#Mipha and Sidon’s names all reference

[alabasterpickles]

I am no stranger to making oc’s for the fandoms I engage in and most of them I rarely talk about so let me give y’all a quick breakdown of one of the gals I’ve been playing around with the the last few months

I was talking with my sister about how strange (and sad!) it is that Sidon and Mipha’s mother is mentioned maybe *once* in passing and how funny it is that neither of them look remotely like their dad, so naturally this sparked a desire to explore what she may have been like/looked like!

I’m going to guess she was close to Yona’s size (she’s my main canon adult Zora woman reference point) which still makes her itty bitty compared to Dorephan. And also I headcanon that both kids take after her — which is why they both had special “Sage” abilities and Dorephan does not, it’s all on mom’s side of the family! The second drawing was me trying to figure out their approximate size difference (which would’ve been comically large anyway), featuring young Dorephan!

I know the “dead mom” trope is a major plot device in this particular series, but it’s nice to think about all the pre-tragedy family stuff.

Anyway! Her name is Sola!

Enjoy these little doodles!!

ALSO for the record, Sidon inherited his winning shark smile from mom in my mind

[echoingvoids]

Arrangement

It was part of the peace agreement. Princess Mipha Lightscale would marry Revali Eaglebow, the best warrior among the Rito. She's not looking forward to it. She's never met this man in her life. Part of her ever doubted she could love someone so different from her. But they could be friends.

<>

Theme: Arranged marriage AU for two very different cultures.

Word Count: 9,220

Originally Posted: Nov. 11, 2024

Warnings: Some references to things. Mentions of injury and blood.

Other: My longest oneshot to date! I've tried to edit spelling but knowing me I missed some stuff. Features a Zora OC I whipped up and expanded population and town sizes. Enjoy!

Miphvali masterlist requests

"I'm sorry," Mipha's eyebrows knit together. "Could you repeat what you just said? The last part?"

Her father, King Dorephan, looked at her patiently. "We have finally obtained a peace treaty with the Rito. As part of the conditions of the treaty, you are being married to their most highly-esteemed warrior, Revali Eaglebow."

She let that sink in for a moment. After ten years of trying to come to agreements with the very different kingdom of the Rito, they finally achieved their goal of peace. On the condition that she marry someone she's scarcely heard of and never even met.

As Princess of the Zora, she always knew it was likely that she would be married to some high-ranking Lord or Prince of either a kingdom of Hyrule or one of the other surrounding countries. Yet she was not prepared to be married into a culture so vastly different from her own. They didn't even use the monarchy system, for Hylia's sake, having some sort of village Elder and a collection of warriors in various positions. 

She nodded slowly, trying to keep her expression neutral. "What about the agreement with Alfrinda beyond Hyrule?"

"We spoke with them and they agreed that inner peace within a country is of the utmost importance. Besides, their princess, Yona, will be coming of age about the same time as your brother Sidon. They will be married and he will take the throne after I step down.

Mipha nodded again, even slower. "That is implying...that I am moving to Rito Village."

Her father almost looked sad for her. "Yes. It is part of the terms."

Even better. She had to move to the Hebra region, which had the coldest winters in the country of Hyrule. A major change from the balmy weather of Zora's Domain. 

She didn't know how she was going to survive. "And I'm just going to be shipped off? Just like that?"

"Zora soldiers will accompany you until you arrive and then Rivan will stay with you as your guard. And you also get to bring your maid, Lyra."

Well, at least she had that. Still, it was little consolation. "When do I leave?"

"The day after tomorrow."

This caused Mipha to stand abruptly, her silver dress swishing at the sudden movement. "I see. Please excuse me."

Without another word, she turned and fled to her room.

Two days.

In two days she would likely never get to return home again.

<>

Lyra stood with Mipha, checking over the contents of her baggage. "Alright, we have your warmest clothes, the royal gown, your chosen jewelry, along with your art supplies."

Mipha nodded. "Yes."

Lyra looked up from her list, amber eyes softening. "It will be alright, Your Highness."

"We can't be sure. For all I know, he could be some awful old man."

The maid's nose wrinkled. "I'm pretty sure there are laws in all regions against that. Besides, His Highness loves you too much to subject you to that."

"True. But still. All the other men who were potentially suitors for me I got to meet at least once. I've never met this man in my life and I'm pretty sure I've only heard his name twice prior to this new development."

"Valid points. But Your Highness, try to look on the bright side," Lyra set the list down, placing a comforting hand on Mipha's shoulder. "Sure, he could be this stone-cold, awful man. But there's a chance he could be very kind and considerate. Or maybe he could be something else entirely. We have to wait and see."

Mipha sighed. "I suppose you are right. I just can't help but be nervous."

"And you have every right to be, Your Highness. But surely you will find something to relate over, despite his culture being so different from ours," Lyra wrinkled her nose. "I'm think I can assure you, however, that he's not going to be some bitter old man."

At this Mipha laughed, giving her maid a grateful smile. "Oh, Lyra. What would I do without you?'

Lyra smiled back, picking up her list again. "Forget your mother's crystal earrings, most likely."

Mipha laughed again, feeling just the tiniest bit better.

<>

Even though June was now in full swing, the breeze of the Hebra Region carried a coolness Mipha was not used to. The sun was warm but the air was cool. It was strange and, frankly, a bit disorienting. 

They were greeted by a group of Rito warriors and Elder Kaneli himself, who was a large older man with a braided beard and kind yellow-green eyes under thick eyebrows. He greeted them warmly and respectfully, explaining that Revali was out on a scouting trip and thus unable to meet them at present. The Rito Warrior would not be back for several hours, but Kaneli offered to take the princess to where she would be staying until the wedding in the next two months, when she would move in with husband.

Many houses were sprawled around the edges of Lake Totori where most of the Rito lived, with the heart of the village spiraling around a stone spire protruding up from the lake. This is where Kaneli led Mipha, taking her up several flights of stairs (which was even more than the Zora Domain palace had) to a small house near the top. The breeze was stronger up here, blowing her magenta hair into her eyes as Kaneli opened the door and welcomed them in.

The house wasn't very large, given the nature of where it was built, but it was cozy. A small living area greeted them, with a large window looking outside, a basket-weave chair hanging from the ceiling, and a small table filling the space.  A single door led into the bedroom, which had a bed for Mipha and a bed for Lyra and a surprisingly large closest. Kaneli explained that there was a cot Rivan could set up in the living area, then apologized for the tight quarters. Mipha assured him it was alright, understanding that it must've been difficult to procure on such short notice.

This had all occurred several hours ago.

Mipha and Lyra sat in silence in the bedroom, with Rivan guarding the entrance to the home. The sun was starting to slant through the window in the living area, streaking through the bedroom's open door into Mipha's eyes. The sunset seemed so different from back home.

Except this was her home now.

Lyra stood. "I'm going to the kitchen to obtain some dinner. Will you be alright here by yourself for a few minutes?"

Mipha nodded silently, watching her maid leave the house, the front door closing softly behind her. With a sigh, Mipha continued to stare out at the setting sun, wondering how her life had suddenly changed so much so quickly. She knew this was her responsibility as the Zora Princess but she never thought it would be so hard to bear.

She heard the door opening again and she turned, about to comment on how quickly Lyra had returned, when she froze. 

A man stood in the doorway.

She was immediately on her feet, staring at the stranger, fumbling for words that just would not come. Her stared back at her, with piercing green eyes that demanded attention, observing her but yet not judging her. His raven hair, like all the men of Rito Village, was pulled into a braided hairstyle, tied in place with elastics of jade color, setting off his eyes quite nicely while a bright blue scarf with Vah Medoh stitched into the folds circled his neck. And he was tall, practically looming over her. 

His eyebrow arched up after a long moment and he asked, "Princess Mipha?"

His voice caught her off guard with just how smooth it was. "I-uhm-yes. Yes, Princess Mipha Lightscale of Zora's Domain," she took a deep breath. "Would I be wrong in presuming that you are Revali Eaglebow?"

"That is correct," his green eyes continued to take her in, whatever emotion he was feeling eluding them. "I would like to apologize for not being here for your arrival earlier today. I was told you would be arriving this evening."

"No need to apologize. Uhm, we got here faster than anticipated."

He nodded slowly. "Welcome to the village, Princess Mipha."

And with that, he simply turned and left.

Mipha found herself feeling utterly confused as she stood there, fingering the silver fabric of her sleeveless dress. So that was her future husband. And she had absolutely no idea what his first impression of her was. It probably wasn't a good one, giving how she was fumbling to speak.

With a groan, she flopped back onto the bed, rubbing her face with her hands.

<>

The dining hall was full. Princess Mipha had been at the village for two days and this had caused many conversations, especially among the men who had just returned from the hunting trip up in the Hebra Mountains. She had yet to join them in the communal dining hall for dinner--that was to be expected--but some wondered if she ever would. Given the Zora monarchy tended not to dine with every other citizen of Zora's Domain.

Teba, Revali's closest friend, had been among the men in the mountains when the princess had arrived. And as soon as Revali sat down next to him, questions were fired. "Have you met her?"

Revali scoffed. "Of course I have. What do you take me for, an imbecile?"

"When did you meet her?"

"As soon as she arrived."

"Have you spoken with her since?"

Revali sighed, aggressively scooping some moose-meat stew out of his bowl. "No, I have not. Can you stop quizzing me?"

"Well, I'm sorry. My best friend is being married to the princess of a kingdom we haven't had peace with in over 150 years. Excuse me."

"Oh, don't be like that. Besides, I haven't spoken to her again because I've been busy and she's been holed-up in her house."

Teba nodded knowingly. "I see. Well, I frankly can't blame her. She's being married off to a man she's met only once."

"Isn't that the way monarchies do things in the first place? This should be no different."

"First of all, we don't even operate on a monarchy system. And second, she's gone from one extreme to another. She's gonna find it cold here, especially compared to where she came from. Besides, she likely won't get to go back again and since this was a very recent development, she's probably struggling to come to terms."

"You haven't even met her, how are you analyzing her?"

Teba shrugged, turning to his stew. "Just think about it from her perspective. Its not that hard."

<>

On her fifth day there, Mipha was finally brave enough to venture outside. 

Everywhere she went, people greeted her, wishing her well. Everyone treated her with kindness and Kaneli even took time out of his busy schedule to have a short conversation with her. Their kindness made things a little bit easier. She met a lovely woman named Saki, apparently the wife of Revali's best friend. They talked for nearly an hour and left Mipha feeling like she might have made a friend in this foreign place.

She adjusted to the cooler summer air and the different way the sun rose and set. The snow on the mountains in the distance still astounded her, even when she reached the point of being there for two weeks.

Over those two weeks, she had only seen Revali a few times, exchanging only a few words with him before he'd disappear again. She knew almost nothing of the man, except that he was highly skilled, highly respected, and almost always busy. Which wasn't a lot to work with.

She seemed to blink and a whole month had gone by, throwing her headlong into July. She felt far more comfortable with the people, slowly adjusting to the culture. She had yet to brave the communal dining hall, but she had the courage to go out more often to talk to people.

Although, for some reason, it began to bug her that she had barely spoken to Revali.

She hadn't been expecting anything else and yet she was desperately hoping to learn something, anything about the man she was destined to marry in about a month. But he was never around.

So when he showed up at her door on a Tuesday morning with his bow slung over his shoulder and asking if she was busy, she was shocked. "Uhm, no, I'm not busy. Why?"

"Well, I..." he sighed. "Have you been to the Archery Range?"

Her gold eyes went wide and she shook her head. "It has been mentioned to me but I have yet to make the trip over. It looks cold over there."

To her shock, Revali chuckled. "Because it is. I'm heading there now for an hour. If you want to come with me, you should change into some pants or something."

She looked over her shoulder at Lyra, who mouthed 'say you'll go!' Turning back to Revali, she nodded. "Alright! Uh, one moment."

He nodded, waiting while she shut the door and ran into the bedroom to find a suitable pair of pants. Not that she owned many, given they weren't really needed back in Zora's Domain. She was sure she'd have to obtain more before fall rolled around. 

Lyra helped her throw her magenta hair into a braid and she reappeared at the door a moment later, Revali standing there with a detached look on his face. "Alright."

"Its a bit of walk," Revali took off at a brisk pace, Mipha scrambling after him with Rivan following. "But I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I should, yes."

"Good," he glanced back at her as they began making their way down the masses of steps. "The Archery Range, as I'm sure you've figured out, is where we train. I like to go now because there's typically no one there to get in my way."

"I see." She nodded, glancing around at the interested faces they kept passing. People were poking their heads out of buildings to look at them but what Revali thought of this, Mipha didn't know. Unlike many others, she couldn't read his emotions at all and she found it both scary and frustrating. 

This probably meant that he was a very private person. Mipha added this to her very short mental list of things she knew about him.

The walk to the Archery Range was silent, although not in an uncomfortable way, surprisingly enough. The air got cooler as they approached, and they even passed some half-melted snowdrifts lurking in the shadows, which Mipha found utterly fascinating. Kaneli had a small library in his office and she had to ask if he had books on the area so she could do some research.

As they neared the area, she quietly asked, "What's something you value, Revali?"

His steps faltered for a moment and he looked at her with no clear emotion on his face. "My freedom. Why?"

Her face flushed and she looked away. "Just curious."

He didn't respond and they continued silently. When they arrived at the Archery Range, they were met by an enclosed building next to a large, very windy field with targets set up at various lengths. Revali led them over to a large rock, taking his bow off his back and Mipha's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Isn't it a bit windy?"

"That's the point," he took an arrow out of his quiver, nocking it to the bow. "We get high winds here, especially in winter, so we must be able to hit our targets under any conditions. The young people train in that building until they're good enough to start out here."

That made sense, Mipha thought, and as she settled herself to sit on the rock (which was rather cold) she watched curiously as Revali raised his bow. She had heard much of his skills in archery from the townspeople and she was finally going to see it in action.

After a long moment he released the arrow and she watched in awe as it sliced through the air and hit the dead center.

She couldn't help it--she gasped. Revali turned to her with a pleased smile and she fought the urge to gasp again. He had a very nice smile, she realized, and she wondered why she hadn't seen it until now. "Perfect shot?"

"But of course," he lowered his bow, pulling another arrow out of his quiver. "Do you know anything about archery?"

"Uhm, not much. Only that you put the arrow on the string, pull back, and let go to hit your target."

"Hm. I'll have to teach you more sometime," he lifted his bow again and paused, intense green eyes flickering to her. "Only if you want me to."

She nodded quickly. "I would like that."

He nodded, satisfied with her answer, before turning his full attention back on the target. As she continued to watch him practice, she got the feeling that she and Revali could definitely be friends. If she could love him was another thing, one she wasn't sure about, but her old tutor Muzu always told her that love would come later.

And if it didn't...well, she could at least hope they could foster a friendship and navigate this together as friends, if not as partners. 

Barely twenty minutes later, Revali set his bow down, turning to her. "You keep looking at me funny."

She felt her face heat up. She could hardly tell what basic emotion was on his face and yet he knew something was up with her almost immediately. Was she that transparent? "I'm...just thinking about things. I'm sorry if my random question earlier made you uncomfortable or anything."

He raised an eyebrow. "It didn't."

She nodded silently, watching him as he picked up his bow again. Before he could resume training, however, she suddenly blurted, "Do you despise me?"

He froze, going still for a long moment before turning to her, a clear emotion painting itself on his face--confusion. "Why would you think that?"

She ducked her head, picking at some moss growing in the cracks of the rock. "Earlier you said you value your freedom. Me being here...takes away from that freedom. Your freedom to choose. For all I know, there was some other lovely Rito lady you meant to marry before getting roped into the politics of a peace agreement."

"Princess Mipha," the tone of his voice enticed her to look up at him, his expression mostly unreadable again. "I never intended to marry in the first place and if I'm being entirely honest, I was not happy about this arrangement. But the only thing I value as much as my freedom is people being responsible. If I'm not responsible, how can I expect anyone else to be?"

She nodded slowly. "Peace among the kingdoms is more important."

"This is our responsibility," he paused, pinching the bridge of his nose before looking at her again with a sigh. "I do want to get to know you, Princess Mipha. I'd prefer to not marry a complete stranger and I'm afraid I haven't made much of an effort on this front in the past month. But of course, if you'd prefer that we just coexist without interacting anymore than needed, we can do that too."

"No, I--" she took a breath. "I would like to get to know you a bit better, too."

He smiled slightly, a breeze billowing the loose chunks of hair around his face. "Well alright then," his expression fell and he sighed again. "I'm sure I've broken every expectation you had for your life at this point. I'm no King or Prince or Lord, but I am the best of my people and that's what I can give you, Princess Mipha."

Unsure of how to respond, she said softly, "Mipha."

"Pardon?"

She worked up the courage to look him dead in the eye. "Call me Mipha."

He opened his mouth, as if to argue, but then closed it again, instead responding with a curt nod. She nodded back and after looking at each other for a long moment, he picked up his bow again. "I don't think I could despise you anyway. You seem like too kind of a person to hate."

With that, he turned his attention back to the targets, leaving Mipha pondering what on earth had just happened.

He didn't despise her. That made her more relieved than she had expected.

<>

Two days later, he showed up at her door again, without his bow this time. "You should join us for dinner."

She blinked at his abruptness, not having even said hello. "In the communal dining hall?"

He nodded and she lightly chewed on her lower lip in contemplation. She had learned that every citizen ate Breakfast and Diner there, unless the weather prevented them from reaching the building. Eating dinner with every other person of Rito Village, both young and old. If she was being honest with herself, it was intimidating.

As if sensing her distress, Revali added. "You can sit with me. Like Kaneli and the few other highly respected warriors here, I get to sit at the smaller, less crowded areas. But if you don't want to go, that's fine."

"No, I do, I'm just..." She twisted one of her rings on her finger. "I'm just worried I'll get overwhelmed."

A look of understanding flashed in his eyes. "If that happens, just let me know and we can leave, alright?"

He was proving to be a lot more considerate than she had been expecting, especially with the tales she had heard from Saki. Or maybe he was just making an effort for her. It was nice, either way. "Alright. Uhm, what about Lyra?"

"She come if she'd like. Or stay here. It doesn't matter to me."

Mipha turned, looking at her maid. "Do you want to go?"

"I think I'll stay here, if that's alright with you, Your Highness," she winked. "Have fun though."

Mipha pulled a face, turning back to Revali. "Its just us. Oh, and Rivan. Father told him not to go too far from my side."

"Understandable," Revali raised an eyebrow, which Mipha was noticing he did a lot. "Don't you think you'll need some shoes?"

She looked down at her bare feet, her face immediately flushing pink and she ran to the closet. "One moment!"

As she grabbed the first pair she could find, she could hear him laughing. A real laugh that held no trace of malice. For some reason it made her smile and she reappeared at the door with her face red and smiling sheepishly. "We can go now."

He chuckled, leading her down the stairs and out to the large building that was the communal dining hall. People were streaming into the building and as Revali led her into the building, her ears were overwhelmed by loud chatter and the clinking of dishes and silverware. She looked at Revali wide-eyed and he leaned closer so he could be heard. "Are you alright?"

"Its loud!" She looked around. "I'll adjust. Where are we sitting?"

He pointed to one of the smaller tabled near the top of the building, telling her to stay close as they weaved their way through the people. Everyone near them fell silent as they passed, their chatter immediately picking up only moment later. Mipha knew they were probably talking about her and even if people couldn't see her, they would hear that she was in the building.

They reached the table and Revali gestured for her to sit down on the bench. "Stay here. I'll be back with some food."

He disappeared into the crowd. Everyone nearby looked at Mipha curiously before turning to their own dishes. When a shadow fell over her, she turned expecting Revali, instead being met with a strange man with white hair. He pointed to her left. "Is anyone sitting there?"

She shook her head and he sat down, setting his bowl on the table before turning to her. "You're Princess Mipha, right? I'm Teba Falcon. I heard you've been talking to my wife."

Mipha's eyes lit up. "Oh, you're Saki's husband! I'm honored to finally meet you!"

He smiled good-naturedly. "I apologize for not meeting you sooner. I've been on the hunting rotation the past month and my hours are quite tight. Revali's told me a bit about you."

She blinked. "He--he has?"

Teba nodding, taking a bit out of his rice. "Not much, mind you. He's a very private person. But he seems to like you. Which is an achievement on its own."

"Is he really that hard to get to?"

"You have no idea. He's a great guy, just he can be...hard to work with. Especially since he prefers to work alone."

That made a lot of sense. She went to reply when the man himself reappeared, holding a bowl and spoon in each. "Ah, I see you met my friend Teba. He assigned himself, mind you."

"Oh, you'd be lost without me."

Revali chuckled, passing a bowl to Mipha before seating himself on her right. She peered curiously into the bowl. "What is this?"

"Deconstructed Rice Balls."

Mipha took a bite, face lighting up. "Delicious!"

"Kass's daughters keep us well fed," Teba agreed. "Have you been enjoying the village so far, Princess?"

She nodded, swallowing. "Yes. It is a lovely place and everyone here is very kind and understanding. Although it took a bit to adjust to the cooler climate."

"Oh, just wait until winter comes. We'll have to make sure you have some proper clothing by then," Teba took a sip of water. "Do you even get snow in Zora's Domain?"

"Not at all. Just a lot of rain. You can see snow way up on Mount Lanayru's peak, but I have never been there. In truth, I've never touched snow in my life."

Revali's eyebrows shot up. "That will be quickly amended. We get snow as early as October."

The conversation continued like that, Teba asking questions, Mipha explaining her opinions, and Revali occasionally offering comment. 

After that night, Mipha went every evening to dinner. Revali would show up at her door, walk her there, Teba would join them and sometimes Saki, and they would talk all evening about random things. Hunting, weather, cultural differences. Teba was fascinated by the differences between Zora and Rito culture and although he wouldn't admit, Revali found it interesting too, Mipha just knew it.

<>

"What's something you like to do?"

Revali's question caused Mipha to crack her eye open. They were out on the Archery Range and after her several failed attempts to get an arrow to hit the target, she had stretched out on the rock while he had continued to practice. She sat up now, her braid falling over her shoulder (a hairstyle she found herself wearing more and more often) as she thought a moment. "Well, its not nearly as demanding or exciting as archery, but...I like to paint."

"You paint?"

"Yes. Although I haven't done anything in that accord since before I arrived here."

He slung his bow over his shoulder. "Would you show me?"

"How to paint?"

He nodded and she stood. "I can try. My supplies are back at the house."

He nodded again and they made their way down the path towards the village. "What do you paint anyway?"

"Mostly landscapes. But I have done several portraits as well."

"You could do a portrait of Kaneli someday. He'd probably love that."

Mipha's artistic brain was already working out how she'd have him pose. "Perhaps I'll ask him."

They reached the little house, Mipha asking for Lyra to help her gather her supplies. She then took Revali to the least windy landing, setting up her small canvas and beginning to mix some paint. "I mostly just go with the flow, letting my heart guide me instead of my head. I find it easier to be creative if I simply let loose."

She peeked around the easel at the mountains beyond, putting a streak of grey paint on the canvas. "I have no rhyme or reason to it, I just paint. If that makes sense."

To her surprise, he nodded. "I think it does."

She continued on in silence for a while, the shape of the mountains slowly forming on the canvas in hues of grey and white. As she was about to start on the sky above them, she paused. "Revali? In two weeks...uhm, can I ask about the Rito marriage traditions? Is there a certain way this is done?"

He sighed but what that sigh meant, she didn't know. "Well...they construct an arch. Of tree limbs and flowers. And they set it up facing a very specific way. Kaneli always officiates the wedding and he faces to the south the whole time while standing under the arch, with the couple starting facing north. Facing north symbolizes a strong, true union that will head in the right direction."

She set her paintbrush down, completely fascinated. He seemed to be looking beyond their surroundings as he continued. "When the couple turn towards each other, the bride will be facing east, to symbolize tradition and warmth. While the groom will be facing west to show courage and responsibility. Then Kaneli says some speech, they tie a scarf over the hands of the couple to seal their unity, and, uh, they kiss. That's it."

"Interesting," she nodded slowly. "I see direction holds an important part in your culture?"

"It has to do with the wind. The wind is part of us," His green eyes finally flickered over to her. "I...ugh, fine, I'm curious. What do the Zora do?"

"Well, either Muzu or a priest officiates the wedding, depending on who's getting married. They make their way up to Veiled Falls, stepping into the water until they're up to their knees, facing the falls. Then they say vows, exchange rings, and the groom places a flower into the hair of the bride, usually a lily, before they kiss." She paused. "Do the Rito not do rings?"

"Not really, no. We have these hair charms that you braid in. You get those after though," Revali crossed his arms, shifting his weight. "I have a feeling that we'll be following the Rito traditions here."

"Understandable. I am marrying into your culture after all."

He nodded, suddenly smirking. "I could take you to a waterfall if you really want. And you don't mind freezing your legs off."

Her gold eyes widened and he laughed. "I'm teasing, Mipha."

"I'd like my legs intact, thank you."

This caused him to laugh again, an almost fond look settling onto his face. But when she blinked it was gone and he was sighing again as he looked to the mountains. "It certainly feels surreal, doesn't it."

She nodded thoughtfully, looking at the slanting sunlight. "A bit. But I'm sure it won't be that bad."

He looked at her again, a pleasant expression settling onto his features. "No, I suppose not."

They stood silently like that, simply looking at each other.

Mipha would dare to call them friends. Perhaps love would come.

Perhaps.

<>

Already the day was here.

The two weeks since their conversation had flown by, depositing them into August, and Mipha woke to an utter bustle in the village to get ready. Saki had shown up at the door with breakfast, telling her that the dress had been finished and she needed to stop by the clothing shop as soon as she could. After a hurried meal, she and Lyra had rushed there, working around people heading up and down the stairs to prepare.

The dress itself was beautiful, combining the traditional sleeveless dress of the Zora with the ruffles commonly found on Rito dresses. She found she could move far more easily in that dress than any she had ever worn before, surprisingly enough.

In the midst of all the preparation, her father and brother arrived. She couldn't help but cry a bit when she saw them, hugging them both. Sidon was as equally emotional on seeing her, much to King Dorephan's embarrassment. When her father hugged her, he whispered, "I'm proud of you." causing her to look up at him.

"I've missed you."

"I know, my daughter. I know. Hopefully this will not be the last time we see each other."

Right after this short conversation, she was swept back into preparations. Hours flew by until it was suddenly time and everything came to a standstill. They were standing outside, all of Rito Village gathered around alongside her father and her brother. Kaneli stood under the arch. 

This was real. It was happening, right now.

Revali came to stand next to her. "You look lovely."

She glanced at him, taking in the black tunic he wore, embroidered with gold thread. "You look nice yourself."

He chuckled and she took in a shaky breath. "Its not too late for us to just turn and flee in opposite directions, is it?"

"Technically no, but we're not going to do that," he glanced at her again. "Right? We'll be fine."

He was right. They'd be fine. They were going to work through this as friends. She honestly doubted anything was going to really change, and she didn't think people would start expecting things from her. At least, not immediately. 

Kaneli cleared his throat, the onlookers following silent. "You may approach."

Revali offered Mipha an encouraging look. Although she thought he looked incredibly sad. She didn't blame him.

They came to a stop in front of Kaneli, who began reciting about the ties of bond and how they should treat each other. Mipha was barely listening. There was a roar in her ears that she couldn't drown out. This was happening. This was happening and she couldn't back out. 

"Turn towards each other."

Mipha did so numbly. The afternoon sun was warm on her back and it made Revali's face seem to glow.

"Take each other's hands."

They did as instructed, Revali grasping her hands firmly but gently. They were calloused and firm, a stark comparison to her soft and delicate ones. Kaneli produced the brilliant blue scarf Revali always wore, with his symbol stitched on in white--the legendary Divine Beast Vah Medoh. Kaneli was saying something else as he tied the scarf, but all she could hear was her pounding heart. This was real. This was real, it was happening right now.

This was the end of everything she had ever known.

"You may kiss."

Everything froze, Mipha's golden eyes flickering up to Revali's green ones. He nodded ever so slightly and she closed her eyes, feeling his breath on her face before his lips brushed hers. She could hear cheers rise up from the people, and she gripped his hands like a lifeline, eyes fluttering open as he pulled away. They stared at each other while Kaneli announced the finality of the union. 

It was done.

<>

She moved into his house the next day.

It was larger than what she had been in staying in (which she almost found odd, given Revali seemed the type to live light) and had a second bedroom. Lyra would be sleeping in the living room and Rivan was to return to Zora's Domain, his duty done. 

Mipha found herself very quiet and contemplative. Revali didn't seem to have anything to say either. He silently helped her move her things in. For the moment she was sleeping in the secondary bedroom. But it was their house now.

When she had finished organizing her closet, she didn't see Revali anywhere, but found her easel set up in the corner of the living room by the window.

She didn't know what to think of that.

She felt different yet the same. Her father had left that morning, much to her dismay, and she was now practically alone here. 

She still had Lyra at least, who was desperately trying to lighten the mood.  "Hey, at least he's not an angry old man like you worried he would be."

The memory of that conversation did make Mipha chuckle, causing Lyra to grin. "That was rather silly of me to presume, wasn't it? Thank you for being here, Lyra."

"Of course, Your Highness."

Mipha held up a hand. "Please, just call me Mipha now."

Revali reappeared again when dinner rolled around. "Do you want to go to the dining hall to eat?"

She bit her lip, contemplating. "Could I just stay here? You can go if you want to."

He sighed. "Frankly, I don't want to go either."

So they didn't. They ate quietly in the living room with Lyra.

In the following weeks, they fell into a rhythm. Revali got up at his insanely early hours to go train and most often, Mipha would paint until he got back. She would show him what she had worked on, they would eat lunch, and sometimes she would go with him to the Archery Range and try to improve her lacking skills. They started going to the communal dining hall again and would go to sleep in their separate beds. 

Conversation started up again between them, starting with simple a "Good morning" or "Good afternoon.". They became better friends. They didn't discuss their marriage and they mostly seemed to ignore the fact. But, at least for Mipha, it was constantly hovering at the back of her mind. She knew soon enough expectations would come in rolling in. And she was not looking forward to that.

She learned more about him and slowly came to admire him. His parents had both died when he was young, his mother from sickness and his father from a bomb arrow accident. He had worked every day for his entirely life to become the best archer of the Rito, climbing through the ranks despite so many doubting he ever could. She could respect that. 

Weeks turned to months and she woke up early one mid-October morning to discover that the trees had decided it was fall overnight. Brilliant reds and oranges and yellows adorned the world outside and as she prepared for the day, she got the urge to go outside and paint. 

She left her bedroom with intention, suddenly stopping short and making an embarrassed noise. 

Revali stood there with a cup of coffee and his hair down with no shirt on. 

He spun around to face her, green eyes going wide and he immediately set his cup down. "Shit, I didn't realize you were up. I--I'll go change."

He brushed past her, hastily stepping into his room and closing the door. Mipha's face felt like it was on fire and she wasn't sure why. Plenty of men back home never wore shirts, why was this getting to her?

Maybe because none of them look like that.

He was cut, the evidence of his constant training. And she had to admit, he looked good.

His door opened again and he re-emerged in a t-shirt that was clearly thrown on in haste. They stared at each other and he managed to speak first. "Sorry. I didn't know you were up this early."

She said the first thing that came to mind. "Do you do that every morning?"

He ran a hand through the loose strands of his raven hair. "Uh, yeah. Ever since I got my own house, at least. Except in the winter."

"Oh."

"Had I known you were up, I would've put a shirt on."

"Its-" she swallowed thickly. "Its alright."

He nodded slowly, picking up his cup and taking a deliberate sip out of it. "Why are you up so soon?"

"I'm not sure. Just woke up," she gestured lamely to the window. "It looks nice outside."

"Ah, yes, Lady Autumn has made her appearance," his green eyes took her in. "You're going to paint it, I presume?"

She nodded. "I would like to."

"Hm," he set his cup down, sighing. "Mipha, I have to go into the mountains for hunting trip."

To her own surprise, a stab of disappointment went through her. "Oh--"

"I want you to come with me."

Her eyes went wide again. "Y-you do? I've never been hunting before."

"Well, there's a first time for everything. We'd stay up in one of the hunting lodges. I can teach you how hunting works and all that. Your skills with a bow are good enough now," he paused. "Of course, you don't have to go if you don't want to. But I...I would like you to come."

Her head was reeling. Something about this felt very different from the other times he had asked her to go do things with him. "I'd love to."

He smiled and nodded. "Great. We leave tomorrow. I've got everything pretty much ready and if you head to the clothing shop, they should have some hunting gear for you. Trust me, you'll need it."

She found herself smiling back. "Okay. I assume you need to go get ready for training?"

He let out a breathless laugh. "Yeah. Do you want to come?"

"I do."

A warmth she had never seen before settled into his green eyes. "Okay then."

<>

Revali hadn't known what to expect from an arranged marriage. Especially to someone from a foreign kingdom who he barely knew. But what he certainly hadn't expected was to fall so hard so fast. 

Kaneli had told him that he should just try to foster a friendship with her and hopefully, love would come later. Well, later hadn't exactly happened, because Revali had fallen for her barely a month-and-a-half in. She was beautiful and attentive and understanding. She had a nice smile and thoughtful eyes the color of marigolds and don't get him started on her laugh. She was creative and willing to try new things, brave in her own special way. He was terrified with just how fast she had planted herself in his heart and he had no idea what to do or how to act.

So he simply continued to be her friend. 

A lesser-minded man would've forced her into things probably against her will. Revali simply waited for her to come when she was ready. He felt it wrong to expect anything from her (although he knew what the people of Rito Village were going to expect) and above all he respected her. That came before anything he wanted. 

Besides, she had only been there for just over five months at that point. Love would come later. Revali just had to figure out what to do with himself and his feelings until said 'later'.

For the moment he found himself crouched in the deep, constant snows of the Hebra Mountains, helping Mipha aim her bow at a deer. It had been snowing all day thus far, so much that the strands of her magenta hair that had been peeking out from her hood had turned a dusty pale pink. Which added to the camouflage, so at least they had been noticed less since that development. 

He adjusted her arm as she lifted the bow. "Remember to draw up slowly and hold yourself uptight," he whispered, leaning as close as he dared to her ear. "When you draw the bow, you draw with intention and strength," her eyes glanced over to him and he flicked her arm. "And focus on the target, not me."

He heard a muffled chuckle from underneath her scarf as she turned her attention back to the deer, tracking it with her eyes. When it was within range, she fired, and the arrow stuck into the deer's side, drawing blood. She let out a gasp of delight, turning to Revali. "I hit it!"

"Indeed you did," he straightened, watching the deer disappear into the flurry of snow. "Come on, we've got to follow the blood trail before the snow covers it up." 

The blood was bright red against the snow, leading them in a bit of a circle as the deer had, for some odd reason, ran around a tree three times before deciding to move on. They found it about a mile later, lying on its side, dead by a rock. Mipha peeked around Revali. "So what do we do now?"

"Now we--" he froze, hearing a faint sound in the distance. Howls. "We run." 

He grabbed her wrist, dragging her away from the deer. "What--what's wrong?"

"Wolves. They're coming for the deer. We don't want to be in their way."

Her eyes were wide between her hood and scarf and she let him lead her away, dragging her through the snow for several minutes. "Are we okay now?"

His green eyes scanned the surroundings, taking in what he could in the limiting snowstorm. "I think so."

"Aw, and I finally managed to get one."

He smiled gently at her. "Its okay. We're up here for a few days so there'll be plenty of time for you to get another one. But its better not to tangle with wolves. Not everyone survives the attacks. I would've been fine, I've dealt with them before, but I don't know how well I could've protected you."

She stared up at him. "You've fought wolves?"

Another thing he loved about her--her height. She was so small and short it just seemed like it would be so easy to pick her up and carry her around. "Several times. I emerged unscathed."

"Really?!"

"Well," he sighed. "Mostly unscathed. I do have a scar from one. Maybe I'll show you it sometime."

Because it was on his left shoulder blade and from the way she had acted yesterday, she wasn't ready for that. 

Although her hood and scarf hid most of her face, he could tell she was smiling at him. He smiled back before gently tugging on her arm. "Let's go over there."

Despite their best efforts, they didn't really find anything else over the next hours. When it was starting to get too dark, he turned them back in the direction of the hunting lodge, pulling out a torch from his pack. "Hold this for a second."

Mipha took the stick while he pulled out his firestarter, getting it to catch on the first try. The wind threatened the lifespan of the flame, but it held firm for now. "You ready to go back?"

She nodded, clutching the torch. "Do you mind if I hold onto this? Its warm..."

He chuckled, nodding. "Go ahead. You lasted pretty well out here given you've never been in these conditions."

Her golden eyes lit up again and he forced himself to look away, silently cursing at his racing heart. Technically they were married and he had the right to kiss her if he so chose, but he wanted her to feel comfortable with that. And he highly doubted there was any way she was already that comfortable with him.

"Revali?"

"Hm."

"Do you hear that?"

He immediately stopped walking, gesturing for her to stop as well. Then he drew his bow, firing a confident shot at a nearby pine tree. The whine of a dying wolf lifted up followed by growls all around them. Revali drew another arrow, firing another shot into the darkness beyond the ring of the torch's light. Another whine and then barking started up. 

They had been followed by the wolves.

Mipha hovered close to Revali, staring at the glowing eyes circling beyond the ring of light. "Revali..."

"Mipha, I want you to listen to me very carefully," he nocked another arrow, bow ready to fire. "If any get to close to you, swing that torch at them like your life depends on it. Because it might. Whatever you do, don't let them bite you. Their teeth could shred a Goron and frankly I'd like to see you get out of here unscathed."

"What are you trying to do?"

"Scare them off. Usually if you kill enough of them-" he shot another, a pair of eyes disappearing into the dark. "-they'll leave."

"You've killed three of them!"

He shot his bow again. "Four."

She inched closer to him, holding the torch high. "Revali..."

"We'll be fine. Just--LOOK OUT!"

He grabbed her wrist, dragging her back as a wolf launched itself into the air, nearly taking her face off. She screamed and swung the torch wildly, hitting a wolf in the side. It promptly caught fire, letting out a high pitched whine as it fled, blazing into the darkness. For some reason, this wasn't enough to scare off the remaining wolves, one grazing Revali's shoulder and forcing him to shoot it in the head. One lunged forward, snapping the torch right in half as Mipha swung it at its face. 

It took Revali taking another one out for them to finally back off, running off into the darkness with echoing howls. "We need to get moving. Its entirely possible they'll come back," he turned towards her. "Are you--oof!"

She suddenly threw her arms around him, hiding her face in his chest. She was hugging him. 

"That--that was terrifying!" She looked up at him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he lifted her hand up, which was still clutching the splintered shaft of the torch. "Are you alright? It nearly took your hand off."

She dropped the wood, letting him turn her hand over to check for any damage. He paused, glancing up to find her eyes trained intently on him. He swallowed thickly, lowering her hand. "Everything seems to be in order."

"Uhm, yes."

He nodded, releasing her grasp and looking away. "We need to get out of here."

They managed to make it back to the hunting lodge without further incident, making sure to lock the door securely behind them. While Revali got started on a fire, Mipha dug into their supplies to throw together a dinner.

It was when it was warm enough to take their jackets off that Revali felt the spike of pain, causing him to grunt. Mipha's head immediately snapped up, an alarmed gasp rising up from her. "You're bleeding!"

He gingerly reached over with his uninjured arm, wincing as he prodded the wound, his shirt sticky with blood. "Must've clawed me when it came jumping at us," he struggled to pull his shirt off, hissing in pain as he managed to get it over his head. "I...might need your help here."

"Of course!" She immediately dug through the supplies bag, coming up with some peroxide, several cloths, and a roll of bandages. "Ooh, this looks really bad."

She melted a bucket of snow, using the water to clean the blood off. He tried not to wince as she cleaned it up, hissing in pain when she applied the bandage. She looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, I'm being as careful as I can."

"Its fine. Not your fault," he leaned back against the wall when she finished, careful not to put too much pressure on his shoulder. "Thank you."

She nodded, looking at him almost shyly as she put away the medical supplies. "Of course. Will you be alright?"

He waved a hand. "I'll be fine by tomorrow. Not the worst I've suffered. Stings like a son of bitch though since it heated up."

Her eyes went wide, in response to his swearing or his comment about worse injuries, he wasn't sure. He chuckled, feeling himself smiling fondly at her.

He was screwed. Everything had happened too fast.

Before he could think better of it, he murmured, "I'm just glad you're alright. I'm fine if you are."

Before he could worry too much about what he just said, she smiled and crawled over next to him. "I'm glad to have you in my life, Revali."

His eyes went wide as she leaned over and kissed his cheek before getting up to check the food simmering over the fire. He then chuckled, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes. 

<>

Mipha, to her surprise, found that Revali's prediction was right and his shoulder was significantly better. Regardless, she insisted that he shouldn't hunt that day to avoid staining his shoulder. To her surprise, he relented, and they ended up spending the day outside. More like Revali stood by the wall of the lodge while she made what they called a "snowman", something she had only read about.

And once she made one, she made about a dozen more. Large ones, smalls ones. All with rocks for eyes and and sticks for arms. Revali watched her with a smile, going along when she dragged him over to a cluster she had made. "Look! I made people from the village."

"I see. Who's who?"

She started pointing. "The one with all the sticks on his head it Teba and the one next to him is Saki. Kaneli has the piece of bark attached to his face and the snowball with eyeballs is Tulin."

At this, Revali threw his head back and laughed, looking at her with evident fondness. "I see. And who's the one with the moss around its neck?"

She looked away, feeling her face heat up. "That's you."

He nudged her arm, causing her to look back up at him. "I think I look very nice. But hang on, you're forgetting someone."

He knelt down, molding the snow, gathering a few things to adorn it with and after several moments, he straightened. "Its you."

She stared at it for a long moment. And it was in that moment that every thing clicked.

She had fallen for him. The way his mind worked, his dedication, those sharp green eyes...she loved him.

Love came far faster than she had anticipated. And this was not when she had expected to figure it out. Out in the cold, making snowmen.

Life was so strange.

She looked up at him and their eyes met, his captivating green eyes full of a clashing blend of confidence and questioning. In a surge of boldness, she stepped forward, grabbing his brilliant blue scarf and pulling him down towards her, pressing her lips roughly against his. He made a startled noise but didn't pull back, instead wrapping his hands around her waist and kissing her back. A thrill shot through her and she wrapped one arm around his neck, the other gripping his scarf.

This kiss was messy but engaged, such a vast contrast to the one of their wedding day. He smelled like woodsmoke and pine trees and his lips moved with hers, overpowering her and making her knees feel weak.

She only pulled away when she felt her lungs threatening to explode and they stared at each other. Revali's green eyes took her in wildly while she struggled to catch her breath. "Sorry...I...I just..."

"Why in hell," he got out, voice deeper than usual. "Are you apologizing?"

She blinked and he smirked, pulling her closer to him and kissing her again, tilting her head for a better angle as he seemed to devour her. She let out a muffled groan and she felt him smile against her lips before suddenly pulling back. "What are you doing?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Its a bit cold out here, don't you think?"

Her eyes widened and he cackled, lifting her clean off the ground and taking her into the lodge. Where he proceeded to kiss her until she was gasping for air and leaving his mark all over her body.

They didn't end up hunting any more on that trip.

<>

The people of Rito Village quickly noticed the change between the two. They would randomly laugh about something together, Revali constantly smiling in a way most people never even knew he could. Both of them were happier, you could tell, and they seemed to grow closer by the day.

No one had been sure what to expect from an arranged marriage. But everyone agreed that the happiness the two of them managed to find in each other was something they completely deserved.

Love had came.

[azxremoon]

RECIPES

all orders are customized to fit the customer's wishes! please be sure to understand what the hostess is willing to make and serve before placing an order in the askbox!!

─────── general

these rules are in regards towards requests exclusively. i may write something for my own enjoyment that contradicts the following.

the askbox will remain open indefinitely. however, please do not spam it with orders.

as mentioned in "cafe etiquette," writing is not considered a priority! it is done for my own enjoyment and at my own pace.

oneshots takes me longer to produce, but they are accepted. for more information, please refer to the ingredients list.

if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to come by and ask! i'd be happy to clear up any confusion.

if you wish to support me and my work, and see more from me in the future, please me sure to reblog! it really means a lot!

─────── ingredients

i only accept drabbles !

i only write character x reader / character x reader x character. character x character or character x oc is not accepted.

the reader is always gender neutral or female with ambiguous anatomy, unless stated otherwise.

i can write platonic, familial, and romantic relationships. please be sure to specify which if it isn't already clear.

i primarily write fluffy romance, but angst, comfort fluff, hurt / comfort, hurt / no comfort are also accepted.

i can definitely write dark content if that is something you are interested in, such as major character death, yandere aus, etc.

the reader can be inspired by characters of other media or take the role of a canon character, but i must know and be familiar with them. for example: star guardian!reader, idol!reader, special grade!reader, sees leader!reader, black mask!reader.

additionally, the reader can be assigned a specific characteristic. such as shy!reader, tall / short!reader, student council president!reader, etc.

to avoid misrepresentation, i do not write readers of a specific race, culture, disabilities, or illnesses.

i do not write anything related to pregnancy, harm towards oneself, cheating (by or on reader), drug use, explicit (n)sfw, fetishes, or k!nks. i can write suggestive themes.

─────── recipes

*all names in italics are elluka's favorites !

BREATH OF THE WILD . . . COFFEE AND TEA

link, zelda, mipha, revali, sidon, urbosa, ganondorf, sonia, rauru.

CODE GEASS . . . CINNAMON ROLLS

lelouch vi britannia, c.c., suzaku kururugi.

FINAL FANTASY . . . CREPES

noctis lucis caelum, prompto argentum, gladiolus amicitia, ignis scientia, lunafreya nox fleuret, ardyn izunia, nyx ulric.

FIRE EMBLEM . . . MACARONS

chrom, frederick, robin, lon’qu, gaius, tharja, henry, grima, lucina, owain, morgan (platonic), corrin, jakob, ryoma, takumi, xander, leo, camilla, azura, odin, niles, silas, kaze, byleth, blue lions, rodrigue, golden deer, rhea, seteth, jeralt, shez, sothis, arval, alear, lumera, alfred, veyle, pandreo, diamant, alcryst, sombron, nell.

GENSHIN IMPACT . . . ICE CREAMS

arataki itto, kaveh, alhaitham, neuvillette, wriothesley, furina, dainsleif, capitano, mualani, kinich.

JUJUTSU KAISEN . . . SANDWICHES

satoru gojo, yuji itadori, megumi fushiguro, nobara kugisaki, maki zenin, aoi todo, suguru geto, ryomen sukuna, kenjaku, mahito.

NIER . . . FRUIT TARTS

younger + older brother!nier, kaine + tyrann, 2b, 9s, a2, adam, eve.

PERSONA . . . CAKES

makoto yuki, kotone shiomi, akihiko sanada, junpei iori, aigis, shinjiro aragaki, ryoji mochizuki, jin, takaya, chidori, theodore, ren amamiya, yusuke kitagawa, goro akechi, takuto maruki.

[getvalentined]

Okay so while I'm 99.999999% sure that BoTW and ToTK take place on their own timeline (I've even figured out where the divergence must have occurred for the events in those games to take place as they did and wrote a spoileriffic post all about it), there is at least one other option. Maybe two.

Spoilers and 1300+ words of lore and theory nonsense under the cut.

There are some things I've noticed that, when put together, form a very interesting possibility. It's not nearly as solid as the concept of this being an entirely different timeline altogether, and separately these things don't mean much of anything. Viewed together, though, they do seem to point in a fairly distinct direction.

Key points:

The Depths are full of massive ancient fossilized tree roots

Hyrule as a whole is heavily populated with the remains of absolutely enormous fossilized tree stumps

The Koroks exist, but the Kokiri don't

The Rito exist, as do the Zora

These Zora can live in freshwater or saltwater without suffering negative effects

Ganondorf refers to Sonia as being Hyrulean, not Hylian, in spite of Hyrule as a kingdom being founded by her and Rauru

Triforce imagery already exists back in that time period, to the point that Sonia has it tattooed on her body

This...may actually be the far-flung future of the WindWaker timeline.

Points 1, 2 and 3:

In WindWaker, the Deku Tree created the Koroks out of the Kokiri so that they would survive in some capacity after the Goddesses flooded the world. They traverse the world dropping seeds in the hopes that the trees born from those seeds will take root deep enough to join together and recreate land.

The Depths are full of ancient fossilized trees. Hyrule is covered in their remains. The Koroks travel the world for reasons unknown. The Lost Woods contain both a Lake Saria and a Mido Swamp, which we can say are just shout-outs to previous titles—except that Urbosa mentions Nabooru by name in BoTW, meaning that she existed. And if she existed, in the capacity that we know her from Ocarina of Time, then Saria existed. And yet the Koroks exist, and the Kokiri don't.

Points 4 and 5:

In WindWaker, the Rito used to be the Zora. They were magically evolved over time because they couldn't survive the flood, there was something wrong with the water. In Ocarina of Time, Zoras appear to be strictly freshwater entities; there are oceanic Zora in Majora's Mask, but that's either so far back on the timeline that Hylia and Demise haven't landed yet, or it's an alternate timeline altogether. In BoTW and ToTK, the Zora are very clear that they can survive in basically any water. They've tested this. They know they'll be fine no matter what.

Rito and Zoras in BoTW and ToTK have very, very similar body shapes, with long torsos and long arms and short legs, very limited sexual dimorphism, and expression of features similar to multiple different real-world animals that live in their respective environments. Teba is a harpy eagle, Kass is a sapphire macaw, Revali is a Steller's jay, Penn is a pelican; Mipha seems to be a false killer whale, Sidon is a hammerhead shark, King Dorephan is a blue whale, Yona is a devil ray.

Unlike the Rito in WindWaker, these Rito are literally just birds. They don't have to go earn their wings, they grow flight feathers at certain levels of maturity just like normal birds. Unlike the Zora in previous titles, who seemed to age at a rate on-pace with Hylians, the Zora age similarly to some some rare deep sea animals—coelacanths, for instance, reach physical maturity around 40-60 years old. (Reminder that coelacanths were also assumed to be wiped out, leaving behind only differently-evolved relatives.)

If we assume that the Koroks' mission was successful, then the Zora could very well have come back into being intentionally, the same way that they became the Rito in the first place. Some remained as Rito, while others chose to branch off and recreate what they used to be, using magic and careful breeding to make sure that they wouldn't die if the water turned against them again. Likewise, the Rito changed alongside them to become more suited to the changing environment, until they reached a point where they don't even remember that they came from the same place. (EDIT: Lending further credence to this possibility, the Stormwind Ark literally looks like two seahorses swimming side by side. Not birds. Nothing airborne. Seahorses.)

Points 6 and 7:

The existence of the Triforce as a holy symbol and the use of "Hyrulean" to describe someone of Hylian descent indicates that Rauru and Sonia didn't create Hyrule as a place, but organized it as a nation. The land of Hyrule already existed, it just wasn't under anyone's rule. Rauru and Sonia, with the power that they possessed, were able to organize the land on which they lived to create a kingdom—it was already called Hyrule, they just took control.

This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever in any context that I can think of outside the WindWaker timeline, where the destined bearers of the Triforce and the Hylian royal family haven't existed for ages. One of three points in the timeline where Ganondorf was killed, not just sealed away. (The other two being Twilight Princess and ToTK.) Until this point, Ganondorf is always the same Ganondorf. He's the same person as he was in Ocarina of Time—the Triforce of Power made him immortal, that's why all anyone could ever do was seal him up. The Master Sword is the sword that seals the darkness, not the sword that destroys the darkness.

There's a really interesting bit in the Twilight Princess manga that, while I know it's noncanon for the games, lends a lot of credence to the idea that Ganondorf in ToTK is the first time that Ganondorf has been properly and truly reincarnated.

Trigger warning for mention of suicide, and spoiler warning for the Twilight Princess manga.

Toward the end of the manga, during the final battle, Link is losing. Link is going to lose. He comes to the realization that he can't kill Ganondorf not because Ganondorf is stronger than him, but because he's just one part of a whole—and Link and Zelda make up the rest of it. Link realizes that he doesn't have the right to kill Ganondorf, because they need each other to exist. He was chosen by Din for a reason, like Link was chosen by Farore and Zelda was chosen by Nayru, and even if nobody knows why Din allowed that to happen that doesn't make it the right of one Goddess' champion to kill another. Ganondorf refuses to accept this, and kills himself so that he can finally be swept into the reincarnation cycle along with Link and Zelda, rather that just living forever and meeting new versions of them again and again. He demands the opportunity to reset and do what he wants without the fetters of his previous attempts weighing on him, with a promise to return someday and take what he deserves.

Ganondorf dies at the end of WindWaker, and it's very possible that he wouldn't be reborn again until the time period where Hyrule would be revived. Ganondorf is the destined bearer of the Triforce of Power—and Rauru is the Sage of Light, but he very clearly serves as a stand-in for the Triforce of Courage, while Sonia presumably stood in for Wisdom until Zelda arrived. At that point, given that Zelda is the destined bearer chosen by Nayru in order to bolster her ability to interface with Hylia (or to house her outright), any protection that position could have granted Sonia was lost, and Ganondorf was able to kill her where he couldn't have killed Zelda.

Do I think this is the case? Almost certainly not. Do I think it's possible? Absolutely.

The other possibility is that Ganondorf in WindWaker succeeded in his wish to reset the timeline and undo everything and the Goddesses took advantage of the wish and rolled it back so far that they removed the Triforce from the timeline altogether in the hopes that Ganondorf would never come into being at all. This new timeline would thereby be the result of that, but there's not much to indicate that beyond the fact that the Imprisoning War is literally the events of Ocarina of Time without the Triforce or Link, down to Zelda watching him kneel in front of the King of Hyrule and ask for allegiance, then telling that king that Ganondorf is obviously evil. I swear it's almost word for word. Zelda. Don't be racist.

[legofanguy1999]

This is a entry for @miphlinkweek event Miphlink week 2023 day 6: Growing up together. This is a series of flashbacks to Link and Mipha childhood to their meeting at Vah Ruta. Kid Link’s clothes is a reference to the Hero of the Wild set, which is references to his pre-Ocarina of Time games clothes and that classic game Young Link’s tunic.

When Mipha was young, she witness a group of Hylian knights visiting Zora’s Domain to talk about the increase in protecting the region due to some kind of prophecy, but was not allowed in the court yet, so she decide to listen in behind a pillar. Spying on the meeting, Mipha noticed a Hylian boy among the knights, wearing a green tunic, shorts, and a green cap. The boy has short blond hair and blue eyes, which look at her father with wonder as the king of the Zoras can be bigger than even his fellow Zoras. The boy then noticed Mipha hiding behind the pillar and she quickly run off before he could alert anyone of her present. The boy said to the head of the knight, “Dad, I’m going to go explore.” The head knight reply, “Alright Link, just don’t get lost.” and Link nod, and head off to follow that Zora.

Once she managed to get far, Mipha take a moment to breathe, and she start to wonder what is going on just as a young voice call out, “Hey!” and Mipha turn around to see that it is the same boy from earlier and he didn’t seem troubled about meeting her. Trying to act normal, Mipha greet the boy, “Hello there, little one.” and the boy said, “I saw you earlier. Why were you playing hide and seek?” Mipha sigh and said, “Actually, I was not allow in the meeting, so I run off when you spot me.” Mipha did ask the boy, “Did you tell anyone?” The boy shake his head, “No. My dad don’t often talk to me, so I sneak off to find you.” Glad that the boy didn’t tell anyone about her, Mipha said to him, “Thank you. You are a kind spirt.” The boy smile and said, “Thanks. I get that a lot from my mom.” He then hold out his hand and said, “I’m Link by the way! What is your name?” Mipha reply as she shake the boy’s hand, “My name is Princess Mipha.”

Mipha’s claws actually cut Link’s hand and she apologized, “I’m so sorry about that.” Taking the boy’s hand, Mipha use her powers to heal it, amazed the boy and he ask, “Whoa, can all Zoras do that?” Mipha reply, “Actually, the power to heal others is a rare ability for Zoras, even among my own family.”

Every year, Link would visit Zora’s Domain with his father, and he and Mipha would play with other Zora children. However, his reckless would get him hurt and Mipha would always heal him. Mipha wish that Link can be best friends with her little brother Sidon, as well encourage him to be brave. One day, the Zora royal family were informed that Link and his father couldn’t be visiting for some time due to Link training as a knight, and Mipha has start to worry how does it come to be.

Years passed back, and Hyrule is preparing for the threat of Calamity Ganon by unearthing the Guardians and the Divine Beast Vah Ruta. When Princess Zelda and her bodyguard, the Knight with the Sword that seal the darkness, visit Zora’s Domain, Mipha is allow in the meeting due to being older and her role as princess, and it was quite a surprise for Mipha that Zelda’s bodyguard is Link, except he has grown much taller. Link was not wearing his green tunic, but knight armor and there is a unique sword on his back. Mipha start to noticed that Link has become handsome for a Hylian, as well he doesn’t seem to show any emotions.

Once she and Link got a moment to themselves, Mipha said to him, “Well, Link. You’re grown since I last saw you.” Link only nod and he still keep his cold look. While wondering why Link didn’t make it clear he is glad to see her again, Mipha said, “And yet.... You have not changed.” When he didn’t reply, Mipha start to worry and ask Link, “Are you alright, Link? How are you?” Link didn’t speak, as if he is scare of speaking.

Within days, Mipha has become one of the champions that will help Link and the Princess of Hyrule battle the coming threat of Calamity Ganon, and she is chose to be the pilot of Divine Beast Vah Ruta. She is envy of the princess for taking her time with Link while being rude to him.

[afriendlygoblin]

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

SPOILERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

2) the Temples and Sages

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3) Tears of the Dragon

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

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

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

4) the Master Sword

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

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

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

5) the Depths and Fifth Sage

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

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

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

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

6) the Final Fight

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7) the End

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

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

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

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

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

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

Additional 1) the Gameplay

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

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

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

Additional 2) the World

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

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

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

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

Additional 3) the Side Quests

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

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

[greyennui]

I hate to be that guy, but the Zora Royal family are actually named after the names of the musical notes: Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti

Dorephan: Do Re Fa Mipha: Mi Fa Sidon: Si Do

if I remember correctly, those notes are featured in their themes (at least in the case of Mipha & Sidon)

anyway most of the Zora have music related names, fun fact. just a few examples:

Bazz (bass)

Muzu (music)

Laflat (flat)

Keye (key)

Gruve (groove)

Kodah (coda)

Me playing Breath of the wild, in the middle of killing some random monster: ohhhh i get it. Sidon, like, Poseidon. Smart. Big brain.

[traveleroffarawayplaces]

Since I am still kinda new, I guess I could also talk about ships that I have. Usually, if you have read this, then you kinda know my mostly take on ships, but I have yet to talk about ships I like. (Below cut)

Well for starters, let me start with legend of zelda. I am a pretty big Zellink fan, but only some of the links I ship them together. Like skyward sword for example. Other ships, like Sidon X Wild (link, I just call them wild bc it's easier and linked universe fandom has rubbed off on me) or Mipha x Wild. I am not the pickiest and typically prefer Mipha x Wild or Zellink, but I am pretty open to almost all of them.

Amphiba? Well I have a big list. Sprivy is adorable and cute. So is Yulivivia (idk if that's their ship name or not XD). I don't know what to make of Hop Pop x Grime and such... so... questioning I guess. Sashannarcy is really good and its usually my go too. But Marcanne is adorable. (What can I say? Tiny Dragon toons got me into it. Their art is amazing!!) And anyone with Andrias I try to avoid.

Avatar and Korra is next. I personally like Katara x Aang, (Kataang) is pretty dang good, but usally my go to is Korra x asami. Tho Bopel is pretty good. I, don't know many other ships. I thought Korra X Mako was... kinda bad. I really was not a fan of that ship. It was too fast and Idk why it happened. Felt... wrong in my mind.

Voltron is next and dear lord. I think this is one of the only fandom I don't really have any ships for. Klance is cute, but I don't see it happening in my eyes. (Please don't kill me Klance shippers) Lance X Allura, I don't really know what to make of it I guess... Shiro X Adam though is cute.

Glitch techs? I see no ships here, so Imma skip it. Mainly platonic ships, which I am all down for.

Dragon prince? Rayllum. Rayllum for the win. Though, I wouldn't mind if it was platonic or not, its still a nice duo. I really don't see many other ships... Callum and Claudia I... I don't really care terribly much about.

Rick Riordan verse now!! PJO/HOO/TOA: Obviously Percabeth and Solangelo are both AMAZING!! I love them both with a passion. Jiper is cute. Piper X Shel though is another amazing ship. Another ship I will stand behind until my death is Frazel. Its so underrated and so adorable. Luke and Thalia? Nah, Thalia slay girl. THe ship of Thalia and Reyna is cute tho. I... Haven't read trials of Apollo yet, so I don't know any ships other than Solangelo from there. TKC: Tbh, Zia and Carter is cute but so is Sadie X Walt (I personally call the ship Salt just to confuse everyone.) Tho it did get a little complex with Sadie, Walt and Anubis. But I still think it was cool. Tho, I don't really know any other ships I guess... Anyone got some you can introduce to me? MCATGOA (A tongue twister, I know. Imma just refer to it as MC, (Magnus chase)): Okay, but Halfborn and Mallory were... an interesting pair, but I have no objections. Same with Samirah and Amir, cute and I see nothing wrong with it. Magnus and Alex however I absolutely ADORE!! Its cute, amazing and fabulous ship. I stand behind it til my death.

Hermitcraft? No ships here. As far as I can tell. Same with Dream SMP. I know that there are ships there, not too big with those ships. Like Tubbo and Ranboo? Adorable. Would I protect it with my life? No. Do I enjoy it? Yes. Yes I do.

I could go on, but this post is already long enough. I don't want to bored you. Tho, if you wanted to ask about ships, I guess you could ask me.

[silentprincess17]

A Proposal Gone Awry

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | AO3

Summary: Link has been touring the breadth and width of Hyrule to clear out the remaining monster camps, and soon enough, he reaches Zora’s Domain. Mipha asks him to wait before he heads back to the castle, which he was intending on doing... but some mischievous children may have other plans.

Part 3

Mipha had completed her list of assignments for the day, and now she headed out to the Zora River, diving in on her way to Hyrule Castle. As she swam gracefully, swooping and twirling through the air as she breathed, before sinking back down into the water, she reflected on the day’s events. She’d attended the Zora General Council Meeting in the morning, where they discussed new refurbishments to be done around the Domain. Rather embarrassingly they’d decided to create a statue, depicting her, to be placed in the fountain at the centre of the Domain. She couldn’t say no, it would be disrespectful to the likes of Ledo, and Seggin, her Master, ordered the poor man to do it as well. Mipha personally didn’t really like the extravagance- she would much rather use the resources elsewhere. But, her father disagreed, stating she had become one of the Zora Greats, alongside Princess Ruto who was claimed to have been a Sage, in a time long past. It made her feel proud, at least, to be a Princess who had helped prevent such a disaster, and to know she’d helped Link in his endeavours made it all the sweeter.

At the thought of Link, her heart skipped a beat, and a shiver went down her fins. If only her plan that night had worked! She’d set everything up so carefully, so determined was she to profess what had truly driven her motivations to hold up the mantle of the Champion, how she wanted to protect him from any harm that could befall him… Sadly, under the influence of mischievous children he’d gotten hold of the armour she’d painstakingly made, and somehow deduced it was simply a practice run. For the love of the Goddesses, she couldn’t have anticipated such a turn of events.

One positive had come of the entire situation though, she’d found Kodah and it turns out Kodah’s head was truly filled with clouds: she was simply lusting after Link. Whilst Mipha could see the appeal, her feelings ran deeper. She didn’t just like the look of Link, she adored his very soul, and Kodah understood that and promised not to interfere. If anything, she looked sheepish and was ashamed about the whole affair. Mipha was quite glad that little piece of unpleasantness was over.

She sprouted from a gush of water, and she smiled. She always felt most at home in the waves, almost as though she and the river were one. It made her feel empowered, strong, but mostly comfortable. This was where her strength lay, in the powerful currents underneath her and how she wielded control over them.

Soon enough, the Castle came into view. Everything had mostly been fixed, people had settled back into Castle Town after their hurried evacuation, and Mipha was glad to see the people recuperating, already almost back to normal. She wondered, sometimes, what would have happened if Terrako hadn’t summoned the help from the future that they ended up relying so heavily on. What would have happened to her, if Sidon, her grown up, almost of courting-age brother hadn’t shown up to protect her. And Sidon’s presence had allowed enough time for Link to come and help defeat the Waterblight, and she blushed a little at the thought. Truly, he was her Hero. And to think Terrako hadn’t only sent help her way, but to the other three Champions as well… The small egg-shaped guardian had done so much for them, and she didn’t want to dwell on what might have been, had it not been there.

By the time Mipha arrived in the Sanctum, it was close to sunset, and she had spent some time drying herself to make sure she didn’t soak the carpet floors. And okay, she’d also spent some time roaming around the garrison, and the barracks but she hadn’t managed to spot Link.

She sighed, he was probably with the Princess, where he nearly always was.

Revali was the next to arrive, and he fluffed his feathers, brusquely adjusting his neckerchief, “Are the others not on time? How asinine. Although perhaps it’s too much to expect such high standards from them.”

Mipha sighed, much more discreetly this time. He had a rivalry with Link, and that could not be forgiven in her books. “Revali, we are, as of yet, early. Urbosa and Daruk are both travelling from-”

“Afar? Yes, I know, that’s no excuse though, Mipha, have you ever heard of leaving earlier? They also cannot fly to their detriment. Did you see Daruk’s paraglider break after using it a mere five times? Who told a Goron he could sail through the air? It’s just so unnatural!”

Urbosa walked in then, and Mipha left Revali alone for a few minutes. He briefly called to her though, as she turned away, although when she’d waited patiently for him to say something, all he’d done was glance down at her ornamental armour, before brushing off his feathers.

She shrugged, classing as typically strange Revali behaviour before she turned back to Urbosa. She wanted to ask if the Gerudo Champion had seen Princess Zelda, and by default Link. It pricked her a little, that she had to find the Princess first in order to locate Link, but he was her Knight after all.

Sadly, Urbosa hadn’t seen Princess Zelda. Apparently, she was getting ready in her room. Mipha could only assume Link was guarding her door. Shortly after that, Daruk had appeared and then the King had walked in, welcoming them to the Castle. They would have a private dinner, with a few select Sheikah, and Master Kohga to privately congratulate the group on their success and then move across to the Sanctum later on in the evening for the Ball in their honour. Hestu had decided to remain with the forest spirits, and Monk Maz Koshia had re-entered the Shrine of Resurrection, in his deep other-worldly tones saying he’d now wait for the next Hero. Mipha shuddered a little at the memory, wondering what the next Hero’s fate would be…

They walked with the King, who pulled out an apple to snack on whilst they trekked to the Dining room, where they would meet Princess Zelda, and Link. Her heart sped up a little in anticipation.

Impa, Purah, Robbie and Master Kohga were all waiting in the room, a single banana in the middle of the four of them and heated debate was clearly ongoing, but they stopped as soon as the King walked in and knelt. He bid them to rise, and they all sat, waiting for the Hero and the Princess to join.

And her heart rate did spike, as the Princess walked in, hand in Link’s elbow as he escorted her inside. His eyes never met hers, but Mipha didn’t allow that little fact to distract her, because oh, Link was in Royal Guard uniform and –

- Terrako bounded up, jumping up to Link’s waist, and he caught the egg, settling it on its own chair, and it beeped and booped, waving its little guardian legs at them. Mipha waved back, but really, she was trying to stifle her laughter as Impa gave the poor thing a good whack in return and it jostled into the air, pointing its little finger at her. Terrako truly was very cute, but Mipha was distracted again by Link coming closer still.

He looked radiant, polished, a perfect guard, his hair slicked back into that cap, the royal dark blue armour overlaid his muted red undershirt, and Mipha choked a little on the water she was sipping when she looked at his pristine white gloves and boots. Oh Goddesses, the gloves. He looked devastatingly handsome, and- wait. He held the chair for the Princess, as was expected for a guard, Mipha reassured herself, but he… smiled at her. A small smile, a classic Link smile if you will, but he smiled at her, and she smiled back, gently, tucking her hair behind her ear. Not for the first time in their presence, Mipha felt a dash of fear strike her, but it was quickly forgotten as Link sat down, and smiled the same smile, if a little less bright, towards each of them, until he reached Revali and then it was a nod. That made her chuckle a little, and the Rito just shrugged, instead turning to Zelda and inquiring about her health.

But Mipha was watching Link, and she didn’t miss his fingers tightening over his glass. Subtle, but she noticed still. And the fear pricked again. But he was just annoyed over Revali, right?

He turned to Daruk, who started talking about the newest iteration of Rock Roast, and Link sat up, paying earnest attention.

And Mipha let herself breathe. She was really overthinking this whole scenario to be fair.

Soon enough, the King lifted his champagne flute, and they all looked at him.

“Champions, I invited you all today to commemorate your success! Tonight, we feast, and make merry, for the Darkness has been Sealed and the light of Hylia shines upon us all. I would like to personally extend my thanks for your service in the name of Hyrule, and I pray that you all remain in the best of health, and achieve whatever you set your minds too, for those in the room today are amongst the brightest and most capable citizens of what is surely to be, a glorious future.”

Everyone politely clapped, and Mipha felt encouraged, she could do what she set her mind to, she could confess to Link, she could achieve the future she most wanted- to rule her Domain with him by her side.

Dinner passed by any further without incident, Mipha joked a little with Urbosa, who was in the middle of setting up a “girls-night only session” for the five of them. And Urbosa had done something very strange, she mentioned she wanted to host another catwalk, and then she had winked at Link, who had promptly blushed, pulling at his collar. Mipha wasn’t sure she understood the reference, it felt like an inside joke that she wasn’t privy to, but regardless, she was excited. A chance to bond with other girls her age who weren’t Zora was hard to do, enclosed as they were in the Domain. Then there was the whole ageing issue, because by the time everyone in this room had died, Mipha would actually still be in the Hyrulian equivalent of her thirties. But today was about celebrating their success, and she shouldn’t be thinking of something as morbid as death.

As soon as dessert was passed around, which unsurprisingly was fruitcake, Princess Zelda’s favourite, the group made to disband. She remained, thinking perhaps this would be the ideal time to snag Link for a few minutes, out on the walkway just outside the dining room before they headed to the Sanctum.

She walked very slowly to the door, and then remained just outside, intending on asking Link as he walked out with the Princess. She waited for a few seconds, and he hadn’t shown up yet, so she discreetly held her jewellery and poked her head back in, and she almost wished she hadn’t.

Because Link was using those same white gloves, the pair she had so loved on him, to gently wipe some of the frosting on Princess Zelda’s outer lip. And then. Oh. Mipha had to turn away. She hastily walked off, trying to think of an excuse but was unable too.

Why had he licked his finger clean?

Well, to be fair, they had all become friends over the time, some of them, such as Link and Zelda, had spent even more time together and so were likely to be even better friends. Frankly, they were together all the time, and this sort of behaviour was common between friends was it not? As a form of teasing? Yes, that was it.

She felt somewhat reassured once she was back in the Sanctum, she’d wait for her moment and she would seize it. She would do as she planned today.

*

The King made a similar rousing speech, once they were inside the Sanctum, and the ball began in earnest. Link and Princess Zelda appeared some fifteen minutes after Mipha had arrived, and she had taken a total of twelve minutes to walk across to reach the Sanctum so clearly, nothing else untoward had happened.

Or, well, anything that she could forcibly see.

The music started, as a sort of prelude for the first dance, and Terrako jumped up, pulling off a “spinning” dance move set on the floor, twirling and flying upside down as it gracefully pirouetted, and everyone was fawning over the little egg. It responded in kind with a series of beeps and boops, in sync with the music.

She tried to squeeze her way over to Link, to ask if he would like to, perhaps, dance, and then she’d guide him away mid-swirl and clarify the situation that arose last week.

But, lo and behold, there he was, dancing with the Princess. It was the first dance, and etiquette meant that it was almost expected for Princess Zelda to open up the dance with the Hero. Mipha was nothing if not patient, and she smiled graciously at the courtesan who asked for her hand to dance. She acquiesced, anything to keep her mind off how Link was probably holding the Princess a little closer than etiquette required, and how those piercing sapphire eyes never left the Princess’s own. Whilst she was trying to pay attention to what the courtesan was saying, she hadn’t even caught his name, poor fellow, but she couldn’t help but remain focussed on Link.

She gasped when he spun the Princess in a tight circle, and then dipped her, nearly to the floor, and how in sync they seemed to be, how seamless the whole thing was. It made her suspicious. Link was very graceful in a fight; he performed some of the hardest moves as though he was passing a knife through butter, but… dance was a considerably different type of elegance. And the way the Princess was smiling at him, almost encouraging him, made a small stone settle in her stomach as she came to the most likely conclusion.

He’d learnt to dance with her. They had practised together. And she fought down the burn of jealousy that threatened to escape her.

Of course Link would learn to dance with Princess Zelda, he was her Knight! She must have offered because she knew this ball was coming up, and Link likely had no experience, so she offered to teach him!

And they weren’t dancing as lovers!

Mipha excused herself, she was feeling all hot and bothered and it was just so unlike her to feel agitated. She just needed a few seconds of fresh air, ideally to jump in a lake for a few seconds just to cool down and recover her Grace.

She escaped down a corridor and went through the first door that opened out onto a balcony, taking a few deep breaths.

Within seconds she heard girlish giggling, followed by a deeper, richer laugh. She stiffened, moving to hide behind one of the tapestries, for some reason feeling self-conscious even though she had no reason to be. The pair passed by the door without pausing, and although she likely knew who it was, she wanted to verify it with her own eyes.

And yes, as she’d guessed, there was Princess Zelda, holding hands with Link. The laughter that she’d never heard before was from him. She didn’t have the heart to be upset anymore, because she realised something then.

He was happy.

In all the time she’d known him, he had only ever smiled and laughed as a child, as a four-year-old. Never had he laughed once he grew older, only smiling, and that too, small, limited smiles.

Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest; it was all too much. She had just wanted to take a minute's breather, but she could still do that! She could just- she flipped around and saw another winding corridor.

She hurried down it, keen to try to recompose herself a little. Clearly though, she had forgotten that the castle was indeed circular in shape, and the corridor she had started on in her haste, actually ended up being the very same one Link and Zelda were walking down now. Goddesses, her luck had run out today. It was too late to backtrack, in her panicked, and half-unfocused state she had somehow missed their laughter, and now from the sound of their voices, they had nearly reached the entrance. Thankfully, it was dark, and Mipha pressed herself into the shadows, behind what she could vaguely make out to be a column. She would just wait until they had left, and she would continue forwards to end up back at the ballroom.

But no, even then, she was doomed because Princess Zelda stopped, and moved to light a small lamp on the side. She held it up to what Mipha could make out was a portrait.

“This corridor, Link. Have you had a chance to come before?”

He shook his head.

“Well, I’d imagined so, because we never had much time, really. Always heading from one battle to the next… But I’d like to show you something, now that we’re no longer under such duress.”

He smiled, nodding. “Okay.”

Mipha was distracted from her discomfort at being trapped and unable to escape when she realised that Link spoke. Casually, almost. Like this wasn’t a rare thing. Mipha felt the stone in her gut grow a little.

“We call this the Hallway of Remembrance, to commemorate the Heroes and the Princesses of time past, where Ganon, or at least, some form of him, came to terrorise Hyrule.”

She held up the lamp closer to the first portrait, and Mipha, despite her misgivings, edged a little closer in curiosity. It was a painting of what seemed to be a land mass suspended in air, with the back of a boy that looked a lot like Link, and she had to hold in a gasp when she realised he was, in fact, holding the Master Sword. Next to him was a girl with flowing blonde hair, not unlike the Princess actually… and she was holding a harp.

“This one was commissioned by Father actually. No one truly knows what Hyrule was like back then, but apparently, it was all in the clouds… And they used to fly around on animals that are now very much extinct. So, this isn’t really a portrait from then, but it felt right to include, you know?”

Link paused. “I. I remember it, a little.” He glanced up; his brow furrowed. “I think it was called Skyloft, Zelda. And we flew on loftwings… I saved you then too, although I can’t remember much else.” Mipha’s jaw almost dropped to the ground. Wow. So much speech. And… she still didn't quite understand what was going on, but it was dawning on her now that they wouldn’t be moving down from this corridor for a while. From the way things were going, it seemed like a private conversation she shouldn’t be privy to, and she felt guilty for unintentionally overhearing them.

But she was stuck! She couldn’t move in front of them, or they’d know she was here, and she couldn’t move back down the corridor she came from because they’d also see. So, she was trapped behind this white marble column, indefinitely, until they moved past her.

Princess Zelda laughed. “Obviously you did. That is a recurring theme by the way.” She paused. “Wait, yours was a Crimson loftwing wasn’t it? The rare one?”

He nodded, and he looked so excited. “Yours was blue.”

Zelda’s hand glowed, the blood of Hylia running through her veins, although Mipha saw no Calamity, and wondered what exactly was going on. “Sleepyhead?”

Link laughed, and pulled her close, hugging her tightly. “You will always be… my Zelda.”

And the stone grew. And grew. Mipha fisted her fingers into the small crevices of her jewellery, a storm of guilt and embarrassment over illicitly being here, over watching them when they thought they were alone, over how at ease Link was, over what those words meant. She had to keep reciting that it wasn’t her fault she was trapped here, she would just have to hold it together until they hopefully decided to move on. She couldn’t help but gently pass her fingers over the gaping hole in her chest that she’d hidden with her ornamental silver clasp. She tried her hardest to blot it all out and think up a rational explanation. She was just overreading this. Okay, so just because one of their previous… selves (?) had ended up together, didn’t mean all of them followed the same pattern, right? And of course, you’d embrace someone whose soul you knew like this?

Zelda leaned away from him a little. “Come, I have more to show you.” She pulled him along, and he followed, as he always did, the last thought echoed bitterly in her mind. “Although, I’d like to think things were a little different for us, at least, in terms of the whole saving scenario.”

He nodded. “You’re right. It was different this time… We saved each other, Zelda. I wouldn’t have thought to even touch the sword, if it hadn’t responded to me wanting to protect you, because that’s all I wanted at that moment. And your powers…”

She nodded. “Yes. I, I didn’t want to lose you, Link.” Even from here, Mipha could see her blush. And she felt increasingly uncomfortable. She just- it was too much. Link, freely talked to the Princess. Freely laughed with her. Had a deeper bond with her that wasn’t just for this lifetime but for… all?

Zelda coughed, “A-anyway. The next is of the Hero of Time, and this Princess was rumoured to be a sage…”

Mipha shoved all her misgivings aside and perked up- perhaps they’d have a portrait of this Hero with Princess Ruto because she was also a sage right?

Link winced. “That’s when it all got complicated isn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

He shook his head, “Never mind.”

And Mipha felt her hope dash as they walked past the portrait, no mention of any other sage.

Her heart rate increased, as they walked towards her hiding place, slowly but surely. She was thankfully hidden quite well behind the ornate marble columns that held up the walkway above, which meant she was unlikely to be caught. She held tight onto the thought that it would soon be over, that they would soon move on past this damned corridor, and she could finally leave. But no, instead they covered each and every portrait. Mipha slowly felt her hope dwindle, despair set in, and guilt seep through her scales at her continued encroachment on their privacy. She couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by what was being said as the duo continued through several iterations of the same Hero and Princess… always together, never far apart. One was in Twilight, another in foreign country called Lorule, one in the sea, yet another in spirits…

At that one, it was a portrait of a train, with the Princess… in corporeal form? She was flying beside the boy that Mipha knew was Link. He looked so much like her Link, when he was younger. She watched as Link laughed, “That was a good journey, I remember that.”

Zelda quite literally pushed him. “HEY! I lost my body in that one!”

“Yeah, but you got to be my sidekick for once.” Link was smirking. Mipha had to rub her eyes once, twice and then three times for her to believe what she was seeing was true.

“YOU- I’ll have you know you were MY sidekick. I recruited you! I was the one to pick you to be my engineer!”

“The phantom armour was the best though, especially when you carried me like the Hero I was.”

“Yeah? Without me carrying you, we would have been stuck at level two in the Tower, because you couldn’t walk through lava, being Hylian and all! And then where would we be? And don’t think I don’t remember how long we spent at the Rabbit Sanctuary. You loved frolicking!”

“Hey, no need to call me out like that Princess.”

And so, it continued. For every single portrait. Mipha felt progressively smaller and smaller. She watched as Link held Princess Zelda’s hand, she watched as he leaned his head on her shoulder, so familiar and comfortable. She watched as they exchanged stories, joked with each other, things Link had remembered from the Master Sword, legends Zelda had learnt in the library and her own memories as Hylia’s chosen. As they progressed, Mipha increasingly felt like she was simply a side character, in a longer, and more detailed history than she ever could have imagined. She remained, frozen in place, as they last reached the penultimate portrait, just by her hiding place.

“Ah. This is a precious one Link. I only really remembered this one after unlocking my sealing power.”

It was Link. Sitting atop what was a weird… Mipha didn’t know how to describe it. It had two wheels, one at the front and another at the back, with a sort of seat in the middle. He was wearing a familiar blue tunic, much like the one made for him by the Princess, and Zelda was sitting in front, his arm wrapped around her, his face half-leaning against hers. They looked very comfortable with each other, and it lacked the seriousness that some of the other portraits had. Behind them, were the Divine Beasts, each with their Champion in the distance.

“This is… the legend we tried to recreate in our world, isn’t it? So, this is the direct predecessor to ours…”

“Yes…”

There was only one portrait left, just by her column. This portrait was the only one with a red cloth over it. Mipha didn’t dare breathe, but Goddesses, she was so thankful it was nearly the end. She would finally be able to leave… Finally able to ignore the gnawing fear that she had completely misunderstood Link which oozed through her skin and clung to her tighter than the armour she had painstakingly made.

“So, this is the special one!” She uncovered it, and Link laughed, clear and loud. Mipha pressed herself tighter into her column, making sure to remain silent, and she realised it was, in fact, two portraits. One was of all of the champions together, Link, Princess Zelda, Terrako, herself, Urbosa, Daruk, Revali, Master Kohga, Maz Koshia, Hestu and the King even, and the second… The second was of Princess Zelda in her royal blue gown, and Link in his Royal Guard uniform.

He gasped, poking her cheek. “So, this is why you wanted me to wear this uncomfortably tight uniform the other day and you took a photo on the slate!”

“Yes, silly. I wanted to commemorate us, too. We’ve also fought against Ganon, and now we will be preserved in history, as will all the other Heroes and Princesses that have come before us.”

He leaned closer, until his forehead rested on hers, his hands cupping her face and Mipha felt her heart stop. It felt like the final nail was hovering over her chest, about to shatter the fragile, tiny bud of hope she had left. “Thank you, Zelda. Not, not only for today, but for saving me, and for letting me live all our lives again.”

She stroked his cheek. “You’re welcome, Link. I’m so very happy to have found you again, sleepyhead.” She laughed, “Although, I’ve decided I don’t quite like this cap. I cannot run my fingers through your hair.” He instantaneously pulled it off, and leaned closer still, and she laughed, before her lips touched his.

And the nail sunk in. Hard and fast.

Mipha’s heart shattered.

She turned and left, and they didn’t notice.

How could they, when they were so lost in each other. Deep down, Mipha knew. She denied it to herself constantly, but she knew. And now, after seeing just how many generations they’ve passed through, tied to each other, she realised something else. They were soulmates. Their souls were forever bound to one another. And she could never compete against that.

But even then, even if she disregarded their history, there was no doubt left in her mind that Link very much liked, if not loved, Princess Zelda. And whilst it burned her like acid down her throat, or as if she’d stepped into the lava that surrounds Death Mountain, right now, she knew that she would be happy seeing him happy. And if his happiness lay with another Princess, then who was she to say otherwise.

But tonight, tonight she allowed herself to wallow in self-pity, for a love lost, for a love, that no matter how hard she might have wished it to be true, was doomed from the start to fail.

[botwstoriesandsuch]

DEAR FISH FUCKERS, YOU’RE WELCOME

I’ve done what no other has done before (to my knowledge) and found the aging system for the Zora! 

Ok so this started as simple research for this ask

See, I misread the phrasing of “best educated guess” to “research for 2 hours and come to a conclusive answer” so anyhow before I indulge you into the answers of the universe allow me to explain the research I’ve come across 

[TL;DR at the bottom]

So firstly, we have to look at our conclusive evidence, from which we’ll base our theory/headcanon on, which can mainly be found in the Creating a Champion book, and some dialogue in game. I’ve compiled them all in these bullets here

Zora children are around 20ish years old [as said by dialogue with Finley in her love letter sidequest, I don’t have a screenshot but please just take my word for it]

150ish is considered middle-aged for Zora

Muzu is around 4 centuries old 

Curved claws, weathered fins, and worn noses are signs of an older Zora that is more than 3 centuries(ish) old

Zora that were friends with Link must be around 150ish (not just 100), since you need to also account for the 20+ years of growing from a child stage, to the more normal sized form that you see them in the game, ergo, it’s that age plus the 100 years stasis that we determine the “middle age” of around 150

150 is the middle age, double that for the average old age of 300 years, but I say it could go to 400 too for additional reasons I’ll explain later with examples with my final age system. Anyhow, Muzu is around 400 if you take the 100 years for actually growing up from childhood, additional 100+ years of holding a different job as I doubt you just straight out hire a councilman without experience, and then another century for where he first started working in in the council, training Mipha, which would overlap with the period of the pre and post Great Calamity and Link’s return, meaning that’s 3 centuries plus 50ish years if we’re being generous with the overlap. This would help line up with the “for over a century” line as that doesn’t quite mean 2 centuries of working in the council, but Muzu is definitely getting up there to 4 centuries for his age alone

Now, I thought, this was gonna be my breakthrough, this screenshot here, depicting the traits of the older Zora. The elderly Zora are probably around 3 centuries old (since King Dorephan said they were young men around Mipha’s time, 150ish+100 gives us the range of 250-300), so I was like “Oh l can look at the size of their fins and noses and head/tail things and find a more efficient way to find their age” but nOPE. There is very little variation in that ballpark, the Zora either have exaggerated weathered noses or nice and shiny fins and no in between. The size of their head fins are roughly the same, with again, the only exaggerated differences being with the King and Sidon which doesn’t help at all because the Royal Zora already have a bunch of other difference such as their SIZE to name one.

I even went to the part about their curved toes, which initially would line up with some other Zora like Muzu

And let me tell you

I’ve looked at their toes

This is them from a child, a middle-aged, and an elderly. Color doesn’t matter and the curve? Well there’s

BARELY A DIFFERENCE 

At least not nearly enough to find an efficient way to find age. Even Muzu’s final model didn’t have the exaggerated curvature as seen in the book.

I looked at their tail tail fins, (not the tail on their head, but their actual small rounded tail fin by their butts) because the book also mentioned how the grown Zora have more pronounced tail fins compared to the kids, but it was the same for the 150s and the 300s sooo not that helpful

So I kept digging. In the book I found that King Dorephan was crowned around 100 years before the game started. In addition I reread the 10 Zora stone monuments and found that he had killed a Guardian with his bare hands and thrown it off a cliff, which he still had a scar from. 

[and yes I attempted to find his definitive age by seeing how long it takes for a scar to fade but I gave up cause Zora anatomy is too different to find a conclusive answer]

So I was like, “ok Dorephan had to have been around 150 when he came to the throne, then 50 years later the guardians are excavated giving way to the story about the guardian...” blah blah blahbla I even went to the supposed site where that guardian was, but it all didn’t really give me that much more info than what I already knew. I was researching ways to age the rock monuments from visuals alone which needless to say is pretty impossible, so I gave up on finding Dorephan’s age and I kept digging. 

All I wanted was something physical that could properly give way to identifying a Zora’s age was that too much to ask???

Now this is where I had all but given up, it seems that my only answer was this vague note about how their fins move up when they grow

Which, to be fair, held true when I looked at the in-game character models myself, but I can’t exactly pixel measure these things for each Zora.

But THAT’S where the revelation came. I was so focused on finding inconsistencies within the elderly Zora, when I should have been looking at the young baby ones. See, this pictures, literally right next to the page about elderly Zora that I was analyzing for ages, is the key to it all

Now, I was thinking about the rings on a tree, and certain species of banded fish that grow and discard different markings as they grow older, I even counted the neck rings on certain Zora to see if they did that thing where they add a ring for each birthday like some African and Asian cultures do (look it up, that stuff’s pretty interesting!) and that is where it struck me.

Count how many luminescent markings are on their head 

The males have 11, the females have 8  (on the one side, the other side has the same number of dots but for simplicity purposes I’m doing one side)

Now let’s count for these Zoras, who are middle aged-ish

The male has 10, the female has 7.

Now let’s look at the oldest Zora that we know of

3 dots above the eye, four on the tail. Muzu that motherfucker has 7 damn dots and I couldn’t be happier.

MY DUDES, GALS, AND PALS THIS IS IT, I’VE CHECKED AND DOUBLE CHECKED WITH NEARLY EVERY ZORA I COULD AND THE NUMBER OF LUMINESCENT MARKINGS ON THEIR HEAD CORRESPONDS WITH THE AMOUNT OF CENTURIES THEY’VE LIVED, LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY      DOWN     TO     THE     DOT

First we have Muzu, who as I’ve preciously stated is around 4 centuries old. 11-4? Oh, it’s seven, and that’s the amount of markings he has? OOoo??

How about this Zora Lady who recognized Link from 100 years ago?

Seven dots? 8-7 is 1 so shes just over one century which lines up timeline wise. You can even see how the third dot is slowing shrinking on her head so she’s coming up on 2 centuries 

Ok how about the elders?

NINE. 11-9 is 2 centuries, with again, the dot by their head shrinking significantly showing how they’re getting up on 3 centuries.

The part I circled in green there is jewelry, not a marking, however this only goes further to prove my point. What better way to appear youthful than to have jewelry that makes it look like you have more markings than you have, made with luminous stone, no less.

This guy? Seggin? Super close to 4 centuries, those dots are fading away fast. Count your days old timer

Random dude that doesn’t recognize Link but is an new apprentice for sculpture making? 10 dots, a fresh 1 century pal, lookin young

I was a feral child running across the Domain screaming people’s ages in their face like a rude, naive, brat, I was elated to say the least. Especially since this system even works on the King himself

[plus one dot slightly behind the fin here...]

King Dorephan has 7 dots, he’s 400 years old. Which still lines up timeline wise, especially since he’s similar age with Muzu who he has stated is one of his most trusted advisors, beecaaaaaaaause of the years they’ve spent working together the timelines match uppppppp

This system works for almost all Zora, with 2 exceptions. Guards have helmets that cover their markings, so it’s impossible to tell. In addition, Prince Sidon, has sixteen lights on this hammerhead because he’s fancy like that (we already know he’s canonically 2ish centuries old anyhow from the DLC)

EDIT: I WAS WRONG THIS WORKS FOR SIDON TOO. The sixteen markings I was referring to was actually the amount of marking on each side of the head total, however if we look at the markings for only one side, like intended

Ten dots, Sidon’s over 100 years old. I’d say he’s closer to 150 given the timeline

Essentially, the most surefire way to find almost any Zora’s age is to identify a male or female Zora, count the number of lights on the side of their head/tail thing, then subtract from 11 if they’re a male, and from 8 for a female. The number left is how many centuries they’ve lived. You can check to see if their markings are shrinking and fading to get a sense if they’re coming up on the next century anytime soon. Comparing this with the oldest Zora we see in game, we can conclusively say that the Zora lifespan is around 3 to 4 centuries since no Zora has been seen with less than seven markings

Now go and make your Zora ocs with your appropriate number of lights. I’m gonna have a cookie

[pastelsandpining]

My Only Wish (Naughty or Nice)

The fifth prompt in 12 Days of Christmas by @zelink-prompts​

Prompt List

Cover Art: coming soon!

Words: 2087

Summary: Zelda reads about a foreign holiday called Christmas and decides to bring to life one of the traditions for the other Champions. She’ll need a red suit and a bag of gifts, but luckily she knows just the person to pull off the holly, jolly Santa Claus.

BotW Pre-Calamity Zelink, not AoC related!

Zelink-mas 2020  l  Masterlist

Link was beginning to wonder if the pressure was getting to the princess. She was always pushing forwards in the face of adversity, but it wasn’t her frustration and sadness that made him believe she’d finally cracked. 

It was when they took up residence in her study and she whirled on him with a book in her hands about goddesses only knew what.

“I’ve conducted some research,” she began, which was not new to him but filled him with a sense of playful dread anyway, “regarding Hylia’s Day and other holidays we celebrate here in Hyrule. We know that culture and religion are the basis of all holidays, and the difference in what is celebrated and how stems from those traditions. I was curious about the world outside of Hyrule. I thought perhaps I could read something about their beliefs and traditions that could help me awaken my power, but I found a celebration that’s incredibly similar to ours.”

She dropped the book on her desk and cracked it open, beckoning for him to join her. He stepped over, standing close enough so that when he leaned forwards to join her over the pages of the book, he could smell the flowery scent of her hair. 

He couldn’t read anything on the page. Not when his attention was taken up entirely by her. So he listened to her speak again, following her fingers dancing along the page.

“A religion referred to as Christianity celebrates something called Christmas. For worshipers of the faith, this day is celebrated as the birth of their savior. But the holiday became something widely celebrated by people not of that faith. It became a day of giving gifts and spending time with family. People decorate with trees and lights and hold grand parties. And just like how Hylia brings joy and peace to families on Hylia’s Eve, they too have a figure that travels to every corner of the world, leaving gifts for the children! Multiple sources have claimed that this figure keeps a list sorting the children into categories—meaning whether or not they’ve been naughty in the past year, or nice. Naughty children are given coal, which is quite funny really. He goes by quite a bit of names, too. Father Christmas, Santa Claus, Kris Kringle, Saint Nicholas—but they’re essentially talking about the same figure.”

“There’s a lot of similarities,” Link agreed, glancing in her direction. 

“I know what you’re thinking. What does any of this have to do with the sealing power?” Her cheeks flushed, the pink tint reaching to the tips of her ears. “Well, ah… it doesn’t. But Hylia’s Day is coming up and… and everyone’s been so down and patience is wearing thin and I thought perhaps we could do something to cheer everyone up.”

He wasn’t sure what sort of unseen force compelled him to obey the princess. Yet he couldn’t even bring himself to think that the scheme she’d come up with was absurd. He’d follow her to the ends of Hyrule should she ask him to. 

It was why he wasn’t exactly surprised to find himself accompanying Zelda and a holly, jolly Daruk across Hyrule. Though he couldn’t believe the princess had actually crafted the entirety of Father Christmas’s red outfit.

“This Sandy Claws really doesn’t know fashion,” the Goron said, adjusting the hat upon his head. “The less restrictive the clothing, the better for movement.”

“You play the part very well,” Zelda assured, patting the towering boulder on the arm. “Besides, I read that he’s quite the eater. Children leave out cookies and milk for him, so perhaps you’ll get lucky tonight.”

“If the cookies are prime, crunchy rock, then I can hardly resist. Right, brother?”

Daruk slapped him on his back, sending Link tumbling forwards. Zelda’s arms caught him, and he was quick to regain his balance with the feeling that the Goron did that on purpose.

“Besides, we’re really only visiting the other Champions. I wish we could do more, but we’re lacking the magical sleigh that can travel at the speed of light,” Zelda spoke again, tapping away at the Sheikah Slate. 

“Santa leaving Santa a gift, huh?”

“Oh, Link already took care of that. You’re not allowed to open it until the morning.”

Daruk turned to look at him, surprised. Link only shrugged with a small, only slightly smug smile.

“I’m sneaky,” he said. The Goron laughed and Link took a step closer to Zelda to prevent being slapped on the back and sent tumbling off of Death Mountain.

“So what did you deem me?” Daruk asked, his hands resting on his hips to Link’s utter relief.

“Nice, of course,” Zelda replied with a pat to his arm. “I can’t think of anyone who might be classified as naughty.”

Link could think of one.

But he didn’t voice his opinion and instead shrugged in agreement, and the three of them were off to Zora’s Domain. He had to admit wearing the green of the mythical Santa’s Elves was an experience—he felt a sort of respect for the color. But it was nothing compared to how Zelda looked in her costume. She’d really gone all out for this, with a green little hat and all. It was cute, and admirable really, that she was willing to go so far to spread happiness. 

Happiness they desperately needed right now, with the Calamity looming ever above their heads and constricting them like a snake.

Anyway.

He supposed it would’ve been hard for anyone not to react upon seeing three oddly dressed individuals, Zora guardsmen included. But all the Princess of Hyrule had to do was smile and they let it go without question.

“What’s your ruling on Mipha, Father Christmas?” Zelda asked, lifting the Sheikah Slate.

“Nice,” Daruk decided, rather unsurprisingly. But Link nodded in agreement.

“Sidon too. Can’t leave something for Mipha and not her little brother,” he pointed out.

“I’m hurt you think I hadn’t considered that,” replied Zelda with a satisfied smile. “Alright, each package is specifically wrapped. Mipha gets the red box with the blue bow, and Sidon is the blue box with the red bow.”

Daruk swung the red sack from his shoulder and rummaged through it.

“You might have to do this one, tiny princess. Not sure how the big guy does it without waking anyone.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’re more than capable! We’ll be right there with you,” Zelda encouraged, pulling something from the Sheikah Slate. “But if you feel you need it, I made an elixir that increases stealth.”

“What would we do without you?” 

The trip into Zora’s domain was relatively short after that. Zelda slipped into Mipha’s room to deliver the gift while Daruk and Link took care of Sidon, and she was pleased to know it’d been successful. Then, they were on their way to Gerudo for the next Champion. 

“Urbosa was incredibly hard to gift,” the princess said, thinking aloud. But Link was listening anyway, glancing over to her incase she decided to continue. 

“What did you end up getting her?” Daruk asked as he paused to rummage through the sack of presents. 

“Something of my mother’s,” Zelda replied simply, eyeing the small, wrapped box. “I think she would treasure it.”

A tiny smile graced her lips and Link felt his fingers twitch with the urge to take her hand. But she didn’t look sad. If anything, she looked comforted.

“You should deliver this one, Princess. I mean, Santa or not, Link and I can’t get into town,” Daruk pointed out. 

“I’ll be quick,” she promised before disappearing behind the walls of Gerudo Town. And while he knew she was safe there, he always felt an anxiety he couldn’t place.

“She’s real spirited,” said Daruk, nearly knocking Link over with his nudge. “It’s mighty kind of her to want to do this for us.”

“She wants to spread happiness,” he replied with a small shrug. 

“And is it working?” the Goron asked. Link didn’t answer, but he made a point to not look at Daruk and instead kept his gaze on the arching entrance to the town. A few minutes later, Zelda came back out and the group made their way to Hebra.

“Revali,” Zelda spoke, tapping at the slate. “What’s your ruling?”

“Naughty,” Link replied, without missing a beat. The Princess stared at him for a moment, then pressed a hand to her mouth to muffle her laughter. 

“I don’t want to agree, but..” Daruk said, scratching his beard, “he did call me an ‘oversized pebble’.”

“Revali’s just..” 

“Mean,” Link input, cutting Zelda off without really intending to.

“I was going to say young.”

“Well, so are you and the little guy here!” Daruk argued.

“Revali is a strong personality, and the Rito are a proud people,” Zelda stated, crossing her arms over her chest. “It would be rather rude to gift everyone but him.”

“I thought Santa’s whole thing was rewarding the good and punishing the bad,” said Daruk.

“Yes, but Revali isn’t bad, per say. Besides, we didn’t bring any coal.”

“I live on a volcano.”

“..Daruk.. tell me you did not pack coal.”

“That would be a lie, tiny princess.”

It was Link’s turn to fight back a laugh this time, biting the inside of his cheeks to keep it contained.

“Well, I can’t exactly stop you. But be sure to leave the real present too!”

But Daruk had disappeared into Rito Village, leaving the elf-dressed duo behind.

“I still think Revali would be on the naughty list,” Link said with a shrug. Zelda gave him a playful shove.

“Be nice,” she reprimanded, shaking her head.

“Do you think it’s possible for Revali to be nice?”

“I— I refuse to speak ill about any of my Champions,” but she was smiling through her words and that was enough of an agreement for Link. “I do hope Daruk hurries. I’m not sure how long the stealth elixir will last.”

“I’m sure that would make for an interesting sight to wake up to.”

To that, she laughed. Maybe the best part of the night was getting to spend time with her outside of Calamity related business. It almost felt like they were friends.

And then Daruk was back, and the group got ready to part ways. 

“Thank you, Daruk. It was fun,” Zelda spoke, setting a hand on his arm.

“The fun’s not done just yet, tiny princess. I’ve got two more on the nice list to gift.” The Goron pulled two more wrapped gifts from his bag, handed one to each of them, then set off for Death Mountain with a wink.

Link looked at the gift in his hands, something a little heavy with a beautiful wrapping job that could only have been done by nimble fingers. He glanced up at Zelda, who seemed just as surprised. 

Well, it seemed he wasn’t the only one who snuck something into the bag.

“Um,” she spoke, fiddling with her unopened gift. “I just.. it’s nothing big, but I.. I thought you’d enjoy it and you’re a Champion as well..”

Oh, it was a cue. Link nodded once, then carefully unwrapped the rectangular object. What remained in his hands was a book, and a fairly thick one at that.

“I had to beg every chef I know to get the recipes,” Zelda said again, taking a slight step forward. “It contains food from Faron to Goron City, as much as I could find. I also threw in some older recipes I found in cookbooks in the library, but I’m not sure how good any of them are.”

“I.. thank you,” Link replied, because there was really nothing he could say. He looked up at Zelda and offered a small smile, even if it wouldn’t be enough. 

She ducked her head and started to open her own gift. As soon as the treat was revealed, he found it was his turn to nervously explain.

“I heard it’s your favorite. I, uh, scribbled down a recipe I found, so if it’s not good..”

But she was smiling at him, and his words died on his tongue.

“My mother used to make a fruitcake every Hylia’s Day,” she said, and before he could give an apology or say anything else, she was hugging him. “Thank you.”

When Link returned to his quarters for the rest of the night away, he fell asleep with one thought in his head.

One day, he would love to cook every recipe in that book for the Princess.

[misterewrites]

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

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

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

“He’s still there, isn’t he?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I am not a child Impa.”

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

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

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

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

Even if she was guilty of the same crime.

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

“Judging?” Impa added.

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

“I think you’re projecting.”

“And you are far too calm.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“…..sigh, yes your highness.”

-----

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Oh?”

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

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

“It is nothing.”

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

“Mipha….”

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

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

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

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

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

“LINK!”

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

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

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

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

“Oh dear.”

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

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

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

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

“20 feet! A NEW RECORD!”

Mipha rubbed her eyes tiredly “Boys.”

Zelda giggled softly as Link rose his arms in victory.

-----

“Daruk?”

“Yeah tiny princess?”

“Is that...a rock?”

“Yeah it is!”

“And why...is Link….eating the rock?”

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

“Oh. Right. I recall that now.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The pair broke into a joyful laugh.

“Thank you Daruk.”

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

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

“It’s about Rudania.”

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

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

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

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

Rudania.

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

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

“How is your training with Rudania going Daruk?”

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

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

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

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

“I’m not!”

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

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

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

“But, I’mma gonna try all the same.”

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

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

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

“You’re welcome! Haha, for what?”

-----

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Princess.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zelda fumed but allowed him to continue.

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

“Revali, what are you…?”

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

“I see” Zelda slowly caught on.

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

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

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

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

-----

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

“Thinking of her again little bird?”

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

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

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

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

She giggled at her joke.

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

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

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

Zelda’s blush spread rapidly throughout her cheeks.

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

“I am not flustered!”

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

“Urbosa!”

Urbosa laugh once more “So it worked then?”

Zelda was confused “What did?”

“My distraction.”

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

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

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

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

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

The two shared a laugh.

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

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

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

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

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

-----

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

Almost.

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

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

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

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

It was getting really hard to focus on his task.

“Link, are you alright?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Link gestured for her to continue.

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

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

Well, until the real hero of Hyrule appeared.

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

“I’m sorry.”

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

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

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

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

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

Wait! No no no no!

The princess sighed dejectedly, turning away from Link.

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

-----

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

“W-wait.”

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

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

Link gave a short nod.

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

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

“You.”

Link nodded, wincing as he struggled to speak.

“I. Don’t. Like. Talking.”

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

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

Link nodded once before breaking into a toothy smile.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Link gestured to her horse.

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

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

Zelda pinched her cheeks with all her might.

“Urbosa was right. He is handsome.”

[mysterious-prophetess]

Review- Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

I’ll admit this here: I’ve never played a regular warriors game. 

I played the previous Hyrule Warriors, but I’ve yet to beat it. I’ll get around to it...eventually.

I also played the CRAP out of Breath of the Wild. It’s now my favorite Zelda game, knocking poor Ocarina of Time of its pedestal.

Ok, they share it, to be perfectly honest. 

Twilight Princess  has sentimental position up with the others because it was the first Zelda game I ever beat. 

The first one I played was A Link to the Past and I was far too little to understand it at the time. 

I digress, I’m here to talk about Age of Calamity. 

I’ll go through a non-spoilery section and then move on to the spoilers in the next bit.

The gameplay was actually pretty fun. Hyrule Warriors could get repetitive, something I’m given to understand is an issue of the main Warriors series. 

Age of Calamity is actually more fun. Yeah, it’s still a similar game style but they implemented enough of Breath of the Wild and Zelda into it that it doesn’t feel anywhere near as same-y to play as Hyrule Warriors could be. 

I’m not saying that Hyrule Warriors had too much in the way of same-y game play but it definitely felt way more repetitive to me. 

Each character has their own way they play and if you don’t click with them, you’re not going to enjoy playing them but those you do click with can then be a lot of fun in Age of Calamity.

The Divine Beast sections were not a highlight for me. I just am not a fan of them. Three out of four felt epic. The fourth was not.

Yeah, I’m talking trash about Vah Rudania. Would not recommend that Divine Beast. Which is a shame because of the Champions, he is easily the one I handle the best in combat. Or he was untilI figured out how to play Mipha. 

The story is much more a Zelda story this time. The other story just kinda felt....not. 

Hyrule Warriors’s story just sort felt like a massive crossover fanfiction. 

And, this won’t be the last time I reference fanfiction either but that’s for the spoiler section.

The game was pretty cohesive and the incentives for 100% the side quests (aside from leveling) are nice enough and easy enough to obtain that it’s not a total grind to do it.

Speaking of leveling, I did have a bit of an edge for that. You see, I got the demo and it transfers save data and I’d max-leveled Link for that demo (level 20 in case you were wondering) which meant if I found enough rupees, I could instantly get most of my crew up to that level. Zelda and Impa were mid to high teens whenever I was done with the demo btw. 

In Hyrule Warriors, it did feel a bit grindy at times but I didn’t have that nice 20 levels from my demo advantage. 

There are relatively few buggy moments in this game but once when I was playing as a character I can’t mention without spoilers, they got caught in a sort of loop where they’d do a move and I couldn’t get them to stop.

Sometimes the camera angles would fight me when I was up against bigger foes like the final boss or Hinoxes. 

Beyond that, the game runs fine. 

I enjoyed it but for those looking for a straight up prequel to Breath of the Wild, the only non-spoilery thing I can say is-it’s not this. It does touch on a few things and we do get to play the Champions but it’s not the game you think it is if you want to see what happened before Link ended up in the Shrine of Resurrection in the game this spun-off of.

Tl;Dr-I do recommend this game if you like Zelda and want a game where your weapons don’t break every five minutes and you like feeling like a BAMF as you mow down enemy after enemy. 

If you don’t like Warriors games or wanted that dark prequel-you might want to pass on this.

Now leave if you want to avoid spoilers.

Ok everyone who wants to avoid spoilers is gone?

Good. 

First, I’m just going to say it: This is a total Fix-It Fic of a game with its plot.

As Nine’s gif said, Everybody lives.

The Champions and the King and the soldiers (whose asses you’ve been saving this whole game so really no big deal), Hyrule in general. 

Everyone lives. 

This was already in AU territory with the little guardian-it’s name is Terrako- time traveling back to fulfill Zelda’s wish that she could have saved everyone. Parts of Calamity Ganon go with it and posses its past self. 

That means this isn’t just a Fix-it Fic, this is a Time Travel Fix-it Fic.

That’s one of my favorite kinds of Fix-it Fics, so naturally, I was biased to like this plot.

It is a bit schmaltzy that everyone gets to live? A little but a Fix-it Fic tends to be more on the sweet and fluffy side of things. 

I did not see the future champions coming. Yeah, I knew the little egg-guy was a time traveler but I thought Link and Zelda together were going to save each champion one by one. When out of left field, here comes the future Champions.

I was very happy to see Adult!Sidon appear. 

I was just expecting this

and got this too

It does, however, confirm this is a total Alternate timeline. 

Wouldn’t be the first time for the Zelda series.

The Four Future Champions were pulled from Canon Breath of the Wild, and likely Post-Canon or Near the End of Canon since they know Link. 

I knew it was an AU from the fact Link didn’t have the Master Sword when he should have. I own the book Creating a Champion and it mentions that Link of Breath of the Wild found the sword at some ridiculously young age. I’d look but that book is in a pile of stuff and I don’t feel like digging it out.

Best I can figure is Zelda’s wish also affected the whole timeline beyond when Terrako arrived allowing for her and Link to form a bond without resentment on her end. Which, we actually don’t know when Terrako and the Pieces of Calamity Ganon arrived in the past. They could have showed up five years prior with Terrako inactive and Harbinger Ganon using his crazy proxy.

Would explain why Astor was so bat-shit insane at that point.

Since I’ve mentioned him, this would be a good time to talk about Astor, or Not-Vaati as I called him before I learned his name. 

Astor is every evil cultist serving some destructive force that is shocked that betrayal comes. 

Especially, after he backstabbed the Yiga Clan causing even their leader to switch sides after the Yiga clan served Ganon for 10,000 years.

Astor is boring. He’s just another purple wearing evil dude who is serving a dark master who doesn’t actually need him after a point and gets a sort of comeuppance. 

In this case, it was possession/assimilation. 

I just beat Monster Boy and the cursed Kingdom and -spoilers-, in it there is a purple wearing evil guy who backstabbed others and was then backstabbed by the evil entity he served. He was just cursed into a ridiculous form instead of assimilation, though.

So, yeah. Astor was boring. The VA did what he could but Astor was just not compelling to me.

I did like the form that resulted of Harbinger Ganon absorbing him, though. 

It was a very nice change of pace from the Blight-like form Calamity Ganon had in Breath of the Wild. I actually almost wish this was his form instead-though with the stringy hair all the Blights and Calamity Ganon had. Maybe as a between form? Either way, I liked it. 

And that’s my opinion of the whole game; I liked it. 

There were times I’d get frustrated (mostly having to do with time limits and characters I don’t enjoy controlling). I may not have liked the Divine Beast Sections but they weren’t enough to ruin the game nor was their inclusion to the point that it could ruin it for me. 

The story, while a bit over-the-top with the wish fulfillment of everyone living, was still enjoyable for me and had its poignant moments. Especially with the Future Champions going back to their own(likely the canon) timeline where the Calamity wasn’t averted. Getting this glimpse of what could have been but isn’t for them.

All the younger Zelda flashbacks were bittersweet since we sort of saw how happy she was before her mother died and saw her father start his terrible parenting routine.

I don’t care that it was for her that he did it, it was still bad parenting. I sympathize with Rhoam, but that won’t excuse that he wasn’t a good father. 

He loved his daughter and was trying his best but he still did damage in his attempts to defy destiny.

I just have a lot of feelings about this game. 

I’ll just end this post here.

Age of Calamity was worth it, in my opinion.

[skiewrites]

Thoughts of HW:AOC, Plot

Okay, so I’ve had a quick look through the tags to see what people’s opinions were on the games plot, because even though the game doesn’t come up until Friday, people with hacked switches were able to get a hold of the game early and leak it. Whatever your view on copyrights from a large company like Nintendo is, it got leaked, I watched it, lets move on.

A couple of things to be aware of before we move onto the whole post is that no, I do not have a hacked switch. I have preordered the game, but I will not be playing it until it is released. However, I was able to watch all the cutscenes before Nintendo came and took them down for copyright issues. Please keep in mind that what I say is my own opinion on the story after one watch through, so I might come by and edit it after I’ve played the game, to include my views on the actual gameplay.

And of course, this post will contain major spoilers for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, so tread lightly.

This will be part one of a small series, otherwise this post would be incredibly long, so this is part one of ???

So, of course, like everyone expected, the games plot follows the event that lead up to the Great Calamity. At first, I found the order of events to be slightly strange; the idea that Link is Zelda’s knight before its revealed that he is the hero weirded me out somewhat and it was truly the first sign that they were going to deviate from what they had said in botw, where Link had had the Master Sword since he was 12, and he should have had it when they fight the lynal in Zora’s Domain. These inconsistencies are littered throughout, of course. In botw, Revali mentions having wished to have had at least one fight with him before he had died, and in the cutscenes shown they nearly killed each other during their first meeting (something that I am actually pretty excited to play). Then there’s the whole thing with the yiga in the desert (completely disrupting what happened in the memories)

Time travel.

So. The elephant in the room. I thought that I would get this bit over and done with as it’s the bit that everyone seems the most hung up about. Of course, that does make sense, for never has anyone done time travel well in media. There’s always too many ‘what if’s involved with this trope, and it is a trope that has been done to death, especially in the Legend of Zelda series. I now yearn for a game that doesn’t involve time travel in any way, for not only is it repetitive from a gameplay standpoint and a storytelling standpoint, but Nintendo is always going on about the timeline of the Zelda Universe, only to screw it into a ball and throw it away.

As much as I love theory videos and fanfics explaining away why the timeline is the way it, is it too much to ask for at least a couple games that go in a linear fashion so that I don’t have to think of the timeline when coming up with a new fic idea?

There are really two parts of timetravel. The first part, where Terrako (eggy boi) comes back from the ‘bad’ future that leads on to botw. He comes baring information on how the Calamity comes about, the date, the location, the destruction that comes with it. The other characters already know that this was going to happen because of Astor (I’m pretty sure he’s the fortune teller right?), but they then use this knowledge to further prepare themselves. This is the time travel that people kind of expected, especially since the demo, and we were prepared for that.

The timetravel we did not expect however, was when Sidon, Riju, Yunobo and Teba come from the future/alternative timeline and help with the final battle. Don’t get me wrong, I was very confused to see them turn up as much as everyone else was, but does it give some of the best character moments in the game? Absolutely. All of them had bonding moments between each other, but my favourite had to be Sidon and Mipha. Not only did it help that Sidon was the most developed character in botw out of all of them, but adding on with the character interaction at the beginning with the lynal, you can tell that Sidon was finally able to come to terms with his sister’s death in his reality, and Mipha was able to see a glimpse of the zora that Sidon would come to be. I loved every moment that these characters were on the screen, and I cannot wait to play them.

At the end of the day, the time travel does become a closed loop situation (and if you want me to go into detail about that then lmk), and thus, this game, considered canon or not, will not affect botw, nor botw2. Will it create another timeline? I hope not, but that’s up to Nintendo to figure out.

Regardless of the timetravel, I do have to say that the story itself is brilliant. There isn’t a loose thread or a self-contained. Purah talks about teleportation and showing that multiple people teleportation is possible, which then comes to help them in the final act. The scene with Zelda and Rhomn where he lectures her about artefacts comes to save his life later down the line as it turns out to be a shield. Any scene with the Yiga in made me laugh, and the scene at the end, where Calamity Ganon is formed? That is the beast that I wish I fought in botw.

The pacing could be better but these cutscenes aren't really supposed to be viewed back to back like that so they can have that one off. The small background interactions? those scenes will keep me fed for days. The small gags that reference the game, like link being able to eat rocks and using a cucco to jump from the tower? I couldn't stop fucking laughing. I’m not a big fan of zelda/link but those scenes weren't too in my face, which hits the perfect balance for shippers and nonshippers, but I’ll talk more about the characters in the next post.

At the end of the day, if this story had been a fanfiction, people would have lost their minds over it. But if you still don’t like the story, I ask you this. Don’t view it as Link’s story. View it as Zelda’s. even though the name of the game is Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, it is more of a ‘Legend of Zelda’ than the other games. We follow her right until the very end where she unlocks her power and is able to save Hyrule. This is a story exploring the idea that, if the circumstances had been different, if she had just a little more information to give her the final push, she would have been able to unlock her sealing powers and save everyone like she wanted.

That’s it for now, lmk what you guys think of the plot.

[comradelup]

Hey bruh can we get an epic infodump about that BOTW au, because I am HERE for some self indulgent content, hit this niche Zelda/TAZ fan audience with that tasty au over here

i just woke up so this might not be too legible but :3333 also obviously spoilers for botw for ppl who haven’t played it and don’t wanna be spoiled

(most of it is under the cut though because WOW this got long akdnajfnsjf)

okay so taako is link and lup is zelda. instead of being a princess and knight they’re a king and queen co-ruling faerun. there isn’t really a king rhoam figure in this? like they don’t have a parent/guardian they pops up in the memories, it’s just them ruling the kingdom. when the prophecy came, they knew one of them was the royal with the goddess’ blood in them and the other would be the hero with the darkness sealing weapon. obviously both of them would have the same blood or whatever since they’re twins, but it comes down to who can properly wield the magic. as it turns out, lup is the magic twin and taako is the weapon wielding twin. their enemy, usually ganon, is instead the hunger.

there is still an old civilization of ppl with ancient technology, though i don’t really have a name for them, so i’ll keep calling them sheikah. BUT, there is a modern day group of people dedicating themselves to learning all they can about the sheikah technology in order to prepare for the return of the hunger. they are the institute of past research and exploration, IPRE for short. it is made up by the rest of the seven birds, among a few others.

the champions are davenport, merle, magnus, and barry. lucretia is kinda how she was in TSC canon, just sorta tagging along to write everything down, but that changes once they make the grand relics. speaking of, the light of creation replaces the master sword in this instance. it has the power to fight off the hunger, as well as take the shape of any weapon taako can imagine. that’s how we get the flaming raging poisoning sword of doom and the krebstar. but lup and barry, ever the scientists, are like “is there any way to… break the light into pieces? so more people get super powerful weapons against the apocalypse?” so they do

some of the relics are different, though. the philosopher’s stone doesn’t change things, but it changes itself, keeping that weapon-changing property of the original light. obviously, since it’s a seventh of what it used to be, it isn’t as powerful. but it’s still pretty damn powerful compared to the rest of the weapons in the world. the gaia sash is different too, adding healing on top of the plant magic. the animus bell basically makes undead armies instead of the soul switching magic from canon. basically, the relics’ powers are altered to better fit a combat situation. also they’re the gifts given to taako after the divine beasts (replacing urbosa’s fury/daruk’s protection/etc) so they would need a more combative/practical use. the healing part of the gaia sash is basically this au’s mipha’s grace akfnajfnsj

one relic in particular is interesting, and that’s the phoenix fire gauntlet. with lup’s struggle to unlock her powers, she created the gauntlet as a sort of conductor for magic energy. she’s incredibly proficient in normal magic (esp evocation) but this goddess magic is tricky to unlock, and it’s super frustrating. the other stuff came so easy to her, so why is this hard? unfortunately, the gauntlet didn’t help with that :-(

lucretia and her relic are also interesting in this au. as i mentioned in the ficlet i posted, she intended to use the bulwark staff to protect the champions, and she couldn’t, so she blames herself for everything that happened. obviously, it’s not her fault and i make myself sad thinking about her being sad T_T but as a result of this, plus a bit of good ol paranoia, she uses the bulwark staff to create a big bubble shield around phandalin (this au’s kakariko villiage) the rest of the IPRE live here (basically the BOB, so killian, carey, johann, etc)

i won’t go too into detail for the rest of the story, as it’s fairly similar to botw canon other than that, but some things to note are this: the divine beasts are different, so as to suit the champions better. magnus and merle have a bear and owl, respectively, but idk what’s for barry and davenport (definitely open to suggestions akdnajdns). also, the yiga clan is called the shadow brethren, because i love me a good amnesty reference. it’s leader is kalen, and he’s an actual threat to taako, unlike kogha. i’d imagine the brethren tie to magnus’ divine beast because kalen ties to his storyline. also, the gauntlet basically becomes the bow of light in this au, aka what taako uses to defeat the hunger once and for all

other characters to note are:

kravitz and the raven queen, basically purah and symin in the hateno ancient tech lab. they’re a mother and son duo, with TRQ living through the calamity and kravitz being born afterwards

lucas and maureen are in robbie and jerrin’s place as another mother-son duo in the same position as krav + TRQ; maureen lived through the calamity and lucas was born after

(everyone is basically human in this, or at least has human lifespans, so 100 years is definitely a long time for someone to live through. maureen and TRQ developed magic to prevent them from aging all those years. lucretia was the first volunteer to use this magic, but it kinda failed and instead only slowed down her aging. that’s why she’s her older self when taako wakes up.)

the goddess hylia is instead istus. not much changes there, she’s just the goddess everyone references akdnakdjs

yknow the characters that help link get to the divine beasts in canon? like sidon, riju, etc? they’re replaced by other characters depending on what relic taako is going after, and it correlates to canon. so when he’s going after davenport’s divine beast/the oculus, he meets angus. when going after the owl/gaia sash, he meets hurley and sloane. so on and so forth. though he DEFINITELY meets julia in refuge and she DEFINITELY does NOT have a crush on the hero of legend who piloted the bear divine beast 100 years ago ;)))))

differently from botw canon, taako actually develops a strong relationship with lucretia, who is pretty much impa with a different backstory. as he gets his memories back he realizes he had six incredibly close best friends and now five of them are gone, so he kinda gravitates to her when he’s with her

one more thing to note is that after taako defeats the hunger and lup is free, she combines the relics into the light and uses it to bring the dead champions back because FUCK death separating this family. lup “phantasmal and resplendent” adventurezone would never allow it. if her brother gets brought back from the dead, so do her friends and her husband, thank you very much

and that’s… basically it! i could go more in depth with the taakitz/blupjeans side of things, but this is long enough akfnskfnskfn but if anyone wants to know anything else i’m always open to talking about it :D

[wistsandmagic]

They had called her Link almost from the time King Sidon IV had found her. He had named her Linaela, meaning “found blessing” -- a reference to finding her beside the river, the only survivor of a Moblin attack -- but the children had nicknamed the tiny Hylian baby “Link” for reasons of their own, and thus the name had stuck.

As she grew, the nickname took on another meaning. Half of the adult Zoras joked that she was some sort of hybrid between Hylian and Zora, the way she swam and sang, and with how slowly she aged, much like their own children. The “missing link” between the two races.  King Sidon always gently chided those who said as such, as no one knew Link’s heritage, and it could very well be possible, as many of their number as had been lost in Moblin attacks around the time of her finding. 

The other half of the adults didn’t make jokes. They wondered, instead, at the nature of Link’s nickname, at the timing of her finding, right when monsters started appearing in much larger numbers all across Hyrule and the surrounding lands. They said nothing, instead watching as the tiny Hylian, adopted second daughter of the Zora King’s court, grew alongside their own children, growing on par with them instead of much faster, as Hylians were wont to do, and they wondered.

Link herself never thought much of it. She enjoyed the stories of the Hero of Legend, but she had too much to learn and do to think much on her nickname. Learning how to behave in court with her older sister, Mipha, learning the sword and trident from the weapons-master Kayden, in preparation to defend herself from the monsters that kept creeping ever closer, and playing with her friends, in and out of the water, took most of her time.