy. The focus being on romance, just as much as it is on the fantasy elements of magic and powers and drama and suspense and thrilling action.

The Illyrian world building isn't the focus of her story. It is the backstory to explain the current state. Like the distinction between High Fae vs Lesser fae. It exists to serve as background context, and nothing more in my opinion. It is a plot device. It shows why Rhys/Cassain/Azriel are the way that they are. It adds to the political conflict post ACOWAR. It gives Emerie a backstory.

I see that entire subplot the same way I think SJM uses SA as just a "check the box: trauma ✔️" when she's coming up with her characters backstories. It exists for the sole purpose of character building. SA trauma is used for several of her main and side characters, but it's never really focused on. Rhys talks about it with Feyre, explaining how horrible it was, but nothing beyond that. No focus on Rhys's healing from that, not even a Rhys POV about his thoughts on it. Gwyn also has SA, but beyond sharing her background with Nesta and being in that library, it's literally never brought up again. Lucian's SA with Ianthe is also barely brought up or even talked about.

Emerie feeling anger and self-hatred over her wings being clipped is honestly the most SJM has done with the Illyrian plotline. Azriel has outright claimed he doesn't care if Illyria is blasted off the map. Cassian tries to help, but most of ACOSF was focused on him and Nesta. This would've been the perfect opportunity to have Nesta train in Windhaven and learn more about the Illyrians and help Emerie -> but she didn't want to train there. So back to the HOW we go.

And to be clear - I'm not trying to criticize SJM. She is writing a romantasy. That needs to be kept in mind. People who open her books are expecting romance, drama, action. They are not expecting to read 800 pages on fictional social oppression. They are not expecting to read 800 pages of someone recovering from SA.

Like there are other books for that. There are amazing other books for that. But ACOTAR? That's not what ACOTAR is made for.

SJM has not even set up any main characters to be able to narrate that Illyrian subplot. Emerie is the only one that comes to mind that could actually give a detailed account of what it feels like. But she's not even talked about when it comes to getting one of the next spinoffs.

These kind of stories about social injustice need to be handled with care and grace, but also be truthful enough that it's not sugarcoating the true atrocities people faced. And I know this is about a fictional world, but I see this world building as similar to real life events. Like when early American colonizers drove out the native Americans. Jim Crow laws. Apartheid. Indians that suffered under the rule of the British. Jews during WWII.

Illyria might be fictional but oppression is not. If you're going to write about something like that, it's going to be open to a lot of scrutiny and it will have to be the focus. It will have to be written with careful, yet honest words. And SJM - or at least her editors- know that too.

It doesn't fit the story she has set up with ACOTAR. And if she tried to do it now, I don't think it would even go over well.

[melodicdragon97]

Let me start by saying I love the Zelda franchise. I'm a casual gamer, and I haven't beaten every single game in the series (I haven't finished Zelda 2 and I haven't started Oracle of Ages, and I haven't played most of the spinoffs).

When Breath of the Wild came out, it instantly became tied with Twilight Princess as my favorite Zelda game. BotW was a breath of fresh air (pun intended) and I loved how I could play the game at my own pace, and I loved the freedom to explore wherever I wanted from the start. I thought the story was great and the gameplay was unique. The dungeons fell a bit short (they were short and easy, and the bosses kinda sucked), but they were creative, and I loved the champions enough that beating their bosses felt satisfying, if only since it avenged my old friends. Its themes of finally getting closure from the past while helping in the present was handled beautifully, and the final memory brought me to tears.

When Tears of the Kingdom was announced, I was HYPED. I was so excited to see Ganondorf's return and the consequences that would have on the world in this new story. I was wondering how they would handle reusing the same map, especially with the new abilities (Recall was what I was most excited for since it had so much potential to use in puzzles). But the more I saw of TotK regarding its map and game mechanics, the less interested I became.

I thought we would be able to keep the shrines as warp points on the surface (and the focus of the game would be on exploring the Depths and the Sky). Instead, all traces of the BotW's story were lost. No Shiekah tech, no towers, no (Shiekah) shrines. Ok, fine, it's whatever. But that meant you were required to explore the SAME overworld the SAME WAY as you did in BotW: finding dragons tears (finding memories), finding/beating Zonai shrines (finding/beating Sheikah shrines), and finding lookout towers to gain a map of the area (climbing the Shiekah towers). Why? What's the point of all of that in the same overworld, when the focus SHOULD be on making the Depths and Skies interesting instead?

The skies were too segmented and barely had anything in them. The depths were mostly empty aside from enemies and DLC armor from BotW (which makes most of the amiibo useless, btw. Also, THEY GOT RID OF WOLF LINK. I WILL NOT FORGIVE THEM. Lol), and finding the Lightroots as the priority made it tedious to explore. The caves on the surface were so small that they hardly mattered unless you wanted to hunt all the frogs.

I thought the dungeons would be more unique from each other this time around, maybe play on different types of gimmicks or themes. Instead, it's just more of the same gimmick that BotW had: find a few terminals and then beat the boss.

Since TotK is a sequel, I thought its story would be in real time, directly driving the gameplay. Instead, the story takes place forever in the past, and ultimately has no bearing on the plot outside of Zelda's location, AND the exact same story gets replayed after every dungeon you beat. I understood it the first time, thanks.

The ancestors in the past story don't really mean anything to me because they're...nobody. I don't even think they had names. They didn't do anything to make themselves stand out from their descendants, or even have a connection with their descendants aside from being their ancestors. But I digress.

In terms of reusing the world, I thought the old ruins (like the ranch ruins in BotW) would have been rebuilt, or a few new towns would have been added, but INSTEAD it's just the same old world with added monster camps and Lookout Landing and maybe another town that was so forgettable that I don't even remember it.

Ok, so it wasn't what I expected. That doesn't make it bad, right?

Well, I gave it a chance I just really didn't care for the building mechanics. The fusion mechanic is great, but I still feel like I'm cheesing my way through the game instead of actually solving puzzles the way they were intended. I feel like I'm just brute forcing my way through the game, and that doesn't make me feel clever or smart the way older games used to when I'd figure out a unique puzzle.

Oh well. Some games just aren't meant for some people. I still had fun just exploring and messing with Koroks, and I liked that I could have more horses (but they left out the ancient bridle and saddle from the BotW DLC =( )

So now that they've dropped trailers for Echoes of Wisdom, I thought: this is it, they're going to do something different. And we're playing as Zelda!! Zelda has so many cool abilities!!

But instead, the new gimmick in the game is....a rod. That anyone can use. Using Zelda's powers in a game where you play as Zelda? NOPE. Just give her a weapon Link could use, except now we don't have Link's sword/shield or arsenal of other items. We're just a powerless girl with a duplication wand.

Ok, ok, it can't be as bare-bones as that.

The world should be unique and encourage you to explore and navigate the different terrains, right? NOPE, just summon a million beds and climb over everything.

Open world games can be fun, but when you have NO LIMITS then it becomes boring. There's no thought or challenge or maze or puzzles in order to progress; you can easily use the mechanic to build your own solution to every single problem from the start. And building your own solution means relying on knowledge you already have; it doesn't require you to learn how to problem-solve, the way puzzles are meant to. Usually, in this case, I'd WANT to progress in order to see what will happen in the story. But we all know that the Zelda team doesn't gaf about the story, at least not anymore. So what's the point?

Just echo a cucco to fly over gaps, or summon a few objects as a staircase to climb up ledges. Using these echoes in dungeons has the potential to make things fun, but in the overworld? I just don't see the appeal of cheesing your way through every obstacle. And I already had my fill of going wherever I wanted in BotW and TotK. Making the overworld an actual world worth navigating would be NEW at this point.

I feel like EoW should be a short little spinoff game or something. At least then I wouldn't feel so disappointed in a main series game. I'll check it out for the story alone, but if TotK's story is anything to go on, I'm sure EoW's story will be lacking as well.

I'm not dropping out of the fandom just yet. But I feel like they're really cashing in on BotW's success by making every game a worse knockoff of it. They're using playable Zelda as a dirty tactic to win over fans like me who have wanted to play as Zelda with her established abilities.

[pourcap]

thoughts: kr chapter 14

Damen spent two fruitless hours with Nikandros trying to plot a course (...), until Laurent wandered in and outlined a plan so outrageous that Damen had said yes with the feeling that his mind was splitting apart. how much pleasure do you think laurent got out of damen going with his plan instead of nikandros'?

(...) the young, triple-crowned Pallas, Lazar, who had whistled at him, (...) i would like a pallas x lazar spinoff

(...) Damen tried not to think too deeply about the reasons why Laurent thought it necessary to bring a physician. i reread chapter 13 and honestly i wouldn't be surprised if damen was worried about injury while laurent was planning for something else, like jokaste said: "he has his own plans." idk what he's expecting to happen but maybe the 'outrageous plan' and paschal being with them means more? ugh no idea

(...) ‘I see. My wife is the leverage for my good behaviour?’ ‘That’s right,’ said Laurent. is it just me or is easily admitting to something not really characteristic of laurent? i want to know how he said it. was it just "that's right" or was it "that's right" with a glint of "you're so dumb" flickering in his eyes? every chapter i read i think of that one part in book 1 (i think??) where damen tells laurent he doesn't think laurent does anything without ten different motives (that's me paraphrasing obv, i can't remember the exact words :/)

Damen dropped the pitcher. stop

Laurent’s arms were bare. His throat was bare. His collarbone was bare, and most of his thighs, his long legs, and all of his left shoulder. Damen stared at him. horny damen is back!!!! <3333

Laurent sat down. (...) It was even shorter sitting down. he's not even listening, is he?

'Yes. Sorry,’ said Damen. And then: ‘What were you saying?“ lmao i loooove damen so much

They had only twelve soldiers. Twelve-ish, amended Damen, thinking of Paschal and Guion. let me repeat that: i love damen (and his sass)

of course nikandros disagrees. remember when laurent asked damen if he thought nikandros would like him? i guess we all know the answer lol (maybe someday ☻)

'I wish to restate my strong objection,’ said Nikandros. ‘It’s noted,’ said Damen. I LOOOVE DAMEN

Even so, Damen heard himself saying. ‘You can’t just barge in on—’ ‘Open the wagon,’ said the Captain, ignoring him. if only this dude knew who he's really speaking to

also how are they getting out of this lol

Laurent stepped out of the wagon, (...). He said, ‘How did you convince Jokaste to play along with the guards?’ ‘I didn’t,’ said Laurent. no way

He tossed the wad of blue silk in his hands to one of the soldiers to dispose of, then shrugged into his jacket in a rather mannish gesture. IN A RATHER MANNISH GESTURE

laurent is so hot

i'm so sorry but he's literally so hot

"Don't think about it too much,' said Damen. can you believe how far laurent and damen have come? the easy acceptance of each other's personalities, the appreciation for how much they've helped and will continue to help each other by one person making up for what the other lacks, the absence of judgement? and just, in general, how well they know each other by now? i just love them. i love them.

Laurent held out his hand to escort her back from the supply wagon into the main wagon, a bored Veretian gesture. Her eyes had the same bored look as she took his hand. ‘You’re lucky we’re alike,’ she said, stepping down. They looked at one another like two reptiles. i imagine nikandros staring at damen right now and i know exactly what his face would look like

(...) ‘I’ll be swift, and I’ll take our best rider with me.’ ‘That’s me,’ said Laurent, wheeling his horse. i just think they're very sexy

'The undergrowth was thinner when I was a boy.’ ‘Or you were.' stop flirting omg (jk pls go on)

damen constantly thinking about all the nice places he wants to take laurent and the people he wants to introduce him to and the memories he wants to make with him... it's doing things to me. he's so in love. they're so in love. <3

'You left the dress in the wagon,’ said Damen. ‘Thank you, I do have other ways of getting past a sentry.' yay more flirting!

'You’re late,’ said Damen. ‘I brought you a souvenir.’ Laurent tossed Damen an apricot. Damen could feel the quiet exultation of Laurent’s men, while the Akielons looked a little dazed. laurenttttt (i said that with a squeal)

‘Is this how you do things in Vere?’ ‘You mean effectively?’ said Laurent. (...) lauuuureeeennttttt <33333 (he's so cute and i love him and i know damen's competency kink just flared up again but can laurent pls stop needling nikandros lol)

(...) Earlier, Laurent had tossed Damen his bedroll and said, ‘Unpack this,’ and Pallas had almost challenged him to a duel for the insult. (...) imagine if pallas knew even half of all that happened between damen and laurent lol. also it's not like damen is a perfect gentleman but, you know. i appreciate the loyalty (and love pallas)

Damen poured a shallow cup of wine and passed it to the soldier beside him (Pallas), and there was a long silence in which Pallas stood obviously garnering every piece of courage that he had to reach out and take it. damen is so good to his men; i love that he knows pallas meant well, so this is a nice gesture. also, bc it's just impossible to ignore: damen is so hot.

Laurent strolled up to the impasse, threw himself down on the log next to Damen, and in an expressionless voice launched into the story of the brothel adventure that had earned him the blue dress, which was so unabashedly filthy it made Lazar blush, and so funny it had Pallas wiping his eyes. (...) i just got super emotional bc remember when in the beginning of book 2, damen told laurent he needed to bond with his men in a way that wasn't just manipulation and laurent said he didn't have time for that? i love that it's happening now, and has of course been happening for a while, but that laurent is coming more out of his shell and actually enjoying himself now and then.

Pallas did a decent impression of Paschal’s riding. Lazar watched Pallas with lazy admiration. It wasn’t the impression he was admiring. Damen bit into the apricot. 1) i will read all the lazar x pallas fics there are. 2) damen always noticing the soldiers flirting is so funny to me. first jord and aimeric, now these two

laurent and damen lying side by side under the stars ahhhhh

'You smell of horse,’ said Damen. ‘It’s how I got past the dog.' whyyyy am i so emotional? can you believe i'm crying over damen saying laurent smells lol

'You want me wandering around the Akielon countryside naked at night?’ And then, ‘You smell just as much of horse as I do.’ ‘More,’ said Damen. He was smiling. he was smiling !!!! and i am crying now :)

'They’re Artesian. Aren’t they? From the old empire, Artes. They say it used to span both our countries.' bring it back! bring back artes!

Damen heard himself say it. ‘There’s a summer palace in Ios outside the capital. (...)' His pulse beat with uncharacteristic nerves, so that he felt almost shy. ‘When all this is over . . . we could take horses and stay a week in the palace.’ (...) He felt Laurent holding himself carefully, and there was a strange pause. After a moment, Laurent said, softly, ‘I’d like that.’ you know how i just said i was crying? i am sobbing now :) damen and laurent both being shy and cute and in love and full of yearning for peace and happiness 😭 I love them so much 😭

that was such a good chapter :')

[cyberdragoninfinity]

was thinking about this since there's the action duel event in duel links, what's your opinion on the action duels in the actual arc-v anime?

OH THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION i looove action duels. i love a funny Spinoff Series Duel Gimmick, i think theyre so SO fun. but also like everything else in arc-v action duels are....hm. it's very 'the concept here kicks ass but the actual execution in show is DETERMINED to throw itself off a cliff" LMAO

LIKE THEYRE SO COOL ON PAPER. AND FOR LIKE ALL OF SEASON 1. youve got this natural progression of Solid Vision where the sets and the monsters have physical mass to them and are also kind of alive but dont worry about it, you can climb around on shit and RIDE YOUR MONSTERS!!! and duck and weave and explore and it's so fuckin cool, it's got such a crazy kinetic energy to it that just entrances me. I didn't realize until literally like a couple days ago that the Japanese game show influence is HUGE wrt the way duelists navigate Action Fields and scramble to grab Action Cards and such and it's such a such a fun vibe to bring to the ever-evolving depiction of this insane card game. It's like if a yugioh duel was also Wipeout but was also an old Nickelodeon kids' game show but was also the battle at the beginning of a pkmn movie but was also an old crash bandicoot game. fucking obsessed with them

And the Action Fields in season 1, these critical Duel Settings, are also just especially so cool, and it's frustrating that after that point we kind of just Dont Get Action Fields until literally the last few duels in the series. 'Crossover' is barely an Action Field let's be so real. It turns the immediate area into a platforming minigame but it is not nearly on the level of MASS SWORD GRAVE DUEL FIELD or TURN PARADISE CITY INTO ZOOTOPIA DUEL FIELDS.

and i think that's kind of just another unfortunate element of how much the wheels on arc-v's quality/storytelling start falling off by mid season 2 and 3. it's like seeing budget cuts in real time. we can't do Cool Volcano Field anymore. get on the Bland Floating Platforms.

at least we'll always have yuya's hippo showgirls

but anyway. i think the one (1) big issue Action Duels have, and the one thing about them that has me a bit Agonized watching action duels is the GODDAMN ACTION CARDS. FOR SOME REASON THE WAY DUEL LINKS IMPLEMENTED THEM IS LIKE LEAPS AND BOUNDS BETTER THAN IT IS IN THE SHOW. Like the way in DL you have to carefully pick out your 3 Action cards, they have to fit the 10 point quota the game gives you, they need to work With your deck and not Critically Carry Your Deck and Your Ass, I wish all of that was how they were in the anime!! Would make things more interesting!!

Cuz like in the show it's more 'ok random burst of Action Cards is scattered on the field' which could be cool but then the writing doesn't do anything remotely unique with them 90% of the time. They're like the Plot Crutch of all time in-show. It really just has this vibe of "it doesnt matter if your dueling sucks if you just grab the asspull action card that's in every single action duel that just Makes Your Opponents' Attack Miss" and thats just what Yuya does for like. every action duel he's in. other people have talked more eloquently about it but you really kind of realize just how BAD Yuya is at dueling when you sit and look at duels he won because he pulled the Convenient Ass-Saving Action Spell at the last minute and not because of anything he did with his dueling ability. And I do love me some Yugioh Plot Ass Pulls but here it just never feels earned... just like a bunch of other shit in arc-v HJDFGSDF. it just feels like the writers backing themselves into a corner and popping an Evasion Ex Machina. I Am So Goddamn Tired of Seeing Evasion. Miracle is Also On Thin Ice

THERE JUST HAD TO HAVE BEEN BETTER WAYS THEY COULD HAVE IMPLEMENTED THIS FEATURE. like idk make action cards more like speed spells in 5ds where theyre already IN your deck. or. or. oh the world if action cards in the show were more like a Chopped Basket where you get a set random selection of them predetermined before the duel and then characters have to really figure out how to use them creatively to help bolster their deck. life could be a dream

tl;dr I LIKE ACTION DUELS A LOT AND I THINK THEYRE SOME OF THE MOST FUN 'GIMMICK' YUGIOH DUELS. BUT WHY DID THEY MAKE ACTION CARDS LIKE THAT wish they were used in a more interesting way!! wish we got to see more insane duel fields past season one!! really curious to see how theyre handled in the arc-v manga. yugo stuck in the volcano field to look at if you dont like my posts