#link approves

[gideonisms]

we don't think enough about the fact that pyrrha dve had to get up every day and go to her construction job. She was mourning the last polycule while starting the next one (btw everyone in both polycules was doomed to die including pyrrha herself) but she literally still had to get up and go to her shifts... she was on that minimum wage grind the whole time... however much credit we give her we don't give her enough

[mamawasatesttube]

peak timsteph to me is like, some situation where they are in the heights of their divorce era, but something happens that gets steph real rattled, and tim doesn't want to comfort her himself but he doesn't want her to be completely alone with it either. so she hears a knock at the door and opens it to find a plate full of steaming hot mashed potatoes. he's nowhere to be found but she knows no one else would've known what her number one comfort food is. the presence of the potatoes means something. so does his absence. who else knows her like he does? it haunts her every time she sees the scars on the nape of his neck. (not that she sees those often. there's a reason he keeps the cowl up and his hair long, these days.)

[happypeachsludgeflower]

Does anyone else just love chaotic svsss identity reveals? It’s like a dopamine wild party every time I get to watch Cang Qiong Peak realize Shen Yuan’s a baby.

[hipsternumbertwo]

Smosh Community

A Smosh Community has been started!

All communities are still in beta mode so there's a learning curve and a lot of bugs to deal with.

If you are interested in joining, please let me know by liking, reblogging, messaging, or snail mail because as of right now it's invite only until Tumblr says otherwise.

PS: It can only invite main blogs, so if you're a sideblog - reply with your main.

Note: The invite is in the form of a message from the tumblrbot (it's not a scam lol)

[partyfears]

two slow dancers - mitski

this is their song and so is ‘i bet on losing dogs’ oh and also ethel cain’s entire discography

link for a shorter version bc tiktok won’t let me post more than a minute of music

[sraksha]

Ooo! Requests are open! How about the Chain having fun with their musical instruments? Playing all together, and for those who can't play, they can sing or even dance!

Of course, feel free to ignore this if it doesn't inspire you. Love your art!!

So im very much unfamiliar with musical instruments and dancing, but i did try lmao. Just imagine the boys are only just getting started.

Btw Twi is dragging Four along by his hood. I realize it's a bit hard to tell what's happening over there lol.

Here's where i got the notes

And this is what i was vibing to while drawing

[gaylactic-fire]

That TERF from yesterday still has a chokehold on me bc her "Link is a cisgender butch lesbian and everyone in Hyrule just thinks she's a guy" HC has got to be the most ironic "babe you're so close" ass headcanon I've ever heard.

So Link is a butch lesbian who is misgendered by everyone in Hyrule (including Zelda for some reason, if we are to take this as canon like OP suggests), to point where she's literally been labelled as the legendary swordsMAN and even the Gerudo can't tell she's a woman until she puts on more traditionally feminine attire. Link doesn't even put particular effort into appearing masculine, but everyone in Hyrule still just can't fathom her being a woman, because her presentation is not "feminine enough" to be considered one.

HMMMMMM gee golly gosh I wonder... I do wonder if another group of vulnerable individuals might empathise with Link's plight here?... gee whizz 😳

[jula483]

link BARKED for rhett

[mylonelydreaming]

I hate when people call zelink or zelink in every game "uncreative" or something.

No, you are uncreative. They have different history and personalities each time which would change the relationship dynamic even in the scenario of always being romantic.

It feels like what people are saying is "romance is always the same" which isn't true. Is every friendship the exact same? No

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Beyond surface appeal, what makes Ganon a compelling antagonist

I think cruising my blog would provide a good number of possible answers, but I guess my tl:dr would be (otherwise I could probably make a full 24h conference about it at this point): because he does reveal (if one is willing to look) the brutality of a world in which gods uphold a natural order through a given kingdom that will not budge on its god-given right to rule, and him as both a rebellious disorder to that status quo which also ends up devoured by said status quo as just one natural part of a cycle of creation and destruction that ultimately always kind of stays the same.

Also, I find the setup of a man born to a tribe of outcast women, considered exceptional by birth while also having to figure himself out + the role he needs to play in that kind of structure and in a very difficult context, someone who both is being granted a lot of natural power while also still being sneered at and considered lesser and/or inherently evil by those blessed by the gods (while also carrying a lot of unexamined baggage of their own), is just so juicy and interesting and brimming with potential psychologically speaking (especially when applied to his motivations of: why does he want power, why does he always alter his own body, his uncanny resilience, etc). It does come with a lot of baggage, as "the evil man from the desert" is far from being a neutral concept coming from a neutral historical place --but examining what kind of world would come to such conclusions is also deeply revealing of said world.

And then, Wind Waker gives him even more of a window to reflect on his own rage while also never apologizing for the horrors he commited, mourning what he wanted and what he became while also being the only one calling the gods of Hyrule out for being terrifyingly cold entities --far more than he could ever hope to become.

Yeah, I think Nintendo has been sleeping on Ganondorf ever since (even if I defend his TP appearance). But he has a fascinating cross-game story(ies), and I find him to be a deeply tragic --if horrendously flawed-- figure, which is partially why TotK was so disappointing to me, because TotK saw nothing but the surface level + the fact that putting him in a game sells and makes people horny.

(you'll notice I didn't mention Demise, because I think that, while the whole cycle thing wasn't bad or not that interesting, fans really overly simplify this concept in a way that has contributed to make Ganondorf extremely flat, which I am not here for.)

[duskroll]

Had to do a thracia version of this meme

[lennsart]

The LU Links that @sweeteastart have called "Hyrule" who were, in fact, not Hyrule

Sky :

I mean I get this one, they kind of look alike, plus I had told her that Sky was the first Link of the LoZ timeline, and Hyrule is the Link from the first games, it's sort of logical

Warriors :

Ok, they don't look alike at all, but the game where he's from is called "Hyrule" Warriors, so honestly I can get it, too

Legend :

I can, maybe, get why she got them mixed up, since they're the Links from the downfall timeline and also the earlier games, but they're very different

Wind :

.............???????

Bonus, while we were talking about this, we had a beautiful exchange that looked like :

Me : You did call four of them "Hyrule", though. That's half the chain

East : What ? No, wait, it's not half of them. They're nine, and I haven't called Time, Four, Wild or Twilight "Hyrule", plus I'm sure I'm missing one...

Me : ......THE ONE YOU'RE MISSING IS HYRULE. IF YOU'RE GOING THIS WAY, YOU DID CALL HYRULE "HYRULE"

[slender-bureaucracy]

Government Approved List of Slender Blogs (Pt2)

(Collected by the Blog Oversight Agency (BOA))

Gamer Slenderman (@gamer-slenderman)

Santa Slenderman (@santa-slenderman)

Anarchist Slenderman (@anarchist-slenderman)

Jolly Slenderman (@jollyslenderman)

Bigenderman (@realest-bigenderman)

Slenderman Éireannach (@irishslenderman)

Communist Slenderman (@communist-slenderman)

Sapphic Slenderman (@sapphicslender)

Bisexual Slenderman (@bisexualslenderman)

Acephobic Slenderman (@acephobic-slenderman)

Budget Cuts Slenderman (@budgetcutsslenderman)

Argentinian Slenderman (@argentinian-slenderman)

Wildcard Slenderman (@wildcard-slenderman)

Sleepy Slenderthem ( @sleepyslenderthem )

The Slendgineer (@the-slendgineer)

Learning French Slenderman (@learningfrenchslenderman)

Nyanbinary Slenderman (@nyanbinary-slenderman)

OSHA Slenderman (@osha-slenderman)

Prosecutor Slenderman (@prosecutor-slenderman)

Slenderman Mom (@slenderman-mom)

Slenderman JWRI (@slenderman-jrwi)

Slender Pup (@slenderpupp)

Slender Worm (@slenderworm)

Capitalist Slenderman (@capitalist-slenderman)

Aro Orchid Slenderman ( @aroorchid-slenderman )

Slenderstuck ( @slenderstuck )

Slendergal High ( @slendergal-high )

Slender Wingman ( @slender-wingman )

Divorced Slenderman ( @divorced-slenderman )

Slenderwoman ( @slender-woman-returns )

Prenup Slenderman ( @prenup-slenderman )

Memorium Man ( @memorium-man )

Slender Judge ( @slender-judge )

Troll Slenderman ( @troll-slenderman )

Robloxian Slenderman ( @robloxian-slenderman )

Slenderjerma ( @slenderjerma )

Slender exploding car with hammer ( @slenderexplodingcarwithhammer )

Blenderman ( @blender-man )

Emperor of Slendkind ( @emperor-of-slendkind )

Discourse Slenderman ( @discourse-slenderman )

Slenderbrows ( @slenderbrows )

Purple slenderman ( @purple-slenderman )

Slemon ( @lemon-slenderman )

[43 Total]

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

The Killer (@spooky-killer-ooh)

William Afton (@williamfnafton)

[itsallhoney]

i just turned 26, got nothing to show for it (x)

26, paramore // 26, innerlove. // 26, caamp // don't be upset, jeffrey lewis // was it 26, the charlie daniels band // 26, carol ades // wish, nine inch nails // 26, paramore // 26, innerlove.

[blueskittlesart]

any thoughts on how once again zelda was robbed of her agency because her "father figure" didn't listen to her? even if rauru was kinder to her than her father. and that she had sonia who was patient and loving for a little while before she died (just like her mother). i know rauru apologizes for his hubris but still, i wish we saw zelda be upset about it. and even if zelda was such a big part of the quest she still literally sacrificed her humanity once again because of someone else's mistake- because rauru literally didn't listen to the girl from the future that warned you that shit was going to go down. o know nintendo just loves putting zelda inside crystals and stones but i wish we got something better. even if it was her decision to become a dragon... did she have any other choice? it really just feels like they robbed her of agency again just like botw and the games before

i've been trying to figure out how to answer this one. because there are two ways i could analyze this plot point, either from a writer's perspective or an in-story perspective, but neither of those lead to me fully agreeing with your interpretation? I think there's definitely something to be said about zelda consistently being pushed aside in these games, but. well. ok let's get into it ig

from a writer's perspective, I do honestly have quite a bit of sympathy for the zelda devs as they attempt to navigate the modern political landscape with these games. The cyclical lore, though canonized relatively recently, holds them to a standard of consistency in their games in terms of certain key elements. one of those key elements is that there has to be a princess, and that princess must somehow be the main macguffin of the game. The player must chase her, and the end goal of the game must be to reunite the player and the princess. In 1986 this was an incredibly easy sell. women didn't need to be characters. players were content with saving a 2-dimensional princess whose only purpose was to tell them "good job!" at the end. but as society advances, that princess becomes a much more difficult character to write while adhering to the established overarching canon. (as a side note: i don't necessarily believe that the writers SHOULD be held to the standards of that canon. I think deviating from it in certain areas would be a good change of pace. but i also recognize that deviations from the formula are widely hated by the loz playerbase and that they're trying to make money off these games, so we're working under the established rule that the formula must be at least loosely adhered to.) Modern fans want a princess who is a person, who has agency and makes decisions and struggles in the same way the hero does. but modern fans ALSO want a game that follows the established rules of the canon. so we need a princess who is a real character but who can ALSO serve as a macguffin within the narrative, something that is inherently somewhat objectifying.

the two games that i think do the best job writing a princess with agency are skyward sword and botw (based on your ask, our opinions differ there lol. hear me out) in both games, we have a framing event which seperates zelda and link, but in both games, that separation was ZELDA'S CHOICE. skyward sword zelda runs away from link out of fear of hurting him. botw zelda chooses to return to the castle alone to allow link the time he needs to heal. sksw kinda fumbled later on by having ghirahim kidnap her anyway, but. i said BEST not PERFECT. botw zelda I think is the better example because, with the context of the memories, she's arguably MORE of a character than link is. we see her struggles, her breakdowns, her imperfection, specifically we see her struggle with her lack of agency within the context of the game itself. when she steps in front of link in the final memory, and when she chooses to return to the castle, those are some of the first choices we see her make almost completely free of outside influence; a RECLAMATION of her agency (within the narrative) after years of having it stripped from her. from an objective viewer's standpoint, this writing decision still means she is absent from 90% of the game and that she has little control over her actions for the duration of the player's journey. however I think this is just about the best they could have done to create a princess with agency and a real character arc while still keeping the macguffin formula intact--you're not really SAVING zelda in botw. SHE is the one that is saving YOU; when you wake up on the plateau with no memories, too weak to fight bokoblins, let alone calamity ganon. the reason you are allowed to train and heal in early-game botw is because SHE is in the castle holding ganon back, protecting YOU. When you enter the final fight, you're not rescuing zelda, you're relieving her of her duty. taking over the work she's been doing for the past hundred years. in the final hour, you both work in tandem to defeat ganon. while this isn't a PERFECT example of a female character with agency and narrative weight, i think it's a pretty good one, especially in the context of save-the-princess games like loz.

as for totk, you put a lot of emphasis on rauru not believing zelda and taking action immediately, which, again, from an objective standpoint, i understand. but even when we're writing characters with social implications in mind, those character's actions still need to... make sense. Rauru was a king ruling over what he believed to be a perfectly peaceful kingdom. zelda literally fell out of the sky, landed in front of him, claimed to be his long-lost granddaughter, and then told him that some random ruler of a fringe faction in the desert was going to murder him and he had to get the jump on it by killing him first. the ruler which this girl is trying to convince rauru to wage an unprompted war on has the power to disguise himself as other people. no one in their right mind would immediately take the girl at her word. war is not something any leader should jump into without proper research and consideration, and to rauru's credit, he DIDN'T ever outright dismiss zelda. he believed her when she said she was from the future, he allowed her to work with him and he took her warnings as seriously as he could without any further proof. but he could not wage an unprompted war on ganondorf. that's just genuinely not practical, especially for a king who values peace among his people as much as rauru seems to. as soon as ganondorf DID attack, giving rauru confirmation that zelda's accounts of the future were real, he began making preparations to confront him. remember that zelda didn't KNOW that rauru and sonia were going to be casualties of the war--she didn't make the connection between rauru's arm in the future and rauru the king until AFTER sonia's death, when rauru made the decision to attack ganondorf directly. I think the imprisoning war and the casualties of it were less an issue of zelda being denied agency and more an issue of no one, including zelda, having full context for the events as they were unfolding. if zelda had KNOWN that sonia and rauru were going to die from the beginning and was still unable to prevent it that would be a different issue, but she didn't. none of them did.

I think another thing worth pointing out with rauru and his death irt zelda is that rauru is clearly written specifically as a foil to rhoam. this is evident in how he treats both zelda and link, with a constant kindness and understanding which is clearly opposite to rhoam's dismissiveness and disappointment. consider rhoam's death and the circumstances surrounding it. He died because, in zelda's eyes, she was unable to do her duty; the one thing he constantly berated her for. Rhoam's death solidified zelda's belief that she was a failure, a belief which she KNEW rhoam held as well. his death was doubly traumatic to her because she knew he died believing it was her fault. Now contrast that to the circumstances surrounding rauru's death. Rauru CHOSE to die despite zelda's warnings, because he wanted zelda and his kingdom to live. rauru's death was not agency-stripping for zelda; in fact, it functioned almost as an admission that he believed her capable of continuing to live in his place. With him gone, the fate of the kingdom fell to her and the sages. he KNEW that he would die and still went into that battle confidently, trusting zelda to make the right decisions once he was gone. where rhoam believed zelda incapable of doing ANYTHING without link, rauru trusted zelda COMPLETELY with the fate of his kingdom. several details in totk confirm that when rauru died there was no plan for zelda to draconify, that all happened after rauru was gone. it was HER plan, the plan which rauru trusted her to come up with once he was gone. and I think it's also worth noting that zelda's sacrifice with the draconification parallels rauru's!! Rauru gives up his life trusting the sages and his people to be able to continue his work in his place. Zelda gives up her physical form trusting link and the sages in the future to be able to figure out what to do and find her. these games in general have this recurring theme but totk specifically is all about love and trust and reliance on others. zelda relies on link, link relies on zelda, they both rely on the champions and the sages and rauru and sonia and they all rely each other. reliance on others isn't lack of agency, it's a constant choice they make, and that choice is the thing which allows them to triumph.

The draconification itself is something i view similarly to zelda's sacrifice in botw--a choice she makes which, symbolically & within the confines of the narrative, is a demonstration of her reclaimed agency and places her at the center of the narrative, but which ALSO removes her from much of the player's experience and robs her of any overt presence or decisionmaking within the gameplay. again, I think this is a solution to the macguffin-with-agency dilemma, and it's probably one of the better solutions they could have come up with. Would I have liked to see a game where zelda is more present within the actual gameplay? yes, but I also understand that at this point the writers aren't quite willing to deviate that much from their formula. the alternative within the confines of this story would be to let zelda DIE in the past, removing her from gameplay ENTIRELY, which is an infinitely worse option in my opinion. draconification allowed her to be present, centered the narrative around her, and allowed the writers to reiterate the game's theme of trust and teamwork when she assists the player in the final battle, which i think was a REALLY great choice, narratively speaking.

In any case, I don't think it's right to say that zelda was completely robbed of her agency in botw and totk. Agency doesn't always mean that she's unburdened and constantly present, it means she's given the freedom to make her own choices and that her choices are realistically written with HER in mind, not just the male characters around her, and I think botw/totk do a pretty good job of writing her and her choices realistically and with nuance.

[vimbry]

returning to my little project of making a fake neopet out of my fursona for the Third time, because I keep changing their design before I can finish it.

on the second attempt, I decided to stop being lazy and actually make larger vectors instead of drawing directly on a 150x150 canvas - which, surprise, is a hell of a lot easier. this time around, I'm also using the flash colour palette to make everything a bit more authentic. and I made one of those pet info pages you could see by going to the species list.

I've almost completed the basic recolour/minor lineart adjustment paintbrush colours. gonna post a bigger collection of them later when they're all finished, then move on to the unique poses, but these are my favourites so far. I was actually keeping so rigid to the official styles for a few of them (proportions & anatomy, consistent colours & shading, etc.), before straying away enough from desert to realise, wait, I can just have fun w/ it lol.