#i want to explore zeldas character and trauma more

[popcorn-milk]

What did you look like? - Short Zelda fic

“What did you look like? While fighting Ganon?” Zelda blinked at the little girl who sat expectantly in front of her. She and a handful of other children had taken to following her around all day while she and Link were visiting Kakariko Village. When Link had gone off to run late afternoon errands, the children had taken to quizzing Zelda on random things about herself.

Zelda fell silent. How was she supposed to answer that? How would she even supposed to know? She remembered what fighting Ganon felt like, but not specifically seeing it. No; she remembered the claustrophobia of being trapped by tendrils of malice that were burning hot and ice cold at the same time. She remembered constant screams of agony, though half the time she wasn’t sure if it was the environment or her screaming. She remembered how dark and lonely and suffocating it was. But she couldn’t have told you what it looked like, let alone what she looked like.

“Why do you ask?” Zelda finally stammered out. Her gaze dropped to her lap. Moments before, the children had been asking her about her favorite color and her favorite book. She hadn’t expected questions about… this.

“I don’t know.” The girl whispered, clearly picking up on Zelda’s unease. “I’m sorry.” She said even quieter.

“It’s ok,” Zelda said quickly, taking the girl’s hand. “I just… wasn’t expecting something so specific. You’re very curious, and that’s a good thing.” Zelda took a deep breath as she decided how to answer. She looked up as she heard footsteps crunching on the leaf-covered floor. Link was approaching, but when his gaze met hers, he stopped walking and stood patiently back.

Zelda took another deep breath and focused on Link. “I don’t know.” She finally replied, gaze slowly trailing back to the little girl. “I suppose I wasn’t very focused on that.”

“Maybe you looked like an angel! Like the statues of Hylia!” A child called out. Zelda flinched internally. Another comparison to the goddess. As if she didn’t get enough of those pre-Calamity. She scolded herself. They’re just children.

“Maybe you looked like a giant bird or something.” Someone else chimed, making giggles ripple through the crowd.

“Maybe,” Zelda laughed. “I think if I had seen myself, I would have forgotten. I was very… busy.”

“Duh, she was.” A boy piped up from the group. The girl spun around, pouting with half-mocking rage. “Shut up! I was just asking!” She dove for the boy, and the whole herd of kids started running away to go play elsewhere.

Zelda sighed, mostly with relief. Link finally approached, rising his hands to sign in Hylian. He smiled sympathetically. “You had you hands full. I’m sorry I didn’t step in.”

“It’s fine. I figure I need to get used to more… personal questions.” Zelda signed back before standing and brushing any dust off her pants. “Do you have any theories you would like to add?” She signed, half-joking, though curiosity pricked at her as well.

“Doesn’t matter to me. Maybe you looked like the you 100 years ago, maybe not. You were so brave- you’re still so brave. No need to bring your appearance into it. And anyway…” Link smiled widely, suddenly a little bashful. “You’ve always been very beautiful. Giant bird or not.”

“Oh, stop it.” Zelda replied out loud, huffing with a smile on her face. “Or else I’m going to start thinking too hard about the idea of me being a bird.”

Link grinned and interlaced his fingers with Zeldas. The two walked down the road to the inn with the setting sun warming their backs.

-- -- -- -- -- --

Its a Thursday night and I'm really bored so I wrote this in like 20 minutes. Hopefully I'll be getting my ao3 account soon so I don't have to post on this blog, but I just wanted to share this for fun!

Also, yes, I headcannon Link uses sign language to communicate! I believe he has an anxiety disorder called "selective mutism." If you'd like more information on that, there's a whole association dedicated to it.

[minas-linkverse]

Why is Mina's Linkverse?

I've been into the legend of Zelda since age 10, when Skyward Sword came out. Of course I was excited when I saw the fandom here on tumblr suddenly awaken larger than before. The release of botw was quite an event.

What I came to find however, was that I was struggling to connect with the fandom and its works. Dont get me wrong, the creators here are incredible and deserving of great praise. The problem wasn't them, but something in me I wasn't able to shake off.

After a lot of introspection the conclusion I came to was that the largest "issue" was how trauma was being explored.

I've been through absolute garbage, and know so much of that rage and pain. For a long time I thought I'd always feel it. I felt like a fire had been set in me and to extinguish it would only let those who hurt me win.

And I do think that past me was right, I think there are parts of me that will carry those burns forever. However with time I found myself less bothered. I infact was getting bored that my mind wouldn't just let me move on from that already.

I'm not a therapist, I don't truly know if what I say is accurate to more than myself— But in recent years I've started to see a world beyond what happened to me. I'm never going to be the woman I thought I'd be but I'm someone capable of finding happiness and security. There's still huge set backs and things that I've barely made progress on... Thing I've given up recovering... But I've seen it. I've seen that things can turn around and get better.

A lot of the fandom writes trauma as something larger than life. It's the main anatoginist, it gives the characters depth. In most cases, I think that's totally fine. In fact when I was still in pain I read works like that almost exclusivly. It was comforting to see myself in art.

But now that I've seen things can improve, I found myself desiring works about that. I wanted to see the cast of games I loved with all my heart to find that bright future too.

...So that's why Linkverse is here. I'm humbly offering the idea that these boys can heal and find bright futures. Maybe I could even reach a real person who feels like I used to. A girl can dream.

I also think its worth making the point that trauma doesn't make someone interesting. Healing doesn't make someone lose what made them worth reading about. Happiness can be as complex, deep and valuable as sorrow. Both is good.

So uhm. Yea! Yea. Yup.

This might be a webcomic about gnomes but I'm pouring my entire heart into it. I hope it shows and reaches others.

[raurusthirdeye]

For the chapter ask game! Are there any behind-the-scenes or various machinations of your chapter The Orphan that you'd like to share?

Oh yes, I was hoping someone would ask me that! (I knew I could count on you to be the one 😁)

This one's important because it culminated the "Trilogy of Trauma" chapters I wrote. The whole point of the preceding two chapters on Link and Zelda was to find a way to tragically link their backstory with Kohga's. It will also serve as a lead-in to an exploration of the Sheikah/Yiga split and the whole history and intrigue there in a later chapter when we finally get around to visiting Impa and Paya. I agonized (And still agonize) over whether or not a flashback was right for the story pacing; overall I like it even though I'm sure it still could have been done better. The purpose wasn't just to do an "origins" section for the sake of inflicting my head-canon upon the fandom, but to support the theme of the whole work, which is that bad things happen to good people that are outside of anyone's control. But when stuff happens it's still up to the individual to choose how they'll respond, and the individual is ultimately responsible for their own choices and (in)actions. How someone responds and reacts to things beyond their control shows you their character, setting them up for opportunities to both grow and fail.

In all three character's flashbacks we see an event that forces them to make choices which will shape them for the rest of their lives, and through the knowledge the reader already has of the characters from how their story unfolds through BotW and TotK we see how each of them chose to grow or moved forward very differently.

Even King Rhoam gets his chance to show how good a father he was originally capable of being before the choices he made after the death of the Queen show us why he turned into what he did. His choices end up impacting Zelda for the rest of her life, so extra credit theme is: Sometimes you have to live with and deal with the consequences of other's choices, not just your own.

I hope that is what everyone who reads it takes away from these chapters.

Now, because of how traumatic and serious this chapter was, and because I have no actual personal experience with the type of trauma I was writing, I ended up toning everything I originally wrote way the fuck down because it was such gratuitous angst and trauma it would have made even @bahbahhh cringe and tell me I jumped the shark. ( @haste-waste egged me on though, saying "They're fictional characters, they're not real! Traumatize them kids!" 🤣). I know I'm not qualified to write from Kohga's perspective, so I knew I shouldn't do too much, but I still feel like I pushed it a little. I agonized for weeks over even including the Good Will Hunting reference for fear it was laying it on too thick. I didn't want to run afoul of the same thing Sean says to Will on the park bench: "Do you think I’d know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist?"

As for some other silly little behind the scenes stuff: Kohga's adoptive parent's names are a Hyrulization of John (Jonah) and Martha (Mara) Kent, who were also (at least originally in the older Superman comics) an elderly couple when they adopted Clark Kent. The irony being instead of Superman we get a clownified version of Ra's al Ghul.

The hill Kohga and Jonah climb to meditate is the same hill from BotW Memory 11. I managed to sneak in a reference to "Desire path" in its description.

General Toren (who should be sitting on the docket at the Hylian equivalent of the Hague) is the great grandfather of Captain Toren of the monster control squads, who I plan on bringing into the story.

So yah. A heavy chapter wrapping up three very heavy chapters in a way that I hope sticks the landing on the other side and makes the story and portrayal of the characters stronger and more fulfilling. Total downers, which is why the next chapter I'm still editing is going to be almost pure fluff to give everyone a breather and remind everyone the kids are OK in the present. (Alright, 2 out of the 3 kids are ok. As Meatloaf would say, that ain't bad)

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Character personality fun :)

Because I just wanted to lol. I might do this for other characters I play with, but we're starting with Imprisoning War blorbos: Hero of Power, Hemisi, and Zelda the Sacred Diplomat

When under stress... - Link retreats into himself, usually. He's very sensitive and private, and he's used to taking care of himself. He doesn't offload on others, and he doesn't express himself. Eventually, if it isn't addressed, he just self implodes. - Hemisi lashes outward, looking for outlets for her stress. Typically it's through anger and aggression, whether it's channeled productively or not. - Zelda writes it down. She's always had a diary, and she considers it her closest companion as she'd been mostly isolated her entire childhood. She tends to cry a fair amount as well, but almost always when she's alone (Impa is the only one she'll cry in front of). She's not really used to being vulnerable in front of others, and when she becomes queen she can't afford to be.

Trust issues? - Link doesn't trust easily after the start of the war. Before that, he trusted very easily, but once Hemisi betrayed him and Ganondorf stole the Triforce of Power, he's far more hesitant. He trusts almost no one after marrying Zelda. - Hemisi trusted her family implicitly until everything fell apart. After, she ties to find others she can trust, it just takes her time to warm up to them. She never entirely trusts anyone aside from Link, though. Some fellow Gerudo do come close - she'll trust them with important information, with some concerns about her people, but she never trusts anyone with her own issues and insecurities. - Zelda trusts literally no one. The closest is Impa, who over the years manages to develop enough of a bond with Zelda that she can be vulnerable with her, but Zelda never tells Impa all her plans. Half the time she genuinely just doesn't think to, but as she plays the political game longer, she just learns to keep her plans to herself. It tends to make her manipulative, though, as she'll just make orders and give no explanation and expect everyone to obey, or she'll find ways to trick people into doing what she wants or needs.

Something they genuinely enjoy: - Link loves music. He loves listening to it, he loves dancing to it, he loves the history and story behind it. He loves stories as well. He tried to learn as much about Gerudo music and dance while he was dating Hemisi. He treasures his Sheikah heritage through its songs and dances, and he knows many Hylian folk songs as well. - Hemisi loves thrill seeking. Adventure, exploration, jumping off a cliff with a paraglider, anything that gets her blood going is what she wants to do the most. - Zelda loves reading. Books were her only escape from her childhood imprisonment, her only view of the world outside the castle until she was a teenager. She still treasures all of her childhood books and, as queen, she loves hearing stories of Hyrule, whether it's folktales, current affairs, or history.

People don't usually expect this of them, but... - Link, despite his quiet nature and seeming gentle and placating demeanor, has a lot of anger and hurt in him. He doesn't know how to reconcile a lot of things in his life, and it festers in him. Hemisi helped him find healthy outlets for it through mischief and adventure, and he always caught others off guard when he broke the rules with her, as he was always a duty-bound and obedient young man. When he became king, unresolved stress/trauma from the war and his current situation made this develop into something far more dangerous. The good, peace loving, dutiful Hero that the nobles thought he was could turn into a terrifying killer if need be, as demonstrated when someone tried to attack Zelda and Link killed him, leaving his body in the throne room for the nobles to find in the morning as a warning. - Hemisi can be blunt and has a strong personality, and as a princess, she's used to getting what she wants. Nevertheless, she's surprisingly empathetic and understanding, and as she grows--and through spending time with Link--she learns patience in conjunction with this, making her an excellent ruler. She used to let her passions and temper rule her, but after seeing what it did to her father, Hemisi tried to make herself far more restrained. While she is still quick to annoy or have a sharp tongue, and is considered far less formal, she tries very hard to be selfless and diplomatic, looking at Link as an example. - Zelda was always known for being silent as a child, and everyone had assumed it was due to having a shy disposition, or perhaps being sickly. In reality, it was because her father wanted her seen but not heard, desperate for the validation that having a daughter in the royal family provided while also not wanting said daughter to take his power from him. Zelda is not all that shy, and is in fact quite forward and commanding. And when she takes the throne, the people of Hyrule and history view her as a saint, calling her the Sacred Diplomat for all the work she did to restore and unify the land. Everyone thought she was gentle, nurturing, a mother to all the people. While Zelda very much adores her people and views Hyrule as her own to care for and help, she is cutthroat and manipulative when need be and is not sorry for it. She spent her childhood being told she was an idiot, so she is very sensitive to others trying to give her advice; while she recognizes she doesn't know everything, she also does not wanted to be treated like a fool, and can sometimes be defensive as a result.

[kitsoa]

I'd love to hear about all the fanfics that inspire you / you recommend

Yeah?? You're asking? Oh boy, I am so excited to share. This is my comprehensive fanfiction recommendation/inspiration guide.

Fandoms:

Trigun (current fixation)

Kingdom Hearts

The Legend of Zelda

Detective Conan

Danny Phantom

Criteria?

Chances are I have reread this stuff a few times. That's it. I love it. There are some that I have rose-tinted glasses about and I think there are a million more I just didn't list but I love fanfiction and just knowing these exist lets me work hard to indulge and enjoy on the things I love.

Trigun/ Trigun Stampede

The Second Celestial Evening series by tragic_unpaired_electron

Child of Blessing

Daughter of Eve

Season of the Witch

Multi-chapter. Complete. Gen.

A beautifully crafted series covering the complexities of Vash's place in the universe starts with a heart-tugging series covering Vash's growth into adulthood from Brad's perspective in "Child of Blessing". Then compelling and dark torture featuring ghost Tesla in "Daughter of Eve" and 'so good we had to share the fun'-- the Knives' redemption fic of all redemption fics in "Season of the Witch". Their plant biology headcanon, the masterful prose, and the vibrant character explorations are downright incredible.

Bloodletting series by tragic_unpaired_electron

The Pale Horseman

The Walls of Jericho

After Eden

Multi-Chapter. Complete. Gen.

Hands down the best Twin!Swap AU in all of Trigun fandom. It turns Nai into the most compelling, prickly, and surly protagonist. He pulls at your heartstrings and grows in ways you cannot fathom. There are twists and turns both inspired by canon and naturally spun from the various want-of-nail scenarios. Amazing headcanons and innovative and imaginative worlds and backgrounds. When I tell you that this Nai is one of my favorite characters of all time-- folks would think me blasphemous. I cannot sing the praises of this one enough. I love all their trigun work but this is my favorite. Sun, Moon, and Stars by tragic_unpaired_electron

Multi-chapter. Complete. Gen.

Tesla Lives AU with amazing character vignettes, imaginative worlds and characters and scenarios. And just an incredible message overall. If you want to chew on something by this author with a little less trauma and not as many total chapters this basically eases you into their genius. You get to really see how they roll with characterization.

the unknowable tomorrow by ScreechTheMighty

Multi-chapter. Unfinished. Gen.

Tristamp timetravel fic that turns Meryl and Wolfwood into little guardian angels to baby Vash. This makes my heart weep with fluffy feelings and emotions and the tension inherent to their being there is captivating. I love reading Vash through their perspective in this fic.

ten cent grace by fathomfive

Oneshot. Gen.

Trimax-ish. A plant sickness has Vash regress to childhood with no memories and only Wolfwood to cling to. It's such a great character retrospective and gives me feelings. Big brother Wolfwood. Strange but traumatized child Vash. It's written very well.

There are soooo many good trigun fics. I could actually keep going but I'll move on.

Kingdom Hearts

(i don't need you to) Worry for Me by Cygna_hime

Three-shot. Complete. Gen.

A freaking work of art. A Vanitas redemption story that humanizes and explores a character built on such wild extremes. Reading this made me cry. I fell absolutely in love with Vanitas and it explored the Wayfinder Trio in beautiful ways. It has great headcanons and world building. It's a rather long 3 chapters but it is an incredible ride. Islands Like Glass Towers by Organization VI

Multi-Chapter. Complete. Gen.

This is a famous and rather old fic that explores Sora's parents and it dives into the whimsical and bittersweet world Sora is to be born into. It left me feeling wistful and nostalgic and it's very hard to put into words but it's a fic about parenthood and love. It's a profound little read and I think it captures the unique magic of Kingdom Hearts in a grounded way.

IV[or]y Wall by me.... haaaa im sorry

Multi-Chapter. Incomplete. Gen.

You write what you wanna see. Self-indulgent self promo. Big ol' "Kingdom Heart 4" speculation fic that deals with Sora reverse isekai'd into the real world and having to parse what is real and what is fake and he's... really going through it. Basically a character deconstruction fic on his side. Very meta. Much suspense. I try. It's on Hiatus but you could enjoy the 29 chapters while I get ready to soft relaunch it.

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by TheZedofAges

Multi-Chapter. Complete. T . f/m (Zelink)

BotW novelization that is an actual fantasy epic. It takes and develops the world and the plot into this very organic and vibrant cohesive story. Link is characterized so darn well. There are extrapolations and flourishes that suck you right in. There is a masterful use of non-chronological flashbacks and the relationship between Zelda and Link is total gravity. I read this story to my nongamer, not hip, completely clueless mother and she loved it.

Insomnia by  tikitikirevenge 

Multi-Chapter. Incomplete. T. Hiatus.

Majora's Mask Novelization! This is such a smart fic I'm always in awe as I read it. Not only does it have whipcrack good dialogue and great pacing, it's got a complex closed-time loop premise that has intersections and crosses that take tons of foresight and skill to pull off. It is just an electric read that covers the trauma of a hero out of place and a world that is crushed by oppressive fear and depression. And Tatl. Is. Just. the best.

Detective Conan

Fallout by the Silversage

Multi-Chapter. Incomplete. Hiatus. T.

... this fic. Is everything to me. What I would sell to get this thing finished. Basically, let's take the consequences of the Raven Chaser movie and kick the series into high gear toward the conclusion. Featuring intense intrigue and well-researched mystery and conspiracy. Kaito Kid being an incredible ally. The gosho boys. The Conan mystery being confronted and needled to such a satisfying degree. This fic makes me scream. I am so rabid about this fic. Sense & Sensitivity by  KosagiNoLegion 

Multi-Chapter. Complete. T

This one is also kinda old. Nature of the beast with Conan fic but like it's Psychic Detective Heiji. Which in the midst of all the 'realism' and 'science' is absolutely glorious. He's surrounded by skeptics and has to keep it secret but like it's a great time. There's another in the series from my memory.

Switched by Boogum

Multi-Chapter. Complete. Gen.

Kaito-Conan Body swap. It's got great dialogue and a fun pace. Just good ol' body swap shenanigans which are heightened by the two at the center who are great foils and have various context's to complicate things. Fun fact, I made the cover art for this one.

Danny Phantom

Yo this seres is what I like to call evergreen for me. For some reason these fics are just always in style. Always ready to be consumed.

Phantom of Truth and Shadow of a Doubt by Haiju

Multi-Chapter. Complete. T

Probably the big staple fic of this fandom. Dark, emotionally complicated. Body horror. Trauma. Danny's mom experiments on him and then we gotta pick up the pieces in the sequel. Love the ghost headcanons. It's captivating.

Candlelight by HappyLeif

Multi-Chapter. Complete. Romance. T

An AU with Danny being alone during his portal accident so he actually drifts away from his friends. This allows for a really sweet love story between Danny and Sam as they reconnect and form a friendship through his alter ego. I love outside-perspective fics and this takes that for a spin and makes a delightful romance.

Treading Water by The Full Catastrophe

Multi-Chapter. Incomplete. T

An AU where instead of ghost powers we've got Mer-Danny. It is so imaginative and fun that feels like the original show with all the great grounded drama we expect from fanfic. This is a total classic and the quintessential mer-Danny fic.

......And I could keep going. There are a few fandoms I've dabbled with reading but I'll save that. It's great to have this here in one place for me to refer back.

[purrincess-chat]

2, 8, 22, 24

2. A character whose pov you're currently exploring

I've mentioned before, but I've recently branched into writing for the Legend of Zelda fandom. I've been writing a fic that takes place post-breath of the wild, but pre-tears of the kingdom kind of bridging the gap there. It's mostly from Zelda's pov, so I've been having fun exploring that because the setting is so vastly different to ML and Zelda herself is unlike any character I've written before. It's been fun. As for ML, I'm working on a few fics from Adrien's pov lately and dissecting him like a bug. (pun intended)

8. If you had to write a sequel to a fic, you'd write one for...

I'm doing that too! I'm literally writing a sequel fic to Marinette Dupain-Cheng's Spite Playlist right now! It follows the aftermath of Adrien finding out his father was Hawkmoth when they defeated him and how Adrien recuperates and works through his childhood trauma and establishes his own identity in the world.

22. Do you ever worry about public reaction to what you're writing? How do you get past that?

Considering I was once an avid salt-fic writer in peak salt time, I don't know that I ever have worried about public reaction XD But I think that just boils down to personality and personal philosophy. I fundamentally understand that not everyone is for me, and I'm not for everyone. If someone doesn't like something I've written (and there have been people who definitely haven't jived with what I've written), then they don't have to read it. But ultimately I just write what I want to see and read, so idc if no one else likes it bc I do. I also don't tend to write things that are too controversial or dealing with anything too egregiously heavy. I suppose Adrien's Playlist may tote the line just dealing with his mental health issues and trauma, but even that isn't too dark I would say. So, on that front, I can't really help if that's your dilemma. But I'd say fandom is pretty robust with the idea of don't like, don't read, and anyone seriously bullying someone for writing completely normal fanfic tends to get backlash more than the writer they're bullying. Bc it's just rude.

So, idk if that really helps you any. I've just always kind of not given a fuck, so I just do what I want...

24. How do you recharge when you're not feeling creative?

Oooo so this question really depends on the reason. But in general I'd say give yourself some space from what you're working on. Go for a walk, take a few days off, see your friends and family. Walk completely away from it for a brief period of time. When you come back, read back over what you had and try to find the spot that is tripping you up or holding you back and identify why. Is it because you've written yourself into a corner? Do you not know what happens next? Do you just not like the current direction of the story? The reason behind it will determine how you move forward. If you've written yourself into a corner or just don't like what you have, cut a chunk from what you've recently written back to a point where you can take it a new direction. You don't have to delete it, just paste that somewhere else and try something else. Maybe take time to plan out what happens next, even minimally. Skip ahead to the next thing you can picture and fill in the gap later.

If, on the other hand, your issue isn't so much writer's block, but just a lack of drive to create at all, take a break. Maybe you're stressed and need to decompress for a while. When I find myself in dry patches for ideas, I find it helpful to consume other forms of media or literature that are completely unrelated to what I'm working on. Sometimes we get stuck in a rut when we are surrounded by the same things all the time and our brains just need a little something different to spark new ideas. I find that flipping between LoZ and ML is a good thing for me because the two are so different from one another.

My issues as of late is not so much lack of creativity as it is lack of time to be creative, which sometimes you just have to power through. I chose to go to grad school, so this is really on me.

[syndxlla]

Your post botw zelink fic is EXACTLY the kind of shit I’ve been CRAVING in terms of Zelda’s character exploration

I have lamented and bemoaned the horrors she must’ve experienced and the trauma and conflicting feelings she MUST have post botw and how while I appreciate how we explore that Link had a fucked time, she did too and I feel like that is SO overlooked by so many people

Anyway just wanted to say thank you i owe you my life finally some good fucking food etc etc

Wow! This is such a kind ask and compliment! Thank you so much!!

I’ve always been fascinated by post-botw “canon”. it seems like the start of a game, not the end of one, which is why I’ve always had a desire to explore it more. I’m really happy you’re enjoying it. Also, I love a good dive into PTSD and trauma and healing themes.

But yeah these poor kids are obviously not okay, and i really love them and i really love hurt/comfort (I PROMISE THE COMFORT IS COMING EVENTUALLY)

[runicmagitek]

stole this from @wingsyouburn because why not! Not going to tag anyone, but if you'd like to fill this out yourself, consider yourself tagged!!

How many works do you have on AO3? 384 :')

What's your total AO3 word count? 1,836,435

What fandoms do you write for? Yes.

Ok but real answer? Current active ones are FF, Fire Emblem, and 13 Sentinels. I'll bounce around tho, depending on what inspires me. Like I always dip in and out of any video game fandom.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 1) Sweet Dreams (Witch from Mercury, sulemio) 2) Finally, Beautiful Stranger (FFVII, aerti) 3) Wings of Valor and Compassion (Overwatch, pharmercy) 4) Give Them Something to Talk About (TLOU2, Dina/Ellie) 5) No Safety in Desire (BotW, Urbosa/Zelda)

It does please me that my top fics are all femslash HSKDJAJD

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I definitely try my best to!! Unless it's very rude or makes me uncomfortable in some way, then I either don't comment on those specific bits or just ignore it altogether. I've had a handful of people make very backhanded remarks and I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it's really awkward when an absolute stranger treats me with too much familiarity just bc we share the same ship.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Probably Limbo? It does not have a happy ending and ends on a very horrifying note. What Becomes of Practice also comes to mind, seeing that the main character goes through hell and ends up dying, though IS reunited with her father in the afterlife 😭

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? God I really don't know. I'm more of an angst writer, so a lot of those happy endings are prefaced with a lot of pain lolsob so I feel pretty much any of my angst with a happy ending fics can qualify for this!! Tho I have received a ton of comments about how fluffy and cozy Finally, Beautiful Stranger's ending was, so I'll pick that one!!

Do you get hate on fics? Not regularly, but it has happened. I've gotten "ew this is gross" remarks on just writing about gay people. I've gotten weird comments about a brief nightmare scene in a fix-it fic, despite tagging for it, bc "she's suffered enough, why would you do this". And more recently, I've gotten some "this doesn't make sense, why would this character ever be depressed/angry" bc I guess female characters who are conveyed as bubbly in the source material aren't allowed to experience any range emotion outside of that and shame on me for wanting to explore darker themes, like recovering from trauma and depression. Bonus points when the male pov character does way more fucked up stuff and no readers call him out on it (sorry, I'm still very bitter about this)

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Hell yeah! All my smut, even my attempts at pwp, always incorporate feelings and more often than not gain a plot along the way. I can't help it. I love the build-up and tension leading to the main event. I need to give my readers blue balls, I guess fjlahdskdh

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Not really. I'm more of an AU person than anything. Even going through my fics, the only proper crossover I've written was If You Had Life Eternal, but even that is like, reimagining Warcraft characters in the Diablo universe and that's kinda it.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? SADLY YES >:/ thankfully, it was removed from FFN, but I really hated that someone copy-pasted my fic and just changed the character names to fit their ship.

Have you ever had a fic translated? I have!! Several times!

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope. The closest I've come is like, sharing ideas on a single continuity with someone else and then writing it out on my own. I do like collaborative stuff with people I trust, but I don't want to co-write anything lolsob

What's your all-time favorite ship? EVER????? It varies from fandom to fandom, even year to year. Celes/Setzer will always have a special place in my heart, even if I don't write for them as often anymore. But right now, keinatsu is dominating my life and I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel.

What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? God, so many. I have my one Setzer fic that I posted the first chapter, managed to write the second one two years later, and then…. did fuck all with it. Also remembering the Darill/Maria/Setzer longfic I wrote and even did an initial editing pass, but that's now rotting on my laptop. It got a bit too personal at one point and I don't know if I'll ever share it :/ oh and that one Overwatch longfic I got 80k~ into and then abandoned bc the fandom was shitty and I didn't want to invest any more time in it

What are your writing strengths? Dialogue, describing scenery, evoking all kinds of emotions.

What are your writing weaknesses? jfc I'm incapable of shutting up and keeping things short

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I guess it depends? Like I used French in Darkness/Starlight for Jidoorian and the only times Setzer spoke in that was when he was open about his feelings, but didn't want Celes to know. But if the reader translated those parts, they could get more insight as to where his headspace was at. But normally, I would want things written out in a way that's understandable to the audience. If there's a phrase or whatever in a different language, I try to italicize it, but that's it.

First fandom you wrote for? Vividly remember writing about my self-insert OC in a post-canon FFVII/Sailor Moon crossover that lived in spiral-bound notebooks at the age of 11. But the first fandom I actually posted something for online was Metal Gear Solid back in like… 2001???? It was forever ago lolsob

Favorite fic you've ever written? This changes over time, but I'm still very proud of What Leads You Here. I put a lot of work into it and am so happy I could share it with the fandom and even happier that a ton of folks enjoyed it!!

[deathbyoctopi]

So now, for the fic ask game.

F - I - M - N & S - T

As general asks.

And then as for D, I'd love your answer for "Phantom Threat" and/or "A Comedy of Yi City Errors". If not a Playlist than I'd be really curious to know how you came up with the story idea or what inspired you to write it.

I'd also just in general be interested in anything you'd like to share about one of your fics that no one has commented on so far but that you just want to gush about ☺️

D. A playlist associated with Phantom Threat or A comedy of Yi City errors?

Ever since university, whenever I have to concentrate and work hard on a project I listen to the same video of The Legend of Zelda relaxing music <3 It’s so engraved in my brain that it’s become like white noise for me, but it really does help. I doubt it has any impact on what I write, though, bc it’s the same music either for fluff, smut, angst or reports on the strengths and weaknesses of a nations macroeconomics XD

F. Share a snippet form one of your favourite dialogue scenes and why you’re proud of it

This bit from Phantom Threat:

“Silence! That he should be tainted by a piece of filth like you… You will pay for what you’ve done to him!” “And what do you know about what I’ve done with him? Hmm?” Daozhang’s not going to like this, he knows, but he’d prefer very much to still be alive to apologize later. And he’s enjoying himself too much to stop now. “What do you know of our nights together? This place can get so fucking cold, you know… Can you picture it, Song Zichen-daozhang? How he shivers in my arms, how I pin him down and spread him up, how I fuck him into the mattress until his voice is hoarse from screaming…” “Be quiet!” shouts Song Lan, and Xue Yang is almost certain he saw his hand shake in rage for a split second. “You beast! You lowliest scum–” “Oh, he wants it, too! He asks for it, begs for it! You should hear the sounds he makes." "I said, be quiet!" "And he’s so good with his hands… He draws them all over my body, touches everywhere because he wants to see me, because some ungrateful bastard stole his eyes!”

I really like the whole exchange between Xue Yang and Song Lan, when the latter was just going for the kill but Xue Yang keeps goading him into engaging in the conversation, because “Talk brings thoughts, which bring distractions, which bring mistakes.” Song Lan has always been the better swordsman, properly trained, so Xue Yang has to play dirty… so of course he TALKS dirty about him and Xiao Xingchen! Moreso, it stings more because (as Song Lan suspects/fears) he’s being completely honest! Plus, xuxiao is in a situation here where they’ve shared their secrets and are happy together, so Xue Yang’s trying to control himself not to kill Song Lan because he knows it would upset daozhang.

And he also knows talking this kind of filth will also upset him, but it’s not fatal and he can always apologize <3 I love the sweet dynamics they share in this fic… And the stinger: Xue Yang’s teasing did shake Song Lan up, but what really manages to break his concentration is the last line, his GUILT, when he stresses out that if Xiao Xingchen is so tactile with him is because he has no eyes to see… That really kicks Song Lan in the most vulnerable part of his soul. I’m very proud of that bit, I feel it reflects very well on each character’s personality and I love them so much…! ^-^

I. A guilty pleasure (writing or reading) Is it guilty, to want my favourite characters to suffer as much as possible? ^^U

M. Any premises you want to tackle

So much xuexiao swimming in my brain ///^W^/// And I want fluff and happiness for them, either within canon (three years to explore!) or after the Reveal, and living peacefully and happy together… BUT I also like trauma and pain, which is why I have been simmering in a very nasty idea I don’t think I’ll ever have the time or skill to write properly… Having Xue yang attacking Baixue and blinding Song Lan was just STEP 1 of his Evil Plan™️, the next one is following him up his mountain and massacring the hell out of all his shidis and shimeis. Maybe (surely) Baoshan Sanren would kick his ass to his next reencanation, but she could be out in a grocery run or very busy with song Lan’s eye surgery, but regardless I want her telling Xiao Xingchen “see?? THAT’S why I didn’t want you back, bringing your outside-world bullshit with you!” It would certainly destroy Xiao Xingchen, I feel bad for him already XD

N. Fic you want someone to write or finish for you?

Quite honestly, I want someone to write a sitcom-style story with The cloud Recesses in the previous generation of cultivator’s time. The young adventures of Cangse Sanren, Lan Qiren, Madam Yu, Jin Guangshan… and of course, Clan Leader Yao! In that vein, I’d love a retelling of The Untamed in a Lady Whistledown-style narration, as if Nie Huaisang had his own rumour-and-scandal little clandestine magazine ^w^

S. Fandom tropes you can’t resist?

Subtle power dynamics (the kick comes from the ambiguity, so I find a student-teacher or captain-officer situation much more interesting than a master-slave, which is very obvious and in-your-face pun VERY MUCH intended “There’s only one bed”, “A is hurt in places only B can help bandage”, and any other such tropes that lead to a situation of intimacy between two characters in early stages of attraction, when either don’t think they like the other yet.

T. Fandom tropes you can’t stand?

Miscommunication. If it’s justified by the narrative, it’s ok… but I’m so tired of seeing the character’s keep secrets for no reason as a cheap way to create tension and drama. And it runs rampant in c-dramas, which I find exhausting

Other random things to share:

My absolute otp, and the one to get me in writing fanfic, is xuexiao and I doubt that will change in the foreseeable future. However, lately someone (NOT looking at you @foxyyaoguai ) got me into jadecest, and I’m enjoying a lot that particular side of the mdzs navy. Lan ships are elegant and very hot, so I’ve written quite a bit in this direction, but I will come back to our ramshackle little boat of pain and candy and secrets ^-^ <3 Sometimes the titles are very self-explanatory, but sometimes I have no idea what to call them and I choose a verse of the latest song I have stuck in my head, that vaguely resonates with the fic or the characters. This is the case, for example, of To carry a bit of yesterday “Phantom thread” was the working title for my nameless fic, that had the sole purpose of filling a void in my xuexiao anthology (what if song lan gets to Yi City and xiao Xingchen already knows about Xue Yang, AND XUE YANG KNOWS HE KNOWS???) I had a fic with the first half of the premise, but not the second, so the game was limping a bit with a nonsensical continuity error. So I just made a fic up to fill that blank. It was the first original fic I wrote, and it remains one of my favourites… But there, the title was “phantom thread” because it was a story thread that was missing, and it ended with “Phantom threat” because of the sense Song Lan has during all that story that he is being threatened by Xue Yang, which turns out not to be true.

Final thing, and that’s more a matter of (lack of) self discipline… I barely ever revise or even re-read my fics before publishing them. AFTER, yes, frantically, and I try to edit as much typos and errors as fast as possible… and I keep editing on the go, when I’m in the train or at odd hours at work, because I love rereading my stuff once it’s out in the open and I have a mini heart-attack every time I see a mistake.

[ao3feed-sidlink]

Who would've though a simple trip to Kakariko would be so life-changing!

Who would've though a simple trip to Kakariko would be so life-changing!

by gay_shipping_trash

This trip was meant to be a bonding experience for Link and his daughter, a chance for her to learn how to fend for herself in Hyrule and explore the vast world around her. The anticipation of adventure and the excitement of her new sword filled her with glee as they set out on their journey. However, the sudden turn of events brought an end to their happy trip.

But then the weather took a turn for the worse. The rain poured down, and the wind howled, making it difficult to hear anything else. Yet, even in the midst of everything, Link couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

As the storm raged on, the cliffside above them began to crumble, and small rocks tumbled down. Link quickly turned to his daughter, fear evident in his eyes. He knew he had to act fast, cause as if in slow motion, part of the cliff gave out, and two massive boulders were headed straight towards her.

In a split second decision, Link grabbed Mipha by the shoulders and threw her out of the rock's path, but in doing so, put himself in harm's way. As the boulders came crashing down, Link's heart pounded in his chest. He hoped his daughter was safe and would be able to find help.

---

So... this is what i've been doing

Words: 11618, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears Of The Kingdom

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen, M/M

Characters: Sidon (Legend of Zelda), Link (Legend of Zelda), Paya (Legend of Zelda), King Dorephan, The Sheikah, Original Legend of Zelda Character(s), Original Characters, Bazz (Legend of Zelda), Mipha's Ghost (Legend of Zelda), Mipha (Legend of Zelda), Zoras (Legend of Zelda)

Relationships: Prince Sidon/Link, pre-established Sidlink

Additional Tags: sidlink - Freeform, but it doesn't really do much since their in separate places, but its there, Original Characters - Freeform, including nextgen kids, naming your children after dead relatives, cause thats what most of us do in sidlink, Storms, like big storms, getting crushed by rocks, its link but spoiler he lives, loss of a leg, I doubt anyone else is using these tags in the same way I am..., Trauma, Crying, Like lots of it, like half of this is just straight up tears, Bazz has a kid!, Pre-Established Relationships, Sidlink is heavily implied, Blood, Mentions of Blood, cause a leg gets cut off, kinda what happens, character slowly dying, but he doesnt die in the end, I really dont know how to tag lol, Sidlink isnt the main focus, but this fic cant happen without it, Rivan is briefly mentioned, like just one sentence, Kakariko Village, Zora's Domain, Hyrule in general, what else should I put here?, Sidon worries constanly, Bazz has some dad jokes, picking the kid up from school, cause that's a parent thing, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, like actually, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Maybe - Freeform, idk - Freeform, Written mostly while listening to Radiohead-No Surprises, I wrote this listening to Radiohead's music, its a good song for writing sad shit, Put at mature cause I didn't want to take any chances, you're still reading these tags?, Here's a cookie, I feel like there should be more tags but I cant think of any

From https://ift.tt/9Qdy0Xn https://archiveofourown.org/works/46642795

[raylazuko]

Nm, I’m gonna make a new intro but make it more blunt instead of over explaining everything.

Basic info: My name is Riah and it’s pronounced like Maya not Mia. I’m 22, non-binary (they/them), asexual, have autism, adhd, generalized anxiety, and likely SAD. Based in the northeastern USA. I’m in a lot of fandoms mainly Genshin, Zelda, animation and Disney, GOTG/Marvel, Mega Man, Sonic, and whatever I like at the time. I also like music, dancing, K-pop, and all that. I like alt rock and pop music like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Radiohead, Bjork, Billie, Florence, etc etc and I like pop and K-pop, Dua, Olivia, Chappell, and K-pop girlies Blackpink, Gidle, Itzy, Mamamoo, Aespa, IVE, etc etc. Dreamcatcher is my fav group they are dark concept queens. I’m also slightly obsessed with Lee Taemin, he is the god of pop and K-pop. I have a lot of trauma from bad friends and my ex so a long DNI, sorry.

DNI:

Basic DNI, bigotry, ableism, PDF files, etc.

Toxic stans/petty drama/those who make themselves the victims always

People who hate on harmless interests

If you tell me who/what to boycott. I don’t have an issue with the cause but it is the tone used. Basically the “I am morally superior to you because I don’t support xyz” bs. Like informing is fine. Saying “here’s what this company donates to” but saying “you’re a terrible person and don’t care about xyz because you bought x” is not helpful and is triggering for me.

By this same logic, crazy vegans, environmentalists of any people who guilt trip and cannot understand nuance of our capitalist hellscape.

If you support Trump or say he’s better than Kamala or that you won’t vote for Kamala because of stupid reason xyz even tho she’s by far the better option.

Any form of bigotry and queerphobia that includes apathy

Transmedicalists or whatever tf you call yourselves these days.

Cis men who hate Korra as a character are on thin ice

If you make bad faith arguments about fiction in general/taking it way too serious or not serious at all when it does pertain to real issues.

If you think bad things can’t be talked about in fiction. As long as it’s handled well and shown bad thing is bad, I like to explore darkness as I’m a writer.

If you agree/defend Lily Orchard’s bad takes and then say she’s only hated cuz she’s trans

If you saying liking SU means you wanna forgive not sees or other brain dead cartoon takes

“All (insert ship here) are toxic”

“There’s no need for fanfic, canon is fine” or just disrespecting harmless headcanons and creativity in general. If you don’t like fanfic, don’t read it.

If you ship: Azula and Zuko (ewwww), Anna/Elsa (it’s an actual thing on AO3), any other bio siblings close bio relatives, immediate yeet, dark themes should be explored but shipping is condoning imo. Okay, let’s see: Catradora, Kaeluc, Thorki, Alluthor, any other adopted/pseudo adopted incest. Idc if it’s canon. You can ship what you want privately but please don’t discuss it with me and if you comment about it it’ll block you and I’ll also block if I see it on my feed. Also shit like Reylo would only be abusive if it happened before Ben turned good (I don’t ship it anymore) but ACTUAL abuse (Dottoscara or don’t even get me started on Collei), please DNI.

Also like this goes without saying but PDF file ships.

Lolisha content or discourse about whether it should be allowed (no, it shouldn’t)

I’m on thin ice with age gaps because of my ex, just be mindful about that.

Have whatever religion you want but do not force it down my throat , I probably don’t share your religion so it doesn’t apply to me.

Making judgments about my life/telling me to go to therapy (I’m in therapy). Any sort of unsolicited advice is a big no/no. If I offend you please just block me or give it to me straight but don’t assume shit you don’t know.

Just don’t be an ass in general.

TW/CW:

Please warn me if you’re going to talk to me about these topics:

Medical stuff, hospitals, cancer, etc.

Sewer slide and SH

Politics. Especially anti queer legislation and stuff. If I block you it doesn’t mean I disagree, it’s just causing me stress.

Religion/religious trauma

Mommy issues

SA and grooming

Death

I’m probably forgetting some but idk.

Anyway thanks. If this offends you literally just DNI or block me. I’m allowed to set my own boundaries on my page. Thanks.

Also all of my stuff https://linktr.ee/Riahlexuko

[breannasfluff]

I am seeing this en force. So many people just rolling it into Legend. And while I do understand not wanting more Links (heck, nine is already too many) I don’t want to give up the idea of new Link and Zelda interacting with the Chain! I’d love to read some new dynamics and fresh ideas.

For example, maybe a hero gets to take a break and check in at home while the new ones visit. Give the different boys a break and keep the numbers manageable.

Or have it be a Link and Zelda that are “bonus” characters, like Ravio or Spirit is treated currently.

Make it a trio of Legend, Hyrule, and EoW since they’d all be around the same time period and explore that!

Legend’s traumas from multiple adventures is already explored extensively, sometimes to the point that he loses any other personality.

For writing, it shouldn’t be the end of the world to pull apart some Links and give them their own uniqueness. Of course, that usually moves it to a Links Meet and people want to write LU.

I dunno, I have a lot of thoughts about honoring Jojo’s comic, the fandom, and wider creativity 😅

Echoes of Wisdom: Timeline Placement

First, we need to remember that the Zelda timeline was updated in 2017 in the Hyrule Encyclopedia. With that update, the Links that are the "same" in each game were updated. The Hyrule Hystoria timeline many are familiar with is from 2011.

Here we can see: ALTTP/LA = 1 Link OoS/OoA = 1 Link ALBW/TFH = 1 Link

Maps: Close to each other but not exact. Very close to EoW and I've seen quite a few posts of similarities floating around so I'll move on. ALBW has a statue in the field or rocks while ALTTP doesn't, for example. OoA/OoS maps not relevant.

Ganon's similarities across the existing games to EoW are pretty easy to see. He's got elements of all of them.

Next up is Zelda:

ALTTP and ALBW designs are very similar to each other, but not exact. Oracles Zelda also has some similarities, but stands out a bit more.

Now look at all these similarities! At first you'd assume she's the same Zelda as ALTTP or ALBW, but that pesky purple girdle? girl-loincloth? Anyway, that's on OoA/S Zelda. Once again, her starting outfit is a mix of all three games.

Where does that leave us? With a high chance that Echoes of Wisdom is a new Link and Zelda, sitting somewhere before or after Oracle of Seasons/Ages.

[minas-linkverse]

At a risk of being controversial: I really dont enjoy the fanon trope of making Hylia a villain. I dont claim people who do that are evil or sexist, there's obivous writing potential there and people are allowed to explore it. I personally however find it uncomfortable, and I want to speak out in case someone else feels the same and would be relieved to not be alone.

Hylia as a character is a ...fairly new addition to franchise. We first learn of her in skyward sword, a game that's story aims to explain the reincarnation cycle's excistence.

I think due to that, and how in botw we see the first canon story that potrays the cycle as bad, its easy for new and old fans to point at hylia and go: I dont trust this. (It doesnt help Hylia is connected to vague christian imaginary and people have their own issues with religion.)

Again I dont blame people for this, some fans are new, some are coping with religious trauma, and some just wanna explore the cool concept that is reincarnating heroes.

However, my discomfort comes from a few facts in this matter that I want to put out there for people to consider.

My first issue is that Hylia is not the person who started the issue. We know the evil force that is Demise existed before the cycle, and for some reason or another Hylia nor the other goddesses could not stop him. Hylia made her plan in order to seal demise away for good, and it didnt work. It just didn't work.

It doesnt matter if demise cursed the reincarnation thing or if Hylia decided it'd repeat forever. The fact is that theres a malicious unquestionably evil force that a goddess tried to stop and failed.

You can dislike her plan all you want, but hindsight is 20/20 and all that—

Okay, breather, I am passionate about this but I know my opinion isnt the objective fact. Maybe Hylia could stop this cycle and try something else, maybe she is inhuman in mind and spirit and doesnt comprehend the horrors she has caused. We don't know and you can fill these blanks as you see fit.

But uhm, this does bring me to my second opinion, which might be harder to take seriously it you're disagreeing with this post already.

I think there's sexism around how fans treat Zelda and Hylia, not helped at all by Nintendo's own actions.

I see people be put off by skyward sword Zelda, perhaps writing her unemphatic and clueless of Link's battles to find her. So much so that we ignore the fact she too was ripped from home, told she has to be someone else, and forced to drag her best friend along so the world wouldnt end. She is a victim too, but why do we forget this?

In my opinion it's partly due to the bad writing of women Nintendo keeps doing. Zelda is written so... perfect. Nintendo refuses to aknowledge her flaws as a person and instead is like look how pretty she is, she apologises and Link forgives her, so you should too! ...When, if you dont do so, it feels like you're being manipulated or dismissed whenever she is on screen.

An issue that repeats with Hylia as well. With many Zeldas in many games.

To react to that tonal dissonance with writing Zelda/Hylia as evil is... normal, I think. I don't blame people for feeling that way.

But,, That seems unfair to me. A female character with potential to be complex and good was failed by the writers, and now we as fans continue from that point with making her even worse.

I dont dislike fans who do this, you're just participating in fandom the way you see fit, but I cant enjoy it, it makes me upset. These women are not evil, Link isn't the only character being hurt deeply, and if you could please consider female characters beyond how they hurt ya boy, I'd be so relieved.

...

I'll repeat what I said at the start, I dont claim people who do this are evil or sexist. People are having fun in fandom, and ngl demise sucks as a villain and Hylia is way more interesting to explore.

I just... I think its worth asking yourself why her. Why you don't or do like Zelda. Engaging in things you love with an analytic eye is genuinely good for you and the media you're enjoying.

This in no means is meant to come off as an attack, Im just requesting we look at another angle of things, maybe just to say we did.

I uh, thanks for reading.

[tamras-shieldmaiden]

Heyo, Lady Oscar! I'm excited to see what you have to share! I'll do a separate ask for each character (six in total), to keep things simple.

So for this first ask... well, I have to start with Kuvira, of course~

Okay! Let’s do the thing starting with my main girl, Kuvira. *cracks knuckles*

1. Sexuality headcanon 

I've been headcanoning Kuvira as bisexual since I began writing fanfics about her. I personally don't see Baatar Jr. as a beard in their relationship because she seemed to sincerely care about him in canon (until she didn't, lol!) I also don't buy the comphet argument because IMHO, it doesn't fit her personality. I think she's demiromantic, and specifically with Asami and Baatar Jr. I can see her as sapiosexual. She surrounded herself with three intelligent people in the likes of Baatar Jr, Varrick and Zhu Li (and a token himbo, Bolin) on her inner circle so I believe she has a thing for intelligence. Fandom usually headcanons her as a top or dom but I see her more of a switch, especially with Asami and Korra, and between them it's pretty much an endless battle for dominance in the bedroom. 😏

I also lowkey ship her with Mako who I also headcanon as bi so it’s a Bi4Bi scenario, and in this case she’s more of a top because I do agree with the headcanon that Mako is more of a bottom. Fun fact: her voice actress Zelda Williams is bi, as it is Janet Varney, Korra’s VA.  

2. OTP

Oooh, this is a tough one because although OTP stands for “One True Pairing” I ship her pretty much equally with both Asami and Korra. With Korra, I indulge in the angsty, dramatic side of things. They have so many parallels that are ingrained in canon that it makes for an interesting exercise to explore the ways they resemble each other and in the ways their differences serve to complement and balance each other. It’s basically a lot of “the sunshine who can kill you and the badass who can kill you” relationship meme with these two. 🤣

With Asami I play on “what if” canon divergence scenarios which make for more lighthearted and flirty situations. They make for such an amazing power couple that is just too darned good. Plus their sexual chemistry is off the roof, a “can’t keep their hands off each other” kind of chemistry that's way too much fun. 😉

3. BROTP

Although he's the romantic interest in canon, I headcanon Junior as more of a second in command/partner in crime than as significant other material and they’re very much BROTP in my stories. Jinora is my other candidate as BROTP for Kuvira in a Republic City setting because Kuvira is a jock/dancer/soldier who is also cunning, smart, and well versed in strategy,  so I can see her bonding with Jinora over books and history. And of course, my beloved Lin Beifong and Kuvira would bond by swapping stories and gossip about Suyin, and boy I bet they both have a lot to talk about Su. I think they would realize they have more in common than they think since they’re both the type to bottle up their emotions and to put their work before everything else, and they both wanted to impress their maternal figures. Lin would be an excellent mentor and friend for Kuvira, since Lin won't take crap from anyone so shr would keep Kuvira in the straight and narrow with her no nonsense attitude.

4. NOTP

I basically don’t ship her with any of the Beifongs but the big NOTP for me is Suyin. I just can’t shake the mentor/protege relationship off my mind to see them even remotely romantic. From an objective standpoint, I can see the appeal with all their drama but it's a big nope for me.

5. First headcanon that pops into my head?

She’s a sleepwalker. Her childhood trauma manifested in sleepwalking which was pretty severe during her first years with the Beifongs but she grew out if it gradually as she grew up. Following the events of Book 4 and Ruins of the Empire which ends with her in house arrest, her sleepwalking came back but not as bad as when she was a child, which it’s fortunate because I can’t imagine the mess she would leave behind while bending in her sleep. 😱

6: favorite line from this character 

"I owe the Avatar my life. Her power is beyond anything I could ever hope to achieve. I'll accept  whatever punishment the world sees fit”. 

This is from The Last Stand. Although the entire scene with Korra and Kuvira in the Spirit World is amazing since we get to witness Kuvira’s emotional breakdown, it's in her surrender that we see what we can consider the beginning of her path toward redemption, meaning that her story is not over yet. 

7. One way in which I relate to this character 

We're both familiarized with military service and the concept of discipline and service to the nation since I also served. I also relate in the need to prove ourselves, something that is evident in the way she ends up emulating her mentor Suyin and in having strained relationships with siblings, like the one she had with Opal. Come to think of it, having strained relationships with siblings seems like a very Beifong thing to do. 🤔

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

The whole having her foster brother end up as her fiancee thing is kinda weird so I totally get Opal when she was all weirded out with the news of their engagement.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Both! 🤣

[ganonfan1995]

So normally I’m fairly averse to adding any sort of commentary on my comics, purely because I want them to stand alone and speak for themselves. But, this comic in particular I feel needs a bit of commentary because I wrote this from a really personal place.

As a small disclaimer, it is okay to have played BOTW and have gotten something entirely different from the story and the characters. Breath of the Wild was designed with the intent that players would imagine their own ideas and stories within the setting.

That in mind, I’ve always read Zelda’s character as being inherently complicated. Both in her role as the princess of Hyrule & priestess of Hylia, but also emotionally complicated. I think she has a lot of feelings that don’t necessarily have the space or time to be fully elaborated upon within the story, and we only get small vignettes of her growth or personality throughout game. Age of Calamity gave us a very different version of who she could be, but that’s integral to allowing a plot like Age of Calamity to work within of the context of a story like BOTW.

The way I treat Zelda and the way I write her is absolutely a mix of both personal tastes and preferences, as well as source material from BOTW + DLC. Specifically referencing her diary, which gives us an intimate look at the "B Sides" of the memories you collect as part of the gameplay loop.

I think Zelda has a lot of personal growth that we haven’t seen yet. I think the steps she can take towards developing a relationship with Link is something the second game might address, I have no idea though. As much as I’d like to think I have wizardly insight…I don’t. But for me, Link and Zelda's relationship is fairly unresolved by the end of the game and it feels more like setup above anything else.

Personally for me, the end of BOTW symbolizes the combined growth between two teenagers who have both been failed by a regime that exploits and abuses them in similar yet different ways. Zelda by no means has had any time to appropriately work through the emotions or trauma she might still have from the calamity. She’s 17, she failed not only herself, but her legacy and her namesake. Even up until the end she talks about having explosive arguments with her father who died before she was even able to reconcile with him. Additionally, what little understanding she has about Link, what relationship she starts to form with him is prematurely cut off by Link dying during the final hour. She’s still holding a lot of feelings back from not only him, but herself as well.

BOTW does end on a somewhat positive note, with both Link and Zelda setting out with the intention of helping the remaining scattered communities of Hyrule, rebuild and heal from the aftermath of the calamity. But as far as their personal developments go, I think there is still a lot unsaid and unprocessed. I don’t necessarily view the tone of the ending as proof that both Link and Zelda are finished grieving or growing -- mainly being that they're still just at the cusp of adulthood. And just how the people of Hyrule need help to heal and recover, Link and Zelda do too.

I don’t entirely view Link and Zelda’s relationship as something that’s romantic. I think there is genuine love between them, but it’s purely out of necessity and codependence. Where the basis for their shared connection is deeply rooted in their combined experiences, still remains to be explored are the qualities that naturally would develop into a much healthier and mature relationship.

I’d like to view Zelda as having a deep resentment for Link in a way that illustrates her own resentment towards her own failures. This is something she canonically does. In her diary, she talks about the memory where she begins to trust Link enough to open up to him and learn a bit about him but she talks about herself as being selfishly absorbed in her own feelings. Whenever she has a chance to see things from Link’s perspective, it’s always backed up by her own self depreciation. Her potential to be a genuine friend to Link is still shadowed by her unspoken "demons" and personal conflict.

Zelda is an incredibly complex character, I think she falls flat a bit, but only at the mercy of the game and method in which the story is told. For me she’s exactly how I remember feeling when I was 17, where things were so expectant of me. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and I just assumed that other people automatically knew exactly what they were doing all the time. I was frustrated, I was scared of failing, letting everyone down around me. 17 - 21 are by far the hardest years to navigate.

I also wanted to illustrate a trauma that felt grounded and realistic to me personally. I feel like a lot of Zelda’s sentiments come from a real place. Mainly the internal conflict of feeling torn between that anger and frustration that comes along with trauma, while also feeling guilty for even acknowledging those feelings in the first place.

It’s not fair that she had to go through with what she did, it’s not fair that she can’t emote those intimate feelings and thoughts verbally. She doesn’t hate Link as a person, but she hates what he represents. She hates that there is an emotional barrier between them, she hates that she had ever felt antagonistic towards him. She hates that where she sees a weakness in herself, she sees a strength in him. Just like love, hate is also complex.

You don’t always hate people for the same reasons, just like how you don’t love people for the same reasons.

I’d like to imagine in 5 - 10 years, they both find ways to progress and grow. But like, not when they’re 17…man, I was an idiot and also really mean at 17. I’m not even friends with the same people I was friends with at 17, because you change and grow. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but I think it’s a real thing.

Lastly…the real reason I focused not only this comic, but a lot of my other work on Zelda is just…I like her. She’s a cool character, I wish I got to see more of her.

Anyways I maybe, proofread this thing twice, and I don’t really wanna put anymore effort into writing this.

[v0lumnius]

Please ignore if this isn't a wanted thing, but I have two post-TotK fics that are canon-compliant (so far as I can tell)

This one is an exploration of Link's trauma and attempts (failures) to integrate into society post-war. Good mix of silly and serious as he tries to make a new friend. (just shy of 7k words)

This one is an exploration of Zelda's trauma post-TOTK, and is short (600-ish words). This one is written in a more poetic style that I was experimenting with!

I have such brainrot for these characters and I would be utterly delighted if you (person reading this) checked them out!

do you have any zelda fics recs? I need a "canon" botw and/or totk fic and CAN'T FIND IT

Here's a list of my fave BotW fics! I can't vouch for how canon-compliant they are bc my fav thing about BotW fics is expanding and remixing what we've seen in the game, but I do think some of them try to be as accurate as the game allows. Some other popular ones that I might or might not have read but were recommended to me are listed here in this tag, around the date of June 2021, and in the notes of this post.

As for TotK, I haven't started reading any fics for it yet bc the Great Sadness of 2023 stopped me from interacting with the game in any deeper measure, BUT that will change soon so followers pls give me recs if you have any. Happy reading!