#vanali-of-winterfell

[askthehylianchampion]

Aight Link you know what to do. Go offer Revali some of your hair. It'll be really funny.

I DON’T THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY APPROPRIATE OF ME!!!!!

{I am trying to get him to like me! I believe that would have the OPPOSITE effect}

[axidentshappen]

Fanart for the lovely @vanali-of-winterfell

Read her fic, do it. Ikki's pov in ch4.

[critical-birb]

Okay so I just saw your response to @vanali-of-winterfell 's essay on your fic, and while I only skimmed it to focus on the language bit. OMG I love it!

I gave the Rito their own language in my fic but I didn't put that kind of detail into it. Just usually describing it as "a mix of bird song and raptor calls." Only getting specific with a few calls and words, and the idea that many Rito words are poorly translated/transiliterated into Hylian. (Like Torikirika (Toe-re-key-re-ka) is the Rito name for Rito Village which means something like "Origin of Our People" but Hylians just called it "Rito Village" and the Rito gave up on correcting them.)

I'd love to pick your brain on Rito language more. (Also, I'm going to have to read your fic soon...)

Amskfjdjnsjdj aaa thank you!!!! 🥺💗

Gosh I need to read your fic too!!!! I spend way too much time writing and not enough time reading these days.

Omg I love love love the idea of Hylians sort of butchering Rito language with their translations. Also Torikirika is such a cool original village name aaaaaa!!!!!!!!

I love to imagine there's a ton of words in Rito language that just aren't translatable. Certain feelings they just don't have the words to describe in Hylian, certain words that just don't have a Hylian equivalent. Sometimes Rito speaking to Hylians and just getting stuck like oh man how do I convey this?? Hylians don't have a word for 'the sheen of moisture on stone after rain but before it freezes over that makes it difficult to land on your talons without slipping', so they'll go with whatever sounds vaugely similar and end up saying super bizarre and funny things like "the paths on the mountain are looking really....water itchy, today".

Also please pick away any time! And I'd love to hear your Rito Language thoughts!!!!! World building is so so much fun I am always excited to hear people's ideas aaaa!

[vanali-of-winterfell]

Trick or Treat! Spare some candy for the real champion?

Damn of course you have to hit the person who can't draw with the amazing Revali art--

Here have a fic narrating what happens.

It was a Hylian tradition, first and foremost. When Zelda had told Revali of it, he had made sure to inform the rest of Rito Village. He could not simply allow such an opportunity to collect candy to go to waste. Despite his confidence, the Rito Champion had a known sweet tooth.

When the 31st of October came, Revali came first to the roost of his fifth-favorite Rito. Who is also your fifth-favorite Rito. Vanali of Winterfell--he wasn't sure where that was, exactly--answered him as he arrived.

"Spare some candy for the real champion?" he asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be in some kind of costume for this?" she answered.

"Just give me the candy."

And so it was done. She had recently accidentally caramelized some honey in an attempt to display the effects of temperature on melt viscosity when ignoring pressure. Revali took the solidified honey--effectively a lump of sugar now--and plopped it into his beak before turning and leaving.

[werewolfsister]

Trick or treat! May as well if you're inviting us :>

I was not prepared.

Thanks @vanali-of-winterfell!

[tnc-n3cl]

@zeawesomebirdie @vanali-of-winterfell

[werewolfsister]

Keiger (3)

enjoy my weird map

Keiger is originally from a steppes landscape outside the Kingdom of Hyrule-- steppes being another name for plains or prairie, having a specific flora & climate profile. After talking with @vanali-of-winterfell she figured a steppes biome would need to be located West/South West of the Gerudo Highlands & Desert. This also depends on the layout of the mountains, probably the canyon that divides Hyrule and its neighboring country too! There's a lot to consider in terms of realism, but until I do more research, this is what I've got.

Also remixing an idea from @vanali-of-winterfell, pertaining to why Keiger would be so far from home in the first place. Ganondorf's influence and wicked ways may have been focused on outlying countries & settlements before he moved to his plan of conquering Hyrule; that, or attacks from monsters/antagonists, drove Keiger & others from his Roost onward.

Since they're on prairie & the California Condor at least is often associated with Native American mythology, I figured it would be fitting to make Keiger's home roost be inspired from that culture. Not that Keiger is a particularly fitting name considering that haha-- oops! I basically just modified the word "condor" for his name. CON -> KEI sounds kind of similar. DOR -> GER also sounds similar. Not exact!

Bows & arrows, tomahawks, spears, clubs-- comparatively less sophisticated weaponry would be his forté. However, less sophisticated doesn't mean less effective! Condors are the biggest birds in the Western Hemisphere in the real world, and if we're putting that into practice here with the Rito, Keiger could probably crush a mid-sized enemy with talon or beak without his bow.

[werewolfsister]

Keiger Prompts

@vanali-of-winterfell & I got into a conversation about Keiger, and the ask prompts they submitted were really helpful for fleshing out his character! So, I'm gonna go through more of them on my own.

🐾+(6) Modern Job + Human

In a non-fantasy setting, Keiger would be an Emergency Readiness Services Biohazard Technician, the kind of guy who cleans up and removes dead bodies or potentially hazardous waste.

👗 + (19) Fancy Party + Pronouns

I mentioned in my last ask submission response that I drew Keiger in traditionally feminine Rito clothing but hadn't actually decided on his gender yet-- honestly I've had several people since refer to the character as a "he" so I'll keep it like that!

And from that, @vanali-of-winterfell & I brainstormed some background! I joked that maybe Keiger isn't originally from Rito Village, and mistakenly adopted the first mode of dress he saw; but he's so intimidating, nobody told corrected him. Keiger is from a roost on the outskirts of the Gerudo Desert. Unfortunately they're close-ish to the Yiga Clan hideout, so it's not all peace & quiet out there!

I originally wanted to speculate as to what the surrounding landscape might be like, of the cut-off & inaccessible parts of the map in game. But I think it's simpler to incorporate an idea @vanali-of-winterfell had where the Gerudo-adjacent Roost is a sort of parallel to Rito village. Instead of a tall, high location, the Gerudo Roost might be located in the canyon that separates Hyrule from its neighboring landmass. Holes would be carved into the rock face a la the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings.

With their closeness to the Gerudo, the steppes Rito do a lot of bartering and trading. The Rito offer services and goods often in exchange for jewelry, cloths, and other fine things that are harder to make with feathered fingers. Keiger is wearing Gerudo cloth & jewelry that helps keep the scorching daytime temps bearable!

19) sexuality/love

I normally don't assign sexuality to my characters! I'm sort of in favor of keeping it undetermined until it serves a purpose for the story, or if someone wants to ship a character with mine.

The best example for this is Esis. I made him with zero intention of pairing him up with another character, so I didn't bring it up much. In fact, I think I only made a single joke about it once before I started A Labour of Love! @kenneduck asked if I wanted to pair Esis & Viri, and I thought hey why not. So I suppose Esis now falls into the bisexual category.

Another good example is Sona. I didn't have anything in mind for her and zero plans to pair her, but when the opportunity came up to potentially pair her with @capybonara's Sardon, I thought cool there ya go. So I suppose she now falls into the heterosexual category.

Oley & Tajin are a heterosexual couple because I wanted Oley to have a bodyguard-type character with her, and based on their backgrounds, it made sense for them to be married. Obre & Dosi I guess kind of obviously because Esis needed parents! All my other characters (as far as I remember haha) have no assigned sexuality. I guess that's also in part because I don't find it to be a super important facet of my characters backgrounds & personalities. The story is the most important thing, to me.

So yeah TL;DR Keiger is "unassigned" at the moment along with most of my characters. It's pretty much pairing and/or story dependent.

[tnc-n3cl]

@zeawesomebirdie @vanali-of-winterfell

Tippy tap

[tnc-n3cl]

@vanali-of-winterfell @alithographica

According to the notes the person who made this is @/FaultyAndSalty on twitter.

[tnc-n3cl]

@zeawesomebirdie @vanali-of-winterfell

American Yellow Warbler  (📸  glen.noyer)

[tnc-n3cl]

@zeawesomebirdie @vanali-of-winterfell

[tnc-n3cl]

@zeawesomebirdie @vanali-of-winterfell

two female hornbills formed an unusual pair - one a great hornbill, one a rhinoceros hornbill. both escaped from captivity into the wild of singapore and surprised observers by forming a pair bond. unfortunately, there was a lack of other members of their species in the area. these two birds acted as a typical bonded pair would, and were sighted together on multiple occasions performing preening and nesting rituals.

[tnc-n3cl]

@zeawesomebirdie @vanali-of-winterfell

Red-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) on a rhino, sound asleep.

In South Africa by Zaheer Ali: Zali_Photo

[tnc-n3cl]

@vanali-of-winterfell

[tnc-n3cl]

@zeawesomebirdie @vanali-of-winterfell

Have you ever seen a Spruce Grouse (Canachites canadensis)? Known for their tameness around humans, these birds inhabit a wide range across North America’s forests including parts of Canada and the United States. Vibrantly-colored males use their plumage in courtship displays: They can snap their tail feathers open with a whooshing sound, swish from side to side, and “dance” to attract the attention of mates.

Photo: George Hachey, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist