#(according to totk lol)

[ganondoodle]

working on the shiekah arm for the totk rewrite and i actively have to force myself to not try and make a mechanically sound magic tech arm bc its a magic tech arm and doesnt need to be mechanically sound

[gaylactic-fire]

Apparently Link is going to be playable at some point in EoW, according to the ESRB rating

Personally, I really hope we are allowed to play through sections of the initial dungeon and do the Ganon fight as a super buffed Link before the rug gets pulled from us. Like TOTK but even worse lol

[cutebutalsostabby]

iirc you said in another post that the time between ALTTP and OOT was either 80 or 400 years. i haven’t played ALTTP yet but love timelines - are those numbers in the game somewhere?

I think I came up with those specific figures myself, BUT I do have some in-game and official text basis for them! The reason for the 80 year vs 400 years (or even longer) options is that there is actually some pretty big inconsistency between a) various parts of the game itself, b) the official game booklet, and c) Nintendo's big ole retcon of the Imprisoning War. Or possibly retCONS if we count TotK.

(Idk if you wanted an info dump, but you're getting one lol. THANKS FOR THE ASK!! 💜)

SO. The intro cutscene.

We start by hearing of legends from long ago, about a Golden Power that resides in a hidden land. Many people tried to find it; none ever returned. One day, evil power began to flow forth (we later learn this was due to Ganondorf finding the Triforce), so the King told the sages (originally translated as "Wise Men") to seal the Golden Land away for good. The narrator then describes those events as occurring so long ago that they became legend. Sounds like a while, right?

But then within about an hour or two of gameplay, you meet Sahrasrahla. Sahasrala? Saharasala? YOU MEET MR SALSA. And he ends up telling you a story about the knights that fought to protect the sages and who were almost all killed at the time, leaving YOU, the protagonist, as the last known member of that bloodline. According to Mr Salsa, those events took place only three or four generations ago.

That's not long at all! I mean, the exact numbers may vary depending on whether it's 3-4 generations from Salsa-san's point of view or Link's, as well as whether we give that person a human lifespan or an elf one (ALTTP has some Western fantasy elements, but the later games suggest that Hylians are basically just humans with pointy ears), but that would be where my ~80 years figure came from.

One of the later bits of dialogue then mentions Ganondorf rediscovering the Golden Land after the knowledge of it was lost - which may explain the discrepancy between the intro cutscene and Sahasralah(?)'s own dialogue. (I'm taking screenshots from Youtube FYI - see cutscene compilation here.)

All good so far?

WELP. THEN WE HAVE THE GAME BOOKLET.

By "game booklet" I mean the little brochure thing that used to come with physical games up until someone decided they weren't necessary. Boo and bah humbug. But I digress.

The original booklet for ALTTP, which you can find online, says that the Imprisoning War took place centuries ago. It also adds a bunch of other new lore details, including Ganondorf's last name, Dragmire - which never actually appears in-game. Both of those things are however missing from the truncated lore dump you get in the Gameboy Advance release's booklet:

And then there's Nintendo's Fallen Hero retcon. Lol.

See, the original "Imprisoning War" from ALTTP went something like this:

Ganondorf found an entrance to the Sacred Realm (formerly "Golden Land") and went in. Much like the others before him, he was then stuck there forever. UNLIKE the others before him however, he then randomly stumbled across the Triforce, which offered him the power to make a wish.

He made some unspecified wish along the lines of "I want to take over the world". As a result, the Sacred Realm became the Dark World and started to leak evil magic and demons into the Light World (aka "Overworld").

The knights fought against the demons, allowing the sages to seal the entrances ro the Sacred Realm. Note it's unclear if they even knew about Ganondorf's existence at this point.

Sometime later, Ganondorf manages to partially break free, and sends his alter ego Agahnim out to break the seal on the Sacred Realm and merge the two worlds into one.

And then we have Nintendo's retcon, which introduces the whole idea of the Fallen Hero - as a means of clumsily tying ALTTP to Ocarina of Time. So instead of the above:

Ganondorf publicly swears allegiance to the King of Hyrule, only to later backstab him and take over the castle. He then follows Link into the Temple of Time and grabs hold of the Triforce while the latter goes to take a nice long nap. He only manages to claim part of the Triforce (Power), so his wish remains incomplete. The other parts go to Link (Courage) and Zelda (Wisdom).

Seven years later, Link challenges Ganondorf to an epic showdown and loses. Ganondorf claims the remaining parts of the Triforce and uses them to transform into the Demon King. The seven sages, Zelda included, then seal both Ganon and the Triforce away in the Sacred Realm.

The names of the seven sages (per OoT) eventually become the names of the towns in Zelda II. Any remaining discrepancies are handwaved away as unreliable narrators.

Interestingly, TotK's Imprisoning War is much closer to ALTTP's version than Hyrule Historia's - which makes me wonder if that whole retcon is doomed to be retconned once again. Of course, the Triforce isn't present at all within TotK, but it's also a pretty compelling reason for why seven sages with secret stones couldn't win against the one guy with a secret stone. So there’s that.

But yeah, going back to that initial question: no, there's no specific figure provided for the time between the Imprisoning War and events of ALttP. Just depends on which piece of conflicting lore you feel like using lol.

[jullbnt]

Hi I read your rant! (I'm asking here cause I don't wanna clog up your previous post with my words lol) and honestly yeah I don't blame you for being confused about the time travel stuff! I'm also confused by it as well lmao! I like the idea of there being a split timeline after SS! And SS!Link being the Hero of Time as well would be such an interesting concept! I could be wrong but I like to think that Hyrule Warriors (not the Age of Calamity one) is the reason why everything exist in Botw/Totk. I know it's not technically canon but the game has all the other elements from the previous games and it kinda merges them together.

As for the Zonai? According to Zelda, they existed in heaven alongside the goddesses and also were gods and goddesses themselves! Then they came down to Hyrule during the imprionsoned war which takes place much later in the timeline (the downfall timeline) so Hylia and those three goddess could still technically exist!

In TOTK Rauru and Sonia were said to be the first people to rule Hyrule. I have a headcanon that all the history before them disappeared or were lost before that happened!

Sorry this was long 😭 I wish LOZ lore and the timeline were linear but it's also fun and interesting to discuss certain elements of the game

I’m glad you like my ideas! The previous post is here for anyone who’s curious :)

I’ve heard of that theory about Hyrule Warriors, maybe it could work but I don’t really like to include HW in the timeline (I can’t take this game seriously haha, I never recovered from Cia 😆)

I believe the Imprisoning War mentioned in TotK is not the one we knew of in the Downfall timeline (before ALttP), but maybe we’re not talking about the same thing?

So if the Zonai are gods/goddesses, what’s their role? Are they lesser deities than Hylia? Were there more of them than just Rauru and Mineru? And why does Rauru not know what the Master Sword is? Can he be both a Sage and a god? And did he and Sonia truly have descendants? I have so many questions about this haha, it’s so weird

And I guess being a god would make Rauru aware of Hyrule’s history, so he would know he’s not the first king even if all records of Hyrulean history were lost. Or in case he really believes himself to be the first king it’s a huge coincidence that he’s also calling his kingdom Hyrule. Idk this whole thing is kind of a mess

I agree it’s definitely fun to theorize about the timeline!! But to me TotK is too disconnected from the rest of the lore and makes things way too confusing, I’m not a fan of that. It bothers me that the Zonai are now such a big part of Hyrule’s history despite being barely fleshed out. TotK’s story was so disappointing to me and I’m a bit afraid the whole lore has been retconned and things that were established in older games will keep being ignored.

And that makes me sad :(

[incaseyouart]

ThTs what I thought when I first saw Yona amd I have actual camon proof! First and foremost, the armor. According to TOTK the Zora Armor was damaged somehow between the events of BOTW and TOTK and who was it who painstakingly fixed the Armor, a literally engagement ring to the Zora people might I remind you, jsut because she knew it was important to both Link and Sidon? Yona. Who was it that confronted Sidon on his hesitancy and overprotective tendencies and all but shoved him at Link so he'd go to the temple with him? Yona. Who was it that constantly calls Link 'Dearest Friend' and is constantly talking about the bond between him and Sidon? YONA!! She gives the same term of endearment to Link that she does her own Fiancée!!

It's true haha - all but referring to Link as "my love" like she does with Sidon! I really loved the scene with her encouraging - nay, yelling at Sidon - to join Link. Yona is supportive!

Lol I tried to finish the Water Temple but I couldn't defeat the boss so I just left Sidon up there XD lol ssshhhh he's fine

[summertimemusician]

Linktober (Shadow) Day 10

(Puppet) Zelda

Summer Stop Showcasing Your Love for Twilight Princess and Sleep Deprivedly Writing when Exam Season is Right Around the Corner Challenge (Impossible) /j

Look, we don't talk enough about the Zelda's (or as I affectionately call them, Valkyries) and certainly not about Dusk, whom I am still so bitter that they gave her such a good design but never did anything with it, hence this is my attempt to fix that by giving her the spotlight and some love and give homage to the original Puppet Zelda, Dusk walked so Flora could run it (or well, TP Ganon did so TOTK Ganon could), hence I smashed these two prompts together lol, might make it a two parter after the others are done, but for now as always it's left to interpretation.

As always anything can be read as romantic or platonic or in and out of an LU concept, though the names are used for convenience and to give a rough idea of which kind of scenario we're working with here. Though it's less one of the boys and reader and more one of the ladies and reader this time, if that's not your cup of tea then kindly scroll by, again, this is just something very self indulgent before I pass out and work on the rest lol.

Anyway, good reading!

You slowly but surely came to adore festivals in Hyrule.

No matter the era, it filled you with so much joy whenever your group would come to a new Hyrule during the Hylian holidays, from the Picori Festival in Four's Era, to the Harvest Festival in Legend's, the Pioneering Celebration's in Wind's or the Spring and Summer Equinoxes in Time's and Warrior's, it usually meant your heroes would get the chance to unwind and relax, to eat good food with little worry for a portal (as they strangely didn't appear directly during festival days), you could see the Chain's family and friend's and have such a good time eating or dancing or learning the tradition's from your boy's. Such a stroke of luck came the next time you landed on Twilight's Era, as well as an invitation letter from Dusk to come to Castle Town and celebrate.

(Also translated as 'The nobles are probably hounding her about having 'The One Who Purged the Twilight' make at least one appearance in the castle and she couldn't stall them anymore' by Twilight, with tone tinged by exasperation and aggravation both, albeit much less than the poison of the sharp bitterness of Legend towards the nobility, Wild's tense silence that could mean a memory, or even Warrior's passive aggressiviness when it came to formal events.)

It would be the first time you'd truly meet a Zelda since joining the Chain, and Dusk was likely the most curious case, being crowned queen soon after the Twilight invasion was over and done with and only show during times of war and the only one to have an almost fully cordial relationship with Twilight until the coronation (even Time was closer with Lullaby according to Malon, likely due to knowing her future self). Neither you nor Twilight could say you knew much about her compared to the other's and their respective princesses (or queen's in Warrior's case), so it was a surprise to be invited at all though none of you could say you minded, the plaza of Castle Town was brilliantly decorated in the late autumn sun,  with the decorations glowing orange, yellow and blue witth lanterns and banners all around Castle Town, with decorated shops many stalls rented out for food, games and people, from young children laughing as they played to couples stealing kisses to family and friend's reuniting, it was no surprise you and your boys also got lost in the excitment after having set off from Ordon's own festival, decked out in fall colors and the green many of them favored and paint made to mimic Ordona's markings , you and Twilight getting swept away in the dance at the center with one of the many traveling troupes of musicians, you couldn't help your bright grin to match his as you occasionaly had to dodge running children in between the spinning dancers, clapping along to the song, just a few dances before you had to head on to the castle and finally meet Zelda wouldn't hurt, right?

"Pardon me," Came the soft, musical tone of your new partner, spiriting you away from Twilight with a small smile as he excused himself to find WIld and hopefully some refreshments.

At least that was what you thought, before almost having your heart jump out of your throat by Queen Zelda Vespera Hyrule herself entering the ring of dancers, taking you as a partner.

"Your-"

She spun you around with a hum, you almost struggled to keep up in your shock thought thankfully she held you steady, dark, ash inked hair held steady in a braided crown, looseing around her shoulders and eyes vibrant with vaguely masked cerulean amusement as she shook her head, the lanterns casting burning gold upon her irises, "No need for that. I'd rather my presence not be announced. I thought I'd meet you and Link halfway, away from the court." Another twirl, and she sighs, understandingly, as regal as ever, her gloved palm upon yours warm as you are sure your face is, "He's expressed dislike for the castle in the past and I cannot blame him for such, it's only fair I find him first then, after all he's done for us."

You are briefly separated, as you digest the information and reeling from the surprise, it makes sense. None of the Link's were overly fond of Hyrule Castle and Twilight was no exception, with the nobles who minimally contributed to anything yet demanded reward or for their schemes to be enabled and the complacent knights, easily swayed by the honeyed words of vipers and who were useless in the face of true danger even during the invasion, none of your boys - even Warriors who learned how to swim or drown in that mess - felt comfortable there. You can't imagine it wasn't similar for Dusk, even growing up among them.

... She did seem very lonely, even back then.

You dance back into her arms, nodding easily as you take her in, with her hair braided in white ribbons and cream, ruffled poet's shirt and lightly heeled riding boots, she really did look just like any other young woman out for a night of festival fun, albeit breathtakingly beautiful just the same, "Alright then, would Zelda be fine then?"

Her smile was radiant, as bright as the lanterns in the plaza in contrast to her shaded lips, voice soft like the whisper of a breeze through autumn leaves, "It's perfect, I'm so glad to finally be able to meet you personally." She twirls you, and you laugh as it transitions into an unexpected dip, the disguised queen giggling in turn and it's soft and fluttering, "Link's letters don't do you full justice, the flesh is much more captivating than the imagination."

"Says the Queen of Hyrule," You snipe back, hoping to all being's holy in this land and the realms beyond that you are not flushing crimson enough to outshine the lanterns, you briefly catch a glimpse of Twilight, standing somewhere just beyond the dancers and sipping on an apple cider, you lock eyes and you briefly tilt your chin to Zelda, 'So. This is the Queen of Hyrule. HELP?!'

He briefly looks you over, seemingly studying the situation, then gives you a wolfish smirk at whatever he saw, 'Have fun.' He mouths, taking a long swig.

'Traitor.' You hiss in your thoughts because turns out you are NOT well equipped to handle Hylian Royalty suddenly sweeping you off your feet (literally) without ample preparation and your only hope of composing yourself clearly wasn't going to help, so you smile and continue on, "I'm hardly that much, but thank you, y- Zelda."

"Nonsense," She primly answers, before you switch partners once more, to the left, then back to Dusk, and back again, she tilts her head, humming contemplatively, "Would you mind showing me around the festival? I'm sure Link won't mind if I steal you for a couple moments."

You chuckle, "I hardly know Castle Town all that well myself, I doubt I'd be a good guide." And that's true, you've only seen it distantly, during Twilight's adventure, it could hardly compare to the real thing.

She smiles, somethibg soft and beautiful and sharp with amusement, eyes glinting like clouded aquamarine, rhodedendron eargerness and hydrangea beautiful, "Then I suppose we'll just explore it together then, shall we go?"

"We shall." You answer back, after all, it's not everyday you can say you went to a festival with a Zelda.

She links her arm with yours, grip tight and warm.

(Later, although not much later, Twilight will meet Dusk at Telma's.

She had not even seen you on the way, though she had been looking forward to your meeting.)

[shannonsketches]

(Same anon from earlier) I meant like in totk especially it’s like he just comes out of nowhere and is just being a butt for no reason but now that I’ve though about it, yeah I’d be pretty mad if space furries just tried to claim the land too. Just wish we would’ve seen that motive, you know? Nothing against the game tho, I looooove it!

Hello Same Anon From Earlier! I also love it. I have a LOT of beef with the gameplay / mechanics priorities but I do love it lol

But I actually disagree with this, I feel like TotK gave us the most concrete on-screen context of why he did what he did!

Like, OoT is my baby, but the older games are much shorter, and much less focused on Ganondorf himself, so the in-game framing he's just introduced with the two traits of Power Hungry and Being a Dick to Children. Wind Waker was much more sympathetic, but his reason was 'I wanted their land because mine sucked', TP was 'I got executed before I could do this last time lol'

There are a lot of very subtle storytelling reasons in the context of the games, but all of them point to Ganondorf being the one who started shit with Hyrule for his own gain. Despite TotK's best efforts, it actually told us the opposite was true:

Even just between the Molduga and Fealty scenes, we explicitly learn

Rauru was pushing into Gerudo Territory (Molduga can only swim in soft sand, and couldn't be a threat to any establishment outside the desert)

Rauru repeatedly invited the Gerudo to 'be accepted into the protective embrace' of Hyrule and 'serve it faithfully' which is a wild thing to say to a sovereign nation whose only known threat is you

Rauru calls accepting his own invitation a ' welcome appeal,' which is also wild, and says it's reassuring that someone as baller as Ganondorf would make such an appeal.

Rauru acknowledged Ganondorf as a known Gerudo hero in front of his people, and told Zelda he's aware of his 'evil nature' which. Is he a hero or is he evil, R? Are his people evil too? (yes, actually, he and Hyrule do in fact consider anyone who agrees with Ganondorf evil lol) which.... their exchange may or may not imply Ganondorf killed a lot of Zonai during the war imo lmao

Further dialogue tells us explicitly that Rauru never wanted Ganondorf as an ally, he only ever wanted him under his personal surveillance (and was actively badgering him about it!!)

Then, when Ganondorf takes the stone, he says Rauru took it for granted and squandered it, and that Sonia is a victim of his arrogance -- which, depending on how you read Ganondorf, could either mean he could've squashed his enemies or solved bigger issues for his country (he most likely meant both, if other game context is applied).

And, in Mineru's retelling of the story, she literally says the Zonai came down from their land and Rauru 'used zonai knowledge to become a great leader', met a Hylian woman, gave her immense power, and together they decided to establish a kingdom. And we know from prior scenes, that their kingdom -- according to Ganondorf -- repeatedly pressured the other kingdoms to unite under Rauru's rule (and then showing us that there are massive deposits beneath those countries of an ore on which only one of those eight societies runs, and it just so happens to be the one who is demanding to be in charge of the others, despite only having two members of its society left -- and we know it happened after Gan's fealty show because there are Gerudo Heroine statues pointing to the mine, despite the Gerudo not having any need for Zonaite).

I am with you and I also wish we would see more from Ganondorf's perspective -- because he is an established hero to his people, and has been noted as such in two games now separately from his status as king (with the framing of course being that his followers, too, are Evil -- which both games proved to be a Hylian assumption that Link is able to experience differently). It would be really cool to continue the tradition of Link getting to see another side of things by letting Zelda interact with him on her own, since she most likely would've been allowed into Gerudo Town. Even if it was just an attempt to spy for Rauru, Zelda is a compassionate character, and letting her meet him and see how he is with his people would've been really cool, and probably would've offered her perspective that she would never have otherwise.

But while Nintendo's never going to do an explicitly anti-imperialism story, and I don't love Aonuma's black-and-white taste in narrative design, I do credit him with knowing everyone has different taste indeed, and this really sticks out to me from his interview in which he is discussing interpretation potential of TotK:

ALL that said, and please forgive me for rambling, IMO we saw Ganondorf's motive much more clearly than we have in prior games. Even if it isn't explicitly stated as 'this is why I did that btw' (because that would disrupt the Defeat the Evil narrative), the circumstances that are explicitly stated leading up to his decision are much more pointed than they have made room for in the past.

Personally I'm just glad they let Ganondorf be a human being with personal, logical, politically relevant reasons again and not just 'this man isn't really a man he's a literal actual demon in human shape and because he is evil incarnate his only purpose is to destroy our good and holy kingdom blessed by the one true goddess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ '

According to yesterday, it's been exactly Seventeen Years since that's happened. :')

[local-writer]

Just a post about what I think on totk and what I like to do

Spoilers for totk ahead

Whenever I see Zelda in the sky I can't help but take the time to go and visit her and put her favorite flowers in her hair <3 I wanna make a flower crown for her, but it's probably gonna take a lot of patience

But it's worth it for my Queen <333

I also like to visit Sonia's grave sometimes and drop a few sun flowers to pay my respects. I felt so bad for taking her flowers after finding out it was her grave 😭 left way more then I should have lol. She and Rauru simply did not get enough screen time in my opinion 😔 and the fact that there won't be a dlc with extra memories makes me sad :')

Also, can we talk about how Zelda follows link around hyrule? I noticed throughout my time playing that she'll hover over the next region you have to visit, and once you've visited all of the locations she'll just follow you wherever you go <3 I find it sweet because I feel like she's watching over link, even if she isn't aware of it. It just proves that her love for link is strong, so strong that even without her memories as a dragon, her heart remembers. And her sheer will to protect him and her people amazes me, and it shines bright during the final boss fight when she comes to aid link. Omg I'm gonna cry just talking about it help-

It still disappoints me that we didn't get a hug at the end though 😔 I feel like we got so cheated in the English version of the game, because in the Japanese version, Link's personality shows more I feel like because in the quest log, it's written in his pov, and he even writes his thoughts down too.

I headcanon that zelda and link live together, and no, I don't take criticism.

I really believe that link loves zelda the way she loves him, and sure, I'll probably get shit from nonshippers (or toxic shippers, whichever sees this post first lmfao) for saying this bc according to them, all zelink shippers think this way just because we ship them. But I really feel like their relationship is so much more then what Nintendo shows us, and I wish they wouldn't overlook the idea of giving us just a little look at that relationship.

I hoping that some day, we'll get some zelink content out of them. Whether it's a hug or a peck on the cheek, or even just a simple 'I love you', I'll take it. Also, I'd like a game where we can play as zelda too.

Before totk came out people were spreading a rumor that we'd get to play as zelda too. I didn't believe this ofc, but I still had a bit of hope that Nintendo would consider it. The game would have been so much more badass if we could have played as zelda and explored the past a bit as her. I was a little disappointed, but wasn't surprised after I beat the game that we didn't get to play as her.

Something that ticks me off is that they practically erased all of the shiekah tech from botw. Why didn't the keep a few ruined shrines or towers? Why didn't they leave the divine beasts? I think the divine beasts should have been left alone. At the very least, they could have given an explanation as to where they went and why they're gone. Maybe they did, I could have missed it somewhere, but if I did someone please let me know. Oh, and let's not forget how some of the NPCs in the game don't even remember link. The disappointment I felt when Hudson didn't recognize link was big. I'm not sure if it's because I didn't beat botw again before I played totk, but if that's the case then I'll be happy. I'll have to speed run the rest of botw so everyone remembers link in totk lol

Okay I'm done, sorry about the long post lol. I talk a lot sometimes when it comes to something I love

[iiryebreadii]

EoW thoughts!! I wrote them as I was playing :)

It is Long so it's under a cut!

OKAY these bullet points I made as I was playing, but I stopped writing things down after a while just to focus on the game. and then I got distracted and finished the entire zora section

My first surprise, I went "YOU PLAY AS LINK??" which is an utterly deranged thing to be surprised about in literally any other zelda game

Return of dedicated jump button!! parkouring time

Ganon laughing after being murderized is probably not a great sign I'll be honest

Zelda breaking out!! RUNNING FROM THE CRACKS IN REALITY!! and little golden light to guide us!! Intriguing

She's been gone a week and there have been rifts in that time already? So what link fell into wasn't a new phenomenon

Some of these villager voice lines are very very reminiscent of botw/totk, i wonder if they reused some of the sounds??

okay so the rifts are Really not new, if they been appearing for 'a long time' according to the king, stealing specifically children? and now adults, too, for whatever reason

DAD NOOOOOOO

WRIGHT AND LEFTE TOO?? WE CANT HAVE ANYTHING NICE

ooo this is clever, I was wondering why Zelda was wearing Link's cloak in the trailer, but if the people all think she's the one causing the rifts then it makes sense! She's gonna have to hide her identity (to avoid EXECUTION?? ok nintendo. good heavens). Also, generic King of Hyrule sacrificing his life to save his beloved daughter, king rhoam bosphoramus hyrule could never

TRI!! It's nice to meet you :) you are very casual about this whole execution thing, friend. They feel very inhuman, but in the fun way, like they don't quite understand human limits. like what do you mean you can't phase through these bars? i mean, that's weird, but you can have this magic stick I guess

I really enjoyed the stealth bit getting out of the dungeons! And Impa!!! IMPA!!! I love you badass old lady :') thank you for coming my escape and giving me a musty old dress. maybe taking off the crown would've helped the disguise. whatever. zelda's going through the wringer, she deserves to keep her crown if she wants

This game is very pretty :) also I just got my first piece of heart! Had to do some clever stacking on various objects to reach it, but I managed!! I really like the problem solving so far

second heart piece acquired

LINK'S HOUSE. WAAAAAAAAA I NEED TO SAVE HIM

As soon as I gained access to monster echos I started saying "go my scarab" every time I make one to fight other monsters for me

OK so after all that, I started just playing without writing things down, but I still wanna keep track of my thoughts!! I found a bunch of other heart pieces, and I REALLY like the puzzle solving in this game. The switches to more 2D platformer sections are SO fun and such a great idea, since it has way more of that classic, tightly designed puzzle stuff that zelda is so known for. At the same time, you have so many options for other ways to solve problems and think creatively, im having so much fun with it!

The wealth of options kind of makes me overthink things lol, like the first heart piece I found would have been incredibly easy to access via the water, but for some reason I didn't think that was an option, and instead spent a solid 5 minutes figuring out the right combination to stack items and get on top of something two blocks high, so I could climb the surrounding cliffs to reach the heart piece. But also, I felt so dang accomplished by the end, I wasn't even mad that there was an easier way! Plus, I used the knowledge I gained there in the future, to help me access various parts of the terrain :D

The dungeons!! I've finished the first one, and also the zora questline :) im really enjoying the return to more classic dungeon design, but like I said before, it's still open to plenty of options in solving the puzzles. The still world is very cool, I like the vibes. The fact that a ton of children have been taken there and never returned? Spooky. I'm gonna give my early-game theory now, and guess that Tri's friends come from the lost children that fell into the rifts. Idk those are the vibes rn.

The combat is fun! mostly in the way I'll send out a monster and stand back to watch them rip each other apart. the peahat is my favorite I love that thing

Also!!! Link!! Falling into the rift, but escaping with a few others? Losing his ability to speak from it? The way you meet so many other characters around the world that have met him and been touched by his life??? He's had his own whole adventure before zelda!! That's reflected in his abilities and hearts and stuff in the beginning, but still!! It's cool to see glimpses of what he was up to before saving zelda.

I'm working on the gerudo questline right now, just started the dungeon, and link(?) is here! It might be another shadow like the one from the first temple, but it would be neat to think that he's been working to help from the still world while we help in the original one :)

ANYWAY I'll make another post when I've got more to say but so far im really loving echos of wisdom!! Zelda's characterization in this is so fun, I love her :')

[shitboy96]

Finally finished TOTK yesterday after like 4 months and “150+ hours” according to my switch. Absolutely fantastic game of course but did it have to be so LONG

I probably would’ve enjoyed it as much if not more if it was like half the size? You know what just scrap the depths because I don’t think they added anything. And I think the blank map really helped the issue I have with open world games being so checklisty. Didn’t feel like that at all!

Definitely an improvement on BOTW which was already great but I just feel exhausted and relieved it’s over lol

[mamamittens]

I've done the sketch for Great Fairy!Nikia for the silly little BoTW/ToTK/One Piece crossover thing I've had going on for seemingly no reason besides sheer madness.

Side note: the escalation of leveling up your gear implies either Link fucks the fairies multiple times or, more plausibly and hilariously, the greatest blessing requires being dunked in the water and they're all such shits they just about waterboard him to do it. They don't seem interested in sex, more appreciating the flattery than anything else (or little conductor man is absolutely GETTING IT, WE STAN A SHORT KING!). Though they definitely think Link is cute...

Great Fairies. Are weird. OC discussion below.

So I went mostly in accordance to the art book for BoTW on the Great Fairies who are mostly identical save some minor details such as color, jewelry, hair, and makeup. She's technically related to them in the way that all fairies are related to each other. Very young as well.

So! Fun fact! I'm Breath of the Wild, the Great Fairies have no legs! Their waist down is sorta swallowed by a twisting flower bud??? Like they're the stamen for a flower kinda?? It's weird. But recent iterations of fairies tend to get rid of their legs anyway so it's not that surprising. So, I wanted her to still have them, even if she doesn't really... Use them??? So I fused it a little with Wind Waker fairies (not the child Great Fairy, who seems to control the others??? It's weird) where it sort of goes from dress to curling ribbon. So her 'legs' are actually going to be more like glass??? With the actual substance being the shoes (sort of like how the horse fairy in BoTW has detached hands) the pant ribbon things.

When she's super injured they either totally disappear or are just limp ribbons, rip.

Now, you may recall I said her wings get stolen? But here she has none. Yeah, like most Great Fairies she has none, they just tend to be floating women. So I'm not totally sure how I'll fix that plot hole unless I mean specifically the wings behind her right ear or her winged glasses. Probably her glasses. It's just silly enough to be a legit side quest in a Zelda game.

Now! The hair! There's a design note that the four great fairies have their hair flowing in one direction and it's also quite... Bombastic. So I played around with the volume a little and decided to do her braids for the trailing bit. Then I had to figure out what ties off the braids and thought it'd be cute if they were fairies holding them in place. Or maybe just hugging the ends to keep it from falling apart. Still deciding if they're game normal fairies or special colors since it's part of her design.

Still going with a dark blue/luminous stone inspired color scheme but I may color the dark jewel parts like pearls? The og girlies are pretty pastel themed so it would be interesting for a semi-traditional take to be notably different in several aspects. Parts of her outfit is themed around Lily of the Valley, such as her puffy sleeves and skirt/shorts. The sash thing that goes under her bust will also pulse with blue light but we'll see how well I can illustrate that.

She's a very glowy fairy. Hide and seek must be difficult unless she hides in her fountain.

Her fountain I'm still deciding on but I like the idea of a man made pool of perfect water with a budding flower in the middle where she lives. It blooms and she emerges like the others, save being only waist up out of the flower. Kinda giving water garden vibes like the little alcove in Zora's domain. Pillars surrounding the structure. Maybe a classic hidden entryway that requires playing music. Unsure which since it won't be made by the Royal family and as such, not need Zelda's Lullaby. I'll sit on it. A bit. Not like I could include that in the drawing.

Her magic centers more around permanent buffs revolving stamina and hearts via 'healing' ingredients. Perhaps this is how Link will manage two perfect rows of hearts and full stamina rings at the same time lol

I'll spare you my silly smut ideas btw

[achoshistor]

[totk] alternate dimension???

HAHA ok i simply can't go without writing this down but this time i will try my best to omit all spelling errors to preserve readability... tbh i wouldnt read this if you havent finished the geoglyphs

[spoilers!!]

ok im gonna be honest i've only finished botw and totk so this is gonna be moreso why the alternate timeline from botw is plausible in comparison to the actual placement of the timeline bc thats too much thinking and its been like a million bajillion years since i read the historia.

ok so firstly zelda doing different things in the past is def why the line would have changed from botw to totk but why was zelda the one who went back in time?? In botw the divine beasts are literally analogous to the current sages which is basically

vah rudania/daruk = yunobo

vah naboris/urbosa = riju

vah ruta/mipha = sidon

vah medoh/revali = tulin

that covers all four but what about link?? link gets his own divine beast (master cycle) too so why is zelda the sage and not link?? besides i heard this mentioned somewhere else (i forgot where) but link has the ability to literally slow down time when hes drawing his bow or looking through the scope and he can pause time with the menu but idk if thats actually canon LOL. either way link can also control time like zelda. But speaking of divine beasts the 4 helms can be found in totk as well but the item descriptions call them zonai while the general look of the pieces is clearly sheikha which is weird cuz whaaaat?? also idk maybe nintendo just wanted a way to explain amiibo gear but this just suggests that the divine beasts themsleves are also zonai of some sort. Ik people are saying they dont mention the divine beasts at all but impa and i think like one or two other npcs mention them meaning they are still here but zonai somehow which doesnt make sense in the context of botw.

also aside from the divine beasts theres some other things of note too: firstly, your house in hateno which zelda STOLE 😭😭liek man i paid good money for that sign... 3000 rs.... this is p minor but why would she just take the sign away unless it wasnt already there?? I mean ok maybe link wanted to live with her

[zora arc spoilers]

anyways point two about yona... tbh i thought she was ganondorfs spy or something at first because she came out of nowhere... im assuming she's muzu's daughter but we saw no sign at all of her in botw... maybe the devs hated sidlink that much lolol. In all seriousness tbh her appearance does seem to point to a shift in the events of 100 years ago unless she's not from hyrule which seems unlikley seeing that sidon grew up in zora's domain according to the botw dlc.

[zora spoilers over]

ok last thing... the bottomless swamp is gone!!

like whaaat theres a pond there now

I'm like 99% sure this is just because they needed a body of water that you can drop into safely but its also the only pond on ground thats actually got the lily pads from the sky in it which is interesting. I don't think they added any other new bodies of water aside from this though. Lorewise though it makes no sense at all that they removed that whole giant skeleton from here in a few years and even if they did iirc the ground around it was crackly and dry. Lanaryu/Zorana used to all be a desert and they said it took hundreds of years for it to become fertile so its kind of nonsensical that this area would only take a little while...

overall i think this is probably just nintendo trying to make it so that totk can be standalone but man it cant be that hard to write coherent lore

[itsyaboi-lehoe]

So I had an idea…

(Disclaimer: in no way do I think this actually will be the next Zelda game, this is all for fun lol)

The next Zelda game takes place thousands of years after TotK. Hyrule has many settlements across its land, some small, some large, but they are all over the land. The royal family has not been around since the legendary sealing of the Calamity, the family who carries the Blood of the Goddess is unknown, living amongst everyone else, hiding, in a way.

It is sudden when word gets out that civilians start hurting each other, their friends and families, neighbouring villages, it sparks concern as the word and the violence “disease” travels. Within Faron Woods, when word finally gets to the villages, many panic. Some drop to their knees, begging for the one with the Goddess’ Blood to appear and save them all. Some young folk within the Faron Woods villages decide to go and find the one themselves, determined to bring an end to the clear evil that rises.

This brings us to our dear hero, Link, who is a bit of a savage, quite selfish and frankly, he doesn’t wanna get out of bed and find some woman who will “magically heal the world or whatever.” However, he is forced to go, donning a basic village tunic with a red cape, both partially ripped due to his own doing. He heads off, a shitty sword at his hip, heading in the one direction the others did not travel in.

The first village he sees is desolate, and is his first witness to the horror that Hyrule faces. Despite all the blood, he finds no one there. The next village, he finds someone sane enough to talk to, an elder, who tells him that there’s a temple nearby the one he is looking for may reside in. After defeating the boss, he finds no one. He moves on, and the cycle repeats, although he does find more survivors, each one pleading for him to help them, of which the player decides what to do - make him more sympathetic or more selfish.

After no luck of finding the one with the Goddess’ Blood, Link enters one of the biggest villages, the one in the centre of Hyrule, where the old castle from the Calamity era still stands, although it rumbles with cracks and rubble everywhere, no walkable path in sight. There, he assists more people and is taken to the safe house alongside them, although he assures them he does not wish to go. Despite himself, he finds himself there, standing around. Eventually, a young woman about his age walks in, she looks at him briefly, before looking after someone’s wounds, healing it with magic, something Link hasn’t ever seen. The woman checks up on everyone, and when one civilian tells him about the “Goddess’ Spring” he knows where he has to go next.

He leaves for it in the morning, leaves behind the crying civilians, who can barely remember their lives before the evil infected them or their loved ones. In the Goddess’ Spring lies a brilliant sword, the Master Sword, and he takes it without hesitation. He defeats the beast of the spring (temple) and finds the woman he saw before praying at the spring itself. She recalls for him the history of the Blood of the Goddess, at least according to her research, and she channels her beliefs and dedication through her hands, creating magic that heals. Her name is Zelda, and allows herself to follow along with Link on his quest. Link detests the idea and threatens to go home, but Zelda tells him he can’t go home, because if he does return unsuccessfully, he won’t even be praised for his efforts. Reluctantly, Link gives into the manipulation, fearing a bruised ego, and the two continue into various villages, of whom give more info regarding the Goddess’ Blood, which Zelda writes down, while Link’s hand itches to take down as many enemies as possible. Although that weird triangle glow is also kind of making his hand itch, or maybe it’s the fact that Zelda also has the same glow but in her opposite hand.

Eventually, the two are told that the persistent evil lays within the old castle, and so they make their way in, and somehow, Zelda makes contact with the Princesses of old, revealing that she is the one with the Goddess’s Blood and that her magic on the back of her hand is one of a kind, repelling evil, and that the evil has struck at the civilians because there was no royal family to target. Link recalls every dead body he saw, and almost reveals his anger to Zelda until he sees that she too is angry. Angry at herself for being unable to prevent such evil from rising, being unable to help more people… Link finds himself also being remorseful, wondering if he could have helped more, should have helped more? He looks down at his left hand, the glow of the Triforce ever bright.

Zelda’s ancestors tell them that the evil will persist to get Zelda, but more noticeably, it will try and kill Link first, due to the Master Sword partially hidden by his cape. He draws the sword, and vows to assist Zelda in any way he can, surprising her. Zelda, who always wanted to prove herself to the ones of old, now known to her as her ancestors, moves forward to the Sanctum, followed by Link, and they encounter Ganondorf.

Their goal is clear, and soon enough, after a fight of two vs one, Zelda is able to seal the damned man away. Immediately afterwards, Zelda smiles at Link, and for the first time in the game, Link smiles too.

Recalling the reasoning of why civilians were attacked, Zelda establishes the monarchy once again, and with surprising ease and acceptance of those living. She tells them everything that happened, and postgame is multiple Tarrey Town esq side quests, the biggest one being for the castle rebuilding.

There’s many more side quests from villagers, especially with Link being more open, although he still can be a jerk, depending on the players choices, and the true ending cutscene of the game is of Zelda holding her firstborn in her arms, Links partially gloved hand in frame, the child giving a big smile to the world as they cling onto Link’s pinky. (Yes you may assume that this child is a zelink child🥰)

And these are the designs I created for Link and Zelda respectively! Some extra notes; Link is left handed and Zelda’s purple sash was given to her by a civilian, while her red red is actually Link’s cape and is worn postgame!

[ladyhoneydee]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag @aegon-targaryen!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

23, which is an absolutely wild number, and will also be even higher by the end of the month!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

63,587

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Realistically only LoZ, although I have two non-LoZ fics on my AO3 as well!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Kiss Me [Kaichou wa Maid-Sama!] - 851 kudos

Bloom and Grow [LoZ] - 280 kudos

Just Fine (but i’m calling out) [LoZ] - 163 kudos

Sweet Nothing [LoZ] - 149 kudos

Matching Set [LoZ] - 89 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Ahahaha my relationship with replies is complicated? I never used to (because I never thought about it, and also because I was never sure how to interact with more simple comments, even though I’m so grateful for all of them). Then I began trying to reply to them earlier this year, as a way to engage with people and thank them. Aaaand then I started my 30 Day Song(fic) Challenge this month and all replying to comments has flown out the window lol. Oops

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I generally prefer endings that have at least some hope, but Riptide, which has none (because it's Midlink not long before the final scene of TP), takes the cake on angstiest fic

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I write a lot of fluffy, happy fic, so this one is difficult! I think I’d have to go with Sweet Nothing (in which BotW/TotK zelink are finally free of destiny and expectation and the weight of the monarchy and are just blissfully domestic and in love)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I once received a very odd comment arguing about a throwaway reference I included, but nothing I’d classify as “hate” lol

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope! Although I’m not necessarily opposed

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I’ve never written a crossover, nor do I read them. However, I do love AUs based on existing media!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, although I hope to feel confident enough in my longfic-planning-skills to do so someday

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

It’s gotta be zelink, of course (although I am a multishipper, to be clear!)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

[long, dead-eyed stare into the camera] too many to count, especially my longfic ideas…

16. What are your writing strengths?

Prose, characterization, and invoking emotion, according to my comments sections

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

An inability to come up with actual plots for longfics, and an extreme lack of confidence in myself and my writing (especially when faced with negative critique from people whose opinions I really value). I’m working on these, though!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I suppose you could count my usage of Japanese honorifics when writing anime/manga fic? I just would rather throw myself down an oubliette than use “Mr./Ms. [Somebody]” when two characters refer to one another formally. Plus it loses a lot of nuance

19. First fandom you wrote for?

LoZ. Ironically, it was in 2011, before I ever knew actual fanfiction existed online!

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

What a question. My answer to this probably changes by the day, but for now it’s probably Of Anguish and Apple Fritters. I love the comforting nature of it, and it makes me endlessly pleased and proud to have received comments telling me that it made them nostalgic for life experiences of their own

Tagging @pastelsandpining, @farore-or-less, @cooking-with-hailstones

[novantinuum]

The Ballad of Aryll: Chapter 7 Preview

I'm not posting the full thing on AO3 yet because everyone is so busy playing TotK right now, (as am I, and I still need to do my final edit pass lol), but I do want to share a preview! Here that is, a scene from the middle of said chapter:

__

Beyond the rhythmic beat of hooves against the dirt path and the clanking of weapons on his back, most of this leg of their journey is awash in silence, the two of them content to sightsee and enjoy this idyllic present. Idyllic in the scenic sense, of course. With a slight frown, his glance drops to the young blonde girl sitting in front of him, her shoulders hunched uncomfortably as she attempts to compensate for the subtle back-and-forth of Makk’s swaying gait. Even an amnesiac could recognize the depth of this poor youth’s internal strife. She’s clearly mulling over something.

Sure enough, she speaks up just as they’re passing another one of those strange stone pillars.

“I wish I can see Mother again,” she says, her tone remaining upbeat and conversational despite her body language and the delicate subject matter. “I miss her laugh.”

He offers a soft hum in return to signal that he’s listening, not sure how else to respond. Especially since his hands are busy gripping Makk’s mane. Hmm. He wonders if they’ll find a saddle and bridle kit anywhere, once they reach civilization…

“She has a really good laugh,” she adds, peering up towards the sun as it dips behind a small cloud, “the kind that makes your whole tummy rumble. I haven’t heard it in a while, but… if I think super hard I can still imagine it in my head!”

Another passing silence.

(What can a person say, in response to a child’s pending grief?)

Aryll swivels her head to peer back at him, her eyes glazed with the faintest whispers of resignation when they meet his.

“Are you sure you don’t remember anything about her? Anything at all?”

He shakes his head no, his memory wholly void of such personal details. It feels as if the more he attempts to chase the impression of those lost years, they pull even further away.

“Hmmm…” she muses, pressing a hand to her chin as she contemplates this likely unwanted response. “Then I guess it’s just my job to teach you!”

Link nods his approval, the ends of his lips turning up into something approaching a smile. He’d honestly love that, if for nothing else than to pass the time on their ride.

His sister’s face lights up with glee. “Well… I guess we’ll start with Mother. Mother’s name is Kelra,” she says, her voice becoming more energetic the longer she monologues. “She’s like, really, really tall, the tallest in the family. And her hair is so blonde that it almost looks white when she’s out in the sun! But that’s just because she’s part Sheikah, y’know? ‘Coz the place we’re going? Kakariko? Our grandfather was actually born there! But Grandma Lilree’s not Sheikah, she’s just a Hylian. Sometimes I wish I was full Sheikah, though. Like, did you know that a lot of the Sheikah can do magic? They have a natural sensitivity to…”

The young girl continues to happily babble for the next duration of their trip. Most of it’s about daily life with her grandma and mother, scattered facts about their family tree, or random stories about the places she’s traveled to a century earlier. For instance, Gatepost Town— a sizable settlement that once sprawled at the foot of the Great Plateau— used to host a grand festival around this time of the season: the Festival of the Sages. A celebration famous across the lands for its colorful firework displays, multicultural cuisine, elaborate costumes, and public combat tournaments featuring the best and brightest of all Hyrule. Her parents took the two of them when they were really young, according to her story, and she got lost in the marketplace. Apparently she accidentally mistook another man in royal guard attire for her father, and followed him for three blocks before realizing he was a total stranger.

They make a few more stops along the road that day— once to eat a quick meal and let Makk graze, and three times for one of them to relieve themselves. On the whole, the ride is brisk and peaceful. Not a monster to be seen. Beyond all the brash, territorial bokoblins he had to take care of just off the plateau, they’ve spotted no encampments near the roads so far. He wonders why. Do these nasty creatures— far more acquainted to company than a bokoblin on the Great Plateau would be— make a conscious effort to avoid travelers, or have they simply gotten lucky today? It seems there’s no sure answer. Before long, the sun begins to set behind them. The air grows crisp, a faint shiver riding up the back of his neck.

It’s around then that he begins to smell the scent of slightly burning meat wafting across the breeze.

[thegeminisage]

actually it kinda sucks that we had to lose all our items for game reasons...link's armor was made for him BY mipha...the disrespect...i hope we're able to get the same set back...

uh-oh, finley back at it with the letters. i notice they use the word "friend" here instead of whatever creepy bullshit they had going on last time lol

i, uh. notice dorephan's not in the throne room. buddy...am i gonna have to unmark my bingo card...they are still calling sidon PRINCE...

OH okay he's "not here," cool. alive for now...........

oh! they have link's armor for repairs! thank goodness

yona seems nice. it's a real shame lol. i WAS mistaken about her tits btw it was just the angle

"it is not set in stone that i (sidon) will inherit the throne, it's not about blood alone" written on this mural...yikes. lmao at people who were thinking he'd be king.......im so sorry babes he might get passed over

"sidon will be so delighted to see you he might just fly into the sky!" awww

OH...............mipha's statue IS up there at mipha's court!! according to npcs. time 2 go see it & sidon <3

id like to know how the Fuck im meant to get up to shatterback point when i cant swim up waterfalls smh. am i really gonna have to CLIMB...

you know i think there was supposed to be a walking path but i climbed it anyway. it took a real long time

oh EWWWW these sludge waterfalls.......over the place mipha hid her armor no less :(

man, visiting these locations, it really drives home that not only are the champions dead but not even their spirits are around anymore. which is great because they deserved peace, of course they did, but in botw you felt them everywhere, saw them everywhere, heard them whenever you used your abilities. in totk they're just GONE. no flashbacks. no cameos. nothing. it's an absence so keenly felt, now by you/link the way it was for everyone else prior to this...they're really gone forever, and we'll never see them again. death is real and it's in my nintendo switch

this is why i like a steady balance of gameplay/cutscene. you need time alone with your thoughts to think about this stuff you know. time to Digest the story. zelda is often really good about that - my favorite is when the environment tells a story, like in a dungeon, because really you tell it to yourself while you play

on a gameplay note, i fucking miss mipha's grace. it was a great second chance when i just wasn't carefully watching my health and i am NEEEVER getting it back