#and give him a chance at beating ganon

[soul-of-the-hero]

When you realize that now both Zelda and Link have functionally died, lost themselves, and remained in a magical stasis for many years for each other

[wayfayrr]

Hey I saw your post, that the requests are open so I want to give you one.

I don't know if your tears got ripped out of his adventure and joined the Chain or after his journey where he got arm back. So what about. Reader replaces Zelda as the Light Drago , completely or basically pushed her away from that is your decision. But I kinda want fluff where Reader helps Tears beat that overgrown lizard named Ganondorf and catch them, where he finally can say how he feels as they helped him through his first journey with Wolfie.

What I'm leaning towards with him is post journey but he has a prosthetic rather than getting his own arm back, it's something he built himself and still has the abilities from the game, another thing I'm trying to incorporate is a few things that make him different from wild, they'll show themselves in time but the one that's most important for this is how he didn't have wolfie :3c

these little reqs are gonna just be tiny drabbles to flesh him out a little more, and like you asked it's just a bit of fluff post ganon with him and reader - it doesn't really go into depth about the how but it's post reader being turned back. I hope you'll like it!! <3

“You’re scratching again, do you want some more salve?”

“Only if it isn't a bother.”

“It's never a bother - nothing is if it's for you. You don’t need to wait for the itching to get bad, or for me to notice for you to ask. I’ll do anything to help you, you know that.”

“I do.”

He knows the reason I don’t ask just as well as I do, it’s an unspoken acknowledgement that he keeps trying to get me to change my mind; he just doesn’t know how close he gets to changing it. He knows it wasn’t his fault that I was dragged into this mess, that it’s not his fault and that I hate how he blames himself for every accident that led to it. 

“Then stop dragging out whenever you’re in pain.”

“I don’t want to be a bother though, I can deal with this. It’s nothing compared to what you went through, you’re already doing enough helping me get home.”

“It doesn’t feel like enough, you spent millennia as a dragon, you fixed the master sword, you were the reason I could kill ganon. I can never repay that.”

Seems like that was enough to push him to the edge, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes and threatening to overflow as he applied a cool salve to the patches of scales still dotted upon my skin. He’ll never stop feeling guilt for me having ended up helping him throughout both of his quests not as long as we have to keep doing this, the best I can do now is try to minimise it. Pressing a couple of kisses to his face feels like the best place to start. 

“And you don’t need to, if I had the chance to go back to the start and do this all over I would.”

“Wh- but why? All of those wasted years, all that time away from your home… why would you do it all again?”

“Because it means I get to be with you. I wouldn’t trade that for anything lilac.”

I’ll never get over how red he gets whenever I call him that, the reaction alone is priceless.

[shadedheart138]

I Left My Body Lying Somewhere In The Sands Of Time

This piece of writing focuses on a certain coping mechanism that I don't know if everyone is comfortable with, so I'm putting a border up. And here, I will put a definition! "Age regression is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when someone's thoughts, emotions, or behaviors revert to a younger developmental stage. It can be a temporary or long-term response to stress, trauma, or other factors, and it can happen at any age."

So this is NOT A KINK, and I only say this due to the people I know are out there who perceive it as such. People have this in real life. People cope with this in real life. This is just a personal headcanon that I was learning how to write with, and I'm doing my best to know all the research. Please let me know if anything doesn't fit or doesn't seem right or anything that I've gotten wrong, I'm trying to learn.

If you don't want to read it, no one is forcing you to. Be safe, readers!

Time was supposed to be unshakable, wasn't he? Their leader, the man everyone turned to for answers? When something goes wrong, who's the first person everyone knew had the answer to the given problem? Always ready to give advice. Ready to comfort. Old and wise.

So why was he curled in the trunk of an old tree, not feeling old at all?

His adventures had been hell, with time travel. More than double of his lifespan had been spent as a child. But he was in his late thirties now, he was sure, so why did he suddenly feel so small like the world was too big and he wanted to hide? Where was the strong leader people looked for?

He was gone, and a child was left in his place.

Link sniffled and cried, hugging himself. Thankfully they'd been at his and Malon's ranch, so whatever this... this was, was at least occurring in woods he knew were safe. But to someone who felt so small, feeling like the treetops hit the sky, like his memory wasn't quite there or complete, the forest was a maze. Almost like he was nine again. If Time was Time, he'd walk home in five minutes, no problem. But he... Was he Link out of Termina? Link after beating Ganon? Where was the math, what was his age? Would the Mask of Truth show him how old he really was, deep inside?

Was he nine, seventeen, sixteen, eight, five, thirteen, eighteen, or thirty six? That was too many numbers to think of. Masks he could do. He knew them, he wore them, he was the person inside for a bit. Somebody different. Certainly not the mess he was now.

He couldn't walk out, no problem, this time.

Link's hands- at least he knew he was Link, if not anything else. Was that a comfort or a curse? - fumbled at his belt. So many masks usually lined his belt. Where did they all go? The details were fuzzy. Only three of them were still there. At least there were three and they weren't all gone.

He hit his elbow on the tree and instead of flinching, his cries renewed, quiet and confused. Ow, why were even the trees being mean to him today??? It wasn't fair! It wasn't his fault that his limbs were too long and he was too tall and he felt too old to sit here and cry. Brain and body were not the same. Both complex in different ways. All mixed and matched and jumbled. He couldn't quite get a proper grasp on that feeling in the back of his brain, starting to spread and bleed fuzzily into the rest of his consciousness.

Link sniffled and rubbed his eyes. Right, what was he trying to do again? Masks? Ah. The first one he'd ever held.

He unclipped the Deku Mask with shaking, too-big fingers and cradled it gently. Perfect. He sniffled again. " 'M sorry." His voice was thick and small. He then slipped the mask over his face.

XXX

Why did transformations hurt so much? He'd forgotten how much they hurt. He didn't want to hurt. Had he, at some point, gotten used to it? But when had he had the chance to forget, it couldn't have been that long ago?

No matter. Link was maybe a little shorter than he was at nine, with the mask, and that almost cured his sniffles completely. Small in both body and mind, perfect! Matched like Malon's favorite cucco socks! But now what was he going to do, in these woods, in the late hours of the day? It was rapidly getting dark.

Being small wasn't useful in the dark.

And oh, Link didn't like the dark. Things that screamed and cried and took your life lived in the dark. The moon lived in the dark. Majora. Ganon. They all lived in the dark and he was surrounded by it, barely able to see the trees. No fairy to light his way. No song of home faintly heard through the trees to be his guide. Not even a night light.

He burst into tears again.

Link's tears weren't really there, seeing as he was effectively a Deku Scrub. There were no tears to cry. But the frantic breathing was there, the choked sounds in the back of his throat where vocal chords used to be. His hands were clumsy, made of wood, but they were small, how he wanted, needed, felt. How would he get home?

Oh, no no no, Link couldn't go home. They would think he was so silly, Mido would laugh. But was he going home to the Kokiri, or home to Malon? Would Malon think he was silly? His boys?

He didn't want to think of his boys. Link wasn't someone's dad. Being a parent was an adult job. And Link had just made the rule that he wasn't allowed to think of adults, effective immediately. Perfect rule, and rules were to be followed. Rules kept you safe.

So, instead of trying to go home, he scampered off deeper into the woods. He could find fairies, some light. And maybe when he felt better, they could guide him home. Navi always seemed so good at that.

XXX

"Where the fuck is he??" Warriors hissed, looking at the darkness outside. Time had gone out hours ago, claiming he needed firewood. It didn't take hours to gather wood from a stack of wood that was already chopped. He'd seemed a little detached as he told Warriors where he was going, but Warriors had chalked it up to needing some alone time from everything around.

"He jus' fuckin' up an' vanished." Twilight was pacing again. Time wasn't known for just disappearing. Or for saying he was going one place and turning up in another. That was Wild and Hyrule's job. Sometimes Legend's, if he was pissed off enough.

"It's nearly night, don't you think-" Four was cut off by Warriors grabbing his sword.

"I'll go get him. He's somewhere out here. I'll find him. He can't be far."

XXX

Oh, Link was so far away from home, and he wanted to go home NOW. Forget looking silly, the trees were all looking at him and they were mad and there was no moon and he could hear all the noises the forest made. He wanted to go home.

Link made soft, wounded noises, heading this way and that. No fairy bushes, no mushroom lights. No Navi. No Tatl. Just the dark and ohhelpno-

A very small hole he'd wedged a foot into. Had something grabbed him? Link pulled and pulled, but his foot was stuck and tight. Maybe some sort of burrow? He'd know if he was bigger. For sure. Link whined softly. He could hear the forest moving, which meant he had to GO GO GO or else something would find him and snatch him and he'd be gone forever-

Footsteps, quietly crunching, soft to try and not be heard. Link held his breath.

And immediately lost it in a grating sob, unnatural in the transformed body. Link's hands were too clumsy, no matter if they felt the right size. He couldn't magically dig himself out of the burrow-hole. The footsteps were getting faster, more urgent. Link couldn't get up, couldn't get free, one more footstep, Link curled up over himself, two more, hands on his face, covered in dirt one more two more three and four- "Heyyyy, shh. Are you okay?" The voice was warm, calming. As if talking to a frightened, wild animal. "I'm not here to hurt you, just looking for a- Time?" A time? What a funny thing to be looking for. Vaguely, Link recalled that he responded to that name. He paid it no mind, instead continuing to try and wiggle free.

XXX

Warriors looked down at this... Deku Scrub? That clearly seemed to be Time. The scar, the eyes, even the markings had transferred. Time was making an odd rattling noise, sort of like shaking deku nuts in a bottle. Trying to talk? Trying to explain? No. Warriors noted that it was some attempt at Hylian crying, though the body wasn't built for the sound.

Oh, dear.

"Okay, okay, I'll just- I'll try to figure out what's going on, okay? Is- is it some sort of curse? Can I break it? Here let me-" Warriors reached under Time's arms to lift him free, and Time was immediately clinging to him.

XXX

A curse? Was he cursed? Link cried into Warriors' neck. He knew Warriors, knew him from stern talks and warm mugs and being carried when he was too sleepy to walk. Warriors was safe. And he'd brought light with him! Link sniffled again, hands fisted in Warriors' scarf.

Warriors started to pat him down and check him over.

"Are you hurt? Are you okay? You've been gone hours, Time."

Link shook his head. But he didn't answer the second question, nor did he respond much to his name. Warriors found the small dip under Link's chin that meant that he was wearing a mask. Warriors frowned.

"Hey, can you look at me?"

Link looked up at him.

"Are you wearing a mask?" Link nodded slowly.

"Sprite, why? You've told me you don't like using those." Link jolted at the nickname and watched Warriors with wide eyes. 'Helps', Link signed, struggling to properly move his hands the way they should for the sign.

"Helps? With what?" Warriors only got a shrug as an answer.

XXX

Time shuffled to try and lay his head down on Warriors' shoulder, but Warriors gently held his head back up. Time was being so vague. He didn't seem to be fully there, his eyes distant. What could the Deku Mask help that Time couldn't do himself? Time didn't like using masks anymore, he'd said on multiple occasions.

"Can we take the mask off?" Warriors asked, moving his hand to try and get his fingers under it-

Time startled and pushed at his hand, making that same rattling noise he'd made earlier. 'Need it!' Time signed with emphasis, shaking his head.

"Time, c'mon. We've gotta get it off, so you can tell me what's going on."

Time made what was clearly some sort of whine and tried to hide his face in Warriors' neck. Warriors made a startled noise and tilted his head a little to make more space. "Is- is there a reason you can't take it off?" Time didn't answer that one, too busy clinging.

He was acting like a child, frightened and desperate. Warriors put a hand against Time's head, holding him close. "What's going on, Time? I'm just worried." Time made an unhappy noise at the name, and Warriors was sort of freaking out inside. He hadn't seen anything like this, where someone who was normally a functioning adult acted and sounded like a child-

Oh, wait. He had.

Back in the war, once things were starting to simmer down. The nightmares and flashbacks were terrible for many people. And Warriors had seen many a person cry and wail and ask for a parent. He had seen them draw and play in a safe tent. He had watched them seem at ease for the first time in a long time. He couldn't recall what Proxi had called it, but he knew it was some form of coping. Something to make them feel safe.

Time... maybe that's what Time was facing, now. The overwhelming feeling of being small and vulnerable again. These dark woods were no place for a child, whether only in mind or not.

"Alright, Link. I'm gonna need you to take off the mask for just a little while, okay? I've gotta talk to you and need to make sure you can talk back. It might hurt, and it might not make you feel great, but I've gotta check you over. Then, if you want, you can put it right back on."

Warriors softened his voice, hoping that he'd listen.

Time- Link. He could call him Link for now. Just in case.

Link sniffled and cried... and put his hands up to take off the mask. It came off quick, and as soon as it unlatched from Link's face it fell to the ground, and Warriors was met with wailing. He'd been right, the rattling sound had been an attempt at crying.

Now with an armful of a very heavy man, Warriors grunted a little and made to sit down. Link wound up in his lap, shaking and visibly trying to make himself small as he fisted a handful of Warriors' scarf.

"Hey, hey. Okay, see, wasn't so bad. I'm gonna check you over now, okay?" Warriors started gently moving Link's body to make sure that all the nicks that'd been in the Deku Scrub body had been scars and not cuts. Finding that that was the case, Warriors then gave him a hug.

"Alright, good. You're not hurt. Can you..."

Should he really ask this question, was this an invasive ask, would he be mad-

"Can you tell me how old you are? Or how old you feel?"

Warriors bit his lip, rocking Link gently back and forth, waiting for an answer. Link gave a wounded noise and shook his head, closing his eyes and pressing at them. Worth a shot.

"Okay, can you talk to me at all? Tell me why you were so far out here all alone?"

Link visibly tried to gather himself.

" 'S hard." He whispered, voice thick and upset. Link started crying a little harder, and Warriors was quick to console him.

"No, no, no, Sprite, it's okay. You don't have to talk if you can't. I can do without. Can you sign okay? Just give me a simple yes with your hands, if so." Link signed a shaky 'yes' and then moved to hide his face again.

"Okay, buddy. Do you think we can go home now?" Link shook his head, his tears soaking Wars' shoulder. "Why not?"

Link's hands were hard to read, as he shook and clung to Warriors. Warriors caught half-made signs of 'sleepy', 'scared', and 'can't'. He sighed and moved to rest his back against a tree.

"Alright, Link. We'll just sit here until you feel better, okay?"

[hurricane105]

🎃 trick or treat! 🎃 😁

A treat for you! Y'all are going to drain my wip pile lol.

This is a character study of Cefie, Link's mom in my BOTW longfic (that still needs a ton of work). Andran is Link's father/her husband.

"Maybe he just needs more activity," Andran suggested. He wasn't on leave nearly as much as Cefie wished. "A chance to run around with other kids. I'm doing a week-long training detail to Zora's Domain - he could come with me, see the sights."

Her first impulse was to say no. Link was only six, and still woke up sometimes with nightmares, crawling into bed with her until morning. And if he wasn't with her, she couldn't protect him.

Andran read the hesitation on her face. "I was his age when I became a page. Lots of military kids do mini tours like this one."

Worry curdled in her stomach. She trusted Andran to keep Link safe, but the visceral need to keep him close was instinctive, as strong as a rubber band. But on the other hand, she couldn't keep him next to her forever. And maybe it would be good for him, being around adults who weren't his parents. She took a deep breath. "All right."

**

"We're home!"

Relief washed over her. Cefie turned from her easel, as though she hadn't been checking out the window every few seconds. "Welcome back!" Link walked in, sunburn on his nose, Andran behind him. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah! I got to play with a real sword, and eat sushi, and sleep on a cot in a tent! I wanna be a knight when I grow up!"

"I'm glad you had a good time."

"And I joined the Big Bad Bazz Brigade! I'm second in command. Bazz is the captain, but he only ever gives fun assignments like "dive into the lake," and "race to the top of that mountain."

"Is Bazz an adult?"

"No, he's a kid like me. Well, he's a Zora though. Did you know they live for a really long time? Bazz said he's thirty-five! But he won't be an adult until he's fifty. We had a duel with swords, and I beat Bazz and Rivan and Gaddison. Rivan got a scrape and Princess Mipha healed it for him."

"Princess Mipha sounds very nice."

"She is. She's got a new baby brother Sidon. He's only this big! He can't swim yet, but Princess Mipha said he'll probably start learning next year. Why don't I have a baby brother?"

Andran set down their packs with a grimace. "Because you don't. Do you want to tell your Hateno friends about Zora's Domain?"

"Oh yeah!" Link ran out the door, still talking a mile a minute.

Andran sank into a chair, suddenly looking old and gray. Cefie studied him worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"A lot of things happened." Andran ran a hand over his face. "News arrived from the castle. The queen prophesied the return of Calamity Ganon."

"The myth?"

"Apparently it's real."

"Will you have to fight it?"

"Probably. But we don't know when it will arrive - just sometime in the next few decades, probably." His gaze rose to look at her. "It gets worse."

She wondered how it could possibly get worse.

"Every time Calamity Ganon rises, there's always a princess with the sealing power and a hero with a sword."

Cefie nodded. She knew the stories. She had even sketched out her artistic representations of fights from eons past, although she hadn't finished painting them.

Andran's gaze was as serious as she had ever seen it. He looked very tired. "I think Link is the hero."

"Our Link?"

He nodded silently.

"But he's just a child!" He was still so young!

"All the heroes were children once."

Cefie took a deep breath. "What makes you think he's the hero of this age?"

"I went up to collect the kids from where they were playing. When I got there, they were all standing around a pile of hinox guts. Turns out a hinox had wandered into the clearing. Link took a sword and fought it. And won."

She could feel the blood drain from her face. She should never have let him go somewhere he might be hurt. "But he's never used a sword before!"

"Exactly."

"Why didn't they run away?"

"It didn't occur to Link. He saw a danger and decided to take care of it."

"How on earth did he defeat a hinox?"

"The kids all said the same thing - he just moved really fast, and when he stopped, the hinox was dead."

"Did he know what he did? Does he now?"

"He knows he fought a hinox, and that it's a little unusual for one person to defeat it. I don't think he realizes how strange it is that a kid could do what he did. I don't know of any knight who could take one down solo."

"Is there any way to confirm that he is the hero?"

"That's another thing. Since the queen prophesied the return of the Calamity, they're requiring all current military and all new recruits go to the forest to try pulling the sword."

[oneweirdbookaddict]

Whumptober day 6, also a continuation of yesterday's fic! Don't necessarily have to read it for this one, but it'd make more sense.

Wind feels bad. The others help him with his guilt.

732 words

No warnings, let me know if anyone things there should be anything!

~~~~

Wind sits in silence, staring at the fire numbly. 

“Sailor?” Twi says quietly. “You doing ok? Want another potion?” 

The teenager shakes his head silently. 

“Can you… eat something for me?” 

“Not hungry.” 

“Will you try anyway?” Twi asks gently, but Wind shakes his head.

“It wasn’t your fault, Wind.” Sky says softly, slowly sitting next to Wind. 

Wind’s eyes well up. 

Then the kid is sinking into Sky, shoulders shaking. 

“I couldn’t even move.” Wind chokes. 

“You couldn’t have done anything.” Sky says gently, rubbing the sailor’s back. 

“I just had to watch. I couldn’t even do anything. I couldn’t even move. He went with her because of me. I wasn’t strong enough.” Wind cries. 

“No, Sailor, it’s not that, he went with her because he didn’t want you to get hurt.” 

“I wasn’t strong enough to beat her.” Wind sobs. 

“Shh… shh… it’s not your fault. It wasn’t your fault. Wars chose to do what he did for you, Sailor. Not because you’re weak, but because he cares about you.” 

Sky’s hand brushes through Wind’s hair, rubbing his back, talking softly as Wind cries. 

“She has this magic- and we were taken by surprise- and- and- it should’ve been me- it should’ve been me, not him, I should’ve-”

“Shh…” Sky whispers, wrapping his sailcloth around the teenager. 

He joins the two by the fire, putting a hand on Wind’s shoulder and brushing his pink hair out of his face.  

The sailor looks up at him, sniffling weakly. 

“Has Wars ever told you about Cia?” He asks quietly. Gets a shake of the head. 

He wasn’t supposed to know, but he was on watch one night when Wars had snapped awake and slipped right into a panic attack. 

And his friend has just broken down afterwards and told him everything. 

“She’s powerful. Very powerful. He almost died fighting her- a few times, not even just once. She’s a crazy powerful sorcerer- so powerful that Ganon corrupted her and brought her to his side. Ganon himself wanted her on his side, Wind. Wars is scared shitless by her- he just wanted to protect you. Make sure you didn’t get hurt any more. That’s why he went with her. Not because you aren’t strong, but because she is. Wars knows this. And Wars wanted to give you the best chance you had of defeating her. You understand me?” 

Wind nods slowly. 

Sniffles again. 

“And you’re helping him the best you can like this. Finding us, healing up, and so we can all go find him together and bust him out. Because if you’d gone after them like that, with a concussion and broken arm, you’d have less chance of defeating her, right? But with eight of us, we have a much better chance. You did the right thing. I know it was hard, but the easy thing isn’t always the right thing. In fact, it rarely is.” 

Wind nods again, slowly wiping his eyes. “Thanks, Legend.” The teenager sniffles. 

“Anytime, kid. Now eat something- goddess knows you could stand to grow a little more.” He can’t help but to snark a little bit after the display of care he’d shown.

Wind only gives a weak laugh. “I’m almost taller than you.” 

“Almost doesn’t mean you are.” He taunts, happy to see the kid smile.

“I’m taller than Four!” 

“Saying you’re taller than Four is like saying you’re taller than a block of cheese- it’s not impressive. Everyone should be.” 

“Hey.” Four mutters, glancing over at them. But he’s smiling. 

And so is Wind. 

The sailor takes a deep breath, wiping his eyes again and nodding. “We’re gonna get him back.” He smiles. “You know it.” “I have dibs on kicking her ass, though.” 

Twi laughs from beside them, shaking his head. “You’ll have to get in line for that one, sailor. I’ll bet Wars wants the first kick.” 

Wind takes another deep breath, smiling. “But I want the second.” Laughter fills the quiet night, and Wind stands and slowly gets ready to turn in for the night. 

Gives them each a hug around the cast on his arm, even letting Twi ruffle his hair. 

“Sleep well, Sailor.” He says quietly when Wind’s arms wrap around him, and he gets a nod into his shoulder. 

“G’night, Legend.” Wind says softly. 

A few minutes later, when he back at the sailor, he’s already fast asleep. 

~~~~

[ihavedonenothingright]

So thus far into TOTK (I haven't finished the game, but I got the instruction to go beat the final boss), it really does seem like TOTK and BOTW are completely separate lore-wise from most every other game in the series except for maybe Skyward Sword. Zelda travels all the way back to Hyrule's "founding," which she is fairly familiar with, and there's a comment one of the researchers makes about mentions of a "Zelda" in the ancient past confirming that perhaps the name doesn't originate from their princess. He's unaware it's the same Zelda, which means naming every princess of Hyrule "Zelda" is not a thing. This Zelda is, as far as she knows, the first (though that doesn't eliminate the chance others existed).

This (and some other stuff) leads me to believe that the founding of Hyrule in TOTK takes place after all the old games. I highly doubt that all historical records of the name Zelda would have completely disappeared between the ancient past of TOTK and TOTK's present if that space was occupied by all the other games. And that is ignoring the weird time stuff and the required presence of two Ganondorfs simultaneously. On top of that, Sonia, the only Hylian we see much of in the past, resembles Skyward Sword's Impa more than Zelda and Gaepora. We don't know for sure that that Zelda founded Hyrule, but the reincarnated spirit of Hylia is blood-related. So I'm solidly shunting aside the idea that this is the first founding of Hyrule.

Now because the name Zelda has apparently been forgotten, even by TOTK's ancient past (Rauru and Sonia don't exactly go "Oh! Zelda! That's a famous name"), and no one seems aware that Hyrule existed before, I'm going to say that pre (or post...) the arrival of the Zonai, Hyrule goes through something like a Dark Age. Their history is no longer preserved and retold like in older games, and so eventually, you end up in a place where there is no Hyrule, and no one knows about the Triforce and the cycle. But that's really odd, right? Like, scarily odd. How do you forget the Triforce exists? It's the big war-causer in Hyrule's history, this thing that grants you the power to completely remake the world. And no knowledge of Zelda or Link or Ganon? No knowledge of the epic cycle? Clearly Zelda is still inheriting the memories of her prior reincarnations since she recognizes the name "Ganondorf" in a flashback, so what gives?

It seems awfully convenient that no one knows about the Triforce, especially since there's evidence Zelda carries it. The symbol shows up when she uses her sealing powers, and it's definitely still associated with the royal family's crest. Now the second part is really weird since we're at a second founding of Hyrule and no one seems to know what it is. But just focusing on Zelda's powers: for the Triforce to be the source of them, that would have to mean it somehow ended up in Zelda's bloodline. How would it do that?

They mention that she seems to have inherited Rauru's light power and Sonia's time power (which implies they had kids, I know people are skeptical and I am too, but it seems like they did). So, does Rauru's power also derive from the Triforce? Did she get it from him?

Well if he did have it, founding a Hyrule where no one remembers the Triforce, the cycle, or old Hyrule would be much easier.

There's a lot of problems with this theory: namely, Rauru isn't technically dead (I think) until the beginning of TOTK, so wouldn't the Triforce have stayed with him that entire time if he had it? But there's also evidence in the games that the Triforce is a one-use kind of thing, so I can see him getting one shot with it and then passing it along via bloodline like a lot of Zeldas have done with the Triforce of Wisdom. Something about Rauru strikes me as very sinister, and some other people have done a really good job looking at that in more detail (check out @golvio and @betterbemeta's posts), but yeah the vibe of Rauru's inner circle and his Hyrule overall is strange. The representatives of all four races (though we never see the Sheikah in the past, so we can't verify what's going on with them at this point; they might not be Hylians yet) cover their faces with these large, clearly Zonai masks to signal their fealty to Rauru. Practically, they serve the same purpose as the champions' blue clothes, but it's so much more uncomfortable. They don't have faces! They aren't individuals! The only people in the past whose faces we see (who aren't Sonia, Rauru, Zelda, or Mineru because even the ancient Hylians in Rauru's employ wear masks) is Ganondorf and some of his Gerudo. Rauru, Sonia, and the royal line get to walk uncovered, but everyone else depicted as loyal and righteous is faceless.

So I would hazard that the reason BOTW and TOTK are so cut off from the other games lore-wise is not just distance, but because Rauru, when he came down to become king, used the Triforce to completely reforge Hyrule in his own image. It's possible he was told to do this by Hylia, and sent down by the gods as a representative of theirs, but I think it's also possible he was sent for another job (fixing the chaos that is the three way timeline split) and chose to stay and set himself up as a king. He doesn't seem to have been a particularly notable figure among the Zonai; Mineru notes how well he's done for himself on the surface which leads me to believe he had far less power where he came from. Whether or not his intentions were benevolent is a "who knows?" sort of question. Maybe they were! But I think Rauru is a good case for the idea that Ganondorf's reincarnation cycle isn't some cosmic punishment, but rather a natural reaction of balance. Rauru builds all his shrines of light, doesn't appoint a Sage of Shadow (no Sage of Shadow is weird, right? I'm not the only one), forces hegemony on Hyrule, and in the process of trying to make a completely clean society, births an opposite of chaos to his order. TOTK Ganondorf is a little obscure in terms of motive, but in his first few cutscenes in the past, he's fairly composed. He wants Hyrule to bow at his feet; he wants to humiliate Rauru. All the comments he makes towards him are pointed. This is a Ganondorf who resents the idea of becoming another faceless mask. Eventually he morphs into a being of pure chaos, perhaps in response to Rauru's more frantic attempts at control. But if the objective was balance, Hyrule does end up there: by the time of BOTW, the races that were faceless under Rauru seem to be mostly independent. Zelda doesn't exactly force the champions into their divine beasts, and their positions aren't predestined or divine in nature like the sages.

And this isn't even touching on the Sheikah (though their forced assimilation into Hylians might be completely separate from Rauru) and the idea that the Rito, Gorons, Zora, and Gerudo exist solely to aide Link and Zelda. There is a lot of stuff in this game that is absolutely fascinating (and a little frightening) from a world perspective. Most of it isn't new to Zelda either, just more explicit.

(Also I've seen some people say that the masks might've been because Nintendo was lazy with the modeling, but regardless, it's fair to analyze a work as it exists and leave the creators' intents out of the picture.)

[violet27writes]

Hyrule vs Wild

Strength - Wild: He’s a little older, and if Hyrule’s time is so barren, then he’s probably somewhat underweight. Wild can also push around large rocks and climbs mountains on a weekly basis.

Durability - Wild: My dude fights guardians, falls off things, and literally died and got back up (eventually).

Speed - Wild: While both are used to long journeys and running around Hyrule, Wild’s is a lot bigger, and with his enemies, he’d have to be quicker.

IQ - Wild: Alright, hear me out, I know both are probably missing some forms of common sense, but Hyrule never got any formal education. Wild did, and although he has amnesia, I’m sure there’s still some things and reasoning that his mind subconsciously remembers.

Agility - Wild: For similar reasons as his speed, he has to be very agile, dealing with Guardians, gloom hands, etc.

Stamina - Hyrule: While Wild is faster, Hyrule has more stamina, both from his never-ending traveling, and from his magic reserves.

Experience - Hyrule: Basically loved his entire life fighting and on the run, while I’d only count Wild’s experience from the shrine of resurrection.

Tools - Wild: While Hyrule has quite the collection of tools, Wild also has the Sheikah Slate, which in and of itself, is a very useful item. Not to mention all his armor sets and ingredients for effects. (And maybe if the secret stones count)

Feats - Hyrule: Yes, they both beat Ganon, but Hyrule did it successfully the first time, and saved not one, but two Zeldas.

Abilities - Hyrule: For natural abilities that are his own, not lent or given, Hyrule takes this one, mostly because of his magic prowess.

Offense - Wild: He’s got a big arsenal, close-range, long-range, bombs, stasis, elemental weapons, three arrows in one shot, plus bullet-time? Wild takes this one.

Defense - Hyrule: I’m gonna give this one to Hyrule, since, not only does he have magic rings and stuff, in the comics, he generally just uses a shield in battle while Wild does not.

Hax - Wild: If he can use all the Champion’s abilities, all the secret stones, the power-ups from his slate, bullet-time, his armor and elixirs, I don’t think Hyrule would stand much of a chance.

Winner? Hyrule might put up a good fight, but in the end, Wild would overpower him.

[funnihuh]

Link: Gee, it sure is boring around here.

King Harkinian: My boy, this peace is what all true warriors strive for.

Link: I just wonder what Ganon is up to.

Gwonam: Your Majesty, Ganon and his minions have seized the island of Koridai.

King Harkinian: Hmm... How can we help?

Gwonam: It is written: "Only Link can defeat Ganon."

Link: Great! I'll grab my stuff!

Gwonam: There is no time. Your sword is enough.

Link: How about a kiss? For luck.

Zelda: You've got to be kidding.

Gwonam: Squadala! We're off!

Link: Wow, what are all those heads?

Gwonam: These are the Faces of Evil. You must conquer each.

Link: I guess I'd better get going.

Gwonam: Here is the map. Where do you wish to go?

Morshu: Lamp oil, rope, bombs - you want it, it's yours, my friend, as long as you have enough Rubies. Sorry, Link. I can't give credit. Come back when you're a little- mmmm... - richer.

Hamsha: Help! Ganon froze the fountain! I'm stuck!

Anutu: Biggest crab I ever caught. Heh heh!

Link: It's a Gohma!

Anutu: You're pretty good. Here!

Link: Thanks!

Anutu: Keep going, boy; you're doing real well! Once you get rid of Ganon, we can get back to fishing!

Fish Lady: Dairas came straight from the crater 'til I boarded the vent. Used a skull for a latch and not one Daira's figured it out!

Aypo: I am the reader, Aypo. If you bring me the Book of Koridai, I will gladly read the secret verse.

Alora: You're not afraid of dragons, are you?

Link: Of course not!

Alora: Then get my necklace back from Gleeok, okay? Pretty please?

Horgum: Gets mighty dark with all the evil about. Keep this lantern full; it will light your way.

Link: Thanks!

Horgum: Not many left, Link. There's Droolik, 'round the side of Glutko.

Gwonam: Look what has happened!

Ganon: In the darkest nightmare hour, when not moon nor sun has risen, I take Zelda in my power, I shall keep her in my prison.

Fairy 1: You're doing great, Link.

Fairy 2: You're our hero. Here's a Life Heart. We know you can beat Ganon.

Fairy 1: You're doing great, Link.

Fairy 2: You're our hero. Here's some Water of Life. Drink, Link.

Crone: I may be old and ugly, but I still know a few tricks. Bring some Grapple Berries. I'll show you a good one. Stir the berries in the tub, let the juices soak the glove, let Link fight and never cower, for his glove's a glove of power.

Link: Wow, thanks!

Alora: How sweet! My husband gave me this. He's an Abominom now. Here. It's not much, but it will still carry water.

Hamsha: Here, have some Water of Life. My, you're thirsty. Oh, my goodness!

Suprena: Before you face the foul fiend, Ganon, you must conquer Fortress Centrum, where the treasure of death is hidden. Bring it to me. Begone.

Link: Hey Zelda, wake up!

Goronu (disguised as Zelda): What? Link? You've saved me!

Goronu: You can't kill me! No! No! Nooooo!

Suprena: This shield both sword and spear deflects, but cannot stop the vilest curse. This crystal makes the shield reflect, cursing the curser with twice the curse.

Gwonam: Look and see Goronu.

Goronu: Wake up, sleepy-bones! Find the living and cut their vile throats. Huh huh huh huh! I may be hideous, but after a year of being frozen, you will beg to join me. Huh huh!

Goronu: You can't kill me! No! No! Nooooo!

Gwonam: See how Harlequin captures Koridians?

Voice: You lose.

Harlequin: *snort* Do you know what it means when you lose your last Ruby? *snort* Now you work for me! *snort* Take him away! *snort*

Harlequin: I'd say your chances are a million to none. But let's have fun, anyway!

Harlequin: Aaaaahhhhh! Ahhhh... Lucky shot.

Link: Golly!

Odranoel: The stars are made of ice. Thus the night is cold. Bring the crystal from Serigon, and I will prove the light of ice penetrates more than fire. Now if we make a simple vacuum and spin the ice just so... There!

Gwonam: Look how Militron makes his warriors!

Militron: Worthless Koridian! You must be hardened with fire! Go and kill!

Militron: Feel the fire of war!

Militron: Oh my goodness, this is awful!

Blacksmith's Daughter: My hero! Won't you please jump across that little ol' chasm and cut my daddy's chains? Pretty please? Have a heart.

Blacksmith: Please, Link. Jump and cut these chains. The Arpagos are driving me crazy. Thanks. Say, you have a Fire Diamond, don't you?

Link: Sure!

Blacksmith: Then let me fix your sword. Let's see how it works.

Link: Wow!

Droolik: Where are you heading, partner?

Link: I'm going to fight Glutko.

Droolik: Don't fight him, feed him! Something spicy - know what I mean?

Gwonam: Through the eye of Glutko lies the Shrine of Koridai.

Glutko: I'm simply famished!

Koridian: Nooo!

Glutko: Tastes like a Daira! Perhaps just one more?

Glutko: Oh, goodie! Mashed Link for the main course!

Glutko: Uh-oh!

Aypo: Listen: "Such is the power of the prince of darkness, that he can kill with a single look. Attacks against Ganon will prove fruitless, unless Link attacks with the secret book."

Gwonam: Consider Lupay, the most dangerous of Ganon's minions.

Lupay: With this Ruby, I replace your soul. You will obey!

Harlequin: Now you see me, now you don't!

Harlequin: Aaaaahhhhh! Ahhhh... Lucky shot.

Link: Golly!

Lupay: I spy with my eye someone who must die!

Lupay: I will not die!

Gwonam: At last, you have the vision to find my house! Now you will see the Sancromies that prevent your approach to Ganon. Go, with many blessings!

Militron: Now, you must die!

Militron: Oh my goodness, this is awful!

Ganon: Join me, Link, and I will make your face the greatest in Koridai. Or else you will die!

Ganon: No! Not into the pit! It burns!

Zelda: Ah... Why'd you do that?

Link: I just saved you from Ganon!

Zelda: You did not!

Gwonam: Well done, Link! Ganon is once again imprisoned. Come! Look! Already Koridai is returning to harmony. The birds are singing. Isn't it beautiful?

Link: Golly!

Gwonam: As it is written: You, Link, are the hero of Koridai!

Link: I guess that's worth a kiss, huh?

Zelda: Huh!

Link: I won!

[annoyingfurry]

Link: The Faces of Evil

Link: The Faces of Evil (Zelda) CD-I cut-scenes transcription

The names were taken from http://www.zeldawiki.org/Characters_in_Link:_The_Faces_of_Evil

= Begin =

Link (L): Gee, it sure is boring around here.

The King (K): My boy. This peace is what all warriors strive for.

L: I just wonder what Ganon is up to.

Gwonam: Your majesty. Ganon [gænʌn] and his minions have seized the islands of Koridai.

K: Hmm... How can we help?

G: It is written: only Link can defeat Ganon.

L: Great! I'll grab my stuff!

G: There is no time; your sword is enough.

L: How about a kiss... For luck?

Zelda (Z): You've got to be kidding.

G: Squadila! [squa.dɪ.la] We're off!

L: Wow! What are all those heads?

G: These are the faces of evil. You must conquer each.

L: I guess I better get going.

G: Here! ...Is the map. Where do you wish to go?

Morshu: Lamp oil, rope, bombs? You want it? It's yours, my friend, as long as you have enough rubies.

Morshu: Sorry, Link. I can't give credit. Come back when you a little... Mmm. Richer!

Frozen women: Help! Ganon froze the fountain; I'm stuck!

FW: Here, have some Water of Life.

L: (Gulp, gulp, gulp!)

FW: My, you're thirsty! Oh my goodness!

Fisherman: Biggest crab I ever caught. Heh-heh!

L: It's a Goma!

Fisherman: Yeah, pretty good. Here!

L: Thanks!

Fisherman: Keep going, boy. You're doing real well. Once you get rid of Ganon, we can get back to fishing.

Fish Lady: Dairas [daɪras] came straight from the crater 'ill I boarded the vent. Used a skull for a latch and not one Dairas figured it out.

Ipo: I am the reader Ipo [aɪ.poʊ]. If you bring me the book of Koridai, I will gladly read the secret verse.

Fat (seductive) woman: You're not afraid of dragons. Are you?

L: (Gulp.) Of course not.

Fat woman: Then get my necklace back from Gleeok [gli.ɑk]. Okay? Pretty please?

Old (yellow coat) man: It's [dɛθs] mighty dark with all the evil about. Keep this lantern full. It will light your way.

L: Thanks!

Old man: Not many left, Link. There's Druick [druɪk] 'round the side of Glutko [glʌt.goʊ]. Aye.

G: Look! What has happened!

Ganon: In the darkest nightmare hour, when the moon nor sun has risen, I take Zelda in my power. I shall keep her in my prison.

Ganon: Join me, Link! And I will make your face greatest in Koridai or else you will die!

Ganon: No! Not into the pit! It burns!

Fairy 1: You're doing great, Link!

Fairy 2: You're our hero.

F1: Here's a Life Heart.

F2: We know you can beat Ganon.

F1: You're doing great, Link!

F2: You're our hero.

F1: Here's some Water of Life.

F2: Drink, Link!

Old (ugly) witch: I may be old and ugly, but, I still know a few tricks! Bring some grapple-berries. I'll show you a good one.

Old witch: Stir the berries in the tub. Let the juices soak the glove. Let Link fight and gather cower. For his glove's a glove of power.

L: Wow! Thanks!

Fat woman: How sweet. (Kisses) Muah. My husband gave me this. He's an [abɒmɪnʌm][?] now. Here. It's not much, but, it will still carry water.

Ice queen: Before you face the foul fiend Ganon, you must conquer Fortress Centrum [sɛn.trʌm]. Treasure of death is hidden. Bring it to me. Be gone.

IQ: This shield, both sword and spear deflects, but, cannot stop the villainous curse. This crystal makes the shield reflect cursing the curser with twice the curse.

G: Look! And see Goronu.

Goronu: Wake up, sleepy bones. I'm the living anti cut ner vial throats. Bwuh-ha-ha...

Goronu: I may be hideous, but, after a year of being frozen, you will beg to join me.

L: Hey, Zelda. Wake up!

Goronu [goroʊnu]: What? Link? You saved me!

Goronu: You can't kill me! No, no, no...!

G: See how Harliquin [harlɪqwɪn] capture Koridians?

Computer: You lose.

Koridian: (Sniffles)

Harliquin: Do you know what it means when lose your last ruby?! (Snort.) Now you will work for me! (Snort.) Take him away! (Snort.)

Harliquin: I say your chances are a million to none, but, let's have fun! Anyway!

Harliquin: Now you see me. Now you don't!

Harliquin: Ah! Ah-ha... Lucky shot...

L: Golly!

Astronomer: The stars are made of ice. Thus, the night is cold. Bring the crystal from Sairagon [sɛrɑgɔn] and I will prove the light of ice penetrate more than fire.

Astronomer: Now, if we make a simple vacuum and spin the ice just so. There!

G: Look! ...How Militron [mɪlɪtrɒn] makes his warriors.

Militron: Worthless Koridian. You must be hardened with fire! Go and kill!

Militron: Feel the fire of war!

Militron: Now, you must die!

Militron: Oh my goodness! This is awful!

Fat Girl: My hero! (Kiss) Won't you

L: Oh, God...

FG: ---please jump across that lil' old chasm---

L: Yuck...

FG: ---and cut my daddy's chains? Pretty please? Have a heart.

Smith: Please, Link. Jump and cut these chains. The Arpagos [ɑrpagʌs] are driving me crazy.

Smith: Thanks. Say, you have a Fire Diamond, don't you?

L: Sure!

Smith: Then let me fix your sword. Let's see how it works.

L: Wow!

Beer guy: What are you're havin' partner? [pɑrtə]

L: I'm going to fight Glutko.

BG: Don't fight him; feed him! (Snort.) Feed him something spicy! Know what I mean?

G: Through the eye of Glutko lies the shrine of Koridai.

Glutko: Awm-yee. I'm simply famished.

Koridian: No!

Glutko: Mmm. Tastes like a Daira [daɪra]! Perhaps just one more?

Glutko: Good goodie! Mashed Link for the main course.

Glutko: Wuh-oh!

Ipo: Listen! Such is the power of the prince of darkness that he can kill with a single look. Attacks against Ganon will prove fruitless unless Link attacks with the sacred book.

G: Consider Lupay [lupeɪ], the most of Ganon's minions.

Lupay: With this ruby, I replace your soul. You will obey.

Koridan: Ah-woo-ooh... Aw-woo-ooh.

Lupay: I spy with my eye, someone who must die.

Lupay: I will not die! Ah-woo...

G: At last, you have the vision to find me house! Now, you will see the san kru mis that [?] prevent your approach to Ganon. Go, with many blessings!

Z: Uh. Why'd you do that?

L: I just saved you from Ganon!

Z: You did not!

G: Well done, Link! Ganon is once again imprisoned. Come, look! Already Koridai is returing to harmony. The birds are singing. Is it beatiful?

L: Golly!

G: As it written, you, Link, are the hero of Koridai!

L: I guess that's worth a kiss? Huh?

Z: Ha!

L: I won!

= End =

[bearpillowmonster]

I decided to do a writing exercise, a bit hypothetical. Smash gets brought up as a movie all the time but all in all, who do you cut? So I made a chart and that sort of informed my story ideas.

This doesn't represent my views on the characters, just who I view as essential from a storytelling pov, if it were actually me doing it, I'd want to cameo everyone but here we are. C is Cameo, M is Main, X is obvious. I thought up that we would have to limit it to Endgame numbers which ends up being around 27 who weren't just soldiers like M'Baku, give or take, I cut it down to 25 mains and 8 cameos.

It's sloppy but I couldn't find a good tiermaker one so I just drew one up real quick. The first 12 are the originals, we can't cut any of them but some of them should be their representative of that franchise. Samus is the same person so I made her a half and half which I did later on with another character.

The first 4 cameos are from their respective worlds before their ally gets torn away, Mario, Link, Fox, etc. Petey is one of the most synonymous because of Brawl and how asinine it was that he was a playable character so he should have a little moment of just being a piranha plant. Sonic is also one of the biggest additions to the roster, while there was a lot of hype surrounding just about every one of them, Sonic might have been the most if adjusted for the state things at the time it happened. We need some villains so DeeDee, Meta Knight (transportation), Ganon should show up but be outclassed by Master Hand and whatever other villain decides to show their face.

Pikmin is a mainstay of the Nintendo brand, ROB is literally a symbol of that, Game and Watch is meant to be cute but deadly since he can't talk but neither can ROB really so maybe they can be interchangeable. Villager is another mainstay since Animal Crossing is so big now, also silent so could potentially be interchangeable but I'd rather not, also why Isabelle is there, I think he should be the one to get an actual invitation just like in the trailers. Roy is a fan favorite and a good one for the team to recruit when they feel defeated, Marth will mention of a great warrior in his land and the two team up. Little Mac is a good recruit as well, can't stack up and beat Mike Tyson so they find him and it's his chance to prove himself before his big fight. They attempt Pokemon Trainer but it fails. Pac is a wild card.

Wario is a surprise, riding on his bike, saying that he couldn't let Mario have the spotlight and jumped in the portal just a moment before closing. Mewtwo is their big ol' powerhouse and one the fans will appreciate, represents more than Pokemon but Brawl. I planned Ryu showing up at the very end to win the battle, Mewtwo and Ryu hadouken at the same time. And Link is special because we have adult Link but we also have either Toon or Young Link as well, showing that different versions of them exist and how Link learns that he can time travel. Gotta have So Happy Together be in the movie and we're in business.

[longroadstonowhere]

okay, i ran around doing a little more in tears of the kingdom, so i’ve calmed down enough to do my last debrief of the main quests

i got horrendously lost trying to find the path forward through the chasm under hyrule castle, mostly because i just couldn’t see doorways? and i died about five times to the gloom lynel until i figured ‘hey, i guess i should do that whole weapon fuse thingy that the game encourages you to do, huh?’ and also i figured out the correct timing on flurry dodging, so that was fun

i also cheated outrageously by using travel medallions as checkpoints, so that i could clear out an area, head back to the surface to ungloom and sleep, and then come back at full strength (i mean, the game gives you the travel medallions as part of an actual quest now, so it’s not actually cheating, but you know)

i also cheesed the phantom ganon fight slightly by not falling into the pit of gloom when the piece of masonry i was walking on fell down, because i have decent reaction time and i’d much rather get rid of gloom spawn (apparently the actual name for the floormaster looking dudes) at an incredibly safe distance

loved walking through the rooms we’d gone through in the beginning of the game, and finally uncovering the murals that we couldn’t see back then, which of course foreshadow zelda’s whole journey into the past and receiving the master sword and choosing to become a dragon to restore the blade (which, by the way, i’m engendering a headcanon that fi just likes zelda more than link in these two games, because she never talks to me, she only reaches out to zelda, hahaha)

the fight against the army was interesting, since it basically seemed like a way to refresh your weapon and material count if you had nothing, and it was cool fighting alongside all the sages one last time (i mean, not last time, but i’ll get to that), but it was kinda funny how like... some of the enemies were just red bokoblins, like dude, i literally slap them and they die, but made me feel powerful so that’s what’s important

and then we get to ganondorf

it took me two... three? tries to beat him - i actually got through the first couple phases fine, where you’re fighting ganondorf the man, and then the demon king alongside the sages, but the second half of the demon king fight i just had no clue what to do because flurry rush wasn’t working and i didn’t have any other useful powers i could think of (although i look forward to someone creating some ridiculous vehicle and using autobuild to bring it in, because if that works that will be extremely hilarious)

instead i just got good at perfect guarding so i could create my openings to attack, and that worked out fine, and god damn did it feel good to take him out - i also almost missed the extremely good ui gag they did with his health bar, but i did catch it and it was so fucking good, like top tier game design, good job everybody

so then the cutscene after that is happening, and i’m just like ‘link please stab him in the forehead, that’s how these things have to end’, and then ganondorf took the secret stone out of his forehead and i realized what was about to happen about three seconds before ganondorf ate it to become a dragon, and i just went ‘oh that’s not good’ out loud - makes me wonder if they were like ‘hey, we have this dragon-like ganon ascension animation from breath of the wild, any chance we can re-utilize somehow?’ and figured out how to do it - completely epic and terrifying, and very well integrated into the story so i was very invested in seeing it happen and figuring out how to fight him as the dragon form

which, uh, took me a bit to figure out the whole schtick of the fight, but i had a good time getting rides from zelda so i could skydive onto ganon’s back, and just truly epic final blow shattering the secret stone, so fucking cinematic and gorgeous

loved the scene where sonia and rauru’s spirits came together to rewind zelda back to her human form (because sonia knows how to reach out to an object’s memory, so doing it for a human was just the next step), and the final sky dive to save her from falling to her death was extremely cool, i’m really glad they put that into the player’s hands rather than just doing a cutscene of it (although geez rauru couldn’t you have waited until we landed to do the whole spirit reverse thing???)

mineru leaving made sense (because what is a zelda game if you don’t have to make a tearful farewell at the end of it), but mostly i was just sad for zelda because she has this entire life she lived in the past, and she had the chance to have someone else remember it with her, but now mineru is gone and she’ll be the only one who can truly know what it was like back then

but! she is home!!!! and that was a beautiful note to end her story on! because as much as it’s easy to make fun of the ‘must save the princess’ storyline that zelda games can fall into, in this one it wasn’t like we needed to save her because she’d been kidnapped or trapped or whatever, we needed to save her because she’d chosen to do something that was necessary and good but that was horrible for her personally, and how could we possibly leave her in that state if we had any choice in the matter? like, we could choose not to save zelda and the world would move on, but it would be a lesser place without zelda’s presence, and that’s beautiful to me

overall, i have very few things that bothered me about the game - i kinda wish the kohga thing had been more clearly a main quest kinda thing, because i would’ve worked on it along the way if i’d known how important it was, rather than doing it all at once at the end, and there were a few puzzles or bosses that i would’ve liked more of a hint on how i was supposed to proceed, but clearly it was all doable (even if sometimes i only made it through by copious zonai device abuse, hahaha), and i’m very excited to spend the next six years and more poking into every corner and seeing what i can find next

[luimagines]

Reader leaving the chain at the end of the adventure to their own world angst (bc the link in question didn’t confess/had feelings)

Masterlist

Angst, angst, angst! You asked for it!

I'm willing to deliver.

Part one will include Sky, Wind and Four

Content under the cut.

Sky

Sky wasn’t ready for this.

In his heart he knew that it would happen eventually. They all did. He didn’t... He want to see you go. In the short time you’ve all traveled together. He.. You... He had no words. He didn’t expect himself to fall for you as fast as he did. He foolishly allowed himself to think or assume that it would simply last forever.

And there it was- the portal- in front of them all. And you were leaving first.

“Ok!” You adjusted your bag around your hip and tightened it. “I guess... this is goodbye.”

“We’re going to miss you.” Four smiles softly.

“You’ve done good work. Things will be safe now.” Time nods your way, pride and emotion filling his eye.

“You’ll be missed.”

“We believe in you!”

“It was an honor to meet you.”

“I couldn’t ask for any else to fight by my side.”

“Don’t expect any sappy stuff from me.” Legend bites his lip and waves you off. “You’ve been away from your family long enough. They’re waiting for you.”

You wipe the unshed tears from your eyes and nod determinedly. “Right. I’ll miss all of you too. Don’t get into too much trouble.”

“Bad habits, die hard.” Legend winks.

“It’s old habits. The saying is “Old Habits”.” Twilight sighs, pinching his nose.

You laugh and look at Sky. The sight takes his breath away. You’re as radiant as the first time he saw you. More so even, with his added feelings. He should say something. He should confess, if only so you know.

Sky opens his mouth-

“I’m glad I met you.” You beat him to it. “Sky... Can I have one last hug?”

His mouth clicks shut and he nods. You walk toward him, wasting no time in throwing your arms around him. You take in a deep breath and Sky holds you tighter. “I’m going to miss you a lot. You take care of yourself, ok? You have a lot of work to do back home.”

“Right.” Sky chokes out. He doesn’t want to cry. He doesn’t want the last time you see him to be when he’s crumbling. “You keep safe as well. There are people who care about you.”

“I know.” You pull back. Your hand comes up to caress your cheek and you stay for a beat longer than he expected before you spin on your heel and march away.

Sky blurts out your name and you stop. But you don’t turn around, only turning your head marginally to the side so that he’s within your peripheral vision. 

Say it, he tells himself. This is your last chance. SAY IT!

“ I-” He speaks. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

IDIOT! He yells. You smile a bit, and it’s sad. For some reason that little comment made you sad. It’s his fault. He caused it.

“That’s a bit hard at this point.” You shrug. “But sometimes life jus doesn’t work out the way we want.”

You raise you hand. “Love you.” And then you walk through the portal.

Sky continues to stare at where you stood. He didn’t do it. You didn't wait any longer to give him another chance. He knows that the second he steps through he’d most likely be on the surface of his own time. The time before reincarnations and kingdoms and Ganon.

Just like that it’s over.

Wind

The portal in front of you in large and imposing. It’s no longer the dark and malicious purple and black swirls from the first one he walked through. It’s blue and white and calming.

It’s the end.

Wind gulps as he sees you walk toward it. 

This is goodbye.

“Wait.” He bites off the rest of his sentence.

You turn just as your hand reaches out to go through it. There’s only one portal this time and he knows that soon it will be his turn to walk through- just like it’s now yours. But he will walk out onto the shores of his home. You will also return. And be far, far away from him.

“Wind.” You smile and tilt your head. “What is it?

The words tick the roof of his mouth. I like you, he wants to say. Could I get a goodbye kiss, sits on his tongue. 

“One last hug?” He offers instead.

You beam and you borderline sprint back to him. You crash into him with more force than he was expecting and he has to take a few steps back to recalibrate or else you both risk falling backwards. 

You hold into him tightly, nearly cutting off his ability to breath but he can’t complain. He takes it as his excuse to hug you back just as tightly.

You pull back far too soon and Wind fights the urge to cry. When he sees your face he can see that you’re fighting the same fight, but losing.

“Take care of yourself Link.” You say, eyes bright with unshed tears. “Take care of your grandmother and your sister and Tetra and all of Outset and the pirates and-”

Wind sniffles and wipes the single tear that fell down your face as you spoke. “I will, I promise. That’s our job after all.”

You nod, and Wind belatedly remembers that you’re not a hero like them.

“Don’t forget me.” He says.

“How could I ever?!” You cry back and hug him once more. “Silly boy! I’m going to miss you the most.”

You pull back quickly and kiss his cheek. “But I have to go home now. Goodbye Link.”

Wind is stunned and he watches you leave. You turn back one last time to wave to him and wave more enthusiastically to other who are still around to watch you go. They all send their cheers and well wishes and you leave.

You’re gone.

“Alright.” Hyrule gets up. “My turn. You all behave yourselves. I’m not going to be around to heal you when you do something stupid anymore.”

He’s teasing and others follow suit.

But Wind can’t join in. He couldn’t do it.

You kissed him and he couldn’t say it.

He couldn’t even say that he liked you. It would have been fine if you just believed that he meant it as a friend. But he couldn’t even do that.

And you’re gone.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

He can’t ever see you again.

He’s a coward, isn’t he? Why couldn’t he say it?

Four

Four couldn’t believe it.

They did it. It’s over. It’s all over. They can go home now.

You appear next to him suddenly, tackling him in a hug before he can even get a sound out. “We did it!”

He can feel your energy and his adrenaline is waning and he can feel himself fall into a fit of giggles. “Yeah, we did. We did! We did it!”

He feels so whole in this moment. It’s actually quiet for a moment before the world around him explodes into sound and color and it take shim a moment to realize that the others have started cheering and celebrating in their own fashion.

You stop spinning him and place your forehead against his. You open your mouth to say something but are cut off.

A light breaks up the moment and everyone turns their attention just across the battle field. A portal opens. Light and clean and inviting. 

It’s time to go home.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Wind yells. “Just like that?”

“Just like that.” Twilight sighs. “I suppose.... we should.... say our goodbyes?”

No one knowledges that he begins to get choked up.

You pull away from Four and his heart drops to his feet. Now? They have to leave now?

You look the group and Four can almost see the gears turning in your head. He goes to grab your hand but you take a breath and step toward the others, just out of his reach. “I can go first.”

“Wait what?” Four’s voice breaks. You can’t be serious. Just like that? After everything? After that whole fiasco- just... just like that? You’re going to go??!?!

“I probably shouldn’t have been here anyway.” You admit with a small scratch to your cheek. “I was never a hero to begin with. My family didn’t even know I would be gone, so they have no idea where I went.”

Oh man, Four didn’t even think of that. He steps forward again, taking your hand in his. You jump and look at him. Tear begin to pool in your eyes and Four’s heart shatters with it.

“I love you.” You look to the group. “All of you. I’ve never met more genuine and brilliant people. You all are amazing- “ You grip his hand tighter. “-and talented-” You throw it for emphasis. “-and great- and incredible- and I want you all to live long, happy, fulfilling lives.”

Your own voice catches and your other hands comes up to cover your face. “I’m going to miss all of you.” 

The group acts as a unit. They all hug you, pushing Four both away from you and closer to you and he can’t think any more.

They stay like that for a moment and he can vaguely hear that you’re crying. He doesn’t want that. Four doesn’t want it to end like this. He thought they would do it peacefully. This is too abrupt. This is worse than when he first pulled the Four Sword and even more disorienting than when he put it back and back just one person again.

Everyone let’s go and you get some space to breath. Everyone starts saying their goodbyes, getting closure and patting your back, ruffling your hair and drying your tears.

Four does nothing.

You turn to him as the last person and he thinks there’s tears on his face but he can’t feel them.

You cup his cheek and wipe them with your thumb. “Goodbye Link.”

You’re smiling and you’re beautiful.

“Take care of yourself.” You say. You pause like you want to say more but you don’t.

You walk toward the portal and Four runs after you. He crashes into your back and takes a deep breath. He doesn’t want you to go, he doesn’t want to lose you- he doesn’t want you to go without him saying anything.

You turn around to hug him back and Four doesn’t try to pull himself together.

With more minutes passing between the two of you, he knows the others are watching. Trying to stall before they also have to say their own goodbyes.

“Goodbye.” You whine and pull him off of you.

Speaking has never been this difficult for him. Four’s screaming at himself. Say it! Say something! 

You walk through.

Broken hearted, he falls to his knees and chokes out your name. “... I love you.”

Part 2

[c-aureus]

One thing I'm still not quite over about, in regards to BotW, is how the game literally implies that the Champions would have all been better off just... not bothering.

Literally. Anyone who has beaten the game knows that they play a supplementary role AT BEST. It is entirely possible, and feasible, to beat the game without their assistance.

Furthermore, from the lore perspective, the game literally shows that the ONLY things that are necessary to defeat Ganon are Link, and Zelda's sealing power. And, further still, without either of these things, victory is literally impossible, no matter the actions, skills, or preparation of anyone else.

The best evidence of this is the Champions themselves. Each of them was incredibly skilled, literally the best of the best. Each of them were able to go toe-to-toe with Link, and cause him significant trouble.

And yet, they were not good enough to defeat their Blight. They could NEVER have been good enough to defeat their Blight.

Because, simply, THEY WERE NOT LINK. It was not THEIR divine destiny to defeat Ganon.

And, I'm going to be honest, I absolutely detest this.

The idea that they were all so dedicated, so devoted, so skilled, and so selfless to volunteer themselves, to try and protect their homeland from devastation. And fate absolutely shafted them all, giving them a literally impossible task, and subjecting them to a fate worse than the horrible, brutal deaths they all must have suffered.

It makes me angry.

Especially when this is combined with the fact that Link himself also fell, since Zelda was not yet upholding her half of destiny.

Yet, unlike the Champions, the soldiers, the townsfolk etc. who were all slaughtered by Ganon, Link is granted an impossible second chance in the Shrine of Resurrection.

I get angry on behalf of Link and Zelda, who must live with the knowledge that their friends and loved ones all suffered such grievous injustice.

And yeah. Quite literally. The most gutting thing of all is to realise that the Champions all died unnecessarily, and do not even perform a crucial role in the story. They would have likely been better off just not bothering at all.

I channel this anger, this frustration, into my interpretations of Link and Zelda in my fanfics. I can only hope that they acknowledge these feelings in the sequel, and perhaps even seek to act on them.

Alas, I'm not holding my breath for it.

[lyrabythelake]

When you lose your sword... panic?

This idea was concocted from a conversation with @gintrinsic-writing and Just_Bonesy :)  

CW: blood, gore, violence

Twilight is not the best fighter of the group by any means, that title goes to Sky or Warriors, or possibly Wild when he isn’t setting the battlefield on fire. It’s clear which of them have had professional training and who hasn’t; where Sky moves with precise elegance, Hyrule fights with almost desperate brawl. Where Warriors parrys and jabs with meticulously calculated technique, Legend’s style is rather a brutish scuffle. But while the professional soldiers of the group have the upper hand while fighting with swords, there are certain situations where those who have learned exclusively from their own wits and experience come out on top.

Take now, for example, as Twilight faces three lizalfos head on. His sword is in the ditch somewhere having flown out of his hand a few moments ago courtesy of an unsuspecting swipe from his blind spot, and he has no other weapons on him. The others aren’t in any position to be helping him, they have their own battles to fight; the waves of enemies are approaching fast.

The lizalfos on the right comes at him first, swinging sword glinting maliciously, and Twilight jumps into action, light and sturdy on his feet. He lets his adrenaline run wild and his most animalistic instincts kick in, and he lets out a snarl, baring his teeth in battle-fuelled rage. He doesn’t dodge backwards away from the first swipe, he lunges towards it seemingly heedlessly so that instead of being hit by the blade, he’s struck with the inside of the beast’s elbow. It stumbles slightly in surprise and Twilight uses the opening to grab its wrist and turn it forcefully clockwise, hearing a couple of bones in its hand crack. In his mid-battle high, they might as well be twigs snapping beneath his palms. It lets out a pig-like squeal but doesn’t drop its sword – Twilight is forcing its hand to keep its grip underneath his own.

It’s a struggle, but he manages to turn it enough that the wrist too snaps beneath its scaly skin and the sword plunges into its own stomach with a little added force. Twilight shoves it away with excessive strength and it falls to the ground, unmoving, dark red pooling beneath its body, congealing with the grit and mud in a viscous concoction of its own defeat. Twilight staggers slightly from the momentum of the push, his knuckle scraping painfully along the floor, and the next lizalfos takes the small opportunity to grab him in a steel headlock.

He doesn’t hesitate as he turns his head to the side with sudden force and uses his entire weight to pull on the arm that holds him. It gives way immediately, almost too easily, and he twists his body, the lizalfos hand with it, until he’s in a position to shove it to the ground alongside its companion. He finishes it off with five kicks to the head, the tiny, fragile bones of its face shattering beneath his worn, blood-splattered boot.

There’s one left now, weaponless, and Twilight can feel it’s hesitance, it’s eyes flickering to it’s fallen comrades with what Twilight would like to think of as nervousness. Good. A hesitant opponent means it’s more likely to make mistakes, more chance of openings for a kill. Still, there’s strange determination in its cold, reptilian eyes when it runs at full speed towards him, and it’s almost a shame that it lasts as little time as it does.

Twilight squats in preparation, and as it reaches him, claws outstretched in front of it, muscular tail poised for attack, he manages to grip it around the underside of its arm with one hand and the scraps of its tunic in the other, and then pulls with all his might. It goes flying over his shoulder with more momentum than Twilight had expected, and he feels its neck crack as it tumbles to the ground behind him.

He straightens up, eyes roving over each of his three enemies to confirm that they are indeed still motionless, and rubs the dust off his hands contentedly before turning around, coming face to face with Wind, a fierce look in his sea-blue eyes.

“Show me how to do that,” the sailor demands, the pointy end of his sword pointing straight at him. Twilight takes a step back, startled.

“What?” he asks. The others are coming to the end of their respective fights and seem not to have noticed the gruesome brawl that went down only seconds ago.

“That.” Wind waves the sword to the place the third dead Lizalfos lies, “The thing you did with the twirly arm where you threw that guy over your shoulder.”

“The one arm shoulder throw?” Twilight questions, parroting the name Rusl had taught him all those years ago when his mentor used to beat him every time they sparred.

“I don’t care what it’s called! Just show me!”

So he does, later, when they’ve set up camp and the others are doing their own thing elsewhere, either practicing their own fighting or foraging resources for their journey. Twilight has had experience teaching hand-to-hand combat to the children of Ordon – it’s strongly believed in the village that children should learn to fight as soon as they are able, and not everyone can afford swords – and he is pleased, but unsurprised, that Wind has the enthusiasm of all of the village children put together. He is also considerably more competent at listening and picking up the moves (again, not altogether surprising considering he defeated Ganon at the tender age of twelve) and he manages to learn a good few techniques in just a couple of hours.

“This is fun,” Wind grins, looking down at him as Twilight picks himself off the floor having just been taken down for the umpteenth time, on this occasion with a solid kick to the back of his left knee. Hylia help them all if Wind grows any bigger, who knew his skinny legs held such brute strength.

“Hey Captain!” Wind shouts to Warriors who is walking into the clearing carrying a stack of logs, an axe on his back, “you wanna spar? Twi taught me some new moves.”

“Sure, Sailor,” he replies, dropping the logs into a neat pile by their camp and swapping the axe for his sword, “don’t go too hard on me,” he grins good-naturedly, clearly not noticing the mischievous glint in Wind’s eyes. Wind picks up his own sword and they get into their respective stances, eyeing each other from across the small clearing. Wind waits for Warriors to swing first, at which point he tosses his sword to the ground beside him.

“Wait, wha-“ Warriors manages to get out mid-swing before Wind is careening towards him and grabbing his wrist in the way Twilight taught him. Twilight is proud to see he executes the move perfectly, twisting Warriors’ wrist towards him and immediately sending him to the ground, sword and all.

“Holy mother of FUCK!” Warriors shouts, clutching his wrist in obvious pain, his sword lying some few metres away. Twilight hopes Wind didn’t break anything.

“What next, Twi?” Wind asks cheerily as the captain rolls around at his feet.

“Now you kick him in the balls,” Twilight informs him.

“WAIT, NO! STOP, I SURRENDER!” Warriors pleads, and Twilight gives Wind a wink before going over to help Warriors up, grasping his good hand and pulling him to his feet.

“Where in Hylia’s name did you learn to fight like that?” Warriors asks him, clutching his wrist to his chest.

“Rusl taught me some of it,” he replies, “some I learned from just being on the road, and some of it’s stuff I learned from goat wrangling.”

The Captain considers him for a moment, clearly impressed.

“You think you could teach that to everyone?”

So that’s how Twilight finds himself standing in front of a scene that might be even more chaotic than when he was teaching Colin and his friends hand-to-hand. In his defence, he’s almost certain it’s not his teaching skills that are to blame; goat wrangling is nothing compared to herding these supposedly ‘respectable’ holders of the triforce of courage.

Wind successfully managed to take down Time before the lesson even started, and he now sits next to him, sheepishly holding some ice from Legend’s ice rod over the old man’s nose while the latter glares stonily into the distance. Behind them, Warriors has Legend in a headlock and Twilight almost chuckles at the distinctly rodent-like way Legend is trying to squirm out of it, punching every square inch of torso he can reach.

Four’s eyes flash blue-green as he gleefully pulls Sky down to his own height by the clump of hair he mercilessly has clenched in one fist, and Hyrule and Wild are hanging upside-down from a tree (though Twilight is pretty sure that has nothing to do with the lesson at hand).

All learned technique has gone out the window. Scratch that, it’s left the Goddessdamned kingdom. Though, Twilight supposes, that was kind of the point in the first place. Besides, Wind has fully mastered the one arm shoulder throw considering the way Time landed face first in the mud like a sack of potatoes not so long ago and Warriors has lost his usual stringency that so often prevents him from improvising in tight spots. All in all, they’re not doing too badly, and he fancies next time they find themselves up against an enemy without a weapon, they’ll be considerably more prepared. Rusl would be proud.

[paellaplease]

revali x reader 16 (i think?) verklempt please ❤️

16. verklempt - completely and utterly overcome with emotion

19. temerate - to break a bond or promise

pairing: revali x reader summary:  falling in love is difficult when neither of you know the end is near.

   Night had fallen by the time you mustered the courage to walk up to him. He watched the shining caps of your barely worn boots approach the other side of the campfire, sensing your nervousness as you awkwardly stood for a few beats, weaving and unweaving your fingers. 

Either his reputation as the strongest Champion preceded him, or he was completely unapproachable. Throughout the day you would chance a look at him from across the camp, quickly averting your eyes the moment he noticed. You were part of the Princess’ research effort and therefore had some questions— that much he was certain of. Yet you’ve been dancing around him for hours, gathering the will to speak only to have it snuffed out the moment he acknowledged your presence. 

Embers lifted from the flames and flickered into the night sky as you finally faced him. Revali held his tongue and gathered his patience, trying to hide the glitter in his eyes at the chance of ‘wowing’ another admirer (nevermind that you were the first). 

“Champion, uh sir,” you fumbled with the titles. The question fell from your lips so quickly that his disappointment didn’t register until a second later. “What kind of flower do you favour the most?” 

“...”

If the following silence wasn’t damning enough, the Rito was honestly at a loss for how to respond to such an inane question. Seriously? He was better than this. Others have made more important inquiries and had to wait weeks, if not months, for him to clear time in his busy schedule and reply. 

Something like this didn’t deserve attention, let alone an answer. 

“Swift violets.” He said, before rising from his seat by the fire, dead leaves crunching under the weight of him as he made a beeline straight for his tent. 

Parting the canvas, he pretends to miss the earnest wave of goodbye you send his way, ignoring the static in his chest the moment his head hits the pillow. Sleep comes quickly. 

*

A month later you meet again. 

The universe seemed to adore playing tricks on him. Crossing the threshold of his home, he catches you investigating the decorative shells hanging by his kitchen window. Amusingly, you were balancing on the tips of your toes, its placement just a tad too high.  

There’s something different this time around. You seemed more at ease with your surroundings, no longer jumping at every sound like a stranger in their own skin. The tips of your boots were scuffed with use, and the minute cuts and imperfections in your clothes spoke of days spent in hard work and travel. 

Though some things still remain the same. He holds back his smirk when you stumble forward in surprise at the sound of your name, getting straight to business once you were safe from the risk of falling over. “I believe you’re the researcher sent to assess my progress with Vah Medoh?” 

“Yes, I am.” You’re quick to snap back into stiff professionalism, he’ll give you that. The bow is low and formal, your back so still that someone could confidently rest a cup and saucer on it. An introduction spills out, followed by an apology when you realise he already knows who you are from the briefing he was given days earlier in Hyrule Castle. 

The task was simple really. King Rhoam Bosphoramus wanted a full report on the breadth of Hyrule’s offensive capabilities against Calamity Ganon. From Guardians to Divine Beasts, much had been done in the past year in preparation for their greatest adversary. Now as the whirlwind began to settle, all must be accounted for, down to the last soldier. 

Your report was just a drop in what will be an immense ocean of information currently being collated. But it was nevertheless quite vital. He wonders how someone like you was selected for such a task. 

“Let’s do our best.” You blurt. Revali could see the millions of thoughts racing behind your eyes when you decide to break away from your military-stiff posture, raising a hand in the traditional Hyrulean greeting between strangers.

The lines of your palm stretch before him like deeply-woven thread. He glances at the wrinkles and grooves in your flesh, remembering that some mystics believe such lines could predict something as unknown as the future. He can’t help but wonder what yours might foretell. 

Pressing his wing to your outstretched hand, he declared his agreement. “Of course. You’ll soon see that my ability to pilot Medoh is nothing short of perfect.” 

He can’t help it. “And no questions of the botanical sort, understood?”

The sudden playful grin you give him makes all his witty quips screech to a halt, his focus trained solely on the way your face instantly lights up when it isn't held down by strict politeness or pure nervous energy. “I’ll be sure to steer clear from them this time, Champion. You have my word.” 

*

Both of you eventually fall into a comfortable routine. Meals are made together and the chores are done quickly through combined effort. You catch on well, cottoning on to the needs of the day based on the tasks you both decide on the night before. 

After breakfast he finds his gear and yours already neatly arranged by the doorway, allowing him additional time with Vah Medoh and you the chance to closely observe. The idea of training with an audience never bothered him, but knowing you followed close behind, notebook at the ready, gave him the extra push to perform just a level better than his previous.

One more arrow, one more extravagant somersault in the air. He even maneuvers Medoh to do a complete 180, reveling in the way your mouth pops open in awe as you walk across what was once the ceiling. 

“... .... --- .-- / --- ..-. ..-.” The ancient machine complains, unhappy to be on their back. The Rito pilot pats the metal wall apologetically, watching as you excitedly flit from one end to the other, feeling quite pleased with himself. 

*

Revali dreams of a cliff’s edge.

The precipice looms before him, nothing but fog and the unknown past the point where the ground stops and plummets. Revali looks at you and feels the smooth rock of the sea stone underneath his talons; hears the sound of crashing waves in the distance. Tantalising was the mystery of the void beyond. 

The meaning escapes him the moment he wakes up. His pillow was warmed by the glow of the sun, making him realise that he had slept in. Morning was just beginning, and both of you had a full schedule of tasks to get through. 

Diverting all his mental energy to the work ahead, he scrubs the sleep from his eyes and shakes away the odd thrill in his feathers. I’m better than this, he thinks. 

His tea is still warm when he arrives at the table. 

*

Word of the researcher shadowing him gets around quickly, it’s a small village after all. Some of the Elders glance at you in suspicion, old wounds from disagreements fought with the capital in the past lingering like dye in the water. You don’t seem to mind it, too caught up in the new sights and smells of this vibrant community built in the clouds. 

The Rito children are much more enthusiastic about your presence, sharing in your curiosity by matching your questions with their own. Getting comfortable on the wooden slats of the departure deck, you happily play encyclopedia for them. 

“Were you this cute back then?” You ask, watching a fledgling hop from one talon to another in imitation of a lizalfos, chasing after their friends who were the heroes in the story, at least for this round of the game.

“I was a model citizen.”

“Not true!” One of them pipes, poking him in the side with the tiniest of wings. “Mama said you were a hennish scallion.”

“You mean a hellish rapscallion,” the eldest of the bunch laughs, screaming when the ‘lizalfos’ tackles them into the ground. 

Crossing your arms, you fix him with your best look of authority, shaking your head in mock disappointment. “I apologise but the council has spoken.” He raises a brow at your antics, feeling a little light headed at the adorable way your eyes water whenever you hold back your laughter. “Do you plead guilty for perjury, Mr Champion?”

Champion. The word echoes and reverberates, wrapping tightly around his brain like the blue scarf fitted snugly on his neck. He likes the way you say it, making him wonder about something else. 

The words leave his mouth before he can think it through. “Revali will do just fine.”

Mirth drains from your face, replaced instead by surprise. “W-what?”

“I have a name.” He ignores the feeling of his feathers standing at the back of his neck, unclenching his jaw. Relax, he tells himself. “Better for you to call me that than to continuously mess up the titles.” 

“Still working on it,” you shrug. Then, you’re gesturing for him to step into your space, leaning forward just the same like you’re about to tell him a secret. You’re close enough for him to feel the warmth of your breath against his beak. He freezes, becoming hyper aware of his heart thundering against his ribcage, not daring to move even a muscle in fear of giving his thoughts away. 

“Revali then,” you murmur, almost too soft for him to hear. 

It was only when one of the children tugged at your sleeve, dragging you away to explain the appearance of another monster you’ve encountered in your travels, that he allows himself to breathe.

*

His presence had been requested at the Chief’s office, the old, war-weary Rito regretfully informing him that an urgent message had arrived. Multiple reports had noted an increase in the signs of Calamity Ganon’s resurgence. It came as no surprise, with every Blood Moon summoning more monsters from the void, an omen that something big was coming. 

Letters from the Princess implied the worst: that she had exhausted nearly all avenues in awakening her sealing power. The Spring of Wisdom would be her last chance, and after that, who knows? The Champions were to meet again in three weeks at the foot of the mountain, to celebrate or to re-strategise depending on the outcome. 

He was never the religious sort but by the Grace of Hylia, please let it be the former. 

A headache was beginning to form as he made his way home, the idea of knocking out on his hammock for an hour or so sounding extremely appealing. The day was coming to a close, a cold breeze chilling his back as the orange heat of the evening crept its way to night. 

You’re the first one to the hut this time, brown scuffed boots positioned neatly at the doorway. Revali stares at them for a second too long, wondering if you knew your time in the village was coming to an end earlier than expected. The information you had diligently collected was finally required, a little last minute if he had to comment but such were the nature of these things. 

The mental image of you puffing out your cheeks in frustration, complaining that you would have to organise the data on the way back, was enough to make his mood perk up— just a tiny bit. Picturing you disgruntled and annoyed, just like when the markets ran out of your favourite produce, was easier to stomach than the thought of saying goodbye. 

Leaning against the hardwood of the kitchen counter, you don’t notice him enter the room, too engrossed in the list you’re making.

It's a sight he'd seen before. If he forgot about the sobering news he'd just received, then the day would feel like any other. 

The open window frames your form, making you appear like a painting come to life. Rays of light streamed from the cracks in the blinds, illuminating the slope of your nose and curve of your mouth. 

Instinctively, you tilted your head to the source of warmth, instantly reminding him of the swift violets that would bloom by the Hebra cliffsides, forever seeking the sun. 

Oh. 

The ground had finally run out, earth and sky crashing together. There was no denying it now. Inwardly, he cursed himself, following the thought past the precipice, plunging himself deeper into the truth he'd avoided acknowledging for months. The universe truly was cruel. 

It wasn’t like he didn’t see it coming. The answer was clear as day, right from the beginning of its inception. 

It's the golden hour before sunset when Revali realises he’s in love with you. 

*

Wind plays with the jade clasps of his braids as he appraises Medoh’s central control unit. He’d done this maneuver many times before, enough that he could perform it with his eyes closed. 

It was your final day on assignment so shouldn’t he attempt an action that was more daring? He tried to ask. But you had rejected the proposal outright, reasoning that it suggested this would be the last time you both would meet at the top of the Divine Beast. “You can’t get rid of me that easily,” you smile. “I’ll visit once the fight is over.”

“Guess there’s no harm in going back to the basics,” he mused, inputting the commands before taking a step back.

Leaning against one of the columns, you watch with rapt attention as he points the Divine Beast south. The view abruptly shifts from the towering mountains of Hebra, to the grassy Tabantha Frontier, greenery spanning for miles and disappearing into the white, snowy wall of Mystathi’s Shelf. 

You tilt your head up, eyes trained on the heavens. There’s a solemn intensity in the way you look at the sky, as if trying to ascertain a greater meaning to your existence in this world between the cover of clouds and the endless sea of blue. It never gives you the acknowledgement that you desperately want, no matter how long you spend asking it, but that doesn’t stop you from searching anyway. 

He understands because he’s tried asking well, too many times to count. Eventually the young Rito stopped looking, opting to make an answer for himself instead. 

“Do you ever get tired of it?”

Revali’s silent for a moment, mulling over his answer, before he pushes away from the control unit and starts walking towards you. “There’s no spectacle grander, and I can’t recall a time I’ve been without it. As a Rito, it was your first companion, and so long as you looked above, you were never alone.” He shook his head. “Though I guess to love something so vast and beyond our comprehension would be rather imbecilic.” 

He’s running his mouth at this point, the hum of Vah Medoh loud in his ears. “... .. .-.. .-.. -.-- / -.-. .... .. .-.. -..” the beast warns, but he continues anyway. 

“It’s far too foolish to pine for something that will never be in your grasp. So it would be best for me to realise that there’s no point in fighting it anymore. I mean, I should feel relieved by the concession that at least I’ll be remembered by someone other than myself.”

Your attentions were no longer directed at the sky, the intensity of your eyes piercing into him, seeing right through his poorly hidden deflections. “Are we still talking about the same thing?”

The urge to plunge himself over the edge and fly away by the sheer fuel of his embarrassment was beginning to feel very enticing. Trust his description of the sky to sound like a confession. “No,” he admits. 

“Then…”

Revali thinks about telling you— considers allowing himself to become vulnerable just this once.

You’re still here, feet planted firmly on the ground, within his reach at this very moment. There was nothing he wanted more than to take that last step forward, to close the gap that perpetually rests in between you both. He imagines what it would feel like to wrap his wings around you, and believes that it would be nothing less than holding infinity. 

Yet, despite this— despite everything, he sighs. “Another time.”

Almost like reading his mind, you simply nod in response, smiling as you reach out to him. He lets you take one of his wings in both your hands, the firm surety of your touch grounding him into the present. There’s no hesitation in your next words, only a promise of a thousand tomorrows lingering on the corner of your lips.

“Tell me when we meet again?”

“I swear it on my life.”

.

.

.

-

As usual, what was supposed to be a short and sweet answer became a creature of its own, demanding my full attention until it was finished. Writing in Revali’s POV is so fun, but there’s always that small bit of doubt that I can never do his character justice. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy this one.

By the way! Hello to all the new visitors to my blog. Welcome yall. This is the prompt list. I may not answer straight away, but I shall do my best :) 

[zeldaelmo]

Get ready to get sad on this wip Wednesday. From chapter 4 of 'stolen kisses'.

General. Zelda swallowed. He deemed Link capable enough for the highest rank in the military. He must be the youngest general for centuries, if not ever. She did not doubt that Link would shine in this role as he had in any other, and even if they had yet to beat Calamity Ganon, he had earned it like no other man in the army.

Feeling the burning gaze of her father on her, it dawned on her what he was doing. The task would not only separate them but raise the stakes for Link as well. If they disobeyed their King and continued their relationship, he had to lose ranks, reputation, and his family honor.

Her heart grew heavy in her chest and the fists she had formed at her sides loosened up - as much as she loved him, she would never ask that from him. How could she? He had trained for a career in the military since he was a toddler, it would be foolish to sacrifice every hour of hardship for a relationship that was doomed from the start.

Link wind down next to her, although it was only apparent in his calm breathing, his composed posture, and his relaxed jaw. His, “I understand”, was just the confirmation that they both thought the same.

Maybe he had been right about that last kiss, after all. 

“I will maintain the appointment of Sir Link as your knight as long as this war endures, Zelda. But,” his voice grew sharp, “that is only if no reports of misconduct reach me.”

“That will not be an issue, father,” Zelda answered quietly, fighting back tears when Link nodded along with her words. A naive part of her had hoped that he would put up a fight for her, give his King a harsh telling off how he dared to stand in the way of two people chosen by the goddess. The rational part of her knew that it was better to play along for now. Maybe they would get their chance later. As long as neither of them married someone else, her father could change his mind or another twist of fate made Link suddenly eligible.

Her father's face cleared up and the ghost of his smile made her stomach sick.

"Very well then. I trust you two know what your duty demands of you."

They both nodded like little children who had gotten away with stealing cake in the kitchen. 

"Alright, now that this issue is settled, I would like to go over the plan for tomorrow with you. Lady Impa has made some interesting suggestions and I want to hear your opinion of it. Let me fetch the map."

Issue. He called their love an issue. She knew very well that he took his time to pick up the map in the back of the room to give them space. Her father never did an uncalculated move.

"It's for the better, your Highness," Link's quiet voice carried over to her.

She didn't look at him when she forced herself to nod. No matter how often he would use her title, she would never forget how he had said her name just before his lips found hers. 

Never.