Forbidden City, Take Two

Waking of Friday, January 19, 2018 ~ 7

Forbidden City, Take Two

I tried again. And this time, I did not remove my Gerudo garb.

Some ladies at the Canteen were driving me nuts—muttering to each other about some secret password to some secret place. But every time I listened in, they shut up about it and told me to get lost.

Fed up I grabbed a loose barrel from the corner of the room and chucked it into their general midst before turning to leave.

I derived a really wonderful juvenile pleasure from their shrieking reactions then.

But on my way into the other room, I met and spoke with one of the few Hylian women I’d seen wandering around.

Jules was her name.

“Say, are you, uhh... I really don’t know how to say it... Might you be... A boy?”

Link jolted back in surprise!

“You are! I knew it!”

Who was this lady?

“It’s really impressive—you getting in here without anyone else noticing!” she said, “No need to worry. I won’t tell a soul. Just a little secret between us Hylian vai, right? Hehehe.”

Oh my gosh this was awesome. X-)

I left the Canteen and continued to climb around, until a guard kept me from inadvertently entering the palace, whereupon I wound up back at the entrance of said palace and saw....

“TRAYSI?”

That was the name. That was her. In the flesh. A Hylian.

The author of all those volumes of the Rumor Mill.

She looked nothing like I had imagined. Her writing sounded more like a hyperactive teenage girl, but she was.... rather a well-filled out, wide-faced woman.

She seemed to be arguing with one of the palace guards, maybe over entry into the building, maybe over something else. I forgot very quickly, because I was more interested in the plight of another nearby Gerudo.

Her name was Malena. But I might have first called her Shorty. Her stature really was quite small, especially next to those guards.

Malena had asked them for help, but they were still on high alert after the theft of the Thunder Helm, and couldn’t spare time or energy for the citizenry.

Malena’s husband had fallen very ill, and I caught from her that only the innards of a Molduga would cure him.

....What the heck was a Molduga?

Malena told me it was a monster so fierce that even other monsters fled before it. She said that it lived to the west, and the south, and that it was impossible to approach for it was sensitive to vibrations in the ground, and that any who drew near it would surely be KILLED.

Wo . . .

. . . was her.

The sidequest banner flashed over the top of the screen.

What the heck was a Molduga?

Dazed, I continued combing the endless city.

I discovered that I could in fact make it to the top of the central stone formation without the aid of the Zora Armor or my Climber’s Bandana—and was rewarded with a Korok at the top for my trouble!

The view from the topmost waterspring was excellent. And I’ve just reached three hundred pages. What in even the heck.

The view from the topmost waterspring was excellent, and after taking a look over the city I sailed down into a partition I had not yet explored—a training area of some kind.

The Captain Teake I met there, and her subordinates, said much the same thing the other guards had been telling me: the Thunder Helm was stolen. Everyone was on high alert.

Aside from this they didn’t say much. Except perhaps for some minor grumbling from the low-rungers now being overworked, and practicing endless spear-jabs.

Further wandering brought me to a little paddock with a few sand seals in it. They were more ruddyrose-colored than the ones out in the dunes, and they wore harnesses.

These ones were domesticated, and wouldn’t burrow away if you left them alone.

Frelly’s mother, Kohm, was renting them out.

Twenty rupees.

....

....Molduga . . . .

“I’ll take one,” I said.

Forbidden City, Take One

Waking of Friday, January 19, 2018 ~ 6

Forbidden City, Take One

Did you know that if you press jump repeatedly while running, Link will put alternating feet forward on every leap?

Like you’re skipping.

I skipped over the rocks beside the oasis at Kara Kara Bazaar, in my Gerudo outfit.

....

I’m so pretty.

Upon arriving back at Kara Kara Bazaar, I’d fooled Rhondson. “What a cute vai. Are you out seeking the love of your life, as well?” she had asked. I had answered in the affirmative and she had wished us both good luck.

My pretty disguise seemed to be working all right, and dusk was falling—prime time for traveling in this dangerously hot desert.

It was time to head to Gerudo Town.

I was quickly discovering that the distance between the town and the bazaar was not so great after all. I covered the distance in a trice, but not before running into the brusque and imposing Kyra once again on the way.

She complimented my clothes.

Huh, how warm and genuine she was.

....

Yes, this was a very good disguise.

I arrived at the town well before dawn, but.... I wanted to enter it in the daytime, and so passed the hours by exploring some ruins to the north until sunup. Tons of Warm and Electric Safflina. A Korok. And no shortage of Lizalfos by any means. They followed chittering after me as I searched the ruins in my mask....

But I did not finish combing the structures before the sky began to lighten. It was going to get hot soon.

I would explore the rest of the ruins later.

Dashing back to town, I ducked into the shrine to remove the Lizalfos Mask and put my Gerudo outfit back on.

Man the defense was so low. Just 1 for each of the three pieces.

When lightning struck my brain.

I warped to Cotera’s spring—it was raining in Kakariko—and asked for her help, but.... there was nothing she could do about my Gerudo clothes.

Oh. Never mind. >_<

Back to Gerudo Town.

I approached the gate. Merina and Dorrah still stood sentinel on either side.

....

I calmly walked in without a word like I owned the place.

And I was IN.

Some part of me had expected the view through the gate to be a flat, painted backdrop, a la the entrance into the desert city of Nasrad. But I just watched in only slightly jarring astonishment, as the already-rendered depth took me in, the paved ground opened wide around me, and an enormous plaza springing with palm trees burst into colorful life.

Oh my gosh this town was BIG.

One Fegran told about Chief Riju and her worry about the Divine Beast. A little girl Gerudo ran around at play. There was a clothing shop! I bought a set.... and found them to be little different from what I already had, except in color.

I liked my original ones better.

THERE WAS A GORON! “Are you a lady Goron?” I asked as I ran up to.... her??

Lyndae was her name. But her voice was as low as any other Goron’s. “Sa...botta? You really have to bite your lip to get that V sound out clearly.”

More linguistical delights. XD

“A little kid made fun of me yesterday for not being able to get the pronunciation right,” she went on, “I don’t know why, but it sounds the same to me no matter what I do...”

Someone named Ms. Ashai taught classes on relationships and cooking—AND I SAW A RITO LADY! :D Frita was her name, she had a rosy tint to her plumage, and she was looking for some good meats. But she complained that they didn’t seem to have any poultry....

I’d seen a joke about that somewhere on the internet. XD

The place was too big, too tangled—how far did it go?

I ran around, taking it all in in a flurry. The inn, run by Romah, had a spa plan, instead of a soft bed. (Come to think of it I wonder if that would have blown my cover!) Rima, a retired palace guard whom I found out toward the back, felt like she’d met me before. But she’d never been outside the city. Well she looked old enough—did she know me from a hundred years ago?

I heard gossip and rumors: Some thieves had snuck in and stolen the heirloom of the chief, the Thunder Helm—Oh my, that sounded like something I wanted.... The chief’s sand seal had spooked and pulled her close to Vah Naboris! But she got away. But it never would have happened if Buliara had been there. Who’s Buliara?

New captain of the guard?

And then there was Isha. She made accessories—

OUT OF GEMSTONES?  D8

THAT TRANSFER THEIR POWER TO WHOEVER WEARS THEM?  ತдತ

“YOU ARE THE DROIDS I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR!” I shouted through the screen.

She just needed ten pieces of flint to kickstart her business—I gave them. And she offered me my choice of accessory in return: a Ruby Circlet, a Sapphire Circlet, or Topaz Earrings. Cold resistance, heat resistance, and electricity resistance respectively.

I chose the Sapphire Circlet, since I was in a desert.

“Heehee, I thought you’d pick that one,” Isha smiled.

You did?

“Wait just a moment.”

The screen darkened and there were craftsmanly noises while she made it for me.... and then she handed it over! Ah! Thank you, Isha! ^__^

And since I’d gotten her business up and running for her, she said I could come back any time for a special discount! “Just...don’t tell my other customers, OK?”

“Don’t tell your other customers what?” I said. ;)

I walked into the shop and spoke to Isha’s associate, Cara. “Vas’aaq,” she said, “I heard you brought some flint for us, little vai. You’re a lifesaver!” And then in small font: “How about...I tell you one of the owner’s secrets as my way of saying sarqso?”

“Tell me!” I say. :D

“I heard the owner... sleeps wearing nothing... but accessories...”

Oh dear! Ó༤Ò

“I wonder if she gets cold...”

Haha, yeah, I wonder, Cara! ^_^;;

She gave me a few other secrets—it seemed they varied—before I bought two more accessories: Ruby and Topaz.

Back outside and the city was as large and sprawling and confusing as ever, so I started climbing the walls—and found that there were aqueducts up on top! All nicely tiled and everything! Wow!

I was certainly enjoying the bird’s eye view—and there were still so many ways to go up here! I dashed along edges and looked and climbed until—

I was momentarily bemused by a melon rind floating down the current; it spilled over an edge and into a rubbish heap.

I looked upstream: another melon rind came drifting after the first.

What the heck?

I followed these mysterious rinds up the aqueduct until I climbed up over a high ledge and discovered.... a single, solitary Gerudo, sitting cross-legged on top of the wall, pigging out on melons and tossing the rinds into the water.

Her name was Calyban, and she didn’t really care for my company or my conversation, but only continued eating, up here in her sequestered hideaway.

....

I hoped she was not named for her father.

Though if that were the case the city might have been peopled with Calybans by then.

*

In climbing higher up the aqueducts I had come closer to the enormous central stone formation from which all the water seemed to be flowing. It came down in great, cascading falls that spilled into an encompassing, beautifully tiled channel before draining out to the rest of the city.

I wanted up there.

But the rocks looked . . . . difficult. The formation flared outward before the top came to its crest—would I even be able to hold on? And I couldn’t wear my Climber’s Bandana; that would leave my man-face exposed....

Hmmmm....

! The Zora Suit! I could swim up the waterfall in my Zora Armor!

I ran around the central water channel until I found a place where I was sure no one could see me, and ducked down for good measure.

I wonder why I didn’t think to just put on the chest piece.

As soon as I unpaused, wearing the complete Zora Set—

“Sound the alarm! A voe has been detected,” said Dorrah.

And the screen faded to black and they threw me out of town.

Treasured in the Desert

Waking of Friday, January 19, 2018 ~ 5

Treasured in the Desert

Well, I was decked out in Gerudo attire, and therefore theoretically able to venture inside their forbidden city.... But I looked up and noticed one thing—the sandstorm against the Gerudo Highlands had abated.

And I remembered what that young man had said—there was treasure hidden somewhere over there.

It was 1:30 am.

Gerudo Town? Or sandstorm treasure?

....

I warped to Gerudo Town and took a sand seal. The opportunity was ripe; I thought I may as well go for it.

I had already semi-triangulated the treasure’s whereabouts when I had circumnavigated Gerudo Town before. One of the entry guards had told me about the statues that peppered the desert, one of which I’d seen near the town: Gerudo Swordswomen. Allegedly their outstretched weapons pointed the way toward the treasure.

Part of my circumnavigation happened to have taken me directly behind one of these statues, and so.... I’d dropped some map-markers. The treasure had to be somewhere along that line.

And so having jumped a fresh sand seal I plunged into the sparkling, starlit vastness of the sea of sand and stone—only a moment later to be clouded into an oblivious pocket of browny beige at the roaring storm’s return.

Oh for—Fine timing—

And my Sheikah Slate malfunctioned again!

It hadn’t been the boundaries of Hyrule before—it had been the storm.

I just tried to keep the insistent sand seal on a straight course—and I still had the thought to consult my map, switch the markers to beacons if need be; those would show up on my HUD to guide me—but my HUD showed only static of course.

The seal kept pulling, fast as a chariot. And there were baddies—the Lizalfos Mask leapt to my face—and rocks to dodge—this was going to throw me off course. What could I—

Another Swordswoman statue hazed out of the gloom, arm and sword outstretched, pointing.

I veered in the direction indicated. This is crazy! I thought. And nowhere near the vector I’d started with—not that I could tell for sure. Where was this going to lead me?

More rocks. More Lizalfos. Ruins looming in the dimness, and every so often.... another sword arm proclaiming the path.

It was a long and dizzying drag in the murk....

But when I swirled suddenly toward the orange glow of a shrine—

With a wrench I let go of the seal; it burrowed off into oblivion. Sorry, treasure, I thought. But this was one detour I wasn’t willing to pass up. Not even for treasure.

I trudged toward the glow through the din. The shrine was caged beneath the ruin of an ancient ribcage—this must have been the one I saw from the mountain before.

The Kema Zoos Shrine it was called. But when I approached it, the completed sidequest banner flashed across my screen—?

This Shrine was the treasure of the Silent Swordswomen.

....Huh.

Okay then! :D

I hopped inside, and beat it. And when I came back out, the sandstorm had passed, and the sun was shining.

....

I wanted to climb on top of the skeleton.

I wandered around to get on the outside of the spine, but no sooner had I done so than I began to pant in the heat!

I ran back under the ribcage. Maybe it was like the other locations in this area; if I stayed close to it I would be—I was still swaying and wincing.

In desperation I ran for cover beneath the shrine’s overhang. I was fine here.

....Was here where I had to stay to be safe? How close did I have to be to the shrine to stay cool?

I stepped out, and took a few paces. Still beneath the ribcage, and everything seemed in order. Beyond the ribcage, too hot. Back under the ribcage, just fine. No, not just fine—I was heatsick again. What in the world was—was this one of those overlapping boundaries depending on your direction—

No I was fine again. I was fine under the shadow of the skeleton. The ribs cast thick dark lines of shade across the ancient paving, slatting the scorching sunlight.

Wait a second.

No.

No way.

I stayed beneath the ribcage, but stepped out of the shadow, and into a glaring sunbeam.

—And my temperature gauge flared and I began to sweat and pant—

Back in the shade . . . . and I was better.

Back in the sun . . . . and I was in trouble—

The shade . . . . sweet cool solace—

Sun . . . . burning up—

Shade—I’m safe—

Sun—I’m frying—

Shade—It’s nice—

WAIT.

I stood still, and watched the shadow crawl beneath my feet with the arcing of the day, the lip of it slowly approaching to dump me back into the daylight.

And when the sun struck my boot and began to crawl up my leg—I OVERHEATED AGAIN.

WERE THEY SERIOUS?? THAT WAS SO BOSS I COULDN’T EVEN BELIEVE IT MY GOSH THESE GAME DESIGNERS WOW JUST WOW WOW WOWWWWuh!

THEY TRACKED THE SUN.

They tracked the sun and shade, that is just—

That is amazing.

I’ve never seen that before.

There was something I had never seen before.

HAHH.

My sand seal was still there. Or a sand seal was. But.... I was still stranded until nightfall. Hm.

Ah blow it.

I drank my first ever heat resistant elixir, and sand sealed back toward Kara Kara Bazaar!

The Prettiest Voe

Waking of Friday, January 19, 2018 ~ 4

The Prettiest Voe

A Hylian dressed like a Gerudo. A “pretty Hylian gal”.

That was who I was looking for, this cool night in Kara Kara Bazaar.

Robsten said this.... person was around the general store, but I didn’t see anybody around any of the stalls.

Ripp the guard said she’d seen a Hylian vai wandering around the inn. Said she was probably still in town, as the Divine Beast was scaring a lot of people out of traveling right now.

So to the inn I went.

But nobody new was inside.

I bought all of Shailu’s (newly-stocked) arrows again and went back outside. There was really only one more place to check. That spot up on top of the big, bulbous rock. The spot which David had been so eager for me to visit....

So I climbed the ladders, got up on top, and saw a Hylian standing there, clad in shimmering purplish silks, looking out into the desert where Vah Naboris stomped.

The Gerudo clothes made the figure seem.... well really short.

I got the person’s attention. Vilia was her name.

“Oh my what a lovely young lad you are,” she said, “Do you need something from me?”

“I NEED YOUR CLOTHES,” I said in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice.

Oh my gosh and what a low voice this woman had.

This ‘Vilia’ went on to.... compliment my looks or something I DON’T REMEMBER BECAUSE IT WAS TOO RIDICULOUS—

And I was presented with a couple of choices in the dialogue, and I tried to keep it.... Well, I didn’t want to upset anything.

“You’re very beautiful!” I said. And she was so tickled by this that she offered to give me some Gerudo clothing of my own because it would just look so enchanting on my adorable body why is this pervert offering me clothes I’m a man.

Six hundred rupees and a fade-to-black later, I stood on the rock in a lavender scarf and top, green harem pants and lightweight slippers on my feet—

“*Eeeeee!*” Vilia squealed, complete with asterisks and music note icons!

—And absolutely nothing on my midriff.

“You look adorable!!” Vilia went on, while Link first cupped his hands to the sides of his blushing face, and then WILTED into this girlish stance dance, swaying uncertainly with his shoulders hunched, his low hands clasped together, and his eyes down and away.

Oh my gosh. XD

I didn’t really catch much of the rest of what Vilia said, except when the wind blew her scarf out of the way and I swore she had a beard.

“And make sure to watch out for the wind,” she advised.

At which Link delivered a most timely facepalm, and the cinematic drew to a close.

“Be sure to come back and see me any time if you need more clothes!”

Uh, yeah, sure thing, Vilia. ಠ_ಠ

The Point With No Entry

Waking of Friday, January 19, 2018 ~ 3

The Point With No Entry

As Gerudo Town remained impenetrable, and as no clues seemed to present themselves to me locally, I grabbed a sand seal, counted on its speed to blunt the impending heat exhaustion, and started back toward the oasis at Kara Kara Bazaar.

But I didn’t get far before I saw a voe on the road—a man. And in a fit of considering my optionnnnns I decided to hop off the sand seal, and talk to him.

His name was Gartan

He was a merchant.

That was all.

Well that was a wasted sand seal—I ran back to the safety of Gerudo Town, as it was nearest.... and saw another guy, running around. Literally running before the forward wall.

I stopped him to talk. His name was Bozai, and he sported obnoxious glasses, an overlarge chin, and unflatteringly long dark hair.

But he also had.... Sand Boots? That let him run at normal speed over the sand?

Heck yes!

But Nope, says he. He would mayyyybe give them to a girl, but not a guy.

Huh.... Well it seemed an interesting item to keep my eyes out for anyway.

But it still didn’t get me into the town.

I saw Lukan come up the road to enter the city! But nothing she could offer was much help to get inside either.

I tried walking around the outer wall—there were other entrances, but they too were of course guarded by Gerudo.

I even climbed up on top of the wall a little bit....

I could see into the town.

A handful of red-haired girls, oblivious with their backs to me. Some were so young....

It felt indecent.

I did not drop down inside. I just kept circumnavigating.... and kept running into Bozai and his ridiculous boots—turned out he was running around trying to show off and catch some Gerudo lady’s eye.

Well.... good luck with that, Bozai.

All of the Gerudo guards told me much the same thing, this was Gerudo Town, no voe allowed, the Divine Beast this, the burning desert that, blah blah blah....

I finally tried talking to Benja again, by the shrine. And this time, I found out what he had meant before when he said it was all research.

Benja told me he’d heard of a man who knew a way to sneak into Gerudo Town! A man who’d been in and out of the city several times before! That’s why Benja was keeping such a sharp eye on the road leading in—he wanted to catch the man at it and learn the secret.

He also said the man frequently visited Kara Kara Bazaar.

Huh.... well this was interesting news!

When it was cool enough I grabbed a sand seal and hightailed it back to Kara Kara Bazaar, and told Robsten I had found his caravan leader.

This came as a relief to Robsten, and I told him further that his caravan leader was keeping an eye out for that guy—it would definitely be somebody sneaky.... And I asked him if he’d seen anybody like that.

Somebody sneaky?

AND HE SAYS “There was that pretty Hylian gal at the general store. It’s unusual to see a Hylian girl dressed like a Gerudo...”

?

!?

Oh...

my....

SAND SEALS

Waking of Friday, January 19, 2018 ~ 2

SAND SEALS

I guess that, some time ago, I had ventured into the arid regions just enough that my loading screen had decided it was time to start giving me tips about Sand Seals.

I never read these tips. I didn’t want to be spoiled.

But I gathered a Sand Seal was something that could help you travel.

I just guessed it was something you stood on, like a dais, out in the desert, maybe some mini-warpable network that could take you from place to place without making you trudge through the endless sands. But wasn’t that a little redundant....?

Mmm but I did like to comb all the spaces between the anchors....

Then, as I approached Gerudo Town in the growing dawn, I saw a sight that made everything so clear to me:

Large, grey-brown shapes, three of them, sitting or rolling around on the sand before a small pavilion beside the town’s entrance.

I scoped in.

The one facing me had tusks.

Like a walrus.

IN THE SAND.

“Sand Seals!” I gasped!

It was THAT kind of seal! 8D

Whaaaaaaat? >u<

Oh my gosh did I ride it? Like a horse? Or like on the back of Prince Sidon? Did they go fast? Would I get a saddle?

My mind spun in dizzy delight as I approached the walls of the town.

The place was alien, but most interesting; so many ruins and strange formations jutted from the sea of sand all around. One shape with towering banners winked at me from within a giant dust-cloud. The Southern Oasis?

I placed a marker and checked my map.

It was smack in Divine Beast territory.

Nope! Definitely something for another day. :)

I hurried toward the Sheikah Shrine at the corner of the town—the Daqo Chisay Shrine. But before I entered, I spoke with the man standing beside it. Benja was his name. And he was the caravan leader.

Though his feet didn’t move, his eyes beneath a shading hand seemed to be walking all up and down the front of the town.

“Are you spying?” I asked him, and he dodged the question with some words about his caravan and the research he was doing or something.

My only response to give to this was, once again, “Are you spying?” XD

“It’s research! RESEARCH!” he shouted. Or some such assertion. XD

I entered the shrine. I think it was the one David said he had solved by just laying a bunch of metal weapons on the floor to complete the electrical circuits. But I just did it the regular way. :3

Afterwards I headed toward the entrance to Gerudo Town.

Two tall Gerudo guards in gleaming, gold-trimmed armor stood on either side. Merina and Dorrah.

First I tried just.... slowly stepping forward. But they had their spears at my throat before I could cross the threshold, and were kind enough to remind me that no voe were allowed in the city.

“I’m sorry... ‘boe’?” I said. Uh, why was this an option?

“Voe! Voe! Bite your lower lip as you say it!”

AND THEN I JUST DIED as I remembered that Japan has no traditional character for V! XD

Oh my gosh this was precious. XD XD

Wait how did they even write it in Japanese??

WHO WROTE THIS? You are just way too much fun. XD XD XD Oh my gosh. Now I want to see screenshots of this exact exchange in the original Japanese. XD

Through with probing the town’s entrance, I turned to the only other NPC that seemed to be a permanent fixture of the location—beneath the canopy to my left stood Frelly.

She stood happily clapping and cooing and calling to the sand seals lolling around on the dune before her. And when I spoke to her, she sounded more perky and friendly than any Gerudo I had ever met. :3

Sadly, since I was a voe, Frelly said I couldn’t go into town to just rent a sand seal for twenty rupees. But she explained that the wild ones were easy enough to catch:

You had to sneak up reeeal quiet behind one, and then you just grab it with A, and steer it with the joystick. But she said really the best way to learn was just to jump right in and try it!

Heh, Frelly was so fun. ^_^

Oh, and she also said I had to have a shield equipped.

A shield? How would that work?

Well, I had one of my three trusty Knight’s Shields equipped already, so.... I snuck up behind one of the sand seals out by the canopy.... and grabbed it.

And surfed on my shield behind it like a CHARIOT! 8D

HA! I rode around and the sand seal burrowed through the sand ahead like a dolphin and I turrrned it this way and turrrned it that way—and it WAS fast! But I didn’t want to get too far away from the city, and so angled back toward Frelly’s canopy.... and let go with B. And off the sand seal went back into the dunes before popping out some distance away to loll on the surface again.

And oh dearie my, I jumped into my inventory to check....

AND MY SHIELD WAS STILL SPARKLY! 8D Riding it around hadn’t damaged it at all!

Well this was just a dandy way to travel! ^_^

From: Andrea

To: Vince, Lisa

2018-02-05 1:26p

Is there a “v” sound or

character in Japanese?

From: Vince

To: Andrea, Lisa

2018-02-05 1:28p

Only in more modern stuff, a

lot of Japanese people can’t

really pronounce it properly.

From: Vince

To: Andrea, Lisa

2018-02-05 1:29p

ヴ is how you write it.

Vince ->ヴィンス

From: Andrea

To: Vince, Lisa

2018-02-05 1:32p

Wow! How modern? And what

sound does that character

make without the hash marks?

And is that your name? ^_^

How does it go in Romaji? :D

Oh my gosh I need to calm

down.... X-)

From: Lisa

To: Andrea, Vince

2018-02-05 1:32p

^ ^I was just going to say that.

Katakana u with tenten.

From: Vince

To: Andrea, Lisa

2018-02-05 1:35p

As for how it sounds, try

making a “vvvvvv” noise, and

then shifting your lips forward

until it’s just about at an

“ooo.” It’s in the middle of

those two.

From: Vince

To: Andrea, Lisa

2018-02-05 1:35p

Without tentens, it’s just

“u” (like the oo in food)

From: Vince

To: Andrea, Lisa

2018-02-05 1:36p

Romaji would just be v

From: Andrea

To: Vince, Lisa

2018-02-05 1:36p

Tenten! That’s what they’re

called----they usually add

voicings to non-voiced

consonants?

From: Vince

To: Andrea, Lisa

2018-02-05 1:37p

Yeah, that’s the trick.

From: Andrea

To: Vince, Lisa

2018-02-05 1:38p

I just love you guys. XD

Under The Sentinel Sun

Waking of Friday, January 19, 2018

Under The Sentinel Sun

In the morning I bought all of Shailu’s arrows—normal, Fire, Ice, Shock, and Bomb. The Bomb Arrow was.... expectedly more expensive, though expecting it did little to soften the deal.

And then Shailu was out of stock.

She’d only had one of each.

....

So outside, I bought all of Beedle’s arrows.

I still was not giving him my Energetic Rhino Beetle, though.

After this I explored a part of the bazaar I had not gotten to before—the part that first made me recognize the place as holding one of my memories. I’d seen it from way, way far away on the backside of the Gerudo Highlands, long, long before:

The large, characteristically bulbous rock formation jutting high above the inn, draped on all sides with rugs on ropes so that it almost resembled a hot air balloon.

It was easy enough to find the couple of ladders that led up to the top. But when I got there.... nothing was there.

That was strange, I thought. David had seemed so full of anticipation for when I climbed up there.

Then again it wouldn’t be the first time we gave each other puzzled looks over game happenings or non-happenings that didn’t line up between our separate playthroughs.

Seems the event programmers rather did the thing properly in this open world....

With nothing left to do in town and daylight starting to burn, I set out for Gerudo Town to the southwest.

But not far from the oasis, I started to pant and sigh—it was too hot.

So I put on my Flamebreaker Armor.

It didn’t help.

What? :c

I ran back toward the cool shade of the bazaar—Why didn’t my Flamebreaker Armor help? It could withstand the heat of the volcano. It could keep me from spontaneously combusting! Couldn’t it do anything to insulate me from the desert heat?

Or did it perhaps act like an oven instead?

Ughh....

On the way back to the bazaar I struck up a conversation with a Gerudo who was running in my same direction. Kyra was her name.

“Okay... it’s a voe. You can do this. Remember your training,” she muttered under her breath.

Oh my gosh what. X-)

She then launched into a romantic introduction outlining how she was going out into the world searching for her dreams. “You’re a part of my dreams, aren’t you?” she asked with a cute, girlish bounce in her posture.

The available responses made me laugh:

“You’re my dream girl!”

. . . . or . . . .

“Just a guy takin’ a walk.”

XD

Eh in the end I decided I didn’t want to lead her on. “Just a guy takin’ a walk,” I said, and she immediately dropped her girlish air like a sack of potatoes.

“If that’s the case then there’s no more point talking to you,” she deadpanned with all the tenderness of a cactus.

Dang.

I guess.... she had good training at least. She had seemed like such an eager young n00b....

Why didn’t my Flamebreaker Armor work?

I guessed I would need to make some cooling elixirs for myself. Or only travel at night.

At the bazaar I found some other people to talk to, including one Robsten, who said his caravan leader had gone to Gerudo Town to negotiate entry, but had not come back yet.

Hmmm....

Another young man standing on a little scaffold behind one of the piles of goods said he was watching the sandstorm around the Gerudo Highlands, waiting for it to clear, so he could go for the treasure it concealed....

Hmmmm....

Huh!

I tried running back toward the mountain. Maybe that would be different—

Nope. Too hot that way, too.

I was stuck.

Well, not really. But I didn’t want to warp away; there were no shrines nearby.

Hmm.

I made a cooling elixir. But....

Well I’ve never been one for elixirs.

I decided to wait for nightfall.

In the meantime I spoke to Kyra again, wondering if she had anything different to say. She didn’t, and I was once again “Just a guy takin’ a walk”, and once again dismissed just as coldly.

It was an interesting hobble, being held captive by the desert sun. And nothing I could don would form a permanent solution against it!

Well, I guess it does make sense.

And I would know.

But when the sun finally began to sink and the desert began to cool off I ran out for Gerudo Town, wearing my Lizalfos Mask, just in case.

I once again met Kyra running the other way.

“You again?” she said, “I’m on my personal journey of learning and discovery so it would be great if you could not disrupt it.” She paused. “Unless... Do you think you’re part of my destiny? My dream life?” Or some such words.

Eh, third time’s the charm. Just to see what would happen, I answered with a big hearty “You’re my dream girl!”

Kyra straightened up at once and said, “My vaba always said nothing’s so shady as a voe who talks about dream this and dream that. I guess she was right.”

OUCH. XD

I felt kind of pathetic in the Lizalfos Mask.

Why are Gerudo so tall....?

“Run along, voe. I’m busy,” she said, and left.

Wow.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Carrying on.

Kara Kara Bazaar

Evening of Friday, January 5, 2018 ~ 3

Kara Kara Bazaar

Situated round the hub of a cool oasis, ringed with palm trees, Kara Kara Bazaar seemed rather much like a stable: a sprinkling of merchants and other characters, a place to sleep, a lit wok, a local dog.... and Beedle.

I still wasn’t handing over my Energetic Rhino Beetle to him.

There were, however, no horses in the vicinity; all traffic here seemed to be on foot or not at all.

Most of the residents were Gerudo, and most of the Gerudo seemed concerned in some degree with expressing their loathing of the Yiga.

Well I guessed we were somewhat closer to that winding Satan Canyon with all the frogs and ant lion traps.

The merchants sat out in front of tents and tarped piles of boxes with their goods—fruit, mostly. “Good...day...” said the first one I talked to, “That’s how you say it where you come from, right?”

So cute! XD

The one elderly Gerudo merchant I saw had her hair (still very red!) pulled back in an elaborate updo adorned with beads and jewels. She complained so sorely about the heat, for a desert dweller, that I felt a little bad not buying anything from her. But I wasn’t interested in fruit just now.

And then I saw another Rito.

A thrill took me—I had never met any other Rito besides Kass before! I hurried to where this other lazed back on some rocks beside the water. Are you a girl bird or a boy bird....? David and I wondered....

The Rito’s name was Guy.

“Oh you’re a man-bird,” I said, and David laughed.

Apparently Guy had not been fully prepared for the pounding desert heat—if he just had a cooling elixir maybe he’d be able to continue on his travels....

The sidequest name flashed across the top of the screen: An Ice Guy.

....

I once read that groaning has been the appropriately appreciative response to puns since the days of the Roman Empire.

....

Yup. XD

I’d never made a cooling elixir before, but I certainly had enough darners for it. I made one now at the wok, and took it back to Guy. Oh, he was happy to get it—and he gave me a purple rupee for my trouble!

And then.... he taught me how to say ‘thank you’ in Gerudo: “Sarqso”.

Heh. Cool. >u<

Another Gerudo sat on a rug beneath some propped up, textile shade. “Mother wouldn’t be all right with a delicate voe like you,” she said of looking at me.

These Gerudo....

We talked. Her name was Rhondson, and she was looking for the love of her life.

Why the rush? I asked her.

“It’s incredibly rare for a male to be born to the Gerudo, so we travel to find husbands,” she said. And she wondered if there was someone out there for her....

Hang in there, Rhondson.

I stepped into the inn—which seemed to double as a shop, for my eyes fell on—

BOY DO THEY GOT THE ARROWS. C8

There they were, lined up in a neat little row along the wall, every variety except for Ancient. Shailu, the Gerudo behind that little counter, couldn’t be bothered much to chat about them, though—she was too absorbed in a book.

I would definitely have to remember this place—and so placed a bow-and-arrow stamp on my map right then and there.

By now it was about 8:30 or just past in the evening. I spoke to Kachoo, the actual innkeep, whose name I thought sounded like a sneeze, and.... aw heck.... asked for a soft bed, with a wake up call in the morning.

“Soft bed it is!” said Kachoo, “Sleep well!”

“Sarqso,” I told her.

. .  .   .    .     .       .

The time-passing music was different for the soft bed sleep—much embellished and quite fancy.

David turned in my periphery and stared at me intently during the little refrain.

But I did not stare back.

We weren’t playing Skies of Arcadia.