I finished The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom over the holiday weekend. I enjoyed it! I lost patience and didn't stick with the Sleep Dojo through the last two "sleep trainings" that I was struggling with to earn the outfit it rewards, and I never got the second available bonus outfit from my one amiibo, so I didn't 100% the game, but I think that I experienced all the possible story bits, which is of course what I want, so that's fine. Throughout the game, I enjoyed that there were so many different ways to solve challenges; there are almost zero obstacles with only one right solution, which was fantastic for me.

There's not a lot to say about the ending that isn't very well known by now... Spoilers... Link slashing an opening into the very hide of the Cthulu-like beast that is Null is cool. Null's heartbeat is cool. I loved Zelda and Link working together at the end to defeat Null, her bind plus his sword, and would genuinely have enjoyed a few more puzzles along those lines! I appreciated Tri's departure. The lore is intriguing and amorphous, and of course the official timeline placement was nailed down months ago.

Finally seeing the end credits straight through, I happily learned that all the characters visibly affected by the rifts are shown as recovered after the destruction of the rifts. The comatose Hylian boy, the listless Gerudo woman... yay! I also saw that all the might crystals are gone and Link's weapons have reverted to their pre-enhanced forms, there with Link and Lueburry fussing over them near Lueburry's machine. (Though the Tri Rod is still there in Zelda's room.) And electroapples are the new Deku Scrub hot trend, plunging the Business Scrubs into commerce chaos. Yet, as far as I can tell, the Deku Scrub in the southeast corner is still lonely... I didn't find any side-quest or credits moment to bring that Scrub a visitor (other than Zelda). Hmmm.

What are your thoughts and feelings about Echoes of Wisdom...?

settiai: (Siân -- settiai)
([personal profile] settiai Jul. 10th, 2025 12:22 am)
In tonight's game, the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off.
author_by_night: (From Pexels)
([personal profile] author_by_night Jul. 9th, 2025 07:15 pm)
Based on a sunshine_revival prompt, and a conversation I had with [personal profile] elizalavelle . Some names and minor details have been changed to preserve anonymity.

Icy Pops

I'm at a cousin's baseball game. Five years old. 

My aunt hands me a ice pop, blue because blue ice pops are the best, and I slurp while watching the game. My cousin hits a home run; perhaps amped up by the sugar, I cry, "go Callie!"

Callie smiles and waves.


Ice Cream Sandwich

I grab an ice cream sandwich from the fridge, and go outside to read. Reading's my favorite pasttime.

But I'm reading more than eating, and soon the ice cream drips. I grab a napkin, but some of it's already landed on one of the pages.

The stain goes on to remind me of that simple day.


Chocolate

By sheer coincidence, Cora and I move into the same neighborhood within the same three months. Naturally, we become fast friends. 

 We decide the best way to introduce ourselves is to walk around offering people chocolate from a jumbo pack. Which is exactly what we do. Hardly anyone takes us up on it, so we eat the rest.


Mashed Food

I spend my summers working at a senior living facility. One of my duties is serving our participants food.

Mashed potatoes. Mashed broccoli. Gravy. All in small blue trays. One for Marco, who can only speak Italian; one for Patricia, who is restless until she sings; one for Nettie, who loves singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Enjoy. 


Frappucino

Starbucks is the closest thing my friends and I have to a hangout. We don't go often; but when we do, we know our orders. I always get the Caramel Frappuccino. Iced, of course. 

We sit outside Barnes & Noble, me wanting to buy books but not daring tell my friends. They're not readers. We talk about our hopes for next school year. Our plans for our lives after school. Jill wants to study biology. Cora wants to become a singer. I'm not sure what I want. 

I suck back the last of my Frappe and throw it out as we head back to Jill's car, wondering if we'll always meet here in the summer, or if the future has other plans.



Pickles and Cheezies

I often stay with my grandmother a few weeks out of the summer. She lives in a small bungalow and serves me pickles in a tiny dish. They're always delicious. I talk to her about high school, and she tells me about her high school days, how she met the grandfather I never knew.

At night, we're less healthy. My grandmother loves Seinfeld, so we watch it on her old TV. She in her rocking chair, me on her bed. We always pour cheezies and watch Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer do one terrible thing after the other.


Popsicles

It's a hot summer day, so after a bit of tanning, Cora and I sit in her room. The fan whirrs loudly over us. A copy of Seventeen is on the floor, waiting to be opened.

We split the grape popsicle as we read the advice column to each other, napkins in hand because the popsicle is faster than we are. When we finish, we read each other the jokes. They're so bad, they're good. 

 They're among the last vestiges of our childhood.
 
Tags:
pauraque: Kirk and Spock walk near the Golden Gate Bridge (st san francisco)
([personal profile] pauraque Jul. 9th, 2025 12:14 pm)
[community profile] sunshine_revival's next challenge is:
Snack Shack
Journaling prompt: What are your favorite summer-associated foods?
Creative prompt: Draw art of or make graphics of summer foods, or post your favorite summer recipes.
When I was growing up, the most coveted summer treat was universally acknowledged to be the It's-It. This is an ice cream sandwich made with soft oatmeal cookies, coated in a thin layer of chocolate. It was invented in San Francisco in 1928 and for decades it was sold only at the local amusement park Playland at the Beach. The Playland era was before my time, though; now It's-Its are sold prepackaged in stores and from roving food trucks all over the Bay Area.

I didn't realize until I moved away that It's-Its are made by a local company and nobody outside California had heard of them. I also didn't realize what a weird name they have until I tried to explain to other people what they were. "Itsits? What does that even mean?" I guess it made sense in the context of the 1920s when everyone was talking about "it girls" and having "it." (The movie It starring Clara Bow sounds like a horror title now, but it didn't in 1927!)

As a kid I never questioned it. The origin of the name did not matter. All that mattered was sitting on a sunny park bench after waiting patiently in line at the food truck, and finally biting into your precious It's-It, which instantly started melting, and trying to contain the ice cream in the flimsy crinkly plastic but always failing, having it drip all over your hands as it squeezed out from between the cookies with the chocolate coating cracking into melty bits. Pure summer childhood bliss.

You can actually order It's-Its online if you're in the US, and I've read that in recent years they've been selling them at brick and mortar stores outside California, though I haven't run into any in the wild. I've been told that they're pretty good even if the mere sight of them does not overwhelm you with nostalgia.
[community profile] sunshine_revival '25 Challenge #2: "Write about anything you feel sentimental about..."

One thing I'm perpetually sentimental about is the cartoon Dungeons & Dragons (1983-1985; three seasons, the last one shorter). It was on the air before and after a significant event in my life, making a kind of continuous bridge through that, though of course I didn't know at the time that this was part of it imprinting itself on my imagination, as much as its superior writing (once you get past the first episodes that go out of their way to explain themselves to TPTB), voice acting (Diana's actress won an Emmy for her role, and of course Eric's actor is renowned), storytelling invitation to imagine yourself right into the scenario, and its sneaky continuity and deep lore in the days before continuity was permitted or lore wanted. And these were the days of bargaining with one's siblings over which Saturday morning cartoon would be viewed when on the one TV in the house, negotiating away blocks of the day to ensure you got the one half-hour that mattered.

Of course while the show was a huge success in the ratings, TPTB never stopped being nervous about it, in that age of moral panic about supposed cults and such supposedly using D&D to recruit/hurt kids, which looks like a pretty quaint worry now, but was indeed quite real (that is, not a real threat, just a real moral panic). That affected the show in many ways, most sad, but one incredibly good. TPTB lived in such fear of the Parents Television Council about this specific show that they mandated that our heroes must never use violence or offensive weapons. What a beautiful challenge to put in front of the writers! Surrounded by shows firing assorted colored lasers from guns, our heroes had to use their brains and empathy to solve puzzles and reconcile misunderstandings! And their very personally symbolic totemic enchanted weapons were highly defensive and evasive -- no swords in our heroes' hands! -- with even Hank's energy bow and Bobby's club aimed always at inanimate obstacles, never at people. (That was one of the mistakes the recent revival comics unfortunately made. They ditched that key constraint and gave Hank and Eric swords, showing they did not really understand.)

The recent D&D Honor Among Thieves movie (which was a good movie and deserved more audience attention) made use of widespread nostalgia for this show with a few background cameo tributes, which led some toys to finally come into existence for the show as cross-marketing with the movie, so many decades after we original viewers would have played with them. Though I'm not a collector, I snapped up the action figures and they bring me delight; the Diana figure is standing at the corner of my monitor right now, and the others are on a shelf I cleared for just them, even buying clear acrylic risers to display them better.

You can find the show on DVD (I have the "red box" version from the 25th anniversary). It ran around the clock on Twitch for an event leading up to the movie's premiere. I believe that it's not officially anywhere streaming now [Correction: It's on Amazon's "live" Freevee "Dungeons & Dragons Adventures" channel in the US! See comments!], probably because of complex rights issues (Marvel and Sunbow made the '80s cartoon; Hasbro now owns D&D; Paramount made the D&D movie; Disney now owns Marvel; etc.). Unofficially, it's on YouTube in both English and Portuguese, and many of the scripts are available online, most of them personally posted by the show's most prolific and daring writer, Michael Reaves, who died in '23, and loved the show as much as we do.

settiai: (D&D -- settiai)
([personal profile] settiai Jul. 7th, 2025 06:42 pm)
Welp. The last few days were certainly exhausting.

Don't get me wrong, the long weekend of D&D was a ton of fun, and I'm very glad that we managed to pull it off. That said, it was extremely draining on me even after I spent as much time as possible prior to it trying to charge my internal batteries. By the time we ended yesterday afternoon, my spoons were long gone.

Since I had to get up early to catch the bus to E&Z's place (which was on the weekend schedule the entire time since Friday was a holiday) and then it was usually 1am or so before I made home at night, I didn't get nearly enough sleep pretty much the entire time. Especially since I record summary videos for this game, so I had to get that done at night before I could go to bed.

I ended up taking a nap after I made it home yesterday, and the only thing preventing me from doing so tonight is that I know it will be better to push through and go to bed early instead. If I nap now, I'll be up half the night.

And then work today made things even more fun, but that's a story for another post. 🙃

ETA: Or, you know, I could decide take a nap after all because it hit 7:30pm, and my brain had completely stopped functioning. I'm still tired, so hopefully I'll be able to fall asleep at a decent hour despite the nap.
I offered to write drabbles and poetry: that offer is still open. Request something and make my day!

Here's what I've made so far:

Strike a pose (100 words) by Petra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: DCU (Comics)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Tim Drake/Dick Grayson, Tim Drake/Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson
Characters: Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson
Additional Tags: Drabble, Video Cameras, Voyeurism
Summary:

Tim chooses his moment to best advantage.

*

External hearts are a disabling condition (100 words) by Petra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: DCU (Comics)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Clark Kent & Bruce Wayne
Characters: Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent
Additional Tags: Psychic Wolves, Drabble
Summary:

Bruce's wolfsister and his duty to the League.

*

The movement of (astronomical) bodies (100 words) by Petra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Discworld - Terry Pratchett
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Carrot Ironfoundersson/Angua von Uberwald
Characters: Carrot Ironfoundersson, Angua von Uberwald
Additional Tags: Drabble, lycanthropy
Summary:

Carrot's favorite time of the month.

*

Interstellar Deliveroo (100 words) by Petra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Arthur Dent/Ford Prefect
Characters: Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect
Additional Tags: Drabble, Gig Economy
Summary:

Arthur gets a new job, and does as well at it as he does at everything else.

*

It's possible to be too beautiful (187 words) by Petra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Characters: Anakin Skywalker
Additional Tags: Bad Poetry, Sonnets, Adolescent Poetry, Shakespearean Sonnets
Summary:

Prompt: young Anakin's Very Bad But Heartfelt poetry (directed at your choice).

*

If wishes were horses (100 words) by Petra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Strangers in Paradise (Comics)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Casey Bullocks-Femur/Katina Choovanski/Francine Peters/David Qin
Characters: Katina Choovanski
Additional Tags: Drabble, Masturbation
Summary:

Katchoo fantasizes.

*

Exploring the collection (200 words) by Petra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan/Alys Vorpatril
Characters: Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan, Alys Vorpatril
Additional Tags: Sex Toys, Double Drabble
Summary:

Alys shares her collection of specialized implements with Cordelia.

settiai: (Siân -- settiai)
([personal profile] settiai Jul. 6th, 2025 01:50 pm)
In this afternoon's game, the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off.
petra: Cartoon of an overexcited airline steward with the text: You're always playing Yellow Car. (Cabin Pressure - Yellow Car)
([personal profile] petra Jul. 6th, 2025 01:43 pm)
Today's jumpscare: the second most common relationship for Arthur Dent is Khan Noonien Singh, because of bad casting and Sherlock obsession on the part of fandom.

I still haven't seen the real Khan movie, but its Robot Chicken opera version made more of an impression on me than the AOS version where they cast B--- C---, which I have never watched and never intend to see.
A tip for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, when you choose to play: To get all the cut-scenes, interactions, and story for a certain truly lovely character, approach the snowy Hebra region from the west, not from the east. Indeed, when the time comes, make it easy and just start from where the glowing quest marker is. They put it right there for a reason.

I, unfortunately, continued my "Explore first!" kick into Hebra and so blundered into Condé's story from the wrong side. Not that any option is wrong as such in an RPG or even JRPG, but... I've seen videos of folks playing this charming, intriguing section, so when I blundered into a certain spot and got compressed dialogue skipping that much more personal and exciting introduction to the character, I knew what I'd lost. You won't want to miss it.

That said, exploring Hebra thoroughly brought me fun discoveries that I was unspoiled on, probably because the people who streamed and wrote wiki entries when the game come out last fall had played the main quest at speed, rushing through straight to the end for reasons like not getting spoiled and satisfying their followers, and so missed some interesting tidbits, including about Condé himself. Spoilers (and one fanfic idea) about Condé )

Yes, it's a delightful game. Playing as Zelda is fun. Echoes are fun. The plot and lore are fun. If Condé and Dohna are richer characterizations than Link and Zelda, well, that's a peril of a "silent hero," I'm afraid.

In tonight's game, the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off and will be picking up tomorrow.
petra: Cartoon of Shakespeare saying, "Read my latest, it is god damn glorious." (Beaton - Shakespeare)
([personal profile] petra Jul. 5th, 2025 07:55 pm)
I am having a difficult brainweasel day, and would like to counteract that by making you some words. I am feeling poetic, with a side-order of "Drabbles are nice," so:

Comment with: Drabble or Poetry, Fandom(s) from the list of things I know, Character[/Character/etc.], Prompt (if any).

Feel free to publicize this.
In this afternoon's game, the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off and will be picking up later tonight.
pauraque: photo of the planet Pluto showing heart-shaped glacier (pluto <3)
([personal profile] pauraque Jul. 5th, 2025 04:06 pm)
[community profile] sunshine_revival's next challenge is:
Tunnel of Love
Journaling: The romance of summer! What do you love? Write about anything you feel sentimental about or that gets your heart pumping.
Creative: Write a love poem to anyone or anything you like.

This is a topic I've been thinking about a lot lately. As an aro-ace person growing up in a time before we really had labels for those things (and, frankly, even now when some people still just don't get it), I've had a lot of experiences of being told that the way I loved people was wrong or not good enough. I'm... well, I was about to say I'm lucky to have people in my life now who don't see my love as lesser because it isn't romantic and never will be, and that is true, but also I have worked damn hard to accept myself as I am and to put energy into relationships with people who get me. So it's part luck, part skill. :P

I recently got a formal diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum. (I promise this relates.) This was something I had suspected for a long time, but having it confirmed has led me to take stock of a lot of past experiences and shine a different light on them. I've always had intense "special interests," but early on in life I learned to downplay them because of other people's disapproval. I think I am a much more... passionate person than others might suspect? I've only been able to let it show a little in fannish spaces where it's more accepted to fall in love with a fandom, or become infatuated with a character, or be swept off your feet by a storyline. Those aren't metaphors, it's really what it feels like, and I feel that way about a lot of things!

When I was a kid one of my special interests was ancient Egypt. I remember flipping through history books and feeling a physical level of joy and contentment as I pored over photos of pyramids and papyri, because I just loved loved loved what I was seeing so much. When the prompt asks about what gets my heart pumping, I think of things like that. But I learned to hide that part of myself because people didn't get it. I want to work on changing this. I know that kind of love is still there and I can still tap into it, and I want a future for myself where I'm proud that it's a part of me. That feels far away right now, but there was also a time when being proud of being aro-ace felt very far away, so I think there's cause for hope.
  The romance of summer! What do you love? Write about anything you feel sentimental about or that gets your heart pumping.

I posted about this on tumblr, but I've said in the past that I don't really care about romantic storylines. Except I've come to realize, that's not true at all. There have been a lot of pairings I've loved, both in canon and in fanfiction. (Sometimes more in one than the other.)

Since this is meant to be a positive entry, I'll focus on what I love in my romantic pairings. I love seeing two people working together - perhaps in the sense that they're coworkers or have intersecting jobs, perhaps in the sense that they have a common mission, be it something major or minor. I love when the story is less about whether or not they'll be together, and more about what happens once they are. I love seeing them connect with one another's friends and family. I love seeing them help each other be their best selves. I love when conflict isn't about whether or not they "truly" love each other, but how new information or a miscommunication has - temporarily - rocked the boat. I love physicality. The way they hug and kiss, the way they move together, in a natural tandem.

Don't get me wrong - I'm here for some UST and other things you often see. I love a little drama. :P I just prefer all of that as the starting point, and I lose interest if it drags out for too long.  I love even more when none of that happens, and the couple just... comes into being. 
In tonight's game, the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off and will be picking up tomorrow.
In this afternoon's game, the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off and will be picking up later tonight.
petra: Cartoon of an overexcited airline steward with the text: You're always playing Yellow Car. (Cabin Pressure - Yellow Car)
([personal profile] petra Jul. 4th, 2025 04:01 pm)
Spoilers )
.