#❃ ` playing at being a scholar –––– zelda answers

[luxdea]

( 「   RP MEME :   VARIOUS FF7 REMAKE QUOTES.   」    | @herok1ng )

" i'm the one who carried you . "

HER CHEEKS BURNED in embarrassment as she turned her head. it had been a disaster of an attempt at awakening her powers. the thought of returning to the castle & reporting yet another failure to her father was already bad enough, but she'd had a proper audience this time.

❝ i'm sorry. ❞

THE WORDS WERE soft & quiet, yet heavy with the guilt of the night's events. this was now much more than just the failure to obtain her birthright. she was no less than a diplomatic embarrassment.

❝ we were meant to be introducing you to our traditions & i––––.❞

SHE'D RUINED IT. a part of her, admittedly, felt vindicated. she'd argued with her father for the better part of an hour against marth joining her on one of her prayer pilgrimages. they'd been getting along well–––– or, at least, she'd certainly thought so–––– & the thought of him looking at her with the contempt she often pretended not to notice had made her tremble even as she argued her utmost.

ZELDA HAD DONE her best, as she always did. she poured her heart & soul into her prayers, ignored the numbness in her limbs as the cold seeped into her skin, & held out until her body could handle no more.

AT LEAST SHE didn't remember the collapse. one moment, she had been looking at the empty face of the spring's goddess statue, & the next, she was opening her eyes to the worried stares of the entourage that had accompanied them, wrapped in blankets next to the campfire & nearly fully dry. she had known that someone must have carried her out, but she had assumed that one of the guards had done it.

KNOWING THAT IT was marth? well, the logical part of her was glad she had been asleep & had avoided the embarrassment that came with remembering. but a selfish part of her wished she had been alert enough to carry the memory with her–––– even if she could have only taken in a few moments.

HE DESERVED HER thanks, & yet she couldn't find the words. her head bowed & her eyes focused on the white of her gown. dressed like a goddess, & yet she still felt like a failure. her throat felt tight & her eyes burned, but she knew her tears could further sour his opinion of her. no, she could take the distasteful looks & thinly veiled attempts to hide the spread of gossip the way she always did. with pride, if she could not do so with honor.

❝ again, i'm–––– i'm sorry. whatever you may think of me, please don't let my mistakes change your opinions on my kingdom & its people. ❞

SHE WOULD DO all she could to ensure that any negative reflection fell on her & her alone.

[luxdea-archive]

they're home, resting. she sits cross legged on the bed in the loft and he sits on the edge beside her. soft sunlight trickles in through the nearby window, catching the blue of her eyes and causing them to shine like sparkling topazes. she's beautiful, link thinks, as she rambles away about their recent adventure & her newest discoveries. she's beautiful and he's in love with her — goddesses above he's so in love with her — and he's lucky to know it. lucky to know HER. (1/2)

before he has a chance to question what he’s doing, he’s leaning forward, catching the corner of her lips with his own in a soft kiss. he pulls away, eyes opening & blue eyes meeting her own, and it immediately dawns on him what he’s just done. he’s been brave yet foolish at the same time, taking this unspoken thing between them and turning it real. precedent. spoken. “zelda, i-” he flusters, “i’m sorry. i don’t know what came over me i-” he doesn’t know what to say. (2/2)

( it’s national kissing day and boy did aura deliver i’m- | @prsstrt​ )

     SHE’D BEEN DOING her best not to ramble so much–––– though it came from a place of excitement, she had come to the ultimate conclusion that it was quite rude, and just because she was used to silence from others didn’t mean that she was in the position to expect it from others. but, in her defense, link had encouraged her to speak–––– had encouraged her passion–––– and so she had begun a simple explanation that had quickly launched into a long and complicated theory that involved several side tangents to flesh out her explanation. 

     HER HEAD TURNED to the book at her side, checking to see if her notes matched her theory as she rambled on, and it was with a sharp and excited sort of gasp that she turned and began to explain how everything worked together. but she was only a few words into the explanation when it suddenly ceased.

     FOR ONE WHO spent most of their life deducing and coming to conclusions, it took zelda far too many moments to realize that she was being kissed. her eyes stared blankly at links eyelids, her hands that had been waving in mid––––explanation reached forward to grip onto the bright blue of his tunic before she’d figured out what was going on. 

     LINK WAS KISSING her. the moment she came to the realization everything seemed to shift. she could no longer hear the birds outside, the horse huffing at their posts next to the house. her gaze didn’t register anything in her peripheral vision–––– anything that wasn’t link was ultimately ignored. she noticed nothing, but she felt everything.

     SHE KNEW IMMEDIATELY that she would never forget the feeling of link’s lips on her own, even if it never happened again. they were soft–––– a bit tacky and sweet from the fruitcake he’d made to celebrate their finished journey, a fruitcake they’d shared together. 

     HE BROKE THEIR kiss, and zelda watched closely as his eyes opened and turned from serenity ( a beautiful, breathtaking look that was burned into her memory ) to surprise. she listened to him stutter, but couldn’t react–––– she only sat there with her lips slightly parted and hands still tangled into his tunic.

     ZELDA WANTED TO speak up, to relax him, possibly with a joke or some calm reassurance to make sure he knew that she wasn’t upset. but, that isn’t what happened. 

     INSTEAD, HER GRIP on his tunic just grew a bit tighter, and she pulled him closer, her voice surprisingly pleading and soft for one who was just explaining in loud, bright exclamations. but, she hoped it was more than enough to convey what she wanted.

     ❝ please, kiss me again. ❞

[arcersior-blog]

"I'll be here to protect you."

( ▽ / @honourguided )

     ❝ I KNOW YOU will be. ❞ for a long time, if he had his way, but zelda did her best to keep her sights on their short but necessary journey. she couldn’t explain how grateful she was for adrian–––– especially with the way attacks had become more frequent–––– though she tried to show it in brief, small ways when she could.

     ❝ BUT PROMISE ME you’ll take a break when we reach goron city. ❞ this was another rare chance for her to show her gratitude, no matter how much adrian might have protested to her suggestion. every moment of his life didn’t need to be spent in service to her and her family after all.

      ❝ DARUK WILL BE by my side from the moment we enter the city, and you know very well he will guard me just as you would. ❞ and, just in case that wasn’t enough, she had a mission of sorts to give him, anyways, ❝ perhaps you could find something to bring back for your sister. ❞ he certainly couldn’t say no to that now, could he?

       ❝ SHE’D BE HAPPY to know that we thought of her while we traveled, don’t you think? ❞

[risingsouls]

@viopolis​ asked: 8, 9, aaand 28 ( for whoever's the most divergent! )

Munday Asks || Open!

8. did you have a muse you tried to play, but didn’t feel connected to?

[Hmmm not recently I don’t think? I had an OC here at the beginning of the multimuse mess, but I don’t think it was a connection issue so much as it was just a combination of a lack of interest from others and me needing to do more development for her than anything else that made me retire her. Zangya was sort of the same deal, but might have been more a connection issue to some degree. I’ve CONSIDERED several muses of late (cough Fasha and Videl and once in a while to everyone’s shock Bulma but she’s far less recent cough) that I didn’t take up for not exactly feeling the connection thing, but otherwise? It’s usually a different reason that makes me drop a muse.] 9. did you have muse you tried to play, but ended up dropping for various reasons? (the rpc wasn’t active, you lost interest, etc)

[WHOOPS. Didn’t read this first. See the last answer. For flavor, I’ll add that way back in the day when I was in the Zelda RPC, I took up Wind Waker Ganondorf. He didn’t gain much traction and I think it was around when I fell out with the RP group I was in at the time, so I sort of lost interest in rping him. Old Man Gan is at a fascinating point in his life though. Ganondorf is honestly a fascinating character me...if he’s not reduced down to JUST it being his destiny to hassle Link and Zelda because Demise’s curse and DESTINYYYYY!!!] 28. is your muse canon divergent in any way?

[*stares at literally all my muses or are definitely divergent from canon* I won’t go with the obvious ones that are...you know...alive when they were definitely dead in the series and stayed that way. Nabooru is also low hanging fruit because she’s basically a Zelda muse turned DB muse. So I’ll give you two: Gohan and Vegeta.

Gohan isn’t incredibly divergent, but the way in which he is is hotly debated in the community: whether it was “right” for him to give up fighting and become a scholar the way he does. We’ve all seen the bashing he gets for it and the “HE’S NOT AS BADASS AS HE WAS AS A KID ANY MORE” and I could go on and on about how such “fans” suck eggs. BUT, and bear with me, I don’t fully disagree with people that say he shouldn’t have given up training altogether. Just...not for that stupid, fuck boy reasoning.

With my Gohan, I chose to find a balance between him following his dream of being a scholar and continuing his training. After everything that has happened to him from the arrival of Raditz and through the Buu Saga, it’s hard for me to see him giving up training entirely because, in his mind, he failed to protect his friends and family time and time again because he was either scared, not strong enough, or made a foolish mistake, especially when focusing on what happens with Cell and Buu. Gohan essentially makes the same mistake with both Cell and Buu: he gets too cocky and toys with them rather than finishing the job (which a lot of characters do so don’t @ me with that; there’s a point here I promise). Not finishing Cell off when he should have cost him his father’s life (and Trunks, too, but he gets revived). With Buu, it, arguably, costs him the entire planet. Gohan is shown to show INCREDIBLE guilt with what happens with Cell and Goku, and I imagine he would feel much the same with Buu no matter how happy the ending. Survivor’s guilt is BIG with Gohan and, therefore, he would be incredibly harsh on himself for the mistakes he made and, to some degree, want to ensure he doesn’t repeat it a third time. 

THEREFORE, I decided to have him keep up with his training along with going to school and studying. The consequences of that vary, but the biggest for RP purposes and because I like to explore other potential relationships rather than simply just go with the canon status quo it that he does break things off with Videl after high school because he feels like he can’t give her the time and attention she deserves when he’s so busy studying and training (and lbr, Videl would have absolutely gone to school to become a cop; idk what this shit is that she didn’t man). Obviously, this doesn’t have to be a permanent thing and I am absolutely open to rping Hanvi, but point is Gohan is a busy boi post Buu saga and this lets me open things up to be more creative with his relationships. Additionally, he probably wouldn’t be able to reach the same heights as Goku or Vegeta but that was never his thing anyway so yeah.

(That got long so I’ll try to keep Vegeta’s shorter)

For Vegeta, even barring my crossover shenanigans with Nabooru and the main verse of this blog following the framework of my Recruited fic, I would still play my Vegeta as divergent even in a more canon framework. I have Vegeta Brain Rot basically 24/7 and I do a lot of thinking about this dumbass gremlin. I’m sure most people have read my nearing coherent rantings about his characterization in canon and its direction to know by now that I honestly just don’t agree with it. In a nutshell after rewatching/reading the series several times in recent memory, my hot take that Vegeta gets shafted of what he could have been because he’s kept around as a plot point and punching bag and then they feel they have to play up that plot point for likely old-fashioned reasons, give him a half-assed redemption, and then Super comes around and dials this plot point up to 11 and makes that his only personality trait. I could write an essay on why I disagree with how his arc and character turns out, but I’ll try to keepit shorter by focusing on how I would play him if someone didn’t want to indulge me on this crossover adventure I’m on and subjecting ya’ll to.

All of that said and considering who I feel Vegeta is and could have been, my canon divergence in how I would play him in a more canon setting would hings one two things. The first one that would stick closer to canon is on how he lives his life post Cell saga. I personally don’t see him marrying Bulma or, at the very least, they don’t stay together, the latter probably coming after the Buu saga when Vegeta has made peace with a lot of the hang ups he had despite allegedly “moving on” by the time the Buu saga rolls around (Majin Vegeta anyone?). WHAT he would do after that varies and would be fun to explore but the crux of his reasoning would be getting out of the cloud of his depression and realizing that playing house wasn’t the life he really wanted. It was just the easy option when he was so absolutely down that he was ready to give up his one, constant love: fighting.

The other definitely pushes it into AU territory, but I would love to explore it: Vegeta just...leaving. Whether that’s after Namek to run around the galaxy training and being a headache for the crumbling Cold Empire or after Cell when he has no real reason to stay on Earth, I think it could be a really interesting arc to run. ESPECIALLY if he returns to Earth as an antagonist again to get his revenge as planned. Imo, he doesn’t have any real reason to stick around Earth so why not? It would be better than seeing his character ruined with him sticking around tbh.]

[misterewrites]

I get by with a little help from my friends (and Link)

Hey everyone! E here with a random story popped into my head! I needed to write this for practice for another project but I still had a lot of fun with it. So this story takes place in the wild timeline between Age of Calamity and breath of the wild. Like that weird middle ground where the champions were getting ready. Upfront I did as much research as I could cuz it has been a while since I played BOTW and I did use a wiki with some references to the game and such, avoided spoilers I think and I did kinda go with my own conclusion in some places for the sake of story cuz the wiki only knows so much and I can't replay the entire game again. Well I can but not in a short time for this story. Also some Light Zelda and link cuz they’re cute and if nintendo wont canon them, I will! 

So I hope you enjoy! have fun, stay safe, wear a mask and wash your hands! E is out! have a great week everyone! If you want to leave me comments or just have an easier time reading this story, it has been uploaded to Ao3. My user name is MrE42

“He’s still there, isn’t he?”

Impa shrugged, unsure what the princess was expecting her to say “You know he is.”

Zelda huffed, irritated at her father’s watchdog who silently kept watch just outside, stoic and stalwart in his duty to an annoying degree.

Zelda, princess of Hyrule and aspiring scholar, trained from birth to be poised and refined in the harshest situations, made a face towards the library door.

“I do not need a babysitter.” Zelda fumed as she filmed through the bookshelves “You are here Impa and far more suited to the task than my father’s knights.”

“Your knights” Impa corrected “And normally I would agree but with Yiga clan beginning to cause more and more trouble, you and the kingdom need my Sheikah to prevent their tricks. I am their leader and I have to lead. Same as you princess.”

“I know” Zelda replied, unable to keep out the frustration out of her voice “But I wish my father chose a...different person”

Impa rolled her eyes “We both know that Link is the most capable solider in the kingdom. He is without equal and you are only mad at him because your father chose him.”

“I am not a child Impa.”

“No but you are the magical princess whose power would help keep the calamity at bay. I can’t fathom why your father would want you protected at all times.”

Zelda glared openly at her best friend “Your sarcasm is noted and ignored.”

“Excellent” Impa beamed “But in all seriousness, these are dangerous princess. Your father caused quite a ruckus choosing a country bumpkin instead of the nobles lovely, incompetent children.”

Zelda shifted guiltily at the mention of the nobility. They were not pleased that the king of Hyrule had decided to entrust the safety of his only heir and future ruler of their kingdom to a nobody from Hateno Village. It did not matter that Link had come from a long line of knights whom had been protecting the land for almost as long as Zelda’s family had been ruling it. Nor did it matter that he was their most fierce and well trained warrior. He was not of nobility and it angered her that someone who simply wanted to do their best was being mistreated.

Even if she was guilty of the same crime.

“I just wish he appeared more human.” Zelda quietly admitted, hoping Link could not hear “He is emotionless. His gaze is entirely steely and he has not spoken a single word to me. He simply stands, watching and waiting.

“Judging?” Impa added.

Zelda glanced to the side shamefully “Judging. Judging that his talents are wasted on a princess who cannot even perform the single duty that has been entrusted to her.”

“I think you’re projecting.”

“And you are far too calm.”

Impa giggled cutely “Appearances. I’m as nervous as you princess but I know better than anyone how uneasy people get if their leaders show panic. Your powers will come when they come. You will figure it out.”

Zelda turned to the ninja leader fearfully “And if they don’t?”

“Then I’ll protect you.” Impa answered truthfully “Link will protect you and the champions will kick some ganon butt! You’re not alone so stop acting like it.”

“Thank you Impa.” Zelda moved in for a hug.

“Nope!” Impa took a step back “No, no, no! That’s not proper.”

“I order you to give your princess a hug.”

“…..sigh, yes your highness.”

-----

Zelda’s eyes twinkled with a rare softness as she, Link and Mipha watched the young zora prince Sidon swim so carefree in the deep blue waters of the lake. Link was further ahead of the two princesses, standing at the shore of the lake vigilante for any signs of trouble.

“He certainly takes his duty seriously.” Zelda murmured under her breath.

Mipha laughed softly “It is nice to see how age has calmed him.”

Zelda tilted curiously to the champion “Mipha, you’ve known Link since you were both children, correct?”

Mipha nodded in confirmation “Yes ever since he arrived with a group of knights on orders of King Rhoam. Even then he was courageous. Impossibly reckless however but I suppose that is simply who Link is.

Mipha’s soft laughter grew into a playful chortle. Zelda quizzically stared at her fellow princess.

“Sorry your highness.” Mipha waved her hand in embarrassment “I was just thinking to myself how much healing practice Link has gotten me. I suppose I am as proficient as I am thanks him.”

“Oh?”

“He was always getting into trouble.” Mipha began, her voice taking on a hue of nostalgia “Always injured after throwing himself head first into danger. He hated sitting still, allowing others to suffer for him. His shell might be more silent and stoic but he is still the kind boy I knew. That I…”

Zelda caught the slight longing in the zora princess’s tone “Mipha?”

“It is nothing.”

Mipha slipped into a comfortable silence but Zelda bristled uneasily at a sudden realization.

“Mipha….”

Mipha faced Zelda, worry and concern etched in the scholar’s face.

“Do you think…” Zelda spoke slowly “Link hates me? That his talented and training is wasted watching a princess who cannot even produce a glare of light. I drag him everywhere, fuming at his presence all while he watches with an endless vigil.”

Mipha gently placed her hand onto Zelda’s shoulder. Zelda felt a calming presence fill her body and a quiet peace that came with it.

Mipha gave a soft smile “Link knows better than anyone how hard you are trying. He knows how desperate you must be. He does not disdain your loathing. He simply is giving you the space you desire. His duty is everything to him and he will perform it to his dying breath. You are his princess. He will ensure your safety.”

Zelda said nothing and despite the calming peace she felt, the twinge of guilt began to eat at her.

“LINK!”

The tension broke as Zelda and Mipha glanced back towards the lake. Sidon giggled and chuckled at a full swim, rapidly heading for the shore and Link. Link, caught off guard in a rare moment, began to panic. He moved this way and that, frantically searching beyond the approaching zora in search for a nonexistent threat.

He realized, too late, what Sidon was up to.

With a mighty push, Sidon flew out of the deep blue waters and sailed through the air, hands outstretched as he collided with Link. Link flailed backwards, struggling to keep his footing but ultimately losing it. He fell backwards onto the shore, Sidon embracing him tightly a bone breaking hug. Even young, a zora was strong.

“Sidon!” Mipha chastised but before she could move closer, Link stood up with the still embracing prince, an evil glint in his eyes.

“Oh dear.”

“What is happening?” Zelda asked, unsure what was going on.

Link picked up Sidon, holding him high into the air as the young prince chanted “Do it, do it, do it!”

And just like that, Link spun around. Around and around, once, twice, five times building speed with Sidon’s cheers filled the air. Without warning, Link chucked the young zora through the air and back into the lake.

Sidon dove in wholeheartedly and broke the surface with a triumphant yell.

“20 feet! A NEW RECORD!”

Mipha rubbed her eyes tiredly “Boys.”

Zelda giggled softly as Link rose his arms in victory.

-----

“Daruk?”

“Yeah tiny princess?”

“Is that...a rock?”

“Yeah it is!”

“And why...is Link….eating the rock?”

“It’s prime rock roast! He got a real taste for it after the first time.”

“Oh. Right. I recall that now.”

Daruk bellowed with a hearty laugh “Dontcha worry princess, little guy might a hylian but he’s got the stomach of a goron! I bet he’d eat anything. Even some kind of dubious food that’s just too gross to look at. KEEP IT UP LINK!”

Link raised a thumb as he continued to chew on the rocky texture of the roast.

Zelda couldn’t help but smile the Daruk’s presence. His good nature and cheeriness were too infectious for even the royal princess to resist.

“Now what brings you out here tiny princess? Did you finally want to try out the roast? I can have cooks whip up a fresh, steaming one for ya.”

“What? Oh no.” Zelda quickly responded “No. I ate at home before we arrived so I am quite full. Perhaps next time. I am actually here to see if you needed anything.”

Daruk rubbed the back of his neck shyly “Aww thanks tiny princess! I appreciate it! Though if you don’t wanna eat the roast, you can just tell me. I know it isn’t everyone’s taste.”

“Oh. I am sorry I simply did not want to hurt your feelings.”

“Not to worry, I can’t be hurt!” Daruk beamed, posing heroic as an orangish translucent dome appeared over the goron chief for a moment, shielding him from the outside world.

The pair broke into a joyful laugh.

“Thank you Daruk.”

“Think nothing of it tiny princess. Though, now that you mentioned it I might need a little favor from ya.”

Zelda eagerly listened “Name it Daruk and I shall do everything in my power to ensure it done.”

“It’s about Rudania.”

Zelda’s heart sank “The divine beast? Is something amiss?”

“Oh no no no.” Daruk raised his hands as if to physically stop that line of thinking “Nothing serious. It’s just that that wonderful fantastic machine is able to have some alterations. The controls aren’t exactly goron friendly, ya know?”

“Oh! Hmm, I shall talk to Purah and Robbie. If anyone can alter Rudania, it is them.”

“Thanks tiny princess!” Daruk patted her back in a friendly manner. Zelda had to brace herself to make sure she didn’t fall sprawling to the floor.

Rudania.

Zelda glanced upwards Death Mountain, the divine beast in question clinging to the side the volcanic mountain as if keeping an eye out for the calamity.

The divine beasts, ancient Sheikah machines made of stone and an unknown source of power. Her father claimed these machines had been around since the dawn of Hyrule. Though information on these and other Sheikah made devices were contradictory at best and nonexistent at worst. Even Impa, clan leader, knew next to nothing about their functionality or purpose. Luckily for everyone Purah and Robbie had devoted their lives to the study of these machines and it was only thanks to the pairs ceaseless work (and Zelda would say sometimes obsession) that the champions could practice and grew proficient with their individual machines.

“How is your training with Rudania going Daruk?”

Daruk scratched the back of his neck anxiously “I wish I could say it’s going good but it’s not exactly a stroll in the lava, ya know?”

“Of...course.” Zelda nodded slowly, unsure what a stroll in lava would entail “Perhaps we can search for some sort of manual or instructions.”

“Nah” Daruk waved her off “We both know nothing like that probably exists but that’s alright. I’mma going just go for it and do my best!”

Zelda stared at the goron with admiration “I wish I could be as confident as you are.”

“I’m not!”

Zelda watched as Daruk’s face beaming grin melt into an uneasy smile

“I’m not confident” Daruk admitted “This is hard. This is a piece of technology unlike anything else in our little home. I have no idea how to use it or even if I’m doing it right. Heck, I don’t even know if what I’m doing is working. I’m a goron and I’m good at that but this? This is something else.”

Zelda felt that. Her inability to draw on her powers. Her failures and her father’s growing desperation pushing her to extremes, to find an answer regardless of the cost.

“But, I’mma gonna try all the same.”

Daruk’s smile returned. Not with happiness but with determination.

“That’s all we can do, right tiny princess?” Daruk chuckled “Do our best. Maybe it’ll be enough. Maybe it won’t but we gotta at least try.”

Zelda smiled “You are right Daruk. We must at least try. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome! Haha, for what?”

-----

Zelda could feel Link shift his weight back and forth ontop of the snow bank. The pair were bundled in winter gear, huddled close in an attempt to stay warm in the frigid chill of the snowy breeze. Though Zelda knew that wasn’t why Link was unhappy.

“You still here knight? Go home. You need to train some more if you want to keep up with me.”

Link’s face remained as impassive as ever but Zelda could see by the tensing of his cheeks that he was fuming: Revali had that effect on the knight.

She was unsure why the Rito had such a deep disdain for Link but it made it difficult to plan training exercises between the two. Even visits to check on Revali were scarce given the fact Link followed his orders diligently. Nothing would dissuade Link from his task, not even insults and mockery.

Zelda had been softening her stance on Link over the last few weeks. True she hadn’t reached the point where she completely accepted his presence but she no longer loathed him for it. It was not his fault her father was so stubborn and final in his decrees. He did what he was told and he did it with as much respect as he could muster. It was oddly comforting to have him near in the rare moment she was being honest. Whether it be researching any leads to unlocking her powers to her hobby of cataloging the various flora and fauna of Hyrule, he did not judge her. He watched in a quiet reverence, his eyes darting about for signs of danger so she would feel safe enough to focus on her task. And the more time they spent together, the more she realized he was more expressive than she previously thought.

His emotions were far subtler: A twitch of the ear, a raised eyebrow, clenching of his jaws. This is how Link spoke. This is how he displayed his emotions. Little signs easily missed unless you had been searching for them.

Not that Zelda was looking. That would be silly for her to simply stare at the knight accompanying her all across the kingdom, protecting her from the various threats found throughout. She was merely making observations like the good scholar she was. Link was no different than the flora and fauna she studied. Granted he was a much more interesting subject but….

“Princess.”

Zelda snapped out of her thoughts, her face flushed with embarrassment at her trailing thoughts.

“Are you well?” Revali cocked his head sideways “Your face is red. I rather you not get sick simply because you wish to stand in this cold.”

“I-it is nothing Revali!” Zelda stammered out “Perhaps a small chill. It will pass. I am here to…”

“To see if I need anything” he finished for her “No princess, unlike certain people” he eyed Link distastefully “I am fine.”

Link said nothing but rather shifted the weight on his feet once more.

“Link” Zelda turned to her knight “Perhaps you could patrol the area. I fear the winds are growing more fierce. I would not want to walk back to the castle among an ambush if there is a storm.”

Link remained silent but gave a rigid, steely nod. He caught Revali’s gaze for a moment then trudge off into the snow.

“I don’t why you bring him” Revali sneered “He’s a worthless knight.”

“If he’s so worthless, why do you waste your time berating him?”

Revali turned his head “Hmmph, if your knight is so fragile that a little mockery scares him off, he has no business being with us.”

“Revali!” Zelda began but was silenced by his outstretched wing.

“I am the best princess.” He spoke matter of fact “I am your greatest warrior. My skill is unrivaled across the kingdom.”

Zelda fumed but allowed him to continue.

“I have overcome many challenges and challengers to my title” Revali’s looked out to the various snowy hills and slopes of the mountain, the Rito village barely visible among the snow flurry “I bested them all. When you are so talented, many eyes will fall upon you and their expectations as well. They will say whatever they wish. You must ignore them. You must not allow their pitiful jealousy distract from your task, your goal. I am here to protect my people and for that, I must be the best. I must work with the best and I must train with people with some skill.”

“Revali, what are you…?”

Revali scoffed “You have kept me from training princess. Your knight might be the best among you but he certainly is no match for me. How is he supposed to survive the upcoming fight unless he fights with his all against a superior opponent.”

“I see” Zelda slowly caught on.

“Good. I will be at the castle tomorrow. Make sure your knight is ready for bruises and sores. I won’t have him die on us because he was being lazy.”

“Of course Revali. I’m sure Link will appreciate your concern.”

Revali huffed “I don’t like deadweight is all.”

Zelda said nothing but remembered that Link had won the champion’s last archery contest a few weeks ago.

-----

The desert was colder than you would expect at night but Zelda was not stranger to it. She loved coming out to the Gerudo desert with her mother, spending all day among the Gerudo and its splendor. It was quiet out here, bringing a rare peace not found in the city. The distant sound of thunder boomed but it was soft and enlightening more than frightening. It comforted Zelda.

“Thinking of her again little bird?”

Zelda nodded honestly, the desert stretched out before her as the twinkling stars glimmered beautifully overhead.

Urbosa, champion and her mother’s dearest friend, stood watch nearby.

Zelda turned back to Link, unable to keep the grin off her face as he remained slumped against the wall, his riding hood and cloak turned into a makeshift blanket. His breathing was slow and steady and while it was clear he was sleeping, she also knew that with one word from her lips he would awaken, ready for whatever awaited him.

She was glad he was resting at least. This had been his first trip to the desert and he had not quite been prepared for the intense heat nor the attention he received from the town. A male within its walls was a rare sight. She knew Link disliked attention above all else, except perhaps Revali.

She giggled at her joke.

“You seem more comfortable with Link than I remember.”

“Oh.” Zelda cleared her throat, willing her blush away “Well y-yes. Some of my conversations with the others have led to some interesting insight. Perhaps I had not been considerate towards Link. He is just performing his duty.”

Urbosa leaned in teasingly “Link now is it? Not the knight or he?”

Zelda’s blush spread rapidly throughout her cheeks.

Urbosa laughed loudly “You are far too easy to fluster little bird.”

“I am not flustered!”

“I don’t blame you” Urbosa glanced at Link’s sleeping form “He is quite handsome and not like most men.”

“Urbosa!”

Urbosa laugh once more “So it worked then?”

Zelda was confused “What did?”

“My distraction.”

“Distraction? From?” Realization washed over Zelda “Oh.”

Urbosa gave a solemn nod “I miss your mother terribly. She was an amazing woman and I feel her loss deeply now as I did then.”

Zelda tucked her legs under her arms “I feel like she would be disappointed in me. Not having unlocked my power. Chasing down lead after lead with nothing to show for it.”

“Don’t be absurd!” Urbosa scolded “She would be proud of you. Her beautiful daughter, a natural leader. Especially between Link and Revali. Hylia’s miracle you managed to wrangle them into line. I thought they were going to murder each other at their last training session.”

“I admit I was worried I was about to have to arrest one of them for murder.” Zelda admitted.

The two shared a laugh.

“Do not fret little bird.” Urbosa cupped Zelda’s cheek lovingly “She would think the world of you. She would want you to do your best, not hers.”

“I miss her Urbosa.” Zelda shed a single tear “I just miss her so terribly.”

“Me too little bird. But she lives on in you.”

Zelda clenched her fist, holding it close to her heart as she closed her eyes “I suppose I’ll just have keep at it.”

“That a girl. Now want to see something funny?” Urbosa grinned mischievously, a snap at the ready while she approached the slumbering form of Link.

-----

Link was unsure what to make of princess Zelda’s request to ask him some questions. It had been a few months since he was first assigned to her guard detail and while it had been rather rocky start, she grew to tolerate his presence and was almost friendly with him.

Almost.

Today started off no different than any other: Princess Zelda wanted to stretch her legs out in the fields. Link was used to this particularly outing. He noticed the princess often wished to leave the castle on the days her father was being forceful about her training her powers. Something that was happening with increasing occurrence nowadays.

Despite his lack of talking and general stoic disposition, he enjoyed his time with the princess. True most of it had been at a distance, carefully watching out for her safety but these last few weeks had been a nice change of pace. She allowed to walk closer to her, hadn’t scoffed or turned up her nose at him trailing behind her and became more visibly relaxed when alone with him.

Though she had also become more distracting to the young knight. Everyone knew the princess was beautiful but Link still hadn’t gotten used to it even after all this time. Every morning he would face that same beauty and every morning he would be thoroughly flatfooted at the sight of her. It was easier when she forced him to watch far away, when she spoke to and about him with a quiet disdain. She didn’t like him and he was just here to do his job. Nice, done and easy.

But lately the princess had been asking him to stay close regardless if they were traveling through the countryside or to the frigid Rito Village or the blazing furnace that was Death Mountain. She smiled often now, especially when she found a new plant or animal about. Link would be standing, vigilante when the princess would call for him and when he whirled around, sword at the ready, he found not monsters but the sight of the princess mid-smile and holding out some new thing for him to see, excitement twinkling in her eyes.

It was getting really hard to focus on his task.

“Link, are you alright?”

Link flushed, nearly tripping over himself as the princess broke him from his stupor.

They were sitting at peaceful meadow not too far the castle, the princess’s notebook at her side filled with her various observations and musings.

Link must’ve spaced out because he had not noticed the princess approach him, her face inches away from his.

“I am sorry.” She apologized “I did not mean to startle you.”

Link shook his head in disagreement, raising a hand to tell her not to worry.

“I-if you don’t feel comfortable answering my questions, you do not have to.”

Link gestured for her to continue.

“Link” the princess composed herself “Why don’t you speak?”

Link was caught off guard by the question. No one really questioned why he chose not to speak. Most assumed it was some strange choice by some stranger lad from the country. Or perhaps he could not speak. As long as he stabbed the bad guy, no one seemed to care beyond that and the more renown he gained, the more Link felt he needed to maintain the illusion, the stoic unflappable hero of Hyrule.

Well, until the real hero of Hyrule appeared.

Link mused for a moment, wondering how to best explain his situation to the princess.

“I’m sorry.”

Link was taken aback by the princess’s shameful tone.

“I….I did not mean to be so personal.” She began, eyes cast away from him “It….it just occurs to me I have known you for a few months now and yet I have never once heard you speak. I know I have not been most friendly person to you and I understand if you find me rude or perhaps annoying. I know watching me wade through the fields is not the most effective use of your talents.”

Link could feel panic setting in. He couldn’t let the princess blame herself! Especially now that she was making an effort to open up to him. Link licked his lips, willing the words to form into existence.

“I am sorry Link” Link’s heart fluttered at the sound of his name. She said his name! She said his name! She’s never said his name to him before!

“Perhaps I should just remain silent.” the princess went on “I am truly sorry for mistreating you and taking my frustration about my father out on you. You did not deserve that.”

Wait! No no no no!

The princess sighed dejectedly, turning away from Link.

Link bit his lip, taking deep slow breathes as he tried to form the words in his head.

-----

Zelda was disappointed but not surprised by Link’s lack of a response. She knew it might’ve been a little too late given her treatment of him but she had been hoping perhaps she could convince him that she was not as nasty as she appeared to him. Alas, it seems it was for naught.

“W-wait.”

Zelda blinked, unsure if she really heard what she thought she heard. She turned slowly to Link, surprised to see him with a hand outstretched, sweat forming upon his brow as he awkwardly moved his mouth as if trying to get it to work.

“D-did you say something Link?” She asked quizzically.

Link gave a short nod.

Zelda whirled around, knees against the grass as she leaned in closer, unable to get Link’s voice out of her ears.

Link gestured to himself, touching his chest with an open hand.

“You.”

Link nodded, wincing as he struggled to speak.

“I. Don’t. Like. Talking.”

Zelda was in awe at Link. For a warrior so fierce, so steely, so loyal his voice was soft. It was gentle and quiet like a breeze yet still lingered in her mind.

“You don’t like talking” Zelda repeated “I understand.”

Link nodded once before breaking into a toothy smile.

Zelda’s heart raced at the sight of the indifferent Link forming a full smile on his face. She pulled back, trying to will the red out of her hair.

Link tilted his head curiously towards Zelda before he closed the distance.

Zelda’s heart thundered in her ears as Link placed a cool hand upon her forehead, his face returning to its stony indifference but his eyes filled with worry.

“I’m fine!” Zelda waved him off, pulling away before she turned any redder “I...just thought of something.”

Link looked unconvinced but let it go. He stood to his feet and offered his hand to the princess.

Zelda stared up, the sun glowing brightly behind Link’s form as he waited patiently for her. She took his hand and he, firmly but gently, pulled her to her feet.

Link gestured to her horse.

“Yes.” Zelda nodded in agreement “Perhaps it is time to go home.”

Link gave a thumbs up and went to retrieve their horses.

Zelda pinched her cheeks with all her might.

“Urbosa was right. He is handsome.”

[snidgetwidgeon]

Insurrection Recollections Series: Clandestine Research

After Zelda's father orders her to give up her research, Zelda and Purah hatch a plan. The only way it will succeed is if Link intervenes.

~~~

The day after her father told her she could no longer waste her time by playing the scholar, Zelda was issued an official written directive via castle courier as if she were one of his subordinates. She was livid. It instructed her to relinquish all of her ancient technology artefacts and materials to the Tech Lab by the end of the week. Oh how considerate of him to give me some time to sort out my busy schedule! She tore the missive to pieces and threw it in the fireplace.

Fine. She would do it post haste to the detriment of everything else she had going on. Studies with her economy instructor? Nope, she had a directive. Receiving the latest visiting dignitary in court that evening? Nope, she had a directive from the King. A fruitless visit to the Spring of Power to perform devotions that brought her nothing but scorn from her own people? Thank Nayru she had a Goddess damned directive from her father that allowed her to avoid the very thing she no longer wanted to do anyway!

Link looked on as Princess Zelda stomped back and forth between her room and study, forgetting things in her state and then becoming even more upset. He had offered his help but she refused so he stood watch on the bridge. The best he could do was stay out of her way and be available at a moment’s notice.

When she finally got to her journal, having left it for last, she closed the door to her study to have a moment of privacy. As she re-read some of the pages detailing her adventures into archaeology, she thought about how they were merely notes and should not be subject to the purge. She decided to keep it.

Emerging from her study with a resolve that Link could see was strained at best, Zelda nodded to him that she was ready to leave. He hailed an available attendant and they assisted in carrying items down to the stables. Even with Zelda insisting on carrying some things herself, the attendant would need to make one more trip and grab another person along the way.

While the rest was being collected, Zelda and Link saddled up the horses in silence. To anyone else, this would seem no different from the early days of their time together when she resented him and their silence was cold and strained. Now it was a companionable silence. He caught her looking at him over her horse’s back as she was tightening her straps. He smiled.

She felt a flush and a sudden need to make an excuse. “You always have such a way with horses...” She then ducked behind hers and pretended to do something else.

Between their mounts and a third mare carrying normal travel supplies, they were able to take everything. Zelda also wore a satchel on her back with a few of the more delicate items. As they made their way through the grounds, Link steered his horse around slightly, indicating down the path that led to the docks and asked, “Shall we take the ferry?”

“No, thank you.” She looked straight ahead with her nose stuck figuratively up toward her father as she passed him. “I would like to make this trip last as long as possible if you don’t mind.”

~~~

They arrived in the evening, just in time for dinner. Zelda and Link had agreed on the way there that she could have a night of normalcy. While she went in, he attended the horses and unloaded everything, stacking it in a tidy pile just inside the workshop to be dealt with in the morning. He then joined the others, received a heaping serve of beef curry and proceeded to keep mostly to himself as he was wont to do in large social gatherings. 

He watched Zelda closely, but not obviously, and noticed how very bittersweet it all was for her. She would no doubt be wishing it could be like any other visit. She laughed and carried on with the others, sharing how well the trials at the castle had gone the previous day. But he could see it. Any small moment where she wasn’t engaged with someone, her face fell and the light was gone from her eyes. When Purah noticed and asked if she was alright, she easily brushed it off by saying she was just tired from her busy schedule and a full day of travel.

The following morning, Link was in tow when Zelda entered Purah’s messy workspace with the Sheikah Slate. They had already seen to the items in the workshop, making sure they were distributed to the proper places around the Lab.

“Good morning, good morning! You’re just in time- oh, I’m so glad you brought the Slate. I meant to send word that you should come by the Lab soon so I could use it, but you must have read my mind because here you are; and I completely forgot to send the word.” She put her arm around Zelda’s shoulders and guided her to the large stone in the middle of the room, “Come, I want you to look at this and tell me what you think.”

Zelda let herself be dragged over but instead of looking at the stone, she sort of glazed over in an effort to shield herself from more pain. “Purah, I must apologize.”

“What for? Give it a second, I didn’t expect you to figure it out right away, silly.”

“No, I mean- I should have told you first thing last night.” She handed the Sheikah Slate to Purah who took it with brows furrowed in concern but also remained quiet to listen to her friend.

“Father has ordered me to focus all of my attention on my training. I’m- I can no longer assist the research team. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I just... kind of wanted to pretend it didn’t happen for as long as I could.”

“Oh, Zelly, no. It’s ok.” Purah gave her a quick but sincere hug before going off. “Din’s balls, this is the pits! I’ll be lodging a formal complaint- you watch me- he can’t take away one of my best researchers.” She waved the Slate around dramatically. “Now I’m going to have to find a new translator; who does he think he is!?”

Zelda started giggling. As always, Purah’s infectious energy and earnestness made her feel a bit less crap when she was down. “The King,” Zelda’s giggling evolved into open laughter. ”He’s the King, Purah.”

Purah just pushed up her glasses and said matter-of-factly, “Well... King or no King, he’s acting like a fool.”

Link smiled from his post across the room thinking about how he couldn’t agree more. The day before yesterday on the bridge he had questioned if his oath to protect the Princess extended to defending her from the King himself.

“Were you leaving today?” Purah asked, but didn’t let Zelda answer and kept talking, “You’re not leaving today. I need your help with something and you aren’t officially done until you leave, you hear? Come with me.” She strode out of her office on a mission.

Zelda smiled after her and then looked at Link with a raised brow asking- not for his approval, but more his opinion. He merely shrugged and gestured that she should follow the woman.

Over the course of the day Link observed their antics and found moments to opportunistically disappear when it looked like they were going to need a person for some sort of trial. That night, some celebrations ramped up as Purah decided to throw a gratitude party to thank Zelda for all that she had contributed. Link thought that idea was pretty smart, making it look like Zelda’s choice to take on other important tasks. This way, she could leave with her head held high, at least until she was out of sight.

About mid morning the following day, Link got the horses ready for the return home and then realized he may have been a bit preemptive when he went to collect Zelda. She and Purah looked at him like startled foxes when he entered Purah’s office and they proceeded to finish their conversation in hushed voices.

Perhaps Zelda wanted to stay on longer? Then Purah spoke normally again and handed Zelda a book. “So, if you could just take that one back to my room, that would be great.”

Zelda nodded and said nonchalantly, “No problem.”

As she walked out, Link started to follow, but Purah exclaimed, “Oh, Link! Could you help me carry these?” She grinned, “Please?”

“Um, sure. What is it?” he asked when he didn’t see anything specific that she was asking about.

“Just a sec!” Her eyes darted around and she grabbed a box that already had a few guardian pieces in it which she proceeded to unceremoniously dump in the middle of the floor. She then flitted around the room grabbing random items to throw in the box that she needed ‘help’ carrying.

He wandered over to the second story window to check on the horses outside while he waited to see how- whatever it was that she was up to- played out. He didn’t have to wait long at all as he noticed Zelda, distinctly not in Purah’s room, and still holding onto that book. He immediately knew what it was. Ancient contraband.

She approached her white horse and gave it a scratch as she went to place the book in her saddlebags. As she lifted the flap she hesitated for a moment. He smirked as she went over to his horse instead and buried the book into his saddle bag. Clever, but not clever enough. If she was worried that her father might go as far as to search her things when she returned, then he was not going to take the chance that they wouldn’t do the same to him. He’d have to hide it better later.

“Right! So... this stuff here. Could you please take it downstairs?” Purah requested with another cheesy grin.

He balked a little at everything sticking out of it. She couldn’t at least have made her distraction easy? He gave a little sigh, “No problem.”

~~~

That night as Zelda slept by the campfire, Link snuck over to the horses and quietly dug through his saddle bag for the book. She tucked it right at the bottom under the other book he generally kept with him in case he ever had time to kill. He looked back over to her sleeping form and surreptitiously stuck it behind his back just inside the waistband of his trousers, then tightened his belt over it a bit. Sleep would be a bit less comfortable and he’d have to wear his cloak over it even if he got warm tomorrow, but that should do the trick.

When they arrived back home, Link clocked that their approach was noticed with a bit more interest than usual. Zelda may not have been wrong in her suspicions regarding her father; the King was becoming more stressed and paranoid by the day.

They were met at the West gatehouse by a young castle guard who looked nervous. “Many pardons Princess Zelda, but we have instructions to check your cargo.”

She kept her calm and said coldly, “Do as you will.”

Another guard approached to help and she felt her ire rise as they rummaged through her things right next to her. She didn’t bother hiding her withering stare. She wasn’t going to make it easy for them.

Once they were satisfied, the guard bowed. “My apologies, Princess.”

“Indeed.” She then clicked for her horse to continue and went no more than two steps before she heard the guard behind her ask for Link to please remain still for a search as well. Her stomach sank and she twisted around in her saddle before pulling her mount up sideways. Outwardly, she appeared to just be waiting for her Knight Attendant. Link appeared entirely unfazed, and why wouldn’t he? He didn’t know that she’d foolishly set him up to be punished.

Her eyes darted back and forth between the guards, then stared sharply at the one that took out a book. He turned it over and opened it to a random page in the middle before nodding to Link and placing it back in his bag. “Our apologies, Sir Link. Please enjoy the rest of your day.” They crossed an arm across their chest and nodded.

Link came to join her as she continued a few more steps before she stopped awkwardly. Her mind was racing. Did it get lost!? She gave a harried look at Link who returned it with a head tilt of curiosity. Did he find it and throw it out!? She couldn’t act on any of her agonizing questions!

“On second thought,” she called after the guards, “You may take the horses to the stables. Please have my things delivered and report to my father that I will be resting from today’s journey and will not be disturbed.” She dismounted, continuing out of the gatehouse on foot. Link followed suit.

As she went up the steps leading to the courtyard below her quarters, she was afraid to say anything with patrolling guards so near. She finally stomped up the stairs to her room in a frenzied state. That book was important! How was she going to find out about what happened to it without being seriously reprimanded from going against her father’s will?

She practically forgot Link was behind her and before she entered her room, he said in a hushed tone, “The next time you need me to hide something for you,” he pulled the book out from under his tunic behind his back, “it might be better that I’m actually involved.”

She looked down at it and her eyes widened before snapping back up to his smug face. It quickly turned into one of shock as she grabbed him by the front of his tunic and pulled him in. After riding the highest levels of stress, fear of discovery, and relief all in the span of a few minutes, she latched onto him in a tight hug without a second thought. “Thank Hylia, you have it! First I thought I was fine, then I thought I’d- and you would be punished for sure as well, and then I thought it was lost somehow-” she had pulled away at this point, “but how could it be? I hid it at the very bottom.”

Link watched her nervous rambling with a rather judgmental, yet amused expression.  

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

He held his hands up, book still in one, as if to accept defeat to a potential argument that hadn’t even started.

“I didn’t think that they would bother to search you.” She stopped herself as she noticed her old habit of deflecting fault was rearing its ugly head. She had vowed to be better since he saved her life in the desert and right now, that meant an apology was probably due.

She sighed, “I’m sorry, Link. I should have trusted you. I guess I just thought that you wouldn’t approve or... may have stopped me.”

“Have you met you?” he asked rhetorically as he handed the book over.

She copped his joke and pressed her lips together hard so she wouldn’t laugh on principle, but her belly bounced a little  in a silent chortle anyway. Once she regained her composure her brows knitted and she enquired, “But why didn’t you just tell me you knew before we got back? You could have-” her mouth gaped as she gasped in realization. “You were getting back at me for not telling you!?”

“I did think I was owed a tiny bit of payback for being an unknowing accomplice in smuggling your ancient contraband.”

“Well... I...” She became flustered in her defeat.

He hadn’t meant to actually make her feel bad so he smiled. “It’s ok. I’m on your side so just tell me next time you need help.”

He probably thought that was just a nice thing to say but his genuine declaration of support struck right to the base of her core. The oaths that they had taken at the beginning of this colossal mess had meant nothing to her back then, but through the eventual development of their friendship, she discovered that those ties now carried weight; and though she still felt useless for the coming trial, she respected their bond more than ever. And he did too. Urbosa and Impa were the only other people whom she felt truly knew her. Now she had another, and she felt blessed that he was always by her side.

Blinking away her hard stare at his words, she came back to herself and said, “Alright then. Since you’re now in on this, you can be my mule.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I’m Purah’s best translator so I’ll need you to feed any potential discoveries to Impa. If she’s away you can take them to Robbie. He’ll still be here for a while yet working on the Guardians.”

She continued nattering on, the way she did when she seemed to speak more to herself than to another person, while she sat down with the book at her desk and started to flip through the pages. “I’ll be starting right away. I’ve actually been dying to dive in. Did you want to stay until I get something ready or do you have things you need to do?”

When she looked back at him he had an unspoken expectation on his face which she proceeded to misread. “It’s quite alright if you have things to take care of, I’m sure I’ll be a while yet before I have- oh! You mean,” she smiled sheepishly and then cleared her throat. “Sorry. Sir Link, do you consent?”

The way she asked had him closing his eyes and shaking his head in amusement.

“No?”

“No- I mean, yes, Princess, you have my consent.” He bowed eloquently. “I’ll return later when you might have something for me.”

“Thank you.”  

He opened the door to leave and she added, “And thank you for...”

He stopped and looked back.

“For being on my side,” she finished.

He nodded and went.

She sat for a few moments looking at where he’d just been, a tingle running through all of her limbs in a wave, causing goosebumps.

~~~

There had been a few things of interest that she sent to Purah via Link’s underground network. Thankfully, she had kept many detailed notes about how to translate ancient Sheikah text. She always was a good note taker. Her very own research journal was an invaluable resource that she had justifiably not been made to give up. Her father must have either thought she couldn’t do much with it or didn’t want to go to such an extent to violate her personal belongings after he took the only thing that was bringing her any joy.

She was out at her study tower again, working on it at a time she was not likely to be disturbed- but even if she were, Link was on duty outside. She came across a passage on underground structures and thought she was finally on track to learning where the pillars were. If only they could be located, the research team would supposedly be able to harness many more Guardians, not just the ones that had been dug up. These ones were properly stored and ready for when the Calamity struck.

With her potential conclusion on the material of the passage being under such a bias, she kept getting stuck. The page wasn’t making sense as it stated the pillars were all over Hyrule; but she knew them to be under the castle.

She read on about something pertaining to activation of the network, or that everything was connected, or... something. Her eyes were getting tired and she felt a brain melt coming on. If only she had more points of reference. She pined after the Slate. In its absence, all she had left was the library and she couldn’t risk going there without being watched. She started to lean back in her chair and zone out at her wall in abject defeat when she noticed a doodle. It was a less detailed, but accurate copy of the tapestry in Impa’s office.

Just as she began to think she wouldn’t glean anything from a picture she’d looked at a thousand times, she noticed the pillars framing the castle. There were also a few of the same at the bottom, and one in each quadrant... all around Hyrule. But the others wouldn’t be the pillars. They look like towers.

She sat up straight and began to re-read the translation. If she thought of them as towers, and there was some sort of connection between them- but where were they? She’d practically been all over the kingdom and had never seen such a structure. Perhaps buried, like the pillars!

With newly invigorated passion, she stood and stretched, then crossed the small circular room to the door. Opening it part way, she saw Link standing at ease and then turning to regard her.

“Sir Link? I believe I am in dire need of a hot chocolate in order to continue performing at the best of my abilities. Could you please send for one?”

He smiled knowingly and dipped his head in kind before leaving to find an attendant or a less strictly positioned guard to pass on the request.

“Oh, and please get one for yourself! If you want to,” she added.

He waved behind him to acknowledge he’d heard.

She closed the door and looked over at the materials on her desk and the drawing of the tapestry. She felt there was something potentially big here. If so, she wanted so badly to find a way to tell Impa or Purah herself. She thought of the devotions she had looming in a few hours time. They were now most of her days and she felt more like a helpless failure than ever before. She couldn’t bear the thought of never being able to share in discoveries again. She would wait until she could see them somehow. At least then she would have some joy.

[vannahfanfics]

Prayer

Category: Angst 

Characters: Link, Zelda

Zelda’s eyes were lidded as she stared at the goddess statue erected at the opposite end of the spring. The winged stone effigy clasped her hands in eternal prayer, a wordless benediction that rang hollowly in Zelda’s body as the minute humming of the powers had failed to summon. The Spring of Power, this place was called; Zelda hoped it would live up to its epithet and grant her access to the power she so sorely needed to protect Hyrule against Calamity Ganon’s inevitable second coming. 

The hem of Zelda’s white dress swished as she tugged upward on the sleek, soft silk, exposing her sandaled feet. Silently, she slipped free of the hand-woven shoes and gently kicked them to the side. They rolled onto their edges, bearing the well-worn soles to her similarly wearied eyes. They had endured Zelda for thousands of miles on her pilgrimage to the sacred springs and allied civilizations. The shoes were clearly on their last legs, evidenced by the smooth soles and fraying leather. 

Zelda was on her last legs, too, clinging to a fragile shred of hope like the dying embers of a fire. 

Zelda raised her dress higher to expose her shins, knees, and lower thighs. She shivered as the cool breeze wafting through the spring kissed her skin, springing goose pimples over her flesh. Bunching the white cloth in one hand, she slowly descended the carved stone steps into the clear waters of the pool. 

She flinched immediately at the coldness that washed over her ankles and lapped at her shins. She paused for a moment, biting down on her lip as she adjusted to the temperature, before easing herself further in. The stone was smooth and slick beneath the soles of her feet, forcing her to use caution on her descent. Impatience bubbled in her blood; she wanted nothing more than to splash into the pool and rant like a child, but that was unbecoming of a princess. 

The seaweed swayed with the water current. Their emerald fronds brushed against her legs as if to wish her luck as she waded into the spring. The ripples created by her moving body propagated across the surface to splash against the algae-coated stone cliffs ringing the hidden spring. 

Zelda stopped a few feet in front of the statue to look up at it with sad eyes. Water coalesced on its stone face, condensing into beads that slipped down its rounded cheeks every so often. The statue wept for Zelda, wept for her desperation and failure. 

Zelda dropped the hem of her dress. It ballooned around her like a lily blossom before soaking up the liquid and drifting down to waft ethereally around her legs. With her eye fixed on the statue, Zelda too clasped her hands in prayer. 

“I come seeking help regarding this power that has been handed down over time,” she began solemnly. The full moon shone in the indigo sky stretching behind the statue’s head, illuminating the motherly smile etched forever into its benevolent visage. Zelda felt intimidated by the smile, imagining a malevolence in those curled lips— a disappointment burning within the stone at her failure. Zelda gulped and clenched her fingers tighter as if that would make her words more resonant. 

“Prayer will awaken my power to seal Ganon away.” The wind rustled through the gaps in the stone, rippling the water and causing the blue flowers blooming amongst the freshwater grasses to dance in the moonlight. Zelda’s eyes dropped to the ever-shifting water, and she gulped. “Or so I have been told all my life…” 

Her hands dropped down to her sides, following suit with her sky-blue eyes. Her fingertips dipped below the surface of the water. They twitched as the numbing cold spread up her nerves. The chill tracked a path all the way up her arm and into her chest to wrap icy tendrils around her aching, forlorn heart. 

“And yet… Grandmother heard them… The voices from the spirit realm— and mother said her own power would develop within me. But… I don’t hear or feel anything!” she exclaimed sorrowfully. She clenched her fists in frustration and cast her head to the side, suddenly feeling unworthy to gaze upon the goddess’s image. Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes and beaded on her golden lashes. She fluttered them a few times, collecting them within the fine strands to prevent them from streaming down her cheeks. 

She could not cry… not yet. 

“Father had told me time and time again,” she said, looking back up at the statue, who continued to grant her that sickeningly serene smile laced with loathing. “He always says, ‘Quit wasting your time playing at being a scholar!’” She spit out the words, the hostility from the statue stirring forth her own self-doubt, bitterness, and sorrow. She clasped her hands in prayer again as she stared miserably at the deity that was supposed to be her patron. 

“Curse you.” Zelda gritted her teeth and splashed her curled fists down in the water. The water splashed up her sides, drenching her dress and gold-wrought belt with cold droplets, but the chill had already seeped into her system from head-to-toe. The only warmth came from the ferocious fire retaliating in her heart, fueled by years of pent-up anger. “I’ve spent every day of my life dedicated to praying! I’ve pleaded the spirits tied to the ancient gods… and the holy powers have proven deaf to my devotion.” 

The fire rapidly dwindled as it was eclipsed by the cold rush of shame and sorrow. Sniffling, Zelda bowed her head and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to protect the one small ember of angry hope flickering inside of her from the cold despair that threatened to freeze her solid. 

“Please, just tell me…” she whispered. The tears on her lashes finally grew too heavy and dropped down into the pool below. Zelda watched the ripples shimmer across the water, watched the little waves sparkle with the white light of the moon. Her fingers dug into the skin of her upper arms to imprint deep crescent moons. The sting reawakened her freezing nerves, but only just. 

“What is it? What’s wrong with me?” 

The goddess yielded no answer. When Zelda looked up with tear-filled eyes, the statue just gave her that sickly placid smile that made Zelda’s stomach turn. Bitterness churned in her belly. As she’d feared, she would receive no answers here. 

She had no energy left to be angry anymore. Her arms dropped back into the water as she sighed despondently, body sagging with misery and exhaustion. The cold nipped at her skin, and it was the only force that propelled her to turn and trudge through the mud and weeds back to the stone causeway. If she could, she would remain rooted to the spot forever, another praying statue with tears streaming down her cheeks and a forlorn smile painting her face. 

Link gazed blankly at her as she mounted the stairs. She wiped away her tears with the backs of her hands, wincing as the cold metal of her golden armguards grazed her reddened, tear-stained cheeks. He held the Master Sword in his hand, fingers glaring white in the starlight as he gripped it in an iron-knuckle grip. Zelda found a smile working its way into her lips. 

It comforted her to see the silent knight angered on her behalf. 

“I’m all right, Link,” she reassured him as she ascended the last step. She stopped to wring out the sodden folds of her dress. Link respectfully averted his gaze as the pale flesh of her thighs flashed in the gloom. Water splattered against the pavement as she twisted the fabric tightly between her fingers. It was cathartic, in a way; she could almost imagine she was strangling her own insecurities and shortcomings. 

If only it were that simple. 

Link looked back to her when the damp cloth of her dress dropped back down to flutter around her shins. She primly clasped her hands in front of her stomach and smiled kindly at him. Unlike the goddess still sneering behind her, Zelda’s smile held no hidden animosity. Link’s unwavering devotion and quiet empathy soothed her to the depths of her soul, stoking the fires in the crumbling hearth of hope. 

“Please, I’m all right,” she repeated with a laugh as he narrowed his golden-brown eyebrows suspiciously. “It is frustrating, but there is no use in focusing on the negative. I must harden my resolve and push forward!” To punctuate her determined outburst, she balled up her first and pursed her lips steadfastly. 

Link blinked at her, then released a quiet chuckle. It made Zelda’s smile widen, for it t was such a soft, sweet sound. 

“Let us make haste back to camp, yes?” she hummed as she clasped her hands behind her back and strolled forward. Link nodded and fell in step with her, swinging his gilded sword by his side. 

Against her better judgment, Zelda cast a glance back at the statue. A wispy gray cloud had eclipsed the moon, carving stark shadows in the otherwise delicate features of the statue’s face. The water glinted like chips of ice to delineate its squinting eyes, and its smile seemed all the more threatening. 

Zelda quickened her pace and shuffled sideways to huddle close to Link, fingers grasping the leather of his armguards. He said nothing, only edged closer. The heat radiating from his person chased away the cold smile burned into her memory, at least just for a little while. 

I will not let you defeat me, she vowed silently. I will unlock this power of mine and protect Hyrule. 

I will not let you defeat me.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[katedoesfics]

The Great Calamity

Chapter Fourteen - Desperation (Slumbering Power)

Zelda didn’t say a word to her father the next morning. She helped Link ready the horses in silence and remained wordless as they rode away from the castle and out into Hyrule Field to make their way to the Spring of Power in North Akkala.

She was obviously lost in her own thoughts as they rode through the morning, and Link thought it best not to intrude. He looked over his shoulder from time to time as Storm seemed to fall behind. Zelda’s gaze was low on the ground until she noticed Link watching her and she would encourage the horse to catch up to them. Her expression was of defeat as they continued to ride on in silence until Link couldn’t take it any longer.

“I think Storm’s starting to like you,” he said casually.

Zelda’s eyes moved slowly up from their gaze on the ground to meet Link’s. “He is?”

Link nodded. “He stood quietly when you saddled him this morning. He’s more responsive to you now.”

Zelda let her gaze move to the horse. She watched Storm’s ears twitch. “Oh.” She leaned down slightly and patted his neck.

“I knew I could make a rider out of you.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Well, I’m sure I don’t compare to your riding abilities.”

“Let’s put it to the test,” Link said. “A race to the stables in South Akkala.”

Zelda hesitated. “A race?” Sure, she was capable of galloping on horseback, but the idea of racing Link and Epona - clearly bonded duo, no less - seemed daunting. There was no way she and Storm would even come close. It would be humiliating to say the least. But before she had a chance to dismiss the idea, Link had taken her reins from her and was encouraging Epona and Storm to move faster.

Zelda let a small yelp escape as Storm’s pace quickened with Epona’s, and after a moment, Link let go of her reins and pushed Epona into a gallop. Before Zelda could make her own command, Storm bolted forward to keep up with his companion. Zelda lurched forward as he did so, but regained herself quickly, taking the reins in hand and bending low as Storm’s pace quickened.

Before she knew it, Storm had caught up to Epona, and she and Link galloped side by side for a moment. Zelda narrowed her eyes playfully at Link before bending lower towards Storm’s neck and encouraging him faster still. She and Storm pulled ahead, leading the way into the Akkala region. The sound of Storm’s hooves thundering against the ground brought a sense of excitement as they galloped across the land and she grinned and cooed to the horse.

Her moment of joy was cut short as Link and Epona galloped by them, taking the lead. Clearly he had been holding back for her, and Zelda was not about to make his win seem that easy. She kicked at Storm, encouraging him to push himself as fast as he could, and Storm willingly obeyed, eager to keep up with his friends.

Once more, Link and Zelda galloped side by side with only the sounds of thundering hooves and rushing wind in their ears. The stables in South Akkala neared quickly, but Zelda pushed onward, even with Link and Epona fell behind once more. She didn’t slow storm until they were just outside the stables. She stood high in her stirrups, thrusting a fist in the air as she pulled Storm to a stop. She turned and watched as Link and Epona trotted towards them and they let their horses catch their breaths.

“You let me win,” Zelda said, but she was grinning proudly nonetheless.

Link shook his head and patted Epona’s neck. “No way,” he said with a smile. “I’m one of the best riders around. I have a reputation to uphold.”

“So I guess I shouldn’t go around telling everyone that the princess showed you up.” Zelda winked playfully at him.

“That would be very kind of you,” Link said as he dismounted. “Save me the shame and humiliation.” He walked over to Storm and offered his hand to Zelda. “Princess.”

“How chivalrous of you,” Zelda said, but she ignored his offer and dismounted on her own. She scratched Storm’s neck for a moment, then unsaddled the horse as Link unsaddled Epona.

“We can stay here for the night,” Link said. “And get to the spring early tomorrow morning.”

“Okay,” Zelda said. She carried her saddle to Link and let it drop on his arms. “Storm and I will take it slow for your sake.” She winked at Link as she walked by him. She made her way to two young girls who stared at her with admiration.

Link watched as Zelda got to her knees to talk to the two girls. She picked two wild flowers from the ground and put them delicately behind their ears. The girls giggled, and Link smiled.

*****

The morning was still young when Link and Zelda arrived at the Spring of Power. Zelda stood before the goddess statue in silence for a few moments in an attempt to clear her mind and focus on her prayers. She looked up at the goddess statue, her hands clasped together before her, but the longer she stood there, the more helpless she started to feel. She closed her eyes and prayed with every ounce of energy she had, but still the voices remained silent.

She looked upon the goddess statue and let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She stared at the statue for a moment, her shoulders dropping.

“I come seeking help regarding this power that has been handed down over time. Prayer will awaken my power to seal Ganon away. Or so I’ve been told all my life.” She hesitated and let her hands come apart, dropping into the water beside her. Her voice softened and she cast her eyes downward. “And yet, Grandmother heard them - the voices from the spirit realm. And mother said her own power would develop within me. But I don’t hear… or feel anything!”

She turned her gaze back onto the statue, growing desperate. “Father has told me time and time again. He always says, ‘Quit wasting your time playing at being a scholar!’ Curse you!” She let her hands come down hard, punching at the water, but the water only gave way to her fists with light splashes.

“I’ve spent every day of my life dedicated to praying! I’ve pleaded to the spirits tied to the ancient gods and still the holy powers have proven deaf to my devotion.” She brought her hands up across her chest, gripping at her arms. She closed her eyes in an attempt to hold back her desperate tears. “Please just tell me. What is it? What’s wrong with me?”

Link turned around, watching Zelda’s desperation grow. He felt helpless, watching her struggle in search of her power. There was nothing he could do to help her. Nothing. He returned the sword to its sheath as she turned away from the goddess statue. She moved slowly through the water, her head hanging low in defeat. She walked out of the water and stood before Link, her tears dripping off her cheeks and onto the ground.

“What if I can’t do it?” she said softly. “How can this world depend on a failure of a princess who can’t even awaken the power needed to seal Ganon away?” She met Link’s gaze. “What… What’s wrong with me?” She let herself fall into him, burying her face into his shoulder as she sobbed.

Link hesitated for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her. He leaned his head against hers and sighed. “Nothing’s wrong with you,” he whispered to her.

“Something must be,” she said. “The war hasn’t even begun and I’m already failing.”

Link pushed her away slightly, looking down into her eyes. He hesitated for a moment, searching for something to say that might make her feel better. “I can’t hear the sword,” he finally said.

Zelda looked up and met his gaze, her brows knit together. She searched his eyes for a moment. “Is that… Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

Link pinched his lips together. “Yes?”

Zelda stepped back away from him. “So, we’re both failures,” she said, her voice getting louder. “The fate of Hyrule is in the hands of two failures. One would have been fine. At least you could use the power of the sword to defeat Ganon. But now… now we’re really doomed. We can’t do anything to stop this. We can’t do anything to save Hyrule.”

Link hesitated, regretting having said anything to her. “It’s in our destinies -”

“Ugh!” Zelda threw her arm angrily and pushed passed Link. “There’s no such thing as destiny, Link! Don’t you see? It ends here. Ten thousand years of legends and prophecies all end here, with us. We’ve failed, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Link walked slowly after her, feeling the sting of her words. She was right; he had failed her. They had failed Hyrule.

“We can’t give up yet,” Link said with determination in his voice. “There’s still time. We need to use every second that’s given to us to find that power.”

Zelda looked out over the Akkala region. The sun cast the land in a warm, golden glow. The red and yellow leaves made the trees look like wild fires along the land.

“And what if we don’t?” Zelda whispered. “What if Ganon returns and we’re not ready? What then?”

Link stood at Zelda’s side looking out over the fields of Akkala. “We fight,” he said. “To the end.”

Zelda look up at Link and saw the determination in his eyes. His presence and confidence was reassuring to her. She turned her gaze to the sky. He was right; no matter what, they would fight. Together.

I had a dream last night… In a place consumed by darkness, a lone woman gazed at me, haloed by blinding light. I sensed she was… not of this world. I don’t know if she was a fairy or a goddess, but she was beautiful. Her lips spoke urgently, but her voice did not reach me. Would I have heard her if my power was awoken? Or was my dream simply a manifestation of my fears? I am sure I will know the answer soon, whether I wish to or not…

[luxdea-archive]

Zelda licks frogs.

( there’s no lie in this | @enigmatias )

just for science.

[psychic-readingonline]

Julie Psychic Source

Contents

Line art psychic evaluation psychological evaluation

Windbridge research center primarily

Windbridge research center

Psychic love meaning psychic

Psychic medium julie mckenzie

Willow is a Intuitive/Empath, Career Psychic, Psychic Medium with Psychic Source, who uses Can Read Without Tools, Reiki/Healing, Tarot's in her readings , …

Psychic Meme AM REEDING YR MIND IZ LIKE WATCHING A TRAIN WREK. Ai must test mai psychic powurs. Comments · captions · Cats · mind · psychic · reading minds … Psychic Ability is a scary riddle about a homeless man and the strange things he says. Read the story carefully and think about it for a while. Psychic Type Recipe Jan 11, 2019 … This page covers how Recipes work in Pokemon Quest, how to unlock different cooking pots, a list of …. Favorite food of Psychic-type Pokémon. Losing Psychic Abilities Psychic line art psychic evaluation psychological evaluation is defined as a way of assessing an individual's behavior, personality, cognitive abilities, and several other domains.

Court TV’s "Psychic Detectives" Psychic Detectives (also known as Psychic Investigators) is a television program produced by StoryHouse Productions for Court TV.

The windbridge research center primarily performs peer-reviewed studies with mediums (people who experience regular communication with the deceased) and the effect of mediumship readings on grief.

Julie is a Clairvoyant, Psychic Medium, Clairsentient with Psychic Source, who uses Tarot's in her readings, and whose style is Compassionate.

Psychic Love Meaning Psychic Type Recipe Jan 11, 2019 … This page covers how Recipes work in Pokemon Quest, how to unlock different cooking pots, a list of …. Favorite food of Psychic-type Pokémon. Losing Psychic abilities psychic line art Psychic Evaluation Psychological evaluation is defined as a way of assessing an individual's behavior, personality, cognitive abilities, and Psychic Meaning Marathi psychic love meaning psychic Type Recipe Jan 11, 2019 … This page covers how Recipes work in Pokemon Quest, how to unlock different cooking pots, a list of …. Favorite food of Psychic-type Pokémon. Losing Psychic abilities psychic line art psychic evaluation psychological evaluation is defined as a way of assessing an individual's behavior, personality, Free Psychic Reading Tumblr Therefore, to test out the spreads, I'm going to give away 10 free tarot readings, to do at my leisure, for the first ten people who come into my inbox. Here are the … I’m a new reader and I would love to start practising with readings. You will need a tumblr acount to text me.

Zelda is a Love Psychic, Intuitive/Empath, Career Psychic with Psychic Source, who uses Tarot, Astrology, Numerology's in her readings, and whose style is …

Psychic Organization Definition Dependence syndrome Definition. The Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Health Problems (ICD-10) defines the dependence syndrome as being a cluster of physiological, behavioural, and cognitive phenomena in which the use of a substance or a class of substances takes on a much higher priority for a given individual than other behaviours

Scott William Pilgrim is the 23-year-old (22 in film and 24 in volumes 5-6) protagonist.He is the bass player for the band Sex Bob-Omb with his friends Stephen Stills and Kim Pine; he plays a Rickenbacker 4001c64, 4003 in the film. Though initially unemployed, he later gets a job as a dish washer and food prep trainee at The Happy Avocado vegetarian restaurant.

Telepathy (from the Greek τῆλε, tele meaning "distant" and πάθος, pathos or -patheia meaning "feeling, perception, passion, affliction, experience") is the purported transmission of information from one person to another without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W. H. Myers, a founder of the …

Psychic Answers on Keen Are you looking for answers to your life questions that keep you awake at night? You are not alone. Many people strive to find clarity and define the greater meaning behind their own existence. Questions like "Why am I here?"

Aussie psychic medium julie mckenzie made some huge predictions for the coming year in an exclusive chat with Starts at 60.

[arcersior-blog]

Flowers woven together expertly to create a crown almost worthy of the princess before her. With a sweet smile and pink cheeks she places it upon Zelda's head. "Pretty."

( what this is so sweet | @pescaprincipessa )

     PERHAPS, SHE SHOULD have been paying more attention, but she’d been taking notes on the area where they’d found more silent princesses, frantically writing to keep up with her thoughts before she forgot them entirely. she had apologized to her companion of course, but zelda hadn’t realized just how long it would take, despite her swift writing.

     BUT, ALL THOUGHTS of her research suddenly paused as something was placed upon her head. she rose up, fingers brushing against the petals of the flowers that made up the crown. zelda wasn’t sure if peach meant that the flower crown was pretty or that zelda herself was, but either way she could feel her face heating up with a blush as she used the sheikah slate to take a look.

     SHE COULDN’T LOOK at the other princess, even as she lowered the slate back down, afraid of her noticing her blush. instead, she reached up once again to feel the petals, her smile growing wider.

     ❝ THANK YOU. IT’S lovely! ❞

[autisticsorey]

The Writings of Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule

The King has a journal inside Hyrule Castle, and I’d rather not post a mess of screenshots, so here’s a transcription of what was written. obvious botw spoilers ahead, etc. 

“Today, as the sun rose and a new day was born, my daughter, too, joined this sweet world. In keeping with the traditions of the royal family, I have decided to name her… Zelda. I am not a man accustomed to frivolous musings, but now seems as good a time as any to begin my royal memorandum.

Reports keep arriving regarding the excavation of relics. The fortune teller’s predictions seem to be coming true. Calamity Ganon was not a figure of fable, or even of legend. He actually existed in our great land of Hyrule. We must investigate all the relics, learn as much as we can. But understanding the Divine Beasts alone will take time… Zelda’s eyes lit up like a wildfire when I told her about the relics… I must admit, she has a knack for research.

My queen has left this world. Her death was so sudden and unexpected, I awaken most nights unsure if she is really gone. Zelda never cried, never faltered. Not even during the royal funeral or later when she and I were alone with our grief. I must assume her strength is a result of us repeatedly informing her of her duty to be a valiant and steady princess. For a child of merely six years of age, her conduct was truly that of a born leader. Her strength gives me hope. From now on, I must raise her all alone… Now, only I remain to prepare her for her difficult future as princess of Hyrule.

Zelda finally reported back after her visit to the fountain. It seems her sacred sealing power has still yet to awaken. It has been a year and three months since her mother passed. Perhaps she is held back by heartache too deep to heal. If the Ganon prophecy wasn’t looming over our heads, I would tell her to take her time… To wait until she is ready. But our situation is dire and leaves no room for weakness – even on behalf of my beloved daughter. My heart breaks for Zelda, but I must act as a king, not a father. I must order her to train relentlessly at the fountain.

I was told Zelda went off to research ancient technology, so I had no choice but to confront her about it. She claims she was simply using her day off from training to indulge in a bit of research, but still I scolded her. She won’t get it through her head… Forcing me to tell her the same thing I have been repeating ad nauseam. The reason her sacred powers still won’t awaken is because she’s spending all her efforts playing at being a scholar!

In truth, I understand Zelda’s feelings. Painfully so. She lost her mother, her teacher, before she could learn from her. Ten pointless years of self-training, without so much as a book or note to help her find her way… Those in the castle talk behind her back. And I, her only family, scold her for her shortcomings. No wonder she wishes to hide away in her beloved relic research. I’d love nothing more than to console her… But I must stay strong. She MUST fulfill her duty, just as we all must. Even if she comes to despise me.

I have been told my Zelda went to the Spring of Wisdom… This will likely be her last chance. If she is unable to awaken her power at Lanayru, all hope is truly lost. If she comes back without success, then I shall speak kindly with her. Scolding is pointless now. I forced 10 years of training on her… and after all that, it seems her power will stubbornly awaken some other way. Perhaps I should encourage her to keep researching her beloved relics. They may just lead her to answers I can’t provide. For now, I sit anxiously, more a father than a king in this moment. I sit and await my daughter’s return.”

[nneefa]

The Writings of King Bosphoramus Hyrule

After I found the shrine hidden at the bottom of Hyrule Castle, I decided to keep going up the stairs that lead inside of the castle. I came upon the library, where I saw a door that lead to the King’s Study and where I collected some goodies and found his diary. Suffice to say, it hit me right in the feels much like Zelda’s diary and research journal did.

First Page:

Today, as the sun rose and a new day was born, my daughter, too, joined this sweet world. In keeping with the traditions of the royal family, I have decided to name her…Zelda. I am not a man accustomed to frivolous musings, but now seems as good a time as any to begin my royal memorandum.

Second Page:

Reports keep arriving regarding the excavation of relics. The fortune teller’s predictions seem to be coming true. Calamity Ganon was not a figure of fable, or even of legend. He actually existed in our great land of Hyrule. We must investigate all the relics, learn as much as we can. But understanding the Divine Beasts alone will take time… Zelda’s eyes lit up like a wildfire when I told her about the relics… I must admit, she has a knack for research.

Third Page:

My queen has left this world. Her death was so sudden and unexpected. I awaken most nights unsure if she is really gone. Zelda never cried, never faltered. Not even during the royal funeral or later when she and and I were alone with our grief. I must assume her strength is a result of us repeatedly informing her of her duty to be a valiant and steady princess. For a child of merely six years of age, her conduct was truly that of a born leader. Her strength gives me hope. From now on, I must raise her all alone… Now, only I remain to prepare her for her difficult future as princess of Hyrule.

Fourth Page:

Zelda finally reported back after her visit to the fountain. It seems her sacred sealing power has still yet to awaken. It has been a year and three months since her mother passed. Perhaps she is held back by heartache too deep to heal. If the Ganon prophecy wasn’t looming over our heads, I would tell her to take her time… To wait until she is ready. But our situation is dire and leaves no room for weakness - even on behalf of my beloved daughter. My heart breaks for Zelda, but I must act as a king, not a father. I must order her to train relentlessly at the fountain.

Fifth Page:

I was told Zelda went off to research ancient technology, so I had no choice but to confront her about it. She claims she was simply using her day off from training to indulge in a bit of research, but still I scolded her. She won’t get it through her head… Forcing me to tell her the same thing I have been repeating ad nauseam. The reason her sacred powers still won’t awaken is because she’s spending all her efforts playing at being a scholar!

Page Six:

In truth, I understand Zelda’s feelings. Painfully so. She lost her mother, her teacher, before she could learn from her. Ten pointless years of self-training, without so much as a book or note to help her find her way… Those in the castle talk behind her back. And I, her only family, scold her for her shortcomings. No wonder she wishes to hide away in her beloved relic research. I’d love nothing more than to console her… But I must stay strong. She MUST fulfill her duty, just as we all must. Even if she comes to despise me.

Last Page:

I have been told my Zelda went to the Spring of Wisdom… This will likely be her last chance. If she is unable to awaken her power at Lanayru, all hope is truly lost. If she comes back without success, then I shall speak kindly with her. Scolding is pointless now. I forced 10 years of training on her… and after all that, it seems her power will stubbornly awaken some other way. Perhaps I should encourage her to keep researching her beloved relics. They may just lead her to answers I can’t provide. For now, I sit anxiously, more a father than a king in this moment. I sit and await my daughter’s return.

[my-botw-experience-blog]

King Rhoam’s Journal 

The Writings of Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule 

First page

Today, as the sun rose and a new day was born, my daughter, too, joined this sweet world. In keeping with the traditions of the royal family, I have decided to name her... Zelda. I am not a man accustomed to frivolous musings, but now seems as good a time as nay to begin my royal memorandum.

Next page

Reports keep arriving regarding the excavation of relics. The fortune teller’s predictions seem to be coming true.Calamity Ganon  was not a figure of fable, or even legend. He actually existed in our great land of Hyrule. We must investigate all the relics, learn as much as we can. But understanding the Divine Beasts alone will take time...Zelda’s eyes lit up like wildfire when I told her about the relics... I must admit, she has a knack for research.

Next page

My queen has left this world. Her death was so sudden and unexpected, I awaken most nights unsure if she is really gone. Zelda never cried, never faltered. Not even during the royal funeral or later when she and I were alone with our grief. I must assume her strength is a result of us repeatedly informing her of her duty to be a valiant and steady princess. For a child merely of six years of age, her conduct was truly that of a born leader. Her strength gives me hope.From now on, I must raise her all alone... Now, only I remain to prepare her for her difficult future as princess of Hyrule.

Next page 

Zelda finally reported back after her visit to the fountain. it seems her sacred sealing power has still to yet awaken. It has been a year and three months since her mother passed. Perhaps she is held back by heartache too deeply to heal. If the Ganon prophecy wasn't looming over our heads, I would tell her to take her time... To wait until she is ready. But out situation is dire and leaves no room for weakness-even on behalf of my beloved daughter. My heart breaks for Zelda, but I must act as a king, not a father. I must order her to train relentlessly at the fountain.

Next page

I was told Zelda went off to research ancient technology, so I had no choice but to confront her about it. She claims she was simply using her day off from training to indulge in a bit of research, but still I scolded her. She won`t get it though her head...  Forcing me to tell her the same thing I have been repeating ad nauseam. the reason her sacred powers still won`t awaken is because she`s spending all her efforts playing at being a scholar!

Next page

In truth, I understand Zelda`s feelings. Painfully so. She lost her mother, her teacher, before she could learn from her. Ten pointless yeas of self-training, without so much as a book or not to help her find her way... Those in the castle talk behind her back. And I, her only family scold her for her shortcomings. No wonder she wishes to hide away in her beloved relic research. I`d love nothing more than to console her...But I must stay strong. She MUST fulfil her duty, just as we all must. Even if she comes to despise me.

Next page

I have been told Zelda went to the Spring of Wisdom... This will likely be her last chance. If she is unable to awaken her power at Lanayru, all hope is truly lost. If she comes back without success, then I shall speak kindly with her. Scolding is pointless now. I forced 10 years of training on her... and after all that, it seems her power will stubbornly awaken some other way. Perhaps I should encourage her to keep research her beloved relics. They may just lead her to answers I can`t provide. For now, I sit anxiously, moe a father than a king in this moment. I sit and wait for my daughter`s return.

[theconservativebrief]

When somebody dies in the Catholic tradition, people generally know what to do. There’s the saying of the Last Rites at a dying person’s bedside, the vigil for the deceased — also known as a wake — and, often, a formal Mass of Christian Burial.

In the Jewish tradition, there’s the practice of sitting shiva: the week-long mourning process during which the family of the deceased remains at home, and friends and relatives call on them to pay their respects.

In the Islamic tradition, the deceased’s body is ritually bathed and shrouded in white cloth before Muslims of the community gather to perform the Salat al-Janazah, the customary prayer for the dead.

But what happens when you die and you don’t follow any faith tradition?

When Iris Explosion — an entertainer and social worker who prefers to go by her stage name — was widowed unexpectedly at age 28, she and her friends had to create the memorial service for her husband, Jon, from scratch.

Explosion and her husband were not conventionally religious — she describes herself as a “lax Jew,” while her husband, a queer man interested in alchemy and other occult practices, often felt alienated from the born-again Christianity of his parents. The memorial service her friends created a few days after his death, she says, contained a blend of traditions and practices individual to Jon.

A Jewish friend recited the Mourners’ Kaddish. The group told stories — some reverential, some “bawdy” — that reflected all aspects of Jon’s personality. They played an orchestral rendition of the theme song to Legend of Zelda, Jon’s favorite video game. Friends from out of town dialed in on Skype to share their stores. Numerous friends gave Explosion rose quartz, a stone associated in some New Age and occult traditions with heart healing, as a gift.

The memorial service — as well as a second funeral service, which took place a few months later, and was similarly eclectic in style — focused on Jon’s personality and interests rather than being constrained by a specific set of traditions.

Explosion is just one person among the 24 percent of Americans who identify as religiously unaffiliated. For the religious “nones,” the issue of what happens when you die is an open question in more ways than one. According to a 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, the most recent year for which data is available, 29 percent of Americans do not anticipate having a religious funeral, for whatever reason, and given the steady increase in religious “nones” over the past decade, that number will likely only rise.

But what do secular funerals — or death rituals more broadly — look like? What can they provide that religious death rituals can’t? What are the challenges involved in putting them together?

And as secular funerals become increasingly individualistic, tailored to the preferences and needs of the deceased, rather than a given religious or spiritual tradition, what does that mean for the sense of community engendered by ritual?

It started with weddings.

Scholar and psychologist Philip Zuckerman, author of Living the Secular Life, suggested in a telephone interview that secular funerals are just the latest iteration of the secularization of major life stages overall.

Its genesis, he said, lies in the proliferation of secular weddings in America. In 2017, just 22 percent of American weddings took place in houses of worship, a nearly 20-point drop from 2009, according to data from the wedding website the Knot.

“The first thing we saw was zillions of people going online and registering with the Universal Life Church,” said Zuckerman, referring to an organization that virtually automatically ordains people over the Internet, “so they can perform their own weddings for friends and family, so they can still make it sacred but not under the auspices of religion.”

Different states have different laws about the extent to which Universal Life ordinations are legally valid for performing weddings. Funerals, however, have no such restrictions.

Zuckerman posits that, among the people he’s interviewed for his book research, the desire to have a secular funeral isn’t just about not wanting to affirm the existence of a God or afterlife in which the deceased may or may not believe. Rather, he says, it’s also about wanting to preserve a sense of the deceased’s individuality.

“They just don’t want fairy tales. They don’t want to be told, ‘So and so’s in a better place now’ or ‘So and so is now suckling the bosom of Jesus’ — they can find that talk annoying,” Zuckerman said.

“We want to curate our own Facebook page. Why wouldn’t we want to curate our own funeral?”

More and more, Zuckerman said, he sees people choosing their own music and their own speeches that they want to be read after they die. “I think that is part of our growing individual and less of this care of tradition … more and more people want to feel the idiosyncracies of the dead person and the specialness of the dead person.”

This attitude, he said, is particularly prevalent in the United States. “We all like to think in the United States that we’re special. Why wouldn’t we want our funerals to be special, too?”

Certainly, for Iris Explosion, commemorating Jon’s life in a way that felt true to his personality and character was a priority. From sharing Jon’s favorite Spotify playlists with his friends to curate the music selection for the services to working in references to My Little Pony — a show Jon loved — Explosion and the couple’s friends created a memorial for Jon that befit his character.

By contrast, Explosion said, she declined to attend other memorial services, like one hosted by Jon’s family in his home state, that had a more Christian focus, instead circulating an email to attendees of that service asking them to donate to Planned Parenthood, which she felt better reflected her husband’s values.

Explosion’s experience dovetails with a phenomenon called religious “unbundling.” A term coined by Harvard Divinity School researchers Casper ter Kuile and Angie Thomas, who frequently cover how phenomena like Crossfit and Soulcycle function similarly to religions for their participants, “unbundling” refers to the way in which both the religiously unaffiliated and religious alike are increasingly willing to pick and choose elements of spiritual traditions.

Someone might, for example, be a committed Christian but also practice Buddhist meditation or yoga, or be an atheist but attend Jewish family holidays and read Tarot cards. In a pluralist landscape, in which people are used to gathering information and ideas from a multiplicity of sources (not least through the internet), a more individualized approach to religion and life rituals is all but inevitable.

Even for those of traditional faiths, death is a phenomenon that defies easy answers. But for the religiously unaffiliated, processing and dealing with death and its aftermath can be an especially loaded task.

Brad Wolfe is trying to help them do that.

Wolfe is the founder of the weeklong Reimagine End of Life festival. Wolfe, a singer-songwriter and author, was inspired to work in the end-of-life space after watching a close college friend’s struggle with terminal cancer. The festival, which takes place in New York and San Francisco, partners with community centers and artists to curate a 300-strong series of events — from talks to workshops to performances to museum displays — dealing with the subject of death.

“Death is often the central coalescing element around which many religions are formed,” Wolfe told Vox in a telephone interview. “As we’ve become more secular in some communities … there’s an increasing hunger for that space … to come together and explore this topic.”

“Death is often the central coalescing element around which many religions are formed”

The weeklong New York festival, which took place around Halloween, featured a range of explorations: a class on how to write your own obituary, doctors talking about dealing with their patients’ deaths, live musical performances dealing with the themes of loss and bereavement.

Participants speak at the the Nocturnists storytelling event where doctors from Mount Sinai, New York University, Columbia, and other local hospitals share their personal experiences with death. Courtesy of Reimagine End of Life

What connects each event, however, is a sense of intentionally: that people are actively setting aside time and space to deal with a weighty topic.

Both Wolfe and Zuckerman identify similar elements of what that “coming together” looks like. Ideally, both say, it involves elements of ritual, community gathering, and a sense of meaning: How do we conceptualize a person’s death as part of a bigger picture?

Wolfe suggested that we might be better off looking at this “coming together” not as a non–religious event, but as an expansion of the definition of what religion means. At least two Reimagine events are, fundamentally, immersive theatre performances. In one, participants are invited into a phone booth to have conversations they wish they’d had with somebody who has died.

In another, participants role-play members of a fictional bereavement support group. Speaking about these events, Wolfe argued that the lines between art, ritual, religion, and performance are deeply blurred.

“The boundaries between art and religion are more porous when it becomes a practice explored with intention,” Wolfe said. What matters is the sense of significance shared by participants: “Having a practice, a shared system, allows us to connect in ways that give us a sense of comfort and something we know we can turn to.”

The idea or combining artistic creation and end-of-life ritual is far from new to Janie Rakow, president of the International End of Life Doula Association. As a “death doula,” Rakow works in hospices, helping those facing the end of their lives develop rituals and practices around their own deaths. While she works with patients from a wide variety of religious backgrounds through the hospice, she tailors her work and approach to the individual in question.

One of the most important parts of the end-of-life process, she says, is the act of creation. She helps her patients develop what she calls “legacy projects”: individual artistic works, from a memory box to audio letters.

“Everyone has a legacy,” Rakow says. “So [I ask myself] what kind of legacy project could we possibly create with this person to really leave behind a sense of who they are or were?”

Next, she asks patients to help plan their own death — where they would like to be? What music they would like to be listening to?

“There may be some ritual work done around that,” she says, even if it’s “as simple as surrounding their bed, holding hands, saying a prayer or saying poetry, reading something to them, [or] lighting a candle.”

The point is to help the dying take an active, creative role in the story they leave behind.

Doula Craig Phillips pauses before entering the room of a person who is near death at the Gilchrist Hospice in Baltimore, MD on June 6, 2016. Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Often, Rakow says, these rituals are tailored to individual passions. She gives the example of one man she worked with, who was dying from ALS, a degenerative neurological condition that prevented him from being able to move. With his wife, Rakow created a series of guided visualizations for the man, who loved hiking.

“And so we would bring him with his eyes closed on the most detailed and specific hike that we could from the very beginning to hiking all the way through.”

She’d walk him through ”smelling the forest and feeling himself walking up the hills and hearing the birds chirping and looking over at the crystal clear lake and the more descriptive we could get, we were able to bring him back into his body that he wasn’t able to use through his mind.”

One of the most difficult parts of creating secular death rituals is compensating for the lack of built-in community, or built-in structure, that often accompanies more established religious traditions.

Zuckerman pointed out that the secular bereaved don’t necessarily have a clear roadmap, or community support, to help them deal with the pragmatic aftermath of a death.

“One of the biggest problems for secular culture [is that] you have to cobble together and make it yourself. If you want your kid to have a Bar Mitzvah, it’s all taken care of. You want your kid to go through confirmation class in the Episcopal Church? Boom, they’re enrolled. If you want to do a secular version of that? Good luck. You’re on your own. You have to figure it out, explain it to people, rent the space, find people, figure out how to write up your own program. … It’s a lot of effort.”

The lack of intentional secular communities, Zuckerman said, only intensifies this problem. “With religious communities,” he said, “not only is the structure of the funeral in place, but there are going to be people who are going to immediately sign up to cook dinner for your family for a month and they’re going to deliver food to your doorstep and they’re going to help you get your kids to school and they’re going to do a lot for you. And when you’re secular you don’t have those kinds of resources.”

Pallbearers escort the casket to the altar during the funeral for Watertown firefighter Joseph Toscano at St. Patricks Catholic Church in Watertown, MA on March 22, 2017. Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

For some secular Americans, the idea of having a “chosen family” — a close-knit network of friends — helps fill in the gap. Just as Friendsgiving has become a phenomenon among urban millennials, so too have friendship networks more broadly become an increasingly vital part of social cohesion: replacing both extended family structures and traditional organized religious communities.

That was certainly the case for Explosion. She cites her friends’ involvement in making the service possible at a time when she didn’t feel capable of planning herself. “I needed camaraderie and community,” she said, and I feel like I had it.”

At the same time, she admits, she had less of a blueprint for how to cope with the next stages of grief after about six months.

“People go back to their own lives,” she said. “And it was hard to feel that sense of community. Without a church or synagogue to bind us together, it maybe felt like it dissipated. People missed their friend and their co-worker. But for me, it’s like — I miss my husband who lived with me, and it was hard to feel that sense of community after time had passed.”

Explosion’s story points to a wider tension in the world of secular funerals, and the creation of secular culture more broadly. On the one hand, the benefits of the “unbundled” religious landscape, for many secular Americans, lie in the opportunity to create truly new, individualistic rituals and experiences. We have the opportunity to curate our identities and public personae event after death, creating experiences that feel unique to us.

But on the other hand, what risks getting lost in the process is precisely that feeling of collective identity that demands subsuming our individuality in a wider whole. Religious rituals and language, from Catholic ceremonial liturgy to the Salat al-Janazah, may not feel fully and uniquely “us,” but they nevertheless define and orient a wider community and give us a sense of shared values.

The 19th-century sociologist Émile Durkheim saw religion primarily as a shared construction of identity; in his seminal 1912 work The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, he wrote, “The most barbarous and the most fantastic rites and the strangest myths translate some human need, some aspect of life, either individual or social.”

As more and more Americans leave organized religion, the next question is whether, and how, many of them will gather together, and how an increasingly individualistic conception of identity can be reconciled with the real, human need for group belonging. As secular funerals and death rituals become the new standard, we may see some of these rituals become more group-centric.

For Explosion, for example, the process of grieving led her to an unexpected new ritual. During her husband’s life, she said, she often played a video game called Destiny with him, looking up the location of objects hidden in-game and giving him hints to find them. While she never particularly got into the game herself, she said, she enjoyed playing it with him. After his death, she started watching YouTube videos of people playing the game, or its sequel, to remember the time they’d shared. Then, she decided to buy the game’s sequel to play it herself.

“I’ve been playing this game I wouldn’t have played if he hadn’t died. And it’s been meditative for me. Finding the little things, like doing these things we used to do, felt like a pilgrimage in a way.”

Sometimes, Explosion communicates with other players in the game online. While she’s only told a few of them about her personal history with the game, she’s nevertheless found a community that can accompany her in a time of grief.

“When we do a big quest or a raid together, there’s always a moment for me of, like, you know, okay, he would have done this. He did this in the old game. Now it’s me kind of picking up this mantle.”

The secular funeral liturgies we see in the future may transition from being individualistic to being based on other non-religious elements that bring a community together. They may involve the music of My Little Pony, or the playing of video games.

Ultimately, they’ll represent two fundamental human needs. First, to make sense of a beloved’s death. And second — and just as importantly — to not do it alone.

Original Source -> What does dying — and mourning — look like in a secular age?

via The Conservative Brief

[sage-nebula]

1 2 and 9 please!

Okay, so my explanations for the Heroes and the Zeldas got really long, so I’m going to put the explanations under a cut in case anyone is interested in them, and just answer the questions short and sweet above it. :)

1.) Top 3 incarnations of Link?

In order:

The Hero of the Wild (Breath of the Wild)

The Hero of Time (Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask)

The Hero of Winds (Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass)

2.) Top 3 incarnations of Zelda?

In order:

Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)

Tetra (Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass)

Zelda (Skyward Sword)

9.) Favourite Link design?

The Hero of the Wild, easily! Both in his standard outfit, and any number of the alternates we can dress him up in. ♥

And now, my explanations for my favorite incarnations of Link and Zelda are beneath the cut!

1.) Top 3 incarnations of Link?

In order:

The Hero of the Wild (Breath of the Wild) --- Words can’t really explain how much I came to love this kid over the 250 hours I spent with him while I played Breath of the Wild. Like every Hero, he’s meant to be something of a blank slate that we can imprint on, or create a personality for. So in that sense, you could say that maybe the reason why I love him so much is because I love the personality that I gave him. But even if that’s the case, it doesn’t change the fact that I do love him, and I love him a lot.I love the fact, first and foremost, that the Hero of the Wild is a determined survivor. He’s not only a survivor in that he was literally kept alive for one hundred years in the Shine of Resurrection, but that when he wakes up and goes out into the world with pretty much nothing, he’s able to find food, shelter, and weapons enough to keep himself alive. The Hero of the Wild can be given nothing but a stick and still manage to not only survive, but take down his foes, and that is some serious grit and determinaton. The Hero is always Determined; the Spirit of the Hero is an unbreakable spirit, an indomitable will. That determination is a trait shared by every Hero, but I feel it’s most exemplified in the Hero of the Wild.Beyond that, though, there’s so much else to love. I love that he loves food, and that he has just as much joy in cooking it as he does eating it. I love how dorky and cute he can be at times, but also how he can be snarky to those around him as well. I love how serious he is about his duty, but also how gentle he is with Zelda, and how he takes interest in her interests, even when she’s trying to get him to eat a frog. I love that he’s great with animals (dogs and horses alike!), but that he also understands the circle of life and does his best to be respectful with that understanding, as well. I love that he can be competitive and knows how to have fun, that he’s not infallible even though he’s the Hero. I love the complexity that makes him feel like he has to appear infallible, though, because he’s the Hero.Really, the Hero of the Wild is just easily my favorite Hero. I absolutely adore everything about him, design included, and I’m really glad that he’s the one in the upcoming Smash. It’s about time the Hero of Twilight was dethroned, for real.

The Hero of Time (Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask) --- Ahhh, the classic favorite. I loved the Hero of Time for a long time, and while part of that is absolutely due to how he was characterized by Rose Zemlya, a lot of it is also simply due to how much time I personally spent with him, particularly with regards to Majora’s Mask. The Hero of Time, from an abstract standpoint, has a lot of interesting concepts to me, most notably centered around his specific power. He is the Time Hero Victorious; the laws of time are his, and they will obey him. This is, again, most exemplified in Majora’s Mask; you can speed time up, slow it down, skip ahead, travel back. And I like to think about what that does to this Link, how he comes to view time in relation to himself. He hasn’t led a linear life, time-wise, and as such his maturity is all over the place. His mindset is all over the place. And this, I feel, is especially true when you consider that, thanks once again to Majora’s Mask, he also comes in the habit of accepting different souls and minds alongside his own thanks to the transformation masks. He houses the souls of the dead within him, and takes their forms, whenever he wears those masks. He becomes a god with the Fierce Deity’s Mask. And after all this, he’s supposed to go on and live a normal life? No wonder felt as though he had unfinished business in Twilight Princess; he never got to live a normal life.The Hero of Time’s story is one of tragedy, but it’s not entirely unhappy. He has Epona, and his friends here or there. He gets joy from helping others. But there is a lot of sadness there, and that’s interesting to me. The Hero of Time will always be interesting to me.

The Hero of Winds (Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass) --- And finally, this little twerp. The Hero of Winds is a great kid. He’s a sleepyhead who can sleep literally anywhere, given the start of Wind Waker, and he’s also very loyal to his family. He wears the Hero’s outfit despite how ugly he clearly thinks it is because he wants to make his grandma happy, and he’s such a protective big brother that he throws himself off a cliff in an attempt to save Aryll from the Helmaroc King. To that end, the entire purpose of his journey was to save his sister (at least at the start), and his impulsivity and hotheadedness can definitely set him apart from others. To that end, the Hero of Winds is very expressive (he wears every emotion written across his face), as well as friendly, outgoing, and meticulously explorative. He’s just a great kid. There’s a whole lot to love about the Hero of Winds.

2.) Top 3 incarnations of Zelda?

Once again, in order:

Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild) --- Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to love Zelda as much as I do in BotW, but goodness, I love her. She’s so relatable; no, none of us have goddess power that we’re trying to unlock, but the desperation to do what others expect, and the anxiety and despair that comes with not being able to live up to the expectation . . . particularly with regards to her anxiety and her lack of self-worth, I feel that’s an extremely relatable part of her character. But again, that’s not all she is; she loves dogs and other animals. She’s adventurous. She’s witty, brave, smart, and flawed. She loves reading and learning, but she also loves being on the front and helping where she can. She’s very active, this Zelda; she knows that most want her tucked away where it’s safe, but she works herself to the bone trying to find ways in which she can contribute. She might not join in the fray, but she’s definitely a scholar and kicks ass in her own right. I was really, legitimately impressed by how well-rounded she ended up being.

Tetra (Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass) --- Tetra used to be my first fave, and honestly, she’s still really up there. I love this badass little pirate captain. Tetra commands the entire ship and despite how she was unfairly damseled (right at the start of Phantom Hourglass, even!), as well as the really unfortunate and awful whitewashing that occurs when she’s in her princess get-up, I really love everything about Tetra’s character, including and perhaps especially how sassy she is, and how she takes no shit from anyone. Tetra was the first Zelda to ever fight alongside Link in battle, and she not only aided him in the final fight, but even leaped through the window of the Forsaken Fortress to try to save him. Tetra is a complete badass and is wholly worthy of her title of captain. I love her.

Zelda (Skyward Sword) --- And last by not least, the Zelda (who is not a princess!) from Skyward Sword. Although she unfortunately spends pretty much the entire game damseled, this Zelda is nonetheless bold, brave, spunky, and has a strong sense of justice. I love the scenes where she’s playing around with Link (or having more tender moments wiht him), as well as the incredible strength she demonstrates in that she not only goes on her own journey across the surface world, but that she has the emotional fortitude necessary to follow through with Hylia’s plan to seal herself away until Link could defeat Demise. Zelda’s character was once again really well-written in this game, and I love her a lot.