#princesses named Zelda. the whole Sheik thing!

[pocketramblr]

AU where Ganon surprise adopts toon Link the first time they face each other.

1- Link tells Tetra to free the girls while he focuses on Ganon and the Helmaroc King to keep them from being seen. But as he's fighting, the bird isn't really trying to hurt him- just grab him, which is admittedly difficult with the kid swinging the Master Sword at it, but eventually it manages and takes Link up.

2- Upon being deposited in the broken ship atop the fortress, Link quickly learns that the Master Sword will not bring down Ganondorf- who corrects him on the name- and doesn't even seem to touch him. Instead of explaining why, Ganondorf sits down and pats the floor, and begins using one of his secret skills: lying. Ganondorf is like "look, boy, I don't know who told you that old sword would kill me, or how you even found it, but they were using you. Was it those pirates? You should stop trusting people who shoot you out of cannons." Link is offended on the King of Red Lions and Tetra's behalfs, and his reaction tells Ganondorf enough.

3- "Ah, well, I suppose I can respect that. You know, long ago my people kept a fortress not in a sea, but a desert. Some hylians, fleeing the civil war or their kings' cruelty, would make it though the desert. Those who could survive that were granted protection, and those who could break into our fort were welcomed as warriors into our tribe. Not the first time they did, but if they continued trying after that first failure." Link is like "uh huh" and only half paying attention because he's trying to figure out if Tetra got all the girls out before he books it himself.

4- he does start paying attention when Ganondorf then says, "Welcome to the Gerudo tribe, vevko." At Link's confusion, Ganondorf just asks "Well, as the newest son of the Gerudo, who else could be your parent but me?" Link then has many protests, some about his grandmother but most about his sister, and Ganondorf nods. "I will let you decide then, if you agree to stay. Will your sister stay here with us, or would you send her away?" Link just wants Aryll safe at home, so Ganondorf nods and the Helmaroc King goes to frighten Tetra and Aryll to the ship, as the younger girl was trying to run to her brother instead of following the pirate. Ganondorf says it's very wise of Link, sending Aryll away means she can return to be welcomed into the tribe as well, as a warrior sister. Link does not want his little sister in danger or fighting at all, and Ganondorf recommends he get over that, because as much as he once felt the same about his kinswomen, reality demands more. The Ganondorf claps him on the shoulder and orders a few monsters to start helping prepare a proper child's room, discussing how they're going to get to get Link into some proper clothes, and eat some real food, because he can't imagine a child ate all that well on his own. Link protests that he's of age, and wears the hero clothes as custom. Ganondorf is like "hmm yeah no twelve is not adulthood, let's go vevko." and ignores Link's five attempts to attack him as he figures out a room situation for the kid.

5- Ganondorf's motivations are not as pure as he claims, as always. He does feel some gratitude for Link drawing the Master Sword and unsealing his full power, while also being sure the boy himself isn't a threat as the Sword didn't have the power it did in the hands of a true hero. Keeping the boy and the sword here might draw the Princess and the Real hero out, however, allowing him to collect the Triforce. Especially since the "collect children" plan didn't work, so the current daughter of the royal family might be an adult and harder to narrow down. Also, the kid genuinely impressed him with his breaking and entering skills and doing all of that for his little sister, so it's not like it's babysitting some crying brat all day. The Ritos', Valoo's, and pirates' attempts to get him away or hurt so they can grab Link also make Ganondorf dig his stubborn heels in: this crazy kid is his vevko now, if they wanted him they should have done better with the sword situation.

[gay-jesus-probably]

I like the general fandom trend to just take the plot of Hyrule Warriors as a loose guideline at best and just use the whole concept as a good excuse to get blorbos to interact across timelines, BUT I'm very disappointed that everyone is missing the comedic potential of a very specific squad of characters:

Young Link (aka Mask), who walks out of the nightmare of Majora's Mask and immediately gets portal kidnapped into a temporal war, takes one look at the whole mess and decides that you could not fucking pay him to admit to being the resident expert on Time Shenanigans. He introduces himself with the title of Hero of Termina, and definitely doesn't have any other ones, that would be crazy. Hero of Time? Never heard of him.

Tetra, who is a kickass pirate captain with zero patience for people trying to shove her into the Designated Princess role, and realizes immediately that Oh Fuck, this Hyrule has a lot of Ideas about how the Hero and the Princess are supposed to properly play their parts, the second they realize she's technically a Zelda they're gonna shove her in a goddamn dress and damsel her again, that's not happening. So she's definitely just a really cool pirate captain, nothing else going on here at all, definitely not the heir of the Hylian royal family in her time, that'd be crazy.

Ravio, who is literally just a palette swapped Link, meaning that the second his hood comes off, things are gonna get Awkward. There's no way in hell he's dealing with all that Hero baggage, that's Link work, so that giant bunny hood/mask is practically superglued to his head, and he's not taking it off for love or money.

Spirit Tracks Zelda, who is just in the Phantom Armour the whole time, and passing herself off as just a friendly ghost posessing a suit of armour to help the Hero of Spirits. Of course she isn't Princess Zelda, that's ridiculous, if she were a Zelda then people would start getting really weird about her technically being dead, and boy does that ever sound like a whole Thing she doesn't want to deal with, so she can't possibly be Zelda, she's just a nice ghost knight. Also, her teenage grandma is here, and that's kinda weird, so it's easier to just not admit to being royalty and avoid that awkward conversation.

Finally there's Sheik, who is not the Princess Zelda of the era straight up abandoning her war torn country for months at a time so she can risk her life in extreme cosplay for no clear reason, but is instead the actual Sheik from Ocarina of Time, who just beat Ganondorf like a month ago and is still trying to process what the fuck to do now. Also, he's been pretending to be a boy since he was ten, and is realizing there's a pretty good chance that he isn't pretending anymore, so that's a whole other can of worms. But for the last seven years of his life, being Princess Zelda meant certain death, so he's not really inclined to introduce himself like when in a new and stressful situation (not to mention he might actually just not be a girl named Zelda anymore), so he automatically introduces himself as just Sheik the spooky ninja man, and fuck he's in too deep to back out now, looks like he's committing to the bit. If you think you sense the Triforce of Wisdom on him, no you don't.

Cue shenanigans as the five of them attempt to hide that they're all actually kind of A Big Deal. The group motto is "Nobody says shit", which is usually delivered as a frantic hiss whenever someone slips up. Just the reunion between Sheik and Mask alone would be absolutely buckwild given how they parted, and how they're both frantically pretending to Not be involved with each other. For added hilarity and/or drama, Sheik gives his semi-bullshit cover story of having just been a friend of the Hero of Time, then runs into said Hero of Time and they both have to desperately pretend not to know each other, because if anyone picks up on the mountain of baggage between them then Mask is busted, and he won't hesitate to drag Sheik down with him out of sheer spite. Not to mention the weird balance of Sheik being used to this Link being a teenager that's actually a small child, and now has to adjust to Link who is a small child that's actually a teenager.

Also, i really feel like we're all missing out on the comedy potential of Ganondorf recognizing Young Link on sight and the two of them immediately launching into a grudge match with some extremely personal and specific insults on both sides. Meanwhile literally everybody else is just standing there watching, trying to process the fact that out of every single person that's been pulled out of time, Ganondorf only has personal beef with a literal nine year old.

I just feel like we're all really sleeping on the potential for Shenanigans here. The whole thing is an absurd mess, why not have some fun with it?

[candy8448]

It is done!

I've finally completed many month (maybe even over a year) mission of listening to all the zelda OSTs in release order (now it did take ages cuz i would spend forever between each ost and the longer ones would take so long to get through)

I compiled all my favorite tracks into one massive playlist, as well as covers that i like!

Now i am going to go over each ost and say my thoughts on them! Ill also be mentioning one or two tracks from each game that were really notable for me

(I didn't listen to Twilight princess or Spirit tracks because i dont want spoilers for when i play them)

The legend of Zelda:

The ost for this game is 9 mins long, drastic difference to totk with many MANY hours of music

Obviously a classic, the overworld theme. I really like the "game over" theme, its nice but the ringing of the NES boops hurts my ears so much

Adventure of Link:

I really like the final dungeon theme and the battle theme, so good to just jam to

A Link to the past:

Not much to say here, it set a bunch of classics, dark world theme is super good though and the great fairy fountain theme will always be welcome whenever i hear it, either as the great fairy or as the title screen (tbh i prefer it more as the title screen theme) and the title screen theme! When that bursts out i wanna scream, It fills me with so much nostalgia for this series as a whole

Link's awakening:

Now this one is difficult, because this game is my favorite game out of the games i haven't played just plot wise, but for some reason listening to the music was just super tiring for no reason. Now i was listening to the gameboy version but i tried the swith version and it was also tiring and tedious to listen to?? Im going to go through the switch version ost at some point in time.

You can never go wrong with tal tal hights though, and the ballad of the windfish is just 😭

Ocarina of time:

Im afraid to say anything on it because of the fans of it XD i did play a tiny bit of the game but got to Zora's domain as a child and stopped

Obviously it has a great soundtrack, it has a ton more classics like gerudo valley and such. I like Sheik's theme. The fire temple i am aware is controversial and i think that's the reason it makes me so unnerved when i listen to either version of it

My absolute favorite though is Song of storms (or windmill hut). The first time i heard it, it just stuck with me and i am taken in by it, it luls me, its like magic, im enraptured by it. I don't know what it is about this 20 second theme but i can listen to this on repeat for hours, its one of the first things i learned on piano, when i played the game i just stood in the windmil hut for ages. Such a good track...

Majora's mask:

SUCH an earie ost! I have been wanting to play this game forever. The vibes the ost is just perfect for this game. Clock town is obviously good and its cool how it gets more and more frantic as time goes on, you really feel like time is running out. Overall i think the whole soundtrack does amazingly at embodying this idea.

Oracle of Ages and Seasons:

The two tracks are very similar rhat i can't eeally do these two games separately. For some reason i have a bias towards seasons despite not playing either or really knowing the story??

I love that seasons has song of storms (for some reason), skull pirate's escape is good (oos), ambi's place (ooa) noice, Nayru's song is so nice, and i adore the "Zelda awakens" theme that's in both of them

I love how the tracks for these went back to the boopy style, it makes the themes just has a certain feel that i cannot put words to that feels so right. I have the feeling that when i play these games im going to have a great time with them

Wind waker:

Tbh, not for me, the style of the music is just not the kind of thing i like. Doesnt mean it doesnt have really good tracks though!! Cannot go wrong with dragon roost and i do like a track that i cannot remember the name of (but tbh that is just mostly because i really like the beat) and the Great Sea sailing theme does sound so freeing, you can feel the wind in your hair with that track. Its just that the rest of the music style is just not something i dig so much, its just a personal opinion.

Four swords:

I forgot about this game, and could not recall the ost at all. Had to open sime tracks again to listen to and tbh all i can say is... meh? The ost isn't too great... gotta give it credit for it's version of the overworld theme thoug, possibly one of the better different renditions?

Minish cap:

A cute little game, dont remember much of the soundtrack but i have quite a few saved from it so it must count for something, and i really like the "story" theme whenever i hear it and Mt. Crenel is okay

Phantom hourglass:

Again, it has a similar style to wind waker and i didn't really like it. Linebeck's theme though, what a wonderful character! ("Return of the Ocean King" is also decent)

Spirit tracks:

I did not listen to this soundtrack but the ost is just *chefs kiss* from the ones ive heard. The tracks "the sacred duet" and "battle with king Malladus" are the tracks that made me desperately want to play this game and i am still longing to play it because of these two tracks. I love how throughout the Malladus battle theme there is the constant chugging of the train on the track. I have no doupt that the rest of the ost will be this amazing. (The title theme is perfect, you really feel like you are on a racing train) ive since listened to "in the fields" and ooooooh i love ittttt i so cannot wait to play this game!

Skyward sword:

Man you KNOW i can ramble about this forever. My favorite Zelda game! I cannot put into words how much this game's ost makes me feel all of the emotions in the world, i can only list a few tracks that make me feel so much oooough

Ballad of the goddess (obviously), Romance in the air makes me all fluttery and happy, skyloft theme always feels like home, any version of fi's theme puts me in tears, Groose's theme he is such a silly guy, the loftwing flying theme is so nostalgic, Ghirahim's theme is so menacing, all the Lanayru tracks have such a certain zen feel, silent realm theme's have such a frantic echoey empty perfect feel to them which fit so well, and the guardians awaken theme will make me have a heart attack, and the song of the hero has so many feelings ive talked about before, so much that this track alone made me make a painting for the scene.

This game just stepped into another feel of zelda music with the orchestra, and it captures the grandios of this big, timeline setting adventure so amazingly. I cannot get enough of this game. Arguably one of the best Zelda OSTs in my opinion.

A Link between worlds:

Such a good ost in this game. Dunno what i can say apart for it is one of the better ost's in the series for some tracks alone. Ravio's theme, Hilda's theme, Yuga's theme, Lorule overworld, all the milkbar tracks (the fact that there is also ballad of the godess in there makes me so happy as well), so much of the game's ost is so good!

Triforce heroes:

Such a surprisingly great ost for a game that sounds so much like a fever dream. The main theme?!?!? The woodlands?!?!?!?!? I cannot stop listening to these two such a bop, go listen to them!

Breath of the wild:

Botw has no music???? What the heck???

The tracks are so good! Even all the ambient piano flourishes! It fits the atmosphere so well, but you've probably heared people saying all this before so onto some of my favorite tracks

All the champion's themes fit each one so well, main theme cannot not be good, i lobe how Tarrey Town's theme builds up with each character's home town. The divine beast themes are really cool sounding. Parasailing minigame theme is so fun! Guardian theme will also give me a heart attack, the memory get jingle, i miss Kass and his music so much, Korok forest is so :D, HYRULE CASTLE IS SO GOOD OH MY i love the marching feel. Dark. Beast. Ganon. THIS THEME IS CRAZY BRO that piano!??!!?? All the everything going together?!??!!? This fight may be a victory lap and super easy but it sure as hell has some fire music!!!

Tears of the kingdom:

I finally finished this ost today. It reuses a lot from botw, and tbh it is a little dissapointing how none of the village themes changed even if it does feel safe and familiar, and the surface is largely the exact same even though it is where we spend so much of our time.

There are obviously amazing tracks original to this game though. The main theme was so amazing to hear in full after so long of waiting! So was the prologue theme ("poor Hyrule, for Link has found the body" remember that???) All the dungeon themes have me in awe alongside the sage themes. Each one just fills me with so much ough. The dungeons and their themes were definatly a massive step up from the previous game. I ranked all the sage themes before in another post and go deeper into each one. Link humming while cooking is so cute! The big "BWAAA" when diving into the depths feels so cool and creepy. One of my favorite details is that in the forgotten temple, next to the goddess statue you can hear a broken up version of Fi's theme which im so happy for the sksw ref! It also supports my favorite hc that the forgotten temple is the sealed grounds from sksw! (As well as the reward you get fron that quest but we aren't talking abiut that)

!!!!End spoilers next!!!!!

In the lead up to the final dive into ganondorf's army, the track reminds me of Skyrim and it really does not fit in Zelda. I feel like they shouldn't have used that track. Ganondorf's fight theme is so cool, how at first it is quiet to just hear you two dueling in an echoey room and them builds up. AND HOW CAN YOU FORGET THE FINAL FALL?!?!?!? Such a PERFECT END its amazing how is blends so smoothly to create the perfect scene, all your emotions building up to the end!!! Such a perfect ending to the game. All the music in the end sequence in the Hyrule castle chasm really does do an amazing job of dialing up and down the tension and emotions at the right moments and building up everything until the very end when the credits start rolling.

Overall the ost is great considering all the new tracks!

So that is all the games (other than tp and st)!

Now on to all of the non-cannon games! 🥲

[hyruleanlegends]

I think I've talked about Sheik's BOTW/TOTK verse? Maybe? I'm gonna check after I write this up.

Anyways--

It's heavily connected to his OOT verse, which is already connected to @sapientiiae and @mizunoserenade. Not in a 'you gotta write with them', but there's a bit of lore needed to understand why Sheik ends up in a 'punishment' shrine to awaken 10k+ years in the future.

Sheik is not the Sheik of OoT. The guide for the Hero of Time is Zelda. In fact, while I call him Sheik just because it's easier/more understandable, his actual name is Nanashi, or Shi. Literally: Nameless one. He was never given a name by the Sheikah because his mother and father committed a grave taboo and attempted to release the restless spirits inside of the Shadow Temple, leading to their deaths and him becoming an outcast. Shi came as a nickname given to him by either the Princess or her Twin (Sera's Sheik).

Anyways.

Because of this, Sheik (again, for ease of understanding I will call him this) became obsessively devoted to Zelda and became determined to do all of her dirty work. Which meant that he became the ultimate betrayer of the Sheikah, and became Zelda's spy by working for Ganondorf. During the seven-year gap, Zelda was able to stay ahead of Ganondorf because Sheik made sure he either had bad intel on her location, or he was able to tell her in time that Ganondorf was coming. Sheik had to prove his loyalty, though, and this meant he really had to work for Ganondorf. He betrayed and killed people. He revealed ancient Sheikah magic and helped to awaken the monsters of the temples. He became everything he hated, all to make sure that the Princess stayed safe so that she could guide the Hero to defeat Ganondorf.

So - in the BOTW verse, because of all of the horrible things Sheik had to do, Zelda (or, if she died, her twin brother, the real Sheik, became King and had to do this) was forced to sentence Sheik to death. Instead of outright killing him, though, he was bound into the Shrine of Guidance. Even though he was a traitor, it was recognized that his traitorous behavior all was in the name of protecting the Princess and the Hero, and that single-minded devotion could be useful in the future. Thus, he could not die, but he could be sealed away in a Shrine that would release him when the Princess or Hero, or Hyrule as a whole, would need such guidance the most.

Does Sheik know a damn thing about what's been happening the past... x many years? Debatable. Originally no, but the more I play around the more I think he does. He was never allowed to be fully asleep, and a part of his consciousness has been following along with the heroes that have come and gone since. It's never been fully conscious though, or else he'd be entirely insane upon awakening.

He also would still know how to use Sheikah Shadow Magic, something that seems lost to time. And he still is completely murderously devoted to protecting the two people who matter most to him, even if they're not the same people anymore.

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

who are ur links??? names and games and gun facts maybe???

!!!

First, we got First, aka Link from the sksw manga. Sad pathetic wet cat. Wants to go back home to his husband, but is STUCK HERE. He's the tallest Link (by an inch)!

Then Feather (sksw)! His fun fact is that he has the full Triforce, but no one knows that for, uh, plot reasons ig. He also regularly practices the harp, because Fi taught him and well- she's not there anymore. My dearest friend here, Godslayer Fulltriforce, does not understand why the others think he's one of the strongest. Anyway, hey, look at this cool sword he uses! It's a double helix blade, isn't that neat?

Then we have my personal little combo Link- MC/FS/FSA. His fun fact is he never used the four sword to put the colors back together (permanently), and they're all just. Y'know. There. (and Shadow. Freeloader.) The FSA comes in with this cool and fun thing I call CONVENIENT TIME TRAVEL

Then oot, aka Mask, because I am incredibly attached to the name and also that's just how the Links named each other. First notable unique trait. His was the masks, which just chill on his belt and offer mostly unhelpful advice. AMAP (assigned male at princess). Physically the youngest, but oh boy. Who even fucking knows what his mental age is (it's why he doesn't talk).

Then we have TP, who, like most of them, still doesn't have a name. His fun fact is that he's trans, but only because I wanted to make a really bad joke. He's friends with Zelda, but only because he uses her magic fountain to talk to Midna, and after a while it got kinda awkward to just walk into her house without knowing her

Wind Waker, aka Patch! Yes, his name is that for exactly the reason you would expect (he doesn't need an eyepatch, he just has a conveniently placed scar)! He's one of the three Triforce Links (Triforce heroes, one could say-), with both Courage and Power. He doesn't know about Power, and could care less about Courage

Spirit Tracks! Idk. He may or may not be in, depends on if I can find a good playthrough to watch

alttp/oos/ooa/la Link, aka Apple! Hermit apple farmer guy after he (willingly) left Hyrule once and got his heart broken (thanks, Marin). He and his Zelda are good friends (or maybe more idk). Doesn't talk, just stares piercingly into your eyes until you start getting uncomfortable because he looks about one bad thing away from breaking down sobbing

albw/th, Paint- he's a little guy :) half of the storage in his house is Ravio's stuff, and the other half is his wardrobe from Hytopia. I also need to find a playthrough for him.

loz 1 & 2, Wanderer, named thus because he doesn't stay in one place, much to his Zeldas' annoyance! The oldest Link (thats a coincidence, I promise). Everyone is like, wow, [botw], your Hyrule is horrible and filled with monsters, meanwhile he's just fucking crying because it's so nice here, look, the water isn't poisonous and the grass isn't trying to kill us and I can see the sky

HW! My most specialest guy :) I gave him Issues. Your token pyromaniac Link, fell in love with Sheik a la OoT- now both he and Zelda have things they need to think about for a good long while!

Lastly, botw! Truly does not understand what a gender is, even among the many other "has lived in the forest half their lives" Links. Whether or not he's experienced totk depends on whether I like it lol. Takes the advice of his own personal peanut gallery (the Champions' spirits) seriously, even when it's just Revali telling him to do something really fucking stupid. Talks a whole lot, especially to the master sword (he heard about Fi and figured hey why not). His glorious purpose in life is to cook, and if he wasn't so distracted sauteing vegetables he'd be one of the most powerful

[canyouplzjust]

Epona's Song

Where did I leave off, the vampire bikers? So much has happened since then. I privated my post about Didi's kids, so let's deal with that shit show when it comes back to bite us in the future. The bikers dropped us off at the edge of the desert and at the beginning of a lush forest. Didi gave her son the leather jacket she's had since 2005 and walked away looking over her shoulder. It was an easy walk through fresh air and green leaves to an open field... actually a really large field, with a castle in the distance, and the sun is visibly moving across the sky and yep, we were in Hyrule.

The struggle for me was pulling the other players out of the game of Zelda, because the younger ones, the God Binder and the Neo, were so psyched to be there, they got caught up trying to find the princess and Link. I felt like I was running into walls every way I turned because the environment was unfamiliar and the NPC's were intractable. Honestly, the whole thing was rough, and we didn't get much done, BUT as we were nearing a farm at dusk, something changed. At the table Jara sang or hummed or somehow re-created the noise of the Ocarina and replicated Epona's song with startling accuracy. We sat there stunned, mouths open, and lo, a ghost horse appeared in the game. It could talk, its name was Shadowhearth, and it was basically a gift from the GM. Fucking awesome.

The Neo Les kept running off every time his radar pinged some Fair gold, so I asked him to add "tell the others I'm leaving," to his Fair gold subroutine. Just tell us before you're walking away, I asked. I did not say please. I think he responds better to a firm hand.

We found Sheik, who is actually Zelda, I found out, and helped her find the temple of time. I was getting pretty impatient by the end of this quest, so when the portal of light appeared to open inside the room we were in, I only waited a moment before I walked into it and found myself out of time. Link was frozen in a crystal above us, and when everyone followed, Zelda said she could handle it from there and basically released us back to our actual quest.

Things started to break down inside the party as we neared the edge of Hyrule. I was leading us to The Wasteland, on the other side of which I had allies, resources and a bunch of plot just waiting there for me. The Neo and God Binder were dead set against going North, instead choosing to go to a mystery land to the south, unmarked on the map. I tried everything I could think of to convince them, but nothing was working, and I was getting tired of ushering them around. Fuck it, right? Well, we traveled to the southern border of Hyrule, took a big step through a metal gate, and were met with the octagonal hallways and industrial humidity of the USCSS Nostromo. They immediately panicked, and asked if they could turn around and go the other way, but it was too late for that. I walked forward onto the Alien ship and they had no choice but to follow. This had been their choice, and they were going to live with it.

[aspiringroleplays]

@atimelesslullaby

OH! FRIEND! I totally forgot to tell you (and I’m posting it so I don’t have to bombard you with messages):

So I was figuring that Sora heard about the war/darkness/evil reign from all the townsfolk as he tried to learn about the world, and started sticking around for a while. I sort of mentally moved his convo with Sheik to guards and random folk when you decided not to have him as a muse because I figured the story came out eventually LOL. Or at least part of it. The only thing he doesn’t know obviously is how Zelda managed to hide for seven years or her direct involvement with Ganondorf getting access to the triforce. (Or EXACTLY how Link was involved because all he heard about were the exploits of when he was an adult.)

So, in short: he knows the townsfolk are rebuilding from a state of ruin, and that Zelda lost her family, and why she’s the reigning princess. Also that she’s, you know, “sealing” the demon king away and is apparently part goddess, but he’s too scared to ask to figure out what they mean HAHAHAHA.

I basically just did it so we wouldn’t have to waste time going over exposition or backstory, but then I realized…. Um… SORA’S home was lost to a state of ruin… and he lost HIS family so... obviously he’s going to empathize with her :’).

In this AU he was directly involved with the relief effort and rebuilding for a while, he actually has a good idea of what the damage probably looked like even though he didn’t see it directly (even if it’s just castle town). And also, because he and Kairi are best friends he knows the mayor personally, and even calls her by her last name, instead of just “Ms. Mayor.” He saw the stress and pain she was under as she tried to manage everything and help with the rebuilding efforts- ON TOP of her daughter being in a critical situation. So while he doesn’t know HOW everything works, he knows it’s very, very stressful.

So all that to say: Sora has a very personal understanding of what Zelda and the townsfolk went through, and while he was just crushing on her at first because she was pretty and really nice, he really started to feel for her and feel sorry for her, because he knew that pain personally.

So all in all, he’s EXTREMELY impressed that she’s running a whole kingdom, AND rebuilding from a horrible event that lasted seven years AT THE AGE OF 17-19 (seriously he's just like "how tf???"). The only thing he’s glad about is that it was a couple years ago and that they’re clearly making headway in the recovery efforts, so at least everything is in a much better state now.

… so I tell you all this to say that this may or may not have turned into a semi-parasocial relationship on his end. OTL IM SORRY IT WASN’T MY INTENTION.

He doesn’t realize it fully yet but he’s already started to feel very protective of her feelings- he knows she’s strong, but he knows everyone feels pain, so that’s why he was so mad about that merchant, moreso than the other princes. Because the dude was openly stating he didn’t actually care about Zelda so Sora is just like “ExCUSE she has gone through SO MUCH the LEAST you can do is be NICE to her! >:(((“ He’s already in this mindset of “she deserves to be happy after everything she’s gone through”, so… yeah he’ll snap if anyone is rude or cruel to her. Even if she CAN take care of herself XD.

...Granted this is also extremely personal for him since he, ya know… also lost his home and family laksjdkalsjdakldj like in a weird way he feels like he already "knows" her, and forgot she didnt tell him all this herself hahaha.

The last thing is I need to clarify the dance scene: it wasn’t that he was actually falling in love with her from the dance, those were just endorphins XD It’s a real phenomenon that can come from doing exciting activities with another person, or having close contact. For whatever reason dancing can sometimes trigger this, and since Sora was already crushing on her and gets ridiculously happy being near her, well, it was kind of a given it would happen lol. But Sora doesn’t know much about science or how the human body works, just the basics of his own, so he wouldn’t realize this. I tried my best to write out that it was just circumstances, but unless you actually know this phenomenon it can still be confusing. Hence why I figured I should tell you XD

ALL THIS TO SAY: I really hope you don’t feel like I’m trying to rush a ship or anything, or that I’m trying to make Sora come on too strong. I really did intend for it to be a slowburn romance, but then when I started remembering backstory and everything… yeah XD I figure Zelda is probably used to “strangers” clamoring for her attention and whatnot, and people feeling strongly about her even when she doesn’t know them personally, but if Sora ever says or does something that seems strange or out of place or too strong, she’s perfectly welcome to call him out or ask about it. Since I imagined their first two convos were actually fairly casual and didn't mention history, and Sora wouldn’t have told her about his past yet, so she wouldn’t know why he’s so emotional so “quickly”.

….though now that I think about it I guess it IS still weird from her point of view because he’s a foreigner so he wouldn’t feel personally invested in her and this country HAHAHAHA.

Anyway, yeah, now I hope we’re on the same page since I forgot to mention it before :’D

[thefamilyaberration]

I think that OoT has the most tragic Link

Like, here's this 10 year old boy who was constantly belittled by Mido, gets tasked with saving his sort of father figure, breaks the curse, and is told "lol sorry I lied, good job breaking the curse but I'm gonna die in like 5 minutes anyway oh btw you need to save the whole world ok bye."

So he goes to find Zelda. Zelda devises a plan to get to the triforce before Ganondorf, and the plan seems like it'll work! Link manages to open the door of time, and try to draw the master sword.

Key word: Try. He opens the door of time, just to get trapped in there for 7 years until he's an "adult" and "mature enough to wield the sword" or whatever and wakes up as a 10 year old trapped in a 17 yr old's body. In that time, Ganondorf has brought ruin to hyrule. Everyone in castle town is dead. The Zora are frozen. The Kokiri live in fear. The Gorons- actually I forgot what the gorons are doing but :/ NO ONE IS DOING WELL.

So Link is basically all alone with Navi and the people of Kakariko Village, getting occasional visits from a mysterious Sheikah named Sheik, to save a world that's pretty much already dead. Zelda is "nowhere to be found".

And, after going through all of that, saving the world, he's sent back in time. No one would believe him if he said what he'd been through. Link is Hylian, not Kokiri, and he'll grow while his friends stay children. Navi leaves him(iirc), so he leaves too.

Which leads to Majora's Mask happening (iirc).

I haven't exactly finished my playthrough of Majora's Mask so I'm not gonna give the events for that one. You get the gist though, shit goes down. Moon almost crushes the earth, Link saves everyone for the second time.

And then, after all of that, and probably more, (plus like living his life) he dies. Normal thing to happen, right? Well, Twilight Princess rolls around, and who just so happens to be a stalfos aiding the Twilight Hero in his mission (via teaching TP Link special sword moves)?? The Hero of Time (Link from OoT).

This poor guy just cannot rest, ever, and it makes me so sad that at ten years old he had to deal with that...

[respheal]

Also now that this is out in full, I wanna loredump my own fic with notes that I didn't really go into much detail on and things that got cut:

Hyrule since TotK

Post TotK, I imagine Zelda was very into integrating Zonai constructs into Hyrulean society. Unfortunately, Hyrulean society is, on a whole, traumatized by robots. So it doesn't really go over well. The most she can really get without complaints are non-combat constructs, so like...cleaners and builders. Hudson loves em. There's like one (1) soldier construct in the Monster Control Crew, faaaaar from civilians.

Hyrule hasn't had a monarchy in 100+ years, so there's no way in hell Zelda could just plop herself on the throne and call it a day. Link, however, had incredible fame and goodwill through the entire country on top of experience leading (that bit in Gerudo Town in TotK? Tell me that wasn't King Shit), so he—as much as he would complain about it—was a natural fit for ruler of at least the Hylian bits of the country. On the other hand, there's like 15k years of precedent for Hylia's direct descendant to be the prime monarch, so there is the spiritual and religious facet of it. Compromise: they both get the throne. They were already basically married anyway, so easy.

They're both monarchs, but Zelda is Queen Regnant, so the official actual head of state. Link is King Consort and he likes it that way thank you very much.

Further on the above point, while Zelda and Link might be able to step in as the Hylian peoples' ruler (they're so scattered across the country with no central seat of power), the other races absolutely have their leaders who have been there for the last hundred years. So, it's a Federation now. The Rito, Gorons, Zora, Gerudo all maintain their own states and leaders within the country of Hyrule. The Sheikah may or may not have their own state; they're traditionally very loyal to the royal family (even after the schism 10k years ago) and might not break off.

The Gods

Hylia came first after Din/Farore/Nayru (thus, Firstborn of the Golden Goddesses) and become the patron deity for a group of the first humanoid mortals, who called themselves Hylians. Sheik (Secondborn) sired a few children with Hylians, who became the long-lived, white-haired, red-eyed Sheikah.

Somewhere in that early line of Sheikah was Skyward Sword Link's mother (I may write that fic someday *waggles eyebrows*)

Great Poe just sorta. Showed up. As Death does. The lil poes we encounter in game are named after him.

The Happy Mask Salesman is Poe's avatar.

Each of the Custodian Gods has a representative instrument: Hylia with her harp, Sheik with drums, Poe with piano. How does stuff like the Ocarina of Time fit into this? Good question. (actually though I think that thing is just made of Timeshift Clay but maaaaybe has some relation to Sheik given timeline things I'll go into shortly).

Speaking of Timeshift stuff, I sort of implied in fic that Sheik's sword and the Master Sword were forged out of steel rich in timeshift impurities. I headcanon that that's what the mining operations in Lanayru were about in the Dawn Age (also making the Gate of Time, ofc).

Did Sheik's sword have a spirit? Good question.

Sheik's execution took place before Ocarina of Time, shortly after the Hero of Time was orphaned by the war. That Princess Zelda hasn't been born yet. Up to this point in history, Sheik would have been the patron god of the Sheikah (literally his descendants, after all) and the Sheikah did some Really Questionable Shit in the civil war before OoT (see: everything in the Shadow Temple and Kakariko Well). Sheik himself didn't take part, but he took the fall to give Hyrule some sort of "justice" for what the Sheikah did in the king's name. You can't really kill a god's body completely, so his body went on to become the boss we fight in OoT, Bongo Bongo.

Sheik's head, in the meanwhile, was cast into what the Queen thought was the void, but jokes on everyone: it was actually Termina, another world.

Time Magic Nonsense:

Hylia and Sheik's descendants sometimes crop up with time magic. If it's Hylia's magic, going back in time causes a loop. If it's Sheik's, it causes a branch.

Three examples of time travel to the past are perfect loops: Skyward Sword, Tears of the Kingdom, and specific instances in Ocarina of Time. The former two are easily explained as Hylia's power. The Ocarina of Time loops are specifically those facilitated by the Master Sword (e.g. going to the past to move a block into the right spot or plant a seed for the future).

Could be a loop or a branch: Oracle of Ages (Uses Nayru's harp. Her time magic is a wild card ngl, but I think I remember it being a loop form.) and Twilight Princess (the brief stint in the Temple of Time, using the Master Sword).

The confirmed branches take place in Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Age of Calamity.

For AoC, the "canon" is Terrako opening doors to the past with what seems to maybe be Zelda's blessing. This is where I'm throwing out some game stuff, in part because I think AoC would have been wildly different if it came out after TotK. For one, it would be a cold day in hell before Link and Zelda passed up on the chance to save the Champions, but they probably weren't there in-game solely for gameplay reasons (avoiding doubling up on characters). My AoC-verse still has Terrako, but he's more of a homing beacon that Sheik dropped for Link to open a door (Link's magic, because we want it to be a branch).

For Ocarina of Time and MM, the branch time travel comes from the Ocarina: Zelda sending Link back in time, splitting the Adult and Child timelines, and...*gestures at Majora's Mask in its entirety*. Given all this, we can probably blame Sheik for the Ocarina in the SotH-verse.

Hyrule Warriors just...breaks time entirely. Which is fine. That is sort of the plot. Loops? Branches? No, it's Time Spaghetti now. Thanks Cia/Lana.

Misc notes:

Yes, I promoted Linkle to actually being a Hero. Why not. Link gets a lifetime or two as a woman, as a treat. He probably thinks gender is something you can eat anyway.

In another version of this story, Majora steals Rauru's Secret Stone from the Apocalypse Timeline on top of everything else. When Majora gets beat, that Secret Stone goes to Midori and Midori gets to be a Sage of Shadow in the epilogue with Dark magic and stuff. Ended up being an extraneous plot thread that got cut, but maybe in another timeline........

Link's Secret Stone was Mineru's :')

I hope readers pick up on this, but the three Zonai in the scene with Cia went on to become Farosh, Naydra, and Dinraal. Their names are pulled from relevant Roman gods (Jupiter, Aquilo, and Vulcan), roughly transcribed into katakana, and vaguely romanized. I figure this works considering Mineru likely comes from Minerva on a similar conlang path.

After the fic, Link takes the Fierce Deity Mask back to Poe to guard. Poe's like "wow favorite nephew only comes to visit when it's business I see v_v"

Midori (in the main timeline) goes on to be one of the first knights in Hyrule post-calamity. He stays as Link and Zelda's ward. They all collectively decide Midori won't be the prince (he doesn't wanna), but he does get to be big bro to the Crown Princess.

I've recently fallen into the Linked Universe rabbit hole. I proooobably won't write anything, but if I went nuts maybe I'd introduce Midori/Depths to the chain. It'd be something light-hearted and Not An Adventure though, since that was sort of the whole deal of SotH. This Link is BANNED from further trauma!

This isn't your fight, Poe had told Link. Majora turned away from Link and stepped closer to Midori. It cracked a whip against the ground. Link heard a low chuckle emanating from its throat. Midori lowered his bow, strapped it over his back, and drew the sword. It flashed faintly against the red sky. No, Link thought. I won't let that happen. Hand shaking, Link tapped the Pad screen for the item in inventory slot one. It materialized in his hand, soft against his numb fingertips. He slammed it onto his face. Someone had to put on the mask.

I finished writing this fic!! You can find Majora's Mask and the Fierce Deity Mask in BotW/TotK and I wasn't about to leave them alone. So what if the Shrine of Resurrection bugged out, Link got reincarnated early, and said reincarnation found Majora. And Majora granted his wish in the worst way possible. Featuring the Fierce Deity as a friend, with backstory :)

[bluesdesk]

ZELDA HEADCANONS

Sun:

-- considers "Zelda" and "Hylia" as 2 different identities. When she has to act as Hylia (to give a serious order, to do some magic...), she moves her fringe to her left side. Also when Sky makes her angry in a discussion she is like: "remember I can be Hylia!" and  not "remember I'm Hylia"

-- she wears shorts under her dresses, she would be pretty uncomfortable without them.

-- She has a very strong personality, like a girlboss, and she's as chaotic as Tetra

-- She's Hylia, and so she must handle magic pretty well. Also Sky didn't have problems, if not more frequent nightmares and lightning scars and fear of thunderstorms... But "fear of thunderstorms" doesn't even count! However, she noticed her hair became lighter near the tips, and wavier.

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

Dot:

-- the girly princess? No way! She grew up with Four, she's a smith too, she loves adventures and festivities. The fucsia jacket is a hoodie (she covers the hood with her cloack), she wears leggings and seakers nunder the dress, that's actually a high waisted long skirt she can remove

-- her hair is kinda orangey! Also it's pretty long

-- she's a relative of Four! In the italian version of Minish Cap she refers to Link's grandpa as "uncle Smith". This might mean Smith is her uncle, grand-uncle or greta-granduncle? Dot's mom might be Smith's younger sister for example.

-- She had a pretty simple life before MC and FS.  Dot had learnt some magic because of the whole "descendant of a goddess" thing. Not much, and she preferred to not use it. So, when she got petrified by Vaati's magic, she got the signs of it. Her hands and feet are as small as when she was 12 (MC), and her hair got way straighter than before. And when Vaati kidnapped her, she got some eye markings, like tattoos, on her arms.

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

Lullaby:

-- genderfluid! But their father doesn't really support them and when they feel like a boy they just become Sheik and go in the woods or at Lon Lon!

-- They have a tanned skin and dark blonde hair

--They do want to be a mom though. Dusk is their daughter!

-- They can handle magic well, but Lullaby turned into Sheik for the first time when they were really young, and this had an impact on them. Their blue eyes became red with the Sheik mask (yeah I headcanon it as a mask!), and the repetitive use of it made their eye color turn from blue to violet even when they're "Zelda". They also got a sheikah eye symbol on their left eye, which they cover with their hair.

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

Dusk:

-- She grew up with her grandpa (Lullaby's father)

-- She has Lullaby's skin color! Also she's thin and tall

-- She  didn't attend a royal/exclusive school but went at Twi's same one so they were friends as kids. She also studied swords and archery!

-- She simply didn't recognize Twi as a wolf, she thought he had become a spirit, because she didn't know he had the triforce too!

-- When Ganondorf turned her into his puppet, her skin became pale, and she had those black scars/signs and her eyes turned yellow. Her light power kinda healed this, but she now has light brown eyes, that turn blue when she's really happy and yellow when she's angry. Her skin color changed back to normal but her lips are always more violet than normal and she still has those black scars.

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

Artemis:

-- Dusk's great-great-granddaughter! She has a similiar face, but her colors are different. Also she has chubbier legs.

--When the war started, she took the master sword and trained with it, until Impa told her she had to leave it for the next hero

-- She's been training with magic for a long time, since she can really use it perfectly, and she masters different kinds of magic. Every scar/sign she got is from the enemies' weapons, and not magic

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

Flora:

-- She refused the whole princess/goddess thing, she just refers to herself as a scholar, researcher and adventure.

-- she loves Sheikah clothing!  She has stealth lessons with Paya

-- she tries to imitate Wild's cooking in secret, but she refuses to admit it because of the "powerful hero/ useless princess" thing

--She has also been training a lot with magic, and when she sealed herself and Calamity Ganon, her powers were awake. But being sealed for 100 years, with constant light powers on, and Calamity Ganon surely did something. The constant light made her photosensitive, and her hands are burnt, not as badly as Wild's face of course, but you can recognize they are. The usage of a newly awakened magic, for so long time and with that intensity made her unable to use magic for the next years after she came back, and if she'll ever get her magic back, it'll be only few.

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

Tetra:

-- She grew up knowing her name wad Tetra. She didn't know it was just a nickname, so for her "Zelda" is a nickname she doesn't even like. In the italian version of WW/PH, her name is Dazel. She prefers Dazel over Zelda when she has to do royal stuff.

-- even as Zelda her skin is dark and her hair is all curly

-- Wind's grandma loves her and already adopted her in her mind XD but she keeps telling her she needs warmer clothes and she also gives her lots of Wind's clothes that became too small for him

-- she has blonde freckles on her dark skin, Aryll says she's a starry night

-- chubby!!

-- She had never heard of magic before her first adventure, so you might imagine she must have taken it really badly. She has a messed up sleping schedule and she falls asleep in the strangest ways, positions, and times. One second she's arguing with you, the next moment she's asleep, even if she's on her feet, this thing can get dangerous for her so she always brings someone (mostly Wind) with her. She has scratches everywhere from her petrification too, and being petrified surely didn't help with her previous situation.

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

Fable:

-- she loves to wear pink and sky blue together! Pink is her favorite color and sky blue represents the goddess. She's a fan of jewels too!

-- Don't touch her hair, she'd get mad!

--Legend's step sister and somehow twin! She and Legend have different mothers and the same father (the father became a king after the marriage with Fable's mom, the queen). Oddly enough, they were born the same day of the same year.

-- She knows how to use a sword but she mostly uses magic and she can kick pretty well!

-- She can use magic almost perfectly, like Artemis! However, being in a painting gave her some lighter/"discolored" spots on her skin, pretty much like vitiligo. Just few spots, as she could handle that magic well too.

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

Aurora:

-- a child. She's like 10/12. A pretty smart kid!

-- redhead, tanned skin, curly hair and lots of freckles!

-- autistic, her stims are most likely jumping and moving her arms! She loves springs and water in general, she could spend her entire days with fairies in a spring! Pretty enthusiastic about literally anything too!

-- she sees Hyrule as an older brother

-- She had negative memories about her brother, and giving the adjective "brother" to Hyrule is  like turning the page, seeing that adjective with a new meaning

--The poor kid often thinks her dreams are reality. She has problems in distinguishing vivid dreams from reality as she had been asleep for too much. On the other hand, she barely sleeps.

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

BONUS:

Phantom/Angel (Spirit Tracks!):

As the great granddaughter of Tetra, Phantom and Link should be related (One of Spirit and one of Phantom's parents must be cousins) Unless Spirit isn't the great grandson of Tetra and Wind... but maybe the great grandson of Aryll instead! This would explain why Spirit is in contact with the pirate crew but not royal, and since their first common relative is so distant (Wind and Aryll's parents) they wouldn't be considered as related and the fact they didn't know each other before would have more sense

-- She took her personality from Tetra AND Wind: her will to help and be a hero too, still being a bit sassy, and a little rebel (escaping from the castle). She's like, a perfect mix of their personalities.

-- As for her design, she has wavy hair, a slightly tanned skin (she's not dark skinned, unlike Tetra), she loves earrings and she has a lot of them!

-- She wasn't used to magic, she knew that but not too much, so being a phantom and leaving her body because of said magic had an impact on her. Her eyes were originally dark blue like Tetra, but they're now pink to purple and yellow! Her skin got lighter after ST, and so she wears makeup to seem less pale. Her eyes get irritated easily (red eyes when possessed) and she spaces out a lot, sometimes she has dissociative events

[youwouldntbelievehowigothere]

LoZ fanfic master post

or rather, all the fanfics I’ve written for legend of zelda along with WIPs that are being worked on.

Also, as you’ll see, the last three fics are based on requests, which I am still accepting.

completed fics:

Excuses

My most popular story I would say, this was written as a joke to myself. Still find it funny that it was twilight princess zelink that got the first novel length fanfiction from me just because I haven’t actually played the game myself (just watched a playthrough). Probably my spiciest story just because of the aforementioned bad jokes I include in it.

PG-13

Summary: Queen Zelda has a problem. She may, sort of, have a crush on her chosen hero. Maybe crush isn't the right word, as she's pretty sure she's in love. Love? What does she know about love? She's just being silly, surely this is a phase that will pass or she would have to get over it, because unfortunately, Link does not feel the same way.

She knows that, because she's been super obvious with her feelings, so surely if he felt the same way he would've said something, right? It's not like she'd been trained from a young age to mask her own emotions and perhaps has a warped view of what counts as "obvious".

(or rather, Zelda is thirsting something bad, but doesn't realize what is obvious to her, isn't obvious to everyone else)

How Link Gained and Lost the Key to his Senior Thesis Paper

This was written for a fic exchange and me trying out a side of the zelda fandom I don’t normally go to, which is to say “linked universe.” still don’t know a ton about it as a concept, but this was fun. It absolutely wasn’t me channeling a lot of frustration with school into a fanfic.

PG

Summary: After Link hits a timeshift stone that sends him thousands of years into the future, he has to work with a Link of that time to find a way back. Queue bus rides, stares, a sparing match, and Link being mistaken for a wax statue while participating in a museum heist.

Ocarina of Time if the Ocarina got Broken

Ocarina of time is honestly my favorite for reading fanfictions just because there’s so much room for drama. This was my fix-it fic as I tried to find the happy medium between trying to do the right thing and reaping the awards of victory. also got to write a sappy teen romance scene, so that’s always nice.

Also someone commented “more like Brokerina of TIme” and I almost changed the title to that.

PG

Summary: Basically the title. What if in the final conflict, the Ocarina of Time was destroyed, stopping Zelda from being able to send Link back in time (to the relief of both). They attend the party later and are able to talk about the future a little bit.

10000 BC

My baby, my beloved. Inspired by Yasmeensh’s fanart, I decided to write another novel length story based on whole “ten thousand years before calamity” concept.

PG-13

Summary: 10000 years before calamity, there was another calamity. There were another Hero and Princess too, and they did battle alongside the Divine Beasts against Ganon. With their advanced technology and teamwork, they were able to seal Ganon and bring a peace that would last until the events of Breath of the Wild.

Princess Zelda is the second child of the king and queen, and struggling to improve her powers to where they could be of use. Link is an orphan who grew up in the Hebra mountains, and was recognized as the next Hero after his defeat of an ice witch. What starts out as a tentative friendship turns into a bond to last a lifetime as they grow up amidst hardships and tragedy. Only through teamwork and the new Sheikah technology will they find the key to defeat Ganon.

Aren’t you a little young for war?

first entry for Zelink week 2022

PG

Summary: After Queen Zelda goes missing after the first attack from Cia's forces, a mysterious warrior named Sheik appears. After a battle, Link contemplates if he's completely ready for the responsibilities of commanding an army. written for day two of Zelink week 2022 for the prompt Age.

The ways rainy nights change and the ways they don’t

Second entry for Zelink week 2022

PG

Summary: The first time Link and Zelda experience a real rainstorm on the surface. Some things change, others don't. Written for day three of Zelink week 2022 for the prompt Rainy Days.

Verbal Sparring

Third entry for Zelink week 2022. If you liked excuses, you’ll probably like this one.

PG-13

Summary: Link marvels on Zelda’s verbal sparring and how his place as her plus one gives him a great seat for it.Written for day 5 of Zelink week 2022, Sparring.

Skyward Sword “secret” relationship

Originally posted as a response to this ask.

PG

Summary: A one shot based on the prompt: What about something where Link and Zelda try to hide their relationship (but everyone knows they are together anyway)? :)

I decided to go with pre-Skyward Sword, just because I’d never never seen a secret relationship fic for them done before.

Zelink Tangled AU

Originally posted as a response to this ask.

PG

Summary: A one shot based on the prompt: please write a zelink tangled au fic 🥺🥺🥺

Basically that^Just the opening scene where adventurer Link accidentally meets Zelda who's never left her tower.

Sneaking Away

Originally posted as a response to this ask.

PG

Summary: Based on the ask: Perhaps you could write something featuring ZeLink sneaking away. I’ll leave the circumstances and the game pair to you! Basically in an adult timeline, Link sees a shadow sneaking away into the gardens where he first met the princess all those years ago. They have another life changing conversation.

WIPS:

(as in, they are technically started, but not really any where close to finishing, but I wanted to share because I like them and felt this list was too short)

Hyrule Warriors one shots

I have two-ish one shots based in hyrule warriors. One is based on a crossover, and one is where Linkle is Link’s little sister. I’m trying to keep it to one shots, but they probably need more context than what I have and so I keep procrastinating working on them.

BotW 40 minute play though

Basically the story implications of a 40 minute play through of BotW where Link heads immediately to the castle. It’s basically just Link being sort of feral but supportive and Zelda blushing and crying. Sort of a long shot, in that I don’t plan on covering every memory and such, but I do want to hit some highlights.

Brother Bear 2 AU

So I don’t know if anyone has seen brother bear two, but it’s basically where this chick is trying to get married, but in the eyes of the spirits she’s already married to Kenai (from the first movie) who was her childhood friend and is now a bear. So she has to travel with him to a water fall and burn this necklace to sever that bond (and they fall in love along the way).

So it’s that, but Zelink. an original zelink because Ocarina of time zelink was the only one that might work, and their dynamic was off from what I wanted. Nice part about legend of zelda I think, is the freedom to world build.

This story will also be a monster multichapter story. which means idk when it will come out.

Skyward Sword fluff

just that. I was playing skyward sword and thought it would be interesting if Link wrote letters to Zelda about his journey and then she read them after the fact.

Ocarina of Time arranged marriage

Inspired by another fic, but basically oot Link and Zelda end up in an arranged marriage. Zelda is conflicted because on one hand, she’s in love with him, on the other, he seems to be dealing with things that he won’t tell her about. (a child timeline Link is dealing with trauma and his confusing feelings about his princess)

[angelkitty54]

Here’s yet another random Zelda fic idea I’ve had, that I’m probably never going to do anything with, but I think about it a lot!

I call it the “Kind of, sort of, but not really, Bodyswap AU”!

Sooo an AU wherein Hyrule loses the war with Ganondorf’s invading army. The King is dead, the castle is taken, the princess is captured. Or so everybody thinks.

The night before the castle fell, the Princess was convinced (or rather, forced) to flee. Using Sheikah magic she was disguised as a boy and whisked away to safety by her attendant, Impa. What she was not aware of, was that her disguise was not something conjured up from someone’s imagination, and that there was a body double to take her place.

Thing is, the best lies have a little bit of truth to them, same goes for illusions. It is much more convincing if you can make yourself look like a real person of similar height and build. A young knight named Link, being about the princesses height, having relatively androgynous features, and a lithe frame, was the perfected candidate. Link is a loyal knight, he’s fully prepared to die for his princess, which, y’know, he was likely gonna die in the ensuing battle anyways. And yeah, he might be scared to die, but at least this way he knows he was able to save somebody.

He fully expects to be executed, either during the battle or publicly, but is instead kept locked away. Then he learns of Ganon’s intention to marry the young princess and has a NOPE! 

The thing about this disguise is that the illusion is a really powerful one, and though it is still just an illusion, he has more or less been transformed into Zelda, all her, erm... girl bits included. And ok, it’s one thing to die and virgin, but he sure as hell ain’t becoming that creepy bastard’s wife! Or anyone’s wife for that matter!

So Link snaps the guard’s neck, steals the keys and a sword, sneaks his way to the servants quarters, ditches Zelda’s poofy dress and all it’s annoying heavy layers, managed to find a tunic and boots that fit Zelda’s dainty feet, couldn’t find pants but the tunic is long enough to cover everything and he’s in a hurry, almost gets caught and thus proceeds to run around the castle, stabbing everything that gets in his way and searching desperately for an exit.

Link has always been stronger than he looks, but Zelda is a dainty little noble girl who has never fought a day in her life and she looks it. If nothing else being so underestimated was very advantageous.

Link miraculously managed to escape and meet up with the surviving knights. Of course he is now faced with a slew of new problems... The swap had been kept so secret that pretty much nobody knows he’s not the real princess. He has no idea how to undo the spell or where to find a sheikah that can. He also has no idea where the real princess is or how to find her. Ganon is now hunting for him (or rather, the princess) too. He may have tarnished the princesses reputation with the whole not wearing pants thing. Also, people keep trying to kidnap him.

More than anything though, it turns out that Link is really, really, really, really, reeeaaally bad at being a princess...

Meanwhile Zelda, still disguised and going by “Sheik”, is hidden among the sheikah, plotting and preparing to retake her kingdom. She has no idea there’s someone running around with her face causing havoc and absolute mayhem where ever he goes (”Not my fault! Maybe a little bit. Whatever.”). But what is this weird rumour about Princess Zelda being spotted making a grand escape from the castle without pants on!?

[inkperch]

Linked Universe Zeldas:

My takes on LU style- Zelda’s. Note: I don’t really follow Linked Universe, and I don’t like a lot of their takes on the Links, so uh, don’t assume these Zelda’s dealt with the LU versions of the Links.

SS: goes by Hylia, she jokingly suggests it when they’re picking nicknames, and everyone else just pauses for a second then realises who exactly she is and freaks the fuck out, so it kinda sticks as a combination of an in-joke and just... well, she’s Hylia reborn, can’t argue with that! The others are all low-key taken aback by how not-leadery she is, she tends to be the most hands-off when it comes to planning because well- she just guards the triforce, Link is the one who earned all 3 pieces and used it’s full power. Meanwhile her descendants picked up Wisdom sometime in the intervening centuries, so she’s pretty happy to leave the plans to them and stick to being a mediator. Third most likely Zelda to pick a fight she can’t win, most likely to win despite that.

Minish Cap: goes by Shortie, bc these beanpoles tried that with Tetra and she threatened to stab them, but Minish just found it hilarious so it stuck. Surprisingly quick to pick up how to fight, occasionally gets the other Zelda’s into trouble by running off, but they usually agree with her that whatever caught her eye was actually pretty worth it, because deep down they’re all massive nerds, no matter how functional they appear. Also tends to randomly grab gifts for the other Zeldas.

Four Swords: just goes by Four, jokes about how much her Hero(es) would be annoyed by that. Usually the first to notice encroaching danger, and always the first to investigate it. At first the more combat-experienced Zelda’s were Concerned(tm) that she is the one sticking herself into unknown dangers, until she pointed out that A) she is considerably less likely to get herself caught unless Sheik wants to go, bc she knows she has less leeway to get caught than they are and B) they won’t be down a fighter for the rescue if she’s the one who gets caught, which they reluctantly concede.

OoT: goes by Regrets, which like, the other Zelda’s just hear her bitterly pick as soon as the topic comes up and immediately decide they aren’t touching that emotional baggage. It’s an mix of Child and Adult timeline Zelda, which kinda fucks her up when she thinks about it- especially seeing as she remebers both Ganondorf breaking free and killing one of the Seven Sages in the child timeline, and what became of the Hero of Time... who she remembers clinging to the thought he got to have the childhood he rightfully should’ve in the Adult Timeline, as the waves climbed up over Hyrule to seal the awakened and unchallenged Ganondorf. So yeah, she tries not to. She also remembers the start of the Defeat Timeline, where she was too late to save the Hero and was forced to lead the exhausted and scattered remains of her people to war to kill the Demon King.

Wind Waker: literally just Tetra, she also is the first to look at the less murder-happy Zeldas and give them a knife. She’s currently working on getting them all up to basic pirate crew levels of fighting without magic, just in case, and she’s constantly pestering the fight-y Zelda’s to a spar. Regrets goes along because she’s had three slightly different Zelda’s merged in her head so her skills are a little rusty, Hylia likes to do it just because people keep forgetting she learned to fight at the same school Link did, and their responses when she reminds them are funny to her. Tetra is picked up from after establishing New Hyrule, and she looks up to Hylia more than she’s willing to admit, often going to her for advice on the whole ‘founding a nation in peaceful cohabitation with the locals’ thing. Second most likely to start a fight she can’t win.

Spirit Tracks: goes by Ghost, refuses to explain the joke to any of the others and thinks she’s hilarious for it. She is, but she doesn’t need the ego stoke. They find out about the ghost thing when she accidently astral projects in her sleep at one point and wakes up to them freaking out over her corpse, which is implied to happen often. Tetra notices that she’s really really weird to train as a fighter, because she already fights pretty well but she also fights like she’s a giant fuck-off suit of armour with a sword as big as she is. She finds it amazing to get to meet Tetra, and is constantly asking her if various stories she heard as a child are actually true or if her mother just made them up or exaggerated. They were not, and Ghost thinks Tetra is the coolest person on the planet for it.

Twilight Princess: goes by Twilight, out of tribute to Midna’s nickname for her. Absolutely misses Midna, respects Regrets more than Regrets thinks she should, but she still angsts a lot about how she just surrendered to the unkillable army its implied she’s the only one who could even see properly who could turn them all into ghos- ahem. I may or may not have opinions about people thinking it’s the wrong decision from out of universe. But yeah, she absolutely angsts about it, and really looks up to Tetra and Regrets bc at least they acted, she just sat in her tower and waited for the hero she knew would be coming. Saying that though, she indulged Tetra’s pestering to fite exactly once (1), and promptly kicked her ass and went back to her book. Because really, what else was she going to do with all that free time while Link was fishing to win a Heart Container and she couldn’t leave her room? Ganondorf had to get the idea to have her use a sword somewhere.

FSA: Even among Zelda's, she stands out for how friendly she is- more than once she brought a ‘new friend’ back to camp who’d been trying to kill them seconds earlier. This got her the nickname Torch, because she shines light into even the darkest of creatures- although, Hylia would like it if she never interacted with any of the mini-Imprisoned from HW ever again please and thank you, that was a step too far for exotic pets.

(I’ll do a followup post for the Defeat Timeline, it has a lot of the older games I haven’t played and need to familiarise myself with the characters in, and it’s already getting late)

Hyrule Warriors: goes by Sheik, was unironically ready to fight her ancestor for the name, but Regrets doesn’t really care. Speaking of regrets, upon learning that Regrets did the exact same disguise in the Adult timeline, Sheik immediately wants to go stab Cia (and maybe Lana too) for letting her think she was getting away with the disguise when Cia had literally seen the exact same trick just one timeline over. (post post-game definitive edition, so Cia has her redemption arc) She also was never meant to be the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, and views it as a burden- without Cia’s interference, the Triforce of Wisdom and it’s visions would’ve been passively sitting in the royal vaults instead of etched into her hand, but fate got confused when the Triforce had been split, but the one who should inherit Wisdom was much better suited to Courage. This leads to a bit of a disconnect sometimes, where fate has changed her into a suitable host for the Triforce of Wisdom, but she just kinda isn’t one. She’s also a MASSIVE nerd (I saw those TP references in Linkle’s Twilight stage Nintendo! She literally started dropping random history quotes after almost dying, the nerd) so she’s constantly fangirling over all her famous ancestors, because if anyone had managed to hear legends from all 3 timelines, it would be HW Zelda. The most likely to pick a fight she can’t win, she literally only pretends to be functional and have impulse control when they’re in her Hyrule and her people can see her.

BOTW:

Both BoTW Zeldas avoid each other like the plague because yeah, that’s a physical manifestation of my failures. They’re not consolidated like OoT was for bonus angst- because just merging them would show her there’s a happier timeline where all of her friends survived and Hyrule didn’t fall and crumble to ruins while she and Link took a 100 year nap.

AoC: goes by Terrako, because why the hell not. Has Terrako with her, which gets confusing, but he’s an adorable Eggy Boi, and basically team mascot. Is using her Master Cycle+Sheikah Slate movesets, bc she tried to use her Goddess bow moveset and reality just kinda glitched bc there were two Zelda’s using the exact same power, and they both agreed to never try that again. 

BoTW: goes by Architect, because that’s what she spends half her time doing these days. Regularly nerds out with Sheik. Low-key dying inside from self-worth issues rearing up again now that she’s hanging out with all these legendary queens, but tries not to let it show and keep with a positive attitude, too mixed results.

[loz-and-lu-fan-blog]

Souls of the past, New Champions Ch. 1

(Basically an au idea that stemmed from the question ‘ what if wild need help taking Calamity Ganon; how would the goddess handle that?) enjoy!

He was falling into darkness, not stars or even planets, just darkness. It was a comforting darkness soon joined by a comforting voice.

‘Link…’ A voice called from the darkness ‘Link….’

Link soon found himself next to others, they seemed like him but at the same time they weren’t. They all had the master sword with them.

‘Find them…’ the voice called from the darkness as the hero's silhouette began to fade into solid color. ‘You need to find them’

The colors soon began to move, flying down onto what looked like a big map. The one he had spent years studying as a child with his aunt Impa.

‘You need to find them..you must find them’ the voice said again. Link turned around to see a big white and gold figure ‘You must find them before….’

A big roar broke him out of the trance. He turned around to see a big black beast with red eyes, flying towards him, mouth open to swallow him whole.

It was going to eat him.

-

Link awaken in a panic, breathing heavily looking around the room; the same small castle room he’s had sense he pulled that sword. The mirror across him showed the same white hair and red eyes he was born with; the same traits that marked him as a sheikan.

He immediately got out of bed and ran to the map on his desk, the same one from his dream. Taking him pencil he closes his eyes and tried to remember the marks on the map from his dream before they become lost memories. Some he could remember the exact place but could thankfully give a general idea. Link smiled to himself as he got all the places mark, at least four of them were in the champion’s area and at least one was by the castle; maybe this could convince them.

The hero walked out of his room and went looking for the princess, even with all the other knights snickering he said nothing. Ever since he had these dreams he had told people about them, the king, the other knights, even Zelda. Everyone didn’t believe him, if fact it became a joke, the knights even the king laughed when they thought he wasn’t around. It was the reason why he had stopped talking, there wasn’t a point anymore.

But this could make a difference, he now had a plan, an idea. It was something as simple as checking out the towns when they went to visit the champions homes.

He finally found Zelda in her garden.

“Zelda” Link said with a smile “I have proof”

Zelda gave a groan while Link’s smile got wide.

“No no it will be alright. It just in the champions, we don’t ha-” Links starts.

“Will you shut up!” Zelda screamed making the sheik hero stop speaking “Do you realize how annoying your half baked theories are. Just drop it!” She screamed before splashing Link with her drink.

Link stood there frozen for a minute, he could hear the guards trying not to laugh, he could see Zelda face turn from anger to regret.

“Li-” Zelda tried before the Sheikan began to walk away.

‘If no one wants to help me then fine’ Link thought bitterly ‘Then I’ll do it myself. I won’t let calamity ganon destroy my home’.

---

Link spent all day preparing, gathering his stuff, stealing some farmhands clothes considering his champion tunic would give him away. Zelda came by to apologize and Wild had accepted it; however that didn’t change his plans. By the time the sky was multiple colors Wild had already written his note, it simply said ‘gone to training, be back soon’ knowing by the time they realize something was wrong he would be long gone.

It didn’t take much effort for Wild to sneak out, after all many guards were staying by the princess leaving the barn and stable open; to be fair is a big red flag and he should probably write a note about it. However right now it was working in his favor and after leaving another note he went out into the field. 

He remembers this field, even though he spent most of his time in the castle sense he pulled the master sword. This field was pretty much his home. He loved running out and playing in the field, climbing trees, starting campfires, playing with the local wildlife. He remembers one animal that seemed to love him more than all the others.

Wolfie, at least that’s what Link had named him. He was an interesting wolf that never showed any aggression towards Link and his family, almost acting like a big dog. However Wolfie hated being brought into towns and hated the guards even more, so when Link was appointed knight of Zelda he lost his little furry friend.

When the goddess Hyila showed him the map of the souls he couldn’t help some excitement when he saw the field, maybe just maybe he can see his friend again?

And there was Wolfie! Link’s first instinct was to run and give the big old doggo a hug however knowing how Wolfie got when he was shocked. So Link just waited double checking his map, deciding to wait in calling for Wolfie.

Soon the sun fell behind the mountains dusting the sky in a blanket of twilight. Link got closer to the animal before he finally noticed it.

Wolfie was soon surrounded by dark magic and weird symbols. Soon the Wolfie was engulfed in darkness as the form of the wolf began to change. The figure began to get taller and growing, finally the darkness began to disappear.

In place of the wolf was a man. His hair was a auburn brown color, and his eyes were a red color, however it definitely wasn’t due to a sheik bloodline. The man’s skin seemed to have different patches of color, one being a turquoise color and the other being made of pure shadows. The boys was dressed in what most farmers would wear but was nearly as dark as night with a weird glowing blue pattern on it. Link couldn’t stop his shock.

“Wolfie!?!” Link yelled out, making the man jump as he ran up to the man. The man looked at him with red and yellow eyes filled with confusion. “You’re the wolf? The one I played with?”

“......Who are you?” The man tried. Link's face just deadpanned as he stared at the man.

“You have the same markings as wolfie”” Link just stated causing the man to just sign and shake his head before a smile grew on his face.

“Hello cub” The man said before hugging Link. The hugged for a bit before Link pulled back.

“You're a hero aren’t you?” Link asked, however no words needed to be spoken; the symbol of the back of the man’s hand matched up with the glowing gold on Link’s hand that he kept hidden with wraps.

“Yes I am, the goddess ask for me to help you” The man said “However i don’t know how much of a help I can be”

The confused face of Link made the man explain further.

“I’m a Twili, I get hurt in the light; it’s why I take on that wolf form during the day, it keeps me alive” The man said “I’m sorry”

“It’s alright!” Link yelled out “The goddess told me I need to gather the past heroes to defeat ganon, your divide beast is probably mostly shadow. Please can you come with me?”

The Twili shook his head with a smile. “I’d love to Link. I can take on a shadow form and hide in your shadow during the day if we go into town if that’s alright?” “Absolutely, beside I need to swing by the town to make sure I’m not identified. What’s your name by the way?” Link asked.

“Link” The man said.

“Well that’s going to be confusing, What about a nickname?” Link asked the twili.

“How about Twilight?” The man offered. Twilight, it somehow fit.

The two just sat in the darkness talking for hours, apparently Twilight had a great memory as he began telling stories from Link’s past making him blush a bright red from embarrassment. Twilight couldn’t remember everything from his past life, but he knew he was the hero of twilight and he could remember some names like Midna, IIia, Rusl, and Uli but other than that nothing. He couldn’t tell Link how he died or how he defeated Ganon, just that he did.

They talked almost all night, until dawn started to peek through the night, Link began to change into some inconspicuous clothing as well as wrapping the master sword up, while it hurt to hide her away he knew he would be stopped in the street if they so much as see it. It will only be a matter of time until they dragged him back to the castle so any second could spare him. 

Twilight did what he said and jumped into Link’s shadow, the slight unnatural movement made it very clear he was there.

Link was able to make it to castletown before daybreak.

Link's first stop was the dye shop, with enough knocking the owner finally open the door looking annoyed.

"What?" The man grumbled out looking so tried.

"I need you to dye my hair" Link said taking off the piece of fabric that was hiding his white hair. The man eyes went wide before he realized who was in front of him.

"Sir, why aren't you wi-" The man tried asking to the well known knight of Zelda. However he was cut off by the sound of the rupees in a bag hitting the man in the chest.

"500 rupees for the dye and you don't say a word" Link said without blinking. The man looked down at the bag before nodding.

It only took about 10 minutes before his white locks became a dark brown color. As it wasn't uncommon for haft sheikan to only have red eyes; he wouldn't get any stares looking like that. No one would know that he was Zelda's knight

Hair, done. Next thing to do was to go to the blacksmith, he needed another sword.

When Link came in the old blacksmith gave a big happy smile. Link handed him a old rusted sword that he had picked up from the field, after all stealing one from the castle would have been so weird. So he opted to take one from the field and hope he could possible pay for a better one when they say the shape of the poor sword.

"I'm sorry the sword is so bad"  Link said with his best sad acting "I've had this sword for so long, I didn't know how bad it was. If it's easier for you to just throw away and I pay for another sword I completely understand"

"No no it's alright!" The man said with a smile "Just give me a day and I'll get it all fixed up"

Link smile and left the sword and rupees to the man. Link spent the rest of the day trying to gather supplies like a horse and some other food; trying to keep his head town when guards started to walk around.

By the time it got dark and the knight began to talk in worried whispers about the princess's knight training, Link went back the blacksmith house. The shop was dark and the man was likely asleep. Link knocked, no answered; he tried the doorknob.

It was open

Link just open the door to look for his fixed sword, maybe just taking a sword and leaving a note and bonus. He found his sword on the man's working desk.

And there was a mouse....?

It looked like a mouse with a weird feather tale. The mouse immediately saw Link and let out a squeaked as it ran down the desk, trying to get away.

Link didn't know why he did it, Twilight said it was because he was a gremlin, but his first instinct was to try and catch the mouse. He ran around the desk and chairs before diving to grab the mouse before it ran into a whole into a wall.

And he caught it.

In his hands that were above his head was the weird mouse, who was letting out a lot of squeaks. Link got up bring the little mouse closer to his face to observe it.

The little mouse had blond hair, and a multi color outfit, and seem to blow some dust into the hero's face.

And suddenly he's smaller

WTH.

"WTH" Link screamed out as he looked around, noticing how smaller now. He then notice the little mouse who was now his height, who was trying to run into a whole "No! Stop!"

Link ran into whole and was soon surrounded by more of these weird mouse, he could hear Twilight laughing at his misadventure.

The weird mouse creatures were talking to each other in a language he doesn't recognize.

"Look I'm sorry" Link tried "I'm just trying to get a sword to help me find past hero"

The little mouse that he was chasing seemingly flinched at the mention of the heroes, before turning to the other mouse and speaking to them. They took what the little mouse words and they slowly began to leave the two of them alone.

"I'm sorry for chasing you" Link said to the weird mouse.

"It's alright. I'm sorry for running" The little mouse replied.

"No you had a right to run, What are you?" Link asked not realizing how rude the question could be. The little mouse just laughed.

"Minish, I am a Minish"

"Minish? I've never heard of them before" Link said in confusion. The little minish just giggled.

"I wouldn't excepted it, we've mostly fall out of legend. Besides we can only be seen by children; so it makes sense no one knows about us" The minish said "We hide rupees  in the grass and pots and help people the way we can. We help the blacksmith here, it reminds me of the time my gr-"

The minish stopped talking which brought attention to the Minish's weird behavior. It made Link think of confronting Twilight.

"Is your name Link?" Link asked to the minish. The minish eyes immediately looked up in shock, and his hand immediately went to back of his other hand.

"Well.....it used to be" The minish known as Link said sadly.

Link noticed the poor minish's expression.

"Hyila asked me to help the next hero defeat Ganon. But I would be without Dot and Shadow" Minish Link said sadly.

"I'm sorry, this is my fault" Link apologized to the minish.

"No it isn't" The minish said with a smile through tears "It's ganons"

Link smile and brought the minish into a hug who happy accepted it.

"I could come back for you, You can stay here and help out more" Link offered to the minish, who shock his head no.

"No it will be ok, just let me hid in your pockets, I can grow into hyilan size however many would notice the tail" The Minish said, making Link smile.

"What should we called you?" Link asked.

"We?" The minish asked.

"I found another Link, a twili" Link said and the confusion on the minish face says it all "Yeah I don't know ether".

"I know during my adventure I used the Four sword during my adventure" The minish  offered.

"Four sword? What about Four?" Link offered.

"Four. It's perfect" Four said with a smile

[furbygoblinxiv]

I played Ocarina of Time for the first time shortly before Christmas, and lemme tell yall it made me go feral. It single handedly kick started my Zelda obsession I thought I got over in like middle school. 

tldr i enjoyed it and will probs post more art from it soon

And I like drawing link w wavy and long hair bc who tf is gonna brush or cut this 11 year old's hair while hes zooming around?? Navi? All she can do is complain about it, she can’t even hold scissors. Saria’s sitting in the spirit realm like “please link just cut your hair” and he pretends he didn’t hear anything.

 Some random thoughts I had on this wonderful game that I wanna ramble about (warning this is LONG but that's bc I liked the game lol spoilers): 

-Best fights imo were dark link and the iron knuckles, and the best dungeons were the 2 in kakariko tho idk if the well counts as a full dungeon. Those 2 fights were alot of fun bc it really felt like I set the pace of the battle, like my strategies of using a big hammer or making them hit pillars were making me a better hero. I really liked the tone of the kakariko dungeons for showing how, outside of the whole ganon business, hyrule exists and has its own, very human(?) conflicts. Really made me think. And also really made me horrified bc the redeads scared me. Tbh all the dungeons really surprised me with how unique/ region relevant the architecture was, Idk why but i was expecting them all to just be like. Stone dungeons. But the variety was beautiful.

-speaking of kakariko, did the hylians legit wipe out the sheikah??? and if so then why was impa so willing to serve the royal family that helped kill her people.

-I know people found Navi annoying, but I actually found her cute and quite helpful? Out of context she gives helpful enemy tips and reminders for when I’ve forgot what I’m doing, and in context she’s the only person who stays by link’s side for his entire journey. Also I thought Ruto, while annoying, was cute, simply bc her adorable voice made me feel bad about throwing her around lol.

-I went in without spoilers so the extent of what I knew were like. Gamer Guy Jokes from like 2014, which painted Link as a really annoying and cynical Dude Bro. Instead, he’s a really tragic character. He was a child forced to watch his only parental figure, the Great Deku Tree, die, then was immediately forced out of the only world he has known in order to save the world from the force that killed him. From there, like barely after getting a grip on the world outside the forest, he’s forced to wake up in the body of an adult in a hyrule of ruin. Poor guy went from confused to then watching how the entire world aged around him while his mind didn’t. Despite this, he still saves the world. And like I get that its a kids adventure game, and that he was always going to save hyrule and wasn't gonna give up from pressure or anything, but its fun to read into things ok lol. 

-despite not knowing many spoilers, I did know that Zelda was Sheik, so that reveal didn’t shock me. What did shock me, however, was what Ganondorf said immediately after yoinking her. The idea that there was an ingame reason the boss never made legit attempts to kill me outside of the dungeons? The idea that I was being used as bait to lure out the princess he knew was in hiding? How that WORKED?!? I was shook. I had to put the game down yall.

-I love how magical Link is in the game. Like he has the various goddess blessings which are explicit magic, he’s the only hylian to explore the lost woods without losing himself (arguably this one is Saria’s protection), and the ocarina acts as the vessel that allows him to change time and teleport. It really makes me wish more than like 4 Zelda games had magic and music intermingled as a key element. It also adds “magic” to the “reasons why link is a cryptid” list.

-I also like how there's backstory given to the triforce and how the goddess triad is referenced in almost all the games in terms of region names (Farore and the Faron woods?? Wild)

-I found all the small jokes about Link’s confusion in terms of like facial expressions and text to be hilarious. Ruto was like “we’re betrothed now!” and this poor kid was like “idk what that means but I got the rock I wanted”. Also the fact that Nintendo intentionally put the “did you understand” option as the 2nd one when the owl did his exposition speeches” Actual comedy, like I read those but I feel bad for the poor fools who just wanted to hit things and not read.

-Idek if anyone is even reading this at this point, but if you did and you played the game, were the kokiri intentionally supposed to look like Link? all of them are his height, body type, and skin color, and they all have straight blond hair (the boys also have bangs like he does) and blue eyes. The only exception is Saria. Like I just assumed that the Great Deku Tree made them look similar to Link so he would feel more welcomed/raised by them, and he died before he managed to return the kokiri to whatever their natural form was? idk

-So if this lore like vaguely carries over to later games in their “official (lmao)” timeline, then I'm assuming some world building stuff gets translated to breath of the wild (like. The divine beasts. Ruta, like ruto the zora. Rudania, like Darunia the goron. Naboris, like Nabooru the gerudo. Medoh, like medli the rito. The only in universe explanation for this would be if the legends from the earlier time got passed down to the Old Sheikah ppl, aka the world building stuff lowkey applies). If this were the case, then how come in Ocarina Link got a pass just for like beating them in battle, but botw has link literally saving their entire civilization and freeing the spirit of their legendary champion and yet he still has to cross-dress? I love the vai armour but thats sus 

-My only gripes were I didn’t like how linear it was in terms of temple progression (although I completely understand why that was done). Smaller gripes I had all can be concluded by limitations of the medium/tech at the time. The non plot characters felt pointless/1 dimensional, while the architecture is region specific, the armour for those regions is all hylian style, and overall the game felt...small? Itd feel bigger if I could ride epona in more than one area, but when I wanna zoom around on my horse and only have one set area to do it? Sad.

Overall it was a very fun game that I highly enjoyed playing

[strad-214]

Ocarina of Time Fan Fic: Chapter 2: Back to Normal?

Sorry that I'm posting this later than I promised. Like I said, college student, I have my priorities. Also, still havn't fixed that of italics issue, so, the inner thoughts are still indistinguishable from the narrative, sorry. Again, if anybody reading this has depression issues, PTSD of any kind, or survivor's guilt, please don't read this story line. And if you do suffer from such, remember that you are loved and never alone.

*************************************************

Link and Zelda, together again.... sort of. She wasn't the same Zelda he knew, she was... different somehow. They were both different somehow. Link couldn't place his finger on it, but he feared that the lack of a real danger was enough to change how they would come together.

The one remarkable thing was that he was able to convince her to hear him out; Link told her everything. She didn't remember exactly, but she believed his story and understood what had happened, even though "there is no man named Ganondorf." Second week being back, told anyone who would listen, hearing that in response was getting old.

No matter... Link thought to himself. Impa and Zelda believe me, that's all that matters. Impa even seemed to imply that she knew exactly what Link was talking about. Perhaps, one day, she would reveal more.

Well, one day came, and instead of Impa revealing more, the King suddenly was swayed. Three months in being back and serving the King as the youngest soldier in the King's service, Link received a summons to come to the castle. Once again, Link packed for the trip and left Kokiri Forest for the castle with Epona. As the pair walked to the castle, he thought of how Epona had come to him right away when he visited Lon Lon Ranch for "the first time". She almost seemed to recognize him. For this, Epona immediently bacame the most precious thing to him, and Malon and Talon where more than happy to give her away to him. She was still too small to ride, but walking around Hyrule together was more than enough for him.

After staying at Lon Lon Ranch for the night, Link arrived at the castle by noon on the second day. He took Epona to the stable where Zelda was no doubt waiting for him... but when Link dropped off Epona, she wasn't there. Concern immediately invaded his thoughts. He grabbed one of the stable men and asked him where Zelda was.

"How should I know brat? Get out of here!" The man pushed Link out of the way and muscled by. It took every ounce of self control not to shout at the man, Link kept forgetting that he was now a young adult trapped in a boy's body.

After cooling off, Link wandered around the castle, trying to find anyone who could direct him. But the usually bustling castle seemed desolate now. What happened here... he wondered. Perhaps the Gerudo King was here and now he was too late to stop him.

Link rushed to the audience chamber with sword and shield drawn, he didn't know what he was getting himself into, but he knew he was going to do what he could to prevent--

Trumpets blared as he entered the front of the audience chamber and what must've been every knight and guard and towns-folk in Hyrule stood at attention. At the end of the room, in front of his throne, stood the King of Hyrule and Zelda stood at his side.

"Link!" The King called down the hall. "Step foreword, son." Stunned, and incredibly confused, Link sheathed his weapons and humbly walked down the hall of Knights and soldiers. He now stood before the King and Zelda who in her arms held a pillow upon which sat a silver ring inlaid with an emerald.

"Kneel before me." The King ordered. Link immediately obeyed. The King held out his hand over Link's head

"The visions that we were blind to would have come to pass where it not for you and and my daughter. We, now know this." Link glanced up and six old, bearded men in robes stepped foreword baring the seals of the six temples around their necks. This reality's sages.... Link thought.

"Hyrule owes you a debt it could never re-pay, Hero of Time." The King bestowed. "Rise, Ser Link, and take your signant ring." Link stood up and found Zelda standing before him. She had a large smile on her face

"Congratulations!" She whispered excitedly in the smallest voice. She bowed her head as Link gently took the ring and examined it. It looked just like the Spiritual Stone, the Kokiri's Emerald. "Put it on!" She whispered! Link nodded and did as he was told.

"Accepting this ring makes you, Ser Link, the sole protector of Hyrule. May we prosper under your careful watch!" The King stepped forward now and addressed the mass of people.

"Good people of Hyrule! I present to you, Link! The Hero of Time!" The Audience Chamber erupted in thunderous applause. Link wasn't even sure how to react, his whole body felt numb. According to this reality, nothing actually happened, so... I don't actually deserve this.... Link stood there feeling ashamed as ackalaides washed over him, acknowledging that he just undid what his Zelda had sacrificed for him.

***

"-- and you will need to appear at court when matters of Hyrule's security are to be discussed." The right hand advisor to the King had been informing Link of the duties that came with this new authority. The party that followed Link's awarding was proving to be less of a party for him and more of a lecture. Everyone else was roaming around and talking, even the King and Zelda were. Not Link, Link was getting told how to run his own life again.

"Yea yea, I get it. Might we do this some other time?" Link finally requested.

"Oh, of course! I would be delighted to continue this conversation at another point in time, Ser Link." The right hand acknowledged. Link just looked at him and blinked.

".... don't call me that." He muttered as he stormed off and out of the audience chamber. He headed off towards the stables to get Epona; he already had enough of this and wanted things to go back to the way they were.... the way they were....

He caressed Epona's snout tenderly and contemplated on dropping the ring here and leaving forever. He contemplated on just going into the Lost Woods and never coming out again. "... but then I wouldn't have you, would I? I could never ask you to leave home like that." He assured Epona out loud.

"Why would you leave?" Zelda's small voice reached Link's ears. He sighed and turned around to see the Princess standing there looking concerned.

"I... I just needed some air. I couldn't take that party anymore." He tried to assure her. But he wasn't even convincing himself.

"You said leave home. Why would you leave Hyrule?" Zelda asked. "I thought you wanted this...."

"I didn't... well, not like this anyway." Link answered. "I didn't want to be given any honors, I didn't want to be celebrated. I just... just..."

"Just what?"

"I don't know, okay?" He insisted. Zelda took a step back, she looked hurt by this. He almost didn't care... but the look on her face was destroying him. ".... I'm sorry, I just... I don't know what to make of my new reality... it's so hard...."

"I understand. " Zelda said strongly, walking towards him now. "You're scared..."

".... yes, very." Link admitted.

"Courage is acting even though one is horrified." Zelda wrapped her arm around his shoulders and stood at his side. "You taking that ring is proof, you are very courageous, Ser Link." Link blushed and scowled.

"Do you have to call me that?" He asked.

"You'll get used to it." Zelda assured as she kissed his cheek. At that very moment, Link felt relief, more relief than he had felt since he had gotten back, and she could tell.

"Feel better?" She ask.

"... yea, a little." A small smile found it's way on to his face.

"Good!" She now completely hugged him, and he hugged her back. Her embrace felt like home. He hadn't felt this happy since Sheik revealed himself to be Zelda on the other side. She stood back and looked him in the eye, a playful smile lit up her face.

"Tomorrow morning is the first day you would need to be in court, then, after that, you and I are going to go on an adventure!" She declaired happily.

"Where?" Link asked, suddenly excited by the prospect of exploring.

"Let's start with Castle Town and see where the day takes us!" Zelda suggested. "See you tomorrow! Don't wander too far, you need to be here bright and early tomorrow morning!" Zelda bounced off back into the castle.

Link fondly started remembering how he and Zelda first met last time; they ran into each other in Castle Town and she was in disguise, they played all day and had a wonderful time.

That can happen again.... Link wondered. Everything seems to be returning to normal. He thought. The presence of the ring on his hand drew him to look at it again. .... almost normal.

*************************************************

This is an edit to the post: Hope you all enjoyed the set up! The rest is going to come in waves as I have a lot to do... often. Shout out to @linkeduniverse for inspiring the story!