#goron chief

[imaginethezeldaverse]

May I request some headcanons fo Darunia? If you aren't too busy of course)

Oh you mean my dad? The Goron who raised me? The whole reason I love and appreciate the Goron people in the first place and is legit the OG Big Guy (that's not an exaggeration either, Gorons had their first appearance in Ocarina of Time - MY first Zelda game). Of course I've got headcanons for you!

His sense of duty and Goron pride is limitless. He's chief for a reason and he acts the part in every sense of the word. A Goron who is very much about taking care of his folks. From leading all of Goron City to prosperity however he's able to to even giving his own life to try and save every single one of his people from Volvagia.

Darunia owned a replica of the Megaton Hammer. Its visage and creation was a combined effort between himself and Biggoron. Darunia hatched the idea to have it made shortly after Young Link destroyed King Dodongo. Fearing that they would run into another situation where their food supply would be cut off, Darunia made sure to have a means to destroy obstacles that threatened Goron City - a myth from Goron legend that the chief saw fit to make a reality. Combined with Biggoron's master steel craftsmanship and a bit of magic that he had imbued into it, Darunia saw to it that no one would be able to wield the ‘Megaton Hammer’ save for himself and Biggoron. It isn't until he awakens as the Sage of Fire, after Link destroys Volvagia in the Fire Temple and ultimately returns the actual Megaton Hammer to the Gorons, that he is able to summon and wield the real thing.

He is a bit of a hard ass. He's not quick to accept help if he doesn't want it (as we saw in Ocarina of Time), mostly because he feels as chieftain of the Gorons, he's capable of doing whatever it is he needs to do on his own. Darunia is incredibly strong, he's aware of this, but that strength can make him stubborn, and it takes him an inane amount of time to admit his shortcomings on a personal level. Being a leader everyone looks up to makes it hard for him to show vulnerability. When he's in a good mood though, he can be a little impish. Loves to give noogies and bear hug at any given opportunity. Definitely need to watch out for those hearty head pats lest ones end up in the ground.

During his time as chief, he remained undefeated in the Goron track races. All that raw power he possesses showed when he was able to launch himself at speeds that left even the heads of other Gorons spinning. His son, Link, was very fond of watching his father race - it was an activity of interest that he shared with Darunia - and the two would roll on the track together quite often. When Darunia set off to the Fire Temple to try and save the kidnapped Goron citizens, his son curled up onto the racetrack in the city and rolled continuously (until actual Link's arrival), the action serving as a means of comfort for him knowing his father was potentially heading to his death.

Darunia can't help but dance to lively music due to the royal family! At first Darunia despised showing up for diplomatic meetings with other figureheads to yammer on about the ongoings of Hyrule, but the one year he happened to be at the castle town grounds during a festival. The blaring music with its up-tempo beats had him moving his feet in no time once he caught the rhythm. That's how people learned that Darunia was a pretty animated dancer, and how Darunia himself learned that was his favorite way to destress.

Has wrangled bulls for the farmers in Kakariko Village as well as Talon over in Lon Lon Ranch. Every once in a while they'll get loose, and seeing as how they have big horns and even bigger bodies, no Hylian in their right mind would dare try to round them up themselves. Often that becomes a task they call upon Darunia for, which he actually enjoys doing. There isn't too much on Death Mountain that challenges his strength so being able to go toe to toe with a beast that actually makes him work? He's all in. As soon as people hear the Goron chief pounding on his chest in a battle cry, they know that bull is as good as caught.

[hyruleairbnb]

Old men

I just wanted to draw them

[doodlesbf]

Doodle of the chief of the gorons

Name: Daniel

[wishuponroses]

I love the fact that Darston, as chief Goron, may even be younger than Yunobo.

[rockingthegraveyard]

My theory for the absence of Teba in the new TotK trailer is the injury he sustained in BotW.

Obviously he made it back but perhaps the injury was more serious and debilitating and is no longer able to fight or maneuver as he once could. Which is why we see Tulin in the trailer instead of his father. 

[quasar-kaiser]

WIPs/doodles for mapping out the sams zelda au because I thought I should post something

For now the plan is:

Moon as Link

Sun as Zelda

Eclipse as Ganon

Bloodmoon as Kilton and Koltin

Earth as Gerudo Leader

Monty as Goron Chief

Gemini as Rito Champion/Zora Royalty

Solar as Zora Royalty/Rito Champion

Lunar as Master Kohga

and like it could be fun to have Computer/Spaniard in the Sheikah Slate

oh and I might make KC a Lynel or Hynox or something, and Ruin a Wizzrobe cause they're little shits (not set in stone at all though haha)

[sunnidaydreamer]

Sure you COULD write Ganondorf as being cursed, or influenced by Demise.

You COULD make him the end result of Demise’s anger.

Or you could... do other stuff.

Let’s use Tears of the Kingdom as an example.

So, what we know/see in game is Ganondorf trying to take over the kingdom of Hyrule.

How did we get here?

Well, we know Rauru was trying to unite the people under one rule. His rule. Sure the Zora’s would keep the King/Queen title, the Gorons and Rito would have their Chief, and presumably so would the Gerudo.

So, Ganondorf and his Gerudo are fighting for independence.

How does this switch to trying to take over?

Well, maybe Ganondorf takes a good look at Hyrule one day and thinks to himself: Hmm. That’s a lot of good land. Plenty of water, space to farm and build.

Unlike the desert, perhaps.

Maybe what started as a fight to stay independent turned into wanting that green land and plentiful water.

A better life for the Gerudo.

Maybe it escalated from there, over time.

Maybe we went from independence to wanting resources to thinking

Why should RAURU be King? Why shouldn’t I, GANONDORF, be King?

See where I’m going with this?

Might just be me, but that sounds a lot better than: Ganondorf is EVIL because EVIL always goes against the Royal Family, and Rauru is the King of LIGHT, so Ganondorf is EVIL.

Food for thought.

[iiryebreadii]

Eldin region questline: oh man, learning to be the goron chief is hard work! character growth! yippee!!

Faron region questline: haha deku scrubs love to be trendy!! they think the rifts are cool and eat cotton candy, yay!!

Lanayru region questline: this orphaned child is all alone on a snowy mountain and thinks he’s been left in utter solitude because he is isn’t good enough for his big brother to come back for him

[blueskittlesart]

I get the impression from your posts that you don’t think there’s a future where Zelda would end up queen of hyrule (I can see where her becoming queen would undermine her entire arc of getting freedom from the painful expectations of princess/chosen etc), but how do you think that hyrules government will work beyond that? Is the population recovered enough for that to even be something established within their lifetime?

honestly, based on what we see in other games, hyrule was never REALLY a proper monarchy. I think it's pretty likely that the hylian monarchy was functionally a symbolic one, especially by the time that botw rolls around. in most games in the franchise, hyrule is largely made up of sort of mini single-race societies that function by defaulting to whatever small tribal government they happen to have. With a kingdom technically made up of multiple different species, each with their own differing cultures, customs, and even lifespans, it makes much more sense to have small governments united in name alone. i think any genuine attempt at true united government of such widely varied and relatively isolated races would not end well for hyrule (can you imagine being a hundred-year-old zora and being told that you have to listen to laws made by hylians who have been alive for a fraction of the time you have?? no way.) But by having a technical alliance under the symbolic hyrulian royal family, all of these races reap the benefits of alliance amongst each other while maintaining their relative independance. This is why most of the villages in hyrule are race-isolated and have their own governing bodies--the zora have a king, the rito, gorons, and gerudo have chiefs, and several of the hylian/sheikah villages have mayors or other governing bodies. these are the actual, functional governments of hyrule. the royal family serves both symbolic and practical purposes as a symbol of the kingdom's allyship and as an entity that can build, maintain, and direct a widespread military force (and i think there's also definitely a religious element to their rule over hyrule, as literal descendants of god in-universe,) but other than that it isn't doing a whole lot of actual governing. (the exception to this rule is MAYBE post-wind-waker on the new continent, and maybe immediately post-sksw, specifically because in both those cases the hyrulian royals would have needed to take a more active governing role in order to rebuild the country.) so with that in mind, I think botw and totk make it pretty clear that this method of small government works pretty well for hyrule. I think the most zelda would EVER be is a sort of ambassador between villages and races, especially as hyrule becomes more intermingled in the aftermath of the calamity. small democratic government largely appears to be working for hyrule and for zelda in totk, so i think that's the road she would choose to continue down rather than attempting to reinstate a monarchy that never actually did that much in the first place.

[kokiriofthevalley]

Tbh I would love to see a Zelda game where the main group in charge ISN'T the Hyrule royal family. Like, how cool would a game be if the Zora royal family or Gerudo, or maybe even Rito was centered, because I mostly feel like all of the races' leaders (mostly pre calamity) are just puppeted by the Hylian royal family - and be damned if they do ANYTHING that could be seen as a threat against the hylian royal family.

I get that they're all united under Hyrule, however that doesn't stop me from feeling like there's no point in having the leaders of all the races if they're all united under HYRULE (it's OWN kingdom). Kind of like having the biggest kid on the playground coming up to you and telling you that you're part of his group now and how he's your friend, however, when the time comes to have your own autonomy after him micromanaging your actions, he just interprets it as being a threat.

Especially since (at least in botw/pre calamity) neither the elders of the Sheikah, Goron or Rito, the Gerudo chief, or even the royal Zora family have much authority over the other races as the Hylian royal family does.

[sunder-the-gold]

'Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom' is not "woke"

The writers do not divide all characters and civilizations into 'Oppressed' and 'Oppressor'.

In the battle of divine light and darkness, no one frets about who is in the wrong or right. Zelda and her people can survive only if the darkness is defeated, and Zelda and Tri do not question the worthiness of fighting to preserve their peoples' existence.

There is no class struggle. Only the Deku Scrubs lack a clear leader. The Gorons and Zora have their chiefs, and the Gerudo and Hylians have their royal families and castles. There is absolutely no narrative about the evils of monarchy or the necessity of direct democracy.

There is no insistence that success is only ever inherited or given, rather than achievable through personal effort. Or that everything in life is a Zero Sum game where someone can only gain by taking from others. A number of characters are committed to making things themselves, such as Dampe the engineer, the Hylian farmers, the Gerudo mango-researcher, or the Deku Scrub smoothie-sellers.

The Hylians occupy the most territory across Hyrule, but there is no narrative of conquest, occupation, colonialism, or imperialism. The chieftain of the River Zora expresses no dissatisfaction with his bamboo hut compared to the stone castles built by the Gerudo, Hylians, or even the Sea Zora. The Gerudo never mention an envy for the lands of the other peoples. The only thing the Deku Scrubs want from foreigners is their business, in fair exchange for Scrub-made goods.

There is no San Fransico; each nation is homogenous. Visitors from other peoples are welcomed, but no one feels guilty for living among their own kind. The Gorons do not try to make their home colder for others, the River Zora do not make their water saltier, the Sea Zora do not make their water less salty. Everyone is happy being separate and distinct, without anyone trying to be everything to everyone else.

The chiefs of the Sea Zora and River Zora do not decide to be more like each other, but instead remember to respect and cherish their differences.

There are no gender wars. Women do not complain about men, men do not complain about women.

The bombastic male chief of the River Zora uses his booming horn to reignite courage in the timid; the graceful female chief of the Sea Zora uses her elegant harp to calm the nerves of the unsettled. They both endanger themselves to save their people. They both admit their own faults with starting and perpetuating their personal quarrels.

The boisterous General Wright uses his brute strength to pick up an old lady and carry her off to safety. The soft-spoken Minister Lefte uses her considered words to coax a frightened child into following her to safety. With only a moment to react, Zelda's father reflexively throws his daughter to safety without regard for his own life.

Zelda does not become the protagonist of the story because she is a woman breaking free of male oppression. She became the protagonist because she had a responsibility.

Staff of Echoes

Nintendo as a rule begins envisioning a game around a mechanic and then builds a story around it. Echoes of Wisdom began with the Echoes mechanic.

The Echoes mechanic could not shine in Link's hands, because his sword, arrows, and bombs would always provide more direct and efficient ways to defeat enemies. Tears of the Kingdom had this issue, where Ultrahand and Zonai Devices were not only inefficient solutions to combat, but were basically non-existent for the final battle.

Contrast with the Celestial Brush Techniques of Okami, which played a vital role in conflict-resolution from the beginning of the game to the end.

Nintendo decided that if they were going to stray so far away from Link's normal style of play, that it only made sense to use a completely different character who wouldn't be expected to play the way Link does.

Just as Samus Aran and Metroid were born out of the desire to make a new platformer that didn't play like Mario Brothers. Mario didn't curl up into a rolling ball, or double-jump, or somersault in mid-air... so Samus would.

Building Up Without Tearing Down

Nintendo understood that they could make Zelda the hero of the story without needing to make Link unheroic.

(Indeed, this Link might be one of the most heroic of all, because he was adventuring all over the world saving people by his own initiative, long before anyone suggested he had an official duty or divine fate, or that the survival of the world hung in the balance.)

Nintendo also knew they could make Zelda the hero without insisting that she never needed the help of others, especially of men.

Just as, in most previous games, Link needed the help of Zelda, or Navi, or Midna, or various male or female Sages.

Ultimately

The game is written as a fun adventure; an escape into fantasy, away from all weighty issues in the real world. Not as a lecture or a Chick Track sermon.

The writers do not feel the need to educate you, only to entertain you.

All exposition only serves to explain the rules or backstory of the game itself, where those cannot be understood by lessons from the real world.

[hyruleairbnb]

Okay let's do a little game: who would rather buy what kind of Halloween decoration?

Link🧝‍♂️

Zelda 🧝‍♀️

Sidon 🦈

Yona 🐟

Riju 💪

Yunobo 🪨

Tulin 🦅

Giant Skeleton

Regular pumpkin decoration

A lot of spiders, webs,, ghosts and bats (classic)

Giant inflatable ganondorf

Getting risky by packing trash bags liooking like corpses, hanging mannequins from a tree

Much blood, fake organs

Life sized horror movie creatures

nothing at all

Post em in the comments. No need to use all of the suggestions. If you have own ideas just use it . This is only meant to be fun.

[pocketseizure]

Governance in Hyrule

A hundred years after the Calamity, the Hyrulean monarchy only exists in the form of a ruined castle and a legendary princess. Not much can be said about the monarchy in its absence, but it’s interesting to think about in relation to the other systems of governance in Hyrule.

Although the Zora have a royal family, they’re essentially living in a communist utopia of shared resources and communal living spaces. Everyone works according to their interests and talents, and individual disagreements are given voice but ultimately suppressed for the good of the group.

Rito society seems to be the opposite. Warriors are highly respected, and they act according to their own individual ideas of what they think is the best course of action. Kaneli, the chief of Rito Village, is a retired warrior whose role seems to be largely symbolic. Although the village chief is respected, he has no real control over the younger warriors.

Kakariko Village seems to operate somewhere in the middle. As the village elder, Impa maintains cultural lore and tradition, and she can suggest courses of action. Still, her role is symbolic, and she does not directly arbitrate disputes or issue commands.

The Yiga are a bunch of obnoxious theater kids who have formed a cult around the most obnoxious theater kid. They are an outlier and should not be counted.

The Gorons seem to be set up like a corporation. Bludo is the founder of the Goron Group Mining Company, and he oversees its operations and manages trade. He commands respect, but he isn’t particularly concerned with anything outside his own interests. A lot of people who work for him don’t agree with his decisions, but they take it for granted that “labor” is what they should be doing. The Gorons are modeled on a stereotype of the traditional working class of downtown Tokyo, and I think their portrayal is meant to be a lighthearted parody of working-class solidarity.

Riju is the only person even remotely resembling a true ruler, and she’s an almost platonic ideal of a just and benevolent sovereign. She commands soldiers, directly confronts outside threats, enforces security over the market, ensures the fair distribution of resources, holds audiences with advisors and individual citizens, and generally works to maintain the wellbeing of her people. The idea seems to be that, as the only actual city in Hyrule, Gerudo Town is the only place that requires an actual government.  

Meanwhile, the Hylians seem to be doing just fine without any sort of government at all. They live in a beautiful and happy post-scarcity world where everyone has a place to live and enough to eat. Roads, bridges, and public stables are carefully maintained, and trade flows smoothly. People travel for pleasure and are free to pursue their own interests, whether it’s studying leviathan bones or writing magazine articles or hunting for mushrooms or searching for romance.  

It feels like the only real function of the Hyrulean monarchy was to combat Ganon, and Ganon only exists in opposition to the monarchy. I don’t mean to suggest that the destruction and loss of life that occurred during the Calamity was a good thing, but maybe it wouldn’t be such a tragedy if the Hyrulean monarchy were to end with Zelda…?

[skyloftian-nutcase]

There was a little place in Castle Town that had been one of the most popular businesses in the entire city before the Calamity. It had called itself The Royal Eatery, and its idea was a novel one - a place for people to gather and relax, to eat and drink as if it were a tavern or an inn, but simply without sleeping amenities. The citizens of the Castle Town loved to visit it, to try new cuisines from the chefs who shared all the culinary delights Hyrule had to offer.

When the Calamity had come, the eatery had been nearly destroyed. However, through the efforts of the locals, it was finally running again.

This was already a celebratory matter, but The Royal Eatery had steadily become famous for its patrons. The Champions themselves loved to meet there, choosing to get a nice meal and hang out somewhere that wasn’t quite as overbearing or formal as the castle. Some days people swore they saw the queen herself there.

Nembia knew better, of course. She was one of the servers at The Eatery, and she often saw famous customers. At first it had been quite the surprise, and her parents naturally didn’t believe her, but now she was growing accustomed to it and even having fun with it.

Because they were fun. And funny. And interesting! Nembia loved people watching, learning about others and observing the world around her, and she was happy she found a place that suited her perfectly.

All the Champions were so much fun to watch. There was the stuffiest one on sight, the Rito Champion Revali, but he always left great tips and was very polite to Nembia, so she loved having him around. He often fluffed his feathers when certain champions arrived, trying to make himself look impressive, but oftentimes when he arrived at the eatery first he would just sit and observe people and look relaxed. Nembia had even gotten into a conversation with him about their favorite kind of weather. It wasn’t much, but it made her happy. He even remembered her name!

Next was her favorite, the Goron Champion, Daruk. He always greeted her with a booming voice, a smile that could light up the world, and occasionally a big hug. While he didn’t eat anything that they could serve, he at least always had some water. Nembia was working on getting some rock roast available just for him, but it was still a work in progress.

The Gerudo Champion and chief, Urbosa, had honestly intimidated Nembia a little at first. The woman was formidable, confident, and despite the softness of her voice, she held an authority and power to her. She was always very kind when speaking to Nembia, but the server had to admit she hadn’t worked up the courage to speak casually with her quite yet. The fact that she was the leader of her people didn’t help.

That was, of course, where the problems arose with the rest. Nembia enjoyed all of them, but she still had to get over the formality of it sometimes. Princess Mipha, Prince Link, and Queen Zelda were literally as normal as people could be, but the titles did lend to some anxiety. Nembia was working her way through it, though - she’d even gotten into conversations with the queen herself about different food items and ingredients!

Princess Mipha was always so polite and sweet, asking Nembia about herself. She even knew about Nembia’s younger brother and her parents, and often inquired after them when she came to visit. Nembia liked her. Prince Link was the sweetest, and oh how Nembia wished she could catch his eye the way the Zora princess had (a girl could dream), but he was also very quiet and soft spoken, shy to the point of difficulty trying to pull conversation out of him. It was Nembia’s goal to try and actually make him laugh too, and she was figuring out all the different ways to do so.

Today seemed to be a particularly special day as all the Champions gathered together. It had become tradition for them to meet up here, rather than in the castle, before they attended to whatever formal duties called them to the capital. Nembia knew and prepped the various drinks for everyone - water for Princess Mipha, Revali, and Daruk, Gerudo coffee for Chief Urbosa, tea for Queen Zelda, and milk for Prince Link.

But something was different, Nembia could tell. She squinted her brown eyes from around the corner, noticing that Princess Mipha and Prince Link were standing closer together than usual. And… Zora were strange in that they didn’t wear clothes, but it seemed that Princess Mipha seemed particularly self conscious of her abdomen, though it didn’t seem like there was a huge difference…

Nembia gasped, hiding in the kitchen. Could it be?

Of course, to the Champions, who knew the Zora princess well, it was immediately apparent. They’d already been informed via letter (the instant Zelda had found out she had told literally everyone), so when they met up in person Daruk immediately picked Mipha up in the gentlest hug the Goron had ever given. He spoke to her softly, making her smile before placing her on the ground as if she were made of glass. Then he grabbed Link with such excitement that he nearly snapped the poor Hylian Champion in half.

“Congratulations, brother!!” Daruk boomed merrily.

Revali huffed a little at the display, but he tipped his head to the Zora princess nonetheless. “I… didn’t think you two could have children, but I am happy for you, Mipha.”

“Right?” Zelda said eagerly, her face flushed. “Oh, it’s so exciting and wonderful! And so fascinating, too! I wonder what such a child could look like, and—”

“All right, little bird,” Urbosa interrupted with a chuckle. “Let them breathe and try to remember they’re having a child, not a science experiment.”

“Oh, of course I know that,” Zelda huffed as if she hadn’t just been theorizing about the baby’s phenotype.

“How far along are you now?” Urbosa asked as everyone sat at their favorite corner table.

“Only seven weeks,” Mipha answered as Link smiled at her happily.

“But you must tell me all about Zora pregnancies!” Zelda insisted with delight. “I imagine it’s a little different from Hylian ones—”

“Maybe later,” Urbosa again redirected the young queen as Revali seemingly tried to disappear into oblivion at the thought of the direction this conversation was going. “We’re all very excited for you two. It’s a beautiful gift and responsibility. I trust you two are up to the task.”

Link and Mipha nodded, their hands finding each other’s as their eyes sparkled.

“That’s just delightful, truly,” Revali said, though there was little bite to his usual sarcastic quips. “In the meantime, perhaps we can catch up on other affairs, since we all knew this news coming in. For example, I have managed to achieve a new height with my gale, climbing higher than ever and beating every Rito in known history.”

”That’s very impressive, Revali!” Mipha commented with a small gasp.

Nembia came at this point, settling the drinks at the table as she smiled at everyone. The brief interruption inspired Zelda to speak up, and the queen said, “Well, we’ve been able to fully restore the travel gates to allow for multiple people to travel at once! It takes quite a bit of energy, though, so it still isn’t the most convenient form of travel. The last of the repairs on the stables have been completed, and our roads are better than ever. Hyrule is finally completely connected again.”

As Nembia got food orders and eavesdropped occasionally, she put a little treat together. When the Champions were rising and ready to head to the castle to address matters related to their various peoples, she left a treat and a congratulatory note for the Zora princess, slipping into the kitchen and peeking around to see the young woman notice the note underneath. Prince Link peered over her shoulder, hands gently wrapped around her as he read it as well, and then the two’s faces lit up with smiles.

Nembia giggled, entering the kitchen entirely. She loved working here.

[calamitaswrath]

I know this is probably just because it was the first Zelda game I owned and played to completion, but there's just something super specific about Twilight Princess on a narrative level that I just haven't really seen in any other Zelda game yet. What I mean is... it just feels like a private, or secretive story. Granted, most Zelda games aren't really the grand fantasy epic that some fans might have you believe they are, with most Links not even being recognized as heroes for most of their journey or afterwards. Like, in Wind Waker Link is just a travelling kid who occasionally helps some people, but is only really recognized by the Rito as a hero. Or in Skyward Sword, most NPCs know Link on a rather personal level, but don't really know what's going on with him. But I don't know, with Twilight Princess it just feels still a bit more... secretive, personal, or whatever you want to call it.

Link is from a tiny village at the southernmost edge of Hyrule, a tiny place that in Hyrule proper, few barely even seem to know. Hyrule in general is super populated even more so than pre-timeskip Ocarina of Time, but it's all completely localized in Castle Town, where Link is little more than a face in a crowd. And while the people in town obviously have an idea of something going on in the land, they only really notice Lake Hylia drying up due to Zora's Domain being frozen over (which no one even really knows about), and Ganondorf's barrier appearing around the castle.

Everything that Link does takes place in forgotten, ancient ruins and out in the wilderness, or at the very outskirts of society, in tiny villages or with the other races. And the chief of the Gorons never really learns what Link did for him, and the Zora don't even know or learn that it was him who saved them. All that Link does in and around Castle Town is meanwhile in back alleys and during stormy night, beneath the town itself in enormous sewer systems that doesn't even have a proper entrance that you learn about. And even in Ordon Village, where everyone knows Link, they also barely got an idea of what is going on.

The central conflict is also something that barely anyone even knows about. Ganondorf isn't some great demon king, he's just a thief that was already dealt with ages ago. Both his story, and the backstory of the Twili isn't even something that an actual person tells you about, or can tell you about, and you learn about them instead from the otherworldly light spirits and sages. And I know Wind Waker was similar in that regard, where the actual conflict was something that few even really knew about. But I think what makes Twilight Princess different in this regard is that at face value, its conflict is something you'd expect to see in a fantasy epic, with literal hordes of darkness invading the world. But then its literally baked into the story that most of the people don't, can't know what's going on. The Resistance is already noteworthy in that they actually put to together that something is going on... and they're only four people, five if you count Telma.

I don't know if any of this really makes any sense, but I don't know. Twilight Princess just always felt particularly private and secretive to me, and that's the best I can put it. And that's just something I always love about the game.

Also that true form Midna is hot.

[imaginethezeldaverse]

How the sages react to the food you make for them 🥰

Some TotK spoilers below, please be warned! 

Sidon is thoroughly impressed! While he’s quite used to having his meals prepared by his staff, he’s enthusiastic about trying a homecooked meal made by your hands. You purposefully snuck behind him to ask Yona what his favorite thing to eat was - come to find it’s crab! With some finesse you managed to whip up some pretty simple crabcakes, something that had the Zora king staring at them with some consternation. Yet after one bite, you watch the shark-like eyes of your friend light up before he scarfed down the rest of it.  “Simply delicious!” he exclaimed, before waving his wife over to try one, “You must share the recipe with my staff members, I’m sure father would enjoy these as well - what a delight!”  For Riju and her court, you decided to make something rather special. Often you'd find the ladies of Gerudo town were not particularly privvy of the cultures on the opposite side of Hyrule, where dairy farms and foods on the fattier side were in much more abundance due to preservation from the hot sun being quite a bit easier. Luckily for you with a few white chuchu jellies you had no issue spinning together a fabulous dessert. A little caramelization mixed with a concoction of eggs, sugar and fresh milk from the Hateno dairy made for quite a flavorful egg pudding. Riju was respectful of your space as you baked, though the sugary sweet smell of the caramel left her and her warrior's noses rather curious. At your presentation of the dish, she blinked curiously, "It looks wobbly, is it supposed to be that way?" she asked you, poking at it with the spoon you lent her. She was more confused by your laugh, but decided to try it anyway. Immediately she was hit syrupy caramelized sugar and dense custard, a powerful combination for her sweet tooth. Snatching up another spoon she dipped into the confection, "Buliara! You absolutely must try this!" Unable to deny any request of her Chief, the Gerudo Captain takes a bite, only to be taken aback by how delectable it is before cracking the slightest of smiles in agreement with Riju. The latter of which is digging into the pudding with a squeal, "My warriors would enjoy this tremendously, perhaps you'd be willing to make several more?"

Tulin is completely invested in what you're making. As soon as you told him you had some hearty salmon on the menu (a note that Saki had mentioned to you in passing was one of his favorites), he's flapped away in excitement ever since. You thought at first it would be a little difficult being over the cooking stone with a pre-teen Rito zooming above you (you were admittedly terrified he'd singe a few feathers), but he mostly just watched you from over your shoulder. Skillful hands cleaned and cut the salmon with ease, this not being the first nor the last time you've cooked a good salmon of course. "Oooh, what's that? Did Uncle Yunobo give that to you?" he beams brightly at the jar of Goron spice in your hand that you shook onto the raw fish. You tell him not quite, though it was his suggestion to take some with you as you traveled to give your meals some kick. When the smell of the salmon becomes fragrant, you can hear Tulin’s muffled noises of elation as his giant sapphire eyes seem to nearly sparkle with hunger. You're not even able to get the words 'Okay, dig in!' completely out before he gobbles up his share in a few small bites. "Tulin, mind your manners!" Saki chides him, but you assure her it's fine, you did make sure to make extra after all. "But mom, it's so good!" he chirps before he flutters back over to you, "I can have more, right? Pleeeeease tell me you have more!"

Now for Yunobo, this required some serious instruction and skill. Consulting with Cooke at the Bedrock Bistro was your holy grail and you were very thankful that you were friends with Goron City's mining president to even get the opportunity, because although Cooke was naturally friendly - the man didn't play about his rock roasts. Your endgame: a rock roast flambé seared to perfection. It would take you several attempts to get it right; Cooke reiterated constantly the importance of temperature, wrist work and most importantly: timing. But when you finally had it, you were beyond proud...even if you couldn't eat it. With your fireproof potions at the ready, you got to work searing the slab at magma level degrees, taking care to watch the coloration of the rock and watch for its telltale signs of doneness. Fire roared in Cooke's kitchen (he was nice enough to lend it to you for the evening after you'd successfully seared your first one under his supervision), "Ooooh," mused Yunobo from the granite table out front. Another flame shot out from the kitchen, having him jump back a bit, "H-Hey! Don't burn yourself please!" But you didn't hear him, for within only a few seconds of your final flash sear - you were done. Hot as Death Mountain itself, you had to serve Yunobo his flambé on a steel plate (and with fireproof gauntlets), but it was well worth it to watch the Goron's mouth water in appetence. With his dark blue eyes aglow in thanks he tearfully whimpered out a "Thank...you...!" before cracking right into the rock roast flambé. Incoherent grunts of approval and whines of delight were what you heard from your giant friend, and it put your heart at ease when he had practically picked the thing clean. Moving him for the next few minutes was nigh impossible from him being so full afterward, but the reassuring hand on your head and a satisfied, dreamy sigh of "In...credible!" was all you needed to hear to know Yunobo had thoroughly enjoyed his meal. Bonus: Though Mineru could no longer eat food due to her body being completely mechanical, that did not stop her from sharing a simple recipe that she remembered making for herself and Rauru when they were younger. A simple dish of apples and honey, one that she was able to easily instruct you to recreate. Upon tasting it, you were enthralled at its sweetness - not at all overbearing, but beyond delectable. "I'm glad you like it, it has been some time since I've seen this dish be made...it brings back memories." There's a sadness in her tone that tugs at your heart - so without another word you wrap your arms around her otherworldly frame, thanking her for showing you such a delicious dish.