#tulin somehow got to keep it

[the-au-collector]

So I’ve been rewatching season 1 of The Promised Neverland again while waiting to reread the manga (I’m like 10th in line for the library hold 😭😭😭) and I’ve just thought of a new LU AU:

The Promised Neverland x Linked Universe

Basically, the idea is the Links are all kids escaping from various farms. Idk what the names would be but they’d be stand-ins for TPN’s main locations so... As for now the Links and other characters! (Since I don’t want to use TPN’s names, the escapees means Grace Field, game hunt is Goldy Pond, and the bunker is the bunker)

Time, Malon, Warriors:

I feel like they would be the Yuugo and Lucas of the group. Time and Malon would be in Lucas’ place in Goldy Pond, while Warriors is wasting away in the bunker and is found by the escapees. Wars obviously feels a ton of guilt for leaving the rest of his fellow escapees (OoT’s sages, Time, Malon, and maybe some of the fighters you meet in HW) to die. And of course he keeps beefing with Legend, who would be like 13 in this AU.

Meanwhile, Time and Malon are taking care of the game hunt kids and teaching them to survive. Time is a TANK, amazing at fighting the demons. Malon is more of a medic and naturalist, very good with plants/animals/wildlife.

Oh yeah and THEY MAKE IT OUT ALIVE (yes I’m still crying over the bunker dads leave me aloneee)

Twilight, Wild, Champions, Sages, Flora, Dusk:

The said game hunt kids. Twi mostly takes Oliver’s place as Time’s mentee and the oldest that isn’t an adult. I’m debating whether or not I should give Wild amnesia still, but the Champions are dead. They all grew up on the same farm and all got shipped to this Goldy Pond-equivalent. Same with Flora, she’s the technician of the group, really good with mechanical things. The Sages are still alive though. (And Teba and Tulin are not related/have a brotherly relationship instead of being father and son)

As for Dusk, she’s there because Twi is there. I thought of adding Midna here too but having her be dead but since I want the LoZ antagonists to be demons, I might end up making her the Mujika-equivalent. I’ve yet to decide for Midna, all I know is I want her to somehow have a connection to Twi eventually.

Legend, Hyrule, Four, Wind, Sky:

These four feel the best to be the equivalents of Ray, Emma, Gilda, Don, and Norman (yes in that order), trying to escape their farm and such. I feel like, though, it would be Hyrule, Wind, and Sky (or some combination of them) who would end up going to the gate to give the forgotten toy (idk who it would be that would be shipped off, maybe an NPC or minor character from one of their games). Legend would already know the truth, and because he does, Fable would too since I can’t let go of the twins headcanon.

Given these 5 are in the same farm, their respective Zeldas (Flora, Dawn, Aurora, Dot, Tetra, and Sun) would also be in the same farm and because y’all know I can’t help myself, I have to throw Shadow and Ravio in there too. I might make some of these guys Lambda experiments though (I’m especially side-eyeing Sun there…)

Also yes Sky becomes Minerva.

Hylia and First:

Isabela and Leslie. That’s it.

Oh and Hylia is Fable and Legend’s mom like Isabela is Ray’s.

But yeah that’s what I’ve got so far. As I keep writing this I keep getting more ideas (Shadow is Ayshe instead, maybe? We don’t meet Ravio until Paradise where he’s decided he can run the business empire of his dreams? AoC link is in there somehow?) so I’m going to call it here. If I didn’t add anyone I either a) have no ideas for them or b) have an idea but that means they would die and I don’t want them to die (cough, Lullaby and Artemis, cough)

But yeah. TPN on the brain.

(FINAL THOUGHT I SWEAR: The one who gets shipped away and found by Hyrule, Sky, and Wind is Marin… perhaps…)

[plagueybirb]

I think we should be a little relieved that the Sages are on our side to be honest. Just a little. Because honestly, elemental based powers like theirs can get wildly scary without explicit limits. Now, literally anything can get to scary levels if you just think about it long enough, but for these purposes, we're just talking elements because that's what the Sages have as powers.

Now, I'm not sure if any of the OOT/TP Sages have powers, beyond whatever the medallions might do, Rauru and his weird ability to find adult Link sized clothes/accessories in what is essentially a void, apparently shapeshifting, and sealing Ganondorf. But I can imagine Impa has some hidden abilities due to being a fully trained Sheikah and we should probably be happy she only uses them when necessary.

Wind Waker Sages are much the same. No real powers, just musical abilities and the magic involved that powers up the Master Sword. And there's only two of them, unless the ones from OOT are still hanging out somewhere.

It's around TOTK that things could start to get properly spooky.

Maybe it's because I had my brain permanently altered after watching ATLA (specifically That episode) as a kid, but we're all lucky that Sidon is such a nice person. As the Water Sage, he could've easily been the most terrifying one out of them all. He could theoretically do so much worse than just giving Link a nifty bubble shield and separating water from the sludge. If he were ANY less kind, he'd be an utter terror to his enemies, even more than he already is as a massive red shark with razor teeth, wicked spear skills, and just his own achievements even before the Sage thing. Maybe not fully controlling people, because I doubt the magic/abilities work the same way, but even something as simple as turning that shield into just an outright water orb around a person. He could drown a man if he's not careful. Or separate the water from their body and leave them a dried husk.

Tulin too. If he were just a little older, a little more battle weary, he could do some pretty spooky stuff. Beyond just launching materials and monsters off ledges. Strong enough wind can lacerate skin, strip flesh from bone, and a ton of other stuff. And since it seems he can only push that wind in front of him, he can't rip air from a person's lungs thankfully. But. You know what he could do, in theory? Force enough air into someone's lungs to make them pop. Now, he's still young, so I don't think he's even considered it as a possibility, but it's still there. We're lucky this kid just wants to help out and sticks to archery.

As for Yunobo? There's not a ton he can do that fire doesn't already do on it's own. Burn people, melt flesh, cause wildfires. Maybe turn himself into a massive fireball and roll straight through enemies? He would just. Rather not. Probably for the best.

Riju is just as straightforward. Just zap the enemies until they stop moving. But more. Cover a wide enough area and just electrocute it all. Pair it with water of any kind (even Sidon's water ability) and she'd be capable of wiping out entire fish populations and whatever poor souls happened to be in the water or even slightly wet. She wouldn't even need to fine tune her aim, there's no need when you just keep throwing lightning until there's nothing left.

Mineru? Straight up possession. You think you're safe? Whoops, Mineru needs a new body and you weren't using it for 'the greater good' anyway. She can possess technology of both her own and other's design, and what is a body if not a fleshy mass of electrical connections and biological computers?

I'm not even going to go into Zelda's Recall ability. It's basically diet time fuckery in the most simple of terms and time travel shenanigans hurt my head. This woman is going to cause another Song of Storms paradox all on her own, but probably worse somehow. Hell, she technically already has in a way, TOTK as a whole feels like a sideways timeline we got shoved into because of time shenanigans.

And yes, I know he's not a Sage, and has definitely done scary things before, but I gotta give Kohga an honorable mention. That man has absolutely summoned a spiky ball inside someone before, accidentally or purposely is irrelevant. It caused such a mess that he just doesn't do it solely to avoid the cleanup involved.

We're not talking about Link. You know why.

[plokoonsdisapprovingeyebrows]

Where Angels Fear To Tread

Rating: T Characters: Plo Koon, Commander Wolffe, the Jedi Council, assorted Jedi & Clone side characters, a whole bunch of OCs Chapters: 9/? Fic Contains – star warstrek crossover, a whole lotta culture clash, discussion of genocide and war and other Clone Wars-typical topics, Jedi culture/worldbuilding, and the authors playing fast and loose with both canons.

THEN: In the midst of the Clone Wars, a newly-minted Jedi Knight vanishes, suspected of defecting. But the woman brought back to face the Council is not Knight Tulin, but an officer of an extragalactic organization that calls itself ‘Starfleet’. Curiosity, and a determination to rectify the mistake, drive Plo Koon to take the lost Commander Chester under his wing. But between Republic Intelligence’s sinister interest in their extra-galactic visitor, the growing Separatist determination to capture her for themselves, and the good Commander’s own determined escape attempts, keeping Chester alive is hard enough–let alone getting her home. NOW: In the horrific wake of Order 66, a badly injured Plo Koon stakes his survival on one last desperate hyperspace jump, to a mysterious anomaly that might offer hope for him–and for what little remains of the Jedi Order. For Captain Diane Chester, Plo’s arrival is confirmation of all her fears. Now, she’s got to keep the Empire’s grubby hands off the Alpha Quadrant with only one ship, one Jedi, and that greatest Starfleet tradition–a hell of a lot of showmanship.

...

sooooo a few months ago @severeannoyance and myself were yelling excitedly at each other about, respectively, star trek and star wars, and somehow this turned into inflicting our assorted blorbos on each other. Then @squireofgeekdom joined the crew, and suddenly we had approximately 150k words of narrative collision.

I have been meaning to post this link for like six weeks and I kept forgetting skjhgjdhf

[novantinuum]

Fandom: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Rating: G Words: 1.7K~ Summary: heart•song (n.): An expression of our most inner being, identity, and reason for existence – what twists and turns of life have led us here, to this dangerous place? And by what strength do we keep enduring? - Or: For a sage to give one their vow, first there must be vulnerability. (A collection of shorts exploring the bond between each sage and Link.)

Some Tulin and Link bonding content for y'all today! I have a lil' one-shot planned for every single TotK sage.

NOTE: This fic contains TotK main quest spoilers.

Enjoy! <3

____

One: Tulin

The bitting air chill produced by the monumental cyclone they’re approaching is almost enough to send a shiver down his spine, downy feathers be damned.

Tulin tucks his wings in tight and scoots himself closer to the fire Link just lit, its delicate flames protected from the merciless touch of this wintery weather within a little alcove they spotted in the ruins midway up the Rising Island Chain. It’s not an impressive fire by any means— not like one of Gesane’s massive hillside beacons— but it’s more than enough to keep warm and cook a quick meal over. 

Of course, resting and eating are the last two things he wants to focus on right now with the well-being of his whole village at stake.

He lets out a faint huff, his warm breath condensing into a foggy cloud that‘s rapidly whisked away by the wind. Restless talons rap against the sky platform’s aged stonework. Nothing about this quest has panned out as expected so far, and it’s super frustrating to him. First his prized bow got stolen by monsters— and that’s embarrassing enough on its own— but then he’s been lagging behind Link all the way up these freezing cold islands… struggling to recover his full stamina after continuous use of his wind burst powers. He just feels… so, so small— so guilty, as if… he’s somehow letting his whole village down if he allows himself to slow down and rest for even more than a minute. 

“Do we really have to break now?” he halfheartedly protests, fighting to keep his beak from chattering between syllables. “We’re like, halfway there!”

“Your stomach’s rumbling,” is all Link signs in response, before reaching into his bag.

Tulin’s features scrunch into a grimace as he realizes the Hylian is clearly attempting to spare his feelings. After all, it’s not a coincidence that Link suggested setting up camp right after watching him lose air momentum and almost miss his landing on this latest chunk of island.

He may be foolish sometimes, may be in way, way over his head up here, but he’s far from ignorant.

Or at least, he’d really like to believe so.

After a minute or so of rummaging through various pockets and flaps, his traveling partner retrieves two metal skewers and a handful of peppers and cubed venison from his supplies. (Good grief, just how deep is that bag?) He’s swift and methodical in preparing them for the fire— piercing their sides one by one, alternating between meat and vegetable to provide a well balanced meal: protein, and something to keep their bodies warm at these near impossible heights.

(For, despite what many of his people would have the Hylians think, there is a limit to how far up a Rito can venture before even their feathers freeze over.) 

But even if he’s anxious to continue their mission as soon as he possibly can, there’s no denying the fact that a skilled warrior dare not fight on an empty stomach. Swallowing the rest of his impatience, Tulin mouths a hollow ‘thanks’ as Link passes one of the finished skewers to him. Clutching it within his feathery grasp, he starts to rotate it over the flames. The two fall into a natural silence in the minutes that follow. It’s quite simple to let one’s mind wander whilst cooking, of course. The eye is so fixed on the outer rind of one’s food— waiting for the fire to provide that perfect, smoky singe— that the auditory senses are left free to explore whatever else they desire. Like the rhythmic crackling of embers from beneath the wood, or the wailing gusts intermittently slamming into the sides of the toppled Zonai ruins that form their alcove.

Swallowing, he traces the path of the wind towards the very edge of the sky island just a few talon lengths away… marvels at how far down the steep mountain peaks of Hebra are.

“Y’know,” he begins with hesitance, forcing himself to glance away from the daunting view of The Down Below, “I don’t think I’ve ever flown so high before.“

Long pause.

He glances back towards Link. His friend doesn’t move to respond at first, clutching his skewer with both hands, but he can tell he’s paying attention from the way he shifts his head, angling his ear so he can catch his voice over the air’s violent whistling. 

“Sometimes,” he continues, “it felt like… I dunno. Like even though I wanted to prove myself to my dad, wanted to explore the furthest reaches of this sky… it just wasn’t the right time yet.”

“And is it the right time now?” Link asks, almost so quiet so as to be imperceptible. It’s actually a little jarring— he doesn’t hear the man speak out loud too often. He wonders why he’s chosen to do so today.

Although on second consideration, the answer may be simpler than meets the eye- it’s probably because his hands are occupied with the cooking.

Tulin clamps his beak shut, considering for a moment. “I— I don’t know. I hope it is. Everyone back at home could really use a turn in this weather.”

His dad, most of all. It wasn’t too long ago that Elder Kaneli relinquished the role and passed it on to him. Seeing the way this duty has washed out his feathers, he almost wishes it didn’t happen at all. Of course, no one could’ve predicted the Upheaval, or this dreadful blizzard. No one could’ve predicted the village would have to reckon with the very real threat of starvation. So having to watch Dad’s dauntless spirit nearly crumple under the pressure all the responsibilities of leadership bring… it pains him. It’s why he’s been so fervent in pushing back against his non-engagement policy this whole time— because the Dad he knows wouldn’t just sit back and accept bare minimum survival when his people are suffering.

His thoughts are interrupted by a faint rumble at his side, likely Link clearing his throat. With a hum of intrigue, he turns to meet his gaze.

“Your skewer’s smoldering,” he says, nodding towards the campfire.

Sharp inhale.

Oh! Oh, yeah—

Thanking his lucky stars that someone was paying attention, Tulin yanks his meal from the flames. He summons a focused gust of wind upon his wing, blowing it across the skewer’s tip to make sure it’s not too burning hot when he bites into it. Well, at least it’s done. A bit overdone, but food is food. He certainly can’t complain after a few weeks of rationing back home. Stomach rumbling with ferocity once again, he digs in. The roasted spicy pepper warms him instantly.

From the corner of his eye, he catches a glimpse of a faint smile curving across the Hylian’s face.

“What?” he asks, the word garbled within a beak-full of meat.

Link removes his own skewer from the flames, and gestures towards him with the end of the metal stake. “Your ability,” he begins, voice a little hoarse with disuse. “Manipulation of air. How’d you become so skilled at creating such precise gusts?”

A slight laugh escapes his lungs, his body suddenly brimming with nervous energy. “I’m not sure, actually… I was really young when it started, and my memory’s kinda shaky… plus, most people don’t believe me, anyways.”

His friend scoots across the stone so he’s sitting a bit closer, and takes a hefty bite of his own dinner.

“Try me,” he says mid-chew.

Tulin inhales deeply. Oh boy, what’s the easiest way to explain this…?

“Well,” he begins, a cold burst of anxiety rushing through his veins, “it was when I was still a fledgling… still learning how to fly. I was playing with Molli and Kotts in the woods outside the village, and then… suddenly I was alone. Someplace completely different, as if I’d been spirited away.”

He pauses his story for a few seconds to take another bite of his meat and pepper skewer.

“I was in this huge, gigantic forest… even larger than the one I came from! I thought I was lost forever— that is, until this other Rito found me, and led me back to my dad. Like Dad, this Rito was also a warrior— but he had a special power, one he developed all by himself. He could push himself high up into the sky with one, mighty gust.”

Link’s brows raise in noted interest at that last statement.

“I wasn’t with him for long, but—“ Tulin lets his eyes flutter shut, thinking back to those clouded memories with deep fondness— “that day, I promised myself I’d train until I became just as powerful a warrior as him. Someone my people could really be proud of. But then again…” Opening his eyes, he turns towards his companion and gives a big ol’ shrug. “I still don’t understand how any of that could be real. That warrior… my memory’s a little fuzzy, but he looked a lot like how people describe Master Revali, from the age of Calamity. His powers, too… it’s all so strange.”

“How do you think it happened?” Link asks, his expression brimming with curiosity.

“Hmm…” he muses, curling his wing against his chin. “I dunno. For a while, I started to think that… maybe it was a dream. Maybe all my friends were right. But then again… if I’m hearing some mysterious voice calling to me from this storm… then who knows what’s possible? Maybe there’s more to all this than meets the eye, y’know?”

And maybe… just maybe… whatever’s hiding at the core of the maelstrom will finally feed him the answers he’s craved his whole life… finally feed him new purpose.

The Hylian hums, giving a short nod. “I’ve long accepted there’s things in this world I’ll never fully understand. And for what it’s worth… I believe your story.”

After a whole childhood of deniers, the sheer validation laced within those words are enough to almost bring him to tears.  

“Thank you,” he says, his heart brimming with gratitude.

And though this is but a singular moment of validation after a whole childhood of being told he’s got ‘an overactive imagination,’ the pull of the world below suddenly feels a little lighter. Light enough to push through his exhaustion and scale the rest of this rising island chain, at very least! After all… it can’t be that much further to the top. And once they’re there… this whole mystery with the storm, and all the Zelda sightings, and the strange voice he keeps hearing is gonna slot right into place.

He just knows it.

[natdrinkstea]

Zelda 3 - L + un

so this one isn't writing as much as it is a little thought exercise @haijinks and I use to keep each other occupied and it is What Would Our Perfect BOTW/TOTK follow-up look like?

putting this under a cut :) it's long :)

our basic premise so far (Nintendo you can pay us $10000000 to use this) is that it's about five (maybe ten?) ish years post totk and link is visibly older! late 20s, early 30s, less boyish and more of a Real Adult. He's still getting used to having Both Arms Again, but in general everything is Normal now? Rebuilding after the Calamity is near finished, Tulin and Riju are all grown up (😭), and in general everything is chill. until! inciting incident! don't freak out, but Ganon's once again trying come back. BOO! but in my vision his soul or whatever is a sort of shooting star, a meteorite slowly falling from the sky directly towards Hyrule castle. (Imagine a huge ball of white-red light hovering above the castle throughout the game. UGH. isn't that COOL).

Guess Link is back at it again!

Because I miss them, Link has to go on a little cross-country journey, Zelda in tow, to attempt to convince the Sages/Champions to- you guessed it- BRING THE DIVINE BEASTS BACK! and he has a little quest in each region similar to botw where we get to reprogram each divine beast to aim its laser towards the Ganon Meteor. in these little quests we get to see how the last fifteenish years have really impacted the people of this world- two world-ending catastrophes that close together have got to leave a mark. how did Tulin and Riju manage growing up in Revali and Urbosa's footsteps, and having to save the world so young? Is Yunobo cool again? Is Sidon still hot?

our idea for the Gerudo/Naboris quest specifically was that just before the time this takes place, word got out about the existence of a young gerudo who (gasp!) is a boy. this isn't necessarily bad, but after ganondorf everyone's a bit on edge. so, zelda and link go to check it out, and learn that this kid's totally normal, just a bit desperate to prove his worth after being Hidden In Shame for so long. it'd be sad and about generational trauma or whatever

other things of note:

-> ZELDA DOESN'T DISAPPEAR IN THIS ONE! She actually travels with Link for some of the more plot-heavy portions of the game! I think she maybe provides some cool mechanic or something, like the memories in BOTW but if they weren't pictures. Maybe she's just a walking sheikah slate/purah pad lmao. AMD SHE CAN BE HELPFUL IN COMBAT. somehow. we haven't figured it out. can you summon her like the Sages? who knows

-> similarly, Zelda was fucked up big time by the Dragon-ing and I think another main quest has something to do with the fallout of that. maybe her cool powers are fucking up, or she has scary nightmares about being a dragon again, or visions or smth. idk man. wouldn't it be cool though.

-> link gets a third set of cool new superpowers. no ideas for what those would be

-> you can sit down whenever you want in this one

-> MY BIGGEST NEW ADDITION: because totk introduced the sky islands and the depths as new areas, we have ... drumroll.... two new divine beasts!! that's right, in the last few years people have made these areas hospitable and that means they need a giant robot animal too. to fit in. In my heart the depths beast is a snake, with the mechanic being that it's coiled around a huge stalagmite and you can rotate it up or down from the map. the sky one is a dragonfly!!!!!! and maybe it flaps its wings in a fun way! who knows!

-> you can decorate Link's house in Hateno however you want. just because I want to

-> nothing about shrines yet! I'm thinking maybe a weird mixture of the botw and totk ones? but we're not totally sure.

-> At the beginning of the game Link decides he is Retired and puts the Master Sword back!!! By the Deku Tree! so you have to get it back! but it's different this time somehow. somehow. we don't know everything.

send ideas if u have them!!! this is basically fanfiction

[totkdaily]

Day 19: Road to Snowfield Stable, the Second Geoglyph

I rejoin Peaches on the road from Rito Village, and we keep going towards Snowfield Stable. 

I pass the entrance to Tabantha Hills Cave. It looks occupied, but I find the bubbulfrog that I now expect in any cave before I find any other inhabitants. Then I spot the wave of a horriblin spear. Its not alone. I kill all three and take their stuff. 

Further up the hill, a house. I gallop up - and there's bokoblins camped outside!

After getting frozen and burned defeating them, I cautiously approach the door. Jogo and Yammo live here, and they unlock the door.  They were camping in this empty house and got surrounded. I wonder who used to live here. Yammo used to be a professional shield surfer, and they're looking for a legend who's supposed to live near here. That sounds familiar...

But I have to get back on the road - when I suddenly realise the geoglyph is above me! I climb for it, and find the pool. It's hard to tell what shape the geoglyph is from here, but Zelda's mark on Rauru's hand glows still in response to it. 

A vision.

Zelda stares out onto a forest.

Is that Hyrule Forest? But it's missing the Deku Tree - or at least, he's not nearly as big as he is now. This is so immensely long ago. The Deku Tree feels like it's always been there. I wonder if he knew Rauru? I should go and ask him.

Sonia says that she senses light and time power in Zelda, the powers of Rauru and Sonia combined. She carries a stone like Zelda's. Hang on, time. Is Zelda's like Sonia's - or? Or is it the same stone? Zelda travelled in time. The stone went with her - from here, to there. Does she carry Sonia's stone?

And just like that, the vision ends. I'm alone again in the wilderness.

It's slow going across the snow. I wonder if that guy with the boots still hangs out near Gerudo Town? I could probably steal his boots again.

There's smoke coming from the top of the hill where the old Sheikah Tower used to be, so I check it out. It's Huck - Bedoli said she was looking for him. He can't get on because of the monsters circling him, so I load up some keese eyes and take them out. 

There are two more smoke plumes ahead of me as I descend the hill - one looks like a monster encampment. The other looks more promisingly like Snowfield Stable, and I head there. 

I meet Addison on the way. It's been a while. 

In the distance, across the snowfield - an enormous three-headed flying monster. Better steer clear of that. 

And beyond the stable, a purple sparkle on the hill... I'll check that once I've visited the stable.

Penn is here! The staff at Snowfield Stable was taking care of a golden horse for the Princess, but it ran away.  Harlow says Zelda was here? And her horse ran away at the sight of her? And then the Princess disappeared.

She's been doing that a lot. What set the horse off? Maybe Zelda was only here in spirit? But Peaches doesn't seem to mind Tulin's avatar. And Harlow says the horse loved the Princess. 

I'm trying to ignore my next idea - that it's because it wasn't really her. Maybe she just smelled different because she's come back from  the past, or is somehow reaching out from there? 

But then Harlow says her face was cold, and that just doesn't sound right. What's happened to her? What isn't she telling me? How can she appear in all these places and not talk to me?

First things first: the shrine. I'll find the horse in the morning. And then I need to figure out what's going on.

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

Can we get Sooga (and maybe Kohga) babysitting lil Tulin????

GET READY TO SEE THE GAYS BECOME DILFS, BITCHES.

“We came as soon as we saw your message.”

“Yeah, it was urgent! Where’s the fire?”

Teba turned as he saw Sooga and Kohga dash on into his home. He nodded at them.

“Yeah. Sorry. Was gonna ask Mipha, but she’s with her boy toy. Figured I’d trust you two instead.”

Teba took a step to the side, showing his son, Tulin, who was currently sitting on the floor, writing in his journal. Kohga cocked his head to the side, before shrugging.

“What? You want me to tell him to beat it? He a freeloader or what?”

“No. I need you two to chicksit for me. I’m taking Saki out, and I need someone to watch Tulin.”

Saki walked in just in time, adjusting her feathers.

“Teba, are you ready dear?”

“I’m ready, so long as these two are. So, how about it you two?”

Kohga was about to say ‘fuck no’, when he saw that look in Sooga’s eyes. He WANTED to do this, because he was a moron. Ugh. He sighed, before nodding.

“Fine. You two go and have fun, we got the little guy.”

Saki clapped her hands together, before leaning down to kiss Tulin’s head.

“Be good for Kohga and Sooga, my little nugget.”

“But not TOO good, kiddo.”

Teba patted his head, and Saki chuckled at the sight. She turned to the two yigas.

“Now, Tulin is supposed to be in bed by nine. No playing with Kass’s girls, as they’re supposed to be in bed, and they get into all kinds of mischief. That’s about it! Have fun you three, stay safe!”

Teba held his arm out for his lady, who giggled as she accepted it. Once they left, Sooga turned to Kohga.

“You didn’t want to do this. Why did you say yes?”

“Because YOU wanted to. And don’t look at me like that, you idiot.”

“I love you so much.”

“Tell someone who cares, moron.”

“You guys are weird.”

They both turned to look at Tulin, who was looking at them oddly. Kohga motioned to him.

“So...the fuck do we do with his white lookin’ ass?”

“Stop swearing, for one. It’s not good that he gets a pottymouth so early on. Two, we should properly introduce ourselves.”

Sooga walked over to him, kneeling down as he held out his hand.

“It is nice to meet you, Tulin. My name is Sooga, and that’s Kohga. How are you?”

Tulin put his book down, in order to stand up, and shake his hand properly.

“Hello! And good day!”

“What manners! And a good day to you too, little one.”

“My dad said good kids make good greeters!”

“God that’s a weird saying.”

Kohga sighed as he walked over to Teba’s hammock, before jumping into it, and getting himself nice and comfy. So comfy, he fell right to sleep. Sooga softly sighed. He loved his husband, very, very much.

“So. We have three hours until your bedtime, what would you like to-oh. You’re practicing your penmanship?”

Sooga looked over to the notebook on the floor, and Tulin nodded.

“Yep! Kheel has really pretty handwriting, I want mine to look good too! I wanna surprise her!”

“Huh. Why, if I didn’t know little one, I’d say that’s rather romantic.”

Tulin’s blush shone through his feathers, and he shook his head.

“N-no. She’s my friend, that’s it.”

“Uh huh, I see, I see,”

Sooga sat down next to Tulin, looking at the notebook.

“Regardless, I’d love to give you feedback. My father practiced calligraphy, I think I have a proper position on the matter.”

Tulin handed him his notebook, and Sooga skimmed through the pages. He nodded in approval.

“This is very nice! Have you shown your father?”

“No, just mom.”

“Why is that?”

Tulin shrugged, reaching up to grab his book again.

“It’s just a mom thing. Flight range and arrows are for me and dad, writing is for me and mom.”

Sooga nodded. Such a sweet, talented little boy.

“You have a good bond with your mother, little one.”

“Dad calls her a ‘worrybeak’, but yeah, I love my mom. Are you close with yours?”

Sooga froze. For a moment, he recalled her. Recalled her hair, her eyes, her smile. Her tears, her screams, her pain. His father holding onto her hand, his father scolding him for choosing to leave, using his mother’s name like a curse. A curse that cut into his hide like a-

“Yoohoo? Mr.Sooga?”

He suddenly snapped back into reality as Tulin waved his wing in front of his face. He cleared his throat, shaking his head.

“We...were. But she is no longer here.”

“Oh. I’m super sorry. What about your dad?”

“My father...wanted me to leave the nest, so to speak. But it’s fine. I’m loved enough.”

Tulin followed his gaze to Kohga, who gave his ass a good scratch. Tulin snickered, and Sooga couldn’t resist a small chuckle as well. Tulin put his book away, In order to look at his blades. The little rito was clearly very interested.

“Did he give you those swords?”

“No. Master Kohga did. Have you ever wielded a weapon before?”

“A bow and arrow, but never something cool like swords!”

Sooga thought about it for a moment. This child DID seem rather mature, despite his small size. Not to mention bows were just awful for up close combat. Against his better judgement, he decided to give the little one a gift.

“Would you like a present, Tulin?”

“YES! Please!”

Oh the way his little eyes shone in excitement. He pulled out something from his back, and placed it right into Tulin’s awaiting wings. A Vicious Sickle. Tulin looked it over in his hands, clearly in awe. Sooga chuckled, lightly patting his little bird head.

“It’s a light, easy to use weapon, with enough practice. It’s a wonderful starter weapon, and it never hurts to have extra protection. You will soon be the man of the house, you must learn to defend what is yours.”

“Woah! SO cool!”

Tulin was so excited, he started waving the damn thing around like a madlad. Even someone as calm as Sooga felt slightly panicked; for the only thing more dangerous than a blade, was an inexperienced hand. He grabbed onto Tulin’s hand, barely keeping himself from being cut.

“It IS cool. But what’s cooler is knowing how to use it. Would you like to learn?”

“Yes!! Please teach me! Please please please!”

“Very well. I should hope to be a good teacher to an eager student.”

Sooga held onto his hand, showing him the proper way to hold it; tightly, with the blade angled for a downward motion.

“Okay, I think I got it. Like this?”

“Perfect. Now, it’s a limber weapon, so if you need to move it in your hand, feel free to do so. Just be careful, it’s very easy to cut yourself. Now, let’s try to get a feel for it, shall we?”

Sooga stood up, and brandished one of his swords. He gave Tulin a moment to get his stance ready, before he let Tulin come at him. Course, he was very easy to block, but the point was so Tulin could feel comfortable holding it.

“Good, good. Side to side motions, just as you are.”

“It’s...kinda heavy, my arms hurt.”

“Suppose for your size, it’s not as limber as it is intended to be. Do your arms really hurt, or can you keep trying?”

“I...can keep trying, I think.”

“Good, a true fighter keeps going. Swing at me again.”

He noticed Tulin had to use almost both his hands as he swung. Poor thing was struggling. Light as his weapons were, Tulin was small. Determined, but very tiny. Still, he did rather well, all things considered. He blocked another blow rather easily.

“You aren’t uncomfortable around weapons. Good.”

“It’s usually bows, but training with my dad is a LOT like this.”

“Good of your father, teaching you to be comfortable with such a vital tool.”

He was about to do a mock swing, just to see if Tulin could dodge, when he saw Tulin was already weary, panting and even sweating a little. For living in a peaceful village, and armed with a bow and arrow, this WAS a lot of practice, especially from someone who was essentially a stranger. Sooga put his weapon away, and knelt down to Tulin.

“Why don’t we take a break? A weapon is useless without a body.”

“Okay...can we eat? I’m hungry.”

Sooga nodded, letting Tulin take the weapon, and sneak it into his own hammock. Tulin helped him find the cooking pot, and in a moment, Sooga had a fire going, and a few ingredients to throw inside.

“So, what are we hungry for?”

“I dunno, what can you make?”

“I suppose I can make poultry curry.”

“Oh! Yes! Do that one!”

Sooga nodded. He had no issues cooking the rice, and the chicken appropriately, and as soon as it was done, he handed a bowl to Tulin. Tulin dug into it hungrily, before slowly ceasing his eating. Sooga cocked his head down as the child stared at the bowl.

“What’s the matter?”

“I don’t like how it tastes. Super bland. I don’t wanna eat it.”

“God fucking dammit, Sooga, I can smell your shit cooking in my dreams.”

They both turned to look at Kohga, who had just woken up. He got out of the hammock, and walked over to the pot, taking the soup ladle to help himself to a taste. He then used it to smack Sooga on the back of his head.

“You. Cannot cook. I’d rather eat wet sand, at least THAT has salt.”

“I thought I was cooking it right-”

“Yeah right to hell. Fuck shit, move. What even is this?”

“Poultry curry.”

Kohga looked at him as if he had just gone insane.

“You’re...feeding chicken...to a baby chicken. That’s fucked up, Sooga.”

He was about to bitch at him some more, when Tulin nudged the bowl against Sooga. Kohga turned to look at him, and the little one was whimpering.

“Please fix it, I’m really hungry.”

“For the love of- fine. But only because I hate it when Sooga cooks.”

And Kohga did not disappoint. Not only did he fix Sooga’s awful poultry curry, he made the tastiest, sweetest egg pudding Tulin had ever tasted. The little one had two helpings of each, burping as soon as he was done. Kohga chuckled as he saw just how content the little guy was.

“Look at you, hungry fella. You need anything else, kid?”

“Uh huh. Can I please have some warm milk?”

“Sure, sure. I’ll make it just how my mom made mine.”

Tulin peered over as Kohga not only poured milk onto the pot, but cane sugar, courser bee honey, and even ground up some Chickaloo Tree Nuts. It made for a sweet, fragrant drink that Tulin accepted gleefully. He took one sip, and started kicking his little legs around wildly.

“This is SOOO good! This is WAY better than when mom makes it! Your mom is super cool!”

“She really was, she really was. Glad you like it, kiddo. Your turn, Sooga.”

Sooga didn’t LOVE sweets, but who was he to refuse such a treat from his Master? He accepted his own cup, took a sip, and found himself recalling...the good times. The times where he stood with his mother as they sipped tea, the times where she would get rid of his dirty, wet clothes, in order to get him warm and dry again. There was...only good in this drink, honestly. Sooga nodded, trying not to dwell so much on what was.

“I agree with Tulin. This is excellent. I’m surprised I’m just now trying it.”

“Eh, I only make it if I really need to go to bed. I usually make them with banana cookies-”

“Can you make those next time, please?!”

Tulin was practically giddy at the notion of more treats, and Kohga found it amusing. He patted Tulin’s head, nodding.

“Sure. Next time I’ll bring some over, just for you kid.”

“You’re SO cool!”

“I mean, I know that, but thank you.”

Kohga chuckled. He helped himself to his own drink, sighing in content. A nice, cold night, warmed by a nice fire, and some warm drinks. What more could one want? Sooga chuckled to himself, realizing he had downed nearly half of his cup. No wonder he was feeling so calm, so still.

“Thank you. I don’t think I’d know how to handle a hungry child who didn’t like my food.”

“That's why I’M the cook between us. Your food is so bland. I had half a mind to-”

He went silent, and Sooga saw why. Tulin had finished his drink, and had passed out, right into Kohga’s lap. Kohga struggled, clearly not knowing how to handle this, before groaning, and just patting the bird’s back, lulling him further into sleep. Sooga sat there for a moment, watching them. Kohga didn’t want children, but...they did like him. Found enough comfort in him to fall asleep on him, to cherish the plentiful meals he made them. Sooga even turned to look at his face, and caught him smiling oh so fondly at the little bird. Kohga seemed to catch his grin, and huffed.

“Hell you looking at?”

“I’m just. Seeing how wonderful you are with Tulin...and it really, really makes me realize; you’d make a wonderful, wonderful parent. You act so standoffish, but you...truly love taking care of children and-”

“God don’t you start that shit with me, Sooga.”

“I’m just saying! Family life might be for you! How do you know, you’ve never tried it!”

“Shut the hell up, you absolute fucking idiot.”

Sooga stopped for a moment as Kohga leaned into him, still keeping his hand on Tulin. Sooga looked down at these two, and was confident, more than ever, that he wanted a family. This feeling, that he was feeling right now, was something he desperately, terribly wanted. He wrapped his arm around Kohga, letting the dancing fire illuminate his features. He kissed the top of his head, softly sighing.

“I...love you. I love you so terribly much.”

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

“Sooga! Kohga! We’re ba-oh!”

Saki immediately silenced herself as she saw the little cuddle train that was happening here. Teba walked in behind her, chuckling at the sight. He nodded towards Sooga, who was too busy protecting them to sleep.

“Teba, Saki. How was your date?”

“Oh it was lovely, we went out to eat and everything. Quite sweet, honestly. Here, let me put him into bed, I’d hate for him to get a cramp, laying on the floor like that.”

Sooga, despite how it hurt his heart, let Saki take Tulin, and put him into his own little bed. Suppose that was his cue. He got up, carrying a sleeping Kohga in his arms. Teba nodded at him.

“Thanks for watching him. Hope he wasn’t too much for you two.”

“Not at all. You have a very wonderful, and very honest boy. You should be proud.”

“I am, I am, honestly. Especially if he made an impression on you.”

“I...hope this isn’t too much, but may we stay? I just, really wanted to-”

“What is this?”

They both turned to look at Saki, who was holding the vicious sickle in her hand. Teba winced, before shaking his head.

“yeah...I think staying is a really bad idea.”

Sooga looked at Saki, and shrugged.

“In my defense, he was excited to receive a present.”

So Sooga and Kohga weren’t ready to be dads.

Just yet, anyway.

[cryiling]

ok u guys HERE IS MY THEORY

I've seen lots of ppl mentioning how zelda, the unknown (zonai?) girl, and several of the champions descendants have glowing gems that look like the tears on the wall from the previous trailers. imo they, excluding the unknown girl, were probably given these as a gift from zelda for helping the kingdom and aiding link with the divine beasts. tulin probably got teba's maybe bc he was playing with it at the time? or teba passed it onto tulin to encourage him to do great things?.. hang on I'm going somewhere with this let me point out 3 more things

I haven't seen anyone talk about this, but before this trailer got released, we had no idea when totk was taking place. like how far into the future was it?? it just wasn't very clear. but with this trailer, like we literally still have tulin as a small kid, and riju doesn't look like she's aged that much, so honestly only like 5 or so years should have passed. but then why does hyrule look so different?? like I get that they were rebuilding and stuff but NO WAY did they do all that in such a short amount of time. so the flow of time is kinda weird

everyone thinks that the unknown girl is zelda's zonai counterpart, like she's the original zelda on the tapestry from 10,000 years ago and I TOTALLY AGREE. but y'all are like how is she there?? I GOT U JUST HANG ON FOR ONE MORE POINT

in the scene where link reaches out for zelda but misses and zelda keeps falling, someone pointed out that it looks like she started glowing, maybe travelling back in time?? and im like YES but have u CONSIDERED...

zelda is not the only one travelling back in time!!!! everyone that has a tear jewel (which means the champion descendants) got transported back to 10,000 years ago!!

"but crow," you say, "why would they even go back in time? and how?" and honestly my reasoning here is less confident, but I feel like, a couple years after defeating ganon, he comes back as ganondorf and that's when he attacks link's arm and burns it. meanwhile 10,000 years ago, the zonai zelda probably had some sort of prophetic vision with her goddess powers? and she saw that in the future there would be mass destruction from ganondorf or whatever, but she also saw that they somehow had the ancient zonai relics (the tears)? and she used her own on her necklace to bring them back to her time so that they would be able to prevent this whole thing from occurring

which ofc brings up SO many other questions like if they're playing with the timeline then how much will the future change?? why did the zonai hylia only bring them back then, and not when the first calamity from pre-botw happened?

anyways those are my thoughts! 😗 honestly the more I think about it the less confident I am in this theory (u should have seen me 7 hours ago I was vibrating in my seat thinking I cracked the secret code). but I really just see no way for like tulin and riju to still be around but for the world to have changed so drastically, yk? if yall have other thoughts on this though then pls lmk!!

[azuresage]

Predictions for TotK’s Structure

I posted this somewhere else, but I wanna share it here, too. 

So now that we have our last trailer pre-launch, we've seen a bunch of stuff. I wanna make some predictions here about the structure I think the game will be following. Keep in mind this is only based on the trailers and no artbook leaks, which I have not seen.

So, first thing's first. Zelda's role here I think is going to be significant.

I said in another post that this scene looks like a debug camera over gameplay footage to me. The framing, the stillness of Zelda, the camera movements, the way the environment is moving. There's no way this is a cutscene. That's what my eyes are telling me, anyway. So that would mean playable Zelda somehow, some way. I think I have an idea of how that would work, considering she got separated from Link. So let's take a look here... First thing to note is, in the above screenshot, the background looks significantly traversable and manipulable. This is also true in this shot...

Talking to the supposed Zonai man. The background looks veeeery similar. I'm willing to bet this is the same room as the shot above, or at least the same structure. I am also willing to bet that this shot is a conversation in which Zonai man is encouraging Zelda to forge ahead on her path, which leads her to the previous shot. She's on her way somewhere. And where would that be?

Here, perhaps? This appears to be over the Great Plateau, maybe, judging by the background. But it's not very high. There's no sign of sky islands whatsoever. That's a bit odd, isn't it? Here's why I think that's important...

As Zelda falls, she starts glowing in a particular way we've seen before. I believe this is her getting magicked away to safety... to the room we see in those first shots. But where is there? Some people are speculating it's the past, but... I am speculating it is in fact a Realm of Memories which will contain a few segments where Zelda is playable. This is what I think her "come and find me" at the end of the trailer is referring to, because...

Same glowy particles that were surrounding Zelda, but now they're covering a Sanctum that looks awfully pristine. I think this scene is Link walking through a memory. Some people have theorized there will be time travel, but I think I can buy a realm of memories better. Would be more in line with BotW. Eventually, Link will be able to enter this realm and reunite with Zelda. Now, here's another thing that supports why I think this...

This shot of the Zonai man is a memory, I'm willing to bet. I think this is a memory of the original sealing of this Ganondorf, pre-10k years ago. Look in the background. We see a Rito with the Great Eagle Bow and a Gerudo with the Scimitar of the Seven, being corrupted by malice like the Zonai man is here. There's even malice particles floating around in the air. Neither of these warriors look like Riju or Tulin (or Teba), nor do they resemble Revali or Urbosa. I think these are Champions or Sages of old, and this is a memory that Zelda sees when she goes into the realm of memories and speaks with the Zonai man as seen in the first shots I posted. That is how I think this all connects together. It's possible that the Hylia-looking lady (who is likely Hylia herself or an ancestor of Zelda) using sealing powers to blast a laser at that horde of Moldugas is also a memory.

So how does this all fit into the structure of the game? I bet we get memory segments with playable Zelda in between dungeons. I suspect there will be at least four of them. I think that once Link get's that dungeon-clear fanfare, the game will shift settings over to Zelda's perspective. And the way I think this will work is that Link must involve himself with each of the four races. Link completes a segment with them, he gains their allyship, and we see Zelda in the realm of memories. Rinse and repeat, in any order. At least for the first four. After that, I think is where things will start to get linear.

There's a progression in their designs here. In earlier trailer footage, Sidon does not yet have the crown on his head and Tulin only has the swallow bow and does not yet have the Great Eagle Bow which we see peeking on the corner of the shot (along with Yunobo's Boulder Breaker). So I think this is a story event that can only take place after you do each of their individual plotlines, and it will culminate into a linear story for the second half of the game, maybe. So we have, according to my speculations... Tutorial > Link, dungeon > Zelda, memory > Link, dungeon > Zelda, memory > Link, dungeon > Zelda, memory > Link, dungeon > Zelda, memory... which them culminates into this scene...

Zelda is on the platform we see over the Great Plateau in that shot I posted earlier. And she has the Master Sword. She's probably fixing it up. I think this will conclude her playable storyline. So then we move to... Link enters the realm of memories to find her > the next four dungeons open up (im assuming 8 dungeons not counting a possible final one because there are 8 phials) > the story begins to move into the linear path where the Champion Successors come together and fight for Hyrule. So, I could be totally off-base here, but this is what I'm reading from this trailer alone. This is what I think (and hope) the structure will be like. Once Zelda and Link reunite perhaps she will become an NPC ally like the Champion Successors. That'd be cool. I just have a very hard time believing that Zelda's role in this game will not be a parallel journey to Link's that we see unfold on screen, whether at our own hands or not. I think she's going to be more front-and-center than we think.