#hope that's fine op!

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Exactly!!

Conflict in storytelling works best when it's argumentative in nature. And Ganondorf works great as "the other side of the argument" kind of guy.

I'm thinking of his appearances in Wind Waker and Twilight Princess; in WW, he is the one who sees a broken world and clings to the past, of what should have been, instead of being willing to imagine any kind of future for himself and the world, denying others the future he feels he was denied. In TP, his personal journey is that the entire world is about prey/predator logic where only the strongest and more deserving will survive (which is understandable given what he went through), but also that the only way to prevail is through brute and selfish self-preservation --the parallel to the relationship of Link and Midna, where they worked to respect one another and become equals, which happens through Zant, is an endless struggle of domination and backstabbing and lies because Ganondorf is incapable of being vulnerable or trusting anyone to see him as a man rather than a god-wannabe, and this is ultimately what ends up killing him.

(genuinely I feel like his character arc in TP is incredible even if hammered in a little bit --and maybe not developed enough-- the more time goes on and the more I'm impressed at the way the writers integrated his story to the game given he was a marketing addition if I understand well)

But in TotK, he is making so many half-hearted nods towards unrelated things that I never felt like me defeating him was me defeating a cruel and toxic philosophy that can only end in suffering (including his own). And even if we accept the very vague "technology make people weak, only strong muscly men should survive!!!" shtick he has going on during the final fight, we shouldn't have learned it right before killing him! And if that's the case, why are monsters mining zonite??? Why are the Yigas doing Team Rocket shenanigans in the Depths (bless their hearts)???

Okay, but maybe it isn't that. Maybe it's that he stands alone and betrays everybody while we stand united as friends to face him, which would make for a good parallel to what went down against Calamity in BotW the first time. But that's also not true!! If we discard the very weird and frankly stupid thing where he somehow attacked his own people that were mostly already on his side at that point (and even if we don't honestly); have you *seen* the size of the demon king army waiting for you on his doorstep? Or again, Master Kohga and everyone else?

Okay, then there are some people saying the theme of the game is "sacrifice". Okay! So surely, Ganondorf never sacrificed a single thing to reach his goals, right? *cues to the fact that he accepted Rauru's casual humiliation, even temporarily, as a stepladder to a Secret Stone, that he apparently did sacrifice his people???, that he for sure sacrificed his humanity, and then AGAIN sacrifices his consciousness in the final breath of the fight*

Yeah, to me his only consistent motivation is "fuck Rauru and his whole entire grind" (which, frankly, fair, and also, same) but it's not even something we actually refute! We don't know enough of Rauru to defend the fact he was a deserving or undeserving king, or that his method of governance was better, and it's not at all a stake in the final conflict. All we have are Vibes, because that's all Rauru ever gives us, and that's all we can actually judge him on (beyond, you know, many other things, but I hardly think the game took five seconds to question their implications so yeah). He doesn't even come after Zelda and the fact she's still upholding Hyrule in the future, which he could and honestly should have done, so this whole setup of Fake Zelda is never actually paid off thematically.

I mean, I've been vocal enough about how hollow I find this entire story to be, but this is mostly why I don't think Ganondorf as pure evil works in this particular context, where I think he worked extremely well in BotW.

the "classic" villain

some ppl try to defend totk ganondorf’s one-dimensional characterization by arguing that he’s meant to be a “pure evil”, “classic” villain. now, personally, i’m not entirely opposed to having ganondorf just be an unhinged evil guy – in my opinion, part of what makes him great is the fact that he can do it all, he can be the tragic fallen hero, the sympathetic anti-villain, the remorseful old man who can’t give up the ghost of his ambitions, and also the magnificent bastard who enjoys terrorizing hyrule bc they kinda had it coming, let’s be real here. pure evil villains are fun, that’s why i love sukuna from jujutsu kaisen, he’s just an absolute unapologetic menace.

but the thing about “pure evil” or “classic” villains is that they still have to make sense. take, for instance, big jack horner from puss in boots: the last wish, a character who some have smugly pointed to as an example of a “real villain” that’s supposedly rare nowadays. the main point of jack horner is that he’s an asshole, a real piece of shit who’s uninterested in redemption or helping others, despite the best efforts of his jiminy-cricket inspired companion. jack horner is fun and adds some variety to a film that also has a sympathetic antagonist who experiences growth (goldilocks) and a force-of-nature antagonist who absolutely steals the show (death). but jack horner still makes sense; he’s an over-privileged man-child who wanted for nothing and therefore feels entitled to everything, and he’s also spiteful bc pinocchio upstaged him that one time. plus, jack horner is funny, so that’s a bonus.

same goes for every other classic villain that people like, whether it’s the old-school disney villains or the bad guys from classic cartoons. pure evil villains still have to be coherent and understandable in some way. that doesn’t mean their reasons have to be good – in fact, i think pure evil villains are basically defined by NOT having good reasons to justify their actions. but they still need to have reasons.

but totk ganondorf? this dude makes no damn sense. why does the king of the gerudo, out of all people, become king of demons? it might as well have been the king of gorons or zora or rito who turned evil. why did the gerudo support his conquest of hyrule only to turn against him once he transformed into the demon king? where did he get his powers from? how and why did ganondorf, of all people, reach the conclusion that hyrule must be bathed in eternal darkness, and why is he so dedicated to this goal that he’s willing to sacrifice his own mind and body to achieve it? what, exactly, is driving this man? you can’t call him selfish because again, he’s willing to permanently damage himself to attain his goals, that shows he’s bound to a higher cause. but there’s no explanation for why he, of all people, has chosen this particular cause.

and sure, the fandom can speculate and try to use the lore to fill in the gaps, but the fact that there are such big gaps in the first place is totk’s biggest failure, in my opinion. if people have to look at lore guides to make sense of your villain, then you’ve failed as a storyteller.

totk ganondorf might have made more sense as just a monster that spawned from the Depths rather than a man who was born among the gerudo. maybe the zonai dug around too deep and activated the Depths’ defense mechanism, and boom, ganon emerges, furious at the surface world that has dared to intrude upon his domain, and determined to return the favor by covering the land of light with darkness. he’s still a monster who must be defeated but at least there would have been some logic to his actions.

[upperranktwo]

Everyone who’s helped me out has just one wish... just one desire! To defeat the demons! To protect human lives! I have to come through for them!

[alpacacare-archive]

hey guys is anybody here. hello

@smarties-art

[onlytheflies]

boy, you're gonna carry that weight a long time // eugene sledge

[mintjeru]

first encounter florist alhaitham for @viraseii 🌻 thank you for your donation to @hkvthm-action!!

open for better quality | no reposts | extensive brainrot under the cut (don't say i didn't warn you)

ok so i created an entire backstory for the two of them while i was drawing ;u; enjoy!!

kaveh and alhaitham go to the same university and kaveh, who is a year or so ahead of alhaitham, graduates at the end of this year

even though they have different majors (kaveh studies architecture, alhaitham studies linguistics), the two of them share a humanities elective course this semester

alhaitham sits in the middle or back rows and he usually arrives to lecture early so he can read his books in peace until class starts

he often sits with a notetaker in class but they're just acquaintances; alhaitham mostly keeps to himself

meanwhile, kaveh is a really proactive student so he sits in the front rows. he is often found conversing with the students around him.

as such, alhaitham knows of kaveh (the popular guy that keeps answering the professor's questions) but kaveh doesn't know of alhaitham (he doesn't really have a reason to turn around in his seat)

alhaitham lives in the area and he works part-time at his grandma's flower shop! he looked into flower language in his spare time because he liked the idea of tangible objects holding various symbolic meanings. it was similar to the signified-signifier concepts outlined in the semantics papers he read in his linguistics classes.

one day, kaveh comes strolling into the shop during alhaitham's shift because he needs flowers for a project

alhaitham mentions that they're in the same elective class and the two begin talking about the professor and their homework for that day. time flies as they're both intrigued by each other's ideas on the course concepts. by the time the next customer comes in and alhaitham is called away to help, the two walk away deeming each other an interesting conversation partner.

after that day, they begin to talk in class and spend time chatting in the flower shop

whenever kaveh comes by to buy flowers or a gift, alhaitham gives him a small flower as a bonus

it starts with a yellow tulip ("there is sunshine in your smile," it's the first thing alhaitham notices about him. he later finds that the corners of his lips tend to rise when kaveh is around.)

next is a goldenrod (encouragement, kaveh was struggling with a modeling project but alhaitham knew he was capable enough to make it work)

after that is a yellow calla lily (friendship and shared values, kaveh and alhaitham finished a group project and found out they received the highest grade in the class!)

and then a little sunflower (silent love, kaveh had fallen asleep on the library desk studying for their midterm the other night and while he would never admit it, alhaitham spent a significant amount of time admiring the way the lamplight cast a soft golden glow over his features)

at some point, kaveh asks why alhaitham keeps giving him flowers as that surely cannot be good for business. he also seems to keep picking yellow flowers.

alhaitham simply replies that it's better for the older flowers to go to kaveh, who can appreciate them, rather than for them to sit in the shop wilting. besides, they're the same color as kaveh's hair. not that alhaitham stares at the way his hair catches the sunlight or anything.

after finals are over but before the university's graduation ceremony, kaveh visits the flower shop once more

this time, alhaitham is waiting for him with a single red tulip

"this is a familiar sight. i remember the first one you gave me was yellow. are we moving on to red now?"

alhaitham responds to his question with another question: "did you know that the color of the flower affects its meaning?"

kaveh pauses for a bit. "oh, you mean in flower language? i think i've heard of that before, yeah."

alhaitham glances down at the tulip and then back up to kaveh.

most of the time, he doesn't care what others think of him. he's always been focused on his own interests and learning as much as he can, but it seems that things are different when it comes to kaveh. their relationship is fine as it is now, but why is it that he wants so badly for it to change?

it would be so easy for alhaitham to give him another excuse: the tulip matches the color of kaveh's eyes after all. but kaveh is graduating soon. he'll be moving away and given the distance, there's no telling how easy it'll be for them to keep in touch. if there's any time to bring his feelings to light, it's right now.

"so," kaveh starts. "what does a red tulip mean?"

alhaitham closes his eyes. he inhales, holds his breath for a second, and exhales. he makes his choice. when he opens his eyes again-

"a declaration of love."

kaveh stares at him, and for a second, alhaitham worries that he's made the wrong decision. but then kaveh breaks into a smile.

he reaches into his bag and carefully pulls out a red rose

"before you ask, no, i didn't buy this; it had fallen from one of the rose bushes on campus. i'm loyal to your grandma's shop, ok?" he offers the rose to alhaitham and cracks a bashful grin. "i may not be well-versed in the language of flowers, but i think this flower has a rather obvious meaning, don't you think? looks like you beat me to it."

alhaitham feels the blood rush to his ears as the two exchange flowers.

then, kaveh lifts his free hand and opens his palm. alhaitham places his hand in kaveh's, and their fingers intertwine. kaveh looks down at their hands and brushes his thumb across the top of alhaitham's. he smiles to himself.

"oh no, please don't tell me all the flowers you gave me were picked based on their meanings," kaveh sighs. "i can't believe i never thought to look them up."

alhaitham squeezes kaveh's hand and relishes in the warmth of kaveh's palm against his. "don't worry, i'll tell you starting now."

[overtake]

Max Verstappen - USA 2024 Helmet

[sov666sov]

Buggy

BUGGY THE CLOWN

I don't know anything about one piece before the life adaptation but DAAAMNN with this 8 episodes i feel deep connection to the character and GOD I LOVE BUGGY he loke so silly but in other time he creepy as fuck

So i think " i totally should make art with him" and... that's all

[minniiaa]

nah because zoro has no right looking this good. screaming crying throwing up.

[comradecowplant]

omg is "vegan" wool & leather often made of plastic???? i've never heard this, can anyone tell me if it is made of oil?????? is it (and only it!) made of plasoiltikblasticfossilossilpetroil?????????????? damn such a shame that vegans and their desire for animal material alternatives single-handedly invented the demand for fossil fuels, better pack it all in fellow vegan/vegan adjacent folks 😔

[heartofalifer]

David Tennant is the Nerd in school who grew up to still be a Nerd but a Cool Nerd and is a representative of The Nerds and no one has an issue with him but even if people don't like like him they can't even hate him what a man

[joy-girl]

One Piece 1079 - Akagami no Shanks

[thatoneartistinthecorner]

Thanks @tonberry-yoda for giving me a brainrot

[nervousmonolith]

thinking about the whole twt scam situation ™ again ough

[cantagirldrawinpeace]

Oda when I catch you Oda 🙂🔪

[liefdesleven]

BOTH a pride parade AND t*ylor sw*ft are in dublin rn . needless to say it's busy as fuck in this train to dublin

[fightaers]

i survived my operation ✌️ will be here saturday if my haplessness will not persist