#I also imagine that there's definite cultural differences between the sand dwelling and sea faring gerudo... which is so cool to think abou

[thebleedingeffect]

aight ill bite tell me abt the termina gerudo :chinhands:

LETSFUCKINGGGOOOOOO okay I have to preface this that just so much of my rambling about the gerudo and termina is like, almost 100% in my brain, BUT I HAVE MY SOURCES <- sources being that I dug way too much into the scraps of world building that was given to us in majoras mask

So, to start this off and for this to make a bit more sense, I truly believe that Demise's curse and Hylia's continuous reincarnation is NOT a thing that happens in termina. The reason for this is because the golden goddesses and Hylia herself abandoned the realm a long time ago and just... exists in this weird pocket where it's technically the mirror of hyrule, but it becomes more and more different the longer you pay attention. Termina has all of the necessary components of "looking" like hyrule, but I strongly believe that without Demise and Hylia in the picture, it's been allowed to evolve in a completely different direction.

All of this leads to my thoughts about the gerudo in termina: Demise does not exist, therefore his curse does not exist and no single gerudo male is born and destined to become king. Without hyrule, the hyrulean family, and the worship of Hylia, the gerudo have no enemy that they constantly fight themselves at odds against. Within this same train of thought, that also means that there's no wider power that ties all of the kingdoms together underneath a single power, aka the hyrulean royal family.

Essentially, each "kingdom" is not bound to a higher authority and is therefore able to form their own alliances and treaties with one another without any form of royalty getting involved. This is massively important for the gerudo in termina considering that the very thing that held so much influence and power over them in hyrule- is just gone, it never existed in the first place.

But!! More on actual details of the termina gerudo!! Personally! I really like to imagine that since Demise's curse isn't a thing, gerudo voe actually are a thing! More uncommon? Yes, but a gerudo voe is not a sign that war is on the horizon or the birth of a new king, a gerudo voe is just a son. Because of this, the termina gerudo never developed such a system that automatically gives all voe power, status, and prestige :) because there's no Hylia and golden goddesses means no talk of curses and destinies, so gerudo voes are allowed to actually Exist. Crazy I know.

Another thing is that not all gerudo live in the gerudo desert! Because there was never a hyrulean war, the gerudo were much more able to spread out over the land and make other settlements. The largest settlement, other than gerudo town, of course, is the settlement that was established in the great bay region :] because of this, I really like to imagine that the termina gerudo would actually be super close to the zora! :D They're super close allies and it's not uncommon whatsoever to see zora in gerudo settlements as the gerudo and zora practically have an open door policy for one another. Over time, the gerudo have become skilled ocean farers, which is a nice call back to the fact that they were pirates in the og majoras mask!

I know it's because the gerudo were characterized to be thieves in the oot/mm time period, but I've never been a fan of that detail considering the unsavory implications to actual irl prejudices. So! I've moved around some of the details in my brain to actually allow them to be knowledgeable of the sea in an interesting, fun way rather than... that...

Bridging off that detail from earlier about gerudo voes being much more of a thing! I like to imagine that termina gerudo don't... really have the whole "men cannot enter" rule? Because so much of that can be tied back to Ganondorf, so if he doesn't exist and gerudo voe are able to be born, why shouldn't they be allowed to live in their walls? They're gerudo born and sons of both the sea and sand after all, why would they ever kick out their own kin? Simply put, they don't.

ALSO THIS IS JUST ME BEING SPITEFUL OF NINTENDO HERE. THE TERMINA GERUDO ACTUALLY WEAR PROPER DESERT CLOTHING. They don't wear fucking HEELS in the DESERT why would they ever DO THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE? SO MANY BROKEN ANKLES FUCKING EVERYWHERE. Instead, the gerudo would wear more robe-like, loose fitting clothing that would allow for plenty of circulation that would keep them both cool and warm. I still like to believe that bright colors and gold jewelry would most definitely still be a thing though!! It's just that the clothing style that the gerudo have in-universe frustrates me to no end, but especially botw/totk, because that's just not how desert clothing works. Do not get me started on their face coverings, why are their noses exposed. Anyway, the termina gerudo actually cover their faces.

Because the gerudo do not have to fight for a life outside of the desert, do not experience the hostility of the hyrulean royal family, and don't have to deal with Demise's curse- they're a much more relaxed version of the gerudo, at least compared to their hyrulean counterparts. It's not uncommon to see them in clock town and practically every corner of termina as they're pushed to travel the world! And no, they do not solely travel just to find a partner, that's always been sort of a weird detail to me lmao.

One last detail- though this one is much more self indulgent and related to a whole other tangent of brain rot- I like to imagine that the fierce deity is one of their preferred patrons. Thanks to the fierce deity being seen as a vicious protector who also cares much for justice and resolution, many gerudo see their same ideology in him. So :] it's not uncommon to see moon pendants scattered throughout gerudo settlements as a sort of way to wish protection, shelter, and luck from the moon god himself :]

If I'm able to think of anything else, I'll most definitely reblog this post and add more!! Yeah, I just love the gerudo a TON and I think the concept of the termina gerudo is so fucking cool... it basically asks you to turn everything you know about the gerudo onto its head and instead question what they would be without this whole curse deal. Overall, I think the termina gerudo would have a much more secure foothold in termina as well as having WAY MORE allies throughout the land, but particularly the zora :] and the fierce deity being a sort of protective figure in the gerudo's eyes is just so fucking cool to mmeeeeee IT'S SO COOL.... yes this is me making the fierce deity a whole thing in termina, yes I have so many thoughts about the fierce deity, yes I connected the gerudo and the fierce deity in my head... in my defense, the autism-