#i keep thinking of that zelda meme

[louwhose]

Hi Lou! Can I ask for Sheik in F4?

why YES YOU MAY

...and since I actually really liked the full expression that Sheik's glorious bangs and face covering realistically hid, here's that version as well:

[azuresage]

It gets talked about a lot but I still can't stop nerding out about Link's characterization in TotK. It's done through his many creative dialogue choices and his expressions of course, but it's also done so subtly through what he *doesn't* say. Notably, he doesn't talk about himself. And this is why nobody recognizes him unless they've already met him. Because he doesn't tell them when they've got the wrong impression of him.

The meme about Link having Tony Hawk syndrome is so real. People will look at him and straight up say, "Wow, you look exactly like Link!" without a hint of irony. Lookout Landing has a detailed picture of his face in their watchtower and the search party still doesn't recognize him. Penn works with Link for a long time and thinks he's unlucky that the Yiga keep "mistaking" him for the Hero (granted, Traysi asked him to deliberately keep quiet, but Penn still didn't put two and two together himself). I think the reason for this, aside from it being really, really funny, is that Link just doesn't talk about himself. He doesn't feel the need to.

Characterization isn't just about what we see a character doing, it's also about how other characters respond to them. Link is so unassuming and humble that he doesn't match people's expectations of what "Link" should be like. The three Gerudo ladies hanging out around Outskirt Stable are one of many perfect examples. Link stands in front of them carrying the Master Sword, but they expect the Hero to be taller than they are, with a giant glowing sword, so they don’t believe it's him. Obviously that's not the reality, but they don't know that. Link doesn't correct them, either. Again, he doesn't feel the need to.

This is also why many NPCs from BotW don't recognize or remember Link. To them, he was just a passerby that did them a good turn once 6+ years ago. Nobody's going to remember a person like that for so long after. They had no way of knowing he was the Hero, unless it came up for story quest reasons. When they hear stories about the Princess's Appointed Knight who woke up from his 100 year nap, defeated the Calamity, and rescued Zelda, they imagine someone larger than life. Then when they see what Link actually is like, they can't put two and two together.

This is true even during the Hyrule Restoration efforts. Link always follows behind Zelda as her shadow, which she notes in her diary, but the people in the stable investigation quests and in Hateno don't recognize him either, even though he went everywhere she did. Link is just that unassuming. He resigns himself to being a shadow, allowing Zelda to take the lead and do as she pleases but always staying nearby to support and protect her. He doesn't need to be recognizable to do his job. And we know from both BotW and now TotK that he's wholly devoted to her. He's content with this. Many people more eloquent than I have spent many paragraphs elaborating on this. I just wanted to focus on what it says about his character.

Link is humble and unassuming, so much so that nobody believes that he's the Hero unless they already know him. He's devoted to Zelda, so much so that he's willing to do anything to chase even a glimpse of her. He doesn't talk about himself or correct people who have the wrong impression of him. He doesn't need to do that to chase his Zelda. He is a person of great humility in spite of his station. I think that's so interesting and neat how the comedy of him being unrecognizable also tells us all this about him. It's also cool how this is only one aspect of him; all the dialogue choices and expressions he makes during cutscenes and actions out in the world show a whole other, lighter side to him that meshes with this. It's all so good. I am in love with it. It always kills me inside when people dismiss his characterization as being nonexistant or flat just because it's not spoonfed to them or when they say Link being unrecognizable is lazy writing instead of a deliberate choice. I am biting and gnawing and gnashing over him and his relationship to Zelda. I love them so much.

[damallarky]

What I Liked About Dragon Age: The Veilguard

I keep seeing extremely negetive comments about Veilguard, even nearly two months after the game has been released, and that is insane to me.

Now, I'll admit that I had my own gripes about the game. But I have decided that I am not going to focus soley on the negatives. That makes me and everyone around me angry and miserable and that is not why I am on Tumblr.com. I am here for the memes and to talk about Dragon Age man.

So, I have decided to be the change I want to see in the world and make a non-exhaustive list of all of the things that I LIKED about Veilguard.

The Companions: I loved them. I loved their story arcs. I think they were well-written and very Dragon Age-y. They reminded me of the DA:O crew in a good way. I also can see what Bioware meant when they talked about the found family vibes.

The Art Style: This art style is my favorite out of all of the Dragon Age games. I've always prefered a more styalized look, because it's fun but mostly because it ages SO MUCH BETTER than a more realistic style in video games. Games like Zelda, Fable, etc still look pretty good today because they all have a more styalized look. At least in my opinion.

The Animation: This could go along with the art style, but I wanted to make it a seperate category. The animation in Veilguard was fantastic. The facial expressions on the characters were so well done. Ghila'nain moved like a Little Nightmares character which was great. Characters actually held onto their mugs!

The Voice Acting: Every Bioware game I've ever played has fantastic voice acting though. *shrugs*

The Seige of Weisshaupt: Was an absolutley fantastic moment in the game. Having a terrifying face hover over you while you desperately try to fight your way through the hordes of Darkspawn? Being led to safety by some random, badass kid? Davrin killing a Darkspawn's cousin last week? Lucanis not being able to stab a cloud? Perfection.

Being Able to Pet All the Cats and Dogs (and Assan): This speaks for itself tbh.

The Ossuary: Dude, walking into that funky underwater prison and seeing a massive aquatic creature swim by you was such a neat moment. I really enjoyed that area. That's also where we get to meet Lucanis and Spite, so yay!

The Fade Fish Tank: For similar reasons to above. I just think fish are cool ok? I also spent a little more time than I probably should have watching the fish swim back and forth.

Photo Mode: I love when games have a photo mode and I LOVED Veilguard's photo mode. I also love all of the photos that the community have been taking.

The Combat: The combat was really fun. I don't remember having as much fun with combat in a Dragon Age game as I had with Veilguard. You can tell the team put a lot of time and effort into it and it shows.

The Fact That We Got a Game At All: Look. After ten years of development hell, I wouldn't have been surprised if the game got scrapped. Yet somehow, despite the odds, the team at Bioware managed to deliver a finished game despite the odds stacked against them. Is it perfect? No. But it's here and it's real and out there for us to either love it or hate it despite the many times Bioware could have thrown in the towel.

Feel free to add to this list or talk about the things you liked about the game in the replies section! I know Veilguard has it's issues. Don't let the bad get in the way of the good.

[wyked-ao3]

Wyked's intro

Hey, I'm wyked (wicked) been on Tumblr a while now and finally got around to my intro

About me:↪ Wyked, she/her/psycho

↪ writer questionnaire here and here and another one here

↪ I'm 23 and would prefer not to interact with minors.

About my blog:↪ This is the blog for interactions and reblogging and tag games.

↪ Reader, writer, nerd,

↪Alpha/Beta reader, idea bouncer. (Send a pm if your looking for an extra set of eyes, just tell me what your looking for. I can be brutally honest if that's what you're looking for but I'm still listing my favorite parts regardless.)

↪Taurus born

↪I write mostly fanfiction multi fandom and have a blog for it here @wyked-fanfiction

↪ I'm currently writing my first original work the TPCG series and all lore and a majority of writing shares and ask will be shared on this blog @wyked-original-writing

All fandom related stuff will be contained to @wyked-fandom

↪My current game fandom's

Zelda (it's more link than Zelda but whatever lol) I have played (wind waker , orca of time, twilight princess, and a little of skyward sword)

Elder scrolls (Skyrim is my favorite)

Devil may cry 2-3

Red steel

Assassin's creed (can't wait for the new one…although I'm still not sure about upgrading from the PS3 lol)

↪My movie/series fandoms

Merlin, Twilight, Supernatural, Lucifer, Grimm,Once upon a time, Stargate (all), Primeval, Criminal minds, NCIS, Star trek, Harry Potter, Hannibal, Marvel, Harley Quinn, Shadow hunters, Arrow, How to train your dragons (all), Troll hunters (they ripped my heart out) Avatar the last Airbender, Avatar (blue), Jurassic world, Jurassic park, Dragon prince, The last of us?(Not the biggest fan of it but I do read the fic's and wrote for ot occasionally, Lost, Charmed (original), Originals (didn't finish it….I'm a softie okay), and to be honest I'm forgetting some… may edit as I remember or hit a phase where they are my favorite show again….

↪Anime fandom's…..some I'm only in due to my sister but it still counts…..

Black Butler

Heavens official blessing

Skum villain D

emon king academy

Welcome to demon school iruma (I love this)

Fairytail

↪My Never seen but I could probably convince you otherwise do to my sister's rambling list that will update as I remember names

Inuyasha

↪My interest and writing memes will be posted on @wyked-rebellion

Herbs,plants,trees, mushrooms, nature (I can keep going) animals,fish,corals and aquatic plants, invertebrates, mythology, pirates, knights, druids,shamans, hanfu, feudal era, history involving any of the above.. writing, gardening, wood carving and burning, sketching although I think you get more detail with wood burning……I can keep listing but most of that will not be covered here so I will stop now but feel free to drop in my inbox to chat

I will add more eventually here

↪My mutuals original story recommendation list

My favorite western, time loop horror romance by @tragedycoded I can not recommend this enough it got me hooked on a western.

If you like gay pirates, kidnapping, drama and found family that will keep you on your toes then check out @the-golden-comet 's story (read the warning)

↪My mutuals fanfiction recommendation list (it will change as I think of some I added the recommendations last minute so oops)

If you are into sarcastic lovable OC's and mandalorians from star wars check out @lillybaaaka 's work

she also has a fem Harry Potter/startrek crossover that I'm in love with lol highly recommend it, it's more startrek then Harry Potter

if you are into the bat family you should check out @gods-graveyard 's work

if you like bananafish fanfiction then check out @gioiaalbanoart she has several amazing ones but my favorite so far is this one

if you are a Zelda fan who ships Ganon and Link then I highly recommend you check out @the-golden-comet just make sure to read the warnings

[multbasa]

So Link's Awakening starts you off with no sword and you have to navigate around enemies to get one and Wind Waker has a whole sequence where you have to navigate around enemies without a sword as well.

Echoes of Wisdom will be the first mainline Zelda title where you don't use a sword at all (specifying mainline because Link's Crossbow Training is a thing. Also yes, EoW is a mainline title)

Link's Awakening has the best song ever during the time when you don't have a sword while the stealth aspect of Forbidden Fortress in Wind Waker was very fun in my opinion, so I am very interested in Echoes of Wisdom's direction.

Oh, technically BotW and TotK have many options besides using a sword unlike past titles that generally require very specific items to attack enemies in very specific ways including the sword, but generally you can use a sword for almost every situation (even long distance attacks by just chucking a weapon at something).

I enjoyed the "meme team" in Hollow Knight using little minions, so I think the echoes in EoW are right up my alley.

Speaking of mainline titles, EoW is 100% a mainline title. Since the very first Zelda, the franchise has always been about having a variety of abilities or items to progress through the game. A sword is one of those things but the lack of a sword doesn't make it not a Zelda game. There are still puzzles and dungeons as there have always been (BotW's Divine Beasts are the dungeon aspect even if they are very different from past dungeons—for the record, I enjoyed them). The franchise has always had different gimmicks in each game to keep things fresh and I appreciate that, so this title's gimmick involves no sword which is something that has happened in small sections in a couple past games.

The DS games are mainline titles, the Oracle games are mainline titles, even Triforce Heroes is acknowledged as a mainline title by Nintendo, so there's no legitimate reason to claim that Echoes of Wisdom is not a mainline title just because there's no sword and the protagonist is Princess Zelda herself.

I do hope that this game opens up opportunities to innovate in the future. Wind Waker and the DS games included controlling other characters even if temporarily in the case of Makar, Medli, that goron kid from Phantom Hourglass and Phantom Zelda, so I definitely think playing other characters in the Zelda franchise is not outlandish.

I think this is an exciting new step for the franchise and I can't wait to get my hands on Echoes of Wisdom.

[rosescore245]

the tags you added to the gay rights red memes on my art blog made me cackle, your takes on him are so right and you should say it

Aaa thank you!!! Red has lowkey been a kin of mine since I first read the manga when I was like. 6. And now that I am almost 12 years older than I was then, I Have Thoughts.

I am using this ask as an excuse to blabber about Red btw, because I always have Opinions and I Think I Am Right because that's how most opinions work

(I'm so so sorry in advance it keeps getting longer. and more retrospective and a little symbolic. whoops. got too silly)

(Like 3 or 4 sentences out of this entire thing allude to Red being Attracted To Blue and tbh Green and Vio too, and there are like 2 mentions of Vio and Shadow being Gay As Hell. this did not become crazy shippy. But what is a ship but the way that characters are intertwined by their actions and being, when one's every action is to keep another happy and safe, is there any need for the words I Love You? I think not. So I guess with that logic this entire thing is one big makeout session, the fourth gayest thing, below "situationship where you're beaten with hammers", "toxic doomed yaoi", and "literal gay sex" lmao)

Red genuinely intrigues me so much and I love to look at him, study him like a bug.

The Link at the beginning of the manga showed so many traits, but I wouldn't quite say any Fully Aligned with who Red presented as. We saw Green's determination and drive, Blue's frustration and quickness to believe others are doubting his abilities, and arguably Vio's foresight in the way Link brought a flower from the Outer Kingdom to bring to Zelda, knowing it would lift her spirits. That's something that kinda holds hands with Red's behavior, but absolutely nowhere before pulling the sword does Link show that naivete and whimsy that made Red, well, Red!

Then Link splits, and they're all different. Green and Blue are the Most like Link, Green a little more so, and Vio hadn't been incredibly off with his smugness and high opinion of himself. Red, however, from the beginning, seemed just a little Out of Place. Green brings up working in a team out of Necessity, not because he likes it that much, and while Blue and Vio openly disliked the idea, Red simply states, well, a fact; "I've never been on a team before!"

He doesn't say Quite how he feels about it, which I think is Telling. He's feeling out the situation, even if just a little, and he's trying to adjust accordingly. He's Adaptable (and gay /silly) and notices during that first little battle that they are NOT working together. So he knows they Need to Work Together, and he knows that they Are Not Doing That.

He gives them someone to protect. I think like 90% of what he does is exactly how he feels, just cranked up a good bit, but he realizes that they need a center. It's not perfect, but it works Okay, at least for a while, and he's happy with it. I don't think he wanted to team up, either, because literally none of the other three Really did. If 3/4 of a guy start gagging at the idea of Working With People, the chances of that last part doing the same is pretty high.

He definitely latched onto the others, Vio and Blue more than Green, and I frankly think he admired Blue the most. It became less necessity and more "I want us to stay together."

It's not perfect, it never would be on such short notice. Blue's temper is insane, Green seems to doubt himself, Vio literally wants to be anywhere else all the time, and Red's trying to give them a shared goal of Not Letting Him Die.

Red's lesson from being split up kind of...doesn't make sense to me, personally. The lesson he said ("I learned I can't rely on others to protect me all the time!") seems flimsy. The situation he was put in, Kakariko and the Fire and the Thief, doesn't FIT that lesson. Not quite. Sure, he was alone there, but that was the case for ALL OF THEM (except Vio and Shadow making out in the trees), he wasn't special for that. I honestly, wholeheartedly believed Red learned a different lesson, and he felt like he couldn't Say It.

He learned he doesn't always know what's right. He saw a kid in trouble, and his morality told him to protect the child, as the son of the captain of the royal guard. He did so because it is in his moral compass, and he paid for it. He chose to try and trust the kid again because of his kind nature and soft spot for children, and, again, it BIT HIM. He tried to do what HE THOUGHT was RIGHT, and things kept getting WORSE for him. He learned that trying to hold the group together the way he was, the "right way" in his mind, wasn't going to make things better.

So he eases out of that role little by little, not too quick upon reuniting with Blue and eventually Green. By the time they're in the Tower of Winds with Vio on their side again, Red is still like chest deep in the role he made for himself.

Their father appears, and he's terrified because he's caught between moralities, I think. He must protect the ones he cares about the most, but when both blades are held by hands he knows so well, it's tearing him apart.

He genuinely cares about the other three. When he was grasped and in danger and Blue saved him before he could even think about it, I think it was one of the most Real versions of him that compelled him to act SO GAY. "My blue hero!" GIRL PLEASE.

Shadow sacrifices himself, and Red looks almost Blank about it. He doesn't understand, not fully. It's not sinking in, the sacrifice made. He is meant to protect and care for and hold Link together, to be a foundation of good deeds. Red is Link's Morality, and Link's Morals are very ideal.

In the Ideal Situation, Shadow wouldn't need to die. Because he's atoned and chosen light, then Hylia should have let him live in that light. But as the glittering shards of the shade float away, that's not what happened. It wasn't RIGHT, it wasn't how it should have gone. Like Blue, who kept lashing out, though much more self-aware, Red hadn't done a 180 upon learning his lesson. What was right, even if it didn't always Fix Things, was RIGHT, and the goddesses were meant to be RIGHT.

And the end wasn't right, either. They grew and changed so, so much, shouldn't they have a happy ending? But he understands a little better, now, and knows that what he thinks is right might not be what is right to the goddesses, so he's resigned, if not emotional.

He may have gotten a chance to show he cared, but as Blue wiped his tears and told him they were all just going to be closer than ever, he never got to SAY how much he cared.

Shaken, changed, and unresolved, they plunge the sword into the pedestal, and Red's story ends.

I have no idea how much of this made sense, but these are my biggest thoughts whenever I read through the manga. If Blue and Vio are the two plates, and Green is the main part of the scale, then Red is the thing binding Blue to Green to Vio, allowing their differences to weigh and be judged. Red is what connects them, it's what he'd been trying to do from the beginning.

Everything he did was to try and keep them together, because the stories always taught the lesson that the hero with the strength of four fought to the end as one. Even if he didn't personally like it, it was how it was supposed to go.

And that's one thing he was sure he was right about as it all blended together.

[threerattsinatrenchcoat]

1, 21 and 29 for the end of year asks!

Sorry for the delay! And thank you for the ask ❤️

1 - fav fic I wrote

Really glad you asked because I can give the real answer (I Will Bury You in Diamonds, the fic I never shut up about) and a spare that I also adore:

Embers that Never Go Out - sad little grief fic about Arabella learning magic, set post game.

21 - most memorable comment review

Oh, like, all of them. I actually save comments (like have screenshots) and reread them all the time. I recently got one from Libri on I'll Write to You in Flowers that was about as long as the fic itself that I've been going over and over, and I've always enjoyed ones that quote lines or are steam of consciousness or that are from writers I also enjoy. (Tumblrs tags are freaking out with too many names so sorry but) aviatorasharak, graysparrow, unmoderated_zhent, topofthelighthouse, deepdustsea, bee, lolliputian , silverstrike and soncasong are a few names that I can think of, but I'm so grateful for this community.

Oh, and whenever anyone recommends one of my fics I have to go jogging or dancing from excitement. I know luvwich and vera have lately, so thank you.

However, the question asked for one, so I'll say, @bloobluebloo who left comments on my first fic (Shadows of the Lost)that intrigued me, convinced me to keep publishing my stuff (even though that fic was very esoteric), greatly informed my own style of leaving long-ass and detailed comments, and bloo was one of the first people I ever reached out to on Tumblr to be like, "hi". Every time I worry about writing something too silly I think about "Zelda forcing Ganondorf to attend a class with children? That is so freaking amusing I literally burst into laughter" and damnit, if that isn't too silly than nothing is

29. Shortest fic I've read

Okay I was going to say "In the Hideout" which is Shadowheart/Nocturne smut fic by Topofthelighthouse for the Tolna's Vault Smut Challenge, which clocks in at 622

But then I remembered "queens on the throne", at 599 words, where am empress dethrones her husband but keeps one of his concubines, determined to romance her.

Link to the asks if anyone wants to join

[mirensiart]

16 and/or 19, and 24?

Oooh

16. How do you motivate yourself to draw? & 19. Where do you find inspiration?

So I feel these two questions have a similar answer! But for motivation I usually try to find a time of day or space where I'm comfortable, alone (I hate drawing with people around) a long youtube video on the bg and a cup of coffee, it's only after that that I can start thinking about drawing hehe and I motivate myself by drawing something that I like and that I know at least one friend also likes, say a rarepair me and one other friend enjoy....so I just do a salute ala hunger games towards my screen and go "for my oomfie...!" And that's enough to keep me going lol

As for getting inspired, I like watching movies or listening to music and relate them to the current thing causing me brainrot

Like say, I watch LOTR and go "oh this quote would totally be one x character from x show/game would say" and I write it down to use it as inspiration later

Same thing with a meme hehe or maybe a cool pose in an anime or a movie and be like "it would fit these 2 characters so well..." and use it as inspiration for a drawing of my own

I can actually show u an example hehe I watched the movie Anastasia and there's a quote that made me go "this is totally something link from skyward sword would say about his zelda" and wrote it down in my notes for a possible future drawing

I have many notes like that in my phone lmao

24. What's a compliment about your art that has always stuck with you?

When people say it's unique 🥹💖 and that they like how natural the interactions between characters look when I draw them! That they like how I draw emotions 🥹💖 those things ..I always cherish it when people tell me that 🫂💖

[fourswords]

if i could make links from across time meet each other i would just make it the four sword links (hero of the minish, hero of the four sword, fs link, hero of light) because:

a) i want mc link to be the youngest so the other three look at him like "THIS pipsqueak is the one who made the four sword???" and yes he is still the only one of them who has the four sword because he still had it after his adventure ended. and he hits them with his energy beams about it

b) i want them to get in a fight over knights (fs link, fsa link) vs. non-knights (mc link & hero of the four sword). i know fs link isn't canonically said to be one or the other but i think that since his zelda called him to the four sword shrine the same way fsa zelda called fsa link to look at the four sword sanctuary, it would make sense to Assume he's a knight

c) out of the four of them, i think fs link would be the living personification of the charlie brown "i got a rock" meme. he is also the oldest out of all of them (i would think like 15 or so) and the best with teamwork after the hero of the four sword

d) i only ever see mc link & fsa link in links meet AUs and i want them ALL to meet each other (and it'd be funny because the hero of the four sword would be looking at mc link like "is this for real my ancestor" like hyrule historia teases)

e) i want the other three to look directly at fsa link and go "who's ganon?"

f) using the manga version of fsa link here it would be funny as hell if shadow was still stuck as his literal shadow and he was just being as un-shadow-like as possible

g) i think it'd be hilarious for mc link to find out how the four sword splits the other three. like damn y'all didn't change the sword the sword changed you? sounds like a skill issue.

h) i think the hero of the four sword would be the cockiest one there. according to the manual he as a young boy literally happened upon vaati wreaking havoc and said nothing but "i'm gonna kick this guy's ass" and then went and did exactly that. he's cocky because he's got mad skills (and the best control over totally splitting out of the three of them that can do it) and he knows it

i) no princess zelda is ever mentioned in the hero of the four sword's story and i also think it'd be funny if he was born into an era without a zelda (like an adventure of link situation where there's some prince in line for the throne instead) and the other links are like "wdym you don't have a zelda."

j) unsurprisingly considering his game & his independence within said game, i think mc link would be absolutely godawful at teamwork. fs link keeps trying to nicely give him tips to no avail, the hero of the four sword keeps eyeing him weirdly (the whole ancestor thing again), and fsa link is having flashbacks to himself sucking bad at teamwork. shadow is laughing at him from the ground

i could keep going with this but you see my point. i want to put them all in a room together and watch them go at it

[ganondoodle]

feeling much better now having gotten some sleep (the dont trust how you feel about yourself past 9pm is good advice no joke)

of course all my criticism of totk still applies but im feeling less depressed about it, tho i will say its honestly kinda baffling how many times the game actually got me interested and excited about stuff and then just kinda drops it in a dead end, of course they were those kind of things in botw as well but it seems much less .. balanced in totk

(not even just the big things like making me want to actively do something to help zelda turn back when it just gets solved on its own in the end, but also some lil things like the fact that so many NPCs tell you about that newly discovered animal species and when you find the dongos they are just gem vending maschines)

in the end i can say, no, i dont like totk, tho i still love the graphics and the way the world is made ( botw showed me jsut how immersive and alive a world can feel i love it to death), i liked the gameplay and that it kept the freedom botw had established, the bossfights are mostly fun (tho i wish you could refight more of them), i LOVE the yiga and im glad they got more of a spotlight, the music is FANTASTIC i keep catching myself humming along, alot of the sidequests are much bigger and feel like you are actually doing something, i like how the sages are a bit more integrated into the story, the majority of the new designs are great, both the japanese and german voice acting is great, and the end fight has some of the best build up i have ever experienced, my heart starts to race when that music build up starts even tho i have beaten it 3 times already-

however, the story is both simple and incredible flat with lots of stuff that doesnt make sense especially when it was said to be a sequel, the zonau should have stayed a mystery imo, they failed to make me care about them even a little bit and often felt forcefully crammed into the world and its history, i think you could have told an incredible story taking place in the present and leave the past be the past, you easily could have connected botw and totk in a much better way than they did, i dont like how it changes aspects about botw all the while nigh ignoring it ever happened, it still feels like it was trying to be a replacement and not a sequel and all the referencing and callbacks to the old titles may have been done in good faith but that and including time travel yet again ultimately lead to people ripping each other to shreds over trying to prove its placed in the old timeline despite it making no sense at all and confusing people even more; often when the game made me care or be excited about something it was dropped in a dead end, there was a ton of missed opportunities and lost potential to tell a much more nuanced and interesting story/lore, and thinking about it only makes me sad for the things that could have been

overall i think my disappointment is outweighing my fun and the only way i can keep playing it while having fun is ignoring everything that isnt, which works quite well most of the time since im pretty much done with all story stuff but i keep slipping into my little rants nonetheless; i will say its making me a little worried about the future of the franchise, but i know im in the minority and maybe i will just have to accept that the new stuff wont be for me anymore and i should not hope for anything that interests me xD

except for some meme material or specific characters i love i dont think i will make much use of anything totk tried to establish, and i hope thats fine with the lot of you (<3) hopefully that also means my ranting days are over xD

anyway, back to making niche art i go! (sorry for making you endure these long ass rambling posts :,) )

[sabrinahawthorne]

for the tarot ask game -

The Emperor — Do you have a process you follow with your design work? OR How important is mechanical complexity to you?

The Star — Talk about a game you’re working on and what excites you about it.

original ask meme

The Emperor

I'm kind of waffling on this one - I think it's a broad question, and I could answer it a lot of ways. Let me try to walk through the basics of writing a game for me, and we'll see how that turns out.

Generally speaking, I build games around a pretty simple pitch. "Skyrim Isekai," "Naruto Simulator," and "Classic Zelda with a Chess Board" all come to mind as examples. Either that, or I have an idea for a central mechanic, and try to build a game that justifies it. This would be Broke Wizards, or a couple of WIPs that may or may not ever see the light of day. This is my less preferred method; I tend to think vibes first, and systematize as I go.

Once I have a clear idea, I'll make a write-up document to codify those ideas into discrete items. It's usually bullet points interspersed with paragraphs about reference media or design goals. These docs are intentionally messy and incomplete - their purpose isn't to be readable, but rather to warm up the connection between brain and fingers and get me in the headspace for proper design.

From there, I build games version-by-version. I keep files organized like game updates (version 0.1, 0.2, 0.2.1, and so on), making saving a file as a new version whenever I make what I consider to be a major change or addition.

As I work on these prototypes, I'm also working on broad-scale things, like figuring out what order in which to present information, and settling on the voice of the game. Generally, I'm a pretty plain, straightforward writer, but I try to put some personality into the text of each game, especially since I have a tendency to build games from joke ideas. I refer you again to Skyrim Isekai.

I usually work on the text of the game before anything else, waiting until it's feature-complete (and usually text-complete) before I even think about layout or art. Most of the time, I have a pretty clear idea for how I want a game to look long before this point, but I save this part for last largely because it kind of scares me. I'm getting better at talking to artists and finding public domain work, but it's always daunting, and it's probably my weakest area.

Once I have all the assets I think I'll need, it's off to Canva I go. It's also at this point that, if I haven't so far, I bring in my wonderful partner to help. She has more experience with graphic design and art than I do, and she has a wonderful sense for what makes a thing look nice. Generally speaking, I always work next to her while I'm doing layout so that I can prod her with questions any time I'm not sure how to do something, or when I need another pair of eyes to make sure I haven't made something too offensive to the eye.

From there it's a matter of uploading a new itch project page, doing some blurb-writing, and noticing several typos after the game has been up for days.

The Star

I mean. It's CLASH!. You know it's CLASH!. You must, right? It's the only thing I've talked about since January.

Well lucky for you, I have more new things to say about it, because nothing I said above applies to the development of CLASH! so far.

Something that excites (and scares) me about CLASH! is that it's the biggest game I've ever worked on, and it's the first one written with the express purpose of being printed. Both of those come with an exponential increase in the overall complexity of the project, both in terms of design and production.

Design-wise, the path of CLASH! has been quite an experience. Its increased size means that, hopefully, people who play it will be playing it for longer periods, and I want it to stay fun and engaging as they do. That means that CLASH! is the first game I've ever playtested before releasing. That feels a little like an admission of guilt, honestly, but for what it's worth I think I've done a pretty good job of making games playable and fun so far anyway.

I also have a lot more things to juggle. What non-designers might not realize is that every feature added to a game is an exponential increase in complexity. As an example - I added Tech tags as a way of implementing the progression mechanic of the Specialist, which you can read about here. But in doing so, I had to make tags mean something in the broader context of the game's mechanics, so that they wouldn't just be a clutter of nonsense words that the majority of players would never find any use for. As a result, I ended up changing how the Vessel's progression works as well, and I'm considering doing something similar for the Powerhouse.

All to say - a more feature-rich game means one whose features all require a much greater depth of consideration and testing, which slows things down.

As for production, CLASH! has been a huge learning experience. This was intended from the beginning - I knew before I started that I wanted this project to be the center of a number of big steps forward in my career, and that translates into the game itself. For one, Canva isn't good enough anymore - I'm learning Affinity Publisher for it, and slowly driving myself mad in the process.

Seriously, if you have any resources for learning, like, the ABCs of graphic design software, please link me. I don't know what any of these buttons mean and I don't know how to make a text box.

I digress. I want CLASH! to end up on store shelves if I can help it. That means talking to local game stores, buying an ISBN number, and learning how printing works, which is a many-headed beast in its own right.

Alright, I think I've typed out CLASH! in all caps enough for one post. Thanks for the ask! And if you're reading this and you're so inclined, give he game a few dollars at the third hyperlink in this post, or by buying me a coffee. And go check out the work of the Artist for this game, @hakuryuu. They do good work, and they deserve your money.

[sotc]

Get To Know You Meme

Tagged by the lovely @dreadfutures & @itseghost - thank you both!!!! Sorry for being so slow to get around to this! 😅

Three Ships:

1. Zevran x Warden (since it's the latest brainrot on my mind) 2. Heinrix x Rogue Trader (the second latest brainrot on my mind) 3. Wrathion x Anduin

First Ship:

Thinking way back probably like Zelda/Link or Master Chief/Cortana?

Last Movie:

Deadpool and Wolverine! Good movie - enjoyed it!

Last Song:

Femininomenon by Chappell Roan. She's been my #1 lately 🫶

Currently Reading:

Nothing 💔 Honestly I wish I had more time for reading but I can barely keep up with my other hobbies lol.

Currently Watching:

The Decameron (2024) and The Musketeers (2014) show!

Currently Eating:

Nothing! I did snack on some pickles tho earlier :p

Currently Craving:

To draw a comic of my warden and Zev but alas.... the fear of sucking is getting to me, taking -1hp every time I am thinkin' about it tbh agh lol but we'll see!!

Tagging: @uldren-sov @totallynotzzombiecat @lealdog @arendaes @camelliagwerm and anyone else who wants to do this! If you already did it I forgor or I missed it and feel free to ignore <3

[meatmuncherlol]

RANDOM HIVE HC'S

See-more's full name is Seymour Richardson (same last name as his VA)

Billy played lots of Cops & Robbers as a kid, he always chose robbers

Billy listens to Greta Van Fleet

Jinx listens to Paramore and Evanescence

Billy sucks at math and used to cheat off See-more back at the HIVE academy

See-more often communicates to Kyd using sign language

Kyd secretly feeds stray cats from alleyways

Gizmo is a 5 year old kid genius

Billy loves horror movies and often watches with See-more

See-more's fav video game is The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past

See-more's loves baking, hates cookibg

Billy loves cooking, hates baking

Gizmo secretly sucks his thumb when he sleeps

Mammoth sleep walks

Billy loves spicy food

Jinx loves spicy food, spicy food just doesn't love her

Gizmo (break from doing crime) usually gets mistaken as a lost toddler and gets sent to a daycare

See-more loves seafood

See-more is taller than Billy and Billy won't accept it

Billy's favorite actor is Adam Sandler, fav movie Ridiculous 6

Mammoth secretly listens to Britney Spears

Jinx gossips with Mammoth

Gizmo has little kid tantrums

Kyd loves cats

See-more, Kyd, and Billy are pranking pals

Billy loves to read comics

Kyd is allergic to peanut butter

Billy loves to go fishing and boat trips

They have an event every Friday called "Movie Night"

See-more has gap teeth (quite canon, but in some scenes in TTG, its either gone or on the side)

Gizmo secretly spies on Jinx and Cyborg's dates

Jinx has a "KEEP OUT" sign on her bedroom door

Mammoth will literally eat anything

Jinx drools in her sleep and she keeps denying it

Kyd and Jinx go to Hot Topic sometimes

Billy loves fireworks (canon but I don't see ppl talking bout it)

Jinx sends cat memes to Cyborg at 2 in the morning

Gizmo will bite, literally.

Billy plays Monopoly with himself (AKA his clones) and the original ends up losing everytime

Jinx, See-more, and Mammoth watch drama shows

See-more surprisingly gives great dating advices for dudes

Billy gives a thumbs up to any positive thing, he does that a lot

See-more usually does drawings for Jinx

Kyd likes bugs, he thinks they're interesting yet creepy

Billy does the "that's what she said" jokes often, everyone finds it annoying

[hypertextdog]

whats with the 196 population of this website and branding their blog in that forcefully anticharismatic kind of way. you know what i mean. username including the word "dumbass." real "i'm such a himbo you guys! someone affirm i'm a himbo or i'm gonna do something big!" type shit. and then the works. profile picture: stolen art of seductively posed boy kisser. blog title: just a dumbass :3. bio: Hi, I'm a stupid fucking freak nobody likes | I like weird niche shit no one cares about like The Legend of Zelda and rock and roll music. | A cis boi ('really? on [tumblr]?!' Yup - and if yall got a problem with it you can eff right off.) | DNI's do nothing, fite me. pinned post: uncaptioned stolen depression meme -- this one specifically -- with tags #196, #rule, etc. and it's all that kind of thing for as far down as you wanna scroll. furry genocide meme in 2024, screenshotted repost of car hammer explosion meme with op's url cropped out, need-post for catboys, among us twerk gif. come on. remember when the reddit guys first came over and the whole meme was acting all "well these redditors aren't my forte, but at least they're not the TWITTER refugees! who SUCK UNEQUIVOCALLY!" about it? ... what the hell were you people talking about. i'd take a hundred twitter users before one of these guys even with all their dream smp type proclivities. they're less pervasive. "but the politics of the twitter user are so distinct from our own!" do you really truly think the twitter brand of puritanism is that distinct from our own. is there something different about it when we villainize fetishy business on our terrain. come on. is there something tasteful and unique about "piss on the poor" type shit when it happens within the domain of "hellsite (affectionate)." i dont think so. i think half of you never made it out of queer-infographic-instagram alive -- torn-off chunks of you in the domain of the toothpaste gay flag accounts with the four or five emoji-coded mods who still to this day keep their 2018 friend group breaking discourse on the public highlights. Omg. just the worst. and you think if you keep posting here you'll get those pieces back? PLEASE. but the reddit guys are worse i do think that.

[yume-x-hanabi]

So I've played enough Veilguard that I've finally recruited all companions. I've been enjoying the game so far, but ngl I really miss Inquisition in many ways. I think I'll replay it after this (but I need to finish Zelda too, aaah so many games, so little time).

Anyway, some thoughts so far. (If you respond, please keep your response spoiler free for anything that happens after recruiting the last two companions.)

The three main things I really miss from Inquisition are:

1. Exploration

Like I know, there's a lot to do on the areas we get, but... idk, it feels kinda linear and disconnected at the same time. I really loved how vast the zones in DAI were, like there's this meme about never leaving the Hinterlands but honestly that's what got me hooked to the game in the first place, there was just so much to explore, it felt like the possibilities were endless. Here it's a bit too much like Xillia lol, follow a path, maybe come back later to open up new zones, but otherwise it's pretty linear. (ik it's closer to DAO and DA2 in that regard so it's not like they're changing the formula entirely, but personally I preferred the DAI style and I really miss it.)

2. Skyhold

I know it fits the circumstances better, but... the Lighthouse feels so empty. I miss how bustling the homebase was. I miss going to the companions and talking to them about random stuff. I miss the NPC populating the area (you can find them in other cities mind you, but it's not the same thing if you have to travel to different places instead of just hearing their ambient dialogue as you run around your own castle). I miss the war table missions.

3. Getting a feel of your character from early on

I like Rook but gosh building up headcanon for her is a struggle. We're told next to nothing about her background, so ig you could feel like "great, a blank slate to headcanon in any way" except wrong, because you'll then get details that contradict it later on. I really, really wish they'd either been clearer about certain stuff in the character creator, or even better, let you set things up at the beginning through dialogue wheel choices. Like, one of my fave parts of Inquisition was to develop my Inky through the options given through conversations with companions or story moments. I played a Lavellan, and I had fun establishing her feelings about her clan and elf culture, how she hated the Andraste thing being forced upon her, stuff like that. With Rook, I made her a Veil Jumper elf mage, so I thought she was Dalish, picked vallaslin and everything... only to learn she's not Dalish when picking the option to comment on her vallaslin. But then she speaks elvish and knows Dalish cultural things (which would make sense for a Veil Jumper as she did spend some time with a Dalish clan but I'm told other faction Rooks also have that when it makes no sense for them). Also apparently she might have been in a Circle? Not sure, the game isn't entirely clear but seems to both imply it and not. I guess it's to leave stuff out for interpretation but I would have much preferred it if it was something you could define clearly through options.

Like take the Dalish vs city elf thing - quite easy, instead of that weird comment when picking the vallaslin option in the mirror scene, have several options, one that's like "I remember the day I got my vallaslin like it was yesterday" (cue more options like "I was so nervous/excited/happy/scared/whatever"), one that's "I got it when I joined the VJ", and one that's "I know I'm not Dalish but I thought it was cool". Or something like that. And based on those options you get slightly altered lines when your background becomes relevant later on. Like, please help me build my character, game. Don't just let me make stuff up in my head only and then spring details at me out of nowhere.

A few others things I'm a bit eh about:

Dialogues often feel very stilted. Could be due to the voice acting tho; the voice I picked for my Rook has a rather unnatural speech cadence in a lot of instances, I wish she sounded more like how a real person talks rather than a pre-recorded train announcement lol. Do English-speaking players have the same issue or is it just the French VO?

It feels weird saying this, but where's the discrimination gone? I'm playing an elven mage, and I've yet to hear a single "knife-ear", even in fricking Tevinter. The tension between all the races and mage vs non-mage etc was part of what made this world so rich, so it feels like we're in a diluted version of the setting, which as worldbuilding nerd is pretty disappointing.

The lack of continuity with your previous games' playthroughs. Like I don't need a full report on how my every choices impacted the current story, but I wish we could have carried more over, if only for throwaway lines and little world tidbits. Like talking to Harding about the Inquisition is frustrating compared to how detailed Varric was about the DA2 cast in DAI. And there are some choices I thought would be significant, like who is made Divine, Bull's fate in Trespasser (and whether he romanced Dorian ;p) etc. Like seriously I don't need much, just a throwaway line here and there, which is sad not to even have.

That said, there's a lot of things I like so far:

The little visual details. Like I'm obsessed with the way long hair falls off the shoulder when Rook moves. So cool. Also injured companion's scars fading progressively. Little things like that are pretty neat, I spend a lot of time just staring at the screen lol.

Some areas are really pretty. I also spend a lot of time staring at the scenery lol

The way you can set appearance independent from equipment. Also the personalization of the Lighthouse. Yeah ik I'm a sucker for fashion and interior design options XD

All the accessibility options. I don't really need them, and idk if they're well implemented, but looking at all the ways to customize your gameplay is pretty cool.

Also this is the first time I've actually heard "iel" spoken out loud.

The puzzles. Sometimes it's a bit frustrating to be stuck on a thing until you have more companions (can't help it, I see a treasure chest, I need it now), but otherwise figuring out how to get the stuff can be pretty satisfying. Sometimes I spend a lot of time on it, thinking I should probably come back later then, but end up solving it anyway. I wish there'd be more sidequests tho.

ASSAN. I'm tempted to romance Davrin just for Assan lmao. Also, petting cats and dogs everywhere. The cats purring. Gimme all the cats.

Overall I'm quite liking all the companions so far. There's still a lot to discover about them, but they're all compelling in their own way, and it's always hard to choose who to take along (while in Inquisition I had clear favorites rather easily). Also banter between them when exploring being more frequent really makes me want to bring different combinations to get to know them and help them get to know each other heheh. (Honestly I might end up shipping them between each other more than with Rook lol)

Varric's dramatic storytelling at the end of each story point.

The basic premise. Solas' 10-year grand plot to tear down the Veil being thwarted by a reckless dumbass knocking down a statue and him getting trapped as a result and being relegated to giving cryptic advice in her dreams is peak comedy. A+ execution, would do it again.

Bellara and Neve starting a bookclub. I think I'm more invested in this ambient subplot than in the main story at the moment lmao

[luminantrondo]

4, 5, 14, and 15. (I don't know if I sent this or not, my memory is spotty. If I did send something before, ignore it.)

(nah, didn't send smth in before, no worries. Thank you for sending these ones in!)

tales ask meme

4. something you wish to see in future games

Another female protagonist would be cool, esp if they kept her girly but still kicked ass (like Zelda in Echoes of Wisdom lol). I'd also like some interesting antagonists that aren't 1-dimensional like Ve//speria and Ze//stiria's.

5. something you hope never is used again in future games

The Arise-style skits (wtf is this, a comic book?), a "main couple + pair the spares" (...again, Arise), and no Tales traitor. That trope is so overdone and sucks, tbh.

15. a side quest that stuck with you

I have one for Vespy, Abyss, and Symphonia. For Vesperia, it has to be the brionac quest + Hermes' notes. It's the closest we get to Judith lore (in the game) and Judith & Rita's relationship is well done. I also liked the Sword Dancer one, too, if only to see Flynn lose his cool a bit. For Abyss, I like the Tear's pendant side quest, and I remember farming the last bit of Gald just to get it back. If you know me, you know I don't ship these two together, but I think their relationship and how it naturally grows is one of the best in the series. It's so sweet of Luke and a huge change from how he was in Act 1. For Symphonia, it's the Virginia Sage one, where Raine and Genis find their mother again. The voice acting in the scene (in English) is phenomenal, it really caps off Raine's conflict (even humanizes her more), and there's a sweet follow-up skit between her and Genis. I rambled about this scene in a previous post of mine, so I'll spare you my babbling lol...

14. an unpopular opinion

(lmfao. i have so many that i could make it its own post... but i'll go with the one that's been on my mind lately.) (i got wordy, rip)

Flynn Scifo was not a "bully" to Yuri in the beginning.

A large chunk of fandom (or maybe early fandom and isn't so prevalent now) think he was a bully to Yuri in Act 1, "harassing" him to rejoin the knights. In all the pointing fingers at Flynn, I never see anyone look at Yuri or try to see it from Flynn's POV. I know it's because Yuri's more popular and because he's the main character. But Flynn has a point when he calls out Yuri in Capua Nor (or was it Torim? Idfk). What has Yuri changed since he quit the knights? All he's done is sat around in the lower quarter since he left. Yeah, he doesn't know what to do because the knights was basically the "dream job"/ticket in to enact change. But Flynn's right. The reason Flynn keeps asking him to rejoin the knights is because that's what they planned on doing to change the world. To Flynn, Yuri walked out on their hard work, so he's understandably bitter, too. In fact, this is exactly why things are so rocky between them at the start of the game. I also have to wonder if it's a translation thing, too, because I'm aware a lot of lines were rephrased to make Yuri sound more aggressive at parts and Flynn sound more... demanding (referring to Nordopolica scene), for lack of better wording. And before you ask, I can read and understand Japanese, so it's not a "he said, she said" scenario. I think the reason everyone calls Flynn a bully is because he not only succeeded in his dream, but he doesn't beat around the bush when talking to people. Like Judith, whose bluntness people are more aware of, Flynn's blunt. He tells it like it is, and that's probably because he's captain of the knights...? Think back to that one event where he and Yuri stop some thieves, and the little boy that tried to help says he wants to be a knight when he grows up. Does Flynn pat his head and go "wow you were so brave"? No. He tears the fucker down by calling him out on his recklessness, saying that just because he wants to be a knight doesn't mean he will. Granted, he does bandage the wound a little when he commends the kid's courage, but the compliment doesn't come after a lecture. And lbr, no one likes being told the hard facts. No one likes being called out. I think Flynn hit a personal sore spot with the "Flynn's a bully" crowd. Yuri's not the special snowflake, depresso espresso protag that he's praised to be. He's a good character, don't get me wrong, but he's not always in the right. It's just jarring to see when it comes to the romantic side of Flynn and Yuri, there's a heavy bias for Yuri, yet Flynn somehow gets villainized in some form or another. Like the narrative molds itself around the fact that while both characters fucked up, Flynn's the bigger fuck up because in canon he's a "bully." Flynn calling him out isn't to pressure him back into the knights. The way he sees it, Yuri sits on his hands and bemoans how the rich suck ass and should stop being assholes to the poor... but he doesn't do anything about it. He just keeps getting thrown in jail for harassing the Tweedles. Flynn's basically telling Yuri to back up his words with action, and he says the knights because, again, that was the only way they thought they could change things. And no, Flynn does accept that Yuri's way of doing things is ultimately different from his own. You even have a fucking skit to showcase this (the skit where Yuri wears the knight's uniform). I honestly think the whole "rejoin the knights" by act 2/3(?) is said not in the same way it was in act 1, but more of a jest. Because by then, Flynn's seen that Yuri has made changes - more than he has. He's got no room to drag Yuri back to where he doesn't want to be, and it wouldn't make sense for his character to do so. Flynn's got a lot of issues and he's not the sweet, perfect, somft knight boy that he tricks people into thinking he is. But him being Yuri's "bully" is definitely not it, chief.