#he must know the most awesome fun facts and stories

[rookinthecrownest]

Discussion about romances + expectations under the cut (I'd put it as like..mildly critical, but also coming from a place of understanding?). As usual, will tag as such so you don't have to engage/read on if you don't wish to. I always invite open discussion, just keep it respectful (as I will endeavour to do so myself).

This is going to be a bit of a ramble, so I apologize if my thoughts are not clearly laid out like they should be.

I think I've found the reason why I (and maybe others), feel that the romances in Veilguard feel a bit... idk, hollow, at times (not BAD!!! just feeling like there could be MORE). And that's because of the trap of expectations. I may also be speaking completely for myself here.

Anyway, let's rewind to 2014.

Be me, 10 years ago. You're not really a gamer, but indulge in action RPG's casually.

See a commercial for this hot new game coming out called Dragon Age: Inquisition. Be intrigued by the character designs, but know nothing about the world. Come to find out it's part of a trilogy. So naturally, you buy the first two games and play through them before playing the third.

Be amazed, and completely hooked on the characters, the lore, the world, the darker elements and themes. It becomes your favourite game series of all time.

But you had no idea that you could romance any of the companions going into the experience. And man, does it fundamentally rewire your brain chemistry to fall in love with cRPG and get ridiculously attached to your Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor.

So, you romance Alistair first because he's funny as hell, and has a really interesting story/character arc. Then you romance Zevran, and love that too - he's charming and suave and awkward and funny. Then you go onto DA2 and romance Fenris and Anders, and each of those romances pack their own emotional gut punches. Then it's finally time for DAI, and predictably, you go for Solas (a veritable slow burn that spans TWO games), Cullen, and partially (I never finished those playthroughs lol) Blackwall and Dorian.

I had no idea you could romance companions going into these games. It was a pleasant surprise! It always felt like an important part of the story, while not overshadowing the main plot. There was enough material in the codexes, the cutscenes, and party banter to make each romance feel complete and whole and awesome and nuanced.

And then, like some of you I suspect, I read an article that touted Veilguard as "The Most Romantic Bioware Game Yet", and I thought - "Wow, if they're saying this then the romances must be something else", given the quality of the previous romances you've experienced in these games!

But you get to the game - and while you're having fun, it definitely leans more into the ARPG style where romances feel a bit more pushed to the side in order to tell a certain story than the traditional Bioware/Larian RPG experience you've come to love.

Which is fine! Again, once I stopped thinking of Veilguard as a classic Bioware CRPG, and more like GOW/The Witcher, I found I was able to appreciate it a lot more for what it is. Things have to Happen A Certain Way for the narrative to work, and that's not a bad thing. DA2 was similar - it was a harrowing, personal tragedy about the Hawke family and their struggle to survive in Kirkwall.

Just like DA2, there are aspects of Veilguard that make me glad things happened the way they did. I'm not mad that Rook has so much dialogue without a ton of player input and you can't 'be evil' - because the game doesn't make sense if you can. At its core, Veilguard's narrative is centered around Regret, after all - you can't have an evil protagonist running around because Solas' Regret prison would never work (evil people don't generally tend to regret their actions...)!

Now, if you're expecting a long-winded, fully researched academic breakdown of every romance I'm sorry but that ain't happening tonight lol. This is not based in any fact, this is all opinion.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but sometimes it feels like the romances in this game (and I say this with the biggest grain of salt as I've only done Emmrich and Lucanis' - and am going through Neve's now), are just missing....something, to take them from good to great.

I loved Emmrich's romance. I thought it was very well done. I think a lot of people would agree it's one of the stronger ones in the game - doubly so if you play as a Mourn Watch Rook (you get a TON of MW specific lines going this route, it's great). His side romance with Strife if you don't get together is very cute, I enjoyed it. But as superbly well done as it was, somehow, I wouldn't even put it in my top 4 Bioware romances.

With Lucanis' romance - whatever my hangups may be about how it was handled, certain parts of his romance were done excellently (even better than some of the previous Bioware romances, I'd say). You can read more about my thoughts on his romance here which is why I'm not going into detail about it. Unlike Emmrich's, I would put it in my top 4 because I fell in love with the character that much (both in the game but really, I've loved him since Tevinter Nights), and I've grown very attached to my first Rook and him as a pairing. I've seen others share a similar sentiment on here (and I hate to say it but I agree) - sometimes it feels like I fell in love with Rookanis despite the way it was handled, not because of it. I can't say that for many other romances. While it's been fun to think up a lot of HC/write fics/make art about those abandoned concept sketches and parts where I felt the game could have showed us more of their dynamic, I can't help but feel like his (and other) romances would have immensely benefited from even 1 or 2 extra small scenes to flesh it out a bit more if they weren't going to let us freely talk to our companions.

The issue with the romances might also have something to do with the pacing of the game itself. I think Act 2 is where the pacing goes a bit awry, before picking back up in Act 3 (which is great, I love it).

Sometimes I also felt that there was a little too much reliance on codex entries and party banter to tell the story of the romance rather than showing it explicitly through cutscenes. I think that's what makes the romances feel a bit truncated at times, compared to the previous entries? Some of the romance-specific party banter was so good, it probably deserved its own cutscene. But it's also highly dependent on the party you have, and it's easy to miss/not trigger. I remember absolutely living for the cutscenes in the first three entries and I can't explain why I feel like, subjectively speaking, Veilguard just has less romance content (this may not be objective reality - I haven't compared the amount of romance specific content head to head with other games).

I also couldn't tell you why I feel DA2 doesn't suffer the same problems as DATV in terms of romance interaction - because you can't freely talk to your companions in that game either. Yet somehow, it always felt like I was getting enough of them to not notice that. I do miss being able to chat my LI's ear off and ask them questions about their life/their views/etc. like I could in DAO and DAI. I think it's a shame we can't because the companions in DATV are SO interesting. I want to ask them all a billion questions about their lives/stories/etc even if they're not my love interest. The party banter in this game is immaculate but being able to talk to them individually about this stuff would've been SO nice. I feel that I've missed out on SO MUCH of these characters just because I didn't have two of them in my party at the same time!

Anyway, I need to wrap this up.

In closing, perhaps, if I hadn't read that article about how it was going to be Bioware's most romantic game ... maybe I wouldn't feel this way? I think it sent my expectations through the stratosphere, and that's no one's fault but my own. Not Bioware, not EA, mine.

I know that this game's development cycle was a unique sort of hell that the other games didn't suffer. To go from Joplin -> Morrison -> Veilguard. To have so many of the original staff leave the team when Joplin got scrapped. To have to pivot from Live Service and then back to single person RPG. More lay-offs. It's a miracle this game got made. I'm happy I can sit around thinking about it. And I hope its successful enough that we get DA5 so we can all sit around dissecting that in 5-10 yrs time.

Don't get me wrong - I enjoy the Veilguard romances for what they are. I'm enjoying them more I play and discover additional banter/codex/etc that I missed the first time around. Like any Bioware romance, there are spots where they hit their stride, and spots where they falter a bit. When they hit their stride they knock it out of the fucking park. But when they falter, you can really feel it. Romance is hard to write! And you'll never fully please everyone.

But a small part of me wishes I'd gone in blind, and checked my own expectations a bit.

Maybe you agree, maybe you don't. Tell me about it. What was your experience with the romances? Did you also read that article and get your expectations up?

I hope this makes sense.

Kind regards good fandom folks,

Keep the discussion respectful. And please don't use this post as an excuse to just blatantly hate on the game.

-Rookie

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Bad Boys: Ride or Die

There is an important lesson being taught here to filmmakers that step into a franchise they are fans of. Fans of a franchise can be the most devoted and best choice to continue on the franchise, but if they are not in service of the story, the characters or the identity of the franchise, then they aren't the right one to take it on. You cannot come in with your own biases, agendas or what your idea of what the franchise is. True fans of a franchise know this and take that lesson to heart and deliver an outstanding entry and that's what this directing duo has done yet again. The Bad Boys franchise has always been about the classic buddy cop relationship that keeps you engaged in between the amazing action. This franchise has a strong beating heart of love and fun at its core and this film keeps that heart pumping at a hardy pace. The previous film was a welcomed return that had its moments of flare, stylistic action and comedy, but it focused on the story and the humanity of the characters first. That same elegance of storytelling continues in this new entry and it may be a bit more kinetic, sometimes overwhelming, but it still lands strongly in the category of greatness.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence return as our favorite dynamic duo Detective Lieutenant Mike Lowry and Detective Lieutenant Marcus Burnett and they haven't skipped a beat. The magnetic chemistry between them is what keeps you engaged and I loved that this film once again drives home that brotherly love they have for one another. Like the last film, they both deal with their mortality in a unique way as they are older now. Mike has an unexpected growth in personality and I loved that he isn't as perfect anymore. You see him deal with a personal disorder that he must overcome and it is pretty inspiring the way Will portrays it. Marcus gets a new lease on life and lets go of the whiney tone and actually has more pep in his step. In a sense, Mike and Marcus switched perspectives and role types as Marcus has become the more reckless and Mike has become the more cautious. I loved his spirituality which made for some great moments of comedy where Martin truly shined the brightest. Vanessa Hudgens and Alexander Ludwig return as AMMO teammates Kelly and Dorn and they were both fantastic yet again. They weren't an after thought and they both were a powerhouse in the action and held their own when on screen with Mike and Marcus. Paola Núñez was awesome yet again and now as Captain of the Miami PD, Rita Secada. I loved her strength in the film and her chemistry with Mike and Marcus is still strong. Its a mild spoiler, but I hated the fact that her and Mike didn't end up together. Ioan Gruffudd was good as Adam Lockwood and its always great to see him on screen. Joe Pantoliano is always a welcomed face and seeing him as Captain Howard one last time was heartwarming. Jacob Scipio returns as Mike's son, Armando Aretas and he was just as badass and deadly. I liked the strained avenue that Mike and Armando go down as their father and son relationship is slowly being built. Eric Dane enters the franchise as the new threat and I liked him as James McGrath. He was cunning, quick and brutal and wasn't about world domination. I liked the history behind the character even if his motivation was a bit boring. Dennis Greene returns as Reggie McDonald and he has always been the butt of the joke in the past films since his iconic entrance. I loved that in this film, he finally earns respect and he becomes the MVP of the film in an amazing scene.

Composer Lorne Balfe returns with an absolute knockout of a score. Not only does he have his unique touch of intensity, but he continued to incorporate, modulate and evolve the iconic Bad Boys score and themes by original composer Mark Mancina. It drives me up the wall when composers don't use the iconic themes of a franchise and I loved that Lorne kept it alive and flowing throughout the film in multiple variations. The action in this film was top of the line and felt classical in its practical execution. It was gritty, bloody fun that had me smiling from ear to ear. There is a bridge sequence that leads to the iconic Bad Boys shot, but that scene felt a little disjointed and dizzying in the placement of characters. There is a feeling of finality to the franchise as it sort of gives a loving look back at the past films with fun parallels and role reversals. Directing duo Adil & Bilall truly love Bad Boys and it shows in every inch of the screen from the action, the character development and comedy. They have done a magnificent job in delivering an even better entry than the last and I can't wait to own the 4K Bluray. This is definitely the best action film of the year so far! Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

[yaut-jaknowit]

YESS I GET TO BOTHER YOU AGAIN:D

Imagine the reader teaching their yautja mates/friends teenager some cool human fighting move you see in movies n shit (also have an awesome day ilyyy)

How to Fight

Pairing: Chopper (Male Reader) x Reader

Word Count: 1171

Summary: With a little luck, you were able to entertain yourself while on the mothership. Access to the internet was the best far from earth. Every night, you took it upon yourself to watch movies. Sometimes rewatching old ones or finding new releases. Until, one night, Chopper's buddies caught sight of what you were watching… It went downhill from there.

Author Note: I love when you come bother me! It's the highlight of my day. I didn't know what to with this one so I started in a random place and ran with it. The ball... well it ended up somewhere else I guess.

Masterlist

Ao3

All it took was one glimpse at a movie you were watching. Worst of all, it was Kung Fu Panda. The whole group was completely intrigued. Within moments, they’re sitting down next to your small frame, elbows on their knees with their chins resting on their fists. All of their eyes were zoned in on the holo screen in front of you.

With some trial and error with the earth’s internet and the Yautja’s network, you were able to figure out how to broadcast movies. As a human on a mothership full of Yautjas, there was a limit of what you could do. Safely. That part was key when it came to staying alive here.

From the rumors that have trailed across the ship, the only reason you’re alive is the fact your mate’s species sees you as his pet. Degrading as it is, you do your best to see the positives in the situation. Your mate, nicknamed Chopper, has lots of friends – you guess that’s the best word for it. They love to come over constantly.

Some of them like to tease you, especially on your size. Due to the translator that sits perfectly behind your ear, just below the skin, you are able to understand them. It’s not perfect but gets the job done well enough. In the end though, you didn’t take it to hard, coming to terms that’s how they are. In a strange, nonhuman way, its their way of showing that accept you. A positive in a situation that didn’t start out all that great. But hey, that’s a story for another time.

Currently, you were happily squished between the hard form of Chopper’s legs. His heavy torso was draped over your own, part of his weight put onto you. An arm as contently wrapped around your abdomen, keeping you secure to him. Chopper’s tresses created a curtain on either side of your head, as if narrowing you down to focus on the T.V.

After a few scenes of Po training and the others showing their skills off, Courtin – a new given to him, stood up abruptly. All eyes were on him. You had to draw the curtain of tresses out of your way to see Courtin. A brow was raised by you.

His mandibles chittered with speech. The translator was quick to start up. “These moves, I must learn them! Could aid us when we hunt, brothers,” he rallied his fellow Yautjas to stand up with him. Even, your sweet, dear Chopper took stand with him. You snorted at the declaration. “Ooman, laughs at me. Why? Think we Yautja can not learn these moves from a flick.” It took you a moment to realize what he meant by that last word. Again, not perfect.

“Courtin, it’s not that.” Now, you decide to rise to your feet and crossed yours arms. Before realizing that was a bad idea. Right, different social cues and body language, for the most part. “This movie is aimed for children, unbloodeds. It is meant to be silly and fun,” you explained to him calmly. The worst thing to do to a Yautja in their presence was to offend their pride and skill.

“You are all talented, blooded and whatnot. But these moves aren’t real. It just for the movie to be filled with action and tension.” All of their eyes were set on you.

Courtin stepped forward, enough to feel crowded within the group of eight Yautjas. Despite the fact he and any of the others were young, he still towered over you. Stupidly enough, Courtin leaned down to be level with you, hands grasping his knees. “You say these moves are useless?” he asks for you clarify.

For some reason, you feel a hair on edge. Though, they would never hurt you, per their honor code, it’s hard to forget they are predators. “In all honesty, yes. They are.” His three mandibles tapped against one another. Courtin stood up fully once more.

“Hmphf.” That made him sound so human. Maybe him and the others were learning a few human things from yourself. One could only hope. “Then, must find other media to consume. Ooman, show more.” Always demanding. You believed that was almost all of their species type.

From one rabbit hole to the next and over countless days, everyone – including yourself – believed they had learned enough. From movies. All from movies. Nothing else. Well, your mate and his friends would have a batter advantage than due to the fact they are trained predators. Yet, here you were, in a private kehrite with everyone.

The heat and humidity was killing you without much movement. Yet, when Jqal-od called upon you to step into the ring – one that reminded you of wrestling, you accepted. Though, they were more focused on the fighting parts of the movie… you focused on a different part. Those who were smaller than their enemies. Cliché, yeah. Guess what though, it works.

Not against someone two feet taller and highly trained. In theory, it works.

Jqal-od placed a heavy paw on your shoulder. You returned the gesture. Together, the two of you shook the other. Then, you two stepped a decent distance away from one another. You and him had your gaze set firmly on the other.

Silence entered the ring as everyone quieted down on their own accord. A deep breath filled your lungs with air before slowly exhaling. Jqal-od’s tongue darted out with a flick before hiding away again.

The next moment, the lean, yet clearly trained Yautja pounced like a leopard. Before you had time to react, let alone think of using a move from the movie, he had you simply pinned. Your back to the mate as he straddled your lower torso. One hand held your two high above your head. Even kicking your knees into his back, trying to hit something of importance did nothing. The Yautja barely reacted to the move.

All you could was stare blankly up at him. The Yautja in question leaned down, tresses creating a curtain. His top mandibles twitched. He was smirking in his own way. “What happened, little ooman?” he teased and snickered down at you.

He finally released you from his hold and stood up. With a hand, he held it out to you. You took it. Jqal-od easily tugged you off of the ground and onto your feet. You brushed off the invisible dust on your clothing and walked away to Chopper. Someone else took your place and challenged the Yautja.

“Well, that didn’t go to plan,” you grumbled and rested heavily on one foot, hips jutting at an angle now. Chopper snickered and placed a hand on top of your head. You turned to look up at him from underneath your brows. “What you laughing about?”

The Yautja just shook his head and patted yours with his hand. The two of you watched the scene in front of you unfold, as hilarious as it was. No one knew what they were doing.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: BaNaNa Boy

Debut: Mario Kart 8

In the past, we have gone over some of the most silly and notable fictional sponsors appearing in the Mario Kart series, but one has always stood out as the most a-peeling, even back then! That is none other than BaNaNa Boy. Who is this mystical Boy? Why does he capitalize such seemingly unimportant letters? Let’s discuss.

BaNaNa Boy is, I must assume, the provider of the Banana Peels that are so important to the Mario Kart series! It is quite obvious, I must say. The peel is in the logo, and the slogan, “Let one slip!”, refers to slipping on them. I am also reasonably certain that this slogan is based on the phrase “let one rip”, referring to farting. Awesome!

I have to wonder how BaNaNa Boy got their start! I don’t know how long lore-wise banana peels have been used for kart races. Maybe at first the Kongs were more than happy to donate their used banana peels for the races, but as the karting franchise grew and grew, they needed more, a dedicated provider... a BaNaNa Boy! Someone BaNaNas for Bananas! Or maybe it is a more humble origin, and BaNaNa Boy was a small novelty shop, providing banana peels and other items to prank your friends with. When a large amount of banana peels were needed, one of their loyal customers suggested this small business, and that was their big break!

It may seem like producing large quantities of bananas only to use their peels would be incredibly wasteful. But do not fret!

Let One Slip right down your esophagus! As seen if you look closely at the vending machines in Super Bell Subway, BaNaNa Boy sells beverages, presumably made with the peeled bananas! You can find them wherever you find canned water from Toad Harbor and canned Roy Smooth Sounds. I would also like to assume that BaNaNa Boy provides bananas for other establishments, like Coconut Cafe, which we also see in Super Bell Subway! I know I would love a BaNaNa muffin!

I have been writing “BaNaNa” so many times here. I love the wacky capitalization! It makes me pronounce it in my mind like “bah nah nah” rather than “banana”. Do you think it stands for something? I think it can be a sort of acronym, representing their three main products: Bananas, Nanners, and ‘Nas! All brought to you by a Boy. A Boy with a dream.

A Boy with a dream of stardom! Advertised in New York Minute, Da Big Apple itself, is BaNaNa Boy, the musical! The smash hit musical! Is BaNaNa Boy such a huge and popular brand that it has become a multimedia franchise? I like to think that it is not. It’s still just a banana supplier. But now it has a musical, and everyone loves it! Wouldn’t you want to see what it’s all about? I would!

Maybe it follows the story of the company’s rise to worldwide success. Or maybe it is an entirely fictional adventure about BaNaNa Boy the banana peel and his wacky friends... and foes! BaNaNa Boy would be the hero defending the banana trees and the entire ecosystem around them, and the whole thing would distract people from the actual environmental damage the brand is actually causing just like any corporation. What a fun spectacle! Visit the concession stand and treat yourself to a BaNaNa peel packaged in its own single-use plastic wrapper!

Did you know that Super Bell Subway contains this incredible city map? That’s the subway terminal itself in pink, with train lines leading out, and you can even see Toad Harbor in box A2, and Moo Moo Meadows in box D3!

And did you know that this city is, in fact, the one seen in N64 Rainbow Road? It is so so SO cool and awesome to see such continuity in a franchise where there is so often none at all! As a wise woman once said, “More like Mario Kart Lore!” But how is this relevant? Look at the first map again! It’s blurry, but the text on each side is the names of a whole lot of the sponsors seen advertising throughout the game! This is not just any city, but apparently a capital of the racing world, full of storefronts or maybe even headquarters of businesses from BaNaNa Boy to Undead Motors. Hey, BaNaNa Boy! That’s the one we were talking about before this tangent!

According to section A, BaNaNa Boy (misspelled Banana Boy) is located in box C3. The labels on the map itself are nearly unreadable, but as they list some the same businesses multiple times even in the same boxes, I am inclined to ignore them. So let’s look at box C3, home of BaNaNa Boy!

Here it is! Somewhere in this image is BaNaNa Boy (location). It certainly looks like all residential buildings to me, though! Are you telling me they did not want to take the time to model individual unique businesses on this background setting far away from the actual racetrack, and/or did not plan in advance that a DLC track would establish that these locations are unique in the first place? Preposterous! Clearly BaNaNa Boy works from home and you can come visit him. In real life!

One more thing! Mario Kart Tour is very insistent upon people playing as Miis, with multiple racing suits available, each treated as its own character. I am not a fan of most of these, as they are usually just based on a character who is already playable, so I would rather play as the real character! However, there are some really fun and creative ones based on other things from the Mario series, my favorite probably being this one based on the end-of-level castles! If they can make a suit based on this, surely they could make one based on Banana... and maybe even BaNaNa Boy itself, seeing as this game celebrates the sponsors wherever it can, to the point of even putting their stickers on some racing helmet! It would absolutely become the best racing suit to me instantly. You could pretend you’re playing as THE BaNaNa Boy! I love selling out! BaNaNa Boy paid me to write this post! (in exposure)

[unidentifiedseacreature]

They learn you're insecure

Freddy 🐻

- Believes the best people never realise they are

- Will not hesitate to remind you that you're awesome

- Nothing much changes since he always compliments his superstars

- But he becomes more pushy when you don't accept his compliments

- Lectures you when you insult yourself

- When you make a passing comment about everyone being his superstar, he cuts down on saying it so that you can know you're more special

Monty 🐊

- When you admit it to him, he admits that he is ashamed of his anger issues

- Understands that the last thing insecure people want is to be treated differently

- "That doesn't mean I'll go easy on ya"

- Doesn't bring it up unless you do

- Becomes more touchy when he teases you, to make sure you know he's joking

- Less bitter when you win games against him

- Puts you on his shoulders and calls you 'majesty'

- Makes sure everyone knows when you win something

Chica 🐔

- Encourages you to do things outside of your comfort zone

- Your number 1 fan

- Always adds a compliment when referring to you, such as:

'The incredible Y/N', 'The amazing Y/N' and 'The one and only Y/N'

- Believes people could always do with more of everything. More food, more play, more friends, more fun

- Tries to get you to do exciting things with her on bad days

- The first time you ever saw her insult someone was when you told her about something mean your boss said to you

Roxy 🐺

- The most understanding

- You confide in each other about your insecurities

- Encourages you to do affirmations

- Becomes less competitive around you because she knows you're in the same boat

- "You're amazing"

- "No, you're amazing"

- Feels bad that you're also insecure. You're awesome, you have no reason to feel unworthy.

- "Why do you like Y/N so much?"

- "Because they're the best"

- She says it like it's so obvious and they're an idiot to not know

Bonnie 🐰

- "Hey, don't worry about it. We all feel a little unhappy with ourselves sometimes, it's just that you feel it more"

- Puts more effort into including you and spending time with you

- Acts more goofy to cheer you up on bad days

- Finds it awkward to compliment people but always supportive

- Blames all of your problems on capitalism

Foxy 🦊

- "Thar's no point spending yer whole life dwellin' over yer insecurities. Thar's much better things to do"

- Tells you stories with morals of accepting yourself

- Gets more talkative to distract you on bad days

- "Do you like me?"

- "Thar's no point sailin' with people you can't call yer mates," He leans closer to you and grins. "Also helps that yer my favourite"

Sun ☀️

- "Aww friend, you don't have to worry about that"

- Frequently reminds you of how amazing you are

- Would easily list everything he likes about you

- "Nobody loves me"

- *Sun appears out of nowhere* "I love you!"

- "I have no friends"

- *Sun hangs down from the ceiling* "I'm your friend!"

Moon 🌑

- 'Y/N has so many strengths, the only thing that would make them think they weren't good enough would be if somebody else convinced them'

- Concludes that he must protect you at all costs

- Tries to get you to accept your weaknesses instead of disagreeing

- Gives you facts that you can't argue with

DJ Music Man 🎵

- Makes sure to encourage you more, even though that's usually just an enthusiastic thumbs up when you finish a task

- Glares and shakes his head when you insult yourself

- Plays music to distract you

- Encourages you to dance

- Wishes he could speak to compliment you

[vraisetzen]

Your ‘Notte Stellata’ is honestly super awesome. It’s one of the best written fan fictions that I’ve ever read for sure.

You are SO talented at plotting! This story was planned out and written so, so well. I can really tell that you’ve put a lot of thought into this story.

And you did the period justice! My gosh, that is honestly so rare! But you did such a good job — I think that’s super cool.

You are SO GOOD at characterising Kokushibo. I think that was honestly the best characterisation of Kokushibo that I’ve ever seen! I know it sounds silly, but I almost lament the fact that I’m done with this story because I’d love to go through this journey again with fresh eyes.

I must say — you have used some of the most interesting and stimulating descriptions that I’ve seen in a long while. I had to pause multiple times while rereading and reread passages because you’ve included such gorgeous thoughts and imagery.

And the way you write dialogue is phenomenal. Can I just say — isn’t it so cool that you’re able to tackle almost any character from ‘Demon Slayer’ and pay them due deference? You make them sound like themselves. I thought that Tengen was such a clever addition to the story.

But also… when I saw Kagaya and read his dialogue, it just cemented in my mind the fact that you really get these characters. Because yes, that is exactly what he would say.

Your story really bumped up Kokushibo to the top of my favourite characters from ‘Demon Slayer’ list. I think it’s incredibly cool how you gave him more depth and made him almost even more interesting than he is in the source material.

You are an awesome writer, truly. I would sincerely love to read more works by you if you choose to share your works with us.

Thank you for allowing me the chance to read and think about your story!! You are AWESOME! Wishing you only the very best.

Thank you for your lovely words! It's wonderful knowing that you enjoyed Notte Stellata!

Staying true to the time period is something with which I was especially insistent; it was important that the Reader's mannerisms and personal beliefs reflected fleeting, but pivotal time period that was the Taisho era. I'm a huge history nerd, so doing research for this fic was a lot of fun! And most of all, I'm glad that it helped with establishing a sense of realism throughout the fic.

Likewise, it's glad knowing that I captured the characters and their dialogue properly! In the case of this fic, which basically poses the question, How would Kokushibo, as the first Upper Moon, respond to falling in love with a human Slayer?, it was fun dancing the delicate line between personal headcanons and going back to the manga to understand how Gotouge would have done it. The same went for Ubuyashiki as well — although it was tempting to have him dismiss the Reader from the Corps, it seemed much more apt for him to do something entirely different from what the Reader expected.

And with that, the dialogue came in very naturally; I was initially concerned about sounding too Joss Whedon-ish, since Tengen and the Reader were quite quippy with each other, so I needed to make sure that there was an element of sincerity and honesty with these two older members of the Corps.

Lastly, I'm delighted to have bumped Kokushibo on to the top of your list of favourite KnY characters! He's my definite favourite for sure, and I think he is such a complex character that is often reduced to his worst aspects. In that sense, the Reader was a proxy for him to reexamine those human parts of himself that he gave up too easily in the pursuit of power and strength.

Thank you once more for sending this ask and for your kind, thoughtful review! I will definitely be writing more in future, with a Muzan fic in the works (though nothing too official), and I hope to do as well, if not better, in that piece. All the best to you too!

xoxo, V ♥️

[rascalentertainments]

Heya Rascal!! Gonna shoot you with the question laser beam now >:3

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

1. What songs do you think best suits each character?

2. Is WG!Star the first ever Wishing Star or just the first one to come down to Earth? Are there others like him?

3. Are we gonna see the 7 teens as a group or one by one? What’s their role in the story and do they have any jobs?

4. How did the Royal Couple come to adopt Sabor?

5. What if I tell you that there’s going to be an RFTS!Flazino to accompany yours? ;) He won’t have much of a big role like yours but he exists~

This is all I could think of at the moment. Might ask more later on. Hugs from me ^^

Hey there! I'm ready for your question beam! 😂

Let's see, for Asha it would be "How Far I'll Go" and "Ready as I'll Ever Be" for the passion for her family and wanting to fight back. Star would be "What a Wonderful World" and "Out There". the Royal Couple would have "Evil Love" and "They're Only Human" The rest of the character songs are a work in progress!

Oooo, I've been waiting for a question for that! The Wishing Star is a legend amongst the stars, always hearing rumors about one granting wishes for not just humans that wish upon them....but also other stars. So the idea is that Star is the first star nomad to come down to Earth, but he must ask: can he really stay here with Asha? The others do have the potential to do the same, but no one else has had the drive to actually go down there amongst the humans. (Star's cousin wanted to meet the dinosaurs and other animals, but that's about it). The biggest thing that helped him get to Earth is in fact Asha's spirit. However, by the end of the story, the people will have a Wishing Star to call on.

3. The 7 Teens will be introduced one by one, and end up coming together as a group when they need to help Asha save Rosas and the people. Each of them play their role by knowing the inner workings of Rosas, like Flazino. Asha hasn't been in Rosas' in years so she doesn't remember anything about how to navigate there. The biggest helps from the Teens would be Dhalia, Simon and Dario. About 5/7 of them have jobs. Gabo is more of the city's conspiracy theorist that the rulers are evil, but since no one believes him, the rulers don't seem as a threat and brush it off. Dario is a self proclaimed comedian/actor trying to cheer up the wish deprived citizens from looking depressed. Its not much progress, but he tries.

4. They actually found him during their journey to Rosas. They traveled around the world finding other spellbooks and texts from other countries, so upon reaching the Ibreian Peninsula, Amaya found Sabor as a cub he seemed to be alone and his mother was nowhere to found (presumably hunted). Amaya couldn't bare to see him be helpless so she took him in, raised him to be a cunning and hunting feline she knew he could be, but also have a royal presence and strike fear into people without raising a paw. Sabor considers Amaya his mother, but Mags is just extra at most to him.

5. OH COOL! That would be awesome, since I've only seen him be used in one other story. I'm curious how RFTS!Flazino would interact with WG!Flazino, since the latter has a lot on his plate trying not to get caught or killed working for two narcissistic rulers. He's so stressed out...😂 (I'll be showing his design sometime next month!)

That was so fun! Thanks, @flicklikesstuff for the great questions and hugs! Sending love your way too! 😉

[amazing-spider-man-book-club]

The Amazing Spider-Man #7

Published: December 1963

Containing: "The Return of The Vulture"

Synopsis: The Vulture returns with an augmented magnetic flying device immune to mechanical interference, and goes on a new series of heists as Peter has to deal with a sprained arm after blindly going into battle.

Read alongside us here:

@frankendykes-monster : This might be the lightest issue we've covered yet in terms of narrative depth. We have officially reached a point where a "standard" Spider-Man story that's easily recognizable regardless of date of origin or medium is born.

The Vulture is making his second and final stint as a solo villain in this run, and admittedly I might miss him. I think many adaptations miss something by not focusing on the fact that he's a machinist, probably a consequence of so many Spider-Man villains existing now that it's easy to shuffle around characterizations and motivations, not that this original incarnation of the character is three-dimensional or anything. I feel like this is one of the first major instances of "lost in translation" between Ditko and Lee because that's the only explanation I can muster up for me just not getting exactly how The Vulture's powers work. I assumed that the magnetic device is basically levitation and that the wings are for steering in mid-air, but the wings being gummed up at the end nullifies his ability to fly? Who knows. His hands being free and thus him being able to hold a gun is a chuckle worthy sight.

Betty Brant is thrust a bit more into the role of Peter's primary love interest of the run as of this issue, with the finale being a focus on them and their burgeoning taking-notice of one another. It feels natural as we're still in the very early stages (read: the talking stage). While the letters pages usually don't reveal anything of note that needs to be brought up here, I do find it funny that one reader asks that Peter have a proper girlfriend that's a bad bitch and up to date on the latest music trends. Give it a few years, Sidney, it's coming.

Probably the most notable thing about this issue is how much Ditko gives it his all in terms of fleshing out the environments, the fights across the skyline or inside the Daily Bugle make the similar brawl inside the high school from #4 look downright drab in comparison. There's a lot more time dedicated to onlookers unable to do anything in the face of costumed persons fighting in mid-air above them, it lends itself to a great realization of three-dimensional space even when page space only has room for the fight or the reaction to it. We finally find out that Peter lives in Forest Hills, in Queens, on Long Island, which furthers highlights how huge NYC is and how quaint it must be in some way to see Spider-Man and The Vulture fight above rooftops overhead.

@duel1971 : Fun! I think about half of my favorite Ditko art I’ve seen on this journey so far is contained in this one issue. Every panel shines with a brilliant grasp of anatomy, action, weight, proportion… it’s awesome. The Vulture is sort of a boring villain on paper, in my opinion, but his striking visual design and the incredible action sequences made me forget that entirely. We also get our best close-up yet of Spider-Man’s web shooter, showing off how nifty and clean its design is.

The best action set-piece in this story involves Peter fighting the Vulture in the Daily Bugle offices while the staff scrambles for cover and Jonah has a breakdown. If I’m not mistaken this is the first time a villain has come directly to JJJ’s office, making a somewhat historic precedent.

There’s not much to talk about here in terms of new story developments (other than Peter sharing a moment with Betty Brant) but the action and script are so tight and well-done that it’s hard to say anything negative about it. This issue to me feels like a well-earned victory lap after eight issues of consistent innovation.

[slymewitch]

Christmas Carol autism rant

Honestly of all the stories and songs and such that get oversaturated during christmas, I unironically enjoy how many versions of A Christmas Carol there are. Not only because its a good story in general, but because unlike something like Rudolph, every single version has a uniqueness to them. The simplicity of the plot allows for so much messing around with the setting, the timeline, the mood, its all so malleable. And then there are the characters. Scrooge, Marley, and the ghosts specifically are all fairly simple archetypes, but because of their simplicity, each variant of the story can expand on said archetypes however they want, heck they can even completely zigzag the archetypes and put something completely different in the slot of one of the characters. Especially for the ghosts. Usually they’ll just go with the archetypes of angel, santa, death, but every single version gives the trio their own flavor. An angel can be a lot of things, like a girl, or a candle, or a dirty taxi driver, or the Eleventh Doctor. But Scrooge himself is probably the most interesting. Compared to the other characters in the story, he’s the one that changes the least between each adaptation on the surface. Grumpy old man, hates christmas, greedy, bad childhood, bad friends, bad breakup, the works. These guidelines are mostly unflinchingly rigid, but the exact brand of bitterness, and the details of the events, are left up to whoever’s writing. My favorite version by far though is unironically the Muppets version. Unlike most other adaptations, Scrooge doesn’t seem that hateful in that version. He still does the same greedy and evil crap as the other Scrooges, but he isn’t as angry as the rest are. You don’t get the impression that he hates anyone, and he seems more depressed than anything else. Even when he outright says that poor people should die, he just sounds done. Like he’s only saying it because he doesn’t care enough to filter what he says. And of all other Scrooge’s he’s the most willing to change. When he’s shown his past he immediately brightens up upon seeing simpler, more familiar times. When hes with the ghost of christmas present and sees the cratchets and his nephew, he makes the least wisecracks of any other Scrooge, and seems genuinely hurt by how lowly people think of him. And when yet to come arrives, he goes with him willingly, knowing that this is something he must face if he wants to be saved. Oh yeah, if you can’t tell, the muppets version is my favorite, the Marleys scene solidified Statler and Waldorf as my favorite muppets and is easily the highlight of the movie for me. But for some close contenders, George C Scott’s version is definitely the creepiest version Ive ever seen and it gives a lot more context about Scrooge’s life than most others. The Ghost of Christmas present is surprisingly intimidating, and dear GOD yet to come gives me chills. It’s strange how much mileage you can get out of a creaking gate sound effect. The Doctor Who version is also a personal favorite for being both weird and clever at the same time. Weird because its on an alien planet where sharks float in the air and can be used to drive chariots, but still SUPER clever for how it screws around with the story. I dont want to spoil too much, mostly because I want an excuse to not explain how bonkers the story is, but the way they mess with the “past present and future” theming is genius, because of course it was this is doctor who we’re talking about. And of course theres Spirited which is also extremely clever with how it messes with the story, but is also just really fun and charming to watch.

I’ve already written so much that I do not have the energy for a well written conclusion so uh, my point is that Christmas Carol adaptations are awesome despite the fact they probably shouldn’t be, and um…stay hydrated!

[tonariofjananda]

For the ask game: Tonari - 5, 7, and 12!

Heya Ray! Ok here goes

5) What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Honestly I’ve got a handful, most for maybe a line or two of association, but the first one that came to mind when reading this question that’s completely hers in my head was “The Moon Will Sing” by the Crane Wives. I love imagining the song as her reflecting on her dad, friends, Hayase, and Fushi, and how they’ve all contributed to the way she feels about herself and her legacy. Fun fact, the association came about from my mishearing of a line as “I shine only with the life you gave me,” the original word being “light” instead of “life.” But the more I reflected on the song, the more I felt her presence in it (I described this to my best friend as Tonari clawing her way to the surface lol), especially in the third verse. That one in particular draws a really vivid image to me of what Tonari’s headspace must have been right after Fushi pulled her away from the flames. I imagine she’s remorseful that she couldn’t give her friends a better life and is rallying to find her courage to kill them before Fushi steps in. “Instead you hoarded all that’s left of me” is a complicated little line too, filled with the bitterness and confusion at Fushi of keeping her from death. There’s not much left of her with the death of her friends, what Fushi did was selfish, but also implies Tonari didn’t realize Fushi cared if she lived or died. Then he takes the sword from her hands, “swallowing your doubt,” and she’s… grateful, angry, upset… but most of all, she acknowledges the mutual hesitance between herself and Fushi, even though they both know this is the only course of action. Even though it makes her feel like he’s taking the sword through her own body. He might as well be. The line “I want to feel the fire that you kept from me” is the most straightforward in my opinion, and what really solidified this song as being hers for me. It’s a little funny what I’ve done here tbh. The song probably meant the line as “i want to become the person you stopped me from being, I want to regain the life that was supposed to be mine,” but for this Tonari interpretation, I’ve given it the opposite implication… cough

Anyway, the chorus also kind of ties in with another song I somewhat associate with her, “Your Best American Girl” by Mitski, for the lines “Well I’m not the moon/I’m not even a star,” but I’ll spare you the analysis for that and “Goodbye My Danish Sweetheart” (also by Mitski) til… later 👀❗️

For now, I’ll leave you with the three following, lighter songs: Laufey called “Best Friend,” which I listen to as something directed towards the immortal army as a whole; “Wings,” by So!YoON! and Phum Viphruit as a song between her and Ligard and Fushi woah who said that; and “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri bc immortalism and the heartbreak of waiting to reunite with someone. Also please imagine the second verse as being from Fushi’s perspective on getting not just her but all of their friends back at the end of the past era arc with potentially rough implications for their thought process in the modern arc WHO SAID THAT

7) What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

(Lyn asked me this too so I’ll cover it here for the two of ya!)

Tbh… I just like it when anyone talks about her ówò Tonari tends to get overlooked- even tho I’d argue she’s something of a deuteragonist- so I really just love whenever people acknowledge her importance to the story and show some enthusiasm for her plotlines. In terms of stories and fan art, it’s always awesome to see all the different sides of her shine through! Tonari’s badass, bitchy, and a little judgmental, but she’s also fashionable, studious, and warm, especially toward March and Eko. It’s also nice to see the occasional silliness she used to show on Jananda shine through every now and then. She’s changed a lot by the next arc, for obvious reasons, but she was pretty silly to Hisame when she was inviting herself to dinner, I don’t think all that playfulness should just disappear! So it’s nice to see fans playing with Tonari without vilifying her ;w; Also without reducing her to her feelings for Fushi, because yeah she has some but that’s not the only thing she’s about (even tho…. I fixate a lot… on that particular subject……… cough). While I’m on the subject, I really love that most ToFu art is limited to things like gentle physical affection. A head on a shoulder (I spent hours running around my house when you sent me that pic Ray, HOURS), a meaningful hug, and touching hands- an absolute must if you like em. I’m definitely getting carried away now though…

12) What's a headcanon you have for this character?

(Limit yourself, limit yourself, limit yourself…!!!)

(Also Coop if you’re reading this, the green one is the only safe one lol)

Bisexual Tonari is an obvious one, I’m convinced she was attracted to Parona’s form (who isn’t in this show tho lmao), and I find those ship posts between Tonari and Mizuha to be so fun tbh. Enemies to lovers maybe, invited to hold hands with her and Hanna! That theory you had about Nagisa having a crush on Tonari lives in my head rent free too, absolutely canon to me. Actually the MizuNariHanna stuff would be extra funny in a world where Nagisa has a crush on Tonari bc now Mizuha’s a girl stealer too! Nagisa just can’t win!!!

Tonari loves writing! And she’s a woman in STEM! Not a headcanon just fact but it lays down the groundwork for my following headcanon: she probably went away to grad school or something. Bon asked if Tonari knew how to do surgery, implying to my insane head that she’s probably gone away for school or something, maybe even received a doctorate, but Bon doesn’t know what for. Her stitches look a bit spaced out and wonky tbh, so she probably doesn’t have the patience for things like needlepoint. I’d wager her calling probably isn’t physical art either haha.

She absolutely goes drinking with the immortal trio + Bon and maybe Gugu once she’s old enough to do so (… would Hairo drink? Designated driver Hairo Rich, but also it’d be so funny if he’s completely normal in the stupidest way while drunk. “Stands like perfectly normal but topples over the second he goes to take a step” typa drunk- BUT THIS ISNT ABOUT HIM SORRY). I think they’d love having Tonari around to pal around with! I imagine that old Jananda arc silliness comes out full force then, if her excitement at Mizuha’s birthday was anything to go off ✌️

(This one’s safe Coop!) Her hair’s been short and choppy since before she got to Jananda so I like to think she did that little kid thing where she tried cutting her own hair and it came out looking uneven. Instead of letting her parents fix it though, she just insisted it wasn’t a mistake and wore it out like that for years. Then when she got to Jananda all the scissors sucked so she just had to keep cutting her hair in the same shabby way. Mia and Oopa having long hair is so funny to me too cuz I imagine they wouldn’t let Tonari get anywhere near them with scissors in her hand (OK stop reading here Coop!)

While I’m here, i think Tonari probably sees a little bit of her old friends in the immortal army tbh. Like, @/alphaofdarkness made the connection that March probably reminded Tonari of Oopa ;; So I feel like Gugu could remind Tonari of Uroy in some ways too, like in the buff, blond, older brother figure kind of way. Eko could remind her of young Sandel in the same way both were kind of upbeat and cute, but quiet in a way that they faded a little in the group (my brother INSISTED Sandel had NOT been there the entire time we were watching the Jananda arc). Meanwhile Messar might remind her of the older Sandel, the kind who probably was more like a brotherly shithead to her after all their years of growing up together. And Mia… imma be honest Mia’s weird as hell, chair fighting, curly hair collecting? Ain’t nobody doing it like Mia ��� ACTUALLY ITS BON, BON TOTALLY REMINDS HER OF MIA LMAO

OK IM ENDING IT THERE (Believe it or not this is me limiting myself, I’d typed out an entire section on Tonari’s relationship with each of the members of the immortal army). Hope these were decent enough responses to your questions Ray!

If you- or anyone- has anymore questions on Tonari or literally anyone else please feel free to send them! I have thoughts on like literally everyone, no character too obscure ✌️

[clairelsonao3]

AITA for being suspicious of my boss/ brother's new protege? (Tag Game)

Another awesome open tag I haven't seen anywhere else, and I had to jump on from @smzeszikorova. This one was hilarious and gave me an opportunity to do the unreliable narrator thing and get into the POV of one of the villains from Good Slaves Never Break the Rules, although, for the maximum fun factor, I wrote it as if it could be a real letter from someone in our world.

Instructions: Write an AITA question from the POV of one your OCs.

This one's kind of involved, I know, but if anyone wants to try it, it's a good character-building exercise! Gently tagging:

@romanceandshenanigans @mysticstarlightduck @tabswrites

Anyway, for anyone who hasn't read the story and doesn't care about spoilers (or even if you have), I'm curious, based just on this, who do you think is the asshole here:

My half-brother (45M) and I (41F) are the most important people in each other's lives.

Below the cut are possible spoilers for Ch. 22 onward and mentions of noncon, trauma, and child abuse:

We were subject to severe abuse as children and our bond was the only reason we survived. Although we lost touch for a few years as kids, we eventually reconnected after he became financially successful. He's been a mentor to me ever since and even paid for my entire education, and now I work for him in his multimillion-dollar business as his head of research and development. I'm leading up a project that means a lot to both of us personally, a project so important it could disrupt the entire economy and change people's lives for the better all over the world. Achieving it is our lifelong dream!

The problem is, he's recently hired this new guy (19M) -- who has no formal education and has never even held a job, by the way -- who he seems convinced is scientifically gifted and that he is determined to make his protege in the business. They're hanging out together all the time and seem to be becoming BFFs. Plus, he's paying this guy almost as much as he pays me, gave him money for a brand-new designer wardrobe, and even a Porsche! And he's always talking about how great this new guy is; it's like he thinks he's the son he never had or something.

But I'm convinced the new guy is a complete fraud who must have somehow conned my brother into hiring him. First of all, he's telling my brother that I'm mentally unstable and I threatened and assaulted him (okay I admit it, I did, but it wasn't my fault! I'm traumatized from a childhood full of abuse and have trouble controlling my impulses sometimes. I'm working on it in therapy -- or at least I was before I got thrown out for allegedly trying to grope my therapist, but it was all just a misunderstanding.)

Even worse, the new guy is always snooping around the office and going places he shouldn't. He claims he's looking for his missing sister (17F), who used to work here, but I don't know anything about that! He's even gone so far as to claim that I'm defrauding the company and exploiting and harming the young women who work for me, which is ridiculous. In exchange for them helping me with my research, I'm giving them money, housing, support, and a better life than they ever dreamed of, which is more than I got as a child!

Bottom line, I think he's a liar, a con artist, and is trying to alienate my brother from me so he can take over the business and destroy everything we're building.

I told my brother everything, but he doesn't believe me! He claims I'm just jealous and paranoid and that I must just want to bang this guy (okay, maybe, but that's beside the point, and besides, I feel that way about pretty much everyone. What can I say, I have a healthy sex drive). And also that I'm just trying to distract my brother from the fact that my project is stalled and making no headway -- even though everyone knows groundbreaking research takes time and can't be rushed!

I can't believe my brother isn't supporting me in this. He knows how fragile and traumatized I am, but he sometimes forgets, which is why I try to remind him of it as much as I can. AITA for being afraid of losing my brother and everything we've worked so hard for?

[mellowwhumps]

looks at you with my big blue eyes

Do your characters have any cool facts about their hair? Do they represent anything? Hair lore :3

big blue eyed blahaj guy is in my askbox LETS GOOOOOO HELLO LEM!!!! LOVE THIS ASK (check out his writing btw!! very awesome!! he’ll be doing an oc intro post soon as well so stay tuned)

YES!! yes all of them have hair lore it’s so fun i planning out hairstyles that are development-related…it’s so fun. scuffed question btw i know what you are (the correct answer is in my dms as the voice whispering in my ear to write)

also i stole your divider. mwahaha

————☆————

Haley - for the most part he keeps long hair because it’s natural…but because he’s so adamant on it being related to balance, not wanting any external factors to affect his perforrmance in battle, he doesn’t ever cut it. and this is meant to represent a lack of change! 

beyond a certain point he does start exploring other hairstyles even if he still doesn’t cut it, showing how he still is the same, mistakes can’t just be cut off like hair, but he shows an acceptance for growth and moving on!!

and of course i have to mention the braids!! because originally they are also a symbol of the past (with elowen, he braids them because they obscure his face when fighting + elowen is the one who taught him how) but they are also part of ria!! in the end, he is a mishmash of everyone he has ever loved

————☆————

Halcyon - her current hairstyle is extremely screwed up because if you actually imagine it untied one side is much much longer than the other!! and this also does have a part in her story too

because she’s been living on the streets for so long (old oc…generic backstory is a must but she’s so precious to me), her hair just got really really unkempt. split ends, everything, semi-long, and obviously that doesn’t give a good impression. so!! cerilux (her commander/senior) tells her to cut it! and, yknow, typically she would have obliged because she was a heavy people-pleaser…but halfway through she disagrees

and this does show the competence of cerilux for giving her a choice, since this is very important in halcyon’s character development!! since cerilux would have wanted her to have short hair like most of the other male recruits, since that’s the norm. but she wants to make that difference. 

the half that has long hair is sympathy for the others like her, the half that has short hair is the one that wants to protect, the one that, no matter how conformative, is still an act of change.

and of course her hair color! which is a very unnatural kingfisher-feather shape of blue (the bird she was themed off of). but actually the kingfisher’s feathers aren’t blue, but brown! no matter how much she’s idolized as a hero, perhaps, this is still her. she is no queen, unlike the one she serves. she’s just doing her job. but still she’s special, and so many other things that makes others admire her just as it is. in the end, nobody cares.

————☆————

Twelve - in querencia, their hair was LONG. like to the floor long. once again it is so messy. nobody cared about them, at least. but verrill doesn’t care. verrill spends half a day trying to maintain it since he knows they still don’t want to cut it even if they don’t say it. braids it, even, combs fingers through the hair of someone nobody else would touch. he cares so much about them even if that act was dooming them both…ouh

stuff goes down. verrill’s gone. and they still had that braid, really, never did want to fully take it out. they can’t remember why, the phantom of some caring touch in their memory. because no matter how much their memories fault and fade, other things sometimes don’t. by all means, they can’t let go, even if it is a hindrance. 

eventually, it is cut, though!! they don’t want to be burdened by it anymore. it shows their longing for something more, something better, something real.

never mentioned this to anyone before (very old concept), but in querencia, long hair is seen as weak! since it covers skin and makes them look less vulnerable, less free. hair is a confine, and though they do want short hair, they never could ask for it. they were weak before, but now they know how not to be while still being weak. on earth it isn’t the same and will never be the same, because dystopias and utopias aren’t earth.

maybe that’s why they liked emmei in the first place, because emmei gives them a place to be weak and they do the same in return. in the end, they’re both trying to live their own lives.

————☆————

Verrill - once again, long hair in his hometown was seen as weak! and of course he doesn’t want to be that way, so it’s kept mostly short. oh, but that isn’t the case. 

the front part of his hair is still long, still obscuring. he wears a scarf/cape to hide the parts of his neck that aren’t covered. he is not meant to escape. he is not strong enough to escape, despite him having so much compassion in him. he’s shackled.

it’s still hope. he hopes that one day people just will stop caring. one day something will happen, things will change. nothing happens. that’s what drove him to release twelve from their cage.

hope never changed anything for him. because of his act, he causes the downfall of an entire city. nonetheless, his hope does indirectly affect the one person he wants to save semi-positively. selfish, but it’s enough for him. in the end, he’s not a saint or a hero, just verrill. the warmth of the sun in winter, no matter how much it burns.

————☆————

Ria - not much here, actually! but the colors of her hair are dual-toned since she’s essentially a mix of the two kingdoms focused on in the main story!! a symbol of harmony, if you will. blue for hampton, the kingdom by the sea, and brown for irecel, the landlocked kingdom!!

silly fun fact she does the braid for herself because she learnt from watching haley!! while she does learn from him she won’t ever explicitly ask him to help her either, and that’s something that will be worked on :))

she has clips pinning her hair to the side as well because just like haley, she’s cautious on instinct and any threat can and will trigger a fight-or-flight response, so she doesn’t want hair to obstruct at least one of her eyes. but it’s not full coverage, because in the end, she’s still a child and still messes up.

————☆————

Elowen - honestly since his hair is the exact same for the first arc of the au with 🫵lem i have and it’s similar plot i’ll just. use the au LMAO (yes i know you’ve heard this before lem. do i care no i’ll say it again.)

so yes! his braid was originally at the back because that is a remnant of his past! his hair isn’t naturally too curly he just kinda. does it. and straight hair is easier to braid anyways!! but because it resembles a ponytail like naeri’s he just couldn’t wear it like that anymore when he left to form the syndicate.

but he does still keep the braid. because just like haley (or rather haley is just like him) he can’t fully let go of that past. in the original universe he died with the braid at the back because there is no change, he’s as stationary and closed-off as ever, but in this au i do allow him to!! 

and i was thinking that when the timeline ends he goes back to the braid at the back. because no, it’s not that he doesn’t want to change, it’s more of honoring the dead and learning to move on with the past, facing it headfirst and breaking through. in the end, the past does shape the future. which is also why i nicknamed the au ‘futures past’!! once again subject to change but fun fact of the day

————☆————

Ida - woah new ocs i swear i’ll do an intro post soon…anyways!! hard to describe it but yeah it’s undercut hair and yes is it really mello if i don’t try to relate it to identity

because!! he served in the military and the right side of his hair, which is cut, is meant to symbolise his time there! the part of him that he doesn’t know how to deal with, something that he can’t part with because it’s what changed him the most. and the left side of his hair which is left long is meant to symbolise his present! 

my honest thought process was i make this guy look as mascfem as possible because yes he is trans and no i do not know how to write dysphoria whump so this is the second best thing. have fun lem.

and yes! he does have a dark-purple streak in his hair. while he wants to rebel and be different from the others, it is still the purple of auxili’s (the laboratory he works for) logo. just like his entire outfit honestly…in the end, he is forever in control by them!!! he simply cannot escape! and that’s also some sort of screwed up metaphor for his identity as well. and also he’s a foreigner so that’s also symbolism. go get him yuuto 💥

————☆————

Ibys - another new character! ida’s fault this time for their hairstyle!! they refused to let him get close at first, but then one time ida was bored and he just. kind of started doing it. it’s not even out of care or anything, because he will always view ibys as a tool (he has to), but he braids their hair. (and they’re touch starved…)

after that, they just kind of assume that’s what he wants it to be like, so every day they turn up with that exact same hairstyle. ida obviously doesn’t notice because it isn’t really his job to care, as long as they can do their job he doesn’t mind. so that’s just how it is. after everything ends i like to think ida has a good laugh about it

however, as it is, their hairstyle wasn’t very good for seeing. so? solution? headband! since ida doesn’t really want to chop off their hair knowing they’d agree anyway. so now the headband’s just part of their attire.

it’s really symbolic in a sense since it shows their dedication towards him…since the hairstyle is extremely complicated, a mishmash of braids and random accessories, yet they do it every day. ida’s influence on them is extremely large since their last handler wasn’t exactly too kind, and yknow. 

parting hair to braid is just such an extremely intimate thing and for it to be done without any sort of emotion towards it on one side, while sparking the first semblance of freed emotion on the other…well. it’s complicated, but in the end still beneficial.

————☆————

and that’s it!! once again thank you for the ask lem…actually made me think about my characters more that’s crazy

[howdytheresam]

Howdy there! Welcome to the Slenderverse Riptide au. For those from the Daily Jay you might’ve seen mod Kian make a few art posts about it. The mod is a collaboration between me and Kian and I’ll be providing a little bit of context into what the au is!

Much of this au takes inspiration primarily from Marble Hornets, but also some bits from Every Man Hybrid. This post is an overview of what the characters are in this au and what the general idea is. If people were genuinely interested I would be happy to dip my hands into an actual story and more art from me to go with it. :]

Overview:

Set with the crew of Riptide in a regular world, three college kids create a youtube channel where they post random mixed content varying of the style of pranks, vlogs, and other little videos. Creator of the channel Chip is joined by his two friends Jay and Gillion as they set to create content they enjoy alongside friends and occasionally some family.

Their usually fun content shifts however, with a figure appearing in the back and some characters experiencing odd happenings. It doesn’t help old mysteries arise and new ones constantly fight against the three friends.

Despite it all the camera stays rolling. It can never be turned off. Who knows what could go undocumented.

Character descriptions:

Jay Ferin:

(Based on Jay Merrick and a little bit of Tim Wright from Marble Hornets.)

A twenty-one year old mechanical engineer student pressured for her choices by most of her family, Jay Ferin is the Riptide Youtube channel certified camera holder and editor. Having the steadiest hand among the group she’s usually the one standing behind the camera just so the other two don’t drop it. This makes her the primary character the viewers follow, but not every time is it her.

In general Jay handles most of their technological related projects and is almost always the editor of their videos. A skill she’s been building on since she was little and hopes to pursue more.

Jay is from the Ferin family, a rather well known family in the town of Featherbrook. The Ferin’s aren’t only known by name, they are also known for the unsolved mystery of the disappearance of Ava Ferin, Jay’s older sister, and the whispered disappearance of Drey Ferin many years ago. There have been times Jay has wanted answers for her sisters disappearance but she’s never been able to figure out where to start…

Since she was a child her best friend has been Kira who grew up close by. After the disappearance of her sister, Kira moved away and the two lost contact.

Although Jay is the cameraman of the group she later requests they don’t keep the camera on in showing sensitive information and personal moments. It’s both in respect to her and others who appear on the channel. This, however, does not turn the camera off.

Chip

(Based on Jay Merrick from Marble Hornets and Vinny from Every Man Hybrid)

Chip is a nineteen year old film student who intends to make it big one day starting with the totally hit and awesome youtube channel called Riptide. He is also the primary holder of the YouTube account and writes most of their planned script videos.

Having been orphaned most of his life Chip has gained quite the skill in thievery, in fact, their camera is stolen. He’s also good at lock picking and cheating on the occasional test. It’s a skill that helps save a little extra occasionally, but might just save his life.

One of his previous caretakers, Arlin James, went missing years ago in a never solved case. Chip secretly believes Arlin is out there, he just needs to be found. It’s the reason Chip is ever so slightly drawn into investigating Kuba Kenta.

It’s his belief that the camera must document everything that happens to them, even if maybe it would be best to turn it off. He’s the one, even when Jay leaves temporarily and refuses to record, Chip continues to record their findings. Investigating the unknown may just be the answer to finding the closest person he had to a father figure.

Other than that Chip has no family besides the closest being an adopted sister named Lizzie. The contact is off and on, and in recent times Chip hasn’t seen her in a while. If she comes back though she may make a great guest to the channel.

Gillion Tidestrider

(Based on Tim Wright and a mix of Every Man Hybrid characters) (warning of hospital mentions nothing in depth)

Gillion Tidestrider is newer to the town of Canella looking at his major options in college. Having lived a more isolated childhood he’s a little awkward around his peers but settles in with Chip and Jay.

Being more built out of the group he often helps with lugging around equipment. Gillion is also better known for being the improv of the group unintentionally.

Gillion’s childhood was one spent in and out of children’s hospitals. A lot of it is blocked from his memory, not until the figures in the woods begin to show up again.

Later in the story Gillion experiences something similar to Tim Wright with Masky, as a figure with a fish mask appears in some videos with Gillion not present. This figure is nicknamed Champion until later discovered its Gillion. Gillion himself is completely unaware of the things he does as Champion.

He doesn’t live by himself, living with his older sister Edyn. Much like the other two he shares a missing relative, his grandfather Finn. His memories of Finn aren’t much but sometimes he’s curious how they would have gotten along.

Kuba Kenta:

(Slenderman / the operator)(Mention of hallucinations without detail)

A strange figure in the background of the videos, complete with backwards hands, causes hallucinations and technology glitches. Kuba Kenta is this universes Slenderman, haunting behind the scenes. Nobody can get close enough to figure out what it is.

While Kuba Kenta is an antagonistic figure he is not the main threat the characters face. It just so happens he lends a hand in that and sets multiple things into motion. The characters believe that he is the reason for their suffering, and seek to find ways to terminate him.

Who knew all it took was setting the damned camera down and leaving things as they were?

Other major characters/canonized roles:

Kira, Lizzie, Alphonse, Gryffon, Ava, Edyn, May and Jayson Ferin, Niklaus Hendrix.

Minor characters/in the works:

Ollie, Queen, Ensa, Earl

Anyone not mentioned has no specific place yet and may be added as the au becomes more rounded out.

Annnd that’s the main au! There are plenty of unfinished and extra bits. Mainly just wanted to cover the main characters plus Kuba Kenta himself. Like most Slenderverse stories if this were to become a full fleshed plot line would be more focused on the humanity of the characters versus Kuba himself.

If there are questions feel free to ask! Open book story-teller here. I’ll be happy to answer anything from characters to general ideas. :]

(Shout out to daily Jays out there! Hope this adds context to some of the posts on there!)

[millaneyy]

Why TOTK Ganondorf is the best Ganondorf in the series

This became a bit of an essay by accident hehe

Goes without saying: HUGE MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE FINAL BOSS AND ENTIRE STORY!!! All the gifs used are my own, and even though they're a bit crunchy, feel free to use them as you wish!

Anyways, starting at the start.

The Character

I'm not exactly a long time Zelda fan (botw was my first proper zelda game), and therefore didn’t know that much about Ganondorf before I saw him in the trailer and decided to research the lore like a crazy person. Based off of that, I think that Wind Waker Ganondorf is the best by far.

He had such an interesting aura to him- less like a power hungry madman and more like a wise old king who was also very evil, and his motivation made it difficult to see him as a true villain. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. His whole plan revolved around the fact that the Gerudo people, his people, were left to suffer in the desert while the rest of Hyrule prospered, and he decided to take action. At least, that's what I remember. Please correct me if I have that messed up!!

Anyways, I think that motivation is what makes WW G-man cool- he's a total asshole, yes, but he has this kind of twisted honour that almost makes you feel bad for him. And this brings me to my one little gripe about TOTK Ganondorf- he doesn’t really seem to have a motivation? At least, not that I heard of. So in that sense, he doesn’t really feel as driven as WW Ganon. We never learn WHY he wanted to rule over Hyrule, he kinda just did. He wanted power, that much was obvious, but that was it. On the other hand though, it’s always fun to have a villain who’s evil for the sake of being evil, and it didn’t detract at all from his presence in the game.

And boy, is he a PRESENCE. Some of his lines are incredibly cold- "I will rule. That is what a king must do" WITH THE ORGAN IN THE BACKGROUND AND HIS DEMON KING TITLE ON THE SCREEN, or "Do not look away, you witness a king's revival" (the line that drove the whole community insane for a little while- if you know you know) as he draws his sword with all the confidence of a centuries old evil incarnate.

Even better- "I will be taking far more than your arm this time", as if Ganondorf, through the Calamity, hasn't taken away everything Link knew and loved already. This dude is crazy.

(And a little bonus that I found out about right before posting this- apparently in the Japanese version, he does have a very clear motive? But it was lost in translation? I need to research that a bit more though. If you know anything about that, do tell!!)

Now, with that out of the way...

The Build Up

Thematically, I think that the build up to his fight is pretty awesome, even compared to the other three G's. If you did the entire story (geoglyphs included) beforehand, then you know that this dude:

a) straight up killed someone with his bare hands (he wasn't holding the knife when he killed Sonia, so I kind of just assumed he broke her spine or something)

b) is so powerful that 7 of the strongest warriors in Hyrule WITH secret stones couldn't defeat him, and was only taken down by sealing his power away- which is still only a temporary solution

c) lived on after reawakening despite being an actual emaciated corpse

d) was so busted that even in (kind of) death, the essence of his power (the malice) that leaked out of his seal was strong enough on its own to completely DECIMATE Hyrule

So yeah, I was a little scared on my way down because I knew this guy was going to kick my ass (spoiler alert: he did).

The little gauntlet of monsters to fight as you descend was pretty sick, and serves as a fairly good warmup for the army later on. The silver lynel totally caught me off guard though. As you get closer to the lowest point in Hyrule, you end up amassing some of the most powerful weapons imaginable thanks to all the silver enemies, which got me feeling so goddamn strong! That's important later.

And eventually, getting to the Forgotten Foundation and realising that I was back in the prologue area as that scary music started back up sent chills down my spine.

And the music. THE MUSIC.

Give this a listen (youtube because soundcloud links are jank, sorry)- skip to about 2:00 because that's the bit I'm talking about!

As you get deeper and deeper, the music gets more and more intense- and if there’s one thing I absolutely adore about TOTK, it’s the dynamic music throughout (see example: THE DUNGEON THEMES). The use of music that changes as you go- and this is by far the best example.

At first, you don’t really notice it while you’re preoccupied. You’re more focused on weapons and monsters and all that mess. But the first time I really noticed it was, as I said, when I realised I was in the prologue. The cut up voice clips and the drone in the background are a little creepy, and remind you of what happened the last time you tried to fight this guy,

Then, it starts to develop once you walk past the mural. There’s the choral singing, the drone in the background picks up into something with more melody, and the entire run up to the boss is completely enemy free- it gives you time to let the circumstances sink in as the music swells and you approach the heart of the depths. Also, the music builds as you get deeper and deeper, which from what I know is a subversion from the usual "music building as you climb his tower" or whatever he's in normally. Very nice.

Idk about you guys, but I slow walked down there for the DRAMATIC EFFECT.

At about 3 minutes into the video is how it sounds when you dive into the imprisoning chamber, where it all started (and I'll talk more about the parallels between this and the prologue another time... THE TORCH AUGHHSYWJHFH) and keep trucking on through the gloom, the horror movie piano kicking in as you walk through the final tunnel and stand on the precipice overlooking the dark, unknown pit below...

And jump.

Then the track finally reaches its climax as everything starts to overlap, the bells and organ (i think thats what it is?) screaming at you in the background as you fall, making the song feel like an epic of vengeance. There's so much dread, and an underlying ominous/threatening feeling that encapsulates the fact that Ganondorf is the embodiment of an ancient evil, one that has tormented Hyrule for centuries- but at the same time, there's an element of finality and inevitability, because you're going to put that evil down, and make up for all the grief and the death and loss that constantly follows in his wake.

I mean, just listen to the last 30 seconds or so of that track and tell me you don't feel excited. In awe. Because I deadass teleported back up to the mural just to hear it again.

I think I got a little carried away there, but moving on to the bit you probably came here for…

The Fight

Phase one - The Demon King's Army

Remember how I mentioned that the earlier monsters and busted weapons make you feel powerful? This is basically that x10.

The whole sequence feels very epic, ESPECIALLY after the build up, and with the appearance of the Sages mirroring the attack of the Champions from BOTW, it almost feels like victory is assured already as you cut down hordes of monsters with practically no effort, all while the strings in the background kick in and get more intense with every wave.

This serves to make you feel even more like God- taking out waves and waves of fairly tough enemies made me feel like I was on top, like nothing could stand in my way. It's pretty cool, a good way of integrating the monster army you keep seeing in the cutscenes, and manages to keep the energy from the descent going pretty well, while also being a casual reminder that this Ganondorf bloke can summon world ending horrors at will. ESPECIALLY when the dungeon bosses come back to life and force the Sages to stay behind.

Phase two - The Menace Unleashed

Once again, the music goes absolutely crazy. The first phase feels intense, but still like the fight is only just beginning. Just an ambient drone, near silent as he approaches, picking up as you start to duel. No one is here to help- no Sages, no Zelda- just Link and Ganondorf, a rematch that's been in the making since 2006.

If the army battle makes you feel powerful, then the first few seconds of this fight are what takes that power away- because this guy is a total damage sponge and moved a lot faster than I could predict. Additionally, you can't fast travel outside to heal gloom hearts if you have medallions set up (i thought i was so smart for that too), so if you used all of your sunny food during the army, you're doomed.

Most of his attacks in this phase are fairly simple, with only one or two for each weapon he can wield (and tbh the switching weapons really threw me the first time), but like I said, he goes pretty fast. Therefore, if you're like me and can't differentiate some of his tells, you're also going to lose a lot of hearts very fast. And did I mention he gives you gloom hearts instead of normal damage? Again, no sunny food = death of the instant kind.

On top of the general stress of trying to get the timing down, there were a couple of moments in this phase alone that had me yelling something along the lines of "WHAT THE ACTUAL SHIT"- one of which being some of the tricks he pulls under certain conditions. For example; a standard looking sword attack where he swings once, then as you lower your shield to get a hit in, as you naturally would, he swings at you again. He also kicks you if you hang too close, and fires off some of his gloom attacks faster if you're trying to attack him as he charges. It makes him feel more like an actual person you're fighting, and stops you from hanging close and swinging wildly the whole time.

(i was going to make this a video, but tumblr only lets you add one. anyways, see what i said about him swinging again if you lower the shield?)

As well as that, he taunts and mocks you when you get hit- make any misstep or stumble into an attack, and he'll laugh and insult your skill while he casually walks up to you like the absolute gigachad he is. It's not like the Twilight Princess walk where it feels a bit slow- this walk made me feel THREATENED. Circling in the opposite direction when he circled me with the spear made me feel like a pro swordsman. On one hand, I thought the taunting was super cool as a mechanic! On the other hand it made me want to kill him even harder.

And the other moment that made my jaw drop? This guy. Can DODGE your regular attacks AND FLURRY RUSH. And by flurry rush I mean take a really tough/fast swing at you. BUT STILL.

For as long as I can remember, the perfect dodge and flurry rush have given Link an unfair edge over most enemies and bosses- it's an opening to deal mass damage with no counters. It’s made link OP against everything the game throws at him- up until right now. This highlights the fact that Ganondorf is no pushover- him and Link are evenly matched, and you’ll need some actual consistent skill to take him out. The good news is that your own flurries are still pretty powerful, and 5 or 6 are enough to start the next phase.

As the fight progresses and his health starts to go down, the music starts to build up more (at about 1:25 in the video above)- the barely present drums starting to speed up and get louder, accompanied by sporadic piano, more choral snippets, and an ominous undertone as their duel grows more intense, eventually building to a climax and slowing down a tad (2:45) as he activates his secret stone and transforms, beginning the third phase.

Phase three and four - Master of the Secret Stone

Well this one was certainly something. Once again I jumped out of my seat and YELLED when his health bar started to refill past the normal amount, all the way off of my screen. It just didn’t stop. There are no words to describe the primal fear of realising how insanely busted this dude was. I tried to get it on the gif up there, but that made the video too long to convert :(

The music here is my favourite bit of the whole phase- as you face down the powered up Ganondorf and his phantoms, you hear the familiar but melancholy motif of BOTW/Dark Beast playing around the same time the Sages show up once again to deal with said phantoms (at about 3:22). For a second it's just that- melancholy, encapsulating the same kind of hopelessness that followed Calamity Ganon 100 years ago. But at the same time, as your squad comes to assist, you're reminded of the Champions and their aid, and suddenly it feels like you could still turn the tides of this seemingly impossible battle. Just like you did with the Calamity.

Yes it was cool, and yes I nearly cried.

The phantoms were actually the worst for a minute or so- it takes a while for the all of the Sages to appear and lighten the burden, meaning that you end up needing to take on 2-5 of these guys at once as well as the real deal. This got me killed more times than I'd like to admit. Once all the Sages arrive, the arena becomes a complete warzone with everyone duking it out at once, the real Ganondorf’s attacks start to get faster and harder hitting, and he starts to dodge and rush you more often- even dodging more of your attacks and forcing you to flurry him, so if you don’t have your timing down, this is awful. Not to mention, it's very easy to lock on to the wrong Ganon, which makes it harder to block the real attacks with a shield.

And also, this is the point where he starts destroying literally all of your shields in just a few hits, meaning that if you can't dodge or parry, then it's only so long until you're left defenceless.

Aside from that, this phase plays out like the Phantom Ganon fight in the Castle until you get his health bar down about halfway, when he recalls the phantoms and biden blasts the Sages away, beckoning Link forwards and starting phase four, which is basically phase two again but insane.

This is where the fight- for me, at least- became incredibly difficult, since Ganondorf not only dodges your regular attacks, but also dodges your flurry rushes and counters with his own EVERY SINGLE TIME, forcing you to flurry rush again to hit him. Not only does this require perfect timing, but is also the only way to damage him for the remainder of this fight (unless you cheese it with arrows or sneak in some hits in while he's switching weapons- but the latter is dangerous since he still attacks faster when you're close).

A little video to emphasise the flurry rush thing; the timing for that second dodge had to be dead on. What you can't hear is me yelling something along the lines of "GOD, FINALLY" after dying to this phase many times and mashing the y button like my life depended on it. LOOK HOW FAST THAT MF IS ON THE SECOND ATTACK

The soundtrack becomes super crazy again, this time using the motif of Calamity Ganon/the Blights (starts at 5:00, and you can also hear it in the video above) and bringing back that sense of hopelessness again- but this time with with a strong side of excitement since you're now in the final stretch of the fight. Because the Blights were supposed to be the equal match for each Champion, this bit of the theme makes it feel like Ganondorf is an equal match to Link- which I know I've said already, but that's kind of the thing that's blown me away the most about the whole battle.

It's the fact that you can't just wail on him and spam flurry rushes without him countering you in some way- which in this case mostly consists of him dodging you and attacking back at an insane speed. This isn't like Calamity Ganon where you just hit and dodge for five minutes, this is an actual proper swordfight, and exactly what I'd been hoping for from the final boss!

Additionally, the Blight/Calamity motif (well, more like entire theme) represents his ties to Calamity Ganon, the force of nature that took Link 2 tries to beat (with death included), and it's use in this part of the battle tells you that right now, Ganondorf possesses the same level of destructive power as that thing- and he's sure as hell going to make sure you know that.

As well as the whole "dodging the flurry rush and forcing you to pull it off twice" thing, he also pulls out a few more projectile based attacks. These aren't too bad (WE GET THE RETURN OF ARCANE PING PONG FROM OOT), but he usually follows them up with a quick swing, making them a distraction that takes a while to get used to.

And finally, as a last little surprise, getting hit by any of his gloom projectiles in this phase takes away one of your maximum hearts. PERMANENTLY. Not like the gloom hearts, where you can get them back and then heal. Nope. That shit is gone gone.

Once you finally whittle down his ridiculous health bar, we launch into the customary "massive beast" style phase as he straight up just rips the secret stone out of his head and eats it, giving up his mind, body and soul for the sake of defeating Link, becoming a Dragon and escaping through the top of the arena.

Phase five - Draconified Demon King

So like I said above, the Demon Dragon is basically Dark Beast 2, except it's so much cooler! The cutscene does a great job of highlighting the insane size of this guy- it's like 3x the size of the already massive elemental dragons and emerges from the depths in a way that eerily resembles the Calamity, right down to the glowing yellow eyes. And yeah, that's probably the point, but it's still cool.

Luckily for Link, Zelda/the Light Dragon swoops in and rescues him from the jaws of death (literally), taking him high up into the air so he can attack from above. It's an absolute spectacle, and the epic style remix of the game's main theme that plays makes it even better, instilling the same level of awe that Dark Beast does- at least for me.

Just like DB, the fight has you up against a massive malice/gloom infused monster (the dragon, in this case), getting close and attacking it's weak points and then finishing it off by destroying the secret stone on it's head. There's a lot of downtime, which is kind of to be expected with this style of fight, but I honestly don't mind because these colossal battles are supposed to feel less like a Dark Souls boss and more like a victory lap- like a "you're Link, the legendary hero, slaying this massive beast in the name of Hyrule" kind of thing.

My personal favourite bit of this whole phase is the fact that when you dive down to the Dragon's weak points, Zelda dives down next to you to get underneath and catch you afterwards. So sick. I also really like the use of skydiving! It pairs super well with the music and made me think of that final trailer we got in April- like THIS is the epicness we were promised.

(and also dodging the fireballs was way more fun than slowly sidestepping a laser. sorry dark beast, but i gotta say it </3)

Final thoughts

I'm gonna be honest: I kind of forgot to compare his fight to the other 3 mainline ones, but doing that now would make this way too long! I just love the TOTK fight so much and needed to get it out.

While I'd still say that each Ganondorf (in the mainline games) has their own unique trait that makes them cool: OOT Ganondorf is the original, and the most cunning, WW Ganondorf has the best character and TP Ganondorf is the most evil by a mile- TOTK Ganondorf feels like a combination of those best traits (minus the characterisation) paired with the greatest final boss I've ever seen in a Zelda game, which makes him the best for me.

The first phase in particular was my favourite- wayyyyy back in April when I saw big G in the trailer, my first thought was "oh man i hope we get an actual sword fight boss instead of calamity ganon 2.0" AND MY PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED!!!

Ganondorf literally just rolled up, delivered some cold lines, and then kicked my ass with his cool sword. Many times. And I think that's exactly the kind of boss fight he deserves. I'm just so happy that it feels like we're in an actual duel, mano a mano, instead of just being able to chance a win like with Calamity.

FIN

thank you for reading my zelda obsessed rambles! i just beat the boss last night and have been working on this on and off all day, so any reblogs or shares would be massively appreciated <3

GANONDORF FANS UNITE!!!!

[kmp78]

“Yep, it's a big city with 40000 boroughs. 😂. “. - Actually there are only 5 boroughs in Manhattan (often mistakenly called neighborhoods) but over 350 actual neighborhoods throughout the 5 boroughs!! Here’s a slightly gossipy mini travel log some might enjoy. Humor me.

The old money billionaires (like Paris Hiltons family type) mostly live in mid-town Manhattan around Central Park and the exclusive Gramercy Park neighborhood with its resident’s personal key to a locked private park along with their apartment (highlighted in JL’s WeCrashed mini-series.) Gramercy Park was the home of Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, literature and theater luminaries of the early 20th century such as Truman Capote and Edith Wharton and is currently the home of celebrities such as Midler, Delevigne and assorted top models, J. Roberts, Lagerfeld, Fallon and Kate Hudson.

Lots of artsy folks and big film, sports and fashion celebrities; Timberlake, Swift, B and Jay Z, T Brady, Lewis Hamilton, DiNiro, ScarJo, J. Gyllenhaal, Reynolds and Lively, Styles and many more, live or have lived in the lower Manhattan neighborhoods that JL likes to hang out in when he is in town. These include neighborhoods like Tribeca, SoHo, West Village, the Bowery and Chelsea; all home to some of the best boutiques and endless areas to eat and mingle in NYC. FYI:The Bowery is the 7th most expensive neighbor-hood in Manhattan. Lewis Hamilton’s 12,000 sf penthouse in Tribeca recently sold for 50+/- million US dollars!!! Yes, you heard that right and he made somewhere around 6 million $ on the sale. 😵‍💫

Sparked by the influx of successful hip-hop artists and the Barkley Center, many musicians, athletes and successful actors live near or in Brooklyn in places like Dumbo, Red Hook, Park Slope or Williamsburg. Hathaway, Damon, A. Driver, Sarsgaard and M Gyllenhaal, Blunt and Krasinski, Bork, Nora Jones, Hawke, O Wilde, E. Murphy and many more all have homes in Brooklyn.

Queens has several less expensive neighborhoods like Sunnyside, Howard Beach and Astoria (one of the cheapest neighborhoods to live in). While there is an young active nightlife in Astoria and one or two other neighborhoods, Queens is a safer, less expensive place young people go to start out or raise a family. The Fresh Meadows neighborhood was the home of not famous at all, me. 😁

The Bronx has some of the poorest and toughest neighborhoods (around Yankee Stadium) though there are some very beautiful and well kept areas and many old stately stone homes. It’s trying hard to come back.

Staten Island is a much quieter more residential part of the city filled with highly ethnic (heavily Italian) blue collar working class families. (Think Jersey Shore on TV). While a few mid century actors lived there many years ago, no one famous except briefly Pete Davidson who was raised there, seems to want to live there now. Fun Fact: The characters in the movie “Working Girl” starring Harrison Ford and Melanie Griffith, Sigourney Weaver, Alex Baldwin and Joan Cusak are in Staten Island for this flick. Don’t miss this 1988 rah rah rom com feel good movie classic!! (Free by Hulu or Disney subscription or 2.99 Amazon rental or 3.99 some other places in US. Maybe free somewhere but worth a few bucks) You will see the actual SI ferry from the island to Manhattan which you must take daily to get to NY and hear the true Staten Island classic NY accent at its best! Great story and music too !

Well, nobody asked for all this but it is a very awesome city in which I lived, worked for many years and know well ! Beautiful, very exciting, exceptionally cultural and immensely historic (don’t get me started) but expensive to live in for the most part. And now you can all trace JL and Thinnie’s whereabouts around town! 🤪

Thanks, anon! 🤭🙌

I wonder why JL decided not to splurge on a NYC pad anyway, after being on the look-out couple years ago. 🤔

Guess his deal with Bowery saves him a big penny! 🤷🏼‍♀️

[gerhardtz]

Hi! I’m sorry if I’m asking a lot but how do you think Hanzee would react to having a crush/being in love with a guy? Or how he would even confess those feelings? I read your fics on him and they’re amazing, your characterization of him is so accurate and the dialogue is awesome! (Idk how you managed to get it so good I struggle with writing how he talks) I’m writing my own ocxcanon of him so I wanted to see what others thought about how he acts since he’s such a complex character (ps I love your drawings of him they made me so happy, especially since it’s so hard to dig for art of him) Sorry if I talked too much I’m just really excited to see active Fargo fans!

OUGHHH WOW thank you so much!!!! I'm so glad you like my fics (and drawings too), I had so much fun writing them, and I'm really itching to get back to writing more!

Hanzee is definitely a tricky one to write because of how little we really see into his mind. I have a lot of headcanons about him, and they'd probably get in the way of me having a totally objective opinion, so I hope this doesn't come off as too much of a farfetched answer lol. I think that he's always been kind of a silent ally – he knows what it's like to be mistreated for things he can't change, plus he commits murder for a living, so being queer pales in comparison. So really, if Hanzee did end up falling for another man, the fact that it's another man might not be the thing that suprises him the most. Having devoted his entire life to serving the Gerhardts and seemingly not having had much opportunity to interact with people outside the syndicate (thanks, Dodd) it's probably quite likely that he's never got close enough to anyone to catch feelings at all. Which could be an opportunity to write some very cute "first love" kind of story. It would definitely take A LOT to get it out of him, though, because I feel like he is far too emotionally constipated to admit it.

Funnily enough, I was actually kind of considering this exact thing like not even half an hour before I read this ??? You must be a mind reader or smth LMAO thank u so much for the ask tho genuinely, I'm honoured to be considered a reliable resource on things like this :P AND you absolutely did not talk too much, I'm excited to see another Season 2 enjoyer out there too!!!! This ask made me giggle and kick my feet like crazy!!!! Sorry if none of my answer made sense, I'm in bed rn and gonna pass out as soon as I hit post LOL thank u for ending my day on a great note ^__^

BTW I would absolutely love to read ur fic when/if it goes up!! If I don't run into it in the wild absolutely feel free to send me the link :O