#also Sheik is trans

[knightlycrow]

thinking about this and man I'd really want names for the Links and also possibly a new name for Sheik? it feels weird for him to be raised in a whole tribe of Sheikah and call himself Sheik, as opposed to OoT where he was raised by the last Sheikah member.

sketches for an AU I'm revisiting from my childhood :D The premise is that Zelda, Sheik, and Tetra are triplets, and bc of reasons I've not entirely figured out, the younger two (Sheik and Tetra) were sent to be raised in other cultures. The OG AU was based on Ocarina of Time, but I'm revamping it to be more based in Breath of the Wild's Hyrule (modernized, the AU has always been primarily a modern AU). This time around, I'm also wanting to have more than just one Link (who would have been OoT's Link in my original version of the AU). Not sure exactly how I'll execute it, but we'll see!

[gay-jesus-probably]

I like the general fandom trend to just take the plot of Hyrule Warriors as a loose guideline at best and just use the whole concept as a good excuse to get blorbos to interact across timelines, BUT I'm very disappointed that everyone is missing the comedic potential of a very specific squad of characters:

Young Link (aka Mask), who walks out of the nightmare of Majora's Mask and immediately gets portal kidnapped into a temporal war, takes one look at the whole mess and decides that you could not fucking pay him to admit to being the resident expert on Time Shenanigans. He introduces himself with the title of Hero of Termina, and definitely doesn't have any other ones, that would be crazy. Hero of Time? Never heard of him.

Tetra, who is a kickass pirate captain with zero patience for people trying to shove her into the Designated Princess role, and realizes immediately that Oh Fuck, this Hyrule has a lot of Ideas about how the Hero and the Princess are supposed to properly play their parts, the second they realize she's technically a Zelda they're gonna shove her in a goddamn dress and damsel her again, that's not happening. So she's definitely just a really cool pirate captain, nothing else going on here at all, definitely not the heir of the Hylian royal family in her time, that'd be crazy.

Ravio, who is literally just a palette swapped Link, meaning that the second his hood comes off, things are gonna get Awkward. There's no way in hell he's dealing with all that Hero baggage, that's Link work, so that giant bunny hood/mask is practically superglued to his head, and he's not taking it off for love or money.

Spirit Tracks Zelda, who is just in the Phantom Armour the whole time, and passing herself off as just a friendly ghost posessing a suit of armour to help the Hero of Spirits. Of course she isn't Princess Zelda, that's ridiculous, if she were a Zelda then people would start getting really weird about her technically being dead, and boy does that ever sound like a whole Thing she doesn't want to deal with, so she can't possibly be Zelda, she's just a nice ghost knight. Also, her teenage grandma is here, and that's kinda weird, so it's easier to just not admit to being royalty and avoid that awkward conversation.

Finally there's Sheik, who is not the Princess Zelda of the era straight up abandoning her war torn country for months at a time so she can risk her life in extreme cosplay for no clear reason, but is instead the actual Sheik from Ocarina of Time, who just beat Ganondorf like a month ago and is still trying to process what the fuck to do now. Also, he's been pretending to be a boy since he was ten, and is realizing there's a pretty good chance that he isn't pretending anymore, so that's a whole other can of worms. But for the last seven years of his life, being Princess Zelda meant certain death, so he's not really inclined to introduce himself like when in a new and stressful situation (not to mention he might actually just not be a girl named Zelda anymore), so he automatically introduces himself as just Sheik the spooky ninja man, and fuck he's in too deep to back out now, looks like he's committing to the bit. If you think you sense the Triforce of Wisdom on him, no you don't.

Cue shenanigans as the five of them attempt to hide that they're all actually kind of A Big Deal. The group motto is "Nobody says shit", which is usually delivered as a frantic hiss whenever someone slips up. Just the reunion between Sheik and Mask alone would be absolutely buckwild given how they parted, and how they're both frantically pretending to Not be involved with each other. For added hilarity and/or drama, Sheik gives his semi-bullshit cover story of having just been a friend of the Hero of Time, then runs into said Hero of Time and they both have to desperately pretend not to know each other, because if anyone picks up on the mountain of baggage between them then Mask is busted, and he won't hesitate to drag Sheik down with him out of sheer spite. Not to mention the weird balance of Sheik being used to this Link being a teenager that's actually a small child, and now has to adjust to Link who is a small child that's actually a teenager.

Also, i really feel like we're all missing out on the comedy potential of Ganondorf recognizing Young Link on sight and the two of them immediately launching into a grudge match with some extremely personal and specific insults on both sides. Meanwhile literally everybody else is just standing there watching, trying to process the fact that out of every single person that's been pulled out of time, Ganondorf only has personal beef with a literal nine year old.

I just feel like we're all really sleeping on the potential for Shenanigans here. The whole thing is an absurd mess, why not have some fun with it?

[princeyam]

sheik doodles

[pumpkinsouppe]

Linktober Day 15 - Favorite Character

Sorry I can't choose between my trans kings!! OOT/MM Link and Sheik my beloveds T^T^T^T <3<3<3

[vimbry]

also I've mentioned this movie's unintended impact on my little brain before but, there's something in the fact that the first time I ever saw a trans male character was through click in the form of an annoying transphobic gag - like, I was 11, I was vaguely aware of what gender dysphoria was as concept, but don't think it was ever on my radar that people could ftm - and the fact that, given the choice, I would definitely want to age into christopher walken, who was also in that movie. not sure what that something Is but, it's there.

[ascendandt]

(booming voice from the sky) ALL ZELINK SUCKS EXCEPT IN SKYWARD SWORD

[appleebees]

"Sheik is a separate character-" shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up. Make him trans or make her Zelda you cowards

[zombiesama]

coding something cool for my neocities :3c

[rebornofstars]

SEPFEMBER 2024 PROMPTS LIST

HERE WE ARE! AT LONG LAST! THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN (HOPEFULLY) WAITING FOR! GIRL MONTH!

I honestly can't believe this is actually happening. This event was a shower thought a few months ago.

Here's a recap of the event: to participate, make at least one fanwork of any variety during September that features a woman or women from the Zelda franchise as the main character/s. All Linksmeets are welcome in this challenge, as well as general LoZ fans!

Before I drop the prompts list for those who are looking for a little direction, I'd like to mention that I have made an AO3 COLLECTION FOR THIS EVENT. It's open and unmoderated so you can add your works to it freely. And if you post on tumblr, please tag #sepfember !! I'll be scrolling through the tag every day looking for things to reblog and gush about 👀

If you have any questions at all about this event, or you want to chat about it, my askbox is open! I will also respond to comments and reblogs of this post.

Now, onto the prompts. Disclaimer: you DON'T have to use all/any of these prompts, or only create things for certain characters on their featured day. This list is just a GUIDE for those who want it. If you have other plans, go with your heart!

At the end of the day, this is a celebration, and all that matters is that you have fun. I hope some of you will join me next month in giving our girls some time in the spotlight, but if you can't, that's okay! There's no pressure! This is just a passion project of mine, really, and I am overjoyed that people are interested 💛💛💛

(apologies in advance for the terrible quality of these pics and the equally terrible commentary. i thought it would be funny. also, i've never had to come up with a prompts list before and it shows.)

DAY 1: SKYWARD SWORD ZELDA + PURPOSE

(we start at the beginning of course 💛)

DAY 2: MARIN + WASH

(it was SO hard to find a screenshot of her that didn't have link in it. they're both cute but this ain't about him.)

DAY 3: MEDLI + GIFT

(i didn't know she played the harp until i saw this screenshot! i obviously have a lot to learn.)

DAY 4: TWILIGHT PRINCESS ZELDA + FREEZE

(how creepy does she look here?! so awesome)

DAY 5: HILDA + GHOST

(SUCH a good character for real. she has depth!!!! she has a thematic purpose!!!)

DAY 6: URBOSA + LOSE

(two words: LIGHTNING POWERS ⚡⚡⚡)

DAY 7: SPIRIT TRACKS ZELDA + MISTAKE

(babygirl you are 2 entire pixels.)

DAY 8: FI + ORDER

(oh she is everything to me)

DAY 9: MIDNA + SWORD

(she looks so soulful right now)

DAY 10: HYRULE WARRIORS ZELDA + SUMMON

(what a FIRE camera angle??? her armour is so impractically attached but SHE HAS A SWORD‼️)

DAY 11: GODDESSES OF HYRULE + EYES

(hylia, din, nayru, farore, the list goes on...)

DAY 12: ZORA PRINCESSES + TRUST

(mipha, ruto... poor suckers... it can't be fun, falling for link...)

DAY 13: OCARINA OF TIME ZELDA | SHEIK + FATE

(note: I personally hc this character as a trans man, but since this isn't explicitly confirmed in-game and might not be shared with everyone, I've given them a celebration day anyway. you are free to do what you wish.)

DAY 14: MALON + GUARD

(she is adorable. look at her)

DAY 15: IMPA + BOUND

(HOTTEST MOST SEXY MOST BADASS WOMAN IN THE FRANCHISE ‼️‼️‼️ I LOVE YOU IMPA YOU ARE PERFECT. SHUT UP I DEFINITELY DON'T PLAY FAVOURITES—)

DAY 16: FOUR SWORDS ADVENTURES ZELDA + PORTAL

(i loved her in the fsa manga. she's barely in it but STILL. go read it.)

DAY 17: FAIRIES + TIRED

(the great fairies, navi, ciela, tatl, proxi...)

DAY 18: TETRA + LEGACY

(isn't she KICKASS?!)

DAY 19: EPONA + BONE

(our lovely loyal girl 🥰)

DAY 20: A LINK BETWEEN WORLDS ZELDA + HOME

(SHE IS SUCH A GOOD PARALLEL TO HILDA PLEASSSSSE)

DAY 21: SARIA + WISH

(a classic character! isn't this picture so peaceful)

DAY 22: BOTW/AOC/TOTK ZELDA + PEACE

(SHE IS EVERYTHING TO ME. SCREAMING CLAWING CRYING. MY DARLING, YOUR FANARTISTS WERE THE ONES TO DRAW ME INTO THE ZELDA FANDOM. I HOPE I CAN RETURN THE FAVOUR ONE DAY)

DAY 23: CIA + LANA + STUDY

(technically, she's one person. between the two of them they certainly only wear enough clothes for one person... )

DAY 24: ARYLL + HUG

(sister to the hero! but what's her story?)

DAY 25: ECHOES OF WISDOM ZELDA + ARREST

(YEAHHHHHHHHH GIRL MONTH GIRL DAY GIRL GAME!!!)

DAY 26: CD-i ZELDA + HOLIDAY

(hehheehehehe. i bet you weren't expecting her. neither was i tbh)

DAY 27: PURAH + FIRE

(SHE'S CLEVER! I LOVE CLEVER WOMEN!)

DAY 28: ILIA + ERUNE + MEND

(listen. i know erune is a very niche character - she literally only exists in the four swords manga - but consider. i love her)

DAY 29: ALTTP/OOS/OOA/LA ZELDA + MISSING

(she has no canon personality. you know what that means. get the building equipment out fellas)

DAY 30: LINKLE + FAREWELL

(and here we are - LAST DAY!)

THE END! YAY! I CAN'T WAIT FOR SEPTEMBER - CAN YOU?

[parksrway]

IDC THAT SHEIK IS TRANS I WANT TO DO THINGS TO HIM THAT GOD COULDN'T EVEN COMPREHEND (Take him on a coffee date to a cat cafe and then take him to a book store then maybe see a movie 🥰🥰🥰)

Also, you draw him very pretty and squishable.

I was very scared by this notification

[candy8448]

Lu lgbt headcanons Because im feeling very gender today:

Legend:

Genderfluid, any pronouns

Bisexual and demiromantic

Used to be in a relationship with Marin

In a relationship currently with Ravio but they haven't decided exactly how far their relationship goes just yet

Never wears trousers, even on a masculine day, just never. Nope. Wears a ton of jewlery

Probably has some magic ring or something with a gem that he can change the colour of to represent what pronouns they want to use

Wild

Also uses any pronouns

Decided to not use a name or label for gender

Before the shrine was probably not given any opportunity to explore any gender identities or sexual orientation, so went as a cis man

In a queer platonic relationship with Flora

Ace

Sky

Bigender, i saw this headcanon once and im stealing it for self projection reasons

She/he pronouns with a slight preference to he

Bisexual, polyamory

He, Zelda and Groose are all in a relationship together (Zelda is mostly straight and Groose hasn't decided yet)

Hyrule

Seen hcs that fairies aren't born with a gender and get to choose theirs

Intersex (though was treated more femininly by most of his sisters and mothers)

Nonbinary and trans male

Uses he/they/fae pronouns

Time

Saw hcs that the kokiri dont really pay attention to gender

Agender

Uses he/him pronouns for simplicity as that was what people used when he first left kokiri forest

Will not mind if someone uses whatever pronouns, will not correct since he doesnt really have a connection to any gender

Pan, again since he doesnt really recognise gender he doesnt have a preference to what he is romantically intrested in but he is married to Malon

Seen hcs that he used to have a crush on Sheik and sure, i like it when its written as a goofy childhood crush thing

Four

Cis male, ik most ppl hc them as the most gnc but i like this

They/them pronouns, they use them as plural pronouns but not many people actually know that

The colours themselves and mostly cis male though as individuals

Not sure their sexual orientation

They are at least 1/4 gay (looking at you, Vio)

Warriors

Trans male

Aroace, did not have a fun experience with that whole Cia thing and has just sworn off any kind of romantic or sexual relationships

Wind

Demiboy

He/they pronouns (is experimenting with the they/them pronouns and mostly prefers the he/him ones)

Straight as far as he is aware for now, might have a slight crush on Tetra but will deny it with his entire being

Twilight

Nonbinary, He/they pronouns

Had/has a big crush on Midna

In situations or aus where they are able to be with Midna, he is dating Midna and Midna is dating Dusk, but Twi and Dusk are not dating

Ive had this post in my drafts and completely forgot about it lol

[kenneduck]

would your botw/aoc shiek be masc like in oot? trans masc shiek?

Ahh, great question! I'll preface my answer by saying I didn't play OOT yet, and actually my knowledge of Sheik as a character is extremely limited to the Hyrule Warriors version and how THAT Sheik was realized as Zelda.

When designing Sheik for BOTW/AoC Zelda, limited to the info I know, I designed this Sheik as a disguise for Zelda to break away from Link's watchful eye to find other ways to defeat the Calamity, as her powers hadn't awoken. The outfit is mainly pieces of clothing Zelda took from Impa, hence the more feminine clothing and presentation. She's put under extreme pressure to awaken her powers, (Based on the Age of Calamity Zelda depiction), but is also forced under such a watchful eye, that she's unable to really push herself to awaken them on her own, so it's her means to get away and not feel... useless.

Though, saying this, I fucking love Sheik as a character. I have yet to play OOT, but growing up with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, I fell for Sheik as a disguised Zelda, and the masculine appearance Sheik gave. I'm just not of full knowledge of OOT, though I have it for my 3DS and intend to progress in it (I'm stuck in the first dungeon LMAO). Once I truly meet Sheik, I'm sure my HC and feeling towards the character will change, and how I'd depict Zelda as Sheik in BOTW/TOTK.

Hope this answer was okay! I apologize for not knowing much! I personally love any HC, and if people made trans masc Sheik with BOTW/AOC Zelda... my heart would be so happy! I'd like to draw a masc version soon, based on the sheikah outfit Link is able to collect in the games. Since these drawings were limited to "Zelda stole from Impa", I didn't explore a more masc design, which to me isn't fully fulfilling as I adore the OOT design the most.

[princeyam]

I LOVE YOUR ART but I have to ask, is your oot link trans masc too?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! 💖

about your question, im a bit more loose with my interpretation of oot link. it genuinely depends on my mood that day LOL so while hes usually cis in my headcanon he can be trans too! either way hes gnc 😌

[slaingelo]

pride headcanons and boy do I have a fuckin lot so take your pic ig, (oh yea they’re all transmasc hcs ofc so I’ll just list it)

transmasc Ruto, Botw paya and Zelda, Cia

oh also Botw Zelda and Link are Transmasc for Transmasc, they are very gay and very in love

feel free to draw which one you wanna or not one at all you don’t have to answer this!

this might've made me go a bit insane ok. first thoughts upon seeing this; LACE UP BINDERS T4T BOTW ZELINK HELPING EACH OTHER LACE THEM UP PROPERLY. gotta draw that, might come back to do those other ones though bc boy do I have thoughts about those also !

second thoughts. holy Fucking shit this gives me an excuse to go off about trans masc zelda and how inherently interesting that can be to the entire narrative. and then realizing how amazingly it could mesh with botw zelda's story specifically into a queer retelling.

THANKS ANON THIS ALONE MADE ME ACTUALLY LIKE BOTW ZELINK WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME

zelda's role is to take up the powers of hylia. zelda has always been a girl, a woman. of course all of them would be. hylia is a goddess. the first zelda was hylia's personal vessel.

botw zelda [ going to call him zel here on out in this post for clarity lol ] would have to come to terms with how his feelings don't align with his self-perceived role. at first, he thinks his yearning to be a boy is more to do with hating his responsibilities. i think his relationship with both his gender and his role in destiny is an incredible complicated one because of all of this.

meeting link, the other destined one, probably really fucks him up more. link being a trans boy himself, on a surface level, one might think would bring zel relief; someone like him, so close to him. but it does the opposite. link has always been a boy. this link, being assigned female at birth, is a boy as well. to zel, this reaffirms his thoughts that destiny has locked their genders into place.

in general, i don't think transphobia is a huge thing in the loz universe. it's like, a very niche kind of bigotry thankfully. it's MY childhood fantasy games and i get to mostly poof it out. i think the big exception to this would be those associated with destiny, prophecies, and of course, the reincarnation cycle.

zel is pressured to not only be a good daughter and princess, but to take on the powers that should be blessed to him by the goddess herself. everything just drives him further into hating everything, including link early on.

a big part of zel being able to actually unlock his powers would be both what i think happens in game [ desperation to protect ] as well as acceptance of himself. zel's inner turmoil over his own identity, where his duty as holder of the triforce of wisdom starts and right to be himself ends.

of course, there's no actual reason for the holder of wisdom to be a woman; as there is none for the holder of courage or power to be a man. it just so happens that it tends to be like that.

i think a retelling like this could add such a strong layer onto zel's character arc. it's so good. augh. thank yuo i hope any of this is somewhat coherent. they kiss in the end

btw i think generally trans masc zeldas go for the name sheik [ thank you OOT sheik you walked so the other tran masc zeldas could run ] but botw zelda specifically would take the scientific name of like, a small critter or plant, and alter it so it sounds kind of like a hylian name. OR just go by 'zel'. or both ! idk.

[aretheyqueer]

Is he genderfluid?

disclaimer: this is a hc, not speculating on what the writers intentions were.

reason under the cut!

Zelda’s transmasc alter ego. Nintendo claims that they’re just Zelda in a different outfit, but he’s not that his original intention and incarnation. In the only mainline game he’s in, his body shape is entirely different from Zelda’s, he needs to use magic to transform back into Zelda, and he’s just outright referred to as a man in the game.

Plus, there’s a seven year time skip to when you last see Zelda and when you first meet Sheik- hes had plenty of time to experiment with gender while waiting for Link. Eventually when they’re brought over as a fighter for smash bros Nintendo chickened out and started using she/her for them and their pronouns haven’t been changed since.

Also notably, he’s never been in a mainline game since, which I think is definitely connected to his trans-coding. My personal headcanon is that OoT Zelda is genderfluid and goes by Sheik on masc days! (which is why when submitting I only put he/they in the pronoun section bc she/they is for Zelda :D)

tag: @determinedowl23

[plagueybirb]

I love Sheik as a character. You can just do so many things and it'll all seem completely normal

Is Sheik just Zelda's disguise and/or alter ego? Yes!

Sheik is their own character? Yes!

Genderfluid? Man? Woman? Nonbinary? Trans? Yeses all around!

Is Sheik part of the Yiga Clan? Is Sheik from the Twilight Realm? Are Sheik and Zelda siblings in some way? They could be!

Running a fishing pond alllll the way in Termina? Why not!

Is Sheik in love with this completely random character of the writer's choosing and it somehow makes sense in a weird way? Who knows!

Is Sheik's very existence inexplicably tied to a prophecy surrounding the princess and the hero and the very embodiment of evil where they are also forced to reincarnate time and time again to ensure there is always at least ONE Sheikah left to protect the Goddess Hylia's bloodline to the point where when someone outside the prophecy considers them their own person they have an entire existential crisis over it? Also yes!