#can you tell i love botw/totk link with all my heart | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

syndxlla · 11 months

Text

best friends don’t look at each other the way we do

A low stakes, high reward, and self-indulgent Zelink fan fiction. Canon-compliant. Takes place between BOTW and TOTK.

Heavily inspired by my Zelink thoughts

I wanted to dig into the dirty, grimly reality of being the saviors of the world and not knowing how to be the savior of yourself. But you can find that safety in another person.

Fan fiction warnings: Canon-typical violence, eventual smut (in later chapters, characters are consenting adults), references to self-harm, eating-disorders, and a lot of angst. Each chapter will have chapter-specific warnings.

Chapter one: I used to tie your shoes

Song: We’ll never have sex by Leith Ross

Summary: Fresh off Hyrule Field, Link and Zelda have to face life after the Calamity, and come to terms with the long road to physical, emotional, and mental recovery.

Warnings: Vomiting, trauma, canon-typical violence, eating-sensitivity

Word count: 3.7k words

Author’s Note: I am so excited to share this. Please share and support this in anyway. I drew this art for the cover :) chapter begins after the page break. I love you guys. Also, these chapters won’t be heavily edited. Ignore any grammatical/spelling errors pls

Time. We never seem to have enough time. Green grass burns soft red embers into the field, a horse’s mane is rebraided at the nearest stable, and the stars shine as if nothing changed. Because it hadn’t, not really. The sun will still rise in the east and set in the west. The birds will still sing their songs at daybreak and the fireflies will still flicker at dusk. Nothing changed, but everything did. The air feels lighter, the sun feels warmer and yet Zelda’s fingers still shake as if she was in the snowy Hebra peaks.

The Princess by nature, is very gentle. She’s soft and patient at heart, but was placed under such strenuous situations all through her youth that caused her to often snap or lash out. But not now. Currently she is silent, stone-cold and confused. She was in shock. And Link could tell.

“Here.” He pulls out a baked apple from his pack, handing it to her. He has to get her attention twice before she finally takes it, their hands brushing for a moment. Her awareness returns to her gaze then, her bright-green eyes meeting his.

“I-I’m so sorry.” She sighs, her voice weak. “I’m just… so tired.” Link tries not to show his distress, but she notices his demeanor change as well. “How much further?” She says, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“Probably another hour and a half. It’s just through those mountains.” He points.

“Dueling peaks. I remember.” She nods. “I remember everything.”

“Everything?” He asks as he starts to dig around a pack on the rear end of Epona, searching for his rito attire. It was starting to get dark, and she hadn’t stopped shaking since they left Castle Town almost three hours ago.

Zelda nods once.

Her silence speaks volumes.

He yanks out his snowquill armor, finally. “Do you remember anything from the last hundred years?” She doesn’t answer right away, she instead takes a smaller than small bite out of the apple. “Zel? Can I put this on you? You’re still shivering.” He asks, looking at her blank, traumatized stare. “It’s from the Rito, it’s soft as a cloud and will keep you warm for the rest of the way.”

“The Rito.” She sighs. “Revali…”

Link realizes that she hasn’t had any time to process what she just went through. She had spent the last one hundred years deeply focused, probably in a trance-like state. He places a hand on her cheek. “Look at me.” His voice is gentle and welcoming, not forcing her at all. She looks at him, their eyes locking. “Breathe with me.”

They take two deep, heavy breaths. They sync their inhales, exhaling together.

“It’s over. It’s all over, okay?” He reassures her. “It’s not coming back. It’s just us now, alright?”

She swallows, still emotionless. “You’ve changed.” She says.

“So have you.” Link smiles in an attempt to comfort her. “Can I put this shirt on you?” He asks again. She answers faster than she usually had, nodding twice this time. Link bunches up the excess fabric before pulling the head-opening over her hair. He then guides each one of her hands through the arm-holes. Link takes a moment to adjust the garb around her torso until it was probably positioned around her shaking body. She immediately sighs in relief.

“You talk more.” She mumbles, looking at him as he gently wraps his fingers around her long, golden hair and softly pulls it out of the shirt, knowing how much it irritates him when his hair is loose underneath a shirt.

He smiles again, “I do. Some people say I don’t shut up.” He tries to lighten the mood.

“Like who?”

“Impa.” He sighs.

Zelda’s eyes light up with that name. “Impa?”

He hums and nods. “We can go visit her when you’re feeling stronger, okay?”

“Okay…” Zelda looked down into her lap, the skirt of her goddess dress was barely white anymore. “I am going to get stronger, right?” She asks, her voice tender and broken.

Link’s heart sinks. Not because he’s worried she won’t, but rather because he feels responsible for putting her in this state.

“Of course.” He reassures. He believed it. He wanted to believe it.

“I’m… just so tired.” She repeats herself.

“I know, come on, let's get you a bed.” He then picks her up bridal style from the ground. They had stopped in the first place to get that rito armor for her. She rests her head against his chest as he lifts her onto Epona. She smells like burnt oil and exhaustion. He probably isn’t smelling any better.

They wouldn’t get to Hateno until noon at the earliest tomorrow, and traveling wasn’t doing anything for her recovery. He gets on Epona behind her, letting her weak body rest against his chest as they make their way to Dueling Peaks Stable. The road is quiet, so much quieter than it ever has been. The pair of lizalfos always swimming in the river aren’t there, and even the crickets suppress their chirps.

It’s post-apocalyptic. Literally. Link isn’t sure how to feel.

She throws up a few hundred feet from the stable. She gags and lurches over the side of the horse, somehow managing to keep it off of anyone. Not much comes out, she hasn’t eaten in over a century, but Link frowns when he realizes the apple probably triggered it. He silently curses himself out for causing her any form of distress. She dry heaves violently, and Link tries to hold her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. When she finishes, she holds her breath.

She can’t decide if she feels like she lost a bit of dignity or not. She holds back the tears that well in her eyes. Link breathes in to say something, but she raises her hand in protest. She would rather they act like it never happened. Neither of them say anything from there on, they just keep riding the final minute of the journey.

Everyone at the stable was asleep except for an attendant… who was also treading precariously between consciousness and a deep rest behind the counter.

“Excuse me?” Link asks to wake him up, hopping off of Epona after making sure Zelda would still be comfortable in his absence. She would never admit she wasn’t.

The man stirs awake with a jolt. He yawns, slightly startled, “So sorry, young man.” Link wouldn’t necessarily call himself young. He smirks softly.

“I’d like to board this horse till the morning, and we’d like one soft bed, please.” Link nods before setting down the required rupees. The man squints his eyes, taking the money in hand.

“Ah! It’s you! Link, was it?” He asks when Link turns his back to help Zelda down from the horse. “Jeez, you haven’t passed through here in at least six months! We were holding onto that old mare for you!” He gestures to their stables where a small gray spotted horse sleeps. Link’s first horse since he woke up from his century-long slumber. He only rode her in the beginning, when he was doing chores between Hateno, Kakariko and one time a longer trip to Zora’s Domain. But she’s old and weak, which is why she was easy to catch when Link was still regaining his strength. He stopped taking her out when he found Epona in the western part of Central Hyrule.

“Yeah… you guys can let her free.” He says as he sets Zelda down on the ground. She holds her cold hands together.

“Well uhh.. we tried. You see, after four months at a stable we let go of any forgotten pony’s, but she kept coming back.” He chuckled, his voice exhibiting a distinctive nasality.

“Here,” Link hands him a red rupee, not wanting to discuss an old horse any longer when he literally has the closest thing to a God in this world resting her head on his back. “Keep her for another month, I’ll come take care of her then. Okay?” Link asks. “Can I get that bed now?” Not impolite or forceful, he never was. He’s assertive but has a comforting cadence to his tone. For being such a talented swordsman, guard and easily the most deadly hylian in the entire kingdom, he was never rude or condescending. He was welcoming, and little kids often looked up at him with intimidation when they first met him, but it didn’t ever take long until they were chasing him with tree-branches while he fled and begged for mercy, letting them take him down with ease. The kids at the stables loved him, knew him by name, and would play as him in their silly pretend games.

The stable-man replies, “Of course! But you only asked for one bed, it’s not big enough to fit both of you.”

“I know, it’s for her not me.” Link then starts to guide her into the stable, where it’s much warmer and safer. Just because it’s quiet doesn’t mean it's safe. Hyrule is a dangerous place by nature, especially if you’re two century-old Gods being hunted for sport with the faces of children.

“You won’t sleep?” Zelda asks quietly behind him.

He doesn’t directly answer, and instead guides her to the bed. She’s weary, and he’s terrified of her not waking up. He wouldn’t be able to sleep even if he wanted to. He helps the Princess sit in the bed, and kneels before her to untie her sandals. When he touches the leather, he immediately gets transported into another memory.

It rips through him, just like the memories he had images of. Suddenly, he’s kneeling in the same position, but instead he was outside of the spring of courage. He looks up to see the clear sky, it’s sunset, and then his eyes meet Zeldas. Her face is rosy, and her eyes don’t have the blank stare they possess in the current time. He looks down at his fingers, tying the straps around her ankle.

“Really, you don’t have to do that.” She hums. He doesn’t respond. He never did back then. He finishes wrapping the leather around itself and then stands up. His face is emotionless. She looks at him, they’re about the same height. “I won’t be long this time.” She says. “I’m not expecting much anyways.” She sighs and then walks past him, but before she can get very far, he gently grabs onto her arm, holding her back. He doesn��t say anything but she can read his expression. He’s trying to tell her to have faith this time, just one more time.

Surely the Goddess would commune with her.

She shakes her head, and wades into the warm waters of the spring. Link turns to watch her, how her hair cascaded down her back, how her hands balled into fists. She turns around to look at him, their eyes meet. She smiles.

He comes back as fast as the scene played in his memory. He blinks a few times, and looks up at her. She doesn’t look any different, very little—if any—time seemed to pass. He doesn’t usually experience memories with someone, he wonders if she realized anything happened. Link didn’t even consider the fact he would keep receiving memories after the fact. His stomach turns, he feels like he’s lived two completely different lives and is forced to remember things from one that he doesn’t even relate to anymore. He doesn’t feel like the same person, the boy he was a hundred years ago is a complete stranger to him.

Link much preferred this life.

And that scares Zelda.

“I just remembered something.” He says. Zelda hums in response, a light-hearted noise that implies an inquiry. He elaborates, “I used to tie your sandals for you at the springs, didn’t I?” He asks.

Zelda smiles for the first time since they defeated Ganon. It’s a small pull of her lips, not showing any teeth but her eyes finally light back up. After she had asked if he remembered her on the field, she collapsed, not even aware of her own exhaustion until that moment. He ran to her aid, and ever since then she felt woozy, it only got worse the further from the castle they got.

“You did, yes.” She says. “I never asked you to, but since I was in the dress, you insisted.” She sighs. Link grunts in response. “It was very chivalrous.” Zelda adds.

They look at each other for a minute. Not saying anything. It was late, and two beds down there was a set of kid brothers sleeping. Link remembered them from their last visit. One of them wanted nothing to do with him, trying to act mature and ‘cool’. Link eventually won him over, though. They don’t speak out of fear of waking anyone. Zelda’s smile slowly fades away, and Link swallows thickly. They will never be the same.

He pulls her sandals off, her feet are filthy with century-old mud. He silently smiles about that. The closest thing to a Goddess in the entire world has dirty feet. How human of her.

Then, after pulling down the heavy rito-down blanket so she can slide in, he helps Zelda swing her legs into the bed. He pulls the blanket up to her neck, she lays on her side facing him. Her hands find their way up to her face, resting her cheek against them. Link pulls a short stool over to the bed, sitting on it and looking at her, bending at the waist.

“You’re not going to leave me, are you?” She asks in a timid, sleepy voice.

Link’s heart just about breaks when she asks. “Never.” He shakes his head. He takes his gloved hand and tucks a piece of her loose hair behind her pointed-ears. He lets his fingers linger a little bit longer than they should. “I will never ever leave you again.”

“Promise?” She asks, her eyes heavy with exhaustion.

“Promise.” He whispers, “Just as long as you promise to never leave me, okay?” He asks, ignoring the lump in this throat.

“Promise.” She says, taking her pinky finger and sticking it out for him. He wraps his finger with hers, which is far daintier and softer than he's ever been. She is a Princess, after all.

“Wake up in the morning, okay?” He whispers.

“Mhm.” She hums as her eyes slowly close. He tries to disconnect their pinky fingers, but she holds onto his. He leaves his hand in that position, letting her hold it until she falls fast asleep.

Link doesn’t move his hand until he’s certain it won’t wake her up from her much needed rest. He looks at her gentle, soft face. No one even understands what she just went through, no one ever will. He’s worried sick that she won’t make it through the night, and he keeps leaning his head down to listen to her breathing, or places a few fingers against her forehead to check her temperature.

He does his best to stay vigilant the entire night, not once even looking away from her. But just before the sun rises, his body suddenly catches up with his mind. He also just had the most demanding battle of his life. His muscles started to ache, and he developed a headache. He was just a boy, after all. More than anything, his sword arm was weak, and fire-hot pain shot up and down through it. He probably overused it fightin the calamity.

He keeps telling himself that he’s fine. He has to be fine, for Zelda. His arm isn’t that bad, what really hurts was his heart. Usually he’d just down a fairy tonic and maybe go to the hot springs if he was in the area but this pain was different. A twisting and contracting ache in his chest pulled and tugged on his lungs and pulse. It’s the same pain he felt when he remembered Mipha, and more specifically, the pain he felt when he dreamed about his family before the resurrection.

The dream that gave him the memories of a little sister with blonde hair like his collecting fireflies in her pockets. Her laugh echoing, the call of an older man, the image of a royal guards sword leaned up against the dinner table. The touch of his father’s hand as he rubs Link’s back to sleep.

Link’s first sword.

He wakes up like a fire, standing up and almost toppling over. He didn’t even realize he had fallen asleep. He could hear the soft tune of the penny whistle playing the standard stable theme, and the two little brothers played tag outside. He curses and looks down at Zelda.

Her bed is empty, and his heart completely stops. He starts breathing hard and heavy, his entire nervous system feels as though it’s pulled into stasis. How could he make such a foolish mistake? He swings his sword over his back, strapping his shield to his leathers and turns around in a wild-hunt to see the Princess sitting at the round stable table, drinking out of a mug and speaking gently with an older man.

Link takes a breath of relief, and approaches the two.

“Good Morning.” She smiles up at him. Her voice sounded much better, and her eyes finally had life back into them, but she still wasn’t herself. Her skin still looked sickly, her face hollowed out and eyes droopy. Any progress is good progress, Link decides then and there.

“I… didn’t mean to fall asleep.” Link sighs. “I’m so sorry. When did you wake up?”

“Oh not long ago, maybe twenty minutes? I didn’t want to disturb you-”

“You should have.” He interrupts her and her words get swallowed out of surprise. Link realizes that he snapped at her a little, and immediately becomes apologetic. “I’m sorry, again. I just…”

“You’re worried about me. I understand.” She takes his hand, her bones frail. In many ways, she physically looked worse today than last night. But at least she could hold a conversation. He nods. Zelda notices the tension, and changes the subject, “This kind gentleman was telling me about when you saved the stable from a horde of lizalfos about a year ago.”

Link looks over at the man, Giahzo. “Oh that was nothing, it was just two green lizalfos and a blue one who wandered too close to the stable.” Link hums. Their hands were still held together by Zelda.

“Don’t be so modest!” The old man chuckled, “Without you, it would have been a disaster! The number of monsters means nothing, especially when you don’t know how to fight!”

“That’s very kind of you.” Link smiles and then realizes he and Zeldas hands, he’s the one to pull it away. “What are you drinking?”

“I’m not sure…” Zelda begins and Link immediately snatches the mug from her hand. “Hey!”

“You can’t just drink something mysterious.” Link scolds.

“Oh it’s just a bit of Hateno Milk.” The man assures. Link looks at him, then Zelda, and then into the mug to see the creamy liquid. He brings it to his nose and smells it, and then takes a sip of it. Sure enough, it was just milk.

“I’m sorry, Giahzo.” He apologizes and places the mug back down. “I’m just on high alert.”

“Do not apologize to me, apologize to this lovely young lady you’ve graced us with.” The elderly man smiles with a chuckle, his eyes wrinkling up with his age. Zelda smiles, blushing a little, “Tell me, dear, where are you from? We don’t get many new faces at this stable these days.”

Zelda looks at him, her eyes sad. A hundred years ago every person in Hyrule knew her face. She looks at Link, unsure how to answer.

“She’s from the Outskirts stable.” Link covers for her. “Her family used to reside in Central Hyrule before the Calamity.”

“Yes.” Zelda immediately chirps, “We’re headed to Hateno for…”

“A honeymoon!?” Giahzo smiles brightly. Both Link and Zelda freeze in their tracks, and Link hopes he doesn’t look as embarrassed as he feels. “Hateno is a great Honeymoon destination! Although I’ve heard Lureline is even more splendid!” He clasps his hands together.

“Research.” Zelda clarifies, “so sorry to disappoint.” She chuckles politely, making a conscious effort not to look at Link. “I’m researching… population dynamics in Hyrule.” She makes something up that sounds completely believable.

“Of course.” Link then says, “I’m just escorting her there, we are total strangers.”

That breaks Zelda’s heart.

She knows he’s just trying to be extra careful, pushing her anonymity as much as possible. And in a way, it wasn’t a total lie. But it cut her like a knife.

“I see…” Giahzo doesn’t seem convinced. “Well, if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to stop by. Hopefully the monsters will start to die down.” He smiles and stands up, moving outside.

Zelda is still afraid to look at Link, and he’s a little bit shaken up by the entire interaction. He knows the Yiga are still out there, he knows that there are people who will try to take advantage of her for power or money. He has no reason to suspect anything from the old man, but he can’t help himself from being deliberate. He senses her tension and walks back to the bed to gather their things.

“You should have woken me up.” Link says as he picks up a satchel full of food and readjusts his gloves.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was timid and tired. He turns around to see her, her green eyes looking up at him apologetically. “I didn’t know it would worry you so.” He approaches her.

“Of course it worries me.” He sighs. “I spent three years trying to get you out of that castle, I’m not gonna lose you on the first night.” He holds his hand out for her to trade, helping her up. She must not have rested as well as he thought, because as soon as she gets on her feet, she almost topples right over him. He catches her, holding her up before she collapses. “Woah there.” He mutters. “You alright?”

She nods, “Let’s just get to that house you told me about.”

—

chapter two

749 notes · View notes

nolongerapileofashprobably · 10 months

Note

I just want to say that BOTW/TOTK's Zelda is the first version of the character I've ever loved, and I've been a LoZ fan since OoT. It just frustrates me the way some fans lambast her for being angry at Link in BOTW and also claim she was wasted/fridged/sidelined/reduced to "pure sacrificial maiden" and had her adorable nerd personality stripped away in TOTK (also claiming her sacrifice in TOTK is an attempt to validate Rhoam's treatment of her in BOTW). I thought her arc in TOTK was a wonderful continuation of the one she had in BOTW and showed how much stronger she had grown. Poor gal can't catch a break. What are your thoughts?

….I do not know how long of an answer you expected, but I have so many thoughts. So. Many. Thoughts. And boy do I go on tangents when I should be sleeping. Anyway. Here you go :)

For the most part, I hold a lot of the Zelda’s near and dear to my heart! Though, admittedly, it comes from the fandom’s exploration of these characters rather than just purely canonical content.

But Botw/Totk Zelda…. I don’t need any ‘additional’ content or exploration beyond what we see in the games to make me absolutely love and adore her. She is the most developed Zelda and she has an amazing arc— her complex feelings regarding her own magic, the complicated relationship she had with her father, the realistic exploration of her feelings regarding Link and how they went from jealousy and dislike to acceptance and adoration.

I always find that many complex and well developed characters are nearly always wasted on those who cannot look past mistakes (especially ones that set up future developments and start plot lines). Sometimes, people fixate on the moments writers use to cement that yes, this character is in a very low point of their life and the way they cope is not the ‘good’ way to.

The first memory in botw tells us that Zelda is none too thrilled to have Link as her knight attendant and the Hylian Champion. That she’s using him to project her own frustrations regarding her own failures. Which is the very introduction used to draw us in, make us curious about her history and how Link is tied into any of it.

So many just… can’t see past the reason we are shown this memory, nor why her frustrations led her to yell at Link. Because she was absolutely powerless and unlike Link who has had the Master Sword since he was 12, she had nothing to show. And her character is constantly forced to listen to her father, to heed the teachings she was vaguely given through one-off comments her mother and grandmother said. She was forbidden to pursue her hobbies and give it all up for the sake of the prophecy.

And then, to find out that Zelda awakened her powers through love, love for Link who she initially misjudged and mistreated, is so so powerful. Because she had grown to resent the spirits and herself. But Link. She grew to not only care for Link but to fall in love with him. And that instinct, that belief, that faith, that love. That is what sparked the power within her.

Zelda finally heard the spirit in the sword. She understood her part in this fight. For so long she had struggled to find her power, and she awakened it just in time to save Link, but at the cost of everyone else she held dear.

Something I don’t think a lot of people who criticize and hate Zelda understand is that Zelda’s pure and unwavering faith in Link is her drive to make these sacrifices. She knows it will be worth it. Because she believes in Link. And she supports him in whatever way she can. The reason they don’t understand this is because they can’t see past Zelda’s initial emotions regarding Link. They can’t see how she never believed in herself but she always had unflinching faith in him once she got to know him.

Then to see her accept that her magic has been sapped from its constant, draining use for the last 100 years at the end of botw…. It is a powerful moment. She fought so long to have those powers, ones her father berated her for not having access to, but she can finally accept that she can’t hear the spirit in the sword anymore. That’s development.

And for those who think Zelda’s cute adorable nerdiness was wiped from totk obviously don’t have the greatest history of understanding context clues. Zelda legitimately geeks out in the very first opening sequence of totk.

*totk Spoilers ahead*

She goes on and on about the Imprisoning War and the Zonai, taking pictures and obviously ecstatic about the discovery. She finds the Master Sword’s ability to heal itself fascinating. She founded research teams and build a school to further education in Hyrule. She wasn’t just a nerd. She was the Princess of Nerds.

Her sacrifice in ToTK is at surface level the action of a sacrificial maiden. Those who can’t read beyond that won’t understand it any other way. They won’t see how important it is that Fi sought Zelda thousands of years into the past, when in the beginning of botw she couldn’t even hear the spirits. They won’t understand how Zelda’s unflinching faith in Link parallels Link’s unflinching loyalty to Zelda. ToTK is a zelink centered game. Yep. I said it. We all know it’s true.

The entire plot revolves around, get this, Finding Princess Zelda.

Link’s entire motivation behind this game is to find Zelda. That is quite literally all he truly wants to do. He wants to find her. He isn’t there for duty. He just simply wants to find her.

And she is in the past, ensuring Link has every possible thing to help him secure a future for Hyrule. She went from detesting her place in the prophecy, from being forced to comply to her father’s choices, to embracing her role as the Princess of Hyrule and choosing her own way of aiding Link.

Totk gave Zelda the supportive father figure and guiding mother figure she sorely lack in botw. It showed us and Zelda that despite having the things she didn’t have, they still failed. Sonia was killed. Rauru had to sacrifice himself.

Zelda had to sacrifice herself. She was known for being stubborn, perceptive, analytical, and independent. Now she is known for her kindness, her intelligence, her empathy, and her compassion. And she sacrificed it all just to give Link the Master Sword. Because she had unwavering faith he could defeat Ganondorf.

Zelda is a RIDICULOUSLY complex character who has been through so much. But complexity is lost on those who only look for the simple, easy to understand things. So she is bound to have haters.

But for those who can understand and admire that development, we see Zelda for who she is. And if it’s any consolation, so does Link. While this game didn’t officially make zelink canon, they did make it canon that Link stayed by Zelda’s side after the Calamity. Once she was gone, they again made it canon that he would not stop until she was back with him. His Zelda. The one that rambles and excitedly tells Link that so much has happened.

Botw/totk Zelda is so so complex. And for that reason alone, she will have haters. But they don’t know or understand her. Not in any way that truly matters. Because those who do understand her and love her, well, it’s pretty clear that’s the way to go if Link’s main purpose and the entirety of totk tells us.

#I love her so much #sorry I have thoughts on her #I don’t know if this ramble makes sense atp #zelink #totk zelink #totk Zelda #botw zelink #loz botw #botw #link botw #the legend of zelda #botw link #zelda botw #zelink botw #the legend of zelda breath of the wild #loz totk spoilers #loz tears of the kingdom spoilers #loz totk #totk Link

264 notes · View notes

cherrixxox · 11 months

Text

In Princess Zelda’s defense: Misogyny in the Legend of Zelda (and every fandom really)

(Spoiler Warning for BOTW and TOTK)

One thing I’ve noticed as Tears Of the Kingdom has come out, is this incredibly shameless irritable misogyny in the Legend of Zelda fandom. With fandom and internet culture really boosting in the last decade, I feel as if people are less fearful of what they say, and I’ve noticed it in the fandoms I love, like Legend of Zelda specifically.

What could I possibly mean? Doesn’t everybody love Zelda? You’d be incredibly surprised what people say about her.

I can’t image why. She’s incredibly kind, smart, interesting and an emotionally complicated character, which I personally find endearing and not at all bland. However, I think I’ve finally come to understand *why* she’s so hated in the fandom as of this last couple weeks. I think I finally get it.

Zelda is a complex character. I know this doesn’t fit with some of the fandoms fantasy of her being “boring”, but I challenge that with a question. Why is it that every female character, regardless of personality, backstory and upbringing, actions and speech patterns are all boring to you? Is it because they’re actually boring? Or is it because female characters, no matter how developed, will always take the back seat to male characters even with less complexities?

I think I would be remiss if I didn’t mention shipping culture playing a huge part. It’s unfortunate, because, as a gay person, I do think that a lot of the fujoshi/bl community is misogynistic and hates admitting that: so they turn towards the only thing they can- picking and choosing small scenes and lines out of context to demonize a perfectly fine character.

Let me remind you all that I don’t care about harmless shipping. Mostly everyone in fandom ships characters. It’s normal and as long as you aren’t being weird about it and everything is morally correct: who cares. However, I do think that shipping culture has made is hard for people in fandom to correctly distinguish media in any other way. And that’s unfortunate. But I’ll come back to my shipping point later.

Zelda, for instance, is not fond of Link in the beginning of the TOTK/BOTW/Age of Calamity timeline. That’s very apparent from the very first memory in order from Breath of the Wild. In context, that all makes sense why and it’s explained very well. She very quickly after takes a liking to Link, and the rest is history.

However, you have people saying that she’s awful, hates Link, treats him badly, etc. She’s being treated like she’s helpless, something that, in game, she despises feeling. If you can’t tell from context, many times it’s said out loud and in your face. Take this memory with Urbosa for example:

She feels like a failure and Link being appointed to her just reminds her of that feeling.

Despite feeling this way, she’s proven to be a character that can grow and develop. She takes a liking to Link, as previously mentioned before, shortly after said scene with Urbosa explaining to link why she is the way she is. After her heart crushing memory where she’s sobbing about how she couldn’t save her father, the champions or Hyrule, Link is in danger. He is close to death and still he refuses to give up. At the very moment he is going to die. Zelda *finally* is able to release her power, after many many years, and in turn, his life. Why? Because she loves him.

Mipha hints at this being the way she can release her power. Though she doesn’t outright say it, it’s incredibly obvious she’s trying to get across that Zelda think about love and who she cares for.

I feel like if a man had that same backstory, people would acknowledge how incredibly complex of a character he was. They never do this with female characters, and instead take their emotions at face value, like how Zelda has multiple scenes where her determinations, wants and hopes are explained with heavy emotion and people throw it all away for some screwed up, incorrect perception of a character who is more multifaceted then they can ever comprehend.

And why do I think people refuse to look at the truth when it comes to Zelda? Yep, I’m going back to shipping. Like I mentioned before, specifically the fujoshi shipping community seems to be incredibly misogynistic as a whole. And if you self identify as a fujoshi, please stop. It’s not a good term or a nice term. Obviously this isn’t about people who enjoy gay ships in general as I don’t see any harm in shipping whatever you want as long as it’s not morally wrong. However, as someone who has been heavily engrained in fandom culture for the majority of my life: women are second rate citizens to the vast majority of these people.

With the appearance of Sidon in BOTW came a brand new ship that, though I think it’s a very very weird ship considering that Sidon looks like this when Link first meets him:

I never had anything much to say about it. I didn’t ship it, but to each their own since Sidon is very much an adult in current day BOTW/TOTK.

However, the birth is Sidon as a character has incredibly turned the tide when it comes to how people view Zelda. Every bit of character growth and backstory has been dismantled because they see her as a “home-wrecker” to this very much headcanoned ship. I genuinely think people who do this have very little ability to understand female characters in any piece of media, but Zelda is a great example of this. Now that TOTK has come out and Sidon (reminder from the beginning of this post, that I said there would be spoilers) canonically has a Fiance, I feel like this misunderstanding of female characters has just completely gone off the rails and people are now just saying things completely untrue.

For one: I don’t think arranged marriages are ever the best way to try to convince an audience that two characters are in love, and I give that to the shipping community completely. Arranged marriages are not good 9/10 times. Though, sometimes they work out, it’s often for political reasons, and almost never are these two people in love. It’s not a good trope. *However*

Sidons case is different. Yona, a brand new character in the series, is his fiancé. She’s, in my opinion, is quite pretty and helpful to the Zora community, as she seems to be their main healer in the domain.

A lot of the fandom is taking the fact that he saw her as a sister when he was a CHILD out of context as he quite literally says in the next paragraph that his feelings for her start to change and become “difficult to quantify” which clearly, in this case, means that those feelings are changing. And then, he seems to get to embarrassed to go further as those are for more private thoughts. Not only that, but Sidon very clearly calls her his love multiple times, even when she isn’t around.

And how does this character, the kind and caring Yona get treated?

Badly. Just from the first month of this game being out I’ve heard that she should die, she’s a dumb bitch, she’s ugly, she’s boring (how creative), etc.

I can’t help but notice that these comments are clearly coming from a place of distain that Sidon isn’t a free man, and believe it or not hating a female character because she gets in the way of your ships is misogynistic whether or not you think it is!

Now that Sidon isn’t free for grabs, I feel like that brings considerably more backlash upon Zelda yet again because she’s just not a character that can be ignored in favor of Sidon anymore. I’ve noticed an incredible increase of this hate that just doesn’t make any sense to me.

Hating female characters just because they get in the way of your ships will never be cool, but will always unfortunately be a part of fandom that I will refuse to get behind. It’s not just The Legend of Zelda fandom. I can name multiple female characters who get hate for the same exact thing.

This may have just been a rant that went on too long, maybe a mini essay, I’m not sure, but I genuinely challenge the Zelda community to interact more with the actual game over who belongs with who and stop picking at straws to find faults in characters that ruin your perfect perception of who you want to be with who. And please, judge the female characters the same way you’d judge the male characters.

-Cherri 🍒

#legend of zegend #zelda spoilers #zelda tears of the kingdom #legend of zelda tears of the kingdom #zelda totk #totk link #shipping #link #zelda #legend of zelda botw #a quick legend of zelda rant #loz yona #loz sidon #Sidon #I just think some of the fandom needs to chill #legend of zelda essay #more takes like this are probably coming soon

121 notes · View notes

summertimemusician · 7 months

Text

Linktober Shadow, Day 4

Lost

I feel like we really need to talk more about how the Lost Woods are a concept as beautiful as it is terrifying actually.

Wild/BOTW/TOTK Link fans, this one's for you and brought by my severe sleep deprivation, enough caffeine to kill a grown woman with less spite and my medieval literature/narrative/poetry teacher who motivated me through the entire creative process via helping me throw ideas at the wall even as all of the essays I gotta turn in are going to make me late in posting Sage. *laughs hysterically, immediately collapses*

As always can be read as romantic or platonic, and it's up to interpretation what's going down on this one. And can also be read in or outside of an LU context, I'm leaving it vague both on purpose and because of sleep deprivation lol.

Of all places you could say you most intimately did not wish to be alone after being separated from the Chain, the Lost Woods of literally any era but specially Wild’s would definitely be on your top three at a pristine number one.

Really, if you weren’t currently being stalked through the darkened, shadowed weald of the once welcoming evergreen home of both the Minish and Kokiri, whom you knew could be much, much more beautiful lovely (it did aid in raising a good chunk of your beloved heroes, after all) and with your heart working with all the urgency of a wounded deer being chased by a wolf. You’d almost commend it for it’s choice in setting this time.

Keyword being almost, for it compared naught to the sheer and utter terror that burned through your every sinew, marrow and veins at the accuracy of that statement, and the implication that your nebulous and hauntingly familiar current hunter grew ever more clever each passing second of your adventure.

You ran, ran and ran through the living woods, trying desperately to find any possible landmark, an oddly shaped tree, one of the torches or the remain of the skeletons from the old, ruined iterations of the Temple of Time from long bygone eras that the forest had reclaimed, or the hint of the breeze soft whispers from the echoes of the Kokiri or the elated branch rattle giggling laughter of the Skull Children. At this point you’d take even the the mad, beast like howling of the Stalfos or the tortured wailing of Poes, somewhere between vesania tainted laughter and the primal, feral pleading for one’s survival that shook you to the marrow.

There was no such symphony now, the woods as silent as a grave.

(The hauting ground of so, so many that it did not love or could not hold onto anymore, whispered a corner of your mind, and it sounded like the Shadow, with it’s ominous phlegmatic hissing, twisted amusement and sadistic brutality all in one.)

Your arm had long gone numb, broken under the impossible force held by the beast of sulfur and obsidian that the world itself rebelled against warring at it’s very existence as it roared it’s wrath back at it, the Goddesses, Hylia and Demise and your heroes and princesses caught in the middle of divine design, your legs giving out under the weight of your exhaustion, you tasted copper from the wound on your head dripping down your lips but that did not stop you. Would not stop you, couldn’t stop you.

You grit your teeth so hard against the shout that wanted to tear it’s way out of your throat as you barely kept yourself from hitting your head, diverting your momentum against an old, lonely tree. Your blood sinking into the wood, good, better it than Dark Link.

You were tired, you were exhausted, you swore you could hear a growl among the melancholy of the mist. You hoped the shade did not manage to track you down as you made sure not to leave a trail of blood, but something tells you that it wouldn’t need it to track you even with the faint moonlight barely giving enough aid in your own quest to find it before it found you with your only, laughable weapon being an old arrow you’ve pilfered from a long decomposed corpse almost falling from your white knuckled grip.

You didn’t want to die, you needed to survive.

You though of the Chain, your lovely, chaotic, kind boys, of Sky’s ever ecompassing kindness and Four’s brilliant cleverness, Time’s quiet comfort and Legend’s fierce hidden gentleness and Wind’s trailblazing joy, Hyrule’s tender sweetness and Warrior’s warm protectiveness and Wild’s beautiful adoration for life.

You missed them, and it was likely you wouldn’t see them again, that more than anything hurt more than all of your wounds combined.

You try to push yourself up, to move, to live, to keep moving forward, caring not for the stillness of the glade. Barely noticing the sudden silence as you almost pitched forward once again, stumbling onto the earth as your grip onto your makeshift weapon finally gave out-

Only for a pair of arms to catch you, steady, magnolias and rosemary, petrichor from untamed, ancient Hyrule. A bright Sheikah cerulean tunic and a navy cloak falling over darkned boots.

You freeze, hands twitching, it couldn’t be an illusion. You’ve seen plenty in the corner of your eye as you traversed through the woods, attempting to lead you astray. None of them were solid, many of them weren’t quite as cold as this, whoever was holding you.

But it couldn't be real either, it shouldn't.

“Link...?”, came your tired rasp, you felt as if you’ve swallowed sand (briefly, you wondered if the taste of flowers on the back of your tongue mixing with the copper of the liquid of life in your veins was the reason. Then resolved yourself not to think about it), your traitorous body succumbing to exhaustion as the stranger gently held you up (friend, friend, but it couldn’t be, Wild tried to hold onto you, the memory of his desperation scorching under your eyelids like a brand and his howl of denial mixed with self loathing would haunt your for days to come, maybe months, he was far away and hopefully safe, it couldn’t be him).

The figure merely steadied you against themselves, silent as they swung you into their arms, you briefly struggled. It was instinct to put up a fight, to push against the liminal illusion cruelly meant to haunt your possible last moments as another soon to be lost souls chest, or heck for all you knew it could be the Shadow, dragging it out, playing with your torment as it gave you scraps of hope before taking it away. The figure paused, only to gently readjust you -painfully careful as the memory of the gentleness belonging to your Champion but oh so wrong made your heart ache-, the figure lowly speaking, their tone the emerald eternity of the kingdom’s fields and like setting stitches against your wounded self, like the soothing nature of early autumn rain. Almost a whisper, cracked like the wind through the leaves.

“... Rest. You’ll be alright.”

You wanted to protest, wanted to claw and fight and bite his throat off just in case even if you weren’t sure it would take, as with your head in the crook of his hood you couldn’t hear a heartbeat, but your exhaustion won out in the end. Held in the warmth of the sun over Faron Woods with the glimpse of fierce cerulean blue, the gaze of a reynard whom a part of you knew wouldn’t give you up without a fight and safer than you felt since getting pounced through that cursed portal.

When you next came to, it was to Wild’s frantic worry at the edges of camp, his hair like a frazzled shroud as he dropped everything in hand of his watch to check on your now wrapped wounds. Hugging you tight as you held him just as close back.

This time, you found a heartbeat, and you could almost weep with relief, and in the darkness of the woods a shrouded shade smiled.

Returning to the mist unseen and unheard. But content you were home.

#linked universe x reader #link x reader #linked universe wild x reader #props to those who catch the OoT manga/OTGW reference I managed to sneak in on what was going down with Reader #look. I don't agree that when Wild died something else took his place though I think it's a really cool concept #but I can agree that the person who went into that shrine ain't the same it came out even if it's still Link #I like to believe those are concepts that can coexist in the liminal and ephemeral context of identity #The Lost Woods are technically alive and I intend to explore that concept for as long as I can #summer writes linktober shadow 2023 #summer writes

51 notes · View notes

marvel-starwarsfangirl · 7 months

Text

Looking Back: Spirit Tracks over 10 years later

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks was my very first official video game ever. I was first introduced to LoZ through my cousin. So, for Christmas, I was gifted with a DSI and Spirit Tracks plus Phantom Hourglass. Since the first time I popped that cartridge in, I knew Spirit Tracks was going to be something special. I was mesmerized by the world, the music, and the characters. As I played more and more Zelda games like Ocarina of Time, Spirit Tracks became that fun, little game I played as a child. However, that little game always had a special place in my heart. Playing it now, for the first time since I lost my original DS and copy of the game in 2019, it still remains my favorite.

The world: The world of Spirit Tracks to me is breathtaking. This world feels so real to me. There is so much to explore. Yeah, the train can be tedious, but aside from that the map is huge. Skyward Sword feels so limiting in what you can explore. And don't me wrong, I love Hyrule field, but even that feels small to me at times. Twilight Princess has the best Hyrule field of the older games. Spirit Tracks has so many places to explore. Although the villages aren't, I still appreciate the unique design of all of them.

The dungeons: While the dungeons or bosses in this game will never be as grand as the Ancient Cistern or spooky as Arbiter's Grounds, I still adore them. To me, they are what dungeons should be: challenging with fun puzzles. And that's the key word here: fun. These dungeons do a great job implementing the puzzles and items collected. I love how the Tower of Spirits continues to get challenge your puzzle-solving skills. The bosses also are just fun adventures for Link to take on. They don't need to be crazy or super grand because this game is meant to be a fun, little adventure.

The characters: We could argue which game has the best characters for hours (it's Skyward Sword stop arguing). That being said, I say Spirit Tracks has some really great characters. The Lokomos are all unique, Cole is a delightful little menace, and Byrne stole my heart. Thanks the the side quests, we do get some pretty fun interactions with the various npcs throughout the game. I love the teacher who has to disguise himself to get out of the castle. The rabbit man and his wife make for a cute romance story. And Ferrus is just a jolly man who loves trains. It's a great cast.

This game also has one of my favorite versions of Zelda. Just like with Skyward Sword, Spirit Tracks does a great job setting up her relationship with Link. Their relationship is so genuine and wholesome. They're friends who may pursue a romantic relationship when they're older. It's that good. They also gave Zelda a personality and stuff to do other than show up for the first and last few minutes to dump exposition. Y’all want playable Zelda? Well, here she is! She's adventurous, funny, caring, and feisty. There's so much life to her. She helps Link as much as she can and is a way better companion than Navi ever could be. Zelda is amazing. Her interactions with Link are stellar. I also love that the game shows just how much the two of them love and care for each other. Link and Zelda are perfect.

And yes, Byrne was my first fictional crush. It's his design I tell you. I love broody, tall men. It's that simple. But also, he does have a great arc. He becomes evil because he wanted power. Yet, he still had a soft spot for Anjean. After he's betrayed, he realizes the horrible truth and decides to help the heroes. Thanks to Anjean and Zelda's forgiving nature, they take Byrne in and help him. In turn, it is he who helps Zelda reclaim her body and gives his life. He's wonderful *sigh*.

The music: Spirit Tracks has some of the best Zelda music in my opinion and it's sad that it gets overlooked by like... every other game. I will be brutally honest, I genuinely don't remember any of the music from BotW or TotK. I'm sorry, that's the truth. But, I always remembered Spirit Tracks' music. From the upbeat title theme to Byrne's unique leitmotif, the music has always been fun. Cole's theme is one of my personal fave villain tracks. I love the music changes as you ascend the Tower of Spirits. I love the Lokomo songs even if the flute mechanic was a tad annoying at times. I love the Demon Train's intimidating theme. The Dark Train's leitmotif was the og anxiety bringer way before the guardians were even a thing.

The Story: I also adore the story of this game. When an ancient evil strikes, Link, Zelda, and co. must rally to save the day. I like that the train in this game actually has a meaning. It's not just a means of transportation; the tracks have magic in them that protect the world from demons. It's simple but effective. There are fun side quests that are optional but yield satisfying rewards and nothing feels too repetitive. In short, it's great. One thing I really appreciated was that Zelda couldn't just enter her body right away. She had to focus her power. It makes the game more interesting. And it’s one of the only Zelda games where she basically dies. This game has stakes!!!Byrne's death shows that there are consequences for one's actions and sacrifices that must be made. Saving the world isn't an easy path. Overall, I think it's a fun and effective story.

The Downsides: Obviously, it's not a perfect game. The flute mechanics are frustrating at times, especially when playing the Lokomo songs. I can't begin to tell you how annoying it is when you play everything right and the game still says retry. The train can also be a bit tedious. It does take time to get from place to place. At least the game isn't rushing you. Thankfully, the portals and force gems help make the journey more bearable. Finally, Malladus isn't that memorable of villain when compared to Demise or Ganondorf. Even Cole is more memorable and he's the secondary antagonist. The design of him sucks and isn't screaming "demon king" at all. That being said, Malladus' actions do standout. His murder of Byrne and using Cole as a vessel without the latter's consent are legit great moments. It does establish his cruelty and willingness to do whatever necessary to win. Also, Possessed Zelda is freaky.

If y'all made it to the end of this post, congrats. I know I'm in the minority when I say Spirit Tracks is my fave Zelda game, but I'll defend it nonetheless. It's a cute and wonderful game. I'm excited to replay it again in the near future. For now, I'll continue to listen to the music. I love this game so much guys.

#the legend of zelda #spirit tracks #link #princess zelda #anjean #byrne loz #link x zelda #nintendo #DSI games #nintendo dsi

9 notes · View notes

theclasspectscholar · 1 year

Text

Here's what I have for Tears of the Kingdom so far:

This was actually what inspired me to finally make this blog because one of my friends said the sages reminded him of classpects and I had a lot of thoughts.

Let's start with our main boy Link

Link is a Knight, obviously. He is a passive server, serving Zelda and the royal family first and foremost. It's his purpose in life. Now for his aspect, I believe he is a Heart player. The aspect of heart is very closely tied to the concept of souls. In botw, the main quest revolves around collecting the souls of the champions, in totk it revolves around him collecting the avatars (basically souls) of the new generation of sages. Heart is also tied to identity, and in botw, Link spends the story trying to remember who he is, through finding the memories scattered around Hyrule. He also deals with ghosts more than the average hylian. The first character you meet in both botw and totk after waking up is a ghost, the manifestation of a soul. This would make him the Knight of Heart, one who serves heart, or serves through heart for others.

Now for Zelda, things are a little more complicated.

This is because Zelda's aspect is not Time, despite her being the sage of time. In botw at least, Zelda is a Light player. Personality-wise, Zelda fits the bill of a Light player perfectly. The Extended Zodiac quiz describes light players as "the universe's knowledge-seekers." and says that "They are, above all, driven to learn and understand. They are great alchemists, able to take multiple sources of information and synthesize them into something useful. They are scholars and researchers, absolutely dedicated to knowledge for knowledge's sake." and if that doesn't describe Zelda, I don't know what does. In botw Zelda's arc focuses on relevance, she struggles with being important, and has the pressure of being an essential part in defeating Ganon. Also her motif throughout the game is light. Any time she speaks to Link, her voice is accompanied by a bright light, the same light that shines when her power is finally awakened. For her class, I think Page makes the most sense here. Pages start out as incredibly weak, not having any grasp over their aspect at all, but when they do reach mastery over their aspect they become one of the most powerful out of the classes. This reflects Zelda's arc throughout the game perfectly, making Zelda the Page of Light. In totk however, Zelda is the sage of time, and her character arc in the last game has been fulfilled. If we operate on the idea that her new aspect is Time, I think it makes a lot of sense for her class to be Witch. Witches are innovators, changing their aspect or changing through their aspect for themselves. This makes sense at least at the point in the story I have gotten to, as it seems that Zelda has traveled back in time and is changing historical events. Further evidence to support Zelda being a Witch comes from @homestuckexamination who describes witches as "Passionate about that which they love, they can be heavily influenced by their interests and by their surroundings." This fits Zelda's personality strongly and sort of makes up for her no longer being a light player. This would make Zelda the Witch of Time.

The next character I want to do is Tulin, because I just beat the Wind Temple.

Tulin is the sage of wind, so it makes sense that his aspect is Breath. Breath as an aspect of the story has those tied to this aspect move the plot forward. Tulin is antsy, he can't be tied down and he desperately wants to stop this blizzard and save his village. He disobeys everyone telling him to wait and let the adults handle it. He flies ahead and stubbornly rockets head first into the tornado to stop the blizzard. For his class, I think Heir fits him the best. He is literally an heir to the secret stone and the title of sage of wind. In the sense that he changes wind, he physically changes the direction of the wind to propel others forward and he even changes Ravali's vertical gust power to a horizontal one. This would make him the same classpect as June Egbert, and I think Tulin is very June coded when he talks about his dad. Thus, Tulin is the Heir of Breath.

I will update this post with the rest of the characters as I complete more of the game. Some that I'm figuring out right now are Ganon, Sonia, and Rauru but I feel like I need to unlock more Dragon Tears cutscenes to figure them out.

#tears of the kingdom #totk #homestuck #homestuck classpect analasys #legend of zelda #Lily Jade does classpecting

12 notes · View notes

spices28 · 5 months

Text

Get to know 9 people tag game

thank you @mistresslrigtar for tagging me! I love this -- it's so cute <3

Last song listened to: Hot & Heavy by Lucy Dacus

This song has been in my repeats since @korokposting recommended it to me -- he literally has the best music taste of all time. if he tells you to listen to something, do it. -- bc he said it reminded him of my zelink masquerade fic. Isn't that the sweetest??

Currently reading: OOOHHHH sooo many things. Although I've sorta committed myself to beta-ing so many projects, most of what I'm reading rn is what I'm editing.

The Long and Winding Road by @flutefemme -- A Twilight Princess AU where Zelda is running from her mob boss ex Ganon and finds a home with Link and his son. Very enemies to lovers. Very adorable. Except when Link is dealing with his widower grief -- then it's gutting.

A Lullaby for a Princess by @wouldyoustilllovemeifiwasawyrm -- Link and Zelda marry post!TotK after rapidly getting pregnant. There are a lot of really intense emotions in this piece and I love to see a bit of a darker look at post!Upheaval Hyrule. Link and Zelda each have my entire heart. They're such complicated people.

Two wonderful fics by @shameless-fujoshi. The Cage -- a Modern Zelink AU where Link is a cage fighter -- and Pride and Prejudice -- which has yet to arrive but is another very exciting modern AU. Firefighter!Link and Professor!Zelda.

And I'm nearly through A Couple of Trials by @kenlair -- which is part two of an incredibly ambitious story that aims at telling the story of post!BotW Zelink, eventually tracing it through ToTK, and relies heavily on elements that are already in game. No OC's -- every character and element has game/lore basis and it's really cool to see.

Sweet/spicy/savory: Savory

Current obsessions: Legend of Zelda lore, Vox Machina, DnD, Hadestown, TMNT, reading/editing as much Zelink as I possibly can, mindlessly playing RE4 and TotK

Relationship status: partnered

Last thing I googled: koroks -- needed to know whether to caps them or not :rofl:

Currently working on: two long fics! One retelling totk that I'm hopefully gonna partner with @shameless-fujoshi and the other a very long, excessive lore fic retelling the LoZ creation story -- and how Hylia chose her hero.

I'm tagging nine others who I would love to see their answers! But no pressure -- I know you lovely people are busy (and you may have already been tagged)

@korokposting, @wouldyoustilllovemeifiwasawyrm, @shameless-fujoshi, @citrusblooms, @franticcashew, @kenlair, @deiliamedlini, @obsidiangst, @aquaticpal

#zelink #zelink fanfiction #spices28writes

6 notes · View notes

afriendlygoblin · 10 months

Text

my thoughts on TOTK because i need to ramble about it somewhere and my friend hasn't finished it yet

SPOILERS

i'm gonna go through the main quests/parts as i completed them

1) the opening, Great Sky Island, Temple of Time and landing in Hyrule

it made me really really really happy to see that Link and Zelda were still around each other like this, exploring stuff together and all. the awakening cutscene gave me chills and really all i could think about was finding Zelda.

discovering the Great Sky Island was fun, though i was used to my comfort in BOTW so it was quite a shock to not have the paraglider and get one-shot by literally anything. but i guess that's normal

then i really liked meeting Rauru though i missed having at least a clue of what was going on. like in BOTW, the king tells you "alright, the world is shit because this happened, Zelda is over there waiting for you, now u do u". there i had this feeling of being absolutely clueless for the first few hours of gameplay and it was frustrating at times.

Lookout Landing was a heartwarming sight, seeing people rebuild and stuff genuinely made me smile. i did feel a pinch in my heart when i recognized that it was built on the very ground where Link swore his oath as Zelda's appointed knight. but overall it was great and i loved the concept of the new towers.

2) the Temples and Sages

i started with Rito Village and the Wind temple. i love Tulin with all my heart and i have to say i use his ability the most. the temple was a pain to access and the cold was annoying but i had a blast with the boss battle. didn't really use Tulin's help there because it was really easy to do on my own but i enjoyed having a supporter during the fight.

i was favorably surprised when i found out that Tulin's clone would accompany me forever. BOTW was a pretty lonely game. peaceful and beautiful but lonely nonetheless. also seeing Teba give his son the Great Eagle Bow made me emotional i admit. i wish there were more references to Revali (and the Champions in general) but eh at least he has a Landing named after him. also where did the Flight Range go?

next i went to Goron City. it felt strange to not instantly catch on fire but well, i was happy with no more elixirs and ugly outfits (not a fan of the fireproof set). the battle against the 3 headed monster in Death Mountain was awesome and it reminded me of how fun it was to yeet Yunobo around. speaking of which i was so relieved when i got him back to normal because that rock boi is precious and seeing him being mean was not cool.

the Temple was a bit annoying tbh, i got lost in the rail system so i just went and monkeyed around climbing everything and flying everywhere. the boss fight was also quite forgettable though i liked using Yunobo's ability more. again, there was zero mention of Daruk (that i remember) and Daruk's Protection has been entirely forgotten. i know the goal isn't to live in the past but i find it sad to see it pretty much forgotten about in some areas.

after that i went to Zora's Domain and had fun yeeting splash fruit at the sludge. i almost had a heart attack when i saw that the Mipha statue had been replaced but i was so thrilled to see it relocated to where the Lynel used to be. they really built her a splendid memorial and she can really watch over her people from there.

i had missed Sidon and his smile, and helping Yona bringing him back to his true optimistic charming self was really great. i liked that since the Zora live long lives, everyone remembered me (Link) more than in other parts of Hyrule. oh and Sidon's coronation had me smiling ear to ear because i was so proud of my fish brother.

i had so much fun in the temple and its weird gravity, sometimes i go back just to jump around and dive in slow motion. the boss fight was correct, though it was annoying to go so slow through sludge.

finally, i made my way to Gerudo Town. the gibdos surprised me but by pure luck i had a fire lizalfos horn weapon equipped so i was never in any real danger. i loved organizing the defenses of Gerudo Town and fighting alongside Riju's warriors.

i loved seeing how Riju had grown since we last saw her, she and Tulin were like my young niblings and seeing them grow made me so proud. again i don't remember any tribute to Urbosa but seeing Riju's dual Scimitars of the Seven was a nice touch so i didn't say anything.

the temple was really cool and the boss fight made me rage quit once or twice so i consider it to be awesome. i thought i was gonna throw my Switch against the wall but then i remembered Zelda needed me so i took a breath and went back to the fight.

overall i really liked this part of the game, seeing my old new friends was very heartwarming and having their clones follow me in my daily life made the game so much less lonely than BOTW was.

3) Tears of the Dragon

no. i am still sobbing, throwing up, rolling on the floor. no. seeing Zelda finding not one but 2 loving parental figures only to lose them 20 min later, Ganondorf's ascension, Rauru's sacrifice, ZELDA'S SACRIFICE ABZBZBFKGNDKDLS I WAS NOT READY. i didn't find the memories in chronological order so when i found the one that hinted what was going to happen to Zelda i rushed them all and stayed up until like 4 am to see them all. the final one tore me apart and i basically cried myself to sleep (not really but almost). i actually had to go spoil myself online just to put my mind at ease because like what if we could never get her back???

after that and the Master Sword quest, whenever i saw Zelda not too far from a tower i'd go see her and rest on her head for a little while while imagining Link talking to her.

i was at a point where i didn't really know what to do with myself, i still had Gerudo Town to visit but eh i was a bit sick of boss battles at the moment. seeing the memories remotivated me and pushed me to finish the main quests as fast as possible to get Zelda back.

4) the Master Sword

as eager as i was to just go and beat up Ganondorf, i couldn't imagine doing it without my trursty blade, and also the reason why Zelda sacrificed herself. so i decided to go see the Great Deku Tree so seek counsel. after a quick in and out trip to the depth, i found a dying tree in no shape to answer my questions.

Phantom Ganon handed my ass to me a few times but once i got his attack patterns right, it all went smooth like a baby's butt cheek.

getting the Master Sword from Zelda's head made me so emotional, i had just seen a fanart of that scene where Link let himself fall while crying and clutching the sword against his heart. that was how i felt it really.

5) the Depths and Fifth Sage

so after crying my eyes, heart, lungs and intestines out, i had to continue investigating to know where the hell Ganondorf was. that led me to the Depth, searching for all the abandonned mines and everything. on the way i had fun in the battles against Kohga, i had missed his ridiculous... him.

i'm not the biggest fan of the Depths but hey, you can find pretty awesome stuff down there so i do spend a lot of time farming Zonaite and throwing Brightbloom seeds around.

finding and assembling Mineru's construct felt a bit ehh. the shrine like puzzles to get the limbs were thankfully not too long but really all i wanted was to get over with it. funny enough i was fully prepared for a big twist like Mineru revealing that she was with Ganondorf and having to fight the construct i had just built myself.

what i got was even better. like mech fight??? hello?? that was awesome though it took me some time to get the controls down. but ah as a kid who grew up playing Solatorobo, riding the construct was just cbfkdkd SO COOL.

6) the Final Fight

i'll just focus on the battles because the way to get to the Gloom's Lair or whatever was just like yeah sure go off i guess. chasing Zelda through the Castle was just a delay of what i knew would happen underground and then i mostly dodged the monsters except the Lynel because come on who has time for that.

the. EPIC. BATTLE. AGAINST. AN ENTIRE. ARMY. my Goddess fighting hordes and hordes of monsters alongside my friends with the most epic music was just so euphoric and cathartic and just fullfilling ahhhhgg. when i saw the temple bossed coming back to life i was gully prepared to take them on with my friends but nope, the game had other plans for me.

and what plans oh bloody hell this FIGHT? THAT is what i call a boss battle. in BOTW, Ganon wasn't hard to kill. like it had taken me less than 5 tries i think, 3 of them being just to learn the fight's mechanics. but here? the first part i got quickly, after all it was just a one on one against a (large) human sized villain. the pace was slow, there was no music, in a word : a warmup.

then he activates his secret stone and turns into a human emo LED. alright sure. and then his health bar replenishes. AND KEEPS GOING. i was expecting it to just go beyond the screen border at this point. and oh the clones, how many times did i accidentally get killed by one of them. having my friends fight them for me was cool but too many times i ended up ignoring them and taking a lost bullet becayse of that.

then comes the real 1v1 againt the Demon King. THAT was the fight i'd been waiting for. the final confrontation between the Hero and Evil, the final battle that would- he can Flurry Rush? what do you mean he can Flurry Rush?? alright then, i'll just be careful, good thing i have a good shield haha HE CAN FLURRY RUSH MY FLURRY RUSH?????? HOW WHAT WHY WTF ah at least i can Flurry Rush his Flurry Rush that he Flurry Rushed from my Flurry Rush. McFlurry.

after at least 20 tries, tears and a break because my left index was sore from keeping my shield up, i finally got to deal a final strike. and then oh my GODDESS THIS PART

Zelda rushes to my aid and together we face that giant Demon Dragon. she soars, allowing me to dive and land right next to one of the Demon's weak point. i attack it, then bet blown off. Zelda gets me back and we repeat the maneuver 3 times. finally, i dive one last time to the Demon's head and shatter the Secret Stone.

no more Demon, no more Ganondorf, it really is over this time.

7) the End

is it? the sky is peaceful, as i, behind my screen, thank the princess for her help and tell her that we succeded, i start floating off of her head. Rauru and Sonia appear and somehow channel their magic through my arm.

and there she is. my princess. my Zelda. the one i travelled through Sky, Land and Depth to find. the one i've been chasing for (in game) months (days irl).

and she's falling. shit. so i dive as fast as i can, i extend my freshly restored arm and.... i got her! a perfect echo to the opening, an exquisite parallel, i took so many screenshots of this scene and i will cherish them forever.

then i watched the last cutscenes, my Zelink heart that was already screaming exploded when i saw Link gently put Zelda down on the grass. she wakes up, sees Link, looks around and... "you really did it" no princess, we did it together. "Oh Link... i'm home" AAAAAHAHBBFNDKDBBF I SCREAMED i really screamed and thank the Goddess that i live alone because it was again 4am and had i been at my parent's place, Zelda's smile would have been the last thing i'd seen before certain death (not that i would have minded). i wish i could hug my princess in that moment. yes, you're home. i promised i'd get you back when i saw your memories so here you are. and you're never leaving me again.

end credits, i use that time to process what i just lived. then i watch the post credit cutscene, shed a tear watching Mineru rest in peace and the new Sages swear their oath. everything's good now.

and then i'm transported back to Castle Chasm. yay.

Additional 1) the Gameplay

as an engineering student, i had been waiting for this game for so long (only could play it a month after release because of finals) and it didn't disappoint. well to be honest i was used to BOTW's controls and though they were similar here, i missed using the cross' top arrow to pick a rune. minor stuff like that. BUT WHO CARE WHEN YOU CAN BUILD CARS, PLANES, ROCKETS AND TORTURE DEVICES

i fully started enjoying vehicle building when i expanded my battery. from then on i was unstoppable, roaming around Hyrule on my Turbo Deadly Flying Tricycle that shoots fire and laser beams.

also i'm a pretty peaceful being but i have to admit that nailing a Korok to a cross and pulling it around with your horse like "do you have time for our Lord and Savior Korok Christ?" is really really fun.

Additional 2) the World

also i loved the additions they made to the stables like the Pony Points system. and ah finally i don't have to talk to this random girl to change my saddle.

i'm a sucker for fantasy sky island so i was so happy to see some in Hyrule sky. though i wish there were a bit more or at least some bigger ones. Great Sky Island was nice but then in other regions, aside from a shrine here and a dispenser there i didn't spend a lot of time up tthere.

Hyrule was at the same time the good old same and a totally new and foreign place. cities and villages were in the same place but they were so different. Tarrey Town had grown so much (btw fuck you Rail Car guy i built this place you should pay ME). Kakariko had its new Ring Ruins, Hateno had developped a mushroom frenzy... AND ZELDA HAS STOLEN MY HOUSE??? HAY PRINCESS YOU HAVE A CASTLE AT LEAST LET ME HAVE THIS oh? is that my hair tie? and... you're writing about me in your diary? oh so we live together... alright then all good! also seeing the photo from Champion's Ballad exactly where i hung it in BOTW brought a tear to my eye. no, our omd friends aren't forgotten. and they will always be home.

i'll stop there because i'm hungry and i've been rambling for an hour and a half but this game is just so so so good. the story touched me a bit less than that of BOTW for some reason but it did make me emotional af. i wish we had a postgame which solely consists of completing the secondary adventures and like... farming in Hateno Village with Zelda but eh, be grateful for what you have i told myself. i think i will go have a cutscene marathon starting with Age of Calamity now.

Additional 3) the Side Quests

while i ignored most of them (will get to them eventually no worry about that), i particularly appreciated the Monster Control ones and the Lurelin line. these quests really made me feel how important community and cooperation are in this game. because you have your own community of heroes with the Sages and also the researchers, people who are in the heart of the story but there you get to see other communities. the losers with a valiant heart, fighting silver moblins with mops and buckets as helmets, the exiled fishermen who lost their town but with your help get to rebuild their home etc. this makes this game whole because it reminds you that yeah, there are always epic tales of legendary heroes, dramatic tragedies and heroic sacrifices but there are also smaller, equally as important stories. there's the story of how anyone can rise up and fight monsters and there's the story of how to rebuild your home after it was totally destroyed. and you get to be a part of all these stories, big or small. and that's beautiful.

also i liked stealing Zelda's horse again. you took my house i take your horse, fair is fair.

#totk spoilers #tears of the kindom spoilers #i could keep rambling for hours #might ramble again about that parallel because ahhhhh #zelink

14 notes · View notes

three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat · 1 year

Note

who are ur links??? names and games and gun facts maybe???

!!!

First, we got First, aka Link from the sksw manga. Sad pathetic wet cat. Wants to go back home to his husband, but is STUCK HERE. He's the tallest Link (by an inch)!

Then Feather (sksw)! His fun fact is that he has the full Triforce, but no one knows that for, uh, plot reasons ig. He also regularly practices the harp, because Fi taught him and well- she's not there anymore. My dearest friend here, Godslayer Fulltriforce, does not understand why the others think he's one of the strongest. Anyway, hey, look at this cool sword he uses! It's a double helix blade, isn't that neat?

Then we have my personal little combo Link- MC/FS/FSA. His fun fact is he never used the four sword to put the colors back together (permanently), and they're all just. Y'know. There. (and Shadow. Freeloader.) The FSA comes in with this cool and fun thing I call CONVENIENT TIME TRAVEL

Then oot, aka Mask, because I am incredibly attached to the name and also that's just how the Links named each other. First notable unique trait. His was the masks, which just chill on his belt and offer mostly unhelpful advice. AMAP (assigned male at princess). Physically the youngest, but oh boy. Who even fucking knows what his mental age is (it's why he doesn't talk).

Then we have TP, who, like most of them, still doesn't have a name. His fun fact is that he's trans, but only because I wanted to make a really bad joke. He's friends with Zelda, but only because he uses her magic fountain to talk to Midna, and after a while it got kinda awkward to just walk into her house without knowing her

Wind Waker, aka Patch! Yes, his name is that for exactly the reason you would expect (he doesn't need an eyepatch, he just has a conveniently placed scar)! He's one of the three Triforce Links (Triforce heroes, one could say-), with both Courage and Power. He doesn't know about Power, and could care less about Courage

Spirit Tracks! Idk. He may or may not be in, depends on if I can find a good playthrough to watch

alttp/oos/ooa/la Link, aka Apple! Hermit apple farmer guy after he (willingly) left Hyrule once and got his heart broken (thanks, Marin). He and his Zelda are good friends (or maybe more idk). Doesn't talk, just stares piercingly into your eyes until you start getting uncomfortable because he looks about one bad thing away from breaking down sobbing

albw/th, Paint- he's a little guy :) half of the storage in his house is Ravio's stuff, and the other half is his wardrobe from Hytopia. I also need to find a playthrough for him.

loz 1 & 2, Wanderer, named thus because he doesn't stay in one place, much to his Zeldas' annoyance! The oldest Link (thats a coincidence, I promise). Everyone is like, wow, [botw], your Hyrule is horrible and filled with monsters, meanwhile he's just fucking crying because it's so nice here, look, the water isn't poisonous and the grass isn't trying to kill us and I can see the sky

HW! My most specialest guy :) I gave him Issues. Your token pyromaniac Link, fell in love with Sheik a la OoT- now both he and Zelda have things they need to think about for a good long while!

Lastly, botw! Truly does not understand what a gender is, even among the many other "has lived in the forest half their lives" Links. Whether or not he's experienced totk depends on whether I like it lol. Takes the advice of his own personal peanut gallery (the Champions' spirits) seriously, even when it's just Revali telling him to do something really fucking stupid. Talks a whole lot, especially to the master sword (he heard about Fi and figured hey why not). His glorious purpose in life is to cook, and if he wasn't so distracted sauteing vegetables he'd be one of the most powerful

#sorry it took a while to respond it was supper time #mb's writing #links meet au (name pending)#mb and flux scream about hats #i should have put this under a read more #loz

8 notes · View notes

sleeplessadhara · 11 months

Text

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Spoilers (my thoughts)

Firstly, I'm so, so happy I was able to play this game without spoiling myself and I went full on blind. I think that made the whole experience more enjoyable and magical for me.

The first minutes of the game I was already hooked, and I wanted to know more, who were the Zonnai? What are they? Were they godly entities, product of Hylia? Were they equal to her?

And then Ganondorf appeared, in his skeletal glory. I wasn't expecting Link to literally lose his arm and to almost die, and It was so unexpected that Zelda went back to the past too.

Gameplay

Gameplay wise, the controls felt mostly like BOTW, although at first I found it kinda tricky remembering the ultrahand controls and stuff, but after a few hours of playing I got used to it.

The difficulty of the enemies isn't SUPER hard, but it took me a few hours to learn again how to fight them without dying constantly (i was very rusty).

Next, I like that like in BOTW, they give you freedom to explore the First Sky Island to find more context, and history behind the Zonnai and Rauru. It was heartwarming to see Rauru observing the golems on their daily jobs, and listen to him while he said how he cherished them, or felt bad for them.

It was as if the golems weren't just plain old useless NPC's, and they had actual depth. I love the golems fr.

I also wanted to add that despite the game letting you roam about at your will, it also gives you lots of clues and tips on where to go next. I never felt lost at all.

Graphics and Visuals

Like BOTW, Tears of The Kingdom is a beautiful game. The scenery, the ambient, the backgrounds, it felt like I was truly walking on a Kingdom that was being rebuilt. The sky islands felt heavenly, but at the same time as if they were once occupied by people. And the Abyss... just wow. I was scared the first time I went down there.

Sound and Music

I'm sorry folks, I'm going to rant so much.

The music used on this game, are so smartly and beautifully crafted, you can't even imagine. From moment 1, it helps you get into the game and story.

I just loved hearing the songs and then, unexpectedly... BOOM. I could hear fragments of songs from other Zelda games. I also love how the songs match perfectly every single place, boss, cutscene, etc.

Not only that, but I think one of my favorite songs was the one that plays when fighting against Colgera. I wasn't expecting such a beautiful and epic music at that moment, and the gasp I let out while I was fighting the thing almost made me die. (I love how the characters advise you to visit first Rito village. It surely was worth it, and it's a direct punch to your heart by nostalgia).

Another song I loved was Sidon's theme. To me, the song felt more soft compared with BOTW, but at the end, it peaks up amazingly. It gave me the vibes that tells the story of how Sidon lost some of his courage in fear of losing his people, and then he regains it when Yona gives him a speech to push him to do the right thing.

Lastly, another thing I loved was how they mixed some of the songs with the music that play when you are near one of the dragons??? In the final battle that killed me, it was amazing.

The Voice Acting was on point too, I loved Sonnia's voice from the very beginning, it was so soft and warm, but when it needed to be, she was sharp and- yeah.

Story and Narrative

I think the story of TOTK is satisfying. I loved how at first we have no clue of what is happening, and as we go collecting the pieces of the puzzle, we can make our own conclusions until the story is explained to us.

I wasn't expecting Zelda to become a dragon, at all.

When I first saw the Light Dragon, I thought it was an addition, maybe related to a side-quest or something. But wow. When the dots connected, pain.

I thought for real that we wouldn't be able to bring back Zelda to her original form, and I cried a lot when I finished the Tears of the Dragon quest. The cutscene was heartbreaking.

When the music stops, and then starts again super loud, with an orchestral/choral version of Zelda's Lullaby, it made me feel that was she doing was something that there was no turning back from. An act of a princess who wanted nothing else than to help her people, but at the same time, being afraid of losing herself to the Draconian power.

She legit felt as if she was in great pain, and the scream she let out when transforming into the Light Dragon... and when she flew to the clouds vanishing while the Sages watched from afar her sacrifice... I lost it.

Anyway, moving on.

I also loved traveling to the different regions, where lots of things changed, and the Newer Sages had also some personality growth through the story.

One thing that disappointed me was that they barely talked about the Four Champions of BOTW. (When I saw that they changed Mipha's statue, I got so mad. Until I saw they made a zone in her memory, then I calmed down).

But, what happened to the Divine Beasts? Did they disappear to thin air? Is there a side-quest that explains what happened to them?? I don't know.

It just felt as if they never existed at all.

Next, I wanted to talk about the Final Boss.

It was really an improvement from BOTW, it felt as if I was truly fighting SOMEONE, when Ganondorf dodged my sword I was surprised. (I think it's not the first time they do this, but anyways, it's a good touch).

It also caught me off guard when he transformed into a dragon too, but at that moment I realized that maybe Zelda could come and help us. Which she did, and I'm so glad it happened.

Maybe the Dragon Ganon was an easy fight, but I don't care, I enjoyed every second of it: Zelda picking me up before I fell to my death, her dodging Ganon's attacks... It just felt right.

One thing I am kinda disappointed about the ending, was that Zelda didn't become the Queen of Hyrule.

On the other hand, I also would have loved to see Zelda return to Hateno Village and reunite with her students.

The students of the school she founded loved Zelda so much. They even made drawings of her!! And she had them displayed on her house and studying room!!!

Conclusion

I loved this game so much, every moment of it felt magical. I fell in love with the new characters, they had so much personality! They felt alive.

I don't think I can stress this enough, but Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece to me. I wish I could erase my memories and play it again for the first time.

This is a long rant that I had to let out of my system, I apologize for that.

#tears of the kingdom #tloz #zelda spoilers #totk thoughts

4 notes · View notes