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#and we never got to see the king of hyrule for all we know he could have been a goatman
comixandco · 11 months
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Tears of the Kingdom isn’t the first time we’ve heard the phrase The Imprisoning War in Zelda lore
It’s also the term used in the Downfall Timeline as a precursor to LttP when Ganon was unleashed from the Sacred Realm and the King and the Sages rushed to fight the Demon King and re-seal the Sacred Realm, with no mention of a hero
Could TotK Imprisoning War and the LttP Imprisoning War be one and the same, with specific details being lost to time by the beginning of the game?
#totk spoilers#i’m not going to read any tags or comments on this post until i’ve completed the game#i’ve only found about three or four memories so far and i know this is a completely far-fetched conspiracy but it’s fun to think and theori#totk#and the zelda lore/continuity is a hot mess anyway.#it could be entirely possible that the Imprisoning War took place during the Era of Time directly after the heroes death#(at a young age i stand by the theory that link was sealed by the master sword after it was sent back in time with the knowledge ganondorf#was going to kill him right there in the temple of time after following him to get access to the sacred realm)#and we never got to see the king of hyrule for all we know he could have been a goatman#and icr if the queen was ever mentioned to be canonically dead. and it’s not the first time that nintendo has whitewashed a zelda though#this time it would be retroactively. or it could be set as lore states a long while after the era of time.#it’s never stated who tried to access the scared realm just that people wanted to claim the power there for their own. it could have been a#new ganondorf. and if the kingdom had been completely ruined by the ill-fated fight between the hero and Ganon and the following battle#between himself and the sages; it’s entirely possible that afterwards the zonai could have descended from the clouds to help re-build the#kingdom; and in a fit of morale-boosting refer to it as a founding of a new nation#or maybe not every war has to have a different name and the zelda lore makes no sense#that’s the more likely one imo lol
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gay-jesus-probably · 11 months
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Seeing as the Gerudo turned on Ganon, he might not have been that much better of a ruler.
First of all, we literally have no idea, because the only ancient Gerudo that we actually get to interact with is Ganondorf himself, and he has nothing to say about his own people. The ancient Gerudo sage doesn't count btw, she doesn't have a name, we never even see her face, and she has literally nothing to say except repeating the exact same dialogue as the sages for the other races. The narrative does not treat the ancient sages as people; they are four completely interchangable weapons that are owned by the royal family.
And secondly, I don't care how Ganon ruled them; the Gerudo only get one man every century, if their king sucks, they've obviously got their own system of government to fall back on. I have no idea what kind of authority the sages had among their own people, but honestly I'd say if the four of them were in charge of their respective people, then they were just puppet rulers appointed by Rauru, given that all four of them happily agreed that to sell their entire race into servitude the second Zelda asked them. Say what you will about Ganondorf, but I fucking know that if he was told the Gerudo people existed for the sole purpose of serving the glory of Hyrule, he'd drop kick Zelda into the fucking sun.
And don't get me started on the implications of the cultural differences we see between the independent Gerudo and the annexed Gerudo. The background Gerudo characters all have their own models, and we can clearly see that the ones siding with Ganon have their own unique looks - for example, the amazing lady with the mohawk that summons the molduga swarm in that one flashback. And men are never mentioned in these flashbacks at all, which implies that the Gerudo genuinely didn't care about settling down. Ganon even speaks derisively about marriage, implying that it's very rare for Gerudo women to make serious romantic commitments with men. It implies that their culture is more along the same line as their portrayal in OOT - they are a closed culture. Men trying to force their way into their areas are arrested, and mocked for being entitled dumbasses. Outsiders are only welcome if they can prove that they respect the Gerudo as people, and aren't just there to try and pick up chicks. It's never outright said, but OOT also makes it pretty clear that the Gerudo women just aren't interested in marrying outsiders - close relationships occur with other Gerudo, Hylian men are only considered useful for making babies.
Meanwhile the Gerudo we see serving Hyrule are all trying to measure up to Hylian beauty standards, and appeal to their men. Their one goal in life is to meet a man and get married. Men are welcome in their lands, and only kept out of the town itself... and even then, there's a small army of guys trying to force their way into the town anyways, which is brushed off as just haha, boys will be boys. No men allowed isn't even about independence, it's just a silly romantic tradition.
Of course this is just a fictional culture in a game world, but it's still really fucking uncomfortable that the 'evil' Gerudo are the ones that have independence, both politically and socially, and display a unique culture that refuses to tolerate disrespect from outsiders. Meanwhile the 'good' Gerudo are the ones that canonically exist to serve a kingdom where 95% of the population is light skinned (even setting aside the unfortunate implications, just saying one race exists to serve a different one is super fucked up), they have classes on how to be more appealing to Hylian's, and their entire social structure is built around finding a Hylian man to marry, making them all inherently dependent on the goodwill of outsiders. Even their biggest value of 'women only' is treated as a joke; men trying to trespass in BOTW are just shoved back out the door, letting them keep trying all day if they want. The crowds of men plotting to force their way in are laughed off as a joke. Nobody cares that there's a guy running laps around their city walls and trying to trick women into being alone with him. I mean for fucks sake, in TOTK we find that the creepy guy trying to lure women away has taken advantage of a massive disaster to get into the town, and he's still there once things return to normal. You can't kick him out, or alert anyone to his presence. And the Gerudo just tolerate Hylians blatantly ignoring their boundaries. For fucks sake, TOTK even reveals that the seven legendary heroines they've been revering the whole time were actually completely useless and unable to achieve anything... because they needed the eighth hero, a Hylian man to teach them basic tactics and do all the heavy lifting.
TOTK does not respect the Gerudo people in the slightest. It doesn't respect anyone who isn't Hylian or Zonai.
...This got a little off track, but the point I'm trying to make is, no, I don't consider the Gerudo turning on Ganon to mean anything. The entire game does not feel like the real story of what happened, it feels like the propaganda version of history meant to make Hyrule look as good as possible. I genuinely cannot believe that we're being told the real story about the Imprisoning War, because none of it feels real, and we don't get to know any details that might have made Hyrule look even slightly imperfect. We're told that Ganondorf is evil because he hates Hyrule, and he hates Hyrule because he's evil. The Gerudo people followed Ganondorf and saw him as a hero of their people, then suddenly he was their worst enemy. Hyrule is a perfect kingdom that has strong, equal alliances with the other races, but also all of the non-Hylian races exist for the sole purpose of serving Hyrule, and their leaders are expected to swear eternal loyalty and submission to the Hylian royal family. King Rauru and Queen Sonia united all of the races in peace and equality, which is why they're sitting on the world's supply of magical nuclear missiles, and every member of the Hylian royal family is allowed to walk around wearing them as cute accessories, but everyone else only gets them at the last second, and they all need to outright swear to only use that power to benefit Rauru and his descendants.
There's just so many fucked up contradictions, and so many hints of something more nuanced going on... but the story refuses to acknowledge any of it, and just keeps aggressively pushing the narrative that Hyrule is the ultimate good and couldn't possibly do anything wrong. I don't even believe that Ganon was a bad king honestly; we never hear why his people stopped following him. We also never even see if the Gerudo people turned on him at all; all we know is the ancient Gerudo sage wanted him dead, and given that she also happily sold her people into slavery, she's not exactly the most trustworthy source of information. All we know is that Ganondorf was a hero to his people, only one of his citizens is ever shown having an issue with him (and her motives are never explained), and then he lost the war and was sealed away, leaving his people open to be conquered by Zelda and annexed into Hyrule. By the time we see any Gerudo actually opposing Ganon (apart from the ancient sage), it's been ten thousand years since the war, and all anyone knows is the Hylian version of the story.
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pumpkinsouppe · 1 year
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There’s def a lot I wish to be in Tears of the Kingdom, especially things like regional/diverse enemies. But the thing I really wish to see is Link express negative emotions. And not just “he’s angry at fighting enemies” but rather he’s angry and tired and upset and confused at his situation. He has followed orders from the king the moment he touched the master sword as a CHILD. We don’t even know if he truly got to be a child because his whole life has been about duty. And I’m pretty sure in this timeline he was descended from the Hylian knights so who knows how long he’s been training to just be a standard knight before the master sword.
Link SHOULD be angry that he’s stuck in this cycle of rebirth. Even when he died, the fall of Hyrule was blamed on him and he didn’t even get to stay dead. He was woken up and had to finish his duties while also being constantly reminded that his death is what lead Hyrule to look like is does. He should be angry, angry at Ganon and Demise and at the Hylian Royalty for forcing him into this situation over and over and over.
And this is exactly why I hope TOTK is similar to Majora’s Mask. Not because Majora’s Mask was scary. But because it dealt with the grief and isolation and depression Link had to face after going through an incredible traumatic journey, and then losing all of his friends as a result. Most notably losing the ONE friend who was with him the entire time. Who completely understood everything Link went through because she experienced the same thing. And she was the entire reason Majora’s Mask even happened in the first place, because Link was desperately searching for Navi because he was scared to be alone. I want TOTK to explore these hard and brutal emotions for both Link and Zelda. I want them both to be scared, angry, and distraught. I want them to cry over themselves and be selfish. I want them to do something impactful that isn’t for the sake of Hyrule. I hope there’s conflict with the Goddess Hylia. I hope they reject her outstretched hand after she has burdened two children to sacrifice themselves for the good of Hyrule.
I want there to be a good resolution to TOTK. I want both Link and Zelda to choose their own path even if that means leaving Hyrule. But I want the path to resolution to be painful and really explore Link’s true emotions. He is stoic and mute because he is burdened with the weight of the world. What good is a knight who talks when he is judged based on his actions and ability to use a sword.
With Zelda’s warning that she thinks that even Link can’t succeed, I hope we do see helplessness in Link. Again to Majora’s Mask we did get to see Link helpless. He was transformed into a small Deku Scrub with no weapons, no horse, and was an outlier in a town filled with humans. But he learned to work through that helplessness. He embraced the spirit who had to give his life for Link to look the way he does and figure out new ways to fight and communicate. He later became grateful for the Zora and Goron who let him use their spirits to aide his journey. He was able to confront Majora’s because he was never truly alone. Everyone he’s ever met has given him strength even if they aren’t with him presently.
And that’s what I hope to see in Link in TOTK. A helplessness due to his isolated burden, faced against something he could never win against alone. And thankfully we did get that to an extent in BOTW with the champions and even Zelda. But even then, fighting the divine beasts was optional. Link in a sense could have faced Ganon alone. Hell people even fight Ganon with no clothes and only carrying sticks.
No, I want Link, even in the most powerful armor with the most powerful weapon, to be helpless. And I want him to be angry about it. And upset. And hurt. Because he has earned the right to express every painful emotion for his circumstance and he deserves to be able to express his frustration. It is okay if he isn’t the hero.
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typecastwritesssss · 8 months
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okay but like the wind waker man. that intro. so many questions. we all know ocarina is dark but man wind waker just straight up said "and then they all drowned and the gods never came to help" hello??? how many years. how many decades. how much time did the adult hero of time buy for them? which child of zelda’s was daphnes? her son? grandchild? great-grandchild? when he stared at the rising waters and realized nothing was going to save them, his kingdom, did he think it was retribution for all the war? 
has it really been all that long? yes and also no. the lines are so blurred. the zora are birds and the kokiri are koroks and they had time to Get That Way but everywhere you look the old Hyrule, the Hero of Time himself, they're both all over the place. the deku tree is implied to be the sprout from the adult timeline but honestly who knows. the golden goddesses are statues on islands somewhere and there was a tower built to test who came after but…who and how and why? what was the tower of the gods even for? how did they know they’d need it? at what point did they accept the hero of time was never coming back so they’d probably need to train a new one? 
and oh my god, that outset island tradition. “dress your kids in green and give ‘em a sword and pray to the gods they’ll have the courage to cast down evil.” link rolls his eyes at it but he wears them to appease grandma. the revered clothes of the hero have had time to pass into “stupid traditional getup” territory. how many “failed Links” were there before Aryll’s brother? what evil could those children have possibly stricken down? the monsters in the woods?
“what became of that kingdom? none remain who know” like goddamn. say what you want about the hero’s shade in twilight princess. but at least the traumatized ghost got to meet one of his descendants and pass on his songs and his knowledge, even if that knowledge was only of war and death and combat. in the wind waker he’s a statue. an element of a legend mentioned once or twice by the last remaining holdouts of the past—holdouts who so badly want him to return, view him as the solution over all else, that they never pause to consider any other option. there are stained glass windows of the seven sages in the master sword’s chamber that are never mentioned. there is so much that is never mentioned.
nobody knows what the fuck anybody is talking about. link doesn’t know old hylian. tetra is running around the high seas (as a pirate. she and her retainers are now pirates. how did things get that way) with a piece of the damn triforce around her neck and she doesn’t know who ‘princess zelda’ even is. the juxtaposition between ganondorf, older and tired and wiser but still hell-bent on ruling hyrule even if it is a dead land full of nothing and no one, and tetra, a zelda that knows nothing, asking why he’s laughing and calling him insane. because hyrule’s dead. she has no frame of reference for his longing, or what he found so great about this sunken kingdom.
and this is framed as a good thing. the king of red lions thinks it’s better not to let either of the kids in on the loop until tetra nearly dies for lack of knowledge. daphnes nolhansen hyrule brought “the hero” back just to end ganon, and hyrule with him. was the plan always to let the sea fall in on him? maybe. i don’t know. but he rejects zelda’s plea with him to take him with them to the land that will be the new hyrule, because “it will not be hyrule. it will be your land” and that still gets me. he thinks the best thing to do with his kingdom, Hyrule, the kingdom of a whole hell of a lot of irl people’s childhoods, is for it to wash away. he wants the kids to live for the future and they do and they will and they name it hyrule anyway in his honor but he never gets to see it.
anyways i’m still mad everybody got butthurt over “trains in a zelda game” like come on now
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ganondoodle · 2 months
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so, doing this as an extra post bc i dont want to spam op nor invite more disaster into their post (sorry)
(i get annoyed, i get frustrated, but i rarely get pissed off, so if this sounds aggressive to you, it is; i have had enough of arguing with people -even if most of that arguing has happened on twitter-)
someone had replied (and later apparently deleted) something along the lines of "well zelda wanted to restore hyrule at the end of botw and what is so bad about ganondorf always being the bad guy in the way that he is?"
so first off, while i know hyrule and KINGDOM of hyrule is often used as an equally interchangeable word to refer to the world there, i dont think she meant the kingdom or its or its monarchy when she said that (does she? i dont have the end in my head rn and pretty sure its a lil different than english anyway) and much more the LAND of hyrule, its still in shambles even if people have found ways to live with it- that is an interpretation of me mostly, you can think what you want in that regard idc
secondly .... im not gonna get into that rant bc you cannot be seriosuly asking what is bad about how ganondorf is presented, treated in the games (espeically in totk) and his role and "writing" (oh geez i dont know maybe all the racism and stereotypes?? also, frankly boring ass writing, if your villain can be replaced by a cloud of toxic goo incapable of speech and nothing would change except saving money for voice actors that dont fit the role that is not a great look- hes never gotten much but totk is a new low)
then theres this reply
astro-shark3113 replied: "You're kidding right? If she cared about reinstating the monarchy then why is the castle still in disrepair after five years? Why does she become a teacher and live in a cottage with her boyfriend instead of taking on duties as princess? She clearly wants to help people and be a leader but she can do that without wanting to be a Queen. Please be real"
i am not kidding and i AM being real, i think you need to look at the game without your rose tinted glasses for a second; the castle is still in ruin? what the hell do you expect, theres no soldiers and very few servants left, repairing anything is quite impossible in that time and frankly not a priority (not proof of her not caring lol) also there is a plan for it at the very least given the camps with the hyrule crest all over it in the ruins of castle town- we dont SEE her as a teacher, or living a "normal" life, that happens in between the game, its flavor text, what HAPPENS in the game is her being taught a lessson on who she needs to be and what hyrule needs to be (pretty in your face too, she gets sent to paradise past of the "first" king that is some supposedly godly thing from the HEAVENS and watches him and his queen die at the hands of the eviiil guy, the last scene in the game mimics perfectly the scene where everyone that god king got under his rule swears undying loyalty to her ffs); she does live in that house, but what other option is there, set up camp in the collapsing throne room all alone?? nigh everyone from that time is long dead and the only one she actually knows is link who happens to have a house (bc impa doesnt care i guess idk), with her ""boyfriend"" is also interesting, a "boyfriend" that apparently is locked in the basement, lives in the woods or straight up dematerlializes when theres no big bad in need of stabbing bc why the hell does no one fucking know him in hateno??? not even the kids that come to the house EVERY SINGLE DAY?? and taking on duties as a princess, she very much does? just bc she doesnt get physically carried around in a castle doesnt mean she isnt doing royal stuff (also, again, that happens BETWEEN the games, not actually in totk), she still sees herself as the princess, everyone calls her that, she herself calls herself that (if the memorial stones are anything to go by) and everyone listens to the most overtly stupid and nonsensical stuff that zelda puppet says (even her friends follow that order without even asking back???) after over 100 years of there not being a kingdom as such its pretty weird how everyone immediately, even the ones not alive for the calamity event, snaps into blindly following her orders
"she can still lead without being a queen", did we play the same game?? totk? TEARS of the KINGDOM?? (its zeldas tears, she IS the kingdom) that game?? the game couldnt be more directly telling you that its whole point is that royal family holy and good and how much everyone has to sacrifice to uphold the holy kingdom bc its the only thing that keeps evil man from overtaking it!! including turnign herself into a farmable, glorified stone pedestal for the entirety of the actual game and then that sacrifice not meanign shit bc she just gets deus ex machina'd back (i didnt need her to stay a dragon, though it would have been the better choice if she still didnt get an active part in the game i would kill for her to have been a capable companion instead of the stupid ghost sages, and you dont even get to actually do anything for it, it just happens), not even the nuclear pebble is lost, how great! she and everyone else that is a leader of their people has a nuclear pebble now!! they will not let a bad evil man be a threat ever again!! like the point to bring her back in that utterly unsatisfying way is that otherwise the royal line wouldnt exist anymore, its a blessing of her ancient ancestors!! woohooo!!
and the thing is, i LIKE botw zelda, i liked her character, that she wasnt the typically maiden princessy type, her struggle (even if i find the way she unlocked her powers lame), i do NOT like totk zelda, after the intro of the game she is a princessy maiden standing prettily at the side of the god king that rules the only thing keeping evil at bay, the level of how much totk disrespects her makes me mad on her behalf but i have ranted about that alone enough as well
and with this i am DONE talking about this game, i have ranted so much about it, made my points carefully clear over and over, said that i dont have the nerves left to be nice anymore about it given how much shit alone on twitter i had to live through just bc i dared mildly critisizing the damn game, if you comment some snarky "be real" thing again im just gonna go straight to blockign people bc i am done with this
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neverchecking · 11 months
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I have a brain rot for sage, hes challenging the chain for their time with player/reader, he basically wants all His/Her/Them's attention, of course none of the chain and sage are going to "play" fair their going to cheat no matter what. the only ones he might not win against is time, FD and maybe twilight. wind, four, Hyrule, and sky would do sad puppy eyes to get cuddle time, twilight and legend turn into their animal form to get pettings, sage and wild would cook food to get points for being delicious. (etc.etc.) just some yandere shenanigans for attention. the challenges he did were sword fighting, bow and arrow targeting, sparing, arm wrestling, and so forth.
-Eevee
Okay, last one for the night! I figured since this isn't really a request, I could spitball some more of my headcanons for our beloved Sage.
Jk it delted itself so I gave up and went to bed bc last time I tried to push through I wasn't happy with the end product, so sorry for the delay!
For those of you who don't know, Sage is another name for the Tears of the Kingdom Link--dubbed Hero of the Zonai-- should we decide he is not in fact Wild.
For the Wild and Facesitting request, it's in progress I promise! I try to go in order with my requests, but like I said, this is more headcanons versus a scenario. It should be out tomorrow later today so look out for that ;)
ANYWAY-
Y'all. The amount of Sage requests in my inbox right now? You guys are feral for this man and I love it. So I'm here to feed you guys.
TotK spoilers below!
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・❥・Okay, so lemme start this off by saying. I have done you all wrong. And for that I apologize.
・❥・Because our wonderful @wayfayrr has opened my eyes to new possibilities that I would've never even thought of. So everyone say thank you rn >:(
・❥・So let's make some amendments!
・❥・First off, let's talk about nicknames. I love the idea that Reader, and only Reader, can call him anything other than Sage. And calling him other herb-related nicknames? Kills me. He is a flushing red mess the first time it happens. You had deemed him worthy of a nickname? You considered him person enough to have a moniker that wasn't also a title? If he was down bad before, it's so much worse now. Because you see him as a person. He's sure the others just see him as a means to the end. The second one of them, maybe save Wind, try it, he's shooting them daggers and snarling at them for even daring to try and impeach your privilege. (I also love the Calm, Wild and Feral thing, I thought that was so freaking clever.)
・❥・And you know how each of the hero's have their own 'sword' right? Well, what if Sage's was the Master Sword Remastered? Like Sky's (Like most of their Master Swords actually) but now it's been boosted by ten thousand years worth of direct light magic. (Does the Zonai time fall before Skyward Sword or after? I have no idea where they fall on the timeline tbh.). Just a thought. It could also be a gloom sword which probably wouldn't effect him as hard in other timelines because there's no demon king to power it, but it probably does hurt the others if they try to touch it.
・❥・Now, the juicy part. Let's retouch on Wild's and Sage's relationship. I originally said that Sage was okay with him? I lied. Wayfayrr has opened my eyes.
・❥・Sage probably can't fucking stand Wild. As they said, this is a version of him that didn't have this second adventure. Got to rest and distant himself from the Hero Title. And that just pisses him off. Why did he get the shittier hand? Why did he have to do it all over again? Why when this failure got to get off easy? Why couldn't he have the same grace, huh? What made them so different?
・❥・And if we're using the past oneshot (Here!) as they're 'canon' meeting, this filth let you get hurt. You were hurt before meeting him, which means that they can't be trusted with you. Especially Wild. So Sage cannot stand you being near Wild. At all. It eats at him and he doesn't last long before splitting the two of you up.
・❥・Calamity is even worse. There is probably an active hate towards Calamity (In this Yandere world, in a normal, not toxic world? They probably work out their differences a little better). This was a version of him who didn't even have to die to complete his quest. And this just shows that Fraud has favorites and it's not him.
・❥・You know who else he probably doesn't like? Twilight. Now, hear me out. This is purely me just spitting this out, but Sage has to be aware. He listens when they don't think he does, he's awake when they think he's not, he's watching when they don't even know he's there.
・❥・So he probably picks up on all of their little secrets. Meaning he knows Twilight is Wolfie. And (I think this is Canon is LU but I'm not sure) Wild had Wolfie as a guide. Which means Sage had Wolfie as a guide. The difference? When he needed him the second time, left stumbling around like a newborn fawn crawling out of the shrine all over again, he was left alone. He was fighting robots with a fucking Stick. He fused a mushroom to a shield just to buy himself more time. At one point, he was fusing a long stick to another long stick just to fight from a distance to save his battered body. Rauru did as much as he could, but there were some times he wished he was left for dead.
・❥・Not anymore as that means he would've never met you, but then? different story.
・❥・They also brought up that Sage probably doesn't stop at just cooking your food and I agree. When on the road, he for sure goes straight to the source. If he doesn't know exactly where it came from, it's not going anywhere near his Goddess. Nope. Not a chance in the gloomy depths from hell.
・❥・He's going to farmers themselves rather than merchants for produce, hunting any protein himself, climbing trees for eggs, he probably even makes his own butter. Now, because he's also cooking savy this for sure makes the rivalry between him and Wild widen. Wild is set in his cook for the chain, not you. Sage can't trust them to not hurt you again. Whose to say they don't over spice the food? Or undercook the fish? Or drop shells into the egg?
・❥・He can't trust them and may force you to pick one of the other. Depending on who you chose, he'll either hold his victory up high or work even harder to separate you from the chain. Can't you see, Reader? They aren't good for you.
・❥・When it comes to the Gloom, he for sure uses to his advantage. You know he's been infected, but you don't know how much light he's gathered to dispel it. At this point, he's probably gotten most, if not all of it, out, but you don't know that. And he preys on that fact.
・❥・Oh, the Traveler wants to down to the river with you? But, Reader, there's something rotten in his chest and he's stumbling against trees, exaggerating his steady steps just in case to really sell it. He needs you by his side, can't you see?
・❥・Oh, the captain is trying to get you to settle with him for the night? But, Reader, he's tossing and turning, feigning sleep and acting just enough to catch your attention. He's listening, ears pricked, just to hear you swiftly apologize before your gently hands are laying on his shoulders and he's won again.
・❥・And because his Hyrule is one of, if not the most dangerous Hyrules, he's given so much ammo to keep you tethered to him. You can't trust anyone, don't you know? The Yiga uptake has skyrocketed and they are everywhere, along with Ganon's new ability to make puppets? Can't you see how you can't trust any of them?
・❥・He even entertains you when you come up with the idea to have a secret saying between just the two of you as a fail safe. (It's probably something like 'Deforestation Enthusiast' because of how the two of you met.) Anything to have you pulling further away from the Chain and into his arms.
・❥・If it begins to take longer than expected, Sage is not above letting you wander just enough in his Hyrule. Maybe you set off a bit of Gloom hands (Or maybe he nudges them in your direction, hard to tell, really) and they go charging at you. The others don't know how to deal with them, but he does. He saves your life before the others even know what hit them. He's cooing into your ear, reassuring that where the others fail, he would never dream of it. He's whispering that he knows how scary the feeling of those hands are. He knows how freezing the feeling of sudden restriction, only accompanied by the burning sizzle of malice, is. He knows and he understands, but he's right here. He'd never let anything happen to you. Not like the other frauds.
・❥・Now, all that being said, Sage for sure does not play fair. Oh no. He does challenge them in his own ways, but does it in a way that can only reflect badly on them should they call him out on it.
・❥・He's fighting (Picking apart) with Wars and Calamity on their sparring routines, angling it in just a way that should they snap back he can turn on the innocent little look with a 'But I'm just trying to protect you. I don't know how any of you fight, I'm still learning.' Just in time for you to catch them barking at him to 'Learn faster' and it just falls perfectly into place.
・❥・He's calling out Twi and Four every time they try to wander off (Probably to bring out Wolfie or split to relieve a headache of sorts) because 'The woods are dangerous, what are they doing going off alone?' and now they can't leave because all eyes are on them and he's restricting their movement without even really trying. They wanna go foraging? But he and ...Wild were their best foragers and they were busy with dinner (That was something bitter to get out).
・❥・And wow, Time, Legend and Fierce have so many secrets, can you really trust them? Sage has laid down his entire adventure to you, and regardless if Reader is a LoZ player and knows of them regardless, Sage told you. Those two are trying to hide from you. He would never.
・❥・Wind, Hyrule and that filthy disgrace want to drag you along to go Shield surfing? Reader, do you know how dangerous that is? Especially with someone's track record. Here, you wanna go riding on this motorized wagon he just happens to have on hand? (Between the Zonite in his Purah pad, he can build any component necessary.)
・❥・Not even Sky and First are safe as he uses carefully laid words to sully their once golden image towards you. Afterall, they're so close to Hylia, whose to say they aren't behind all of this?
・❥・Now, you said that the only ones he may not win against are Time, Fierce and Twilight, but like I said, I can imagine him loathing Twilight, so instead, may I suggest First.
・❥・Time and Fierce are both pretty burly dudes that demand some semblance of respect and while Sage has muscles, he's not overly tall. So while he doesn't bow, he may just back off from their forefront for a while.
・❥・Now, First. He's probably the only one who can put Sage back in his place of the hierarchy. It's the first in the timeline, versus the last (As of right now). And it's not pretty. They probably go to blows a few times when you're out of ear shot.
・❥・The problem is that First can only push him back when you're out of ear shot and Sage makes it a point to keep you as close as humanly possible.
・❥・And while yes, some of them may use puppy eyes, Sage is not above using pity to get what he wants because he just hurts so badly don't you know?
・❥・He unfortunately can't do anything about wolves or rabbits. If they manage to disappear before he can call them out on it, he's left bitterly sulking as Wolfie laps at your cheeks or dumb rabbits nose at your hand. He may know who they are, but not even he's cruel enough to call them out (Yet) because that would just pit you against him. They weren't his secrets to tell, you would scold, and he just couldn't handle that possibility.
・❥・The biggest difference between Sage and Wild, one that the chain will fail to realize right away, is that Sage is much more experienced. He is on his second, THIRD if you count the pre-calamity, adventure. He knows everything Wild does, and more. Wild knows how to improvise and adapt, Sage can do it faster. Wild knows how to forage and concoct incredibly potent elixirs? Sage can do it tenfold with half the ingredients. He knows all the little tips and tricks and is not only backed up by the champion's gifts-- should they have remained-- but now he has the sages with him.
・❥・Like imagine their mid-battle, they had forced you away from Sage just to create some distance (At long last) and mans comes rolling in a giant fucking robot. He's using Sidon's sage to shield you over and over again and decimating a battle field using nothing but Riju and an arrow. Hell, the bigger enemies are struck down by Yunobo crashing into them. Sage alone is enough to cut the enemy hordes in half through recall and sending their own attacks back at them or fusing together weapons they wouldn't have ever dreamed of with new abilities. Even his outfits give him benefits far beyond anything they could think.
・❥・You saw him as someone more than just Link. He wasn't just the Swordsman to you when that was who he was to everyone else. You dubbed him something far beyond what a damned sword made him.
・❥・And he would have to be four days dead before letting you go.
・❥・And as he's proven before, Not even death could truly kill him.
I am so glad I waited bc I like this one so much more than the one that was deleted.
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smilesrobotlover · 2 months
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Warning, this is a pretty dark one towards the end. A lil spooky if you will
Chapter 5- Something’s in Faron Woods
Zelda was exhausted. With the new problem of disappearances, her workload doubled. She was getting several letters from people claiming that they knew who was causing these disappearances, or people who claimed that they got caught and escaped. She was then dealing with the economy of Hyrule, then their relationship with Labrynna, then schoolwork for her daughter, and then trying to provide for the army. She’d barely gotten any sleep, but she supposed it would be fine. She’s had sleepless nights before, this would be no different.
She was eternally grateful for the resistance’s help, since she couldn’t do much on her own with the disappearances. She sent Ashei and Shad to help Hoz on his investigation, she requested Auru to ask around since he couldn’t do much in his old age, and she sent Rusl and Link to investigate Kakariko, knowing that Link’s wolf abilities would be useful. And she requested this all under her alter ego: Sheik.
She remembers when she first disguised herself as Sheik and went to help the resistance. They were dealing with straggling Bulblins who rebelled against their king. Sheik showed up to assist, and the resistance were rightfully distrusting towards her. It was difficult since Sheik wasn’t exactly a bubbly and kind person, but after a few years with her giving them correct information on situations, they started to trust her more, and she was grateful for that. It was nice doing more for Hyrule that she wouldn’t be able to do as queen, but it had made her twice as busy, and she almost had no time to do anything. Even spending time with her own daughter was severely limited, and even though she wished she could do more with her, she just didn’t have time. And she wasn’t willing to give some of her workload to Edmund.
They’d known each other since they were kids. her father was attempting to have an alliance with Labrynna and they saw each other often. They had a good enough relationship then, Edmund was very polite and kind, and even when they reunited he still was, but she couldn’t bring herself to trust him. He was never outwardly terrible, but she knew that if she gave him even an ounce of power, he would take it all and control Hyrule. She’d seen it with her father, she’d seen it with Zant, and she’d seen it with Ganondorf. All kings taking power from queens, why would Edmund be any different?
Despite her refusal to let him help her, she was exhausted, and sometimes she wished she could get help, but until she found more people she could trust, she would have to make do. Of course, it wasn’t easy to hide how she was feeling from everyone, and when she nearly fell asleep during a boring meeting, they all grew concerned for her well-being.
“My queen?” The representative for the Zora spoke up when she nearly fell over on the table, and she rubbed her face, sitting up straight.
“I’m alright,” she said quickly, and she glanced over at Edmund who stared at her with his brows pinched together.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m fine, just a little tired is all, we all get like that,” she waved their concerns away and looked down at the papers in front of her. She honestly didn’t remember what was being discussed, but she quickly skimmed over the details and caught up as much as she could. As soon as the meeting was over, she got up and left, with Edmund trailing behind her.
“Zelda?” He called out for her, and she groaned, turning around to look at him.
“Yes?”
Edmund let out a huff and put his hands on his hips. “What have you been doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. You look awful. You’re rarely eating, I hardly ever see you, and you’re never in bed when you’re supposed to be.”
“Maybe I don’t want to sleep with you,” she said coldly, but instantly regretted it. That was an inappropriate thing to say, and a hurt expression flickered across Edmund’s face. He looked away and ran a hand through his hair, frustration apparent in his face.
“Goddesses, Zelda. I— I didn’t want this arranged marriage either, but I’m trying to make it work for our kingdom’s sakes! It’s been ten years, why can’t you do the same?”
Zelda faced him fully and looked down, biting her lip. “I… I apologize for that comment, Edmund. It was rude of me.”
Edmund’s glare softened slightly. “So, what’s going on? Is it the disappearances?”
Zelda pursed her lips. “It’s fine Edmund–”
“No, it’s not fine. You’re clearly overworking yourself.”
Zelda turned away and let out a frustrated sigh, spotting the nobles and representatives getting closer to them. She grabbed Edmund’s arm and led him away to somewhere more private.
“It’s fine Edmund,” she reassured when they were tucked away in a corner, “these disappearances have been a lot of work to deal with, but it will pass. Besides, I have help from friends and Hoz to get to the bottom of this.”
Edmund stared at her for a moment, his brow pinched together. “Ok, so you have help,” he finally said after a moment of contemplation, “why don’t you let me handle the next meeting so you can… I don’t know… get some rest.”
Zelda’s heart spiked and she shook her head. “No, I do not need help.”
“Oh, so you’ll get help from Hoz and friends that I’ve never heard of before, but not from me, your husband?” Edmund’s voice raised a little, and Zelda sucked in a breath.
“It’s not your responsibility—“
“Yes it is! We’re supposed to have a partnership! We’re supposed to work together to keep our kingdom allies! That is why we got married! Why can’t you trust me?”
“Maybe it’s because you have no respect for my kingdom! Maybe it’s because you berate and criticize my people and my army! Why would I let someone who hates my kingdom try to rule it?” Zelda snapped. Edmund stared at her, surprised at her angry tone. She always spoke in a controlled tone, never letting her anger get the best of her since it was improper. Zelda took a deep breath and quickly composed herself, not wanting to escalate the conversation anymore. “Edmund, can we discuss this later? I have a meeting to attend to.”
“That’s what you say everytime I try to talk to you about it,” Edmund scoffed.
“Well I don’t have time.”
Edmund was about to say something, but he glanced up behind Zelda and his glare softened.
“Amber!” He greeted, and Zelda turned around to see her daughter walking towards them.
“Hello, mother and father,” she said when she walked up to them, her hands clasped in front of her. “I finished my studies and I wanted to catch you when the meeting ended!”
Edmund gave Zelda a look and he relaxed his posture. “Well, you caught us in time, my dear.”
Amber grinned at Edmund and gave a small curtsy to Zelda. Zelda nodded her head and forced a smile. The two stared at each other awkwardly, and Zelda looked down.
“I’m glad to see you, Amber,” she finally said, and forced another smile. “I take it your studies are going well?”
“Yes, mother.”
“Right…”
Zelda looked away and Edmund sighed.
“Why don’t you tell your mother what you’ve been studying, Amber?” He encouraged, and Amber’s eyes lit up. Zelda cringed internally, wanting so badly to stay and listen to her daughter, but she simply had no time…
“Well, I’ve been studying the founding of Hyrule, and I find it quite fascinating! I read that Hylians descended from the sky and made land here, creating alliances with the many species already living here. I just can’t imagine living in the sky! I heard that they flew on birds! Big birds that they would ride on and–”
“Amber,” Zelda cut in, forcing another smile, “I think it’s wonderful that you’re interested in history. I have a meeting I must attend, but you continue on with your studies.”
Amber’s expression fell which made Zelda’s heart twist in pain, and she looked down. “Of course, mother, sorry to keep you.”
Zelda couldn’t force another smile, and she simply walked away, trying to ignore the guilt creeping up on her. Goddesses she wanted to stay, she wanted to stay and to talk with her daughter. She wanted to ignore the meetings and to actually rest her eyes. But she couldn’t, there was too much to do, and she didn’t have the time.
Zelda couldn’t help but glance at the two when she turned the corner. Amber was still facing away, but Edmund was staring at her, and where she expected anger, there was nothing but sadness in his eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Link watched the field around him carefully, sticking closer to Rusl this time around. Kori was no longer riding with him, and was inside the cart playing with his new toy, meanwhile Colin sat behind him on Epona. Talo was riding his own horse on the other side of the cart, grateful to no longer be alone on the trip back home. Link was also glad that they were with Talo as well, learning more about the strange disappearances have gotten him nervous. Rusl tried to make sense of it all, explaining how the scent probably got messed up, but Link supposed he couldn’t truly understand how bizarre the whole thing was. The scent wasn’t replaced, nor was it lost, it just vanished. The fact that he didn’t know why this was happening, or where to continue looking, chilled him to the bone, and he was anxious to get back to Ordon and out of the open field. Colin picked up on his nervous energy, and he rested his hand on his shoulder.
“Are you alright, Link?” His younger brother asked, and Link shrugged.
“I dunno, I just don’t like the open field,” he answered simply.
“I heard you and pa were investigating some disappearances, anything going on with that?”
Link sighed. “I don’t know, I tried to follow the missing people’s scent and I found nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Absolutely nothing. The scent just ends. Pa thinks that the scent was replaced or lost but… I honestly don’t think that’s the case,” he ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a breath.
“What do you think the case is?”
“I’m not sure, the only explanation is that the people got taken to… a different world or something,” Link felt the heat creep up to his cheeks as he said it outloud. The idea of different worlds wasn’t far-fetched to him, the temple of time literally took him through time to when the temple stood tall and proud, and the twilight realm was a world he could never forget. But to get to these places were nearly impossible, especially the twilight realm, so the idea that these people somehow getting taken to anywhere like that was ridiculous to him. Colin only hummed.
“You sure they’re not dead?”
“I’m sure Colin, I would’ve smelled it. Once we get home I’m gonna try to look further into it.” By the goddesses he was not going to let something like this continue. He was the hero for Din’s sake, he still had a responsibility to Hyrule. Link glanced over at the carriage to see Kori and Rela poking their heads out from the carriage, smiling at the nature in front of them. A protective feeling surrounded him as he watched them. He was going to make sure that his family, especially Kori, were never going to experience a dangerous Hyrule ever again.
They reached Ordon when the sun began to set, and everyone let out a sigh of relief as they got off their steeds or out of the cart.
“By the goddesses, it’s nice not being attacked every five seconds in the field,” Talo commented, stretching his arms after he got off his horse. Beth and Colin cheered in response as Link led Epona to his home, patting her neck and giving her a treat. Kori ran up to him and patted Epona’s snout.
“Thanks for getting us here, girl!” He said, and Epona lowered her head to nuzzle his chest, which Kori giggled at. Link smiled at the two and left them alone together as he went to help Rusl with unloading the cart. The kids stayed back talking and playing with the horses while Link and Rusl went to their home. When they opened the door, Uli set down her sewing project from the couch and met them at the door in seconds.
“You’re home!” She cheered, and gave Rusl and Link a hug. Rusl chuckled and pecked her on the lips.
“Hello, darlin’,” he said when he pulled away, and the two smiled at each other for a moment.
“How was it? How’s Renado?” She asked as they pulled away to put their stuff down.
“It was fine,” Link answered, plopping down on the couch. “Renado seems pretty overwhelmed, but otherwise it was ok.”
“What did Kori get?”
“A stuffed cat he named Jasper,” Link answered, stretching his arms above his head. Uli tilted her head and crossed her arms.
“A stuffed cat? If I had known that he wanted a stuffed cat, I would’ve made him one!”
“Yeah, kids are weird like that,” Link said with a chuckle, rubbing his eyes. “The moment they see somethin’ they want at the store, they ask for it even though you can make it at home.”
“It’s more special from a shop!” Rusl chimed in, leaning near the fireplace. Uli raised an eyebrow and smirked.
“Are you saying that if I made it, it wouldn’t be special?”
Rusl’s eyes went big and he turned away. “Of course not… that’s… you know what I meant!”
Uli gave a quick laugh. “I know what you meant darlin’, I’m just messing with you.” Rusl glared at her and she simply giggled teasingly at him. She turned to Link and her teasing manner dropped slightly. “Well, I heard you two were investigating some…. Disappearances,” she started, “were you able to find anything?”
Link looked at Rusl and shrugged. “Not really.”
“We didn’t find anything useful at least,” Rusl added quietly. Uli frowned.
“Are you going to continue investigating?”
“Well, I kinda have to. Kori wants everyone to return home safely for his birthday,” Link said with a small smile on his lips. Uli grinned and ruffled his hair.
“He’s a sweet boy. He reminds me of a certain someone.”
Link looked down bashfully and rolled his eyes as Uli began to dote on him. Kori was a sweet boy. So gentle and kind, despite being a little mischievous at times. He couldn’t take all the credit for it of course, or really any of it. Midna raised him by herself for his first two years of life, and even though she's not with them all the time, she’s impacted his life in more ways than one. Goddesses he missed her. He wanted to tell her everything about Kakariko, he wanted her advice, her comments, her support. He just wanted her here…
Uli clasped her hands together and sighed after a moment of silence. “Well, where are the kids?”
“Dealin’ with the horses. I think they’re a little stir crazy.”
Uli smiled and gestured at the fireplace. “I have some soup cooking if you wanna drag our little ones over here?”
The smell of the soup cooking above the fireplace hit his nostrils, and he wiped some drool that suddenly appeared on his chin. Uli let out a hearty laugh and ruffled his hair.
“I’ll go get them ma,” Link chuckled, slightly embarrassed, and jogged out the door to find Colin, Rela, and Kori.
The three were excited for the hot dinner when Link told them, and they quickly put their things away as the sun set behind the horizon. Kori wasted no time showing Jasper the cat to Uli, explaining the complex backstory he gave to the plush, and how it connected to Billy the goat’s backstory. Uli listened intently, and Link let out a laugh. He always talked her ear off, but she always listened. Link wondered if he was the same way when he was younger.
“So, I take it Midna didn’t go with you?” Uli asked when Kori finished his story. Link shook his head.
“No, she had other stuff she needed to do back home.”
“What does she do anyways?” Colin asked, his spoon full of soup inches away from his mouth. Link shrugged.
“Stuff.”
“You always say that,” he said, sipping the soup from the spoon. Link shrugged again.
“Y’all weren’t supposed to know about her existence anyways. If she wants to tell you what she does, then she will. It’s not my business to tell you.”
“Fair ‘nough.”
“Well,” Uli started, standing up, “I already ate, but I can dish up some food for the rest of you.”
“Nah, I got two strong arms, I can do it myself,” Rusl said with a smile, grabbing a bowl and hunching over the pot.
“Nonsense! You’ve been traveling all day,” Uli began to argue, and the couple began to fight over the soup. Colin and Link exchanged a look and smirked as Kori and Rela jogged over to the fireplace, trying to break up the battle for service between the two lovers. When Uli finally admitted defeat, Link got up to the pot to serve himself and Kori, smiling at his ma who returned to her sewing project. But as he began to walk across the room, he stopped, his ears twitching. There was a sound, it was distant, and out in the woods, but as it got closer, the sound became more apparent.
Screaming.
Soon it got loud enough for Uli to hear it too, and they both looked at each other in fear. Kori stared at the two, hearing it as well.
“What is that?” He asked, and the whole family grew quiet, hearing the sudden screaming. Rusl got up, grabbing his sword and gestured for Link to follow him.
“Stay here,” Rusl said to Colin and Uli, who were about to follow him. Uli walked towards the kids while Colin reluctantly stayed by the doorway, and the two swordsmen marched out of the house. As they got closer, Link was able to spot three figures huddled together. He recognized mayor Bo’s large frame next to Jaggle, who was consoling a hysterical Coro. Bo looked up as the two men got closer, and he let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank the spirits,” he said, stepping away. “I was just about to come and get you two.”
“What’s happenin’ here?” Rusl asked, staring at Coro who looked to be a mess. “Why were you screaming?”
Coro raised his head and stared at the two. “S-something’s out in the woods!” His voice shook as he said it, and he was shaking in fear.
Link frowned, feeling dread and fear creep up on him. “What was it?”
“I– I don’t know! I don’t know!”
Rusl rested a hand on Coro’s shoulder and kneeled down. “Take some deep breaths for me, ok? Think about what you saw and try to explain it to us.”
Coro swallowed and took a deep breath. “Ok, you are all gonna think that I’m insane, but I promise I’m not! I know these woods, I’ve seen all sorts of plants and animals! But I was putting my things away f-for the night, and I heard somethin’ behind me and… I saw a black creature staring at me!” Coro wailed and buried his face in his hands, and Rusl gave Link a look. “It tried to kill me! I swear!”
“Did you have a light to see this… black creature?” Jaggle asked skeptically, and Coro gave him a glare.
“I didn’t hallucinate it if that’s what you’re implying! Trill saw it too!”
As if on cue, Coro’s bird, Trill poked out from his hair, staring at the men. Link expected him to begin chatting, but he was uncharacteristically silent as the men observed the bird.
“Can you… Uh… describe the creature again?” Jaggle asked, and Coro let out a frustrated huff.
“I know it sounds ridiculous, but it was a big, black creature with long arms! It almost swiped at me but I didn’t wait around! I thought something was off about the forest, Trill came to me a few days before talking about a bear, so I-I thought that he just got spooked! There hasn’t been a bear in these parts in ages so I assumed he saw a wolf! There’s been wolves around here right? But this wasn’t a bear, I don’t know what it was but it was no bear!”
Rusl, Jaggle, and Link all glanced at each other as Coro continued to ramble, and Rusl scratched the back of his head. “Sounds like you had a scare, Coro. But let’s think about this, it could’ve been a tree or something. They look scary at night, right?”
“Trees don’t try to swipe at you!” Coro yelled.
Jaggle glanced at Rusl and sighed. “You can stay with us if it makes you feel safe, we’ll be sure that the gate is locked extra tight, but–”
“No! You need to find that thing, now!” Coro grabbed Rusl and shook him slightly. “A gate won’t stop it if it found us! It’s too big! Don’t you remember what happened ten years ago? When a green monster burst through the gates and stole all the kids?”
Rusl’s expression grew dark, and Jaggle pulled Coro away.
“Now you need to calm down!” He yelled. “It’s gettin’ late, and it’s too dangerous to go out at night, we’ll hunt down whatever it was you saw tomorrow—“
“Jaggle,” Mayor Bo interrupted him, staring at the entrance, “perhaps we should find whatever Coro saw.”
“What? Bo are you crazy?”
“I don’t want anything attacking us at night when we’re most vulnerable,” Bo explained, his hands raised defensively. “We at least need to be prepared for something!”
Jaggle opened his mouth to say something but Rusl stepped up. “He’s right, it’s not dark yet, me and Link will check it out, the rest of you will make sure nothing happens to Ordon.” Link looked at his father in shock, but he avoided his gaze. “We’ll find whatever scared you, I don’t want anything to attack us at night either.”
Coro looked relieved and nodded. “Thanks, sorry to bother you folks–”
“It’s fine,” Rusl waved his apology away, “me and Link will investigate, Colin, Talon, and Beth will look after the village in the meantime, if it ain’t a bother.”
Jaggle let out a loud sigh and shrugged. “Don’t think Talo would be bothered at all.”
“Good. There’s still some sun left, once it gets too dark, me and Link will return, ok?”
Jaggle seemed more comfortable with that and nodded. Rusl nodded back and turned to head back to the house, with Link reluctantly following.
“Are you sure this is a good idea, pa?” Link asked softly as Bo led Coro to his home. “We don’t have a lot of time before it gets too dark.”
“We’ll be fine, Link. I take it it’s nothin’ serious,” Rusl said, but he didn’t seem too confident in his own words. “Besides, if something is out there, I don’t want– I don’t want another attack on Ordon.” Rusl’s voice grew quiet, but he didn’t turn to look at Link.
Link pursed his lips, but said nothing. When the two reached the house, Rusl quickly explained the situation to Uli and Colin. Uli protested against it while Colin grabbed a sword, determined to protect the village. With enough reassurance that they were going to be ok, the two bid their farewells, collected their swords and torches, and headed into the woods.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The forest was quiet save for the rustling of the leaves as they blew through the wind. The moon was full, which thankfully gave him and Rusl more light to work with. The sky was a deep purple, making the forest much darker than what Link would like. Sure there was some sunlight, but it wasn’t enough to investigate. It was uncomfortably silent between Link and Rusl, both listening intently to whatever could be out here. Link’s eyes were darting back and forth, his heart beating against his chest as they got closer to Coro’s house. He’s never liked the dark, but after the twilight invasion, he’s grown to hate it. Anything could be hiding in the shadows, watching him and his father as they walked by. It made his hair stand on its ends. Rusl seemed to be more relaxed than him though, a determined look on his face as he observed the trees illuminated by his torch and moon. When they reached Coro’s house, Link lowered his breathing to hear whatever it was Coro saw. His sword was raised in front of him while Rusl looked around the house. The silence was deafening, and the night air sent a chill up Link’s spine. He studied the ground around the house for a moment before looking at Rusl, who put a hand on his hip and sighed.
“Do you see anything?” He asked, and Link shook his head.
“I haven’t seen anything unusual, but something isn’t right.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I—I don’t know, something in the air isn’t right.” Link pursed his lips as he watched the trees around them. There was a good chance that he was just spooked, but the feeling of dread wouldn’t leave him. Rusl clicked his tongue as his head turned behind him.
“What do you think Coro saw?”
Link shrugged. If it was anyone else he wouldn’t be so worried, but it was Coro that got scared. He wasn’t scared of anything. Even when he saw Link as a wolf he seemed calm, even when monsters were right outside his home he didn’t care much. The only time Link has seen Coro frightened was during the twilight invasion, when shadow insects were crawling all over his home. A sinking feeling rested within his stomach as he thought about the missing people, but he shook his head. There was no way that there was another twilight invasion. The only Twili that were left in the world was Midna, and how she was able to be in this world was a mystery to him. No, it had to be an animal or a tree or something. Coro wasn’t afraid of anything, but everyone gets spooked every now and then.
“He probably saw a bear,” Rusl said softly, his brows pinched together.
“If it was a bear, then we should head back and hunt it tomorrow. It’s too dangerous to be out here at night.” Bears were rare in Ordon, but they showed up occasionally, and Link had heard too many horror stories from Rusl about them that he knew that they were a serious threat. But regardless, the idea of Coro seeing a bear scared Link less than any alternative. Rusl pursed his lips and stared at the ground.
“I’m not seeing any footprints though,” he muttered, kneeling on the ground and tracing his hand across the ground.
Link looked over his shoulder, the sudden feeling of dread overwhelming him as he stared at the darkness. Something was out in Faron woods, something dark and evil.
“Pa, we should go,” he said, trying to keep his voice from quivering. “We can lock the gates and look for it tomorrow, but we’re at a disadvantage here.”
“I know, Link. But it’s not too dark yet.”
“It’s dark enough for this to be dangerous!”
Rusl stared at the ground blankly for a moment, before looking up at Link. “You think he saw something out in these woods?” Rusl asked, and Link tilted his head.
“You don’t believe him?”
“I-I’m not sure. I’m not seein’ any footprints or anything around here. Nothing was by his house, I think he saw the shadow of a tree or something, but… I don’t want to take any chances.”
Link frowned as Rusl went back to staring at the ground. He didn’t want to risk a potentially dangerous monster attacking Ordon either, but Link knew that they wouldn’t last against a black creature at night. He looked behind him at the entrance to Ordon, shifting his feet nervously as he felt eyes on him from all sides. Rusl picked up on his nervous energy, and he stood up, eyeing the house.
“I’m just gonna look around some more, then we’ll head back, ok?”
Link nodded and watched as his father marched to Coro’s home. He lingered near the trees, watching them intently as if something would grab him. It was silent for too long, and he occasionally glanced over his shoulder to check on his pa, who was barely visible from the torch he was carrying. It was getting too dark, his patience was wearing thin, and his anxiety gnawed at his insides. He couldn’t wait out here any longer, they needed to head back now.
A snap of a twig caused Link to jump ten feet in the air, and he had his sword drawn out defensively in front of him as he glared at the darkness in front of him. His heart beat furiously against his chest as he strained his eyes to see what was lurking in the dark.
Was it a monster? A bulblin? A lost traveler? Several possibilities ran through his head as he searched the woods in front of him, fear nearly paralyzing him so much he couldn’t even speak. Another sound was heard, along with rustling, and something dark emerged into the light Link’s lantern emitted. Link jumped, yelling out as soon as he saw it, and when it was fully in the light, Link saw that the creature that spooked him so badly was a fuzzy rabbit, staring at him as its nose twitched. Link stared in shock, his breathing quick and his heart beating a mile a minute.
“Link?” Rusl called out worriedly, and Link heard his pa jogging towards him.
“I—it’s— a r—“ Link let out a sigh of relief as the rabbit hopped away, and he started giggling. Loud.
“Uh, Link?” Rusl sounded much more concerned as Link doubled over laughing.
“I—it’s a rabbit— a rabbit,” Link wheezed out between giggles, and Rusl raised an eyebrow.
“Ok…?” Rusl gave him one more look before returning to the house, his head shaking in confusion. Link let out a breath and stared at the ground lit up by his lantern, feeling slightly more relaxed. He picked up his lantern and stood up, but as he got on his feet, the light moved further into the darkness, and that was when he saw it.
A black hand, clearly human shaped, standing out in the lit up grass. It quickly disappeared into the darkness, but Link was able to see it. He felt his blood run cold as he shot up, his sword shaking in his trembling hands, the relief gone in an instant. Did he imagine that?
The feeling of dread began to overwhelm him, and he spun around to his father.
“Pa—“ he was interrupted by a familiar shriek. A shriek that paralyzed him to the bone. His body trembled as his heart beat so hard against his chest it felt as though it would burst. His senses were clouded, he couldn’t see, he couldn’t hear, he couldn’t feel. All he knew was fear. Until the strong paralysis went away.
Link gasped as he was able to move again. His head felt light, his heart continued to race, but he felt conscious again. He looked around, shocked that he himself was left untouched. His lantern was left on the ground, standing upright, still emitting light enough for Link to see. The sky was black now, the moon emitting barely enough light for Link to see beyond the lantern. He shakily picked it up and looked around him, his heart sinking into his stomach as realization hit him.
Rusl.
The other light that came from Rusl’s torch was put out, and Link’s father was nowhere to be seen.
“P-pa?” Link called out weakly, tears pricking at his eyes when he was met with silence. He ran to Coro’s house and searched the ground, but there was no sign of Rusl, all except his torch which was laying on the ground. Link wasted no time turning into a wolf and sniffing the torch, but he was only met with the eye watering scent of smoke and fire. Goddesses, how could he find him?
Link noticed some scuff marks on the ground, and he saw the footprints. They weren’t human, there were no toes and they were much too small, but he knew that whatever they belonged to, it was what took Rusl. Link took off running, using his wolf senses to see in the dark. The footprints went into the dark caves, and Link plowed through, luckily remembering where to go from traveling through them hundreds of times. He ignored the rats and keese that tried to hurt him, and he emerged from the other side. At the end of the cave, Link spotted something glimmering in the moonlight. Rusl’s sword. Thank the spirits.
With no smoke to cloud his senses, Link was able to pick up on Rusl’s sent. It led deeper into Faron woods, through the thick trees that used to hold poisonous gas. Link sprinted through, the feeling of deja vu of hunting down the missing tailor and Goron making him more and more anxious.
Please don’t be too late.
Link was so focused on running that he barely noticed that he actually passed the scent, and he skidded to a stop, spinning to where the scent stopped. The scent didn’t seem to end abruptly the same way the tailor and goron’s did thankfully, but the feeling of dread kept any feeling of relief shining through. The creature was here, and it was watching him.
Link growled at the darkness in front of him, and he heard something shuffling. A dark mass silhouetted by the moon revealed itself, growing more and more until it stood up straight, and Link felt his heart drop.
It was a shadow beast, but it was different. Its skin was black as the night, blending into the dark trees around it, all except the red Twili mark on its chest. Black tendrils jutted out of its body, mostly from its head. Two arms were laid awkwardly on its back, instead of a mask there was a mouth that snarled at him with yellow teeth, and it was huge. Bigger than any shadow beast Link had seen. How…?
The creature snarled and rested on its two front arms, the arms on its back hanging menacingly. Link’s growl got more low, his fear replaced by fury. This thing did something to Rusl, and he was going to make it pay.
A hand suddenly swiped at his side, and Link was barely able to move before it hit him. He barked and jumped at the beast, biting into its shoulder as hard as he could. The beast shrieked and threw Link off of it, slamming him into a tree. Link sucked in a breath, scrambling to his feet as his back ached from the impact. He shook his head and snarled at the beast. It snarled back. He moved back and forth, trying to figure out where to begin on fighting this thing. If it was similar to a shadow beast, then fighting it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Link charged at it again, sinking his teeth into the shoulder of the beast. It let out a cry, but Link continued biting, ripping it apart with his claws and fangs. Eventually he was thrown off again, but before the beast had time to recover, Link jumped at it again, this time aiming for the stomach. Link went much deeper into the soft flesh of the torso, and he was able to rip a good chunk of it out. The creature shrieked in pain as it slammed its fist down onto Link, but he dodged just in time. The beast hunched over, holding its stomach in pain as black goo fell out. Though this creature was much bigger and stronger than a shadow beast, it was simply too easy to fight.
Link went to charge again but the beast made a strange noise that stopped him in his tracks. It stayed on all fours, hunched over, gagging. Link could only watch as it gagged, his confusion holding him in place. He only came back to reality when the beast began to vomit, and soon he saw a hand flailing around from its mouth. Rusl!
Link quickly turned back into a Hylian, reaching out for the hand. He felt relief when Rusl’s hand quickly gripped to his own, meaning that Rusl was still alive and conscious, and Link pulled with all his might. The beast remained still as Rusl was slowly pulled out, and Link’s father let out a gasp as his face emerged from the mouth.
“Pa!” Link yelled out, and Rusl struggled to pull his other arm free from the throat of the beast. His face was covered in the black goo that poured out of its stomach, covering his eyes and hair. As Link pulled him out more, he noticed the teeth of the beast ripping up his clothes, but he didn’t stop pulling.
Rusl’s other arm was pulled free, and it flailed towards Link’s arm, and he weakly hung on as he was pulled out the rest of the way. But just as he was free, the beast suddenly bit down on Rusl’s leg, and Link gasped as Rusl’s grip went limp and he was pulled away from him.
“PA!” Link screamed as he was dragged away, and the beast snarled at him, leering over Rusl as if he was its prize. It scooped up his pa in one of the hands on its back and it took off running, deeper into the woods. Link cursed under his breath and turned into a wolf again, ignoring the pain that shot through as he transformed. He took off running, following the beast through a gate to where Coro’s bird’s shop was. Link pumped his canine legs, and was able to catch up to the beast and Rusl. When he was close enough, he bit down on its leg, attempting to drag it to the ground. The creature shrieked and spun around, ripping its leg from Link’s mouth. The beast snarled at him as Rusl hung limply in its hand, blood and black goo dripping down his feet and hair. Link barked at him, but he didn’t move. The beast backed away from Link as he tried to wake his pa up, its back arching like an agitated cat as it growled at him.
Link made sure he was merciless this time around. He attacked relentlessly, aiming for the arms resting on its back, trying to get it to drop Rusl, but its grip was tight around his father, so it never let him go no matter how hard Link bit into its arms. The beast smacked Link a few times as he attacked the arms, but he fought through the pain, fiercely biting and scratching the beast. Link had severely underestimated this creature, with it not giving out anytime soon. Shadow beasts normally would die after having their throats ripped out or being clawed to death, but it seemed that this thing was invincible. He didn’t know why, but it was stronger than any Twili creature he’s ever fought.
Link was smacked against a tree again, and he staggered slightly as he got on his feet. He was growing exhausted, he felt like he was doing the same thing over and over again to no avail. Though he’d just ripped part of its stomach out, it didn’t seem to be bothered by it. What was this thing?
The creature snarled at him again, having a more confident pose as it faced Link, and all he could do was growl at the thing. He didn’t care what happened to him, he just needed to make sure Rusl was safe. The beast charged at him, and Link braced himself, but it suddenly stopped, shrinking back into the shadows, making strange noises that sounded like pain. It looked up at the sky and to Link’s surprise, it dropped Rusl and sprinted away, leaving Link alone with his father. He quickly turned back into a Hylian, staggering at the sharp pain in his back, but he stood up, pulling out his sword. He ran to Rusl, standing over his father protectively in case it returned, but it did not.
Why did the thing run away? It was winning, it wouldn’t have dropped Rusl like that. The sun rising in the sky answered Link’s question, and soon the forest was lit up. Relief swept over him as he was able to see, and he knew he was safe. For now at least. It seemed that the—Twili beast— hated the light.
Link relaxed and put his sword away, exhaustion beginning to overwhelm him, but he couldn’t rest, not yet. He looked at his father who was still unconscious, and he turned him over. His entire body was covered in black goo, and some of it mixed in with blood from small cuts on his skin, possibly from the creature’s teeth. His leg looked the worst, with a bite mark circling around his calf and shin. It had stopped bleeding it seemed, but dried blood mixed with black goo made it look much worse. Rusl was breathing, though it was shallow and sounded wrong. Link hoped that his ribs weren’t bruised or broken, he wondered how tight that thing held onto him. Link took a deep breath and shook him gently, brushing his clumpy hair out of his eyes.
“P-pa?” He whispered, shaking him a little harder. Rusl seemed to be reacting to being shaken, so Link tried harder. He needed medical attention, and his mind thought of the spirit springs. He remembered fairies appeared at each one after he faced a trial from the great fairy, he wondered if they were still there. “Pa,” he repeated, a little louder. Rusl’s blue eyes began to flutter open, and he stared at Link confused.
“L-Link?” He croaked.
Link smiled a relieved smile and started to help him to his feet, but Rusl stopped him quickly, hissing in pain as he held his side.
“Somethings wrong,” he rasped, sinking into the ground. Link frowned and looked him over. His ribs must’ve been broken.
“C’mon, pa. We gotta get to the spring. You’ll feel better.”
Rusl stared at him, wheezing and holding his side painfully, but he didn’t stop Link from helping him to his feet. Rusl leaned heavily on Link’s side, and the two slowly walked to the spring. It felt like hours until they finally made it, at some point Link had to pick up his pa to carry him the rest of the way, despite his protests. He set him down in the spring water, immediately feeling comfort in the warm water. Rusl let out a sigh of relief as he rested in the water, but the relief melted into panic as he looked at himself.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Link asked, calming down his father.
“‘Don’t want to dirty the spring.”
“You’re not gonna dirty the spring, the spirit’s light keeps it clean,” at least he assumed, the water never seemed to get dirty no matter what was put in it. Rusl relaxed again and stared at himself, his brows furrowed. Link began washing the goo and blood off of himself, helping Rusl occasionally. Rusl was uncomfortably silent while the two cleaned themselves off, and Link wanted to bring up what had happened, but he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it either. After Link finished washing out his wounds, he stood up, limping towards the bushes to see if any fairies were hiding. Luckily he found two and he returned with them both, noticing Rusl staring at him with his brows furrowed.
“Some fairies,” Link said, handing them both to him.
Rusl silently opened his palm where one fluttered onto his hand, and it healed up his bleeding leg and bruised ribs. He let out a sigh of relief and stared at Link who still held the other one.
“You need another one, pa,” Link pressed, but Rusl shook his head.
“You’re hurt too.”
“Not as bad as you.”
“I don’t care, my leg is healed, you use it.”
Link was taken aback at his intense tone, but he was too tired to fight back. He held the fairy gently in his hand and it floated around him, healing up his aching back. It rested on his head when it finished healing him, and Link let out a sigh of relief. Fairies were wonderful creatures.
The two sat in silence, staring at the crystal blue water they were in, soaking in the sun as it rose higher and higher in the sky. It didn’t feel like they were gone all night, but with Link’s tired body, he supposed it made sense.
“Link,” Rusl broke the silence, continuing to stare blankly at the water. “We need to tell the resistance about this as soon as possible.” Link stared at him for a moment, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Rusl continued. “That… thing… it has to be responsible for the disappearances. We need to tell them about this.”
Link nodded. “We oughta tell them when we all meet up then—“
“I’m not waiting until the date Sheik set, we need to tell them now.”
Link stared at him for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, ok, I agree. I’ll send a letter, then we can move out tomorrow.”
“Link—“
“We move out tomorrow, pa. We need rest though, we’ve been up all night. Besides, we gotta tell the folks around Ordon to stay away from Faron at night, ok?”
Rusl glared at him for a moment, but it softened when he had no rebuttal. “Yeah, ok. We need rest.”
Link nodded. He was no stranger to staying up all night, but as he’s gotten older, it’s been much harder to deal with. He stood up, his legs feeling weak as he walked around, and Rusl followed, being careful on his newly healed leg. Link stared at his leg for a moment, then faced him.
“Are… are you alright?”
Rusl stopped walking and looked up at him. “I’m… fine. Thanks to you. Are you ok?”
Link pursed his lips and nodded. “I’ll be fine, pa.”
Rusl’s gaze softened and he wrapped his arm around Link’s shoulder. “Let’s head back then. I bet everyone is worried sick.”
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toushindai · 2 months
Text
totk spoilers but are we ACTUALLY meant to think it’s poetic or flattering or triumphant that Rauru was like “oh YEAH? Well in thousands of years this guy called Link is gonna kick your ass”
How much has he even heard about Link? He must have had at least one more conversation about him with Zelda because the Master Sword doesn’t come up in the Zelda and Sonia tear, and by the King’s Duty tear Rauru’s just like oh don’t worry, if we don’t finish Ganondorf off I’m sure your bf can handle him. As I’ve said before, his “We rely on your knight” line rubbed me the wrong way starting with its appearance in the trailer, and it really does not feel less entitled after watching said knight (and that legendary sword he carries) very very VERY nearly get one-shotted by Ganondorf at the beginning of the game. And Zelda knows this! What does she feel watching her Better Dad Substitute sacrifice himself and simultaneously sic the evil bad guy on Link—a siccing which explicitly shapes Ganondorf’s attitude towards Link at the beginning of the game? At what point did she have the emotion of “welp. I know why Ganondorf knew Link’s name now.” The musical blending of the LOZ theme/hero’s theme with Rauru’s theme seems to suggest that it’s not an emotion meant to be had at exactly that moment, but I cannot watch Rauru sneer “remember that name” without yelling HE DOESN’T NEED THAT INFORMATION at the screen.
I played through the GSI in Japanese recently and Rauru did seem a touch less entitled to Link than I’ve been reading him—mostly because of the formal, polite, outgroup-equal language he used with him—but I still can’t get over the extent to which Rauru heard about Link a few times and decided, sight unseen, that he was going to clean up Rauru’s mess. My man what made you think that. What gave you the right to decide that. And how frightening to be Zelda and watch Rauru pin all the world’s hope on her beloved knight who Ganondorf absolutely fucking wiped the floor with. We see this worry in her in the Master Sword in Time cutscene! To what extent can Zelda’s transformation and before that her petition to the other tribes of Hyrule for Link’s sake be understood as a forced action due to Rauru’s conviction that Link could do this no sweat? Almost entirely, I feel—but does the game know that?
I just. Isn't it intentional? Doesn't it have to be? The fact that Rauru already needs the correction, once, that he cannot and should not face the Demon King alone. Then his melodramatic claim that Link has got this on lock. Then Zelda being like 😬 not sure about this actually and going through the whole process of talking to the ancient sages + draconifying for the sake of the Master Sword. Because Rauru absolutely set Link up to fail and Zelda is the one making sure Link has the resources, including the support of others, he needs to succeed. And the game is so much about community, about not doing things on your own.
And yet the way the scene is scored and animated and the way all the other characters talk about Rauru's sacrifice seems to treat this as a a moment of culmination, of triumph. I am getting such mixed messages here.
Understand, I’m saying all of this with an aching fondness for this poor self-deluded hypocrite. And also teeth-grinding frustration. I think he deserves to feel suffocatingly humiliated when Link almost didn’t survive Ganondorf’s attack and I also have tremendous sympathy for the shame and terror that it might be far too late to correct his mistake that he must have felt as he waited for Link to wake up. Both of those things. Hopelessly lonely man who found people to love him and built himself into a role he was never adequate for. I wish the game looked at this a little more. I wish I could tell if the game intended this at all.
(This is not the most intelligently written post but I assure you I mean every word of it.)
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skyloftian-nutcase · 11 months
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Oh oh oh. Can you write something about the chain finding out that Legend’s royalty? And their reactions?
Twilight had to admit, he never grew accustomed to the ornateness of palaces. It probably didn't help that the majority of his time spent in Hyrule Castle was during an active invasion, and therefore the true austerity of the architecture and aesthetic had never entirely been particularly noticeable.
It was surprising to find such a place in a land where Hyrule had been fairly ravaged by war and ruin. Although Legend's Hyrule was not in as bad shape as the traveler's, or perhaps even his wild friend's, it had still seen better days.
Nevertheless, nothing in the castle had prepared him for when his eyes skimmed over a hallway of paintings and settled on a large one depicting the royal family. The king, the queen, Zelda from this land, and...
And Legend?!
Twilight stared at the painting, pivoting so that he was facing it fully. So was this like a congratulatory painting for saving the kingdom so much? That's what this was, right?
Warriors sidled up beside him. "What are you loo--"
The captain grew silent immediately, eyes fixed on the art. Then he barked out a loud laugh. "Oh my goddesses, so this is why he said don't come down this way."
Twilight turned to Warriors. "Wait, what?"
"I think you were too busy going into sensory overload, but Vet was telling us where we could and couldn't go in the palace," Warriors explained.
"So naturally we immediately went here!" Wind added from behind the captain. Then he looked between the two. "So what are we looking at?"
"Our veteran hero is in a painting of the royal family," Warriors snickered.
"Oh. So is he engaged to his Zelda?" Sky asked, coming up to Twilight's other side.
Twilight's face scrunched a little. This was... they needed to figure this out. The last thing they needed to do was assume one relationship when it was the other.
"I think it's just because he saved Hyrule," the traveler commented as he peered over Sky's shoulder.
"Fifty rupees says he's engaged to her," Warriors said with a cheeky grin.
"Maybe he got lost in the castle while they were painting and they just put him in it because he was there," Wind pointed out with a laugh.
"Oh please, Vet never gets lost, he's got eighty thousand maps in his bag at all times," Wild tossed back.
"What if he's part of the family?" Four questioned. "Like, he's blood related?"
Everyone blinked and looked at the smithy, who shrugged under the scrutiny.
Twilight glanced at Sky. Wouldn't that make him...? Well. He wasn't sure. They were still trying to figure out where everyone fit in the timeline.
But it would certainly explain Legend's attitude. Though honestly, if anyone in their group was going to be a haughty noble, it would be the captain.
"I'm pretty sure our veteran said you weren't supposed to be here."
Everyone whirled to see Time standing behind them, arms crossed. The younger ones bowed their heads, sufficiently schooled, when Wild snapped his gaze back up. "Wait a second, that means you're not allowed here either!"
Warriors put a hand on his hip, raising an eyebrow at their leader. "He's not wrong, you know."
"I'm allowed everywhere," Time replied lightly.
"Uh huh," Warriors shot back. "Sure you are."
"Okay, but do you know if Vet is related to the family or engaged?" Twilight burst out. "'Cause we gotta figure this out."
Time smiled. Twilight inhaled sharply in suspense. Their leader knew.
And he wasn't going to say anything.
Everyone groaned in unison.
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pielcanala · 9 months
Text
Love Story (Taylor's version)
Pairing: Any link (but written with BOTW and TOTK mind) reader(gn)
Genre: Romance!!
Word Count: 1k+
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Link was young when he first saw you. Barely an adult when he had first accompanied Zelda to her birthday ball; the night he met you. Laughter and music filled the room as he stood there next to the princess. Zelda noticed you right away and pointed you out to him. 
“ That’s (Y/N) (L/N). Child of the Baron (L/N). “ She paused before continuing. She looked at Link to see if she had his attention. Instead, she saw him staring directly at you. She awkwardly cleared her throat as she continued.
“ If I were to be honest… I’m not very knowledgeable about them. Perhaps it would be a nice change of pace if we got to know them better. Don't you agree, Link?” 
Link simply nodded his head in response. He had been captivated by you in a zombie-like way. Maybe it was the way you awkwardly smiled when you greeted people you didn’t seem to recognize or the way you tucked in your hair whenever you listened to other people talk, or the way you played with your rings when you got nervous. How could someone possibly be so normal and yet so lovely? How could you possibly distract him so much that he forgot who he was? How could he possibly forget that he was the Princess’ Knight and you were the child of a common Baron? 
“ Well, I’ll be off to my Fathers’ chambers. My father insists we still do the Father-Daughter walk together. You already know how he is, Link. “ Zelda frowned a bit as she walked towards the stairs just outside of sight. The first time he was ever so distracted around the princess; the first time he had ever misheard Zelda. He had never let these types of emotions run free before; had never even indulged in something as simple as a crush before. He just stood there, like an idiot, before pondering what he should do next. 
You weren’t stupid; you knew you had caught the eye of the princess’ knight. He had been gawking at you since the moment you got here. 
Link was like a legend in high society. He was a man, who just at 13, had out-skilled both of his older sisters and his own father. His swordsmanship and his discipline were unmatched even at such a tender age. There were rumors, of course, as there always were. Rumors like he was secretly a part of some villainous clan, or he wanted to become king, or that he was Zelda’s lover. 
The last one caused everyone to become aware of his little stunt at the party. The famous knight in Hyrule's history (who was supposedly Zelda’s boy toy) eyeballing some girl at the ball of the year? 
It was strange. As a Baron’s child; you never really got attention from someone of such high rank. Even the royal family had barely started to recognize your family. The only reason why you even came is because your mothers’ business had been somewhat lucrative; barely affording you an invitation. 
You quickly hurried off to an isolated balcony. You regretted your decision immediately as it was starting to snow; the castle warmth no longer shielding you from the cold. White covered all of what you saw from the castle’s balcony. Behind you, you heard footsteps. Quickly, you turned around, only to be faced with a familiar person. 
“ My Hylia, it's cold out here! (Y/N) (L/N)! ” A younger girl walked towards you as she quickly covered herself with her jacket. You walked towards her; meeting her at the entrance of the balcony. She swiftly placed her drink on the balcony’s handles before briskly giving you her hand. “ Care for a drink? It’s positively delightful! It's Silent Princess tea, ever had it? ” You shook your head and nervously accepted her outstretched hand. she handed you a drink as she picked up hers and brought it to her lips. You recognized her from your own birthday ball; she was the daughter of some viscount down south. Unluckily, you had no idea what her name was. 
“ I think Sir Link has taken an interest in you (Y/N)! Do you know how many girls would kill to be you right now? “ She smirked as you nearly choked on the tea. It’s not that you weren’t interested in him. In fact, you had liked him since you were younger. But it was a silly celebrity crush; you never thought it would go anywhere. You turned bright red just thinking about it. You looked down at your tea and turned to face the outdoors. 
“ I’m sure he was simply on duty and surveying the area. He is currently on standby after all- “
“ But I’m not seeing Princess Zelda or Sir Link anywhere? ” She cut you off as she looked back at her. You looked to the center of the room and she was right; they weren't there. 
Before you could even blink, She quickly disappeared as she giggled and said something about your ‘boyfriend’. You didn’t even have a lover; sending into a confused state as you walked to the edge of the balcony. You sipped on your tea as the snow peacefully fell. 
You liked being by yourself; it felt like you could breathe again. But then your thoughts started to run wild. What if Link actually liked you? What if he was in love with you? You smiled to yourself as you let your wildest fantasies run rampant in your mind. Link would propose in front of you to everyone and whisk you away on a passionate honeymoon to the ocean, or he would fight for your honor in some war and give you all of the jewelry you stole because he thought you would like it? You gushed over the thought of someone as important as the Link liking you. You smiled so brightly as you turned around to rejoin the party. 
You nearly fainted when you realized a young man was actually walking towards you. More specifically, your celebrity crush Link, was walking towards you. You didn’t even notice the Princess and the King walking down into the party together. That could only explain how Link slipped away from the crowd without stirring too much drama. You chugged down your tea as you nervously looked away. 
Link had to restrain himself from speeding up as he saw you turn to him with such a beautiful smile. His expression changed slightly; His eyes softened. Link noticed right away that you didn’t have a jacket, even though it was snowing. His breath fogged as he opened his mouth. 
“ Are you cold? “ He asked. 
“ Oh! Um no. No not really! “ You skittishly laughed as you rubbed the back of your neck. “ I’m used to it since I spend a lot of time up north. Wh-What about you? “ Great. Your teeth chattered as you tried to make small talk. Not only is your childhood crush talking to you but you embarrassed yourself in front of him. Before you could chastise yourself more you heard a small chuckle. Link swiftly covered his mouth but his giggles were only slightly muffled. 
Link walked closer to you, before stopping right in front of you. Before you could question him, he leaned down. You hitched your breath as time suddenly slowed down. It was as if this was the only part of the universe that was still normal. It was as if this moment was the only thing that mattered. 
“ Are you sure? “ Link muttered into your ear. 
“ yeah um… yes i’m sure. ” you whispered back. You stared at his eyes. Had anyone ever looked at you so gently? 
“ Für Elise will be playing soon “ Link stepped back as he offered you his hand. He smiled down at you as you blushed. You held his hand in yours and smiled back. 
“ I’d love to dance with you, Sir Link. “ 
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This is a little bit of OO!link haha 
I had a lot of fun as i really like taylor swift. 
Thank you so much for reading and i hope you guys liked it!! 
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bloobluebloo · 23 days
Text
Ganondorf Should Have Never Become the Demon King
Or: The many instances where Ganondorf should have been stopped right in his tracks.
-At the very beginning, when Ganondorf's body was first discovered, it was apparent that the Master Sword could damage Ganondorf. However, since SOMEONE had to inform our dear Demon King that a man with a magic sword named Link was going to stop him, well, he got the jump on Link before Link could even register what the fuck was happening. If Ganondorf was unaware, he would have been focused on Zelda (since he knew Zelda for sure) and Link would have at least had the chance to do something.
-On the sky islands, when Link wakes up, Rauru could have explained to Link what had happened. Rhoam literally did this for Link. Alas, for ✨plot reasons✨ Rauru doesn't even inform us he was the King of Hyrule and we just get to know him as the "Source of the Right Arm" which is hilarious in retrospect and maybe a bit of penance for that whole doxxing incident. I mean, at least he could have been warned not to trust any Zelda appearances?
-When Hyrule was literally attacked by Moldugas. Even if we really, REALLY, want to assume that Rauru did not see Ganondorf but Ganondorf somehow with his super duper eagle vision could oogle the Secret Stone, where else would a Molduga attack possibly come from? Who else could possibly order a hoard of Molduga to attack? There is only ONE nation that has made it a point to ignore all your invitations Rauru. -When Zelda hears the name Ganondorf and can probably sense his magic because ya know, she only spent 100 years shacking up with him she would probably know who he was just from the way he breathes at this point.
-When Rauru clearly states that he knows the man is evil, and decides that he will keep a close eye on him, but then even fails to do that because somehow, his wife and Zelda ended up confronting Ganondorf alone.
-When even the servants of the castle state that there is some weird Zelda lurking in the castle which suggests that Ganondorf's puppet wasn't even a convincing one
-When Zelda and Sonia lure him? Or did he lure them? ANYWAYS THEY BOTH WERE AWARE OF EACH OTHER, and I mean I guess puppet Zelda was shitty enough of a puppet that they were aware of its presence. I mean if the servants noticed it... -OKAY MAYBE THIS IS A STRETCH but, when Zelda was faced with a hacked Guardian that was about to kill Link it unlocked her Hylia powers which is what she subsequently used to keep Calamity Ganon at bay for 100 years? And this was literally the birth, the infancy of the Demon King's power? He just killed your adoptive mom Zelda, you could have JUST HNNNNNNNNN
-When Zelda literally tells Rauru that confronting Ganondorf at this stage may be a bad idea because she knows the present. She knows Link was injured when he confronted Ganondorf. Maybe she could have figured out how to unlock her powers that held the Calamity back? So that he doesn't become a problem in the present? Hello Rauru she’s sort of hinting that Link could not handle Ganondorf’s power but nope! “We rely on your knight and that legendary sword he carries.” Zelda: “Well about that-“
Anyways look, I get it, suspension of belief and whatnot but honestly, this game? Coming off of BotW as its sequel? Ganondorf got stupidly lucky. He got openings as wide as the Grand Canyon and information he should have never had to begin with like please, how did he know that he should invest in a puppet Zelda? Also Rauru is so terrible at listening to any advice because Zelda only pointed out several times that Ganondorf was a problem until she decided to confront him herself with Sonia.
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legends-on-legends · 5 months
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BoTW Ganon vs ToTK Ganondorf
I doubt that Ganondorf as we see him in TOTK was always intended to be written this way. When you look at The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Creating a Champion, it looks like Calamity Ganon was meant to be a continuation of the Ganondorf we saw in the Era of Time. The guide seems to reference the events of OoT.
“The kingdom of Hyrule flourishes under the Hyrulean royal family. Ganondorf, king of the Gerudo, transforms into Dark Beast Ganon and threatens Hyrule. The princess of Hyrule and the chosen hero combine their power to seal Ganon. In a seemingly endless cycle of darkness and light, Ganon continues to be revived and then sealed away […] Ganon, having long lost his reason, becomes Calamity Ganon, a pure incarnation of hatred and malice for the royal family of Hyrule and the chosen hero.” Creating a Champion, pp. 360 – 363.
This passage suggests that Calamity Ganon = OoT Ganondorf, or a degraded form of Ganondorf after he’s been revived and sealed away multiple times. But in TOTK it seems like the Calamity was just a manifestation of Ganondorf’s subconscious? And instead of TOTK Ganondorf recognizing Link and Zelda because of his memories from his past life, he only knows about them because of time travel shenanigans and Rauru hilariously throwing Link under the bus. Which, idk, is a bit underwhelming. I’d much prefer a Ganondorf who has a personal connection to the hero and princess and a major grudge against them. It would have been a proper continuation of not just BOTW, but previous games as well. Instead, TOTK basically gave us a rebooted version of Hyrule and made the timeline even more confusing than it already was.
In my opinion, Calamity Ganon >>> TOTK Ganondorf. Calamity Ganon felt like a literal ghost from Hyrule’s ancient past, haunting both the kingdom and the narrative itself, a perpetual reminder of Hyrule’s bloody history, and the last remnants of a broken man who has evolved/degraded to the point that he is now a force of nature that can destroy civilization overnight. That’s some good spooky shit. But TOTK Ganondorf? He’s just Some Guy who got dark powers seemingly out of nowhere, nabbed a magic stone, inexplicably became a demon and now wants to spread “eternal darkness” across Hyrule because of Reasons.
Sure, maybe those Reasons have to do with Demise’s curse – after all, this is Ganon’s first official appearance after Skyward Sword, so maybe they wanted to re-introduce him and officially incorporate that aspect of the lore into his origins. But TOTK never mentions Demise. None of the characters ever point out the fact that Ganon’s Demon King form looks like Demise. There’s no in-text justification for seeing TOTK’s Ganondorf as an agent in a larger cosmic struggle. The game itself doesn’t even reference the lore, it’s only the Zelda fandom that makes this connection.
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torchickentacos · 30 days
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This April 1st, I'm going to be normal about pokeani <3
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LMAO GOTTEM GET REKT ok so
Can we talk about the characters of the day from AG014. What the fuck. Why are they so weird. They're twins. Forrest and Forrester, surname Franklin. They both go by Franklin for some ungodly reason. They look identical with only a minor difference in their outfits. Forrest is a ranger. Of the park variety and not a pokemon ranger. Forrester, his twin, is not a ranger afaik, I think he's just kind of there???? They were both born right outside of Rustboro, but both brothers only have Johto bug type pokemon, and we know that Forrest has never been to Johto because his whole episode arc is May inspiring him to travel on his own, because he's too scared to. He admires her strength and independence or whatever, but we're on AG014, May's only been doing this traveling gig for like a week and she is comically terrible at it for the entire first season and a half. She’s incompetent, said with utmost love and respect. She's only got a torchic and a wurmple right now. Forrest admiring her traveling abilities is like admiring a microwave's ability to be an industrial kitchen. They also give him some pseudo-romance plot with her, because pokeani May was out here captivating multiple people with her dumbass swag. Drew, Forrest, and Sid being the canon ones I remember off the top of my head, but also probably Dawn tbh, and I’m like 85 percent sure she accidentally homewrecked Pacifidlog Joshua even if he didn’t actually like her but I last saw that episode when I was maybe eight years old, so grain of salt. What the fuck. Anyways, Forrest’s all "Oh, seeing you all independent makes me want to travel with you guys! :)" and between that and the weird crush subplot, you'd think they were setting him up to be this important next traveling companion. He's set up as this important guy who's going to stick around. Nope. We never see this guy or his brother ever again. Never again. He shows up in one episode, doesn't elaborate on literally anything, and then leaves. Let's go back to the fact that he has an identical twin, their names are Forrest Franklin and Forrester Franklin, AND THEY BOTH INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AS FRANKLIN? YOUR FIRST NAMES ARE ALREADY BASICALLY THE SAME THING ANYWAYS. WHAT FRESH HELL. 
More random facts. He looks vaguely like Kenny to me. He made his way into one of those pinterest edits. He shares a name with one of Brock's little brothers. His ship name with May is Bugshipping. You know. Because of the bugs. He's voiced by ANDREW RANNELLS. READ THAT AGAIN. He shares a VA with Harley. I’m just at a loss. Pokeani voice acting is its own rabbithole that leads you places like knowing that the following characters share a voice actor: Drew, Brock, Scott, that Magnemite from Journeys, Ghetsis, and King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule. Also the red and yellow M&M in the 2008 M&M wii game. There were four voice acting credits for that game. He was three of them. The only character he didn’t voice seems to be the green M&M, which is actually hilarious given the whole Drew and Ghetsis thing. Anyways.
I'm sure I could go on. Pokeani has so many COTDs that are like this (weird). I could talk about the watermelon farmer. I could talk about Samurai. There's Max (no, not that one). I could talk about fucking. sigh. TOMMY/TOMO/WHATEVER HIS NAME IS. WHATEVER THAT EPISODE WAS. Lord knows I could talk about Brianna (girl... /judgmental). There's essays to be written about Mikey and his weird brothers. I could talk about the dead guy that May and Meowth saved and created a new timeline for, because this dude knocked up his wife and then died in a snow-induced train crash before his wife could tell him about their child, and their grandchild looks weirdly like Brianna. But the dead guy is fine. Don’t worry. May and Meowth saved him with the help of a magical locket. Unclear how or why or literally anything. Just not worrying about it. And there’s the whole split timeline thing. Thanks pokeani. Back to other characters. I need to study Roderick and his little bellsprout and wynaut army and the fact that Paul’s his grandson (allegedly) under a microscope. Solidad might as well be a COTD, but lord knows now isn’t the time for The Solidad Rant. Then there's this next guy with a fucked up family situation. Timmy Grimm. He sounds like a Wizard 101 necromancer. Nobody in pokeani gets a last name but for some reason TIMMY GRIMM did. There's Damian and Seymour and Bill and honestly every single person who showed up in OS tbh. Then there's like. Marble. Old Man Swamp. STEVELAND AND HALVERSON. WHAT KIND OF NAMES EVEN ARE THOSE. S T E V E L A N D  AND  H A L V E R S O N . Steveland……………
You guys wanna know the worst part. Not a single damn thing I said here was an April Fool’s joke. None of it. Everything here is true. I have the world’s most fucked up citations list to prove it. Here. Have it. I don’t even care. It’s in MLA 8 format, but probably wrong because I always lose points for messing up on citations on every paper I write. I’m posting this post and then calling it a day. I’m going to go make some coffee. No in text citations because I can't actually be bothered to put that much effort into this tbh, so. Here. World's worst citations list. I don't even care.
Works Cited
Behindthevoiceactors.com. “Bill Rogers (visual voices guide).” Behind The Voice Actors, https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Bill-Rogers/. Accessed 1 April 2024.
Behindthevoiceactors.com. “M&M's Adventure (2008 Video Game).” Behind The Voice Actors, https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/MMs-Adventure/. Accessed 1 April 2024.
Bulbapedia. “Forrest Franklin - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.” Bulbapedia, https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Forrest_Franklin. Accessed 1 April 2024.
Bulbapedia. “Joshua (Coordinator) - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.” Bulbapedia, https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Joshua_(Coordinator). Accessed 1 April 2024.
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onyx-got-clowned · 6 months
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notice how everything feels.
uhm, i never really share my writing, but i really liked how this one turned out and i wanna share it-
~~~~~~~ sky and wild bonding because i wanna see them more >:(
I’d always been described as cryptic, whether it be by travelers, stable-hands, flora, even my brothers, but i had to admit- they were right. I was never one to sit still, once I’d woken up after my time in the shrine, i’d been drawn more towards nature, the way the grass felt against my feet, the texture of the dirt, the trees lightly scraping my hands as i would climb to see the vast world around me, and the wind carding through my hair as i stood in towers. Even after gaining a handful of memories, i was well aware of the fact that i would’ve been punished for acting so childish- whether by the king or the head commander of the guards. Maybe because i would get dirty and didn’t fit social norms- I would get dirty while rolling in the grass- staining my shirt, shield surfing down mountain sides, howling with the wolves at night, chirping to the birds, cooking some meat for the dogs at stables, and even taste testing every single thing i’d come across. Everything had a sound and texture, some were good, some would make me want to claw my ears and hands off, a gamble truly- but a gamble he was willing to take to find tasty edible things nature had to offer. After joining the chain, no one commented on his strange behaviors, only until he was about to attempt to eat the entirety of a vegetable from the ranchers garden- roots, dirt, and all. They didn’t trust him much after that to be left alone with anything he’d deem edible, sky was the only one curious enough to ask about why he thought that was edible, and they’d talk about it for hours. One specific night on watch in twilights hyrule, wild sat comfortably beside the flickering fire light, occasionally looking around to do his job- watching out for monsters or strangers. Wild carefully laid down flat on his back after the fire had gone to a small dying light source. The moment the flames went out, after about 10 seconds- the night sky was suddenly brighter, stars shined against the black ink that flora had deemed ‘space’ and the moon was a waxing gibbous tonight, so it was especially beautiful. After hylia knows how long, he heard the sound of someone shuffling in their bed roll. He sat up on his elbows, looking around and seeing sky drowsily staring at him, raising an eyebrow as if asking ‘gonna wake me up for watch or no?’ As he sat upright. Wild smiled sheepishly, sitting up now to better watch sky walk over and plop down next to him. 
“You didn’t wake me up for watch”
Sky elbowed him playfully, grinning slightly.
“Sorry, got carried away loving this view”
He gazed upwards, craning his neck to watch different stars twinkle and occasionally a shooting star would follow suit. As he and sky watched the night slowly drift from a cold and comforting silence, to a morning fog of moonlight and sunlight battling for the sky. 
“Well, times gonna throw a fit when he finds out we just stayed up and didn’t wake legend for 3rd watch”
Sky laughed softly, bowing his head in a sad attempt to muffle his laughter in his knees. Wild shrugged, taking in the morning scents of early moon fall and sun rise. The grass had a slight frost of late October, birds starting to stir in their nests, his hands making contact with the frosty grass and would turn his hands light red from the chill, and the fact he was breathing and alive. 
“Do you ever believe that there could be an even higher power than hylia?”
I innocently asked, i knew this could be a touchy subject for sky, but it was a genuine question. He was quiet, but inhaled and exhaled calmly. 
“I’m not sure, i definitely believe there is someone or something at the same power level as her, but i don’t know”
He shrugged mindlessly, not once taking his eyes off the black and pink mixing together to make the view of daybreak. 
“What about a god, goddess, or deity that controls or is associated with nature? I’m sure hylia doesn’t manage the forests, oceans, rivers, and animals on her own..”
I murmured aloud, half speaking to myself and sky.
“Maybe, i wouldn’t doubt it.”
Sky smiled, leaning into wild comfortingly. 
“I’m never going to judge you if you have a different belief than me, we both have very different stories and experiences with hylia, I’d never hate you for expressing your discomfort or disregard of hylia, and i hope you know that”
Sky firmly looked me in the eyes and elbowed my side to truly get his point across- earning a choked laugh from me. 
“I know, i know, thank you sky, I’d also never judge your belief and trust in hylia, I’m well aware she’s your girlfriend.”
I poked sky’s chest accusingly, smiling smugly. 
Sky frowned, but kept his humor in his eyes. 
“These are my favorite bonding moments, just exposed to nature- just us and the spider crawling on your leg”
I smiled widely, after sky heard the last part- he shrieked in horror, looking down and practically flinging himself upward as the little spider was resting on his thigh. Everyone immediately bolted awake and reached for a weapon hearing his screams, but soon realized the false alarm that was sky shuddering and tugging at wilds ear as he chewed him out about doing that to his poor brother. 
Yeah, wild enjoyed these moments. 
———-
I’ll proof read this like weeks later and realize i wrote something wrong 😨
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dumpster-lizard · 8 months
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oh shit wait did you reblog the shipping bingo meme too? OKAY ghirahim/ganondorf, rauru/ganondorf, and ghirazant
Hhohohooo boy here we go
Ganondorf/Ghirahim
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There are a lot of ways to take this ship- especially when you consider Ganondorf never canonically wields Ghirahim.
Does Ghirahim want him to prove himself? Does Ganondorf reject the will of Demise as much as he does the other gods, and as such refuses to take a sword thats "fated" to him? (This is whats so thematically yummy to me) Is he just physically unable to wield the demon blade since unlike the master sword, it wasnt reforged by human hands? (If you consider the hyrule historia manga canon)
Ghirahim just in general is SO codependent and I doubt understands healthy boundaries. Ganondorf has a tendency to neglect or outright betray those that serve him. So... not unlike GhiraDemi, really. Huge potential for disaster, but also the traits do make them very compatible in a bad way. And I LOVE that.
Also theyre fucking the same guy cause i was a Team Villain shipper and GanGhiraZant was great.
Rauru/Ganondorf
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Two kings with basically the same ambition but one tries to achieve it in the "nice" way and one wears his brutality on his shoulder. They carry the most divorced energy ever.
But also. The POWER DYNAMIC. Rauru being so pleased to see this other king surrender his pride to him, knowing that was the last thing Ganondorf ever wanted to do. Him using every opportunity to test this submission, enjoying the thrill of not knowing if Ganondorf is going to snap in that moment, or keep up his act of playing nice. Rauru being the most manipulative bitch ever and Gan just seething as he tolerates it.
And, of course, we all know how it ends. Rauru holding back the very monster he helped create, and leaving behind the kingdom he had worked so hard to conquer build.
Also the ancient heros aspect was totally their kid that Gan lost custody of.
Ghiarhim/Zant
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I can see the potential in this ship and its appeal- but im sad to say I never really got into it outside of GanGhiraZant. At least not the same way a lot of people did. It is a fantastic ship though, so I'm still going to gush about it.
Them bonding over being used by their masters, them both being extremely unhinged, violent, and creepy bastards that enjoy causing pain and strife to those they deem beneath them. I can see Zant attempting to use Ghirahim as well- feeling entitled to the blade as a king himself- and getting extremely frustrated that he can't wield it.
I do see their ties to Ganondorf as a pretty integral part of their dynamic- theyre codependent for different reasons, but it ultimately shows the same. They both can appear calm and collected, but absolutely lose it once things dont go their way. I can see them getting competitive, fighting, possibly even hatefucking... and slowly but surely falling for each other as time goes on.
Its the sort of relationship that has to build slowly, but retain their characterization. If one or both of them is too sweet then it's just not going to hit the same. I suppose a lot of fanworks don't fit my rigid interpretation of the two, and that's on me.
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neverchecking · 3 months
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Ngl… kinda wanna see Aaliyah and Zelda have beef. It could be from any timeline you want but I’m personally curious about the restoration period between games or even TotK. Those two times would probably have the most drama considering…. Literally everything that’s happened up until then. Only if you wanna share, though!
Yeah, sure! Those two absolutely have beef. Like Grade A, grain fed, free range, sirloin beef.
During the beginning Calamity it wasn't nearly as prevalent since the Sheikah were always hovering over Aaliyah's shoulder, so she had to remain proper, but she evidently didn't agree with the royal family at times. Sage, at the time, probably saw nothing wrong with it, so they probably had issues there too that rooted in them wanted to just defend where their loyalties lied.
After the Calamity and post BOTW her and Natura probably had quite the tension between them especially in regards to the beasts (I forgot the name for them oh my god), Natura wanted them gone, but Aaliyah saw them as part of a crucial history of the land and her people and the generations prior.
As we can see in TOTK, we know who won.
From that point on, they probably never got better. it would just be one thing after another. Since Natura is more focused on development and scholastics, Aaliyah probably did a lot of behind the scenes work in reconnecting the nations of Hyrule. People learned to trust her as the Sheikah champion like never before while Zelda was more focused on her readings. When TOTK went down, and lets say for the sake of argument Sage DID save Zelda in the end, would probably be a boiling point for all three of them.
I've established before that Sage is a still a Link. He's still unfathomably loyal to his person. Only, in this case, his person isn't Zelda or Hyrule. It's Aaliyah. And Aaliyah's already had rising tensions with the state of Hyrule and this takes the cake. Especially if after the fact, Zelda, instead of focusing on her people chooses to instead focus on studying the Zonai. There is where it would probably come to blows. Aaliyah would snap that no good ruler would choose a kingdom long past over one currently struggling without its ruler, while Natura would argue back that the Zonai shaped them and it would be beneficial to learn from them.
I'm not saying it would be a total breakdown regarding the hierarchy, but it would be a start. The Sheikah have lost all sense of Government sway because Aaliyah is no longer their bargaining chip, the royal family is all but devastated with a heiress that has no interest in ruling her kingdom, and the only two that could possibly step up in her absence have absolutely no interest in doing so and in fact want to destroy the very remains of the monarchy as it is.
I can't say i've decided where this would lead in terms of my world building but that's where it stands now.
But King! Sage and Queen! Aaliyah certainly is a thought.
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