#sooga headcanons

[imaginethezeldaverse]

Thoughts on Sooga?

Oh you mean that giant hulking mass of a man with the loyalty of a golden retriever and the ability to probably split a tree with his bare hands? Love him.

Here’s a few headcanons I have:

He’s a great listener. He’s the strong silent type, for sure, but given his Yiga lineage, he's learned that listening carefully (be it when someone's talking or in your surroundings) is the best way to have the upper hand. In this case, it would be having the upper hand on being someone you can trust.

His favorite banana-made food item is a banana upside down cake.

Has carried Master Kohga on his back more times than he can count. Keeps himself in the best of shape in order to do so because Master Kohga is NOT light.

The deep cut in his mask was left from the only person other than Link to be able to get any sort of hit on him. A former Yiga, who, in a blind fit of rage at the death of his wife (Sooga's doing by orders of Master Kohga in recompense for treason), hurled his eightfold longblade at Sooga's head before being restrained.

Meditates on top of the Gerudo Highland mountains every morning in order to start his day.

[noirandchocolate]

It's the winner of my poll, so I hope you'll enjoy a nice big post about...

Yiga Clan Mask Culture and Traditions Headcanons!

History

The Clan adopted the practice of wearing masks fairly early on after their founding 10,000 years ago. Veils were already worn by powerful Sheikah monks as a symbol of martial prowess (being able to fight with hampered or absent sight), wisdom (being able to "see" what others could not, despite or because of a self-imposed "blindness"), and asceticism (being humble and near-anonymous). Those among the ancient Sheikah who worked as assassins, spies, guardians, and interrogators for the Crown also tended to wear masks covering at least part of the face. So, when the Sheikah who decided to defy the ancient King's genocide banded together to form the Yiga Clan, taking to wearing masks and veils to obscure their identities was a natural choice. The early Clan's face-coverings were among the first items they painted with the Inverted Eye that became the symbol of the group's defiance of their prior role as Hylia's chosen protectors and servants of the royal family.

The original Master Kohga, who had been the Chief of the Sheikah settlements around Satori Mountain, never actually wore a mask! (The practice of doing so had not fully standardized yet.) Instead, he took up wearing a veil to honor his grandfather, Monk Mogg Latan, and as a sign to those who would ask him and his people to shed their heritage, that he would not back down.

However, the First Master did provide the origin to one aspect of his successors' masks: While Sheikah who were considered masters in their chosen fields (including monks) traditionally wore a hairstyle featuring five long ornamental sticks, the First Master chose to wear six, as a symbol of a) his people's split from the Royal Family (cut an arrayed set of five sticks straight in half and you end up with six sticks--the formerly central one broken down the middle), and b) their continued claim to the power associated with the number three (note that the Sheikah monks found in Shrines (and Maz Koshia) all wear/display six golden bracelets). As you know, the current Master mask now features three horns on each side!

As time went on, in addition to providing protection and anonymity to Clan members particularly when traveling outside their main "hideout" base in Karusa Valley, the masks also became a unifying aspect of membership and family within the group. In other words, the masks are not only meant to hide one's face from outsiders, but to signal to insiders the bond between them. All within the Clan may don the mask, all may wear the same "face." All carry the symbol of the Inverted Eye. All are working together, all are playing their part. The Clan as a whole is quite a collectivist culture; the masks are one very obvious aspect of that.

The current mask designs have been in place for several millennia now, but it did take some time for the style to "settle" into this level of tradition and immutability. The Yiga have quite ancient scrolls and artworks depicting their ancestors wearing different styles of masks, including curved rectangular ones mimicking the shape of ancient monks' veils, and more complicated and demonic or deity-looking masks for Masters. During one period a few centuries into the Clan's existence, another Hylian monarch (this time, a Queen) sent troops across the kingdom to search for any remaining Sheikah (remember, Kakariko Village was "hidden" to most) to eradicate them. The Yiga began to appear "out of nowhere" to wreak havoc and sow discord among scouts and military camps, wearing masks painted with the inverted eye and large, red, smiling mouths. Quite unsettling!

How They're Made and How They Work

Masks are crafted of wood and, in the case only of the Master, an overlay of molduga bone. All those taking up the job of craft-work among the Yiga learn to make masks, but there have always been a few specially trained masters of the art who create masks and associated ornaments for the Master, Right Hand, presumptive Heir, and any spouse (Mistress or Consort) of the Master. These in particular are expected to be perfect, both in their specially-measured fit to the wearer's face and in their symmetry of shape and inlaid, painted design. And so, training to make them goes beyond the ordinary mask-maker's education, involving a great deal of practice but also meditation. A keen eye for detail and steady hands are paramount. These crafting masters are highly regarded, and often take on new names related in some way to their teachers', when they achieve their new position.

Yes, the masks are solid wood. Yiga are able to see "through" them using magic. The vast majority of current Clan members share a heritage that allows them to use magic (a subject for another post!) at least to some degree, and this Sight skill is one of the very first things Yiga are taught--whether as young children or as new additions if they join as teens or adults. As with many Yiga abilities (again, to be discussed in the future!), Sight has an accompanying rune/talisman that will keep it going perpetually. This is etched into an "active" mask when it is given to its owner. So, the owner puts on the mask, instantly starts the...for lack of a better word "spell," and then the rune keeps the ability "flowing" for as long as the user wishes.

Those vanishingly few Clan members who are completely devoid of magical ability must ask someone else to activate the rune for them. Unfortunately, their Sight through their masks is impaired by the fact that none of their own energy is being used to power the rune as it "flows." Such members do not take on/are not assigned to roles that will take them outside the Karusa Complex, as masks are absolutely required for such positions. Instead, they stay home, usually wear veils instead, and work within the Clan in other vital ways.

Current Designs

All Yiga masks save those for the Master and Right Hand share the same basic curved oval shape that contours around to cover the sides of the face, again for anonymity and conformity. Really the only difference about those two, too, is the addition of horns. All masks are marked with the Inverted Eye.

One other slightly different mask is that worn by the Heir, which is additionally marked by a curved slash of red down the sides of the face (most prominently visible in profile). This marks the Heir as one who is working to grow into leadership and one day wear a horned mask.

The horns on the Master and Right Hand's masks have that curved shape because they are meant to not only be horns, but flames. As in, flames of righteous fury against those who betrayed the Clan's ancestors, and the purifying flames of destruction they've hoped would purge the Kingdom of its ruling class! The red inlay of them of course matches the red of the Eyes, but also symbolizes the burning core of the Clan's intended vengeance.

The Master has three horns per side, and the Right Hand has one, so perhaps you've wondered: is there a two-horned mask? Why yes! I headcanon that there is! It is reserved for a Right Hand who is also the Heir. Which is not a very rare occurrence, since a Master would likely hope to rely on their Heir as their second-in-command, once they're of age and they've proven themself to be reliable, skilled, and powerful enough. (Great training to be Master themself one day!) Our current Best Guy Kohga remembers this mask as the one his father wore during his early childhood before his Nana died and Dad became Master. Kohga himself was also eventually given the two-horned mask when he became his father's Right Hand.

He was very proud to wear it.

He did not get to wear it for long.

The metal side ornaments on Yiga masks are meant to resemble fangs, and are meant to add an edge of ferociousness to the Clan's appearance. Even members who are not actively working in more martial positions wear them--a style similar to Footsoldiers', but with the subtle difference that the center ridge of their three-ridged design is red, instead of the top one.

Footsoldiers' ornaments are straighter and dagger-like, evoking their prowess with smaller, more concealed weapons and bows. The top ridge colored red indicates that they are in a martial position and their work--and if necessary, their bloodshed--protects the more "civilian" population of the Karusa Complex.

Blademasters' ornaments are curved and sharper, a show of their ferocity with larger, well, blades. Although usually hidden by their hoods when in they're in full uniform, their ornaments do still feature the three ridges with the top one in red.

The Right Hand's ornaments share the basic shape of the Blademasters', but are segmented more smoothly down their whole length, with the final, sharp segment at the tip in red. These show that the Right Hand is at the top of the martial hierarchy of the Clan, at the forefront of the Clan's protection and ready to stain their weapons ("fangs") with the blood of their enemies.

Finally, Master Kohga's ornaments' more hooked shape are similarly meant to represent curved fangs, but the more rounded, shiny red end-pieces are meant to evoke skill not only with weapons but with the special arcane techniques only a Master is trained in. The larger, round, red center of their five-ridged design shows that Master Kohga is the central figure for the Clan--not just the Chief or "top banana," but someone who lives among their people and keeps them together. Powerful, deadly, but also a unifying force.

Traditions Surrounding Masks

As suggested above, Yiga children start wearing veils and practicing using the Sight technique pretty young, so they're prepared for donning their masks when the time comes. Kids officially get their first masks at the very start of the year during which they'll turn eleven. Depending on the Clan's birth rate for a particular year there might be only a few getting masks or there might be a big group. Getting one's mask involves...

A trip to Satori Mountain with Master Kohga! The Mountain being a very important place for the Clan, it has been chosen for the children's (usually) first time leaving the relative safety of Karusa Valley. The Master takes them to the sacred spring among the sakura trees near the top, where they remove their veils and put on their first masks. This ceremonial part of the trip is fairly short, and involves a pledge to stay safe beneath the mask and to work to the best of one's ability for the Clan. Then, the kids get to have some fun exploring, doing some fun little tasks set by the Master--things like "pick four different kinds of mushroom" or "find the tree marked with the Eye." This is meant to give the children not only a chance to practice using Sight out in the open, but the opportunity to get to know the Mountain...and...well, to run around being kids rolling in grass and climbing trees, out in the world under the sky, using the basic tracking and stealth skills they've been learning through their childhoods. (This is truly another of the current Kohga's favorite days of the year. Man loves the kiddos.)

Once you've received your mask, you're also considered old enough to start doing more involved chores around the Complex and figuring out what jobs and roles you might want to start really training for. So it's a Coming of Age kind of event! Children's mask ornaments are again the same as footsoldiers' and civilians', but they have the lowest ridge painted red. Under the protection of everyone else. They'll have these until they turn sixteen--another milestone.

Clan members are expected to keep their faces covered or disguised even at home, once they have been given their first masks. I've said it before but it belongs in a post on this topic: one's true face is, after that age, reserved for one's very immediate family. Parents, grandparents, siblings, spouse, and kids/grandkids. So, when a child goes up Satori Mountain at the start of their special year, the moment between when they take off their veil and when they put on their mask may be the last time they see the real faces of their friends with whom they share an age. Honestly, it's quite poignant, a sort of shedding of one's childhood self and taking on of a new identity among the Clan.

After death, a person's final mask is kept for their family's area down in the Clan's ancestor shrine halls. Masks are cared for by family members as part of specific festivals and are brought out for various events like weddings and funerary rites within the family. Since so much of a person's energy flows through their mask over the time they wear it, it's believed to still carry a part of their essence. So it's felt that ancestors are especially "present" and watching over you, when you visit your family shrine, or when their masks are made a part of your special days.

Yiga masks are quite tough, and broken and outgrown ones are burned at home. Those who are assigned to jobs and missions outside the Valley must be adept at the disguise technique, but if one's mask is broken to the point it can no longer be worn and it is at all possible to break away from one's task, one is supposed to return home to retrieve a new one right away.

((Sooga's insistence on wearing his cracked mask is considered quite unusual and odd. It's honestly only permitted because he is the Right Hand and thus his horns and uniforms already make him stand out. He did have it reinforced and repainted after the incident. I gave his stated reasoning for keeping it in a prior post, but...it's also because he was initially ashamed at having broken the work of a master craftsman so shortly after he received it. To this day, years later, if pressed he will say that his mask is serviceable so there is no need to trouble anyone. Of course, now more than ever anyone would love to make him a new one, but...that's Sooga for you. T-T))

Married couples traditionally remove each other's masks on their wedding night, before shedding any remaining disguise. This is a profoundly intimate show of love and trust. Even within a marriage, consent must be given before taking off one's spouse's mask.

Once you turn sixteen, in fact, no one is allowed to remove your mask without your express permission. Even when you're disguised under there. That includes parents and romantic partners. It's considered incredibly rude and childish especially after that age, to grab at someone else's mask to try to remove it.

That said, poking at or rapping on someone's mask is just silly behavior between friends, and caressing a masked cheek is loving. Also, touching masked foreheads together is a gesture of closeness between family, friends, and partners. Especially with a romantic partner, it's like a masked kiss. Yes. It's true. Yiga bonk foreheads like kittycats. (/silly, not really)

Because Yiga tend to spend a lot of time with their faces--even their fake faces--covered up, as a culture they tend to be quite expressive with their bodies and vocal inflections. They don't have facial expressions to rely on for communication purposes all the time, so head-tilts and hand gestures and other body language are adopted from an early age to get one's point across. Of course this doesn't mean they don't know what facial expressions are and mean (don't be ridiculous)--they know those things too, for when they're using an unmasked disguise and for dealing with other races. Just...they tend to talk with their hands a lot and can tell another Yiga's intent or emotion by how far they're tilting their head or how they're leaning their body. In fact, not gesturing as much or using subtler postures is just as much considered "reserved" or "quiet" among the Yiga as simply keeping one's volume down. There's nuance in these things, that outsiders might not realize.

Yiga doing espionage have to sort of mitigate these instincts/learned behaviors; they can sometimes come off weird or unsettling, otherwise! Think of those travelers you may have seen on the roads...how they wave and call to you a little too enthusiastically, and smile just a bit too wide... But surely they're just friendly! You should go over to them and talk. If you're lucky, they might even sell you some bananas, at very fair prices!

And the last thing you see, will be the blood red of the Inverted Eye.

And there you have it! A whole bunch of headcanons about Masks! Hope you had a good time reading!

[sweetblueberrymuffin]

My sooga desing :3

I have the headcanon that he is a sheikah who decided to join the Yiga clan so I designed an outfit for him (and a visual guide of what the outfit is like)

[ashleyleygraves]

In the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity timeline, Mipha confesses her love to Link. They end up together.

Zelda continues her research in both Sheikah and Zonai technology, now with King Rhoam allowing her to do so as she always wanted.

Purah figures out she has feelings for Zelda and Zelda realizes that she's bisexual when she starts finding Purah attractive. After about a year of flirting, they get together.

Revali and Link now train vigorously so that they can fight in the coliseum in front of all Hyrule to determine which of them is actually better at fighting.

Kohga and Sooga have gay sex every day and are happy boyfriends.

Ganondorf's body remains under Hyrule Castle for over a hundred years before he comes back from the dead when Queen Zelda and the Hero of the Wild are old and frail. Tears of the Kingdom happens but the only difference is the age. Also Zelda has dementia and Link has become deaf from their old ages.

[frickingnerd]

lovers to enemies with sooga

pairing: sooga x gn!reader

tags: fluff to angst, lie & attempted murder (sooga to reader), reader works at hyrule castle, fake feelings turning real

sooga always had been a good man

he treated you with respect, loved you unconditionally and you could see a future with years of happiness ahead for the two of you

and yet, you didn't actually know sooga

you only thought you did, but there were things he was keeping from you, ever since the two of you first met

you worked at hyrule castle, which is where you first met him and it was almost love at first sight

just a few words exchanged and you already knew you wouldn't be able to forget this man ever again

the two of you kept running into each other in the castle, leading you to believe he worked there as well, yet never questioning it

but while you worked closely together with princess zelda and helped her with her research, sooga had come to the castle to assassinate the princess

that had been his plan when he got there the first time, but then he ran into you

and while sooga only got closer to you to assassinate the princess, he ended up falling in love with you, even wanting to leave the yiga clan

but he couldn't do it. in the end, he had to choose between killing the princess or you

and so, he went to the castle one more time, this time disguised as a member of the yiga clan, to finish his job

though a brave knight protected the princess and during the fight, sooga's mask cracked

he had failed his mission and as he ran out of the castle, everything only got worse for him, as he ran into you

at first, you only saw him as the man who attacked the princess. then you noticed the crack in the mask and recognized the man you love…

still in shock, sooga pulls his weapon as he notices you recognized him, only to drop it a moment later

he didn't want to hurt you! that's why he did all of this in the first place… 

but it was already too late. you were unharmed, yet you were still hurting because of him

with tears in your eyes, you told him to leave. to never return to you and never show his face again

and while a part of you may have hoped he'd try to explain himself or come visit you again, he never did

that was the last time you saw sooga, yet you weren't able to ever forget him

he might have done bad things, but he wasn't a bad person. only what he did was bad, but he was still a good man, that your heart still belonged to…

[yigaclvn]

I got the idea of the knights being cloned based off of the Sheikah ability to clone yourself. For example, Maz Koshia and Impa have the ability to clone themselves. With Maz Koshia taking it up a notch by having his clones to be able to attack you. Anyways, I’m sure as hell the Yiga also share this ability. I mean, most of them are Sheikah. Now Yiga. And if I’m not mistaken, Master Kohga also cloned himself in a fight against him? Correct me if I’m mistaken. So the Yiga Clan have created clones of the knights for training purposes. And like I said, the clones aren’t real even though they mimic attacks.

[master-kohga-dating-sim]

kohga is self-conscious about his stretch marks but sooga reassures him and thinks they're really pretty and he calls them lynel stripes. send post

[foxynovacoda]

✨Headcanon✨

Wow, it's been a while since I posted an headcanon. Sorry guys (who cares).

AAANYWAYYY

I bought and played the legend of zelda breath of the wilde, age of calamity and tears of the kingdom (no spoiler abt last one in this) aaand I came to the conclusion that I love Yiga Clan, for god's sake.

SO NOW

I think we don't talk enough about when Kohga and Sooga met

Because I think it went something like this (headcanon):

Kohga: Sooo what's yo' name, kiddo?

Sooga: My name's... Uhm, Sooga!

Kohga: ... Did you- did you just invented it?

Sooga: Listen man, I'm a trans kid, I escaped from my village 'cause of that.

Kohga: OH, OK. WELCOME IN THE CLAN, BOI.

Sooga: YEPPEEEEE

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it went like that

(TF DID I JUST WRITE, LMFAOOOO)

[top--banana]

tag drop

🍌 I'M SERVING UP... A WHOLE LOTTA HURT! | headcanon 🍌WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY NAPPING SPOT? | asks 🍌 NOW I'M EVEN MORE CHARMING. NO? | musings 🍌 AM I EVEN ALLOWED TO BE THIS STRONG? | aes 🍌THE STRONG! THE BURLY!! THE ONE!! THE ONLY!! | master kohga 🍌RIGHT HAND OF THE INVERTED EYE | sooga 🍌I NEED TO BUST OUT MY SERIOUS MOVES | BotW verse 🍌LET'S GO GET OUR SWEET REVENGE! | hyrule warriors verse 🍌IT GROWS IN BUNCHES! I'VE GOT MY HUNCHES! | crack

[noirandchocolate]

Behold!! What Bast does when I tell her about the kinda stuff our Kohga gets up to post-AoC and about his family historyyyy. She draws him so good and look at her adorable Zelda!!

Anyway the Master is currently involved with some science projects with Purah and Robbie at the Royal Lab because surprise surprise the Yiga Clan has old pre-persecution-and-genocide records and ancestral knowledge of Sheikah tech and magic. Kohga has also recently started teaching some of the younger researchers there how to read Ancient Sheikah so they too can review the scrolls and blueprints he's brought over. Zelda has joined in on these lessons (bottom left) 'cause Kohga is trying to become her weird uncle she is interested in learning more about ancient relics and history and also she is taking her alliance with the Clan seriously.

Meanwhile Kohga's Nana was a badass and his Mama, Hotaru, was super pretty. And the Clan now has three puppies from Mabe Village's Ranch because Kohga wanted to give the young children of the Clan some fun new friends to take care of after the trauma of the Calamity conflict. Because he loves them kids. Their names are Kon, Hashi, and Bashra; Bast drew Hashi!

In sum, Bast doodles are Best doodles and I love her. LOOK AT THESE.

Kohga doodles I’ve been sitting on!

[noirandchocolate]

I said I would do a headcanon post about Yiga Clan wedding ceremonies, so Here! I! Go! (If you're interested but missed it, here's a post about proposal headcanons.) Time for so many details and a very long post. Also, just at the outset, I wanna say that the other reason I've been thinking about this stuff recently (in addition to real world reason of me and my girlfriend getting engaged), is that my Kohga and Sooga just got married in an RP. So I'll be using examples from their wedding alongside others, in this post!

Preparation/Background

It should come as a surprise to no one that Master Kohga officiates all weddings. If a Master Kohga is getting married, their Right Hand will do it. If the Master is marrying their Right Hand (which is on the rare side but hey, Kohga's Nana also did it!), another high-ranking member of the Clan will do it. For Nana Kohga's wedding, it was the most senior historian, who had been friends with her father. For the recent nuptials, it was current Kohga's former Right Hand/sort-of-pseudo-uncle and Sooga's mentor, the very respected elder Blademaster Chisao.

Weddings are held outside, in the circular area by the chasm, like many of the Clan's festivals are. They start in the late afternoon (for whatever season they're happening in), so that afterward, a big dinner feast can be held indoors before the party commences back outside (after some of the seating is removed to allow room for dancing, etc).

The outdoor area is hung with lanterns as well as the strings of protective noisemaker talismans, and a tower is placed and hung with even more lights. This structure is reminiscent of those used for the Japanese Obon festival ("Creating a Champion" states that some design elements for Master Kohga and the Clan were inspired by Bon Odori dance!), but with Yiga flair. A similar decorative piece can be seen in the hideout in the games (see above left). It serves a couple of purposes. First, masks of the couple's ancestors are brought from the Complex's shrine and carefully hung around the sides of it. Second, that's where the band is placed!

That's an excellent segue to say that music also plays an important role in wedding ceremonies. An ensemble traditionally consisting of taiko (also seen in the above left image), shamisen, shakuhachi and shinobue plays background music throughout the ceremony, with specific cues/phrases/flourishes accompanying specific events. (It may be noted that a similar combination of instruments is used in kabuki theater; several elements of the Clan were also inspired by this art form.)

The marrying couple wears their very best clothes, of course, and polish up their masks for the big day! Formal attire is, again, similar to Japanese garments but not exactly (since the Sheikah and Yiga are Japanese-inspired but not...literally Japanese). A wedding is cause to wear long furisode-like sleeves and fancy-patterned haori, kimono, and hakama combos. Oftentimes, because these garments require fine fabrics that require a great effort for the Clan to create, parts of a person's wedding outfit are passed down through their family and re-tailored to them. The Clan does of course have a whole group of people who make clothes, and their training includes embroidery and silk-painting for just such special occasions! If you didn't think Kohga had a haori with Dinraal embroidered in gold thread on the back and phoenixes and Inverted Eyes painted in patterns all over it, you would be WRONG. He also wore his father's black wedding hakama! And Mama Hotaru's long and gorgeous wedding robe was black with a pattern of softly painted insects on it, in an homage to her family's naming tradition; it originally belonged to her own great-grandmother, who shared her name.

Ceremony

The ceremony begins with the officiant welcoming the Clan on this happy occasion and declaring that the date is "AUSPICIOUS!" I plan to do a post about Hyrule's calendar and associated "astrology"-type beliefs but for now suffice it to say that one could come up with a way that almost any day is auspicious (since nobody would want to say someone's wedding day is cursed or something), but couples do very often try to schedule their weddings for particularly positive dates (as I said in the last post, they have to wait at least six months--it doesn't have to be exact).

The couple is then called to approach from either side of the area. They are each accompanied by two family members--usually parents if possible. If not, more extended family or in the absence of any family, friends can do it. For example, Kohga's the last of his family lines aside from distant-er cousins, and Sooga wasn't born in the Clan, so Chisao's children (who both men are close with) stepped in. These four people act as assistants to the couple in various parts of the ceremony! It may be noted, that on each side, there is a group of three.

Yiga wedding ceremonies, like so much else they do, are meant to reinforce not only the joining of two individuals but the bonds that join the whole Clan together. For that reason, they involve several call-and-response-type declarations that all present participate in, and many references to the Clan's history.

The officiant recites the following: "Our Clan was born of conflict. May you weather any in your path. / Our Clan as ever weeps the blood of our fallen ancestors. May their spirits raise you up. / Our Clan has turned betrayal on its head. May you remain ever true." The last of these lines is accompanied by a gesture toward the speaker's mask, evoking the symbolism of the Inverted Eye.

There are two major sections of the ceremony that each require an exchange of three things, between the couple. The first of these sets involves three liquids: saké, water, and blood. The couple's assistants will pour them dishes of saké, which they then exchange and drink, and then the same is done with water. The saké represents the time, patience, and effort that must be put into a marriage, as preparation of the drink surely requires such care. The water represents life and replenishment--and it's not just any water, but some taken from the especially healthful spring at Satori Mountain (which I've said previously, the Clan has strong ties to)!

(NOTE: For this and one other notable part that involves eating/drinking, the partners lift their masks only enough to imbibe.)

For the blood, the couple are each handed a special knife with which they cut their palms. Carefully--it isn't meant to be a super deep cut, just enough to produce drops of blood. The couple then hold out their hands toward each other, palm down so those droplets fall to the sand. Their assistants then wrap the cuts with red bandages. The symbolism is multi-fold: to show the joining of blood/family, the willingness to endure pain and hardship for each other, and, since the blood is dropped to the ground, the Clan's connection to the land and its energy.

(NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT take this headcanon as some suggestion that I think the Clan is some kind of ~weird blood cult~. I absolutely do not think that. The Clan was born of a bloody conflict/betrayal. They have not forgotten this, nor will they forsake the blood, both in terms of family and in terms of bloodshed, that ties them together. I thus think it's reasonable to headcanon that the concept and symbolism of blood--as well as actual physical blood--are present in some of their rituals/traditions. There's nothing creepy or evil about it. It is meant to be a meaningful, loving exchange and promise. Please please do not willfully misunderstand me. Thank youuuu~ <3)

The second set of exchanges is of three gifts. This section of the ceremony begins with everyone present reciting the following together: "Our strength is in our edges. Our might in what we take. Our bond is what defines us. All three, our family make." Each of these three concepts is represented by the gifts, which are brought forward to the couple in succession by further family members or friends. (As in, someone brings the gift to the giver, who then offers it to the receiver.) For example, Sooga's helpers for this section were three of his most recent Blademaster trainees, who had all recently passed their tests!

"Strength" is represented by a weapon. The Yiga have always been willing to fight for their beliefs, and more importantly to protect themselves/one another. They have a strong culture of martial arts and weapons training. So, each member of the couple offers the other a weapon of some significance to them. The exchange is typically symbolic; if a woman gives her intended the vicious sickle she uses on missions as her Strength gift, the idea is that when she uses it going forward, it's in his honor. However, if a man gives his intended a meaningful family heirloom weapon that isn't in use anymore, the couple will continue keeping it among their belongings together. See? Kohga's father gave Hotaru his eightfold longblade, and she gave him a (carefully sheathed) poisoned dagger. Sooga gave the longblade Kohga first presented to him, at the ceremony when he became a Blademaster years before. The words of exchange for this gift are: "I give you this, my strength. / Will your strength defend my body? / I will protect you with all my strength. / Then this I accept."

"Might" is represented by, you guessed it, mighty bananas. A bunch is brought to each person, who selects one and peels and feeds it to their intended. I know we Earth gamers think the bananas are kinda funny, but to the Clan, they're quite the opposite. Food is serious business when you're a marginalized community considered wanted criminals by the outside world. For the purpose of a wedding, the exchange means the couple are promising to provide for one another as well as possible. (To clarify, the Clan is very highly communal about resources, but the thought here is that one party would go without to allow the other to eat if necessary, and that regardless both will do their part within the Clan as a whole, etc.) It's not even just about food; it symbolizes caretaking in general. The words of exchange for this gift are: "I give you this, my might. / Will your might nourish my soul? / I will care for your with all my might. / Then this I accept."

"Bond" is the most personalized of the three, and the associated gift is something that represents the individual giver! It may be an item they crafted, or something else that shows off one of their skills or interests. The idea is that the giver is offering themself to the receiver--something that makes them, them! There are so many possibilities, too, as the gift may be an object to keep, or something more abstract or ephemeral. For example, a member who makes clothing for the Clan might weave a garment or blanket for their intended. A cook might offer his partner her favorite food, prepared fresh right before the ceremony, to eat a few bites of on the spot. Hotaru's Bond was her music, in the form of a shamisen song she composed. Her son followed in her footsteps and went a step further, with a poem too! The words of exchange for this gift are: "I give you this, my bond. / Will your bond shelter my heart? / I will hold your heart in mine forevermore. / Then this I accept."

Following this exchange, the couple recites: "We grow in strength. We grow in might. Our bond is unbreakable. All three we pledge, that we will grow in love."

If the Master is a party to the ceremony, there's an additional section here. The other partner says, "I vow to serve you with my body, soul, and heart, and to follow where you lead forevermore." Then the Master says, "I vow to keep you with my body, soul, and heart, and to lead you ever with your joy in mind." And finally, they say in unison, "You are my guiding star, from now into eternity."

The final bit is a general vow recited together, as follows: I am with you through your joys and all your trials. I am with you by your side or over miles. I hold you as the sky holds sun and stars. Where my heart is, ever there you are. I pledge my life to you and to our Clan. To the future and our master plan. We join our souls together with our kin. Together may we all life's battles win!

AND THEN! As the couple JOINS HANDS for the first time as SPOUSES! The ENTIRE ASSEMBLY! Shouts with ALL THEIR MIGHT: "Glory to Master Kohga! Glory to the Yiga Clan! Long days and nights to the love of [name] and [name]!"

Post-Ceremony

Well then it's feast time!

And then it's party time! Bring on the bonfires and bananas and saké and music and chatter and dancing and--

Speaking of which, during the after-party, the newly-married couple will start off the dancing by performing one together while holding on to a red silk cord between them. Symbolizing, again, the joining of their souls and fates, and also the need to work together carefully in walking the path of life.

Additionally, as I have brought up several times in previous headcanon posts of mine, following the wedding ceremony, couples are now considered family and can see each other's true, un-magicdisguised, -masked, or -veiled faces. This is a big deal! (I do find it quite romantic, that partners court each other without knowing for sure what the other looks like. As I have said before, if both grew up in the Clan they will likely recall things like hair and eye color, but Yiga start wearing veils around everyone but their close family quite young and get their masks at the start of the year they are to turn eleven. So, what your partner's face looks like as an adult, or at all if you've truly never seen/paid attention to them before...well, it's something to anticipate!) Couples are given leave from work to go have a brief honeymoon away from the Complex if they wish, to go unmask each other and spend some good time together. A traditional place to do this is Satori Mountain, since most other people keep away from it anyway. <3 <3 Those who don't want to leave, get to stay in a sleeping room set aside just for this private purpose, instead!

Final Notes

Just wanted to point out, if it wasn't obvious, the threes in the ceremony. Three people on each side of the rituals, three liquids, three gifts. While the Yiga's particular wedding traditions have grown and changed from Ancient Sheikah customs over the millennia, to the point where Yiga marriage ceremonies have only a little in common with the older ones (and are quite different from contemporary Kakariko Sheikah ways), one small detail is the presence of threes. I headcanon that the Ancient Sheikah often utilized the number three in their various rituals and customs, to reference the Triforce, the three Golden Goddesses, the three major Springs across the land where Hylia is worshipped and their three attendant dragon spirits, etc. Some Yiga traditions also involve threes, despite that they've renounced their service to Hylia and to any deity in general. After all, even apart from that, three is an auspicious and satisfying number.

Master Kohga loves officiating weddings, it's one of his favorite parts of being Master Kohga. <3 It just delights him to his core, to see two of his fellow Clan members in love and getting together, and he really helps everyone make it a special day. (Weddings are an occasion when he's most likely to join the band for the party, twanging away on his shamisen...or two. He can make a double of himself. And use it to play duets! How fitting!) He's done the ceremony so many times over the course of his (so far) twenty-five years as Master, that he knows all the words by heart.

Which are more, for the officiant to say, than I've written out here. There's more that accompanies each exchange, for example. But this post was already six million miles long. So I'm going to end it now.

Thank you for taking the time to read! Hope you enjoyed!

[sweetblueberrymuffin]

Parte 1 ??? Idk

Hice un cómic sobre la backstory de Sooga, siguiendo lo visto en Aoc, y como este se une al clan yiga. Para más contexto tengo el head canon de que sooga es sheika y se quedo huérfano por alguna razón. (Si se preguntan por que hice esto es por que volví a jugar Aoc y me encanta ver a Sooga y a Kohga , los quiero mucho)

[foxynovacoda]

I just wanted to say one lil' thing abt the 4th headcanon. But it's a totk thing so

SPOILER ALLERT!

Alright, thing starts below there

In the new Zelda game you can get into the Yiga clan by looking for pieces of the yiga armor.

After getting into the clan you can talk with some of the minions, they're all rude and no one trust each other.

One minion will say that they don't like people, another minion is fricking obsessed with spikes and ecc.

Sooo I think the headcanon is actually canon.

Master Kohga Headcanons (ft. Sooga)

Am I obsessed with the Yiga Husbands? Maybe. Ask my dashboard. BUT HEY! We’re all here to have a good time and refuse that anything bad happened to Sooga. So, here are a few Kohga headcanons that my girlfriend and I came up with at 2am one night.

Spoilers? maybe? Also this was inspired by us reading Yiga Husbands oneshots by @sheikah-simp so shoutout to them! Go read their fics, they’re fucking brilliant!

-First of all, my theory for the Yiga Clan in AOC!Kohga’s time is that they were more of just a nuisance to the Gerudo for years until Astor showed up (clearly Kohga had been master for a while at that point)

-They *told* people they served Ganon? But like- in this universe they totally did not care, they were just following orders from Kohga and fucking around

-They serve Kohga, not Ganon, it’s really just about keeping a reputation and gave them a reason for a Super Secret Evil Hideout

-In general, the Yiga Clan is just made up of everyone that was an outcast or rejected somehow

-None of them are super evil, they’re just here to mess around and have fun with their banana shenanigans while being super cool ninjas

-Which is whyyyy, when Kohga came into leadership, he immediately adopted all the new recruits

-If you’re part of this clan, he will adopt you, thems just the rules, age doesn’t matter

-Tries to make it lowkey, fails

-If anybody acknowledges he actually cares about them, he’s the guy that’s like “NO! I do NOT! You’re my minions, that’s IT!”

- “…Here’s your banana smoothie, now go have fun and cause chaos.”

-Literally grew attached exactly three hours after he said he wasn’t gonna get attached

-Bad day? He knows just what you need

- “YIGA, ASSEMBLE! CUDDLE FORMATION-JUTSU, STAT!” “YES, MASTER!”

-For all the Yiga that stick in the hideout and live there full time, they all have their own little space to sleep in the rooms, but you can fit like twenty of them in there

-Goddess forbid one has a nightmare, the whole room wakes up

-Not because of the afflicted Yiga member being loud, no no, it’s what happens after

-One of them calls out in the night for Kohga, as he knows how to deal with them best (so they think, because he’s the greatest warrior ever)

-Immediately after, you just hear the fast pittering of footsteps down the hall until BAM! the door is struck down by Kohga

- “Alright you dirty dream demons, you! Get the HELL out of my hideout and STAY AWAY from my kids- er, minions!”

- Created his own “dream-demon-be-gone” move set that’s actually just him kicking at the air

-Absolutely no one questions if it’s real because somehow, it works

-”Dear Future Husband” would be a common drunkenly-singing-to-Sooga song at Karaoke Night

-Sooga always enjoys hearing Kohga sing and have fun

-but my gods that man doesn’t even consider for a moment that it’s meant for him

-Kohga could flat out tell Sooga “HEY I LOVE YOU!”

-And Sooga would be like “I also enjoy your company, Master Kohga :)”

-But Kohga would never do this anyway, no no, much too forward

-Literally EVERYONE in the clan knows he’s in love with Sooga, except for Sooga

-No, they are not hiding it well

-Sooga is just blind

-Extremely blind

-Not just because he has one eye

-The whole clan is trying to get them together and several (failed) attempts have been made

-They’ve collectively come up with a secret ship name for these “secret missions”

-It was after a long debate, but they finally settled on Kooga 

-Kohga overheard them talking about some Kooga person and eventually asks after they keep talking in hushed tones 

-Cue the many stammering and murmurings, as both Kohga and Sooga were there, and they had been caught red-handed

-To spare their master’s pride (and their own), a footsoldier fibbed that there was someone out there copying Master Kohga and trying to steal his evil thunder 

-Whose name was Kooga, instead

-Somehow, this works

-Kohga, completely convinced this guy exists, swears him as his arch-rival and vows to find this no-good rotten copycat if he has to search all of Hyrule!

-…That is, if it’s convenient and doesn’t intrude on nap time

-He never does get to the “all of Hyrule” part, but he never doubts Kooga’s existence for a second

-Has woken up in a cold sweat at 3am with a steely glare on his face and one thing on his mind

- “Kooga” 

[iwantmasterkohga]

I’m so curious about your Gerudo Sooga headcanons omg. Tell us more please, the people want to Know.

GRIPS YOU. AAAAAAAHHHHHok ok here we go

First things first I like to think Sooga was born into the Gerudo village around the same time as Urbosa and they kinda grew up together as best friends but also not…?

Urbosa was somewhat aware that he would have to be banished as soon as he was old enough and tried not to get too attatched to him💔

Also, they have mirroring powers. Urbosa controls lightning, Sooga controls tornados, both storm related, maybe that could be something to do with the Gerudo…? (Yes ik it’s mostly bc of the blademaster technique but shhhh..)

I think his height and body are pretty dead giveaways he is a gerudo but also his tolerance to the desert. He probably doesn’t break a sweat when everyone is dying

If u guys want to request any specific Yiga clan content or have any questions about my silly au please do go to my asks EEHEHEHEHEHEHE I’m working on the others rn!

[yigaclvn]

How long does it take for one to be among the blade masters and what does it take? Currently, there’s seven blademasters in the Yiga Clan. They have the skills and strength to be in the highest rank in the clan. It all depends on the individual for how long it takes for Master Kohga to grant them the rank of blade master. For example in the case of Sooga, when Master Kohga took him under his wing, it took Sooga a mere two months to rise among the ranks as their youngest blade master. Given that he was only fourteen years old when he joined. Due to his prominent strength and highly extensive training, he was able to defeat five silver moblins and a golden lynel. So it all depends on them. Or alternatively, they can be given the rank of blade master upon the defeat of a royal army captain.

[master-kohga-dating-sim]

headcanon. Master Kohga is the cuddliest living thing you've ever seen. Doesn't matter if he's sleeping or hanging out or what, he'll snuggle up with his partner whenever he gets an excuse. It's great too because the man is softer than a sand seal plushie. Best snuggles in all of Hyrule