#so the context i was talking about for robbie is that he described dorian as having to “recloset�� himself and i cant imagine

[screechingfromthevoid]

I think Dorian knows Orym is in love with him. I don't think it is a great unknown. He's not biting his nails wondering if Orym feels the same way as him.

I think the problem is that Dorian doesn't know how to approach it at all. For so many reasons. There are so many reasons why Dorian has been keeping all of this close to his chest.

First and foremost I think he wants to be respectful of Will and the place he holds in Orym's heart. Dorian in no way would blame Orym for never moving on. He'd be sad and disappointed but he'd understand. And he understands that he's still mourning Will. So he doesn't want to initiate something Orym isn't ready for.

Second, they're in the middle of a war. There isn't time for this. There isn't time for dead brothers and profound crushes. How could he distract Orym from the world ending? He's their little tank. He's their tactician. He's can get his hard and throw it back just as easily. They need his head clear. And I don't think Dorian would ever forgive himself if something were to happen because Orym was too preoccupied.

Third, is speculative, with the context Robbie has given us, marrying a man would not go over well in the royal family. Not because they're particularly homophobic. But, assuming they're both cis, (headcanons aside, I don't think critical role is there yet), the blood line would end. And royal families are big on lines of succession. Hence Zeru begging Dorian to come back. So I'm not sure adopting is in the realm of possibilities. How could Dorian let Orym love him? How could he give into his feelings? How could they live happily ever after when Dorian needs to go back home? Sit on a throne? Produce an heir and a spare? He couldn't possibly start something with him only for it to end in tragedy. He couldn't do that to Oym.

There are probably more reasons for all this but these are the ones that swim in my head the most. And idk I think Dorian wants to love Orym loudly and proudly but... The world is ending, ya know?

[seagullcharmer]

idk got embarrassed abt rambling. totk headcanon stuff (and spoilers!!!!!!!!) below

there's a lot of comments abt how link doesn't tell anyone anything that's going on in totk, but (and i know i may be reaching and/or delving into headcanon territory lol) but. rewatching some of the early game stuff, like the first tear / geoglyph and talking to impa about it. link has already seen and had a conversation with rauru, he knows who rauru is, sonia clearly identifies herself, so why does impa call them 'mysterious figures'? is link being purposefully vague and/or obtuse, or is it that few people can actually understand link? now, i know i am not alone in believing link to be predominantly nonverbal + to use sign language. but link is also from 100 years ago with wishy-washy memory. language changes over time, impa is an old woman, so maybe it's not so much 'link doesn't tell people things / keeps secrets' but 'this guy uses an older form of language that we don't fully understand / know how to interpret' impa may have forgotten the common signs used pre-calamity (and also there's just. very little internal consistency between botw + totk) or link had an easier time during botw and then with zelda he turned to using court formal sign language, which we would be all but forgotten in 100 years time when so much of castle town + the court figures fell. idk. again, reaching, stretching, burrowing into headcanons, but. whatever. throwing it out there

ok i put it under the cut so i'll just ramble willy-nilly good luck

so throwing out the headcanon that josha is hard of hearing and uses sign language. this is inspired primarily by the way she uses nicknames for the people around her-- robbie is 'goggles', link is 'swordsman', purah is 'director'. while i admit i am far from an expert on sign language, i understand that it is common to give people 'sign names' that are typically derived from distinct characteristics about them. robbie is never seen without his goggles, purah was a top sheikah scientist pre-calamity and is now the director of lookout landing (and associated with the research team, etc etc), link is known for his sword skills, so all of those make sense within the context i am describing. idk, just really like the idea of josha&link especially re: using sign language, even though with the idea above there could be some clashing if they use signs the other doesn't know.

but also josha being disabled would be another large factor in why robbie wouldn't let her explore the depths by herself. come on, this is hyrule-- hyrule has let children do far worse for far worse reasons. but, her being a youth and disabled would certainly be enough reason to not let her go alone. also, since it's extremely dark and only link can activate lightroots, it would have a further level of danger in that you straight up would not be able to see signs. lack of communication > heightened danger > potential death. no good for anyone involved

although speaking of, where did josha come from???? there are no sheikah of childbearing age in committed relationships that would make her possible. dorian's wife is dead, josha is older than koko and cottla, so he's out. cado and his wife are divorced, and neither are really in the market for children. also if she came from a kakariko villager they would've just said so i'm going to stop listing villagers. but we know yona is a zora from outside of hyrule, so who knows. entirely possible there were sheikah immigrants and josha travelled back to hyrule after the calamity once it was deemed safe enough (because, hey, it's hyrule, and having continued prophecies and legends of doom and gloom, plus the literal 100 year long calamity does not lead to thinking hyrule is a safe place. hence, safe enough.)

i think tears of the kingdom had a lot of potential. the opening was very fun and interesting!! travelling with zelda and learning lore to set up the story ahead, getting to see her as a person, her love for hyrule and passion for research, very fun indeed!!!! the music was SO GOOD i must admit! and then the tutorial island and the introduction of the new mechanics were gorgeous, they felt so fresh and i think we were all very eager to see what would happen in that first hour or so. landing back in hyrule kingdom, seeing how it has changed, learning about the existence of the depths-- the opening had so much going for it. and then....... there wasn't much else. exploring is so much fun. i love exploring, it's one of my favourite parts of playing games. i had a blast for the first 70 hours i played, because there was so much to see and do! but i know that's not for everybody. and i gotta say, the wind temple was a fantastic first dungeon. it had interesting set-up, clear stakes, a loveable growth to a previous minor character, the dungeon itself really felt more like classic zelda dungeons, the music and the boss fight were incredibly cinematic-- but it was the only one.

sure, it was eerie getting to gerudo town and seeing how empty it was, but then the lightning temple was just kind of a slog. i loved the re-introduction of the gibdos. the tower defence game to protect riju. but the lightning temple itself just..... it was a little lackluster. and don't get me started on [gestures at all of sidon + the water temple]. and i'll admit, i liked the fire temple, i liked the silliness of the dichotomy between all the other regions facing severe threats to their habitat and livelihood and then. ganondorf's like 'yeah i'll get the gorons addicted to gloomy rocks' which i know is. not great from the actual presentation of it (yes, it's a not subtle reference to drugs + drug addiction), but the way the gorons have been presented in the past (i. really don't like their mouths. too much like the racist art of black people 1940 and earlier), and yunobo's boss outfit was. again, gritting my teeth at the racism. but the fire temple had an interesting design, and it was cool to see the return of gohma!!!!

but at the same time, tears of the kingdom had a lot of times where it mostly seemed to be catering ineffectually to older fans. 'see? we remember uhhh dungeons! gohma! you love gohma. and gibdos! and ooh, look, like-likes! everyone wanted like-likes back, right?' although i'll admit i gasped at the return of the bomb flower, even though something has happened to the plant over the years, where it can no longer reproduce nigh instantaneously. truly, the people of hyrule have fallen down on the job in protecting their agricultural heritage. (although, seeing tomatoes made me very happy. i can once again eat tomatoes by living vicariously through link). (and, thinking on it now, it could have been really interesting to bring back the various -baba enemies. especially in faron. but i'm getting away from myself)

and i was delighted by the change to link's cooking animation! i rarely skip it because i love hearing him hum snatches of classic zelda tunes.

but.... i know everyone and their dog has complained abt tears of the kingdom. its story really fell down on the job. the gameplay was fun, but the story wasn't compelling. finding the tears out of order could put a huge damper on continuing to play. it's an open-world game, you need to leave wiggle room for the story! sure, non-linearity can be great! but part of what made loz games before botw so fun and compelling was having the clear directions on where to go. you couldn't really spoil things for yourself, because it just wasn't an option. botw did a good job juggling the various places and plotlines, but totk.... didn't. all of the temple cutscenes were exactly the same, and give us zero reason to have an emotional connection to the prior sages. they don't even have names!!!!!! i know other people have said it much better than i can about how botw helps you like the champions, and mourn that they're gone. and totk barely even gives you reasons to care about your friends the current sages. everyone loved sidon, and yona is a lovely character, but they kinda shoe-horned it in and then bungled zora characterisation, imo. zora's domain is gorgeous and elaborate, and then we're expected to believe sidon and yona got married as soon as sidon comes back from the water temple and yeehaw he's crowned king ???? where is the elegance?? the ceremony???? these people are long-lived and cherish tradition. and yona's been visiting for a week after who knows how many years apart, and they get married just like that. despite them having clear relationship trouble. of course they love each other and share a commitment to each other, but sidon wasn't treating her as a partner, and she was right to call him on it! so even if they're gonna live a few more centuries, that doesn't mean they need to jump right into marriage immediately!!! also, while i like yona, they didn't give us much reason to care about her. if anything, so many fans hate her for simply existing as sidon's never-before-mentioned fiancee. and i understand that, i do. she could be likeable! if we were, just, you know, given any opportunity to get to know her. honestly, i would've liked the water temple more if yona had been the sage. sidon was unimpressive in all aspects. how the hell had he never discovered this ability. (i know, back to totk's lack of internal continuity) so introducing yona and allowing her to be the sage-- that could've been very interesting, honestly. given her a way to show sidon he can trust her, and that while of course he will worry, he can rest assured she is capable and can take care of herself, and show herself to be an asset to hyrule's zora's domain.

that was wayyyy too long to be a paragraph, but i'm not editing. i like yona. block me or don't.

idk y'all. i like totk, i don't regret buying it, but it was very weak for a zelda game. albw was better, and it has a lot of issues that i will leave for another post (although y'all can pry that game from my cold hands. it's good!!!!!!! yes it's misogynistic and the non-linear dungeons is frustrating but! it's still a good game and has mechanics that are actually plot-relevant and limits the number of new characters, so you can get to know them and care about them!!!!!!! sorry totk!!!!!!)

um. i got tired. i forgot what i wanted to say. if you read this, wow. blowing you kisses, shaking your hand, saluting, whatever. thanks.