#like we know that old people can enter the ww

[helpmeimblorboing]

Hey how do you think Snow would have reacted if, in Catching Fire, when Katniss was reaped, this like 80-year old woman just hobbles her way out of the crowd, shouting about how she would volunteer in her place

And when they ask her which iteration of the Games she won ? Why, tenth, of course

[faroreswinds]

I got two anons in regards to Zelda.

I'm going to answer them here to maintain spoilers. So spoilers below for Totk.

I'm of two minds about totk's story, personally. Keeping it vague for spoiler reasons, I think the twist with Zelda was a really cool idea, and the final boss was a really grand spectacle that made for a great finale. The new characters, Rauru and Sonia, were welcome additions too, but getting the memories out of order slightly ruins the impact, and I think the scenes in the past should have been playable instead. I love this take on Ganon, but I think his motives should have been explored more.

So, my own thoughts on your specific thoughts.

I personally found the dragon thing.... dumb. It doesn't feel like it belongs in a Zelda game. A friend of mine and I always discuss how much we hated it, haha. But I understand why others like it.

The human side of the final boss was great! The dragon was dumb. But that was because I found the entire dragon concept incredibly dumb.

Rauru and Sonia are.... fine. They aren't really anything special, imo. We don't really get to know them. They are just... nice. That's pretty much their only defining personality trait. I don't hate them or anything, I just don't find them anything special either.

This Ganon is.... meh. He's pretty stupid. He literally leaves Stones out in the open and doesn't take them for some reason. That's dumb villain behavior. His motivation is slightly more clear in the Japanese - He thinks peace makes people weak and he wants people strong. So... that's it, really. I just wish they gave him a Trident and not a samurai sword. Where is my Trident, Nintendo? That's literally his thing, you even had it in the OG teaser trailer! Character-wise, he's no more special than OoT Ganon, except OoT Ganon is actually given screen time to build a rivalry with Link. And was actually a more successful Ganon than this one.

To be frank, I found there to be very little to enjoy from this game's narrative. It's so sloppy, childish (note, I don't mean for a younger audience either, I mean it's like a 9 year old wrote it), and devoid of anything meaningful. The only thing I can recall truly loving was when Dragonroost Island theme kicked in during the Rito boss fight. And that made me tear up a little. And only because of WW, not because of BotW.

To be clear, I enjoyed my time with the game on the whole. But the only reason I plan to replay it is because I want to make a video explaining every microscopic detail as to why this game's story was poorly conceived.

In hindsight, I feel like Botw was to Zelda what FFXV was to Final Fantasy; games that changed the direction of their respective series for better or worse and given Aonuma's whole thing about the previous 3D zeldas being "restrictive", I think we're stuck with the botw/totk formula for a long time.

We are. I'm not exactly.... opposed to the open-world design. I just don't think they figured it out yet.

I know so many people think BotW and Totk are perfected open-world games. To me, a perfect open-world game doesn't look like what these two games gave me.

Here is what I want from the next Zelda game.

A narrative that adapts to the players actions, so the choices we make matter more

A smaller map but at least 8 dungeons. The dungeons should not require an entire sequence to enter, but can be wandered into when discovered. Imagine looking into the lake and seeing a temple! And then imagine swimming into the lake, and entering that temple for a new dungeon. Or, searching the forest and finding an ancient ruins buried deep within the leaves.

The smaller map should have more NPCs. I want real, large cities! Lendyell's, not the pathetic Rito village. I want Goron City to BE a city! Come on, Nintendo, make it happen!

Please do not make Princess Zelda a whiney baby this time, please. Or, in the case of Totk, an uninteresting Mary Sue.

Make horses actually good this time.

Stop forcing me to menu all the damn time.

No building! Lame! Stop it!

Can we make Link emote again, please? It's so embarrassing that the n64 Link has more personality than the latest Zelda game on better hardware.

I have more but this is what is on the top of my list.

Of course, I know I sound like a negative nilly. But I don't really hate the idea of these games like a lot of fans seem to do. I just can't love them yet because there are still too many issues.

I want to love the new format desperately. Totk, while a crappy story, actually gave me glimpses into greatness. I can see how the team tweaked it, tried to find a perfected formula in there. I can see them trying, and that gives me hope!

Like, if you were to give me a choice between Totk and Botw, and I can only play one of these for the rest of my life, I'm going with Totk. It's not a better story, but it's a better game. It doubled down on Botw's weaknesses, but I think that just comes with using BotW as a base. Maybe an entirely new game can finally do away with those weaknesses.

Hopefully, we won't wait 6 years to find out! Hopefully no more than 3? We know that they have already started the planning phase of the new game. And it possible that they started a year ago. Totk was finished over a year ago, and had a year of testing before release. Hopefully, they delegated, and had a small team begin the start of the new game.

Plus, no covid this time to slow them down!

Here's to hoping!

[wonlouvre]

wonwoo + childhood friends to lovers?? maybe some jealousy involved on woos side eliciting a confession?❤️❤️

home | j. ww.

pairing: wonwoo x g.n. oc genre: fluff warnings: none (please tell me if i missed anything!) word count: 1.3k

💌: thank you for requesting dear anon! i hope you really like this :’) so much wonwoo content if you haven’t noticed by now and i’m living for it! thank you again! please do tell me what you think <3

Wonwoo thinks of himself as a coward for not swallowing his pride and reservations in telling you the truth. The truth about how much he is so in love with you,  it’s making it difficult for him to physically breathe. He hasn’t planned on confessing yet, but as the days go by, he thinks he’s running out of time. And even though he still sees you every day and you still keep him around, it's not enough. It’s not enough that he’s not holding your hands like he wants to or kissing you senseless like he wishes to. 

It’s not enough that he can’t love you more than just a friend. 

 “Wonwoo?”

You have been trying to get the boy’s attention for the past minute because it’s starting to concern you how much he’s spaced out. You have already tapped his shoulder, poked his cheek and even tickled his side. But to no avail, he was just staring at his book and sighing defeatedly. 

“Wonwoo?” You shake him again and finally, he looks at you. 

“Oh?” Wonwoo leans close and gives his glasses clad eyes to you. “What’s wrong?”

You sadly smile, bringing a hand up to fix his fringe. “Don’t you think I should be asking you that? You’ve been distracted ever since we got here.”

You and Wonwoo never created a schedule to study together, but by some unknown force, you always gravitated towards each other. It usually just takes one text message or one call and you’d be meeting at the university’s library in no time. Maybe, it’s a thing to be in sync with your childhood friend. You’re not sure, but you’re not ruling out the possibility. 

You and Wonwoo became friends when you just turned six years old and he was already nine. The two of you are next door neighbors, even up to now. Both of your parents became friends in an instant, automatically drawing you close to the shy boy with ease. He was timid and reluctant at first, but eventually he warmed up to you. 

The two of you were at each other’s side growing up. Attended the same school and always hang out afterwards despite the fact that he’s ahead of you. Went to the same playground. Ate at the local street food stands. Played at the only arcade established in the neighborhood. All of those done, together. 

It’s not that difficult to keep communication lines open and connection intact most especially when your bedroom windows are both adjacent. It’s a little bit unbelievable, but you and Wonwoo saw the different phases of your lives through those windows. You saw him escape through that window to play computer games with Woozi once. On the other hand, he saw you through that window dancing to one of your favorite songs. No hints of embarrassment. You even developed a code where there’s a number of knocks on the glass that will indicate your identities. You can enter at the main entrance of course, but this is special between the two of you. 

Well puberty was a different chapter and the two of you may or may not have distanced for quite a while. But, your friendship triumphed over the trials. 

Several people have asked if you have feelings for your friend. And several times, you denied. Likewise, Wonwoo has had his fair share of nosy people. It’s a conversation that you two have already talked about a year into college. The two of you were awfully awkward in denying, but shrugged it off nevertheless. By far, no one has asked again ever since. 

It didn’t affect your friendship, but a shift definitely happened. Like, the two of you became hyper aware of each other’s presence and actions. Casual gestures became lingering touches. Casual nicknames became specially endearing (that no one else is allowed to say them).

You could say this friendship also became something more as well.

Wonwoo’s heart skipped a beat at the warm sensation of your hand. He plays it cool and scratches the back of his neck, a habit he does when he becomes nervous.

You take notice of that, making you conclude that there’s really something wrong.  “Is there something that’s bothering you?”

Your friend sighs for the nth time and slumps on the open books he has failed to study. Wonwoo’s afraid to ask and he doesn’t even know if he really should. But, he has to get this out of his chest one way or another. “Are you really going on that study date with Jeonghan?”

Suddenly? You frown, confused as to where this is coming from. 

You answer him nonetheless. “Yes. You know I can’t fail this class, right? Jeonghan seemed to be the ace and he’s willing to teach me for free.”

“I can tutor you too, you know?” Wonwoo’s pouting now.

You grin and lean your arms on your notes, mirroring his position. You teasingly narrow your eyes at him and he looks away, annoyed at your antics. “But you don’t have this class in your program, remember?”

“And so?” Wonwoo asks, eyes boring back to you at lightning speed. “Doesn’t mean I don’t have good knowledge about the subject.”

You smirk. Yes, Wonwoo is a coward, but you’re confident. You’re confident with how you have found the only person you’re still friends with since childhood. You’re confident with how you found the only person to teach you how to ride a bike and play computer games. You’re confident with how you found the only person you want to grow old with.

And, you’re confident with how you found Jeon Wonwoo as the only person’s initials you would allow to be at home inside your heart. 

“I smell jealousy,” you state the obvious for him. “Can you confirm that for me, Mr. Jeon?”

Wonwoo was a coward. But not this time anymore. 

Your eyes widen when he suddenly stands up, chair scraping against the wooden floor. What he does next almost made you topple over, but your tight grip on the table kept you grounded. Wonwoo gently holds your chin between his fingers and softly presses his lips against yours. 

Wonwoo is kissing you.

Suddenly, you’re not so confident anymore. Your breath hitches for a short second, but you relax immediately after. You close your eyes and eagerly return his kiss. 

“Uh, guys?”

Wonwoo immediately pulls away and stands straight while you cast your eyes down and pretend to read your notes. Idiot, you scold yourself. There’s nothing wrong with what you just did. Why are we acting like we just committed a crime?

Just like that, the magical moment bursted like a bubble due to Jeonghan's appearance. 

Jeonghan clears his throat and looks between the two of you, back and forth. “You can continue, you know? I'll come back when Y/N’s ready.”

“No!” You and Wonwoo shout in unison and everyone in the library is hissing and shushing. 

“Woah.” Jeonghan raises his hands. “No need to be angry.”

“No, I mean,” you stutter, finding the right words to say before holding the hand of the man who just kissed you. “Wonwoo will tutor me instead.”

Wonwoo blinks in surprise, but gets the message and holds your hand back tightly. “Yeah. I’m- I’ll handle it from here.”

“You know you can just tell me that you have a date, right? Why are you two acting like I don’t know what relationships are,” Jeonghan complains with a roll of his eyes before turning around and walking away. 

You and Wonwoo release a breath of relief, eyes meeting. You couldn’t hold your giggle meanwhile he couldn’t hide the growing smile on his face. You bite your lip and gaze up at him. He fondly caresses the back of your hand and tilts his head, a gesture you clearly know the meaning of.

“How about we do go on that date Jeonghan’s talking about?”

Your face warms, in love. “I’d love to.”

[sukisdeliveryservice]

hello!! could i kindly request for a student campus crush! wonwoo hehe and you’re best friends and have unrequited feelings but u dont know if he feels the same so over a sleepover u tried confessing and you can continue from there hehe -🐼

let me hear you say | j. ww

�� pairing: best friend!wonwoo x female reader

✎ genre: collegel!au, friends to lovers!au, mostly fluff

✎ warnings: none!

✎ wc: 2.40 k words

✎ notes: hi 🐼 anon! i got a little carried away with this one because soft, cuddly wonwoo makes my stomach do flips but i hope you like it! i'm not sure how i feel about my portrayal of yn here because i wanted them to be really supportive of wonwoo but kind of having a hard time because of their feelings towards him. i hope i was able to express that without portraying them as kind of eh :/

“Don’t you ever get tired?” You take a quick glance at your best friend as he folds up another piece of paper with a phone number written on it.

“Of what?”

“Of everyone in this school falling head over heels for you,” You say like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, proceeding to look back down at your notes. In reality, you were trying to prevent yourself from looking at the cute (albeit, confused) way your best friend was staring at you over your abrupt question.

“Well I can’t say I’m not flattered, but there aren’t really that many people yn,”

A total lie, you think to yourself. Every time you two walked around campus, your best friend attracted the adoring stares of all your classmates like some hotshot celebrity. Yes, he was popular, and yes, he totally deserved it, but if everyone knew how dorky he was, maybe they wouldn’t be so quick to hand him their number after a single conversation.

Another lie, if everyone knew what a nerd Jeon Wonwoo actually was, they’d probably fall for him harder. You would know of course, first hand experience taught you a lot of things.

It taught you how endearing it was when Wonwoo wore oversized clothing, so that he could pull the sleeves over his palms when sipping on a hot drink at the local campus cafe. It made you realize his habit of pushing his glasses up his nose, because he was too stubborn to get the bridge adjusted. It made your insides melt whenever he was nervous because he had a habit of fiddling with his fingers. You were certain that if anyone was completely head over heels and absolutely smitten by him, it was definitely you.

“Not many people my ass,” you scoffed, “you spoke to her once, just once! And now you are holding her number.” Wonwoo laughs at your poor attempt at hiding your annoyance, “For your information, we were talking about a group project, and exchanging contact information. Nothing more, and nothing less.”

You gave a little huff before going back to pretend-studying, you definitely couldn’t focus when he was sitting right across from you. You knew you were more prone to jumping to conclusions nowadays, and you hoped that Wonwoo didn’t notice your shift in behaviour. In reality, you couldn’t help but feel a little pang of worry whenever your best friend was asked out on another date. And while he rejected the offer every time, you worried that one day he might say yes and you could lose him forever.

Not that you were against Wonwoo falling in love someday. If he found a good person that he wanted to be with for the rest of his life, you would support him in a heartbeat. It was just the selfish feeling that blossomed in your chest that prevented you from feeling any true happiness for these kinds of situations, and you hated it.

You knew that he would never abandon you completely, because Wonwoo was the best friend you could ever ask for. But you also knew that it would kill you inside to see him sweep someone else off their feet.

You’ve known Wonwoo since high school, and you definitely harboured a puppy crush on him all of first year. This was back when he was still trading pokemon cards in the gym stairwell and poking at you to buy him something from the milk vending machine. The crush went away eventually and you found yourself enjoying the rest of your high school career with your closest confidant by your side.

Once you both entered university, Wonwoo had a sudden growth spurt that now put him a total head taller than you. He no longer lurked at the stairwells during lunch and instead made lots of new friends that he went out for coffee with. He started dressing nicer, and once he exchanged his old glasses for a pair of round silver ones that rested on his nose so perfectly, he instantly transformed into someone straight out of a kdrama.

Now, you have caught feelings again. And you’re scared to admit that this time a puppy crush doesn’t even encapsulate everything you’ve been feeling lately. Of course Wonwoo’s sudden change in appearance didn’t spark anything new in your feelings towards him. It was the fact that he had a new air around him that was just completely different.

Wonwoo in high school was shy, and you loved him for who he was. You two had your own small circle of friends and you would spend all your time reading or playing games in his bedroom. Wonwoo in college however, was breaking out of his shell and being the first to approach people and make new friends. He was still introverted of course, shyness and introvertedness were two different things after all. But you were proud to see Wonwoo take the initiative to make plans more often and reach out.

Wonwoo has also gotten a lot more comfortable around you. He’s grown fond of resting his head on your shoulder after a long day of classes, and wrapping you in his sweaters whenever you came by his flat. In conclusion, everything about university student Wonwoo, was driving you, (and probably the entire campus) crazy.

“Hello? yn? Don’t you have a class soon?”

You swat away the hand that was waving in front of your face to meet the eyes of the cause of all your heart troubles. One smile from Wonwoo and you were in shambles. You had it really, really bad. “Right, right, sorry I was just...distracted.”

“We’re still on for tonight right? You can just head straight to my dorm after your last class.”

“Of course Won, did you really think I was going to miss out on another rewatch of Extraordinary You?”

“Of course not,” Wonwoo chuckled. You were met with another one of those soft gazes from him, and you immediately tried to break your stare. Something in your heart tells you that you should just confess right now, and that Wonwoo was a sensible individual who wouldn’t let go of your friendship if he didn’t feel the same way.

“Hey Won, can I tell you something after class later?”

“Of course.” There was that smile again. If you weren’t so busy trying to slow your heart rate down, you would have caught the way his eyes brightened at hearing your question, and the way he looked down to twindle with his fingers.

You give Wonwoo your own smile before heading off to your last detour of the day.

Sleepovers with Wonwoo always consisted of a mountain of blankets, a never ending pile of snacks and a show to watch before eventually both of you fell asleep. When you arrived at his flat just as he was adding the finishing touches to a home cooked dinner, you realized that sleepovers with Wonwoo also consisted of another thing: Your tragic inability to keep your heart rate down.

“Dinner will be ready in a bit, you can just wash up and get changed for now,” Wonwoo turns to greet you before adding some pepper to the tteokbokki.

You nod and head over to his bathroom, where you already find your change of clothes resting on the counter. Any outsider would have been under the impression that you and Wonwoo lived together, considering that pieces of you were scattered all over his apartment. From the matching toothbrushes that were kept by the sink, to the drawer reserved only for your clothes in his bedroom.

The only reason that you and Wonwoo didn’t room together upon entering university, was the fact that your parents were wary of you rooming with a boy you weren’t even dating. Not that it mattered now, considering that you at least spent two nights at his place away from your own dorm.

After you showered and changed into your pajamas, you realized that Wonwoo had given you one of his sweaters to wear, instead of the usual shirts you slept in. Usually you would have raided his bedroom after dinner to steal one (you slept much better when you wore his clothing) but this time it appeared that he had taken the initiative for you.

Once you stepped out of the bathroom, you saw that Wonwoo was already sitting at the dining table and was on his phone. It looked like he was texting someone, and you felt your heart sink a little when he laughed at a message. No, you are not going to be jealous. You are going to be happy for your friend because he deserves all the happiness in the world.

“Is that the girl from your group project?” You sat down across from him and started piling the tteokbokki and rice onto your plate. “Yeah, she said that the professor just sent out a mass email to our class, saying that we were going to be given an extension. Turns out that email was meant for another course, but everyone is already celebrating the new deadline.”

Wonwoo shuts off his phone and turns to you, “Was there something you wanted to tell me today?”

Right. You were going to confess your feelings. It was now or never, and you weren’t sure if you could hold it in much longer. “I can just tell you after dinner, I’m starving.”

Tragic. Tragic. Tragic. Why couldn’t you just say the words, “Hey Won, I have feelings for you, do you feel the same way?” Must you be in a spiraling paradox of questioning the presence of unrequited love in the relationship you had with your best friend? Yes, most definitely yes. Since the world likes to make everything difficult for those in love.

Dinner was eaten in a comfortable silence for the most part. You liked that you never felt the need to fill the air with more conversation whenever you were with Wonwoo. There were days where you would just sit in each other’s presence and do your own thing, and those days left you with lots of time to ponder on your feelings for him. Tonight was the night that you were going to say these feelings aloud for the first time...you just needed a bit more time to procrastinate.

After you both finished your food, you relocated yourselves to the couch. You fidgeted with the end of your (his) sweater while Wonwoo searched for the show on Netflix. You figured that you would let him know in the morning, since there was a chance that you two would fall asleep before the episode ended. And you didn’t want to confess beforehand either, in fear of having to endure a brutal one hour of awkward tension if he didn’t feel the same way.

“Who would have thought that out of all the days the wifi could have chosen to bail on us, they chose the day where we were going to find out whether Haru belonged to Dan-oh’s story or not,” Wonwoo fiddles with the remote some more, while you panic in silence at the thought of spending the night with no distractions from your feelings.

“It’s not like we don’t already know how it ends,” You take deep quiet breaths to calm yourself down, you can definitely make it through the night, “We can just do other things.”

“What do you have in mind?”

You couldn’t answer him right away. The only thing you had on your mind was the fact that Wonwoo’s hand was now resting on your knee and that it was baffling how good he could look in pajamas. Wonwoo, sensing your inability to form words nervously glanced up at you before moving the conversation in a different direction, “Look, I know you had something to tell me today yn, but I realized that I wanted to share something with you too. I am in love-”

“I am in love with you Jeon Wonwoo!”

There. You blurted out a long-awaited confession before the anticipation consumed you whole. You couldn’t tear your eyes away from your hands in fear of seeing the look on Wonwoo’s face.

“Let me hear you say it again.”

“What?” You turn to Wonwoo, who no longer looked nervous. Instead, he wore the biggest shit-eating grin on his face that made you want to both kiss and strangle him. “Say it again.”

“Not when you look like you just won the lottery you nerd, you didn’t even say-”

“I am in love with you too yn.”

Well, you were never one to complain about the fact that your feelings were returned. But the way Wonwoo was cooing at your adorable expression of shock only made you want to shove him off the couch.

Which you proceeded to do.

“Hey! Aren’t you happy that I like you too?”

“Of course I’m happy! You didn’t have to try to beat me to my confession though, tonight was going to be my night!”

“You didn’t seem like you were going to say anything for the rest of the evening! You were going to wait until the next day weren’t you?”

Absolutely yes. “No!”

Any remaining tension in the atmosphere washed away as you and Wonwoo made fun of each other on the living room floor. You were beyond relieved and a little giddy that your best friend in the whole wide world saw you in the way that you saw him.

“But on a more serious note Won, were you also going to confess tonight too?”

“Actually no, but once you came out of the washroom wearing my sweater, I just had to say it before I tackled you with cuddles or something.”

“You gave me your sweater instead of my clothes to wear!”

“I know!” Wonwoo was holding your hand now and rubbing circles into your palm. The idea of cuddling the entire night didn’t sound so bad. “But you looked all nervous and shy and I was hoping that you were going to be the one to say something first.”

“Can we just agree that we confessed at the same time?” As the adrenaline from the confession began to slip away you suddenly became very tired, and you were hoping to just spend the night in the arms of your favourite person.

“Deal. So can we cuddle now?”

[tigirl-and-co]

20. A boss you think is really cool

Hmmm... that's an interesting one! I'm gonna answer with a few different bosses, bc 'cool' could mean a lot of different things

Cool design + concept: Blizzeta from Twilight Princess (her 2nd form also has what's probably my 2nd fave boss theme of all time)! I also like the in-story context for her boss battle so much! (spoilers for Twilight Princess) We know already that the mirror shards are a corrupting force, and earlier we see that the Goron Chief was corrupted by the Fused Shadows. But here we see, via freaky ass cutscene, a character we liked get corrupted in front of us- it's no longer a generic 'beat the bad guy' boss fight, it's a 'saving the innocent' battle with personal stakes! and the cutscene that initiates her battle? Iconic. Everyone in the fandom knew NOT. TAKE. MIRROR. I also have an attachment to her for very personal reasons haha. But yeah her design fucks hard, I wish the combat was as interesting as the rest of her schtick.

Cool (I admire them): Cynthia from pokemon gen 4 are u kidding me I wanted to be her SO BAD as a kid. She wiped the floor with me so many times. I made a sprite edit using her as a base when I was like 12 and used it for an avatar. If I can remember the name of my old forums I'll post it.

Cool as in 'has stuck with me': Honestly a lot of the OG Luigi's Mansion ghosts are cool bc they're like... just people, and it's real wild that the first boss of this nintendo game is somebody's dead mom. But Bogmire stands out for being kind of surprise creepy. I think about it a lot. What's its deal. Yeah it's the personification of the house's misery or whatever, but what does that MEAN. I was like 5 or 6, playing this game, and I go to a hidden graveyard and knock on a big cool gravestone and initiate this battle. For little me, it was the right mix of creepy but engaging. I was nervous but not terrified. I would buy a Bogmire plushie.

Cool as in 'I look forward to it when I play the game': The darknut minibosses from both Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. Yeah the Wind Waker one isn't that tough now that I have a big grown up brain, but it's still neat, and WW Darknuts are my literal all time favourite enemies to fight in any game ever. I never pass up the chance.

The Twilight Princess one, though? Holy shit. I replayed the game like 2 years ago, and that bitch STILL kinda freaked me out! YEAH you can cheese him with the bomb arrows if ur a little bitch, but if you do a genuine bona fide sword fight? That shit's fun as hell. There's this unnameable dread when you first enter that room. You can feel in your BONES that that suit of armor is going to come to life and whoop your ass.

Cool as in most badass/dramatic: oh yeah it's gotta be the Wind Waker final battle. Everything about it RULES. (SPOILERS) You're having a desperate sword fight for your life, a 10 year old kid who left home a month ago vs an ancient warlock who was so powerful the gods themselves had to seal him away.

He won, btw. Like Ganondorf literally wins in WW. It takes KoRL stepping in to DROWN BOTH HIMSELF AND GANONDORF to prevent Ganondorf from getting his wish. So you're trapped in a room, water pouring in on all sides, against a man who... doesn't even hate you. He's just doing what must be done. He could have killed Zelda, but he doesn't. He puts his sword away and backhands her instead of running her through. He's 100% just playing out his destiny. You aren't the one who defeated him the first time, you're just some kid who was dragged into this by a ghost.

And when you kill him BY STABBING YOUR GODDAMN SWORD INTO HIS HEAD, he laughs quietly before delivering one of the most iconic lines in Zelda history. Like that whole battle, from opening cutscene to the final, is so intense. So fucking intense. I'm convinced they couldn't have gotten away with half the shit they do if the game wasn't so cutesy. Easy Teen rating.

Cool as in Best: WW Molgera is 10/10. The fight itself is fun and satisfying! Molgera has a KICK ASS design! It's a fantastic and mood-setting opening cutscene! The sound design on the boss is freaky in all the right ways! It's a UNIQUE boss battle! She's got the greatest boss battle theme in the whole goddamn series and I'll DIE on this hill! She was so scary I cried while watching my dad play when I was little, and once I got to her battle on my own I not only remembered her, it took me two days to work up the courage to face her, and I felt like an absolute fucking badass once I did! In that moment, I fell well and truly in love with video games. I was Link, a child facing down an ancient wyrm, terrified but pressing on.

Also, in the original GCN version of the game, the hitbox on her tongue doesn't go away when she starts flying, so you can hookshot it and force her back into the sand.

Thank you for the ask, doubly so if you actually read all of this haha <333

[lebomboniere06]

Doyo Studio Park Review

Review of Takashi so far in the first half

· dried dog · Weird · Flying fish short poem "

Actor interview · Fukuhara Haruka · Kuwabata Rie · Takahata Junko

The second half hits Akaso himself

· I like reading books just like Takashi

・Decompression method→Bungee jumping

Recently, I am drinking protein

that tastes like strawberry milk

Because the character will always grow beyond his own age and want to be a mature man’s body

Fukuhara accidentally loves to play

. When two people mispronounce the Kansai dialect, they will always say the wrong words to disturb each other 😂😂

The part where Mai’s grandmother Junko Takahata co-stars

He thinks she is a great actress and a great person.

Takahata-san said that Takashi is a weirdo, isn’t it good?

I read the script myself and read it very passionately

. I said it because she said it. more convincing

When Takashi disappeared and went home to see his parents after

Kuwabata Rie, who played the role of mother,completely assumed the mood of his child’s disappearance when he entered the door, and hit him hard. She asked Akaso if it would hurt . Akaso said: It’s okay to use more force🥺

Then Rie San said in other places that Eiji has no aura ww

when we met for the first time, she didn’t wear glasses at all, and I didn’t notice that "Eiji Akaso" came, and then Eiji brought her food and was very polite She thought it was a staff member again, but one day he suddenly looked handsome ww,how he can be my son she said🤣

(Eiji: I don’t know which day it was at all)

Akaso said that he usually wears black clothes and jeans, which is easy to be mistaken for a staff member.

Maybe it is because if he occasionally wears more colorful Rie San would say he is handsome.

Host: Maybe outside, can Akaso Eiji sit next to me in the sinkansen ? He is very kira kira so handsome

Akaso: no, no 🥹He also said very modestly that he wore good clothes, combed his hair and make-up during the shooting... The host also said that his eyes were shining and bright

He said it there was lighting that's why🥺

Like Takashi, I like to read novels, essays, philosophy, and business books ,I like to read everything. When I was young, I also went to second-hand bookstores . I like the decoration and smell.If you have troubles, you can get inspiration from the books

The trouble is that the body is very hard . I'm too stiff

I didn’t squat down enough to demonstrate in the studio. I was worried that I would not be able to walk when I was old, so I try to do stretching and so on everyday 😆.

The decompression method is bungee jumping, although I have only been there once and I have no memory in the middle ww

I like high places and I like the feeling of heartbeat. If I have a chance, I also want to go to sky diving bungee jumping . I have always wanted to try it.

He mentioned again that I also want to go to waterfalls meditation

[Nakamura Tomoya message]

I want a shower (shower head) for my birthday recently, so please Akaso send me that one you use at home, which is very good (tomoya bdays it's on December 24(36yo))

He said Eiji is like a son & also like a daughter "I feel that there will be some small problems if I leave my eyes a little bit. If a car drives over, I will tell Akaso that it is dangerous"(Is it a parent with a child🤣)and then chat When it comes to the topic of love,Akaso said that he would pursue it with a strong momentum, and Nakamura said that Eiji also has this kind of very manly part, and I feel Doki doki (キュン) 😆He felt that he was handsome saying this,

"What if he came to chase me?" what will happened? Akaso: Actually, I started playing recently golf too! do you want to go? do you want to go? Please call me next time when there are not enough people😂

Nakamura said that Akaso should be afraid of being rude and dare not disturb them when he was with Sada masashi

," he really wanted to join, but he looked at him from 3 meters away" 🥺

Eiji said that Nakamura was really a very gentle person and bought him coffee every day during filming,also said he's like a big brother to him,I really like his gentle voice and way of Speaking

He said that he learned a lot from Takashi good at" not "hate"

Ah yes, the present I want from Nakamura or Santa Claus is a humidifier pls 🙏🤲💝

He also said : " I have been receiving gifts from Santa Klaus since I was a child"🥺🥹🥰(*so loved by his parents no wonder he's such a brilliant soul)

& finally he said

Hona,merry Christmas ☃️ 🎄🎅

The interpretation of the role of Takashi is naturally expressed in the live broadcast. It is easy to see that Akaso has studied the script repeatedly and has his own understanding🤗It's great that Takashi is so popular🥳hard work pays off👏

[howtodrawyourdragon]

There is a whole other story beneath Twilight Princess’ main plot- [1/3]

And it explains why the children of Ordon were taken in the raid.

They were taken because King Bulblin was searching for Link.

[Part Two]

[Part Three]

Okay, but hear me out for a second here, I come with a theory that I think really makes sense and it can possibly answer a few question in the plot of the game.

Why were the children of Ordon taken? (You Are Here)

Why was Link, after his first transformation, still taken as well?

Why was he taken to Hyrule Castle of all places?

And more.

Now, before I begin, which are some of the games we tend to associate with Twilight princess chronologically? Ocarina of Time. Which is the other game that also serves as a sequel to Ocarina of Time? Wind Waker.

I bring these two games up because there is a notable difference between these three incarnations of Link that I want to bring up before I continue.

OoT: Link receives the Triforce of Courage due to Ganondorf’s attempt at making a wish, causing the Triforce to break into three.

WW: Link earns the Triforce of Courage after finding all eight broken pieces found scattered in the ocean.

TP: Link is born with the Triforce of Courage.

Remember this detail.

(Video for reference from NintenU on YouTube)

Why were the children of Ordon taken?

First of all, what do we know of their abduction?

(Timestamp for video: 11:00)

We know that they were taken right before the Light Spirit Ordona was to lose their light as we know from the same cutscene that Faron was already cloaked in darkness. We also know that only the children were taken and nobody older than Ilia.

When Link is concerned we can only make assumptions whether he was meant to be taken, too. As, while he is knocked out cold by a bulblin, we see King Bulblin enter the spring as well and then not notice that Link is even there. He just blows his horns and hauls ass after a portal opens up. So whether Link was actually meant to be taken, too, is something that we can’t quite answer from the scene presented to us.

(Timestamp for the lines: 44:33)

When Link reunites with Colin, Beth, Malo, and Talo after light is returned to the Eldin Province, Colin and Malo tell Link that the bulblins had left them for dead somewhere far enough away from home for Renado to find them. The children aren’t injured either and Twilight Princess isn’t exactly above showing us injuries or even violence towards children.

We’ve seen Rusl covered in blood and bandages. We’ve seen him limp his way through Ordon when he hears Wolf Link in the distance and then later can be found sleeping deliriously on the sofa of his home.

And them being kids doesn’t spare them either as we see young Ralis (very likely) near death when we hurry him to Kakariko Village. His mother, the late-queen Rutela, states “I feel it. His presence grows fainter to me over time.” This most likely means that Ralis is losing his life.

(video for reference from Psuedo Twili, timestamp: 2:04)

And if you remember the cutscene in which King Bulblin charged through Kakariko Village, Colin wasn’t exactly left unscathed as he was run over and knocked out cold for the entire duration of the fight between King Bulblin and Link and then later found resting in bed with Beth and Luda looking after him.

The bulblins aren’t above hurting children, yet, instead of harming them any further, they choose to simply abandon the children instead. If they were harmed any more than they already have been, the game would have shown us.

It is also interesting to note from the Queen Rutela cutscene, that the Zora’s were raided, too, but their child, Prince Ralis, was not taken. This is a striking contrast, compared to the raid on the human village of Ordon, where the children were taken. Though, admittedly, this is possibly because they were raided by the Shadow Beasts and not the bulblins.

So what do we know?

The children of Ordon were taken, nobody older than Ilia (or presumably, older than Link)

They were brought all the way to the Eldin province, which is far far away from home.

Abandoned, left for dead. This makes their abduction strange and out of place, without reason.

Not physically harmed, from what we can see.

With these facts summed up, we have to wonder why the bulblins would steal people from their homes if they are just going to abandon them in the middle of nowhere anyway. What is the point? Why go through all that trouble of kidnapping them? (Besides moving the plot forwards and giving Link reason to set out, of course) And why do I claim that the Triforce of Courage has something to do with this?

Let’s begin with why I would bring up the fact that TP Link was born with his piece of the Triforce.

(Timestamp: 1:42:20)

Well, we’ve seen the cutscene with the Sages. We’ve seen that they attempted to execute Ganondorf themselves, believing themselves capable of bringing justice to the King of Thieves. But that it was a foolish attempt as Ganondorf, in what they call a divine prank, possesses the Triforce of Power and uses it to revive himself. Whether this was a conscious decision or not, we don’t know and for this theory it doesn’t really matter too much.

Now, the reason why this Ganondorf, which is canon to be OoT’s Ganondorf, has the Triforce is because OoT Link was sent back in time with his piece. We saw in the very last cutscene of OoT that the mark of the Triforce is on his hand, meaning that he traveled back with it still in his possession.

With TP Link stated to be his descendant by blood more than once in-game, it is natural that the Triforce would be passed down through Time’s bloodline until it eventually reached Twilight. What happens with the Triforce after Twilight is a mystery.

(I’m not familiar with Four Swords Adventure’s story, so I don’t know if the Triforce really makes an appearance in that game)

With Courage already gone, it caused Wisdom and Power to break apart and go to their respective holders as well. Wisdom, of course, to Zelda. Power to Ganondorf. (Link being sent back in time with Courage, may also explain why this particular piece is in literal pieces in WW. Or maybe it was explained why you had to find the individual pieces and I just don’t remember.)

We know that it is canon now that the Triforce tends to break apart under certain circumstances. I.e when evil touches the Triforce or when a piece is already missing, as was the case in TP, WW and presumably at the end of OoT. We also know that the former fact is a known fact, at least for those who know the Triforce and are familiar with its lore.

Knowing this, would it really be farfetched for Ganondorf, who already knew exactly where and how to find the Triforce in OoT, to look at the back of his hand, see one of the pieces of the Triforce there, and conclude that there are two others with the other pieces? I don’t think so, with how much Ganondorf already knew of the Triforce.

For one of the pieces, the most obvious choice would be someone of the Hyrulean royal family. Hyrule is where people know the entrance to the Sacred Realm to be at, tales say that is where the three Golden Goddesses made their exit after creating their world, leaving the Triforce at that exit that is now the Sacred Realm. It is even the reason why Ganondorf is so set on taking Hyrule, of all places, because it is The land of the Triforce.

But with Wisdom (presumably) already found, where would the third missing piece go?

Well, what are the chances Ganondorf knew OoT Link was in possession of one? That OoT Link, upon attempting to convince Hyrule’s King of Ganondorf’s treachery, was forced to show Courage as proof? If the King doesn’t even believe his own daughter, what are the chance he would ever believe Link without the Triforce?

Maybe this is how Ganondorf found out the third bearer was Link? A ten-year-old boy in possession of one of the three golden triangles isn’t exactly something that would stay under the radar of someone with a deep desire for said Triforce.

But before Ganondorf even realizes he has Power, he is captured (at a much later age than he is shown in OoT, btw), executed, and sent to the Twilight Realm when Power revives its holder.

Years pass, so many that the former Gerudo King is completely forgotten by everyone except for the five remaining Sages who banished him as a last resort.

In the meantime, Ganondorf, believing himself Hyrule’s rightful king because “the Triforce chose him”, figures out there are two others with Triforce pieces, remembers that this one boy was one of them. And then Zant comes along and Ganondorf sees a way to return.

Presumably, the first place Zant takes in Ganondorf’s name is Hyrule. It leads to Zelda surrendering instead of choosing to sacrifice the lives of her people in a battle with an enemy she clearly recognizes as powerful. Keeping Zelda hostage in her own castle, it is possible GanonZant find out she is in possession of Wisdom. The very reason she is still alive and kept well is most likely because of the Triforce. (but this is only a guess)

If Zelda can use hers to sense which magic Wolf Link has been cursed by after the Lakebed Temple, maybe Zantdorf can sense she has Wisdom?

And then their question remains; Where is Courage?

What if Ganondorf still remembers that young boy even know? Knows that it is possible for even a Hylian of low beginnings to have it as well? What if King Bulblin and his bulblins were approached by Zant, under Ganondorf’s instruction, and told to pillage each of Hyrule’s villages in search of the final one bearing the mark of the Triforce? Right before each of the Light Spirits had their light stolen?

King Bulblin, in their last confrontation, tells Link that they “follow the strongest side”. That this is “all they have ever known”. That makes them sound more like a mercenary type of group, people following those they consider “the strongest” unless the other side can prove himself more powerful, which Link does.

What if this is the reason why Ordon’s children were taken for seemingly random reasons? Because King Bulblin was actually "hired” and told to search Hyrule for Courage? For Link? Maybe he was even specifically told to look for children? Much like how, in Wind Waker, young girls with pointy ears were hunted down and kidnapped by the Helmaroc King?

It is interesting to remember that this very similar plotline started Wind Waker’s main game. Link started his journey to save his younger sister, who was kidnapped in Ganondorf’s search for Zelda.

It would, in my opinion, explain why the kids were taken and then just randomly left for dead without really physically harming them, in spite of the game clearly not being above hurting children and showing injury. Or it would explain why that horse battle scene after Colin’s second abduction went the way it did.

But I’ll come to that particular part in Part Three.

[Continued on Part Two]

[godstaff]

Clark shows Selene and Aster his parents hologram message

Author’s note: In my fantasy about SM/WW, their children are 12 years apart, being Selene the eldest. This makes sense given the family incredible long life span. In only a century the difference will be insignificant, and the parents will still be able to procreate, so they are not in any rush to have all the children in a short period of time. This also makes difficult for the parents to organize activities the children could perform together in their early years, specially those of educational nature. Please take note when Aster goes through an educational moment or first experience, Selene most probably had it twelve years ago.

Clark (entering the Control Room of the Fortress with 9 years old Aster): Here we are: this is the heart of the Fortress. You can access every part of the complex from here.

“Until today, you couldn’t use this place because it only responds to commands in Kryptonese, written or verbal. Aunts Karen and Kari told me you past the last exam yesterday, and your pronunciation and writing are flawless, so here is your reward: you’ll learn the secrets of this little piece of Krypton on Earth and the history of my planet of origin, which is also half of yours and your sister’s origin too.

Aster: Why did the aunties have to teach me. Couldn’t you?

Clark: I could, but they are the better teachers, because both lived on Krypton until they were 14 years old. They actually spoke Kryptonese on Krypton, they’ve learned it in school. It was their native language. In fact, They were the ones who corrected my Kryptonese. I studied it here, at the Fortress since I was 16 and I thought I’ve nailed it, but to hear it from someone who spoke it on a daily basis, day after day, is very different.

Aster: Is was like...say...going to France and hear French people talk?

Clark: Pretty much. The first was aunt Kari. She was very strict as a teacher. 

Aster: I know. Believe me.

Clark: She kept calling me “baby cousin”.  

Aster: Why?

Clark: Because the last time she saw me on Krypton, I was a baby. She said I spoke it with a heavy Kansas accent, and that’s why the central computer had problems understanding my verbal commands. It seems they didn’t have a Kansas on Krypton.

Aster: And Mom? How did she learn?

Clark: Aunt Karen came to this Earth five years later than Kari, and she was seven years older than her, already. She became your mother’s BFF and when she discovered Mom and me were dating, she insisted on her learning the language. She didn’t tell her why, Diana found out here, at the fortress.

“Your Mom has a natural predisposition to learn other languages, she speaks Kryptonese better than I myself. I believe it has to do with her empathy gift, which allows her to speak with members of the animal kingdom.

“She taught me ancient Greek, She said: “If I’ve learnt your dead tongue, you’ll learn mine.” Although that’s not entirely truth: it’s the language spoken on Themyscira, so it’s still in use. That’s why she insisted on you two speaking it as well. The day little Lena talked to Grandmamá in her own tongue, she almost faded.

“Now, Ast, this is the crystal switchboard. The green one in the center is the one who allows the others to work. It can’t be removed or the whole computer won’t work. It also has the capacity to recreate this Fortress in case something bad happens. I had to replicate it and hide those copies around the World for the same reason.

“The computer has many functions, but today we’ll focus on the archives of Krypton: its culture, its history, etc.

“There’s so much information, that it will probably take you 12 years to go through all its content.Your sis is almost ending her journey , and I brought her here when she was your age. (Clark switched a screen on) There she is now, in the projection room, still studying.

“When you feel comfortable operating the switchboard and learn its commands, you’ll be capable of accessing the info from every part of the Fortress.

Aster: Any part? Like my bedroom?

Clark: Yes, like your bedroom. Here (Clark gave his son a transparent tablet) this is your terminal. From here you control almost every app of the Fortress.

Aster: Almost?

Clark: Yes. there are a few you can only access from the crystal switchboard. Mostly those which have to do with the autonomous systems, like energy managing, repairs, ventilation, etc. Your terminal will warn you if something is not right, but you can only modify or repair it from here.

Aster: I see.

Clark: Good. Now, we begin your journey. You will have two very special guests to guide you: Jor-El and Lara, my biological parents. These are interactive A.I., they will answer all your questions and walk you through every procedure. There are holo-projector all around the Fortress. Once Jor and Lara greet you, your biosignature will be stored in the main frame, so the computer will recognize you.

(Clark pushes one crystal down its tube) Your journey, like mine, beguins with these words (a life like figure of Jor-El appeared on the main holographic projector):

Source: http://www.kryptonian.info/doyle/translations/jor-els-blessing.html

[capsensislagamoprh]

Okay so, I saw WW 1984 and I have thoughts. SPOILER WARNING.

Good stuff. AND I hope Steve gets his third death. This will require that the cinematic universe admits Hades is neutral and that the only reason people fear him is because they fear their own sins. Hades is the ultimate Judge. Not death itself. This matters. Elysium: the place were good souls go : if for those who have lived golden lives full of exceptional behavior great sacrifice, and other laudable deeds. Each soul that gets into Elysium can stay there as long as they want. OR the truly brave can choose to go back into the cycle of life. IF they do, they risk everything. They could wind up in any other part of the after life. None of them are as wondrous as Elysium. However, if they manage to face the most uncorruptible of Judges and again get into Elysium, then they face the same choice. Stay there or go back. It’s the third death that matters. If you manage to get into Elysium a third time... you got to the Isle of the Blessed. This is where the demigods and heroes live... eternally. They can come and go from there as they please. They must return for an amount of time, but they are granted... immortality in a limited capacity.It’s sort-of like finding out you get to live your best life for as long as you want and get ‘day passes’ to the mortal world as often as you like, provided you’re back at the end of passes duration. (Three days, a week, just be back on time.) While in the mortal world - should you die - you just return to the Idle of the Blessed. And... the Gods/demigods can  come visit you. Which means ... You know what it means. So how would I do this? Details are vague. Generally I would use the loop hole that the Gods themselves would have gone to The Isle of the Blessed when they ‘died’ in the war. However Hades... Hades is Khthonian. He rules that realm and goes where he pleases in it. The catch? So is Persephone. I would use the gentler imagining of their tale. The one where in they are a happy married couple, she is his Queen and gets all the respect she deserves... but there is a catch. She is the goddess of spring. When she dies... she goes to Hades and lives there to recover and when the time it right she is reborn to the mortal world. Thus the cycle of very good time vs very bad times. The next Wonder Woman takes place after the Justice League movie as confirmed by people in the know. This is a cycle of bad times - as established by the cinematic universe - and so Persephone should be returned to Hades... Where in comes my plot. Wonder Woman is doin’ as you do. When someone gets a hold of an artifact. Maybe ambrosia because they want to live forever, or they have found and are stealing the apples of immortality, juicing them to harvest the enteral beauty of the goddess by keeping her alive in a hidden hospital, thus upsetting the cycle of life as they also try to steal her powers or become the new Queen/ruler of hell because they envy the Persephone/Hades relationship and have some sort of twisted view of what being the Ruler of Hades means. (heads up it’s the most powerful position and the most thankless and you must be absolutely neutral. This can cause great problems when a humans hubris gets involved.)  Ether way this is keeping Persephone from ‘dying’. Hades has to show himself to Diana when she goes to the mouth of the underworld - any dark cave that leads towards the center of the Earth so there is room for creative license (and metaphor as this place exists within every living soul as well.) to deal with some particular issue. She sees Hades, who can walk the Earth any time he wants - and does - but if he gets involved it Must be to restore the balance. Until then he has to rely on heroes like Diana (and the Justice League) to do what must be done. Every god has a limit and that is his.He gives her what help he can, sadly not much and cryptic. He looks like he wants to help more as she returns to the land of the living, but Diana doesn’t see that as she cannot look back (the gates of Hades have a particular Rule about looking back that has killed more than once (see Orpheus)). This look should tell the audience that he places his trust in her. Diana is trying to do what she needs to do, but eventually there should come a point where she needs help. Que understanding what Hades told her. When things are down - not final act down mid movie conflict, end of the first act sort of down- she winds up being dropped to the ground. Her hands hit it. She’s angry and determined and cannot lose this fight. She slaps her hands again to push herself up calling out Hades name in order to tell the villain that He trusted her to save/fix things and she wouldn’t fail. And that’s how you summon Hades - slap your hands on the ground twice and call his name. The timing is everything to this scene. The villan scoffs, as you do, because they are seriously winning... until ghostly form after ghostly form appears behind Diana. Each steps into being. Heroes and demigods of the Isle of the Blessed have been sent by Hades to answer her call. Among them, Steve Trevor.They turn the tide. The movie goes on. Mystery. Intrigue. Tension and high stakes. As the final battle ques up we find ourselves drawn into the action... hero after hero falls. And so dose Steve. Doing what is right. The third death. Wonder Woman wins. Once again torn by loss. She is by the aria where Steve has fallen. Stoic. She has known this loss twice before. And when the world starts to set itself to right, she drops to her knees. This time she slams her fist into the ground in sheer frustration. When she’s spent herself there steps into frame a dark figure, simple sandals, flowing robes. Two pronged staff. As he steps into the real his clothes change to a simple modern man holding a wooden staff - like something you found in the woods and felt like a mystical druid with like a weird branch hanging off it with leaves still attached. It’s Hades as he helps her stand, he tells her that he understands. He has to go through it every cycle. Cycles are longer for the gods. He can watch Persephone on earth, grow and live, and laugh, and every time she has to leave all that joy and wonder to return to him it breaths his heart. And every time she returns it’s bitter sweet. She never minds, but oh the pain. Diana now can understand this personally and hopes Steve does well in Elysium. Hades says he’s not there. She is shocked and upset. He explains Steve earned the Isle of the Blessed and as such Diana can see him when ever she wants. But Steve is limited to the pass system which cannot be abused. She understands this means every hero who answered her call gave up their chance to be in the mortal world until their next pass comes due. Persephone is also grateful for being set free, knowing well her place in the cycle and how much that matters on a cosmic scale, that she offers Diana that she will give Steve back to Dian for a mortal life time... if she wants, but it will be one bound like her own. Life, death, again and again, never ending. Diana is wise and chooses to let Steve choice to come to her when he can and she will go to him when she can visit. But life means accepting more than loss and pain, it means knowing your place in it. And the limits of that roll - no matter how great. And thus Diana has grown, Steve gets his third death, and we break our hearts over a really good movie yet again. Oh, and if you guys don’t give me back Antiope (what a woman!) as one of those heroes with Asteria played by Linda Carter as the one who helps Diana understand how to access the underworld and guides her through the rituals and deeper understand of a heroes life, I will frikin riot, causing earthquakes to sink your studio. I’m a very old god. Don’t do me dirty.

[ask-de-writer]

LOST TIME (part 2 of 3) A fantasy of Flocking Bay.

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to Flocking Bay

LOST TIME

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

5556 words

© 2020 by Glen Ten-Eyck

written 2003 by Glen Ten-Eyck

All rights reserved.

Reproduction  in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the  express written consent of the author or proper copyright holder.

//////////////

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Users  of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may  reblog the story. They may use the characters or original characters in  my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical  compositions. I will allow those who do commission art works to charge  for their images.

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Morton Hewitt did not last. He bought the house for back taxes in 1944. He lived there for a week. He painted the hardwood floors and then hanged himself in the garage the next day.

Byron Thomas bought the house from Hewitt’s estate. He was a grave digger for Trinity Graveyard. He updated the plumbing and lived there quietly for several years. Apparently he liked his work a little too well. He buried two people who were not yet dead. One of them lived. He was adjudged sane at his trial and hanged for his crime.

Mark Altman bought the house next. He was a reclusive sort and lived there for a quite a number of years before it was discovered that he’d had some visitors who had never left. He died in prison while awaiting trial. There was an interesting hand written note attached to the autopsy report which stated that the coroner had ruled out both suicide and homicide but refused to pronounce the death natural.

Dora Greene got the place next. She was Mark’s sister. Like Mark, she lived there quietly for years. One day she walked into town and set fire to the school, killing five and maiming six more. She spent her last years in a lunatic asylum, setting three more fires and killing two more people. She herself died in her last fire.

While she was in the asylum, one Tony Fisk, age twelve, urged on by several other urchins, had thrown some stones at the windows of the Vekin place. He had missed. Becoming angry, he took careful aim and they all watched the flight of the stone. In the young malefactor’s words, “It went away without falling.”

It would not have been worthy of a news story, except for the fact that each of the children who had watched the stone had gone severely and permanently cross-eyed. In a small town like Flocking Bay, that many kids going cross-eyed at once could not be hidden.

George Abbot bought the house and rented it at a very low price to a Michael Farley. The two had been feuding, down-state, and the house was supposed to have been a peace offering. Farley stayed only a few weeks. He went out and dynamited Abbot’s automobile. Farley was quite mad and lived out his life in an asylum for the criminally insane. The county coroner ruled Abbot’s death to be suicide. After all, he had known the history of the house and had knowingly rented that house to an enemy.

Cornelius Baker took the house next. He upgraded the kitchen and installed modern wiring. He lived there quietly and apparently got on well for about five years. He was a long-haul truck driver. Bodies followed him about the country. Finally, he was caught with one in his truck. He drove his truck into a bridge abutment at over ninety miles per hour rather than be taken alive.

Now, I had the place. I mentally withdrew my blessing. He had not been a good man at all.

Lois saw that I was finished with the file and making good inroads on my sandwich. She asked, “Did you sleep there, last night?”

“Yes, I did. Most restful sleep I have had in years.”

“What is your full name?”

“Vandervekken,” I replied, getting out my driver’s license. I was used to this. “No first name or middle initial. Just Vandervekken.”

“How old are you?”

“I don’t know, at least seventy.”

“You don’t know how old you are? Seventy? You look like you’re in your early twenties,” she said incredulously. “I told you that things connected with the Vekin place get interesting.”

“I got a head-wound during the war. Traumatic amnesia.”

“Viet Nam wasn’t that long ago. It would only make you in your fifties.”

“Not Viet Nam, Lois. WW II. Apparently, I was helping the French Underground.” I handed her the military fingerprint record. Her eyes widened as she realized that I was serious. “The amnesia’s been permanent, so far. I have language skills . . . too many. I’m a fluent, accentless polyglot. I even speak Basque. I know how to do an amazing number of things . . . no trace of name or personal past. No ID either.”

“Couldn’t they trace you by these fingerprints or something?”

“They tried. I was found among the bodies of a wiped-out unit of the French Underground during the German withdrawal from Paris in 1944. Someone from another unit was able to say that I was an American volunteer with a name that he could neither remember nor pronounce ... something sort of Dutch. That inspired my current name. I got back with a temporary ID and that military fingerprint record, which I still carry.”

“That’s sad, and eerie, too. What’s it feel like?”

“I’ve thought about that a lot. I think the best way to describe it is like a house that’s furnished but nobody is home. Empty. Alone.”

“So, how does that relate to your choice of name? You must know what having only one name does to our systems for indexing things and people.”

“True. I want to stand out, in case somebody recognizes who I am. As for Vandervekken, he was the Flying Dutchman, who swore that he would take his ship around the Cape of Good Hope, against a gale, if it took until Judgment Day. That was in the Seventeenth Century and he is still sailing. His ghost is seen as a Dutch East India Co. galleon with all sails set, sailing into the teeth of a gale. He can’t get home either.”

“I see,” Lois said, adding to her notes. “What brought you to Flocking Bay?”

“I was just passing through. I like small towns, so I avoid the main highways and big cities whenever I can. I liked the atmosphere of Flocking Bay enough to inquire about the possibility of settling here.”

“Look, we both know that small towns are dying. You could have had your pick from any of a dozen houses. Why the Vekin place?”

“I was shown fourteen places, actually. I know that it seems a bit forbidding at first, but it felt good. Like a warm glove on a cool morning. Have you ever actually been there?”

She shuddered, “No, and before you, I have never heard of anyone who said that the Vekin place felt good ... You say that you are a writer. What have you written?”

“Charles said it very well, ’Pseudonyms are great for privacy.’ My own writing aside, I do translations but you won’t find my name on most of them. Archaeologists like to take credit for their finds. I mentioned that I’m a polyglot? I sight read ancient languages as well as modern.”

I extended my hand to Lois and invited, “Would you like to come and see for yourself this house of dark history? I promise that you will find it worth your while. In all of those stories, not once was the interior of Vekin House described. Do come.”

“I have to return the file and get my camera,” she responded gamely.

“I shall await you in my auto, in front of the Voice,” I answered. As I walked her back across the street, I had the pleasure of seeing her stare at Lilitu.

“If that’s what I think its, I’ll ride with you anywhere!” she called over her shoulder as she entered the Voice’s office. True to her word, she emerged in a few minutes with a camera. Not one of those tiny little cameras that have become fashionable, but a business-like press camera. I opened the car door and gave her a hand up.

As I got into the driver’s seat, she asked, wonder in her voice, “Is this really a Packard V-12 Touring Car?”

We pulled away with the almost uncannily quiet, vibration-free ride that the car was famous for. I replied, “You bet she is. Lois, meet Lilitu. Lilitu, meet Lois. After the war, there were still quite a few of them to be had, and I liked both the ride and the durability, so I hunted one down and had it fixed up like new. I’ve kept her that way ever since. She’s only had two owners in over two-million miles. The first owner only put on about sixty-thousand of them.”

“You drive a lot,” she stated.

“I was looking for something ... I think that Flocking Bay has it. My turn for a few questions , if you don’t mind.”

“Fire away. If I don’t like the question, I won’t answer it.”

“What did you do before you took up the Voice?”

“The same thing that I still do. The stock and futures markets. I’m good at it. I got out of college with a degree in the sociology of medieval witchcraft. I got a job as a waitress on the strength of my looks. I put my first fifty dollars in tips into a risky stock that kited way up. On a hunch, I dumped it three days after I bought it. It nosedived shortly after I sold out. After commissions, I had three hundred and fifty dollars. I rolled it over the same way. The rest is history. So far, my hunches have always worked for me.”

“What brought you to Flocking Bay?”

“Like you, I was passing through. I was on my way to Lakeside Resort about three years ago. I got a hunch that I should stay, so I did. The Voice was failing. When a small town loses its paper, the end is in sight. I didn’t want the end to come, so I bought the paper. Here I am.”

“And here we are,” I said with a flourish as I pulled up in front of the house. We both stared. The yard was neatly trimmed, though the bushes and trees still retained a slightly forbidding aspect. Going up the path to the front door, I noticed that the flagstones had been leveled, the weeds removed and the joints and refilled with fresh sand. The iron fence and balustrades had been cleaned of rust.

“You’ve been busy,” was Lois’s comment.

“That’s just it,” I replied, puzzled. “I didn’t do it. I thought that stocking the fridge and setting out a snack last night was something that the real-estate agent arranged. Sort of a welcome wagon. This is beyond the call of duty.” Opening the front door, I felt that comfortable, welcoming feeling that had caused me to buy the house in the first place. Impulsively, I said, “Hello, house, you certainly look nice today.”

Lois looked at me quizzically and asked, “Do you talk to everything, or is this special?”

I thought for a moment before answering, “Actually I only talk to things that have personality enough to warrant a name, like Lilitu, my car, or Drachen, my typewriter.”

“Typewriter? You do like antiques, don't you? What are you going to call the house, then?”

“I’m not sure,” I answered. “Something good ... What does the place feel like to you?”

“The place actually looks and feels . . . well . . .” Lois groped for the right word, “I’d have to say . . . happy. Not what I expected, at all. It feels like what you see when a pup that loves its master is greeting him. No wonder you slept well, if it feels as good to you as it does to me . . .” She sort of trailed off. “I wouldn’t normally say this, but I’m getting a hunch about this place . . .” she trailed off again.

“I guess that the house was just waiting for the right kind of person,” I responded. “It was pretty rough on everyone else. I’m glad that you like it too.”

“Look at these floors,” she mused, “They were beautiful before Hewitt painted them over. You can still make out some traces of the parquetry patterns. If he hadn’t already hanged himself, I’d help you to do it.”

<==Previous    Next==>

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to Flocking Bay

[miximax-hell]

...This should have been published the 10th of January. I queued it ages ago (back when my last post was published), but Tumblr farted and decided not to post it. Which is just fantastic. It’s not the first time it decides to screw up the queue, but it’s the first time it happens to me on this blog. So annoying. This means it’s coming a few days late, but I hope you all still had a fantastic EnYaga Day!

As I prepared for True EnYaga Day back in October, I found again this old doodle of mine--the base for what would later become the final design of EnYaga. I thought it might be fun to share it and use it as an excuse to talk about this subject AGAIN, and... that was good enough for me, really.

You guys know me and there’s probably very little reason to do so, but I have never really talked about the reasons behind this miximax, have I? Well, if there is a day to indulge in that, it’s EnYaga Day, so let’s get to it!

As usual, more under the cut.

Despite Tumblr’s betrayal, this does have a perk: I get to revise this post before it’s published, which is great, because I’m happy to report that things are better now than when I first wrote it. In the original version, I mentioned that my life at the time was a little... paused, so there wasn’t really a lot to say. Among the only news worth sharing, I sent an oil painting to a friend a couple of months ago and it arrived very fast and completely safe, so that was great! It was a Professor Layton-themed painting, but now that I don’t have it at home anymore, I’m tempted to make another one... (If I do, chances are more FudoLay content will arrive here swiftly after lol) Other than that, I’d just started my classes again, but I was still desperately looking for a job. At least, classes made me feel like I wasn’t completely wasting every single day, so I was more cheerful than I was during summer. (Funny, because my group of friends at uni used to say that they could only smile during summer, but I was pretty miserable during those months. ww;)

Thankfully, though, I can say I now have a job! And it’s great!! ...The conditions aren’t so great, but at least I’m back to work as a game designer. I’m learning so much and I feel very motivated to work, even if it’s technically a collaboration and I will only get money once the game is published--in other words, when the game starts bringing money our way. This is far from ideal, but I honestly had no other options and I’m having a blast working on this, so I hope something cool will come out of it! For now, I would ask you to keep your eyes on Eskema Games and maybe check out the company’s latest game, Delta Squad? I had absolutely NOTHING to do with that game because it was released way before I joined, but supporting it supports the company I work for, which always comes in handy! It also underperformed, so it could use all the love you guys can give it.

Also, let me quickly point something out: about a year ago, an anon asked me if i was going to include Danganronpa characters in this project. The question is here, in case anyone needs a reminder: https://miximax-hell.tumblr.com/post/181991994534/hey-there-since-youre-doing-miximaxs-with-game Well, I FINALLY got my hands on the DR Trilogy for PS4, so I’ll be looking into that and seeing what I can find! If that anon is still around, I hope I can make them happy.

But let’s cut to the chase already!

As I always make sure to clarify, yes, I do massively ship Endou and Yagami. But there’s thankfully much more to EnYaga (the miximax--if I need to talk about the ship again, I’ll just call it Endou x Yagami) than just “yeah, I ship them.” In order to understand the reasons behind this combination, though, we must venture into two very different subjects: what reasons there are to choose Yagami to begin with, and the life story of yours truly. I swear both are important to get the full picture, but I’ll keep the latter as brief and free of unnecessary information as possible, even if it’s definitely the longest and most complex part. So, without any further ado, let’s see what makes this miximax valid within the logic of this project.

A big chunk of what makes EnYaga work was explained exactly three years ago, here: https://miximax-hell.tumblr.com/post/131215636268/when-the-king-enters-the-room-the-world-stops-and

The tl;dr would be that Endou plays as a goalkeeper, but also as a libero! Being such radically different positions, it’s to be expected that he would need two different miximaxes, because it would be rather difficult to find an aura that improves his field skills (shooting power, speed, etc.) and his goalkeeping abilities at the same time. Thankfully, Yagami gives him the exact abilities a good libero needs to be able to excel--especially when that libero has the pressure of being part of most of the strong hissatsus the team can pull off. So, for more info on EnYaga’s powers, please check the link above. (And note that, of course, this miximax only marginally improves Endou’s goalkeeping capabilities.)

I have also talked in length about the relationship between Endou and Yagami, but here’s a very brief summary. During the in-game events of IE2, Endou gave Yagami hope when all she wanted was to die to atone for her sins, thus saving her life in the process. In return, she wanted to give him the strength to fight when he needed it most as a way to repay his kindness towards her.

Yagami’s innate abilities and the bond they share are the more logical reasons behind this miximax. There is, however, one extra reason to include this miximax in the project.

There have always been three main rules here when it comes to choosing auras:

1. Only characters that come from universes predominantly inhabited by humans (or very human-like creatures, like Zelda’s Hylians).

2. Only one character from every franchise, unless they are Level-5 franchises. In that case, I may use up to two per franchise. Examples of this are Danball Senki/Little Battlers eXperience (with Toramaru and Megane) and Professor Layton (with Fudou and Shishido).

3. One aura coming from every single (and proper) Inazuma Eleven game on the market. Those being Inazuma Eleven, IE2: Fire, IE2: Blizzard, IE3: Spark, IE3: Bomber, IE3: Ogre, IEGO: Light, IEGO: Dark, IEGO Chrono Stone: Raimei, IEGO Chrono Stone: Neppu, IEGO Galaxy: Supernova, IEGo Galaxy: Big Bang, Inazuma Eleven Strikers, IE Strikers 2012 XTreme, and IEGO Strikers 2013. I’m not counting Everyday, SD nor unreleased titles. So far, I have 7 out of 15.

From the beginning, I have wanted Endou to have nothing but Inazuma Eleven-only miximaxes. I mean, he’s the main character and all!

Needless to say, Yagami is part of the Inazuma Eleven miximaxes--in fact, she takes the IE2 Blizzard spot, if anyone is curious about that very specific detail. She is obviously a very predominant character in that game, having a relevant impact during the final match against The Genesis and even (spoiler alert for a 10 years old game) by injuring Kazemaru earlier, because he didn’t just leave like he did in the anime--Yagami sent him to the hospital when he started matching The Genesis’s power. Since she’s a main character in that game, and considering that many of the other important characters introduced in it become part of the teams that make up this project (such as Hiroto, Midorikawa and maaaybe Saginuma), Yagami was the perfect candidate. She was also arguably the strongest among the remaining main characters of IE2, and the only midfielder. Not to mention the bond she shares with Endou, which only rounds it all up even more.

So, as a brief summary, Yagami is an Inazuma Eleven character (which is exactly what I wanted for Endou) and a very strong player, she provides Endou with everything he would need to be a good libero (incredible speed, great shooting strength, being a midfielder and the stamina that inherently comes with it, powerful hissatsus, and so on), she shares a canonical bond with Endou, the contrast between their personalities is super interesting to explore, and there are reasons why even she would want him to take her power. He can hardly have it better! It makes a lot of sense, and it’s all heavily based on canon, so I don’t need to explain much in that regard. That’s always convenient.

But there is another side to all of this. My side.

I first started working on miximaxes with the idea of only making 4 or 5. I simply meant to give extra love to some of my favourite characters to make myself and a few friends happy. This never became a full-fledged project until my good friend Heather, who used to be on Tumblr under the username @ishidoshuuji, said she wanted to be able to reblog the Seitei x Yuuichi miximax I had drawn for her. In other words, this: https://miximax-hell.tumblr.com/post/129863262149/well-it-was-about-time-i-started-using-this-blog

Before that, miximax-hell used to be a private blog: one of those you can only check out if you have the password. I never thought ANY stranger would be interested in it, so why expose myself like that? It would only make me feel bad. I could have never imagined over a hundred people would follow me here, and even less so considering that only about 10 of my friends follow this blog. So I have to thank Heather because, even if 100 isn’t a big number at all here on Tumblr, I still appreciate each and every person who stops by and it’s helped me meet some incredibly lovely people.

Back to the subject, though. This story is directly linked to MamoDai’s. The important part of it was that EnYaga’s design isn’t mine, and so isn’t MamoDai: the former is completely not mine (even if, as the sketch above suggests, the concept was first doodled by me), while the latter was only partially mine. The thing, though, is that the same person made EnYaga and “collaborated” on the creation of MamoDai, which meant I let them into this very personal solo project twice. If you want to check out the full story, though, you can read it here: https://miximax-hell.tumblr.com/post/142160652319/you-should-have-seen-this-one-coming-come-on

As I was saying, miximax-hell is a solo project. It’s something for me to enjoy, for me to think about, for me to develop, for me to improve at designing character, and for me to decide on. I set the rules and I come up with suitable matches--or what I think are suitable matches, that is. ww I’m definitely open to suggestions if anyone is willing to share their thoughts with me, and fanart is always, always, ALWAYS welcome, of course, but I don’t borrow other people’s ideas nor designs. Not because those designs and ideas aren’t fantastic, nor because I’m not allowed to, but because the point of this blog is to have fun and improve my skills. If I don’t do it myself, it’s kind of pointless, so I prefer a bad design made by me over a great design by someone else. Also, if people were to check all of these things out, I wanted it to be because of my work, not because someone super well-known was part of it and people were desperate to get more content from them.

When I first came up with this project, though, someone very close to me wanted to be part of it. Not because they found it interesting per se, but simply because it was mine. I had previously declined an offer to join one of their projects because I lacked the necessary skill, so they wanted to join mine instead. And don’t get me wrong--I appreciate the interest even now! But, again, it beat the point and I had to refuse. Looking back, I’m very glad I didn’t give in, but I felt awful back then and this person must have felt really bad too.

That’s why I made that exception and suggested, “Hey, why don’t we create a miximax together?” That’s how MamoDai was born. But while the interest in working on MamoDai seemed... scarce, this person came up with and gave me something out of their own accord: the EnYaga miximax design I still use to this day.

Now, here’s the thing: EnYaga was a proper gift that person made for me, and I always honour gifts. If it had been a random doodle, like I have received others in the past, it would have ended there. But when someone puts true effort and time into making something especifically FOR ME, regardless of what happens between us later, I still treasure it forever. And this gift came from a person who, apparently, really wanted to be part of this project when I first came up with it, which, honestly, put me in a tight spot. The least I could do was accept this design, which I loved almost as much as I loved them, and incorporate it to my lineup.

EnYaga was going to happen regardless, because I was working on it myself, but this person beat me to it (with such incredible quality, too, which I would never be able to hold a candle to) and, after what I made them go through with my continuous rejections, I had to honour them somehow. It was my way of saying, “I can’t let you do this for me, but I deeply appreciate the thought.”

This person is now out of my life, though. This means that, honestly, I could just get rid of the design. They would never know, and I would be happier with something of my own even if it sucked in comparison. They would never feel offended either--not like they would even if they knew, because it’s obvious they don’t care about me anymore. It would be easy and 100% painless for all parties involved.

But EnYaga is a token of the bond we once shared and I treasure that, even though I don’t want anything to do with that person anymore. It portrays the fun and happy times, not the sad and bitter ending. Happiness is always something worth remembering, isn’t it? And maybe, just maybe, thanks to the wonderful people I’m close to and my eternal love towards Endou x Yagami, I might one day be able to completely forgive the bad and focus on the good, so I can smile when I look at EnYaga and think of this person. I look forward to a day when there isn’t an ounce of bitterness left in my heart (although I am one revengeful and spiteful piece of poo, so it might never happen). And for that possibility alone, it might be worth it to keep making this one exception and let this miximax be someone else’s. Especially now that I have DoYaga to call my own.

So that’s it, folks: not only do Endou and Yagami make for a sick combination in theory, but it’s also a miximax with deep sentimental value for me in so many different ways. So even if it had been someone else’s idea and the two characters were a terrible match in all senses, chances are I would have still kept it. Thank goodness it wasn’t the case. ww

And all because I didn’t finish the design fast enough on my own. May that be the lesson to learn from this: hurry the heck up, self.

[anon-wilford]

Darkford is standing in the middle of his room. he is fighting to stay conscious. but what he doesn't know it's the green crystal in his shoulder forcing in a new personality.

"stay... awake.... stay.... awake..." *he keeps mumbling to himself. the doctor Fire is busy, and he doesn't like the doctor with the goat eye.

and... Graene...

he just doesn't want to ask for help. he can do this himself. he's Wilford Warfstache, for gods sake!

he could hear whispers in his ears, but they're too low for him to be able to catch on to what they're saying.

he can see shadows move at the corners of his eyes. he suddenly hears screams. but he can't determine if it's something he only can hear, ir if it's something that's actually happening.

he hasn't slept in four days. four days. he's tired. but he constantly have the feeling of dread. that if he closes his eyes, they'll stay shut. he'll stay dead.

in a way he wants it to happen. this torture. is too much. but the dread that holds his chest tightly, that makes his breath hiccup, keeps the fear of death in his head.

he can't stand to be in his own body. he can't. he just want the suffering to end. he falls to his knees.

"I'm Wilford Warfstache... I'm Wilford Warfstache for gods fucking sake!! I'm strong! keep it together William..." he cries out to himself.

Fantoche rou ded the corner and heard Wilford's cry. she was startled at first. she gently knocked on the door.

"w-Wilffford?" she said, her voice low and gentle.

Wilford Couldn't docus on her voice. he heard someone speak, but just registered it as one of the many other voices.

Fantoche knew what button to press on the panel to force a locked door open, and she did just that. she entered the room.

she sighed. she recognized this from Graene.

when she was having an extremely hard time and maybe took her pills too late, or didn't take them at all she'd stand in the middle if the room, with slumped over back, and mumble small cries to herself. she wouldn't react to anyone speaking to her. only to touches.

she stepped towards Wilford, and put her hands on the side of Wilford's face, amd forced him to look at her.

"Www-ww-ilford...d-did you remember to ta---aa-ake your pills?" she asked, trying not to stutter and fall over her words.

Wilford looked confused. "p-pills?" he uttered. Famtiche didn't expect him to hear her, or even react to her at all. she took Wilford's hands and dragged him out in the hallway, then stopped when they reached a box that hung locked on the wall. she made a movement with her hand and it sprung open.

she took out a darkblue box and searched around in it. she handed him three small skin colored round pills, and then took a catron box juice, stack a straw in it and handed it to Wilford. he put them in his mouth and swallowed them with some juice.

"ii-it'll be sss-s-some time before the-ey work. but It'lll he---elp." she said.

then an immense pain struck Wilford, and he collapsed, barely holding himself up. he groaned.

"come to me."

"find her"

"Break blue."

Wilford yelped loudly, holding his shoulder.

Fantoche was about to run to find Graene, but when she turned around, Graene already stood there. she hissed. "damnit... we should've been more cautious! our plans might be delayed if this continues!" Graene yelled.

"get the purple fucker up here...!" he yelled and dragged Wilford down the hallway in a quick pace. she was cursing both in danish and english.

"kraftædme... for hede hulen i helvede... fucking assholes...."

when Graene passed the goateyed doctor she yelled, "contact the space fucker and the crazy fucking siccor lady! Wilford is ruining our damnned for helvedes planer!" she accidentally let a few danish words in at the end in frustration. she then walked intl the doctors sector, with the power generator ect, and violently threw Wilford into the room in her rage.

"ig she really wants to break out she should choose a better fucking helper!!!" she screamed. she kicked something over and disappeared down the hallway, to the control room.

hexagon glass plates floated together and formed two screens, and two highly unsatisfied people came to vision. the one on the right screen, were one dressed in red fine old time clothes, her skin was a red space texture, her eyes sharp and white, and a long tall wavy Mohawk.

the one on the left was a more light color pallette, in dark clothes. she had several tools hanging around her waist.

"what now!?" the one on the left began.

"ya know pink? the one I had to live up? the crystal is too strong. he's beginning to get the symptoms as... as I got once back then!" she yelled.

they went silent for a moment. "for fucks sake, Linda. just kill him off!" the one on the left said, the one on the right protested. "pink is needed for the awakening. I'd recommend locking him up. let im break. let his mind suffer so she realizes he is not as well fit as you are." the one on the right said with a calm, unbothered voice. she seemed to be focusing on something else.

Graene's fist tightened. "you just suggest to just let him suffer? he hmcan pull guns out of nowhere from his pocket! he'll blow his fucking goddamn brain out of his fucking head!" Graene yelled. the one on the æeft growled. "so chain up his ha ds you fucking buffoon! do we have to think for you too?! I already have enough mindless around me! I don't need another idiot!!" the one on the left quit the call, and the hexagons split apart.

"report back in a few." then the other qyit the call.

Graene destroyed a few things and ordered a few mindless soldiers to chain Wilford up, and went to the doctors sector to disguss the situation with the doctors.

[dangilliam]

Pilgrimage to the Berlin Wall

In August of 1989 I met my mother and her partner for a month-long stay in Germany. They were both stationed near Heidelberg working for the US Army. Young and full of life, I took my bicycle with me and rode for hundreds of miles through Germany and France, toting a backpack and a Walkman loaded with Cat Steven’s Greatest Hits. One weekend Mom, her partner, and I flew to West Berlin and while there took part in a rare military tour of East Berlin. At that point I was still pretty ignorant about why the wall was there and why the good guys lived in the west and the bad guys lived in the east. But from that day forward I would be curious and would do much research into Berlin and WW II. About 40 of us, mostly uniformed people, rode through the wall at Checkpoint Charlie in a gray unmarked bus. Our entrance was without drama or fanfare as one East German soldier collected our passports and returned them within minutes. As easy as this was it made me think someone on our bus must be high-ranking or otherwise important. Nevertheless we hadn’t gone into the city very far when I started to notice armed men atop some of the buildings. I was struck by the drab relief and the lack of color everywhere. It was as if we had entered into a black and white silent movie. Aside from the passing of some traffic if was very quiet and the people we saw about looked solemn though curious.

We were let off the bus twice and gingerly herded in the direction of wherever someone wanted us to go. The first stop was to “shop” and attempt to spend the mandatory 15 (West German) Marks we had purchased which was impossible for none of the stores had anything on the shelves to buy. This was odd and frustrating for the shop windows were full and gave the appearance of plenty. It made me feel sad and I felt like the broke shopkeepers were made to be part of some kind of a charade for our benefit. Our other stop was at the memorial to the four allied countries who defeated the Nazis (France, Britain, USA, and USSR). While there I found myself standing very close to an armed East German soldier who was on guard. Curious, I took a good long look at his uniform and his profile wondering what life must be like for him. At one point, without moving his head, he turned his eyes toward me and returned a side-mouthed smile similar to the one I was offering him. It was a special moment and I felt for a second like I was at the Olympics.

The gray Army bus rolled through the gray-colored city almost camouflaged. While much of the city had been rebuilt, there were still bomb shrapnel scars on the sides of many buildings.  Many lots lay cleared of debris and empty. There were no brightly colored cars lining the streets of dainty houses sporting window flower boxes like in West Berlin. Here, I saw no signs of hope and wondered how long this could exist in modern times. On our way back toward the wall, the bus driver pointed to a mound of dirt off to our left and explained that this was the site of Hitler’s death bunker. He said that there were no markings memorializing the spot because no one wanted to give the place the dignity of a sign or attach any special meaning whatsoever.

I will skip the part of my trip where I mistakenly rode the underground train one stop too far onto East Berlin (without my passport). “Oops. Sorry. Which way to the West?” More kind soldiers. My red face. Hysterical mother after I mistakenly told her about it.

Back on the free side of the wall, I found myself sitting near the Brandenburg Gate, contemplating a homemade memorial to one of the last people to be killed trying to escape to the West. Chris Geoffrey was his name and I think he was only 19 years old when he was shot in February of 1989. Six months later, there I sat, again wondering how long this could exist in modern times. I realized, not for the first or the last time, how fortunate I was to grow up in a land without war on our shores. I felt sad but free and said a prayer for Chris.

Along came a friendly guy who struck up an English conversation with me. He said that the locals talked about Chris Geoffrey and how he had made it past barbed wire fences, attack dogs, guard towers, and land mines only to be shot dead in the water, just yards from freedom. Then Mr Friendly turned to me and confidently prophesied that Mr Gorbachev was going to tear down the Berlin Wall. “President Reagan has done something”, he said. Having just seen both sides of the wall I had instant serious doubts that this could happen. And it definitely didn’t seem like something that would happen quickly. But don’t you know, three months later, live TV broadcasts showed the wall coming down in pieces in a great sea of jubilant celebration. Watching from my apartment in Ohio I got chills and felt my hair standing on end.

While the world shared in these historic moments, I felt a special kind of connection that can only come from having “been there”. No, I didn’t live the hell of it. I’m an entitled and spoiled American. Much of my suffering over the years has been self-induced. But I got a momentary glimpse inside a world where freedom had no breath or reach and I don’t need to tell anyone it was not attractive. Something feels significant about having made a trek to a site that now no longer exists. Without realizing it, in my first year of true sobriety I had made a pilgrimage to the Berlin Wall. I had exchanged grins with a communist soldier. I had seen the guns overhead and felt empathy for the imprisoned souls. I had shopped in a store that had nothing to sell. I had unceremoniously viewed Hitler’s suicide dirt pile. I had prayed for modern martyr, Chris Geoffrey, and had been prophesied to by a cheerful Berlin local. Months later, my mom would mail me a colorfully painted piece of the wall, a relic from my journey. A piece of the now past that I had seen in the then present. A reminder of my pilgrimage to the symbolic end of World War II. An artifact from a trip back in time as time was changing. Tangible proof of a spiritual adventure to a city once walled off from freedom. And homage to those inside who refused to accept it.

[rottenappleheart]

mm and the stages of a hero’s life

Noted bias: I view all the LoZ games I've played through the lens of OoT, and so I see them as responses to it. I think you are meant to. OoT is the first "modern" Zelda game, and the other games are full of reminders about it. Obviously I spent six months dissecting TP as conscious adult revisitation of OoT's fairytale, and an exploration of power (as might, as corruption, and as responsibility); WW is about letting go of the past (after which Nintendo said "oh wait, we need to make money, let's reel this franchise back in.")

But MM - MM is unambiguously a continuation of OoT. The same hero, beginning his story where OoT ends, and carrying with him all the memories of that world and that adventure.

Link enters MM driven by a loss of his own: his longtime companion, Navi the fairy. He has lost her, and he is looking for her, and ultimately he will not find her. That loss is permanent. Most losses are. (Most of the resolutions in MM are bringing people to accept the unthinkable. Only very occasionally, miraculously, what is lost can be found again.)

He carries within him a sense of dislocation that the world of Termina makes unsettlingly tangible. (See also my old notes on MM's-time-cycles-and-forgetting as a high-octane version of OoT's seven-year gap.) Nintendo's decision to reuse the character models from OoT may have gotten them two games for the price of one, but it fuels the narrative beautifully. You think you know everyone, but you're wrong, and they don't know you. You have to learn to start again. As you do, after a loss.

OoT Link is a child who was abruptly thrust into an adult body and an adult life and an adult set of responsibilities, struck with it rather than growing into it. And at the end of OoT, he is ripped back out of that adult life and reduced to childhood again - but now with the burden of adult experiences that no one around him recalls. Because to them, it didn't happen.

The roles Link takes on through the "main" masks of MM are, I think, exploring that issue. As if, much delayed, he gets to grow (back) into being an adult, but in stages instead of all at once.

In his first, unwilling form - the Deku Scrub - he is a child again, even younger and more helpless than in his "real" childhood. But his interactions with people are oddly comforting. He reminds someone of their son, who treats him with kindly playfulness (something that Link, a bullied orphan child, never got in his own life.) The town guards protect him from danger. A girl his own age thinks he's cute and teases him about it. For once he is enveloped in the kind of warmth that a child ought to have had. I think that part gets overlooked in the usual "fridge horror" analysis of the Deku storyline.

In his second form, he becomes the reincarnation of the Goron Darmani - a hero and big brother. These are familiar roles to Link by now, and I imagine it feels "right" on some level to step back into them. A validation of his instincts to defend and protect which no one acknowledged in him as long as he is reduced to the child's body that no longer suits his experiences. As Darmani, Link gets to be a champion once more, and receives the praise and pride of people that he reaaalllyy kinda doesn't in OoT, where his heroics are 1) out of sight and 2) erased from history. I think being Darmani must be very important for Link's own journey towards healing. Also, Darmani's sufferings acknowledged and mourned by those he suffered for - another thing Link was denied in OoT.

The third form he takes on is that of Mikau the Zora, and here's the very interesting thing... I think that as Mikau Link experiences the life he was just beginning to grow into in OoT before he was forced back into childhood. Mikau's storyline is that of an adult relationship. He is a lover, a young father, and he died trying to take care of his family. Briefly, for the three days that Link can inhabit Mikau's life, he gets a glimpse of what it would have been like to be a man, to have a career, colleagues, friends, a family of his own. I don't believe he ever lives that life himself, in the post-credits events of any game, but for a short period of grace, he sees what could be.

The fourth and last is of course everyone's favorite, the Fierce Deity - a being of pure wrath. There's some great stuff to unpack about the Fierce Deity being a demonic and horrifying figure, perhaps the "bad future" TP promises Link if he pursues power too strongly... but it's also the version of Link that is nothing but the battle, all the violence without the heroism to fuel it. The alternative to the stages of ordinary life shown to him by the other masks. But, like the other masks, this is a temporary change in him. He briefly experiences it, and learns from it, and does what he can within its guise, and then... lets it go. Because while he is not a child, and not a brother, and not a lover, he is also all of these things in small bits, engaged with the world and the people in it. As a hero should be. (That is, I think, the line that TP takes as well - but I have said more than my fair share about that.)

Link ends MM saving the world - not his world, but a world - because it needs saving. The people in it aren't his people but they are people, and he grows to love them and gets to be loved back (for short, 72-hour stretches, sometimes for his own merits, sometimes for who he reminds someone of.) He spends uncounted time helping people to live with the uncertainty of life and letting go of their fears and regrets. He gets to see, if briefly, the difference he made - another thing he was denied in OoT, where the world he saved was... to an extent past saving. The only salvation for Hyrule was for it never to have gotten so bad.

Couldn't we say that the whole game is, in effect, his own Song of Healing - learning to let go, learning to accept what is, and getting to finish the things he didn't finish in OoT? I think we can.

[vio1315]

So one of the panels I went to involved a guy trying to explain why Link/Zelda/Hyruleans were immoral in BotW and Ganon was good (to further a point about ethics being bs or whatever)

But he was factually wrong on a lot of things, so I’ll go through it

Point about monarchies being a poor governmental system, fine. Everything in that sort of category, I’ll give him.

The rest though

Monsters being intelligent, and thus wrong to kill:

Monsters often are shown to be smarter than animals in multiple games, yeah. They use tools, some of them have language, some can even start fires and show indication of cultures. Regardless on where we rate them on sentience though, the fact remains that they’re an invasive force who attack humans on sight. Even if we look at them on the same level as humans, they’ve essentially entered into someone’s country in an attempt to eradicate that people group or control them. If we believe at all in self defense, it’s justifiable. You can however question some methods as needlessly cruel.

Along with this point, it was also referenced that as long as people stayed in their towns and such, monsters didn’t bug them. So they were clearly living at peace until you decided the monsters needed to die

This is incorrect.

If you notice, every town is either walled off (in varying capacities) or in a defensible position. There are also generally guards of some sort.

(I think that fishing village is the only one not this way...? Though it does have a mountain on one end and ocean on the other, idk how good they’d handle an actual attack)

We never hear of this being a defense against people

Rather, we do see two women directly outside their town being attacked by monsters.

People on the roads being attacked by monsters

There’s not boundaries with these being newly established territories. People are staying in their towns for the added protection from monsters who attack on sight.

They would surely attack the towns as well if they weren’t defended.

So again, this is more akin to the country being taken over by a foreign power/people. The monsters, without proper guidance, can’t make coordinated attacks however, and thus are mainly built around. This doesn’t make self defense morally reprehensible however. Attacking their camps isn’t much different if say some foreign country sent groups to set up camps in our country with the intent of killing as many of us as possible to take over. 

(Stables are another beast entirely, though)

Ganon possibly being a good leader, which we have no proof either way on due to him never successfully gaining the position:

If we go back to OoT, we see that after Ganondorf takes over, everything is destroyed. People are dead in Castle Town, and he rules with an iron fist, hurting people in every civilization just to ensure allegiance. He about wipes out all zora and gorons.

Even if we don’t go back, in BotW, he is more beast like (though he maintains some amount of understanding due to his handling of the guardians) but I don’t think this would help his capacity as ruler.

Historically we see him commit evils, though we get less chance to see him do so in a direct capacity in BotW due to his being sealed.

The best we know is his destruction of Hyrulean cities/similar, killing them, all in their own country and capital. So in his current state, his version of ruling over Hyrule involves wiping them out. There doesn’t seem to be much distinction made between targets. Again, calamity ganon is different than Ganondorf was when he had his mind. Even back when he was human, he had a tendency for wiping out people groups, but as calamity ganon, there’s really no holding back in an attempt to have survivors to serve him

He also spreads the malice which seems to make monsters and the pollution that is harmful to humans (and all living creatures, as it even has extremely negative effects on a dragon, which is much more powerful than humans.)

If he has enough mind left, this at best is him wiping out all Hyruleans to have the land for his own... monsters? 

Not even his own people, as the Gerudo are not free from his targeting.

Likely, calamity ganon has lost his humanity, and is not capable as a ruler on any level, lacking strict control of his thoughts and actions. I mean, calamity is in the name.

The attack against Hyrule (resulting in the guardians being overtaken and Ganondorf sealed) being a justified attack:

It was mentioned that the Hyruleans were looking for weapons to destroy Ganon once and for all, and so his attack was self defense.

This required rewatching cutscenes, as I didn’t honestly remember, but basically the guardians were built before his return 10,000 years prior to BotW. They were employed after he struck again, which is where he got his knowledge of them

So they were made in preparation to fight against him. The fact that he knows about them when they’re attempted to be used again, 100 years in the past, suggests it’s the same Ganon, not a reincarnation.

Thus, they have reason to seek out weapons against him as they prepare for his next attack.

At this point they know he’s been doing this over and over again since the beginning of time

It being wrong to assume Ganondorf will be evil in all reincarnations:

Interesting, but this depends on what theory you go with.

I have usually felt it’s the same Ganon(dorf) without resurrection each time.

Such as

from OoT to TP, it’s the same Ganondorf

From OoT to WW it’s the same Ganondorf

in Zelda to Zelda II it’s the same Ganondorf (though he was killed and Zelda II is trying to /resurrect/ him)

in the seasons and ages games, I forget if they’re trying to break a seal or resurrect him, but it ultimately succeeds and he comes in as Ganon

That’s just from memory. 

So I always had the sense that while the heroes tend to reincarnate, through being sealed and breaking out of seals on top of resurrections, Ganondorf is the same, or very rarely reincarnates

This tends to make Ganon (the beast forms) make more sense in my eyes as he kinda loses more and more humanity in the process each time.

But if we are assuming each Ganondorf is separate unless explicitly stated otherwise, and we are assuming he doesn’t get any memories through the triforce of power (which I don’t think has ever been confirmed, and I forget any hints to it honestly, so it might be fanon) In that case, then yes, you’d obviously want to not just murder him as a preventative measure

That said

Every game where he appears does have him do something bad before you’re sent to face him. In BotW, as mentioned before, they’re expecting the same Ganon, who already seems to be in calamity form. And really, when you look at that, do you really think ‘Yeah that looks super mortal and killable’

No, they were expecting that same thing to return

Like they never went baby hunting or any such thing

In the old days, that would have been really easy too. Find any male Gerudo and kill him? Like before Ganondorf became a beast, it would have been simple.

However, most times the story is such a legend by the next game, that details like that tend to be lost to the people anyways

The Yiga clan being justified:

If Ganondorf can not be made out to be good, the Yiga also can’t.

They’re at a similar level to a cult in some ways, much as I enjoy them. They want Ganondorf to reign, though he destroyed half their country and has never spoken a word. We don’t see evidence that he’s even aware of them, I’d say? 

I’d argue they’re better than the monsters, since they only target Link as far as I recall (they’re human and thus capable of such coordination) but it still doesn’t really spare them for serving calamity Ganon who just killed half the country and then flew around the castle not saying anything for 100 years

(I might have missed some lore somewhere, idk)

And that’s without getting into all the ‘Link’s crazy, seeing his dead friends’ and so on stuff. We all know that stuff is part of the games high fantasy world, and we have been given no reason in the narrative to question the authenticity of seeing these things.

In terms of the point made about Link violating the Gerudos customs and cultures by forcing his way into their city? Desperate times is all I’ll say there. If we believe Ganondorf was a true threat, then we can excuse this sort of thing

Basically, the guy ended his presentation saying that ethics were bs (particularly in gaming?)

But honestly if you twist and misinterpret information, you can do that to anything. There’s very legitimate things to hook onto, but this doesn’t really drive home his point to think things through. If you don’t make legitimate cases yourself, why should I take you seriously?

You know in TP it’s implied that the royal family did pretty terrible things to the gerudo people? There’s literally a prison with torture mechanisms in the desert, classically depicted as where they lived, but no gerudo.

We know a lot of the prisoners were sealed away in another realm there too. It could be argued against, but there’s a lot more evidence for this sort of thing.

We know that in ALttP the soldiers who hunt down Link are being mind controlled/similar. They’re actual people that you kill. There’s something to be said there, and a lot of questions you can ask.

I mean, if you really want to stretch, in WW you’re working with pirates, and we never really know what they did before searching for new land. With how they handled things on Windfall, they did kind of do what they pleased to some extent.

These are off the top of my head, with a little effort, you could think of really valid points to question how we perceive good/evil in these games. I think it’s especially cheap to rely on player action to portray these matters.

If you went through a game like Skyrim, you can play it by joining the dark brotherhood and killing and stealing everything in your path. Or you can not steal, not kill outside of self defense, and so on.

The game gives you options, but it should not be assumed that the game’s protagonist has taken every single option.

You can steal in Link’s Awakening, but we can’t assume that as an inherent part of that Link’s character. That is entirely player choice.

So those are all my feelings involving the points brought up during the panel.

The inaccuracies bothered me is all, but I had little freedom to mention all my points at the time, so they go here.

[skateofministry]

Tokyo Surprises: Expect the Unexpected – OZY

Friday, August 06, 2021

The Olympic Games are understood for some proven eyeglasses: an exaggerated opening event, stunned professional athletes waving at nobody in specific, toppling records and tears of happiness by the bucketload.

But they likewise toss up occasions and precedents that nobody can anticipate. Shocking failures and wonder minutes that require to be seen to be thought. As the Tokyo Games pertained to a historical close this weekend, we believed it apt to fill you in, dear reader, on the most significant, most outrageous surprises of the previous 2 weeks. Join us in today’s Daily Dose as we toast the astonishing newbie Olympians, the stunning mess-ups and other necessary Olympic surprises that will leave you feeling smarter. And most likely a little smug.

— Toyloy Brown III, OZY Reporter

1. Explosive Debut

Twenty-two-year-old wunderkind Luka Dončić started his Olympic career with a monstrous performance, one rarely witnessed in international basketball. The Slovenian exploded for 48 points, with 31 coming in the first half of Slovenia’s match against Argentina on July 26. Dončić also snagged 11 rebounds and dished five assists in his team’s 118-100 win. As the best scoring output by a European in Olympic history, Dončić’s achievement was sensational and stands joint second-best overall (tied with Australian Eddie Palubinskas) behind the 55 points scored by Brazil’s Oscar Schmidt at Seoul in 1988. Many basketball fans know Dončić is special, but this was an absurd first game in Olympic play that no one saw coming.

2. Stage for a Statement

Political statements by athletes have become popular in recent months, and that continued on the biggest stage of all in Tokyo. First-time Olympian Luciana Alvarado became the first Costa Rican gymnast to reach the Games, making her debut count with a memorable floor routine. But that wasn’t all. The 18-year-old concluded her routine by taking a knee and raising a fist in the air in a tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement in what was deemed an artistic element of her routine. She managed to skirt a rule forbidding political gestures, which some believe is outdated and which prevents Olympic athletes from political protests or demonstrations while on the awards podium or the field of play. Alvarado later told the Associated Press that the pose was intentional and that she did it to highlight the importance of equal rights, “Because we’re all the same . . . and we’re all beautiful and amazing.”

3. Canadian Softball Protest

One thing you don’t see every day is Olympians walking off the field. Well, that’s exactly what the Canadian softball team did on July 25 in protest of an umpire call during a 1-0 extra-inning loss to home side Japan. When the umpire chose not to allow Team Canada to switch pitchers, its coach, Mark Smith, pulled his team. Smith then submitted a formal protest with the World Baseball Softball Confederation. He got his way: The controversy was rectified when the substitute was later allowed to come on. Regardless, Canada lost, but did eventually nab its first medal of the Games, a bronze in softball, by later beating Mexico 3-2.

Every community deserves resources for healthy living, but in the reality of today’s world, not every community has access to them. With the first-ever Wellness Impact Award, WW is aiming to uplift community-led solutions by selecting five organizations to receive a $15,000 grant, mentorship, additional fundraising opportunities and more. These champions of wellness are tackling systemic inequities faced by marginalized communities and lifting up their neighborhoods with everything from fresh food deliveries to nutrition education that embraces culturally relevant foods. Other winners are encouraging young people to get outside and connect with the outdoors. It’s a step toward making healthy living a human right.

skateboarding: a brave new world

1. Enter Thrilling Skateboarding

Let’s all be glad that skateboarding is now an Olympic sport. For if it wasn’t, we’d have missed the wealth of incredible talent that’s out there. Some might have considered it an un-Olympic discipline. But we marveled as three girls performed near miracles and earned gold, silver and bronze in the women’s park event. At age 13, we were astounded as Great Britain’s Sky Brown became the youngest athlete and medalist for the nation. The self-taught Brown turned professional at 10 years old. Just ponder that for a moment. Skateboarding’s inclusion has inarguably brought a new dimension to the identity of the Games — and vice versa. Brazil’s Kelvin Hoefler, who won silver in the men’s street event, used to sleep with his board as a youth. Now, he believes that kids back home may start ditching the soccer ball for the skateboard. “It’s going to be mind-changing for them,” he said. Skateboarding may have a ways to go to catch up to the likes of soccer, but capturing the world’s imagination at Tokyo will do the sport wonders.

2. Kokona Hiraki

In what has turned into the Olympics of and for the youth, 12-year-old Hiraki became the youngest medal winner in Japan’s history and one of the youngest of all time at the Olympics after taking silver in the women’s park event this week. Momiji Nishiya, 13, who earlier won the street skateboarding discipline, became the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport. It was another Japanese teen, 19-year-old Sakura Yosozumi, who won gold in the women’s park event. It’s a reminder that you’re never too young to have your name permanently etched in the record books. In a Games that has seen big names disappoint, teenage skateboarders have put smiles on the faces of millions of Olympics fans.

3. Japan and Skateboarding

For the longest time, skateboarding has been looked upon unfavorably in Japan. It was perceived as disrespectful and unseemly in public spaces because it was viewed as noisy and disruptive and was believed to damage public property. However, appreciation for the sport may be growing following the medal hauls from the aforementioned women, 22-year-old Yuto Horigome in a men’s event and others. Japanese pro skater Ryo Sejiri is counting on these prominent showings to change skateboarding’s reputation in the country. “I’m sure skateboarding has had a bad image up until now, because we do it out in public and people think of it as an inconvenience, but I think that will change now,” he said.

firsts for their country (or in a very long time)

1. From DIY Gym to Gold

Tokyo has shown us that defying the odds is not impossible. On top of becoming the first athlete from the Philippines to ever capture Olympic gold, Hidilyn Diaz set an Olympic record for lifting a combined weight of 224 kilograms. The 30-year-old attained the Philippines’ first gold since the country made its Olympics debut in 1924, and pulled it off even after having to deal with COVID-19 challenges. While in Malaysia, an outbreak forced her team to stay there for months, causing her to miss an Olympic qualifying event in Peru. Workout facilities were shut down, but Diaz continued to prepare and did it DIY-style: She built her own gym and trained with barely any professional equipment. She created lift sets using water jugs and bamboo sticks, an interesting full-circle moment to her days as a youth when she trained using plastic pipes and concrete weights.

2. The Table Tennis Miracle

History made. Japan’s Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito have become the first non-Chinese athletes to win gold in the sport since 2004, defeating China’s Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen on July 26. After falling behind in the final, the pair then rallied to victory. Their secret? A chemistry and trust built from years growing up together, even though they are 12 years apart in age. Their nonverbal communication was a central reason why they achieved the first-ever gold for Japan in the sport. In the words of the 32-year-old Mizutani after the match, “a miracle happened.”

3. The Smartest Cyclist You’ll Meet

Ever seen someone with a Ph.D. in mathematics win gold? If you haven’t, meet Anna Kiesenhofer, who stunned the world with one of the biggest cycling upsets in Olympic history. The 30-year-old Austrian took gold, making it her nation’s first cycling win since the inaugural 1896 Athens Games. “It feels incredible. I couldn’t believe it,” Kiesenhofer said after the July 24 race. “Even when I crossed the line, it was like, ‘Is it done now? Do I have to continue riding?’ Incredible.” She hasn’t been cycling professionally for long, either: She has ridden just one season with professional Belgian team Lotto-Soudal, in 2017, and since then has only raced for her country. Despite the inexperience, she has come out triumphant, doctorate and all.

4. Olympians From Everywhere

San Marino has become the smallest country in Olympic history to win a medal, and it’s thanks to 33-year-old Alessandra Perilli. The Sammarinese shooter scored a bronze medal in the women’s trap competition for her country, the third smallest independent state in Europe. “This is the first medal for me and for my country. We are a small country but very proud,” she said following her medal ceremony. “They [her fellow citizens] are for sure going crazy, crying.” The tiny nation then went on to win a second medal, also in shooting. The 34,000 people of San Marino are definitely proud.

1. Turning Point for U.S. Soccer?

Are we witnessing the end of an era for the U.S. women’s national team? The No. 1 ranked team coming off back-to-back World Cup victories and 44 consecutive wins before traveling to Tokyo has, incredibly, been beaten two times in the past two weeks. The squad had been aiming to become the first women’s soccer team to earn an Olympic gold medal as reigning FIFA World Cup champions. What happened? While the inquest has yet to fully start, one theory centers on the team’s age. Of its 18 players, half are over 30. Superstar players Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe are 39 and 36, respectively. A rebuild is now a must for one of the greatest soccer teams of the modern era. But for now, the team celebrates winning bronze after a 4-3 victory against Australia yesterday.

2. There’s a Team Without Simone Biles

During the 2021 Olympics, we learned that the U.S. women’s gymnastics team can still be successful — even without the best gymnast in the world among its ranks. The team pulled off six medals, including two gold, courtesy of Jade Carey and Sunisa Lee. Earlier in the Games, the 24-year-old Biles withdrew from four individual finals, citing mental health reasons. She was experiencing “the twisties” — a sense of feeling lost in the air due to the mind and body not being in sync. Her decision to withdraw was not simply due to the immense pressure placed on her. She chose to do what was in her best interest by not competing to avoid a potentially serious injury. Fortunately, the four-time Olympic champion did make a return for the balance beam event and took home bronze, two days after a family member passed away.

3. Missed Medals?

Sure, lots of countries saw their athletes miss out on the Games due to COVID-19. But how many were on course for glory like the Americans who missed out? Take the world’s No. 7 ranked golfer, Bryson DeChambeau. The Californian, who has chosen not to get vaccinated, caught COVID-19 and was forced to miss out on potential Olympic glory. Seventeen-year-old tennis sensation Coco Gauff last month caught the virus and was thus forced to sit out the Games, as did men’s pole vault gold medal contender Sam Kendricks. In total, around 100 U.S. athletes have traveled to Tokyo unvaccinated. Are they to blame? Neither the International Olympic Committee nor the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee required athletes to be vaccinated prior to taking part. The jury’s out.

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