#Terminian

[kheprriverse]

pspspspspsps

the language of Termina that you showed in a wip with Terminus and Time interacting...is that from anywhere in particular, or did you create it? I'm very curious for details! 👀✨

[I hit a button on accident (twice) when nearly done with this and it reverted and deleted basically everything (twice) so please excuse any sorta messy un-hinged-ness to my writing here. Plz take Ctrl+Z away from me I'm begging you]

but AAAA!! ty for the ask as well as the kind words and general interest in the reblogs! And you wanted me to infodump so... uh below the cut will have my brain garbage flung out until I decide to stop typing. Enjoy!

For now what's in the post is a complete mix of things.

I was delving into some fan-created Hylian languages, but mostly used the font from here (which its all a very interesting read even if its incredibly old) for now as a placeholder. Because I DO plan to delve deeper into Terminian sometime in the future, along with some cultural stuff.

As for what it says, its totally scrambled nonsense LMAO. English translated poorly into japanese, written backwards, then scrambled a little, then flipped XD

I was going to be somewhat simple with the post and just using OOT/MM's script and maybe jumbling it, but in going through fan-made languages I sorta fell in love with the font that I ended up using. It IS a placeholder though and not meant to be insanely accurate to anything let alone easily deciphered.

Buuut in case you wanted to know what's actually being said I have it written out already!

Terminus taking the time to shit on Legend for no other reason then that he just can. Much to Time's displeasure.

I decided to scrap the short comic. But I liked the idea of Time and Terminus both being able to converse with one another privately (without the rather invasive mental connection they have with each other).

I like the idea that the hylian languages across the eras are so similar, enough to where the boys can MOSTLY understand one another in speech (but maybe not in writing). Then as they travel over time, things become easier and easier.

But Terminian?? Not a single one of them knows it or has even HEARD of Termina until FD came along and Time had to spill the beans. They probably didn't even know a separate, completely different, language like this even existed. Much like Mudoran in lttp.

Things I wanna focus on/keep in mind when working on this:

What was the cultural impact FD (dubbed Terminus by the boys) had on Termina? (What came first: the chicken or the egg? Also what is his role here?)

How does termina's culture compare to Hyrule? (holidays, food, beliefs, history, etc)

What does the language look like? Do I want it to be Syllabary? Abugida? Alphabetic? I'm personally leaning towards Syllabary but other forms of writing have interesting potential. Whereas Alphabetic (like some of the other hylian scripts) would be easier to work with.

What does it sound like? I feel like this would be where Terminian and Hylian experiences a sort of disconnect (especially if we go with an alphabet system). I've thought of a very stilted(?) almost reversed way of sound -- like smth isn't entirely right and just feels strange. But to residents of Termina it's completely normal and very easy to speak.

Termina is a very strange place and I really wanna play into it. I'm also very happy that you showed interest in this because it allows me to say stuff I normally would've just kept to myself.

Also I plan to delve into a Twilit language, culture, and just generally the whole world, too. Because yeah ofc we're going there. I am simply coping.

[heros-shade-fanclub]

I redrew this tp link from exactly 6 years ago :3

[kagoutiss]

terminian counterparts

[cherryblossomfaewilds]

thinking about link finding comfort in seeing the people of clock town again in their hyrulian counterparts, even if they're not the same. thinking about the few people of clock town with no hyrulian counterparts, and how they only exist in his memory now.

[baileyboo2016]

I FUCKING. HATE TINGLE.

[hazeism]

I'll stop drawing boring poses when I figure out WHAT THE FUCK EVERYONE LOOKS LIKEEE

[randomwriteronline]

LU Skull Kid "subtly" trying to tell Sehel that Twilight has the hots for him

@requiemofthespirit

Sehel would have recognized that bone mask anywhere.

"Eu!" he greeted, hand waving out of the water. "Timade, de!"

"Timada, da pa," replied the little wooden thing standing on the platform a short swim from the beach.

"Amu se munu curana pa," the Zora pointed out.

"Curanelu pa, qece se darsalu pa."

"Lu va, lu va. Ioi felohe de."

"Feloha da."

What a weird conversation, Sehel thought: "Mafe beilce ma darse?"

"Ghe."

"Ane beilce du?"

"Ce Link dacensu, se tao pulre de."

His semi-transparent crest shot upwards; he quickly flattened it back down on his head manually, with both hands, while half of his face instantly submerged to hide the burning grey blush spreading and completely overtaking his face.

"Dacensa ce baisuse vafu," Skull Kid added nonchalantly, laying on the floating wood, blissfully unaware of the Zora's embarassment.

"Amu i mozen asvata!" Sehel stopped them with a nervous iteration of his whirlpool-sounding laugh: "I perabaroe du, tvera pulra dacensuma ane baisuma vafu!"

"Perabaroe du pa," they argued back.

"Cochure, de! Lu ane ma, dua- afernua, dua!"

"Amu basuse vafu."

"Ane qece tao tarete de?"

"Ce darsu."

At that, the Zora briefly forgot to breathe.

"Darsu?" he repeated weakly.

Skull Kid nodded: "Darsu."

"... Ane rece darsu?"

"Varenti dosomu."

It wasn't necessarily a lie, because Twilight had indeed murmured Sehel's name once or twice during particularly deep sleep, wriggling as if to hold something tighter and spasming his lips very slightly, and most importantly because as much as he denied it he really did hold a very deep fondness for the young amphibian; but Skull Kid did not know that in the traditional forklore of Terminian Zoras sleeptalking was considered to be the most honest and genuine of expressions, as well as one of the rarest; and that clear messages especially - perfectly comprehensible in comparison to incoherent babbles or confusing riddles - were believed to hold the truest thoughts of a person.

Sehel looked back to shore, where most of the Hylians were minding their business. By fatal accident, Twilight noticed him, and smiled very brightly in his direction.

The Zora waved a little, desperately hoping he was far enough for his burning grey face not to be seen.

"Dacensa ce baselu dafe," Skull Kid commented, still oblivious to the whirlwind of emotions he was unleashing onto the poor scaled boy: "Masifiu du."

"... Pei dacenselu," Sehel wheezed.

Then he submerged into the deepest part of the bay, crest finally springing upwards and face completely grey with blush, and screamed into his hands, kicking at the water like a little girl who just got her prom invitation accepted.

[turbofanatic]

Hyrule's resting bitch face champion for three decades and counting.

@scopophobia-polaris asked for some more details on this silly guy and I needed to post the redesign of his scars so I'm gonna ramble!

General "rules" I am using for the Bad Moon AU:

-You cannot change the future. If you saw the future, it happens. Maybe not to you, but it happens. Time travel either involves splitting timelines, temporal loops (see the song of storms), or two extremely similar timelines that collapse together (a dumb child goes to the past to plant beans). What does this mean for Termina? OH GOD OH GOD WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TINY WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!

-If you turn into something, you will never entirely turn back.

-Two opposing wishes on the Tri Force will really fuck things up. Also, it happened. Bad Moon is about dealing with the fallout.

Tiny has a series of magic scars from his various transformations. Most of them are benign or beneficial due to Farore's blessing and the Fierce Deity's Mask's intervention, but not all. Believe it or not, this is me nerfing him, because I'm getting rid of all the Terminian masks except for the FD's mask, which gets broken.

-From the Deku mask he has ivy vines. Most are centered along his spine. He uses them to hold stuff. If he sleeps in fertile soil they will grow into the ground and he leaves weird plants that are sort of beholden to him all over the place. Gross. Anyways, remember how the Hero's Shade is covered in ivy? The "missing" eye is also more or less a Deku scrub's pitlike eye now, granting him low-light but otherwise mediocre vision in that eye.

-From the Goron mask he is disturbingly strong now. Most of Farore's blessed are pretty strong to begin with and now he's got Darmani's strength on top of that. His teeth are continuously growing and need to be worn down by grinding them on each other (because he's missing a tooth from that facial scar those teeth are maloccluded and grow all weird). It's definitely inspired by wrathful deity artwork though. He's also extremely resistant to heat. He got the white hair and scales on his shoulders/knees/elbows from Darmani too. Guess what part of his magic scarring the Hero of Twilight inherits!

-From the Zora mask he has some extremely strong scales on his forearms that can be used to defend himself. He can also make nasty electrical shocks, is very resistant to electrocution, is an extremely good swimmer (nowhere near as good as Mikau though), and can hold his breath for twenty minutes easily. His toes are webbed too.

-From the Giant's mask his height just kinda varies. His "true" height is over seven feet tall but it can vary between about 6"/15cm in either direction. He has some control over this but it's more related to his sense of security. He's at his smallest when he's the most insecure but like, that's still 6'10"/208 cm so he's still way too big. Lucky for him the magic also affects his clothes/armor but it takes some time so he just makes/buys things on the larger end and waits for them to shrink to his current size. The effect goes away when removed from his body. Is this so I don't have to be consistent? Yes.

-He turns into a puppy in the War of Eras when he's ten and Zant uses the twilight as a weapon. Specifically an epicyon puppy! A 100lb/45kg puppy! Medli will ride him! I just want to draw the biggest puppy in the world. He can still turn into the big ancient wolf, and thankfully it doesn't do too much to him (unlike Twilink) but his jaw attaches waaay further back than it ought to and he can open his mouth to a scary degree. It's probably influencing those big fangs too. Combined with the Goron bite strength and... yeah.

I'll probably change things because I'm just playing around with him, so don't be surprised when I do!

[good-advice-ganondorf]

So none of the bearers of the triforce have direct Terminian counterparts, meaning their models are not reused in Majora's Mask. I've mentioned my theories for Link and Ganondorf's possible counterparts, but with Zelda it's trickier. It's something I've been thinking about for a while, and it's definitely more far fetched than Link, Tingle and Kafei, or Ganondorf and Igos, but please bear with me.

So after beating the three child dungeons in Ocarina of Time, Princess Zelda has to flee with Impa, due to some of Ganondorf's shenanigans. Something to note is that her father, the king, is MIA. He doesn't flee with Zelda, he's never even seen. Ganondorf faces no opposition getting to the triforce, after he basically runs both Zelda and Impa out of town. I think it would be safe to say that the king is no longer among the living, following Ganondorf's betrayal.

Now, is there a Majora's Mask character, who is a little girl, with a father severely affected by a battle between a clan of ninjas, and a king who wants to break into a temple, and get a powerful artifact? A character with heavy story involvement, only after you've beaten the first three dungeons? One of the only living characters in a desolate kingdom, where most of the inhabitants are ghosts and living corpses?

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

Hyrulian Biggoron helps link and is a master blacksmith,

Terminian Biggoron is a guy who gets cursed, falls asleep, and then accidentally kills the tribal leader of the Snowhead Gorons

wildly different destinies

[herbleol]

I'm more tempted by the second to actually make a little comic for this au. of course with sheik/impa/ganondorf terminian counterparts at the fishing hole

[heros-shade-fanclub]

actually i'm not done talking about termina. do you think that even years after majora's mask link wakes up to rain and instinctively thinks "2 days left"

[linksconverge]

GAMES: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Hyrule Warriors DIRECTORY: Height ref, #character tag

A young wanderer who has little to say to others and less to say about himself. Though generally obliging, he avoids meaningful connection and maintains a strict, careful distance with strangers and friends alike. Used to the lonely weight of being the Hero of Time who won't be remembered and hyper-independent for it, he often goes his own way.

WEAPON: Gilded Sword and Mirror Shield. Ever since a particular incident post-Termina, he's taken a hard stance against the two-handed power of the Great Fairy's Sword and has returned to preferring the versatility of one-handed offense and defense. Trains regularly and thoroughly — very much so gives the older party members a run for their money.

GEAR: Traveller must-haves. Beyond the equipment acquired over his adventures and those generally necessary for life on the road, Grasshopper carries a set of wood whittling knives, a sewing kit, and more seasonings than any of the party would expect. His transformation masks are kept well-guarded mysteries and he still has the Ocarina of Time.

SKILL: Magic user. Raised in Kokiri Forest, Grasshopper has a well of natural magic he can make use of directly (as with cast spells, runes, and usage of catalysts) and indirectly (as through inherent resistance, direction, and sensitivity). He's added to his repertoire of spells since last learning Din's Fire, Nayru's Love, and Farore's Wind.

SKILL: Transformation. With his masks, he can turn into four additional forms — a Deku Scrub, a Goron, a Zora, and the Fierce Deity. While helpful, continuous usage is taxing on his mental livelihood, as these masks can exacerbate his sense of depersonalisation, identity issues, and are never truly painless to put on. (Sometimes, they're just as painful to take off.)

LANGUAGES & COMMUNICATION: Hard of hearing. He understands Kokiri, Hylian (Old and Modern Syllabaries), Terminian, conversational Common, Goron, and Zoran, and a limited amount of his era's Hylian Sign Language. As with some of the others, in this alternate Hyrule, he's mostly counting on Patches' interpreting services. Situationally non-speaking and functionally illiterate, he tends to use body language and gestures to communicate.

As Mikau, he fully understands Zoran (Great Bay dialect). As Darmani, they fully understand Goron (Snowhead dialect).

He'll occasionally draw in his notebook if he feels there's a thought that needs to be understood.

There are very few people he's okay with speaking in front of. "Other Links" are currently not included.

SECRETS: Not that he's the only one with them, but Grasshopper is so defined by what he won't share that his secrets perhaps stand out the most amongst the party. Even Sailor — who arguably knows him best — can (or will) barely comment on anything beyond the Fierce Deity Mask, an injury that seems to have miraculously healed, and his competence as a lone traveller.

PERSONAL TIMELINE: Went through the events of Ocarina of Time when he was nine-years-old, Majora's Mask when he was ten-years-old, and Hyrule Warriors when he was twelve-years old. Or so he would say. He doesn't know nor think about how old he is (or how old he's supposed to be). It's been at least a year since.

NICKNAME ORIGIN: Given by Romani, from his time in Termina. It's the only nickname out of the many he has that he's okay with the general public calling him. Cori signs this as is ("grasshopper"). Patches, Knight, and Linh fingerspell (alphabetically, "G-r-a-s-s-h-o-p-p-e-r").

[ocarina-overture]

Luminary

< bonus chapter here >

/ˈlo͞oməˌnerē/ - A person who inspires or influences others, especially one prominent in a particular sphere. / A natural light-giving body, especially the sun or moon.

to kick off my writing posts, which were encouraged by the poll, here is a stylized telling of kishin's initial meeting with link. the piece is written from his point of view in the mask, upon gaining consciousness after his dormant phase as a mask. i wrote this to explore perspectives a bit more, but also because i really like the moon interior bit of the game.

anyways, hopefully i proofread this one alright! i'm really not much of a skilled writer and just do so as a hobby, so please feel free to correct any issues you happen to see. thank you and enjoy!

Tiny, calloused hands.

Hands of the living.

Something is chiming. Light dust falls upon me, and is delicately shaken off. I can feel it. I can hear it. Something radiates from these hands… but what? It is an energy I have not felt in a long time, but I am certain I have been bathed in it once before.

“So… you’ll play with me?” 

Play?

“We will,”

We?

“Yeah, we promise. Just a bit longer, ok?”

“Alright, then, mister bad guy.”

Ah.

I see it now, no longer blinded by the golden light of the sun. How unfortunate that my newest sight of it pains me so. ‘We’ stand atop a verdant hill, the greenery stretching out in all directions beneath us. The sky above is a vast expanse of blue, decorated by clouds. Though I do not feel wind, they are moving.

At the very crest of the hill before us stands a solitary tree, its branches reaching skyward. The wood appears pristine. Untouched by the ravages of time or the hands of man. 

That is not a detail I wish to consider any longer.

I am held by a boy. A boy? Majora has lent me to a boy? He is not a Terminian. He is a child of Hylia’s. Where am I? She would not have allowed me into her land. Not in this condition. Not from Majora’s hands would She take me, even if I was still alive. I understand. She has a duty.

The boy, no more than even twelve years of age, moves with a nimbleness that entirely belies his youth. He takes a few cautious steps back, parting from the other ‘child’ before him and retreats to the opposite side of the tree. He slumps down with a sigh. 

But he is not alone. A vexing little fairy flits about him, its wings a blur of motion as it buzzes incessantly in his ear.

“Link,” His name? “You shouldn’t use that one! What if it’s a trap? It’s all gross, it’s rotting, and… it looks so dark. If Majora had it, then… could it be just like him? Worse?”

I see Majora is still as much of a fatuous, deceitful thing as it has always been, then.

The boy sets me down on the grass with gentle hands, even courteous enough to let me gaze at our surroundings. He is pure-hearted, to care so delicately for something like myself.

“Tatl,” I cannot discern if that is an insult or her name. Is he referring to her as a tattle? She seems the type. “I gave up every other mask I had for this one. I had to go through challenge after challenge… and if I know anything after all this, it’s that an item I needed to work for is worth my time. And crazy good!” 

So that is how he obtained me? By challenge?

His speech flows with a fluency that is abnormal for one so young. I wish I could decipher more of what he is saying…

This boy is no ordinary one. 

He is too… gentle for his age. Careful, so unwilling to cause any more damage than needed.

His clothing, a simple tunic, is a patchwork of green and tan fabrics, evidence of repairs made with care and skill beyond what might be expected of such a youth. I assume such had been done by his mother.

A fresh nick in his ear hints at past mishaps, while the scuffs and scars that mar his form paint tales of adventures undertaken and many challenges overcome. He appears to be a warrior - although, one in poor care.

I sense he has lived well beyond his own years.

Yet, there is still light in those eyes.

“What if it’s tricking you? You’ll never know!”

“Exactly. I’ll never know, until I put it on.”

The two bicker on. She warns, he rationalizes. If not for their obvious differences, I would have assumed they were siblings.

Despite his calm tone, the boy's nerves are humming beneath the surface, and they would be just out of reach to the casual observer. His movements, however, betray his inner turmoil. 

At first, his fingers search for a distraction in the blades of grass, plucking at them and twisting them as if handling the very threads of his anxiety. Then, his hands shift to his gauntlets, his fingers tracing over the cold leather, feeling for imperfections that do not exist. His hair, already perfectly styled, is yet another victim to his restless hands, strands rearranged with unnecessary precision. 

It is a ritual of sorts, a futile attempt to regain control for a mind spinning in worry.

I find myself humming, though I know he cannot hear me. It’s like watching myself. To self-regulate is all I have known for a very long time. It is all I remember, the only thing that anchors reality. I see the same in him.

…How saddening. He is so troubled for his age, is so burdened by emotions that do not belong to him. That should never have belonged to him. 

Ah, he’s reaching for me again. Perha– BY DIN’S WRATH.

His touch traces the edges of the chipping paint on my cheek, a sensation that sears like molten iron as it lifts and breaks away. 

Each scrape of his fingers against the crumbling wood only echoes the years of decay I have endured. 

I have not felt pain like this since I was cast away to this damned prison.

…He winces as he realizes what he’s just done. To see such kind eyes full of guilt is… upsetting.

“Oh, no..” He's frowning. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that..”

..It is quite alright, tiny little luminary.

The sprite sighs. “If you want to use that crumbly old thing, then be my guest,” she huffed, swirling around his head for a moment to get closer to me. “I just think it might be dangerous.” Her motives are pure. Her tone, however… 

She is fiery, much like Din. He, on the other hand, sports such powerful courage that Farore would celebrate it. Perhaps he is a child of hers.

The boy pulls himself up, dusting off his tunic. He holds me much more gently now. Still, I can feel myself splintering. 

I am worried.

If he is to confront Majora, reliant on my power, then so be it. I have been sapped of whatever free will I ever had. I have worn so many bodies. They have worn me. What is another to be added? But that was in my prime. I have been deteriorating for many ages, and it is not unlikely that my power has as well. This boy has many years ahead of him. 

To have his blood on my hands would be nothing short of tragedy.

... and that's all he wrote! sorry this one ends kind of awkwardly, i didn't wanna drag it into the battle... anyways, hope anyone reading this enjoyed!

[theblindhakune]

It's 4:30 am and all I can think of is the mythology Fierce Deity Link comes from, that being the Buddhist wrathful/fierce deities. Like hell, Fierce Deity Link is apparently literally called "kishin" in the Japanese version, which is a type of Buddhist spirit

I don't think I've ever seen a video analyzing Majora's Mask from a Buddhist perspective. Sure, I've seen the five stages of grief theory rehashed dozens of times, but what if there's more to the game than that?

Buddhist wrathful/fierce deities, in short, exist literally to destroy any obstacles towards enlightenment (Majora, anyone?). Fierce Deity Link is born out of Terminians' wishes to be freed from Majora's clutches, so he does exactly that.

And Fierce Deity being a mask for Link fits perfectly, since fierce deities in Buddhism are aspects of enlightened buddhas. A buddha may assume the form of a fierce deity to fight evil. Doesn't Link do that when he dons the Fierce Deity's mask?

I dunno, I'll just start drawing Fierce with cool fangs from now on

[dananicole96]

I don't like the Zonai's existence.

At least, not in the ultra-important way they exist in Tears of the Kingdom.

But then I think maybe that's hypocritical. After all, I love the Twili and the Minish! What about those (at the time of release) new, story-altering races?

And then I think, no, this is very different.

The Twili are a long-banished race of Hylians who have essentially been locked in a mirror world this whole time. They don't affect the entire series by existing, because there's only one way you could even run into them, AND THAT HAPPENS IN TWILIGHT PRINCESS.

The Minish are a race of tiny animal-like creatures from the sky that only innocent children can see. They're so tiny that you can understand them not having an effect on the series as a whole. And like I said, only children can see them. They're like koroks in that way.

The reason the Zonai's existence is so horrible to me is because it changes everything, particularly if you think their appearance in Hyrule is not long after Skyward Sword.

You're just going to tell me there has been this godlike race of dragon people living in the clouds this whole time? Well, we've been to the sky multiple times in Zelda, and I've never seen anything related to them.

They are also wayyyyy more technologically advanced than anyone else on the surface, which means them coming to the surface just throws off every game that comes after that.

Tears of the Kingdom tells you that everything that matters is Zonai. The first King of Hyrule is Zonai, all of the ancient ruins are Zonai, the dragons are (more than likely) Zonai, this game's version of the Triforce is Zonai, that Hidden Temple? You know the one with a giant (now-toppled) statue of Hylia in it? Oh yeah, that's Zonai too.

And the Zonai do nothing to deserve this. Apparently they just descended from the sky one day and everyone thought they were gods. How exciting. Like honestly I don't blame Ganondorf for being salty towards them! Rauru is much like the King of Hyrule from Wind Waker, in that, I have a hard time feeling sorry for him. But that's another story.

A huge concern I have is if this game is implying that Hylia and/or the golden goddesses were actually just Zonai. If the people already saw them as gods, it wouldn't be much of a stretch.

Additionally, a big plot point in this game is the act of "draconification." I mean that's a huge thing - it could make anyone live forever!

It's just exhausting to see a new Zelda game completely wreck the timeline with an unnecessary new race (we already had the Sheikah)!

And what about the Ancient Hero's Aspect? He seems to have some Zonai mixed in him...why doesn't this show in the other people of Hyrule? Or was the ancient Calamity after the traditional Zelda timeline...WHICH WOULD STILL MEAN ZONAI WOULD HAVE BEEN AROUND BEFORE THEN?!?

It's just so exhausting to see a story and world you love so much be thrown away for this new race of all-mighty goat people.

If the Zonai had to exist, they should have existed in an alternate land - much like the Terminians in Majora's Mask

Unfortunately, it seems Nintendo is now too lazy to create a new world, so we're stuck with Breath of the Wild 2.0 - Korok poop and all.