RITO MULTIMUSE of tloz: breath of the wild & tears of the kingdom, heavily featuring tulin. tracking #flockrest. independent, selective, low-activity, & heavily headcanon-based. open to writing with a variety of ocs, aus, & crossovers.
( blog roll: balladetto )
a study in: chasing hopes made concrete / rushing growth made necessary / the tailwind found in community / strength in arbitrariness / the act of trying, when no one else will / the act of doing, when no one else can.
Send in questions about my muse’s world, the setting, the politics, their family lineage, the NPCs that may have shown up at points, their past and potential futures, the climate, the food and culture, religion, anything! Dig deep, ask about the mechanics and framework of the world that lays underneath!
Note: This can be reblogged at any time, not just on a weekend! Have fun!
The Great Sky Spirit who takes on the form of a dragon when he wishes to join mortals on their plane. Believed to be the Windlines' original progeny before everyone and everything else were shaped by Their currents, he is often characterised in Songs and myth as the Rito's much, much older brother rather than their father or similar.
In this sense, he is also typically construed as more benevolent than the Windlines — or at least more decided in doing good rather than harm. Most Songs relating to him and Rito origins tend to start with Valoo feeling sorry for/taking pity on their ancestors for not being able to fly.
Related to the above, not a fan of nor do I subscribe to the "all Rito evolved from the Zora" concept introduced in Wind Waker because I'm of the vehement belief that they should be a people of their own right and with their own evolutionary background that is disconnected from Hyrule's usual races. As such, Scales Atop the Mountain's Rito may still be Hyrulean Zora transformed by Valoo, but it's more a case of a repeated instance of blessing a race with wings and flight for him as someone who felt real bad for their predicament.
In addition to the Rito, he is believed to be related to the Munan ( a group of Sky Spirits that embody the clouds ), the Ootakk ( twin Sky Spirit siblings that are understood as lightning and thunder ), Mualoo ( what the Great Rain Spirit is known by to Peaks Among the Ripples ), and many other Sky Spirits. Dragonroost's Rito like to think that he fancied their first ancestor, a Zora Princess of yore who would become his attendant, though it's a claim most other clans and flocks laugh and shake their heads at for how obnoxious it is in trying to imply that Scales Atop the Mountain ( and, hence, that past connection to Hyrule ) is somehow More Important™ to a Sky Spirit of the Windlines.
While Song lyrics and stories may slightly differ from flock to flock, the general gist of his role in Rito history is universally understood as follows by those that take him for their Creator Being: in having been given the gift of flight first, he blessed his younger kin with the same freedom by shaping their ancestor's/ancestors' wings with his claws and scale-feathers, purging their connection to land and waters with his breath, and cleaving paths through which they could begin to travel along the Windlines in what have come to be known today as skytrails with his might.
Most clans interpret this from an artisanal angle, where their then earthly-nature is malleated the way a potter would when warping clay. Valoo took what would be their wings and stretched and stretched, moulding the rest of them not in his image, but in the image of his favourite animal ( as the only mortals who would join him on the Windlines ): birds. He adorned them with his feathers and scales, carving them into their skin and bones, before kilning them with his sacred fire — both to make the changes permanent and to rid the ancestors of any geospiritual ties that would prevent them from connecting with the Windlines. He then asked if they would like to be painted, gave them colours of the earth, the skies, the waters: whatever they requested, he bestowed, and so came to be the first flying Rito.
( This is absolutely reflected in their artisanal work with ceramics and pottery, particularly in their vases! The wings and talons motif are not needed so much as they are appreciated. )
Though the story is generally kept non-graphic when Sung due to the expected presence of hatchlings and fledglings, the implication of how painful and horrific this process of metamorphosis would be is always there, typically in a throwaway verse or two. Forged from dragonfire and dragonscale, it is as much a tale of their people's perseverance as it is their origin. Some clans, flocks, and individuals take this more literally and consider themselves part-dragon for it! Children of the Windlines with dragonblood in their veins. It's not like it can't be true either, given how some in Hyrule, like Mazli, can canonically see the Three Dragons despite possessing no spiritual ability or affinity.
Thinking that Valoo stuck around with Scales Atop the Mountain's Rito in mortal form because they were, historically, connected to the waters ( notably the opposite of one of his primary elements ) far longer than they were to the Windlines. His scale is needed for the complete formation of their wings because they're way behind other clans and flocks in the race to the Rito form we see in Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom. It's also possible that their ancestors just wanted to keep their hands and Valoo, in his unending graciousness ( and fondness, as this particular flock would believe ), granted that wish and came up with a compromise.
Only a few clans have a different Sky Spirit whom they believe to be their Creator Being, like Clan Spheni, often found to the far, far south — who have their Great Ice Spirit in Valoo's stead. They would still know of Valoo by virtue of Rito knowledge being as migratory as the people who carry it, he just doesn't have the same significance to them as he would with other clans and flocks.
DIVERGENCES
NOT descended from Volvagia. This isn't canon so to speak since the implication comes from Hyrule Historia, of all places, but just putting it out there now. Volvagia is a mortal dragon borne of Hyrule's lands, whereas Valoo is a spirit who was not made from Hyrule and its power proper.
I would like to think that his mortal form differs from that of the one we see in Wind Waker, in that he has both scales and a lot more feathers. The Rito took to his feathers more than they did his scales, but remnants of that influence can be seen in their feet and talons! Great lore implications to be made here with how the Zonai are big on dragons, too, and can literally be made into dragons.
Also, the fact that he only speaks in Ancient Hylian in Wind Waker is neat, but it would make so much more sense if he only spoke in Old Rito around his patrons. He is absolutely not connected to Hyrule or Hylians like that! His attendants are still the only ones who can really converse with him because of it. He will dip into Ancient Hylian around people like the King of Red Lions and fellow keepers of the Goddess Pearls.
reminding everyone once again that revali is canonically in the same age-group as link and zelda. i have stretched the gap a little to have him a bit older at eighteen when the events that lead to botw occur — which places him two years over rito age of majority and just about hitting their typical drinking age mark — if only because as an ever aging adult with baby face syndrome, it absolutely delights me to have revali more or less suffering from the same thing with his dead-giveaway cheek marks
Listen,,, listen have you considered tho. Revali still has his cheek marks right? He's still young by Rito standards. What do you think an older Revali might look like? Maybe around Teba's age? Love your botw content though too it's great to see the fandom still thriving!! 💚
It's Kido who ends up being the first one to get his breath back from all the laughter, though it's only a case of when he's gonna lose it again at this point with how the memory of Mr. Link's silly dance in his silly armour loops in his mind as he straightens from where he's collapsed to look up at Mr. Link's eyes. Which he can't even really see behind the helmet, it's so silly—! "Do it, do it—"
"AGAIN!" Tulin crows beside him, throwing all of his voice into the word before it breaks into delighted giggles again — the way Tulin falls into his side and knocks him over and infects him into laughing again. Lots of agains happening!
The others still haven't stopped, too giddy to even try. Kotts and Cree are flapping and hopping all over the place, Notts hasn't gotten up from the ground, and Genli's probably saying something but it's totally lost to her hiccuping chirps.
( Only Molli remembers her manners enough to say, "Please-please-please!" Oops. )
botw chickies to link ♡
Forget about walking through the active volcano that was Death Mountain, this was the real purpose of the Fireproof Armor set. It was a job and half to clomp his way up to where the expectant birdies were waiting mostly patiently, having all gathered together when Link told them to 'watch this'. And while yes, he could have changed into the armor set somewhat closer to the impromptu performance spot, he decided that the clanging steps was part of the experience.
Link realizes only belatedly that the song is mostly in his head, but that doesn't seem to trouble the little ones whatsoever, the giggles coming thick and fast as Link slides, jumps, wiggles his knees, and yes, even gets a little funky with it. A flash of a memory supplies him the disappointed expression of his deportment teacher during his knight training, but that maybe was always how he looked, Link decides, taking up a new rhythm by drumming, legs, and once, even knocking on his helmeted head.
It's hot work doing such moves under the armor, but he's grinning ear to ear even so.
Ending with a big pose ta-da! He relishes the giggles from the Rito before he takes a moment and gives a small bow, something the deportment teacher probably still wouldn't have appreciated. It's worth it though, Link decides, listening happily as the giggles continues before cries of 'again' emerge from the crowd of watchers. Head bounces in a nod, clanking again, and Link repeats the dance.
tell us what pouter pigeons were originally bred for. i will not be the only one subjected to this—
Ask me about pigeons you coward
sdflkjsdf okay so what everyone has to remember is that historically, pigeons were kept for their droppings (which make excellent fertilizer), eggs, down feathers, meat, and for messaging purposes in that order (roughly). Most of this means that you need a lot of pigeons to make it worth your while. Even today, it's not recommended to have fewer than four pigeons at a time since they're hardwired to have friends. That means, if you're an unscrupulous pigeon keeper, it might be worth your while to steal other pigeons from flocks around you. You know what's easier than sneaking into your neighbors' rookeries in the dead of night? Convincing their pigeons to come join your flock. How do you do that?
You breed the most sexual motherfucker in the skies.
Pigeons of all sexes consider a prominent, puffy chest to be the sexiest thing in the world, so prouters were the original honeypot. You fly a few of these with your flock, and not only does it keep your own flock more loyal, they might attract a few more into it. Who's going to argue that that random wildtype roller is actually theirs and you stole it by being too sexy? (quite a few people actually and it's really funny finding laws about this, but I digress).
hiiii can i get a pigeon for kido and/or dineli? <3
Ask me about pigeons you coward
Kido is an English short-faced tumbler pigeon! They're tumblers, which means they perform somersaults in the sky! I think short-faced breeds are very cute, but some of them are a little overbred and have trouble foraging on their own. English short-faced tumblers luckily don't have much trouble with it, so I'm happy to endorse them here! They're absolute sweethearts, but they're extremely adventurous. You need to be careful flying them in flocks, because they might take the entire group for a ride!
Dineli is a Serbian Highflyer! They're rather plain for this series, but they have some of the most consistent endurance records in the world. Though typically good endurance flyers come from bloodlines (Everyone say hi kaiser!), many Highflyers place consistently, even from randombred populations. They can fly for 15 hours or longer and can reach altitudes up to 4,900 feet above sea level!
