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midzelink · 4 years

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People of Shadow: Who Were the Twili’s Ancestors, Really?

The speculation surrounding the mysterious origins of the Twili in Twilight Princess is far from a new topic amongst fans of the series; I distinctly remember staying up late into the night scrounging around old forums in my early teens, ingesting thread after thread on the very subject, hoping against hope that someone smarter than me would at last have found the truth amidst the lies. Those kinds of analyses, the pure intrigue that leads to hours of reflection and research, has long been one of the series’ drawing points for me; that no matter how cracked and inconsistent the story Nintendo has chosen to weave, fans of the series will again and again use everything at their disposal to fill in the cracks.

If you’re reading this, it’s highly likely you’re familiar with the the two most common theories: that they were either Sheikah or Gerudo (though the evidence I’ve seen for the latter has always been shaky at best). When you get right down to it, it’s not as if who the Twili once were really matters - it’s certainly something Nintendo didn’t give more than a few seconds thought - but speculating is fun, and something on which I’ve spent much more time than I’d like to admit. Though the reality, of course, could simply be that they were no one, just a hodgepodge group of dark magic users, never before seen, I always found myself asking: If they were anybody, who would they be? Is there any in-game evidence to suggest as much? I would argue that yes, there is - and though what I’ve written here is hardly groundbreaking, it is fairly comprehensive, and with any luck, I’ll be able to convince a few of you along the way.

With all that out of the way, I would at last like to state that, if anyone, I firmly believe the Twili’s ancestors were Sheikah, and I’ve done my best to compile my reasoning for this below.

The Banishment of the “Interlopers”

Before we get into specifics, I wanted to lay some groundwork establishing when, exactly, the Twili’s ancestors were banished by the Light Spirits at the behest of the gods, as the timeline of events will be important in a moment. In Twilight Princess, we first hear about the dark interlopers and their quest for the Sacred Realm from Lanayru; there was an era of peace in Hyrule, but when word of the realm and the holy triangles within it spread, war broke out amidst the populace. From within this greed-fueled chaos arose the interlopers, “wielding powerful sorcery” - and so great was their transgression against the goddesses that they ordered the Light Spirits to seal them away in shadow forever. (If the story of a war breaking out over the Sacred Realm sounds familiar, that’s because the Hyrulean Civil War, which ended shortly before the events of Ocarina of Time, shared the same conflict; it’s entirely possible that the two wars were one and same or overlapped in some fashion, but for this post specifically, that possibility isn’t entirely relevant.)

This era of strife is colloquially referred to as the Interloper War by many, and from Lanayru’s tale alone we can extrapolate that, at the very least, the banishment of the Twili happened before the events of Ocarina of Time; the struggle was fought over the Triforce, after all, which was claimed and broken apart in all three splits of the timeline following the events of that game. It’s also important to note that Ganondorf was banished to the Twilight Realm shortly after the events of Ocarina of Time in the Child Timeline, and that this was long after the Twili’s ancestors had been banished there; so it can be said conclusively that the Interloper War could not have taken place between the events of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess.

The Sheikah, Few and Far Between

It was important that we establish a rough estimate of when, exactly, the Twili’s ancestors were banished for one very crucial reason: to shed some light one who they likely weren’t, and who they could have been. At some point before the events of Ocarina of Time, there was a mysterious group of dark magic wielders known only as “the interlopers” that, all at once, were banished to an alternative dimension - an act that, had there been any of their tribe left behind, likely would have put a serious strain on their numbers. And within Ocarina of Time - a game that takes place after this banishment would have occurred - we learn of a tribe who suffered one such fate:

“They say that Princess Zelda's nanny is actually one of the Sheikah, who many thought had died out.”

As we all know, Impa is the only Sheikah present in Ocarina of Time - I would argue not quite the last, if Impaz in Twilight Princess is any indication - but regardless, they are so few and far between that the general populace had one point believed them to be extinct. Things weren’t always this way; at the very least, we can extrapolate that there were a great many Sheikah around the time of time of Skyward Sword, and even within the context of Ocarina of Time, Kakariko Village was in relatively recent history a Sheikah village that was closed off to the common people. What truly happened to the Sheikah that drove them to near extinction is anyone’s guess, but I would argue that it was likely a combination of two things:

the Hyrulean Civil War, which lasted very, very long, had many casualties, and the Sheikah (being in service to the Hyrulean Royal Family) were likely at the forefront of this, and

on top of this, perhaps before or even coinciding with the Civil War, a not unsubstantial number of the Sheikah broke off from their tribe, betrayed the Royal Family, and tried to claim the Triforce and the Sacred Realm as their own.

Of course, this relies on the assumption that the Sheikah could ever, under any circumstances betray the Royal Family - betray Hylia, the goddess whose bloodline it is supposedly their sworn duty to serve. And though I will not be touching on this quite yet, I did want to bring it to attention, as it is overall a crucial piece of the puzzle - but we have some more ground to cover first.

(As for what I meant in the beginning of this segment when I said who they likely weren’t, I was specifically referring to the Gerudo, a people who many others speculated could have been the the Twili’s ancestors. While it’s true that the Gerudo people have mysteriously vanished by the era of Twilight Princess, they are very much present in Ocarina of Time - and we have established that the banishment of the Twili’s ancestors occurred before the events of that game.)

Beings of Shadow, Enter the Twilight Realm

When all is said and done, the coincidental timing of both the banishment of the interlopers and the dwindling numbers of the Sheikah isn’t quite groundbreaking evidence of anything; after all, it would not be completely out of the realm of possibility that the Hyrulean Civil War had been entirely at fault for their dwindling numbers. However, given what we know about how twilight affects ordinary denizens of the world of light, I would argue that Sheikah may have been the only group of people capable of becoming the Twili, and it is for this reason that I feel assured in my conclusions:

“Twilight covered Hyrule like a shroud, and without light, the people became as spirits. Within the twilight, they live on, unaware that they have passed into spirit forms...”

This twilight - the very glow that transforms the unawares citizens into spirits and Link into a beast - is the very same “light” that pervades the Twilight Realm, and it can only be assumed that any ordinary light dwellers banished there would also become as spirits. Yet in the case of the Twili’s ancestors, this emphatically was not the case; they were able to persist, evolving over time to become the Twili we know and love today. When Midna is explaining to Link the history of her people after the duo enter the Gerudo Desert, she says this:

“What do you think happened to the magic wielders who tried to rule the Sacred Realm? They were banished. They were chased across the sacred lands of Hyrule and driven into another realm by the goddesses... Its denizens became shadows that could not mingle with the light.”

And after Link retrieves the Master Sword, breaking the curse that Zant placed on him:

“This thing is the embodiment of the evil magic that Zant cast on you. It's definitely different from our tribe's shadow magic...”

It’s clear that the Twili and their ancestors had and continue to have a very strong connection to shadow. We know that anyone from the world of light who enters the twilight becomes as a spirit; not even wielders of the Triforce are exempt from its effects, though it does, admittedly, affect them in different ways. (Zelda is the one clear exception to this, an anomaly which I go over in this post - a short and recommended read before continuing.) Just as the Twili, a people of shadow, cannot mingle in the world of light, people of light cannot mingle in the world of shadow - but the Twili are hardly the only people in the series to have a strong connection to the shadows.

"Have you heard the legend of the ‘Shadow Folk’? They are the Sheikah...the shadows of the Hylians.”

The Sheikah, time and time again, are referred to as people of shadow; Impa awakens as the Sage of Shadow, and the accursed Shadow Temple lies on the outskirts of her hometown of Kakariko. We know that the twilight affects all whom it touches in the world of light - “light and shadow can’t mix, as we all know” - but what if the light dweller in question were a Sheikah? How could a realm of shadows snuff out the light of one who is already a shadow?

I would like to posit, then, that even if the Twili’s ancestors had been a mixed bag of peoples and cultures drawn together by the lure of the Sacred Realm, only a people like the Sheikah - a tribe who had perfected mastery over shadow magic, so much so that they had become one with them - would have been able to persist in the anti-light of the Twilight Realm and, over centuries or perhaps millennia, evolve to become the Twili. Anyone else would have simply become spirits upon entering the realm, doomed to spend the rest of their days neither alive nor dead.

Eyes of Red, Show Us the Truth

Now, there is one other crucial piece to this puzzle, and it revolves around one other trait that the Sheikah are known for: with the exception of Breath of the Wild (the disparity of which I have my own theories about, but I won’t get into that here), they all have red eyes. This is something that’s never really commented on in any of the games, but it’s an important enough physiological trait that Sheik, who is merely Princess Zelda in disguise as a Sheikah, also bears the distinctive eye color. Though it’s common knowledge that Midna’s eyes are also red (as are the rest of the Twili’s), this alone doesn’t speak much to a correlation between the two peoples; no, in order for this parallel to mean anything, we must first understand the significance of the Sheikah’s red eyes, and how exactly that ties back to the princess of twilight and the rest of her people.

First, let’s take a look at Ocarina of Time. When Kakariko Village is attacked just before Link heads for the Shadow Temple, Sheik has this to say about Impa:

“The evil shadow spirit has been released! Impa, the leader of Kakariko Village, had sealed the evil shadow spirit in the bottom of the well... But the force of the evil spirit got so strong, the seal of the well broke, and it escaped into the world!! I believe Impa has gone to the Shadow Temple to seal it up again...”

Anyone who has played Ocarina of Time knows that the Shadow Temple is a dark and wicked place, teeming with the souls of the undead and illusions that, without the ability to see through, would completely inhibit any progress one would try to make. As Link traverses the temple, he bears the Lens of Truth: a peculiar artifact (importantly, in the shape of a Sheikah Eye) that reveals the world as it truly is. It is a one-of-a-kind item, and without it, no ordinary person would be able to make it through the Shadow Temple, much less fight the invisible monsters that lurk within - but Impa is no ordinary person.

The explanation is really quite simple: the Sheikah’s red eyes are not merely a distinguishing, but purely aesthetic characteristic (like the red hair of the Gerudo), but are indicative of the fact that they can see through even the strongest of illusions with the naked eye. It’s the reason the Lens of Truth was crafted in their image; though one who wields the lens may not be a Sheikah, they, too, can view the world as one with this powerful artifact, seeing through artificial walls, finding invisible items...and even meeting the spirits of the departed.

Let’s go back to Midna; after you first meet her in the sewers of Hyrule Castle, slowly making your way to the rooftops and the imprisoned Zelda beyond, you encounter several spirits of Hyrulean soldiers along the way. Midna taunts you, saying this:

“It looks like the spirits in here... They're all soldiers. Where in the world could we be? Eee hee!”

As a beast, Link is now able to tap into his new “animal senses” to see that which would be invisible to his human eyes. Yet Midna is able to see the spirits as they are, naturally, without any aid whatsoever - almost as if she retained the truth-seeing eyes of her ancestors.

Before we move on, I did want to bring attention to one other thing the Twili and the Shiekah have in common - and though it’s not technically directly related to their shared ability to see the truth of the world around them, it is tangentially related in the sense that it involves illusions. Early on in Twilight Princess, there is a scene where Midna seemingly transforms herself into Colin and subsequently Ilia, taunting Link about the capture of his friends. It’s a somewhat strange occurrence that happens exactly once and is never brought up again, and it happens so early in the game that, for a very long time, I simply brushed it off and never gave it a second thought.

However, I think it’s pretty safe to say that what we’re seeing here is a demonstration of illusion magic - Midna is not literally shapeshifting into Link’s friends, as if she had this ability, she could simply return herself to her true form at any given moment. This is significant because there is a fairly notable example of something identical to this in the very game I mentioned earlier in this segment; in Breath of the Wild, the Yiga Clan, a group of Sheikah who swore allegiance to Calamity Ganon, consistently over the course of the game demonstrate the ability to use illusion magic, posing as weary and lost travelers on the road, waiting to ambush Link and take him by surprise. And though the Yiga may not technically be Sheikah anymore, they were at one time - and I find it exceptionally hard to believe that such a technique would be exclusive to the Yiga and the Yiga alone.

Echoes of the Past

I would, of course, be remiss to not touch on the various architectural and technological similarities between the two peoples. On their own, they aren’t very substantial pieces of evidence - but if we have already accepted the fact that the Twili’s ancestors were, in fact, Sheikah (which, for the purposes of the rest of this essay, I will now do), then it is worth it at the very least to take a look, to paint a somewhat fuller picture of the story.

Take, for instance, the runes in the above photo, adorning the wall behind the throne in the Palace of Twilight. Similar runes adorn the cloak that Midna wears while in her true form, and other miscellaneous places scattered throughout the palace. It is not that much a stretch to say that the large emblem in the center is somewhat reminiscent of the iconic Sheikah Eye, though distorted and changed over time as it may have become. An eye that is unmistakably Sheikah in inspiration even appears on the back of the Fused Shadow, and it is for this reason that I chose that image to head this essay to begin with. But eyes aside, by far the most significant comparison once again returns us to Breath of the Wild, and the Sheikah as they were ten thousand years past.

The ancient-yet-highly-advanced Sheikah technology scattered across the once mighty kingdom of Hyrule in Breath of the Wild simply oozes Twili, from the harsh, blue aesthetic to the angular similarities between the script of the Sheikah and the runes of the Twili. And while it is worth mentioning that this is decidedly technology, and not magic, there is an argument that can be made in the world of fantasy over whether there is in fact a significant difference; looking at the image below of a room in the Palace of Twilight, floating platforms decorated in patterns resembling circuitry, it’s not hard imagine that this is nothing more than highly advanced tech, remnants of a history they left behind.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t especially matter whether either is a case of expressly magic or technology; all we can extrapolate from this information is that the Sheikah who had been banished to the Twilight Realm likely had some rudimentary knowledge of their tribe’s lost technology, had they been banished in an era when it already was lost - or, at the very least, had the same design sensibilities. Whatever the case, it is worth is to try and acknowledge the potential connection, as there is much that can be gleaned by examining the world around us and its history - even a fictional one - and to that end, I would now like to begin wrapping up this unnecessarily long piece of persuasion by doing just that.

Those Who Do Not Learn From History...

...are doomed to repeat it, as the saying goes. Taking everything I’ve written here into consideration, it’s not hard to construe a conceivable timeline of events that could have led to the birth of the Twili, and the eventual invasion of the world of light headed by Zant. Long ago, in an age ravaged by a war over a lust for the Sacred Realm, a sector of Sheikah betrayed the Hyrulean Royal Family, split off from the main clan, and sought their own power - and if the story of a Sheikah betrayal sounds at all familiar, that’s because it emphatically is.

Breath of the Wild is an anomaly in many respects; it seems to defy all expectations of what we understand about the timeline, reviving a people (the Sheikah) who, for all intents and purposes, died out long ago - but it paints a very important picture of what the Shadow Folk had to endure serving underneath the Royal Family of Hyrule, a picture that elucidates precisely why such a betrayal would conceivably take place. The story of the Yiga Clan is, ultimately, one rooted oppression - and though I could go into great detail about the nature of this oppression here, and quite frankly the justification for their cause, I’ve already done so in this post, which I would again encourage be read by anyone who cares about the subject. Very basically, the Yiga were right - having been cast out and mistreated by the very family they served, they did the only thing they could, and turned against them. Glimpses of this mistreatment are riddled in previous entries of the series, but no more jarringly than in Ocarina of Time’s Shadow Temple: a place that likely was once a sacred place to the Sheikah people, reduced to nothing more than a haunted torture chamber recounting Hyrule’s “bloody history of greed and hatred" under direct orders by the Royal Family. In Twilight Princess, Zant specifically refers to Link as “one of the light dwellers who oppressed [their] people” while talking to Midna at Lanayru Spring - and though I would not go so far as to say that Zant was completely justified in his actions, perhaps he had a point. Perhaps the story of the Twili’s ancestors isn’t one of a an evil, mindless group of powerful interlopers who sought power for power’s sake - but one of fierce retaliation. One of a group of people who had soiled their hands with the blood of the Royal Family one final time and said enough. I believe that the Twili’s ancestors were Sheikah, and I will continue to believe it until proven otherwise; for all the reasons listed above, and also because, frankly, if I were a Sheikah, I would betray the Royal Family, too. It happened once - so it will happen again - and again, and again, until the cycle of violence and oppression is studied and learned from, and the truth comes out.

But then, so long as history is written by the winners, it will take more than the red eyes of a Sheikah to parse the truth from the lies.

#twilight princess #ocarina of time #sheikah #twili #yiga #breath of the wild #midna #impa #loz meta #legend of zelda #tloz #loz #analysis #this is actually a heavily revised and edited version of an essay from earlier last year #but that was back when this blog was new and also it was bad #i'm a lot happier with how this one came out!#text #mywriteups*#myposts*

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botwstoriesandsuch · 3 years

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Heya!! Kip here! The @memorabiliazine preorders have just shipped, which means we can share our pieces now! I wrote this piece back in February, after theorizing about the presence of Robbie's Telescope being present in the Royal Tech Lab in Age of Calamity. So without further a do, here be my little essay/fic on some old ruins, or more specifically, its:

Cause of Destruction

The storm had come too late. Thankfully, it was all devastated.

She continued to run from the screaming.

The Sheikah woman headed for the hills, brittle trees littering the eastern side of the Lindor mountain side. If she hurried, she could meet up with the others who had—

A distant crack of thunder melded with the collapse of stone; she makes the mistake of glancing back.

In the greater horizon, the shadow of Hyrule Castle looms over a conquered dusk. A shrill cry—something between a roar and a whine—escapes from the cloudy malice beast that enshrouds the Hylian monument. But that was just the backdrop, the canvas for contrast. Closer still, in the billowing grass of North Hyrule Plain, the stormy winds cut through fog and smoke like a dagger.

In the opened wound, the faint silhouette of a building glows.

Blue.

She keeps running.

The color might have at one point been appealing—the symbol of the Royals, the pleasant hue that cloaked a perfect morning. But tonight it just haunted her...chased her...reminded her of the terrible deed that was done.

A horse came over the hills.

“HEY!” a man shouted, mounted on a grey horse. “MA’AM! HALT, PLEASE!”

Crap. She sucked in a breath through her teeth, clutched her limp, burned arm, and kept moving. I just need to reach the trees.

But the chase seemed over before it had even started. When she had first started running from the blue, some wandering captain had stopped her to ask what was wrong. There was a strange kindness in his striking eyes, a forgein concept in this land now stricken with grief, death, and paranoia. In her haste—and possibly shame of what she had done—she had just pushed the captain away and fled. Very inconspicuous…good job me.

Now it seems he had found her again. Any other day she might have commended him for his kindness in checking with some random Sheikah, during the end of the world no less.

But tonight, well...there’s a sliver of her that might have preferred death.

The woman tripped on a divet in the earth, crashing down on one of her badly burned legs, and hissed at the pain. The rain had muddied the path, and was staining her once white clothes a disgusting marron. The pounding of hooves grew closer, until they halted right next to her ears.

A pair of leather boots crashed into the mud.

“Ma’am, don’t get up. You’re injured. Please.”

The clang of metal armour accompanies the voice. Oh he was a captain alright, equipped well for the apocalypse. His metalspear and armour adorned in—

She looks up.

Blue.

A slight frown.

The man tries to help her to her feet, watching to not clutch on the wounds on her right side. “Whatcha doing all the way out here? The nearest settlement is a ways away.” The captain lifts up one of her arms, and his eyes widen just a bit. “Dammit...those burns look bad. We might getcha some aid...there’s a laboratory place nearby that I’m heading by, just due east and—”

“...Lab?” The woman can’t help but wonder aloud. No...you idiot, you can’t be serious.

The captain smiles again. “See now, that’s why I was so eager to catch your attention. You’re running in the wrong direction.” He points in the direction she was running towards. “Up where you’re going is just mountains. There’s a fancy smancy lab a bit south that could help patch you up better than—”

“If you head to that lab, you’ll die.” She lets the words linger for a moment. “Unless, of course, that was the desired plan for the evening.” The woman laughs to herself, but the sound is empty and dry.

He frowns. “...What?”

She’s silent, gears turning in her head. Goddess...how do I say this without—

She points east, the rain pattering on her outstretched sleeve. “Tell me, Captain. What do you see over there?”

The man pauses, his face contort with confusion. He follows her hand and stares at the blue.

“...North Hyrule Plain. Some building glowing blue over there…I’m assuming that’s the techno-wizz from the L—”

“Lab, yes. That would be the Royal Ancient Lab. Though I’m afraid it’s not glowing from ‘techno-wizz’ or anything of that sort, dear captain.”

She crosses her arms, turning to look away from the blue and hugging her knees. “It’s currently burning to the ground.”

An ugly pause, as the man seems to take a moment to digest this. He flickers his gaze between the Sheikah and the distant blue building.

“I-It’s...It’s raining though—”

“Blue flame, I’m afraid, is a bit more resistant. Plus, it’s been burning long before the storm came through.”

“What...I…” The captain sits next to her, plopping into the mud in disbelief. “I was really thinking that...why would…”

He turns to her, his eyes are stormy grey, with faint specks of blue, like embers. The captain’s tone is gravely serious. “Miss, why was that lab destroyed?”

The question catches her off guard. Her jaw’s clenched, but she breaks their staring contest and hides her surprise with a shrug. “Same reason as every other disaster today. Calamity Ganon destroyed it.”

There’s a crack of thunder, and the ground shudders at her lie.

“...No.” the man mumbles.

“Look, I know it’s a lot to process—”

“No, I mean,” he stands, hand reaching for his back, “that’s not what actually happened, is it ma’am?”

Crap. The Sheikah holds her hands in the air. “If this is about me shoving you earlier, I was just a bit—”

“Aw now don’tcha worry about that, I took no personal offense.” He scratches the blond stubble on his chin.

“Now the thing that I do find some mighty fine offense to, is the fact that there’s a good lick of a chance that I’m currently speaking to an arsonist traitor.”

There’s a BOOM, and in the distance, another large piece of the Royal Lab collapses into the earth. The blue grows brighter.

“Me? What in the name of Hylia are you—”

“Let’s not play dumb, ma’am. Trust me, I’m a sucker for some pleasantries and small talk, though I’m afraid addressing the fact that you burned down the nearest safe haven for miles is gonna take priority here.”

The Sheikah woman just fumes, attempting to get up in the captain’s face. “How DARE you accuse me of—”

She’s cut off by the shing of metal cutting through air. The captain twirls the spear on his back and points the end right at her neck, resting just below her chin. She scowls, but puts her hands in the air.

“You just don’t understan—”

“That’s a mighty fine torch you got there…” He clicks his tongue.

Both hands grip his spear steady, ready to pierce flesh at any moment. The captain gestures with a wink to the torch attached to her waist. It seems to still smolder slightly with faint blue embers.

The captain looks between the torch, and the blue fire in the horizon.

“Yes, a mighty fine torch indeed.” He presses the spear tip a bit further forward.

“And it’s glowing a familiar color.”

Cause of Destruction

An Analysis of the Destruction of the Royal Ancient Lab

By Dr. J Kippers

(But please, Kippers was my father, call me Kip)

So heroes are a thing, huh? Who’da thunk it! One minute, I’m continuing my travels, studying some cool rocks and bricks in Hyrule Field. Then the next, a giant malice pig appears and fights some teenage boy wielding a glowing stick. I definitely wasn’t cowering behind the ruins of a garrison bathroom while that all happened, and I definitely was doing some cool badass fighting moves with my...pen, to help that knight and save the world and stuff. Makes for a pretty cool story, yeah? HA, Traysi would kill for it…

But enough of my daring, slightly exaggerated, exploits. It’s been a few weeks since the world’s settled down from the Calamity’s defeat, which means I had prime time to settle back into my hometown, and put my years of travel and research to paper!

I spent the majority of my life studying the history of Hyrule as it fell to the Calamity 100 years ago...and with the world now revitalizing, it’s just prime time to get myself out there! Research wise, that is!

At first, I didn’t really know what to write, cause WOW there’s just so many topics to choose from. Plus there’s a lot on the line here, gotta make a good impression for whatever new kingdom that Princess Zelda’s got planned. She seems the scholarly type, yeah? I’m thinking I could snag some Hyrule history teach’ position at a rebuilt university or something… Princess has got an awful lot of focus on the reconstruction of different village ruins. Which is fair, cause who better to know how to rebuild these places than the people who were alive to see them in their prime!

And you see, that’s where my journey of knowledge began! People with first hand knowledge of the events of distant past are alive? OH a historian’s dream…my soul swells in happiness. Plus, I also got my researcher brain a-tingling. My dad’s friend’s cousin’s neighbor’s grandma’s dog’s breeder knew Dr. Robbie back in the day, so Sheikah tech is basically in my blood.

With these passions rejuvenated I had my goal! Publish some revolutionary new theory that combined my awesome knowledge for history, archeology, and tech! And what better place to see that than, (duh) the Royal Ancient Lab Ruins.

Now, there doesn’t seem to be much in these ruins…it’s absolutely barren. No weapons or treasures to be seen. Just your run-of-the-mill ruined ruins, destroyed long ago by the Calamity. And that was the end of the story.

At least that’s what I thought until I did a little more digging. See, as I was doing some additional research, I stumbled upon this old history/research book stored in the Kakariko archive. I have no idea where it came from...it’s titled...C-Caa...Creation? Creating? Creating a...Cham...it’s kinda faded and hard to read. But anyhow, this weird little history book was written by some guy named “Nine-tendons.” If someone out there has a copy feel free to hit me up, but for today’s sake title and author don’t really matter. The point is, one of the quotes in that book describes the ruins like this:

Royal Ancient Lab Ruins

It is thought that these ruins represent the ancient relic research facility that was under the direct rule of Hyrule Castle, but only the outer walls remain. There is no trace of the building’s interior, let alone any research materials.

The thoroughness of its destruction feels intentional. [Page 396, Cr_ating a Champ___, Nint__do.]

Now I’m not too familiar with the work of whoever Mr. Nin-Ten-doves is, but I strangely trust their word on the topic wholeheartedly. Call it a feeling from the divine if you must, but they’re right! It seems so much more obvious in hindsight.

My adventures into the other various ruins across Hyrule always gave me something to work with. The world is just crafted for exploration. Old treasure chests, weird rocks with a tiny talking tree fairy underneath. Hell, even a monster or two was always happy to inhabit even the smallest of ruins I’ve entered. Yet, there is absolutely nothing of prominence to be seen at the ruins of the Royal Ancient Lab. And I’ve double, triple, and quintuple-checked!

Why are there no rusted weapons...or treasures...or any records or evidence of anything, other than some crude stone walls and a rock? That kind of destruction is just unnecessarily absolute, even for the Calamity.

According to detailed drawings/notes I have in my records of Historical Works during the Age of Calamity (HW AOC for short), the Royal Ancient Lab was nearly three stories tall, with a royal blue ceiling, complete with a basement level, and an upper telescope! With even the smallest of structures (like simple ranch and village ruins) still standing today with plenty of artifacts, why is as great a structure as the Royal Lab so desolate?

Intentional, intentional, intentional...that word ran through my head for days, weeks, months even. Why would the Royal Ancient Lab be destroyed intentionally? Did the Calamity see it as that major a threat? No, that wouldn’t make sense, the movements of Calamity Ganon that day clearly show his intention to use the Sheikah power against the people of Hyrule. An Ancient Lab would be a major benefit, if anything…

So, surprising as it may be, the current prime suspect for the destruction of this lab would actually be…

The Sheikah just glares. “Well...what gave it away?

He shrugged his shoulders with a half smile. “Deductive reasoning, with a hint of some good ol’ luck perhaps.”

“Listen, I know this looks bad, but you have to understand—”

“Oh I understand quite well alright.” The captain gives a wink. “I try to be humble, but Mama always did say I was the smartest cookie she knew.”

He rests the end of his spear on her collarbone, the threat clearly still present, but it gives him the freedom to pace and wipe rain for his soaked blonde hair.

“See I know that Calamity Ganon’s corrupted every bit of Sheikah tech from here to Lurelin. I know that he’s been targeting Hylian settlements. ‘Seen it myself when some monsters and Guardians destroyed my regiment and post at Maritta Exchange, just a bit north from here. I know that the only reason the other settlements, like the Rito and Zora, are still standing is because Ganon’s focusing all his forces on finding and killing the Hylian Champion and the princess. And finally I know that because of that, there is not a Guardian or monster around for many a mile. I mean, just lookie over there.”

The woman turns her head, and sure enough, the plains are barren of all life. No movement of machine or beast or person.

“And now my assumption was—and do pardon me if my monologue is redundant to your traitor ears—that the nearest place of safety would be this royal laboratory of technology. It’s Sheikah run, so it wouldn’t be immediately targeted. Plus the last thing the Calamity would want is for his personal army of destruction to be...well, destroyed. Ifs I was them evil cloud demon thing, I woulda wanted the lab with all my corrupted techno babble soldiers to be kept in peak condition. However…”

The captain turns to the right, staring at the blazing blue building in the distance. “...That does not seem to be the case.”

The Sheikah opens her mouth to speak, but he holds up the spear again. “Now I’m thinking, the only reason someone would go about destroying that lab, would perhaps be to kill some people, no?”

“We didn’t—”

“Getting rid of the people who could possibly reverse the Guardian corruption...now I suppose that might be a good evil plan.”

“It was for the be—”

“Ma’am I’m all about looking on the bright side of things, but,” the captain flicks his head in the direction of the blue, “This ain’t exactly the light a’ hope I was wanting.”

“Maybe not, but—”

“So,who are ya? Yiga?”

“No, it’s—”

“Solo treason then. You getting revenge on someone ‘round here? A noble? The King? Or perhaps you’re just the sadistic type with the whole—”

“NO!”

The outburst surprises the both of them, and he hold the spear to ner neck firmly. Another crack of thunder reminds them of the silence that’s endured. The Sheikah finally sighs.

“Perhaps by definition I am an arsonist and a traitor, but for one thing, I wasn’t alone.”

The man’s eyes shine curiously, but she continues.

“I will gladly die alongside them, as my actions have only been for the benefit of Hyrule.”

The rain’s tempo quickens as she gets on her feet, but the captain doesn’t strike. She stares him down, eyes hidden behind strands of white hair.

“My name is Atsuko, a devoted researcher at the Royal Lab, and you may kill me if you think it just.”

Ok, now I know what you’re all thinking. You’re thinking “Kip! Why are you writing this official research paper like some drunken bar rant? How the hell are you gonna get noticed at this rate?” or “Kip! The hell are you thinking?? Sheikah destroying the Ancient Lab makes absolutely no sense?!”

So to that I say, firstly, uhhh you’re welcome for not being a boring posh, snobby lecturer.(Learned to value a personality over fancy words; lessons my granddad).

As for the latter, you are quite wrong my dear friend, quite wrong indeed. It makes an absolute butt-load of sense, and I’m gonna prove it was them, here and now! I mean that’s...kinda the whole point of an essay, yeah?

My fellow archeology, history, and tech lovers, not only do I know who is responsible for the Royal Lab’s destruction, but I know the true reason why and how! Let us start at the beginning!

What exactly is the lab, and what was its purpose? Well, as the name implies, it was a Sheikah-run laboratory under the hand of the royal family that researched and experimented with Ancient technology. Again, looking at references in HW AOC, I can place not only Guardian models and Ancient weaponry at the lab, but also the existence of blue flame lamps that seemingly powered the facility.

As we all know, it’s tough to mess around with Ancient parts without blue flame, which is the prime energy source for the Ancient Sheikah. Such are the existence of today’s Hateno and Akkala tech labs, located near blue flame furnaces. However! This brings into question exactly why the Royal Lab was constructed where it was…

There are only three places in all of Hyrule with natural blue flame deposits, or otherwise called “Ancient Furnaces.” That would be in Hateno, Akkala, and within Hyrule Castle itself. So why is the Royal Tech Lab so far from these Ancient Furnaces?

To answer this question, might I direct your attention towards explosions. That’s right folks, I’m talking bombs! (Please take this moment to imagine me creating an accompanying explosive sound effect with my mouth)

Some time ago, as I was analyzing the blue flame lamps in Deep Akkala, I ran into that hero of legend face to face! Nice guy, quiet and charming type. Smelled strangely like apples and burnt guts.

Long story short, I traded my entire supply of Hot-Footed Frogs and arrows for a chance to mess with his Sheikah Slate for a bit.

So during that brief period of research, I discovered that while Sheikah tech is usually well controlled—with bomb runes only going off on command by the push of a button—there is an exception! Bomb runes instantly react with blue flame, just one touch and they’ll instantly explode! Try it out yourself! Er, well. Ok, maybe not. Don’t do that, legally I’m not responsible. Plus, it’s not like any of you folk out there have access to bomb runes or a Sheikah Slate that you can play around and test it out for yourself like it’s some virtual game that you can switch around in your hands.

Bomb runes are giant bundles of compact Sheikah tech. When in contact with a pure blue flame, they go boom. The process with the Sheikah Slate must simplify this process with a remote button, but as I’ve discovered, the process can be hastened by chucking a torch around.

I call this phenomenon of blue flame reacting destructively with Sheikah technology a “blue combustion!” I’m creative, I know.

I imagine, any experimentation with weapons that harness, compress, or just generally mess with Sheikah tech and lasers, must be conducted in an environment that prevents blue combustion. You don’t want pure blue flame touching stuff. Otherwise you go kaboom.

Now I couldn’t get a hold of Dr. Robbie or Director Purah myself, something about how they “don’t know who the heck” I am, and “you’re trespassing please get off it’s private property,” or something of the sort, I’m not really sure. But even without their testimonies, you’ll notice that their large tech labs are constructed a distance away from the actual Ancient Furnace. They aren’t right beside it. If they were, you risk losing a limb to a blue combustion. That is also why blue flame lamps exist: to stagger the distance between the flames. And thus is why the Royal Lab isn’t nearby an Ancient Furnace.

Yet even so, the distance the Royal Lab has from an Ancient Furnace might still stump you, because even compared to the Akkala and Hateno labs, it is very very far. But here’s the kicker, my dear curious readers and poor editor, the reason for this extreme distance is because during its prime, the Royal Ancient Lab housed a large portion of the Guardian army and weaponry. It needed more distance because its contents accumulated a much larger space. I can prove this not only by descriptions shown in HW AOC, but also by notes/drawings shown in the archive called the Backgrounds of Technological Wonders, or BOTW for short.

Both these sources show that while Guardians were tested and stationed in Hyrule Castle, the number of Guardians at the castle was probably only in the one hundred mark or less. Now that may seem like a lot, but remember, hundreds of Guardians were dug up, as especially shown in the famous Sheikah tapestry of 10,000 years ago. Arguably even thousands, considering that tapestry is a simplification.

So if we can only account for only a portion of the Guardian population at Hyrule Castle, where are the rest? Scattered across different garrisons perhaps, sure. But they’d mainly be in the facility where each of the Guardians were constructed and given power, the place full of the most talented Sheikah researchers, a location that would still be in decent proximity, but still a safe distance from the castle should an emergency arise: the Royal Ancient Tech Lab. That’s where most of Guardians are.

Now, why is this important? Why did I just spend a few paragraphs talking about blue flames and Guardians and locations when this is about the lab’s destruction and demise?

It’s because this is my sure fire way to prove to you that the Calamity did not destroy the Royal Lab.

The Royal Ancient Lab was constructed specifically to create the best Guardians and technology to beat the Calamity with.

It would have been constructed specifically to avoid any fatal blue combustion accidents.

And it sure as hell wouldn’t have been purposefully destroyed by the Calamity, the one entity who would benefit from its existence.

The lab was decimated by a blue combustion, no question. There isn’t anything as powerful as it that could destroy a place so completely. And now knowing the factors surrounding the lab itself, we know that if it was destroyed by a combustion, it was not because of an accident.

It could only have been done purposefully, by the only people who would know the Royal Lab’s weaknesses.

It could only have been brought down by the Sheikah researchers.

So now, the questions of exactly how and why remain.

The captain just stands and ponders.

“Ma’am, I must confess that I don’t find the science of the destruction nearly as interesting as exactly what made you decide to do it.”

“It’s like I said,” Atsuko clutches her burned arm, “It wasn’t just me. Really, now, you’re too kind to give me so much credit.”

The spear end moves closer to her neck. “Alright alright alright, sorry, pal. Look I have no idea if you’re even believing all this right now, but you have to trust me that our actions were of the best intentions.”

The captain smirks. “Do tell?”

According to BOTW, the Ancient Arrow was developed by Dr. Robbie as one of the most powerful means of combating the Calamity itself. In fact, according to research I’ve found in that CAC book by Mint-en-do, I can place the exact time for the development of this weapon, which I can use to glean information about it’s properties.

Ancient Arrow

Perhaps forty or fifty years after the day of the Great Calamity Robbie, the lead Guardian researcher, created the first weapon that was effective against the mechanical monsters: the ancient arrow... Flames come out from the burner like bit [of the Ancient Arrow] and form a blade. [Page 388 and 178, Cr_ating a Champ___, Nint__do.]

The arrow instantly vaporizes whatever it comes into contact with, tearing apart the subject by the molecule, and sending them to non-existence. The description of the weapon implies that it is the pure energy of a blue flame, and built quite differently than other Sheikah weapons.

And the difference definitely shows. I’ve handled a few of these puppies myself, and let me tell you, they get the job done. While an Ancient sword or axe will certainly do some damage, a single Ancient Arrow can take out a Guardian, or even a Lynel in one hit. I heard that they could even do major damage to Dark Beast Ganon itself!

Now, why do I bring this up? Because this Ancient Arrow proves that the Sheikah 100 years ago knew about the dangers of blue combustion.

An Ancient Arrow is clearly the result of intensive research into blue combustion, it is literally a pure blue flame on a stick pumped up with some Ancient Tech. It vaporizes whatever matter it touches and it ceases to exist.

Hmm...would be a fine explanation as to why the nearly three stories worth of stone and ceiling in the Royal Lab no longer can be found.

And why wasn’t the Ancient Arrow developed sooner? It’s because no one thought to purposefully cause an event that would destroy everything until they were forced to on the actual day of the Calamity. It’s because it took even the most brilliant of scientists half a century to even contain a feat of destruction into a single arrowtip? Yes...when you lay out the facts like that, it seems to make sense on the timeline.

Ah, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Back to the question of “why?” Let me rewind to an earlier point. Where are the thousands of Guardians in Hyrule?

Yes, a good hundred or so could be found in Hyrule Castle, and the majority were in the Royal Ancient Lab. But today, where are they? Records in BOTW cite only 157 Guardian remains in all of Hyrule. 157. How? That’s impossible. Witnesses and notes in HW AOC prove that much, much more existed. And what’s more is that we know that the majority of those Guardians were at the Royal Lab, but there are no Guardians, active or otherwise, to be found there. There is nothing.

It’s almost as if all those Guardians were vaporized, they ceased to exist one day.

And you know what.

They did.

(Please take this time to imagine me winking)

There’s some theme or metaphor here about the Royal Ancient Lab, constructed in the blues of the Royal family, ironically being destroyed by the blue combustion—but what do I look like, a writer? Find your own secret to life, here’s the blunt of it.

The Sheikah knew about the dangers a blue combustion could do, but on the day of the Calamity, they used that knowledge for the better. Seeing the corrupted Guardians in the distant castle, it is my belief that the researchers there purposefully brought the blue flames—that they had so carefully separated outside in the lanterns—in contact with Ancient Technology. Things not only went kaboom, but the actual matter ceased to exist. A giant Ancient Arrow.

Thousands of Guardians, hundreds of blades and weapons, and honestly, probably even lives, were gone in an instant. The only remains of the carnage would be the aftermath of blue flames that spread across the remains of the outer walls.

The Sheikah did this because it would save the most lives. That’s hundreds and thousands of Guardians and machines that wouldn’t fall into Ganon’s clutches, hundreds of souls saved. Did you know that today Hyrule Ridge, the home of the Royal Lab, has zero Guardians? Did you know that the lands near it, Hebra and Tabantha, have the lowest Guardian sightings in all of Hyrule? Even less than the Gerudo Desert. And I cite this all based on my hours of research and facts laid out by BOTW, HW AOC, and the divine work by Mr. Nin-ten-do

But even beyond that, how do I know, in absolute 600% certainty that the Sheikah were in complete control of this destruction? How am I so sure that the Sheikah that day had fully planned the intentional obliviation of their lab?

It’s because...I lied earlier.

There is actually one relic that survived. One little monument of the Royal Ancient Lab Ruins. One object giving physical proof of this theory.

One artifact that would have been impossible to preserve if the Sheikah hadn’t planned it all. I mentioned it briefly before, if you paid attention. Yes! This object is present in both the Royal Lab, and a tech lab of today. You could see it for yourself, if you pay a visit to my dad’s friend’s cousin’s neighbor’s grandma’s dog’s breeder’s Sheikah researcher pal...

“Dr. Robbie’s telescope.” Atsuko pointed to the scattered trees in upper Lindor, “Some other scientists took it up there to preserve it. It’s the only reason we were able to see the initial Guardian corrupting in the distant castle, and how we were able to adapt to the situation and act so quickly.”

The captain glanced at the western mountain. “So you were running up there to meet with them?”

“The wilderness is pretty safe at the moment. And we’re hoping eventually we could take the telescope to another lab where we could possibly continue research. I mean just today from the combustion, Dr. Robbie had this idea for some fancy Sheikah dagger to kill Guardians.”

Silence.

“OK listen, that’s...that’s all I’ve got. You can head up there and confirm the story, or just kill me now, take your pick. Waiting for judgement here.”

More silence. The rain falls harder.

“...I’m—”

“You can call me Cian.” The captain does a little bow. “Captain Cian Kippers, at your leisure.”

Atsuko raises an eyebrow. “Like the color—?”

“Sp-Spelled differently! There’s an “i” in there, and perhaps it’s ironic to the situation, but I figured if we’re gonna be traveling up there together you should have the courtesy of knowing my name.”

She just sputters for a moment. “So...you—”

“I trust your heart—I like to think I’m good with character—and I believe you’re a good person doing your best in the world. As unfortunate as circumstances may have been.” He twirls his spear before fitting it on his back. Cian extends a hand to her which she takes. “People like that are getting rarer by the hour, so I don’t think I should be adding to the death count.”

“So…” she gets on her feet, cocking her head, “You...you believe me then?”

He chuckles. “Well, I didn’t kill you did I?”

Atsuko laughs quietly. “Your mistake…”

“...No.” Cian places a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiles, as if to say that somehow everything was gonna be alright.

“My intention.”

#Memorabilia zine #botw zine #botw theory #botw fanfiction #botw #breath of the wild #legend of zelda botw #loz botw

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fatefulfaerie · 4 years

Text

Disguise (I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus)

Day 9 of the 12 days of Christmas prompts orchestrated by @zelink-prompts

Incarnation: Breath of the Wild 2 several years post-caves

There were many legends about Hylia’s Day that breathed through the mouths of Hylian parents around this time of year, lulling their children to sleep in soft warm beds that contradicted the warring weather outside, which was cold, dark, and lonely. But the inside was warm and soft. Family was here, and nothing could be warmer.

It was said that Hylia’s Day was the day Hylia was first born into a mortal body. Some say that it is just a myth, that it isn’t possible for that to occur or for her to be continually reincarnated. Yet no matter the dissent, Hylians all around Hyrule honor their goddess in celebration and reverence, thanking her for a bountiful year no matter the losses, and praying for the exciting year to come and the blessings that will come from it.

Adults offered their prayers to the nearest goddess statue one by one, before returning to their homes to eat with their families, to think upon their past year and be thankful for what they have before them. Tomorrow was to be a large feast with the entirety of the village, ushering in the new year with a welcome smile and hopeful hearts, but for now Hylians tucked their children in with fairytales of Hylia’s birth into a mortal form, the hope she gave to the people of Hyrule, and what she was said to look like, ebbing golden hair with a white dress pure of blood and skin aglow with her golden light. Children slept with such a comforting image in their mind of an otherworldly protector, all the while brimming with excitement for the morning to come, after Hylia has smiled upon all the children of Hyrule and filled their stocking with goodies like honey candies and rupees.

In reality, it is the parents who fill the stockings, who continue such a fantasy of an active goddess. Yet, they rested their deceit by believing that Hylia really did smile upon her children, and that filling their stocking was a way to for children to learn her unconditional love and generosity, and perhaps echo those same values onto their own hearts.

A particular cottage in Hateno, however, housed secret proof that Hylia really did reincarnate in times of upheaval and ruin, to save the people of Hyrule in a mortal form. Although her memories of past lives never interfered or were even remembered by her current incarnate, her power remained.

So, when Zelda smiled upon her children, the set of twins really were having Hylia smile down at them dozing off. And, later in the night, Hylia really was filling their stockings with all sorts of goodies. The couple, of course, knowing Zelda was the last incarnate of Hylia, had decided not to tell their children of Hylia’s mortal ties to their mother. Thus, Link and Zelda had been raising their children the exact way they themselves were raised, learning kindness and generosity through the legend of the goddess Hylia.

There was, however, one Hylia’s day rumor hat had started to spread among children of the age of Link and Zelda’s twins, that if you look out the window at just the right time in the night, you can see the light of Hylia shooting through the sky, and sparkling her magic over all the houses.

When Elyjah woke up in the middle of the night, he hoped he hadn’t overslept past his chance. He nearly darted out of his bed, not caring whether or not he woke up his twin sister Wendie in the bed next to his. Luckily, he hadn’t, Wendie still sleeping soundly.

Elyjah tried to summon his skill at the game his parents taught him called “act like a Sheikah”. Little did he know it was a method to get them quiet for just a few minutes of the day, but Elyjah started to take pride in how good he was at being stealthy in comparison to his sister.

Elyjah slowly treaded up the stairs to the the loft where his parents slept, and where the nearest window was. He was extremely cautious as he reached the top of stairs, looking to his left to make sure his parents were actually asleep.

The little boy let out an audible gasp at what he saw, completely stunned. He didn’t know where his mommy was, but if she had only seen what he was seeing now, he could only imagine her shock. In fact, Elyjah could hardly believe it either.

He immediately ran down the stairs to his sister’s bed, shaking her awake and in a surprisingly fitting combination of yelling and whispering exclaimed,

“I saw Daddy kissing Hylia!”

“Go back to bed,” Wendie mumbled drowsily, turning the other way.

“I’m serious! Get up!”

Wendie sat up slowly, rubbing an eye with her fist.

“Are you sure you know what you saw?” Wendie asked.

“Yes,” Elyjah said, grabbing his sister’s wrist and practically pulling her out of bed. “Come on.”

They six-year-olds both staggered up the stairs hurriedly.

“See?” Elyjah said, his hand pointing to his parent’s bed, Link sitting and facing someone who had her back turned to his children, her hair golden in the moonlight and her dress pure as snow.

“That’s not Hylia, that’s Mommy!”

Their loud volume made Zelda turn her head immediately, Link as well alerted to the presence of their kids, and that they were out of their beds. The twins suddenly feared they were in trouble.

“What are you two doing out of bed?” Link asked.

“I wanted to see Hylia’s light out the window,” Elyjah explained with his small voice. “And I…I thought you were kissing Hylia.”

Zelda and Link hid their laughter as they exchanged glances, just as soon returning their gazes when their daughter started to run up to their bed, attempting to climb up between Link and Zelda although she was much too short to manage it. Link and Zelda kept their smiles.

“Are you up to see Hylia’s light too?” Wendie asked her parents before Link picked her up and put her on his lap. Wendie looked up and met her father’s happy eyes, those blue eyes that looked just like hers.

“So that’s why you two aren’t sleeping,” Link said, looking over to see his son already standing on a chair looking out the window. “How do you know this light will even show up?”

“I think it will,” Zelda said, Link immediately looking in confusion at his wife.

“What are you doing?” Link mouthed.

“Really?” Link heard Wendie ask excitedly.

Link asked Zelda where she was going with this without saying a word, only his expression giving way to the inquiry.

She held up her hand, wiggling all five of her fingers before standing up and heading to the window.

“It’s been dwindling for years now,” Link whispered, catching up with Zelda after allowing Wendie to run to the window. “Do you really think you can summon enough?”

“Hey! I got here first!” Elyjah exclaimed, looking down at his sister from where he stood on the chair, who was trying to push off his feet.

“That’s not fair! I can’t see! Mommy!”

Wendie had looked behind her with pleading blue eyes, bouncing up and down out of frustration.

But Link was already bringing over another chair, one Wendie happily climbed up on, soon staring out the window much like her brother.

Zelda took Links hand and closed her eyes, tightening her grip as they moved their hands so that they were hidden behind them. With what seemed a great amount of effort, a Triforce finally appeared on Zelda’s hand, yet already weak and subsiding.

But it seemed to be just enough, Zelda opening her eyes to see a golden light flash across the sky, beautiful and transcendent. Her children’s eyes were wide with wonder and amazement.

Zelda smiled as Link put his arms around her shoulder, her head locking into the crook of his neck. Love filled her heart and she was thankful for everything she had gained after so much loss.

#zelink #zelda #link #twelve days of christmas #disguise #i saw mommy kissing santa claus #tloz #the legend of zelda #botw #breath of the wild #botw 2 #breath of the wild 2

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queenof-literature · 4 years

Text

Wolfie

Wild meets Wolfie. The second part of my series, Hero of Wild!

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1778263

AO3: queenofliterature

Link could always talk in his dreams.

He didn’t know why, it always came out as a painful gargled mess in real life. Once, one of the treasure hunters at Dueling Peaks Stable heard him trying to talk to himself and said he sounded like a demented toddler, causing both brothers to cackle. He kept trying, he could feel the words on the tip of his tongue and each time he thought for sure he could reach them. He never did. There weren’t always cruel words when he tried to talk, sometimes it was just scathing glares like the gossiping women in Hateno. Sometimes it was mothers dragging their children away from him as if he were a rabid dog. Eventually, Link never talked again. Not that he couldn’t take a joke, but he was the Hylian Champion. What would people say if they heard their champion talking like that? Not to mention that using his voice sent waves of fire through his throat. Enough people knew sign language, he could get by with a notebook if he had too. It was fine.

It wasn’t fine.

Watching all the other Links chat the long traveling days away hurt more than he expected. They were fun, and they understood him in ways others didn’t. They were Heroes of Courage too, they knew how hard the expectations could be. But Link, or, Wild now, wasn’t one of them. He had failed his Zelda, his Hyrule, and his friends. Why should he deserve new friends? But a selfish part of him wished he could talk to them. Wished he didn’t have to try and wave for their attention to add an abysmal amount to their conversation that had already left without him. It wasn’t their fault they could talk. It wasn’t fair to ask them to slow down so he could sign something half of them didn’t understand completely. Apparently, sign had changed over the centuries.

He wanted so badly to be able to talk. He had so much to say, so much that his Zelda had taught him and what he had learned on his adventure. Did they know how cooking hot-footed frogs bring out certain properties that are cancelled out when combined with other materials with hidden properties? He had done so many experiments with his cooking and he had found out so much! Oh well. He’d probably just annoy them anyway. That’s what happened when he talked in his dreams. People would make fun of his voice. Zelda would make fun of him for being a failure who can’t even talk properly. The other champions would blame him for his death, and when they didn’t they told him to shut up and do his job, in his dreams he never took his vow of silence. He thinks he had dreams, deep in the Shrine of Resurrection. His death on loop, his failures repeating in his mind. Sleeping leads to dreams.

He didn’t like dreams.

Twilight had the last watch tonight, although Wild tried to take over a watch every single night. Twilight tried to connect with Wild, he really did. He just didn’t know how. Focusing on everything was hard to do. If Wild wanted someone’s attention, he had to wave and hope they noticed. He would never go out of his way to gain someone’s attention, and he would never do more than a little wave. Sometimes Twilight would be able to catch it and ask who he wanted. Most of the time it was just little facts about his Hyrule. He was trying to be helpful and Twilight appreciated it. It was just hard to communicate with the shy boy. Especially when they were walking, when they all had to look out for monsters.

Twilight could see why his name was Wild. In that battle against the Lynel, he was an elegant force of chaos, breaking equipment, finding odd ways out of a situation, and seeing the battlefield in ways no one did. That was his element, the wild. Twilight wanted to get to know him in his environment, but it’s not like he wanted to chuck the boy into danger. He just wanted to see that spark again. Ever since Wild joined the group, the hollow spot he felt wasn’t so hollow. He never told anyone, he would sound insane, but Wild was meant to be here the entire time. Twilight just didn’t understand why Hylia waited so long.

Speaking of Wild, the boy was sleeping curled up in his thin bed roll away from the campfire at the edge of camp. He wanted to sleep further away, but everytime he tried Time told him to get at least within the bounds of camp, as to not be taken by a monster in the middle of the night. Wild huffed through his nose, but did as he was told.

Everything about him was a paradox. He was untamed, and yet he wasn’t disrespectful. His scarred face showed experience, but his age showed adolescence. His eyes were ancient and haunted, but also carefree and bright. Wild was a conundrum that Twilight and the others desperately wanted to solve.

Wild came with so many questions. Why couldn’t he talk? Was it physical with the scars on his neck? Mental, with the anxiety he clearly faced? Both? Neither? Did he just hate them? Twilight and the others had no idea.

Something about Wild made the wolf within him claw to get out. Not in an angry way, or a way that hurt. But in a way that the wolf wanted to help him, protect him, and ease his pain. He wanted Wild to talk to him and to trust him. Perhaps it was him being jealous of Warriors and Wind, and he shouldn’t pull Wild into his jealousy. No… it was deeper than that.

It felt like Wild was to Twilight as Twilight was to Time. Damn. He’d have to talk to the Old Man about this tomorrow.

“Link.”

“Link!”

Link’s eyes snapped open, only to be met with a lid of glass, surrounded by water. No no no. Not again. He didn’t die again. He didn’t. He didn’t fail again!

“Link, you failed me.” The voice was Zelda’s.

“No. Please Zelda this is a mistake. I’m coming. Let me out! Zelda I’m coming!” Link screamed, slamming his hands against the glass, hands turning red. But the glass didn’t budge.

“You left me, Link. You arrive one hundred years late to stop Calamity and you disappear two weeks later. I’m rebuilding a kingdom and you’re playing hero. You think your shiny new friends care? You’ll kill them, just like your last ones.” Zelda’s voice filled his ears no matter how hard Link covered them.

“No! Zelda I’ll come back! They need my help! The Master Sword told me!” Link pleaded.

“So now you feel your connection to the sword? I prayed for seventeen years. You don’t deserve the sword Link. You deserve nothing.” Water began to rise within the chamber. Link panicked and banged on the glass once more, but nothing changed. Nothing would ever change.

Twilight was twenty minutes into last watch when he heard soft noises coming from within camp. Twilight sighed, there were many restless nights with eigh-nine Heroes of Courage in one place. Whether it be nightmares, insomnia, the Heroes of Courage sometimes just had a hard time with sleep. But someone would sense it and wake up to comfort their friends. Twilight was close with them, but he didn’t want to step on any toes or cross any boundaries.

Hm. He should have heard rustling by now, one of the other heroes rising to comfort another one. But all he heard were the same soft noises becoming increasingly strained. Now that he thought about it, Wild hadn’t slept in the past few days they were together…

Twilight whipped around and looked at Wild from across the campfire. His scarred face was pulled into a pained expression, even from what little Twilight could see under the hood he insisted on keeping pulled up, even in sleep. His skin was pale and clammy, and his hands were scratching at his scars, turning them a bright red. Oh Hylia, Wild suffered from nightmares, and pretty terrible ones if they all looked like this. Perhaps he hadn’t slept at all since they were grouped together because of them. Wild seemed like the type to be embarrassed at needing help. They all were to an extent.

Twilight desperately thought of a solution. If it were the others, he could wake them up and give them reassurances or a gentle hug, depending on who it was. But with Wild, he had no ideas. Wild didn’t like to be touched at all so he couldn’t imagine he’d be very keen to affection after a horrifying nightmare, Twilight knew for a fact he slept with a knife and his slate nearby. But he couldn’t just leave the kid alone in a nightmare that would probably only escalate. Shit, what did he like? Maybe Twilight could throw a rock at him to wake him up? Hylia no that’s an awful idea. Shit he was so bad at this. Oh wait! Animals! Wild loves animals just like him! He could transform into a wolf and be gone by morning. It wasn’t ideal, Wild wouldn’t assume he spoke sign and therefore wouldn’t be able to talk, but he could at least offer physical comfort if Wild wanted.

He would have to be careful. The others knew about Wolfie, but if Twilight wasn’t there come morning, they would panic and wonder where he was and why he left them unprotected. And Wild hadn’t met Wolfie yet, and there were many savage animals in his Hyrule. This wasn’t his best idea, but it was the only one he had. Slowly, Twilight crept out of camp. Not far enough to leave the camp unwatched, but far enough from prying eyes who might happen to be awake. His transformation to Wolfie didn’t really hurt anymore, it was just the uncomfortable feeling of bones shifting. Once he was fully transformed, he silently trotted back to the edge of camp where Wild was.

What was the best way to go about this? He certainly did not want to get stabbed if Wild saw a giant wolf looming over him. So maybe a quick wet nose to the face then back up? Yes that seemed best. Twilight stalked forward, pressing his nose between the hands scratching at scars to stop him before he hurt himself further, then quickly backing away as Wild jolted awake with a small gasp and grabbed the rusted knife under his bedroll. Wide eyes gazed rapidly around for a threat. Wolfie shrunk down and whined, trying to make himself look as nonthreatening as possible.

Link gasped awake. A threat. His hand immediately went to his knife, desperately looking around to what was trying to kill him tonight. Yiga? Bokoblin? Moblin? After frantic eyes scanned the whole area, they landed on a hunched over wolf, stunning Li-no Wild. That’s right, he was in the camp with the other heroes. Keeping the knife in front of him, he eyed the wolf suspiciously. Wolves didn’t act like this, they would have bit him immediately since he was at the edge of camp. He knew he should have slept in a tree like always, but it seemed rude to be up high and more protected than his new group. The wolf, still having his head down slightly, approached him slowly. Not in the slow stalking motion that meant it was waiting for an opening. It almost seemed inviting. Wild wished he could talk to it. Was it hungry? He could spare some food but he didn’t want other wolves coming to this area. What in Hylia was going on?

Twilight continued to approach slowly, watching the knife wearily. Wild let him approach, though Twilight could tell he was nervous. Who wouldn’t be? At least Wild has some sort of self preservation. Soon, Twilight was at the knife. This was the moment of truth. He ducked under the knife and sniffed Wild’s hand, before nuzzling it slightly. Wild almost dropped the knife in shock, blue eyes wide. Twilight began to walk closer to Wild, before huffing and laying his head down in his lap. Looking up, he saw the clear shock on Wild’s face. Hesitant and shaking hands reached to pat his fur. Once he realized it was okay, Wild buried his hands into soft fur. Twilight wagged happily that his plan had worked, until he felt something wet on his head. It seemed the soothing motion only had Wild’s nightmare come back full force. Wolfie whined guiltily.

Wild attempted to tell him he was okay, but all that came out were rasps and words so broken Twilight couldn’t even begin to comprehend them. Twilight’s heart broke for the boy. It seemed he really wasn’t physically able to talk. Wild’s hands went to scratch at his neck and face again, but Wolfie intervened. He wanted the boy to cope however he could, but he didn’t want Wild to hurt himself. Wolfie sat up and nuzzled into Wild’s neck to prevent his hands from reaching it. Wild tried to say something but Wolfie couldn’t understand no matter how much he tried. Wild’s dam broke completely as he buried his face into Wolfie’s fur and cried, trying to use the fur to muffle any sounds he made. Twilight stayed the entire time, even as Wild’s small cries turned to hiccups and he got drowsy, Wolfie stayed.

His original plan was to leave as soon as Wild fell back asleep, but the teen had all but collapsed on him as they laid down. He didn’t have the heart to move and possibly wake the boy, leaving him alone to transform back into Twilight who he felt he couldn’t open up to yet. So Wolfie stayed. Time could make up an excuse for him in the morning, he was the only one who knew. He would see Wild draped on top of him and the tear tracks on the younger’s face and know what happened. As a wolf, he had better senses. If something came close to them, he would know. For now, he stayed by Wild’s side.

Time’s eye opened a crack, he’s always one of the earliest risers in the group. He sat up, back cracking slightly from sleeping on the ground before turning to say good morning to his protege on watch. Time froze when he realized his protege was nowhere to be found. He grabbed his Biggoron Sword and stood quickly. Twilight wouldn’t just leave them unguarded. Time’s eyes scanned the area, before landing on their newest addition draped on the wolf form of his protege. Time’s posture relaxed, although his abrupt rising woke some others in their party. Legend and Warriors had also awoken.

“Seems the new guy has finally met Wolfie.” Legend smirked at the sight before him, smirk only dropping when he noticed the tear tracks on Wild’s face.

“Seems like he had a rough night.” Warriors commented. “Leave it to our resident wolf to cheer him up.”

Wolfies’ eyes peeked open glaring slightly at the other heroes, almost daring them to wake the boy on top of him before dozing off once more. Time chuckled slightly. Seems his protege was a little protective over their newest member.

“Where’s Twilight?” Warriors asked, masking his concern. “He wouldn’t leave us to the monsters would he?”

“No.” Time shook his head. “Wolfie isn’t panicking so I’m sure he’s just checking the perimeter or scavenging. He wouldn’t leave us without Wolfie here to alert us.” Time resonated. He held back his relief when the others bought his excuse. Time smiled once again at Wolfie and Wild, not making too much noise and risk waking the others. Breakfast could wait a little while.

#wild #twilight #time #legend #Warriors #legend of zelda #LoZ #breath of the wild #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu #wolfie #lu wolfie #queenof-literature story #QoL Story

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shirokh · 4 years

Text

-“On the contrary. Knowing Hyrule, and meeting you... has only increased my longing to concrete a possible alliance between our kingdom” he answered properly and continued speaking

-“I have to confess that an arranged marriage would sound correct for our parents or grandparents” pausing, Marth looked at his sword with some melancholy, then he followed

-“I believe a lot of situations have influence on this now, and I didn’t conceived in my mind the idea of not paying Hyrule a visit, at least once, I deeply apologize if this has offended you in any way” he said making a small bow, custom of royalty when apologizing.

In fact, it was not a tradition between royalty to pay pre- marriage visits. The sole idea or proposition of it was seen unnecesary and scandalous, as it was a pact between kings, when they were both Children.

-“ You are welcome to stay, Prince Marth. I understand your position, more than anyone, I’m sorry to be unable to guide you around the kingdom... and I’m afraid you can not expect much from me, than this unfortunate welcome”she answered coldly, realizing the Prince had no intention to break the engagement.

-“Do not worry, we are pleased to be welcome to Hyrule, huh Roy? Whilst my father is who I think won’t be happy with my actions” the young man said while tousling Roy’s red hair

Zelda’s first impression of the Prince was of an honest person, at least he disagrees on arranged marriage just like herself, to the point of travelling several days just to meet the bride he was being imposed, but it was difficult for her to open up to a stranger so easily.

That night she could not manage to sleep. After rolling several times on her bed, she decided to take a stroll to her favourite garden, still preserved at the east wing. The garden where she cried that time in front of Link.

She dressed up and walked slowly with a candle on her hand, some guards about to nap were surprised of her presence and straighten out inmediately.

After walking around some flowers, she saw a shadow coming near the garden, jumping trough the pillars to her right.

-“Guards?” She asked, taking two steps back.

When she didn’t get an answer, she was about to hurry back to the alley, but the moon lit the face of the person she most longed to see.

-“Princess, shouldn’t you be resting?”

-“Link!” She called his name relieved, pinching her own finger to prove it was not another dream, she ran near him, until she realized something. He was not wearing his usual knight garments neither a Hylian tunic, he was wearing...

-“I see you have... a new armor... Zora armor...”

Link, who had not taken rest on his road back after going all the way to Zora’s land, realized he didn’t even showered, or taken off more than the helmet Mipha gave to him, but he wasn’t precisely expecting an audience with the princess that night, simply his feet had taken him to that part of the castle, and as late it was he didn’t expect to find anyone awake.

-“Yes... it’s a gift” he answered, taking a step away from the princess to save her from the smell he must have had riding under the sun in sweat.

-“From Lady Mipha?” She inquired, in her heart something was not right. She asked but She didn’t want to know the answer. She did not want to listen... and why did Link stepped away from her?

-“Yes... “ he said, tiredness reflected on his eyes, suddenly Zelda turned her back to him.

-“Congratulations... Link... I shall retire... I shouldn’t be here at this hour...”

Perplexed as he was, without time to answer, he saw Zelda run towards her chambers, guided by the candle she was holding which she left on the window, running in the dark. She could hear her name being called by her once appointed Knight.

-“Zelda! Zelda! Wait!...” He called triying to follow, but at such time, following the princess to her room could be easily misunderstood, even if they had spent several nights on the fields outside the castle, the actual situation could be confusing to the royal guards.

Once in her room, triforce resonated in her mind, the back of her hand was shining lightly and faded away, the triangle was blurry but still there.

She knew what the armor meant, on her several visits to the Zora’s kingdom she was even invited in one ocassion to a Zora wedding, and Mipha herself explained that the armor has to be handmade by the bride to her groom. Zelda even asked if Mipha had already began making her own, and she just began fidgeting nervously watching Link from afar playing with some Zora children.

Seeing Link on his armor could only mean that he had accepted Mipha’s feelings, and he was planning to marry her. After all he had a good relationship with King Dorphan, and as absurd it may sound, she was sure he would consent the wedding of her daughter with a hylian.

-“The most important is for him to be happy” she told to herself, holding her own hand to her chest, conscious she shouldn’t cry, she cleaned her silent tears, and remembered Link’s words

-“I’ll allways protect you”

-“I’m a fool” she affirmed, smiling and containing more tears. After all, her purpose was to let all her people have a normal life, live among their loved ones.

In the morning, she sent her personal Sheikah messenger to find the foreigners. She had her mind set.

The council meeting was about to start, Link was already clean and fresh, he wore his usual hylian royal guard’s tunic. He had to find her, talk to her for once, he didn’t know why she ran last night, but he saw pain reflected in her eyes. “Maybe the armor made her believe he was engaged with Mipha? Nah... just the thought of something so visceral to produce... jealousy? That was something daring to even imagine, yet she congratulated him on something...”

He saw her walking to the auditorium followed by Impa as always, but she was being escorted to her side by a young man with blue hair, tall and white skin, finely dressed on foreign garments, a cape with a ruby brooch and blue shoulder plates, combined with jewellery on his forehead, was it a tiara?...

Behind them, trying to talk lively with Impa was other man, with the same small ears and a red rebellious hair, equally dressed in blue armor and some band around his forehead.

Link walked towards them, trying to reach her before she entered the great hall, but it seemed as if she speeed up when she saw him, so he ran a bit to the entrance.

-“Princess! Princess Zelda! He called. There was no way she missed the call, as the company turned to face him. She stopped and faced him too.

-“Oh!... Prince Marth, allow me to introduce you to our Chief commander of Hyrule’s army, Link”

Link stopped for a moment, surprised for so much ceremony.

-“Link, this is Marth Lowell, prince of Altea, my... fiancé” she said without looking into his blue eyes, almost without hesitation, with composure.

-“Fian..” he babbled before realizing he was being expected to bow respectfully, which he did, taking a hand to his chest as a martial salute. Marth extended his open hand to him, looking at him sideways.

-“I understand you handle the sword that repels evil, if I remember correctly is the master sword, I would be honored to watch it in all it’s splendour, maese Link” he said with a peculiar accent, to which he just answered with a nod. The group followed ahead, to the meeting, leaving Link agazed.

On the great hall, Zelda introduced the foreigners, which was a surprise to the council, but most agreed on welcoming the prince and taking him on a tour, after all, they seemed on him the future King of Hyrule and Altea. It would be a novelty for Zelda, after six weeks of the catastrophe, she had accepted a prospect of marriage with the neighbouring kingdom, and besides he was a young and handsome Prince, as referred by some ladies of the court.

Link felt ill. All morning he had a bit of a nauseous feeling which even prevented him from taking breakfast. It seemed as if he had found her. He would have to tell Mipha.

His heart pounded just thinking about Zelda, but he realized this too late.

It was curious watching someone separating her from him, like a bucket of cold water., ice that woke him to realize his feelings for her, the same feelings which had been there implicit on the way he found out himself watching her while she was asleep in the field, on the way he cared for her without considering it part of a job, he came to love her, of that he was sure now. He wanted to protect her and be by her side, hold her and tell her he wouldn’t go.

-“What can he offer anyway?” He whispered to himself, clenching his fist, looking at the aforementioned prince, without realizing that the ex commander was sitting right at his side since who knows when.

-“A kingdom, perhaps...” he said, while he arranged his moustache with his hand inquiring.

-“Commander Van... I didn’t realized you had arrived...” He said ashamed of his whispering, turning to face him.

-“Ex commander, if you may allow me to correct you, commander Link”

The young hylian smiled, watching the royal couple talking vividly far from him, during the recess of the reunion.

-“They make such a good couple, don’t they?” The old commander asked, just to watch Link’s reaction, without meaning any of it.

-“If you say so...” Link sighed.

-“Boy, my best advice for you is that there is no difference between a wise man and a fool when they fall in love... you’ll find someone eventually, having such face! Are you sure you don’t want me to introduce you to my daughters?” He laughed.

A week after, the princess seemed to avoid him, and a small engagement party was celebrated with a dinner in the big dining room of the castle. Several carriages with wine and goodies from Altea came along with a message from the King. The wine was being served in all tables, and Link couldn’t stand it anymore, so he left early before the toast.

-“It seems that my uncle the King is not that angry with you” Roy states, serving some wine and taking some meat.

-“That is because the Princess accepted the engagement, I can not think what would have happened if this had complicated” he answered on a serious tone.

“I really don’t know what wowwies you” Roy said chewing with full mouth, “Is not that you wanted to marry anyway” he drank cheerfully wine from his goblet.

-“You wouldn’t understand it even if I spelled it for you, the princess is all but what I imagined, I would like just to get to know her a little” Marth affirmed, watching her go out into the near balcony.

-“Just admit it, you like her, and we’ll leave it there” Roy said, taking another piece of deer from a tray.

Marth almost spits his wine -“Sometimes your imprudence is as big as your mouth” he said standing and following Zelda to the balcony, thanking everyone were distracted on their own business and not paying attention to what they talked.

Zelda turned, watching the prince enter the balcony’s garden.

-“Is that wine from Altea?” She asked, pointing at the golden goblet he had on his hand.

-“Yes it is, it’s a combination of two grapes which grow in our fields, ages for eighteen months in oak barrels, but I’ll assume you already know, as you have proven your knowledge in botanics” he answered with a smile.

To his surprise, Zelda boldly took the goblet from his hand, and drank it on two sips, her cheeks were already red due to alcohol effects.

-“I... don’t know much of Altea, your Highness” she said, tumbling a little.

“-It’s better for you to sit” he said worried, taking her hand suddenly, helping her to sit on the window box, sitting next to her.

-“You Prince Marth!... must be such ... a heart breaker... mustn’t you?” She said with her eyes closed, putting her head on his shoulder, to wich he stood still, watching her closely.

-“You don’t have.. hic!... the right to break them, because they suffer, and cry!!! “ she said while standing tall suddenly with a hand in the air. He just kept holding her so she wouldn’t lose stability and fall, when sitting back.

-“Princess, the alcohol might have you a bit gutted, I think I should escort you to your private chambers to get some kip, maybe? Tomorrow I shall answer all your questions of course...” He said a bit worried, he had never being in that situation, and he wouldn’t know if It was a funny situation or something to be worried about, it was obvious that the blond princess had taken a bit more of wine, a thousand times he cared for Roy on that state, but her fiancé drunk was something he didn’t imagined he would be seeing someday.

-“Tomorrow! Not tomorrow! I don’t want you to marry her!” She said pulling his brooch to herself, they were so close to each other and that made him nervous, Zelda’s hand touched his cheek, her blushing face with eyes half open were getting closer and closer to his face, Marth admited that her eyes were deep enough to lose himself, and by some reason he didn’t wanted that momento to end, but he also could not take advantage of her state, so about to put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, the princess threw up, ruining Marth’s clothes, he stood up taking her hair so she wouldn’t stain her own, as she kept going on and on in the near garden.

Soon Impa was near them from the entrance.

-“My goodness! I owe you an apology your highness! I’ll take care of her now” She said alarmed, looking at her and at his clothes.

Marth took off his cape and wrapped it around her, she sat in the garden box, about to lay down to sleep, he took her in his arms softly.

-“Please, allow me to carry the princess” he gallantly said to Impa

They took the side stair so the other guests wouldn’t realize, walking silently to her room.

-“This is a very difficult time for her. As a personal favour I have a simple request, please do not pretend to hurt young Zelda, as she has her reasons to continue with the engagement, you may know she did not agree on it from a beginning, same as you I presume” she said calmly, worried only for the princess well being.

-“I know, I’m not pretending to deceive her, I confess I didn’t considered the marriage to be rather droll, but there is something about her that made me stay, her message took me by surprise sealing the arrangement. Now I have given my word and I won’t fail her, I’ll take care of her from now on”

The prince’s words resonated in the empty halls of the castle. Maybe he realized Impa’s relationship with Zelda was more of a mother than any other.

-Thank you, I’ll be here watching her always too. And by the way, there are extra clothes in your rooms” Impa stated, reaching her room, she carried her so she could take her into her bed. Marth insisted she should have his cape.

-“I don’t want you to marry her” Those words, what would Zelda mean by that, did she speak of herself in third person? Or someone else? He was meditating, into his memories an intrusive image of Zelda’s lips came into his mind.

“I must be going nutter” he said to himself

“That I knew since I was born” he heard the familiar voice of his cousin, behind him.

“I think for once you are completely right” he told Roy

“For a change” the red head laughed.

“I think I like her”

They both walked to the room they shared in the castle, not before Roy gave him slaps on his back, asking what was wrong with the smell on his clothes.

Next morning, the princess had an elixir, prepared by Impa, which alleviated the headache she had, without any memory of how did she came to her room, if it weren’t for the blue cape on her bed with the ruby brooch.

Once she went to the morning meeting, she found a big crowd among a messenger from the Gerudo tribe.

-“What is the meaning of this?” She asked, the crowd separated and the messenger could speak clearly in front of the princess.

-“Your majesty, Urbosa sent me, she humbly requests your presence along Link’s, is an urgent matter, it seems there is an unusual situation on the east area, several of our tribe members are missing, and it might be a manifestation of the evilness again”

Her words raised murmur again.

-“Silence, please. If it comes from Urbosa, I’m sure it is something relevant, and it requires our presence, we are not sure it is related directly to Ganon, but I think I can leave you to take care of central Hyrule matters”

-“You’r majesty, if I might say so, It is for greater benefit for you to have Prince Marth accompany you on this instance” a member of the council named Vaati suggested, the opinion was supported by other members, who said that if it he was going to be the next king, he should take record of the enemies of the kingdom, and that was seen as an opportunity to admire Falchion’s power, so even Zelda had to agree.

To be continued...

*HOPE YOU LIKE IT 😃, First place I upload this, thanks for reading* backgrounds taken from google

#legend of zelda #zelda botw #fanfic #zelmarth #breath of the wild #marth fire emblem #ooc #zelda #fanart #zelink #princesszelda #doujinshi #kindof

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kaialone · 4 years

Text

Spirit Tracks Translation Comparison: Final Battle and Ending

This will be a comparison of the original Japanese version and the US English localized version.

Specifically, this will cover the final battle and the ending cutscene of the game.

You can also watch these scenes for yourself in English and Japanese. If you want, you can check out the EU English version, too.

For the comparison, the usual points apply:

Bolded is the original Japanese text, for the reference.

Bolded and italicized is my translation.

Italicized is the official NOA translation.

A (number) indicates that I have a specific comment to make on that part in the translation notes.

As you read this, please keep in mind that with translations like these, it’s important not to focus on the exact literal wordings, since there is no single “correct answer” when it comes to translations.

Rather than that, consider the actual information that is being conveyed, in which way, and why.

Characters in this part who had their names changed between versions:

Mallador = Malladus, Dego = Byrne, Sharin = Anjean

Start of the Battle:

Zelda:

リンク！わたしはこの身体に聖なる力を満たします

Link! I will saturate my body with sacred energy.

Link! I'm going to concentrate on channeling my power.

Zelda:

その間マラドーからわたしを守ってください！

Please protect me from Mallador while I do so!

While I do that, please protect me from Malladus!

Zelda:

リンク！守ってくれてありがとう！もう大丈夫よ！

Link! Thank you for protecting me! I'm ready now!

Thank you for protecting me! I'm ready now, Link!

Zelda:

この聖なる力と大地の笛の力を合わせてマラドーを！

Let's combine my sacred power with that of the Flute of the Land, and use them on Mallador!

Let's combine my sacred power with the power of the Spirit Flute!

I think we can use them to weaken Malladus!

Zelda:

さあリンク！はじめます！わたしの歌声についてきください！

Alright, Link! We will begin! Please follow alongside my voice!

This is it. Just follow along with me, Link!

After the Duet:

Zelda:

リンクはマラドーを引きつけてください

Link, would you please divert Mallador's attention.

You distract Malladus, Link.

Zelda:

わたしはその隙にこの光の弓矢でマラドーの背中の紋章を狙います

I will use that opportunity to shoot the crest on Mallador's back with the Bow of Light!

When I see an opportunity, I'll shoot him in the back with the Bow of Light.

Zelda:

さあリンク！これが最後の戦いです！

Come, Link! This will be the final battle!

This is the last battle, so let's make it count!

During the Final Attack:

Zelda:

いま行きますよ！持ちこたえてください！

I will be right there! Please, hold on!

I'll be right there. Hold on!

Zelda, if you do badly:

リンク！このままでは負けてしまいます！

Link! At this rate, we will lose!

We won't make it if we continue like this!

Zelda:

リンク！もう少しです！

Link! Just a bit more!

It's almost over now, Link!

Zelda:

もう一押しです！

Just one more push!

Just one last push!

After the Battle:

Zelda:

…全て終わったのですね…

...So it is all over now...

So it's all over now.

Zelda:

…でも…

...But...

But...

Anjean:

間に合わなんだか…

I didn’t make it in time, huh...?

We were too late.

Zelda:

…シャリン様…

...Lady Sharin...

Oh, Anjean...

Zelda:

…ごめんなさいわたしをかばってディーゴさんが…

...I am so sorry. Mr. Dego protected me, and then he...

I'm so sorry. Byrne was trying to protect me...

Anjean:

そうか… しかしあの子も後悔はしておらんじゃろうて

I see... However, I'm sure that child had no regrets, either. (1)

Yes, but there should be no regrets.

He wouldn't have had it any other way.

Anjean:

それに我らは神につかわされし種族…

Besides, we are a godsent race...

Besides, our kind are the servants of the spirits.

Anjean:

そう簡単に消えてなくなりはせんよ

We don't disappear that easily, you know.

We don't disappear that easily.

Zelda:

…シャリン様それは…？

...Lady Sharin, what is that...?

What do you mean?

Anjean:

ディーゴの魂じゃ… もっとももう今までの記憶はないが…

いつか…何百年か後に新たな命としてまた…

It's Dego's soul... He may not have his previous memories anymore, but...

One day... maybe in hundreds of years, he will be reborn as a new life... (2)

The spirit is persistent, my dear.

Byrne may not have any memory of these events,

but years from now, he'll return in a new form.

Anjean:

ゼルダそしてリンクよ…

ワシらは神にこの地につかわされた…それは

結界を守るためだけではなく人の営みを見守るためでもあった

Zelda. And you too, Link...

We were sent to this land by God... The reason for that

was not just to protect the barrier. It was also to watch over the actions of people. (3)

You see, as Lokomos...

We weren't only meant to protect the Spirit Tracks.

We were also meant to watch over mankind.

Anjean:

しかしもうその必要などない…

However, there is no longer any need for that...

But our protection is no longer needed.

Anjean:

お前たちは神の守りなぞなくとも立派にやってゆける…

You will do just fine, even without such divine protection...

Even without the spirits' guidance, you will do well.

Anjean:

ワシはこの子と共に天上に帰るとするよ…

I will return to the heavens, together with this child...

So I think I will return to the heavens...

In the company of my old friend Byrne.

Zelda:

シャリン様!

Lady Sharin!

Anjean, wait!

Anjean:

ゼルダよこの地を頼む

Zelda, take care of this land.

Please watch over this land, my dear.

Anjean:

リンクゼルダを助けてやっておくれ…

Link, please help her...

And, Link...

You must help her.

Anjean:

さらばじゃ… 二人ともありがとう

Farewell... Thank you both.

Good-bye... And thank you. Thank you both.

Translation Notes:

In this scene Anjean refers to Byrne with terms like あの子/ano ko, which does literally mean “that child”, like I adapted it. But this is a common phrase you’d typically use to refer to children, among other things, so you often adapt them with simple third-person pronouns. Still, I decided to keep it literal here, to highlight how it’s different from how she referred to him before.

In Japanese, this line doesn’t literally contain a verb that means “reborn”, but it’s strongly implied from the context, so I adapted it the way I did for easier reading.

The word I translated as “people” is 人/hito in Japanese, which in this context does mean something along the lines of “mankind”, like the English version used. The only reason I went for “people” is because technically, not all people in this land are human, so I wasn’t sure if “mankind” could be applied to them.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

I thought it only made sense to include the dialogue regarding the duet of Zelda and Link in this part, even if it’s brief.

I also added the dialogue during the final attack on Malladus, although there aren’t any notable changes there. Those lines of text can just be a bit hard to find, since they don’t always appear, depending on how well the player does during the QTE.

Aside from those, the final cutscene of this game is short, and I have already gone over some of my thoughts that are relevant to it, but there are still several points I want to address here.

When Zelda tells Link to use the combined power of herself and the flute on Malladus, the English version adds her saying: “I think we can use them to weaken Malladus!“

This was probably done to make it more clear why they are doing this. Though, it technically doesn’t seem to weaken him directly, it just reveals that spot for attacking him.

Almost like a reversal of the last point, the English version is less specific than the Japanese one when Zelda talks about shooting Malladus in the back, since it leaves out the part about specifically aiming for the “crest” on it.

In this case, this might have just been to save on some space?

When Anjean arrives, I adapted her line as “I didn’t make it in time, huh…?“, while the English version went for “We were too late“ instead.

This is a case where the intended meaning can be a bit unclear without additional context.

In the original Japanese line, no subject is defined, so both “I” and “We” are possible options here.

But given the context, I think the idea of “I didn’t make it in time” makes more sense than “We didn’t make it in time”.

Anjean arrives all by herself, after the battle is already over, so I’m fairly sure her line is supposed to be her talking about how she herself didn’t make it in time to help out during battle.

So, I went with “I didn’t make it in time, huh…?“

By comparison, I’m not sure what the English version’s “We were too late“ would be referring to exactly.

Applying it to herself and Byrne doesn’t really work, since nothing Byrne did would have been more effective if he showed up slightly sooner, and Anjean wasn’t with him to begin with.

And applying it to all the good guys collectively wouldn’t work either, because they ultimately did stop Malladus, even if they lost Byrne in the process.

So, I really don’t know what the English version was trying to say here, and I’m guessing this might be another oddity due to lack of context for the translators?

But I can’t be certain.

I brought it up in the translation notes already, but in the Japanese version of the final cutscene, there is a notable difference in how Anjean refers to Byrne, compared to the rest of the game.

She uses あの子/ano ko and この子/kono ko, which you’d generally use when referring to children, so it comes across as more gentle and caring than she had previously been.

During the earlier cutscene in which Anjean tells Zelda and Link about the Bow of Light, she instead used こやつ/koyatsu when referring to Byrne, which can come across as much more dismissive and hostile, likely reflecting her disappointment in him.

In turn, Anjean changing the way she refers to Byrne in this cutscene right here shows how her attitude towards him has changed, too.

It seems evident that her thoughts about him have softened at this point, maybe she’s even forgiven him, and so her softer tone reflects that.

The English version seems to lack a true equivalent to this change in tone, though it’s not something you can adapt literally in the first place.

I’m guessing her calling Byrne ”my old friend” is supposed to get a similar idea across, and it’s a nice touch. It doesn’t have quite the same vibe, but it works well enough as a means to show Anjean's kinder attitude towards Byrne here.

Maybe as an addition to that, I think what could have worked would be to rephrase her line “He wouldn’t have had it any other way” to something more like: “Knowing that boy, he wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

I don’t know how well that would’ve fit with the text limitations, but maybe it would have been possible to find some phrasing that would reflect the Japanese version’s tone even more?

Something that gets across Anjean talking about Byrne like a young child, in a caring way.

Next is a rather minor thing, but I find it interesting.

In the Japanese version Anjean points out again how the Lokomo were sent by this land’s god, but the English version instead has her mention how they are “servants of the spirits.”

I think this was most likely a small translation error, since there are verbs relating to serving someone and being sent by someone that can sound pretty much identical, being 使う/tsukau and 遣う/tsukau respectively.

Doesn’t help that both of these have been used when referring to the Lokomo before, too.

I’m fairly certain “sent” is the correct meaning in this line, since the wording used is 神につかわされし/kami ni tsukawasareshi, which I’ve only ever seen used when referring to things or people considered godsent.

In any case, the Lokomo being godsent and being divine servants are both true, so the only real difference between versions here is which of these qualities Anjean points out as being a factor regarding them not disappearing easily.

There are multiple things I want to say about the following exchange between Zelda and Anjean, so have another look at it.

Zelda:

…Lady Sharin, what is that…?

What do you mean?

Anjean:

It’s Dego’s soul… He may not have his previous memories anymore, but…

One day… maybe in hundreds of years, he will be reborn as a new life…

The spirit is persistent, my dear.

Byrne may not have any memory of these events,

but years from now, he’ll return in a new form.

Years ago, I assumed that the English version not directly stating something like “this is Byrne’s soul” was a slight bit of censorship.

But now I think there was probably a different reason for it?

The way Zeda’s line was adapted as “What do you mean?” in English makes me believe that this is another result from lack of context.

If the English translators didn’t get to see the actual footage of this cutscene, they wouldn’t know that Anjean was literally showing Byrne’s soul to the children during that moment.

And without knowing that context, their exchange was probably interpreted as something along the lines of:

Z: “What do you mean by that?”

A: “I’m talking about Byrne’s soul.”

At least, that’s a feeling I’m getting? As always, I can’t say for certain.

If this was the case though, I would assume that rephrasing Anjean’s line as “The spirit is persistent” was probably meant to have her be more specific about what they thought she meant.

Moving on to the rest of this dialogue section, the Japanese version has Anjean estimate that Byrne might return in “in hundreds of years” or so, whereas in the English version she only says “years from now”, which is a bit more vague.

I’m guessing this could have been done to lessen the sadness here, since the English version leaves more room for the possibility that Zelda and Link could meet a reborn Byrne during their own lifetimes?

But it could’ve just as easily been to save a little bit of space.

The Japanese version also specifically uses the phrasing of “new life”, while the English version uses “new form”.

Not sure why they would change this, so it could have been something unintentional that just happened to end up like this during the writing process.

Since this is a Zelda game, I find it hard to imagine they would have wanted to avoid an implied mention of reincarnation. But then again, who can say?

Now, looking at the differences with this exchange as a whole, there is one more thing I want to mention.

In the English version, there is this more unambiguous implication that only souls like those of Lokomo are able to persist and be reborn eventually?

In the Japanese version, that is a possible interpretation one could draw from this text, but it’s not clear. Going by the Japanese text alone, one could also assume that when Anjean said that Lokomo don’t disappear easily, she was simply referring to the fact that Byrne’s soul is actually still with them at this moment, rather than being obliterated or lost in some other form.

Again, it’s not entirely clear from her phrasing, but it would be strange for Anjean to suggest that only Lokomo are ever reincarnated, since the huge number of recurring characters in the Zelda franchise implies reincarnation is possible for just about anyone.

This would also line up with the most basic idea of reincarnation that most people in Japan would be familiar with.

Overall, it’s a bit unfortunate that the localization of the final cutscene starts out in a slightly clunky manner, seemingly misunderstanding some of the context.

It’s less than ideal to have the final cutscene of your game begin with lines of dialogue that don’t fully make sense when you try to think about them more.

Thankfully, it does come through in the end, with its crucial aspects being adapted quite well, especially the actual ending.

Anjean’s final words to Zelda and Link act as a conclusion to one of the game’s most prominent themes, it begins with the story of how the land was entrusted to the people, and it ends with the people having proven that they are capable of carrying that responsibility.

Naturally, this was an important part to keep in the localization, too. And so, going just by the final cutscene itself, it holds up pretty well in English, because it kept that aspect intact.

But, the scene still ends up suffering a bit from the same continuity problems that have been frequent in these last few parts.

In this case, it’s the fact that the English version started to gloss over the theme of humans outgrowing divine protection towards the end.

Specifically because of little alterations in earlier scenes, like Anjean saying “May the spirits be with you”, and more importantly, Byrne saying “Your body has the sacred power of the spirits!”

I already talked about those moments in their respective parts, but it’s worth mentioning again, because they do kind of hurt the ending of this cutscene right here. Especially since the English version started being more loose like that right towards the end, where it actually becomes relevant. It’s kinda bad timing in that sense.

With the English version, players who have been invested in the story and thus try to pay close attention to the dialogue could potentially be confused by Anjean saying that the people don’t need the spirits’ protection anymore.

After all, as far as they know, the game had just earlier established that the spirits gave Zelda power, and that they’re currently watching and protecting her and Link.

It’s not something that would be a huge deal to most players, of course. But it’s still something that can make people more likely to dismiss Spirit Tracks as inconsistently written, with some careless plot holes.

With all that said, that’s still not a problem with this particular scene itself, it’s a problem with how past details affect it.

And I know I’ve been going over something like this in almost all of the latter parts, but that’s kind of the point.

I said it a few times during the earlier parts - there are many changes in the English localization that appear small and irrelevant on their own, but they do add up when you look at the bigger picture.

So of course these points come up more during the last hours of the game, where their effects get the most noticeable.

Still, in the end I am just glad that the final lines of this game did get adapted well in English, because in the moment, they are still powerful on their own.

I’d say the emotional impact of the ending still manages to come across well enough as is, and that’s something I can appreciate.

With that, this concludes the look at these final scenes, and since they’re the final ones, this concludes the final part as well.

Feel free to check out the previous parts if you haven’t already, and thank you very much for reading!

< Previous Part | Start |

#legend of zelda #the legend of zelda #tloz #spirit tracks #legend of zelda spirit tracks #legend of zelda translations #spirit tracks translations #my translations #spirit tracks comparisons

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gamingmind175 · 4 years

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triforceangel13 · 5 years

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An Accidental Mating Ch. 1 (A SidLink Omegaverse Story)

Chapter 1: The Heart Grows Fonder

Never in Link's life had he seen so many people in one place at once. It was like everyone in Hyrule had come out to the newly renovated Hyrule Castle to celebrate.

It was as if everyone that Link had met, or even hadn't met, seemed to have come out for such an occasion. It was a large celebration that had been waiting ever since Link had defeated the evil beast and rescued the princess.

As well as saved Hyrule from the dark shackles of Ganon.

Many from all across Hyule had come for the occasion, dressed in their best and having a wonderful time. Dancing, eating, mingling, anything you could think of at such a celebration was there, giving the once dark and desolate castle a bright and hopeful feeling. It was a welcoming change after the century of darkness.

Link was not much of a party goer. He preferred small gatherings, or just spending time with certain individuals should he wish for their company.

He usually kept to himself, which was what he tended to do during his travels and what he was actually used to. It made times, like this one in particular, all the more stressful.

It wasn't easy being the Champion of Hyrule, a man whom everyone sought to be the most strongest of men and more than likely to be the one thing he wasn't.

An Alpha. It was just what people assumed, Link just never corrected them. Link was the complete opposite of what that was.

An Omega.

He had presented as one a long time ago, even before he had fallen to Ganon, but had never remembered such a thing or what it had meant when he had first awoken in the shrine of resurrection. That is until it was brought to his attention during a visit to one of the towns. Needless to say much research had to be done, research that he barely had time to do. He knew the basics, the different types anyone could present as, and of course what an Omega did every month unless pregnant, which was go into heat.

He didn't know everything but he had needed time to still do his research. Was something to think about once the celebration was over.

Only one knew of him presenting as an Omega, that being the princess of Hyrule. Others he knew from his past knew that of course but seeming as they were all pretty much gone now, or very old that they did not remember, he didn't need to worry about others knowing his secret.

He didn't want to be ridiculed or treated differently during his quest just because of what he was. It was a part of him he didn't want to be used against him. He had seen what some people did with Omegas, treating them differently than they would with Betas or other Alphas. Sometimes it wasn't all that great to see that sort of treatment.

It saddened him greatly. So a secret it stayed.

This particular evening was a bit of a hard one for him. Zelda wasn't able to put it off any longer than she already had for his sake.

With all the excitement of defeating the Calamity as well helping Zelda make plans to fix the damage that it had done, he had lost track of the heat that was coming up. He had no idea when it was going to show up.

Being in a room full of Alphas, though Betas and Omegas alike, made it so that his secret might be out whether he wanted it or not if he ended up going into it this evening.

He had no idea how they would be able to tell, seeing as he knew nothing about the scents that he could give off during that time.

Though with Zelda's urging he would try to enjoy this night as much as he could. Dressed in his best Royal Guard outfit, he remained by Zelda's side, greeting their guests from their seats, picking at food every now and then from the plate that sat to his side.

Hours of doing this and Link wanted to just go to the room that was given to him in the castle and just settle in for the night, possibly look at a calendar as well.

“Link, stop fidgeting,” Zelda teased to the man next to her, picking up a piece of fruit and popping it into her mouth. “You can leave soon. I promise.”

Link groaned at that, slumping a bit back in his chair. The line of those greeting her seemed to go on for miles and they had spoken to so many already.

The princess laughed softly and looked up at whom was coming up next, a knowing look crossing her face. As the two of them were together Zelda had learned quite a few things about Link. She was pretty sure he was in love with Sidon, the prince of the Zoras. He never admitted to liking anyone but from her observations she was pretty sure she was accurate.

The two were close friends, and from Link's tales of his travels he tended to visit there quite often in the past.

“Link, Sidon's here,” Zelda whispered. At those words Link quickly snapped to attention, a small flush coming across his cheeks.

Yes, she was correct.

With a playful roll of her eyes she lightly shoved Link with her elbow. “Jeez Link, don't look so bummed.”

Link shifted a bit in embarrassment. “I am I that obvious?”

“You tell me,” Zelda laughed, rising from her seat as Sidon approached, Link quickly rising next to her. “So good to see you Prince Sidon.”

“Likewise your majesty,” Sidon said, taking her hand and bowing down his head, though upon seeing Link his entire demeanor changed.

“Link my friend!”he exclaimed, approaching the Hylian in a few short steps and wrapping him in a bone crushing hug. Link didn't even seem to mind, hugging the Zora tightly.

Zelda cleared her throat softly, causing Sidon to set Link back down on his feet, coughing lightly as he regained his composure.

“Forgive me. I had been so excited to see my friend again I forgot my manners,” Sidon apologized, a light tint covering his cheeks.

“Nonsense, it's perfectly fine,” Zelda said with a small laugh, patting Link's shoulder. “Why don't you take the rest of the night off and catch up with him?”

Link didn't need to be told twice, hopping down from the place he stood. Once bidding the princess farewell Sidon stepped away with Link, looking around the room.

“Want to get out of here? Just hang out like we usually do?” Link asked, grabbing hold of an unopened bottle of wine from one of the tables, tucking it under his arm.

“I would love to.”

“Goodness Link. To be able to go against the ultimate evil and only walk away with a few cuts and bruises. I dare say I am impressed,” Sidon applauded him, taking the bottle from Link's hands and taking a swig.

“I just call it luck,” Link replied, taking the bottle back and knocking back some more. The two of them had taken down about half the large bottle already simply just sitting in one of the hallways of the castle.

The effects of the alcohol were hitting Link pretty hard already, spiking up his body heat as well as making his head a little fuzzy. This was what happens when he drank and didn't really have any food in his stomach.

And seemed to be affecting Sidon just the same.

“What's been going on back at the Domain? It's been a while since I've been there,” Link said, passing in another large swig and wincing from the taste. It wasn't the best but it did take the edge off of the past couple day's events of preparation for this.

“I don't want to admit it but father is being a bit of a pain in the ass,” Sidon said, gasping at his own words which he covered with his hand and a fit of giggles. Link started to laugh as well. He never heard such rash language from the prince before and hearing such a thing was funny...but also a little exhilarating.

“Goddess above I might have had too much wine,” Sidon said but took the bottle once more for another long swig. They were in a safe environment so it was alright for them to be this tipsy. Though it was pretty evident that they were both more than tipsy.

“Well what's he doing to make him an ass?” Link asked, swaying a bit and leaning against Sidon's arm. When sober he would have pushed himself away apologizing for getting so close. But now...now he didn't even budge.

He pressed into the slight coolness of his skin, his body feeling hot against his. It had to be the wine making him feel so warm. Never did it cross his hazy drunk mind that this warmth could've been...something else.

“It wasn't long ago that I presented as an Alpha,” Sidon admitted. “Ever since then my father and Muzu have been doing everything in their power to get me to take an omega as my mate. I'm afraid they are going to take drastic measures soon and lock me in a room with them while they're all in their heats. The scents will make me go crazy.”

Link looked at him confused. Scent? What did he mean by scent?

“Either way, I don't feel that it's fair. I want to be mated to the one that I fell in love with, not just some omega that can give me a child because my father wishes that of me,” Sidon sighed heavily, taking another swig and passing the bottle. “I haven't even had my first kiss yet.”

Link frowned, finishing off the bottle and just adding to the buzz. He was a wreck. His vision swam and he felt so warm. Maybe it was the outfit combined with just everything else.

“Have you tried talking to your father about the one you're in love with?” Link asked. “Maybe you should just go for it.”

Hearing that news did sadden him and he could feel tears starting to form. That wasn't normal but he knew that was the alcohol. Of course he loved someone else.

He wiped away the tears quickly, letting out a sigh.

“Well there is an issue. I'm sure this person is an Alpha as I am,” Sidon replied, looking to Link with some strange look in his eyes.

Link looked down at the mostly empty bottle. Why did he ever think he had a chance with Sidon. He was in love with another alpha.

“It shouldn't matter what they present as. If you love them then that's all that matters,” Link said with a shrug. “Just means you won't have kids which will be a problem with your father in the long run.” That had been the whole point to get Sidon mated in his father's eyes as far as he was able to tell.

“I suppose you're right,” Sidon sighed but then lifted his head, inhaling slowly. “Do you smell that that strange scent?”

“Scent?” Link asked, sniffing around a moment. Nothing seemed different. “I don't smell anything except the alcohol.”

Sidon closed his eyes, seeking out the scent. Link watched quietly, only to flush as Sidon grew closer and closer to him.

“Hmm...it's you my friend,” Sidon practically purred. Link lifted his hazy gaze up to the prince's. The Zora's eyes were nearly black, his pupils having dilated almost to his whole eye.

“Do I smell bad?”

“Bad? Goddess no,” Sidon siad, shifting even closer. “You smell...unique. Sweet....but a little musky. Just you...alluring....”

Link's breath hitched at the feel of Sidon's tongue gliding across his neck. Was he dreaming? Was Sidon touching him in ways that he had always fantasized about? Ways that Link ashamedly used as visuals to help himself during his most intimate of moments of touching himself?

“Delicious,” Sidon hummed into his neck, his face nuzzling into the crook of his neck and inhaling once again.

Link arched himself into him, his body seeming to be acting out of instinct. No words passed his lips, focusing clearly on the touch.

Gasping for breath Sidon sat back a bit, eyes quickly going from his face down to his lips, only to come back up once more.

Not another moment of hesitation passed between them, Sidon's lips coming into contact with Link's in a fevered kiss.

Large clawed hands pulled Link flush against him, tongue coming to greet Link's soft pink one that slid against his mouth.

More. He needed more.

“Finally,” Sidon mumbled against his mouth, kissing him over and over, his hands never letting him go. “I've waited so long to kiss you and hold you like this.”

The bottle of wine rolled off Link's lap, making a small clattering noise but neither heard it. Neither of them cared about anything else.

“Kiss me again,” Link whispered heavily against his mouth, licking his bottom lip. “And make me yours.”

A visible shudder went through him and he indulged in another kiss.

I’m open for written commissions

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my a03 (triforceangel) as another place to read my fics

#breath of the wild #sidlink #prince sidon #an accidental mating

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miximax-hell · 5 years

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...This should have been published the 10th of January. I queued it ages ago (back when my last post was published), but Tumblr farted and decided not to post it. Which is just fantastic. It’s not the first time it decides to screw up the queue, but it’s the first time it happens to me on this blog. So annoying. This means it’s coming a few days late, but I hope you all still had a fantastic EnYaga Day!

As I prepared for True EnYaga Day back in October, I found again this old doodle of mine--the base for what would later become the final design of EnYaga. I thought it might be fun to share it and use it as an excuse to talk about this subject AGAIN, and... that was good enough for me, really.

You guys know me and there’s probably very little reason to do so, but I have never really talked about the reasons behind this miximax, have I? Well, if there is a day to indulge in that, it’s EnYaga Day, so let’s get to it!

As usual, more under the cut.

Despite Tumblr’s betrayal, this does have a perk: I get to revise this post before it’s published, which is great, because I’m happy to report that things are better now than when I first wrote it. In the original version, I mentioned that my life at the time was a little... paused, so there wasn’t really a lot to say. Among the only news worth sharing, I sent an oil painting to a friend a couple of months ago and it arrived very fast and completely safe, so that was great! It was a Professor Layton-themed painting, but now that I don’t have it at home anymore, I’m tempted to make another one... (If I do, chances are more FudoLay content will arrive here swiftly after lol) Other than that, I’d just started my classes again, but I was still desperately looking for a job. At least, classes made me feel like I wasn’t completely wasting every single day, so I was more cheerful than I was during summer. (Funny, because my group of friends at uni used to say that they could only smile during summer, but I was pretty miserable during those months. ww;)

Thankfully, though, I can say I now have a job! And it’s great!! ...The conditions aren’t so great, but at least I’m back to work as a game designer. I’m learning so much and I feel very motivated to work, even if it’s technically a collaboration and I will only get money once the game is published--in other words, when the game starts bringing money our way. This is far from ideal, but I honestly had no other options and I’m having a blast working on this, so I hope something cool will come out of it! For now, I would ask you to keep your eyes on Eskema Games and maybe check out the company’s latest game, Delta Squad? I had absolutely NOTHING to do with that game because it was released way before I joined, but supporting it supports the company I work for, which always comes in handy! It also underperformed, so it could use all the love you guys can give it.

Also, let me quickly point something out: about a year ago, an anon asked me if i was going to include Danganronpa characters in this project. The question is here, in case anyone needs a reminder: https://miximax-hell.tumblr.com/post/181991994534/hey-there-since-youre-doing-miximaxs-with-game Well, I FINALLY got my hands on the DR Trilogy for PS4, so I’ll be looking into that and seeing what I can find! If that anon is still around, I hope I can make them happy.

But let’s cut to the chase already!

As I always make sure to clarify, yes, I do massively ship Endou and Yagami. But there’s thankfully much more to EnYaga (the miximax--if I need to talk about the ship again, I’ll just call it Endou x Yagami) than just “yeah, I ship them.” In order to understand the reasons behind this combination, though, we must venture into two very different subjects: what reasons there are to choose Yagami to begin with, and the life story of yours truly. I swear both are important to get the full picture, but I’ll keep the latter as brief and free of unnecessary information as possible, even if it’s definitely the longest and most complex part. So, without any further ado, let’s see what makes this miximax valid within the logic of this project.

A big chunk of what makes EnYaga work was explained exactly three years ago, here: https://miximax-hell.tumblr.com/post/131215636268/when-the-king-enters-the-room-the-world-stops-and

The tl;dr would be that Endou plays as a goalkeeper, but also as a libero! Being such radically different positions, it’s to be expected that he would need two different miximaxes, because it would be rather difficult to find an aura that improves his field skills (shooting power, speed, etc.) and his goalkeeping abilities at the same time. Thankfully, Yagami gives him the exact abilities a good libero needs to be able to excel--especially when that libero has the pressure of being part of most of the strong hissatsus the team can pull off. So, for more info on EnYaga’s powers, please check the link above. (And note that, of course, this miximax only marginally improves Endou’s goalkeeping capabilities.)

I have also talked in length about the relationship between Endou and Yagami, but here’s a very brief summary. During the in-game events of IE2, Endou gave Yagami hope when all she wanted was to die to atone for her sins, thus saving her life in the process. In return, she wanted to give him the strength to fight when he needed it most as a way to repay his kindness towards her.

Yagami’s innate abilities and the bond they share are the more logical reasons behind this miximax. There is, however, one extra reason to include this miximax in the project.

There have always been three main rules here when it comes to choosing auras:

1. Only characters that come from universes predominantly inhabited by humans (or very human-like creatures, like Zelda’s Hylians).

2. Only one character from every franchise, unless they are Level-5 franchises. In that case, I may use up to two per franchise. Examples of this are Danball Senki/Little Battlers eXperience (with Toramaru and Megane) and Professor Layton (with Fudou and Shishido).

3. One aura coming from every single (and proper) Inazuma Eleven game on the market. Those being Inazuma Eleven, IE2: Fire, IE2: Blizzard, IE3: Spark, IE3: Bomber, IE3: Ogre, IEGO: Light, IEGO: Dark, IEGO Chrono Stone: Raimei, IEGO Chrono Stone: Neppu, IEGO Galaxy: Supernova, IEGo Galaxy: Big Bang, Inazuma Eleven Strikers, IE Strikers 2012 XTreme, and IEGO Strikers 2013. I’m not counting Everyday, SD nor unreleased titles. So far, I have 7 out of 15.

From the beginning, I have wanted Endou to have nothing but Inazuma Eleven-only miximaxes. I mean, he’s the main character and all!

Needless to say, Yagami is part of the Inazuma Eleven miximaxes--in fact, she takes the IE2 Blizzard spot, if anyone is curious about that very specific detail. She is obviously a very predominant character in that game, having a relevant impact during the final match against The Genesis and even (spoiler alert for a 10 years old game) by injuring Kazemaru earlier, because he didn’t just leave like he did in the anime--Yagami sent him to the hospital when he started matching The Genesis’s power. Since she’s a main character in that game, and considering that many of the other important characters introduced in it become part of the teams that make up this project (such as Hiroto, Midorikawa and maaaybe Saginuma), Yagami was the perfect candidate. She was also arguably the strongest among the remaining main characters of IE2, and the only midfielder. Not to mention the bond she shares with Endou, which only rounds it all up even more.

So, as a brief summary, Yagami is an Inazuma Eleven character (which is exactly what I wanted for Endou) and a very strong player, she provides Endou with everything he would need to be a good libero (incredible speed, great shooting strength, being a midfielder and the stamina that inherently comes with it, powerful hissatsus, and so on), she shares a canonical bond with Endou, the contrast between their personalities is super interesting to explore, and there are reasons why even she would want him to take her power. He can hardly have it better! It makes a lot of sense, and it’s all heavily based on canon, so I don’t need to explain much in that regard. That’s always convenient.

But there is another side to all of this. My side.

I first started working on miximaxes with the idea of only making 4 or 5. I simply meant to give extra love to some of my favourite characters to make myself and a few friends happy. This never became a full-fledged project until my good friend Heather, who used to be on Tumblr under the username @ishidoshuuji, said she wanted to be able to reblog the Seitei x Yuuichi miximax I had drawn for her. In other words, this: https://miximax-hell.tumblr.com/post/129863262149/well-it-was-about-time-i-started-using-this-blog

Before that, miximax-hell used to be a private blog: one of those you can only check out if you have the password. I never thought ANY stranger would be interested in it, so why expose myself like that? It would only make me feel bad. I could have never imagined over a hundred people would follow me here, and even less so considering that only about 10 of my friends follow this blog. So I have to thank Heather because, even if 100 isn’t a big number at all here on Tumblr, I still appreciate each and every person who stops by and it’s helped me meet some incredibly lovely people.

Back to the subject, though. This story is directly linked to MamoDai’s. The important part of it was that EnYaga’s design isn’t mine, and so isn’t MamoDai: the former is completely not mine (even if, as the sketch above suggests, the concept was first doodled by me), while the latter was only partially mine. The thing, though, is that the same person made EnYaga and “collaborated” on the creation of MamoDai, which meant I let them into this very personal solo project twice. If you want to check out the full story, though, you can read it here: https://miximax-hell.tumblr.com/post/142160652319/you-should-have-seen-this-one-coming-come-on

As I was saying, miximax-hell is a solo project. It’s something for me to enjoy, for me to think about, for me to develop, for me to improve at designing character, and for me to decide on. I set the rules and I come up with suitable matches--or what I think are suitable matches, that is. ww I’m definitely open to suggestions if anyone is willing to share their thoughts with me, and fanart is always, always, ALWAYS welcome, of course, but I don’t borrow other people’s ideas nor designs. Not because those designs and ideas aren’t fantastic, nor because I’m not allowed to, but because the point of this blog is to have fun and improve my skills. If I don’t do it myself, it’s kind of pointless, so I prefer a bad design made by me over a great design by someone else. Also, if people were to check all of these things out, I wanted it to be because of my work, not because someone super well-known was part of it and people were desperate to get more content from them.

When I first came up with this project, though, someone very close to me wanted to be part of it. Not because they found it interesting per se, but simply because it was mine. I had previously declined an offer to join one of their projects because I lacked the necessary skill, so they wanted to join mine instead. And don’t get me wrong--I appreciate the interest even now! But, again, it beat the point and I had to refuse. Looking back, I’m very glad I didn’t give in, but I felt awful back then and this person must have felt really bad too.

That’s why I made that exception and suggested, “Hey, why don’t we create a miximax together?” That’s how MamoDai was born. But while the interest in working on MamoDai seemed... scarce, this person came up with and gave me something out of their own accord: the EnYaga miximax design I still use to this day.

Now, here’s the thing: EnYaga was a proper gift that person made for me, and I always honour gifts. If it had been a random doodle, like I have received others in the past, it would have ended there. But when someone puts true effort and time into making something especifically FOR ME, regardless of what happens between us later, I still treasure it forever. And this gift came from a person who, apparently, really wanted to be part of this project when I first came up with it, which, honestly, put me in a tight spot. The least I could do was accept this design, which I loved almost as much as I loved them, and incorporate it to my lineup.

EnYaga was going to happen regardless, because I was working on it myself, but this person beat me to it (with such incredible quality, too, which I would never be able to hold a candle to) and, after what I made them go through with my continuous rejections, I had to honour them somehow. It was my way of saying, “I can’t let you do this for me, but I deeply appreciate the thought.”

This person is now out of my life, though. This means that, honestly, I could just get rid of the design. They would never know, and I would be happier with something of my own even if it sucked in comparison. They would never feel offended either--not like they would even if they knew, because it’s obvious they don’t care about me anymore. It would be easy and 100% painless for all parties involved.

But EnYaga is a token of the bond we once shared and I treasure that, even though I don’t want anything to do with that person anymore. It portrays the fun and happy times, not the sad and bitter ending. Happiness is always something worth remembering, isn’t it? And maybe, just maybe, thanks to the wonderful people I’m close to and my eternal love towards Endou x Yagami, I might one day be able to completely forgive the bad and focus on the good, so I can smile when I look at EnYaga and think of this person. I look forward to a day when there isn’t an ounce of bitterness left in my heart (although I am one revengeful and spiteful piece of poo, so it might never happen). And for that possibility alone, it might be worth it to keep making this one exception and let this miximax be someone else’s. Especially now that I have DoYaga to call my own.

So that’s it, folks: not only do Endou and Yagami make for a sick combination in theory, but it’s also a miximax with deep sentimental value for me in so many different ways. So even if it had been someone else’s idea and the two characters were a terrible match in all senses, chances are I would have still kept it. Thank goodness it wasn’t the case. ww

And all because I didn’t finish the design fast enough on my own. May that be the lesson to learn from this: hurry the heck up, self.

#Inazuma Eleven #Endou Mamoru #miximax #mixi max #Original Raimon #Aliea Raimon #Inazuma Japan #reasons behind the miximax #sketch #info #inazuma eleven ares #inazuma eleven ares no tenbin #inazuma eleven orion #inazuma eleven orion no kokuin

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teefa85 · 4 years

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So, Ruins of Lore beat! Opinions under cut...

Honestly, it’s not a bad game when looked at objectively. There are a lot of good ideas, like the job system and ‘mon catching. But at the same time, there really could be some rebalancing. You find a lot of the equipment for your ‘mons, and go figure the stuff I chose couldn’t wear ANYTHING I found! They had weak store brought equipment for much of the game, with one or two rare drops to power them up. So...they became useless! You also can’t use the Combine feature without one being in your party so that weakens the potential of your combined forces for someone having a few turn buff (and the less said about “no reviving/switching out dead ‘mons” the better...my first run had a dead ‘mon, and Eldin/Torma/Rami as the party I fought Goldiark with).

Job balancing...it takes forever to master Magic Based Jobs and they’re a bit underpowered. Put it in perspective, by the time Rami mastered her first Job (Mage), Torma was halfway done with Bishop (the second tier healing Job) and Eldin had Mastered...Swordsman, Knight, Fighter, Brawler, Thief, was far along on Chemist, and had Rapidfire (first Tier Rogue Skill). I think the other reason, besides Confusion hax, I noped out of the Ancient Cave was the guide I used had “use Mirror to protect Eldin from damage” as the strategy for a lot of bosses. Mirror...is the next to last Tier Mage skill! The one Rami hadn’t Mastered until Eldin had most of the physical skills learned! It’s also kind of annoying that Bau and Dekar can’t get jobs, because boy does Bau need it and Dekar isn’t with you for the final battle (though I swear he was in my first run so I don’t know what I was remembering or didn’t do).

But while I find it a good game objectively, it’s a horrible Lufia game. There are a few books and NPCs that reference Lufia II, but that’s it! Oh, and Dekar...who for whatever reason looks like he was just beat up in his portrait! Dekar wouldn’t get in that condition...this guy survived a collapsing shrine with no real damage in this ‘verse! Honestly, his only reasons for being there seemed to be his popularity (which I was more lenient with Dekard on because he’s doing a lot of awesome shit that this Dekar doesn’t do, plus it’s an alias and what guy who wants to be awesome wouldn’t use a legendary awesome guy as his inspiration). And to finally get him laid! Yes, I find his relationship with Marin adorable in context of the game, though it does lose some points because she’s effectively a fangirl who got to be with her idol, and I’ve had some BAD experiences with that sort of fan. Still think it’s cute, but Dekar’s relationship with Tia in Curse is a lot more adorable (do wonder if it was done as a natural follow up to their convo, not having time to work with Tia past the timeskip in the original, or Neverland rebelling against another company creating a love interest for one of their characters).

I’m not that big of a fan of having Eldin as a mute main character, though at least he has expressive emotive portraits to sub in for dialogue at points. I tolerate it with games like Suikoden/Breath of Fire (which don’t have modern games anyway)/Dragon Quest/Zelda because they have used a mute main character since Day 1, and were created back in a time when that was still a trope. But Lufia heroes actually have had voices since the first game. Still...it’s less a knock against Eldin as a character and more a knock against the decision, as he’s still one of the better mute main characters in gaming!

The Ancient Cave being only 60 levels, limited to Eldin and his monster (and remember what I said about monsters up above), and the stupidity in beef gating rather than being something you could work around through repeated going in like in II and TLR (or just getting levels like the first game) CAN go to hell though!

Now, I have problems with the story as-is. Mostly in regard to Eldin’s role...his dad all but tells Rubius he’s adopted, then she sees an inscription and realizes he was sent forward in time so his parents could save him from Eristol’s destruction. But does he ever find this out...no! Unless there’s some obscure sidequest I missed out on twice. It’s wasted potential...not that he’d react much other than the upset face and possibly some lesson on Family of Choice and Not Blood Parents. Other than that...the story we are given isn’t bad, besides the ending (really too much out of nowhere stuff, a villain who doesn’t show up until right before the finale, and padding with the extra run up Mt. Ruhei and third run up the Tower of Guidance...oh and the solution being “seal Beast in Holy Land and destroy stones” making it stupid that this all happened in the first place). Also, WHY did Irmis have to seal the half of the beast in Nazare? Was it breaking free? Did Ragule attack? Well...probably not the latter since he didn’t know where to go for it else they’d have gone there sooner. And how long ago was it/what age were the twins?

I do have issues with the lack of connectivity to Lufia II, despite being only 20 years later in the same area of the world. Which is ALSO wasted potential! How about, instead of the Eastern Continent being razed by Gratze, have some of the missions be helping those areas! We could have checked in with the scientists in Portravia (if they hadn’t all followed Lexis to Westland), Ferim’s possibly now Queen Jerit (maybe have them doing pretty good since she finally got together with Hans and his military expertise is making him a good wartime ruler’s consort), and of course Leon & Thea (see how their countries, the ones closest to Gratze, are doing and how they’ve been ruling since neither had a sibling to take the reigns of their own country to live with the other). Also, the geography could use some work...HOW did we walk from Parcelyte to Gruberik, with no land bridges and no water on the map?! And maybe equate the sealing in Nazare to the Sinistrals’ power having weakened the seal and it eventually started cracking after about five-ten years or something.

The other thing I can think of to fix this...instead of Eldin as the MC, make it Maxim and Selan’s son, Jeros, either making it 15 years later instead of 20, or changing Torma/Rami/possibly Rubius’ ages to better fit with him. They could go with an angle of him being proud to be the son of heroes, but worried he won’t live up to them. Proud that they saved the world, but angry that they left him behind. Possibly even have him and Rubius strike up a romantic attraction, and then make it clearer that she will sacrifice herself too! This can lead to Jeros having to face the loss of his love, and eventually come to terms not only with that, but what happened to his parents. Then, in the end, he resolves to go to Westland so his descendants could watch over Doom Island as it was the one thing he could do to honor his parents. It could also be an excuse to bring Tia into the story, as she moved to Parcelyte and took over the shop so she can help Selan’s auntie care for Jeros, with it being her own way of doing what she could for Maxim. Honestly, what Eldin brings is his “ancient blood,” but they could easily have ignored the curse (which had SO LITTLE impact on the plot...see Atelier Iris for a game where a character gets a debilitating “curse” and it has affect on both plot and her combat prowess without making her suck) or had it (and the eventual “merge with the Beast Half which totally should have granted him a new skill or something”) be due to his powerful Energy Waves like his dear old dad!

Still, I did enjoy the game and the world, as long as I didn’t think of it as a Lufia game (yet that didn’t stop me from using Dekar for most of forever). Though I also wish it had been its own new IP! That would have removed the connectivity issues that caused a lot of people to hate it right off the bat, plus could have left the door open for a sequel or prequel, possibly with the system flaws fixed (just look what the Lufia Series did going from I to II, and how much of an improvement it is considered by fans). But eh, what can you do? I just don’t have the same need to replay it when I do Lufia-thons myself, and only did it this time due to being in quarantine and having loads of free time (I might still have been playing II or be early in TLR if I was doing my weekend only runs).

#lufia ruins of lore #liveblog #commentary

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breegullbeakreviews · 6 years

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My hopes and dreams may have been dashed by the Jim Carrey who stole Christmas and a Tony the Tiger’s luchador cousin, but we still have DLC to look forward to. Here are my out there and not so out there ideas on who should join the roster in the Smash Pass.

Rules: No echos. The announcement claimed these types of new fighters won’t be a part of the pass. This doesn’t mean a new fighter may not come bundled with an echo of themselves, but these types of fighters won’t be a part of this list.

Also no Assist trophies. As much as I want Spring man and Ribbon girl to punch in I don’t see them replacing or removing an existing assist trophy to add a character in.

Fighter: Banjo & Kazooie

I am still holding onto the dream. The duo of bear and bird are tied to the Nintendo 64 despite no longer being owned by the big N. Phil Spencer is down to get Banjo in the game so the only real question is if Sakurai thinks they are worth adding. As far as Nintendo wanting them, it would only be if some deal was worked out for the N64 classic. I’d assume both announcements would be near one another.

I’ve gone over their endless potential for moves before and that hasn’t changed. Grant Kirkhope killed it on the soundtrack for these games so there are plenty of tracks to choose from. The only real question is what the stage will be. Smash is usually inspired by stages more often than it copies a direct area, so in that regard I think Spiral Mountain would probably make the most sense. I think the Rusty Bucket has a lot of potential as well, but if the idea is to go for something iconic I think you have to go Spiral Mountain.

Fighter: Doom Slayer

Not giving up on this one either. Odds probably aren’t great though. Doom is a very western franchise and not one super linked to Nintendo, and let’s not even get into the violence and religious aspects. The one thing it has going for it is that it is a very important franchise to the history of gaming and Bethesda seems to be on good terms with Nintendo. Doom Eternal is coming to the Nintendo Switch so it could be a cool marketing move to drop this fighter in to build up hype.

Just because he wouldn’t be a Snake echo anymore doesn’t mean he doesn’t have potential. The Doom Marine has plenty of weapons to pull from in his past games and it wouldn’t be too hard to pull some from the upcoming Doom Eternal. I also don’t think it’d be much of a stretch to give the Doom Marine an echo fighter in the form of B.J. Blazkowicz. He is equally important to the history of first person shooters. Doom Marine would certainly get the stage though as Nazi Germany isn’t something I see getting shown off in Smash. A space station on Mars with maybe a transition to hell seems perfect for a stage.

Fighter: Lara Croft

Odds are if we get another Square Enix representative it would be Geno, but Lara Croft is another major gaming icon, just again more western focused. She has appeared on Nintendo consoles so the only issue is coming up with her moves, and I don’t have many ideas for this. Her combat style is very weapons heavy, but she doesn’t have much that would work for close range at least from my experience with the franchise. Like Doom Slayer, I only see Nintendo green lighting this if we are getting some Tomb Raider title on the platform before February 2020.

Stage wise Lara Croft has tons of crazy set pieces to draw from. I assume the stage would be a tomb of some kind with plenty of hazards and maybe even a guest appearance by the iconic T-rex. Lara has plenty of costumes to pull from. If one major thing keeps Lara out it’ll be her moves.

Fighter: Geno

People want Geno. I am not one of those people. I have never played Super Mario RPG, and unless it comes to Nintendo Switch I probably never will. I really have nothing else to say except that I think he is rather likely to be in the game as DLC. Geno could be tied into a remaster or rerelease of the game on Switch, but it is possible Nintendo will just bring him in because fans want him.

Fighter: Shantae

Being a spirt does not preclude one from being a fighter. Despite having yet to review it, I was a backer of Shantae: Half-Genie Hero despite having zero history with the franchise. Shantae has history with Nintendo. Debuting on the Gameboy Color Shantae is a mix of traditional platforming and some metroidvania mechanics. Now I’m sure plenty of people would be pissed if she got in over Shovel Knight, but I think she has a lot more to offer.

For one thing we don’t have another fighter who uses their hair. That alone will give her some interesting standard attacks. She also has a plethora of magic and transformations that could make for an interesting set of special and smash attacks. As far as a stage goes I think the central town would be the best representation of the series as a whole. Maybe have part of the stage feature a dock so that Risky Boots can dock.

The music in the latest game is fantastic. You could bring everything over unchanged and it’d fit in. Every track has a beat that makes you want to get up and dance while still getting across the mood. Overall I don’t think Shantae’s chances are great. Mostly because she is an indie character and she’d be pretty obscure for Nintendo to pick for one of five DLC fighters. Let’s just say I’m not holding my breath on this one.

Fighter: Dixie (& Kiddy?) Kong

Another much more likely fighter with a ponytail. I have not played a Donkey Kong game featuring Dixie. I also don’t like the Donkey Kong Country games, though I do like DK64. That all being said I understand people want Dixie in. She is one of two playable characters in DKC2 which is regarded as the best of the trilogy.

Now why did I say Dixie and Kiddy? Well I think there is potential to make Dixie unique by having her nephew help out in some way. One thing that neither DK nor Diddy get across is the weird health system of the old games. If a Kong is hit you switch to the other one who was running alongside. I think using that relationship between the two could make Dixie really stand out. That being said I could also see her coming in on her own. Potential have it be a Zelda/Sheik style swap.

Now I also think there is echo potential with Tiny and Chunky, though I think it’d be more likely to have s singular Dixie have Tiny as an echo than getting all four. Dixie’s single ponytail versus Tiny’s two could change the range and speed. People talk about Tiny as Dixie’s replacement so I don’t think it’s a stretch. I have no idea what sort of announcement this could tie into. Maybe another DKC game or a DK64 remaster.

Fighter: Gen 3, 5, or 8 Pokémon

I expect this would be a gen 8 Pokémon over a gen 3 or 5 one if only because outside gen 1 additions new fighters have been from the latest generation. Melee added Mewtwo and Pichu. Brawl added Pokémon trainer and Lucario. 4 added Greninja and Ultimate is adding Incenaroar. Who knows what Pokémon it’ll be, but I’m for a grass type.

If we do roll back to gen 3 I’d hope for Sceptile or Grovyle. We need a fully evolved Grass starter in the battle. As far as gen 5 goes Emolga would be a third electric type but it’d be interesting to have in there with its flight and thunder. Outside that maybe Krookodile. I’d also not be opposed to a new Pokémon Trainer as long as the Fire starter isn’t the third stage. Ideally it’d be Tepig, Dewott, Serpirior or any combination if the Hoenn starters without Blaziken.

If the stage is gen 8 I don’t know where it’d be obviously. As for gen 3 the Sky Pillar could work, but I would not be opposed to a plethora of locals. Fortree city, and Mt. Chimney come to mind. I think Shoal cave could be interesting using the games internal clock to change the stage with the tide. Gen 5 I’m not picky. Mostly because I hated gen 5 and forget almost everything about it.

Fighter: Fire Emblem: Three Houses character

I actively do not want this, but knowing Sakurai it’s possible that we will see another anime sword boy or girl. With Nintendo selecting odds are lowered, but it is still a possibility.

Fighter: Tetris Block

Yes I watch GameXplain. I think this might be a bit far outside the box for Nintendo to pick, but if a Gameboy Classic is in the works this is some easy cross promotion with the system’s killer app. Music is obvious. Having the stage be a game of Tetris seems to be obvious. If the Tetris block is a fighter the stage would need a different art style than the character. Don’t ask me how it’d fight. Only Sakurai truly knows.

Fighter: Steve & Alex (Minecraft)

Most people know Steve’s name, but less know Alex. This is again Microsoft owned, and outside getting representation from the second bestselling game of all time, I don’t know what would compel Nintendo to select them as fighters. Stage wise the possibilities are endless. In a world of blocks and biomes it is hard to pick just one. I could see a stage divided into multiple areas like Delfino Plaza. I could also see a destructible stage that rebuilds like Luigi’s Mansion, though maybe not always the same way.

Move wise the two have a lot of tools, potions, and blocks to pull from. If a Creeper doesn’t show up here or as a stage hazard, than it needs to be an assist trophy. Music may be an issue. The music doesn’t seem like it’d transition well to battle music.

Fighter: Tails

I have never owned a Sonic game. I am not a Sonic fan. That being said with Shadow out of the picture I think Tails could be a great addition. From what I know of the character he seems to be more about verticality than speed. He also has gadgets that could make up his final smash.

As for a new stage maybe pull something from Mania or Forces. I assume most of the music is already going to be in the game so that might be an issue.

#super smash bros ultimate #smash pass #video games

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eldritchsurveys · 4 years

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881.

5k Survey VIII

351. Have you ever lost something and never found it? >> Sure. There’s whole parts of myself that I lost and never got back. But also, like, one time I left my favourite flannel in the airport and never got that back. Can’t even get a new one, I think the company stopped selling it. 352. Do you listen to any talk radio shows? >> No. 353. Who do you trust more, your friends or your parents? >> I don’t trust anyone. 354. Would you ever date someone outside of your race or religion? >> I’ve done so. 355. Which of the 7 deadly sins in the worst (gluttony, greed, pride, lust, envy, wrath, sloth)? >> My theory is that Sloth is the most egregious -- all of the other sins are encouraged and tend to proliferate because of slothful individuals (that is, individuals who don’t care to lift a finger to stop wrongdoing when they witness it). Sloth is the sucking mire of complacency, the willingness to turn a blind eye to the suffering of others as long as one’s own comfort is not infringed upon. It’s also the most easy to commit, in my opinion, which makes it a slippery slope.

356. Which one are you most guilty of? >> Sloth, obviously. Why do you think I understand it so well? ~ (Pride has been a big one for me in the past, too.) 357. Are you afraid to be alone with yourself? Do you try to avoid thinking? >> On bad days, I have the contradictory problem of desperately wanting to isolate so no one else has to deal with me (or treat me like shit for being socially unacceptable) but also knowing that being left to my own devices can lead to a toxic cycle of rumination and self-castigation. So, yeah, I don’t like being alone with myself sometimes, but at the same time, what else am I supposed to do? 358. Would you venture to tell someone you loved him or her if they didn’t say it first? >> I have no idea how I would react to this kind of situation. 359. What are you the most sensitive about? >> Gonna skip this one for my own sanity right now. 360. What can you talk about for hours? >> I’m not sure. I’ve never been in the position to talk for hours about something. 361. Do you talk about yourself, other people, or ideas the most? >> Myself, I suppose. Or ideas. Maybe a combination of both. 362. Do you believe that spell casting can work? >> I’m inclined to think so. 363. Are you a fan of The Legend of Zelda games? >> I wouldn’t say that -- I’ve never played any of them and the only reason I know anything about them is because of 1) Sparrow and 2) what I researched after King Crimson arrived on my astral doorstep. My interest is more casual (and more focused on one character in particular) than fan-hood would suggest. 364. What old movie would you go see if it were re-released in the movie theaters? >> I don’t know. I’m fine just watching them at home. 365. Is there a celebrity that you would be too starstruck to talk to if you met them? >> No. I prefer to just talk to them like any other stranger -- a little formally since we’re not on familiar terms, but affably and without making them feel spotlighted. They’re still just people, after all, and all that fawning attention has to be irritating and off-putting. It would be for me, I know that much. 366. Have you ever left a mean unsigned note? >> No. 367. Do you think it’s cheesy to paste things you didn’t write into your diary? >> Of course not. It’s a diary, you do whatever you want with it. The traditions of the commonplace book and the scrapbook are long and storied. (I think of my personal tumblr in those terms, in fact.) 368. What are three things that you try not to think about? >> I can’t think of anything that fits this description. 369. Is casual sex acceptable for you? >> No. 370. What form of sexual protection do you use? >> Not having sex. 371. What is expected of you that you feel is unnatural or not right? >> Just about everything that’s expected of me doesn’t actually apply to me, so. 372. Do you sometimes place your own expectations on other people? >> Sometimes. Like, I expect other people to be more forthright about things, and not expect me to figure it out through arcane social cues that I never learned or cared to follow. Or, I expect people to treat me with more respect and compassion than I sometimes receive. 373. Do you sometimes act overeager to make friends when you are around strangers? >> No, mostly the opposite. 374. Do you take everything that is said literally? >> Not everything, but sometimes I do take things more literally than I’m supposed to. It really just depends on whether I’ve encountered that situation before. 375. Do you take most things others say seriously? >> If I can determine than I’m meant to, yeah. Sometimes I can’t (especially in text). 376. Do you have a quick wit? >> I think I do sometimes. But equally, I have a lot of moments where I think of the funny thing to say long after the moment has passed. 377. Do you believe in the need for political correctness? >> I don’t care about this. 378. Do you have strong opinions and beliefs? >> Not really. I mean, maybe a couple, but generally I feel like I’m more apathetic about things than most. I just don’t have the energy, really. 379. If yes, can you still hang out with and be friends with people who disagree with you? >> Sure, as long as I don’t feel condescended to or otherwise disrespected. And there are some issues that directly affect me that I can’t just overlook -- for example, I can’t be friends with a white supremacist, because fucking duh. 380. Are you uptight? >> That’s not a word I would use for myself. “Neurotic” might apply in some situations, though. 381. Do you sometimes do risky things? >> I mean, maybe. Like not washing my greens before eating them. I just don’t have the executive function, man. 382. Could just about anyone hold your interest in a conversation for at least ten minutes? >> Not “just about anyone”, no. Some people and some subjects just aren’t interesting to me, and that’s the way it goes. 383. Are you self-conscious? >> Yes. I think there was a long time where I wasn’t, where my theory of mind was kind of wonky, and sometimes I miss that carefree-ness. At least let me find a comfortable middle ground, because this hypervigilance is killing me. 384. What would be your ideal destination for a Saturday afternoon? >> I don’t know. 385. Does anyone have a video tape of you doing something embarrassing? >> That’s highly improbable. 386. What is Kevin Smith’s(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Smith) best movie? >> I liked Dogma a lot. 387. Where do you like to go on Friday or Saturday nights? >> --- 388. Do you like your friends to act the same way all the time or do you accept their moods and changes? >> I accept all people’s moods and changes because I understand that there’s nothing static about being human. Whether I’m willing to personally put up with certain moods and changes depends on the person and their connection to me. 389. Do you often feel like other people are judging you? >> Yes. 390. What do you think other people judge you to be like? >> I don’t want to get into that, it’s just going to be a laundry list of brutally negative adjectives. 391. Are you quick to judge others? >> Nah. 392. When you have a fight with someone do you want to talk about it right away or calm down first and then talk? >> I feel like a rubber band -- torn between my need to get rid of those bad feelings as quickly as possible by unloading them right then and there, and my need to flee and lick my wounds in a dark corner somewhere. In practice, either I end up behaving badly and giving myself more wounds to lick, or I shut down and nothing ever gets resolved (you guessed it: giving myself more wounds to lick). I don’t even know what a good resolution to a conflict looks like anymore. 393. Some say love is a river (according to the old song). What do you say love is? >> Fuck off. 394. What is the worst fault a person can have? >> I don’t know. 395. Do you have it? >> Probably. 396. Which do you think has more impact on a person’s character, genetics or environment? >> They both have a significant impact on a person’s character, what are you even asking me. 397. Who was your first best friend? >> --- 398. If you are not best friends anymore, what came between you? >> --- 399. Who have you read a biography about? >> I had a phase where I was really into musician bios, so I read a bunch of those in my early 20s. I’ve also read at least a few of Maya Angelou’s bios, and Tina Turner’s, because my father had them in the house when I was a child and I tended to just read everything within reach. 400. What would your own autobiography be called? >> No.

#surveys #survey #5000 question survey

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terminator855 · 4 years

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Nier Automata Review

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

In terms of media gamers have seen a lot and as such there are only two possible ways a game can leave a lasting impact which earns the title "Great Game: The first one is to refine a concept to it´s limit and reaching such a level of perfection that has not been seen before so it can move the heart of the gamer who decided to spend his time with this piece of software despite not seeing something new and different. While this form of fun is as real as any emotion, it lacks the element of surprise. A human is curious and always wants to experience something new, something that he has never seen before... Something which changes him as much as he changes the game NIER:AUTOMATA™ is exactly this kind of videogame that went beyond the typical ideas and is more than just any game. While not defining the genre of Hack and Slash it may can achieve something greater: Redefining videogaming in terms of storytelling

Background

The name Yoko Taro is not something new to persons who hold a great interest in videogames and he is responsible for the - storywise - well received Drakengard series which is so complex that elaborating anything is completely useless. Despite his well written stories his games never had greater commercial success which is quite understandable as there was a lack of substance: The gameplay sucked. Harsh words, but to quote Reggie Fils-Aimé; If it's not fun, why bother? On the other hand we got Platinum Games an even more well known studio that specialised in the Hack and Slash genre to such a level that the gameplay, atmosphere and music could not fail anymore, but it lacked skill in terms of writing engaging stories. Together these two juggernauts in the gaming landscape were destined for an outstanding product beyond any expectation. And this product is NIER:AUTOMATA™.

Story

The story is a rollercoaster and uses the New Game Plus mechanic in a new engaging way: The player needs to complete two marginal different playthroughs to unlock a third playthrough which brings one to the true ending. Every playthrough features an already known character and tells the story from it´s point of view and while this concept seems old, no game before it had done it in such a magnitude while also centering the whole game around this relatively simple concept. 9S, A2 and 2B ar[E] the protagonists of this game and everyone of them has an individual personality which evolves over the course of the game. The mainstory is so convoluted yet still so logical within itself that I am not trying to give you (dear reader) more than an abriged version: 1. Aliens came to earth and war happened 2. Humans built androids to defend them 3. Aliens built robots to fight androids 3.5 A living nuke fought robots for around [REDACTED] years after being sad 4. B2 and 9S also fight robots 5. [Naked Sephiroth (2)] The sidequests are also more than noteworthy as they are more than your typical fetch quest, but yes: There are fetch quests. Still they manage to be more than that as they are always trying to give the player insight into a philosophical concept: the worth of life, the idea of a sacrifice or even an existential crisis. This is the first time I regretted doing them sometimes, because action have consequences one can not foresee.

Gameplay

A good story is like a sceleton: Without meat to you can´t give a heads up. And the meat of every videogame is the gameplay. It is a Hack and Slash which also features railway shooter. I really can´t say that much: You can attack, make flashy combos, jump and block. Only 9S is somewhat special as there is the mechanic of hacking which is REALLY relevant for the game and plays like an Arcade Shooter. On the one hand the pure combat is really polished on the other hand everything else is alright but not as polished. This sounds pretty bad, but you have to keep in mind that this is nitpicking, it just lacks in comparsion of everything else: If you compare „Zelda Breath of the Wild“ to „Twilight Princess“, you will experience a difference in terms of quality despite both being well made games.

Graphics

In terms of visuals this game is straight up beautiful by combining anime esque style with halfway realistic movements. One of my favourite activities was just to roam around, explore and see the beauty that this game harbors. Every place has it´s own identity which is supported with love to details such as the different state of decaying building which depends on the used material.

Music

10/10 Music has the possibility to enchance a scene, add emotions or atmosphere. NIER:AUTOMATA™ has a different approach: The music resonates with the feelings of the player to enchance the personal connection to the happening while also dragging one into the rabbid hole until you start to shiver, cry or laugh. Life is a sweet poison and the OST transcends the game so much that listening to it without knowing the game still may have an effect despite lacking context. Keiichi Okabe and Keigo Hoashi brought their A-games and I can not stress enough the quality of the final product.

Problems

The port from the PS4 has been made poorly and is only really playable with the FAR Mod which is luckily free to download. Yet still Square Enix denies to update in such a way that your average computer doesn´t blow up. This really drags down the quality and my feelings towards buying an slaughtered product.

Conclusion

NIER:AUTOMATA™ is an absoute masterpiece and should be played by everyone who is remotely interested in a unique Hack and Slash -game. What is happiness? Difficult to say, but I know I had this emotion while playing this game. Or did I? Will you?

#Nier #nier automata #review #gaming

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pdavis136 · 7 years

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Q&A: LadyNoirJuly2k17

Prompt 2 and 4: Banter and Common Interest

I love these children so much. Alya is such an amazing character, I love including her.

Also, not all of these prompts are completely for me and I can’t see taking it in a non-generic direction, so I might combine them like this, though I could give each of these their own if I had the time.

Smol angst, large procrastination. Do I plan to get all of these prompts done? Perhaps.

May turn multi-chapter. Cross-posted indeed.

“You know, for a surprisingly private group of superheroes that don’t normally share information, you’re taking this two-on-one interview that’s covering way more than usual pretty well.”

“I mean, we’re not that private- “

Chat looked at her, and she sighed. “Okay, so we are. Can’t we indulge Paris a little?”

Alya shrugged. “Of course. Way more daily hits after every interview, so I don’t mind in the slightest. Gotta make a few extra euro somehow; equipment doesn’t pay for itself.”

Chat quipped, “Cost is all relative, depending on how much you value your safety and well-being in comparison to the Ladyblog. Judging by the lengths you go to for a scoop, I doubt human cost is that much. Your smartphone was your canvas for over a year.”

“Always improving, always upgrading. On the subject of cost, why are you two doing this for free, when you could make some serious cash from a legit news source?”

Ladybug paused. “Um, are we still on record?”

“Yes, we are.”

“Okay, well consider it a favor from friends.”

Alya nearly passed out, but she shook her head, attempting to rid herself from the mental haze. Snap out of it, this is the moment you’ve been building up for! Joint interview, no holds barred! “So, what are you guys like out of costume?”

The two heroes looked at each other, having a mental conversation. This seems a little too personal, Chat. ‘Well, I don’t know about that, we can just answer vague. You know, the way we agreed we’d do in the first place and that we both know she won’t notice given how much she caves when it comes to us.’ Fair enough, but you know if she tries to prod at a level of knowledge I’m uncomfortable with- ‘Say no more, Bugaboo. We’ll make sure it gets redacted after the fact should either of us answer, we pull out of the interview if she prods us too far when you say the word.’ Thanks, Chat. Glad you understand. ‘You know, I wouldn’t be opposed to, ya know, off the record, maybe-‘ Chat. ‘Sorry. Won’t go there.’ Good.

“You two have been staring into each other’s eyes for like a minute and I’ve repeated the question twice.” They turned to face the reporter, embarrassed. “Anything going on there you want to tell all of Paris about? Confirm our suspicions perhaps?”

“NOPE ANYTHING BUT THAT THANKS.”

“WHAT WAS THE QUESTION AGAIN?”

“Okay Chat, one more time. What are you guys like out of costume? Your interests, hobbies? No, stop staring at each other, this is on video too.” Their heads swiveled around, muttering and coughing under their breaths.

“I’ll go first.”

“Thanks Chat. We’re dying to hear how the ultimate ladies’ man-“ Ladybug mimicked gagging for a few moments. “-spends his time traipsing around the city, or chilling at home, wherever that may be.”

“Well, I like to stop by this wonderful little bakery by Collège Françoise Dupont, the Tom and Sabine’s Boulangerie Patisserie.” This elicited a physical response from both Alya and Ladybug, one of which had much to tell her friend, the other of which was flipping out at the prospect of Chat Noir being so close to her without their heroic identities.

“Their pastries are essentially the best in town, no question. The chocolate éclair is probably my favorite. And the whole family that works there is so nice.”

Ladybug was fast turning shades akin to her suit, and Alya was eating up every second of the compliments. “So, Chat Noir, I take it you’re a fan of the bakery? You’d recommend it to anyone looking for a treat around the 21st arro?”

“No question in my mind at least. Can’t recommend enough.”

“Anything else?”

“Well, I do love video games. The Mecha Strike series has been with me for years and I tend to be pretty good at it if I do say so myself, but I’ve always enjoyed some more even-paced story driven titles like the Fallout or Legend of Zelda franchises.”

“Super cool. Now onto the bug.” Alya cleared her throat. “So, Lady Luck, what does our city’s finest heroine do in her free time? What does this little ladybug enjoy?”

Ladybug was composed, for now. Hey, if he can unwind me like that, I can do it back to him. Maybe it’s cruelty, but he won’t ever need to know why. “Well, I also like to stop by that bakery, in fact, nearly every day. There’s actually the possibility that I’ve gotten to see you outside of your magical leather pajamas, Chat Noir.” She lightly tapped him on the nose, and Chat fought the urge to turn into Jell-O. I might have seen her with the masks off? Damn, I’ve got to be paying more attention if I am ever going to get her to notice me.

“I also would say that I’m quite a whiz at Mecha Strike games. I’ve played it since I was just a little ladybug, and I bet I could beat you any day, any time, Chat. And don’t even get me started on Zelda or all things Bethesda.” Chat cursed himself. This woman is going to be the death of me. At least it’ll be at her hands. Quick, think of something witty to say!

“Okay, Bugaboo. How about this. If you’re so confident in your skills, meet me at the La Tête Dans Les Nuages arcade on the Boulevard des Italiens, in the suit, 3 PM tomorrow. Throw-down. Also, this is going on your blog, right? Just cut this out if she says no, I don’t-“

“You’re so on.”

Alya couldn’t believe her ears. This is gonna go viral! Do they talk like this all the time? “There you have it folks. We have a good old-fashioned throw-down in Ultimate Mecha Strike III coming at you tomorrow, from yours truly, Ladybug and Chat Noir! Can I get you two to pound it on camera? The fans are waiting you know!”

The two heroes shrugged. “Pound it!”

They both started to get up, a fist bump normally being the period to any interaction, which probably explained why they thought there wasn’t more. “…This isn’t the end of the interview, you know.” The two heroes quickly sat back down and brushed themselves off, slightly embarrassed.

As Alya was getting up, the two heroes waited around, quietly standing, neither of them having much to do on a Thursday night normally scheduled for a more extensive patrol. They merely listened to the young journalist talk aloud to them while pacing, luckily not expecting a response, as it would have only led to more intense lines of questioning.

“Holy cow guys, you two are just so awesome. First off, you agree to do this joint interview, which turned out so much better than I could have hoped for, second off, the public is just going to eat this up! I bet you Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng are going to have to hire some more workers, I really hope they don’t overwork Marinette…”

She went on like that for minutes, Ladybug and Chat exchanging many glances. Ladybug spoke up as Alya announced something aloud and walked to the door, possibly about running to the bathroom, neither of them could tell. “You come to that bakery often?”

He stiffened. “Was that too personal?” She hummed in thought. “Honestly, it’s as personal as we’ve gotten, since that could give either of us clues to find each other should we be looking in the right places. I trust you’re not going to seek me out?”

He sighed. “Listen. First off, you’re absolutely going down in the 1v1 tomorrow, and second, as much as I wish things were different, I respect your wishes and well-being more than anything in the world. I’m good with waiting.”

“You know it’s not about waiting. Secret identities are secret for a reason. It puts up a wall between our lives as heroes and our lives as vulnerable citizens.”

“Vulnerable as we may be without these powers, I still want to find you.”

“Soon kitty. Right now, we have our prides to worry about, since we just put everything out there. Hawkmoth and anyone that may lie ahead come right after. We have this job for a reason. We’re partners for a reason. And if, and if I’m being honest with myself, around the time when it becomes more of a hindrance than a protection to keep us from each other, I’ll be right here for you, my minou.”

“If that’s the way it works, then I’m as right as rain. Who knows? We might get a croquembouche to celebrate such an occasion as finding out who my best friend is.”

“Chat, that’s for weddings and stuff. I’d know that more than most because I-“

“WAIT MY LADY STOP!”

She slapped her hands over her mouth, realizing what she nearly just let slip. “Oh my god. Did I just-“

“Nearly give away information that could have either been brush-off-worthy or led me right to you? Pretty much, and I’m so glad I caught that for you, even though I can’t now help but think. My mind is racing for what the end of that sentence means and there aren’t many possible endings. But I know you aren’t ready. Consider it purged from my mind. I care too much to let this happen too soon.”

A rush of emotions went through Ladybug’s head, but the only thing that felt right in that moment was to be close to her best friend. Before she could let Chat back away and leave, she latched onto him in a crushing hug, knowing that the boy she knew wanted more than anything to know who she was just prevented herself from giving that knowledge away. She didn’t know how far she would get with Adrien, though she hoped it would be all the way, but this was a different kind of love. One just as strong as, if not stronger than, infatuation or physical attraction.

She rested her head in the crook of his neck, noting just how soft and warm his skin was. It was inviting. Tantalizing. Intoxicating. In one simple misstep, she realized just how much this stupid cat meant to her.

Alya had no idea what she missed, but she had learned a couple of things during her time as an amateur journalist: One, never stop recording. Two, stories like this got clicks and views. But the third one that oft contradicted the first two for ethics reasons, was to always disclose, whether it be on a footnote or a preface to an article, or to subjects themselves on the nature of the conversation and what should and should not be put up for the world to see.

She cleared her throat, hoping it would effectively get their attention, but they didn’t move, only acknowledging her with a hand wave from Ladybug. “I know you two are having a private moment, but my cameras haven’t been turned off yet.”

They jolted away from each other, knowing full well what that kind of a prolonged shot could mean for the nature of their relationship in the eyes of Parisians. Chat spoke up. “Were they-“ “Recording? Yes, as well as hot mics, automatically synced to the video; less work for me in post. Say the word and this gets cut out. On my honor.”

Ladybug whispered, “Please?”

The flannel-clad journalist simply nodded and packed her things up. As she was leaving, she said, “That last part is just between us, but don’t forget about your promise.” Ladybug and Chat shared a glance, but before they could ascribe it to their reveal pacts, the girl continued, “Just make sure you get to the arcade a little early, to warm up and to beat the crowds that will be there for you two. No flaking on this, your word against your actions. See you two around!”

And with that, the two heroes parted ways to their homes, too much to think about and just the right amount of listeners for their thoughts.

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#ml #miraculous ladybug #my fic #LadyNoir #ladynoirjuly2k17 #adrienette #adrinette #marinette cheng #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #adrien agreste

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