#how could zelda exist if they didn't

[ultimatefangirl-exe]

Family doodle. Will probably finish tomorrow.

[sittingoverheredreaming]

I love Zelda theories and lore but I wish more people acknowledged that

1. Skyward Sword shows that it's perfectly fine for the same person to exist twice in a time due to time travel since both Zelda and Impa do, and

2. Ocarina of Time's time travel is a really interesting and weird form of time travel because it's only Link's consciousness traveling between time periods and that's totally different than other forms of time travel in the series

[orcusnoir]

"You know what I hate?" The Champion asked to no one in particular as he watched over the slow boiling pot of stew.

"Uh... Not having enough spices?" The Captain asked from his seat at the table.

Wild gave a nod. "Not what I was going for, but yes."

"Then what do you hate, Champ?" Wars asked while glancing over to the Vet. Legend was currently trying to stack his fork and knife on top of each other to no avail.

"How do I put this?" Wild tapped his chin in thought.

"As bluntly as you can." Hyrule chimed in.

"Fair enough. Why are certain clothes locked to certain people? It's fucking cloth." Wild complained with a laugh.

At first Wars was going to chide Wild for the language, but... He just couldn't. Wild had a point here.

"FINALLY!" Wind's loud voice startled Wars a bit as the Sailor had been awfully quiet in his seat. "Tetra and I both hate that stupid shit. What do you mean I can't wear heels? I'm trying to feel tall, and Tetra hates heels, and so somebody has to wear them."

"Tell me about it." Wild started. "Zelda let me try on one of her old royal dresses, don't ask how they survived a hundred years, and somebody had issues with that."

The Captain just laughed. Damn those social rules indeed. Wild in a dress wasn't something he was expecting to hear about today, but it was something that he could picture.

And the Champion would rock that dress.

"Heh, I've been thinking those rules were stupid since I knew they existed. So, since I was nine." Time joined the conversation. "I didn't even know what the big deal was back then."

"I'd ask how, but I'm afraid the answer would be too confusing." Twilight said.

"Oh, not at all, I was raised by forest spirits and a giant tree." The Old Man nonchalantly explained. "They didn't have concepts like "male" and "female." So imagine my confusion."

A claim that he made often but never elaborated on. Everyone, besides the Captain and Wind, thought it was a lie or a ruse.

Warriors just laughed, he couldn't help it.

"Oh little Mask and his insisting that he's a tree." Wars felt everyone's eyes turn to him.

Time laughed loudly. "You made that corporals life hell."

"I did not have time for that guy's bullshit. We are in the middle of a fucking war, if the kid says he's a tree then he's a fucking tree." Wars started to lose his composure from all of his laughing.

"What do you mean by "he's a tree"?" Sky asked while scratching his head.

"Again, I was raised by forest spirits." Time explain. "You lot, besides two, think this a lie. It's not."

"Time, your life profoundly confuses me." Sky said. "So they assigned you a tree?"

Time nodded.

"Instead of anything else?"

Another nod.

"Not like a boy tree? Just a tree?"

Another nod. "Two trees, to be exact. But yes."

"Two trees?"

"Maple and oak, to be exact."

Wars just watch the conversation with a grin. Oh, poor Sky. He must be feeling the same confusion that he and the Sailor had during the war.

"I feel so understood." Rulie said with the widest smile imaginable. "I'm just a Fae." He shrugged as the others turned to face him. "Not the legend kind of Fae. I was raised by Fairies."

"Well, now you can be a Fae tree. How lovely." Time stated with a laugh.

"What kinda tree?"

"Hmmm, you and the Captain both have the same one. Pine, and you can have maple too. As a treat."

"A Fae pine and maple tree. Nice."

"Are we just gonna brush over the fact that Wars already has a tree identity?" Legend asked.

"I do too!" Wind but in. "Take a guess, it's so obvious."

"Uh...Palm tree?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Correct!"

"What tree am I then?" Wild asked while seasoning a few cuts of meat.

"Willow." Time and Warriors both spoke at the same time.

"Damn, that was fast."

"You had this conversation before, hadn't you?" Sky asked while keeping his gaze locked to Wars. "So tell us our trees."

"Oh, alright, I'll try to remember all the specifics. It's been a while." Time laughed while tapping his fingers on the table.

"It all reminds me of the Minish. They have leaves instead of trees, though." Four, who had been quietly observing this whole time, finally spoke up.

"Oh, the Kokiri had leaves too. That's a whole other thing."

[justpoliteconversations]

Apple Merchant [BOTW!Link x Isekai!Reader] (Part 4)

Link learns some things. And so do you.

Yet another for the ever growing pile of self-indulgent garbage refuse. Enjoy the process of decomposition with me for a while.

Part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Alternate Extras: Embrace

Masterlist

TW: Choosing not to display warnings. Read at your own discretion.

Disclaimer: Don't own The Legend of Zelda franchise.

---

The yiga. A faction of Ganon worshipping traitors formerly of the Sheikah clan, whose main objective is to kill the Hero known as Link (in other words, himself). Known for their distinctive red body suits and white masks. And, strangely enough, their love of bananas.

They were also currently at the very top of Link's (until recently non-existent) shit list, because AM had deemed their threat level too great to allow them to meet each other freely. As Blue had told him, AM's profession placed them at greater danger than the average citizen to the assassins' blades. What that profession was, Link was not told (despite his pleading and intense stares and even one memorable attempt to bargain for the information), but it was deemed necessary to maintain distance because of this.

There were plenty of other useful things in the book too. Not a letter or a note or even a small bundle of documents. A book. An honest to Goddess book. Because there was nothing else the ridiculously thick, neatly piled collection of leather bound miscellaneous papers, maps, diagrams, notes and documents could be. It was the thickness of Link's hand for goodness sakes.

Thankfully, Blue had taken mercy on him (and his desire to get moving as soon as possible) and bookmarked the pages and maps that would be most useful to him. All while giving him that bland, graceful smile of hers and explaining that AM was a very proactive information gatherer, but that they didn't always consider that not everyone wanted to know the exact region Sneaky snails bred in or where the highest priced wheat could be found.

Link very deliberately didn't tell her that he did, in fact, find those very interesting topics to learn about (and that he would be reading through the entire book when he got the chance. later). Because he was still stung that she'd given him a condescending little smile (smirk, it was a damned smirk and Link knew it) when he'd tried to bargain with her for more information on AM.

In total, he'd spent three days in Hateno, gathering information (as though the book wasn't enough), gathering supplies (because as many as were in the slate, it didn't have everything a warrior would need to maintain his gear. Blue's words, not his) and getting to know the people around the area.

Also, armor. Costume fitted (Link didn't think too hard about how Blue had gotten his measurements) as to AM's specifications before they'd left town. The order arrived a little later due to his (apparently) small size causing complications with some of the straps.

Honestly, it felt good. It felt familiar with a hazy kind of comfort that spoke of his body's remembrance of such armor resting upon it often. And suddenly, in that moment, the thought that he had once been a knight didn't feel so far off, despite having no memory of it and very little desire to become as such again.

Ready to go (finally) he put on his boots, tightened the straps of his new (fitted. maybe he'd see about getting his Sheikah armor fitted as well if he was in the area) hyrulian armor set, and took one last shot before departing.

"Where can I get more bananas?" Link tried, going for casual but coming off far too intense for it to be anything but prying. "For the Yiga problem."

Blue just smiled (small and condescending, and so frustrating) before replying evenly. "AM has that well in hand I'd imagine." The knowing glint in Blue's eyes put a pout on Link's face. "It's best you focus on your mission, Courageous One." Then she smiled genuinely. Just a bit, but enough to ease Link's heart as she continued. "Fear naught for your beloved AM. No harm shall befall them while my sister haunts their shadow."

Link believed her. And with that little bit of reassurance, the Hero of Hyrule set out into the world once more. With courage in his heart and his goal ever at the forefront of his mind.

Defeat the Calamity guy. Meet AM. Travel this vast, wondrous world with them for the rest of their days. Or, maybe one day settle down more permanently in Hateno and open a food stand.

Anywhere life took them. Whatever you wanted. This was the beginning of his new life after all, and he was so eager to spend it with you.

---

You stared up at the quickly growing pile of bright yellow fruit with something like regret stabbing at your heart. Just thinking about how much rupees you were about to drop on this one purchase alone was enough to put a hitch in your throat. It was enough to have you contemplating a long walk off that equally long (absurdly long) wooden bridge just next to the stable.

When you'd stopped at Lakeside Stable for the night and told Adino you'd pay him market price for any bananas he brought back to you before you left. You hadn't expected him to take that as a challenge. You hadn't expected Skims to get involved in it as well. And you most certainly had not expected Red to show up out of nowhere with a pile rivaling (and maybe even surpassing) Adino's.

And thus, within the span of a few short hours, you were suddenly several thousand rupees poorer (not that that pantry amount even scratched the surface of your accumulated wealth, but you digress) and many, many bananas richer.

At least they tasted good.

"Not that I'm against your presence. But why are you here, Red?" You asked the red clad woman after (with a heavy heart) passing out everyone's pay for the bananas they'd brought you. (Skims and Red didn't even have the grace to look ashamed for muscling in on the quick profit either, the jerks.)

She didn't even pause from where she'd been fingering through her newly acquired (ill gotten) gains when she hummed playfully. "Oh. Gran thought it'd be wise to send along a little extra protection to ensure The Hero's benefactor remained unmolested during these most crucial of times."

The look on your face must have been confused enough to spur Red to explain. "Gran told us to keep you in the dark about our motivations, but I like you. So I'll tell you the truth, since you seem like the reasonable sort." She finally put the rupees down and turned to face you, eyes hardening into a serious shade of near black as she explained.

"The Hero is without his memory, and until recently, was without motivation to see his mission through with the urgency it requires. Had he been as he was before, just the mention of the Princess would have been enough to send the guy running, if you believe the rambling of nostalgic old gossip crows." Her lips twisted into something too complicated to decipher before it was neutral again.

"But he's not the man he used to be. He's not the princess's knight anymore for all his destiny would push him to be. And so, he needed a new motivation to get him moving." She gave you a smile, but it wasn't a nice one (it was one full of spite and pity, though only the pitying part was directed at you). "That's you. The guy loves you already. Call it situational stockholm or just that damned knightly instincts of his, but you are the apple of his eye." She tried to soften her smile into something humorous, but it fell short.

"Bottom line. You're the replacement motivation. Just until he gets enough of his memories back to get invested in the Princess' wellbeing." She flicked a rupee off the stump she'd gathered them on, expression very closed off as she continued.

"Whenever Mr. hero gets a little too comfortable playing house, we're supposed to dangle you in his face and get him interested again. That you seem invested in his success was just a bonus. Be it the Will of Hylia or just simple coincidence, doesn't matter. You're useful, and if it gets the Princess out of that Hell, we're willing to use that."

Another smile, sharp but honest. "It's our duty after all, to serve the royal family. I'm sure you understand." Despite the way the information settled sourly in your stomach you nodded, keeping your expression as even as possible.

She noticed though, and suddenly her hand was on yours (you hadn't noticed it tightening into a fist). "Don't fret, Apples." She smiled again, softer this time. Eyes lighted with a compassion that held such raw honesty despite her earlier words. "My sister and I are not going to let the elders use you like that. You might have asked yourself why Bluey isn't here instead, since, you know-" She smirked, side-eyeing Adino who'd gone some distance off to try to find more bananas (to take more of your rupees, the little bastard).

"We will fulfill our duties. For the protection of Hyrule and everything we love. But not at your's or your dear Hero's expense. At least, not like that. You see, Bluey has something I do not, and that is a gentle touch. She'll take care of the Hero in the way he needs, not the way that'll get the fastest results." Her smirk widened. "And she's got more of a rebellious streak than me too. Trust in her. She'll protect your dear Hero. Even if she has to spit in the elders' eyes to do it. She never could put her heart aside for the sake of duty."

You were silent for a time, digesting her words with the weight and attention they deserved, before looking back to her. A smile on your lips, and your hand out before her in the gesture of a shake.

"I look forward to doing business with you then, Red." You began, letting the edge of your resolve sharpen your eyes and embolden your words. "Let's do our best to protect Link and save Zelda. We'll give it everything we've got."

Red grinned, full and bright and smug (so unbearably smug, like she had won the lottery. which they didn't have here, and you were not interested in introducing any time soon either). "I knew you were gonna understand. The Goddess wouldn't choose just anyone to guard her chosen's heart."

You blinked. "What?"

Red picked up another rupee, flicking it at you. "What~?"

---

Now, off to work! And then the shadows to rest.

[phoenixcatch7]

Okay you know what actually yeah. I was tired but I had a point.

Why. On earth. In zelda fics. Do people not shut up about everything being hylia's fault forever and ever.

Like, the one deity out of a dozen odd who got cursed into this right alongside Link. All the focus on one great all being power who then gets blamed or blessed for everything that ever happens. It's just... I don't know, it just seems like a culturally Christian thing. Not even that - American catholic.

Especially Legend omg when people write him he never shuts up about how everything bad that's ever happened to him is all hylia's fault and she's doing it on purpose with no thought to her poor beleagured hero. He sounds like someone who grew up in an American conservative household who turned out to be queer and never bothered to unpack any of it and acts like he's now atheist.

But even then you could do something interesting with that!! The common headcanon that Legend is hylian royalty - of course that family would put immense worth and worship on hylia as her descendants, she who founded their kingdom. And maybe legend could feel bitter about not inheriting the magic, or the throne, or whatever meant he grew up away from the castle. Give him some unexamined religious trauma! Heck, he could bond with Flora over disappointing your family's expectations or something! They could work on unpacking it together! If you must make it part of his character at least think about why!

Because that belief is wrong, because hylia is literally the one deity we can pretty safely understand is not all seeing, all knowing, all being.

Every time she has a voice, a role, we see her make mistakes or be tricked and have regrets.

Skyward sword, she's literally zelda. She's a young protective warrior goddess (she used a sword and lead armies to battle against demise) who was created by the Three to guard the triforce and keep watch over hyrules lands. By the time ss starts she's already made several tough calls, not limited to yoinking hylians into the sky. When she was zelda she hated every second of leading Link around and even then!! It all hinged on him being completely willing! He was never forced to do anything, she didn't even have her memories with the plan until after she'd fallen to the surface! Their relationship was entirely genuine and she very nearly overestimated her own willingness to go through with the plan! And even then she still managed to get kidnapped lmao. That's not what happens when you're in charge of fate.

And in botw and totk - she's in her full divine form, her full divine powers, she's ancient and magic and worshipped in every corner of the kingdom. And (spoilers!) she loses contact with one of her own mf statues. Not just any ten apples high chibi statue you see in the towns, no, it's The Big One. She's got no idea what happened to it, but she's (rightfully) worried, and asks Link to check it out. And in an entirely separate instance, her OTHER big statue in the ToT gets overridden!! By a triangle head! And ol creep in the deep is the one who releases the statue! It's been what 20k years of power and worship - if she's not all powerful then she never will be.

Hyrule - every hyrule - is very, very polytheistic. She's not even a goddess of time to be in charge of stuff like that! There's multiple of them: Naryu, Cia (and Lana), Farosh to an extent, and many artifacts that can cause time travel, like the harp of ages, the ocarina, the big portal in ss, those time shift stones in the same game, the statue in wind waker. Please stop treating her like the magic elf equivalent of Monotheistic American Christianity God.

She was introduced in skyward sword. The game that came out before botw. She did not exist in any of the games that came before that. There was a lake hylia! In the kingdom hyrule! That's it! Her name or even existence wasn't even hinted at before that. It's actually canonically pretty unlikely any of the chain (cough cough legend) have even heard of her! And her assigned job is protector of the triforce. That's it. And she can't even use the thing. She can very explicitly as a main driving force of the ss plot not use the triforce she protects. And the triforce, shockingly, is not even in every game.

Cases that hylia often gets the most flack for (links awakening and all the trauma from that, Link failing in botw, the events of totk) hylia has absolutely zero part in. Hilariously. And she has zero power over wishes made to the triforce or who makes those wishes or what the triforce does about it.

She even gets all the blame for the cycle of the hero, the reincarnation! Which? We know exactly how that happened. Blaming her for a curse she herself is a victim to?? Demise, in skyward sword, explicitly, on screen, doing it ON PURPOSE, cursing the spirit of the hero and the blood of the goddess.

Hylia, I don't know if you've noticed, also has her own blood. Whether or not she lost that blood upon return to her divine form, she still couldn't break the curse. Link, spirit now tied to whatever demise had cooking up, is basically to reincarnate in time for whenever the Interesting Times happen. And it's demise's fault, who, again, did it on screen, on purpose, explicitly, pointing at the camera with text bolded and everything.

So why do people even blame her? I think it comes down to this:

Her name matches the kingdom. Whatever her connection to the people with the same name, I don't know, but she did found the surface kingdom as a mortal. Being named zelda at the time I wonder who chose the name XD!

Her worship in botk as a high ranking deity. Again, not monotheistic, there's temples to the Three and there's Malanya and Satori and the great fairies and the yiga worship ganon, but hylia is the most widespread for all she's basically a side character working for the new heart piece situation. Again, this is only the case in ss/botk, she doesn't appear in even aoc.

A misguided belief spread in fanfiction that in linked universe, hylia is the one opening and controlling the portals. To my knowledge, lu canon is that the portals are opened by dark link, or at least that's the working theory. I think it's assumed that hylia is the one who gathered the heroes together to combat it? If that's true? Congratulations! We have one (very plot necessary) act of hers in a fan comic. That is not canon to The Legend Of Zelda series.

An american Christian (I hesitate to say evangelican?) cultural understanding of religion. The differences between polytheism and monotheism. How one might feel if the divine was proven real on earth. Zelda is a Japanese property, it is not a Christian country. Though it draws aesthetic inspiration from western medieval fantasy it is not and never will be culturally western. The majority of ao3/tumblr users are American or at least English speaking, and that will always affect interpretation. It's giving 'be thankful to God no matter what for he always has a plan. Trust in him and your suffering will be rewarded' which is not a universal religious belief.

Something I've noticed to be surprisingly common in fandom, is where a mentor or figure of authority who is anything less than perfect or all forgiving can very quickly have their reputation ripped to shreds by the fandom. And then newer authors come, read those works, internalise that about the characters and produce new works that assume that character's cruelty to be par for the course. I will not be listing those characters or fandoms for a variety of reasons lol. But it is amazingly common and very hard to untangle, especially in larger fandoms. It's character bashing in a way near identical to cancelling people irl. It's not 'giving them depth' or 'making it more realistic' (grittier equalling realism is an ice cold take proliferated by dudebro comic authors and wrong besides.) Have some critical thinking.

Lately, I've also been running into a great many fics (not so much comics) that make hylia do some fairly heinous stuff... And then unironically blame her for it. They do remember they're the ones deciding what the characters do, right? She's not an abusive master playing with her puppets until they break, she's quite the opposite! Use the right tags (dark hylia/ooc characters/character bashing/author made them do it, idk) or dial it back. This is a growing percentage of fics and I'll never restrict content but yanno, if you're going to make hylia evil or manipulative at least understand it's a canon deviation (and do something interesting with it, I once read an amazing botw fic with evil hylia and fierce deity!).

TLDR, To summarise, hylia is canonically incapable both emotionally and physically of doing the majority of things characters in fics blame her for. Stop using her as a scapegoat especially when demise is right there. Please give your whumpees deeper characterisation than hating on hylia. Please give legend deeper characterisation than hating on hylia every time he or someone else is sad. Please remember wild can talk to hylia if he wants. Please double check anything you're not sure about :D!

[valictini]

I've been asking myself these questions regarding totk's story and my deep disappointment in it, because I know a lot of people loved it, I know a lot of people felt it was a better story than botw, and I know a lot of people believe that Zelda games never had good stories to begin with....

But no, I do think the story objectively sucks, is worse than botw's, and could have easily been better. Totk's story is flashier and that's pretty much all it has to offer.

Part of it is its execution, how using the same blueprint as botw (deliberately non linear) was a baffling move when you tried to tell a linear story. You shouldn't be punished for pursuing the story earlier than when the devs planned. You shouldn't be able to spoil yourself the story. You shouldn't be presented with the exact same information 4+ times at points where you're supposed to be rewarded for your efforts. You shouldnt have to slog through a mystery when the game KNOWS you already know the answer. And yet, this happened to an alarmingly large number of people!

So yes, the execution wasn't good.

But the story itself isn't good either. Not only did they decide to cut ties with botw's lore, but they didn't even fully commit to the new lore they introduced.

The zonai civilisation has no substance. We see two (2) of its members and only interact with their ghosts in very, very few instances. During those interactions, we do learn tidbits of this civilisation, but as soon as the tutorial is over, you will never learn anything new from a zonai again. A couple lines during the tutorial is where the bulk of zonai lore happens. The rest is: jumping minigame said to be the same ritual young zonai would do to become adults and the explanation of draconification.

You could maybe say that the mere existence of zonai tech, the mere existence of secret stones, the zonai gear and the ancient hero aspect could be considered zonai lore. But what these things only really add to the lore is that the Zonai 1) were always everywhere and 2) were very powerful. That's pretty much it.

(The ancient hero aspect is especially infuriating to me. It could be a whole post.)

So, not only did they replace the Sheikah by the Zonai for no reason, they didn't even flesh them out enough to be interesting. But they didn't exploit the rest of the story to its fullest either.

- The heart of the story happens in the ancient era, yet we don't see much of it. All the new things we see: the inside of ancient hyrule castle's throne room, a garden and one (1) gazebo in a field. We don't get lore for the dungeons aside from their name, and the ancient sages don't add anything to them either. In general, we don't get lore of the ancient races, not even the hylians or the gerudos.

- Zelda was retconed into being stupid enough not to make the connection between Ganondorf and calamity Ganon. She was also sent back into being a compliant little princess that can't put her foot down when she knows the people around her are making mistakes.

(As an aside, I'm fully of the opinion that Calamity Ganon was a better antagonist than Ganondorf. At least you don't have to fanfic your way into understanding why he wants Hyrule destroyed. He's a magical beast full of hatred, the end.)

- The whole plot is centered around dragons, and yet totk manages to have LESS content surrounding the three dragons of Hyrule than fucking botw.

- Hylia is no relevant anymore. The statues are apparently their own entities? And they have counterparts in the depths with he bargainer statues? Never elaborated on.

The ending cutscene contains a deus ex machina that manages to retcon elements of its OWN story. (Rauru was supposed to be gone after the tutorial. Zelda was supposed to be gone after becoming a dragon.) Realistically, I knew Zelda wouldn't stay a dragon, but I was genuinely shocked at how little of an explanation we get for her return.

And we have 0 impact on her return as a player. Nothing we do matters. She turns back no matter what. Despite many opportunities to make it work in universe.

We could have had something tied with the other dragons, the three sources, to Purah's experiments with time, to the four temples, to Hylia, to the bargainer statues, to the triforce...

But no, just a vague "ghosts that should have disappeared eons ago use their powers to get her back through your arm".

We don't even have an alternate bad ending where this doesn't happen. It will happen, no matter what. For the cinematic shot at the end.

Oh and Link had to get his arm back too. I know they needed their cool parallel of Link catching her hand at the same angle as when he failed to do so at the beginning, but it just all feels so inconsequential as a result.

Everything's solved, everything's good, nothing that happened in this game ever mattered.

[the-au-collector]

Fell into a rabbit hole of rewatching Age of Calamity cutscenes (since I don't have the game) and

this game is so needlessly dramatic

"it whaaaat" - Revali

Robbie is an icon and there needs to be more of him

the DLC memory scenes are the best cutscenes in the game

Terrako singing ballad of the goddess 😭😭😭

Baby Zelda is so cute

Terrako is OP

I love how the entire game starts all dramatic and then there's just E G G

Also the opening credits of the game imply that the tapestry is about the Calamity where BOTW Link failed??? Either that or Terrako existed at the same time as the OG Calamity which works for me!

Terrako is the main character prove me wrong

Baby Sidon is too pure for this world

I like how Zelda narrates the game. You could almost see it like she's narrating it to her kids or something and I think that's really cute

Sidon's adult voice actor is so over-the-top lolll

I love Daruk so much

"None of this makes any sense" No Daruk it does not

I love Riju's voice actor

I love how Patricia gets her own name tag too

This game varies between incredibly dark to incredibly funny/corny and I love it

Astor my beloved your laugh is terrifying

Khoga is an icon too "you're my best lackey!!!"

Mipha is so tinyyyy

Urbosa is such a mom I love her so much

Hell yeah Vah Ruta flood Hyrule Field!!!

We need more evil magicians in Legend of Zelda. They're all so iconic

Rhoam is actually pretty likeable at the end of the game ngl

Baby Sidon is so so so tinyyyyyy 😭😭😭😭😭

Yunobo's eyes are so funny

Tulin is a sweetheart and not even Revali can escape his cuteness

Khoga's hair is so hard he can't put the thunder helm on oh oy goddd that's hilarious 😂😂😂

Urbosa, Rhoam, and Zelda's mom had to have been a threesome

I didn't need Khoga to be such a dad but here he is... best dad for the best lackey

Astor has followers??? Like he's a cult leader??? *stores that information away for later* Well to be fair they kinda died in the only scene they were in lol

I can tell Robbie's voice actor had a blast doing this

Also this game lowkey reads like a Kingdom Hearts game lol So much random, corny goodness is here and I love it

[uniquevoidflowers]

"What's that noise?" Wild asked.

"Oh...I think...a portal?" Four stood up and listened.

Legend also listened for the noise and soon found it, repeating in his ear. An eerie, ominous noise. "Let's go then." Time demanded and everyone began packing the camp up.

Once everything was ready to go, the cook led them towards a swirly black and purple triangle. The veteran hero remembered going through the portal the first time and ending up in the clearing where all the Links had met. Warriors smirked as Legend inched closer to the portal. "Well, going first again, vet?"

"Who do you take me for?" Legend rolled his eyes and stepped through the portal, chuckles slowly distorting and fading until disappearing completely.

The vet looked around to see he was in his era, and a smile crept across his face. He might get to see Zelda again. "Hey, we're in my era." Legend called and turned around only to see no portal there, and no sign of anyone but himself.

The blood drained from his face.

"H-Hello?" He yelled and then ran around, looking through bushes and behind trees, everywhere he could.

No one.

Legend took a deep breath and waited. He could wait for the portal to appear again, or for his brothers to find him. If...If nothing happened he could go to the castle, or his house, look for the chain. Maybe the portal took them somewhere else? Silence filled the air as the skies became cloudy. Legend waited but no one arrived so he started on his way to his house. Ravio would be there, awaiting him. Eventually, he spotted his house on the orchard and sprinted towards the door, hand gripping the doorknob and pushing the door open. "Rav? I'm home!" He called.

Nothing.

"This isn't funny!" Legend huffed and began searching the house.

Instead of two beds, he found one. Instead of finding Ravio's stuff and numerous hoods he found a green tunic and some of his own stuff. Legend searched everywhere but it was like Ravio had never even existed in the first place. "Maybe he went to go sleepover somewhere." Legend said to himself and walked out of the empty house.

"I'll kill that idiot for leaving my house unattended." Legend muttered, no real anger in his tone.

He travelled to the castle. The villages bustled with villagers who didn't seem to notice the hero walking around. Legend tried walking past a knight who did nothing but blink at him and then look over at someone else. Huh. Weird.

The veteran made it to the castle and tried to walk in, but the guards didn't let him. "State your business." They ordered.

"I want to see Zelda." Legend demanded, irritated.

The guards looked at him with confusion. "Zelda? I ain't heard of a Zelda."

"Stop playing with me, this is serious. I'll let the princess know how you're acting. She won't be happy." Legend snapped, irritation flickering through his eyes.

"Hm?"

Legend looked to see a girl he didn't recognize with a crown and a white dress. "This boy has been requesting to see you." The guards bowed.

The girl's eyes flickered with suspicion. "Who are you and why are you here?" She asked the vet.

"I--I don't...I'm Link! The Hero of Legend? I saved Hyrule from Ganon...I want to see princess Zelda!" He insisted, voice cracking at the end.

"Who's Zelda?" She asked.

"The princess of Hyrule?!" Legend tried.

"I'm the princess of Hyrule." The girl replied, eyeing the vet with concern.

This wasn't a new Hyrule. Legend recognized everything, even some of the villagers were familiar faces. So why...? "I-This doesn't make any sense!" Legend cried out.

"Have you hit your head? Is there some spell affecting you?" The girl questioned.

She thought he was insane. "No...No..I...Sorry, I'll be out of your hair now." Legend ran out of the castle and ran until he bumped into someone.

It looked like Impa. "Oh, Impa, thank the goddesses." He breathed.

The lady paid him no mind. "Impa!" He hissed.

No one answered him. The lady brushed past him and walked to a stall. Legend ran back to her. "Excuse me?"

The lady finally turned around. "Yes?"

"Are you...Impa by chance?" He asked.

"Uh, no, sorry." The lady shook her head and went back to buying whatever she was buying.

Legend saw Gulley, standing around. "Gulley!" He called.

Gulley turned around. "Who are you?" He asked, face twisted in confusion.

"Link...." Legend tried.

"Doesn't ring a bell." Gulley shrugged and started walking away.

Tears pricked at his eyes as he broke into a sprint into the forest. He made it to his house. He opened the door and practically sunk in a chair. He pulled out a journal and began sketching everybody he remembered. Zelda...Ravio...Ralph...

He moved onto the chain and tried to do the old man first but he couldn't...he couldn't remember what his face looked like. All he could remember of the face was that the old man only had one eye. Legend tried to sketch the smith, but....what....what did he look like again?

He knew the smith was short for his age....but how old was he? After a few failed attempts at sketching the smith he moved on to the traveller. But...he couldn't do it.

Link fell apart and started sobbing, paper and pencil falling to the ground.

They all weren't real. Link was dreaming the entire time. Link screamed and started throwing things across the room, pots smashing against walls and items cracking and shattering on the ground. Link sobbed and sobbed. He couldn't take another dream. He thought Marin had been real, then she was a dream. He thought the chain was real. He believed his friends were real. But they weren't.

Link remained like that for a couple of hours before there were no tears left. He sat against the wall, taking a few deep breaths. Then...he felt...hollow. His thoughts swirled until they became gibberish. All he recognized was that he was

A L O N E

___________

Ravio was delighted to hear a knock on the door. He opened it wide to see Link's friends there, panicked expressions on their faces. Ravio's smile fell. "Everything alright?"

"We went through a portal. We were separated from Le-er Link. Is he here?" Mr. Captain Hero Sir asked.

Ravio shook his head. Link's friends exchanged worried glances. "I-I'm sure everything's okay! He probably is just making his way here, or he's with Zelda." Ravio insisted.

"Or he got lost in another era." Captain Hero Sir Jr. mused.

"Could that even happen?!" Tune gasped, eyes wide.

"It's a possibility but very unlikely." Mr. Captain Hero Sir sighed.

Ravio takes a deep breath. "Well, I'm going to check in with Zelda and if Link's not there...I'll have to contact everyone."

"We'll come with." Captain Hero Sir Jr. rumbled.

Ravio nodded and set out with the heroes. After a long while they all arrived at the castle. Zelda informed them that she hadn't seen Link in forever. She had only gotten letters. Ravio asked her to contact people and Mr. Ralph Sir had promised to check in with Labyrnnia and Holodrum to see if Link had gotten there. After a few days of searching, no one could find Link. Mr. Champion Hero Sir tried to use the slate thingy of his but it was no use. Mr. Chosen Hero tried using the Master Sword but it didn't work.

"Where could he be?!" Mr. Traveller Hero cried out.

"A different era." Captain Hero Sir Jr. sighed, face stoic.

"We need to find a portal then." Mr Captain Hero Sir demanded.

"By--"

"No. I'm coming with." Ravio huffed and stuffed a few of his weapons in a bag.

The heroes nodded, surprised and Ravio set out with them once more.

"Mr. Hero? Link?" Ravio whispered.

Link looked up at him. His eyes shone no light, his eyes red and the house he was sitting him an absolute disaster. Pots had been smashed, glass was sitting on the ground next to him. "Mr. Hero...what happened?" He asked.

"Not...real." Link mumbled.

"What?"

"You're not real." Link hissed and grabbed a jar from a table and threw it across the room, the glass flying on the floor.

"Mr. Hero, don't do that! I'm real, I promise." Ravio panicked and wrapped his arms around Link.

"You can't be..." Link growled and shoved the merchant off of him.

"Link. You disappeared on your companions, and myself, because you were whisked away somewhere else by the portal. None of us know where we are, but this is not the Hyrule we live in." Ravio explained.

"Not real!" Link grabbed another jar and threw it at Ravio, barely missing.

"It is!" Ravio promised, weakly.

Oh Lolia, how does he convince Link he's real? "Ravio? Ra-Woah what happened?" Mr. Chosen Hero gasped.

"He doesn't think I'm real." Ravio informed him, softly.

Link curled up on himself, shoulders shaking. Ravio hesitated but hugged Mr. Hero again. "I'm real. I promise. I'm staying right here with you Mr. Hero. We're both real."

Mr. Chosen Hero wrapped his white cape around Link, a sadness in his eyes. "What's happening right now, is we're in some sort of twisted version of your era. Warriors is finding out as much as he can, but we know that this is not your Hyrule."

Link looked up, tears streaming down his cheeks and he nodded. He didn't looked convinced but he still listened. Ravio would have to find a way to help him later. For now they needed to get back to Hyrule.

[kaisers-house-of-desires]

Enemies to lovers with Ganondorf. Can be smutty or not, up to you. I’m just trying to cope with the f e e l i n g s for that man rn lol

Oh of course~!

Anything to supply my readers of our eternal King~

Title: By My Hands

Characters: Ganondorf x m!reader

Contains: enemies to lovers

Fandom: Legend of Zelda

Full request below the cut

All characters are 18+

MINORS, FEM ALIGNED, AGELESS/BLANK BLOGS DNI

Reblogs > likes

Time seemed to be non existent on the battlefield.

The sound of rain mixed with the cries of the armies around you, Hylian forces colliding with Bokoblin masses. While your army handled his lesser creatures, you took it upon yourself to fight the Demon King himself, a feat that the soldiers knew only you could manage.

Despite this solo battle, you held your ground well against the King. Ganondorf had thrown attack after attack, attempting to drain your stamina, but your skills would not allow it. You'd follow up with your own offensive measures, only to be equally blocked by the other. The battle took you and him further and further from the massive group, driving the two of you up a steady hill.

"Soldiers! Continue your battle!" You exclaimed back to your forces, yours and Ganondorf's swords clashing and almost drowning your voice out. "Leave the monster to me!"

With a shove of his blade, Ganondorf gave a chuckle as you fumbled back. "Monster? How rude, do you really view me as such?" His voice was teasing, and the smirk on his face didn't help. "Would you care to tell your soldiers the words you mentioned last time?"

"Sh-Shut up!" Upon swinging your sword upward, Ganondorf blocked your spontaneous attack. You refused to speak any further to the other, your swords once again in a contending battle.

What you refused to believe, however, was how the two of you felt like you were in a dance of death, a dance that couldn't have a single step go awry, for if one of you missed a single action, a single step, it would spell someone's end.

It was exhilarating, to say the least.

You almost let your thoughts get the better of you, a desire to put this demon in his place during this forbidden dance, but one step faltered.

And suddenly you saw a dark grey sky directly above you.

You weren't sure what exactly happened, but the almost concerned look from Ganondorf's face was...different. He was clutching onto your hand despite your wet skin and gloves. He gazed down at your confused face, panting softly as a result of the movements plus rush to save you. He did everything in his power to keep you from falling any further down this cliff.

Wait, cliff?

What you had assumed was merely a hill turned out to be a cliffside, and you two had practically waltzed your way to the edge, too invested in each other's gaze to notice where your surroundings.

And Ganondorf...saved you.

Hoisting you up with a grunt, you rolled back onto the wet, grassy terrain, facing the falling rain. Your sword was gone, but your shield remained strapped to your arm. You were now powerless against the Demon King.

"Why don't we attempt this battle again another time?" The voice startled you back to realtiy, your form scrambling to stand and prepare yourself. You prepped your shield, but Ganondorf didn't appear to prepare an attack, and any trace of the face he wore earlier was gone. "If anything is to kill you, I will kill you by my own hands and not leave you to a cowardly fate of cliffside suicide."

You were going to object, demand that you two settle it now, but the victorious cries of your army distracted you, tearing your attention toward them. You could see the bodies of the Bokoblins, lying motionless as soldiers started their way toward you, their minds on the idea of assisting you in your fight.

However, upon turning back(and mentally cursing yourself for being distracted while in front of such a powerful enemy), Ganandorf was gone, and in his place, a sheathed blade.

You hesitated, picking up the item and pulling the blade out a couple inches. Your blade was gone, that much you knew, but upon seeing the material of the weapon, you were stunned to realize this blade was that of the Demon King's himself, left as a replacement of the sword you lost.

With a sigh, you removed your own empty sheath, replacing it with the 'gifted' set you were left before meeting your soldiers halfway.

Next time you wouldn't let Ganondorf toy with you so easily.

Next time...you had some thoughts to work out.

[science-lings]

Totk Theory: The Sages, the Dragons, and the Zonai

Ever since botw I've been interested in where the champion's powers came from. With totk, that question was answered, or was it? Sure, each sage has an ancestor who had the same abilities, but both Dinraal and Farosh have corresponding powers to existing sages despite being draconified Zonai. (see the stiff white hair with glowing sections, long ears, and thick stubby eyelashes)

Rauru's stubby little horns are also pretty dragon-coded

But, how could that be? the Sages of Fire and Lightning aren't Zonai, and there are no more instances of repeating abilities. Except with Zelda inheriting her power over Light from Rauru, her Zonai ancestor. Despite looking nothing like a Zonai herself.

Rauru and Mineru were the last of the Zonai, or at least, the last 'pure' Zonai. Rauru and Sonia had to have a child to continue the royal like to the point where Zelda contained both of their kinds of magic. Who says that the Zonai of 'long long ago' didn't get friendly with the other races, most notably, the Gorons and the Gerudo.

This could also explain why there are a few notable Gerudo in the past with gray skin, a very uncommon trait to have. Perhaps that's why Ganondorf is even able to obtain and utilize the secret stone in the way that he has, because he's got Zonai blood, more than most of the sages, or at least the ones with useful magic. (let's be real, being able to turn yourself into a ghost wouldn't be the best power to have in a fight.)

Perhaps that's why Farosh flies the length of the Gerudo Highlands, getting as close as she dares to the desert that she may have once called home, and why Dinraal coasts by Death Mountain's foot. perhaps there was once a bloodline that carried the power of ice in Lanayru, maybe it stayed dormant in some sheikah inventor that incorporated their power into the sheikah slate. (good idea for an oc huh)

I just think it's odd that we're meant to believe that the Zonai just... died out. We're led to believe that they were godlike and mighty and full of magic, but also able to disappear without much explanation. But maybe they didn't die out, they just became a part of Hyrule, a part of her people. Maybe there weren't many of them to begin with, and they connected with the people around them. Leaving only Rauru and Mineru as the last of them left who could be considered fully Zonai.

This could also explain why the Heroes aspect looks so funky, bc they're part Zonai, part... something else, or many something else's, something with a lion tail that has the little poof on the end. The Ancient Hero is supposed to have existed long after the zonai (Rauru and Mineru) died off, in the time of the first calamity, but they're still very obviously closely related to the Zonai.

TLDR: Hyrule is absolutely full of people who would procreate with alien dragon people and it has some funky effects on their descendants.

also disclaimer: I don't mean to make the whole Zonai bloodline kind of thing sound so eugenics-y, I know the wording isn't perfect on this post but I'm also not sure how else to word it, so just know that I don't mean to offend anyone or sound weird when it comes to fantasy race intermixing. This is genuinely just a theory for fun and I don't want to sound rude to anyone.

[lightningbreath]

I want to make it clear from the outset that having headcanons or theories is not a problem. Getting frustrated when they don't come true is not a problem either. But it is when people treat these headcanons as if Nintendo had an obligation to fulfill them.

I find it genuinely funny how some fans got so deep into their headcanons to the point of getting angry at the existence of Yona (poor girl) and the fact that Sidon is in a straight relationship, but that doesn't surprise me coming from people who claim to fight against stereotypes but are the ones who live and propagate stereotypes the most (the amount that most of the queer people I've met have been bugging me about being bisexual and aromantic is unbelievable).

I mean, as if canon would stop fujoshis from turning all the men in a series gay, no matter their sexuality, way of behaving or if they're in a relationship or not, so I don't understand why they say that Nintendo "removed the queer coding" when this was just a hc, Nintendo never implied that Sidon was queer, if they had said something like "a Zelda character will be queer" I could even understand, but that wasn't the case.

Now, in my opinion, the way Sidon talks and treats Link reminds me a lot of how my sister acts with the BTS boys, I think Sidon has a very idealized vision of Link, he talks about Link as if he were his favorite Marvel superhero and if we take into account that Link doesn't even seem to have frequented the Zora Region much during the time between Botw and Totk and that his ring doesn't even go on his ring finger.... anyway, it was cool to see Sidon's maturity, although his behavior is adorable, he's not a baby anymore.

I admit that Yona's introduction came out of nowhere, but honestly, TOTK introduces and disappears characters out of nowhere, Kass simply disappeared from the map, NPCs forgot about Link and the whole story of Sonia and Rauru also came out of absolutely nowhere. If Yona was the only one in this situation I would give her the benefit of the doubt, but that's not the case.

Not to mention that for a game ""with a hetero code"" I wonder why Nintendo didn't confirm right away that Link and Zelda are a couple instead of just saying this, I swear, how hard is it to formalize them? People will complain about anything, but no, Nintendo is afraid of I don't know what.

I will never forgive Nintendo for taking away the possibility of Zelda being a companion in the adventure or at least having a more constant presence. Thanks to that, I am living off of fanfics and fanarts.

P. S.: I wonder, if we ever get a remake of OoT, if Nintendo gives Malon a husband or canonizes OoT Zelink, how the fandom will react to that?

P. S. S.: Also, since people still complain to this day that TotK didn't turn Ganondorf into a "uwu boy who's just a poor victim of circumstances", a theory fueled by the appearance that the 10,000-year-old Hero had on the tapestry is because Ganondorf is a sexy man.

Although, on this last point I have to be honest, I was disappointed with the fact that Nintendo basically threw away the cinematics from the first TotK trailer and basically ignored the Sheikah technology, everything that Botw had hinted about the Zonai and the whole story of the Calamity from 10,000 years before Botw.

Anyway, it's just a question of how this fandom takes headcanons as if they were an absolute truth, and this ends up causing unnecessary fights because no one wants to admit that their hc may be unlikely to happen.

But that's just my opinion. Thank you for reading.

[linked-maze]

do you have any advice for someone who is trying to start up their own zelda-adjacent comic?

hmmm... all people work differently! for me, it was to just keep pushing out art! showing they exist and they have a story to tell! I'm excited about them and their story! even if I didn't have any fans I would be the fan! XD but how to start up a comic? that one is so difficult! cuz you could start right now if you wanted to! just the Links going on an adventure or maybe it's just them being silly? who knows XD But some advice from me is to have a "special" thing! something that is gonna make it stand out? I have never been good at helping other people XD I have tried multiple times- but the thing people need the most is the WILL to do it and get started! that's what I think is the hardest part about it all cuz a lot of the time it's cuz "my art is not good enough" or "I just don't have the time or motivation" and those are such valid reasons! it's hard to help with that XD but I'm always willing to help draw a page for you guys! maybe that helps people to get started?

[betterbemeta]

@rawliverandgoronspice said:

#the conservatism of totk is staggeringly obvious #its values advocating for an impossible inhuman reality where people don't get to act or feel beyond their prescribed role #nor have personal or even communal feelings about said role #when botw was all about this very conflict #duty and personhood and responsibility and the shadow of the past burdening the future #Choices all the way down

I think what's happened here is that BOTW also had a conservative tone to it... but:

established these themes you mention almost by accident, as a product of explaining why all of these cool weapons of the past Failed (but are available now) and why Zelda didn't Solve It from the start (but needs our help now) and it all relies on Link to save Zelda (but she didn't need saving yet in the past, etc.)

made the miscalculation that after 100 years, Hyrule isn't actually there anymore to 'revive.' People have been living without it (contrast: OOT or TP where only a few months to ~7 years passed) for generations in relative peace and Rhoam's ghost disappeared before he could actually direct Link and Zelda to 'make a new kingdom' like Daphnes does at the end of Wind Waker.

Zelda in Breath of the Wild must fail at first to explain why Hyrule fell so it's in the state Link navigates later. Zelda's powers being unavailable are the source of the conflict you describe: about duty and personhood and responsibility and burdens. But at a critical moment the divine legitimacy suddenly develops, revealing a solution to a near-hopeless situation.

Zelda embraces those suddenly-developed powers completely, despite suffering about their absence before. She doesn't for example, decide to use the chance her powers gave her to harness a personal interest in ancient technology to take control of the Guardians away from Ganon. Awakening her powers means pursuing a very specific solution: one she even seems to 'get' from the Goddess/Master Sword answering machine. So it may not even be her 'decision' or 'plan' at all, but instead the right answer beamed directly from heaven.

It's like a negging situation where Zelda is told she is not good enough up until she is in crisis and most of her support network is gone... only then is given this One Golden Option that proves why This Power She Despaired Over And Could have Rejected Was So Important After All-- a message that justifies her father King Rhoam's cruelty to secure this golden option. That way the King can present as a regretful but still justified and noble ghost instead of a jerkass ghost.

so the conservative message in BOTW is more 'have faith in the system's role for you, because only it can save everyone in a crisis.' But to establish that message, the 'reasons why someone might lose faith in the system's roles' part had to exist.

And TOTK is almost like an over-correction of that oversight as well as how BOTW leaves the land in a 'peaceful' state but without Hyrule's Authority or Zelda's Divine Legitimacy-- 'if you could choose to leave the system's roles behind when there is no crisis, here's why you shouldn't. In fact, it's predestined you can't.'

[kokiriofthevalley]

My silly little Link headcannons

hii again I'm very bored rn sooo

again for Zelda, it's only the major ones, sorry obscure link fans

also wtf is this gif I found 😭😭

Skyward Sword

✯has the biggest crush on his Zelda bc they're so close

✯like it's VERY obvious how they feel about eachother

✯His fav flavour of ice cream is Oreo ice cream but he also loves toffee and vanilla too

✯He can talk but he prefers sign language (dialect of sign language may vary on preference ((like ASL or BSL or LSE, ect)) ) and talks to save time in an emergency in case the other person may not know sign, but DOES sign if they do

For this one, I thought about the cutscenes where he's explaining something (like the current location or condition of Zelda) to another character and we can see his mouth moving.

✯no because if video games existed in skyloft, i just know that he's playing stardew valley and papas freezeria. I can feel it in my BONES

✯Definitely woke up under his bed once and hit his head on the bedframe

✯him and Groose have insult battles but then they get ice cream together after

Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask

✯somebody get this poor boy a therapist and a hug PLEASE

Twilight Princess

✯it felt natural to him when he transformed using the Zora mask in mm, because both the models for adult link and Zora link are the same size

✯mute

✯i think he played the ocarina like a recorder (aka with no experience at all) and did each note individually and the magic of the ocarina of time was probably like "there is NO WAY that I'm letting this kid tarnish my reputation goddamit" and made the songs sound nicer after he had played all the notes

✯forgot once that he was a kid again and walked to Romani ranch to get some chateau Romani and was genuinely surprised when Cremia said no

✯Had more of a genuine connection to Midna, but still had a friendship with princess Zelda

Wind Waker

✯felt a strange familial connection to the hero of shades when he met him and made link want to find out who the hero of shades was

✯does NOT like how short he is when he transforms into a wolf

✯Best poker face in history

Breath of the Wild

✯Gives Aryll piggybacks when she wants

✯would gladly eat his grandma's soup for the rest of his life

✯His grandma gave him the recipe to her soup when he left to discover the new Hyrule

✯Has the most major and unhidable (that's not a word but who cares) side eye in the history of time

✯If the events of WW didn't happen, I think he would have grown up to be a cartographer or he would REALLY like making his own maps

✯sorry to get all angsty but I don't think he wanted to kill Ganondorf. I just don't. I don't think either of them wanted to kill eachother. I feel like Link feels guilty about it because it's so obvious that it was only self defense after the triforce was touched by king Daphnes and it literally drove Ganondorf insane

Tbh I'd go crazy too if something I had wanted so badly got taken by another person even tho I literally got SEALED IN ANOTHER FUCKING REALM FOR A LONG AMOUNT OF TIME for it

Again sorry for no totk for this one pls no spoilers

✯Gets ambushed by Yiga so many times that he knows their names

*Yiga poofs into existence* "IM HERE TO KILL YOU LINK, IN REVENGE FOR MASTER KOHGA!!!!"

"oh hi jerry, nice weather eh?" -link

✯After he saved princess Zelda, he took a nap that lasted 4 ENTIRE days

✯not even the sound of kass' accordion could wake his ass up

✯very obvious but if he wasn't a knight, he would be a chef. Not sous chef. He would be head chef.

✯His hands are probably rough as hell from all that Hero Of Hyrule™-ing he has done

✯despite being able to lift heavy objects, his arms are still noodles

[justpoliteconversations]

Comfort [Mer!Warriors + Reader]

All it takes is a single moment for everything you think you know to flip on its head.

I originally had different plans for this AU continuation, but I came across a post of someone asking for a comfort fic and thought I'd try.

Masterlist

Part: 1 / 2

TW: Maybe? Hard to tell sometimes.

Disclaimer: Don't own The Legend of Zelda franchise. Linked Universe is the fan creation of jojo56830.

---

It had been a long day. Between back breaking work and the weariness of too long spent fighting to maintain your composure, the weight of all your hardships seemed to have finally caught up to you. You were just so tired, but even the promise of escape sleep offered seemed impossible to achieve.

Not with this overly spoiled creature screeching (elegantly, somehow. God damned elegantly. like a fully accompanied angel's choir) for your attention. As though this was something you two routinely did (for the record, it wasn't. you didn't know what his damned problem was). And ignoring him wasn't working, as it was going on the second hour now and he had somehow only gotten louder.

You honestly just wanted to cry. You just wanted to sleep.

You just wanted a break that didn't make you feel guilty. Guilty for not wanting to live up to everyone's expectations for once. For just wanting to sit down, eat something horrendously unhealthy, and then maybe nap for a few hours before dinner. And then go right back to sleep without everyone expecting you to fix every damned problem that blew their way.

The perfect day (but it wouldn't be. not really. because you couldn't even imagine closing your eyes when there was still so much to do). And it was being thoroughly destroyed (it was never something that existed anyway) by the unceasing, unholy (ethereal) screeching of the Center's resident golden boy.

How the mer knew just when to start acting up when no one but you was around, you'd probably never know. But it was damned concerning, and annoying. Especially when he decided to be difficult. Like now (oh God. why'd it have to be now when you were at your lowest).

You'd give in eventually, you knew. It was inevitable, and both him and you knew this. You couldn't afford to leave him to his own devices for too long, especially when he had a habit of taking out his frustration on your co-workers when ignored (and not even in an obvious way either. but underhandedly. like 'accidently' splashing water on their phones and equipment during his more enthusiastic performances).

You heard his screech again, but this time you could hear the low edge that entered his cry. Like the threat of a blade gliding delicately under a silk cloth, smooth and lilting and deadly in its sharpness. A dark, foreboding promise all wrapped up in a beautiful symphony of sweet nothings.

"I'm coming! Just give me a moment!" You finally called out, wincing at the way your voice nearly wobbled. Frustration and exhaustion mixing together into a singular moment of weakness.

It was silent then, and a form of primeval dread filled your stomach at the sudden stillness in the air. Because there was no way he hadn't heard the shake of your voice, nor the emotions that caused it. There was absolutely no way he didn't realize how vulnerable you were at the moment.

Numb. Suddenly, you were numb all over. From your ears to your toes, you could feel the cold pinprick of tingling nothingness itching just below your skin. But through it all, even as your feet took you to the bottom of War's tank ladder, you felt oddly detached from your body.

Ah. You were afraid. As tired and as emotionally drained as you were, you still somehow managed to drudge up enough self-preservation to be afraid of Wars. And you weren't sure how to feel about that. You hadn't really thought about it in a long time. Just how much power he now had over you, after that fateful day you'd come to his tank and cut him a deal.

You still didn't want to think about it. You just wanted to get this over with and go to sleep. You didn't even care that you'd regret this later, when you could finally think past the numbness that had settled over your limbs.

And there he was, from one step on the ladder to the next. Quiet, still as death and submerged up to his eeriely shining, dilated eyes in the dark water of his sleeping tank. The inky blackness of the night around him fading the long, billowing ends of his fins into a smoky wisp of shimmering starlight.

You'd forgotten how beautiful he was at night, when the faint luminescence of his fins and scales ran golden fireflies across the darkened navy of his elegant blue fins. How his enchanting, predatory eyes caught even the faintest hints of starlight and built entire galaxies along the darks of them. How he smiled so prettily when he rose from the water, even if you knew it was a lie (fake. dangerous).

The smile was different this time though. There was something sharper about it, so similar yet so different from the charming upturn of plush lips he so often used to entice the unwary into his clutches.

It was enough to unnerve you, this unknown expression that had settled so distinctly upon his pretty face. Enough even to pull you from your exhausted haze and into something almost approaching alertness. Your nerves firing with renewed unease, even several meters above the water and (allegedly, though you didn't believe that for a second) out of War's reach.

And then he lifted a single, elegant hand. Raised a single, elegant finger. And beckoned you to him in a gesture so human it nearly drew a blush to your cheeks (much to your shame).

If you ever discovered who taught him that gesture, you'd skin them yourself. You swore it. But that was for later, because right then you were frozen in shock. Not even because of the connotations behind such a gesture while an attractive male such as him was behind it.

No. It was the meaning behind the gesture.

"No." You said, so pumped full of adrenaline you didn't even feel the exhaustion that'd been weighing down your bones just moments before. "I'm not that far gone, Wars. No matter what you think you heard."

His eyes narrowed just the slightest bit, condescending and frustrated both. Flickering. Dilating. Contracting.

It would be almost funny, to see a mer as smug and put together as Wars showing anything other than slight annoyance (and honestly, it usually is). But right now, with the darkness closing in from all sides and the weight of everything haunting your every step, it was a reminder. A reminder that for all you had managed to keep your composure around this predator, you were still afraid.

You were afraid. And you always had been. From the moment you set eyes on him and knew (just knew, when no one else could see it) that this creature was hunting you and everyone else around him. Even bloodied and mangled and trapped as he was, he had never stopped hunting. That he watching you, just as you were watching him. Always.

He gestured again, tilting his head slightly. Another gesture that sent warning signals straight into your brain, causing your breathing to pick up and a light sheen of cold sweat to start forming on your shoulders, back and forehead. His eyes had fully dilated by now as well, adding an even more alien quality to his unnaturally beautiful features.

You swallowed, trapped between your self-preservation instincts screaming at you to turn tail and run, and the logic of your mind quietly reminding you that this predator would have killed you already had he wanted (that he could kill someone else too, if he felt the need to call your bluff). Because he would. You knew that. Accidents happened all the time. What was one more? (He'd probably fake tears too. the bastard.)

You glanced off to the side, the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end under his unnatural stare. "Wars I- You know that's not how this works."

You were met with silence. You were too shaken (too compromised) to even think of meeting his gaze. The sharp, unfaltering, stunningly inhuman gaze.

The faint rippling of water. A slight swoosh. And then.

A great, echoing splash. The catwalk under you shaking and nearly tilting as a great weight was suddenly upon it. The flash of shimmering gold across a sea of dark blue. And suddenly he was in your face, so close you could see the ring of blue, blue, blue encircling the dark pools of his eyes.

You couldn't move. You couldn't scream. You couldn't even breathe. Not when he leaned further into your space (so close now you could see the glitter of scales under his eyes. like gold dust). Not when a clawed, webbed hand came up to your fear stricken face. Not when your skin touched for the first time (warm. soft. supple. nothing like your mind had always imagined it).

Not when his powerful (deadly. predator's. killer's) arms gently (so gently. almost tenderly. but that can't be it because he's him and you're you) pulled you into his chest. Not when he pulled you both down until he was laying along the catwalk with you laying flush on top of him. And not when he buried his face (his mouth. his lips. his teeth. teeth. teeth.) into your hair and just...breathed.

In. Out. In. Out. Steady. Even. Inevitable. His large, warm hands on your back, claws delicately kneading into your clothes. His chest rumbling, so faint you'd have missed it entirely had you not been tucked up under his chin (had he not been pressing you into the place in his chest the vibrations were strongest).

Slowly, your breath returned to you. You began to calm. Your mind begun to clear. And you realized, with sudden clarity, what it was that was happening. What this behavior was.

The gentle nipping at your hair. The tender kneading of his (sharp) claws into the thick ruffles of your clothes. The way he had cradled your significantly smaller body into his larger form and curled his silky (thick, powerful) tail fins around you as best he could with so little space.

The way his whole chest seemed to vibrate. The sound so low it was nearly nonexistent. An action you hadn't known Wars was even capable of, let alone willing to utilize. For a human of all things.

You swallowed, not daring to take your eyes off the gleam of his collarbone (shimmering, even in the dark). "Are you trying to comfort me?"

He pushed you harder into his chest, under his chin. His face nuzzling deeper into your hair, until his mouth was pressed softly against the shell of your ear. His hot breath fanning against your sensitive skin.

"Mine." He cooed (disjointed and raw, unnatural but hauntingly beautiful), one hand having found its way up into the fine hairs at your nape. Just holding them between gentle fingers, thumb caressing your exposed neck. "Strong. Brave." He hummed.

He nosed at the delicate lining of your ear. Nuzzling you. "Beautiful." He purred, pulling away just enough to force you to meet his eyes. His gaze so black you saw yourself reflected in them. "Always mine. Give me. Everything bad."

Looking into his liquid night, blue-mooned eyes. Feeling his hands cradling you protectively, possessively, trying to separate you from the world beyond. You finally understood. Everything.

Wars was territorial after all. Of his space. Of his food. Of his resources. Of anything, everything that was his. That he'd claimed.

Knowing that, how could you have forgotten the most important resource a mer can ever possess? When it had been staring you in the face this whole time?

Warmth began to build behind your eyes, and try as you might, you felt the gates you had held so tightly closed for so long beginning to slip from your grasp. And you just couldn't believe it. That this was really about to happen.

In front of Wars of all creatures. The one predator that had everyone fooled.

But that was the thing, wasn't it. From the very beginning, for all his smiles and sweet nothings, never had he truly tried to hide his fangs from you. Never you. Even as he kept the rest of the world at an arms length away.

He had let you in (had reeled you in). He had let you see (had forced you to see) the dark shaded colors of his heart. His truest self.

Honesty, completely and utterly, from a creature that thrives off deception. How could you have been so blinded by your fear you'd not noticed.

The first few tears finally escaped down the curve of your cheek, and when a gentle, tender, loving thumb came to wipe them away. You broke, and it all came pouring out. In the arms of the predator you still feared so much, but knew, without question, would never allow harm to befall you.

Because he is a territorial mer. And there is nothing a mer covets more than their pod. Their family. Their reason for everything else that follows after.

And Wars, the mer who never wanted to leave. Who, after all was said and done, was still a mer like any other. Had no one but you. Only you. By choice. By fate.

By design.

You'd been hunted. And you'd been caught. And now he would never let you go. And he would protect you from everything.

For as long as he lived.

---

Back to the shadows.