#my own fierce deity design :)

[verflares]

(click for higher quality!) draconified link concept ive been chipping away at this past week ..... here's my funny little compendium concept for him:

"A heroic spirit has taken the form of this bestial dragon. Unlike it's kin, this creature exhibits an extremely aggressive disposition. It appears highly territorial, and will relentlessly chase down those who disturb its skywide patrols - of which it seems to be endlessly searching for either a long-time vassal or foe. Unfortunately, it seems the spirit within has long since forgotten exactly who it was looking for…"

[uncharted-constellations]

~You were just a kid too, huh~

Again, I refuse to make adult mm link edgy sorry.

[amanitacurses]

Sacrificial Lamb

[nitroish]

sneak peek on sumn im workin on

[mirensiart]

Welcome to the ✨LINKLE UNIVERSE✨ (part 1)

ok so, I’ve decided to design a Linkle for each Link! Just how Warriors has his own Linkle in canon, each Link has a Linkle in their era now! They’re not necessarily related to the boys (though some are), but they ARE all fellow adventurers to our Links :) they exist in parallel, just how warriors and his Linkle do in canon

(Also I gave them Spanish names just because it’s my first language lol nothing deep about it)

Anyway, First Linkles:

Info about each of them under the cut:

Cielo (Sky’s era): Fellow classmate to Sky & Sun in the knight’s academy, she’s older, from pipit’s and karane’s class, hence why she wears the previous year’s female knight’s uniform. As a Linkle, she has terrible sense of direction and crashed into the surface accidentally during the events of Skyward Sword, spends the entire game trying to get back to Skyloft, its completely ignorant to the entire plot of Skyward Sword lmao always misses Sky while he’s in the surface, they never stumble into each other, not even once. Her Loftwing is orange, she wears it’s feathers on her hair.

Capa (Four’s era): Four’s younger cousin, she was present during the tourney when Vaati attacked and turned Dot to stone. Some of Vaati’s magic got her though, making her minish size. Spends the entire plot of minish cap trying to get back to her OG size, is adopted by the minish at some point. She does meet up with Four eventually while they’re both minish sized and they point at each other like that one image of the spidermans pointing at each other lmao Ezlo restores her back to normal. She likes spending time with Four’s grandpa when Four is away, knows about the colors, too. Red is her fave.

Hada (Time’s era): doesn’t matter the timeline, she is always a member of Lullaby’s personal royal guard. Stoic, cold, super serious and super professional girl. Besties with Impa. Has met Time before, knows him as the farmer dude who’s somehow friends with the princess and is a competent fellow (retired) knight. She can’t relate though, she’d rather die than retire and live in a farm lmao she lost her eye to a lizalfos, the thing clawed it out, she shows her scars as a badge of honor. Time’s armor is similar to the fierce deity’s, while Hada’s armor resembles the hero’s shade (: despite not growing up in the forest like Time, she has a great affinity for fairies, they flock to her when she’s near.

also, the translation of their names is

Cielo = Sky

Capa = Cape

Hada = Fairy

[kheprriverse]

Ballad's new design! Can't wait to design every other forms he has as well. But that'll come later. Regardless, I really like how the design looks now compared to the others.

Masterpost | Lineup | Ko-fi - Extra details/thoughts under the cut.

The sword sheathe is a little crunchy, its part of a redesign idea I had that I scrapped. But the sheathe itself I liked, so I pasted it into his ref page before blocking in the new details. But it's crunchy because I had to resize it and didn't want to redraw the whole thing <- ultimately just laziness on my part.

Green cloth is totally optional, so here's a look underneath in case it's needed.

No colors for this version tho. I didn't really plan for it to be in the ref. Maybe some other day.

Regarding other forms. I may include either some of his mask forms but that'll require some thinking and concept art. I WILL be making a proper fullbody of his Fierce Deity form tho along with Forest (oot) getting a good ref as well. (Forest does have a ref I just don't like it so I never posted it lol.) And ofc once that's all done they'll get their own lineup page. Feel free to probe me for any details till then. It'll be kind of a long process since I'm also working on FD's origin.

[cosplayinamerica]

Fierce Deity Zelda : @lexaluth0r / Photos :  @quachstar.jpg /  @mattlarson.jpg

I’ve always loved the Zelda series and always considered cosplaying Zelda, but I never really resonated with her character or any of her outfits. I started looking at some fan art of her redesigned in some of Link’s designs. When I saw the Fierce Deity one I just loved seeing her as a strong character.

It is hilarious to wear this cosplay because of the contacts. Constantly hearing people walk by and freak out because the eyes are pretty creepy. But it was great when someone would come up to me and be like “Fierce Deity ZELDA?!” I just love that moment when you are able to share the love for a character. It’s one of the main reasons I love cosplaying, is just seeing someone’s reaction when they see your cosplay. The excitement of seeing a character you love come to life.

When I first got tickets to my first comic con back in 2019 I felt this pressure to make something to wear. Not a bad pressure, but I felt like how could I go and not wear something that I had made? I turned to some of my current favorite video games to come up with a character design that I liked and thought that I could make. It turned into the perfect hobby for me as I’ve always enjoyed making and crafting things.

In the spring I competed in my first cosplay contest at the Gem State Comic Con. I was pretty nervous because I’m pretty introverted and not good at acting in character. Showing off your cosplay on stage can be so intimidating. Fortunately it was laid back and I did not have to talk too much! I was pretty proud in my Valkyrie cosplay, I had spent a year working on it and had already had a good response to it. Winning the cosplay contest really gave me the confidence in my own cosplays. When you are an artist, you always have some sort of hesitancy about the quality or how good your work is. You can be so critical because it’s your work. But winning the cosplay contest really helped me see past all the things I felt like could have been better.

[minty-mumbles]

Linked Universe Survey 2023

The long awaited results of the survey. Sorry it took me forever, making graphs is hard.

There were 452 responses to the survey as a whole, which is almost double what we got last year, so thank you to everyone who participated!

If you want to see the raw data, you can find that here. I had thoughts about the data, but compiling that into another post would be too much of a hassle. Feel free to send me asks about it though!

The rest of the post will be under a read more as it it large

Demographics

Other: Demigirl (4), Transmasc (3), Grey genderfluid, Unlabeled, Demiboy, Demiagender

Other: Omnisexual (4), Poly (2), Trixic, Abroromantic or Bellusromantic, Demisexual

General Questions

Other: Quotev, Discord, their own google docs

Other: Discord, Variations of "I haven't posted yet, but I pan to" and "I haven't posted my fics in ages",

Other: Wattpad, Deviantart, Discord

Other: Crochet dolls, Custom dolls, Roleplay blogs (2), Fan translations, Headcanons (2), Piano music

The purple section in the “Warriors vs Warrior” chart is supposed to read “Warrior.” I made a typo.

Favorites and Least Favorites

Selected Free Response Answers

im sorry warriors i just can't play your game (it is very very hard. i am stuck very early on in the game)

I love cats meow meow meow

was extremely tempted to put twilight for least favorite. unfortunately he is my favorite to write from the perspective of (he has taken over most of my wips. help) and that probably counts for something. WILD on the other hand. hooo boy how the hell do i characterize this gargoyle. why is he Like That. least favorite it is

Twiddy

very good fandom to be in :) everybody is very nice

It's a straight up crime that Wars lost the aesthetics poll so quickly. He has such a peak Link design with the best colors. Ugh I'm getting wistful.

FROGS. FROGS. FROGS. ALSO HAPPY PRIDE MONTH. FROGS. FROGS. FROGS. FROGS. FROGS.

I will fight Hylia herself and the next person who implies Twi can't handle spice. If we're going to lean into him being southern/Midwestern, which is an alright stero type for our rancher, please keep in mind the culture you're basing him off. The south and midwest can handle their spice, I assure you. Have you ever had authentic Louisiana gumbo? It will melt you tongue off. Or some good old fashion spicy fried chicken? I promise the real stuff has quite a kick. (In all seriousness, though. It's more important that you're having fun. And even I can admit the idea of Twi being an Ordonian who can't handle his spice is more than a little funny.)

I am an OoT Link edgelord and have been since early 2017. So, in September of that year, when an artist by the name of jojo56830 puts out a lineup of nine different Links and the Hero of Time is there – the oldest, no eye, Hero’s Shade armor? I saw that one sketch and just thought “oh this is gonna be bad.” Yeah of course he has the coolest design. By the way, it’s only a matter of time until Fierce Deity shows up in the comic and I have reason to believe it could be this current Dawn arc. Dawn … Dawn of a New Day … and who brought about the Dawn of a New Day? Fierce Deity. Twilight is recovering but still injured and what will happen if he falls again? Fierce Deity is coming and we need to be prepared. In this essay I will—

Remember that time when someone put the whole script of the bee movie in here? I’m not that dedicated, and I don’t have that time, but let us remember and hope someone else does it again this time. Cause someone is bound too. We’re all crazy enough to do it. Alright, love you and stay hydrated pls!

Hi! I joined this fandom really recent but i’ve always seen LU stuff on pinterest and elsewhere. Only recently have i actually took the time to understand the fandom and get back into LOZ stuff and i adore the characters and story! The more and more fanart, fanfics, and comics i see about the different Links the more i love them all. It’s such a pain to pick just one i like or one i don’t like because they’re all so unique. I love this fandom and hope to get more involved!! Have a wonderful rest of your day :]

Epona is an underrated queen

your mom

I really don't get why Zelda is called Artemis. Athena makes more sense???? It perplexes me

Anyone seeing this should check out Breanna’s E!Wild AU

Something something queer every Link into oblivion!

[neverchecking]

Day 1: Macro- With Fierce Deity

Kicking it off hot~ This one was so fun to write and I'm rather happy with how it turned out!

Smut so Minors Do Not Interact. If I find out a minor has interacted with my blog, I will block you.. Thank you!

Smut CW: Size difference, Fierce being a BIG BOY, there is penetration, but I tried to keep it pretty gender neutral! Let me know if I missed anything or accidently gendered it and I'll fix it!

This is Day one of My Kinktober so be sure to come back and check out the other days! Friendly Reminder that all of my smut is tagged 'Cindersins' including this, but this will also be tagged as 'Cinder's happy halloween' along with the run of the mill smut tags.

Kinktober Masterlist <<< >>> Day 2

“There you go.” His voice rumbled in his chest, low and deep, rolling in dark purrs along your back. 

If there was one thing everyone knew about the deity behind you, it was that he, simply put, was big. An absolute unit of a being. Bringer of wars and harbinger of conflict. More blood than you could fathom had stained his fingers, drowning his soul until it had flickered from the once hopeful light to a fiery inferno of rage and hatred. He had sat upon a throne of bones and skulls, torn from the very enemies he laid to rest. 

Until he had met you.

You were a direct contrast to him. Soft and naive. A being so untainted by the remains of life and the cruel corners of it, you had no choice but to shine. To push back any shadows daring to marr your own soul. To remain as untouchable as you were untouched. To remain cleansed and pure. As if plucked right from the monastery's doorstep. An unwept tear shimmering in the moonlight. 

His precious jewel designed just for him. 

You had awed over every little thing he was capable of. Every tale of gore and horror spun about his capabilities had others regarding him much in the same way he did himself. Like a monster capable of snapping at any given point. But you? You never held any animosity or ill will towards him. No, you remained as open and caring as you always had. Asking in the sweetly unimpeachable tone for him to lean down, only for you to bestow upon him a crown of chain linked daisies and other flowers. Pleading with him to reach a fruit too high for your delicate hands to even brush and thanking him with a press of your lips to his cheeks. Even when crossing bogs and swamps, while you had been hesitant at first, you now happily climbed onto his shoulder, perched there like a little bird while he effortlessly carried you across. 

If you allowed him the privilege he’d be your chariot for as long as you desired. To feel the heat of your skin, with blood coursing through your veins, was something so startlingly beautiful to him. It was a complete contrast to the flash of heat he’d get when slashing through an enemy and their own blood would slick against his cheeks and jaw. Every part of you that made you alive was something he held near and dear. Counting your breaths while you slept and nearly panicking when you missed one or it was delayed by a mere half a second, hearing the pounding of your heart while you went on about what type of butterfly you saw that day or how many deer crossed the paths behind you. Even just the patter of your footsteps beside his, three of yours for every one of his, was such a reliable beat to him. 

Even the pulsing of your walls as you clung to him, whimpering out in either pain or overwhelmed lust as you continued letting your hips fall. He had expressed his worry for you, that he would be too big for someone of your stature, but you had brushed him off, calling him ‘Silly’ for even implying such a thing. He didn’t see the connection, as it wasn’t an attempt at being humorous, but allowed you to think that way. 

You had explained that it was all about muscle work. About relaxing them and stretching them, making them used to the intrusion before it happened. It just so happened that he had the fingers necessary to do it. You had taken three, which had pumped in and out of your twitchy little hole with great difficulty at first, before they were soon sliding in and out easily. Then you had become impatient, pushing his hand out and instead moving to straddle him. His cock bounced against your ass as you gently cupped his cheek. With your free hand you moved the head of his cock to prod against you, locking his lips with your own as you moved to sit down. It was a struggle with the same muscles that were so accommodating before now clenching, refusing him entry as you tried so desperately to force them to relax. When that didn’t work, he let the first praises slip past his tongue, which was so suddenly weak willed when pitted against your fiery determination.  

To his surprise it had worked. Inch by inch disappeared into you before you were sitting on his lap, panting in heavy breaths as you leaned into him. He rubbed your back with a heavy hand. 

“Guess you were right. It did fit.” 

[majorproblems77]

Sacred realm update! And We have LORE!

Hello!

We get the information on what that carving is! And I love it! Lore is my fave and I am just buzzing to get my teeth into this because oh man yes lore.

Alright, now for the important stuff! Sacred realm belongs to @zelda-the-sacred-realm, and all art from the comics belongs to the comic artist. I've got their permission to do these! I love the comic so much its so good and so well done!

The link to the update can be found here! You should go reblog it, it's great, give it some love, please? [but remember this is its own Zelda comic, so please tag it as such! <3]

Now, Get some snacks and a drink, and lets go!

Link is literally me, exactly my thoughts my man exactly my thoughts.

Oh? That's interesting! So my theroy on the last update was incorrect, i like this better come on then Time,

Leans forward - Tell me everything.

He calls him Birdbrain

I repeat

Time calls Sky birdbrain

Time calls Sky birdbrain i love it so much Oh my god these guys know each other from something 100% you wouldn't call someone who you've known for like 5 minutes that.

Also more innocent Cinamon roll link alert. This isn't a drill

Oooh cool spell! It appears to appear from his amulet.

Time also appears to embody an Ice/water element. A pure opposite/neutraliser of Fire.

You know I think I can see more why Sky and Time might not get on as much. there's friction between them And I see these elemental powers as not only their source of power but as a metaphorical representation of relationships.

Time dosent appear to like Time, and Fire dosent like water.

[This is another theory that I need more information about before I can talk about it more. But when we get it I shall share more.]

What a fascinating explanation. Ice is wack and really cool. But you know what Ice also does.

Hides.

And I think Ice, is used deliberately, Let me explain.

So When I think of Ice I think of two things, small crystals and Icebergs. Small Ice does something very specific, but is also VERY detailed.

[I have a science background so I won't go into too much detail, but I will say, the structure of ice, Is VERY pretty. Just think about a snowflake, they are just ice crystals.]

Then on the opposite end, you have these MASSIVE structures of ice which are even larger under the sea. This information we have here to me could just be that initial bit we can see. As Time says It has "Numerous facets, each different from the others."

Time even says that what we have on this wall, are only the main ones.

Something to think about.

Do you mean like that realm covered in water where you fight Demise in Skyward Sword? That's the vibe I get from this.

Maybe when Sky feels better we should speak to him about this?

So we all can see fierce deity here. And that other guy, now that I think about it looks an awful lot like someone we know, no?

He looks like the Black knight

I went looking for information on the black knight and found this page (black knight information from the artist)

So like The black knight and Fierce Deity are brothers?

Cause if I've understood that right, and that's correct. This changes A lot of what happens next. And we are going to need Time and Sky to get along to be able to fight it. You know, As they've both fought gods. And are the most experienced to do so.

Is that where our big bad from RIGHT back at the start of the comic lives. It would certainly make sense.

Have I ever mentioned how much I like Hylia's and Fierce Deity designs in this AU cause I love it.

Well we know what happens to Fierce, at least at the moment we can assume he's safely secured inside the deity mask that Time carries.

Hello not friend

who are you? what are you doing

Did Fierce betray this mystery figure, or did this mystery figure betray Fierce? I have so many More questions!

Why are you laughing?!

Oh man

I hope you enjoyed my rambling! And that you have as many questions as I do because I have so so so so many questions about this new character.

Hope you have a good day! :D

[musical-chan]

Oceanis and his sister lore, yes please, I need more

Well hello! Deity reference pictures for you!

Oceanis and Oceana/Thalassa are the only identical twins of the old deities! They're still separate people; none of the deities have the same marks as the other but the twins come the closest. (Up until Link copied his dad's marks exactly but even that is changing) Their hair actually shifts colours a lot so while in the reference pictures they look different, they can have identical hair if they wish.

Both of them have a fairly standard deity body type though they tend to lean a little androgynous. They do define as their particular gender choices but they could potentially pass off as the other if they wanted to and, in fact, have done this in the past to trick their Siblings. Their armor is the standard deity armor you see in the Fierce Deity design, their symbols even being identical because their domains are the same. Both wear the long, flowing pants and blue tunics under silver armor with Nayru's symbol on one side, patterned ocean waves on the other. Though when Oceanis got his third Goddess marks, his shifted to the triangle that is seen on Nocturne's.

Oceanis: Protector of the Eastern Oceans and the Watery Depths Alternate Names: Oceanus, Tideus, Poseidon,  Nauticus, Seaborn Weapon: Huge 2-handed axe made from a dark blue metal; the accents on it look quite a bit like ice. His weapon spirit is named Ays. (sort of sounds like saying Abyss without the 'b')

Oceanis absolutely has whatever a deity version of ADHD is; he bounces from one thing to another at a moment's notice, can have a hard time focusing on something unless he is hyper focused and seems to have an endless amount of energy. Despite this, in more recent centuries he has taken on the job of teaching new deities how to actually be gods and goddesses and he is very good at it. He is an excellent shapeshifter and does so frequently.

Oceans/Thalassa: Protector of the Western Oceans and the Warm Shallows Alternate Names: Oceana, Oceania, Leucothea,Thalassa, Sedna, Sassuma Arnaa, Nanshe, Ahurani Weapons: A one-handed sword with a shell-like hilt and a trident. Both weapons look as if water moves under the surface and are a lighter blue than that of Oceanis' axe. Cor is the sword spirit's name and Ral is the trident's

Thalassa was the last name the deity was known by before she and Oceanis merged. Within Oceanis' body, she is mostly known as Sister or the Protector of the Western Oceans. Some of the deities still remember her former name but without anyone to worship and name her, she had defaulted back to her original titles. She was the mischievous one and loved travelling far from to spend time with her Siblings but never shirked her duties to protect the warmer oceans. She only ever had the blue Goddess marks but should she still have her own body today, she would most likely mirror the ones that Oceanis has in a similar way.

She has been a part of Oceanis since the time of the Chosen Hero and while she spends most of her time in a form of meditative sleep, she keeps on eye on her Brother and protects him from a sorrow that might have otherwise consumed him. Though her cold tolerance is not quite as good as Oceanis', she was close friends with Warm Waters and Hebra.

As always, I use this picrew for my OC creation needs!

[jacob-cohn-art-and-projects]

Historically inspired darknut! This drawing was intended to just be a quick little doodle as a bit of a brain reset while working on a fierce deity drawing but it ended up being a lot more complex to render than I expected, even still there's some details I didn't include that I'd like to so I'll likely come back to this one at some point. For the design I wanted to incorporate elements from all iterations of darknuts. Most of the armor is inspired by twilight princess's depiction though I included the cape as a nod to the original legend of zelda as well as the knight's crest from windwaker which I adapted into a 14th century inspired plaque belt! Both the sword and the helmet I went my own route for, the sword being inspired by both the Dacian Falx as well as some of the two handed falchions depicted in the Maciejowskie Bible, overall going for a spiky "bad guy" look (or to @phoenix-arts7 's eye a cheese knife XD, can't unsee that). The helmet is based on a European "frogmouth" jousting helmet which though not being particularly practical for foot combat gives a really cool and intimidating dehumanizing effect that I always felt darknut designs were trying to achieve! Hope y'all enjoy!

[demonslayedher]

Things that went through my head while watching this episode: --Herein lies the biggest irony about Hantengu: His transformation into something reminiscent of a Buddhist deity; the sort of fierce and menacing kind that uses violence for justice. Zouhakuten is as convinced of his own righteousness as much as Hantengu is convinced of his own self-pity, and this is what Tanjiro is unable to stomach about him. Tanjiro cares about the strong defending the weak, so it's not just all the lives Hantengu has stolen, it's his blasphemy that makes him hate him.

--In a Kimetsu Kindergarten AU, I want to see Tanjiro and Rui and Zouhakuten all get into schoolyard arguments all the time.

--For as much as I've been appreciating the irony of Hantengu this time around, I do not consider myself well-versed enough in Buddhist iconography to do any detailed analysis of Zouhakuten's character design and name (yet), but suffice to this: The tengu references in Ki-Do-Ai-Raku's designs also borrow from the attire used in practicing Shugendo, because tengu are often depicted as and associated with Shugendo practitioners. Shugendo is a mountain ascetic religion with multiple influences, including Buddhist, and Zouhakuten looks like the sort of deity Shugendo practitioners might encounter in the mountains.

--But if anyone in this episode lives up to the Shugendo ideal, it is Haganezuka. That Taisho Secret with his extreme physical and spiritual preparation? That's what I mean, right there. That hyperfocus, though? If I were to diagnose one character in this series as neurodivergent, it is Haganezuka-san, and that maybe be part of where he gets his hyperfocus. Still, it's built into the plot that he prepared to put his life on the line for this endeavor, so I also give him credit for having also practiced spiritual mastery! For when it counts, anyway. Swords are the only time when it counts.

--Muichiro--both physically and spiritually-- was very vividly saved by Kotetsu's actions, but Haganezuka also deserves credit for having been the perfect person to exploit Gyokko's weakness--his pride as an artist. (You get a 'you tried' gold star, Kanamori-san--for now, because the sword you smithed saves the day later. Truly, everyone's actions are important!).

--Might I just say--OWWWW, Kotetsu's solar plexus might not have been punctured, but that's gotta hurt. And speaking of getting punctured, MUICHIRO FELL FLAT ON THOSE NEEDLES HE STILL HAD STUCK TO THE FROM OF HIM, OW OW OW OW OW OW OW

--The fact that Rengoku-san's tsuba was what saved Kotetsu is another why reason I really, really wanna see Senjuro and Kotetsu become penpals

--I like that even though Tanjiro and Mr. Tokito have a resemblance, Mr. Tokito sounds like a dad. But Tanjiro has so many bags around his eyes in comparison--Mr. Tokito is so much better rested! I guess he's resting in peace.

--I love this bitter side of Muichiro. It's not simply that he picked up a sharp tongue from Yuichiro, but instead, a utilitarian outlook on the world that makes him quick to judge others--or himself--as incapable. Mr. Tokito's words really were such gentle and chiding guidance. I wonder what Yuichiro's reaction to their dad was if he ever tried to have a similar teaching moment with him?

--Jumping back to the first half of this episode, making Tanjiro and Genya barely able to stand under the pressure of Zouhakuten is, well, sort of a convenient way of portraying "look he is powerful" and "now we have the hero converse with a demon." It's not quite as memorable as other times this happens in the series, but it is a signature part of KnY for this to happen.

--Another big difference between Tanjiro and Genya, at least in displaying their potential as Pillars (which Genya agonizingly recognized in the previous episode that he doesn't possess), is that while Genya spend a lot of time thinking "WTF!? W... T... F?!? WTF!!! WTFWTFWTFWTF!!!" Tanjiro is already back to rolling with the new situation. The fact that Tanjiro wasn't killed instantly by those wooden serpents was because he possessed the peace of mind to grab on and use his chances and move around to where there were pockets of safety. If Genya were in that position, he'd probably just take the hit and then flop around until his body regenerates. Likewise, Tanjiro's ability to sense unique demons, their locations, and how powerful they are is something he has continually developed, so he had a general idea how Zouhakuten came to be, but Genya needed to witness it. Again, like started in the last episode, Genya deserves a lot of credit for how hard he's worked and how much more he's able to do than just munch. Even in demon mode here, he mostly uses demon mode for the regenerative ability, and for offense he still reloads his gun and holds onto his broken blade.

--Nezuko, girl, you too. Just charging in and sacrificing limbs without a thought. Girl, you have gotten too used to this freaky regenerative speed of yours and the whole Corp sure is lucky most demons never achieve that.

--Again, I'm not a shipper, but I am tickled by the idea of reframing things with a Genya x Aizetsu angle (probably just one-sided infatuation, or even that they are exes but Aizetsu is still in love). After all, Genya knows Aizetsu's name, but didn't use the names of the other demons! Ohohoho! That sure adds more meaning to Genya witnessing Aizetsu's final moments of terror! (For the record, I do not see any of this in canon; it is simply funny.)

[dailydemonspotlight]

I know you've done Shiva in the past, so I was wondering if you could do Parvati as well? She's endlessly fascinating, and I think it would be awesome to see you cover her in a future post

Parvati - Day 35 (Request)

Race: Megami

Alignment: Light-Neutral

May 9th, 2024

Hinduism is one of the most sprawling religions out there- an interconnecting web of gods and tales, stories about figures whose worship still follows them today. It's an endlessly fascinating subject, one which is still the subject of scholarly debate and religion, but in this maze of subjects there lays a god or two that are beloved in spite of the fact they aren't one of the 'Big Three,' so to speak. One of these deities is our demon of the day, the Hindu goddess of love, marriage, and devotion, Parvati.

Boasting one of my favorite designs in the series as well as some fascinating folklore, Parvati is a figure important in name and stature- as goddess of love and beauty, she stands for all kinds of love, whether it be romantic, platonic, or familial- she's a figure representing the bonds that tie most humans together. Due to this, she's popular, to say the least, found extensively throughout ancient Indian folklore and literature. She also stands as a very important figure in the mythos, being both one of the wives of Shiva as well as birthing Ganesha and Skanda, two other very important figures.

However, how she came about is a story just as interesting as the sum of its parts, a story involving... another demon in the series! Hooray! I won't recant it here to let that other demon, Sati, get her own spotlight, but in effect, Parvati is the reincarnation of the goddess born as a human. Upon Sati immolating herself in prayer to be reborn as a goddess worthy of consorting with Shiva, she would be reborn as Parvati, the daughter of Himalayas, who immediately found herself overcome with the urge to seek out Shiva yet again. During a bit of (literal) soul searching, the gods realized that they needed yet more of Shiva's offspring to help battle the monsters who began invading the world- monsters like Pisacha, Preta, or Rakshasa began to run rampant, causing untold mayhem- and so, in order to stoke the flames of Shiva's suppressed desire, they ended up coming to the difficult decision to sacrifice the then-god of love, Kama, to inspire Shiva.

Now feeling a deep and unsanctioned lust, Shiva began to search out another partner of his own and, eventually, had reunited with Parvati, now a proper goddess in her own right instead of the half-human Sati. Due to the sacrifice of Kama, the gods decided to elect Parvati as the new patron of love and desire, as well as letting her and Shiva wed. Later down the line, the two, ahem, procreated, giving birth to 6 children at first... who were all fused together soon after, forming Kartikeya (hilariously referenced in SMT IV with the following line)

"So mother sent you here... I thought she might have. Still, I don't want to go back! Never! Why...? ...Because I'm scared. Yeah, that's right. I'm scared of my mother. Well, Mother's very kind, but... It's just that... She's just way too out there! Like she doesn't belong in this Universe! I used to be six kids! But Mother hugged us all together, and we got merged into one person. Who has that kind of power!? That's just not right! Look... Once, she accidentally cut off somebody's head, and then she just replaced it with an elephant's head. My entire family is messed up!"

Later on, they also gave birth to the elephant-headed Ganesha, as well as discovering their ability to effectively fusion-dance their way into a new form, that being the intersex Ardha. Lastly, and most interestingly, Parvati isn't just the goddess of all things sweet and sappy- no, she's fully capable of demon slaying too. One of her aspects is the fierce, demon battling goddess of table-turning, the fearless and passionate Durga, who also has an even more fearsome aspect of herself, the infamously deadly Kali, goddess of death and time's passage. Yes, this woman is technically the same as Kali. That Kali. I was shocked too.

There's so much more to dig into with Parvati, given the interlocking threads of Hinduism, but I'll have to call it off here so any later demon spotlights can have their time in the sun. Overall, I love Parvati. A lot. Her design is beautiful and fascinating and she has an incredibly interesting backstory- but how is she depicted in SMT? It's... complicated, but I love it regardless. The design in the megaten series is rather faithful, depicting her in a Hindu headdress and decorated with vibrant pinks and sandy gold, all the while holding a flower, a representation of the love that Parvati stands for. The flowers coming out of the headdress also play into this theme, as well as giving her a more recognizable silhouette outside of a humanoid form. I also, honestly, just find her design really pretty looking- the pinks, golds, and whites all come together to make a gorgeous collage of colors combined with a gentle, nurturing expression. Her outfit also just looks really neat. In Nocturne, she also evolves from Sati, a great reference to the stories surrounding the self-immolating woman.

In gameplay, while she's not the strongest in terms of attacks, she serves as a powerful healer in most games in the series, typically learning both healing skills, status inflicting skills, and buffing skills through level-up. She also can learn some very powerful magical attacks, though most of the time she should be specced more for support if anything. Overall, Parvati is a wonderfully depicted demon with fascinating folklore that is one of my favorites in the series, and absolutely deserves the demon spotlight.

[watatsumiis]

hey! ty for liking my tsaritsa so much!!! i'd love to hear more of your thoughts on her, if there are any!

omg of course, she's absolutely stunning, your art style does her so much justice (and honestly is just an awesome gorgeous style in general!!) and tbh your design is how I picture her in my head now !!

I have a lot of thoughts and ideas about the Tsaritsa, a lot of them are just kind of ~vibe~ based and hard to convey, but i'll toss them beneath the cut!

I really like the theory that her 'ideal' is love, like it's such a fun and interesting concept

like, to begin with i imagine she was a very kind deity, not in a familiar way, but in a general sort of .. benevolent to her subjects and open to those that sought an audience with her. Not exactly 'warm', but not entirely shutting them out either

though i imagine that sort of hollowed out as time wore on and she realised that even being an actual deity didn't give her the power she needed to be able to make any real tangible changes to things or help those who were doomed from the start (which is probably a big part of why shes so anti-celestia or whatever)

despite her despair and attitude towards romantic love sort of withering, she places a heavy emphasis on familial love (including found family) and on forming bonds that will stand the test of toil and time

she comes off very aloof, especially to those beneath her, and will actively try to avoid being around others if she can help it. She dislikes forming close attachments

this isnt to mean that she doesn't care. she just cares so much that the only way she can deal with it is by distancing herself, or else she's just setting herself up for repeated heartbreak when her loved ones inevitably die.

the exception to this ? pierro.

pierro is cursed with undeath, and even before that he was someone with a fiercely loyal (and stubborn) streak.

they both told themselves theyd never allow themselves to become attached to someone else after all the losses theyd been through, but in making this pact alongside one another they basically sealed their own fate

there are no simple words for the kind of intertwined, codependent, epic-spanning love-hate they have for one another.

their bond was one forged in the fires of loss and hardened by the ice of grief. despite what they both may say, they're in it for the long haul. Tsaritsa has slowly become accustomed to this idea. Pierro has not and will still vehemently deny it.

i guess to really shave it down id call it a queerplatonic relationship. something unholy and gorgeous. two flowers holding onto a cliffside by the tips of their roots and growing around one another.

the second 'exception' is columbina. i imagine she's like a weird nibling to the tsaritsa. she was picked to be amongst the harbingers because of her ability to light up any room she's in (i imagine tsaritsa secretly has a nickname for her that's somewhere along the lines of 'songbird' because of her voice ngl)

outside of this, the tsaritsa is cool and aloof and works very hard to maintain her composure, especially when under scrutiny. she is brilliant at keeping this facade in place.

until she's no longer in the public gaze, that is.

i like to think she's a tiny bit of a goofball, she has a soft spot for 'dad jokes' that make pierro roll his eyes and rub his temples, and she quite enjoys wine (im sorry but if she were a facebook mom her page would be minion memes and posts talking about how its wine o-clock)

she also rather enjoys slapstick humour - there are a few dottore clones running around who have perfected it enough so that she has to cover her mouth with a hand to stop her subjects from seeing the way her lips twitch upwards as she holds back her laughter

she's also really, really petty. not that she'd ever do anything about it, but more than once pierro has found himself in her chambers late at night, watching as she paces back and forth, her sixth glass of wine in hand, and complains about how that 'brick-brained geo archon just won't sign the damn contract! isn't that his entire shtick?!'

she also has a soft spot for kids, or people who have a youthful energy about them. it reminds her that maybe not all is bad in the world, and that she's going to change it for the better for their sake.

I like to think she's extremely good at various sports - i love the idea featured on the asker's blog about her having an elk instead of a horse. that's so cool and lives in my brain rent free and forever tbh. her and pierro on their steeds racing through a snowy forest on a rare free afternoon

i think she would've once been the type to enjoy prosey, flowery words, long poems, romantic tales of star-crossed lovers, that kind of thing. she read a lot and even wrote some. not any more though.

she has a very stern and strict air about her and won't hesitate to play into that if she feels like she needs to, but honestly she's got a good sense of humour on her. things that pierro scolds the other harbingers and such for are often things that she secretly finds really funny

though ALSO she's a stickler for good manners. i like to think that has extended to the snezhnayans , who are, when dealing with those outside of their immediate familial circles, are super duper polite (even if their tones may come off as abrupt). there's also a very heavily laid-on vibe of 'respect your elders' in snezhnaya.

she has such motherly vibes, but in a really standoffish way. she wont tell someone directly that she cares about them or what happens to them, but it'll be rerouted through like three other people like a game of telephone. like, yeah, that one person she caught shivering while on guard is gonna get a nice new pair of gloves but it will be from an anonymous donor (or just shoved into their hands by pierro with an annoyed grunt)

honestly now ive started im kind of finding it hard to stop but i just adore the tsaritsa so much and i love love love how you draw her so much, she's just so amazing and feels so like.. real, y'know? thank you so much for this ask, i really enjoyed rambling and thinking about the tsaritsa some more. i think your design and ideas should be canon actually

[writerwithbrainrot]

Chapter Four: Nine Allies

Waking up in a strange camp alone, [Reader] Meets 9 familiar faces.

Warnings: Mentions of injuries, swearing,

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Warmth. That's the first thing that [Reader] noticed when they slowly regained conscious. But the warmth was only on one side. The other was cold, and a little damp even. They opened their eyes, and winced.

The sun was out, ans blinding them. and [Reader] had a throbbibg headache. causing them to hold their head in pain. feeling bandages instead of their bandana. They slowly sat up and allowed their eyes to adjust before looking around.

It was obviously a camp. The fair was out yet still giving warmth and things were littered around. Bags full of curious items with designs of travelers on them were in their own spots with some a little different than others. However, one bag caught their eyes.

"Is that?" [Reader] asked themselves, approaching a familiar mask. . . "Can't be. God, everything is so- unreal!" They exclaimed, picking up the Fierce Deity mask into their hands. The wood felt heavier than steel, as of [Reader]'s very being knew the weight this mask had-

"If it is the real mask." They huffed suddenly. "From what I've been through. I think this may be the real deal. The DarkHammer, the Kargarocs. . .Only one was ever made, and given to Link in Majora's Mask." They gasped, standing up straight in realization. "The Kargarocs!" [Reader] exclaimed, looking around in fear, holding the mask close to their chest in a pain. "What if this is an enemy camp?! What if I'm being watched?!"

A sound pulled their attention to the forest where they saw a very dirty person, with brown hair and a a green tunic and brown underclothes. He looked alarmed. covered in dirt and a few cuts. "Hey-"

[Reader], in panic, grabbed the closest thing to them, a rod with a red orb atop it. "Stay back!" They exclaimed as the guy jumped back and grabbed his sword hilt when [Reader] pointed the rod at him, a look of alarm on his features as it started to make sounds and little rods started to float around it. "I've got a rod and I'm not afraid to wack ya like a piñata!"

"Woah woah woah!" The man? boy? said in alarm, both hands now up in surrender. "I'm not your enemy! I swear! We'"

"Theres more?!" [Reader] exclaimed in total panic, swinging it around, looking for enemies making the person look more panicked "Oh god oh god!"

"We saved you from the Kargarocs!" he exclaimed to [Reader], who turned back to him. Their attention turned onto the boy, he pulled his sword out and tossed it near [Reader]'s feet. "See? My weapon. I'm unarmed. I promise. I'm not your enemy."

Silence lingered for what felt like an eternity before [Reader] slowly lowered the rod, allowing the boy to approch, "I'm gonna take this." he said gently, taking the rod from [Reader], "Can't have you setting everything on fire." he said.

[Reader] looked alarmed again. "Fire?!" they exclaimed. "That's a fire producing rod?! I could have burnt the forest down?!"

The boy placed the rod, now deactivated, down and took his sword back, making sure to show no intent on attacking. Yet [Reader] was still in shock. They didn't want to see it, see a dead forest with little color, dull like dust, drained of anything. They felt guilty, a part of them didn't want to think of their dying world while they were surrounded such lush colors, trees full of vibrant green and grass, fruit growing full of goodness on trees, blue skys full of birds.

A hand waved in front of [Reader]'s face, snapping them out of their thoughts. "Hey, you had a pretty bad head wound when Twilight caught you." he said, helping [Reader] sit down.

"Twilight?" [Reader] asked, confused, immediately thinking of Twilight princess. The boy gave a nervous grin, handing [Reader] a glass bottle of water, to which they started to drink suddenly realizing how thirsty they were.

"Oh, right, you don't know." he cleared his throat. "I'm Link, but the others call me Hyrule."

[Reader] choked on their water, some of it being spat out to the side. The boy- Link. or Hyrule- looked alarmed again, even more so when [Reader] stood, grabbing his hands and stared in his eyes with stars in their own. "Link?! are you serious?! you're link?! Oh my God! Are you being real!? Are you real?! like Link as in the hero?! That Link?!" The sudden chance in attitude threw Hyrule off guard, the sudden closeness and excitement making him go red in embarrassment. not entirely sure what to do

"I have been looking up to you since I was a child! Holy shit! I can't believe it! You're here in the flesh! Am I high?! Oh I hope I'm not high-"

"What's happening?" another voice came, snapping [Reader] out of their excitement as they backed up, looking over where Hyrule was, who was still red. A tall, blond man in armour stood with a scarf blue as water, dirt on his clothing and some on his face, standing next to a pair of small boys, one with blond hair that looked as bright as the sun and a blue shirt and a sword on his back and the other one with his tunic in four different colors.

It took everything within [Reader] not to fan girl, eyes wide seeing them as the tall one looked from Hyrule to [Reader]. "You're awake, that's a relief. Traveler, are they alright-" He paused, seeing how flustered Hyrule was "Traveler? Are you alright?"

"Hello!" The one with sun shine hair said, already over to [Reader]. "I'm Link, but my friends here call me Wind. Why are you grey?"

[Reader]'s face dropped to annoyed "It's a skin condition." they said, sounding irritated. Wind looked guilty, seeing the change of emotion of [Reader].

"You said something about knowing me." Hyrule said suddenly standing. [Reader] looked over, face turning with embarrassment. Wind and the other two looked over. "Are you from Hyrule? You don't look like someone I've seen before."

"They know you?" The tallest of the ones currently in the camp asked. Hyrule nodded, "Yea. They thought I was an enemy at first but then started to. . . uh. . ."

'I can't tell them the truth.' [Reader] thought. 'I mean, they'd think I was an enemy or some kind of a psycho if I just said "you're from a video game in my world" and how I got here!' They thought to themselves, biting their lip.

"I'm not from Hyrule." They said, making Hyrule and the other one look at them. [Reader] gulped. "I'm from [home]." They said, wanting to keep it a bit vague.

"You're not?" the shortest one asked. "But Legend found a book on your person. It had drawings of places some of us have been too. Why and how?" he asked. [Reader] stiffened a bit.

"uuuh." They started, trying to not look suspicious "I'm a historian." they stated "I. . . if he's-" [Reader] pointed to link "Link, then I don't know how to say this. . ."

Shortie tilted his head "Say what?" he asked, sounding suspicious. "

[Reader] gulped. "Hyrule. . . Isn't around anymore." They straightened up, seeing All four of the men pale and look confused. Clearing their throat, [Reader] continued. "Uuh. I've been to a place that clearly isn't my home. A tall mountain covered in ice and snow, had my spine shattered, got healed in a 'Castle Town' then kidnapped by Kargarocs, which dont excsis- are extinct. There is some much more. . . life everywhere than my home. From what I've peiced together. . I'm in the past. I. . ." They swallowed again "In my time. . . Hyrule doesn't exist. Not anymore."

The tallest one dropped the bag in his hand. all looking quite distraught, the one who looked least upset was Wind. 'If I remember right, Hyrule was already underwater, this doesn't effect him much I don't think.'

"You can't be serious!" the tall one yelled, grabbing [Reader's] shoulders hard, making them jump, a broken look in his eyes that scared [Reader]. Hyrule pulled him off, despite being a pale himself.

Guilt welled up in [Reader]'s stomach. they regretted saying that. Seeing them all in shock. . .

Silence encased the group, before the shortest one spoke. "Um . . . I'm Link. But call me Four."

"Are you all Link?" [Reader] asked. Four nodded. 'he must be from Four swords and Minish cap.' they thought to themselves.

"We gave ourselves different names to not cause confusion." Four explained. "That's Warriors." He said, pointing to the still slightly shaken Link- Warriors. "And you've met Wind and Hyrule." Wind waved with a grin.

[Reader] paused "Are there more of you?" they asked "This mask doesn't belong to you, I'm assuming. There's far more things than you can carry here too." They said, and Four nodded. Warriors perked up hearing what [Reader] said.

"Mask?" He asked, and [Reader] raised the Feirce Deity mask. He winced "Put that back. Time would be pissed if he saw that on you."

"Time?" [Reader] asked, moving and placing the God mask back where they grabbed it. "Is that another Link?"

"He's our leader, in a sense." Warriors said, and Four nodded. Hyrule looked at the forest, now all cleaned and patched up. "They should have returned by now. . . Did they get lost?"

"We should probably get a fire started." Four stated "So Wild can make food."

Wind stood up. "I'll get some wood!" he said. [Reader] stood up aswell, making Hyrule look up, confused. [Reader] spoke. "I'll help. It's the least I can do to help. Since you helped me from death and stopped me from setting the forest ablaze."

He smiled. "You don't have to."

"I want to." [Reader] said. "I'll be fine. Besides, I wanna see the forest." Hyrule nodded as he started to move stuff in his bag.

The forest was more beautiful than any of the pictures she'd ever seen. Holding an axe, [Reader] couldn't help looking at everything in awe. Wind spoke up.

"Are you amazed too?" He asked, making [Reader] look down at him. "In my time, it was nothing but small islands, not many forests except for the Forest Haven and Forbbiden woods. The first time I came into the other's forests, I was blown away, I still am!"

"I still do technically have forests." [Reader] said, making Wind raise a brow. "Poor excuses. There are barely even forests in my time now, and the ones that are protected by law? They're shadows of what they used to be, drained of color and life. Like someone stuck thin twigs in dryed soil."

"That doesn't sound good." Wind said, concerned.

"It isn't." [Reader] said "My world, to put it simply, is dying. But it's too depressing to think about. So I won't tell you about it." They said, making Wind frown.

The two spoke more as they collected woods, [Reader] surprising Wind by telling him about facts about his time, laughing at his surpise.

When they returned with good woods. the rest of the group was there, getting patched up by Hyrule and others trying to relax a bit. All heads turned when Wind yelled to the group.

Warriors took the woods from [Reader] as one with brown- dirty blond hair approched, and [Reader] Recognized him as the hero of Twilight. "Are you okay? You took a pretty nasty fall."

"I'm assuming I fell?" [Reader] said, and he nodded, holding his hand out.

"I'm Link, but call me Twilight. Or Rancher." [Reader] nodded, shaking his hand. "I'm [Reader]" Reader said.

"Hyrule told us what you told the others earlier." One with familiar face markings and a scar on his face approched. [Reader] was taken aback by how mature and old the hero of time had become. "Is it true? About Hyrule."

[Reader] looked down, guilt welling up. Time sighed "I see. Then what has become of your time?"

"Fire, pollution, war, chaos. The normal." [Reader] said in dismay, before holding their hand out "I'm assuming Hyrule told you my name? I'm [Reader], it's an honor to meet you."

"Ah, I'd like to ask some questions. If I may." He said "I am Time. And thank you for assisting with the fire."

[Reader] nodded, turning and watching the hero of the wild and the chosen hero try and start the fire. They walked to their bag and rummaged a bit, catching Hyrule's and the Link with a red tunic attention. [Reader] pulled out a lighter and walked over to the two struggling with the fire. "Here." they said, as they squat down and flicked it to life, making the boy from the sky gasp at the fire created at the little device and the one in blue look interested as the wood cause ablaze.

" What is that?" The link with the sailcloth ask, [Reader] smiled at his curiosity. "A lighter. It creates fire. Can't you guys use magic?"

"Some of us can, and they're low on magic after a nasty fight." the other link said.

"So. . . any names? Other than Link?" [Reader] asked.

"I'm Sky." Sky said, giving a kind smile and the other one gave a cheerful. toothy grin. "I'm Wild."

"I'm [Reader.]" They said, turning to see the one in the red tunic, Glaring at them.

"That's Legend." Wild said. "Hes grumpy when he meets new people." he said, laughing a bit.

"I can tell." [Reader] said with a chuckle, before seeing Time beckoning for them to sit down. They obliged, sitting down, catching the groups attention.

"Do you have any idea how you got here?" Time asked, and [Reader] nodded.

"It's quite a long story, I think. But It's hard to believe in all honesty. I'm still trying to come to terms with everything myself. . . " [Reader] admitted, looking down. Four patted their shoulder, and Time spoke up. "We have time. Do indulge us."

[Reader] inhaled, and began to retel the story. "I'm a historian. My home is in the middle of a war, and it's causing a lot of damage to my world. It's making the already global crisis worse, there's no meat anymore, grass is dead and life is barely hanging on by a threat, and the people are wasting what little natural resources we have left. That's where I and my fellow colleagues come in. In my home's past, a thing called the Waterworks was created to heat the capital city and palace and its suspected weapons were made down there. My team and I, we got clearance to research it, up close and personal, to find a way to create clean energy to try and stop the use of fuels and stuff. Well. from what I found, it may have been used for more than what we believed."

[Reader] pulled out their camcorder and opened it, making the group look curiously at it as [Reader] turned the screen part to them. Time leaned in to see the place holder made of copper with plug ins.

"Well, as me and two others- Marco and Serena are their names- were examining this placeholder, Marco saw what we thought was a child in black running away. I chased after him, and found myself in I believe a main control room, and I noticed that he- one, wasn't a child and two, was entirely dark. with peirceing red eyes, like a shadow."

This made the nine links stiffen, all familiar with dark link.

[Reader] rummaged in their bag and pulled out the device they grabbed from him in the Waterworks. "He was after this. I snagged it from him and fell through a portal and woke up in a mountain and got attacked by-" they stopped, grabbing their notebook and flipping through and showed them the page with darkhammer on it "This and ran out. and got my spine broken. I passed out in the snow and woke up in a nice woman's home who healed me. I was informed of a person who had something similar happen to him who was in Kakariko and was traveling there when I got kidnapped by those Kargarocs. Then I woke up here. . ."

Twilight took the book from [Reader] and looked at it, confused. "I deafeted this in snowpeak ruins. . . why was it back?"

"Perhaps the bloodmoon is now effecting all eras of Hyrule." Wild suggested. "With everything going on."

"The shadow brought you here?" Four asked. [Reader] frowned. "The what?"

"The shadow." Time reaffirmed. "It's what brought us together as well. Are you perhaps a hero?"

[Reader] snorted. "Hero? Please. Heros have been dead in my home since. . . since forever. And I've been at the docters more than I have been outside. I can't be a 'hero'."

"I think you're a hero." Four said making [Reader] paused, looking at him. "I mean, it sounds like you're Era is on the brink of collapse. You've volunteered to explore an area that is most likely a danger now, all for the sake of saving others. I think that's a heroic act. And whatever that-" he pointed to the starbge device- "is, the shadow clearly wanted it. And you prevented it from falling into its hands. I think you did a heroic act."

[Reader] smiled at the kind words. "Thank you."

Time stood up. "Whatever your situation is, you're clearly in need of help. You can stay with us until we can get you someone safe." [Reader] stood with a smile.

"You mean it?"

Time nodded. "Yes. I mean it."

[Reader] smiled, looking at the other faces with glee, excitement rushing in their veins. With no idea what fate had in store for them . . .

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Omg- finally! Didn't mean to take so long with this just had a lot on my plate. Hope you enjoyed this! Have a nice day/night!