#Gerudo woman are so fine

[notamanontheinternet]

Just some of my favorite totk screenshots so far :)

[spicyicetea]

My Forest Spirit

A legend of Zelda BOTW/TOTK Yandere x Reader. This is obviously cannon divergent. Fem!Y/N is short and Curvy in this, and is often described with long hair. This story will contain NSFW! scenes, violence and profanity. MDNI

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Chapter 4: You're so soft

I watched in awe at the petals that floated on the water's surface. Red and purple flowers danced in unison, sent in parting directions as Urbosa added strange crystals that dissolved into the water. She motioned me over as a knock rang out from the main entrance to her chambers. Her expression seemed somewhat annoyed but she just shot me a smile before leaving to answer the door.

 Dropping to my knees, I dip a finger into the water, playing with the soft petals that seemed to gravitate towards me. On closer inspection, I actually think I did recognise these flowers. Although I had never seen them in person, I knew someone had told me about them. Her voice rang in my ears like a distant melody that I hadn't thought about for centuries. 

"And what is this one called?" The sweet voice asked, gesturing to a book she laid in her lap.

"That is warm Saffina! It grows near the Gerudo desert." I answer, smiling as she runs a hand through my hair and tucks some loose strands behind my ear.

"That's right dear. You're getting better at remembering all this new information, perhaps I could teach you some magic one day darling."

"You would do that for me? Thank you, my queen, what an honour!" I kick my feet excitedly, my ears twitching as I rocked in excitement.

The woman just raised a hand to her mouth to cover it while laughing. The delicate markings that ran over her tan skin never became boring to look at. I wonder what they all meant. She moved her book from her lap and pulled me closer until my head laid in it. Her gentle touch ran over my face and back into my hair as she smiled down at me.

"Dear I've already told you not to call me that, I prefer you just calling me by my name." Her sweet voice whispered, changing to a hum at the end like a lullaby

"Of course," I yawn. "Sorry, I keep forgetting So-"

"Y/N are you alright? You seem vacant."

My eyes darted around until I turned and saw Urbosa knelt beside me. Her hand rested on my hip as she gave me a concerned look. Feeling guilty, I turned and shook my head profusely. She sighed in what I can only hope was relief.

"Thank goodness, you were worrying me for a minute there. One of the knights just dropped off some clothes that should fit you, if you wish to bathe now we can."

My eyes lit up at the idea of being able to be in warm water for once and I jumped up. Eagerly, I slid my skirt of leaves down, nearly ripping apart the scrappy shirt that I had been given by Hestu. The clothes lay abandoned on the floor as I stretched. Urbosa's eyes widened as they met my body, her honey skin going a soft pink. My hands moved to cover my body, unsure why she was acting like that.

"Are you alright? Is there something wrong?" I ask, stepping over to make sure she wouldn't collapse.

"Yes dear I'm fine, I just hadn't expected you to undress so quickly. Why don't you step into the water while I prepare the soaps?"

I beamed at her suggestion and nodded eagerly. Swiftly, I turn on my heels and walk towards the deep tub. With an arm under my chest to stop the bouncing from my jumpy steps. Warm water in the sunken tub wrapped around my body as I lowered myself in, only reaching my hips. I felt almost weightless as I danced around the tub, enjoying the comfort of the heated water. A warm chuckle echoed through the bathroom as Urbosa watched me play. Excitedly, I turned to her, some flower petals stuck over my shoulders and chest from where I had been tossing them around. 

"Oh, I can't believe you all have stuff like this! It's so nice!" I grin at her.

She chuckles at my reaction and strides towards the tub. 

"You sweet little angel, relax for a moment. Think of all those spirits that you wanted to tell me about."

I had completely forgotten what we had even planned to talk about. My back turned to her as I began thinking. There were many spirits I had met over the years. The Koroks have always been there, but many more visited me over the centuries. One of the fondest had to have been the woman I was thinking of earlier. She was always so sweet to me, running from her husband to read books to me and teach me about the world outside the forest. I knew she was a queen yet I can't remember her name. How bittersweet. The more I think of it, I can barely remember her husband either. He looked nothing like her or even myself. His warmth is all I can remember. When he'd find where his wife had disappeared to, scolding her for not telling him where she was going as he had been worried. The way she'd pout and hug me tighter telling him to just leave so she could go back to relaxing. He'd always roll his eyes and sat beside her. His long nails raked against my scalp, quickly lulling me to sleep as their conversation slowly drowned out.

I jolted as I felt a hand on my shoulder. Panicked, I attempt to turn but the hand holds my chin in place. 

"Calm down it's only me, you wanted me to wash your hair, right?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry, I forgot."

Urbosa just chuckled and ran a hand through my hair, making sure it was all wet. The water moved around me as I felt something soft press against my shoulders and neck. I shivered at the contact and I tried to turn to see what it was but Urbosa held me in place, running a hand over my waist.

"Don't worry dear, just relax, let me take care of you." She whispered, her warm breath tickling the back of my ear. 

My breath caught in my throat as her hands rested on my sides. Her warm lips pressed against the side of my neck, and one of her hands reached elsewhere out of my sight. I gulped as her hand came back to my shoulder, massaging a cold gel against my skin. Her hand slowly massaged closer to my chest and my breath hitched again.

"I thought you just wanted to wash my hair?" I gulped.

"Oh my apologies dear, I just wished to help you relax dear, a massage. May I?" She cooed, her lips pressing on the shell of my ear,

I gulp but nod as her hands knead my shoulders and slowly move down to my chest. The bubbles gathered over my skin as her fingers pressed into the soft fat on my chest. Her hands massaged further squeezing at the plush mounds. A strange sound bubbled from my throat escaped, like a songbird's call. 

"Urbosa! Lady Zelda called for you an hour ago, get your hands off of Y/N and do your job!" A masculine voice barked. 

I turned in panic to the doorway where Link stood, covering his eyes with his hand.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

This prompt is your free ticket to write GanonDad stuff! I'll take anything as long as Ganon's being a good dad :3

Ganondorf had never seen the sea.

Some called the desert a sea, or said that it used to be one. All Ganondorf could see in the desert was death.

He'd heard tales of it when he visited Castle Town. People described it as endless, in varying shades of blue that could swallow one whole. It had sounded fantastical and exaggerated, powerful and enticing and so foreign he could hardly put a picture to it. It hadn't mattered all that much back then, once he'd realized the sea didn't have water that was actually drinkable - what use was it to him, then?

He'd learned of its depths when he met Nabooru. There was a teenager who went by that name in his barren wasteland, spunky and capable but defiant. But when he was brought to this new land through Din's blessing, he'd met someone of the same name who was far different. She was the Gerudo's chief.

She was more than just a chief, though, she was a queen. She didn't just lead a small group of thieves picking at scraps in the desert, she ruled over an entire civilization.

Ganondorf had challenged her, of course. He was the rightful ruler of the Gerudo, after all.

He'd lost.

Despite his anger, despite his attempt to overthrow her, Nabooru spared him, letting him stay in the outskirts of her capital city, Lagema.

Ganondorf felt frustration and jealousy boil his blood. He'd had the power of a goddess at the point of being executed by the sages, yet when he needed it now, Din stole it away from him. Instead, he was left to suffer the indignity of seeing a Gerudo prospering under someone else's rule.

It was almost as if Din did this just to show him he couldn't succeed. And he would not let that stand.

But the longer he lingered here, the more he saw of these people, the more he saw her...

The woman was bathed in power. She wore it like the fine silk head scarf she sometimes showcased for celebrations. Red, dripping in precious gems, jingling with every step from decorative jewelry all over her arms, her belly and hips, her ears, her wrists, and her ankles, strong in stance, muscles sculpted by the goddess Farore herself...

And her eyes. Bluer than the sky, infinite in their depths, drawing him in every time he looked at them, daring him to try her, calm and quiet and dangerous. They held the vastness and power that people spoke of in relation to the ocean, all encapsulated in such beauty.

He’d finally seen the sea. And it was breathtaking.

Ganondorf had never felt this way before. He didn't know what it was. He just wanted to get closer to her again. To fight her, to prove himself, to win.

It was maddening. It was invigorating.

It was far worse when those oceans actually looked at him, when they focused on him. He could hardly articulate himself sometimes when they started to speak, and he despised that. He stepped up more, became bolder, and as time passed, this woman became more than just a challenge; she became an adventure, and, eventually, a partner.

When their children had been born, he'd never suspected he'd find her ocean eyes in their little boy.

It was fascinating, beautiful to watch how their children reflected them. Hemisi bore her mother's facial structure paired her father's amber eyes and leaf shaped ears. Merovar was the spitting image of his father, but with his mother's eyes, captivating in their blue. They didn't reflect the silent power that his mother bore, though - they were ravenous, hunting for whatever his ambitious heart could reach, just like his father. Despite this, though, Hemisi was the one with true fire, rambunctious and temperamental and the superior warrior.

His twins were his world. He’d never been so utterly overrun by so many emotions, so dedicated to others. He’d build and destroy kingdoms for them.

Many moons after their birth, Ganondorf found his son on the balcony of their palace, staring out at the night sky. The streets of Lagema were still vaguely splashed with color from the festival, though the harsh winds and sands were slowly washing it away, bringing a drab tan back to the world as they prepared for the moment of truth.

The world was silent in anticipation. Hemisi was fast asleep, having let her father carry her to bed after he'd told her and Orik a story. Nabooru was gathering forces in the other settlements. Orik was resting, blissfully unaware of what was to come.

Merovar glanced at Ganondorf with his ocean eyes, blue coloring near black in the darkness, face uncharacteristically worried.

"What is it?" the Gerudo king asked quietly.

Merovar sighed, looking away. "The assault. It's going to change everything."

"For the better," Ganondorf pointed out. "Don't tell me you're having reservations like Hemisi."

Hemisi had argued time and again that they didn't need the Triforce, that an ancient sacred relic didn't matter because they had what they needed. Nabooru looked at it more as a potential threat if relations between the Gerudo and Hyrule broke down.

Ganondorf saw an opportunity. He'd desired this power most of his life. Once he'd learned of its existence here, he'd renewed his search for it. Merovar had seemed on board.

"I... don't know," his son finally said, looking at his hands resting on the balcony railing. "Such power is... I want it. But we're going to start a war."

"Not necessarily," Ganondorf assured him with a rumble of satisfied amusement in his chest. "They won't stand a chance against us once we have it. It'll be a skirmish at best."

"And then?" Merovar asked, glancing back at him for guidance. "Will we really rule over it all?"

Ganondorf rested his hand on his boy's shoulder. "Yes, we will. All of Hyrule will be ours."

Finally. The winds of Hyrule would belong to him and his family.

His children. He'd share this prosperity with them. He'd protect them with it. His entire life, Ganondorf had been looked to for safety and guidance - it had been an expectation a s a burden. But now, he finally felt... happy to give it.

He moved his hand to sweep up and down his son's back briefly, a promise of love and a reassurance. Merovar relaxed under the touch, smiling a little, excitement glittering in his blue eyes like stars in the night sky.

But it hadn't gone that way. The Triforce had fractured, the world had gone awry, and war had broken out.

And one by one, his family had fallen apart.

Nabooru had turned against him. They'd fought, and she'd died. Ganondorf repeated over and over that she had started it, that she had attacked him. His hands didn't tremble as much anymore thinking about it. Instead, all he felt was rage.

The rage grew when Merovar fell in battle. When Hemisi was captured and subsequently betrayed him. His grief was inconsolable, dying heart replaced with a furnace of pure hatred. He didn't even see the fear in his little girl's eyes anymore when he fought her, Link, and the queen that final day.

Yet time and torture had a way of cooling such hatred. Solitude brought contemplation. But resentment, fear, hurt remained.

And on a battlefield millennia later, Ganondorf froze at the sight of blue cutting through a sea of armor.

A blue scarf. Just like Link. A fierce cry of rage. Just like Hemisi.

And those ocean eyes. Just like Merovar, like Nabooru.

That day, Ganondorf saw the sea once more.

[dragonridernoobie]

Hello! I don't know if you're still staring intensely at your inbox bored... but! I can give you something to do for a little while if you'd like . It's my first asking, so I'll try to be simple.

How about a one-shot of Ganondorf x reader, where they both used to know each other well romantically before ganondorf became the god of power. (When he was still the king of gerudo), the reader could've been a simple traveler who traveled through the desert (they could be injured due to battles against monsters on the way there) and found themselves in the gerudo town or something where they met him in the market in disguise cause he try sometime to find peace away from all the responsibilities once in a while and they bond over thing they both like.

Some time passes, and their feelings to each other grow more and more until the reader has to leave because of an emergency at their hometown (idk a family member is sick and they need special treatment that is very hard to get) so they leave while promising to ganondorf to come back once the situation is over. But they never do.

Heartbroken and angry ganondorf becomes the god of power, and after some times the reader goes back only to find out by the new ruler of gerudo that he became the man that brought hyrule to ruins.

Idk maybe something with a little bit of hope at the end? The reader could meet link and help him get to the palace. Like they see the man they fall in love with still inside the corrupted being in front of them. And tries to bring him back?

It's a long ask, and it's totally fine if you don't want to write it or have the time to do it (I know it's a lot energy to write) But if it gave you ideas for a new story or inspired you little than that's all that matter 😉. Anyways! Have a wonderful day or night.

A ask is never too long, I'm sorry if this took so long. I was trying to think of a way to make this a good way of writing it. Since I write in so many ways. So, I decided to make it seem like a story. I hope you like it or love it, I'm fine with either. Thank you for being Paitent!!!! (Also, i changed the story a bit since I've never seen or played BOTW2, and I rather not spoile it for my self.)

The story of the human and the Gerudo King

Long ago, when life was still new and people were still new to the land. Lived 6 different races that rule these lands.

The first hylians came to the land from the goddess Hylia. They created the Hylians as the first race of Hyrule.

And from that race, came all 5 other races.

Rito, hyilans who became one with the sky. Zoras, hyains who became one with the water. Gorons, hyians who became one with the ground. Gerudos, hyians who have split off and became one of their own.

They are a unique species since they only live in the desert. Where they first became is unknown hut they are known for being made of woman and woman only.

But every 100 years, a male is born from a Gerudo, and it becomes the new king of the Gerudo.

The six species are unknown. No one rarely sees them, no one knows about them, but we only know one thing.

They are wise. They have ways to cure the most evil sickness. They know how to survive in places that shouldn't be possible, and they are hard to kill.

Sadly, at one point in time, a king who was ruler of Hyrule found where these humans were and declared war on them. He slaughtered all of them. Their species were lost in time, and no one them about them.

And this is where our legend begins

Before calamity himself became, to be, there used to be a simple king of his lands of the Gerudo. His name was Ganondorf.

His people lived in the desert. They struggled but were happy. Ganondorf traded with people across the land. People always wanted to trade with the Gerudos.

So this is where ganondorf met his love.

He was on his way to a city when the bridge he rode on collapsed. He fell great distance and fell in the river below.

Ganondorf disappeared for weeks and his kingdom feared the worst. Intel Ganondorf arrived and even more unexpectedly that he had a few people with him.

Word spread around in the city that the king was alive and the city was happy.

The humans showed the Gerudos their ways, showed them how to get food in unique ways, showed them how to fight aginst sickness and even showed them how to plant foods in the desert.

While the humans showed them their ways, a human named (Y/N) and ganondorf grown feelings for each other. They were happy, and for years, the humans lived with the Gerudos. Even the human males.

Sadly, (Y/N) had to leave. They had to cross the land to reach another human settlement that are in need of help. They told ganondorf they will return and set corse.

Weeks past and ganondorf waited, and waited, and waited, he waited for days, weeks, and months. After so long, ganondorf became angry and hurt. Angry since (Y/N) has left and that the hyilans have caused trouble.

Hurt because he believes (Y/N) abandoned him. So he decided to declare war on the hyilans and kick out the humans.

This is where calamity came to be. When (Y/N) found out what has happened, they were stuck with grief and hurt.

When link awakened and they met (Y/N), they both agreed to defeat calamity. When link was able to defeat calamity (The first BOTW) (Y/N), talked to him before he was slayed by the light bow.

"I promise to keep fighting for you love. Please do the same...."

Once he was slayed, they fled away. Zelda and Link never saw them again. Though, they wernt gone forever. They where just praying and helping their remaining village survive.

Though (Y/N) hopes to have her love once more.

[golvio]

Since Echoes of Wisdom is a top-down Zelda game, I’m not expecting the game’s story to be super complex or involved, but I’ll admit I am curious about certain characters & implied background events.

In particular, I’m curious about who these three unique NPCs from the Gerudo Desert region are:

The woman with the golden trident is most likely the current Chief, given that I’ve seen screenshots of her standing up from a throne holding the trident aloft are circulating around. But who are those other two people?

I suspect the woman in white might be the chief’s sister, since her hair resembles the chief’s hair and the gemstones she’s wearing are the same color as the Chief’s. Also, Nintendo would not have the gonads to put an official confirmed lesbian couple in their kid-friendly game no matter how G-rated “This lady’s the queen and her wife is also the queen” is as a concept. However, the woman in white also seems to be a person of importance to the Gerudo given that the guards are answering to her. There was mention of an “Ancestral Cave” elsewhere in the trailer. Could she maybe be a high priestess or keeper of some sort of sacred site of worship or burial who acts as a spiritual leader to the community?

As for the figure in blue with the gloves and the hat—they’re definitely also Gerudo, but they’re dressed in a very unusual way that sets them apart. My first guess was that this was an older woman, maybe the chief’s mother, who’s acting as an advisor given that they were standing next to the throne in the aforementioned screenshot. However, they don’t look that old, given that we’ve seen old people with wrinkles in Zelda’s court in the form of Imoa and her brother, so I have another guess.

This person might actually be a boy, the current Gerudo prince, who’s either too young to take an active part in political life, or is maybe the younger brother or spouse of the chief who’s relegated to acting in a more supportive role because of his age and gender. Their style of dress is much more formal and masculine, being somewhere between the draped turban and robes you’d expect Indian royalty to wear and the iconic blue and gold khepresh crown that some Egyptian pharaohs wore.

It’d be really interesting to get some insight into Gerudo politics, particularly if a prince who isn’t Ganondorf is involved! Also, partly because it’d give us some insight into what “went wrong” with this particular version of Ganon if we have a baseline about what the role of prince in Gerudo culture is normally supposed to be like.

Speaking of Ganon, assuming he himself isn’t just an “echo” sent by some greater force, it looks like he himself might’ve been actively looking into whatever force Tri was connected to based on how the tablet behind Zelda in the room where she was being imprisoned resembled the waypoints Tri can use to warp you around.

Given that the Rifts seem to be “stealing” land tiles and making phantom echoes of monsters, and that the rift opening ability is tied to Ganon’s own “wand” that he uses to cast spells, could he have his own little helper buddy who’s given him the power to play Sim City in his own little pocket dimension? Is Ganon’s motive like the angry guy from the popup window in Sim City 2000, where he’s picking up his toys and starting a new Hyrule in the Dark World because Zelda’s dad cut back on transit funding for that year’s budget?

Seriously, though, it’d be really cool if Ganon functioned as a “dark mirror” to Zelda during what will presumably be his actual final boss fight. (Come on, do you really think he’d be fine with playing second fiddle to a new antagonist if he had even the tiniest glimmer of his original personality left instead of being a soulless shell like in ALBW? He’s absolutely gonna be the final boss.)

[shadows-writing-lounge]

As a Ganon fan for some time (started with twilight princess he looked so fine man) it surprises me the low quantity of fics for him (same with Bowser) at the same time there isn't a doc where thxs to magic Ganon mom's come back. Like imagine meeting twinrova and them being super excited because FINALLY their son got a s/o who doesn't care if he's victorious or not. Or even they don't care if he's in his human form or not. Please could you write a fanfic where Ganon is embarrassed by his mom's being excited over his s/o? Like it would be so fluffy

Ganondorf and Bowser seem popular but it doesn't seem like it considering you have to traverse the entire internet for mere crumbs. Took so long cause I really struggled with ideas plus writing on your phone kills your fingies.

Content: Third person pov. Gerudo Ganondorf leaning towards Twilight Prince per mention in request, Ganon calls s/o dear and beloved. Mentions of marriage. Pretty short around 500 words.

S/o: s/o is written gender neutral with they/them pronouns. No physical descriptions

-

As feared as Ganondorf Dragmire was, it was an immensely amusing sight to see his surrogate mothers baby the giant man. Kotake and Koume were on him the microsecond he stepped into the dwelling.

“My handsome young man,” the twin with red accents holds up her hands to the large man’s face. Similar to a grandparent squeezing their grandchild’s face to ‘see them better’

“Mother Kotake, we have a guest,” Ganondorf says, seemingly unbothered by what’s happening, moving the twins’ attention to his partner. The twins zoned in on them before looking at each other.

"Sister, I think our son has finally grown up," Kotake says, earning a huff from her son. Koume nods enthusiastically.

"Come in, Come in!" Koume guides the two further inside. The building was old, obviously just some place they chose just out of necessity. It looked well loved with rustic-worn furniture filling the space. Mystical objects and potions also filled the shelves. Along with miscellaneous creatures and substances. Ganondorf promptly guided his partner away from them, pressing lightly on their back.

Kotake waves Koume away, getting a pout from the glacial witch as she goes back to what they were doing before their son's arrival. Without prompting Ganondorf settled down, the chair creaked with protest but held up nonetheless. Sitting next to him they didn't have much time to get comfortable before Kotake offers a teacup containing something. Decidedly it wasn't tea. Ganondorf had received his own cup, miniscule in his armored hands. Looks like he's using a child's tea set Feeling his partner's eyes he looked at them with a slight tilt on his head.

"Is something the matter my dear. Are my mothers making you uncomfortable?" Ganondorf's voice carried a slight worry of the thought.

Shaking their head, Ganondorf releases a sigh of relief. Placing the now empty cup down. Kotake lingered nearby not wanting to interrupt the couple.

A few moments of silence filled the room before Koume spoke from across the room.

"So Dear, are you going to introduce your partner to your mothers?" Kotake nodded eagerly at her sister's words.

"Yes, yes, introduce them to their in-laws."

Ganondorf sighed, "We aren't yet engaged." This is why he waited so long to introduce his mothers. Koume took this time to hurry over grabbing his partner's face between her hands before her son could stop her.

"Yet, so you plan on it?" Koume says. They try to remove themselves from her grasp but she has a mean grip for an elderly woman.

"I've thought about it, Mother Koume. We haven't discussed the concept of marriage." Ganondorf relents.

"It's been ages since another monarch sat on the throne. Such a dashing pair you two would be." Kotake says with a pensive tone. The knuckle of her index finger resting on her chin.

"Come Koume we have plans to discuss," Kotake starts walking away before pausing to talk over her shoulder, "as the elder sister I will be handling wedding planning."

Koume had moved to follow a sputter in her walk at Kotake's words.

"Why I never. Lying to our son's partner. I'm the eldest by 5 minutes." Koume resta her hands on her hips and Kotake turns to give her sister a glare. Ganondorf stands holding his hand out for his partner to take.

"They are going to be a while, beloved." he says, guiding them out of the house. The twin witches squabbling louding as they did.

"So, about our marriage," they looked up at Ganondorf who refused to make eye contact.

-

Rest assured more Ganondorf content is coming. Headcanons and fics alike.

[uniquevoidflowers]

Legend & help? (Can be angsty or funny XD)

CW: Torture

The blademaster had him pinned to the ground with his boot and he felt too weak to properly struggle. The veteran was a bit away from the chain but maybe if he tried calling them, they would hear. “Help!” He yelled. “I need help!”

There was a deep chuckle. “You will receive no help, hero. Your friends are being taken care of, they will not hear your cries.”

“Fuck you,” He spat before something hit his head and he fell to unconsciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legend lay in his cell, his chest aching from various blows, his head throbbing from being knocked out various times and each breath rattled his chest painfully. The Yiga had wanted Wild, but he would give them no information, no matter what. Unfortunately that refusal led to torture. He heard footsteps and the Yiga leader, who was named Garmando appeared with a blade that glinted dangerously in torchlight. Legend backed himself up against the wall uselessly, glaring at one of his captors. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson, but if not, this will be fun,” Garmando had a mask on, covering his face but Legend was sure there was some form of a smirk on his face.

The veteran just continued to glare and kept his mouth shut as the leader tried to get information out of him. “Fine, fine. You’ve forced my hand, hero.”

The Yiga knelt down next to him and grabbed his hand, placing the blade over one of his fingers. Legend panicked trying to pull his fingers away but the Yiga brought the blade down.

He couldn’t keep down the scream that escaped his throat.

Then a red potion was forced into his mouth and the spot healed but he was missing a finger. He felt bile rose up in his throat as the sword was placed over another finger. “Now, hero, tell me where Link is, or we shall continue at this until you have no fingers left.”

“I don’t know where he is,” Legend spat. “He would’ve left our spot to come and find me.”

“Hm…but where was that spot?”

“Like hell I’m telling you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legend snuck out of the cell with a muffled sob, and got through out of the hideout somehow. His cell was close to the exit, and the Yiga weren’t that focused on guarding him, easily distracted by the yellow fruits handed to them. He made it out miraculously, though he was disarmed, and saw he was in a desert. He didn’t have anything to handle the heat but he had to make it to help. There was Gerudo Town which he wasn’t allowed in but also Kara Kara Bazaar, which according to Wild was a place for voes. So he walked painfully slow to a nearby looking settlement and saw a Gerudo woman walking on the path. “Help!” He shouted.

The Gerudo woman flinched and regarded him warily. “Please, I—“ He had to muffle another sob.

The woman slowly approached him, and examined him. “What do you need help with? If you’re a Yiga take off your stupid disguise and get on with it.”

The reminder of the Yiga made him want to scream but he just lowered himself to the ground, too weak to stand up properly. “I-I was captured by them…cuz’ I’m a friend of Link’s…”

Recognition sparked in her eyes but she asked one final question. “Say, would you like some bananas? I have some.”

“Um, no. Tried one, didn’t really like it.”

“Then I’ll trust that you aren’t a foe. Take this elixir, it helps with the desert heat,” She handed him a blue bottle, relaxing. “I will get our medic to help you.”

“Thank you,” He breathed and drank the potion, feeling way cooler.

The Gerudo woman left and soon, an even taller Gerudo with supplies in her hands came rushing over and picked him up when he said he couldn’t stand. They made it to Kara Kara Bazaar in no time and the medic did what she could, healing any wounds that could be healed. “My hand?” He murmured hollowly.

“There’s nothing I can do,” The medic shook her head. “Did the Yiga do this…? They haven’t resorted to torture methods since before the Calamity…”

“The Yiga did this. I know Link, because we travel together and they tortured me for information about him…”

The medic eyed him carefully but set him on bed-rest and left. He looked at his hand and choked on a sob.

[batrogers]

Stone

Fic written for @queering-the-chain prompt "In the Bedroom"

Rated high T, maybe M but mostly just sensuality, no sex.

Time/Malon, reminiscing on their first time. Selectively mute, stone (non-reciprocal) Time.

Also on AO3

IIII

There had been a lot of nightmares in the recent past for Link, while he struggled to recover from...

Well, his own memories. He lay in bed in the tent and tried to think of something happier, something to take his mind off things: the loneliness and the fear. He’d been here before, many times, and there were always good things that came after.

Things like Malon. Link pressed his hands to his face and thought of her as the tent lay quiet around him. The others were asleep and he could just let his mind wander to something sweet.

Something like being nineteen, and worried she’d mind his distance, his absence of so long. Coming back to Lon Lon Ranch, the only place that really felt like home, despite never really living there... But so much of importance had happened here, and Malon... Malon had always been there. He’d stayed sometimes, but he’d been an awkward child and before this...

“Malon?” he said, and she looked up at him and smiled in relief.

“Link, you’re back? Where have you been?” she asked, as if she couldn’t see. She proved it seconds later, flicking the drop earrings in his ears that belied his previous stay as much or more than the fine linen shirt she wore. “What’s this? It’s pretty.”

Some part of his chest clenched and relaxed at once: she didn’t ask about his speech, didn’t bring it up. He’d learned to talk finally and that helped but he had spoken little before, too shy of how his voice sounded to try. But now...

“I brought you a gift.”

Malon immediately perked up. She took the cloth and the clothes and then, laughing, she drew him with her into her house and – to his surprise – up to her room.

“I should try it on,” she said, and smiled, eyes low. Link swallowed.

“I can go—”

“Don’t you want to see it?”

He did. He very much did, and a few years living with Nabooru had made it so her undressing didn’t – strictly – mean anything to him. He’d seen it a dozen times.

But it hadn’t been her. Malon stripped, exposing her soft body – she was heavily muscled, but on top of that was fat that he’d never see on a Gerudo woman, not the ones he knew. Nabooru and her wife worked themselves spare, and so had he, but Malon was built differently. Her legs and arms were thick with muscle, and softened by fat that curved her stomach and hips into something he found he couldn’t stop staring at.

Malon smiled back at him and grinned, not even reaching for the clothes he’d brought her. She turned to face him, nude and smirking. “Well, fairy boy?”

Link licked his lips and cursed in his head: he’d forgotten how to speak all over again, too caught up in his thoughts to find the way between head and mouth like he’d practiced so long. Malon seemed to realize, and she stopped, her face shifting to concern.

“Do you want me to stop?” she asked.

Link shook his head firmly and then set his hands carefully to his shirt, making a small gesture at first, to offer to take it off.

Malon grinned and nodded herself. “Only if you want to.”

Link snorted and stripped off the shirt, walking up to join her and laying hands cautiously on her hips. He was... Shy.

Thinking back on it, Link laughed softly at himself. He’d been so young; so new to the idea. It had hardly been his first exposure to sex, but it had been the first time he’d... lead. Been in charge. Been the one doing it. He’d caught Nabooru and Fara in bed before, and others: a lifetime of sneaking into places he shouldn’t be, and hiding in haylofts meant he’d seen a lot. But touching her....

Malon had been eager for him. She hadn’t commented on his chest, not until she touched it and raised both eyebrows as his body was softer in a place she hadn’t expected. She’d reached down, as if to check more, and Link had caught her wrist and pulled it away to kiss her palm instead.

“You... Don’t want me to touch there?” she asked, confused but not upset.

Link shook his head and pressed his cheek to her palm, unsure but...

Hopeful. Hoping she understood. Hoping she listened.

She had.

[kagoutiss]

You call ganondorf a girl a lot and now I'm wondering if you actually see him as a girl in some way? I can't see him like that but I am actually really curious how you interpret his gender now

!!! so i’ve written a more in depth summary about how i interpret his gender but the short(er) version is basically like…the gerudo don’t actually have an inherent concept of gender or gender binarism, and ganondorf doesn’t really even think of himself as being a Man. but as a result of him being raised for this role that is, by hyrulean standards, contingent upon Maleness, he’s also learned to despise having to navigate hylian society in this very constrained way that is completely arbitrary in his own culture. all in order to be perceived as a proper king, or be seen by hylians as an authority figure at all, or else be called effeminate or whatever. or be constantly othered from the rest of his people in the eyes of hylians, all on the basis of his biological subtype, which just happens to be extremely rare in gerudo people

and anyway i just feel like if he had to actually tick one of the 2 boxes on some hyrulean administrative form and didn’t have to stoop to anyone’s expectations of him, then he would mark F instead of M, partly because he’s so so sick of Having To Be A Man, and partly because all of his loved ones would be boxed into the F box by default, and i like the idea that the gerudo don’t really perceive themselves as being separate from ganondorf in the same way that hylians perceive Men & Woman to be separate, if that makes sense? and he also thinks that those designations are silly in general, so he’ll kind of just do whatever he wants when he doesn’t have to stoop to those constraints. like he fully enjoys having the title of King, and he uses he/him pronouns in the hylian language and is fine with them, and he’s not particularly dysphoric about anything physically, but in his mind he just isn’t a Man. gender is a silly contrived thing to him, but he’s had to study the nuances of it for his entire life, he could literally teach Hylian Gender Studies courses if he had to. and he’ll adopt certain aspects of gender stuff that he finds funny or interesting, or that feel more fitting to him, or that just confuse/enrage people, because he enjoys doing that too. but anyway to answer your question yes he is genuinely a girl to me sometimes agskfhakfjsksk, i’m not saying it as a joke. like he’s not always a girl but he’s often a girl and he’s almost never actually a man, and every other time, he just isn’t really assigning a gender to himself at all because ultimately it’s all made up anyway

that being said tho i like reading different headcanons for him :-) like the gerudo just ending up with one trans man every century who becomes king. there’s a lot of different ways you can interpret him gender-wise, which is part of what makes him fun lol

[dragmirc]

First Arc: Landfall

Something did not feel quite right as the border between Hyrule Field and Gerudo was reached.

It wasn't inherently noticeable, a quick dart of the eyes along the low scrubland that separated harsh desert from temperate grasslands showed nothing in the real had changed. But there was still an invisible barrier here, one that caused Ganondorf to rein in his stallion to a stop right before it.

A physical search proved nothing amiss, just wind rustling sand over the meager brush at the border between his apocalyptic territories and the fertile lands further in. But it was there. A bristling in the hairs on the nape of his neck, something had changed in the very energy of the neighboring kingdom. It was unfamiliar enough that he could recognize it and the surprise of it managed to stop him in his tracks. His lips thinned at the thought that there was something he had yet to push through.

"Everything alright?"

He was pulled from his inner musings by a voice to one side, looking side-eye to the tall Gerudo woman part of his entourage. She looked a little concerned at the sight of her king's sudden unease, but the twist of his features was brief and evened out just enough. The energy dissipated into his hands instead and the leather of the reins creaked in his tightening grip.

"Everything's fine." he replied, sure and even-toned. As though to hide that she had seen anything amiss, he offered a small crooked smile. "I thought I smelled something rotting, wanted to make sure there weren't any scavengers nearby. Let's carry on."

It seemed to settle his four companions to know whatever had stopped them wasn't inherently hostile and with a click of the tongue and a small toss of the head, the sturdy stallion moved forward again. The group of five left the shifting sand wastes behind to follow a dust-choked road through the borderlands, feeling the intense heat off the desert wane as they entered the beginnings of the temperate grassland that was Hyrule Field.

Stubborn scrub was replaced by a carpet of billowing green, the wind that blew over it fair and cool. A few scutting clouds covered the sun and cast playful faint shadows over the rolling hills that bordered the winding road on all sides. A truly peaceful land, quiet in a much different capacity from the desolate isolation of Gerudo.

By comparison, Ganondorf and his companions were as a blight against the roiling greens and clear blue of the open sky above. Dark and foreboding in their neutral colors, astride dark-colored horses built to master shifting terrain. In the deeper reaches of his mind, he was envious of Hyrule's fertile, cool lands. In the fore, he was delighted in the idea that before the week was out, he would own it. It wasn't long before everything he had put into action would culminate into the final straw.

The King of Hyrule would fall to him, and that incessantly obnoxious little princess of his would follow. He would enact the final step in gaining access to the Sacred Realm once he tore the last piece of the puzzle from her little majesty's cold de--

A pressure against the back of his neck made him pause again, cutting into his musings once more. It felt like there were eyes on him, boring into his back. While he merely slowed the stallion's pace this time, he looked to both sides of the road.

The beginnings of Hyrule's farmlands stretched out in both directions. The budding crops of rye were being tended by farmers and their hands and while they stopped to regard the passing Gerudo delegation warily, that wasn't what he was feeling. A rustle in the adolescent grain further out made him stare at the point, but the tall ears of a hare betrayed the interloper for what it was and he opted to ignore it before resuming pace for Castle Town.

Maybe, with his plans coming so soon to fruition, he was feeling paranoid. Like some got jitters or stage-fright before a performance, he felt like there was someone watching him. It wasn't an unfounded fear, he'd had the sense that the princess' bodyguard was capable of seeing right through his facade. Ah yes, the Sheikah. She would prove to be a challenge. He could admire her for at least that without having to see the woman in action, especially in comparison to the lax ineptitude of the royal guardsmen otherwise.

What he mistook for paranoia, he realized on reaching the limits of Castle Town turned out to be apprehension instead. But it wasn't his own emotion. It felt somehow disjointed from him when he reached the market square that connected to the road leading to the castle on the mount above, like it was implanted artificially to create dissonance. But while it didn't affect him in the same way, he did notice out of the corner of one eye that now his entourage could feel it as well. His eyes narrowed as he saw them, heads lowered and glancing uneasily back and forth, any further expression once more relegated to his hands and the creak of leather reins in them.

Something was indeed different. Something was not quite right.

After a quick scan of his surroundings at the detestable denizens of Castle Town milling about in their tedious haze of day-to-day life, he caught it and it made him halt. Golden eyes laid on the shadowed silhouette of something standing next to the road leading to the castle. He cursed himself for not seeing the thing before, as it had been plainly standing there. Tall, lithe, with pinpricks of reflective white for eyes on its shadowed head.

A shade, perhaps? A ghost, maybe. Or neither, as it made eye contact with him for a moment enough to blink when it knew he was watching it and turned to dart up the road. It carried too much weight to be anything but alive, a flash of light off its form giving credence to its existence.

It wasn't that the thing existed in any capacity that made Ganondorf's attention snap up toward the castle. He was looking for the signs of a change, any indication that something had happened in the space of the last time he had been here. Nothing seemed off from where he was now, the banners flying as they always did to show the castle was open to visitors. But he couldn't deny that on the eve of his resolutions, the appearance of embedding emotions that were not his and strange sentinel shadows of things he didn't recognize made him worry.

He didn't show it in his face, the quiver that took his core and changed the budding paranoia into ripples of panic. The final machinations could wait until he had made sure the foundation of his years of planning and scheming was still stable. Ignoring his entourage imploring his actions, he spurred the stallion into a quick canter up the road, hearing the others following along behind as best they could. A gallop might have been faster, but he was keenly aware that such speed would be a detriment to the winding road hemmed in by rocky outcrops on both sides. This way, he would make good time and still remain alert to the terrain in case an attempted ambush was in play.

It wasn't long before he realized something had indeed happened on the castle mount. There was no predicted ambush, but the smell of spilled blood was unmistakable the closer he came to the castle and the lack of guards on the wall calling him to slow down or halt altogether made him glance upward. The standards he had seen flying were not the same. Down in Castle Town they hadn't seemed out of the ordinary, but up close, they were very different. Yellow-orange in color, the familiar emblem of Hylia's Wings had been replaced by an organized cluster of four-point star-forms. He couldn't catch any of them in full, flapping in the breeze, to count them all.

The sight of someone running up the road on the last bend caught his attention and in the full sunlight, he realized it was a person. A scout maybe for whatever force had settled here now, hardly different from a ghost if they were good enough. The fact that anyone had overtaken the castle without the rest of Castle Town even being aware spoke of an inside job so thorough, even he could be impressed.

The tang of battle mingled with the coppery overtone of bloodshed flooded his nose the closer he came to the bridge that lead into the castle walls, so strong that he could taste it in the back of his throat. An acrid terrible taste he knew as well as he recognized the glimmer of liquid seeped between the stones of the bridge before the first portal of the walls.

Ganondorf reined the stallion back to a slow careful walk over the bridge to the yawning tunnel through the walls, joined not long after by the rest of his entourage. The slumped weighty sacks of bodies tucked into the shadowed sides were all dressed in stained mail and tunics bearing the royal sigil, earning mutterings of surprise and harrow from the other Gerudo.

The front gardens and courtyards had been nothing short of a bloodbath, clearly where much of the action had happened. Lines of stained sheets covering suspicious lumps rested between walls and hedges, an impromptu graveyard for those yet to be sent off in some way. A quick but careful look around showed no one other than the dead and their current visitors currently rested in what would have greeted guests not too long before.

"I guess you smelled something rotting, after all." one of his companions pointed out before she continued, "These are all soldiers though."

"This strike was calculated, but messy." He hissed his observations, listening to his own voice say the words out loud as though he could barely believe what he was staring in its sheet-covered face. "This wasn't planned, just executed. There are likely more dead inside, but they aren't the only ones still here. Stay on guard."

He stared at the front doors into the main castle building as he dismounted. It was becoming more and more apparent to him that he had lost years of hard work in as little as what looked to be a few hours, perhaps the last day. What little flutters of panic remained had evolved into anger, settling into his chest as the thought hit him. A quick look around continued to assure him that for now, the Gerudo were the only ones alive in the front courtyards. It was enough that he strode purposefully toward the front doors, remaining alert to his surroundings as he entertained further plans.

Maybe, if he could still locate the ocarina, he would be allowed to continue his ambitions. That would be the ideal outcome, and only if the ones who had wrested charge were amicable enough to allow it long enough to see his rise to power. And only if they weren't after the Sacred Realm and by extension, the Triforce, as well. That was a factor he had to consider. Ganondorf considered it, and landed on the decision that if they were, they would have to be destroyed immediately. It wasn't something he was particularly remorseful about.

Now, as he pushed one of the doors open, all he had to do was find the one in charge.

@sanguinesorcery

[sokkas-first-fangirl]

Have a "Urbosa, The Gerudo Chief" snippet from my Zelink role-swap 'verse (Age of Calamity edition)

Given that Queen Lianna had sent Link to recruit Chief Urbosa, they couldn't go into Gerudo Town itself. Lady Impa could have entered the town and passed along the queen's request, but Urbosa had written directly to Link, to tell him she'd meet him at Kara Kara Bazaar.

Zelda heard the rumours, of course. People said Chief Urbosa hated Queen Lianna. The rumours said Chief Urbosa lost her temper at the mere mention of Queen Lianna's name.

Zelda had not been at court long, but even she heard how few people believed Urbosa would take the role of pilot. None of the servants believed she would willingly work with the queen. The nobility thought otherwise; they insisted Urbosa would "see reason" and accept the title.

Zelda just hoped Urbosa wouldn't aim that infamous temper at them.

Prince Link, usually so silent and solemn, picked up the pace when he spotted Urbosa and her quartet of guards. His eyes totally lit up and, although he didn't smile, even that small change totally transformed his face.

Impa said Lady Urbosa was a kind, albeit no-nonsense woman. Impa said the Gerudo Chief highly favoured Link; that she loved the prince as her own.

Chief Urbosa, to Zelda's bewilderment, did not appear happy to see him.

"So, the queen isn't here?" she asked, sneering. "Nor is the princess?"

Link faltered. He shook his head. No, he signed. You knew they wouldn't be here.

Urbosa sighed. "...Fine," she snapped, rolling her eyes. "I suppose you'll do. I can still send a message."

With that, the Gerudo Chief unsheathed her scimitar and rushed at Link with a battle cry. Urbosa's guards gave startled screams.

"My lady, stop!"

"Lady Urbosa, have you gone mad!?"

"What are you doing!?"

"No!"

Impa and Zelda jumped in front of Link, blades raised. Link unsheathed his sword, but he looked as horrified as Urbosa's guards. The guards ran forward, trying to intercept Urbosa and her apparent fit of madness.

Just as Urbosa's Scimitar of The Seven was about to clash with Impa and Zelda's swords, there was a sudden BOOM! Lightning crashed down from the clear sky, hitting Urbosa dead-on. The chief screamed and jerked about like a puppet. Her sword and shield dropped to the ground.

Just like that, in five seconds flat, the chaos stopped. Everyone froze, staring as Urbosa crumpled to the ground with a pained gasp.

"Really?" a woman drawled. "I leave for a few hours and this is what I return to?"

"Lady Urbosa!?" Impa gasped.

Marching across the bazaar, heedless of the gawping crowd of merchants, guards and travellers, was...Lady Urbosa? She was followed by a woman who closely resembled her. Each of them looked furious.

Urbosa (was it really her?) spotted Link and ran over, her face suddenly alight with panic.

"Little dragon, are you hurt?" she demanded.

Prince Link stared at her. Slowly, he shook his head. He smiled; a small, confused smile, but there all the same.

"Wait, but- but if you're Chief Urbosa then...?" Zelda trailed off uncertainly. Heaped on the ground, the other Urbosa stopped twitching and began to grumble.

"You morons have some nerve," the other Urbosa said in a man's voice. "Thinking you can go toe-to-toe with me..."

He leapt to his feet and, in a puff of smoke and red paper tags, he transformed from Urbosa's double into...Someone else. A tall, rotund man in a skin-tight red suit. He wore a white mask, painted with an eye; the Sheikah symbol upside down.

A Yiga.

Urbosa pushed Link behind her, her weapon aimed at the Yiga. The woman with her snarled and pointed her spear at the Yiga. Impa gave a horrified gasp and pulled out a second sword, aiming both weapons for the man's neck. Zelda stepped forward, wary gaze on the Yiga, firmly keeping Prince Link behind her.

"I'd have preferred gutting the queen or her little heir," the Yiga snarled. "And letting them bleed out on the sand. It would have been perfect for Lord Ganon, but instead she sent you."

One by one, more Yiga began to appear across the bazaar. Yiga on the inn's roof, surrounding the stalls; Yiga in the trees and all across the dunes.

"You'll do, Princey," the Yiga sneered. "We can still show your precious mommy what Master Kohga and the Yiga Clan are capable of!"

[skyloftian-nutcase]

For the prompt event maybe something off ur golden mercy list? That master list thing you have? You’ve got stuff there that hasn’t been posted and I’m curious

Link sighed a little as he stood still in the cavernous castle hallway. He tried not to question orders, really, but when something exciting was finally happening in the castle, he couldn’t help but feel a little upset that he didn’t get to be anywhere near the action.

It wasn’t every day that the Gerudo sent a royal delegation to Hyrule Castle, after all.

Not that Link really knew anything about the Gerudo. But it was something different, at least. It was all the more reason for him to be at his best, to keep alert for trouble. But he was also curious – he liked learning and seeing new things and people. He was a little too shy to actually seek them out, but if he’d been given a guard post closer to the action he wouldn’t have had to worry about that.

Oh, well. He would still perform his duty to the best of his abilities, however boring it was to guard a random hallway.

He supposed there had to be a reason he was stuck making sure the area remained restricted to these new guests. He knew there were some important areas back there, and he thought he saw the princess.

Maybe that was it, then. Maybe the guests weren’t allowed near Princess Zelda. But surely Link wouldn’t be entrusted with such an important assignment; he’d only been a guard for a little over a year, after all.

Movement caught his attention, interrupting his musings. He looked straight ahead, noticing a young woman—teenager? She was kind of tall to be a teenager, but Link reluctantly supposed he was a little short—walking his way. She wore strange clothes, sporting a halter collared colorful top made of differently dyed leathers that didn’t quite cover her entire torso, leaving some of her belly exposed. She wore baggy pants, crimson in color with patterns on them, covered by a black cloth that served as some kind of hybrid of a skirt and scarf-like belt. Her arms were adorned in golden jewelry, as was her bright red hair, which was held back in a bubble ponytail.

Who was this? He’d never seen anyone like her. She… was really…

Link felt his cheeks flush, and he swallowed. Being pretty wasn’t an excuse for him to lower his guard. But who was she? Was she part of the Gerudo delegation? She had to be, right? Why was she over here, so far from the throne room?

He was too shy to speak up at first, and she was just wandering anyway. His task was to prevent anyone from entering the area behind him. If she wanted to explore the hallway in front of him, that was her business, he supposed.

But she clearly didn’t. She caught sight of him, anmber eyes examining behind him curiously, and he felt every single emotion slam into him at once.

She was going to try to get past him, wasn’t she? She didn’t even notice him, she just looked right through him. But that was fine, he was a guard, it was his job to be invisible. But—

The girl tried to walk by him, and he automatically stepped in her way. “This area is restricted, ma’am.”

The girl blinked, tilting her head to the side as she crossed her arms. “Why?”

Why? Why? Nobody ever asked why! What was he supposed to say? “Be-because it is.”

“Huh,” she grunted, looking unimpressed. “Okay.”

Immediately, the girl moved to walk around him again. Link thwarted her once more, and he felt himself starting to grow a little annoyed. “I cannot let you pass.”

She clearly was too, brow furrowing. But instead of arguing, she glanced to her right, staring outside a large window. “What about outside?”

Link’s irritation dissipated, and he became bewildered. “Huh?”

“Outside,” she repeated, her face relaxing. “Is the outside restricted?”

Link was so confused by this conversation. “N-no…?”

“Okay!” She quipped easily, strolling towards the window and opening it, climbing outside.

Link blinked, registering what he’d just seen. What had just—did she just—

Wait a second! She was going to climb the wall to the next window down and enter the hall from there, wasn’t she! “H-hey!!”

Agitated, Link ran to the window, leaning out to watch her climb along the stone. She moved methodically, muscles rippling with each shifting motion, but the mischievous, smug smirk on her face caught his eye more than anything. “Hey, you said it wasn’t restricted!”

Link puffed his cheeks out in frustration. “Yeah, but the next window that way is! You can’t go in there!”

The girl’s smile grew, and she moved a little faster towards the next window.

Link growled, throwing himself on to the ledge and leaping up a little to grasp an area that he knew was easier to grip, allowing him to move faster along the castle wall than the Gerudo girl. She paused a moment, watching him crawl nearly with ease, used to climbing anywhere and everywhere, before she tried to race him to the next window. He beat her, huffing a little at the exertion, and sprawled himself across the windowpanes just as she reached them, making a physical barrier and glaring at her. “No access!”

She stared at him a moment, a little caught off guard, and then laughed. “Why didn’t you just go back inside and run down the hall to get to this window??”

Oh. Well—he—that was— “B-because it’s restricted to m-me too!”

“I just think you didn’t think of it,” the girl remarked knowingly. Link spluttered a little in response, but before he could get a coherent argument out, she smiled and said, “You’re a really good climber, though.”

Link’s train of thought completely derailed. She—he—what?

The girl sighed then, asking, “Really, though, why is it restricted?”

His senses came back, and he answered honestly, “I… I don’t know. I don’t ask.”

“Well, you should,” she replied with a little frown. Then she bit her lip, glancing off in the distance. “All right, all right. I get it. No access.”

With that, she released one of her hands from the stone, making Link a little nervous for her safety, and she reached for something dangling off her belt that was hidden under that dark sash. It was an item of some sort, looking like a mitt with claws attached. She pointed it towards the window they both had crawled out of it, and it shot the claws towards the stone that stood between the glass, pulling her back towards the window in record time and allowing her to leap right through with the momentum granted to her.

Link stared in her wake, feeling his heart race a little, caught up in the chaos and confusion and…

Wow.

Wait! Now she can go through the hallway without me guarding it!!

He didn’t make the same mistake twice; Link twisted to just enter through the window he’d crawled to, rushing down the hallway, cheeks flushed, and he saw the girl standing innocently at the grand entrance to this wing of the castle. Before either could say anything, though, another strangely dressed woman, far older, walked up to the girl. “Your Highness, Lord Ganondorf is looking for you.”

Lord—Your Highness— “Y-you’re the princess—” he immediately blurted out, and then instantly regretted it.

Where are my manners, oh gosh I’m going to disgrace all the Sheikah and Hyrule and—

Link practically fell over instead of bowing gracefully, and the girl didn’t comment as she complied with her own guard’s request. He stayed in that position for what felt like ages, catching his breath, berating himself over and over again.

Maybe it was a good thing he wasn’t stationed near the delegation. Hopefully he hadn’t done too much damage with his stupidity.

Thankfully, the rest of his shift went uneventfully. He dragged himself to the barracks, worn out, settling on his bed by the open window. He glanced outside dully at the evening light, leaning against his pillow and groaning. His stomach growled a little in protest, and he realized he’d forgotten to eat lunch. Or dinner.

Was it too late to go to the kitchen? Would there be any food left? He was hungry.

There was a loud clatter, a sound of metal scraping on stone, and Link bolted up, alarmed. Looking around for the source of the noise, he saw massive claws gripping the window frame. He anxiously reached for his sword before recognizing the claws, freezing.

Wait a—

A chain attached at the end of the claws moved rapidly, and before he knew it the Gerudo princess was vaulting through the open window.

“That took way too long to figure out where the barracks were,” the girl groaned, removing her clawshot from the window and smiling at him. Link stared at her, eyes wide, completely thrown off as to what he should even do in this situation. The princess plopped down on the bed, sitting beside him, and said, “My name’s Hemisi. Not princess. What’s yours?”

“L-Li—Orik.”

“Liorik?”

He couldn’t help the blush that burned his cheeks. “N-no, I—my name is—”

“This shouldn’t be hard,” the princess interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

“Link!” He spat out. “My name is—Orik.”

The princess stared at him. “Which one is it? Or do people in Hyrule usually have two names?”

“No, I—” he was making this stupidly complicated. “I’m sorry. I go by Orik.”

“But you said your is Link.”

He really messed this up, didn’t he? “Both. They’re both my name. I’m—I’m half Hylian. Link is my Hylian name. But Orik is my—it’s the name I go by.”

“So it’s the name you prefer?”

“No,” he answered immediately, and then bit his tongue. “It’s complicated. Sorry.”

The princess—Hemisi watched him curiously. “I have… so many questions. But… it’s nice to meet you. Is this area restricted too?”

Link found himself laughing. “I guess not.”

It was strange, how easily he could talk to her, how easily he could speak with a princess. But she didn’t act like one. Or, well, maybe she kind of did – she held a sort of command to her, kind of like Lady Impa, an expectation that people would just listen to her, a casual confidence. But it was kind of nice; she cut through the usual protocol and they could just… talk.

Link forgot he was hungry. He forgot she was a princess. The two laughed and asked each other questions, and when more guards approached they both scurried under the bed to hide, and Hemisi’s laughter turned to wheezing, and the sound was so ridiculous Link nearly bust a rib trying to hold himself back from cackling.

When the coast was clear, Hemisi bade her goodbyes, promising to find him again, and Link laid in bed all night, wide awake, smiling, wondering if he’d ever get the chance to actually hang out with her once more.

It would be kind of nice if they could.

[gav-san]

THE QUEEN OF THE KING 14/15

Previous/Next

It's warmer here, near the desert. 

You aren’t sure when exactly you left Hyrule, never having reason to leave the confines of the country, but you know that you are not there. The small villages you sneak around contain no flags or ensigns, and the people talk in ways and with words that aren’t familiar. You’re not taking any main road, paths of dirt are far more common than stone.

You grimly wonder if an even more primitive manner of living awaits you if you make it to the mysterious Gerudo City. What would living in the desert entail? Hiding under boulders in those sealskin tents, everyday sand creeping in your clothes, having to watch for terrible things who want to make a home in your shoes? That your buttox is in a consistent state of pain?

You had even given in to wearing a veil, like a true Gerudan woman, but only because it was the best way to save your face from burning under the increasing heat.

The stories the Gerudo women have told you with smirks no longer are so strange or jesting. What if they were the truth? Would you have to so soon come to terms with your own ignorance and pride?

“My moon, look aloft. The spires of my forefathers.” He says, pointing to the distant mountain peaks that had grown over the ride. You do your best to be unimpressed, not wanting him to know this was your first time seeing such mammoth rocks. The ones in Hyrule now looked like gentle hills!

“Are they so tall to keep thieving Gerudo in?” You say sharply, giving your best to appear as haughty as you can. It’s the worst insult you know, sharpened to hurt him as best you can.

There was a lot of time to ponder these things, riding aloft the mighty black horse of the Gerudo King. Ganondorf, as he wanted you to call him, did his best to capture your attention. He seemed to be able to read your mind, and unfortunately, the fears deep inside. 

The worst part isn't all in vain. He is successful, in part because you are bored but mostly because he is an excellent conversationalist.

“Or to keep rogue princesses in.” He replies lightly, not falling for your bait.

How you hated how charmingly intelligent he was. There would never be a day when you wouldn’t be entertained!

Witty, clever, and educated to an absurd extent he is exactly the sort of knife you like to sharpen yourself against. But unlike most with those qualities, he doesn’t cut when he finds himself.

You pause, jaw left open.

You realize that despite everything, you are having fun. Real, genuine enjoyment just speaking to him. You aren’t bored or tired or even offended. He has navigated you better than you can understand!

And more so, you weren’t the only one.

Occasionally when you do come across a traveler it becomes apparent that you aren’t the only one who finds him delightful. Strangers do stop and stare at your spectacle, a male Gerudo adorned in gold, pulling a giant black demon horse with an angry, sunburnt fairy in matching silks.

Not even you can deny the absurdity of your situation. 

For those that do recognize him, it’s even worse. You think you might be saved when you first see the group of men, riding their horses. They appear to be a mix of both Lanyruan merchants, with their carts, and as soon as they see you they start catcalling. 

Not at you, but the Gerudo King.

“Desert-man!” They say, comfortably approaching, “How good to see you, Gerudo King!” Another called, “Where are your fair retainers?” 

Your eyes stay wide as they pay you little attention, entirely fixed on the King. The foremost gives a deep bow as you approach. 

“Beedle, fine to see you this day.” The Gerudo King says, placing his large palm on his chest and nodding. 

“King Ganondorf! I’m surprised to see you alone on this back road! Are you here to trade?” He says, black eyes bright. Ganondorf smiles, moving to the side and holding a hand out to the merchant who enthusiastically shakes it.

You blink, flabbergasted at the strange friendship 

“Alas, I am not,” He tilts his head, but doesn’t quite move out of the way to fully reveal you on his horse. You glance down to the ground, wondering if it’s possible to dismount the horse and steal one of theirs. 

The man’s eyes widen, so big they look like tea plates, round and white. 

He bows again, arms to his sides.

“My apologies. I hadn’t realized you had gotten married, King Ganondorf.” He says, and you gasp. “I shall gift my finest specimens.” He has turned, opening up a large box and you almost gag. Inside are a variety of thick bugs, pinned to the back like some macabre show.

You are about to chastise him, but your ‘husband’ intercedes, pulling Beetle and his disguising bug box aside.

“Ah my friend, your fine gift honors us both, but we are traveling light,” Beetle nodded, not being the slightest bit offended. “Next time you are at the Gerudo Market I shall accept your trade and give you my best dyes in return. But my bride and I must be on our way.”

The man nods, placing his hands together, thrilled. His companions look awestruck and jealous.

You aren’t sure what warrants this level of awe, but it’s clear that these are Gerudo Allies, though you think they should be yours.

So you keep your mouth shut.

After you had left in different directions you couldn’t help but satisfy your curiosity.

“I didn’t think Gerudo Town let in any males.” You said, thinking back to how you promised to seduce one, and his resounding rebuttal.

“You are right,” Ganondorf replies, moving to stand by your side. Even with you riding on his large horse, his height is impressive. He holds his hands aloft, and you let him take your waist so you can dismount. Standing on the ground your legs feel shaky, but you are glad for the rest. “But at the first outpost, before entering the desert we hold a large marketplace every two weeks during summer. That way traders can come to us without having to risk the desert until it is cool enough for the Oasis Marketplace to be opened. There are more adventurous travelers but few.”

“Sounds complicated.” You say, watching him unpack. You accept a woven blanket, finding two bare trees that it can be strung between, making quick work to set up your hammock in a victory for all independent women. 

You aren’t as ready to collapse as days before, but the thud you make when both you and the hammock hit the ground gives him reason to chuckle. You don’t even bother getting up, and the King easily strings you and the hammock more tightly.

Once he’s done you lazily wave a hand and he goes and fetches your watch and some of the jerky he’s saved. You take both gladly, scarfing them down much to his amusement. He lifts his hand as if to caress your hair, only to pull it back before he touches you. It makes you feel bereft for some reason you shove deep down.

“How are you, my moon?” He says softly, eyes Milton gold as he looks to your feet, and shortly, your rear end. It’s clear he knows that you’ve been biting back your pain.

Your groan is enough confirmation, and he goes to pull out the blister gel.

—X—

You don’t remember the name of the first ‘shrine’ you come across, and you’re not even sure you know what exactly a ‘shrine’ is. You’ve of course heard of the Spirit Temple, along with the ‘Temple of Time’ and other mysterious old ruins. They dotted Hyrule as well, but you hadn’t had much interest in them, nor had even looked at one up close before.

So when you find yourselves approaching something like a gray toe with a long nail sticking up out of the ground, it is a bit underwhelming. 

You make a noise in the back of your throat as Ganondorf pulls the black horse, and he glances back with a highly amused look. It strikes you that things have become very comfortable between you both, far too quickly. 

You had been trying to be as cool as possible after waking in his arms again, knowing that it had indeed been you who had crawled into his warm embrace. Again. It turns out desert nights were not warm, but freezing cold.

It makes your cheeks warm, almost sting, to know how wanton you have been. You want to escape, you tell yourself over and over. You have to! This man has kidnapped you, a great princess! 

But under the smooth veneer that you desperately cling to, there is something in you that ignited when you first saw the Gerudo King. Something bubbling under the surface that brooked no pretty lies you can fool yourself with.

It scares you, that thing.

So you sniff loudly, twisting your head away, and he gives an audible laugh. Shifting your brows, and mouth purse you hold back the smile his laughter brings. But in a moment you don’t need to hold it back, because it’s completely gone.

Because you can see the path you’re going to have to take to get to the blasted thing, pardon your language. 

Because the path to the shrine finished at the end of the most unstable-looking rock you’ve ever seen, filled with curves and turns that would make an experienced climber cry.

“Never fear, my moon. I promise that you shan’t be disappointed inside.” He replies to your disdain, even misguided as he is as he leads down the winding tunnel.

“Are you not tired?” You ask as he navigates the path, not a trail of sweat coming off of him as he bounds down, in an extremely good mood. 

“How can I not possibly be?” He says, only glancing back a moment. “I am with you.” It’s enough to make those butterflies in your stomach begin flying with attention. Oh yes, your butterflies love his attention. He gives a low chuckle.

You clear your throat knowing it’s not just the fictional butterflies that enjoy his throaty voice.

Instead, you focus on things you know will keep you bothered. The rocky path, the way your rear hurts in the saddle, the uncomfortable pink where the sun hits your skin, veil notwithstanding. You want to wail the loss of your carefully manicured visage.

You look to the cliff side realizing it isn't a perfectly smooth wall. There are many pathways, carved into the deep rivets and winding deep into the mountain. A heavy sense of something tangible rests on you.

It isn’t until you reach the bottom that you can name it.

It takes a surprisingly short time for you both to reach the bottom, and in the shade, you hold your arms until Ganondorf can fish out your bear covering that you reluctantly pull on.

You can’t help but be glad for the cool air inside the mouth of the shrine, though it makes your sweat feel uncomfortably cool. It’s here you can see the deep blue glow intertwined with the shrine’s stone.

“It feels… sacred here.” You say to Ganondorf as he softly helps you down until you balance steadily on your feet. 

He nods, looking pleased.

“Yes. We have long believed that the old sheik who served the great goddesses built these shrines so that those who entered would be given a test that they must pass to gain enlightenment.”

You blanch, and he chuckles.

“Have no fear, my moon. I have already entered all the shrines here in Gerudo as all things do. For the Kings and Queens of the Desert, it is a right of passage. Now they are only used for ceremonial washing and marriage cleansings for the couples.”

You blink.

“Marriage cleansings? We’re not just going to… wash in separate areas?” 

He grins wolfishly, leading you to the mouth of the shrine, rather quick for his laid-back nature.

“They say that the fated couple who binds themselves together in the waters of the sacred shrines, then present themselves at the Spirit Temple will gain the power to wipe away the calamity of the world.” You press your lips together, your nerves starting to build as he presses a hand against the stone, almost wrapping you into his embrace doing so.

It lights up bright orange, startling you into jumping back into him. You latch onto him, wrapping your arms around his torso. He softly returns the embrace, looking both concerned and thrilled.

A panel in front of you slides away, revealing a black hole where it seems like you’re just supposed to trot in.

You turn up to him, hands digging into his arms.

“If you are going to sacrifice me, I am taking this moment to object.” You hiss. He thinks you’re joking again, because he laughs, gently pushing you inside.

The entrance closes behind you when you are both inside but it isn’t the pitch black that you expected. The soft orange glow is inside as well, leading down a deep path into the rock. Slowly Ganondorf coaxes you down it until you reach the bottom. 

You enter the overlarge room, eyes wide. 

The room is lit in a soft blue glow, from strange, cut rocks from the ceiling. Crystals are at every corner, aloft tall spires exiting the perfectly smooth pool that fills most of the room.  

You don’t need to be prompted to go forward and stick a toe in.

You yip at the cold.

“What in the!”

“Water, especially cold water, is precious in the desert.” The King says, wasting no time in taking off the long strip of silk that crosses his chest.

“Wha- What are you doing?!?” You cry out, and he raises a brow, stepping in as if the water had been heating on the stove to a pleasant temperature.

“The water can only accept those with a willing heart and mind,” Ganondorf says, his thighs already engulfed. You watch as the thin, silky fabric goes dark and saturates the deeper he goes, something dangerous and terrible inside prompting you to stare unabashedly. You shouldn’t look but there is no stopping, watching as his abs flex as the cool water hits them, the way goosebumps pimple his flesh.

“In order to survive the desert without the special skin and constitution of the Gerudo, this holy water must be visited.” He pauses for a moment. “No sunburn.”

You raise an arm, chuckling, eyes narrowed.

There are parts of him revealed you cannot speak of, but you don’t turn away. 

Instead, your feet move.

You’re in the water before you realize it, and even then you’re sure you wouldn’t break from your trance but it’s the coldest water you’ve ever felt. You automatically try and calculate how long until you lose feeling and are in threat of hypothermia- but your mind stops cold.

Ganondorf has his hand out to you. 

And you can feel his heat, almost boiling in this pool of ice.

He’s only standing a few feet away but the ground looks like it drops off, enough for the water to be at his clavicle. His hair has been let loose, falling into the water and surrounding him like a circle of flames. Droplets bead down his jaw, winking in the mysterious light of the crystal walls.

“Come my queen.” He commands, “Think no more of those people who don’t appreciate and can’t love you I see. I wish to worship you.”

Who are you to resist such passion?

.

.

.

You’re not sure that the ceremony you just went through is legally binding, but for the first time in your life, you feel bound. Not captured, violated, and dirty, a prisoner to some system you can’t overcome. But you feel safe, like a chick under its mother’s fluffy feathers. 

It seems that you spend hours in the embrace of the Gerudo King, the water lapping at the edges of your searing skin. You almost believe that you have been reborn anew. 

“The moon is brighter here, I think.” You mutter under the stars. “Hyrule is always cloudy. I do love the rain but at the expense of the stars?”

You had finally exited the shrine, choosing to camp next to it. And tonight, you didn’t bother waiting for a reason to lay on him. It was so much warmer to snuggle up together.

“It does rain in the desert, for around a month every year.” Ganondorf murmurs sleepily, “It just pours and pours. It’s quite the problem because it washes away the sand.”

You turn, tapping a finger on his chest.

“When I first became a princess of Hyrule Castle I wanted to help the people from the country that I loved, just like my own parents. I didn’t just want to parade around, so I decided to study with the most eminent tutors who would accept a girl. My uncle thought it was fine. I remember reading in a report something about how the deep slopes of the caldera, next to the village of the Gorgon had an unusual amount of rain one year. One of our most learned men found that if he placed sandbags measured with a specific mix of both rocks, dirt, and sand, that it absorbed the excess water.”

You pause, a bit sharply. It causes Ganondorf to look at you.

“I apologize. I hardly think such a topic is suitable for the moment.” You say, voice getting soft. It causes Ganondorf to shift, twisting so you rest on his chest. It makes you shy to try and look into his eyes, but he brings your chin back, holding your gaze.

“I love hearing you talk.” He says with no guile. “The world would be a much worse place without your voice in it.”

Tears fill your eyes.

You give a sad smile.

“The world is no place for such things anymore.” You say. 

“You told you that? Who dared say anything to hurt you?” You blink, surprised at the venom in his eyes. Not for you, but for whoever hurt you. “Give me the name, and whoever hurt you shall be dealt with.”

“I think I have left those things behind me.” You struggle to form the right words, turning to sit up and sliding off him. “They no longer matter.”

Ganondorf isn’t dissuaded, sitting up to follow you.

“Everything about you matters to me.” He replies like it’s only natural. “Tell me everything.” Your throat catches, and you struggle to breathe. 

If he had pushed you any further, had tried holding you like you were a baby, you would have shut your mouth and may never have spoken again. 

But he just listens. 

And so you tell him, everything that has ever happened to you. 

-X-

He isn’t sure when he goes to sleep. He had thought himself alert enough to wait one more night until he reached the outpost. He shouldn’t have waited, should have let you kiss him later. The was so much danger that he didn’t want to inflict on his beloved. 

He should’ve waited.

But how could he have?

Not when you told him of your entire life. Not when you have revealed how alone you had felt since the death of your parents. How you had been assaulted by the Archduke, and how you had contrived since that day to overcome every enemy you had ever met.

How you had received a dream about delaying your marriage but only after being almost forced into a tenuous marriage with several men. 

“And your dream.” He said, remembering you looking at him so vulnerable when he asked such a question. Your hair was still wet, clinging around your fair face, and you brushed it out of your lashes, blinking as you did so. 

“A meaningful existence.” You close your eyes, letting your arms reach the cool air around you. “For freedom to be myself.”

You lay asleep, your glorious hair spread like a halo of light, still curled from the water. And looking at you so free and unbound by the thick Hyrulian dresses and crowns made his spirit soar, putting his heart at rest.

So just like that, he fell asleep. 

And he only woke up at the attack of the Yiga Clan.

[blueskittlesart]

Wouldn't link just be considered a drag queen at that point?

sigh. ok fine let’s do this. i’m going to explain in the simplest possible terms why the gerudo quest is transphobic for you all so that hopefully we never have to have this conversation again. christ.

let’s start by going over a few common transphobic talking points that will come up in this discussion.

trans women are actually just “men in dresses” and not real women.

trans womens’ motive for “dressing as women” is to infiltrate womens-only spaces to hit on or otherwise harass cis women. (think of the bathroom bills)

you can “clock” trans women as trans by looking at their facial and body structure, which is supposedly always noticeably different than cis women.

trans people/lgbt people in general are pedophiles/inappropriate for children.

great. keep those in mind as i go over the plot of this quest.

gerudo town is explicitly a women-only space. any man found attempting to sneak in is immediately thrown back out. Link, the male protagonist, needs to get into this space (for non-nefarious reasons.) in order to trigger the events of the quest in the first place, link MUST talk to a male npc who explicitly tells you he wants to sneak into gerudo town to pursue/harass the women inside. this man is the one that points you in the direction of the npc you eventually get the gerudo set from.

link returns to the bazaar and meets the npc the man told him about. this npc appears to be a cis woman wearing gerudo clothing. the npc speaks with exaggeratedly feminine cadence and mannerisms and is somewhat flirty with link, who is implied to be much younger than them. they give link a female “disguise” that allows him to sneak into gerudo town because when wearing it he is perceived as female. at the end of this scene, there is a brief moment where the npc’s veil is blown away and you catch a glimpse of their beard underneath.

so let’s go over all the transphobia inherent in that narrative, shall we? the fact that in order to trigger the quest you MUST talk to a man who is attempting to harass the gerudo women implies that the only reason for a man to wear feminine clothing to get into gerudo town would be to harass the women inside. the crossdressing npc link then meets is implied to be “not a real women” and interacts somewhat inappropriately/uncomfortably with link, pushing the idea that trans women/crossdressers are deviants and don’t know how to act appropriately. finally, the inclusion of the scene in which the npc’s beard is shown only serves to further imply that they aren’t really female, and are actually crossdressing for some nefarious purpose.

so no, link is not “basically a drag queen” in this quest. he is playing out a transphobic stereotype. drag queens are PERFORMERS. they are deliberately flamboyant and over-the-top and the nature of their performance IMPLIES that they are cross-dressing, as opposed to the way botw frames it’s crossdressing npcs as attempting to DECEIVE cis women for their own gain. please do not ever make me have this conversation again

[aikoiya]

LoZ - Gerudo Misandry Is Not Funny Or Okay

I find it really damn odd that so few people talk about misandry when they bring up the Gerudo or the societal norms of other Amazon-esque races.

And even when they do, it seems to always be done with a tone of levity behind it.

As if it isn't every bit as terrible as misogyny.

As if their biological situations don't make men absolutely vital to the continued existence of their people & culture.

So, treating men as less than is as terrible as men treating women the same.

And, honestly? I can't help but see this disregard by fans (especially the feminist fans) as very spiteful.

Like, how do these people not see how this isn't okay?

I mean, no wonder Ganondorf always ends up such a sack of shit!

Seriously girls, imagine what it would be like growing up the only female in a society of all guys.

No maternal figures, no female role models, no female friends, or even acquaintances. And you're unlikely to ever even see another woman until you reach 18-20.

Separated from the most important woman in your life at 3-6, if not birth. To be raised by a pair of warlocks who despise their neighboring kingdom & are intent on turning you into a vile, tyrannical witch.

And every guy around you knows nothing about actual women, just misogynistic stereotypes, so all you can do is apply those same stereotypes to yourself & there's just this general consensus that women are basically unnecessary beyond producing children.

They don't have a single clue about what it means to be a woman. They don't know anything about women's health. No one to explain things to you when you need them most. So, in the end, you're mostly left to figure it all out on your own.

And the only real examples of women you have are people that your adoptive fathers say are oppressing you & your people. So, all you can do is quietly just assume that all women = bad. And that includes you too.

So, all you can do is frantically do everything you can to make yourself useful to these people who, knowingly or unknowingly, look down upon others of your sex.

And therefore, unconsciously, you as well.

And you're expected to rule these people. To lead them into a golden age.

I can't even imagine how damn isolating it must be. I can't imagine the pressure. These are your people, yet even so, you are still alien to them. Still other. Still "not one of them."

And in many ways, a commodity.

Based entirely upon something that you have zero control of.

And upon reaching 18, you're likely used as a breeding mare.

And the only people who could ever truly understand your situation & the pressure that comes with it... are all dead...

Now, switch the sexes & you basically have every Gerudo Voe's reality.

It's no damn wonder that Ganondorf always becomes evil.

There's also the ridiculous superstition that "men bring about disaster."

And then we get into the detrimental affects this shit has on the Vai!

Look at how these women react to just seeing a dude!

And this chick can't even look a man in the eye!

Because, apparently, she's never even seen a real man in person before! So, Link has to freaking wear a full-face mask in order to get her to manage to speak to him!

And let's not even get into what the little Vai wear! The sirwal are fine, it's the tops that need to be changed.

Kids aren't supposed to show that much skin!

LoZ Cultural Masterlist 2

[giriduck]

Almost there, folks: we're within 24 hours from TotK launch for much of the world.

Long post under the cut about Ganondorf thoughts in general.

I got into Legend of Zelda as a very small kiddo, way back when it first showed up in the United States on the NES. The limited lore was fine and good, the graphics were on par with everything else at the time, but it was the music that sucked me right in. I'd pop the cartridge in and launch the game just to listen to the theme during the opening scroll.

Zelda 2 was odd and I mostly ignored it. When A Link to the Past came out on the SNES, the enhanced graphics and music was breathtaking, and the story was vast and engaging. There was lore, and it was perfect for picking apart and analyzing. I cared about Link, the fate of Hyrule, and all the NPCs we met along the way. To this day, the epilogue music to ALLttP and the end credits still never fails to make me cry.

I was in my mid teens when Ocarina of Time came out. Subscribed to Nintendo Power Magazine by then, I was all in on the hype. The power of the N64! The first 3D Zelda game! A beefy and hot adult Link! After the launch of the game was delayed by a year, the excitement to play this game was intense.

It did not disappoint. While A Link to the Past was an excellent adventure, Ocarina of Time presented a version of Hyrule in which I genuinely enjoyed simply spending time. It was beautiful and immersive. It was the first atmospheric digital space that I'd seek out when I wanted to relax and watch the sun rise or set. It was the first of it's kind, and it was no surprise when years later, MMOs began rolling out with gorgeous skyboxes and scenery, as digital places for players to escape to. That was Hyrule for me. I already enjoyed it as a fictional kingdom through prior games (and the cartoon series, lol), but OoT solidified it as a beautiful place that I fell in love with.

So I could see why and how the antagonist of the series wanted lay claim to it so badly; it's a desirable, magnificent environment.

The reveal in A Link to the Past that Ganon--the very same baddie from the first game--was pulling the strings the whole time was pretty cool, as well as all the lore about the Golden Goddesses, the Triforce, Ganon's influence over the Dark World, etc. One of the Seven Maidens even mentioned Ganondorf by name, and briefly talked about Ganon's origin story as the guy who found the Triforce, after so many others had failed and all the wars and bloodshed over this mystical, legendary artifact. It was only a few lines, but it was so interesting, and felt like it was only scratching the surface of a much deeper history.

When Ocarina of Time came out, it was so light and fluffy running around as a child in Kokiri Forest until the Great Deku Tree revealed that he'd been cursed and was going to die. He launched into the history of the creation of Hyrule that aligned to lore from A Link to the Past, with music that harkened back to that game. It was a powerful shot of nostalgia.

Then the antagonist--the villain who would eventually find the Triforce--galloped across the screen, backlit by flames. He was big, he was mean, and he was going to appear centuries later in a new form as Ganon. I sort of knew where this was going because I'd played A Link to the Past, and now we got to see the man himself, when he was still a human.

I was instantly fascinated.

Later in the game, it's revealed that he was also a king, and--in a wild choice by Nintendo--depicted as a very rare cis male within his otherwise all-AFAB population of desert warrior people. A big fan of warrior woman archetypes in general, this was also of interest. The whole sociological implications of the, say, constrained demographics within Gerudo society was also an interesting thought experiment.

Ganondorf was such a cocky, arrogant bastard, though. During his seven-year reign, he seemed to squander Hyrule's bounty. He appeared selfish and unconcerned with his people. Although his unexplored backstory to his people and his connection to the Triforce were interesting, he was canonically a pretty terrible person.

Not long after Ocarina of Time came out, I used to frame Ganondorf as he was presented in the game: arrogant, conniving, and cruel.

This made me nervous for the Gerudo, who were in the challenging position of being expected to follow such a difficult person, who also happened to be their king. By extension, it felt like a setup for extremely toxic dynamics, and that did not sit right with me at all. So the mental fanon shifted to him just being uncaring and indifferent about everyone around him, and his quest for power was so all-consuming that he distanced himself from his people, anyway.

This still wasn’t the kind of person I wanted to give space to in my mind. The Gerudo deserved better, and surely they would take great care to raise their prince well, to help ensure their future king was aligned to their values and mores. His people would naturally care about him, and he would ideally reciprocate that to some degree.

Though he had the capacity for cruelty, he was no longer a fundamentally cruel person in my headcanon. “Conniving” evolved into “political” as required, and only a fraction of his original arrogance remained.

Then Wind Waker happened.

Those established headcanons aligned to the more mature, patient, world-weary version of Ganondorf we saw in Wind Waker; he was like who I'd constructed in my head, but even more so. This version was a man who'd suffered defeat and was imprisoned in a world in which he was forced to live with the consequences of his actions. The Hyrule he sought after--the same Hyrule players like myself fondly remember and loved--was maddeningly just outside of his reach. I found myself empathizing because I too, ached to restore the old world to its former glory.

Then, in his famous monologue at the end of the game, how he had sought out the comforts of Hyrule to escape the harsh environment of his home... How he had the names of his adopted mothers engraved onto his swords... Both revelations hit me hard.

For those of us who who wanted to believe that there was more complexity--and humanity--to Ganondorf than what we saw in Ocarina of Time, the reaction to the glimpses we saw in WW Ganondorf was like:

So now we are at the eve of Tears of the Kingdom launch. Will this Ganondorf be the most heartless version we’ve seen yet, or will he have complexity?

In Breath of the Wild, Calamity Ganon had killed Urbosa (a Gerudo Chief skilled with lightning, who was likely his distant descendant) in a very nasty reflection of her specific fighting style (sword, shield, and electricity), and then intimidated Gerudo Town through the possession of a Giant Mechanical Lightning Camel named after a woman he had once personally known, who had famously opposed him ages and ages ago, and because of that rebellion is still remembered as a heroine to the Gerudo.

Clearly his relationship with the Gerudo is going to be severely complicated, at best.

I am curious and actually very nervous about how Ganondorf interacts with the Gerudo in Tears of the Kingdom, if he actually does so at all.