#i just really don't think it's a hero of legend game. it doesn't match up aside from the style

[autumnoakes]

if i remember, i should go through the eow announcement and collect evidence that doesn't fit with it being another hero of legend game

[bluevaractyl]

Thoughts on the Triforce

Having the mark of the Triforce is not synonymous with possessing the Triforce, but shows one is worthy of it. Some of the Links had the mark appear during their adventures, some were born with it, and some don't appear to have it at all.

The mark appears on Sky's hand as he tempers himself and the Master Sword. He later obtains the full Triforce. After it is used, it is hidden away again.

Four doesn't seem to have the mark or the Triforce of Courage, perhaps because he does not need it. Instead, his era(s) make use of the Light Force. Its exact relation to the Triforce is unknown, but one theory is that it is the sealing power Hylia's descendants carry, and is essentially Hylia's version of the Golden Goddesses' Triforce. She couldn't use it as a goddess, so she became Zelda.

Time gets Courage when the Triforce splits, and the mark appears when he is in the presence of the other two pieces. He leaves Courage behind when he travels back to his childhood.

Twilight is born with the mark and with Courage, which protects him from the Twilight. No idea if he still has it.

Wind has to collect the pieces of Courage that shattered when Time left that timeline. The mark appears when he completes Courage. After the King uses the full Triforce, it is left behind at the bottom of the Great Sea.

Legend obtains and uses the full Triforce after Ganon stole it. It returns to the Royal Family's care. He gets the mark sometime around the beginning of the Oracle games, perhaps after being called to by the spirit of the Triforce. The Triforce splits at the end of the Oracle games, and Legend gets Courage during ALBW. At the end of ALBW, they wish on the full Triforce, and it is once again in the Royal Family's possession.

By Hyrule's time, the Triforce of Courage has been hidden in the Great Palace by the old king, and the Triforce of Wisdom has been shattered and the pieces hidden in dungeons by Zelda (the more recent). Ganon has stolen Power. Hyrule collects and obtains Wisdom; uses it to defeat Ganon, thus obtaining Power; has the mark appear on his hand, marking him as worthy; obtains Courage; and uses the united Triforce to wake up Zelda I and bring hope to Hyrule.

After that, we delve into headcanon territory. For the purposes of LU, I don't think everything was immediately fixed in Hyrule's Hyrule. While the Triforce could theoretically solve all their problems and make Hyrule lush and livable again, that really doesn't match up with the image in my head. That's not what they wished for. I imagine restoring Hyrule takes work, and it's still a work in progress when hints of the Shadow's efforts start appearing, sending Link on this adventure. With this in mind, I tentatively hold with the idea that Hyrule's era is still too dangerous to hide the Triforce with the Royal Family; instead, Hyrule still has it, but it is dormant and probably won't be used again in his lifetime. His violent death would more or less spell the end of his world anyway, so he's already got plenty of motivation to stay out of the hands of monsters. Because the mark of the Triforce does not necessarily indicate holding the Triforce, I headcanon that Hyrule's bracers are hiding the mark not because he is hiding the fact that he holds the Triforce, but because it gives away his identity as the hero.

Warriors has the mark appear and already possesses Courage. Cia takes it, then gives it back, then Ganon takes it, then uses the united Triforce. Link et al use the full Triforce to seal Ganon away. The Triforce may end up in the possession of Lana, or else she just watches over it from afar, wherever it is now.

Wild's time apparently knows nothing about the Triforce, but they are concerned with Zelda's sealing power. Either Zelda possesses part or all of the Triforce from birth and needs to activate it, or she has the Light Force. I lean toward the Light Force theory. The Light Force is canonically passed down through the royal daughters and used to bless the Master Sword with its ability to seal evil. Either way, Wild does not seem to have the mark or the Triforce of Courage.

[petorahs]

what are your headcanons about Juliana and Florian?

oughhghghg where to begin

Both

-Juliana (Jules for short) and Florian (Flori, Flor, etc) are twins! Juliana is the older one. This is inspired by the fact that... they look so similar in their official art! All the recent protags all do but these two take the cake. It's so funny to me. -they look so similar in fact, that they could be body doubles! but that's totally wrong and unethical they'd never... right? -I like the HC that they're both from Galar (their mom having Skwovet and using a British term early-game, the Galarian pokemon stickers in their room, etc). They're both Paldeans, but were raised there before moving back to their hometown with mom.

-Fun thing about Scarlet/Violet is that they're such huge games that it's totally justifiable to have dual protags doing different things. Because of this, I decided to have Juliana handle the 'battle-heavy' routes like Victory Road while Florian, who is more research-focused (and has main character syndrome) features more in The Hidden Treasure arc. -I can't decide on who really does Starfall Street yet, but I'd like for Path of Legends to be the both of them helping Arven since it's the most plot-heavy and has to do with endgame. -Don't ask how but both Koraidon and Miraidon exist at the same time and the twins are their trainers. -In my recent art of them, you'll notice Juliana and Florian's eyes get all blue/crystal-like! this is an effect of their time in Area Zero/being exposed to that much Terastal energy. just them though, no one else...

Florian

-additionally, Flo's hair turns from a purply-brown to pink post-game because he's named "Haruto" in Jp, meaning spring. this carries over across all languages! I wanted to evoke a sense of a blossom coming to life over the course of his journey.

-hates battling because his sister will always be better at it than him, so he vastly prefers pokemon catching instead. (Galar's League-focus/prominence made him sickkkk. he was glad to move) -helped Jacq complete the Paldean, Kitakami and BB pokedex because of that. they're tight, the both of them. -his smile never reaches his eyes, early-game. -he is not naturally kind, nor does he see himself as the 'hero' of the story (that was always Juliana, not him), but he fakes being a main character to make people think he's just as good (this is also a byproduct of Galar's culture tbh) -that's why he seems like the more extroverted of the two, but really, he's just as quiet as her behind doors. -tbh even the fact that he has one beauty mark under his eye instead of two like his twin sis bothers him... blud thinks he'll never be enough! -Koraidon's trainer

-after meeting Kieran, Florian tried to be kind from a genuine want instead of to impress people. he wanted to be the 'hero of the story' that Kieran saw him as... and not because he needed to be out of his sister's shadow. Kieran made him want to try. -like the only way I see him winning during BB League wasn't because he was the main character who always wins, but because winning was the only way he could be friends with Kieran again. -his arc will conclude when he learns to be kind and do things out of selflessness :) which is why he takes a Tera Blast during the Indigo Disk's climax, the ultimate act of selflessness. help. sorry man it was for character development...

Juliana

-The actual main hero of the story. Really insanely strong in battles. like just straight up a beast -Juliana's names mean "youth", so she stays the same, forever a young battle prodigy Florian tries to match (but can't...). Also, youth to me can mean the future, which is why she's the Miraidon trainer! -Another reason why she's Miraidon trainer is because she can't express herself how she wants... she can't emote easily and speaks monotonously, like a robot. -Her arc would conclude when she learns that the people worth keeping in life are the ones that get her even when she doesn't feel "normal" :]]] true treasures. -big eater -read once that having beauty marks under your eyes means you'll have "trouble in love" and tried to scrub hers off... really envies Florian for having just one and thinks Flo's some kind of romance genius. goes to him for love advice one day and it freaks him out (he's having just a complicated time as any teen!!!)

-Heavily inspired by Pokemon Special's take on her. like look at her she's so cool.

[tenebriism]

TOTK Verse : GHIRAHIM.

// SMALL SPOILERS FOR TOTK MENTIONED. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Subject to change. I'm pretty far into the game, main story quest-wise, but I'm still familiarizing myself with The Chasm and the sky islands, so I may tweak some things, here and there, as my understanding of both areas expands.

Skyward Sword Ghirahim, no doubt, was a tool for Demise. Nothing more, nothing less. A means by which to both resurrect his Master, and to match Fi's / The Master Sword's power, when it came to the final battle with the hero of legend ( rather, attempt to. We all knew that wasn't happening. ) There are theories that suggest Ghirahim ' himself ' has died, and that only the blade itself remains, much like how we can tell remnants of Fi still remain in the Master Sword, but she doesn't emerge as an actual entity who can speak and guide us anymore.

What if his blade ends up down in the deepest depths of the Chasm, though? Surrounded by that icky, corrupting substance they call ' gloom? ' Or, pieces of it end up in varying parts of the Chasm ( because the area is HUGE. My jaw dropped when it just . . . kept GOING ), and once all the pieces are collected and put together, out pops a gnarly looking husk of Ghirahim, searching for a fight. A blade wielded by the Demon King is sure to feed and thrive off such generous pools of darkness and power, and if we can eventually fix the Master Sword ( I'm assuming that's the route the story is taking -- not there yet ), then who is to say a blade of darkness can't be restored, too?

Defeat him, and he comes to his senses. Might be a bit prickly, but hey, welcome back, Ghirahim.

I write my Ghirahim as bitter and somewhat resentful towards Demise once he realizes just how well treated Fi was with Link, and how, despite all that Ghirahim did for his Master, it didn't really matter in the end. This could lead to an allegiance with the hero, or at the very least, a promise not to get involved with this Ganondorf's reign of terror. I can't see him putting on a bucket hat and jumping in to fight against the bokoblins and other monsters he once served as a leader to, but I can DEFINITELY see him sitting on the sidelines, observing . . . MAYBE helping, here and there, when he ' feels like it, ' and then playing it off as just wanting to see the Dark Lord fall.

I don't know, I just think one of those ' OMINOUS WEAPON FOUND IN CHASM ' sidequests would be cool. :) And maybe you get a pretty Demon Lord out of it.

[bluevaractyl]

I like what lots of other people have said. Oops this turned into an essay so I'll hide it below the cut.

Zelda II (and probably the original Legend of Zelda, though I haven't played it) requires patience, perseverance, and skill. Some of the areas have taken me over 30 tries to get through, either because the monsters were too tough or because I had to time the jumps right. Each new item or spell opens up new possibilities, but the new areas rise in difficulty to match. Outside of towns, you can never really relax. Unless you've just cleared a cave or boss room, you are in danger. Even in the towns, some of the townspeople might be monsters in disguise. You die a lot. If you die, Ganon returns, no question. The only map or quest log you have is the one you make yourself.

We don't know a lot about Hyrule from his games' canon, but what little we do know is that he was a traveler. He saw Impa in trouble, saved her from monsters, and accepted her plea that he save Hyrule from Ganon. He somehow succeeded, stuck around to help with recovery, and then 6 years later took up Impa's (and likely Zelda's) plea for him to unite the Triforce, lift the curse on the other Princess Zelda, and restore peace to Hyrule. He succeeded again.

Along the way, he learned spells from wise Old Men. Gameplay suggests that he has a finite amount of magic himself, which he can restore by drinking potions or resting at an Old Woman's home. Unlike in many other games, using magical items doesn't appear to draw from his reserves, so it might be that they don't use much and/or that using magic for them is unconscious. One of his spells allows him to turn into a fairy. Some people use this to headcanon that he is part fae. I don't, personally, but I have no problem with it.

These, and the Linked Universe comic, all have influenced how I see Hyrule. To me, he is persistent and kind to a fault. He is a wanderer who makes his own way. He enjoys the company of others but is also used to solitude. He is good at fighting fearsome opponents, undaunted by failure, and knows his limits. He is cheerful and friendly and maybe a little socially unaware. He's humble. The potential for Ganon's return hidden in his blood is a constant source of hidden fear and anxiety, usually ignored but never forgotten. Above all, Hyrule is a Hero because he saw that he could help, so he did. I really like that about his character.

Since starting AoL, I've gradually formed an idea of what his world is like before and by the time of LU. During AoL, it is absolutely infested with monsters. There isn't a lot of arable land, the towns are tiny and isolated, and there are so. many. graves. The people are either eager to help (often in gratitude for aid given), or brusque and unwilling to chat. Old Kasuto has been overwhelmed by monsters and left desolate. There is not a single natural animal in the entire game (unless I'm missing something?) It's kind of a bleak place.

By LU, I think it's still largely barren, but it's recovering. Maybe Old Kasuto has been reclaimed, or a new town or two have been established. There are probably still monsters, but they have lost their strongholds so travel is a little safer. They probably still hunt for the hero. With two princesses, the tiny kingdom might be starting to reestablish trade and communication with its neighbors. The old palaces and dungeons might stand empty and abandoned, monsters might be gathering strength again in them, or the princesses might be repurposing them somehow.

When writing him, I would encourage you to look into his items and spells, especially from AoL since that is closer to LU's time. The Wiki has been invaluable to me. Check out his monsters too. Aaaaaa this got reallllly long so I'll stop now

Hello Linked Universe fandom. I have a question.

If Hyrule is your one of your favourite lu Links, would you please tell me why? I'd like to become more familiar with his character.

Is there something about Jojo's version you like especially? What are you're favourite headcannons? Something about him the fandom tends to sleep on?

If you've played his games, is there anything in particular you liked about them (items, characters, bosses etc.)? Anything you hope to see referenced in the comic?

If you've ever needed an excuse to gush about your blorbo, please take this as an invitation (don't fell pressured to answer every question though).

[transfenris-truther]

for the hawke asks, isabela 4, varric 2, anders 1, and sebastian 4? (if you have sebastians dlc of course)

Thanks for the ask @beelzebard! Sorry for the slow response. These were actually somewhat sad questions. These are characters I feel like my Hawke has a somewhat complicated relationship with (Varric aside) so I hope these aren't a bummer.

-How did your Hawke respond to Isabela? Were they well-matched or ill-suited?

My Hawke (Julian) gets along great with Isabela, but they don't really spend a lot of time together outside of group settings. Hawke would never say this to her, and nobody would ever know (outside of maaaaaybe Fenris or Varric?) but Julian is somewhat jealous of her. It's something he feels very guilty about, because he understands her life hasn't been as sunshine and roses as she sometimes makes it out to be. Back in Lothering, when his family was always on the run, Hawke privately dreamed of joining a mercenary company or a pirate ship- someplace where his magic would be an asset and people would protect him, but also somewhere where he was not the responsible party, where he could just rest and not worry about his family or Templars. Even now, when he has guilty fantasies about not being the champion of Kirkwall or of having no responsibilities, he imagines wide open seas, casual sex and lewd jokes. So he likes Isabela, he gets on with her, they work well together... but his private jealousy will always prevent him from being as close to her as Fenris is.

-Was your Hawke comfortable with Varric’s story-telling hobby? Did they predict that Varric would write a story about them?

Julian genuinely thinks Varric is kidding about the book. He thinks Varric is kidding about it for waaaaaay too long. Like, it's well into Act 3, and Julian is still convinced there's no book. He even denies he's a a public figure until Meredith and Orsino are straight up asking him to make head-of-state choices. Once he realizes the book is a real thing and definitely happening, he really tries his best to live up to the legend, to give Varric good lines, to behave especially like a hero from a romantic legend. Everyone is annoyed by this, and Varric rewrites all that dialogue anyway. Fenris finds it very amusing, even though he rolls his eyes, and he often keeps the flowers Hawke gifts him in grand romantic gestures and presses them in books to preserve them.

-How did your Hawke feel about Anders’ clinic? Did they ever spend time there?

VERY positively. He's no healer, it's the magic he's worst at, and he has a huge amount of respect for anyone who can heal. When he's in a self-loathing mood about his magic, he's always trying to improve his healing skill, convinced that it's the one aspect of magic nobody can find any evil in. That said, no, he doesn't spend time there. He and Anders agree on a lot of things, but like a lot of people with similar but not identical political ideologies, they fight all the time about the details. He just doesn't really feel welcome or useful there unless he's doing mage underground business or actively being treated. Honestly, not strengthening his relationship with Anders and trying more to understand his perspective is a big regret at the end of the game.

-Did your Hawke choose to kill or spare Anders? Did their relationship with Sebastian change depending on their choice?

Julian spares Anders. His relationship with Sebastian was always a little stiff. Julian has a tendency to be quite irreverent, and while Sebastian has a higher tolerance for it than a lot of religious people, his piety grates on Julian. Even if Sebastian isn't judging him, Julian definitely feels judged. So they don't get along too well. Julian feels guilty about not feeling comfortable around him, even though he's perfectly nice. Sebastian, for his part, hyper analyzes himself when he realizes Hawke is uncomfortable and tries to dial it down, but this just results in the two of them not really communicating and never developing a genuine connection. When Sebastian tries to convince him to execute Anders, Julian's perspective on him really sours. He sees Sebastian as a traitor who would kill a friend over religion. Sebastian, for his part, sees Hawke as someone who will let an abomination literally get away with murder. From that point on, I don't think they ever speak again. Both of them start to view the other as "an asshole all along." Their friendship ends on bad terms.

[kidmachinate]

Forget Pay to Win, Unite to Win

Alright look...the title could use some work but hear me out as I take you through this casual look at Pokemon Unite.

You may be thinking to yourself, why? Why listen to a guy who doesn't play MOBAs or enjoy them in the least bit due to the toxicity that exists within? I'd argue that is more the reason to listen. Because I don't care for a lot of what goes into these games and am having a shocking amount of fun with what is honestly a fun game, but definitely isn't without its drawbacks. Spoilers. The drawbacks are what everyone knows already. There is a Pay to Win aspect. Let's break this down.

MOBAs (to me) are intimidating. Huge focus on teamplay while juggling various mechanics and game knowledge. Huge focus on map awareness. Crazy stuff. This doesn't change in Unite and won't be a game that changes your opinion on the genre as a whole perhaps but if you find yourself bored and/or with a short attention span, this one may just get your attention. I've previously played League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm. The latter I found more fun but it didn't grab my attention. Apparently Activision Blizzard didn't like it either as the game got canned. Something about Pokemon just brings people who are into it together. Here's what works for me.

No focus on last hitting

I don't know if last hitting has a term but in Pokemon Unite, you get experience even if you don't get the last hit. You get more if you do, but still some without having to learn the timing for a last hit between different characters and trying to coordinate that potentially with a teammate in the same lane. This is huge for me. It was an annoyance from the start when playing. To do this for so long to potentially have so much else fall apart possibly about fortyish minutes later in a game.

Match Length

Matches are ten minutes long. By the time potential anger or team mistakes could get to you as it will anyone to some extent, the match is over and you can queue right back up for the next one. A lot more games can be played in the time it takes to play a single LoL game. The game respects your time in that aspect until you start to look into the various areas where it potentially doesn't. Unfortunately this does align with where the P2W aspect kicks in. More on that part later. Ten minute matches whether ranked or regular games makes daily tasks seem more doable. Sometimes dailies or other various things you can redeem will require a quick match. Five minute matches. Even better! Personally however, I don't care much for quick matches. The pace of the game is a bit too quick and one map in particular with treadmills makes moving more of a chore than it needs to be. Ten minutes goes by quickly while still feeling the phases of the game hit you as you get familiarized with the game. Early, mid, and late game phases all play different parts of what makes up a good game of Pokemon Unite. Ten minutes feels right to be able to focus quickly on what each of these phases are and quickly learn from your mistakes before trying that next game and seeing what you can do differently.

Pay To Win?

Quick answer? Yes. Not as bad as it is made out to be however. Many doing this are either content creators or whales. Sometimes one in the same. This does in the case of content creators allow them to be able to provide insight to builds and what works quicker but sucks for the beginners to both the game and perhaps the genre as a whole. Knowing this however, skill can outplay the money one spends. You get benefits for sure but in higher ranks, people are going to have higher level held items anyway. Held items give a Pokemon various effects or buffs. You can hold three of these as opposed to just one in the core games. There a slight gatcha aspect with the energy system. Basically a completely random either cometic or game enhancing item if you're lucky. You have a weekly cap on this and if you want to bypass it...you guess it! You can spend money. Looking past the complexities of various currencies, there is a lot you can get for free without having to spend a dime. Even if you do, if you're really against P2W, you could just...not. Crazy concept, I know but you can just not buy into it. Save your money for cosmetics or new licences which get you different Pokemon to play as. Saving for the ones you can't acquire for free is a good idea.

The game may lack the depth a hardcore MOBA player would be looking for, but has just enough to be more interesting to a wider audience, and lots of variety with the different Pokemon and team combinations, to make for a fun experience. I truly don't believe things are currently at.a point where an outrage is necessary but we also cannot pretend it isn't there. Considering the facts for what they are, I say this is a fun middle of the road type game. I'm having a lot of fun with it but could do without it. It's not excellent but it isn't bad. Not every game is a 0 or a 10. It's okay to play a 7 out of 10 game you may enjoy but also not be blind to potential shortcomings. The fun factor outweighs these shortcomings for me and it helps that many others I know currently feel the same way. Like any potential multiplayer effort, I'll keep playing until it wears out its welcome...but with how many Pokemon exist, it may be a long journey.

[tatsuma86]

End of The Line

So I havnt written anything in a long time, but this idea was bouncing arround in my head all day so here we are.

The day started out quiet enough, the nine hero's are currently in Hyrule's world and are making their way to the nearest town to resupply. They had just used the last of the potions the night before because Hyrule managed to break his arm when him and Wild were supposed to be out gathering firewood. How they came back all banged up, Twilight doesn't even want to know.

"Only you two can manage to get so beat up looking for firewood. I swear to Hylia, you're going to be the death of me." Twilight Groaned as he walked between Time and Wild.

“It’s not our fault. That ledge came out of nowhere.” Wild attempted to defend them but the look on both Time and Twilights faces prevented any more excuses.

The group continued on in silence until a fairly cool breeze blew through them causing a few to shiver. Wind, being one of the smallest was clutching his arms around himself to help ward off the cold.

“Here.” Wild walked over to Wind and plopped his hood onto the smaller hero. Grinning up at Wild, Wind took the garment and fastened it around him.

“Thanks!” As they continued their trek Hyrule stated that the town should only be about another two hours of walking, which earned only a few groans. It was about mid afternoon when things took a turn for the worst. Seeming to almost appear out of nowhere, monsters from multiple different hyrules surrounded the band of heros. Taking out their swords, they all prepared for quite the battle.

“It looks like whatever brought us all together is really starting to rear its ugly head. We are gonna be in for the long haul boys.” Warriors shouted.

“No showing off, just get the job done and do it quick. It looks like there is about thirty monsters or so. Keep an eye on each other and keep your head in the game, remember we are all out of potions, if it seems like we are gonna be overwhelmed we will fall back and regroup. Got it!” Time gave his orders and there was a resounding agreement. The battle began and was going fairly smoothly despite the numbers. After about a half hour of constant fighting, dodging and parrying, the battle came to an end. Luckily everyone was still standing though looking a bit worse for wear. Unfortunately nobody got out of this one unscathed, though no one was too beat up just a little battered and bruised. As everyone stopped to catch their breath, a noise in the forest next to them caught their attention, especially that of the Hero of the Wild. The mechanical whirring was slowly getting louder as it made its way closer to the group.

“What is that?” Legend voiced everybody's question, well everyone's except Wild, who was frozen to the spot, staring in the direction of the noise. Through the trees a guardian beam shot towards them, barely missing Twilight and effectively putting everyone back in high alert, aside from Wild.

“Nononononono. This can't be happening. They should all be dead.” Time was the only one to catch the mumblings of the frozen wild child, but before he could ask him about it the guardian made it out of the forest, its eye ready to fire, aiming straight for Wild.

“WILD MOVE!!” Time called, but it unfortunately fell on deaf ears. On pure instinct and adrenaline Time sprinted to Wild, effectively pushing him out of harm's way. He was not so lucky.

Being thrown to the ground jarred Wild back into the present as he watched the beam hit Time dead in the chest, sending the warrior slamming into the trees behind him. With a resounding thud the man lay there motionless as blood pooled around his torso.

“NOOOO!!!” The scream of Twilight shook Wild out of his stunned stuper. Wild saw red. He stood and walked in front of Time, facing the guardian, as Twilight went to check on their leader. Warriors also went to check on Time while the others stood to face the Guardian as it charged another beam, once again aiming right for Wild, who had his shield out and ready. As soon as the beam fired Wild lunged forward and slung the blast back at the machine, and not wasting any time sprinted forward. Just before the gaurdian Wild squatted down and activated Revali's Gale, sending him high into the air over the mechanical beast where he pulled out his bow and his last ancient arrow.

Time seemed to slow as he pulled back the string and activated the ancient technology, taking a deep breath he let the arrow fly straight and true as it pierced the guardians eye. The resulting explosion went virtually unnoticed as everyone stared in stunned silence at Wid as he landed and sprinted to Time. With the initial shock gone the others rushed to their leaders side as he struggled to breath, his head cradled in Twilights lap as Warriors tried to stop the bleeding. There was a tense silence as everyone took in the situation. Suddenly reminded that there was no more potions.

“Come on Old Man, you can't do this to me you gotta get it together.” Twilight begged, though he already knew the inevitable.

“You shouldn’t have taken my place. I would have been fine. I’m suppose to take the hits no one else can, because I can get back up dammit!” Wild shouted as he joined his hands with Warriors to stem the bleeding. A shaking hand came up to rest on his cheek as Time let a small smile grace his face.

“You're not alone anymore, you don't have to fight on your own anymore Cub. Let us take some of that burden from you.” With that Time let his hand drop as the light faded from his eyes.

“NONONOOO! PLEASE! Please.” With a broken sob Wild and Twilight both begged as tears flowed freely on everyone's faces. Through the panic, the two descendants didn't notice that they were starting to fade.

“Um, Wild, Twi. What's happening to you guys?” Came the shaky question of Sky as he stared at the transparent heros. Sucking in a sharp breath, Wild stared at his shaking hands then looked up at Twilight, who was wearing a matching expression of shock and horror.

“I. I think it’s because of Time. W-we.” Unfortunately the group didn't get to hear the Rest of what Twilight had to say, for both heroes faded away leaving six heros and the body of a seventh in a field of an absolute masacre.

The group sat there in stunned silence as the weight of their loss sank in. The clearing was silent, aside from the soft sniffles of the grieving boys. After a few moments, Warriors stood, clearing his throat .

“We should give him a proper burial then head out, I don't want to be in this field when the sun goes down.” With everyone's nod, they got to work. The air was heavy and no one said a word as they lowered Time into the ground. They placed a stone on top of the mound to mark the spot then headed towards town, not having the willpower to stay any longer.

Though it only took them about an hour to get to the town, it felt like an eternity to the band of brothers. Not having the energy to resupply right then, they made there way to the inn to turn in for the night. Despite the battle they just fought, no one was very hungry so they all just got ready for bed. The rest of the night was spent restlessly, and even though they were all extremely tired, no one could sleep. When the sun rose in the morning, they all sluggishly got up to get the necessary supplies in town. Though before they left the inn Legend finally voiced something he had been curious about since they buried Time.

“Hey Wind?” The young boy looked over to Legend.

“Where did you get that hood?”

[silverylion]

Can we talk about Lance for a bit ?

There is something that really bothers me in season 8. I mean everyone is kind of still recovering but I feel like I need to say it anyway.

They chose to heavily feature Allurance from episode one cause they planned to kill Allura. It's a fact. As much as I don't ship it, they make a really cute couple with adorable scenes that made me smile and support them and I could have got over my disappointment regarding who I wanted to end up with Lance if only Lance had shown a bit of happiness by being with her.

No manner how we look at it, he isn't happy ! Why is that ? He finally got what he always wanted so why did they depicted him like that ? I really don't understand and that's what makes me so angry about all of this.

He doesn't seem like someone in love who finally got the girl! He seems hurt! Why is that ??

I'm ready to ignore the messy plotline of this season, the inconsistencies and everything that is wrong because overall, what I really care about is Lance as a character.

He means a lot to me because he is so different from the characters we normally meet in this kind of stories. He began as an annoyingly flirty boy who was desperately searching for glory to calm the insecurities he only show to few people. He was talented but needed someone else to acknowledge it to fully realize it himself. He was defined by his loudness and his love for love. He was looking for validation and a special person who would love him as profoundly as he love others. He had big dreams, big expectations, a bright future ahead of him. He wasn't overly masculine, liked being pretty and throw terrible pick up lines. He was funny, adorable I fell for him as much as I identified with (even if we are so different). He wasn't perfect, far from it, but it's also why I love him.

For many - including me - he was also representation. Not only for another kind of complex character but also by being Cuban and supposedly bisexual, something that seemed to be heavily implied so many times but I won't even talk about it.

During the series he has grown to be more self assured through the missions he accomplished with his friends, the people he met but most importantly Keith who trusted him and relied on his abilities, which definitely shown him his worth. I'm not even gonna talk about Klance as romantic. Keith is an important person for Lance's character, a friend he needed by his side along the way and that still was there for him in season 8. Which is really great, by the way.

I'm not gonna talk about the 'first choice' thing or the 'someone he needs, not someone he wants' or even the 'endgame' aspect of his romance. But yeah, that was all lies.

On this photo, Allura seems calm and happy, she seems like she can finally see a future with Lance and it's great. What is not so great, though ? When I saw this particular part in the episode, I stopped and watched Lance's face for about 5 minutes to try to understand. I don't see a happy boyfriend, here. I see a guy kind of unsure of what he is doing. I see a guy who doesn't know if what he is having is for real or even if it's what he really wants. He seems quite uncomfortable, tensed. It's maybe just a projection on my part but I genuinely cant see happiness here no matter how long I look at it. But maybe I'm really biased and don't see what actually is, you tell me.

Throughout the season, he was here to support Allura on her journey and it's great, but I would have wanted her to reciprocate it in a way or another. It's what Lance always needed and he didn't got it.

And in the end, he cried. I feel like he never really believed that this relationship would stick, that for whatever reason, they would end up parting paths. And the crew chose to kill her... In all honesty, Allura is not a character I really care about. I thought nothing about her in s1 and in s2, I started disliking her with what happened with Keith. But even thought I don't really care for her, making her die ? For seemingly no reason ? It's tough. And once again, I'm not even talking about how they killed representation or how people in the fandom can feel crushed by that, betrayed, even. I'm only remaining on Lance's side.

He never really had someone to reciprocate his love, something confirmed by his mom. He fell for Allura, casually at first, really hard when the series continued. What he feels for her is genuinely profound and I really liked that he confessed to her but even then... why did he seemed so sad ?

Just look at him !

He probably never loved anyone as much as he loved her. He sees a lot in her but he never felt like he was on equal ground with her. She is an awesome gorgeous space princess. He is just a boy from Cuba. (An awesome funny adorable space ranger but what do I know...). He never felt like he had a chance or deserved her affection. What about that ? It wasn't mentioned even once and I think that this is the reason of his constant sad face while he confesses, while he kisses her, while he conforts her...

I just don't understand and it makes me sad to see him like that. I know, he is just a character, I know this is just a cartoon, I know this just a kid show. But seeing a character you so much love becoming this sad guy that only support without reciprocation, this guy that loved love and is betrayed by it ? I just can't feel anything else but anger and disappointment for the wasted potential.

He ended up losing the woman he loved. The only person who seemed to reciprocate his feelings and because of that I think that he will always be a little more cautious about it because he has always been disappointed. He shot for the stars and fell hard. I fell hard with him. And as someone that feel that love will never go both ways, it just makes me even more bitter about this.

About the altean markings I don't know what to think. Some people think Allura turned him altean, others think she just left him something to remember her by. In both cases, this is wrong.

If the first theory is true, then what? What does that mean beside the ridiculous impossibility to change race? Did she make him altean to 'level him up' from his human status because he wasn't a match for her? Because altean are so much better? Because there was no need for that! Alteans are not all dead so why? For all I know, it wasn't to make royalty knowing that he ended up farmer so... once again, why?

If the second theory is true, well... That's even worst. She wants him to remember her ? I think he has enough around him for that, the status, the commemorations, the legend that will follow her, stories, his friends that gather to talk about her and how they miss her and what she meant for them... Giving him this will only prevent him from moving on. And it's harsh. I personally think that he should have moved on a long time ago. She never loved him, she was annoyed by his flirty attitude, by his simple presence sometimes. He should have seen that blatant rejection and accepted that yeah, he wants her but cannot have her. Romantic love wasn't something she cared about for so long. And then she fell for Lotor who betrayed her. And I think she honestly still doesn't care about Lance this way.

I think Allura didn't fell in love with Lance. She was heartbroken because of Lotor, because of the altean, because of the crown she lost, because she saw everyone with families while she lost hers. I think Allura just wanted someone that would take care of her and lift her burden with her. Just someone that would remind her that she is not alone in the universe, a distraction from the pain she was feeling. Someone that would ground her to prevent her from losing hope. He was easy, he loved her, she just accepted it not reciprocated it.

I see this like that because there was no real build up for their relationship. It wasn't a slow burn. It wasn't even reciprocal. She was sad that Lance felt so strongly about her and accepted their relationship for her own balance and because she didn't want to see her friend so sad. It didn't solve the problem for him though. Plus when the vision of Lotor, her ex boyfriend, told her to go get the creature thing she did but when Lance, her current (well past cause well, she's dead) boyfriend told her not to because it was dangerous and he cared to much for her safety, she didn't listen to him... Great. That's love folks.

I really could have fell for their story but seeing Lance so sad, so taken advantage of... He was so dull, no charisma, no joke, no stupid lines, nothing. He wasn't himself. He wasn't the Lance we saw grow during six to seven seasons. He wasn't the hero, second in command, courageous sharpshooter we all know.

And the sword ? Was it to foreshadow his future encounter with Alfor and Allura giving him blue markings ? Well, that was unnecessary. They could have done that without making people think that something more exciting would happen, that he would actually use the sword.

And the game show ? If they were to be together why the fuck didn't Lance chose her ? Why the fuck didn't she chose him ?... Well, she didn't because she didn't love him more than she loved the other Paladins. But why Lance didn't? Why make Lance and Keith chose each other? If they didn't want to involve them in any romantic kind of situation (they totally failed), they could at least have made them hug. And an emotional scene to express how much they care for each other to justify being worth choosing the other over anyone else to leave and not spend eternity in the game show. Keith was there for Lance and Lance was too obsessed with Allura to even ask about him. Great, even in a totally no homo friends kind of look it was badly handled.

Can someone explain to me the reason of the sunset setting ? Or why Lance freaked out when Veronica asked him to "put in a good word for her" with Keith ? They are friends, now, there was no allusion to their past rivalry. There was therefore no need for that kind of reaction.

He didn't save Shiro, for absolutely nothing. They never talked about it again. They never gave him the opportunity to make up for how bad he felt about that. He didn't event get a conversation with Shiro. They never gave a closure to Lance's arc.

Why do I feel like they did all that to make everyone pay for the shippers that made the toxic reputation of this fandom ? Why do I feel like the writers hate Lance ? Why do I feel like they totally baited us ?

The guy so in love with the idea of love ended up a lonely farmer. That's a great message for kids : don't even think that life will live up to your expectations no matter how hard you work for it. Don't even think that you can find any kind of fulfillment in your life, neither in love nor career.

I've never been in a fandom while a series was still going but I engaged in the Voltron fandom. I discovered it quite late but fell hard for it, it brought me so much happiness, so much hope ! I will never do it again because I'm not sure that the sadness and disappointment I feel right now are worth it. I will never be mad at the theorists and meta writers, they are good people who saw the extraordinary potential of Voltron, they probably feel worse to have spent so much time and energy picking up clues that definitely existed and only served to bait us.

In conclusion, everything Lance did this season was in a way or another related to Allura, as if he forgot he was someone of himself. As if the writers forgot who this character was. And it's painful.

At least there are still the beautiful fan art and fanfictions that really make him justice.

[gronjon44]

Ok I need to talk about this. No hating me even though I know people will

Ok. So. I enjoy overwatch. It is, and I feel like it can be an amazing game in the future.

BUT

There is such a problem with it and I think I'm finally becoming depressed by it. Not clinically depressed but I'm just getting tired by it. I still enjoy the game and I love the variety of Characters in the game. But it's just becoming a big pile of shit. I mean everything I say in the nicest way possible. And take it with a grain of salt.

This game has by far the most toxic community that I have ever been a part of. The players in Overwatch just get too competitive, which I got used to. But its hard to get used to the fact that there are so many people who will throw matches for no reason, smurfs who just tend to ruin the game as a whole by sneaking their way into the lower ranks. And that's just the players.

I'm sorry. But Jeff Kaplan is the biggest idiot I've ever seen. He's done a decent job running Overwatch so far. But what isn't doing right is communicating with his player base, the very driving force behind the game.

IDC what you say. He doesn't care what we think, or at the very least doesn't care to listen unless his sales are dropping. He has gone above and beyond to appease the fans i admit that. But thats precisely what is ruining the game itself. He does whatever it takes to make the players happy, be it changing a map in a way it never needed to be changed or by ruining a character into the ground. Look what happened to Mercy and hog at the beginning. Hog went through hell and back because of his gun and Mercy has been ripped inside and out to make players happy. But instead of that, Mercy hsd become the most ruined character alongside Brig and Doomfist, Hog only recently got put into a place where he fits into everything. And that isn't the end.

Look at Reaper. He has always needed to be fixed. Shadow Step is by far the worst ability in the game it holds no combat advantage, and now he is the most deadly hero there is thanks to the change to his passive and to Armor. Hog and Winston, as well as every other tank, is now the ultimate battery for Reaper. And you know what, Jeff won't do anything to fix his permanent Damage boost, or the uselessness of Shadow Step. Because he won't.

Honestly the only person I've seen outside myself be willing to call Jeff out on his bullshit is BTC, or Blame the Controller. He is by far, the most in depth overwatch content creator on YouTube. He should be on the Dev Team doing Jeff's job in my opinion, because he seems more fit to run the game that Jeff. He brings up valid points, as well as alternative replacements for failing mechanics in the game. And guess what happens when he does. Jeff gets mad.

BTC gave so many alternate ideas for Reaper tk have a better setup. And Jeff responded with saying that his ability is meant to get him into the fight quickly and suddenly. It isn't supposed to be stealthy so stop asking.

I guarantee Jeff watched BTC and is getting upset at the idea that there are those who are more communicative with the community than he is, and have more effective ideas than he does.

To be fair this is all my own opinion. I just feel like Jeff isn't doing his job. I mean look at the lore. They are giving us toenail clippings for lore. It's been three almost four years and FNAF has a more consistent plot than Overwatch does, and FNAF is 80% theories. I've been dying to see something to do with the Swiss Base attack, or more specifically the Los Muertos. I want more lore and I see that some people could argue that the game isn't meant for lore. But you know what,

I DON'T RIGHTFULLY CARE

I am not the only one who enjoys the game for lore. I can get being the gameplay still but I mainly first entered the game for the lore and variety of story. But now it's just a big mess angry fans, ignorant developers, and such lack luster content that it's just getting old. And I think I, as well as many others are getting close to finding an alternative.

I won't be the first to admit it, but Respawn entertainment is doing MUCH better than Blizzard right now. In terms of a quality game, Titanfall 2 is by far the best game of it's year, even compared to Overwatch.

They have so far managed to keep a game as old as Overwatch in better shape with minimal changes, a balanced system with it's fair share of problems (but those problems arent cram fixed like what Overwatch does), and they actually release good games consistently. Case and point, Apex: Legends.

TBH, I was half expecting Overwatch or even EA to jump on the Battle Royale hype train. I was getting on a "Star Wars: Force Royale" or some other cheesey cash grab. But Respawn was a huge surprise honestly. And the shear quality of the game is astounding. I always played Fortnite over Blackout and PUBG, only because it was simpler and the art style appealed to me more. But Apex just hit all the marks. You don't need to have a mic to communicate with the Ping system; there's a decent roster of characters so far, small as it may be; the controls are smooth and there's no need of Building (thank God). And it's just an amazing game already and it's only been out for what a month?

I'll be short and sum this up cause I've made this pretty damn long. The point of all this is to say that there are much better alternatives to Overwatch. I have more fun playing Titanfall 2 in the span of 3 weeks cause I bought it recently finally since I missed out when it released. It is a much better game and it has yet to die and is by far a great step in the right direction. And let's not ignore the fact that they STILL HAVE A SINGLE PLAYER MODE, UNLIKE MOST GAMES NOW WITH ANY MULTIPLAYER.

I just think OverWatch needs to step it's game up or they're gonna start losing players real fast.

This is all my own thoughts so take it how you will. Hate me, agree with me, I don't really care cause I just wanted to vent all this

[cutebutalsostabby]

*Pokes head in excitedly*

Hey hey listen: can we also talk...

Hyrulean Politics??

So: at face value, the Zelda II map looks very different to the Hyrule of other games. But it actually isn't! Here's that map compared to the top right corner of BotW's map. Key landmarks include a) Death Mountain and b) Labyrinth island:

Not a perfect match of course, but enough that 10,000ish years and a volcanic eruption/earthquake or two could make up the difference:

And here's the full BotW map, for scale:

That's right: Hyrule's Hyrule is SMOL! That is in fact canon, as per Hyrule Historia:

And, when you consider the number of towns existing in that region: it is also densely populated! Compare it to BotW for example - even including ruins from the pre-Calamity era. There just isn't really enough space, and the space that IS there is full of monsters.

But kingdoms don't just mysteriously expand and contract. As it says above, the land was instead DIVIDED.

Here's an overview of how the boundaries might have changed over time:

Skyward Sword, Tears of the Kingdom past and Twilight Princess's Interloper War (not necessarily in that order): Hyrule is founded and starts to expand as a nation, at a time where the idea of a "nation" is still new.

By the time of Minish Cap, Hyrule is an established kingdom. Holodrum and Labrynna also exist as separate nations to Hyrule.

In Oracle of Ages, Labrynna had a queen in the past but none in the present. Instead, they have a local mayor... and they have Princess Zelda, as a distant, visiting princess who nonetheless wields influence. Similar situation over in Holodrum, though that has no in-game "past" state. In between past and present eras of Labrynna, you have the Ocarina of Time's Hyrule Unification War, probably including those two nations either being annexed or forced to swear fealty.

After the Unification War, you then also have seven years of Ganondorf's rule, followed by, in the Downfall Timeline at least, ALttP's Imprisoning War (not to be confused with TotK's Imprisoning War). Keep in mind that at the time this war happens, Hyrule is still pretty messed up from Ganondorf's rule! That may explain how Death Mountain goes from being home to the Gorons to being Ganon's lair in Zelda I.

Holodrum and Labrynna maintain relations with Hyrule, but they are quite distinctly separate from it - suggesting either a duchy or an alliance rather than forming part of Hyrule itself (contrasting the fact that BotW's map contains a bunch of place names from both nations and that OoT and TP don't even mention them. Coincidence? I THINK NOT.)

Depending on whether you rely on the booklet or game, Hyrule then achieves between ~80 and 400 years of peace, while Ganon sits and sulks inside the Dark Realm. Hooray!

Ganon breaks out. Oops.

The Hero of Legend (or multiple heroes from ALttP through to TH if you prefer) goes on several quests and brings a Golden Age of peace and prosperity to the land, including probably improving diplomatic relations between Hyrule and its sorta-but-not-really territories.

Everything is fine for a bit. Then the Royal Family eventually screws things up, royally, leading to the Era of Decline, where Hyrule splinters into a bunch of separate countries and/or duchies, probably including Holodrum and Labrynna, possibly including Calatia and definitely including Koridai.

Hyrule Historia doesn't go into much detail on that last point, but we can infer that the Royal Family's influence has shrunk SIGNIFICANTLY. Valiant Comics of course introduced a new (and very dubiously canon) land called Calatia as Zelda I&II Link's homeland. Imo, this is probably to the west or south of the "declined" Hyrule, and may even include the old Hyrule Castle, which is NOT included in Zelda I or II's map.

Meanwhile, "Hyrule" ended up as a tiny territory in the north east of the continent, encompassing the parts of the land that "Calatia" or similar didn't even want (i.e. Ganon's headquarters, plus this awful valley full of monsters created by the Royal Family itself). It has way too many people, way too may monsters, heaps of gross swamp and really not that much farmland.

In summary: yeah, Hyrule's Hyrule sucks imo.

Why is Hyrule's world often depicted as a toxic wasteland? So far the impression I've gotten while playing AoL is that it's dangerous but still plenty alive. There's forests, grasslands, swamps, mountains, deserts... Sure, you can't step outside a town without something immediately trying to kill you, and yes, some of the villagers are secretly monsters, and okay, the people apparently felt the need to build tunnels so they could travel safely between towns... but Link can swim in calm water just fine, and the grass is green? I am just curious.