Corruption and Innocence

 

Waking of Monday, June 17, 2019 (comprised of raw note editings from April 5, 2023 through April 19, 2023 that I really hope sound consistent because I left it alone for too long)

Corruption and Innocence

I sailed down into Kakariko’s thoroughfare to talk with Pikango.

But he had nothing new to say.

I derped around the village.

But nothing had changed.

So....

I....

....went to the interwebs, and asked for a hint.

In the meanwhile I went and killed a couple of Lynels, upgraded some clothes, got another piece of Naydra—I’d been out of hornshard just there—rode my Big Horse around, toyed with looking at different mane-color possibilities on some other horses.... but could never follow through.

When I checked my preferred interwebs channel again, I’d not yet received any help.

Probably just as well.... It was a moment of weakness—I should never have queried there in the first place....

....

I was getting sleepy while I played again.... ugh....

I just.... put the game to bed for the time being.

....

Mmmrmrrmhrmmm consulted.... YouTube?

Why was I flouting such danger?

I made a search and then, just.... just looked at the thumbnails. I wouldn’t watch anything.

....

That shrine was called Lokna Rokee.

One thumbnail had.... a Yiga?

“The Stolen Heirloom”?

So the Yiga were involved....

Maybe I could go on that for now....

This was so cheating....

Ugh, I wanted the last two shrines and I wanted to beat this game....

....

I turned the game back on.

....

Swept the Yiga Hideout. Nothing.

Warped to the Plateau Tower and sailed down to the Shrine of Resurrection.... Why? ....But there was nothing there either.

Traveled from the Dueling Peaks Stable to Kakariko on foot, and fought the first Yiga I saw along the way. Nothing.

....

I wandered up the hill and between the tall stone cliffs and into the village, and.... played with Cottla. First it was a race, then hide-and-seek....

Heh, I remembered. This hide-and-seek game had given me some pretty fitful dreams, a long, long time ago.... the first time I’d played it.

And now after so very, very long, I poked around the village once again, waking up old nightmares I’d forgotten, the terrifying numberlessness of the crevices behind the houses....

And again I couldn’t find Cottla. Not right away at least.

I dipped into Impa’s house for a breath.

Impa and Paya had nothing new to say to me either.

....

Time stood so weary and heavy on my back.

The end was near and I could feel it.

....

I went back outside.

Looked around.

....

Where could I go? Who could I talk to?

....

That patio.... reminded me of.... social types who sit around and talk....

I walked over.

Oh. Koko was there. Cottla’s sister. Using the wok.

Dorian had said Koko was now sort of like a mother to Cottla, ever since their real mother, his wife, had been killed by the Yiga clan.

Koko was cooking again, and.... a red exclamation mark? An undone task? What? But.... I had already cooked with Koko. I distinctly remembered the name of that long ago bygone quest: Koko’s Kitchen. How could I not? It sounded just like Koko’s Kitten.... And I had completed it.

Oh and Cottla was hiding back there! Down in the grass over the far side of the patio! Crouched down in the crack between house and terrace. Gosh she was tiny.

I went over to her and found her—and she delightedly conceded I’d won, and gave me an Amber.

Darling child.

....

But about this new red exclamation point marker on Koko....

“What should Koko make now...” she wondered aloud when I approached her. And then with a jump and a little cheer she decided on a hot buttered apple. “Mother used to make it all the time!”

The ingredients were apple and goat butter, but.... Koko sighed and said she was all out of goat butter.

She lamented that she was a bad daughter who couldn’t do anything right....

Oh dear one....

The positive option I was given to respond with was righteously charming:

“Voilà! Goat butter!”

I fwipped it out of my pockets and handed it over like a Hero.

“Is this... goat butter?!” she perked with a little hop, and her eyes lit up again.

She thanked me and told me to wait just a second—and the screen blacked out while the cooking sound played....

When the world came back, Koko had produced the Hot Buttered Apple. She reveled in the yummy smell and sang praises to its sweet taste before telling me to take some for myself, which I did.

It was a cute little 2-heart dish. :)

“Koko will work hard to get better and better at cooking!” she said. And then—

Cooking with Koko – Complete

Cooking with Koko....?

Not Koko’s Kitchen....

Huh. Were there.... hidden quests?

Why hadn’t I seen that red exclamation mark before? Had I just never been close enough?

Speaking of which.... she didn’t have one now. Maybe I had to—

I left the area, and then came back.

Koko again had a red exclamation mark.

Huh.

When I spoke to her again it was the same story—

“Hmm, what should Koko make now... OH!! Koko will make Father’s favorite! Tough meat-stuffed pumpkin! It’s great for an energy boost.”

—except this time it was called Koko Cuisine.

The ingredients were fortified pumpkin and raw meat, but she was out of raw meat.

And then again, “Koko is a bad daughter who can’t do anything right. Koko will never be like Mother...” She wilted into a sulk.

Child!

“Voilà! Raw meat!”

And at this she lifted her eyes and perked up once more. “Are you sure about this? Really? Thank you so much! Koko means it! Stay right there for a second!”

And a black screen full of cooking noises later....

“Mmm! What a scrumptious smell! Oh, and that savory meat pairs SO well with the sweetness of the pumpkin! This is just how Mother made it! Here, have some! It’s so good!”

And I received some Tough Meat-Stuffed Pumpkin. This one was three hearts and it granted a little defense boost for a time, heh. :)

Koko again asserted that she was going to keep getting better and better, and then.... the Koko Cuisine quest was completed.

....

I went away and came back again.

And again Koko had the mark.

Koko’s Specialty was the quest this time.

“What should Koko make for dessert? OH! Koko will cook a honeyed apple! Mother loved those! It melts in your mouth and is sooo delicious!”

The ingredients: apple.... and courser bee honey.

But “OH, NO!!” Koko wailed. For she was all out of courser bee honey and it was too dangerous for her to go get more. The bees—they attack you when you get too close to their hives.

“Koko wanted to make some for Mother in heaven... But...Koko is a bad daughter who can’t do anything right.”

MY

HEART,

DEAR LITTLE ONE.

“Voilà! Honey!”

I was gonna cry.

Again Koko thanked me a lot, and again she cooked the dish, and again she remembered all about it, but.... her response and reminiscence this time was somewhat more subdued, and.... she wept tears.

“This... This is...” Her eyes fell again. “Koko...remembers... When Koko had a fever, Mother would always cook this just for Koko. When Mother made her special dessert, she always put some of this in it.”

And then a little howl escaped her as her hands came to her face and she cast her sorrow out to the skies—“Waaah! Mother!!”

Oh Child, oh Sweet, Sweet Child....

“Koko...” She wiped her eyes. “Koko...will do her best and try to be as good as you one day! Koko will get better and better! Koko promises!”

And slowly the smile came back to her face as she looked at me again.

“Koko was able to re-create Mother’s dishes! Koko...feels better now!”

And she thanked me with the final dish—Energizing Honeyed Apple. Five hearts and about 135° of extra stamina.

Koko had no more exclamation marks hovering over her after that.

That was good.

Be at ease, Little Friend.

.

.

.

.

Hm.

Maybe it took fulfilling every last quest in Kakariko first....

Like in Gerudo Town....

Oigh, when can I get that orb....

But.... tonight....

Tonight was quite sweet. <3

 

Sleepwalker

Waking of Sunday, June 16, 2019 (comprised of raw note editings from April 5, 2023 through April 17, 2023 that I really hope sound consistent because I left it alone for too long)

Sleepwalker

I started up in Kakariko.

Where the ORB was.

....

The orb was in Impa’s house.

Impa’s house had the Worry Journal.

The Worry Journal mentioned Pikango.

....

I was going to find Pikango.

Maybe now that I had read the Worry Journal, he might have something new to say....

He usually turned up around Stables, and so I got to work sweeping the map, searching for Pikango at every single one....

Warping to shrine after shrine....

But.... I was....

....so....

....tired....

....

.

.

.

.

—Link gave an exertive little grunt and I opened my eyes.

I had accidentally climbed up onto one of the storage boxes outside.... what Stable was this?

Oh my gosh I was tired.

I’d been running on only three hours’ sleep.

Good thing I’d been facing a stable box and not.... some cliff or ravine.... or monster....

Where was I? What was next?

Lakeside Stable.

There was a girl named Cima there, at Lakeside, bearing a red exclamation mark next to her person.

Hadn’t seen one of those in a while.

I woke up a little bit more....

She related to me how frightened she was of the lightning whenever there was a thunderstorm.

Good heavens was Faron a poor choice for you, Cima.

She said lightning struck the stable so often that she became nervous at even the slightest bit of rain.... and then asked me if I could find out why.

Uh, why so much lightning, not why she was nervous.

I agreed.... But as it was not storming or even raining at the moment, I contented myself in the meanwhile with camping out for Farosh to make his passes over the lake. Got a shard of his fang for my patience.

I am so sorry, poor holy beast....

Eventually the rains did come—you never had to wait long in Faron—and I could see what Cima meant: Again and again and again the lightning pounded down directly onto the roof of the stable, shaking the building and the residents....

I donned my Thunder Helm for protection and.... probably asked Revali for a helping wing to get up there and see what was going on....

It was difficult to see in the flashing darkness of the storm, but as I drew near to the stable’s crown, I could see there was an axe hewn right into the horse’s forehead. My gosh....

I removed it, and went back down to the ground, but—

Cima was fast asleep.

It seemed I had waited into the night for the storm to arrive.

....

With nothing else for it I decided to just keep sweeping the Stables, but.... I never found Pikango.

When the sun was up again I returned to Lakeside and sought out Cima once more. I told her about the metal axe on the roof.

She was deeply grateful, and she gave me—

THE RUBBER HELM?

CIMA HAD IT?

....

Okay well I was a little more awake now, but....

Well heck.

BACK TO KAKARIKO.

I ran back into the woods to Cotera’s spring, and had her work her magic on the new piece of armor. She upgraded it past level two, and now that I had the whole Rubber set at such a level—I dived into my menus to see—

....

Unshockable was the bonus.

....

Why this was like another Thunder Helm.

....

....

Well it looked kinda neat, as I wore it.... The Helm was shaped like.... Well I guess the easiest way to describe it would be to say that it seemed as though a fish had nommed onto my head and was now clamped there, its swiftly tapering tail flipped up in a little forward-bending prawn-curl over my crown, where the fin fanned out.

Kinda reminded me of the central Zoran palace, actually....

Similar to the Ancient Helm, my eyes could not be seen.

....

I gotta go talk to Pikango down there again, but....

....I was.... so tired....

Quit the game.

Bedtime.

 

Journal Of Two Very Specific Worries In Particular

Waking of Friday, June 14, 2019 (comprised of raw note editings from April 5, 2023 through April 17, 2023 that I really hope sound consistent because I left it alone for too long)

Journal Of Two Very Specific Worries In Particular

As I had already gotten it, and was subsequently unafraid of spoilers, I went looking around YouTube for clues regarding the Toto Sah Shrine below Misko’s Cache. I wanted to know whether it would still audibly ping the Sheikah Slate’s sensor while the rocks were still blocking it.

I mean I didn’t see why it wouldn’t.... after all, that Thing Under The Mountain shrine in Akkala had still brreep-brreeped at me.... But I was paranoid....

I found a video about the Necludic shrines. Inadvertently saw the shrine name Lokna Rokee.

Lokna Rokee? .... I didn’t recognize that name. Was that Impa’s Shrine?

But if it was listed here, on this video, then....

Did that mean it wasn’t the last shrine you got?

Did that mean you could get it at any time?

I’d just imagined the final shrine to be.... hidden until you were upon the time of finding it, and then somehow scripted. I’d imagined that.... it must have been a combat shrine. A combat shrine unlike any other.... My mind was pulled away once again to that hole in the pattern beneath the Eldin Great Skeleton. That blasted thumbnail I had seen.... and which STILL cropped up sometimes.... It looked so like the Deplian Badlands....

Hmmmm....

....

I was going to see if I could steal the old lady’s orb and finally put it in its pedestal.

....

I have just had a scary time booting up my console.

When I power it down, I will watch the orange light.

....

Okay, I was in Hateno.

....

It felt.... off, with David and Savannah here just giggling at memes.

I was still in my Gerudo harem-pant pajamas.

I am going to go to Kakariko Village. That’s where I’m going.

But first, it was a brief visit to Fyson in Tarrey Town, for arrows. Then Botrick for arrows again. But oh, Botrick was still sold out. .... Hm, that meant Gerudo Town probably would be too, then.

It was enough.

I warped to Kakariko.

I wanted that ORB....

Walking straight up to it and attempting to grab it didn’t work.

I couldn’t talk either Impa or Paya into giving it to me.

The floor—

These Kakariko houses....

I took careful regard of the exact position of the orb and then.... went outside. The actual ground around Impa’s house was sparser than most, as the structure was nestled in the midst of the waterfall. But in short order I was able to find a foothold big enough to grant me access to the crawlspace under the house. I crouched down, threading my way between the thick support beams.... The orb should have been right about.... there?

I considered the shape of the house, could imagine the steps from the doorway to where Impa sat, envisioned the orb just to the left there.

But the boards under the house all looked the same; nothing hinted at any kind of structural weakness.

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

I toggled over to the cubic Bombs in my Slate.

Besides, why would they even have this crawlspace if not for something like this?

I planted the explosive right about where I thought the orb should be, four feet above on its little platform.

“This is your plan?” said David.

I backed up to a safe distance and hit the button, and Ja Baij’s party favor blew out with an electrical sizzling bang in a wide blue radius. I was pretty sure I heard some exclamations of shock from up through the floorboards—

But as the lingering haze cleared away and I moved back in.... I could see that the boards remained undamaged.

Guessed I wasn’t gonna get it that way.

I tried talking to Paya some more. I tried every species of being sneaky and avoiding detection to get close and just take it.... but it never worked.

I found that I could Stasis the thing. But my sword wouldn’t move it.

So I tried planting another Bomb under the house, then Stasising the orb, then blowing the Bomb....

No effect.

....

I was sure scaring these two poor ladies, though.

I tried talking to all the people I could; maybe someone had some information I was lacking. I tried taking pictographs of both the pedestal and the ball; maybe Impa or Paya could add two and two together with a visual aid—

That THUMBNAIL I saw....

The last shrine MUST be at the Eldin Great Skeleton....

These must be the last two shrines.

But how do I get them?

I warped to the Volcano.

Killed some monsters.

Wandered around....

Back at the Great Skeleton I tried the Meteor Rod in the eye socket this time. The fiery globules bounced around insanely for a while like pinballs before burning themselves out.

But.... nothing.

I did get two pieces of Dinraal in the meantime, though.

I’d thought for sure this place looked like that thumbnail.... the wan glare of the grass and the earth, the land falling away in the background, with only the chasm and the distant northlands beyond....

How do I get those shrines....?

Back to Kakariko.

Impa as it turned out was not frightened in the least by my Dark Series outfit.

Nor was Paya.

But Cado was—he drew his blade!

Good old Cado....

How do I get those bloody shrines....

....

There was a book in Impa’s house: the Journal of Various Worries.

Huh.

One of the entries mentioned Pikango, I think, and that he sought the fairy fountain. But that that was “near where the village’s guardian spirit resides”? Or some such words?

I thought the spirit was Cotera....?

And then this was followed by the line “We must not allow the newcomer [Pikango] to know the location of the fountain! Or of the two shrines nearby.”

Two shrines!

I KNEW IT.

I ran outside, but.... no Pikango. Checked the woods, but he wasn’t there either. At least, not around the pedestal of the undiscovered shrine.

Could Pikango tell me something useful the next time he appeared in the village?

Hmm.

I paraglided back down into the village proper, and headed back to Impa’s. Were there any other books around that I hadn’t read yet?

Nothing else of any great import in the main entry hall that I could see.

But maybe....

I padded up the unobtrusive wooden staircase behind where Impa sat, and—

Ah-ha! Paya had a journal!

....

But.... she was there, in the room, in the way of me reading it—my gosh I am nosy.

Well I suppose it was her bedroom after all.

See Paya had been the one to write the very last entry in the Journal of Worries. Something about the heirloom.... that ball....

When can I have it....

I am so tired. I might just go to bed.

Oops I stayed up and watched three more episodes of Parasyte instead.

What am I doing my cough isn’t even fully gone away yet....

2:16 am.

GOOD NIGHT, NEVERLAAAAAND!

*whump*

 

The Princess Irate

Waking of Saturday, January 5, 2019

The Princess Irate

It was raining in the morning when I woke up at the Tabantha Bridge Stable.

Happy though I was for my new mount Knight, I left him boarded as I set out for the day. This was exploration time, and I would be more agile on my own.

I crossed the Tabantha Bridge to the west, no longer afraid of the Guardian Flyers patrolling between the ridiculous rocky hills on the other side. Their range of vision was nowhere near as far-reaching as I’d initially thought.

I still gave them a wide berth, though.

I climbed up the cliffs on the left, and found at their rolling, grassy crest... the Ancient Columns. Just like Pikango had said. And there was the shrine as well. The Tena Ko’sah Shrine. This was the spot depicted in Princess Zelda’s pictograph.

I’d known this place was here. I’d even heard the shrine’s siren signal brreep-brreeping as I’d crossed through this area looking for the fairy fountain before. I’d left it alone, then.

But now I was here for the land.

I was here for the map.

I was here for Divine Beast Vah Medoh.

The light of the lost memory was easy to find.

I stepped into it....

Zelda stood before the shrine’s pedestal, and held the slate up to it.

The unchanging breeze blew on in its whispersong.

“Nothing. Just like before.” She looked disappointed as she drew the slate back and continued to murmur to herself. Something about that it seemed the structure would only activate for the master of the sword....?

“How can I get inside?” she wondered aloud....

They say Hylians have long ears to better hear the voices of the Gods. I guessed mine must have been extra long to pick up even the princess’ murmurings, because I then came galloping up on my horse from over the hill. My brown horse.

Zelda’s white was already there. Had she ditched me while riding somehow? Couldn’t really put it past the abilities of the white steed....

Zelda saw me coming and.... she looked kind of pissed....

Link dismounted and came up to her.

“I’ve already told you I don’t need an escort!” she started. And like the growl of a harried cat she lowered her volume but not her venom: “It seems I’m the only one with a mind of my own.”

Or some such words.

Looking anywhere but at Link, she blustered on and insisted from so many angles that she was fine on her own, no matter what the king’s orders were.

“Go back to the castle,” she told me.

But Link didn’t. He only followed softly after her as she stalked angrily away.

She turned around—“And stop following me!”

So angry....

Hhhhh.

High Hopes . . . Bogged

Waking of Saturday, December 8, 2018 ~ 2

High Hopes . . . Bogged

David asked me later about the shrine in Ludfo’s Bog, and how I had gotten the orbs down.

“I just climbed up and got ‘em,” I said.

He stared at me.

“....What?” I said.

“You climbed up and got them?”

“Well, I mean, it took some doing, but I had enough stamina—and the Climbing Gear!”

And he stared at me like Gonzo stares at an imbecilic Rizzo, and I stared back at him like an oblivious Kreacher who doesn’t see the issue.

And then he shook his head and I kept playing.

Off to Hestu. I had enough Korok seeds. I asked for one last dance and Hestu did his thing and sang his song, his maracas exploding in a giddy burst of blue confetti.... and I obtained the final shield slot.

Now all my equipment pages were full.

“Shakalo!?” he started with a jolt, “You’ve expanded all your inventories!?”

But he recovered himself quickly and resumed his easy swaying stance dance. “Naaaaaaice!” he said, the word flanked by little music notes. XD

NOW what would he do?

“Thanks to you my maracas sound so... shakey-shake SHAKETY!”

Yes? OuO

“There are more children of the forest out there, and I’m sure they’d still love to meet you!”

Or some such words.

....Oh.

I guessed that really was it. Each equipment page now had twenty slots of hammerspace and.... that was it.

I guessed the rest of the Koroks were....

Well what would happen if you got the rest of the Koroks?

....

I might not pursue that in this playthrough.

Well! With my pockets deep as they would ever go it seemed, I ran to see what I could see in another unvisited piece of the world.

I’d seen this one many times in looking over my map of Central Hyrule—it was hard to miss with its contingent of giant ribs sticking out of the earth in unnatural arrangements, the tight cluster of weathered skull-dens, and the giant horned skull that sat atop the crest of the hill.

This was a place my map called the Bottomless Swamp. It was situated on the eastern edge of the central plains, just north of Whistling Hill. But I’d never ventured close to it for the rampant Guardians in the area....

It seemed a Guardian-free approach could possibly be made from the riverbank on the east side. But that direction led up through the forest of battlemented ribs, as well as an overabundance of sprawling, gurgling Pools of Malice. And it was uphill from low ground, no less. No.... I would take the back door.

I could handle the Guardians now.

I ran out into the grass until the Guardian Stalker saw me. It had the higher ground, but I could still time my parries all right.... Maybe due to my experiences outside the Pit Gate, it just made me nervous whenever they had the high ground.... in the grass....

I took the Guardian down, and proceeded to the top of the hill. At the crest, the grass died away and the earth became pale and hard, sinking into a large depression full of bogwater, in the middle of which rested the enormous horned skull. Monsters patrolled around on it, inside and out, except where one massive horn had partially broken off. That ponderous fragment rested alone and low in the muck. Around the edges of the bog, Malice pressed in toward the shore and sloughed heavily away downhill to the east and among the skull-dens clustered into the rock like trophies. By the river, the ribs stood clawlike in a challenging and grotesque barrier. Interspersed with all of this stood tall, jagged rocks that were pocked all over as if they’d been boiled.

Ugh, it was creepy. Malice and bogwater....

I stormed the castle nonetheless, knocking what baddies I could into the muck with my arrows before.... eugh.... paragliding over the bog and landing on the connected horn’s lower tip—for the horns curved back and down and around, like rams’ horns.

The number of silver monsters I was made to endure, Bokoblins and Moblins, was a right pain in my royally beknighted patushka. I knocked them into the bog as often as I could; any gemstones they might have dropped weren’t worth the hassle of beating it out with them over solid ground. Or bone.

After I’d cleared the top, I was blessed to discover a hole in the crown of the skull, via which I could rain terror from above on the inner inhabitants, courtesy of Ja Baij. And as the inner level was not well founded, the blasts were sufficient to knock most of the smaller baddies over the edges and into the sucking, mucky drink. But that big heavy Moblin.... him I just had to sail down and deal with personally.

When every last baddie had been sent back to the Evil Jar, I turned my attentions to the precarious plank of wood bridging a large and dangerous gap in the floor of the inner layer. On the other side, nestled in the cavity of the occipital bun, was a wooden chest.

Huh, wooden....

But appearances weren’t everything. This place was so dreadfully imposing, so heavily guarded, surely there had to be something valuable inside....

I tiptoed my way across the plank, and opened the chest.

It was a hundred rupees.

A cool hundred rupees.

Neat.

Thanks, guys.

I got off the skull island and traipsed around the hillside to the east, skirting the Malice pools and sweeping up what baddies I’d missed. There was a small forest a short way to the north. The forest that spanned from one shore of the river to the other, just near the Wetland Stable. Pikango had said.... there might be a memory in there....

Or, well, rather I had shown Pikango one of the images from Princess Zelda’s pictograph gallery, and he had said the pictograph was probably taken in that forest, though on what side of the river he could not tell.

I knew David had yet to find the memory linked to the pictograph taken in a woods....

But David never stops to chat it up with the locals.

The only problem was.... David and Savannah were in the room with me now, and they wanted to watch a movie.

Huaaugh I killed time in pointless ways, examining boring-looking hills for Koroks, running back to climb a stone tower.... The forest was so close.... I wanted to explore it for the memory, but.... I didn’t want to let on to David what I was doing.... Plus with he and Savannah together in the room.... That was an as yet unknown variable, and I didn’t want to risk any buzzkill at all, especially with a memory cinematic on the line....

Eugh and there was that tense bit in the conversation; David kept pestering me to wrap it up and get off already.... but I kept pressing that I wanted to explore.... How did it lead up to what he said....?

“What is there a memory in there or something?” His voice was still chiding, not serious, but crap.

“I didn’t say that—” Wrong thing to say. “—I’ve been trying to find Koroks....” Or some such lame excuse when I’d ONLY JUST already maxed out my carrying capacity....

I ran around the riverside green like a distractible puppy—typical enough behavior in and of itself whenever I was running out of juice on playtime.... Did it throw him off the scent?

He pressed me further. They wanted to watch a movie.

“Okay, okay,” I said at length when I could think of nothing else to do.

I relented, and went to Pepp’s—it was 9:00 in the morning, game time—and slept until noon.

Good night.