#i already had a hard time in botw ;A;

[moth-time]

walking into the final fight of totk and getting absolutely obliterated so rip to me i guess

[front-facing-pokemon]

[bonus-links]

DIRECTORS COMMENTARY PLEASE I LOVE HEARING YOUR THOUGHTS AND PROCESS <3!!!!!!!!

YEAHHH lots to say for this update

there's a scene I didn't so much as cut from the beginning of this update as significantly shorten: Wolf, Loft, Wake, and Slate are changing into their lighter outfits. Loft says the same line as having the party, Wake begs them for this one day with his Gran Gran, and they all agree they can wait. I've been trying to get better about like, not putting a ton of work into unnecessary connecting scenes, which is why I cut it down. Wake sounding more cavalier also works better for the overall chapter. But i was sad to leave this joke out lol:

may I present to you, Slate's picture gallery! he was mostly on task documenting flora and fauna but he gets a little sidetracked sometimes

I love the idea that he's just, like, kind of terrible at photography. he documents stuff for Zelda and it's always weirdly cropped and kind of out of focus, but she appreciates it anyway.

Slate is also picking flowers for the party! so he is still helping out on that front lol

idk if i've mentioned this before, but beetle does still have pincers! they're just. idk what the right word is. retractable maybe? yeah. like the ancient weapon blades

the filling of the half moon pies is pineapple :-) i was. so worried about it looking like an egg HAHA.

I thought way too hard about how they were going to cook these pies. I was originally going to draw a clay oven or some other setup, but ultimately I thought the Zelda tradition of only having pots over fires to cook was a funnier nod lol. So, they're frying the pies

believe it or not, I wrote this scene before reading dungeon meshi HAHA but it certainly served as good reference for how to set up shots for it

Aryll did in fact eavesdrop on Wake telling Tetra The Situation

That's Champion's little sister in the memory! I like the headcanon that her name was also Aryll.

Champion and his sister are making meat pies instead of pineapple ones.

One again, made a bunch of layout mistakes I ended up having to fix, except this time I didn't catch them until I had already gotten to rendering :-( if you're a patron, you probably saw these versions in the WIP:

problems here: Wolf is walking the wrong away. I was sad we'd be losing his expression but alas. And for the panels with Champion's sister, the angle is too low to be an actual POV shot. I could've left it and said he's just sitting or something probably but it was really bothering me lol so I redrew everything. and then recolored all of it. woof.

as a general rule, if he has scars, that's Slate. No scars is The Other Guy

I understand the complaint about this in BOTW, but I actually kind of like that weird moment that occurs after you finish a memory cutscene, and it just abruptly goes back to Link looking blank-faced like nothing happened. It implies this kind of....distance from the memories that I find interesting. Slate has complicated feelings abt the memories of Champion's life he gets, but like. there's pies to make

shout out to peony she's a real one

[comicaurora]

A thought I just had regarding Legend of Zelda:

In BOTW we see that Zelda has a hard time with her powers and communicating with the Goddess. What is the reason for that is that the Goddess was already connected to her via the light dragon and the time shenanigans was messing with the connection?

I think it has more to do with the fact that Zelda is the Goddess in mortal form.

This isn't an explicitly canon thing in the game. Unlike Link, who is pretty much always an incarnation of the same guy, Zelda's status in the reincarnation cycle is a bit more wibbly and varies from game to game. The original Zelda in Skyward Sword was explicitly Hylia incarnated in mortal form, and every Zelda since then has been her descendant, carrying "the blood of the Goddess." In Tears of the Kingdom, that means Queen Sonia is Skyward Sword Zelda's distant descendant and the bloodline of Hyrule's royal family carries it through her. But Queen Sonia doesn't seem to be Hylia, and it's pretty clear that not every woman in Zelda's family has the same connection - they all have power, but they aren't all Hylia herself, and only the first Zelda is explicitly stated to be her incarnation. One of the memories in Breath of the Wild shows Zelda explaining that her grandmother could hear "the voices from the spirit realm" and her mother also seemed more spiritually connected to the power Zelda was told she'd be able to channel, but Zelda herself never hears or feels anything outside herself.

The thing is, I think that's because this Zelda is looking for power in exactly the wrong place. She's been told she's connected to a vast and vital power. Evidence suggests she isn't connected to anything. Visiting the springs and the statues does nothing for her; she reaches out and finds nobody waiting for her. How could they? She's already here.

The narrative tragedy of this girl seeking a higher power, begging and praying for divine intervention, knowing an entire kingdom is counting on her to make that connection when nobody else can, and receiving only silence - because she's praying to herself and cannot answer - is incredibly powerful. Zelda is essentially in the throes of a full-blown crisis of faith and a crisis of self for the entire lead-up to the Calamity, because she's been told her entire life she's Princess Zelda and that means she gets her power from praying to the Goddess. But none of the rituals work, nothing comes through, she hears no voices from the outside. It's like the Goddess just isn't there.

The thing is, we know she's there, because Link can roll up to any goddess statue in Hyrule and Hylia herself will shine down a sunbeam and shower us with praise and heart containers. When Link needs her, Hylia is always there. She exists, she has real and tangible power. So if she's always there for Link, why can't Zelda hear her voice?

Well-

Because she's already there.

[imababblekat]

Botw Characters W/ A Crush; HC’s

@xxrainmxx​ ,” Hello, can I request headcanon of the corjection methods that Sidon, Mipha, and Revali would use to let their crush know their intentions? (gender neutral if possible)”

Anon Request, “ Hello, can I request headcanon of Mipha, Revali and Sidon trying to flirt with their crush?”

~xXx~

Sidon:

when Sidon has a crush on someone it goes one of two ways depending on how deeply he feels for that lucky person

if it’s in the beginning stages of him realizing that he likes them, he actually becomes a bit timid whenever they’re around

it’s not that he’s scared of these new found feelings, he’s just new to the concept of actually liking someone as opposed to being the object of affection like he is to so many others

once he gets past figuring things out and really starts having it hard for his crush, he’s back to his extravagant self

will absolutely boast about great qualities he sees in them, not just in private but to others as well

was already a huge supporter to begin with, but becomes even more so and always finds ways to be there for his crush

absolutely takes no shit from others talking about his crush behind their back

overall Sidon’s way of flirting or letting his feelings be known to his crush is grand action and devotion; he wants them to know how much they mean to him and how much he’s willing to do for them should they except him

Revali:

this feathered butt head is such a pain when he first realizes he has a crush on someone

absolute tsundere if you will

he’s just not used to the idea of being that fond of someone, that someone could hold such a power over him to make his heart feel like it’s falling from the sky by just walking into the same vicinity

once he gets past his complicated feelings about the ordeal, Revali starts to accept the ideas of why he developed feelings for this person and it turns into honorable admiration

he isn’t going to just fall for anyone of course

the Rito takes note in impressionable skills his crush possesses, such as how swift they are with a bow or how they’re able to finely put ingredients together to cook the perfect meal

if you don’t know Revali very well you probably wouldn’t be able to notice when he’s coming on to his crush; it’s all subtle compliments that could be mistaken as ire for the other

the closer he gets to his crush, he’ll actually start giving them small gifts as he finds it easier than trying to express how he feels with words, which is a shock to not just his crush but him as well, since the Rito Champion is known for having a colorful vocabulary

Mipha:

Mipha’s had crushes before, so depending on how close she is with the person she’s crushing on will determine whether or not she pursues those feelings

if she does, her crush can expect to be spending a lot more time with her

she’ll go out of her way to spend time with them when not swamped by her duties as not just the Zora Princess but also their Champion

much like her brother, she’s very supportive of her crush, just not in such an extravagant manner

she’s much more subtle with making her feelings known, almost in a shy kind of way

is always making sure her crush is safe and protected, and much like she had with Link in the game, she promises to always be there to heal them if they need

the further things pass on, she might start to also gift her crush small trinkets

gifts that remind her of them, such as shells that match their eyes, or some jewelry that accentuates their lovely smile

~xXx~

[heleentje]

So there's a take that crops up every so often in the Breath of the Wild fandom, and it goes something like this:

Windblight Ganon is such a piece of cake! If Revali were as talented as he claimed to be, he wouldn't have been defeated by it, so clearly he's just an arrogant blowhard.

I disagree. Because while Windblight might have been relatively easy for the player to defeat, circumstances conspired against Revali in every possible way.

Strike 1: The Blight Ganons were tailor-made to defeat the Champions

While it's not stated outright, the Blights seem to be custom-made to put their respective opponents at the worst possible disadvantage. So while Link can avoid the whirlwinds on the ground, they would be very disruptive to Revali's Gale (something he's only been able to do consistently for a short while). Arrows, too, can easily get blown off course by the wind even when using a heavy bow (so can a Rito, who is presumably lighter than a Hylian).

If, on top of that, it was raining (implied by memories #16 and #17), then Revali's favoured bomb arrows would have been useless. Not a great recipe for a fight.

Strike 2: Rito don't see well in the dark

Botw is a game that doesn't tell you a lot upfront, but you can find a wealth of information in every little corner. Case in point, in Gerudo Town there's a Rito named Frita. And she has a very interesting tidbit to share if you talk to her at night.

[Image ID: A Rito named Frita in Gerudo Town says: "Us Rito... We haven't got the best night vision, to be honest."]

When the Calamity emerged, an unnatural darkness blanketed the land. A darkness that persists from its appearance all the way through Link and Zelda fleeing and their final stand at Fort Hateno, up until Zelda temporarily sealed the Calamity (memories #15, #16 and #17).

That’s without even mentioning the laser show Windblight Ganon puts on. Ever encountered a car with LED lights on a dark road? Now imagine how Revali felt.

Strike 3: Revali had to fly non-stop for hours to get to Medoh

After sinking some hours into playing botw, you probably get used to warping all across the map via the shrines. Going from Lurelin to Rito Village is a matter of seconds. And if the Sheikah had been able to unlock the Sheikah Slate fully in the past, that would have been a massive boon to the war effort.

Unfortunately, they didn't. Which means that, when Calamity Ganon emerged, all the Champions had to take the long road to their Divine Beasts.

Now what does that mean for Revali? We can hazard a pretty good guess, but we don't have to, because the art book tells us: Revali flew straight from Lanayru East Gate to Rito Village. It's hard to tell exactly how long that would have taken him, but I'm estimating that would be about 8-10 hours flying non-stop.

[Image ID: A map of Hyrule showing the presumed routes the Champions took to get to their Divine Beasts. Revali's is a straight line across Hyrule.]

Which means Revali (like the other Champions) was probably already exhausted by the time he got to Medoh.

Aaaaaand that's three strikes, he's out!

But if that's not enough for you yet, here's one more thing. Admittedly, this is less solidly canon than the previous parts, but it's conjecture that, in my opinion, is backed up by the Champions' Ballad DLC.

Strike 4: Revali lacked his best weapon and may have been injured

The artbook shows us another salient tidbit. Revali could have detoured if he wanted to, but he didn't: he flew in the straightest possible line across Hyrule Field.

Hyrule Field, better known as the center of the chaos at the time.

Can we really expect a Champion, especially a Champion who's so eager to prove himself, to not stop and at least try to help? And while trying to help, what might have happened to him?

When you fight the Blights in the illusory realm, you gain a set amount of equipment, implied to be what the Champions carried with them at the time. And with Revali, something's missing.

[Image ID: The bow inventory during the DLC fight against Windblight Ganon. It includes a Falcon Bow, Duplex Bow and Phrenic Bow.]

Where's the Great Eagle Bow?

Would Rito Champion Revali, greatest archer in known Rito history, really not be carrying his signature bow, when every other Champion carried their favoured weapon?

This, combined with his route straight across Hyrule Field, makes me suspect that he did engage the Guardians, lost his bow, and may even have gotten injured in the process.

So there you have it. Just about everything was against Revali in that fight. And while Link, and by extension the player, may have had an easy time of it, they went into it at full health and with all the advantages of the Sheikah Slate.

Meanwhile, Revali arrived at Vah Medoh after a frantic hours-long flight only to be thrown into a fight he didn't expect against an opponent tailor-made to counter his every move, while he was unable to see properly and lacked his best weapon. And he still managed to put up one hell of a fight.

[justpoliteconversations]

Harvest Season [Reader + BOTW!Link]

You have a rather odd encounter that leads to an empty pantry. You don't regret it.

One of the fic requests from this Post.  Another to feed the ever expanding trash heap.

Masterlist

TW: None.

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

---

You were not expecting today to be different from any other day. The sun was shining, the wind held a cool edge that spoke of an early fall, the air saturated with moisture and the scent of wet soil. And your workers were busy tending to the harvest, covered in dirt and the greasy shine of sweat despite the breeze (and Johnny was complaining, as usual).

You, of course, had already started sorting and crating the product. Shifting through the seemingly neverending mountains of foodstuff as Jessy brought it over in great bag fulls.

A day like any other for this time of the season. Until it wasn't. And the oddity took the shape of a small hyrulian man with long blonde hair, bright blue eyes and a rather horrendous knot of scars on the side of his face. And a sword. Glowing and more fierce looking as any sword had a right to be, no matter it's intended purpose.

He'd paused at the border of your gated property, keen eyes scanning over the half harvested fields and your workers attending to them. One of your workers even returned the stare (Jessy, the fearless cutthroat), while some (namely Billy, but Johnny too) was visibly discomforted by the sight of such a scarred warrior casting his gaze upon them with unknown purpose. You too, felt unease.

Bandits were not unknown in these parts, particularly during the harvesting seasons when the fruits of your (and others like you and your workers) labor were freshly picked and awaiting the merchant's festival in town. And now just happened to be that time, and that man (innocent as his eyes looked) was armed to the teeth.

Only a fool wouldn't be cautious. Even if just a little bit.

But you couldn't ignore him either, as it would be both impolite and potentially dangerous. If you were lucky, he was merely a traveling mercenary or particularly armed traveler that'd just happened upon your little farm. It wouldn't have been the first time such an occurrence had happened.

Though it wouldn't have been the first time a bandit tried to threaten you into handing over your hard earned harvest either. The unmarked plot at the very edge of your property told a very somber story as to how that ended (for him).

You approached the small man with caution, but a friendly smile nonetheless. "Hello, friend. What brings you to these parts?" You began, a nice, simple way to scoop out the measure of this man. And a distraction, so your workers could ready themselves to pounce if the man proved dangerous (you could already imagine Johnny and Billy shifting their grips on their hoes, Jessy leaning down to pull the dagger from her boot holster).

His eyes never left yours as he brought his hands up, and said in a distinctively grating rasp. "I'm a traveler. But I'm looking for a place to rest for the night." He shifted, casting a glance over the half-harvested field with those wide, blue eyes of his. "I thought I could help in exchange. It'd be nice to not sleep in the rain." His voice had rapidly gotten worse as he spoke, nearly cracking at the end.

You glanced up at the sky, doubtful. "Rain? I don't see a cloud in the sky, sir." You pointed out, skeptical of his words, but not untrusting of them. You knew some folk who could read the weather like a map. Your dear belated mentor being one such person. Could call a snowfall to the hour weeks in advance. Unnatural, that one, but sweet as apple pie.

He opened his mouth to speak, but you held up your hand and stopped him before he could strain himself any further. "No need to push yourself, sir. Just point and I'll have my girl check." He blinked in confusion at your words (had no one truly had the courtesy to accommodate this man's difficulties?) but pointed north nonetheless. And you simply turned your head and called out. "Jessy! North! Check for storm clouds."

"Got it, boss!" She yelled back, and you saw the glint of her dagger sliding back into its holster before off she went, straight to the tallest tree of the lot not far off and up it with squirrel-like grace.

The man looked at you in question, and you kept your body language relaxed and open as you said. "If it is gonna rain, it's gonna storm. It always does in these parts, being so close to the mountains. And I'd like my crops in before then."

The noisiest of your workers (Johnny) groaned, but Billy pushed him with his shoulder and whispered about overtime paid. And it was enough to shut the other up, because of course that'd be the one thing to keep Johnny's mouth shut. Not the potential threat. Not his boss standing just a meter away from an unknown man armed like he's about to go to war. Just the notion of extra pay.

At least he did good work, even if he was a fickle little bastard.

The man nodded, shifting uncomfortably under your stare. And you felt yourself soften at his uncertainty (he just looked so young and lost right then). "Hey. Ya said you wanted to help, right? Just grab a hoe and start hacking. It's the last harvest of summer until we replant for fall, so no need to be a worn hand at it. Just join the boys over there and do what they do." He nodded again, and without another word headed over towards the fence and grabbed one the mentioned tools (putting his sword and shield against the fence in its place. and you felt yourself relax completely. grateful you'd seemed to have made the right choice).

By the time Billy had given him a brief explanation as to what they were doing and how it was done, Jessy had returned with confirmation that the very beginning of storm clouds were just cresting over the mountaintops. And that they'd be on you all by sundown. Just like the man had said.

Well, damn.

---

You'd expected to be working well into the beginnings of the rain (hopeful not into the storm itself, but you'd do it even if your workers decided they didn't want to risk it and left for the night). Maybe, if you were lucky, the storm would slow its progression and you'd have another hour or so to get everything properly picked and sorted before working became too dangerous. Hell, maybe it wouldn't rain at all and the storm had veered off course to somewhere else.

Well, the rain showed up early. Unfortunately. And it was a real doozy of a thunder storm to boot. So much so you and the boys had moved the (metal) equipment as far away from the house as possible to prevent any wayward lightning from roasting you all in your sleep.

However, none of you had been out in the rain when it originally started up a few hours before sun down. Instead, you were all huddled in your house (the triplets had decided to stay the night then risk getting caught in the storm), cooking dinner while Billy praised the man's (Link's) incredible (and it really was incredible) work ethic and Johnny nodded along with an encouraging smile (blessedly silent, thank the Goddesses). Jessy rolling her eyes and listening fondly from her seat on the bed (your bed, thank you very much).

Why? Because as mentioned before, Link was an absolute work horse out there (don't know what his mama fed him as a babe, but you wanted to know something fierce). The man had worked the fields so quickly and so thoroughly the boys had had to step back lest they get in his way anymore than they already had been. And when Jessy (with the help of her brothers) had been unable to pick fast enough to stay ahead of the man, Link had begun picking himself. By which point the triplets had begun hoeing, until the monster of a man had finished the picking and then your poor workers had had to move to sorting to stay out of his way.

He'd finished hoeing not long after, sitting down beside the boys immediately after to start sorting (despite your repeated assurance that he'd done more than enough. to which he'd just smiled impishly and kept his hands moving). Surprisingly, he was slower with the sorting. Though maybe not that surprising. But only because Jessy had whispered to him that you allowed them to eat the misshapen and colored product and he seemed to have taken that as a challenge (that boy can eat. it's kind of scary how much he put away in that one sitting).

The end result of it all was an early day (so Johnny did not get that overtime no matter how much he pouted, the jerk) and a celebratory dinner for Link for a job well done. To which the man had blushed from ear to ear when told as such, trying to deny with gestures you realized was a type of sign language (one you didn't fully recognize. it was as though he had taken standard and added unnecessary motions between words). But he was easily won over with the promise of food.

And that was how you ended up here, cooking a feast enough for ten men (it probably wouldn't be enough, from what you'd seen of the small man. may the golden three preserve you and your pantry) and watching just as fondly as Jessy as her brothers tried to pry out the secrets of Link's inhuman abilities.

You had your suspicions, but you kept that to yourself. It wouldn't be wise to let such information out into the world so irresponsibly. Especially with the likes of the Yiga still prowling these parts (one of the main sources of the bandits) in greater numbers than is normal (it was the season, after all). And especially not when the (potential) object of their attention (and murderous ire) was sitting at your table trying his level best to eat you out of house and home.

But if you cooked a few extra (attack and defense boosting) dishes for him to take with him (leftovers, of course. since he's just got such a ferocious appetite). Forced him to accept the entirety of your savings (as payment, of course, for doing such a great job the day before. not that he knew those were your savings). And extracted (with much guilt tripping) the promise to return if he ever needed a place to rest (or hide or heal).

Well. No one had to know the reason why. It was your business after all (except for Jessy, who had slipped a few bundles of arrows into the bag you'd used to pack his food despite your side-eye. which she'd returned with a meaner one).

And if your hand had lingered on his shoulder a little longer than necessary as you said your goodbyes. And your eyes held more sadness and respect than would be deemed normal for the situation. No one had to know why.

But you think he understood. Because he'd looked you in the eyes, put his hand on yours (calloused. just like yours, but burdened with scars you hoped to never bare yourself), and told you thank you. With so much feeling. With so much conviction. With such strength that your heart ached with the hope it inspired.

After he left, you didn't see him again until some time later. When the blood moons had stopped rising and the roads had cleared and word of Calamity Ganon's demise had spread far and wide to all reaches of Hyrule.

He came to you during a cool summer's evening (just turning to fall. the same time as before when you brought the last summer harvest in) with a sheepish smile on his lips and mirthful eyes. You'd smiled back, just as mirthful (and relieved. so relieved he was okay) as you said. "Come to clear my pantry again, have you?" And he laughed, crackling and rasping, before nodding and picking up a hoe from the fence without being asked.

As he walked past you, you said, grinning. "The others already left for the day. I can't promise overtime, ya hear?"

He snorted. "Won't take long." And you laughed too, before taking up a hoe yourself and following after.

Might as well work up an appetite if you're going to be eaten out of house and home. After all, it's not everyday the Hero of Hyrule comes to raid your pantry.

Might as well join him.

And if you declare a celebration for his hard work once more. Well. No one has to know you weren't talking about your fields.

But by the shine in his lashes as you put your arm around his shoulders and ruffled his hair. You were pretty sure he knew, even if it remained unspoken.

---

I retreat for a brief time to the shadows.

[hyuukais]

Waiting

Finally, after many busy weeks, you’d be getting to see your boyfriend again. Beomgyu was coming home for an entire weekend. However, you were still stuck at the worst part of his return, the waiting.

word count: 1.5k

genres: beomgyu x streamer!reader, slice of life, fluff, insinuations of angst

warnings: language, mentions of executive dysfunction, reader plays zelda specifically botw because i do not have totk 👎👎👎👎

author: FINALLY SEEING THE LIGHT OF DAY !! hopefully i will have more content coming soon im just in a major slump atm 😔 also shoutout to @ssunnae & @bobariki sunny and rue thank you both so so much for beta-reading this !!

The colorful LEDs shift along the floorboards, currently a fog of purple misting the floor. Trickles of soft mood music set the low-light room into its sleepy atmosphere. Two large monitors illuminate your face in blue light, aided by a small ring light situated to your left. Amid the calm, an underwhelming rage slowly fizzles up in your throat.

“Oh come on; not right now, please!” The sudden battle music picking up in your headphones sends you into a panic as an enemy health bar appears at the top of the screen. Rain crashes on Link, lightning streaking across in pixels. Your fingers smash around frantically, trying to run away as the Lynel begins to draw its bow.

“Please please please please, don’t-” Unable to draw a weapon or get away, a hard strike lighting descends on the character. The hearts filling the top left of the screen go dark.

“God-fuck!” Red light blinds your eyes with the large “Game Over” fading onto the screen. Your head slams down onto the desk, the top of it all that’s left in view of the camera. The long-winded groan that leaves you is still picked up well by your mic. Chat messages fly fast along your monitor; many expressing their simple sympathy for your defeat, others instead laughing at the situation.

Slowly drawing yourself back up, you catch on the monitor displaying the stream and take a moment to look at everything. “Man…I know I said today was only gonna be Zelda but…this is already the 7th time I’ve died.” Your words trail into a whining laugh. More comments flood the chat. Some call out your terrible playing, some suggest other ideas for the rest of the stream, and many are just extremely off-topic.

“I’m not usually this bad! I don’t know what’s happening to me.” You were out of it today, unfocused, and part of you knew why. “I guess…I dunno, I think I’m just tired!”

This space-y feeling had been following you all day. It was the sort of distance your brain felt when experiencing executive dysfunction. Stuck in a loop of boredom; waiting for something, anything. Struggling to do anything, but still wanting to. Oftentimes, it was hard to discern a particular reason for the feeling, maybe burnout or simply worms in your brain. Today, however, you could easily guess the reason. Today, there was something to wait for. After more than a few weeks apart, Beomgyu would finally be coming over.

You and your boyfriend were both busy people; both public figures in your own right. Although, his schedule as an idol was arguably stricter than yours as a streamer. Between the end of the North America leg of the tour, preparing for their Japanese comeback, and the new single, you hadn’t seen Beomgyu face-to-face in close to a month. It was like spending a month in hell. A month without having his hands in yours, body wrapped in your arms, lips painting your skin, heartbeat beneath your fingers; the reminders that he was real and he was all yours. So, now that you’ll finally get him all to yourself for a whole weekend, your brain was searching for any way to skip to having him back in your arms. Hence, why Link has died more than five times by your incompetence.

“Maybe-uh-why don’t we switch gears? Maybe Zelda was a bad idea.” Considering your head space, streaming today in general may not have been the best of your ideas; you still felt bad for skimping out on a regularly scheduled stream. You also kind of hoped streaming would give you some distraction from sitting by the front door like a puppy.

You click around, filling the screen up with your face as you exit the game. “Hmm…what about…animal crossing? Minecraft? Thoughts, chat?”

You watched message after message fly by, all varying that you don’t actually reach a consensus with them.

“I think…hmm…” You watch a moment more, “Okay, I think we’re gonna do Minecraft.”

Once again, your face cam is moved to the corner as your PC feed takes up the stream. The ambient music takes over for your voice, filling up the silence as things load. Grass blocks and wood load in first before the sudden appearance of buildings. You spawn near a small farm you last left off building.

This wasn’t the world you usually streamed from; preferring the action a survival world provided for content. Actually, this was a world you’d created and built with Gyu, and some of the other members much after you invited them. Although, your audience didn’t need to know any of that. “I’m just going to stick to creative this time, chat. Something…calmer, y’know.”

Soon enough, you find yourself sinking into a rhythm with the music. You keep working on the farm you left unfinished, fixing it up with the build of a greenhouse. Little commentary is provided; small tidbits here and there as you casually speak to yourself. Humming to the music at times and finding some focus on small tasks.

Your headspace shifting from inattentive to hyper-fixated, you’re not particularly tuned into any noise besides what’s pumping in your head. Perhaps that’s why you don’t notice the usual creak of the hallway floorboards or the awful squeaking of your office door. You don’t even see all of the chat messages taking note of those very things. Rarely looking away from the game, there’s no note in your mind of the torso slowly creeping up behind your chair; head just out of camera view, hands sneaking up to your headset.

It’s sudden, the relieving of pressure against your ears, the disappearance of your soft tunes, the realization that there is a person in your home and they are standing behind you.

Your scream is shrill and unending. The whiplash from how fast your turn around would have your head spinning if not for the new pumps of adrenaline coursing through you.

There, standing behind you, wearing the stupidest little cocky smile, is the cause of all your problems. Beomgyu was smart enough to keep his face just outside of the camera, hiding his identity from any viewers. Still, with pretty much the rest of him in frame, this is the largest glimpse your audience has ever gotten of your boyfriend. The chat reacts accordingly to such a realization.

You scramble around to mute your microphone and cover your camera; cutting off your connection as more and more chat messages fly faster along the screen. Nothing else matters though, as you spin your chair around to face the man looking down at you. He’s smiling still, eyes crinkled up and lips split wide. The way you leap at him sends him stumbling back.

Beomgyu’s hands come to cradle your back as you take him in your arms; feel him, his heat, his breath, the shake in his chest when he chuckles. His head settles upon yours. You squeeze his middle tighter and tighter and take in the depth of his scent. Head pressed against his chest, his heart beats softly in your ear.

“That…” You pull yourself away to get a look at his face, “was mean.”

He laughs as you slap at his arm; languorously boisterous, infectious with the happiness of his simple presence. A smile breaches your cheeks, soon enough, as well. Beomgyu’s hands tickle along your waist; keep you close, skin touching skin.

“It was a surprise.”

“More like a jumpscare!”

“Same difference.” His breath brushing your skin all this time finally comes ever closer. Douses you in his everything. A sweet peck on your lips, interrupted by a smile and a whisper. “I missed you.”

The fire of his words floods the pit of your stomach. His lips were barely pulled away from yours and yet that was too far. Your hands cupping his cheeks, pull him closer, filling your space with his. Breaths mingling with heavy words.

“I missed you, too.” You bring his mouth to yours; sway in his presence and feeling. Almost pulling away before more. “So much.”

Head tilted back, chest pressed into his, lips meeting in reverie. Beomgyu’s arms encase your waist; your fingers twirl in his hair. So soft, delicate, fluffy—so like him. Such is the kiss. Deep and sweet, nothing further than adoration. It’s intoxicating sugar; he’s delicious and addicting. His taste sticks to your lips as they leave his. Eyes still fluttered shut, taking in the disappearing feeling.

“I…have to finish off my stream.” You can barely stand to push him away, losing the soft brush of his thumb beneath the hem of your shirt, “You get yourself situated and I’ll be right there.”

The pout on his lips is nothing short of goading after losing your kiss. Still, he responds, although not without an eye roll. “Okay, but if you’re not done in 10 minutes, I get to choose the movie tonight!”

He plants a quick peck on your cheek before leaving you in the office. You have to laugh at how proud he is of that challenge as if you weren’t going to let him pick anyways. Though now, you may just have to get your own bit of payback and not leave him waiting.

© HYUUKAIS 2023

[mlmvoreconfessionals]

Prompts for BOTW Preds (ideally Sidon, Link, and Kass, but any of them work!) eating people and then the weight all going to their ass/thighs, and getting stares/teased because of their new thiccness?

I can work with this, those three are always fun. I kinda got mixed up with that last part so they're the ones doing the teasing instead. Whoops.

S.idon lets out a harsh belch, followed by a sigh as he feels the heavy weight settle in his stomach. Dealing with L.ynel can be such an issue, especially when more than one comes around. His guts are stretched tight now, churning and groaning hard as it tries to process three of them. Even one is a heavy meal for the prince, but this is a lot. It’s left his gut sitting on the ground, stretched tightly around the forms of the three beasts. He can already feel his gut working hard to try and process it all.

Of course, he didn’t do this alone. His greatest friend L.ink had helped him! He always knows that L.ink can be relied on to help him with these sorts of things and handle the problem. Of course...S.idon isn’t so often this gluttonous around the H.ylian. But they haven’t had to face three L.ynels at once before, either.

Another wet belch roars out of S.idon, making him flush slightly. His guts are boiling hard, already beginning to break down some of that L.ynel meat. At the same time, though, S.idon notices that L.ink is staring at him. It flusters the prince a bit and he worries that L.ink might be unnerved by the process. But...instead, it seems like his friend is staring with rapt attention. That’s somehow even more flustering.

Still, if L.ink is taking an interest, he wouldn’t want to shy away from that. So S.idon happily invites L.ink to come closer and even feel for himself. And L.ink’s hands...well, they may be small, but S.idon finds that they feel wonderful rubbing over his engorged stomach. L.ink isn’t afraid to get rough with it, pushing in as hard as he can. It gets some wet belches out of S.idon...and maybe a slight moan or two. Which he’d deny out of embarrassment.

S.idon’s gut steadily recedes as time goes on. The L.ynel’s squirming and roaring grow less pronounced, overpowered by the wet churning and gurgling of the Z.ora’s stomach. L.ink’s hands sink in deeper with every push on the softening forms of the beasts, earning him wet squelches and other noises in return. And much more shameless moans out of S.idon as the process only becomes more enjoyable with time.

But all that meat has to go somewhere. And as the L.ynels are broken down and the thick, meaty slurry is pumped through S.idon’s digestive tract, his body shows its effects. His ass and hips especially take on a lot of that weight, growing thicker and rounder with each meaty pump of his intestines. His gut stops shrinking long before it finishes its job, L.ink finding it growing flabbier under his hands as he helps to rub.

In the end, the three L.ynels are left as nothing more than some extra heft on S.idon’s form. The prince tries not to let it bother him at all when he feels the wobble of his cheeks on their trek back to the kingdom. He just knows he’ll be getting comments about his weight. It’s not exactly the form Z.ora royalty are meant to take as they get bigger...

But he also notices L.ink’s eyes trained on his backside as they walk. He can practically feel his friend burning a hole into him with how hard he’s staring. S.idon finds himself smiling a bit at the idea. And he makes sure there’s a bit of extra sway to his step as they walk back just for L.ink.

---

“Wait, I almost got it!” the R.ito cries out. “Let me try again! I swear I--” A gulp silences the bird, his pleas turned into a muffled cry as his head sinks down L.ink’s gullet. The H.ylian lets out a sigh once he's down, followed by a belch that lets some feathers fly out.His guts boil and churn loudly, already getting to work on yet another R.ito warrior.

R.evali puts a wing to his face, trying to hide the fact that he’s blushing and the fact that he’s staring. As usual, R.evali got a little...too cocky when dealing with L.ink. Going on about the superiority of R.itos and how any of their warriors could best the H.ylian in archery. Of course, he ended up having to put his money where his mouth is, and...well...

Another series of gulps and slurps ring out and R.evali peeks out from behind his wing. Yet another archer is going down the hatch, his legs kicking and flailing wildly as L.ink casually devours him. And still, the H.ylian’s gut is bubbling heavily, processing the last couple of failures down into more fat.

Yes, more fat, R.evali notes. L.ink has gained...excessive amounts of weight like this. His stomach hangs out of his shirt, exposed freely as it works hard. It won’t be fitting well under that shirt for a while, either. Even when it’s done processing all that R.ito meat. It bulges further as another dives in with a thick splash, left to kick around in a panic before being overwhelmed by the ruthless digestive process.

Of course, that’s not the only part of L.ink that’s expanded. He’s grown rather...bottom heavy since this started. His pants are hanging on by a threat, ripping apart around his thicker thighs and ass. Sudden movements only exasperated the problem, and R.evali almost wonders if they’ll hold on to the end or not.

Wait, no, he isn’t wondering that! Not at all! R.evali quickly adverts his gaze again, ignoring the whimpering pleas of another R.ito for the champion to stop L.ink from devouring him. Pleas that are paired with wet gulps and slurps of said R.ito rapidly being dragged into that bubbling pit. R.evali is certain L.ink is doing this all on purpose, trying to...get into his head or something.

Another wet belch rumbles out of L.ink. Then R.evali hears wet sloshing sounds and the creaking of wood. He hesitates before looking past his wing again. L.ink is approaching him, looking so...casually smug over what he’s done. R.evali can’t stand that awful look on his face. Or the way his guts slosh with every step, stirring up the meaty slurry that some of their finest R.ito warriors had been reduced to. Or...how his hips seem to sway a bit with every step.

R.evali huffs and lowers his wing completely, trying to stand up straight and remain focused and powerful. He will not let L.ink win this. “Fine, you may have outperformed all of them. But we both know you’ll never reach my heights, L.ink.” As R.evali says that, he nocks an arrow and prepares to show off. L.ink belches again, right in R.evali’s ear, and his fingers slip as he lets the arrow fly.

...L.ink walks away from the R.ito training course about half an hour later. His pants are gone, but he barely notices the chill in the air. One hand rubs lazily over his gut as it burbles and churns wetly. The other picks at his teeth with the end of a dark blue feather. A few more escape his mouth as a bubbling belch comes up. Someone will probably clean all those up.

---

“It’s quite impressive, isn’t it, T.eba?” K.ass asks with a soft smile in that usual sweet voice of his. He looks back, but he’s not able to see the other R.ito from under his mass ass. It’s grown quite a lot since he’d left home, and now that he’s finally back, he hardly looks like the bird he was before!

Of course, when he did come home, nearly every R.ito stared at him. K.ass was plenty used to the attention so it barely phased him. T.eba was the first to actually come up and ask about it, and well, K.ass was more than happy to show off for the newest leader of their tribe. And T.eba does feel quite nice smooshed under his ass like a cushion.

K.ass can feel the muffled voice of the R.ito against him, the actual words lost to his ass fat. The way T.eba moves around tickles him just a bit, keeping the bard jovial. “I picked this up from some techniques described in some ancient songs,” K.ass goes on, despite not really knowing what T.eba was saying. “I’d have tested it out on some of those awful monsters roaming around but I’ve never been the best fighter. Thankfully, I met a few H.ylians not long after I figured out the songs’ meaning!”

Oh yes, those H.ylians had been very helpful. More than happy to give K.ass a hand with things. Sure, they might not have been anticipating being suddenly scooped up into the R.ito’s beak and ruthlessly guzzled down like a few snacks. But that wasn’t really important, was it? They melted down just fine and really helped in adding to K.ass’s...mass~ He wiggles his ass back and forth slightly, getting some more muffled noises out of T.eba.

“I had a few more of those during my travels,” K.ass goes on. “I even got a bit...greedy, lets say, and picked off an entire stable during a night of rest! I even decided to snack on the leftover horses and my did they really add on some heft.” K.ass’s stomach just gurgles at the thought and he smiles, giving it a slight rub.

“Well, after that, I realized bigger meals were better. Traveling groups or...larger meals.” He chuckles slightly into his wing. “Did you know L.ynel tastes quite similar to horse? They’re rather hard to catch, but the one bothering those Z.ora was manageable while it was distracted with them.” K.ass slurps over his beak just thinking of the meal. “Speaking of Z.ora...they also taste like fish! I only had a few...and that delectable prince of theirs...”

S.idon had been just as filling as the L.ynel, really. And just as wiggly. No one really noticed the difference when the ‘L.ynel eating R.ito’ waddled out of their village with something else large stretching out his gut. Another low grumble echoes up from K.ass’s stomach, making him perk up and smile. He looks over his shoulder again.

“Or, that’s right, I meant to ask. Do you know if our old leader is still around, T.eba?” K.ass can feel the R.ito try to speak again. Still can’t hear him. “Well, I suppose I’ll find out for myself. I’m sure R.ito tastes a lot like other bird and he’s quite the meal himself...” K.ass is already drooling over the thought, grinding his ass back further against T.eba. “Oh, and don’t worry! I’ll let you feel my ass once he’s added to it, too! You can let me know if it feels any different.” K.ass smiles as he finally feels T.eba go slack with a whimpering groan. It’s good to be home.

[ganondoodle]

more thoughts

big part of why i loathe what totk did with its story and lore is that it tremendously hurts botw in retrospect

i said that before and mentioned all of these points before as well but i just have to mention it again; how totk did away with all the little mysteries in botw, like the ancient hero looking kinda strange leading to lots of interesting theories- WHOOP its a sonau mix guy revealed through a collectable and its straight up said by purah/impa that that is the ancient hero .. like it was an always known fact ......

the sonau ruins in botw of a long gone group of people that lived in the forest of phirone - WHOOP those are just monuments built by hylians in memory of the sonau and actually their real architecure isnt rare and few but everywhere en masse and doesnt resemble the ones from botw at all, aside from some vague dragon motive; theres more stuff of the oh so sadly gone and not at all mysterious anymore sonau left than there was of the ancient shiekah in botw (and now it doesnt exist at all anymore, who cares about them, how important they were, or this worlds history, especially zelda, she never cared about shiekah or history that wasnt about sonau :)))) )

one of the biggest crimes, to me, personally, is what totk did with the dragons not actively mind you, but still changed my view of them and i hate it; i always saw them as these ethereal otherwordly spirits older than time itself (i liked the idea of them being like a final evolution of the dragons from skyward sword, tho of course i dont need that to be canon lol) and then totk comes along and .. the newly revealed -always been there super cool- race of people from the sky is heavily based on their designs ... and they have armor sets imitating the dragons ... and have ... magical never heard of before stones that turn people into .... dragons .... i get how that can be an interesting thing for people to connect but for me personally ... its a mystery that REALLY shouldnt have been solved, at all, or even touched, the fact that you knew nothing about the dragons other than they are here was what made them feel so much more divine and awe inspiring (i know you could try to think of it being the other way around, the sonau worshipping the dragons so much they dedicated all of their cultur around them ((but then again were is that anywhere, if they worshipped them so much then they sure didnt matter in any of what we say of them in memories..)) ... but the sonau designs, the armor ... the stones ... its all such an obvious connection ...) and its really hard for me to ignore it, i actively have to work now to keep seeing the dragons as these untouchable ethereal spirits instead of some sonau guy eating a fucking stone

and yet again its like .. can you really blame me for feeling weird about the sonau/dislike them when ... theres nothing that WASNT touched by the sonau, they already had tech way above the level of the shiekah, they were in the sky, the surface AND the underground all along, theirs is the actually important influence on the history of the world, they have been in every place that was once important, hell they were in every place were a settlement of people is EVEN THE FEW YEARS OLD TABURASA (tarrey town), their buildings look like they were abandoned 10 years ago, all their shit is still working, they founded (this) hyrule, they are the royals, they are the gods, they are the dragons, the ancient hero was a sonau mix clad in waht totk made out to be their signature design elements-

we had recordings from that time (tapestry) and even PEOPLE (the monks) and yet the sonau were a total mystery? even though their culture was literally still there when the shiekah built their tech?

what gets me escpeially is how .. they didnt NEED to erase anything shiekah, they didnt need to act like they never existed, they didnt need to make the sonau be the coolest guys ever and were so desperate to get that into your thinking everyone in the game is obsessed with them and tells you why you should be obsessed too

like am i just insane or is it a rather .. obvious connection to make that the shiekah found the tech of the sonau and built theirs inspired by what they could find, it was so old at that point that its non functional or even recognizable in the present, but when the shiekah found it they could still research it; given how the shiekah built multiple shrines and puzzles to them WITHTIN ruins that, in botw, were sonau ruins, i thought that was the logical line to draw and a good way to connect them while still leaving the sonau to be a mysterious ... mystery (this is what im going for in my rewrite btw)

also another thought, if the ancient shiekah could see the future to a degree they built stuff to prepare the next hero for the next calamity that would happen in thousands of years .. how did they never find out about gan? i know they were more about the future than the past but like ... were they really so stupid to see that the calamity will come back just the same from the same place and NOT investigate?? ESPECIALLY considering that the weird half sonau ancient hero was literally THERE when they saw the furture and built all of that for it???? the sonau werent gone gone in any sense and you CANNOT tell me that the shiekah jsut ignored this weird half whatever looking guy outfitted in an aesthetic and culture that wasnt obviously present anymore and clearly connected to somethign else, with probably clear scars were whatever buildings were lifted into the skies- SOMEHOW- and monoments LITERALLY STILL READABLE IN THE PRESENT that tells you about all theshit that went down?? even if you hid them with some weird mechanisms, are you realyl not gonen investigate?? also why hide it anyway?? if its supposed to be a monument to the sonau why the fuck would you built stuff to HIDE the information from it?? gan cant reach it anyway bc hes KINDA STUCK you are telling me the group of people with a vision of the future and high tech stuff that are famously obsessed with the stars and sky didnt see any of the sonau shit floating around there?? ohoho but it was hidden by magic uwu WHY bc you wanted to wait thousands of years for the "right" link to come around?? so you let thousands of people suffer and die just bc you wanted a specific guy? why not the ancient hero instead?? and solve the problem right then and there?? or would that mess too much with the history all of the sudden, you didnt care about messing anythign else up before either

its all just so messy if you start to think even a little bit about whatever the fuck happened in totk and i ahte it, it solves stuff that didnt need solving, ignores or even erases stuff that didnt need erasing and was all ready to go and be more explored, its infuriating

(also additional thought about the previous rant where i mentioned how characters, esepcially zelda, regress HARD in chaarcter development) someone mentioend this about link and ... YEAH, in botw the main thing was the connection between link and zelda, how they didnt like each other at first and at the end were THE brotp; in totk, aside from zelda mentioning how strong link is, theres nothing, the link that was revealed in botw to only be so silent and expressionless (not fully but like supressing everythign rly) bc of the immense pressure that was put on him is now just the most importanest sword guy who didnt even shed a tear when you get the memories of zelda basically killing herself; or did he know she will just be returned to normal with no harm or memory done no problemo in the end?? i dont WANT link to talk mind you, i never want to hear him talk tbh, i like him being mostly silent aside from his grunts when he climbs a cliff or soothes a horse (i go non verbal in high stress situations too) but you could have shown him be affected by it at all, or idk DO ANYTHIGN WITH THEIR RELATIONSHIP they are best friends whod die for each other but that doesnt actually matter in anything bc he just do what sword man does-

[skyloftian-nutcase]

So I’m kinda curious, I know you said you are not much of a shipping person (aside from like SkSw Zelink and Miphlink) but are there any of the popular ships that stand out either as ones you think are cute or ones you really do not like?

Hmmm 🤔 I’m fairly neutral or just meh about most, but I guess there are a few that stand out? Or maybe I should just list my opinions on the major ones I know of?

BotW Zelink - I don’t mind it post Calamity. Not really into it pre-calamity, it feels like it’s at the expense of a relationship that’s already there (Mipha and Link). But dang the two definitely would be close after the calamity, given that they’re the only ones who have such a shared experience. I could see it being romantic or platonic, and there’s kind of a heavy leaning towards romantic but then totk also makes it seem platonic sometimes too?? Whatever. Nintendo likes to be vague (except Skyward Sword, let’s be real, nothing about that was vague lol), but I can see it happening after everything.

Midlink - I think it’s sweet. I think in canon Link’s most likely gonna either be with Ilia or someone we don’t even see in the game as he travels, but Midna definitely could’ve had a chance with him if there’d been more time for them. They had good chemistry, and the physical attraction was clearly there when Link saw her true form.

OoT Zelink - Nope. Especially Adult Timeline, absolutely not. It’s a pet peeve of mine that people ship this Link with anyone in the Adult Timeline - he is a child in a teenager’s body. NO. Sure, his body might be attracted to people, but his brain sure ain’t figuring it out, and anybody who wants to explore that just… no. NO. As for Child Timeline, I feel like this Link has a hard time reconciling what happened, has a hard time letting go, and would therefore have a really difficult time separating Child Timeline Zelda from Adult Timeline Zelda and that would lead to too many mixed feelings. I can’t see them getting together. This ship is either entirely one sided (I can 100% see Adult Timeline Zelda romanticizing the Hero she’s been waiting for before she really realizes that he’s still a kid, if she ever realizes it) or nonexistent.

Malink - I quite like it. I honestly didn’t really see it in the game, there’s like… enough for it to happen, I guess, but admittedly Linked Universe has made me biased. But given that it’s heavily implied TP Link and OoT Link are related, and TP Link knows Epona’s song, and Malon was a friend of Link’s, and she talks of marrying a knight in shining armor, and Shade is a knight in shining armor… I can put two and two together. And I think they’d be cute together.

Sidlink - Just… why. I get that half the fandom is in love with Sidon, so they project that, but good grief. Link was engaged to his sister. That’s some Hamlet level incest nonsense there. Link may not remember Mipha all that well but Sidon freaking does. Just because the dude is ridiculously sweet and supportive to literally everyone and about literally everything doesn’t mean he’s romantically inclined towards everyone. He’s a golden retriever, there are two brain cells firing between those fins, let the man just be happy and vibe, good grief. I had this opinion before totk came out, and then the addition of Yona made me laugh because I knew the fandom would blow up about it, but she’s honestly really sweet and good for him - I loved when she called him out to help him, she’s a good wife, I like her 😤

Uh… I think those are all the popular ships I have any kind of actual opinions about? Aside from Skyward Sword Zelink and Miphlink, love them both, mwuah. The rest I’m just meh. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Honestly, I’m very inclined to say that just because two people share oxygen together doesn’t mean they’re gonna fall in love. Just because two people might have some chemistry doesn’t mean they’re gonna fall in love. And just because two hormonal teenagers think each other is hot does not mean they’re gonna end up together. But since romance is such a huge thing in fandoms and in our culture, and I am very much not in a romantic relationship and therefore the culture makes me feel like my life is incomplete, I am not very inclined to get into shipping all that much (translation: sometimes shipping is downright annoying to me, and I hate it when fandoms ship characters together just because they like each other as if other relationships can’t even exist or be meaningful), even the ones that I love. My biggest weakness is loving families, though, so that’s usually where I cheat lol.

[blueskittlesart]

Hey it's the anon who wants to play BOTW but is egregious bad at video games again. I took your advice and I've shocked myself at how much progress i've made, I got to the goron village, korok forest, and rito village. One current issue is that I am still. SO bad at the combat. Like SO bad. I panic immediately and lose all coordination (which I already had very little of). I managed to get myself killed before I could even get to the point where Sidon GIVES YOU the quest to get to Zora's domain. I completely fumbled through a minor test of strength.

Any tips for improving general combat capabilities. HELP

hi! first of all, i'm gonna go over the basics of combat and how/when you should use them. the game does technically tell you these things, but they come up early game and are pretty easy to miss imo. you might know some of them already tho!

the first thing that's probably going to be really helpful to you if you don't already know about it is enemy targeting. this locks the camera in place on a specific enemy, even within a horde of them, giving you free reign to abandon the right stick and focus on button pressing. to target an enemy, get close and press the left trigger (ZL.) this will also equip your shield if you're using a one-handed weapon, but the targeting is the most important. Once you're locked in on one enemy, so long as you keep the trigger pressed, the camera will auto-lock into a straight line from link's back to the enemy, so there's no need for you to worry about camera controls. if you DO touch the right stick while targeting, the target camera will jump to the next closest enemy to link and auto-lock again. in general, when fighting, your left pointer should be pressing the trigger to target at all times, your left thumb should be on the stick moving link around, and your right thumb should be pressing Y and shouldn't move from that button. that's the basic combat configuration and there aren't a lot of scenarios where you're going to have to do much more than that (except maybe the right trigger for your bow.)

next is weapon classes. there are 3 different melee weapon classes in botw--swords, greatswords, and polearms. each weapon class has a different attack pattern and speed, and each class has its own strengths and weaknesses.

swords are any weapon link swings one-handed. (examples include the master sword, broadswords, tree branches, boomerangs, small boko clubs, etc.) they have a decently fast attack pattern and when they're equipped link can also use a shield in his left hand with ZL. this is my favorite weapon class, as it's pretty middle-of-the road, usually they have mid-range attack points, as previously mentioned their attack speed isn't too slow, and they come with the added bonus of being able to use a shield. if you're fighting something like a guardian where shielding is necessary, you should always aim to be using a sword-class weapon as it's the only weapon class that link can also hold a shield with.

greatswords are heavy two-handed weapons (examples include claymores and bigger boko clubs.) they usually have very large attack stats, often in the 50s or above, which makes them tempting, especially early game. however, they have several noticeable drawbacks that make them my least favorite weapon class. because of their weight, their attack speed is very low, and because they're two-handed link can't shield when he has one equipped. I personally stay away from this weapon class early-game--imo they're only worth it if you have both hearts and stamina to spare. I only ever use them for hard-hitting charged attacks after stunning an enemy, and will almost always switch back to a sword-class weapon for regular combat.

polearms are long, light two-handed weapons that link holds like a spear (examples include spears, halberds, and tridents.) these have the fastest attack speed in the game, but because they're two-handed link still can't shield with one equipped. these weapons also usually have a longer reach than swords and greatswords, so they can be useful if you don't want to get too close to what you're fighting (however you forfeit the more reliable protection of a shield in order to get that benefit.) these are useful in a pinch, and personally i won't actively discard them like i tend to do with greatswords, but they definitely don't have the same versatility and ease of use as a sword-class weapon.

for early-game, i'd try to stick to sword-class weapons as much as possible, and ALWAYS have your shield up with the left trigger/ZL when you're in combat. this alone will make you harder to hit and let you last a lot longer. with the limited weapon slots you have early-game, i'd focus on collecting weapons that are easy for you to use rather than the ones with the highest attack stats, especially since they're going to break anyway. be willing to sacrifice a high-attack greatsword for a lower-attack one-handed sword in a pinch.

as for the actual mechanics of combat, there are plenty of fancy things you CAN do, but very few of them are actually necessary to beat the game. you can get through 90% of all combat in botw by just targeting with ZL and mashing Y, maybe occasionally sprinting with B to avoid enemy attacks. there are shrines and npcs that will teach you fancy things like backflips and perfect-dodges, which are useful if you can reliably perform them, but if you're someone who gets easily confused when you have to perform a lot of button presses in quick succession, it'll probably be more useful for you to just stick to Y attacks.

the one special combo attack you ARE going to need to learn in order to get through the game is a perfect shield parry, which is going to sound scary and difficult when i explain it but i promise it becomes like second nature after a while. this combo is the easiest way to combat anything that has a laser-beam attack, like guardians and certain late-game bosses. you hold your shield up with ZL, (this combo can ONLY be performed if you're holding a one-handed weapon, and make sure you're targeting the enemy attacking you and not just holding your shield up at nothing) wait for the laser to lock onto you, (the target line will blink rapidly and then disappear just before the laser fires) and then, right when the laser hits your shield, hit the A button to redirect the beam back towards the enemy. there is some level of danger here, because if you press A too early the beam may hit you, but most of the time if you fail to perform a perfect parry the beam will still just bounce off your shield and not do any damage to you. there are plenty of stationary guardians on the map you can use to practice this skill until the timing is ingrained into you, and i would highly recommend practicing it as it's super useful late-game.

as a final note, remember that botw is a game designed for versatility. it seems like you're doing everything very by-the-book--fighting whenever the game tells you to fight, regardless of whether you really WANT to fight. and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's also by no means the only way to get through the game. if you find yourself struggling with melee combat, there's nothing stopping you from buying a bunch of bomb arrows and just firing them off at enemies from afar, or even just eating a shit ton of stealth food and sneaking around them. certain combat scenarios are going to be unavoidable, but botw is a game that prioritizes player innovation, meaning that very rarely is there going to only be one way out of a situation. if you're struggling with melee combat, try something else! try your bow, or a rune, or avoiding combat altogether, until you find something that sticks and makes the game fun for you. there's no wrong way to play!

[silentprincessofhyrule]

i having something to admit

i never really finished totk!

but yesterday i just finished the game. and wow.

i took a mini break when i was doing the spirit temple, because that temple bored me out. i did finish it though eventually.

after speaking to purah and her telling me to go beat up ganondorf, i was more then ready. if i beat up calamity ganon in botw, can’t be too hard in totk, right?

after that, i quickly got ‘enough’ food and went in super confident. yeah! i can do this, ganondorf can’t be THAT hard? right?

i underprepared and greatly underestimated him.

and… he beat my ass 3 times!

the journey to get to ganondorf was really cool. when i was at the point where the game told me i couldn’t use my sages because i was too far in the depths, that scared me for a moment. the dive down was super cool too.

the first time, he started beating me up around phase 2. after losing, i completely forgot i could use a travel medallion to save my spot. anyways, i cooked some more food.

the second time, i made it to phase 3!! but then i was absolutely flabbergasted when this guy started flurry rushing MY flurry rushes. like what?? then he started destroying all my shields in 1 attack! then i died.

the third time was an okay try… i made it to phase 2 until one of the ganondorf copies killed me. oopsies.

the fourth try, i was super determined. i cooked more food (literally just cooked 1 dish using 5 sundelions) and i was more than ready.

i made it to phase 3 without using any of my dishes the phase before. and within a few seconds all of those dishes were gone.

now… it was just me on 1 heart left, but ganondorf too was close to being defeated.

who won?

ganondorf!

is what i would say if this post wasn’t about me beating totk.

link beat him up of course! by using a gibido bone with an arrow.

(oh and i admit i also suck at flurry rushing timings and i suck at parrying)

this fight was big step up from botw- i ACTUALLY had to get a strategy and prepare, where for calamity ganon, i got help from the champions and just went ‘attack and attack’ with the master sword.

i also loved the demon dragon fight, especially the ost. oh, and that part where the sky and moon turns red? absolutely gorgeous.

the ending was absolutely incredible and emotional, even though i was already spoiled for it.

oh and i find it so funny by how they make complete strip link of all his clothing, they probably saw link in the tinkle or ancient armor and said “never again.”

however…

i still prefer botw though, just personal preference. i could go on an entire ramble about this but i’ll save that for later.

[snapscube]

is it possible you could put TOTK stuff under the cut for a small while? Me and a few other people I know got spoiled on some things because we follow your account and we don't have a ton of time to play

I really hope to not sound rude or a bit hypocritical but I'm not really down to change the formatting of my posts? I have been tagging almost everything I post about TOTK with "zelda" and "totk" which are like, very mute-able. The only clip I ever posted without tags was just a shot of some horses in an area you could also just find in BOTW that was mostly grass, and believe me aside from the UI changes I combed it very closely to make sure I wasn't showing off something too crazy.

I've also been going out of my way to keep shared footage mostly to stuff that you can find relatively early on if you follow the pretty obvious directions the game points you toward at the start of it. Maybe I'm just desensitized with how much I've played already but I was under the impression that a lot of the stuff I've shown is realllyyy basic save for a couple things that I made sure to put later in my clip compilations so anyone who didn't want to see ANYTHING about the game from my playthrough would have time to scroll past.

I understand that just tagging isn't going to cover all scenarios where someone could see something they don't want to and I'm sympathetic, I've had certain armor type discoveries spoiled for me and I was a bit frustrated at that so it may sound hypocritical for me to defend my own posting, but the difference there is that the stuff I saw that frustrated me was completely untagged, not even with general tags for the game so I couldn't even have avoided it if I wanted to. I at the very least am giving people the same essential courtesies I expect when posting about a new game.

If that hasn't been enough for y'all specifically and you saw more than you wanted to, I am sorry and I assure you I really have no plans to go too crazy with clip posting or anything on here, a vast majority of my experience will be contained to YouTube content for a long while, but also if my current style is too much then of course no hard feelings if you need to unfollow until you've played sufficiently for yourself. Also, if it's any consolation, I can assure you that there are like thousands of discoveries in this game that are 20x cooler than anything I have shared outside of my VODs.

[sabertoothwalrus]

out of curiosity, why do you not like zelink anymore? it never really appealed to me but I keep seeing art of it and I don't really feel the chemistry haha

HMMM well I still like it in some regards!

as kid I was almost exclusively a fan of OoT zelink. Like DIE HARD. Like it was my whole personality. I liked Link & Tetra a lot too, their dynamic is GREAT but I didn’t draw them as much. I wasn’t interested in TP zelink and I remember telling myself it was because “the designs are too hard for me to draw I’m only 9” and not that they had literally no chemistry 💀

It’s kinda wild cause I was already deep in the zelink trenches when skyward sword came out, but for some reason that game didn’t appeal to me at all??? idk if it was cause the game just wasn’t as fun to play, or if the designs put me off. It just didn’t hold my interest.

By the time botw rolled out in 2017, I was already identifying as aroace (<- spoiler I was actually a repressed lesbian) and had long gotten over zelink being the “default”.

Even my beloved oot zelink felt less realistic to me— I know it’s fiction and you can do whatever you want, but generally princesses don’t marry random knights (in child timeline, no one remembers Link’s heroism, so to everyone else he really would just be some random knight). I’ve come to appreciate oot zelink for its potential tragedy and complexity, with childhood friends-to-lovers, who are literal soulmates that share memories of war no one else in their world knows of, but for political reasons cannot be together. Their relationship would be messy and secret and bittersweet. Link wouldn’t even have anywhere else to go, since he no longer belongs with the kokiri. He canonically dies as a royal guard. He had children (TP Link is part of his bloodline) but he presumably died before they were old enough for him to teach them his swordsman techniques.

So far, botw zelink is one of my least favorite zelinks 🙈 I’m sorry I just don’t see it!! Which is INSANE because it’s by far been the most popular zelink in the past 15 years I’ve been in online fandoms for it. At most it’s unrequited and at least they’re both gay. To be fair I never actually beat calamity ganon 🤡 I’M GONNA DO THAT THIS WEEKEND SHHH and have managed to stay mostly unspoiled about botw’s ending, but I really don’t think,, that that alone will be enough to convince me. Idk. Maybe I’ll change my mind. Maybe totk will do it for me.

[sillybayo]

What Do You Think? Can We Do It?

(Originally posted on AO3 on 2/23/23. You can also find this on fanfiction.net)

A pre-calamity botw/totk zelink fic with slight canon complaint and hurt/comfort. Zelda has just returned from The Spring of Power only for her father to become stressed and disappointed again. She goes off into the forest, and Link tries to come up with a solution to calm her nerves.

~~~

Leaves crunched harshly beneath the princesses boots as she stomped into the forest. Birds flew out of the apple trees out of the fear of her groans. In contrast, a soft breeze accompanied her on the trail, along with the short knight that walked a few feet behind her. She was used to him at this point, he won't leave no matter how much she begged. It's his job after all. But she later found his presence comforting, as she felt much less lonely than before, despite him being as quiet as a rock. Maybe his silence is just what she needed after a long day. Maybe she needed him more than she knew. But even still, a hot overwhelming feeling built up inside her no matter how many times she shouted.

"Why won't he just understand already?!" Zelda shrieked. "What part of 'There's nothing more I can do' does he not get?! If I could awaken my powers right now—I would!" She kicked the hard ground, bruising her foot. She winced, but went right back to ranting. "It's not like I'm trying to put everyone in suspense as Ganon comes closer, he knows that! He knows that I've been praying and training within every second I can, so why is he just so? So!?"

She fumbled with her words, and continued yelling and kicking to release her frustration deep within. Link only watched, standing there a bit awkwardly.

"You agree, right?!" She suddenly turned to him. "That he's being foolish? More ignorant than anyone on Earth? Like, seriously, what does he not understand?! I'm not just some war machine that you can turn on and off! Praying at this point is useless!"

He was intimidated by such a question. Not because Zelda scared him—far from it—more like what would happen if he were to voice his opinion. He agrees, her father is far too harsh on her. Link has seen her put all of her effort into awakening her powers..and yet, nothing. He wanted to stand up for her, and help find more ways to put an end to Calamity Ganon, but this is the king of Hyrule we're talking about. Link is nothing more than a teeny knight hired to look after Zelda. One word of contradiction, and only Hylia knows what'd happen next.

So he ended up staying silent as always, standing firmly in place. But he decided to at least try to give her a sympathetic look. He couldn't just leave her hanging, not like this.

"Right!" She knew he wasn't going to speak anyhow. At least it was something. "We have the Guardians, the Champions, and a stellar army and weaponry! If we all work together, we could take Ganon down! So why am I the only one constantly pressured?!" The last sentence was said with a cry, which caught Link off guard. Zelda's vexation had a whole new meaning now, and he cursed himself for not realizing it sooner.

The knight allowed himself to relax, with his shoulders drooping and his eyes widening. He watched as the princess walked up to a tree and slumped down, pressing her knees against her chest. A heavy feeling in his heart rose, and he couldn't help but to sit beside her.

Her voice cracked and broke, and Zelda spoke more quietly than Link has ever heard from her before. "I'm so tired, Link. So..so tired..I don't know what to do or where to go next. I've prayed to spirits, shrines, statues, The Spring of Courage, The Spring of Power and…nothing, neither worked. Have my ancestors suffered this much? I-is there something wrong with me? What else do I need to do?! Everyone could die at any moment and I can't do anything!"

An eruption of hot tears flooded her face, and she flushed with a deep red. Impulsively, Link cupped her face in his hands, catching and wiping away the droplets. Though caught off guard by such a sudden gesture, Zelda couldn't help but to keep sobbing. Her face was held close, and Link could see much more details than before. Her eyes had dark and deep circles underneath, and her hair was much more messy and unkempt than usual. She must have been staying up much later than she should be; most likely to study and pray, Link concluded. The knight rubbed her warm face with his thumbs, gently tracing circles on her cheeks, and she managed to subdue her cries into the form of quiet whines and sniffles. He had a feeling this technique would calm her down, he always did this whenever his little sister—Aryll—was wailing over something like her kite flying away in the wind, or stubbing her toe against a table. He always did this to the one he cared about, and now he gets to do it again but with a whole new meaning.

The next step was to try and think of a way to help the situation. He didn't know much about magic or spirits or gods or whatever, and it seemed like they were out of options, but he needed to think of something. He couldn't bare to see Zelda in so much despair anymore. So he skimmed through his mind and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought…..

The springs!

They've gone to two out of three of the springs, The Spring of Courage, and The Spring of Power. There's one left, The Spring of Wisdom.

Link released Zelda's face and pulled out his Sheikah Slate, showing her the location of where he suggests to go next. She leaned in and took a look, examining the area.

"I can't go there yet..you have to be at least seventeen years old to enter."

Link raised his eyebrow, and she immediately knew what he was asking. "My birthday is in about two weeks, but we can't afford to waste so much time! Wh-what if.."

Her hands turned into fists, and they trembled, indicating the worst thoughts imaginable. The knight took them into his, rough and covered with scars. The princess unraveled her balled up hands, allowing herself to relax, just for a moment. Her hands were surprisingly a bit bigger than his, Link figured maybe it's because she physically matured faster compared to him, if that even correlates to the former topic. But he held her hands anyways, tracing the veins that covered her knuckles. He thought about kissing them as gently as he could, if it would mean relieving her stress further, and showing that he adored her more than she knew. But it remained just that, a thought. They have more pressing matters, after all.

Finally, Zelda took a deep breath, and stared down at her hands enclosed in her knights one last time, and then looked into his honest eyes. "Then, it's settled. I'll tell my father our plan, and then we'll prepare to leave." A twinge of concern revealed on her face once more. "Do..do you think I can do it in time?"

All he did was smile kindly, giving her the most genuine look he ever has. Suddenly, she wasn't so scared anymore.