#and a few geoglyphs

[chambers003]

What am i doinggg anyway. totk spoilers for rito village and zora’s domain (less emphasis on zora’s though) under the cut it’s probably angst. it’s definitely angst. it’s writing. because im insane.

Link touched down, dismissing his paraglider with a wave of his hand. He barely watched it disappear into blue particles, instead more interested in Tulin. He’d plummeted from the sky, faster than Link ever could’ve, but the fledgeling had obviously landed safely.

His back was turned, and he was looking up at a now-familiar glowing teardrop.

Link regarded the Stone, a wary look in his eyes, the blue ring already on his finger weighing on his mind. He stepped forward, beside Tulin.

Tulin’s eyes held that same look of wonder as Sidon’s had as the Stone shrank and hovered in front of him. A smile on his beak, he stretched out a feathered finger and tapped it.

When Link turned his head away, it wasn’t just to avoid the bright flash of the vision. He’d seen what Tulin was capable of, of course; his mastery over the air and archery had reminded him of Revali, of course it did. To not admit something like that would just be foolish.

But Tulin also reminded Link of himself. For the same reasons he supposed, as well as in his free spirit.

And now, also, in being called to a task like this far too young.

This is how it was. He was too young, both times (from what he could remember, at least). He was what, a few months old at most when he learned of the Calamity? He was probably still too young now, years after waking up again. Zelda was too young. Revali had been too young and suffered the consequences. Even Mipha was young for her people.

And yet whoever was in charge this time - Rauru and Sonia, the Sages, Hylia, he couldn’t even discount Zelda herself anymore! - still let this happen.

The light around them cleared. The Rito Sage of Wind came into view, his face obscured by a mask and the fog. His white feathers almost hid him in it.

Link said nothing.

The Sage spoke of the story Link had heard a couple of times now. “If you had failed, what makes you think Tulin, and me, and whoever else you bring into this mess will succeed?” He wanted to ask the rito.

Link said nothing.

The vision, of Zelda, Sage of Time, asking the Wind Sage for assistance in the war that was going to happen when they left this dreamplace-vision-sand garden. Why would the Sage accept so freely when he had no right to? It would be tens of thousands of years before any of this would pay off.

Link said nothing.

The vision faded. The Ark remained. Tulin accepted the Secret Stone, and Link didn’t meet his eyes when he celebrated getting to fight alongside him. He accepted the ring. The NotTulin stood alongside the NotSidon and stared at him with hollow eyes. Not quite a ghost. The ghosts were people. People who cared about him more than he could ever care about them.

These weren’t that. These were a pledge given form.

“Let’s go back and tell Dad!” Tulin cheered. His eyes were full of hope and pride.

Link said nothing.

[ruairy]

.

[blueskittlesart]

Do you have any theories/thoughts on why the last dragon tear is on the Rist Peninsula? Like..lore reason wise? Or did they just pick that spot cause it has a fancy spiral? This thought hasn't left my brain for weeks.

this question got me thinking, because there are quite a few spots on the totk map that are significant lore-wise in that they mention locations in other games and/or were significant in botw, but rist penninsula isn't one of them. of the locations that the geoglyphs and tears fall on, a few of their names appear to reference characters and locations in other games, which is a common theme among minor location names on the botw/totk map. aside from the naming conventions, though, none of these places share distinguishing features with any map locations in other games. there ARE certain locations on the botw/totk map that are very clearly meant to correspond to the maps of other games/cycles, but those locations will almost always have both a specific name referencing the other map's location AND distinguishing features which mirror the features of the other map very closely if not identically. the geoglyph locations pretty clearly aren't that, so the names are likely just easter eggs. these locations also don't have any significance on the BOTW map from what I can tell, aside from the occasional shrine location, which is less important to the point i'm trying to make here but this is already full of useless information bc i did the research so i might as well give you all of it. the important point here is that none of the dragon tear locations are present in any other map of hyrule aside from the botw/totk iteration.

why is this significant? because it means that botw/totk era-hyrule is the ONLY hyrule in which these locations exist. this fact, combined with the fact that certain locations seem almost designed with their respective geoglyphs in mind (the most prominent example is cape cresia's shape being perfectly fitted to the scimitar glyph, but to a lesser extent the tabantha snowfield ganondorf glyph and the NW eldin mountains master sword glyph both finding large, flat spaces suited to their respective shapes, and, of course, the final tear dropping perfectly in the center of rist penninsula's spiral, suggests that these geoglyphs and these memories were tied specifically to the version of hyrule that we see in botw/totk. Whether this has greater implications as to how the timeline of totk plays out or if it's just an indication that zelda was holding on to her memories of the version of hyrule she grew up in is up to you.

that's all i've got in terms of concrete lore, but on a more artistic level i think there is definitely a reason the last tear falls in the center of that spiral. totk continuously uses an ouroboros motif--a snakelike dragon eating itself in a continuous circle. the four dragons circle the map in continuous loops, repeating the same route endlessly, likely for thousands upon thousands of years. the spiral of rist is somewhat reminiscent of that repetition to me, but with one key difference--it ends. there is a concrete end point at the center of the spiral. once you go around it a certain number of times, the circular motion stops. you're free of the cycle. the final tear, in which zelda begs link to come to her, to find her, to SAVE her, falls at the center of that spiral, at the end of a repeating pattern of circular motions. zelda, like the other dragons, has been trapped in an ouroboros cycle for thousands of years. unable to speak, unable to remember, unable to do anything but follow her same circular path through the sky. but zelda's fate is not actually so bleak and unchangable--she's not in an ouroboros, she's in a SPIRAL. all she has to do is make it to the "center"--to wait it out until link can find her and save her, and she will be human again, and that circular motion will finally stop, and she'll be free to live her life again, to truly move forward. the act of journeying to the center of the spiral to get the last tear is forcing the player to adopt that same circular motion that zelda has been experiencing all these years, and to find the relief at the end--a microdose of the bigger battle zelda has been fighting, and which they will soon have to fight, to get her back once and for all.

[knightofhylia]

Adding Spiritual Elements to TOTK/BOTW Gameplay

Sadly, despite being a pretty religion focused game there is not a lot of options to actually show devotion. Here are a few ways I bond with the Hyrulean spirits while playing!

*Always crouch before praying at the altar. I generally crouch, pray, leave offerings in that order so I don't accidentally pick up offerings. It's a small show of respect!

Various offerings at Hylia statues|Silent Princess' on Zelda's pedestal

*Leave offerings at goddess statues. Once you max out your hearts and stamina the statues don't get as much attention. Other great offering locations: Satori Mountain, The Leviathan Skeletons/Dark Skeletons, Temple of Time ground +Sky

*Cleanse yourself in springs, pools found in shrines, also great fairy pools. The Sacred Springs are a top choice but I also go to the depths at the Secret Spring of Revival. This can be a little bit more eloquently done in totk than botw, but jumping in none the less is good enough.

*Clothing is important! Hyrule is known for incredible fashion and lots of symbolism in their clothing. be intentional with the ingredients you use to dye your outfits. I dye my white outfits for the depths with silent princess to purify the clothes and to protect me in the depths (not an actual buff). I dye my sheikah outfit purple with muddlebuds to magically imbue their confusing properties with my sneaky outfit. etc I like to match the vibes of where I'm going with my outfits.

Red hair for Dinraal, Purple for Sheikah/Hylia, White for Nadyra/Satori combo

*Disarm in public spaces. It makes it a bit more authentic feeling when you aren't sitting in the middle of town strapped to the teeth. I usually only keep my bow equipped.

*Have some areas be no hunting zones such as forests around the Temples of Time or other sacred areas. Or do the opposite and pick specific sites for animal or monster sacrifice

*Spend time with the dragons. In botw you can leave offerings at their spawn sites, make pilgrimages to see them come up and go down. in totk you can ride on them and use that as bonding time. It's a good time to meditate and listen to the music. When I am farming for dragon parts or need a dragon to appear, I usually go to their spring and leave an offering.

Me needing Naydra fangs for armor

*Feed the animals! horses, sheep, goats, dogs, even stalhorse will eat apples or meat if you hold or drop the food. Dondons as well can be fed luminous stones, which are known to have connection to spirits.

*Use Shrine cutscenes as moment to recenter and meditate for a moment (aka don't skip the cutscene). I usually skip the cutscenes but sometimes I use the moments to realign myself especially if the shrine was really frustrating.

*Make your house into a shrine! With the gallery options you are able to post pictures on the wall. Usually I have pictures of the dragons or goddess statues, Sonia's grave, or geoglyphs. And you can change it anytime!

Mommy and Daddy Hyrule and Restored Mother Statue

May the Goddess smile upon your save file!

[nolongerapileofashprobably]

I forgot that there is a genuine debate about whether botw&totk’s open world concept impacts the story of the game negatively or not.

But… the beauty of botw and totk is finding the story. It’s the ability to just say “fxck it I’m going to kill Ganondorf and get Zelda back” immediately after the tutorial. It’s the chance to do the geoglyphs and memories in order or find them as you explore. Even as someone who initially saw the story out of order for both botw and totk, it did nothing to hurt the story in my mind.

It spurred me to find the rest of the memories or geoglyphs, to read whatever diary I could find, to talk to every single person I came across for the slightest chance they might have a cool detail hidden in the dialogue. Yes, I sometimes wish they would just let Link be a character, but he is at the same time. His dialogue choices show us how sassy and caring he is, how serious and stoic he can be, how funny he is both intentionally and not. Nintendo gives us enough evidence that practically says “yes zelink are together in this game” but for those who don’t want that, guess what? It’s not fully canon! For those who do? Welp, the evidence is right there and it is SCREAMING zelink!

And to rebuke that with “well I would like it to be canon to shut up people who disagree with me” … is just engaging in the same toxic hate behavior that probably brought upon those feelings in the first place. Botw’s plot was a bit lackluster, but they nailed it with totk. I cried numerous times. I yelled into my pillow. I felt genuine despair and legitimately had to stop with the storyline just so I could sit with those emotions. I didn’t touch the story for a week and instead got a bunch of shrines and stuff.

That’s the beauty of it. The ability to choose how to play with the story we are given. We obviously learn from totk that botw was 100% completed canonically. It’s safe to say the same about totk, no matter what the player does. But it’s open world concept provides challenges and different avenues to explore every time you load up the game. It’ll take years before this game no longer has a complete grasp on my mental sanity.

I think this game is a masterpiece. Yes, there’s a few flaws, but nothing so big that i refuse to play it.

[ashleyleygraves]

After a while of playing Tears of the Kingdom, I have some complaints. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved Tears of the Kingdom, but there are some things that I don't really enjoy. Some of these are things other people have stated they don't like, and some of these are actually something that are controversial.

Let's start with the ones people can agree with:

There are too few sky islands and there's almost nothing on them. There are a few exceptions like the Great Sky Islands, the entire way up and including the wind temple, the diving islands, etc. But the majority are copy and paste empty islands and all of them were Zonai related. I wish they added Monk Maz Koshia's sky island directly above the Great Plateau like in BotW's DLC, the islands from Skyward Sword, and the City in the Sky from Twilight Princess for some examples.

A real explanation of where Sheikah tech went. Like, we all know what the developers said: "they all vanished suddenly after the Calamity was over" we know that's bullshit because Purah and Robbie still use the ancient Sheikah technology for their towers, the Purah Pad, Purah's telescope, Robbie's mini Cherry, and the lone guardian on the roof of the Hateno Ancient Tech lab. Also it didn't just vanish after the Calamity as the true ending cutscene in BotW shows at the most a month after the Calamity and Vah Ruta broke down, not vanished.

The empty depths. I love the ruins and lightroots of the depths, but on the scale of the entire kingdom of Hyrule? It's empty. Up above you would find Koroks, small structures, different surfaces (sand, grass, rock, snow, etc), enemies and even citizens. I know that you can find mine ruins, the construct factory, Yiga outposts, and enemy mines; but the depths were so vastly empty with the exact same scenery no matter where you were. I would've preferred far smaller areas than the surface counterparts or even just have the Faron, Eldin, and Central Hyrule depths since that's all you actually need to go.

The Lightning Temple. Listen, I love the Lightning Temple. I just wish that they had used the Arbiters Grounds instead of a completely new dungeon. No, I don't mean I wanted Twilight Princess's Arbiters Grounds instead, I mean that there would've been some really cool, subtle lore that the Arbiters Grounds had been destroyed after TP and was rebuilt as the TotK Lightning Temple. Like, could you imagine seeing "The Lightning Temple: Arbiters Grounds rebuilt"

Sage abilities. How they implemented this was the absolute worst. If I were to redesign the sage abilities, I'd have it work more like BotW's champion abilities but with the same reload time as the sages. I'm going to say how I would've implemented each one. For Tulin's ability, I would've pressed the sneak button while in the air to gust forward. For Sidon's ability, I would've held down the block button like Daruk's Protection but swung the weapon while blocking to have the "water slice." For Riju's ability, when you use the bow, you hold block and instead of it Z-targeting the enemy, it would turn the arrow into a lightning arrow (a different type of arrow than electric arrows because it's used as Riju's ability to call down a lightning strike.) As for Yunobo and Mineru's abilities, they would've been the same as before. So, Yunobo basically is the only one with an Avatar and Mineru just follows you as is.

Dragon Tears. No, it's not because it's too similar to finding Link's memories in BotW, it's because you can find them out of order and before finding Impa. Yes, I am frustrated that the first dragon tear I actually investigated was the death of Sonia and I had no clue what was happening. I wish that it forced you to find the tears in order. Like, the geoglyphs would appear one at a time. Or maybe give the same cutscene as when the final tear appears. The light dragon has a tear drop and we need to go find it.

This one is the most controversial thought I feel like... Ultahand. Yup, I don't like ultahand. I don't like building my own vehicles. I don't like building robots. I just don't like engineering games. I love the Zelda puzzles, but when I had to build the solutions in shrines? I hated it. I prefer the BotW shrines where you find a solution by thinking outside the box. In TotK, there is no box to think outside of because whatever you try, it's possible with what we gave you. Make a bridge out of car wheels? Go ahead we love that! I would've personally felt more satisfied with finding a solution that wasn't intended, but in this game every solution was in fact, intended.

That concludes the things I didn't like about the game, everything else, though was absolutely fantastic.

[loquaciousquark]

Work's Done Wednesday Stream

Hyrule's past has more holes in it than Swiss cheese right now. It's time to fix that.

Last time: a bunch of stuff happened, including tons of plot, but the biggest, most shocking thing was that Link went somewhere he wasn't supposed to be yet and got vastly overrewarded for it. Hooray, Master Sword? This time: a few quick stops for necessities, including the Akkala lab, and then we're hunting down the geoglyphs come hell or high water. It's time to fill out this storybook!

Previous stream archives: desktop link (hover over “Tears of the Kingdom” in the top left to access all videos); mobile link (scroll down to the Tears of the Kingdom collection).

Stream starting here in about five minutes!

[totkdaily]

Day 86: Hunting Through Gerudo Town

Almost immediately, a piece of the floor crumbles beneath me. Only Tulin's quick work keeps me from falling. I find a mirror by a statue - not obviously one of the heroines. Is there something else happening here? 

There's a fair few mirrors here, and a strange glow…

I also stumble upon a tunnel full of rocks and gibdo that leads out to the ruins. I head back in though - I'm sure there's a puzzle in those mirrors. 

I explode the rocks around the glow - and reveal a blinding beam of light! I retrieve the mirror and refract it onto a statue - and it moves. When I go to look, there's only a small alcove - but when I step on a switch accidentally, a small cavern opens up, housing a bubbulfrog. 

Interesting. I return to the mirror to look for more reflective options. 

The second one I find reveals another small room, this with a mirror and a fan. Hmm… would a flying mirror help? The third mirrored statue is round a corner from the beam. How would a fan help there? The mirror was hidden in a pile of sand. I already had a korok fan on me, but perhaps this fan is simply here to clear away sand?

I decide to try just with the two mirrors first - I'll come back for the fan if I need it. The angles are tricky… but I manage it. In the third room, a Like Like - electric by the look of it. 

Yup.

It's guarding two chests, and I snag both. 

Time to head back up. 

I report the stela I found to Rotana, who translates:

“The seven heroines who protect the Gerudo. When their powers return to them, the shrouded eighth will be known.”

Could that refer to the little chamber I found, and the orbs I've seen dotted about? There's so many of them… 

I should help Riju first. Priorities. I think she said to start behind the throne? 

I find a tunnel beneath a statue of Patricia, Riju's sand seal, but that just leads back to the shelter. Hmm… what did she say that mural said? I wrote it down somewhere… 

“Standing back-to-back with the throne, witness red pillars across a vast sea. Unite the pillars in light to reveal the lightning stone and open the way. You who can hear my voice, come to me. I await you.”

I can see a pillar, I think, but it's obscured by the dust storm. I need a higher vantage point…

I ascend through the rock above the Palace, and abruptly remember that I'd spotted a shrine up here. 

I can see so much from up here. The pillar. Gerudo Town, below. The geoglyph in the mountains. 

First things first. I head into the shrine.

[blackautmedia]

So I found your post on ToTK insightful, but one thing I didn’t see you cover is how according to the narrative, when Zelda went back 10,000 years she went to her distant relatives. It was still her kingdom, just very early. What do you think of how this ties in to the themes you were talking about?

Sure thing! Hope I can address this well.

For those not in the know, this is the post we're discussing--the Orientalism of the Mummy in Dehydrated Ganon.

I also want to qualify this with two things:

I'm not Native. I'm a Black person speaking as someone who also has a heritage closely related to colonial violence and white supremacy, but not someone who can speak for Native people. I can only go by what more experienced people have said and books and readings from them.

I'm using the word "Native" which itself encompasses several different people. I don't use this to imply they are the same or interchangeable with the cultural practices and ideas the Zelda franchise is drawing from.

To your question, I feel it doesn't really change much thematically because neither Zelda nor any of the Hylians in the present day have any cultural features, practices, or attitudes that codify her as a Native person except as a costume or set of resources and knowledge associated with her.

It's not portrayed as if it's her heritage she's been disconnected with, but is effectively portrayed as a white person being introduced to an entirely new culture in how exoticized it is.

With the Zonai, their coded status comes in the form of their way of dressing, the Geoglyphs being Nazca lines, the designs of the shrines, the Zonaite outfit Link has, etc. It also narratively shows up in how it's framed as "archaic" in-game as referenced by the naming of the armor related to the Zonai versus the white rule the land has in the present day and how they're portrayed and characterized around extinction.

It's almost point for point the exact narratives and ideas about Native people colonizers use in real life. Native people imagined as a people who no longer exist but still had worthwhile resources better suited in civilized (white) hands.

A big part of why the myth of Native extinction gets pushed so hard in real life (and in turn is repeated and propagandized in media about Native or Native-coded characters) is because it reframes how we talk about recompense for them.

If you imagine a world and buy into the repeat narrative of Native people all being extinct, there's nobody left to do right by. It helps shape the conversations around policies and decisions by people in power.

Things like environmental justice, land back initiatives, reparations, healthcare access, and many other things Native people advocate for are pushed aside by erasing the people fighting for it. It's a form of colonial erasure meant to justify inaction.

So while Zelda technically is a descendant of the Zonai, the story doesn't really do anything with that to challenge the way it's recreating a colonial narrative about Native people. We've historically seen her as a pure white woman, one whose purity is contrasted with the toxicity and dangerous wickedness of Ganon.

The few times we do get characters with features or a heritage that deviate from eurocentrism (ex. Nabooru, Urbosa, Demise, Princess Hilda, Tetra, Midna, Ganon, Sonia, Telma, etc.) they're either the villain, sympathetic only in how they directly align and submit to Hyrule's power as one of the "good ones" or they're just murdered or erased from the story entirely.

The Gerudo are out looking for boyfriends, but we overwhelmingly see this in relation to white men in-game despite there being numerous dark-skinned Zelda characters in their partners and even in who is spying on them or trying to sneak into Gerudo town as a bunch of creeps.

Zelda as a franchise is very dedicated to positioning whiteness as inherently superior and more desirable.

The (white) Hylians have a god-given right to control and rule, and all of the non-white races of people are better off for it. While Zelda is technically a descendant of a Zonai, we still see her effectively as an innocent and almost holy white woman.

The franchise operates on the idea that some people are born with magic abilities and are essentially destined to rule over others and that any challenge to that superiority is inherently evil. The characters who ever challenge that are either villains or are antagonized and cut down for it.

[fioreofthemarch]

Finding Her - Chapter 3

Link makes notes, takes photos and keeps time on his quest across Hyrule, in the hopes of finding Zelda and staying sane until he does. [ Previous | Next | First | AO3 ]

Log date: 12:30. 5th month, 22nd day 104 AC Location: New Serenne Stable Weather: Sunny

Lady Impa was glad to see me. But maybe not as much as I was surprised to see her. Was heading north, towards Tabantha, when these silvery lines began snaking their way under my feet — next thing I knew the whole field was covered in them. 

That’s where Lady Impa was, with Cado, and a hot air balloon. She calls them geoglyphs, says they were created by the people of ancient times. (Why can we only see them now? Magic? It’s usually magic.) She said the glyphs were made to house tears, and that if there was one here it might help us find Zelda. So I spent an hour running every line and checking every stalk of silver grass until I found it. 

Zelda and I have probably seen every inch of this kingdom in our travels but somehow we’d never noticed it — a shallow pool, no bigger than a foot across, hidden on the hills of north Hyrule. It showed me her. The shortest of visions. Gotta admit, don’t like what I saw. Because if it was real, if it means what I think it means…

Impa spoke about the Forgotten Temple holding more clues and then sailed away in her balloon. No choice but to follow. If the weather holds, I can make that ride in less than a day. 

A photograph taken from Impa’s hot air balloon of the geoglyph of Hyrule Ridge, depicting a large figure with long ears and an outstretched hand. 

Caption: Wait…Rauru? 

---

Purah Pointer #34: The regions of Hebra and Tabantha in Hyrule are cold! Pack warm clothes or make sure you have a steady supply of warming foods such as Spicy Peppers. Be especially careful of monsters in these regions that utilise an icy breath.

(Note: Purah Pointers are suggestions only and should NOT be relied upon to ensure safe and secure adventuring. Hatento Ancient Technology Industries disclaims liability for injury or death as a result of using the Purah Pad)

---

Log date: 19:45. 5th month 23rd day 104AC Location: Snowfield Stable Weather: Light snowfall  

Been to the Forgotten Temple with Impa and now on the way to Rito Village, stopping at this stable on the way. Looks like there are plenty more geoglyphs to see and hopefully more visions of Zelda too. If I can make it that far. 

Head’s swimming. Thank Hylia for stable-made stew. They use the good stuff here; endura carrots, gourmet meat, maybe even truffles. The owner says they have to, or they won’t get many visitors ‘at the edge of the world’ he calls it. 

Might have been a bit reckless. Feeling reckless, lately. Like my joints are all loose; like anything could happen. Less than two weeks without her and I’m starting to wonder how I lived this long. 

Harlow at the stable said there was a three-headed dragon nearby scaring off travellers and that she fears it'll attack any day now. Alright. A dragon, easy. Have met dragons before, they’re not so bad, as long as you approach carefully. 

Not this one. 

It saw me and a second later the worst chill you can imagine filled the air. It burrowed deep under the Hylian tunic I bought and chewed through the heat of the Spicy Pepper Skewers I’d been eating. Relentless. Barely remember the rest. Fired a few clumsy arrows its way, dodged its ice breath, fell down and was preparing to die face down in the snow like an idiot when I heard a roar. Didn’t get a good look at what happened, only that when I got to my feet the Gleeok was fleeing, and the Light Dragon was circling maybe 300ft above and rising. Not sure what I did to receive its blessing but, any help you can get, right? 

Gonna go ask for a third serving of stew. 

A photograph at maximum zoom, taken from behind some ancient ruins, of a huge ice Gleeok flying in the distance. The air around it is thick with snow such that the creature is barely visible. 

Caption: Will be back for a rematch. 

---

Log date: 10:00. 5th month, 25th day 104AC Location: Lucky Clover Gazette Correspondent Temporary Quarters   Weather: Snowfall continuing 

Another tear, another vision. Worst fears confirmed. Zelda didn’t just fall, she disappeared – and landed somewhere so far back in the past it makes my stomach turn. Just have to trust she found her way back, somehow. 

Currently resting up at the Lucky Clover Gazette. Zelda used to get their paper delivered every week, guess this is their new headquarters here in Hebra. Somehow got roped into being a reporter for them. They’re chasing leads about Zelda’s whereabouts so why not. Will try anything once. 

Traysi has a whole operation here. Research notes, archives, a pictobox, a printing machine, issues packed and ready for distribution. Didn’t see any other reporters except Penn though, and me I guess.

(This job pays, right?)

According to Traysi there there are reports of someone who looks just like Zelda. Sightings all over the place. Is she okay? In danger? Trapped somewhere? If she made her way home, why hasn’t she told us?

Penn said to meet him at the Woodland Stables – he heard she’d been seen there – and it’s taking every ounce of willpower not to go right away. But Hebra is calling, and Zelda has friends there among the Rito. She’d want me to help them. Have to start somewhere or I’ll never start anywhere. Will follow any lead I have.

A photograph of Penn, the Rito journalist, in front of a large corkboard with copious notes, drawings and maps pinned to it, centered around large letters that read ‘ZELDA?’. He is pointing to one of the papers, explaining something with an animated expression even behind his flying mask.

Caption: He lost me five out of fifteen minutes in. 

---

**LOCKED ENTRY** Please enter passcode to view this log. 

> **** **** ****

Passcode validated. 

Log date: 10:10. 5th month, 22nd day 104AC Location: North Hyrule Plain  Weather: Sunny 

A photograph of Link running through a gently rising field, the ground painted with the faint glow of a large geoglyph.

Dearest Zelda,

I hope the day comes when you can view this entry on the Purah Pad. I have locked it with your passcode. 

If you are reading this, it hopefully means you are returned to us. That or it is Link reading this, having cracked the passcode (or made Robbie unlock it for him, though I doubt that).

I have met with Link only ten minutes ago, near the old Royal Ancient Tech Lab that you were so fond of. He has entrusted the Purah Pad to my care as he searches for the secret of the geoglyph that has appeared here. We think it may help him find you; I pray to Hylia we do, and soon. 

I cannot doubt Link will prevail however, for I have never seen such single-mindedness, such breathless abandon as he chases even the slightest hint of your presence. If I told him your shadow had passed over the ground at our feet, he would all but drop to his knees to praise it.  

I will continue my travels to document these geoglyphs, as I know you would give anything to be the one doing so. The least I can do is record my findings to someday share with you. Your Link has been doing much the same. 

If the Goddess is kind, you will soon have a chance to read the story of his travels — and then hopefully write the final chapter. 

Always in your service,

Impa of Kakariko Village

[transgirl-gaming-thoughts]

So I'm finally playing Tears of the Kingdom, and overall its a good game to PLAY, but it not only perpetuates an issue I had with Breath of the Wild's story being underwhelming and nearly nonexistent, but maybe even makes it worse by being more disjointed and messy than ever? Within the span of like three minutes I was being sent to all four regions to investigate what's what, chase after Zelda as she appears all over Hyrule, investigate the geoglyphs, AND I have to map out two different layers of the world to have any hope of progression and destination.

Getting so many quests at once was a bit overwhelming already, but the fact that these are all MAIN QUESTS but are also veeeery different endeavors in different areas of the world feels like they had a lot of good ideas and no idea how to squeeze it all in with proper pacing.

In Breath of the Wild, at least you had to find each quest along the way. The old man tells you about saving Zelda (your overall goal), but then tells you to visit Impa. After plenty of travel, discovery, and growth along the way to Kakariko, she tells you about the Divine Beasts before sending you to Hateno to repair the Sheikah Slate. Once you repair it and unlock the camera, you can use the photos to regain Link's memories (and get the "good ending" cutscene when you defeat Ganon).

For all of my issues with Breath of the Wild's story, at the very least they didn't overwhelm you with disjointed quests. This initial string of quests takes you in a semi-linear path from the Great Plateau, to Kakariko, to Hateno. After that you have the four Divine Beasts in the four major regions, and smaller main quests like the Fairy Fountains, Korok seeds, and the Master Sword. It's not linear, per se, but it's connected and the flow is really natural.

Tears of the Kingdom takes away the Master Sword very early, and then just... doesn't mention it again. I have yet to reach Korok Forest and see what the Deku Tree has to say on the matter, but they just yoinked it early on and said nothing. Obviously to create a sequel to a game like Breath of the Wild, they have to do a few cheap things to reset chronological progress, but the Master Sword especially just felt... weird. That's a good way to describe most of the story for this game: "It feels weird."

[iiryebreadii]

more totk thoughts! rip if this is getting annoying I’m sorry homies there’s just SO MUCH

There’s literally so much to do?? I’m constantly wanting to go in like. eight directions at once. Underground exploring, the sky islands, getting the towers, finding a specific geoglyph cause I want to find them in order, cave diving, checking out old favorite spots from botw, actual main story missions, side quests, THERES SO MUCH

I went to the great plateau to see what all was different, and there’s a quest there I haven’t started yet, but the MAIN POINT I have is that seeing the shrine of resurrection cave was oddly sad? That place gave me LIFE and now it’s just overgrown moss :( although the hot spring was a nice touch. It still heals, even when it’s gone :) also the yiga hiding there was hilarious. He was like “prepare for the fight of your life!!!” and then I beat him in like. four hits. iconic

OH also. I’ve been to a couple stables and I’m realizing that the Zelda Apparition I’ve been seeing might not be zelda. Everyone I talk to is like “weeellll I mean it looked like the princess but she didn’t feel like the princess” you know. So WHO is out there impersonating my girl. identity theft is not a joke

^^^this goes double for the blood moon cutscene. she doesn’t even wish me well or say to be careful :’(

I went to kakariko and!! Koko is so grown up!! Cottla is still small but look at my lil cooking baby!!! Making garlands for people!! I’m sad they don’t remember you in this game :( Dorian remembers me. koko I gave you so many ingredients. cottla we played tag so much. my heart is broken

Wait ok new headcanon. Link has the most forgettable face in Hyrule. OR because he’s always wearing different outfits no one can recognize him. remember botw Robbie looking him dead in the eye and being like “how will I know you’re him without seeing the scars. look at you, you could be anyone.”

In my first liveblog post I mentioned meeting the rito Penn and thinking “wow people are probably gonna be weirdly thirsty about this guy” but NOW I’ve met Tauro and I know people are gonna be thirsty over him. like I’m very ace but I think the allos are really winning with this game, good for you guys

Also, trying to use Ultrahand when you have joycon drift? 0/10 would NOT recommend. I need to get new ones, or to get mine repaired, cause my slapdash fixes don’t last more than a few days :/ I spent what felt like an HOUR last night fighting with a shrine puzzle while my joycons played merry hell

[cyphyra]

yknow what i just realized probably would've saved TotK from a storytelling perspective?

a leveling system.

now wait, hear me out, put the pitchforks down; the MAIN reason the whole actual story kinda bites is because you have the freedom to go anywhere at any time, and the world simply gets harder as you play. they ended up cutting corners and making it so every area makes sense storywise if you do it first. however, if enemies are already tiered up in certain areas, it'll promote the intended path you're supposed to take (the game already suggests Hebra first, so all tier 1 enemies would be that way) and a leveling system would make it so you do have to go the intended way or else expect to have an extremely difficult time. you could still go to places out of order, of course, but it would be significantly harder than how the game is at base

like if you put a strict storytelling spin on it, it would probably go like Hebra > geoglyphs 1-3 > Eldin > geoglyphs 4-6 > Gerudo > geoglyphs 7-9 > Lanayru > geoglyphs 10-12 > Hyrule Castle > Spirit Temple > Finale-- like that makes sense as what you're intended to do.

"but Cy people can just go beat up high-tier enemies and get fuse materials to steamroll and trivialize the lower level areas" ok? make it so levels affect weapon damage caps then. otherwise it's a risk/reward situation bc you get the fuse materials for beating something u aint supposed to yet

idk. this is just an idea and not anything i can act on bc it's not like i can mod or anything. i just wish TotK told it's story in a better way, cause the intentional path is pretty clear if you know to look for it, but most people who've played BotW (myself included) will just go off in random directions a lot, playing it like botw. i even came across a few geoglyph tears just wandering, but i told myself "no, i know there's an intended order this time, ill hold off" bc id seen the forgotten temple beforehand

[dragonballnewstar]

Hello everyone~! Welcome back to AMP! Up Your Week! It's the week of July 15th, and I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Let's start with some interesting news today!

An ancient temple and theater has been identified in Peru as dating back 4,000 years, placing it among the oldest man-made structures in Peru! Surprisingly, the structure was only a mere 6ft under the ground surface! By the theater’s staircases were carved stone slabs decorated with intricate bird designs that are typical of carvings from a time dating back as far as 2,000 BCE known as the ‘Initial Period’ and that continued until 900 BCE - meaning if the carvings were dating properly, they would long predate the Inca, but even the makers of the mysterious geoglyphs known as the Nazca Lines, as well as another civilization called Moche. It's amazing what can be found under our own feet, and makes me curious what's below the surface of Monster Island.. hm..

In science news, astronauts are stuck on the International Space Station after more problems with Boeing’s beleagured Starliner. For the past few weeks, Nasa astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) after the first crewed voyage of Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft hit a snag. Apparently, the whole Starliner project has had numerous hiccups and delays - and now the crew is expected to return in August during the next crew switchover. Hopefully Boeing can fix whatever issues they have been having, because this is all happening not long after their previous issues with their aircrafts. I just hope the crew manages to come home safe.

Hm.. I don't have anything in regards to music news saved. Let me check my liked songs and see if I added anything recently...

Ah, here we go!

I found a quote from Unlike Pluto about the collaboration;

"About a year ago Mike Taylor and I both showed up to a writing session in our black cars wearing all black. We joked about it for a while, but then starting working on a song. From the style of wearing all black to Nina Simone interviews, there was so much inspiration. People always ask me how long it took to write the track - it was the most effortless collaboration I had ever done. I'm so proud to be a part of Everything Black, and can't wait for everyone to hear it!!"

Well, please enjoy! That's all I have today, so I hope you have a wonderful week. Remember to stay safe and stay hydrated. I'll see you all next week!

[fyeahygocardart]

Themed-Day: A Decade of FYYCA

Today marks the 10-year anniversary of FYYCA (Again, for a perspective on how long ago in this card game that was ago...Mermails were released one month later). As with prior years, here’s an overview of the past year’s posts, with the top three posts (in descending order) of each respective month:

October:  The King of D., Sentence of Doom, Vampire Fraulein

November:  Speedroid Ultra Hound, Gizmek Taniguku, the Immobile Intellect, Link Party

December: Magician’s Salvation, Monster Reborn Reborn, Gunkan Suship Ikura

January: Time Wizard of Tomorrow, Egyptian God Slime, Fengli the Soldrapom

February: Appliancer Laundry Dragon, Tour Guide From the Underworld (alternate art), Frightfur Tiger

March: The First Darklord, Number C1000: Numerounius, Vampire Voivode

April: Leafplace Plaice, Earthbound Geoglyph, Zoodiac Bunnyblast

May: Illusion of Chaos, Predplant Verte Anaconda, Melffy Mommy

June: The Weather Painter Moonbow, Wynn the Wind Channeler, Floowandereeze and the Dreaming Town

July: Magicians’ Souls, Cross-Sheep, Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon

August: Spright Blue, Paces, Light of the Ghoti,  Gunkan Suship Ikura-class Dreadnought

September: Mokey Mokey Adrift,  Ariane the Labrynth Servant, Toon Harpie Lady

Speedroid Ultra Hound took the top spot for the preceding year. However, the top three spots all-time (in terms of note count) remain the same: Change of Heart, Toon World, and Dark Magician Girl (this art), respectively (and Change of Heart just passed 40K yesterday).

I wavered quite a bit on what cards to post for this, but Past, Present, and Future seemed like a good theme for the decade of doing this. With that in mind, the three cards posted will feature one card from the distant past (with a new art), a card from the most recent TCG main set release, and a card that fits with the Future idea.

I say it each year and I’ll say it once again: Thanks to all whom have been here and enjoyed this blog for these ten years so far. Keep an eye out, as hopefully sometime in November/early December (once re-licensing is complete), we will finally have a give-away after a long while since the last one. And there may be a few other surprises around the corner into the new year...

Hope you all enjoy today’s posts and have a great rest of your day.

(Still the reigning and defending top post)

[lesbovalentine]

wait guys can i be a little hater about totk i haven’t done that on here. and like for the record i’ve been having lots of fun with it even if i haven’t been able to play for a while. but also

idk how to do a read more on mobile. idk if u even can i didn’t use mobile when i used to make posts more. like five yrs ago. ill add that when im on my laptop next soryyyyy

anyways NUMBER ONE. sticking with the nonlinear storytelling. i think it worked for botw, felt immersive with link uncovering things about his past on his own, etc. i don’t understand the point of it here and i think it takes away from the story lol. especially with the dragons tears where they like try to foreshadow and they try to show u characters and a storyline but succeed in actually letting us know the characters hardly at all and all foreshadowing fails because you can get them in any order which also brings me to the end cutscene of minerus temple which for some reason is just 70% recapping what the dragons tears said? then the temples didnt feel very rewarding to finish just because you didnt learn anything new unlike the divine beasts you just got nearly identical scenes for all the dead sages changed only by speech patterns and approximately 3 lines from the new sage. id rather just have a scene with the new sage then the sameee cutscene with zelda every time. and i truly believe the scene after the last geoglyph dragons tear wouldve been way more impactful for me if id gotten the last few in order. i felt a drive to advance the plot for about three days and then nothing. because there is SO LITTLE plot it feels like. you get these fragments here and there and while ive been loving to explore this changed hyrule its like. i was so excited for new plot especially bringing back ganon back into the mix after so long and all we got were crumbs. come on now.

SECOND speaking of plot what was with all that emphasis on the sky islands in trailers when its the DEPTHS that r so much bigger. and there is like NOTHING about them in the plot of the games — they’re just an extension of the sky islands and overworld, really, in everything but aesthetic appearance, and they’re never relevant in the story despite how huge it should seem that there is clear evidence of zonai civilization there which is for some reason identical to whats in the sky? everyones like omg look in the sky and only josha cares about the underground in a sidequest that means very little.

THREE everyones already said something about the disappearance of guardian tech and its already been countered with a “well they must have dismantled it all to avoid it being used against them again” and thats all well and good but the complete lack of mention despite working closely with the sheikah tech researchers is INSANEE whered the massive divine beasts go?! its like the events of botw never happened no one talks about it ingame!!!!! no ones ever like well ever since we cleared all those broken down guardians from the field by fort hateno, or we’ve been using the old tech to learn from to create this new slate that is nearly identical in function to ur old one but we’re gonna for some reason always act like this camera or sheikah sensor r totally new and exciting. ???