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lilacstarvix · 1 year

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TotK 'Resurrection AU'

Something I've had on my mind for a little while now, is a TotK AU where Rauru and Sonia get 'brought back to life' during the events of the game.

Sonia is also the target of my zonai-ification nonsense instead of Link this time, I do be putting people in creechurification situations since my Submas days.

I did some deranged rambling writing about it too, little bit of warning, there is some panicking:

When Rauru woke up, the last thing he remembers was bidding Link farewell, followed by a warm feeling that seems to have lasted for an eternity but also no time at all.

He looks around to see that he is in a room, one shrouded in darkness, of Zonai architecture, but ancient, even by his standards.

Feeling cold stone beneath him, he notices that he is wearing nothing but underwear, 'This must've been how Link felt' Rauru ponders before he gets up and starts wandering the empty room.

Time begins to pass as his brain begins to process the fact that he is 'Alive' and that he has no clue where he is and begins to panic, calling out for Sonia, calling out for Mineru, calling out for the sages, calling out for Link...but nobody came.

Rauru begins to wander, calling out into the empty halls in hopes that anyone or anything will reveal it's presence.

Meanwhile elsewhere in the facility:

Sonia wakes from a warm 'dream', her last memory being of falling 'asleep' in Rauru's arms while recovering from something she can't quite remember properly.

The room is dark, cold, her face feels heavy, her ears feel pressed against frigid stone, her forehead feels... weird... to say the least.

As she gets up her whole body aches but not in a way that hurts, like a stiff muscle finally loosening.

She turns to sit up she finally looks own and notices a grey protrusion on her face, aswell as her whole body being covered in a similar grey, reaching a hand to touch it.. ..fur. Soft, thin fur, almost too soft, like a newborn puppy or other small mammal.

Slowly she reached upwards, touching the... snout.. on her face, trailing her hands further up her hands reach her forehead.

Gently, Sonia presses against the soft bump, almost instinctually the 'bump' opens her vision widens vertically for a brief moment.

'A third eye' Sonia realizes, among other thoughts racing through her mind as she puts together, that for some reason she is now a Zonai and lost in this strange unfamiliar place, with nobody in sight.

Sonia finally stands up although her legs feel unstable, and a little shorter than what her muscle memory thinks they should be, but regardless she begins to walk-waddle around, to get a better look at this dilapidated, dark, dreary and empty structure and hopefully find somebody, something or just a way out of here to get her bearings.

Back to Rauru

Rauru has been occasionally yelling out for help for a few hours now, to him it mattered not if the attention was positive or negative at this point, he just needed to see someone, anyone, hell even a warrior construct would be a welcome presence over the sheer loneliness this place echoed.

But finally something other than his shouts break the silence.

Footsteps.

It took Rauru a moment to realize that he wasn't just imagining things as he not only hears the footsteps, but sees a figure off in the distance of the dimly lit halls.

A distinctly Zonai shape, that also seems fianlly notice him , they begin to stumble, walk, then run towards Rauru with relief, enthusiasm and desperation that shocked Rauru.

He began to wonder how much longer this eager Zonai must've been alone for to reach such desperation, before he begins to hearing her voice and upon seeing her face, despite how different it was, those wise teal pools couldn't belong to anyone other than...

.."Sonia!"

(Part 2 here!)

(Link to the Ao3 version of the fic here, it has many more chapters than what I have on tumblr)

#lilacstarvix #my writing #TotK AU #TotK Resurrection AU #Little bit of angst at the start ig #My writing style is hot garbage but I still feel proud for making my brain farts work #apologies to y'all who wanted more Zonai Link AU stuff #but this has occupied my brain for a bit #shoutouts to kiitkatties for letting me autism ramble in dms to create this monstrosity #Rauru #Sonia #rauru x sonia #they r very in love and they will get to the cute fluff stuff if my ass actually gets around to writing more #making incredibly long and specific tags is fun ngl #it is like extra description

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fioreofthemarch · 1 year

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I had a feeling "Rauru was an imperialist" discourse was inevitable and while I haven't put enough thought into it to make coherent arguments for/against, I'm enjoying it purely because I just don't like him

#totk #tears of the kingdom #this is my guy standing up at the town hall meeting painting moment #to be clear rauru is definitely still HOT

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neverchecking · 1 year

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Hi I love you wirk

And I love how you call totk link sage

Also the cold attack boost outfit I love it my favorite The open back and showing his hips 🤤😋 hot

And I love the zonia

And I have a request

Can I request yandere sage x ruyla ( autocorrect Keeps fixing his name) king of the zonia daughter reader

Smut

Like the reader was sent to the future from her dad with out anyone knowing

And tells link to find his daughter who asleep not to far away from his shrine and go to a the time temple top and the zonia worker will show him the way

And they reade is a sweet flower but looks up to Link.

And link falls for her.

And won't let anyone take her even if it mean Baby trapping her please and thank you

And I love you.

At first I was like Raylu???? Then I noticed you mentioned autocorrect and I was like ah- Rauru.

You absolutely can. I love every part of this idea. I feel like a perfect companion to Sage is one that is just such a sunshiney baby.

Anyway, I meant to get this out last night after work, but I got high instead and spent an hour watching the ceiling fan. I also wrote like the weirdest draft ideas and I'm deciding if they're worth fleshing out at all.

(Sage is TotK Link!)

Also smut so MDNI! 18+

Smut CW: Breeding kink, baby trapping, reader is a little naive. Sage. He's a crusty little bastard. (affectionately) Dumbification.

It had many names, the Legend of the Dragon's Daughter. Many of which titled it as either a legend or a story. A myth. Some warned of great dangers surrounding the aura of the spirit the legend told about. Other's told of the pure divinity that this being held in the palm of their hand. The grace and adroitness that lined their very pores was spoken of so fondly by the older generations who had heard the story from their own grandparents, who had heard it from theirs and so on and so forth. The older Zora especially spoke of her in such a tone he found himself lending a little belief to the legend.

The story told of a daughter, blessed to the first King and Queen of Hyrule by the Three Goddesses themselves. A princess bestowed with the gift of beauty and grace, a beacon to the budding kingdom. There were even carvings under Hyrule Castle, hidden by toppled boulders, that portrayed her image.

And he would admit. She looked like a being having been blessed by the heavens above.

The carvings had showed an ugly side to an already bitter story. How this princess, this goddess sculpted muse, was struck down by the Demon King as a means to get back at both King Rauru and Queen Sonia. The carvings from there had been too worn down to get a clear reading, but it was enough to pique his interest. Besides, what else did he have to do? Save a princess who had no issues with leaving him to die? Deal with monsters that the people of Hyrule already knew damn well how to deal with and were no longer scared of them? Traverse the depths and all the lightroots he had already found?

At least this way, he may get some new power out of it. If nothing else, at least he had a good story for Traysi.

His first area to investigate was the sky island he woke up on. He could still spot Rauru's spirit in certain areas, understanding the solemn look he seemed to wear much more than he previously did.

It was also much easier to travel around the island this time around, which was a bonus.

When prodded for answers, something complicated flashed over the spirit's face before it settled into a Grim acceptance. One Link had worn too often right after remembering the untimely demise of the Champions.

"She was gravely injured. My precious sunshine. I almost lost her that day." He had spoken in a grave echo, eyes glazed and far off, as if seeing his daughter right in front of him. "My sister, Mineru, had offered her services in an effort to preserve her soul. I am unsure if it had worked. I haven't had the heart to look. I would be such a disappointment to her fiery heart and iron strong will to shine in the brightest ways possible. She was kept in the Temple of Time if you are at all curious."

He was. He was curious. He wanted to see this being for himself. If Rauru spoke so highly of you, it had to be worth it. And it was either this or go save Zelda, and he figured she was fine doing what she currently was for a little while longer.

At least until he looked further into this.

Walking into the temple, he hummed to himself as he looked around, spotting the blue glow of Rauru near a wall closer to the exit. He nodded solemnly when Link approached. The hand that matched his own raised to the wall, pulling forth one of those green symbols that chimed at his hand. The bricks shuffled and moved while Rauru faded out, leaving an unactive construct in front of him. It rattled to life, chirping up at him before recognizing that he was friend and not foe. The Construct explained that he was designed to protect the chasm the Princess was being kept in, but since Rauru had deemed him worthy, he would escort the blond to the place. It wasn't a long journey, not at all, just down a spiraling staircase with stone walls curtained by moss.

But the moment he laid eyes on you, he understood why you were hidden.

You face was lax in such a peaceful expression as your body remained weightless, suspended in a bubble of seafoam green and ocean blue. Your hair was splaying up behind you as if you were underwater with your hands clasped around a hilt of a sword. Even the sword itself was divinity in a blade, glowing a bright white from it's place in front of you. You were clad in white robes trimmed in cold with a stone necklace laced around your delicate neck, those same white earrings hanging from your ears.

You were...ethereal. From the curve of your jawbone to the plump flesh of your cheeks, he was enthralled by your very essence. The curve of your shoulders and the toned flow of your arms, even the dip in your collarbone-- all of it had his eyes trailing every bend and curve of your body.

What he wouldn't do to get a piece of you.

He ached to just touch your sun-kissed skin, to feel it under his palms as he held you. To feel the run of your hips, fingers gripping at the dips that decorated them. To paint them a splattering of blues and purples in a lasting reminder of who he was and what he had done to you. To bite and nibble at the flesh just to hear the kind of cries you would make.

Goddess, he couldn't imagine what your voice sounded like, but he wanted to. He wanted to hear what it sounded like while you breathlessly gasped out. To hear what it sounded like when you cried out his name in pure ecstasy as you withered underneath of him. To hear you give yourself to him entirely.

He wanted to feel your weight on top of him, to experience your hands in his hair (Or cupping his cheeks if he chose to allow himself that vulnerability), to live in your orbit, worshipping you as his one true Goddess.

His eyes landed on the same green symbol that unlocked everything pertaining to the Zonai. He raised his hand in response. It lit up a bright green before fading. The bubble shined brightly before growing, eventually popping and exposing you to the elements. Which why? You were so vulnerable like that? Why not just give you to him directly? You were at risk like this. Couldn't they SEE THAT-

Whatever invisible force keeping you suspended gently laid you on your feet, which were bare, only adorned with an anklet matching your necklace. The tip of the sword in your hand clinked against the stone floor. The echo of it made your eyes, your gorgeous, gorgeous eyes, snap open. If he thought seeing you before was captivating, this was downright...enchanting. The light of your irises positively glowed as your silently gasped, hands tightening around the hilt of the weapon. He rushed to your side as he saw your balance falter, cradling you in his arms as one of your hands came to gently hold your own temple. Even just the sound of your groan made him swallow hard, fighting the blood threatening to rush to his (dick-) cheeks.

You blinked before realizing that he was not someone you knew, pushing him away with much more force than he would expect from someone fresh out of a comatose state. The only thing stopping him from wrapping his arms around you once more was the tip of the very blade now prodding at his neck. He swallowed.

"Who are you?" You demanded, hold on the weapon shaking just a tad.

(Which was so adorable. How someone like you, all soft skin and doe eyes, expected to make someone like him, rugged scars and gnarled morals, bend to you was beyond him.)

(But he'd love to see you try anyway.)

"Where are my people?! Or Queen Sonia and King Rauru?!" Oh, you were so cute.

He wanted to decimate that innocence you carried.

With a careful hand, he gently pushed the blade aside with the back of a hand, letting a smug smirk settle on his lips. Your cheeks immediately reddened as your attention remained on him. Just as he liked it, he decided then and there. He liked having your attention (and only yours) on him. But having you acting so hostile towards him just wouldn't stand. But you didn't know any better, not yet anyway, so he'd let it slide.

He gently explained that you had been fatally wounded protecting your people, something that your parents were endlessly proud of you for-- even in death. While it was a direct shot in his, admittedly lacking, heart to be the one to tell you of the passed time and the death of your parents (The sacrifice of your father and the betrayal that lead to your mother's death), he was evidently the best and only option. He understood, on an intimate level, what it was like to loose so much time, healing yourself, while the rest of the world carried on, carrying the loss of friends and family with it. He knew what it was like. It had to be why you two were so perfect for each other.

He held you as your cried, soothing down your hair as your tears (Which should never have been shed) soaked his shoulder. While he was never interested in defeating the Demon King for Zelda's sake, he may have just found another motive.

One much more worthy of his time and attention.

<><><><>

When he first saw you, he understood why you were hidden, on a surface level.

He understood why much more on a deeper, more intimate one now.

You were so bubbly. Even when faced with the devastation of your home, you remained optimistic, greeting the constructs that roamed around happily. Bestowing your cherished kisses (Those should belong to him.) upon their cold exterior while wiping them free of dirt. Even the wildlife that had squawked and charged at him crooned and chirped under your touch, hankering for the scratches you gifted them under the chin. You saw beauty in the overrun weeds and fauna, taking great interest in the new species that had popped up.

When he took to the mainland, via shrine travel because he would be damned before you got down the same way he originally did, it seemed like you couldn't see everything fast enough. You loved exploring the caves, despite the Like-Likes baring their disgusting teeth and innards (Which he quickly disposed of), ached to get as close as possible to the chasms (Which wasn't very as he refused to risk you falling in), yearned to traverse the mountain peaks and snow dunes of the mainland (Which killed him on the inside since didn't you know how dangerous those were?!).

You were quite the adventurer, full of inexperienced naivety and unpoised curiosity. The exact opposite of the princess he knew. He forgot you were royalty have the time with your mannerisms, nothing like Zelda. Which was so refreshing.

If only you weren't so fragile. He would never admit it (Too your face at least) that he's thought of just tying you down and keeping you in his (He saw it as your shared home these days) home. It was on the far outskirts of Tarrey town (Far enough no one would hear your cries for help should it come to that) with a pasture out front so you could keep a horse nearby as a friend (Should you behave).

(It wouldn't be a young, steady horse. No, most likely an older horse who had long since retired from any sort of running or getaway attempts.)

He just needed a way to keep you stationary.

And it hit him like a Hinox. You two were walking around Hateno (It was deemed safe and far enough from Tarry Town that it was still new to you), when you stopped, let out a high enough squeal his ears pinned to his head as his head snapped towards you. You were always in his peripheral, but now you were right in front of him with his hands quickly holding your arms, checking you over for injury. There were none, but you were beaming like someone had handed you a million rupees (He would. He could. He'd do it just for you), instead redirecting his attention with a call of 'Link, look!'. He had followed your line of sight just as you began squeezing his own hands, expecting you to be aweing over a cow or goat or, Goddess forbid, a dog again (You very nearly took one of stable dogs home last time). But you weren't.

And that's when it hit him.

You were loosing any semblance of a mind you had over a small infant, strapped to their mother's back by a wrap of some sort. The babe smiled at your reaction, letting out a small cascade of giggles that had you squealing in pure joy.

That was it.

The answer was right there! How could he have been so blind?! It was right there. If he gave you a baby, his baby no less, you would have no choice but to remain dormant. You would have to stay right where he put you to not only protect yourself, but to your protect your child. He had no doubt you would do it. You were too kind, too naive, for any other option. Once you figured out you were carrying his child, you'd fall for thing, claiming it as your own before it was any bigger than an apple seed.

And from then on it would just be a matter of formalities. You'd be his for the rest of your lives.

Exactly what he wanted.

Exactly what had led up to this moment. You were nothing but a babbling, crying mess underneath of him, pulling at the roots of his hair as he folded your legs against your chest. You were pleading with him, some mindless demand that he wasn't even sure you knew what you were asking, but it was background noise. He was too focused on watching the way he disappearing into your cunt, a milky sheen coating the shaft of his cock as heavy dollops of past loads dripped past your gaping opening. It was mesmerizing the way your body reacted to him, sucking him in and fighting him every time he pulled out. Even on an unconscious level, you ached for him. Not nearly as much as he breathed for you, but that would come with time. He knew it would. He'd ensure it.

The cry of his name on your lips had the coil in his gut steadily tightening as his pace picked up, thoroughly hammering your insides. He needed to make sure he was prodded right against your cervix for this to work. He needed to get this right. He needed to father any and all of your children. Starting here and now.

Whether you knew about it or not.

You had babbled something about him pulling out too long ago, but he had...distracted you with long laps at your clit and soft nipples along your thighs. He didn't even think of truly ruining you until you were clenching your thighs around his head and drenching his bottom jaw, too gone to properly process anything going on around you.

And he'd keep it that way.

His thumb, rough and calloused, rubbed harsh little circles into your clit, feeling it pulse in time with his ministrations. You whimpered beneath him, chest arching up to push against his own as you cried out, squeezing around him. You were positively milking him for every drop he had to offer.

There was no way you didn't want his children. Not with the way you were clenching around him as he jutted as far as he could go, filling your womb once more. You laid boneless beneath him, hands dropping to hang around his neck as he took a moment to breath. Your cunt spasmed once more and his cock twitched inside of you.

"You're not done yet, are you, Princess?" He purred into your ear, making it flicker as he rolled his hips against yours, even if overstimulation rocked his entire system in a flash of shot nerves.

None of that mattered to him. He had a mission. A mission he would do anything to accomplish.

Anything to keep you as his.

Yes, the reader was holding the Light Sword. Yes, I know that's not how you get it. I just thought it would be a cool tidbit bc YES, Sage seems like the type to get turned on by a hot princess threatening with a sword.

#linked universe #linked universe x reader #yandere linked universe #yandere linked universe x reader #linkeduniverse #yandere legend of zelda #legend of zelda #loz #link x reader #cindersins #yandere sage #yandere sage x reader #yandere lu sage #yandere lu sage x reader #lu sage #sage is totk link

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bloobluebloo · 27 days

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You know what is also very disappointing? I have spoken about how, when at the beginning of the game Ganondorf calls Link and Zelda by their names, instilling in you this excitement that he knows them because he has faced past Links and Zelda only to learn the unfortunate truth. However, the cherry on top has to be how Ganondorf goes “Rauru placed his faith in you and that was all you could do?” For an older LoZ fan, someone who knows all the established lore, this would immediately establish the connection between Ganondorf and Calamity Ganon, the latter being referred to as the manifestation of hatred that originated from OoT Ganondorf, thinking that Rauru, the one who protected the Hero of Time and placed his faith in him, that was the Rauru being spoken about, that was something Ganondorf still recalled and bore hatred for.

Then you find out that Rauru has a hot fursona that doesn’t have any connection to the old man :/

#ANYWAYS #ganonthots

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ganondoodle · 9 months

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as i was awake in the middle of the night for like 2 hours bc i felt sick i had more somewhat random totk thoughts

one being that i really hate how raurus response to concerned zelda is, after sonia died in that almost funny how little impactful it was way, "im sure you are here for a reason" (actually, i hate how often this sentence is used in general to .. idk i guess its supposed to be inspiritational???)

bc what does that mean actually? him saying that to someone who got there absolutely by accident really just sounds like "i dont care go figure it out yourself bc i dont want to think about anything concerning you or your troubles lol" i guess its meant to sound like OOOOH fate has BROUGHT you here bc you have to furfill a role you dont know yet (spoiler its being a sacrifice girl with no personality) and besides me hating the 'inescapable fate' trope in general (at least the way its usually done in these games, which is not to struggle against it but willingly accept whatever you are told and pretend thats good) its really jsut goddamn boring and is really only an excuse to well .. ignore her and her trouble; shouldnt you, if you were actually such a cool guy like the game wants me to believe so bad, do everything in your power to get zelda back to her own world before shes pulled even further into the war you caused now that her only ""mentor"" that could help her get more use of her pretty much useless sudden powers is gone too?? i know shes basically dead wife sonia replacement (can of worms ugh) but it still grinds my gears whenever i think of that cutscene, bc i cant help but hear it as the lamest excuse in existence to not care about her and just kinda .. see what happens which in this case means leave zelda completely on her her own since both rauru and mineru die as well (honestly shouldnt rauru have thought about like .. any plan to defeat gan besides dying himself, given hes the oh so cool and goodest guy king whos only mistake was not stabbing gan the second he stepped into their kathedral castle thing, like even if you had a plan it can still fail but it seemed like he just kinda went in with a handful of people that didnt seem to know each other at all, never got names or faces -or unique voices for that matter- to fight gan face to face inlcuding the girl that came from a different time and had nothing to do with any of this conflict and couldnt even really control her sudden new powers just seems pretty stupid)

thought 2

how totk really feels like botw but for the people who didnt like shiekah tech, its not a sequel, its botw again, but version of only sonau, its like a pokemon game that had two versions but one has weirdly incoherent story and acts like the other never existed jsut as a whole its like retreading the same points but worse, all shiekah tech that was so integral to the world and had such a long history just vanishing and no one caring about any of it like it never happened, HELL the titans were called divine beasts in english but i guess they werent divine or important enough to keep around LOL champions WHO and isntead a never before seen or even heard of race for that matter showing up and planting their ass in every place the shiekah were before, dare i say it feels weirdly manipulative, like either them or some outside force erasing every fact about the ancient shiekah and replace them with sonau stuff bc they are the hot new shit now

this is a point that just doesnt stop bothering me, how the shiekah tech seemed so carefully designed and integrated into botws world and story, its a difficult to keep balance after all, integrating high tech stuff into a medieval setting, but they made it work! and then totk comes around and throws a bunch modern day tech into it puts some vague greenish stone filter on its exterior and call that even better more ancient tech; why did they even bother to make pottery inspired laser shooting spider legged robots so well integrated when they throw a car and rockets into the next game without a thought and call it a day, what was the fucking point

it feels like someone was dead set on having a set of legos thrown into the game it had no place in, if you want players to build whatever they want make a building game instead!! especially if you are just gonna throw it in with seemingly no consideration how out of place it feels togehter with the fACT THAT YOU ALREADY HAD AND ANCIENT HIGH TECH CIVILIZATION WITH A VERY DISTINCT AESTHETIC THAT WAS ALREADY WELL INTEGRATED INTO THE WORLD YOU ARE PLANNING TO REUSE WITH ALOT OF MYSTERY AND UNKOWN STUFF ABOUT THEM TO EXPLORE FURTHER YOU COULD HAVE USED!! but i guess they just "didnt want to play with you anymore" and that so much so that they went out of their way to erase every trace of it, i dont think the words shiekah tech are ever used in the game, and the purah pad and her towers just drive me more isnane bc they are the same shit but called different and also much worse, liek the purah pad isnt some more developed shiekah stone, no its a glorified camera with a teleport function and thats it

(i know i said this before but i really cant stand how obsessed every single NPC is with sonau shit, you get told to your face every second line of dialog that they are so cool and are so mysterious that it just makes me annoyed of them even more, the game is obsessed with shoving them everywhere and telling you over and over you too should obsess over them, they werent weird like that about the shiekah stuff in botw?? the biggesst talking point in botw was calamity ganon ..... which makes sense and in totk its like ... gan is mentioned what, in a newspaper article??? once???and then not even by name i think???)

aside from that big point which will never let me go, its also just .. its not moving forward anything, it actively walks BACK the progress that was made in botw, call me dumb but i dont really count moving one step up in the social roles of each race as a character development (for the side characters like the champions desc- ahem SAGES) but mainly zelda ... god how dirty she was done, totk pretty explicitely makes her regress any development she made in botw aside from she likes link uwu and some people like her too, but also not enough to notice that that weird zelda being all evil and weird isnt her (INLCUDING THE CHAMP- SAGES WHO YOU ARE SUPPOSEDLY FRIENDS WITH??? you dont have to be a genius to pick up on that my god, were you all given the mc dumbo potion or what)

she gets put back to square one, back into the little itty bitty princessy maiden role forced upon her by her royal parentage, this time rauru edition, back into a white little dress, back into the scared puppy eyed teenager, back into a situation she cant handle, back into losing everyone around her (tho honestly botw made me care more about rhoam than totk did about rauru), back into being forced to do a big sacrifice- but worse actually

in botw she went to FIGHT AND HOLD GANON IN THE CASTLE SO LINK HAD TIME TO RECOVER AND IT WOULDNT DESTROY THE LAND!! and you are telling me in totk rauru takes up her botw role and she bascially killed herself to ... restore the mastersword.

......... she ... she did that only to be a glorified version of the stone pedestal in the forest. and then she gets returned to normal itty bitty girly no problem via magic sparkle beam at the end and

DOESNT

EVEN

REMEMBER.

it really is just botw but worse, you even get yet another ghost king of hyrule to guide you around (rhoam did it better fight me ... we dont talk about the questionable choice to make himself darker skinned when posing as just some guy)

i honestly dont think i was ever truly taken aback by anythign that happened in botw, while in totk, the further i played, the more i had to fight with myself to keep the feeling of unease, disappointment and betrayal down

its such a god damn shame, totk should have stayed a DLC, i will forever mournfully dream of a game that explores more of the ancient shiekah, doesnt erase integral parts of the world, developes characters more instead of making them regress back and make them end up even less developed than at the start of the game, dives into buried secrets and mistakes of dark pages of history without giving into a weirldy nationalist(imperalisitc?) narrative and lets characters have some agency for once

if it werent for the yiga i might have actually considered refunding the game, just to be at peace with myself

anyway, aboslutely incoherent word vomit.

#ganondoodles talks #zelda #totk #ganondoodles rants #old man yells at cloud #i know im repeating myself in alot of points #but some things just wont stop rotating in my head #ngl i felt like nintendy was trying to gaslight me in totk #what noooo the shrine of life was ALWAYS just a barren cave with a puddle of water in it #noooo dumsda (hundson) NEVER had a funny quirk of how he talks #nooooo purah NEVER cared about shiekah tech or that stone she used to have in her lab in hateno #noooooo robelo NEVER cared about the shiekah oven he named cherry #nooooo yuno was never not dumb like a rock and ridiculed by the narrative worse than koga #noooo yuno never had inheretited an ability unique to daruk #nooooooo zelda never had any character besides like white dress waifu #nooooooo the dekutree never actually played a central role #nooooo there never was any shikeah tech #noooooo there never were any champions we were actualyl friends with #why is this series so damn allergic to moving the world or characters forward #you literalyl showed us that zelda companion is doable #you made 5 fram rate killing ghosts that are more useless than useful in any fight but noooo cant do zelda #she gotta be the little maiden uwu #you could have shown us the past without sendign zelda back #you could have revealed the sonau without erasing the shiekah #you had such a good setup from botw #and isntead chose to focus 3 years on being able to glue a stick to a stick in a game that isnt about glue or building

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ganonfan1995 · 7 months

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Okay talking about ToTK for a hot second, THEN I gotta do some work.

The woes of WFH means I'm compelled to post at all hours of the day, and sometimes I need to indulge!!!

Personally speaking, I really loved the little details and snippets you get throughout the game, detailing Rauru and Sonia's relationship. I particularly found it interesting that they founded Hyrule, in part, through the combined effort to protect its people from monsters, long before Ganondorf rose to his position as the demon king.

I was hoping the game would elaborate on this; there was so much subtext in the depths that would insinuate that the Zonai, in their pursuit of Zonaite, opened the original chasms to hell, allowing the spirits from below to manifest above. I love that, especially with the little tidbits from the Spirit Temple and the bargainer statues; I got a very dark image of who the Zonai were and what their goals were...But subtext remained subtext, and nothing was set in stone.

I have so many lingering questions, like...What is Zonaite? Why does it grow back, and why does it only form in the depths, the place where the dead seem to roam aimlessly? What was the design intention of making Zonaite visually connect to luminous stone? Was the original myth of souls being contained in luminous an originating myth from Zonaite....ARE THERE HUMAN SOULS IN THE ZONAITE?? ARE THERE MONSTER SOULS IN THE ZONAITE?? WHY DOES THE ZONAITE ENERGY VISUALLY LOOK THE EXACT SAME AS THE SPIRITS!!! NINTENDO....PLEASE I BEG YOU!!!

WHY DID THEY BLIND THE DEITY OF THE DEPTHS AND WHY IS IT ONE IN THE SAME WITH THE HYLIA STATUES......

I'm done yelling, but you get the point.

Even if their intentions for the establishment of the kingdom were good, which I have no doubt about — Rauru is a bit of an ignorant man, but he doesn't have a greedy heart, nor is his goal one of dominance over the land. The fact remains that I still feel, in part, guilt is what drives him to see himself suited to the position of king.

From the minute you meet him and he donates his arm to Link, to the last minute you see him, sacrificing himself to seal Ganondorf away until the present. There's a guilt that runs so deeply through him as a character, that is never elaborated on.

I guess you could argue that his guilt stems from his inability to protect Sonia, the land, etc...But I feel like that guilt is older.

I feel like that guilt stems from his personal guilt he gained from his people. His shame, his embarrassment. He and his sister remain as the last standing Zonai, and we never learn why...Only that he, and his wife, a former priestess, formed a union to establish a kingdom, under the insurance that a long standing protection would be in place to safe guard it's people from monsters.

Monsters that only appeared after the chasms were opened.

Chasms which were opened to mine Zonaite.

An energy source only used to power Zonai technology.

And there was no B plot. There was no explanation. There was only that, and a game mechanic...

I've gotten to the point that I've just sort of let this be just that: a game mechanic. They only needed some shallow lore to tie in the building mechanic in to the game so we could build cars, whatever...

But it felt so unsatisfying as someone who is genuinely interested in the lore.

On the surface the game probably hit really hard to people who were more invested in Zelda and Link's relationship to one another post botw, and to their friends and The Kingdom TM...But I'm left here blinking in disbelief that they literally laid down some insane ideas only to have it tossed by the wayside.

I want context, I want history! Nintendo.....please!!! I'm begging!

Also I think they should have let Josha cook.

#not also to mention the foreshadowing and connection between the sheikah and the zonai throughout this game and the last #but like didn't touch on it at all #josha should have been the sage of spirit btw #should have taken her down there to the spirit temple and like awoken her and all that #missed opportunity tbh #tell me whyyyyy #ganonfan posts

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multi-fandom-imagine · 11 months

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“it’s absolutely sweltering, how can you still want to cuddle?!"

Rauru. Furry man is bewildered by s/o still wanting cuddles

A/n: That’s so adorable 🥹.

Prompts used:

“it’s absolutely sweltering, how can you still want to cuddle?!"

Want one? Prompts here & here

It was a particularly hot summer, the type where the only thing seeming to stifle the heat was a dip in the lakes, which was why Rauru was bewildered to your statement. Your eyes looking up at him, wide with a pout on your lips.

“Pardon?”

“I just want some cuddles Rauru! Don’t you want to give me cuddles?” You asked, you didn’t care how hot it was you just wanted to nuzzle into his soft fur, you loved falling asleep on him.

Letting out a snort, Rauru tipped his head to the side as he stepped closer you, dwarfing your smaller frame.

“it’s absolutely sweltering, how can you still want to cuddle?!" He held down amusement to his voice but he was still confused by the matter.

Huffing, you pressed your face into his chest enjoying the sound of his heart beat, already soothing you.

Sighing softly he gave you a small smile as he wrapped his arms around your frame pulling you in close. “Let’s find a cool place, and I will give you all the cuddles you like.”

Beaming, you nuzzled into his chest as he lifted you with ease. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you love.”

#drabbles #drabble #rauru #king rauru #rauru x reader #totk rauru #botw rauru #rauru x you #tears of the kingdom rauru #tears of the kingdom #tears of the kingdom x reader #reader insert

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thecluelessdoctor · 9 months

Text

It's rambling time

*CRAWLS OUTTA WELL WITH A COMEDICALLY LARGE BACKPACK FULL OF NOTES*

I love totk. Don't get me wrong. I love it. But HOLY HELL TO I WANNA STRANGLE WHO EVER THOUGHT 'HEY MAN LETS GET RID OF ALL THE SHEIKAH TECH OTHER THAN LIKE- TWO GUARDIANS' LIKE EXSQUEEZE ME?? MY BABIESSSS/HJ

But on a serious note, I hate the fact how not only Zelda's character development go backwards, it forced a very black and white view on Hyrule. Rauru and kingdom of Hyrule good, Ganondorf bad. Like. What??? EXSQUEEZE ME.

Okz sure, Ganondorf did murder Sonia and steal a secret stone, and attack Hyrule, but like. Let's just- also note this. If the gerudo have a similar story to the sheikah, the kingdom of Hyrule, aka Rauru forced their hand into surrender.

Though I do like the 'keep your loved ones close and your enemies closer' trope (waiting for the ship art/j)

Let me note here, I am rather young, and Botw is what introduced me into LOZ. So. I still have a lot to learn. Anyway! On ward! (Also warning spoilers for TOTK jsndhdbdbdbd)

*sits down on a grassy patch, unpacking bag*

So!! Oh brother where to I start. Let's start with Zelda first because oh my hylia does it hurt.

Ok.

So, Zelda finds out about Zonai and the thing under Hyrule castle, it's understandable that she would be curious! It was established that she was a curious person.

Anyway, she gets yeeted into the past with a TIME power?!? WHAT. I mean it would explain why it took so long for her light power to wake the fuck up, but still?? It feels so random and forced.

Also in BOTW she spends one HUNDRED years keeping a calamity from destroying hyrule, and now suddenly she can't do jack in TOTK?!? EXSQUEEZE ME. WHAT. SHE MAKES A DAGGER GO BACK IN TIME. wOw- link mastered the power in a day- (I'm sorry but I have so many link rambles)

I just MY BRAIN HURTS. also I just- what the fuck happened to the sheikah?!

Yeah we are talking about this now. Like- fuckers are forgotten by EVERYONE- what happened to the shrines?! OR THE GIANT ASS DIVINE BEASTS LIKE WHERE ARE YOU RUDANA- *SOBS* Oh yeah and let's not forget the fact the champions have been forgotten basically. And Sidon moved the statue of his dead sister to make a statue of link riding him. Don't take that out of context. Also how the fuck did they get rid of the lynel up the mountain like?! Even if link killed it for them it would come back every time- endless building there made it so it couldn't come back there-??? Didn't know monsters had manners. I just- UGH.

Ah yes back to the sheikah tech. Everyone, even the sheikah have forgotten it like bruh. Even if it was like- 8 years since BOTW still- they couldn't have suddenly found everything and got rid of the shrines???

Like- the yiga clan (yes fucks I am talking about them) the yiga clan giving up learning about the sheikah for the Zonai makes sense- because the yiga clan has the depth now- and, they didn't have as much *known* access to sheikah tech. But like- PURAH FOR EXAMPLE- WHY WOULD SHE FORGET ABOUT THE TECH SKDNDJHR- IDC HOW HOT YOU ARE IM MAD AT YOU FOR THAT!

Oh and *SIGHS* lemme talk about the sages. No no, not the ones WE know now, I mean the ones of past. I hate them. The only one I like is the one of the gorons because of that one line he says

Me too buddy, me too/j

Anyway.

I wanna fucking murder these sages. Do they all share the same brain cell??? Other than you Mineru I like you.

Wait hold on that's meme potential. SOMEONE DRAW THE SAGES HAVING THE SAME BRAINCELL/HJ

But I just

I hate them.

So much.

Now let me talk about the best characters in TOTK. Besides kogha.

Farosh, Dinraal, and Naydra.

Dear golly I love these dragons. I vibe with them.

Now it's time for my personal favorite topic

THE YIGA CLAN

I love them. And. Yeah

Though I'm very sad about the missed potential for them. Also is it just me or is almost every yiga a dude..

Idk what to say. Just. I love them. And. Kogha better come back or I will cry/J he always comes back-(I'm sorry)

And the last topic of the evening

Link.

I have

Thoughts

Uhm

Ok less about link I love him but like the fact he's so chill about the fact he doesn't have a arm and now has the arm of a furry might say smt.

But at least in BOTW impa is like 'hey you sure your ready to take on what's next and save hyrule' but now it's like 'fucker go do this this and this and go look at the funny ass paintings on the ground' like. Damn ok. ;-;

I can't tell you how much I stalled playing totk. I had such a hard time finishing regional phenomenon. It just- wasn't fun. I knew what to expect, and what was going to happen. So. Yeah.

But I did really like Rito Village. And gorons town. They basically got addicted to drugs and I am ALL FOR IT (not drugs. Don't do drugs) but the Zora's felt... Boring. I mean they felt boring in botw but it got worse. Personally I thought the gerudo were the most boring in botw which is saying something because I got to sneak through the yiga hide out and Rob Kogha. But the zora felt- basic like. Yeah. At least everything else caused you damage or made things harder- the shroud made navigation hard, snow caused damage, the meat roast made conversion harder

But the zora? The sludge just- made you slower??? Idk man.

And omg. Do Sidon and yona make me mad. YEAH, HATE ME FOR IT SIDON FANS!! like people hate yona bc she's engaged to sidon. Personally I dislike them both. Like- Sidon lost the spark that made him- him! And yona- yona is just annoying. Like fuck off mipha copy.

And oh my hylia the MUCKDROCK- I hate it. No. No I loath it. Like what the fuck are you your fucking shrimp.

And it's fight wasn't even that hard. It was just annoying. Like- colagara in my opinion was the easiest, but it was super fun. But the muchdrock? He sucked.

Also btw- before the wrap up, has anyone found the smoldering coliseum and got zants helm??? Just me? Ok :') apparently it's the ice verison of the thunder helm. Now I think there is a fire one.. hmMmmm

Anyway! That wraps up the ramble!

#totk #tears of the kingdom #link #legend of zelda #zelink #totk link #zelda #loz totk #zelda totk #totk spoilers #botw link #loz botw #zelda botw #botw totk #the legend of zelda #botw #tloz #dotty rambles

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jack-shadow · 2 months

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Wait a second how did the sages get to hyrule castle in totk? Tulin can fly sure, and sidon can swim up waterfalls and maybe carry riju on his back, but Yunobo? Did he get launched out of Skyview tower with a massive paraglider? Or maybe he used some sheika warp tech, even though there is no warp point in hyrule castle. Aslo sidon would still have to climb some of the way with riju on his back if he did go up the waterfalls.

And how did they get below hyrule castle safely in the Finale, once again tulin can fly, and maybe Gorons have shown ability to survive crazy falls and even being launched out of a cannon, but there's no water for riju and sidon, they might have gotten fries to revive them after they fell but as far as I'm aware you can only get those on sky islands which gives us a whole other problem

Bigger question, how did they get out?! I even doubt tulins ability to fly out of there let alone all the other crazy heights he has to fly up just to get close to the surface. The others are just screwed, maybe they all had purah pads and went to Skyview tower, which seems like the only possible explanation.

And one final question, how did everyone get to the great sky island in the bonus cutscene, at first I was going to say link built a flying machine and flew them up there, but Link no longer has Rauru's arm or access to ultra hand, I guess he could have warped them up there since he dies have warp points which purah could figure out how to extend to everyone else. And as I'm writing this I just remembered that we see Npcs use hot air balloons multiple times, and they could have just used those..... I way overthought this

#To be fair it was a valid question #Or couple of questions #Totk #Zelda totk #loz totk #tears of the kindgom #zelda tears of the kingdom #Legend of Zelda #prince sidon #riju #Totk riju #Totk sidon #totk tulin #Tulin #yunobo #Zelda yunobo

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iturbide · 11 months

Note

*reads tags on the last post*

...ok but now I'm actually curious about your issues with TOTK👀

okay so to be per, fectly clear: Tears of the Kingdom is a really fun game. I've been playing a lot of it, aimlessly wandering around, exploring the Depths, finding shrines, doing side quests, and so on. At this point I've cleared the four regional quests, a bonus mainline quest I wasn't supposed to know about yet I found the shrine early and had enough hearts to open the door, what can I say, I'm curious, I have the Master Sword, and I think most of what's left is armor upgrades and wrapping up the main story.

But also I have been spoiled since the game came out about what's in store and boy do I see a lot of similar narrative issues to my gripes with Fire Emblem.

So we might as well start off small with how TotK actively rewrites its history in ways that are even more extreme than Skyward Sword. Skyward Sword introduced Hylia and Demise as concepts, with Hylia inheriting the Triforce from the Golden Goddesses of Din, Nayru, and Farore and tasked with protecting it, while Demise appeared as a demonic entity intent on taking that power for himself. As of Skyward Sword, Zelda was written as the mortal reincarnation of Hylia, thereby retroactively contextualizing her powers. The Triforce has been a power source sought after and fought over through every prior entry in the series, and even though BotW didn't make outright reference to it, the Triforce was clearly present on Zelda's hand when her powers awakened and appeared in full when she sealed Calamity Ganon at the end of the game.

And Tears of the Kingdom does away with it completely.

Hylia is mentioned as the only goddess. The Golden Goddesses aren't referred to at all. There is no Triforce at all, it's instead been replaced by the Zonai 'Secret Stones' even in the ancient past, despite the fact that we saw the Triforce at the end of the last game. It was right there. Zelda is also no longer the reincarnation of the goddess: instead her powers are re-explained as being the product of the historic marriage between the Zonai Sage of Light and the Hylian Sage of Time, giving her command over both (but she's considered only the Sage of Time for some reason?).

Also, BotW pretty heavily implied that Hyrule was a matriarchy: it's the queens and princesses who have the sacred power, so it stands to reason that Zelda's mother was actually the one in charge of Hyrule before her death, and the king only stepped into the leadership role on a temporary basis until Zelda came into her powers (hence that pointed "heir to a throne of nothing but failure" remark in one of the memories). But despite there being a Hylian queen right there in the ancient past, the game firmly establishes that Rauru is the one with the power, and Sonia is just his consort, a priestess who he chose to marry.

And then there's the Shiekah. Throughout all of BotW we were surrounded by these amazing machines, ancient technology crafted by the Shiekah and unearthed in working condition after a myriad in the ground which are still running and wreaking havoc a hundred years after the Calamity. We start the game in a Shiekah Shrine that literally saved Link's life and allowed him to recover from what should have been fatal wounds, though it did take a hundred years to do so.

And all of that is gone in TotK. Not a trace of it remains: the shrines have all been wiped from the face of the earth, the Divine Beasts are nowhere to be found, the Shiekah Towers have evaporated into thin air -- and the shrine that saved our lives is completely gone, replaced by a hot spring. It still bears the name of the Shrine of Awakening, but none of the miraculous technology remains.

Personally, the idea that either Purah or Zelda would consider the Skyview Towers worthy of dismantling that Shrine completely shatters my suspension of disbelief. They're both scientists: they should want to study all of that in detail to understand how it works, not destroy it for glitchy impersonations of the old towers I hate the Skyview Tower miniquests so much.

(Let me tell you, it was absolutely chilling for me to get to Rito Village and see an empty place where I clearly remembered there being a shrine. The Shiekah presence in history has basically been wiped out in TotK outside of Kakariko Village, and I don't like what that says considering that the Shiekah were also victims of a genocide by the ancient king of Hyrule.)

And then there's the imperialism. I have my issues with Three Houses and every ending needing Fodlan to be united under a single banner, though it's most egregious in CF where Edelgard's stated purpose is returning Fodlan to its proper state unified under the Imperial Standard. TotK is worse. There have been some excellent breakdowns of the narrative implications, touching on everything from the loaded imagery and black-and-white narrative purpose of Ganondorf and the Gerudo (dark-skinned evil desert dwellers who oppose the good and glorious worshipers of the goddess...where have I heard that before...) to the game showing outright that the other races of Hyrule were treated as lesser vassals in the ancient past (the Sages being masked and therefore erasing their individual identities, receiving the Secret Stones that Rauru had been hoarding only when Rauru needed help to fight Ganondorf and thereupon swearing their very lives and the lives of their people to him and his empire???). They're great analyses, they've been living in my brain for weeks.

But I think the thing that I'm most mad about is that the narrative bends over backwards to keep anything from changing. At the start of the game, Link's arm is so badly damaged by the Gloom that he nearly dies and he spends the rest of the game with Rauru's arm in place of his own...but then, in the end, he magically gets his original arm back no worse for the wear. Zelda, in an attempt to empower and restore the Master Sword, turns herself into a dragon, a process that we are told outright in the narrative will cause her to lose herself and is therefore irreversible...but then, in the end, she magically returns to her human form thanks to her ghost ancestors somehow reversing this supposedly irreversible process. And on top of all that, Hyrule itself is exactly the same when all is said and done: there's no change to the power structures, no independence for the other races who choose to come together in the spirit of cooperation like we saw at Tarrey Town -- instead, the four Sages once again swear their support and fealty to the Princess of Hyrule.

Personally? I like a narrative where the characters and the world change over the course of it. That's one of the things that I thought was so meaningful about BotW: while most of the gameplay takes place in the present, the true start of the game is 100 years in the past, allowing us to see how the Calamity affected Hyrule, the devastation it wrought and the continued struggles of those who survived through the century that followed. We end the game with Zelda once more free, where she had been locked in combat with the Calamity; with the spirits of the Champions at peace, where they had been trapped by the Blight within the Divine Beasts; and with Hyrule finally at peace and beginning to recover now that the Calamity has been sealed away. I still think it's ridiculous that they don't actually show any of Link's scars in the game (especially since we are at one point forced to strip to prove that we are who we say we are, and they say point blank I would recognize those scars anywhere when there are no fucking scars), but at least things have changed over the course of the narrative!

But nothing changes in TotK. The status quo remains untouched and unquestioned. And it just feels...bad to me. Insincere, maybe. Unrealistic, sterilized, manufactured. It's a narrative that says there's nothing to question, that everything going back to the way it always was is the right and proper way of things, because clearly the Hyrule Empire is the right and proper rule. And I just don't like that.

#answered #unsuspecting-person #tears of the kingdom #totk spoilers #totk critical #i see a lot of familiar narrative beats in totk #that i have also seen in fire emblem #narrative beats that make me super uncomfortable #and for as fun as the game is to play #there's stuff about this story that really unsettles me #but also: i hate the zonai devices and i hate the building #i didn't even use a damn horse through most of botw #i continue to not use a horse through totk #i walk everywhere on foot and enjoy the scenery #i build only when i have no other choice #it's a pain in the ass and i get no joy out of it #that's very much a me problem though #i have the same issues trying to play minecraft

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avionvadion · 1 year

Text

Gods, I’m sleepy and my head hurts too much for me to be thinking about this, but I’ve been reading peoples’ thoughts on Ganondorf and Rauru, and I’ve rewatched the Show of Fealty memory like five times now.

And it’s- like, it’s super interesting, but also just scratches my brain because,

Here, we see Ganondorf surrounded by a guard of his fellow Gerudo- warriors, citizens, subjects who are still following him.

At this point in time, he is still respected and revered as their king.

Whether or not they are aware of it, Ganondorf bending the knee is merely a show, a facade for the Hyrulean royal family. Granted the Gerudo themselves don’t look necessarily happy to be bending the knee themselves to Hyrule, which is what brings me to the interesting bit.

Ganondorf says here that Rauru has sent him “repeated” invitations.

Meaning that Rauru has tried multiple times to get the land of Gerudo to swear fealty, rather than simply allying with Hyrule.

The Gerudo have been shown through several games to be very independent. Bowing their heads to another nation is not something they are particularly willing to do.

They have plentiful amounts of food to hunt in the Gerudo Highlands as well as to forage (hydromelons are everywhere, so much so that merchants are selling them) in the desert.

Granted, water may or may not be scarce- as I have a firm belief this predates OoT, and the Gerudo town in OoT was much drier in comparison to the Gerudo town in BotW, which has fountains of water running throughout their town- that would potentially make the hot days in the desert highly dangerous.

This coincides pretty well with Ganondorf wanting to obtain the lands of Hyrule, as it would get him and his people out of such a dangerous position. However, Ganondorf is proud- terribly so. To surrender is to admit defeat, and for someone to hold power over him. He was born and raised a king. This does not sit well with him.

Ganondorf would rather wage war than to earnestly pledge fealty to another kingdom.

Which makes this whole conversation/back-and-forth between Ganondorf and Rauru more interesting. They’re both speaking politely, but with venom laced beneath, neither truly trusting one another, viewing the other as a threat that must be dealt with as swiftly as carefully as possible.

Rauru brings up the fact that Ganondorf is a rare being- a male Gerudo, that of which is only lucky enough to be born once every century- and was crowned king because it is Gerudo law.

Rauru says it is reassuring.

This is a very thinly veiled threat. It would be a shame to deprive the Gerudo of something so fortunate. Ganondorf is the first male Gerudo to be born in nearly, if not over, a century, and as such is their first king in years. His birth was seen as a cause to celebrate, as a sign of salvation, and he became a hero to his people as a result.

Rauru is warning Ganondorf here, telling him behind pretty words that though he would not like to do so, he will get rid of Ganondorf if he acts on his greed.

So Ganondorf responds in kind with something even more interesting-

The Zonai came to the earth a very long time ago. So long ago, in fact, that their people have all but died out. Why? What happened? Was there a war? Did they descend to the earth because of a war, and only Mineru and Rauru’s ancestors survived, before dying off too, leaving them on their own?

Furthermore, we know that Rauru is the first king of Hyrule. Before marrying him, Sonia was a priestess of the goddess.

Why did Rauru create the kingdom, when it was most likely functioning fairly well without a monarchy? It’s implied through Sonia that the descendants of the goddess have been acting as priestesses ever since Skyward Sword, and they had no such need of a monarch.

Was it because there was a war that killed the Zonai? Was he attempting to bring the nations under his rule so as to prevent another tragedy? He, too, was clearly seeking power, and decided the way to obtain it was to become king and convince other nations to bend the knee. Sonia seemed to think his thoughts, whatever they might have been, were just, because she agreed to become his queen.

But how does that make him different from Ganondorf?

Ganondorf wanted to protect his people, too, at least at first.

The desert days are scorching hot and the nights are blistering cold. They may have had plentiful sources of food, but without a strong supply of water it wouldn’t be hard for them to suddenly start dying out. Although hydromelons might be able to solve that…? I don’t know.

As I said, I’m sleepy and my head hurts. This Ganondorf is definitely different from OoT and WW Ganondorf, but I’m fully convinced their motivations started out the same. Especially since if that was OoT/WW Ganondorf’s motivation before he became corrupt, then TotK Ganondorf probably grew up in even worse conditions considering the time period being even farther back. So maybe hydromelons weren’t even a thing yet.

Anyways!

I forgot where I was going with this…

Long story short, Rauru and Ganondorf are two sides of the same coin. Both were greedy for power, for rather similar reasons. One was just coded as good and the other as evil.

Rauru is a very flawed ruler, despite his kindness towards the constructs and our Zelda/Link duo, and despite his love for his people. He did all the wrong things for the right reason, whereas Ganondorf also did all the wrong things for the right reason. They wanted to protect their people.

But they got arrogant (which Rauru admits to) and disaster befell the land anyway.

Rauru was just coded as inherently “good” and Ganondorf as inherently “evil” even though the latter wasn’t even villain coded with his design compared to previous iterations of him. This cutscene spoke volumes, I think, for Ganondorf’s motivations and character, and he made a very obvious foil for Rauru.

The writers just did him dirty by deciding to make him evil for the sake of being evil afterwards, as if forgetting this cutscene even existed 🥲

#this got so long but. anyways. I love both Rauru and Ganondorf #Ganondorf deserved better though #totk #tears of the kingdom #tears of the kingdom spoilers #totk spoilers #totk ganondorf #totk rauru

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hylianassassin · 1 year

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A Hot Take on Gerudo Survival Skills

I'm not going to rant and rave about the majority of the discord surrounding Tears of the Kingdom when it comes to Ganondorf vs Hyrule. There are more than enough posts circulating about that out there by plenty of good and intelligent folks, and I've already offered my thoughts on it. I encourage folks to go check those out.

What I'm tired of seeing is the argument that the Gerudo have little to nothing to survive on in the desert. This is one of the most badass and longest enduring tribes in all of Zelda and yet for some odd reason folks seem to insist that they're somehow unable to exploit the incredible amount of resources available to them. I've played desert survival challenges in BotW where I exist solely within the Gerudo area for extended periods of time, and if you know what you're doing its actually quite easy.

Anyone who has spent ample time around the Gerudo region in either of these games knows just how incredibly abundant food is in the Gerudo Highlands. There is a ton of large game up there that is easy to bring down with a single headshot from a Gerudo bow. Gerudo bows are sniper bows and are far from useless. Are we going to argue that these very strong and powerful ladies can't do something as simple as draw one of the bows of their own making, or know how to track prey through the snow? One might argue that we never see a Gerudo in the Highlands or in possession of clothing warm enough to survive up there, but I would counter with the fact that the ice house exists and it's clearly stated that the ice is harvested and brought down from the Highlands. This argument is invalid.

Additionally, the desert itself is abound in fruits and poultry ripe for the harvesting. And obviously it's done to such efficiency that there is an ample enough supply to make a profit in selling these items at market, to both Gerudo and Hylians alike. There is obviously enough surplus of hydro melons that there is a Gerudo NPC that devours them to such excess as to clog up one of the fountains in Gerudo Town.

And while we're on the topic, the Gerudo clearly have an ample enough water supply that they can run fountains constantly, all through their town. So clearly they're not struggling there.

Additionally still, Moldugas exist and are shockingly common. Yes, they're big, powerful and dangerous, but if one little twink with enough bomb arrows can kill one then are you going to tell me that this tribe of intelligent, hearty, and highly trained women cannot organize a Molduga hunt with relative ease?

Various Native American groups were able to thrive on only one or two bison hunts a year. It was dangerous, extremely, but they had it down to a science. You're going to tell me that the Gerudo are incapable of such coordination? Honestly it could even explain and deepen their connection to the sand seals. These lovely creatures can carry a few skilled huntresses through a Molduga's territory to flush it out, and with more than one target the Molduga wouldn't know which one to chase. Throw in archers who are on the rocks or ruins and a Molduga dinner is practically guaranteed. And let's not forget that with typical Moldugas, three blasts from Urbosa's fury is more than enough to bring it down. Given that Riju also possesses lightning magic, and the fact that there is a sage in Rauru's time who also controls lightning, I think we can safely assume that the ability is common enough that it can be relied upon. It wouldn't take anything for the chief to organize a Molduga hunt and ride proudly out there with her sisters to feed the tribe for a good while.

So yes, I'm not saying there aren't issues with Totk's plot or its handling of Ganondorf, but I'm tired of seeing people parrot this idea that the Gerudo are struggling to survive when they're more than capable of doing so. They were doing it long before Ganondorf, and they've done it long after him too. So please, stop using this reasoning to justify Ganondorf outright murdering someone in cold blood just to obtain their Zonai stone. It just doesn't work.

And as a side note, there is clearly a demarcation within the tribe at the time of Totk Ganondorf's reign due to how the Gerudo sage reacts to hearing that he's overcome the last free (yes that's the word they use) Gerudo villages. From what is shown, Ganondorf and his followers are an extremist terrorist group within the tribe.

Again, I'm not saying that there aren't problems with his motivations (and I really hate the greenish skin tone), but he is clearly not doing what he does for the benefit of his tribe. He might think he is, but he isn't. And there are much better arguments that could be made than just, oh the Gerudo are struggling to survive and Hyrule is full and fertile and blah blah blah. And it isn't like Rauru is trying to withhold Hyrule's bounty or otherwise fuck over the Gerudo. It's even stated that he's sent multiple invitations to them to join up with the Hyrulean tribes and share the bounty.

I'm going to repeat myself yet again: stop treating the Gerudo as incompetent and use basic survival and lack of resources to justify what Ganondorf does. It doesn't work.

Side side note: Urbosa's amiibo drops primarily meat. Interpret that as you will. And Ganondorf's legendary cursed grin when he commits said murder? That is not the smile of a sane man.

#tears of the kingdom #totk spoilers #Gerudo #Ganondorf #hot take #rant #that's enough growling out of me for one day #Mun is tired #Ganon

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karama9 · 6 months

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Yeah, still not over some Tears of the Kingdom stuff.

Because the truth is, I have seen things. Villains being turned into the good guys? Heck yes, we all have. It’s so popular that even published media, books and studios, keep doing it. It’s not like it’s new to me.

Any media with a villain is going to have some people decide that villain is actually the better person. I think the fact it’s so guaranteed to happen is part of why Megamind is so appealing: it’s the fanon trope made canon.

And it’s usually accompanied by the idea that the protagonist, or some other good characters, are actually to blame. The villain needed help and they refused or failed to see it! They did bad things too! They did bad things the narrative doesn’t tell you about!

In Tears of the Kingdom, there’s a bit of a shift because there’s a way more convenient character than Link to make guilty of Ganondorf’s crimes: Rauru.

So we have Ganondorf attempting a violent invasion of Hyrule (by Molduga stampede) and faking a pledge of fealty afterward. You got Rauru realizing this dude is bad news but going by the idea of keeping his enemies close instead of declaring war on the spot. You got Ganondorf almost getting the upper hand and Rauru sacrificing himself to stop him.

And that gets turned into everything being Rauru’s fault. He failed to stop Ganondorf earlier! He made a mistake! And hey, who’s to say he hadn’t been trying to conquer the Gerudo for years? Who’s to say Ganondorf wasn’t just attacking in self defence?

The goat guy is guilty, the hot one is not!

And yes it’s nothing new at all. It’s so, so common, in so many fandoms. And also, people can think whatever they want, and write it, and draw it.

It still bothers me. It is so transparently victim blaming. What Rauru supposedly did wrong was failing to stop Ganondorf quickly enough and/or somehow deserving Ganondorf’s hatred.

That’s not unique to TOTK either. I think it just bothers me because it’s in my orbit.

So yeah, people can do what they want with the material forever. But I wish what they wanted was not to excuse the atrocities and blame the victims.

#tears of the kingdom #king rauru #Ganondorf #rant

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bloobluebloo · 1 month

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WIP Meme

Tagged by @rawliverandcigarettes. I am currently working on my wip so seems like a perfect time to share it. Tagging @hot-flippin-mess @saphoblin @ro-blaze @doomed-era and whoever else is working their butt off on a wip. Share please I wanna see 👀 (but of course you don't HAVE to, I am but a nosy internet butt)

This is the first paragraph of a series I have called "Ganondorf is Annoying".

Rauru had gotten into the habit of inviting Ganondorf to the castle gardens for breakfast on a regular enough basis when he was not preoccupied with other matters. It was one of the few moments that he could be alone with the Gerudo chief, allowing him to observe the man without the impediments that came with the Hyrulean court life. He hoped that, being in relative solitude, he could break Ganondorf's stern demeanour, catch a glimpse of the violent man beneath the silent stoicism he often wore, punctuated with knowing smirks and calculated remarks. Yet, Ganondorf seemed as unshakable as ever, picking out three lumps of sugar to drop in his tea before taking a sip of it. The king of Hyrule still made it a point to bring the best that Hyrule had to offer in terms of pastries and fruit to the table, even though Ganondorf never partook in it. At least he wasn’t eating all the sugar lumps anymore, after it became clear that the Gerudo chief had simply been trying to get under his skin… He did still put an excessive amount of sugar in his tea, however. As Rauru sipped on his own tea, ruminating on what he should do to get Ganondorf to drop his calm facade, an idea came to mind. He almost slapped his forehead at how simple it was; how had he not thought of this before?

#what do YOU think Rauru's brilliant idea is?#because Gan is about to troll him so hard #ganonthots #thanks for the tag heheh

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fioreofthemarch · 1 year

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Finding Her - a field log

Link makes notes, takes photos and keeps time on his quest across Hyrule, in the hopes of finding Zelda and staying sane until he does. [ Next | AO3 ]

Booting... Booting... The current date is: 999999–!!! Error: Memory exceeded !!! Please select calendar convention for date calibration.

> New Hylian Calendar

NHC convention selected. Calibrating… The current date is: 104 AC (After Calamity). 5th month, 12th day. This time of year is commonly known in Hylian nomenclature as Spring's End. Save settings?

> Yes

Date confirmed.

* Welcome to the Purah Pad *

The Purah Pad is a state-of-the-art, fully portable adventure-class Sheikah Slate. The Purah Pad can be used to:

View far-away objects using the Scope

Take photographic images

View maps and current location (requires Sky View data)

Teleport instantaneously to travel gates registered to the Purah Pad

Record materials, creatures, monsters, and other objects found in Hyrule

Log activities and requests received from fellow travelers

Take additional field notes, as required

The Purah Pad is currently in development. We are not accepting feedback at this time.

Please direct any complaints to Symin at Hateno Village Research Laboratory.

Log date 09:55. 5th month 12th day 104AC Location: Great Sky Island. Weather: Mild. Clear skies.

Arm hurts, really hurts. In a bad way. Master Sword is damaged, or worse. What the hell happened down there?

It's bright here, gotta be high up in the sky. Were there always islands here?

A green construct-type person (like Guardians but with a face?) had this Purah Pad. Looks in OK condition. Zelda would know more. No sign of her. Apparently she's nearby, in a temple.

Not sure how many logs to make. Normally Zelda’s thing. I’m used to her being here. Used to the sound of her voice. Will just take notes until she’s back. Not sure how, but will find her.

Have to find her.

Log is accompanied by a picture of a Zonai Steward Construct. Its large, see-saw head is angled slightly to the side, as if perplexed.

Caption: He seems friendly.

Log date 12:30. 5th month, 13th day 104 AC Location: Ukouh Shrine Weather: Mild. Partly cloudy.

A lot has happened. Arm still hurts, whole body hurts. Rauru (source of arm) has been helpful. Not sure if he's trustworthy but no choice. Have to find Zelda, no matter what.

There are Shrines here on this sky island - deja vu. Seem older than the Sheikah Shrines though.

This arm and its powers are something else. Made a raft with fans. Put them on the wrong way, fell off the raft. Tried again a few times until it worked. Repeat.

Two more Shrines left, maybe next time Rauru will give me the power to summon a hot meal. Click of the fingers and snap: fried eggs. But probably not.

A photograph of some roasted mushrooms beside a fire, slightly charred, as a Zonai Steward Construct looks on.

Caption: These will do for now.

---

Log date: 16:30. 5th month, 14th day 104 AC Location: In-Isa shrine Weather: Mild. Partly cloudy.

Stopping to catch my breath. Going to sit by this Shrine a while.

Got this Fuse ability. Feels good to have a sword even if it's made from a tree branch and bits of dead robot.

Sword arm is not what it used to be. Reflexes slower too. Can feel the gloom under my skin. Fought a Captain Construct, got hit one too many times. Some bad bad bruises but the Light of Blessing healed them up quick. Mostly pride hurt now.

Back to the Temple of Time tomorrow. Zelda’s not far, can feel it.

A photograph of a fused rock-hammer weapon, resting against the weathered structure of a Shrine of Light.

Caption: Using a rock to break rocks!

---

Log date: 20:55 5th month, 14th day 104 AC Location: Temple of Time Weather: Cool. Clear skies.

It doesn't make sense. She was here, and then she wasn't. In the Temple of Time. Or her spirit? A memory? An echo? That's what Rauru called it. Said it was Zelda's sheer will, but how can he know? He won't even say who he is.

She looked so different. She looked.. divine. And then she gave me something. I can feel the name of it on the wind - Recall

She’s gone. But where? What happened to her?

Gonna leave this place tomorrow, just need to find that last Shrine. The fire's burning low but the nights here are short. There's something up above, the Purah Pad compendium calls it a Light Dragon. Currently watching it swim circles in the air til sleep comes, and then will see what tomorrow brings.

Zelda’s out there somewhere. Gotta find her, and put everything right. Don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t. Hope wherever she is, it’s warmer than here.

A photograph taken from below of a golden dragon, floating peacefully through the air.

Caption: How's the weather up there?

#totk #tears of the kingdom #tears of the kingdom spoilers #tloz #tloz fanfiction #tears of the kingdom fanfiction #zelink

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