#kinda like what i did with the zora armor.

[hollypies]

Second one done 💀

My back and hands hurt oouuuughghh

Anyway I! Hate the rito set pants. Green on tan is very hard to get right and I am not super happy about this. Also if some parts look lazy it's because I was actively falling asleep while drawing. As soon as I post this I will pass out for at least 10 hours

So! Here's Tulin and Zelda! I've never properly drawn a Rito before so uhmmm?? Hopefully he doesn't look to bad. Changed his design judt a bit :]. Also Zelda rito set 👍

[ganondoodle]

you know what i just saw some more of that weird ass reward for getting all shrines in totk, and tbh im still so

what is that?? there are no dog like sentient species in this version of hyrule?? the most is the sonau themselves but they got no tails??? i dont think anything in this hyrule has a tail like that? and sonau legs are pretty normalish human too areant they? they dont even have proper claws, just veguely longer fingernails- i guess there are the statues in the underground that kinda look like it (they dont got tails either tho do they??) but like ,,, theres nothing you can learn about them right? its never mentioned or even hinted at despite there being so goddamm much of the sonau still just up and functioning- their lil "material deposits" in the depths arent even withered beyond some plants growing on them, all their 'tech' (isnt it just .. magic tho? where the mechanism actually? its usually just some stone animated by green swirlies ... but ill mention that in another post) just runs perfectly like it was made yesterday

where does that thing come from?? and its supposed to the the HERO FROM THE TAPESTRY???? huh????? and its decked out in sonau clothing head to toe with clear gerudo refs too?? that so weird bc youd feel like there would have been some mention of this, especially considering that that thing is on the tapestry and impa(was it her? or purah?) RECOGNIZES ITS THE HERO FROM THE TAPESTRY???? like, CASUALLY even?? like a well known fact ?? did i miss some big lore part somewhere that talked about that dog gerudo sonau thing?? and if its on the tapestry that means it wasnt that long ago really (i mean ... all the sonau shit is still pretty much fully intact so arguing that they came and went in the time between totks past and botws past isnt that plausible either imo ..??) o how come you never see anything from that and yet its somehow completely known for them, and you cannot tell me she saw the abstract version of the hero and then looked at that armor and went thats the same bc two colors veguely matched or what?!! also given that its fully clothed in sonau stuff .. like the arms are literally raurus bracelets .. thingies, but then the sonau where supposedly a complete and unknown mystery until it suddendly came all raining from the sky and revealing its been there and EVERYWHERE the whole time apparently? with the most we knew was some flimsyly made stereotypical barbaric armor set in faron in botw? which i guess is also fully undone by totk since it shares absolutely zero in desing to the 'actual' sonau stuff we got in totk

and if it where some sort of descendant from the mix of kids rauru and sonai kinda .. must have had (unless they did away with zeldas bloodline stuff too .. which .. why even call it zelda anymore at this point lol) then again, where did those features come from (like the tail and red hair, the strange googly eyes? is there a mix of goron in there too??) and how was it then not documented or seen anywhere else?? youd imagine the mutant kids of the first tragically dead king and queen of this hyrule would be known in some way .. that is assuming it was that, but given the weird features no other species has still is ... it just doesnt add up

(i had the awful thoguht for a second that it might supposed to mean the gerudo came from that but .. the gerudo are already there LITERALLY the 1:1 same as in the present, just like all the other species ... which is also disappointing as hell, like seriously? not even different feather colors for the rito? literally the same clothing for the gerudo as in botw but white with golden stuff instead?? some vaguely different zora features? idk ? anything? also the hero would never be gerudo, we know only evil comes from that *explodes*)

if its supposed to be a mystery then they absolutely failed in making it any interesting or intriguing but still something that feels like its part of the world, like botw was very good at giving you mysteries you wanted to talk and theorize about that still felt organic, harmonic with the world, but in totk its all either boring answers or just ... completely out of nowhere and just kinda stumps you (in a bad way)

*sighs* yet antoher ramble rant, this game could have had it all, it was right there on the plate in front of them all they needed to do is grasp at it, why wouldnt you ..

totk will never not frustrate me huh ಠ_ಠ

[pkmn-lillie]

TOTK AU idea!! spoilers for the ending of the game!!!

so you know how Zelda got un-dragon-ed by Sonia and Rauru at the end. what if it didn't work right? like, it only *mostly* reverses the draconification, so zelda has horns and a tail and spikes and scales, all that fun shit. But where did all that extra energy go?

It went to the other three dragons, who are now hanging around in hylian-adjacent forms in Hyrule (or the Depths ;)) and having fun/making trouble. I'm going to posit that they didn't start out as mortals like Zelda, so they have more memories of being dragons, unlike Zelda who was 'sleeping'. Also I'm bringing Ganondorf back, but getting exploded has knocked a lot of memories out of his head.

While the defeat of the Demon King has slowed the Blood Moon phenomena and greatly reduced the number of monsters on the surface, it has correlated with a surge in monsters and stalfos in the Depths, making it incredibly difficult to traverse, even by the Yiga. the Gloom has also disappeared from the surface, and only pockets of it remain within the Depths.

Because both Zelda and Link are trying to recuperate and manage the kingdom (and her new body,) they don't find out about this development until a few months after the defeat of the Demon King.

I've been alternating between he/they/she pronouns for all the dragons btw, i don't think they'd particularly care. (all three of the dragons are also wearing their respective armor set for convenience)

More on the dragons below the cut

FAROSH:

They are the tallest of the trio, (3.5m) and also bear the most resemblance to a Gerudo voe.

I have no way to describe his hair other than that it's Gotenks hair. Their hair conveniently sticks up like their horn.

Prefers one-handed weapons and shields.

He wakes up on the shores of Rassla Lake, heads to Tuft Mountain to get the lay of the land, and runs into Bolson.

Farosh: my name is Farosh.

Bolson: like the dragon?

Farosh: ??? of course???

I don't think anyone would immediately clock her as being The Thunder Dragon, just some weird Gerudo who chases off all the pirates.

They don't go to Gerudo Town because she gets mistaken for a voe by a stable attendant, and he misunderstands it as 'dragons aren't allowed'

NAYDRA:

They have the smallest stature, and besides the dragon features he also has a variety of malice scars (a la botw) and feathers (for flavor).

She also has the longest hair, like a waterfall, and white/light blue in color.

Prefers bows and wands/staves.

He initially patrols Mount Lanayru and slowly starts interacting with Kakariko, Hateno, and the Zora as a 'lone wolf monster exterminator'.

I think she would be the first one that Link & Zelda would learn about, and the least cooperative (they don't want to leave their territory.)

I think that their horns would look a bit different than the frostbite headdress, having three large separate spikes with smaller shards in between.

DINRAAL:

Poor Dinraal got their legs while they were in the Depths, and being unable to fly means that he's just kinda stuck down there-- not like she's complaining!

Dinraal is the most muscular of the dragons, and his skin has a rocky texture where it's not covered by scales. Their skin tone is also notably grayer than a normal Hylian.

His hair is very curly, in red/orange/yellow hues, and she keeps it tied back with a metal band.

Prefers two-handed weapons and hammers.

They are the one who finds the returned Ganondorf, who is stumbling through the Depths trying to avoid dying (he is bad at it, because he's lost most of his memories: Dinraal saves him.) She takes him under their metaphorical wing, and tries to teach him how to be the wielder of the triforce of power *without* becoming corrupted by Demise.

thank you for coming to my ted talk. if you want to write/draw anything from this, just tag me because i wanna see 🥺

[robotmieser]

I love writing my crossover fanfic. Like

At first I was just kind like "I mean yeah I guess you could put Link as a stand in for Artoria for Fate Stay Night" and through writing the fanfic I kinda sat and did a lot of comparing and was like "Hey wait a minute."

///WARNING: AUTISTIC RAMBLE THE LIKES OF HUMANITY HAS NEVER SEEN BEFORE DOWN BELOW///

Like first off, let's compare Link and Artoria. Alright, let's get the obvious stuff out of the way.

Blonde

Fair Eyes

Carries a conceptually powerful holy sword

But let's dig a little deeper

They both somewhat regret carrying their respective holy sword. For Artoria, on the eve of her death she wishes so much to change the fate of herself and Britain that she makes a pact with the world itself to be able to even have a chance to change this fate.

Link, consequently resents being a hero, or at the very least that could very well be implied. See, Link only pulls that sword out because Zelda tells him to. He goes through seven levels of hell just to save her and slay Ganon.

He is a changed man. A few days ago (or probably more, considering that multiple days, maybe even weeks or months can go by if you do all the side quests) he was just a ten year old boy trying to do his best and save people.

Now, he's suffered and done so much, all in the name of being a hero. He has seen so much shit. He's had to see the forest he called home fall to monsters. He's had to reconcile with the fact that his big sister figure, Saria has ascended to a higher plane to a place he can't access, so he'll never see her again. Same goes for Darunia, Ruto (by the way, how do you think he coped after figuring out what fiancé meant just to lose said fiancé?), Impa, Nabooru.

He finally gets all the medallions, he saves everyone, he does their little side quests, and with full health, protection from the Great Fairies, and Master Sword in tow, he slays Ganon.

The Seven Sages seal him away in the Sacred Realm, and all is right in the world.

But no. Not really. No it's not. Zelda sends him back. To get a proper childhood that was robbed of him.

It doesn't take a genius to tell the holder of Wisdom that things just don't work like that.

He's changed.

But he doesn't have a choice. So he's sent back. He probably shit stomps the bosses that once gave him decent trouble as a child, and with enough time to spare, he goes to the castle, Triforce of Courage in tow and exposes the plots Ganondorf had. Hooray! All is solved! But... No it's not.

Sure, several years later, they finally capture and put down Ganondorf. They bring him to the Arbiter's Grounds, and plan to execute him.

Twilight Princess shows how this goes down. It goes poorly. Ganondorf breaks from his bonds and kills the Sage of Water. (Boy, I wonder who the Sage of Water is? Surely it couldn't be the Zora Princess? Link's possible fiancee?)

They don't even manage to finish Ganondorf off, they send his ass to the literal shadow realm. Zelda's plan was so piss poor that it didn't even work.

He's so steeped in regret after a life of suffering, that he becomes a shadow of his former self. He becomes the Hero's Shade. Where do you first encounter him? Faron Woods. Near the Lost Woods and Sacred Grove where the Master Sword waits. Homeboy became a Stalfos!

Even worse, the Hero's Shade has battle damage on his armor. It's quite possible he was injured badly enough that he went back home to lay down and die.

One thing about animals, but especially canines in general. When they know they're dying, they'll move to find a quiet place to die. What form does the shade take first before you fight him in a form? A wolf, just like Twilight Princess Link takes.

A dog. An animal usually depicted as an animal of servitude.

A life steeped in regret, after pulling a sword from a stone that changes the trajectory of the wielder's life forever. Sound familiar?

Can I also say, it's hilarious that conceptually, both have swords that are fucking stupid levels of strong?

The Master Sword is a holy sword made by the goddess of the entire planet, reforged by the flames of dragons and is the blade of evil's bane. It conceptually, just drives away evil, specifically the evil of one fucking guy for all eternity.

Excalibur is the Sword of Promised Victory, made by the fairies, which might as well be gods in the Nasuverse and is made with the breath of the planet. Not unlike the Master Sword. Both swords are so overpowered it's almost funny.

—————————————

And that's not even touching on the similarities that Link and Shirou or rather, Shiroko have in this fanfic.

Link and Shiroko are both people saved from flames caused by a war, either figurative or literal.

Their birth parents are dead, and they are saved and raised by a single father.

Said father is later killed by a curse when Link/ Shiroko is around ten-ish

Because of suffering through their respective tragedies, either known or unknown, they're ostracized either by choice or by others.

Link is ostracized as a result of being different. He's just different. He has no fairy. He's not like any other Kokiri. He ages. He grows old. He's not like them. He's different, so they don't post him much mind.

Shiroko ostracizes herself because she was old enough to remember the tragedy that befell her original family, and even then, she represses it so hard she forgets what even actually happened.

The Great Deku Tree is killed by Gohma and Kiritsugu is killed by the lingering damage from The Grail/ Angra Mainyu. By the way, very poignant that both are dead men by the time their problems are solved.

Both have an older sister figure that will constantly look young and beautiful and such. Link has Saria and Shiroko has Illyasviel.

Ironically, on different ends of the spectrum of affection. Saria has nothing but love for Link, and treats him with every ounce of support she has m can give. Whereas Illyasviel has resentment and hate towards Shiroko for living a life she should have, making her obsessed with Shirou.

Both older loli bait big sister figures ascend to a higher plane/ or die to assist their respective protag at one point or another. Saria awakens as a Sage, and Illyasviel uses the Third Magic and deactivates the Grail to save Shiroko during Heaven's Feel.

Both have a girl obsessed with them for one act of kindness. Link has Ruto and Shiroko has Sakura.

Also it's funny that both Shirou and OoT Link get a game like a year after their respective games that involves time loop bullshit to fight an evil that possesses people and is so ancient it barely has form and just wants to watch the world burn.

Ganondorf wanted to rule the world with an iron fist.

Angra Mainyu and Majora just want to watch the world burn. All they know anymore is hate. It's so conditioned to them after years being a vessel for it, that they just don't care anymore. They want to destroy the world and have fun doing it!

————————

Anyway go peep my fanfic if you enjoyed this ramble

[clockwise-works]

I try to keep TotK rants to a minimum because so many other people have posted lengthy critiques of its story that are genuinely good, but I also had this thought and kinda wanted to put it out there.

It's foolish but I was initially disappointed that the Champion's Abilities weren't in the game. Now, I wanna preface this by saying I understand why they didn't include them. It would be redundant with the Sage's abilities essentially acting as replacements (to varying levels of success unfortunately) and they really wanted to lift this game up as it's own story. Yes, it's a sequel, but the game tries really hard to remove itself from the story of the last game. That's why there's no shrines/ Beasts/ Guardians, so few references to the Champs, and why the game feels so... disconnected from BotW. Unfortunately, in an effort to separate this game from its predecessor so newcomers wouldn't feel left out and to focus on TotK's own story without relying heavily on what came before, the game just doesn't hit as emotionally like BotW did. At least for me.

I couldn't figure out why the lack of Champion Abilities in the game left a sour taste in my mouth. In theory, it shouldn't really be an issue, all the abilities are present in some capacity (Mipha's Grace being the sole exception I think). Urbosa's fury is now just Riju's vow, Daruk's Protection is now Sidon's vow (albeit gimped in now only protecting one hit), and Revali... fucking pinecones. For months I stewed on it until I think I came up with an answer as to why. It's not because the game feels like it's lacking anything in a gameplay sense, but an emotional sense.

The Champion's Abilities were like the last bit of them, the last part of them to be carried on with Link. These were his fellow Champions, his friends, people he was committed to fighting and possibly dying with. So to have a part of their souls, their traits that helped define them, and use them to help people. To pay it forward. To carry on their legacies... just felt right. Aside from the Zora Armor and their weapons (which arguably may not even be theirs, it seems Tulin has Revali's and I think they were destroyed during the Upheaval, but I may be wrong) their abilities were all that's left of them. So when they were absent from TotK, it felt like a chunk of what made Link who he was, is just gone. That emotional impact of freeing their spirits but having a part of them, always with Link, was interesting.

Now, I initially hoped/lied to myself that Link lost them when he got infected with the Gloom, and it was blocking his ability to use them. I even hoped naively that if you did all the shrines, and got rid of all the Gloom, you'd earn them as a "congrats, here some broken shit to make an already overpowered Link even more powerful". I thought it'd be a cool 100% completion reward. Unfortunately that didn't happen, along with a bunch of other things (Link really shouldn't have gotten his arm back in my opinion). I guess that TotK just doesn't make me feel as emotionally invested like BotW, and the lack of Champion Abilities, no so much the gameplay aspect but the notion of just having them present with Link, was just one reason why.

If you sat through this entire midnight ramble fueled by my inability to sleep, then you deserve a medal or something.

[theliterarywolf]

Hold on, let me compile these latest ToTK asks.

Though, beforehand, let me just say: Anon, you can't just give me a perfect fic description like that and not drop the title!

Anonymous asked: So I don't care for canon Yona, Nintendo writers kinda shit the bed with her feeling really lacklustre. But fanfic Yona? I'm not someone who goes "FANFIC WRITERS ARE BETTER!" Not at all, but I have to give it to the fanfic-writers this time, they took a big nothing burger, and actually gave her some depth. One fic has the Zora not understanding "love" in the same way Hylians do, but more as a general feeling of belonging with someone, and you kinda have that lowkey drama with SidLink, and Yona is the girl who comes through, and she and Sidon research the Hylian concept of love, and it was honestly kinda fun, especially when Sidon "realises" that what he's feeling for Link is the Hylian concept of love. I also have a friend who's planning out a fic idea with 👑-Yona following along Link and Zelda post-Totk, who then starts feeling a kindred spirit with Zelda in friendship, and gets better acquainted with Link, and it focuses on Yona, and her relationship with the Z, L, S and M. Anonymous asked: I don't get why ppl hate Yona. I mean, not happy about it either, but that has less to do with her being Sidon's partner, and more with the fact that I don't like her design. I honestly feel more miffed about how fucking dirty they did Sidon's character this time around. I have no idea who was snoozing while doing Sidon, but he has like no personality? I thought we'd finally get some Sidon focus in the temple and then he fucking bails. I don't even remember a proper cutscene like with the others

Anon 1: It all ties back to how earlier I was saying that I just don't like her execution (and, as Anon 2 mentioned, her design). Because for as much as the people defending the Zora's Domain writing as 'well, she's new so of course she doesn't have much character', there are so many ways that they could have endeared the player to her.

Have a minor escort mission to gather ingredients for her to heal the other Zora with, with Yona stopping every so often to ask Link endearing questions. Have a fetch-quest that combines how they handled the Zora Armor (Yona needing an ancient fish from the sky islands to finish it) with Link having to go into Yona's room to retrieve another component and, while you're there, there's a journal that Yona's been keeping where she could be laying out her anxieties about being the best match for Sidon, about trying to be a good Queen to follow the example that Mipha would have been, to be as much of a support to Sidon and the Domain as Link has been.

Just... Something more than what we got.

Also, again, you have to send me that fic title. Because I have been dreading going onto the SidLink portion of AO3 since ToTK came out.

Anon 2:

Who was responsible for the Zora's Domain portion of this game? I want NAMES!

Because, how is it that every other Sage (at least so far, I haven't done the Gerudo portion of the game yet) is an active companion on the journey to the Temples, giving you the opportunity to get used to their mechanics and their special ability... But with Sidon, you get a 'boss fight' against a Like-Like and then he fucking dips until you get to the Water Temple.

Why?

Like, let's put aside the butchering of his personality (even though, as I mentioned before, I know what the writers were trying to do in having his trauma being the last hurdle to overcome before becoming king, but it is not fun), but Sidon just is not enjoyable anymore. His character and personality peaked in Age of Calamity.

How does such a major character have better writing in the fucking Musou spin-off game?!

[avionvadion]

Now that you’ve been to Tarrey Town I can rant about Mattison! I just can’t get enough of her character and the lore around her. It’s a fascinating look into Gerudo culture, but also I can’t get over how heartbreaking it is as well. Like… Hudson won’t even be able to talk to his own daughter for at least a decade. Rhodeson I’m sure can at least go visit Gerudo Town on occasion, but Hudson? Outta Luck. I haven’t actually been to Gerudo Town in my playthrough yet, so I don’t know what she’s doing there right now. But it was such a sweet side quest, two parents and their daughter all trying to be strong for each other. I love how gentle and considerate Rhodeson is to Hudson, like she recognizes how hard this is for him (it’s not easy for her either). I can imagine Iliana booking back to Zora’s Domain after this, the whole scene making her miss her baby back home. Also have you gotten the house yet? It’s awesome

Ohhhhhh. You might wanna book it to Gerudo then because Mattison is def not safe now, lol.

Anyways, speaking of Gerudo lore, I do think it’s kinda iffy that the kids can’t even see their fathers. I won’t go deep into it, but while I understand not wanting the kids to interact with voe they should at least be able to see their literal parent.

And yessss. I was thinking about how Ilia would react but all of this would just make her think of Miphara, and as soon as the balloon touches ground she’s probably booking it somewhere to cry. Link finds her and takes her back to the domain for a quick visit with her family to comfort her.

Also, I have not gotten the house yet. I am poor and lack Rupees. 🥺 I had to spend all the Rupees I did manage to get on fireproof armor.

[dustward]

This part’s gonna basically be a misc. section for anything that doesn’t fit in the other parts. We’re almost done, trust me. (I’m as surprised as you that I could make so many posts about this game)

Didn’t care for Rauru. Not sure if it’s fully the fault of the VA, but the character felt very dry to me, and so it was unfortunate they were a major focus of the memory cutscenes this time around. Found myself wishing there was more time to tell the story in general. Sonia needed more scenes for me to care about her demise. Definitely felt like scenes were missing for Mineru. Given the similarities to the masked ancestor sages (Rito, Gerudo, and Goron), I was starting to think they weren’t given any focus because they’d turned out to be Riju and co. of the present, sent back in time. ..Was still kinda banking on that even after seeing the Zora ancestor. Nope, they’re just nothing characters, making me wish they reused the champions whose personalities were already established (and in all but Sidon’s case, stood out more than their present day counterparts in BotW1) (Riju’s story arc really elevated her this time around on that note)

Cannot believe they copypasted Zelda’s role from BotW1 with the whole “you get to see her doing stuff, but it’s in the distant(er) past.”  It’s so damn apparent fans want more for her, from her, but Nintendo will never allow it for some inconceivable reason. She had a noteworthy showing in the finale, and her major sacrifice was one of the better moments of this game, but the fact they undid her choice at the end without any visible consequences (horns, tatoos, anything) undermines her arc somewhat for me.

One of the best parts of the game came in the form of figuring out what happened to her after only viewing 2 specific cutscenes, ones that did not outright spell it. I tracked down my quarry and was ready to find the Master Sword, and sure enough...very happy it was a stamina requirement this time as well. Shame this insight and knowledge seems to only be held by the player and not Link, even after finding all the memory cutscenes in the wild that point out exactly what happened to her. Being led around the various main quests by Purah and not being able to interject with a “this can’t be Zelda” was pretty damn frustrating.

Also what IS Purah’s deal? I found the book explaining she Aged Herself Up, but I still find that choice very weird. She also had a newfound focus of a role as the leader ordering Link around, and being the only non-sage present in the ending. Was expecting Mineru to pass off her role to her, which would’ve explained everything, but instead she merely comes off as a beneficiary of dev bias.

Hate weapon durability, especially when Elden Ring did away with it. You know, the Souls series was kinda one of the go to examples of that system in recent years, and the fact they got rid of it while BotW2 tries so hard to justify using it confuses me more than anything else. Remapping the world via new Ubisoft towers did not feel right, but they needed a way to shoot Link into the air I guess.

Most sidequests, like shrines, felt like tutorials. The game’s content felt like nothing but ‘em half the time. I was so dumbfounded when the Sensor+ tutorial resulted in finding a Nothing Shrine I had to pause the game. Pretty damn sure that didn’t happen in BotW1.

Needing to rebuy/acquire all the old gear and materials is one of those harder to handwave facets of a direct sequel. No way Link got rid of all of that stuff. I feel like revisiting Zelda/Link’s house in Hateno should’ve netted at least some kind of material-based nest egg.

Found multiple areas/puzzles I could not finish because I did not find the corresponding sidequest for it first (Eventide pirates, a skeleton in a Gerudo desert cave as a couple examples)

Was enjoying 2nd phase Ganondorf till I accidentally tried arrows and nearly oneshot him..

While I didn’t look into what the various armor sets might do, it seemed like the nostalgia rewards, all variations of old Link outfits offered little beyond being cosmetic. In a game that’s already overburdened with armor set clutter. Menu clutter, in every menu..

Lastly: where the fuck is Kass??? Best BotW1 character and one of the few to not make it to the sequel (even if I liked his replacement, Penn, along with going around solving the stable mysteries)

[atwas-meme-ing]

Ahhh! That reminds me, I completely forgot about the Deku Tree!

So, like, I don't think the Deku Tree appears in the Defeated Hero timeline. We have the Maku Tree in both Oracle games. From what I've read, there are several Maku Trees and the one (ones?) in the Oracle games is (are?) just one (two?) of them (I'm sorry, I haven't finished the Oracle games, either!).

ANYWAY, my understanding is that the Great Deku Tree from OOT doesn't appear again until BOTW. There is no Deku Tree, as far as I know, in the Defeated Hero timeline- I mean, I've explored the Lost Woods in both LTTP and LBW and I haven't seen it. I would think that, since LBW was released in 2013, if there was a Deku Tree in this timeline, it would have been in that game. (And my research, both online and in the Hyrule Historia, hasn't turned up any references to the Deku Tree in any Defeated Hero games, either.)

And the Deku Tree in Wind Waker looks completely different than the Deku Tree in OOT and BOTW. The BOTW tree looks exactly like the OOT tree, moustache and all, just bigger and has all those pink flowers.

But, as @maakujiten pointed out, the Master Sword is at the heart of the Lost Woods instead of in the Temple of Time (which, itself, is a complete ruin). And the Lost Woods in BOTW more closely resembles and acts like the Lost Woods in Defeated Hero games.

So, again, I do think it's possible that there's some convergence of the timelines going on, here. And the Defeated Hero timeline is a part of that convergence.

Or. It could just be that BOTW does take place in the Defeated Hero timeline and this is the OOT tree's descendant who grew up in that timeline. But there's still all those questions from above. A big one: how did Ritos suddenly end up in the Defeated Hero timeline (and for that matter, how did the Zora suddenly become allies of Hyrule when they've been enemies for the last few games)?

As for my theory about the Child Link timeline- again, I haven't played much of TP, but I read that there's no trace of the Deku Tree in TP, although there is a stump somewhere that is theorized to be what's left of the OOT tree.

So, in any case, the BOTW tree is most likely a descendant of the OOT tree.

BUT...

And I just thought of this as I was writing this addendum...

So, the Deku Tree in BOTW looks exactly like the OOT tree, right? Our first thought is that it's probably the original Deku Tree's descendant. But if that was the case, wouldn't we expect it to look like the Wind Waker tree?

And as I said, I think it's MUCH taller, and its leaves spread out much further.

And besides:

"...time immemorial" does not indicate to me that it's a descendant, but rather that it's been there this whole time.

I kinda wish I had time between now and TOTK's release to replay all the important scenes from BOTW. Because now that I'm thinking of it... I don't think anyone really ever referenced any of the other battles against Ganon. Just the one from 10,000 years ago and the one from a hundred years ago. I don't think they mention any other Ganon besides the original and Calamity. All the references to the "Hero of Time," "Hero of Twilight," "Hero of the Winds"- I think all of those came from the treasure chests of armor.

You all can correct me on this. I'm sure I must be wrong. But I'm wondering, now... does BOTW take place in its own, 4th timeline? One where the Deku Tree never died?

BOTW's Confusing Timeline

First off, please take everything I'm about to say with a grain of salt. BOTW is the only Zelda game I've ever beaten, and I only just beat it a couple of days ago, with a 38.something% completion. (And even at that, I don't think I could have gotten the true ending. Zelda asked if Link remembered her, and I doubt he did, because I was still missing 3 memories). A large majority of my understanding of the history of Hyrule comes from the Zelda Encyclopedia, Hyrule Historia, and stuff online. I could have everything wrong.

I've been trying to figure out which timeline BOTW probably fits into the best, and I'm pretty sure it must be the Triumphant Child Link timeline. Here's why:

Bokos

First, there's the existence of bokoblins. I did a quick google search, and bokos appear in the following games:

Skyward Sword takes place before anything else. According to Hyrule Historia, both Wind Waker and Twilight Princess take place in the Triumphant Hero timeline. Bokos, then, do not appear in the Defeated Hero timeline. So BOTW and TOTK must not be in the Defeated Hero timeline.

So, as sad as it makes me to say it, I don't believe we will see Lorule appear in TOTK. (So don't ask me how Ravio's hood ended up in BOTW. I suppose Ravio must have existed in this timeline, as well, just in a different capacity than how he appears in LBW.) I wish we could- the Dark World would be just so. darned. AWESOME! in an open-world adventure. But I doubt it will happen.

2. Witches

Another point against the idea that BOTW could have been in the Defeated Hero timeline is the absence of witches. To my knowledge, witches appear mostly in the Defeated Hero timeline (Maple in the Oracle games, Irene in LBW, the old crones that fix up potions in LTTP and Link's Awakening). Now, I know Koume and Kotake appear in Majora, but while I haven't finished Majora, I feel like it should be considered an outlier, since it takes place in Termina instead of Hyrule (and besides, it's the same twin witches from OOT).

If there are witches in other timelines, I either haven't found them or don't remember them.

3. Ritos

The Ritos are descendants of the Zora, and Zoras don't exist after Wind Waker. (Also, Ritos don't appear in the Defeated Hero timeline.) It doesn't make much sense, then, for BOTW to take place after Wind Waker, because how did the Zora just magically reappear after they'd gone extinct?

BUT, I see no reason why the Zora and the Rito couldn't coexist in BOTW if it follows Twilight Princess. Just because the flooding of Hyrule spurred the Zora to evolve into the Rito in Wind Waker, that doesn't mean that the Rito couldn't have spontaneously arisen as their own culture in the Child Link timeline. All that would have had to happen would be for a few Ritos to be born all at about the same time (possibly due to a freak genetic mutation in the Zora gene pool a few centuries ago?), decide that they just didn't fit into the Zora's water world, and split off to form their own nation.

There really isn't any reason they can't coexist.

4. Koholit Island

This island drove me crazy for the longest time. How can Koholit be real in BOTW when it was nothing but the Wind Fish's dream?

I have 2 theories for this:

Theory 1: The Wind Fish was given time to awaken and bring the island that it dreamed about to life in the real world.

Theory 2: Someone else, not a Link, landed in the Wind Fish's dream and, after awakening, landed on a very remote, difficult-to-reach island and decided to name it Koholit after the island in the dream. (This same person probably also traveled inland and named Goponga Swamp.)

In either case, it's still unlikely that BOTW takes place in the Defeated Hero timeline.

5. Tears of the Kingdom/Twilight Princess

Twilight Princess is probably the one that I know the least about. I've only played just a very little of it. But my understanding is that Ganondorf was executed, and now in TOTK he's being resurrected. Further, people keep talking about a connection between the Zonai and the Twili, which come from TP, as I understand.

Also, most of the special armor in BOTW comes from Twilight Princess or Ocarina of Time, with the exceptions of the Lobster Shirt (Wind Waker) and Ravio's Hood (Link Between Worlds) (there may be other armor that I don't know about). As I said before, Ravio could have existed in this timeline, just in a different capacity. The same could be said for the people of Outset Island, even though Outset Island doesn't appear to exist in BOTW, at least not under that name.

6. The Big Reason Why BOTW Could Actually Be in the Adult Link Timeline

Simply put, it's because the Hero of Time is frequently mentioned in BOTW. And if this game does take place in the Child Link timeline, how would anyone know about the Hero of Time? The whole point of the Child Link timeline is that Link erased the events that happened in OOT, isn't it?

Well, I actually do have a tentative theory about that, too...

7. A Connection Between the Timelines?

Somehow or other, BOTW is a reconvergence of the 3 timelines. Or at least of the Triumphant Child and Adult Link timelines.

Most of the armor and items are references to either OOT or TP. But they mention the Hero of Time. And there's the Lobster Island shirt. And the Ritos. And the Koroks (whoops! almost forgot them!), who also only appeared in Wind Waker, and there is really no reason for the Kokiri to have turned into the Koroks in the Child Link timeline. And there's Koholit Island and Ravio's Hood, which both come from the Defeated Hero timeline, which, as I've said over and over, isn't likely to be BOTW's timeline.

In other words, BOTW covers every timeline. Especially if you look at the DLC.

Flip over to the Tears of the Kingdom trailers (at the time I'm writing this, TOTK is less than 2 weeks away), and it is filled with references to Wind Waker. There's a boat that looks very much like the King of Red Lions, the inside of Hyrule Castle looks exactly as it does in Wind Waker, and there's some kind of a dragon in a tornado. Meanwhile, people who know more about Twilight Princess than I do have noticed lots of TP references.

So. Is TOTK going to converge the Wind Waker and Twilight Princess timelines? Were the EX treasure chests, with their references to the Heroes of Time, of Wind, and of Twilight, a hint or a foreshadowing of this upcoming convergence?

I guess we'll find out in a couple of weeks, huh?

[attllhak]

Swimming

@technicallya1manband and @ghostdragonace you also asked to be tagged in this.

There has been no editing done, I literally just finished this. Have some Sky swimming fic.

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

Sky was not good at running.

He would admit that without hesitation. The air on the surface was so thick it made it hard to catch his breath all the time, and running wasn’t something he did a lot before getting to the Surface anyways.

He liked swimming though. He couldn’t do it a lot on Skyloft with the minimal water sources, but getting to the surface offered a lot more options for him to do so.

Plus, it wasn’t quite so exhausting.

So he wasn’t quite so concerned when the latest portal dumped them out on an island in the middle of Wild’s Lake Hylia.

There was the problem of getting to the other side, however.

Most of the Heroes were all strong swimmers, so they figured they could just swim across.

Well, most of them were strong swimmers. It turned out that Hyrule couldn’t swim at all, and after a while Warriors admitted he wasn’t very good at anything more than treading water either. There was a debate about what to do about that until Hyrule revealed he could walk on water (somehow? Apparently his boots were magic) and then Twilight agreed to let the weaker swimmers hold onto him and he’d swim them over.

Sky didn’t miss the looks he kept getting from the other Heroes as they discussed all of this. He just ignored them, humming a bit as he unpinned his sailcloth from his shoulders to fold and tuck into his bag. It got really heavy when wet, and he didn’t want to deal with the weight.

He didn’t argue when he heard them automatically slot him in the same category as Hyrule and Warriors, just smiled a bit as he rearranged his bag to make sure his sailcloth would stay dry and safe and that none of his items would spill on it, or accidentally tear it (last time he was putting the beetle and the sailcloth in the same pouch before jumping to the Surface).

Most of the Heroes headed over at once, with Warriors holding onto Twilight with one hand and trying not to be a drag and swimming with the other. Hyrule started walking, and everyone just, watched him go. It was admittedly a little weird.

They told Sky to wait back for a bit so Twilight could come back for him, and Sky didn’t really want to make a scene so he agreed to wait, though he had no intentions of using Twilight to help him get across. Wild offered to wait with him.

“You know,” Sky said as the others got to the shore, and Legend started poking Hyrule’s boots, well out of earshot of the two still on the island, “I’m not a bad swimmer,”

“What?” Wild asked, looking at him weird.

“I’m not a bad swimmer,” Sky repeated. “I’m actually pretty good at swimming,”

“You can’t run three feet without getting winded though!”

“That’s harsh,” Sky said, but his tone was gentle, a bit teasing. “I can run at least five feet before needing a break,”

Wild laughed, which Sky counted as a win.

“So, you can swim?” Wild asked.

“I love swimming. One of the few bits of exercise on the Surface I can do without dying,” he chuckled, smiling as he watched Twilight get back in to head back over to collect them. “I don’t actually need help getting across,”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?” Wild asked.

He shrugged. “I didn’t want to cause a scene,”

Wild looked at him like he was dumb.

“It looks like Twi is almost back,” Sky stood stretching above his head. “We should get swimming,”

Wild rose a little slower than Sky did, fumbling with his Slate until he’d changed into a blue set of armor. Sky noted the nervousness, but considering Wild had mentioned spending a lot of time with his zora, who were fish people like the parella apparently, Sky still hadn’t met any zora, he figured Wild would be fine swimming across.

So he didn’t wait for Wild when he jumped in.

He could hear Twilight shouting, and Wild yelling back, but didn’t pay much concern until he surfaced.

Twilight looked a bit panicked so Sky waved and smiled.

“I’m fine, I’m actually a really good swimmer,”

“Wha-, but,” Twilight stammered before stopping. “Why didn’t you SAY that?!”

“I didn’t want to cause a scene,”

Twilight gave him the same look Wild had.

Sky just turned and waved at the others on the shore, hoping to calm the panic they all looked like they were dealing with. Legend’s hair must be awful tough to withstand the pulling he was doing on it.

Twilight just sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “Alright, fine. I’m here if you need me I guess. Cub! Let’s go,”

Wild offered a thumbs up, and waddled down into the surf.

Wild, it turns out, was not a good swimmer. The outfit helped, but not by a lot.

About halfway there he ended up grabbing Twilight’s shoulder. Sky offered up his own shoulder as well, and Wild took it after a promise that it wouldn’t slow Sky down at all.

Wild was huffing and puffing when they got to shore. Sky felt fine, but he had sympathy for Wild in the moment. He knew what it was like to be out of breath and stamina like that.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have any stamina fruits to offer.

“So,” Legend scoffed once Wild had caught his breath. “We’ve learned that despite Sky’s shitty stamina he can swim just fine, but Wild, who has fantastic stamina, is a terrible swimmer,”

Wild offered a sheepish grin, and Sky patted his shoulder.

“I feel like I’m being conned,” Legend griped, huffing.

“Regardless, we have more important concerns,” Time cut in, but eying the two himself regardless. “Wild, which way to the nearest place we can restock?”

Wild pointed, and the group began the trek up from the shoreline, Legend complaining all the while. Sky didn’t know why Legend was so grumpy, but maybe he just liked having things to complain about.

He’d heard of weirder things making people happy.

He hoped maybe the group would be willing to stop at a lake somewhere else just to swim at some point, and they just might if Wind got his way. He liked swimming.

However, if Wild couldn’t swim well, then could he not swim with his fish friends? That was kinda sad.

He figured he’d keep an eye out for any items that might help with that. 

It never hurt to want to help a friend after all.

[sullustangin]

❌ What is the biggest mistake they make in their relationships?

💥 What was their worst relationship?

😓 Have they ever cheated on a partner?

😢 Have they ever been cheated on by a partner?

for Gronn or Padneema

Thanks for asking! I'll split them between the two.

❌ What is the biggest mistake they make in their relationships?

Gronn claims to be a simple man in a complex galaxy, but that's a running gag in the series; he's 'simple' yet he has these very complex religious and social beliefs that prevent him from ever letting someone in, entirely. That's not just a comment about the armor. He's here for a good time, he does good deeds, and he does make a fool of himself publicly. Yet....

The joke about never taking off the helmet is that it's a sex thing, but that's just a cover, something to obscure. He also gets referred to as the village idiot, and he perpetuates this by saying "I dunno, I'm kinda dumb" whenever certain issues come up.

I admit, I cribbed a bit of Gronn from the extremist covert in the Mandalorian, but even then, the Mandalorians move in groups. There are supposed to be deep connections among Din's covert members, even if the relationships are sometimes contentious (Din and Paz Vizsla for example). Gronn has never been like that. He acts like he does without that social basis; remember, the first season of Mandalorian shows Din existing in the galaxy for the first time without a covert and family to return home to. That's the gap that the Child fills for him.

Gronn has no covert and no Child. He's 'like that' without the social structures (or mourning the loss of them). Gronn talks big game, but as far as Eva and Mako know, he's never taken the armor off for anyone -- including either of them. He doesn't collect often enough on his bounties. He has friends all over the galaxy but... Gronn is... adrift. Always.

I think the only one who has ever seen Gronn without his armor is his own mother (who is randomly still alive, in my head -- I need to do something with her at some point). WIth Gronn, there's something there that just doesn't quite penetrate the beskar.

💥 What was their worst relationship?

Gronn vs. SIS. All the times that Jedi set the SIS upon him. The things SIS did to Mako when she was little kid. The things that Gronn did for Trant to try to save Eva and Mako but didn't work as anticipated.... Yeah. That's his worst relationship.

Padneema vs. the System.  Padneema came on as the assassination expert for Havoc, replacing Zora after considerable time had passed.  Central Command had been reluctant to fill that role and in particular, reluctant to fill that role with Padneema.  Her previous record...is brilliant yet absolutely not standard issue. She has had problems in the past with her COs demanding that she perform her duties as instructed.  Not only did this leave her with no creative outlet, the demands made by command often didn’t suit the finesse a given operation needed.  Padneema knows how to do her job, and she doesn’t backdown when it comes to carrying it out.  That means, much like Tanno Vik, she got bounced around different units and never got promoted... until Garza argued for her to join Havoc.   As decorated as Havoc is, it has become a repository of sorts for misfits, including Vik, a shamanic bug guy, a homicidal jingo of a droid, a defector from the Emperor, and a deceptively chaotic Cathar sniper who’s banging the boss. (Padneema will eventually find and kill the guy who narc’ed on the Major and Aric.)  None of them are ‘ideal’ in the system.  But they’re great -- and happy -- together. 

😓 Have they ever cheated on a partner?

😢 Have they ever been cheated on by a partner?

Padneema kept getting shoved around the galaxy for not obeying (stupid) orders, so she has her flings, but nothing serious.  She needs to hold down a spot in a single unit for more than six months before she holds down a girlfriend, you know?  Yeah, there were one or two misunderstandings where Padneema thought they were done done after a shore leave, but the other person didn’t.  She didn’t intentionally cheap on anyone -- just miscommunications.  She did have a few relationships prior to joining the Army, but they weren’t serious enough or long enough for either partner to find a reason to have a fling with someone else before breaking up.  Even if there was a mix up, Padneema has never felt liked she was cheated on. 

Gronn.... that’s a complicated question.  The fidelity question isn’t a sex thing; it may be an emotional thing. It may be a romantic thing.  I can tell you that Mako felt jilted when Eva and Gronn met on Corellia and... there was a feeling of kinship there.  He’s the Grand Champion, she’s the Voidhound, and they’re both baffled by how they climbed so high, so fast.  To borrow a Star Trek term, they grok each other very much.  That doesn’t translate to a physical relationship, and that doesn’t translate to Gronn ditching Mako for any reason.  Eva feels like she won on Makeb, when Gronn tucked her into his bunk to sleep off one crazy night while he slept in his cockpit, but Mako’s the one still in his daily life.  

At the same time, Gronn does feel replaced by Theron, for a bit...but at the same time, Gronn also realizes that Theron can probably protect Eva more effectively than he can -- and can give her a lot more in terms of a more ‘galactic standard’ relationship.  Yes, there is an immense distrust because Theron is SIS... but Eva never had a grudge with SIS herself, so what’s Gronn gonna do about that? Not much.  Gronn and Eva won’t ever get together because Eva wouldn’t become a Mando like him, helmet and all; she wouldn’t let any man control her like that.  He won’t take the helmet off for her.  Their impasse makes Bowdaar approve of their association: they won’t hurt each other as long as they’re both too stubborn to give in to the other. 

[so-i-dont-forget-again]

So I Don’t Forget Again: A Breath of The Wild fanfiction

Entry 208: Zora’s Domain

 Sidon made me breakfast. He made things I had taught him to make back at Hateno, he had to wake up very early to get the ingredients on time. He tried to hide it, but I could see he was a little sleepy through the whole day, he’s had such little rest. I really appreciate this, him just focusing on me, almost like there’s nothing else, but I don’t want him to push himself. Though I want to thank him all the same. He just makes me feel so special and safe, in a way unlike anything else, I guess. I feel like he really sees me, like he truly wants me. I don’t know how to describe this, but I want to. I want to pour these feelings into these pages, have him read this so he can know just how much he means to me, how he’s an irreplaceable part of my life, how he

I just want him to know as amazing as he finds me, I find him to be just the same. He’s much more eloquent with words than me, so maybe he’d know how to write this, but I want to at least try, even if this is just kinda incoherent thoughts by now.

We went to market, it’s a bit away from town, but that’s because it’s more of a trading area so Hylians and Gorons and others can get there easier than going through the canyon to the town. We did some shopping but we heard a lot of rumors. A new hero appearing, one who couldn’t be the reincarnated one. A hero who did not wield the blade of evil’s bane but a trident, instead of working in service of the princesses, or royalty, or goddess they worked for the people, a blond gender ambiguous Hylian who slew a massive, fearsome beast all to get ingredients for a medicine for a gerudo woman’s sick husband they didn’t even know, a person who helped the descendants of the champions calm all the Divine Beasts soon after their rampages began, a person who is a brother to the strong gorons, a person who had begun to teach others how to fend for themselves, on and on it went, even false or exaggerated tales. They were all about one simple person who served the people for their sake and nothing else. This person was not grand or flashy, they were only recognized since tridents are an uncommon weapon and even more uncommon for hylians outside of the royal family to be blond, two odd, eye catching characteristics and people made the connections from there. Sidon told me it just seemed fitting that the “Hero of the People” would wish to use all his peoples’ fighting styles, a person who was strong with all their power, their best qualities united.

I guess it is fitting. Before being the chosen hero or whatever felt like a burden, but this time, it felt different, it didn’t feel bad, like there’s this cumbersome weight I just can’t carry. I’m being called a hero for things I have done already, not things I’m expected to do, I think that’s the difference. I think Sidon could tell too. He admitted he was a little nervous about this, but if I did react badly, he wanted to be beside me so he could comfort me and not have me over hear this some other place far away and for my thoughts to go dark again. And we had the whole day to be together so we could do something fun to get my mind off it.

We had a lovely walk back. Bossa Nova kept trying to steal some of the ingredients we ended up running part of the way as he chased us. He even tried nibbling on my hair to get my attention. Sidon tried scolding him, but Bossa Nova didn’t care. After gifting a Hearty Radish he calmed down, but Sidon said I shouldn’t spoil him, that he’ll just take advantage of that and eat through all my non-meat supplies sooner or later. But then he just looked at me for a moment, smiled and shook his head before turning back to the trail ahead. When I asked him what that meant he told me he couldn’t find my behavior endearing and that I need to learn how to say ‘no’ sometimes. I guess he is a prince, he has to make decisions for his people, and he’ll likely have to say ‘no’ sometimes, but how can you say no to a cute hungry capybara! Besides I don’t think he would have stopped trying to knock us over till he was fed so I don’t think it could have been THAT bad. Just a treat. He’s a good boy, he needs the love. Sidon then gasped and said this must be why Bossa Nova likes me more now. It was clear he was play acting, playing up the moment but his reaction did get Bossa Nova to charge at him and knock him into the river for hugs. Much of the fruit started floating down river and it took a while to collect it all.

We cooked lunch together, a fusion between Rito and Zora cuisine. I always love cooking with him, well I just like cooking, but especially with him. Food reflects it’s culture and traditions, cooking is literally making something to help the other keep living and making it enjoyable all the while. I don’t think I need food, not anymore at least, but I can still enjoy it, making it and tasting it with others. Eating and cooking with others feels different than on your own, it only makes sense, food reflects people and so more people would surely make it taste better. All this to say I just really enjoyed lunch. And Bossa Nova still ate his meal so giving him his treat was not spoiling him! He didn’t eat his whole thing though, but that’s not the point! He still ate it… I guess it’s because I don’t get hungry I don’t see the point in having scheduled meals. Sidon said that was not the point, the point being Bossa Nova acting bratty to get whatever he wants. But could it be so bad, all he ever wants is food or extra affection.

Sidon asked if I knew how long I can hold my breath for. Much of his kingdom is underwater and he wanted to show more of it to me. Zoras really are made for the water, even the shape of their heads are kind of like arrows so they can effortlessly pierce through it. I know fish need fins to swim, I wonder how fins help Zora swim. They’re just stunning racing past, or at least Sidon is. Even with my complete zora armor set swimming can be a struggle but for him it’s effortless, he can go in circles and make twists and turns so quickly. Light seems much starker underwater, either bright or dark, I notice his glowy parts much more, I still can’t tell if they’re always glowing or if the glow activates when he’s in shade.

His home underwater looks similarish to land with similar plants, but there are also very different ones I don’t even know where to begin describing them. Some are kind of like flat dishes and others more spindly, then there are others that are wrinkly, I’ve never seen plants like those in the rivers before. There are some like stone, Sidon says they’re called coral and are plants oddly enough. Many of these only grow in the domain, but there are similar ones in the ocean. I wondered if any could be used in cooking, as they are plants zoras have never tried and Sidon was rather keen on assisting me if I tried working with them.

His kingdom underwater is so much larger than on the surface. Sidon and his people could so easily be separated from the rest of the world and be just fine. Their most important places like the throne room are on the surface so others can more easily reach them. That is something he’s always had been so appreciative of his ancestors for doing. His people, they’ve always been distant from the rest of Hyrule whether they lived solely underwater or some place out of reach or hidden away, of all times this current era is likely the closest they have been to others even with being separated by a distant canyon still. He doesn’t like this distance, even if it is better than before. After the champions fell and the hylians had no leader, everyone mostly went their own ways and more of a divide was created between everyone, sure there’s trade and the mail service but other than that, nothing, no alliance promises or at least documents stating they were at peace with one another, there’s nothing except for the few individuals who sought out pay from others, that’s why he finds what I’m doing to be so incredible. This legend I’m making just by being myself, becoming something or someone everyone can connect too or want to strive for. A kind of hero he could only have dreamed of. I told him I can’t do anything like uniting everyone, I’ve just lived with them and gotten to know them, he however, someone who knows how to lead others, someone who can understand and relate to others so easily or through his sheer determination, his hunger to know others better, wanting those connections, he could become someone who could lead and unite hyrule. He told me uniting hyrule again was going to be a monumental task, surely one he could not handle on his own, he’d definitely need someone who’s on good terms with everyone, and more importantly a partner by his side, someone he could lean on during the rough days, someone who could emotionally support him and just be by his side, just someone precious to him to keep close.

How tenderly he held my hands and stroked them with his thumbs, and just that way he looked at me. I don’t know what I was feeling but it was so warm, and soft, and like my chest was fluttering. Just… how he wants me, not just for what I can do, he just wants me. He wants me to be there because he just wants to share his life with me, I just happen to get some additional satisfaction since I know I get to help, but even if I couldn’t I KNOW he’d want me to be there with him and it just…

It means so much to me.

Today was just so nice.

After leading me to my room he collapsed on the bed. I don’t know about him, but I know swimming definitely takes a lot of energy and he was already working with little sleep, at least this way I know for certain he’s getting rest. I hope nobody comes here looking for him. For now, I guess I should get some sleep myself.

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[nochi-quinn]

me running up to purah to tell her everything that just happened inside the castle:

me inside the deku tree: I set this bitch on fire once

in the shortonegaming lp of Tunic jake said "when I'm doing well it's me and when I'm doing poorly it's the fox" and I have never been so called out in my entire life

I feel like if the set bonus for the Depths Armor is Gloom Attack Resist maybe it should Resist Gloom Attacks

doing the dragon tears kind of ruins the entire plot of the game tbh. "what happened to zelda?" dragon "where is she?" sky

I did however cry during the master sword stuff. my partner has Emotions about Fi and apparently that shit's contagious.

also just. zelda. I choose to believe a little piece of her is still inside the sword. just hanging out with fi.

I have completely avoided Kohga. I hate him and I refuse to engage with him. I hope he sits down there and dies of boredom. but not before he throws a tantrum and rips his footie pajamas.

me: this music is kinda Nier partner: it's not far off me: me:

I farmed 947 lynels to get the parts for the Fierce Deity Armor and now I will identify as A Problem for the rest of the game

my win condition rn is fully upgraded armor, pristine zora spear + silver lynel horn, and water.

I am somehow in the endgame now?? I literally just have to go beat up matthew mercer

("loot him! take his vest!")

mineru's flashback to rauru's sacrifice also made me cry a lil. like we Knew what happened, bc [gestures at link's arm], but Seeing it was different.

also props to the animators/character designers for making the zonais' expressions so evocative while still being very inhuman. i don't know if that makes any sense bc I am very tired, but Rauru going from "looks like a cinnamon roll" to "but would actually kill you" in nothing flat was Nice.

did NOT enjoy anything about getting her construct, literally just autobuilt one of the Long Bridges I made in the fire temple and used them for every single puzzle.

I have limited brain cells and way too much zonaite let's gooooo

tears of the kingdom thoughts from my notes app:

riju stop throwing your face at gibdos so I can tell you to electrocute the gibdos

while we're on the subject, FUCK gibdos

people in hyrule are really bad at giving meaningful puzzle hints

duct-tape two swords together call that a swordsword

deeply enjoy tulin's little WHOO-HOO when he uses gust

I actually enjoy tulin in general, but I might just not be immune to cristina vee

can't believe nintendo made a $70 physics puzzler

me every time the 7:00 bell rings: time for bingo

I've beaten two temple bosses so far and they're a dichotomy of boss design: queen gibdo: presence is foreshadowed, there's a preliminary version of her fight to introduce her mechanics, fight gimmick involves strategies we've already been taught (except for the light thing, but that's whatever), companion ability is essential colgera: comes out of fucking nowhere, sudden enforced aerial combat, no indication of fight gimmick mechanics beforehand, companion ability is like a literal fart in the wind

like I don't have a real PROBLEM with either of them, I beat them eventually, but if I hadn't already been using a guide* I would NOT have known how to beat colgera

*I'm bad at puzzles, sue me

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas]

I completely understand if you’re tired of us exploiting Cil’s newly discovered phobia to bully him. But if you aren’t, could you please tell us if anyone has ever pranked Cil with a fake snake or a lizalfos costume?

Pfft, you guys fucking love Cil suffering, don't act cute xD I gotcha boo

"Of fucking course he does this shit. Of fucking course."

Sooga had gotten sick the other day. So much so, Kohga commanded he stay in bed. And of course, this meant all the work was on Cil. All the work, all the strife, and not a lick of attention from Kohga. At the very least, Von was being fairly helpful.

"Hey, we're almost done. Kinda. Almost halfway done. Sooga does so much shit in a day. 'Check inventory', 'feed the keese', 'restock the weaponry', 'make sure Kohga's bath is clean'-"

"'Don't take care of yourself so Cil can do ALL your fucking work'. That's probably the first thing on the list."

Von sighed, before putting his hand on Cil's shoulder.

"Cil, babe, take a breather, you're gonna explode on me here. You look SO pissed-"

"I AM PISSED!!!"

Cil roared, throwing the slate on the floor. Then he just. Went off, right in the hallway.

"It's not fair! I pull my weight! I do my work! I'm attractive! I'm attentive! Why does H E get all the attention?!"

Von had to do damage control, and urgently. He grabbed his hand, and immediately walked him into his own room. He parted their masks, and gave Cil's lips a peck. The suddenness of it made Cil stop, if only for a moment.

"There. See? We're gonna calm down now. Alright?"

Cil huffed. Von, tenderly, tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, before holding his face in his hands.

"Why don't you relax, yeah? Let's sit you down, and let's get rid of all that poor tension. Even Sooga gets a few minutes to get his freak on."

Cil sighed into his hand, before nodding.

"Fine. You may have my attention for a few minutes."

"Atta boy! Now, you sit right there. I got something to wear that might just make you forget all about this~"

Cil raised a brow as Von had him sit on his bed.

"You...bought an outfit. To wear. For me?"

"Yep! Link gave it to me, actually. I'm AMAZED it fit. Just wait right here."

He kissed his forehead, before sneaking off into the closet. Cil sit there for a moment, chuckling. It was probably something cute. Like a Gerudo Vai outfit. Maybe even Zora armor, he thought those were cute.

"How long are you going to be?"

"Almost...okay! Close your eyes."

Cil obeyed. He listened to Von's steps slowly approaching, and his weight onto his lap. This wasn't Kohga, obviously, but it definitely did a number for him.

"And open!"

Cil opened his eyes. He immediately saw that green skin, those creepy eyes, and that long, gross tongue.

"Surprise-!"

He didn't get to finish as he was literally punched in the face. It wasn't a soft one either. It was a good, hard, fear fueled punch that knocked him to the floor. Von's mask beame lopsided, and he held his face as he looked up at him.

"OW??"

"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!"

"It's so obviously fake!! I thought you'd think it was funny!"

"It's NOT funny! Why the fuck does that exist?! Why did LINK have it?!"

Von held his hands up in defeat.

"I don't know! I spent like a hundred rupees on this!"

"I'M GOING TO PUNCH YOU AGAIN!!!!"

Cil dived down to the floor, crawled on top of Von, and raised his fist to bring it down, only for the door to open. Two yigas stood there, confused at the scene. Von being naked didn't help.

"Uh...Kohga...wanted to see you."

"Shit Cil, you're a fucking furry?"

"W-no! I'm not! This isn't what it looks like!"

"I mean if you are dude, I don't kink shame?"

Cil buried his face in his hands, and groaned in agony. He hated his life.

[curechocolattymilk]

TES V OC Thingie

[Got tagged by @jessaryss​ ! ]

Pause your game! Wherever your OC is in their game currently, tell me about their story so far.

✧✧✧ General

Current Level: 56

Name: Jeer-Tei Perdes

Name Meaning: Literally got it from a name generator lol. But lore wise it was a name gifted to them in honor of an Argonian who served beside Tei’s mother during the Great War

Pronouns: They/Them

Age: Early 30s where they are story wise???

Race(s): Argonian

Place of Origin: Hammerfell

Pick A Theme Song For Them: oof that's tough... From a Crowded Wound or maybe even Firstwake? If you really played around w personal interpretation/the lyrics that is haha

✧✧✧ Locations

Where Did You Begin Their Game?: Argonian Assemblage, Windhelm (Alternative Start)

Where Are They Currently In Your Game?: Whiterun

What Are They Doing There?: Just finished attending a party held in their honor (Post Blood of Kings)

Homes?: Breezehome, Proudspire, Lakeview & Autmnwatch

# of Locations Discovered?: 274

Dungeons Cleared: 104

Misc. Quests Completed: 87

Favorite Areas and/or Locations: Falkreath / Lakewview Manor. Both areas are where Tei heads off to in order to collect their thoughts/feel some sense of calm.

✧✧✧ Main Quest

Are They Dragonborn / Do They Know It At This Point?: Yes & yes

How Do They Feel About Being Dragonborn: It's...complicated, being thrust into the role of savior by gods of the Cult, which in turn are followed by the folk who see you lesser than them. Tei already has a dislike towards the Divines, this doesn't really help lol

Main Quests Completed: 21

Where Are They In The Main Story Line: Alduin's dead, currently trying to ignore the Civil War as long as they can before the Empire forces its hand into forcing them to join their ranks

Dragon Souls Absorbed: In total overall? 147. The amount currently stored in Tei? 45

Words of Power Learned: 64

Shouts Mastered: 21

Favorite Shout: Firebreath / Dragonrend

✧✧✧ Combat

Most Used Weapon(s): Daedric war axe OR Dragonbone battle axe. Tei technically has both on them at all times during adventuring, alongside a shield, so which they used depends on the situation/which they grab fastest.

Combat Style: Two/One-handed tank. Main tactic is to rush in, cause as much damage/chaos as possible to shake up the opponent, & clean up what the ranged attackers of the party (usually Rumarin, Inigo and/or Lucien) weren't able to deal with.

Armor Type / Level In It: HEAVY ARMOR BABYYYYY (Level 100 + 35 extra points via enchantments)

# of Training Sessions: 99 in-game, lore wise its a lot of self-teaching/keeping their skills learned from Hammerfell sharp. Some of these are magic but lore-wise this doesn't happen cus Tei is not a magic user, save for shouts. I just did those in-game for exp OR so I can help Lucien raise his magic skills :'D

Who Taught Them?: In-game?? Fuuuck so many npcs. Lore-wise? They learned this from their schooling in Hammerfell, going off the canon-lore that it's p much expected for everyone to have a grasp on combat & weaponry! Though they did learn a few things from Kaidan & Anum-La.

Favorite Enemy Type: Dragons! Despite the fact Tei does not have the best magic resistance, it's one hell of a challenge they love to meet.

Least Favorite Enemy Type: Automatons, because of a bad experience with them as a child. Also Undead, because they were raised not to disturb them & it just feels so wrong having to fight them/go into tombs.

People Killed: 945

Animals Killed: 749 (Hunterborn makes hunting fun lol)

Undead Killed: 766

Automatons Killed: 105

Daedra Killed: 136

✧✧✧ Magic

Favorite School(s): None, actually. Destruction is okay though....they guess

Most Used Spell(s): Firebreath or Dragon Aspect. Tei doesn't consider shouts spells though. It's totally different guys shut up they ain't no smelly mage gods

Spells Learned: 9 in-game, mainly due to the spells you're kinda forced to learn for some quests/the ones you automatically know

Items Enchanted: 19 (Tei technically doesn't enchant, and wont next playthrough for sure I wont give in this time >:[ )

College of Winterhold Quests Completed: 8

Where Are They At In The Questline?: Main quest is done bcus i dont like seeing unfinished quests in my journal lmao. Tei's involvement is completely different from canon though in my take. Moreso was hired as a guard for the expedition & was, unwillingly, dragged into the rest of the mess. Is not offered the Archmage position, that went straight to Tolfdir.

Opinions on Magical Guilds (Arcane University, Winterhold, Psijics, Synod, Radiant Dark, etc.): As they get older, they tolerate the guild & magic users more n more, BUT, Tei grew up in an environment that frowns upon the practice of magic, & it shows. They mainly mistrust necromancers/illusionists & still hold onto that belief that reliance on magic, especially for combat, is a weakness.

Bold words for someone with shit magic resistance.

✧✧✧ Crime

Current Gold: 10,640

How Did They Acquire Their Gold?: Odd jobs, selling a lot of the items they made/harvested from smithing & hunting (jewelers are their go-to hirers bcus Tei is great at getting things like ivory), Dwemer ruin diving (they refuse to loot the tombs), also yknow....being part of the Dark Brotherhood helps

Largest Bounty On Their Head: 11,240

For...?: Unfortunately they did not stand down when they were being falsely accused of murder in Markarth. First time Tei called down dragons (Sahrotaar, specifically, Tei managed to get command of Miraak's dragons post-Dragonborn) to absolutely smite some fools.

Current Bounty: None! They're good at not getting caught/threatening and/or bribing guards. :)

Locks Picked: 15 i think?

Jail Time: 1, Cidhna Mine

Jail Escapes: 1, teamed up w the Forsworn lol

Murders: 28

Assaults: 307....In their defense people keep getting in their way during dragon attacks

Items Stolen: 37, most of them from the nobles of Windhelm

Thieves Guild Quests Completed: N/A (wont be doing this storyline unless i cant find a mod that'll let me get the shouts locked behind it)

Dark Brotherhood Quests Completed: 20

Where Are They At In Those Questlines?: DB is completed main arc wise!

✧✧✧ Relationships

Relationship Status: Married to two lovely fellas

Current Companions: atm? none

Housecarls: Lydia & Rayya

Friends (outside of party): Zora Fair-Child, Inigo, Lucien, Anum-La, Morndas, Aela the Huntress, Nazir, Babette, Scouts-Many-Marshes, Isobel, Madesi

Children: Khash, Chases-Starlight, Ram-Ku. (going of where Tei is now - Otero & Mei come around later on in Tei's story!)

Romantic Interest(s): Kaidan & Rumarin.

Sexual Orientation:

GAY

✧✧✧ Religion

Pantheon: Yokudan, with a hint of Hircine worship in there

Patron Deity(ies): From the Yokudan pantheon: Tei mainly views HoonDing as their main patron, but also prays to/pays respect to Satakal.

They are also Hircine's champion.

Daedric Quests Completed: 3 (Hircine, Vile, Dagon - the last Tei didn't really help, moreso pissed off)

Aedric Quests Completed: 1 if you count the whole Alduin thing I guess?

How Devout Are They?: Tei is rather devout, esp to their Yokudan patrons, praying or making offerings daily. They aren't the type to really push it in your face though, but have no issues answering questions one might have.

How Do They Feel About Talos Worship?: Deep down they acknowledge & admit trying to ban worship is terrible, but....Tei also lets their bias/experience with Windhelm, the Stormcloaks & especially Ulfric kinda cloud over this. If the Nords want their old ways so damn much, why fight for a divine from the Imperial Cult? Why not go back to the actual old ways? No, this isn't about worship, not to the men leading this so-called rebellion, they just needed something other than their racist bullshit to fool the common man into throwing their lives away for the nobles sitting comfortable in their thrones.

Also during their whole thing of getting into their role of dragonborn, they get a bonus 'fuck this dude actually' towards Talos, Ysmir, whatever the fuck he calls himself. (tldr; it sucks but good luck hearing Tei say that fully)

✧✧✧ Politics

Gray-Mane or Battle-Born?: Neither, ask them again they will punch you for the love of Ruptga they get asked that every time they enter Whiterun.

Stormcloaks or Imperials?: Also neither, Tei hates em both n think they can all choke. Unfortunately they were forced to join the latter due to, yknow, calling dragons & causing massive damage in Imperial territories during isolated fits of rage and the group being more aggressive in wanting something in return for "letting it slide"....oops

Opinion on the Thalmor?: Oh absolutely despises them, they loudly complained having to work with them during the CW & would go out their way to disrupt their plans/piss them off. Sneaking was an option they did not take during the Embassy quest, if it helps paint the picture.

Opinion Of Ulfric Stormcloak?: Tei doens't say they hate people often...but they sure as hell hate Ulfric. Again, their experience in Windhelm added to this heavily, how both the Dunmer & Argonians were treated like shit, with no help whatsoever from the Jarl or guards when the local Nords targeted them. It's still up in the air if I keep this for Tei's story, but I have it where they knew Chases-Starlight's parents, who were killed. When Tei went up & demanded justice/an investigation, only to be brushed off because it "wasn't a priority," it completely destroyed what little empathy or hope they had left for Windhelm as a whole.

Opinion of The Empire?: Cowards too weak to continue fighting back against the Thalmor, in their opinion, & holds these views they grew up with even when being strong-armed into aiding them. If anything they're at least attempting to use their influence to hint towards a rebellion against the Thalmor, but the Empire could also full-on dissolve & they could give less of a shit.

Civil War Quests Completed: 0

✧✧✧ Personal

How Are They Doing? Need Some Juice? A Nap? A Hug?: The whole event of Blood of Kings has fucked with their head, to say the least. It's the starting point of Tei's eventual spiral. So uh...yeah they're not sure how they're doing everything they knew about reality was kinda challenged & they don't rlly have anyone to talk to about it so its cool, its fine, its all good.

A nap is probably needed, not sure about a hug theough they're super flinchy rn

Days Past In Game: 196

Hours of Sleep: 846

Food Items Consumed: 1833

How Many Playthroughs Have You Done With This Character: Tei actually is an older character from the 360 days so uh...maybe 5 at most? This playthrough & their S:EC one coming up when the mod releases being the main ones focusing on their story

Overall How's Your Level Of Fun: Alright I would say! I just been stepping away from Skyrim more often lately to avoid burning out from it

Must Have Mods To Play This Character (for story or other reasons): Ordinator, Wintersun Faiths, Immersive Armors, Sarcastic Player Dialogue, 3DNPC, Inigo, Lucien Flavius, Kaidan 2, Khash the Argonian, Alternative Start, Leviathan Animations, Beast Race Body Paints, Beast HHBB, Apocalypse Magic, Deadly Dragons, Growl: Werewolf Overhaul, Pronouns, uhhh....idk what else without actually listing my current modlist lmao

----

And that's it for Tei! Anyone who wants to do this go on ahead!

[theliterarywolf]

Alright, let's compile some spoiler-related asks under a Read More. There's four here so, uh... Plenty of reading

Anonymous asked: Holy shit, Submission-anon here. I was actually considering mentioning how much Zora's domain bothered me in Totk this time around. Glad to see I'm not the only one, and I hope it's fine I add my thoughts on that to my submission about my observations on Yona's character, since I feel it REALLY plays into WHY the entirety of Zora's domain feels a lot less... fun, emotional and personal, like it did in Botw, or even Aoc. Anonymous asked: Zora's domain was my fave in botw 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃 sounds like it'll be my least fucking fave this time around fuck Anonymous asked: Dorephan deciding Sidon is straight, so he can have a go at Link. I'm only saying one thing: 20 liters. Anonymous asked: The straights are at it again /J But seriously, not going to be "QUEERPHOBIC!HDHUYDB!" Bullshit argument for loz, but I will point out that when someone says "This chick kinda sucks I think link fits better with this other fem character!" You get shitton of support or at least no real backlash, even if she's "only a friend". But if you say "I don't like Yona." even non shipping related, so many people will throw a tantrum and claim it's because "you wanna make link gay, dudes can be friends"

Anon 1: Feel free, anon.

Anon 2: I mean, you'll probably still have fun. I will say that reassembling the Zora Armor was interesting, at least...

Anon 3: First of all, I can't get over 'deciding' because I want anyone who has played through the Zora's Domain portion of TotK to look me in the eyes and deny that it honestly felt like Dorephan was more excited to see Link than Sidon was.

Like, yeah, after the Water Temple when Sidon went down on one knee to present his vow to Link and all, but still...

...Also, you just had to add that cursed tidbit at the end there, huh?

Anon 4: I feel that we have been seeing a more vocal amount of headcanon brainrot with ToTK as of late. Because, yeah, even though me and another anon were joking about Yona being a beard, they were just that: jokes. Some people out there are legitimately trying to cry homophobia because of her introduction and it's just, like I said, Sidon is a Prince (well, now a King but whatever), he is Dorephan's ONLY HEIR because Mipha DIED, he has to get married in order to keep the bloodline going. This isn't hard to understand.

But, also, I want to take a moment to point out the obnoxious level of 'this character is X and if you don't agree you're a bigot' as well as 'why do the alphabet-soup people ALWAYS have to make characters gay or trans?!'

Because I know where the upsurge in all of this came from: that interview that Aonuma gave where he was talking about 'oh, we always develop games with Link being more nonconforming to gender'.

And, of course, that should be taken as Link is more of a slate for the player to project themselves onto, no matter what gender or sexual-orientation, to create a more immersive experience.

But then we ended up with people going 'So, Link is trans then? It's canon, suck it homophobes!' And then legitimate edgelords going 'Link can't be a tranny, stop projecting onto everything!' And then there's that back and forth while rational people in the middle are just trying to live and vibe with 'In my headcanon, Link is a GNC man and Sidon has two hands and I'm happy and not bothering anyone'

So there's what was mentioned above and that animosity leaches over to conversations about Yona (people on both sides thinking that the only reason she's disliked is shipping)

Anyway, I'm just going to stay in my corner, enjoy this game at my slow-to-medium pace... And brace myself for the 'jealous wife'/'fujoshi wife' fics that will inevitably fill up the SidLink tag on AO3 because people forget that polyamory is a thing.