#and if totk is anything to go by oh boi

[ganondoodle]

the idea of playable zelda in itself is really cool, but then i think of how her 'type' of character typically gets animated/sounds/treated and i just shrivel up inside

the only way id accept if it was like fromsofts way of doing it, which is there is literally little to no difference no matter who you play as, but we all know nintendo would never lol

[blue-eli]

Ink October day twenty-nine: Wilder

To bewilder; to perplex.

Comparative form of wild: more wild.

[captainn-hook]

Character analysis on Prince Sidon (BOTW vs TOTK)

One thing I love about totk is how the game addresses Sidon’s trauma.

In botw you see how desperate he is for his father’s approval, it’s like Mipha set an impossible standard for dying not only for her domain and her people but for the whole kingdom of Hyrule. In their father’s eyes, she’s the perfect child, not only in personality but also in the way she’s honoured her family. Sidon sees how his father thinks of her, and although the king doesn’t do it consciously, he always put her on an impossibly high pedestal, and Sidon grew up believing that he HAD to meet that expectation, and that he would never, no matter how hard he tried.

When Link tames Vah Ruta and they both go to see the king, he tells his son:

“As your father, I am proud of you for fighting the Divine Beast alongside Link. You have grown much recently. I know you will be a worthy heir when your time comes.”

Then Sidon bows his head, as if he’s overcome with emotions because his dad tells him he’s proud of what he’s accomplished. King Dorephan isn’t a bad guy, don’t get me wrong, but the grief of losing his daughter (in this case, he thought she went missing and had been in the DB for 100 years, he didn’t know she died) made him sort of lose sight of Sidon’s achievements in those 100 years because he was so racked with worry and guilt. So although the king isn’t a bad father, he fails to reassure his son that he doesn’t need to do anything to make him proud (even though Sidon had definitely done stuff to make his dad proud over the years).

(Btw im pretty sure tripple digits in age is considered teens or early adulthood for Zora, so he’s still pretty young, I imagine around Link’s age if he were Hylian)

But that’s about all we get in botw.

So now we move on to totk. And oh boy do we get a load of Sidon angst. Some people might disagree with me but having read between the lines of what Lady Yona talked about (and just WHAT she actually said) in the first half of the water temple quest (before we find it, when we’re up in Mipha court), it really is angsty.

She’s aware of the fact that his sister’s death affected him a lot and still does despite knowing that her spirit moved on, and it (at this point) has started to affect their relationship.

Yona and Sidon have a disagreement before/after the battle with the Sludge Like, where they argue about him going with Link to this pillar of light that has suddenly appeared. It starts with Sidon saying: “Lady Yona! It is far too dangerous for you to be here” in reference to the sludge, but she has none of that.

She tells him that she wants him to go to the pillar with Link, and that: “For a long time, I have been concerned that you are holding yourself back and not acting as freely as I would have expected.” This has some credit because it’s mentioned somewhere how they were both childhood friends, and the Zora live long lives so it’s safe to assume their childhood is prolonged, which means that they’ve known each other for a very long time. Yona knows how he acts and behaves, his mannerisms and his fears, and that’s why she wants to push him to face them.

She tells him that if he goes with Link they’ll be able to overcome this problem, but he hesitates. She notices, asking him what is troubling him, and he hesitates again to speak what’s on his mind. This is when the Sludge Like comes in, and after the battle, the conversation continues.

Sidon hurries back to Yona and says: “Thank goodness. Lady Yona, if something had happened to you... I...” and there’s where it becomes clear just how terrified he is of losing her. He doesn’t finish the sentence, though, he changes the subject and tells her that she should go back to the domain in case more monsters show up. She tells him that he should focus on what Link said and that he can leave the court to them (Yona and the others that came with her). Sidon replies with: “W-well... Of course it would be best for me to accompany him. However, I cannot leave you alone in this dangerous place!” He’s ignoring what’s best and instead focusing on the safety of his betrothed, because of course he would! A monster just showed up and it took both Link and Sidon to take it down, imagine if neither of them were with her, what would happen? What would he do if she got hurt? And then the following dialogue happens (you dont need to read the whole thing, you can just skip to the bold parts):

Yona: “Did you not entrust this task to us already? We will not be on our own for long. We shall be just fine.”

Sidon: “But…”

Yona: “Sidon, my darling... I truly appreciate that you worry so for my safety. It speaks to the kindness in your heart.

But you are the prince of the Zora. One day, you will lead the people of your beloved domain.

I can see right through you, whether you want me to or not. You are yielding to the fear of losing someone you love again.

You must overcome your past and face whatever the future holds with courage.”

Sidon: “But... I...”

Yona: “Enough is enough! You are not acting like yourself! You must leave this place to me!

Sweet Sidon... Do not get lost in the past. You must keep moving ever onward. Just follow your heart, as you always do!”

Sidon: “Like my old self... Like I always do...”

Yona: “It is all right. I swear it. I am not going anywhere.”

Sidon: “I see... And there it is, clear as day... I was giving in to my fear of once more losing someone I love... I… I…

You are right, Yona! I will not give in to this fear! Nor forsake my trust in you! I leave this place to you, my love.”

[skip]

Yona: “All this time he was clinging to regret over being unable to save his precious sister, Mipha... My poor, tormented Sidon.

And to think he was unknowingly paralyzed from taking action because he feared losing me as well...

Yet he has overcome this trial and placed his faith in me. At last, the Sidon I know and love has come back to me.”

During this conversation, Sidon hesitates more than once and you can see it starting to irritate Yona because she knows the potential he doesn’t see in himself, because it’s not just fear of losing a loved one, but it’s his own insecurity from not being able to save Mipha.

He doesn’t care that he was very young and wouldn’t have been able to anyway, he just cares that he couldn’t. In his eyes, he failed to save his sister. And I’m not going to go too deep into this point but it’s clear that she was playing both older sister and mother, because we can assume their mother died a while back (she’s never mentioned and it’s just the two of them and their father even as far back as age of calamity if you want to include that).

What I’m saying is that with technically both the loss of his mother and his sister, it’s safe to assume that he feels some sort of responsibility for not being able to help, even if he was too young to do so, his disregard for the age he was at the time shows how much weight was left on his shoulders after Mipha died.

He never expected to be the heir to the throne, the sole survivor of his family (along with his dad), sure he’s a prince and princes have responsibility, but Mipha was always going to be in the spotlight (not that I’d imagine him jealous of this, it’s simply just a fact, and I think he might have actually even been comfortable with that), she was always going to be the Zora Champion and then Queen one day, so to have all of that suddenly dumped on him after the calamity as a literal kid would’ve undoubtedly had its effect on him.

Yona understands this, she tells Link, knowing he’s probably caught on, how he was “clinging to regret over being unable to save his precious sister, Mipha...”.

She has to reassure her love that she’s okay. “It is all right. I swear it. I am not going anywhere.”, she comforts him because she knows he needs it, he needs her to say it to him because that’s the only way he will believe she is in fact okay.

But his character develops. Sidon realises that in fearing for Yona, he has made her feel as if she isn’t trusted. He recognises the position he’s put them both in, him worrying relentlessly and stressing out about his loved ones because of his trauma, and her having to watch him fall down this never ending rabbit hole and being unable to do much about it because all he tries to do is shelter and protect her, even when it’s unnecessary.

But she does what she can anyway, and it pays off, because he comes back to reality and understands that although there will always be the risk of losing her, he knows that she is more than capable of taking care of herself. He knows of her strength, it was just hard for him to see the situation from her point of view. But she pushes him to do so, and he betters himself for her.

I think he’ll always have some small hint of this trauma response hidden away, but after this discussion, he’s got a firm hold on it, and is willing to control his fears for the love of his life so that they can start to build a life together without the sense of utter doom and despair over his past looming over them both.

I’m glad the writers did this, and didn’t just make them seem like this perfect couple with no issues, it shows a real and healthy relationship, and it shows that Sidon isn’t this perfect person and that he indeed has faults of his own.

That’s my take on it, anyway.

[wayfayrr]

It’s been a while but hello! ✨ I have been so busy working two jobs but I have been doing well, just tired, hope you’ve been doing well Moss <3 I absolutely loved what you wrote for reader playing Stardew valley with Sky <333 absolutely worth the wait, I need me a Sky irl so badly it’s not even funny 😭 throwing hands with Nintendo for making a fictional man so fine and lovable </3

But also, YOU PLAY ELDEN RING????? I’VE BEEN PLAYING IT SO MUCH RECENTLY WHEN I HAVE FREE TIME, ITS SO PRETTY <33 restarted cause I couldn’t remember how to play and I wanted to do a new build, rip my level 90+ and 50+ hours Samurai Tarnished </3

But on that same note, TARNISHED MY ABSOLUTE BELOVED, I MUST GIVE YOUR BOY SMOOCHES <333333 !!! I beg for a crumb of more lore for him please 🙏 He deserves kissies, and cuddles, and being spoiled and treated with so much love and affection <33 IS HE TAKING MAIDENS CAUSE I VOLUNTEER <3333

~ 🍀anon

I'm glad that you've been doing well clover!!! Working two jobs is draining as all hell so I hope you've been able to find time for yourself outside of it <3 That sky fic was really nice to write too, even if it was a bit shorter than I planned for it to be. He's just such a sweetheart and Nintendo really be hurting us all for having him only be fictional ;-;

ALSO YOU'RE RIGHT ELDEN RING IS SO PRETTY???? whenever I talk about tarnished I'm probably going to be posting some screenshots too cause just??? I don't blame you for restarting though, when you haven't played for a while it's nicer to restart than try to figure out where the hell you left off last time

(The siofra river is so pretty stg AND THE AREA IS COMPLETELY OPTIONAL????)

As for lore - I've been fleshing out his background a bit but I'm still uncertain on a few things For certain I think It would be interesting for him to be a member of the church of dragon communion, since dragons are more worshipped by the rest of the chain and then you just have this fucker/aff who eats their hearts to gain abilities a friend of mine also suggested that he could have a second nickname of elden, in tune with the boys tending to have two nicknames or more (like wars/captain or wind/sailor) it would also match how the nicknames seem to be given!! one is what they quested for and the other is something they 'are'

as for him taking maidens? :3 I've been wanting to write a bit for him I won't lie, cause I've had the idea of him possibly being self aware too

It's been a while since I've even touched my playstation, but with my switch all but turning into a brick the last time I tried to play anything but a zelda game. Well there's no reason not to try play on something else. "Shame... booking a repair slot is a headache that I'd rather not have to deal with." That can wait though, till I have the energy to do it that is. In the meantime I've got other games that I've been neglecting. When is the last time that I played elden ring actually? It's gotta have been at least a year, I remember setting up a link look alike character before totk came out but... Oh wow that would have been the last time I played wouldn't it? I don't think I even got far, so maybe picking that save back up won't be to much of an issue. ... I could have sworn it wasn't possible to have your character so close to the screen. "You - You came back?"

[morkiemcfly]

So how are you feeling about the whole totk situation now?

Oh boy. Buckle up. So yeah, there was some crap going on regarding TOTK. It seems like after release,alot of people were saying that it wasn’t all that good, it sucks,etc. and that went on for months. I’ll be honest, at first it REALLY upset me because I hate to see anything less than positive about the things I love (that’s ASD for you). But as time went on, I realized that I’ve seen this all before. I’ve been in MANY different online fandoms and this cycle is pretty common internet discourse. There’s always going to be a loud vocal minority online that doesn’t like the popular thing. Zelda games in particular tend to get a lot of heat both on/off the internet, someone once told me that WW/TP had a similar situation going on so it’s not the first time. So now I just don’t pay it any mind tbh.

Now I do want to make it clear that there IS a difference between valid, healthy criticism and straight up hate. The game DOES have things to criticize and I acknowledge that. Just like every other video game in existence. It’s valid if you don’t like or were disappointed in Tears of the Kingdom. That’s your opinion and I respect it and I ask that you respect mine as well. All that being said, I have started seeing a lot more positivity now. TOTK was 1,000% my personal GOTY for 2023 and one of the best games I’ve ever played. I still love it with all my heart and nothing will ever change that.

TLDR: The internet is not reflective of real life.

[sheikfangirl]

Positively adore your art!! Thank you for sharing it!! Also, would you happen to know of any fics that sort of resemble your art style or ones that inspired it? I’m right there with you I love the basic vanilla vibe and I have been trying to find a decent fic to get into before I finish totk

thank you!!

Thank you so much for your kind words for my art

🙏 I greatly appreciate!🙏

I have a confession to make dear friend! I hadn't read fanfictions in several years but beating Totk made me go FERAL for Zelda material and explore what's been written since BotW came out.... oh boy the rabbit hole is deep!

There is a lot of good stuff out there but I have read so many fanfics in a short time that the whole thing is a blurry mess in my brain. BUT! There is one in particular that really stood out and left a lasting impression on me: Displaced written by socksock https://archiveofourown.org/works/21128084/chapters/50279321 It was originally written in 2018, before the release of TotK so there are some small and harmless inconsistencies that can easily be ignored because, duh, it was written BEFORE totk. I particularly liked this fanfic because it has all the qualities I'm looking for!! Also several key moments and general ideas in that story are extremely close to my own headcanon to the point it almost scared me. The story focuses on Zelda trying to find her place in post-calamity Hyrule. The characters are very well written and credible, Link's personality is player behavior accurate (MORE OF THAT PLEASE!!!!!!!!) and obsessed with completing his quests backlog and I thought it was amazing. Damn i love a player accurate Link!!

It's a wholesome slow burn romance, lots of humor, it's sexy, does not take itself too seriously but can be very emotional at times. Also, I was amazed by one scene in particular....I don't want to spoil anything for you, but the Big Damn Kiss moment is *CHEF KISS*: the setting, the tone and the resolution HSGDKJS, I would've slow clapped if i could've (I was holding my phone lol)

Reading that scene, I thought to myself : F*** YES! This person gets it hahaha !!

My own Zelink Big Damn First Kiss moment shares a lot of similarities with that fic so, Im going to say it now: when 'll post the Zelink first kiss i'm currently crafting, be sure to know that Socksock and their fic Displaced did something in the same general vibe FIRST! They are awesome. I hope i answered your question haha Have a great day!

[crazylittlejester]

DAILY BRAINROT

I got jump scared by a pedestrian on my way to get groceries because I was thinking about this, and I don't have a good excuse because I am also a pedestrian.

Adding a "half out of control ADHD" disclaimer on this one.

I have been seized by the brainrot, and it is holding me hostage until I finish writing out Legend and Wild meeting for the first time in the vigilante AU, and that's why the next chapter of poor Hyrule's fic hasn't been touched today.

Legend gets to be happy in this AU because I think he's earned it. He's been around for like... basically forever, so he gets to have all the friends he wants. I am aggressively improving his quality of life here. I went to the effort of finding him a sandwich recipe (and honestly might try it myself because it looks tasty).

Back to the point, which is that I was thinking about what powers everyone would have in this AU when I was going to get groceries. It's a very tough question, and the fact that my area of expertise in high school was Marvel is not helping because there are too many options to pick from. So I only managed to work out the abilities for two of the boys so far, which is half the reason why I'm making Wild and Legend play nice with each other today.

Long story short, I decided Wild should actually get a copy-and-paste ability AND I HAVE A GOOD REASON, OK. I love love love the idea that the Shrine of Resurrection's Sheikah Juice stuff is actually liquid information and since I can, I figured why not just replace his blood with it or something?? It's fanfiction I can do what I want. So now Wild has blue Shrine Juice blood and is sort of partly like a computer I guess, which means he has the ability to copy "files" and store them in his "system memory." Which... actually kind of explains the amnesia, I guess. Had to delete a few "files" (memories) to make space for the new "files" (abilities/powers). Obviously I've got to put a limit on him otherwise he'd be WAY TOO POWERFUL, so I'm thinking that each "file" either has a cool-down period of 1x every 24 hours or he has to pick 1 power to use for each 24-hour period. This explains how the Champions' gifts and the abilities from TotK work, and it makes me feel Very Smart.

Legend is actually pretty boring in comparison. I didn't really want to have to pick between his numerous items, so I gave him a very basic enhancement ability with an emphasis on speed and agility in the legs so he can run around on top of buildings and do parkour. His power isn't anything special, it's how he uses it that's actually interesting because he's had to make up for being Very Vanilla. It DOES let him keep up with most people, though, with few exceptions. And I like this because I think it kind of does reflect on how he's not really a special person by himself and that his being interesting comes from his experience and knowledge and inventory. He's the guy who's been everywhere, done everything, and knows everyone, and that's where a surprisingly large amount of his flavor comes from.

I have a rough idea for Sky, but I'm not completely sold on anything for him, yet (because of the whole deal with Demise and all). I'm extremely tempted to make him think he's a normal guy when he just uses his Terrifying Prophetic Abilities in his sleep. Like, he thinks he probably sleepwalks so he tells Twilight and Warriors when he moves in and the first week goes okay, but then for the second week he is walking in his sleep and doing Crazy Shit while spitting out Creepy Prophecies about stuff. It's concerning, and they're trying to figure out how to tell Sky to go to therapy because he is An Absolute Ray of Sunshine during the day. (Maybe he just has remlit powers?)

Legend gets to be happy in this AU because I think he's earned it <- OBSESSED WITH THIS.

COPY AND PASTE ABILITY. I LOVE IT.

REMLIT POWERS ALSKDKDKD

dude oh my GOD i fucking love all your au’s so much, the insane amount of detail you put in em???? I eat it up every goddamn time. thank you for bestowing upon me your brainrot every day 🙏

[solarsyrup]

Would love to hear your extended thoughts on totk (i haven't played it and only played about 10 hours of botw)

Oh boy! I've had a year to stew on this, so here we go!

...er, actually, before I really start tearing this game a new one, I have to acknowledge how central Breath of the Wild is to Tears of the Kingdom's shortcomings. While not championing (pun intended) Breath of the Wild, I do hope that comparing the two helps emphasize the many mistakes of Tears of the Kingdom.

Okay, with that out of the way, here's some stuff. A detailed and hopefully thorough examination of the faults of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, yes, but ultimately: stuff.

Why begin like this? Well, because Tears of the Kingdom LOVES stuff. There is a persistent and irritating theme across the game that you'll have more fun if they just keep dumping more things in your lap. More items, more enemies, more dungeons, more plot (well, sort of), more checklists to fill out, more stuff.

The game's central theme seems to be rebuilding, emphasized both with the general beats of the plot and the emphasis of the new construction mechanics. Certain other abilities were replaced, the weapons system received a major overhaul, and in something of a first for the series, you can actually acquire allies (of a sort) to fight alongside you.

There's a lot going on! I just wish that any of it was done well. Entire areas are introduced only to be practically empty. Central mechanics are a chore of almost hilarious repetition. Many elements introduced in Breath of the Wild were actively made worse.

In short: Tears of the Kingdom is a game that hopes it can dump enough stuff into your lap that you forget it's not actually good.

(If anyone is hoping to read this entire thing, I hope your butt is comfy; that was just the preamble.)

Before anything else, let's get the basics of the plot down: Ganondorf appears, Zelda disappears, and... well, actually, that's pretty much it. While Ganondorf's return and Zelda's whereabouts (spoiler: she was sent to the past and then turned into a dragon) provide the overarching impetus for the plot, very little else contributes.

Each of the major races introduced in Breath of the Wild faces natural phenomenon that endangers them (heavily alluded to be the handiwork of Ganondorf) but are otherwise mostly inconsequential to the narrative. Each arc concludes with a member of said race awakening as a sage and offering to lend their strength to Link, after they have acquired a mineral macguffin, a secret stone that —

Oh. Right. They're literally called "secret stones".

Call me nuts, but going in blind I was absolutely certain that they would be the titular "Tears of the Kingdom". Nope. Secret stones. I guess I'm the idiot for thinking that such a long development time would leave room for a second draft.

The narrative impact of solving these crises is virtually nonexistent. While the completion of each major dungeon in Breath of the Wild both freed the associated Divine Beast to help in the final fight and provided a useful power from its champion, Tears of the Kingdom instead opts to dump a nebulous promise of teamwork and and an eerie, green simulacrum to follow you around in the wilderness.

I cannot overemphasize how poorly implemented these "avatars" are, failing in almost every fundamental way. Rather than providing useful abilities at will, the player is left chasing after a dead-eyed NPC to activate practically worthless powers only when absolutely necessary. And far from providing a sense of camaraderie, the silent and omnipresent avatars can actually be unsettling. They're also miserable in combat, serving more as meat shields than a conceivable ally. To add insult to injury, the final sage — a GIANT ROBOT, no less — is borderline useless, thanks to the game's poorly-thought-out mechanics.

The practical shortfalls of Tears of the Kingdom is such a large topic that I'm practically forced to tackle it piecemeal. While larger constructions were the focus of much of the game's promotional material, I think the smaller Fuse mechanic serves as a better starting point.

A major point of contention within Breath of the Wild was the implementation of breakable weapons. With a very small handful of exceptions (namely, the ubiquitous Master Sword and the ever-recharging Bomb rune), weapons break after a set amount of use. Tears of the Kingdom attempted to remedy this situation by introducing Fuse — an ability allowing players to attach most items to weapons, shields, and arrows, increasing their stats and potentially giving them new properties.

This is a prime example of Tears of the Kingdom brazenly dumping stuff in the player's lap.

The system is an absolute mess. First, to encourage (borderline mandate) that the player engage with this new mechanic, the plot has decided that all weapons in Hyrule have degraded because of... plot. Making them anywhere near feasible for combat relies on using Fuse, meaning the player is in a constant loop of (essentially) gluing items to their weapons. Now not only are you scrounging for weapons, you're also looking for stuff to stick on to it — and reminding yourself to do so, as it's very difficult to do in the heat of combat. Adding insult to injury, there doesn't seem to be a particularly substantial increase in weapon durability after using Fuse. Some later-game items are sturdier, but their rarity makes them unappealing as mere monster mashers.

This leads into another issue with Fuse: constantly fighting for resources. Beyond previously-established uses from Breath of the Wild (making elixirs, cooking, selling, upgrading equipment, etc.), items are now also the means by which you strengthen weapons. Should you glue that horn to a sword, or will you need it for an upgrade down the line? Retrieving an item used this way isn't impossible, but it may as well be. And considering that you'll want to go into fights with weapons pre-Fused, players will constantly be scraping together more stuff just to keep their supplies healthy.

BOMB ASIDE: Okay, please forgive a moment of very specific nitpicking, but nowhere is the Fuse issue more evident than in the absence of bombs. In Breath of the Wild they were (obviously?) used to break cracked walls and as an emergency weapon. With their very notable departure, EVERY cracked wall in Tears of the Kingdom has a chance of spitting out rocks and rusty weapons when broken, just to keep up a supply of cracked-wall-smashing implements. So now even the WEAPONS THEMSELVES are needed for progression, and you have to keep gluing them together. Great!

This also applies to the game's Ultrahand power, allowing the player to cobble together vehicles, structures, and similar devices to complete quests and achieve goals. Aside from the ever-present need to collect more stuff (in this case, Zonai parts) to begin freely assembling these devices, the plain and simple fact is that they're cumbersome and — frankly — kind of lame.

Without going too in-depth (although, hey, if you're still reading this then maybe you'd be into that), the system is a slow process with a lot of room for failure. Misplacing parts frequently sabotages entire projects, trying to move individuals components is frustrating, and the results are generally unimpressive. Sure, there are interesting builds and neat combinations, but they're almost always more trouble than they're worth. More often than not, players will simply find spare parts littered around individual puzzles, slap together whatever the devs had in mind, and move on. Rather than feeling creative or ambitious, it feels like someone simply forgot to put the game together. More stuff.

But it's a good thing you can build vehicles period, because the game introduced entire new levels of Hyrule to explore: the sky and the depths. Each is ostensibly as large as Breath of the Wild's original map of Hyrule, both near-necessitate the use of Ultrahand and its construction abilities to explore, and both are some of the biggest wasted opportunities I've ever seen in a video game.

Both the sky and the depths are absolutely barren. While there are what I would loosely describe as "points of interest" in both, they hold surprisingly little importance. Oh, there are enemies to fight and chests to open aplenty, but it ultimately just acts as more stuff. More rupees. More minibosses. More materials for more upgrades.

Stuff. More stuff.

Since I've already gone this far down the rabbit hole, here's a running list of other bad design choices in Tears of the Kingdom that I can't feasibly include in an essay-style answer but are still worth complaining about:

The addition of caves throughout surface Hyrule was poorly implemented; Breath of the Wild noticeably shied away from using them for the exact reasons they stink here (difficulty in location and navigation, clumsy climbing mechanics inside, camera difficulties, etc.)

Quest and shrine rewards were noticeably less valuable, further prolonging the grind for materials and weapons

Having to upgrade the battery for Zonai devices isn't the worst idea; having to mine in the barren-ass Depths for the ore for it IS

The sheer amount of items in the game makes navigating menus and scrolling a constant issue, and even by mid-game trying to Fuse an arrow takes a preposterous amount of time

While I enjoy the boss designs, they (and their dungeons) are almost totally irrelevant to the plot. While I guess you could make the argument that this is truer to classic Zelda formula (most dungeon bosses being an unexplained monster) I feel like it doesn't hold up as well as the Blight Ganons' personal enmity with the champions

Many promising elements from Breath of the Wild (such as the Zonai mazes) receive zero explanation, relevance, or discussion, and many frustrating elements went completely unchanged (I cannot believe the Korok seeds/inventory upgrade system is the same beteween games, the mind BOGGLES)

The Zonai receive basically zero attention, except for heavily implying that one of Link's earlier incarnations was a Zonai? What a weird thing to purposelessly shoehorn in

Zelda is sent to the past for no other reason than to justify why this game also has ancient structures and technology, making it further baffling why the Zonai are essentially an afterthought to the game

I cannot overemphasize. Secret. Stones.

Shrines are much more of a chore thanks to the aforementioned issues with Fuse/Ultrahand

The house-building system is AWFUL and, just, straight-up, absolutely fails to capture what made the home-buying subplot of Breath of the Wild so beloved

Breath of the Wild's use of Malice (limited appearance outside of major dungeons) was much better than Tears of the Kingdom's use of Gloom (spreading it like peanut butter)

(also Malice is a way cooler name)

Huge tonal clashes throughout the game (trying to play up Ganondorf as a bigger threat than Calamity Ganon vs. mushroom mayoral election?)

The Master Sword absolutely sucks and reacquiring it is a huge letdown aside from the obvious "regenerating weapon" benefit

The Goron and Zora subplots are both awful, it feels less like you're saving a society and more like you're the janitor, the Zora plotline especially is just a miserable follow-up to Breath of the Wild's Mipha arc

Both Link and Zelda have significant alterations made to them that are completely undone at the end of the story, which really undercuts the whole "rebuilding" theme of the game

As much as I enjoyed Matthew Mercer's performance, Ganondorf really doesn't have much story presence and for most of the game her kinda just slides into frame every now and then like a Saturday morning cartoon villain

Speaking of squandered characters, poor Mineru is easily one of the best newbies and she gets like, absolutely nothing

...I liked Zelda's Breath of the Wild hairstyle better THERE I SAID IT

Tears of the Kingdom is a game convinced that if it hands you enough stuff, you'll stop worrying if it's any good or not. I've read that many of the new mechanics were originally conceived as DLC for Breath of the Wild, and I don't know if the devs understand what an indictment of Tears of the Kingdom that statement really is.

Because ultimately, that exactly what the game feels like. It feels like they took a completely different game and dumped some bloat on top of it — items, bosses, cutscenes, whatever.

And one of the most insulting aspects is that Tears of the Kingdom tries to frame it as freedom. You can build whatever you want! You can choose how to solve problems! The lack of cohesion is palpable, and it makes the entire experience feel like you, the player, are responsible for putting together any fun you want to experience. It's bizarrely apathetic.

I'm honestly surprised that more people haven't drawn comparisons to the likewise genre-twisting Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, considering the attention on mediocre vehicular gameplay and a similarly irreverent tone to its predecessor(s). It's uncanny.

...so anyway, there you have it. I had originally planned to have some kind of robust conclusion here, but I think I'm done with writing about all this... stuff.

[nightttoon]

Not my boy

Yunobo x reader

Warnings! Mention of drugs? (Like... Marbled Rock Roast), Yunobo wearing mask, a little rude Yuno, totk spoilers

I think that's all! Enjoy!

You ran home as fast as you could, wanting to snuggle up to your goron boyfriend as soon as possible. You've missed Yunobo incredibly, your kind, gentle goron.

You've been gone for a long time. The journey to your native village to your family took longer then you thought it would and when you came back you didn't understand anything. You got that something was wrong when, in the middle of the day, during working hours, one of the gorons was sitting on the ground. His eyes are red, and he keeps himself sitting only with help of the wall behind him. He didn't respond to your attempts to talk to him, so you decided to run to the city and call for help.

Goron City didn't look good either. Everyone is tired-lookig, and Bludo you met on the way only got worse with his back.

Old Goron just explained what happened. He told about new version of Rock Roast, about how the behavior of the Gorons has changed and about what happened to Yunobo.

Yunobo is the kindest and most sympathetic goron you've ever known. Your dear boyfriend. But the way Bludo described him doesn't look like him at all... rude, loud, boorish... This is not your Yunobo. Bludo also mentioned something about a mask...

"Try to talk to him. Maybe he'll listen to you..."

The old goron said with a heavy sigh.

And you immediately went to him, to the mine where he is now. Where he takes Marbled Rock Roast.

He was there. But it's not your Yunobo. Not the Goron you fell in love with.

"Hey! I told no one but me to come in here!" The young goron shouted at the whole mine, heading towards you with fast pace.

You crossed your arms, waiting for him at the exit with a frown on your face.

The president didn't keep you waiting long, stopping right in front of you with a smirk. His eyes seem to burn red under that damn mask.

"Welcome back, Goro! Oh? What's with the face? Aren't you happy to see me?" Said goron taking you by the chin.

You couldn't believe it was him. That the one who stands in front of you is your once gentle goron, who was afraid to hurt you and did not touch you that confidently.

"What's going on, Yuno? What's with the city? Why are the Gorons in such state?" You said, removing his hand from your face. His hands seemed unbearably hard for you right now.

Yunobo frowned.

"The Gorons are in perfectly fine. But there's something wrong with you"

You look at his displeased grin. His eyes shine with a dangerous flame, not the soft fire that you are used to.

"You're not Yunobo..." you said through your teeth.

Your boyfriend's face is twisted with anger.

"And what do you mean by that, huh?"

"That there's something wrong with you! Take your mask off!"

You reached for the mask, but he grabbed your wrist, squeezing it tightly.

"Don't touch... pf... Something wrong with me, Goro? With me?! You've been in your village for longer than you promised! It's not my fault that you missed all the changes! And now it's my fault?!" The young goron shouted angrily.

The skin on your wrist started to turn red from the way he squeezed your hand, forcing you to close your eyes.

"Stop, it hurts!"

Tears rolled from your eyes. Your gentle goron would never do that. He's not the one you love so much... Not your boy...

"Oh no, honey, that's not how things are done"

He sounded annoyed. Pulling you by the hand, he put you between him and the wall. One of the hands slid down on your thigh, squeezing tightly so that you would not have the opportunity to leave. He leaned forward, trapping you between his muscular body and the mine wall. The other hand stopped on the wall next to your head. A sneaky grin spread across his face. He leaned forward, whispering in your ear. His warm breath burns the skin of your neck, and no amount of Fireproof Elixir will help.

"We have to catch up on everything you missed during your absence, don't you agree, dear?"

Ah well... Requests are open.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Does Ganondorf ever have moments of just silently hating himself for what he's doing to Shady Son in Hero of Shadow?

Of sometimes just wishing he'd died with them?

Of blaming himself for everything? For the happiness they lost?

It also makes me wonder why he was so hateful of the Zonai & Hyrule as a whole.

Like, I get the "grass is always greener" mental pitfall & the envy, but I can't help but wonder if there was more to it.

The best I can figure with Ganondorf in general is that since he's the "special male Gerudo" born to be king, it kind of Others him from the rest of the Gerudo. They respect his position and all, but he's... different. A man in a society of women. Born a ruler just because of it. It separates him from the group, makes him lonely and egotistical. It's his right to rule. He has to be strong. Living in a society of warriors pushes that even further. And if his mere existence rewards him with ruling over one country, why not more? Why not take what he wants when he gets what he wants with the Gerudo? Hyrule has so much to offer. And the people there aren't warriors, they don't fight for what they want or love, they just sit on their hands and do nothing, they practically deserve to be wiped out and ruled over.

Ganondorf is a lonely and angry guy, is basically what I've concluded. At least based on what I can infer. Perhaps he's seen his people suffer and wants better for them. But no matter what, he always just did things for his own gain - never once have his actions benefitted the Gerudo in any of the games. So he's selfish as heck. And if you were to point that out he'd just be like "why shouldn't I be?" He was told his entire life he was special. Probably hardly anyone ever said no to him.

In TotK, he clearly loves a good challenge and fight. He probably is a really smart dude and wants to be stimulated, both intellectually and physically. Nothing gets the adrenaline going like a good fight, nothing pumps him up and proves his power like beating a difficult opponent. He can respect a good warrior.

So his motivation to invade Hyrule wasn't just about resources and "grass is greener on the other side" kind of vibe, it was a logical conclusion to how he was raised. He's king. He wants to rule. He deserves to rule. Hyrulians are weak. He wants Hyrule. He takes Hyrule.

As for regrets... he definitely regrets how his family broke apart. Because they were the one thing that was absolutely special to him beyond anything else. Because they loved him, not just obeyed or respected him. Because they were uniquely his. Nabooru was stubborn and powerful, a challenge in every way, and she loved to fight as much as he did. They respected the heck out of each other until Gan started the war. Hemisi adored him and admired him. Link looked up to him, and oh how that made all the difference because Gan absolutely loves his daughter to death but to have a boy looking to him for example is a whole other level of validation to Ganondorf.

He doesn't regret his actions, though. Simply that his family didn't follow along. He does sometimes regret having to control Link, but only because he knows it physically hurts him. But he won't stop, because he genuinely thinks this is the best way to keep him safe, from Rauru's knight, from the dangers of the world, but most importantly, from himself.

[clara-aeri]

Love how you handled the different Zeldas in your Advent fic. And how you write Link in Rootsverse, it's exactly how I see him in this era. Do you have any thoughts about the other Links in other games? How they compare/contrast with botw/totk's Link?

Oh thank you!! 😊 Glad to hear that!!!

Boy do I have thoughts.

I guess- I should say that the way I wrote Link in Roots is definitely not how I’d imagine him to be in cannon. If only because I feel Nintendo values the self-insert aspect of the Zelda games too much to let the character stray very far from the “stoic hero” archetype. If anything, the Link I wrote in Undertow is the most similar to how I’d imagine his canon self to be- largely just due to how he doesn’t outright reject his responsibilities (pre calamity at least. I do subscribe to the idea that he’s much louder and funnier after losing his memories).

Agh- but anyway lol see my rambling below.

Starting with Ocarina of Time (OoT), that version of Link is definitely sadder than the others. He had a pretty good childhood, but his adult life fell apart in much more profound ways than the others’. He’d be as quiet as pre calamity botw Link. There might be a hint of the mischievous fairy kid still left in him, but very little. Lots of longing and disillusioned feelings that would maybe be best replicated in pre calamity Botw Link, yeah?

As for Twilight Princess (TP) Link, he’s a country guy 110%. I imagine he’d be too restless to go back to farming though- not after the world got so big. I assume he’d be a great guy to talk to, best with kids/animals, probably one of the most well adjusted after all his trials and a good pen pal to Zelda. He wouldn’t be as lively after losing Midna, definitely, but he’s doing leagues better than OoT Link. Probably has a much more dry, sarcastic sense of humor than Botw Link’s “He has a dumb belly” absurdist comedy.

Wind Waker (WW) Link- at a glance I’d almost say he’d get along with Botw Link, but after more thought I think WW Link would despise him. Botw Link would willingly eat rocks or stuff himself in an explosive barrel for jokes, but WW Link would either have to be tricked or forced into it. He seems… high anxiety. But also irritable. He has the most common sense out of all the Links and that is probably exactly what his problem is. I don’t know why, but I get the feeling that most animals would attack WW Link on sight because of his constant bad, exasperated energy.

As for Skyward Sword— lol I think he’s so funny. I think growing up with Zelda “the Goddess turned teenage girl” would have had an impact on him. By far he is the most stable, most extroverted version of Link, but I think there’s something about him that would make him unknowable. He’s so relaxed but upbeat at the same time, seems like he’s always up to something but nobody ever knows what since he’s always asleep. He doesn’t have a thought in his head but he’s so perceptive too just- he’s just odd. But cool. Botw Link’s extreme stoicism pre calamity and crazy behavior post calamity would both stand out a lot next to SS Link. Yet his relationship with Botw Zelda most closely resembles SS Link’s with his own.

I’m not very familiar with the other 3DS Links etc so I can’t say much about them. These are also the vibes I get from how I remember all these Links after 10 years of not playing their games, so I could be wrong in how I’ve described them for sure.

Lol either way thank you for asking! I was a fun question to think about! It makes me want to write a reverse Advent featuring all of them ugh 😭😂

[nuzzy]

OKAY SO I WROTE A FANFIC !! ITS 2 828 WORDS AND IT TOOK 9 MONTHS TO WRITE (if you include the 8 months where i completely forgot it exsisted) !! AND I ALSO WROTE LIKE 1 400 WORDS THE LAST WEEK !!

Link in Teyvat, what shenanigans gonna happen?? - nuzzy - 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

^ LINK (not that character)

actual fic below!!!! (i hope i got everything in it) (also can you tell that the first part was written around december? n before totk was released)

Aether was flying around in the Ashavan Realm looking for Rukkhashava mushrooms for Collei and the Wanderer. He had already bought some from Aramani in Vanara and 5 more from Ashpazi in Ghandara village, and while he was there he also got some from Farbod. 

“ Ugh, if I only had Tighnari right now… ” Aether thought. “... If only I had some shrooms so I could get more aquaints…“ 

Aether looked around, seeing if he saw some more shrooms. He didn't. 

“Welp, time to ‘port to Lokopala Jungle.” he sighed as he took up his map. 

As Aether clicked on the teleport button he remembered that he hadn't been in his teapot in a while, he made a mental note that after all the shrooms were taken, he would visit his friends there. And maybe he could put Collei and Scaramoose in there so they would get some friendship exp? Or are there too many people in the teapot? Or do any of ‘em have friendship 10? He has to check later. 

When Aether jumped down the cliff, releasing his paraglider in the process. In the few seconds he was in the air, he gazed around looking for the shrooms, he didn't find any, again. Maybe he had already picked them all yesterday? He didn't remember.

“Guess I have to farm some bosses...” He thought out loud with a sigh, completely forgetting the teapot plan.

“Maybe I can go to Mondstadt for some TCG?” he said to himself, he had completely forgotten about the TCG after it came out and he got jumpscared by Sucrose. 

Aether decided that it was a good idea to go to Mondstadt and talk to the people there. …And play the TCG of course. 

He took up his map again and scrolled to Mondstadt and clicked a waypoint there. Within seconds he was there, in the city of the Wind.

As he looked around in the city, he saw Jean sprinting to him.

“Oh, hello Aether,” Jean said, looking a bit nervous. “Perfect timing, we need some help and we were looking for you.

“Sure, what do you need?” Aether said.

“Come to the knights and we will talk there.” she said. 

“Well what do we need to talk about?”

“... I do not know how to explain it… also where's Paimon?”

“Eh, she's sleeping and I don't want to wake her up. She's also probably gonna sleep for a few more days anyways”

“Oh.” 

Jean and Aether walked to the Knights of Favonius building, they didn't say anything else while they walked there.

When they came there, which only took about a minute, as it was pretty close. 

“So what's the problem?” Aether asked when he walked in the building.

“Let's go to my office first.” she said as she started walking there.

When they walked into the office the first thing Aether saw was that he had not raided her office for books, and that there was an unknown boy in the room. 

“ Who was he? ” was Aethers first thought when looking at the boy, he had a blue shirt and golden blond hair. At a closer look, the blue shirt the boy was wearing had a white pattern that looked like a sword. When he focused on his face he saw that half his face was a giant scar, and one of his pointy ears, which reminded him of Klees, was completely destroyed. When he focused on his blue eyes, he saw that the boy was staring right back at him.

“This person is an outlander, like you,” Jean said while looking at the boy. “he fell down from the sky on one of the islands in the lake. We don't know how he managed to swim from there to one of the beaches with all those bruises he got from the fall.” 

“That's interesting, have you tried talking to him?”

“We have tried to, but he just looks at us with a confused look,” Jean sighed, she was way too tired to be dealing with this, she had taxes and paperwork to get through! “And before you ask, he doesn't talk either, we have tried to make him talk but he, once again, looks confused.”

“Well, what's your name?” Aether turned his attention away from Jean. The boy said nothing in return, but stared at him with a kind of confusion.

“That didn't work…” he said with a sigh. “Time for plan B!”

“You have a plan B?” Jean asked, a bit confused. “What is it?”

“I- uh, haven't gotten to that part yet.”

“Holy Barbatos…” she sighed, pinching the top of her nose, she was really tired of this. “Well what do we do now?”

“We could go out for a walk around Mondstadt and then maybe he'll talk!”

“Last time we did that he whipped out a bomb out of nowhere and almost blew up a wall, and tried to climb to the top of the cathedral.” Jean said with a disappointed look at the boy. “We were lucky that the sisters caught him in time.”

“And he didn't get put in solitary confinement?” he asked.

“Well, he was in solitary confinement for like.. two minutes, before he blew up the wall and escaped.”

“At least in the short while he was there, Klee was happy to have a friend.” Aether said. 

“I mean, that's true, but it still doesn't excuse that he blew up a wall .” she said, a bit irritated.

“Well, what are we going to do with him?” Aether said, all while looking at the boy again. “We can't exactly put him in solitary confinement again.”

“That's the problem, we can't let him go. And we shouldn't if he plans to blow up a wall again.”

Aether and Jean looked at eachother, both not knowing what to do with the boy. 

“Maybe we can teach him the language and then talk to him?” Aether said, not knowing what else to do.

“We can try, but we don't know what language he speaks.” Jean said. “So we don't know how to translate to his language.”

“Have you tried any other languages than Mond and common?” he said. “He maybe doesn't know them?”

Aether sat next to the boy and tried to make a simple conversation while switching between all of Teyvats languages to try to see if he understood any of them, unfortunately, he only got confused looks when he tried them.

“That didn't work.” Aether said. 

“Okay, but what do we do now?” Jean asked. “We have tried everything.”

“I think that probably the best thing to do is to take a walk? Maybe?” 

“Well, we can try again.” Jean sighed. “But please take him back here if he causes trouble.”

“Noted!” Aether said, as he took the boys armed and practically dragged him out the door.

When they were out of the Knights of Favonius building he tried to make some small talk, but having someone who didn't talk as a conversation partner made that the talking fastly died down.

As they walked onto the bridge, the boy took his bow out, the bow looked strange and he couldn't quite see what material it was made of, but it had weird glowing orange lights on it, nicked an arrow with a red arrow head and shot it right at Timmies pigeons. When he did that, there was a huge explosion with smoke. When the smoke cleared the pigeons were dead and the only thing that was left was fowl. 

“Nice shot dude” Aether said encouragingly, but the boy was still quiet.

“Why is everyone always shooting the pigeons?” Timmy asked angrily, Aether could see slight tears forming up in his eyes. “I'm gonna tell mom all about you!”

“I don't know man, they're very shootable.” Said Aether with a laugh as they walked away. “And your mom cant do anything about me.”

He and Aether wandered out in the wilderness, still not saying a word to each other, the silence was awkward.

They walked for maybe an hour and a half, during this time Aether had tried to make small talk multiple times but every time the boy just looked confused or ignored him. He was starting to get frustrated.

“Do you like food?” Aether asked, trying to break the silence.

The boy just looked at him confused, not seeming to understand the question. Aether sighed and opened his inventory and took out a tea-break pancake. 

“Food.” He said while pointing at the pancake. 

The boy nodded at the pancake and took a bite out of it, and got a small smile after he took it.

“Now when you're done, we can set up a tent and sleep a bit,” Aether said while starting to stand up and stretched. “Oh right, forgot you can't understand me.”

A few minutes after that “conversation”, if you can even call it that, Aether came up with a great idea. He thought that maybe he could draw an object in the sand and then the word! …But maybe he wouldnt understand the intention? 

Aether tried to push that thought away, it was going to work! Everything he does works! Even if its as stupid as challenging the shogun without remembering to lvl up his characters, or even putting artifacts on ‘em all together. Everything he does is great! He has saved multiple nations, killed a harbinger ,and fought and won against two others, he has also challenged gods, and won of course. He really was great, so why was he anxious about how this outlander thought of him? He was also an outlander, they should be able to communicate and help each other out!

“Sooooooo, you can't talk?” Aether asked, even if he felt like he had asked this 5 times already, which he probably did. “And you can't understand me either? Nod for yes and shake your head for no.” 

“...” the outlander didn't say anything, just looked up at him from eating his pancake.

“Okaaay, I forgot you wouldn't be able to understand that…” He said, feeling incredibly stupid for just confirming the obvious. “Soooooo, food, am I right?”

The boy looked at his pancake, and then pointed at it, slightly confused.

“Yes yes! That's food!” Aether said in excitement, while doing a thumbs up to show that it was indeed food. “Okay so we're getting somewhere! You can understand food, atleast! ”

“...” he looked up at him, face returning to a neutral expression. 

“Ahh, it seems like we still have some more stuff to get through before we can fully understand each other…” 

“.......” The boy started putting away the plate the pancake was on, then started standing up, all while maintaining eye contact.

“Okay… do you want to do something?” Aether was confused about just what the boy was doing. 

He watched as the boy threw some firewood onto the ground, then pulled out his bow and knocked an orange arrow with a flame tip, “ It's probably a fire arrow. ” Aether thought. When the arrow was inevitably fired and hit the wood, when it hit a small cloud of fire was there, for probably less than a second. The wood immediately fell into a triangle shape and started burning. Once it had burned for a few seconds the boy, who Aether realised he needed a better name in his head for, pulled out a few apples and put them on the fire.

“Whatcha doing?” Aether wondered out loud, but of course there was no reply.

He said nothing in return, just held out his hands, as if to say “ wait and you'll see ”. After a few more seconds of the apples were baked, or grilled, Common Teyvat really was confusing. He hurriedly picked them up and held one out to him.

After a few seconds of staring at the apple he took it, only hearing a few mutters from the boy. He thought he could hear something that was similar to the words “baked apple” but not really the same, the sound of the ‘a’ in the apple was off, like if you somehow merged a and e into one letter. It was strange, but maybe it was another language that's similar? 

“Okaaay, sooo that's an …. apple?” he said with half an apple in his mouth.

No response. 

They just stared at each other, it felt like minutes, but it was probably just a few seconds. A few very awkward seconds.

“......wha?” a pretty hoarse voice came from his mouth, with a heavy country accent, Aether thought that it matched Xinyans accent a bit, but with slight variations on pronunciation.

“OH SHIT HE CAN TALK?!?” Aether exclaimed, not expecting him to talk.

The boy mumbled something under his breath, something about that he shouldn't have said anything and just continued the act.

“So we can actually have a conversation now!” Aether said. “And what's your name? I can't keep calling you ‘boy’ in my head.”

“.... I am actually onehundred- and-seventeen…” he said, voice still hoarse, probably from disuse.

“WHAT,” Aether exclaimed, surprised by that age. “HUMANS DON'T LOOK LIKE THAT WHEN THEY ARE THAT OLD????”

“......what's a human??...” he asked, in pure confusion. 

“.. You don't know what a human is?” 

“... no? …” 

“Well, a human is what people are here.” he said, fumbling on his words because he had no idea he was going to explain humans to someone who apparently was an outlander like him. “except for maybe Klee, Albedo, … Diona too I guess.”

“... I don't know who any of those people are…” 

“I heard Klee was the child you were stuck in solitary confinement with,” he said. “until you blew up a wall.”

“... oh, right I forgot I did that…”

“Also if you're not a human, what are you then?”

“... I'm a Hylian?..." He said, slightly confused. 

“Well, what's that? I've never heard of it before.” he was really confused as to what a ‘hylian’ was.

“... I'm guessing it's similar to a human? But we’re kinda blessed by the goddess so our ears are long with magic stuff,” he explained. “I'm also guessing that humans aren't blessed by goddesses because their ears are so short…”

“Oh so you have a goddess?” 

“... yeah we have one, or it's actually four but Hylia is the main one that actually answers most of the time…” his expression changed a bit, Aether didn't really know if it was a positive or negative change because his expressions were really hard to decode. “like or at least she is supposed to, but she like, only talks to me most of the time, dunno why. She also ignores Zelda!”

“...What a nice goddess you have.”

“... yeah right! Zeldas is like her descendant too so it makes less sense with that!”

“What??” 

“... Yeah! Like way over 10 000 years ago, after the kingdom was founded again by ‘divine beings from the sky’ that made some … bond or something with the hylians?” 

“Wait wait, who did what and why are you telling me this?” 

“... I dunno to be honest, I just need someone to rant to, like a lot of stuff has happened to me and this kingdom.” 

“Well, take it from the start.”

“The start start or the start of the kingdom? Also I don't know all of the details because I have amnesia and forgot literally everything, Zelda has been trying to reteach me stuff but history is hard.”

“Let's take this from the start start,” Aether was surprised that this stranger had been willing to open up so easily, like this guy was rambling about everything, to a stranger. He didn't even want to speak five minutes ago! “Wait, you have amnesia?”

“Yea, yea, but that's not important right now,” he waved with his hands as if it didn't matter, his voice also getting more strained with each passing word, Aether was starting to get worried that he would get so hoarse he couldn't talk. “Okay so, it starts with the three golden goddesses who create the world and all that stuff, and they also create the triforce, which consists of three parts, power, courage and wisdom.”

“Why just those three things?”

“Take that up with the goddesses will you.” he let out a laugh. “So I hold the triforce of Courage, Zelda holds the wisdom one and some dude named Ganondorf holds the power one. Apparently Ganondorf is evil and stuff.”

“So you're… like chosen by the goddess?”

“Yeah yeah-” his ramblings was broken by him coughing a few times. How often does this guy talk actually? His voice was already raspy and hoarse from the start, and he faked not being able to understand him. He probably needed to at least know his name before his voice gave out. “And that is the basics of the goddess stuff.”

“Okay I realised I haven't asked for your name yet?” Aether asked as he realised he zoned out during his explanation.

“... "It's Link.” 

“Well I am Aether, I'm glad to finally know your name.”

/

is it cringe? yes

did i probably write everyone out of character? yes

am I GOSH DARNIT PROUD OF THIS?? YOU BETTER BELIVE ITS YES

[science-lings]

Yeah! Agreed. Also, just random, but honestly, the "Oh he has no emotions when looking at them" when meant unironically and beyond the joke, focusing on his pokerface, just kinda forgets that the game literally tells us why Link is that stone-faced, and that it's kinda the completely opposite of "not caring". He started training to be a royal guard when he was a kid, he basically had his whole life planned out around being a Guard, and probably just never had the same luxury to actually show his emotions when/if he felt them, even before he became the Champion for the Mastersword. Like he was "an exceptional swordsman" at the age of FOUR! And got the Mastersword at THIRTEEN! This poor guy had to live with heavy expectations since he was a toddler! He tells Zelda that the reason he is so stone-faced, is because he feels like he has to be strong and carry his burden. Not because he doesn't care, but because he care SO MUCH! Like imagine the mentality of him: "Oh someone could love me? Can I afford to get attached though? If I die, they'll suffer because I'll leave them behind. I'm just a guard, I've seen what can happen to us as mere soldiers. What if someone hurts them to hurt me? All these other Champions have a life beyond being protectors, as Chiefs, and Princesses, etc. I have to be strong, they all count on me. I need to show them I'm strong, if I falter or show weakness, it all breaks down." If anything, the reason why he might emote more at food, even before the calamity, is because it's the only thing that can bring happiness, without causing or risking danger to those he loves and cares about. If he loves someone, and its found out, imagine the risk! But a good meal? A good meal can be taken away, but won't risk the lives of your loved ones. He's so tragic, and now I'm sad for my boy. *sobs* Let him finally be happy and live a life unburdened by the expectations of a Guards life, which he was raised in since he could walk. Let him finally be able to smile, without a heavy heart that it might cause danger to those close to him.

YEAH, I get so annoyed when people are irritated at Link for being all emotionless and stonefaced in all the memories when it's literally explained why, and his silence is finally given an interesting reason rather than an offhanded comment about him being kinda quiet or even no acknowledgment of it at all.

It's important to his story and his personality that he's stoic and that he refuses to show his emotions and it's heartbreaking but also it shows how different he is after the calamity now that he's able to start expressing himself.

It's vital to the story that even though he's quiet about it, he's just as affected by the oncoming calamity and the pressure that Zelda more outwardly is. Both of them were molded from childhood to be soldiers and saviors and that kind of stress manifests in different ways for different people.

So after a hundred years and their lives, perhaps then it will be over.

but jk it's not bc totk happens and there's no rest for the goddess's favorite teenagers, at least Link is going to be able to show his emotions more in this one. Even after he wakes up from the shrine he's still relatively restrained when it comes to showing his feelings but it looks like he's going to be getting better at that.

[afriendlygoblin]

my thoughts on TOTK because i need to ramble about it somewhere and my friend hasn't finished it yet

SPOILERS

i'm gonna go through the main quests/parts as i completed them

1) the opening, Great Sky Island, Temple of Time and landing in Hyrule

it made me really really really happy to see that Link and Zelda were still around each other like this, exploring stuff together and all. the awakening cutscene gave me chills and really all i could think about was finding Zelda.

discovering the Great Sky Island was fun, though i was used to my comfort in BOTW so it was quite a shock to not have the paraglider and get one-shot by literally anything. but i guess that's normal

then i really liked meeting Rauru though i missed having at least a clue of what was going on. like in BOTW, the king tells you "alright, the world is shit because this happened, Zelda is over there waiting for you, now u do u". there i had this feeling of being absolutely clueless for the first few hours of gameplay and it was frustrating at times.

Lookout Landing was a heartwarming sight, seeing people rebuild and stuff genuinely made me smile. i did feel a pinch in my heart when i recognized that it was built on the very ground where Link swore his oath as Zelda's appointed knight. but overall it was great and i loved the concept of the new towers.

2) the Temples and Sages

i started with Rito Village and the Wind temple. i love Tulin with all my heart and i have to say i use his ability the most. the temple was a pain to access and the cold was annoying but i had a blast with the boss battle. didn't really use Tulin's help there because it was really easy to do on my own but i enjoyed having a supporter during the fight.

i was favorably surprised when i found out that Tulin's clone would accompany me forever. BOTW was a pretty lonely game. peaceful and beautiful but lonely nonetheless. also seeing Teba give his son the Great Eagle Bow made me emotional i admit. i wish there were more references to Revali (and the Champions in general) but eh at least he has a Landing named after him. also where did the Flight Range go?

next i went to Goron City. it felt strange to not instantly catch on fire but well, i was happy with no more elixirs and ugly outfits (not a fan of the fireproof set). the battle against the 3 headed monster in Death Mountain was awesome and it reminded me of how fun it was to yeet Yunobo around. speaking of which i was so relieved when i got him back to normal because that rock boi is precious and seeing him being mean was not cool.

the Temple was a bit annoying tbh, i got lost in the rail system so i just went and monkeyed around climbing everything and flying everywhere. the boss fight was also quite forgettable though i liked using Yunobo's ability more. again, there was zero mention of Daruk (that i remember) and Daruk's Protection has been entirely forgotten. i know the goal isn't to live in the past but i find it sad to see it pretty much forgotten about in some areas.

after that i went to Zora's Domain and had fun yeeting splash fruit at the sludge. i almost had a heart attack when i saw that the Mipha statue had been replaced but i was so thrilled to see it relocated to where the Lynel used to be. they really built her a splendid memorial and she can really watch over her people from there.

i had missed Sidon and his smile, and helping Yona bringing him back to his true optimistic charming self was really great. i liked that since the Zora live long lives, everyone remembered me (Link) more than in other parts of Hyrule. oh and Sidon's coronation had me smiling ear to ear because i was so proud of my fish brother.

i had so much fun in the temple and its weird gravity, sometimes i go back just to jump around and dive in slow motion. the boss fight was correct, though it was annoying to go so slow through sludge.

finally, i made my way to Gerudo Town. the gibdos surprised me but by pure luck i had a fire lizalfos horn weapon equipped so i was never in any real danger. i loved organizing the defenses of Gerudo Town and fighting alongside Riju's warriors.

i loved seeing how Riju had grown since we last saw her, she and Tulin were like my young niblings and seeing them grow made me so proud. again i don't remember any tribute to Urbosa but seeing Riju's dual Scimitars of the Seven was a nice touch so i didn't say anything.

the temple was really cool and the boss fight made me rage quit once or twice so i consider it to be awesome. i thought i was gonna throw my Switch against the wall but then i remembered Zelda needed me so i took a breath and went back to the fight.

overall i really liked this part of the game, seeing my old new friends was very heartwarming and having their clones follow me in my daily life made the game so much less lonely than BOTW was.

3) Tears of the Dragon

no. i am still sobbing, throwing up, rolling on the floor. no. seeing Zelda finding not one but 2 loving parental figures only to lose them 20 min later, Ganondorf's ascension, Rauru's sacrifice, ZELDA'S SACRIFICE ABZBZBFKGNDKDLS I WAS NOT READY. i didn't find the memories in chronological order so when i found the one that hinted what was going to happen to Zelda i rushed them all and stayed up until like 4 am to see them all. the final one tore me apart and i basically cried myself to sleep (not really but almost). i actually had to go spoil myself online just to put my mind at ease because like what if we could never get her back???

after that and the Master Sword quest, whenever i saw Zelda not too far from a tower i'd go see her and rest on her head for a little while while imagining Link talking to her.

i was at a point where i didn't really know what to do with myself, i still had Gerudo Town to visit but eh i was a bit sick of boss battles at the moment. seeing the memories remotivated me and pushed me to finish the main quests as fast as possible to get Zelda back.

4) the Master Sword

as eager as i was to just go and beat up Ganondorf, i couldn't imagine doing it without my trursty blade, and also the reason why Zelda sacrificed herself. so i decided to go see the Great Deku Tree so seek counsel. after a quick in and out trip to the depth, i found a dying tree in no shape to answer my questions.

Phantom Ganon handed my ass to me a few times but once i got his attack patterns right, it all went smooth like a baby's butt cheek.

getting the Master Sword from Zelda's head made me so emotional, i had just seen a fanart of that scene where Link let himself fall while crying and clutching the sword against his heart. that was how i felt it really.

5) the Depths and Fifth Sage

so after crying my eyes, heart, lungs and intestines out, i had to continue investigating to know where the hell Ganondorf was. that led me to the Depth, searching for all the abandonned mines and everything. on the way i had fun in the battles against Kohga, i had missed his ridiculous... him.

i'm not the biggest fan of the Depths but hey, you can find pretty awesome stuff down there so i do spend a lot of time farming Zonaite and throwing Brightbloom seeds around.

finding and assembling Mineru's construct felt a bit ehh. the shrine like puzzles to get the limbs were thankfully not too long but really all i wanted was to get over with it. funny enough i was fully prepared for a big twist like Mineru revealing that she was with Ganondorf and having to fight the construct i had just built myself.

what i got was even better. like mech fight??? hello?? that was awesome though it took me some time to get the controls down. but ah as a kid who grew up playing Solatorobo, riding the construct was just cbfkdkd SO COOL.

6) the Final Fight

i'll just focus on the battles because the way to get to the Gloom's Lair or whatever was just like yeah sure go off i guess. chasing Zelda through the Castle was just a delay of what i knew would happen underground and then i mostly dodged the monsters except the Lynel because come on who has time for that.

the. EPIC. BATTLE. AGAINST. AN ENTIRE. ARMY. my Goddess fighting hordes and hordes of monsters alongside my friends with the most epic music was just so euphoric and cathartic and just fullfilling ahhhhgg. when i saw the temple bossed coming back to life i was gully prepared to take them on with my friends but nope, the game had other plans for me.

and what plans oh bloody hell this FIGHT? THAT is what i call a boss battle. in BOTW, Ganon wasn't hard to kill. like it had taken me less than 5 tries i think, 3 of them being just to learn the fight's mechanics. but here? the first part i got quickly, after all it was just a one on one against a (large) human sized villain. the pace was slow, there was no music, in a word : a warmup.

then he activates his secret stone and turns into a human emo LED. alright sure. and then his health bar replenishes. AND KEEPS GOING. i was expecting it to just go beyond the screen border at this point. and oh the clones, how many times did i accidentally get killed by one of them. having my friends fight them for me was cool but too many times i ended up ignoring them and taking a lost bullet becayse of that.

then comes the real 1v1 againt the Demon King. THAT was the fight i'd been waiting for. the final confrontation between the Hero and Evil, the final battle that would- he can Flurry Rush? what do you mean he can Flurry Rush?? alright then, i'll just be careful, good thing i have a good shield haha HE CAN FLURRY RUSH MY FLURRY RUSH?????? HOW WHAT WHY WTF ah at least i can Flurry Rush his Flurry Rush that he Flurry Rushed from my Flurry Rush. McFlurry.

after at least 20 tries, tears and a break because my left index was sore from keeping my shield up, i finally got to deal a final strike. and then oh my GODDESS THIS PART

Zelda rushes to my aid and together we face that giant Demon Dragon. she soars, allowing me to dive and land right next to one of the Demon's weak point. i attack it, then bet blown off. Zelda gets me back and we repeat the maneuver 3 times. finally, i dive one last time to the Demon's head and shatter the Secret Stone.

no more Demon, no more Ganondorf, it really is over this time.

7) the End

is it? the sky is peaceful, as i, behind my screen, thank the princess for her help and tell her that we succeded, i start floating off of her head. Rauru and Sonia appear and somehow channel their magic through my arm.

and there she is. my princess. my Zelda. the one i travelled through Sky, Land and Depth to find. the one i've been chasing for (in game) months (days irl).

and she's falling. shit. so i dive as fast as i can, i extend my freshly restored arm and.... i got her! a perfect echo to the opening, an exquisite parallel, i took so many screenshots of this scene and i will cherish them forever.

then i watched the last cutscenes, my Zelink heart that was already screaming exploded when i saw Link gently put Zelda down on the grass. she wakes up, sees Link, looks around and... "you really did it" no princess, we did it together. "Oh Link... i'm home" AAAAAHAHBBFNDKDBBF I SCREAMED i really screamed and thank the Goddess that i live alone because it was again 4am and had i been at my parent's place, Zelda's smile would have been the last thing i'd seen before certain death (not that i would have minded). i wish i could hug my princess in that moment. yes, you're home. i promised i'd get you back when i saw your memories so here you are. and you're never leaving me again.

end credits, i use that time to process what i just lived. then i watch the post credit cutscene, shed a tear watching Mineru rest in peace and the new Sages swear their oath. everything's good now.

and then i'm transported back to Castle Chasm. yay.

Additional 1) the Gameplay

as an engineering student, i had been waiting for this game for so long (only could play it a month after release because of finals) and it didn't disappoint. well to be honest i was used to BOTW's controls and though they were similar here, i missed using the cross' top arrow to pick a rune. minor stuff like that. BUT WHO CARE WHEN YOU CAN BUILD CARS, PLANES, ROCKETS AND TORTURE DEVICES

i fully started enjoying vehicle building when i expanded my battery. from then on i was unstoppable, roaming around Hyrule on my Turbo Deadly Flying Tricycle that shoots fire and laser beams.

also i'm a pretty peaceful being but i have to admit that nailing a Korok to a cross and pulling it around with your horse like "do you have time for our Lord and Savior Korok Christ?" is really really fun.

Additional 2) the World

also i loved the additions they made to the stables like the Pony Points system. and ah finally i don't have to talk to this random girl to change my saddle.

i'm a sucker for fantasy sky island so i was so happy to see some in Hyrule sky. though i wish there were a bit more or at least some bigger ones. Great Sky Island was nice but then in other regions, aside from a shrine here and a dispenser there i didn't spend a lot of time up tthere.

Hyrule was at the same time the good old same and a totally new and foreign place. cities and villages were in the same place but they were so different. Tarrey Town had grown so much (btw fuck you Rail Car guy i built this place you should pay ME). Kakariko had its new Ring Ruins, Hateno had developped a mushroom frenzy... AND ZELDA HAS STOLEN MY HOUSE??? HAY PRINCESS YOU HAVE A CASTLE AT LEAST LET ME HAVE THIS oh? is that my hair tie? and... you're writing about me in your diary? oh so we live together... alright then all good! also seeing the photo from Champion's Ballad exactly where i hung it in BOTW brought a tear to my eye. no, our omd friends aren't forgotten. and they will always be home.

i'll stop there because i'm hungry and i've been rambling for an hour and a half but this game is just so so so good. the story touched me a bit less than that of BOTW for some reason but it did make me emotional af. i wish we had a postgame which solely consists of completing the secondary adventures and like... farming in Hateno Village with Zelda but eh, be grateful for what you have i told myself. i think i will go have a cutscene marathon starting with Age of Calamity now.

Additional 3) the Side Quests

while i ignored most of them (will get to them eventually no worry about that), i particularly appreciated the Monster Control ones and the Lurelin line. these quests really made me feel how important community and cooperation are in this game. because you have your own community of heroes with the Sages and also the researchers, people who are in the heart of the story but there you get to see other communities. the losers with a valiant heart, fighting silver moblins with mops and buckets as helmets, the exiled fishermen who lost their town but with your help get to rebuild their home etc. this makes this game whole because it reminds you that yeah, there are always epic tales of legendary heroes, dramatic tragedies and heroic sacrifices but there are also smaller, equally as important stories. there's the story of how anyone can rise up and fight monsters and there's the story of how to rebuild your home after it was totally destroyed. and you get to be a part of all these stories, big or small. and that's beautiful.

also i liked stealing Zelda's horse again. you took my house i take your horse, fair is fair.

[vulpiximisa]

Finally finished the game 

I’m mostly disappointed in the fact that I had pretty much predicted most of the major plot twists. Which again isn’t bad because it just means they left enough hints for anyone to be able to draw that conclusion. 

Oh, the Pink Blood though, that’s absolute genius. Not sure what that’s like to anyone that had not played DR, but it was so on the nose. I loved it. 

As for the Yuma past reveal, I’ve already said I wasn’t a big fan of the Specialist Boy reveal. But at the same time, I kind of hoped that there were some hints dropped about it during the game. I had the same problem with Hinata/Izuru but given that he was supposed to be reset, it was passable that Hinata wouldn’t randomly exert super skills. Yuma on the other hand, even though his memories were wiped, I feel like he never displayed any super critical thinking skills that went beyond a normal person’s, like none that would qualify being a supposedly most genius brain in the WDO. Not sure if because the cases were too simple or because of Shinigami’s “help” or that the ML we’re just not a good way to show it. (Having  muscle memory from holding a gun didn’t really count)

Was discussing the majority of the finale with my sis who was watching my playthrough and we both kind of agreed that even though Info Dump from the Villain is Not Fun, the constant QTRs were also not really fun in terms of gaining new information. I get that it was supposed to feel really fast paced but there wasn’t much room to think or any of the reveals weren’t mind blowing. 

Also discussing with sis, and hate to compare it to other games, but the MLs are just Not Fun. There never really felt like there was a triumphant moment, because even though you get the cool It Was You finger point moment, it doesn’t feel Good because it’s not even Real and Then They Die. I get it in terms of lore but gameplay wise I do not look forward to them. 

Not sure if because the last game I played was TotK but I honestly really wanted a scene of the Nocturnal crew to burst in through the Labyrinth to tell Yuma he wasn’t alone. Makes absolutely no sense, but I’m a sucker for that kinda stuff. 

It only made sense for Shinigami to be the one to have to knock some sense into him but I didn’t think it held a lot of weight. Her time with him always felt borrowed so her saying She Is With Him didn’t amount to much for me because they had a pact. Not saying that they were strictly business but it just felt like she wasn’t going to be there with him forever. (Not like the Kinomoto Sakura and Kero duet song called Zutto Zutto Zutto) Got just a little sad thinking about what would happen to her. Made me think of Death Note where the only way a Shinigami dies is if they fall in love. Not to say her bond to Yuma is romantic, even with the kiss, but I know that she has an attachment to him. 

Was hoping to get a “bad ending” by choosing to stay but I guess it turned out to be the right ending. Will go back and see what the other choice brings. I also have to get the rest of the Gabs, which I missed most of them in chapter 3 somehow. 

A little disappointed finishing the game didn’t unlock any new content like art or music gallery. I know since DR were ports and had lower graphics that they could cram all this extra stuff, while Rain Codes graphics were really good so I guess there was no room for anything else. 

Did solving the extra cases in Kanai Ward do anything at all? I was afraid I chose the wrong answers for some of them (the kid getting ghosted away, not telling the guy waiting for his dead gf) so I don’t know if there was any impact on the ending at all. 

Anyway, I don’t know how much I’ve craving content of the other characters because I don’t think I was going to get the DLCs if Yuma isn’t in it. 

[mistresslrigtar]

WIP Wednesday!!

It's not TOTK or Zonai, but still fun - pirates! excerpt from Chapter Three of Captain Link Takao and the Harbinger of Destiny

Beedle eyes him mischievously, “Since when do you pay for anything? You purloined from me all the time.”

“Hey! You’re the one who couldn’t resist those rhino beetles Groose gave you.” Link chuckles, thinking back to when he and Groose were young and green. They’d spend hours scouring tall grass, looking for bugs. Beedle had proved an easy mark for them to hone the art of deception. “Don’t blame me that you didn’t notice when I knicked your wares.”

“You two ran me out of business,” Beedle pouts.

“Please, we’re good for your business -  offering you travel anywhere in Hyrule.” Link slings his arm around Beedle’s neck. “And I only ask for twenty-five percent. So tell me you have a good stock of bugs. With any luck, the Lurelin fisherman will clean you out. And maybe we can sweet talk the Gerudo merchant. Pull the same divert and snatch we played on you.”

“Oh, ye olde divert and snatch!” Groose chimes in from where he is crouched, stoking the cooking fire for Gotter. “Please let me be the diversion.”

“Maybe,” Link muses, glancing over to where Niko sits, turning the boar on its spit. It was high time they started training the kid up. “Or maybe we let Niko give it a go this time around. Gerudo or otherwise, any woman would be hard-pressed to resist his cherub cheeks and baby blues.” 

At least, those attributes had always aided Link when he needed something. He saw much of himself in Niko, so it stood to reason the kid should be able to use those traits to his advantage, too.

“Oh, my sweet widdle babykins,” Groose teases, squeezing one of Niko’s cheeks. Niko blushes as he tries to fend off Groose, batting uselessly at him.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that!” Groose pulls his cutlass. “Let’s spar, baby boy.”

“Groose!” Gotter growls from where he lays mushroom skewers wrapped in large green leaves near the fire. “Leave my sous chef be unless you want to eat burnt boar for dinner.”

“Aw, you’re no fun, Gotter. Just wanted to blow off some steam before we eat.”

“I’ll spar with you,” Link offers, rising to his feet. The day's tension weighed heavy upon his shoulders, and a mindless sparring session with Groose sounds like a good way to unwind and a subtle way of distracting Groose from further teasing Niko. Poor kid’s cheeks were still flaming from the earlier ribbing.

Groose spits into the sand. “I know all your moves.”

“And yet, I remain undefeated.” Link challenges, flicking imaginary dust off his shoulders before unsheathing his cutlass. “Winner gets to run the Divert and Snatch.”

“Oh, the game is on.” Groose walks to the edge of the tide line, swinging his sword in front of him.