#but it makes zelda laugh every single time

[bluefuecoco]

zelda au where tw*tter exists but it's just for Link to talk about how no one recognizes him (tony hawk style)

[melonthesprigatito]

I just had a thought. You know how in some Zelda games they introduce a brand new villain (Agahnim, Zant, whoever the villains of Oracle of Seasons/Ages were I forgot) but in the end it turns out that they WEREN'T the true villains,

Like, this is so prevailant that it has an entire TV Trope named after it (Hijacked by Ganon)

What if the inverse happens in Echoes of Wisdom? We see Ganon in the inciting incident cutscene, but it ends up being a red herring and the true final boss is a completely new villain?

Playing as Zelda and rescuing Link is already an inverse, imagine if the inverse-ness extended to the final boss?

[wayfayrr]

Take as long as you need on my request Moss <333 I’m more than happy to wait however long <3

But on another note, I’ve suddenly been reminded that in the self aware aus, the boys heard *everything*. Which then reminds me, the amount of shit I’ve said during their adventures- specifically Sky and Twilight’s.

1. The shit talking I have said about enemies, some more than others (looking at you Ghirahim, Demise, Ganon, and Zant). I shit talked them whenever I saw them, especially Ghirahim honestly, bro’s hair looks greasy enough to be used to fry food, and he looks like a wet paper towel.

2. The shit I said about the Links omggg. Again, this is mainly about Sky and Twilight (honestly mainly Sky cause you’re so right, he has the sweetest sounds) because the *t h i n g s* I would do to them after they pull some cool ass shit would not, in fact, be family friendly. Ofc, I talked about how pretty they are so many times- the amount of times I moved the camera at an angel so I could see their face and gush about how gorgeous they are is,, a lot. Called them perfect so many times too: slicing grass? Perfect <3 Fighting a bokoblin? Perfect <33 Tossing a bomb? Perfect <333 honestly was using any excuse to call the boys perfect, I love them so much. AND OM THE OTHER HAND THAT REMINDS ME OF HOW OFTEN I SAID I LOVED THEM LMAOO

But I digress. Anyway, you know those thirst comments on tiktok? The type like ‘until the shape is embedded in my throat’? I pray for self aware Sky, I said unhinged shit like that all the time for him- even more so than Twilight- whenever he did anything cool. Sometimes said it when he didn’t even do anything cool; used the claw shot to get high up? Charging up for the sky slice (can’t remember the name)? Aiming Fi in the direction needed to go? Said unhinged shit then too.

~🍀 anon

yep :3c they've heard everything, every single bit of praise you've given them, every curse when you mess up - anything you said to any friends while playing? all of it.

1- I think they'd be ecstatic to hear you slandering their enemies, there would be a weird dissonance if you were fond of the villains. Not because they're jealous no, never, how could you assume that. they are and they are impossibly bad at hiding it, their hatred of seeing you praise someone else in their game might be your first clue that something is wrong with your game They also just get a good laugh at how creative some of your insults can get <3333 it's not like they hear any genuine ones often!!!!

2- it's almost impossible to play a zelda game without fawning over how cute link is (I myself have so so many screenshots of him and just can't go more than five minutes without complimenting him) and I think they'd love it!! though it makes them a bit upset that they're still trapped and can't return any of the compliments without scaring you into resetting or deleting the game :( they've got to work up the confidence that you won't abandon him before he does anything (or simply the desperation to) despite how much you've told them you love them, they've still got enough common sense to know that this isn't normal

rfgbhsbghgfbfsgb he's just going to be a blushy mess when he can finally go against the games precoded animations and has his own free movement but he's just so pretty and as flustered as he drinks up each and every one of them. [I can absolutely see him playing up a more 'pathetic' demeanor in order to milk more from you between giving you plenty back ofc] I have so many screenshots of his game ong it's an issue

peep and I were also joking about how when you put in the boss key sky's just standing there watching you struggle with the puzzle (and for dowsing he can feel you cake full control of his head to look out of his eyes and it's where he feels the closest to you <33)

[mushroomwoods]

Sunflower Fields

the rustling wind was all too characteristic now, dream or not, he just wished to remember your voice...

character — wars, romantic or platonic

cw — mild angst with happy ending.

this is a gift i made for the loveliest @wayfayrr and took way too long to post because tumblr is a bitch, but since i am here now... enjoy! ps: i made an art commission from the dearest @h4wari. check it out, it's amazing!

The calm summer breeze blew, comforting and slightly humid as it ruffled his hair along with the scarf.

Blue star coloured eyes focused on the horizon, the chatting and bantering happening beside him barely catching his attention.

He looked lost.

As if chasing after something oh so far away, yet he didn't know what it was.

“Dozing off again, Link?” Impa voice resounded, breaking him off his stupor, gladiolus eyes thinning at the blank stare the warrior offered her.

“Let it be, Impa.” Zelda cut through, graciously stirring the tea before she poured one cup for herself.

“Ah, I can do it, Your Highness-” As Impa tried to stand up, the princess simply waved her hand.

Link took a sip of his own tea, already cold, though the gentle rosemary scent still filled his nostrils, a vague memory of Zelda telling him it was one of her favorite ones coming to mind, yet as the flavor seeped into his mouth he could only grimace.

Bitter.

The princess lightly pushed the sugar pot nearer to him, yet the hero refused, setting the porcelain cup back to the saucer with a muted clack.

“Excuse me, but I have to go back to my duties.” A blatant lie, he had been given a week off just the previous day.

Nonetheless, the princess nodded in understanding, barely looking his way as he made his way out of the garden. The gerbera daisies surrounded him the whole way out, as if mocking him, the sunny yellow shade only serving to make his mood worse.

He couldn’t understand why it was happening, why sometimes there were lapses of memories within him, the figments of a voice and a soft touch that caressed his cheeks with so much tenderness that he wanted to cry. He knew that such a thing could never have happened in the past as he spent most of his time in the war and taking care of his job as a commander.

His fists clenched when he finally reached the outer walls of the castle, the soldiers guarding the area bowed to him in respect, before opening the gates.

Freedom at last.

Somehow, after everything that happened, he couldn’t feel at ease while in that place, when near those people, when he got reminded of every single nightmare he had to push through, he felt as if drowning amidst the suffocating essence of abatina flowers, her image resurfacing to his mind even when he tried so hard to wipe it out of the memory.

With a sigh, he started heading back to his quarter, a vague sensation of deja vu overcoming his body, the rustling of the crisp summer air brushing his hair as if it was a loving hand.

The path home was quiet, some people greeting him here and there, to which was answered by his collected smile.

A fake.

Somehow nothing made sense, nothing seemed real, no amount of working or enjoyment made him feel at ease.

As the door to his house was opened, the red columbine in his stand shriveled, petals droopy, as thirst for a little drop of water, even then he ignored it, too aware of his own cowardice, hanging his uniform as he made his way to the bed.

The tired body just crumbled onto the bed, not trying to hold onto consciousness as he fell into a deep slumber.

…

He felt weightless, the usual tiredness not heaving into his shoulder.

A patch of small sunflowers surrounded him, someone sitting amidst it, a laughter familiar to him.

They said something that he couldn't quite understand, but before he could ask anything, they walked towards him, taking his hands into theirs, comforting and warm just as he remembered.

They laughed before bursting into hundreds of birds of paradise, colourful and filled with emotions.

Link didn't have any time to process it, however, as his eyes opened, the rays of light shone down on him as yet another day started.

Repeating it all once again.

He wished to sigh, but staying still at the same place for so long wouldn't do him any good, and only make him pity himself even more.

Just as he opened the curtains of his bedroom, his eyes widened, the place that should have been a vast open hill, was now covered in a patch of sunflowers, much like the dream he just had.

Not even bothering to take his usual uniform, he headed out in a flurry, tripping over his own feet as he stumbled towards the door.

As he opened it, the sight that greeted him was a familiar, yet unknown figure, surrounded by the townsfolk, all carrying bouquets of sunflowers, and placing it around the now covered patch of land.

The mysterious person's eyes met his, and they didn't hesitate before approaching him, the white-pink valerians in their arms standing out among the bright yellow blooms everyone else held.

“I'm sure you didn't expect it, Link.” Their familiar voice rang inside his heart, and he unknowingly smiled at it.

“You… how..?” So many questions flooded his head, yet no coherent words came out.

Scalding hot tears brimmed around his eyes, and with a soft smile they brushed it out of his face.

“I'm sorry that it took me so long to get to you my dear.” They answered with a melancholic smile, offering him the valerian bouquet.

He hesitated for a second, yet the moment he saw the guilt in your eyes, he carefully took it, not wasting any more time before taking you into a warm embrace.

“I missed you so much…” Link said.

“Me too, Link.” You sobbed into his arms.

Blue Star — Strength, Resilience

Gladiolus — Victorious, Strength

Rosemary — Remembrance

Gerbera Daisies (Yellow) — Appreciation in relationships

Abatina — Fickleness

Red columbine — Anxious, Trembling

Dwarf Sunflower — Adoration

Bird of Paradise — Freedom

Valerian — Readiness

[not-freyja]

Ravio grins, rolling up the map and placing it on a shelf beside him. “Now… where to begin?” “At the beginning?” Sky offers, tentatively hopeful that something in his life will start to make sense. Apparently he set his hopes too high, because Ravio laughs and rubs his hands together before picking a stick of charcoal up off the mantle and scrawling in large font next to his notes, ‘Where does a Circle start?’ “That’s the ask, isn’t it? Where is the beginning? What is going on, to whom and why?” Ravio turns back around and his eyes are bright and glinting, a kind of mania sparking through them that puts Wild’s ‘something is about to explode’ face to shame. “You’re in a loop. A long winding circle, made of tinier little circles in time and space and every single one of you are a walking paradox and I have been trying to figure out how it is that all of reality has not collapsed or faded away into nothing or how you all haven’t accidentally erased each other's existence and frankly, boys, it has been a headache and a half.”

This chapter comes with supplemental material. As in, I spent way longer than I should have recreating the vision in my head of Ravio's crazy red string conspiracy board wall for your viewing pleasure. Here it is:

(Please keep in mind that these are not my notes, they are Ravio's, and what he has written may or may not be entirely true and accurate. Also the image zooms very cleanly if you click it.)

[aheathen-conceivably]

🎶 Whatever colors you have in your mind, I'll show them to you and you'll see them shine 🎶

Antoine had slept later than he intended to. By the time he began to stir, the sunshine had progressed from its early position across the floorboards onto the plaid comforter of their bed and the stripes of his pajama pants. He turned to reach for Zelda but found her gone. Rather than panic, he opened his eyes to a room now grown increasingly familiar. 

Spider webs had disappeared from the corners and their trunks now sat in the places they had once claimed. The iron bedframe’s creak came as a comfort rather than a surprise, and the woman he sought stood in front of him, already in an apron and looking down at the few belongings she had already unpacked.

She turned to smile at him, “Good morning, city boy. I thought you’d never wake. I’ve already been down to see the situation with the soil. It’s not as bad as Giorgio believes, or at least I hope, but I don’t know if it will ever be capable of achieving his dreams of grand success.”

He reached his hand out toward her and she walked over, continuing the train of thoughts that was still fresh in her mind, “He may need to switch crops, or I can see about the water quality of the stream, maybe digging some sort of trench, experimenting with the old well…”

She kept on, discussing soil quality and techniques with more expertise than Antoine thought she was capable of. He tried his hardest to listen to every word, but his thoughts trailed off as she absentmindedly ran her hand down his arm. As she spoke he continued to pull her closer, with the single goal of coaxing her back into bed, even if it was only to better listen to the waxing of mineral compositions and acidity levels that had somehow taken on new poetic undertones.

She laced her fingers with his, putting forward a half hearted effort to pull him to his feet and out of bed. He sat up and looped his hands around the band of her apron, rising only so far as to meet her eyes without standing. She gave into his weight, tumbling back onto their bed laughing, trying to continue on about her plans for the garden as he moved his hands up her leg. 

“You do know we live on a farm and must rise before noon now, don't you? We can’t just lounge about all morning as we once did.”

“Old habits die hard, my dear. And must we give up all our luxuries so fast? Truly it seems only right to acclimate slowly to this new life of ours, lest we fail at it entirely…”

Zelda’s protests of the pressing work to be done went silent on her upturned lips. After all, he did make a very convincing argument.

[vanilla-rainbows]

Wreck-it Ralph AU - GUARDIAN

Ok, let me preface this by saying three (3) things:

English is not my first language. I’m currently incapable of writing fanfiction in a language that is not my own, so please forgive me. Feel free to correct me if you see any mistakes!

I welcome all kinds of feedback. Just don’t be rude, please TTwTT

This might get long and messy. I haven’t really planned out anything with this AU and all of this is 100% vibes, but I’m open to suggestions and might expand/change/delete things as I go.

The (quite long) premise of this AU is basically this: Turbo survived the events of the first movie (original I know) because he rewrote so much of himself into Sugar Rush that the game now thinks he’s actually part of it. So he respawns, but gets kicked out of the game and is forced to go back to his previous life as a gameless character in Game Central Station. Only difference, everyone this time KNOWS he’s alive and what he did (because Ralph and/or Vanellope explained the whole situation to the rest of the arcade). So everyone basically treats him like shit (more or less like Vanellope). He’s both shunned and mocked by the other characters, and is forcefully kept away from every game in the arcade, to prevent him from “going Turbo” again.

But the thing is, he’s actually powerless now, and can’t actually do anything dangerous anymore. He lost the cy-bug part of his code (sorry kcb fans but the tall menacing cockroach doesn’t exactly give out the pathetic wet cat vibes that this au demands) because of the reset, and even glitches between his Turbo and King Candy model at times. He’s hit rock bottom and he knows it. And obviously he blames it all on Vanellope and Ralph, and wants to take revenge on them. So, knowing how powerful his cy-bug form was, he decides to wait for a chance to sneak into Hero’s Duty and get himself eaten again by one of the creatures. THEN he will be free to wreak havoc on the arcade and happily destroy every single game in it (starting with Sugar Rush of course). And ABSOLUTELY no one will be able to stop him.

So naturally he gets stopped again. This is where I’d introduce the OC I’m planning for this AU. Her name is Luna and she is the titular protagonist of Luna’s Adventure (might change later), a fantasy adventure that resembles the first Zelda game in terms of graphics and mechanics (also might change later). Luna is essentially an optimistic, but not an hopeless one. Being one of the oldest characters in the arcade (she’s from the 80’ as well), she knew who Turbo was back in the day and is fully aware of the situation, but doesn’t really like the “let’s all laugh at him” mentality. So she mostly ignores/pities him, and makes sure he doesn’t try anything funny with her game. That is, until she spots him as he’s sneaking into Hero’s Duty during opening hours. She immediately takes action and follows him into the game. At first she tries to talk him out of it, but her pleads fall of deaf ears, as Turbo is too fixated on his revenge plan to even listen to her. He feels like he has no other options. He lost everything, again. In the eyes of the other characters, he’s but a pest. Better be feared than respected at this point. This desperate attempt (which seems more like self-destructing behaviour) is his last chance.

The heated back and forth between the two grabs the attention of a solitary cy-bug, which immediately attacks them. Luna quickly avoids the creature and safely gets to a hidden spot, but when she notices that Turbo has no intention of running away, on the contrary, he’s purposefully exposing himself like the snack he is, she jumps on him and saves him from the incoming cy-bug attack. So for a few minutes we have the comical situation of Luna continuously saving Turbo and herself from the cy-bug, and Turbo trying so hard to get eaten but getting saved everytime. Eventually the cy-bug is shot to death by Calhoun herself, who IS SO READY to blast Turbo out of existence with all of her arsenal, but desists when Luna explains the whole situation to her. Still, the sergeant has no intention of keeping the glitchy gremling in her game a second longer, and escorts both of them out. Turbo lashes out at Luna for ruining his ultimate plan, but before she can say anything back, the arcade opens. Luna leaves in a hurry, telling Turbo to behave while she’s away because she’s not done with him. So he’s left in the middle of GCS wandering what the hack she meant by that.

That night, all main characters from each game reunite to discuss what to do with Turbo. Felix, Ralph, Vanellope, Calhoun and Luna are all present. Turns out they have no idea how to handle the situation. They can’t let him run freely around the arcade. What would happen if he tried to infiltrate another game? Unsurprisingly, no one mentions Surge Protector. Someone suggests they could simply kill him. He deserves it, after all. Ralph is neutral, Vanellope is slightly against the idea, but Felix jumps up and firmly says that they are not going to kill anyone. If they did, they wouldn’t be better than him. Then Calhoun makes a proposal. Just like keeping the cy-bugs inside Hero’s Duty is also part of her, well, duty, someone should take on the role of a warden to Turbo, keeping him inside their game and out of everyone else’s. Obviously she can’t do it, neither Vanellope, so another character will have to.

The problem is that no one wants to have anything to do with Turbo. They may mock him during the day, but they really are all just terrified by him. The fear of getting unplugged is so strong that no one is willing to take the risk. No one, but Luna. While everyone argues, she slowly stands up and offers herself to be Turbo’s guardian. The room goes silent for a few seconds, but eventually everyone applauds her courage.

Now comes the hard part. Luna has to find a delicate way to break the news to her colleagues. They obviously have A LOT to say about it, but she is able to convince them. Sort of. Things might not be so simple after all. Even though she agreed to keep an eye on Turbo, she’s not sure how exactly this decision will affect her and her game. Was it really the right thing to do? What if he became really dangerous? She’s actually starting to reconsider, when an idea forms in her coded mind. What if… she were to teach him goodness? What if she offered him a chance, instead of treating him like a criminal? All I have to say is that Turbo will definitely take advantage of the situation and play along, all so that he can finally have his sweet revenge.

That’s all for now. I have a few ideas on how the story could continue, and a few interactions that I absolutely want to incorporate as well. Also I already have a finale in mind, and I hope to eventually get to that (the final scene is the one most clear in my mind right now). So, if you actually managed to read all that, thank you! Now I can go back to being a normal human being again (delusional).

[critical-birb]

When he was younger, daruk tried to grow a small garden in between the rocks on his back just to see if he could (he couldnt)

Mipha is able to wiggle her head fins, the ones on the side (similar to how some ppl can move their ears, its not common but there are muscles there)

Zelda made a shorthand for hylian script that only she knows, and that's why half her research notes are incomprehensible

Urbosa and daruk have drinking contests (not a new headcanon but I still love it)

Revali is bad at singing. Most people won't notice bc when he "sings" he makes bird calls/musical notes (which are good), but his voice just cracks horribly when he tries to sing words

Link rolled his ankle many times as a kid, due to being a lil gremlin, to the point he's basically immune to doing it again. Except, after his body "resets" in the shrine of resurrection, he fucks up immediately and deals with chronic ankle pain

After zeldas birth but before the queens death, urbosa would call the Queen many, many nicknames so as to not confuse the two (bc the women in the royal family are all named zelda, which might be a headcanon idr)

Moss I am obsessed with every single one of these and I love you.

Now cannot stop imagining Mipha flapping her little ear fins when she's happy for some reason and this is sparking great joy in my heart.

Also trying to think of nicknames for the Queen and laughed so hard imagining that our Zelda is called Little Bird because Urbosa used to call the Queen Big Bird akskkdkdkf

I will find a way to include all of these.

[freya-howlett]

Picnic - Inside Hyrule series pt. 4

Content: In the Hyrule after the Calamity, you have to be careful on where you decide to have a picnic.

Author's note: I miss Guardians, don't you?

Y/N. No shipping, simple draft.

Inside Hyrule series is a a series of oneshots, in no particular order about YOU in the world of Zelda! Just imagine... how it'd be to have adventures with your favourite hero and princess? How it'd be to travel alongside Link? Do not expect a cool, intricate plots, it's just something to help you (and me by writing and imagining it) to relax and have a nice moment.

Divider by: ᴛʜᴇᴛᴀᴇʏ (Tumblr)

"We should really take a break, my legs are killing me," you almost begged to Link as you put your hand on a trunk to support you as you moved your feet to relief pressure. The boots you were wearing were comfortable enough for hiking, climbing and running, but that didn't mean that you were freed from the pain of traveling tirelessly.

Your adventure partner had been walking a few steps in front of you for a while. You had suggested a break a few kilometers ago, but either he ignored you or didn't hear you at all.

The usual jovial Link had been really quiet since the moment he had a flashback near the Royal Ancient Lab Ruins at North Hyrule Plain. Every single time he was reminded of everything he lost it made him go into a silent, depressive mood. Something that happened more often than not. You tried to help Link, but the truth is that it was too painful, even for you since you also lost there, even more so because he knew everything used to be special to him and he didn't even remember what it was.

"Oh, sorry," he quickly said. "I was lost in thought."

"It's okay," you responded, clearing your throat. "Why don't we make a picnic or something?"

"Sounds good," he shrugged. "Lunch is on me, I have some special ingredients I could use."

"Special ingredients you don't want me to ruin you mean," you chuckled.

"You said that, not me," he chuckled back.

You both chose a small grove close to the Hyrule Garrison Ruins as the picnic place, it was covered enough to eat in peace while protected from the hot sun. As Link prepared dinner in an improvised fire and a pot, you cut two trunks to use the logs as benches with Link's axe, then you took the little chestnuts that fell from the leaves. They'd make good dessert for later.

You had to admit Link was an excellent cook that could do a lot with scarce ingredients, but it was still a surprise to watch the warm, creamy, tasty-looking soup he had prepared with a hearty radish, a voltfruit, hydromelon and a bottle of milk.

"Remember Ashai?" he asked as he stirred the soup.

"Oh, yeah, the 'Voe and You' class teacher," you answered, taking your boots off while sitting on the log, the grass was pleasant on the soles of your feet. "It was such an interesting experience."

"Well, she gave me this recipe. She also has cooking classes."

"Really? I didn't know, why wasn't I there?"

"You were Sand Seal surfing with the kids," he shrugged.

"Oh, right. Those kids do know how to surf on sand since young."

Link passed you a bowl with the deliciously hot soup, the steam giving you a whiff of the tastiness. He sat at your side and you noticed he was waiting for you to eat first.

"Go on," he smiled. "I want to see how good is it."

"So you're already sure that it's good, uh?" you smirked. "Alright..."

Your mouth was flooded immediately by the sweet taste of the pink cream and the soft cut vegetables. You could taste each one of them, creating a balance that your tongue was grateful for.

"So... it's good," Link laughed, watching your expression and spooning his own soup.

"Very much so, I won't doubt you again," you smiled.

As you ate, your body felt more revitalized. You didn't ask because you didn't want to lose your concentration while eating, savouring every single bite, but you assumed the soup had some health properties. You weren't a stranger to potions and food with attributes that could help in your journey, like allow you to bear extreme temperatures. That or you had been starving more than you thought and your body was reganing energy.

"Thanks, Link, you just saved my life," you complimented him. "I'm not full yet so I'm gonna have seconds."

"Go ahead," he replied with his mouth full.

You stepped forward to the pot and grabbed the soup ladle when a faint red light, a laser, appeared illuminating the tree in front of you.

"Hey, Link, take a loo..."

Your whole body went down, pushed suddenly, and your face hit the ground, but the leaves and grass saved you from hitting yourself hard. There was an unexpected surge of heat and blue light, and the trees in front of you fell, burning. A heavy weight was on top of you and you felt Link's hand on your head, clutching you down. The dirt that entered your tongue resulted in an awful contrast to the previous delicious taste from the soup.

"What's wrong with you!?" you exclaimed, frowning. Link didn't seem rushing to get off you and now the soup was completely to waste! Now the big hearty radish was lying on the grass. However, a metalic, mechanic sound was heard behind, and a beeping followed by the same red laser appeared, pointing exactly in front of your face at the ground.

"Go, go, go," Link muttered as he raised to his feet and pulled your arm with so much strenght that you thought he'd tore it from your shoulder. That's when you saw it: a gigangic, spider-looking machine that was now pointing his laser directly to Link's back, shining in red, color of malice.

"Uh..." you muttered.

Before you knew it, Link grabbed you from your waist and behind your legs to carry you over his shoulder and run away without much effort. The machine immediately changed its aim while moving its legs forward.

"What the fuck is that!!?" you screamed, clinging to Link's shirt. The beeping sound got faster and the machine shot a blue laser that Link managed to avoid only for a few centimeters, hitting a Fallen Guardian and burning the grass and moss growing around it. You understood then what it was and cursed yourself for not recognizing it before, how the hell were you supposed to fight that away?

"They're faster than I remember!" Link exclaimed as he rushed to hide in the ruins. His statement was proven true when the Guardian shot another beam, but this time it hit close to Link's feet and the resulting explosion made you both fly in the air a few moments before hitting hard the ground. Link didn't let go of you, so you both rolled on the dirt until you stopped. Half of you was lying on top of him as he had tried to break your fall with his own body. You both growled in pain while you moved off him, a sharp, deep pain whent through your nude ankle when you were about to stand up.

"I can't..." your voice was hoarse. Link glanced at your foot quickly, as the Guardian was again pointing at you both with the laser.

"Fuck..." he muttered as he pulled you and helped you reach behind a wall of a destroyed tower. The quick steps to that place made your ankle scream in pain and you fell to the ground, panting.

"That thing is gonna keep following us, I'll have to get rid of it," Link said, rushing, pulling the sword he didn't remove from his back. But that was all he had. It wasn't even a good sword, just one he had found at an abandoned outpost. The Guardian made some metalic noises, it wasn't going to be long before it found you both.

"You don't even have a shield," you complained, putting your hand on your ankle, that action itself hurt like hell and you started to feel it swollen. It was probably broken.

"There's no choice," he stated and moved outside the safety of the wall. You saw the red light reflected on the skin of his face and golden hair. "I'll keep it here, you find a way to escape!"

That didn't sound like a plan. Link didn't know what he talked about most of the time, why would you listen to him now? You didn't know about this life of his, but his past lives had the Triforce of Courage, not Wisdom. Fighting was his thing, not strategy, and the latter was what you needed the most right now.

As you listened to Link's shouts, you used the wall to support yourself and walk, ignoring the ache, to the shambled interior of the tower, where a pile of bones rested with some flies around. However, among the corpses and rotten meat (you realized soon it was from an animal's, probably work of Bokoblins), there was a single Wooden Bow and three used arrows. How lucky.

Hopping on one foot, you took them all and moved to the ruined staircases to get close to the single square that used once to be a window. You went up the stairs sitting while putting one of the arrows on the bow. The sound of metal against metal, the constant beeping and explosions was all that there was around. Link wasn't going to make it alone and unequipped. When you peeked through the window, Link was hitting with all his strenght the Guardian's legs in a desperate attempt to incapacitate it, but it didn't take much for the machine to grow them back and keep on advancing. Everything had a weakness, but what was that thing's? Link had managed to fight Guardians off back when he was a soldier, such a disgrace he probably didn't remember how to do it. You definitely didn't know. You saw the single eye, maybe that one? If it wasn't, at least you'd make him stop shooting.

You aimed at your target and shot an arrow. The machine stopped for a few moments before continuing and you repeated the same process.

"I told you to leave!" Link yelled as he hit the Guardian's leg with the sword.

"Since when do I listen to you!?" you screamed back, shooting another arrow and incapacitating, again, the machine only for a few moments.

"You should've this time! This motherfucker's gonna kill you!"

"And you!"

"Why can't you ever list-!?"

Link was interrupted when the Guardian slapped him hard away with the leg that had just grown, throwing him to the ground. You had no more arrows left and your eyes moved to an abandoned, rusty Traveler's Spear stuck in stone wall. You had to use your whole weight to unpin it and then you climbed the destroyed wall. Link's sword was meters from him on the ground, having been smacked out of his hand, and the Guardian had managed to pin him down with his leg and claws. The beeping sound started again and you saw once again how the laser pointed at Link's head while he struggled in vain to get away. You had to act now.

"Hey, over here!" you yelled as you threw a laying rock, rubble from the wall to the Guardian, which caught its attention. You saw Link's scared expression when the machine this time was pointing at you.

"No, go away!" he shouted, but you ignored him. When the Guardian raised his single eye to properly aim at you, you jumped from the wall with your hands gripping hard the spear and used all your strength to stick it inside its eye, sucessfully, just as Link had taught you. The Guardian instantly started to malfunction, moving and turning around erraticaly as you hung from the spear with both hands; however, your sweat was affecting your grip and you prepared yourself to fall painfully to the ground, except that once you slipped Link catched you, ran, panting, towards cover and put his hand on top of your head when the Guardian finally exploded, only leaving metal clinking behind.

You both were breathing heavily, covered in dirt and sweat, and you peeked over Link's shoulder, clutching his shirt in a fist.

"Is it over?" you asked.

"Seems like it," he responded, breathless. He removed his arm under your knees when you moved your good leg to go off him, then you sat on the ground with his help and Link followed you tired.

"I told you I had it," he rubbed his eyes. You frowned at him when you recognized his frustrated expression.

"It didn't seem like it," you objected, raising an eyebrow. Slowly, the pain in your ankle was starting to flare up now that the adrenaline was disappearing. "A thank you would be enough, you're welcome. You taught me some battle techniques, didn't you? Why don't you ever trust me?"

"You could've died," he pointed out.

"And you too."

"So? Does that matter how? I was technically killed by one of those shits a long time ago," he exclaimed, you were slightly taken aback.

"And Zelda saved you, don't waste that opportunity," you slapped his shoulder, still frowning.

"Opportunity for what?" he rebutted, opening his palms, his hands resting on his knees. "To watch what my defeat caused to this place? To wake up with all my friends, who I don't even remember, all dead? The princess captive who knows where? The destroyed...?"

"Hey, hey, okay, I get it," you shushed him. "You lost a lot, great. But now you're here and, yeah, and even when you won't be getting everything back, at least you have a second chance to redeem yourself. Don't let Zelda down." You patted his shoulder. "You aren't alone, I'm right here and, see? I saved your ass," you stated, firmly. You wanted to find more comforting words for him as Link didn't seem convinced at all, but your ankle was really aching. "But, right now, I'm gonna be cargo for you," you complained, rubbing the injury. Link sighed.

"Let me see."

You removed your hand so Link could check the extense of the damage. As he grabbed your ankle softly, you kept talking:

"You've been looking after me all this time," you spoke, softer this time. "Although you're not in the best shape to take care of someone. You've always done that," your voice trailed off at that one, the image of all his past lives you met before appearing on your mind. "Now It's my turn, let me enjoy my moment in peace, okay?"

Link half smiled and shook slightly his head.

"Seems like it got a bit crushed with the fall, but it isn't broken, you'll just need some rest," he responded, standing up. "Let's go to Hateno."

You nodded, pushing your lips together, and took the hand Link was offering you as support to raise to your feet.

"I hope you have more ingredients for that soup. That stupid Guardian didn't let me finish my lunch," you complained while putting your arm over his shoulders, Link was already sliding his finger through the map in the Sheika Slate.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do," he chuckled.

[redactedgender]

there’s a honey

ao3 link here

(15k words)

some tags: Porn with some plot ; Switching ; Flirting ; Awkwardness ; we love an enby who uses gendered language in genderfucky ways ; guy and his inability to stfu /pos ; No beta we die like xavier ; yall have met crow already. let me introduce you to sage ; Overuse of italics ; so many italics

its finally here! my 15k word guy/honey smut :] today is also (what i consider) my one year redacted listening anniversary. this series has meant a lot to me during the past year, and im very happy to have found out abt it when i did.

so, here's a fic that i hadn't originally planned on posting for my one year, but hey, guess now's as good a time as any to post it!

a reminder: this fic is 18+/NSFW.

a snippet under the cut

They hated to admit it, but kissing Guy was very quickly becoming their favorite thing to do. Not that they would ever admit that to him, of course. They had an image to maintain. But in their mind, they could think about kissing their boyfriend all they wanted. The quick pecks in the morning before he rushed off to work, the slow kisses they would share while he cooked dinner (because despite working almost every day in a pizza place making pizzas for sometimes ten hours or more in a single day, Guy liked cooking for the two of them), the multiple pecks across their face as he tried to distract them from something, mostly their work. There was something about Guy that made them act like— this . Like some kind of punch-drunk teeanger experiencing their first real relationship. Butterflies in their stomach, face constantly flushed anytime they looked at him, feeling flustered when he would say their name, all of the stuff that they had never experienced before. Guy surely was giving them the real “boyfriend experience” that they had only read about in high school. Speaking of their boyfriend— Sage looked up from their phone at the sound of the bell ringing out as the door into Max’s Rustic Pizza opened, and rolled their eyes at Guy’s frazzled grin and wide-eyed stare at his partner. Sage was leaning against the hood of their car, headphones on and blasting music, though it had been turned off and the headphones had been moved to hang around Sage’s neck. Guy looked them up and down, eyebrows wiggling enticingly, and Sage made a disgusted little noise they didn’t mean, which only made Guy laugh. Like Sage wasn’t just wearing jeans and a hoodie. He was ridiculous sometimes. “Hey there, hot stuff!” Guy called out, leering closer to his partner and arching an eyebrow. “Who are you waiting for, huh? Certainly someone as hot as you managed to bag someone as equally hot, right? I just know they’ve gotta be charming and handsome, and extremely funny, too!” He grinned, and Sage elbowed him in the arm, not hard, but sharp enough to make him recoil back and hold his arm. “Ow! I was complimenting you, what’d you do that for?” “Never call me ‘hot stuff’ again, first of all,” they retorted, adjusting their position against their car and tugging their hoodie around their shoulders tighter as a sharp wind tore through the air. Even though it was April and most of the days were getting warmer and warmer, the occasional chilly day still popped up, and today was one of them. “Second of all, I’m waiting for you , so I can go back to the apartment and finally play Zelda since you wanted to watch me play it instead of playing it yourself.” “Aww, c’mon, honey,” Guy crooned, resting one hand on the hood of the car and leaning his hip against it, tilting his head to peer at them with his (really fucking pretty, goddamn this fucking guy—) hazel eyes. “You know why I like watching you play it—you get so into the game, it’s adorable!” “It’s adorable when I’m screaming ‘fuck’ at the Lynels for killing me for the fifth time in a row? Or that one time I got so angry when I fell off a cliff and clipped through the world and lost all my gear that I had to go into my room before I punched our TV?” They deadpanned, eyebrow raised in question, and Guy nodded and grinned, biting his bottom lip like he was trying (and failing) to contain his excitement.  “Mhm!” He brought his other hand to scratch at his head, a habit he had. “I mean, you’re just so good at the game, so it’s hardly fair for me to even play it! It’s much better as a viewing experience anyway, especially with my head in your lap. I mean, the only way it would be an even better viewing experience would maybe include me on my knees. Or maybe with my head between your—” Sage slapped Guy’s arm again, ignoring the way their face felt flushed at what their boyfriend was insinuating. “Not in public, you—!”

continue reading here!

[uniquevoidflowers]

Merry Christmas!!

For the moots I promised fics, I’m getting to those as soon as I can!

In the meanwhile I’m gonna say this:

THANK YOU FOR SUCH AN AWESOME YEAR!!!

I’ve only been here since like May, but I’ve been shown so much kindness and patience from those around me! To all my followers: Thank you so much for being here! Even if I don’t know you, it also brings a smile to my face when I see you like or reblog something :)

@whyoneartheven, you are so kind! I love your art a lot, and seeing you on my dash always makes me feel good.

@r0achezz, You are so fun to talk to!!! Your art style is amazing and ahhh I love your writing a lot!

@isasan347, I cannot express how much I adore your art! It’s so pleasing to look at! Also, you have amazing ideas!!! I like reading your ideas every once in a while :)

@ladye-zelda, Gosh you are so kind, and it makes me smile when I see you on my dash. Thank you for being here!

@akchimp75, YOU ARE SO COOL! Ahhh your art is just as cool as you! (Meaning really really cool) I’m grinning so much when I see you on my dash!!

@almost-an-artist, Your art. Is. So. Freakin. Awesome!!!! And you are really friendly!!!

@/a-random-somebody, AHHH YOU ARE AMAZING! I love you so much/p

@finleyforevermore, you are so kind and funny/pos, and brilliant! Thank you for making me laugh this year!

@frostedshadow, you are literally so cool?! I think we haven’t talked a lot, but the times we have talked have made me smile.

@here4dragons, 🫂🫂��, I love seeing you on my dash you wonderful person. 🫂🫂🫂

@kiwi-der-vogel-alt, Your art makes my day, just the colours and shapes! Also you are really funny/pos

@kommandantpinks, I haven’t known you for awhile but I have seen your art many times and I love it so much! You seem really cool and kind as well!

@cal-the-duende, You are so so so so cool! I love talking to you!

@vio-starzz, love your art style so much, it’s so cozy. You’re amazing.

@baileyboo2016, Your art?! Literally so cool. And your writing! I enjoy reading your fics!! You are so talented and creative, also your enthusiasm makes me smile.

@not-freyja, your writing makes me cry and smile, I love it so so much. You are very cool :)

@majorproblems77, This year has been super fun with you in it. I love love love talking to you, and your writing literally blows me away. Thank you so much for everything!

@margindoodles2407, you are so amazing?! I would frame your art, and read your writing any day. You are also really kind!!!

@luna-lovegreat, I swear, I smile every single time you message me, I see you on my dash, I just see your url. You are so incredibly kind, and I revisit your rants a lot, because you are so smart. Thank you for everything <3

@1000emotions, I know we haven’t talked a lot this year, but you are so amazing! I love you/p

@arsonisticscholar, You are so cool! I love love love seeing you on my dash even if we don’t talk a lot. Happy Holidays :)

@graves-doodles, I don’t think we’ve been mutual for long?? But that doesn’t matter. Your art is just so beautiful, and it always makes me feel something/pos

@prince-of-red-lions, WINDY YOH ARE SO FREAKING AMAZING AND askjbfjddkjs. I love talking to you, and I freakin love your art. I’m so glad I met you this year.

Sorry if I missed anyone!

THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE!

I appreciate you all. I appreciate all the artists, writers, and others, you have made my year. You are all so cool! Hoping for a good year next year ;)

[theeeveetamer]

Rune Factory Tides of Destiny (extended thoughts)

@saficswrites asked me to go a little more in depth and I've actually been planning on talking more in depth anyway, so this is a good opportunity! I'm also going to throw in some of the resources I used while playing because there's a lot of great ones but they're kind of scattered.

So I will start by saying that I started on the series with RF4 back when it originally came out for 3DS and I played the heck out of it. Like, tried taming every single monster in the game levels of played the heck out of it. I've since played all of RF1, RF2, most of RF3 and RF5, and now RFToD. I chose to go back and play 1, 2, 3, and ToD after RF5 was announced. The only one I haven't touched is Frontier.

And yeah, Tides of Destiny does have some quirks and I can see why some people don't love it as a Rune Factory game. Just starting with some of the criticisms (because they lead into one of the things I actually really like about the game): The farming is very pared down and it's entirely reliant on the monsters you tame. Basically you just plant generic seeds and the monsters you put on the seasonal island determine what they grow into. Different monsters can grow different things.

That is somewhat annoying because you can't see what the monsters are called or what they plant before you tame them, the game doesn't really give you a clear list of everything you can plant, and you only get to tame 30 total so you're going to be doing a lot of swapping. It is possible to get everything with some planning tho (I borrowed the monster setups from this GameFaqs thread).

That said, I personally kind of prefer this? Micromanaging the farming has always been my least favorite aspect of the Rune Factory games. In Tides of Destiny you don't have to worry about that. There's no watering, no harvesting, no spreadsheets keeping track of exactly what seeds you need to buy, and the crops grow so fast (most are done in 1-2 days when you have your monster friendship maxed out) that you don't really feel the randomness. I'm in summer of year 2 and I've already got a storage full of full stacks of basically every crop in the game. That means you can focus 100% on the exploration, dungeons, making friends, etc.

And the exploration is. My god. I love it. It's basically if you threw Rune Factory and Legend of Zelda Wind Waker into a blender. For reference, Wind Waker is one of my favorite Zelda games ever so that colors my impressions of the game. The exploration is 100% riding around through the ocean on a giant golem, fighting giant monsters, and digging up islands and salvage points. The quests usually point you toward specific islands to unlock and there's no point where I felt like I needed an external tool to explore, but if you want help someone made an excellent, detailed map of the stuff you can find in the ocean. You also eventually unlock a fast travel and there is a way to speed up getting from point A to point B, so I never felt like wandering through the ocean was too intrusive.

I also really, really, really like the characters. Each one has a little required "friendship event" you need to watch to unlock their next friendship level, and each of the main island inhabitants has at least 6. All the friendship events are connected to a little character arc which is completed with level 6. The bachelor/ettes get an additional 3 event arc if you unlock their love events as well, though you can't access that until after the main plot is over (and gender locked unfortunately). And there's actually a reason to get them up to the max (level 6) before the endgame, since you get a benefit in the final boss battle.

IMO they're all just really likable, funny characters. Some of the events actually made me laugh out loud, and I was usually smiling the whole time any of the them were talking!

I also really like they way they handled the main characters (Aden and Sonja). The plot of the game is that Sonja gets trapped in her childhood friend Aden's body, and the story is about figuring out how to separate them again. You can play as Sonja once they're separated at the end of the main plot, but you do have to do the entirety of the main story as Aden. Initially I was kind of miffed about this, since I vastly prefer playing as female characters in games, but I actually really like how they did it. For two reasons.

One, I just really like Aden as a protagonist. I was expecting him to be kind of the goody two-shoes amnesiac like a lot of Rune Factory protags are, but no. He's sassy as hell. There was at least one point where one of the characters (I think Joe) is like "hey buddy ol' pal" and Aden is just like "Yeah we're not friends sorry you thought that tho."

Two, initially I was thinking that the whole "my best friend is living in my head" thing was going to be some secret they kept. Like Sonja was going to be there, but she was going to be quiet most of the time or not really interact with the world. But no. The first thing that happens is the obligatory RF starter girl (Odette) finds Aden, and the first thing out of his mouth is "Sonja is stuck in my head, isn't that weird?" and EVERYONE just goes with it. I love it. They really lean into the wackiness/silliness of it all. Sonja is very present in the dialogue and the plot. On her birthday characters wish Aden happy birthday to pass it along. The writing frequently plays around with the dynamic of them being stuck together (such as the two of them arguing over how Aden is going to take a bath), and they frequently swap off in dialogue and give different perspectives. They each kind of have their own relationship with the various characters around town. Most of the friendship events feature both of them in some way. It's also really nice how they'll talk to each other throughout gameplay. They'll say good morning to each other, Sonja will warn you when your health is getting low or what time it is, etc.

Despite playing as Aden (physically) I really feel like you're actually playing as both of them to some degree, and I really like that. It actually feels kind of lonely once they split at the end of the main plot and you don't get Sonja's little quips in your head anymore.

I think those are the big things. There's also lots of little things I enjoyed. I love the aesthetic of the world, and the gameplay systems relating to RP management and stuff are much more refined than the older games. I'd say the only mane difference between it and RF4 is that swinging your weapons still costs RP. The crafting is a little annoying until you get the hang of it (you can craft anything up to 20 levels higher than your current level, so it doesn't suck to grind too badly). There's a bizarre amount of spelling errors, which isn't super intrusive but it is kind of funny lol.

On the negative side, the story is pretty short. You can easily beat it in less than one in game year if you're rushing. I'm also not a huge fan of the main story needing to be 100% completed before you can do marriage and the like, since the game is basically done at that point. I don't think there's much post-game other than the goals you make up for yourself. I do think playing as Sonja was a bit of an afterthought. She has like a quarter of the romance options Aden has and there's some odd mistakes I've noticed playing as her (like trying to knock on Sierra's door while she's asleep will have Sonja saying a line about how the bath is closed ???) but it doesn't bother me too much so far.

Those are pretty minor negatives though. I still had (and am having) so much fun with the game!

I also heavily used this website as a guide. The only thing is that I wish they had pictures of the monsters because I think they have slightly different names from the rest of the series, and it can be confusing cuz some monsters have different colorations and therefore do completely different things.

[happybunny999]

Botw characters / champions react to a Inner God power reader

(The reader is female and comes from our world and is sweet, nonchalant, happy go lucky) (the reader became the god’s host when they were 14 years old, they are now 17-18 now) (The reader possesses powerful inner god entity power with them that is even more powerful than hylia and the Triforce goddesses . And based on the wiki article inner god gives the reader godlike powers and abilities and knowledge at any level and all levels despite the reader’s lack of experience and is protective and possessive towards it’s host and will tear, wipe out and destroy anyone or anything that harms the reader and will take over the host body to help them if they unable to defend themselves) ( the reader is inexperienced but has a strong bond with the entity which gives the reader enchanted immense power with their abilities)

Link:

He is very wary of you due to your personality and that with such power you possess you should be more mature and be more serious but your not

Keeps the princess away from you at first since despite your sweet nature you also don’t plan out any plans at all and just go for it with your immense power not bothering stop and wait before going to help people and soldiers with a task

Still couldn’t believe you when you told him your power but was convinced when he saw that you could do anything with just a snap of your finger 

And when you were distracted or not paying attention he (as well as the others) saw how your power took control and protected you and was harsh towards the enemy

He also saw that nothing could effect you or even kill/defeat you for that matter

Zelda:

Is wary and surprised when she first met you looking around the castle (doesn’t know how you even got in the castle in the first place, you teleported your way in) and when you were taking a nap at sacred spring were she goes to pray

She did not like you at first due to the fact you had manage to unlock your power at a young age and is able to handle it just fine and even form a bond with the ‘entity’ that choose you as it’s host

she also didn’t like how you could just solve any problem with snap of your finger and how you have no experience or any idea about magic,fighting, or even how to be serious for one second always taking thing for a laugh and always try to be optimistic, even in dangerous situations

but over time when she sees your kindness and sweet personality she’ll look less hostile towards you and will ask to help her with unlocking her power and you did and it worked

Will be forever grateful to you for helping her power and for bringing back the champions and her father from death

Deruk:

He will think your power is cool and would always try to be like a brother to you and would hang out with you the most

Likes how adorable you are and just how powerful you are too and would show you off to his people(sorry I don’t know the name)

Is glad that you know how to protect yourself and even help the princess with her troubles and for that he is glad that your here with them

Mipha:

At the beginning she was wary of you but soon began to take a liking to you and the two of you became friends

You show her all kinds of water magic tricks that she has never seen before and is amazing even new swimming methods and how you hold your breath for long periods of time which amazes her completely

She also like how you see things in a positive light and is sweet to the heart and goes to you when she feels jealous when she sees Zelda with link and you listen to her give her some advice to just love herself

You also like playing with young Sidon which makes Mipha very happy

Urbosa:

Was suspicious of you at first and didn’t trust you at all and always kept in eye on you and made sure that you didn’t do anything funny

Try’s to get you to be serious and not so careless just because you have a power that can protect you every single time

Is grateful that you helped the princess with her power and you could easily take out calamity Ganon on your own if you wanted too

Revali:

Is snub when he first met you and did not trust you and was kinda jealous that had absolutely no experience with power yet here you are summoning wings and other magical powers and abilities so careless and freely and it would put the princess hard work to shame

Also didn’t like the you just have wings or could just float above the ground and air

But thanks you( kinda) for helping the princess with her struggles and her insecurities

Hyrule champions+Zelda (all of them together):

Honestly they didn’t know what to think of you at all(I mean a Human? Not hyrule, with god like abilities) it was basically strange and unknown to them and with your immense knowledge and Very many abilities they first saw you as a threat and consider you dangerous to the princess and hyrule

They all met you when they heard a loud boom with pink, gold-ish , along with a hint of rainbow glow outside the castle after the knight ceremony. As the made their way to the source of the light thinking it was the arrival of calamity Ganon but… but no it wasn’t in fact but it was you standing in the middle of the crater from the light that had faded from your arrival and they were shocked and confused because of the fact you had normal ears and light dark skin with a very questionable sense of fashion ( like your wearing modern day clothes colorful sleeved shirt and soft pants or a modern dress with high heel boots that looks weird to them) along with the appearance of a young girl(remember 14 year old but you are around the age of 17-18 now) which leaves them in shock and curiosity while keeping their guard up in case

once you step out from the crater you are immediately surrounded by guarded guards and Hyrule’s very champions having their weapons pointed at you and looking at you with a serious expression on their face meanwhile you just have a small smile on your face because you had expected this kind of treatment and just glad you manage to get here just in time to save everyone from their tragedy fate and you had a plan on just how to save them all with your power

(There will be a sequel to this )



[airplanned]

I’d like to see an epilogue to proposition. Link nagging Zelda about her health while she’s pregnant and being generally protective (and totally completely professional… probably) and then him getting to meet his child in secret would be cute. Any chance of that happening?

So, no, I'm not going to write that specifically.

...Instead I wrote something else.

Have an epilogue!

---

They had found that the best way to keep Baby Zelda (or, excuse him, Princess Zelda, because, as she insisted: "Not a baby!") from crying for two weeks while her mother was away on a diplomatic trip was to send Princess Zelda on her own, very important diplomatic trip.  To...uh...Ordon.  Where she needed to...umm...show the people there how sweet and well-behaved a princess she was.

So escorted only by the Captain of Her Majesty's Royal Guard, she would spend two weeks in Ordon, improving their diplomatic relations with the village.  

The castle staff appreciated this.  The Royal Guard appreciated that they could take some well earned time off, because all the royals were gone.  

The Queen also appreciated this plan, because it would be good for the princess to experience life outside the castle.  The princess loved this plan, because she got a full fortnight of undivided attention from her second favorite person.

Link was pretty fond of this plan too.  He got to sing Baby Zelda to sleep with songs sung to him when he was little.  He got to wrestle her hair into a messy braid twice every morning and once again in the afternoon while she laughed at the determined look on his face.

When they reached home again after two weeks away, she managed to stay put in the saddle in front of him all the way through town, but once she caught sight of her mother, waiting for her on the front steps, she shrieked, "Mama!" and attempted to throw herself off the horse.

Link was a professional, and was used to the princess' ways, and grabbed her easily around the waist until one of the valets was ready to take her, at which point she swung fro their arms to the ground and ran.  A smile burst across the queen's face, and she crouched down with her arms spread wide to catch her.

The queen closed her eyes as they hugged, and Link had to hold back the spike of fondness at seeing the two of them together by giving instructions to the stable hands and valets that have appeared.  He could still smell Baby Zelda's scent of cinnamon and allspice from all the cookies she snuck on the trip, trying to stifle giggles that she could be so sneaky that Link didn't notice her. 

He wasn't sure how much longer that game was going to last.

The queen stands, shifting the princess to her hip, and Link follows after them as they head into the castle.

The princess is already telling every single thing that happened to her as fast as she possibly can.  "Colin got a dog!  It's brown!  She's a good girl and likes sticks.  And I pet a goat!  They like to be pet.  Goats smell really bad!  And they all wanted pets and one chewed on my dress and one chewed on my hair!  And we splashed in the water, and when it got dark, there were fireflies everywhere, and Captain caught some for me in a jar, but we had to let them go because jars make fireflies sick if they stay in them for too long.  And Ilia has a baby and it's tiny!  He held my finger.  And we went fishing. I didn't catch anything, but Captain says that no one catches anything when they go fishing, and I did a good job.  And Colin and Grandpa made a cake with me, and it was lemon!"

The queen shoot a quiet look over her shoulder.  "Grandpa."

Link closed the distance between them by a couple paces to explain. "Rusl's hair went gray, and now everyone calls him Grandpa."

Both of these facts were true, and Rusl was desperately aggrieved by both of them, but Link left out the part where Rusl's unfortunate new hair color and his unfortunate new nickname are not related to each other at all. 

Everyone started calling him Grandpa, because the princess started calling him Grandpa.  He's not entirely sure why the princess started calling him Grandpa.

He's not going to tell the queen the details.

(For some reason Uli is still Ooli, which serves Link's purposes just fine and also won't get him murdered by Uli.)

"Captain says the forest is full of monkeys!"

"It is," the queen agreed.  "Did you see any of them?"

"No!"  The princess kept talking as they walk to the queen's office, and then talked for another twenty minutes until the long trip and the comfort of home caught up with her and she passed out asleep in her mother's lap.

He found himself leaning against the desk, giving them a fond look.  His girls.  He could only call them that in his head and late at night in the dark with Zelda's fingers threaded through his as she used his shoulder as a pillow.

He was going to have to get a grip in a few minutes.  He couldn't be looking at them like this now that they were back in the castle.

A few more minutes wouldn't hurt though.

Quietly, the queen asked, "How was it?"

"It was good," he said.  "No injuries."

She breathed a soft laugh and pressed her lips to the top of her daughter's hair, closing her eyes, breathing her in.

There was something so melancholy in the gesture that Link frowned, his thoughts suddenly alert.

"What about your trip?"

"Fine," she said.  "It was fine."

"Then what's wrong?"

She opened her eyes to look at him, and her pale smile made his chest seize with fear.  It made him want to circle the desk and take her face in his hands.

"I think our luck's run out."

He stiffened, his voice hard as he asked, "Who knows."

She shook her head a fraction and took a deep breath before looking him in the eye again.  With a crooked smile he'd never seen before, she said, "I'm pregnant."

He stared at her.

Then dropped into the seat across from her.  "Shit."

"Indeed."

"Are you sure?"

She gave him an unamused look.

He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Oh, they were in so much trouble.  And not just him and Zelda, but Baby Zelda too.  No one was going to believe a second divine gift of a baby when there was already an heir to the throne.  If people did buy that, they would think the Goddesses were implying something about Baby Zelda.  Her imminent death or the wisdom of her eventual rule.  It would imply that the Goddesses had made a mistake, or at least that they hadn't granted Zelda a child for any desperately important reason.

No, no one was going to buy it a second time.  And then they'd notice that the princess was starting to favor her left hand.  They'd see the low set of her eyebrows.  They'd start whispering about how much time the captain spent with the queen.

And they'd just gone on a damned family vacation.

He took a deep breath.  Zelda had her cheek pressed to her daughter's head, watching him carefully.

"What would you want to do?" he asked.

"If we weren't trapped in a web of lies of our own making?"

He nodded, and her eyes turned distant.  From the slow loosening of her shoulders, it seemed that maybe this was the first time she'd let herself think about it.  Then her face softened, a smile twitching at her lips.

Something lit in Link's chest.  That was his family, and he was not going to let anything happen to them.

The start of an idea itched at his brain.  It started to roll around.

"How would you feel about digging our hole deeper?"  

Her eyebrows rose.  

Okay.  He might have been about to give his daughter even more delusions of grandeur than she already had, but he was pretty sure this would work.

***

It took a full week to gently lay the seeds and make the princess think it was her idea. (You know, if you really wanted something, like Colin's puppy, you'd have to go in front of the queen and ask at court.) He actually wasn't sure if she was going to do his plan, or if she was going to do something off the wall weird. Or ask for a puppy.  It wasn't like he could go over what to say with her.  They couldn't exactly practice.

So when she appeared before the court, escorted by one of her nannies and dressed in her her full little regalia, all he could do was clench his fist and pray.

Everyone, the queen included, found the princess' appearance at court charming.  She'd never really made a grand appearance before, except to rush in, hug her mother, whisper that she'd sen a duck, and then run out again.  But now the princess walked toward her mother's throne, stopped at the appropriate place, and dropped into the most adorable curtsey anyone had ever seen.

The queen looked something between delighted and terrified (because she had met her daughter), but it looked like the delight was winning out.

"That was very well done, my darling.  What brings you to court today?"

The princess beamed.  "I want to ask for something.  Your Majesty."  She curtsied again.

In mock seriousness with amusement in her eyes, the queen asked, "You may ask, Your Highness."

"I want a baby brother or sister."

The court tittered.  

Zelda froze.

Link kept his face absolutely still, because fuck yeah, it worked!  That was his girl!

The queen's eyes slid briefly to his, and something about the way he was holding himself must have given him away, because her eyes slid away again.

"My darling, I'm sorry, but I cannot--"

And then she started to glow, the feigned look of surprise on her face really selling it, as the court erupted into murmurs and gasps.

And maybe Link's face slipped a little bit, because he was goddess damned delighted.

[thisismydeesign]

I just want to register this day when i defeated ganondorf and finished tears of the kingdom. This game became much more important to me than i thought it would. I spent more than 200 hours playing it and every single minute of it was worth it. At the beginning i didn't really like it, it was just too overwhelming to me, there was too much things happening but it grew so much on me omg. I just loved every part of it, I screamed, laughed, felt a lot, felt EVERYTHING. It was one of my favorite experiences. I just love this world so much, the characters, the story. After being involved in it for so long, i just couldn't help but cry (a lot) when the quest "find princess zelda" showed up as complete. Memories of all I had to do for this to happen just flooded my mind and I was filled with and emotion i never knew a game could make me feel, but it did. That made me feel complete and proud of me, my sister(who played with me) and the savior of hyrule. I'll need some time to recover from this amazing, emotional and heartwarming experience. Thank you, Link.

Thank you, the legend of Zelda. Forever my favorite ♥️

[onewomancitadel]

A smattering of general updates:

I played Tears of the Kingdom. I didn't really enjoy it. I understand why it was popular though; I'm just not the demographic for these types of video games anymore. I didn't find it creatively rewarding and after a time I sat there thinking 'I would rather be writing right now', and since then I have learnt that writing is made easier by doing things which are not writing, because it makes me miss it. My dad also doesn't really like it but for some reason has played hundreds of hours in it. I don't know either - I think he will take anything called Zelda at this point.

I spectated the Doctor Who David Tennant Special and watched some clips of the new season. I'm not a fan of RTD, and not a DW fan anymore (not for a long time), but it was an interesting study in how studios try to attract old and new fans.

I read a lot of books, and that lie people tell you about all books being good for you is a lie, because a cyberpunk anthology of short stories made me so angry I got heartburn. I think people who say that are saying so because they wish that they could read a lot, in which case I say, yes I think reading is a gift and we should engage with it, however, sometimes I get so physically angry from something stupid/bad I've read because bad writers exist that it gives me actual pain. I am reading Howl's Moving Castle right now and it's very joyful; I am very surprised by the liberties the animated film took! However so far I do think both experiences are worthwhile, and if you enjoyed the Ghibli film, I very much recommend checking out the original book if you want to revisit that world again. The prose is straightforward but a little whimsical, and Howl is very, very funny. I have laughed aloud a few times.

Well, you know I rewatched Dark, and it's funny that during my exile I said 'this is like if RWBY got the ending it deserves' and then, er, I found out it's not renewed yet, and that's still up in the air, which for the entirety of RWBY I have only had one true moment of doubt of such a thing, and that was a while ago.

On that topic, yes, I still ship Jaune/Cinder, believe Cinder's redemption is likely, etc., although there are some more external concerns I would wager now than before. Before I thought it very possible to do without any commercial influence, and it depends what compromises they do or don't end up making or having already made. My analysis of Jaune's arc in V9 may not hold water as much (e.g. if you lean towards the view there were rewrites to cater to growing the audience, or perhaps it's two ideas married? I'm not sure) so I'm going to think about it more, and there always has been a tension in RWBY between what is being expected/baited and what is foreshadowed/said/actually happens.

I figured out how to write again and what was blocking me, so there's that. To talk about it a bit more, since my break I have worked every single day on writing. My key takeaways are that you need a delicate balance of delusion and self-doubt to get anything done - you don't know you can do something until you actually do it - and every excuse I invented for not writing was not the reason I was not writing. I can write with a migraine beginning to set in on an uncomfortable desk where I can't even rest my elbows properly on the end of a bed with no back support without aircon in the middle of summer before I've even taken my hair out from bedtime plaits in my pyjamas. I didn't even expect to get my fic done right before midnight, actually I was like 'well lol that's not going to happen, I'll write anyway though, fuck New Year's' because I wasn't doing anything, and then I finished and looked at the time and was like ooooh. I actually completed my goal! So I'm very proud of that. Anyway writing is breathing, to me, I go crazy if I don't do it, no matter what it is, and every single piece of nonsense advice of productivity was not helpful, ever, but I did figure it out. Also admittedly I got a fire burning under me again because I found out I was actually right about Raven, in which case I took that as a sign from heaven I was on the right track. One should hope.

I am excited about Dune Part Two, yes, although I am trying to avoid Villeneuve talking about the film because I know all the marketing is basically directed at people who aren't Dune fans, and I have to see it for myself to see what it's worth. I enjoyed the first film, and Villeneuve seems excited to direct Dune Messiah, in which case I am willing to do whatever possible to make that happen. Because that's about as complete a story you're going to get in a major motion picture adaptation and it would be So Fucking Good.