#also links shiekah arm

[ganondoodle]

ganondorf armor set??

(quick doodle before work, also for the totk rewritten project weeee)

[wickedcriminal]

can we get more info on your steampunk link oc?

OH ABSOLUTELY!!! My Link is the hero of my au, The Heart of Hyrule!

He shows up a couple hundred years after Spirit Tracks in an early 1900s steampunk version of New Hyrule. Link is shiekah, and wears the uniform of the New Hyrulean Military. Most of his arsenal including his sword and other gadgets are made exclusively by Zelda, who acts as his companion! She's the engineer who pilots their traveling airship, and Link is her bodyguard.

He's mute because of a neck injury that destroyed his vocal chords, so he speaks sign language and it's translated out loud by a robot fairy that Zelda made to go with her Wristslate, (which is pretty much a shiekah slate she wears on her arm). The fairy is called Trixi; Telecommunicative Robot Informative and Identifier!

As the name implies, the fairy acts as an informative while Link is on the field, as Zelda does not accompany him into dungeons. It scans things and sends the information to Zelda's Wristslate, which then identifies the item and sends the information back to Trixi. The fairy also acts as a communication device between Link and Zelda when they're separated. TLDR, Zelda and her Wristslate is NASA, Trixi is the Mars Rover.

Where Zelda is the brains of the operation, Link is more combat focused and much more magically inclined. He technically has the ability to do anything Impa, Shiek, or even Monk Maz Koshia can do. This includes stealth techniques as well as illusion magic, Mind's Eye, and making clones.

His magic is pink!

As for their personalities, Link is introverted, long-suffering and sassy, while the ever charismatic Zelda is a mad genius who KNOWS she's a mad genius and doesn't waste any opportunity to flaunt it. They're not each others first choice of partner but they make do 😂

They're Toons, but they're both around 19-20 years old because I thought it would be Funny if Toon Link paid a mortgage

[holymusicalmothman]

Daughter of Courage - Chapter 03

Chapter Two <<< You are here! >>> Chapter Four

Main Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Read it on Ao3!

More exposition. This is the last of what I had already written down, I did start adding new paragraphs I didn't already have, so when the next chapter hits the change in writing style (it's been yearsss) shouldn't be super obvious!

(Header will be updated soonish)

Chapter 03 - Daughter, Reunited 

Kakariko Village, West Necluda Region

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, and Kai headed off for the singular clothing shop in Kakariko Village. Impa had spoken with the inn keeper and they had made sure that she had a place to rest while she was in the village. The inn keeper had been quite helpful and had pointed her in the direction of the shop.

“Enchanted” was the name etched into the signs outside and Claree was overjoyed at the sight of her standing in the doorway. Apparently, the opportunity to outfit a Hero of Hyrule was too good to pass up.

A short while after that found Kai outfitted in a pair of sturdy tan pants and a green travelling tunic. Claree had been more than happy to also provide a small cloak, despite Kai’s admittance that she didn’t know what would happen next. 

Which was something she thought about as she headed back to Impa’s house. Yes, somehow she was back in Hyrule, and Link might be too. But Zelda was trapped fighting Ganon and, to be entirely honest, she wasn’t quite sure what the next steps were going to be. Compared to the day Calamity struck, they were woefully underprepared.

Kai met with Paya at the foot of the stair leading to the big house and the latter smiled as a greeting. 

“Grandmother has a set of weapons for you,” she explained.

Impa handed her a Shiekah made bow and spear as well as a few arrows. “I do not believe you’ll linger with us long, child. When you get to the Gerudo, they have your old weapons.”

Kai looked up from the spear in her hand. “How…?” 

It made sense that her spear would be with them. It was a Gerudo made piece, gifted to her by the Lady Urbosa when she turned seventeen. The weight and balance of the spear had been done with both her Hylian size and her fighting style in mind, made of only the best materials. It had been an extension of her own body for five years and she was pleased to hear that it still remained. 

“Do not think we left you to lie there. The Gerudo buried you in the fashion of their own and your weapon went to a place of honor. It has been a long time since I’ve made the journey to the desert, but I was told that it was stored alongside Daybreaker.”

“Just Daybreaker?”

Paya was the one to answer. “Ganon’s Malice overtook the Divine beasts, we aren’t completely sure what happened to the Champions that piloted them. We know they fell to it, but past that we know nothing. Most of them were armed, or partially armed.” 

“Among that which was lost, aside from the scimitar, were Revali’s Landing, Boulder Breaker, and the Lightscale Trident.” Impa finished. “The Bow of Light was somewhere in the castle when the battle began, I can only hope she managed to find it.”

Two pangs of sorrow went through Kai at that. The Lightscale Trident brought memories of the sweet Zora Princess, who, while their relationship started off at a rather…interesting angle, the Hylian considered her to be a true friend. Realizations of what was gone forever came slow. To think that they’d never speak again. The other sorrow was for Zelda. The pair were already sisters at heart, and to think of her trapped and in an eternal fight for her life was almost too much to bear.

A bitter taste coated her tongue. “What about the Master Sword?”

Impa shook her head sadly. “Lost. Many once believed that the princess managed to return it to its pedestal, but none alive can remember where that is. It’s as if the memories have clouded over and all I remember is the sword itself.”

“Impa, how did you know it was really me? You said they’d buried me?”

The older woman gave a rather undignified snort. “No one else has ever come up those stairs and through those doors like you do. You charge through life like a…” Impa stopped suddenly with a frustrated sigh, but a mischievous glint to her eye. “Well I was going to say lynel, but I fear it may be in poor taste.”

Paya gasped, scandalized. “Grandmother!” she chastised.

Kai laughed despite herself and Impa nodded with a smile.

“There you go, child. Remember, what has happened is the past, the most it can do now is teach you for the future. Do not let failure guide your destiny.”

Kai nodded. The conversation turned easy, Impa beginning to catch Kai up on the past 100 years while Paya went to do her chores. 

“Most of Hyrule was destroyed, and the most populated parts were overrun by the Guardians,” Impa explained. “Some of which are still active.”

The brown haired woman winced. She had missed that due to the lynel. Must’ve been horrifying. “Some of the ones I saw near Fort Hateno looked rather…tense.”

A nod. “I advise that you don’t get too close. Certain ones that appear dormant, well, they aren’t as asleep as we’d hoped. Hyrule Field has had active ones roaming–”

A shriek from outside had Kai on her feet, weapon in hand and turning to the door just as they were thrown open to reveal a man she knew all too well. 

They stared at each other, oblivious to anything other than the other. Gray eyes to blue. 

“Kai…” Link’s voice was hoarse from unuse, but his tone said that he wasn’t confused to find her there. It was as if he expected it. 

She could only stare in shock, spear clanking as it tumbled from her grasp to the floor.

“I hope you didn’t scratch the wood,” Impa muttered, no real malice in her tone before she turned to address Link. “As for you, Link, fine job you’ve done, making us wait a hundred years for your return.”

The hero turned to the Sheikah, brows furrowed in confusion. 

“Hmmm, this could be troubling.” Impa said slowly. “Come, sit, you two. Tell me, Link, what do you know?”

Kai listened intently as she took a seat on the floor beside Link. 

Link had awoken in the Shrine of Resurrection barely a fortnight ago–about the same time, if not the exact same time, that Kai had woken up in Faron Woods. The only difference is that Zelda’s voice had roused Link from his slumber. He had been greeted by the spirit of King Rhoam who had explained to him who he–Link–was and also the decline of the Kingdom. The fair haired hero had no recollection of what had happened 100 years ago. He remembered Kai, but they had no theories as to why exactly that was. They were unsure as to how everything else could be gone except that. Link continued to speak of the journey that had brought him here and about the Shiekah Slate.

The conversation lasted long into the night, ranging from missing memories to the abilities of the Shiekah Slate, to the beginnings of a plan to take down Ganon. They would need to free the Divine Beasts–Vah Ruta, Vah Naboris, Vah Medoh, and Vah Rudania–from the Malice possessing them before they’d even stand a chance.

In the morning they would leave for Impa’s older sister, Purah. Her lab was located in Hateno Village, and she’d be able to further unlock the Shiekah Slate. Hopefully the Princess had left something that would help them in her beloved device.

Upon the mention of Hateno Village, Kai’s mind drifted, a surge of longing and homesickness going through her. Her parents and brothers…had they survived the Calamity? It would be their descendants now, unless her brothers were still living. She doubted they’d still run the stable if they were. That stable had been a part of the family for so long, her father said it dated all the way back to the start of the kingdom. No matter what, at least the stable would still be there. Home would still be there. It had to be. 

A gentle touch drifted across the skin of her hand, snapping her out of her thoughts. Link and Kai stood on the moonlit staircase leading from Impa’s home.

“You okay?” His blue eyes stared at hers with concern.

She shook her head. “No, but I will be, if that makes sense?”

“Even if there’s nothing left, you’ve still got me.” He said softly, fingers tangling with her own as the walked to the inn for the night. 

Could've probs written more for this chap, but I gotta get to work. More soon!

Taglist

@wolfstorm824

[echoesofwisdomcountup]

144 Days since Tears of the Kingdom Released. Happy Wednesday my dudes (yeah I know for many it’s probably Thursday already.) Good time zone be upon ye.

I have something I gotta say about the TOTK ending.

LINK’S ARM ISN’T FIXED. Nope nope nope and nope. In my heart of hearts, Link caught Zelda with his only remaining hand and then later they made him a cool shiekah prosthetic. I take no criticisms… actually fuck that the only other options I accept are goes through life without a prosthetic because he can fight perfectly fine with one arm or he just keeps Raurus arm forever. Yoink it’s his now. Also Zelda is forever changed so sometimes her eyes go all dragon like and she gets like scales when she uses her powers and her teeth are sharp. Zelda with permanent fangs. There I said it. Maybe horns too.

[bunny-eats-fox]

after hero hours

Link (loz botw)

wc: 1282 warning(s): SMUT/18+ ; submissive Link ; dominant female reader ; femdom ; pegging ; anal sex ; degradation kink ; scratching ;

an: thank you to the people who voted and helped decide 🫶 welp, this is it, hope you enjoy!  

 ---------------------------------------------

“Ah-! Khh!”

 “Hey, hey! I said no biting.”, you reached out your hand and let your thumb brush over his bruised bottom lip.

 “I-I’m sorry.”, was all Link managed to stammer before another moan interrupted him when you pressed your bare heel into his throbbing cock.

 Right now, the hero Hyrule’s kneeled in front of you, arms tied together in the back, a collar around his neck with a leash attached and his eyes covered by a blindfold.

 Link looked so cute - exposed and vulnerable just the way you liked it. The sudden touch of your heel made him jolt even more violently, thus the toy he kneeled on pushed even further into him. Hence another shaky moan was heard.

 “Good boy.”, you cooed and gently pressed your foot against his dick even more to make him whimper.

 Link’s hips jerked forward in an attempt to get any sort of friction, however this also meant the weirdly shaped toy inside his ass moved as well as he rutted against your leg. Which then elicited an even more pitiful whimper as he lowered himself further onto it to get more satisfaction.

 “Ahn! AH!”, he moaned loudly when you suddenly grabbed his elf-like, sensitive ear and squeezed a little.

 “I’m praising you just once and you get cocky already humping me like a bitch in heat, hm? Fine, let’s see how deep you can go then if you can’t bear to be empty.”

 “N-No Mistress, I’m sor- NGHHG AAAHGHG!”, he stammered at first, but it was already too late when you grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down onto the artificial cock until his ass was completely filled.

 The sensation was too much for the hero and even though he didn't want to disappoint you again, Link couldn't control his orgasm anymore. With his cock jerking and bouncing, he spurted his thick cum all over your foot and shin while he moaned his throat raw. When he felt a sudden touch on the blindfold, a small hiccup escaped him before his glazed, lust-filled eyes met your devilishly glimmering ones.

 “Hahaha, look at you. Your pathetic little dick can’t handle anything, can it?”, you laughed at him diabolically. The evil smirk and the disgust in your face was enough to make him shiver in excitement.

 “Up!” That was all you said with an imperious voice and your little hero immediately nodded.

 However, as much as he wanted to follow your order, his legs were still shaking tremendously, hence a mere helpless whimper was heard. Link really tried to stand up, but with his arms still tied behind his back and his relentlessly quivering legs, he didn't go far and fell back down. Which then made him moan out again as the toy was moved once more.

 “I said: Up!”, you demanded yet again and all he did was whine and look up with those glistening teary-eyed sapphire eyes. Silently, he entreated for help.

 “Tch! You really can’t do anything, hah?!”

 The growl sent another chill up his spine as he vigorously shook his head, “N-No, no I-I can’t wi-without my… my mistress. Please h-help me, M-Mistress.”

 The hero’s begging gave you shivers and your clit vividly throbbed in your panties seeing and hearing him like that. Without another word, you grabbed the leash and the other hand a fistful of hair harshly and listened to his heartfelt, pitiful moans and cries as you reared him up violently. The artificial cock you had managed to craft with the old shiekah technology a while ago slipped right out and Link collapsed on top of you just like that. However, despite his heavy gasping and shaking legs, the hero used your help and managed to crawl on top of your lap fully. There, he plopped down with a little sob and tears that ran down his cheeks.

 “Why are you crying, hm? Is it because you feel so empty now?”, you asked in a playfully soft tone, since, when he nodded and whimpered approvingly, the softness was quickly gone. Swiftly, you reached back and pushed three of your fingers inside his twitching, gaping ass.

 Another cry was heard as the proud hero completely melted on top of you.

 “M-Mistress, p-please… not… not enough. Fuck me properly.”, he sobbed and stumbled over his words. Link’s sapphire eyes shimmered beseechingly as tears still pooled in the corners of them.

 “Tsk.”, you clicked your tongue and stared at him through narrowed eyes, “You’re quite brash today, little hero. Ignoring my orders, imploring for help and now that. You know I hate mutts that beg and can't follow simple commands.”

 “I-I’m sorry. P-Please forgive me, j-just this once Mistress, forgive m-me…”, Link continued to beg as he rubbed himself against your soft body. His pathetic little cock was already twitching again while your fingers spread his ass open, making him even more aware of how empty he felt.

 “Plea-se… Ah!”, a surprised gasped escaped his lips when you suddenly pulled out and with one smooth motion, pushed him to the side and onto the bed.

 There he lay. His messy, long hair all over the place as he slightly looked back through it, watching you intensely as you stood up and walked over to your dresser. Link’s heart thumped heavily and it only increased when he saw the toy you pulled out – it was his favorite. Also one of the firsts you and him had created together to fit both your and his needs. So, despite your annoyed sighs and harsh words, you still gave him what he wanted in the end. That got him all giddy and excited as he watched you putting the garment on. The click of the toy being installed made his heart jump.

 When you walked back, you rubbed some oils safe for your play onto the foreign object and then kneeled onto the bed. With one swift motion, you turned him onto his back.

 “Hmhng…” Your disgusted and harsh glare gave him goosebumps. He couldn’t even hold back, his dick bounced and twitched on its own with excitement.

 “Mistress, mistress, thank you, thank yo- Ahnhh!”, he tripped over his own words due to the anticipation until he could only throw back his head and moan loudly once you entered him.

 “I will fuck you so hard until your throat is sore from screaming so you can’t talk back to me anymore!”, you growled. But in reality, you knew that only turned him on more as he moaned lustfully.

 Your hands held up his legs as you dug your nails into his thighs and left deep scratches to mark him as your possession. Easily, you moved your hips and slammed them against his ass. The movement made your tits bounce and enticed Link to stare at his beautiful mistress even more.

 “Ahahaan NhhAH!” His house was filled with blissful moans and cries of pleasure as he squirmed and quaked. Every hard thrust from the toy made him see little stars - he loved the raw, uncontrolled fucking.

 Link just wanted you to use him even more, until he physically couldn’t go on any longer. Even if it would mean he couldn’t stand or speak tomorrow morning, that was okay. Because there was nothing better than giving up control for once and letting himself loose in front of the one he loved the most.

----------------

all characters canonically under 18 are always aged up ; english is not my native language so i apologize for any mistakes

[anartweirdosworld]

Question Answered

Question from Waystarsworld; asking about Altered AU Link’s fierce Deity marking on his forehead, why it’s there and how’d he acquire it. For the simple answer, I wanted him to have a marking that represented a past incarnation in a way. I originally wanted him to have the markings of Twilight Princesses Link in wolf form, since he was the original divine beast that then inspired the future Shiekah to make the mechanical divine beasts, making Link connected to him. However I couldn’t think of a way at the time of how to incorporate it fully since Link’s forehead would be covered by his bangs. So I went with the Hero of Time and his connection to the Fierce Deity, as it was easiest to incorporate and connected him to his past. I also thought it would be a fun nod to the fact that the Zonai are a form of god, making the connection stronger with that particular incarnation. If I were to make it part of his story, I would think that since Link does find the outfit and sword favoured by the god, that his magic would slowly seep into Link, not as much as Rauru’s arm of course but just enough to leave some form of mark, hence the forehead marking being the only remnants of Fierce. But ya! I hope that explains it well

[science-lings]

Can’t promise it’ll make you mad lol! Also English is not my first language so forgive me if things don’t make sense. So, what if we had an ocarina of time situation where someone creates a new timeline via time travel, but the old timeline remains but without that person in it, let me explain. At the beginning of the game, link and Zelda would be in their original botw timeline, but when Zelda time travels and Rauru takes link in his portal thing, the created a new timeline where things are a bit different. The sheika don’t seem to have as much importance, the champions aren’t really mentioned, some locations have been changed slightly( for example, the base of where hateno tower uses to be is flat, a new ruined building appeared at akala citadel , the owl statue where mineru guides you near dueling peaks). Which would mean that when they accidentally created that new timeline, they left their old one undefended, and Nintendo could play into that and make a windwaker type of game for that timeline where hyrule fell to evil and a new hero has to rise to bring hyrule back to peace. Now, of course there are a lot of things that wouldn’t make sense if that theory was true, but I think that it would be an acceptable, maybe fun, way to explain why totk feels so disconnected from botw

no that's cool, and kinda makes sense. Especially from a story telling standpoint bc the past in totk is heavily mirroring the early parts of oot when Ganondorf 'subjigates' himself to the King of Hyrule, and the Zelda of that time, the Sage of Time, is warning him against trusting Ganondorf. While in oot, the king didn't believe her, but in totk, Rauru knew of Ganondorf's intentions but still made the mistake of keeping him so close. It's around this time that the split happened in oot, Link coming back from the adult timeline to warn everyone about Ganondorf's true plan, and those clear parallels have to happen for a reason.

I think that the timeline most likely would've split when Zelda first got a hold of Rauru's secret stone, or even before. bc Ganoncorpse would've had to have seen Zelda in the past to know her and Link's names and about the master sword. And we don't know what the world around them looked like before that.

We already know that Mineru figured out the sheikah's warping technology which would've caused a little bit of a paradox if the shiekah tech golden age happened afterward.

So the timeline would've had to split long ago but corrected itself in time for totk, that way it can still be canon to botw (though missing a lot of the shiekah tech) but still have the events of the great calamity still be the same and have references to the tech still exist (champions helmets, I think one of the tech labs still has guardian parts, cherry, and the towers having the little clawed guardian arms)

I call this, the vertical lemon timeline theory, or the divorce and remarriage timeline theory, no need to applaud me, I know I'm a genius /j

[xcooki]

Late Revalink week day 1 - Formal Dance

God this is nostalgic for me. I’ve not done anything for Revalink week since I first helped start it on here, and that was back when the Revalink Cult was still around. Sigh. I do miss those days a lot. Anyway, here’s a oneshot of Link and Revali attending a ball at the castle from Revali’s perspective. Hope you enjoy!

Revali found himself in his room at the Hyrule Castle. He was sat in front of a newly installed mirror. The Champion had it installed before he came to stay at the castle again.

The Rito was running his hands through his feathers, straightening them out before he began braiding them. He twined the light brown strands into his navy blue, all into one large, low braid, that fell down his back. He tied it up with his two jade braid caps.

Revali stood up and took a step back from the mirror.

He wore a specially made, specially tailored tunic, made from a beautiful, white cotton, with a series of angular, repeating patterns, embroidered in a light blue, winding along the hems of the tunic. It came down to about his knees, borderline on being a dress. The symbol of Vah Medoh was embroidered just under the V-Neck collar, to the right of its point. The Rito’s signature symbol was stitched into the opposite side of the point.

The Tunic’s sleeves came down to his elbows, widening at the ends, creating a flowy effect in the fabric, loosely hanging around his arms.

Along with this tunic, Revali also wore his jade anklets, accenting his braid endings nicely. His outfit was finished off nicely by weaving some white, decorative cord into his braid. Pieces of cord branched outwards from the centre of the braid, dangling out around it on either side towards the end of it.

He looked himself in the mirror again, scanning up and down his outfit. He stood tall, placing his hands behind his back and taking a deep breath, before letting it go. He nodded to himself, before heading out of his door.

Revali entered the large, rectangular ball room. It was made out of a beautiful, polished stone, with a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There was a bright light covering the room, accenting the white, stone floor, and the coloured banners that covered the walls.

Circular tables were set out along the edge of the centre of the room, coated in white tablecloths, with refreshments set atop them. Workers for the castle made their rounds along each of the guests, clustered into groups, holding and offering champagne from large, silver trays.

One of said groups was comprised of familiar faces. A large Goron, wearing only a small, black bowtie and a fake, white collar. A Gerudo woman, wearing a traditional, formal outfit of the Gerudo. A short, Zora woman, wearing a plentiful amount of jewellery, complimented with her light blue sash. A blonde Hylian woman, wearing a cornflower blue dress and a silver hair ornament.

And lastly, a blonde Hylian man, wearing a gorgeous, dark blue and maroon suit, mimicking the colours of the Royal Guard. He wore his hair in a low ponytail, tied off with a matching blue hair tie, strands of blonde hair accenting either side of his face.

Revali approached the group. “Good evening, everyone.” He was immediately met with a thunderous greeting from Daruk. “Hey, bird brain!” He slapped his back, the Goron Champion’s usual greeting. The Rito let out a loud “Oomph!” As he was almost thrown forwards.

This was met with a small giggle from Mihpa. “Good evening, Revali. You look lovely.”

“Thank you.” Revali managed to cough out, recovering from being winded.

“Yes, that outfit suits you nicely.” Urbosa added. “The white accents your feathers nicely.”

Revali stood straight again, smoothing down his ruffled feathers. “Thank you.” He gave a small smile, before clearing his throat and returning to his confident, prideful expression. “Remind me again of the purpose of this dance?”

“Well, the Shiekah team have made a big breakthrough on the guardian technology.” Zelda began explaining. “They’ve found a way to accurately control them without the Shiekah slate.”

“Surely, that’s not cause for such a.. large celebration amidst the whisperings of a war?” He replied, scoffing a little.

“It’s to boost morale, Revali.” Urbosa rolled her eyes. “The whole kingdom’s been tense with the rising of monsters, especially with all the Stals beginning to roam at night. The Kingdom needs something to celebrate.”

Revali scoffed again at that. “I guess I can’t argue with that.” He rolled his own eyes, looking to the side. It was then that they met with Link’s. The Rito paused for a brief moment, holding eye contact, before he faced the group again.

“Well, I’m going to go catch the person with the champagne before they make another round.” He headed into the crowd.

About an hour passed. Revali spent it in between groups, putting on airs, trying to talk himself up whilst making connections at the same time. It was exhausting.

The rest of the champions seemed to be doing much the same, apart from Link and Daruk, who were both by the appetizers.

After another round of talking to the guests, Revali moved over to join them. He flopped into one of the chairs, letting his prideful attitude fall for a few moments. “Hylia, this is exhausting.” He groaned out.

Link gave him a solitary pat on the shoulder.

“Sometimes I envy your blatant uncaringness for these events.” He sighed.

The Rito sat himself up again, helping himself to a couple of the appetizers.

Link tapped Revali’s shoulder again, getting his attention. He signed something to him. “Why care so much?”

“Well..” He thought for a few seconds. “..I use these kind of events to form political connections with other individuals, communities and groups. Along with that, if a champion told you that the monster subjugation was going well, it quite reassuring to the future of the kingdom.”

Link nodded a few times, understanding. “Well, that does sound tiring.” He signed, chuckling a little. “Come, chill out a bit with me and Daruk-“ He turned to gesture to Daruk, who had actually begun to get up.“Nah, sorry little guy, but I’m going to make my rounds and then head off. These stuffy events aren’t my style.”

Link just gave a simple nod with a smile, and then a little wave.

Link and Revali were left to eachother’s company. Neither of them minded, though. Although neither of the other knew, all of the champions knew, that the two were crushing on eachother.

Revali did his best to hide it, though he did so badly. Link, on the other hand, was very blatant about it. Very blatant. He often directly signed the words “I love you” to Revali, who didn’t know what the gesture meant, as he was still learning Zoran sign language. It had gotten to the point where Link was this close to just asking Revali out.

It was as that thought crossed Link’s mind again that the music began to change. The live band had begun to play a waltz. Link’s head perked up.

Revali looked to him, tilting his head a little. “What’s wrong?”

Link smiled mischievously. “Well?” He signed.

“Well what?” The Rito asked, confused.

“What are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to ask me to dance?” He gestured to the crowds of people, pairing up in the centre of the floor.

Revali’s feathers fluffed up a bit as he was basically just told to ask Link to dance. He took a deep breath, before standing up, bowing in front of the Hylian.

Link was stunned for a second.

“M-May I have this dance?” The champion managed to choke out.

Link let out a giggle, despite it being his idea, he felt his cheeks warm and redden. He took Revali’s hand, standing up and leading him over to the floor.

Despite his nature, Revali wasn’t the best at dancing, and so, Link took the lead in the basic, box waltz.

The Hylian took the Rito’s hands, placing one on his shoulder, and holding the other outwards, setting his own, now free, hand on Revali’s hip.

Revali’s feathers fluffed up more as Link set his hand on his hip. This caused Link to give a small giggle, and an encouraging smile, before they both took to the dance floor.

Revali could feel his heart beat quickly as the two danced. He could feel his feathers fluff up each time he met the Hylian’s gorgeous gaze.

The two stepped and danced in synch, staring lovingly and longingly into eachother’s eyes for the rest of the night.

[ketchupkio]

hey ho, op of the totk rant about the sandbox approach to totk here, i read your tags and i just wanted to add that i am german and played the game with the original japanese audio and german text, i like to call the things as the names i know them as even if i know the english version of them as well :D

i understand that you like the sonau tech stuff (personally i found it super clunky and mostly too tedious to deal with .. also i just like walking or riding around gdfhkbndj) and i get that, i totally do! and im not trying to argue against having that sort of movement in the game, but the EXECUTION of it!

like you could have achieved the same kind of movement and abilities with shiekah tech, you have all the parts from guardians, you could make flying maschines too! even more effiecient with guardian legs beign able to step over stuff that wheels get stuck on- and after zelda is in charge now shiekah tech could have been developed further again since she liked it too and wouldnt impose any rule against it, the time reversal for example could just have been the stasis rune but taken further- and if you had zelda as your companion, you could have an ability to losely attached the pieces you want to build (like with the shiekah arm prosthetic i gave link for the rewrite im doing for example) and zelda does the actual building to make it work in a quick little animation- for nearly everythign the sonau are used for the shiekah basically already had it and its driving me nuts that they instead undid it all only to .. do it again but worse o-o

sorry for the lil rant hdbksbfsbfkjd

YEAH I TOTALLY AGREE!!! The stuff that they wanted to implement could have been done much better with more ✨nuance and finesse✨ than the actual execution, and the reason given that the Sheikah tech just magically disappeared one day???? Bullshit. No one acknowledges this, and there are still Sheikah tech parts in the towers and the tech labs??? It obviously didn't ALL go away bc it's still there in those specific places. I don't know how the tech that's lasted 10,000 years up to this point, that works regardless if we take the tower warp pads as evidence, would know that the Calamity is gone and just disappear. It didn't go away once you did all the shrines, and you could argue that the monks were the last living part of it that would know if Link did it or not???

It's just. It's stupid, and very evident that the director was different from one game to the next. Totk kind of undoes the message that botw had and that just makes me angy (not to mention the blatant lore crimes that we're all going to have to work around if we wanna make the whole timeline make sense. I want to tear my hair out).

It would be better, as far as the botw shrines go, to just make them inactive. The door closes, the light goes out, the warp pad turns off. The totk shrines are plopped around because that's a Rauru thing, and they look like they're going to disappear anyway once his spirit is at rest, bc it's just a big rock, a decorative stone thing, and some sand. They're not part of the landscape like the botw shrines were.

Really, I only like the Zonai tech for the hover bike part and the steering stick applications, everything else I don't usually touch (though rocket shields are fun as a replacement Revali's gale). Like a lot of people have done really cool things with it, but I'm not those people 😂😂😂 I just have my One Thing that I use to get around scary places and it pulls left pretty hard so it's far from perfect.

The same thing could have been accomplished many different ways without introducing the Zonai. Like I would have given anything to see the Twili come back with their lore entwined with the Sheikah (bc the Sheikah probably learned how to make their stuff from the Zonai! It would make sense if the game acknowledged it).

Hahaha,,,,, I could go on about this forever tbh. My opinion on totk as a whole is: fun to play but disappointing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Now all we can do is fix it with fanfic.

Though that was a good idea on how to re implement the Sheikah stuff! If you're cool with it, I might use it :3c (not for a whole retelling of totk, just for like. Flavor in the au I'm working on bc I was already planning to ignore the botw shrines disappearing.)

[ganondoodle]

your totk rewritten is pretty cool, its got a lot of nifty ideas! i really like the possibility of an ending where ganondorf gets a proper burial, esp considering, you know. the Situations hes been through (-> a whole conspiracy to kill him, being sealed in a way thats designed to keep him barely alive possibly for the rest of eternity, being used as a living battery to power a gazillion things al at once for thousands of years) (this last part is also really nice, showing the sheikah as still shady af but also why it was so easy for their technology to get corrupted since it came straight from the power source in a way)

thank you!

i want to write a more coherent version of it sometime soon where i summarize a lil more and split it up in clear parts (like basic plot, surface, underground etc)

my main goal is to bring it all full circle really, the zonau acting as an inspiration for the shiekah (them not being 100% perfect good guys too like you said), the thing with repeating history bc you blindly follow its warning (like how botw happened with trying to replay the first calamity and it backfiring, so did the zonau follow the warnings of old and thus caused what they wanted to prevent), it building more on the shiekah tech in itself and giving a good reason to why so much of it turned useless, and while i love ganondorf as he is i personally like the idea of him while maybe not having been 100% good either (bc who is really) that him being mistreated like that lead to him becoming irrevocably hateful and angry and you having to stop him although you know he has every right to be that way

like this totk rewritten project is less of a complete AU and more meant like a reshuffle, except for the time travel (actually that might be turned into a travel to ganondorfs memories where you get to run around in .. maybe at the end of the halfway battle- sorry getting ahead of myself nfkdnhdjk) all pieces are still there, but put together a little differently

i really hope people will like it :D

[nokillbananashelter]

Haven’t finished the game yet, so this could be disproven or something, but I’m doubting it. (Spoilers).

Anyone else find Sonia being so wickedly underused in this game to be like…. Emblematic of how much help these writers need?

Shes right there, next to rauru the whole ass game. All she does is smile, say something vaguely sagey a couple of times, and then dies.

Aint it weird n fucked. That there arent no Time Blessing Shrines??? Wouldn’t it make sense that, because the statues are clearly together, some of the blessings WOULD BE SONIAS??? isn’t she also the founder of Hyrule???? isn’t she also invested in the story???? isn’t she also someone who’s like transcended existence in some strange way??? isn’t she actually wiser and more perceptive than Rauru from what we’ve seen? didn’t she also matter a fuck load to Zelda??? wouldn’t it make more sense that Rauru’s blessings are THE LIGHTROOTS?? And Sonia’s are on the surface and sky???? wouldn’t that thematically be a beautiful and simple way to reinforce their marriage and how their powers are inextricably linked??

If the point of these shrines is to heal links arm, doesn’t time makes sense as an element necessary for healing???

They wouldn’t even have to reskin anything or make a new mechanics. all they would need to do is change the text around to support this notion. Also, it’s not like… they were afraid to add currencies in this game, because goddamn there’s so many currencies in bobbles you collect. They could’ve even made it where Sonia gives you stamina orbs, and Rauru gives you heart orbs!

I get that mechanically, they only wanted to give out one type of blessing, but like, we literally had 120 monks in the last game give us orbs generically you coulda done the same for them.

Not only that, with the two shrine “genres” they could’ve grouped the type of challenges a little differently. They literally wouldn’t have had to have done much at all.

Idk, it’s just one of the many ways this game shows that it’s not really interested in examining it’s biggest problems in writing or how easy it would be to fix them or how it treats it’s female characters. There’s so many paths they could’ve taken that wouldn’t of taken any more effort and would’ve been easy to support mechanically. They have all of the systems in place to make the narrative stronger and they just…didn’t because they were so fixated on Rauru as to completely ignore the efforts and importance of everyone else(Besides Zelda). And I really do believe this game’s biggest problems are it’s narrative. There’s so many things that feel frustrating  to experience that are directly tied into how they handled the writing in this game. It’s a little things like this, or how the Shiekah tech and divine beasts are SO THOROUGHLY MISSING AS TO MAKE IT SEEM QUESTIONABLE THAT THIS IS IN THE SAME TIMELINE AS BOTW.  Why do that? No one seems to like that this game has missing elements like that.

There are too many examples of underutilizing what you have for it to not be jarring.

[valancedbreakfast]

the more i think about the story of totk the more the whole thing reads as propaganda

but like, not even "the memories link sees and the stories rauru told link and zelda are fake to secure his power and legitimacy" but like "even the actions we see link and zelda take in this story are part of the lie being told to US the viewer"

the GAME ITSELF is imperialist propaganda designed to legitimize rauru's rule

and the bits and pieces of it that let us see it as a lie are the cracks in the story. the ways it contradicts itself and the established history that we do know from botw

the fact that when faced with an attack on his life by princess zelda, the zora king hid himself away fearing that she could and would do far worse to him and his people despite all other parts of the story saying how perfect and wonderful she is

"link and especially zelda are absolutely complicit. it actively undermines them as characters"

no no no. i'm saying the actions we see them take are also lies

the entire game is a fallacy

look at the zelda from botw. there is nothing of her real personality present in totk. instead she's been replaced with a perfect queen who is self sacrificing and acts with dignity and poise

how the fuck is that the autistic girl we saw trying to get link to eat a frog? how is that the girl we saw abused and terrorized by the weight of the monarchy?

oh really? according to this legend about the great and amazing past of hyrule she was transported back to hyrule's founding where the benevolent rauru took her in as his own because he's so caring and kind. oh after rauru's wife was ruthlessly murdered by the very evil dark skinned man from a far away land, zelda sacrificed herself to give the hero the ability to defeat that evil once and for all? oh and then her great personal sacrifice was rewarded by being returned to her original form in the present day? how convenient

good thing our wise brave and perfect princess SAW the founder of hyrule with her own eyes and can assure us of his legitimacy. it would be silly to doubt the monarchy when we know this

like the whole thing reads like a lie told purely to convince us that rauru is the true ruler of hyrule instead of some schmuck who came from "the sky" with his people who mined all the resources from the lands and then fucked off with them, leaving behind just rauru who has an uncontrollable fascination and love for humans

oh, the whole game being propaganda and rauru just being some guy who took over also makes the timeline make sense again.

all the timeline we understand is still the same. but in the tens of thousands of years since those timeline, the zonai show up, subjugate everyone, mine all the zonaite and fuck off, but rauru encounters the hylians, becomes fascinated by them and stays behind, inserts himself into their existing mythology by renaming himself rauru (the sage of light from legend), meddling in the existing cycle of reincarnation between ganon, zelda, and link by sealing ganondorf in a way that disrupts the cycle and then long after he's gone and relegated to myth, his meddling results in the calamity because an infinity stone empowered ganondorf is chilling in the basement pouring malice into the world

what follows then is a cycle of fighting the recurring calamity aided by the shiekah tech, 10k years pass, the calamity happens again and then botw happens

link and zelda did explore under the castle and accidentally unsealed ganondorf, but where the propaganda that is the game says "oh and they saved the world with the help of rauru from the past!" in actuality, it's just a really typical loz story and they defeat ganon. zelda never actually went back in time or became a dragon, link never lost his arm and had it replaced with rauru's arm. They literally just didn't do basically any of the shit in the game. they just did a really normal post apocalyptic world saving like every reincarnation of them that came before

which is why when we see them after defeating ganondorf, they're just as they were before going under the castle

what the upheaval actually revealed was the proof of the zonai's existence and clues about how they subjugated the peoples of the past

[echoesofwisdomcountup]

27 Days until Tears of the Kingdom Release. More trailer analysis today for y'all. I have watched it an unhealthy amount of times but like the music slaps so hard that rewatching it is not a chore at all. I'm sure most of you by now have heard that the main lead in instrument is a Saxophone which is sick imo.

Spoilers under the cut for those avoiding things.

Picking up where we left off yeasterday, we know have giant sinkholes in the desert. They could be quicksand or pits of death but they could also grant access to an underground section beneath the desert. Considering this is Arbiter's ground, these things might be related to the rising structure earlier in the trailer. Whatever the case, I know that one of my first courses of action will be to walk right into one of these to find out just what they are.

This part to me really hammers in that the underground sections of the game are no joke. They seem to be large and extensive and I'm so ready to explore them. Of course this place is also giving me dungeon vibes which is awesome. Also interesting to see the fire resistant armor mostly unchanged (from what I can tell at least.)

FLYING BOATS!! Are they ghost boats? Magic boats? Zonai tech boats? Who knows but I like the way they look. I think I made it very clear in the first trailer analysis that I needed to explore the giant tornado in the sky. Thank you Nintendo for showing more of the stormhead (although I'll get to the similarities with Skyward Sword another day.) You can see that this boat the trampoline that we see later in the trailer. Its going to be fun to use those.

Now this construct is fairly massive and it isn't the same as the minecraft looking one from the previous trailer. However, I wonder if this one will actually fight us or if its a larger construction construct (hehe). Either way it looks very cool and I am leaning towards fightin given the amount of boss fights this trailer highlights.

My jaw dropped the first time I saw this (although tbf it might have been dropped lower since so much of the trailer had me in shocked awe.) I love the new jump animation Link has (its shown much better later on) which as far as I've seen is only used in gravity manipulation sections. Also yeah gravity manipulation. I've seen several reactors look at this and the weird steps later on and talked about slowing time. Nah its gravity. The little green circle is keeping the water orbiting it at the center. Although, I wonder exactly how common this will be. I hope its used more than once.

Look at that flight suit!! It reminds me of a flying squirrel and I love it. Also mission impossible style laser dodging is not what I had on my totk bingo but I'm not complaining. However, if this section is motion controlled I think I can confidently say that many of us will need several tries. Still a cool use of the new diving mechanics. After this is the shot in the orb but I don't really have anything to say about it except the thing in the background looks like a gumball machine.

If this isn't one of the labyrinths in the sky, I will eat my shoe. In fact, I'm willing to bet that this is in that cube that haunted me in the past trailer.

Sick new spear, same animation, horse that looks very similar to Epona (oh I hope), and most importantly NPC's FIGHTING ALONG SIDE US!! I'm very stoked to see the other members of Hyrule fighting in groups against monsters. It's not just Link. Hyrule is everyone's home and I'm so happy that Nintendo is letting regular the NPC's fight to defend it. Even if their equipment is a little haphazard.

I love Link's expression so much. A little guy. But also he has the shiekah slate and it's got a usb connection into the spool of wire. I'm guessing this is right after/before the little robot arms shot in the past trailer. I have no idea what this is about but I'm curious. Maybe they are viewing more memories stored in the slate? Either that or plugging the wire into the slate is for upgrades or it accesses a specific area.

I have no clue who this person is but I am intrigued. They kinda look like the wall painting showed off in a past trailer but I have no idea what that means. I give this figure props for being mysterious and interesting looking. (Some people said this was in the art book but again I avoided that.)

This part of the castle is very pretty but I don't believe for one second that Link is actually there in the present. He is either reliving a memory or has time traveled because the throne room for sure hasn't been fixed in his time. Magic is involved here.

Zelda looks like she is at an altar. I'm very much reminded of Skyward Sword. I don't know what this means for her but maybe it has something to do with the Master Sword or her goddess powers.

Hmm I mean the random figure saying Link is the last line of defense is cool and all but this shot confuses me. Link's hand should be damaged/be the ancient hand. Is this even Botw Link? Also why is he pulling out the Master Sword again? We know it was damaged so did Zelda stick it back in the pedestal to recharge? So many questions.

Random figure talking to Zelda (who I think might be related to the Owl/the Sage in OOT that talks to Link in the sacred realm) has a similar looking hand. Maybe it's the same one that Link gets or maybe several Zonai have arms like this. Either way we get the first look at the tears part of Tears of the Kingdom but I'll talk about them more the next time.

That's it for today. The only other news I have is that Nintendo has apparently confirmed we will be starting the game in the sky. I'm assuming we either have a very long starting cutscene before they let us have control of Link or we do Great Platau 2.0 first and then we descend to the ground and have to explain what happened to someone like Impah and then the game gives us the explanation cutscene. Anyway, bye for now.

[bugcatcherwill]

NEW CHAPTER ALERT

So getting right into it I love seeing Recksin getting to experience taste and smell for the first time. It’s extremely wholesome and I love seeing him be a little goober just like the rest of the gang.

Next up I have to say I felt Zayl was a bit insensitive this episode, it’s not a complete change in his character but when Zayl lost his tail he wasn’t being bombarded by Sledge as he showed off his broken horn, I’m hoping that this juxtaposition was intentional and it honestly made me feel a bit concerned for Recksin considering that he just got a PTSD flashback and a major life choice all in one.

Also Purah and Robbie are going behind the gangs back to keep it a secret that Recksin helped cause the Divine Beats corruption? I mean it’s justifiable I don’t know how Zelda will react when she finds out or hell maybe even Link will get pissed (I doubt it but it’s a possibility).

Overall can’t wait to see next chapter and the last few chapters of the Gerudo arc.

Oh yeah it was 100% intentional. One aspect I've tried to nail down with Zayl is that it has a hard time understanding cues and/or reading the room. It can get a little too excited for its own good. I wanted this to be a moment where Zayl acts brashly out of excitement and ends up making a mistake due to that.

From Zayl's perspective, it sees a monster that just lost a limb and immediately jumps to the idea of the Shiekah-tech prosthetic. Because from Zayl's experiences, it could barely handle a single day without its tail - let alone the amount of time it took for them to build a new one. So surely that would be true for another monster that just went through the same ordeal? Zayl was already planning in its mind this idea of "oh, we can get Recksin a new arm so it won't have to deal with what I went through!" without considering Recksin's thoughts on the matter.

Sure, there was no way it could've known the Shiekah tech would set off something with Recksin, but it acted too quickly regardless. Perhaps even a little selfishly. But everyone makes mistakes and I tried to make this mistake fit in-line with Zayl's personality and experiences :)

[cl0udcastle]

POSTING THIS HERE BECAUSE IT'S NOT GETTING ENOUGH ATTENTION ON REDDIT

THOUGHTS/THEORIES ABOUT THE NEXT ZELDA GAME

SPOILERS FOR BOTW + AOC + TOTK

Concept art for Breath of the Wild shows a bearded Link wielding a broken Master Sword, bearing a magitek arm and a glowing eye. While it didn't appear in BotW, a version of the arm is central to TotK's story and gameplay. Also the broken Master Sword. It seems like concepts from BotW were considered for TotK and could continue to be considered for the next entry.

There was a 6~ year time-skip between BotW and TotK, so it's not unreasonable to believe that the next game in the series could come after a time-skip as well.

Ganondorf had been sealed since the founding of this Hyrule. As a result, no Gerudo voe had been born since then. Post-TotK, Ganondorf has been defeated, meaning another Gerudo voe can be born.

Shiekah are a subrace of Hylians. If we consider Impa, Robbie, and Purah, they can live comfortably beyond 100 years. It is not unreasonable to believe that Hylians and Gerudo have a similar lifespan.

Astor the Prophet of Doom is the main antagonist of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. It is theorized that he is the "fortune teller" who visited King Rhoam before the events of BotW. He has not appeared in person in either BotW or TotK. He could be anywhere, doing anything.

I propose this idea for BotW 3 / TotK 2, which I am calling "Shadows of the Past":

Old Man Link and Queen Zelda versus Ganondorf Reborn and Astor the Prophet of Doom.

A year after the end of TotK, Astor the Prophet of Doom returns to Hyrule and shares a premonition of the future with Queen Zelda. "With the defeat of the Demon King, a reborn foe will one day be revealed. You will curse his spirit with the shadows of the past and bring about your doom." Astor departs, leaving Queen Zelda to ponder his words. She calls upon Riju to share the premonition and warn her of what may come to pass. They keep this a secret from Link, not wanting to worry him or disrupt the kingdom's new era of peace.

99 years later, a Gerudo voe is born. Riju, fearing the return of Ganondorf but not willing to kill or exile a baby, goes to Queen Zelda for counsel. Zelda suggests sending the baby to the Lost Woods, where he can be supervised by the Great Deku Tree, hidden away from the world, and hopefully graced by the light of the Master Sword to banish the evil within. They keep this a secret from Link.

17 years pass, and Astor returns to Hyrule yet again. This time, Old Man Link is present. Astor asks Queen Zelda about their last meeting, and she boasts that they've challenged his prophecy and ensured the safety of the people of Hyrule. She also claims that, given the return of the Demon King, Link would simply take up the Master Sword and defeat him again. Astor lauds the Queen for her wisdom, and Link for his courage, but states that even these two forces combined will not withstand the power of prophecy. Link moves to attack Astor, who vanishes with a puff of smoke and an evil laugh. Link asks Zelda about her last visit with Astor, and she reluctantly tells him half of the story, omitting Riju's involvement and lying about the true fate of the child. Link feels like something is off, but doesn't say anything. Instead, he travels to the Lost Woods to visit with the Great Deku Tree and reunite with the Master Sword.

When Old Man Link enters the Lost Woods, he is greeted by a gang of humanoid koroks and Ganondorf Reborn, who we'll call Gary. As they proceed through the fog together, Gary shares his story with Link - that he was brought there as a baby, that the Great Deku Tree became his guardian, and that the koroks took on new forms to match his. They form a bond, and Link, noticing that Gary wields a sword and shield, offers to take him on as his ward and train him to become a knight.

When they arrive at the Sacred Grove, the Great Deku Tree says that the light of the Master Sword has allowed himself and the surrounding forest to thrive. He claims that he can sense no evil in Gary, but cautions his safety if he is to leave the forest. Link pulls the Master Sword, assures him that everything will be okay, and leaves with Gary.

Astor is waiting for them outside of the forest, disguised as a travelling merchant. He offers a sacred relic to Gary, claiming that it's something that any knight would be incomplete without - "A view of the moon." He reveals the Harbinger Ganon. It grabs Gary and pushes its Malice into him, assaulting him with visions of the Blood Moon and his past life as Ganondorf. Purged of Malice, Terrako's body falls to the ground while Gary, consumed by Malice, does the same. Astor reveals himself and grabs Gary before vanishing once more. Link picks up the empty shell of Terrako and returns to Zelda to tell her what's happened.

The first three relics to collect are pieces needed to reawaken Terrako. He visits the tombs of Purah, Impa, and Robbie, which are massive shrines á la BotW. After this, Zelda gives him the Blessed Screw which should enable Terrako to travel back in time and allow Link and Zelda to prevent the current crisis. A Gate of Time is opened, but before the trio can pass through it, Astor and Gary appear. Astor means to retake the revived Terrako, but Gary blasts Terrako to pieces. The Time-Traveling Guardian's eye shatters, the shrapnel penetrating Link's eye and incapacitating him. Due to Gary's inexperience and Astor's rage (and an unforeseen disruption of time caused by Terrako's destruction), Zelda and the Royal Guard are able to run the two foes off. Zelda is able to salvage the rest of Terrako's parts, creating the Clawshot and a shape-shifting Guardian weapon. When Link awakens, he discovers that he is able to see past and future events through his shrapnel-shredded eye. Using this new ability, he can now pursue Astor and Gary and stop them from destroying the kingdom.

[flameraven]

13 hours in:

Got the paraglider! FINALLY.

I actually do think the new system of "scanning" the topography is a clever idea, it is hilarious the way Purah just YEETS Link into the sky though. At least he has a safety harness on this time? The claw arms seem to have been repurposed from Guardians, I think it's a cool nod how Hyrule integrated some of that tech into their own devices. (The Sky Towers also seem to have a core based on the original Shiekah Towers)

Little concerned how many people refuse to believe Link is actually Link! Is it the arm?

Rewatched the tutorial level on a Twitch stream, and I didn't notice before but when you stick the Master Sword into the glowy light, it plays the Rewind sound. So Zelda definitely seems to be in the Past. She seems to be wearing Zoani clothes, too. So she's... astral projecting herself into the present? I'm guessing she's hanging out with Rauru during the heyday of Zoani civilization?

I have done a few korok quests and... the game clearly wants you to build contraptions but it honestly seems faster just to carry them around? I feel like the construction mechanic is rubbing against my ADHD in frustrating ways, adding an extra 10 steps to things that makes me more annoyed than excited. Did a bunch of shrines tonight, so am up to 6 hearts! Hopefully I will be less squishy now and die a little less. May venture into some of the caves and try again for the special gear.

Tears of the Kingdom - play notes!

[This is just going to be my stream-of-consciousness notes and speculation while I play, so please don't "correct" anything or add spoilers!]

DAY 2! [Spoilers Below]

First, let me just say the opening of this game was SICK AS HELL, OMG. Obviously terrible things were going to happen as soon as we went down into the basement full of horrible evil smog, but the encounter with Ganon was still genuinely chilling. The way all your hearts get shattered away! AMAZING. Possibly the most exciting scene I've ever seen in a Zelda game?? My big complaint about BOTW was the light amount of plot so I'm so excited that this game is already starting off more involved.

Also, Zelda is a ruins nerd and I kind of love that for her. Characterization! Actual interests besides just sort of sitting around limply going "help us, Link!"

The Zoani and Roaru are really cool! I like them, and I love the little helpful robot friends. Even if the giant gumball/gatcha machines for the Zoani device pokeballs are a little silly looking.

I'm about 5 hours in at this point and just got back to the surface. I'm really enjoying it! The new powers are a bit tricky but also in some ways easier than the BOTW ones? I miss my remote bombs a lot but I find "Rewind" a LOT easier to control than Stasis. "Ascend" is just a bonkers ability. I'm sure I will keep forgetting it as a way to get up high.

I recently finished watching a Let's Play of Skyward Sword, and I'm kind of glad for the timing, because the longer I play the more this game really feels like Skyward Sword Redux. Notable similarities:

-The murals that Zelda finds, about the "Ancient War" and the "Demon King" are straight out of SS

-The "Stabulb" plants seem an obvious reference to the stamina bulbs in SS

-The sound effects the Master Sword makes when "pulsing" while wounded sound a lot like Fi's appear/disappear noise

-The circle menu to quickly choose Abilities is the same format as item use in SS

-Skydiving and the whole sky-islands schtick

-In SS Zelda/Hylia gets imprisioned/stasis'd in a big amber crystal, similar to the one you see in the Temple of Time in TotK

-the yin-yang shaped object that Ganon stole looks a lot like the Amber relic collectables in SS.

Given some of Rauru's dialogue, and the way Ganon knew Link and Zelda's names at the start, it seems like there's a time loop situation happening here (Zelda does love them)-- I'm thinking that Zelda ended up with Rauru while he was still alive? Either that or she's in like the Goddess's Realm/Sacred Realm, doing... something... to rejuvenate the broken Master Sword. But I'm not sure Link is in the same time as he was, either. We'll see. I'm excited to explore and find out more!

First though I gotta get a horse.