#its not all bad like. it giving more to zelda and midna is nice. its just not the story ive been obsessed w for like 15 yrs

[riwrite-a]

i will never forgive the twipri manga for what it did to my boy. like im glad other people like it bc people should like what makes them happy but oh man. what it does to link goes against everything ive thought abt him since i was 7 yrs old. hes not an edgy warrior whos already survived hell!! the beginning of the game makes it clear hes a village boy from birth. he loves his life and the people in ordon!! and its all torn from him by the twilight invasion. its a loss of innocence by being forced into a role he doesnt know how to fill. he just wants to save ilia and the kids and then midna and zelda and the spirits all place a legacy upon him he wasnt prepared for. he takes in stride as best he can, and to my interpretation he believes that he cant fight fate and is only following the inevitable path the gods drew for him, and he's satisfied with that being his lot in life. someone has to be the hero. if it has to be him, then so be it, he'll be the best damn hero he can be

[hitoshisbabygirl]

Author's Notes ♡: Hey Hey, it’s me, ya girl and I’m back with another collab! Ive always loved the roommates theme and have a few ideas for some other ones in my head making this. It’s kinda all over the place because it was a professing with their friendship! Yes I made a Zelda reference and I land about it no. I know Rapp is seen as violent and dense but but this is in a collage au so he’s just a bit...aloof I just love the idea of him actually being a big softie ʕ⊙ᴥ⊙ʔ. I hope you enjoy! ~ bunny ❥

Warnings : NSFW!!! (◎_◎;)

Sweet caring sorta himbo(meh?) Rappa, female oral, Big Dick Rappa , sorta size kink if you really sqint,cheater ex mentioned like once , language

Word count : About 5k! Yikes ^^’

Paring(s) : Kendo Rappa x F! Reader

Enjoy ♡

———————————————————————

Having Kendo Rappa as a roommate is an interesting feat in itself. He is big, and loud , very very loud. He wasn't a bad roommate he just..was like a cute large and fluffy puppy that didn't know his size...or power. Their interactions started as the two met during a halloween party one of the frat houses down the street thew. [ ] went as Midna, her best friend Rumi was dressed as Impa while the last two of her friend group , Amaya and Asa, a pair of sisters, were dressed as fairies. “[ ]! Rumi! you two are so cute! Zelda costumes?” Asa asked as her sister ran up to admire their outfits. “Yeah! [ ] wanted to do some characters that matched us y'know?” She said as she nudged her quiet friend , the girl jumped and laughed , scratching her neck as she gave the excited sisters a small smile “If i was coming out tonight I was gonna wear what i wanted to really wear” [ ] said as the group of them laughed and mingled with their other friends and classmates. While heading to get juice , she heard loud screaming , as the sport boys were starting to show up. First was the football team, then the basketball. Baseball and wrestling came next, then the smaller clubs finished them out. Sighing [ ] was content away from everyone as she watched mayhem ensure, chugging of barrels , more music, girls swarming around the players they crushed on as they did minor things, like talk to their teammates or eating from one of the big food trays laying around. Feeling a tap on her shoulder broke her from her people watching, Rumi giving her a bright smile as she took a cup and joined her. “How's my favorite antisocial babe doing now that all of the party has arrived?” She asked as [ ] gave her a pained smile, going to get more if something to drink “Well I don't feel the need to smack anyone is that a good sign?” she chuckled as she got a hug from the more energetic girl “That's my girl! Don't worry, i wanna get out asap but we’re gonna need our favourite pair of sisters before that can happen and it seems like they're fawning over some of the baseball boys as we speak” Rumi said as they watched a familiar tutu of blue go by, followed by a pink one going a similar way. “I don't get it… but at least their taste in men isn't too bad” [ ] joked as Rumi agreed , laughing “Yeah miss tsundere, you can't stand saps, or most of the jocks either” giving the white haired girl a look she rolled her eyes and gave her own laugh back “Yeah I guess i'm either picky or just got high standards” “Ain't nothing wrong with that we all do!” She said as she elbowed the girl beside her.

As the two of them sat there and talked Rumi glanced past her and her eyes widened, causing [ ] to stop talking “What is it-” before she could question her, the white haired girl jumped up, waving at someone “Rap! Over here!” Constantly yelling to someone [ ] started to ask again when a booming voice came from above her “HEY RUMI” a very loud voice called as stomping could be heard before it stopped “I see you took our idea huh?” With that comment [ ] turned around only to be face to face with a dark cover chest, only to then look up to some of the most warm and amber colored eyes looking down at her “Hello there little lady, I like your costume! Erm..Midna aint it?” The giant ganon dressed man questioned as all she could do was shake her head in agreement, causing the giant male to laugh “Awe don't be shy of me kitten i ain't gonna bite!” He chuckled some more as her friend jumped in “I told you she was shy! Be nice Rappa!” Rumi yelled at the flaming red head as he gave her a toothy grin “Oh I was just teasin’ , I bet I ain't hurt her feelin’s did I sweetheart?” Rappa questioned as [ ] face felt hot, hiding her face in her hands as the teasing duo laughed causing the girl to huff “I'm tired of you two already” She said as a giant warm hand touched her shoulders “Awe dont be like that hun, in time ya’l love me” Rappa teased as he gave her a smile,making her stomach flutter “Yeah! This is who wanted you to meet anyway [ ]! This is Kendo Rappa, our top wrestling boy, Rappa this is my adorable best friend [ ]!” Rumi said as the two gave each other a shy smile , a sly one creeping up on Rumis as she thought to herself “Yeah, this'll definitely happen”

Since then the two had become more acquainted , having many classes together and sharing some similar friends [ ] was used to the bruting and sometimes dense man making a random ( and loud) appearance. As [ ] sat in her mostly empty room thanks to her last roommate moving out after constantly breaking sound rules and getting into it with the girl downstairs for being in her bed with her boyfriend (Yikes) she felt a sense of calm. Closing her chemistry book and letting out a relieved sigh [ ] thought about the fact she was going to get a new roommate, the thought was nerve wracking but also it was exciting as well. It was almost too quiet , having the last room by the stairs meant she didn't have to deal with many people besides her friend group. They weren't loud , unless one of her friends decided to get laid and made way too many sounds, or if their neighbors under them threw parties or also had...extra partners coming around. She definitely could feel she was sorta excited she was going to have a roommate again. The sisters had a room to the left of her while Rumi had the one to the right, sharing it with a girl they knew from math. The rooms were not gender defined, some girls having rooms with guys and vise versa so it made it easy to get a room.

These dorms were also quite spacious, the walls not paper thin and a large enough area space that could house two or maybe even three people. So when she heard a knock on her door she expected it to be her new roommate she was advised would come today. Happily opening the door she was shocked and almost terrified to see just a box, well actually a few boxed stacked hiding whoever it was behind them. But if the faed rustic orange hair and wide shoulders meant anything she knew her new roommate already “K-kendo?” [ ] said as the boxes walked by her , landing with a soft thud as bangs covered the male “[ ]? Is that you?” moving his hair out of the way their eyes had the same expression, shocked. “Uh h-hey there sweetheart why isn't this cute, we’re roomies hun?” he laughed as she couldn't help but give him a smile back. “I never expected to see you as my roommate” [ ] teased as Rappa gave her a hardy laugh “Well it looks like me and you are gonna be close friends here darlin’!” With a wide smile he picked her up and gave her a tight hug, taking her breath away ‘ Oh boy i wonder how this will turn out’ she thought as she was eye leve with her giant puppy like friend, his eyes filled of joy

Which leads into now, [ ] trying her hardest to read up on what her next project could be. As she sat there thinking she heard the tale tell sound of her roommate entering with some of his teammates, the boys loud and rambunctious as they entered. Feeling a heavy hand on her shoulder she looked up to the towering boy that was her roommate, his eyes just as bright as usual. “Hey darlin, we're just gonna talk up sum strats a for the upcoming match and play some games in the back , is that alright?” He asked with pleading eyes as one of his more cocky and jock like friends spoke up “Well youre the man here, dont let some women say if we cant or can be here” Rolling her eyes and proceeding to stand up and push past the wide eyed boy who knew what was going to happen. [ ] took in a breath before opening her eyes to look up to the boy “Well it is my room, i pay shit here and the man over there didnt get this place, so i do choose who can and cant come through my place” She said as she pointed a finger to the boys chest. Trying to push his luck he pushed back against her finger “ I bet you just haven’t gotten a good enough dicking for you to just stay out of the way” He laughed. Before [ ] could hit him hard enough her rust haired friend moved in , clearly towering the boy “Yer better watch yer mouth, she has her right around here, im invatin her space so watch it before there's no place for any of us to relax without rules” He said as the boy sucked up any laughing and nodded his head in understanding. Surprised by her usually aloof roommate [ ] stood back and went back to her work, the other boys scrambling behind kendo as the boy who tried to challenge her jumped to follow, never making a move to mock or do anything again.

The boys picked back up and were having fun in the back room of kendo’s , sighs and groans when they lost and victorious laughs and screams if someone won. Once they all left and everything settle to a quiet rumble as the last few funneled out [ ] could here herself think, reading up on chemistry as she felt a presence behind her. “ ‘M sorry, i didn't know my question wouldve cause a roar outta ya..” Kendo started as she smiled gently, turning to face the wounded boy “Its okay….guess it just lit something in me i always did y'know?” She said with a small laugh as she went to type again, but was stopped by the hulking boy. “I gotta make it up to ya alright? I know i aint say anythin that he did but…. It feels like my fault y'know?” He admitted as his large hand covered hers. “You wont live this down will you?” She questioned as his eyes flickered up to hers, sparking. “Nope, not at all. Lemme treat ya right okay?” For such innocent words [ ] couldnt help the shiver that ran down her back at his words. Maybe it was because he was so close, or that the smell of his cologne was too much, either way her head was spinning as she let him still hold her hand as he tugged her away from her computer , his smile widening as she reluctantly shut the bright screen “Great! Now let's get something to eat im starvin” He rasped out as [ ] gave him a giggle that made the boy stop in his tracks. He always thought she had a cute giggle but this one,for some reason , made his heart and chest feel warm and tight. Ignoring the feeling he took the girl with him, the two headed out to get something to eat as they headed down , the sound of her giggling still running though kendos mind.

Getting a random frantic text from Kendo wasn't unusual, in fact it was quite common for him to do such, which now didn't faze [ ] at all but this one was...particularly odd giving what he was asking ‘Hair? And messy? What in the world is he up to’ [. ] thought to herself as she headed to her shared room with the boy, nervous of what scene she could be entering.

Sighing after his last text she hurried her way to their dorm room and in fact he did leave the door open, making her more nervous as she entered the living room. “Kendo?” [ ] called out as she heard a gruff sound come from her bathroom. Entering was a sight of its own; towels, a bowl of some..substance , bags and bottles of body wash and a one flustered and shirtless Kendo. “[ ]! ‘M so glad yer home here take this” The large man said as he handed her an old toothbrush that was frayed and covered with the same odd substance in the bowl. The lingering smell from the room eventually gave it away ; shampoos. “Uh why do i need this? And why is there shampoo on a toothbrush” She questioned as he groaned, taking the towel off his head as she blinked owlishly at his very faded red orange hair, the color now more of a neon pumpkin. Shaking off extra water caused even more of his hair to fall, landing between his shoulder blades as he gave [ ] a desperate look. “It wont come out, and the more i scub the more...orange i become. I look like a orange peel” He whined as [ ] figured out what he was trying to do

“ You wanna remove the color right? A bowl of shampoo and body wash isnt strong enough” Going into their kitchen she grabbed some baking soda and lemon juice , coming back to the hopeless boy “Let me mix something up ive used before okay? Then we can proceed with your hair” Two and a half hours later the boys hair was now a light peachy orange, just light enough to take up with bleach “Well, if were gonna go for blonde ill go get some bleach and some masks, deep conditioners too, your hair is definitely gonna need it and I don’t want it breaking off because you're impatient to take care of it” she sighed as he was amazed at his hair, running a large hand through the still damp mess atop his head “Wow yer good” He said as she smiled at him, taking her keys “And you have a lot of hair. I'll be back” She said as she hopped up “Wait! Lemme go with you?” He asked but also seemed to demand, pleading eyes looking down at hers as wet hair dropped onto his still bare chest.

Trying not to be hypnotized by where they landed and proceeded to slide down she looked up at her amber eyed friend, who was staring intently as he waited for her answer, soft “Please?” coming from his lips. Sighing dramatically on purpose [ ] laughed at him, giving him a grin “of course you can you big puppy” she said as he picked her up in a hug, a gesture that shows his excitement she's come to learn. Putting her down he went to go to the door before his friend called him out “uhm Kendo? You don’t have on a shirt” she said plainly as he looked at her, raising a brow as he gave his rebuttal “Its hot” He responded. Giving him a side eyed look she turned from him and towards their bedrooms, [ ] sliding into his. Soon she came out with a sleeveless one, throwing it at the hulk of a guy infront of her “You can't come in the store without one” She said as he gave a growl of his own, sliding the shirt over his head as they left their apartment “Well at least ya got me one without sleeves” He huffed as they started back to the door, heading out to finally go to the store to start another process on Kendos hair, the male just excited to finally get rid of his pumpkin hair.

As Kendo sat in the shared living room with [ ] , deep conditioning his hair at her yelling request (‘If you dont re nourish it before you want me to bleach it , I won't do it!’ ) he watched his roommate and now his best friend wanderer around and do housley things for their apartment, the girl content as she cleaned and sorted out things in the kitchen, her body turned away from him as he started to think over how beautiful he thought she was. He want the type to brag or gloat about having so many girls comment on his size , height wised and well sometimes other ways , trying to tempt him to them. All while his friends wanted him to explain how he got the attention from the other gender , Kendo hated to admit it but ,he only wanted his roommates' affection. He knew how put together she was, smart and kind. He saw what her previous boyfriend did, a cheater that didnt take care of the beautiful soul he lived with. He couldnt stand seeing her come home and cry herself to sleep broke his heart, and when he fought the cheater, in the act he didnt feel bad once. Of course it ended their relationship, and [ ] yelled at him for fighting , explaining how he couldve ended in jail for fighting her ex, but he argued it would be worth it.

Sitting and mulling over everything he realized Rumi was right, hed do anything for [ ] but not the same for the other females that passed through his life. She actually, was the first person he did that for and that thought made his head dizzy. Moving from his place on the couch he went to stand in the kitchen, waiting for [ ] to come back from her room. Hearing the iconic sound of her feet pittering across the wooden floor he gave her a lopsided smile as she jumped, smacking into the chest of Kendo. Before [ ] could fall from impacting with his chest he caught her, holding her arm to his chest. “K-kendo! You shouldve told me you were in here! Why are you in here anyway?”[ ] scolded as he laughed, moving out of the shorter girl's way as he started his staring again, this time [ ] noticed him “......What?” She asked as he looked down at her, an unreadable look on his face. “Kendo” she called as he hummed, moving closer “Yer gorgeous” Kendo blurted out as [ ] started to stutter, eyes going wide. Taking teo steps forward he essentially trapped his friend between the corner of their kitchen canopy. “Remember when I fought that bastard of an ex you had?” Kendo asked as he saw [ ]’s eyes go soft , shaking her head “What about him...i'm still mad you almost lost everything just to fight him yknow” she huffed as he poked her cheek “Id do it again if it meant you'd be happy again yaknow” Kendo said as he leaned down to push his head against hers, amber and [ ] eyes mingling. Lifting his large hands he traced each side of her cheek, analyzing over her face as he nuzzled against her nose “Stop playin hard to get would ya? Bad enough you got my heart all in your little hands” he whispered as [ ] just started at the giant , her arms gently coming over to cover his that were place on her cheeks “K-ken..i need to start you hair..” She hopelessly try to argue as he groaned, burying his face into her neck. Squealing at his damp hair touching her shoulder [ ] jumped ,pushing the large boy back “Your hair's wet!” She whined as he chuckleed, mo\ving back as it turned into a booming laugh “Oh my ‘m sorry babe , you look surprised” He said as she smacked hsi chest “Go to the sink, i need to rinse the conditioner” She yelled as he hwld his hands up in a mocked surrender, pulling his shirt up and off in one fluid movement. Caught up by him stripping his shirt off [ ] gave him a glance over, the heaviness of him admitting feelings for her in his own unique way still lingering in her mind as the toned and strong back of her friend made her head hazy. Turning around from the lack of notice of his smaller friend Kendo caught the eys of [ ] staring, her eyes quickly flickering to his curious ones as he grinned “See somethin you like darlin?” He teased as she grunted, reaching up to push his head in the sink “Shut up and let me do your hair”

And like clockwork, Kendo rappa was an icy blonde after two days, a break given to his long ,thick and wavy hair, the giant boy looking over his new look as he sighed happily, loving to have his hair finally look normal. “Well damn [ ]! Ya made it even better than what i was thinking. Look! My hair’s all wavy at the ends and it's soft! Whatever you made me do made it feel better!” He raved as the girl looked over her work. And in fact it was highly even, his hair consistent and lavishy soft. Giving him a shy look she giggle “That's what a deep conditioner will do to damage hair and the way i'm always untangling your hair for you, i knew it would need it before you wanted to go white” She said as he just kept running his hands in his hair, turning back to her “I could just kiss you right now!” He blurted out as they both froze at his words, eyes wide from both parties “I-I aint mean it [ ]” He croaked out as she giggled, stepping back from him “O-of course you didnt, why would you i mean aha..”She said as she moved away more , his own words started to hit him as he realized the reverse effect it was having “NO! No, I'd want to kiss you, I really really want to. I just...want it to be on your terms okay?” he said as he grabbed her arm, holding her in front of him as if she'd float away if he didnt.

“Kendo...I..” [ ] started as she came back to his hip, laying between his legs onto his thankfully covered chest “I just dont want to lose you if you decide you wouldnt want me around” She whispered as he pulled her even closer, kissing her forehead as he stared at her “Dont you ever say that again ya hear me? Youll be my princess and ill be your humble er..knight” He hesitated as he tried to think of a sweet way to explain his feelings. [ ] looked up to him as she felt here eyes feel heavy with tears. Before one even fell Kendo pushed his lips as soft as the strong boy could, wrapping a large and beefy arm around her waist as he slipped his tongue in her mouth, letting his hand slide down to pull her up to sit on the tops of his thighs while he leaned against his dresser. Softly [ ] pushed her hand on his chest and pulled away, now eye to eye with Kendo “Sorry , d-did i overstep my place” He asked as she let out a snot, before laughing. Confused, Kendo went to talk before she stopped him “No no, youre good, just that if we keep kissing on this dressed there's gonna be a hole in the wall” She said as she pointed to where the mirror kept tapping a spot, scrapes already aroring it “R-right!” He laughed too, picking her up to set her on his bed “Now then...lemme serve you princess” He said before kissing her again, not letting her rebuttal his own comment. As the two kissed he made sure to be as gentle as he could be , at times clumsily nipping her lip or his hand pulling hard at her clothes.

All in the name of wanting to show how much she meant to him. Soon he pulled away, a small string of saliva strung between them from the hearty kissing. “[ ]...i think i love you” He said as she gave him a soft look , trying to catch her breath from the dramatic kiss they came from “Good, because i love your loud ass too Kendo” She teased as he smirked,leaning down to bite her neck, causing her to moan loudly “We’ll see whos loud after im done wit ya” he gave his own tease back as he moved between her plump thighs, kissing the flesh there as he pulled her shorts to the side, exposing her flushed lower lips. Gasping she reached for his hand that held her legs apart causing the fresh blonde to look up at her, eyes wandering over her face for signs of him to stop “I-Im not used to being this bare sorry..” She whimpered out as it dawned on the other side of her words “Have you ever ate out baby?” he asked as she hid her face from him, shaking ehr head as he groaned, pulling her shorts down as he saw her lacy panties , a smirk placed on his lips as he peeled them off too, a string of arousal keeping them plastered to her lips “fuck, that bastared really didnt take care of you” he growled as she sat up to see his darkening eyes kiss up to her lips whispering out a “but i will” as he sucked one of her lips into his mouth, causing a lound moan from the woman he was inbetween. Slowly he licked up her lips, searching for that small pearl as she whined, a hand coming down to tug his hair. Grunting he soon found it, sucking onto her clit as she gasped, her thighs shutting over his head as he looked up to her, watching as her back arched off of the bed once her pressed his tongue hard against her clit. Softly he let a hand run under her thigh, a single thick finger tracing over her twitching hole as he pushed it in gently, making [ ] squeal. “K-Ken!” She called out as he looked up again, catching her eyes and flushed face on his actions. Making a show of what he was doing he let a second one join the first as he sucked hard on her bud at the same time making [ ]’s eyes roll back as her hand fell from his head, nervous od pulling too hard. Kendo however had other plans. Feeling her walls tighten around his fingers he made sure to find that spongy spot and hitting it, finally pulling his lips from her clit as he smiled “Uuh Uh doll, look at me” He growled as she hesitantly glances at him, regretting that she did. He looked way too good, hair a mess as he was panting, catching his breath from being down on her. With evry pump of his fingers his muscle in his arm twitched, making her own walls spasm as she watched it “Ya like it sweetheart?” He asked as she shook her head, watching him move back to her pussy “Good, cause i aint done” He said as he gave her clit kitten licks beofe slurping on it, throwing a wink at her as he picked up his pace, making [ ]’s voice rise as she felt herself getting close before quickly snapping at a particular hard thrust of his finger to her spot on her walls.

Letting out a light scream she came over his fingers and tongue, the male laughing gleefully as he sucked up her juices. LEtting her come down some he watched her face as bliss spread through her body and a sense of confidence whent though his. Slowly he picked up the pace of his fingers again, going from a shallow push to more stroking as he heard [ ] whine, grabbing at his hand “Uh uh sweetheart, you taste too good fro me to only let you cum on my tongue once” he said as he pushed her down by her stomach, letting her take his spare hand as he went back to suckling on her lower lips. He knew he had a lot in stored for her, and watching the newly admitted love of his life cum from his pleasing was enough for him to realized he needed to do more. Popping off her clit as puling his fingers gently out he looked at her ravished body, using his non wet hand to pull at his sweats. “Youre beautiful like this [ ]” kendo said as she took in heavy breaths, feeling her throat close as he stroked his massive size, rubbing the swollen head as he looked at her , giving her a soft smile “Ya dont have to take me just yet , hes just throbbin too much” He groaned as he twisted his hand hard over his leaking tip, feeling himself throb as he laid back on his bed. “Ride my face?” he asked with one of the most sinful looks [ ] had ever seen ; lustful eyes watching her as his large hand stroked his larger dick, the soft and fleshy muscle jumping at watching her crawl to him, throwing a leg over his neck

“I-i dont wanna suffocate you..” She said as he smirked before saying “Ya cant suffocate me i want it” Soon he grabbed her hip, pushing her onto his awaiting mouth as he picked up his pace, sliding his tongue into her twitching hole as she rocked her hips, keeping a steady pace as she held herself on his shoulder and headboard, ,depreate moand and cries tumbling out as he rocked her too, going from her clit to her dripping entrance, stoking his dick harder and harde as her moans spurred him on. Soon he felt the bud in his mouth twitch and throb harder, the sounds [ ] made increasing as his own hand sped up with his throbbing head, the telltales of them both getting close. A moan erruptred from the girl on his lips as she came again , her essence running down his face as he groaned, ropes of cum shooting onto his hand and stomach as he came himself, still stroking out what he could as the pressure he felt subside. Sliding off softly [ ] saw the mess behind her, taking it upon herself to lick up some of it as she was met with his same aber eyes, watching her move to his still hard member “Let me take care of you too?” she asked shyly. Fuck he was done for as he felt himslef hardend worse at her words, a large hand coming up to smack her ass as he psuhed her up and over his head, letting his tip and her swollen lips run over eachother. Slowly he pushed his tip past her budding lips, entranced by the way it swallowed her whole “Fuck...i love you [ ] and by the time im done with ya...youll know it” he whispered in her ear as she felet him push, more and moreof his large size spreading her lips father than shed ever had. Her eyes rolled up as she felt him bottom out, both moaning as he picked up his pace, making a soothing rhythm as little moans and whines came from [ ], deep grunts coming from Kendo as he kissed her shoulders and back, marking where he could as he felt himself get closer with how she was throbbing over his member.

Digging his fingers as deep as he could in her plush hips he let our a mantra of ‘Cummin’ i and ‘ I love yous’ in her ear as she pushed back against him, feeling herself teetering as he pushed as deep as he could go ,letting himself cum as she came too, the overwhelming feeling of him throbbing against her spongy walls and previous orgasms enough to push her over a third time. “[ ]” Kendo rasped as [ ] hummed , feeling her legs still shake with him in her “Im serious, i'm never leaving you...you're mine and i love you…” kendo said as he kissed the back of her neck, nibbling her ear as he stayed in her “Mhm….i love you too Rappa..”

[triforceblogs]

RANKING THE ZELDAS

disclaimer: theyre all gorgeous

LINK TO THE PAST

look at this. even since the very start shes been an absolute goddess. dont really like the red pearl necklace though.. the rest of it is nice. her lil triforce earrings are pretty sick, where can i get those? 6/10 only because there are still others i like more but shes still good.

OCARINA OF TIME

yesssss kill em queen we got this FRESH headwear and that ugly red pearl necklace? gone. good honey you go. idk why the undershirt has another undershirt though that seems a bit over the top, but then again shes pretty young so does she even pick her outfits? eh. shes cute 6/10

FOUR SWORDS

is she a ginger? i actually like that hair color on her a lot. but.. what are those horn things? is this a homestuck cosplay? now i kinda wanna draw that ngl, but anyways.. i think this look would be better without the horn things or the split cape. or maybe the split cape but instead of a dress shes wearing pants like zelda from the loz cartoon. 5/10

WIND WAKER

okay, so id put tetra here (i love her) but the post is princess zelda so i kinda wanna rank the princess outfits. tetras amazing though and just for her the wind waker zelda gets an automatic 7/10. anyways, her dress is pretty and it looks comfortable compared to the others. i dont really like the red pearls (again) but hey, they arent too bad. i love the little feathers on her head. 7/10

TWILIGHT PRINCESS

alright, this is where she stops being cute and she starts being stunning.. i mean look at her shes so gorgeous here. her hair is very nice, i like what she does with it. theres not as much red, which, when it comes to princess zelda, i like. her jewel is greenish which is sweet cause it sorta nods to link or midna (both are very viable options for girlfriend and boyfriend material) but also, green is nice on her. shes very stoic serious pretty lady and im a sucker for that. 8/10

SKYWARD SWORD

YESSSSSSS im so excited to talk about herrrr! so she has the same twilight princess ribbon think but theyre colorful! and GREEEN! green and pink! i also like that they didnt give her a headpiece because she isnt really that royal in this game. her bangs are very cute and her outfit is .. how do i say this, like, homey sort of? it makes me feel good. shes so sweet and protective of link in this game (you guys remember the protective gf scene with groose) so.. idk.. 8/10? pretty close to 9 for me.

HYRULE WARRIORS

like link, i truly believe this zelda is the most attractive. the color pallette really blends (violets and rose) and her dress is actually more like a cape. she wears these badass combat boots and guess what else? SHE HAS A SWORD!! you can play as her!! and she KICKS ASS! this has to be one of my favorite zeldas of all time (besides the cartoon zelda, and yes, that is unironic, sadly) just because of how cool she is. all of her dialogue in the game is like 'get away from my castle!' or 'im not going down like this' and it makes me feel POWERFUL haha. same rating for the hyrule warriors link- 10/10.

BREATH OF THE WILD

ok OKAY. listen up! this zelda is PERFECTION! her outfits are all super amazing, i ADORE her traveling outfit because theres pants!! shes wearing pants!!! and her dlc outfits are so awesome. and yknow what? i think her voice actor was fine so stop being so mean yall. i still like her just fine with that voice! i feel so bad for her because she had to hold out for 100 years.. and longer.. using all her power to prevent the downfall of the world while all of her friends and family were either dead or trying not to die. she has all her painful memories and just.. sorry honey you deserved better. she had an actual struggle, even BEFORE the calamity. she felt like she didnt understand herself and that she was helpless and in the end when she sees link, she knows everything will be okay. its just.. delightfully heartbreaking? im not sure how else to say it, but its breathtaking. 10/10!

[thehyruleexchange]

FAQ

For The Hyrule Exchange on AO3

What is a Gift Exchange? It’s when a group of creative fans get together to do a Secret-Santa style gift exchange.  Each participant who signs up is offering to write a story, draw a piece of fan art, or create a comic based off a list of prompts they have been given.  In return they will receive a story, piece of art or comic based off a list of prompts they provided.

What sort of things are allowed? Any fan work for The Legend of Zelda & its related fandoms as long as it matches the tags your recipient requested!  This means that if your recipient requested Link & Zelda, fanfic, and Skyward Sword Canon Universe, you have to write them a fanfic involving Link and Zelda as friends or partners within the Skyward Sword Canon Universe, without involving anything on their DNW (Do Not Want) list.  However, any other details they write in the Details box are a guideline, not a requirement.

What about crossovers/fan work of a fan work? You are given five prompts to fill out, if you want a crossover or fan work of a fan work, that’s fine as long as the crossover or fan work includes the Legend of Zelda & its related properties.  Linkedin Universe?  Fine.  Legend of Zelda/Zorro?  Go for it.  Smash Bros?  As long as you request a Zelda character.

I would recommend that not all five of your prompts be for crossovers or fan work of a fan work, as that will make it harder to find you a match.

What am I expected to do? By signing up you are agreeing to write a 1k or more fan fiction, create a 500x500 or larger piece of fan art with clean lines, or to create a three panel or larger comic for the Legend of Zelda based off a list of prompts you will receive.

Fan Art and Comic can be debated on a case by case basis if so desired.

How do tags work? On AO3, tags involving an & are for nonromantic/nonsexual relationships, and tags involving an / are for romantic/sexual relationships.  Mipha&Sidon is for Mipha and Sidon as siblings or friends; Mipha/Sidon is incest.

There are no restrictions on what ships you are allowed to request or offer, so long as your prompt involves at least one Legend of Zelda character.  Please do not be a jerk about people liking things you don’t like.

Please also say if you are a minor so that people know not to give you anything NSFW.

When do assignments go out, and when are they due? Prompts will be sent out on the 21st of April and due on the 12th of June.

What do I do if there’s stuff I particularly want or don’t want to make? When putting in your offers, please included any special requests.  Such as: What medium you are offering; Fic, Art, Comic, all of the above. Are you comfortable offering NSFW? What games, canons are you offering? Preferred genres or story type. Character or Paring preference. Gen, M/F, F/F, M/M, Poly, other, or all of the above? Anything you don’t want to offer?

What do I do if there’s stuff I don’t want to receive?

Put it in your DNW (Do Not Want) at the bottom of your prompt. Whatever you put there I can enforce and make sure is not in your gift. If you have a link to a letter and have extra DNWs over there I can not enforce them.

Also if you are only interested in getting one type of medium, say you only want to receive fanfic, put that in your request/prompt.

Remember give detail without being restrictive. Here are some bad examples; Link, Time Travel. - Nice, but you're going to give your gifter heart palpitations because there’s not enough detail to give them inspiration or to show what you like.

Twilight Princess comic Link time travels into Twilight Princess game canon, just in time to save Ordon Village from the bokoblin raid by using dark shadow powers he picked up from Midna while wearing a blue and green butterfly crown he got from Agitha. After cutting off the boss bokoblin’s head by using the secret technique helm splitter, the whole village celebrates by roasting up pumpkins and the bokoblin’s boar. Link gets drunk on goat butterbeer and teaches everyone a dance he learned in Castle Town, also he tells the younger Link not to lead Ilia on as he’s going to meet someone way hotter later and should probably try hooking her up with the Zora prince instead. - Fun, but you’ve added in a lot of details your gifter may or may not want to write. Also, you seem to have a clear picture of this, are you sure don’t want to write it yourself?

What is a letter? You may notice the option to link to a letter.  You can use Google docs, Tumblr, Dreamwidth, Pillowfort, or any other hosting site to write a more in-depth request to go along with your prompts.  This is a good place to add, for example, little things you enjoy about characters, setting details you’re keen to see, fic genres or tropes you enjoy, any kinks you might have.  It gives your gifter more to work with and a better feel for what you like, but they are not required to add anything from your letter.  (It can also, for this exchange, help your mod with the matching process.)

I’m really busy.  How do I drop out? On AO3, in the top right corner, there’s a drop down menu, if you click “Hi, Name!” on that menu is “My Assignments.” Please find you assignment for this exchange and hit the Default button as soon as you realize you can’t complete your assignment before the deadline so a pinch hitter can be found.

What if I can’t finish in time? Your assignment gives you a choice between five prompts, of which you can choose to fill as many as you like so long as you fill as least one in a way that matches the prompt.

That said, life is crazy for everyone right now and things happen.  If you know you won’t be able to complete your assignment, contact me as quickly as possible so a pinch hitter can be found.  There will be not be a punishment for this, I just make sure everyone gets a present on time.

And of course, you can always submit a late work if/when you do finish, so don’t feel discouraged.

Am I certain to get a gift? So long as you complete your assignment, yes!  All pinch hits will be posted to the tumblr as they come up, and assignments will be due over a week before all gifts are revealed, so that I can ensure that everyone gets a gift.  Gifts will not be revealed if anyone is still missing theirs.

You may still get a gift if you drop out.  Please remember to thank the person who made it for you!

Pinch Hits? What’s that? A pinch hit is when someone’s requests are posted for anyone to claim as a second assignment, to fill for whoever dropped out.  Please follow the Hyrule Exchange tumblr in order to keep track of them, and either send an ask/message to the tumbler account or email scalantian@gmail.com to claim it if you’re willing and able to pick it up.

How do I post my work? Go to AO3's New Work. If you're writing a fic, it's the same process as usual, except that you need to click the button saying that this is an Assignment. If you're drawing art or making edits, please follow this tutorial instead. It's mostly the same, though.

Can I post multiple works? Of course! As long as you finish one prompt you can do as many as you like.

Have any more questions? Feel free to ask!

[mrslittletall]

Alright, a quick rating of the Zelda titles: 

The Legend of Zelda (NES) I actually only played this game when I was 15, because we didn’t had it on our original NES, then sold it and only got the game when we bought a used NES.  For such an old game, it holds up pretty well. It is fun to play, but it has some hiccups, like totally random bombable walls in the overworld. I was lucky to have found an old map from some 1989 Nintendo magazine.  I rate this game as a solid 7/10.  Adventure of Link (NES) Ah, the black sheep. For some reason, they thought they needed to make this game into a sidescroller which were pretty popular at the time, but imo took away from the Zelda experience.  It also is hard, super hard, one of the games that named the trope “nintendo hard”. I actually never made it past the second boss.  So I never played through the game, but watched others play. I think they shouldn’t have changed the formula so much after only one game, but it isn’t a bad game per se, just one that doesn’t fit.  I give it a 5/10.  A Link to the Past (SNES) Now that game took everything the original had and made it BETTER. The overworld is huge, the music is stellar, the game even tells a story, a bit hidden, but it is there, it established quite a few staples in the series like the heart pieces and some leitmotifs like Zelda’s lullaby and Hyrule Castle theme.  And then the game takes its huge world and makes it in a dark mirror, now that was amazing!  The only criticism I have? The Dark World dungeons are too similar, but other than that: 10/10

Link’s Awakening (GB/GBC) Ok, this game was my first Zelda, so it gets the nostalgia bonus.  I ADORE this game. Now that I am older, it is obvious, that the game started as fangame, but whatever. It works super well with the tiny console it came out on (the Game Boy), is super fun, has well thought out dungeons which revolve around a theme and also adds two new more staples in Zelda games:  The quirky characters and the creepy undertones.  LA has a really big twist in the second half and it is kind of depressing when you know it, but I love that scene and the music that plays in it. That game was surprisingly mature for it’s cute limited style.  It also gave us the ballad of the windfish, though... In my heart it gets a 11/10, but objectively it gets an 8/10. Ocarina of Time (N64) Ehhhh... Nah, it isn’t the best Zelda ever.  I liked the game, but even at age 11 it felt just like A Link to the Past in 3D, even less, because OoT is very linear. LA was linear too, but it had the game boy excuse.  What I like about OoT is the focus on more story, the races of Hyrule are more in the focus and the music is gorgeous, as well as the jump in 3D was well done, but I wished they hadn’t given Link the autojump. Ugh.  It’s a solid title, 7/10.  Majora’s Mask (N64) Now hold my beer, that game looks so stressful, but it is GOOD. Seriously, this game is amazing. It takes a timed countdown and makes it WORK!  It isn’t just a reskin of OoT, because of a lot of clever new mechanics, the transformation masks. The story is a bit weird and also dark. Jeez, this game is the darkest Zelda game ever, but wow, it’s also deep as hell.  Music? FANTASTIC! Actually my fav score from all the games.  Majora’s Mask earns a 10/10.  Wind Waker (Game Cube) Adorable, cute, has some really cool twists, music is fantastic, art style is timeless and the sailing wasn’t boring!  Like Majora’s Mask, that game lives a lot of sidequests, but I really liked it and I liked the slow reveal of just what the world of WW is.  I loved it on the Game Cube and even though I only played through it in like 2014 (because I deleted my save game and started over, wtf?), I think this is one amazing title. It get’s a 10/10. Because I loved the sailing.  Twilight Princess (GC/Wii)  Well, that game just screams OoT at me at every single moment.  I still love it. I played it after I had a a bit of a fallout with single player games and went raiding in WoW for a year straight. Going back to just being single player was amazing. Ok, the wii mote was a bit meh, but the game was good. I liked Wolf Link and Midna and the Twilight Realm and all the references. I felt at home and liked to see a more mature approach at the story, even though this game isn’t as dark as MM, it still counts to the darker ones.  But I don’t like every little thing about it... I give it a 8/10 though.  Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons (GBC) Yeah, they are weird. Yes, I love them nonetheless. Music is a disappointment though, but love the idea, characters and dungeons as well as some of the new items. 7/10 for both.  Phantom Hourglass (DS) Oh, come on, the game isn’t that bad, but I admit, the phantom hourglass temple was uuuugh.  6/10 and one point is for Linebeck alone. Spirit Tracks (DS) Now that is what Phantom Hourglass should have been! A clever story, a nice inclusion of Zelda, the touch screen controls work well, the train is HELLA fun, tons of sidestuff to do, stellar OST, really fun villain.  This games works and it works well. 9/10, just because the pan flute was awful and I got dizzy by all that blowing.  Skyward Sword (Wii) Master, your batteries are low.  Shut up, Phai!  I want to like this game, I really want, but, but...  I had to recalibrate my Wiimote every 20 minutes! The motion controls made the game unneccesarry clunky and Phai is the most annoying sidekick of all time.  The story was cool though, I loved learning how the master sword came to be and it had some really clever dungeon ideas, like the time based ones. Also, Ghirahim as well as Ballad of the Goddess. I give it a 5/10 though, because of the damn motion controls!  A Link between Worlds (3DS) It is AlttP with a twist. A good twist. It used the 3D effect of the 3DS and played with 2D and 3D perspective for puzzles. It took the story of ALttP and made it good.  It made the OST better.  the dungeons were short enough to be played in a short session, good for a handheld fixed the same looking dungeons. 11/10, really, that game ist fantastic  BotW (Switch/Wii U)  I had some troubles with the game at first, but then? I started to adore it. The world is HUGE, like, never ever have we seen such a huge world, oof. And there is actually stuff to do. Shrines to find, Koroks to find, monster camps, animals to hunt, unfixed events! The game is super non linear and it’s amazing!  It is a whole new look on Hyrule and on the formula and it works. It has a few annoying things (climbing in rain, weapons breaking, some foes overpowered), but it is super fun and I want the second installment now. 9/10 

[gamesdoneslow]

PlayLog - LoZ: Twighlight Princess (2006) #3

Today let’s talk about weirdness!

I’ve only played a few Legend of Zelda games, and have only finished one to date. Besides Twilight Princess it’s been Ocarina of Time and the divisive Majora’s Mask - a game that seems to mark a high point in the series’ unbridled weirdness. By contrast, OoT hews much closer to the narrative roots of “hero saves princess with magic weapons” - a narrative structure that purposefully evokes myths, fairy tales and, well, legends of the past. Twilight princess seems to try and straddle these two styles, presenting itself as traditionally Zelda on the surface and bursting with bizzarritude underneath.

Ooccoo gives me nightmares - In the other games mentioned, the Ocarina was occasionally used as a tool for quick navigation in and out of dungeons. Twilight Princess has no magical instruments, and its solution for this mechanic is to create a being of pure horror that Link can carry around on his belt like a sack of bombs.  Ooccoo defies description, but if I had to try I might go with “David-Lynchian Chicken-Fairy.” Huh, you know I just realized there aren’t any fairies in this game. Perhaps Ooccoo and her disembodied, flying-head offspring ate them all.  The surrealness of running into Ooccoo is only compounded by her overwhelming friendliness. I can only imagine the forced smile on Link’s face as he trades pleasantries with her, his legs leaden and sluggish, his heart frozen in the icy grip of terror. She even writes you a nice letter after every dungeon you visit. SHE HAS NO HANDS, AND YET THE LETTERS COME. 

These stories are creepy - The three magic fairies-of-color made the lands of Hyrule and populated them with fluffy critters.  They made the Triforce of Power, because they’re so great, and then evil men came and tried to use it for badness. This is an abridged rendition of the LoZ lore as I understand it from OoT. It seems to be largely intact in this game as well, although this time the story was a little... wiggy. The third (fourth?) spirit of light returns you to your human form, and then says he has some backstory to fill you in on, but warns you that you may not like it. In this version of the legend, the “evil men” seem to be represented by Link himself, or shadowy versions of him, with creepy pupil-less eyes. Links gf Ilia is there too, but at one point she pulls a knife on link, and also loses her pupils somewhere.  Then the spirit cautions link that those seeking the power to change things will often become corrupted by that power; this warning set to a creepy scene of Ilias raining from the sky.

I kind of dig the implications - Again, sticking close to the fairy tale theme has advantages. The narrative in LoZ games is almost elemental - few people are put off by the child-like fantasy of them, and there’s something comforting about knowing what’s going to happen based on the trappings of the tale. When link pulls a sword from a stone, or talks to his fairy sidekick, it triggers your brain to say “oh I’ve heard this one before. Now’s the part where I go smite evil.” What these narratives lack is intrigue. It’s hard to build suspense when the audience knows the punchline. I said all of that to say this: I really like this creepy cutscene. It implies some darker themes masquerading as the elf-boy adventures we know and love. The bad guys look like you, decked out in “hero” garb. The threat comes from the doe-eyed girlie you’re supposed to be saving, and the warning that “power corrupts” is directly at odds with a game about collecting powerful weapons. This resonates well with Midna’s taunting attitude towards all things traditionally heroic, and the generally discordant mood of the twilight zones.  Whether or not these ideas pay off, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, the intrigue is there.

Games Done Slow is a play log where I record thoughts and criticisms through a game-design lens as I play new and old video games. More to come!

[vomiting-out-words]

Twilight Princess - Surprise Part Two

Session Two - May 30th, 2018

Lakebed Temple, Master Sword, Gerudo Desert, Arbiter’s Grounds, and Snowpeak Ruins. 

Session One - Session Two - Session Three - Session Four

All cozy on a chair in the living room, let’s begin where Link has been left at, the bottom of Lakebed Temple; the third dungeon and the one I fucking hate the most due to really shitty controls when in the water with the Zora Armor; thanks a lot partly inverted controls. I try really hard to not wear the Zora Armor in this dungeon, mainly because there is no point for it until like the boss fight and like as your getting boss key. Other then that, it’s pointless, and Link’s regular tunic does better at protecting him then the armor. My suggestion is really only to wear the armor when you truly need it, even if you think Link looks cool, it’s terrible and you’ll eat through hearts like crazy, maybe even a few games over’s.

Another thing about this dungeon; there’s a lot of running back and forth, also all the falling if Link doesn’t grab the lever to turn the stairs. It’s time-consuming, and you get really turned around if you don’t pay attention. It’s too much after such simple dungeons, with a very straightforward layout. I think the only thing that was good about the Lakebed Temple is the design of it, the color palette suited the place. Some of the enemies seemed out of place due to their color design but it was perfect. And the puzzles could be too if there was more of them. The mini-boss fight was simple, made getting the Claw Shot worth it, but did nothing to help with getting the boss key, which was like fifteen minutes to get due to finding the right rock to blow up and not touch the jellyfish or get eaten by monstrous clams. That was when I was seriously finished with this dungeon due to its bullshit controls.

Thankfully, it was a straight shot to the boss room, where you think you might be fighting a jellyfish with an eye, but you get Morpheel; a giant lobster, eel which is easy to fight once you’re past the first stage. With final the Fused Shadows, Midna and Link head back to the Lanayru Spring… Only for Zant to show up, be a real prick by trying to kill Midna. You almost think you need to fucking do the Tears of Light again, but nope, just need to rush off to Hyrule Castle, and get to Zelda, while making sure Link doesn’t die due to shitty controls. Managing to get to Zelda with a few minor scares, Midna decides to give her dying wishes. The scene really drags out, losing whatever feeling it was going for, right up until Zelda magically disappearing to save Midna. The only thing you get out of that entire scene was Link needs to get the Master Sword to break the damn curse on him. The strangest thing out of that though is Midna’s personality did a 180, but near deaths like that can do that, and the revenge for Zelda. With that junk out of the way; pretty much just warp to the Forest Temple where you run into Flower Monkey, who is being chased by fucking puppets that could actually haunt my nightmares. So, as Link, you head over and behold the person you find is none other than Skull Kid. Not sure if this is Skull Kid from the previous games, but it is Skull Kid who fucks with you. All the player can do is follow the brat around. What makes it so interesting is the fact that they bring the mechanic from Ocarina of Time to listen to how loud the music is by each path. Though Skull Kid kind of acts like a boss in the way, but more of a puzzle and a key to the Master Sword. He’s easy, and makes the transition into the second half of the game smooth, along with the nostalgia boost of Skull Kid. Now actually in the Sacred Grove, you got to howl to awaken the two Guardian Statues; they look more organic than anything else in this game. Well, awakening these guys causes a puzzle.

This puzzle has Link in the middle of floating blocks, two of which are special, where you need to place the Guardian Statues, who are position at either end of the heart-shaped grid. I cheated and used a walkthrough for this part, considering it’s just a mess to figure it out on one's own and you can literally be doing it for three hours if you aren’t careful or tactful. With that mess out of the way, Link heads inside to retrieve the Master Sword, which literally could have been gotten at the beginning of the damn game. Now with the sword in hand, Link has the ability to change between "Beast” Wolf and human. At this point, you can do some serious running around if the player wishes to do so, if you think you're ready, then head to Telma’s bar where you meet these people that she mentioned before in Kakariko; There is Shad, Ashei and to everyone’s surprise; Rusl, Colin’s father. There’s another in Lake Hylia who head off to meet. Forgetting to mention before, Midna asks Link to help her find the Mirror of Twilight, the only way now to get to Zant. On this tower at Lake Hylia, you meet Auru, who tells you that he has a feeling that all the bad things that are currently happening in Hyrule are coming from Gerudo Desert; which holds a prison, which held the worst kinds of criminals. With a letter from Auru, Link goes down Fyer; who runs this canon to go back up to the Great Bridge of Hylia, but with Auru’s letter, Fyer sends Link to Gerudo Desert. Here, you can get the piece of Eldin Bridge that went missing back into place before heading back towards the prison. Before you can get in though, you need to deal with a Bulbin encampment. Either you can try to stealth it or can just go ham; normally I just stealth it because the Bow and Arrow is my jam, yet this time I bring pain and carnage. Get a key, open the gate to ride a hog, only to need to beat the shit out of big daddy Bulbin for a third time, because not getting knocked off a damn bridge, twice, isn’t enough. Jumping on the hog after the Bulbin decides to burn Link alive. Break gates and Link is at the entrance of the prison; Arbiter’s Grounds.

This is where my favorite dungeon comes in. Though Arbiter’s Grounds is my number one favorite out of this entire game, mainly due to the fact that it brings the “Beast” Wolf factor into these next few dungeons, making it an interesting component by adding it in now though it would have been better if it was brought into the game sooner than pass halfway through the game. Now, introducing this component, you have to steal back the flame to get into the main part of Arbiter’s Grounds. This takes some running around, but it can be done pretty quickly if you stay in beast mode for the majority of this part. A good tip for this dungeon is spending most of your time as a Wolf because Link doesn't sink into the sand as quickly. But getting to beat up huge Poes is really fun, kind of wish the other Poes were like this rather than their really childish imp design. Once done with this, you pretty much go to the mini-boss; which is the only fight you really get to do as a Wolf. The wonderful item you are gifted with is the Spinner, which takes you; the player, straight to the boss key and to the boss. All Link has to do is hit Stallord with the Spinner. The battle is pretty quick and fun. The cutscene after the fight with the Sages is really interesting due to the fact that the designs for them are different but very fitting for the design of the game. We also get the first look at Ganondorf; and the Sages somehow didn’t realize that Ganondorf had the Triforce of Power, also the fact that Zant broke the Mirror of Twilight, meaning Link and Midna need to run around Hyrule once again to get the three missing pieces. With this new information, head back to Zora’s Domain.

Link learns that there has been a monster going to the Domain rather a lot lately. Yet it always heads to Snowpeak with a Reekfish. If you go to the first bit of Snowpeak, Link runs into Ashei, who gives him her notes about the monster. Show some of the Zora’s the notes, then they point the player to Kakariko Village, where Prince Ralis is currently. The only person who knows how to catch Reekfish. Use Midna to warp to the Village.

Link finds Prince Ralis at the Zora’s Bartual Site, where Link got the Zora Armor. Show him the notes, and Ralis will give his earring to use as a hook. Return to Zora’s Domain and start fishing, which might take a bit due to the fact that fishing is an interesting pastime in this game. Just hold your arm really high up in the air. Once you catch a Reekfish, it’ll land on the floor, change into Wolf Link to learn the scent of the Reekfish. Follow the scent through the Domain and head to Snowpeak. With the scent Link will see a huge beast, triggering a small cutscene with Yeto, a very kind Yeti that invites you over. The best part of trying to get to the Snowpeak Ruins, you snowboard on ice. Adds just a nice little bit of fun from the questing. Yeto brings Link in to meet his wife; Yeta. Who hasn’t been feeling well lately due to a mirror that Yeto brought home for his darling Yeta. So, Yeto locked the mirror piece in their bedroom. Yeta goes out of her way to try and remember where the key was placed while Yeto cooks.  

With Yeta trying to remember where the key is, Link ends up running around the ruins looking for this key, Link ends up with food items instead. His first food item ends up being an Ordon Pumpkin, you have to pass Yeto to get back to Yeta, and he smells it, shoving Link rather brutally to get it. Now, the soup is a little stronger, so Link can fill his bottles and gain more hearts from it. I’m kind of surprised that Link doesn’t lose hearts when Yeto shoves him, it would have been entertaining. Now, Link will travel around the ruins once more, gaining a rather slow, yet powerful weapon; the Ball and Chain. Like you can react quickly with it, but it’s kind of slow, especially when you need to defend yourself or move out of the way. After requiring this item from the mini-boss, behold, Link finds Ordon Goat Cheese. Bring that back to Yeto, once again shoved, with a stronger soup. On Link’s third attempt to get the bedroom key, Link actually finds it, after some really bullshit puzzles that make you want to pull your hair out or snap the game’s disk in half over your knee.

Returning to Yeta with the key in hand, she’s suddenly feeling a lot better and offers to take Link to the bedroom. The quickest way to deal with this is just to rush on ahead, and let Link chill at the door to wait on Yeta. Good time to go to the bathroom or anything else. Make sure that Link has full hearts, and your battles are filling with Yeto’s soup or have a couple of fairies on hand because this boss fight is actually pretty hard. Once in the bedroom, Yeta is looking into the mirror, admiring herself. And this is where shit gets really fucking creepy. Yeta gets all fucking Exorcist in the cutscene that makes this entire thing part just a fucking horror movie. Yeta transforms into Twilit Ice Mass: Blizzeta. Like mentioned before this boss fight is kind of hard due to the fact that Link must use the Ball and Chain for the entire battle, which is powerful, but since it’s slow on the return once thrown. So, timing is key and you gotta work quickly. When this battle is over Yeto comes rushing in, knocking Link out of the way to be really mushy with Yeta.

A perfect way to stop for the night, seeing as I knew that shit was about to come at me within the next couple of hours for the next day. I kind of needed to be mentally prepared or I would fucking scream all the curse words that I could think of.

[thegeminisage]

More Zeldablogging

this game keeps on giving i am So Blessed

spoilers for the first section of the champions ballad DLC beyond

so when you turn on the game zelda speaks to you and whenever she speaks to you im normally filled with awe? but i had on the Dumbest lookin outfit

BACK TO THE SHRINE OF RESURRECTION

oh my god what the SHIT is that??

IS THAT A WEAPON

it looks like midna's head

smh my weapon stash if full lmao

the game is judging me. 

OH GOD IM DYING IS IT GONNA KILL ME

oh

oh my GOD

i'll die in ONE HIT? i also one-hit KO everybody else but.

i mean. thats it for me i cant do this lmao

time for stealth mode i am straight up ghosting this bitch

i...can't see the enemies. like i'm at the dot but

OH

BAD. WALKED RIGHT INTO A CAMP FULL OF THEM. BAD BAD

stressful

ok so this thing days it charges twice over a certain period of time and im like seriously i can only use it twice every few hours? but no it's like nearly instant so thats better

i'm still in the middle of a camp but the lost woods fog is going on so i can't fucking see shit, also in the afternoon the setting sun makes it hard to see my tv lol

got up to a high point to look around because i've been playing too much dishonored. was immediately spotted and nearly killed. i'm not kidding the arrow missed me by a fucking INCH

most of this combat consists of me running from the enemies and then spamming attack while panicking and praying that i hit them once they become unavoidable

ic annot find the last enemy. did i get them all. the dot is still there

ok i'm just gonna move on to a new dot

LIZALFOS I HATE LIZALFOS

maybe i can snipe them

hey i'm a dumbfuck maybe i can use my MAGIC MASK THAT MAKES ENEMIES NOT ATTACK ME

aaaaand i'm dead. got over confident

i saw bees and explsive barrels and rocks. i can do this. i can

ah i missed having to take enemy camps out via strategy :')

new idea: snipe them from afar with bomb arrows i have like 70

BAD BAD BAD I WOKE UP A GUARDIAN WHY IS THERE A GUARDIAN HERE??????

ok hid from the guardian, it deactivated, never going over there again, bye

i got like nearly all of them and then got the bright idea to throw a barrel, got too close, and died :)

:))))))

ah, i can't push the boulders, they hear me ):

death count: 983745693845

lmao i HATE lizalfos like they DO NOT stand still long enough for you to hit them with anything, even the OP one-hit KO weapon :)))))))))))))

killed myself with a bomb arrow lol

i can't get close and i can't do it from far away the arrows dont take enough health so like...hwat the fuck even

WHOA i finally did it and there's like a supershrine thing??? does that mean i missed a bokoblin????

im gonna go back before i do the shrine that is like. profoundly unfair

i wandered all over there lookin for the last one

YEAHAHAH i found it it was hiding waaay up there

ok, into the first shrine

do i seriously have to dodge all these spiky balls with A QUARTER OF A HEART.....

THE SHRINE BALLS ARE SO FAST HOW DOES THIS PIDDLY LITTLE CUP CATCH THEM

ok ok ok

the good news is i can use magnesis on the spiky balls and get those lil shits out of circulation

THEY FUCKING MADE A BREAK FOR IT

THEY KEPT ROLLING TO THE EDGE

i had to like, put them in the little dip top get them to hold still!!! those CVHEATING BASATDRS

WOW I FINALLY GOT THE FIRST BALL AND GOT HIT ON MY WAY BACK

the normal balls hurt too ;_;

oh i got the big one in!

ooh there's a ledgeand a ladder i can get Closer

tried to jump down to the ledge, immediately died

good thing i saved first lmao

IT DIDN'T SAVE MY SHRINE PROGRESS??

im. im.

oh my god

this GAME

ok

oh my god FINALLY

that was HORRIBLE

i got...a spirit orb! huh

does this mean i can max out my hearts AND stamina? because, shit yeah

now to the lizalfos shrine :|

oh......my god

WHAT IS THIS LOL

it's a giant spike pit. oh my god

i can use magnesis to cross but lmao this giant block being tossed to and fro. looks VERY shady

AND NOW GIANT SPIKE WHEELS OF DEATH listen i love this game

oh no. giant spike balls i have to glide past. actually i hate this game

me: oh that wasnt so bad, i see a switch and bars am i done? :D

NOT DONE NOT DONE

oh man i nearly got that last part ):

i have to do it all agaaaain

the initial spike pit has killed me like 7 times. 

got past it, and the wall of spikes did me in, BACK TO THE SPIKE PIT

ok this is getting tedious. all this just for one shot at the final bit again...

god i MADE IT!!!! jesus

now for the flying spike balls. again.

m a d e i t

ok no screwups now

YES!!!!!

;A; KASS IS HERE

a beast beyond the divine four omg do i get to pilot a jaeger

i dont have a fucking clue what that song means so im gonna keep doing shrines

third camp was MUCH easier, took out half of them by spamming bmb arrows from above

oh...no

A MAJOR TEST OF STRENGTH....BAD

B A D

its cool i have a one hit KO weapon and ancient arrows which are basically the same thing + my hylian shield its gonna be f i n e

ok cook cant hit it with arrows. cool cool cool wasted 2 of them i only had 6

NICE ok i stunned it with electric arrows & then rushed in for the one-hit KO kill. easy peasy

also it didnt save me losing my arrows :3

th

there's a switch at the end instead of a monk

oh god is there another one?!

no just a maze of little ones. good.

oh my god there is a THIRD SECTION this goes on FOREVER

AMBUSHED!!! I DIED

i have to do ALL THAT SHIT again

i didnt even save after getting some of the extra chests cause i was sure i was done ):

OMG nice okay it saved me getting the key. good

GREAT, because, i died again

trying to shoot faster than them :/

i guess i should be using my sword more but

they're too far away to rush in the time it would take to figure out how to even GET there

oh god finally

im taking the last of them out from the top of the mountain lmao

god can you imagine if you warped here & forgot to put on cold gear...u would just be dead

theres so many ):

cheesed 'em all, every one! hinox hell island was good for something after all

honestly doing it with bomb arrows was MUCH easier than doing it with my boms :')

omg it's dark in here

time for my SKELETON ARMOR

omg okay that was fun and not horrible

timing puzzles and not-terrifying fights 11/10

noooooo no more one-hit KO trident

OMG

OMG OMG OMG

THIS MUSIC THO 

omg am i gonna get to see my old pals!!! im dyin

omg okay im gonna do these in the order i originally did the divine beasts, for symmtery's sake, even tho i'd do it in a different order were i starting over

i'll conclude This Liveblog Post Here & start another

[getoffthesoapbox]

[Ys VIII] Endtimes Reflections

After eight grueling days and 100+ hours, my journey on the Isle of Seiren with Adol and his team has come to a close. Ys VIII: The Lacrimosa of Dana was the first Ys game I’ve played through its entirety, though not that first Ys I’ve ever owned. It probably was the wrong place to start the series, but what can I say, good decisions aren’t my forte.

It’s been two days since the end credits rolled, and a dreary gloom has settled over me, which can only mean one thing: a long ramble must be had. 

Spoilers abound, so the remainder is behind the cut.

Despite the game committing several writing sins in the prologue, by the time Adol met Laxia and the two began to explore the island, I was hooked. The battle system is probably to blame for this; it’s an absolute blast. The game does a wonderful job weaving together the three plot threads--the mystery of the Ancient Species, the mystery of Adol’s dreams, and the survival situation--in a way that keeps the player constantly moving. Having never played an Ys game prior to this, I found myself pleasantly surprised by it all. My only complaint was that the emergency battles were tedious, but it’s a minor quibble at best.

The castaways’ experience stirs up some fellow feeling within me. In my own life, I’m currently a bit of a virtual castaway myself, if in a metaphorical sense. For the past year I’ve been experiencing some intense upheaval and transition in my life currently, and have been doing a lot of soul searching. It was a treat to find not only characters in my age bracket in this game, but to find that they hadn’t yet found their callings either or at least made their callings work for them was a breath of fresh air. Usually these kinds of games focus on young people, which is the target audience of course, but it’s nice to have peripheral characters who are experiencing adult issues. 

My own situation in life is probably why I bonded so fiercely with all the characters. Plus playing every day for over 12 hours didn’t help much, I’m sure. It really did feel as though I would go to bed, and then get up in the morning and go exploring with my team. We’d battle giant dinosaurs or hunt for those pesky treasure chests or expand our map horizons. It was a grand adventure, and in a dull and dreary life, a little adventure is a great spice, even if it is only virtual at best. 

This is probably why the ending hit me as hard as it did. 

Despite how much I enjoyed the full game experience, including the ending, I found myself deeply dissatisfied with how the ending unfolded. Partly this is due to the fact that by this point I’d looked into the other Ys games and discovered Adol normally adventures alone or with new party members each game, and that it’s rare for Adol to encounter former allies and friends in new installments. 

But more than that, I think my dissatisfaction stems from not wanting the journey to be over. In my real life, I lost my own team in a devastating way, and this was the first time in over a year I’d felt like I’d had friends again. It’s silly for a grown woman to attach herself so to a bunch of characters, but something about the way the story and the battle system unfolded made me feel a part of the group. Adol being a silent protagonist assists with this, of course. Regardless, losing the team and watching them scatter hurt a lot more than I expected and I’m having a bit of separation anxiety even though I can play the game again if it really is that bad, lol.

It’s funny because I’m a huge Zelda fan, yet I’ve never had this sort of reaction to the end of a Zelda game. Likely this is due to Link’s adventures being for the most part isolated other than periodic assistance from fairies or townsfolk, and also because I know I’ll meet “Link” and “Zelda” again over and over in new reincarnations. Adol’s stories are much more final--he only has one short life, and the likelihood of meeting these friends again is slim. In a way, it’s rather like reality--we can replay the game and enjoy the memories again, but we can’t go on a new adventure with those same people. Yet Adol will still go on adventures in future installments and past installments and his story will continue, but without them.

Still, despite not wanting to part with everyone, and despite not knowing when Adol will return to me with a new adventure to enjoy, I found the game encouraging to me in my own life situation. I won’t be able to change all at once, but even the castaways took their time to steadily work toward their goal--it took them almost a year to make it off the island. If they can do that, maybe I still can too. It’s fun, because the adventure changed the castaways and me with them. I get up in the mornings now and think about what adventures I’d like to have, and it changes the whole color of the day. 

Heh, a strange experience, to be sure. But there’s something about slaying huge dinosaurs and saving the world from annihilation that makes you feel you can take on the world again, even after it’s crushed you to bits. =)

This is a little silly too (and rather random), but I hated having to complete my bestiary by killing the Dyrodox on the plains. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so hard in my life over killing a monster. He never once tried to hurt me; he kept trying to run away. It was the most pathetic battle in history and I just felt horrible and depressed every second. Then I had to kill him again because the doofus didn’t give me all his rare items! It wasn’t as hard the second time, because I distracted myself with some youtube, but goodness I cannot believe the nerve of this game to make you kill a precious buttercup like the Dyrodox in order to complete your bestiary. Thank goodness we have a New Game+ so I don’t have to do that ever again. 

I hadn’t anticipated diving into all the heavy things on my mind so early, but at least that leaves us with the fun and silly things for last. So, this is where I should have started lol. The whole reason I bought the darn game in the first place was because of these two kids--I have three cardinal rules for stories: 1) the presence of a cute guy, 2) the presence of a cute girl, 3) a great narrative. Since you can’t tell #3 until you give a story a try, usually #1&2 are good initial tests for me (I do make exceptions of course, because not all masterpieces have pretty packaging, but I find these rules work out pretty well for me). 

So I went into this game knowing nothing about Ys (and how many darn women Adol has in his harem haha), and expecting an epic love story a la Lunar. Silly me. Instead what I got was a wonderful story of friendship, camaraderie, and appreciation. The narrative focal point was on how the team opened themselves up to Dana and accepted her burdens as their own. 

Strangely, I wasn’t all that disappointed to see that Adol and Dana only had the faintest of budding relationships. Despite being connected across time and space and dreaming of each other, their relationship remained shallow with very little development other than what you’d expect out of comrades. Even Dana’s farewell and Adol’s reaction to her disappearance trended more toward the platonic than the romantic. Laxia’s budding feelings for Adol were much more apparent and fleshed out than anything Dana seemed to express toward Adol. 

To be fair, Dana had a great deal of trouble and responsibility resting on her shoulders, which doesn’t allow for much time for romance. Even her quest was focused around friendship, with Adol merely assisting her. I suppose ultimately it’s good that nothing came of their interactions, given the ending. 

So I come out of this game with no ship, which didn’t disappoint me as much as I thought it would. I loved all the characters, and the friendship was more than enough to enjoy. 

While I’m on the subject of Dana, I really enjoyed how the fitting the title was on two levels. The first level is the obvious one of course, that our band of castaways was caught up in Dana’s extended lacrimosa. But the ending of the game gives the title a different twist as well--Dana becomes literally the goddess in charge of the lacrimosa. All lacrimosas from henceforth are hers to command. This was a neat little twist, and although I’d expected her to sacrifice herself in some way, it was a pleasant surprise that her ultimate fate landed us with a new interpretation of the game’s title.

This story was ultimately Dana’s in the same way Twilight Princess was Midna’s story in the Zelda franchise. Although Adol and his crew played key roles and were indispensable to the success of her plan, ultimately it was her will and her goals the story was pursuing all along. Adol was just along for the ride, which perhaps is true of all his adventures. He seems more of a journey sort of chap. 

And last, but certainly not least in my heart, is my beloved Hummel. He got me good, I’ll admit it. At first I just liked his design and the fact that he was a long range character, but his personality was nothing to speak of.

Then the story starts peeling back the layers bit by bit. He’s good with kids. He’s affectionate to animals. He’s got a weird but honorable code despite working in the black market. He wants to make sure his clients enjoy the items he brings to them and gets bummed out if he doesn’t get the opportunity to find out. He likes to juggle. 

By the end of the game everything Hummel does and says is too precious for this world. Honestly given how affectionate he was with Adol in his scenes, I was shipping the two of them more than any of the other girls, lol. Hummel’d be the best boyfriend. (But then I find out he turns down some chick later, which only increases my suspicions that he’s in Adol’s harem too!)

Heh I feel much better now that I’ve had my ramble. I’ve been listening to the full soundtrack nonstop since I stopped playing the game. There are some fantastic pieces on it. 

I guess I didn’t say much about or intrepid hero. Adol’s character design is gorgeous--I hope they keep the cute red outfit he wears as his default in the future installments (or at least offer it as a DLC for me fufu). But most of Adol’s response choices are a ton of fun, and I love that he’s snarky as well as kind. I got the biggest kick out of him and Sir Carlan (Sir Carlan actually was one of my favorite characters lol). 

This was also the first game where I was able to get a 100% complete without using a walkthrough and only checking the gamefaqs forums for individual bestiary items I missed out on. Dumb achievement to be proud of, but I’m so inept at being a completionist that I always have to rely on other people for help. It was nice to be able to figure out all the secrets on my own for once. =)

Oh and this cracked me up but...I started playing Ys VIII as soon as it arrived in the mail on my Vita. Low and behold I found out that there was no Japanese language option on the day one release! My inner weabo was outraged to the point that I almost refused to play. But then I talked myself out of it, and continued the game. As soon as Hummel arrived in my party, I fell in love with his English voice and once that happened I forgot all about my outrage.

Then I find out (when I’m nearing the last chapter of the game) that there’s a free Japanese DLC for the Vita finally. So I download it, eagerly wanting to hear what I missed out on. And low and behold, the characters sound “wrong” to me because I’ve played them in English the whole time. =P Plus I preferred Hummel’s English voice to his Japanese! Such a travesty. This is why one should never play the dub first. =P It makes things turn out all wrong! 

Anyway, silly story aside, Ys VIII was a great experience and I’m now interested in trying out the other titles. I’ve picked up Ys I & II Chronicles, and I’m quite enjoying the original bump battle system. I’d like to play the games in order (excluding Origins) this time. I do feel I missed out on a bit having never played the games before. Some of the country references and a few of the characters we met were clearly from previous adventures or future ones. No matter, I’ll fix all this soon enough.

And I think that’s more than enough babbling about one game for this evening. If anyone has actually made it this far, I salute you! You are the true champion of this day! 

May your own adventures continue!

[hyruviandoctor]

Zelda Asks

I was asked by @neko-otaku13 to do those Zelda asks that are going around, except she said to do all of them. So here you go, you monster.

Legend of Zelda - Favorite console game? I know it’s kind of the popular thing to say right now, but I think I have to go with Breath of the Wild. It used to be Ocarina of Time just because I’ve spent so much time playing around in that world, but Breath of the Wild just has so much to do and see. The dungeons aren’t very impressive, the final boss was too easy, and I wish there was just a bit more story (a few more memories would be nice), but the game itself is just so much fun.

Adventure of Link - Favorite character (in any game)? Always Zelda. But if I have to pick someone else I think I’d say that Groose might be my favorite. He’s so absurd, but he ends up being such a good guy. Also that whole scene where he follows Link to the surface just kills me.

A Link to the Past - Favorite place (in any game)? I really like Romani Ranch from Majora’s mask because it feels like what they might have originally wanted Lon Lon Ranch to be like. I also really like the Akkala Region in Breath of the Wild, but that’s mostly because I really like the colors and the ruins found around there (including the Earth Spring from Skyward Sword).

Link’s Awakening - Favorite Link? I really like the Link in Breath of the Wild, but I also really like Link in Ocarina/Majora and in Twilight Princess. Basically I like when Link is clearly a dork but is also fairly grown-up, because it gives him a lot of character and makes him more relatable.

Ocarina of Time - Favorite Zelda song? If I had to choose just one, I’d have to say the Ballad of the Goddess from Skyward Sword. It’s an amazing song on its own, and the fact that it has Zelda’s lullaby backwards inside of it is just incredible. Close seconds are Chancellor Cole’s Theme from Spirit Tracks, the main theme/trailer theme from Breath of the Wild, Zelda’s Lullaby, and Molgera’s Battle Theme from Wind Waker.

Majora’s Mask - Favorite mask? Oh geeze, probably the Goron Mask. I like rollin around at the speed of sound, killing dudes with spikes. Also I just think the design looks really cool. I’ve always liked the Gorons (even though BotW really disappointed me there for the most part), so I really enjoyed getting to play as one. Although I just remembered the Fierce Deity mask and I absolutely love his design and am deeply intrigued by the lore behind him (and the fact that we know almost nothing about him).

Wind Waker - Favorite boss? I really like the final Ganondorf fight in Twilight Princess. All the stages were really intense and exciting, and it really felt like you were fighting to save the world from destruction. If we’re talking about regular bosses I might have to say Molgera from Wind Waker, but that might be mainly because the music during that fight is freaking amazing.

Four Swords - Favorite handheld game? SPIRIT TRACKS. SPIRIT TRACKS IS THE BEST HANDHELD ZELDA AND I WILL FIGHT ANYONE WHO DISAGREES (although I also deeply adore Minish Cap). I actually was really upset when I first saw the announcement trailer because “Trains don’t belong in Zelda!” but boy was I wrong about that. I love pretty much everything about Spirit Tracks, especially the story and how involved and developed Zelda is (one of the best Zeldas in the series for sure). I love the music too and I think it’s the only handheld Zelda that I listen to the soundtrack of. It’s been a while since I’ve played it, so I’m sure I’m only remembering the good, but I still love it and I love that it sort of completes the Wind Waker saga. I definitely recommend you play it if you haven’t already!

Twilight Princess - Favorite companion? I like Fi and Navi, but I might have to say Midna because she’s the most developed companion character and she’s amazing. But if I can pick Spirit Tracks Zelda, I pick her because she’s fantastic.

Phantom Hourglass - Least favorite game? You know, this one almost seems like destiny. It’s been a long time so I may be just remembering the bad parts, and I remember having a lot of fun and spending a lot of time with it, but Phantom Hourglass is currently my least favorite Zelda. My issues with it are basically the ones everyone has with it: The Temple of the Ocean King is tedious, nothing about it really stands out as stellar, and I’m not a huge fan of the whole “it was all a dream” kind of deal. I need to play it again so I can give it another shot, but for now it’s my least favorite. It’s a decent game, but it’s not a good Zelda game.

Spirit Tracks - Favorite Zelda? Either Spirit Tracks Zelda or Breath of the Wild Zelda. Spirit Tracks really gave Zelda a lot of character and did a lot to make her interesting AND useful, and you really get a sense of her struggle for the first time in a Zelda game. Breath of the Wild made Zelda super interesting and made her a really well developed character. Breath of the Wild also gave us a Zelda that was very relatable and very easy to empathize with. I think Breath of the Wild’s Zelda is the video game character I’ve most personally identified with, so I might have to go with her.

Skyward Sword - Favorite Zelda item? Oh geeze, maybe the Spirit Flute from Spirit Tracks? I thought that was a cool way to do an instrument and I like how it sounds. I really like the clawshots from Twilight Princess, too. This one’s hard because there have been so many good items.

Link Between Worlds - First game I played? I’m pretty sure it was Ocarina of Time. It was definitely the Zelda Collection that came with my gamecube, but since it had four games on it I can’t remember which was the first I played. Ocarina was definitely the first one I played all the way through though, and I absolutely love that game.

Tri Force Heroes - Least favorite dungeon? Probably the Divine Beasts; they were neat, but too short and too samey. I understand why, but it was still a little disappointing. Outside of Breath of the Wild, I’d have to say my least favorite dungeon is probably the Great Bay Temple in Majora’s Mask. It’s interesting, but I don’t remember enjoying it much at all.

Breath of the Wild - Favorite champion/new champion? Urbosa, hands-down. She seems like the one you’d actually want to hang out with because she’s super chill, but she’s also the mom friend who will make sure you don’t die or do anything too overly stupid. Out of the new champions I guess I’d have to say Riju. She got the most character development and seems like she’d be a good friend to have. I guess I just like the Gerudo in general, but they also seem to have gotten the most attention when it comes to characterization.

[rosepetals-in-thewind]

A L L

oh my god lol

1. First console you’ve ever owned? gamecube2. First game you played? ocarina of time3. Favorite childhood game? this barbie secret agent game for gameboy advance

4. Longest consecutive hours you’ve played a game? man i have no idea, if im marathoning i dont pay attention to the time

5. Game with the best soundtrack? skyrim6. An underrated game from within the last few years? child of light7. Most disappointing game you’ve played? there was this one indie game that was pretty sad that i dont remember the name of

8. The game with the best atmosphere/scenery? child of light9. Last game you played? overwatch10. Prefer PC or console? i like both honestly11. Have you written any fanfic or made any fanart? yea but not as much12. Most bizarre game you’ve ever played? art of transhumanism, its on itchio13. Scariest game you’ve played? scp containment breach 14. Do you watch playthroughs online? yea when im stuck or want to see if its good or not, or if i dont have the console to play it

15. Favorite animal in a video game? love epona from loz16. The best year in gaming you’ve experienced? i guess this one since i got a computer that i could game on

17. Have a video game themed background or lockscreen? yea i have sheik on my phone

18. Worst game you’ve played? definitely that one game from itchio19. Hardest game you’ve ever played? there was this fashion design game i had for ds and the final challenge was fuckin impossible

20. Favorite publisher and/or developer? nintendo21. If you had to play one game for the rest of your life, what would it be? probably either overwatch cause theres always new content or some mmo like black desert

22. If you could turn one game into movie, which would it be? portal23. Favorite genre of video game? adventure rpg24. Ever cried because of a video game? Which one(s)? yesssss so many games with feels

25. Proudest accomplishment in gaming? always nice to get a bunch of headshots in a row as widowmaker

26. How often do you play online? Co-op? lot more often now that i play overwatch and gmod with my friends

27. Have you gotten any friends into gaming? yea i dragged jess into indie gaming with an otome i love

28. Who got YOU into gaming? my brother when i was really young29. Watch cutscenes or skip them? watch them30. On average, how long does it take you in the character creation screen? so long i love making characters

31. Game with the best theme song? fuuuuck i dont knoww theres so many good ones

32. Do you cosplay? hell fucking yea all the time33. Favorite female npc? Morrigan from dragon age is bae34. Favorite male npc? can i say sheik from oot? cause technically he was originally a guy until they started changing it

35. Best protagonist? hawke from da236. Best antagonist? shadow empress from aragami37. Ever been made fun of for playing video games? nope i dont bring it up unless i know the person likes games

38. Have you tried a game, hated it, then tried again, and loved it? nope i scope out games before i play them and if i dont like it i dont go back and play it again

39. Do you play for achievements/trophies? eh not really40. Favorite voice actor? fuuuuu there are too many good ones 41. Gone to a midnight release before? nope42. A game you will never forget (in a bad OR good way)? ocarina of time43. Favorite sidekick or companion? midna from twilight princess44. Do graphics matter? depends on the game but usually yes45. Do you like funny or more serious games? usually more serious46. Always, sometimes, or never use subtitles? sometimes, again depends on the game

47. First person or Third person? i prefer third but first is cool too48. A game you’ve always wanted to play but have never gotten to it? i need to play mass effect yo i just havent had the time

49. A game you haven’t played in forever, but want to replay? could always go for another round of ocarina of time, or any zelda game really50. How many games to do you own? so many.. so so many51. First character you’ve had a crush on? link from oot hands down52. A game you will always stand behind, and support no matter what? oot53. Your most immersive game? mirror’s edge probably54. A sequel you really want? give me portal 3 or another dragon age thats actually good

55. How much time, on average, do you play in a week? at least two hours a day like im gaming all the time its kinda ridiculous tbh

56. Do you tell people irl that you play video games? yea if i know they enjoy them or it comes up and im feelin in an idgaf mood

57. What is an overrated game you’ve played? i played like 2 rounds of league and ugh its awful

58. Ever have someone walk in on a sex scene between you and you LI? i dont think so…

59. A game you are looking forward to this year? breath of the wild holy fuck60. The game you are best at? ssx3 come at me i’ll beat your ass 61. A game you know everything about? i know the lore of almost every game i play because i find it really interesting. so there are several games i know everything about

62. Would you want to work with video games when you are older? yeS let me work on them in a couple months when i graduate and need a job

63. What’s a game that has inspired you? there are a lot that have inspired me tbh

64. Describe your favorite video game using only three words? aaaaa i dont have a favorite

65. Any favorite screenshots of games? well theres this from one overwatch game:

66. Game with the yummiest looking food? there was this one flash game i played that you made food and it looked really good

67. Most violent game you’ve played? hard to say really68. An older game that you’ve just recently gotten into? you could consider gary’s mod older

69. Your first LI? uuu i guess its sam from seduce me the otome70. Do you play any mobile games? mystic messenger and pokemon go71. A game you can’t stop talking/thinking about at the moment? overwatch lol72. Have any guilty pleasure games? theres several lol73. A game with the best fandom? honestly the michaela laws games’ fandom is great

74. Which game has the best lore? not teeechnically a video game but shadowrun. theres so fucking much and its all really interesting. i spent an hour reading about seattle alone holy shit75. Do you focus on main storyline/quest or do sidequests first? sidequests i get distracted lol

[heartofhryule]

Heart of Wisdom - Chapter 14

Chapter 14 - Contains mild language, implied sexual themes and minor violence.

WARNINGS: Contains Hyrule Warriors spoilers and story items. I highly recommend playing the game if you haven’t! It’s complete fluff, but fun fluff…. minus Lana.

_____________________________________

Heart of Wisdom | Chapter 14 | The Masquerade

It wasn’t unexpected that Ganon appeared earlier than the three days she’d set for their wedding. When he arrived at the walls of the castle, Zelda was not at all surprised. Nervous, nauseated, and furious? Certainly. But not surprised.

She stood in the breezeway, just out of site over the parapets where the guards were shouting back and forth to the interlopers, Midna to her left and Impa to her right. “Link and Volga won’t be back for at least a day and a half,” Impa growled. “He knew what we would do.”

“He thinks he knows what we’re going to do,” Midna smirked. “And I am confident the Hero won’t keep up waiting. Meanwhile, I have an idea.”

Bending over, Midna plucked  the familiar stone crown that was the Fused Shadow from thin air. Holding it up, she removed her hands as the item began to float of its own accord in front of her. “This should keep him occupied for a bit.”

Hearing howls in the distance, Zelda and Impa looked from the Queen of Twilight over the parapets to where Ganon, Naburoo and their men were demanding to be let in. Over the rise of the hill of Hyrule Field behind them, undulating black shapes with the red and teal glowing lines indicative of creatures from Twilight appeared. Some of them were large, wolf shaped beasts, others were humanoid figures, arms longer than natural allowing them to walk on all fours. The second type of creatures lacked true heads, but instead were possessed of flat disks surrounded by long, indistinguishable hair like tendrils.

“You should cover your ears,” Midna suggested, her hands already clasped to her head. Zelda and Impa quickly followed suit, just in time to not only hear, but feel the ribcage rattling shriek the disk headed beasts let loose. Zelda winced, feeling sympathy for her guards, but watched the effect on Ganon and his men with grim approval.

The small Gerudan and goblinkin army turned in rank to see the new threat racing across the field towards them, and Ganon drew his sword, shouting to his men to charge and fight. Drawn away from the Castle door as they were, Zelda sighed. “Thank you Midna. Come, we have work to do.”

***

After the creatures of Twilight Midna had summoned were defeated, Ganon returned to the castle doors to find them opened to him. Impa’s second in command greeted them, and while there was no cheers or fanfare, the Hyrulean Captain thanked them graciously and said that in light of their defense of the Castle, the princess had agreed to let them in early. He assured them that rooms were being prepared for them all, having the men and horses lead to the barracks near the stables, and leading Ganon and Naburoo to the Throne room.

Zelda, Midna and Impa watched this in the mirror of Twilight from the throne, and nodded to one another. It was show time.

-

Gannon entered with broad strides as the doors were opened for him. He was smug if a bit irritated. “Is this how my future bride intends to treat her husband? Making him wait outside for monsters to attack?”

Zelda sat on the throne, head held high and face expressionless. Impa, the Sheikan General of the armies who had stood over his trial and exile, whispering for his head what felt like a lifetime ago, stood to the right of the throne. Arms crossed and red eyes narrowed in hatred he could palpably feel, he sneered to her. To the left of the princess, a second Sheikan stood. Masked and androgynous, the tribe that protected the royal family was always a thorn in his side. That there were two was annoying. One was bad enough.

“And shall I expect this to be how my future husband honors me? By ignoring my words and requests? I said three days’ time,” Zelda retorted, but he could read nothing from her. The delicious fear he’d tasted from her in the Outlands was entirely absent. How disappointing.

Reaching the bottom of the dais, he went to step up, and both Sheikah threw daggers that stuck into the ground before his foot. He had no doubt that they had not missed. Looking up to the princess from under his red bushy eyebrows, he gave a scathing smile. “I found it impossible to curb my enthusiasm. I wished to be wed as soon as possible.”

“It will be possible in two more days,” she said coldly, looking down her nose at him. “The process of royal marriage, lineage and accepting a new monarch is no small thing. As we speak the papers are being drawn, necessary witnesses being summoned and ceremony preparations underway. Your enthusiasm will having no bearing on these things.”

Eyes narrowing, that her demeanor had changed so much merely being in her palace with her Sheikah and guards was disheartening. He still had plans to make her scream, to break her. If she wanted to make it more difficult? So be it. A thought had occurred to him though.

“Where is your Hero, Princess? Hiding around a corner to stab me when he thinks I’m not paying attention?”

He watched as she swallowed, a crack in her mask. There it was - her weakness. She dropped her eyes and shook her head. “The Captain of the royal guard has abandoned Hyrule. At word of my proposal acceptance, he rode off in a fit. The Baron of Snowpeak volunteered to try and go find him… but I have given up hope he will return.”

Unable to halt the smile that spread over his face, perhaps this would be easier than he thought. Not only was the boy not here to stop him, but it seemed to be a chink in the Princess’s armor. He was jarred from his thoughts with Naburoo’s elbow in his side. The look she gave him brought a bit of clarity - they had anticipated the Hero going after the sword. This could be just a ruse. But whether the boy went for the sword or not, didn’t mean what the princess was saying wasn’t true from her perception.

“I would give my condolences, but the stitches in my shoulders have an ache preventing me from saying as much,” he purred smoothly. “Might you have dinner with me this evening, my betrothed? Perhaps we can talk in a more private setting.”

There was a pause, a moment of utter stillness from the Princess and her guards as she observed him. He was aware of the guards at the doors and lining the walls of the throne room, in addition the the two Sheikah who were tensely keeping their peace. There was potential for great violence if she ordered it, but either way, he looked forward to her response. Either way, he would enjoy the outcome.

“Certainly. Captain,” she said and the soldier who had escorted Ganon and Naburoo to the throne room stepped forward. “Please show the Warlord to his rooms so he might refresh himself before dinner this evening.”

The silent disapproval from the two Sheikah drew a grin from Ganon and he bowed. “I look forward to it, my dear,” he chuckled, giving Impa and the masked guard a broad grin, before turning to follow the Hyrulean soldier. Tonight, he would seduce her mind. It wouldn’t matter if the Hero returned for vengeance, because by the time he came back, his Princess would be defending her King.

***

“I don’t trust this,” Naburoo said, pacing the nice chamber they’d been given. Ganon relaxed in the large brass tub by the fire. This was an opulence he looked forward to becoming accustom. “This has all been too easy.”

“Has it?” he asked, voice deep in contentment. “I think that perhaps you have overestimated the Princess’s defiance in the face of saving her people. The Goddess and her scions have always had the flaw of caring too much for the humans and preventing death to souls that matter not at all. Except to her.”

“Or have you underestimated her capacity for deception?” Naburoo sneered. “Why did those monsters attack us? I have never seen such creatures.”

“That was odd,” Ganon frowned. “There were creatures like that, or similar, in another life I remember, but that was a thousand years ago. Perhaps the presence of two Awakened Triforce wielders is having an effect on the land.”

“You think she is Awakened?”

“I believe her to be. Do you see how she has changed? How she does not fear me in the same way?”

“You think she was not Awakened before?” Naburoo’s eyes were narrowed in contemplation. Something about all of this clearly was not sitting right with her.

“You believe her to have been?”

“I believe we should assume as much and expect every trap and trick they can throw. Then, if none are found, we are pleasantly surprised rather than ambushed.” Arms crossed and pacing, Naburoo’s agitation was growing. “There is no way the Princess would give up her kingdom so easily.”

“This was your plan,” Ganon reminded her with a chuckle. “We have given her no choice. She does not seem pleased, merely coldly resigned.”

Hissing through her teeth, his companion cracked her neck. “Yes, I know it was my plan. And I should be pleased it’s going well… but something isn’t right, Gr-Gannon.” She stopped the slip before it happened, but his eyebrow arched. She’d not fully accepted that he was both the man she worshipped and the reincarnation of the Demon King.

Reaching one great arm out, he snatched the waistband of her pants and pulled her fully clothed into the tub with him. She squawked and flailed but he caught her and held her to his chest. “Stop flailing, woman. I intend to compliment your foresight if you would calm yourself.”

That gained her attention, and while she was glaring she halted struggling. “You are not wrong, something feels amiss. I will need your eyes and ears whilst I entertain the Princess, make our plot believable. Can I count on you for that?”

“Of course,” Naburoo grumbled. “Though I will have to ring out my only clothing before doing so.”

Ganon chuckled. “Why don’t you strip them, and hang them in front of the fire before rejoining me in this tub. I have some tension I need you to work out.” Naburoo’s jaw set as she tried not to give into him with a smile.

“Not going to work it out with your whore princess tonight?”

“I did say I was going to try and uphold the ruse until our plan is in stone,” he chuckled pushing her out of the tub and watching her undress with hungry eyes. “So I find your aid in remaining prudent is necessary.” She obliged him, and while it did little to still his mind over thoughts of his plans for Zelda, it did aid the ache of his loins.

***

Things were looking promising for the Demon King, and never had he recalled a time of feeling more celebratory. He would not celebrate too soon. He knew the Hero was still a possible problem, but everything was going to plan, and if that trend kept, he would already be king before the Hero returned… if he returned.

It was difficult not to smile as he strode into the dinner hall, to find the Princess sitting at the other end of the long banquet table. He of course had a setting at the furthest seat away from her - traditional for the King and Queen to bookend the table and not entirely unexpected a situation. He did however intend to have that change.

She sat there, lit by candle light in the dark room, watching him coldly as servants appeared with dinners on silver trays for them. Yet to take his seat, he looked over each servant looking for the hero, or the Sheikah hidden amongst them, but none appeared to be anything more than what they were. “You seem so far away for intimate conversation,” Ganon called, his voice echoing in the room around them as the servants left.

“Something of which you will become accustom, I assure you,” Zelda promised coldly as she cut into her steak. “This is the proper and traditional dinner of the royals. My parents did this my whole life and I intend to continue the tradition.”

“And I supposed they had separate beds in separate room,” he chuckled and began walking down to her. Grabbing his plate as he passed, he set it down in front of the seat next to her and yanked the chair back.

As he sat down, she shot him a look that would have frozen a man in ice had there been magic behind it. “If I thought for a moment I could make a disgusting man such as yourself believe that, I would already be making preparations.” Going back to her meal, Ganon narrowed his eyes. She was not cringing or cowering as he might have expected. Perhaps his actions in the Outlands had not left the impression he’d hoped. “I think your intentions were made clear at your keep. Lest you decide I live in the dungeons, I have no doubt that you will be a beast of a man every night.”

“Never the dungeons for such a beautiful creature,” he rumbled and reached out to caress her cheek. She jerked just out of reach and stared coldly ahead, waiting for him to withdraw his hand. With a heated sigh, he did so. He was trying to gain her confidence this night, despite wanting to beat her into submission and make her beg. “My boorish behavior has given you the wrong impression.” Ganon forced his voice to be even while cutting into his own meal. “Exile was… difficult. It had been so long since my eyes had rest on something lovely and pure as yourself.”

“What’s done is done. I would have your head were it not for the lack of choice I have been given on the nuptials. Hyrule cannot go to war, which would happen if I killed you or refused you as your messenger made very clear,” Zelda nearly spat. “But I have no interest in speaking with you outside of the necessary subjects. What do you know about trade agreements and agriculture?”

Ganon blinked. “What do you mean?”

“The duties of a king include the management of the trade agreements between the North, South, East and West and the distribution of agriculture and livestock.” Without looking up, Zelda ate her dinner and spoke about the trades and duties of the Hyrulean royalty in times of peace and war and what would be expected of him in possibly the most boring subjects  the warlord could conjure to him mind. He had no intention of running the Kingdom as it had been - he would rule in fear and control, the lands bringing him tribute and worship him as a god.

By the time he was done with his meal, he was on his third glass of wine and resting his head in his hand as she continued to drone on about checks and balances, and duty this and duty that… it was enough to make someone fling themselves from the tower.

“Forgive me, my dear, but can we cover this later?” he asked flat out interrupting her after potentially the longest hour of his life.

She looked up to him with a blank expression. “I have nothing else to discuss with you. If you’re done with it for the evening, then I will take my leave…”

He caught her wrist when she went to stand, and instead of fear he saw true anger flash over her face. It was odd, but exciting. “I wished to get to know more about you. Intimate conversation, not business of state.”

“The Kingdom is my priority.”

“As it is mine, and I look to learn these things in time to keep eternal peace in Hyrule,” he assured her with words that dripped with nectar and false sincerity. “But you are also a priority.”

“You want to know something about me?” she asked through grit teeth. “I despise you, I despise that you have forced anything upon this land, and while I will honor my duty to my kingdom, I do not have to pretend to be more than cordial with you.” Yanking her wrist out of his grip, he noticed a tingle of magic that allowed it to happen - like her wrist was not the size he’d expected.

His eyes narrowed. “Did the Hero break your heart so badly when he left?” He watched the chink in her armor happen again and she turned away from him.

“We will not speak of him. He has abandoned the land, and I will hear no more about him.”

Standing, Ganon smiled and came to rest his hands on her shoulders. “My condolences, Princess. I know I have not made such a good impression, but I hope to change that in your mind. And I can promise that unlike that boy, I will never leave you.” Her shoulders tensed and she moved one away, but he kept with her. Something felt strange, perhaps she was coming around or she was using magic, but when it touched her shoulders it didn’t feel right, like her wrist had not. It also seemed the power of her Triforce was not reacting to his…

And Ganon was suddenly suspicious

“I cannot say that I can believe you easily,” she grumbled. “But if you are true in your word, I hope to see you prove that.”

“It is as I said in the Outlands,” he said evenly. “Our two great armies and lands can be united and made stronger under peace. Do you remember?”

“I do,” she sighed.

Spinning her around to face him with no warning, Ganon took her by the throat and backed her up against the wall. “Imposter!” he roared. “There was no such conversation when the Princess was in my keep. Who are you, witch?”

The bubbling giggle that erupted from the face of Zelda was no sound he could have thought came from the wielder of Wisdom. “Took you long enough,” the alien, echoic voice said. “I thought the Triforce of power would have told you before now. Or could you not tell over the raging boner-” He squeezed her throat and she coughed as he cut off her air.

“WHERE IS THE PRINCESS?!”

“STOP!” a voice said from the shadows, and the second Sheikah with a mask over her face appeared. Striding forward from the shadows, she reached up to remove her mask and reveal the true Zelda, the pulse of her Triforce hitting him full force as whatever glamour had been masking it from his senses dissipated.

Ganon swayed on his feet, and his grip loosened on the imposter, enough for the woman to disappear whole cloth. At the shoulder of the revealed princess, Impa also stood, hand on the hilt of the great sword at her back. “You deceived me?!” he snarled, taking a step forward, but Zelda held up a hand.

“And after our last meeting, how could you possibly expect less?” she said evenly. “You attacked me. I felt it necessary to take precautions.”

“This is a dire insult! I will not be-”

“You will be king, if you mean what you said.”

That stopped him. So… he’d been speaking to the imposter, and yet he’d fooled the real princess? Such an idea brought a smirk to his face. “I did.”

She eyed him suspiciously, but stood to her fullest height. “Then we shall marry in the morning. I’d rather have this done.” Turning to Impa she nodded. “Have the nobles summoned.”

“It’s not enough time, Highness,” Impa said through clenched teeth. She was meaning something else he could tell, but Zelda spoke before Ganon could.

“It will have to be. I want this done.” She turned to look at him and nodded once sharply. “If you truly hold Hyrule’s interest at heart, then so shall it be.”

[squadaloo]

My year in games - 2017 (First half)

For the past few years, my interest in games had been dwindling.  Despite the long list of games I played in 2016, only a few lasted me very long and only a couple I found gripping enough to play more than an hour at a time.  2017 so far has had no less than 5 such games in which hours melted away while playing them.  Here are the games I’ve played so far this year:

Batman: A Telltale Game Series (PS4, Beat game once) - I received this for Christmas.  It’s my first Telltale game since I generally don’t enjoy interactive stories, and I found it pretty decent but not great.  First off, the game on the PS4 is marred by absolutely horrible glitches.  The game full on crashed no less than 5 times throughout my playthrough, and one option on the main menu (the one that lets you review your choices) causes the game to softlock without fail every time.  With that being said, the story the game tells is pretty decent and different for a Batman game with there being more Bruce Wayne than usual.  While I liked that aspect of the story, the Bruce Wayne presented here felt almost too...nice.  Like, I found it hard to believe he could be Batman even in his darker moments.  Also, I can’t confirm this without replaying the game, but I left feeling like my choices basically didn’t matter and the game was essentially funneling towards the same conclusions every time.

Planet Coaster (PC, Spent 70 hours on one park) - Planet Coaster is the closest anybody has come to making a truly great, powerful, but relatively simple to use theme park builder.  The management aspects of the game when I last played back in January left much to be desired and there were numerous annoyances I had with placing objects and with limited ride choices, but overall I was able to make what I felt was a beautiful park over the course of 70 hours.

Overwatch (PC, Spent 5 hours in Private Matches) - Yes, I finally got the game everybody and their mom has been talking about.  I’m generally not a FPS fan, but I did like Team Fortress 2 for its variety of classes, and Overwatch very much feels like an expansion of TF2′s idea.  With a wide variety of fun characters, you’re bound to pick a few you like.  Overall, the game is great fun with friends.  However, I haven’t played it as much as I’d like given I don’t want to play with randoms online because I suck.

Rocket League (PC, Spent 2 hours in Private Matches) - Bought this for a LAN party.  It’s fun for a few insane hours with friends and the variety of game modes keeps things interesting.  Ultimately though, I did get tired of it.  It seems like a game best taken in small doses.

Gravity Rush 2 (PS4, Spent 30 hours beating the game and side missions, spent another 30 hours goofing around) - Much like its predecessor, Gravity Rush 2 is a game I love so much more than the sum of its parts.  It improves the combat from the original game by weakening your main gravity kick forcing you to rely on multiple other moves, adds more enemies, and new styles for attacking.  Flying around and controlling gravity is a blast.  However, not everything is perfect:  there’s a few missions where you’re in tight quarters and the camera becomes a nightmare.  It also has terrible stealth missions, and they are numerous.  The game is fun overall, but certainly doesn’t use its gravity flipping mechanics to their full potential.  Other than that, though, the environments are very pretty, large, and well realized:  I’d dare say the cities of Jirga Para Lhao and Hekseville are two of my favorite locations in all of gaming and I enjoyed just wandering around taking in the sites.

The story is very fragmented and feels more like a bunch of different seasons of a show condensed and often has plot holes that don’t make a whole lot of sense, but it does a great job of building characters you care about.  By the end of the game and the series, Kat and Raven pretty much became my favorite characters in any game because they were well realized, had arcs, and were overall just fun to be around.  Raven especially gets a shoutout because the game’s great partner AI actually does some of the character building for her.  Too often in games, you get a simple partner that helps you attack enemies around you and not much else.  Raven actively helps you achieve your goals:  need to pick up 7 people and take them to a location but can only pick up 2 at a time?  No worries, Raven will split up and take a few herself.  Need to sneak into a base, but there’s two guards in the way?  You attack one and she’ll automatically attack the other.  Start a super attack on a boss?  She’ll notice and if she’s not tied up fighting another enemy, she’ll join you.  It seems so simple, but it’s amazing how often things like this don’t really happen in other games.  It actually made me miss her the few times she’d step aside in the story.

The side missions also do a great job of giving you great nuggets of story, sort of like breather filler episodes in a TV show.  However, ultimately my love of the game really boils down to the final two hours of the game being absolutely phenomenal.  What it lacks in fully satisfying answers to questions it more than makes up with great gameplay and unbelievably satisfying character development.  I’ve never been more satisfied with the ending of a game in my life, and it is to date the only game to ever make me cry.  Oh, and the soundtrack is among the best ever.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch, Spent 100 hours beating the game and every shrine along with other sidequests) - You know, ask anybody what they think about this game and they’ll pretty much all start listing the things they don’t like.  For me, it’s the rain.  It’s irritating and flat out denies you progressing at points.  The weapon durability, while not a bad idea, can also be irritating.  The dungeons, while a neat idea, could really stand to be longer and more fleshed out.  The final boss is too easy.

After they’ve finished listing their qualms, though, everybody pretty much says the same thing:  “but other than that, it’s perfect.”  Breath of the Wild is a game in which you almost never actively think about how great it is while playing it, but come to appreciate it more and more when you go to play other games.  I never once thought “Oh my God, this game is amazing” and yet I also rarely had a play session last shorter than 4 hours.  For somebody who rarely can pay attention to a single game for more than an hour at a time, I cannot stress how engaging a game has to be for me to sit down and play it for 4 hours at a time, and yet this happened constantly for about 2 weeks straight with Zelda.  Combat is simple, but always satisfying as you’re constantly reading attacks and waiting to get that perfect dodge to activate flurry rush.  One of my favorite things to do in open world games is explore, but one of my least favorite things to do is constantly backtrack.  The huge number of shrines (which are great in their own right) means I can explore to my heart’s content, but almost always just fast travel wherever I want whenever I want.  I cannot stress how much the fast travel system and climbing has ruined other games for me:  it feels so liberating to be able to go anywhere quickly.  The world is full of interesting characters and things to see despite how vast it is.  It’s an achievement.

In the past, I’ve found the story in Zelda games to be pretty weak.  They seem like the good basis for a plot, but outside of a few exceptions (Midna, Hilda, Spirit Tracks Zelda) failed to have truly good characters with solid arcs.  I’ve seen many people complain about the story in Breath of the Wild probably because its mostly told through short optional memories and hidden diaries, but honestly, I think it’s heads and shoulders better than any story the series has told so far.  It’s a story that’s truly about the Legend of Zelda:  it’s about how the characters respond to the burden of having to live up to the legend and I find that to be an absolutely brilliant idea.  I don’t want to get too deep into spoilers, but Nintendo said in one of their behind the scenes videos that their goal was to make Zelda “a character worth saving” and I feel they definitely succeeded.  BotW’s Zelda is easily the best character in the entire series with a full satisfying arc.

Simply put, the game is amazing.  Buy it.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch, Spent 95 hours playing an enhanced version of a game I played 250 hours of) - Mario Kart 8 is my favorite Mario Kart.  Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is for the most part, a better version of my favorite Mario Kart.  I was at first irritated about having to rebuy this game because I was afraid I wouldn’t want to play it very much.  However, the portability of the Switch quickly took that thought out of my mind as I’ve been able to play with people at work on my breaks and bring it over for LAN parties.  The game’s full of great tracks, great music, and great racing.  The changed item balance makes racing near the front of the pack much more fun and less frustrating since you can’t get screwed over by coins as much.  However, the middle of the pack is now Hell due to the double item system so it’s a bit of a trade off.  Overall though, I find myself having to think more while racing in MK8DX:  thinking about whether there’s double item boxes up ahead, whether I should save my item or risk it to try to get a new item, whether I want to hold this coin for a boo to take or not, and so on which I think makes it more engaging than vanilla 8.

Also, the new Battle Mode doesn’t suck.

Star Trek Bridge Crew (PSVR, Spent 3 hours total between online and single player) - I wanted to like this game more than I do because I like VR and I like Star Trek.  The core idea of the game is interesting:  you and 3 other people team up to take different positions on the bridge of a Starfleet vessel and go on a mission.  Indeed, in the one match I played online with random people, this idea was fun...except there’s the fundamental flaw that other people are awful and will ruin everything.  In my case, I got to listen to a guy hit on the female NPCs on the bridge for 30 minutes and divide them up on who on our crew would get who.  It completely ruined the game experience for me and I felt embarrassed to be playing.

There is a single player mode in which you’re just the captain, but it feels kind of boring.  It wasn’t long before the siren song of Mario Kart pulled me away from this.  I’ll probably return to it some day, though, since I still have plenty of missions left to try.

Nier Automata (PC, Spent 35 hours getting endings A-X and Z, as well as side quests) - This is a game I hadn’t heard of until Kotaku staff members mentioned in a post in late 2016 how it was a game they were really looking forward to for 2017.  The demo for it went up on the Playstation store at the same time as the Gravity Rush 2 demo so I figured “why not?”  Turns out the demo was fucking amazing, but I decided to wait until it was cheaper to buy since I had other games to play.

For those unaware, Nier Automata is an action RPG that is also a platformer, a topdown shooter, hack and slash, shooter, and whatever else it Goddamn pleases to be at any given moment.  Somehow, despite these shifts in gameplay, it manages to be mostly competent in all of them.  However, after an excellent prologue (as seen in the demo) in which it constantly shifts perspectives to keep things fresh, it becomes open world and spots shifting as much which I found to be disappointing as it was the thing that sold me on the game.  It’s also the first open world game I played after playing Breath of the Wild, and so going back to feeling restricted to having to walk to fast travel points, not having fast travel unlocked until partway through the story, and having to backtrack quite a bit was a shock.  It’s not bad at these things, but the lack of freedom was something I wouldn’t have noticed had it not been for Zelda.  Combat is fun, but can feel repetitive.  It’s fast and frantic which I enjoy, but the perfect dodge system feels a bit too easy to spam meaning I don’t have to think about each individual encounter the way I do in Zelda.

The story is difficult to talk about without going into spoilers, but I felt it was mostly great with a few moments of utter brilliance mixed in with some moments of frustration.  I do care about the characters and the voice acting is surprisingly well done, but the game I felt alternated between great twists and plot developments I could see coming from 20 miles away.  It’s hard to get into without spoilers, but to me, it also had a habit of undermining its most emotional moments with weird bits of execution.  Near the end (well, third and fourth ending.  It’s complicated), I felt the story started to rely on tropes I don’t particularly care for which started hurting my enjoyment of it, although its ultimate conclusion (the 5th ending. Again, complicated) was very satisfying.  It’s a very dark story, but somehow manages to balance it very well with a surprisingly great sense of humor.

Overall, solid game.

And that does it.  Thank God I split this year in half, or else I’d still have to talk about Splatoon 2, Sonic Mania, Metroid Samus Returns, Sonic Forces, and Super Mario Odyssey.  Plus there’s the games I may wait to get until things have died down like Horizon Zero Dawn and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.  Did I mention this year was a great year for video games?  Because it’s a great year for video games.