#like the areas with the lokomos

[errorwarblesrr]

Oh, how I want a Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks remake in the Wind Waker style so bad, but I know it's never going to happen

[ixtaek]

So if we use the “the timelines remerged to form BotW” (aka the “Nintendo timeline isn’t canon” timeline) I think it would be interesting to see the power dynamics between what has now become three Royal families, all of which have equally valid claims to the throne. I feel like they would each get a dynasty name and it took time for them to properly integrate.

First off is the dynasty from the Downfall Timeline, the Harkinians. They would have initially held power over the Central Hyrulean region from the Dueling Peaks to the Breach of Demise, and been the ones involved in the Sheikah and Yiga splitting—the Yiga combined with the Eyes of Ganon, while Impa and the loyal Sheikah stayed in Kakariko (the latest Impa in the timelines being the one from AoL).

The Great Sea dynasty, the Tetrans are basically the New Hyruleans and moved into the eastern areas, coming from the coasts. The Hateno and Akkala Tech labs were founded partially based on the knowledge from the Lokomo, and eventually integrated with the Sheikah. They also founded Lurelin and helped the Rito migrate to the newly merged Hyrule. The Koroks followed them as well.

The Zeldan dynasty is from the Child Timeline, and can boast the most uninterrupted family line, going back to before the era of the Hero of Time without Ganondorf taking over for seven years (or longer). They initially ruled over the Great Plateau, including the original Temple of Time. They were the ones who first established friendly relations with the Gerudo (who existed in FSA and thus came to the merged timeline through the Child Timeline) and the Zora.

(The Gorons maintained peaceful relations with all parties—they came from different timelines with different livelihoods but to Gorons, a brother is a brother. They accepted the Gorons moving back from Labrynna after the Downfall, the traders sailing in from the Great Sea, and the natives who remained in Death Mountain in the Twilit era, and even ones who claim to be from a strange land called Termina, with very little fuss)

Imagine the wars. The drama. The politics! The final uniting event was the Calamity’s first appearance, when all the branches finally had a common enemy. The Princess who appeared was effectively born a commoner, and while each dynasty raced to establish she belonged to them and they were therefore the “true” Royal family, it turned out she had ancestors from all three dynasties—distant cousins of the family heads, secret liaisons between the children of rivals, marriages for politics and marriages for love and some that weren’t even marriages. The people united behind her, and the dynasties influences’ faded. They still exist up until the second Calamity, mostly as factions and in-fighting.

BotW Zelda’s mother was from the Zeldan faction, while King Rhoam was directly descended from the Princess in the first Calamity. While her mother had knowledge and ability to use the power of the Royal Family, Rhoam was the one with the claim to the throne. When Zelda didn’t manifest her sealing power, many began to whisper that the alleged “main” Royal Family was no longer the true rulers of Hyrule, their blood too diluted. The three dynasties began to rumble and vie for power, wanting to place one of their own on the throne when the “Heir to the Throne of Nothing” failed.

This turned into way more headcanoning than I thought but yeah. Timeline based factions.

[kitkatt0430]

Zelda question number #2567244723 - so in Spirit Tracks the land that became New Hyrule already had it's own people and history way beforehand, and now I'm wondering...for how long? Because it sounds like it's been at least several hundred years since Malladus was sealed away so does that mean this place existed even before the Flooding? And what are the wider implications of that?

Ooooh, I like this question. It's a world building question. ^_^

It's been a while since I last played this one, so I had to go take a minute to refresh my memory on it. (Thank you various Zelda fandom wikis.) We know the history of the land is that Link and Tetra (and her pirate crew) found the land that became new Hyrule after the events of the Phantom Hourglass and discovering that the inhabitants already there - the Lokomo - were friendly and welcoming and possibly that the Zora and Gorons had already settled in the area, decided this was the place they were being called to in order to create their new Kingdom.

They started bringing over the people of the Islands - at least, anyone willing to go settle the new land - and founded the new Kingdom, taught by the Lokomo no doubt on how to use the ancient tracks to travel quickly to bring supplies to the people of new Hyrule. A hundred years later, we get the events of the game Spirit Tracks and the first real look at what the Lokomo are like.

The land itself is supposed to be guarded by the Spirits of Good - based on the name I'd guess they're meant to be similar to the Spirits of Light from Twilight Princess. They're the ones who sealed the Demon King away and used the Spirit Tracks as that seal. It's interesting to me that this tale is very similar to the plot of Skyward Sword; I've always wondered if a piece of Demise escaped to incarnate as the Demon King, thinking that it was far enough away from the 'cursed lands guarded by Hylia' to cause mischief unopposed only to get body slammed by the Spirits of Good.

At any rate, this story is one told by the 'first settlers' of the land and since I'd like to believe that Link and Tetra didn't commit colonial violence to found their Kingdom, it seems likely that the first settlers were the Lokomo and they may have been dying out already.

Why do I think they were dying out? Well, Spirit Tracks we encounter seven of them and they're all pretty isolated. They're largely carrying out sacred tasks meant to help maintain the Demon King's and it's heavily implied that the Lokomo are not particularly common people in Hyrule. It seems unlikely Link's ever heard of them or encountered them before he gets dragged into saving Hyrule, nor do we see any Lokomo living among the people of Hyrule's towns/cities either.

Of the seven Lokomo we meet, Bryne is on of the two youngest and he was previously Anjean's apprentice who failed his apprenticeship out of a desire for power over purpose. But considering that of the Lokomo who are actually doing their sacred jobs - which fills the space usually taken by the Sages rather neatly - only Gage appears to be young... it seems likely he was also an apprentice around the same time Bryne was, or shortly before, and actually succeeded at his apprenticeship. The other five Lokomo guardians are all kinda... old. And none of them have apprentices.

My suspicion is that the Lokomo saw the descendants of Old Hyrule and the touch of the goddess upon them - the pointy ears that the Lokomo also have, indicating they're also touched by the gods in some way - and were hoping that the people of New Hyrule could become their successors in maintaining the seal. Since they were longer lived, they could watch over the land and it's new people to see if Hylians could connect to the land's magic and take over for the Lokomo despite their much shorter lives. And I think the events of the game, with Link and Zelda, proved that Hylians not only could, but did.

Of course the question of why the Lokomo are dying out is one I can't really figure an answer to, though it certainly makes sense in why they'd welcome settlers from a far away place to not only take up residence but found an entirely new kingdom run by the colonizers and not the indigenous inhabitants. If there just weren't enough Lokomo to maintain a community, much less a kingdom... having new caretakers to the land would have been a welcome sign from the Spirits of Good that their efforts as custodians of the Spirit Tracks wouldn't be in vain as their people continued to dwindle away.

But your question goes further back than the founding of new Hyrule. And maybe that would explain why the Lokomo are so few in number compared to the Hylians and Humans of Old Hyrule. Hyrule was a temperate, blessed land where the fields were fertile, food was plentiful, and everything was below the now-current sea level. Which means New Hyrule is up in an area that would have taken the equivalent of climbing to the top of Death Mountain to reach. And while New Hyrule is similar in size to Old Hyrule, I don't think it was always similar weather/temperature wise.

If Old Hyrule were founded during, say... something similar to an ice age, but was close enough to the equator to still have a comfortable temperature range and seasonal changes, then the flooding was likely caused by the goddesses raising the overall temperature of the planet, melting the ice caps enough to flood Hyrule... and causing distinct changes in the weather across the world. The land that became New Hyrule was higher in elevation than old Hyrule and also likely further away from the temperate zone of the equator.

Or... it was really, really cold all the time. Until the floods came, the ice age ended, and the land thawed out to become a more comfortably habitable place. It could be that the Lokomo were not well adapted to these changes in their habitat and that in flooding Old Hyrule as a sort of nuclear option to stop Ganondorf and the piece of Demise within him... they kinda screwed over their precautions for maintaining the seal over the Demon King and the piece of Demise within that guy. But of course the Hylians provided a handy bandaid. With Ganondorf dead and the piece of Demise within him being dealt with by the Master Sword beneath the ocean waves (goodbye Fi, you were a bit annoying but the switch version of the game made you less so and I did like you regardless...) meant that the Hylians could get transferred over to take up guardianship of a different piece of Demise.

Win-win. The displaced Hyrulians get a new home, the Lokomo get successors capable of utilizing the magic of the Spirit Tracks. Everybody's happy. (And the gods involved in the flooding can totally pretend this was their intention from the start.)

As for when exactly Malladus showed up in these new lands... I suspect it happened around the time Zelda sent Link back in time. The timeline splitting to create the child and adult timelines could have easily allowed another piece of Demise to escape confinement, and rather than stick around where the piece in Ganondorf had just failed and been sealed, it ran away to a land of ice far beyond the Gerudo desert and high above the lands of Hyrule. Far enough away that surely no one would stand to oppose it's rise to power.

Since the only thing we really know about the time that passed between the end of Ocarina of Time in the adult timeline and the start of The Wind Waker is that ages had passed between the two, long enough that the tale of the Hero of Time had passed into Legend. So it definitely could have already been a few hundred years at that point, especially with it having been quite some time since the flood happened as well. Which would match up well with Malladus having been sealed away for hundreds of years.

Of course, the wider implications of the land that becomes New Hyrule existing before the flooding things is... there is a whole planet out there to explore and Old Hyrule was definitely in some kind of quarantine to try and keep Demise from spreading. And that quarantine totally failed. Terribly. They're gonna be finding bits and pieces of Demise all over the place for generations to come. If he can take the form of an evil train? I wanna know where evil squirrel Demise is hiding. (I jest, but it would be hilarious, no?)

(Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom Hyrule is separated from the rest of the world via mountains on one side, ocean on two sides, and a giant chasm to the fourth. It's a quarantine, I tell you. Gotta protect the rest of the planet from whatever the latest Hyrulian nonsense with Demise is.)

[shadowlinktheshadow]

(first of all wind waker is a great choice I agree) imma dump about spirit tracks then

pre

probably like a foster child. you never see Links parents but itd be odd to have him living with Niko if not

on the same note it was Niko who named him Link

Link is a child prodigy, very smart kid very young. didnt help him make a lot of friends his age though

mostly played alone

he had a toy train set growing up and thats what fueled his engineering dreams

child prodigy, so he went to an engineering school fairly young, the youngest in the school

(stealing this from notes on my last post) the school was too loud n busy n stressful for him so Alfonzo took him back to the countryside for private tutoring

he cant swim, and also has a fear of water (drowning)

had a prank pulled on him (the bees) and was told to jump into the ocean to get away but almost drowned

(for this reason was really paranoid when the train went underwater)

the reason his vneck is deep and he has rolled up sleeves is because the uniforms are tailored for adult bodies, and he still hasnt grown into them

not really much of a geography guy. really good at science and math though

has met Aryll (now an old lady) once when he was really really young

post

whatever the game says, hes an engineer, not a conductor

yes he knows and can drive a train, but his field is more about repairing them

he has a pocket watch

always looks at it when he has to drive the train, never wants to be too late

has a wide horizontal scar on the bridge of his nose. its was from Byrne when he got bitch slapped

he really likes birds, doves in general

(post game zelink child is named Dove)

science guy. doesnt really like magic cause it doesnt make sense (ie spirit flute, gossip stones)

was a little skeptical about the Lokomo because of this

he may be a Link, but hes actually taller than Zelda in this game

its because Zeldas grandparents? ancestors? are ww Link and Tetra (Zelda takes on more after ww Link, who is shorter)

hes really sweet and shy (especially around Zelda)

hes really good at sleeping stranding up or sitting straight. there arent any beds in the train so he went to the passengers seats to rest during his adventure and it stuck

but doesnt like sleeping in musty areas. grimy. sleeping in the dungeons was something he really hated

likes to finish one task before starting another

doesnt really voice his complaints. doesn't mean he has no complaints though

might come across as weak, but actually fairly strong

he doesnt like using a sword, but he just can. nobody taught him how

Okay Link fans I need help. I have my Link/Zelda game that I’m specifically fixated on (that being Wind/Wind Waker), but I want to be able to write/understand other Links with the same amount of care that I give to him.

So if anyone who sees this post has a Link who is their favorite little guy (you’ve played his game(s) multiple times, you’ve made a bunch of headcanons about him, you think about him all the time, etc etc), I want to hear your perspective on that Link. I wanna know what you think his general personality is. I wanna know what you think he was like pre-journey(s). I wanna know how you think his journey(s) affected his development. I wanna know how you think the themes of his game(s) intertwine with his character. I wanna know how you view his significant relationships. And I wanna know anything else about him that you would like to share. Any information/ideas are appreciated, just absolutely go off ^_^

[socialc1imb]

Weapons comparison for the twawb requests

Oh HELL yes I’ve actually been needing to design the main character’s weapons

Gonna start with Phantom, Wind and Spirit’s swords first! I’m excluding the master sword that Warriors uses and Masks little sword because I feel like everyone knows those well enough already. I’ll design them later on, maybe.

Phantom uses a BIG one. Two handed, long, and heavy, and she’s excellent with it. It’s perfect for a war because she has a wide range on the battlefield to take out multiple enemies at once. Once she’s in a smaller area though, or fighting one-on-one, the claymore becomes a little hard to use. She managed just fine, though!

Wind uses the Phantom Sword, of course! He doesn’t use the whole time stopping ability thing very often, but he’s more than able to.

Spirit uses the Lokomo Sword as well! I honestly. Don’t know much about this sword in game, but it’s Spirit’s go-to. He and Wind both have smaller swords so they’re better at the one-on-one battles and tend to stick close to others for extra protection.

Tetra also uses a Sword, but it’s just a simple cutlass, nothing fancy. I didn’t draw it because her cool weapon in HW are her water pistols, which I’ll design later. This is what it looks like though!

[onefey]

YOOOOOO THAT SHIT IS SOO COOL MORE INFO PLEASE

(referring to this) ask and ye shall receive, heres some stuff i had written down for the concept;

era of hyrule's rebirth:

they're hylian and not lokomo because i'm very fond of ingo and emmet as Just Some Weird Guys and not particularly magical... you could call them "honorary lokomos" though!

they are able to see ghosts (ie zelda)! when it comes to ghosts or spirits, ingo is usually the first to spot them, and he points them out to emmet.

emmet is fond of skulltullas, and skulltullas are fond of emmet! travelling through wooded areas or caves, they'll drop down to say hello to him (crawl on him) instead of attacking.

(^princess zelda was not happy to find out emmet is a spider magnet)

chancellor cole found both of them obnoxious, and was loud about this fact. the feeling was mutual.

era of the great voyage:

ingo arrives post-byrne. anjean doesn't like to talk about byrne, so ingo isn't quite sure what happened to anjean's "real apprentice."

(and byrne, when he finds out, is not too happy about being "replaced".)

ingo plays the shakuhachi flute because the regular and pan flute were already taken by other lokomos; also, it's similar to the celestica flute (at least in the sense of how its held)

ingo finds a lot of people in the past familiar -- link, tetra, gonzo, etc -- but can't quite put his finger on why.

he knows for sure he knows anjean somehow, but she doesn't know him, so they can't have actually met before... right?

[powdermelonkeg]

How about some random Spirit Tracks thoughts or headcanons? Like, got anything about the Lokomos? Or Anoukis? I love them. (It's a great game! I have yet to finish though because the DS hurts my hands. I wish we could get it ported to the Switch)

Spirit Tracks, my beloved. I am going to get so much worldbuilding out of you.

Where to even start with this? How abooout...

Malladus

Look familiar?

Slight Skyward spoilers, there's a cut.

Back when the world was still new, Demise broke through into the world of light to steal the Goddess' power.

Demise himself was sealed away, but the hordes of demons, we never really saw where they went.

Based on the fact that Ghirahim walked free, we can pretty safely assume that the others did too.

And that's where Malladus comes from! He fled the Skyward Sword area of the surface as Hylia sealed off his master, saving his own hide.

The place he went to, though, had its own protectors.

He fought his own battle against the spirits of good and their chosen people, the Lokomo, until his body was destroyed and he was sealed into the Dark Realm.

Because his body's gone, he can only stand being in the world of Light for a few hours at a time, or else he dissipates into nothing.

The Lokomo

The Lokomo are a secretive tribe, responsible for maintaining the seal that the spirits of New Hyrule left behind. They're best known for Sage Anjean.

The Lokomo are of a very practical mindset, and are incredible engineers. Not only did they utilize the Spirit Tracks in a way that would ensure they were maintained perfectly, while also creating the best mode of transport available to Hyrulean civilians to date—

—but they also engineered around disabilities and made wheelchair segways and fully automated prosthetics.

These people were AMAZING, and I wish we got to see more of them.

The Anouki

These guys live up north in the Snow Realm, in their own little village. They grow horns, have flipper feet, and have fluffy little tails as their main distinction from Hylians and humans.

Anouki are VERY fond of bright colors; they most often wear blue or yellow, using dye techniques that would later be passed down to the Kochi Dye Shop, and their leaders have the honor of wearing purple. They decorate their houses with bright fabrics, embroidered pillows, shining strings of jewels, even using colored ice to make stained glass windows in their homes.

As for their behavior, Anouki are very...blunt people. They’re both brutally honest and incredibly finicky, so if they don’t like you, they’ll tell you so with no hesitation. This even makes it hard for neighbors to work with each other at times; something as simple as having larger horns or wearing a color they don’t like is enough for them to shun each other.

Nevertheless, the Anouki stick together, even when they dislike each other; they make villages and support each other through the harsh cold of their environment, and they keep the surrounding ice stable and free of monsters.

Also: @phantommermaidqueen DM me, I can send you a DS emulator and a Spirit Tracks rom if you want to play it on your computer!

[bobthebobking]

Character headcanons: Niko, ST!Link, ST!Zelda?

TY FOR THE ASK!! niko HCs here. This is gonna get super long so it'll be a read-more

Spirit Tracks Link:

Realistic HC: He has brachydactyly type d :] His in-game model and official art have really small thumbs so it's just canon to me now. That one's short (ba dum tss) so another HC I have about him is that he's really empathetic toward animals. He doesn't hurt bees when they're chasing him. When possible, he blows the train whistle for moinks/bullbos if they're on the tracks instead of using his cannon. He loves findols, but worries about whistling his train around them too much. Even with scarier animals like wolfos or keese etc, he'd rather just avoid them instead of going out of his way to hurt them.

WAIT another HC I wanna mention. He absolutely mimics Niko sometimes with pirate slang & accents. He and Zelda will be messing around being goofs n he'll jokingly call her like. Idek a filthy sack of seahat spawn in a pirate accent and everything will just Freeze n she's like "Link what the fuck?"

Not realistic, but hilarious HC: ST Link cannot read regular maps that don’t have railways marked on them. His whole career and life revolves around the train tracks, so if he suddenly had to use a map with Just natural landmarks he. wouldn’t survive. He would probably draw out all the spirit tracks from memory onto it just so he could use it properly. And if its a map for an area outside of the tracks’ reach? There’s no hope for him. Sorry buddy!

Heart-crushing HC: Link never wanted to fight, never wanted to learn to wield a sword- all he ever wanted was to serve the people of New Hyrule with his train. He doesn't usually carry a sword or shield around in every day life, he keeps them locked away on his train just in case of emergencies. Also, after realizing Link doesn't have the Lokomo Sword in the ST credits, maybe he didn't have the heart to keep it. Anjean told him in her last moments to help Zelda protect New Hyrule, but how could he? He'd never wanted that. Was he supposed to just carry around that sword, phantom sensations of steel forcing its way through bone sending shivers down his back? A constant reminder of Zelda's shaking fingers desperately gripping the hilt with him, a reminder that there was no way in hell that he could have ever beaten Malladus on his own? I think he took the sword back to the tower and locked it up on the top floor where no one but the wielder of the Bow of Light could get to it. He'll do just fine with the standard recruit's sword, thanks.

Unrealistic, but fuck canon: ST Link thinks kids are so cool. He wants to hang out and have that big brother energy so badly, but he cannot for the life of him figure out how to talk to them. Any time he tries, kids either get mad at him or prank him. Link gets pranked so much by the kids in Aboda. They're ruthless. He's probably been talked into rolling into that beehive tree a dozen times just because he wants them to think he's cool. He wants to be their friend so badly. He's too nice and every child he meets sees it as a sign of weakness.

Spirit Tracks Zelda (ive posted about some of this before but oh WELL):

Realistic HC: She’s very physically affectionate. She loves hugs and holding hands and high fives and bumping shoulders and and and. Post-canon Zelda is like a whole different person compared to before Malladus. Zelda never realized how much she held herself back around Chancellor Cole. Once she’s got her body back she’s never letting the chances pass her by with the people she cares about. She probably gave her teacher a bone-crushing hug when she saw him again in Castle Town.

Not realistic, but hilarious HC: Post-canon she has like an adjustment period like astronauts do where she’s not used to being a solid person with gravity and everything. She’ll go to do a little floaty sitting pose n just fall on the floor. She’ll try to go through a doorway a little too far to the left expecting to pass through the door jambs an just ram her shoulder right into it. She’ll shoulder-check Link while rushing past him and he has to take a solid 5 minutes just to breathe through the pain while she’s worriedly asking how she can help and how sorry she is oh Spirits Link it was an accident!!

Heart-crushing HC: She frequently experiences depersonalization. Having her soul ripped from her body, and then hopping in and out of various suits of armor before getting her body back left her feeling detached. She’ll have moments where her body feels a bit fuzzy, like its not actually hers. Like she’s still a ghost watching someone else puppet her body around. She’ll feel like she’s as tall and big as a phantom again and have trouble reconciling that sensation with the small body she actually has control of. She never brings it up, but Link is always the first person to notice the difference when she’s having an episode and he tries to help however he can.

Unrealistic, but fuck canon: Zelda trains to fight with a sword. She learns to fight without one. She perfects her skill with a bow and arrow. She becomes a fighter so she won’t be helpless ever again. Nintendo would never do it n that’s the only reason its unrealistic. She works and trains and exercises as often as she can in order to have as much control over her body as possible. The strain and exhaustion that comes from training helps her feel grounded and she loves being able to help Link with the occasional monster problem since she knows it’s not really his thing.

[kaialone]

Spirit Tracks Translation Comparison: The Lokomo Sword

This will be a comparison of the original Japanese version and the US English localized version.

Specifically, this will cover the scenes of obtaining the Bow of Light, the Lokomo Sword, and the Compass of Light.

You can also watch the main cutscene for yourself in English and Japanese. If you want, you can check out the EU English version, too.

For the comparison, the usual points apply:

Bolded is the original Japanese text, for the reference.

Bolded and italicized is my translation.

Italicized is the official NOA translation.

A (number) indicates that I have a specific comment to make on that part in the translation notes.

As you read this, please keep in mind that with translations like these, it’s important not to focus on the exact literal wordings, since there is no single “correct answer” when it comes to translations.

Rather than that, consider the actual information that is being conveyed, in which way, and why.

--

Characters in this part who had their names changed between versions:

Mallador = Malladus, Kimaroki = Cole, Sharin = Anjean, Dego = Byrne

--

Getting the Bow of Light:

Text Box:

光の弓矢を手に入れた！ しばらくタッチし続け��と 聖なる光をためて発射できるぞ！

You got the Bow of Light! If you touch and hold for a bit, you can charge with sacred light, and then fire!

You got the Bow of Light! Tap and hold to charge and fire bolts of divine light!

Zelda:

これが光の弓矢ですか… 何か聖なる力を感じますね…

So this is the Bow of Light...? I can feel some sort of sacred power from it...

So this is the famous Bow of Light... I sense a strange power coming from it...

Zelda:

マラドーたちの動きも 気になります

I also wonder what Mallador and Kimaroki are up to.  (1)

But I'm awfully worried about what Malladus and Cole are up to.

Zelda:

早く 戻って シャリン様に報告しましう！！

We should hurry back and report to Lady Sharin!!

Let's hurry back and tell Anjean what happened!

-

Reporting to Anjean:

Zelda:

シャリン様！ 光の弓矢を手に入れました！

Lady Sharin! We have the Bow of Light!

Anjean! Anjean! We got the Bow of Light!

Zelda:

もうマラドーなんて 余裕ですわ！！

Now Mallador will not stand a chance!!

We won't have any trouble defeating Malladus now!

Anjean:

うむ！ その弓矢で 奴を打ち倒すのじゃ！

Indeed! With that bow, you can take him down!

Good! An arrow from that bow is sure to fell him.

Zelda:

はい！

Right!

Right!

Zelda:

シャリン様！ マラドーの 居場所を教えて下さい！

Lady Sharin! Please, tell us where Mallador is!

Now all we need is to know where Malladus is.

Anjean:

分からん

I dunno.

I'm sorry, but I can't help you there.

Zelda:

…シャ シャリン様…

...L-Lady Sharin...

But, Anjean...

Anjean:

いや 何度も探ってみたが…

I really tried to find them, honestly...

While you two were busy obtaining the Bow of Light,

I have been searching for the Demon Train.

That's the train that Malladus used to escape.

Anjean:

奴ら 完全に気を 隠しておっての…

But they've completely hidden their presence...  (2)

But he and Cole have hidden it too well...

Byrne:

…捜し出す方法はある

...There is a way to find them.

There is a way to find it.

Anjean:

ディーゴ… おぬし まだ動いては…

Dego... You shouldn’t be moving just yet...  (3)

Byrne? I didn't realize you were awake...

Byrne:

マラドーが復活した場所を 覚えているな？

Do you remember the place where Mallador was resurrected?

The area where Malladus was resurrected...

Byrne:

あの祭壇の下には 通路が隠されている…

There is a hidden passage under that altar...

Below that altar is a hidden section of tracks.

Byrne:

そして その奥に奴らが乗る 魔列車の位置を示す道具…

光のラシンバンが あるはずだ

And further inside, there should be a device that can show the location of the Demon Train, the one those two are on...

The Compass of Light.

Somewhere down there is the Compass of Light.

Only it can lead you to the Demon Train.

Zelda:

…ディーゴさん…

...Mr. Dego...

Byrne...

Byrne:

魔列車は闇世界の存在だ キマロキも位置を知らなかった

The Demon Train is from a dark world. Even Kimaroki didn't know its location.  (4)

The Demon Train comes from the Dark Realm.

But even Cole didn't know its exact location at first.

Byrne:

そこで私が塔の力を利用して ラシンバンを作ったのだ

それを使い魔列車を見つけたが ラシンバンは聖なる力で作った物

魔族であるキマロキには 触れることすら出来なかった

So, I created a compass, using the tower’s power.

With it, we found the Demon Train, but that compass was created with sacred power.

Being a demon, Kimaroki could not even touch it.

He had me build a compass using the spirits’ power

to find the Demon Train in the Dark Realm.

Since the compass uses the power of the spirits,

Cole and Malladus can’t touch it.

Byrne:

ラシンバンは今もあの場に 置き捨ててある…

The compass is still at that spot where we discarded it...

That's why it should still be where we left it.

Zelda:

…ありがとう…

...Thank you...

...Thank you.

Zelda:

リンク 参りましょう

Link, let us depart.

Let's go, Link.

Zelda:

一刻も早く光のラシンバンを 手に入れなければ

We must get the Compass of Light as soon as we can.

We must get the compass as soon as we can.

Anjean:

リンクよ おぬしに 渡したい物がある

Link, there is something I wish to give to you.

Before you go, please take this, Link.

Anjean:

今のおぬしなら扱えるはずじゃ

You should be able to handle it now.

I think you're the one who is meant to use it.

Anjean:

この剣の名は ロコモの剣…

天上のお方から授かった 魔を打ち倒せる伝説の刃じゃ

This sword is called the Lokomo Sword...

It's a legendary blade, bestowed by the Heavenly One, which can vanquish the demonic.

This Lokomo Sword was a gift from one of the spirits.

As such, it is filled with sacred energy.

It has felled many evil creatures in its lifetime.

Anjean:

この剣を意のままに出来るのは 天上のお方のみじゃったが…

Only the Heavenly One was ever able to properly wield this sword, but...

Until now, only the spirits have wielded this blade...

Anjean:

おぬしなら きっと大丈夫じゃ… 存分に使いこなしておくれ

I'm certain you can do it... Make sure to fully master it.

Use it wisely!

Anjean:

リンク ゼルダ… よろしくたのむ

Link, Zelda... I'm leaving it in your hands.

Link, Princess, it's in your hands now.

-

Getting the Compass of Light:

Text Box:

光のラシンバンを手に入れた！ 世界を光で照らし出し 邪悪な 闇の世界の場所を示してくれる

You got the Compass of Light! It illuminates the world with light, and reveals the location of the evil Dark World.

You got the Compass of Light!

It shines light upon the world, revealing places linked to the Dark Realm.

Zelda:

見て リンク！ 光のラシンバンが…

Look, Link! The Compass of Light is...

Look! It's the Compass of Light, Link...

Text Box:

森の大地の石版が あやしく輝き出す！

The lithograph of the Forest Land glows ominously!

The Forest rail map has started to glow ominously.

Text Box:

光のラシンバンの力により 闇へと続く線路が現れた！

By the power of the Compass of Light, tracks leading into the darkness appeared!

The Compass of Light has revealed a track leading into the darkness!

Zelda:

リンク！ 魔列車を追って 闇の世界へ向かいましょう！

Link! Let us follow the Demon Train, and head for the Dark World!

Follow those tracks to the Dark Realm! Let's find that Demon Train.

Zelda:

待ってなさい！ 私の身体！

Just wait for me, body of mine!

I want my body back, once and for all!

Translation Notes:

In Japanese, Zelda actually says マラドー達/Marad��-tachi here, with the suffix 達/-tachi essentially meaning “that person as well as one or more additional people”. Given the context, she would most likely just be referring to Malladus and Cole, which is why I adapted it the way I did.

What I translated as “hidden their presence” would more literally translate to “hidden their ki”. The idea of “hiding one’s ki” is a somewhat common Fantasy trope in Japanese media. It makes you undetectable by individuals who can track your “ki” in some form, or in other words, people who can track the energy inside living beings and the like.

Anjean’s line here is a bit difficult to translate, since she doesn’t finish it, but given the context, I am fairly confident in my adaptation.

The location called “the Dark Realm“ in English is called 闇の世界/Yami no Sekai in Japanese, which translates to “World of Darkness”, which is actually the same name as the “Dark World” from A Link to the Past. But note that in this one specific line, Byrne actually says 闇世界/Yami Sekai, literally “Darkness World”, instead, which is why I adapted it the way I did.

--

Comparisons & Thoughts:

The main cutscene here is the one with the Lokomo Sword, which has a few differences I want to point out, but they are mostly related to prior alterations.

The dialogue from when Link receives the Bow of Light and the Compass of Light doesn’t have any huge differences either, but I still included these scenes, since I felt they might still be interesting to see.

-

I can’t help but be slightly amused that when Link picks up the Bow of Light, the English version actually uses the phrasing “divine light”, rather than just “sacred light”, but then in the next line from Zelda, they change “sacred power” to “strange power”.

This could just be for the sake of text space, since “strange power” is shorter than “some sort of sacred power”, and it’s not really an issue, obviously.

-

A small detail, but slightly too long for the translation notes.

My adaptation of the Japanese text has Zelda “wonder” about what Malladus is up to, while the English version adapted it as her being “awfully worried“.

Both are actually possible translations of the original line, which makes use of the phrase 気になる/ki ni naru, which is used to refer to something being on one’s mind. Both in the sense of something concerning, or simply something one is curious about.

Considering the topic, it makes perfect sense to translate it as “worried“ here, though “awfully worried” is a bit strong.

I ended up going with “wonder” instead, but it’s not really more correct, just so you know.

-

When Zelda rushes towards Anjean, there is a difference between versions that becomes even more drastic when you watch how the moment actually plays out visually.

At the start of this scene, Zelda is full of energy, she’s excited, since they now have the bow, which should make Malladus quite a lot easier to defeat.

So Zelda, clearly ready to keep this streak of success going, and defeat Malladus once and for all, eagerly asks Anjean where they can find him.

To which Anjean replies with a flat “I dunno”, instantly killing Zelda’s momentum completely, in one swift motion.

This is, in my opinion, pretty funny, though of course it’s a bit less funny when I have to explain it like this.

But I’m sure you get what I mean. Zelda is being all heroic and confident, and then Anjean subverts the expectation that obviously she’d know the answer, being the wise sage person of this tale.

And she does it in such a blunt manner that it literally causes Zelda to fall down in utter disbelief.

In the English version, Zelda’s initial line is changed to her making the the statement that they need to know Malladus’ whereabouts, and Anjean’s response is changed to the much more elaborate “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you there.”

This is a very typical alteration for the English localization, making Anjean more serious and reliable-sounding in moments where she is being blunt and sort of informal in Japanese.

But in this moment it really clashes with the intended mood.

Watching this scene in English, something just feels off about the way Zelda just falls over the moment Anjean starts talking, since her line and her getting to the point just takes too long for it to warrant such an instantaneous reaction.

I’m guessing this is another result of the translators probably not getting to watch the footage as they were working on this game, but I can’t say for certain.

-

In the Japanese version, Anjean talks about having tried to find Malladus and Cole over and over, but being unable to, since they have “completely hidden their presence”, or rather, their “ki”.

In the translation notes, I explained the concept of “hiding one’s ki” like that, which is a common trope in Japanese fiction.

For example, “hiding one’s ki” is actually the concept that was infamously translated as “hiding one’s power level” in the English dub of Dragon Ball Z.

Because of how this concept works, we can safely assume that Anjean tried to find them by sensing their energy, rather than physically looking for them.

In the English version, this dialogue is altered in multiple ways.

Anjean instead says that she has been searching for the Demon Train, thus we get the mention of its name a bit earlier here. This also implies Anjean knows what the Demon Train is, which isn’t impossible, but not explicitly mentioned in the Japanese version.

Adding to that, Anjean now says that Malladus and Cole have hidden the Demon Train too well, rather than their presence or energy.

Because of that wording, one could assume that Anjean was physically looking for the Demon Train in the English version, but it could be interpreted either way.

My best guess is that these changes were made here to avoid mentioning the concept of “hiding one’s ki”. It’s a stock concept that pretty much everyone knows in Japan, but might require additional explanation in English.

And having Anjean look for the actual Demon Train, instead of Malladus and Cole specifically, was probably a means to make Anjean trying to track them down more plausible, if there wasn’t going to be a mention of sensing energy.

-

When Byrne speaks up, Anjean responds with a line I adapted as “Dego… You shouldn’t be moving just yet…“ in my version.

In the Japanese version, she doesn’t get to finish this line, so the “shouldn’t be” part isn’t actually included, but it seems clear from the context that this is what she was getting at.

If you watch the actual cutscene, you can also see Byrne shake his head in response to her, as if to say “it’s fine”, or something like that.

The English version adapted this as “Byrne? I didn’t realize you were awake…”, instead.

This could’ve been an intentional rewrite, but it could’ve also been a translation error.

-

In the Japanese version, Byrne mentions that there is a “hidden passage” under the altar.

In the English version, he instead says there is a ”hidden section of tracks“, which is incorrect.

I’m pretty sure that this one was a translation error. They likely confused 通路/tsūro, meaning ”passage”, with 線路/senro, meaning “tracks”.

-

Since the English version has already had Anjean explain the Demon Train at this point, the part where Byrne was originally the one to provide this information is removed.

This slightly works against this moment, since here we have the first instance of Byrne helping out our heroes, by revealing everything he can to them.

Him explaining the Demon Train, and how finding it will allow them to find Malladus and Cole, is part of that.

Of course, Byrne still has plenty of information to share in English, so it’s not a terrible difference.

But still, in the Japanese version, Byrne’s contribution feels huge, since Anjean and the children didn’t seem to have a single possible lead that could help them.

-

Like I mentioned in the translation notes above, in the Japanese version, Byrne calles the Dark World 闇世界/Yami Sekai rather than 闇の世界/Yami no Sekai in the main cutscene here.

I’m not sure if that was a typo, or a shortening for space, but I decided to adapt it as “a dark world”, to have a bit of both possibilities reflected.

But aside from this one instance, the place is called 闇の世界/Yami no Sekai every time it’s mentioned, so I adapted that as “Dark World”, since it’s the same name as the Dark World from A Link to the Past.

This location also breaks the naming theme of the others, as the four main areas in this game are called “Forest Land”, “Snow Land”, “Ocean Land” and “Fire Land” in Japanese, making “Dark World” the odd one out.

In the English version, they chose to adapt it as “Dark Realm”, which makes it follow the same naming scheme as the other “realms”, and also removes the connection to a past game.

The Dark World in Spirit Tracks is more than likely not supposed to be the very same one as in A Link to the Past, because that would make very little sense.

But giving it the same name could have been intentional, especially since, from what I recall, Malladus was the first character in the Zelda series to have the title “Demon King” who was not Ganon/Ganondorf.

In any case, I think the English version missed out by not adapting the name as “Dark World” here, too.

-

In the English version, Byrne says that it was Cole who had him create the Compass of Light.

This would also imply it was Cole’s idea to create it, and possibly even that Cole was the one who knew how such a device is made.

In the Japanese version, Byrne simply states that he created the compass to find the Demon Train.

This makes it seem more likely that Byrne came up with the idea on his own, and that he knew how to do it himself. Since he’s a Lokomo, this would make sense for him.

This change in the English version was of course another one of those that exist to make Cole appear like the one in charge between the two of them.

The Japanese version instead fits with its own portrayal that Byrne was likely the one in charge, even if Cole was just using him.

Aside from that though, the Japanese version more directly shows us that Byrne can be resourceful, and is possibly mechanically inclined.

An additional small detail here is that the Japanese version says the compass was built with "the tower’s power“, while the English version says it was created with “the spirits’ power“.

I get the feeling the English version actually just changed this to avoid a phrasing like “tower’s power” or “power of the tower”, since these can sound a bit awkward.

And in all fairness, the tower’s power is just the power of the god, or spirits in this case, anyway - so the English version is just being slightly less specific about it.

-

It’s another small detail but I want to compare this small section:

Being a demon, Kimaroki could not even touch it.

Cole and Malladus can���t touch it.

The English version again avoids mentioning “demon” or any equivalent, but that’s not what interests me here.

In the Japanese version, Byrne’s line is in past tense, and refers to just Cole.

Which could imply that Cole might have actually tried to touch the compass at some point. And failed.

And that’s kinda funny.

Adding to that, the different phrasings here lead to slightly different explanations for why Byrne is certain the compass is still at the tower:

The compass is still at that spot where we discarded it…

That’s why it should still be where we left it.

In Japanese, it comes across as Byrne just knowing that the compass is still there.

Since he did mention that Cole can’t touch it, there is the indirect implication that Cole couldn’t have taken it at any point, but it’s not really the focus of this sentence.

In English, the implication seems to be that Byrne is saying that Cole and Malladus couldn’t have gone back and taken the compass.

This is a bit strange, since Malladus and Cole deciding to go back to the tower after just getting away from it seems like an unlikely scenario, especially considering how long the way to the compass actually is.

Even if Byrne says that they can’t have done that, it just feels a bit off for him to even assume that Zelda and Link might think Malladus and Cole could have done that off-screen.

-

Lastly, we have the Lokomo Sword.

When Anjean is about to give the Lokomo Sword to Link, she says “You should be able to handle it now” in the Japanese version.

This merely suggests that Anjean believes Link is now ready to use it, considering how strong he has become.

In the English version, she says “I think you’re the one who is meant to use it.”

This phrasing implies that there might have been some sort of prophecy or the like that foretold of someone who should wield the sword, which is not mentioned in the Japanese version at all.

I believe the change in the English version was probably another translation error, since the original Japanese line ends with the suffix はず/-hazu, which is used in the sense of “should” or “must be”.

In the case of this sentence, this is meant in the sense of “You should be able to use it”, but in the English translation process this might have been misinterpreted as something along the lines of “You are the one who should use it” instead.

But as usual, that’s just speculation on my part. It just seems more likely than a deliberate change here.

Unintentional or not, as a result the English version does throw an implied prophecy at the audience here, which I have occasionally seen complaints about.

The Lokomo Sword’s appearance still comes out of nowhere in the Japanese version, so it’s not exactly free of criticism, but at least Anjean brings it up in a more natural manner.

Continuing from that point, in the Japanese version Anjean states that “Only the Heavenly One was ever able to properly wield this sword”, which explains why she didn’t hand it over to Link until she was certain of his skills.

In the English version, she instead says “Until now, only the spirits have wielded this blade", which would suggest her reason was more to uphold tradition, even though she already went against such rules with the train she gave Link.

A curious detail in Anjean’s English dialogue here is also that she says the Lokomo Sword was “a gift from one of the spirits.”

It’s interesting for the English version to imply the sword was specifically from a single individual among the enigmatic “spirits”.

I think this was actually their interpretation of “the Heavenly One“ in this instance, which in Japanese just seems to be a specific title that Anjean often uses to refer to the god of this land.

Looking at this sword segment as a whole, it can be summed up like this:

In the Japanese version, the Lokomo Sword is supposedly hard to master, and only the god of this land was ever able to really use it. That’s why Anjean only decided to give it to Link now, after he has gotten considerably stronger, making her confident that he can master it.

In the English version, the Lokomo Sword has only ever been wielded by the spirits, but Anjean decided to give it to Link now, since she believes he is the one who is meant to use it. We don’t get an elaboration of what this means, it could imply an unseen prophecy, or simply refer to Anjean’s confidence in Link. It’s just more vague than the Japanese version was.

-

Now, like I said earlier, the differences in the main cutscene here overall are mostly related to general changes we’ve seen already.

The changes to the Lokomo Sword’s background are among the new ones.

While I think the Japanese version makes a lot more sense here, the sword really does not affect the overall story a lot, outside of being a physical symbol of Link proving his worth.

The idea that the god once wielded it does open some room for imagining what they might have been like, but the English version retained that aspect surprisingly well, even if it’s now applied to only a single one among the multiple spirits from that version.

With that said, I actually would like to take the time to talk a bit more about my thoughts on Anjean in general here, since we have seen a lot of her dialogue at this point, as well as how it tends to differ between versions.

The humorous “I dunno” moment from this cutscene is just a small moment here, but it’s a good example of the kind of general changes made to Anjean in the English version, as we have been seeing.

Basically, in the Japanese version, Anjean feels like she is meant to be a bit of a subversion of the “wise sage” trope often used in fiction, including the Zelda series.

She really is a wise sage, and she can act like it when she needs to, but she also often does not. This leads to moments where she might be expected to offer sagely advice, but she ends up being blunt or casual about it instead.

I personally like the way this works out.

Since she is not a complete parody, like a completely useless character or something, the children and the audience keep wanting to rely on her, and she is reliable often enough that it feels reasonable to do so.

And because of that, her subversive moments don’t become too repetitive or annoying. Instead, they actually work to flesh out her character more, making her feel a bit more multi-layered.

I don’t know if it’s an intentional reference, but something about her attitude reminds me of those old ladies from the very first Legend of Zelda game, the ones who would say “Pay me and I’ll talk”, but just replied with “Boy, you’re rich” if you gave too much money, only giving actually useful information if you picked the medium amount.

This general idea of character’s still being earnest, but also not taking themselves completely seriously is very much in the spirit of the Zelda franchise, and it’s nicely done with Anjean, in my opinion.

In the English version, Anjean is not exactly a flat character either, and even if there’s less direct subversions, her more openly caring nature is still different from the average “wise sage” trope, too.

But it still makes for a characterization that ends up feeling quite different in the end. Particularly if you go by text alone, since some of her Japanese portrayal still shines through in her mannerisms and such.

As usual, I think people are going to have different opinions on what they prefer, but I think that the English version’s portrayal of Anjean is a bit too “reserved” or “proper”, if you will.

The Japanese version let’s her have tender and serious moments as well, in addition to her laid-back side, so to me it feels a bit like the English version took away a portion of who Anjean was as a whole. It’s like they tried to make her a bit softer, but there is also a bit less substance as a result.

And of course, this isn’t helped by the fact that the moments where her relationship with Tetra is brought up have been changed too, if not outright removed, unintentionally or not.

A huge part of Anjean’s character role is this indirect connection to Tetra which she provides for both the audience and Zelda, albeit in different ways, so that’s not insignificant. But a bit more on that in the future.

Well, these are just some of my own thoughts here.

I went on quite a bit, but this is the end of the part. Feel free to check out the next one!

--

< Previous Part | Start | Next Part >

--

[nayrusfountain]

WIP: Ancient Termina Map

Here, I whip up a map for a project I plan to produce. It depicts what the continent of Termina looked like during the days of Monarchs. Here, I divided the land into several states and territory based on a specific race that thrives in those areas.

The Hylians are settled in the heart of the country, where their cities are planted in the bowls of valleys. The surrounding mountains provides natural protection from invaders, their rugged terrain slowing a rival army's progress while providing the Hylians with higher vantage points to spot them from afar.

Cobbles are the race that made up the Ikanian people. They are strong, powerful humans and very prideful. They are stationed in the eastern canyons where they thrive in desert societies. The Cobbles were the most dominate race in Termina prior to their downfall from the eternal war that ended their civilization.

The Gerudo served as their neighbors and engaged in trading sequences with the Cobbles. Unlike Hyrule, ancient Gerudo had affairs with Cobble men instead to father their daughters.

The Lokomo lived quietly in between the three mentioned humans, their state boardering their territories. Their land is heavily mountainous, so they have little fear of Cobble raiders trying to attack them. They answer only to themselves and share no interest in engaging with either of the other humans. They will, however, arrest humans that are not of their race.

Sheikah prefer to live by Hylians, sharing a kinship with them. Their territory is quite tiny, but they do not need a large state as they live in small tribes. Occasional affairs with Hylian had occured due to their close proximity of each other.

In the west, the Zora of Great Bay dominate a huge portion of Termina's western Oceans. The Zoras flourish and thrives thanks in huge numbers that expands across the seas thanks to the abundant resources readily available to them. Living in underwater societies, they have little fear of attacks.

To the north are where the salt watered Zolas live in a small kingdom, and to the south a thriving community of Merpeople live in prosperity. The latter are allies to the more powerful Zora Empire.

I will do the rest when I complete the map. After I don't want to spill out every race in detail yet. It was a fun little past time and I will update this when complete.

[yay855]

Legend of Zelda Lore Tips

So I’ve seen a lot of people confused about how the Legend of Zelda series works in terms of lore. So I’m here to set you straight! You can find the whole thing under the cut.

1: Reincarnation

Despite what most people think, reincarnation only happens once in the Zelda series, during Four Swords Adventure, where Ganondorf is reincarnated as... himself, basically. Thanks to Skyward Sword, we now know:

* Link does not reincarnate, ever. He bears the Spirit of the Hero, some esoteric trait that is passed on from hero to hero, which may just be the approval of Hylia herself. This sometimes carries through his bloodline, but not always. Furthermore, the Spirit of the Hero can be both destroyed, and remade, as seen in The Wind Waker, where Link is not the chosen hero, but a normal child who made himself into the hero. That said, Links usually share some traits, such as having a love of food and sleep. But, as shown in Twilight Princess, they are all different people.

* Hylia does not reincarnate, ever. After the first Zelda died, Hylia returned to her status as a full goddess. Her descendants, the various Princess Zeldas throughout the series, don’t reincarnate either. Every Princess Zelda after the first one (who was the goddess hylia in a mortal body) is a demigod, a mortal descended from a god. Their power comes from this connection to Hylia. Furthermore, as evidenced in the first two Zelda games, it is tradition for the Hyrule Royal Family to name their firstborn daughter Zelda- the Zelda in The Adventure of Link is the aunt of the Zelda from the first game.

* Demise does not reincarnate either. His incarnations bear not his soul or spirit, but his hatred. His “incarnations” are essentially just people whose hearts were corrupted by hatred or evil.

* Ganondorf, as I stated earlier, only reincarnates once. Every other time, he is sealed away, typically returning after his power is regained.

2: The Curse

Despite what many believe, Demise did not lay down a curse after being defeated in Skyward Sword. Fi says as much, his power was gone. Rather, he laid down a prophecy, which he infused with what power he had left to influence, that his hatred would continue on in others, and they would continue to plague Hylia’s descendants and their champions for all eternity.

3: Ganondorf

Despite popular belief, Ganondorf is not Demise’s reincarnation. Neither was he unduly influenced by the prophecy/curse. Rather, Ganondorf was merely an exceptional man born into evil. He is the child of Twinrova, a fusion between two ancient and evil Gerudo witches, and as such, he inherited much of their power. And because they raised him, he became evil. His origin story is no more complex than that; he was simply a man born into power and evil, who happened to fulfill the conditions for the prophecy due to the hatred in his heart.

The only reason Ganondorf has lasted for so long is because he was the only villain to truly grasp even a fraction of the Triforce, which is itself creation given form. By taking the Triforce of Power for himself, his magic and strength were increased to ridiculous levels, causing him to be all but incapable of dying to anything but divine power.

He dies a total of three times across the series- once in A Link to the Past, once in the Oracle games, and once during Twilight Princess. In every other game in which he appears, Ganondorf is never killed, only sealed away.

However, it is clear that, by the time Breath of the Wild takes place, Ganondorf has become a force of nature, and lost what humanity he had left; he is a monster, a miasma of evil energy. This is likely due to him repeatedly dying, as seen in the Downfall Timeline- each time Ganon is resurrected, he loses a small piece of his mind, until he’s completely mindless in Link Between Worlds, used as a puppet by the real final boss to grant them extra power.

4: Timelines

The series is divided into four timelines: a unified timeline beginning with Skyward Sword and ending with Ocarina of Time, and then three new timelines spawned from OoT’s events: the downfall timeline, the child timeline, and the adult timeline. However, the timeline itself is largely just made up after the fact, and aside from a few games, most aren’t made with continuity in mind.

The Downfall Timeline is where Ganondorf defeats Link in their final battle, and a war is raged between the awakened sages and Ganondorf, ending with Ganon being sealed away in the Sacred Realm as a last resort. After spending an unknown amount of time in the sacred realm, Ganondorf’s power transforms it into the Dark Realm, a land of demons and monsters. In this timeline, Hyrule is in a constant state of decline due to Ganondorf’s influence, with monsters becoming more and more common even when Ganondorf isn’t around, to the point where it generally isn’t safe to venture outside by the time the original game comes along.

The Child Timeline is one where Ganondorf’s influence is never truly allowed to spread. However, this also causes Hyrule to slowly lose its magic, and to slowly grow more dependent on technology. By the time Twilight Princess comes along, magic is all but unheard of outside of divinity and the royal family; similarly, the Sheikah, ancient magical protectors of Hylia and her descendants, are all but gone, with only one Sheikah remaining, Impaz. However, it seems to make a small return once Four Swords Adventures comes along, as the four Links find various magical tools and items to help them on their journey. That said, it’s obvious that Four Swords Adventure was just tacked on to the Child Timeline because it didn’t fit anywhere else. Furthermore, Twilight Princess only happens because of how Link was sent into the past; by holding the Triforce of Courage in the future, Link accidentally created a time paradox, which caused himself, Zelda, and Ganondorf to each hold their triforce pieces in the new timeline despite not having split the triforce yet.

The Adult Timeline is a unique one. Hyrule is subjected to Ganon’s reign, but he is defeated by Link. Link is then sent back in time by Zelda, creating the Child Timeline, but the Adult Timeline still exists- and it is without a hero. Link is nowhere to be found, and the creation goddesses instead lead the peoples of Hyrule to the tops of mountains, before flooding it underneath a great sea. Ganondorf is sealed away underneath the ocean, inside the remnants of Hyrule, trapped in a bubble of time as the world moves on. However, Ganondorf’s power was not fully trapped, and he managed to escape after untold years to once more wreak havoc. After he is defeated in the Wind Waker, Link and Tetra move on to explore the world, eventually coming across a continent, which they rename New Hyrule. In this New Hyrule, magic and technology flourish in tandem, causing a technological boom; magical trains become the standard method of transportation, and the royal family itself sponsors it all. However, this land is home to an ancient evil which was sealed away long ago by the Lokomo tribe, a demon king named Malladus; the train tracks that New Hyrule relies on are actually chains which bind Malladus’s prison, which existed long before the people even arrived on that continent.

Finally, there’s Breath of the Wild, which has a unique problem of not really fitting into any of the timelines. It contains elements from every series, and was intentionally created separate from the rest of the series, likely in order to help further separate it from the rest of the series. Breath of the Wild contains many timeline-specific things, including:

* The Rito, which only existed in the Adult Timeline, and which were Zora transformed by the power of a minor god. Some argue that these Rito are not the same due to the difference in design, but the fact remains that they consider Medli to be one of their own, to the point of naming Vah Medoh after her- thus, these Rito must be descended from the Rito of Wind Waker.

* The Sea Zora, which only existed in the Child Timeline. They were transformed into the Rito in the Adult timeline, and were transformed into the monstrous River Zora in the Downfall Timeline. Some people defend them by saying that these Zora are relatively new to the region, but the fact remains that they consider Princess Ruto to be one of their own, to the point where Vah Ruta is named after her; thus, these Zora must be descended from the same Zora found in Ocarina of Time.

* Goponga Island, Kanalet Ridge, Mabe Village Ruins, Martha's Landing, Tal Tal Peak, Tabhal Woods, Ukuku Plains, and Koholit Rock, all of which areas named after places on Koholint Island, in Link’s Awakening, which itself took place on the Downfall Timeline. And Koholint Island is itself not a real place, but rather the dream of the Wind Fish, a place that is presumably never seen in any of the other timelines.

* Linebeck Island, named after a character in Phantom Hourglass, of the Adult Timeline.

* Lulu Lake, Mikau Lake, and Toto Lake, named after characters in Majora’s Mask, which takes place in the Child Timeline.

* Mount Daphnes, named after the King of Hyrule in The Wind Waker.

* Ralis Pond, named after the Zora Prince in Twilight Princess, in the Child Timeline.

* The Tunic of the Wild, which most resembles the clothing of the Downfall Timeline links.

* Vah Medoh, named after Medli (named Medori in the original Japanese), the Sage of Earth in The Wind Waker, found only in the Adult Timeline.

As such, it can be said that Breath of the Wild takes place in a New Unified Timeline, where elements from all timelines existed.

[goopi-e]

@squid-ink-personal: ask and you shall recieve.

Divine Beast Vah Aenja: shaped like a giant bombardier beetle (because Stagnox), or a centipede (because they're vaguely train-shaped? idk), this Divine Beast was crafted in order to protect not only the ancient Lomei Labyrinth and the surrounding waters, but also the neighboring lands of New Hyrule, in case Calamity Ganon overtakes the main Hylian landmass and decides to spread its' chaos even further. Due to being the collaborative effort between the greatest minds of both Sheikah and Lokomo, Vah Aenja is unique in that it is confined within the giant maze of rollercoaster-like tracks; the main mechanic of this dungeon is centered around carefully maneuvering the Beast in space. Alternately, there might be a smaller system of rails and Slate-operated minecarts inside of the dungeon, being the only reliable way to navigate the place.

Lokomo Champion... Can it just be Byrne? Same backstory, same name, same design, just adapted to the timeframe and visual style of BoTW? But a new Lokomo character would be nice as well — did you know there was an unused Lokomo Sage of Shadows?

Anyways, the Lokomo Champion was bested by either Phantomblight or Malablight (both referring to Malladus and Malice), and ever since that the Divine Beast kept polluting the skies with the dark, hazardous smoke, and sometimes local fishermen report seeing the oil spills in the area. Much like the Phantom Eyes, the Eyes of Malice plague every inch of wallspace in this dungeon, watching the courageous green-clad intruder restlessly. The local Blight fight is structured kinda like the Skeldritch boss battle from the ST, tho I'm not sure how it would work when fought in Hyrule Castle.

After freeing the Champion's spirit, Link is rewarded with a new ability. It allows him to "hack" rouge Guardians back, making them fight alongside him (one Guardian per ability charge)... Or maybe it has something to do with navigating the overworld more efficiently, like a temporary Byrne's prosthetic arm which can be used both as a clawshot and a weapon (inb4 BoTW 2 actually features this as one of the Zonai hand's functions), tho I prefer hacking the best. It can be named something like "Byrne's Cleansing" or "Byrne's Grasp".

Also: Anouki Divine Beast shaped like a deer/moose with massive antlers.

Also also: what if the Fairy Champion's ability was shrinking into a fairy? You know, like that one spell from Zelda 2?

Also also also: since these guys were portrayed multiple times as a somewhat neutral race and not just a subset of monsters, I propose that the Deku Scrubs deserve their own Divine Beast.

Divine Beast Vah Zelo: (like Ezlo!) The guardian of the minish. The shape of a massive mouse, this machine has corridors that require Link to crawl. Despite this, the Sheikah slate will activate the thumb sized terminals just the same.

I'm not sure what kind of blight our picori champion will have fallen to, but I figured their power to pass onto Link could be something like Luck? As a nod to kinstones from the Minish Cap, at least.

(I considered shrinking, but a champions ability needs to be something the champion used, and I don't think a minish need to be smaller than he already is!)

You could use this power to reveal any secrets in your area (shrines, memory locations, koroks, the like.) Hints to help someone struggling with a puzzle.

[cxrruptedhxpe-blog]

WARNING:

This event will have triggering content and it meant for a few verses. If you will like to have this event as a thread, please IM and we can work something out.

How long has is truly been since she had last seen any of her family without having nightmares? What was the reality? Was time truly frozen in place or was her eyes didn’t pay attention? Children laughed softly but none of it reached her ears that refused to listen or was it her that chose not to listen? Eyes drooping from the sunny world. The world that was happy but her. Ever since of Poen’s death things had become even worse with these horrible voices edging her on. Her feet became heavier every day until finally, it was just too much as it felt she was chained to balls of metal. Kaphona’s fake smile had fooled everyone who wished to interact and yet, they never saw how much tears she was holding back for their sake since all she did now was do everything to keep everyone happy.

Even him.

She wanted him to stay happy, for his health, his happiness, and that… She swore to never make problems for him. Seeing him have that stupid smile kept her warm but after the fight they had it made her afraid that if he were to become just like that man, it would be her fault. Kaphona knew it was quite stupid to be so worried about him but she could not help it after everything they have gone through and her past… It was a timeline likely to happen if she continued to make him stress over her health and safety-

“Kaphona!” Huh? Turning around to face the voice calling out before giving another fake smile. “Ah, hello Link. How can I help you?” Surprised to see the Hero of Tracks not working on his train or helping Princess Zelda. “I was wondering if the force gems needed inspecting? Been ages since I had checked them but yours is first and more important because it can easily access the realm of- “ Cutting him off with ease. “Yeah, that’ll be fine. You can check it out today.” “Oh, also, Zelda is looking for you. Something about a job?” Hm… Nodding quickly, thanking the hero before walking fast towards the castle. Everything went back to normal but something was missing and we all know the answer in Kaphona’s mindset: Poen. She was the thing that was missing. Faces past but none of them mattered since they weren’t Poen.

“I hope my friends are doing alright.” Adjusting the sleeves in hopes to hide-

“Miss Kaphona!” A new voice called out and ran down the stairs to meet her. “Zelda is looking for you! You must hurry to not make her wait!”

Kaphona nodded towards the old man and made haste to Zelda’s chambers wondering what she needed so badly. It was a few minutes until arriving but everything did not feel right as Kaphona’s stomach flipped like crazy in a sickening way and even then, she entered. “Princess, sorry for making you wait. I hope I did not keep you long.”

The Princess of Hyrule turned with her lovely and graceful smile making a gesture for the other to sit which Kaphona did. Both stared at each other with one feeling uncomfortable. “Uh, Princess- “

“Kaphona, have you been feeling alright?” “Yeah. What is this about?” “I’m simply just checking on my friend who serves to protect this world. You haven’t been acting yourself ever since Poen’s death...” Even then, she wasn’t really the same since she and Ben fought. Poen was simply the wire that plugged everything into how she was feeling. “I’m still adjusting to it but I’m fine. I’ll let you know when I don’t feel okay, I promise.” Since when did the girl who always kept a promise…

Break them?

It took a few seconds for the princess to decide if Kaphona was telling the truth and believed it. First mistake. They soon began discussing things about this land and the Forest Realm hoping things could go normally with deer and possibly new villages in the area. Hours pass and finally it was now night a perfect time to be alone as Kaphona left the castle with heavier chained balls matching her heavy heart. “… Why do you guys expect so much of me? I’m going to fail anyway.” Last time they made this type of project Kaphona had sudden things to do like protecting her Lokomo and Zelda seemed to be upset. Eyes glancing around the environment wondering what was missing once again and this time she saw flowers that were no longer there. Created a few flowers but only for them to wilt as soon she had left them to go home.

Thinking about everything that had happened and had a strong urge push through.

Come on, you’re stressed now. Take some steam off, alright?

Look at that! Your friends are worried but you shoved them away! How fucking wonderful. You truly do care about them.

He doesn’t care you know. He’s only keeping you around for his amusement since when you make him become just like his father-

“Please… Not tonight. I don’t have the energy for this...”

You don’t get any say in this. We’ll stop if you do it.

Climbing into her home ready to sleep but the voices refused to be silent. Begging them again to stop and they simply repeated the same thing.

You don’t get any say in this. We’ll stop if you do it.

Fine. Moving over to a nightstand and roughly shoved things in a draw to find one little thing, a small knife coated in dry blood, and removed her sweater allowing her freshly made scars have a taste of air as recent wounds reacted making her shiver in perhaps delight? Green eyes staring at the object before pressing to against her chocolate colored skin hoping they, the voices, keep their promise. Unable to react to the pain she was creating due to always feeling this way.

Wrapping the new wounds on her right arm with clean bandages glad that she always wore a sweater allowing her to easily hide these scars. It helped to a degree watching her blood flow out as if it was her sadness. “…” Smiling weakly, tossing the knife down on the floor and began moving over to a window. Link was still at the temple but would leave rather soon than she had expected and it would ruin everything she had planned for tonight.

The weight of these imaginary chains will soon be no longer. The burden would be nothing anymore. Taking in her final and peaceful gasp of air allowing it to settle for she was not ready to let go for now.

“Kaphona! Kaphona! Come on, the festival is going to start. We don’t want to miss Deku’s Tree birthday!” Saria grinned, dragging the half asleep Kokiri towards the giant tree of knowledge hoping they would make it in time. “You made the cake, right?”

“Didn’t make it because I got it ordered and brought it here. Huge difference.” Laughing at the fellow green haired child as they quickly made their way to Deku Tree. “Oh, I forgot to get it! I’ll be back!” Laughing a little bit and went back to her home only to see animals inhaling the precious cake. “Hey! Get away from that!” This was odd… There was a glass case making sure no one could smell it unless… “Mido…”

Before she could expose Mido’s plan, he had managed to get the others to see the ruined cake and pointed at cake covered hands that were Kaphona’s. All of them but two people sneered at her for ruining the festival of Deku’s tree birthday. Soon, it was simply just three of them: Link, Saria, and Kaphona.

“It’s just a cake, Kaphona. I’m sure it’s the thought it counts since you wanted us to have some.”

“Mido opened the case…”

“Come on, let’s go have fun.” Saria took her hand but Kaphona pulled back. “Opoiya?” Using her real name. Link turned to the unusual colored Kokiri with worry before frowning. “Are you feeling okay?”

Shaking her head. “I should clean my home… Tell him I said happy birthday…” Without a warning, Kaphona turned to go back home and allowed the other two go to the festival with singing, joy, and Mido’s snickering.

Why this memory?

“So… You’re telling me that you helped that man? You’re a monster!” Mido screamed at Kaphona who had admitted that she had helped the Gerudo a few times with just supplies not knowing his true intentions. “You’re so stupid to even help him. You got the Deku Tree killed not Link! Monster, murderer!”

“I didn’t know who he was, Mido…” Ears lowered in shame.

“Stop playing these memories… I don’t want to remember.” Groaning a little holding onto her head tightly.

“Hm? Kaphona?” A voice she knew too well had drawled her attention to him wondering what he was asking. His blue eyes upon her new sets before he grinned telling a shitty pun.

“Oh, my fucking GODDESS, Ben! That was just shit.” Laughing loudly at it.

“But you’re laughing.”

Look at him smiling. You don’t want to corrupt that beautiful, happy smile now do you? The more you stay with him the more he’s in danger.

Admit it, Kaphona. You’re hurting him more and more. He had to save you more than once and yet you can’t even protect him. You’re weak, useless, worthless, and most of all a monster for allowing him to suffer. You couldn’t find him while the fight had happened and everyone was able to find HIM but not you. I wonder why.

Tears began to spill knowing they were telling the truth. Choked sobs as the voice continue and on. Kaphona’s usual chubby body was now thin from lack of eating. She was unable to eat much of anything anymore for a reason she despised it so much that people she had lost were unable to enjoy their favorite meals as she was able to consume them. “Please... Please…”

Then do what you’ve been planning sweetheart. He doesn’t care about you, you know. After all, you’ve done to him and made him sound just like daddy it’s best to leave for his sake. Best for everyone too. You got everyone killed and soon this world will be hurt because of YOU.

These wails refused to be silent as the voices got louder and louder. If she were to hide there was always that one person who would easily find her.

Sailing alone after the night of fire had kept her awake as the sea was friendly today allowing the girl to rock in her grief. She had failed again… Lost everyone important to her because she was scared. Brown eyes against the deep blue unable to feel anything anymore. “I’m sorry…”

“I’m sorry everyone…”

Kokiri burning, crying out to her for help but she just stood there watching them burn into corpses that will leave a haunting memory forever. Mido reached out towards Kaphona begging for her to help him but she just stood. “Opoiya! I’m sorry…! Please, help me!”

“I’m so sorry…” Standing on a chair with a tied noose and flint ready to go. Smiling sadly as it felt so right to do this. Ending it all for good. Ending everyone’s pain so everyone can be happy and that’s what was needed, right? “I’m making this better for you guys…” Smiling up at the ceiling. “I’ll be home with you guys again…”

Closing her eyes gently with the noose around her neck and flint on and ready to go.

“Kaphona… I’m cold… I’m scared… Please, I’m cold..”

“It’s okay Poen… I’ll be there to keep you warm.”

Memories of meeting new people and then watching them all die had slowly took pieces of her and the final piece was a boy named Ben. Watching him so scared of becoming a monster and that if she was supposed to be like his mother, this was the best route for his safety. Tears continued to flow down and took the leap.

“I’m sorry, but this is for the best-“Choking with the flint dropping setting the tree house ablaze.

Her body began to slowly hang as fire picked up with a faint sad smile appeared. Finally, she could be with her family again.

Like it should have been the first time.

But someone had been watching the whole time and made it in time to get her out of there as she slowly breathed.

  “We’re the ones who should apologize, Opoiya.”

Taking the dying girl with wounds that had reopened and a nearly broken neck somewhere safe as a Hero followed.

[the-dude-of-hyrule]

The Ultimate Legend of Zelda part 13

Spirit Tracks

At first glance, the premise for this game is kinda stupid. However, if we are going to build the ultimate Zelda, then the premise of a train could be very handy in a world as huge as breath of the wild. Perhaps Link could even have to travel overland to new areas and, once he gets to a new city, he finances the laying of new tracks to get a station set up there. I also enjoyed that, at times, Zelda actually worked with Link. Thus tying in with the possible multiplayer I mentioned earlier. I also particularly like the side quests that can be done. It gives more of an open world feel than just exploring for treasures. Now, while I like the concept of the Anouki, I don't really like the idea of the Lokomo. They seem to exist only because of the tracks. And again, we have another villain that is not Ganon. My thoughts for how to use this is that each territory in Hyrule has its own major baddie with Ganon having central Hyrule of course.

Truth be told, everything I didn't like about phantom hourglass was repeated in this game. However, they made it worse. Needing to blow into the microphone to play the necessary songs and use the whirlwind was just a real pain in the ass.

[queen-of-evil-fanfic]

20

    Minerva stepped through the great stone doors and before her saw an idyllic view to rival her kingdom’s greatest monuments.  A wide basin stretched for miles, surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs carved with an architecture similar to the gate enclosing the area.  Green grass spread from her feet until it met a lush forest and a brilliant blue lake, all totally contained in its private paradise.  Structures of stone - visibly ancient even from afar, but wholly undamaged - stood in clusters on the far end of the enclosure near the lake’s edge, forming a sort of village.  Tents, obviously newly-built, and similar to the ones found closer to Hyrule Kingdom, spread between the buildings and the nearest hewn cliff face.

    The bulblins rushed forward into this place like children returning home for dinner.  They moved as a mob, swarming Minerva and Hattori and prodding them both forward along with the horde.

    Hattori scanned their surroundings, enthralled by the architecture.  He paused long enough to examine an obelisk marking the road the bulblins followed to their camps, running his hand along the engravings.

    “I had no idea something like this was out here,” he said aloud, more to himself than to Minerva.  “This stuff may have been built by the ancient Lokomo…”  He frowned.  “And it’s been taken by demons.”

    Minerva clasped his arm.  “Worry not.  It belongs to Hyrule now.”  She stretched her arm to gesture over the distant village.  “We can grant our subjects one ruin to call their home.”

    “You’re right.”  The rito hummed quietly.  “Perhaps we could call for an archaeologist.”

    Minerva laughed lightly.  “If it pleases you.  Come on,” she beckoned to him, “our subjects grow impatient.”

    The bulblins and Hyruleans finally arrived at the village within the basin, marking the end of their days-long march.  The ancient stone buildings formed something of a city square within the swathe of encircled tents, and this was where the bulblins led Minerva and Hattori.

    Their arrival had been noticed, as there were people gathered in the square - not bulblins, nor bats, nor humans.  A gang of tall lizardlike humanoids stood in orderly fashion awaiting the bulblins’ approach.

    “Geozards, too?” Hattori muttered.

    “Hm,” was Minerva’s only reply.

    When they finally arrived, one of the geozards stepped forward, this one sporting a taller headfin than the others.  It spoke to one of the bulblins at the head of the pack in some harsh language, gesturing in the direction of the Hyruleans occasionally.

    Minerva couldn’t tell what they were saying, aside from the obvious fact that the lizardlike creature was angered by her presence.  She hated the fact that she could not understand them.  She knew half a dozen languages from around the known world, but whatever language these demons spoke amongst themselves in their own home was not one of them.  It was infuriating.

    Finally, the geozard turned to Minerva, brushing aside the comparatively tiny bulblins it was speaking to.  It stormed through the horde to face Minerva directly and spoke, this time in broken Hylian.

    “You killed Gaius,” it said through scaly yellow lips and rows of razor teeth.  Its voice was raspy and high-pitched, like it wasn’t quite used to breathing air.  It stood almost as tall as the darknut in question, the fin atop its head making up the remainder.  Shiny green and yellow scales lined its body, left uncovered but for the thin cloth pants it and its companions wore.

    “A human is too weak,” it continued, drawing a vicious-looking sword from its side and pointing it toward Minerva.  “Prove it.”

    Minerva brandished her scepter.  “Hattori, stand back.  That is an order.  And signal Anton, too.”

    The rito stepped aside wordlessly, and the bulblins surrounding them cleared away without being commanded.  They understood what was about to occur.

    “My name is Minerva.  I am the Queen of Hyrule, and your new ruler.  If you wish to tell me your name before you die, do so.”

    The geozard did not speak, but moved to lunge forward.

    Before it could take a second step, Minerva flicked her wrist.  The air grew heavy.  Pressure reverberated through the air as the geozard was pushed to the ground, unable to move even a finger.  Magical power surged through the Astral Scepter as Minerva held it, generating an inescapable force that totally incapacitated the demon.  The Scepter’s power worked exactly as she imagined and commanded, as though she herself was born to wield the device.

    “Is that it!?” she barked, keeping the Scepter trained on the geozard.  The coolness of the haft grew even colder in her hand as she poured her magic into it, and yet it didn’t bother her as she knew a freezing temperature should.

    The geozard groaned, unable to make any further utterances, let alone fight back.

    Minerva raised the Scepter.  The overwhelming force vanished.  She put her boot on the geozard’s sword hand, keeping it pinned.  “Serve me,” she said to it.  “Become the subjects of the Queen of Hyrule.  Tell this to your kin.”

    The geozard slowly pushed itself to its knees, looking up at Minerva with what could only be fear in its glowing red eyes.  It nodded.

    Minerva looked around her.  Bulblins, Hyruleans, and lesser geozards alike looked on in awe.  She lifted her Scepter to the sky and shouted: “Are there any more who would challenge the Queen?  Any more who would meet my wrath, that I may earn their loyalty?”

    There was no response.  No more demons approached.  The remaining geozards didn’t move, even to help their leader stand.

    “Good,” Minerva said.  “Then we have work to do.”

[chandelierslayer]

OH MY GOSH.

So I’m gonna be talking about places, so I’ll put a “read more” thingy. Just in case y’all haven’t been to these places yet. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. But basically this post is gonna be about place names. Cause I’m a Hyrule culture fanatic. So, HERE WE GO. 

Your first tower is, of course, the one on the Great Plateau. Well, my second one was the Lake Tower, because I started off on the path of bread crumbs that the game leaves for you to follow, but got sidetracked because OOH WHAT’S THIS WAY? WHAT’S THAT WAY? LOOK AT ALL THE BEAUTIFULNESS. ALSO, SHINY OBJECT! Yeah, you get the picture. I didn’t stick around that area long; soon after activating the tower, I went back to the beaten path. 

My third was the Dueling Peaks Tower. I hung around that area for a while, completed four more trials, and warped back up to the Great Plateau to get my gift from the Goddess. And then... I decided to do dumb things. XD 

Let’s just say my fourth tower was the Central Tower. As in, the tower right in front of the castle. Yeahhhhh. Crazy. Crazy. It was never my plan to actually go to the tower. It was just that, while wandering around the Great Plateau once again, I got curious about one landmark or random thing after another, until I eventually was at a place where I could very clearly see the aforementioned tower of DOOM AND DESPAIR. I figured, hm, well, it’s really close, I can probly glide most of the way there, so I zoom in, I climb, I get the map data, I zoom back out, and/or just warp back to another place. 

WELL.

It didn’t happen that quickly and smoothly. Let’s just say I died a lot. But by that point it was less curiosity and more “I STARTED THIS AND NOW I’M GONNA FINISH IT, SCREW YOU, GUARDIANS!” So now I have the map data for the place outside the most dangerous place in the game. Or.. something like that. And I was fascinated by a lot of the names of places, just like I was with the previous map piece I got. So here’s some thoughts and just me squeeing over names cause I’m a Hylian dork. 

In the Lake Hylia area:

None of the names sound familiar, except Hylia’s, of course. My only note here is that in the Southeast area of this region, there’s a lake named “Lake of the Horse God,” and of course I started dancing happily because it reminded me of Epona. ^_^ <<33 Of course, they didn’t name it “Lake of the Horse Goddess,” but I’m interested to know what kind of god of horses they have in Hyrulean culture!!! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. My brain is already buzzing on just that.

The only other thing, which I was just reminded of, is that if you zoom out on the map, the very Eastern edge of the Lake Hylia region has a huge label that reads “Faron” and the very bottom of the map has a body of water named “Faron Sea” and I’m like. YES LET’S CHECK IT OUT. But I’m already trying to check out at least three other things at this point so I need to calm down and focus. XDD

In the Dueling Peaks area:

OH MY GOSH WHERE DO I START. 

Okay so. Batrea Lake. Instantly reminded me of Uncle Bats. ...I mean, Batreaux. XD Nabi Lake and South Nabi Lake, Nabi sounds kind of like Navi. I know some of these are a stretch, but just wait, it keeps getting better. “Mable Ridge” reminded me of Maple, the witch that’s in a lot of the older games. “Lake Siela,” of course, sounds just like Ciela, the faerie in Phantom Hourglass, but with an S. 

Sahasra Slope? Do I even have to point that one out? It’s an almost the exact same as the name of Sahasrala, the Kakariko Village elder in ALttP. Very fitting and kind of hilarious that the Sahasra Slope is right by where Kakariko is. (Or at least, I’m very sure the golden dot is leading me to Kakariko. That’s what the king said, anyway. If not, it’s somewhere in the area.) 

Then we have the Pillars of Levia, which immediately made me think of Levias, the Great Sky Guardian, who I lovingly refer to as Grampa Fish. Even though he’s a whale. ...Anyway. THEN. MY FAVORITE. OMGOSH.  “Bonooru’s Stand.” Basically Nabooru’s name but with a few differences. I’m thinking maybe Bonooru is the name of a Gerudo we haven’t heard of yet? EITHER WAY, I GOTTA CHECK IT OUT. I’m definitely heading there before I go to the village. Maybe I can finally get some good research material on Gerudo culture!!! Here’s hoping. It would make my life. <<33 

In the evil area of death and destruction I mean, um, Central Hyrule area. Yeah, that... Yeah. In THAT PLACE: 

First, there’s a lake called Lake Kolomo, which sounds almost like Lokomo... XD

More importantly, there’s an area called “Ranch Ruins,” with an oval-shaped line visible on the map if you zoom in all the way, in abooouuuuuut... close to where Lon Lon Ranch was in proximity to the castle in OoT. Not exactly the same, quite a bit more to the East than I would expect, but still, y’know, THERE. I’m DEFINITELY interested in checking that place out. Not now, though. I’m not checking out any more places in this region except the two shrines I saw on my way here. No more of these deathwish adventures for now. >.<

Northeast of the ranch ruins, is a place called “Mabe Prairie.” Yeah, you heard right. Mabe. As in Mabe Village, the place on Koholint. Koholint, as in the island that never really existed except in a dream. Mabe Village, home of Marin. They named a prairie after that place. T___T  I just. Have a lot of feelings right now. 

North of Mabe Prairie is Romani Plains, which I found awesome, obviously named after our favorite bow-shooting ranch girl from Termina. But more importantly (to me I guess), Northeast of that, just East of the castle, is a place called Crenel Hills! Crenel Hills!!! AS IN LIKE, MOUNT CRENEL. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I’m sorry, I just really love The Minish Cap, it’s one of my favorite games ever, and I’m just. AHHHHHHHHH. I need to explore. I need it I need it I need it. 

Of course, the location kind of throws my theories across the room to bounce them off the walls and go flying everywhere. I’m just. I need to study. Everything. 

...That’s about it. NO WAIT. I forgot to mention that there are two mountains named after past kings of Hyrule! That was actually the first thing that caught my eye in this region. They’re named Mount Daphnes and Mount Gustaf. Gustaf is the one closer to the castle, which makes perfect sense to me, because King Daphnes wasn’t around until hundreds of years after Gustaf. But anyway...

I’M REALLY DONE NOW. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. GO DO SOMETHING ELSE WITH IT NOW. I GUESS. IF YOU WANT TO.

Stick a fork in me, I’m done. 

EDIT: OH MY GOSH.

BONOORU IS THE NAME OF THE EFFING SCARECROW.

HOW COULD I FORGET SOMETHING LIKE THAT???

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH

Okay I’m cool, I’m fine.