#very vague totk references

[sunset-peril]

The Wolfbred Chronicles - The "Lost" Tribe - Part One - Moonlight, Markings and Musings

“You're… Wolfbred?” Zelda couldn't help herself but laugh. 

Her bodyguard looked up at her. His face looked like he wasn't sure whether he was offended or very, very confused by her laughter. 

“No, no… Father hates Wolfbred. He said he'd never knight another one. You're a personal bodyguard knight, Link. Father would never.” 

Urbosa watched as the small, previously-assumed-to-be-Hylian man just looked at Zelda with a completely blank stare. The moon was on his head, painting his eyebrows white along with the mythical swirl of a wolf long gone that was shimmering on his forehead. She pressed on her temple as she tried to recall how her dearest friend interacted with these creatures, and how she determined that they were Wolfbred. Eventually, she bent down to his level and pointed firmly at his hand. “Give, Link, give.” 

Almost instantly, Link offered up his hand. 

“Wow! How did you do that? I've never seen the Tiny Princess get more than a black stare.” 

“Wolfbred were a passion project of my dearest friend. I remember she gave them orders in a particular format. Simple orders in a simple format. I also remember something that could prove… particularly challenging in our future here with Link.”

“But what's with the hand, Urbosa?” Revali tipped his beak from her. “Did you just want to order the guy around?”

“The Queen told me a Wolfbred could be identified by the wrist. I needed his hand to check his wrist to see if he is truly Wolfbred, like I believe he is.” Urbosa retrieved her scimitar. “Catch, Link, catch.” She gently tossed the blade, handle outwards, to Link. A soldier like himself should catch it no problem. 

And he did catch it… at first. His hand grasped the handle, but he dropped the blade when he turned it over. 

Urbosa snatched his hand back, he leaned away from her.

“Okay, so the so-called hero is clumsy, what does that tell us?”

“He's not clumsy. He's Wolfbred.” She held up his hand. “See?” 

“What in the-?” Revali muttered. “Those are some messed up thumbs. No wonder he couldn't hold onto your dumb sword.”

Urbosa bit her tongue. “His thumb is set back, partially on the wrist here.” Link yanked on his hand, she spoke soft. “Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, Link.”

“Is that all, Urbosa? I fail to see how a simple mutation of the wrist was enough for exile.”

“No, of course. That's just a unique trait of the Wolfbred. He's got the marks on his face too.”

“But… he looks so much like a Hylian.” Zelda wanted to touch his markings, but Link kept pulling his head away when she reached out. “I'd expect him to have fur, or a tail at least.” 

“But of course! They're supposed to be super soldiers. Part of their charm was that you couldn't identify them from afar, which meant enemy armies couldn't target them as easily. Once upon a time, the Hyruliean army was primarily Wolfbred.” She sighed. “We Gerudo were nearly ravaged by the Wolfbred of those days.”

“Oh boy, wolf in the name and descended from war crimes? Wouldn't be surprised if he was Rinkū's son.” 

Link turned his head to Revali after hearing that name. 

“R-Rinkū's… son? His father is named Ordon!”

Link whipped his head back to Zelda. 

“Ah, Tiny Princess. Revali's not talking about a literal son. More like a descendant. A great warhound from ancient times. He was basically the pet of an ancient queen. When she was killed in battle, he… kinda went on a rampage. Goron, Rito, Zora, Hylian… but especially the Gerudo. He and his pack of warhounds slaughtered without mercy… much like this Calamity Ganon is planning to do now.” 

“We… Gerudo have since come to forgive. His queen is believed to have been slaughtered by Ganon, who is believed to have once been Gerudo. If we will not stand to have Ganon's actions associated with our people… then we should not do the same to the descendants of Rinkū. However, I know not all of Hyrule feels the same way. My dearest friend risked her reputation to free the Wolfbred from exile…” 

“It is said that the queen's sole female relative was the only one who could command them to stop. The king himself found his orders on deaf ears. Probably why your father dumped him off on you. He has the Sword, so we have to keep him around, but hey, the female Royal will keep him in line.”

Zelda's face exuded fear, disgust and anger. 

Urbosa bent down to her. “Don't listen to Revali. Hyrule is known for its bloody history. This is simply his. But of course, if Gerudo and Hylia's own can commit atrocities and not be remembered by them, then Link here shouldn't either. He's a sweet boy. I assure you, his fear of you greatly outweighs your fear of him.” 

“You… said there was a complication with him?”

“Ah, yes. You see, because the Wolfbred were exiled for so long… ah, this might be easier to show you.” Urbosa looked towards Link. “Link, there's a carriage with horses near the stable. It will hurt if you get hit.” 

Link turned his head at his name, but didn't respond to the rest of the sentence. 

“Urbosa, where are you going with this nonsense?”

Urbosa held her hand up to silence the bird. “Link,  there's a hit with stable near the hurt. It will horses if you get carriage.”

Link continued to stare at her, staying perfectly still and emotionless. 

“As you can see, little bird, Revali, Daruk… plain and simple, it doesn't matter if I speak coherently to him. Link can't speak Hylian.” 

~~~~

Hyrule's Final Stand Masterlist

[riwrite-a]

GHIRAHIM.   /   VERSE:   TEARS OF THE KINGDOM.

deep underground, sealed away miles below the mother goddess statue — the one that came down from the sky in a time long since past — lies a sword wreathed in gloom. it drinks deep of the malice and corruption of the depths, growing stronger with every passing day in a twisted reflection of its holy counterpart.

the spirit within longs for freedom, clawing at his chains, sensing his master's power in the gloom, but is only able to wait, seething, for someone to stumble upon him and break his bonds.

once someone does, be it hero or yiga or monster, he wanders, clinging desperately, angry and bitter, to his loyalty to the demon king, leading monster attacks and trying to find his way back to whatever demise’s hatred has become.

[nolongerapileofashprobably]

NO EVERYONE WAIT

I am replaying totk, so I’m redoing the Regional Phenomenon quest. Let me just gush about how

Zelda is repeatedly called Riju’s close friend

Riju writes about how she has faith in Zelda and Link

She prays to Urbosa to watch over the Gerudo, Zelda, and Link

She does what she thinks Zelda would advise her to do

Of all the sages, Riju is the one Zelda and Link probably visited the most often because she is the only one who doesn’t comment on how long it’s been

(Buliara says ‘it’s been some time’ but this is also considering Zelda and Link went missing and it is canonically the region you’re guided towards last)

Riju is familiar enough with Zelda to not refer to her as ‘Princess Zelda’ but just as Zelda.

Zelda once inspired Riju when she spoke of her frustrations with their fighting style— she gave very blunt and vague instructions and then left Riju to figure it out

(Basically reminiscent of how Link shoved Daruk into the divine beast and basically said ‘you figure it out’ … why are they like this lol)

They are such dear friends that Riju immediately tells Link (essentially) ‘I will help you find her, by bringing a quick resolution to the sand shroud and monsters plaguing Gerudo’.

She is the only Sage who actively goes “oh I’m helping you, give me like a few to get my shit together and then we will find Zelda”. The rest go “ah I wish I could but I actually can’t rn :/”

I love Tulin bc that is my son, I raised him and am so proud of him… but Riju calling out to Zelda and canonically being close to her just makes me so emotional because Zelda found a friend and mentor in Urbosa and now Riju did the same with Zelda.

That is so damn significant.

[shadows-writing-lounge]

Content: Phantom Ganon(dorfs) Headcanons. General and GN reader.

threesomes+ and cuckoldry mentioned. Phantom Ganon will be refered to as P.G for convenience. Personal thoughts on the P.G and their sources.

Reader Info: you/your, gender neutral no bodily mentions.

General Headcanons

P.G's Goods

Each P.G closely reflects their counterparts.(With the exception of the Phantom Riders from TP) Their stature, and endowments match but their temperaments are more mellow. Oot Phantom Ganondorf is the most diverging from the original personality of Ganondorf. From the implication of him being some sort of spirit or demon molded by Ganondorf into his own likeness before being discarded upon his failure.

The other Phantoms are probably made in similar ways or more akin to dark Link. Where they are an aspect of his personality/will reflected. Otherwise they are beings of pure magic. A mixture of magic and Gloom in the case of ToTK P.G.

It seems like an unnecessary task to craft genitalia for something intended kill or distract the hero of that age but I don't care they have junk in this blog.

WW P.G is more of a vague representation than an proper replica of Ganondorf. One of the spectral P.Gs and looks malleable so he might be adjustable.

Oot is most likely the only P.G to produce semen as he seems to have an actual physical body instead of one spectral/solid magic. So expect most of them to be dry orgasms.

Oot is probably the only one with a warm body.

ToTK P.G if they produce ejaculate is probably made of Gloom so not the best for long term health. Ignoring them being made of Gloom in the first place.

Some are mute. Others more vocal than their Ganon(dorf) counterparts. Some instances might be talkative during and after.

I been thinking about the Phantom Riders and ToTK P.Gs which can appear in numbers. A little idea of Ganondorf summoning them to tend to you while he watches. ToTK being more likely.

They may reflect Ganon's feelings more opaquely than their counterparts.

P.G's Kinks

Depending on which P.G you're talking about they likely share kinks or are more distinctly different.

-Sensation Play. I feel like most P.Gs are cold not uncomfortably so but either room temperature or slightly under. Plus magic and Gloom will feel different from flesh. Magic seems tingly similar to touching an old static TV screen or a less uncomfortable pins and needles.

Gloom I'm let sure. Probably like some sort of slime. Where it feels cool and wet but it's actually dry and a little sticky. Though none of the Gloom from P.G will rub off.

-P.Gs probably aren't going to get worn out so marathon sex is easy to achieve. They'll continue until their partner is worn out. Some will be pleased with themselves other content that they fulfilled their duty.

-Speaking of duty. If a P.G is summoned for sexual purposes they won't bother undressing for the tasks. They are Ganondorf sized so their hands are enough to please if penetration is involved. They would if asked they're their to please after all.

-OoT P.G is probably the most submissive to any Ganon(dorf) adjacent character. Specially if he's pulled back out from The Gap Between Dimensions. The most eager to complete any task to not be returned to that eternal emptiness.

-He's begrudgingly is into it. Being degraded and praised or full on cuckoldry. It's probably intended to be a punishment but it's not very effective.

-Just a thought if there's a difference between the two versions of the ToTK P.G.

-Would they have similar strength and just different appearances? Either way they'd have the access to Gloom hands. Restricting movements and feeling you up.

Reader Insert Headcanons

(A little imagines as well) Most Imply relations with Ganondorf as well.

P.Gs that are direct phantoms of their Ganon seem to recognize you upon seeing you. Whether they have the memories of Ganon or they were told about you they know you.

-Used to only experiencing battle they are eager to engage in an much more pleasant fight of dominance. They have to learn your body but they are quick to learn. Ganon may have to dissuade you from getting near them when he needs them to actually work.

OoT P.G needs to be introduced. Possibly originally summoned/created to guard you when Ganon is deep in royal schemes or during the seven years after he acquired the triforce. He may originally disliked his new forced rule but grow to be affectionate with you.

-He initiates on his own merit not due to residual feelings from Ganon but his own. He uses his hands most of the time not wanting to risk anything. Saying he only wished to please you would be more difficult otherwise. Though the truth is that he's greedy for you. He's jumping your bones as soon as he gets the permission.

Whether or not ToTK Ganon knows of it maybe even encourages it. The gloom hands and the attached Phantoms have gotten a liking to you. Hands holding you in places as they shed your clothes and touch your flesh. Only when they had their fill or grow too impatient do they retreat to let the phantom have it's way.

WW P.G tending to your needs while Ganondorf searches for the princess. His being sending shivers up your spine at the slightest touch. His features barely there and constantly shifting. Not that you care as his hands work their growing expertise.

WW P.G being the only phantom able to interact with a separate instance of Ganondorf than his own. Hidden away, at least you two thought you were, as P.G pleasures you. Maybe you were too noisy as HW Ganondorf stumbles upon your union.

-HW Ganondorf feeling a mixture of intrigue and slight confusion at the scene. He wouldn't mind watching this play out.

[onesunofagun]

Be advised of minor totk Ganondorf spoilers ahead--

One of the things that stands out to me about botw/TotK is the many ways we are shown that a connection of people to nature and the understanding of and respect for the spirits of the land-- an incredibly Shintoist outlook-- is integral to Hyrule's prosperity.

This is true of every Zelda, but the very Ghibli-esque nature of these two showcase it in a really forefront way, in how they show a destroyed and recovering Hyrule, post Calamity. The erasure and destruction of both historical record and knowledge of important skills, as well as a seperation from the people and their big and small Gods, is directly aimed at severing such connection.

That's the philosophical heart of the series, thematically. It's also part of why Link is named link-- a link to Hyrule for the player, but also one who links people together, and reforges broken connections so that something can heal and strengthen again.

(That's relevant to the rejection of Sheikah Technology too, and the ways in which advanced magic-tech is very much shown to be something of the Heavens, rather than Earth. The themes there regarding hubris and error, such as Calamity Ganon's turning the technology against Hyrule, are kind of playing on the dangers of that sacred connection to the land being substituted.)

A huge part of the damage done to Hyrule in Ganon's assaults comes in isolating people and weakening the spiritual forces of the land, often cutting off access to holy places of Hyrulean worship or attempting to destroy or defile them.

One of the effects of this to remember when pondering new details is that some of the things in botw/Totk's lore-- such as things we're told through word of mouth especially by contemporary Hyrulean people-- are deliberately wrong, or intended as having been widely misunderstood.

Hylians especially have lost a vast wealth of cultural and religious knowledge in the Calamity, and much of their previous population and settlements. Their access to and knowledge of holy sites and objects, and their meanings or respective spiritual guardians or deities, is incredibly limited and spotty.

It isn't the first time we see cultural knowledge waning like this in the series, either. Like a bad game of telephone, this knowledge gets distorted and diluted over time until it's merely a rumour or guess, that vaguely resembles the original tale or purpose.

A great example of this is knowledge of the Triforce upon the Great Sea in Wind Waker. The legend of the Holy Relic that contains the power of the creation Gods and its wish granting properties does persist, even beyond a cataclysmic flooding of Hyrule has buried most evidence of it. So much so that its mark can adorn the doors of Outset Island, clearly still holding purpose as a warding symbol at the very least, while treasure hunters and old men rave about the lost treasure of the wish granting cutlery, the Triumph Forks.

To this point, and in an interesting meta effect of this, Jerrin notes-- regarding the horned statue in TotK-- that, there being a goddess of light, her parallel and opposing twin comes in the form of the Horned God.

Which many players probably think odd. I did, at first.

At face value, we may think Jerrin is speaking of the demonic entity residing within the statue, because that is what we are most familiar with when we think of this statue in particular.

And while the entity trapped in the horned statue certainly is a member of the demon tribe, most players are probably going to be aware of the dissonance there-- Hylia's opposing match is and always has been Demise.

The entity tells us it was sealed inside that statue by the Goddess herself, long into antiquity, as a punishment for their deals with mortals. Depending on how you wish to interpret that, and especially considering we've seen members of the Demon tribe refer to a Zelda as 'the Goddess' still, it can be taken with a grain of salt which incarnation of Hylia did the sealing.

While it has become a vessel used to seal a particular demon, I believe that it already existed. The idea of sealing spirits and demons into containers is par for the course in Zelda and Japan, and this entity says that it was sealed 'inside this statue', rather than transformed into one (such as we see done to WW Ganondorf).

The Horned Statue itself very much matches the form of the Statues of Hylia in design, which are conversely noted to be rounded down over time by touch and prayer. They're worn from worship, and the Horned Statue isn't. The demon inside gripes about how people ignore it and don't even clean bird poop off it. It's pretty safe to assume that it represents the Horned God as, what Hylians would perceive to be, an evil idol. But in that, it represents the greater concept-- the demon tribe as a whole, as represented by their leader-- rather than the unfortunate being stuck inside of it (who most people besides Link apparently can't even hear).

As an aside, TotK has given us example of other spirits and minor deities being able to communicate to Link through them, in a manner almost reminiscent of Gossip Stones (and I believe that's on purpose). When he speaks to a typical statue of Hylia, for instance, it is reinforced that he is not actually hearing the voice of Hylia-- of course. What he is speaking to is, for the most part, an animistic delegate of a kind that acts as an intermediary.

There is a kind of spiritual awareness within the statue that performs a function, like a priest performing service, but cut right back to the essence of it. I don't mean to imply every statue has had a being forcibly stuffed inside of it to fulfill this task, but rather that the voice is closer to a result of the spiritual practices themselves.

The vessel of worship, through being worshipped, gains a spiritual identity as a link to the Divine.

The point is, it's unlikely that this entity is actually 'the Horned God' that the statue itself represents. It is supposed to represent the Leader of the Demon tribe. Demise is the natural opposite of Hylia, and he is stated to appear differently through the epochs, to each who sees him.

The opening cutscene of Skyward Sword very clearly depicts him in symbolic representation with horns.

And, I do not think that it is at all a coincidence that TOTK also presents us with a pretty undeniably horny Ganondorf, who is himself a reincarnation of that spiritual wellspring of essence. One of the thing to understand about the Tear he possesses is that it, with it's basis being a Magatama, is functionally amplifying his spiritual force and manifesting his potential.

In this state, he is very much supposed to evoke and represent Demise, and his role-- he is visually geared to make that connection clear.

He has become the Horned God that this ancient statue pays homage to.

When we view the aspects of these games through the lens of the average Hylian person, versus what we know from the long running meta of Zelda and it's extra materials as a whole, it becomes really interesting to decipher these sorts of red herring details.

At first glance something may seem to be a contradiction or an ill fit, but upon further inspection, starts to hold a lot of weight as a deliberate part of the internal world build.

[greyennui]

A Brief (and not at all comprehensive) Analysis of Triforce Lore in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom

The Triforce is such a massive piece of Hyrule's lore that it's been the focal point in every single Hylian royal crest in the games so far. Despite that, it's never mentioned by name in Breath of the Wild or in Tears of the Kingdom. Of course we see the Triforce on Sonia's tattoos (skin paint?) and when Zelda used magic in BotW, but the symbolism of the three aspects was furthered between BotW and TotK in interesting ways. Here's your warning for mild spoilers about the labyrinths and the Zonai armor set.

For those of you new to the franchise (and those who'd like a refresher), the Triforce is that fun triangle symbol made of three triangles forming a fourth with their points. Each of the triangles represents Courage, Wisdom, and Power, respectively. In BotW, we got a sacred spring for each aspect of the Triforce, though the Triforce itself is never mentioned. In the Zonai ruins in Faron we see carved dragons and owls and even the occasional boar, and it's easy to draw the meaning. Owls are often associated with wisdom, Ganon (the historical bearer of the Triforce of Power) often takes the form of a large boar, and dragons are scattered throughout various mythologies in stories of courage. The Zonai were clearly very aware of this symbolism and its history in Hyrule.

Tears of the Kingdom, while still not mentioning the Triforce by name, takes this even further. One hint we see, when looking closely, is that the Zonai armor chest piece has ornamentation made up of three mask-like objects, bearing resemblances to an owl, a dragon, and a boar. When beginning the quest at each set of labyrinths, Link hears a voice speak to him. These three voices claim to be the Ruler of Owls, the Ruler of Dragons, and the Ruler of Boars. Each labyrinth comes with a task that tests all the aspects of the Triforce: wisdom to locate the terminals, courage to dive into the depths, and power to defeat the enemy at the end.

What I find interesting is that Link is repeatedly tested on all three aspects—not only courage, which has historically been associated with the Hero. Considering Zelda attended and prayed at all the springs during BotW's story, and she bore the mark of the Triforce when sealing Dark Beast Ganon, I wonder whether the Triforce now exists more as a spiritual concept than a physical artifact. Link, who is continually proving his proficiency in all three aspects, bears his own Triforce in a way, living within a balance of the three just as Zelda has. This, essentially, makes him worthy of bearing the Master Sword, just as it makes Zelda worthy to wield the Sealing magic.

While this is a fun theory, it still stings that the Triforce has seemingly been ignored in the recent lore, and feels a bit reminiscent of the same treatment of the Golden Goddesses, who each created one aspect of the Triforce. They are not mentioned at all in BotW or TotK, save in veiled references by way of the dragons' names and names of regions: Naydra and Lanayru (Nayru), Farosh and Faron (Farore), and Dinraal and Eldin (Din). I've seen it mentioned that Nintendo may be trying to appeal to their Western audience by angling the franchise toward monotheism—which is a whole other discussion I'm not at all qualified for, but I'm mentioning it here for its vague relevance. It's disappointing, to say the least, and that the Triforce has been set aside along with the Golden Goddesses gives me cause to mourn a little. Here's hoping the next game brings them back in more substantial ways than vague references.

[mudora]

unnnghhh, I just need to get this out of my system before it gets stupid.  I promise, it is a -very- silly and light criticism of current totk discourse revolving around the three Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore. Honestly I shouldn’t even be negatively affected by just some fun theories being thrown around, but clearly I’m bothered by it for some reason. And I can likely explain why. (This isn’t to stop fun fan theories from being made or me being an old codger and saying NO to fans, because that’s completely rude. If those developments are genuinely exciting to you, I getchya.) 

Current talk is that at least in BoTW and ToTK, the dragons that are roughly named after the three goddesses (not my assumption) (and are referred to as she) by the Goddess statues, are Zonai who consumed their stones. So at least in this universe that BoTW and ToTK decides to be in, these goddesses were mortal in some way or somehow turned their secret stones into the triforce or... something along those lines. I don’t inherently like this line of thinking, for a few reasons. Sort of the same reasons I don’t inherently like the idea of Zelda basically being the Virgin Mary figure in skyward sword and onward. It’s just opinion, and shouldn’t affect your fun times. And for some dumb reason it bothers me and I just want to explain why. The Golden Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore, were not sideliners when it comes to the entirety of Zelda lore. They made the world, full stop, and possibly other worlds that also appear in the Zelda series. They -made- the kingdom of Hyrule, and left the Triforce behind after their creation was complete. They have no official appearance in any game (these are not the oracles), but their hand is -felt- in certain ways. Even if their presence is subdued, they still call the shots on their creation. Just like them, their respective Triforce Pieces represent their philosophy. Din is most comfortable in their Power. Nayru has ageless Wisdom, and Farore gives courage to all she holds dear. Together, they represent The Legend of Zelda’s whole philosophy: As one, they are perfect, working in tandem. Apart, they are still powerful, but become imbalanced and that imbalance throws the world into chaos, as it has time and time again since the Triforce’s original separation in Ocarina of Time. The Goddesses Themselves continue to have namesakes within the series, which is where the Dragon’s names in BoTW and ToTK will become more familiar. At least since Twilight Princess, the Light Spirits that protect the world of reality from shadow, are named subtly after their creators. Faron (Not Farore), Lanayru, (Not Nayru), and Eldin (not Din). They bear the responsibility of protecting creation and the Sacred Realm from the shadow the Twili created, and naturally were eventually banished to the Twilight Realm due to their sacrosanct acts. This is, as far as I remember, the first time we hear of these names. They were created by Din, Nayru, and Farore, but they themselves are not the gods incarnate, and never were. They simply had a purpose, and carried their namesake due to who mothered them into existence.  Now, again, I don’t really subscribe that much to a timeline, and never really have regardless of the “Official” timeline existing. BotW and TotK feel wildly different in terms of what is included in them. We at least know there are *stories* of the Hero of Time, the Hero of Winds, the Hero of Twilight, etc, etc. or they are at least vaguely mentioned in ancient rites and likely moldy tomes that haven’t seen the light of day in thousands, if not tens of thousands of years. Most of this ancient era has come and gone, to the point where the Sheikah tribe of old developed frickin computers with magic powers, and by the time THAT was featured in BoTW, it was already ANCIENT Sheikah tech. But with the events of ToTK, I’m completely complacent in thinking this could be a completely different -universe- then the actual “Official” timeline.  Much like how Termina exists, It’s not really difficult to imagine several different Hyrules existing in many alternate realities, dimensions, planes, what have you. And just because the Zonai exist does not inherently mean the Triforce and the Goddesses don’t also somehow exist in this set universe. I don’t believe the Goddesses would suddenly decide to become Zonai, when perhaps they are the ones who created them anyway, much like the Hylians, the Gorons, the Zora, etc. And even if there are multiple Hyrules, The Goddesses literally made it. I doubt, in any timeline, plane, reality, dimension, that fact would somehow be different, as they are literally the ones responsible for its actual existence. The Zonai, after all are said to be -descended- from Gods, and are only seen as gods themselves due to how these Gods GIFTED these guys with Secret Stones.  This of course, brings us to the dragons in question: I do understand where people believe these three dragons could be the Goddesses. Though the Zonai consider the process of Draconfication forbidden, I don’t really think it’s as forbidden as we think it is. Where I differ from the current discourse, however, is that I don’t remotely think Din, Nayru, and Farore were somehow Zonai, and partook of their sacred stones and it became the triforce. This just doesn’t make sense with the very little we have to go on, for a lot of  reasons. 1, we have to presume Din, Nayru, and Farore already exist, and have existed for Milennia. Otherwise, the Kingdom of Hyrule -would not exist-. Neither would the Hero, Neither would Princess Zelda, Ganondorf, etc.  However. I have a theory that the Dragons are the God forms of the Zonai. Though they are a bit goat like, they also share... quite a few draconic traits on their own, no?Sharp teeth, hair that more serpentine dragons have from Japan and China. They came from the literal sky and wished to bring their bounty to the races of the land. The Zonai -revere- dragons and dragon kind. The Secret Stones themselves obviously don’t just turn Zonai into dragons, as we can see from Zelda consuming hers. I presume, that these gifted Secret Stones likely come from the God-like dragons that the Zonai likely descended from. When swallowing a stone, you are inheriting the power of presumed God-hood as defined by the Zonai. You become immortal. You lose yourself. Because mortals and Gods are profoundly different. Now, whether or not Dragons are capable of becoming mortal on their own is a good question I can’t answer, but I suspect the Zonai have -way- more relation to the concept of the dragons then they do Din, Nayru, and Farore. The same goes for the Dragons that are already within Hyrule: Dinraal, Naydraa (Wtf that isn’t even close to Nayru), and Farosh.. These guys have way more in common with their other namesakes, the light spirits of twilight princess, then they do with the actual Golden Goddesses. And they presumably also share something with their Light Spirit Namesakes. They are guardians of the springs of Power, Wisdom, and Courage respectively. However I picture this relation to be more of these dragon gods wishing to protect creation from ages long past. Perhaps these Dragons never became Zonai. Perhaps these dragons are Zonai who wished to fulfill a purpose in protecting these springs. But being the Golden Goddesses themselves? I highly doubt it. There is plenty of room within the Zelda universe to have the Golden Goddesses remain as such, and to have other gods and spirits fulfill myriad roles deemed important to the Cycles.  If anything, I would say the Zonai are an interesting addition to the many races of Hyrule, and their story is a more compelling one, when viewed in a lense that encompasses their relationship to dragonkind. Not God-kind. Or... at least DragonGod Kind. I also feel like viewing it this way is -way- easier to swallow then somehow relating the Secret Stones to the Triforce. These are their own unique goodie. ToTK, more or less, is a lesson that the Triforce has already taught many times, but through a different lens. Might and Power can obviously come from many different things in Hyrule, and a DragonGod’s essence? Well.  How could Ganondorf, one who seeks power with relentless force, resist?  In her Wisdom, Zelda chose to seek this power to protect her Kingdom from the plague she so feared.  And Link, once again, is the edge of the sword, stuck within the power struggle. Yet his courage and valor lead to the destruction of the Demon Dragon.  I don’t know about you, but the Goddesses are definitely watching. And not as dragons. 

[springtrappd]

it being a bad-at-words day means that i am not exactly up for presenting my thoughts in any kind of cohesive or organised order atm, so you'll have to forgive this stream-of-consciousness, fresh off hitting both endings summary of my thoughts on hw2, but here goes:

this game is up with totk for the most reluctant positive reviews i've ever given, and it's for much the same reason -- that totk feels largely disconnected from its predecessor, focused almost entirely on its gameplay while pretending that it has any story worth the effort at all. unlike totk, hw2 is not a ground-breaking flex of how far a dev team can push the limitations of the medium (and the game itself), nor is it trying to be. it is an indie horror vr game, taking its cues from earlier titles like job simulator with its arcade-like, pick-up-and-play approach to level design and the scenarios found within. it is also an incoherent mess.

okay, that's being a bit hyperbolic, but like -- stop for a second, and think about the climactic moments of this game, the big things you're gonna be discussing over social media for the next couple of months. what are they? well, they're glitchtrap, the mimic, vanny, moon, cassie -- they're the conclusions to sb's (and much more specifically, ruin's) story, an add-on to those that adds a little flavour to those existing works. okay, now think about how this game was marketed. who is on the cover? who was in the initial teaser? where is the game's hub set? well, it's pizzasim and sl, of course -- funtime freddy in the centre of the box art, a warning menu that explicitly references the pizza place and a hub world set within it. there's a split down the middle in every single aspect of the game, with ruin on one side and the other shit on the other, and i mean in every aspect of the game.

you have pizzaplex collectibles sat next to the grimy, cartoonish abominations of pizzasim, you have the vanny mask put next to helpy, a fazerblaster with the trash gang -- the neon lights of the pizzaplex next to the dark underbelly of circus baby's rentals, the glowing daycare positioned in parallel to the halloween-y fun of the carousel; it's a lesson in dissonance, a game where you can draw a line down the middle of its level select and split it into two halves with wildly different directions. you can argue that this was intentional, that the juxtaposition is the point; that it is intentional that funfred is at the centre of the box art with absolutely zero new lines, that you're comparing the old and the new in equal measure. this is a wasted argument, considering the secret ending of the game literally has you step into the circus baby's elevator only to twist-reveal that you're actually in the pizzaplex.

that's not to say that i think this was something done out of malice; i'm not in the business of projecting my feelings onto game devs, and most grand conspiracies have far, far simpler explanations. no, the simple answer for what happened here is that they are two different games stitched together. it explains the strange vibe of the early pizzaplex levels, the way any vague plot threads feel half-shaped and empty -- like you're only looking at the edges of a puzzle, the bones of a meal without its meaty centre. and by bones, i mean bones, because to say this game has a plot is to, well, lie -- it very much does not, right up until you complete everything and it goes "oh shit, uh, have a crumb?" and then vanishes into the night. it's confusing the way that sb is, except this time it's polished enough to be intentional, which is, i'm gonna be honest, really not the lesson to be taking from sb.

like, hw1 has a plot. more than that, it has a goal that -- while separated from the primary, player-driven one of 'complete all levels' -- is one that begins from the very first scene, and heavily incentivizes exploration and replaying; the tapes are a physical, tangible goal that you know how to get more of -- it's just the process of getting to that that might take some extra help. tapes are hidden in levels, go find them, flip the switch to go into hard mode, have fun! it's very, very simple, and it works; you are very, very likely to find a tape at some point during a blind playthrough, and from there pull and pull on that plot thread until you fish up your reward. and that reward is, yes, a plot -- the story of the indie game studio being caught in a trap is, however simple it is, a narrative with progression and stakes and characters. there is an antagonist! can you believe! hell, there's even a little twist in the form of tape girl's instructions not working as intended.

by contrast, the fazforce figures and fazwrench are at no point explained and the player is given zero information for how the fuck you're meant to get further with those. helpy doesn't go "here's your reward for doing so well! :)" or update your clearance or anything -- you just... get given it when the game decides you do, which also has the fun byproduct of blocking your access to hard mode content until you hit whatever invisible trigger the game sets for you. no more can you just clear out the levels you're actually interested in playing; now you have to do everything, blindly tackling as much as you can until the game sees fit to throw you a bone -- and then the steps for getting to hard mode are 1) ruin themed 2) a single poster that says to take off your mask. and, like... what fucking mask, dude? maybe i'm just stupid, but i spent way too long squinting at the screen trying to figure out if this was about to pull a ds-era gimmick on me and make me take off my headset. instead you have to physically reach up and take on and off the mask every single time, which doesn't sound that bad until you're smacking the giant computer strapped to your face to go between levels... and if the hard mode hub wasn't so fucking dull. it's sb's wrecked pizza place, big whoop (oh hey, look, it's that "using the other games to do a surprise ruin reveal" thing again. sure hope that's not common!) -- you ever actually sat in blacklight mode? that shit feels like a fever dream. unmasked mode feels like proving you're enough of a big boy to handle the actual game now, please.

and i'm getting off-topic, but what i'm getting at is that good fucking god does hw2 make understanding what it wants from you as hard as possible while also giving you absolutely nothing in return. collect the voltron reference to get the ending! why? uhhhh, fuck you, collect the memory plushies of the og missing kids to get the secret ending! why? uhhhh, fuck, wait, how does this tie back into ruin again?

and if you think this is just a me-problem, or that this is just some unclear progression -- you are wrong. the entire game is like this. in a classic steel wool studios moment, the tutorial cards are utter dogshit and do nothing to explain how anything actually works. it is Bad. (and i've mentioned it before, but while the idea of the memory plushies is really, really cool, their execution is another symptom of that 'oh fuck we have to make more game now' problem)

and speaking of unclear direction -- god, does it show in the aesthetics of this one. say what you will about hw1 (and i will, and probably have), but god does it know exactly what it is, what it is doing and how it is going to do it. hw1 is a masterclass in good environmental design, with its absolutely massive hub set against the cramped, claustrophobic quarters the entire game takes place in -- it's achingly empty, with dust particles swirling through the air and the gentle crackle of the anomaly peering through the only sound. no, seriously, hw1's hub is silent -- you can tell when glitchtrap is behind you because his audio cue has a bit of distortion at the start, which absolutely slices through the quiet when you get too used to it. from the title screen to the hub to the gameplay itself, it is a game that teases you with its own limitations, sitting by your shoulder with a giggle and a made you look; the threat is always, always there, be it in the looming figures or the space itself. everything about it is dark and grimy and aged, its bulky monitors and massive cables putting you in a retro mindset before ripping it out under you with the reminder that you are in vr -- and even then, the way it talks about it is strange, its sci-fi ideas coached in aged terms; "using proprietary technology developed by Fazbear Entertainment, our VR development teams were able to use vintage control board, almost like plug and play, digitally recreating performances and personalities from the past in an instant," the handunit says.

"help wanted is sooo good at making you feel unsafe in The Fucking Menu," i wrote way back in 2022, barely through the first quarter of the game; its use of atmosphere to build horror was something i immediately picked up on, and pops back up every time i think about the game. it's central to its identity, and best exemplified in the presence of foxy in title screen -- a looming figure who just... stands there, behind you. a threat never followed through. they supply the scare; you're the one who jumps.

"I remember watching markiplier play it for the first time and I was convinced something was going to jumpscare you in the main menu," my beloved bestie mikhail said. i agreed. so does the majority of gameplay footage out there.

in hw2, every single time you boot the title screen, you are greeted by a forced jumpscare of circus baby appearing behind you.

every single bit of hw1 is oozing with style, from foxy being hidden behind you on the title screen to the death messages to the occasional interjections from the handunit to the prize room to the pre-level room (which is on the stage!) to whatever the fuck this is to the absolute fever dream that is blacklight levels.

while hw2... does not have that. one of the little details from hw1 that i've mentioned before is just... the clock on the monitor. in hw1, you start the game at 11:44pm, with every tape you collect progressing forward a minute until you hit the merge ending, setting it to 00:00 (midnight). the level select screen in hw2 features a similar clock, which was what prompted me to make the post i'm referencing here in the first place. i expected them to do something equally cute with it. they did not. it's just a clock set to 12:00am, because it's a computer and those do that. and that is, i think, the best summary i can give of the difference in environmental design philosophy between these two entries. that they never expected you to look at all.

in terms of actual gameplay? it's probably the most polished a steel wool game has ever been, which is great! i only had one level actually truly bug out on me (fazerblast fnaf2), which is a marked improvement from... well, let's just leave it at that. the game design itself is also very good, with gameplay loops that feel fun and intuitive (most of the time) -- significantly less steel wool shit this time around, which is nice. the job simulator focus, however, means that this is a horror game that's very light on the horror, with very few levels that actually have that creeping tension hw1 was so good at. some of the sb levels manage it (with the staffbots and djmm leaning in so close, or glamfreddy snapping out at you, or... anything with moon) -- but most of them don't, which sucks. notably, these are all the front-loaded levels, with all the real spooky shit shoved into the right side of the monitor... where all the pizzasim and sl stuff is, and we've hit that "these are two different games" thing again.

the first level you are presented with in hw1 is a recreation of fnaf1's first night. the first level you are presented with in hw2 is arts and crafts with sun. (and i'm counting it as the first level because native english speakers will automatically look to the top-left of an image/page/screen, and they're not only the primary target audience but the majority of the dev team as well.)

and i've been typing for two hours and my brain is starting to form a vanny-shaped puddle on my bedroom floor, but what all of this builds up to is what is ultimately wrong with ruin, and the tales from the pizzaplex, and security breach as a whole: the idea that the solution to a problem is to throw more ideas at it, focusing on always moving forward over filling all your holes and tying off your threads. the response to the catastrophic release of sb was not to finish what they started, but to build something completely different next to the gaping hole that was sb's plot, and that's not good... anything, but storytelling most of all, and it's how you hit the situation that we're in now: where there are no stakes, no antagonist, nowhere to go and nothing to look forward to. just an empty shell waiting for your money to fill it. and yeah, that's kinda standard for fnaf, except not really? like, guys, fnaf1 had a narrative arc. fnaf4 onwards has had actual characters, with personalities and motives and ideas, and the two most narrative-heavy fnaf games are the ones front-and-centre of this one!

except... in the secret ending of hw2, after you get bait-and-switched from sl to the pizzaplex, you're dumped inside a claw machine and watch as a giant vanny takes glitchtrap in her hands and crushes him into dust. the primary antagonist of hw1, the villainous face of that soft reboot -- taken out back and replaced by the new antagonist. the one we were introduced to in the same game, who keeps having her lines cut and her role shrunk down into nothing and the focus shifted away from until it's time for a new stinger. why did she do this? why is this happening? what does this mean, going forward? no, seriously, who the fuck is the mimic? -- none of that matters, because that isn't actually the point. the game looks you in the camera of the giant computer strapped to your face and says, that era is dead. we're starting a new one.

but really, it says nothing at all.

[marcilled]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on TOTK and what it's flaws and strengths are to you!

I had a whole response typed for this, ready to post, and my power shut off... well! I'm back now so I'll try to type my thoughts on this again.

big disclaimer here that tears of the kingdom is a HUGE game... I'm still working my way through it. I've done the equivalent of one of the divine beasts in botw for a bit of reference (they have a very direct equivalent in totk it seems).

that being said some of its strengths were the strengths botw had... truly expansive open world, that does an amazing job at rewarding you for exploring it. It never feels "empty", there's always some little surprise to find in every tiny nook and cranny you can explore- usually a korok. There's so many koroks. None of them are where they were in botw, despite using the same map (with some modifications).

this got really long, so I'm going to put a readmore (might contain some vague spoilers)

What I find especially apparent with totk, that sets it apart from the previous game, is that it does a really great job of guiding the player from point to point. It's still very much an open world game, but instead of leaving you directionless and hoping you find what you're looking for, there's always some npc mentioning that some weird ruins from the ancient zumblefuck civilization suddenly appeared in chungustown, across the suckdick river in east falumpa or whatever.

Even when you're just, you know, getting your horse out of the stable, the npcs will constantly be giving you directions to some major landmark, where you'll find a bunch of other npcs giving important quests or furthering the plot! In that way, you're never left wondering "well, this is great and all, but what is there to do in this game besides exploring", they just straight up tell you. botw ... sort of did that, but not enough.

I think that this sort of design philosophy is especially apparent in the tutorial island you begin the game at, where they very expertly crafted this island that is definitely "open world", but at the same time, directs you from point to point almost invisibly. Sure, you could visit any of the three shrines in any order you like- but there's one shrine super close to you, and it's the most visible from where you start the quest. So, may as well go there! Oh, turns out that the next shrine is way easier to get to after you have the ability from that closest shrine... Not to mention, the little robots give lots of tips for everything you're about to run into along the path you conveniently ended up taking that definitely isn't exactly where the game wants you to go! Plus, you keep running into this handsome goat man along the way who's always saying some contemplative stuff that makes you fall in love with him. Wait was that just me? Anyways, it's incredibly clever at guiding the player where they need to go without seeming like it's holding your hand either. botw wasn't really designed that way, and I appreciate that totk takes this approach.

In line with the direction that the npcs give you, I also really love to see how the world of totk feels so much more alive than in botw. In botw, humanity had nearly been wiped out by the calamity. For 100 years they toiled just to survive, and the remaining settlements felt very disconnected from one another, with how dangerous travel was. It gave this very melancholic feeling to every place you visited. However, in totk, it's clear that some time has passed since link defeated calamity ganon, and the people of hyrule have really begun to heal. There's people everywhere, and they're visiting each other more often. There's cooperation from every part of the kingdom, with everyone working together to try to find Zelda, and figure out what caused the upheaval, and what it means for the future. One particular interaction I really loved, was talking to a rito and a hylian woman at a stable near rito village, where the rito woman had come to pick up supplies for the village to deal with the intense blizzard there. The hylian woman said something like, "we're glad to help you, you've been wonderful neighbors to us!", and the rito woman was so thankful. that sort of camaraderie really sets the tone for totk, and it warmed my heart to see. There's this real sense of the world healing and supporting one another that I really enjoy.

Another thing that sets it apart, for better and worse, is the all-new abilities you get. No more magnesis or stasis or bombs, they're replaced with ultrahand, reversal, and... being able to attach bombs to literally any object you desire, as well as throw them directly, or even stick them onto contraptions you build?! Not to mention the ability that lets you travel up through ceilings. The abilities are quite different and do make a serious impact in how you play! The bizarre fucking contraptions you're able to build using ultrahand, combined with the various pieces of zonai tech, makes for some really compelling emergent gameplay! And lots of funny clips you can post online which I'm sure you've probably seen by now. It's a lot of fun.

That being said, I feel there's something lost by getting rid of the old abilities- for example, I almost never find myself using any of those abilities during combat. The most I'll do is attach items to my weapons (which is very fun!), but it's nothing compared to being able to bonk enemies with huge rocks using magnesis, or using stasis to pile on the damage onto a single enemy, or even just launch them off of cliffs. Although, the rest of the fun physics from botw is still there, like freezing enemies and making them slide around or what have you. I guess my primary complaint here is that the new abilities feel a bit underutilized, for example I pretty much never use the ability to reverse time, unless I'm doing a shrine where it's obviously required for a puzzle or something. Ah well.

I think my main complaint with totk really just boils down to the story just kind of refusing to admit that it's a sequel? even though... it is a sequel?? it's kind of weird, and just makes me sort of sad. Ancient Sheikah technology was crucial to the entire worldbuilding and story of botw, and somehow it's nowhere to be found in totk. They've just replaced all the ancient sheikah stuff with different ancient tech, which, while it's really cool in its own right, makes it feel very disconnected from the game that came before it. I get that they're trying to make the game feel welcoming to people who never played the first one, but you don't have to literally get rid of all traces of the previous game to accomplish that?!? I haven't found a SINGLE broken-down guardian anywhere in the whole game so far, much less one that's still living. There's been basically NO MENTION of the divine beasts either! The most I've seen is purah and impa having some ancient sheikah stuff/pictures relating to the calamity, but that's about it. It doesn't go beyond mentioning that the calamity happened, really. It's bizarre. They don't even talk about calamity ganon. What the hell!!! it just makes me kind of upset.

Actually, it goes deeper than this. the threat of calamity ganon was omnipresent in botw. You could always see it floating around the castle from almost anywhere on the map, at the very center. More than that, though, the remnants of an ancient war were everywhere- Guardians existed everywhere, always threatening you with that utterly terrifying music. There's not really an equivalent to that in totk. Sure, there's the zonai constructs, but... None of them are nearly as threatening as guardians were, other than the ones that are obviously boss fights. It just feels a bit sad, there's not as much "urgency" to your actions.

Then again, totk seems a bit more linear in its progression than botw- it could be possible that I'm still too early on to see the difficulty ramp up further, and introduce new threats? that'd actually be really cool if that were the case, but I have no idea. I just have to keep playing, I suppose. But as of rn, the "demon king" is just a big question mark, and his influence on the story is a bit unclear right now. it's not even immediately obvious what the endgame is, which is a lot different from botw. So perhaps I'll hold my judgement on this front until later. I just miss how the guardians were a constant threat, always reminding you of what your goal is.

And as one last quickfire of several little complaints:

The (english) voice acting in the game is very underwhelming. It's just not very good. I play ffxiv so I'm used to middling voice performances tho LOL. this was a problem in botw as well tho.

the boss fight i did (that i compared to one of the divine beasts) was too easy. i expected it to feel at least a little challenging, but i didn't feel threatened even once. the enemies i encounter in the overworld are tougher, it felt kinda underwhelming in spite of the (extremely good) boss music

the depths feels a bit samey after a while. my first impression was utter awe, i was like, "i'm completely in love with this game", but i soon realized that they used some sort of algorithm to translate the topography of the overworld onto the depths and suddenly the magic disappeared a bit. it's still really cool, and the mechanic of permanently losing hearts while you're down there makes it feel incredibly threatening, but there's simply not enough variety to feel like it's justified to take up that much space. unlike the overworld, the depths /do/ end up feeling empty after a while of exploring.

... I suppose as a bit of a TL;DR, my main complaints boil down to, "this is great, but it could be even better", or, "I miss some of the stuff that was in botw".

There's more thoughts I could probably share, like how I love all of the very blatant ghibli inspiration in this game (even moreso than in botw!), but I've already rambled quite a lot. thank you for the ask anon!! <3

[sir-adamus]

so I'm still not very far into TotK but i am noticing that there hasn't been any kind of specific reference to BotW

like yeah characters appear and there's vague nods to the Calamity and the characters already having been established as knowing Link however

there's nothing overtly direct and specific so far, which can come off as a bit odd given everything, and in a sequel usually you'd expect directly referenced follow ups, right?

but here's the thing, Zelda games rarely have direct sequels following the same characters (most of the time we're following a different iteration of Link and Zelda and a revolving cast of NPCs), and when they do, for the most part they're not set in the same location (Phantom Hourglass (sequel to Wind Waker) is in the Realm of the Ocean King instead of the Great Sea, the Oracle games (sequels to ALttP) are set in Holodrum and Labrynna, Link's Awakening is set on Kolohint Island (also a sequel to ALttP, technically also a sequel to the Oracle games), Majora's Mask (sequel to Ocarina of Time) is set in Termina)

and because of that, it makes sense that events from previous games aren't directly mentioned - new location, that stuff isn't particularly relevant, right?

but that's the underlying core of it - every Zelda game is presented in a way that it could be someone's first Zelda game. you don't need the context of the previous game to be able to jump in on this one, so they go along without referencing things directly, simply in a world building manner, so people jumping in on the newest game don't have to go through the previous one to understand what's going on

[gerudospiriit]

[I cannot EXPRESS how much I've missed just a sense of CONNECTION to the old lore in Zelda games. Not just vague mentions. Not easter eggs. A legit feeling of this is connected to what happened in a game that took place before this one. Playing Wind Waker and FEELING how it connects to the prior games, especially OoT, is just so satisfying, especially since the last two games were so wishy washy with pretending the stuff from before mattered when it never FELT like it did.

Another thing that Wind Waker and even Twilight Princess specifically do better than Botw/Totk is they still maintain that connection to the events of the past but still show very well the disconnect from the eras gone by. Wind Waker does it especially well in showing that only a very few legends survived the flooding and the old language is completely forgotten. And yet we still see how the past impacts this present period in a way that Botw/Totk just fail to do in any impactful way. Instead, it's sloppy, meaningless references and easter eggs that bear no weight and it drives me NUTS.

But yeh. I just miss this feeling of things connecting to one another. It doesn't feel in your face either. But it's THERE.]

[priconstella]

ToTK art book analysis and theories

Part 1 of ???. Please check the reblogs for the full version of this post with parts 1-3, and either #ToTK talk on my blog or my pinned for the other parts in this series.

There's 205 pages, and even though I'll be skipping over a lot of pages there still a lot to cover, so this will be multiple parts! Part 1 here covered pages 01-21

The only spoilers for part 1 is that we get an up close reference for what is on Link's hip in this part. Everything else is vague and speculation on my part

Going in, the very first page has this symbol we've seen only on the prerelease bonus from gamestop (not sponsored or encouraged to buy, I just have to conserve pictures so I can get the most in each post. Bonus is down near the bottom.) and on the Japanese website for a moment while loading.

Page 2 gives us a look at some temple ruins with Link emerging from them. It doesn't look like the same temple from official trailer #1, there's no doors remaining, and the roof is broke to let light in.

From here I won't be covering most pages, most of them are simple design art as is expected. I'll be covering the ones that seem particularly interesting or helpful, and all of the ones with full page art like the above.

A number of them made me simply go "huh, what is that?" and I'll not be including those for the sake of speeding this up (limited to 10 pictures a post) and not having anything good to say on them.

On page 5 there's a good look at the talus Bokoblin camps, seeing how they're quiet small compared to Bokoblin camps from the previous games, with only 3 Bokoblins, but the talus are more than enough of a replacement for the rest of the Bokoblins.

Page 8 has a beautiful view of an autumnal island with a strange rock with a spiral around it. This is clearly a sky island- we've seen glimpses of this same island in the trailers, but there's also a decent amount of water there are the bottom of the page. Are these islands big enough to have their own ponds?

Pages 12 and 13 display some new armor for Link, specifically spread out while Link is falling. Maybe an optional replacement for the paraglider? Since this game is about traversing the skies I imagine there's many options of both getting up to the sky, falling down, and transversing between islands. So maybe with this you can glide with me even more control than the paraglider?

Immediately after those, on page 14, is a view of some of the ruins Link and Zelda have been exploring together post-BoTW and presumably during beginning of ToTK. It's interesting how decayed these ruins are, when in the book we see other Zonai architecture that's far better preserved (to say the least.)

Next, page 15, has two things I'd like to point out. Firstly, whatever that blue thing is on top. I have no idea what that is! It's labeled as scales, so this could be a new collectible from a creature that we either haven't seen, or is hidden away somewhere in this book and I simply glossed over it.

Secondly, the man in the bottom left with the mushroom themed outfit. This will not be the last time in this book that we see people with mushroom outfits, but it is the first! Personally, I'm assuming we get some sort of mushroom village or family, though aside from the characters dressed as mushrooms we don't have much to indicate that- no houses or village layouts.

However. There is so much that's sure to be in this game that isn't included here. Even with 205 pages there's more we haven't seen. Who knows what else is out there!

Page 20 gets us a good proper reference to the application we've seen on Link's hips during the trailers. Whatever it is, there's no name for it, but we do get a fairly decent look at how it works. Each blue line is a coil, wrapped around the center piece, and each section can carry 5 coils, for a total of 40 coils on this entire thing.

On the right we can see it slowly extending with each coil, or inversely, going down with each used up coil. Since we can see very clearly that each coil is in fact one piece and used on its own (rather than an entire section being used at once) my guess is this is the blue green "glue" we've seen holding vehicles together. We start with 2 sections, a total of 10 coils, and as time goes on we get to expand it, letting us use more 'glue' for more complex machines, or more machines at once.

Buts that's my best guess with minimal words on this page. (The only written things here say 'body' next to the eye handle and 'this part moves' on the bottom left, referring to the parts the prongs pass through to let it move up and down as it's drained.)

Last page for this part, a full pave art of some underground ruins with murals of camels on the walls, and a strange device on a pedestal in the center. I can't even begin to guess what's going on here. Maybe this is some end of shrine equivalent that gives you an upgrade? Maybe this is something we see early on that explains lore and whatever the mural says.

The mural should be translatable too, I know people that are working on decrypting Zonai text like the ones seen here on the walls, but if it's ever broken pre-ToTK release I'll make an entirely separate post rather than editing this.

Parts 2 & 3 are in the notes of this post, and parts 4 and onward can be found in both my pinned and the tag #ToTK talk on my blog.

[intobarbarians]

zelda and mipha are interesting foils not because of their relationships with link, but just as princesses living on in the memory of their people. all of zelda’s accomplishments in her lifetime, her curiosity and her compassion, are completely overshadowed by her inability to access her powers. she fears her perception across hyrule is that she is a failure. her father reinforces this by forbidding her to do anything that isn’t mastering the skill that will defeat ganon, which absolutely no one can tell her how to do.

meanwhile, mipha is lauded among the zora for her bravery and her skill with the spear. she’s remembered as a prodigy, their kind-hearted princess who was martyred trying to stop the calamity. she’s so beloved her father even hopes that she was simply trapped in ruta, still alive and able to be rescued, rather than killed.

mipha’s family and friends mourn her into the present of botw. they erect a statue of her. her loss is as fresh as when it first happened. she has not yet passed into legend.

very few people alive remember meeting zelda, in part because hylians don’t have as long a lifespan as the zora, and also because she worked so much on her training she didn’t interact as much with her people. traveling around in botw, she is most often referred to as the princess, sometimes a beautiful one. many people feel indebted to her for fighting the calamity, but they don’t know her. she’s a vague idea people have, a historical figure they can put away in their minds.

except there’s link. he doesn’t remember zelda at first, but he can free her. she’s not dead! she’s still fighting. she’s /alive/.

in totk, so many people know zelda! she’s been traveling hyrule to help rebuild. she gardens. she teaches. people describe her as compassionate because they have experienced it firsthand instead of from their textbooks.

and there’s a lesson here about how important it is to live. mipha is adored, but her spirit was laid to rest. she piloted ruta and completed her duty. the zora no longer have any questions about her death. she is at peace, and life can go on.

zelda, in surviving, can keep building her legacy. she can tell new stories, experience new discoveries, make new connections. the princess of the old stories is being rewritten every day into the neighbor, the teacher, the princess of today.

no matter how great the sacrifice, how loved you are at death, it’s in living you have the most power.

[waywardsalt]

ok since tears of the kingdom is coming out like. insanely soon i figured i’ll just dump how i’ve been feeling abt it here. i wont tag for them and i dont intend to share any but because i have been actively seeking out spoilers i will vaguely reference them here so… idk really long musings on this game and my feelings abt it

(im just writing this out mostly for myself since i really kind of just. want to really figure out how i feel about this)

i… am not excited for totk?

i’ve figured out a bit ago that my severely waning interest in botw and general anxiety and discontent surrounding totk is just that… these games arent for me. i dont enjoy open world games with half a million things for you to do like it’s basically a sandbox. i struggle to really enjoy singleplayer minecraft. the space stage in spore gives me genuine anxiety, both when i played it as a kid and again when i reached it as an adult.

botw and totk are not games for me, and that’s cool. i’ve figured that out.

so why am i getting so damn anxious about this new game?

i am getting totk- not entirely of my own volition, i live with someone who is very genuinely excited for it, so it’s pre-ordered digitally on our switch. i am going to play it and complete it at least once.

the gameplay and world of botw never really got to me, and even what snippets of gameplay i see for totk dont really entice me. it just makes me anxious to think about the sheer amount of new stuff i’ll be dropped in the middle of and how i really dont care about this version of link or zelda or anyone else in botw’s hyrule

and some of the story spoiler stuff and general direction this game is going in has me just worried that the zelda series is moving away from what it used to be into an entirely new direction, that being a direction that it seems like i wont enjoy as much as everyone else seems to

so then i guess my main worry outside of totk is that i just end up struggling to really feel connected to the rest of the community about this? being a contrarian is fun until everyone is enjoying something you for some reason can’t get yourself to

i dont have a lot of hope in the story of totk to harken back to… ANYTHING of worth that past games have built up and made to be so important and interesting. hype is a dangerous thing for a not-yet-released game, and while i think the insane amount of speculation and theories and hype around totk will cause a lot of people to be disappointed with the final story, i dunno if i really wouldve liked it even if the story actually piqued my interest

maybe totk’s gameplay will really hook me. maybe i’ll enjoy the massive open world and gmod-ass gimmicks. but what ive seen of the story makes me less interested and the snippets of gameplay i see just make me remember how bored i now am with botw

at the end of the day this is just a video game with tags on this site i can blacklist and videos i can ignore and lore i can brush aside because at this point loz canon is a suggestion more than anything

i just cant shake the discomfort of once again being an outlier as everyone i see loses their mind about this new game while i just feel overwhelmed by it. i have played botw for a long time and have long since worn it out. i played age of calamity to completion and have not touched it or cared for it beyond the music since. i am not excited about totk and i feel like i am in the wrong due to my opinion

[archaictunic]

now that i've finished!!! i have THOUGHTS i'm just rambling don't mind me. this is the abridged version of this post because i initially had 12 different points and lost most of my thoughts when i accidentally hit ctrl+z :3 SPOILERS FOR TOTK PLEASE DON'T CLICK IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED.

first. i am ignoring that link got his arm back. i understand why it does that, but i am not keeping nor acknowledging that bit of information - not for a while, at least. the gloom can be gone. ganon can be destroyed. rauru still had to REPLACE LINK'S ARM ENTIRELY. unless his weird ghost arm just… slid on top of link's existing one like a glove. but thats SILLY. i like the cool dragon arm. i want link to start growing out his nails on his other hand and get them done in hateno or something and continue to have cool little claws.

second. i want to write up a page or something somewhere detailing my opinion on Ships. like… i didn't ship zelink really UNTIL botw/totk, and even then, it is purely because of my partner and i talking about/developing some stuff with them. and the more i think on sidlink or even link/mipha the more the zora age starts to make me Question things?? and then obviously, despite my personal adoration for revali, he and link would NOT get along super well , especially romantically? ( at the very least, NOT my link, not without some MAJOR work on both sides ) idk. link ships in-universe are hard lmao give me crossovers or something where i'm not working off the burden of canon (this is only mostly a joke) - also urbosa is a lesbian, and daruk is more like a dad. this is hard. riju is ............ viable i guess but i dont know they also don't feel super romantic. yunobo is his hype man not his boyfriend.

third. the ganon fight was SO fun. i absolutely adored the very end of it; and it felt way more involved than the big pig from botw?? so like even though, essentially, those final phases were the same sort of type of gameplay (very hard to lose, honestly) it was STILL super fucking fun i had such a good time exploding his pustules. how many times now has link stabbed ganon in the forehead.

fourth. other than the arm, i'm excited because the ending really didn't step on the toes of ANY of my vague thoughts for development so far?? like i will still be able to take my link in EXACTLY the direction i was hoping to!! where he KNOWS what responsibility rests on him; and he's quiet because of the burden, but also like… he doesn't know WHY he's the hero. why ganon is the villain. he knows ganon did evil things, he knows he's supposed to hate the man for … well, everything, but he sort of sits on a weird little line where he hates him, but also doesn't understand why he should feel anything at all about him? the hatred is a requirement. he has to hate the calamity. the demon king. even if he's never really met him. even if he doesn't know anything about how they got here. he just. HAS to hate him.

fifth. i am thinking about link's scars. not that he canonly has ANY. but i really want to look over the events of these games, and my own personal playthroughs, and find a few scars to really give him more character. i think that scars can be something SO important. something that can have such a heavy story behind it. like… i'm never gonna forget my first lynel battle, for example. idk i really need to draw him a WHOLE reference i'mj ust fufuckcing tired. might also make an art sideblog for that when it comes to it because i fear my content getting notes.

sixth. i want to chew on every character in this game like a stimmy squeaky toy

[benchowmein]

Completed the geoglyphs: I think thusfar they are by far the weakest link in TOTK, as they don't encourage exploration so much as encourage referring back to the Forgotten Temple map and either warping to their exact locations or, in my case, using Recall to hop into the sky and glide there, missing out on valuable opportunities to see the surface world (I could walk or ride, but the game invites distraction with every cave and settlement and I tend to get waylaid and forget the quest itself - the design of which doesn't encourage interacting with the surface in the way BOTW did, where you relied on Pikango and other NPCs to work out where the memories were hidden).

BOTW's memories made a lot of sense: they were tied to a single location and could be viewed in any order. The first memory most players find, the Lanayru Gate memory, is the second-last in the narrative; the memories were written to be found in any order, since there was no guarantee players would find them in the right way. The only exception is the last memory, which is only disguised by virtue of the trees being very vague (I recall exploring the woods of western Faron for well over an hour before my friend told me I was barking up the wrong trees). TOTK doesn't order or structure the geoglpyhs: the first one to be found is obviously the first in the narrative for a reason, but the others are totally dependent on where the player chooses to go. The game encourages you to explore Hebra and Tabantha, but the geoglyphs there aren't the first to take place in the story. After Rito Village, lots of characters keep bringing up Eldin, but if you happen to find the Master Sword geoglyph you spoil the mystery completely.

Also I'm livid that BOTW is criticised for "not having a story" given that TOTK's story is legitimately very uncompelling by virtue of it being very obvious what happens from the get-go........but that's just MY Wednesday