#king rauru (mentioned)

[hollysoda]

Enjoy this shitty meme I put together in like two minutes because I hadn’t seen anyone else do it

[mylonelydreaming]

"He [Rauru] ends up serving as the crucial connection between Link and Zelda, even when thousands of years separate the two. It’s a sad but meaningful role for a character who has become a newly beloved character in Zelda canon."

Nintendo is driving me up the WALL

[ganondoodle]

kind of expected that the ability breakdown wouldnt get that much traction (especially on twitter bc if it doesnt do well in the first few hours it might as well be dead) but what i didnt need to wake up to was looking at my twitter notifications and thinking there was a long comment on it at first but then i read it and it turned out to be some guy having dug up one of my old totk tweets where i talked about how zelda was treated-

and if a quote retweet with a thread attached already starts with "this entitled brat didnt understand that zelda was being a history nerd by being in the past and getting to experience it herself" with two screenshots attached of the end of totk with zelda staring at the cam all uwu (which has ??? to do with their point??) i dont even want to know what else was in that thread

if thats how the majority of the fandom is then im even less surprised that nintendy doesnt even have to try to write anything good :I

ah yes, i am a game nerd, and by putting me in a game where i stand around doing puppy dog eyes while being shoved around by NPCs is me being a game nerd OBVIOSULY

[toushindai]

Hello, it is me again with a question for you regarding your Ganrauru series 😁

I was just thinking about how you have framed Rauru's relationship to power, that there is a part of him that does seek the sort of friendship and genuine connection it brings while also bristling at the idea of someone opposing him and discarding his attempts at making said peace and friendship. That being said I was wondering, given Rauru's very complex feelings and mental gymnastics around Ganondorf and his refusal to submit, in your opinion what would have Rauru felt compelled to do had Ganondorf refused his advances? What if he had continued to refuse his invitations to Hyrule? How about in the case where Ganondorf does give his false vow of fealty, but refuses Rauru's more sexual advances, seeing them for what they are? How do you think Rauru would handle this situation, and how would he justify himself in the sort of framework he has set for himself as a just king? (For the record I don't think for a second that Ganondorf would have refused, just because I see him as an opportunist and he would absolutely take the opportunity to exercise some form of power over this so-called king in his mind, even if he is deluding himself in the process and choosing to forget that Rauru is essentially keeping him like a prisoner and objectifying him. But, it is something I do think about, even in the context of canon itself. What would Rauru do if Ganondorf and the Gerudo dug their heels in and refused allegiance with Hyrule?)

Ooooh this is such a great question. Consent issues ahoy, let's get into it

I was thinking about something similar the other day from a slightly different angle; if I argue that the Gerudo's previous chieftain was leading Rauru on, maintaining diplomatic relations and humoring his overtures, what would have happened if she had eventually said "No, actually"? And I think with either negotiating partner, Rauru's first emotional response is a petty, confused indignation. Excuse me I am benevolent and my rule is beneficial, why are you not responding to me accordingly?. We see this kind of pettiness canonically, I think--Zelda introduces herself and his response can be interpreted as "No, I'm king here, you want to try that again?"; Mineru tells him he can't defeat the Demon King alone and he gives her such a look. My guy, what is going on with you.

How this plays out with Ganondorf and a protracted refusal from the Gerudo to join up is of course a slightly different question of course, and I can't really see any answer to it other than that Rauru just... will not hear a no. Hyrule just keeps pushing the boundaries of what they can get away with. The shrines are already in place on Gerudo land but what if there were, you know, a military outpost or two as well. How much control over trade does Hyrule have, and how do they exercise it? Is there eventually an attitude of, well, if the Gerudo want nothing to do with Hyrule, then Hylians shouldn't be marrying Gerudo? I'm spitballing here, but a lot of this has an air of punishment to it, yknow? Retaliating against the Gerudo for not responding positively to Hyrule's invitations/incursions, for not playing into Rauru's self-conception and thus revealing the ways in which it's not fully true. Wow, so benevolent.

I don't see any world in which Rauru escalates to armed conflict first but I see many, many worlds in which he escalates to a point that armed conflict is an understandable response from the Gerudo. I mean. Is not "I have decided I'm gonna be king of this new kingdom I just made up :) You're invited!" already pretty close to that point? If we're being honest? I do feel like it is. (And I wonder if there's any world in which he loses the support of the allied tribes, if this pressure ever could have been perceived as the imperialism it was.)

How does Rauru justify this to himself, this refusal to acknowledge the Gerudo's no, this inch-by-inch encroachment? By conflating, I think, his personal sense of injury with the threat of harm. Ganondorf does not want the Gerudo to become part of Hyrule is shrunk down to the petty, personal terms of Ganondorf thinks of me as an enemy and then expanded again into Ganondorf is an enemy of Hyrule. He's right about that last one because Nintendo is so very boring about this, but he's making a series of logical fallacies without realizing it. I don't see a lot of propensity towards self-reflection in Rauru. Not without Very Bad Things Happening to Him first. So he trusts his own feelings without questioning them.

As for what would have happened if Ganondorf had turned down his sexual advances... oh that would just be awkward for everyone, wouldn't it? In the sense that: I think that part of what keeps Ganondorf from pushing back when Rauru is being petty and imperious is Ganondorf's own recognition--conscious or not--that Rauru will not necessarily listen to a no. This is his experience of Rauru thus far, of someone who receives an implicit no and rather than respect it simply keeps asking and thinks himself right to do so (canonicallyyyyyyy). And so there is a risk for Ganondorf in saying "no": that of winding up in a situation where he has drawn a line in the sand that he cannot defend. One that Rauru will coldly step over. Rauru doesn't want to be in this situation, either: he doesn't want to see that he is a person who will only accept a "no" if he thinks it's justified. His mind squirms around admitting how coercive he's being, even to himself. But on some level he does know what sort of position he's putting Ganondorf in. He knows that Ganondorf is not in a position to say no, and that's a balm on the ego-wound that Ganondorf's political refusals have inflicted. One that reveals that the true nature of the ego-wound is not he does not think I am good but he does not acknowledge my power. (Again I gesture towards "I'm the only king Hyrule's got, who r u" and "excuse u, wat do u mean I can't defeat the Demon King")

So if Ganondorf did actually say no? In ACNOC, after that first kiss, a cold, "I don't want this, Your Majesty"? There is a part of Rauru that flares with the desire to take anyway, to say have you not come to offer me your submission?, but so early in the situationship maybe he is able to recognize that desire for the cruelty it is. ...Maybe. But god, can he afford to? Can he afford to apologize to Ganondorf for overreaching? Mm, absolutely not. Even if he ceases to try to goad Ganondorf into a sexual relationship, I think the answering dialogue is along the lines of "Then what makes you think you have the right to invade my personal space like this? Your actions belie your claim that you have come to offer submission to Hyrule." There's still very much a need to put Ganondorf in his place--an increased need, even, having just lost a bit of face by allowing Ganondorf to refuse him something.

(consent issues get louder)

At the end of UAWTATR, though, hhhhhhhh. Many times I have turned this thought over in my head. At that point. I think there might be some phrasing of the sentiment I don't want this that would stop Rauru in his tracks with the realization that hey this is WAY rape-ier than I wanna be, but I'll be honest. I haven't figured out yet what phrasing would do it. I think most protests that Ganondorf could have offered would have been met with something that boiled down to I know you don't want this, but your position relative to mine means you're going to do it anyway.

How he justifies that to himself later, I don't know. Ganondorf did try to assault him just the night before so that comes into it, probably. That Ganondorf immediately tries really hard to kill him keeps him from having to look to closely at it, either. He's still left with a feeling of nauseated shame and horror but he's got other things on his mind.

God. Nintendo cannot possibly have meant to make Rauru like this but then why did they make Rauru sO CONSISTENTLY LIKE THIS. I know I am expanding things. But I am expanding things that DO exist. Why is he like this.

[tulipa-amarela]

My half zonai oc Ikíris, they are the child of Sonia and Rauru and supposed to be the next in line of the throne of Hyrule. But some things went wrong and they end up waking in a time totally diffent of their own

This is their first design, they are about to change a lot and i'm still writing their backstory but i hope you'll like them as much as i do :3

[blue-eli]

Ink October day twenty-nine: Wilder

To bewilder; to perplex.

Comparative form of wild: more wild.

[tumblingdowntheway2019]

Master List Here!!

Ao3 Version Here!!

Yoooooo!! Chapter Two (2) of 'To Cherish These Moments." This was inspired by art drawn by @hyrulerbnb, an awesome artist I recommend checking out!!

A bit of a trigger warning due to what Rhoam will be saying in flashbacks. He's a right jerk in this chapter and it's why I'm saying now.

Other than that, enjoy the read and have an awesome day!!

💪😎💕

Word count - Seven Thousand, Two Hundred and Twenty-Three. (7223).

To Cherish These Moments - Chapter Two (2) - Hearty Soup.

If you were to tell Zelda a hundred (100) years ago that she would have been given the opportunity to freely arrange a picnic for her friends and fellow Champions/Sages, she would have told you that you're mistaken and her father would never allow anything so trivial as a picnic.

No, when meals were prepared for those of high status, fellow royalty, elders, nobles, sirs, and ladies, no matter their age of being granted responsibility for their people, they would just have to sit there, shut up, and only talk politics and regional topics. There was no such thing as idle chitchat at the dinner table. No catching up, no banter, no nothing. It had been like that ever since the Queen, unfortunately, passed away.

There was to be no help in understanding the powers of a goddess that flow in her vein. How the people of Hyrule would come to respect her, but she shouldn't let that get to her head, as the true power is the love of those closest to her. But it was all just empty words in the end. Zelda was thrust into the training her mother had promised to help her with, alone and struggling.

She would never forget how she spent hours upon hours studying all she could—the detailed accounts of the queen's of the past, the accounts of previous Zelda's, and their struggles against a great evil. How the Heroes of Courage wielded the sword that sealed the darkness assisted in their fights. They all made it seem so easy. From what she understood, they weren't forced to spend all day praying to the Goddess, Hylia, at the springs to the point of blackout exhaustion. They were able to unlock their powers fairly quickly due to their freedom to explore and build relationships with the people they met.

Zelda often wondered to herself if she was cursed to have unlocked her powers so late, when everyone she truly cared for died to ensure she had fulfilled her "sworn duty to the kingdom," as her father made sure she remembered. He was long gone now, but oftentimes she heard his harsh reminders of her duty.

--------

"You are the one (1) people look to for protection, Zelda!" King Rhoam was scolding her. "You have no time to waste hovering over a cooking pot. What do you expect to happen? That the Calamity would just happily saunter over to stop for a hearty soup?! Ludicrous."

Hearty soup, that's right. It was something Urbosa had taught them to make, or rather, at that point in time, was still teaching them to. Rhoam couldn't handle the quick temper of Urbosa when it came to her protectiveness of them. Purah had quoted exactly what Urbosa told them to say should Rhoam ever try to discourage it.

She was only ten (10) years old at the time. Purah had invited her over to the kitchen area to check out a new cooking skill they'd learned when Rhoam happened to have passed by and caught them. Purah, ever the rebel a thirteen (13) year old could be as she stood between the King and the Princess, tried to defend her, saying that they only wanted to show off what they learned and it wasn't a big deal to share skills. It could be beneficial to everyone to know at least one (1) fact and skill from different subjects after all.

"Out of respect for your father being my head researcher in the castle, I shall leave him to deal with your punishment himself." Rhoam replied coldly. "Until then, I-"

"Will be allowing them to continue to learn what I have been teaching them." Boomed a confident voice. "The Queen of Hyrule, may Hylia bless her soul, did not get the chance to. I intend to keep the promise I made to her about teaching Zelda some necessary skills."

There, standing confidently with her hands on her hips in the archway, was Chief Urbosa of the Gerudo. The second mother of Zelda, although it was never declared out loud as such. Hiding behind her leg was little Impa, the younger sister of Purah and the same age as Zelda. They hadn't realized she had snuck off until Urbosa's arrival.

"Chieftan Urbosa, you know as well as I do that the day of calamity will soon be upon us. These skills are unnecessary." He tried to defend himself.

"I do, as well as everyone else in this castle, King Rhoam." Urbosa countered. "Zelda is still a child; to have her exert herself to such an extent would mean causing the most harm to her before Calamity would ever get the chance to do so itself."

The king froze. Zelda didn't know whether he truly realized the truth in her words or not, but it worked. Without another word but a defeated and annoyed look on his face, King Rhoam leaves the room. Once his footsteps were out of earshot, Impa scurried back over to the comfort of her sister's side.

"Great job, Sis!" Purah praised her as she held her little sister's hands and excitedly jumped a little. "Even I didn't hear you leave, you'll make a great fighter amongst the Shiekah yet!"

"Little Warrior certainly took me by surprise as well." Urbosa was praised as she placed a hand on the little Shiekah's head. "I'm relieved to have you on our side; the way you snuck up on me would have meant my defeat."

"Ya hear that! You could have beat the Queen of Lightning herself!!" Purah was even more proud of Impa. The shy girl was only able to quietly laugh in response, even if it was just at her sister's goofy behaviour.

Urbosa used this opportunity to turn to Zelda. "Little Bird. Are you okay?"

Zelda, having grown used to her father's reactions, just nodded as she looked at her guardian. She was unable to defend her best friends against him. Why are they still with her? Even after he had just scolded her again too,

"It's ok not to be. To show that you are upset about a situation shows strength to acknowledge the wrongs of what happened. It shows your compassion to people around you.

"But he told Purah off." Zelda blurts it out. She didn't know how to word it any better than that. "All she was doing was just showing me how she was able to make the hearty soup, and she got told off for it."

"Hey now, Zel. I'm ok, see?" Purah was now in front of her, holding her hands. "I get told off all the time; your jerk dad is no different."

"To be fair, Eccentric Genius, your experiments do go haywire more often than not." Urbosa gently reminded the teenager. "Explosions and lab equipment are not a good combination."

"I'm just finding out ways to not to do those things. Then that means that they won't do it because they know the consequences." Purah replied with her "Check It!" pose. "You never know until you try!"

Impa just shook her head with a defeated smile, already resigned to probably having to fix her sister's chaos in the future when she qualifies to join the Royal Advisors.

"I'm still sorry." Zelda apologises. "It's not fair that you all should get in trouble because I am neglecting my duties."

At that, the Gerudo Chief and Shiekah children look between each other and the young princess. A hand places itself on her shoulder, and she looks up to see the warm smile.

"Why don't we continue where we left off then, shall we?" She gently nudges the young girls toward the cooking pot. "I am happy to see that you all seem to have made a good batch here."

"Purah added Monster Extract to it." Impa finally chimes in. "She got it from a strange guy in a hot air balloon."

"........What?" Urbosa was, excuse the pun, shocked. "Uuhh. It's different, I suppose? But I don't think that's going to make it as appetizing as it appears."

"Oh yeah? Just watch!" Before anyone could stop her, Purah had gotten a spoonful of the monster soup and eaten it. The normally pale Shiekah girl was quickly going green as she tried not to gag. "Guh. S-see. Delicious. I could go for another bite right now."

Zelda began to laugh, trusting Purah to always try and bring a smile to her face, even at her own risk. "Why don't you have it?"

Purah, trying not to gag, tried to excuse the reason for not being able to stop herself from eating it all up should she do that. Impa facepalmed as Urbosa placed a hand over her mouth to hide her laughter.

"Why don't we just make another batch for ourselves then?'

The girls, well, mainly Impa and Zelda, as Purah curled up on the nearby bench, did just that. Despite the sour mood just minutes ago, it was all washed away and replaced by a warm, comforting feeling.

--------

"Now, what do you think should be added to stop sickness?" A warm voice asked.

Zelda opened her eyes and found herself outside. She was in a little veranda nearby a garden. Hearty radishes, rice, endura carrots, and all kinds of food and herbs were growing here. She turns to the woman standing beside her, who was patiently waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch your question." She replied sheepishly.

"Do not worry, dear. It seems you were a world away just now. Do you wish to speak about it?" Queen Sonia asked, gently stirring the soup at a low heat.

"I was just reminiscing about my childhood." She began, hearing an "oh?" from Sonia. "I was learning to make this very soup under the guidance of a dear friend of mine."

Sonia continued to stir. Rather than a judgmental look at how Zelda had distracted herself from the task at hand, she instead gave her a knowing look. She didn't push her to continue, allowing Zelda to gather her thoughts on what she was willing to share with the Queen.

"When they were children, she and my mother learned how to make this soup. It didn't always go according to plan, but eventually they perfected their own unique version of it. The Gerudo believe this soup helps them attract the attention of the Voe of their interest." Zelda gives a soft chuckle.

"A tradition that lives on, then!" Sonia happily laughs. "I learned from Naboris how to make this very soup for Rauru after we first met." Sonia looks at the cooking pot, her smile growing. "Though when it came to giving it to him, I seem to have neglected care as I picked up the bad batch in my haste."

"Let me guess, this batch had Monster Extract, and it made him sick?" The princess laughed. When given a surprised look as confirmation, she added "Another dear friend thought it wise to do just that. It's safe to say she spent the next hour trying not to throw up after one (1) bite."

"That lines up with Rauru's reaction as well. Except he tried to continue eating it so as not to offend me." Looking towards the clouds above, she added, "The look of relief he had when I told him it wasn't mine and to not finish it. Never before had I moved so fast to get my batch."

They both laughed at their shared memory of the misfortune of a loved one. Sonia added in a Mighty Thistle.

"A herb with medicinal properties It can be used to allow those that consume to gain more strength." Zelda then says sheepishly. "I assume this is the answer to the question I had missed."

Sonia's smile grew slightly as she nodded. It didn't take long before the soup was ready and a bowl was handed to her.

That's right, Zelda felt unwell that morning. She thought she had been doing well to hide it so as not to get scolded for slacking her duties no matter what time period she was in, but was caught by Sonia's eagle-eyed observation at breakfast this morning.

'Just chew on some herbs and get back to training.' She can hear her father order.

There was no gentle coaxing to sleep it off that day or to take it easy; it was just buck up and get on with it.

It was why she and the sisters were in the kitchen that day; Impa had told Purah, who stopped her studying right there and then, to help her and cheer her up. Pangs of regret crawled their way up in her gut when they had all gotten into trouble, but the sisters never held it against her. If anything, it caused Purah to continue pushing her luck in secret.

But her ancestors were not her father. The moment the King of that era also took notice, he immediately began asking if there was anything to help her feel comfortable. If she required some more water for her sore throat or more sleep for her drowsiness, along with an extra blanket for the chill, Mineru also insisted that she could survive without Zelda for that day; she could also use that chance to read a book she's been neglecting.

"We started constructing the Golem together; it would be rude of me to continue it without you." Mineru had insisted.

And this was how Zelda got here, a bowl of hearty soup in hand, with a blanket over her shoulders and her loving ancestor at her side, ready to give seconds should Zelda want some more and not judge her like she was being greedy.

It was times like this where she just wished to stay at that very moment. To stay in the past before all went wrong.

--------

Zelda grounded herself. She looked around, and here she was. In the present day, At her home in Hateno Village. The Demon King of Calamity, Ganondorf, had been slain thanks to the Hero of Hyrule and the Sages.

She had observed how under the weather her friends had been and decided the hearty soup was the perfect meal to have for the picnic. The Mighty Thistle was just perfect to help them perk up and regain their strength. Each Sage had been effected by the Gloom at one (1) point or another before peace had returned to the Land of Hyrule; this mixed in with some Sundelions, just like Sonia had taught her, would do the trick.

Beside her on a makeshift table, boxes filled with various ChuChu jellies had a different purpose.

The Orange ChuChu would keep the soup and the cooked meats and fish warm without the loss of the juiciness that Zelda had taken a few attempts to keep thanks to Rhondson's tips and tricks from having to cook for the whole of Tarrey Town for celebrations.

The White ChuChu Jellies kept the other fish and meats frozen and the vegetables and mushrooms cool for when they had skewers later on.

The blue ones were so they could cool down, and maybe she can throw them at Link when she hears what silly little things he did on his adventures.

Currently, he is doing his latest task in the Hebra Mountains. Teba had been wanting help teaching the latest flock of Trainee Rito Warriors archery skills and how even a Hylian, a species without wings, is able to do it, as well as how to work together with fellow warriors, like Link and Teba did when reclaiming Divine Beast Vah Medoh.

Saki, Teba's wife and mother of The Sage of Wind Tulin, had been working on new clothing for the travellers who assisted them during the Snowstorm Crisis, so Riju decided to accompany Link on his visit there to assist along with Gerudo Tailors to assess what materials may be needed, such as rubies and felts. They are also updating their information so they can set up a system for how often certain materials can be transported and traded.

Zelda remembered how confused she was when she first had to figure out the item exchanges possible for each region, so she was proud when the young girl seemed to have had a handle on things fairly quickly when Zelda visited Gerudo Town not long after the end of the calamity. It was simple; they saw what items were needed and could arrange who would meet where and the number of guards needed for the path they would take.

If Zelda was being honest, she was glad that Hyrule had been able to establish trading routes and methods during her hundred (100) years of holding Calamity Ganon back. She never really liked the stress of having to run back and forth with so much information that needed to be remembered. Her father didn't really approve of everyone meeting in the middle as frequently as she suggested. So she had to be the middleman.

There were many duties of a princess she was glad to not be thrust back into or needed to do at all. All her life, she wanted to be a scholar. To be able to teach people the history of Hyrule and many various topics. Essential, as an understanding mind can be stronger than any warrior. Words can resolve better than a battle. Well, sometimes. Being sent back to the era of Hyrule's founding gave her a brutal reminder that her father had been right on many things as well. This new generation gave her a chance to find a middle ground, and with no war between any of the races, her scholar career finally lifted off. She didn't have to be the princess all the time, at least.

It was most likely due to the fact that now that it had been a couple of months since the Demon Kings defeat, Link and her companions were still hesitant to leave her side. Before, a century (100) ago, she would have scolded the overbearing guards. She did so with Link many times, something that was regretted ever since he saved her from the Yiga Clan in the harsh sands of the Gerudo Desert. No hesitation. Her friends, no, her family, had no hesitation in protecting her. Back then and even now, she just has to work a little harder to show how much she truly appreciated it. She can't make the same mistakes.

Voices brought Zelda out of her jumbled thoughts. Oh right, Buliara was stationed nearby; she wasn't a fan of the cold, nevermind the snow. Riju appointed her guardian to be Zelda's temporary guardian for the time being. Totally not, because she would be causing some chaos with Link and Tulin and didn't want to get into too much trouble for it yet. Right now, Buliara is protecting a friend, not a princess. She had not long returned to her time. They just wanted to be sure she'd be safe when Link wasn't around.

Behind her, Buliara was talking with Karin, one (1) of Zelda's students at the Hateno School and daughter of the Mayor, who originally came after Zelda promised that she could help cook the meals. It wasn't the original plan; Buliara was patrolling around the school grounds, and when the children asked about it, Zelda took it as an opportunity to bring her in and give more lessons about Gerudo culture and compare it to the traditions of the past now that she got to see and experience them firsthand. It actually amazed Zelda to hear how soft the hardened warrior's tone can be. Then again, she did help raise Riju.

During their walk home, Karin was told that Hearty Soup was going to be on the menu for the picnic, but it caused the Scholar to wonder if she still had the knack to make it again after the Imprisoning War and being a literal dragon for thousands of years. Karin eagerly said that she remembered making it with her grandmother and would be happy to help refresh her culinary skills. When most of it was done, Karin was allowed to wander around; this was how she ended up outside with the guard and, by complete surprise, an unexpected guest.

*One (1) and a half hour ago.*

"Sarqso again for the lesson, Captain Buliara!" Karin had been dancing around them since leaving the school. "It was so cool to learn that the Gerudo can make jewellery so easily!"

"It is now a problem, Vevhi. It was a pleasure to help."

Karin then stopped right in front of them, causing both the older women to stop as well.

"Hey! I'm not a Vevhi; I'm nearly 13, so I'm grown up!" The child tried to scold. Key word being tried as she leaned forward with her hands on her hips as she put on a pout.

The façade didn't last as they all began to laugh.

"Your Gerudo language is near the spot on Karin. How did you learn it? As far as I'm aware, no Gerudo has lived here before."Zelda inquired.

"You're right! My mother and father have a friend who's from Gerudo Town. I believe she was a travelling merchant at the time when they met at one (1) of the stables on their way to Rito Village, long before I was born. We get to meet up every so often, and she's been teaching me Gerudo since I was young!" Again, with her hands on her hips, she puffs out her chest proudly. "So don't think I don't know when you're calling me a baby!"

Another round of laughter before continuing on their way.

"May I ask? Why is Buliara allowed to walk beside you, Miss Zelda? I always thought guards always had to be behind or in front of you.

Zelda was surprised at the question. Simply because she knew she had never taught the children the understanding of royal etiquette yet. Buliara, most likely out of habit around other royals, was made to stand behind Zelda before she was stopped. Zelda placed a hand on Buliara's arm with an assuring smile.

Hand still on the captain's arm, she answered, "You are correct. For the protection of royal members of the family or nobles, a guard would typically be behind or in front of them. However," Zelda took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I learned that during times like the calamity or the upheaval, rank didn't matter much in a crisis. Yes, ranks are needed for giving orders in battle, but I have learned that, besides that, I am no greater than the people of Hyrule. I live to serve you all and assure you that you are all taken care of. You have all done an amazing job without me, but you also welcomed me home and allowed me to teach you all, as was my dream, just as much as you all taught me. You have all cared for me just as much as I have cared for you. Therefore, I am no greater than you all. I will gladly walk beside those who have stood by my side after all this time. We all fought the same battles after all."

When Zelda opened her eyes again, she could have sworn she saw stars in the young girl's eyes in admiration. A warm hand covered her own, and she saw that Buliara was giving her a motherly smile. It was unusual for the hardened captain to show this much expression, but those closest to her got to see her for who she really was. It was why she was respected so much back home.

With a silent nod, they continued their trek. It wasn't long before Zelda noticed an unusual shape at the bridge that separates them from her home. Cautiously, with Buliara leading the way, they approach the strange, dark mass. It was making an unusual sound. It was then, when they got close enough, that they saw a...

"A flipper?" Karin asks quietly. All were confused.

This was when the mass caught onto their approach and rolled over, hopping into the air in excitement as it dragged or hopped towards them as it barks out happily.

"Patricia?!" Buliara exclaimed. "You were with Chieftan Riju; is everything okay?"

The Sand Seal, now happily leaning against the Hateno Child for more hugs and scratches, turned slightly to reveal three (3) rolled-up letters tied to her harness. One (1) was red, another was teal, and the last was a light shade of blue.

Sitting at the stumps outside the house now and around the cooking pot, Zelda and Buliara read the letters that were addressed to them. Buliara read the red letter first, red being the main colour of the Gerudo. As confirmed when seeing who it was from, In neat and nearly cursive writing, the letter read:

"Dear Buliara and Zelda,

We have safely arrived at Rito Village and confirmed the stocks needed for trading in the coming weeks. They are requesting a small amount of rubies required for clothing that will be used against the cold. They accidentally requested too many clothing materials in their previous order, so they would like to make more in case the need arises.

In return, the Gerudo will be receiving various arrows and fish for our markets. I feel it is necessary to also have the jewellers make some elemental resistance jewellery as a gesture of thanks for the many types of arrows provided.

Should you receive a letter from Link and Tulin, let it be known that I, on my pride as a Gerudo, won that snow surfing race with no issue what so ever. It's no different from seal surfing—just no seal.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, however, Patricia has been sent to deliver these letters, and I request that you please take care of her for me until my return tomorrow. I also apologize to Buliara for the extended wait.

If Young Karin is there, I have some brushes and ribbons in the stable next to Zelda's house. Patricia would love it if you would brush her again.

Kind regards,

Chief Makeela Riju."

How odd for that last part to be added in. However, Karin was excited at the idea of getting to brush Patrica again. Karin had initially been afraid of the Sand Seal, but they quickly grew a bond when the Chief allowed her to do such a simple task. Karin understood what the red bow meant to Riju, so she took extra care of it when cleaning it and tying it back in with the other ribbons.

On to the teal letter: bluey green, which is the perfect mix for Link and Tulin's known colours. Green represents Link for his courage status, like his ancestors before him, and the main colour is baby blueish grey for Tulin for his wind element.

Looking at the contents of this letter, it was clear who wrote what. Link seemed to have almost print-like writing, while Tulin wrote in all capitals just so they could be told apart here. Zelda read out:

"Hello Zelda,

As you may have read in another letter, we have safely arrived in Rito Village. Chief Riju and I had come across Tulin about halfway into our journey, and we all travelled the rest of the way together. His flying skills have been coming along very nicely; they remind me of Revali as he grows. I'm sure he would be proud of Tulin. Bird Brain, as he may have been, never stopped encouraging his fellow Rito when it came to them honing their skills. Even if it did boost his ego, as you may remember.

Training the new recruits went well; they even had a few Hylian and Zora come train too, and they learned to work together. I may have to request some new paragliders; I can't have the Rito carry them around all the time.

Chief Riju and I then proceeded to have a snowboard race. It was close, but I had won, though Tulin didn't seem sure when he was flying from above.

Yours truly,

Link.

P.S. Buliara, please don't get mad that I won this race; it's not my fault that Riju fell off her shield."

Next to the extra message was a drawn-out stick figure with Link's hair, laughing at a pair of stick figure legs sticking out of a snow pile with a shield beside it, it seems.

The bottom half of the paper was Tulin's letter.

"HEY ZELDA!

TRAINING HAS BEEN GOING REALLY WELL HERE. I'M NOT AS GOOD AS LINK YET, BUT HE SAID IF I KEEP IT UP, I COULD BE LIKE THE GREAT REVALI IN NO TIME, AND HE WOULD BE PROUD OF ME! I HOPE TO LIVE UP TO HIS LEGACY IN MY DUTIES AS A SAGE, LIKE HE DID AS A CHAMPION.

ALSO, FUNNY STORY, LINK, AND RIJU CHALLENGED EACH OTHER TO A SNOW-SURFING RACE. THEY WERE REALLY CLOSE, BUT I THINK IT ENDED IN A TIE? I COULDN'T SEE BECAUSE THEY KICKED UP SO MUCH SNOW. BUT NOW MOM WOULDN'T LET THEM LEAVE THE HUT AND IS MAKING THEM HEARTY SOUP WITH WARM SAFFLINA. I THINK THEY CAUGHT A COLD OR SOMETHING.

ALSO, WE GOT TO MEET A REALLY NICE ZORA TOO. SHE HELPED US GET HOME FAST TOO. I DIDN'T NEED HELP BECAUSE I WAS ABLE TO NOT GET COVERED IN SNOW. BUT I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SOUP!

ALSO, TO BULIARA, MOM SAYS THAT RIJU WILL NEED TO STAY HERE UNTIL TOMORROW INSTEAD OF WARPING HOME LIKE PLANNED. THE SNOW MAY HAVE GIVEN HER A START OF COLD, WHICH IS WHY THE WARM SAFFLINA IS ADDED TO DINNER TODAY. RIJU WOULDN'T GET IT IF SHE HAS IT QUICK ENOUGH, BUT SHE WANTS TO BE SURE.

SEE YOU SOON,

TULIN."

Buliara and Zelda facepalmed; they have a gut feeling for what the last letter may contain. Those three (3) always end up in chaotic situations when not on duty. Not so much Riju, but she's been known to be the mastermind of a few incidents and pranks against Link and Tulin when no one was around. The Gerudo were known to get a cold pretty quickly if they weren't properly prepared for the cold climates due to the fact they lived in the scorching heat. Now even more curious, the three (3) Vai looked at the blue letter, the elemental colour for water. The handwriting was even more cursive than Riju's but legible for Karin to read.

"Greeting Princess Zelda and Captain Buliara.

I feel it is necessary to write to you about what may have happened to Chief Riju, Sir Link, and Young Tulin.

Myself and my guards were travelling to Rito village to speak to the Elder about possible Zora trading. I was travelling by swimming in the rivers and happened to have witnessed the Chief and Sir Link racing down the mountainscapes. It was very impressive, especially since I have heard of the Gerudo skills in sand seal surfing.

However, it seemed that it went awry when they misjudged a turn, and they both must have hit a rock because they were both rolling down the rest of the way, thankfully not far but far enough that they somehow caught Young Tulin and became a sort of snowball on their way down. The best way I can describe it is as a total wipeout.

I have provided healing to all three (3), and they thankfully only had minor injuries. However, they do seem to not be developing a cold. Between my healing abilities and Mrs. Saki's soup, they should be as right as rain in the morning. Unfortunately, I had no other means of getting these letters to you other than teleporting Patricia to Hateno Village. The young chief did say that she was getting angsty in this cold climate.

Enclosed are some wildberries as my way of saying thanks to Patricia for her help.

Wishing you well,

Queen Yona."

"Awww, then that means Patricia fell asleep while waiting for us. Isn't that right, girl?" She was scratching Patricia with both hands until she rolled over for belly scratches. "Did we make you wait? I'm sorry, cuteest sand seal ever."

When Karin gave the berries to Patricia, the seal happily gobbled them up and gave a few barks.

"The items you require are to the left of where the Chief said they would be. The -! No, Patricia, I am not adding that pun in. Sneaky Seal." Buliara translated before nearly slipping up. "This seal and her puns, I swear."

"I'm sorry you have to put up with me for another night, Buliara. I honestly don't mind sleeping on the floor; it must be uncomfortable sleeping on a chair or some blankets all night." Zelda apologises.

"Nonsense! We warriors have grown accustomed to being able to sleep in various conditions. I will not allow you to sleep on the floor of all places just for my comfort." Buliara assures, her sword point slightly hitting off the dirt in protest of the idea.

Zelda failed to convince her. So while Buliara was reminding Karin of different brushing techniques for Patricia, she was able to get the innkeepers attention to request more pillows and blankets.

*END OF FLASHBACK.*

Zelda listened in on their conversation as she debated whether another Hearty Radish was needed.

"So your hair isn't hard to brush too? What if you get sand in it?"

"We use special blends to keep our hair soft; daily brushing helps as well. Sand is no match for frequent care. The same goes for our beloved Sand Seals."

"Is it true that Patricia is psychic?"

"Clairvoyant, yes." Buliara gently corrects her. "When offered fruit, Patricia can offer words of advice or even coordinates. Like what I translated when you gave her wildberries."

"With seal puns!" Karin happily added.

"With seal puns." Buliara parroted with a mockingly tired tone.

"Will Miss Riju be okay? Having a cold is not fun." Zelda's heart melted at the child's concern. She was always a kind-hearted soul.

"Lady Riju will be just fine. Like you read out, some soup and herbs, and she'll be right as rain by morning. Though that won't stop me from making her do extra training when we get home for the careless action. Link and Tulin also!"

"Isn't she your boss?"

"Not when training, she's not."

Zelda had to hunch over slightly and make it look like she was grabbing an herb in order to cover her laughter. It was almost easy to forget that it was Buliara who became Riju's mother figure after the passing of the late Chief. That alone can grant her more authority when needed. The mention of training brought up another question.

"Isn't that sword heavy? It's way taller than me!

A hearty laugh. "I wasn't able to before, but now wielding it gives no challenge to me."

Karin must have been wanting to see how heavy it is herself, because a moment later Zelda heard, "So heavy!" Then a surprised "Whoa!" accompanied it.

Zelda placed the lid over the pot as she grabbed a towel to wipe her hands before turning around. It made her chuckle when she saw the difference between the Hylian child and a Gerudo warrior as Karin sat comfortably on one (1) shoulder and trusted Claymore over the other. Zelda was reminded of when her father had done the same with her. One (1) morning, she awoke from a nightmare and waddled her way to her parents chambers. Her mother was sitting in the bed laughing as her father placed her on his shoulder and aimed his claymore out the window, proclaiming that no evil will get by them so long as they are around.

How terrifying that it was one eighty (180) when her mother passed.

"Dinner is just about ready." Zelda starts, clapping her hands together. It was more so to help snap herself out of her thoughts. "Karin, would you like to join us? You will have to let your parents know if you want to.

It was a definite 'YES!' as Zelda watched Karin practically beg to get down so she can run like a Kleese out of Hell towards her house to let her parents know. It wouldn't take her long, so Zelda took this as an opportunity to check the picnic supplies in the house.

"That must be the tenth (10th) time you have checked them, Zelda." The captain observed. "They won't be going anywhere prematurely if I can help it."

"I just worry that this isn't enough for them." She admits. "Everyone has been working so hard to help bring peace and order to Hyrule. I don't want to make them feel like I don't appreciate it. Especially when I made them work on all that paperwork a few days ago."

Zelda had spent the better part of yesterday making sure the foods that needed overnight cooking and steaming were as perfect as they could be. Even waking up in the middle of the night to rotate them as needed, the lack of need for sleep was still evident from her time as the Light Dragon.

Buliara, who had been sitting at the stairs on cushions with a blanket over her shoulders as she checked the condition of her blade in case it's in need of a clean or repair, offered many a time to do the tasks herself. But Zelda insisted that she could do it—just go to sleep for a little bit, at least.

The Scholar is convinced the Captain was more so meditating; instead, despite having her eyes closed and breath evened out, she never actually laid down to sleep. The blade was still gripped tightly. The Yiga incidents, the calamity, and the phenomenon must have made this a growing habit that stuck over the years. How many more are like this? To have their peace suddenly disrupted once again just as they were finally getting somewhere with their lives.

Once again, she was brought out of her thoughts by young Karin's return, a large bag of fruits for Patricia in hand. She got extra cuddles from the happy sand seal for her kind gesture. There weren't really many predictions or visions from the Sand Seal, other than seal puns that the Captain refuses to translate unless given the puppy dog eyes from the Mayor's Daughter and Sand Seal. It was so peaceful; they all enjoyed their soup, confirming that it will be perfect for everyone tomorrow.

Zelda kept notes on all the measurements she used. She knows she'll need double the number of ingredients for it to feed everyone, but that's no problem. Until it was.

"Oh no! I'm all out of hearty radishes!" She exclaimed. "I thought I had more in storage."

She just about died inside. Everything was going so well, and now the main meal is not going to happen. Her father's voice in the back of her mind about poor planning took over once again. Chastising her for her lack of planning over something simple ingredient management. Before she could fully fall into the worst habit of freezing in place when panicking, Karin saved the day.

"I heard Mrs. Rhondson say that Tarrey Town started selling them when she was talking to my dad in a meeting last week. You could get some there!"

"Oh Karin, you little life saver, you." Zelda couldn't help but hug the girl in gratitude, getting giggles and a hug in return. "I shall warp there now. Would you be so kind as to keep watch over the rest of the stuff until I return? I won't be long."

"Will do, Miss Zelda. But what about Patricia?"

Patricia was hopping her way toward Zelda when the town was mentioned, quite eagerly as well. "She will accompany me to town. From what I recall, Rhondson used to care for Patricia before becoming a tailor. You wish to see her again, yes?" With a few barks of happiness and confirmation, Zelda added "Then it's settled. Karin, you're in charge of making sure Buliara gets a nap. Patricia can accompany me to Tarrey Town. There are some new books on my bookshelf if you wish to read or borrow in the meantime."

"Are you sure, Zelda? I am tasked with guarding you after all." Buliara questioned, surprised at the sudden task for the child.

"Patricia is also battle-hardened and guards Riju as well, yes? I saw you yawning while we ate, so please get some shut-eye. The shrine is right next to town, so it'll be a short walk there, and I will warp right back." Zelda countered. It was true; she knew how warriors would hide their tiredness through certain actions.

Link would stretch a little as he adjusted the hold on his weapons and shield. His head would tilt forward slightly as he tried to keep his eyes open. When sitting, he would place his head on folded arms that rested on the knees of pulled-up legs. Buliara had similar actions. Like previously mentioned, she sat cross-legged as if she were meditating. Despite Hateno being warm during the day at this time of year, Buliara had her blanket still over her shoulders when she was guarded in the house. Tiredness making her slightly colder and Hateno having cooler temperatures than the Gerudo Desert made it more evident, like how Riju was wrapped in a blanket before Zelda dismissed them all a few days ago at Lookout Landing.

"Without proper rest, you won't be able to function. There's always a solution to your problems; just remain calm, and they will make themselves known." She heard both Sonia and Urbosa say it, drowning out her father's voice.

She left for Tarrey Town and returned less than an hour later, plenty of hearty radishes in the box in her hands and laughing as she spoke to Patricia about having a funny story to tell at the picnic now. Karin met her at the entrance to tell her that she'd need to be quiet now. When she entered the house, she saw why.

There, on all the cushions and wrapped up in the blankets, Buliara was quietly snoring away. Claymore lay within arms reach of her. Finally relaxed after months of tension and work.

Zelda turns her head toward Karin and Patricia. "It looks like the extra bedding and Hearty Soup worked."

They smiled, and Karin got to give Patricia a few more scratches before returning home for the evening. When all was settled and set to go, it was time to try and sleep. She gave Patricia a Hearty Radish, who quietly barks after gobbling it up.

"Those closest to your heart will always have you in theirs. You're doing great." Buliara translated out of sheer instinct in her sleep.

Zelda was shocked, and with the feeling of tension she tried to push back all day had lifted off her shoulders. Looking at the Sand Seal and not realizing that she was shedding tears of relief and happiness, she crouched down and gave Patricia a tight hug, the Sand Seal snuggling up against her in return.

"Thank you."

They both got some peaceful sleep that night.

[hyrule-kingdom-updates]

Have you played any TOTK so far or have any thoughts? I was definitely having some HKU brainworms while playing and was curious to see if you have any.

I have positive thoughts about the worldbuilding and less positive thoughts about the lore. I am a big nerd for politics and tracking the changes in societal cultures (if. that wasn't apparent already given what occurs lol) so all the development with the Zonai research teams and the investigators for the depths and the military groups organized to take down monsters every blood moon which I SWEAR Nintendo stole directly from my brain--it all itches a scratch.

On the other hand [ I have not finished the game yet ] the implications about timeloops and secret stones and ancient sages that don't even have names is really messing with me. Gonna be honest, and I apologize to women beforehand but Zelda is much less of a girlboss than I expected. Maybe I just had high expectations since she varies in fandom but. This Zonai time stuff is shaping to be just a convuluted excuse to trap her in a crystal again, imo.

Anyhow, I'll really just be lifting the stuff I like in totk and ignoring everything else because I'll be DAMNED if I let my Misko be associated with those ugly ass mushrooms.

[powdermelonkeg]

You're big on Zelda, so I'm curious. How would you rewrite TOTK, if given the writer's room?

Fun question! *cracks knuckles* Let's answer it.

I've answered about the disconnect between BotW and TotK before, so I'm going to take some of those ideas and run with them here.

I'm taking the intended route, for the sake of keeping coherence rather than just making up an entirely new Hyrule from scratch. Link and Zelda are the same as they are in BotW.

To start off, I like the Zonai.

I like that they're an entirely new race of people in Hyrule. I love how weird-looking they are. I love that they're not human race #87.

I also love their bastard not-Zonai lovechild thing. If we saw more examples of Zonai, I would love for this funky lil dude to be part of them, kind of like how the Zora have a ton of variation between them.

So why don't we do that? Why don't we give them a kingdom?

And why don't we put some meat on the bones of what was already built?

There are Zonai-esque ruins all over the Depths, mostly in mines for Zonaite.

Their color palette matches. Rauru's braids and Sonia's earrings match brightblooms.

And the three dragons, who have Zonai features (segmented, color-edged hair, long ears, blunt muzzles, scale beard mouths), could have been a catalyst.

A catalyst for what, though?

It starts with the Depths themselves, and the dragons breaking free.

See, in TotK, the three elemental dragons all dive in and out of the Depths chasms. There's no explanation as to why, and the only explanation we have for the chasms forming is that it was like...geysers of Gloom.

However, the dragons in BotW are confirmed to have carved these canyons:

So let's go back in time a little.

The Zonai live in the Depths. They're underground, away from all the chaos that Hyrule has ever had to endure. They worship the bargainer statues as gods, they collect the souls of those above that drip down into the world below.

They have a rich mining industry, and coliseums for their greatest warriors to test their mettle against captured monsters.

They have their Secret Stones, and the one who's allowed to hang onto those is their leader.

That'd be young Prince Rauru.

The elemental dragons, Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh, are testaments to why no one can be allowed to have the Secret Stones. They were consumed by their power, literally.

One day, they break free, as if summoned by an unknown force. They tunnel through the ground and into the sky, connecting the world below to the one above.

The Hylians cautiously venture below, or the Zonai above. Prince Rauru, keeper of the Secret Stones, and Sonia, High Priestess of Hylia, meet.

They fall in love.

They marry.

Their marriage marks a unity between the Surface and the Depths.

(Maybe throw in a lil Skyward Sword continuity, mention that while Hylia sent the humans to the sky, the Zonai fled underground to avoid Demise, to keep the Secret Stones out of his grasp. You don't even have to name drop him, just say they went down to avoid destruction.)

Suddenly, Hyrule (the center part of the map, based around the Great Plateau, not the whole sub-kingdom conglomerate it exists as in BotW) undergoes a technological boom. Ganondorf, neighboring leader of the Gerudo, is interested. He talks trade with now-king Rauru, but there's the sub-plot of trying to get his secrets, which he steadily grows obsessed with.

Meanwhile, the Gerudo make their own expedition into the Depths.

There. The stage is set.

Now Zelda falls into the past.

She's found by Rauru and Sonia. Adopted as their daughter, more or less.

Also, the two of them have a small child. Nintendo, you CAN'T set them up as "they're her ancestors" and then kill them childless, descendants don't work like that. Zelda's immediately endeared to the kid, who reminds her of Link. Lil half-Zonai girl with a wooden sword who swings it at anything that moves. There are memories, it's cute.

In the past, Zelda witnesses, real time, Ganondorf going mad with power. They get along well at first, he's cordial, polite, a model diplomat. But she finds his troops in places they shouldn't be, confronts him about it and gets brushed off.

She tells Rauru, he's unwilling to throw suspicion onto Ganondorf. They're semi-friends and diplomacy is important! He's got to run this kingdom right. He can't fail, this is the biggest thing he's ever done!

(Sprinkle in a parallel to BotW Zel's fear of failure)

Some of the memories fill in gaps about Rauru's power, also. He's got what Link can do, minus Recall. Ultrahand and Fuse mainly, but Rauru's been experimenting with Ascend, excited because it'll make passage between the Depths and the Surface so much easier, and we see where Zel gets her scientific excitement from. Regardless of how different they look, they ARE family.

Ganondorf and Rauru get into a fight one day. A BAD fight. Maybe because Zelda tipped Rauru off, and despite telling her no, Rauru looked into it anyways. Regardless, they march out in opposite directions, and Zelda overheard it in the hallway. As Ganondorf leaves, he gives her the most SCATHING glare.

He then declares war on Hyrule.

Rauru makes a bid for allies, trying to get enough manpower to fight Ganondorf's impressive military. It's a struggle at first, but Zelda steps in, being the leader she's skilled at being and telling the others how crucial it is that they help. Ganondorf, meanwhile, turns to forbidden arts in his rage against Rauru, gets infected by Gloom/Malice, becomes scarily powerful. First Blood Moon. The Gerudo are kind of unnerved by him.

We see Zelda and Sonia helping with the war. Sonia's got light powers, Zelda's are stronger, together they can destroy entire ARMIES of monsters, saving their warriors on the battlefield. A few instances of Little Princess trying to be involved like the grown-ups are, getting huffy when she's told no.

In the aftermath of each fight, Rauru runs around, sealing away the monsters' latent energy with green spirals. That's where the Shrines come from, though in the past, they're Luminous Stones—it's all faded by present day, the light bled out of them.

Sonia is on the battlefield against Ganondorf one fateful night, Little Princess wanders onto the field, both the girls panic about it, and Sonia tries to run away with her while Zelda affords them cover. THAT'S when Ganondorf strikes her—he's fast like a ninja, rushes past Zelda, strikes Sonia.

She falls. Little Princess tumbles.

Zelda races to Little Princess's side, picks her up to run away with her as Ganondorf gets Sonia's stone, and he transforms into the Demon King. He raises his army. Little Princess screams, and we see an uncontrolled blast of Hylia's power, like an erratic attempt at what Zelda did at the end of BotW.

It fritzes, Zelda hugs her tight and ducks down to shield her, and the power cascades across the battlefield, affecting monsters AND people alike. The war is in shambles. Ganondorf stares at the child and her guardian, and retreats in a hurry.

Cue Rauru running to their side.

He grieves his wife. Little Princess is kept safe by Zelda. The Gerudo shun Ganondorf and join Rauru's side, and everyone involved in the war dedicates everything to one final assault against Ganondorf, one trap to finally END him, to force him into the Depths and fight him on the Zonai's own turf. The Secret Stones are distributed. Rauru knows what he has to do, and at the climax of the final battle, he uses his Secret Stone to amplify his sealing magic, knowing it'll kill him in the process and locking Ganondorf away in the Depths.

Except, it's not that simple.

Gloom bursts out of the newly trapped Ganondorf's chest, flooding the Depths, eliminating everyone in its path. That includes the Sages, the assaulting army, and the VAST majority of the Zonai. Its sole purpose is to gather enough strength over time for Ganondorf to break his shackles, because the Gloom wants OUT.

(Subtly implied that the Gloom is the first iteration of Demise's curse of hatred, maybe.)

And Zelda is alone. Trapped in the past, stuck with Little Princess, her Secret Stone, and the last of Mineru's notes.

Gloom continues to fume out of the Depths, so they're sealed off. The Blood Moon keeps spawning new monsters, so Little Princess and the remainders of the construct caretakers are sent up to the sky, for her protection. Zelda's the one that orchestrates it. Her people once hailed from the sky, and it's always been known as a place of safety for them.

Is this self-referential to the history she's building, or a Skyward Sword reference? Who knows.

They go skyward.

Then the Master Sword appears, and Zelda knows what she has to do. It's compounded, of course, by crushing guilt over the fact that Sonia's death happened on her watch. She tells Little Princess to look out for the world ahead, tells her to be strong, and brave, and everything she wishes her dad had told her. Then ends it with a final message.

"I'm leaving you something very important. Take good care of it."

Then she goes off alone to become a dragon.

Present day.

Link's not guided by Rauru, he's guided by a strange, beautiful woman who looks kind of like Zelda (albeit with Zonai hair, eyes, and long claws), who has a deep regret for the world below and who knows the lonely world above like the back of her hand. She teaches him the basics of his powers as he visits the shrines.

The Great Sky Island is otherwise normal.

You go to Hyrule. The Light Dragon's the one that breaks the cloud barrier, and as she does so, she sheds a single tear. By the time you get to the tear's location, it's spread a mural of the memory it contains around it.

Whenever you Recall a tear, the Light Dragon sheds a new one somewhere else, and it's up to you to follow.

You're chasing Zelda, twice over.

Besides that, Hyrule's Surface is...largely unchanged. I'm still upset that the pirates assaulting Lurelin weren't ACTUAL pirates, so guess what, they are now. Splinter faction of Yiga. Also, River Zora take over Lake Hylia, there's a spat between them and the Sea Zora, and Yona is the princess of the Rivers.

Then you've got the Depths.

That's where you find the ruins of the Zonai civilization, and you start piecing together the world it contains on your own. You aren't told, you're SHOWN.

Rauru's ghost finds and guides you here. He has a moment of "hey, isn't that MY arm?", upgrades your abilities or shows you how to use them more efficiently (ups your build limit, shows you how to un-Fuse, teaches you DEscend, gives you Autobuild, things like that), then DIES-dies. You escort his poe soul to a Bargainer statue.

The biggest change to the Depths, though, is that under the Gerudo Desert, you find PEOPLE.

So remember how the Gerudo launched their own expedition into the Depths in the past? How the Gloom killed almost everyone and the world below was sealed off?

There were a sparse few survivors of the Zonai, and some unfortunate Gerudo researchers that also got trapped. The people down there now are descendants of both. They're not Zonai anymore, though.

They're Lomei. They evolved like how the Rito evolved from the Zora in Wind Waker. Their tribe name comes from the Zonai word for "loneliness."

Regardless, they're initially inhospitable to Surfacers, because Surfacers are how they ended up how they did. If you sneak into their city, you're captured, like a few unfortunate Zonai Survey Team members that have wandered in, only YOU can escape via Ascend. OoT Gerudo parallel.

You can earn the Lomei's trust by doing things for them (maybe beating all three labyrinths as a rite of passage?), and then they let you into their cities. They've got their own brand of tech based off of old Zonai designs. One of the Lomei scientists is working on a mechsuit—that'll be the sage that Mineru passes her stone down to. And it fits doubly, both because the Lomei ARE the descendants of the Zonai and because the Lomei technician and Mineru are both scientists.

The Lomei people give you more pieces to the complicated Zonai-Hylian puzzle, and they're the ones that first tell you the legend of the dragons-from-Secret-Stones. So you can either learn it from them OR get it revealed in Zel's later memories.

Besides that, the present plot is pretty much as normal. Still the same bosses. Still the same sages-help-with-everything, though each sage you rescue gives you another piece of what really happened at the final fight (rather than the same cutscene over and over), telling you about how Rauru sacrificed himself and the effect it had on the rest of the Depths.

I will change where the Ganondorf's Army fight takes place, though. It's ACTUALLY very hidden, like the game was trying to imply it to be when you chase around Kohga. You do still have to do that, but he accidentally directs you to a place that's hidden in the tiniest crevice near Hyrule Castle, one that's very easy to miss and sitting in a veritable sea of Gloom. Once you finish the Kohga quest, a poe hovers outside of the crevice, which leads into an even deeper chasm that leads to the Underdepths.

The poe's your help to get through the maze there, and wherever it goes, Sundelions bloom at the corners. If you go early, before getting everything done, you have to navigate that place yourself, and it's a nightmare.

But you do it. You get to where everything started, and you beat the army, then Ganondorf, then he shoves his fist down his throat and goes dragon.

As he breaks through the ground and curls around Hyrule Castle, he SHATTERS it. The building crumbles to smithereens, crashing into the Depths below.

You beat Demon Dragon, Zelda catches you on her nose, it's over. You're in the spirit realm over sleeping Zelda.

The poe appears over your shoulder, drifts away from you, then materializes into Sonia. She says nothing, just activates Recall, turns Zelda back to normal, then cradles her in her arms. She gives her a kiss on the forehead, looks at you, then says the same line Zelda said to Little Princess ages ago, with the single change of one word.

"I'm leaving you something very important. Take good care of her."

She fades, as does the Spirit World.

You're falling.

Zelda's falling.

You catch her.

She wakes up, sees you, then hugs you and sobs into your shoulder.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Roll credits.

Bonus for the memory completionists, the True Ending has Zelda meeting the grown Little Princess up at the Great Sky Island, reconciling with her, both of them saying how proud they are of each other. Then Little Princess turns into a poe, and Zelda promises to take her to the Depths so she can be with her parents again. As they walk away, Sonia's poe tails after them.

And THAT is a way longer post than I expected to write. Whew.

[gay-jesus-probably]

Let me just preface this by saying everyone is allowed to have their own opinions, TOTK is a really fun game, and I'm glad that other people have been able to enjoy the story as well.

...But I'm being dead serious with my complaints about the narrative being 100% imperialist propaganda. And I'm getting really tired of people replying to those posts by saying it can't be imperialist propaganda, because imperialism is bad and the game says that Hyrule is the good guys.

Like, guys. That's not the argument you think it is. Yes, I am aware that the game tells us Ganondorf is a flat, one dimensional character with no ambitions, interests or motivations beyond destroying the entire world for the hell of it, and also it's totally not racist because he's green, not brown like literally every other member of his race. Unfortunately literally all of these things are kind of the entire goddamn problem.

See, the thing is, everyone trying to make these arguments is accepting the game at face value. Hyrule is the perfect and almighty nation chosen by the demigod Zonai, and whose royal family has the right to rule due to their divine heritage. The other races exist to serve the glory of Hyrule, and they're happy to do it. Ganondorf is pure evil and must be stopped at any costs.

But that's not how anything works. The story informing me that Hyrule is the ultimate good that has done nothing wrong is the whole goddamn reason why I don't trust Hyrule at all. There's always more of a reason than that. And the game fucking suggests there was more going on! Ganondorf mentions Rauru has repeatedly 'invited' the Gerudo to become Rauru's subjects, and let's be clear here, it doesn't matter how peaceful those 'invitations' were, when the guy who owns every single magical nuclear missile in the world repeatedly demands you surrender to him, there's always going to be an implied threat of 'do it or get magically nuked'. Just that power difference alone shows us exactly why Ganon would feel threatened enough to invade. It's because Rauru was holding a gun to his head, and Ganon was expected to just trust that he'd never pull the trigger.

And yes, even if it wasn't intentional Hyrule was always threatening to wipe out the other nations, considering the entire royal family walked around openly wearing their magical nukes as cute accessories. If they couldn't be safely hidden away, there wouldn't be four other secret stones sitting untouched in a vault until the last second.

But that's never acknowledged. Of course Hyrule is the only nation with the right to the secret stones; even if other races get to touch them, they can only have them if they swear eternal blind loyalty and servitude to the glory of King Rauru and Princess Zelda. Ganon wanting to have one magical nuclear bomb out of a stockpile of eight of them is proof that he's dangerous and evil. I mean my god, what if he just walked around all day wearing a magical nuke and using its power for his own benefit, that would be terrifying. It's only okay when Hylian royalty does it.

And you can't argue that Ganon betrayed his own people, considering we don't get to know fucking anything about his relationship with his people. He's shows as the leader of the Gerudo, we're told he's a hero to his people, he has soldiers that loyally follow him into battle... and then oh nevermind, they all hate him and will spend eternity trying to atone for sharing a race with him. How did the entire race do a complete 180 in the span of at most a few months? Who cares, what's important is that now they accept they exist to serve Hyrule so they get to be the good guys now and we don't need to know why they were following Ganondorf, or why they stopped following him.

Basically my point is that yeah, I fucking know how the game insists everything went down. That's the entire reason I think it's imperialist propaganda, because the entire story feels like Hylian propaganda to conceal and justify some horrific atrocities that caused all of this. I literally do not believe that I'm getting the story through reliable narrators, especially considering that the only people allowed to actually tell me the story are all the characters that have the most reasons to be heavily biased in favour of Hyrule.

When the game shows me protagonists that have a massive amount of power and control over the entire world, then says the bad guy doesn't like that system just because he's evil, and literally nothing and nobody in the game says anything to oppose that take, I have some questions about what the fuck the story isn't telling me. And I'd really appreciate it if people would stop trying to argue with me just by telling me to stop asking those questions.

[ganondoodle]

hey ho am i allowed to be also a little >_> at how much eye imagery is used for sonau aesthetic stuff (including the sonau design with their dumbass third eye that i feel is just another ham fisted way to make them more divinely awesome so over super cool tm imo) when they ALSO went out of their way to damn near erase everything shiekah from totk? .. like shiekah ... the eye guys?

like that could have been used as connection thingy, just like the sonaus apparently always had white hair (granted just looking at rauru and mineru since thats all we got .... also funny how just the two royals are still alive .. hm) like so many other things that could have been used to connect the two (like i have been saying) ... its right there .. why didnt you ..... its so obviously suited to be used to connect the sudden new race with a long established one and lessen the weirdness of it ... and instead its made WORSE bc they for some goddamn reason decided to wipe all shiekah stuff of the map .. espeically or really only all ancient shiekah stuff .. everything that purah makes is there but its not really called shiekah tech and didnt build on anything of the old tech also nothing of the old stuff remains except for one guardian corpse on the hateno lab which is like super weird and also feels more like an accident tbh given how cleanly everything else just vaporized (including.the.shrine.of.life.)

so overall the whole feeling of the ancient shiekah getting fully undone and its all sonau now is made even worse the more you think about it, bc not just is all ancient shiekah tech erased and vaporized like it never happened, even their signature symbols are taken and almost overused by them like its trying to make you forget it was the shiekahs symbol for wayy longer, while the sonau stuff is suddendly shoved in ever single nook and cranny of the map and the worlds history and lore, every mystery or unexplained thing is just answered with 'sonau was here :)', every NPC, including zelda, is now only and severly obsessed with the sonau, its just feels .. so forced?? like it really does feel like some excecutive (?) had the brainworm of sonau and wanted it everywhere no matter how little sense it made and how much it destroyed the themes and already established lore and were anxious you wouldnt like them and severly, horribly overdid it with how cool tm you are supposed to find them

i know just an eye symbol cant just be reserved for one group or whatever and never be reused, and its also still used for the shiekah still there but together with everythign else it just feels weird nonetheless ...

[angeliczelda444]

To quote Gravity Falls with this one

I also want to add that rauru and sonia were the parents zelda deserved

[pitchblackespresso]

I feel like I'm on r/OffMyChest, but there's something I've been meaning to say for some time

I dislike the Zonai

Their execution was lackluster (there's some interesting stuff, but the environmental storytelling is too sparse and inconsistent for any sort of coherent theory-crafting), but what I despise the most is how they're retroactively shoehorned into botw's worldbuilding

The Sheikah tech ? Heavily implied to be a derivative of the Much Superior Zonai tech

Hyrule Castle? Was built to honour Rauru's sacrifice

Calamity Ganon? Leaked gloom-turned-malice from dehydrated Ganondorf's seal

Temple of Time? The ~original~ was Zonai-made

Typhlo Ruins? Actually Hylian made, but to honour the great King Rauru (again)

Rauru himself is Zelda's ancestor (and implied source of her sealing powers, retconning the Triforce)

The Forgotten Temple? Also Zonai and used by King Rauru to hide the Secret Stones

Ancient Hero? Some kinda Zonai hybrid creature

This narrative of "everything was the Zonai/Rauru all along" is one I don't vibe with, because not only does it give inconsistent backstory to things that didn't need it, but they then left us with more questions than answers due to just how little we actually know about the Zonai.

I also wanna mention how much I dislike the Gacha machines that dispense the complete eyesore that are the Zonai devices. They're a fun enough gameplay concept (tho I don't personally like it), but it makes no sense how you get functioning hydrants or rockets out of gachapons. The Sheikah tech was given ample backstory, and clashed with Hyrule's otherwise rugged wilderness for thematic reasons. The Zonai tech is just kind of an ugly reminder that this is a videogame, and that you get these pre-made devices because the devs wanted to make a sandbox, regardless of whether it fits in this medieval high fantasy setting with serious undertones and environmental storytelling. And since they're branded as Zonai-made, they add to my discontent with the Zonai

I love this game, and it's done so much right (even tho some people might say otherwise), but I cannot bring myself to enjoy much of anything related to the Zonai, which, despite being barely in the game, play a huge role in the story, environment and worldbuilding

[weirdmageddon]

botk link and zelda were always fated to care for each other that much. because of the ontology of time travel the fact that they exist at all is literally proof of it

if two of the same people enter a timeloop (A and B) with each other, A will become B who will eventually break out of it and leave the loop. each of these take place at their respective “presents”, so what is future and past is relative. (excuse the hs but it illustrates my point perfectly)

it was always destined to happen that zelda would get the stone. she is locked into that reality, it needed to happen. if she didn’t, rauru would have no one to place his bets on and ganondorf probably wouldve taken over hyrule completely. zelda likely wouldn’t have been born in the first place (or link for that matter).

when looking at the source of events that follow (zelda and link descending under the castle and finding ganondorf and the stone), they seem to be unrelated to anything else that caused them. zelda becoming a dragon does not change where she originated from since she had to originate from somewhere, and she tells the founding king and queen that she is the daughter of king bosphoramus hyrule, meaning her origin is in fact from the future relative to that time.

these are paradoxes that typically get solved by calling them spontaneous.

her birth was of seemingly spontaneous origin (and zelda did exist as a dragon at the same time of her birth, but the light dragon’s relative position exists much later on her own timeline). but it was also zelda’s precise actions that enabled the conditions for her birth in the first place (in a way similar to the paradox clones in homestuck, a case of an ontological paradox). hyrule castle was literally erected to hold the seal rauru had on ganondorf, and rauru could only have made that sacrifice to bind his magic after trusting the future for the swordsman zelda mentioned, link. it was a shot in the dark; if zelda didn’t have that much trust and conviction in link and speak so highly of him, rauru likely wouldn’t have made that sacrifice since it would’ve had no faithful payoff, have only delayed the inevitable for future generations to deal with without any certainty that they would be defended. ganondorf likely would have slaughtered his opposition and hyrule’s future would’ve been much, much different from how we know it now.

zelda and link’s love and trust for each other is quite literally responsible for the conditions for their existence in the first place. if their love and loyalty to each other isn’t 1000%, they don’t exist and neither does hyrule as we know it. their love and care for each other spans AGES and is literally singlehandedly responsible for keeping hyrule as it is instead of a hostile dangerous gladiator existence like ganondorf’s ideal world. since they were, in fact, born, they were always fated to care for each other this much, like ontologically.

[blueskittlesart]

can we talk about how rauru is literally like. just zelda’s dad. like in that one scene where zelda looks like she’s gravely contemplating turning into a dragon and then rauru goes “i believe the answer lies in more research and understanding your power!” and she looks at him with such shock and awe. zelda’s adventures in the past are literally like her life but with a better dad. the queen promises her to help her figure out her power but dies before they can figure out a way how to use that power to safely save everyone. zelda desperately wants to help everyone and is clearly feeling the pressure of it all and the king is the one to tell her “hey i understand how hard you’re trying and how much you want to save everyone and we’re thankful for what you’re doing”. rauru actually acknowledges zelda’s dedication and the importance of research and technology, he is kind to her and never blames her for any of the bad things happening. he also never pushes zelda to make sacrifices and is the one sacrificing himself in the end - in botw, all the champions and zelda have to choose to make sacrifices to save the kingdom, but in totk rauru doesn’t ask that of any of the sages, instead recognizing his own responsibility as king and basically dying to save his kingdom. he’s literally zelda’s better dad.

same anon as the one raving about rauru also the differences between how the two kings treat link. they’re both tutorial figures but the way they guide is SO different. pretty much the first thing rhoam does is lie and pretend to be a random old man, being quite annoying as he sends link to do a bunch of challenges for a paraglider. the framing is so fundamentally different, rauru freely offers the information he has to link upfront, he apologises for the body modification, acknowledging link’s potential distress. rhoam basically keeps link on the plateau arbitrarily, presenting giving items and teaching link about things as challenges for link to overcome. rauru on the other hand aids link as best he can, tells him what he needs to do from the beginning (tells him to open the door which is pretty much the last thing he’ll need to do in the tutorial, telling him about the ultimate goal from the beginning), proposes solutions when it doesn’t work out (directs him to the shrines as a way to help him gain the strength he needs, as opposed to making him complete challenges to get a paraglider that in the moment seems like literally arbitrary conditions). rhoam telling link how much responsibility and pressure he has on him all of a sudden and how much he needs to do vs rauru telling link that it was wonderful to meet him and zelda’s accounts of him were all true. like. the framing. the difference in character. the deterioration of knowledge within hyrule falls parallel to the deterioration of its king’s kindness and virtue.

the differences between rauru and roham are crazy to me because one of them was so fundamentally good and one was so fundamentally flawed and yet. neither of them were able to save their kingdom. no matter how good a king of hyrule is, no matter what he gets right or wrong, he is still doomed to die. rhoam tried to sacrifice his daughter to keep hyrule alive. rauru did everything in his power to make sure she DIDNT have to be sacrificed. and in the end the outcome was the same. but the KINGS were not the same, and that difference in framing you mentioned i think is fundamentally a difference in legacy. rhoams legacy is to forever be the king who sacrificed children to save himself and died anyway. rhoam died a loser through and through, a king atop a throne of nothing but failure. i think that’s partially why he appears as an old man at first, because he KNOWS what being the king of hyrule means and he’s EMBARRASSED that his legacy is what it is. but rauru. in complete contrast, rauru was so GOOD. rauru died with his sages and his DAUGHTER alive to see another day. rauru ENSURED they’d live no matter what. he wouldn’t LET them sacrifice themselves for him. rauru put everyone else before himself. he didn’t expect or even tolerate self-sacrifice and yet when the time came he sacrificed HIMSELF selflessly despite knowing that it wouldn’t even WORK. rauru’s legacy is something to be proud of. he’s open to link because he has nothing TO hide. no regrets or stupid decisions. and he is remembered so much more favorably because of it.

[kiame-sama]

The Hylian Zonai- (Yandere!Ganondorf x Fem!Hybrid!Reader) pt 3

Warnings; yandere, yandere relationship, yandere temper, yandere behavior, smart yandere, manipulation, manipulative behavior, platonic and romantic yanderes, NSFW mentioned and hinted at, brief nudity mentioned,

"Hylian"

"Zonai"

"Gerudo"

~~~~~~~~

"Remind me again where we are going?"

"I'm going to show you something I haven't shown anyone else. I haven't even told my father about it."

"And we have to be deep in the forest for this?"

"Yes. Otherwise someone else may see."

Ganondorf hummed as he followed the soft Princess deeper into the forest, wondering just what it was he needed to be shown. Soon the dense trees gave way to a clearing filled with wildflowers and a shallow stream on the far side. Despite being rather late at night, the clearing was illuminated by the moon and the fireflies blinking in the darkness. It was a lovely place, but the King had a feeling that it wasn't what you wanted to show him.

"Okay," the soft Hylian Zonai nodded, turning to face Ganondorf, "I promised to tell you why I pulled you here in the middle of the night, but I think It's better I show you."

Before he could question what it was she intended to show him, her dress fell from her figure with ease. Where he wanted to comment on the sudden bare body before him, his voice died in his throat due to sheer surprise and wonderment.

As the moonlight caressed (y/n)'s soft flesh, the various faint tattoos scrawling across her figure began to glow with a golden light. It seemed to shine from every mark along her body and even her third Zonai eye lit up as if empowered by the golden glow. The light danced across her skin and seemed to center right beneath her collarbone above the curves of her breasts. Glowing brighter than the tattoos sat an interesting symbol of three triangles stacked together to make another triangle, a certain power humming from it similar to that of the secret stones.

"Ever since I was young, when the moon was at full and shined upon me, these marks would glow. Like my father, I was born with my markings. Only recently have I noticed a certain strength and power from them. Father once spoke of an ancient power imbued within those who were chosen by the creators of this land. The harmony of courage, strength, and wisdom. The tri-force. Father has the symbol in many places about the castle, but the only place I have seen it outside of the castle is within my own flesh."

The little Princess smiled at the Gerudo King, his heart racing in his chest as he took in what she told him. If her words were true- and he could feel the sheer power emanating from her- then the very key to strengthening himself without the aid of a Secret Stone was standing before him. Her beautiful trusting (e/c) gaze held such a fondness to them and her affection towards him could not be clearer.

Why else would she reveal this secret to him?

Even as he gazed at the mark in wonder, he felt his eyes traveling ever so slightly lower. Part of him wished to act upon the carnal craving that pulled at his mind as he gazed upon the bare form of the sweet and trusting Princess. Here she stood before him with not a scrap of clothing covering her figure, on full display for his increasingly hungry gaze. If he didn't look away or cool himself down somehow, he would...

~~~~~~~~

Rauru could feel his nails digging into the stone before him as the guards continued to relay your sudden disappearance and lack of presence in the castle. The guards, Sonia, and Zelda were all searching the castle grounds, but none of them could find either you or Ganondorf. Truly, the stress about this whole endeavor was eating Rauru alive.

Why in Hyrule would you leave the safety of your home and his protection with no warning or note? The fact that both you and the dangerous Gerudo man disappeared at the same time did not sit well with Rauru. There were countless things that man could be doing to you- with or without your consent- and it truly unsettled the Zonai King.

When the first guard woke both Rauru and Sonia to inform them of your disappearance, he feared the worst. He sent several guards to search the castle grounds for you but he had a hunch that the Gerudo king was somehow instrumental in your disappearance. When neither you nor the Gerudo king were found, he began to worry you two may be together.

He knew he had to worry about how close you got to the king in the daytime, but he never expected the two of you to abscond so late at night. Perhaps the king simply took you and decided to return to the sands, but it wouldn't make sense that he abandoned several of his warriors as well. Perhaps you led the king away for some unknown end, but Rauru couldn't think of a single thing that could prompt such behavior from you.

With the both of you missing, he had no choice but to send out search parties to possibly locate the two of you. He dreaded the thought of what could be taking place under the cover of night.

"Beloved? They've scoured the nearby fields and have found nothing. I worry our dear daughter is hiding from us with the Gerudo king."

"Then it seems I must locate her myself... But..."

"Rauru?"

"I just... I worry what I may find when I do find her."

"My love, she is a young woman blossoming into an adult. She was bound to find love at some point."

"But why him? Why now?"

"Who else would she have gotten close to? We have been keeping our little one from taking her own path, but she was bound to find it eventually."

Sonia rest her hand gently atop Rauru's, trying to provide some comfort to her beloved King despite his obvious stress and displeasure. She knew that one day their lovely daughter would spread her wings and find her own way in life. Despite knowing this, she also knew Rauru was not ready to let their daughter go yet.

Zonai aged slowly and at a much more measured pace than the other races, but due to (y/n) not being a full Zonai she aged the way Sonia did. That was, up until she reached physical maturity. At physical maturity, she seemed to stop aging and instead had more mental maturing to do. Even still, she was technically an adult and was supposed to make adult choices. Still, Rauru saw (y/n) as a child and not as the adult she appeared to be.

"But what if I find them and they're intertwined, embracing in the moonlight? I couldn't possibly-"

"Rauru, if you find them intertwined, let them be. Our little girl must grow up at some point. I worry just as you do about her future, but that is not a path we can walk for her. That is a path she must walk herself. If she has found love, then good for her. I would rather she choose someone less violent, but that is still not a choice we can make for her."

Sonia smiled at Rauru, gently cupping his cheek with her hand. Of course, he knew she was right and that he was not allowed to make choices for his (y/n), but did she have to choose him of all people? Even though Rauru understood that is was not his choice, he still felt the need to keep the two away from one another to prevent his dear daughter's heart from being broken.

"Now," Sonia started, straightening Rauru's necklace, "go find our daughter and make sure she is safe. I don't want either of you coming home upset."

~~~~~~~~

Rauru walked among the trees, seeing the moon-dappled path stretching out before him as he walked the ancient trail. Granted, the forest was not far from the castle, but Rauru knew his daughter and had shown her this very path himself many moons ago. As he moved beneath the swaying trees, a faint sound on the wind carried itself to him.

"- stop it!"

Those few words and the familiar voice sent his heart into a frenzy, hastening his step and carrying him swiftly to the sound. He would easily bring himself to kill the Gerudo king regardless of how that would impact his standing if the man dared lay a hand on his precious daughter. And from the sounds of it, his sweet (y/n) would thank him for the intervention.

Right before he reached the clearing a certain sound stopped him in his tracks. It wasn't crying or a loud struggle, it was... Laughter?

He peeked through the treeline to see (Y/n) and Ganondorf- both fully clothed- in the stream, splashing the cold water at one another in what could only be described as completely innocent play. The man's hands were much larger than the little Princess' so he was winning their splash fight rather soundly. Still, the soft Princess hadn't given up yet and she was not playing fairly.

Through a mix of time-displacement and Ultra-hand, she was redirecting the water back to the Gerudo king. Both were laughing even as the icy touch of the water send shivers through them. Eventually, Ganondorf had managed to temporarily distract (y/n) long enough to lift her from the ground and dunk her in the deeper part of the stream.

"I yield! I yield!"

(Y/n) laughed even as she cried out her surrender shaking her soft Zonai ears free of the water, playfully shoving the larger man. They were both panting at this point as they let the water settle, standing far too closely together for Rauru's liking. Eventually, (y/n) was the one to move closer to the Gerudo king, her head tilted to one side in an almost curious expression. The king didn't fight as the little Hylian-Zonai pulled him down to her level, hands resting on either cheek. But as the distance between them began to close, Rauru felt compelled to act.

"Ahem."

The sudden clearing of his throat made (Y/n) quickly pull away, looking towards the sound with a mixture of surprise and irritation. That bit of surprise faded away almost instantly when she saw who it was that had intruded upon what was meant to be a private moment. Now her expression was one of complete irritation as she stared out at her father.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you are."

"Well, don't let my presence stop you then. Unless, you know you are doing something you shouldn't."

This caused a reaction he didn't expect from his little daughter, her form easily rising from the waters and her expression one of anger. Her lip curled back to show her teeth as she sneered in his direction, clearly upset at the intrusion from her father.

"Doing something I shouldn't? Like what? Fostering positive relations with our neighboring Kingdoms?"

"This is not fostering positive relations. This is canoodling with a violent monster!"

Those words caused a cascading reaction that neither Rauru nor Ganondorf had expected from the soft Hylian-Zonai. The sharp sound of a slap echoing in the clearing put a rather fine point on the anger of the little Princess towards her father. Her Zonai ears were flat against her head as she glared poisonously at him, her hand still in the raised position it ended in.

"How dare you? How dare you talk that way about the man I love? A monster? You are the monster."

Her angry tone broke with the hitch of a sob as tears filled her once trusting and affectionate eyes. Though she was soaked through with the cold water of the stream, she was still quite swift as she ran back towards the castle, tears staining their way down her delicate cheeks.

"Wait! (Y/n), wait, I said!"

Rauru attempted to call out, but his sweet daughter was already too far and too upset to hear him. Despite how he wanted to chase her, he was still near the demon of man who had entranced her in the first place. He turned to look at the afore mentioned man, surprised to see one of the most wicked grins on the man's face as he stared in triumph. His voice dripped in a mocking saccharine tone as he taunted the Zonai.

"This will certainly make her listen to you and not resent you at all. Absolutely. Well done, oh 'great king of Hyrule'."

"Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth, Ganondorf."

"Oh? (Y/n) seemed to enjoy this forked tongue of mine quite a bit."

"If you put your hands on her-"

"The only hands I have placed on Princess (Y/n) are the ones she's asked for. Can you say the same?"

Rauru could feel the rage in his chest as the sun-kissed king sauntered away back to the castle, leaving the Zonai King to his thoughts. Instead of getting his beloved (Y/n) to see what a monster Ganondorf was, Rauru instead turned her against him. The only way he could possibly heal the now deep rift between him and his daughter was to get Ganondorf to show his true colors to the world.

Hopefully that would be enough to make (Y/n) see.