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zeldaelmo · 10 months

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For @zelinkcommunity ‘s zelink week 2023 - forbidden

Summary: Link joins Zelda’s class so that her students can learn first hand about the knights of Hyrule. Turns out they aren’t as prepared for the children’s questions as they thought...

Set between BotW and Totk.

No warnings apply, rating: General. Words: 3031. Big thanks @mistresslrigtar for editing this for me! Check out her zelink week pieces!

Rumors have wings

"Oh, but just look at him! He even has a red feather thing on his helmet!" Aster, one of the four children shifting on tiny benches in front of Hateno’s school, whispered behind her hand.

"That's a plume, Miss Zelda explained it last week, you doof—", another child, Karin, started to answer, but was interrupted by their teacher.

"Children! Please calm down," Zelda exclaimed, raising her hands to get her students' attention. The small smile the children managed to elicit from her whenever she saw them adorned her face. While the morning sun warmed her back, she observed them fondly and waited until they were ready to start the lesson. "As you've already noticed, we have a special guest today. Link is kind to attend our lesson so that you can learn firsthand about the knights of the kingdom that ruled over Hyrule 100 years ago."

"A new mission for our spy team, I'm sure, Sefaro!" Azu whispered to his bench neighbor. "My A-zoom senses are tingling!"

"Miss Zelda?" Aster raised her hand so high in the air that her behind nearly left the stool.

"Yes?"

"Is Link the reason that the lesson is outside today? You said weapons aren't allowed in school, and he has this"—she gestured toward the spear in Link's hand—"thing."

"You can't call everything 'thing'," Karin hissed out the corner of her mouth. "Miss Zelda will surely tell us the correct name if we wait."

Link cleared his throat and moved his weapon from his back to rest the tip on the ground in a motion done so often that it had become subconscious.

"This is a Royal Halberd,” he explained. “Only the most trusted knights who guarded Hyrule Castle's throne room were equipped with it. Its ornate design was applied by a craftsman in service to the royal family."

A lot of 'ohs' and 'ahs' came from the children's mouths, and Zelda giggled into her hand. She could not deny that Link was a sight to behold in his full armor, and these kids had never seen a knight before. It was a shame that Link wouldn’t wear it more often. He only bothered with the full armor when he accompanied Hoz’s Monster-Control-Crew and they had their eyes set on a particularly nasty bunch of enemies. He claimed it was for their morale and not for his protection, but she knew he had become gradually more responsible about his well-being with every year that had passed after he defeated Ganon.

"How do you know that about the knights?" Sefaro asked, his eyebrows drawn together in a skeptical frown. He was a spy; he wouldn't easily fall for this story. "I've seen weapons like this hanging from a Hinox's neck. So how would you know they were given to the knights who guarded the throne room?"

Link made eye contact with Zelda and winked. As always, it made her stomach flutter. Then, he turned back to the kids and leaned conspiratorially closer, all of his armor clanging together. "I was one of them. And Zelda's father, King Rhoam, gave it to me."

"No way!" Aster cried. "You're the weird guy who lives with Miss Zelda in the house behind the bridge! No way you're a knight! You can't even remember the Bolson dance! I bet you just bought the armor in the Ventest Clothing Boutique!"

At these terrible (but not untrue) accusations, all four children jumped from their places and started to inspect Link up close. They tugged at the gauntlets and pricked at the chainmail, all while Link hid his face in the little stand-up collar so that only his eyes twinkled under the helmet, and nobody but Zelda saw him chuckle.

After they had assured themselves that at least the armor was authentic, they strolled back to their seats.

“Alright, kids. Now let’s review what you already know about knights. Who wants to start?” Zelda asked and looked expectantly from one to the other until Azu raised his hand.

"They were responsible for guarding the royal family and the kingdom. I heard there was a horrible test to pass if you wanted to become one. Something about a monster fight that only half of the candidates survived." He paused. "That's why I'm a spy and not a knight."

"It was a Stalnox," Link explained quietly. "And the older knights jumped in to beat it back if it was obvious a candidate wasn't ready. But, of course, it was still dangerous. One of my fellow knights got his nose broken and lost his sense of smell."

Azu snapped his mouth shut, and Sefaro shifted uncomfortably on his bench. The story was a little too detailed to be fake. Right? Aster, now also hooked, raised her hand, and at Zelda's nod, she asked, "So just everyone who could beat that monster could become a knight?”

“Goddess, no!” Zelda laughed. “Only the best soldiers could become a knight. Not only combat skills were important, but character, too. Only those of a pure heart and extraordinary courage were offered the opportunity to reach knighthood."

Karin scrutinized Link. "You don't look very courageous."

Link choked on a laugh when Zelda said, "You'd be surprised," and he added, "Some prefer the term reckless instead of courage."

Zelda giggled and shot him a playful, warning look.

Karin's eyes went from one to the other. She crossed her arms and said, "Well, I heard that knights and princesses weren't allowed to court. So since you are courting Miss Zelda, this is clearly a fabrication to pull our legs. You can’t be a knight."

"What—what if—" Azu shot forward so quickly that he nearly fell from his bench. "What if it's a secret relationship? Se-sefaro! We've got a new case!"

"Some spy you are," Sefaro murmured, rolling his eyes in mock disinterest. "The rumor that Miss Zelda is courting him has been around forever. There's no secret about this. At all."

Link pointedly stared at the tree behind the children in the courtyard. If he took one glance at the grinning Zelda, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from breaking into a fit of laughter that would last several moments. After being the center of the rumor mill a hundred years prior, the gossipers here in Hateno were so refreshingly harmless that they never felt the need to clarify any shift in their relationship with anyone. Zelda preferred it that way and insisted her private life was hers and didn't concern anyone. Link couldn’t care less about what they said about them, but the whole topic had become a bit of a tender subject ever since Impa had the guts to ask Zelda about an heir to make sure the bloodline of the Goddess wouldn’t run dry.

Zelda clapped her hands. "Back to the topic, please! Any more questions for Link or me?"

Karin raised her hand again. "So, is it true that a knight wasn't allowed to be with a princess or prince?"

Zelda sighed. "This really interests you, hm? Alright. It's a bit more complicated than that. Link was not only a guard who watched over the castle, but he also became my appointed knight. That means he accompanied me everywhere and—"

"Sometimes she ran away from me, so not everywhere, but pretty much everywhere," Link whispered, the back of his hand directed toward Zelda as if only the children were supposed to hear him.

"Hey!" Zelda cried, boxing his armor (regretting it instantly), and laughing.

"It's true." Link winked at the kids.

"Well, who constantly stared at me judgingly without uttering a word?"

"That was my job!"

"I think they're married," Azu whispered toward Sefaro, who gravely nodded. Maybe he had been wrong, and there was, indeed a spy mission in disguise at hand here.

"And?" Karin pressed on.

"Uh, and? Ah, right, the rules. Yes, my father was very strict about us not being allowed to court. Link had to write reports and all that. I think they feared I would distract him from keeping me safe somehow."

"As if I would let anything happen to you," Link murmured, but nobody had heard him this time.

"Forbidden relationship, write that down," Azu hissed from the corner of his mouth. Sefaro chewed on his pencil, thinking, before he nodded firmly and jotted a few words down—definitely a new mission.

“I don’t know.” Karin crossed her arms. “Both can’t be true because if you were a knight, you wouldn’t be courting Miss Zelda.”

Slowly but surely Link was becoming overwhelmed by the situation, and tipped his head toward Zelda. She would know what to do; she always did. He didn’t mind the children knowing about their relationship status and hadn’t the point of coming here in full armor been so they learned about knighthood? That effort would be in vain if they didn't believe that his knowledge was firsthand. But then again, if the children knew… not soon after, the whole village would know, and then the whole Kingdom and the pressure was back on their shoulders.

Zelda paused and tapped her index finger on her chin — a gesture she had picked up from Purah during the countless hours they spent in the lab. The children regarded him with various stages of skepticism; Karin pouted with her arms still crossed, Azu frowned and licked his lips, and Aster outright made a dismissive hand gesture and rolled her eyes. Only Sefaro still scribbled in his notebook, but bullet points like ‘patrol’ and ‘scouting spot’ didn’t hint at his eagerness to follow the lesson's topic.

"Okay…" Zelda started. "We need to go a little farther back than I anticipated, but it's alright."

She put a hand on Link's pauldron. "You're correct and, at the same time, not. Link made several oaths and promised to follow the rules my father, King Rhoam, set. But you all know that the kingdom no longer exists, so the rules hold no value anymore."

A click of fingers, urgent.

"Yes, Azu?"

"Is that like the thing when you don't have to do what your parents say when you're all grown up?"

"I—" Zelda swallowed, and Link shot her a concerned gaze. These children didn't know that talking to their parents and not to a cold stone was a luxury. "Yes, a little bit."

"Oh."

Zelda glanced back at Link, sighing in resignation. Kids immediately knew if they weren't taken seriously, so there was no way around it.

"So… yes, Link and I are a couple. But…" She stepped closer and crouched at the benches, waving them to join her. The children gathered around her, eyes wide, knowing instinctively that they were about to hear something important.

"You know that I'm not only a teacher, but the princess of Hyrule, too, right?"

The children nodded eagerly, and Aster opened her mouth but got silenced by Karin's elbow in her side.

"As a princess, I have a lot of responsibilities, and a lot is expected of me... if everyone knew that Link and I are together, people would expect even more of us. And Link has given so much already for Hyrule…” She chuckled. “I want to give him the opportunity of being the weird guy I share the house with a little longer.”

“Heh!” Link laughed, crossed his arms over the handle of his halberd in mock offense, and tipped his chin up.

The children chuckled but turned back to Zelda the moment she spoke again. “Don’t worry about him; he’ll come around again,” she said. “What I wanted to ask you is… You’re a team of spies, right?”

“Not all of us,” muttered Sefaro, and Zelda winked at him. “Well, now you all are. My team of royal spies, how does that sound?”

“R-royal spies!?!” Azu nearly fell from his bench again. “Sefaro, this is the coolest day ever! We’re so having a new mission!”

"All of us?" Sefaro mumbled with a side glance at the girls.

"Yes, all of you. And the rest of the village kids, too," Zelda added, knowing very well how the kids who were too small for the lessons lurked around the school and pretended to be spies, too.

"We will be the best spies around, Miss Zelda, I promise!" Karin said with sparkling eyes before she leaned over to Aster, whispering, "What exactly is the job of a spy?"

"Why, spying, of course!" Aster answered. What a stupid question!

Zelda, satisfied with the children's reaction, took another look around. “Ok, so your most important task is…” she beckoned them even closer and whispered, “...that nobody finds out that Link and I are married, alright? This order is in effect as long as I don’t give another, contrary order, understood by everyone?”

“Yes, Miss Zelda, understood,” Sefaro hissed. “Your team of royal spies is at your service! As the head of the spy team, I assure you we will do everything in our power to ensure the success of this mission.”

“Who said you are the boss, stupid Sefaro?” Aster was not happy about this development and tried to kick Sefaro’s shin.

Link stared at the tree behind them so intently that he feared the leaves would turn red and fall to the ground. Countless years he had trained to school his face into a stoic mask, and had endured several situations that had put him to the test, but these kids were giving him trouble not to burst out laughing.

"Ok, I'll take that as your word that I can count on you all." Zelda smiled at their eager nods. Perfect. She had struck a chord in them. Maybe they could keep up the fog surrounding their relationship like the lost woods a little longer. They both weren't against the idea of their own children, far from it, but they had lost so many years to prepare for the return of Calamity Ganon that they both wanted to live a little first. There was so much to see in the world; just the other week, they had discovered a whole new species in Faron! They would continue to help rebuild where they could, and one day, they would make their relationship official. And yes, then they would talk about children, potential consequences for the monarchy, and whatnot but not a moment sooner.

Well, that was if the village children managed to keep their little secret…

“Link actually has another set of armor we want to show you,” Zelda said. “It’s the set of a royal guard. I’ll help him change, and you can take a break here in the school yard so that you’re well-rested when we’re back.”

The children cheered and ran off — who didn’t love an unscheduled break?

Inside, Zelda fumbled with the strap of the helmet under Link’s chin while he chased her cheek to give her a kiss. “Hey!” She laughed. “Stop messing with me, or I’ll never get you out of this thing. You’re lucky I don’t mind doing a squire’s job!”

“Oh, messing with you, is it now? I remember when we got married, you were much more—” Link stopped, frowning at the voices that came through the window.

“...tell everyone who says they’re courting that they’re plutonic friends!”

“You mean platinous.”

“Yeah, pla-pla— what you said! Just friends.” They could practically hear the quotation marks that Aster made with her fingers. The children must have gathered directly under the window sill. One of the kids started to toss a ball against the wall, the tap-tap-tap allowing Zelda an undiscovered giggle about their little confusion.

“But that’s boring. Nobody is going to believe that,” Sefaro’s voice now rang through the open window. “We’re going to tell everyone she kicked him out of his house, and they’re loose acquaintances at best.”

“What?” Karin’s voice was high-pitched — she must have even gotten on her tiptoes to be more intimidating. “Miss Zelda would never! She’s the nicest person in Hyrule! She saved his life 100 years ago; she would never kick him out of his house!”

“But that’s the point,” Azu argued. “We want to distract from the rumor of them being together. But maybe you’re right, and it’s too crazy. What about he's just her swordsman running around Hyrule and doing errands for her? You know, because she's his superior or whatever it was called 100 years ago.”

On the other side of the window, Zelda helped Link pull the royal guard uniform over his head so he didn't need to bother with the buttons. "Hmm… taking advantage of your duty to me," she whispered into his ear when his face was free again and chuckled. "That's a new one."

Link snorted and pulled her closer, softly biting her earlobe. Raising his mouth a few inches higher, he whispered, "You dramatically overestimate the motivational factor of duty, my love. I wouldn't have made it off the Great Plateau without your sweet voice beckoning me like a siren."

Zelda blushed at the implications of that, but any risque answer was cut off by the ruckus the kids made outside. She quickly placed the spiffy cap on his head and winked at him.

The children surpassed each other with propositions now.

"There has been an evil Oracle!"

"An attack of cuckoos!"

“She got captured by the bad Sheikah, the… Yoga!”

“Stop! How should that help to distract? You’re all so mean, I don’t know if I want to play spy anymore,” Karin pouted.

“Hm, ok, nothing evil anymore. What about if someone spots Link walking around the house in his undies again, we'll tell everyone that’s a new order of Princess Zelda to… to… keep the spirits up!”

Everyone giggled at that idea, and their laughter coaxed Link to grin.

“Oh, hush!” Zelda cried quietly, not without suppressing a smile herself, and adjusted the red cord of his armor. “This was a bad idea. They’re going to spread so much nonsense about us!”

“Oh, no, this was one of the best ideas you ever had,” Link whispered back and kissed her, well hidden from the eyes of the village, from Impa, and the rest of Hyrule, thanks to the newly-established royal spy team taking their duty very seriously.

Edit: Link to Ao3

#zelink #zelink week 2023 #totk spoilers #botw #totk #legend of zelda #zeldaelmo writes #rumors have wings #Now with banner!

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legok9 · 8 months

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Love it when they do body horror with the Doctor's past incarnations

PROSE: Untitled (art by Brian Williamson)

COMIC: Sin-Eaters (art by Cris Bolson and Marco Lesko)

COMIC: Running to Stay Still (art by Leandro Casco and Rodrigo Fernandes)

COMIC: Breakfast at Tyranny's (art by Giorgia Sposito and Arianna Florean)

#doctor who #doctor who comics #dw comics #titan comics #body horrow cw #body horror tw #10th doctor #9th doctor

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wildflowerbun · 10 months

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@juicezone hi!! little botw Link thoughts :3 (they might be repetitive or coherent i didn’t know how to go about doing this post sjdjdjd)

he was an age regressor before the calamity. always always in private. always came with a thick coat of shame that he could never seem to shrug off. he had no little items. mostly it was just crying alone in his room and not answering if anybody then caught him crying.

then. after he was resurrected. and he forgot who he was, he also lost his cloak of shame! No more feeling ashamed of regression. The plateau became a place to rediscover himself, and a safe place to learn about his regression without anyone there to judge him for it

King Rhoam isn’t exactly a caregiver but he does help explain it when Link starts acting like a kid. It’s nice to have explanations.

After he gets off the plateau he’s got a pretty good grasp on his regression, what triggers it, how to deal with it, that kinda thing. He never tries to stop it. He can mask pretty well. He doesn’t mask around kids, or people he trusts, like Impa and Purah

Some other folks he gets comfy regressing around are: Pikango (the painter guy), Beedle, the Bolson Construction guys, Teba, Sidon, Yunobo, Riju, the Gorons in general (it’s the enthusiastic “hey, Brother!” that gets him sksjdjd), Kass, a couple others maybe

Before the calamity Link and Zelda would have avoided each other like the plague if one of them even slightly felt small, but after everything is over everything becomes a lot more comfortable and safe between them and they become Flips for each other, taking turns caregiving and regressing

So then uh. How he is and what he likes when he’s little:

Zero impulse control. If he wants to do it, he will. consequences mean nothing skskdjf

His gender becomes a lot more fluid, and that leaks into his big self as well. (Link is nonbinary! He doesn’t really think of himself as having a gender he’s just kinda there. Zelda is Genderfluid- she has a gender, it’s just not always clear what that gender is)

Link likes stargazing :3 and playing with koroks. And petting dogs. And playing with his horses. a true animal lover this kid.

it can take a loooot of coaxing to get this kid to nap. he’s afraid of sleeping. (he doesn’t want to accidentally fall asleep for another hundred years.) he tries to only sleep in places where someone is there to wake him up

He LOVES being carried and Yunobo and Sidon are more than happy to carry him!! (Teba not so much, but if Link and Tulin band together they can convince him to take them flying)

Link and Riju bond over a love of sand seals. She gives him his first sand seal plush :3

Zelda is a bit awkward about regressing at first but looking after a carefree and happy Link, she finds the confidence to regress herself and feels safe and loved and she cries for like a week

#feel free to ask about any specifics :D #or about totk guys cause im playin the thing! any totk stuff will be under a cut so no worries about spoilers

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faroreswinds · 11 months

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Would the totk story come across better if Link was more expressive? I think the reason he isn't is because he has always been (at least partially) a player-insert, so you're supposed to fill in part of his personality yourself. I agree that it would be better if he had his own personality though - hell, he sort of does already, considering he has a lot of sassy dialogue options. But the lack of character animation and voice acting on him was certainly a Choice, and it certainly wouldn't have hurt to have him react a bit more to that final dragon tear.

It would have helped a lot to be sure, but it is not the only fix Totk needs.

It needed to not have a memory system. It needed to avoid constant repeat of story information. It needed more present-story. It needed to not treat its audience like they are 5.

And while Link has always been a player-insert, and I don't mind this, he has also always been decently expressive (for the 3D games at least). OoT Link expresses fear, distain, curiosity, grief, and respect across his two games. TP Link expresses joy, sorrow, anger, and shock in his games. SS Link literally cries when Zelda seals herself in a crystal, smiles with understanding at Groose's fear of the Surface, and so on. And WW Link has a buffet of emotions and reactions.

BotW Link expresses.... pain and shock, I guess. Not exactly a wide range of emotions there.

Like, let's compare some scenes between OoT and Totk. In OoT, when Link leaves his home for the first time, Saria confronts him to say good-bye. While we cannot see his face, we do see him take a step back and stare at her for a moment, before turning and running away from her. That is all that was needed to show us that saying good-bye was hard for him. He was leaving the one person in his life that truly mattered to him, and into an unknown future and world.

In totk, Link learns that Zelda has turned herself into a dragon. And his response was... to stare blankly into the sky as she passed by.

Wow. So.... emotional....

I think another problem with Totk Link is that he doesn't really have much going in his life besides Zelda.

Like, in WW, TP, OoT, and SS, Link was part of a community. He had a family or friends in his town he was part of. Maybe he was a student, or a farm hand, but he had people in his life besides Zelda.

BotW/Totk Link? Well, we barely know his life before being Zelda's knight. His two other important relationships (Mipha and Daruk) are with dead people. What community was he a part of? We don't really know. Did he have other friends? Was he a city kid or a country kid? Did he live with his father or not?

No, the only important relationship this Link has is with Zelda, and his entire life seems to revolve around her. It makes him feel like he's not really a permanent part of this world.

Yes yes, he is supposedly best friends with Sidon,but it kinda feels like it is one sided. Sidon says Link is his best friend but we never see Link, like.... look super happy to see Sidon again or anything. No big hug or a fist bump.

And his house from Botw is now Zelda's house. And consider Bolson doesn't seem to know Link, I almost wonder if canonically, that was never Link's house to begin with. Meaning... Link doesn't even have a house?! It made sense in BotW, he was sleeping for 100 years, but here?! Wtf?

I really hope they make the next Link not only more expressive, but not make him an accessory to Zelda. In fact, I want the next Zelda to play more of a minor role. Give us another Twilight Princess scenario, where the main princess is someone else.

#totk-spoilers #Zelda discourse #anon asks

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flutefemme · 2 years

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The Bouquet

-by flutefemme

"Ouch!" Zelda cried out as her thumb caught on a thorny section of the rosebush she was tending to. She was attempting to snip it for her weekly bouquet she arranged for her room. The rose gardens at the castle boasted some of the best and brightest multicolored blooms in the castle, and it was the one thing her father allowed time for in her strict schedule of meditation and prayer. She never missed her Sunday afternoon stroll in the gardens. Sucking the small scratch on her thumb, she silently cursed the thorn as her finger began to throb painfully.

"Everything all right, Princess?" A soft, warm voice asked behind her.

"Oh goodness, yes, thank you Link," Zelda hurriedly responded, "it's just a minor scratch. You don't have to fuss over every little thing," she quickly stepped away from the bush and set the rose in the basket she was holding.

"Of course, my apologies, Princess, I just wanted to make sure--" but he was abruptly cut off.

"I don't understand why father sees fit to send a babysitter with me whenever I leave the castle! And one my own age at that! It's....it's humiliating! I am sixteen! I don't need an escort on the castle grounds!" She glared at the young guard, who raised his eyebrows in surprise at her outburst but said nothing.

"You never do anything anyway." She huffed, headed toward one of the castle's side entrances. "What does he think, a lynel will show up and slice me to bits? Good grief!" She stormed through the main doors, Link following quietly behind her. As she made her way into the kitchen, she paused at the grand display cabinet. All of the most expensive tableware and ornate decorative and seasonal display items were stored there under lock and key. Pulled out only when dignitaries visited or extravagant parties were held at the castle, Zelda had one particular vase she admired every time she walked by. It was imported from Gerudo Town and was inlaid with topaz, diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. As vibrant and colorful as the people it represented, she longed to hold it in her hands and admire it up close. Smiling wistfully, she sighed and continued on her way. She never told anyone or even dared ask to use the valuable item, but she secretly hoped one day--when she was old enough--she would inherit the vase. She would use it every day and not keep it locked up in a cabinet for months on end. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a plain glass vase, filling it with water. She carefully arranged the flowers to her liking, and smiled. She picked it up, turning around and nearly walking into the young guard standing next to her.

"Link! Hylia above, what are you doing?" She snipped. "I assure you I am perfectly safe in the castle. I don't think the knives will come out and dance around my neck. Why are you following me??" She narrowed her eyes accusingly, a frown on her face.

"I--I am sorry, Princess, the Captain of the Guard told me I was to accompany you until noon today," he faltered and took a step back. "I...I thought you were aware of the Sunday schedule? I'm covering for Sir Bolson, as he is ill today."

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Well. Bolson knows to leave me well enough alone in the castle, or he at least stays far enough away that it doesn't bother me. You would do well to follow his lead," she growled. "It is ten minutes to noon. Please leave me alone. I'm heading to my chambers." She shoved past a bewildered Link and headed up to her room to set her weekly roses on the bedside table by the window.

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

The following Friday, the young Princess fell ill with a serious cold. Unable to get out of bed, she was miserable and grew forlorn at the thought of possibly missing her Sunday afternoon stroll in the gardens with her beautiful roses. She glanced over at her current bouquet, and sighed heavily. They were still pretty, but were fading, and she knew that by Saturday night, they would be ready to be thrown out. She prayed a silent prayer to the goddess that she would be well enough to venture outside that Sunday.

Waking up Sunday morning, she felt just as qualmish as she did on Friday, and was too exhausted to take her afternoon stroll. She quietly cried to herself in bed while she was alone that morning, knowing that she would miss her most cherished time of the week--a time she felt truly free among her flowers. She would have to wait until she was well. The attendants came and went, bringing her noon meal (which she barely touched) and some drafts to help her rest. She fell into a fitful sleep after her meal.

Upon waking late in the afternoon, she sat up and rubbed her eyes and slid out of bed to use the powder room. After a nice long bath, she slowly stepped out and dried herself off, feeling quite a bit better after a long rest. Dressing herself, she walked back into her bedroom and walked toward the window. The sun was setting, casting beautiful, early evening rays into her window. Suddenly, a flash caught her attention. She turned to look at her bedside table and gasped in surprise.

There, sitting on the table, was the Gerudo vase sparkling brilliantly in the early evening sundown; a bouquet of roses thrice the normal size she typically arranged nestled inside of its dazzling center.

"Wh...what?" she exclaimed in a whisper as she walked toward it, mouth agape in disbelief. She sat down on the side of her bed, and reached her fingers out to touch the dazzling vessel. She swallowed hard as she tried to imagine how on earth someone would have--

Her eye caught something else. A small envelope nestled just underneath its base.

Gingerly taking it between her fingers, she opened it to find a small, folded piece of paper. In flawless penmanship it read:

Sunday afternoon strolls are among the most important things.

So are exquisite vases and lush bouquets.

Missing important things is difficult. You missed your stroll,

But I made sure you didn't miss the latter.

Signed,

Someone who notices the important things.

#zelink #zelda #legend of zelda #zelda botw #princess zelda #zelda breath of the wild #zelda fanfiction #zelda x link #breath of the wild #the legend of zelda

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demiboydemon · 2 years

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An Apple A Day

A Zelink Fanfiction

Apples. In the pond, on the ground, in his pockets, in his stomach, and in Zelda’s, too. They kept coming, and wouldn’t stop.

Zelda slammed her hands down on the table. “Link!” She cried, “I can’t live this way anymore!”

“Is it the apples?”

“Of course it’s the apples!” She pushed her plate away from herself. It scraped against the table, leaving a scratch. It blended in perfectly with the scratches from Link’s sword mishaps. It was romantic, in a way, to have table damage mix together until it becomes one. But it was also unfortunate, because Link didn’t get the warranty Bolson offered. It was so unreasonably priced. He still offered it, but Link knew if he spoke to him about it over in Tarrey Town, he would come back to the yard.

“I can’t possibly rebuild Hyrule like this! What sort of example does it set for the citizens if their own princess only eats apples?”

Link frowned and nodded, then grabbed a basket and went outside.

He stood below the tree, basket in hand, staring up at the abundance of fruit. He and Zelda had been eating apples for weeks now. Simmered fruit, spicy simmered fruit, hasty simmered fruit, apple pie, fruit tarts, apple fritters, mighty fried bananas with apples…. He had tried to coat them in melted sugar, but that was disgusting, and dubious at best. He gave it to a stray dog, who didn’t mind its subpar quality.

But obviously Zelda did. After not eating for 100 years, Link figured she deserved to eat more than apples.

But what else could be done? He didn’t have a choice. These apples were their responsibility.

‘No.’ He thought. He was not going to be like Rhoam, forcing Zelda to sacrifice joy for duty, especially when the duty was giving her constant nausea.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but apples for every meal gives one horrible diahrea.

‘But what do do with the apples?’ Link decided to sell them to the general store. It was a solution he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of sooner.

Months passed. The leaves went from bright green to slightly lighter green to yellow, then stayed that way. Link was relieved when the temperature dropped, but his joy was short lived. Hateno’s mild winters were great when it came to having picnics and sleeping under the stars, but bad when it came to halting the trees’ production of fruit. Link was just glad the shopkeeper had a use for them.

____________________________________

“Sorry, son. Read the sign.” The shopkeeper pointed to a sign double the size of the sheikah slate.

WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY PURCHASING APPLES, it read. Then in smaller print below, was printed: Please do not attempt to sell us apples. No exceptions for ANYONE (even saviours of Hyrule!!!)

Link frowned and pointed at himself. He raised an eyebrow.

The shopkeeper shrugged. “I wasn’t singling you out specifically. It goes for all saviours. So I’m sorry, but no apples today.”

“What about another day?”

The shopkeeper rolled his eyes, but Link wasn’t sure why. It was a genuine question.

“Look, kid. We just can’t resell that many apples.

“But….” Link said, “What will I do with these?”

“I don’t know. Sell them somewhere else. Give them to squirrels, or the bokoblins you still haven’t gotten rid of.”

Link refrained from throwing the apples at this jerk. Partly because it would be wrong, but mostly because he couldn’t say anything without his hands. “Ever heard of a blood moon?”

“They’ve stopped happening, and yet the bokoblins are still here.”

“How many have you killed?”

“I have a job! I can’t just run around killing monsters! That’s your job!”

Link left without saying a word, as he often did, but this time it was in anger. Instead, he tossed the apples onto the floor. Good luck with ‘em, jerk.

He cancelled his plan to use the apple money to buy dinner and foraged some mushrooms instead. ‘I guess we’re having fruit and mushroom skewers today.’

Zelda picked at her food. She covertly separated the fruit from the mushrooms, trying as hard as she could to avoid apples touching her mouth. “Link,” she said, “Didn’t you say we were having fish?”

Link grimaced. “Did I?”

“Yes. You were going to the store and you said you’d get fish, salt, and herbs for dinner.”

“They don’t buy apples anymore,” Link admitted. “He has a sign.”

“They refused to take the apples? What kind of shop just… refuses to buy apples?”

“He said they couldn’t sell them.”

Link felt a wave of nausea wash over him. The idea of eating another chunk of apple made him want to vomit. Zelda was drinking a bottle of fairy tonic. “I’m drinking to forget.”

“That’s it!” Link slapped his leg. He stood and took his and Zelda’s apples, then threw them over the bridge and into the river. Hopefully wherever the river led had people who weren’t sick of apples.

An idea crossed through his head like apples through water, a comparison that would make no sense out of context.

He and Zelda shared some fairy tonic and mushrooms as he told her about the plan. And in the morning, he was ready.

____________________________________

Zelda was trying to be supportive. She really was! But what are you supposed to say when your boyfriend decides to become a travelling apple salesman?

She took the route less likely to make Link sad; agreeing to travel around with him to sell apples. After all, they had much travelling to do to rebuild the kingdom, and they might as well sell apples along the way.

But she never could have expected Link to be so serious about it all. The next morning, he decided to get an early start. He had been doing that more and more since the calamity. The Link from before would sleep for as long as possible, trying to escape the world in a way that didn’t show weakness.

Maybe it was a good sign that he slept less. Maybe it meant he was more content with life now.

Today, he wanted an early start for a different reason. When Zelda came downstairs, Link had left her breakfast on the table. It contained no apples, and she felt as if all was well in the world.

Until she stepped outside. She walked out of the house to see Link. This was not the problem. The problem was that he was standing next to an enormous horse drawn cart.

“Where the heck did you get that?” Zelda shouted, “And why?!”

“It’s for the apples,” Link explained as if it were obvious, “We can’t carry them all otherwise.”

“Your pockets are practically endless, I think they’d fit. That’s how men’s pockets are.”

“My pockets are full, too. There are a lot of apples.”

Zelda swallowed her concerns, grateful she wasn’t swallowing apples, and nodded.

‘Well,’ she thought, ‘It’s normal to have a midlife crisis when you’ve been alive 100 years, I’m sure.’

“Let’s be off, then.”

She and Link began their journey to Fort Hateno. Rebuilding a handful of military bases seemed like a good way to continue their rebuilding. After all, there wasn’t much point in restoring long lost towns without any way to protect them.

Construction was going wonderfully. Hudson, his crew, and his apprentices, Addison and Mason, were hard at work. It was slow going, especially with so few construction workers. They were just lucky Addison and Mason were finally old enough to hold the tools.

“When should we expect the gate to be functional?” Zelda asked.

“Well… I’ll need some more wood…” Hudson said. He gestured to a spot on the ground that had no wood on it, as if to prove that he needed some.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. Why does he always ask for wood? A metal gate doesn’t need wood!

“For what purpose?”

“To… build new spikes.”

“The current spikes will do for now. Please just focus on the- Link?”

Over by a broken, decayed guardian, sat Link. In front of him was a collapsible table with a sign reading, “Link and Zelda’s Organic Apples”, and an amount of apples that made Zelda feel grateful for the cart.

Link looked up at her and handed Addison an apple. “One moment,” he called, “I’m making a sale.”

Addison handed Link a rupee and ran back over to Hudson. “Daddy! Daddy! I got an apple!”

Hudson laughed and hoisted Addison onto his hip. “Looks tasty.”

Zelda walked away from them and over to Link. He was watching the father-daughter bonding moment with sadness on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

Link gave her a rather forced-looking smile. “I just love selling apples. Tears of joy.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Really?”

“Yes. It’s my dream.”

Zelda could practically hear Revali’s voice telling her to let Link pursue his dream, because he thought it would hilarious.

“Do you hear that, too?” Link asked.

He looked to the sky. Zelda followed his lead, and could make out the vague shape of a Rito slinking behind a cloud.

“Freaking ghosts, am I right? They give you their gales and suddenly they think they can butt into every conversation for the rest of time. Typical.” Fyson said from behind them.

“Why are you here?” Link asked. “You’re not a construction worker.”

“I heard there would be free wood. I need some to make more arrows.”

“Sorry, no wood today. Want an apple? 1 ruppee.”

Fyson bought an apple. He gave it to Addison. “Woohoo! Two apples! Daddy, look! I got another apple!”

During this exchange, Link continued to look morose.

“Excuse me!” Zelda clapped her hands to gather attention. “We really need to get back on topic, please. Hudson, please focus on the gate. No more wood until the gate is done. Fyson, you get no wood at all. Addison, share those apples with your brother.”

“No need!” Mason cheered, arms full of apples, “Mr. Link gave me a hundred!”

“I gave him three.”

Zelda clapped again. “Hudson, what is the timeline for this gate?”

“Two weeks… for it to work. One week… if I have more wood.”

Zelda sighed. “Thank you. I’ll be back in two weeks.” She turned to Link. “Alright! Time to pack up the apples! Off to board the horses.”

Link sadly folded up his sign and attached the cart to Epona. “Let’s go, girl.”

____________________________________

Halfway to the stable, Zelda spoke up. “You know, maybe that little chef girl will buy some apples. She’s always dreaming up new recipes. Maybe she can take them. Hopefully all of them.”

Link perked up. “You think?”

“Well, maybe not all of them, but I’m sure she’d take a few.”

“We have so many. Over 200.”

“What?! How?”

“New ones grow every day.”

“But- never mind. Maybe you’ll make some sales at the stable before bed. Or in the morning, before we resume our journey.”

“Maybe.” Link said, but he had some doubts. It seemed no one wanted to buy apples in bulk these days. He couldn’t blame them.

____________________________________

It was evening when they arrived at the Duelling Peaks stable. The sky was turning orange as Zelda went to board the horses and reserve beds.

“I’ve got this,” she said, “You can go work on dinner, if you’d like.”

Link figured he had some time before he needed to cook. It only took a few minutes to whip something up, after all. He decided to walk around to see if there were any new recipes on the walls.

From the corner of his eye, Link saw a giant, bug shaped backpack. Beedle! Thank goodness. Maybe he would buy some apples. Link abandoned his quest for new recipes and ran over to see him.

“Hello, Link! It’s been a while. OOOHOO! Is that a rhino beetle?”

Link handed it over before Beedle could even ask for it. “Here.”

Beedle made a loud, vaguely unsettling noise of glee before handing Link a veggie omelet. “You are my hero.”

Link smiled sadly. “I wish I was still a hero, Beedle. I wish.”

Beedle patted the floor beside him. “Talk to Beedle. What’s wrong, friend?”

Link sat. He leaned his head against the wall. “I have an apple tree in my yard.”

Beedle nodded. “I understand. That is an upsetting problem to have. But it will get better. Just talk about it to your loved ones. They’ll understand.”

Link felt so confused by this that he stayed silent for many moments. He decided to play along, like he did whenever Robbie said something ridiculous. “Thank you. The advice you gave was both relevant and helpful.”

Beedle patted his shoulder. “Anytime, my friend. Friends who give beetles to Beedle together stay together.”

“I don’t know how you handle being a travelling salesman. I’ve had one day of it and I’m exhausted.”

Beedle nodded. “My passion is beetles, and what better way to meet them than to— wait. What did you say? Did my ears deceive me? You’re a travelling salesman now? Like Beedle?”

Zelda finished boarding the horses and gestured over to Link. “Come, please! They need to see your military ID for us to get a discount on the beds.”

“Coming!” He turned to Beedle, who had an unidentifiable look on his face. “Thanks for the advice. I’ll tell Zelda how I feel.”

____________________________________

Link decided to tell her over dinner. He made stew while she reserved the beds. When she sat down next to him, he handed her some and took a deep breath. “Princess,” he said with the air of someone confessing to a murder, “I… I have something to admit.”

Zelda sat down her bowl and leaned forward, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t like being an apple man. I love travelling the world with you, but the apples are such a heavy burden. I don’t know if I can continue to bare it.”

If the camera rune was on, Zelda would have looked into it. Her concern left immediately, though she pretended it was still there for Link’s sake. She took his hands into her own. “I’m shocked by this, but I shall recover. You know, you can quit. It’s not your destiny. You don’t have to carry this burden.”

Link looked into her eyes, then pulled her into a hug. “Thank you.”

She patted his back. “You’re welcome. We shall decide what to do with these apples together, as a team. We don’t have to be alone anymore.”

They sat beside the fire’s soft glow as they drank their stew and talked about their plans for the next day.

“So-“ Zelda pulled up the map on the Sheikah slate. “We’ll give Purah’s information to Impa, then we’ll head North to meet with King Dorphean and Prince Sidon to discuss… Excuse me?” She looked behind Link and put the Sheikah slate back into its holder.

Behind Link stood Beedle. He looked like he was about to kill someone, which is not always what one looks for in a bug-and-arrow salesman. His fists were clenched by his side. His voice was shrill when he spoke. “How dare you?”

Link pulled his sword and stood in front of Zelda. Beedle stood his ground, unfazed by the threat of impalement. “Don’t you pull the ‘I’m the saviour of Hyrule so I can take your job’ card on me, Mister!”

Link almost let his guard down in his confusion. “Step away from the princess.”

Zelda spoke up. “Beedle, what is the problem? Because you’re going about solving it in an unproductive manner.”

“The problem is that Link has betrayed me! After all we’ve been through together!”

“How did he betray you?”

“By selling apples! I’m the only travelling salesman around here!”

Link lowered his sword from Beedle’s face. “Huh?”

“You heard me! You can’t just go around stealing my thing!”

“You don’t even sell apples!”

“Wait!” Zelda shouted, “I have an idea!”

Link and Beedle looked at her. Link put his sword away, but kept his hand on the hilt. “What is it?”

“Well,” she replied, gesturing to the apple cart, “Obviously we love our business, but you’re right. It’s encroaching on your livelihood. We are deeply sorry.”

Beedle began to calm down. “Hmmm…”

“However, we can’t just shut down our apple stand. How about we compromise?”

Link’s face did his equivalent of giving an ear to ear grin. “But Zelda, our apples!”

“Hush, Link. We must do what is right. Beedle, you may have our apple business.”

Link nodded. “It’s only fair.”

Beedle clapped. “Yaaaayyy!”

“You may come to our home fortnightly to pick up the apples, then sell them as you please, in exchange for half of the profits.”

Beedle considered this. He had always worked solo before, but the proposal intrigued him. And he only had to give them half the profits for them… that’s half more than he was making now. “Hmmm… Deal!”

Zelda and Beedle shook on it. She and Link waited for him to walk out of earshot to celebrate.

“We did it!” Zelda yelled, “We’re free!”

Link swooped her up in his arms. “You did it! Now we never have to bear this burden again!”

And after that, Beedle came every other week with rupees to exchange for apples. To whom he was selling those apples, Link didn’t know, but he was fine with it. He could finally go into his yard without being plagued by fruit, and Zelda never had an apple-related illness again.

#The legend of zelda #legend of zelda #zelda #breath of the wild #zelink #fanfic #fan fiction #zelda fanfiction #zelink fanfiction #Link #link legend of zelda

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a-flux-uchiha · 1 year

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Vivid Flowers and Crisp Spring Air Chapter 2

Still Gen, still mostly Aurora and Flora, some Artemis, Rhondson and Karson show up briefly

After their picnic, which Aurora had, indeed enjoyed quite a bit, they started heading down the path to Tarry Town, Flora in the lead.

“Huh, that’s new,” Flora said as they rounded a bend to find construction being done on some things in front of a long narrow bridge that led to an elevated island. Aurora admittedly hadn’t thought the island would be so far off the ground, or that the bridge would be so thin and flimsy looking.

“Are you sure that’s safe?” She asked Flora anxiously. “It looks a bit…thin.”

“Yeah it’s totally fine, it’s sturdier than you think. It’ll hold anything. Not sure what they’re building though.”

“Might be fortifications,” Artemis contributed, studying the in-process structure. Aurora supposed she would know, she was the one that had been in a war. “It looks like it could be a guard tower. You mentioned monsters were fairly common in your world? It would make sense to guard the bridge.”

“I guess that’d make sense. We won’t know unitl we get closer though.”

When they did get closer, to no one’s suprise, Artemis was right. It did look like a guard tower, and that was confirmed when Flora approached and asked about it.

“Link came by recently with his friends and the one in the scarf suggested having one, he was woried about the town with how many monsters lived in the area. We’ve only really got one person t staff it, so we’re really just building a gate across the bridge, so it can be open and staffed during the day, but at night we can close it and sleep easy.” That did sound smart. Aurora admired the structure. Even though it was still in progress it looked very sturdy.

“That is a god idea,” Artemis mused.”Figures Warriors was the oneto suggest it.”

“Odd name for a boy, but yeah it was a good idea. He helped us draw up plans too, although we improved them obviously.”

“You are expert builders Karson,” Flora agreed, butting in. “How’s Bolson been doing?”

“Doing well as always, still waiting for you to ask him to build you a house fit for a princess.”

Flora gave a rather pained smile, evidently this had been an argument for a while. “Yep I’m sure. I’m still good just living with Link, thanks.”

Flora was quick to herd them past the man after that.

“What was that about a house?” Aurora asked delicately, not wanting to upset Flora, but she was very curious.

“Well, Link and I sort of share his house, neither of us really lives there for very long though. Bolson has kinda gotten it into his head that it’s not right for a young woman and a young man to be sharing a house when they’re not involved, even if neither of us stay there for long. We’re rarely even in the house at the same time, even if we’re incidentally both in town at the same time.” Flora sighed, ears dropping. “And I’ve had enough of being a princess for a lifetime. I just want to be Flora, random hylian girl who just travels around and never stays in one place for very long.”

“I can understand that sentiment,” Aurora sighed, remembering all the times she’d cried after a fight with her brother and desperately wished she could just be a regular hylian girl and could run off to hide from him outside of the castle. And more recently, having fights with Dawn and just wishing she could leave and not have to deal with any of this.

Boy did she often wish she could travel and see the world with Hyrule, but he’d never let her come along. He always said it was too dangerous, and he was probably right. Aurora didn’t know how to fight, even if Fable was teaching her how to use her magic offensively, it was slow going since Fable basically had to start from the beginning, since her, Dawn, and Tetra had basically no magical background.

“Anyway, guys, this is Tarry Town. The town Wild basically half founded. Karson back there built it from the ground up, Wild contributed materials and collected a bunch of people for him.”

“Flora, it’s good to see you,” a beautiful and very tall red-headed woman approached them, bending down to give Flora a quick hug. Oddly enough she looked a bit like Dot. Mostly in the coloring and height, but also a bit in face shape. “How have you been? I see you’ve collected some friends.”

“It’s good to see you Rhondson,” Flora replied, smiling. “And yeah, got some friends. This is Aurora, Fable, Dot, Shadow, Dawn, Dusk, Artemis, Sheik, Tetra, and Sun. Guys, this is Rhondson, she’s Karson’s wife.”

“Interesting names,” Rhondson noted, smiling. “It’s good to meet you all.”

“They’re all nicknames,” Artemis admitted, offering her hand. “You have a nice town here. Easily defensible.”

Rhondson laughed, taking Artemis’ hand and shaking it. “The guy in the blue scarf, Warriors I believe it was, said the same thing.”

“We are aquainted, so I’m not surprised,” Artemis said, and Aurora thought she looked a bit embaressed. That was kind of a weird thing to say.

“Is where Link usually stays open?” Flora asked, steering the conversation back on track. “We’d like somewhere to stay for the night.”

“Of course it’s open, Link isn’t here. You’re always free to use it. You may not have done as much as Link, but you’ve helped our village plenty in other ways.”

“Right. Oh! Rhondson, I wanted to ask, are there any gerudo who know how to make paint? Aurora wants to learn how to make paint, but we’re kind of low on options for people who know how.”

“Hm, I’m not sure. I can send a letter to ask if you’d like.”

“That’d be great, thank you.”

Aurora smiled at the thoughtfullness of her friend. Whether or not it panned out, she appreciated the thought. It was a cute village, small, but homey, and clearly very new. She remembered Flora once talking about the calamity and loosely what had happened, and it was very inspiring how the world and the people were managing to recover. A new village, one where there could be people of all species living together and working together.

She hoped that one day her world could recover like this. The land beautiful and green, and new villages able to thrive. Hopefully they would be able to manage it one day.

#hhau aurora #hhau flora #hhau artemis #rhondson #Karson #Tarry Town

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roguerebels · 3 years

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Doctor Aphra: Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon Favorite Comic Moments!

Doctor Aphra: Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon Favorite Comic Moments! #StarWarsComics #DoctorAphra

Okay, so Doctor Aphra and Vulaada are trying to make their way in a ruthless galaxy but unfortunately the Rebel Alliance and the Empire are both after Aphra so it seems our rogue archaeologist won’t be catching a break anytime soon. Oh, also childhood memories and run ins with the ex are sure to keep Aphra on her toes. So as usual… chaos and shenanigans ensue. SPOILERS AHEAD! Li’l Boop We…

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digsyiscomics · 4 years

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Star Wars: Target Vader #5, January 2020, written by Robbie Thompson, penciled by Cris Bolson, Roberto Di Salvo, and Marco Failla

#star wars: target vader #2020 #robbie thompson #cris bolson #roberto di salvo #marco failla #Marvel Comics

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defconprime · 2 years

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Rittenhouse Star Trek 35th Anniversary sketch cards by Cris Bolson, 2001.

#star trek tos #star trek cards #shuttlecraft #klingon battlecruiser #uss enterprise #constitution class #cris bolson

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zeldaelmo · 10 months

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And once again, it's WIP Wednesday! @zelinkcommunity 's prompt 'forbidden', this time. Link accompanies Zelda to the school in Hateno so that the kids learn firsthand about the knights of Hyrule. Everything works out just fine until one of the kids remembers the old rule that humble knights and princesses aren't allowed to court... Oops.

"This is a Royal Halberd,” Link explained. “Only the most trusted knights who guarded Hyrule Castle's throne room were equipped with it. Its ornate design was applied by a craftsman in service to the royal family."

A lot of 'ohs' and 'ahs' came from the children's mouths and Zelda giggled into her hand. She would never deny that Link was a sight to behold in his full armor, and these kids had never laid their eyes upon a knight before. It was a shame that Link wouldn’t wear it more often. He only bothered with the full armor when he accompanied Hoz’ Monster-Control-Crew and they had set their eyes on a particularly nasty bunch of enemies. He claimed it was for their morals and not for his protection, but she knew he had become gradually more responsible about his own well-being with every year that had passed after he beat back Ganon.

"How do you know that about the knights?" Sefaro asked, his eyebrows drawn together in a skeptical frown. "I've seen weapons like this hanging from a Hinox's neck. So why would you know that they were given to the knights who guarded the throne room?"

Link made eye contact with Zelda and winked. As always, it made her stomach flutter. Then, he turned back to the kids and leaned conspiratorially closer, all of his armor clinging together. "I was one of them. And Zelda's father, King Rhoam, gave it to me."

At these terrible (but not untrue) accusations, all four children jumped from their places and started to inspect Link from close up. They tugged at the gauntlets and pricked at the chainmail, all while Link hid his face in the little stand-up collar so that only his eyes twinkled under the helmet and nobody but Zelda saw him giggle.

#zelink #zeldaelmo writes #legend of zelda #totk spoilers #Totk #botw #wip wednesday #Zelink week #Forbidden

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thisiscomics · 4 years

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You don’t often see the budgetary issues concerning the running of an intergalactic Empire being referenced in Star Wars, but given all the extra narrative space a bunch of licenced comics gives storytellers, it’s only fair someone talks about it.

That this particular someone uses such a topic to further their own position within the Empire and to take her own husband out of the picture only helps to emphasise all the corruption and questionable dealings that must make up the unseen details of the Empire. For all their power and the focus on them, it would be impossible for the Emperor and Vader, and sundry Grand Moffs etc. to be able to keep everything moving. So of course there are less prominent functionaries helping run thing and many out there taking what they can get for as long as they can, some out of a belief in the cause, some only in the belief of their own entitlement to anything they can get their hands on before they are busted..

I might be pushing it to claim this notion of profiting from an immoral regime is topical, but does anyone really know what the Intergalactic Planet Killer Association had to do with getting the Death Star approved, or who made the really big money on those expensive Empire construction contracts? Hmm?

From Doctor Aphra 36, by Simon Spurrier, Wilton Santos, Cris Bolson, Walden Wong, Chris O'Halloran & Joe Caramagna

#comics #marvel #doctor aphra #star wars #simon spurrier #wilton santos #cris bolson #walden wong

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graphicpolicy · 4 years

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Review: Star Wars: Target Vader

Star Wars: Target Vader is a solid concept but hampered by inconsistent art. #comics #comicbooks #starwars

Darth Vader is on the hunt for a criminal syndicate but he doesn’t know that same syndicate has hired a group of bounty hunters to take Vader out once and for all.

Star Wars: Target Vader collects #1-6.

Story: Robbie Thompson Art: Marc Laming, Cris Bolson, Stefano Landini, Marco Failla, Robert Di Salvo, Georges Duarte Colo…

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rebelsofshield · 4 years

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Panels Far, Far Away: A Week in Star Wars Comics 11/13-11/27/19

It’s certainly unfair for Lucasfilm to pick my first semester of grad school to start supplying us with more Star Wars content than at any other point in recorded history. Jerk move on their part. Anyways, as a result, here are three (!) weeks worth of Star Wars comics review in which: Marvel’s ongoing ends its seventy five issue run, Doctor Aphra gets her groove back, and Chewbacca knocks some heads. Hopefully I can be quicker about this in the future!

11/13/19

Star Wars #74 written by Greg Pak and art by Phil Noto

In its seventh chapter, “Rebels and Rogues” hurtles towards conclusion. The result may just be the strongest installment of an arc that has been chockfull of great ideas, but often struggled on just how to tell its sometimes overly scattered story. With the different teams now in open communication with one another and each fighting for their lives in desperate situations, writer Greg Pak’s take on the galaxy far, far away has never felt more a live and energetic.

We hop between narratives with surprising ease and elegance and the flow of the story is easy to follow, high energy, and positively fun. Han, Leia, and Dar Champion are flying for their lives in a defenseless ship against an Imperial star destroyer, Luke and Warba are in route to the planet’s rebels but with an Imperial patrol of Stormtroopers riding velociraptors right on their tale, and Threepio and Chewbacca are right in the center of a growing conflict between the rock people of K43 and Darth Vader himself.

Threepio’s arc here still remains the most fascinating stuff in “Rebels and Rogues.” For the first time in a long time, old goldenrod feels like he has an emotional story all his own and it culminates in a moment of self-sacrifice that capitalizes off all the themes of sentience and personhood that this surprisingly delightful subplot has been playing with since day one.

The promised Chewbacca/Darth Vader showdown on the cover doesn’t occur until the comics final pages but it sets up what should be a killer finale. Noto draws a suitably visceral encounter and no other panel in this creative team’s legacy will likely spark as much joy as Chewie spiking a boulder off of the Sith Lord’s ebony helmet.

Score: A-

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order: Dark Temple #4 written by Matthew Rosenberg and art by Paolo Villanelli

At the time of this writing, I’ve actually finished playing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The first single player Star Wars game in over a decade provides a very fun and rewarding experience that is populated with some truly outstanding characters. The game also shows that its tie-in comic, Dark Temple is surprisingly more consequential than one might have originally thought. Sure, Cere and Eno Cordova were known characters in the game from the start, but Dark Temple sees the two encountering numerous elements from Fallen Order for the first time.

Even outside the comic’s surprising consequence to the game it draws from, Dark Temple continues to be a very entertaining prequel era narrative. Even four issues in, writer Matthew Rosenberg is still providing us with new information and twists that upend our understanding of what exactly is going on. Cere and Cordova may have gotten involved in something bigger than they originally anticipated and there is more on the line than freedom for Fylar. Rosenberg has weaved a complex web and just what exactly lies within the titular temple is just as much a mystery now as when it started.

It also helps that this comic is arguably the best looking Star Wars comic on the stands now. Paolo Villanelli has always excelled at drawing dynamic and well choreographed action sequences and he truly shines here as the violent conflict between Flyar and the DAA corporation explodes into full blown war. Villanelli is great at creating a sense of motion and scale and these moments of larger conflict are filled to the brim with well designed characters and explosive energy. Colorist Arif Prianto makes the comic feel like it comes ablaze too with multicolored embers peppering each panel.

Between the surprisingly complex story and the killer art, Dark Temple has quickly evolved into one of the stronger tie-in comics that Star Wars has released in recent memory and a significant improvement on both creator’s previous works in the franchise. Its final issue may not stick the landing, but this is a comic that is well worth considering picking up.

Score: B+

Star Wars Target Vader #5 written by Robbie Thompson and art by Cris Bolson, Robert Di Salvo, and Marco Failla

So turns out the Hidden Hand isn’t the rebellion? I’m very lost at this point. The mysterious crime organization that has been at the center of Target Vader from its start has always been its biggest head scratcher. A last panel reveal at the end of the comic’s first issue heavily hinted that the Hidden Hand was actually just an organization used by the Alliance to work in the criminal underworld. Over the past few issues, we have been given to doubt this reading, until now, where this theory is thrown out the door. Turns out the Hidden Hand may have older and more mysterious origins, but now we are just as lost as ever.

It speaks to the overall aimlessness of Target Vader. Despite the violent thrills of last issue, this miniseries has still been a mostly confused and overly long affair. Beilert Valance is still a mostly dull protagonist and his quest to neutralize Vader feels even more muddled than ever before. Writer Robbie Thompson does some work to try to remedy this situation by giving us an issue that is split between retelling Valance’s past and maiming by the Imperial military and the present where he is now caught between the grip of the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. It creates an interesting scenario for our central anti-hero, but ultimately fails to reveal much enlightening about Valance as a person. We may know why he is a grumpy, angry loaner by this point, but it doesn’t make his relatively one-note behavior any more interesting.

It also doesn’t really help that we have three guest artists on board instead of Stefano Landini. Marco Failla’s pencils may do a good enough job of approximating Landini’s style, but as a whole the result is a bit jarring as the comic never establishes a clear visual consistency. Combined with the fact that we already lost Marc Laming after issue one, this just adds to the weirdly confused reading experience that Target Vader has maintained to this point.

We have seen this comic work. Last issue’s installment was a brutally realized explosion of violent chaos, but we only have one issue now to really bring it all together, and I’m worried that Target Vader may not be up to the task of making this long, strange voyage worth it.

Score: C+

11/20/19

Star Wars #75 written by Greg Pak and art by Phil Noto

All roads lead to K43. In its eighth and final chapter, “Rebels and Rogues” sees all our team members converge on the rocky moon for one climactic stand against Darth Vader and the Empire. In this extra sized finale, Greg Pak and Phil Noto try their best to pull the disparate threads of this arc together while also delivering a satisfying finale. The result proves fun, very strange, and ultimately forgettable. It ends with a summation of this run as a whole: filled with smart art and ideas, but lacking in standout storytelling beats to leave a lasting impression.

Some of the disappointment comes from the fact that much of this issue comes down to our various cast members beating up on Darth Vader. We open with the final blows of Chewbacca and Vader’s brawl which Noto clearly enjoyed bringing to life, but much of the rest of the issue resorts to the extended ensemble blasting away at him in various set pieces. It plays out like a miniature version of 2016’s Vader Down, but lacking in the edge and thrills of that original crossover.

There’s also some strange choices made with the rock people of K43 that don’t entirely gel with what came before. Part of what made these characters so refreshing throughout this story arc has been how Pak used their existence to challenge our characters’ concepts of sentience and to allow C-3PO to bond with another group of non organic life that is similarly overlooked. This fun play continues, but the conflict of it all is handwaved away in a manner that feels unusually flippant. Given the amount of effort put into finding a way around murdering this race, Pak introduces a last minute plot detail that makes it all feel unnecessary and that’s before the giant planet sized stone giant appears.

Yes, this comic gets very weird and it’s certainly fun, but it feels more than a little scattered and chaotic in a comic that already feels all over the place.

With that, we bid goodbye to this short but enjoyable era of Marvel’s Star Wars ongoing. While Empire Ascendant will presumably be the final issue of the main series, with it being rebooted for a new post Empire Strikes Back ongoing headed by Charles Soule and Jesus Saiz sometime in January, there is a sense of finality to this creative team’s last chapter aboard. Pak and Noto prove a fun bunch and had a great sense of playfulness and scope to this ongoing during its final days even if the execution wasn’t always immaculate. I’m glad to hear that Pak will be staying around to write the next volume of Darth Vader. He has some big shoes to fill, but if the heights of this comic are any indication, he is capable of the same spectacle and intrigue as past creators.

Score: B

11/27/19

Star Wars Adventures #28 written by John Barber and Michael Moreci and art by Derek Charm and Tony Fleecs

Chewbacca’s adventures with his porg sidekick, Terbus, are pretty much perfect fodder for an all-ages Star Wars comic. Given how strong Adventures’ visual storytelling has been since day one, having two protagonists who speak through grunts, squawks, and body language is right up this teams’ alley. Yes, it’s cutesy and yes it is a bit simple, but there is undeniable charm in the way Derek Charm draws us through the liberation of Kashyyyk. It may not be as visually inventive as last issue, but the way that Chewbacca hops through the forest and takes on First Order baddies is still illustrated with the same energy and personality.

There is a bit of tonal whiplash here though. While it’s hard not to be won over by Porg salutes and Wookiees knocking heads, there are moments where the enslavement of the Wookiee population is presented as an all too real possibility. The lighter, more playful execution of this issue may do a lot to make this subject matter more palatable for younger readers, but one wonders if this should have been the direction that the story went with at all.

Michael Moreci’s droid adventure is more tonally cohesive and certainly also a fun time, but it lacks the standout visuals and heart of the Chewbacca section. Last issue succeeded by pairing the under appreciated droids with another outcast that also was invisible to the First Order, but the events here are less concerned with character and theme and more so with the fun action of their plan. All the same, it’s still a decent read and sure to delight younger readers.

Score: B

Star Wars Doctor Aphra #39 written by Simon Spurrier and art by Caspar Wijngaard

With just one issue left before the end of their tenure, Simon Spurrier and Caspar Wijngaard are pulling out all the stops for the end of Doctor Aphra. After the misstep that was “Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon,” it has been nice to see Spurrier get back in the swing of things with “A Rogue’s End” as each issue improves upon the last. Wijngaard and colorist Lee Loughridge feel more in sync here than ever before and Spurrier twists the knife as Aphra digs herself further and further into a disaster of her own making.

While she was first introduced in Kieron Gillen’s run on the title, Magna Tolvan and her relationship with Aphra have been staples of Spurrier’s run since he first stepped into the title. Here as we hurtle towards the big finish, it seems only fitting that the tortured and complex romance between these two very different souls take center stage. “A Rogue’s End” isn’t afraid to really dig into what it is about these two broken and confused women that drives their attraction to one another and just how deadly and ill advised their love, if it can be called that, is. It’s antagonistic, violent, but ultimately brimming with the sort of affection and tension that makes a good Star Wars romance sing. There is one image in particular here that is beautifully realized by Wijngaard and Loughridge and may rival the two’s first kiss for the iconography of this pairing.

It’s not all two woman coming to terms with one another under extreme circumstances, Aphra is still full speed ahead on her own mission survival. We hurtle towards a series of decisions at the issue’s end that may just cross the line into Aphra’s biggest moral slippage to date. Spurrier seems poised to deliver final judgement on what kind of person our dear rogue archaeologist may be, but knowing her and this series, the final thematic resting point is anyone’s guess. It’s a good thing that Spurrier makes the whole thing so damn fun to read and Wijngaard creates such beautiful imagery.

Score: A-

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