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midnightwind · 16 days ago

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you guys like me going off on random DA tangents and musings, right?? because I've been awake too long so you're getting another one

I have been sat here trying to figure out Why Lucanis' prison looks like a bunch of ice and why it was so far away from the "lab" settings for a while now. (arguably two rooms fit this description, the one where Lucanis tells you about Zara and the one right outside his phylactery room) Like, even without that bridge being broken, it's in such a bizarre corner of the Ossuary. And I mean, it wouldn't really matter with a normal prisoner, but Lucanis was a notorious Crow and mage killer on top of that, plus he was Zara's special little guy to fuck with. You would not want to take him for a long walk to experience the worst shit on earth every few days. Maybe it's close enough to the little room where he mentions Zara and maybe she wanted him close to the door so she didn't have to go far to torture him, but again, leaving such a challenging subject close to the exit seems like a bad choice. You want him to have to get through so many guys and doors before escaping so you have time to take him down.

This also ignores the magic required to leave, but they're not clear on what that is and not all the Venatori are mages so there's gotta be a mundane way out he could snatch off a guard. I digress, the whole ice cage and far off room doesn't make sense. But we know they were shipping demons to Zara. (I'm pretty sure the few demons you confront in Minrathous were Zara's little pets set loose so we can assume she wanted them in the capital for the eventual Venatori coup on the crown) If Zara was about to be stuck in Minrathous for the foreseeable future, setting things into motion for Elgar'nan, I could see her wanting her pet Crow at her side. Especially if you consider the initial idea for Lucanis: he was going to be a mind controlled murder puppet before you break him out.

Sure, Spite didn't crack open his ribcage and crawl out like some new horror, but having a demon in Lucanis lets her control him via the phylactery if not just outright with her blood magic. Maybe his will was too strong for mundane control, but the phylactery works. We know it works based off of Lucanis' dialogue about it. So we know she had a surefire way to keep him under control. (There's a whole other post exploring the amount of dead Venatori and the fact that Lucanis still has his leathers and weapons [which would make sense if he was Zara's murder puppet, but alas] and whether Lucanis recently made a break for it or if the loose demons/spirits/undead killed them all) Maybe he kept his leathers because Zara wanted him presentable upon delivery, I don't know.

But I do think he was being prepped to move. The Ossuary is falling apart, Zara is pulling all the best results, they're losing personnel and servants without being given more; Zara was clearly moving on from that location. But she wanted her little Antivan prize. He's too dangerous to move normally, a Crow is likely to escape if given an inch especially a skilled one like Lucanis, so they need to lock him down somehow. Ropes and chains aren't reliable, not with a Crow, but he's not a mage. You can use magic. You can literally put him on ice. I think they were packaging him up in an ice cube and doing it next(ish) to the door so they could more easily move him. I think Zara was going to take him and his phylactery to Minrathous and use him to cause some absolutely ruthless mayhem in the city before her cult took it over.

I think Rook showing up weakened the spell being cast just enough for Lucanis and Spite to break out, and I think it saved a whole lot of lives.

#I had to scroll so far back in a group chat for that screenshot because 1) I think it's funny and 2) it's what made me think of this #like the Ossuary makes very little sense layout wise for what they claim it is #even as repurposed ruins they really just assigned random rooms for stuff #they don't even have that many cells! it should have been far more harrowing imo #but I may be biased here #anyways I continue to scramble for breadcrumbs about Zara and Lucanis #she could also have just wanted him as a trophy and that was more like crystal and not ice #which means he probably wasn't going to survive that whole thing lol #why she remained in Treviso after the breakout- I'm not sure #maybe she just wanted to see Illario squirm lol #or maybe she was going to send Lucanis ahead while she tidied up in Antiva #I'm not really sure what else she was doing in the city since we don't get much on her #things I've been thinking about while writing the fic etc etc #lucanis dellamorte #lucanis #yeah I am tagging it be subjected to my ramblings #Dragon Age #Dragon Age Veilguard #DAV #DAV Posting

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withthewindinherfootsteps · 4 months ago

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Wei Wuxian and Narrative Agency – Part Three

For Xiantober Day Five: Past and Present, in which the author gets very unhinged about what parts of the past are shown and how that’s affected by the present!

(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)

The Power of Agency: Shaping the Narrative

When I've discussed Wei Wuxian's agency previously, I’ve talked about how what’s shown and omitted tells us about a character, and we’ve talked about the character himself. Though this is a niche topic, it’s not necessarily something out of the ordinary to analyse, and we can assume everything up to here has been in some way intentional.

This? Linking structure to a character’s in-universe preferences?

This is where we get unhinged.

Before I start, let’s quickly establish something which will be important later: although Wei Wuxian is the central character, MDZS isn’t strictly from his POV. While omitting events a character doesn’t like to dwell on and concealing things the character wishes to hide is common in books with only one narrator, MDZS has multiple narrators which it switches between relatively quickly. This includes Wei Wuxian, but it also includes nearly every major character that appears in the story, and omniscient narrator as well. As a default, this format doesn’t lead to this deliberate shaping and omission because of one character’s preferences, since we have many other sources of information and events – which is what makes Wei Wuxian’s influence over the narrative and structure so interesting. We could have access to a lot more information, and access to it at different times, than we do (and that’s not an insult, quite the opposite!).

To begin: we’ve established that times such as Wei Wuxian’s time on the streets, his three months in the Burial Mounds and his loss in the Siege aren’t shown because Wei Wuxian has little agency there. But that’s not the only special thing about them. They’re also the three most traumatic times in his life, and so moments Wei Wuxian himself either can’t remember, or doesn’t like to dwell on.

This is why discussing Wei Wuxian’s treatment of tragedy in his life was important. Firstly, it shows he doesn’t focus on the tragedy in his life, so the idea that the narrative not focusing on this tragedy relates to his character has merit; secondly, it affirms that this is not a passive trait, but a choice. Therefore, when the narrative omits events due to this aspect of Wei Wuxian, it’s respecting not only a character detail – which would be cool by itself – but also an active decision. One that shapes the story it’s made in.

In other words, its very structure is respecting Wei Wuxian’s agency!

Now, of course there are flashbacks to other moments of his past he probably wouldn’t like to dwell on, too. But within the structure, they’re only shown when Wei Wuxian is thinking about them (or when he has reason to)!

Wei WuXian hadn’t woken up yet. His eyes were still tightly shut, yet his hand didn’t let go either. He seemed to be dreaming, muttering, “… Don’t… Don’t be angry…” Lan WangJi seemed somewhat surprised. His voice was gentle, “I am not angry.” Wei WuXian, “… Oh.” Hearing this, as though he finally felt assured, his fingers loosened. Lan WangJi sat beside Wei WuXian for a while. Seeing that he was motionless again, he was about to stand up when Wei WuXian grabbed him with his other hand, hugging his arm and refusing to let go. He shouted, “I’ll go with you, quick, take me back to your sect!” Chapter 63, EXR translation

Which, of course, is him dwelling on…

Lan WangJi spoke one word at a time, “Go back to Gusu with me.” Hearing this, both Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng were surprised. Quickly afterward, Wei WuXian laughed, “Go back to Gusu with you? To the Cloud Recesses? Why go there?” He immediately seemed to realize, “Oh. I forgot. Your uncle Lan QiRen hates crooked people like me. You’re his proudest disciple, so of course you’re the same as him, haha. I refuse.” Chapter 62, EXR translation

…the painful flashback immediately preceding this. The third set of flashbacks (which are also painful) are a similar case. Look at the contex:

He lifted the bottom of his robe, revealing a prosthetic leg made of wood, “This leg of mine was destroyed by you, that night in the Nightless City (…)” (…) “Wei WuXian, I won’t ask you if you remember or not. Both of my parents died by your hands. You owe too many people. You definitely won’t remember them either. But, I, Fang MengChen, will never forget! And never forgive you!” (…) “In the fight at Qiongqi Path, my son was strangled to death by your dog Wen Ning!” “My shixiong died by poison, his entire body festering due to your cruel curse!” Chapter 68 (immediately preceding the flashbacks), EXR translation

And Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts and words:

Wei WuXian looked at the cultivators before the Demon-Slaughtering Cave. Their expressions were the absolute same as those of the cultivators from the night of the pledge conference, pouring their wine on the ground as they took the pledge to scatter the ashes of the Wen Sect’s remnants and him. (…) Wei WuXian, “Now it’s time to ask just whom it is that treasures it so much. It’s like Wen Ning. Back then, some certain sects or so were scared to death of the Ghost General. They said they’d kill him on the surface, but behind their backs they hid him for over ten years. How strange. Who was the one that said his ashes had been scattered back then?” Chapter 79 (immediately succeeding the flashbacks), EXR translation

Once again, Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts relate to the flashbacks we’ve just been shown. And, as I previously mentioned, though all the events which are shown are tragic, they’re also events which Wei Wuxian’s own choices and actions shaped – which he has this to say about:

“The things I did, not only do you remember them, I remember them too. You won’t forget them, and they’ll stay even longer in my mind!” Chapter 82, EXR

Admittedly, this applies more to the third set of flashbacks than the second (which is still fitting as the third set was the most recent), as in the second, although he still had agency within and influence over his circumstances, the majority of the pain was caused by others’ actions (excluding, of course, the Golden Core transfer… which is something we know stays for a long time in his mind, albeit with a caveat we’ll soon discuss). But it’s still important to note – especially considering that otherwise, focusing on this very painful time in his life wouldn’t seem like something very in-character for Wei Wuxian to do.

Of course, this can all just be explained by good writing. It is best to insert flashbacks when they’re relevant to the characters and events in the present day! But it is interesting to compare these to the start of the (not painful) Gusu flashbacks, which open this way:

At a later time, Wei WuXian pondered upon the reason why his relationship with Lan WangJi wasn’t good. Getting to the root of the matter, everything started when he was fifteen, coming to the GusuLan Sect with Jiang Cheng to study for three months. Chapter 13, EXR

Again, considering the circumstances around which these flashbacks take place – returning to the Cloud Recesses for the first time since the lectures, and meeting Lan Wangji once more – it makes complete sense for Wei Wuxian to be thinking about these events*. So it does fit the pattern of Wei Wuxian dwelling on something, thus leading to the narrative dwelling on it, too (and being shaped by his thoughts)… but there’s another layer to this. Importantly, it is the only flashback where Wei Wuxian’s present thoughts don’t lead to this happening, with his thoughts at an unspecified future time leading to it, instead. I like to interpret this as the text saying that, since these events aren’t something Wei Wuxian wouldn’t focus on in normal circumstances, he can dwell on them at any time. Therefore, they’re free to come up in the narrative at any time as well, even if he’s not dwelling on them in the present moment!

So, to summarise: Wei Wuxian’s decision not to focus on the painful times in his life directly influences the narrative to not focus on these times. When painful times are brought up and shown to us, it’s in the context of him thinking about them in the present day, and even then, his most painful moments still aren’t shown to us. His agency in this regard is still respected by the narrative structure.

This is the main way his agency influences the structure of the narrative, but I’d like to talk about the revealing and concealing of information, too. For example, I said I’d talk about the Golden Core transfer – though Wei Wuxian does think about this many times, as evidenced by his internal narration in Chapter 103. But unlike everything we’re shown through the flashbacks, this is something Wei Wuxian is actively trying to hide from others. And the narrative respects this choice (Wei Wuxian’s agency, again), never reveals it even when it would be relevant in the flashbacks, and we find out not through narration, but through a character’s dialogue!

And to clarify – I know these aspects may not be in the book for this exact reason. Showing flashbacks in relevant moments is good writing, concealing an important plot point you want to do a reveal for is necessary writing, and MXTX has said she didn’t want to write about Wei Wuxian’s time in the Burial Mounds, due to not liking to write transformation sequences (and also because it would not be pleasant at all, which likely also applies to Wei Wuxian’s death). That doesn’t prevent it from also being intentional – MXTX’s intelligence is shown in many aspects of this book, and there’s nothing disproving it – but there’s no proof for either option, so I won’t pretend there is. I bring this up because I know this feels like I’m overanalysing, as I feel that way as well.

But, whether it’s intentional or not, it exists in the text, and I adore it – so, regardless, it’s something I’ll explore. Because taking this into account… We aren't just told about Wei Wuxian having agency, we aren’t just shown it in the text, we aren’t even just shown it through which parts of his past are shown and hidden in the structure of the text (as I talked about in Part One). The parts of the past that are shown and hidden also have an in-universe reason for being shown and hidden, this reason being the choices he makes! Agency is the ability of a character to influence the story they’re in, but Wei Wuxian’s agency, as a property of a character who only exists in-universe, shapes the out-of-universe structure as well! That’s how we’re shown its importance! How cool is that?

At The End Of The Road: Summary and Final Thoughts

In this essay, we’ve covered how important Wei Wuxian’s agency is not only to the events of the plot, but to the structure of the narrative as well. The narrative omits periods in which Wei Wuxian has little or no agency, in favour of showing us periods in which he does, even when important events happened in the former. This indicates that who Wei Wuxian is without agency isn’t important enough to be shown to the audience, and therefore that his agency is an integral aspect of his character in MDZS. We’ve discussed how both in-universe and out-of-universe, tragedy does not define him – out-of-universe, the tragic events in Wei Wuxian’s life are used not to build sympathy but rather to show his strength of character and who he still is despite going through them; and in-universe, he chooses not to focus on the negativity and resentment caused by his circumstances or others’ actions, instead staying true to his moral compass and enjoying his life in the present day. Finally, we’ve also explored how this choice is another reason for the omission of certain events from the narrative, resulting in his agency shaping the story in a very literal way – it affects the out-of-universe structure, as well.

It’s quite fitting, for a story whose essence is about defying a conventional narrative – that of righteous clans rising up and defeating a great evil – and about a character who defies many conventional narratives on his own – that of status defining how skilled you could be, that for a golden core being necessary for cultivation and other paths being unavailable, that of a tragic but complete story of someone killed for staying true to their moral code (instead, that character returns to life and has a happy ending) – to have its own narrative play a role in such an important and interesting way.

(Or, if an image would be preferable:)

Thank you for reading!

(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)

*This strong relation to the present day circumstances is another reason I love the flashback placement so much (and why I think it’s such a loss both screen adaptions altered it so strongly)!

#get ready for tag thoughts because there are a LOT of them #it’s for THIS reason that fanon wwx bothers me so much (didn’t want to get negative on the acual post)#bc so often all the changes are changes that woobify him!#self-sacrificial idiot wwx?? only doing things because… poor him he has so many internal issues and values himself so little-#-so of course he’d sacrifice everything before thinking of another option? woobifying #(whenever he sacrifices something it’s a deliberate choice to act on his morals because he values his morals so much – and he’s also very-#-capable and DOES often find ways for no people to get hurt!)#wasn’t aware that what happened to him at lotus pier was wrong and needs lwj to tell him that for him to have any idea if it?#woobifying (as we see in the lotus seed pod extra he KNOWS it’s unfair)#(he downplays it retroactively in his memory (links into not focusing on the bad things in his life))#(but that’s the actions themselves that are being downplayed not their fairness!)#he chooses to act! he is defined by acting! not tragedy – all the more impressive in the face of the amount of tragedy that’s happened #he could SO EASILY have been a woobie but instead he’s the opposite of one: defined BY his agency instead of the absence of it #that doesn’t mean he’s not impacted by tragedy or trauma – he is! but it’s not the most important aspect of his character (bc he doesn’t le #it’s also something that bothers me about the changes cql made #by making qq path and nightless city the fault of someone else it means he IS someone who’s more a victim of circumstance than anything els #he had no control over the tragedies of his first life at all #apart from ig his death being controlled by him? because he just leaps off the cliff during the nightless city siege?? but in THAT case it’#i watched that part recently (i’m getting through it very slowly) and yeah it reaffirmed my love for this aspect of the book even more #despite. having these exact thoughts for two years already #he also dwells on the past events a lot more than book wwx which adds to that version of him BEING defined more by tragedy rather than who #anyway over 7.3k words total (and 400 more in the tags apparently)... it'll be posted to ao3 in its completion this evening!#mdzs meta #my meta #wei wuxian #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #魔道祖师 #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #gdc

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rythyme · 1 year ago

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really not a fan of boston very explicitly saying "I want to be exclusive romantically but not sexually" only to be told "You're lying to yourself. I think you should be alone."

#like... p'jojo. you gave us 3wbf??? what's going on bud #only friends the series #ofts #am i misinterpreting boston? did I miss something? is this just a poorly executed representation of something else entirely??#idk this really just did not sit well with me #i love pretty much everything else in this show so i'm disappointed that this was the last thing we got #bc I've been saying this the whole time!! boston DOES want a romantic relationship and he's spent the whole show coming to terms with that #he really does love nick #and he wants romantic exclusivity (see: Boston getting upset and jealous when Nick is with other people)#but physical stuff doesn't need to have the same exclusiveness for him and that's literally fine #idk i just wish that last conversation had been written slightly differently. a couple different wordings could have fixed it all for me #like if Nick had SAID ''i can't do a non-exclusive relationship but i hope you find someone someday who wants that with you''#that would have been fine #not ''i think you should be alone''#idk. just really sat wrong with me #lgbt drama #thai drama #theo.txt #100

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hyohaehyuk · 20 days ago

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juliana_rychlikova: thanksgiving with vampire fam ❤️ (2023)

source: pixielayer and jandythinker (Note: Juliana Rychlikova have her IG account private so i dont know how the fandom got this photo. maybe she privated the account after the fandom found the photos/videos yesterday)

It seems they celebrated Thanksgiving at Jacob’s house in Prague

Photos via Jacob Anderson IG

Screenshots: funtheysaid, lesbratprince and pixielayer

#jam reiderson #jacob anderson #sam reid #delainey hayles #eric bogosian #assad zaman #interview with the vampire #quoting tweets i found #Can’t help but think how much Jam/cast content is just sitting in people’s phones 😵‍💫#can we count this as a jam selfie?#i think it’s sooo cute that they celebrated at jacob’s house which naturally means sam stayed after everyone else left #ofc it's jacob slicing the food and sam taking the photo😌#jacob properly standing there like he was the only one sam was meant to take a pic of and everyone else just joined in last minute 😭😭👀😌😭😭#Sam cutting Delainey out of the photo so Jacob could appear more. Life imitating art bc that is so Lestat of him #A bunch of Brits and an Australian celebrating thanksgiving 🤣 this was eric idea for sure #my tags #i already had to block people over this on tw bc #i already saw people saying that jacob wife and his kid was in Prague the whole time with him & they are there but hiding from the pict 😤#sure honey 🙄 And that is why he was having dinner with Sam every single night at the same restaurant instead of dinner w/ her #you guys must think she is unemployed or smth 🤦#she probably came once in a while just so that he could see the kid #but i doubt that she was staying there as if she have nothing else to do besides following him around #but then jammers are the delusional ones here #anyway i was really confused why they was celebrating Thanksgiving when that is in October and they started filming on April 3 2023 #but then i remembered they was forced to take a break bc of the actors strike in the summer #so the shooting must had gotten dragged on by a few months when they was meant to wrap things up at the end of summer

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natasha-in-space · 7 months ago

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So I'm replaying Ray's After ending rn, and it got me thinking that what I adore so much about Rika as an antagonist is just how damn scary she can be. I always found those who cause harm with good intentions (at least in their point of view) much scarier than those who hurt you with pure intention on hurting you. I think the best example of it is this CG in particular:

Look at that. Such a loving, gentle expression on her face. Probably kissing his forehead. Because she loves him. Heck, without any context, this CG looks even sweet, if you think about it. And yet, all that is while Saeyoung is forcefully sedated on a powerful concoction of drugs even a trained agent like him can't do anything about (and Saeyoung WAS definitely trained to deal with this sort of thing, hence it's mentioned that this is a 'special' kind of drugs). He looks miserable. Bags under his eyes, his expression pained and troubled, even his hair is paler than usual. All that as a direct result of her actions. But she's utterly blind to it. What's scarier, is that she knowingly shuts off her understanding of what's really happening. She's not oblivious to it at all. She just chooses not to see it that way. Simply because she doesn't want to.

Rika is the type of antagonist that will cup your cheek into her warm hand with the most loving of smiles on her face, all while you are getting elixir poured down your throat. Even whispering to you that you're doing great, that the pain will soon pass, and that she can't wait to see you reach the happiness she knows you deserve. I won't be surprised if she even cried genuine tears of compassion during some ceremonies for her believers. All while being the sole reason behind their suffering.

And that's... God, that's terrifying to me. I love that about her.

Rika Kim, they could never make me hate you

#mystic messenger #mysmes #mysme #mm #rika kim #kim rika #anyways ughhh she's so messed up i adore her #yes i will think about cute fluffy scenarios with her one minute and then go into her most horrible of actions the next #like it's such a contrast to all the rest as well #ray gets as close to her as possible in terms of his approach to messed up deeds but it's still different with him #like ray genuinely believes in what he does - good and bad #rika conditioned him that way #suit even points that out: 'oh i'm not like that airhead. i know this place is messed up.'#rika on the other hand? it's the way she willfully just... chooses to live in her own twisted fairytale that is so fascinating to me #it makes her scarier than ray but it also makes her more unstable #because once that fairytale of her is threatened? well she gets even more dangerous but in a completely different way #we literally see her spiraling more and more during v route and it's as scary as it is also sad #just saying: v ae could have been such a banger if they didn't absolutely mess it up #i think i despite judgement ending more than anything else in the game for so many reasons #if cheritz had the backbone they would have either removed it altogether or remastered v's ae for free I'M JUST SAYING #because what the hell was that #anyway #rant over #i wrote a huge post about how much i love rika while i am actively biting my nails every time she touches the twins BUT I LOVE THAT WITH HE #YES give me a character i keep feeling so many conflicting emotions for i will gobble that up

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ganondoodle · 1 year ago

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honestly yeah, i didnt even think about the mastersword but i guess .. there were two then for the period of time between totk-past and totk-present, since it gets only send back at the start of totk so idk

(also i wouldnt take AoC as canon, honestly the major reason why i dont like it that one either is bc it was marketed as a botw prequel and FIND YOU WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CALAMITY 100botw edition, when it was just like any other warriors game, a fun beat em up with fanservice but not canon in any way -thats not a bad thing- ... honestly similarly to how totk was advertised as the sequel to botw when it really isnt tbh)

(wait what i only know that half the fandom seems convinced that totk-past retcons every other zelda game bc its either forced in aside oot or straight up before skyward (lol) just bc rauru calls himself first king (like theres only ever been one hyrule) and the fact that the war to seal and evil monster guy is called sealing war which means it has to be the same one as back in the old timeline apparently bc words cant be used twice or soemthing, which i think is pretty stupid and makes no sense and if that were true i might just quit fnhdjkfnhkdk ((im sorry i just cant not be bothered by this)) but totk past being 10k years ago is a new one ... making just as little sense ;___; like its pretty clear that clamgan got made through totk gan trying to break the seal .... even if nothing of botw lore is really followed up on .... not in any satisfying way at least ... sigh)

just yeah to this, it really does make no sense, gan really wasnt a problem before he got the stone, like is it really jsut an excuse to put her yet again in the dress of sacrifice(tm)?? did they want rauru and sonia to be like surrogate parents (like really what, she looks desperate and uncomfortable almsot the entire time) only to both yank them away oh no look she lost her parents twice look how DARK this game is?? look sonia was nice to zelda in a single memory look how motherly she i- WOOPS fridged (not gonna get into how the way she died was also just so ... disrespectful really, i hate that media being made for younger audiences means yeha people dying is all well and good BUT OH GOD NO DONT EVER SHOW BLOOD OR A WOUND OH NO THATS BAD but he she fucking died on screen from a single punch lol)

man i swear im not trying to be a hater but its all just ... ugh ... so sad really, all of that build up and potential wasted like that, its feels hollow and incomplete just like i felt when i was done with the game, i planned to 100% it bc i was to excited at first but now i cant even be bothered to do all shrines

i just want to reiterate for newer followers, im not complaining and writing so much over and over again about this game bc i want to be hateful but bc i care about this, and esepcially so bc botw is one of my fav zelda games ever just short of ww, and it just .. hurts ... it affecting botw too makes it unignorable to me, like if it was a seperate isntallement ok i just dont like that one, thats fine, but with it supposedly being a sequel ... i cant really disregard it, and if nintendy wants to keep that one singluar timeline a thing now i guess its all gonne get connected back and back, i kinda worry for the future, id rather have a full new game thats entirely seperate from everything instead of totk2 or something ...

every now and then i get comments on some of my older rants about totk and im pretty sure its usually the very first post without any of the additions i tend to add later on-

old post about how i found it a lil weird that the one of the first things rauru and sonia doing is put zelda back into a little white maiden dress even tho her own clothes didnt look damaged at all and were far more practical and someone commented that its so she doesnt stand out (something that was said in nearly every comment i got on that post already) and that it was only weird bc i was making it weird or sth xD

but it made me think about it again, so .... that excuse doesnt work for me at all bc .. why wouldnt she want to stand out? whats the danger of that? her suddendly appearing out of nowhere, not knowing anything of the traditions or happenings of the time, being around the king and queen all the time with a duplicate enigma stone and unknown technology (purah pad) isnt weird? i know the excuse of oohoho shes a distant relative of sonia (i know its far stretched techinically true i guess) but why even do that, why go to such lengths of keeping her time traveling secret? making her less of a target for gan isnt really sensical either bc he went for sonia anyway, despite zelda clearly being the younger and less experienced of the two with less control of her power, and if he knew she was techinically more powerful .. well then shes even less in danger, and if he might have wanted to get information from her what could he have gained from it really? she didnt really know anything more anyway? like all she could tell him would be like you will lose i guess lol

(also you could keep it secret from him but why from the others, i just dont see the point, i dont find her look pretty either, she just looks uncomfortable, like if she gets put in to a lil white uwu maiden dress AGAIN im just gonna assume ok you are stripped of all your agency and will sacricifce yourself again wahoo what fun)

in a world were time magic is normal why wouldnt you just say yep she literally came from the future to help us? the usual rules of time travel, as in, dont tell anyone who you are, dont mess with the happenings bc everything can have major consequences, doesnt apply anyway, she goes around by her real name and is involved in literally every major happening .. so why care?? keeping it secret from gan for the future? why? he literally recognizes her within a split second anyway

(no gonna get into why i think her time travelling in the first place is like .. so forced? its only segway to put her out of the game essentially and the oh no tragic twist, but like why, she got the powers and the stone so she unconcisouly travels ... back in time ..?? why not reverse the stones she fell from or something, if it was soemthing that would come up again ok! like she did the time travel accidentally and then learned how to return over the time she spent in the past thats good!! i like that idea, but its never broguht up again, the closest thing to it is the weird two time bubbles that just serve to give you her time powers (whats up with how that went down anyway) and then to send the mastersword back ... why even do that when it could have fallen and travelled back with her right away?? and both of those are at the very start of the game AND IT NEVER COMES UP AGAIN, like fine if it was her trying to go back but not getting it right so she creates weird ass time bubbles cool! why not put them all over the place with them getting bigger and maybe being able to talk to link from the past idk SOMETHING- ok ill stop here ...)

#ganondoodles talks #ganondoodles rants #zelda #totk #a new writer might be a nice change of pace maybe ...#this comes from a place of PASSION #i wouldnt talk in lengths and spent so much time on talking and well .. rewriting it if i just hated it for no reason #why would i waste my time and energy like that #no i care so much it hurts seeing ... the damage this game is really doing #and yes i was aware that it probably wouldnt live up to my hopes #but i did expect at least a somewhat interesting story #gameplay alone cant remedy a shitty story #i feel tricked for caring so much #and no im not saying you cant like it but #we could have had so much else #id gladly trade the ability to glue a stick to a stick for a compelling story

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